He might have said with Malvolio, '"I do not now fool
myself, to let imagination jade me!" I am actually in the land of
military and romantic adventures, and it only remains to be seen what
will be my own share in them.'
The whole circumstances now detailed concerning the state of the country
seemed equally novel and extraordinary. He had indeed often heard of
Highland thieves, but had no idea of the systematic mode in which their
depredations were conducted; and that the practice was connived at, and
even encouraged, by many of the Highland chieftains, who not only found
the creaghs, or forays, useful for the purpose of training individuals of
their clan to the practice of arms, but also of maintaining a wholesome
terror among their Lowland neighbours, and levying, as we have seen, a
tribute from them, under colour of protection-money.
Bailie Macwheeble, who soon afterwards entered, expatiated still more at
length upon the same topic. This honest gentleman's conversation was so
formed upon his professional practice, that Davie Gellatley once said his
discourse was like a 'charge of horning.' He assured our hero, that 'from
the maist ancient times of record, the lawless thieves, limmers, and
broken men of the Highlands, had been in fellowship together by reason of
their surnames, for the committing of divers thefts, reifs, and herships
upon the honest men of the Low Country, when they not only intromitted
with their whole goods and gear, corn, cattle, horse, nolt, sheep,
outsight and insight plenishing, at their wicked pleasure, but moreover
made prisoners, ransomed them, or concussed them into giving borrows
(pledges) to enter into captivity again;--all which was directly
prohibited in divers parts of the Statute Book, both by the act one
thousand five hundred and sixty-seven, and various others; the whilk
statutes, with all that had followed and might follow thereupon, were
shamefully broken and vilipended by the said sorners, limmers, and broken
men, associated into fellowships, for the aforesaid purposes of theft,
stouthreef, fire-raising, murther, raptus mulierum, or forcible abduction
of women, and such like as aforesaid.
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