Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1828-11-15
From The Atlantic Souvenir for 1899.
THE LADY OF RUTHVEN.

Travelling in the porihern part of Great
Britain, | turned aside from the road, to Wow
more closely one Of those ancient edIfices thai
stand. ms il we're, a connecting link between
time gone by and the present. ever took
delight in contemplating the mighty piles Of
past ages, Tor they operate as a lalis,nan on
the imagination, aud in an instant the mercu-
rial mind, in defiance of space aud time, lives
whole centuries. While surveying the build.
ing. an aged man approached, aud acco'ted
pie. You appear" sad he. " 10 be u stran-
ger, and interested with the exterior Of the
castle /; perhaps the interior may equally ex-
cite your curiosity. If so. l will attend you
through the building" l gladly accepted Of
the stewards invitation, for sucn he proved 10
be, aad ! could not possibly have had a better
guide, for he was communicative, and inv
mately familiar with the history Of the castle
and its inmates, FROM the time -.no corner
stone was deposited.
He led me through lofty chambers that
frowncd in all the gloom .! Gothic times cx-
tended galleries and stately halls, concerning
each of which some anecdote was rite IN his
memory. He paused with pecuiIar s~atisfac-
ton in the arnory, hung round with banners,
arms, and trophies Of war. He was familiar
with the history Of every weapon aud coat OF
mail, and gave with tedious accuracy an ac-
count Of tho various conflicts in which the Sc
veTal indentations, percepllble on the warlike
apparel, were received. From tho armory we
passed into the gallery Of family pictures,
which afford many Of The rhdest with some OF
the fines, specimens of art. Here might be seen
the mailed knight scOwlIng death TO his pros
trate antagonist, or gazisg with eyes full of
devotion. Oh his lady love there a Judge, with
fat, unmeanihg face, and full bOtlomed wig,
looking askance al d hoop pelticoat, and a
dimlnutive couDtenance peciIng beneath a vii
derness Of curls, not unlike an owl from an
Ivy bush q little farther, 4 group OF Cory
dons and shepherdessus, watching their locks,
which had called forth the greatest care ol
tie artist and then came the matter OF Tact
portrait of modern days, which can do nothing
more for all ugly face than To make II hand
some, or place Il man IN IA siudious posture
with u book in his han , though he scarcely
comprelends The alphabet.
While surveying the different portraits, my
eye fell OH one calculated 10 make the srecta-
tor shrink at the first glance. 1t Vas a war
rior clad in a coat Of mail his hair was grey,
his countenance thin and cadaverous, and his
eyes as fierce as those of the enraged Tiger
HIS forehead was bony, capdcious, and typos
ed on u pair Of thick, bushy bfo"s. HIS
cheek bones were high, his chm robust, aud
us tnlu Ups COilpICeSSub
termination.
"Tnat, said the old man, is the portrait of
Lord Ruilven, WHO was at the sI.} !ng OF Da-
vid Rizzio. He left his sick bed, 10 winch he
had been confined iof three months, pale aud
ema Glazed, too feeble to bear the "sishl Ut
his arin,r, or ev II to support hHs own BODY
without assistance, to do a murder at tie bid
d ny Of, aud in the presence Of ns King
And IS that satd |, "the man who shed
blood in cool blood. and calmly sat down III
The presence OF his insul'cd q ecu, ana 'auht-
ingiy called COR drink TO qhcnch his th,rs',
while his bony hands were still reek'ng win
the lrfc-blood Of her favorIte !! But who are
those young men 10 the Left on the .ame can
vass, whose coun,enances are inll OF manly
beauty, and glow with intelligence
The last Of tue maine vi kuthven- me
sons OF that Earl OF Gowrie, whose restless
spirit burst forth at the rad OF Rutiiven. ANA
finally terminated lis earthly career "h the
scaii,ld. Ills SONS we're the piIde "t Sco'iaho
IA their day, aud Tell at the sams instant,
while prrpctrating The most inexpiicable con.
spiracy that history has recorded Their dead
bodies we're brought INTO Parliament, indit,d
!r high lrcasun, their honofs aud estates we're
ioriercd, aud The ancient and proud name u
RuIhvcn Tor ever abolished"
Aud who is ihat,'',I inquired. PONTIAC al
a female portrait, "wh"sc lace r'ais III hove.
lln.ss all hat The Italian artists have coinO'hcd
~ their ideal bcary ! where female soi'''ess Is
20 admirably blended with masculine v'yor,
tina, tue trial for mastery at the brs' glance
,ppo.rs doubtful oui on a nearer we" d Is
pisn 10 see that the latter, IN ihis nstsnce ne
IN all Others, %n,ainlalus u transcendan' 'nno-
once ov.r. tho former. Behold the arched
brow where pride site en,hroncd; the eye be-
ne ,th II be,,uiny love, aud the lips that would
temp, an anchorite to press them. were y not
Tor the la,en, t,re ~ that eve, and the frnness
Of purpose lnd.oa.ed by tina, chm, at the came