Matthew Weld Hartstonge

“ Oh, my Adelaide, imperishable let this happy, too happy hour remain, and ever marked and stamped by a holy communion of heart and mind! Your taste shall be mine, your liking shall be my liking, your joy be my joy, and your sorrows (if ever they come) shall be all mine own!—thy disgrace would become my disgrace, and mine would be attended with yours! But now I only look upon the happy obverse of the medal, when I pause on your beauty, your accomplishments, your virtue, and your religion! for without the latter a woman is a monster, and man little less than a demon. ”

“ Oh, come, no disparagement, good Sir Patricius! to all your learned acquirements; you excel in speech, and no doubt succeed as well in the gift and exercise of your pen! but I, Sir, the hapless child of wayward fortune, am only acquainted with this! [half drawing his sword from its scabbard.] On this simple stake rest all my fortune and my hope, which, while I have a hand to wield, shall be held forth in the defence of my king and country! ”

“ D'Aremberg has been here this morning while you were absent, my love, with his mother, and he has made a proposition to us that has met with decided approbation from both your mother and from me. The duke has offered you his hand, and places his coronet and estates, which are princely, Adelaide, at your feet! He is in every respect worthy of you, descended as he is from a brave and noble race of ancestry, from which indeed he has not degenerated. Young, valiant, generous, and noble—and although bred in the camp, yet is his mind stored with the learning of ancient Greece and Rome ”

“ Sir David Bruce, with firm and dignified step and gesture, advanced, leading onward by the hand to the bridal altar the lovely Lady Adelaide, her eye beaming with all the radiance of intelligence and of genius, while the deep glow of health and the blush of modesty mantled her beauteous cheek as she approached the sacred altar, the gaze, delight, and admiration of all, high and low, who beheld her. ”

“ The count, without a moment's delay, placed the queen and prince in the boat, and flinging around them the boatman's cloak, he sat down by them, and bade him to row on. He told the boatman that the persons he bore away were his wife and child; and thus no suspicions were awakened in the mind of the boatman of the great personages he thus bore off amid the shades of night.
"Sail on, sail on, thou fearless bark, Wherever blows the welcome wind; It cannot lead to scenes more dark, More sad, than those we leave behind!" ”

“ Having thus replied, poor Adelaide, with a piteous, heart-rending scream, and to all appearance as if life had fled, sunk down, pale and ghastly as a corse, upon her pillow. It was indeed some time before Sir David could bring her to herself. When the hapless Adelaide recovered from her faint, he said: "My reproaches now are at an end. For you now are the object of my compassion and of my pity, not of my wrath. It is however true, that although infernal agents have given you a husband, yet know they have not the power to cause me to remain with you one hour more!—There I am a free agent. ”

“ Sad and sorrowful ever is the parting hour when beloved friends separate, perchance never more to meet again! But oh, how sad must that separation prove if not accompanied with the consoling hope—"we yet shall meet again!" The Duke of Tyrconnel was then departing from his beloved wife and darling daughter, yet no enlivening hope allayed the feverish throbbing of his heart, with the bland promise, "we yet shall meet [Pg 117] again!" Deep, bitter, and gloomy were the parting pangs and presages when these affectionate friends separated, destined, perchance, never more to meet! ”

“ The situation of the castle of Turnberry is extremely delightful, commanding a full view of the Frith of Clyde, and its indented shores. Upon the land side it overlooks a richly extended plain, bounded by distant hills, which rise around in gradual and beautiful undulations, and adorned to their very summits with woods of mountain-ash, oak, and the most graceful of all trees, in glen, plain, valley, or mountain, the weeping birch.
The lord of this castle—we should say "the laird"—was Sir Robert Bruce, and with him resided his twin-brother, Sir David Bruce, the hero of this eventful tale. ”

“ They shall indeed feel what loyal men, determined in a just cause, can do and dare for their lawful sovereign. And God protect those who fight under the banner of justice;—who fight for their lawful king, and for all that is dear to men! As for myself I have been bred in the ranks of war, (if your king may for once be permitted to speak of what he has performed;) educated alike in the school of hardship as of war. I have fought in different realms—in Spain, in France, and Holland, I have fought and conquered with the brave Turenne, for whom I have ever felt the tenderness of a son. ”

“ With an ardent and sanguine admiration of the beauties of nature, Adelaide too possessed an enthusiastic love of literature, conjoined to a correctly formed and delicately refined taste. Every day her mind expanded, from the literary lore which she imbibed, and gradually, but extensively, her brilliant talents developed their powers. Poetry, painting, and music, principally fascinated, as they are ever wont to do, the feeling and romantic mind of youth. Some of those impressions thus elicited Adelaide was occasionally in the habit of committing to writing. ”

“ This long wished return was joyously and generously hailed by all ranks and descriptions of persons, from the proud peer down to the lowly peasant; bonfires crowned every surrounding mountain height, hill, peninsula, and promontory, while they beamed forth a brilliant welcome to the returned wanderer; the lofty windows of the wealthy, and the lowly lattices of the cottier, in the town of Tyrconnel, bespoke the general joy that burst around, and conjointly the wax taper and rush-light commingled their rays to manifest [17] the heart-yearning welcome that the duke's happy return had inspired. ”

“ The duchess and Lady Adelaide, &c. drove through the squares and principal streets of Brussels, they visited the park l'Alle Verte, &c.; and then drove to Soignies Forest: Adelaide was highly delighted, and with much liveliness and enthusiasm, she said:—"Fair Brussels! renowned in days of ancient chivalry, aye, full many a joust, tilt, and tournament, hast thou witnessed within thine princely walls, when kings and mighty paladines sought valour's prize and beauty's smile, while trumpets brayed the victor's fame, and damsels gave the guerdon to the brave! ”

“ The foreign, English, and Scottish nobility, who accompanied the king, were marshalled duly according to their respective rank. And now, amid shouts that rent the air, King James approached. He was mounted on a beautiful long-tailed roan charger, bred in Normandy, which His Majesty right royally and gracefully bestrode; the steed was gorgeously caparisoned; the trappings were of damask gold, bordered and interspersed with the rose, shamrock, thistle, and fleur de lis; and fringed withal with a deep pursell of ermine. ”

“ Time was, when a child, as I well remember, when you oft carried me on your shoulder, and took me upon your lap: 'My Adelaide,' you then were wont to say, 'you should ever consider your parents as your best friends, the most interested in your welfare beyond all the world besides. Oh, never look upon them as tyrants or oppressors; the tie of affection between a child and its parents, from continued affection, is stronger even than the filial bonds of nature herself. ”

“ Sir David Bruce having seen that all was as it should be, retired to his chamber.
It was midnight, the fire in the bridal chamber brightly blazed, and the wax-lights shot forth their brilliant beams. Sir David seated himself on a chair beside the bed, and having gently drawn aside the curtain, he affectionately embraced his bride, while he kindly said, "My dear Adelaide, I always have been of opinion that no secret nor mystery should ever exist between man and wife. ”

“ Indeed I always knew too well that cats were most destructive, malicious animals. But say what inducing cause—what motive? here was depicted no lively representation of rat, rabbit, pigeon—no, nor mouse! wonderful! 'Fore Jove I swear, that all the confounded pestilential breed of cats in the county should swing before I should endure to have such a noble painting as that clawed by any cat o' the mountain in the province!"
Here Sir Patricius Placebo raised his intelligent eyes in dumb despair, very nearly indeed allied to positive contempt. ”

“ The park, however, was fine, crowned with lofty woods, and the pleasure grounds adorned with the united efforts of taste and art, which failed not to yield delight to the spectator. Here, during the summer months, the duke and duchess and family, with parties of their friends, frequently visited; and having partaken of a cold dinner previously prepared, have strolled forth in the calm of evening, and lingered until a late hour amid the groves and pleasure grounds, listening with much delight to the warbling of the nightingale. ”

“ The duke, duchess, Lady Adelaide, &c. &c. &c. in succession approached the aged minstrel to express severally their approbation of his song, and thanks for the feeling manner in which his welcome had been expressed. The duke obligingly and condescendingly said to him:—"My friend Cormac, although thy locks are more blenched and snowy than they were when last we parted, yet I am glad to find that your heart is not chilled by the frost of age, and that the chords of thy harp so sweetly still respond to a master's touch!" ”

“ Charles is dead, and the noble York that was, is now monarch of England; and permit me to kiss the fair and lady-like hand of the vice-queen of Ireland," he said, gaily kissing Her Grace's hand.
"Why, my Lord Duke, I really believe that you have laid this scheme of cajolery with so very great a personage as the very high and mighty lady, Mrs. Judith Braingwain, who even just now saluted me with the all hail hereafter! of Macbeth's witches: for Duchess of Tyrconnel though I be, yet Empress of Europe I am to be, or "Impress of Europa," as I was styled. ”

“ The Duchess of Tyrconnel warmly embraced with tender and intense affection her old, her once young, her still kind-hearted friend, while their tears, united, trickled down in comminglement on the cheeks of each beloved friend; while Adelaide, whose heart was ever responsive to every impulse of affection or affliction, wept a flood of tears. ”

“ King James affectionately embraced them both, as sad and sorrowful he bade them a mournful farewell; and wept most bitterly at this parting scene, in which affliction his royal consort fully participated. His Majesty then intrusted them both to the loyal charge of the noble and faithful count, who taking the royal infant under one arm, while he assisted the queen with the other, they set forth from the palace to pursue their perilous and melancholy journey.
Stormy and tempestuous was the night, the wind blew with violence, and rain impetuously descended in torrents. ”

“ But to this suggestion the generous Bruce would not hearken; he would not endanger the life of a poor and innocent man, probably the sole supporter of his family, in the dread and desperate fortunes of a fugitive—and alas, more than too probably a fratricide!
Thus having impetuously and decisively spoken, David Bruce having flung his purse into a broken aperture of the lattice window, sprung manfully into the fishing bark, and the faithful Malcolm instantly sprang in after his master. ”

“ He too is descended from a brave and royal race—the blood of kings pulsates in his veins. I shall be silent on all the noble qualifications he possesses; those that run may read them. And I will not, I confess, blush when I say that I love the man who preserved your valuable life, and that upon him my hopes, my happiness, my future fortune in life depend! ”

“ It was a custom so singular, so unlike any procession or pageant known in any other realm, that when it did occur the nobility and gentry from every near and foreign land [Pg 288] crowded to Dublin to behold the splendid array of this unique and magnificent spectacle. Upon this triennial occurrence the interest was most highly increased, and the stately pomp and splendour of the pageant aided and augmented by the cheering presence of the sovereign. ”

“ Malcolm, a faithful and affectionate follower and foster-brother of Sir David Bruce, foreseeing that the fete would end in a renewal of the old feud, took his own measures accordingly for his master's safety, and lost no time in pre-arranging his plans, and these he put in train, while all was noise and uproar at the banquet. He saw not unobserved how rapidly stoup of claret succeeded stoup, without any interregnum, and glasses of Fairntosh were dashed down in never-ending repetition. The war songs seemed too surely to strike the key of discord; passion begun to explode ”

“ It is impossible that I should not look up with the highest respect to the character and the noble qualities of the Duke of Tyrconnel, the unshaken friend of his sovereign, whether seated on his throne, or an exile from his realms; uncorrupted by prosperity, unshaken and unchanged by adversity ”

“ At once the chaplain saw it all, for the duke was deadly pale; but the cause of this despondence he did not know, nor did he dare to inquire.
But while he was about to ask the duke if he was unwell, the door opened, and the duchess re-entered; and bursting into a flood of tears, she flung herself into a chair. In so doing, a dagger fell from her apron on the ground. She fainted, and it was some time before she came to herself. When she did, she then said: "It is all involved in darkness and mystery; I cannot unravel the clue. Adelaide cannot—will not tell. ”

“ This most formidable bushy specimen of a peruke was cumberously surmounted by the bulky civic crown, which was in sooth unwieldy and most unbecoming in its conformation and appearance; indeed not dissimilar to that worn by the Herald King at Arms upon the high ceremonial of a coronation. The Lord Mayor was attired in full court dress, over which was worn a flowing scarlet gown, and around his neck was suspended the splendid gold enamelled collar which had been most graciously presented to the city of Dublin by Charles the Second, of chaste and pious memory! ”

“ One of the handsomest fountains in Brussels, which stands in le grand Sablon, was erected by the munificence of the above-mentioned Earl of Aylesbury. Its appearance is that of a Sarcophagus, ascended by three steps; the water flows from a brazen head, surmounted by the arms and coronet, into a marble bason beneath. It is surmounted by a figure of Minerva, bearing a medallion containing the busts of Lord Aylesbury and his countess, with three figures, one supporting the medallion, one as a river god, and the third blowing the trumpet of fame. ”

“ Then turning to Lady Adelaide Bruce, he said: "I will sing the loves of Sir Trystan and the beautiful Isoud! they were young and noble; they were likewise comely too, lovely lady: but they were unfortunate in their loves. Grant, O heaven, that such a fate may never betide the Lady Adelaide or Sir David!" ”

“ With all these splendid acquirements, the Duchess was an ardent admirer of the beauties of nature. She took delight in beholding the sun, with glorious burst, to ascend and illuminate the lofty mountain-peak; and at night to behold the starry host of heaven, the moon, and all the unnumbered stars that gem with imperishable lustre the canopy of the skies. ”

“ With all the rancour of fanatic rage, and all the ferocity of atrocious civil war, the troops of King William pursued the royal fugitive. And history is wholly silent as to whether any royal mandate was issued to spare the life of King James, the father of Mary, who was the wife of William! ”

“ Most justly do I confess that I am punished as I ought to be, by thy retributive justice, even upon earth—the irreparable loss of her whom no earthly power upon this habitable spot of earth can ever alleviate or redeem!—never, never, never!"
While Sir David Bruce impassionately and woefully said this, he fell prostrate, and cold, and lifeless, upon the floor of the bridal chamber.
To describe the emotions of Adelaide, would be to attempt indeed an impracticable task. It was so truly horrifying and affecting, that it must wholly be left to the imagination of the feeling reader. ”

“ Then addressing the Duke of Tyrconnel, who, with the other nobles of the household, surrounded His Majesty, the king was pleased to say, "I perceive your Grace's countrymen are tam Marti, quam Mercurio—they are courteous as they are brave." The Duke lowly and respectfully bowed his acquiescence to the observation.
The proud pageant having closed, all the troops assembled presented arms, lowered their banners; while drum, trumpet, and kettle-drum struck up the anthem of "God save the King!" ”

“ The climate is more charming, the air is more sweetly perfumed with aromatic gales, the melody of the birds is more harmonious; every sky which I see is a Breughel sky. And now I behold daily illustrations of the old masters, which I did not observe before, in the scenery which surrounds me, the various buildings, manners, customs, and costume, and all so faithfully portrayed to the life, in the performances of Berghem, Breughel, Rubens, and Teniers. ”

“ Upon his return it was with no small astonishment he heard that Sir David Bruce had departed at deep midnight, and on horseback, not having taken with him a travelling carriage, nor luggage, save a small valise, as preparatory to a journey. He immediately communicated it, with as much due precaution as the time would admit of, to the duchess, who had now entered the breakfast parlour.
Her Grace turned pale, and seemed nigh fainting. As soon as she could recover from her surprise and trepidation, she said: "All, my dear, is not well, I fear; I will go up and question Adelaide." ”