The monastery; The abbot.

48 *WAVERLEY NOVELS.
was a spear to be broken; he evinced no purpose of marrying, and the fate
which he continually was braving might at length remove him from his
usurped inheritance. Alice of Avenel, therefore, judged it wise to check
all ambitious thoughts for the present, and remain quiet in the rude, but
peaceable retreat, to which Providence had conducted her.
It was upon an All-Hallow's eve, when the family had resided together
for the space of three years, that the domestic circle was assembled round
the blazing turf-fire, in the old narrow hall of the Tower of Glendearg. The
idea of the master or mistress of the mansion feeding or living apart from
their domestics, was at this period never entertained.. The highest end of
the board, the most commodious settle by the fire, - these were the only
marks of distinction; and the servants mingled, with deference indeed, but
unreproved and with freedom, in whatever conversation was going forward.
But the two or three domestics, kept merely for agricultural purposes, had
retired to their own cottages without, and with them a couple of wenches,
usually employed within doors, the daughters of one of the hinds.
After their departure, Martin locked, first, the iron grate; and, secondly,
the inner door of the tower, when the domestic circle was thus arranged.
Dame Elspeth sate pulling the thread from her distaff; Tibb watched the
progress of scalding the whey, which hung in a large pot upon the crook, a
chain terminated by a hook, which was suspended in the chimney to serve
the purpose of the modern crane. Martin, while busied in repairing some
of the household articles, (for every man in those days was his own carpenter and smith, as well as his own tailor and shoemaker,) kept from time
to time a watchful eye upbn the three children.
They were allowed, however, to exercise their juvenile restlessness by
running up, and down the hall, behind the seats of the elder members of the
family, with the privilege of occasionally making excursions into one or
two small apartments which opened from it, and gave excellent opportunity
to play at hide-and-seek. This night, however, the children seemed not disposed to avail themselves of their privilege of visiting these dark regions,
but preferred carrying on their gambols in the vicinity of the light.
In the meanwhile, Alice of Avenel, sitting close to an iron candlestick,
which supported a misshapen torch of domestic manufacture, read small
detached passages from a thick clasped volume, which she preserved with
the greatest care. The art of reading the lady had acquired by her residence
in a nunnery during her youth, but she seldom, of late years, put it to any
other use than perusing this little volume, which formed her whole library.
The family listened to the portions which she selected, as to some good thing
which there was a merit in hearing with respect, whether it was fully understood or no. To her daughter, Alice of Avenel had determined to impart
their mystery more fully, but the knowledge was at that period attended
with personal danger, and was not rashly to be trusted to a child.
The noise of the romping children interrupted, from time to time, the
voice of the lady, and drew on the noisy culprits the rebuke of Elspeth.
" Could they not go farther a-field, if they behoved to make such a din,
and disturb the lady's good words?" And this command was backed with
the threat of sending the whole party to bed if it was not attended to punctually. Acting under the injunction, the children first played at a greater
distance from the party, and more quietly, and then began to stray into the
adjacent apartments, as they became impatient of the restraint to which
they were subjected. But, all at once, the two boys came open-mouthed
into the hall, to tell that there was an armed man in the spence.
"It must be Christie of Clint-hill," said -Martin, rising; " what can have
brought him here at this time?"
"Or how came he in?" said Elspeth.
"Alas! what can he seek?" said the Lady of Avenel, to whom this man,
a retainer of her husband's brother, and who sometimes executed his con