David Elginbrod
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David Elginbrod Author(s): MacDonald, George (1824-1905) Publisher: Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library Description: This work was the first of the famed fantasy novelist's novels in the style of realism. It tells the story of Hugh Sutherland, a young Scotsman who, while facing personal trials, befriends David Elginbrod and his daughter, Maggie. Readers and critics alike have praised and cherished the novel not only for its artistry, but also for its tender and precise portrayal of human life. Although not as well-known as The Princess and the Goblin or At the Back of the North Wind, David Elginbrod possesses truth and beauty all its own, and does not deserve to be overlooked. Kathleen O'Bannon CCEL Staff Subjects: English literature 19th century, 1770/1800-1890/1900 i Contents Title Page 1 BOOK I. TURRIEPUFFIT. 2 CHAPTER I. THE FIR-WOOD. 3 CHAPTER II. DAVID ELGINBROD AND THE NEW TUTOR. 7 CHAPTER III. THE DAISY AND THE PRIMROSE. 11 CHAPTER IV. THE COTTAGE. 14 CHAPTER V. THE STUDENTS. 20 CHAPTER VI. THE LAIRD'S LADY. 26 CHAPTER VII. THE SECRET OF THE WOOD. 33 CHAPTER VIII. A SUNDAY MORNING. 40 CHAPTER IX. NATURE. 44 CHAPTER X. HARVEST. 51 CHAPTER XI. A CHANGE AND NO CHANGE. 56 CHAPTER XII. CHARITY. 61 CHAPTER XIII. HERALDRY. 65 CHAPTER XIV. WINTER. 74 CHAPTER XV. TRANSITION. 82 BOOK II. ARNSTEAD. 88 CHAPTER I. A NEW HOME. 89 CHAPTER II. HARRY'S NEW HORSE. 95 CHAPTER III. EUPHRASIA. 102 CHAPTER IV. THE CAVE IN THE STRAW. 111 CHAPTER V. LARCH AND OTHER HUNTING. 123 CHAPTER VI. FATIMA. 131 CHAPTER VII. THE PICTURE GALLERY. 139 CHAPTER VIII. NEST-BUILDING. 148 ii CHAPTER IX. GEOGRAPHY POINT. 156 CHAPTER X. ITALIAN. 162 CHAPTER XI. THE FIRST MIDNIGHT. 170 CHAPTER XII. A SUNDAY. 178 CHAPTER XIII. A STORM. 185 CHAPTER XIV. AN EVENING LECTURE. 189 CHAPTER XV. ANOTHER EVENING LECTURE. 195 CHAPTER XVI. A NEW VISITOR AND AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 203 CHAPTER XVII. MATERIALISM alias GHOST-HUNTING. 215 CHAPTER XVIII. MORE MATERIALISM AND SOME SPIRITUALISM. 230 CHAPTER XIX. THE GHOST'S WALK. 239 CHAPTER XX. THE BAD MAN. 244 CHAPTER XXI. SPIRIT VERSUS MATERIALISM. 248 CHAPTER XXII. THE RING. 254 CHAPTER XXIII. THE WAGER. 260 CHAPTER XXIV. THE LADY EUPHRASIA. 270 CHAPTER XXV. NEXT MORNING. 273 CHAPTER XXVI. AN ACCIDENT. 278 CHAPTER XXVII. MORE TROUBLES. 284 CHAPTER XXVIII. A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. 291 CHAPTER XXIX. HUGH'S AWAKING. 296 CHAPTER XXX. CHANGES. 301 CHAPTER XXXI. EXPLANATIONS. 305 CHAPTER XXXII. DEPARTURE. 313 BOOK III. LONDON. 315 CHAPTER I. LODGINGS. 316 CHAPTER II. LETTERS FOR THE POST. 322 CHAPTER III. ENDEAVOURS. 325 CHAPTER IV. A LETTER FROM THE POST. 328 CHAPTER V. BEGINNINGS. 330 CHAPTER VI. A SUNDAY'S DINNER. 337 CHAPTER VII. SUNDAY EVENING. 348 iii CHAPTER VIII. EUPHRA. 358 CHAPTER IX. THE NEW PUPILS. 365 CHAPTER X. CONSULTATIONS. 371 CHAPTER XI. QUESTIONS AND DREAMS. 376 CHAPTER XII. A SUNDAY WITH FALCONER. 383 CHAPTER XIII. THE LADY'S-MAID. 394 CHAPTER XIV. DAVID ELGINBROD. 403 CHAPTER XV. MARGARET'S SECRET. 406 CHAPTER XVI. FOREBODINGS. 412 CHAPTER XVII. STRIFE. 424 CHAPTER XVIII. VICTORY. 435 CHAPTER XIX. MARGARET. 442 CHAPTER XX. A NEW GUIDE. 447 CHAPTER XXI. THE LAST GROAT. 457 CHAPTER XXII. DEATH. 463 CHAPTER XXIII. NATURE AND HER LADY. 469 CHAPTER XXIV. THE FIR-WOOD AGAIN. 474 FOOTNOTES. 480 GLOSSARY. 481 iv This PDF file is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, www.ccel.org. The mission of the CCEL is to make classic Christian books available to the world. • This book is available in PDF, HTML, ePub, and other formats. See http://www.ccel.org/ccel/macdonald/elginbrod.html. • Discuss this book online at http://www.ccel.org/node/3002. The CCEL makes CDs of classic Christian literature available around the world through the Web and through CDs. We have distributed thousands of such CDs free in developing countries. If you are in a developing country and would like to receive a free CD, please send a request by email to [email protected]. The Christian Classics Ethereal Library is a self supporting non-profit organization at Calvin College. If you wish to give of your time or money to support the CCEL, please visit http://www.ccel.org/give. This PDF file is copyrighted by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. It may be freely copied for non-commercial purposes as long as it is not modified. All other rights are re- served. Written permission is required for commercial use. v Title Page Title Page DAVID ELGINBROD. BY GEORGE MACDONALD, LL.D. printed in 1871 by Hurst and Blackett Ltd, London [This Electronic text was compiled by John Bechard, email address: [email protected]. Note from Electronic text creator: I have compiled a word list with definitions of most of the Scottish words found in this work at the end of the book. This list does not belong to the original work, but is designed to help with the conversations and references in broad Scots found in this work. A further explanation of this list can be found towards the end of this document, at the beginning of the list itself. There are two footnotes in this book which have been renumbered and placed at the end of the work.] And gladly wolde he lerne and gladly teche. CHAUCER. TO THE MEMORY OF LADY NOEL BYRON, THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED, WITH A LOVE STRONGER THAN DEATH. 1 BOOK I. TURRIEPUFFIT. BOOK I. TURRIEPUFFIT. BOOK I. TURRIEPUFFIT. With him there was a Ploughman, was his brother. A trewé swinker, and a good was he, Living in peace and perfect charity. God loved he best with all his trewé heart, At allé timés, were it gain or smart, And then his neighébour right as himselve. CHAUCER.—Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. 2 CHAPTER I. THE FIR-WOOD. CHAPTER I. THE FIR-WOOD. CHAPTER I. THE FIR-WOOD. Of all the flowers in the mead, Then love I roost these flowers white and rede, Such that men callen daisies in our town. I renne blithe As soon as ever the sun ginneth west, To see this flower, how it will go to rest, For fear of night, so hateth she darkness; Her cheer is plainly spread in the brightness Of the sunne, for there it will unclose. CHAUCER—Prologue to the Legend of Good Women. "MEG! whaur are ye gaein' that get, like a wull shuttle? Come in to the beuk." Meg's mother stood at the cottage door, with arms akimbo and clouded brow, calling through the boles of a little forest of fir-trees after her daughter. One would naturally presume that the phrase she employed, comparing her daughter's motions to those of a shuttle that had "gane wull," or lost its way, implied that she was watching her as she threaded her way through the trees. But although she could not see her, the fir-wood was certainly the likeliest place for her daughter to be in; and the figure she employed was not in the least inapplicable to Meg's usual mode of wandering through the trees, that operation being commonly per- formed in the most erratic manner possible. It was the ordinary occupation of the first hour of almost every day of Margaret's life. As soon as she woke in the morning, the fir-wood drew her towards it, and she rose and went. Through its crowd of slender pillars, she strayed hither and thither, in an aimless manner, as if resignedly haunting the neighbourhood of something she had lost, or, hopefully, that of a treasure she expected one day to find. It did not seem that she had heard her mother's call, for no response followed; and Janet Elginbrod returned into the cottage, where David of the same surname, who was already seated at the white deal table with "the beuk," or large family bible before him, straightway commenced reading a chapter in the usual routine from the Old Testament, the New being reserved for the evening devotions. The chapter was the fortieth of the prophet Isaiah; and as the voice of the reader re-uttered the words of old inspiration, one might have thought that it was the voice of the ancient prophet himself, pouring forth the expression of his own 3 CHAPTER I. THE FIR-WOOD. faith in his expostulations with the unbelief of his brethren. The chapter finished—it is none of the shortest, and Meg had not yet returned—the two knelt, and David prayed thus: "O Thou who holdest the waters in the hollow of ae han', and carriest the lambs o' thy own making in thy bosom with the other han', it would be altogether unworthy o' thee, and o' thy Maijesty o' love, to require o' us that which thou knowest we cannot bring unto thee, until thou enrich us with that same. Therefore, like thine own bairns, we boo doon afore thee, an' pray that thou wouldst tak' thy wull o' us, thy holy an' perfect an' blessed wull o' us; for, O God, we are a' thine ain. An' for oor lassie, wha's oot amo' thy trees, an' wha' we dinna think forgets her Maker, though she may whiles forget her prayers, Lord, keep her a bonnie lassie in thy sicht, as white and clean in thy een as she is fair an' halesome in oors; an' oh! we thank thee, Father in heaven, for giein' her to us. An' noo, for a' oor wrang-duins an' ill-min'ins, for a' oor sins and trespasses o' mony sorts, dinna forget them, O God, till thou pits them a' richt, an' syne exerceese thy michty power e'en ower thine ain sel, an' clean forget them a'thegither; cast them ahint thy back, whaur e'en thine ain een shall ne'er see them again, that we may walk bold an' upricht afore thee for evermore, an' see the face o' Him wha was as muckle God in doin' thy biddin', as gin he had been ordering' a' thing Himsel.