FOLLOWETH
_The conclusion of the author to the reader._
But our perils were not yet wholly over. We were in fear that at anyhour the messenger might arrive, having gotten another horse, even inthat lonely place where Maisie left him. But having pardons in theKing's hand, our foes themselves were eager to be rid of us. They knewthat Roger McGhie had been busy on our behalfs, so that the Councilshowed no surprise that he had prevailed, knowing how great he was withJohn Graham, and also with the Duke of York. But they ordered us all,Maisie Lennox, her father, and I, forth of the kingdom upon the instant.So within an hour we went, right well content, along with the officerson board a ship at Leith, that waited with anchor weighed and sailsbacked in the Roads for the Council's permit to proceed. Which beingobtained by the same boat that brought us, they drew away with us onboard upon the instant. And it was as well, for, as our friendsafterwards advised us, the plundered messenger came in during the night;and with the earliest break of morn there was a swift vessel on ourtrack. But by that time we were well-nigh half over, with a good shipand a following wind. So that there was no vessel in Scotland that couldcatch us.
In due time we landed at Rotterdam with great joy and rejoicing. Now,there remains many a story that I might tell concerning our lifethere--how I took service in the Scots regiments of the Prince, how poorwe were and how happy. Indeed, if I be spared and keep my wits, I maywrite it one day. For, to my thinking, it is a good tale, and infinitelymore mirthful than this of the killing time, which presently it has beenmy lot to tell, though Sandy had no part in it, seeing that he abodeuntil the coming of the Prince in the stony castle of Blackness, yet notgreatly ill-done to, being tended there by his wife.
Also in it there should be commemorated how my mother came to us, andconcerning Wat and Kate, and all that sped between them. Also, for agreater theme, how we went back and helped Renwick and Cleland to raiseagain the Seven Thousand, and how we stood in the breach when theStuarts were swept away. Especially I would joy to tell of the gloriousLeaguer of Dunkeld. That were a tale to attempt, indeed, with MaisieLennox at that tale's ending, even as she has been the beginning andmiddle and end of this. Only by that time she was no more Maisie Lennox.
_Concluded in my study at Afton, December 2, 1702._
_W. G._
FINIS.
BY S. R. CROCKETT
MAD SIR UCHTRED OF THE HILLS.
"Mr. Crockett is surely the poet-laureate of Galloway. The scene of hislatest tale ('Mad Sir Uchtred') is laid among the hills with which webecame familiar in 'The Raiders.' It is a brief tale, not a novel, andit can be read through in an hour; indeed, if one begins it, one mustread it through, so compelling is the charm of it. The Lady of Garthlandmakes a gracious and pathetic figure, and the wild and terrible Uchtred,the wrong done him, the vengeance which he did not take,--all thesethings are narrated in a style of exquisite clearness and beauty. Mr.Crockett need not fear comparison with any of the young Scotsmen who aregiving to English literature just now so much that is fresh, andwholesome, and powerful."--_Boston Courier._
THE STICKIT MINISTER, AND SOME COMMON MEN.
"Mr. Crockett has given us a book that is full of strength and charms.Humour and pathos mingle with delightful effect.... It is hard toimagine that any lover of literature could be altogether wanting inappreciation of their quaint homeliness and pleasant realism. To comeacross a volume like this is indeed refreshing. No wailing pessimismmars our enjoyment with its dreary disbelief in humanity; every pageexhibits a robust faith in the higher possibilities of our nature, andthe result is distinctly successful. Amongst the gems of the collectionwe may indicate 'The Heather Lintie,' a simple sketch, instinct withquiet, penetrating pathos; whilst as a specimen of acute and kindlyhumour, 'A Knight-Errant of the Streets,' with its sequel, 'The Progressof Cleg Kelly,' would be hard to surpass.... The author has constructedstories full of grace and charm. Those to whom humanity in its mostprimitive and least complex aspect is interesting will find realpleasure in studying Mr. Crockett's strong and sympathetic presentmentof Scottish peasant life."--_The Speaker._
THE RAIDERS.
Being Some Passages in the Life of John Faa, Lord and Earl of LittleEgypt.
"... The things that befell us in those strange years when the hilloutlaws collogued with the wild freetraders of the Holland traffic, andfell upon us to the destruction of the life of man, the carrying away ofmuch bestial, besides the putting of many of His Majesty's lieges infear....
"It was with May Mischief that all the terrible blast of storm began (asindeed most storms among men ever do begin with a bonny lass, like thatconcerning Helen of Troy, which lasted ten years and of which men speakto this day). The tale began with May Mischief, as you shall hear. Ikeep the old name still, though the years have gone by, and though nowin any talks of the old days, and of all our ancient ploys, there arethe bairns to be considered. But it is necessary that ere the memoryquite die out, some of us who saw these things should write themdown."--_The Foreword._
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