The San Francisco call. [volume], July 05, 1903, Image 7

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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the • ample board ;: prepared ~l Jay
foreign cooks, the like of which the High-'
landers had never before tasted,' but the
trayed no surprise at" the splendid prepa
rations which had been made for his re
ception. "Many dainties were placed on
.. ¦¦ -¦¦-., ¦ ¦ - ¦
the courtiers. The : chief, calling to his
piper, commanded him instantly to com
pose a pibroch for the King, and that
ready musician, . swelling with pride,
marched . up and down and round and
round the great hall pouring forth a tri
umphal quickstep with many wonderful
flourishes and variations. Then at a
word' from the chief each man placed his
flagon on the table, whipped out his
sword, swung it overhead, to the amaze
ment of the courtiers, for It is not in ac
cord with etiquette to show cold steel to
the eyes of the King. Down came the
blades Instantly and together, each man
splitting in two the goblet he had drunk
from. . ¦ . .
".You must all come to Loch Tay,". cried
the. chief, "and I will show you a ban
queting hall In' honor of James V such
as - you'have never before seen." .Then
to the horror of the courtiers he suddenly
smote the King on the back with his open
palm and cried, "Jamie, my - lad' - you'll
come and visit me at Loch Tay?"
The smitten King laughed heartily and
; •;¦ "Yes, Finlay, I will."
; The next day the MacNabs set faces
toward the north on their long tramp
home. . ; . •
"What proud 'deevils' <they are!" said
Sir David Lyndsay to the King after the
company, had departed. "I have been
through the . MacNab country from : one
end of it to the other, and there is 'not
- a decent hut - on the hillside. let alone '. a
castle/ fit, , to -; entertain - a king, yet T the
chief glves> an invitation in _the. heat, of
wine and", when The. is sobered l he .is too
proud to admit that he cannot make good
the words he has uttered."
On the last night there was a banquet,
which was the best that Stirling could be
etow, in honor of the Clan MacNab. The
great hall was decorated with the colors
Cf the clan, and at the further end had
been painted the arms of the MacNab.
Five pipers of the King's court had
learned the "Salute to the Chief.", and
now, headed by . MacNab'a own. they
paced up and down the. long room, mak
ing It ring with their warlike, music. The
King and the chieftain came in together,
and as the latter 'took, his place at his
host's right hand bis impassive face be-
The captain of the guard brought the
chief his sword and would have presented
it to him, but the King himself arose and
took the weapon in his own hand, tender
ing it to Its owner. The chieftain accepted
the sword and rested its point on the
floor, then in dignified native courtesy
he doffed .his broad, feathered bonnet.
"Sire," he said, with slow deliberation,
"Scotland has a King that this good blade
shall ever be proud to serve."
For three days the MacNabs were the
guests of the King in his castle, while
the legal documents were being prepared.
King and chieftain walked the town to
gether, and all that Stirling had to show
MacNab beheld.
In hand, how would you have treated me,
Finlay the Fifth?"
••If you had come with only twenty
men behind you I should treat you with
all the hospitality of Glendochart, which
far exceeds that of Stirling."
"It ha* all been a mistake." said the
King with great cordiality. "The parch
ment you seek shall be gi^n to you, and
I trust that your generosity, Lord of
Glendochart, will allow me to amend your
opinion of Stirling hospitality. I shall
take it kindly if you will be my guests in
the castle. until my officers of law repair
the harshness of my ancestor, Robert.",
Then, turning to the guard, the King con
tinued:
"Unbind these gentlemen and return to
them their arms." ..' , ¦¦";¦ 5 . '../'.:. : r .v'C. .
• . , •* y o. no." salfl th* King decisively.
\ C /V I "Bring them in: bring them in;
I >J I'll have none east Into prison
V \ without at least a hearing..
Have any of your men been
killed T'
¦ • "No. your Majesty." replied Blr Donald/.
. "tout some of them hav* wounds they will
not forget in a hurry; the Highlandmen
fought like tiger cats."
¦¦; ¦ ot many are there of them?" asked
the King.
"Scznethlrg mor* than a score, with a
piper, led by a breechless ruffian, al
though I must say he knows what to do
with a swerd."
"All anaed, you say?"
» "Every oa* of them but the piper.
About half an hour ago they earn* march
ing up the main street of Stirling. *ach
¦ ~ r .r. with his sword drawn, and th* pipes
skirling death and defiance.
,'Tou disarmed them, of course?"
"Certainly, your Majesty."
"Verr wall; bring them la. and let us
hear what they have to say for them
selves."
The doors were fiu&g open, a sharp
ccmziand was given, and presently there
entered th* group cf Highlanders, dis
armed and with their elbows tied behind
their backs. A. strong guard accompanied
' them on either side. The Highlanders
¦were men of magnificent physique, en
hanced by the picturesque costume they
were, in spit* of the fact that in some
. Instances this costume was In tatters and
the wearers cut and bleeding. The King
¦Fazed with undisguised admiration upon
t he foremost Highlander, and eaid quietly
to the captain of the guard:
"Unbind him!"
' On finding his arms released the moun
taineer stretched them out twice, then
folded them across his breast, making no •
: motion, however, to remove his plumed
bonnet, although every one else In the
. room except himself and his men was
uncovered.
••You have come In from the country."
. began the King, a suspicion of a smile
.bovermg about his lips, "to enjoy the
:. metropolitan OeDftLtS of Stirling. How
' are ecu cstfsfiefl with your reception?"
The big Highlander made no reply, but
Crowned heavily.
•These savage*.*! suggested Sir Donald.
'. "do not understand anything but the
' f.ur lie. Is it your Majesty'e pleasure that
the interpreter be called?"
"Yes. bring him in."
• The interpreter put the question in
<ja> Me. and was answered with gruff
brevity by the marauder. The interpreter,
bowing low to the King, said smoothly:
"Thi* man humbly begs to Inform your
- Majesty"—
"S)>ea.k truth. MacPherson!" cautioned
the King. 'Translate faithfully exactly
what he fays. Our friend here, by the
" look of him. does not do anything humbly
or fawn or beg. Translate accurately.
*. What docs he say?"
"He Bay*. ycfUr Majesty, he will hold no
communication with me, because I am of
. an inferior clan, which Is untrue. The
MacPherson* were a" civilised clan cen
. torftes ajro. which the MacNabe are not.
. to this day."
T»:e MaeNab's hand darted to his left
f- Fide, but finding no eword to his grasp
¦ ;t '.< U. away acsin.
' ¦ "You are a l!ar'." cried the chief in very
' rsfsable Erplrsh. which was rot to be
misunderstood. "The MacPhersons are no
Han. but an insignificant branch of the
• 'hauan. 'Touch not the Cr.t' is your
motto, and a pood one. for a MacPherson *
ran scratch, but he cannot nandle the
broadsword.'*
MacPht-rson's hand also sought lnstlnc
lively »he hijt of his eword. but the pres
rnce In. welch he stood restricted, him.
"Ii is quite *afe." he eaid with some
• thing like thf spit of a cat. "for a heathen
¦ to insult a Christian in the presence of
his King, and the MacNabs Lnve ever
fhoun a taste for the cautious cauee."
"Tut. tut." cried the King, witU impa
"¦ ti^nf-o. "am I to find myself involved in a
¦ Highland feud in my own hall? MacPher- •
son. it se*>ms this man does not require
- you? interpreting, so. perhaps, it will
• further the peace of our realm if -you
withdraw quietly."
Ma< Phereon. with a low obeisance, did
1 s<>: then to MacNab the Kin* spoke:
"S:r. as it appears you are acquainted
¦rltfa our language, why did you not reply
to trie question ! put to you?"
'"Because I would have you know it ytaM
not the proper kind cf question to ask the
lik.' of me. I am a descendant of kings.*"
"Wei".. 1 am a descendant of kings ray
wit thouch sorrv I ehould be to defend
. aU their notions."
"Your family only began wir.h Robert
th*- Brace; mine. was old ere fce came to
• th» throne."
"That may well be: rtill you must admit
that what Robert lacked in ancestry he
furnished forth in ability."
. "Hut the Clan Mac-Nab defeated him at
• iho battle of DH Rhl."
.'•True, with some assistance, which you
ipricre. from Alexander of Argyll. How
• ever, if" this discussion is to become a
competition *n history I may be allowed
to add that my pood ancestor, Robert, did •
• . not forget the actions of the MacNabs at
Del Rhl. and later overran their country,
• dismantling: their fortresses, leaving the
'• c!an in a more fan* 1 end chastened condi
tion than that in which he found it. But
¦ • what has ail this to do with your coming
' Finfrhtng Into h. peaceable town like Stlr
- lire?" ' • '.'
*"I came," raid the chief, "because of the,
foray you have mentioned. I came be
v' orate Robert the Bruce desolated our
counter.*
"By • ray pood sword I" cried Jamw.
V. 'Freaking er one king to another. your;
• •¦.•¦£<•¦ !¦- Fcmewhat belated, a lapse of
. two centuries should have outlawed the-
O'fit. Did you expect, then, to take Btlr
lir.p with twenty men?" ;
"I expected King James the Fifth to
""•ify the wrong done by King Robert
• v k First."
"But I have already disclaimed respon-.
biiity for the deeds of ancestors less re
. :<>\f than good King Robert."
"You have made proclamation In the
Highlands that the chieftains must bring
• you proof of their right to occupy theii
r«r.<j.s." .,." ¦
•*'I have, and some have preferred to me
tliclr deeds of tenure, others prepared to
. fight: the cases have been settled in both
instances. To which of these two classes
• do you belong, chief of the Clan Mac
• "Nab7" " - '
"To neither. I cannot submit to you our",
• "parchments, because Robert, your ances
• tor,, destroyed them. I cannot fight the;
army of the Lowlands, because my clan is
small; therefore I,' Flnlay MacNab, come
*_ to you In peace, asking you to repair the
wronK.done by ancestor.'*.
"Indeed !" cried the King. "If the pres
*. cnt advent typifies your idea of a peaceful
• visit, then God forfend that I should ever
men you in anger." . ¦¦ * ¦ ;'.>." -¦
• ."I cane In peace and have been shame-.
-' fully u.st-d." ¦^gjp . -., ¦'"'¦;
"You must not hold that' against us,"
gald James /'Look you. .now. If I had
i ome etorming at your castle door, aword*
mountaineers at* stolidly whatever wai
set in front of them, and If unusual fla
vors saluted their palates the strangers
made no sign of approval or the reverse.
The red wine of Burgundy, grown old in
the King's cellars, they drank like water,
emptying their tankards as fast as the at
tendant could refill them. Soon the ruddy
fluid, whose- potency had been underesti
mated, began to have its effect, and the
dinner table became noisy as "the meal
progressed, songs bursting forth now and
then, with strange shouts and cries more
familiar to the hills of Loch Tay than to
the rafters of Stirling. The chief him
self lost the solemn dignity which had at
first characterized him, and as he emptied
flagon after flagon, he boasted loudly of
the prowess of his dan; foretold what he
would do in future, fields now that he was
allied with the King of Scotland.
At last MacNab sprang to his feet, hold
ing aloft bis brimming flagon, and called
for cheers for the King of Scotland, a
worthy prince who knew well how to en
tertain a brother prince. Repeating this
in . Gaelic his men. who had also risen
with their chief, now sprang . upon the
benches, where, standing unsteadily, they
raised a series of yells so wild that a
shudder of fear passed through many of
•That rery thing is troubling me." re
plied the King, "but it's a long time till
July, and between now and then we will
make him some excuse for not returning
his visit, and thus avoid putting the old
man to shame."
"But that, too, will offend him beyond
repair," objected the poet.
"Well, we must lay our heads together,
Davle," answered the- King, "and think of
some way that will neither be an insult
nor a humiliation." • .' •.:!'
Affairs of state gave James the valid
excuse he required and so he sent a com
mission to the chief of the MacXabs.
"His Majesty," said the head commission
er,- "Is entertaining the Embassadors from
Spain and from France, and likewise a
legate from the Pope. If he came north
he must at least bring with him these
great noblemen with their retinues, and
while he would hav* been glad to visit
you with soma of his own men he could'
not Impose upon your hospitality by
bringing also a large number of strangers
and foreigners."
"Tell his Majesty," replied MacNab
with dignity, "that whether he bring with
him the King of Spain, th* Emperor of
Franc* or even the Pope himself, none of
these princes Is. in the estimation of Mao-
Nab, superior to James the Fifth of Scot
land. Th* entertainment, therefore, which
the King graciously condescends to ac
cept, is certainly good enough for any
foreigners that may accompany him, be
their nobility ever so high."
When this reply was reported to th*
King h* first smiled and then sighed.
"I can do nothing further," he said.
"Return to MacNab and tell him that the
Pope's legate desires to visit the Priory
on Loch Tay. Tell the chief that we' will
take the boat along the lake on the day
arranged. Say that the foreigners are
anxious to taste th* venison of the hills,
and that nothing could bo better than to
give us a dinner under the trees. Tell him
that he need not be at any trouble to pro
vide us lodging, for we shall return to
the island Priory and there sleep."
In the early morning the King and his
followers, the Embassadors and their
trains embarked and sailed from the
island Priory the length of the beautiful
lake; the numerous craft being driven
through the water by strong northern
oarsmen, their wild chanting choruses
echoing back from the mountains. The
evening before horses for the party had
been led through forests, over the hills
and along the strand to the meeting place
at the other end of the lake.
A summer has* hung in the valley, and
when the King came In sight of the
stronghold of th* MacNabs he rubbed his
eyes in wonder, thinking the misty uncer
tainty of the atmosphere was playing
tricks with his vision. There, before
them, stood the most bulky edifice, the
most extraordinary pile h* had ever be
held. At one end a great square keep
iarose, its amazing height looming gigan
tically in the gauze-like magic of the
mist. A high wall, machicolated at the
top, connected this keep with a small oc
tagonal tower, whose twin was placed
some distance to the left, leaving an
opening between for a wide entrance. The
two octagonal towers formed a sort of
fram* for a roaring waterfall in the back
ground. From the second octagonal tow
er another extended lofty wall connected
it with a round peel as high as the keep.
This castle, of a size so enormous that it
made all others its beholders had ever
seen shrink Into comparative insignifi
cance, was surrounded by a bailey wall;
outside of that was. a moat which proved
to be a foaming river fed by the volume
of water which came down the precipice
behind th*- castle.
"We have a great many strongholds in
Italy," said the Pope's legate, "but never
have- I seen anything to compare with
this."
"Oh." said MacNab. slightingly, "we are
but a small clan; you should see the High
land castle* farther north; they are of
stone; Indeed, our own fortresses, which
are further inland, are also of stone. This
is merely our pleasure house, built of pine
trees."
"A castle of logs!" exclaimed the Pope's
legate. "I never before heard of such a
thing." #>
They crossed the bridge, passed between
the two octagonal towers and entered the
extensive courtyard, • surrounded by th*
castle Itself; a courtyard broad enough to
afford maneuvering ground for an army.
The interior walls were as attractive as
the outside was grim and forbidding. Bal
conies, ran around three sides of the in
closure, tall, thin, straight pine poles, ris
ing three stories high, supporting them,
each pole fluttering a flag at th* top. Tha
balconies were all festooned with branches
of living green.
Inside, the King .and his men found
"Chieftain," said the legat* In an awad
whisper, "is this conflagration aocldeot or
design?" '- :¦
"It is' our custom." replied MaoNab.
"A monarch's pathway must be . lighted,
and it is not fitting that a residence once
honored by our King should sver again
be occupied by any one leas noble. The
pine tree is the badge of my clan. At my
behest the pine tree sheltered th* Kins;.
and now, at the blast of my bugle, it
sends forth to the glen Its farewell of
flame." '
At the next blast thosa on the bailey
wall thrust their torches, still burning,
among th» chinks of the log* and
swarmed to the ground as speedily and
as safely as those on the main building.
Now the lighted torches that had been
thrown on the roof of the castle, disap
pearing a moment from sight, gar* evi
dence of their existence. Her*' and there
a long tongue of flams sprang up and
died down again.
"Can nothing be done to sav* the pal
ace?" shouted the excitable Frenchman.
"The waterfall! the waterfall! Let us go
back or the castle will be destroyed."
"Stand where you are," said the chief,
"and you will see a sight worth coming
north for."
Now, almost with' the suddenness of an
explosion, great sheets of flam* ros*. tow
ering into a mountain of fir*. Tb« logs
themselves seemed to redden m the; light
glowed through every crevice between
them. The bastions, the bailey- walls,
were great wheels of flame, encircling a
palace that had all the vivid radiance of
molten gold. The valley for miles up and
down was lighter than the sun ever made
it. : •'
And with that, bowing to the Kinf as if
to ask permission, he raised his bug!* to
his lips and blew a blast. Instantly frora
the corner of the farthest bastion a torch
flamed forth, and that torch lighted tha
one next* to it. and this Us neighbor, so
that speedily a rim of flre ran along the
outlines of the castle, marking out the
square towers and the round, lining th«
curtain, the smaller towers, turrets and
parapets. Then at the top of the bailey
wall a circle of Highlanders lit torch after
torch, and thus was the whola castle il
lumined by a circle of flre. The huge edi
fice was etched In flame against the som
ber background of the high mountain.
"Confess, legate." cried the King, "that
you never saw anythnlg more beautiful,
even in fair Italy."
"I am willing to admit aa much." re
plied the Roman.
Another blast from the bugle and all
the torches on the castle itself disap
peared, though the flre on the ballsy wall
remained intact. From . machloolated
tower, keep, peel and curtain, tha nimble
Highlanders, terchless. scrambled down,
cheering as they came. :
For a moment the castle wall* were
alive with fluttering tartans, strongly Il
luminated by the torches from the outer
bailey. Each man held +£s breath while
this perilous acrobatic performance was
being accomplished, and silence reigned
over the royal party until suddenly
broken by tha Italian.
"Highlander." he cried, "your castle I*
on flre."
"Ay," said the Highlander calmly,
raising his bugle again to his lips.
"A bulwark of bones U better than a
castle of stones," «aid Sir Flnlay. "That
Is an old Highland saying with us, which
means that a brave following 1* the best
ward. I will show you my bulwark of
bones."
Bo they all- stayed progress! •»* turned
their eyes toward the wooden palace they
had left. ¦ A .
"If It were built of stone," said the>
Pope's legate, "it would b« the strongest
house in the world a* It is th» largest."
It was evening of the third day when
the cavalcade set out araln for the priory.
¦The chief. Flnlay MacNab. accompanied
his guests down the- valley, and when
some distance from the castle, of logs
James smote him. on the shoulder, copy
ing thus his own astonishing: action.
"Sir Flnlay." he cried, "a King's hand
should be no less potent than a King's
sword, and thus I. create thee a knight of
my realm, for never before has monarch
been so royally entertained." and now I
pause here to look once more on your cas
tle of pine."
emp:« accommodations: their room* wwi
carpeted with moss and with flowai,
forming a variety of color and yielding *
softness to the foot. which the- artificial
piles of Eastern looms would have at
tempted to rival In vain~ Her© for three
days the royal party was entertained.
Hunting in the forest rave them prodig
ious appetites, and there was no criticism
of the cooking. The supply of food and
drink was lavish in the extreme; fish
from the river and locn, game from the
moors and venison from the hills.
THE SUNDAY CAM*
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