"
As his answer destroyed the wild and vague hope which had
suddenly gleamed upon her, the unhappy prisoner let go her hold
of his coat, and fell with her face on the pavement of the apart-
ment in a strong convulsion fit.
As his answer destroyed the wild and vague hope which had
suddenly gleamed upon her, the unhappy prisoner let go her hold
of his coat, and fell with her face on the pavement of the apart-
ment in a strong convulsion fit.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v22 - Sac to Sha
He made his
clownish obeisances with a double portion of reverence, and then
awaited the opening of the awful scene.
"Were you at the battle of Bothwell Brigg? " was the first
question which was thundered in his ears.
Cuddie meditated a denial, but had sense enough upon reflec-
tion to discover that the truth would be too strong for him; so
he replied with true Caledonian indirectness of response, "I'll no
say but it may be possible that I might hae been there. ”
"Answer directly, you knave-yes or no? You know you
were there. "
"It is no for me to contradict your Lordship's Grace's Honor,"
said Cuddie.
## p. 13013 (#447) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13013
"Once more, sir, were you there yes or no? " said the duke
impatiently.
"Dear stir," again replied Cuddie, "how can ane mind pre-
ceesely where they hae been a' the days o' their life? "
་ Speak out, you scoundrel," said General Dalzell, "or I'll
dash your teeth out with my dudgeon-haft! Do you think we
can stand here all day to be turning and dodging with you like.
greyhounds after a hare? »
"Aweel, then," said Cuddie, "since naething else will please
ye, write down that I canna deny but I was there. "
"Well, sir,” said the duke, "and do you think that the rising
upon that occasion was rebellion or not?
>>
"I'm no just free to gie my opinion, stir," said the cautious
captive, "on what might cost my neck; but I doubt it will be
very little better. ”
"Better than what? "
«< Just then rebellion, as your Honor ca's it," replied Cuddie.
"Well, sir, that's speaking to the purpose," replied his Grace.
"And are you content to accept of the King's pardon for your
guilt as a rebel, and to keep the Church, and pray for the
King? "
"Blithely, stir," answered the unscrupulous Cuddie; "and drink
his health into the bargain when the ale's gude. "
"Egad! " said the duke, "this is a hearty cock. What brought
you into such a scrape, mine honest friend? »
"Just ill example, stir," replied the prisoner, "and a daft
auld jade of a mither, wi' reference to your Grace's Honor. "
"Why, God 'a' mercy, my friend," replied the duke, "take
care of bad advice another time: I think you are not likely to
commit treason on your own score. Make out his free pardon,
and bring forward the rogue in the chair. ”
Macbriar was then moved forward to the post of examination.
"Were you at the battle of Bothwell Bridge? " was in like
manner demanded of him.
"I was," answered the prisoner, in a bold and resolute tone.
"Were you armed? »
"I was not: I went in my calling as a preacher of God's
word, to encourage them that drew the sword in his cause.
>>
"In other words, to aid and abet the rebels? " said the
duke.
"Thou hast spoken it. " replied the prisoner.
## p. 13014 (#448) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13014
"Well then," continued the interrogator, "let us know if you
saw John Balfour of Burley among the party? I presume you
know him? »
"I bless God that I do know him," replied Macbriar: "he is a
zealous and a sincere Christian. "
"And when and where did you last see this pious personage
was the query which immediately followed.
"I am here to answer for myself," said Macbriar in the same
dauntless manner, "and not to endanger others. "
"We shall know," said Dalzell, "how to make you find your
tongue. "
"If you can make him fancy himself in a conventicle,"
swered Lauderdale, "he will find it without you. Come, laddie,
speak while the play is good: you're too young to bear the bur-
den will be laid on you else. "
"I defy you," retorted Macbriar. "This has not been the
first of my imprisonments or of my sufferings; and young as I
may be, I have lived long enough to know how to die when I
am called upon. "
"Ay, but there are some things which must go before an easy
death, if you continue obstinate," said Lauderdale; and rung a
small silver bell which was placed before him on the table.
A dark crimson curtain, which covered a sort of niche or
Gothic recess in the wall, rose at the signal, and displayed the
public executioner,- a tall, grim, and hideous man, having an
oaken table before him, on which lay thumb-screws, and an iron
case called the Scottish boot, used in those tyrannical days to
torture accused persons. Morton, who was unprepared for this
ghastly apparition, started when the curtain arose; but Macbriar's
nerves were more firm. He gazed upon the horrible apparatus
with much composure; and if a touch of nature called the blood
from his cheek for a second, resolution sent it back to his brow
with greater energy.
"Do you know who that man is? " said Lauderdale in a low,
stern voice, almost sinking into a whisper.
"He is, I suppose," replied Macbriar, "the infamous execu-
tioner of your bloodthirsty commands upon the persons of God's
people. He and you are equally beneath my regard; and I bless
God, I no more fear what he can inflict than what you can com-
mand. Flesh and blood may shrink under the sufferings you can
doom me to, and poor frail nature may shed tears or send forth
## p. 13015 (#449) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13015
cries; but I trust my soul is anchored firmly on the Rock of
Ages. "
"Do your duty," said the duke to the executioner.
The fellow advanced, and asked, with a harsh and discordant
voice, upon which of the prisoner's limbs he should first employ
his engine
"Let him choose for himself," said the duke: "I should like
to oblige him in anything that is reasonable. "
"Since you leave it to me," said the prisoner, stretching forth
his right leg, "take the best: I willingly bestow it in the cause.
for which I suffer. "
The executioner, with the help of his assistants, inclosed the
leg and knee within the tight iron boot or case; and then, pla-
cing a wedge of the same metal between the knee and the edge
of the machine, took a mallet in his hand, and stood waiting
for further orders. A well-dressed man, by profession a surgeon,
placed himself by the other side of the prisoner's chair, bared
the prisoner's arm, and applied his thumb to the pulse, in order
to regulate the torture according to the strength of the patient.
When these preparations were made, the president of the coun-
cil repeated with the same stern voice the question, "When and
where did you last see John Balfour of Burley? "
The prisoner, instead of replying to him, turned his eyes
to heaven as if imploring Divine strength, and muttered a few
words, of which the last were distinctly audible: "Thou hast said
thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power! "
The Duke of Lauderdale glanced his eye around the council
as if to collect their suffrages; and judging from their mute
signs, gave on his part a nod to the executioner, whose mallet
instantly descended on the wedge, and forcing it between the
knee and the iron boot, occasioned the most exquisite pain, as
was evident from the flush which instantly took place on the
brow and on the cheeks of the sufferer. The fellow then again
raised his weapon, and stood prepared to give a second blow.
"Will you yet say," repeated the Duke of Lauderdale, "where
and when you last parted from Balfour of Burley? "
"You have my answer," said the sufferer resolutely; and the
second blow fell. The third and fourth succeeded; but at the
fifth, when a larger wedge had been introduced, the prisoner set
up a scream of agony.
Morton, whose blood boiled within him at witnessing such
cruelty, could bear no longer; and although unarmed and himself
## p. 13016 (#450) ##########################################
13016
SIR WALTER SCOTT
會
in great danger, was springing forward, when Claverhouse, who
observed his emotion, withheld him by force, laying one hand on
his arm and the other on his mouth, while he whispered, "For
God's sake, think where you are! "
This movement, fortunately for him, was observed by no
other of the councilors, whose attention was engaged with the
dreadful scene before them.
"He is gone," said the surgeon; "he has fainted, my lords,
and human nature can endure no more. "
"Release him," said the duke; and added, turning to Dalzell,
"he will make an old proverb good, for he'll scarce ride to-day,
though he has had his boots on. I suppose we must finish with
him ? »
"Ay, dispatch his sentence, and have done with him: we have
plenty of drudgery behind. "
Strong waters and essences were busily employed to recall the
senses of the unfortunate captive: and when his first faint gasps
intimated a return of sensation, the duke pronounced sentence of
death upon him, as a traitor taken in the act of open rebellion,
and adjudged him to be carried from the bar to the common
place of execution, and there hanged by the neck; his head and
hands to be stricken off after death, and disposed of according
to the pleasure of the Council, and all and sundry his movable
goods and gear escheat and inbrought to his Majesty's use.
"Doomster," he continued, "repeat the sentence to the pris-
oner. »
The office of doomster was in those days, and till a much
later period, held by the executioner in commendam with his ordi-
nary functions. The duty consisted in reciting to the unhappy
criminal the sentence of the law as pronounced by the judge,
which acquired an additional and horrid emphasis from the recol-
lection that the hateful personage by whom it was uttered was
to be the agent of the cruelties he announced. Macbriar had
scarce understood the purport of the words as first pronounced
by the lord president of the Council: but he was sufficiently
recovered to listen and to reply to the sentence when uttered by
the harsh and odious voice of the ruffian who was to execute it;
and at the last awful words, "And this I pronounce for doom,"
he answered boldly:-
"My lords, I thank you for the only favor I looked for, or
would accept, at your hands; namely, that you have sent the
crushed and maimed carcass, which has this day sustained your
## p. 13017 (#451) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13017
cruelty, to this hasty end. It were indeed little to me whether
I perish on the gallows or in the prison-house; but if death,
following close on what I have this day suffered, had found me
in my cell of darkness and bondage, many might have lost the
sight how a Christian man can suffer in the good cause. For
the rest, I forgive you, my lords, for what you have appointed
and I have sustained. And why should I not ' Ye send me to
a happy exchange,-to the company of angels and the spirits
of the just, for that of frail dust and ashes. Ye send me from
darkness into day- from mortality to immortality- and in a
word, from earth to heaven! If the thanks, therefore, and par-
don of a dying man can do you good, take them at my hand,
and may your last moments be as happy as mine! "
As he spoke thus, with a countenance radiant with joy and
triumph, he was withdrawn by those who had brought him into
the apartment, and exccuted within half an hour, dying with the
same enthusiastic firmness which his whole life had evinced.
THE MEETING OF JEANIE AND EFFIE DEANS
From The Heart of Mid-Lothian'
"Sweet sister, let me live!
What sin you do to save a brother's life,
Nature dispenses with the deed so far
That it becomes a virtue. »
-MEASURE FOR MEASURE.
EANIE DEANS was admitted into the jail by Ratcliffe. This
fellow, as void of shame as honesty, as he opened the now
trebly secured door, asked her, with a leer which made her
shudder, whether she remembered him?
A half-pronounced timid "No" was her answer.
"What! not remember moonlight, and Muschat's Cairn, and
Rob and Rat? " said he with the same sneer.
"Your memory
needs redding up, my jo. "
If Jeanie's distresses had admitted of aggravation, it must have
been to find her sister under the charge of such a profligate as
this man. He was not, indeed, without something of good to
balance so much that was evil in his character and habits. In
his misdemeanors he had never been bloodthirsty or cruel; and
in his present occupation, he had shown himself, in a certain.
## p. 13018 (#452) ##########################################
13018
SIR WALTER SCOTT
degree, accessible to touches of humanity. But these good qual-
ities were unknown to Jeanie; who, remembering the scene at
Muschat's Cairn, could scarce find voice to acquaint him that she
had an order from Bailie Middleburgh, permitting her to see her
sister.
"I ken that fu' weel, my bonny doo; mair by token, I have a
special charge to stay in the ward with you a' the time ye are
thegither. "
"Must that be sae? " asked Jeanie with an imploring voice.
"Hout, ay, hinny," replied the turnkey; "and what the waur
will you and your tittie be of Jim Ratcliffe hearing what ye hae
to say to ilk other? Deil a word ye'll say that will gar him ken
your kittle sex better than he kens them already; and another
thing is, that if ye dinna speak o' breaking the Tolbooth, deil a
word will I tell ower, either to do ye good or ill. "
Thus saying, Ratcliffe marshaled her the way to the apart-
ment where Effie was confined.
Shame, fear, and grief, had contended for mastery in the poor
prisoner's bosom during the whole morning, while she had looked
forward to this meeting; but when the door opened, all gave way
to a confused and strange feeling that had a tinge of joy in it,
as throwing herself on her sister's neck, she ejaculated, "My dear
Jeanie! my dear Jeanie! it's lang since I hae seen ye. " Jeanie
returned the embrace with an earnestness that partook almost
of rapture; but it was only a flitting emotion, like a sunbeam
unexpectedly penetrating betwixt the clouds of a tempest, and
obscured almost as soon as visible. The sisters walked together
to the side of the pallet bed and sat down side by side, took
hold of each other's hands, and looked each other in the face, but
without speaking a word. In this posture they remained for a
minute, while the gleam of joy gradually faded from their feat-
ures, and gave way to the most intense expression, first of melan-
choly, and then of agony; till, throwing themselves again into
each other's arms, they, to use the language of Scripture, lifted up
their voices and wept bitterly.
Even the hard-hearted turnkey, who had spent his life in
scenes calculated to stifle both conscience and feeling, could not
witness this scene without a touch of human sympathy. It was
shown in a trifling action, but which had more delicacy in it than
seemed to belong to Ratcliffe's character and station. The un-
glazed window of the miserable chamber was open, and the beams
## p. 13019 (#453) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13019
of a bright sun fell right upon the bed where the sufferers were
seated. With a gentleness that had something of reverence in
it, Ratcliffe partly closed the shutter, and seemed thus to throw a
veil over a scene so sorrowful.
"Ye are ill, Effie," were the first words Jeanie could utter;
"ye are very ill. ”
"Oh, what wad I gie to be ten times waur, Jeanie! "
was the
reply; "what wad I gie to be cauld dead afore the ten o'clock
bell the morn! And our father- - but I am his bairn nae langer
Oh, I hae nae friend left in the warld! · Oh that I were
lying dead at my mother's side, in Newbattle kirk-yard! "
-
now
"Hout, lassie," said Ratcliffe, willing to show the interest
which he absolutely felt: "dinna be sae dooms doon-hearted as a'
that, there's mony a tod hunted that's na killed. Advocate
Langtale has brought folk through waur snappers than a' this,
and there's no a cleverer agent than Nichil Novit e'er drew a bill
of suspension. Hanged or unhanged, they are weel aff has sic an
agent and counsel: ane's sure o' fair play. Ye are a bonny lass,
too, and ye wad busk up your cockernony a bit; and a bonny.
lass will find favor wi' judge and jury, when they would strap up
a grewsome carle like me for the fifteenth part of a flea's hide
and tallow, d-n them. "
-
-
-
To this homely strain of consolation the mourners returned
no answer; indeed, they were so much lost in their own sorrows
as to have become insensible of Ratcliffe's presence.
"O Effie," said her elder sister, "how could you conceal your
situation from me? O woman, had I deserved this at your hand?
Had ye spoke but ae word-sorry we might hae been, and
shamed we might hae been, but this awfu' dispensation had never
come ower us. "
"And what gude wad that hae dune? " answered the prisoner.
"Na, na, Jeanie, a' was ower when ance I forgot what I promised
when I faulded down the leaf of my Bible. See," she said, pro-
ducing the sacred volume, "the book opens aye at the place o'
itsell. Oh, see, Jeanie, what a fearfu' Scripture! "
Jeanie took her sister's Bible, and found that the fatal mark
was made at this impressive text in the book of Job: "He hath
stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone. And mine
hope hath he removed like a tree. "
## p. 13020 (#454) ##########################################
13020
SIR WALTER SCOTT
"Isna that ower true a doctrine? " said the prisoner: "isna
my crown, my honor, removed? And what am I but a poor,
wasted, wan-thriven tree, dug up by the roots, and flung out to
waste in the highway, that man and beast may tread it under
foot? I thought o' the bonny bit thorn that our father rooted out
o' the yard last May, when it had a' the flush o' blossoms on it;
and then it lay in the court till the beasts had trod them a' to
pieces wi' their feet. I little thought, when I was wae for the
bit silly green bush and its flowers, that I was to gang the same.
gate mysell. "
"Oh, if ye had spoken ae word," again sobbed Jeanie,- "if I
were free to swear that ye had said but ae word of how it stude
wi' ye, they couldna hae touched your life this day. "
"Could they na? " said Effie, with something like awakened
interest,-
for life is dear even to those who feel it is a burden:
"wha tauld ye that, Jeanie ? »
"It was ane that kend what he was saying weel eneugh,”
replied Jeanie, who had a natural reluctance at mentioning even
the name of her sister's seducer.
――――――
"Wha was it? —I conjure you to tell me," said Effie, seating
herself upright. "Wha could tak interest in sic a cast-by as I
am now? Was it was it him? »
――――――
"Hout," said Ratcliffe, "what signifies keeping the poor lassie
in a swither? I'se uphaud it's been Robertson that learned ye
that doctrine when ye saw him at Muschat's Cairn. "
"Was it him? " said Effie, catching eagerly at his words; "was
it him, Jeanie, indeed? Oh, I see it was him: poor lad, and
I was thinking his heart was as hard as the nether millstane,-
and him in sic danger on his ain part,-poor George! "
Somewhat indignant at this burst of tender feeling toward the
author of her misery, Jeanie could not help exclaiming, "O Effie,
how can ye speak that gate of sic a man as that? "
"We maun forgie our enemies, ye ken," said poor Effie,
with a timid look and a subdued voice, for her conscience told her
what a different character the feelings with which she regarded
her seducer bore, compared with the Christian charity under
which she attempted to veil it.
"And ye hae suffered a' this for him, and ye can think of
loving him still? " said her sister, in a voice betwixt pity and
blame.
## p. 13021 (#455) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13021
"Love him! " answered Effie; "if I hadna loved as woman
seldom loves, I hadna been within these wa's this day; and trew
ye that love sic as mine is lightly forgotten? —Na, na! ye may
hew down the tree, but ye canna change its bend; — and O
Jeanie, if ye wad do good to me at this moment, teii me every
word that he said, and whether he was sorry for poor Effie or
no! »
"What needs I tell ye onything about it? " said Jeanie. "Ye
may be sure he had ower muckle to do to save himsell, to speak
lang or muckle about onybody beside. "
"That's no true, Jeanie, though a saunt had said it," replied
Effie, with a sparkle of her former lively and irritable temper.
"But ye dinna ken, though I do, how far he pat his life in
venture to save mine. " And looking at Ratcliffe, she checked.
herself and was silent.
"I fancy," said Ratcliffe, with one of his familiar sneers, "the
lassie thinks that naebody has een but hersell. Didna I see when
Gentle Geordie was seeking to get other folk out of the Tolbooth
forby Jock Porteous? but ye are of my mind, hinny,- better
sit and rue than flit and rue. Ye needna look in my face sae
amazed. I ken mair things than that, maybe. "
"O my God! my God! " said Effie, springing up and throwing
herself down on her knees before him, "d'ye ken where they
hae putten my bairn? -O my bairn! my bairn! the. poor sackless
innocent new-born wee ane-bone of my bone, and flesh of my
flesh! O man, if ye wad e'er deserve a portion in heaven, or a
broken-hearted creature's blessing upon earth, tell me where they
hae put my bairn-the sign of my shame and the partner of my
suffering! tell me wha has taen 't away, or what they hae dune
wi't! "
"Hout tout," said the turnkey, endeavoring to extricate him-
self from the firm grasp with which she held him, "that's taking
me at my word wi' a witness Bairn, quo' she?
Bairn, quo' she? How the deil
suld I ken onything of your bairn, huzzy? Ye maun ask that
of auld Meg Murdockson, if ye dinna ken ower muckle about it
yoursell.
"
As his answer destroyed the wild and vague hope which had
suddenly gleamed upon her, the unhappy prisoner let go her hold
of his coat, and fell with her face on the pavement of the apart-
ment in a strong convulsion fit.
## p. 13022 (#456) ##########################################
13022
SIR WALTER SCOTT
Jeanie Deans possessed, with her excellently clear understand-
ing, the concomitant advantage of promptitude of spirit, even in
the extremity of distress.
She did not suffer herself to be overcome by her own feelings
of exquisite sorrow, but instantly applied herself to her sister's
relief, with the readiest remedies which circumstances afforded;
and which, to do Ratcliffe justice, he showed himself anxious to
suggest, and alert in procuring. He had even the delicacy to
withdraw to the furthest corner of the room, so as to render his
official attendance upon them as little intrusive as possible, when
Effie was composed enough again to resume her conference with
her sister.
The prisoner once more, in the most earnest and broken tones,
conjured Jeanie to tell her the particulars of the conference with
Robertson; and Jeanie felt it was impossible to refuse her this
gratification.
"Do ye mind," she said, "Effie, when ye were in the fever
before we left Woodend, and how angry your mother, that's now
in a better place, was wi' me for gieing ye milk and water to
drink, because ye grat for it? Ye were a bairn then, and ye are
a woman now, and should ken better than ask what canna but
hurt you; but come weal or woe, I canna refuse ye onything
that ye ask me wi' the tear in your ee. "
Again Effie threw herself into her arms, and kissed her cheek
and forehead, murmuring, "Oh, if ye kend how long it is since I
heard his name mentioned! -if ye but kend how muckle good
it does me but to ken onything o' him that's like goodness or
kindness, ye wadna wonder that I wish to hear o' him! "
Jeanie sighed, and commenced her narrative of all that had
passed betwixt Robertson and her, making it as brief as possible.
Effie listened in breathless anxiety, holding her sister's hand in
hers, and keeping her eyes fixed upon her face, as if devour-
ing every word she uttered. The interjections of "Poor fellow,"
"Poor George," which escaped in whispers and betwixt sighs,
were the only sounds with which she interrupted the story.
When it was finished she made a long pause.
"And this was his advice? " were the first words she uttered.
"Just sic as I hae tell'd ye," replied her sister.
"And he wanted you to say something to yon folks, that wad
save my young life? "
## p. 13023 (#457) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13023
"He wanted," answered Jeanie, "that I suld be man-sworn. ”
"And you tauld him," said Effie, "that ye wadna hear o' com-
ing between me and the death that I am to die, and me no
aughten years auld yet? "
"I told him," replied Jeanie, who now trembled at the turn
which her sister's reflection seemed about to take, "that I daured
na swear to an untruth. "
"And what d'ye ca' an untruth? " said Effie, again showing a
touch of her former spirit. "Ye are muckle to blame, lass, if ye
think a mother would, or could, murder her ain bairn. Murder!
-I wad hae laid down my life just to see a blink o' its ee! "
"I do believe," said Jeanie, "that ye are as innocent of sic a
purpose as the new-born babe itsell. "
"I am glad ye do me that justice," said Effie haughtily: "it's
whiles the faut of very good folk like you, Jeanie, that they think
a' the rest of the warld are as bad as the warst temptations can
make them. "
"I didna deserve this frae ye, Effie," said her sister, sobbing,
and feeling at once the injustice of the reproach, and compassion.
for the state of mind which dictated it.
"Maybe no, sister," said Effie. "But ye are angry because I
love Robertson. How can I help loving him, that loves me better
than body and soul baith! - Here he put his life in a niffer, to
break the prison to let me out; and sure am I, had it stude wi'
him as it stands wi' you - >>>> Here she paused and was silent.
"Oh, if it stude wi' me to save ye wi' risk of my life! " said
Jeanie.
"Ay, lass," said her sister, "that's lightly said, but no sae
lightly credited, frae ane that winna ware a word for me; and if
it be a wrang word, ye'll hae time eneugh to repent o't. "
"But that word is a grievous sin, and it's a deeper offense
when it's a sin willfully and presumptuously committed. "
"Weel, weel, Jeanie," said Effie, "I mind a' about the sins o'
presumption in the questions,- we'll speak nae mair about this
matter, and ye may save your breath to say your carritch; and
for me, I'll soon hae nae breath to waste on onybody. "
## p. 13024 (#458) ##########################################
13024
SIR WALTER SCOTT
A ROYAL RIVAL
From Kenilworth'
Have you not seen the partridge quake,
Viewing the hawk approaching nigh?
She cuddles close beneath the brake,
Afraid to sit, afraid to fly.
- PRIOR.
I
T CHANCED upon that memorable morning, that one of the ear-
liest of the huntress train who appeared from her chamber in
full array for the chase was the princess for whom all these
pleasures were instituted, England's Maiden Queen. I know not
if it were by chance, or out of the befitting courtesy due to a
mistress by whom he was so much honored, that she had scarcely
made one step beyond the threshold of her chamber ere Leicester
was by her side; and proposed to her, until the preparations for
the chase had been completed, to view the pleasance, and the
gardens which it connected with the castle-yard.
To this new scene of pleasures they walked, the earl's arm
affording his sovereign the occasional support which she required,
where flights of steps, then a favorite ornament in a garden,
conducted them from terrace to terrace, and from parterre to
parterre. The ladies in attendance - gifted with prudence, or
endowed perhaps with the amiable desire of acting as they would
be done by-did not conceive their duty to the Queen's person
required them, though they lost not sight of her, to approach so
near as to share, or perhaps disturb, the conversation betwixt the
Queen and the earl, who was not only her host but also her most
trusted, esteemed, and favored servant. They contented them-
selves with admiring the grace of this illustrious couple, whose
robes of state were now exchanged for hunting-suits almost
equally magnificent.
Elizabeth's silvan dress, which was of a pale-blue silk, with
silver lace and aiguillettes, approached in form to that of the
ancient amazons; and was therefore well suited at once to her
height, and to the dignity of her mien, which her conscious rank
and long habits of authority had rendered in some degree too
masculine to be seen to the best advantage in ordinary female
weeds. Leicester's hunting-suit of Lincoln green, richly embroi-
dered with gold, and crossed by the gay baldric, which sustained
a bugle-horn, and a wood knife instead of a sword, became its
## p. 13025 (#459) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13025
master, as did his other vestments of court or of war. For such
were the perfections of his form and mien, that Leicester was
always supposed to be seen to the greatest advantage in the char-
acter and dress which for the time he represented or wore.
The conversation of Elizabeth and the favorite earl has not
reached us in detail. But those who watched at some distance
(and the eyes of courtiers and court ladies are right sharp) were
of opinion that on no occasion did the dignity of Elizabeth, in
gesture and motion, seem so decidedly to soften away into a
mien expressive of indecision and tenderness. Her step was not
only slow, but even unequal, a thing most unwonted in her car-
riage; her looks seemed bent on the ground, and there was a
timid disposition to withdraw from her companion, which external
gesture in females often indicates exactly the opposite tendency
in the secret mind. The Duchess of Rutland, who ventured
nearest, was even heard to aver that she discerned a tear in
Elizabeth's eye, and a blush on the cheek; and still further, "She
bent her looks on the ground to avoid mine," said the duchess;
"she who, in her ordinary mood, could look down a lion. " Το
what conclusion these symptoms led is sufficiently evident; nor
were they probably entirely groundless. The progress of pri-
vate conversation betwixt two persons of different sexes is often
decisive of their fate, and gives it a turn very different perhaps
from what they themselves anticipated. Gallantry becomes min-
gled with conversation, and affection and passion come gradually
to mix with gallantry. Nobles as well as shepherd swains will,
in such a trying moment, say more than they intended; and
queens, like village maidens, will listen longer than they should.
Horses in the mean while neighed, and champed the bits with
impatience in the base-court; hounds yelled in their couples, and
yeomen, rangers, and prickers lamented the exhaling of the dew,
which would prevent the scent from lying. But Leicester had
another chase in view: or, to speak more justly toward him, had
become engaged in it without premeditation, as the high-spirited
hunter which follows the cry of the hounds that hath crossed his
path by accident. The Queen an accomplished and handsome
woman, the pride of England, the hope of France and Holland,
and the dread of Spain-had probably listened with more than
usual favor to that mixture of romantic gallantry with which she
always loved to be addressed; and the earl had, in vanity, in
ambition, or in both, thrown in more and more of that delicious
XXII-815
-
## p. 13026 (#460) ##########################################
13026
SIR WALTER SCOTT
ingredient, until his importunity became the language of love
itself.
"No, Dudley," said Elizabeth, yet it was with broken accents,
-"no, I must be the mother of my people. Other ties, that
make the lowly maiden happy, are denied to her sovereign- No,
Leicester, urge it no more — Were I as others, free to seek my
own happiness— then, indeed — but it cannot—cannot be. -Delay
the chase-delay it for half an hour-and leave me, my lord. ”
"How-leave you, madam! " said Leicester. "Has my mad-
ness offended you? "
"No, Leicester, not so! " answered the Queen hastily; "but
it is madness, and must not be repeated. Go-but go not far
from hence; and meantime let no one intrude on my privacy. ”
While she spoke thus, Dudley bowed deeply, and retired with
a slow and melancholy air. The Queen stood gazing after him,
and murmured to herself, "Were it possible- were it but possi-
ble! But no no- - Elizabeth must be the wife and mother of
England alone. "
As she spoke thus, and in order to avoid some one whose
step she heard approaching, the Queen turned into the grotto in
which her hapless and yet but too successful rival lay concealed.
The mind of England's Elizabeth, if somewhat shaken by the
agitating interview to which she had just put a period, was of
that firm and decided character which soon recovers its natural
tone. It was like one of those ancient druidical monuments
called rocking-stones. The finger of Cupid, boy as he is painted,
could put her feelings in motion; but the power of Hercules
could not have destroyed their equilibrium. As she advanced
with a slow pace toward the inmost extremity of the grotto, her
countenance, ere she had proceeded half the length, had recov-
ered its dignity of look, and her mien its air of command.
It was then the Queen became aware that a female figure
was placed beside, or rather partly behind; an alabaster column,
at the foot of which arose the pellucid fountain which occupied
the inmost recess of the twilight grotto. The classical mind of
Elizabeth suggested the story of Numa and Egeria; and she
doubted not that some Italian sculptor had here represented the
Naiad whose inspirations gave laws to Rome. As she advanced,
she became doubtful whether she beheld a statue or a form of
flesh and blood. The unfortunate Amy, indeed, remained motion-
less, betwixt the desire which she had to make her condition
-
## p. 13027 (#461) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13027
known to one of her own sex, and her awe for the stately form
that approached her, and which, though her eyes had never
before beheld, her fears instantly suspected to be the personage
she really was. Amy had arisen from her seat with the purpose
of addressing the lady, who entered the grotto alone, and as
she at first thought, so opportunely. But when she recollected
the alarm which Leicester had expressed at the Queen's knowing
aught of their union, and became more and more satisfied that
the person whom she now beheld was Elizabeth herself, she
stood with one foot advanced and one withdrawn, her arms, head,
and hands perfectly motionless, and her cheek as pallid as the
alabaster pedestal against which she leaned. Her dress was of
pale sea-green silk, little distinguished in that imperfect light,
and somewhat resembled the drapery of a Grecian nymph,-
such an antique disguise having been thought the most secure
where so many maskers and revelers were assembled; so that
the Queen's doubt of her being a living form was justified by
all contingent circumstances, as well as by the bloodless cheek
and fixed eye.
—
Elizabeth remained in doubt, even after she had approached
within a few paces, whether she did not gaze on a statue so cun-
ningly fashioned, that by the doubtful light it could not be dis-
tinguished from reality. She stopped, therefore, and fixed upon
this interesting object her princely look with so much keenness,
that the astonishment which had kept Amy immovable gave way
to awe, and she gradually cast down her eyes and dropped her
head under the commanding gaze of the sovereign. Still, how-
ever, she remained in all respects, saving this slow and profound
inclination of the head, motionless and silent.
From her dress, and the casket which she instinctively held
in her hand, Elizabeth naturally conjectured that the beautiful
but mute figure which she beheld was a performer in one of the
various theatrical pageants which had been placed in different
situations to surprise her with their homage; and that the poor
player, overcome with awe at her presence, had either forgot the
part assigned her, or lacked courage to go through it.
It was
natural and courteous to give her some encouragement; and
Elizabeth accordingly said, in a tone of condescending kindness:
"How now, fair nymph of this lovely grotto-art thou spell-
bound and struck with dumbness by the wicked enchanter whom
## p. 13028 (#462) ##########################################
13028
SIR WALTER SCOTT
men term Fear? We are his sworn enemy, maiden, and can
reverse his charm. Speak, we command thee. "
Instead of answering her by speech, the unfortunate countess
dropped on her knee before the Queen, let her casket fall from
her hand, and clasping her palms together, looked up in the
Queen's face with such a mixed agony of fear and supplication,
that Elizabeth was considerably affected.
"What may this mean? " she said: "this is a stronger passion
than befits the occasion. Stand up, damsel: what wouldst thou
have with us? "
<< Your protection, madam," faltered forth the unhappy peti-
tioner.
"Each daughter of England has it while she is worthy of it,"
replied the Queen; "but your distress seems to have a deeper
root than a forgotten task. Why, and in what, do you crave our
protection? "
Amy hastily endeavored to recall what she were best to say,
which might secure herself from the imminent dangers that sur-
rounded her, without endangering her husband; and plunging
from one thought to another, amidst the chaos which filled her
mind, she could at length, in answer to the Queen's repeated
inquiries in what she sought protection, only falter out, "Alas! I
know not. "
"This is folly, maiden," said Elizabeth impatiently; for there
was something in the extreme confusion of the suppliant which
irritated her curiosity as well as interested her feelings. "The
sick man must tell his malady to the physician; nor are WE
accustomed to ask questions so oft, without receiving an answer. "
"I request-I implore-" stammered forth the unfortunate
countess "I beseech your gracious protection — against — against
one Varney. " She choked well-nigh as she uttered the fatal
word, which was instantly caught up by the Queen.
"What, Varney-Sir Richard Varney-the servant of Lord
Leicester! What, damsel, are you to him, or he to you? "
"II—was his prisoner- and he practiced on my life- and
I broke forth to-to-»
"To throw thyself on my protection, doubtless," said Eliza-
beth. "Thou shalt have it—that is, if thou art worthy; for we
will sift this matter to the uttermost. -Thou art," she said, bend-
ing on the countess an eye which seemed designed to pierce her
## p. 13029 (#463) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13029
very inmost soul,-"thou art Amy, daughter of Sir Hugh Rob-
sart of Lidcote Hall? "
"Forgive me forgive me-most gracious princess! " said
Amy, dropping once more on her knee from which she had
arisen.
―――
"For what should I forgive thee, silly wench? " said Elizabeth:
"for being the daughter of thine own father? Thou art brain-
sick, surely. Well, I see I must wring the story from thee by
inches: Thou didst deceive thine old and honored father, thy
look confesses it; cheated Master Tressilian,-thy blush avouches
it; and married this same Varney. "
Amy sprung on her feet, and interrupted the Queen eagerly
with-"No, madam, no: as there is a God above us, I am not
the sordid wretch you would make me! I am not the wife of that
contemptible slave—of that most deliberate villain! I am not the
wife of Varney! I would rather be the bride of Destruction! "
The Queen, overwhelmed in her turn by Amy's vehemence,
stood silent for an instant, and then replied, "Why, God ha'
mercy, woman! I see thou canst talk fast enough when the
theme likes thee. Nay, tell me, woman," she continued, for to
the impulse of curiosity was now added that of an undefined
jealousy that some deception had been practiced on her,—“tell
me, woman,― for by God's day, I WILL know,-whose wife or
whose paramour art thou? Speak out, and be speedy: thou
wert better dally with a lioness than with Elizabeth. "
-
Urged to this extremity, dragged as it were by irresistible
force to the verge of a precipice which she saw but could not
avoid, permitted not a moment's respite by the eager words
and menacing gestures of the offended Queen,-Amy at length
uttered in despair, "The Earl of Leicester knows it all. "
"The Earl of Leicester! " said Elizabeth in utter astonishment
"The Earl of Leicester! " she repeated with kindling anger. -
"Woman, thou art set on to this- thou dost belie him - he
takes no keep of such things as thou art. Thou art suborned
to slander the noblest lord, and the truest-hearted gentleman, in
England! But were he the right hand of our trust, or something
yet dearer to us, thou shalt have thy hearing, and that in his
presence. Come with me - come with me instantly! "
As Amy shrunk back with terror, which the incensed Queen
interpreted as that of conscious guilt, Elizabeth rapidly advanced,
seized on her arm, and hastened with swift and long steps out of
## p. 13030 (#464) ##########################################
13030
SIR WALTER SCOTT
the grotto and along the principal alley of the pleasance, drag-
ging with her the terrified countess, whom she still held by the
arm, and whose utmost exertions could but just keep pace with
those of the indignant Queen.
Leicester was at this moment the centre of a splendid group
of lords and ladies assembled together under an arcade, or portico,
which closed the alley. The company had drawn together in that
place, to attend the commands of her Majesty when the hunt-
ing party should go forward: and their astonishment may be
imagined, when, instead of seeing Elizabeth advance toward
them with her usual measured dignity of motion, they beheld her
walking so rapidly that she was in the midst of them ere they
were aware; and then observed, with fear and surprise, that her
features were flushed betwixt anger and agitation, that her hair
was loosened by her haste of motion, and that her eyes spark-
led as they were wont when the spirit of Henry VIII. mounted
highest in his daughter. Nor were they less astonished at the
appearance of the pale, attenuated, half dead, yet still lovely
female, whom the Queen upheld by main strength with one hand,
while with the other she waved aside the ladies and nobles who
pressed toward her under the idea that she was taken suddenly
ill. "Where is my Lord of Leicester? " she said, in a tone that
thrilled with astonishment all the courtiers who stood around. —
"Stand forth, my Lord of Leicester! "
If, in the midst of the most serene day of summer, when all
is light and laughing around, a thunderbolt were to fall from the
clear blue vault of heaven and rend the earth at the very feet
of some careless traveler, he could not gaze upon the smolder-
ing chasm which so unexpectedly yawned before him, with half
the astonishment and fear which Leicester felt at the sight that
so suddenly presented itself. He had that instant been receiving,
with a political affectation of disavowing and misunderstanding
their meaning, the half uttered, half intimated congratulations of
the courtiers upon the favor of the Queen, carried apparently
to its highest pitch during the interview of that morning;
from which most of them seemed to augur that he might soon
arise from their equal in rank to become their master. And
now, while the subdued yet proud smile with which he disclaimed
those inferences was yet curling his cheek, the Queen shot into.
the circle, her passions excited to the uttermost; and supporting
with one hand, and apparently without an effort, the pale and
## p. 13031 (#465) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13031
sinking form of his almost expiring wife, and pointing with the
finger of the other to her half-dead features, demanded in a voice.
that sounded to the ear of the astounded statesman like the last
dread trumpet-call that is to summon body and spirit to the
judgment-seat, "Knowest thou this woman ? »
As, at the blast of that last trumpet, the guilty shall call upon
the mountains to cover them, Leicester's inward thoughts invoked
the stately arch which he had built in his pride, to burst its
strong conjunction and overwhelm them in its ruins. But the
cemented stones, architrave and battlement, stood fast; and it
was the proud master himself, who, as if some actual pressure
had bent him to the earth, kneeled down before Elizabeth, and
prostrated his brow to the marble flagstones on which she stood.
"Leicester," said Elizabeth, in a voice which trembled with
passion, “could I think thou hast practiced on me-on me thy
sovereign-on me thy confiding, thy too partial mistress, the base
and ungrateful deception which thy present confusion surmises —
by all that is holy, false lord, that head of thine were in as great
peril as ever was thy father's! "
Leicester had not conscious innocence, but he had pride, to
support him.
He raised slowly his brow and features, which
were black and swollen with contending emotions, and only
replied, "My head cannot fall but by the sentence of my peers:
to them I will plead, and not to a princess who thus requites my
faithful service. "
"What! my lords," said Elizabeth, looking around, "we are
defied, I think - defied in the castle we have ourselves bestowed
on this proud man? - My Lord Shrewsbury, you are marshal of
England: attach him of high treason. "
"Whom does your Grace mean? " said Shrewsbury, much sur-
prised,—for he had that instant joined the astonished circle.
"Whom should I mean but that traitor Dudley, Earl of Lei-
cester! Cousin of Hunsdon, order out your band of gentlemen
pensioners, and take him into instant custody. -I say, villain,
make haste! "
-
Hunsdon, a rough old noble, who, from his relationship to the
Boleyns, was accustomed to use more freedom with the Queen
than almost any other dared to do, replied bluntly, "And it is
like your Grace might order me to the Tower to-morrow for
making too much haste. I do beseech you to be patient. "
## p. 13032 (#466) ##########################################
13032
SIR WALTER SCOTT
"Patient - God's life! " exclaimed the Queen, name not the
word to me: thou know'st not of what he is guilty! "
Amy, who had by this time in some degree recovered herself,
and who saw her husband, as she conceived, in the utmost danger
from the rage of an offended sovereign, instantly (and alas, how
many women have done the same! ) forgot her own wrongs and
her own danger in her apprehensions for him; and throwing her-
self before the Queen, embraced her knees, while she exclaimed,
"He is guiltless, madam, he is guiltless-no one can lay aught
to the charge of the noble Leicester. "
"Why, minion," answered the Queen, "didst not thou thyself
say that the Earl of Leicester was privy to thy whole history? »
"Did I say so? " repeated the unhappy Amy, laying aside
every consideration of consistency and of self-interest: "oh, if I
did, I foully belied him. May God so judge me, as I believe he
was never privy to a thought that would harm me! "
"Woman! " said Elizabeth, "I will know who has moved thee
to this; or my wrath—and the wrath of kings is a flaming fire—
shall wither and consume thee like a weed in the furnace. "
«<
As the Queen uttered this threat, Leicester's better angel
called his pride to his aid, and reproached him with the utter
extremity of meanness which would overwhelm him forever, if
he stooped to take shelter under the generous interposition of his
wife, and abandon her, in return for her kindness, to the resent-
ment of the Queen. He had already raised his head, with the
dignity of a man of honor, to avow his marriage and proclaim
himself the protector of his countess, when Varney-born, as it
appeared, to be his master's evil genius-rushed into the pres-
ence, with every mark of disorder on his face and apparel.
"What means this saucy intrusion? " said Elizabeth.
Varney, with the air of a man overwhelmed with grief and
confusion, prostrated himself before her feet, exclaiming, "Par-
don, my Liege, pardon! or at least let your justice avenge itself
on me, where it is due; but spare my noble, my generous, my
innocent patron and master! "
Amy, who was yet kneeling, started up as she saw the man
whom she deemed most odious place himself so near her; and
was about to fly toward Leicester, when, checked at once by the
uncertainty and even timidity which his looks had reassumed as
soon as the appearance of his confidant seemed to open a new
## p. 13033 (#467) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13933
scene, she hung back, and uttering a faint scream, besought of
her Majesty to cause her to be imprisoned in the lowest dungeon
of the castle-to deal with her as the worst of criminals -
"But
spare," she exclaimed, "my sight and hearing what will destroy
the little judgment I have left, the sight of that unutterable
and most shameless villain! "
"And why, sweetheart? " said the Queen, moved by a new
impulse: "what hath he, this false knight, since such thou ac-
countest him, done to thee? "
"Oh, worse than sorrow, madam, and worse than injury,- he
has sown dissension where most there should be peace. I shall
go mad if I look longer on him. "
"Beshrew me, but I think thou art distraught already," an-
swered the Queen. -"My Lord Hunsdon, look to this poor dis-
tressed young woman, and let her be safely bestowed and in
honest keeping, till we require her to be forthcoming. "
Two or three of the ladies in attendance, either moved by
compassion for a creature so interesting, or by some other
motive, offered their service to look after her; but the Queen
briefly answered, "Ladies, under favor, no. -You have all (give
God thanks) sharp ears and nimble tongues: our kinsman Huns-
don has ears of the dullest, and a tongue somewhat rough, but
yet of the slowest. — Hunsdon, look to it that none have speech
of her. "
"By our Lady! " said Hunsdon, taking in his strong sinewy
arms the fading and almost swooning form of Amy, "she is a
lovely child; and though a rough nurse, your Grace hath given
her a kind one. She is safe with me as one of my own lady-birds
of daughters. '
So saying, he carried her off, unresistingly and almost uncon-
sciously; his war-worn locks and long gray beard mingling with
her light-brown tresses, as her head reclined on his strong square
shoulder.
clownish obeisances with a double portion of reverence, and then
awaited the opening of the awful scene.
"Were you at the battle of Bothwell Brigg? " was the first
question which was thundered in his ears.
Cuddie meditated a denial, but had sense enough upon reflec-
tion to discover that the truth would be too strong for him; so
he replied with true Caledonian indirectness of response, "I'll no
say but it may be possible that I might hae been there. ”
"Answer directly, you knave-yes or no? You know you
were there. "
"It is no for me to contradict your Lordship's Grace's Honor,"
said Cuddie.
## p. 13013 (#447) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13013
"Once more, sir, were you there yes or no? " said the duke
impatiently.
"Dear stir," again replied Cuddie, "how can ane mind pre-
ceesely where they hae been a' the days o' their life? "
་ Speak out, you scoundrel," said General Dalzell, "or I'll
dash your teeth out with my dudgeon-haft! Do you think we
can stand here all day to be turning and dodging with you like.
greyhounds after a hare? »
"Aweel, then," said Cuddie, "since naething else will please
ye, write down that I canna deny but I was there. "
"Well, sir,” said the duke, "and do you think that the rising
upon that occasion was rebellion or not?
>>
"I'm no just free to gie my opinion, stir," said the cautious
captive, "on what might cost my neck; but I doubt it will be
very little better. ”
"Better than what? "
«< Just then rebellion, as your Honor ca's it," replied Cuddie.
"Well, sir, that's speaking to the purpose," replied his Grace.
"And are you content to accept of the King's pardon for your
guilt as a rebel, and to keep the Church, and pray for the
King? "
"Blithely, stir," answered the unscrupulous Cuddie; "and drink
his health into the bargain when the ale's gude. "
"Egad! " said the duke, "this is a hearty cock. What brought
you into such a scrape, mine honest friend? »
"Just ill example, stir," replied the prisoner, "and a daft
auld jade of a mither, wi' reference to your Grace's Honor. "
"Why, God 'a' mercy, my friend," replied the duke, "take
care of bad advice another time: I think you are not likely to
commit treason on your own score. Make out his free pardon,
and bring forward the rogue in the chair. ”
Macbriar was then moved forward to the post of examination.
"Were you at the battle of Bothwell Bridge? " was in like
manner demanded of him.
"I was," answered the prisoner, in a bold and resolute tone.
"Were you armed? »
"I was not: I went in my calling as a preacher of God's
word, to encourage them that drew the sword in his cause.
>>
"In other words, to aid and abet the rebels? " said the
duke.
"Thou hast spoken it. " replied the prisoner.
## p. 13014 (#448) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13014
"Well then," continued the interrogator, "let us know if you
saw John Balfour of Burley among the party? I presume you
know him? »
"I bless God that I do know him," replied Macbriar: "he is a
zealous and a sincere Christian. "
"And when and where did you last see this pious personage
was the query which immediately followed.
"I am here to answer for myself," said Macbriar in the same
dauntless manner, "and not to endanger others. "
"We shall know," said Dalzell, "how to make you find your
tongue. "
"If you can make him fancy himself in a conventicle,"
swered Lauderdale, "he will find it without you. Come, laddie,
speak while the play is good: you're too young to bear the bur-
den will be laid on you else. "
"I defy you," retorted Macbriar. "This has not been the
first of my imprisonments or of my sufferings; and young as I
may be, I have lived long enough to know how to die when I
am called upon. "
"Ay, but there are some things which must go before an easy
death, if you continue obstinate," said Lauderdale; and rung a
small silver bell which was placed before him on the table.
A dark crimson curtain, which covered a sort of niche or
Gothic recess in the wall, rose at the signal, and displayed the
public executioner,- a tall, grim, and hideous man, having an
oaken table before him, on which lay thumb-screws, and an iron
case called the Scottish boot, used in those tyrannical days to
torture accused persons. Morton, who was unprepared for this
ghastly apparition, started when the curtain arose; but Macbriar's
nerves were more firm. He gazed upon the horrible apparatus
with much composure; and if a touch of nature called the blood
from his cheek for a second, resolution sent it back to his brow
with greater energy.
"Do you know who that man is? " said Lauderdale in a low,
stern voice, almost sinking into a whisper.
"He is, I suppose," replied Macbriar, "the infamous execu-
tioner of your bloodthirsty commands upon the persons of God's
people. He and you are equally beneath my regard; and I bless
God, I no more fear what he can inflict than what you can com-
mand. Flesh and blood may shrink under the sufferings you can
doom me to, and poor frail nature may shed tears or send forth
## p. 13015 (#449) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13015
cries; but I trust my soul is anchored firmly on the Rock of
Ages. "
"Do your duty," said the duke to the executioner.
The fellow advanced, and asked, with a harsh and discordant
voice, upon which of the prisoner's limbs he should first employ
his engine
"Let him choose for himself," said the duke: "I should like
to oblige him in anything that is reasonable. "
"Since you leave it to me," said the prisoner, stretching forth
his right leg, "take the best: I willingly bestow it in the cause.
for which I suffer. "
The executioner, with the help of his assistants, inclosed the
leg and knee within the tight iron boot or case; and then, pla-
cing a wedge of the same metal between the knee and the edge
of the machine, took a mallet in his hand, and stood waiting
for further orders. A well-dressed man, by profession a surgeon,
placed himself by the other side of the prisoner's chair, bared
the prisoner's arm, and applied his thumb to the pulse, in order
to regulate the torture according to the strength of the patient.
When these preparations were made, the president of the coun-
cil repeated with the same stern voice the question, "When and
where did you last see John Balfour of Burley? "
The prisoner, instead of replying to him, turned his eyes
to heaven as if imploring Divine strength, and muttered a few
words, of which the last were distinctly audible: "Thou hast said
thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power! "
The Duke of Lauderdale glanced his eye around the council
as if to collect their suffrages; and judging from their mute
signs, gave on his part a nod to the executioner, whose mallet
instantly descended on the wedge, and forcing it between the
knee and the iron boot, occasioned the most exquisite pain, as
was evident from the flush which instantly took place on the
brow and on the cheeks of the sufferer. The fellow then again
raised his weapon, and stood prepared to give a second blow.
"Will you yet say," repeated the Duke of Lauderdale, "where
and when you last parted from Balfour of Burley? "
"You have my answer," said the sufferer resolutely; and the
second blow fell. The third and fourth succeeded; but at the
fifth, when a larger wedge had been introduced, the prisoner set
up a scream of agony.
Morton, whose blood boiled within him at witnessing such
cruelty, could bear no longer; and although unarmed and himself
## p. 13016 (#450) ##########################################
13016
SIR WALTER SCOTT
會
in great danger, was springing forward, when Claverhouse, who
observed his emotion, withheld him by force, laying one hand on
his arm and the other on his mouth, while he whispered, "For
God's sake, think where you are! "
This movement, fortunately for him, was observed by no
other of the councilors, whose attention was engaged with the
dreadful scene before them.
"He is gone," said the surgeon; "he has fainted, my lords,
and human nature can endure no more. "
"Release him," said the duke; and added, turning to Dalzell,
"he will make an old proverb good, for he'll scarce ride to-day,
though he has had his boots on. I suppose we must finish with
him ? »
"Ay, dispatch his sentence, and have done with him: we have
plenty of drudgery behind. "
Strong waters and essences were busily employed to recall the
senses of the unfortunate captive: and when his first faint gasps
intimated a return of sensation, the duke pronounced sentence of
death upon him, as a traitor taken in the act of open rebellion,
and adjudged him to be carried from the bar to the common
place of execution, and there hanged by the neck; his head and
hands to be stricken off after death, and disposed of according
to the pleasure of the Council, and all and sundry his movable
goods and gear escheat and inbrought to his Majesty's use.
"Doomster," he continued, "repeat the sentence to the pris-
oner. »
The office of doomster was in those days, and till a much
later period, held by the executioner in commendam with his ordi-
nary functions. The duty consisted in reciting to the unhappy
criminal the sentence of the law as pronounced by the judge,
which acquired an additional and horrid emphasis from the recol-
lection that the hateful personage by whom it was uttered was
to be the agent of the cruelties he announced. Macbriar had
scarce understood the purport of the words as first pronounced
by the lord president of the Council: but he was sufficiently
recovered to listen and to reply to the sentence when uttered by
the harsh and odious voice of the ruffian who was to execute it;
and at the last awful words, "And this I pronounce for doom,"
he answered boldly:-
"My lords, I thank you for the only favor I looked for, or
would accept, at your hands; namely, that you have sent the
crushed and maimed carcass, which has this day sustained your
## p. 13017 (#451) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13017
cruelty, to this hasty end. It were indeed little to me whether
I perish on the gallows or in the prison-house; but if death,
following close on what I have this day suffered, had found me
in my cell of darkness and bondage, many might have lost the
sight how a Christian man can suffer in the good cause. For
the rest, I forgive you, my lords, for what you have appointed
and I have sustained. And why should I not ' Ye send me to
a happy exchange,-to the company of angels and the spirits
of the just, for that of frail dust and ashes. Ye send me from
darkness into day- from mortality to immortality- and in a
word, from earth to heaven! If the thanks, therefore, and par-
don of a dying man can do you good, take them at my hand,
and may your last moments be as happy as mine! "
As he spoke thus, with a countenance radiant with joy and
triumph, he was withdrawn by those who had brought him into
the apartment, and exccuted within half an hour, dying with the
same enthusiastic firmness which his whole life had evinced.
THE MEETING OF JEANIE AND EFFIE DEANS
From The Heart of Mid-Lothian'
"Sweet sister, let me live!
What sin you do to save a brother's life,
Nature dispenses with the deed so far
That it becomes a virtue. »
-MEASURE FOR MEASURE.
EANIE DEANS was admitted into the jail by Ratcliffe. This
fellow, as void of shame as honesty, as he opened the now
trebly secured door, asked her, with a leer which made her
shudder, whether she remembered him?
A half-pronounced timid "No" was her answer.
"What! not remember moonlight, and Muschat's Cairn, and
Rob and Rat? " said he with the same sneer.
"Your memory
needs redding up, my jo. "
If Jeanie's distresses had admitted of aggravation, it must have
been to find her sister under the charge of such a profligate as
this man. He was not, indeed, without something of good to
balance so much that was evil in his character and habits. In
his misdemeanors he had never been bloodthirsty or cruel; and
in his present occupation, he had shown himself, in a certain.
## p. 13018 (#452) ##########################################
13018
SIR WALTER SCOTT
degree, accessible to touches of humanity. But these good qual-
ities were unknown to Jeanie; who, remembering the scene at
Muschat's Cairn, could scarce find voice to acquaint him that she
had an order from Bailie Middleburgh, permitting her to see her
sister.
"I ken that fu' weel, my bonny doo; mair by token, I have a
special charge to stay in the ward with you a' the time ye are
thegither. "
"Must that be sae? " asked Jeanie with an imploring voice.
"Hout, ay, hinny," replied the turnkey; "and what the waur
will you and your tittie be of Jim Ratcliffe hearing what ye hae
to say to ilk other? Deil a word ye'll say that will gar him ken
your kittle sex better than he kens them already; and another
thing is, that if ye dinna speak o' breaking the Tolbooth, deil a
word will I tell ower, either to do ye good or ill. "
Thus saying, Ratcliffe marshaled her the way to the apart-
ment where Effie was confined.
Shame, fear, and grief, had contended for mastery in the poor
prisoner's bosom during the whole morning, while she had looked
forward to this meeting; but when the door opened, all gave way
to a confused and strange feeling that had a tinge of joy in it,
as throwing herself on her sister's neck, she ejaculated, "My dear
Jeanie! my dear Jeanie! it's lang since I hae seen ye. " Jeanie
returned the embrace with an earnestness that partook almost
of rapture; but it was only a flitting emotion, like a sunbeam
unexpectedly penetrating betwixt the clouds of a tempest, and
obscured almost as soon as visible. The sisters walked together
to the side of the pallet bed and sat down side by side, took
hold of each other's hands, and looked each other in the face, but
without speaking a word. In this posture they remained for a
minute, while the gleam of joy gradually faded from their feat-
ures, and gave way to the most intense expression, first of melan-
choly, and then of agony; till, throwing themselves again into
each other's arms, they, to use the language of Scripture, lifted up
their voices and wept bitterly.
Even the hard-hearted turnkey, who had spent his life in
scenes calculated to stifle both conscience and feeling, could not
witness this scene without a touch of human sympathy. It was
shown in a trifling action, but which had more delicacy in it than
seemed to belong to Ratcliffe's character and station. The un-
glazed window of the miserable chamber was open, and the beams
## p. 13019 (#453) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13019
of a bright sun fell right upon the bed where the sufferers were
seated. With a gentleness that had something of reverence in
it, Ratcliffe partly closed the shutter, and seemed thus to throw a
veil over a scene so sorrowful.
"Ye are ill, Effie," were the first words Jeanie could utter;
"ye are very ill. ”
"Oh, what wad I gie to be ten times waur, Jeanie! "
was the
reply; "what wad I gie to be cauld dead afore the ten o'clock
bell the morn! And our father- - but I am his bairn nae langer
Oh, I hae nae friend left in the warld! · Oh that I were
lying dead at my mother's side, in Newbattle kirk-yard! "
-
now
"Hout, lassie," said Ratcliffe, willing to show the interest
which he absolutely felt: "dinna be sae dooms doon-hearted as a'
that, there's mony a tod hunted that's na killed. Advocate
Langtale has brought folk through waur snappers than a' this,
and there's no a cleverer agent than Nichil Novit e'er drew a bill
of suspension. Hanged or unhanged, they are weel aff has sic an
agent and counsel: ane's sure o' fair play. Ye are a bonny lass,
too, and ye wad busk up your cockernony a bit; and a bonny.
lass will find favor wi' judge and jury, when they would strap up
a grewsome carle like me for the fifteenth part of a flea's hide
and tallow, d-n them. "
-
-
-
To this homely strain of consolation the mourners returned
no answer; indeed, they were so much lost in their own sorrows
as to have become insensible of Ratcliffe's presence.
"O Effie," said her elder sister, "how could you conceal your
situation from me? O woman, had I deserved this at your hand?
Had ye spoke but ae word-sorry we might hae been, and
shamed we might hae been, but this awfu' dispensation had never
come ower us. "
"And what gude wad that hae dune? " answered the prisoner.
"Na, na, Jeanie, a' was ower when ance I forgot what I promised
when I faulded down the leaf of my Bible. See," she said, pro-
ducing the sacred volume, "the book opens aye at the place o'
itsell. Oh, see, Jeanie, what a fearfu' Scripture! "
Jeanie took her sister's Bible, and found that the fatal mark
was made at this impressive text in the book of Job: "He hath
stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone. And mine
hope hath he removed like a tree. "
## p. 13020 (#454) ##########################################
13020
SIR WALTER SCOTT
"Isna that ower true a doctrine? " said the prisoner: "isna
my crown, my honor, removed? And what am I but a poor,
wasted, wan-thriven tree, dug up by the roots, and flung out to
waste in the highway, that man and beast may tread it under
foot? I thought o' the bonny bit thorn that our father rooted out
o' the yard last May, when it had a' the flush o' blossoms on it;
and then it lay in the court till the beasts had trod them a' to
pieces wi' their feet. I little thought, when I was wae for the
bit silly green bush and its flowers, that I was to gang the same.
gate mysell. "
"Oh, if ye had spoken ae word," again sobbed Jeanie,- "if I
were free to swear that ye had said but ae word of how it stude
wi' ye, they couldna hae touched your life this day. "
"Could they na? " said Effie, with something like awakened
interest,-
for life is dear even to those who feel it is a burden:
"wha tauld ye that, Jeanie ? »
"It was ane that kend what he was saying weel eneugh,”
replied Jeanie, who had a natural reluctance at mentioning even
the name of her sister's seducer.
――――――
"Wha was it? —I conjure you to tell me," said Effie, seating
herself upright. "Wha could tak interest in sic a cast-by as I
am now? Was it was it him? »
――――――
"Hout," said Ratcliffe, "what signifies keeping the poor lassie
in a swither? I'se uphaud it's been Robertson that learned ye
that doctrine when ye saw him at Muschat's Cairn. "
"Was it him? " said Effie, catching eagerly at his words; "was
it him, Jeanie, indeed? Oh, I see it was him: poor lad, and
I was thinking his heart was as hard as the nether millstane,-
and him in sic danger on his ain part,-poor George! "
Somewhat indignant at this burst of tender feeling toward the
author of her misery, Jeanie could not help exclaiming, "O Effie,
how can ye speak that gate of sic a man as that? "
"We maun forgie our enemies, ye ken," said poor Effie,
with a timid look and a subdued voice, for her conscience told her
what a different character the feelings with which she regarded
her seducer bore, compared with the Christian charity under
which she attempted to veil it.
"And ye hae suffered a' this for him, and ye can think of
loving him still? " said her sister, in a voice betwixt pity and
blame.
## p. 13021 (#455) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13021
"Love him! " answered Effie; "if I hadna loved as woman
seldom loves, I hadna been within these wa's this day; and trew
ye that love sic as mine is lightly forgotten? —Na, na! ye may
hew down the tree, but ye canna change its bend; — and O
Jeanie, if ye wad do good to me at this moment, teii me every
word that he said, and whether he was sorry for poor Effie or
no! »
"What needs I tell ye onything about it? " said Jeanie. "Ye
may be sure he had ower muckle to do to save himsell, to speak
lang or muckle about onybody beside. "
"That's no true, Jeanie, though a saunt had said it," replied
Effie, with a sparkle of her former lively and irritable temper.
"But ye dinna ken, though I do, how far he pat his life in
venture to save mine. " And looking at Ratcliffe, she checked.
herself and was silent.
"I fancy," said Ratcliffe, with one of his familiar sneers, "the
lassie thinks that naebody has een but hersell. Didna I see when
Gentle Geordie was seeking to get other folk out of the Tolbooth
forby Jock Porteous? but ye are of my mind, hinny,- better
sit and rue than flit and rue. Ye needna look in my face sae
amazed. I ken mair things than that, maybe. "
"O my God! my God! " said Effie, springing up and throwing
herself down on her knees before him, "d'ye ken where they
hae putten my bairn? -O my bairn! my bairn! the. poor sackless
innocent new-born wee ane-bone of my bone, and flesh of my
flesh! O man, if ye wad e'er deserve a portion in heaven, or a
broken-hearted creature's blessing upon earth, tell me where they
hae put my bairn-the sign of my shame and the partner of my
suffering! tell me wha has taen 't away, or what they hae dune
wi't! "
"Hout tout," said the turnkey, endeavoring to extricate him-
self from the firm grasp with which she held him, "that's taking
me at my word wi' a witness Bairn, quo' she?
Bairn, quo' she? How the deil
suld I ken onything of your bairn, huzzy? Ye maun ask that
of auld Meg Murdockson, if ye dinna ken ower muckle about it
yoursell.
"
As his answer destroyed the wild and vague hope which had
suddenly gleamed upon her, the unhappy prisoner let go her hold
of his coat, and fell with her face on the pavement of the apart-
ment in a strong convulsion fit.
## p. 13022 (#456) ##########################################
13022
SIR WALTER SCOTT
Jeanie Deans possessed, with her excellently clear understand-
ing, the concomitant advantage of promptitude of spirit, even in
the extremity of distress.
She did not suffer herself to be overcome by her own feelings
of exquisite sorrow, but instantly applied herself to her sister's
relief, with the readiest remedies which circumstances afforded;
and which, to do Ratcliffe justice, he showed himself anxious to
suggest, and alert in procuring. He had even the delicacy to
withdraw to the furthest corner of the room, so as to render his
official attendance upon them as little intrusive as possible, when
Effie was composed enough again to resume her conference with
her sister.
The prisoner once more, in the most earnest and broken tones,
conjured Jeanie to tell her the particulars of the conference with
Robertson; and Jeanie felt it was impossible to refuse her this
gratification.
"Do ye mind," she said, "Effie, when ye were in the fever
before we left Woodend, and how angry your mother, that's now
in a better place, was wi' me for gieing ye milk and water to
drink, because ye grat for it? Ye were a bairn then, and ye are
a woman now, and should ken better than ask what canna but
hurt you; but come weal or woe, I canna refuse ye onything
that ye ask me wi' the tear in your ee. "
Again Effie threw herself into her arms, and kissed her cheek
and forehead, murmuring, "Oh, if ye kend how long it is since I
heard his name mentioned! -if ye but kend how muckle good
it does me but to ken onything o' him that's like goodness or
kindness, ye wadna wonder that I wish to hear o' him! "
Jeanie sighed, and commenced her narrative of all that had
passed betwixt Robertson and her, making it as brief as possible.
Effie listened in breathless anxiety, holding her sister's hand in
hers, and keeping her eyes fixed upon her face, as if devour-
ing every word she uttered. The interjections of "Poor fellow,"
"Poor George," which escaped in whispers and betwixt sighs,
were the only sounds with which she interrupted the story.
When it was finished she made a long pause.
"And this was his advice? " were the first words she uttered.
"Just sic as I hae tell'd ye," replied her sister.
"And he wanted you to say something to yon folks, that wad
save my young life? "
## p. 13023 (#457) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13023
"He wanted," answered Jeanie, "that I suld be man-sworn. ”
"And you tauld him," said Effie, "that ye wadna hear o' com-
ing between me and the death that I am to die, and me no
aughten years auld yet? "
"I told him," replied Jeanie, who now trembled at the turn
which her sister's reflection seemed about to take, "that I daured
na swear to an untruth. "
"And what d'ye ca' an untruth? " said Effie, again showing a
touch of her former spirit. "Ye are muckle to blame, lass, if ye
think a mother would, or could, murder her ain bairn. Murder!
-I wad hae laid down my life just to see a blink o' its ee! "
"I do believe," said Jeanie, "that ye are as innocent of sic a
purpose as the new-born babe itsell. "
"I am glad ye do me that justice," said Effie haughtily: "it's
whiles the faut of very good folk like you, Jeanie, that they think
a' the rest of the warld are as bad as the warst temptations can
make them. "
"I didna deserve this frae ye, Effie," said her sister, sobbing,
and feeling at once the injustice of the reproach, and compassion.
for the state of mind which dictated it.
"Maybe no, sister," said Effie. "But ye are angry because I
love Robertson. How can I help loving him, that loves me better
than body and soul baith! - Here he put his life in a niffer, to
break the prison to let me out; and sure am I, had it stude wi'
him as it stands wi' you - >>>> Here she paused and was silent.
"Oh, if it stude wi' me to save ye wi' risk of my life! " said
Jeanie.
"Ay, lass," said her sister, "that's lightly said, but no sae
lightly credited, frae ane that winna ware a word for me; and if
it be a wrang word, ye'll hae time eneugh to repent o't. "
"But that word is a grievous sin, and it's a deeper offense
when it's a sin willfully and presumptuously committed. "
"Weel, weel, Jeanie," said Effie, "I mind a' about the sins o'
presumption in the questions,- we'll speak nae mair about this
matter, and ye may save your breath to say your carritch; and
for me, I'll soon hae nae breath to waste on onybody. "
## p. 13024 (#458) ##########################################
13024
SIR WALTER SCOTT
A ROYAL RIVAL
From Kenilworth'
Have you not seen the partridge quake,
Viewing the hawk approaching nigh?
She cuddles close beneath the brake,
Afraid to sit, afraid to fly.
- PRIOR.
I
T CHANCED upon that memorable morning, that one of the ear-
liest of the huntress train who appeared from her chamber in
full array for the chase was the princess for whom all these
pleasures were instituted, England's Maiden Queen. I know not
if it were by chance, or out of the befitting courtesy due to a
mistress by whom he was so much honored, that she had scarcely
made one step beyond the threshold of her chamber ere Leicester
was by her side; and proposed to her, until the preparations for
the chase had been completed, to view the pleasance, and the
gardens which it connected with the castle-yard.
To this new scene of pleasures they walked, the earl's arm
affording his sovereign the occasional support which she required,
where flights of steps, then a favorite ornament in a garden,
conducted them from terrace to terrace, and from parterre to
parterre. The ladies in attendance - gifted with prudence, or
endowed perhaps with the amiable desire of acting as they would
be done by-did not conceive their duty to the Queen's person
required them, though they lost not sight of her, to approach so
near as to share, or perhaps disturb, the conversation betwixt the
Queen and the earl, who was not only her host but also her most
trusted, esteemed, and favored servant. They contented them-
selves with admiring the grace of this illustrious couple, whose
robes of state were now exchanged for hunting-suits almost
equally magnificent.
Elizabeth's silvan dress, which was of a pale-blue silk, with
silver lace and aiguillettes, approached in form to that of the
ancient amazons; and was therefore well suited at once to her
height, and to the dignity of her mien, which her conscious rank
and long habits of authority had rendered in some degree too
masculine to be seen to the best advantage in ordinary female
weeds. Leicester's hunting-suit of Lincoln green, richly embroi-
dered with gold, and crossed by the gay baldric, which sustained
a bugle-horn, and a wood knife instead of a sword, became its
## p. 13025 (#459) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13025
master, as did his other vestments of court or of war. For such
were the perfections of his form and mien, that Leicester was
always supposed to be seen to the greatest advantage in the char-
acter and dress which for the time he represented or wore.
The conversation of Elizabeth and the favorite earl has not
reached us in detail. But those who watched at some distance
(and the eyes of courtiers and court ladies are right sharp) were
of opinion that on no occasion did the dignity of Elizabeth, in
gesture and motion, seem so decidedly to soften away into a
mien expressive of indecision and tenderness. Her step was not
only slow, but even unequal, a thing most unwonted in her car-
riage; her looks seemed bent on the ground, and there was a
timid disposition to withdraw from her companion, which external
gesture in females often indicates exactly the opposite tendency
in the secret mind. The Duchess of Rutland, who ventured
nearest, was even heard to aver that she discerned a tear in
Elizabeth's eye, and a blush on the cheek; and still further, "She
bent her looks on the ground to avoid mine," said the duchess;
"she who, in her ordinary mood, could look down a lion. " Το
what conclusion these symptoms led is sufficiently evident; nor
were they probably entirely groundless. The progress of pri-
vate conversation betwixt two persons of different sexes is often
decisive of their fate, and gives it a turn very different perhaps
from what they themselves anticipated. Gallantry becomes min-
gled with conversation, and affection and passion come gradually
to mix with gallantry. Nobles as well as shepherd swains will,
in such a trying moment, say more than they intended; and
queens, like village maidens, will listen longer than they should.
Horses in the mean while neighed, and champed the bits with
impatience in the base-court; hounds yelled in their couples, and
yeomen, rangers, and prickers lamented the exhaling of the dew,
which would prevent the scent from lying. But Leicester had
another chase in view: or, to speak more justly toward him, had
become engaged in it without premeditation, as the high-spirited
hunter which follows the cry of the hounds that hath crossed his
path by accident. The Queen an accomplished and handsome
woman, the pride of England, the hope of France and Holland,
and the dread of Spain-had probably listened with more than
usual favor to that mixture of romantic gallantry with which she
always loved to be addressed; and the earl had, in vanity, in
ambition, or in both, thrown in more and more of that delicious
XXII-815
-
## p. 13026 (#460) ##########################################
13026
SIR WALTER SCOTT
ingredient, until his importunity became the language of love
itself.
"No, Dudley," said Elizabeth, yet it was with broken accents,
-"no, I must be the mother of my people. Other ties, that
make the lowly maiden happy, are denied to her sovereign- No,
Leicester, urge it no more — Were I as others, free to seek my
own happiness— then, indeed — but it cannot—cannot be. -Delay
the chase-delay it for half an hour-and leave me, my lord. ”
"How-leave you, madam! " said Leicester. "Has my mad-
ness offended you? "
"No, Leicester, not so! " answered the Queen hastily; "but
it is madness, and must not be repeated. Go-but go not far
from hence; and meantime let no one intrude on my privacy. ”
While she spoke thus, Dudley bowed deeply, and retired with
a slow and melancholy air. The Queen stood gazing after him,
and murmured to herself, "Were it possible- were it but possi-
ble! But no no- - Elizabeth must be the wife and mother of
England alone. "
As she spoke thus, and in order to avoid some one whose
step she heard approaching, the Queen turned into the grotto in
which her hapless and yet but too successful rival lay concealed.
The mind of England's Elizabeth, if somewhat shaken by the
agitating interview to which she had just put a period, was of
that firm and decided character which soon recovers its natural
tone. It was like one of those ancient druidical monuments
called rocking-stones. The finger of Cupid, boy as he is painted,
could put her feelings in motion; but the power of Hercules
could not have destroyed their equilibrium. As she advanced
with a slow pace toward the inmost extremity of the grotto, her
countenance, ere she had proceeded half the length, had recov-
ered its dignity of look, and her mien its air of command.
It was then the Queen became aware that a female figure
was placed beside, or rather partly behind; an alabaster column,
at the foot of which arose the pellucid fountain which occupied
the inmost recess of the twilight grotto. The classical mind of
Elizabeth suggested the story of Numa and Egeria; and she
doubted not that some Italian sculptor had here represented the
Naiad whose inspirations gave laws to Rome. As she advanced,
she became doubtful whether she beheld a statue or a form of
flesh and blood. The unfortunate Amy, indeed, remained motion-
less, betwixt the desire which she had to make her condition
-
## p. 13027 (#461) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13027
known to one of her own sex, and her awe for the stately form
that approached her, and which, though her eyes had never
before beheld, her fears instantly suspected to be the personage
she really was. Amy had arisen from her seat with the purpose
of addressing the lady, who entered the grotto alone, and as
she at first thought, so opportunely. But when she recollected
the alarm which Leicester had expressed at the Queen's knowing
aught of their union, and became more and more satisfied that
the person whom she now beheld was Elizabeth herself, she
stood with one foot advanced and one withdrawn, her arms, head,
and hands perfectly motionless, and her cheek as pallid as the
alabaster pedestal against which she leaned. Her dress was of
pale sea-green silk, little distinguished in that imperfect light,
and somewhat resembled the drapery of a Grecian nymph,-
such an antique disguise having been thought the most secure
where so many maskers and revelers were assembled; so that
the Queen's doubt of her being a living form was justified by
all contingent circumstances, as well as by the bloodless cheek
and fixed eye.
—
Elizabeth remained in doubt, even after she had approached
within a few paces, whether she did not gaze on a statue so cun-
ningly fashioned, that by the doubtful light it could not be dis-
tinguished from reality. She stopped, therefore, and fixed upon
this interesting object her princely look with so much keenness,
that the astonishment which had kept Amy immovable gave way
to awe, and she gradually cast down her eyes and dropped her
head under the commanding gaze of the sovereign. Still, how-
ever, she remained in all respects, saving this slow and profound
inclination of the head, motionless and silent.
From her dress, and the casket which she instinctively held
in her hand, Elizabeth naturally conjectured that the beautiful
but mute figure which she beheld was a performer in one of the
various theatrical pageants which had been placed in different
situations to surprise her with their homage; and that the poor
player, overcome with awe at her presence, had either forgot the
part assigned her, or lacked courage to go through it.
It was
natural and courteous to give her some encouragement; and
Elizabeth accordingly said, in a tone of condescending kindness:
"How now, fair nymph of this lovely grotto-art thou spell-
bound and struck with dumbness by the wicked enchanter whom
## p. 13028 (#462) ##########################################
13028
SIR WALTER SCOTT
men term Fear? We are his sworn enemy, maiden, and can
reverse his charm. Speak, we command thee. "
Instead of answering her by speech, the unfortunate countess
dropped on her knee before the Queen, let her casket fall from
her hand, and clasping her palms together, looked up in the
Queen's face with such a mixed agony of fear and supplication,
that Elizabeth was considerably affected.
"What may this mean? " she said: "this is a stronger passion
than befits the occasion. Stand up, damsel: what wouldst thou
have with us? "
<< Your protection, madam," faltered forth the unhappy peti-
tioner.
"Each daughter of England has it while she is worthy of it,"
replied the Queen; "but your distress seems to have a deeper
root than a forgotten task. Why, and in what, do you crave our
protection? "
Amy hastily endeavored to recall what she were best to say,
which might secure herself from the imminent dangers that sur-
rounded her, without endangering her husband; and plunging
from one thought to another, amidst the chaos which filled her
mind, she could at length, in answer to the Queen's repeated
inquiries in what she sought protection, only falter out, "Alas! I
know not. "
"This is folly, maiden," said Elizabeth impatiently; for there
was something in the extreme confusion of the suppliant which
irritated her curiosity as well as interested her feelings. "The
sick man must tell his malady to the physician; nor are WE
accustomed to ask questions so oft, without receiving an answer. "
"I request-I implore-" stammered forth the unfortunate
countess "I beseech your gracious protection — against — against
one Varney. " She choked well-nigh as she uttered the fatal
word, which was instantly caught up by the Queen.
"What, Varney-Sir Richard Varney-the servant of Lord
Leicester! What, damsel, are you to him, or he to you? "
"II—was his prisoner- and he practiced on my life- and
I broke forth to-to-»
"To throw thyself on my protection, doubtless," said Eliza-
beth. "Thou shalt have it—that is, if thou art worthy; for we
will sift this matter to the uttermost. -Thou art," she said, bend-
ing on the countess an eye which seemed designed to pierce her
## p. 13029 (#463) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13029
very inmost soul,-"thou art Amy, daughter of Sir Hugh Rob-
sart of Lidcote Hall? "
"Forgive me forgive me-most gracious princess! " said
Amy, dropping once more on her knee from which she had
arisen.
―――
"For what should I forgive thee, silly wench? " said Elizabeth:
"for being the daughter of thine own father? Thou art brain-
sick, surely. Well, I see I must wring the story from thee by
inches: Thou didst deceive thine old and honored father, thy
look confesses it; cheated Master Tressilian,-thy blush avouches
it; and married this same Varney. "
Amy sprung on her feet, and interrupted the Queen eagerly
with-"No, madam, no: as there is a God above us, I am not
the sordid wretch you would make me! I am not the wife of that
contemptible slave—of that most deliberate villain! I am not the
wife of Varney! I would rather be the bride of Destruction! "
The Queen, overwhelmed in her turn by Amy's vehemence,
stood silent for an instant, and then replied, "Why, God ha'
mercy, woman! I see thou canst talk fast enough when the
theme likes thee. Nay, tell me, woman," she continued, for to
the impulse of curiosity was now added that of an undefined
jealousy that some deception had been practiced on her,—“tell
me, woman,― for by God's day, I WILL know,-whose wife or
whose paramour art thou? Speak out, and be speedy: thou
wert better dally with a lioness than with Elizabeth. "
-
Urged to this extremity, dragged as it were by irresistible
force to the verge of a precipice which she saw but could not
avoid, permitted not a moment's respite by the eager words
and menacing gestures of the offended Queen,-Amy at length
uttered in despair, "The Earl of Leicester knows it all. "
"The Earl of Leicester! " said Elizabeth in utter astonishment
"The Earl of Leicester! " she repeated with kindling anger. -
"Woman, thou art set on to this- thou dost belie him - he
takes no keep of such things as thou art. Thou art suborned
to slander the noblest lord, and the truest-hearted gentleman, in
England! But were he the right hand of our trust, or something
yet dearer to us, thou shalt have thy hearing, and that in his
presence. Come with me - come with me instantly! "
As Amy shrunk back with terror, which the incensed Queen
interpreted as that of conscious guilt, Elizabeth rapidly advanced,
seized on her arm, and hastened with swift and long steps out of
## p. 13030 (#464) ##########################################
13030
SIR WALTER SCOTT
the grotto and along the principal alley of the pleasance, drag-
ging with her the terrified countess, whom she still held by the
arm, and whose utmost exertions could but just keep pace with
those of the indignant Queen.
Leicester was at this moment the centre of a splendid group
of lords and ladies assembled together under an arcade, or portico,
which closed the alley. The company had drawn together in that
place, to attend the commands of her Majesty when the hunt-
ing party should go forward: and their astonishment may be
imagined, when, instead of seeing Elizabeth advance toward
them with her usual measured dignity of motion, they beheld her
walking so rapidly that she was in the midst of them ere they
were aware; and then observed, with fear and surprise, that her
features were flushed betwixt anger and agitation, that her hair
was loosened by her haste of motion, and that her eyes spark-
led as they were wont when the spirit of Henry VIII. mounted
highest in his daughter. Nor were they less astonished at the
appearance of the pale, attenuated, half dead, yet still lovely
female, whom the Queen upheld by main strength with one hand,
while with the other she waved aside the ladies and nobles who
pressed toward her under the idea that she was taken suddenly
ill. "Where is my Lord of Leicester? " she said, in a tone that
thrilled with astonishment all the courtiers who stood around. —
"Stand forth, my Lord of Leicester! "
If, in the midst of the most serene day of summer, when all
is light and laughing around, a thunderbolt were to fall from the
clear blue vault of heaven and rend the earth at the very feet
of some careless traveler, he could not gaze upon the smolder-
ing chasm which so unexpectedly yawned before him, with half
the astonishment and fear which Leicester felt at the sight that
so suddenly presented itself. He had that instant been receiving,
with a political affectation of disavowing and misunderstanding
their meaning, the half uttered, half intimated congratulations of
the courtiers upon the favor of the Queen, carried apparently
to its highest pitch during the interview of that morning;
from which most of them seemed to augur that he might soon
arise from their equal in rank to become their master. And
now, while the subdued yet proud smile with which he disclaimed
those inferences was yet curling his cheek, the Queen shot into.
the circle, her passions excited to the uttermost; and supporting
with one hand, and apparently without an effort, the pale and
## p. 13031 (#465) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13031
sinking form of his almost expiring wife, and pointing with the
finger of the other to her half-dead features, demanded in a voice.
that sounded to the ear of the astounded statesman like the last
dread trumpet-call that is to summon body and spirit to the
judgment-seat, "Knowest thou this woman ? »
As, at the blast of that last trumpet, the guilty shall call upon
the mountains to cover them, Leicester's inward thoughts invoked
the stately arch which he had built in his pride, to burst its
strong conjunction and overwhelm them in its ruins. But the
cemented stones, architrave and battlement, stood fast; and it
was the proud master himself, who, as if some actual pressure
had bent him to the earth, kneeled down before Elizabeth, and
prostrated his brow to the marble flagstones on which she stood.
"Leicester," said Elizabeth, in a voice which trembled with
passion, “could I think thou hast practiced on me-on me thy
sovereign-on me thy confiding, thy too partial mistress, the base
and ungrateful deception which thy present confusion surmises —
by all that is holy, false lord, that head of thine were in as great
peril as ever was thy father's! "
Leicester had not conscious innocence, but he had pride, to
support him.
He raised slowly his brow and features, which
were black and swollen with contending emotions, and only
replied, "My head cannot fall but by the sentence of my peers:
to them I will plead, and not to a princess who thus requites my
faithful service. "
"What! my lords," said Elizabeth, looking around, "we are
defied, I think - defied in the castle we have ourselves bestowed
on this proud man? - My Lord Shrewsbury, you are marshal of
England: attach him of high treason. "
"Whom does your Grace mean? " said Shrewsbury, much sur-
prised,—for he had that instant joined the astonished circle.
"Whom should I mean but that traitor Dudley, Earl of Lei-
cester! Cousin of Hunsdon, order out your band of gentlemen
pensioners, and take him into instant custody. -I say, villain,
make haste! "
-
Hunsdon, a rough old noble, who, from his relationship to the
Boleyns, was accustomed to use more freedom with the Queen
than almost any other dared to do, replied bluntly, "And it is
like your Grace might order me to the Tower to-morrow for
making too much haste. I do beseech you to be patient. "
## p. 13032 (#466) ##########################################
13032
SIR WALTER SCOTT
"Patient - God's life! " exclaimed the Queen, name not the
word to me: thou know'st not of what he is guilty! "
Amy, who had by this time in some degree recovered herself,
and who saw her husband, as she conceived, in the utmost danger
from the rage of an offended sovereign, instantly (and alas, how
many women have done the same! ) forgot her own wrongs and
her own danger in her apprehensions for him; and throwing her-
self before the Queen, embraced her knees, while she exclaimed,
"He is guiltless, madam, he is guiltless-no one can lay aught
to the charge of the noble Leicester. "
"Why, minion," answered the Queen, "didst not thou thyself
say that the Earl of Leicester was privy to thy whole history? »
"Did I say so? " repeated the unhappy Amy, laying aside
every consideration of consistency and of self-interest: "oh, if I
did, I foully belied him. May God so judge me, as I believe he
was never privy to a thought that would harm me! "
"Woman! " said Elizabeth, "I will know who has moved thee
to this; or my wrath—and the wrath of kings is a flaming fire—
shall wither and consume thee like a weed in the furnace. "
«<
As the Queen uttered this threat, Leicester's better angel
called his pride to his aid, and reproached him with the utter
extremity of meanness which would overwhelm him forever, if
he stooped to take shelter under the generous interposition of his
wife, and abandon her, in return for her kindness, to the resent-
ment of the Queen. He had already raised his head, with the
dignity of a man of honor, to avow his marriage and proclaim
himself the protector of his countess, when Varney-born, as it
appeared, to be his master's evil genius-rushed into the pres-
ence, with every mark of disorder on his face and apparel.
"What means this saucy intrusion? " said Elizabeth.
Varney, with the air of a man overwhelmed with grief and
confusion, prostrated himself before her feet, exclaiming, "Par-
don, my Liege, pardon! or at least let your justice avenge itself
on me, where it is due; but spare my noble, my generous, my
innocent patron and master! "
Amy, who was yet kneeling, started up as she saw the man
whom she deemed most odious place himself so near her; and
was about to fly toward Leicester, when, checked at once by the
uncertainty and even timidity which his looks had reassumed as
soon as the appearance of his confidant seemed to open a new
## p. 13033 (#467) ##########################################
SIR WALTER SCOTT
13933
scene, she hung back, and uttering a faint scream, besought of
her Majesty to cause her to be imprisoned in the lowest dungeon
of the castle-to deal with her as the worst of criminals -
"But
spare," she exclaimed, "my sight and hearing what will destroy
the little judgment I have left, the sight of that unutterable
and most shameless villain! "
"And why, sweetheart? " said the Queen, moved by a new
impulse: "what hath he, this false knight, since such thou ac-
countest him, done to thee? "
"Oh, worse than sorrow, madam, and worse than injury,- he
has sown dissension where most there should be peace. I shall
go mad if I look longer on him. "
"Beshrew me, but I think thou art distraught already," an-
swered the Queen. -"My Lord Hunsdon, look to this poor dis-
tressed young woman, and let her be safely bestowed and in
honest keeping, till we require her to be forthcoming. "
Two or three of the ladies in attendance, either moved by
compassion for a creature so interesting, or by some other
motive, offered their service to look after her; but the Queen
briefly answered, "Ladies, under favor, no. -You have all (give
God thanks) sharp ears and nimble tongues: our kinsman Huns-
don has ears of the dullest, and a tongue somewhat rough, but
yet of the slowest. — Hunsdon, look to it that none have speech
of her. "
"By our Lady! " said Hunsdon, taking in his strong sinewy
arms the fading and almost swooning form of Amy, "she is a
lovely child; and though a rough nurse, your Grace hath given
her a kind one. She is safe with me as one of my own lady-birds
of daughters. '
So saying, he carried her off, unresistingly and almost uncon-
sciously; his war-worn locks and long gray beard mingling with
her light-brown tresses, as her head reclined on his strong square
shoulder.
