THE FAIR WHITE DOE.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4180, 13 December 1884, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE FAIR WHITE DOE.

A SCOTTISH LEGEND. I.V *UAIIY KYLE DALLAS. Years ago two brothers, named MacQ,uill, lived in Scotland, in their old family mansion. They were famous hunters, and spent most of their time in wild sport. Nothing escaped them, and their walls were covered with tho antlers of tho stags they had slain. They were twenty-eight and thirty years of age ; very handsome, very graceful; good singers, riders and oarsmen ; but neither of them ever even looked at a pretty girl. They had resolved lo live and die bachelors and heart-free, and so avoid the curse of their race. Their history proved that no one of their name bad ever been happy in love. Some great calamity overtook each one soon after his wedding-day, if not immediately on his betrothal. Thero .were terrible tragedies, sad romances, talcs of sorrow and madness and death fromonogencrationtothoother; andin the wido hall, over the oaken mantel piece, wore carved these words, of which this is a free translation from the quaint old Scotch : ' Men of the house of MacQ.uill Follow the deer, if you will; But follow no dear, For listen and hear : That will bring you nothing but ill.' Tho brothers, Allan and Fergus Mac Quill, would laughingly point out this carving to those who urged them to marry. Whether they had any faith in it no ono knew. Probably they wero fond of bachelor life, and were not affected by the superstition to any great degree, but the fact remains the same.

At last, one autumn, they went clown to their hunting lodge, with three or four of their friends. Tho sport was better than usual, but this time a curious thing occurred. A little doe, delicate andjbeautif ul, followed the hunters about, and particularly favored Allan.

It was not the custom of theso hunters to kill tho female deer or tho young. They simply hunted the slag ; but hitherto they had been content with sparing the pretty creatures ; now this doe, following them to their lodge became Allan's pet. He would caress its beautiful head, feed it from hi 8 hand, and call it tender names.

'If any woman was as beautiful and gentle as this doo,' ho often said, laughing, ' I would bravo the family curse and marry a wife ; but there is none. Look at her eyes Fergns.' And truly tho eyes of tho doe wero beautiful —soft- a3 velvet, yet bright as any diamonds. Tho dogs who lay about the hut were kind to her. No ono but felt flattered when she touched a weatherbronzed hand with her delicate pink nose, and uttered a littlo smothered bloat, like a laugh. However, she seldom so complimented any ono but Allan.

One night the brothers and their friends sat about a rude table set in the midst, of the great hut. The light of flaring torches showed the walls covered with trophies of tho chase; drinking-cups and great flasks adorned the table, and dry scones lay near. This, with venison, was their food. No strong man was dainty in those days. They were very merry, and many a tale, was told and many a song sung. Suddenly the doe, who had, been asleep

on a pilo of heather in thecorncr, occasioned

a diversion by starting to her feet and run

ning to Allan. She touched his hand and cheek with her little nose, uttered her loving bleat, and signified to him as plainly as

a dog could have done that siio wanted him to accomnanv her.

Laughingly he obeyed. He pushed open the creaking door of the hut, and they saw that the moonshine made all without as light as clay, and that the doe led Allan away with her into the depths of the forest.

Suddenly an inexplicable pang of terror filled the heart, of Fergus. He started to his feet.

' I must follow my brother,' ho said, and the others saw him turn pale. However, it was plain that he did not wish them to go with him, co they remained at the table, and growing drowsy, cast themselves upon their rude couches and fell asleep. Meanwhile Fergus followed his brother's track until it led to a wild spot in the woods, where from the entrance of a great black cave, bearing a rough resemblance toagothic doorway, a stream of silvery water gushed forth, foaming and laughing as though it had played the earth a trick.

The silvery moonlight, flittered through the boughs, lit the place sufficiently so that Fergus could plainly 3cc hi* brother standing in the open space regarding with astonished eyes the faun, who certainly had met with sonic strange transformati.ui.

She grow taller, more slender. Her forelegs seemed to shorten, the beautiful white hair grew longer and longer, and took the form of a mantle of what, seemed like woollen lace. It draped her completely, and now she stood upright on little white feet. Tho beautiful head was not that of a deer, but, of a girl, an elf, a fairy lady, woman in form, superhuman in expression. Lintwhite locks under the lint.-whito veil, tbe s -ftest pink on the pearliost cheok : fair hands held the veil toget.her over a bosom of snow. No statue was ever draped more beautifully. And it, spoke this strange thing, whoso loveliness froze the blood in the veins of Fergus, while it seemed to thrill that of his brother with delight and admiration:

' Oh, dearest of men,' it said, 'it was no doe that, followed you in the forest and lay at your feet in tho hut, but a woman who loved you—a fairy princess, but no less a woman. Allan MacQ.uill, remember tho curse upon your house. You cannot wed an earthly woman, but come with me, and your fairy bride will bring you only good and happiness. Deep in tho cave yonder tho land of beauty opens. 'This water pours from the river on which our fairy boats float. It is a paradise, and it will hist forever, for fairies do not die or grow old, and all our magic influence will make you one of us. Come! Come! Come!'

She took Allan's hand, and Fergus heard him say :

' Beautiful creature, I adoro you. I should follow you if you led me to death und destruction. But, what more could man wish for than life with thee ?'

They turned to go, but at this instant Fergus sprang forward. He seized his brother's other hand. ' Allan !'• he cried. ' Allan ! Come to your senses ! Go not with this evil thing ! Beautiful, but accursed! A fairy! A witch ! Come back, Allan, to your brother !' ' Come with us, brother!' cried Allan. But tho white woman, stooping with a laugh picked up a little white pebblo and flung it playfully at Fergus. 'Go back to your hunters and your stags,' she cried. The little pebble struck Fergus on the throat, and was a mere nothing —a thing that a babe might cast harmlessly at another —but he felt as though it dealt him death. Powerless to move, ho watched the whito woman lead his brother into the cavern, and her laugh mingled with the splash of water.

Later, his friends found him lying on tlio earth, dying of that tiny wound from a tiny pebble." He lived only long enough to tell the story.

Of Allan nothing more was ever seen, and so the old family of the Mac Quill came to an end, and tho house passed to strangers.