The Laird had by this time determined to make root-and-branch work withthe Maroons of Derncleugh. The old servants shook their heads at hisproposal, and even Dominie Sampson ventured upon an indirectremonstrance. As, however, it was couched in the oracular phrase, 'Nemoveas Camerinam,' neither the allusion, nor the language in which it wasexpressed, were calculated for Mr. Bertram's edification, and mattersproceeded against the gipsies in form of law. Every door in the hamletwas chalked by the ground-officer, in token of a formal warning to removeat next term. Still, however, they showed no symptoms either ofsubmission or of compliance. At length the term-day, the fatal Martinmas,arrived, and violent measures of ejection were resorted to. A strongposse of peace-officers, sufficient to render all resistance vain,charged the inhabitants to depart by noon; and, as they did not obey, theofficers, in terms of their warrant, proceeded to unroof the cottages,and pull down the wretched doors and windows--a summary and effectualmode of ejection still practised in some remote parts of Scotland when atenant proves refractory. The gipsies for a time beheld the work ofdestruction in sullen silence and inactivity; then set about saddling andloading their asses, and making preparations for their departure. Thesewere soon accomplished, where all had the habits of wandering Tartars;and they set forth on their journey to seek new settlements, where theirpatrons should neither be of the quorum nor custos rotulorum.
Certain qualms of feeling had deterred Ellangowan from attending inperson to see his tenants expelled. He left the executive part of thebusiness to the officers of the law, under the immediate direction ofFrank Kennedy, a supervisor, or riding-officer, belonging to the excise,who had of late become intimate at the Place, and of whom we shall havemore to say in the next chapter. Mr. Bertram himself chose that day tomake a visit to a friend at some distance. But it so happened,notwithstanding his precautions, that he could not avoid meeting his latetenants during their retreat from his property.
It was in a hollow way, near the top of a steep ascent, upon the verge ofthe Ellangowan estate, that Mr. Bertram met the gipsy procession. Four orfive men formed the advanced guard, wrapped in long loose great-coatsthat hid their tall slender figures, as the large slouched hats, drawnover their brows, concealed their wild features, dark eyes, and swarthyfaces. Two of them carried long fowling-pieces, one wore a broadswordwithout a sheath, and all had the Highland dirk, though they did not wearthat weapon openly or ostentatiously. Behind them followed the train ofladen asses, and small carts or TUMBLERS, as they were called in thatcountry, on which were laid the decrepit and the helpless, the aged andinfant part of the exiled community. The women in their red cloaks andstraw hats, the elder children with bare heads and bare feet, and almostnaked bodies, had the immediate care of the little caravan. The road wasnarrow, running between two broken banks of sand, and Mr. Bertram'sservant rode forward, smacking his whip with an air of authority, andmotioning to the drivers to allow free passage to their betters. Hissignal was unattended to. He then called to the men who lounged idly onbefore, 'Stand to your beasts' heads, and make room for the Laird topass.'
'He shall have his share of the road,' answered a male gipsy from underhis slouched and large-brimmed hat, and without raising his face, 'and heshall have nae mair; the highway is as free to our cuddies as to hisgelding.'
The tone of the man being sulky, and even menacing, Mr. Bertram thoughtit best to put his dignity in his pocket, and pass by the processionquietly, on such space as they chose to leave for his accommodation,which was narrow enough. To cover with an appearance of indifference hisfeeling of the want of respect with which he was treated, he addressedone of the men, as he passed him without any show of greeting, salute, orrecognition--'Giles Baillie,' he said, 'have you heard that your sonGabriel is well?' (The question respected the young man who had beenpressed.)
'If I had heard otherwise,' said the old man, looking up with a stern andmenacing countenance, 'you should have heard of it too.' And he ploddedon his way, tarrying no further question. [Footnote: This anecdote is aliteral fact.] When the Laird had pressed on with difficulty among acrowd of familiar faces, which had on all former occasions marked hisapproach with the reverence due to that of a superior being, but in whichhe now only read hatred and contempt, and had got clear of the throng, hecould not help turning his horse, and looking back to mark the progressof their march. The group would have been an excellent subject for thepencil of Calotte. The van had already reached a small and stuntedthicket, which was at the bottom of the hill, and which gradually hid theline of march until the last stragglers disappeared.
His sensations were bitter enough. The race, it is true, which he hadthus summarily dismissed from their ancient place of refuge, was idle andvicious; but had he endeavoured to render them otherwise? They were notmore irregular characters now than they had been while they were admittedto consider themselves as a sort of subordinate dependents of his family;and ought the mere circumstance of his becoming a magistrate to have madeat once such a change in his conduct towards them? Some means ofreformation ought at least to have been tried before sending sevenfamilies at once upon the wide world, and depriving them of a degree ofcountenance which withheld them at least from atrocious guilt. There wasalso a natural yearning of heart on parting with so many known andfamiliar faces; and to this feeling Godfrey Bertram was peculiarlyaccessible, from the limited qualities of his mind, which sought itsprincipal amusements among the petty objects around him. As he was aboutto turn his horse's head to pursue his journey, Meg Merrilies, who hadlagged behind the troop, unexpectedly presented herself.
She was standing upon one of those high precipitous banks which, as webefore noticed, overhung the road, so that she was placed considerablyhigher than Ellangowan, even though he was on horseback; and her tallfigure, relieved against the clear blue sky, seemed almost ofsupernatural stature. We have noticed that there was in her generalattire, or rather in her mode of adjusting it, somewhat of a foreigncostume, artfully adopted perhaps for the purpose of adding to the effectof her spells and predictions, or perhaps from some traditional notionsrespecting the dress of her ancestors. On this occasion she had a largepiece of red cotton cloth rolled about her head in the form of a turban,from beneath which her dark eyes flashed with uncommon lustre. Her longand tangled black hair fell in elf-locks from the folds of this singularhead-gear. Her attitude was that of a sibyl in frenzy, and she stretchedout in her right hand a sapling bough which seemed just pulled.
'I'll be d--d,' said the groom, 'if she has not been cutting the youngashes in the dukit park!' The Laird made no answer, but continued to lookat the figure which was thus perched above his path.