Macrimmon. A Highland tale
Sutherland, Alexander, Lieutenant
m?f ,MaM, ^^/TA^^MftAM.. .2SS»«a ^H^m^kn^ •.A'AWi ^'^, *-^,< ^«i^ - - ^ .A^^ ?'^^^ ;^^^ - '^ " ^, /^ c ^.,^^'^ ^^^s^ ^/N,^ '^':^mmm^ .'^c::::;:^'^^A^f^ :^^"«^^^& L I E) R.AFLY OF THE UNIVLRSITY Of ILLINOIS 8:13 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.archive.org/details/macrimmonhighlan02suth MACRIMMON. A HIGHLAND TALE. IN FOUR VOLUMES. BY THE AUTHOR OF REDMOND THE REBEL, COSPATRICK OF RAYMONDSHOLM, ST. KATHLEEN, *c. My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here ; My heart's in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer — Chasing the deer and following the roe; My heart's in the Highlands wherever I go. Gaelic Song. VOL. IL LONDON : PRINTED FOR A. K. NEWMAN AND CO. LE ADENH A LL-STR E ET. 1823. 9^3 v.^, MACRIMMON CHAPTER I. But where is ihe iron-bound prisoner? where? Campbell. i\S the day was far advanced before the precognition concluded, it was con- ceived expedient to postpone, for an- other night, forwarding the prisoner to jail, Glen Eynort and the laird of Ben Ard, who were to superintend his incar- ceration, being anxious to accomplish the journey without any protracted halt. In consequence of this arrangement, Clifford was left a few hours longer un- der the same roof with Miss Macara; but, except in the consciousness of her VOL. II. B proximity, ^ MACRIMMON. proximity, he derived no consolation from that circumstance; no kindly vi- sitant invaded the soUtude of his prison- chamber, but a menial, the servant pf Glen Eynort, brought him food at the usual hours of family-meal, and stood sentry at his door throughout the night; this man was the only person that seemed aware of his existence, and the pain inflicted by such total desertion even the sense of innate rectitude and innocence could not altogether deaden. He was too remote from that part of the castle inhabited by the family to hear those mournful sounds he naturally supposed grief would elicit, but at the dinner-hour he plainly distinguished the shrill notes of the bagpipe; he could hardly permit himself to believe that he heard aright, so little idea had he of Gaethel Doun's talents being put in re- quisition at such a time; but as his ear caught more accurately the distant strain, his surprise decreased. Mackennachar for MACRIMMON. 3 for once blew not the warlike gathering of Macrimmon ; there was death in the castle, and his chieftain seated himself at table, to the wild and melancholy music of the coronach. The death of Lochullin had been so instantaneously succeeded by personal misfortune, that, much as he valued him, Clifford might be said to have had ho leisure for the indulgence of grief, until his own fate was in a certain mea- sure determined by the foregoing ex- amination ; even then, selfish anxieties would intrude on those mournful medi- tations which had his deceased friend for their object, thereby rendering ques- tionable to his ov/n heart the sincerity of his sorrow. — " And yet," said he, in an interval of mental reasoning, " it can- not altogether arise from the influence \\\% demise has on my destiny, else where- fore was it that I held him so dear when in life, and that I deprecated his death before I knew it was to herald mine B 2 own ? 4 MACRIMMON. own ? It is the weakness incidental to human nature that thus perpetually drags my thoughts back to self, and compels me to look upon him as the happier of the two. He is gone down to his grave — violently, it is true — yet in honour; but I shall depart like a dog. Which then have I most cause to mourn?" " When Lillias occupied his thoughts, they were less in danger of wandering ; in the extremity of her affliction she had, in accordance with that promise pledged to her dying brother, stood for- ward in his defence — had declared, in the face of his accusers, her conviction that he was innocent, and her determi- nation so to aver when a still more aw- ful epoch arrived; and while the re- membrance of her having so done was left him, he felt his heart could not be- come entirely desolate. As he strung together in his mind the speaking proofs she had given of a kind and a noble heart, MACRIMMON. 5 heart, a tlirill of pride blended itself with the love and gratitude he awarded as her due; depending solely on his own discrimination, he had singled her out as one whose worth he could not hope to see matched — as one who, in joy and in sorrow, would be equally true and devoted ; and though they had parted for ever — though, as the punishment of having done homage to her inestimable qualities, he was to die, he could not restrain a throb of exultation that the adopted of his love had proved so de- serving. On the following morning, so soon as the first blush of dawn was seen on the eastern horizon, he was offered his morn- ing repast, and then led forth to com- mence that journey, the conclusion of which was to place him in a jail. A large body of the tenantry assembled to see him depart, and threats and curses assailed him when he emerged from be- neath the arch of the castle gate ; it was ^::- B 3 the 6 MACRIM3ION. the first time the fierce hoot of public indignation had made him its object, and he found it a species of torture not easy to bear ; he was glad that the lin- gering darkness sufficed to hide all ex- terior signs of those bitter feelings such a circumstance was calculated to give birth to, and, as far as was in his power, exerted himself to suppress them ; but, for a space, nature would have way. It had been thought requisite to have a c*art in readiness for his conveyance, but when this was made known, he en- treated that, if he was not permitted to travel on horseback, he might at least be allowed to walk. Glen Eynort, though it was the laird of Ben Ard whom the prisoner addressed, adduced in opposi- tion the necessity of keeping his hands bound during the journey; but Mac- corquodale, less biassed to inhumanity, eventually took his pledge that he would make no effort to escape, and let him mount a pony. This the unfortunate was MACRIMMON. 7 was grateful for, inasmuch as it not only saved him from that species of corporeal torture which the jolting of an unhung vehicle inflicts, but also prevented that deep sense of degradation which arises from being treated as a convicted and obdurate criminal. Escape was farther from his thoughts than the best of his friends imagined; before freedom could be valued, he had an aspersed character to restore to its former lustre; and if this was not to be accomplished, he recked but little what befel his body. The party whose special duty it was to act as his escort consisted of four Highlanders, independent of Glen Ey- nort and Ben Ard ; and one of these was old Donald Darroch, who had volun- teered his services, and been accepted bi preference to many a more personable man. A wondering and vindictive crowd formed a long and threatening train as far as Erridale, the outlet from Glen Rimmon; and it was while in momen- /li^Yt B 4 tary 8 MACRIMMON. taiy expectation of suffering a violent and barbarous death from the multitude, that Clifford obtained a farewell glance of their chieftain's dwelling — that man* sion which, in a few short days, had wi^ nessed the happiest and most wretched periods of his existence. The sun had not altogether cleared the eastern boun- dary of t? e valley, his level rays there- fore left the bosom of the lake, and the woods fringing its banks, covered with a veil of bluish transparent mist, while the Dun, and all the loflier precipices encompassing it, glowed with the deep golden tinge of the morning beam.-^ Come good or ill, he felt it was a last look to him, and his glance wandered slowly over the scene, while his feelings bore close analogy to those Of a dying man, who watches from a deathbed the setting of that luminary which rises for him no more. When the parting curse of the Clan Rimmon was vented^ — when he heard a hundred voices simultaneous^^ 2VJACRIMMON. § ly declare, that henceforth they would hold as sinister the day that brought him to their glen, and one and all be nigh to witness his exit on the scaffold, he turned once more to look for the loch, the dun, and the old grey tower. The bald brow of Craig Horrodale, ste- rile and intimidating as his fortunes, alone met his eye — all that wa.»; " fair to look upon" was with the past, and Glen Rimmon seen only in the mirror of re- membrance. As Glen Eynort and Ben Ard brought up the rear, the nature of the road, and perhaps the wish to converse without restraint, sometimes separated them so far from the prisoner as to admit of his lidding communication with his guards, without making them privy to its pur- port; this he felt nowise inclined to do during the early part of the day; but when he. came to understand that his old guide, Donald Darroch, was the only .one of the four that pretended to speak :s^i[:LK. b5 English, 10 MACRIMMOl^. English, his resolution to remain indig- nantly silent began to waver. The old man's countenance was as inexpressive as the face of his native precipices, yet if the frequency and steadiness with which he riveted his eyes on his pri- soner might be taken as a criterion, his predominant feeling was commiseration. Clifford was on the point of addressing him, when several hems and half-uttered ejaculations proved that the Highlander was meditating a similar procedure.—- " Will hersel' no pe speaking a kind word to Tonald Tarroch?" said he, at length ; " she no pe fond of travelling wi' her mou* shut." '■■ 'i : " Kind words !" answered Clifford, despondingly — " think you the world uses me so well at this moment, that kind words should be forthcoming for the first who asks them ?" ; i^baKt " She'll no just pe saying tat,** rejoined Donald, gathering courage to proceed; " put tere pe aye some pody left fbr^ta loneliest MACRIMMON. 11 loneliest and ta most wronged to pe looking to. Ta goot and ta gentle lady pefriends ta Sassenach ; and, py her word! Tonald Tarroch thinks tat Glen Eynort pe a pig liar, and a true pird of ta tevil." " Do you mean to say that you be- lieve me innocent ?" inquired Clifford. " To pe sure, to be sure," replied Do- nald, fervently; " she pelieves tat her hand spilled not one drop of Lochullin's plood, for all ta swearing of her enemy." " I am thankful to God that it is so," rejoined Clifford ; " for, in my present deserted state, the countenance and ac- quittal of one honest man are much. But wherefore is it that you refuse cre- dence to Glen Eynort's accusation ?" " Pecause hersel' pe no stranger to Glen Eynort's plack heart," answered Donald ; " and pecause she would sooner pe trusting ta worst word spoken py Miss Lillias, tan Glen Eynort's oath on ta pook hersel'. Glen Eynort has peen B 6 looking looking for ta lands of Lochullin, and for tat she would hang ta pest, or kill ta pest. Ta curse of ta prokenhearted might pe her portion, if she was not ta last Macrioman !" " He is one you had better not rail so loudly against," said Clifford, apprehen- sive that the acute ear of his eneray might catch the old man's words ; " to those who give me credit for innocence, rii^^ misfortunes may well serve as a warning not to rouse his hatred ; he has rendered me an object of detestation to good men, and thrown a stain on my character, which a full acquittal can hardly do away." " Ochone ! ochone !" returned the Highlander, mournfully, " ta world grows worse and worse, as ta hairs of hier head grow whiter, or go6t men would pe seeing like old Tonald Tar- roch. Put, Br hersel's sake, for ta sake of her tat's at rest, and for ta sake of ta young lady of Lochullin, she'll set het- free, MACRIMMON. IS free, or bang in ta rope peside her. She'll maype no pe seeing ta plack pack of Scour Vuillin, and ta pig woods pefore her ?" 'As he spoke, he pointed to a dark and lofty ridge of hills, the slopes of which were partially clothed with wood. Clif- ford almost smiled as he declared that he saw them distinctly; for, excepting the precipices under which they were travelling, a brawling river some hun- dred feet below, and the sky, there was no other object for the eye to rest upon. "Well ten," said the Highlander, with cool resolution in his look, " she'll just pe putting ta peast to a gallop, till she comes to ta first glen leading to ta woods of Scour Vuillin ; after tat, she'll pe right to pe leaping off his pack, and trusting^ to her feet and ta Coil More, Pe off now, and God pless and preserve her for petter days !" ** And what is to become of you, Do- nald," 14 MACRIMMON. nald," inquired Clifford, " provided I fol- low your advice, and effect my escape ?" " Hersel' will just pe staying pehind for a little, to make up matters wi' Glen Eynort, py her leave, and maype lend ta gillies a skelp, should ta pe for passing her," answered Donald. " Now ride! ride ! and, as she said pefore, God's pless- ing pe wi' ta Sassenach !" " No, no, Donald," rejoined Clifford ; " if I regain my liberty, it shall not be by sacrificing you, and skulking among the pines and birches of the Coil More. I am grieved to think I have no better mode of testifying my gratitude for your devotion than by a few feeble words, but hereafter, in your own heart, will you find reward for your kindness to an un- fortunate fellow-creature. But let us ride apart, for I can perceive the wolf is on the watch." " And would pe worrying her, if she i^^d," added Donald, as the stern voice h :::..::. of MACRIMMON. 15 of Glen Eyiiort ordered him to resign his place next the prisoner to a less gar- rulous guard. He had no alternative hut obedience, and care was taken that no further opportunity of conversing should be allowed, for he who had the superintendence of their march knew well that he had long before forfeited all claim on Donald's fidelity. Notwithstanding they had started with the dawn, and travelled throughout the day with unusual rapidity, evening was drawing on, when, from a distant height, the town of was descried, and hail- ed as the conclusion of their journey. As they descended from the uplands, whose boundary they had at length at- tained, a wide and magnificent prospect lay spread before them, permitting the eye to embrace, at one glance, spacious estuaries, fertile peninsulas, and various towns and hamlets, on the white walls of which the rays of the departing sun left a lingering flush of glory. Clifford had 16 MACRTMMON. had beheld before this far-stretching and entrancing landscape, but then his spirit was unbroken, and his natural sensibility to the charms of nature heightened by the tranquillity and well-regulated hopes of his heart ; since then, tranquillity had suffered utter wreck, and of his hopes there scarcely remained a relic to cheer him onward. This sudden reverse fully explained the reason why the verdure of the earth, the blue waves of the ocean, the glowing sky of heaven itself, all darkened and grew black as he looked upon them. He watched the sun go down beyond the western heights, and he might be said to see it sink, as though he should never more behold it rise ; it seemed to have set in the last night of the world, and to leave the vast land- scape before him devoid of form or beauty. Throughout the day Glen Eynort had kiept aloof from his prisoner, as if averse to communing with him ; but when the journey MACRIMMON. Vt journey drew near a close, he could not resist the fiendish impulse that goaded him on to mark their separation with insult. Intimating to the laird of Ben Ard his desire to exchange a few words in private with the victim of his enmity, he spurred forward, and ordering the attendants to fall back, took their place. — " I give my fellow-traveller joy," said he, with that sneering smile which, for the last two days, had deserted his face — " the conclusion of our journey and the jail of are near." rroifsj Clifford remained silent, for he sur^ mised that uisults he had no means of punishing were in reserve. Glen Ey- nort, however, was not in a mood to be easily foiled, for, after a short pause, he added — ** What! tongue-tied at the out- set ! Fie ! fie ! this will never bring you off a conqueror. Cheer up, my good sir, and if you turn out at all conversible, I reck not if I beguile the remaining half- mile before us, in such a way as shall speedily 18 MACRIMMON. speedily earn your warmest thanks. I would talk of Dunrimmon, and of LiU lias Macara, my knight of the woful countenance." - -ff The name of either ought to speak consternation to your soul," returned Clifford, unable to maintain his tacitur^ nity. -s:^ Or burn my lips in giving them utterance," rejoined the other. " Well, well; be it as you will. Yet, on the whole, Mr. Clifford, do you not look upon me as a deserving and a happy man ?" i'?*S You as deserving! you as happy I ■' exclaimed Clifford — " No, no ; I hourly thank my God that I know no such de- serts— no such happiness. Blasted though fame and fortune be — though life itself hangs but on man's fickle breath, I would not exchange destinies for all that is Glen Eynort's." j " Well," returned his companion, '* JL am not yet so satiated with character vkii'mi^'^ and MACRIMMON. , l^ and security as to insist on your taking thera off my hands, and accepting in lieu dishonour and a rope. Yet, in case you come to suspect that I am given to tell fibs, I will go so far as to waste a few words in proving myself both deserving and happy. In the first place, have I not displayed the address of a perfect Machiavel, in circumventing a treacher- ous and designing enemy ? have I not w^aited patiently — watched patiently — suffered patiently ? and have I not hurl- ed him to the brink of perdition in the end ? Answer me honestly ; are talents such as these unworthy of admiration — undeserving of reward ?" " Then take both from those inclined to grant them," replied Clifford ; " for me, I hold you in mortal despite and detestation." " So that flashing eye avows," retorted Glen Eynort; " and had not the law stretched out her relentless fangs, I pre- sume we should have drawn a trigger ^^ together 20 MACRIMMON. together in a friendly way, or mayhap taken a morning tilt with the small-? sword, merely to give us an appetite for breakfast. But now that I have done justice to my veracity as far as regards my claiming high deserts, let me pro- ceed to the second clause, and shew that I am equally worthy of envy as of ad- miration. I have noticed that you are not altogether insensible to the charms of Miss Macara — of course, her having unexpectedly become heiress to her bro- ther's estates only renders them the more dazzling, and lessens that natural antipathy to the trammels of wedlock which I, in common with other men, I presume, ever feel inclined to entertMn. Now acknowledge that, with cousin Lil- lias for a lady, and Ix)chullin as her dowry in perspective, I am justly en- titled to the appellation of * happy man." " You are entitled to the appellation o^ fiend r observed Clifford, while he surveyed him with the steady eye of in- ^ nocence. MACRIMMON. 21 nocence. " But speak on ; I heed you not." " Now that is spoken like a thankless varlet," returned Glen Eynort, some- what abashed ; *' but no matter — ingra- titude is so common a vice now-a-days, as to engender no surprise; so to my subject. As well as a heart like mine can love womankind, do I love the saint- like eyes and sighing voice of Lillias Macara ; but far better than either do I love the broad acres she now inherits. One short year over, and Dun Rimmon shall see such a wedding as never High- lander yet shook heel at; the brown- haired beauty of the North shall be the bride, and I, Ninian IVIacrimmon, of Glen Eynort, the man to whom she is mated." " On that day the waters of Loch Ruart will surely rise to engulf you," exclaimed Clifford, every nerve thrilling with passion. "But no! — such a mon- strous union never can take place ; vil- laia 22 MACRIMMON. lain though you be, in the blackest sense of the word, marrying the sister of Loch- ullin is an acme of guilt you have not hardihood to aspire to !" " Doubt me not," retorted Glen Ey^ nort ; " though a spectre from the tomb stood between to forbid it, Lillias should be mine ; on my breast alone shall those glossy ringlets repose — in my ear, and no other, shall that gentle voice breathe words of affection." " Liar !" shouted Clifford, exasperated beyond endurance, and lifting his hand to strike the boaster to the earth, " I will dash that haughty front beneath my horse's hoofs !" " Take heed what you venture to at- tempt," returned Glen Eynort, coolly, while he laid his hand on the stock of a pistol that peeped from below his bra- chart ; " one hostile motion sees a bullet lay your own head as low as you idly threaten to bring mine. I was bent on lightsome talk, but since you so incline, UiG. shall MACRIMMON. 23 shall now resort to a sterner mode of speech. Driveller that you are ! thought you that Ninian Macrimmon would tamely submit to see her he had marked for himself won by an English boy ? thought you that the fairest blossom of our mountains sprung for no better pur- pose than to be plucked by, and worn on the helmet of a southern soldier? By my name ! I take pride in telling you, we admit of no such spoliation. I mark- ed that presumptuous eye — I read that deceptions heart; but I kept my secret like that of the grave, and marked, plan- ned, accomplished all, without assistance. True, I never dared to hope that my re- venge was to turn out so complete ; but a bow drawn at a venture slew a king of Israel, and so may the erring stone which smote LochuUin be said to send you to the shades below." " And think you to escape all slur in this matter?" inquired Clifford. " Before my judges I will declare that you, and "if- you 24 MACRIMMON. you alone, are guilty of your kinsman's blood." " You may as well sing an old song when asked for your defence," observed Glen Eynort. " Who the deuce will give heed to a culprit denouncing the most material witness for the prosecu- tion ? believe me, no one to whom na- ture has granted common judgment. A miracle alone can save you, and that is the resurrection of Fasnacloich and Alis- ter Chisholm. The devil did me a glo- rious act of kindness when he gave them to the fish of Loch Ruart." " But Miss Macara will not desert 4ne," returned Clifford; " her evidence and denunciation will be credited, and may work your overthrow." " She can do me no harm, but herself much," was the rejoinder. " What does her evidence tend to, farther than to prove that a dying man, in a moment of delirium, pronounced you innocent, and immediately after retracted his as- sertion ? MACRIMMON, 25 sertion ? Who, when it is published that you were her lover, will doubt her per- jury, or fail to infer that a hardened heart has leagued her with the murderer of her brother? But, on the whole, I am inclined to believe that she will speedily revoke every word she had al- leged in your favour, and if she does bear witness at all, bear it against you. I prophecy that, ere long, I shall have so thoroughly rectified her opinions on this head, that she will be able to read your last dying speech without a tear." ** I shall treasure up your words for future exigency," said Clifford, writhing under the mental torture his merciless foe inflicted. " Do so," was the sneering remark; " but keep it also in view, that we have had no auditors, and that what you as- sert I can deny. Yet, in case I should farther commit myself, let the subject go to sleep, more especially as I perceive VOL. II. c we g€ MACRIMMOK. we are close on the suburbs of the bo- rough." They entered the town in silence, and as it was that period of the evening when twilight stniggles vainly with the in- creasing gloom, Clifford hoped he might reach his melancholy destination unno- ticed ; but in this he was disappointed ; his guards were soon recognized by ac- quaintances, the occasion of their jour- ney inquired into, narrated, and in con- sequence rapidly promulgated. It was perhaps well for the prisoner that the foregoing conversation had so agitated his mind, as in a measure to render him callous to the loud and repeated expres- sions of popular indignation that saluted him from all sides, otherwise he could hardly have supported himself during the half-hour he was detained in front of the tolbooth, owing to some delay arising from the lateness of the hour. At length all preliminaries for his recep- tion MACKIMMON. 27 tion were adjusted; the heavy doors fell back and admitted him — the hootings of the multitude sounded fainter and fainter on his ear — bolts and chains rat- tled at intervals, as he continued to fol- low his guide. He entered a dark, com- fortless, solitary room ; a clammy hand grasped his fingers, and a friendly voice breathed forth — " God save ta Sasse- nach!" The ensuing moment Donald was gone, and he sunk down on the straw pallet of a felon. The diary of a man condemned to the solitude of a prison must needs have little variety of incident. Clifford soon discovered that he was the only inhabi- tant of the building, for crimes are rare in these remote districts ; and in this circumstance he found a source of con- solation, inasmuch as it left him free from observation, and in all probability saved him from herding with the cor- rupt and vicious. For the first day he made no exertion to recall his scattered c 2 thoughts. 28 MACRIMMON. thoughts, but continued stretched on his miserable couch, in a sort of listlessness and stupor — alive, but scarcely conscious of existence. The jailor regularly brought him coarse food, and occasionally let fall a few words of condolence; but for a time he left the food untouched, nor deigned to return an answer ; the other consequently grew equally taciturn. — But another sun arose, and as its beams streamed through the grated window of his apartment, he approached it, in or- der to try if the bland air of morning would dissipate the suffocating oppres- sion at his heart. — " Let me bear my misfortunes like a man," he ejaculated, at length finding utterance ; " and the less I appear to suffer, the less shall that monster Glen Eynort triumph. Let me endeavour to arrange my thoughts, so as to make every effort to circumvent and expose his machinations; and if I fail, be it with words of bitter defiance, not of lamentation, on my lips. If it is my MACRIMMON. 89 my doom to be cut off with ignominy from the earth — if my sun must go down in shame and dishonour, be it so ; I trust the actions of my short life have not been so systematically iniquitous as to shut me out from mercy in another. As for my name — that nov/ blighted name I hoped one day to render so glo- rious, a few fleeting years wull suffice to consion it to oblivion as total as thouojh I had never existed. Lillias too will for- get— but no, I must not think of her ; God send her brighter days tlian I dare to anticipate for her ! The bride of Glen Eynort ! — sooner, sooner may she join LochuUin in the tomb !" From that moment his fortitude be- gan to return — at least despondency was not permitted to break down his mind into imbecility; he procured writing materials, and wrote a long explanatory letter to his friend Tarleton, enclosing one for his colonel, tendering the resig- nation of his commission, provided the c 3 latter 30 MACRIMMON. latter thought it requisite. He found this a painful duty, as, should he be ac- quitted, it left him in a certain measure destitute; but there was no alternative; he could only hope that colonel Wrio- thesley would not withdraw his counte- nance and good opinion at such a crisis, but that, backed by the entreaties of Tarleton, a hitherto-untarnished charac- ter would be the means of retaining for him a future provision, should the work- ings of malice eventually fail. These letters dispatched through the agency of the jailor, he set himself to calculate when he might expect Tarleton to make his appearance; for, judging by his own heart, he doubted not but he would has- ten to offer consolation and advice, the moment he became aware of his unhap- py case. His spirits began to droop, when a whole day, over and above the period necessary for the conveyance of the letter and his friend's subsequent journey, elapsed without any intelli- gence MACRIMMON. tl gence of him — " He might at least have written a few words," said he, mentally ; ** but Tarleton is like the rest of the world, and leaves me to founder alone. Well, well, many a gallant vessel has gone down unsuccoured before now; so I will vex myself with mankind no more. Not even to Coulson will I write; let him learn from the public prints that I have died the death, or bear the brand of a malefactor; and then, in his ignorance, muse over the circumstance, with cold-hearted amaze- ment at his ever having given a mur- derer credit for aught bearing a simili- tude to virtue. A few weeks hence, and how quiet and forgotten may I be ly- ing! In my boyhood — in those hours of deep and abstruse thought which agreed not with my years, and probably foretold that my destiny was not to be happy, I have marvelled on what spot on the face of the earth I was to lay this head on its final pillow, and leave these c 4} limbs S2 MACRIMMON. limbs to moulder ; pestilential climes, battle fields, the broad bosom of the piti- less sea, have each, in turn, been imaged ; but a gibbet ! — to hang in the winds of heaven till my bones drop joint from joint ! — never, never did I picture aught so horrible." As he ended this soliloquy, the disso- nant sounds occasioned by the removal of the bolts guarding the door attracted his attention, and brought to mind that it was an unusual hour for the jailor to visit him. — " Some forlorn wretch comes to keep me company in this den of mi- sery," said he, as the sound of voices blended with the grating of the lock. The door fell back as he spoke, and Tarleton sprung forward to grasp his hand. Warm but sorrowful was his greeting; while Clifford, remembering that he had so lately injured him by suspecting his disinterestedness, knew not how to atone. Tarleton saw he was embarrassed, and conjecturing the cause, said — ' MACRIMMON. 33 said — " I can perceive you have been mentally calumniating my character ; and, to confess the truth, appearances are a little against me; yet I do not utterly despair of adducing something in exculpation, as far as relates to my delay. Fully satisfied in my own mind that you are innocent, and will be ac- quitted, I conceived I should be doing you a greater service by advocating your cause with the commanding officer, than in making personal condolence my first duty. Colonel Wriothesley was not in the fort when your letter arrived ; I had therefore to wait his return, and the re- sult proved that I did well. He is as favourably biassed as you could desire — voluntarily proffers to exert his influence for the preservation of your commission until your fate is decided, and will also appear and give testimony in your be- half, provided you think he can be of ±be smallest service; in short, he has «hewn himself far from a summer friend, c 5 and S4 MACRIMMON. and I take the interest he displays re- garding you as a happy augury of the future." Clifford was deeply affected, not so much by the generosity of his colonel as by consciousness that he owed all to the assiduous and warm support of that friend whose fidelity, in a moment of despondency, he had dared to question. — " Tarleton," said he, " if I could be said to depend on man since Lochullin died, it was on you ; yet I will not con- ceal that my suspicious nature was tempt- ed to wrong you for a few hours delay — hours which were so occupied as to shame every word by which I would try to thank you. Founding your reliance on my innocence solely on a brief and hasty scrawl, written without connexion or perspicuity, it is high time that I give you more cogent proofs whereon to rest your exculpatory verdict; listen, there- fore, while I endeavour to string toge- ther those circumstances which have placed MACRIMMON. Sl^ placed me in this melancholy predica- ment." He then proceeded to narrate, in a succinct but clear manner, every occur- rence of moment, from his first rencoun- ter with the two Highlanders at the Queensferry, down to the hour which saw him the inhabitant of a jail ; so can- did were his disclosures, that even his attachment for Lillias was not concealed, and the base advantage taken by Glen Eynort of his surreptitiously-obtained knowledge of that weakness was bitter- ly dwelt on. Several times Tarleton be- trayed an inclination to interrupt the thread of the tale by violent comment, and when it concluded, something like an oath against Glen Eynort escaped him. — " He is the homicide himself, Clifford," cried he, vehemently — " the shedding of blood is his pastime, and hostility to every thing virtuous his rul- ing principle. The devil is evidently allied on his side, and I apprehend we c 6 shall 36 MACRIMMON. shall have some trouble to circumvent their infamous plotting ; yet let us not despair. Bethink yourself how I can be of service." " You have already done all that man can do, Tarleton," returned Clifford, with that dismal composure which springs from an implicit belief that the tide of misfortune cannot be impeded. " In the solitude of my prison, and with all the sophistry of a principal, I have repeated- ly weighed every thing likely to turn out to my advantage*, but so fearfully does the balance preponderate in favour of my adversary, that my death seems all but inevitable. I have been latterly trying to prepare my mind for the worsts that death may not find me slumbering ; grieve not, my friend, that so it must be — long life ranks not always as a blessing." " You misunderstand me, Clifford," exclaimed Tarleton. " I reck life as lightly a& most men in the field ;, but to MACRIMMON. 37 go out of the world on a gibbet ! — no, no, I cannot think calmly of aught so ignominious. I would to Heaven that I could, with the point of my sword, teach this monster Glen Eynort a little humanity and principle ! we are scarcely quit on old scores — so I am of opinion that a morning call might have a happy result." " Go not near him, my friend," ear- nestly aspirated ClifiPord; " if you do so, you are lost irretrievably ; he is like the serpent in the mortal poison of his sting, and in his pitiless nature and ici- ness of heart still more closely resembles the same loathsome reptile. A scaffold, I grant, is a horrible arena whereon to contend with death ; yet God will give me strength to ascend it. Go not near him, Tarleton." " And can I do nothing?" inquired the other, mournfully ; " but must I know my friend innocent, yet coolly stand by and see him perish?" *^ " Let 38 MACRIMMON. " Let me think," said Clifford, musing — " yes, there is one way in which you might contribute to my peace. Glen Eynort boasted that he would lead Lil- lias Macara to the altar, and that too before the worms had done feasting on these devoted limbs; he vaunted that she should be won over to believe in my guilt — to hold my memory in de- testation; and, as far as only concerns myself, so let it be. But Lillias — go warn her, Tarleton, never to become his bride, as she would avoid perdition ; say that you repeat the injunctions of a dy- ing man, who asks no favour but a stead- fast rejection of Glen Eynort. These eyes shall never more behold her, but if she is saved, I shall close them in peace.*' " And if her salvation is to be effected by the speedy conveyance of your mes- sage," returned Tarleton, " look upon it as already accomplished. But before we part, I cannot refrain from naming a for- lorn hope. I know your spirit will re- volt MACRIMMON. 39 volt at what I am going to propose, but remember that you are innocent — that, if you wait till your removal to Inverness, the opportunity will be gone, never more to return. This building is not so secure as its guardians imagine ; look at these bars, so deeply corroded by the saline breeze of the sea ; a strong arm might easily wrench them from their hold." As he spoke, he pointed significantly to the grating of the win- dow. 