From the moment of the king's arrival, Gowrie House, or Palace, was
one continual scene of confusion for nearly two hours. Every instant
some fresh party was arriving, either of the courtiers, who had
tarried behind on the road to refresh their weary horses or to procure
others, or of parties from the country, consisting generally of the
family of Murray of Tullibardine, of which powerful race we are
assured that there were three hundred men in arms in the town before
two o'clock.[9] Some of the latter, as well as all the former, flocked
into the court, and in a quarter of an hour after James had entered
the gates, the young earl found his dwelling no longer, in fact, at
his own disposal. Though courteous and civil to all, every one saw
that he was grave and displeased; nor were his doubts diminished when
one of those small accidental circumstances, which so frequently
betray deep-laid plans, proved to him and his brother that the
monarch's visit proceeded from no sudden caprice or accidental event,
but from design, arranged and concerted with others long before.
The assumed cause of the presence of so many of the Murrays in the
town of Perth on that day, was the marriage of one of their family in
the city; but the person married was known to be merely the innkeeper;
and, at the best, the presence of so many noblemen on such an occasion
seemed to Gowrie an honour somewhat extraordinary. When, however, a
cousin of the Baron of Tullibardine appeared at Gowrie Palace,
bringing with him a large and beautiful falcon from the country as a
present for the king, the young earl could not doubt that the house of
Murray had been made acquainted with the monarch's proposed visit
before the person who was to entertain him. He had little opportunity,
however, of communicating his suspicions, even to his brother, before
the king's dinner was served, for James kept him constantly at his
side, talking and jesting in a mood unusually joyous and noisy even
for him. He seemed to have forgotten altogether the story of the pot
of gold and the bound prisoner, which he had told to some of his
courtiers by the way, and though nearly an hour elapsed ere the meal
was ready, he quitted not the hall to which he had been first led.
"I grieve your majesty has to wait so long," said Gowrie, at length;
"but your gracious visit took me completely by surprise, and as I was
about to set out for Dirleton in the afternoon, with most of my
people, my poor house is not provided even as well as usual."
"It matters not, my good earl," replied the king; "fasting a wee will
do one no harm. Many a godly man fasts for mortification, and
doubtless an enforced fast will do as well. But here come your sewers,
or I am mistaken; and now we shall soon fall to. Alex, bairn, you
shall be our carver while we jest with the earl--though, fegs! my
lord, you would not do for a jester, for you seem as melancholy as a
pippit hen."
"I am in no way fit for that high office, sire," answered Gowrie, with
the colour mounting in his cheek; "and indeed it would require both
wit and courage to fill it at your majesty's court."
"How so? how so?" cried James.
"Because I should think," replied the young earl, "that your majesty
is more than a match for any jester that ever lived, both in the
hardness and the sharpness of your hits."
"Ay, but you can jest too, I see, earl," said James; and he took the
solitary seat which had been placed for him at the table.
In the meantime a table had been laid in the great hall for the
numerous unexpected guests who had flocked into the Great House that
day; and it seems it was customary, on such occasions, for the king's
entertainer to see the second course served at the royal table, and
then to invite the courtiers round to dine with him in another
chamber. Gowrie however, doubtful, anxious, and ill-pleased, neglected
the moment at which the invitation should have been given; and the
Duke of Lennox, the Earl of Mar, and others, continued grouped around
the king's table, while Gowrie himself stood at the lower end, and his
brother Alexander, stationed behind the monarch's chair, gave him wine
from time to time, or carved the dishes placed before him. Thus passed
a considerable part, not only of the first but of the second course
also, James talking incessantly to Alexander Ruthven and his brother,
in a very gracious manner, but with somewhat coarse and indecent
language.
At length, looking up with a sarcastic grin, the monarch said, "I'm
thinking, Alex, bairn, that your brother, the earl, fancies these puir
lads standing round hae tint their hunger by the road side, that he
keeps them sae lang empty."
"I really beg your pardon, my lord duke," said Gowrie, turning to
Lennox, "but I was so intent upon seeing his majesty duly served, that
I have fallen into the fault for which he justly reproaches me. I
trust we shall find a dinner of some kind in the great hall, though
the honour I have received, being unexpected, I fear it will be but
poorly requited by your entertainment."
Thus saying, he led the way to the other table, and seeing his guests
placed, and the best dinner which so short a notice permitted his
servants to provide, put before them, he returned to the inner hall,
and took his place, as before, at the lower end of the board.
He and his brother, with their own servants, were now with the king
alone. A closed door, a blow of a dagger, and James had died and
Gowrie lived; but such a thought never crossed his pure, high mind,
whatever might be then working in the heart of his royal enemy.
James continued to jest with ribald coarseness, till the second course
was removed, and a rich dessert of the finest fruits which could be
procured from the splendid gardens of Gowrie Place was placed before
him. Then, however, he said, "I feel somewhat weary, Alex, bairn. Show
me a room, man, where I can repose myself in quiet for a while, away
frae a' this din."
"There is one prepared for your majesty," replied the young gentleman;
"permit me to lead the way."
"I'll hae a sup o' wine first," said James; and taking a large goblet
or hanap from the hands of Gowrie's brother, he added, addressing the
earl, "My lord, you have seen the fashion of entertainments in other
countries, and now I will teach you the fashion in this country,
seeing you are a Scottish man. You have forgot to drink with me, and
to sit with your guests, and to bid us welcome; but we will now drink
our own welcome." He then quaffed off the beaker, and proceeded--"I
pray you, my lord, go to the other company, drink to them, and bid
them welcome in the king's name."
"I obey your majesty's orders," answered the earl, gravely; and
without farther comment retired to the great hall, leaving the king
alone with his brother.
Taking his seat at the head of the table, Gowrie called for wine, and
when his page had filled a cup to the brim he rose, saying, "I am
desired by his majesty to drink this _scoll_ to my lord duke and the
rest of the company;" and then turning to Lennox and Mar, who were
seated next each other on his right hand, he apologized, in more
familiar terms, for any neglect which had appeared in his reception of
his guests.
"His majesty's coming," he said, "was so sudden and unexpected, that I
had no time to learn my part, and prepare to perform it."
The wine went round. The conversation became general; and at this
moment Gowrie remarked young John Ramsay caressing a large and
beautiful falcon which he held upon his right hand, while an
enormously tall large man, sitting beside him, seemed resolved, by the
efforts of his immense appetite, to consume all the provisions which
remained upon the earl's board.
"You have a beautiful bird there, Ramsay," said the earl, speaking
down the table. "Is she as good upon the wing as she looks upon the
hand?"
"I really don't know, my lord," replied Ramsay. "Murray of Arknay
brought her in upon his fist as a present for the king. So I am
holding her," he added, with a laugh, "while meikle John Murray
devours to the extent of his ability."
"You'll have to keep her all the day, Ramsay," said the burly man of
whom he spoke. "I've had enough of her, carrying her sixteen miles;"
and then, turning towards Gowrie, he added, "She's as keen a bird, my
lord, and as true as ever was hatched and fledged. I wish you could
see her upon wing. I've only flown her thrice to prove her, intending
to take her to Falkland; but when I heard yesterday the king was
coming here, I scoured her and brought her with me."
"Pity that I should be the last to know of the king's coming,"
said Gowrie, in a meditative tone; and turning to Mar, he said,
"But poor entertainment I've been able to give you, my lord. My good
brother-in-law, the duke, will excuse it for love; but I know not how
to apologize to so many gentlemen who are nearly strangers to me."
Mar merely bowed his head, for he could not help seeing that their
coming had been as unpleasant as unexpected to his host; and, though
probably not in the king's secrets, he saw clearly that there was
something amiss between the monarch and the house of Ruthven.
"My Lord of Lindores, I beseech you ply the wine," continued Gowrie.
"It may not be so good as that which you gave me some five or six
months ago, but it will do for want of better."
"Cannot be better," replied Lindores. "This is wine of eighty-three;
the best vintage they have had in France for a whole century."
At that moment the king and Alexander Ruthven passed across the lower
part of the hall, taking their way towards the great staircase leading
to the picture-gallery, the cabinet close by which had been prepared
by Gowrie's orders, as the reader has already seen, for the king to
repose himself after dinner. James had his arm round Alexander
Ruthven's neck, in the over-familiar and caressing manner which he not
unfrequently put on towards those who were on the eve of disgrace; and
he was, moreover, laughing heartily. There were some sixty persons in
the hall at the moment, all talking aloud, and most of them with their
faces turned from the door which led into the lesser hall, so that the
monarch's passing was noticed by few. The Duke of Lennox, however,
caught sight of James's figure, and rose, as if to follow him; but
Gowrie said, "His majesty is going to repose for a while in my study
up stairs, which has been made ready for him;" and Lennox at once
resumed his seat.
Sir Thomas Erskine, however, who was placed considerably farther down
the table, had frequently turned his eyes towards the room in which
the king had been dining; and now he instantly got up and followed
James out of the hall, overtaking him at the foot of the broad
staircase, and entering into conversation with him and Alexander
Ruthven. They ascended the stairs together, and at the top encountered
Christie, the earl's porter, who instantly drew on one side with a low
reverence, but at the same time put his hand to his chin in a somewhat
significant manner.
Passing then through the gallery without taking any notice of the
pictures, the king, without direction from his host's brother,
proceeded at once towards the door of the gallery chamber, through
which was the only way from that part of the house to Gowrie's study;
and the door having been thrown open for him to go through, James
turned to Sir Thomas Erskine, saying, "Bide you here for us, man."[10]
Erskine bowed, and stopped at the door; and James, with Alexander
Ruthven, passed through. In the large gallery chamber, standing in the
recesses of the window, were two or three men, dressed as the ordinary
household servants of the king--at least so says tradition. Alexander
Ruthven either did not see them, or took no notice of a circumstance
which had nothing extraordinary in it; but, advancing a step before
the monarch, he opened the door of his brother's cabinet, and James at
once passed in.
When the young man had his step upon the threshold to follow, however,
he paused for an instant and hesitated, seeing a tall dark man,
completely armed, already in possession of the room.
"Come in, Alex, bairn--come in," cried James, in a good-humoured tone.
The young gentleman, not without a feeling of dread, obeyed; and the
door was closed.