THE CAPTAIN'S CHILDREN.
[Sidenote: THE GLENARVAN ANCESTRY.]
The castle of Malcolm, one of the most romantic in Scotland, is
situated near the village of Luss, whose pretty valley it crowns. The
limpid waters of Loch Lomond bathe the granite of its walls. From time
immemorial it has belonged to the Glenarvan family, who have preserved
in the country of Rob Roy and Fergus MacGregor the hospitable customs
of the ancient heroes of Walter Scott. At the epoch of the social
revolution in Scotland, a great number of vassals were expelled,
because they could not pay the great rents to the ancient chiefs
of the clans. Some died of hunger, others became fishermen, others
emigrated. There was general despair.
[Illustration]
Among all these the Glenarvans alone believed that fidelity bound the
high as well as the low, and they remained faithful to their tenants.
Not one left the roof under which he was born; not one abandoned the
soil where his ancestors reposed; all continued in the clan of their
ancient lords. Thus at this epoch, in this age of disaffection and
disunion, the Glenarvan family considered the Scots at Malcolm Castle
as their own people. All were descended from the vassals of their
kinsmen; were children of the counties of Stirling and Dumbarton, and
honestly devoted, body and estate, to their master.
Lord Glenarvan possessed an immense fortune, which he employed in
doing much good. His kindness exceeded even his generosity, for one
was boundless, while the other was necessarily limited. The lord of
Luss, the "laird" of Malcolm, represented his fellows in the House of
Lords; but with true Scottish ideas, little pleasing to the southrons,
he was disliked by many of them especially because he adhered to the
traditions of his ancestors, and energetically opposed some dicta of
modern political economy.
He was not, however, a backward man, either in wit or shrewdness; but
while ready to enter every door of progress, he remained Scotch at
heart, and it was for the glory of his native land that he contended
with his racing yachts in the matches of the Royal Thames Yacht Club.
Lord Edward Glenarvan was thirty-two years old. His form was erect and
his features sharp, but his look was mild, and his character thoroughly
imbued with the poetry of the Highlands. He was known to be brave to
excess, enterprising, chivalrous, a Fergus of the nineteenth century;
but good above all, better than Saint Martin himself, for he would have
given his very cloak to the poor people of the Highlands.
He had been married scarcely three months, having espoused Miss Helena
Tuffnel, daughter of the great traveler, William Tuffnel, one of the
numerous victims to the great passion for geographical discoveries.
Miss Helena did not belong to a noble family, but she was Scotch, which
equaled all nobilities in the eyes of Lord Glenarvan. This charming
young creature, high-minded and devoted, the lord of Luss had made the
companion of his life. He found her one day living alone, an orphan,
almost without fortune, in the house of her father at Kilpatrick. He
saw that the poor girl would make a noble wife, and he married her.
Miss Tuffnel was twenty-two, a youthful blonde, with eyes as blue as
the waters of the Scotch lakes on a beautiful morning in spring. Her
love for her husband exceeded even her gratitude. She loved him as if
she had been the rich heiress, and he the friendless orphan. As to
their tenants and servants, they were ready to lay down their lives for
her whom they called "our good lady of Luss."
[Sidenote: LIFE IN THE SCOTTISH HOME.]
Lord and Lady Glenarvan lived happily at Malcolm Castle, in the midst
of the grand and wild scenery of the Highlands, rambling in the
shady alleys of horse-chestnuts and sycamores, along the shores of
the lake, where still resounded the war cries of ancient times, or
in the depths of those uncultivated gorges in which the history of
Scotland lies written in ruins from age to age. One day they would
wander in the forests of beeches and larches, and in the midst of the
masses of heather; another, they would scale the precipitous summits
of Ben Lomond, or traverse on horseback the solitary glens, studying,
comprehending, and admiring this poetic country, still called "the land
of Rob Roy," and all those celebrated sites so grandly sung by Walter
Scott.
In the sweet, still evening, when the "lantern of Mac Farlane"
illumined the horizon, they would stroll along the "bartizans," an old
circular balcony that formed a chain of battlements to Malcolm Castle,
and there, pensive, oblivious, and as if alone in the world, seated
on some detached rock, under the pale rays of the moon, while night
gradually enveloped the rugged summits of the mountains, they would
continue wrapt in that pure ecstasy and inward delight known only to
loving hearts.
[Illustration]
Thus passed the first months of their married life. But Lord Glenarvan
did not forget that his wife was the daughter of a great traveler. He
thought that Lady Helena must have in her heart all the aspirations of
her father, and he was not mistaken. The Duncan was constructed, and
was designed to convey Lord and Lady Glenarvan to the most beautiful
countries of the world, along the waves of the Mediterranean, and to
the isles of the Archipelago. Imagine the joy of Lady Helena when her
husband placed the Duncan at her disposal! Indeed, can there be a
greater happiness than to lead your love towards those charming "isles
where Sappho sung," and behold the enchanting scenes of the Orient,
with all their spirit-stirring memories?
[Illustration]
Meantime Lord Glenarvan had started for London. The safety of the
unfortunate shipwrecked men was at stake. Thus, in his temporary
absence, Lady Helena showed herself more anxious than sad. The next
day a dispatch from her husband made her hope for a speedy return; in
the evening a letter hinted at its postponement. His proposal had to
encounter some difficulties, and the following day a second letter
came, in which Lord Glenarvan did not conceal his indignation against
the authorities.
[Illustration: "Please, madam, speak! I am strong against grief, and
can hear all."]
On that day Lady Helena began to be uneasy. At evening she was alone in
her chamber, when the steward of the castle, Mr. Halbert, came to ask
if she would see a young girl and boy who desired to speak with Lord
Glenarvan.
"People of the country?" asked Lady Helena.
"No, madam," replied the steward, "for I do not know them. They have
just arrived by the Balloch railway, and from Balloch to Luss they tell
me they have made the journey on foot."
"Bid them come up, steward," said Lady Glenarvan.
The steward withdrew. Some moments afterward the young girl and boy
were ushered into Lady Helena's chamber. They were brother and sister;
you could not doubt it by their resemblance.
The sister was sixteen. Her pretty face showed weariness, her eyes must
have shed many tears; her resigned, but courageous, countenance, and
her humble, but neat, attire, all prepossessed one in her favor. She
held by the hand a boy of twelve years, of determined look, who seemed
to take his sister under his protection. Indeed, whoever had insulted
the young girl would have had to settle with this little gentleman.
The sister stopped, a little surprised at seeing herself before Lady
Helena; but the latter hastened to open the conversation.
"You wish to speak with me?" said she, with an encouraging look at the
young girl.
[Sidenote: "ONE TOUCH OF NATURE."]
"No," answered the boy, in a decided tone; "not with you, but with Lord
Glenarvan himself."
"Excuse him, madam," said the sister, looking at her brother.
"Lord Glenarvan is not at the castle," replied Lady Helena; "but I am
his wife, and if I can supply his place with you----"
"You are Lady Glenarvan?" said the young girl.
"Yes, miss."
"The wife of Lord Glenarvan, of Malcolm Castle, who published an
advertisement in the _Times_ in regard to the shipwreck of the
Britannia?"
"Yes, yes!" answered Lady Helena, with alacrity. "And you?"
"I am Miss Grant, and this is my brother."
"Miss Grant! Miss Grant!" cried Lady Helena, drawing the young girl
towards her, and taking her hands, while she also drew the boy towards
her.
"Madam," replied the young girl, "what do you know of the shipwreck of
my father? Is he living? Shall we ever see him again? Speak! oh, please
tell me!"
"My dear child," said Lady Helena, "God forbid that I should answer you
lightly on such a subject; I would not give you a vain hope----"
"Please, madam, speak! I am strong against grief, and can hear all."
"My dear child," answered Lady Helena, "the hope is very slight, but
with the help of God who can do everything, it is possible that you
will one day see your father again."
"Alas, alas!" exclaimed Miss Grant, who could not restrain her tears,
while Robert covered the hands of Lady Glenarvan with kisses.
When the first paroxysm of this mournful joy was past, the young girl
began to ask innumerable questions. Lady Helena related the story of
the document, how that the Britannia had been lost on the shores
of Patagonia; in what way, after the shipwreck, the captain and two
sailors, the only survivors, must have reached the continent; and,
at last, how they implored the assistance of the whole world in this
document, written in three languages, and abandoned to the caprices of
the ocean.
During this recital Robert Grant devoured Lady Helena with his eyes;
his life seemed to hang on her lips. In his childish imagination he
reviewed the terrible scenes of which his father must have been the
victim. He saw him on the deck of the Britannia; he followed him to the
bosom of the waves; he clung with him to the rocks of the shore; he
dragged himself panting along the beach, out of reach of the waves.
Often during the course of this narration words escaped his lips.
"Oh, papa! my poor papa!" he cried, pressing close to his sister.
As for Miss Grant, she listened with clasped hands, and did not utter a
word until the story was ended, when she said,--
"Oh, madam, the document! the document!"
"I no longer have it, my dear child," replied Lady Helena.
"You no longer have it?"
"No; for the very sake of your father, Lord Glenarvan had to take it
to London; but I have told you all it contained, word for word, and
how we succeeded in discovering the exact meaning. Among these remains
of the almost effaced words the water had spared some characters.
Unfortunately the record of the longitude had altogether been
destroyed, but that was the only missing point. Thus you see, Miss
Grant, the minutest details of this document are known to you as well
as me."
"Yes, madam," replied the young girl; "but I would like to have seen my
father's writing."
[Sidenote: WAITING FOR THE VERDICT.]
"Well, to-morrow, perhaps, Lord Glenarvan will return. My husband
desired to submit this indisputable document to the authorities in
London, to induce them to send a vessel immediately in search of
Captain Grant."
"Is it possible, madam!" cried the young girl. "Did you do this for us?"
"Yes, my dear miss, and I expect Lord Glenarvan every moment."
"Madam," said the young girl, in a deep tone of gratitude, and with
fervency, "may Heaven bless Lord Glenarvan and you!"
"Dear child," answered Lady Helena, "we deserve no thanks. Any other
person in our place would have done the same. May the hopes that are
kindled be realized! Till Lord Glenarvan's return you will remain at
the castle."
"Madam," said the young girl, "I would not presume on the sympathy you
show to us strangers----"
"Strangers! Dear child, neither your brother nor you are strangers in
this house; and I desire that Lord Glenarvan on his arrival should
inform the children of Captain Grant of what is to be attempted to save
their father."
It was not possible to refuse an invitation made with so much
cordiality. It was, therefore, decided that Miss Grant and her brother
should await at Malcolm Castle the return of Lord Glenarvan.