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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1939-05-25, Page 6PAGE SIX THE SEAFORTH NEWS THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1939 The Legend Sir Duncan, without replying, con ducted the soldier into the tower; th defences of which were a portcul and iron -clenched .oaken door, th thickness of the wall ;being the spat between 'them, He :had no sooner ar rived in a hall hung with tapestry than the Captain prosecuted his ntili tary criticism. It was indeed, suspend ed 'by the sight of an excellent brew fast, of which he partook with grea avidity; but no sooner had he secure this meal, than he made the tour o the aparttnent, examining the groun around the castle very carefully fro each window in the room. He the returned to his chair, and throwin himself back into it at his length stretched out one manly leg, and tap phig his jack -+boot with the riding -rod which he carried in his hand, after the manner of a 'half -+bred man who affects ease in the society .of his bet- ters, he delivered his unasked opinion as follows:—'"This house of yours, now, Sir Duncan, is a very pretty de- fensible sort of a tenement. and yet it is hardly such as a •cavaliero of honor would expect to maintain his credit by holding out for many days. For, Sir Duncan, if it pleases you to notice, your house is overcrowded, and slighted, or commanded, as we military men say, by yonder round hillock to the landward, whereon an enemy might Stell such a battery of cannon as would make ye glad to beat a chamade within forty-eight hours. unless it pleased the Lord ex- traordinarily to show mercy." ""There is no road," replied Sir Duncan, somewhat shortly, "by which cannon can be brought against Ard- envohr. The swamps and morasses around my house would scarce carry your horse and yourself, excepting by such paths as could be rendered im- passable within a few hours. "Sir Duncan," said the Captain, "it is your pleasure to suppose so; and yet we martial men say, that where there is a sea -coast there is always a naked side, seeing that cannon and munition, where they cannot he trans- ported by land, may be right easily 'brought by sea near to the place where they are to he put in action. Neither is a castle, however secure in its ;itnation, to be accounted alto- gether inviccible, or, as they say, im- pregnable; for I protest t'ye, Sir ',Duncan. that I have known twenty- five men. by the mere surprise and audacity of the attack, win, at a point of pike• as strong a .hold of this of Ardenvohr, and put to the sword, captivate. or hold to the ransom, the defenders. being ten times their own number. Notwithstanding Sir Duncan Camp- bell's knowledge of the world, and. his power of concealing his internal emo- tion, he appeared piqued and hurt at these reflections, which the Captain made with the utmost gravity, having merely selected the subject of the conversation as one upon which he thought himself capable of shining, and, as they say, of laying down the law, without exactly recollecting that the topic might not: be equally agree- able to his landlord. "To cut this matter short." said Sir Duncan. with an expression of voice and countenance somewhat agitated, "it is unnecessary for you to tell me, Captain Dalgetty, that a castle may be stormed if it is not valorously de- fended, or surprised if it is not heed- fully watched. I trust this poor house of mine will not 'be +found in any of these predicaments, should even Cap- tain Dalgetty himself choose to be- leaguer it." - 'For all that, Sir Duncan," answer- ed the persevering commander, "I would premonish you, as a friend to trace out a sconce upon that round hill, with a good praffe, or ditch, whilk m'ay'be easily accomplished 'by eiompelling the labors of the boors in that vicinity; it being the custom of the 'valorous Gustavus Adolphus to 'fight as much 'hy the spade and shovel; as by sword, pike, and mus- ket.'Also, I ,would advise you to fort- ify ora ify the said: sconce, not only by t'e hs e e k d d m n g foussie, .or graffe, but also by certaf stackets, or palisades. (Here Sir Duncan, Ibeoorning impatient, left the apartment, the Captain following him to the door, and raising his voice as he retreated, until he was fairly out 01 hearing.)—"The whilk stackets, or 'palisades, should he artificially fram- ed with re-entering angles and loop- holes, or crenelles, for musketry, whereof it shall arise that the foentan --The Highland brute! the old Highland brute! They are as proud as peacocks, and as obstinate as tees— and here he has missed an opportun- ity of making his house as pretty an irregular fortification as an invading army ever broke their teeth upon,— But I see," he continued, looking down from the window upon the 'bot- tom of the precipice, ^'they have got Gustavus safe ashore—Proper fellow! I would know that toss of his head among a whole squadron. 'I must go to see what they are to make of him." He had no sooner reached, how- ever, the court to the seaward, and put himself in the act of descending the staircase, than two Highland sen- tinels; advancing their Lochaber axes, gave hint to understand that this was a service of danger. "Diavolol" said the soldier, "and I have got no password. I could not speak a syllable •of their salvage gib- berish, an it were to save me from the ,provost marshal," "I will fie your surety, Captain Dal- getty." said Sir Duncan, who had again approached him without his ob- serving from whence; "and we will go together and see how your favorite charger is accommodated." He conducted hint accordingly down the staircase to the 'beach, and from thence by a short turn behind a large rack, which concealed the stables and other offices belonging to the castle. Captain Dalgetty :became sensible, at the same time, that the side of the castle to the land was ren- dered totally inaccessible by a ravine, partly natural and partly scarped with great care and labor. s0 as to be anly passed by a drawbridge. Still, how- ever, the Captain insisted, notwith- standing the triumphant air with which Sir Duncan printed out his de- fences, that a sconce should be erect- ed on Drumsnab. the round eminence to the eat of the castle; in respect the house micro be annoyed from thence by turning bullets full of fire. shot out of cannon. according to the curious invention of Stephen Bathden, King of Poland. whereby that prince utterly ruined the great 'Muscovite city of Moscow. This invention, Cap- tain ,Dalgetty owned, lie had not yet witnessed, but observed. "that it would give him particular delectation to witness the same put to the proof against Ardenvohr, or any other castle of similar etren.gth;" observing that so curious an experiment could not but afford the greatest delight to all admirers of the military art. Sir Duncan Campbell diverted this conversation by carrying the soldier into his stables, and suffering him to arrange Gustavus according to his own will and pleasure. After this duty had ,been carefully :performed, cap- tain Dalgetty :proposed to return to the castle, observing, it was his in- tention to spend the time betwixt this and dinner, which, he prestemed, would come upon the parade about noon, in burnishing his armor, which, having sustained some injury from the sea -air, might, he was afraid, seem discreditable in the eyes of M'- Mallum Marc,.Yet while they were returning to the castle, he failed not to warn Sir Duncan Campbell against the great injury he might sustain by any sudden onfall of an enemy, whereby hisc•horses, cattle, and gran- aries, might 'be cut off and •consumed, to his great, ;prejudice; wherefore be again strongly conjured him to •con struct a sconce upon the round hill forming •hi,n that' the tolling of the castle bell'would make him aware when dinner was ready., CHAPTER XI' Is this thy castle, Baldwin? Melancholy Displays 'her sable banner from th donjon, Darkening the foam. of 'the whool surge beneath.. Were 1 a habitant, to see this .gloom Pollute the face of nature, and •ta hea The .ceaseless sound of wave and sea bird's scream, I'd wish n e s t in the 'h'ut that at 000re, peasant E'er framed, to give him tentporar shelter. —Brown. The .gallant Rite -master would will tingly have employed his leisure i studying the exterior of Sir Duncan' castle, and verifying his own inilitar ideas upon the nature of its defences But a stout sentinel, who m'ounte guard with a Lochalber axe at th door of his apartment, gave him t Understand, by very 'significant sign. that he was in a sort of honorabl captivity. n It is strange, •thought the Ritt master to - himself, 'haw" well these sal vages understand the rules and prac tique of war.. Who would have pre supposed their acquaintance with th maxim of the great and godlike Gus tavus Adolphus, that a 'flag of truc should be half a messenger, half spy?—And, having finished burnish ing his arms, he sate down patient] to compute haw anuclt half a dolls per diens would amount to at the en of a six months' campaign; and when he had settled that problem proceeded to the more abstruse calcu- lations necessary for drawing up a brigade of two thousand men on the principle of extracting the square root. From his musings, he was roused by the joyful sound of the 'dinner -bell, on which the Highlander, lately his guard, became his gentleman -usher, and marshaled him to the hall, where a table with four carers bore ample proofs of Highland hospitality. Sir Duncan entered, conducting his lady, a tall, faded, •melancholy female dress- ed in deep mourning. They were fol- lowed 'by a Presbyterian clergyman in his Geneva cloak, and wearing a black silk skull -cap, covering his short hair so closely, that it could scarce he seen at all, so that the un- restricted ears had an undue predom- inance in the general aspect. This un- graceful fashion was ainiversal at the time, and partly led to the nicknames which the insolence of the cavaliers liberally bestowed on their political enemies. Sir Duncan presented his military guest to his lady, who received his technical salutation with a stiff and silent reverence in which 'it could scarce be judged whether pride or melancholy had the greater share. The churchman, to whom he was next presented, eyed him with a glance of mingled dislike and curi- asity, The Captain, well accustomed to worse looks from more dangerous persons, cared very little either for those of the lady or of the divine, but bent his whole soul upon assaulting a huge piece of :beef, which smoked at the nether end of the table. But the onslaught, as he would have termed it. was delayed, until the conclusion of a very long grace, betwixt every section of which Dalgetty handled his knife and fork. as he might have dont his musket or pike when going upon action, and as often resigned them unwillingly when the 'prolix chaplain commenced another clause of his benediction, Sir Duncan list- ened with decency, though he was supposed rather to have joined the covenanters out of devotion to his chief, than real respect for the cause of liberty. His lady alone attended to the blessing, with symptoms of deep acquiescence. The meal was performed almost in Carthusian silence;' for it was none of Captain Dalgetty's habits to employ his mouth in talking while it coup. he more profitably occupied. Sir Duncan was absolutely silent, and the lady and churchman only occasionally ex- changed a few words, spoken low, and indistinctly. But when the dishes were removed, and their places supplied .by liquors of various sorts, Captain Dalgetty no Langer had, himself, the same weighty reasons for silence, and began to tire of that of the rest of the •company. He commenced a new attack upon' his landlord, upon the former ground. "Touching that round monticle, or hill, or eminence, 'termed Drumsnab, I would be ;proud to bold some dialogue with you, Sir Duncan, on the nature of the 'seance to be there con- structed; and whether the angles thereof should be acute or obtuse— anent whilk I have heard the great: Veit-Mareschal 'Barmier hold a learn- ed argument with General Tiefenbach during a still -stand of arms." "Captain Dalgetty," answered Sir Duncan very drily, ''it is not our Highland usage to debate military points with strangers. This castle is e y n y a e a, e e e a Y r d called Drumsnab, +friendly services same. To this Sir Duncan only his guest to his and offered his own in lining out the disinterested advice replied by ushering apartment, and in - • like .to hold out against a stronger enemy than any . force Which the unfortunate gentlemen we left at Darnliiavarach are alble bring against it." A deep .sigh' fromthe lady accons' paniect the conclusion .of her husband's speech, which seemed to remind Iter of some painful circumstance. 'He whoa e 'd the cle : m ig v , said rg an, addressing her 'in a solemn tone, "'itatht taken away. May you, honorable lady, be=long. enabled to say, Blessed be his name!" To this seemed exhortation,which e i t w sed intended for' her sole behoof, the lady answered by an inclination of her head more humble than Captain Dalgetty shad yet 'ob'served her make, Supposing he should now .find her in a more oonversable humor, 'he proceeded to accost her, "It is indubitably very natural that your ladyship should be downcast at the mention of military .preparation's, whdlk I have obser\ed to spread 'per- tunbat'ion ,aunon+g women ,of all nations, and almost all conditions. Nevertheless, Penthesilet, its ancient times, and also 'Joan of Arc, and also others, were of a different kidney. And, as I have learned while I served the Spaniard, the Du'lce of Alva in former times had the leaguer—lasses who followed his camp marshaled into tertias '(whilk we will call regiments), and officered and 'commanded by those of their own .feminine gender, and regulated by a commander-in- chief, called in German Huremeibler, or as we would say vernacularly, Cap- tain of the IQueans. True, it is, they were persons not to be named as par- allel to your ladyship, 'being such as we said of ;Jean Drodhiels at lefares- chal College; the same whom the French term curtisannes, and we in Scottish"— "The lady will spare you the trouble Of further exposition, Captain Dalgetty," said his host, somewhat sternly; to The clergyman. added, "that such discourse 'better befitted' a watchatower guarded by profane soldiery than the board of an honor- able person, and the presence of a lady of quality." "Craving your pardon, for I would have you to know I have studied pol- ite letters," said the .unabashed envoy, ,filling a great cup of wine,'! see iso ground for your reproof, seeing I did not speak of those turpes personae as if their occupation or character was a proper subject for this lady's presence but simply par aecidens, as illustra- ting the matter in hand, namely, .their natural courage and audacity, much enhanced, doubtless, by the desperate circuinstances of their .condition." "Captain Dalgetty," said Sir Dun- can Campbell, "to break short this discourse, I must acquaint you, that 1 have some :business to despatch to- night, in order to enable pie to ride you to -morrow toward Inverary; and th erefore"— "To ride with this ^personto- morrow!" exclaimed his lady "such cannot be your purpose, Sir Duncan, unless you have forgotten that the morrow is a sad anniversary, and dedicated to as sad a solemnity." "I had not forgotten," answered Sir Duncan; "how is ever :forget? but th times requires I officer onward to loss of time." "Yet, surely, not accompany him in the lady. "It were better Duncan; "yet I can it possible I can e necessity of the should send this Inverary, without that you should person?" inquired I did," said Sir write to the Mar- quis, and follow on the subsequent day.—Captain Dalgetty, I will des- patch a letter for you, explaining to the Marquis of Argyle your 'character and commission, with which you will please to prepare to travel to Inverary early to -morrow morning." "Sir Duncan Campbell," said Dal- getty, "I am doubtless at your discre- tionary disposal in this matter; not the less, I pray you to remember the bldt which will fall upon your own escutcheon, if you da in any way suffer me, being a •commissionate !lag of truce, to be 'circumvented in this matter; I .do not say by . your assent to any wrong done to me, but even through absence of any due care on your part to prevent the same." "You are under the safeguard of my honor, sir," answered Sir Duncan Campbell, "and that is more than a sufficient security. And now," 'contin- ued be, rising, "I must set the ex- ample of retiring." Dalgetty saw himself ander the necessity 'of fallowing the hint, though the !tour was early; 'but, like a skillful general, be availed himself of every instant of delay which circumstances permitted. "Trusting to your bono•r- able parole," said he, filling his cup, drink to you, Sir ;Duncan, and to the continuance of your !honorable house." A sigh from Sir Duncan was the only reply.—"Also, madam," said the soldier, replenishing the quaigh with Al possible .despatch, "I ,drink to your honorable Health, and fulfilment of all -your virtuous desires— and, re- verend sir(not forgetting to fit the. aotion to the •words), 'I fill this a;. to the drowning of all unkieedne 'betwixt you and, Captain Dalgetty 'T shoo^ld, "say Major—and, in respe the flagon'com'tains but one cup more Z' drink to the health 'of all honorabe 'cavaliers and ;brave soldados—and the Mask ;beingempty, I am ready, Si Duan, to attend your fmtetionary or ;sentinel, to m1y ,plade of p rivat repose." He received a formal permission 1 retire, and an assurance, that as th wine seemed to be'to his 'taste an h 'r of er x Leasure of the same vintag should attend him presently, in orde to soothe the (hours df this solitude. No .sooner had the Captains reache the apartment than this promise wa fulfilled; and in a short time after ward, ,the added camfonts of 'a pass of red -deer venison rendered him ver tolerant both of confinement and wa of •society. The same domestic •wh' placed this good 'ch'eer in his;'apart inert, .delivered to Dalgetty a packet sealed and tied up with a silke thready according to the ctrstont the time, addressed with many form of respect to the High .and MightPrince, Archibald, Marquis off Argyle Lard of Lorne, and so forth. Th. chamberlain at the same time apprise the Ritt-nnaster, that the must tak horse at an early hour JTor Inverary wherewhere the packet of Sir Dune would be at once his introduction an his passport. Nat forgetting that i was his object to collect ietforntatioi as well as eo act .as an envoy, an desirous, for 'his awn sake to ascertaii Sir Duncant's reasons for sending hien onward without his personal attend ance the Ritt-master inquired at th domestic, with all the precaution'tha his experience suggested, what were the reasons which detained Sir Duncan at home on the succeeding day. The ratan, who was from the Low'lan'ds, replied, ''that it was the habit of Sir Duncan and his lady to observe ,as a day of solemn fast and humiliation the anniversary .on which their castle had been taken by surprise and their children, to the .number of four destroyed cruelly by.a band of Highland freebooters during Sir Duncan's absence .upon an expedition which the 'Marquis of Argyle had undertaken against the Isle of Mull." "Truly," said the soldier, "your lord and lady have some cause for fast and humiliation. Nevertheless, I will ven- ture to pronounce that ef'he had taken the advice of any experienced soldier, having skill in the practiques of defeuding places of advantage, he wduld have built a sconce upon the small hill which is to the left of the 'drawbrigg. And this I can easily prove to you, mine honest friend; for,. holding that pasty to be the castle— What's your name, friend?" "Lorimer, sir," replied the man."`Here is to your health, honest Lorimer.—I say Lorimer—holding that pasty to he the 'main body or •citadel 'of the place to 'be defended, and taking the marrow -bone for the sconce to be .erected" "I am sorry, sir," said Lorimer, interrupting him, 'that I cannot stay to hear the rest of your demonstration but the bell will presently ring. AS worthy Mr. Graneangowl, the Mar- quis's. own chaplain, does family wor- ship, and only seven of our household out of sixty persons understand the Scottish tongue, it would misbecome any one of them to be absent, and greatly prejudice me in the opinion of my lady. There are pipes and tobacco sir, if you please to .drinka whiff of smoke, and if you want anything else, it shall be forthcoming two hours hence, when prayers are aver." So saying, he left the apartment. No sdoner was hegone. than the Leavy toll of 'the castle hell sum- moned its inhabitants together; and was answered 'by the shrill clamor of the 'females, mixed with the deeper tones of the 'mem as talking, Earse at the top of their throats, they 'hurried from different quarters by a long but narrow 'gallery, which served as a communication to many rooms, and, among others, to that in which Cap- tain Dalgetty was stationed. There hey go as if they were beating to •the ol•1-call, thought the soldier to him - elf; if they all attend the ,parade, I will look out, take a mouthful of rest air, and make mine own abserv- tions on the ,practicabilities of this lace. A'ccording'ly, when all was quiet, he pened 'his '.chamber-cloor, and pre- ared to leave it, when he saw his riend with the axe a'dvancin'g toward im dram the distant end 'of the gall- ry, half whistling, half humming a Gaelic tune. To have shown any want f confidence would have been at ,nee impolitic, and .u.nbeconting 'his military 'character; so the Captain, tilting the best 'face upon his situa-• ion he could, whistled a Swedish re - rut, in a tone still louder than .the otes of his sentinel; and retreating ace by pace with an air of .indiffer- nee, as if Isis only purpose had .been o 'breathe a little fresh air, he shot he door in the face of his guard. np' s5 ct el r e. e d ty y nt 0 n y e d e an d d PROFESSIONAL CARDS Medical ' 5 ' SEAFORTH CLINIC Dr. E. A. McMaster, M.B., Gradu- ate of University of Toronto. 7 D. Colquhoun M.D., C.M., Grad- uate of Dalhousie University, Halifax. The Clinic is fully, equipped with complete and modern x-ray and other upato-date diagnostic and thereuptic equipment. Dr. Margaret K. Campbell, M.D., L.A.B.P., Specialist in Diseases in Lnfants and Children, will he at the Clinic last Thursday in every =meet from 3 to '6 p.m. Dr. F. J. R. Forster, Specialist in. Diseases' of the Ear, Eye, Nose and Throat, will be at the Clinic the fictat Tuesday in . every month from 4 to 6 p.m. Free weld baby clinic will be : held on the second and last Thursday in every month from 1 to 2 p.m. JOHN A. GOR'WILL, B.A.,M.D. Physician and Surgeon In Dr, H. H. Ross' office. Phone 5,1 W. C. SPROAT, M.D., F.A.C.S. Surgery Ehoile 90-W. Office John St., Seaforth DR. H. HUGH ROSS, Physician and Surgeon Late of London Hos- pital, London, England. Special at. tenti'on to diseases of the eye, eau•, nose ar.3 throat. Office and residence behirsd Dominion Bank. Office Phone No, 5; Residence Phone 104. 'I)R. F. J. BURROWS, Office Main St., Seaforth, over Dominion Bank. Hours 2=5 and 7 to 8 p.m. and by ap- pointment. Residence, .Goderici St., two doors west of United Church.. Phone 416. DR. F. J. R. FO'RSTER— Eye Ear, Nose and Throat. Graduate in Medicine, University of Toronto 11897. Late Assistant New York Ophthal- mic and Aural Institute, Moorefield's Eye, and Golden Square throat hospd- tals, London. At Commercial Hotel, Seaforth, third Wednesday 1n tacit, month from 1.30 p,m, to 5 rem. Auctioneer. GEORGE ELLIOTT, Licensed auctioneer for the County of Huron. Arrangements can be made for Sale Date at The Seaforth News. Charges moderate and satisfaction guaranteed F. W. AHRENS, Licensed Auctdca ter for Perth and Huron Counties. Sales Solicited, Terms on Application. Farm Stook, chattels and real estate aroperty. R. R. No. 4, Mitchell, Phone 634 r 6. Apply at this office, WATSON & REID REAL ESTATE AND INSURANCE AGENCY (Successors to James Watson) MAIN ST., SEAFORTH, ONT. All kinds of Insurance risks effect- ed at lowest rates in Firet Class Companies. THE McKELLOP Mutual Fire lnsu,raac HEAD OFFICE—SEAFORTH, Ont, OFFICERS President, Thomas Moylan, Sea - forth; Vice President, William Knox, Londesboro; Secretary Treasurer, M A. Reid, Seaforth. AGENTS F. MoKerc'her, R.R.11, Dublin; John E. Pepper, R.R.1, Brucefield; E. R. G. Yarmouth, Brodhagen; James Wad, Blyth; C. F. Hewitt, Kin'oardlne, Wm. Yeo, Holnteswille. DTdbECTORS Alex. Broadfoot, Seaforth No. 3; James S'h,oltlice, Walton; Wm, Kmox, Londesboro; ;e George Leonhardt, Bornholm No. 1; Frank 'McGregor, :Clinton No. 5; James Connolly, +God- erich; Alex McEwing, Blyth No. 1; Thomas Moylan, Seaforth No. 5; Wm,' R. Archibald, Seaiforth No, 4. Parties desirous to effect insurance or transact other 'business, will be promptly attended to by applications to any of the above named officers addressed to their respective post - offices. When the fellow had approached within' a few paces of him. (Continued)