by Walter Scott
CHAPTER XXVII.
Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the Forelock, And if she escapes my grasp, the fault is mine; He that hath buffeted with stern adversity Best knows the shape his course to favouring breezes.
Old Play.
OUR travellers reach Edinburgh without any farther adventure, and theMaster of Ravenswood, as had been previously settled, took up his abodewith his noble friend.
In the mean time, the political crisis which had been expected tookplace, and the Tory party obtained in the Scottish, as in the English,councils of Queen Anne a short-lived ascendency, of which it is not ourbusiness to trace either the cause or consequences. Suffice it to say,that it affected the different political parties according to the natureof their principles. In England, many of the High Church party, withHarley, afterwards Earl of Oxford, at their head, affected to separatetheir principles from those of the Jacobites, and, on that account,obtained the denomination of Whimsicals. The Scottish High Church party,on the contrary, or, as they termed themselves, the Cavaliers, were moreconsistent, if not so prudent, in their politics, and viewed all thechanges now made as preparatory to calling to the throne, upon thequeen's demise, her brother the Chevalier de St. George. Those who hadsuffered in his service now entertained the most unreasonable hopes,not only of indemnification, but of vengeance upon their politicaladversaries; while families attached to the Whig interest saw nothingbefore them but a renewal of the hardships they had undergone during thereigns of Charles the Second and his brother, and a retaliation of theconfiscation which had been inflicted upon the Jacobites during that ofKing William.
But the most alarmed at the change of system was that prudential set ofpersons, some of whom are found in all governments, but who abound in aprovincial administration like that of Scotland during the period,and who are what Cromwell called waiters upon Providence, or, in otherwords, uniform adherents to the party who are uppermost. Many of thesehastened to read their recantation to the Marquis of A----; and, asit was easily seen that he took a deep interest in the affairs ofhis kinsman, the Master of Ravenswood, they were the first to suggestmeasures for retrieving at least a part of his property, and forrestoring him in blood against his father's attainder.
Old Lord Turntippet professed to be one of the most anxious for thesuccess of these measures; for "it grieved him to the very saul," hesaid, "to see so brave a young gentleman, of sic auld and undoubtednobility, and, what was mair than a' that, a bluid relation of theMarquis of A----, the man whom," he swore, "he honoured most uponthe face of the earth, brougth to so severe a pass. For his ainpuir peculiar," as he said, "and to contribute something to therehabilitation of sae auld ane house," the said Turntippet sent in threefamily pictures lacking the frames, and six high-backed chairs, withworked Turkey cushions, having the crest of Ravenswood broideredthereon, without charging a penny either of the principal or interestthey had cost him, when he bought them, sixteen years before, at a roupof the furniture of Lord Ravenswood's lodgings in the Canongate.
Much more to Lord Turntippet's dismay than to his surprise, althoughhe affected to feel more of the latter than the former, the Marquisreceived his gift very drily, and observed, that his lordship'srestitution, if he expected it to be received by the Master ofRavenswood and his friends, must comprehend a pretty large farm, which,having been mortgaged to Turntippet for a very inadequate sum, he hadcontrived, during the confusion of the family affairs, and by meanswell understood by the lawyers of that period, to acquire to himself inabsolute property.
The old time-serving lord winced excessively under the requisition,protesting to God, that he saw no occasion the lad could have for theinstant possession of the land, seeing he would doubtless now recoverthe bulk of his estate from Sir William Ashton, to which he was ready tocontribute by every means in his power, as was just and reasonable; andfinally declaring, that he was willing to settle the land on the younggentleman after his own natural demise.
But all these excuses availed nothing, and he was compelled to disgorgethe property, on receiving back the sum for which it had been mortgaged.Having no other means of making peace with the higher powers, hereturned home sorrowful and malcontent, complaining to his confidants,"That every mutation or change in the state had hitherto been productiveof some sma' advantage to him in his ain quiet affairs; but that thepresent had--pize upon it!--cost him one of the best penfeathers o' hiswing."
Similar measures were threatened against others who had profited bythe wreck of the fortune of Ravenswood; and Sir William Ashton, inparticular, was menaced with an appeal to the House of Peers, a courtof equity, against the judicial sentences, proceeding upon a strict andsevere construction of the letter of the law, under which he held thecastle and barony of Ravenswood. With him, however, the Master, as wellfor Lucy's sake as on account of the hospitality he had received fromhim, felt himself under the necessity of proceeding with great candor.He wrote to the late Lord Keeper, for he no longer held that office,stating frankly the engagement which existed between him and MissAshton, requesting his permission for their union, and assuring him ofhis willingness to put the settlement of all matters between them uponsuch a footing as Sir William himself should think favourable.
The same messenger was charged with a letter to Lady Ashton, deprecatingany cause of displeasure which the Master might unintentionally havegiven her, enlarging upon his attachment to Miss Ashton, and the lengthto which it had proceeded, and conjuring the lady, as a Douglas innature as well as in name, generously to forget ancient prejudices andmisunderstandings, and to believe that the family had acquired a friend,and she herself a respectful and attached humble servant, in him whosubscribed himself, "Edgar, Master of Ravenswood." A third letterRavenswood addressed to Lucy, and the messenger was instructed to findsome secret and secure means of delivering it into her own hands. Itcontained the strongest protestations of continued affection, anddwelt upon the approaching change of the writer's fortunes, as chieflyvaluable by tending to remove the impediments to their union. He relatedthe steps he had taken to overcome the prejudices of her parents,and especially of her mother, and expressed his hope they might proveeffectual. If not, he still trusted that his absence from Scotland uponan important and honourable mission might give time for prejudices todie away; while he hoped and trusted Miss Ashton's constancy, on whichhe had the most implicit reliance, would baffle any effort that mightbe used to divert her attachment. Much more there was, which, howeverinteresting to the lovers themselves, would afford the reader neitherinterest nor information. To each of these three letters the Master ofRavenswood received an answer, but by different means of conveyance, andcertainly couched in very different styles.
Lady Ashton answered his letter by his own messenger, who was notallowed to remain at Ravenswood a moment longer than she was engagedin penning these lines.
"For the hand of Mr. Ravenswood of Wolf's Crag--These:
"SIR, UNKNOWN:
"I have received a letter, signed 'Edgar, Master of Ravenswood,'concerning the writer whereof I am uncertain, seeing that the honours ofsuch a family were forfeited for high treason in the person of Allan,late Lord Ravenswood. Sir, if you shall happen to be the person sosubscribing yourself, you will please to know, that I claim the fullinterest of a parent in Miss Lucy Ashton, which I have disposed ofirrevocably in behalf of a worthy person. And, sir, were this otherwise,I would not listen to a proposal from you, or any of your house, seeingtheir hand has been uniformly held up against the freedom of the subjectand the immunities of God's kirk. Sir, it is not a flightering blink ofprosperity which can change my constant opinion in this regard, seeingit has been my lot before now, like holy David, to see the wicked greatin power and flourishing like a green bay-tree; nevertheless I passed,and they were not, and the place thereof knew them no more. Wishing youto lay these things to your heart for your own sake, so far as they mayconcern you, I pray you to take no farther notice of her who desires toremain your unknown servant,
"MA
RGARET DOUGLAS,
"otherwise ASHTON."
About two days after he had received this very unsatisfactory epistle,the Master of Ravenswood, while walking up the High Street of Edinburgh,was jostled by a person, in whom, as the man pulled off his hat to makean apology, he recognized Lockhard, the confidential domestic ofSir William Ashton. The man bowed, slipt a letter into his hand, anddisappeared. The packet contained four close-written folios, from which,however, as is sometimes incident to the compositions of great lawyers,little could be extracted, excepting that the writer felt himself in avery puzzling predicament.
Sir William spoke at length of his high value and regard for his dearyoung friend, the Master of Ravenswood, and of his very extreme highvalue and regard for the Marquis of A----, his very dear old friend;he trusted that any measures that they might adopt, in which he wasconcerned, would be carred on with due regard to the sanctity ofdecreets and judgments obtained in foro contentioso; protesting, beforemen and angels, that if the law of Scotland, as declared in her supremecourts, were to undergo a reversal in the English House of Lords, theevils which would thence arise to the public would inflict a greaterwound upon his heart than any loss he might himself sustain by suchirregular proceedings. He flourished much on generosity and forgivenessof mutual injuries, and hinted at the mutability of human affairs,always favourite topics with the weaker party in politics. Hepathetically lamented, and gently censured, the haste which had beenused in depriving him of his situation of Lord Keeper, which hisexperience had enabled him to fill with some advantage to the public,without so much as giving him an opportunity of explaining how far hisown views of general politics might essentially differ from those now inpower. He was convinced the Marquis of A---- had as sincere intentionstowards the public as himself or any man; and if, upon a conference,they could have agreed upon the measures by which it was to be pursued,his experience and his interest should have gone to support the presentadministration. Upon the engagement betwixt Ravenswood and his daughter,he spoke in a dry and confused manner. He regretted so premature astep as the engagement of the young people should have been taken, andconjured the Master to remember he had never given any encouragementthereunto; and observed that, as a transaction inter minores, andwithout concurrence of his daughter's natural curators, the engagementwas inept, and void in law. This precipitate measure, he added, hadproduced a very bad effect upon Lady Ashton's mind, which it wasimpossible at present to remove. Her son, Colonel Douglas Ashton, hadembraced her prejudices in the fullest extent, and it was impossible forSir William to adopt a course disagreeable to them without a fatal andirreconcilable breach in his family; which was not at present to bethought of. Time, the great physician, he hoped, would mend all.
In a postscript, Sir William said something more explicitly, whichseemed to intimate that, rather than the law of Scotland should sustaina severe wound through his sides, by a reversal of the judgment of hersupreme courts, in the case of the barony of Ravenswood, through theintervention of what, with all submission, he must term a foreign courtof appeal, he himself would extrajudically consent to considerablesacrifices.
From Lucy Ashton, by some unknown conveyance, the Master received thefollowing lines: "I received yours, but it was at the utmost risk; donot attempt to write again till better times. I am sore beset, but Iwill be true to my word, while the exercise of my reason is vouchsafedto me. That you are happy and prosperous is some consolation, and mysituation requires it all." The note was signed "L.A."
This letter filled Ravenswood with the most lively alarm. He made manyattempts, notwithstanding her prohibition, to convey letters to MissAshton, and even to obtain an interview; but his plans were frustrated,and he had only the mortification to learn that anxious and effectualprecautions had been taken to prevent the possibility of theircorrespondence. The Master was the more distressed by thesecircumstances, as it became impossible to delay his departure fromScotland, upon the important mission which had been confided to him.Before his departure, he put Sir William Ashton's letter into the handsof the Marquis of A----, who observed with a smile, that Sir William'sday of grace was past, and that he had now to learn which side of thehedge the sun had got to. It was with the greatest difficulty thatRavenswood extorted from the Marquis a promise that he would compromisethe proceedings in Parliament, providing Sir William should be disposedto acquiesce in a union between him and Lucy Ashton.
"I would hardly," said the Marquis, "consent to your throwing away yourbirthright in this manner, were I not perfectly confident that LadyAshton, or Lady Douglas, or whatever she calls herself, will, asScotchmen say, keep her threep; and that her husband dares notcontradict her."
"But yet," said the Master, "I trust your lordship will consider myengagement as sacred."
"Believe my word of honour," said the Marquis, "I would be a friend evento your follies; and having thus told you MY opinion, I will endeavour,as occasion offers, to serve you according to your own."
The master of Ravenswood could but thank his generous kinsman andpatron, and leave him full power to act in all his affairs. He departedfrom Scotland upon his mission, which, it was supposed, might detain himupon the continent for some months.