Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-06-16


The London Athen@um announces that the
marriage contract of the Bride of Lammermoor
has been quite lately discovered at st. Mary's
Isle, the seat of the earl of Selkirk. st. Mary's
Isle is peninsula formed by the river Dee, in
the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, on the south
west coast of Scotland. That such document
was in existence was fact unknown TO Sir
Walter Scott when he wrote his beautiful ro-
nance. The earl of Selkirk is the present rep
resentative of the family of Dunbar, of Balloon,
which was the real name of the husband Of the
bride, and he has the family papers in his pos
session. 1t was while arranging these that 'he
accidentally came upon this contract of mar
rage. 1t bears four signatures, namely, those
Of David Dunbar (called in the novel Frank
Hayston Of Bucklaw), the bridegroom; Janet
Dalrymple lucy Ashton), the bride; James
Dalrymple (Sir William Ashton), the brides
father, and Balloon, the father of the bride
groom (not introduced into the noveD. One of
the witnesses, James Daliymple Henry Ashton
in the novel;, may have been the brides brother,
who rode behind her TO the church where the
marriage took place, and whose dagger, it is
said, was used in the murder A facsimile has
been taken of the document, and the Athen@um
adds that, Judging from it, there was little ire
NOR in the brides signature. This facsimile
will be published by Messrs. Black, of Edin-
burgh, in their forthcoming centenary edition of
the Waverley novels.
When Scott gave to the world "The Bride of
Lammermoor" lin 1870, he contented himself
with saying that the incidents on which it was
founded had actually happened in a noble Scot
fish family, but he declined mentioning the real
source whence he derived the story. But there
were those living to whom the history was
known, and very soon after the appearance of
"The Bride" Mr.. Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, of
Edinburgh, published the notes to Claws Me-
MORALS" lin 1920, in which he gave an account
OF the whole affair. Scott subsequently lin
1929 wrote an introduction to his novel, and
abiding to Mr.. Shapes statement of the facts,
he then gave his own version of the story. IL
seems that the real facts have never been posi-
lively known; and Sir Robert Elphinstone in
a letter to Sir James Denham, written in 1928,
accuses Scott of inaccuracy, and of having will
fully and unfairfully misrepresented one of the
principal characters in the story, Lord Stair
(Sir William Ashton). Both of these baronetS
were connected in blood with the unfortunate
heroine of the tale The following is an outline
of the facts, so far as they can be gathered from
history: Scott has laid the scene of them in
East Lothian in the east of Scotland, and located
the seat of the master of RaYenswOod at "WolFs
crag," a fictitious stronghold or fortress, in
pass through the mountains of Berwickshire
into Lothian, near the sea. Butin reality they oc
Cured at Kirkliston, in Wi9tonshire, in the west
of Scotland, where was the estate of the Earl
of Stair, and also that of Dunbar of Balloon.
Lammermoor is range ofhillS running through
the shires of Haddington and Berwick to Cold
ingham. The bride was always called by her
family "the Bride of Balloon" Her name was
the Hon. Janet Dalrymple, eldest daughter of
James Viscount Stair, lord president of the
court of sessions, in the reign of William and
Mary. Her mother, Margaret Ross, of Balniel,
was naughty, overbearing INSCRIPTIONS and
ambitious woman, who seems to have domi-
neered over her husband and family, and espec-
tally over Janet. This young lady had secretly
plighted her faith to Lord Rutherford, a man of
good family, but who had been impoverished by
the part he had taken in the religious and politi
cal troubles of the times. She was courted by
David, eldest son of Sir David Dunbar, of Bal
doom, and according to Sir VIM. Hamilton,
of Whitelaw) a nephew of Rutherford; and as
his father was more wealthy than the latter,
Lady Stair favored his advances and insisted ON
JanefS accepting him. The unhappy girl then
threw herself upon his generosity, and informed
him of her early attachment and solemn engage
ment to Rutherford-but he cruelty and ungen-
erously persisted in his suit, in spite of her aver
sion to him, and she was forced to marry him.
Rutherford protested against it, and insisted on
having private interview with her. This, how
ever, Lady Stair prevented, and Janet, passive in
her hands, returned him the troth plight at her
command, and he left the room uttering maledic-
tons on the mother. The marriage took place
on the oath of August, 1863. Great festivities
were held in honor Of it. In the midst of them
the bride and bridegroom retired to their nuptial
and shortly alterward piercing shrieks
were heard issuing from it. The brides broth
ers rushed to the door of the chamber, forced it
open, and found the bridegroom lying across the
threshold dreadfully wounded and streaming
with blood. The bride was discovered in the
corner of the large chimney, in her night dress,
dabbled in gore, raving lunatic. She survived
this horrible scene little more than fortnight,
and died on the 18th of September Balloon re-
covered from his wounds, but sternly prohibited
all inquiries respecting the manner in which he
received them. He was killed by fall from his
horse on the 2Sth of March, 1852. Rutherford
died abroad in 1885: he had left Scotland, it was
said, after the fatal night and never returned,
But Scott was ignorant of the tradition of the
district which was that Rutherford had, during
the festivities, concealed himself in the nuptial
chamber and had attacked the bridegroom the
he entered it, and wounded him. A
window, which was found open, showed how
escaped into the garden and eluded
pursuit. And this is probably the true story.
-PhilddelDhid Ledqer.