CHAPTER VI

Next, the Justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances--
And so he plays his part

--As You Like It


When Mrs. Bertram of Ellangowan was able to hear the news of what
had passed during her confinement, her apartment rung with all
manner of gossiping respecting the handsome young student from
Oxford who had told such a fortune by the stars to the young
Laird, 'blessings on his dainty face.' The form, accent, and
manners of the stranger were expatiated upon. His horse, bridle,
saddle, and stirrups did not remain unnoticed. All this made a
great impression upon the mind of Mrs. Bertram, for the good lady
had no small store of superstition.

Her first employment, when she became capable of a little work,
was to make a small velvet bag for the scheme of nativity which
she had obtained from her husband. Her fingers itched to break the
seal, but credulity proved stronger than curiosity; and she had
the firmness to inclose it, in all its integrity, within two slips
of parchment, which she sewed round it to prevent its being
chafed. The whole was then put into the velvet bag aforesaid, and
hung as a charm round the neck of the infant, where his mother