“leonard!” cried ramsay, “leonard! that man of iron, whose very face is a perfect forge, his chin being the stithy, his mouth the great bellows, his eyes the ignited charcoal, his nose the fore-hammer, and his brows the broken and smoke begrimmed pent-house that hangs over all.”
“torfefan!” continued stewart; “torfefan! that bully of the backsword, rapier, and [57]dagger, who, except when he is pot-valiant, is always so wise in his steel-devouring courage, as to spread it forth like the tail of a turkey-cock, always the wider, the weaker the adversary he may have to deal with.”
“bravo! bravo!” cried ramsay, absolutely shouting in his mirth; “bravo! bravo! and then, last of all, andrew, that solemn and mysterious knave, who seems as if he would pluck the stars from the skies, as i would the daisies from a flower border, and who, if i mistake not, will yet contrive to weave a good rich garland of fate out of them for himself, whatever he may do for others. to be compelled to keep such company, stewart, is to pay a severe penalty for the daily converse and favour of a king. but this night, the monarch being engaged, as i told thee, each of these precious fellows hath gone on his own private amusement, for, as thou knowest, there is no such great love among them, as to make any two of them much desire to company together, so, to get rid for one single night of the whole of them but rogers, whom we must admit to be by far the least offensive and most tolerable [58]individual among them, is certainly a matter upon which we may very well congratulate ourselves.”
“true,” replied sir walter; “but i see no reason why we should not rid ourselves of rogers, as well as of the rest, by staying and spending the evening together over this excellent wine. i must confess that i am somewhat travel-worn, and but little inclined for any such entertainment as he may give us.”
“nay, that cannot be,” said ramsay; “i gave my promise to him, ere i knew of thy coming, and when i heard of thine arrival, i pledged my word to bring thee with me. so, now, thou must not abandon me. besides, as i told thee, the fellow is the best of these minions, and his music, not to mention that of his niece, is always some recompense for the endurance of his company. so haste thee to doff thy travelling weeds, and pink thyself out in such attire, as may make thee pleasing in the eyes of the fair and philomela-voiced juliet. be quick! for i shall wait for thee here.”
sir walter stewart, rather unwillingly, summoned his servants—was lighted to his chamber, [59]and soon returned, in a dress, which was in no wise put to shame by that of his friend, and they proceeded together to the lodgings of sir william rogers.
the apartments of this favourite minstrel of the king were not extensive, but, as the custom was, down to a very late period of our history, even the principal bed-room, which purposely contained a richly carved aud highly ornamented bed, was thrown open, and all were lighted up with a blaze of lamps. the furniture was gorgeous and gaudy. the serving-men numerous, but not always expert, and the company was small, and chiefly composed of such persons as were likely to be willing to scrape their way up into favour at court, by grasping the skirt, and scrambling after the footsteps, of any one, however worthless, who might be rising there. the entrance of two gallants so distinguished as ramsay and sir walter stewart produced just such an effect as one might look for from the sudden arrival of two noble peacocks, in full glory of plumage, in the midst of a vulgar flock of turkeys. each small individual present vainly endeavoured [60]to hobble-gobble itself into notice, whilst the two greater and grander birds permitted their own agreeable admiration of themselves, to be but little interrupted by the ruffling and noise of the creatures around them. to sir william rogers himself, however, court policy induced them to yield a full and respectful attention. he was a good looking, and rather stoutish man, with more of talent than of gentility in his face, for though his brows were heavy, his large eyes were always ready to respond, with powerful expression, to the varied feelings which music never failed to awaken within him. in music he was an enthusiast, but when not under the excitement which it invariably produced in him, his whole features betrayed that dull, sordid, self-complacency, only to be disturbed when his own immediate interest moved him.
the musical knight came forward to receive the two friends, with manifest satisfaction, as persons who raised the tone of his little society, and gave him additional consequence in the eyes of his other guests. he presented sir walter, without delay, to his fair niece, who arose gracefully [61]from the harp, over which she had just begun to run her fingers in a prelude, and returned his salute with condescending smiles. she was very beautiful; but, although she appeared to be young, her beauty seemed, somehow, to want the freshness of youth. she looked like a gay garment, which, though neither soiled nor worn, had lost somewhat of that glossy newness of surface, with which it first came forth from the tailor’s shop. whilst her regards were turned towards ramsay, or sir walter stewart, her countenance was covered with the most winning smiles she could wear; but when they chanced to wander round among the meaner personages of the company, it assumed a degree of haughtiness, that was not unmingled with contempt. this proceeded from her very expressive eyes, which beamed forth warm rays, when half veiled by her long dark eyelashes, and were quite in harmony with the mildness of her oval face, her polished forehead, and her dark and finely arched eye-brows. but when their orbs were broadly displayed by the rise of her full eye-lid, the fires that shot from them were too [62]formidable to be altogether agreeable. as was the fashion with ladies of any distinction in those days, her hair was but little seen—the greater part of it being capped up under a very tall, steeple-looking head-dress, which was of a shape much resembling an overgrown pottle-basket. this was of crimson velvet, ornamented with gold embroidery, and from the taper top of it descended a number of streamers of different colours, which hung down behind, and floated over three-fourths of her person. she wore a rich robe, of the same material and colour as the cap. this was made to fit her tightly, as low as the waist, where it was confined by a richly wrought girdle of gold, from which it flowed loosely down, and swept the ground in a wide train, that covered a large extent of the floor around her, but which was so looped up at the sides, as to display a deep cherry-coloured silk petticoat flowered with gold.
“better had it been for thee, juliet, to have sung when i first asked thee,” said sir william rogers to her; “thy minstrelsy might have passed well enough with our good friends here: [63]but now, thou must undergo the severe ordeal, of the nicely critical ears, of these our honoured and highly accomplished guests of the court. sir walter stewart here, especially, is well known to be a master of the divine art of music—as, with his gracious favour, you may perchance by and bye hear.”
“alas! uncle, i know too well how silly i have been, in allowing myself to be thus caught, and i feel too surely i am about to be punished for it!” replied the lady, with a sigh, accompanied by a languishing glance at sir walter; “for who hath not heard of the exquisite science of sir walter stewart? the fame of his accomplishments have made the proudest gallants of england envious. but his eye hath too much benevolence in it, to leave me to doubt, that he will pity and pardon the faults that may spring from this trembling weakness of hand, and fluttering of heart, which his presence hath so suddenly brought upon me.”
the lady, quite accidentally no doubt, then assumed that attitude which was best calculated to display her person to advantage, and began to [64]run her fingers over the chords, with a boldness and strength of touch, that proved her to be a very perfect mistress indeed of the instrument she handled, since she could thus make it discourse such music, under circumstances which she had herself declared to be so unfavourable. notwithstanding the overawing presence of sir walter stewart, whose critical powers she had declared she so much dreaded, she commenced a beautiful love-ballad, in a full, firm, and clear voice, with which she very speedily whirled away the musical soul of the knight of the aven, who, in spite of his boast to the contrary, was immediately drawn towards her chair, over which he continued to hang during all the time of her performance. song after song was sung by this siren, in a style so superior to any thing which he had ever heard before, that he was perfectly enraptured. he was called upon to play and to sing in his turn, and the praises which he received, in terms of no very limited measure, from both uncle and niece, and which, if fame does not belie him, were not altogether unmerited, were re-echoed by the whole flock of gobbling [65]turkeys who pressed around them. the lady then joined her voice to his, in a tender and melting lay,—and thus the evening passed away, till sir walter was called upon to hand her to the table, where an ample feast was spread, and where her very agreeable talk was rendered even yet more spirited, by the rich wines, which enlivened the imagination of both speaker and listener. the hours fled most agreeably; and, before sir walter took his leave, he readily entered into certain arrangements with the lovely juliet, by which it was settled that next day was to be the first of a series of meetings, for mutual practice in the art in which both so much delighted, their studies being of course to be carried on under the direction of sir william rogers himself.
“well, julietta,” said the uncle to the niece, after they were left alone, “how likest thou this new instrument, now that thou hast run the fingers of thy fancy over his stops?”
“the instrument is a handsome instrument enough,” replied juliet. “the strings sound melodiously too. but much of mine affection must rest on the gold with which it may be [66]enriched, and the value of the case which may contain it. is this stewart wealthy, i pray thee; and are his possessions ample enough for my desires?”
“i know that thy desires are ample enough,” replied rogers; “but report speaks well of the wealth and possessions of this sir walter.”
“some where in the bleak north, are they not?” said juliet. “by all the saints, the cold and barren sod of this northern clime had hardly ever been pressed by my foot at all, had i not hoped to have mated me with some of its most wealthy nobles!”
“thou hadst little chance of any such noble match where thou wert, julietta,” replied rogers; “and, let me tell thee, the fates are quite as much against any such chance for thee here. these proud and dogged scottish nobles scorn to grace a court, where the king makes so little account of them. and truly there is little wonder that they should thus take offence, seeing that the places in the royal favour, which by inheritance belong to them, should be filled by such beasts as leonard—torfefan—hommil—[67]andrew—aye, and that prince of brutes, cochran, too.”
“they are all beasts, as thou sayest, uncle,” replied juliet; “though, if i were obliged to choose among them, i should rather tie myself to that coarse, clumsy elephant whom thou hast last named as king of these brutes, than to any of the others. he is the man, depend on’t, who hath the true and proper art to raise the edifice of his own fortunes; and, by using his broad shoulders as a scaffold, a bold woman might thereby mount, methinks, to wealth and honours.”
“he is a pestilent, pushing, proud, overbearing, ignorant, vulgar beast, i tell thee,” replied her uncle, much excited. “the brute despises music! depend upon it, he will never rise to any thing but to the garret story of one of his own buildings, from which, if some kind devil would but throw him down, to the dislocation of that accursed bull neck of his, i should cheerfully compose an especial jubilate. oh, apollo and terpsichore! that a man of my musical science and learning, should be compelled [68]to associate with so vile a piler of stones, and compounder of mortar!”
“i have a shrewd suspicion, that the measure of thy rage against cochran, is but that of thy fears for his outstripping thee in thine ascent of the lofty tower of ambition,” replied juliet. “but spurn him not, good uncle, if thou art wise; for his ladder is long, and strong; and might, with proper management, be useful to thee.”
“i should be right glad to see it so, july, could i but kick down both the ladder and its owner, after i should have so used them,” said rogers. “but methinks thou wouldst fain carry ladder, hod and mortar and all, to the very top of the tower, on thine own shoulders, rather than lose the man they belong to.”
“thou art grievously mistaken, uncle,” replied juliet, keenly. “to rise into a high and wealthy station, and the higher and wealthier the better, would certainly be my desire; but i should much prefer youth, and beauty, and accomplishment, in the instrument which i might use for the gratification of mine ambition. if fate denies me all these indeed, then would i embrace age, [69]and deformity itself, rather than fail of mine object. nay, thou canst hardly as yet guess to what means i should resort to secure its completion. as for cochran, i know he loves me; for, in his great condescension, he hath vouchsafed to tell me so. nor have i altogether kept the bear aloof. to wed myself to him would be to speculate, and that too with but an ungainly and unloveable subject. but if i could read the book of his fate, and find fortune and honours therein, it would not be the coarse edifice of his body, supported as it is upon such rustic pillars, and crowned by so vulgar and heavy a capital, that would deter me from embracing it. yet ’tis but a speculation; and, being so, i must confess that i am disposed, rather to grasp at this handsome corinthian column of the stewart, than to tie myself to that clumsy cochran, whose clay image might, after all, crumble to pieces, and suffocate me in its dirty dust.”
“i am right glad that thou hast so determined, juliet,” said rogers. “i have no jealousy of this well-born knight, who hath, moreover, a greater feeling for the divine art of music than any of his cold countrymen with [70]whom i have yet met, without even excepting royalty itself. but i might as well see thee built up into a stone wall, as see thee the wife of cochran! to see thy great musical genius tied to this most unmelodious and croaking chisseler of stones, and compounder of lime, sand, and cow’s-hair! i quaver at the very thought! but get thee to bed, my girl. now that i know my ground-notes, i shall wonder if i work thee not out a piece that shall not only win thee this instrument of thy more recent desires, but enable thee to play upon it too, according as thou wilt, with thine own variations.”
whilst this precious conversation was going on between the uncle and niece, sir walter stewart gave the convoy to ramsay as far as the royal castle-gate, after which he returned towards his hostel. as he was pursuing his solitary way thither, he heard the clashing of swords; and, on moving quickly down the deserted street, he discovered, by the faint light that came from a new moon, two men pressing hard in fence against one, who was defending himself with great courage, with his back to a [71]wall. though he had no knowledge of the combatants, he could not stand by and see such foul play.
“for shame! for shame, gentlemen!” cried he. “what! two upon one!”
“gentlemen, indeed!” cried he that was assailed, in a contemptuous tone, during the moment of breathing afforded him by sir walter’s interference—“gentlemen indeed!—tailors and scaramouches, else am i not the earl of huntly!”
“again dost thou dare so to miscal the gentlemen of the court of his most royal majesty of scotland?” cried one of the individuals, whom sir walter immediately discovered to be the pot-valiant torfefan. “by all the gods of fire, thunder, and battle, thou shalt eat this good bilboa of mine. have at thee, then, earl, or carl, or devil, if thou likest it!”
“nay, then, my lord of huntly, i will myself relieve thee of this bold bird,” cried the knight; “do thou deal with the other.”
“thanks for thy rescue, sir walter stewart,” replied huntly, now recognizing his friend. [72]“but thou hast left naught to me but the very shred of the skirt of the garment of this broil—the vile cabbage—the very tailor himself.”
“trust me, thy man, though but the ninth-part of one, is as good as mine,” replied sir walter.
the combat was now renewed upon fairer terms, and, in a few moments, torfefan’s sword was sent spinning into the air, and, falling from its flight, it rang upon the stones of the causeway, and was shivered into pieces, whilst its owner was prostrated on his back by his over-anxiety to withdraw from the fury of his adversary’s onset. sir walter’s sword-point was immediately at his throat; and, at that very moment the weapon of his noble ally had pierced a fleshy part of his opponent, as he had turned to run away, which act of discretion, however, it did not prevent, for it rather pricked him on to a more active exertion of speed.
the weapon of his noble ally had pierced a fleshy part of his opponent as he had turned to run away.
the weapon of his noble ally had pierced a fleshy part of his opponent as he had turned to run away.
“spare my life, good sir walter stewart!” cried torfefan, in an agony of fear. “most noble knight, spare the life of a fellow-courtier!” [73]
“get up, sir; i have no intention of taking it,” replied sir walter. “’tis enow for me that i have thus exorcised the spirit of the pottle-pot out of thee. ’twas that which made thine otherwise peaceful sword leap from its scabbard against thy betters. get thee up, i say, and go home.”
“thou art right, sir knight,” replied torfefan, rising humbly upon his knees, and gradually gaining his legs. “i am at all times mild and peaceful, as so brave a man, and so perfect a master of fence ought to be, save when the flask hath somewhat inflamed my brain, and then, indeed, i am as dangerous as a devil. ’twas well that thou camest, else my lord of huntly, whom otherwise i so highly respect, had certainly died by my murderous hand.”
“’twas well, indeed, that thy bloody bacchanalian rage was staid in time,” said sir walter stewart, ironically. “in this bout, thou hast so well proved thy title to bravery, as well as to science in fence, that who shall dare henceforth to deny these thy perfections? so take the advice of a friend, signor torfefan, and get [74]thee straightway to bed, lest the dregs of that same pottle-pot, working in thee still, should draw down upon thee some more serious fracture than that of thy bilboa-blade.”
“ha! true,” said torfefan; “that was a loss indeed! but murderers will suffer at last; and if thou didst but know the blood which that same lethal weapon hath shed in my hands, and the lives which it hath sacrificed, thou would’st say, sir knight——”
“i would say that thou should’st forthwith hasten to thy bed,” interrupted sir walter. “if the king should hear of this brawl——”
“gad so, that’s true, sir walter!” cried torfefan; “thank thee for the hint. were those reptiles, cochran, rogers, and the rest, to hear of this, they might work mine absolute destruction. ah, that’s the worst feature of our king’s court, sir walter! the worst misfortune that has happened, i say, to us gentlemen of the court, is the admission to it of such vile scum as these cochrans, and rogers, and leonards, and such like base mechanics. my very broil this blessed night, may be said to be [75]owing to my permitting that lily-livered hog in armour, hommil, to company with me. but while i am prating, these villains may get sight of me, and make their own story out of me. so i’ll tarry here no longer. good night, sir walter stewart; you are a brave gentleman, well fitted to company with the king.”
“what a cowardly boasting knave!” said sir walter, after he was gone.
“yet, to such vermin are all the crumbs of royal favour thrown, to the utter starvation of those who are of noble breed!” cried huntly, with bitterness. “i would fain drink one flask of wine with thee, stewart, at thy hostel, ere i go home, to wash down the indignation and loathing, which the very sight of these scoundrel caitiffs hath brought into my throat. let me go thither with thee straightway.”
“willingly, my lord,” replied sir walter, and, arm and arm together, they proceeded to the hostel.
“stewart,” said the earl of huntly, after they were seated at their wine, and leaning across the table to address his friend in a half [76]whisper, though they were the only guests in the room at that late hour; “thou hast so much of the good will of great and small, that no one grudges thee the favour the king shows to thee; and there are few who have much jealousy of ramsay either, seeing that he was whipping-boy to james, and, moreover, that he is a gentleman of good descent. but neither lords nor commons, knights nor burgesses, can long tolerate the undue elevation and preferment of wretches, so worthless, as those who block up the royal presence from the approach of better men.”
“’tis unfortunate that it should be so,” said sir walter; “but has it never occurred to your lordship, that the nobles of scotland may have some small share of the blame, by absenting themselves from court as they do, so that the king lacks all opportunity of having their several merits brought under his eye.”
“you would not have the high-blooded war-steed to throw himself down in the same stye with obscene swine?” replied the earl. “i would as soon thrust myself into a den of badgers, as sit down to partake of a king’s feast, [77]with such company as that arrogant mason cochran, and the other dunghill companions whom james so much delights to honour. the court must be cleared of all such, aye, and swept, and garnished, and perfumed too, before i shall dare to trust my nostrils within its precincts.”
“no one can say that such feelings are not quite natural, my lord,” replied sir walter stewart; “but yet, i fear that the indulgence of them, can do nothing else but increase the disease which you would so fain cure. ’tis pity that some few of the nobles do not so far overcome them, as to appear now and then at court. as a soft answer turneth away wrath, so gentle conduct will often effect that which may defy the sternest boldness.”
“nay, but how are we used when we do appear?” demanded the earl. “even albany and mar are treated as aliens; and if the very royal brothers of the monarch are scarcely noticed, in comparison with those nauseous toads who crawl about the king’s footstool, what can we of the humbler peerage expect?”
“there is great reason in what you say, my [78]lord,” observed sir walter; “but hush! who comes here?”
a tall thin figure, in black trewse, with a doublet of black, slashed with flame-coloured silk, the body strangely covered with silver stars, and having the signs of the zodiac on the broad belt that confined it, with a black cloak hanging from his shoulders, which had on it the sun and moon and seven stars, and his head shaded by a broad hat, that bore a large plume of feathers, all of the same gloomy hue, stalked into the common room. from the small quantity of illumination which the single lamp, that burned on their table, threw around it, the person that came was but indistinctly visible, in the obscurity that especially prevailed at the lower end of the apartment; but when he came slowly forward within the influence of the light, sir walter stewart, and his friend the earl of huntly, recognised the pale, thin, sharp, and prominent features, the cadaverous hue, the dark eyebrows, the piercing eyes, and the long black locks and beard of andrew the flemish astrologer. he came as if in a walking dream; he [79]stopped within a few feet of the table where they sat—started, as if suddenly returning to the consciousness of the realities around him—darted an inquiring look, first at lord huntly, and then at sir walter stewart, and then slowly inclining his head in silent and sombre salutation, he turned from them, and stalked away, without uttering a syllable.
the earl, and the knight, could not for some time shake off the superstitious dread, that involuntarily crept over both of them at the sight of this man, who had thus so strangely and mysteriously visited them. his deep knowledge of the science, to which he pretended, was admitted by all, and his powers were supposed to extend over other regions besides those of the heavens. their hearts were so chilled by his very aspect, that both felt quite unfitted for renewing their conversation; and, without making one single remark on this strange intrusion, each drained the full cup that stood before him, and, bidding one another good night, the serving men of the hostel were called, and they separated, to seek their respective places of repose.