Scotland/Scots > Wilson's tales of the Borders and of Scotland > Volume 3

58
TALES OF THE BORDERS.
That perterricrepus of dry bones crackled as the body swung
from side to side, and attracted the attention of the man,
whose eye, tortured as he was, sought fearfully the cause
of the strange noise.
I saw that his attention was in an instant rivetted on the
figure, and perceived that his look was directed to the
words (written in large letters) on the knee pan. The knife
was in my hand, and my apprentice was about to lay hold
of his head. The attitude of the man arrested my eye, and
I witnessed, what I have often heard of, but never saw
before, that extraordinary erection of the hair of the head,
produced by extreme fear, and known by the name of
horripilation.
I now thought he was afraid of the knife—but I was
soon undeceived. With a loud yell he started up suddenly
and violently—his hair seemed to move with horror—his
body was in the attitude of flying from the figure, yet his
limbs obeyed not his fear; he stood rivetted to the spot,
with his eyes chained on the skeleton, his lips wide open,
and his hands extended. In this position he remained for
several seconds, while my apprentice and I gazed on in
wonder on the horror-stricken victim.
“ I said I would brave Heaven,” he exclaimed in wild
accents, “ by curing a heaven-sent disease ; but is Heaven
to be braved by man ? How came that figure there ?”
“ That is easily explained,” said I.
“ It is”—he continued—“ my cousin, Walter T ,
who died for me ? Is he not heaven-sent also ? See, he
moves and nods his grim head at me, and says, ‘ You shall
not escape the vengeance of the Almighty. The nerve shall
not be cut, and your agonies must continue to the last mo¬
ment of your existence.’ And who has a better right to
speak these flaming words, than he whose cause is vindi¬
cated by the powers above—he whose agonies, produced
by me—me, wretched, miserable man !—were ended by an