Page:Scott - Tales of my Landlord - 3rd series, vol. 2 - 1819.djvu/282

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TALES OF MY LANDLORD.

"Take a horse, Master," exclaimed the Marquis, greatly affected by this additional misfortune, so unexpectedly heaped upon his young protegé; "and give me my ambling palfrey, and haste forward, you knaves, to see what can be done to save the furniture, or to extinguish the fire—ride, you knaves, for your lives."

The attendants bustled together, and began to strike their horses with the spur, and call upon Caleb to shew them the road. But the voice of that careful Seneschal was heard above the tumult, "O stop—sirs, stop—turn bridle, for the luve of mercy—add not loss of lives to loss of warld's gear.—Thirty barrels of powther landed out of a Dunkirk dogger in the auld Lord's time—a' in the vau'ts of the auld tower,—the fire canna be far aff it, I trow—Lord's sake, to the right, lads—to the right—lets pit the hill atween us and peril,—a wap wi' a corner stane o' Wolf's Crag wad defy the doctor."

It will readily be supposed that this an-