The Black Dwarf Read online

  CHAPTER X.

  I left my ladye's bower last night-- It was clad in wreaths of snaw,-- I'll seek it when the sun is bright, And sweet the roses blaw.--OLD BALLAD.

  Incensed at what he deemed the coldness of his friends, in a causewhich interested him so nearly, Hobbie had shaken himself free of theircompany, and was now on his solitary road homeward. "The fiend founderthee!" said he, as he spurred impatiently his over-fatigued andstumbling horse; "thou art like a' the rest o' them. Hae I not bredthee, and fed thee, and dressed thee wi' mine ain hand, and wouldst thousnapper now and break my neck at my utmost need? But thou'rt e'en likethe lave--the farthest off o' them a' is my cousin ten times removed,and day or night I wad hae served them wi' my best blood; and now, Ithink they show mair regard to the common thief of Westburnflat than totheir ain kinsman. But I should see the lights now in Heugh-foot--Wae'sme!" he continued, recollecting himself, "there will neither coal norcandle-light shine in the Heugh-foot ony mair! An it werena for mymother and sisters, and poor Grace, I could find in my heart to putspurs to the beast, and loup ower the scaur into the water to make anend o't a'."--In this disconsolate mood he turned his horse's bridletowards the cottage in which his family had found refuge.

  As he approached the door, he heard whispering and tittering amongsthis sisters. "The deevil's in the women," said poor Hobbie; "theywould nicker, and laugh, and giggle, if their best friend was lying acorp--and yet I am glad they can keep up their hearts sae weel, poorsilly things; but the dirdum fa's on me, to be sure, and no on them."

  While he thus meditated, he was engaged in fastening up his horse ina shed. "Thou maun do without horse-sheet and surcingle now, lad," hesaid, addressing the animal; "you and me hae had a downcome alike; wehad better hae fa'en i, the deepest pool o' Tarras."

  He was interrupted by the youngest of his sisters, who came runningout, and, speaking in a constrained voice, as if to stifle some emotion,called out to him, "What are ye doing there, Hobbie, fiddling about thenaig, and there's ane frae Cumberland been waiting here for ye this hourand mair? Haste ye in, man; I'll take off the saddle."

  "Ane frae Cumberland!" exclaimed Elliot; and putting the bridle of hishorse into the hand of his sister, he rushed into the cottage. "Where ishe? where is he!" he exclaimed, glancing eagerly around, and seeing onlyfemales; "Did he bring news of Grace?"

  "He doughtna bide an instant langer," said the elder sister, still witha suppressed laugh.

  "Hout fie, bairns!" said the old lady, with something of a good-humouredreproof, "ye shouldna vex your billy Hobbie that way.--Look round, mybairn, and see if there isna ane here mair than ye left this morning."

  Hobbie looked eagerly round. "There's you, and the three titties."

  "There's four of us now, Hobbie, lad," said the youngest, who at thismoment entered.

  In an instant Hobbie had in his arms Grace Armstrong, who, with oneof his sister's plaids around her, had passed unnoticed at his firstentrance. "How dared you do this?" said Hobbie.

  "It wasna my fault," said Grace, endeavouring to cover her face with herhands to hide at once her blushes, and escape the storm of hearty kisseswith which her bridegroom punished her simple stratagem,--"It wasna myfault, Hobbie; ye should kiss Jeanie and the rest o' them, for they haethe wyte o't."

  "And so I will," said Hobbie, and embraced and kissed his sistersand grandmother a hundred times, while the whole party half-laughed,half-cried, in the extremity of their joy. "I am the happiest man," saidHobbie, throwing himself down on a seat, almost exhausted,--"I am thehappiest man in the world!"

  "Then, O my dear bairn," said the good old dame, who lost no opportunityof teaching her lesson of religion at those moments when the heartwas best open to receive it,--"Then, O my son, give praise to Him thatbrings smiles out o' tears and joy out o' grief, as He brought light outo' darkness and the world out o' naething. Was it not my word, that ifye could say His will be done, ye might hae cause to say His name bepraised?"

  "It was--it was your word, grannie; and I do praise Him for His mercy,and for leaving me a good parent when my ain were gane," said honestHobbie, taking her hand, "that puts me in mind to think of Him, baith inhappiness and distress."

  There was a solemn pause of one or two minutes employed in the exerciseof mental devotion, which expressed, in purity and sincerity, thegratitude of the affectionate family to that Providence who hadunexpectedly restored to their embraces the friend whom they had lost.

  Hobbie's first enquiries were concerning the adventures which Gracehad undergone. They were told at length, but amounted in substanceto this:--That she was awaked by the noise which the ruffians made inbreaking into the house, and by the resistance made by one or two of theservants, which was soon overpowered; that, dressing herself hastily,she ran downstairs, and having seen, in the scuffle, Westburnflat'svizard drop off, imprudently named him by his name, and besought him formercy; that the ruffian instantly stopped her mouth, dragged her fromthe house, and placed her on horseback, behind one of his associates.

  "I'll break the accursed neck of him," said Hobbie, "if there werenaanother Graeme in the land but himsell!"

  She proceeded to say, that she was carried southward along with theparty, and the spoil which they drove before them, until they hadcrossed the Border. Suddenly a person, known to her as a kinsman ofWestburnflat, came riding very fast after the marauders, and told theirleader, that his cousin had learnt from a sure hand that no luck wouldcome of it, unless the lass was restored to her friends. After somediscussion, the chief of the party seemed to acquiesce. Grace was placedbehind her new guardian, who pursued in silence, and with great speed,the least-frequented path to the Heugh-foot, and ere evening closed, setdown the fatigued and terrified damsel within a quarter of a mile of thedwelling of her friends. Many and sincere were the congratulations whichpassed on all sides.

  As these emotions subsided, less pleasing considerations began tointrude themselves.

  "This is a miserable place for ye a'," said Hobbie, looking around him;"I can sleep weel eneugh mysell outby beside the naig, as I hae donemony a lang night on the hills; but how ye are to put yoursells up, Icanna see! And what's waur, I canna mend it; and what's waur than a',the morn may come, and the day after that, without your being a bitbetter off."

  "It was a cowardly cruel thing," said one of the sisters, looking round,"to harry a puir family to the bare wa's this gate."

  "And leave us neither stirk nor stot," said the youngest brother, whonow entered, "nor sheep nor lamb, nor aught that eats grass and corn."

  "If they had ony quarrel wi' us," said Harry, the second brother, "werewe na ready to have fought it out? And that we should have been a' fraehame, too,--ane and a' upon the hill--Odd, an we had been at hame, WillGraeme's stamach shouldna hae wanted its morning; but it's biding him,is it na, Hobbie?"

  "Our neighbours hae taen a day at the Castleton to gree wi' him at thesight o' men," said Hobbie, mournfully; "they behoved to have it a'their ain gate, or there was nae help to be got at their hands."

  "To gree wi' him!" exclaimed both his brothers at once, "after siccan anact of stouthrife as hasna been heard o' in the country since the auldriding days!"

  "Very true, billies, and my blood was e'en boiling at it; but the sighto' Grace Armstrong has settled it brawly."

  "But the stocking, Hobbie'" said John Elliot; "we're utterly ruined.Harry and I hae been to gather what was on the outby land, and there'sscarce a cloot left. I kenna how we're to carry on--We maun a' gangto the wars, I think. Westburnflat hasna the means, e'en if he had thewill, to make up our loss; there's nae mends to be got out o' him, butwhat ye take out o' his banes. He hasna a four-footed creature but thevicious blood thing he rides on, and that's sair trash'd wi' his nightwark. We are ruined stoop and roop."

  Hobbie cast a mournful glance on Grace Armstrong, who returned it with adowncast look and a gentle sigh.

  "Dinna be cast down, bairns," said the grandmother, "we hae gude friendsthat winna forsake us
in adversity. There's Sir Thomas Kittleloof is mythird cousin by the mother's side, and he has come by a hantle siller,and been made a knight-baronet into the bargain, for being ane o' thecommissioners at the Union."

  "He wadna gie a bodle to save us frae famishing," said Hobbie; "and, ifhe did, the bread that I bought wi't would stick in my throat, whenI thought it was part of the price of puir auld Scotland's crown andindependence."

  "There's the Laird o' Dunder, ane o' the auldest families inTiviotdale."

  "He's in the tolbooth, mother--he's in the Heart of Mid-Louden for athousand merk he borrowed from Saunders Wyliecoat the writer."

  "Poor man!" exclaimed Mrs. Elliot, "can we no send him something,Hobbie?"

  "Ye forget, grannie, ye forget we want help oursells," said Hobbie,somewhat peevishly.

  "Troth did I, hinny," replied the good-natured lady, "just at theinstant; it's sae natural to think on ane's blude relations beforethemsells;--But there's young Earnscliff."

  "He has ower little o' his ain; and siccan a name to keep up, it wad bea shame," said Hobbie, "to burden him wi' our distress. And I'll tellye, grannie, it's needless to sit rhyming ower the style of a' yourkith, kin, and allies, as if there was a charm in their braw names to dous good; the grandees hae forgotten us, and those of our ain degree haejust little eneugh to gang on wi' themsells; ne'er a friend hae we thatcan, or will, help us to stock the farm again."

  "Then, Hobbie, me maun trust in Him that can raise up friends andfortune out o' the bare moor, as they say."

  Hobbie sprung upon his feet. "Ye are right, grannie!" he exclaimed; "yeare right. I do ken a friend on the bare moor, that baith can and willhelp us--The turns o' this day hae dung my head clean hirdie-girdie.I left as muckle gowd lying on Mucklestane-Moor this morning as wouldplenish the house and stock the Heugh-foot twice ower, and I am certainsure Elshie wadna grudge us the use of it."

  "Elshie!" said his grandmother in astonishment; "what Elshie do youmean?"

  "What Elshie should I mean, but Canny Elshie, the Wight o' Mucklestane,"replied Hobbie.

  "God forfend, my bairn, you should gang to fetch water out o' brokencisterns, or seek for relief frae them that deal wi' the Evil One! Therewas never luck in their gifts, nor grace in their paths. And the haillcountry kens that body Elshie's an unco man. O, if there was the law,and the douce quiet administration of justice, that makes a kingdomflourish in righteousness, the like o' them suldna be suffered to live!The wizard and the witch are the abomination and the evil thing in theland."

  "Troth, mother," answered Hobbie, "ye may say what ye like, but I am inthe mind that witches and warlocks havena half the power they had langsyne; at least, sure am I, that ae ill-deviser, like auld Ellieslaw, orae ill-doer, like that d--d villain Westburnflat, is a greater plagueand abomination in a country-side than a haill curnie o' the warstwitches that ever capered on a broomstick, or played cantrips onFastern's E'en. It wad hae been lang or Elshie had burnt down my houseand barns, and I am determined to try if he will do aught to build themup again. He's weel kend a skilfu' man ower a' the country, as far asBrough under Stanmore."

  "Bide a wee, my bairn; mind his benefits havena thriven wi' a'body. JockHowden died o' the very same disorder Elshie pretended to cure him of,about the fa' o' the leaf; and though he helped Lambside's cow weel outo' the moor-ill, yet the louping-ill's been sairer amane; his sheep thanony season before. And then I have heard he uses sic words abusing humannature, that's like a fleeing in the face of Providence; and ye mind yesaid yoursell, the first time ye ever saw him, that he was mair like abogle than a living thing."

  "Hout, mother," said Hobbie, "Elshie's no that bad a chield; he's agrewsome spectacle for a crooked disciple, to be sure, and a roughtalker, but his bark is waur than his bite; sae, if I had anes somethingto eat, for I havena had a morsel ower my throat this day, I wad streekmysell down for twa or three hours aside the beast, and be on and awa'to Mucklestane wi' the first skreigh o' morning."

  "And what for no the night, Hobbie," said Harry, "and I will ride wi'ye?"

  "My naig is tired," said Hobbie.

  "Ye may take mine, then," said John.

  "But I am a wee thing wearied mysell."

  "You wearied?" said Harry; "shame on ye! I have kend ye keep the saddlefour-and-twenty hours thegither, and ne'er sic a word as weariness inyour wame."

  "The night's very dark," said Hobbie, rising and looking through thecasement of the cottage; "and, to speak truth, and shame the deil,though Elshie's a real honest fallow, yet somegate I would rather takedaylight wi' me when I gang to visit him."

  This frank avowal put a stop to further argument; and Hobbie, havingthus compromised matters between the rashness of his brother's counsel,and the timid cautions which he received from his grandmother, refreshedhimself with such food as the cottage afforded; and, after a cordialsalutation all round, retired to the shed, and stretched himself besidehis trusty palfrey. His brothers shared between them some trusses ofclean straw, disposed in the stall usually occupied by old Annaple'scow; and the females arranged themselves for repose as well as theaccommodations of the cottage would permit.

  With the first dawn of morning, Hobbie arose; and, having rubbed downand saddled his horse, he set forth to Mucklestane-Moor. He avoided thecompany of either of his brothers, from an idea that the Dwarf was mostpropitious to those who visited him alone.

  "The creature," said he to himself, as he went along, "is noneighbourly; ae body at a time is fully mair than he weel can abide.I wonder if he's looked out o' the crib o' him to gather up the bago' siller. If he hasna done that, it will hae been a braw windfa' forsomebody, and I'll be finely flung.--Come, Tarras," said he to hishorse, striking him at the same time with his spur, "make mair fit, man;we maun be first on the field if we can."

  He was now on the heath, which began to be illuminated by the beams ofthe rising sun; the gentle declivity which he was descending presentedhim a distinct, though distant view, of the Dwarf's dwelling. The dooropened, and Hobbie witnessed with his own eyes that phenomenon which hehad frequently heard mentioned. Two human figures (if that of the Dwarfcould be termed such) issued from the solitary abode of the Recluse, andstood as if in converse together in the open air. The taller form thenstooped, as if taking something up which lay beside the door of thehut, then both moved forward a little way, and again halted, as in deepconference. All Hobbie's superstitious terrors revived on witnessingthis'spectacle. That the Dwarf would open his dwelling to a mortalguest, was as improbable as that any one would choose voluntarily tobe his nocturnal visitor; and, under full conviction that he beheld awizard holding intercourse with his familiar spirit, Hobbie pulled in atonce his breath and his bridle, resolved not to incur the indignationof either by a hasty intrusion on their conference. They were probablyaware of his approach, for he had not halted for a moment before theDwarf returned to his cottage; and the taller figure who had accompaniedhim, glided round the enclosure of the garden, and seemed to disappearfrom the eyes of the admiring Hobbie.

  "Saw ever mortal the like o' that!" said Elliot; "but my case isdesperate, sae, if he were Beelzebub himsell, I'se venture down the braeon him."

  Yet, notwithstanding his assumed courage, he slackened his pace, when,nearly upon the very spot where he had last seen the tall figure,he discerned, as if lurking among the long heather, a small blackrough-looking object, like a terrier dog.

  "He has nae dog that ever I heard of," said Hobbie, "but mony a deilabout his hand--lord forgie me for saying sic a word!--It keeps itsgrund, be what it like--I'm judging it's a badger; but whae kens whatshapes thae bogies will take to fright a body? it will maybe start uplike a lion or a crocodile when I come nearer. I'se e'en drive a stageat it, for if it change its shape when I'm ower near, Tarras will neverstand it; and it will be ower muckle to hae him and the deil to fightwi' baith at ance."

  He therefore cautiously threw a stone at the object, which continuedmotionless. "It's nae living thing, after a'," said Hobbie, approaching,"but the v
ery bag o' siller he flung out o' the window yesterday! andthat other queer lang creature has just brought it sae muckle fartheron the way to me." He then advanced and lifted the heavy fur pouch,which was quite full of gold. "Mercy on us!" said Hobbie, whose heartfluttered between glee at the revival of his hopes and prospectsin life, and suspicion of the purpose for which this assistance wasafforded him---"Mercy on us! it's an awfu' thing to touch what has beensae lately in the claws of something no canny, I canna shake mysellloose o' the belief that there has been some jookery-paukery of Satan'sin a' this; but I am determined to conduct mysell like an honest man anda good Christian, come o't what will."

  He advanced accordingly to the cottage door, and having knockedrepeatedly without receiving any answer, he at length elevated his voiceand addressed the inmate of the hut. "Elshie! Father Elshie! I ken ye'rewithin doors, and wauking, for I saw ye at the door-cheek as I cam owerthe bent; will ye come out and speak just a gliff to ane that has monythanks to gie ye?--It was a' true ye tell'd me about Westburnflat; buthe's sent back Grace safe and skaithless, sae there's nae ill happenedyet but what may be suffered or sustained;--Wad ye but come out a gliff;man, or but say ye're listening?--Aweel, since ye winna answer, I'see'en proceed wi' my tale. Ye see I hae been thinking it wad be a sairthing on twa young folk, like Grace and me, to put aff our marriage formony years till I was abroad and came back again wi' some gear; and theysay folk maunna take booty in the wars as they did lang syne, and thequeen's pay is a sma' matter; there's nae gathering gear on that--andthen my grandame's auld--and my sisters wad sit peengin' at theingle-side for want o' me to ding them about--and Earnscliff, or theneighbourhood, or maybe your ainsell, Elshie, might want some good turnthat Hob Elliot could do ye--and it's a pity that the auld house o' theHeugh-foot should be wrecked a'thegither. Sae I was thinking--but deilhae me, that I should say sae," continued he, checking himself, "if Ican bring mysell to ask a favour of ane that winna sae muckle as ware aword on me, to tell me if he hears me speaking till him."

  "Say what thou wilt--do what thou wilt," answered the Dwarf from hiscabin, "but begone, and leave me at peace."

  "Weel, weel," replied Elliot, "since ye are willing to hear me, I'semake my tale short. Since ye are sae kind as to say ye are content tolend me as muckle siller as will stock and plenish the Heugh-foot, I amcontent, on my part, to accept the courtesy wi' mony kind thanks; andtroth, I think it will be as safe in my hands as yours, if ye leave itflung about in that gate for the first loon body to lift, forbye therisk o' bad neighbours that can win through steekit doors and lockfastplaces, as I can tell to my cost. I say, since ye hae sae muckleconsideration for me, I'se be blithe to accept your kindness; and mymother and me (she's a life-renter, and I am fiar, o' the lands o'Wideopen) would grant you a wadset, or an heritable bond, for thesiller, and to pay the annual rent half-yearly; and Saunders Wyliecoatto draw the bond, and you to be at nae charge wi' the writings."

  "Cut short thy jargon, and begone," said the Dwarf; "thy loquaciousbull-headed honesty makes thee a more intolerable plague than thelight-fingered courtier who would take a man's all without troubling himwith either thanks, explanation, or apology. Hence, I say! thou artone of those tame slaves whose word is as good as their bond. Keep themoney, principal and interest, until I demand it of thee."

  "But," continued the pertinacious Borderer, "we are a' life-like anddeath-like, Elshie, and there really should be some black and white onthis transaction. Sae just make me a minute, or missive, in ony formye like, and I'se write it fair ower, and subscribe it before famouswitnesses. Only, Elshie, I wad wuss ye to pit naething in't that may beprejudicial to my salvation; for I'll hae the minister to read it ower,and it wad only be exposing yoursell to nae purpose. And now I'm gangingawa', for ye'll be wearied o' my cracks, and I am wearied wi' crackingwithout an answer--and I'se bring ye a bit o' bride's-cake ane o' thaedays, and maybe bring Grace to see you. Ye wad like to see Grace, man,for as dour as ye are--Eh, Lord I I wish he may be weel, that was a sairgrane! or, maybe, he thought I was speaking of heavenly grace, and no ofGrace Armstrong. Poor man, I am very doubtfu' o' his condition; but Iam sure he is as kind to me as if I were his son, and a queer-lookingfather I wad hae had, if that had been e'en sae."

  Hobbie now relieved his benefactor of his presence, and rode blithelyhome to display his treasure, and consult upon the means of repairingthe damage which his fortune had sustained through the aggression of theRed Reiver of Westburnflat.