Excerpt from The Abbot: Being the Sequel of the Monastery

The pride of ancestry, which rankled in the bosom of the more ancient gentry, was more openly expressed by their ladies, and was, moreover, em bittered not a little by the political feuds of the time, for most of the South ron chiefs were friends to the authority of the Queen, and very jealous of the power of Murray. The Castle of Avenel was, therefore, on all these accounts, as' melancholy and solitary a residence for its lady as could well be imagined. Still it had the essential recommendation of great security. The reader knows that the fortress was built upon an islet in a small lake, and was only accessible by a causeway, intersected by a double ditch de fended by two draw bridges, so that without artillery, it might in these days he considered as impregnable. It was only necessary, therefore, to secure against surprise, and the service of six able men within the castle was suffi cient for that purpose. If more serious danger threatened, an ample garri son was supplied by the male inhabitants of a little Hamlet, which under the auspices of H albert Glendinning, had arisen on a small piece of level ground, betwixt the lake and the hill, nearly adjoining to the spot where the causeway joined the main land. The. Lord of Avenel had found it an easy matter to get inhabitants, as he was not only a kind and beneficent over-lord, but well qualified both by his experience in arms, his high character for wis dom and integrity, and his favour with the powerful Earl of Murray, to pro tect and defend those who dwelt under, his banner. In leaving his castle for any length of time, he had, therefore, the consolation to reflect, that this village afi'orded, on the slightest notice, a band of thirty stout men, which was more than sufficient for its defence; while the families of the villagers, as was usual on such occasions, fled to the recesses of the mountains, drove their cattle to the same places for shelter, and left the enemy to work their wfll on their miserable cots.

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