Gilderoy : or, The Freebooter of Scotland. A romance

Front matter

GILDEROY; 0i?) THE FREEBOOTER OF SCOTLAND A ROMANCE. BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE BRIGAND," "THE GIPSY BOY," "ELA THE OUTCAST;" "ERNESTINE DE LACY OR, THE ROBBER'S FOUNDLING," &c. &e. " Gilderoy was a bonnie boy, Had roses tull his shoone, His stockings were of silken say^ Wi' garters hanging doone. It was, I weene, a comelie sight To see sae trim a boy ; He was my jo and heart's delight, My handsome Gilderoy." — Ballad. LONDON : PUBLISHED BY E. LLOYD, 12, SALISBURY SQUARE, FLEET-STREET. FREEBOOTER OF SCOTLAND. BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE BRIGAND," "GIPSY BOY," (tc.

Introduction

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— THE FOND FATHER, AND DUTIFUL DAUGHTER. THE PERILOUS MISSION. — THE LOVE OF GILDEROY AND JESSY LOGAN. — THE CAPTURE, AND THE OUTLAWS VOW. of that celebrated, or, more properly speaking notorious Scottish freebooter, Gilderoy ? He lived during tbe stirring times of the Commonwealth, when Charles the Second was an exrle from his throne, and when desperate and bloody encounters botween the Protec tor's and Royalist troops were of snch frequent occurrence. He is the hero we have Who has not heard of the daring exploits. romantic adventures, and hair-breadth escapes. No. 1. chosen for our present narrative, having taken the liberty slightly to alter facts, in order to suit the purposes of our tale, and to bring about a satisfactory denouement. Who such an especial favourite with the ladies as "the bonuie Gilderoy?" — In fact, it is most remarkable, but equally as incon trovertible as remarkable, that treebooters, from time immemorial — freebooters of the gallant bearing, haudsome person, and reck less daring of our hero, have generally en listed the sympathies of the fair sex, and who have ever seemed to think that in such heroes it was as little criminal to steal a purse as a heart. come, and the ni<*ht is aptly suited to my purpose r — these intercepted papers, so impor tant to the royal cause, must to brave Leslie's hands be instantly conveved ; but such is the danger of the enterprise — such the difficulty of avoiding the numerous bands of soldiers that scour the country— that I dare not venture till the face of day is wrapt in darkness.

But," he added, after a brief pause, and looking anxiously around him, " where is my child, my soul's best idol? Let me not set forth till I havo bidden her adieu ; it may be, per haps, the last embrace these aged arms will ever take. — Jessy, my child — my child !" The beauteous Jessy appeared unmidiately to her father's summons. But, in good truth, if traditional report be true, there is not much to be marvelled at in the enthusiastic and romantic feelings of admiration which the fair lasses of Scotland in those days entertained for the bold out law. Mauly in person — handsome in features — noble and gncelul in deportment — accomplished in every. sense of the word, and pos sessed of an irresistible eloquence of speech, heroic, chivalrous, and gallant-; the friend and benefactor of the poor aud necessitous, and the mortal enemy of the wealthy and oppressive, no wonder that he should win " the love of the ladies gay."

So much for the introduction of our hero, and now to the stirring events which our narrative will unfold. "You called, my father T" she said. " I did, my child," replied her affectionate parent. " I have business tbat calls me from my house till late, and could not depart till I had bidden thee farewell." " Ob, my father," ejaculated our heroiao, in accents of the greatest agitation, " what terrible fears are these that rise within my bosom ? Too well I kuow the dangerous duty yon have undertaken as attached to the Riyal Charles ; you expose yourself to certain death if you are detected by tho Protector's troops ! Desert then, I conjure you, a service fraught with so much danger, and one that yields such little prospect of success." " How, Jessy," said her father, with a look of gontle rebuke, " is this the counsel of a Highlander's daughter .

Nomoreon't. I am a soldier — my life is purchased by my monarch's love — I hold it iu trust for the service of my country, and though tho duty bo that of peril, it must be obeyed, e'en should the penalty be death." In a comfortable and commodious cottage, adjacent to the tollbooth, resided Walter Logan, bis pride and sole companion an only daughter. A more honest, warm-hearted man than old Walter Logan did not exist in the Highlands of Perthshire, and he gained the respect of all who once became acquainted with him. " Useless, then, is the entreaty of a dangle ter," said Jessy, with a sigh ; " still, be careful of your life — plunge not rashly into danger, but let discretion, valour, and temper, bringyou back in safety to these arms." But what language can do justice to the transcendent beauties aud unaffected virtues ef Jessy Logan?

Gentle as a fawn, graceful as a sylph, innocent as innocence itself, she excited admiration, love, and esteem, in the breasts of all who saw her, and created happiness in whatever society was hallowed by her presence. Jessy was doatingly food of her father; she would freely have laid down her own life to preserve his ; and the only anxiety that cast a gloomy shadow across her mind, and kept her in a continual state of apprehension, was the fear that some evil would befall him — for we should have stated before that Walter Logan was devotedly at tached to the royal cause, and at tho time when the Protector's troops were scouring the country in every direction, the risks to which he voluntarily exposed himself to serve his royal _iis'"r were quite sufficient to keep her i. 14 a perpetual state of fear and excite ment.

" Fear not, my child," replied old Logan ; " we yet shall meet again ; should we not, my blessing bo upon you; may the prayers of a doting father ever guite and guard the dearest, best ot daughters ! — God bless vou, girl !" " Bless yon ! bless you ! my honoured, dear. loved father!* ejaculated the beauteous maiden, as she threw her snowy arms around the old man's neck, and returned his e_.brace with all the ardour of those feelings which so warmly animated her bosom. It was some moments ere Walter Logan could find the courage to disengage himself from his daughter's arms ; but time pressed, and fixing upon her a look of the most unutterable aff.-ction, he tore him self awav, and departed on his dangerous mis sion. "Eight o'clock," he said; "the hour has "He goes!" cried Jes.y, looking anxiously after him; " kind Heaven grant his fearful errand of to-night my prove propitious.' She was interrupted by the sound of foot «teps outside the cottage.

"Hark!" she said; "I surely heard the hasty tread of one approaching — he pauses at the door." There was a knock at the door. " Can it be my father returning ?" he placed his band gently on her shoulder, as he observed — " Jessy, was it kind to keep me at your door ? — me, a proscribed freebooter, exposed to the gaze of every passer-by, and that, too, within half pistol shot of the tollbooth? It would not surely have pleased you had I been caged through your ill-humour 7" "No, Gilderoy," replied our heroine, "that you know it would not ; but " " Come," said Gilderoy, aside, " I've broken the ice at last. Why, Jessy, lass, you're a very bad dissembler — notwithstanding all your endeavours, you cannot disguise the truth — you know yon love me to distrac ti n " " Open, dearest Jessy," said a voice with out; "'tis I, 'tis Gilderoy 1" Jessy turned pale at the sound of that well-known voice, and her heart palpitated violently against her side.

" Gilderoy!'' she said; "he, then, has watched my father out, and come again to urge his hopleless suit. Wretched youth ! why has he embraced a life that shuts for ever out all hopo of gaining Jessy's love ? Her love, said I? Alas! that he bas already ; but never, never on a reiver will she bestow her hand." " Sir !" interrupted (he maiden, crimson blushes mounting to her cheeks. " Sir !" said our hero, aside, " Umph ! now she's freezing again. — Jessy, Jessy," he added aloud; "I know you wished, hut this is not the way, to win me to your purpose." " Then teach me, Gilderoy," she returned eagerly, and her beautiful eyes beaming with an intensity of feeling full upon him, " teach me how a woman's voice can check that bold adventurous spirit which leads you to the com mission of crime 1 Teach it me, I say, and daily shall my prayers be offered up for your conversion."

The knocking was now repeated, louder than before. "Again! " said the maiden; *' how shall I act ? Shall I deny him entrance ? Oh, no ; this interview, perhaps, may win him from his trade of rapine ; if not, we part to meet no more." She advanced towards the door as she gave utterance to these words, but again hesitated, as a strange mrsgiviDg came over her senses, but she opened the door with a trembling hand, and retreating to the other side of the room, averting her looks from Gilderoy as he entered. " Prayers, indeed ! No, 'tis not to be done by preaching ; and jet 'tis in your power !" " How ?" " M.rry me, and find me better employ ment !" replied Gilderoy, with a laugh. " Marry a reiver ! a common lister ?" said our heroine, with a shudder. And, certainly, a young man of more com manding and prepossessing appearance than the proscribed outlaw could not be easily imagined ; there was an open candour stamped upon his manlv brow; an expression that flashed from his intelligent eyes, which showed at once that he was no common individual, and which could not fail to insinuate itself into the good opinion ofthe beholder at first sight. and to divest the mind of these prejudices which his desperate and lawless profession naturally excited.

"Not so," retonel the outlay; "I scom tho epiihets ; they are too base for my accep tance or acknowledgment. My pursuit of plunder aspires to mbler game, and by my dirk, I swear the richest booty would lose its value were I deprived n'the happiness of shar ing it with the necessitous." " Oh, vile perversion of charity's true maxim !" returned Jessy ; " in vain do you attempt to palliate a crime so hateful." " What, then," said Gilderoy, with consi derable emotion, " do I stand condemned, despised? That cuts me to th' heart! for I had hoped, that though a robber's life involved my destiny, tho wrongs I Ind endured — the sufferings I have borne, would, in the tender bosom of a Highland maid, have woke both pity and forgiveness. But no — my injuries are, I see, forgotten ; that hour of dark despair when the fierce foes of southern climes laid low mv native cot in burning ruins— that hour, too, when assailed by deadly odds, in these weak arms I held an aged father — maintained unequal fight, I ill foe on foe compelled him rom my side, and struck his poor defender level with the earth — that, even that fell wrong " How, Jessy," said Gilderoy, a3 he advanced towards her, " is this a fit reception for your bonnie Gilderoy?

First keep him waiting at your door, and now to turn aside your head without one word of welorae ! Come — come, I'll have no frowns to-night ; they match not with your beauty ; doff, then, all sullen looks, and deck your face with smiles ; be to your Gilderoy his charming Jessy once again ! Wbat ! still silent ? Well, I'm in no hurry," he added, taking a seat. " I can wait till your good humour returns. Not a word yet ?—Per verse little gipsy! but I'll win you yet, if Highland tongue and garb have powers of per suasion." As he thus spoke ho arose, and going to her, I 4 GILDEROY; OR, THE has lost all weight in Jessy's mind ; but here, io characters of blood, my injuries are written ; and never, while Gilderoy breathes life, will he break tbe vow wbich bound kirn to a fate of plunder and revenge !" '■Fatal vow!" sighed Jessy, *' choking the source of contemplated bliss.

Gilderay, we might have been most happy in our loves, but now our fortunes are for ever sundered," " For ever, Jessy ?" repeated our hero ; " say not so — do not by such distracting words drive forth the only tender passicn this rugged bosom now possesses — do not say our hearts arc sundered , and for ever, for though these lips ere now breathed nought but hate for cursed mankind, jet to my soul's dear idol they ever whispered sounds of sweetest love." " Gilderoy," said the damsel, in a faint voice, and her countenance at the same time showing the deep emotion of her feelings, " you plead in vain, you " She was interrupted by a confused murmuring sound without. " Hark !" she said ; " that cenfusion is the street !" The sounds in a moment became more distinct, and rude cries of " Bring him alogg ! bring him along !" might plainly be heard.

Jessy's heart sank within her. " They near the house," said our hero. "Oh, heavens!" ejaculated Jessy, nith a look of horror ; " should it be you they seek ?" " What matters it ?" returned the freebooter, "Gilderoy 'a life is valueless, for Jessy's lips have sealed his doom. But tie will not meet a scaffold's death ; so enter ho who dares. I'll furnish sport before they capture Gilderoy." " Oh, no — no ! Do not court your fate, I conjure you. Hark ! 'tis at the tollbooth they knock. Thank Heaven ! Gilderoy is not their prisoner." A rattling of chains was now heard outside, which caused a shuddering sensation to creep through the veins of our heroine, and she looked towards the casement of the cottage. " What fresh victim have these southern butchers for their morning sacrifice ?" said Gilderoy; "let me reconnoitre — this window will admit of observation." •' Be careful, Gilderoy," said Jessy ; " shonld you be discovered 1" Gilderoy approached the casement and looked cautiously out.

" The crowd is so intense,' he observed, " the prisoner is hidden from my view — the tollbooth gates now open — tbe mob give way a little — I see the prisoner's back — now he turn* — Great God ! 'tis "Whom? — Speak, Gilderoy!" ej.-culatcd Jessy, with breathless haste, and trembling iu every limb ; " why that look of honor ? — stiil silent ? Taen let me—" " Hold, Jessy ! do not — " " Nay," returned tbe agitated damsel ; " tbat powerful emotion I that trembling lip ! Oh, what thought is this that fires my mind . It is, perhaps, my—" " My child 1— my child ! my Jessy !" cried a distracted voice outside. " Ah ! my father!" shrieked Jessy, and she sainted in the arms of her lover. •' "Tis her wretched father," said Gilderoy r "f.ud, hark I the portal closes on him. Miserable old man ! you should have been spared the fate that but too surely waits opon you.

But, alas ! heroic virtues like thine, in times like these, meet only their reward in death !" At that moment Jessy again revived to consciousness, and having caught the last word wliich Gilderoy bad given utterance to, she said, in a voice of horror — " Death ! that fatal word restores my wa» dering senses, and brings me l>ack to reason.. Ah ! I remember ! — my father I Why tarries his daughter here ? — Quick ! let her fly, and by prayers and by supplications, save — Alas. alas !" she added, whilst convulsive s.bs almost choked her utterance, " what southern heart is sensible to pity ? They will but mock my misery, and glory iu the thought ot shed ding Highland blood!" " Jessy !" said ber lover, with a look of anguish that bespoke the sincerity of his w or J; ; '• my heart bleeds for you."

"Oh, Gilderoy!" returned our heroine; " 'tis now you have the power to make a slave of her you siy you love — My lather ! — you have the means to save his life— save it, and here I swear the hour that gives my parent freedom, tbat hour shall make me thine — to live and die for— to worship Gilderoy !" " Oh ! brightest hour of life !" exclaimed the outlaw; " Jessy courts my love, and happiness again dawns upon me. Rise, beloved of my soul — jour father shall be saved — Gilderoy swears it; this embrace seals the solemn vow." He pressed the beauteous maiden to his bosom as he gave utterance to these words, and then added : "Jessy, faTewell! Y'ou to your father, to cheer his drooping spirits — I to my cave. One short hour passed in consultation with my band, I then return, to do a deed that makes thee mine for ever !' Once more they embraced, and Jessy having invoked a blessing upon her proscribed lover's head, and fervently supplicated the aid of Heaven in the sacred cause in which they were engaged, they tore themselves asunder, and Gilderoy hastily departed. man of savage nature, to Scotland's sons a certain bitter fee."

Chapter II

" Ho will not sure refuse my simple boon,. an interview with my father?" " Not if he felt for you as I do," returned Charlie ; " but, alas ! I would not have you cherish hope, lest you meet with disappointment." A DAUGHTER'S DEVOTION. — THE PRISONER AND HIS GAOLER. — THE STRATAGEM. — THE INlRBPIDrTY OF GILDIROY. The night was piercing cold ; the iee bon. d every brook aid rivulet ; tbe snow lay thick upon the ground, and the wind howled in fitful gusts through every avenue, when poor Jessy emerged from her cottage, and with trembling footsteps approached the U11 booth and knocked at the door, with the melancholy hope of being admitted to an interview with her unfortunate father. What her feelings were on that dismal occasion we will not seek to describe, for any such attempt must fail to do adequate justice to them ; and yet withal, after the vow to which Gilderoy bad given utterance, there was a sensation of hope predominating in ber gentle bosom which encouraged and supported her.

At that moment a gruff voice was heard (» shout within the prison. " How's this! — the door open?" " He comes," said Charlie, and immediately afterwards, Stephen Hearthard, the follow of whom he had been speaking, made bis appear" ance, and certainly he realised fully the description which the boy had given of him, for a more forbidding or villanous-looking ruffian could not readily be conceived. " How now, you devil's imp," he fiercely demanded ; " what draws you from the prison door ? A fine place of safety, truly, when boys like you have the handling of the keys. — Come in, I say, to that other imp, your brother — a precious pair ; more trouble to me then fifty prisoners — lo, whelp I" " Adieu, Jessy," said the poor boy ; " and should your application meet refusal, little Charlie will do his best to assuage the sorrows of his Jessy's father."

"Come in with you !" commanded Stephen ; " and now, young woman what brings you here?" " Quick !" she said, " let me conceal the joy that mantles on my cheek, lest tbe keen eye of gaunt suspicion should penetrate my soul, and read the secret in my looks. Hark ! they como!" The gates of tho prison were slowly opened as she spoke these words, and a tail, handsome, and intelligent-looking boy, about ten years of age, made his appearance. '•A mournful errand, sir," answered our heroine in a timid veice; " I would crave permission to see a beloved father; one whose age should have secured him from penalties so dire." "Ah, little Charlie," said our heroinei "you here!" " Jessy Logan !" said the boy, timidly, and he retired from her a few paces, as if fearful of encountering her. " Why do you fly me, Charlie ?" asked Jessy; "surely I may claim a word with yeu?"

" Yes, dear Jessy,'' replied ihe boy ; " think me not unkind, but never till th s moment did I wish to shun yon; and yet I'm glad I've met you, too, or from a ruder tongue than mine you might have heard a tale, that friendship's voice should e'er alone disclose." " You allude to Walter Logan ?" " The same." " He is old enough to have known better," returned the ruffian ; " what need of his stirring in dangerous times like these? His weak and feeble aim could little hope to benefit the cause he moves in." " But," replied Jessy, with energy, " it was a duty, sir ; his monarch claimed it,. and at that sacred call, who could with hold ?" " His errors he upon his head, then," said Stephen Hearthard ; " he who supports the royal cause, has little chance of pardon from the Protector's lips. Your father's fate ere this is sealed, and, as his case is hopeless, thus far I'll act mercifully."

" You then——" " Refuse to give you entrance ; so farewell ! If you have asy gratitade, you'll frankly own I've spared your father and yourself a painful meeting." " Do not refuse me 1" implored the agonised girl ; " but for a momeat— — " "Begone!" command the wretch, sternly, and he moved towards the door of the prison. " Dear boy," said Jessy, " that painfnl task at least is spared you — I know it all — my father is a prisoner — " " A condemned one, Jessy," added the noble-hearted boy with a sigh; "oh, how it grieved my heart to see him cast into a loath some cell, and how I wept to think my father lacks the power to aid, if not to save his friend and countryman." " Does not your father, then, retain his place as gaoler?" asked our heroine. " He does the office, Jessy," answered Charlie, " but without the power of alleviating the distresses of his wretched prisooers.

An English trooper holds the dungeon keys — a GILDEROY; OR, THE 6 I replied Mauly, " as you never saw mo be fore." " There, again, I crave your pardon," said the baillie, " for you aad I have often met, captain." "Indeed I" " Ob, yes, often ; as sure as my name's Nabem." " Cruel ! cruel ! monster !'' sobbed our heroine, and at that instant the music of an English march was heard approaching towards the spot. "Hark !" said onr heroine, "a body of English troops is approaching. Letme retire, lest my presence should excite suspicion. Oh, Gilderoy, on thee my every hope is fixed." Thus saying, with a heavy heart poor Jessy re-entered the cottage, and Captain Mauly and Sergeant Skewerem, at the head ef a file of English troops, halted before the tollbooth. " Halt — front — order arms — stand at ease !" commanded the captain.

" Sergeant, give me the packet to Baillie McNabem ; 'tis directed near the tallbooth — this must be the house — knock." " May I ask where, sir ?" "Certainly," replied the baillie; "at the war-council, when the Protector's troops occupied Berwick. If you recollect, I did old Not a piece of service, for which he was graciously pleased to appoint me governor of tbe tollbooth, in addition te the respectable office of head baillie, a situation held for years by my father's father's great graudfather." " 1 think you must be mistaken," said the captain, ironically, "for had I once seen the striking features of Mr. Baillie McNabem, the jailor, I should never have forgotten them. There, sir, is the packet." " Pray, captain," inquired McNabem, curiousiy, " what may be its contents ?" " That you will learn by persual," replied Mauly ; " but thus much I'll tell you — either your countenance belies you, or else the instructions it contains will glad your heart ; so, I'll leave you to the enjoyment of it."

" A heart like mine ?" said the baillie. "Sergeant," said Mauly, addressing him self to Skewerem, " be it your care to con duct this worthy jailer to the Lord Provost ; his attachment to our party might, perhaps, expose his precious person to danger in these disturbed districts." " Thank you, captain," said the baillie. " Curse the fellow," he added, aside, "how contemptible he makes me look." Captain Mauly and the troops now quitted the spot , and Baillie McNabem and Sergeant Skewerem were left alone. " I will, your honour," replied the gallant Sergeant Skewerem , " and londly too ; for a gentle tap, such a nght as this, stands little chance of attention." He seized the knocker of the baillie 's door as he spoke, and certainly carried out his promise to the very letter, for he gave a knock that was sufficient to arouse the dead.

" There," he said, congratulating himself npon this feat, " if the baillie should have retired to rest, I warrant I'll arouse him from his slumbers." Tho head of Mr. Baillie McNabem now protruded itself from the window, and in no very agreeable tones he said— ■ " Hey-day. ye riotous rascals, dare ye disturb thus the evening meditations of the head baillie ! I II have yon all sent to prison, and whipped through the public market-place, and then how contemptible you'll look." " Hold, Mr. Head Baillie," said Captain Mauly; "ere you indulge further in invective, learn to whom you address yourself. I'm the bearer of a message from Colonel Havoc, at head-quarters; 'tis directed t> you, to be con veyed immediately totbe Lord Provost." " So, he's gone," remarked the former; " and I warrant, like many others, has formed a most cootemptible opinion of Baillie McNa bem.

I wonder now what the contents of this packet can be." " The Lord Provost !" repeated McNabem ; " why, he lives out ofthe town; a matter of two miles from hence — it's impossible to convey it to him tonight." "Oh, I can satisfy your anxiety, Mr. Baillie," said Skewerem. " Can you ? That's a good fellow ; perhaps there's no occasion to convey it to the provost, to-night?" " Indeed, but there is, though." " Sorry for that," observed the baillie; "for it's a deuced dismal road, and if we should chance to fall in with any of the strag gling Highlanders, how contemptible we should look." "That's your affair, Mr. Baillie," observed the captain; "but, come, sir, descend; for I'm not inclined to keep long converse in the street, such a biting night as this." " Here, Jenny," shouted the baillie, " Jenny Gordon, open the door to the captain directly."

Mr. McNabem's head now disappeared from the window, and in a few minutes he appeared in propria personœ before the captain. " As snre as my name's Nabem," he said to himself, " it's Captain Manly of the Fusileers. Captain, I crave ton thousand pardons, but I declare I did not know you." " There's nothin ■ wonderful in that, sir,' ' " Oh, never fear," returned his companion, pompously ; " while Sergeant Skewerem, of the first company of Royal Fusileers, is with you, you have nothing to fear from them, depend upon it." " Indeed," said the baillie ; " but I tell you what — these Highlanders are devils, and if they should chance to give you a corporal reception, and stick a Highland skewer into you. you'd look very contemptible, depend upon it." "No, while old Logan lives, you are safe, but when he dies — '' "I may quake for fear, I suppose ?" added Nabem.

" Answer me," said Gilderoy ; " is it not necessary that you should receive the Lord Provost's erder for the execution ?" ' Pshaw ! there's little to fear from them now ; another month, and they will he almost exterminated. That packot contains an order for the execution of one of tbem to-morrow — old Walter Logan." " Certainly." " Then, as you value your life, he ignorant of the contents of that order." " I'll be as ignorant as you please," replied the trembling baillie. " By that shall old Logan be saved," remarked our hero ; " and now, brave sergeant of the Royal Fusileers, beware the anger of a desperate man — beware the fierce revenge of Gilderoy I" He rushed hastly away as he spoke, in the direction which the sergeant had taken, and was soon lost to the view in the darkness of the night.