CHAPTER THE FOURTH.
While many a merry lay and many a song Cheer'd the rough road, we wish'd the rough road long; The rough road then returning in a round, Mark'd their impatient steps, for all was fairy ground. DR. JOHNSON.
"It was about the year of redemption one thousand two hundred andeighty-five years," began, the minstrel, "when King Alexander the Thirdof Scotland lost his daughter Margaret, whose only child of the samename, called the Maiden of Norway, (as her father was king of thatcountry,) became the heiress of this kingdom of Scotland, as well as ofher father's crown. An unhappy death was this for Alexander, who had nonearer heirs left of his own body than this grandchild. She indeedmight claim his kingdom by birthright; but the difficulty ofestablishing such a claim of inheritance must have been anticipated byall who bestowed a thought upon the subject. The Scottish king,therefore, endeavoured to make up for his loss by replacing his lateQueen, who was an English princess, sister of our Edward the First,with Juletta, daughter of the Count de Dreux. The solemnities at thenuptial ceremony, which took place in the town of Jedburgh, were verygreat and remarkable, and particularly when, amidst the display of apageant which was exhibited on the occasion, a ghastly spectre made itsappearance in the form of a skeleton, as the King of Terrors is said tobe represented.--Your worship is free to laugh at this, if you think ita proper subject for mirth; but men are alive who viewed it with theirown eyes, and the event showed too well of what misfortunes thisapparition was the singular prognostication."
"I have heard the story," said the knight; "but the monk who told itme, suggested that the figure, though unhappily chosen, was perhapspurposely introduced as a part of the pageant."
"I know not that," said the minstrel, dryly; "but there is no doubtthat shortly after this apparition King Alexander died, to the greatsorrow of his people. The Maid of Norway, his heiress, speedilyfollowed her grandfather to the grave, and our English king, SirKnight, raked up a claim of dependency and homage due, he said, byScotland, which neither the lawyers, nobles, priests, nor the veryminstrels of Scotland, had ever before heard of."
"Now, beshrew me," interrupted Sir Aymer de Valence, "this is beyondbargain. I agreed to hear your tale with patience, but I did not pledgemyself that it should contain matter to the reproach of Edward theFirst, of blessed memory; nor will I permit his name to be mentioned inmy hearing without the respect due his high rank and noble qualities."
"Nay," said the minstrel, "I am no highland bagpiper or genealogist, tocarry respect for my art so far as to quarrel with a man of worship whostops me at the beginning of a pibroch. I am an Englishman, and wishdearly well to my country; and, above all, I must speak the truth. ButI will avoid disputable topics. Your age, sir, though none of theripest, authorizes me to suppose you may have seen the battle ofFalkirk, and other onslaughts in which the competition of Bruce andBaliol has been fiercely agitated, and you will permit me to say, thatif the Scottish have not had the right upon their side, they have atleast defended the wrong with the efforts of brave men and true."
"Of brave men I grant you," said the knight, "for I have seen nocowards amongst them; but as for truth, they can best judge of it whoknow how often they have sworn faith to England, and how repeatedlythey have broken their vow."
"I shall not stir the question," said the minstrel, "leaving it to yourworship to determine which has most falsehood--he who compels a weakerperson to take an unjust path, or he who, compelled by necessity, takesthe imposed oath without the intention of keeping his word."
"Nay, nay," said De Valence, "let us keep our opinions, for we are notlikely to force each other from the faith we have adopted on thissubject. But take my advice, and whilst thou travellest under anEnglish pennon, take heed that thou keepest off this conversation inthe hall and kitchen, where perhaps the soldier may be less tolerantthan the officer; and now, in a word, what is thy legend of thisDangerous Castle?"
"For that," replied Bertram, "methinks your worship is most likely tohave a better edition than I, who have not been in this country formany years; but it is not for me to bandy opinions with yourknightship. I will even proceed with the tale as I have heard it. Ineed not, I presume, inform your worship that the Lords of Douglas, whofounded this castle, are second to no lineage in Scotland in theantiquity of their descent. Nay, they have themselves boasted thattheir family is not to be seen or distinguished, like other greathouses, until it is found at once in a certain degree of eminence. 'Youmay see us in the tree,' they say, 'you cannot discover us in the twig;you may see us in the stream, you cannot trace us to the fountain.' Ina word, they deny that historians or genealogists can point out thefirst mean man named Douglas, who originally elevated the family; andtrue it is, that so far back as we have known this race, they havealways been renowned for valour and enterprise, accompanied with thepower which made that enterprise effectual."
"Enough," said the knight, "I have heard of the pride and power of thatgreat family, nor does it interest me in the least to deny or detractfrom their bold claims to consideration in this respect."
"Without doubt you must also have heard, noble sir," replied theminstrel, "many things of James, the present heir of the house ofDouglas?" "More than enough," answered the English knight; "he is knownto have been a stout supporter of that outlawed traitor, WilliamWallace; and again, upon the first raising of the banner by this RobertBruce, who pretends to be King of Scotland, this young springald, JamesDouglas, must needs start into rebellion anew. He plunders his uncle,the Archbishop of St. Andrews, of a considerable sum of money, to fillthe Scottish Usurper's not over-burdened treasury, debauches theservants of his relation, takes arms, and though repeatedly chastisedin the field, still keeps his vaunt, and threatens mischief to those,who, in the name of his rightful sovereign, defend the Castle ofDouglasdale."
"It is your pleasure to say so, Sir Knight," replied Bertram; "yet I amsure, were you a Scot, you would with patience hear me tell over whathas been said of this young man by those who have known him, and whoseaccount of his adventures shows how differently the same tale may betold. These men talk of the present heir of this ancient family asfully adequate to maintain and augment its reputation; ready, indeed,to undergo every peril in the cause of Robert the Bruce, because theBruce is esteemed by him his lawful king; and sworn and devoted, withsuch small strength as he can muster, to revenge himself on thoseSouthrons who have, for several years, as he thinks, unjustly,possessed themselves of his father's abode."
"O," replied Sir Aymer de Valence, "we have heard much of hisachievements in this respect, and of his threats against our governorand ourselves; yet we think it scarce likely that Sir John de Waltonwill move from Douglasdale without the King's order, although thisJames Douglas, a mere chicken, take upon himself to crack his voice bycrowing like a cock of the game."
"Sir," answered Bertram, "our acquaintance is but brief, and yet I feelit has been so beneficial to me, that I trust there is no harm, inhoping that James Douglas and you may never meet in bodily presencetill the state of the two countries shall admit of peace being betweenyou."
"Thou art obliging, friend," answered Sir Aymer, "and, I doubt not,sincere; and truly thou seemest to have a wholesome sense of therespect due to this young knight, when men talk of him in his nativevalley of Douglas. For me, I am only poor Aymer of Valence, without anacre of land, or much hope of acquiring any, unless I cut somethinghuge with my broadsword out of the middle of these hills. Only this,good minstrel, if thou livest to tell my story, may I pray thee to usethy scrupulous custom of searching out the verity, and whether I liveor die thou shalt not, I think, discover that thy late acquaintance ofa spring morning hath added more to the laurels of James of Douglas,than any man's death must give to him by whose stronger arm, or morelucky chance, it is his lot to fall."
"I nothing fear you, Sir Knight," said the minstrel, "for yours is thathappy brain, which, bold in youth as beseems a young knight, is in moreadvanced life the happy source of prudent counsel, o
f which I wouldnot, by an early death, wish thy country to be deprived."
"Thou art so candid, then, as to wish Old England the benefit of goodadvice" said Sir Aymer, "though thou leanest to the side of Scotland inthe controversy?"
"Assuredly, Sir Knight," said the minstrel, "since in wishing thatScotland and England each knew their own true interest, I am bound towish them both alike well; and they should, I think, desire to live infriendship together. Occupying each their own portion of the sameisland, and living under the same laws, and being at peace with eachother, they might without fear, face the enmity of the whole world."
"If thy faith be so liberal," answered the Knight, "as becomes a goodman, thou must certainly pray, Sir Minstrel, for the success of Englandin the war, by which alone these murderous hostilities of the northernnation can end in a solid peace. The rebellions of this obstinatecountry are but the struggles of the stag when he is mortally wounded;the animal grows weaker and weaker with every struggle, till hisresistance is effectually tamed by the hand of death."
"Not so, Sir Knight," said the minstrel; "if my creed is well taughtme, we ought not so to pray. We may, without offence, intimate in ourprayers the end we wish to obtain; but it is not for us, poor mortals,to point out to an all-seeing Providence the precise manner in whichour petitions are to be accomplished, or to wish the downfall of acountry to end its commotions, as the death-stab terminates the agoniesof the wounded stag. Whether I appeal to my heart or to myunderstanding, the dictate would be to petition Heaven for what is justand equal in the case; and if I should fear for thee, Sir Knight, in anencounter with James of Douglas, it is only because he upholds, as Iconceive, the better side of the debate; and powers more earthly havepresaged to him success."
"Do you tell me so, Sir Minstrel," said De Valence in a threateningtone, "knowing me and my office?"
"Your personal dignity and authority" said Bertram, "cannot change theright into wrong, or avert what Providence has decreed to take place.You know, I must presume, that the Douglas hath, by various devices,already contrived to make himself master of this Castle of Douglasthree several times, and that Sir John de Walton, the present governor,holds it with a garrison trebled in force, and under the assurance thatif, without surprise, he should keep it from the Scottish power for ayear and a day, he shall obtain the barony of Douglas, with itsextensive appendages, in free property for his reward; while, on theother hand, if he shall suffer the fortress during this space to betaken, either by guile or by open force, as has happened successivelyto the holders of the Dangerous Castle, he will become liable todishonour as a knight, and to attainder as a subject; and the chiefswho take share with him, and serve under him, will participate also inhis guilt and his punishment?"
"All this I know well" said Sir Aymer; "and I only wonder that, havingbecome public, the conditions have, nevertheless, been told with somuch accuracy; but what has this to do with the issue of the combat, ifthe Douglas and I should chance to meet? I will not surely be disposedto fight with less animation because I wear my fortune upon my sword,or become coward because I fight for a portion of the Douglas's estate,as well as for fame and for fatherland? And after all"--
"Hear me," said the minstrel; "an ancient gleeman has said, that in afalse quarrel there is no true valour, and the _los_ or praise wontherein, is, when balanced against honest fame, as valueless as awreath formed out of copper, compared to a chaplet of pure gold; but Ibid you not take me for thy warrant in this important question. Thouwell knowest how James of Thirlwall, the last English commander beforeSir John de Walton, was surprised, and the castle sacked withcircumstances of great inhumanity."
"Truly," said Sir Aymer, "I think that Scotland and England both haveheard of that onslaught, and of the disgusting proceedings of theScottish chieftain, when he caused transport into the wild forest gold,silver, ammunition, and armour, and all things that could be easilyremoved, and destroyed a large quantity of provisions in a mannerequally savage and unheard-of."
"Perhaps, Sir Knight," said Bertram, "you were yourself an eyewitnessof that transaction, which has been spoken of far and wide, and iscalled the Douglas Larder?"
"I saw not the actual accomplishment of the deed," said De Valence;"that is, I witnessed it not a-doing, but I beheld enough of the sadrelics to make the Douglas Larder never by me to be forgotten as arecord of horror and abomination. I would speak it truly, by the handof my father and by my honour as a knight! and I will leave it to theeto judge whether it was a deed calculated to secure the smiles ofHeaven in favour of the actors. This is my edition of the story:--
"A large quantity of provisions had during two years or thereaboutsbeen collected from different points, and the Castle of Douglas, newlyrepaired, and, as was thought, carefully guarded, was appointed as theplace where the said provisions were to be put in store for the serviceof the King of England, or of the Lord Clifford, whichever should firstenter the Western Marches with an English army, and stand in need ofsuch a supply. This army was also to relieve our wants, I mean those ofmy uncle the Earl of Pembroke, who for some time before had lain with aconsiderable force in the town called Ayr, near the old CaledonianForest, and where we had hot wars with the insurgent Scots. Well, sir,it happened, as in similar cases, that Thirlwall, though a bold andactive soldier, was surprised in the Castle of Douglas, aboutHallowmass, by this same worthy, young James Douglas. In no very goodhumour was he, as you may suppose; for his father, called William theHardy, or William Longlegs, having refused, on any terms, to becomeAnglicized, was made a lawful prisoner, and died as such, closelyconfined in Berwick, or, as some say, in Newcastle. The news of hisfather's death had put young Douglas into no small rage, and tended, Ithink, to suggest what he did in his resentment. Embarrassed by thequantity of provisions which he found in the castle, which, the Englishbeing superior in the country, he had neither the means to remove, northe leisure to stay and consume, the fiend, as I think, inspired himwith a contrivance to render them unfit for human use. You shall judgeyourself whether it was likely to be suggested by a good or an evilspirit.
"According to this device, the gold, silver, and other transportablecommodities being carried to secret places of safety, Douglas causedthe meat, the malt, and other corn or grain, to be brought down intothe castle cellar, where he emptied the contents of the sacks into oneloathsome heap, striking out the heads of the barrels and puncheons, soas to let the mingled drink run through the heap of meal, grain, and soforth. The bullocks provided for slaughter were in like manner knockedon the head, and their blood suffered to drain into the mass of ediblesubstances; and lastly, the flesh of these oxen was buried in the samemass, in which was also included the dead bodies of those in thecastle, who, receiving no quarter from the Douglas, paid dear enoughfor having kept no better watch. This base and unworthy abuse ofprovisions intended for the use of man, together with throwing into thewell of the castle carcasses of men and horses, and other filth forpolluting the same, has since that time been called the DOUGLAS LARDER."
"I pretend not, good Sir Aymer," said the minstrel, "to vindicate whatyou justly reprove, nor can I conceive any mode of rendering provisionsarranged after the form of the Douglas Larder, proper for the use ofany Christian; yet this young gentleman might perhaps act under thesting of natural resentment, rendering his singular exploit moreexcusable than it may seem at first. Think, if your own noble fatherhad just died in a lingering captivity, his inheritance seized upon,and occupied as a garrison by a foreign enemy, would not these thingsstir you to a mode of resentment, which in cold blood, and judging ofit as the action of an enemy, your honour might hold in natural andlaudable abhorrence?--Would you pay respect to dead and senselessobjects, which no one could blame your appropriating to your own use,or even scruple the refusal of quarter to prisoners, which is so oftenpractised even in wars which are otherwise termed fair and humane?"
"You press me close, minstrel," said Aymer de Valence. "I at least haveno great interest to excuse the Douglas in this matter, since
itsconsequences were, that I myself, and the rest of my uncle's host,laboured with Clifford and his army to rebuild this same DangerousCastle; and feeling no stomach for the cheer that the Douglas had leftus, we suffered hard commons, though I acknowledge we did not hesitateto adopt for our own use such sheep and oxen as the miserable Scots hadstill left around their farm-houses; and I jest not, Sir Minstrel, whenI acknowledge in sad earnest, that we martial men ought to make ourpetitions with peculiar penitence to Heaven for mercy, when we reflecton the various miseries which the nature of our profession compels usto inflict on each other."
"It seems to me," answered the minstrel, "that those who feel thestings of their own conscience should be more lenient when they speakof the offences of others; nor do I greatly rely on a sort of prophecywhich was delivered, as the men of this hill district say, to the youngDouglas, by a man who in the course of nature should have been longsince dead, promising him a course of success against the English forhaving sacrificed his own castle to prevent their making it a garrison."
"We have time enough for the story," said Sir Aymer, "and methinks itwould suit a knight and a minstrel better than the grave converse wehave hitherto held, which would have beseemed--so God save me--themouths of two travelling friars."
"So be it," said the minstrel; "the rote or the viol easily changes itstime and varies its note."