"I marvel not, Sir Thomas," said the gentle young Countess of Dunbarton, "that the sight of these passing bands rouses your nobler spirit, when I, who am so timid, feel myself inspired with a false ardour and courage."
"Most noble ladies, the heart would indeed be a cauld one, that felt nae fire in sic an hour as this. By my faith, even my auld troop-horse, grey Marston, kittles up his lugs at the fanfare o' the trumpet, like a Don Cossacque at the cry of plunder. Puir Marston," he added, patting the neck of his charger, "I fear our fighting days are now gone by, unless the Dutch rapscallions come north, whilk may God direct, that auld Tammas o' the Binns may strike three strokes on steel for Scotland and his king, ere this baton is laid on his coffin-lid. 'Tis a brave sight, ladies, and Douglas hath under his banner some brave lads as ever marched to battle or breach. But I like not this new invention, whilk is callit the bayonet, preferring the good old Sweyn's feather, which repels the heaviest brigade of horse like a stane dyke.
"Lady Grisel, I heard you speak just now of the Mareschal-General Lesly. He was a d——d auld round-headed cur, and his brigades of sour blue-bonnets were no more to be compared to our lads that marched to Worcester, than eggshells are to cannon-balls. But had you seen the Muscovite host on the march for Samoieda, in that year when we beleaguered and sacked and overran the whole shores of the Frozen Ocean, ye would have seen marching to their last campaigns some of the prettiest cavaliers that ever ate horse-flesh or slashed the head off a Tartar. Now, God's murrain on the southern clodpoles!" began Sir Thomas, commencing some fierce tirade against the English, for he was a Scot of the oldest school.
"Fie, Knight of Binns!" said Annie Laurie; "you forget that my Lady Dunbarton is south-land bred."
"Sweet mistress, I crave pardon of her gentleness. But I am owre auld to pick my words now. I say as my fathers have said; I think as my fathers have thocht."
"Your servant, Sir Thomas.—Ladies, your humble servant!" said that unconscionable bore, Lord Mersington, who at that moment rode up with Clermistonlee. "Hee, hee, General—seeing your auld friends awa again—'bodin in effeir of weir,' as the acts say?"
"Yea, my Lord. You, too, hae seen some work like this in your time."
"Ay. At Dunbar I rode in the troop of the College of Justice, and exchanged the judge's wig for the troopers morion; ye ken, when drums beat, laws are dumb."
"Then Heaven send they may beat for ever and aye. A bonnie like troop o' auld carlins your Lordship's Justiciars were, and merrily we stark cavaliers of the French and Swedish wars laughed when Monk's regiment of foot, whilk are now denominate the Coldstreamers, routed ye like sae mony schule bairns."
"Under favour, Sir Thomas, I hold that to be leasing-making, hee, hee! and though we laugh owre it now as auld gossips, I mind the day when blades had been drawn on it."