Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer — Complete

by Walter Scott

  CHAPTER VIII So the red Indian, by Ontario's side, Nursed hardy on the brindled panther's hide, As fades his swarthy race, with anguish sees The white man's cottage rise beneath the trees; He leaves the shelter of his native wood, He leaves the murmur of Ohio's flood, And forward rushing in indignant grief, Where never foot has trod the fallen leaf, He bends his course where twilight reigns sublime. O'er forests silent since the birth of time.

  SCENES OF INFANCY.

  In tracing the rise and progress of the Scottish Maroon war, we must notomit to mention that years had rolled on, and that little Harry Bertram,one of the hardiest and most lively children that ever made a sword andgrenadier's cap of rushes, now approached his fifth revolving birthday. Ahardihood of disposition, which early developed itself, made him alreadya little wanderer; he was well acquainted with every patch of lea groundand dingle around Ellangowan, and could tell in his broken language uponwhat baulks grew the bonniest flowers, and what copse had the ripestnuts. He repeatedly terrified his attendants by clambering about theruins of the old castle, and had more than once made a stolen excursionas far as the gipsy hamlet.

  On these occasions he was generally brought back by Meg Merrilies, who,though she could not be prevailed upon to enter the Place of Ellangowanafter her nephew had been given up to the press-gang, did not apparentlyextend her resentment to the child. On the contrary, she often contrivedto waylay him in his walks, sing him a gipsy song, give him a ride uponher jackass, and thrust into his pocket a piece of gingerbread or ared-cheeked apple. This woman's ancient attachment to the family,repelled and checked in every other direction, seemed to rejoice inhaving some object on which it could yet repose and expand itself. Sheprophesied a hundred times, 'that young Mr. Harry would be the pride o'the family, and there hadna been sic a sprout frae the auld aik since thedeath of Arthur Mac-Dingawaie, that was killed in the battle o' theBloody Bay; as for the present stick, it was good for nothing butfire-wood.' On one occasion, when the child was ill, she lay all nightbelow the window, chanting a rhyme which she believed sovereign as afebrifuge, and could neither be prevailed upon to enter the house nor toleave the station she had chosen till she was informed that the crisiswas over.

  The affection of this woman became matter of suspicion, not indeed to theLaird, who was never hasty in suspecting evil, but to his wife, who hadindifferent health and poor spirits. She was now far advanced in a secondpregnancy, and, as she could not walk abroad herself, and the woman whoattended upon Harry was young and thoughtless, she prayed Dominie Sampsonto undertake the task of watching the boy in his rambles, when he shouldnot be otherwise accompanied. The Dominie loved his young charge, and wasenraptured with his own success in having already brought him so far inhis learning as to spell words of three syllables. The idea of this earlyprodigy of erudition being carried off by the gipsies, like a second AdamSmith,[Footnote: The father of Economical Philosophy was, when a child,actually carried off by gipsies, and remained some hours in theirpossession.] was not to be tolerated; and accordingly, though the chargewas contrary to all his habits of life, he readily undertook it, andmight be seen stalking about with a mathematical problem in his head, andhis eye upon a child of five years old, whose rambles led him into ahundred awkward situations. Twice was the Dominie chased by across-grained cow, once he fell into the brook crossing at thestepping-stones, and another time was bogged up to the middle in theslough of Lochend, in attempting to gather a water-lily for the youngLaird. It was the opinion of the village matrons who relieved Sampson onthe latter occasion, 'that the Laird might as weel trust the care o' hisbairn to a potatoe bogle'; but the good Dominie bore all his disasterswith gravity and serenity equally imperturbable. 'Pro-di-gi-ous!' was theonly ejaculation they ever extorted from the much-enduring man.