CHAPTER LVIII
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 dueby his father should be made good to the claimant. Mannering, who heardthis declaration, grasped him kindly by the hand, and from that momentmight be 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 hislaw friends 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 recommendedto Bertram, that he removed with his family from Woodbourne toEllangowan, although at present containing much less and much inferioraccommodation.
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 whichthe possession of his much superior apartment at Woodbourne had neverbanished from his memory. Here one sad thought suddenly struck thehonest man--the books! no three rooms in Ellangowan were capable tocontain them. While this qualifying reflection was passing through hismind, he was suddenly summoned by Mannering to assist in calculatingsome proportions relating to a large and splendid house which was to bebuilt on the site of the New Place of Ellangowan, in a stylecorresponding to the magnificence of the ruins in its vicinity. Amongthe various rooms in the plan, the Dominie observed that one of thelargest was entitled THE LIBRARY; and close beside was a snug,well-proportioned chamber, entitled Mr. SAMPSON'S APARTMENT.'Prodigious, prodigious, pro-di-gi-ous!' shouted the enraptured Dominie.
Mr. Pleydell had left the party for some time; but he returned,according to promise, during the Christmas recess of the courts. Hedrove up to Ellangowan when all the family were abroad but the Colonel,who was busy with plans of buildings and pleasure-grounds, in which hewas well skilled, 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 lawbusiness?'
'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 ofthe requisites 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 ofBertram, which often involve the most nice and complicated questions ofevidence.'
'The devil they have! I should think that rather inconvenient,' saidMannering.
'O, we have a practical remedy for the theoretical absurdity. One ortwo of the judges act upon such occasions as prompters and assessors totheir own doorkeepers. But you know what Cujacius says, "Multa sunt inmoribus dissentanea, multa sine ratione." [Footnote: The singularinconsistency hinted at is now, in a great degree, removed.] However,this Saturnalian court has done our business; and a glorious batch ofclaret we had afterwards at Walker's. Mac-Morlan will stare when hesees the bill.'
'Never fear,' said the Colonel, 'we'll face the shock, and entertainthe county 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 howmany children.'
'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 housewill take 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,'replied the 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 schoolat every turn,' said Mr. Pleydell. 'But she must convey and make overher interest in me to Lucy.'
'To tell you the truth, I am afraid your flank will be turned theretoo,' 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,and was four or five miles separated from Ellangowan, something like asale or exchange or arrangement might take place, to the mutualconvenience of both parties.'
'Well, and Bertram--'
'Why, Bertram replied, that he considered the original settlement ofMrs. Margaret Bertram as the arrangement most proper in thecircumstances of the family, and that therefore the estate ofSingleside was the property of his sister.'
'The rascal!' said Pleydell, wiping his spectacles. 'He'll steal myheart as well as my mistress. Et puis?'
'And then Sir Robert retired, after many gracious speeches; but lastweek he again took the field in force, with his coach and six horses,his laced 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 onthe Dun of Singleside. And is poor Lucy to keep house with that oldfool and his 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 thecelestial bodies? Bravo, Colonel!'
'No, no, my dear Counsellor! Here ends THE ASTROLOGER.'
END OF VOLUME II
THE END