“Tell me, I pray thee,” said Sir Patrick, “what make these soldiers who do so crowd towards the cairn? Methinks some of them on horseback, and some of them on foot, are riding and running full tilt around it, as if in frolicsome chase of each other.”
The Lord of Dirleton was silent for some moments. He sighed, and, much to Sir Patrick’s surprise, tears came into his eyes. He was deeply affected for some moments.
“Thou must of needscost marvel, Sir Knight,” said he at length, “to see me so much moved by a question the which is so simple in itself, and the which did fall so naturally from thee. [[344]]But thy wonder will cease anon. Be it known to thee, that these men do run and ride in that manner, in compliance with a well-received belief, that to surround the cairn with three times three circuits, securely buys the happiness of him who doth so, for the space of three times three months. Peraunter thy marvel will now be enhanced, why I should have wept at the notice of a practice so apparently harmless; but that thine astonishment may forthwith cease, I shall haste me to tell thee the cause of these tears. I am not sorry that I have been led thus accidentally to the subject, sith I did well intend me to effund into thine ear, at first fitting time, the circumstances of that bereavement of the which, when I did once before obscurely hint to thee, thou didst then seem to wish to hear more.”
The Lord of Dirleton paused, as if to recollect himself, and, after an effort to master certain feelings that agitated him, he began his narrative—
“It was about three months after the Lady of Dirleton had happily given birth to her first daughter, that I left her and her baby in full health, and soon afterwards travelled northward into these parts, with mine early friend, John Dunbar, Earl of Moray. We had been at Lithgow together, at the proclamation of King Robert, and I had yielded to my Lord’s wishes, to bear him company for some few days at his Castle of Tarnawa. After a short sojournance in his hospitable hall, I reached this spot on my way homewards, and chancing to halt here, as we do now, I was told of the virtues of the Witch’s Cairn. Bethinking me that it was good to secure nine months of happiness at so easy a price, I spurred my horse into a gallop, and began to course around it at full speed.
“I had already encircled it twice three times, and had begun the seventh round, when my horse was suddenly scared by the appearance of a haggard female figure that arose from among the docks and clot leaves in the middle of the heap, and glared fearfully at me. The animal started so unexpectedly aside that he threw me from the saddle, and I lay stunned by the severity of the fall. When my senses returned to me, I found myself in the hands of my people, who were busied about me under a tree. Convinced that it was some supernatural thing that had so strangely crossed me, and put a period to mine attempt to work against fate, I did eagerly demand of those about me what had become of the unsightly witch. All agreed that she had limped slowly away before their eyes until lost in the neighbouring wood; one or two there were who did ween her to be no other than some ancient shepherdess or nerthes-woman, who, wearied [[345]]with watch, mought liggen her down to rest there, and who had been frayed from her sleep by the sounding tramp of my horse’s gallop; but the rest were of my mind, that she was verily some evil witch, whose blasted form and eyne boded some dire malure.
“Sore oppressed with the belief of approaching calamity, I did hie me back to mine own Castle of Dirleton, with a far heavier heart than I had left it, dreading drearily as I went that I should learn some dismal tidings when I should reach thither. But all was well; and as things went not in anywise awry for some time, I began to laugh in secret at my own apprehensions. Prosperity favoured me, indeed, in a somewhat unusual manner. For six months was I blessed by a train of good luck so unusual, that hardly a day passed without some happy or favourable occurrence; but this was the very cause of awakening new fears in me. If, said I, reasoning with myself—if the six withershin circles round the Witch’s Cairn have had any influence in producing this marvellous coil of good fortune, what will happen when the spell-thread is unwound to the end, where it was so mysteriously snapped? This seventh moon must be pregnant with some dire affliction.
“I trembled for its approach. It began—several days of it had already stolen away—all was well, and I did again blush for my fears; but, alas! they were too soon realised. One evening Sarah, the nurse of our infant, was amissing with her charge. It grew late, and the Lady Dirleton became frantic with the most cruel apprehensions. She insisted on accompanying me out to search for the nurse and her babe. The alarm spread, and not only the domestics but the whole vassals, largely sharing in our affliction, turned out to aid us. All our efforts were in vain, for a dark and stormy night came on; and on that wide plain that stretcheth between the Castle and the sea, there was greater risk of the seekers losing themselves than chance of their finding the woman and the babe. The Lady Dirleton recklessly wandered until she was so sore toil-spent that she was carried to the Castle almost insensible. I did still continue my search in despair, in defiance of whirlwinds of sand and red glaring flashes of lightning. Faint and distant screams were heard by times ymeint with the blast. We followed in the direction they went in, as well as the mirkness of the night might permit us to do. Sometimes they would bring us down towards the shore of the sea, where they were lost amidst the thunders of its waves rolling furiously in on the beach. Anon we did hear them retreating inland, and we were led by [[346]]them, in a zig-zag course, hither and thither across the plain, in idle pursuit. ‘The child! the babe!—ha, the murderer!—ha, blood, blood, blood!—murder, murder!—the child, the child!’ were the fearful words we caught from time to time, ymingled with wild unearthly cries. Still we followed, and we shouted by times; but our shouts were unheeded, albeit they must natheless have been heard by the person whose voice reached our ears so strongly.
“At length, after a harrassing night of fruitless following, the voice died away from us, and we groped wearily and hopelessly about until day did gloomily dawn upon us. We again wandered down towards the shore, and there descried a female figure, with torn garments and dishevelled hair, running and leaping about with wild and irrational action among the sand-heaps by the sea side. I thought of the hag of the Witch’s Cairn, and my blood curdled within me.
“For some time we followed the figure, but almost with as little success as we had before done in the darkness of night. At length, by making a circuit around her, we came close upon her, where she had seated herself on the top of a benty hillock. It was Sarah, the nurse of our child. She rose wildly, by fits and starts, and waved her arms high in the air, and gave streaming to the wind the infant’s sky-blue mantle, the which was red with blood-stains. Her eyes were fixed in vacancy, and she regarded us not as we approached her; but she screamed and shrieked unintelligibly; and again she laughed loud and horribly at intervals. We rushed upon her, and then it was we discovered that reason had been reft from her. Her eyes glared wildly around on us all, but she knew no one, and no syllable could now be extracted from her. It was too clear, alas! that she had murdered mine infant in the sudden frenzy that had seized her!”