Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1827-12-19

Ordinary expressions, now seemed almost Toe
weak to afford Esplat The means Of bringing
out the spl.ndid picture which she presented
to her son Of the land in which she proposed
TO him TO take refuge. Yet the coIors were
few with which she could paint her Highland
paradise. the hills she said, 9 were higher
and more magnificent than those of Brndal-
bane; Ben Cruacnan was but a dwarf 10 Skoo-
roora. The lakes were broader and larger.
and abounded not only with fish, but with the
enchanied and amphibious animal which gives
oil 10 the lamp. The deer were larger and
more numerous = the wbite-tusked boar, the
chase Of which the brave loved best, was yet
10 he reused in these western solitudes- the
men were nobler, wiser, and stronger, than the
degenerate brood who lived under the Saxon
banner. The daughters ofthe land were beau
tiful. with blre eyes and fair hair, ard bosoms
Of snow. and out Of these she would choose a
wife for Hamish, Of blamelcss descent, ~spotless
fame, fixed and true affection, who should be
in their summer bothy as a beam of The sun,
and in their winter abode as The warmth Of the
needful fire. Such were The topics with which
Elspat strove to soothe the despair of her son,
and TO determine him, if possible. 10 leave the
fatal spot, on which he seemed resolved to lin
ger. The style Of her rhetoric was %pOetical,
but in other respects resembled that which
like other fond mothers, she had lavished on
Hamish while a child or a boy, in order 10 gam
his consent to do something he had no mind
to; and she spoke louder, quicker, and more
earnestly, in proportion as she began 10 des-
pair of her words carrying conviction. On
the mind Of Hamish her cloqucnce made no
impression"
She rushes out; and amid darkness and the
dangers Of the torrent and the precipice, courts
self-destrnction; but at length returns TO the
h.t ..I-.o I.-.l -. MI. H. a4..na ~
the drugs, has relapsed into n second slumber.
His mother was scarcely sure that she act
ually disccrned his form on the bed, scarce GER
tain her ear caught .he sound of his breathing.
With a throbbing heart, Elspat wen: TO the
fireplace in the centre Of the hut, where slum-
bered, covered with a piece OF turf, the glim-
mering embers of the fire never extingushed
on a Sec. fish hearth until the in-dweliers leave
the mansion forever. Feeble greishogh,' size
said, as she lighted, by the help Of a match a
splinter Of bog pine which was 10 serve the
place Of a candle: weak greishogh soon shalt
thou be put out forever, aud may heaven grant
that the life Of Elspat Mac lavish have no
longer duration than thinc!' Viii C she spoke
she raised the bla ing light towards the bed,
on which still lay the PROSTATE limbs of her
son, in a posture that left il doubtful whether
he slept or swooned. AS she advanced to-
'a'oS nun Ut y III IiioHOu uloh il' NlNo hc
started up in an instant, made a stride forward
with his naked dirk in his hand, like a man
armed 10 meet a mortal enemy. and exclaimed.
: Stand of! - on thy life, stand OFF, 1t is tho
word and the action Of my htsband,' answered
Elspat; 6 and | know by his speech and his
step the son of Mac lavish Mhor.' Mother
said Hamish, relapsing f,om his tone of des-
perate frmness, into one of melancholy expos
t~ulation; : oh, dearest mother. wherefore have
you returned hithcr?' Ask why the hind
comes back TO the fawn,' said Elspat; why
the cat of the mountain returns TO her lodge
and her young. Know you, Hamish, that the
heart Of the mother only lives in the bosom of
the child Then will it soon cease to throb,'
said Hamish, unless it can beat within a bo-
som that lies beneath the turf. Mother, do
not blame me: if weep. it is not for myself,
but for you, for my sufFcrings will soon be over;
but yours %, who but Heaven shall set a boun-
dairy to them!' Elspat shuddered and stepped
backward, but almost instantly resumed her
firm and upright position, and her daunt!ess
bearing. Il thought thou vert a man, but
even now she said, and thou art again a
child. Hcarkcn TO INC yet, and let us leave
this place together. Have 1 done thee wrong
or injury! Ifso, yet do not avengc it so cru
ely see, Elspat Mac lavish, who never
kneeled before, even TO a priest falls PROSTATE
before her own son, and Graves his forgiveness
And at once she threw herself on her Knees
before the young man, seized on his hand, and
kissing it a hundred times, repeated as often,
in heart-breaking accents, the most carncet en-
treaties for forgiveness. Pardon she ex-
claimed, pardon, for the sake of your fathers
ashes-parGon. for the sake Of the pain with
which | bore thee, the care with which l
nurtured thee!--Hear it, Heaven, and be-
hold il, Earth-them mother asks pardon of her
child, and she is refused! Ii was in vain that
Hamish endeavored to stem this tide of pass
ion, by assuring his mother, with the most SOL
emn asseverations, that he forgave entirely the
fatal deceit which she had prs ctised upon hun.
Empty Words she said; idle rrotesiations,
which are but used TO hide the obduracy of
your resentment. Would YOU have me believe
you, then leave the hut this instant, and retire
from a country which every hour renders more
dangerous. Do this, and I may think you have
forgiven me: refuse it, and again call on moon
aud stars, heaven and earth, 10 witness the
unreicniihg resentment with which you prose-
cute your mother for a fault, which, III be
one, arose out Of love to YOU Mother
said Uamish, on this subject you move me
not. 1 will fly before no man. If BarcalJine
should send every Gael that is under his BAN
ner, mere, aud in this place, will | abide them;
and when you bid inc fly, you may as well com
m1nd yonder mountain TO be loosened from lis
foundations. Had ! been sure Of the road
by which they are coming hither, ! had spared
them the paius of seeking me; but ] might 20
by the mountain while they perchancc came
by the lake. Here I will abide my fate; nor
is there in Scotland a voice Of power enough
to bid me stir from hence, and he obeyed.'-
: Here, then. | also stay sa,d Elspat, rising
up and speaking. with assumed composure.---
/ have seen my husbands death my eyelids
shall not grie,e to look on the fall of my son.
But Mac lavish Minor died as became the