William Gordon Stables

“ Could there be any truth, Willie began to think, in the words the seer had uttered ?
If there was, then he was fated to be a soldier. Why should he not be ? True, he could not enter the army as an officer and gentleman, as many of his forbears had done, winning both honour and distinction; but he could carry a gun and bayonet for the Queen, and a man might be a gentleman, even though serving in the ranks.
Was there really going to be war? Willie would not care to be an idle soldier. ”

“ And then he had Bruce. Ah ! there is a deal of comfort reader, to be obtained from the love of a faithful dog. His master is all the world to him. Others may hate you, may turn from you ; but your dog has always a welcome for you, always a soft tongue to lick your hand, always a fountain of unfathomable love for you, and you alone, dwelling deep down in his dark brown eyes. Surely this is something to be thankful for in a cold and selfish world like ours.
But at this moment Willie's thoughts reverted more to his mother than to anyone else. ”

“ Well, I am not in a position to calculate the amount of evil that grief in its bitterest form namely, that of unrequited love might work upon a sturdy young frame like that of Willie's, but to look at him now as he stands in the moonlight, to study him physically, one would think Willie Saunders would take a deal of killing. Though not more than twenty-one, he is sturdy and strong. The tweed kilt suit he wears, and the plaid, surely never before were worn by a more handsome young Scot. ”

“ No, lad, all the honour and glory likely to come your direction during a campaign is precious small. You must just be content to imagine you have it, you must love your flag for your flag's sake, and the regiment because you are in it, and because its prestige has been handed down to you to maintain. Then, you know, there is always the old country to think about, and the friends at home. ”

“ Well, if it be foolish to continue angry even against our enemies, it is ever so much more silly to be angry against a brother or friend, and to be so without a cause, or without making positively certain that the cause does really exist, is a downright sin, and one that will assuredly be recorded against us if we do not repent and get forgiveness.
I will give Willie Saunders the credit of a kindly heart at all events. I have no more right to judge him harshly than he had to judge his friend Jack hurriedly. ”

“ Willie Saunders would not see any more of this. He rushed through the conservatory and out to the lawn.
The hum of the waterfall fell on his ear and calmed him, and the night air cooled his heated brows. He took a few turns up and down on the grass, then returned. He found Annie sitting alone in a corner, looking some- what sad ; but she made room for him on the sofa, and welcomed him with a smile.
Willie forgot everything now save her presence. He even postponed the fight with the student sine die. He would let the fellow live a little longer. ”

“ Perhaps he was; but youths like Willie develop into heroes at times, when they become what sailors call " sea-fast."
Before a sailor can become so he must weather a few storms, and it is the same with men in their voyage across the sea of life. Storms of grief and trouble alone can make them brave and sea-fast, and grief indeed may oftentimes become the parent of fame. ”

“ Willie laughed.
"I know that already, and all the drill a single man can be taught. My mother's father was a Major McGregor. He died two years ago, but he dearly loved a soldier's life, and there is very little he did not teach me. He used to have Peter McKay and me always at sword-stick too, and I never saw a better swordsman than Peter."
"And pray who is Peter?"
" Well, Peter is simply our oow-bailie, an honest, good- looking, strapping lad of twenty, or nearly. He has been with us all his life." ”

“ An officer, if he be a gentleman, hates a lickspittle.
"Now, Willie Saunders, you may think it is easy to be all I tell you. And so apart from home pleasures and temptations in times of peace it is; but, lad, during a campaign ah ! then is the time of trial When you're tired, sleepy, hungry starving perhaps weary and war-worn, then I can tell you it takes all the courage and strength of mind the bravest man possesses, to always yield implicit obedience with will- ingness, alacrity, and cheerfulness." ”

“ The sergeant laughed.
"You ll get a good deal of your poetry and romance knocked out of you, my boy, before you're long in the ranks. And perhaps just as well. Duty is what we want most of, you know. Duty, duty, duty ! And I feel sure from the looks of you that you won't forget that. The grandson of a MacGregor will not disgrace either himself or the colours he fights beneath.
"But mind you, Willie, I don't want to banish all romance and poetry from your nature. A soldier, and especially a Scottish soldier, has always an element of that deep down in the bottom of his heart. ”

“ Colonel Lindsay, her father, had won the Victoria Cross, gained his promotion, and lost a leg, all in one day at the battle of Alma. A one-armed soldier is passable, but a one-legged one is no longer capable of serving his Queen and country, so Lindsay had retired even before the war was over, and here he now lived, hearty and hale, and still in the prime of life. The good soldier had some private means, and this had enabled him to make his little place, which was called Balaklava Lodge, quite a beautiful spot. ”

“ I think, as his historian, that Willie Saunders made a very great mistake. To harbour anger or enmity even against our enemies does harm even to ourselves, because anger is a heart depressant. If we would live long and healthful lives in this world, and, let pessimists say what they like, it is a beautiful one, and there is far more of joy and gladness in it than there is of grief and sorrow, we must avoid every feeling of the rnind that causes dejection. ”

“ Your private soldier who never means to be anything else but a private soldier, is very apt to take all out of life he can, and this isn't always the best thing he can do for his health. Ta, ta, Willie Saunders, I'll see you again. Mind this, Fort George is the head-quarters of Sergeant McKinnon for a few months ; but you may tumble across him on the streets of Inverness with a whole wisp of coloured ribbons fluttering from his bonnet. ”

“ Jack Morrison was dancing with Annie. She looked very, very happy.
Willie sighed, and retraced his footsteps towards the conservatory. He sat himself down in a corner. Nearly half hidden he was by a bank of sweet-scented flowers.
Presently two young ladies sat down near him, evidently unaware of his presence.
Here is a brief epitome of the conversation Willie had been obliged to listen to :
"Yes, and they do look a nice couple! Jack is so tall and manly. He is just my beau-ideal of a young laird."
" More like a highland chief." ”

“ There is here neither sight nor sound nor loathsome odour to annoy the eye or disgust the senses; nay, and if you even enter the byres, you would wish to linger there, so sweet is the breath of the sleek fat kine.
The dwelling-house itself stands not far from the steading; it does not keep proudly aloof therefrom, as some more modern-built houses do. It is Laird Saunders's house, the laird is a farmer, and he is not one whit ashamed of his calling. ”

“ Willie had raised himself on his elbow and was gazing wonderingly at the speaker, whom he soon however succeeded in recognising as a curious but harmless old man who, armed with a huge pole or sapling, used to roam about in these wilds, and who was called Fey Eraser.
The word "fey" is meant to express a peculiar kind of madness that is supposed to take possession of some people who are soon to die an accidental or unnatural death. ”

“ I was very frequently in his company, and I had grown so that I could almost tell what he was thinking about by looking at him ; for mind you, men, though the old soldier's face be a pretty stern one, it is wondrously expressive. Sir Colin is getting old, not so much through years, mind you, as from exposure. He is war-worn, and he is just a trifle weary. He needs rest."
The sergeant paused for a moment, puffing so vehemently at his big cigar, that the light from its tip illumined the faces of his listeners around him. ”

“ Good-bye.'"
"The battle of Alma was gained almost wholly by Highlanders, was it not sergeant?" said Willie Saunders.
" Ay, lad, ay, it was the battle of the Gael, for after the light Division had taken a redoubt, it was retaken by the enemy. Then was brave Campbell's time to shout the war cry of the old Montrose, ' On wi' the tartan.' The tartan did rush on, and with a will too, and the Eussian columns were soon shattered and scattered in flight. Oh, it was a great, a glorious day !" ”

“ He listens, but it is not with pleasure, for he sings in the clouds all day, and even at night there are times when he will mount in the starlight to trill his song, as if angels called to him to join their hymns, or as if he were so full of joy and happiness that he could not wait till day. He will not borrow the note of a human biped. ”

“ There are few flowers out yet, it is true, only the mauve-coloured day-nettle, and the day-nettle with wee white bells, and the starry golden dandelion, and the modest primrose. Pretty beetles with shining metallic backs go creeping hither and thither, each bent no doubt on some little but highly important business of his own, while ever and anon one of these creeps up and up a stem of grass, then, lifting its horny jacket, spreads gauzy wings and goes floating away out into the sunshine. ”

“ We don't send Johnnie Eaws out for foreign service," he said, smiling at Willie's enthusiasm and desire to be what he called a soldier in downright earnest. "Stick to your drill, my lad. Think about it on parade. Study it when off. Dream about it at night. You've got the makings of a good soldier in you. ”

“ This old Fey Eraser, who, by the way, had himself been a soldier in the days of his youth and manhood, might possibly be but a dotard, but the country-side thought him a seer. There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy. The possession by some old men of second sight has been believed in for ages in Scotland, especially in the High- lands. ”

“ If, mother," he said, seeing that all other arguments failed, "if, dear mother, I go abroad, I may forget my grief; I may live it down. If I stay here at home, and brood over it, as sure as the -sun will rise to-morrow, mother, in a year or two at most I shall be in the grave. I am not a boy now, mother. I might have been a boy two days ago; I am now a man. But 'I will not be a soldier, though to me it means life, without your consent I see a life of happiness yet in store for me if I go. If I stay I only see "
" What, Willie ? " ”

“ Eise, lad, rise, and help to avenge the woes o' Scotia's sons and daughters ! Love is the plaything o' the carpet knight; the sword, the sword, is the weapon for men and for heroes. Eise, lad, rise, your country needs you ! "
Fey Fraser, by means of his sapling or pole, had helped himself to his feet, and as he spoke the last words he towered 'twixt Willie and the evening sky, gaunt and awful, till even Bruce appeared frightened ”

“ It does, for as soon as the loaning broadens out, you find yourself on quite a plateau, and keeping on to the right you come to the steading, a beautiful roomy square of tall stone buildings surrounding a well-paved courtyard, with its byres, its stables, coach-houses, its mill and grain loft, but nothing to offend the eye or sense of smell, such as the slimy pools and manure heaps that exist on English farms. ”

“ This was no such easy task, for the deck was covered with sheep, and through these he had to force his way.
The steerage was a lively place, but certainly not a very pleasant one. However, our hero went below. It was right in the bows of the vessel, with a table athwart- ships in the centre, and lockers all round. There were human forms huddled up on these lockers, and Willie thought he would throw in his lot with them, so he snuggled up in a corner, and having nothing now on his mind soon went fast asleep again. ”