Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 10
General
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 10
Scottish Borders (Scotland) -- Fiction
Mr Henry Bolton was found guilty of the crime with which he was charged,
and condemned to perish on the scaffold, although it was only his first
offence, and, to do him justice, he had committed the crime for the
purpose of having it in his power, in some measure, to requite May
Darling for the injury which she had received at his hands. How
wonderful are the ways of Providence in punishing the guilty! Actuated
by a motive unquestionably virtuous, Bolton commits a capital crime, and
the woman whom he had wronged becomes, unconsciously to herself, the
ultimate cause of his punishment! However, by powerful intercession on
the part of his friends, the sentence was commuted to transportation for
life. But it was destined that he should end his days miserably. "Whoso
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." Bolton was
virtually a murderer, as we shall see; and the curse could not be eluded
by the decision of any earthly tribunal. 'Twas vain to attempt to fly
from it. The vengeance of Heaven would have pursued him through all the
regions of space; and, screened by the closest envelope of darkness and
disguise, would have struck its victim down. In a skirmish with the
natives of the place to which he had been transported, he was taken
prisoner, and by them put to a cruel and lingering death.
After the painful interview with her husband in the church of
Grassyvale, Mrs Bolton returned to her father, secluding herself from
the world, and devoting her time to household duties and the education
of her son. Rumours of the death of her husband penetrated at last to
the remote part of the country where she resided, and, on its being
officially authenticated, Dr G----, who had commenced practice in a
neighbouring town, became a frequent visiter at the farmhouse. His
former courtship was renewed; and, when the days of mourning were over,
and time had done much to alleviate grief, to restore the faded charms
of Mrs Bolton, and to throw the events of the past into dimness and
distance, they were united; and are still, according to the last
accounts, living happily together, surrounded by a family of thriving
children. Nelly Gray and Janet Baird still pursue their respective
callings in Grassyvale--the latter never failing, on every possible
occasion, to boast of her sagacity in detecting the real character of Mr
Henry Wilkinson, _alias_ Bolton. But let us return to the suffering May
Darling.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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