to be very
careful--rubbed salt into the wound. All the omens were against them,
and when on the Sunday Claverhouse sat beside his bride in the Abbey
church, the people gave them a cold countenance, and as they went up
the street true Presbyterians turned their faces from Claverhouse. The
marriage service was performed in the gallery of the castle, and the
minister officiating was one who had taken the indulgence and was
avoided by the stricter people of the kirk. The contract was signed by
Lord Dundonald and the old countess with weak and feeble hands, but
the bride and bridegroom placed their names with strong and
unhesitating characters. Lord Ross stood beside his commanding officer
as best man, and young Lord Cochrane was also present, full of
good-will and sympathy, for was he not himself about to marry the
daughter of the Duke of Hamilton? But neither Dundonald's weakly
approval nor the gayety of the young men could lift the shadow that
fell within and without, both in the gallery and in the courtyard of
the castle, upon the marriage of Claverhouse and Jean Cochrane. News
had come two days before that there had been a rising among the
Covenanters, and Claverhouse was ordered to pursue them with his
cavalry. His regiment was in the district, and while the service was
going on in the castle, his horse was saddled in the courtyard, and a
guard of troopers were making ready to start. The sound of the
champing of bits and the clinking of spurs came up through the quiet
summer air and mingled with the prayer of the minister. Lady Cochrane
was not supposed to be present, but when the minister asked if anyone
could show just cause why this marriage should not be performed, she
appeared suddenly from an alcove where she had been sheltered behind
the servants. Stepping forward, she said, with an unfaltering voice,
vibrant with solemn indignation, "_In the name of God_ and in my own,
I, the mother of Jean Cochrane, forbid this marriage, because she is
marrying against my will, and joining herself to the persecutor of
God's people; because she is turning herself against her father's
house and forsaking the faith of her father's God." The minister
paused for a moment, for he was a quiet man and stood in awe of Lady
Cochrane; he looked anxiously at the bride and bridegroom. "I have
made my choice," said Jean, "and I adhere to it with my mind and
heart," and Claverhouse, with a smile and bow, bade the minister do
his duty. When