The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28


| them that the lady Marjory had left Falk-
land to meet him when Catherine arrived
there. Ramorney, learning of this, In
formed the Prince, knowing that the lat
ter would not hesitate to break from the
constable's custody and hasten to the
castle baited by so fair a lure.
He went, accompanied by Ramorney,
who had all his retainers with him. As
soon as they had the Prince within the
trap they seized him and thrust him into
dungeon, intending to let him starve
there and then to carry the corpse back
with them to Perth. proclaiming that he
had died from q wasting fever.
As a vital part of the plot they treated
Catherine with all honor, but kept her
In the castle under various pretexts. One
day while she was walking in the gar
den near a tower, she heard groans
coming from underground. Approaching
crevice in the masonry, she discovered
that the Prince was prisoner and starv-
Ing.
She succeeded In obtaining food and
passing 1t to him secretly, and after some
days she managed to find a messenger
who could be trusted and sent him to
intercept the Douglas on his way to
Perth.
Her efforts to save tho Prince were
futile. When the oonspirators found that
he did not succumb soon enough to star
walton, they dispatched him violently, but
In a way that left no traces.
To their dlsmay the Black Douglas ap-
peared before the castle even while they
were carrying the murdered Prince from
the dungeon to a state apartment. They
had barely time to fling the corpse on the
bed before the Earl strobe In
One glance at the disordered condition
of the men and the hurried way In which
the wan and wasted body had been tossed
had happened. but all conjectupes were
rendered unnecessary by the voluntary
confessions of some of those in the Sc
cret.
In another hour the bodies OF Sir John
Ramorney. the physician who had helped
him and their accomplices were hanging
from the highest turret of the castle
"And how the Inflated Prince came by
his death and Why" said Douglas fierce
", but in whisper to the Duke of AL
bany, your Grace can best explain, for
Ramorney had letters from you which
I took. Were 1t not for the rebellion of
Lord March and the fact that the Eng
lish have declared war; would speak
my own mind of it,
The Duke of Albany looked at him, half
imperiously, half afraid. Then he turned
without word, contenting himself with
muttering; your own interest will hold
you. You dare not separate 1t from
mine"
And so 1t proved. The monarch, strick-
en- fatally by the death OF the wretched
son whom he had loved most dearly. ac-
cused Albany OF being his murderer; but
after that one outbreak of impotent rage
he resigned the rule into his brothers
hands and remained a mere ghost of a
King
When Simon Glover returned from the
Highlands, having been assured that all
danger was at an end, his first task was
to frame excuses for the last bloody en-
terprise of Harry of the Wynd To his
surprise Catherine listened to the tale of
his great battle without the explanations
OF displeasure that he had feared.
She shook her head in disappointment,
but in her heart she confessed to herself
that courage like that of Harry the ar
morer was not to be despised in the iron
days of which she had had sufficient ex-
perience by that time.
So when Harry came sheepishly enough,
and scarcely recovered of his wounds and
said: THAT last field showed blood
my broadsword. never to draw 1t again
except against Scotland's enemies" the
Fair Maid of Perth replied;
And should Scotland call for 1t,
myself will buckle 1t around you"
In the registers of Perth some years
afterward there are entries of the chris
tening of children born to Harry of the
Wynd and his wife Catherine. And the
names of the sponsors are recorded as
"Ane HE and MIGHTY Lord, Archibald
Erl of Douglas, ane Honorable and guide
KNIGHT, Schir Patrick Charters of Kin
fauns, and ane Gracious Princess, Mar
jory Dowaire of His Serene Highness
David, umquhle Duke of Rothsay."
Under such patronage a family rises
fast Many distinguished men of arms
and arts record with pride their descent
from the strong smith and the Fair
Maid of Perth.
Next Sundays one-page classic will be
the Water Witch" by James Fenimore
Cooper.