 CHAPTER I. On the northeast coast of Scotland, in the most romantic part of the Highlands, stood the castle of Aethlin, an edifice built on the summit of a rock, whose base was in the sea. This pile was venerable from its antiquity and from its scothic structure, but more venerable from the virtues which it enclosed. It was the residence of the still, beautiful widow and the children of the noble earl of Aethlin, who was slain by the hand of Malcolm and neighboring chief, proud, oppressive, revengeful, and still residing in all the pomp of feudal greatness, within a few miles of the castle of Aethlin. Encroachment on the domain of Aethlin was the occasion of the animosity which subsisted between the chiefs. Frequent broils had happened between their clans, in which that of Aethlin had generally been victorious. Malcolm, whose pride was touched by the defeat of his people, whose ambition was curbed by the authority, and whose greatness was rivaled by the power of the earl, conceived for him that deadly hatred which oppositioned to its favorite passions naturally excites in a mind like his, haughty and unaccustomed to control, and he meditated his destruction. He planned his purpose with all that address which so eminently marked his character, and in a battle which was attended by the chiefs of each party in person, he contrived by a curious finesse to entrap the earl, accompanied by a small detachment, in his wiles, and there slew him. A general rout of his clan ensued, which was followed by a dreadful slaughter, and a few only escaped to tell the horrid catastrophe to Matilda. Overwhelmed by the news and deprived of those numbers which would make revenge successful, Matilda forbore to sacrifice the lives of her few remaining people to a feeble attempt at retaliation, and she was constrained to endure in silence her sorrows and her injuries. Inconsolable for his death, Matilda had withdrawn from the public eye into this ancient seat of feudal government, and there in the bosom of her people and her family had devoted herself to the education of her children. One son and one daughter were all that survived to her care, and their growing virtues promised to repay all her tenderness. When Albert was in his nineteenth year, nature had given him a mind ardent and susceptible to which education had added refinement and expansion. The visions of genius were bright in his imagination, and his heart, unchilled by the touch of disappointment, glowed with all the warmth of benevolence. When first we enter on the theatre of the world and began to notice its features, young imagination heightens every scene, and the warm heart expands to all around it. The happy benevolence of our feelings prompts us to believe that everybody is good and excites our wonder why everybody is not happy. We are fired with indignation at the recital of an act of injustice and at the unfeeling vices of which we are told. At a tale of distress our tears flow a full tribute to pity. At a deed of virtue our heart unfolds, our soul aspires, we bless the action and feel ourselves the doer. As we advance in life imagination is compelled to relinquish a part of her sweet delirium. We are led reluctantly to truth through the paths of experience, and the objects of our fond attention are viewed with a severe eye. Here an altered scene appears. Frowns, where late were smiles, deep shades where late was sunshine, mean passions or disgusting apathy stain the features of the principal figures. We turn indignant from a prospect so miserable and court again the sweet illusions of our early days, but awe they are fled forever. Constrained, therefore, to behold objects in their more genuine hues, their deformity is, by degrees, less painful to us. The fine touch of moral susceptibility by frequent irritation becomes callous, and too frequently we mingle with the world till we are added to the number of its votaries. Mary, who was just seventeen, had the accomplishments of riper years, with the touching simplicity of youth. The graces of her person were inferior only to those of her mind, which illumined her countenance with inimitable expression. Twelve years had now elapsed since the death of the Earl, and time had blunted the keen edge of sorrow. Matilda's grief had declined into a gentle and not unpleasing melancholy, which gave a soft and interesting shade to the natural dignity of her character. Hitherto her attention had been solely directed towards rearing those virtues which nature had planted with so liberal a hand in her children, and which, under the genial influence of her eye, had flourished and expanded into beauty and strength. A new hope and new solicitudes now arose in her breast. These dear children were arrived at an age dangerous from its tender susceptibility, and from the influence which imagination has at that time over the passions. Impressions would soon be formed which would stamp their destiny for life. The anxious mother lived but in her children, and she had yet another cause of apprehension. When Osbert learned the story of his father's death, his young heart glowed to avenge the deed. The late Earl, who had governed with the real dignity of power, was adored by his clan. They were eager to revenge his injuries, but oppressed by the generous compassion of the Countess, their murmurs sunk into silence, yet they fondly cherished the hope that their young lord would one day lead them on to conquest and revenge. The time was now calm when they looked to see this hope, the solace of many a cruel moment realized. The tender fears of a mother would not suffer Matilda to risk the chief of her last remaining comforts. She forbade Osbert to engage. He submitted in silence, and endeavored by application to his favorite studies, to stifle the emotions which roused him to aims. He excelled in the various accomplishments of his rank, but chiefly in the martial exercises, for they were congenial to the nobility of his soul, and he had a secret pleasure in believing that they would one time assist him to do justice to the memory of his dead father. His warm imagination directed him to poetry, and he followed where she led. He loved to wander among the romantic scenes of the Highlands, where the wild variety of nature inspired him with all the enthusiasm of his favorite art. He delighted in the terrible, and in the grand, more than in the softer landscape, and, wrapped in the bright visions of fancy, would often lose himself in awful solitudes. It was in one of these rambles that having strayed for some miles over hills covered with heath, from whence the eye was presented with only the bold outlines of uncultivated nature, rocks piled on rocks, cataracts and vast moors unmarked by the foot of traveller. He lost the path which he had himself made. He looked in vain for the objects which had directed him, and his heart for the first time, felt the repulse of fear. No vestige of a human being was to be seen, and the dreadful silence of the place was interrupted only by the roar of distant torrents, and by the screams of the birds which flew over his head. He shouted, and his voice was answered only by the deep echoes of the mountains. He remained for some time in a silent dread, not wholly unpleasing, but which was soon heightened to a degree of terror not to be endured, and he turned his steps backward forlorn and dejected. His memory gave him back no image of the past. Having wandered some time, he came to a narrow pass which he entered overcome with fatigue and fruitless search. He had not advanced far, when an abrupt opening in the rock suddenly presented him with the view of the most beautifully romantic spot he had ever seen. It was a valley almost surrounded by a barrier of wild rocks, whose base was shaded with thick woods of pine and fir. A torrent which tumbled from the heights and was seen between the woods rushed with amazing impetuosity into a fine lake which flowed through the veil, and was lost in the deep recesses of the mountains. Herds of cattle grazed in the bottom, and the delighted eyes of Osbert were once more blessed with the sight of human dwellings. Far on the margin of the stream were scattered a few neat cottages. His heart was so gladdened at the prospect that he forgot he had yet the way to find which led to this Elysian veil. He was just awakened to this distressing reality when his attention was once more engaged by the manly figure of a young Highland peasant, who advanced towards him with an air of benevolence, and having learned his distress offered to conduct him to his cottage, Osbert accepted the invitation and they wound down the hill through an obscure and intricate path together. They arrived at one of the cottages which the Earl had observed from the height. They entered and the peasant presented his guest to a venerable old Highlander, his father. The guests were spread on the table by a pretty young girl, and Osbert, having had partook of them and rested awhile, departed accompanied by Allen, the young peasant, who had offered to be his guide. The length of the walk was beguiled by conversation. Osbert was interested by discovering in his companion a dignity of thought and a course of sentiment similar to his own. On their way they passed at some distance the castle of Dunbane. This object gave to Osbert a bitter reflection, and drew from him a deep sigh. Allen made observations on the bad policy of oppression in a chief, and produced as an instance the barren Malcolm. These lands, said he, are his, and they are scarcely sufficient to support his wretched people, who, sinking under severe exactions, suffered to lie uncultivated tracks which would otherwise add riches to their lord. His clan, oppressed by their burdens, threatened to rise and do justice to themselves by force of arms. The barren in haughty confidence laughs at their defiance, and is insensible to his danger, for should an insurrection happen, there are other clans who would eagerly join in his destruction, and punish with the same weapon the tyrant and the murderer. Surprised at the bold independence of these words, delivered with uncommon energy, the heart of Osbert beat quick, and, oh God, my father, burst from his lips. Allen stood aghast, uncertain of the effect which his speech had produced. In an instant the whole truth flashed upon his mind. He beheld the son of the Lord, whom he had been taught to love, and whose sad story had been impressed upon his heart in the early days of childhood. He sunk at his feet, and embraced his knees with a romantic ardour. The young earl raised him from the ground, and the following words relieved him from his astonishment, and filled his eyes with tears of mingled joy and sorrow. There are other clans, as ready as your own, to avenge the wrongs of the noble earl of Othlin. The Fitz-Henrys were ever friends to virtue. The countenance of the youth while he spoke was overspread with a glow of conscious dignity, and his eyes were animated with the pride of virtue. The breast of Osbert kindled with noble purpose, but the image of his weeping mother crossed his mind, and checked the ardour of the impulse. A time may come, my friend, said he, when your generous zeal will be accepted with the warmth of gratitude it deserves. Particular circumstances will not suffer me at present to say more. The warm attachment of Allen to his father sunk deep in his heart. It was evening before they reached the castle, and Allen remained the earl's guest for that night. CHAPTER II The following day was appointed for the celebration of an annual festival given by the earl to his people, and he would not suffer Allen to depart. The hall was spread with tables, and dance and merriment resounded through the castle. It was usual on that day for the clan to assemble in arms, on account of an attempt, the memory of which it was meant to perpetuate, made, two centuries before, by an hostile clan to surprise them in their festivity. In the morning were performed the martial exercises, in which emulation was excited by the honorary rewards bestowed on excellence. The countess and her lovely daughter beheld, from the ramparts of the castle, the feats performed on the plains below. Their attention was engaged, and their curiosity excited by the parents of a stranger who managed the lance and the bow with such exquisite dexterity as to bear off each prize of chivalry. It was Allen. He received the palm of victory, as was usual from the hands of the earl, and the modest dignity with which he accepted it charmed the beholders. The earl honored the feast with his presence, at the conclusion of which each guest arose, in seizing his goblet with his left hand and with his right striking his sword, drank to the memory of their departed lord. The hall echoed with the general voice. Osbert felt it strike upon his heart the alarm of war. The people then joined hands and drank to the honor of the son of their late master. Osbert understood the signal, and overcome with emotion every consideration yielded to that of avenging his father. He arose and harangued the clan with all the fire of youth and indignant virtue. As he spoke, the countenance of his people flashed with impatient joy. A deep murmur of applause ran through the assembly, and when he was silent, each man crossing his sword with that of his neighbor, swore that sacred pledge of union never to quit the cause in which they now engaged, till the life of their enemy had paid the debt of justice and of revenge. In the evening the wives and daughters of the peasantry came to the castle and joined in the festivity. It was usual for the countess and her ladies to observe from a gallery of the hall the various performances of dance and song, and it had been a custom of old for the daughter of the castle to grace the occasion by performing a scotch dance with the victor of the morning. This victor now was Allen, who beheld the lovely Mary, led by the Earl into the hall, and presented to him as his partner in the dance. She received his homage with a sweet grace. She was dressed in the habit of a highland lass, and her fine auburn tresses, which waved in her neck, were ornamented only with a wreath of roses. She moved in the dance with the light steps of the graces. Profound silence reigned through the hall during the performance, and a soft murmur of applause arose on its conclusion. The admiration of the spectators was divided between Mary and the victorious stranger. She retired to the gallery, and the night concluded in joy to all but the Earl and to Allen, but very different was the source and the complexion of their inquietude. The mind of Osbert revolved the chief occurrences of the day, and his soul burned with impatience to accomplish the purposes of filial piety. Yet he dreaded the effect which the communication of his designs might have on the tender heart of Matilda. On the morrow, however, he resolved to acquaint her with them, and in a few days to rise and prosecute his cause with arms. Allen, whose bosom till now had felt only for others' pains, began to be conscious of his own. His mind, uneasy and restless, gave him only the image of the high born Mary. He endeavored to exclude her idea, but with an effort so faint that it would still intrude. Pleased, yet sad, he would not acknowledge even to himself that he loved. So ingenious are we to conceal every appearance of evil from ourselves. He arose with the dawn and departed from the castle, full of gratitude and secret love, to prepare his friends for the approaching war. The earl awoke from broken slumbers, and summoned all his fortitude to encounter the tender opposition of his mother. He entered her apartment with faltering steps, and his countenance betrayed the emotions of his soul. Matilda was soon informed of what her heart had foreboded, and overcome with dreadful sensation sunk lifeless in her chair. Osbert flew to her assistance, and Mary in the attendance soon recovered her to sense and wretchedness. The mind of Osbert was torn by the most cruel conflict. Filial duty, honor, revenge commanded him to go. Filial love, regret, and pity entreated him to stay. Mary fell at his feet, and clasping his knees with all the wild energy of grief besought him to relinquish his fatal purpose, and save his last surviving parent. Her tears, her sighs, and the soft simplicity of her air spoke a yet stronger language than her tongue. But the silent grief of the Countess was still more touching, and in his endeavours to soothe her he was on the point of yielding his resolution when the figure of his dying father arose to his imagination, and stamped his purpose irrevocably. The anxiety of a fond mother presented Matilda with the image of her son bleeding in ghastly, and the death of her lord was revived in her memory with all the agonizing grief that sad event had impressed upon her heart, the harsher characters of which the lenient hand of time had almost obliterated. So lovely is pity in all her attitudes, that fondness prompts us to believe she can never transgress, but she changes into a vice when she overcomes the purposes of stronger virtue. Steerner principles now nerved the breast of Osbert against her influence, and impelled him on to deeds of arms. He summoned a few of the most able and trusty of the clan, and held a council of war in which it was resolved that Malcolm should be attacked with all the force they could assemble, and with all the speed which the importance of the preparation would allow. To prevent suspicion and alarm to the barren, it was agreed it should be given out that these preparations were intended for assistance to the chief of a distant part. That when they set out on the expedition they should pursue for some time a contrary way, but under favor of the night should suddenly change their route and turn upon the castle of Dunbane. In the meantime, Allen was strenuous and exciting his friends to the cause, and so successful in the undertaking as to have collected in a few days a number of no inconsiderable consequence. To the warm enthusiasm of virtue was now added a new motive of exertion. It was no longer simply an attachment to the cause of justice which roused him to action, the pride of distinguishing himself in the eyes of his mistress, and of deserving her esteem by his zealous services gave combined force to the first impulse of benevolence. The sweet thought of deserving her thanks operated secretly on his soul, for he was yet ignorant of its influence there. In this state he again appeared at the castle and told the Earl that himself and his friends were ready to follow him whenever the signal should be given. His offer was accepted with the warmth of kindness it claimed, and he was desired to hold himself in readiness for the onset. In a few days the preparations were completed. Allen and his friends were summoned. The clan assembled in arms, and with a young Earl at their head departed on their expedition. The parting between Osbert and his family may be easily conceived, nor could all the pride of expected conquest suppress a sigh which escaped from Allen when his eyes bated due to Mary, who with a countess stood on the terrace of the castle, pursuing with aching sight the march of her beloved brother, till distance veiled him from her view. She then turned into the castle weeping and foreboding future calamity. She endeavored, however, to assume an appearance of tranquility that she might deceive the fears of Matilda and soothe her sorrow. Matilda, whose mind was strong as her heart was tender, since she could not prevent this hazardous undertaking, summoned all her fortitude to resist the impressions of fruitless grief, and to search for the good which the occasion might present. Her efforts were not vain. She found it in the prospect which the Enterprise afforded of honor to the memory of her murdered lord, and of retribution on the head of the murderer. It was evening when the Earl departed from the castle he pursued a contrary route till night favored his designs. When he wheeled towards the castle of Dunbane, the extreme darkness of the night assisted their plan, which was to scale the walls, surprise the sentinels, burst their way into the inner courts, soared in hand, and forced the murderer from his retreat. They had trod many miles the dreary wilds, unassisted by the least gleam of light, when suddenly their ears were struck with a dismal note of a watch-bell, which chimed the hour of the night. Every heart beat to the sound. They knew they were near the abode of the barren. They halted to consult concerning their proceedings. When it was agreed that the Earl with Allen and a chosen few should proceed to reconnoiter the castle, while the rest should remain at a small distance, awaiting the signal of approach. The Earl and his party pursued their march with silent steps. They perceived a faint light which they guessed to proceed from the watch-tower of the castle, and they were now almost under its walls. They paused a while in silence to give breath to expectation, and to listen if anything was stirring. All was involved in the gloom of night, and the silence of death prevailed. They had now time to examine, as well as the darkness would permit, the situation of the castle, and the height of the walls, and to prepare for the assault. The edifice was built with gothic magnificence upon a high and dangerous rock. Its lofty towers still frowned in proud sublimity, and the immensity of the pile stood a record of the ancient consequence of its possessors. The rock was surrounded by a ditch, broad but not deep, over which were two draw bridges, one on the north side, the other on the east. They were both up. But as they separated in the center, one half of the bridge remained on the side of the plains. The bridge on the north led to the grand gateway of the castle, that on the east to a small watch-tower. These were all the entrances. The rock was almost perpendicular with the walls, which were strong and lofty. After surveying the situation, they pitched upon a spot where the rock appeared most accessible, and which was contiguous to the principal gate, and gave signal to the clan. They approached in silence, and gently throwing down the bundles of faggot which they had brought for the purpose into the ditch, made themselves a bridge over which they passed in safety, and prepared to ascend the heights. It had been resolved that a party of which Allen was one should scale the walls, surprise the sentinels, and open the gates to the rest of the clan, which, with the Earl, were to remain without. Allen was the first who fixed his ladder and mounted. He was instantly followed by the rest of his party, and with much difficulty and some hazard they gained the ramparts in safety. They traversed a part of the platform without hearing the sound of a voice or a step. Profound sleep seemed to bury all. A number of the party approached some sentinels who were asleep on their post. Them they seized. While Allen, with a few others, flew to open the nearest gate and to let down the drawbridge. This they accomplished, but in the meantime the signal of surprise was given, and instantly the alarm bell rang out, and the castle resounded with a clang of arms. All was to malt and confusion. The Earl, with part of his people, entered the gate. The rest were following. Then suddenly the portcullis was dropped, the bridge drawn up, and the Earl and his people found themselves surrounded by an armed multitude, which poured in torrents from every recess of the castle. Surprised, but not daunted, the Earl rushed forward, sword in hand, and fought with a desperate valor. The soul of Allen seemed to acquire new vigor from the conflict. He fought like a man panting for honor, and certain a victory. Wherever he rushed, conquest flew before him. He, with the Earl, forced his way into the inner courts in search of the Baron, and hoped to have satisfied a just revenge, and to have concluded the conflict with the death of the murderer. But the moment in which they entered the courts, the gates were closed upon them. They were environed by a band of guards, and after a short resistance in which Allen received a slight wound, they were seized as prisoners of war. The slaughter without was great and dreadful. The people of the Baron inspired with fury were insatiate for death. Many of the Earl's followers were killed in the courts and on the platform. Many in attempting to escape were thrown from the ramparts, and many were destroyed by the sudden raising of the bridge. A small part only of the brave and adventurous band who had engaged in the cause of justice, and who were driven back from the walls, survived to carry the dreadful tidings to the Countess. The fate of the Earl remained unknown. The consternation among the friends of the slain is not to be described, and it was heightened by the unaccountable manner in which the victory had been obtained. For it was well known that Malcolm had never, but when war made it necessary, more soldiers in his garrison than feudal pomp demanded. Yet on this occasion a number of armed men rushed from the recesses of his castle, sufficient to overpower the force of a whole clan. But they knew not the secret means of intelligence which the Baron possessed. The jealousy of conscience had armed him with apprehension for his safety, and for some years he had planted spies near the castle of Othlin to observe all that passed within it, and to give him immediate intelligence of every warlike preparation. A transaction so striking and so public as that which had occurred on the day of the festival, when the whole people swore to avenge the murder of their chief, it was not probable would escape the valiant eye of his mercenaries. The circumstance had been communicated to him with all the exaggerations of fear and wonder, and had given him the signal for defense. The accounts sent him of the military preparations which were forming convinced him that this defense would soon be called for, and laughing at the idle tales which were told him of distant wars he hastened to store his garrison with arms and with men, and held himself in readiness to receive the assailants. The Baron had conducted his plans with all that power of contrivance which the secrecy of the business demanded, and it was his design to suffer the enemy to mount his walls and to put them to the sword when the purpose of this deep-laid stratagem had been nearly defeated by the drowsiness of the sentinels who were posted to give signal of their approach. The fortitude of Matilda fainted under the pressure of so heavy a calamity. She was attacked with a violent illness which had nearly terminated her sorrows and her life, and had rendered unavailing all the tender cares of her daughter. These tender cares, however, were not ineffectual. She revived, and they assisted to support her in the severe hours of affliction, which the unknown fate of the Earl occasioned. Mary, who felt all the horrors of the late event, was ill-qualified for the office of a comforter, but her generous heart, susceptible of the deep sufferings of Matilda, almost forgot its own distress in the remembrance of her mother's. Yet the idea of her brother surrounded with the horrors of imprisonment and death would often obtrude itself on her imagination, with an emphasis which almost overcame her reason. She had also a strong degree of pity for the fate of the brave young Highlander, who had assisted with the disinterestedness so noble in the cause of her house. She wished to learn his further destiny, and her heart often melted in compassion at the picture which her fancy drew of his sufferings. CHAPTER III The Earl after being loaded with fetters was conducted to the chief prison of the castle, and left alone to the bitter reflections of defeat and uncertain destiny. But misfortune, though it might shake, could not overcome his firmness, and hope had not yet entirely forsaken him. It is the peculiar attribute of great minds to bear up with increasing force against the shock of misfortune, with them the nerves of resistance strengthen with attack, and they may be said to subdue adversity with her own weapons. Reflection at length afforded him time to examine his prison. It was a square room which formed the summit of a tower built on the east side of the castle, round which the bleak winds howled mournfully. The inside of the apartment was old and falling to decay. A small mattress which lay in one corner of the room, a broken matted chair, and a tottering table composed its furniture. Two small and strongly grated windows, which admitted a sufficient degree of light and air, afforded him on one side a view into an inner court, and on the other a dreary prospect of the wild and barren highlands. Allen was conveyed through dark and winding passages to a distant part of the castle, where at length a small door barred with iron opened and disclosed to him in a boat, whence light and hope were equally excluded. He shuddered as he entered, and the door was closed upon him. The mind of the barren, in the meantime, was agitated with all the direful passions of hate, revenge, and exulting pride. He wracked imagination for the invention of tortures equal to the force of his feelings, and he at length discovered that the sufferings of suspense are superior to those of the most terrible evils when once ascertained, of which the contemplation gradually affords to strong minds the means of endurance. He determined, therefore, that the Earl should remain confined in the tower ignorant of his future destiny, and in the meanwhile should be allowed food only sufficient to keep him sensible of his wretchedness. Osbert was immersed in thought when he heard the door of his prison unbarred, and the barren Malcolm stood before him. The heart of Osbert swelled high with indignation and defiance flashed in his eyes. I am come, said the insulting victor, to welcome the Earl of Othlin to my castle, and to shoo that I can receive my friends with hospitality they deserve. But I am yet undetermined what kind of festival I shall bestow on his arrival. Weak tyrant, returned Osbert, his countenance impressed with the firm dignity of virtue. To insult the vanquished is congenial with the cruel meanness of the murderer, nor do I expect that the man who slew the father will spare the son. But no, that son is nerved against your wrath and welcomes all that your fears or your cruelty can impose. Rash, youth, replied the barren, your words are air, they fade from sense, and soon your boasted strength shall sink beneath my power. I go to meditate your destiny. With these words he quitted the prison, enraged at the unbending virtue of the Earl. The sight of the barren roused in the soul of Osbert, all those opposite emotions of furious indignation and tender pity, which the glowing image of his father could excite, and produced a moment of perfect misery. The dreadful energy of these sensations exasperated his brain almost to madness. The cool fortitude in which he had so lately gloried disappeared, and he was on the point of resigning his virtue and his life by means of a short dagger which he wore concealed under his vest. When the soft notes of a lute surprised his attention, it was accompanied by a voice so enchantingly tender and melodious that its sounds fell on the heart of Osbert in balmy comfort. It seemed sent by heaven to arrest his fate. The storm of passion was hushed within him, and he dissolved in kind tears of pity and contrition. The mournful tenderness of the air declared the person from whom it came to be a sufferer, and Osbert suspected it to proceed from a prisoner like himself. The music ceased. Absorbed in wonder he went to the grates in quest of the sweet musician, but no one was to be seen, and he was uncertain whether the sounds arose from within or from without the castle. Of the guard who brought him his small allowance of food he inquired concerning what he had heard, but from him he could not obtain the information he sought, and he was constrained to remain in a state of suspense. In the meantime the castle of Othlin and its neighborhood was overwhelmed with distress. The news of the earls imprisonment at length reached the ears of the Countess, and hope once more illumined her mind. She immediately sent offers of immense ransom to the Baron for the restoration of her son and the other prisoners, but the ferocity of his nature disdained an incomplete triumph, revenge subdued his avarice, and the offers were rejected with a spurn of contempt. An additional motive, however, operated in his mind and confirmed his purpose. The beauty of Mary had been often reported to him in terms which excited his curiosity, and an incidental view he once obtained of her raised a passion in his soul, which the turbulence of his character would not suffer to be extinguished. Various were the schemes he had projected to obtain her, none of which had ever been executed. The possession of the earl was a circumstance the most favorable to his witches, and he resolved to obtain Mary as the future ransom of her brother. He concealed for the present his purpose, that the tortures of anxiety and despair might operate on the mind of the Countess to grant him an easy consent to the exchange and to resign the victim, the wife of her enemy. The small remains of the clan, unsubdued by misfortune, were eager to assemble, and hazardous as was the Enterprise, to attempt the rescue of their chief. The hope which this undertaking afforded once more revived the Countess, but alas, a new source of sorrow was now opened for her. The health of Mary visibly declined. She was silent and pensive. Her tender frame was too susceptible of the sufferings of her mind, and these sufferings were heightened by concealment. She was prescribed amusement and gentle exercise, as the best restoratives of peace and health. One day, as she was seeking on horseback, these lost treasures, she was tempted by the fineness of the evening to prolong her ride beyond its usual limits. The sun was declining when she entered a wood, whose awful glooms so well accorded with the pensive tone of her mind. The soft serenity of evening, and the still solemnity of the scene, conspired to lull her mind into a pleasing forgetfulness of its troubles, from which she was ere long awakened by the approaching sound of horses' feet. The thickness of the foliage limited her view, but looking onward, she thought she perceived, through the trees, a glittering of arms. She turned her palfry, and sought the entrance of the wood. The clattering of hoofs advanced in the breeze. Her heart misgave her, and she quickened her pace. Her fears were soon justified. She looked back and beheld three horsemen armed and disguised, advancing with a speed of pursuit. Almost fainting, she flew on the wings of terror. All her efforts were vain. The villains came up. One seized her horse. The others fell upon her two attendants. A stout scuffle ensued, but the strength of her servants soon yielded to the weapons of their adversaries. They were brought to the ground, dragged into the wood, and there left bound to the trees. In the meantime, Mary, who had fainted in the arms of the villain who seized her, was borne away through the intricate mazes of the woods, and her terrors may be easily imagined, when she revived and found herself in the hands of unknown men. Her dreadful screams, her tears, her supplications were ineffectual. The wretches were deaf alike to pity and to inquiry. They preserved an inflexible silence, and she saw herself conveying towards the mouth of a horrible cavern. When despair seized her mind, and she lost all signs of existence. In this state, she remained some time, but it is impossible to describe her situation. When she unclosed her eyes and beheld Alan, who was watching with the most trembling anxiety her returned to life, and whose eyes on seeing her revive, swam in joy and tenderness. Wonder, fearful joy, and the various shades of mingled emotions passed in quick succession over her countenance. Her surprise was increased when she observed her own servants standing by, and could discover no one but friends. She scarcely dared to trust her senses. But the voice of Alan, tremulous with tenderness, dissolved in a moment the illusions of fear, and confirmed her in the surprising reality. When she was sufficiently recovered, they quitted this scene of gloom. They traveled on in a slow pace, and the shades of night were fallen long before they reached the castle. There distress and confusion appeared. The countess alarmed with the most dreadful apprehensions, had dispatched her servants various ways in search of her child. And her transports on again beholding her in safety, prevented her observing immediately that it was Alan who accompanied her. Joy, however, soon yielded to its equal wonder. When she perceived him, and in the tumult of contending emotions, she scarce knew which first to interrogate. When she had been told the escape of her daughter, and by whom affected, she prepared to hear within patient solicitude news of her beloved son, and the means by which the brave young Highlander had eluded the vigilance of the Baron. Of the Earl, Alan could only inform the countess that he was taken prisoner with himself within the walls of the fortress, as they fought side by side, that he was conducted unwounded to a tower situated on the east angle of the castle, where he was still confined. Himself had been imprisoned in a distant part of the pile, and had been able to collect no other particulars of the Earl's situation than those he had related. Of himself he gave a brief relation of the following circumstances. After having lain some weeks in the horrible dungeon allotted him, his mind involved in the gloom of despair, and filled with a momentary expectation of death, desperation furnished him with invention, and he concerted following plan of escape. He had observed that the guard who brought him his allowance of food on quitting the dungeon constantly sounded his spear against the pavement near the entrance. This circumstance excited his surprise and curiosity. A ray of hope beamed through the gloom of his dungeon. He examined the spot as well as the obscurity of the place would permit. It was paved with flagstones like the other parts of the cell, and the paving was everywhere equally firm. He, however, became certain that some means of escape was concealed beneath that part. For the guard was constant in examining it by striking that spot, and treading more firmly on it, and this he endeavored to do without being observed. One day immediately after the departure of the guard, Allen set himself to unfasten the pavement. This with much patience and industry he affected by means of a small knife which had escaped the search of the soldiers. He found the earth beneath hard, and without any symptoms of being lately disturbed. But after digging a few feet he arrived at a trap. He trembled with eagerness. It was now almost night, and he overcome with weariness. He doubted whether he should be able to penetrate through the door and what other obstructions were behind it before the next day. He therefore threw the earth again into the hole and endeavored to close the pavement with much difficulty. He trod the earth into the opening, but the pavement he was unable exactly to replace. It was too dark to examine the stones, and he found that even if he should be able to make them fit the pavement could not be made firm. His mind and body were now overcome, and he threw himself on the ground in an agony of despair. It was midnight when the return of his strength and spirits produced another effort. He tore the earth up with hasty violence, cut round the lock of the trap door, and raising it, unwilling to hesitate or consider, sprung through the aperture. The vault was of considerable depth, and he was thrown down by the violence of the fall. And hollow echo, which seemed to murmur at a distance, convinced him that the place was of considerable extent. He had no light to direct him, and was therefore obliged to walk with his arms extended in silent and fearful examination. After having wandered through the void a considerable time, he came to a wall, along which he groped with anxious care. It conducted him onward for a length of way. It turned, he followed, and his hand touched the cold iron work of a barred window. He felt the gentle undulation of the air upon his face, and to him who had been so long confined among the damp vapors of a dungeon, this was a moment of luxury. The air gave him strength, and the means of escape, which now seemed presented to him, renewed his courage. He set his foot against the wall, and grasping a bar with his hand, found it gradually yield to his strength, and by successive efforts he entirely displaced it. He attempted another, but it was more firmly fixed, and every effort to loosen it was ineffectual. He found that it was fastened in a large stone of the wall. And to remove this stone was his only means of displacing the bar. He set himself, therefore, again to work with his knife, and with much patience loosened the mortar sufficiently to affect his purpose. After some hours, for the darkness made his labor tedious, and sometimes ineffectual, he had removed several of the bars, and had made an opening almost sufficient to permit his escape. When the dawn of light appeared, he now discovered with inexpressible anguish that the grate opened into an inner court of the castle, and even while he hesitated he could perceive soldiers descending slowly into the court from the narrow staircases which led to their apartments. His heart sickened at the sight. He rested against the wall in a pause of despair, and was on the point of springing into the court to make a desperate effort out of escape or die in the attempt when he perceived by the increasing light which fell across the vault a massive door in the wall. He ran towards it, and endeavored to open it. It was fastened by a lock and several bolts. He struck against it with his foot, and the hollow sound which was returned convinced him that there were vaults beyond, and by the direction of these vaults he was certain that they must extend to the outer walls of the castle. If he could gain these vaults and penetrate beyond them in the darkness of the ensuing night, it would be easy to leap the wall and cross the ditch. But it was impossible to cut away the lock before the return of his guard, who regularly visited the cell soon after the dawn of day. After some consideration, therefore he determined to secret himself in a dark part of the vault, and there await the entrance of the guard, who on observing the deranged bars of the great would conclude that he had escaped through the aperture. He had scarcely placed himself according to his plan when he heard the door of the dungeon unbolted. This was instantly followed by a loud voice which founded down the opening, and Alan was shouted in a tone of fright and consternation. After repeating the call, a man jumped into the vault. Alan, though himself concealed in darkness, could perceive by the faint light which fell upon the spot, a soldier with a drawn sword in his hand. He approached the great with execrations, examined it, and proceeded to the door. It was fast. He returned to the great, and then proceeded along the walls, tracing them with the point of his sword. He at length approached the spot where Alan was concealed, who felt the sword strike upon his arm, and instantly grasping the hand which held it, the weapon fell to the ground. A short scuffle ensued. Alan threw down his adversary, and standing over him seized the sword, and presented it to his breast. The soldier called for mercy. Alan, always unwilling to take the life of another, and considering that if the soldier was slain, his comrades would certainly follow to the vault, returned him his sword. Take your life, said he. Your death can avail me nothing. Take it, and if you can, go tell Malcolm that an innocent man has endeavored to escape destruction. The guard struck with his conduct, arose from the ground in silence. He received his sword, and followed Alan to the trap door. They returned into the dungeon where Alan was once more left alone. The soldier, undetermined how to act, went to find his comrades. On the way he met Malcolm, who ever restless and vigilant frequently walked the ramparts at an early hour. He inquired if all was well. The soldier, fearful of discovery, and unaccustomed to disemble, hesitated at the question, and the stern air assumed by Malcolm compelled him to relate what had happened. The baron with much harshness reprobated his neglect, and immediately followed him to the dungeon, where he loaded Alan with insult. He examined the cell, descended into the vault, and returning to the dungeon stood by, while a chain which had been fetched from a distant part of the castle was fixed into the wall. To this Alan was fastened. He will not long confine you thus, said Malcolm, as he quitted the cell. A few days shall restore you to the liberty you are so fond of, but as a conqueror ought to have spectators of his triumph, you must wait till a number is collected sufficient to witness the death of so great an hero. I disdain your insults, returned Alan, and am equally able to support misfortune, and to despise a tyrant. Malcolm retired enraged at the boldness of his prisoner, and uttering menaces on the carelessness of the guard, who vainly endeavored to justify himself, his safety be upon your head, said the Baron. The soldier was shocked, and turned away in sullen silence. Dread of his prisoner's affecting and escape now seized his mind. The words of Malcolm filled him with resentment, while gratitude towards Alan for the life he had spared, operated with these sentiments, and he hesitated whether he should obey the Baron, or deliver Alan and fly his oppressor. At noon he carried him his customary food. Alan was not so lost in misery, but that he observed the gloom which hung upon his features. His heart foreboded impending evil. The soldier bore on his tongue the sentence of death. He told Alan that the Baron had appointed the following day for his execution, and his people were ordered to attend. Death, however, long contemplated, must be dreadful when it arrives. This was no more than what Alan had expected, and on what he had brought his mind to gaze without terror. But his fortitude now sunk before its immediate presence, and every nerve of his frame thrilled with agony. Be comforted, said the soldier in a tone of pity. I too am no stranger to misery, and if you are willing to risk the danger of double torture, I will attempt to release both you and myself from the hands of a tyrant. At these words Alan started from the ground in a transport of delightful wonder. Tell me not of torture, cried he. All tortures are equal if death is the end, and from death I may now escape. Lead me but beyond these walls, and the small possessions I have shall be yours forever. I want them not, replied the generous soldier. It is enough for me that I save a fellow creature from destruction. These words overpowered the heart of Alan, and tears of gratitude swelled in his eyes. Edric told him that the door he had seen in the vault below opened into a chain of vaults which stretched beyond the wall of the castle, and communicated with the subterraneous way, anciently formed as a retreat from the fortress and which terminated in the cavern of a forest at some distance. If this door could be opened, their escape was almost certain. They consulted on the measures necessary to be taken. The soldier gave Alan a knife larger than the one he had, and directed him to cut round the lock, which was all that withheld their passage. Edric's office of sentinel was propitious to their scheme, and it was agreed that at midnight they should descend the vaults. Edric, after having unfastened the chain, left the cell, and Alan set himself again to remove the pavement, which had been already replaced by order of the Baron. The near prospect of deliverance now gladdened his spirits. His knife was better formed for his purpose, and he worked with alacrity and ease. He arrived at the trapped door, and once more leaped into the vault. He applied himself to the lock of the door which was extremely thick, and it was with difficulty he separated them, with trembling hands he undrew the vaults. The door unclosed, and discovered to him the vaults. It was evening when he finished his work. He was but just returned to the dungeon, and had thrown himself on the ground to rest, when the sound of a distant step caught his ear. He listened to its advance with trembling eagerness. At length the door was unbolted. Alan, breathless with expectation, started up, and beheld not his soldier but another. The opening was again discovered, and all was now over. The soldier brought a pitcher of water, and casting round the place a look of sullen scrutiny departed in silence. The stretch of human endurance was now exceeded, and Alan sunk down in the state of torpedoity. On recovering he found himself again enveloped in the horrors of darkness, silence, and despair. Yet amid all his sufferings he disdained to doubt the integrity of his soldier. We naturally recoil from painful sensations, and it is one of the most exquisite tortures of a noble mind, to doubt the sincerity of those in whom it has confided. Alan concluded that the conversation of the morning had been overheard, and that this guard had been sent to examine the cell and to watch his movements. He believed that Edrick was now, by his own generosity, involved in destruction, and in the energy of this thought he forgot for a moment his own situation. Midnight came, but Edrick did not appear. His doubts were now confirmed into certainty, and he resigned himself to the horrid tranquility of mute despair. He heard from a distance the clock of the castle strike one. It seemed to sound the knell of death. It roused his benumbed senses, and he rose from the ground in an agony of the cutest recollection. Suddenly he heard the steps of two persons advancing down the avenue. He started and listened. Malcolm and murder arose to his mind. He doubted not that the soldier had reported what he had seen in the evening, and that the persons whom he now heard were coming to execute the final orders of the Baron. They now drew near the dungeon, when suddenly he remembered the door in the vault. His senses had been so stunned by the appearance of the stranger, and his mind so occupied with a feeling of despair as to exclude every idea of escape. And in the energy of his sufferings he had forgot this last resource. It now flashed like lightning upon his mind. He sprung to the trapdoor, and his feet had scarcely touched the bottom of the vault when he heard the bolts of the dungeon undraw. He had just reached the entrance of the inner vault, when a voice sounded from above. He paused, and knew it to be Edricks. Apprehension so entirely possessed his mind that he hesitated whether he should discover himself. But a moment of recollection dissipated every ignoble suspicion of Edricks' fidelity, and he answered the call. Immediately Edricks descended, followed by the soldier, whose former appearance had filled Alan with despair, and whom Edric now introduced as his faithful friend and comrade, who, like himself, was weary of the oppression of Malcolm, and who had resolved to fly with them and escape his rigor. This was a moment of happiness too great for thought. Alan, in the confusion of his joy and in his impatience to seize the moment of deliverance, scarcely heard the words of Edric, Edric having returned to fasten the door of the dungeon, to delay pursuit, and give Alan a sword which he had brought for him, led the way through the vaults. The profound silence of the place was interrupted only by the echoes of their footsteps, which running through the dreary chasms and confused whisperings filled their imaginations with terror. Interversing these gloomy and desolate recesses, they often paused to listen, and often did their fears give them the distant sounds of pursuit. On quitting the vaults, they entered an avenue, winding, and of considerable length, from whence branched several passages into the rock. It was closed by a low and narrow door, which opened upon a flight of steps, that led to the subterraneous way under the ditch of the castle. Edric knew the intricacies of the place. They entered, and closing the door began to descend, when the lamp which Edric carried in his hand was blown out by the current of the wind, and they were left in total darkness. Their feelings may be more easily imagined than described. They had, however, no way but to proceed, and groped with cautious steps the dark abyss. Having continued to descend for some time, their feet reached the bottom, and they found themselves once more on even ground. But Edric knew they had yet another flight to encounter, before they could gain the subterraneous passage under the faussy for which it required their utmost caution to search. They were proceeding with slow and wary steps, when the foot of Allen stumbled upon something which clattered like broken armor, and endeavoring to throw it from him, he felt the weight resist his effort. He stooped to discover what it was, and found in his grasp the cold hand of a dead person. Every nerve thrilled with horror at the touch, and he started back in an agony of terror. They remained for some time in silent dismay, unable to return, yet fearful to proceed, when a faint light which seemed to issue from the bottom of the last descent gleamed upon the walls, and discovered to them the second staircase, and at their feet the pale and disfigured corpse of a man in armor. While at a distance they could distinguish the figures of men. At this sight their hearts died with them them, and they gave themselves up for lost. They doubted not but the men whom they saw were the murderers, that they belonged to the barren, and were in search of some fugitives from the castle. Their only chance of concealment was to remain where they were, but the light appeared to advance and the faces of the men to turn towards them. Winged with terror they sought the first ascent, and flying up the steps reached the door, which they endeavored to open, that they might hide themselves from pursuit among the intricacies of the rock. Their efforts, however, were vain, for the door was fastened by a spring lock, and the key was on the other side. Compelled to give breath to their fears they ventured to look back, and found themselves again in total darkness. They paused upon the steps, and listening, all was silent. They rested here a considerable time. No footsteps startled them, no ray of light darted through the gloom. Everything seemed hushed in the silence of death. They resolved once more to venture forward. They gained again the bottom of the first descent, and shuddering as they approached the spot where they knew the corpse was laid. They groped to avoid its horrid touch, when suddenly the light again appeared, and in the same place where they had first seen it. They stood petrified with despair. The light, however, moved slowly onward, and disappeared in the windings of the avenue. After remaining a long time in silent suspense, and finding no further obstacle, they ventured to proceed. The light had discovered to them their situation, and the staircase, and they now moved with greater certainty. They reached the bottom in safety, and without any fearful interruption they listened, and again the silence of the place was undisturbed. Edric knew they were now under the faussy. Their way was plain before them, and their hopes were renewed in the belief that the light and the people they had seen had taken a different direction. Edric knowing there were various passages branching from the main avenue, which led to different openings in the rock. They now stepped on with alacrity. The prospect of deliverance was near. For Edric judged they were now not far from the cavern, and abrupt turning in the passage confirmed at once this supposition, and extinguished the hope which had attended it. For the light of the lamp burst subtly upon them, and exhibited to their sickening eyes the figures of four men in an attitude of menace, where their swords pointed ready to receive them. Alan drew his sword and advanced. We will die hardly, cried he. At the sound of his voice the weapons instantly dropped from the hands of his adversaries, and they advanced to meet him in a transport of joy. Alan recognized with astonishment in the faces of the three strangers, his faithful friends and followers, and Edric in that of the fourth, a fellow soldier. The same purpose had assembled them all in the same spot. They quitted the cave together, and Alan in the joyful experience of unexpected deliverance resolved never more to admit despair. They concluded that the body which they had passed in the avenue was that of some person who had perished either by hunger or by the sword in those subterranean labyrinths. They marched in company till they came within a few miles in of the castle of Othlin. When Alan made known his design of collecting his friends and joining the clan in an attempt to release the Earl, Edric and the other soldier having solemnly enlisted in the cause, they parted. Alan and Edric pursuing the road to the castle and the others striking off to a different part of the country. Alan and Edric had not proceeded far when the groans of the wounded servants of Matilda drew them into the wood in which the proceeding dreadful scene had been acted. The surprise of Alan was extreme when he discovered the servants of the Earl in this situation, but surprise soon yielded to a more poignant sensation when he heard that Mary had been carried off by armed men. He scarcely waited to release the servants, but seized one of their horses which was grazing near, instantly mounted, ordering the rest to follow and took the way which had been pointed as the course of the ravishers. Fortunately it was the right direction and Alan and the soldier came up with them as they were hastening to the mouth of that cavern whose frightful aspect had chilled the heart of Mary with a temporary death. Their endeavors to fly were vain, they were overtaken at the entrance, a sharp conflict ensued in which one of the ruffians was wounded and fled. His comrades, seeing the servants of the Earl approaching, relinquished their prize and escaped through the recesses of the cave. The eyes of Alan were now fixed in horror on the lifeless form of Mary who had remained insensible during the whole of the affray. He was exerting every effort for her recovery when she enclosed her eyes and joy once more illumined his soul. During the recital of these particulars, which Alan delivered with a modest brevity, the mind of Mary had suffered a variety of emotions sympathetic to all the vicissitudes of his situation. She endeavored to conceal from herself the particular interest she felt in his adventures, but so unequal were her efforts to the strength of her emotions that when Alan related the scene of Dunbane Cavern, her cheek grew pale and she relapsed into a fainting fit. This circumstance alarmed the penetration of the Countess, but the known weakness of her daughter's frame appeared a probable cause of the disorder and repressed her first apprehension. It gave to Alan a mixed delight of hope and fear, such as he had never known before. For the first time he dared to acknowledge to his own heart that he loved. And that heart, for the first time, thrilled with a hope of being loved again. He received from the Countess the warm overflowing of a heart grateful for the preservation of her child, and from Mary a blush which spoke more than her tongue could utter. But the minds of all were involved in the utmost perplexity concerning the rank and the identity of the author of the plan. Nor could they discover any clue which would lead them through this intricate maze of wonder to the villain who had fabricated so diabolical a scheme. Their suspicions at length rested upon the Baron Malcolm, and this supposition was confirmed by the appearance of the horseman who evidently acted only as the agents of superior power. Their conjectures were indeed just. Malcolm was the author of the scheme. It had been planned, and he had given orders to his people to execute it long before the Earl fell into his hands. They had, however, found no opportunity of accomplishing the design when the castle was surprised, and in the consequent tumult of his mind the Baron had forgot to withdraw his orders. Allen expressed his design of collecting the small remnant of his friends and uniting with the clan in attempting the rescue of the Earl. Noble youth exclaimed the Countess unable longer to repress her admiration. How can I ever repay your generous services? Am I then to receive both my children at your hands? Go, my clan are now collecting for a second attempt upon the walls of Dunbane. Go! Lead them to conquest and restore to me my son. The languid eyes of Mary rekindle at these words. She glowed with the hope of clasping once more to her bosom, her long lost brother. But the suffusions of hope were soon chased by the chilly touch of fear. For it was Allen who was to lead the Enterprise, and it was Allen who might fall in the attempt. These contrary emotions unveiled to her at once the state of her affections, and she saw in the eye of fancy the long train of inquietudes and sorrows which were likely to ensue. She sought to obliterate from her mind every remembrance of the past and of the fatal knowledge which was now disclosed. But she saw in vain. For the monitor in her breast constantly presented to her mind the image of Allen. Adorned with those brave and manly virtues which had so eminently distinguished his conduct, the insignificance of the peasant was lost in the nobility of the character, and every effort at forgetfulness was baffled. Allen passed that night at the castle and the next morning after taking leave of the Countess and her daughter to whom his eyes bade a respectful and mournful adieu. He departed with Edric for his father's cottage, impatient to acquaint the good old man with his safety and aroused to arms his slumbering friends. The breath of love had now raised into flame those sparks of ambition which had so long been kindling in his breast. He was not only eager to avenge the cause of injured virtue and to rescue from misery and death the son of the chief whom he had been ever taught to reverence, but he painted to avenge the insult offered to his mistress and to achieve some deed of valor worthy her admiration and her thanks. Allen found his father at breakfast with his niece at his side. His face was darkened with sorrow and he did not perceive Allen when he entered. The joy of the old man almost overcame him when he beheld his son in safety for he was the solace of his declining years. And Edric was welcomed with the hardiness of an old friend. End of Chapter 3 Chapter 4 of the Castles of Othlin and Dunbane This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Lauren Randall The Castles of Othlin and Dunbane by Anne Radcliffe Chapter 4 Meanwhile the Earl remained a solitary prisoner in the tower. Uncertain fate was yet suspended over him. He had, however, a magnanimity in his nature which baffled much of the cruel effort of the Baron. He had prepared his mind by habitual contemplation for the worst. And although that worst was death he could now look to it even with serenity. Those violent transports which had assailed him on sight of the Baron were, since he was no longer subject to his presence, reduced within their proper limits. Yet he anxiously avoided dwelling on the memory of his father. Lest those dreadful sensations should threaten him with returning torture. Whenever he permitted himself to think of the sufferings of the Countess and his sister his heart melted with a sorrow that almost unnerved him. Much he wished to know how they supported this trial and much he wished that he could convey to them intelligence of his state. He endeavored to abstract his mind from his situation and sought to make himself artificial comforts even from the Baron objects around him. His chief amusement was in observing the manners and customs of the birds of prey which lodged themselves in the battlements of his tower and the rapacity of their nature furnished him with to just a parallel to the habits of men. As he was one day standing at the grate which looked upon the castle observing the progress of these birds his ear caught the sound of that sweet loot whose notes had once saved him from destruction. It was accompanied by the same melodious voice he had formally heard in which now sung with impassioned tenderness the following air. When first the vernal mourn of life beamed on my infant eye fond I surveyed the smiling scene nor saw the tempest nigh. Hope's bright illusions touched my soul, my young ideas led, and fancy's vivid tense combined and fairy prospect spread. My guileless heart expanded wide with filial fondness fraught, paternal love that heart supplied with all its fondness sought, but oh the cruel quick reverse fade all I loved involved. Pale grief Hope's trembling rays dispersed and fancy's dreams dissolved. Lost in surprise Osbert stood for some time looking down upon an inner court whence the sounds seemed to arise. After a few minutes he observed a young lady enter from that side on which the tower arose. On her arm rested an elder one in whose face might be traced the lines of decaying beauty, but it was visible from the melancholy which clouded her features that the finger of affliction had there anticipated the ravages of time. She was dressed in the habit of a widow and the black veil which shaded her forehead and gave a fine expression to her countenance. Devolved upon the ground in a length of train and heightened the natural majesty of her figure. She moved with slow steps and was supported by the young lady whose veil half disclosed a countenance where beauty was touched with sorrow in imitable expression. The elegance of her form and the dignity of her air proclaimed her to be of distinguished rank. On her arm was hung that loot whose melody had just charmed the attention of the Earl who was now fixed in wonder at what he beheld that was equaled only by his admiration. They retired through a gate on the opposite side of the court and were seen no more. Osbert followed them with his eyes which for some time remained fixed upon the door through which they had disappeared almost insensible of their departure. When he returned to himself he discovered as if for the first time that he was in solitude. He conjectured that these strangers were confined by the oppressive power of the barren and his eyes were suffused with tears of pity. When he considered that so much beauty and dignity were the unresisting victims of a tyrant, his heart swelled high with indignation, his prison became intolerable to him and he longed to become at once the champion of virtue and the deliverer of oppressed innocence. The character of Malcolm arose to his mind black with accumulated guilt and aggravated the detestation with which he had ever contemplated it. The hateful idea nerved his soul with the confidence of revenge. Of the guard who entered he inquired concerning the strangers but could obtain no positive information. He came to impart other news to prepare the Earl for death. The morrow was appointed for his execution. He received the intelligence with the firm hearty hood of indignant virtue, disdaining to solicit and disdaining to repine and his mind yet grasped the idea of revenge. He drove from his thoughts with precipitation the tender ideas of his mother and sister. Remembrance is which would subdue his fortitude without affecting any beneficial purpose. He was told of the escape of Allen. This intelligence gave him inexpressible pleasure and he knew this faithful youth would undertake to avenge his death. When the news of Allen's flight had reached the Baron his soul was stung with rage and he called for the guards of the dungeon. They were nowhere to be found. And after a long search it was known that they were fled with their prisoner. The flight of the other captives was also discovered. The circumstance exasperated the passion of Malcolm to the utmost. And he gave orders that the life of the remaining Sentinel should be forfeited for the treachery of his comrades and his own negligence. When recollecting the Earl whom in the heat of his resentment he had forgot his heart exalted in the opportunity he afforded of complete revenge. And in the fullness of joy with which he pronounced his sentence he retracted the condemnation of the trembling guard. The moment after he had dispatched the messenger with his resolve to the Earl his heart faltered from its purpose such as the alternative violence of evil passions that they never suffered their subjects to act with consistency. But torn by conflicting energies the gratification of one propensity is destruction to the enjoyment of another and the moment in which they imagine happiness in their grasp is to them the moment of disappointment. Thus it was with the Baron his soul seemed to attain its full enjoyment in the contemplation of revenge till the idea of Mary inflamed his heart with an opposite passion. His wishes had caught new ardor from disappointment for he had heard that Mary had been once in the power of his emissaries and perhaps the pain which recoils upon the mind from every fruitless effort of wickedness served to increase the energies of his desires. He spurned the thought of relinquishing the pursuit yet there appeared to be no method of obtaining its object but by sacrificing his favorite passion. For he had little doubt of obtaining Mary when it should be known that he resolved not to grant the life of the Earl upon any other ransom. The balance of these passions hung in his mind in such nice equilibrium that it was for some time uncertain which would preponder it. Revenge at length yielded to love but he resolved to preserve the torture of expected death by keeping the Earl ignorant of his reprieve to the last moment. The Earl awaited death with the same stern fortitude with which he received its sentence and was led from the tower to the platformer of the castle silent and unmoved. He beheld the preparations for his execution, the instruments of death. The guards arranged in files with an undaunted mind. The glare of externals had no longer power over his imagination. He beheld every object with a difference. But that on which his eye now rested it was on the murderer who exhibited himself in all the pride of exulting conquest. He started at the sight and his soul shrunk back upon itself. Distaining, however, to appear disconcerted, he endeavored to resume his dignity. When the remembrance of his mother overwhelmed with sorrow rushed upon his mind and quite unmanned him. The tears started in his eyes and he sunk senseless on the ground. On recovering he found himself in his prison, and he was informed that the Baron had granted him a respite. Malcolm, mistaking the cause of disorder in the Earl, thought he had stretched his sufferings to their utmost limits. He therefore had ordered him to be reconvade to the tower. A scene so striking and so public as that which had just been performed at the castle of Dunbane was the subject of discourse to the whole country. It was soon reported to the Countess with a variety of additional circumstances, among which it was affirmed that the Earl had been really executed. Overwhelmed with this intelligence, Matilda relapsed into her former disorder. Sickness had rendered Mary less able to support the shock and to apply that comfort to the ambitions of her mother, which had once been so successfully administered. The physician pronounced the malady of the Countess to be seated in the mind and beyond the reach of human skill. When one day a letter was brought to her, the superscription of which was written in the hand of Osbert. She knew the characters and bursting the seal read that her son was yet alive and did not despair of throwing himself once more at her feet. He requested that the remains of his clan might immediately attempt his release. He described in what part of the castle his prison was situated and thought that by the assistance of long-scaling ladders and ropes contrived in the manner he directed, he might be able to affect his escape through the grate. This letter was a reviving cordial to the Countess and to Mary. Allen was indefatigable in collecting followers for the enterprise he had engaged in. On receiving intelligence of the safety of the Earl, he visited the clan and was strenuous in exhorting them to immediate action. They required little incitement to a cause in which every heart was so much interested and for which every hand was already busy to end preparation. These preparations were at length, completed. Allen at the head of his party joined the assembled clan. The Countess for a second time beheld from the ramparts the departure of her people upon the same hazardous enterprise. The present scene revived in her mind a sad membrance of the past, the same tender fears, and the same prayers for success she now gave to their departure. And when they faded in distance from her sight, she returned into the castle, dissolved in tears. The heart of Mary was torn by a complex sorrow, an incapable of longer concealing from herself the interest she took in the departure of Allen. Her agitation became more apparent. The Countess in vain endeavored to compose her mind. Mary affected by her tender concern and prompted by the natural ingenuineness of her disposition long to make her the confidant of her weakness, if weakness that can be termed which arises from gratitude and from admiration of great and generous qualities. But delicacy and timidity arrested the half-formed sentence and closed her lips in silence. Her health gradually declined under the secret agitation of her mind. Her physician knew her disorder to originate in suppressed sorrow and advised as the best cordial a confidential friend. Matilda now perceived the cause of her grief. Her former passing observations recurred to her memory and justified her discernment. She strove by every soothing effort to win her to her confidence. Mary, oppressed by the idea of ungenerous concealment, resolved at length to unveil her heart to a mother so tender of her happiness. She told her all her sentiments. The Countess suffered a distress almost equal to that of her daughter. Her affection at heart swelled with equal wishes for her happiness. She admired with warmest gratitude the noble and aspiring virtues of the young Highlander. But the proud nobility of her soul repelled with quick vivacity every idea of union with the youth of such ignoble birth. She regarded the present attachment as the passing impression of a youthful fancy and believed that gentle reasoning aided by time and endeavor would conquer the enthusiasm of love. Mary listened with attention to the reasonings of the Countess. Her judgment acknowledged their justice while her heart regretted their force. She resolved, however, to overcome an attachment which would produce so much distress to her family and to herself. Notwithstanding her endeavors to exclude Allen from her thoughts the generous and heroic qualities of his mind burst upon her memory in all their splendor. She could not but be conscious that he loved her. She saw the struggles of his soul and the delicacy of his passion which made him ever retire in the most profound and respectful silence from its object. She solicited her mother to assist in expelling the destructive image from her mind. The Countess exerted every effort to amuse her to forgetfulness. Every hour except those which were given to exercises necessary for her health was devoted to the cultivation of her mind and the improvement of her various accomplishments. These endeavors were not unsuccessful. The Countess with joy observed the returning health and tranquility of her daughter and Mary almost believed she had taught herself to forget. These engagements served also to beguile the tedious moments which must intervene ere news could arrive from Alan concerning the probable success of the Enterprise. Misery yet dwelt in the castle of Dunbane, for there the virtues were captive while the vices reigned despotic. The mind of the Baron ardent and restless knew no peace. Torn by conflicting passions he was himself the victim of their power. The Earl knew that his life hung upon the caprice of a tyrant. His mind was nerved for the worst yet the letter which the compassion of one of his guards at the risk of his life had undertaken to convey to the Countess afforded him a faint hope that his people might yet affect his escape. In this expectation he spent hour after hour at his grate wishing with trembling anxiety to behold his clan advancing over the distant hills. These hills became at length in a situation so barren of real comforts a source of ideal pleasure to him. He was always at the grate and often in the fine evenings of summer saw the ladies whose appearance had so strongly excited his admiration and pity walk on a terrace below the tower. One very fine evening under the pleasing impressions of hope for himself and compassion for them his sufferings for a time lost their acuteness. He longed to awaken their sympathy and make known to them that they had a fellow prisoner. The parting sun trembled on the tops of the mountains and a softer shade fell upon the distant landscape. The sweet tranquility of evening threw an air of tender melancholy over his mind. His sorrows for a while were hushed and under the enthusiasm of the hour he composed the following stanzas which having committed them to paper he the next evening dropped upon the terrace. Sonnet Hail to the hallowed hill the circling lawn the breezy upland and the mountain stream the last tall pine that earliest meets the dawn and glistens latest to the western gleam. Hail every distant hill and downland plain your dew-hid beauty's fancy oft unveils what time to shepherd's read or poet's strain. Sorrowing my heart its destined woe bewails blessed are the fairy hour the twilight shade of evening wandering through her woodland's deer. Sweet the still sound that steals along the glade tis fancy wafsit and her votries here. Tis fancy wafsit and how sweet the sound I hear it now the distant hills up long while fairy echoes from their dells around and woods and wilds the feeble notes prolong. He had the pleasure to observe that the paper was taken up by the ladies who immediately retired into the castle. End of Chapter 4 Chapter 5 of The Castles of Othlin and Dunbane This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Lauren Randall The Castles of Othlin and Dunbane by Anne Radcliffe Chapter 5 One morning early the Earl discerned a martial band emerging from the verge of the horizon. His heart welcomed his hopes which were soon confirmed into certainty. It was his faithful people led on by Allen. It was their design to surround and attack the castle and though their numbers gave them but little hopes of conquest they yet believed that in the tumult of the engagement they might procure the deliverance of the Earl. With this view they advanced to the walls. The sentinels had described them at a distance. The alarm was given, the trumpets sounded, and the walls of the castle were filled with men. The baron was present and directed the preparations. The secret purpose of his soul was fixed. The clan surrounded the fossey into which they threw bundles of faggots and gave the signal of attack. Scaling ladders were thrown up to the window of the tower. The Earl invigorated with hope and joy had by the force of his arm almost wrenched from its fastening one of the iron bars of the great. His foot was lifted to the staunchion, ready to aid him in escaping through the opening. When he was seized by the guards of the baron and conveyed precipitately from the prison he was led indignant and desperate to the lofty ramparts of the castle from whence he beheld Allen and his clan whose eager eyes were once more blessed with the sight of their chief. They were blessed but for a moment they beheld their lord in chains surrounded with guards and with the instruments of death. Animated however with a last hope they renewed the attack with redoubled fury when the trumpets of the baron sounded a parlay and they suspended their arms. The baron appeared on the ramparts. Allen advanced to hear him. The moment of attack, cried the baron, is the moment of death to your chief. If you wish to preserve his life, desist from the assault and depart in peace and bear this message to the Countess your mistress. The baron Malcolm will accept no other ransom for the life and the liberty of the Earl than her beautyous daughter whom he now soothes to become his wife. If she acedes to these terms the Earl is instantly liberated. If she refuses he dies. The emotions of the Earl and of Allen on hearing these words were inexpressible. The Earl spurned with haughty virtue the base concession. Give me death cried he with loud impatience. The house of Othland shall not be dishonored by alliance with a murderer. Renew the attack my brave people. Since you cannot save the life revenge the death of your chief. He dies contented since his death preserves his family from dishonor. The guards instantly surrounded the Earl. Allen whose heart torn by contending emotions was yet true to the impulse of honor. On observing this instantly threw down his arms refusing to obey the commands of the Earl a hostage for whose life he demanded. While he hastened to the castle of Othland with the conditions of the Baron the clan following the example of Allen rested on their arms while a few prepared to depart with him on the Embassy. In vain were the remonstrances in the commands of the Earl his people loved him too well to obey them and his heart was filled with anguish when he saw Allen depart from the walls. The situation of Allen was highly pitiable. All the firm virtues of his soul were called upon to support it. He was commissioned on an Embassy the alternate conditions of which would bring misery on the woman he adored or death to the friend whom he loved. When the arrival of Allen was announced to the Countess impatient joy thrilled in her bosom for she had no doubt that he brought offers of accommodation and no ransom was presented to her imagination which she would not willingly give for the restoration of her son. At the sound of Allen's voice those tumults which had began to subside in the heart of Mary were again revived and she awoke to the mournful certainty of hopeless endeavor. Yet she could not repress a strong emotion of joy on again beholding him. The soft blush of her cheek showed the colors of her mind. While in endeavoring to shade her feelings she impelled them into stronger light. The agitations of Allen almost subdued his strength. When he entered the presence of the Countess and his visage on which was impressed deep distress and the paleness of fear betrayed the inward workings of his soul. Matilda was instantly seized with apprehension for the safety of her son and in a tremulous voice inquired his fate. Allen told her he was well proceeding with tender caution to acquaint her with the business of his embassy and with the scene to which he had lately been witness. The sentence of the Baron fell like the stroke of death upon the heart of Mary who fainted at the words. Allen flew to support her. In endeavoring to revive her daughter the Countess was diverted for a time from the anguish which this intelligence must naturally impart. It was long air Mary returned to life and she returned only to a sense of wretchedness. The critical situation of Matilda can scarcely be felt in its full extent. Torn by the conflict of opposite interests her brain was the seat of tumult and wild dismay which ever way she looked destruction closed the view the murderer of the husband now sought to murder the happiness of the daughter. On the sentence of the mother hung the final fate of the son. In rejecting these terms she would give him instant death. In accepting them her conduct would be repugnant to the feelings of indignant virtue and to the tender injured memory of her murdered Lord. She would destroy forever the peace of her daughter in the honor of her house. To effect his deliverance by force of arms was utterly impractical since the baron had declared that the moment of attack should be the moment of death to the Earl. Honor, humanity parental tenderness made her save her son yet by a strange contrariety of interest the same virtues pleaded with a voice equally powerful for the reverse of the sentence. Hitherto hope had still illumined her mind with a distant ray. She now found herself suddenly involved in the darkness of despair whose glooms were interrupted only by the gleams of horror which arose from the altar on which was to be sacrificed one of her beloved children. Her mind shrunk from the idea of uniting her daughter to the murderer of her father. The ferocious character of Malcolm was alone sufficient to blight for ever the happiness of the woman whose fate should be connected with his. To give to the murderer the child of the murdered was a thought too horrid to rest upon. The Countess rejected with force the baron's offer of exchange when the bleeding figure of her beloved son pale and convulsed in death started on her imagination and stretched her brain almost to frenzy. Meanwhile Mary suffered a conflict equally dreadful. Nature had bestowed on her a heart susceptible of all the fine emotions of delicate passion. A heart which vibrated in unison with the sweetest feelings of humanity. A mind quick in perceiving the nicest lines of moral rectitude and strenuous in endeavoring to act up to its perceptions. These gifts were unnecessary to make her sensible of the wretchedness of her present situation of which a common mind would have felt the misery. They served however to sharpen the points of affliction to increase their force and to disclose in stronger light the various horrors of her situation. Fraternal love and pity called loudly upon her to resign herself into the power of the man whom from the earliest dawn of perception she had contemplated with trembling aversion in horror. The memory of her murdered parent every feeling dear to virtue the tremulous but forceful voice of love awakened her heart and each opposed with wild impetuosity every other sentiment. Her soul shrunk back with terror from the idea of union with a baron. Could she bear to receive in marriage that hand which was stained with the blood of her father? The polluted touch would freeze her heart in horror. Could she bear to pass her life with a man who had forever blasted the smiling days of him who gave her being? With a man who would stand before her eyes a perpetual monument of misery to herself and of dishonor to her family whose chilling aspect would repel every amiable and generous affection and strike them back upon her heart only to wound it. To cherish the love of the noble virtues would be to cherish the remembrance of her dead father and of her living lover. How wretched must be her situation when to obliterate from her memory the image of virtue could alone afford her a chance of obtaining a horrid tranquility virtue which is so dear to the human heart that when her form forsakes us we pursue her shadow. Wherever in search of comfort she directed her aching sight. Misery's haggard countenance protruded on her view. Here she beheld herself entombed in the arms of the murderer there the spectacle of her beloved brother encircled with chains and awaiting the stroke of death arose to her imagination. The scene was too affecting. Fancy gave her the horrors of reality. The reflection that through her he suffered that she yet might save him from destruction broke with irresistible force upon her mind and instantly bore away every opposing feeling. She resolved that since she must be wretched she would be nobly wretched. Since misery demanded one sacrifice she would devote herself the victim. With these thoughts she entered the apartment of the countess whose concurrence was necessary to ratify her resolves and having declare them awaited in trembling expectation her decision. Matilda had suffered a distraction of mind which the nature of no former trial had occasioned her. On the unfortunate death of a husband tenderly loved she had suffered all the sorrow which tenderness and all the shock which the manner of his death could occasion. The event however shocking as it was did not hang upon circumstances over which she had an influence. It was decided by an higher power. It was decided and never could be recalled. She had there no dreadful choice of horrors, no evil ratified by her own voice to taint with deadly recollections her declining days. This choice though forced upon her by the power of a tyrant she would still consider as in part her own and the thought that she was compelled to doom to destruction one of her children harrowed up her soul almost to frenzy. Her mind at length exhausted with excessive feeling was now fallen into a state of cold and silent despair. She became insensible to the objects around her almost to the sense of her own sufferings and the voice and the proposal of her daughter scarcely awakened her powers of perception. He shall live said Mary in a voice broken in tender. He shall live I am ready to become the sacrifice. Tears prevented her proceeding. At the word live the Countess raised her eyes and threw round her a look of wildness which settling on the features of Mary softened into an expression of ineffable tenderness. She waved her head and turned to the window. A few tears bedewed her cheek. They fell like the drops of heaven upon the withered plant. Reviving and expanding its dying foliage. They were the first her eyes had known since the fatal news had reached her. Recovering herself a little she sent for Allen who was still in the castle. She wished to consult with him whether there was not yet a possibility of affecting the escape of the Earl. In afflictions of whatever degree where death has not already fixed the events uncertainty the mind shoots almost beyond the sphere of possibility in search of hope and seldom relinquishes the fond illusion till the stroke of reality dissolves the enchantment. Thus it was with Matilda. After the grief produced by the first stroke of this disaster was somewhat abated she was inclined to think that her situation might not prove so desperate as she imagined and her heart was warmed by a remote hope that there might yet be devised some method of procuring the escape of the Earl. Allen came. He came in the trembling expectation of receiving the decision of the Countess and in the intention of offering to engage in any enterprise however hazardous for the enlargement of the Earl. He repelled with instant force every idea of Mary's becoming the wife of Malcolm. The thought was too full of agony to be endured and he threw the sensation from his heart as a poison which would destroy the pulse of life. To preserve Mary from a misery so exquisite and to save the life of the Earl he was willing to encounter any hazard to meet death itself as an evil which appeared less dreadful than either of the former. He came prepared with this resolution and it served to support that fortitude which affliction had disturbed though it could not subdue. When he came again to the Countess his distress was heightened by the scene before him. He beheld her leaning on a sofa pale and silent. Her unconscious eyes were fixed on an opposite window. Her countenance was touched with the wildness expressive of the disorder of her mind. And she remained for some time insensible of his approach. Such is the fluctuation of a mind overcome by distress that if for a moment a ray of hope cheers its darkness it vanishes at the touch of recollection. Mary was standing near the Countess whose hand she held to her bosom. Her present sorrow had heightened the natural pensiveness of her countenance and shaded her features with an interesting languor more enchanting than the vivacity of blooming health. Her eyes sought to avoid Alan as an object dangerous to the resolution she had formed. Matilda remained absorbed in thought. Mary wished to repeat the purpose of her soul but her voice trembled and the half form sentence died away on her lips. Alan inquired the commands of the Countess. I am ready said Mary at length in a low and tremulous voice. To give myself the victim to the Baron's revenge I will save my brother. At these words the heart of Alan grew cold. Mary overcome by the effort which they had occasioned her scarcely finished the sentence. Her nerves shook. A mist fell over her eyes and she sunk on the sofa by which she had stood. Alan hung over the couch in silent agony watching her return to life. By the assistance of those about her she soon revived. Alan in the joy which he felt at her recovery forgot for a moment his situation impressed with ardor her hand to his bosom. Mary whose senses were yet scarcely recollected yielded unconsciously to the softness of her heart and betrayed its situation by a smile so tender as to thrill the breast of Alan with the sweet certainty of being loved. Hitherto his passion had been chilled by the despair which the vast superiority of her birth occasioned and by the modesty which forbade him to imagine that he had merit sufficient to arrest the eye of the accomplished Mary. Perhaps too the diffidence natural to genuine love might contribute to deceive him. It was not till this moment that he experienced that certainty which awakened in his heart a sense of delight hitherto unknown to him. For a moment he forgot the distresses of the castle. In his own situation every idea faded from his mind but the one he had so lately acquired and in that moment he seemed to taste perfect felicity. Recollection however with all its train of black dependencies soon returned and plunged him in a misery as poignant as the joy from which he was now precipitated. The countess was now sufficiently composed to enter on the subject nearest her heart. Allen caught with eagerness her mention of attempting the deliverance of the Earl for the possibility of accomplishing which he declared himself willing to encounter any danger. He seconded so warmly the design and spoke with such flattering probability of success that the spirits of Matilda began once more to revive. Yet she trembled to encourage hopes which hung on such perilous uncertainty. It was agreed that Allen should consult with the most able and trusty of the clan whom age or infirmity had detained from battle on the means most likely to ensure success and then proceed immediately on the expedition. Having first delivered to the Baron a message from the countess requiring time for deliberation upon a choice so important and importing that an answer should be returned at the exploration of a fortnight. Allen accordingly assembled those whom he judged most worthy of the council. Various schemes were proposed none of which appeared likely to succeed. When it was recollected that the Earl might possibly have been removed from the tower to some new place of confinement which it would be necessary first to discover that the plan might be adapted to the situation. It was therefore concluded to suspend further consultation till Allen had obtained the requisite information and that in the meantime he should deliver to Malcolm the message of the countess. For these purposes Allen immediately set out for the castle.