Catriona , livre ebook

Pub One Info - Stevenson Robert Louis

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

163 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. THE 25th day of August, 1751, about two in the afternoon, I, David Balfour, came forth of the British Linen Company, a porter attending me with a bag of money, and some of the chief of these merchants bowing me from their doors. Two days before, and even so late as yestermorning, I was like a beggar-man by the wayside, clad in rags, brought down to my last shillings, my companion a condemned traitor, a price set on my own head for a crime with the news of which the country rang. To-day I was served heir to my position in life, a landed laird, a bank porter by me carrying my gold, recommendations in my pocket, and (in the words of the saying) the ball directly at my foot.

Informations

Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	23 octobre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819918677
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Part I - THE LORD ADVOCATE
CHAPTER I - A BEGGAR ON HORSEBACK
THE 25th day of August, 1751, about two in theafternoon, I, David Balfour, came forth of the British LinenCompany, a porter attending me with a bag of money, and some of thechief of these merchants bowing me from their doors. Two daysbefore, and even so late as yestermorning, I was like a beggar-manby the wayside, clad in rags, brought down to my last shillings, mycompanion a condemned traitor, a price set on my own head for acrime with the news of which the country rang. To-day I was servedheir to my position in life, a landed laird, a bank porter by mecarrying my gold, recommendations in my pocket, and (in the wordsof the saying) the ball directly at my foot.
There were two circumstances that served me asballast to so much sail. The first was the very difficult anddeadly business I had still to handle; the second, the place that Iwas in. The tall, black city, and the numbers and movement andnoise of so many folk, made a new world for me, after the moorlandbraes, the sea-sands and the still country-sides that I hadfrequented up to then. The throng of the citizens in particularabashed me. Rankeillor's son was short and small in the girth; hisclothes scarce held on me; and it was plain I was ill qualified tostrut in the front of a bank-porter. It was plain, if I did so, Ishould but set folk laughing, and (what was worse in my case) setthem asking questions. So that I behooved to come by some clothesof my own, and in the meanwhile to walk by the porter's side, andput my hand on his arm as though we were a pair of friends.
At a merchant's in the Luckenbooths I had myselffitted out: none too fine, for I had no idea to appear like abeggar on horseback; but comely and responsible, so that servantsshould respect me. Thence to an armourer's, where I got a plainsword, to suit with my degree in life. I felt safer with theweapon, though (for one so ignorant of defence) it might be calledan added danger. The porter, who was naturally a man of someexperience, judged my accoutrement to be well chosen.
"Naething kenspeckle," said he; "plain, dacentclaes. As for the rapier, nae doubt it sits wi' your degree; but anI had been you, I would has waired my siller better-gates thanthat." And he proposed I should buy winter-hosen from a wife in theCowgate-back, that was a cousin of his own, and made them"extraordinar endurable."
But I had other matters on my hand more pressing.Here I was in this old, black city, which was for all the worldlike a rabbit-warren, not only by the number of its indwellers, butthe complication of its passages and holes. It was, indeed, a placewhere no stranger had a chance to find a friend, let be anotherstranger. Suppose him even to hit on the right close, people dweltso thronged in these tall houses, he might very well seek a daybefore he chanced on the right door. The ordinary course was tohire a lad they called a CADDIE, who was like a guide or pilot, ledyou where you had occasion, and (your errands being done) broughtyou again where you were lodging. But these caddies, being alwaysemployed in the same sort of services, and having it for obligationto be well informed of every house and person in the city, hadgrown to form a brotherhood of spies; and I knew from tales of Mr.Campbell's how they communicated one with another, what a rage ofcuriosity they conceived as to their employer's business, and howthey were like eyes and fingers to the police. It would be a pieceof little wisdom, the way I was now placed, to take such a ferretto my tails. I had three visits to make, all immediately needful:to my kinsman Mr. Balfour of Pilrig, to Stewart the Writer that wasAppin's agent, and to William Grant Esquire of Prestongrange, LordAdvocate of Scotland. Mr. Balfour's was a non-committal visit; andbesides (Pilrig being in the country) I made bold to find the wayto it myself, with the help of my two legs and a Scots tongue. Butthe rest were in a different case. Not only was the visit toAppin's agent, in the midst of the cry about the Appin murder,dangerous in itself, but it was highly inconsistent with the other.I was like to have a bad enough time of it with my Lord AdvocateGrant, the best of ways; but to go to him hot-foot from Appin'sagent, was little likely to mend my own affairs, and might provethe mere ruin of friend Alan's. The whole thing, besides, gave me alook of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds that waslittle to my fancy. I determined, therefore, to be done at oncewith Mr. Stewart and the whole Jacobitical side of my business, andto profit for that purpose by the guidance of the porter at myside. But it chanced I had scarce given him the address, when therecame a sprinkle of rain - nothing to hurt, only for my new clothes- and we took shelter under a pend at the head of a close oralley.
Being strange to what I saw, I stepped a littlefarther in. The narrow paved way descended swiftly. Prodigious tallhouses sprang upon each side and bulged out, one storey beyondanother, as they rose. At the top only a ribbon of sky showed in.By what I could spy in the windows, and by the respectable personsthat passed out and in, I saw the houses to be very well occupied;and the whole appearance of the place interested me like atale.
I was still gazing, when there came a sudden brisktramp of feet in time and clash of steel behind me. Turningquickly, I was aware of a party of armed soldiers, and, in theirmidst, a tall man in a great coat. He walked with a stoop that waslike a piece of courtesy, genteel and insinuating: he waved hishands plausibly as he went, and his face was sly and handsome. Ithought his eye took me in, but could not meet it. This processionwent by to a door in the close, which a serving-man in a finelivery set open; and two of the soldier-lads carried the prisonerwithin, the rest lingering with their firelocks by the door.
There can nothing pass in the streets of a citywithout some following of idle folk and children. It was so now;but the more part melted away incontinent until but three wereleft. One was a girl; she was dressed like a lady, and had a screenof the Drummond colours on her head; but her comrades or (I shouldsay) followers were ragged gillies, such as I had seen the matchesof by the dozen in my Highland journey. They all spoke togetherearnestly in Gaelic, the sound of which was pleasant in my ears forthe sake of Alan; and, though the rain was by again, and my porterplucked at me to be going, I even drew nearer where they were, tolisten. The lady scolded sharply, the others making apologies andcringeing before her, so that I made sure she was come of a chief'shouse. All the while the three of them sought in their pockets, andby what I could make out, they had the matter of half a farthingamong the party; which made me smile a little to see all Highlandfolk alike for fine obeisances and empty sporrans.
It chanced the girl turned suddenly about, so that Isaw her face for the first time. There is no greater wonder thanthe way the face of a young woman fits in a man's mind, and staysthere, and he could never tell you why; it just seems it was thething he wanted. She had wonderful bright eyes like stars, and Idaresay the eyes had a part in it; but what I remember the mostclearly was the way her lips were a trifle open as she turned. And,whatever was the cause, I stood there staring like a fool. On herside, as she had not known there was anyone so near, she looked atme a little longer, and perhaps with more surprise, than wasentirely civil.
It went through my country head she might bewondering at my new clothes; with that, I blushed to my hair, andat the sight of my colouring it is to be supposed she drew her ownconclusions, for she moved her gillies farther down the close, andthey fell again to this dispute, where I could hear no more ofit.
I had often admired a lassie before then, if scarceso sudden and strong; and it was rather my disposition to withdrawthan to come forward, for I was much in fear of mockery from thewomenkind. You would have thought I had now all the more reason topursue my common practice, since I had met this young lady in thecity street, seemingly following a prisoner, and accompanied withtwo very ragged indecent-like Highlandmen. But there was here adifferent ingredient; it was plain the girl thought I had beenprying in her secrets; and with my new clothes and sword, and atthe top of my new fortunes, this was more than I could swallow. Thebeggar on horseback could not bear to be thrust down so low, or, atleast of it, not by this young lady.
I followed, accordingly, and took off my new hat toher the best that I was able.
"Madam," said I, "I think it only fair to myself tolet you understand I have no Gaelic. It is true I was listening,for I have friends of my own across the Highland line, and thesound of that tongue comes friendly; but for your private affairs,if you had spoken Greek, I might have had more guess at them."
She made me a little, distant curtsey. "There is noharm done," said she, with a pretty accent, most like the English(but more agreeable). "A cat may look at a king."
"I do not mean to offend," said I. "I have no skillof city manners; I never before this day set foot inside the doorsof Edinburgh. Take me for a country lad - it's what I am; and Iwould rather I told you than you found it out."
"Indeed, it will be a very unusual thing forstrangers to be speaking to each other on the causeway," shereplied. "But if you are landward bred it will be different. I amas landward as yourself; I am Highland, as you see, and thinkmyself the farther from my home."
"It is not yet a week since I passed the line," saidI. "Less than a week ago I was on the braes of Balwhidder."
"Balwhither?" she cries. "Come ye from Balwhither!The name of it makes all there is of me rejoice. You will not havebeen long there, and not known some of our friends or family?"
"I li