They now came to a place where the gallery was enlarged into a small circle, sufficient to contain a stone seat.A niche, constructed exactly before it, projected forward into the chancel, and as its sides were latticed, as it were, with perforated stone-work, it commanded a full view of the chancel in every direction, and was probably constructed, as Edie intimated, to be a convenient watch-tower, from which the superior priest, himself unseen, might watch the behaviour of his monks, and ascertain, by personal inspection, their punctual attendance upon those rites of devotion which his rank exempted him from sharing with them.As this niche made one of a regular series which stretched along the wall of the chancel, and in no respect differed from the rest when seen from below, the secret station, screened as it was by the stone figure of St.Michael and the dragon, and the open tracery around the niche, was completely hid from observation.The private passage, confined to its pristine breadth, had originally continued beyond this seat; but the jealous precautions of the vagabonds who frequented the cave of St.Ruth had caused them to build it carefully up with hewn stones from the ruin.
``We shall be better here,'' said Edie, seating himself on the stone bench, and stretching the lappet of his blue gown upon the spot, when he motioned Lovel to sit down beside him--``we shall be better here than doun below; the air's free and mild, and the savour of the wallflowers, and siccan shrubs as grow on thae ruined wa's, is far mair refreshing than the damp smell doun below yonder.They smell sweetest by night-time thae flowers, and they're maist aye seen about rained buildings.
Now, Maister Lovel, can ony o' you scholars gie a gude reason for that?''
Lovel replied in the negative.
``I am thinking,'' resumed the beggar, ``that they'll be, like mony folk's gude gifts, that often seem maist gracious in adversity--or maybe it's a parable, to teach us no to slight them that are in the darkness of sin and the decay of tribulation, since God sends odours to refresh the mirkest hour, and flowers and pleasant bushes to clothe the ruined buildings.And now I wad like a wise man to tell me whether Heaven is maist pleased wi' the sight we are looking upon--thae pleasant and quiet lang streaks o' moonlight that are lying sae still on the floor o' this auld kirk, and glancing through the great pillars and stanchions o' the carved windows, and just dancing like on the leaves o' the dark ivy as the breath o' wind shakes it--Iwonder whether this is mair pleasing to Heaven than when it was lighted up wi' lamps, and candles nae doubt, and roughies,<*>
* Links, or torches.
and wi' the mirth and the frankincent that they speak of in the Holy Scripture, and wi' organs assuredly, and men and women singers, and sackbuts, and dulcimers, and a' instruments o'
music--I wonder if that was acceptable, or whether it is of these grand parafle o' ceremonies that holy writ says, `It is an abomination to me.' I am thinking, Maister Lovel, if twa puir contrite spirits like yours and mine fand grace to make our petition''--Here Lovel laid his hand eagerly on the mendicant's arm, saying,--``Hush! I heard some one speak.''
``I am dull o' hearing,'' answered Edie, in a whisper, ``but we're surely safe here--where was the sound?''
Lovel pointed to the door of the chancel, which, highly ornamented, occupied the west end of the building, surmounted by the carved window, which let in a flood of moonlight over it.
``They can be nane o' our folk,'' said Edie in the same low and cautious tone; ``there's but twa o' them kens o' the place, and they're mony a mile off, if they are still bound on their weary pilgrimage.I'll never think it's the officers here at this time o' night.I am nae believer in auld wives' stories about ghaists, though this is gey like a place for them--But mortal, or of the other world, here they come!--twa men and a light.''
And in very truth, while the mendicant spoke, two human figures darkened with their shadows the entrance of the chancel --which had before opened to the moon-lit meadow beyond, and the small lantern which one of them displayed, glimmered pale in the clear and strong beams of the moon, as the evening star does among the lights of the departing day.The first and most obvious idea was, that, despite the asseverations of Edie Ochiltree, the persons who approached the ruins at an hour so uncommon must be the officers of justice in quest of Lovel.
But no part of their conduct confirmed the suspicion.A touch and a whisper from the old man warned Lovel that his best course was to remain quiet, and watch their motions from their present place of concealment.Should anything appear to render retreat necessary, they had behind them the private stair-case and cavern, by means of which they could escape into the wood long before any danger of close pursuit.They kept themselves, therefore, as still as possible, and observed with eager and anxious curiosity every accent and motion of these nocturnal wanderers.
After conversing together some time in whispers, the two figures advanced into the middle of the chancel; and a voice, which Lovel at once recognised, from its tone and dialect, to be that of Dousterswivel, pronounced in a louder but still a smothered tone, ``Indeed, mine goot sir, dere cannot be one finer hour nor season for dis great purpose.You shall see, mine goot sir, dat it is all one bibble-babble dat Mr.Oldenbuck says, and dat he knows no more of what he speaks than one little child.Mine soul! he expects to get as rich as one Jew for his poor dirty one hundred pounds, which I care no more about, by mine honest wort, than I care for an hundred stivers.
But to you, my most munificent and reverend patron, I will show all de secrets dat art can show--ay, de secret of de great Pymander.''