The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne | Page 4

and indignant virtue. As he spoke, the countenance of his
people flashed with impatient joy; a deep murmur of applause ran
through the assembly: and when he was silent each man, crossing his
sword with that of his neighbour, swore that sacred pledge of union,
never to quit the cause in which they now engaged, till the life of their
enemy had paid the debt of justice and of revenge.
In the evening, the wives and daughters of the peasantry came to the
castle, and joined in the festivity. It was usual for the Countess and her

ladies to observe from a gallery of the hall, the various performances of
dance and song; and it had been a custom of old for the daughter of the
castle to grace the occasion by performing a Scotch dance with the
victor of the morning. This victor now was Alleyn, who beheld the
lovely Mary led by the Earl into the hall, and presented to him as his
partner in the dance. She received his homage with a sweet grace. She
was dressed in the habit of a Highland lass, and her fine auburn tresses,
which waved in her neck, were ornamented only with a wreath of roses.
She moved in the dance with the light steps of the Graces. Profound
silence reigned through the hall during the performance, and a soft
murmur of applause arose on its conclusion. The admiration of the
spectators was divided between Mary and the victorious stranger. She
retired to the gallery, and the night concluded in joy to all but the Earl,
and to Alleyn; but very different was the source and the complexion of
their inquietude. The mind of Osbert revolved the chief occurrences of
the day, and his soul burned with impatience to accomplish the
purposes of filial piety; yet he dreaded the effect which the
communication of his designs might have on the tender heart of
Matilda: on the morrow, however, he resolved to acquaint her with
them, and in a few days to rise and prosecute his cause with arms.
Alleyn, whose bosom, till now, had felt only for others' pains, began to
be conscious of his own. His mind, uneasy and restless, gave him only
the image of the high-born Mary; he endeavoured to exclude her idea,
but with an effort so faint, that it would still intrude! Pleased, yet sad,
he would not acknowledge, even to himself, that he loved; so ingenious
are we to conceal every appearance of evil from ourselves. He arose
with the dawn, and departed from the castle full of gratitude and secret
love, to prepare his friends for the approaching war.
The Earl awoke from broken slumbers, and summoned all his fortitude
to encounter the tender opposition of his mother. He entered her
apartment with faultering steps, and his countenance betrayed the
emotions of his soul. Matilda was soon informed of what her heart had
foreboded, and overcome with dreadful sensation, sunk lifeless in her
chair. Osbert flew to her assistance, and Mary and the attendants soon
recovered her to sense and wretchedness.

The mind of Osbert was torn by the most cruel conflict: filial duty,
honour, revenge, commanded him to go; filial love, regret, and pity,
entreated him to stay. Mary fell at his feet, and clasping his knees with
all the wild energy of grief besought him to relinquish his fatal purpose,
and save his last surviving parent. Her tears, her sighs, and the soft
simplicity of her air, spoke a yet stronger language than her tongue: but
the silent grief of the Countess was still more touching, and in his
endeavours to sooth her, he was on the point of yielding his resolution,
when the figure of his dying father arose to his imagination, and
stamped his purpose irrevocably. The anxiety of a fond mother,
presented Matilda with the image of her son bleeding and ghastly; and
the death of her Lord was revived in her memory with all the agonizing
grief that sad event had impressed upon her heart, the harsher
characters of which, the lenient hand of time had almost obliterated. So
lovely is Pity in all her attitudes, that fondness prompts us to believe
she can never transgress; but she changes into a vice, when she
overcomes the purposes of stronger virtue. Sterner principles now
nerved the breast of Osbert against her influence and impelled him on
to deeds of arms. He summoned a few of the most able and trusty of the
clan, and held a council of war; in which it was resolved that Malcolm
should be attacked with all the force they could assemble, and with all
the speed which the importance of the preparation would allow. To
prevent suspicion and alarm to the Baron, it was agreed it