THE DOUGLAS ROOM.
Wist England's king that I was ta'en,
O gin a blythe man he would be;
For once I slew his sister's son,
And on his breast have broke a tree.
_Ballad._
The regent was alone, and seated at a table covered with papers, in a
small chamber of the royal apartments, in the north-west corner of
the castle. It was hung with tapestry, worked by the hands of Mary
of Gueldres, as this closet had been a favourite study or resort of
her husband, James II., whose name, "Jacobus Scotorum Rex," with the
legend, _I.H.S. Maria Mother of the Saviour_, may still be distinctly
traced in golden letters, amid the elaborate carvings of the cornice.
In this closet hung two well-battered suits of armour, which had been
worn in a single combat in the valley of Stirling, on a day in the
Lent of 1449, by two noble Burgundians, named De Lalain, one of whom,
Jacques, was esteemed as the best knight in Europe; but they were
both slain, after a severe and bloody conflict, by two gentlemen of
the house of Douglas, in presence of James II., who acted as umpire
or judge of the lists. In this little room, the same monarch, by one
stroke of his dagger, slew William, sixth Earl of Douglas, whom he
knew to be in league with others against the throne, and whose
bleeding body was flung over the window by the captain of the guard,
into the Nether Baillerie, where his bones were found in the
beginning of the present century.
From this terrible episode, which, though warranted in some respects,
fixed an indelible stigma on the reign of the second James; the
closet is still known by the name of _The Douglas Room_.
Arran looked weary and thoughtful; for after the irritating
convention, he had a long interview with his brother John, who was
Archbishop of St. Andrew's and lord chancellor; and with David,
Bishop of Ross, the secretary of state, whom Florence passed in
earnest conversation together on the staircase as he ascended.
"Fawside," said he, "after what has occurred to-day, you and every
other gentleman in Scotland, may look to your harness, for we shall
have war ere the next month be past."
"My harness is ever ready, and like my sword, is at the service of
your grace."
"But the intrigues of our traitors will blunt the edges of the
sharpest swords we possess."
"You mean----"
"The malcontent nobles, and the more turbulent of our landed gentry.
Can I have patience with them, when Heaven itself seems to have none,
since it permits them to slay and decimate each other, in their
endless feuds and quarrels?"
At this remark, the young man coloured deeply, as he thought the
regent referred to the feud of his family with the Hamiltons of
Preston.
"You change colour," said Arran, smiling; "believe me, I referred not
to your father's ancient quarrel with my kinsman, Claude, for your
father was a brave and leal Scottish man; none was there better than
he, or more approved in arms, among the soldiers of James IV. He
fought at Flodden. But by that blush, Fawside, I perceive you are
not much of a courtier," added the regent, laughing.
"No, lord earl, though I have passed some time in the saloons of the
Louvre and St. Germains; happily I am not."
"Happily?"
"Yes, my lord; kings can at all times find courtiers, but loyal
subjects and true soldiers are less brittle ware."
"And you----"
"Hope that I have the honour to be esteemed a loyal subject."
"And a brave soldier, too, young man."
"I have yet that name to win," said Florence modestly.
"At this perplexing time, when every avenue and antechamber of our
palaces are thronged by traitors, who were in league with the late
English Harry, and are now at faith with the protector, I do not deem
it expedient to visit with condign punishment those men, of whose
base intrigues I am, to some extent aware; yet, within the last hour,
I have sent the Earl of Bothwell, deprived of his sword, spurs, and
green ribbon, guarded by forty troopers, all Hamiltons, a prisoner to
the castle of Edinburgh. There, in the sure ward of its governor,
Sir James Hamilton of Stainehouse, let him await--through the iron
bars of David's Tower--the coming of Dame Katherine Willoughby, his
English bride; and there shall he remain in solitude and seclusion,
while I consider the means of crushing his compatriots, after we have
swept the foe back to their own country."
"Bothwell a prisoner!" exclaimed Florence; "I should like to hear my
Lord Glencaim's opinion of this."
"What would his opinion be?"
"He is a lord of the Scottish privy council."
"But his opinion; what would it be?"
"He is a lord of council."
"Sir, what mean you by repeating that?"
"Because, as a royal councillor, he must not appear to think
different from your grace."
Arran knit his brows, and then smiled.
"By my soul, young sir, you have picked up some wit in your travels;
but it may provoke the exercise of a sharper weapon in Scotland.
'Tis dangerous here especially. The town is full of our malcontent
lords and the gentlemen of their trains. They swagger in the
streets, and jostle the queen's guards, impeding even the
horse-litter of Mary of Lorraine. They say and practise a thousand
insolences in public; their swords flash under the nose of any poor
burgess body who dares but look at them; they are fine fellows--yea,
brave fellows; but I hope to beat the dust from their jerkins, after
we have used them to beat the Duke of Somerset." Arran laughed
bitterly as he spoke thus, and then resumed more gravely: "To attempt
to crush the hydra on the eve of a foreign invasion, would be an
unwise policy. The friends and followers of my enemies would at once
join the invader; and bethink you, the clothyard shafts of the
English, or the balls of the Spanish arquebuses, may save our
Scottish headsmen and hangmen some work in time to come, by sending
our faithless ones to the place of their reward. But now to the
point, concerning which I sent for you. Preparations are to be made
on all hands for the defence of the country. A line of beacons is to
be established from St. Abb's Head to the summit of the palace of
Linlithgow, in order that due intimation may be given of the moment
the English cross the Tweed or Solway; and in the old Highland
fashion, the cross of fire shall be the warning to arms. You have
done me good service, laird of Fawside; and this I mean to reward in
the manner most pleasing to yourself--by taxing yet further your
faith and loyalty."
"My lord regent, you read my thoughts like a wizard."
"To you, under a royal warrant, which will be sent to your tower, in
Lothian, I remit the task of superintending the erection of those
beacons, on the most available sites. As for the expense, the lord
high treasurer must see to that; and each landed baron must furnish
both workmen and material for the balefire in his own vicinity--as
the landholders of Lothian furnished all that was requisite for the
outer wall of Edinburgh, in the year of Flodden. You will see to
this."
"At the hazard of my life I will perform any duty you may do me the
honour to assign me," replied Florence, with enthusiasm.
The regent bowed, and when men in his position bowed, Florence knew
that it was a hint, the interview was over. As he prepared to
retire,--
"You must promise me, sir," said Arran, "to avoid all brawls, duels,
and quarrels."
"As far as a man may do so, consistent with honour," replied
Florence, as he retired and hastened to keep his appointment with
Champfleurie.
Pleased that one of his foes was now in captivity and disgrace, proud
of the high trust reposed in himself by the regent, and prouder that
the young countess still loved him, no man ever went forth to kill or
be killed in higher spirits than our hero, as he descended from The
Douglas Room and called for his horse. It was soon brought; and as
he rode between the four large towers which then guarded the arched
porch of the castle, with the air of an emperor, and with the lavish
generosity of a true gallant of the time, he put his hand into the
embroidered purse which hung at his girdle, and scattered a
glittering shower of its contents among the grooms, lackeys, and
pages who lounged on the benches at the gate, and whose shouts of
applause followed him as he rode hurriedly down the spacious
esplanade.