Lord Maxwell

“ Lord Maxwell, it seems, had encountered his opponents at the Dryffe Sands, not far from Lockerby, in Annandale, and had been defeated, partly in consequence of the cowardice of his confederates, whose alliance with him had been the sole cause of the renewed hostility. He was struck from his horse in his flight; and although he sued for quarter, the miscreant by whom he was assailed struck off his hand, which had been stretched forth as the sign of entreaty, and mercilessly slaughtered the unfortunate baron. ”

“ MAXWELL, the name of a Scottish family, members of which have held the titles of earl of Morton, earl of Nithsdale, Lord Maxwell, and Lord Herries. The name is taken probably from Maccuswell, or Maxwell, near Kelso, whither the family migrated from England about 1100. Sir Herbert Maxwell won great fame by defending his castle of Carlaverock against Edward I. in 1300; another Sir Herbert was made a lord of the Scottish parliament before 1445; and his great-grandson John, 3rd Lord Maxwell, was killed at Flodden in 1513. ”

“ Lord Maxwell—so little was he animated by the spirit of patriotism—entered into the scheme con amore. Being furnished with ample means, he returned to Scotland in 1588 to levy men on the Borders to assist his new sovereign. His prefidious designs were fortunately discovered, and ere he could make good his escape, he was surprised by the King in Dumfries, taken prisoner, and his wardenship of the West Marches bestowed on his powerful rival, the laird of Johnstone. ”

“ There always the Lord Maxwell fell, having received many wounds.” Drumlanrig, Closeburn, and other of the Nithsdale lairds of Maxwell’s faction, barely escaped with their lives.
Sir James Johnstone soon made his peace with the king, whose warden had been slain while acting under royal authority. The heir 35of the slain warden, John, the ninth Lord Maxwell, is said to have been only eight years old at the time of his father’s death. [14] If this was so, he became very early of age for all purposes of offence. The two clans kept up a bloody and destructive private war. ”

“ The very affectionate relations of Lord Maxwell and his ‘lady and 36only joy,’ are a fiction of the ballad-maker. His wife was daughter of the first Marquis of Hamilton. Maxwell instituted a process of divorce against her, and she died while this was pending, before he fled the country in 1608. By his treatment of his wife he made her brother, the second marquis, and the Hamiltons generally, his enemies. ”

“ But a man so conscious of many kinds of power as Lord Maxwell could not feel much doubt as to his own and his grandson's competence to keep so poor a specimen of humanity as Richard Boyce in his place. ”

“ Such, indeed, was the fiery and untameable spirit of the man, that neither the threats nor entreaties of the King himself could make him lay aside his vindictive purpose; although Johnstone, the object of his resentment, had not only reconciled himself to the court, but even obtained the wardenry of the Middle Marches, in room of Sir John Carmichael, murdered by the Armstrongs. Lord Maxwell was therefore prohibited to approach the Border counties; and having, in contempt of that mandate, excited new disturbances, he was confined in the castle of Edinburgh. ”

“ On Lord Maxwell's return, he sought a private interview with the marquis—told him what he had done—asked him to communicate the circumstances to the bride, and learn whether she would be wedded to a man whose hand was newly stained with blood.
"But he has slain his enemy in honourable battle," said Lady Margaret; "he has borne himself like a true knight ”

“ Blood has been shed, and it must be wiped away; life has been lost, and it must be avenged. My father has perished miserably—yet not miserably, for he died on the field of battle. His blood cries aloud for vengeance."
The aged minister's grief would not allow him to utter the prayer that passed from his heart to heaven on behalf of his erring pupil. Lord Maxwell silently wrung the hand that was enclosed in his own, and hastened to meet the barons, who had now assembled in the hall, and only waited until their host should assume his place, before beginning their morning's repast. ”

“ The only object which made life worth retaining, in the estimation of Lord Maxwell, was thus snatched from him; and he would have immediately delivered himself up to justice, had it not been for the remonstrances of his faithful attendant, Charlie o'Kirkhouse. The family of Sir James Johnstone, as well as the constituted authorities, hunted the baron over the whole country ”

“ It could not be supposed that the fate of Lord Maxwell could be regarded by his friends with that cold indifference which is the general feeling among men when misfortune overtakes their neighbours. The ties of clanship had not lost their strength in the days of King James ”

“ A weak Liberal Government, undermined by Socialist rebellion, had lasted but a short time, to be followed by an equally precarious Tory Ministry, in which Lord Maxwell—after an absence from politics of some four years or so—returned to his party, only to break it up. ”

“ Lord Maxwell drew out his watch and held it beneath the lamp.
"Jove! I've got to go this very minute! But you tell her, won't you, Miss Ffolliott, that Lady Maxwell's very ill,—not expected to live,—Sulphur Springs no good, after all. Good-by. Wish you joy,—wish you joy. Forgot 'bout your marriage. Good-by."
160 Carolyn did not speak, and he walked away,—walked with perfect steadiness, though he had talked thus. In fact, he was as much affected by his sudden news as by his champagne. ”

“ On the night before the execution, Sir Robert Maxwell of Orchardstone, who was now very far advanced in years, visited his kinsman and chief, under the guidance of the Marquis of Hamilton.
"And it has come to this at last!" exclaimed the old man. "Would to heaven, my dear lord, you had listened to the prayer of your humble clansman, eighteen years ago. Brief time is left to make your peace. Some holy man may be able to soothe your mind, ruffled though it be."
"Mock me not, dear uncle," said the baron, in a tone of bitterness which startled the old man with horror. ”

“ I didn't care for anything but to get a smile from Prudence. Damn it! Oh, do forgive me, Miss Ffolliott! A man doesn't know what he's saying. 183 And when Lady Maxwell died, I wouldn't write; I was bound I'd wait till I came back here, you know; I resolved on that,—kind of penance, and that sort of thing, and—"
"It was too late, Lord Maxwell," interrupted Carolyn, coldly, "already too late before you had joined your wife."
"Was it?" Maxwell was now walking about the room, his hands in his pockets. "I'll wager ten to one you think I'm a fool to care so, and so I am. But what's a fellow to do? ”

“ Well, I have been talking to your Miss Boyce."
He started.
"Where?"
"At Lady Winterbourne's. Aldous Raeburn was there. Your beautiful Socialist was very interesting—and rather surprising. She talked of the advantages of wealth; said she had been converted—by living among the poor—had changed her mind, in fact, on many things. We were all much edified—including Mr. Raeburn. How long do you suppose that business will remain 'off'? To my mind I never saw a young woman more eager to undo a mistake." Then she added slowly, "The accounts of Lord Maxwell get more and more unsatisfactory." ”

“ He 99 could get used to that, but he couldn't quite get used to the fact that Arabella Arkwright was his wife. He knew she was not to blame for his having had to break with a woman he fancied, and who could amuse him, but he often caught himself feeling as if she were to blame. At such moments Lord Maxwell fiercely reproved himself for a low-bred wretch. He was "not much for intellect," as he often said, but he thought he wanted to have the feelings of a gentleman, and to act like one.
Prudence Ffolliott resumed her seat in the door of the hay-mow. Devil remained beside her. ”

“ Afterwards, of his own free will, he demolished the fortress, that no possession of his might favour the progress of the enemy. He was rewarded by several grants of lands, and twenty-two pounds in money.
In the fifteenth century, Herbert de Maxwell marrying a daughter of the Maxwells of Terregles (Terre Eglise) , the son of that marriage was ennobled, and was dignified by the title of Lord de Maxwell. ”

“ The question, whether the arguments of Lord George Murray were guided by wisdom, or whether they might be better characterised as the result of a cold, and, in this case, unworthy prudence, has been very differently canvassed.
"There are not a few," observes Mr. Maxwell, "who still think the Prince would have carried his point had he gone on from Derby; they build much upon the confusion there was at London, and the panic which prevailed among the Elector's troops at this juncture. ”

“ Bless you! trust nothing to appearances. I have known a footpad pass current for a lord; and, for two reasons, I know I’m right about that chap at the Rose and Crown.”
“And what may these reasons be?” asked the quarter-master.
“First,” replied the lawyer, “he has plenty of money; and second, he has no marks upon his linen. It’s stolen, you may depend upon it, and the initials carefully picked out.”
“And how the devil can you know any thing regarding either the contents of his purse or his baggage?”
“Ha, ha! leave me to scent out things. I made George Gripp bribe the chambermaid. ”

“ On the 22nd Lord Hamilton undertook under a bond of 5,000l. to keep Maxwell in his company, without permitting him to go to Nithsdale, and to enter him before the king and council on 6 June (ib. p. 719) . On 15 Sept. it was ordained, for the better quieting of the west march, that Maxwell should be warded in Edinburgh Castle, and that the laird of Johnstone should also still be retained in ward (ib. vi. 31) . It would appear that he was not warded, for, being on 18 Nov. summoned to appear before the council to answer for the obedience of his men, he failed to do so (ib. p. 851) . ”

“ He was honestly anxious to bring about the best conclusion for the welfare of the two kingdoms. By the last-mentioned article it was put in his power to effect the removal of any of the Guardians likely to prove troublesome, for the King of Norway was so heavily in his debt that he would be ready to object to any who were objectionable to Edward. On this point Lord Hailes has remarked that, as three of the four Scottish signatories to this convention were Guardians of Scotland, this proviso was designed for the expulsion of the fourth Guardian, James the Steward. ”

“ The researches of Captain Maxwell in this quarter enabled him to rectify an enormous geographical error respecting the peninsula of Corea, and reveal the existence of myriads of islands, forming an archipelago, a fact before unknown and unsuspected. It is to be remarked, that the Lion, of 64 guns, employed to convey Lord Macartney, the former Ambassador, was the only ship which had ever before penetrated into the gulph of Pe-tche-lee; but her commander, Sir Erasmus Gower, kept the coast of China aboard only, and neither touched at the Tartar nor Corean side. ”

“ Within a month he signed a demand on the Scottish Regent for the restoration of the lands of Lord Wake, one of these very diversi homines whose action he had condemned.
Nevertheless King Edward was honorably determined to keep the peace as long as he could. He would not allow the Marches to be violated; so de Beaumont, having with him Edward de Balliol, 400 men at arms and 3000 infantry, adopted the expedient of embarking at the mouth of the Humber for the invasion of Scotland. ”

“ Most of his horse soldiers assembled round his person; and he rode leisurely, and in good order, for the enemy advanced very leisurely over the ground. "They made," observes Maxwell, "no attack where there was any body of the Prince's men together, but contented themselves with sabering such unfortunate people as fell in their way, single and disarmed." "As the Duke's corps," Lord Elcho relates, "continued to pursue in order of battle, always firing their cannon and platoons in advancing, there were not so many people taken or killed as there would have been had they detached corps to pursue ”

“ Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Marquis of Conyngham, Lord Chamberlain—charged to proceed post haste to Kensington Palace in order to summon the Princess Victoria to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. Leaving Windsor shortly after two in the morning, they did not reach Kensington till five o’clock. The Palace was wrapped in silence; it was with great difficulty that even the gate-porter could be roused, and there was further delay inside the courtyard. At last the Archbishop and the Lord Chamberlain obtained admission, were shown into a room, and left to themselves. ”

“ The following morning, Captain Maxwell landed [11] ; and after consulting with Lord Amherst, it was determined that his Excellency, and the gentlemen of the embassy, should proceed without delay to Batavia in the barge, with a picked crew, commanded by the junior Lieutenant (Mr. Hoppner) : one of the cutters was also prepared to accompany them, for the purpose of assisting in case of attack or accident. The master of the Alceste was sent on board the latter to navigate the boats. ”

“ Maxwell is very pleasant, strong, both physically and mentally, clever and upright, educated at Oxford and Lincoln's Inn, but brought up in the Straits Settlements, of which his father was chief-justice. He is able, combative, dogmatic, well-read and well-informed, expresses himself incisively, is self-reliant, strong-willed, thoroughly just, thoroughly a gentleman, and has immense energy and business capacity, and a large amount of governing power. ”