Among those that crowded around the carriage of Robert Burns earlier in the evening, listening to his inspiring oration, stood a girl of twenty or thereabouts, whose pale, haggard face and tearful eyes attracted some passing attention from those near her. She was dressed in an ankle length skirt of gray, over which a red shawl had been tastefully draped. A black velvet bodice confined the loose white gimpe at the waist, while from her left shoulder a brilliant plaid hung gracefully to the bottom of her dress. Around her neck row upon row of different colored beads hung loosely to her waist. Upon the blue-black hair which fell around her face in waving masses, a wreath of white and pink heather was twined becomingly. Her unusual attire attracted much attention. “She must be a gypsy,” they told each other wonderingly. Finally, after many conjectures, someone in the crowd volunteered the information that she was a street singer who had been seen singing through the streets of the town for a day or so. Their curiosity appeased, they turned to their idol once more. Every now and then a convulsive sob shook the young girl’s slender, graceful figure. Like one who hungered for food and drink she watched the[224] speaker, her heart in her eyes, her hands clasped tightly upon her breast. When the eager throng unhitched the horses from the open carriage she had breathlessly watched every movement, and when they, with wild bursts of applause and good-natured laughter, sped away up Princes Street, pulling the carriage behind them, she had swiftly followed, the center of a noisy gang of street urchins and idle brawlers.
With a mighty cheer, which brought the watchmen running to the spot pell-mell, they finally stopped at Athol Castle and quickly lined themselves on each side of the striped awning avenue, from the curbing to the door, to watch the great man pass within.
The gypsy frantically elbowed her way through the pompous coachmen and good-natured cabbies who had pressed forward to witness the new arrival, and reached the inner edge of the crowd. At that moment Robert stepped from his carriage and walked quickly up the avenue. With a little cry of joy she stretched out her hands to arrest his attention, but he passed inside without having once caught a glimpse of this strange follower.
A derisive laugh went up from those who had curiously watched the peculiar actions of the gypsy. At the sound she dropped her arms hurriedly, the blood rushing to her pale cheeks. With one quick, startled glance at the mocking faces beside her, she[225] turned quickly and threaded her way through the line of splendid equipages, with their prancing horses, till she reached a secluded part of the street, where she stopped and looked back at the brilliantly lighted castle, tears of bitter disappointment and despair slowly trickling down her wan cheeks. As she stood there in the bright moonlight, a prey to her bitter thoughts, a handsome equipage, drawn by a prancing pair of steeds, attracted her listless attention. As it slowly drove past the wretched girl a sweet young face crowned with golden hair appeared in the open window, followed by a white arm. Her little hand was noticeably bare of jewels. With a sweet word of pity the girl tossed a silver piece at the feet of her unfortunate sister. The gypsy indifferently watched the carriage out of sight. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, she stooped and picked up the coin, and without looking at it put it carelessly in her pocket, a flush of shame and mortification mantling her dark cheek. For a while she stood in moody silence, listening to the strains of music which came faintly to her from the castle. Suddenly she lifted her face to the heavens, her arms upraised, her lips moving in some prayer or incantation. For a moment she stood thus, then slowly her arms dropped to her side. There was a new calm look of determination in her face as she quickly traced her steps back to where the crowds still lingered about the closed doors of Athol Castle. She stood on the outskirts of[226] the crowd unseen in the shadow, her restless eyes searching here and there, peering into the open windows, up and down the high stone wall which bor............