CHAPTER XXXI
Here's a good world! Knew you of this fair work?
King John.
JULIA MANNERING to MATILDA MARCHMONT
'I must take up the thread of my story, my dearest Matilda, where Ibroke off yesterday.
'For two or three days we talked of nothing but our siege and itsprobable consequences, and dinned into my father's unwilling ears aproposal to go to Edinburgh, or at least to Dumfries, where there isremarkably good society, until the resentment of these outlaws shouldblow over. He answered with great composure that he had no mind to havehis landlord's house and his own property at Woodbourne destroyed;that, with our good leave, he had usually been esteemed competent totaking measures for the safety or protection of his family; that, if heremained quiet at home, he conceived the welcome the villains hadreceived was not of a nature to invite a second visit, but should heshow any signs of alarm, it would be the sure way to incur the veryrisk which we were afraid of. Heartened by his arguments, and by theextreme indifference with which he treated the supposed danger, webegan to grow a little bolder, and to walk about as usual. Only thegentlemen were sometimes invited to take their guns when they attendedus, and I observed that my father for several nights paid particularattention to having the house properly secured, and required hisdomestics to keep their arms in readiness in case of necessity.
'But three days ago chanced an occurrence of a nature which alarmed memore by far than the attack of the smugglers.
'I told you there was a small lake at some distance from Woodbourne,where the gentlemen sometimes go to shoot wild-fowl. I happened atbreakfast to say I should like to see this place in its present frozenstate, occupied by skaters and curlers, as they call those who play aparticular sort of game upon the ice. There is snow on the ground, butfrozen so hard that I thought Lucy and I might venture to thatdistance, as the footpath leading there was well beaten by the repairof those who frequented it for pastime. Hazlewood instantly offered toattend us, and we stipulated that he should take his fowling-piece. Helaughed a good deal at the idea of going a-shooting in the snow; but,to relieve our tremors, desired that a groom, who acts as gamekeeperoccasionally, should follow us with his gun. As for Colonel Mannering,he does not like crowds or sights of any kind where human figures makeup the show, unless indeed it were a military review, so he declinedthe party.
'We set out unusually early, on a fine, frosty, exhilarating morning,and we felt our minds, as well as our nerves, braced by the elasticityof the pure air. Our walk to the lake was delightful, or at least thedifficulties were only such as diverted us,--a slippery descent, forinstance, or a frozen ditch to cross, which made Hazlewood's assistanceabsolutely necessary. I don't think Lucy liked her walk the less forthese occasional embarrassments.
'The scene upon the lake was beautiful. One side of it is bordered by asteep crag, from which hung a thousand enormous icicles all glitteringin the sun; on the other side was a little wood, now exhibiting thatfantastic appearance which the pine trees present when their branchesare loaded with snow. On the frozen bosom of the lake itself were amultitude of moving figures, some flitting along with the velocity ofswallows, some sweeping in the most graceful circles, and others deeplyinterested in a less active pastime, crowding round the spot where theinhabitants of two rival parishes contended for the prize atcurling,--an honour of no small importance, if we were to judge fromthe anxiety expressed both by the players and bystanders. We walkedround the little lake, supported by Hazlewood, who lent us each an arm.He spoke, poor fellow, with great kindness to old and young, and seemeddeservedly popular among the assembled crowd. At length we thought ofretiring.
'Why do I mention these trivial occurrences? Not, Heaven knows, fromthe interest I can now attach to them; but because, like a drowning manwho catches at a brittle twig, I seize every apology for delaying thesubsequent and dreadful part of my narrative. But it must becommunicated: I must have the sympathy of at least one friend underthis heart-rending calamity.
'We were returning home by a footpath which led through a plantation offirs. Lucy had quitted Hazlewood's arm; it is only the plea of absolutenecessity which reconciles her to accept his assistance. I still leanedupon his other arm. Lucy followed us close, and the servant was two orthree paces behind us. Such was our position, when at once, and as ifhe had started out of the earth, Brown stood before us at a short turnof the road! He was very plainly, I might say coarsely, dressed, andhis whole appearance had in it something wild and agitated. I screamedbetween surprise and terror. Hazlewood mistook the nature of my alarm,and, when Brown advanced towards me as if to speak, commanded himhaughtily to stand back, and not to alarm the lady. Brown replied, withequal asperity, he had no occasion to take lessons from him how tobehave to that or any other lady. I rather believe that Hazlewood,impressed with the idea that he belonged to the band of smugglers, andhad some bad purpose in view, heard and understood him imperfectly. Hesnatched the gun from the servant, who had come up on a line with us,and, pointing the muzzle at Brown, commanded him to stand off at hisperil. My screams, for my terror prevented my finding articulatelanguage, only hastened the catastrophe. Brown, thus menaced, sprungupon Hazlewood, grappled with him, and had nearly succeeded inwrenching the fowling-piece from his grasp, when the gun went off inthe struggle, and the contents were lodged in Hazlewood's shoulder, whoinstantly fell. I saw no more, for the whole scene reeled before myeyes, and I fainted away; but, by Lucy's report, the unhappyperpetrator of this action gazed a moment on the scene before him,until her screams began to alarm the people upon the lake, several ofwhom now came in sight. He then bounded over a hedge which divided thefootpath from the plantation, and has not since been heard of. Theservant made no attempt to stop or secure him, and the report he madeof the matter to those who came up to us induced them rather toexercise their humanity in recalling me to life, than show theircourage by pursuing a desperado, described by the groom as a man oftremendous personal strength, and completely armed.
'Hazlewood was conveyed home, that is, to Woodbourne, in safety; Itrust his wound will prove in no respect dangerous, though he suffersmuch. But to Brown the consequences must be most disastrous. He isalready the object of my father's resentment, and he has now incurreddanger from the law of the country, as well as from the clamorousvengeance of the father of Hazlewood, who threatens to move heaven andearth against the author of his son's wound. How will he be able toshroud himself from the vindictive activity of the pursuit? how todefend himself, if taken, against the severity of laws which, I amtold, may even affect his life? and how can I find means to warn him ofhis danger? Then poor Lucy's ill-concealed grief, occasioned by herlover's wound, is another source of distress to me, and everythinground me appears to bear witness against that indiscretion which hasoccasioned this calamity.
'For two days I was very ill indeed. The news that Hazlewood wasrecovering, and that the person who had shot him was nowhere to betraced, only that for certain he was one of the leaders of the gang ofsmugglers, gave me some comfort. The suspicion and pursuit beingdirected towards those people must naturally facilitate Brown's escape,and I trust has ere this ensured it. But patrols of horse and foottraverse the country in all directions, and I am tortured by a thousandconfused and unauthenticated rumours of arrests and discoveries.
'Meanwhile my greatest source of comfort is the generous candour ofHazlewood, who persists in declaring that, with whatever intentions theperson by whom he was wounded approached our party, he is convinced thegun went off in the struggle by accident, and that the injury hereceived was undesigned. The groom, on the other hand, maintains thatthe piece was wrenched out of Hazlewood's hands and deliberatelypointed at his body, and Lucy inclines to the same opinion; I do notsuspect them of wilful exaggeration, yet such is the fallacy of humantestimony, for the unhappy shot was most unquestionably dischargedunintentionally. Perhaps it would be the best way to confide the wholesecret to Hazlewood; but he is very young, and I feel the utmostrepugnance to
communicate to him my folly. I once thought of disclosingthe mystery to Lucy, and began by asking what she recollected of theperson and features of the man whom we had so unfortunately met; butshe ran out into such a horrid description of a hedgeruffian, that Iwas deprived of all courage and disposition to own my attachment to oneof such appearance as she attributed to him. I must say Miss Bertram isstrangely biassed by her prepossessions, for there are few handsomermen than poor Brown. I had not seen him for a long time, and even inhis strange and sudden apparition on this unhappy occasion, and underevery disadvantage, his form seems to me, on reflection, improved ingrace and his features in expressive dignity. Shall we ever meet again?Who can answer that question? Write to me kindly, my dearest Matilda;but when did you otherwise? Yet, again, write to me soon, and write tome kindly. I am not in a situation to profit by advice or reproof, norhave I my usual spirits to parry them by raillery. I feel the terrorsof a child who has in heedless sport put in motion some powerful pieceof machinery; and, while he beholds wheels revolving, chains clashing,cylinders rolling around him, is equally astonished at the tremendouspowers which his weak agency has called into action, and terrified forthe consequences which he is compelled to await, without thepossibility of averting them.
'I must not omit to say that my father is very kind and affectionate.The alarm which I have received forms a sufficient apology for mynervous complaints. My hopes are, that Brown has made his escape intothe sister kingdom of England, or perhaps to Ireland or the Isle ofMan. In either case he may await the issue of Hazlewood's wound withsafety and with patience, for the communication of these countries withScotland, for the purpose of justice, is not (thank Heaven) of anintimate nature. The consequences of his being apprehended would beterrible at this moment. I endeavour to strengthen my mind by arguingagainst the possibility of such a calamity. Alas! how soon have sorrowsand fears, real as well as severe, followed the uniform and tranquilstate of existence at which so lately I was disposed to repine! But Iwill not oppress you any longer with my complaints. Adieu, my dearestMatilda! 'JULIA MANNERING.'