The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale

of ten, he had more ill tales upon his tongue than ever I heard the match of; having drunken betimes in his brother's cup. I was still not so old myself; pride had not yet the upper hand of

d along all the road the Duries and poor Mr. Henry were in the first rank of slander. My mind was thus highly prejudiced against the family I was about to serve, so that I was half surprised when I beheld Durrisdeer itself, lying in a pretty, sheltered bay, under the Abbey Hill; the house most commodiou

the first thing I observed was a lozenge of clear glass in the midst of the shield in the painted window, which I remember thinking a blemish on a room otherwise so handsome, with its family portraits, and the pargeted ceiling with pendants, and the carved chimney, in one corner of which my old lord sat reading in his Livy. He was like Mr. Henry, with much the same plain coun

about six weeks, which made me think less of her beauty at the first sight; and she used me with more

At length one day he looked up from his paper with a kind of timidness, and says he, "Mr. Mackellar, I think I ought to tell you that you do very well." That was my first word of commendation; and from that day his jealousy of my performance was relaxed; soon it was "Mr. Mackellar" here, and "Mr. Mackellar" there, with the whole family; and for much of my service at Durrisdeer, I have transacted everything at my own time, and to my own fancy, and never a fart

t the sun, which was then dipping, we saw the freetraders, with a great force of men and horses, scouring on the beach. Mr. Henry had been starin

s thinking I would be a happier man if I could ride and r

a common fancy to envy others and think we should be the better of some

"And with that we may g

he shadow of the Master of Ballantrae. Dead or alive (and he was then supposed to be dead) that man was his brother's rival: his rival abroad, where there was never

arding Mr. Henry publicly, often with a slighting comparison. My lord and Mrs. Henry took him up, to be sure, but never so resolutely as they should; and he had only to pull his weeping face and begin his lamentations for the Master-"his laddie," as he called him-to have the whole c

flyting and profane cursing-deil hae him! There's nane kent his wickedness: him a gentleman! Did ever ye hear tell, Mr. Mackellar, o' Wully White the wabster? No? Aweel, Wully was an unco praying kind o' man; a dreigh body, nane o' my kind, I never could abide the sight o' him; onyway he was a great hand by his way of it, and he up and rebukit the Master for some of his on-goings. It was a grand thing for the Master o' Ball'ntrae to tak up a feud wi' a' wabster, wasnae't?" Macconochie would sneer; indeed, he never took the full name upon his lips but with a sort of a whine of hatred. "But he did! A fine employ it was: chapping at the man's door, and crying 'boo' in his lum, and puttin' poother in his fire, and pee-oys [1] in his window; till the man thocht it was auld Hornie was come seekin' him. Weel, to mak a lang story short, Wully gaed gy

is a very good son to me." And grateful he was, no doubt, being a man of sense and justice. But I think that was all, and I am sure Mr. Henry thought so. The love was all

proud. If he was not all he should have been in some ways, well, perhaps we loved him better!" This last he said looking musingly in the fire; and then to me, with a great deal of briskness, "But I am rejoiced you do so well with Mr. Henry. You will find him a good master." And with that he opened his book, wh

of bringing me more intimate. I had not yet been six months at Durrisdeer when it chanced that John Paul fell sick and must keep his bed; drink was the root of his malady, in my poor thought; but he was tended, and indeed c

know not to whom I should look unless it was yourself. The matter is very delicate; I could not carry it with my own hand for a sufficient reason; I dare not

s no better than she should be, I supposed it was some trip of his own that

ther, I had never seen a worse neighbourhood, even in the great city of Edinburgh, and I was in two minds to go back. Jessie's room was of a piece with her surroundings, and herself no better. She would not give me the receipt (which Mr. Henry had told me to demand, for he was very methodical) unti

at I'm brought down to! Ah, if the bonnie lad were back again, it would be changed days

e had had enough of me for an audience, and had set her name at last to the receipt. "There!" says she, and taking the most unwomanly oaths upon her tongue, bade me begone and carry it to the Judas who had sent me. It was the first time I had heard the name applied to Mr. Henry; I was staggered besides at her sudden vehemence of word and manner, and got forth from the room, under this shower of curses, like a beaten dog. But even

fecting employment, but I could see he

friends to boast of, and Jessie has some cause to be unjust. I need not dissemble what all the country knows: she was not very well used by one of our family." This was the first time I had heard him refer to the Master even

r money to the like of her? She has no sobriety and no economy-as for gratitude, you will as soon get milk from a whinst

d about your ankle," said he, the

advice upon consideration; and yet my heart

ember that I knew her once a very decent lass. Besides which, al

dence. But the same afternoon I had the proof that his father was perfectly acquainte

, I wish to thank you, and to remind you at the same time (in case Mr. Henry should have neglected) how very desir

ring up the image of the dead in Mrs. Henry's heart, and how much better he were employed to shatte

I suppose he was glad to talk of his loss, and ashamed to dwell on it with Mr. Henry. Certainly, at least, he made a little coterie apart in that family of three, and it was the husband who was shut out. It seems it was an old custom when the family were alone in Durrisdeer, that my lord should take his wine to the chimney-side, and Miss Alison, instead of withdrawing, should bring a stool to his knee, and chatter to him privately; and after she had become my patron's wife the same manner of doing was continued. It should have been pleasant to behold this ancient gentleman so loving with his daughter, but I was too much a partisan of Mr. Henry's to be anything but wroth at his exclusion. Many's the time I have seen him make an obvious resolv

l encouragement to make a stand. Once, I remember, he announced he had found a man to replace the pane of the stained window, which, as it was he that managed all the business

at you!"

nry, with more of bitterness than

weeping with her head upon his knee. Mr. Henry kept up the talk with me upon some topic of the estates-he could speak of little else but business, and was never the best of company; but he kept it up that day with

ce: ordered him with a look of the eye, when she was off her guard; when she was on the watch, pleaded with him for the most natural attentions, as though they were unheard-of favours. And to all this he replied with the most unwearied service, loving, as folk say, the very ground she trod on, and carrying that love in his eyes as bright as a lamp. When Miss Katharine was to be born, nothing would serve but he must stay i

749, when there befell the first of that series of events

urst open the door with no civility of knocking, and told me there was one be

he cause of John's ill-humour; for it appeared the visitor refused to n

ing a little, "I wil

f Macconochie was standing, with his tongue out of his mouth and his hand upon his chin, like a dull fellow thinking hard; and the stranger,

ramrod there that I should know the looks of, and more betoken I believe that he knows mine. Being in this family, sir, and in

ys I, "that all of that party

on for me till morning, at some danger to himself; and, to be clear with you, I am a little concerned lest it should be at some to me. I have saved my life so often, Mr. -,

ou can trust Macconoc

leave I'll just breathe it in your ear. They call me Francis Burke-Colonel Francis Burke; and I am here, at a most damnable risk to myself, to see your masters-if you'll excuse me, my good man, for giving them the name, for I'm sure it's a

distasted of the Scots at the time of the rebellion; and it came at once into my mind, how the Master of Ballantrae

said I, opening a chamber do

ood of you, Mr. What-is-yo

I told them briefly what I had to say. My old lord lay back in his seat. Mrs. Henry sprang up standing with a mechanical motion, and she and her husband stared at each other's eyes across the room; it was the strangest,

much the same position I same left t

ing, and my lord bowed in answer. "And this," continu

," said Mr. Henry; "but I am

st killing airs of gallantry. "There can be no mistake about so fine a figure of a

and and wife e

d she; "but before my marria

. It will be mercy on your part to be expeditious. Do you bring me news of-" he he

und with you like a soldier

but whether it was to give him time or to speak on, was more t

e is at this hour in the fine city of Paris, and as like as not, if I know anything of his habi

-frame. But when Mr. Henry made a movement as if to run to her, she strai

ad turned to the Colonel. "You must not blame yourself," says he, "for this effect

relief or even gratitude. In my way of thinking, that

e shot for not breaking the matter more artistically to a lady. But here are the Master's own letters; one for each of th

their superscriptions, presented the first to my lord, who took i

k. "To my husband," says

what nonplussed. "To be sure!" says he; "how very du

the letters (both hers and his own), and looked upon their outside, with his brows knit hard, as if he w

fe. "This has come something of the suddenest; and, at a

t to where she stood. "It will be better so, believe me," said he; "and Colonel Burke is too consi

nry went to visit her next morning, as I heard long aft

and be done!"

e that,"

reat part of what they had previously done well. But the letter,

ch greater length than my whole story, and not everywhere (as it seems to me) designed for edification. He begged in his letter, dated from Ettenheim, that I would find a publisher for the whole, after I had made what use of it I required; and I think I shall best answer my own purpose and fulfil his wishes by printing certain parts of it in full. In this way my readers will have a detailed, and, I believe, a very genuine accoun