CHAPTER XVI But if thou shouldst be dragg'd in scorn To yonder ignominious tree, Thou shall not want one faithful friend To share the cruel fates' decree.
SHENSTONE.
Plunged in the gloomy reflections which were naturally excited by hisdismal reading and disconsolate situation, Bertram for the first time inhis life felt himself affected with a disposition to low spirits. 'I havebeen in worse situations than this too,' he said; 'more dangerous, forhere is no danger; more dismal in prospect, for my present confinementmust necessarily be short; more intolerable for the time, for here, atleast, I have fire, food, and shelter. Yet, with reading these bloodytales of crime and misery in a place so corresponding to the ideas whichthey excite, and in listening to these sad sounds, I feel a strongerdisposition to melancholy than in my life I ever experienced. But I willnot give way to it. Begone, thou record of guilt and infamy!' he said,flinging the book upon the spare bed; 'a Scottish jail shall not break,on the very first day, the spirits which have resisted climate, and want,and penury, and disease, and imprisonment in a foreign land. I havefought many a hard battle with Dame Fortune, and she shall not beat menow if I can help it.'
Then bending his mind to a strong effort, he endeavoured to view hissituation in the most favourable light. Delaserre must soon be inScotland; the certificates from his commanding officer must soon arrive;nay, if Mannering were first applied to, who could say but the effectmight be a reconciliation between them? He had often observed, and nowremembered, that when his former colonel took the part of any one, it wasnever by halves, and that he seemed to love those persons most who hadlain under obligation to him. In the present case a favour, which couldbe asked with honour and granted with readiness, might be the means ofreconciling them to each other. From this his feelings naturally turnedtowards Julia; and, without very nicely measuring the distance between asoldier of fortune, who expected that her father's attestation woulddeliver him from confinement, and the heiress of that father's wealth andexpectations, he was building the gayest castle in the clouds, andvarnishing it with all the tints of a summer-evening sky, when his labourwas interrupted by a loud knocking at the outer gate, answered by thebarking of the gaunt half-starved mastiff which was quartered in thecourtyard as an addition to the garrison. After much scrupulousprecaution the gate was opened and some person admitted. The house-doorwas next unbarred, unlocked, and unchained, a dog's feet patteredupstairs in great haste, and the animal was heard scratching and whiningat the door of the room. Next a heavy step was heard lumbering up, andMac-Guffog's voice in the character of pilot--'This way, this way; takecare of the step; that's the room.' Bertram's door was then unbolted, andto his great surprise and joy his terrier, Wasp, rushed into theapartment and almost devoured him with caresses, followed by the massyform of his friend from Charlie's Hope.
'Eh whow! Eh whow!' ejaculated the honest farmer, as he looked round uponhis friend's miserable apartment and wretched accommodation--'What's thiso't! what's this o't!'
'Just a trick of fortune, my good friend,' said Bertram, rising andshaking him heartily by the hand, 'that's all.'
'But what will be done about it? or what CAN be done about it?' saidhonest Dandie. 'Is't for debt, or what is't for?'
'Why, it is not for debt,' answered Bertram; 'and if you have time to sitdown, I'll tell you all I know of the matter myself.'
'If I hae time?' said Dandie, with an accent on the word that soundedlike a howl of derision. 'Ou, what the deevil am I come here for, man,but just ance errand to see about it? But ye'll no be the waur o'something to eat, I trow; it's getting late at e'en. I tell'd the folk atthe Change, where I put up Dumple, to send ower my supper here, and thechield Mac-Guffog is agreeable to let it in; I hae settled a' that. Andnow let's hear your story. Whisht, Wasp, man! wow, but he's glad to seeyou, poor thing!'
Bertram's story, being confined to the accident of Hazlewood, and theconfusion made between his own identity and that of one of the smugglerswho had been active in the assault of Woodbourne, and chanced to bear thesame name, was soon told. Dinmont listened very attentively. 'Aweel,' hesaid, 'this suld be nae sic dooms desperate business surely; the lad'sdoing weel again that was hurt, and what signifies twa or three leaddraps in his shouther? if ye had putten out his ee it would hae beenanother case. But eh, as I wuss auld Sherra Pleydell was to the forehere! Od, he was the man for sorting them, and the queerest rough-spokendeevil too that ever ye heard!'
'But now tell me, my excellent friend, how did you find out I was here?'
'Od, lad, queerly eneugh,' said Dandie; 'but I'll tell ye that after weare done wi' our supper, for it will maybe no be sae weel to speak aboutit while that lang-lugged limmer o' a lass is gaun flisking in and out o'the room.'
Bertram's curiosity was in some degree put to rest by the appearance ofthe supper which his friend had ordered, which, although homely enough,had the appetising cleanliness in which Mrs. Mac-Guffog's cookery was soeminently deficient. Dinmont also, premising he had ridden the whole daysince breakfast-time without tasting anything 'to speak of,' whichqualifying phrase related to about three pounds of cold roast muttonwhich he had discussed at his mid-day stage--Dinmont, I say, fell stoutlyupon the good cheer, and, like one of Homer's heroes, said little, eithergood or bad, till the rage of thirst and hunger was appeased. At length,after a draught of home-brewed ale, he began by observing, 'Aweel, aweel,that hen,' looking upon the lamentable relics of what had been once alarge fowl, 'wasna a bad ane to be bred at a town end, though it's nolike our barn-door chuckies at Charlie's Hope; and I am glad to see thatthis vexing job hasna taen awa your appetite, Captain.'
'Why, really, my dinner was not so excellent, Mr. Dinmont, as to spoil mysupper.'
'I daresay no, I daresay no,' said Dandie. 'But now, hinny, that ye haebrought us the brandy, and the mug wi' the het water, and the sugar, anda' right, ye may steek the door, ye see, for we wad hae some o' our aincracks.' The damsel accordingly retired and shut the door of theapartment, to which she added the precaution of drawing a large bolt onthe outside.
As soon as she was gone Dandie reconnoitred the premises, listened at thekey-hole as if he had been listening for the blowing of an otter, and,having satisfied himself that there were no eavesdroppers, returned tothe table; and, making himself what he called a gey stiff cheerer, pokedthe fire, and began his story in an undertone of gravity and importancenot very usual with him.
'Ye see, Captain, I had been in Edinbro' for twa or three days, lookingafter the burial of a friend that we hae lost, and maybe I suld hae hadsomething for my ride; but there's disappointments in a' things, and whacan help the like o' that? And I had a wee bit law business besides, butthat's neither here nor there. In short, I had got my matters settled,and hame I cam; and the morn awa to the muirs to see what the herds hadbeen about, and I thought I might as weel gie a look to the TouthopeHead, where Jock o' Dawston and me has the outcast about a march. Weel,just as I was coming upon the bit, I saw a man afore me that I kenn'd wasnane o' our herds, and it's a wild bit to meet ony other body, so when Icam up to him it was Tod Gabriel, the fox-hunter. So I says to him,rather surprised like, "What are ye doing up amang the craws here,without your hounds, man? are ye seeking the fox without the dogs?" So hesaid, "Na, gudeman, but I wanted to see yoursell."
'"Ay," said I, "and ye'll be wanting eilding now, or something to pitower the winter?"
'"Na, na," quo' he, "it's no that I'm seeking; but ye tak an unco concernin that Captain Brown that was staying wi' you, d'ye no?"
'"Troth do I, Gabriel," says I; "and what about him, lad?"
'Says he, "There's mair tak an interest in him than you, and some that Iam bound to obey; and it's no just on my ain will that I'm here to tellyou something about him that will no please you."
'"Faith, naething will please me," quo' I, "that's no pleasing to him."
'"And then," quo' he, "ye'll be ill-sorted to hear that he's like to bein the prison at Portanferry, if he disna tak a' the bet
ter care o'himsell, for there's been warrants out to tak him as soon as he comesower the water frae Allonby. And now, gudeman, an ever ye wish him weel,ye maun ride down to Portanferry, and let nae grass grow at the nag'sheels; and if ye find him in confinement, ye maun stay beside him nightand day for a day or twa, for he'll want friends that hae baith heart andhand; and if ye neglect this ye'll never rue but ance, for it will be fora' your life."
'"But, safe us, man," quo' I, "how did ye learn a' this? it's an unco waybetween this and Portanferry."
'"Never ye mind that," quo' he, "them that brought us the news rade nightand day, and ye maun be aff instantly if ye wad do ony gude; and sae Ihave naething mair to tell ye." Sae he sat himsell doun and hirselleddoun into the glen, where it wad hae been ill following him wi' thebeast, and I cam back to Charlie's Hope to tell the gudewife, for I wasuncertain what to do. It wad look unco-like, I thought, just to be sentout on a hunt-the-gowk errand wi' a landlouper like that. But, Lord! asthe gudewife set up her throat about it, and said what a shame it wad beif ye was to come to ony wrang, an I could help ye; and then in cam yourletter that confirmed it. So I took to the kist, and out wi' the picklenotes in case they should be needed, and a' the bairns ran to saddleDumple. By great luck I had taen the other beast to Edinbro', sae Dumplewas as fresh as a rose. Sae aff I set, and Wasp wi' me, for ye wad reallyhae thought he kenn'd where I was gaun, puir beast; and here I am after atrot o' sixty mile or near by. But Wasp rade thirty o' them afore me onthe saddle, and the puir doggie balanced itsell as ane of the weans wadhae dune, whether I trotted or cantered.'
In this strange story Bertram obviously saw, supposing the warning to betrue, some intimation of danger more violent and imminent than could belikely to arise from a few days' imprisonment. At the same time it wasequally evident that some unknown friend was working in his behalf. 'Didyou not say,' he asked Dinmont, 'that this man Gabriel was of gipsyblood?'
'It was e'en judged sae,' said Dinmont, 'and I think this maks it likely;for they aye ken where the gangs o' ilk ither are to be found, and theycan gar news flee like a footba' through the country an they like. An' Iforgat to tell ye, there's been an unco inquiry after the auld wife thatwe saw in Bewcastle; the Sheriff's had folk ower the Limestane Edge afterher, and down the Hermitage and Liddel, and a' gates, and a rewardoffered for her to appear o' fifty pound sterling, nae less; and JusticeForster, he's had out warrants, as I am tell'd, in Cumberland; and anunco ranging and ripeing they have had a' gates seeking for her; butshe'll no be taen wi' them unless she likes, for a' that.'
'And how comes that?' said Bertram.
'Ou, I dinna ken; I daur say it's nonsense, but they say she has gatheredthe fern-seed, and can gang ony gate she likes, like Jock theGiant-killer in the ballant, wi' his coat o' darkness and his shoon o'swiftness. Ony way she's a kind o' queen amang the gipsies; she is mairthan a hundred year auld, folk say, and minds the coming in o' themoss-troopers in the troublesome times when the Stuarts were put awa.Sae, if she canna hide hersell, she kens them that can hide her weeleneugh, ye needna doubt that. Od, an I had kenn'd it had been MegMerrilies yon night at Tibb Mumps's, I wad taen care how I crossed her.'
Bertram listened with great attention to this account, which tallied sowell in many points with what he had himself seen of this gipsy sibyl.After a moment's consideration he concluded it would be no breach offaith to mention what he had seen at Derncleugh to a person who held Megin such reverence as Dinmont obviously did. He told his storyaccordingly, often interrupted by ejaculations, such as, 'Weel, the likeo' that now!' or, 'Na, deil an that's no something now!'
When our Liddesdale friend had heard the whole to an end, he shook hisgreat black head--'Weel, I'll uphaud there's baith gude and ill amang thegipsies, and if they deal wi' the Enemy, it's a' their ain business andno ours. I ken what the streeking the corpse wad be, weel eneugh. Thaesmuggler deevils, when ony o' them's killed in a fray, they 'll send fora wife like Meg far eneugh to dress the corpse; od, it's a' the burialthey ever think o'! and then to be put into the ground without onydecency, just like dogs. But they stick to it, that they 'll be streekit,and hae an auld wife when they're dying to rhyme ower prayers, andballants, and charms, as they ca' them, rather than they'll hae aminister to come and pray wi' them--that's an auld threep o' theirs; andI am thinking the man that died will hae been ane o' the folk that wasshot when they burnt Woodbourne.'
'But, my good friend, Woodbourne is not burnt,' said Bertram.
'Weel, the better for them that bides in't,' answered the store-farmer.'Od, we had it up the water wi' us that there wasna a stane on the tap o'anither. But there was fighting, ony way; I daur to say it would be finefun! And, as I said, ye may take it on trust that that's been ane o' themen killed there, and that it's been the gipsies that took your pockmankywhen they fand the chaise stickin' in the snaw; they wadna pass the likeo' that, it wad just come to their hand like the bowl o' a pint stoup.'
'But if this woman is a sovereign among them, why was she not able toafford me open protection, and to get me back my property?'
'Ou, wha kens? she has muckle to say wi' them, but whiles they'll taktheir ain way for a' that, when they're under temptation. And thenthere's the smugglers that they're aye leagued wi', she maybe couldnamanage them sae weel. They're aye banded thegither; I've heard that thegipsies ken when the smugglers will come aff, and where they're to land,better than the very merchants that deal wi' them. And then, to the booto' that, she's whiles cracked-brained, and has a bee in her head; theysay that, whether her spaeings and fortune-tellings be true or no, forcertain she believes in them a' hersell, and is aye guiding hersell bysome queer prophecy or anither. So she disna aye gang the straight roadto the well. But deil o' sic a story as yours, wi' glamour and dead folkand losing ane's gate, I ever heard out o' the tale-books! But whisht, Ihear the keeper coming.'
Mac-Guffog accordingly interrupted their discourse by the harsh harmonyof the bolts and bars, and showed his bloated visage at the opening door.'Come, Mr. Dinmont, we have put off locking up for an hour to oblige ye;ye must go to your quarters.'
'Quarters, man? I intend to sleep here the night. There's a spare bed inthe Captain's room.'
'It's impossible!' answered the keeper.
'But I say it IS possible, and that I winna stir; and there's a dram t'ye.'
Mac-Guffog drank off the spirits and resumed his objection. 'But it'sagainst rule, sir; ye have committed nae malefaction.'
'I'll break your head,' said the sturdy Liddesdale man, 'if ye say onymair about it, and that will be malefaction eneugh to entitle me to aenight's lodging wi' you, ony way.'
'But I tell ye, Mr. Dinmont,' reiterated the keeper, 'it's against rule,and I behoved to lose my post.'
'Weel, Mac-Guffog,' said Dandie, 'I hae just twa things to say. Ye kenwha I am weel eneugh, and that I wadna loose a prisoner.'
'And how do I ken that?' answered the jailor.
'Weel, if ye dinna ken that,' said the resolute farmer, 'ye ken this: yeken ye're whiles obliged to be up our water in the way o' your business.Now, if ye let me stay quietly here the night wi' the Captain, I'se payye double fees for the room; and if ye say no, ye shall hae the bestsark-fu' o' sair banes that ever ye had in your life the first time yeset a foot by Liddel Moat!'
'Aweel, aweel, gudeman,' said Mac-Guffog, 'a wilfu' man maun hae his way;but if I am challenged for it by the justices, I ken wha sall bear thewyte,' and, having sealed this observation with a deep oath or two, heretired to bed, after carefully securing all the doors of the bridewell.The bell from the town steeple tolled nine just as the ceremony wasconcluded.
'Although it's but early hours,' said the farmer, who had observed thathis friend looked somewhat pale and fatigued, 'I think we had better liedown, Captain, if ye're no agreeable to another cheerer. But troth, ye'renae glass-breaker; and neither am I, unless it be a screed wi' theneighbours, or when I'm on a ramble.'
Bertram readily assented to the motion of his faithful friend, but, onlooking at
the bed, felt repugnance to trust himself undressed to Mrs.Mac-Guffog's clean sheets.
'I'm muckle o' your opinion, Captain,' said Dandie. 'Od, this bed looksas if a' the colliers in Sanquhar had been in't thegither. But it'll nowin through my muckle coat.' So saying, he flung himself upon the frailbed with a force that made all its timbers crack, and in a few momentsgave audible signal that he was fast asleep. Bertram slipped off his coatand boots and occupied the other dormitory. The strangeness of hisdestiny, and the mysteries which appeared to thicken around him, while heseemed alike to be persecuted and protected by secret enemies andfriends, arising out of a class of people with whom he had no previousconnexion, for some time occupied his thoughts. Fatigue, however,gradually composed his mind, and in a short time he was as fast asleep ashis companion. And in this comfortable state of oblivion we must leavethem until we acquaint the reader with some other circumstances whichoccurred about the same period.