Why, now I have Dame1 Fortune by the Forelock,
And if she escapes my grasp, the fault is mine;
He that hath buffeted2 with stern adversity
Best knows the shape his course to favouring breezes.
Old Play.
OUR travellers reach Edinburgh without any farther adventure, and the Master of Ravenswood, as had been previously3 settled, took up his abode4 with his noble friend.
In the mean time, the political crisis which had been expected took place, and the Tory party obtained in the Scottish, as in the English, councils of Queen Anne a short-lived ascendency, of which it is not our business to trace either the cause or consequences. Suffice it to say, that it affected5 the different political parties according to the nature of their principles. In England, many of the High Church party, with Harley, afterwards Earl of Oxford6, at their head, affected to separate their principles from those of the Jacobites, and, on that account, obtained the denomination7 of Whimsicals. The Scottish High Church party, on the contrary, or, as they termed themselves, the Cavaliers, were more consistent, if not so prudent8, in their politics, and viewed all the changes now made as preparatory to calling to the throne, upon the queen’s demise9, her brother the Chevalier de St. George. Those who had suffered in his service now entertained the most unreasonable10 hopes, not only of indemnification, but of vengeance11 upon their political adversaries12; while families attached to the Whig interest saw nothing before them but a renewal14 of the hardships they had undergone during the reigns15 of Charles the Second and his brother, and a retaliation16 of the confiscation17 which had been inflicted18 upon the Jacobites during that of King William.
But the most alarmed at the change of system was that prudential set of persons, some of whom are found in all governments, but who abound20 in a provincial21 administration like that of Scotland during the period, and who are what Cromwell called waiters upon Providence22, or, in other words, uniform adherents23 to the party who are uppermost. Many of these hastened to read their recantation to the Marquis of A——; and, as it was easily seen that he took a deep interest in the affairs of his kinsman24, the Master of Ravenswood, they were the first to suggest measures for retrieving25 at least a part of his property, and for restoring him in blood against his father’s attainder.
Old Lord Turntippet professed26 to be one of the most anxious for the success of these measures; for “it grieved him to the very saul,” he said, “to see so brave a young gentleman, of sic auld27 and undoubted nobility, and, what was mair than a’ that, a bluid relation of the Marquis of A——, the man whom,” he swore, “he honoured most upon the face of the earth, brougth to so severe a pass. For his ain puir peculiar,” as he said, “and to contribute something to the rehabilitation28 of sae auld ane house,” the said Turntippet sent in three family pictures lacking the frames, and six high-backed chairs, with worked Turkey cushions, having the crest29 of Ravenswood broidered thereon, without charging a penny either of the principal or interest they had cost him, when he bought them, sixteen years before, at a roup of the furniture of Lord Ravenswood’s lodgings30 in the Canongate.
Much more to Lord Turntippet’s dismay than to his surprise, although he affected to feel more of the latter than the former, the Marquis received his gift very drily, and observed, that his lordship’s restitution31, if he expected it to be received by the Master of Ravenswood and his friends, must comprehend a pretty large farm, which, having been mortgaged to Turntippet for a very inadequate32 sum, he had contrived33, during the confusion of the family affairs, and by means well understood by the lawyers of that period, to acquire to himself in absolute property.
The old time-serving lord winced34 excessively under the requisition, protesting to God, that he saw no occasion the lad could have for the instant possession of the land, seeing he would doubtless now recover the bulk of his estate from Sir William Ashton, to which he was ready to contribute by every means in his power, as was just and reasonable; and finally declaring, that he was willing to settle the land on the young gentleman after his own natural demise.
But all these excuses availed nothing, and he was compelled to disgorge the property, on receiving back the sum for which it had been mortgaged. Having no other means of making peace with the higher powers, he returned home sorrowful and malcontent35, complaining to his confidants, “That every mutation36 or change in the state had hitherto been productive of some sma’ advantage to him in his ain quiet affairs; but that the present had — pize upon it!— cost him one of the best penfeathers o’ his wing.”
Similar measures were threatened against others who had profited by the wreck37 of the fortune of Ravenswood; and Sir William Ashton, in particular, was menaced with an appeal to the House of Peers, a court of equity38, against the judicial39 sentences, proceeding40 upon a strict and severe construction of the letter of the law, under which he held the castle and barony of Ravenswood. With him, however, the Master, as well for Lucy’s sake as on account of the hospitality he had received from him, felt himself under the necessity of proceeding with great candor41. He wrote to the late Lord Keeper, for he no longer held that office, stating frankly42 the engagement which existed between him and Miss Ashton, requesting his permission for their union, and assuring him of his willingness to put the settlement of all matters between them upon such a footing as Sir William himself should think favourable43.
The same messenger was charged with a letter to Lady Ashton, deprecating any cause of displeasure which the Master might unintentionally have given her, enlarging upon his attachment44 to Miss Ashton, and the length to which it had proceeded, and conjuring45 the lady, as a Douglas in nature as well as in name, generously to forget ancient prejudices and misunderstandings, and to believe that the family had acquired a friend, and she herself a respectful and attached humble46 servant, in him who subscribed47 himself, “Edgar, Master of Ravenswood.” A third letter Ravenswood addressed to Lucy, and the messenger was instructed to find some secret and secure means of delivering it into her own hands. It contained the strongest protestations of continued affection, and dwelt upon the approaching change of the writer’s fortunes, as chiefly valuable by tending to remove the impediments to their union. He related the steps he had taken to overcome the prejudices of her parents, and especially of her mother, and expressed his hope they might prove effectual. If not, he still trusted that his absence from Scotland upon an important and honourable48 mission might give time for prejudices to die away; while he hoped and trusted Miss Ashton’s constancy, on which he had the most implicit49 reliance, would baffle any effort that might be used to divert her attachment. Much more there was, which, however interesting to the lovers themselves, would afford the reader neither interest nor information. To each of these three letters the Master of Ravenswood received an answer, but by different means of conveyance50, and certainly couched in very different styles.
Lady Ashton answered his letter by his own messenger, who was not allowed to remain at Ravenswood a moment longer than she was engaged in penning these lines.
“For the hand of Mr. Ravenswood of Wolf’s Crag — These:
“SIR, UNKNOWN:
“I have received a letter, signed ‘Edgar, Master of Ravenswood,’ concerning the writer whereof I am uncertain, seeing that the honours of such a family were forfeited51 for high reason in the person of Allan, late Lord Ravenswood. Sir, if you shall happen to be the person so subscribing52 yourself, you will please to know, that I claim the full interest of a parent in Miss Lucy Ashton, which I have disposed of irrevocably in behalf of a worthy53 person. And, sir, were this otherwise, I would not listen to a proposal from you, or any of your house, seeing their hand has been uniformly held up against the freedom of the subject and the immunities54 of God’s kirk. Sir, it is not a flightering blink of prosperity which can change my constant opinion in this regard, seeing it has been my lot before now, like holy David, to see the wicked great in power and flourishing like a green bay-tree; nevertheless I passed, and they were not, and the place thereof knew them no more. Wishing you to lay these things to your heart for your own sake, so far as they may concern you, I pray you to take no farther notice of her who desires to remain your unknown servant,
“MARGARET DOUGLAS,
“otherwise ASHTON.”
About two days after he had received this very unsatisfactory epistle, the Master of Ravenswood, while walking up the High Street of Edinburgh, was jostled by a person, in whom, as the man pulled off his hat to make an apology, he recognized Lockhard, the confidential55 domestic of Sir William Ashton. The man bowed, slipt a letter into his hand, and disappeared. The packet contained four close-written folios, from which, however, as is sometimes incident to the compositions of great lawyers, little could be extracted, excepting that the writer felt himself in a very puzzling predicament.
Sir William spoke56 at length of his high value and regard for his dear young friend, the Master of Ravenswood, and of his very extreme high value and regard for the Marquis of A——, his very dear old friend; he trusted that any measures that they might adopt, in which he was concerned, would be carred on with due regard to the sanctity of decreets and judgments58 obtained in foro contentioso; protesting, before men and angels, that if the law of Scotland, as declared in her supreme59 courts, were to undergo a reversal in the English House of Lords, the evils which would thence arise to the public would inflict19 a greater wound upon his heart than any loss he might himself sustain by such irregular proceedings60. He flourished much on generosity61 and forgiveness of mutual62 injuries, and hinted at the mutability of human affairs, always favourite topics with the weaker party in politics. He pathetically lamented63, and gently censured64, the haste which had been used in depriving him of his situation of Lord Keeper, which his experience had enabled him to fill with some advantage to the public, without so much as giving him an opportunity of explaining how far his own views of general politics might essentially65 differ from those now in power. He was convinced the Marquis of A—— had as sincere intentions towards the public as himself or any man; and if, upon a conference, they could have agreed upon the measures by which it was to be pursued, his experience and his interest should have gone to support the present administration. Upon the engagement betwixt Ravenswood and his daughter, he spoke in a dry and confused manner. He regretted so premature66 a step as the engagement of the young people should have been taken, and conjured67 the Master to remember he had never given any encouragement thereunto; and observed that, as a transaction inter13 minores, and without concurrence68 of his daughter’s natural curators, the engagement was inept69, and void in law. This precipitate70 measure, he added, had produced a very bad effect upon Lady Ashton’s mind, which it was impossible at present to remove. Her son, Colonel Douglas Ashton, had embraced her prejudices in the fullest extent, and it was impossible for Sir William to adopt a course disagreeable to them without a fatal and irreconcilable71 breach72 in his family; which was not at present to be thought of. Time, the great physician, he hoped, would mend all.
In a postscript73, Sir William said something more explicitly74, which seemed to intimate that, rather than the law of Scotland should sustain a severe wound through his sides, by a reversal of the judgment57 of her supreme courts, in the case of the barony of Ravenswood, through the intervention75 of what, with all submission76, he must term a foreign court of appeal, he himself would extrajudically consent to considerable sacrifices.
From Lucy Ashton, by some unknown conveyance, the Master received the following lines: “I received yours, but it was at the utmost risk; do not attempt to write again till better times. I am sore beset77, but I will be true to my word, while the exercise of my reason is vouchsafed78 to me. That you are happy and prosperous is some consolation79, and my situation requires it all.” The note was signed “L.A.”
This letter filled Ravenswood with the most lively alarm. He made many attempts, notwithstanding her prohibition80, to convey letters to Miss Ashton, and even to obtain an interview; but his plans were frustrated81, and he had only the mortification82 to learn that anxious and effectual precautions had been taken to prevent the possibility of their correspondence. The Master was the more distressed83 by these circumstances, as it became impossible to delay his departure from Scotland, upon the important mission which had been confided84 to him. Before his departure, he put Sir William Ashton’s letter into the hands of the Marquis of A——, who observed with a smile, that Sir William’s day of grace was past, and that he had now to learn which side of the hedge the sun had got to. It was with the greatest difficulty that Ravenswood extorted85 from the Marquis a promise that he would compromise the proceedings in Parliament, providing Sir William should be disposed to acquiesce86 in a union between him and Lucy Ashton.
“I would hardly,” said the Marquis, “consent to your throwing away your birthright in this manner, were I not perfectly87 confident that Lady Ashton, or Lady Douglas, or whatever she calls herself, will, as Scotchmen say, keep her threep; and that her husband dares not contradict her.”
“But yet,” said the Master, “I trust your lordship will consider my engagement as sacred.”
“Believe my word of honour,” said the Marquis, “I would be a friend even to your follies88; and having thus told you MY opinion, I will endeavour, as occasion offers, to serve you according to your own.”
The master of Ravenswood could but thank his generous kinsman and patron, and leave him full power to act in all his affairs. He departed from Scotland upon his mission, which, it was supposed, might detain him upon the continent for some months.
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1
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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buffeted
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| 反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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7
denomination
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| n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位 | |
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8
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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9
demise
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| n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让 | |
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10
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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11
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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12
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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13
inter
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| v.埋葬 | |
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14
renewal
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| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
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15
reigns
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| n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期 | |
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16
retaliation
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| n.报复，反击 | |
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17
confiscation
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| n. 没收, 充公, 征收 | |
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18
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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20
abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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21
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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22
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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23
adherents
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| n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙 | |
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24
kinsman
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| n.男亲属 | |
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25
retrieving
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| n.检索（过程），取还v.取回( retrieve的现在分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息） | |
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26
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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auld
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| adj.老的，旧的 | |
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rehabilitation
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| n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位 | |
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29
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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30
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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31
restitution
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| n.赔偿；恢复原状 | |
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32
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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33
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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34
winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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malcontent
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| n.不满者，不平者；adj.抱不平的，不满的 | |
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36
mutation
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| n.变化，变异，转变 | |
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37
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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equity
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| n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票 | |
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judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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41
candor
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| n.坦白，率真 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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conjuring
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| n.魔术 | |
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46
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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47
subscribed
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| v.捐助( subscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意 | |
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48
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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49
implicit
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| a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的 | |
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50
conveyance
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| n.(不动产等的)转让，让与；转让证书；传送；运送；表达；（正）运输工具 | |
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51
forfeited
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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subscribing
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| v.捐助( subscribe的现在分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意 | |
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53
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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54
immunities
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| 免除，豁免( immunity的名词复数 )； 免疫力 | |
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confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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56
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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57
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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58
judgments
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| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
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59
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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61
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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62
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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censured
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| v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的过去式 ) | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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conjured
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| 用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现 | |
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concurrence
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| n.同意；并发 | |
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inept
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| adj.不恰当的，荒谬的，拙劣的 | |
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precipitate
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| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
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irreconcilable
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| adj.（指人）难和解的，势不两立的 | |
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72
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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postscript
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| n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明 | |
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74
explicitly
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| ad.明确地，显然地 | |
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75
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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76
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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77
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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78
vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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79
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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80
prohibition
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| n.禁止；禁令，禁律 | |
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81
frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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82
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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83
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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84
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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85
extorted
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| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
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86
acquiesce
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| vi.默许，顺从，同意 | |
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87
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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88
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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