CHAPTER XXIX To sum the whole--the close of all.
DEAN SWIFT.
As Glossin died without heirs, and without payment of the price, theestate of Ellangowan was again thrown upon the hands of Mr. GodfreyBertram's creditors, the right of most of whom was, however, defeasiblein case Henry Bertram should establish his character of heir of entail.This young gentleman put his affairs into the hands of Mr. Pleydell andMr. Mac-Morlan, with one single proviso, that, though he himself shouldbe obliged again to go to India, every debt justly and honourably due byhis father should be made good to the claimant. Mannering, who heard thisdeclaration, grasped him kindly by the hand, and from that moment mightbe dated a thorough understanding between them.
The hoards of Miss Margaret Bertram, and the liberal assistance of theColonel, easily enabled the heir to make provision for payment of thejust creditors of his father, while the ingenuity and research of his lawfriends detected, especially in the accounts of Glossin, so manyovercharges as greatly diminished the total amount. In thesecircumstances the creditors did not hesitate to recognise Bertram'sright, and to surrender to him the house and property of his ancestors.All the party repaired from Woodbourne to take possession, amid theshouts of the tenantry and the neighbourhood; and so eager was ColonelMannering to superintend certain improvements which he had recommended toBertram, that he removed with his family from Woodbourne to Ellangowan,although at present containing much less and much inferior accommodation.
The poor Dominie's brain was almost turned with joy on returning to hisold habitation. He posted upstairs, taking three steps at once, to alittle shabby attic, his cell and dormitory in former days, and which thepossession of his much superior apartment at Woodbourne had neverbanished from his memory. Here one sad thought suddenly struck the honestman--the books! no three rooms in Ellangowan were capable to containthem. While this qualifying reflection was passing through his mind, hewas suddenly summoned by Mannering to assist in calculating someproportions relating to a large and splendid house which was to be builton the site of the New Place of Ellangowan, in a style corresponding tothe magnificence of the ruins in its vicinity. Among the various rooms inthe plan, the Dominie observed that one of the largest was entitled THELIBRARY; and close beside was a snug, well-proportioned chamber, entitledMr. SAMPSON'S APARTMENT. 'Prodigious, prodigious, pro-di-gi-ous!' shoutedthe enraptured Dominie.
Mr. Pleydell had left the party for some time; but he returned, accordingto promise, during the Christmas recess of the courts. He drove up toEllangowan when all the family were abroad but the Colonel, who was busywith plans of buildings and pleasure-grounds, in which he was wellskilled, and took great delight.
'Ah ha!' said the Counsellor, 'so here you are! Where are the ladies?where is the fair Julia?'
'Walking out with young Hazlewood, Bertram, and Captain Delaserre, afriend of his, who is with us just now. They are gone to plan out acottage at Derncleugh. Well, have you carried through your law business?'
'With a wet finger,' answered the lawyer; 'got our youngster's specialservice retoured into Chancery. We had him served heir before themacers.'
'Macers? who are they?'
'Why, it is a kind of judicial Saturnalia. You must know, that one of therequisites to be a macer, or officer in attendance upon our supremecourt, is, that they shall be men of no knowledge.'
'Very well!'
'Now, our Scottish legislature, for the joke's sake I suppose, haveconstituted those men of no knowledge into a peculiar court for tryingquestions of relationship and descent, such as this business of Bertram,which often involve the most nice and complicated questions of evidence.'
'The devil they have! I should think that rather inconvenient,' saidMannering.
'O, we have a practical remedy for the theoretical absurdity. One or twoof the judges act upon such occasions as prompters and assessors to theirown doorkeepers. But you know what Cujacius says, "Multa sunt in moribusdissentanea, multa sine ratione." [Footnote: The singular inconsistencyhinted at is now, in a great degree, removed.] However, this Saturnaliancourt has done our business; and a glorious batch of claret we hadafterwards at Walker's. Mac-Morlan will stare when he sees the bill.'
'Never fear,' said the Colonel, 'we'll face the shock, and entertain thecounty at my friend Mrs. Mac-Candlish's to boot.'
'And choose Jock Jabos for your master of horse?' replied the lawyer.
'Perhaps I may.'
'And where is Dandie, the redoubted Lord of Liddesdale?' demanded theadvocate.
'Returned to his mountains; but he has promised Julia to make a descentin summer, with the goodwife, as he calls her, and I don't know how manychildren.'
'O, the curly-headed varlets! I must come to play at Blind Harry and HySpy with them. But what is all this?' added Pleydell, taking up theplans. 'Tower in the centre to be an imitation of the Eagle Tower atCaernarvon--corps de logis--the devil! Wings--wings! Why, the house willtake the estate of Ellangowan on its back and fly away with it!'
'Why, then, we must ballast it with a few bags of sicca rupees,' repliedthe Colonel.
'Aha! sits the wind there? Then I suppose the young dog carries off mymistress Julia?'
'Even so, Counsellor.'
'These rascals, the post-nati, get the better of us of the old school atevery turn,' said Mr. Pleydell. 'But she must convey and make over herinterest in me to Lucy.'
'To tell you the truth, I am afraid your flank will be turned there too,'replied the Colonel.
'Indeed?'
'Here has been Sir Robert Hazlewood,' said Mannering, 'upon a visit toBertram, thinking and deeming and opining--'
'O Lord! pray spare me the worthy Baronet's triads!'
'Well, sir,' continued Mannering, 'to make short, he conceived that, asthe property of Singleside lay like a wedge between two farms of his, andwas four or five miles separated from Ellangowan, something like a saleor exchange or arrangement might take place, to the mutual convenience ofboth parties.'
'Well, and Bertram--'
'Why, Bertram replied, that he considered the original settlement of Mrs.Margaret Bertram as the arrangement most proper in the circumstances ofthe family, and that therefore the estate of Singleside was the propertyof his sister.'
'The rascal!' said Pleydell, wiping his spectacles. 'He'll steal my heartas well as my mistress. Et puis?'
'And then Sir Robert retired, after many gracious speeches; but last weekhe again took the field in force, with his coach and six horses, hislaced scarlet waistcoat, and best bob-wig--all very grand, as thegood-boy books say.'
'Ay! and what was his overture?'
'Why, he talked with great form of an attachment on the part of CharlesHazlewood to Miss Bertram.'
'Ay, ay; he respected the little god Cupid when he saw him perched on theDun of Singleside. And is poor Lucy to keep house with that old fool andhis wife, who is just the knight himself in petticoats?'
'No; we parried that. Singleside House is to be repaired for the youngpeople, and to be called hereafter Mount Hazlewood.'
'And do you yourself, Colonel, propose to continue at Woodbourne?'
'Only till we carry these plans into effect. See, here's the plan of mybungalow, with all convenience for being separate and sulky when Iplease.'
'And, being situated, as I see, next door to the old castle, you mayrepair Donagild's tower for the nocturnal contemplation of the celestialbodies? Bravo, Colonel!'
'No, no, my dear Counsellor! Here ends THE ASTROLOGER.'
THE END