Page:Scott - Tales of my Landlord - 3rd series, vol. 1 - 1819.djvu/306

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296
TALES OF MY LANDLORD.

stomach, trusting to fill the one on his master's account, and the other on his own score, at the expence of the feuars of Wolf's-hope. But, death to his hopes! as he entered the eastern end of the straggling village, the awful form of Davie Dingwall, a sly, dry, hard-fisted, shrewd country attorney, who had already acted against the family of Ravenswood, and was a principal agent of Sir William Ashton, trotted in at the western extremity, bestriding a leathern portmanteau stuffed with the feu-charters of the hamlet, and hoping he had not kept Mr Balderstone waiting, "as he was instructed and fully empowered to pay or receive, compound or compensate, and, in fine, to agé as accords, respecting all mutual and unsettled claims whatsoever, belonging or competent to the Honourable Norman Ravenswood, commonly called the Master of Ravenswood"——

"The Right Honourable Norman Lord Ravenswood," said Caleb with great emphasis; for, though conscious he had little chance of advantage in the conflict to en-