Page:Scott - Tales of my Landlord - 3rd series, vol. 2 - 1819.djvu/227

Rh spoke well," he continued, "and I am in the situation which she foretold—or rather I am more deeply dishonoured—not the dependent and ally of the destroyer of my father's house, as the old sybil presaged, but the degraded wretch, who has aspired to hold that subordinate character, and has been rejected with disdain."

We are bound to tell the tale as we have received it; and, considering the distance of the time, and propensity of those through whose mouths it has passed to the marvellous, this could not be called a Scottish story, unless it manifested a tinge of Scottish superstition. As Ravenswood approached the solitary fountain, he is said to have met with the following singular adventure:—His horse, which was moving slowly forward, suddenly interrupted its steady and composed pace, snorted, reared, and, though urged by the spur, refused to proceed, as if some object of terror had suddenly presented itself. On looking to the fountain,