St. Ronan's Well Read online

  CHAPTER XIV.

  THE CONSULTATION.

  _Clown._ I hope here be proofs.--

  _Measure for Measure._

  The borough of ---- lies, as all the world knows, about fourteen milesdistant from St. Ronan's, being the county town of that shire, which, asdescribed in the Tourist's Guide, numbers among its objects of interestthat gay and popular watering-place, whose fame, no doubt, will begreatly enhanced by the present annals of its earlier history. As it isat present unnecessary to be more particular concerning the scene of ourstory, we will fill up the blank left in the first name with thefictitious appellation of Marchthorn, having often found ourselvesembarrassed in the course of a story, by the occurrence of an uglyhiatus, which we cannot always at first sight fill up, with the properreference to the rest of the narrative.

  Marchthorn, then, was an old-fashioned Scottish town, the street ofwhich, on market-day, showed a reasonable number of stout great-coatedyeomen, bartering or dealing for the various commodities of their farms;and on other days of the week, only a few forlorn burghers, crawlingabout like half-awakened flies, and watching the town steeple till thehappy sound of twelve strokes from Time's oracle should tell them itwas time to take their meridian dram. The narrow windows of the shopsintimated very imperfectly the miscellaneous contents of the interior,where every merchant, as the shopkeepers of Marchthorn were termed,_more Scotico_, sold every thing that could be thought of. As formanufactures, there were none, except that of the careful Town-Council,who were mightily busied in preparing the warp and woof, which, at theend of every five or six years, the town of Marchthorn contributed, forthe purpose of weaving the fourth or fifth part of a member ofParliament.

  In such a town, it usually happens, that the Sheriff-clerk, especiallysupposing him agent for several lairds of the higher order, is possessedof one of the best-looking houses; and such was that of Mr. Bindloose.None of the smartness of the brick-built and brass-hammered mansion of asouthern attorney appeared indeed in this mansion, which was a tall,thin, grim-looking building, in the centre of the town, with narrowwindows and projecting gables, notched into that sort of descent, calledcrow-steps, and having the lower casements defended by stancheons ofiron; for Mr. Bindloose, as frequently happens, kept a branch of one ofthe two national banks, which had been lately established in the town ofMarchthorn.

  Towards the door of this tenement, there advanced slowly up the ancient,but empty streets of this famous borough, a vehicle, which, had itappeared in Piccadilly, would have furnished unremitted laughter for aweek, and conversation for a twelvemonth. It was a two-wheeled vehicle,which claimed none of the modern appellations of tilbury, tandem,dennet, or the like; but aspired only to the humble name of that almostforgotten accommodation, a whiskey; or, according to some authorities, atim-whiskey. Green was, or had been, its original colour, and it wasplaced sturdily and safely low upon its little old-fashioned wheels,which bore much less than the usual proportion to the size of thecarriage which they sustained. It had a calash head, which had beenpulled up, in consideration either to the dampness of the morning air,or to the retiring delicacy of the fair form which, shrouded by leatherncurtains, tenanted this venerable specimen of antediluviancoach-building.

  But, as this fair and modest dame noway aspired to the skill of acharioteer, the management of a horse, which seemed as old as thecarriage he drew, was in the exclusive charge of an old fellow in apostilion's jacket, whose grey hairs escaped on each side of anold-fashioned velvet jockey-cap, and whose left shoulder was soconsiderably elevated above his head, that it seemed, as if, with littleeffort, his neck might have been tucked under his arm, like that of aroasted grouse-cock. This gallant equerry was mounted on a steed as oldas that which toiled betwixt the shafts of the carriage, and which heguided by a leading rein. Goading one animal with his single spur, andstimulating the other with his whip, he effected a reasonable trot uponthe causeway, which only terminated when the whiskey stopped at Mr.Bindloose's door--an event of importance enough to excite the curiosityof the inhabitants of that and the neighbouring houses. Wheels were laidaside, needles left sticking in the half-finished seams, and many anose, spectacled and unspectacled, was popped out of the adjoiningwindows, which had the good fortune to command a view of Mr. Bindloose'sfront door. The faces of two or three giggling clerks were visible atthe barred casements of which we have spoken, much amused at the descentof an old lady from this respectable carriage, whose dress andappearance might possibly have been fashionable at the time when herequipage was new. A satin cardinal, lined with grey squirrels' skin, anda black silk bonnet, trimmed with crape, were garments which did not nowexcite the respect, which in their fresher days they had doubtlesscommanded. But there was that in the features of the wearer, which wouldhave commanded Mr. Bindloose's best regard, though it had appeared infar worse attire; for he beheld the face of an ancient customer, who hadalways paid her law expenses with the ready penny, and whose accomptwith the bank was balanced by a very respectable sum at her credit. Itwas, indeed, no other than our respected friend, Mrs. Dods of theCleikum Inn, St. Ronan's, Aultoun.

  Now her arrival intimated matter of deep import. Meg was a person of allothers most averse to leave her home, where, in her own opinion atleast, nothing went on well without her immediate superintendence.Limited, therefore, as was her sphere, she remained fixed in the centrethereof; and few as were her satellites, they were under the necessityof performing their revolutions around her, while she herself continuedstationary. Saturn, in fact, would be scarce more surprised at a passingcall from the Sun, than Mr. Bindloose at this unexpected visit of hisold client. In one breath he rebuked the inquisitive impertinence of hisclerks, in another stimulated his housekeeper, old Hannah--for Mr.Bindloose was a bluff bachelor--to get tea ready in the green parlour;and while yet speaking, was at the side of the whiskey, unclasping thecurtains, rolling down the apron, and assisting his old friend todismount.

  "The japanned tea-caddie, Hannah--the best bohea--bid Tib kindle a sparkof fire--the morning's damp--Draw in the giggling faces of ye, ye d----didle scoundrels, or laugh at your ain toom pouches--it will be lang oryour weeldoing fill them." This was spoken, as the honest lawyer himselfmight have said, _in transitu_, the rest by the side of the carriage."My stars, Mrs. Dods, and is this really your ain sell, _in propriapersona_?--Wha lookit for you at such a time of day?--Anthony, how's a'wi' ye, Anthony?--so ye hae taen the road again, Anthony--help us downwi' the apron, Anthony--that will do.--Lean on me, Mrs. Dods--help yourmistress, Anthony--put the horses in my stable--the lads will give youthe key.--Come away, Mrs. Dods--I am blithe to see you straight yourlegs on the causeway of our auld borough again--come in by, and we'llsee to get you some breakfast, for ye hae been asteer early thismorning."

  "I am a sair trouble to you, Mr. Bindloose," said the old lady,accepting the offer of his arm, and accompanying him into the house; "Iam e'en a sair trouble to you, but I could not rest till I had youradvice on something of moment."

  "Happy will I be to serve you, my gude auld acquaintance," said theClerk; "but sit you down--sit you down--sit you down, Mrs. Dods--meatand mess never hindered wark. Ye are something overcome wi' yourtravel--the spirit canna aye bear through the flesh, Mrs. Dods; yeshould remember that your life is a precious one, and ye should takecare of your health, Mrs. Dods."

  "My life precious!" exclaimed Meg Dods; "nane o' your whullywhaing, Mr.Bindloose--Deil ane wad miss the auld girning alewife, Mr. Bindloose,unless it were here and there a puir body, and maybe the auldhouse-tyke, that wadna be sae weel guided, puir fallow."

  "Fie, fie! Mrs. Dods," said the Clerk, in a tone of friendly rebuke; "itvexes an auld friend to hear ye speak of yourself in that respectlesssort of a way; and, as for quitting us, I bless God I have not seen youlook better this half score of years. But maybe you will be thinking ofsetting your house in order, which is the act of a carefu' and of aChristian woman--O! it's an awfu' thing to die intestate, if we hadgrace to consider it."

  "A
weel, I daur say I'll consider that some day soon, Mr. Bindloose; butthat's no my present errand."

  "Be it what it like, Mrs. Dods, ye are right heartily welcome here, andwe have a' the day to speak of the business in hand--_festina lente_,that is the true law language--hooly and fairly, as one may say--illtreating of business with an empty stomach--and here comes your tea, andI hope Hannah has made it to your taste."

  Meg sipped her tea--confessed Hannah's skill in the mysteries of theChinese herb--sipped again, then tried to eat a bit of bread and butter,with very indifferent success; and notwithstanding the lawyer'scompliments to her good looks, seemed in reality, on the point ofbecoming ill.

  "In the deil's name, what is the matter!" said the lawyer, too wellread in a profession where sharp observation is peculiarly necessary, tosuffer these symptoms of agitation to escape him. "Ay, dame? ye aretaking this business of yours deeper to heart than ever I kend you takeony thing. Ony o' your banded debtors failed, or like to fail? Whatthen! cheer ye up--you can afford a little loss, and it canna be onygreat matter, or I would doubtless have heard of it."

  "In troth, but it _is_ a loss, Mr. Bindloose; and what say ye to theloss of a friend?"

  This was a possibility which had never entered the lawyer's long list ofcalamities, and he was at some loss to conceive what the old lady couldpossibly mean by so sentimental a prolusion. But just as he began tocome out with his "Ay, ay, we are all mortal, _Vita incerta, morscertissima!_" and two or three more pithy reflections, which he was inthe habit of uttering after funerals, when the will of the deceased wasabout to be opened,--just then Mrs. Dods was pleased to become theexpounder of her own oracle.

  "I see how it is, Mr. Bindloose," she said; "I maun tell my ain ailment,for you are no likely to guess it; and so, if ye will shut the door, andsee that nane of your giggling callants are listening in the passage, Iwill e'en tell you how things stand with me."

  Mr. Bindloose hastily arose to obey her commands, gave a cautionaryglance into the Bank-office, and saw that his idle apprentices were fastat their desks--turned the key upon them, as if it were in a fit ofabsence, and then returned, not a little curious to know what could bethe matter with his old friend; and leaving off all further attempts toput cases, quietly drew his chair near hers, and awaited her own time tomake her communication.

  "Mr. Bindloose," said she, "I am no sure that you may mind, about six orseven years ago, that there were twa daft English callants, lodgers ofmine, that had some trouble from auld St. Ronan's about shooting on theSpringwell-head muirs."

  "I mind it as weel as yesterday, Mistress," said the Clerk; "by the sametoken you gave me a note for my trouble, (which wasna worth speakingabout,) and bade me no bring in a bill against the puir bairns--ye hadaye a kind heart, Mrs. Dods."

  "Maybe, and maybe no, Mr. Bindloose--that is just as I find folk.--Butconcerning these lads, they baith left the country, and, as I think, insome ill blude wi' ane another, and now the auldest and the doucest ofthe twa came back again about a fortnight sin' syne, and has been myguest ever since."

  "Aweel, and I trust he is not at his auld tricks again, goodwife?"answered the Clerk. "I havena sae muckle to say either wi' the newSheriff or the Bench of Justices as I used to hae, Mrs. Dods--and theProcurator-fiscal is very severe on poaching, being borne out by the newAssociation--few of our auld friends of the Killnakelty are able to cometo the sessions now, Mrs. Dods."

  "The waur for the country, Mr. Bindloose," replied the old lady--"theywere decent, considerate men, that didna plague a puir herd callantmuckle about a moorfowl or a mawkin, unless he turned common fowler--SirRobert Ringhorse used to say, the herd lads shot as mony gleds and pyotsas they did game.--But new lords new laws--naething but fine andimprisonment, and the game no a feather the plentier. If I wad hae abrace or twa of birds in the house, as every body looks for them afterthe twelfth--I ken what they are like to cost me--And what for no?--riskmaun be paid for.--There is John Pirner himsell, that has keepit themuir-side thirty year in spite of a' the lairds in the country, shoots,he tells me, now-a-days, as if he felt a rape about his neck."

  "It wasna about ony game business, then, that you wanted advice?" saidBindloose, who, though somewhat of a digresser himself, made littleallowance for the excursions of others from the subject in hand.

  "Indeed is it no, Mr. Bindloose," said Meg; "but it is e'en about thisunhappy callant that I spoke to you about.--Ye maun ken I have cleiket aparticular fancy to this lad, Francis Tirl--a fancy that whilessurprises my very sell, Mr. Bindloose, only that there is nae sin init."

  "None--none in the world, Mrs. Dods," said the lawyer, thinking at thesame time within his own mind, "Oho! the mist begins to clear up--theyoung poacher has hit the mark, I see--winged the old barren greyhen!--ay, ay,--a marriage-contract, no doubt--but I maun gie herline.--Ye are a wise woman, Mrs. Dods," he continued aloud, "and candoubtless consider the chances and the changes of human affairs."

  "But I could never have considered what has befallen this puir lad, Mr.Bindloose," said Mrs. Dods, "through the malice of wicked men.--Helived, then, at the Cleikum, as I tell you, for mair than a fortnight,as quiet as a lamb on a lea-rig--a decenter lad never came within mydoor--ate and drank eneugh for the gude of the house, and nae mair thanwas for his ain gude, whether of body or soul--cleared his bills ilkaSaturday at e'en, as regularly as Saturday came round."

  "An admirable customer, no doubt, Mrs. Dods," said the lawyer.

  "Never was the like of him for that matter," answered the honest dame."But to see the malice of men!--some of thae landloupers and gill-flirtsdown at the filthy puddle yonder, that they ca' the Waal, had heard ofthis puir lad, and the bits of pictures that he made fashion of drawing,and they maun cuitle him awa doun to the bottle, where mony a bonnystory they had clecked, Mr. Bindloose, baith of Mr. Tirl and of mysell."

  "A Commissary Court business," said the writer, going off again upon afalse scent. "I shall trim their jackets for them, Mrs. Dods, if you canbut bring tight evidence of the facts--I will soon bring them to fineand palinode--I will make them repent meddling with your good name."

  "My gude name! What the sorrow is the matter wi' my name, Mr.Bindloose?" said the irritable client. "I think ye hae been at the weecappie this morning, for as early as it is--My gude name!--if ony bodytouched my gude name, I would neither fash counsel nor commissary--I wadbe down amang them, like a jer-falcon amang a wheen wild-geese, and thebest amang them that dared to say ony thing of Meg Dods by what washonest and civil, I wad sune see if her cockernonnie was made of her ainhair or other folk's. _My_ gude name, indeed!"

  "Weel, weel, Mrs. Dods, I was mista'en, that's a'," said the writer, "Iwas mista'en; and I dare to say you would haud your ain wi' yourneighbours as weel as ony woman in the land--But let us hear now whatthe grief is, in one word."

  "In one word, then, Clerk Bindloose, it is little short of--murder,"said Meg, in a low tone, as if the very utterance of the word startledher.

  "Murder! murder, Mrs. Dods?--it cannot be--there is not a word of it inthe Sheriff-office--the Procurator-fiscal kens nothing of it--therecould not be murder in the country, and me not hear of it--for God'ssake, take heed what you say, woman, and dinna get yourself intotrouble."

  "Mr. Bindloose, I can but speak according to my lights," said Mrs. Dods;"you are in a sense a judge in Israel, at least you are one of thescribes having authority--and I tell you, with a wae and bitter heart,that this puir callant of mine that was lodging in my house has beenmurdered or kidnapped awa amang thae banditti folk down at the New Waal;and I'll have the law put in force against them, if it should cost me ahundred pounds."

  The Clerk stood much astonished at the nature of Meg's accusation, andthe pertinacity with which she seemed disposed to insist upon it.

  "I have this comfort," she continued, "that whatever has happened, ithas been by no fault of mine, Mr. Bindloose; for weel I wot, before thatbloodthirsty auld half-pay Philistine, MacTurk, got to speech of him, Iclawed his cantle to some purpose w
ith my hearth-besom.--But the poorsimple bairn himsell, that had nae mair knowledge of the wickedness ofhuman nature than a calf has of a flesher's gully, he threepit to seethe auld hardened bloodshedder, and trysted wi' him to meet wi' some ofthe gang at an hour certain that same day, and awa he gaed to keeptryst, but since that hour naebody ever has set een on him.--And themansworn villains now want to put a disgrace on him, and say that hefled the country rather than face them!--a likely story--fled thecountry for them!--and leave his bill unsettled--him that was saeregular--and his portmantle and his fishing-rod and the pencils andpictures he held sic a wark about!--It's my faithful belief, Mr.Bindloose--and ye may trust me or no as ye like--that he had some foulplay between the Cleikum and the Buck-stane. I have thought it, and Ihave dreamed it, and I will be at the bottom of it, or my name is notMeg Dods, and that I wad have them a' to reckon on.--Ay, ay, that'sright, Mr. Bindloose, tak out your pen and inkhorn, and let us set aboutit to purpose."

  With considerable difficulty, and at the expense of muchcross-examination, Mr. Bindloose extracted from his client a detailedaccount of the proceedings of the company at the Well towards Tyrrel, sofar as they were known to, or suspected by Meg, making notes, as theexamination proceeded, of what appeared to be matter of consequence.After a moment's consideration, he asked the dame the very naturalquestion, how she came to be acquainted with the material fact, that ahostile appointment was made between Captain MacTurk and her lodger,when, according to her own account, it was made _intra parietes_, and_remotis testibus_?

  "Ay, but we victuallers ken weel eneugh what goes on in our ain houses,"said Meg--"And what for no?--If ye _maun_ ken a' about it, I e'enlistened through the keyhole of the door."

  "And do you say you heard them settle an appointment for a duel?" saidthe Clerk; "and did you no take ony measures to hinder mischief, Mrs.Dods, having such a respect for this lad as you say you have, Mrs.Dods?--I really wadna have looked for the like o' this at your hands."

  "In truth, Mr. Bindloose," said Meg, putting her apron to her eyes, "andthat's what vexes me mair than a' the rest, and ye needna say muckle toane whose heart is e'en the sairer that she has been a thought to blame.But there has been mony a challenge, as they ca' it, passed in my house,when thae daft lads of the Wildfire Club and the Helter-skelter wereupon their rambles; and they had aye sense eneugh to make it up withoutfighting, sae that I really did not apprehend ony thing likemischief.--And ye maun think, moreover, Mr. Bindloose, that it wouldhave been an unco thing if a guest, in a decent and creditable publiclike mine, was to have cried coward before ony of thae landloupingblackguards that live down at the hottle yonder."

  "That is to say, Mrs. Dods, you were desirous your guest should fightfor the honour of your house," said Bindloose.

  "What for no, Mr. Bindloose?--Isna that kind of fray aye about honour?and what for should the honour of a substantial, four-nooked, sclatedhouse of three stories, no be foughten for, as weel as the credit of onyof these feckless callants that make such a fray about theirreputation?--I promise you my house, the Cleikum, stood in the Auld Townof St. Ronan's before they were born, and it will stand there after theyare hanged, as I trust some of them are like to be."

  "Well, but perhaps your lodger had less zeal for the honour of thehouse, and has quietly taken himself out of harm's way," said Mr.Bindloose; "for if I understand your story, this meeting never tookplace."

  "Have less zeal!" said Meg, determined to be pleased with no suppositionof her lawyer, "Mr. Bindloose, ye little ken him--I wish ye had seen himwhen he was angry!--I dared hardly face him mysell, and there are nomony folk that I am feared for--Meeting! there was nae meeting, Itrow--they never dared to meet him fairly--but I am sure waur came of itthan ever would have come of a meeting; for Anthony heard twa shots gangoff as he was watering the auld naig down at the burn, and that is notfar frae the footpath that leads to the Buck-stane. I was angry at himfor no making on to see what the matter was, but he thought it was auldPirner out wi' the double barrel, and he wasna keen of making himself awitness, in case he suld have been caa'd on in the Poaching Court."

  "Well," said the Sheriff-clerk, "and I dare say he did hear a poacherfire a couple of shots--nothing more likely. Believe me, Mrs. Dods, yourguest had no fancy for the party Captain MacTurk invited him to--andbeing a quiet sort of man, he has just walked away to his own home, ifhe has one--I am really sorry you have given yourself the trouble ofthis long journey about so simple a matter."

  Mrs. Dods remained with her eyes fixed on the ground in a very sullenand discontented posture, and when she spoke, it was in a tone ofcorresponding displeasure.

  "Aweel--aweel--live and learn, they say--I thought I had a friend inyou, Mr. Bindloose--I am sure I aye took your part when folk miscaa'dye, and said ye were this, that, and the other thing, and little betterthan an auld sneck-drawing loon, Mr. Bindloose.--And ye have aye keepitmy penny of money, though, nae doubt, Tam Turnpenny lives nearer me, andthey say he allows half a per cent mair than ye do if the siller lies,and mine is but seldom steered."

  "But ye have not the Bank's security, madam," said Mr. Bindloose,reddening. "I say harm of nae man's credit--ill would it beseem me--butthere is a difference between Tam Turnpenny and the Bank, I trow."

  "Weel, weel, Bank here Bank there, I thought I had a friend in you, Mr.Bindloose; and here am I, come from my ain house all the way to yoursfor sma' comfort, I think."

  "My stars, madam," said the perplexed scribe, "what would you have me todo in such a blind story as yours, Mrs. Dods?--Be a thoughtreasonable--consider that there is no _Corpus delicti_."

  _"Corpus delicti?_ and what's that?" said Meg; "something to be paidfor, nae doubt, for your hard words a' end in that.--And what for suld Ino have a Corpus delicti, or a Habeas Corpus, or ony other Corpus that Ilike, sae lang as I am willing to lick and lay down the ready siller?"

  "Lord help and pardon us, Mrs. Dods," said the distressed agent, "yemistake the matter a'thegether! When I say there is no Corpus delicti, Imean to say there is no proof that a crime has been committed."[I-19]

  "And does the man say that murder is not a crime, than?" answered Meg,who had taken her own view of the subject far too strongly to beconverted to any other--"Weel I wot it's a crime, baith by the law ofGod and man, and mony a pretty man has been strapped for it."

  "I ken all that very weel," answered the writer; "but, my stars, Mrs.Dods, there is nae evidence of murder in this case--nae proof that a manhas been slain--nae production of his dead body--and that is what wecall the Corpus delicti."

  "Weel, than, the deil lick it out of ye," said Meg, rising in wrath,"for I will awa hame again; and as for the puir lad's body, I'll hae itfund, if it cost me turning the earth for three miles round wi' pick andshool--if it were but to give the puir bairn Christian burial, and tobring punishment on MacTurk and the murdering crew at the Waal, and toshame an auld doited fule like yoursell, John Bindloose."

  She rose in wrath to call her vehicle; but it was neither the interestnor the intention of the writer that his customer and he should part onsuch indifferent terms. He implored her patience, and reminded her thatthe horses, poor things, had just come off their stage--an argumentwhich sounded irresistible in the ears of the old she-publican, in whoseearly education due care of the post-cattle mingled with the most sacredduties. She therefore resumed her seat again in a sullen mood, and Mr.Bindloose was cudgelling his brains for some argument which might bringthe old lady to reason, when his attention was drawn by a noise in thepassage.

  FOOTNOTE:

  [I-19] For example, a man cannot be tried for murder merely in the case ofthe non-appearance of an individual; there must be proof that the partyhas been murdered.