Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1860-03-08
9n0rigiral8 8o'11a11fe,
WRITTEN FOR THE roRxv1LLE ENQUIRER.
EVAN DHU; OR, THEFoUNDLINt
BY MRS. NJ. RITcHIE.
CHAPTER ]

der one crown, instead OF cementlng feei
ingofsympathy between the two nations, wai
looked upon by both as compulsory til
which they had struggled against for the
space of two thousand years; and in Scotland
especially, was the grievance expressed, as
by the settlement of the Kingdom on the
House of Hanover, that people saw the hon
orable idea of maintaining their indepen'
dence entirely blighted. Although George
I. probably, wished to be wise and polite,
his authority as foreign prince was like
transplanted tree; and in an age when feuds
ran high, and each highland chieftain was
almosta pretty monarch, by his naughty, dis
paraging manner to a class Of intractable
men as bold and unbending as crowned po
tentates, he plunged the island into the hor
rors of civil war. Nor were there other eau
ses wanting to render the Electors throne
insecure. The exile family of Stewarts, ma
turally, exerted every effort by stirring NJ
discomfort, to regain its birthright, aided by
these high-spirited and zoalous chiefs, who
considered the imported ruler as an usurp'
ing intruder, and boldly offered their lives
and property in the cause of their lawful
prince.
On the 9th of September, Ills, the royal
standard was displayed at Aboyne, by the
Earl Of Mar and such followers as could be
assembled, and the Chevelier St. George,
proclaimed King Of Scotland, England and
Ireland, with the solemnity, the time and
place would admit. The fiery cross was
. then sent through the Highlands, and as
the clans joined, the armament moved slow
ly southwark, to give its friends leisure tc
assemble. But as usual with civil war from
the earliest period, it renders the hearts Of
people callous to the claims of friends, and
party feuds rend asunder those ties created
by the God of nature. Nor was the epoch in
which this tale is founded, less baneful in its
effects on kindred. .. , ..
On the East coast of Scotland, are still to
be seen the stern commanding ruins of Nor.
land Castle, situated on towering rock, ovel
looking the sea, as an eagle may look from
his eyrie, and washed at the base by foam.
ing surf, which roars and breaks in feathe.
ry seud when driven on the gusty wings OF
the tempest. Two hundred years ago, this
was feudal fortress of great strength and
stern beauty, almost inaccessible to an ene'
my, with the wide sea tumbling darkly in
front, and limited by faint line in the hori
zon-isolated landward, by raised draw
bridge and lowered portcullis. Beyond, the
country extended, at first, into inconsiderable
hills and muirs, interviewer with trees Of
all kinds; but as it receeded from the ocean,
rising gradually higher, until the wilderness
assumed those inaccessible sleeps and crag
gy precipices which constitute the chief TO
mantle beauty of the island.
The Laird of Norland, one of the most un'
tractable and prejudiced chiefs of an iron
age, was amongst the first who Joined the
standard of his soverei ign with his vassals
fierce looking fellows of indomitable cou
rage, ready at any moment to support with
flashing claymores, the renown Of theil
chieftain and the cause he espoused. Bu
the Prince, for whom ten thousand mer
were willing to die, was far from displaying
the spirit tof his partisians, and ignominiously
retired to France, leaving them to temporize
as best they could with the government
With many other gentlemen, the Laird o.
Norland threw down his arms in grief anc
indignation, and returned to his castle, sui
len, brooding and wrathful. he knew tha
the spirit of Jacobitism continued to ferment
and would, eventually, burst forth again
when the the king would want men andsub
sides. This opportunity he determined tt
await and turn to his own advantage. Be
fore this era, there had been two brothers
but the eldest, Walter, having taken an &C.
tive part in the opposition to the union,
found it expedient to withdraw to Flanders,
where he fell on the battle field, although
his body could not afterwards be found; and
his only child, an infant son, was left an
orphan, his mother, lady of winning man.
ners, having died from the shock of the ca,
lamity. The boy, as was usual, was sent
from the castle to nurse, and fatal dis
temper breaking out, he was numbered a.
mongst the sacrifices, so that his uncle,
Robert, took possession as sole heir.
He, too, had accompanied his brother to
the Low Countries, but from the hour Of
the fight in which Lord Walter was slain,
he became harsh and cruel, and though his
wife had long since died, leaving him an
only daughter, he vainly sought another al.
lance amongst the noble females ofthe land
for despite the grace of his person, and dig
nifty of manners, no heart would beat res
ponsive to his own. His daughter, Beatrice,
had been much neglected during the event.
full period of intestine warfare, yet nature
had been bountiful to those softer feelings
which throw halo around personal fascina.
ton, and filled her mind with romantic
enthusiasm, dangerous to the possessor, un'
less held under strong control.
The Laird of Norland was warrior of I'm.
daunted spirit, and had distinguished him.
self in many times of peril !; and at the battle
of Sheriff-Muir, setting prudence at def
ance, he rushed into the hottest of the fight,
where he saw most of his clan fall around
him. Still he continued the combat, till a
heavy phalanx closed rapidly round him,
and death seemed inevitable. Wounded
and fainting, his life hung trembling on the
verge of eternity; already heavy sword
was raised for his destruction, when youth
of manly stature flung himself before the
blow, and warding off its fatal intent,
brought his antagonist to the ground. He
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