The Monastery - Вальтер Скотт 12 стр.

Where is Christie of Clint-hill? said Martin.

I do not know, said little Mary; I never saw him.

And what made you, ye misleard loons, said Dame Elspeth to her two boys, come yon gate into the ha, roaring like bullsegs, to frighten the leddy, and her far frae strong? The boys looked at each other in silence and confusion, and their mother proceeded with her lecture. Could ye find nae night for daffin but Halloween, and nae time but when the leddy was reading to us about the holy Saints? May neer be in my fingers, if I dinna sort ye baith for it! The eldest boy bent his eyes on the ground, the younger began to weep, but neither spoke; and the mother would have proceeded to extremities, but for the interposition of the little maiden.

Dame Elspeth, it was my fault I did say to them, that I saw a man in the spence.

And what made you do so, child, said her mother, to startle us all thus?

Because, said Mary, lowering her voice, I could not help it.

Not help it, Mary!  you occasioned all this idle noise, and you could not help it? How mean you by that, minion?

There really was an armed man in this spence, said Mary; and because I was surprised to see him, I cried out to Halbert and Edward

She has told it herself, said Halbert Glendinning, or it had never been told by me.

Nor by me neither, said Edward, emulously.

Mistress Mary, said Elspeth, you never told us anything before that was not true; tell us if this was a Halloween cantrip, and make an end of it. The Lady of Avenel looked as if she would have interfered, but knew not how; and Elspeth, who was too eagerly curious to regard any distant hint, persevered in her inquiries. Was it Christie of the Clint-hill?  I would not for a mark that he were about the house, and a body no ken whare.

It was not Christie, said Mary; it was it was a gentleman a gentleman with a bright breastplate, like what I hae seen langsyne, when we dwelt at Avenel

What like was he? continued Tibb, who now took share in the investigation.

Black-haired, black-eyed, with a peaked black beard, said the child; and many a fold of pearling round his neck, and hanging down his breast ower his breastplate; and he had a beautiful hawk, with silver bells, standing on his left hand, with a crimson silk hood upon its head

Ask her no more questions, for the love of God, said the anxious menial to Elspeth, but look to my leddy! But the Lady of Avenel, taking Mary in her hand, turned hastily away, and, walking into the hall, gave them no opportunity of remarking in what manner she received the childs communication, which she thus cut short. What Tibb thought of it appeared from her crossing herself repeatedly, and whispering into Elspeths ear, Saint Mary preserve us!  the lassie has seen her father!

When they reached the hall, they found the lady holding her daughter on her knee, and kissing her repeatedly. When they entered, she again arose, as if to shun observation, and retired to the little apartment where her child and she occupied the same bed.

The boys were also sent to their cabin, and no one remained by the hall fire save the faithful Tibb and dame Elspeth, excellent persons both, and as thorough gossips as ever wagged a tongue.

It was but natural that they should instantly resume the subject of the supernatural appearance, for such they deemed it, which had this night alarmed the family.

I could hae wished it had been the deil himself be good to and preserve us!  rather than Christie o the Clint-hill, said the matron of the mansion, for the word runs rife in the country, that he is ane of the maist masterfu thieves ever lap on horse.

Hout-tout, Dame Elspeth, said Tibb, fear ye naething frae Christie; tods keep their ain holes clean. You kirk-folk make sic a fasherie about men shifting a wee bit for their living! Our Border-lairds would ride with few men at their back, if a the light-handed lads were out o gate.

Better they rade wi nane than distress the country-side the gate they do, said Dame Elspeth.

But wha is to haud back the Southron, then, said Tibb, if ye take away the lances and broadswords? I trow we auld wives couldna do that wi rock and wheel, and as little the monks wi bell and book.

And sae weel as the lances and broadswords hae kept them back, I trow!  I was mair beholden to ae Southron, and that was Stawarth Bolton, than to a the border-riders ever wore Saint Andrews cross I reckon their skelping back and forward, and lifting honest mens gear, has been a main cause of a the breach between us and England, and I am sure that cost me a kind goodman. They spoke about the wedding of the Prince and our Queen, but its as like to be the driving of the Cumberland folks stocking that brought them down on us like dragons. Tibb would not have failed in other circumstances to answer what she thought reflections disparaging to her country folk; but she recollected that Dame Elspeth was mistress of the family, curbed her own zealous patriotism, and hastened to change the subject.

And is it not strange, she said, that the heiress of Avenel should have seen her father this blessed night?

And ye think it was her father, then? said Elspeth Glendinning.

What else can I think? said Tibb.

It may hae been something waur, in his likeness, said Dame Glendinning.

I ken naething about that, said Tibb,  but his likeness it was, that I will be sworn to, just as he used to ride out a-hawking; for having enemies in the country, he seldom laid off the breast-plate; and for my part, added Tibb, I dinna think a man looks like a man unless he has steel on his breast, and by his side too.

I have no skill of your harness on breast or side either, said Dame Glendinning; but I ken there is little luck in Halloween sights, for I have had ane myself.

Indeed, Dame Elspeth? said old Tibb, edging her stool closer to the huge elbow-chair occupied by her friend, I should like to hear about that.

Ye maun ken, then, Tibb, said Dame Glendinning, that when I was a hempie of nineteen or twenty, it wasna my fault if I wasna at a the merry-makings time about.

That was very natural, said Tibb; but ye hae sobered since that, or ye wadna haud our braw gallants sae lightly.

I have had that wad sober me or ony ane, said the matron, Aweel, Tibb, a lass like me wasna to lack wooers, for I wasna sae ill-favoured that the tikes wad bark after me.

How should that be, said Tibb, and you sic a weel-favoured woman to this day?

Fie, fie, cummer, said the matron of Glendearg, hitching her seat of honour, in her turn, a little nearer to the cuttle-stool on which Tibb was seated; weel-favoured is past my time of day; but I might pass then, for I wasna sae tocherless but what I had a bit land at my breast-lace. My father was portioner of Little-dearg.

Ye hae telld me that before, said Tibb; but anent the Halloween?

Aweel, aweel, I had mair joes than ane, but I favoured nane o them; and sae, at Halloween, Father Nicolas the cellarer he was cellarer before this father, Father Clement, that now is was cracking his nuts and drinking his brown beer with us, and as blithe as might be, and they would have me try a cantrip to ken wha suld wed me: and the monk said there was nae ill in it, and if there was, he would assoil me for it. And wha but I into the barn to winnow my three weights o naething sair, sair my mind misgave me for fear of wrang-doing and wrang-suffering baith; but I had aye a bauld spirit. I had not winnowed the last weight clean out, and the moon was shining bright upon the floor, when in stalked the presence of my dear Simon Glendinning, that is now happy. I never saw him plainer in my life than I did that moment; he held up an arrow as he passed me, and I swarfd awa wi fright. Muckle wark there was to bring me to mysell again, and sair they tried to make me believe it was a trick of Father Nicolas and Simon between them, and that the arrow was to signify Cupids shaft, as the Father called it; and mony a time Simon wad threep it to me after I was married gude man, he liked not it should be said that he was seen out o the body!  But mark the end o it, Tibb; we were married, and the gray-goose wing was the death o him after a!

Aweel, aweel, I had mair joes than ane, but I favoured nane o them; and sae, at Halloween, Father Nicolas the cellarer he was cellarer before this father, Father Clement, that now is was cracking his nuts and drinking his brown beer with us, and as blithe as might be, and they would have me try a cantrip to ken wha suld wed me: and the monk said there was nae ill in it, and if there was, he would assoil me for it. And wha but I into the barn to winnow my three weights o naething sair, sair my mind misgave me for fear of wrang-doing and wrang-suffering baith; but I had aye a bauld spirit. I had not winnowed the last weight clean out, and the moon was shining bright upon the floor, when in stalked the presence of my dear Simon Glendinning, that is now happy. I never saw him plainer in my life than I did that moment; he held up an arrow as he passed me, and I swarfd awa wi fright. Muckle wark there was to bring me to mysell again, and sair they tried to make me believe it was a trick of Father Nicolas and Simon between them, and that the arrow was to signify Cupids shaft, as the Father called it; and mony a time Simon wad threep it to me after I was married gude man, he liked not it should be said that he was seen out o the body!  But mark the end o it, Tibb; we were married, and the gray-goose wing was the death o him after a!

As it has been of ower mony brave men, said Tibb; I wish there wasna sic a bird as a goose in the wide warld, forby the clecking that we hae at the burn-side.

But tell me, Tibb, said Dame Glendinning, what does your leddy aye do reading out o that thick black book wi the silver clasps?  there are ower mony gude words in it to come frae ony body but a priest An it were about Robin Hood, or some o David Lindsays ballants, ane wad ken better what to say to it. I am no misdoubting your mistress nae way, but I wad like ill to hae a decent house haunted wi ghaists and gyrecarlines.

Ye hae nae reason to doubt my leddy, or ony thing she says or does, Dame Glendinning, said the faithful Tibb, something offended; and touching the bairn, its weel kend she was born on Halloween, was nine years gane, and they that are born on Halloween whiles see mair than ither folk.

And that wad be the cause, then, that the bairn didna mak muckle din about what it saw?  if it had been my Halbert himself, forby Edward, who is of softer nature, he wad hae yammered the haill night of a constancy. But its like Mistress Mary hae sic sights mair natural to her.

That may weel be, said Tibb; for on Halloween she was born, as I tell ye, and our auld parish priest wad fain hae had the night ower, and All-Hallow day begun. But for a that, the sweet bairn is just like ither bairns, as ye may see yourself; and except this blessed night, and ance before when we were in that weary bog on the road here, I kenna that it saw mair than ither folk.

But what saw she in the bog, then, said Dame Glendinning, forby moor-cocks and heather-blutters?

The wean saw something like a white leddy that weised us the gate, said Tibb; when we were like to hae perished in the moss-hags certain it was that Shagram reisted, and I ken Martin thinks he saw something.

And what might the white leddy be? said Elspeth; have ye ony guess o that?

Its weel kend that, Dame Elspeth, said Tibb; if ye had lived under grit folk, as I hae dune, ye wadna be to seek in that matter.

I hae aye keepit my ain ha house abune my head, said Elspeth, not without emphasis, and if I havena lived wi grit folk, grit folk have lived wi me.

Weel, weel, dame, said Tibb, your pardons prayed, there was nae offence meant. But ye maun ken the great ancient families canna be just served wi the ordinary saunts, (praise to them!) like Saunt Anthony, Saunt Cuthbert, and the like, that come and gang at every sinners bidding, but they hae a sort of saunts or angels, or what not, to themsells; and as for the White Maiden of Avenel, she is kend ower the haill country. And she is aye seen to yammer and wail before ony o that family dies, as was weel kend by twenty folk before the death of Walter Avenel, haly be his cast!

If she can do nae mair than that, said Elspeth, somewhat scornfully, they needna make mony vows to her, I trow. Can she make nae better fend for them than that, and has naething better to do than wait on them?

Mony braw services can the White Maiden do for them to the boot of that, and has dune in the auld histories, said Tibb, but I mind o naething in my day, except it was her that the bairn saw in the bog.

Aweel, aweel, Tibb, said Dame Glendinning, rising and lighting the iron lamp, these are great privileges of your grand folk. But our Lady and Saunt Paul are good eneugh saunts for me, and Ise warrant them never leave me in a bog that they can help me out o, seeing I send four waxen candles to their chapels every Candlemas; and if they are not seen to weep at my death, Ise warrant them smile at my joyful rising again, whilk Heaven send to all of us, Amen.

Amen, answered Tibb, devoutly; and now its time I should hap up the wee bit gathering turf, as the fire is ower low.

Busily she set herself to perform this duty. The relict of Simon Glendinning did but pause a moment to cast a heedful and cautious glance all around the hall, to see that nothing was out of its proper place; then, wishing Tibb good-night, she retired to repose.

The deils in the carline, said Tibb to herself, because she was the wife of a cock-laird, she thinks herself grander, I trow, than the bower-woman of a lady of that ilk! Having given vent to her suppressed spleen in this little ejaculation, Tibb also betook herself to slumber.

Chapter the Fifth

The health of the Lady of Avenel had been gradually decaying ever since her disaster. It seemed as if the few years which followed her husbands death had done on her the work of half a century. She lost the fresh elasticity of form, the colour and the mien of health, and became wasted, wan, and feeble. She appeared to have no formed complaint; yet it was evident to those who looked on her, that her strength waned daily. Her lips at length became blenched and her eye dim; yet she spoke not of any desire to see a priest, until Elspeth Glendinning in her zeal could not refrain from touching upon a point which she deemed essential to salvation. Alice of Avenel received her hint kindly, and thanked her for it.

If any good priest would take the trouble of such a journey, she said, he should be welcome; for the prayers and lessons of the good must be at all times advantageous.

This quiet acquiescence was not quite what Elspeth Glendinning wished or expected. She made up, however, by her own enthusiasm, for the ladys want of eagerness to avail herself of ghostly counsel, and Martin was despatched with such haste as Shagram would make, to pray one of the religious men of Saint Marys to come up to administer the last consolations to the widow of Walter Avenel.

When the Sacristan had announced to the Lord Abbot, that the Lady of the umquhile Walter de Avenel was in very weak health in the Tower of Glendearg, and desired the assistance of a father confessor, the lordly monk paused on the request.