In the foregoing chapter we were led, by our regard for the simple
affections and harmless character of the second Laird, to overstep
a period of several years. We must now, in consequence, return, and
resume the narrative from the time that Walter retired from the
company; but, without entering too minutely into the other occurrences
of the day, we may be allowed to observe, in the sage words of the
Leddy, that the party enjoyed themselves with as much insipidity as is
commonly found at the formal feasts of near relations.
Mrs. Charles Walkinshaw, put on her guard by the conjectures of the
minister of Camrachle, soon perceived an evident partiality on the part
of her brother-in-law towards her son, and that he took particular
pains to make the boy attentive to Robina, as his daughter was called.
Indeed, the design of George was so obvious, and the whole proceedings
of the day so peculiarly marked, that even the Leddy could not but
observe them.
‘I’m thinking,’ said she, ‘that the seeds of a matrimony are sown
among us this day, for Geordie’s a far-before looking soothsayer, and
a Chaldee excellence like his father; and a bodie does na need an e’e
in the neck to discern that he’s just wising and wiling for a purpose
of marriage hereafter between Jamie and Beenie. Gude speed the wark!
for really we hae had but little luck among us since the spirit o’
disinheritance got the upper hand; and it would be a great comfort if
a’ sores could be salved and healed in the fulness of time, when the
weans can be married according to law.’
‘I do assure you, mother,’ replied her dutiful son, ‘that nothing would
give me greater pleasure; and I hope, that, by the frequent renewal
of these little cordial and friendly meetings, we may help forward so
desirable an event.’
‘But,’ replied the old Leddy piously, ‘marriages are made in Heaven;
and, unless there has been a booking among the angels above, a’ that
can be done by man below, even to the crying, for the third and last
time, in the kirk, will be only a thrashing the water and a raising of
bells. Howsever, the prayers of the righteous availeth much; and we
should a’ endeavour, by our walk and conversation, to compass a work so
meet for repentance until it’s brought to a come-to-pass. So I hope,
Bell Fatherlans, that ye’ll up and be doing in this good work, watching
and praying, like those who stand on the tower of Siloam looking
towards Lebanon.’
‘I think,’ said Mrs. Charles smiling, ‘that you are looking far
forward. The children are still but mere weans, and many a day must
pass over their green heads before such a project ought even to be
thought of.’
‘It’s weel kent, Bell,’ replied her mother-in-law, ‘that ye were ne’er
a queen of Sheba, either for wisdom or forethought; but I hae heard my
friend that’s awa--your worthy father, Geordie--often say, that as the
twig is bent the tree’s inclined, which is a fine sentiment, and should
teach us to set about our undertakings with a knowledge of better
things than of silver and gold, in order that we may be enabled to work
the work o’ Providence.’
But just as the Leddy was thus expatiating away in high solemnity, a
dreadful cry arose among the pre-ordained lovers. The children had
quarrelled; and, notwithstanding all the admonitions which they had
received to be kind to one another, Miss Robina had given James a slap
on the face, which he repaid with such instantaneous energy, that,
during the remainder of the visit, they were never properly reconciled.
Other causes were also in operation destined to frustrate the
long-forecasting prudence of her father. Mr. and Mrs. Eadie, on their
arrival at Edinburgh, took up their abode with her relation Mr. Frazer,
the intending purchaser of Glengael; and they had not been many days
in his house, till they came to the determination to adopt Ellen, his
eldest daughter, who was then about the age of James. Accordingly,
after having promoted the object of their journey, when they returned
to the manse of Camrachle, they were allowed to take Ellen with them;
and the intimacy which arose among the children in the progress of time
ripened into love between her and James. For although his uncle, in the
prosecution of his own purpose, often invited the boy to spend several
days together with his cousin at Kittlestonheugh, and did everything
in his power during those visits to inspire the children with a mutual
affection, their distaste for each other seemed only to increase.
Robina was sly and demure, observant, quiet, and spiteful. Ellen, on
the contrary, was full of buoyancy and glee, playful and generous,
qualities which assimilated much more with the dispositions of James
than those of his cousin, so that, long before her beauty had awakened
passion, she was to him a more interesting and delightful companion.
The amusements, also, at Camrachle, were more propitious to the growth
of affection than those at Kittlestonheugh, where every thing was
methodized into system, and where, if the expression may be allowed,
the genius of design and purpose controlled and repressed nature. The
lawn was preserved in a state of neatness too trim for the gambols of
childhood; and the walks were too winding for the straight-forward
impulses of its freedom and joy. At Camrachle the fields were open, and
their expanse unbounded. The sun, James often thought, shone brighter
there than at Kittlestonheugh; the birds sang sweeter in the wild
broom than in his uncle’s shrubbery, and the moonlight glittered like
gladness in the burns; but on the wide water of the Clyde it was always
dull and silent.
There are few situations more congenial to the diffusion of tenderness
and sensibility--the elements of affection--than the sunny hills and
clear waters of a rural neighbourhood, and few of all the beautiful
scenes of Scotland excel the environs of Camrachle. The village stands
on the slope of a gentle swelling ground, and consists of a single row
of scattered thatched cottages, behind which a considerable stream
carries its tributary waters to the Cart. On the east end stands the
little church, in the centre of a small cemetery, and close to it
the modest mansion of the minister. The house which Mrs. Walkinshaw
occupied was a slated cottage near the manse. It was erected by
a native of the village, who had made a moderate competency as a
tradesman in Glasgow; and, both in point of external appearance and
internal accommodation, it was much superior to any other of the same
magnitude in the parish. A few ash-trees rose among the gardens, and
several of them were tufted with the nests of magpies, the birds
belonging to which had been so long in the practice of resorting there,
that they were familiar to all the children of the village.
But the chief beauty in the situation of Camrachle is a picturesque and
extensive bank, shaggy with hazel, along the foot of which runs the
stream already mentioned. The green and gowany brow of this romantic
terrace commands a wide and splendid view of all the champaign district
of Renfrewshire. And it was often observed, by the oldest inhabitants,
that whenever any of the natives of the clachan had been long absent,
the first spot they visited on their return was the crown of this
bank, where they had spent the sunny days of their childhood. Here
the young Walkinshaws and Ellen Frazer also instinctively resorted,
and their regard for each other was not only ever after endeared by
the remembrance of their early pastimes there, but associated with
delightful recollections of glorious summer sunshine, the fresh green
mornings of spring, and the golden evenings of autumn.