Long ages ago there stood in the vicinity of Invershin a strong massive
castle, built and inhabited by a foreign knight—a stern, haughty
man—of whose antecedents nothing could be learned with certainty,
although there were plenty of rumours concerning him; the most
generally received one being that he had fled from his own country on
account of treason, or some other crime. Be that as it may, he had
plenty of wealth, built a splendid castle, and kept a great number of
retainers. He was extremely fond of fishing, and spent the greater part
of his time in the pursuit of the gentle craft. He invented a peculiar
kind of cruive, so ingeniously constructed that the salmon on entering
it set in motion some springs to which bells were attached: thus they
literally tolled their own funeral knell. He was accompanied in his
exile by his daughter Bona, and his niece Oykel, both alike beautiful
in face and figure, but very dissimilar in disposition. Bona was a
fair, gentle being, who seemed formed to love and be loved. Oykel was a
dark beauty, handsome, proud, and vindictive.
Among their numerous household there was one who, without being a
relative, seemed on terms of intimacy and equality. He was called
Prince Shin of Norway, and was supposed to have retired to this
northern part of the kingdom for the same reason as his host. He was
young, handsome, and brave, and, as a matter of course, the two young
ladies fell violently in love with him. For a while he wavered between
the two, but at last he fixed his affections upon the gentle Bona, and
sought her hand in marriage. The old knight gave his consent, and the
future looked bright and full of happiness for the young lovers.
The proud Oykel was deeply mortified at the prince for choosing her
cousin in preference to herself, and the daily sight of their mutual
attachment drove her into a perfect frenzy of jealousy and wounded
pride, until at length nothing would satisfy her but the death of her
rival. She accordingly bribed one of her uncle’s unscrupulous retainers
to murder her cousin Bona, vainly hoping that in time the prince would
transfer his love to herself. The ruffian carried out his cruel order,
and concealed the body in a disused dungeon of the castle.
Great was the consternation and dismay caused by the sudden and
mysterious disappearance of the lovely Bona; hill and dale, mountain
and strath, corrie and burn, were searched in vain; river and loch
were dragged to no purpose. Prince Shin was inconsolable; he exerted
himself to the utmost in the fruitless search, then, wearied in mind
and body, he wandered listless and sad through the flowery fields
of Inveran until he reached the birchen groves of Achany, the quiet
solitude of which suited better his desolate state. Here, with no
prying eyes to see his misery, nor babbling tongues to repeat his sighs
and exclamations, he gave himself up for a while to the luxury of
grief. Then arose in the breast of the father the agonizing suspicion
of foul play; but upon whom could his suspicions fall? Who could have
the slightest reason or incentive to injure the kind and gentle Bona?
He pondered and mused in gloomy solitude until the terrible idea grew
in his mind that it must have been her lover and affianced husband who
had thus so cruelly betrayed her trustful love. ‘Yes,’ he muttered,
‘it must be Prince Shin who has committed this diabolical crime;
he has tired of her, and took this way to release himself from his
solemn contract with her and me, but the villain shall not escape; his
punishment shall be as sudden and as great as his crime.’
Having thus settled his conviction of the Prince’s guilt, he caused
him to be seized during the night, and thrown into the same dungeon in
which, unknown to him, lay the body of his beloved daughter.
The accusation and his seizure was so sudden and unexpected, that
for a time Shin lay in his dungeon totally overwhelmed with grief
and indignation—grief at the loss of his bride, and indignation at
the suspicion and treatment of himself. He was at length aroused and
startled by hearing a faint moan somewhere near him, as if from some
one in great pain. He strained his eyes to pierce the gloomy darkness
that surrounded him; at last, guided by the sound being repeated, he
discovered at the other end of the dungeon a recumbent figure, so
still and motionless, that it might have been lifeless, but for the
occasional faint, unconscious moan. ‘Alas!’ exclaimed he, ‘this is
another victim of treachery and cruelty, who is even worse off than
I, but who can it be? I have missed no one from the castle, except
my adored and lamented Bona.’ While thus speaking, he knelt down to
examine the figure more closely, and as he began to get used to the
gloom, he could see a little better, when to his inexpressible horror,
dismay, and astonishment, he discovered it to be no other than his lost
bride, whose young life was fast ebbing away through a frightful stab
in her snow-white bosom.
Nearly frantic with grief, he strove with trembling hand to staunch
the blood and bind up the wound, at the same time calling her by every
endearing name that love could suggest. Again and again he kissed her
cold lips, and pressed her tenderly to his heart, trying in vain to
infuse life and warmth to the inanimate form of her he loved so well.
He was interrupted in his melancholy task by the heavy door of the
dungeon creaking on its rusty hinges, as it slowly opened to admit a
man-at-arms, whom Shin recognised as one of the foreign retainers of
the old knight.
‘Ah! Randolph, is it thou they have sent to murder me? Well, do thy
work quickly, death has lost its terrors for me, now that it has seized
on my Bona; but yet I would that another hand than thine should strike
the fatal blow, for I remember, tho’ perhaps thou forgettest, the day
when stricken down in the battle-field thou wert a dead man, had not
I interposed my shield, and saved thy life at the risk of my own.’ So
saying, he looked the man calmly but sadly in the face.
Randolph had, on first entering, seemed thunder-struck at seeing the
prince, and looked, during the delivery of his speech, more like a
victim than an executioner; he changed colour, trembled, and finally,
throwing himself at the feet of the prince, faltered out with broken
voice, ‘Oh! my lord; indeed, indeed, you do me wrong. I knew not that
you were here; never would I raise an arm to injure you, my benefactor,
my preserver? No, I came to—to——.’ Then glancing from the prince to
the lady Bona, he hid his face in his hands and groaned out, ‘I knew
not you loved her, or I would rather have died than——.’
A sudden light broke in on the mind of Shin, he sprang like a tiger at
the trembling man, and seizing him by the throat, thundered out,
‘Accursed villain, is it thou who hast done this foul deed? thy life
shall be the forfeit.’ Then changing his mind, he loosened his deadly
grasp, and flinging the man from him as though he were a dog, muttered
between his close-set-teeth, ‘I will not soil my hands with the blood
of such a dastard, he is only the base tool of another.’ Then raising
his voice, he continued, ‘Tell me, thou double-dyed traitor, who set
thee on to do this most horrible deed? and for what reason? See that
thou tellest me the truth, villain, or by the bones of my father, I
will dash thy brains out on the stones beneath our feet.’
The trembling Randolph then explained how he, being absent from the
castle on a foraging expedition, knew nothing of the betrothal of
Prince Shin and the lady Bona, that on his return he was sent for by
Oykel, who, in a private interview, told him she was engaged to the
prince, and that Bona, through jealousy, was trying all she could to
set the old knight against Shin, and had even laid a plot to poison
both her and the prince, and that he (Randolph), believing this
specious story, and being greatly attached to the prince, was easily
prevailed upon by Oykel to murder her cousin; that he had temporarily
hidden her body in the dungeon, and was now come to remove it, and was
astonished and horrified to find she was still alive. He then went on
to say, that he thought he saw a way to undo some of the mischief he
had been the means of doing, and that was to assist Shin to escape,
and to carry the lady Bona to a place of safety, until it was seen
whether she would recover, and what turn affairs might take at the
castle. The prince gladly availed himself of his assistance. They made
their escape, and remained in concealment for some time until Bona had
somewhat recovered her strength.
In the meantime Oykel, driven to distraction at the disappearance of
Shin, seeing the utter fruitlessness of her crime, stung by remorse,
and rendered reckless by the pangs of unrequited love, threw herself
into the river, which has ever since been called by her name, and
which, it is said, is still haunted by her restless, weary spirit. Bona
is commemorated in Bonar.
Prince Shin and Bona now came from their concealment, and being fully
reconciled to the old knight, were married with great pomp, and shortly
afterwards sailed away to Norway, where they lived long and died happy.
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