The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-01
= EiT BOOKS.
rl.r Nars,rct's Own story.

gnTpl, Ndlet lle al .'diu Vi 'ahO"dg
Dodd, Mead & Coz, purports to have boen
written by Margaret herself in old age.
Il am an old woman" she saY s in count
ing for herself at the period when she had
turned historian Not many old women
we dare say. could have conducted through
30 many pages pen SO animated and so
playful Repeatedly we have found our
.elves thinking: This is really Mr.. Crockett
vro is cracking joke, and dancing gaily
nbJlt and not tine venerable Margaret at
az.
Margaret in Mr.. Crockett's frs, chapter
records for US her impatience of the restraint
imposed upon her in a French convent
when she was only 1s years old Lord
Lord. how | hated it. she writes. u. Mar
garet Douglas, who had been the petted
Of great men and strong men ever since
could remember" In that observation we
have a considerable explanation of Mar
garet She was lovely, and she knew it.
What wrong for loyeness to be obliged
to suffer the discipline of nunnery! We
will quote a single specification of the cruel
lies that she was monstrously called upon
to endure:
AT Q O'Clock in the morning, black roar
ing winter or gracious June, out you must
turn in this our Convent of the Birch
ave. though YOU he thrice a Princess in
YOUR own right. And they would not let
YOU have 40 much as a drop of warm water
in a pottery jar for the foot of your bed
Cmighty comforting 1t is to lone womenO
nor oven suff er you to sleep in your wooden
coneile, which Is to say gown that hath n
hood to it, and, being turned head and heels,
makes an admirable nest for cold great toes
a-nights. | have suffered from cold feet
all my days. Indeed .if had not, perhaps,
had been happier woman"
Would Margaret really have made this con-
fession? Is it not obviously Mr.. Crockett
making it for her? Is it not unmis
'akably male person who takes it upon
himself to rehearse that old fiction Of the
cold feet of lone ladies? 1t has seemed
to ,ls as though We had discovered here
rude stroke from masculine hand.
The story has it that Margaret called
the lady superior of the convent bald
cat and that she surreptitiously kissed
Larry Mckim, a holy abbot still in his
youth, who had curly hair and came to the
nunnery richly attired, riding snow white
mule. Our heroine married the Abbot
Larry, strange as that may SEEM and be-
fore she married him she married Lord
William Douglas and Lord James Douglas,
one after the other, though these two pre-
liminary marriages we hasten to say,
were merely nominal and did not count.
She had certain pride at is in the pros
poet of matrimony, though she spoke of
the same without reverence in her old age
when she was composing this chronicle,
A certain boastfulness, permissible in
tried and triumphant female. is observable
ut this point. as well rs at most others.
We read at page %:
MY chief JOY and safety in thus COM
peting my education was that every one
knew that l was so soon to be married
by high pontifical dispensation. Papal bull,
holy cord, and four pounds of wax thereto
attached-not to speak, as it were. Of bell,
book and candle. So they might sigh,
the men of them, that is-but no one could
think mo, not for moment) that meant
any harm. Indeed, I never did, and said
frequently when the harm came
Four pages further on the aged heroine
writes. after recording something saucy
that she said to the Abbot: Larry said
nothing in words, but his fingers itched
visibly to box my ears-or, for aught
know, more and worse 1t sounds, we
ray again, lho NIOCftlt, anu NOT lihe tUt
aged Margaret. Surely she ould not
approach recklessness so nearly. We sup
pose that to itch visibly is to afford the
active physical signs consequent upon
uody irritation and calculated to allay it.
At any rate, were We ourselves to say Of
anybody that he itched visibly. we should
expect the reader to understand that he
scratched himself.
1t is impossible, much as we have the
inclination. to tell all about Margaret.
We will speak further only of the great
cannon fired of by Malise Mckm. The
reader will find an account Of this in the
chapter entitled "MaliSe Does His Work
The title is quite accurate regarding Malse.
That mad blacksmith wrought great havoc
with his cannon The King and the others
stood around. of went the cannon, a
"doctorcd" monster, There were BLACK
wedges" that had been immersed in oil.
Margaret heheId them and OWNED. For
once she was not fippant and playful.
Stop" she cried. II teseech You all to go
away, There is dangcr here-rerhaps
death" The King was merely angered
al this interruption and warning He called
Margaret a girl" He hrlsHy ordered
her away.
On went the cannon. ~ 7e have said
Margaret saved herself and tho ore time
ihho, Larry she records; by this time
had my hand on the collar of Laurenco's
blouse Of Tho strong. rough stuff which
hc wore at his enyinery. Suddenly. leaning
al! m? weight upon it, | brought rs both
to the ground at the very moment when
| saw MGiisc set his blazing match to the
touchhole' The roar of the lombard vas
'"ilo~ed by cry nero great and terrible
sun. FOR a moment it seemed as If all
who moment efore had stood about we're
lying in their blood. The great cannon
had burst at the first trial The wedges
had slipped ike glass Morton had fallen |
on his face With his arms outsrread. Angus,
pale as parchment, lay wounded to the
death. The King when they went to lift
him UP, was dead And as to Malisc the
smth, after that great explosion, in plain
words-ho was not
1t is not he, hut tho story of him, that !
matters OF him and the others. Margaret !
wrote readily with much playfulness and ,
sense OF what Was amusing We beEeye