John Fergusson

“ The news came that Thomas Fergusson's store at Yale had been burnt down, and Smith explained to John and Pete and some store loafer (there always are store loafers everywhere: if there's a cracker cask at the North Pole some loafer holds it down against any South wind) that possibly Fergusson had made money out of the fire by the means of some very queer magic known as insurance, or "insoolance" as John and Pete said. ”

“ Unfortunately, Fergusson fell a victim to his convivial habits, and was led into excesses which permanently injured his health. Alcohol probably helped to develop that brain disease usually called insanity. It was while in this condition that he met with Dr. John Brown, of Haddington, whose name is a household word in Scotland. The good man, a sound Presbyterian and Calvinist, was much more. He made “the love of the Lord” the real and ultimate test of a man’s orthodoxy. Brown’s “Self-Interpreting Bible” has been amazingly popular throughout heather land. ”

“ He entered the army as an ensign in the 18th royal Irish regiment on 20 Aug. 1801. From the 18th he was soon transferred to the 43rd Monmouthshire light infantry, which was at this time in training under the superintendence of Sir John Moore at Shorncliffe with the 52nd and 95th. These regiments formed the light division in the Peninsular war. Under the patronage of Moore, Fergusson was promoted lieutenant on 9 Feb. 1804 and captain on 1 Dec. 1806, and in 1808 accompanied his regiment in the expedition under Sir Arthur Wellesley to Portugal. ”

“ The argument is, however, even more pertinent with reference to Maes-Howe and other tumuli in the Orkneys. If the Scandinavian kings were buried in "howes" down to the year 1000—I believe they extend much beyond that date—it is almost certain that the Orcadian Jarls were interred in similar mounds down at least to their conversion to Christianity (A.D. 986) . Whether Maeshowe was erected as a sepulchre for the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok, as John Stuart seems to infer from the inscriptions, [31] or of Havard Earl, as I have above attempted to show, is of little consequence to the general argument. ”

“ Fergusson was born at Ayr, in Scotland, in 1808, the son of an army-surgeon, who had seen active service abroad, "who had a liking for engineering as applied to architecture," and who wrote on the construction of hospitals. He was taught in the High School at Edinburgh and in a private school at Hounslow, and became a resident of England by the removal of his father to Windsor. When he had reached an age to start out for himself, he went to India, with a determination to work steadily in business for ten years, and then to retire with such fortune as he might have been able to make. ”

“ He was educated at Harrow, and became an advocate in 1822, practising at the Scotch bar until his father's death. He was a member of the Speculative Society, and at its meetings read two essays, one on the ‘Origin and Progress of Criminal Jurisprudence,’ and the other on the ‘History of Painting.’ Fergusson was an active promoter of almost every scheme of usefulness throughout Scotland. ”

“ Whoever be the author, it must be said that FERGUSSON contributes to success of answers by his manner of reading them. So portentous is his gravity, so like a stone wall his imperturbability, that the Sage dashes himself up against it with much the same effect as if he were attacking one of the buttresses of Westminster Hall. It is a fortuitous concatenation of circumstances, most happy in its result, that when in the House of Commons an answer is to be given which shall convey no information, the MARKISS should dictate it, and FERGUSSON recite it. ”

“ Coming back along the Lowcester road one afternoon, I found a big car at such an angle across it that it could not be passed; and on approaching closer I discovered it to be the Fergussons’, with Lady Fergusson inside. So they had returned! I had become accustomed to looking fixedly in front of me when we had chanced to meet before they took refuge in town; but the present situation would have rendered such a p. 163manœuvre impossible, even if, directly I pulled up, the Fergussons’ chauffeur had not come to ask if I would do her Ladyship the kindness of speaking to her for a moment. ”

“ Burns in one of his poems attributes to Fergusson 'glorious pairts.' He was certainly a youth of remarkable powers, although 'pairts' rather than high genius seems to express his calibre, he can hardly be said to sing, and he never soars. His best poems, such as 'The Farmer's Ingle,' are just lively daguerreotypes of the life he saw around him—there is nothing ideal or lofty in any of them. His 'ingle-bleeze' burns low compared to that which in 'The Cottar's Saturday Night' springs up aloft to heaven, like the tongue of an altar-fire. ”

“ Suddenly he remembered that this was Sunday morning, and that he had intended going to the mountains. To start at once would enable him to avoid an argument with his mother concerning the inevitability of damnation for those who miss early [pg 40] Mass. He rose and dressed himself, putting on a cotton shirt, a faded and dirty pair of overalls and coarse leather riding boots; tied a red and white bandana about his neck and stuck on his head an old felt hat minus a band and with a drooping brim. So attired he looked exactly like a Mexican countryman—a poor ranchero or a woodcutter. ”

“ He was made lord of justiciary 3 April 1749. He died at his residence near Edinburgh 20 Jan. 1759. Fergusson was married and had a large family, many of whom with his wife survived him. He collected and digested in the form of a dictionary the decisions of the court of session from 1738 to 1752. To these are added ‘a few decisions given in the years 1736 and 1737’ (advertisement) . ”

“ He saw that in sending her to him Archulera had really played into his hands. The important thing now was to keep her away from her father. He looked at her again, and the pity which he always felt for weaklings welled up in him. He knew many Mexican ranches in the valley where he could keep her in comfort for a small amount. That would serve a double purpose. The old man would be kept in ignorance as to what Ramon [pg 144] intended, and the girl would be saved from further punishment. ”

“ After a week of recuperation, he bought a horse from Guiterrez for a pack animal, loaded it with bedding and provisions and rode away into the mountains. His task was now to find other men who had fallen under the influence of MacDougall, and to persuade them not to sell their lands. Some of them would be at their homes, but others would be with the sheep herds, scattered here and there in the high country. He faced long days of mountain wandering, and for all that he longed to be done with his task, this part of it was sweet to him. ”

“ He sent forty miles across the mountains for two fiddlers to help out the blind man who was the only local musician. He arranged a feast, and in a back room he installed a small keg of native wine and one of beer.
The invitation was general and every one who could possibly reach the place in a day’s journey came. The women wore for the most part calico dresses, bright in colour and generous in volume, heavily starched and absolutely devoid of fit. Their brown faces were heavily powdered, producing in some of the darker ones a purplish tint, which was ghastly in the light of the oil lamps. ”

“ You’re so terrible!... I simply couldn’t help myself, and I don’t see what I can do now ... that’s comforting. But one thing is certain. We’ve got to be awfully careful. Thank Heaven, mother and Gordon are still in Florida and they won’t dare to come North on Gordon’s account [pg 243] until it gets a good deal warmer. But we must be careful. I’m not sorry, like I should be, but I sure am scared....”
They sat for a long time after the meal, Ramon smoking a cigar, their knees touching under the table. ”

“ Therewith Fergus is silent.
'I do not know indeed,' said Fergus, 'the like of this lad in Ulster, except that I think it is the men of Temair about a lad proper, wonderful, noble: with Erc, son of Coirpre Niafer and of Conchobar's daughter. They love not one another; —— without his father's leave has that man come, to help his grandfather. It is through the combat of that lad,' said Fergus, 'that you will be defeated in the battle. That lad knows not terror nor fear at coming to you among them into the midst of your battalion. ”

“ Alfego admired Ramon’s horse and especially his silver-mounted saddle.
“Ha! you like the saddle!” Ramon exclaimed in well-stimulated delight. He rose, swiftly undid the cinches, and dropped saddle and blanket at the feet of his host. “It is yours!” he announced.
“A thousand thanks,” Alfego replied. “Come; I wish to show you some Navajo blankets I bought the other day.” He led the way into the store, and directed one of his clerks to bring forth a great stack of the heavy Indian weaves, and began turning them over. ”

“ No ray of the sunshine that still shone on the moorland above, penetrated into this valley, whose steep, thickly-wooded sides threw deep shadows across it. "What on earth possessed anybody to build a house in this gloomy hole, when all the uplands were there to be built upon?" So Fergusson's musings ran on, whilst the shadows thickened round him, the gloom of the place beginning to oppress him like a nightmare. The roughness and steepness of the road obliged him to proceed slowly and with great caution, and the fast-fading light made his progress a difficult one. ”

“ Jean resented her tone.
"I don't think you went to see her this afternoon," she retorted.
Meta gave a low laugh.
"No; I took you to see her. But I told you what to expect. What do you think of George Fergusson?"
"I had no opportunity to judge. I was told he was a ne'er-do-weel and spent his life in drawing-rooms."
"What old cat told you that?"
Meta's tone was indignant.
"He very seldom appears on his mother's 'at home' days. He is nearly always in Edinburgh. He is quite as clever as the doctor, and much more genial and brilliant in society." ”

“ Fergusson soon after his release emigrated to Calcutta, where he practised as a barrister. He acted from 1813 to 1818 as standing counsel to the government and from 1818 to 1825 as king's advocate, and in twenty years acquired a large fortune. He then returned home in 1826, stood in the liberal interest for the stewartry of Kirkcudbright against General Dunlop of Dunlop, and was successful by a majority of one. He vigorously supported all liberal measures, and advocated with eloquence and energy the cause of Poland. ”

“ That was doubtless one reason why the old man had welcomed him. He had come here simply to go deer-hunting with Archulera, to eat his goat meat and chile, to get away from the annoyance and boredom of his life in town, and into the crude, primitive atmosphere which he had loved as a boy. Catalina had been to him just the usual slovenly figure of a Mexican woman, a self-effacing drudge. ”

“ It was no easy task to lift the unfortunate creature, first through the green door, and then into the car, but Fergusson being an athletic man, with muscles in excellent order, and the tall servant being strong and well-built, their joint efforts succeeded in laying their burden along the cushions. ”

“ There were still traces of the adobe stockade behind it, with walls ten feet high, and the building which had housed the peones was still standing, now filled with fragrant hay. In front of it stood an old cedar post with rusty iron rings to which the recalcitrant field hands had been bound for beating.
Every detail of this home of his forefathers stirred his emotions. The ancient cottonwood trees in front of the house with their deep, welcome shade and the soft voices of courting doves among the leaves; the alfalfa fields heavy with purple blossom, ripe for cutting ”

“ Immense and empty the country stretched before him—a land of far-flung levels and even farther mountains; a land which makes even the sea, with its near horizons, seem little; a land which has always produced men of daring because it inspires a sense of freedom without any limit save what daring sets.
He had dared and won. He was going to take the sweet price of his daring. The engine of his big car sang to him a song of victory and desire. He rejoiced in the sense of power under his hand. ”

“ I could not survive you. Who, then, would protect Colombaik? You can still walk and carry him on your shoulders. As to me, I am beyond proceeding. My bleeding feet refuse to carry me. Let me sacrifice myself for our child. You will then dig me a grave in the sand, that I be not eaten up by the vultures or the wild beasts."
Instead of answering his wife, Fergan said to her sharply: "Joan, spread yourself on the ground; do not budge; pretend to be dead, as I shall. We are saved!" ”

“ Around shield with engraved edge on him, a spear five-pointed in his hand, a forked javelin beside him; a hard sword on the back of his head; a purple cloak folded round him; a brooch of gold on his arm; a shirt, white, hooded, to his knee.'
'Who is that, O Fergus?' said Ailill.
'He is the putting of a hand on strife; he is a battle champion for fight; he is judgment against enemies who has come there; that is, Eogan Mac Durthacht, King of Fermoy is that,' said Fergus.
'Another company has come, great, fierce, to the hill at Slemon Midi,' said Mac Roth. ”