Ringan Gilhaize, or, The Covenanters

by John Galt

  CHAPTER LXV

  The moment that the man who came to the door saw, by the glimpse of thelight, that both my brother and Esau Wardrop had swords at their sides,he uttered a cry of alarm, thinking the house was surrounded, at whichall the riotous soldiers within flew to their arms, while the man whoopened the door seized my brother by the throat and harl't him in. Thepanic, however, was but of short duration; for my brother soon expoundedthat they were two perishing men who came to surrender themselves; sothe door was again opened and Esau Wardrop commanded to come in.

  "It's but a justice to say of those rampageous troopers," said mybrother, "that, considering us as prisoners of war, they were free andkind enough, though they mocked at our cause, and derided the equipageof our warfare. But it was a humiliating sight to see in what mannerthey deported themselves towards the unfortunate family."

  Ringlewood himself, who had remonstrated against their insolence to hisaged leddy, they had tied in his arm-chair and placed at the head of hisown table, round which they sat carousing, and singing the roisterribaldry of camp songs. At first, when my brother was taken into thisscene of military domination, he did not observe the laird; for in theuproar of the alarm the candles had been overset and broken, but newones being sworn for and stuck into the necks of the bottles of the winethey were lavishly drinking, he discovered him lying as it were asleepwhere he sat, with his head averted, and his eyes shut on the iniquityof the scene of oppression with which he was oppressed.

  Some touch of contrition had led one of the soldiers to take the agedmatron under his care; and on his intercession she was not placed at thetable, but allowed to sit in a corner, where she mourned in silence,with her hands clasped together, and her head bent down over them uponher breast. The laird's grandson and heir, a stripling of some fifteenyears or so, was obligated to be page and butler, for all the rest ofthe house had taken to the hills at the approach of the troopers.

  As the drinking continued the riot increased, and the rioters growingheated with their drink, they began to quarrel: fierce words broughtangry answers, and threats were followed by blows. Then there was aninterposition, and a shaking of hands, and a pledging of renewedfriendship.

  But still the demon of the drink continued to grow stronger and strongerin their kindling blood, and the tumult was made perfect by one of themen, in the capering of his inebriety, rising from his seat, and takingthe old leddy by the toupie to raise her head as he rudely placed hisfoul cup to her lips. This called up the ire of the fellow who had swornto protect her, and he, not less intoxicated than the insulter, camestaggering to defend her; a scuffle ensued, the insulter was cast with aswing away, and falling against the laird, who still remained as it wereasleep, with his head on his shoulder, and his eyes shut, he overthrewthe chair in which the old gentleman sat fastened, and they both fell tothe ground.

  The soldier, frantic with wine and rage, was soon, like a tiger, on hisadversary; the rest rose to separate them. Some took one side, someanother; bottles were seized for weapons, and the table was overthrownin the hurricane. Their sergeant, who was as drunk as the worst of them,tried in vain to call them into order, but they heeded not his call,which so enraged him, that he swore they should shift their quarters,and with that seizing a burning brand from the chumla, he ran into abedchamber that opened from the room where the riot was raging, and setfire to the curtains.

  My brother seeing the flames rising, and that the infuriated war-wolvesthought only of themselves, ran to extricate Ringlewood from the cordswith which he was tied; and calling to the leddy and her grandson toquit the burning house, every one was soon out of danger from the fire.

  The sense of the soldiers were not so overborne by their drink as toprevent them from seeing the dreadful extent of their outrage; butinstead of trying to extinguish the flames, they marched away to seekquarters in some other place, cursing the sergeant for having sounhoused them in such a night.

  At first they thought of carrying my brother and Esau Wardrop with themas prisoners; but one of them said it would be as well to give the wyteof the burning, at headquarters, to the rebels; so they left thembehind.

  Esau Wardrop, with the young laird and my grandfather, seeing it was invain to stop the progress of the fire, did all that in them lay torescue some of the furniture, while poor old Ringlewood and his aged andgentle lady, being both too infirm to lend any help, stood on the green,and saw the devouring element pass from room to room, till their ancientdwelling was utterly destroyed. Fortunately, however, the air was calm,and the out-houses escaping the ruinous contagion of the flames, therewas still a beild left in the barn to which they could retire.

  In the meantime the light of the burning spread over the country; butthe people knowing that soldiers were quartered in Ringlewood, stoodaloof in the dread of firearms, thinking the conflagration might becaused by some contest of war; so that the mansion of a gentleman muchbeloved of all his neighbours was allowed to burn to the ground beforetheir eyes, without any one venturing to come to help him, to so great adegree had distrust and the outrages of military riot at that epochaltered the hearts of men.

  My brother and Esau Wardrop staid with Ringlewood till the morning, andhad, for the space of three or four hours, a restoring sleep. Fain wouldthey have remained longer there, but the threat of the soldiers toaccuse them as the incendiaries made Ringlewood urge them to depart;saying, that maybe a time would come when it would be in his power tothank them for their help in that dreadful night. But he was not longexposed to many sufferings; for the leddy on the day following, as inafter-time we heard, was seized with her dead-ill, and departed thislife in the course of three days; and the laird also, in less than amonth, was laid in the kirk-yard, with his ancestors, by her side.