CHAPTER XI
NARRATIVE OF ALAN FAIRFORD, CONTINUED
Five minutes had elapsed after the town clock struck two, beforeAlan Fairford, who had made a small detour to put his letter into thepost-house, reached the mansion of Mr. Provost Crosbie, and was at oncegreeted by the voice of that civic dignitary, and the rural dignitaryhis visitor, as by the voices of men impatient for their dinner.
'Come away, Mr. Fairford--the Edinburgh time is later than ours,' saidthe provost.
And, 'Come away, young gentleman,' said the laird; 'I remember yourfather weel at the Cross thirty years ago--I reckon you are as late inEdinburgh as at London, four o'clock hours--eh?'
'Not quite so degenerate,' replied Fairford; 'but certainly manyEdinburgh people are so ill-advised as to postpone their dinnertill three, that they may have full time to answer their Londoncorrespondents.'
'London correspondents!' said Mr. Maxwell; 'and pray what the devil havethe people of Auld Reekie to do with London correspondents?' [Not muchin those days, for within my recollection the London post; was broughtnorth in a small mail-cart; and men are yet as live who recollect whenit came down with only one single letter for Edinburgh, addressed to themanager of the British Linen Company.]
'The tradesmen must have their goods,' said Fairford.
'Can they not buy our own Scottish manufactures, and pick theircustomers pockets in a more patriotic manner?'
'Then the ladies must have fashions,' said Fairford.
'Can they not busk the plaid over their heads, as their mothers did? Atartan screen, and once a year a new cockernony from Paris, shouldserve a countess. But ye have not many of them left, I think--Mareschal,Airley, Winton, Vemyss, Balmerino, all passed and gone--aye, aye, thecountesses and ladies of quality will scarce take up too much of yourball-room floor with their quality hoops nowadays.'
'There is no want of crowding, however, sir,' said Fairford; 'they beginto talk of a new Assembly room.'
'A new Assembly room!' said the old Jacobite laird--'Umph--I mindquartering three hundred men in the old Assembly room [I rememberhearing this identical answer given by an old Highland gentleman of theForty-Five, when he heard of the opening of the New Assembly Rooms inGeorge Street.]--But come, come--I'll ask no more questions--the answersall smell of new lords new lands, and do but spoil my appetite, whichwere a pity, since here comes Mrs. Crosbie to say our mutton's ready.'
It was even so. Mrs. Crosbie had been absent, like Eve, 'on hospitablecares intent,' a duty which she did not conceive herself exempted from,either by the dignity of her husband's rank in the municipality, or thesplendour of her Brussels silk gown, or even by the more highly prizedlustre of her birth; for she was born a Maxwell, and allied, as herhusband often informed his friends, to several of the first families inthe county. She had been handsome, and was still a portly, good-lookingwoman of her years; and though her peep into the kitchen had somewhatheightened her complexion, it was no more than a modest touch of rougemight have done.
The provost was certainly proud of his lady, nay, some said he wasafraid of her; for of the females of the Redgauntlet family there went arumour, that, ally where they would, there was a grey mare as surely inthe stables of their husbands, as there is a white horse in Wouvermans'pictures. The good dame, too, was supposed to have brought a spice ofpolitics into Mr. Crosbie's household along with her; and the provost'senemies at the council-table of the burgh used to observe that heuttered there many a bold harangue against the Pretender, and in favourof King George and government, of which he dared not have pronounceda syllable in his own bedchamber; and that, in fact, his wife'spredominating influence had now and then occasioned his acting,or forbearing to act, in a manner very different from his generalprofessions of zeal for Revolution principles. If this was in anyrespect true, it was certain, on the other hand, that Mrs. Crosbie, inall external points, seemed to acknowledge the 'lawful sway and rightsupremacy' of the head of the house, and if she did not in truthreverence her husband, she at least seemed to do so.
This stately dame received Mr. Maxwell (a cousin of course) withcordiality, and Fairford with civility; answering at the same time withrespect, to the magisterial complaints of the provost, that dinner wasjust coming up. 'But since you changed poor Peter MacAlpin, that usedto take care of the town-clock, my dear, it has never gone well a singleday.'
'Peter MacAlpin, my dear,' said the provost,' made himself too busy fora person in office, and drunk healths and so forth, which it became noman to drink or to pledge, far less one that is in point of office aservant of the public, I understand that he lost the music bells inEdinburgh, for playing "Ower the Water to Charlie," upon the tenth ofJune. He is a black sheep, and deserves no encouragement.'
'Not a bad tune though, after all,' said Summertrees; and, turning tothe window, he half hummed, half whistled, the air in question, thensang the last verse aloud:
'Oh I loe weel my Charlie's name, Though some there be that abhor him; But oh to see the deil gang hame Wi' a' the Whigs before him! Over the water, and over the sea, And over the water to Charlie; Come weal, come woe, we'll gather and go, And live or die with Charlie.'
Mrs. Crosbie smiled furtively on the laird, wearing an aspect at thesame time of deep submission; while the provost, not choosing to hearhis visitor's ditty, took a turn through the room, in unquestioneddignity and independence of authority.
'Aweel, aweel, my dear,' said the lady, with a quiet smile ofsubmission, 'ye ken these matters best, and you will do yourpleasure--they are far above my hand--only, I doubt if ever thetown-clock will go right, or your meals be got up so regular as I shouldwish, till Peter MacAlpin gets his office back again. The body's auld,and can neither work nor want, but he is the only hand to set a clock.'
It may be noticed in passing, that notwithstanding this prediction,which, probably, the fair Cassandra had the full means of accomplishing,it was not till the second council day thereafter that the misdemeanoursof the Jacobite clock-keeper were passed over, and he was once morerestored to his occupation of fixing the town's time, and the provost'sdinner-hour.
Upon the present occasion the dinner passed pleasantly away. Summertreestalked and jested with the easy indifference of a man who holds himselfsuperior to his company. He was indeed an important person, as wastestified by his portly appearance; his hat laced with POINT D'ESPAGNE;his coat and waistcoat once richly embroidered, though now almostthreadbare; the splendour of his solitaire, and laced ruffles, thoughthe first was sorely creased, and the other sullied; not to forget thelength of his silver-hilted rapier. His wit, or rather humour, borderedon the sarcastic, and intimated a discontented man; and although heshowed no displeasure when the provost attempted a repartee, yet itseemed that he permitted it upon mere sufferance, as a fencing-master,engaged with a pupil, will sometimes permit the tyro to hit him, solelyby way of encouragement. The laird's own jests, in the meanwhile, wereeminently successful, not only with the provost and his lady, but withthe red-cheeked and red-ribboned servant-maid who waited at table, andwho could scarce perform her duty with propriety, so effectual were theexplosions of Summertrees. Alan Fairford alone was unmoved among allthis mirth; which was the less wonderful, that, besides the importantsubject which occupied his thoughts, most of the laird's good thingsconsisted in sly allusions to little parochial or family incidents,with which the Edinburgh visitor was totally unacquainted: so that thelaughter of the party sounded in his ear like the idle crackling ofthorns under the pot, with this difference, that they did not accompanyor second any such useful operation as the boiling thereof.
Fairford was glad when the cloth was withdrawn; and when Provost Crosbie(not without some points of advice from his lady touching the precisemixture of the ingredients) had accomplished the compounding of a noblebowl of punch, at which the old Jacobite's eyes seemed to glisten, theglasses were pushed round it, filled, and withdrawn each by its owner,when the provost emphatically named the toast, 'The King,' with animportant look to Fa
irford, which seemed to say, You can have no doubtwhom I mean, and therefore there is no occasion to particularize theindividual.
Summertrees repeated the toast, with a sly wink to the lady, whileFairford drank his glass in silence.
'Well, young advocate,' said the landed proprietor, 'I am glad to seethere is some shame, if there is little honesty, left in the Faculty.Some of your black gowns, nowadays, have as little of the one as of theother.'
'At least, sir,' replied Mr. Fairford, 'I am so much of a lawyer as notwillingly to enter into disputes which I am not retained to support--itwould be but throwing away both time and argument.'
'Come, come,' said the lady, 'we will have no argument in this houseabout Whig or Tory--the provost kens what he maun SAY, and I ken what heshould THINK; and for a' that has come and gane yet, there may be a timecoming when honest men may say what they think, whether they be provostsor not.'
'D'ye hear that, provost?' said Summertrees; 'your wife's a witch, man;you should nail a horseshoe on your chamber door--Ha, ha, ha!'
This sally did not take quite so well as former efforts of the laird'swit. The lady drew up, and the provost said, half aside, 'The soothbourd is nae bourd. [The true joke is no joke.] You will find thehorseshoe hissing hot, Summertrees.'
'You can speak from experience, doubtless, provost,' answered thelaird; 'but I crave pardon--I need not tell Mrs. Crosbie that I have allrespect for the auld and honourable House of Redgauntlet.'
'And good reason ye have, that are sae sib to them,' quoth the lady,'and kend weel baith them that are here, and them that are gane.'
'In troth, and ye may say sae, madam,' answered the laird; 'for poorHarry Redgauntlet, that suffered at Carlisle, was hand and glove withme; and yet we parted on short leave-taking.'
'Aye, Summertrees,' said the provost; 'that was when you playedCheat-the-woodie, and gat the by-name of Pate-in-Peril. I wish you wouldtell the story to my young friend here. He likes weel to hear of a sharptrick, as most lawyers do.'
'I wonder at your want of circumspection, provost,' said thelaird,--much after the manner of a singer when declining to sing thesong that is quivering upon his tongue's very end. 'Ye should mind thereare some auld stories that cannot be ripped up again with entire safetyto all concerned. TACE is Latin for a candle,'
'I hope,' said the lady, 'you are not afraid of anything being said outof this house to your prejudice, Summertrees? I have heard the storybefore; but the oftener I hear it, the more wonderful I think it.'
'Yes, madam; but it has been now a wonder of more than nine days, and itis time it should be ended,' answered Maxwell.
Fairford now thought it civil to say, 'that he had often heard of Mr.Maxwell's wonderful escape, and that nothing could be more agreeable tohim than to hear the right version of it.'
But Summertrees was obdurate, and refused to take up the time of thecompany with such 'auld-warld nonsense.'
'Weel, weel,' said the provost, 'a wilful man maun hae his way. What doyour folk in the country think about the disturbances that are beginningto spunk out in the colonies?'
'Excellent, sir, excellent. When things come to the worst; they willmend; and to the worst they are coming. But as to that nonsense ployof mine, if ye insist on hearing the particulars,'--said the laird, whobegan to be sensible that the period of telling his story gracefully wasgliding fast away.
'Nay,' said the provost, 'it was not for myself, but this younggentlemen.'
'Aweel, what for should I not pleasure the young gentlemen? I'lljust drink to honest folk at hame and abroad, and deil ane else. Andthen--but you have heard it before, Mrs. Crosbie?'
'Not so often as to think it tiresome, I assure ye,' said the lady; andwithout further preliminaries, the laird addressed Alan Fairford.
'Ye have heard of a year they call the FORTY-FIVE, young gentleman;when the Southrons' heads made their last acquaintance with Scottishclaymores? There was a set of rampauging chields in the country thenthat they called rebels--I never could find out what for--Some menshould have been wi' them that never came, provost--Skye and the Bushaboon Traquair for that, ye ken.--Weel, the job was settled at last.Cloured crowns were plenty, and raxed necks came into fashion. I dinnamind very weel what I was doing, swaggering about the country with dirkand pistol at my belt for five or six months, or thereaway; but I hada weary waking out of a wild dream. When did I find myself on foot in amisty morning, with my hand, just for fear of going astray, linked intoa handcuff, as they call it, with poor Harry Redgauntlet's fastened intothe other; and there we were, trudging along, with about a score morethat had thrust their horns ower deep in the bog, just like ourselves,and a sergeant's guard of redcoats, with twa file of dragoons, tokeep all quiet, and give us heart to the road. Now, if this mode oftravelling was not very pleasant, the object did not particularlyrecommend it; for, you understand, young man, that they did not trustthese poor rebel bodies to be tried by juries of their ain kindlycountrymen, though ane would have thought they would have found Whigsenough in Scotland to hang us all; but they behoved to trounce us awayto be tried at Carlisle, where the folk had been so frightened, thathad you brought a whole Highland clan at once into the court, they wouldhave put their hands upon their een, and cried, "hang them a'," just tobe quit of them.'
'Aye, aye,' said the provost, 'that was a snell law, I grant ye.'
'Snell!' said the wife, 'snell! I wish they that passed it had the juryI would recommend them to!'
'I suppose the young lawyer thinks it all very right,' said Summertrees,looking at Fairford--'an OLD lawyer might have thought otherwise.However, the cudgel was to be found to beat the dog, and they chosea heavy one. Well, I kept my spirits better than my companion, poorfellow; for I had the luck to have neither wife nor child to thinkabout, and Harry Redgauntlet had both one and t'other.--You have seenHarry, Mrs. Crosbie?'
'In troth have I,' said she, with the sigh which we give to earlyrecollections, of which the object is no more. 'He was not so tall ashis brother, and a gentler lad every way. After he married the greatEnglish fortune, folk called him less of a Scottishman than Edward.'
'Folk lee'd, then,' said Summertrees; 'poor Harry was none of yourbold-speaking, ranting reivers, that talk about what they did yesterday,or what they will do to-morrow; it was when something was to do at themoment that you should have looked at Harry Redgauntlet. I saw him atCulloden, when all was lost, doing more than twenty of these bleezingbraggarts, till the very soldiers that took him cried not to hurthim--for all somebody's orders, provost--for he was the bravest fellowof them all. Weel, as I went by the side of Harry, and felt him raise myhand up in the mist of the morning, as if he wished to wipe his eye--forhe had not that freedom without my leave--my very heart was like tobreak for him, poor fellow. In the meanwhile, I had been trying andtrying to make my hand as fine as a lady's, to see if I could slip itout of my iron wristband. You may think,' he said, laying his broad bonyhand on the table, 'I had work enough with such a shoulder-of-muttonfist; but if you observe, the shackle-bones are of the largest, and sothey were obliged to keep the handcuff wide; at length I got my handslipped out, and slipped in again; and poor Harry was sae deep in hisain thoughts, I could not make him sensible what I was doing.'
'Why not?' said Alan Fairford, for whom the tale began to have someinterest.
'Because there was an unchancy beast of a dragoon riding close besideus on the other side; and if I had let him into my confidence as well asHarry, it would not have been long before a pistol-ball slapped throughmy bonnet.--Well, I had little for it but to do the best I could formyself; and, by my conscience, it was time, when the gallows was staringme in the face. We were to halt for breakfast at Moffat. Well did I knowthe moors we were marching over, having hunted and hawked on every acreof ground in very different times. So I waited, you see, till I was onthe edge of Errickstane-brae--Ye ken the place they call the Marquis'sBeef-stand, because the Annandale loons used to put their stolen cattlein there?'
Fairford intimated his ig
norance,
'Ye must have seen it as ye came this way; it looks as if four hillswere laying their heads together, to shut out daylight from the darkhollow space between them. A d--d deep, black, blackguard-lookingabyss of a hole it is, and goes straight down from the roadside, asperpendicular as it can do, to be a heathery brae. At the bottom, thereis a small bit of a brook, that you would think could hardly find, itsway out from the hills that are so closely jammed round it.'
'A bad pass, indeed,' said Alan.
'You may say that,' continued the laird. 'Bad as it was, sir, it wasmy only chance; and though my very flesh creeped when I thought what arumble I was going to get, yet I kept my heart up all the same. And so,just when we came on the edge of this Beef-stand of the Johnstones, Islipped out my hand from the handcuff, cried to Harry Gauntlet, 'Followme!'--whisked under the belly of the dragoon horse--flung my plaid roundme with the speed of lightning--threw myself on my side, for there wasno keeping my feet, and down the brae hurled I, over heather and fern,and blackberries, like a barrel down Chalmer's Close, in Auld Reekie.G--, sir, I never could help laughing when I think how the scoundrelredcoats must have been bumbazed; for the mist being, as I said, thick,they had little notion, I take it, that they were on the verge of sucha dilemma. I was half way down--for rowing is faster wark thanrinning--ere they could get at their arms; and then it was flash, flash,flash--rap, rap, rap--from the edge of the road; but my head was toojumbled to think anything either of that or the hard knocks I got amongthe stones. I kept my senses thegither, whilk has been thought wonderfulby all that ever saw the place; and I helped myself with my hands asgallantly as I could, and to the bottom I came. There I lay for halfa moment; but the thoughts of a gallows is worth all the salts andscent-bottles in the world for bringing a man to himself. Up I sprang,like a four-year-auld colt. All the hills were spinning round with me,like so many great big humming-tops. But there was nae time to think ofthat neither; more especially as the mist had risen a little with thefiring. I could see the villains, like sae mony craws on the edge ofthe brae; and I reckon that they saw me; for some of the loons werebeginning to crawl down the hill, but liker auld wives in their redcloaks, coming frae a field preaching, than such a souple lad as I was.Accordingly, they soon began to stop and load their pieces. Good-e'en toyou, gentlemen, thought I, if that is to be the gate of it. If you haveany further word with me, you maun come as far as Carriefraw-gauns. Andso off I set, and never buck went faster ower the braes than I did; andI never stopped till I had put three waters, reasonably deep, as theseason was rainy, half a dozen mountains, and a few thousand acresof the worst moss and ling in Scotland, betwixt me and my friends theredcoats.'
'It was that job which got you the name of Pate-in-Peril,' said theprovost, filling the glasses, and exclaiming with great emphasis,while his guest, much animated with the recollections which theexploit excited, looked round with an air of triumph for sympathy andapplause,--'Here is to your good health; and may you never put your neckin such a venture again.' [The escape of a Jacobite gentleman while onthe road to Carlisle to take his trial for his share in the affair of1745, took place at Errickstane-brae, in the singular manner ascribed tothe Laird of Summertrees in the text. The author has seen in his youththe gentleman to whom the adventure actually happened. The distance oftime makes some indistinctness of recollection, but it is believed thereal name was MacEwen or MacMillan.]
'Humph!--I do not know,' answered Summertrees. 'I am not like to betempted with another opportunity--[An old gentleman of the author's namewas engaged in the affair of 1715, and with some difficulty was savedfrom the gallows by the intercession of the Duchess of Buccleugh andMonmouth. Her Grace, who maintained a good deal of authority over herclan, sent for the object of her intercession, and warning him of therisk which he had run, and the trouble she had taken on his account,wound up her lecture by intimating that in case of such disloyaltyagain, he was not to expect her interest in his favour. 'An it pleaseyour Grace,' said the stout old Tory, 'I fear I am too old to seeanother opportunity.'] Yet who knows?' And then he made a deep pause.
'May I ask what became of your friend, sir?' said Alan Fairford.
'Ah, poor Harry!' said Summertrees. 'I'll tell you what, sir, it takestime to make up one's mind to such a venture, as my friend the provostcalls it; and I was told by Neil Maclean,--who was next file to us,but had the luck to escape the gallows by some sleight-of-hand trickor other,--that, upon my breaking off, poor Harry stood like onemotionless, although all our brethren in captivity made as much tumultas they could, to distract the attention of the soldiers. And run he didat last; but he did not know the ground, and either from confusion, orbecause he judged the descent altogether perpendicular, he fled upthe hill to the left, instead of going down at once, and so was easilypursued and taken. If he had followed my example, he would have foundenough among the shepherds to hide him, and feed him, as they did me,on bearmeal scenes and braxy mutton, till better days came round again.'[BRAXY MUTTON.--The flesh of sheep that has died of disease, not bythe hand of the butcher. In pastoral countries it is used as food withlittle scruple.]
'He suffered then for his share in the insurrection?' said Alan.
'You may swear that,' said Summertrees. 'His blood was too red to bespared when that sort of paint was in request. He suffered, sir, asyou call it--that is, he was murdered in cold blood, with many a prettyfellow besides. Well, we may have our day next--what is fristed is notforgiven--they think us all dead and buried--but'--Here he filled hisglass, and muttering some indistinct denunciations, drank it off, andassumed his usual manner, which had been a little disturbed towards theend of the narrative.
'What became of Mr. Redgauntlet's child?' said Fairford.
MISTER Redgauntlet! He was Sir Henry Redgauntlet, as his son, if thechild now lives, will be Sir Arthur--I called him Harry from intimacy,and Redgauntlet, as the chief of his name--His proper style was SirHenry Redgauntlet.'
'His son, therefore, is dead?' said Alan Fairford. 'It is a pity sobrave a line should draw to a close.'
'He has left a brother,' said Summertrees, 'Edward Hugh Redgauntlet, whohas now the representation of the family. And well it is; for though hebe unfortunate in many respects, he will keep up the honour of the housebetter than a boy bred up amongst these bitter Whigs, the relations ofhis elder brother Sir Henry's lady. Then they are on no good terms withthe Redgauntlet line--bitter Whigs they are in every sense. It was arunaway match betwixt Sir Henry and his lady. Poor thing, they would notallow her to see him when in confinement--they had even the meanness toleave him without pecuniary assistance; and as all his own property wasseized upon and plundered, he would have wanted common necessaries, butfor the attachment of a fellow who was a famous fiddler--a blind man--Ihave seen him with Sir Henry myself, both before the affair broke outand while it was going on. I have heard that he fiddled in the streetsof Carlisle, and carried what money he got to his master, while he wasconfined in the castle.'
'I do not believe a word of it,' said Mrs. Crosbie, kindling withindignation. 'A Redgauntlet would have died twenty times before he hadtouched a fiddler's wages.'
'Hout fye--hout fye--all nonsense and pride,' said the Laird ofSummertrees. 'Scornful dogs will eat dirty puddings, cousin Crosbie--yelittle ken what some of your friends were obliged to do yon time for asowp of brose, or a bit of bannock. G--d, I carried a cutler's wheel forseveral weeks, partly for need, and partly for disguise--there I wentbizz--bizz--whizz--zizz, at every auld wife's door; and if ever you wantyour shears sharpened, Mrs. Crosbie, I am the lad to do it for you, ifmy wheel was but in order.'
'You, must ask my leave first,' said the provost; 'for I have been toldyou had some queer fashions of taking a kiss instead of a penny, if youliked your customer.'
'Come, come, provost,' said the lady; rising, 'if the maut gets abunethe meal with you, it is time for me to take myself away--And you willcome to my room, gentlemen, when you want a cup of tea.'
Alan Fairford was not sorry for the
lady's departure. She seemed toomuch alive to the honour of the house of Redgauntlet, though only afourth cousin, not to be alarmed by the inquiries which he proposedto make after the whereabout of its present head. Strange confusedsuspicions arose in his mind, from his imperfect recollection of thetale of Wandering Willie, and the idea forced itself upon him that hisfriend Darsie Latimer might be the son of the unfortunate Sir Henry. Butbefore indulging in such speculations, the point was to discover whathad actually become of him. If he were in the hands of his uncle, mightthere not exist some rivalry in fortune, or rank, which might induce sostern a man as Redgauntlet to use unfair measures towards a youth whomhe would find himself unable to mould to his purpose? He consideredthese points in silence, during several revolutions of the glassesas they wheeled in galaxy round the bowl, waiting until the provost,agreeably to his own proposal, should mention the subject, for which hehad expressly introduced him to Mr. Maxwell of Summertrees.
Apparently the provost had forgot his promise, or at least was in nogreat haste to fulfil it. He debated with great earnestness upon theStamp Act, which was then impending over the American colonies, and uponother political subjects of the day, but said not a word of Redgauntlet.Alan soon saw that the investigation he meditated must advance, if atall, on his own special motion, and determined to proceed accordingly.
Acting upon this resolution, he took the first opportunity afforded bya pause in the discussion of colonial politics, to say, 'I must remindyou, Provost Crosbie, of your kind promise to procure some intelligenceupon the subject I am so anxious about.'
'Gadso!' said the provost, after a moment's hesitation, 'it is verytrue.--Mr. Maxwell, we wish to consult you on a piece of importantbusiness. You must know indeed I think you must have heard, that thefishermen at Brokenburn, and higher up the Solway, have made a raid uponQuaker Geddes's stake-nets, and levelled all with the sands.'
'In troth I heard it, provost, and I was glad to hear the scoundrels hadso much pluck left as to right themselves against a fashion which wouldmake the upper heritors a sort of clocking-hens, to hatch the fish thatfolk below them were to catch and eat.'
'Well, sir,' said Alan, 'that is not the present point. But a youngfriend of mine was with Mr. Geddes at the time this violent proceduretook place, and he has not since been heard of. Now, our friend, theprovost, thinks that you may be able to advise'--
Here he was interrupted by the provost and Summertrees speaking outboth at once, the first endeavouring to disclaim all interest in thequestion, and the last to evade giving an answer.
'Me think!' said the provost; 'I never thought twice about it, Mr.Fairford; it was neither fish, nor flesh, nor salt herring of mine.'
'And I "able to advise"!' said Mr. Maxwell of Summertrees; 'what thedevil can I advise you to do, excepting to send the bellman through thetown to cry your lost sheep, as they do spaniel dogs or stray ponies?'
'With your pardon,' said Alan, calmly, but resolutely, 'I must ask amore serious answer.'
'Why, Mr. Advocate,' answered Summertrees, 'I thought it was yourbusiness to give advice to the lieges, and not to take it from poorstupid country gentlemen.'
'If not exactly advice, it is sometimes our duty to ask questions, Mr.Maxwell.'
'Aye, sir, when you have your bag-wig and your gown on, we mustallow you the usual privilege of both gown and petticoat, to ask whatquestions you please. But when you are out of your canonicals, the caseis altered. How come you, sir, to suppose that I have any business withthis riotous proceeding, or should know more than you do what happenedthere? the question proceeds on an uncivil supposition.'
'I will explain,' said Alan, determined to give Mr. Maxwell noopportunity of breaking off the conversation. 'You are an intimate ofMr. Redgauntlet--he is accused of having been engaged in this affray,and of having placed under forcible restraint the person of my friend,Darsie Latimer, a young man of property and consequence, whose fate I amhere for the express purpose of investigating. This is the plainstate of the case; and all parties concerned,--your friend, inparticular,--will have reason to be thankful for the temperate mannerin which it is my purpose to conduct the matter, if I am treated withproportionate frankness.'
'You have misunderstood me,' said Maxwell, with a tone changed tomore composure; 'I told you I was the friend of the late Sir HenryRedgauntlet, who was executed, in 1745, at Hairibie, near Carlisle, butI know no one who at present bears the name of Redgauntlet.'
'You know Mr. Herries of Birrenswork,' said Alan, smiling, 'to whom thename of Redgauntlet belongs?'
Maxwell darted a keen reproachful look towards the provost, butinstantly smoothed his brow, and changed his tone to that of confidenceand candour.
'You must not be angry, Mr. Fairford, that the poor persecuted nonjurorsare a little upon the QUI VIVE when such clever young men as you aremaking inquiries after us. I myself now, though I am quite out of thescrape, and may cock my hat at the Cross as I best like, sunshine ormoonshine, have been yet so much accustomed to walk with the lap of mycloak cast over my face, that, faith, if a redcoat walk suddenly upto me, I wish for my wheel and whetstone again for a moment. NowRedgauntlet, poor fellow, is far worse off--he is, you may have heard,still under the lash of the law,--the mark of the beast is still on hisforehead, poor gentleman,--and that makes us cautious--very cautious,which I am sure there is no occasion to be towards you, as no one ofyour appearance and manners would wish to trepan a gentleman undermisfortune.'
'On the contrary, sir,' said Fairford, 'I wish to afford Mr.Redgauntlet's friends an opportunity to get him out of the scrape, byprocuring the instant liberation of my friend Darsie Latimer. I willengage that if he has sustained no greater bodily harm than a shortconfinement, the matter may be passed over quietly, without inquiry; butto attain this end, so desirable for the man who has committed a greatand recent infraction of the laws, which he had before grievouslyoffended, very speedy reparation of the wrong must be rendered.'
Maxwell seemed lost in reflection, and exchanged a glance or two, not ofthe most comfortable or congratulatory kind, with his host the provost.Fairford rose and walked about the room, to allow them an opportunityof conversing together; for he was in hopes that the impression hehad visibly made upon Summertrees was likely to ripen into somethingfavourable to his purpose. They took the opportunity, and engaged inwhispers to each other, eagerly and reproachfully on the part of thelaird, while the provost answered in an embarrassed and apologeticaltone. Some broken words of the conversation reached Fairford, whosepresence they seemed to forget, as he stood at the bottom of the room,apparently intent upon examining the figures upon a fine Indian screen,a present to the provost from his brother, captain of a vessel in theCompany's service. What he overheard made it evident that his errand,and the obstinacy with which he pursued it, occasioned altercationbetween the whisperers.
Maxwell at length let out the words, 'A good fright; and so send himhome with his tail scalded, like a dog that has come a-privateering onstrange premises.'
The provost's negative was strongly interposed--'Not to be thoughtof'--'making bad worse'--'my situation'--'my utility'--'you cannotconceive how obstinate--just like his father'.
They then whispered more closely, and at length the provost raised hisdrooping crest, and spoke in a cheerful tone. 'Come, sit down to yourglass, Mr. Fairford; we have laid our heads thegither, and you shall seeit will not be our fault if you are not quite pleased, and Mr.Darsie Latimer let loose to take his fiddle under his neck again. ButSummertrees thinks it will require you to put yourself into some bodilyrisk, which maybe you may not be so keen of.'
'Gentlemen,' said Fairford, 'I will not certainly shun any risk by whichmy object may be accomplished; but I bind it on your consciences--onyours, Mr. Maxwell, as a man of honour and a gentleman; and on yours,provost, as a magistrate and a loyal subject, that you do not mislead mein this matter.'
'Nay, as for me,' said Summertrees, 'I will tell you the truth atonce, and fairly own that I can certainly find you the
means of seeingRedgauntlet, poor man; and that I will do, if you require it, andconjure him also to treat you as your errand requires; but poorRedgauntlet is much changed--indeed, to say truth, his temper never wasthe best in the world; however, I will warrant you from any very greatdanger.'
'I will warrant myself from such,' said Fairford, 'by carrying a properforce with me.'
'Indeed,' said Summertrees, 'you will, do no such thing; for, in thefirst place, do you think that we will deliver up the poor fellow intothe hands of the Philistines, when, on the contrary, my only reason forfurnishing you with the clue I am to put into your hands, is to settlethe matter amicably on all sides? And secondly, his intelligence is sogood, that were you coming near him with soldiers, or constables, or thelike, I shall answer for it, you will never lay salt on his tail.'
Fairford mused for a moment. He considered that to gain sight of thisman, and knowledge of his friend's condition, were advantages to bepurchased at every personal risk; and he saw plainly, that were he totake the course most safe for himself, and call in the assistance ofthe law, it was clear he would either be deprived of the intelligencenecessary to guide him, or that Redgauntlet would be apprised of hisdanger, and might probably leave the country, carrying his captivealong with him. He therefore repeated, 'I put myself on your honour, Mr.Maxwell; and I will go alone to visit your friend. I have little; doubtI shall find him amenable to reason; and that I shall receive from him asatisfactory account of Mr. Latimer.'
'I have little doubt that you will,' said Mr. Maxwell of Summertrees;'but still I think it will be only in the long run, and after havingsustained some delay and inconvenience. My warrandice goes no further.'
'I will take it as it is given,' said Alan Fairford. 'But let me ask,would it not be better, since you value your friend's safety so highlyand surely would not willingly compromise mine, that the provost or youshould go with me to this man, if he is within any reasonable distance,and try to make him hear reason?'
'Me!--I will not go my foot's length,' said the provost; and that, Mr.Alan, you may be well assured of. Mr. Redgauntlet is my wife's fourthcousin, that is undeniable; but were he the last of her kin and mineboth, it would ill befit my office to be communing with rebels.'
'Aye, or drinking with nonjurors,' said Maxwell, filling his glass. 'Iwould as soon expect; to have met Claverhouse at a field-preaching. Andas for myself, Mr. Fairford, I cannot go, for just the opposite reason.It would be INFRA DIG. in the provost of this most flourishing and loyaltown to associate with Redgauntlet; and for me it would be NOSCITUR ASOCIO. There would be post to London, with the tidings that two suchJacobites as Redgauntlet and I had met on a braeside--the Habeas Corpuswould be suspended--Fame would sound a charge from Carlisle to theLand's End--and who knows but the very wind of the rumour might blow myestate from between my fingers, and my body over Errickstane-brae again?No, no; bide a gliff--I will go into the provost's closet, and write aletter to Redgauntlet, and direct you how to deliver it.'
'There is pen and ink in the office,' said the provost, pointing to thedoor of an inner apartment, in which he had his walnut-tree desk andeast-country cabinet.
'A pen that can write, I hope?' said the old laird.
'It can write and spell baith in right hands,' answered the provost, asthe laird retired and shut the door behind him.