new man. He ordered the hall fire By this time the wind was abating, your response when I tell you the likes; but the feather that gives this warning is big and black. I wish it may bode any good." "Hoot, toot," cried the Chief, "to be surely that is always what you say." "But there has been other signs of more note. Just when we first saw the sticking out feather, a splinter leapt out of the chimney ribs of the shape of a living coffin." 66 Ay, a coffin; umph!" "And that was not all, even now when we lighted the cruise, there was news on the wick, a red star; all things betoken hasty news, Lord preserve us." At this moment the wind began to sob and sough without; the sea grew hoarser below, and there was less mirth in the hall; for the signals of fate, which were known there, were duly reverenced, and all prank and pastime was interdicted till it was ascertained what heed the Chief would give to the omens. Among other things, which Roderick had thought necessary to the rank of life to which he was called, was an assumption of the gentlemanly quality of free-thinking, while he stood in the utmost awe of every superstitious dogma. In consequence, his general reply to Elspeth was couched in no very ceremonious terms for her attempt to terrify him with her "phusions," while at the same time he felt a thrill of dread vibrate through every limb at her recital. But nothing more remarkable within the castle passed that night; the storm without was as if destruction were fetching his breath, and the roaring of the sea as an oracle that prophesied disasters; few or none went to sleep, and all were afoot by break of day, for in the pauses of the gale some heard the tolling of a bell, and the shrieks of mariners in jeopardy; nor were their fears ill-founded, when daylight appeared, the wreck of a vessel was discovered on the rocks. Roderick himself at this spectacle seemed to leap out of his natural indolence, and for the time to be a To do the Highland warmth of our friend Roderick justice, the best in the castle was not too good for the survivors, and in due time the dead were respectfully interred in the adjacent churchyard, while the orphan and nurse were committed to the care of "olden" Elspeth, and made as much of as their melancholy circumstances could draw from kind hearts accustomed to set no bounds to their hospitality. When the Chieftain had ascertained from the master of the vessel, that the father and mother of the child were English voyagers of great wealth, and were sailing on that wild part of the coast for pleasure, he thought it was expedient to take some early mode of conveying to their friends an account of the calamity. How to do this properly was perplexing, for he was not very good at the writing, and as for spelling, he never could meet with a pen that was fit for the office; a whole afternoon he meditated on what should be done, and at last, on the sugges tion of the master of the vessel, he resolved to apply to the minister, and to take his advice on the subject, saying,-"If the Englishers be come, as you say, of a pedicree, we can do no less than make a moan for them," CHAPTER II. No sooner had the Chief made up his mind to consult the minister of Strone, on the communication he should make to the world about the Englishers, than he seized his staff and went towards the manse. This staff, we should by the way notice, was an Indian cane, virled with gold, and with an ivory top, such as became the palm of a Chieftain, and which our friend never made use of but with a flourish, that bespoke consciousness of his own consequence. With bonnet slightly doffed, contracted eyes, and lips apart displaying his grinders, he faced the blast with an upward look, daunting the northern wind that scowled in the black and wintry clouds which hovered in that airt. The path down the hill from the castle was not exceedingly well smoothed; the torrents of rain had in many places trenched it across; here and there huge stones lay on it, as if they had fallen from the skies, and its margin exhibited the freedom of nature. Nevertheless, the Chief descended with rapid strides, and his shadow in the setting sun against the side of the hill, was like the giant with the sevenleague boots, only his steps were greatly disproportioned. When about half-way down to the manse, he met Pharick M'Gowl, his piper, and a proud man was Pharick, for he had been at the ferry-house, drinking with Monsieur Caprier, a dancing-master, who had been for some time professionally engaged in attempting to teach the young Highlanders of the neighbourhood to dance cotillions, instead of " the barbare reels," as he said that they were taught by the goats, greatly to the wrath and indignation of the old warriors. With him, as we have been saying, Pharick the piper had been drinking at the ferry-house; and the early part of the day being rainy, they somehow got into an argument, in which Pharick, being a little bleezy with the liquor, had held out loud and long on the superiority of Highland civilisation above that of France; and the more he argued on this head, Monsieur grew the less and less able to refute him. At last he fell under the table, and Pharick, making the mountains echo to his drone and chanter, was coming up the hill, when Roderick was descending. He looked at his Chief and master, to be sure that it was him, and wheel. ing round like the cock that, Milton says, "Stately struts his dames before," blew out his bag till the echoes applauded again, and turning round, marched with a red face to the mi nister's. Roderick was not displeased at this encounter; he had that delicious glow upon his spirit, which arises from the consciousness of having done his duty. So accordingly he flourished his cane, and shouldering it like a sword, stepped out after his piper whistling defiance, and really looked like a Chief. In this guise the procession of the two proceeded to the manse, where learning from a breechless boy, that met them at a rude gate, that Dr Dozle was within, the piper paused, silence fell upon the hills, and the reverend gentleman was seen to look from the manse door with his old shoes down in the heels, his black breeches unbuttoned at the knees, and wearing a wrapper of his lady, that served him as well for a dressing-gown. But before the Chieftain reached the door, his reverence had retired within, and was ready to receive him a little more as became the patron of the parish. Their mutual greeting was very cordial; the minister made an apolo gy for his dishabille, having, as he said, got wet in attending the funeral. "Ou aye," said the Chief, "but we come on an instrumental our ainself to accuse it with you, for Elspeth has cowpit the ink-pottle, and there's not a pen in the house that can spell a mouthful of sense, petter than Nebuchadnezzar when he crunched grass with the cow." Dr Dozle, who knew how many blue beans it takes to make five, as well as most people of the ecclesias "Aye," said the chief, "you are a prophetess, and kest what I would be awanting when I came to my common sense concerning this molification; but, Dr Tozle, you'll can read the scrapes of your pen, which is mair than ever I could do, our pens are so devillish; read, Dr Tozle." The doctor went into his study and brought forth the letter which he was in the act of writing, with the particulars of the calamity, to the Editor of the Greenock Advertiser, and read it to the Chief, who listened with open mouth to the whole story, giving at every pause a judicious hotch from the one side to the other, which showed that he understood it, and when the minister paused, he said, stretching out his hand, "Very well, Dr Tozle, very well indeed; you are a restinct man, al true, al true; but you might have said a little more of the civilities to the dead corpses, that we had to cut out of the rigging, and how Elspeth has made a dauty of the bairn that we eschewed in the cabin." "Aye, Dr Tozle, and you should have precluded with a smalloch hone, just by way of an edification." "You are very right," said the doctor, "it is much to be lamented, M'Goul, that you were not brought sooner to the estate; talents such as yours ought not to be hid under a bushel." "Oh," replied the doctor, "I had not finished; all that was to come, and I could never have forgot the rescue of the unhappy child; all we have now left is to find out its parentage." "What you say, Dr Tozle," replied the Chieftain," is very true; I had a spunk within me, but it has gone out like the snuff of a cruizie ; put as I am here, and came on purpose, I would just like to hear the preclu sion of your letter, for by all accounts the Englishers were grantees, and I would have all the particulars set down." 66 They need long spoons that sup with the deil," replied the minister jocularly; "there's not the like of you, M'Goul, with parts so like a natural, in three counties. I'll just step into my study, and conclude the letter, for Rob Walker, that carries the post, will be here soon." The Chief, highly pleased with himself, and the commendations which his parts had received, sat in the parlour while the minister stepped out to finish the letter. In the meantime the mistress came into the room, and essayed to entertain M'Goul, sayingHech, sirs, but the hand of the Lord was in it." 66 cognosces, there will be an inquest, and me and you will get our adjudications for it, and now that I have got the letter ready, I will measure my way up the hill to my own castle, which is not out of the way for reparation; three sclates from the west towersock were blown off in the gale, and a steep of wet comes in where they were, and has made my bed just all a sappy middin, and I am like a grumphy. Mistress Tozle, hae ye ony thing in your pottle, for I have a doubt that some thing o'er cauld is meddling with my inside ?" "Oh!" cried the lady, "what have Ibeen about, not to offer you, M'Goul, something before? the best I have is at your command." 66 Aye, put dinna give me your WHEN the paper trumpet of Greenock, yclept the Advertiser, had conveyed to the uttermost parts of the kingdom the sad intelligence which Dr Dozle's letter communicated, there was, of course, great sorrow awakened in many places, but that which it occasioned in the mansion of Richard Stukeley, Esq., of Fenny Park, heretofore sheriff of the county of Wessex, we may be excused from attempting to describe. The old gentleman was the father of the unfortunate victim of the shipwreck, and had, with reluctance, consented to his son and family undertaking that voyage to the north-west of Scotland, which had terminated so fatally; but the infirm state of the lady's health, and the exhortations of the doctors, had prevailed in spite of the presentiment with which he was affected, and he saw them set out with a heaviness of heart that persuaded him they would never return. plue mould biscuits, nor your loafs of the auld warld from Inverary; I'll just take a scrap of cake, and I like the crown of the farle." When he received the sad news, he despatched an old confidential servant to bring the child and nurse from Scotland, and to present the best expressions of his gratitude to the Lord of Inverstrone, all which was executed in order; but the M'Goul was taught to expect some more substantial testimony of the service he had rendered. Not that the idea of reward had entered, of The minister's wife was not long of fetching the whisky gardevin, with a glass and piece of bread, with which M'Goul helped himself, shaking his head and spluttering with his lips as he drank the whisky, saying, with a droll look, "Ech, Mrs Tozle, but that water of yours is cauld, but it's no ill to take." CHAPTER III. With that he rose, and giving a wave with his staff to the piper, who waited for him at the gate, he went back in order as befitted the honour of Inverstrone. its own accord, into his head, for he had too much of the Celtic blood in his body to be guilty of so sordid a thought; but the visitors whom the calamity drew to his castle, when they heard of the opulent family with which the deceased were connected, had so congratulated our friend Roderick on his good luck, that he began to say, "To be surely, there would be a penefit in meal or malt to him in the goot time." When the servant sent for the orphan appeared at the castle, he soon learned that something better than thanks was expected by the retainers, and foreseen in the dreams of Elspeth. Thus it happened, that Richard Woodstock, the servant, when he returned to his master, with the child and its nurse, reported among other things this expectation, and old Mr Stukeley, still under the sorrow of the event, was not obtuse in receiving the hint. As soon, therefore, as he had embraced the child, he wrote himself to the M'Goul, not only a repetition of his thanks, but lamented that distance and age prevented him from cultivating that personal friendship, which sorrow and misfortune had hallowed to him for the remainder of his life. To this letter he received a most becoming answer from the Chief: it is not necessary to conjecture whe ther it was penned by Dr Dozle or the parish schoolmaster, but it bore in large, legible, permanent, and conspicuous characters, the subscription of Inverstrone himself, in words at length, and concluded with-that, in the fall of the year, he proposed to visit England, and would do himself the particular pleasure of paying his respects, as was familiarly said, "to old Fenny Park." Mr Stukeley, who, in his younger years, had been bred in London, and had there made his affluent fortune as a draper, was rather surprised at the style of condescension and freedom which pervaded this epistle; but he ascribed it to the manners of the Highlanders, of whose peculiarities he had heard something when in business, and took it kind to be so suddenly recognised as an intimate friend by any chieftain of a race whom he had been taught to regard as among the lordliest of mankind. The letter from the M'Goul was in consequence received as something of an honour, that tended to lessen the greatness of the calamity that led to it. The death of the son and his wife was in consequence mitigated, by the expected visitation of the Highland Chief. We are bound by the insight vouchsafed to us of human nature, to let this much be known; for Providence so variously turns the ills of life, that out of trifles light as air, sweet consolation is often distilled. An answer to the Chieftain's epistle was sent in course of post, expressing Mr Stukeley's mournful pleasure in the prospect of so soon shaking hands with one to whose feeling heart he was so much obliged, and entreating that he would spend the winter at Fenny Park. "I cannot offer you now," said he, "such a cheerful home as it once was, but all that is in my power to give will be freely bestowed." There was, to be sure, a little of the inflation of a prosperous Londoner in the style of his reply; but at Inverstrone it diffused universal satisfaction: old Elspeth saw in it the realization of her wishes; the chief said he would not take a five thousand pounds in Perth pank notes for the gift in store; and Dr Dozle, who was sent for to read the letter more dis tinctly, in order that there might be no mistake, told the M'Goul it was a plain assurance that his fortune was now made. Elspeth was instructed to prepare the Chieftain's necessaries for the journey. It was, however, late in the evening when she received her orders, and therefore it was not asking too much time for consideration, that the old woman did nothing in the business of packing that night, but in the morning she began at an early hour, and selected two large chests for the occasion-one to hold provisions for the journey, and the other as a receptacle for the paraphernauls and inasmuch as food is more essential than raiment, she determined on filling the former first. But the ploy was too precious to be executed without the superintendence of M'Goul himself; and accordingly, after breakfast, he came into the apartment where the old woman was busy. "Hoot toot," cried he, as he entered, seeing her labouring on her knees, amidst mutton-hams, white puddings, salt fish, and half a cheese, with smoking bannocks baked that morning for the occasion, "this is not the ceremony at all," said he; "we must have the utensil with hair, for we're a gentleman, and puddings of cows, and legs of sheep, are not relishing at all-hoot, toot, toot; all you have to do, my goot woman, is to have a needful to serve till we get to Glasgow, and then the M'Goul will go as the M'Goul should." The hairy utensil was a trunk, which, on being declared heir to the estate, our friend Roderick had bought secondhand at Fort-William, and thought it a grand thing, and would mark his degree among the Englishers. However, after some altercation, half Gaelic, half English,-for Elspeth, by her long residence in the Lowlands, had forgotten her native language, matters were put to rights; and in due time, with a bundle tied in a handkerchief, and the trunk on the shoulder of a stout Highlander, the Chief, on a sheltie, took his departure for the south; Pharick the piper, strutting in advance, making the mountains doleful with "Lochaber no more." Dr Dozle, and his wife holding him by the arm, were out at |