Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer — Complete

by Walter Scott

  CHAPTER IV You have fed upon my seignories, Dispark'd my parks, and fell'd my forest woods, From mine own windows torn my household coat, Razed out my impress, leaving me no sign, Save men's opinions and my living blood, To show the world I am a gentleman.

  Richard II.

  When the boat which carried the worthy captain on board his vessel hadaccomplished that task, the sails began to ascend, and the ship was gotunder way. She fired three guns as a salute to the house of Ellangowan,and then shot away rapidly before the wind, which blew off shore, underall the sail she could crowd.

  'Ay, ay,' said the Laird, who had sought Mannering for some time, and nowjoined him, 'there they go--there go the free-traders--there go CaptainDirk Hatteraick and the Yungfrauw Hagenslaapen, half Manks, halfDutchman, half devil! run out the boltsprit, up mainsail, top andtop-gallant sails, royals, and skyscrapers, and away--follow who can!That fellow, Mr. Mannering, is the terror of all the excise andcustom-house cruisers; they can make nothing of him; he drubs them, or hedistances them;--and, speaking of excise, I come to bring you tobreakfast; and you shall have some tea, that--'

  Mannering by this time was aware that one thought linked strangely on toanother in the concatenation of worthy Mr. Bertram's ideas,

  Like orient pearls at random strung;

  and therefore, before the current of his associations had drifted fartherfrom the point he had left, he brought him back by some inquiry aboutDirk Hatteraick.

  'O he's a--a--gude sort of blackguard fellow eneugh; naebody cares totrouble him--smuggler, when his guns are in ballast--privateer, orpirate, faith, when he gets them mounted. He has done more mischief tothe revenue folk than ony rogue that ever came out of Ramsay.'

  'But, my good sir, such being his character, I wonder he has anyprotection and encouragement on this coast.'

  'Why, Mr. Mannering, people must have brandy and tea, and there's none inthe country but what comes this way; and then there's short accounts, andmaybe a keg or two, or a dozen pounds, left at your stable-door, insteadof a d--d lang account at Christmas from Duncan Robb, the grocer atKippletringan, who has aye a sum to make up, and either wants ready moneyor a short-dated bill. Now, Hatteraick will take wood, or he'll takebark, or he'll take barley, or he'll take just what's convenient at thetime. I'll tell you a gude story about that. There was ance alaird--that's Macfie of Gudgeonford,--he had a great number of kainhens--that's hens that the tenant pays to the landlord, like a sort ofrent in kind. They aye feed mine very ill; Luckie Finniston sent up threethat were a shame to be seen only last week, and yet she has twelve bowssowing of victual; indeed her goodman, Duncan Finniston--that's himthat's gone--(we must all die, Mr. Mannering, that's ower true)--and,speaking of that, let us live in the meanwhile, for here's breakfast onthe table, and the Dominie ready to say the grace.'

  The Dominie did accordingly pronounce a benediction, that exceeded inlength any speech which Mannering had yet heard him utter. The tea, whichof course belonged to the noble Captain Hatteraick's trade, waspronounced excellent. Still Mannering hinted, though with due delicacy,at the risk of encouraging such desperate characters. 'Were it but injustice to the revenue, I should have supposed--'

  'Ah, the revenue lads'--for Mr. Bertram never embraced a general orabstract idea, and his notion of the revenue was personified in thecommissioners, surveyors, comptrollers, and riding officers whom hehappened to know--'the revenue lads can look sharp eneugh out forthemselves, no ane needs to help them; and they have a' the soldiers toassist them besides; and as to justice--you 'll be surprised to hear it,Mr. Mannering, but I am not a justice of peace!'

  Mannering assumed the expected look of surprise, but thought withinhimself that the worshipful bench suffered no great deprivation fromwanting the assistance of his good-humoured landlord. Mr. Bertram had nowhit upon one of the few subjects on which he felt sore, and went on withsome energy.

  'No, sir, the name of Godfrey Bertram of Ellangowan is not in the lastcommission, though there's scarce a carle in the country that has aplough-gate of land, but what he must ride to quarter-sessions and writeJ.P. after his name. I ken fu' weel whom I am obliged to--Sir ThomasKittlecourt as good as tell'd me he would sit in my skirts if he had notmy interest at the last election; and because I chose to go with my ownblood and third cousin, the Laird of Balruddery, they keepit me off theroll of freeholders; and now there comes a new nomination of justices,and I am left out! And whereas they pretend it was because I let DavidMac-Guffog, the constable, draw the warrants, and manage the business hisain gate, as if I had been a nose o' wax, it's a main untruth; for Igranted but seven warrants in my life, and the Dominie wrote every one ofthem--and if it had not been that unlucky business of SandyMac-Gruthar's, that the constables should have keepit twa or three daysup yonder at the auld castle, just till they could get conveniency tosend him to the county jail--and that cost me eneugh o' siller. But I kenwhat Sir Thomas wants very weel--it was just sic and siclike about theseat in the kirk o' Kilmagirdle--was I not entitled to have the frontgallery facing the minister, rather than Mac-Crosskie of Creochstone, theson of Deacon Mac-Crosskie, the Dumfries weaver?'

  Mannering expressed his acquiescence in the justice of these variouscomplaints.

  'And then, Mr. Mannering, there was the story about the road and thefauld-dike. I ken Sir Thomas was behind there, and I said plainly to theclerk to the trustees that I saw the cloven foot, let them take that asthey like. Would any gentleman, or set of gentlemen, go and drive a roadright through the corner of a fauld-dike and take away, as my agentobserved to them, like twa roods of gude moorland pasture? And there wasthe story about choosing the collector of the cess--'

  'Certainly, sir, it is hard you should meet with any neglect in a countrywhere, to judge from the extent of their residence, your ancestors musthave made a very important figure.'

  'Very true, Mr. Mannering; I am a plain man and do not dwell on thesethings, and I must needs say I have little memory for them; but I wish yecould have heard my father's stories about the auld fights of theMac-Dingawaies--that's the Bertrams that now is--wi' the Irish and wi'the Highlanders that came here in their berlings from Ilay and Cantire;and how they went to the Holy Land--that is, to Jerusalem and Jericho,wi' a' their clan at their heels--they had better have gaen to Jamaica,like Sir Thomas Kittlecourt's uncle--and how they brought hame relicslike those that Catholics have, and a flag that's up yonder in thegarret. If they had been casks of muscavado and puncheons of rum it wouldhave been better for the estate at this day; but there's littlecomparison between the auld keep at Kittlecourt and the castle o'Ellangowan; I doubt if the keep's forty feet of front. But ye make nobreakfast, Mr. Mannering; ye're no eating your meat; allow me torecommend some of the kipper. It was John Hay that catcht it, Saturdaywas three weeks, down at the stream below Hempseed ford,' etc. etc. etc.

  The Laird, whose indignation had for some time kept him pretty steady toone topic, now launched forth into his usual roving style ofconversation, which gave Mannering ample time to reflect upon thedisadvantages attending the situation which an hour before he had thoughtworthy of so much envy. Here was a country gentleman, whose mostestimable quality seemed his perfect good-nature, secretly frettinghimself and murmuring against others for causes which, compared with anyreal evil in life, must weigh like dust in the balance. But such is theequal distribution of Providence. To those who lie out of the road ofgreat afflictions are assigned petty vexations which answer all thepurpose of disturbing their serenity; and every reader must have observedthat neither natural apathy nor acquired philosophy can render countrygentlemen insensible to the grievances which occur at elections,quarter-sessions, and meetings of trustees.

  Curious to investigate the manners of the country, Mannering took theadvantage of a pause in good Mr. Bertram's string of stories to inquirewhat Captain Hatteraick so earnestly wanted with the gipsy woman.

  'O, to bless his ship, I suppose. You must know, Mr. Mannering, thatthese free-traders, wh
om the law calls smugglers, having no religion,make it all up in superstition; and they have as many spells and charmsand nonsense--'

  'Vanity and waur!' said the Dominie;' it is a trafficking with the EvilOne. Spells, periapts, and charms are of his device--choice arrows out ofApollyon's quiver.'

  'Hold your peace, Dominie; ye're speaking for ever'--by the way, theywere the first words the poor man had uttered that morning, exceptingthat he said grace and returned thanks--'Mr. Mannering cannot get in aword for ye! And so, Mr. Mannering, talking of astronomy and spells andthese matters, have ye been so kind as to consider what we were speakingabout last night?'

  'I begin to think, Mr. Bertram, with your worthy friend here, that I havebeen rather jesting with edge-tools; and although neither you nor I, norany sensible man, can put faith in the predictions of astrology, yet, asit has sometimes happened that inquiries into futurity, undertaken injest, have in their results produced serious and unpleasant effects bothupon actions and characters, I really wish you would dispense with myreplying to your question.'

  It was easy to see that this evasive answer only rendered the Laird'scuriosity more uncontrollable. Mannering, however, was determined in hisown mind not to expose the infant to the inconveniences which might havearisen from his being supposed the object of evil prediction. Hetherefore delivered the paper into Mr. Bertram's hand, and requested himto keep it for five years with the seal unbroken, until the month ofNovember was expired. After that date had intervened he left him atliberty to examine the writing, trusting that, the first fatal periodbeing then safely overpassed, no credit would be paid to its farthercontents. This Mr. Bertram was content to promise, and Mannering, toensure his fidelity, hinted at misfortunes which would certainly takeplace if his injunctions were neglected. The rest of the day, whichMannering, by Mr. Bertram's invitation, spent at Ellangowan, passed overwithout anything remarkable; and on the morning of that which followedthe traveller mounted his palfrey, bade a courteous adieu to hishospitable landlord and to his clerical attendant, repeated his goodwishes for the prosperity of the family, and then, turning his horse'shead towards England, disappeared from the sight of the inmates ofEllangowan. He must also disappear from that of our readers, for it is toanother and later period of his life that the present narrative relates.