Biggar and the House of Fleming

472 BIGGAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING.
overturned, they were both precipitated to the ground, and the
form of the fair Margaret was seriously injured and disfigured.
On recovering from her wounds and bruises, she became a nun
at Douglas, and during the contentions of the period, was car-
ried off by a band of marauders to the borders. She was,
however, rescued ; and the novel closes with this sentence : —
" In a short time it was made generally known throughout
Scotland, that Sir Malcolm Fleming and the lady Margaret de
Hautlieu were to be united at the court of the good King
Robert, and the husband invested with the honours of Biggar
and Cumbernauld, an earldom so long known in the family of
Fleming."
Previous to completing the novel of " Castle Dangerous,"
Sir Walter paid a visit to the scene in which it is laid. Hav-
ing been subjected to several attacks of apoplexy, his health
was at the time in a precarious condition ; and a few weeks
previously, he had been assailed with a strong burst of popular
indignation at Jedburgh, in making an attempt to oppose the .
movement in favour of Parliamentary Reform ; and this recep-
tion had deeply wounded his spirit, and still hung heavily on his
mind. Accompanied by Mr John Gibson Lockhart, his son-in-law,
he left Abbotsford on the morning of the 18th July 1831,
and, travelling through many scenes hallowed by his magic
pen, he arrived at Biggar in the afternoon, where he was de-
tained for some time, in consequence of the horses belonging
to the chief inn being engaged elsewhere. A report spread
rapidly through the town that the great minstrel of Scotland
had arrived ; and instantly the weavers left their looms, the
smiths their forges, the shoemakers their seats, and the mer-
chants their shops, and hastened forth to obtain a sight of a
man whose works had afforded so much delight to all ranks,
and conferred so great fame and honour on his country. In.
general, Scott was annoyed when he was made the object of
vulgar gaze and attention ; but, on this occasion, Lockhart
says that he appeared gratified by the respectful notice of the
people of Biggar, and he accounts for it by saying, "Jedburgh,
no doubt, hung on his mind, and he might be pleased to find
that political differences did not interfere everywhere with his
reception among his countrymen."
It is to be regretted that the temper of our great novelist,