Download Full Version ebookmass - Visit ebookmass.

com

Ise Ebook Online Access for Law and Ethics for the
Health Professions Judson

https://ebookmass.com/product/ise-ebook-online-access-for-
law-and-ethics-for-the-health-professions-judson/

OR CLICK HERE

DOWLOAD NOW

Discover More Ebook - Explore Now at ebookmass.com

 Instant digital products (PDF, ePub, MOBI) ready for you
Download now and discover formats that fit your needs...

ISE EBook Online Access for Anatomy, Physiology, and

Disease: Foundations for the Health Professions, 3e 3rd
Edition Roiger
https://ebookmass.com/product/ise-ebook-online-access-for-anatomy-
physiology-and-disease-foundations-for-the-health-professions-3e-3rd-
edition-roiger/
ebookmass.com

ISE EBook Online Access for Essentials of Investments

Bodie

https://ebookmass.com/product/ise-ebook-online-access-for-essentials-
of-investments-bodie/

ebookmass.com

ISE EBook Online Access for Introduction to Chemical

Engineering Thermodynamics Smith

https://ebookmass.com/product/ise-ebook-online-access-for-
introduction-to-chemical-engineering-thermodynamics-smith/

ebookmass.com

Conservation Technology Serge A. Wich

https://ebookmass.com/product/conservation-technology-serge-a-wich/

ebookmass.com
Hidden Mistake (Vegas Aces: The Wide Receiver Book 2) Lisa
Suzanne

https://ebookmass.com/product/hidden-mistake-vegas-aces-the-wide-
receiver-book-2-lisa-suzanne/

ebookmass.com

Management of Information Security 6th Edition Michael E.

Whitman

https://ebookmass.com/product/management-of-information-security-6th-
edition-michael-e-whitman/

ebookmass.com

What Work Is (Working Class in American History) 1st

Edition Bruno

https://ebookmass.com/product/what-work-is-working-class-in-american-
history-1st-edition-bruno/

ebookmass.com

Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid Sciences 6th Edition Cengel

https://ebookmass.com/product/fundamentals-of-thermal-fluid-
sciences-6th-edition-cengel/

ebookmass.com

Politics, Christianity and Society in Malawi: Essays in

Honour of John McCracken Kenneth R. Ross (Editor)

https://ebookmass.com/product/politics-christianity-and-society-in-
malawi-essays-in-honour-of-john-mccracken-kenneth-r-ross-editor/

ebookmass.com
Oceans: Evolving Concepts Guy Jacques

https://ebookmass.com/product/oceans-evolving-concepts-guy-jacques/

ebookmass.com
 This Internationa] Student Edition is for use outside of the LLS.

LAW &
ETHICS
for Health Professions
1 N NTH ED T ON

f\

1. V
—
_ 0 fV
f r -

,
i
/ t
/
I
, *2
m Sill
/ Me
Graw
Hill

/
* aren Judson K
 i

Law &Professions
Ethics
for Health
NINTH Edition
 ii

iii

Law & Ethics

for Health Professions
NINTH Edition

Karen Judson, BS
Carlene Harrison, EdD, CMA (AAMA)
 iv

LAW & ETHICS FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright ©2021 by
McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or
retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not limited
to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.

Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside
the United States.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LWI 24 23 22 21 20

ISBN 978-1-260-57034-2
MHID 1-260-57034-7

Cover Image: ©Vladitto/Shutterstock.com, ©vitstudio/Shutterstock.com, ©ktsdesign/Shutterstock.com,

©Andrii Bielov/Shutterstock.com

All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright
page.

The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a
website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw-Hill
Education does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
 v

Brief Contents

Preface
CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Law and Ethics
CHAPTER 2 Making Ethical Decisions
CHAPTER 3 Working in Health Care
CHAPTER 4 Law, the Courts, and Contracts
CHAPTER 5 Professional Liability
CHAPTER 6 Defenses to Liability Suits
CHAPTER 7 Medical Records and Health Information Technology
CHAPTER 8 Privacy, Security, and Fraud
CHAPTER 9 Public Health Responsibilities of Health Care Practitioners
CHAPTER 10 Workplace Legalities
CHAPTER 11 The Beginning of Life and Childhood
CHAPTER 12 Death and Dying
CHAPTER 13 Stakeholders, Costs, and Patients’ Rights
Glossary
Index
 vi

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1
Introduction to Law and Ethics

1.1 Why Study Law and Ethics?

1.2 Comparing Aspects of Law and Ethics

1.3 Qualities of Successful Health Care Practitioners

Chapter Review

Chapter 2
Making Ethical Decisions

2.1 Value Development Theories

2.2 Value Choices Theories

2.3 Principles of Health Care Ethics

Chapter Review

Chapter 3
Working in Health Care

3.1 Licensure, Certification, Registration, and Scope of Practice

3.2 Accreditation
3.3 Practice Acts and Professional Boards

3.4 Business Aspects of Health Care

3.5 Managed Care Organizations

Chapter Review

Chapter 4
Law, the Courts, and Contracts

4.1 The Basis of and Primary Sources of Law

4.2 Classifications of Law

4.3 Tort Liability

4.4 Contracts

4.5 Physicians’ and Patients’ Rights and Responsibilities

Chapter Review

Chapter 5
Professional Liability

5.1 Liability

5.2 Standard of Care and Duty of Care

5.3 The Tort of Negligence

5.4 Elements of a Lawsuit

5.5 Alternative Dispute Resolution

5.6 Informed Consent

Chapter Review
Chapter 6
Defenses to Liability Suits

6.1 Preventing Liability Suits

6.2 Types of Defenses

6.3 Risk Management

6.4 Professional Liability Insurance

Chapter Review

Chapter 7
Medical Records and Health Information Technology

7.1 Medical Records

7.2 Medical Records Ownership, Retention, Storage, and Destruction

7.3 Records Release

7.4 Health Information Technology (HIT)

7.5 Social Media in Health Care

7.6 Telemedicine

Chapter Review

Chapter 8
Privacy, Security, and Fraud

8.1 The U.S. Constitution and Federal Privacy Laws

8.2 Privacy, Confidentiality, and Privileged Communication

8.3 HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rules

8.4 Controlling Health Care Fraud and Abuse

Chapter Review

vii

Chapter 9
Public Health Responsibilities of Health Care Practitioners

9.1 Vital Statistics

9.2 Public Health Functions

9.3 Reportable Diseases and Injuries

9.4 Drug Regulations

Chapter Review

Chapter 10
Workplace Legalities

10.1 Basic Employment Law

10.2 OSHA’s Workplace Priorities

10.3 OSHA, CDC, and CLIA Guidelines and Regulations

10.4 Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment Insurance

10.5 Hiring and the New Employee

Chapter Review

Chapter 11
The Beginning of Life and Childhood

11.1 Family History as a Predictor

11.2 DNA Testing

11.3 Genetic Engineering

11.4 Conception and the Beginning of Life

11.5 Rights of Children

Chapter Review

Chapter 12
Death and Dying

12.1 Attitudes toward Death and the Determination of Death

12.2 Legal Documents for Terminally Ill Patients

12.3 Health Care Services for Terminally Ill Patients

12.4 The Right to Die Movement

12.5 The National Organ Transplant Act

12.6 The Grieving Process

Chapter Review

Chapter 13
Stakeholders, Costs, and Patients’ Rights

13.1 The Stakeholders

13.2 Cost of Health Care

13.3 Access and Quality

13.4 Paying for Health Care

13.5 Patients’ Bill of Rights

Chapter Review

Glossary
Index

viii
 ix

About the Authors

Karen Judson, BS
Karen Judson has taught college and high school sciences and grades kindergarten, one, and three. Judson
has also worked as a laboratory and X-ray technician and completed 2 years of nursing while earning a
degree in biology. Judson has also published numerous science and relationship articles and books for
adult and young adult readers.

Carlene Harrison, EdD, CMA (AAMA)

Carlene Harrison was an administrator in a variety of outpatient health care facilities for 20 years in
Colorado, Texas, and Florida. She became a full-time faculty member at Hodges University in 2000
serving first as a professor and program chair in both medical assisting and health administration. In
2007, she was named Dean of the School of Allied Health. During her 15 years at Hodges, she was
responsible for adding six academic programs to the School of Allied Health, retiring in 2015. Even
though she is retired from full-time academia, she continues to work part time at a local public health
department, coordinating with universities and colleges to provide a variety of internships and clinicals
for students in the fields of public health, nursing, medicine, health information technology, dietetics, and
social work.
 x

Preface
Law and Ethics: For Health Professions explains how to navigate the numerous legal and ethical issues
that health care professionals face every day. Topics are based upon real-world scenarios and dilemmas
from a variety of health care practitioners. Through the presentation of Learning Outcomes, Key Terms,
From the Perspective of . . ., Ethics Issues, Chapter Reviews, Case Studies, Internet Activities, Court
Cases, and Videos, students learn about current legal and ethical problems and situations. In the ninth
edition, material has been revised to reflect the current health care environment. As students progress
through the text, they will get the opportunity to use critical thinking skills to learn how to resolve real-life
situations and theoretical scenarios and to decide how legal and ethical issues are relevant to the health
care profession in which they will practice.

New to the Ninth Edition

A number of updates have been made in the ninth edition to enrich the user’s experience with the product,
including revisions to most of the “From the Perspective Of …” features in each chapter:
Chapter 5, “Professional Liability,” now includes the book’s coverage of informed consent.
Chapter 7, “Medical Records and Health Information Technology,” provides more information about electronic health records and updated
information about social media applications in health care.
Chapter 10, “Workplace Legalities,” contains the updated OSHA priorities.
Chapter 11, “The Beginning of Life and Childhood,” includes updated information about genetic testing.
Chapter 13, “Stakeholders, Costs, and Patients’ Rights,” discusses the changing face of health care from a business perspective and
includes a review of the basic types of insurance coverage. It also contains a discussion of patients’ rights.
All statistics and court cases have been updated, as well as content relevant to laws passed since the eighth edition.
Connect has been updated to reflect updates in the chapters and feedback from customers. It contains all Check Your Progress questions,
all end-ofchapter questions, additional Case Studies with related questions, and simple interactives.
MHE Application-Based Activities are highly interactive, automatically graded online exercises that provide students a safe space to
practice using problem-solving skills to apply their knowledge to realistic scenarios. Each scenario addresses key concepts and skills that
students must use to work through and solve course specific problems, resulting in improved critical thinking and relevant workplace skills.
Connect Law and Ethics for Health Professions Application-Based Activities: Video Cases
Students watch different scenarios and are instructed on the different laws and ethical considerations that are relevant to those scenarios. Students apply their
knowledge of the subject by answering periodic questions throughout each video.
For the 9th edition, 5 of the 13 videos contain brand-new scenarios.

For a detailed transition guide between the eight and ninth editions of Law & Ethics, visit the Instructor
Resources in Connect!

To the Student
As you study to become a health care provider, you have undoubtedly realized that patients are more than
the sum of their medical problems. In fact, they are people with loved ones, professions, worries,
hobbies, and daily routines that are probably much like your own. However, because patients’ lives and
well-being are at stake as they seek and receive health care, in addition to seeing each patient as an
individual, you must carefully consider the complex legal, moral, and ethical issues that will arise as you
practice your profession. And you must learn to resolve such issues in an acceptable manner.

xi

Law & Ethics provides an overview of the laws and ethics you should know to help you give
competent, compassionate care to patients that is also within acceptable legal and ethical boundaries. The
text can also serve as a guide to help you resolve the many legal and ethical questions you may reasonably
expect to face as a student and, later, as a health care provider.
To derive maximum benefit from Law & Ethics:
Review the Learning Outcomes and Key Terms at the beginning of each chapter for an overview of the material included in the chapter.
Complete all Check Your Progress questions as they appear in the chapter, and correct any incorrect answers.
Review the legal cases to see how they apply to topics in the text, and try to determine why the court ruled as it did.
Study the Ethics Issues at the end of each chapter, and answer the discussion questions.
Complete the Review questions at the end of the chapter, correct any incorrect answers, and review the material again.
Review the Case Studies, and use your critical thinking skills to answer the questions.
Complete the Internet Activities at the end of the chapter to become familiar with online resources and to see what additional information
you can find about selected topics.
Complete the Connect assignments from your instructor, including any SmartBook modules assigned, as well as additional Case Studies and
the Application-Based Activities (Video Cases).
Study each chapter until you can answer correctly questions posed by the Learning Outcomes, Check Your Progress, and Review
questions.

Instructor Resources
You can rely on the following materials to help you and your students work through the material in this
book. All of the resources in the following table are available in the Instructor Resources under the
Library tab in Connect (available only to instructors who are logged into Connect).

Supplement Features
Instructor’s Each chapter includes:
Manual Learning Outcomes
Overview of PowerPoint Presentations
Teaching Points
Answer Keys for Check Your Progress and End-of-Chapter Questions

Key Concepts
PowerPoint
Accessible
Presentations
Computerized and Connect
Electronic Test
Word version
Bank Questions are tagged with learning outcomes, level of difficulty, level of Bloom’s taxonomy, feedback, topic, and
the accrediting standards of ABHES and CAAHEP, where appropriate

Transition Guide, by chapter, from Law & Ethics, 8e to 9e

Tools to Plan
Correlations by learning outcomes to ABHES and CAAHEP
Course Sample syllabi
Asset Map—a recap of the key instructor resources, as well as information on the content available through
Connect
 Want to learn more about this product? Attend one of our online webinars. To learn more about the
webinars, please contact your McGraw-Hill Learning Technology Representative. To find your McGraw-
Hill representative, go to www.mheducation.com and click “Get Support,” select “Higher Ed,” and then
click the “GET STARTED” button under the “Find Your Sales Rep” section.
Need help? Contact McGraw-Hill Education’s Customer Experience Group (CXG). Visit the CXG
Web site at www.mhhe.com/support. Browse the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and product
documentation and/or contact a CXG representative.
 xii

FOR INSTRUCTORS

You’re in the driver’s seat.

Want to build your own course? No problem. Prefer to use our turnkey, prebuilt course? Easy. Want to
make changes throughout the semester? Sure. And you’ll save time with Connect’s auto-grading too.

They’ll thank you for it.

Adaptive study resources like SmartBook® 2.0 help your students be better prepared in less time. You
can transform your class time from dull definitions to dynamic debates. Find out more about the powerful
personalized learning experience available in SmartBook 2.0 at
www.mheducation.com/highered/connect/smartbook
 Make it simple, make it affordable.

Connect makes it easy with seamless integration using any of the major Learning
Management Systems—Blackboard®, Canvas, and D2L, among others—to let you
organize your course in one convenient location. Give your students access to digital
materials at a discount with our inclusive access program. Ask your McGraw-Hill
representative for more information.
Padlock: Jobalou/Getty Images

Solutions for your challenges.

A product isn’t a solution. Real solutions are affordable, reliable, and come with training
and ongoing support when you need it and how you want it. Our Customer Experience
Group can also help you troubleshoot tech problems—although Connect’s 99% uptime
means you might not need to call them. See for yourself at status.mheducation.com
Checkmark: Jobalou/Getty Images

xiii

FOR STUDENTS

Effective, efficient studying.

Connect helps you be more productive with your study time and get better grades using tools like
SmartBook 2.0, which highlights key concepts and creates a personalized study plan. Connect sets you up
for success, so you walk into class with confidence and walk out with better grades.
Study anytime, anywhere.

Download the free ReadAnywhere app and access your online eBook or SmartBook 2.0 assignments
when it’s convenient, even if you’re offline. And since the app automatically syncs with your eBook and
SmartBook 2.0 assignments in Connect, all of your work is available every time you open it. Find out
more at www.mheducation.com/readanywhere

“I really liked this app—it made it easy to study when you don't have your textbook in
front of you.”
- Jordan Cunningham, Eastern Washington University

No surprises.

The Connect Calendar and Reports tools keep you on track with the work you need to get done and your
assignment scores. Life gets busy; Connect tools help you keep learning through it all.

Learning for everyone.

McGraw-Hill works directly with Accessibility Services Departments and faculty to meet the learning
needs of all students. Please contact your Accessibility Services office and ask them to email
[email protected], or visit www.mheducation.com/about/accessibility for more
information.
Top: Jenner Images/Getty Images, Left: Hero Images/Getty Images, Right: Hero Images/Getty Images
 xiv

Guided Tour
Chapter Openers
The chapter opener sets the stage for what will be learned in the chapter. Key terms are first introduced
in the chapter opener so the student can see them all in one place; they are defined in the margins
throughout the chapter for easy review, as well as in the glossary. Learning Outcomes are written to
reflect the revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy and to establish the key points the student should focus
on in the chapter. In addition, major chapter heads are structured to reflect the Learning Outcomes, and the
Learning Outcomes for easy reference. From the Perspective of . . . boxes illustrate real-life experiences
related to the text. Each quotes health care providers as they encounter problems or situations relevant to
the material about to be presented in the chapter.

Court Cases
Several court cases are presented in every chapter. Each summarizes a lawsuit that illustrates points
made in the text and is meant to encourage students to consider the subject’s relevance to their health care
specialty. The legal citations at the end of each case indicate where to find the complete text for that case.
“Landmark” cases are those that established an ongoing precedent.

xv
Check Your Progress Questions
These questions appear at various points in the chapters to allow students to test their comprehension of
the material they just read. These questions can also be answered in Connect.
End-of-Chapter Resources
The Chapter Summary is in a tabular, step-by-step format organized by Learning Outcomes to help with
review of the material. Ethics Issues are issues and related discussion questions based on interviews
conducted with ethics counselors within the professional organizations for health care providers, as well
as with bioethics experts. Each Chapter Review includes Applying Knowledge questions that reinforce
the concepts the students have just learned. These questions can be answered in Connect. Case Studies
are scenarios with exercises that allow students to practice their critical thinking skills to decide how to
resolve the real-life situations and theoretical scenarios presented. Internet Activities include exercises
designed to increase students’ knowledge of the chapter topics and help them gain more internet research
expertise.
 xvi

Acknowledgments

Author Acknowledgments
Karen Judson
Thank you to the editorial team and production staff at McGraw-Hill and all the reviewers and sources
who contributed their time and expertise to making the ninth edition of Law & Ethics for Health
Professions the best ever. Thank you, too, Carlene, for your hard work on this ninth edition.
Carlene Harrison
A big thank you to Karen Judson for getting me started on this marvelous adventure called textbook
writing over 14 years ago.
To our reviewers, your contributions really make a difference. The editorial and production staff at
McGraw-Hill did a great job. And last, to my husband, Bill, your support and love keep me going.

Reviewer Acknowledgments
Suggestions have been received from faculty and students throughout the country. This is vital feedback
that is relied on for product development. Each person who has offered comments and suggestions has our
thanks. The efforts of many people are needed to develop and improve a product. Among these people are
the reviewers and consultants who point out areas of concern, cite areas of strength, and make
recommendations for change. In this regard, the following instructors provided feedback that was
enormously helpful in preparing the book and related products.

9e Technical Editing/Accuracy Panel

A panel of instructors completed a technical edit and review of the content in the book page proofs to
verify its accuracy.

Erika Bailey, MBA, RHIA

Grand Valley State University

Denese Davis, BSN, Med, RHIT

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College

Susan Holler, MSEd, CPC, CCS-P, CMRS

Bryant & Stratton College

Tylette Lloyd, MS RT®

Ivy Tech Community College

Beverly Marquez, MS, RHIA

State Fair Community College

Amie L. Mayhall, MBA, RHIA, CCA

Olney Central College

Jillian McDonald, BS, RMA(AMT), EMT, CPT(NPA)

Goodwin College

Victoria L. Mills, MBA, RHIA

Gordon State College

Michelle Ruggiero, MsEd

Bryant & Stratton College

Sharon Turner, MS, CMC, CMIS, CHI, CBS, CEHRS, CMAA

Brookhaven College

Erica Wilson, MS, MHA, RHIA, CPC

Southern Regional Technical College

Digital Tool Development

Special thanks to the instructors who helped with the development of Connect and SmartBook, especially
with review feedback. They include:

Julie Alles, DHA, RHIA

Grand Valley State University

Angela M. Chisley, AHI, RMA, CMA, AMCA

Gwinnett College

Latoya Dennard Davis, RHIT

Albany State University

Laura Diggle, MS, CMA

Ivy Tech Community College

Terri Fleming, EdD

Ivy Tech Community College

Debra Glover, RN, BSN, MSN

Goodwin College

Janis A. Klawitter, AS, CPC, CPB, CPC-I, Provider Audits/Analytics

Bakersfield Family Medical Center

Samuel Newberry DC
Bryant & Stratton College
Janna Pacey, DHA, RHIA
Grand Valley State University

Kristi Perillo-Okeke, DC, CMRS

Bryant & Stratton College

Shauna Phillips, RMA, AHI, CCMA, CMAA, CPT

PIMA Medical Institute

Kemesha Spears, CUTAIL

Albany State University
 1

1
Introduction to Law and Ethics

©Stockbyte/Getty Images

LEARNING OUTCOMES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

LO 1.1 Explain why knowledge of law and ethics is important to health care
practitioners.
LO 1.2 Define law, ethics, and moral values as used in health care by
health care practitioners.
LO 1.3 Discuss the characteristics and skills most likely to lead to a
successful career in one of the health care professions.

KEY TERMS

bioethicists
bioethics
codes of ethics
common sense
compassion
courtesy
critical thinking
defendant
ethics
ethics committees
ethics guidelines
etiquette
fraud
health care practitioner
Hippocratic oath
law
liable
litigious
medical ethicists
moral values
plaintiff
precedent
protocol
summary judgment

FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF…

LINDA AND CAROL HAVE BEEN FRIENDS FOR ABOUT 4 YEARS. THEY ARE BOTH
RETIRED from careers in health care. Linda had been a medical records supervisor in a 500-bed
hospital and Carol had been an LPN in a family practice and was married to a physician who had
retired, but still had an active license in another state. They met at the local gym after retirement.
They get together every few weeks for either lunch or a movie. Over time, a friendship developed.
One day at lunch, the conversation was about health issues. Carol talked about the variety of her
chronic health problems that required medication. She was a Medicare insured patient. Initially,
several medications cost over $1,000 a month. Carol had them filled in Canada for $400 a month,
but the Canadian company went out of business. She began to use her Medicare plan at $1,000 a
month. In the meantime, she discovered that her sister’s health plan would cover all but $50 of the
monthly cost of any medication. Her sister had private insurance. Carol admitted to Linda that her
husband had written a prescription for her sister for one of the expensive medications. Her sister
lived in the state where Carol’s husband still had a medical license. Carol’s sister filled the
prescription and sent it to her.
Linda recently was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. She had a radical hysterectomy and then
began chemotherapy. Her oncologist prescribed Zofran for any nausea or vomiting. Linda had used
only 3 of the 30 tablets when she finished chemotherapy. She mentioned that to Carol.
The lunch discussion changed to other topics and Linda decided to forget about the conversation,
as she knew what Carol’s husband had done was illegal. Carol’s sister had also violated the law.
The next time Linda and Carol got together, the conversation was about vacations. Carol was
going on a 3-week cruise, and she mentioned that she sometimes got a little seasick. She asked
Linda if she could have her remaining Zofran tablets. Linda quickly changed the subject and Carol
did not bring it up again.
From Carol’s perspective, it was all about saving money. She knew what her husband had done
was wrong, but felt justified in having her husband and sister commit a minor crime. She thought that
since no one was harmed, and she was helped, that her behavior was not that bad.
From Linda’s perspective, she was uncomfortable about learning what Carol and her family had
 done, but decided to ignore it as the end result was that Carol had her needed medication. She did a
bit of research and learned that Zofran was not used to treat seasickness, and she already knew that
it wasn’t all that expensive. She decided that if Carol brought it up again, she was going to tell
Carol that she had thrown the medication away, since she no longer needed it.

As you progress through Law & Ethics for the Health Professions, try to interpret the court cases,
laws, case studies, and other examples or situations cited from the perspectives of everyone involved.

1.1 Why Study Law and Ethics?

There are two important reasons for you to study law and ethics:
To help you function at the highest possible professional level, providing competent, compassionate health care to patients
To help you avoid legal entanglements that can threaten your ability to earn a living as a successful health care practitioner

health care practitioners

Those who are trained to administer medical or health care to patients.

We live in a litigious society, in which patients, relatives, and others are inclined to sue health care
practitioners, health care facilities, manufacturers of medical equipment and products, and others when
medical outcomes are not acceptable. This means that every person responsible for health care delivery is
at risk of being involved in a health care–related lawsuit. It is important, therefore, for you to know the
basics of law and ethics as they apply to health care, so you can recognize and avoid those situations that
might not serve your patients well or that might put you at risk of legal liability.

litigious
Prone to engage in lawsuits.

In addition to keeping you at your professional best and helping you avoid litigation, knowledge of law
and ethics can also help you gain perspective in the following three areas:
1. The rights, responsibilities, and concerns of health care consumers. Health care practitioners not
only need to be concerned about how law and ethics impact their respective professions but they must
also understand how legal and ethical issues affect the patients they treat. With the increased
complexity of medicine has come the desire of consumers to know more about their options and rights
and more about the responsibilities of health care providers. Today’s health care consumers are likely
to consider themselves partners with health care practitioners in the healing process and to question
fees and treatment modes. They may ask such questions as, Do I need to see a specialist? If so, which
specialist can best treat my condition? Will I be given complete information about my condition? How
much will medical treatment cost? Will a physician treat me if I have no health insurance?
In addition, as medical technology has advanced, patients have come to expect favorable outcomes
from medical treatment, and when expectations are not met, lawsuits may result.
2. The legal and ethical issues facing society, patients, and health care practitioners as the world
changes. Nearly every day the media report news events concerning individuals who face legal and
ethical dilemmas over biological/medical issues. For example, a grief-stricken husband must give
consent for an abortion in order to save the life of his critically ill and unconscious wife. Parents must
argue in court their decision to terminate life-support measures for a daughter whose injured brain no
longer functions. Patients with HIV/AIDS fight to retain their right to confidentiality.
While the situations that make news headlines often involve larger social issues, legal and ethical
questions are resolved daily, on a smaller scale, each time a patient visits his or her physician, dentist,
physical therapist, or other health care practitioner. Questions that must often be resolved include
these: Who can legally give consent if the patient cannot? Can patients be assured of confidentiality,
especially since computer technology and online access have become a way of life? Can a physician
or other health care practitioner refuse to treat a patient? Who may legally examine a patient’s medical
records?
Rapid advances in medical technology have also influenced laws and ethics for health care
practitioners. For example, recent court cases have debated these issues: Does the husband or the wife
have ownership rights to a divorced couple’s frozen embryos? Will a surrogate mother have legal
visitation rights to the child she carried to term? Should modern technology be used to keep those
patients alive who are diagnosed as brain-dead and have no hope of recovery? How should
parenthood disputes be resolved for children resulting from reproductive technology?
3. The impact of rising costs on the laws and ethics of health care delivery. Rising costs, both of health
care insurance and of medical treatment in general, lead to questions concerning access to health care
services and allocation of medical treatment. For instance, should the uninsured or underinsured
receive government help to pay for health insurance? And should everyone, regardless of age or
lifestyle, have the same access to scarce medical commodities such as organs for transplantation or
very expensive drugs?

COURT CASES ILLUSTRATE RISK OF LITIGATION

As you will see in the court cases used throughout this text, sometimes when a lawsuit is brought, the trial
court or a higher court must first decide if the plaintiff has a legal reason to sue, or if the defendant is
liable. When a court has ruled that there is a standing (reason) to sue and that a defendant can be held
liable, the case may proceed to resolution. Often, once liability and a standing to sue have been
established, the two sides agree on an out-of-court settlement. Depending on state law, an out-of-court
settlement may not be published. For this reason, the final disposition of a case is not always available
from published sources. The published cases that have decided liability, however, are still case law, and
such cases have been used in this text to illustrate specific points.

plaintiff
The person bringing charges in a lawsuit.

defendant
The person or party against whom criminal or civil charges are brought in a lawsuit.
liable
Legally responsible or obligated.

In addition, sometimes it takes time after the initial trial for a case to be settled. For example, perhaps a
patient dies after surgery in 2018, and the family files a wrongful death suit soon after. The case may go
through several appeals and finally be settled in 2022.
It is also important to remember that while the final result of a case is important to the parties involved,
from a legal standpoint, the most important aspect of a court case is not the result but whether the case
represents good law and will be persuasive as other cases are decided.

COURT CASE

Patients Sue Hospitals

In 2018, lawsuits against a variety of hospitals, physicians, lawyers, nursing homes, and even
power companies that were moving through various courts included:
A dermatologist posted videos of herself singing and dancing during cosmetic surgery. Four malpractice suits have already been
settled, including one by a woman who suffered permanent brain damage following surgery. Several other lawsuits are expected to
be filed in the coming months. Source: www.abajournal.com
Frightened into surgery by a medical litigation law company, an Arkansas woman had surgery to remove vaginal mesh. She has
filed a lawsuit against her former law firm and the litigation funding company that financed the operation as she now has permanent
incontinence. Source: www.abajournal.com
In Florida, family members of nursing home patients who died during Hurricane Irma are suing nursing home administrators and
staff for failing to evacuate the facility after the air conditioning crashed and the temperature spiked. The families are also suing
Florida Power and Light for failing to prioritize nursing home power restoration. Source: www.miamiherald.com

(All of the above cases were still in litigation as the ninth edition of Law & Ethics for Health
Professions was prepared for publication, but perhaps the underlying reasons for filing the lawsuits
are already apparent to you.)

COURT CASE

911 Operators Sued

In 2006, just before 6 PM, a 5-year-old boy called 911. He told the 911 operator that his “mom has
passed out.” When the operator asked to speak to the boy’s mother, he said, “She’s not gonna talk.”
The operator scolded the boy and logged the call as a child’s prank. Three hours later, the boy
called 911 again. A different operator answered, and she also scolded the boy for playing a prank,
but she did send a police officer to the boy’s home. The officer discovered the boy’s mother lying
unresponsive on the floor and summoned emergency medical services. The EMS workers arrived
20 minutes later and determined that the woman was dead and had probably died within the past 2
hours.
The boy’s older sister sued the two 911 operators on behalf of the dead woman’s estate and on
behalf of her son. The lawsuit alleged gross negligence causing a death and intentional infliction of
emotional distress.
 The 911 operators argued that they were entitled to government immunity, that they owed no duty
to provide assistance to the woman who died, and that their failure to summon medical aid was not
gross negligence.
A trial court and an appeals court found for the plaintiff, and the case was appealed to the
Michigan Supreme Court, where in January 2012, the court denied further appeals.
Source: Estate of Turner v. Nichols, 807 N.W.2d 164, 490 Mich. 988 (2012).

Although recent cases published have been sought for illustration in this text, sometimes a dated case
(1995, 1970, 1980, 1991, etc.) is used because it established important precedent.

precedent
Decisions made by judges in the various courts that become rule of law and apply to future cases, even though they were not enacted by a
legislature; also known as case law.

Court cases appear throughout each chapter of the text to illustrate how the legal system has resolved
complaints brought by or against health care service providers and product manufacturers. Some of these
cases involve summary judgment. Summary judgment is the legal term for a decision made by a court in
a lawsuit in response to a motion that pleads there is no basis for a trial because there is no genuine issue
of material fact. In other words, a motion for summary judgment states that one party is entitled to win as a
matter of law. Summary judgment is available only in a civil action. (Chapter 4 distinguishes between
criminal and civil actions.)

summary judgment
A decision made by a court in a lawsuit in response to a motion that pleads there is no basis for a trial.

The following court cases illustrate that a wide variety of legal questions can arise for those engaged
directly in providing health care services, whether in a hospital, in a medical office, or in an emergency
situation. Health care equipment and product dealers and manufacturers can be held indirectly responsible
for defective medical devices and products through charges of the following types:
Breach of warranty
Statements made by the manufacturer about the device or product that are found to be untrue
Strict liability, for cases in which defective products threaten the personal safety of consumers
Fraud or intentional deceit (Fraud is discussed in further detail in Chapters 4 and 8.)

fraud
Dishonest or deceitful practices in depriving, or attempting to deprive, another of his or her rights.

LANDMARK COURT CASE

Supreme Court Shields Medical Devices from Lawsuits

An angioplasty was performed on a patient, Charles Riegel, in New York. During the procedure, the
 catheter used to dilate the patient’s coronary artery failed, causing serious complications. The
patient sued the catheter’s manufacturer, Medtronic, Inc., under New York state law, charging
negligence in design, manufacture, and labeling of the device, which had received Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approval in 1994. Medtronic argued that Riegel could not bring state law
negligence claims because the company was preempted from liability under Section 360k(a) of the
Medical Device Amendments (MDA) of the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. State requirements
are preempted under the MDA only to the extent that they are “different from, or in addition to” the
requirements imposed by federal law. Thus, 360k(a) does not prevent a state from providing a
damages remedy for claims premised on a violation of FDA regulations; the state duties in such a
case “parallel,” rather than add to, federal requirements (Lohr, 518 U.S., at 495, 116 S.Ct. 2240).
The Riegel case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where the question to be decided was this:
Does Section 360k(a) of the Medical Device Amendments to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
preempt state law claims seeking damages for injuries caused by medical devices that received
premarket approval from the Food and Drug Administration?
In February 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court held in this case that makers of medical devices are
immune from liability for personal injuries as long as the FDA approved the device before it was
marketed and it meets the FDA’s specifications.
Appeals Court Case: Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 451 F.3d 104 (2006); Supreme Court Case: Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 552
Source:
U.S. 312, 128 S.Ct. 999, 2008.

The extent of liability for manufacturers of medical devices and products may be changing, however,
since a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision held that makers of medical devices such as implantable
defibrillators or breast implants are immune from liability for personal injuries as long as the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) approved the device before it was marketed and it meets the FDA’s
specifications. (See the previous Medtronic Inc. case.)
Drugs and medical devices are regulated under separate federal laws, and an important issue in
deciding drug injury cases is whether or not the drug manufacturer made false or misleading statements to
win FDA approval. For example, the case Warner-Lambert Co. v. Kent, filed in 2006, involved a group
of Michigan residents who claimed injury after taking Warner-Lambert’s Rezulin diabetes drug. The case
was brought under a Michigan tort reform law that said a drug company could be liable for product injury
if it had misrepresented the product to win FDA approval. In this case, the question before the court was:
Does a federal law prohibiting fraudulent communications to government agencies preempt a state law
permitting plaintiffs to sue for faulty products that would not have reached the market absent the fraud?

A federal appeals court eventually heard the case and ruled that the Michigan “fraud on the FDA” law
was preempted by a federal law that allowed the FDA itself to punish misrepresentations. This decision
was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in a March 2008 decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the
appeals court, thus leaving the previous state of the law unchanged and unclarified.
In this case, the people who sued the drug manufacturer were not allowed to collect damages. But when
courts find that drugs are misrepresented so that developers can win FDA approval, drug manufacturers
could be held legally responsible and forced to pay damages. Table 1-1 lists several settlements.

Table 1-1 Damage Awards can be Substantial

 Drug: Talcum Powder (2018) A jury in Missouri found that Johnson and Johnson should pay 22 women a total of $4.69 billion
for causing ovarian cancer. There are over 9,000 more lawsuits involving other talc-based products in state and federal
courts
Drug: Juxtapid (2017) Aegerion Pharmaceuticals will pay more than $35 million to settle criminal and civil charges related to
the cholesterol drug Juxtapid. The sales staff continued to distribute samples as a general treatment for high cholesterol.
Juxtapid was approved to treat just those patients who have a rare genetic disease call homozygous familial
hypercholesterolemia.
Drug: Epipen (2017) The Department of Justice brought charges against Mylan and Mylan, makers of the Epipen for
classifying the Epipen as a generic drug. Mylan and Mylan did this to avoid paying Medicaid rebates. The company is paying
$465 million to settle allegations.

Source: www.drugwatch.com.

Federal preemption—a doctrine that can bar injured consumers from suing in state court when the
products that hurt them had met federal standards—has become an important concern in product liability
law. One such case, Wyeth v. Levine, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009, will become precedent
for future cases involving drug manufacturers and consumers.

COURT CASE

Patient Sues over Drug-Labeling Issue

In 2000, Diana Levine, a Vermont woman in her fifties, sought medical help for migraine headaches.
As part of the treatment, the anti-nausea drug Phenergan, made by Wyeth, was injected in her arm.
An artery was accidentally damaged during the injection, gangrene set in, and Levine’s right arm
was amputated. The amputation was devastating for Levine, a professional musician who had
released 16 albums, and she filed a personal injury action against Wyeth in Vermont state court.
Levine asserted that Wyeth should have included a warning label describing the possible arterial
injuries that could occur from negligent injection of the drug. Wyeth argued that because the warning
label had been deemed acceptable by the FDA, a federal agency, any Vermont state regulations
making the label insufficient were preempted by the federal approval. The Superior Court of
Vermont found in favor of Levine and denied Wyeth’s motion for a new trial. Levine was awarded
$7 million in damages for the amputation of her arm. The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed this
ruling on appeal, holding that the FDA requirements merely provide a floor, not a ceiling, for state
regulation. Therefore, states are free to create more stringent labeling requirements than federal law
provides.
The U.S. Supreme Court eventually heard the case and issued a decision in March 2009. Wyeth
had argued that because the warning label had been accepted by the FDA, any Vermont state
regulations making the label insufficient were preempted by the federal approval. The U.S. Supreme
Court affirmed the Vermont Supreme Court, holding that federal law did not preempt Levine’s state
law claim that Wyeth’s labeling of Phenergan failed to warn of the dangers of intravenous
administration.
Source: Wyeth v. Levine, 555 U.S. 555, 173 L.Ed.2d 51 (2009).
1.2 Comparing Aspects of Law and Ethics
To understand the complexities of law and ethics, it is helpful to define and compare a few basic terms.
Table 1-2 summarizes the terms described in the following sections.

Table 1-2 Comparing Aspects of Law and Ethics

Law Ethics Moral Values
Definition Set of governing rules Principles, Beliefs formed
standards, through the
guide to conduct influence of
family, culture,
and society
Main To protect the public To elevate the To serve as a
purpose standard of guide for
competence personal
ethical conduct
Standards Minimal—promotes smooth functioning of Builds values Serves as a
society and ideals basis for
forming a
personal code
of ethics
Penalties Civil or criminal liability. Upon conviction: fine, Suspension or Difficulty in
of imprisonment, revocation of license, or other eviction from getting along
violation penalty as determined by courts medical society with others
membership, as
decided by
peers
Bioethics Etiquette Protocol
Definition Discipline relating to ethics concerning Courtesy and Rules of
biological research, especially as applied to manners etiquette
medicine applicable to
one’s place of
employment
Main To allow scientific progress in a manner that To enable one To enable one
purpose benefits society in all possible ways to get along with to get along
others with others
engaged in the
same
profession
Standards Leads to the highest standards possible in Leads to Promotes
applying research to medical care pleasant smooth
interaction functioning of
 workplace
routines
Penalties Can include all those listed under “Law,” Ostracism from Disapproval
of “Ethics,” and “Etiquette”; as current standards chosen groups from one’s
violation are applied and as new laws and ethical professional
standards evolve to govern medical research colleagues;
and development, penalties may change possible loss of
business

LAW
A law is defined as a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced
by a controlling authority. Governments enact laws to keep society running smoothly and to control
behavior that could threaten public safety. Laws are considered the minimum standard necessary to keep
society functioning.

law
Rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority.

Enforcement of laws is made possible by penalties for disobedience, which are decided by a court of
law or are mandatory as written into the law. Penalties vary with the severity of the crime. Lawbreakers
may be fined, imprisoned, or both. Sometimes lawbreakers are sentenced to probation. Other penalties
appropriate to the crime may be handed down by the sentencing authority, as when offenders must perform
a specified number of hours of volunteer community service or are ordered to repair public facilities they
have damaged.
Many laws affect health care practitioners, including criminal and civil statutes as well as state
practice acts. Every licensed health profession has some form of practice act at the state level. Licensed
health care professionals convicted of violating criminal, civil, or medical practice laws may lose their
licenses to practice. (Practice acts are discussed further in Chapter 3. Laws and the court system are
discussed in more detail in Chapter 4.)

ETHICS
An illegal act by a health care practitioner is always unethical, but an unethical act is not necessarily
illegal. Ethics are concerned with standards of behavior and the concept of right and wrong, over and
above that which is legal in a given situation. Moral values—formed through the influence of the family,
culture, and society—serve as the basis for ethical conduct.

ethics
Standards of behavior, developed as a result of one’s concept of right and wrong.

moral values
One’s personal concept of right and wrong, formed through the influence of the family, culture, and society.
 The United States is a culturally diverse country, with many residents who have grown up within vastly
different ethnic environments. For example, a Chinese student in the United States brings to his or her
studies a unique set of religious and social experiences and moral concepts that will differ from that of a
German, Japanese, Korean, French, Italian, or Canadian classmate. Therefore, moral values and ethical
standards can differ for health care practitioners, as well as patients, in the same setting.
In the American cultural environment, however, acting morally toward another usually requires that you
put yourself in that individual’s place. For example, when you are a patient in a physician’s office, how
do you like to be treated? As a health care provider, can you give care to a person whose conduct or
professed beliefs differ radically from your own? In an emergency, can you provide for the patient’s
welfare without reservation?

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Name two important reasons for studying law and ethics.

2. Which state laws apply specifically to the practice of medicine?
3. What purpose do laws serve?
4. How is the enforcement of laws made possible?
5. What factors influence the formation of one’s personal set of ethics and values?
6. Define the term moral values.
7. Explain how one’s moral values affect one’s sense of ethics.

10

CODES OF ETHICS AND ETHICS GUIDELINES

While most individuals can rely on a well-developed personal value system, organizations for the health
occupations also have formalized codes of ethics to govern behavior of members and to increase the
level of competence and standards of care within the group. Included among these are the American
Nurses Association Code for Nurses, American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics, American
Health Information Management Association Code of Ethics, American Society of Radiologic
Technologists Code of Ethics, and the Code of Ethics of the American Association of Medical Assistants.
Codes of ethics generally consist of a list of general principles and are often available to laypersons as
well as members of health care practitioner organizations.

code of ethics
A list of principles intended to govern behavior—here, the behavior of those entrusted with providing care to the sick.

Many professional organizations for health care practitioners also publish more detailed ethics
guidelines, usually in book form, for members. Generally, ethics guideline publications detail a wide
variety of ethical situations that health care practitioners might face in their work and offer principles for
dealing with the situations in an ethical manner. They are routinely available to members of health care
organizations and are typically available to others for a fee.
ethics guidelines
Publications that detail a wide variety of ethical situations that professionals (in this case, health care practitioners) might face in their work and
offer principles for dealing with the situations in an ethical manner.

One of the earliest medical codes of ethics, the code of Hammurabi, was written by the Babylonians
around 2250 B.C.E. This document discussed the conduct expected of physicians at that time, including fees
that could be charged.
Sometime around 400 B.C.E., a pledge for physicians known as the Hippocratic oath was published.
The oath was probably not actually written by Hippocrates, the Greek physician known as the Father of
Medicine. Authorship has been attributed to one or more of his students and to the Pythagoreans, but
scholars indicate it was probably derived from Hippocrates’s writings (see Figure 1-1).

Hippocratic oath
A pledge for physicians, influenced by the practices of the Greek physician Hippocrates.

Figure 1-1 Hippocratic Oath

Source: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Percival’s Medical Ethics, written by the English physician and philosopher Thomas Percival in 1803,
superseded earlier codes to become the definitive guide for a physician’s professional conduct. Earlier
codes did not address concerns about experimental medicine, but according to Percival’s code,
physicians could try experimental treatments when all else failed, if such treatments served the public
good.
 When the American Medical Association met for the first time in Philadelphia in 1847, the group
devised a code of ethics for members based on Percival’s code. The resulting American Medical
Association Principles, currently called the American Medical Association Principles of Medical
Ethics, has been revised and updated periodically to keep pace with changing times. The current
statements may be found at www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/ama-code-medical-ethics. This Web site
details the AMA’s guidance on a variety of areas to include patient and physician actions, treatments and
use of technologies and professional relationships, and self-regulation.
The AMA code is written for physicians but could also pertain to other health care professions.
Another organization that has recently revised its code of ethics is the National Association for
Healthcare Quality (NAHQ). The NAHQ has compiled a Code of Ethics for the Healthcare Quality
Profession and Code of Conduct that was issued in April 2018. It identifies a variety of behaviors that
may be appropriate for a variety of health care professions. The Code is located at
https://nahq.org/about/code-of-ethics.

11

Figure 1-2 is an example of a code of ethics from the American Association of Medical Assistants.
Professional health care practitioners may look to their professional association for guidance when they
are troubled by unethical behavior of other health care practitioners. They may also look to peers and
supervisors. Illegal behavior must always be reported to the appropriate authorities.
 Figure 1-2 Code of Ethics and Creed of the American Association of Medical
Assistants (AAMA)
Source: www.aama-ntl.org/about/overview.

12

BIOETHICS
Bioethics is a discipline dealing with the ethical implications of biological research methods and results,
especially in medicine. As biological research has led to unprecedented progress in medicine, medical
practitioners have had to grapple with issues such as these:

bioethics
A discipline dealing with the ethical implications of biological research methods and results, especially in medicine.
What ethics should guide biomedical research? Do individuals own all rights to their body cells, or should scientists own cells they have
altered? Is human experimentation essential, or even permissible, to advance biomedical research?
What ethics should guide organ transplants? Although organs suitable for transplant are in short supply, is the search for organs
dehumanizing? Should certain categories of people have lower priority than others for organ transplants?

13
What ethics should guide fetal tissue research? Some say such research, especially stem cell research, is moral because it offers hope to
disease victims, while others argue that it is immoral.
Do reproductive technologies offer hope to the childless, or are they unethical? Are the multiple births that sometimes result from taking
fertility drugs an acceptable aspect of reproductive technology, or are those multiple births too risky for women and their fetuses and even
immoral in an allegedly overpopulated world?
Should animals be used in research?
How ethical is genetic research? Should the government regulate it? Will genetic testing benefit those at risk for genetic disease, or will it
lead to discrimination? Should cloning of human organs for transplantation be permitted? Should cloning of human beings ever be permitted?

Society is attempting to address these questions, but because the issues are complicated, many
questions may never be completely resolved.

THE ROLE OF ETHICS COMMITTEES

Health care practitioners may be able to resolve the majority of the ethical issues they face in the
workplace from their own intuitive sense of moral values and ethics. Some ethical dilemmas, however,
are not so much a question of right or wrong, but more a question of “Which of these alternatives will do
the most good and the least harm?” In these more ambiguous situations, health care practitioners may want
to ask the advice of a medical ethicist or members of an institutional ethics committee.
Medical ethicists or bioethicists are specialists who consult with physicians, researchers, and others
to help them make difficult decisions, such as whether to resuscitate brain-damaged premature infants or
what ethics should govern privacy in genetic testing. Hospital or medical center ethics committees
usually consist of physicians, nurses, social workers, clergy, a patient’s family, members of the
community, and other individuals involved with the patient’s medical care. A medical ethicist may also sit
on the ethics committee if such a specialist is available. When difficult decisions must be made, any one
of the individuals involved in a patient’s medical care can ask for a consultation with the ethics
committee. Larger hospitals have standing ethics committees, while smaller facilities may form ethics
committees as needed.
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
child, and not next moment be struck dead by fire from heaven for
my crime? The alternative, indeed, is awful. Well you know the point
upon which I am most easily affected. Base, however, as you avow
yourself, I cannot yet suppose that you could be guilty of a trick so
worthy of the devil himself, as to blast the reputation, where you
could not fix the real cause of infamy.”
“Do not flatter yourself too much on that score,” rejoined Cayley;
“you do not now see a man actuated by ordinary principles. I am
tortured and confounded by an impetuous passion, which you have
excited. If you take from me all hope of a consent to my first
proposal, I must endeavour to bring you into my power by the
second. To-morrow, did I say? Nay, I will go this night, and tell every
man I know that you are the slave of my passion. Not a lady in
Edinburgh but will know of it to-morrow before she has left her
pillow. You will then, I think, see the necessity of consenting to the
scheme of flight which I now put into your power.”
He pronounced these words in such a disordered and violent
manner, that the unhappy lady sat for some time unable to reply.
She hardly recovered her senses till she heard the outer door clang
behind him, as he went upon the demoniac purpose which he had
threatened.
The first place that Mr Cayley went to was John’s Coffeehouse, a
fashionable tavern in the Parliament Square, where he found a large
group of his dissolute young friends, drinking claret out of silver
stoups. The company was in an advanced stage of intoxication and
riot, very much to the annoyance, apparently, of a few smaller knots
of decent citizens, who were indulging in some more moderate
potations after the fatigues of the day, and endeavouring to
understand as much as they could of the London Intelligencer, the
Flying Post, and other little sheets of news which lay upon the
various tables. “Well, Cayley,” cried one of the young roisterers,
“come and tell us how you are getting on now with the fair lady over
the way—husband not at home—must be making great advances, I
suppose?” “Make yourself quite at ease on that subject; I am so, I
assure you.” This he said in so significant a tone, that it was at once
understood. A flood of raillery, however, was immediately opened
upon him; no one would believe what he said, or rather implied; and
thus, as they designed, he was drawn to make much more explicit
declarations of his supposed triumph. No attempt was made by
himself or others to conceal the subject of their conversation from
the rest of the individuals present. It was understood distinctly by
the sober citizens above mentioned, some of whom shrugged their
shoulders, knocked their cocked hats firmly down upon their heads,
took staff in hand, and strode consequentially and indignantly out of
the room. As Cayley had predicted, the whole affair was blazoned
abroad before next morning.
Mrs Macfarlane, as might be supposed, enjoyed little sleep after
the agitations of the preceding evening. She could hardly believe
that anything so wicked as what had been threatened by Mr Cayley
could be perpetrated by a being in human shape; but yet,
recollecting the extraordinary state in which he seemed to be, she
could not altogether assure herself of the contrary. In the forenoon
she went to pay a visit in a distant part of the town; and she could
not help remarking, that while she seemed to have become an
object of additional interest to the male sex, the ladies, even those
with whom she had formerly been on terms of civil recognition,
averted their eyes from her, with an expression, as she thought, of
contempt.
The lady upon whom she called received her in the coldest
manner, and, on an explanation being asked, did not hesitate to
mention what she had heard as the town’s talk that morning,
namely, that Mr Cayley professed himself to be her favoured lover.
The unfortunate lady burst into a passion of tears and lamentations
at this intelligence, protested her innocence a thousand times, and
declared herself to be only the victim of a profligate; but still she
saw that she did not produce an entirely exculpatory effect upon the
mind of her friend. She went home in a state of distress bordering
on despair. Her early misfortunes through the severity of the
government; her dependent situation in the houses of her kinsfolk;
her unhappy marriage to a man she could never love; and, finally,
the cruel coldness with which she had been treated by her former
friends in the days of her depression, all recurred upon her mind,
and united with the more awful grief which had now overtaken her,
prepared her mind for the most desperate resolutions.
Early in the afternoon she sent a note to Mr Cayley, requesting, in
the usual terms, the favour of his company. The receipt of her billet
threw him into transports of joy, for he believed that his scheme had
already taken effect, and that she was now prepared to accede to
his proposals. He therefore dressed himself in his best style, and at
the proper hour (he felt too secure of his prey to go sooner) walked
across the street to his appointment. He was shown into a room at
the back of the house, where he had never before been, and where
there was little furniture besides a picture of Mrs Macfarlane, painted
by Sir John Medina, an Italian artist who long practised his trade at
the Scottish capital. This portrait, which he began to gaze upon with
all the enthusiasm of a lover, represented his mistress in a style and
manner strikingly beautiful. The utmost serenity, united with the
utmost innocence, shone in those sweetly noble features. The fair
open brow glowed like the summer sky, calmly and cloudlessly
beautiful. The eyes shone with the lustre of gladness and
intelligence, and the whole expression was resolved into an exquisite
and killing smile. The lover stood in a sort of transport before this
image of all he held dear on earth, as if he were yielding to an
idolatrous contemplation of its extraordinary loveliness, when the
door was opened—and behold the original! Instead of the
voluptuous smile which shone on the canvass of Medina, a Beautiful
Fury stood before him—a Hecate not yet grown old. He started with
horror; for not only did she bear in her countenance the most
threatening ensigns of passion, but she carried in her hand two large
pistols, one of which she held extended to him, while with the other
hand she locked the door behind her, at the same time keeping a
watchful and glaring eye upon her victim.
“Wretch,” she said, “you have ruined one who never did you
wrong. You have destroyed me as completely as if you had stretched
me lifeless beneath your hand. More than this, you have rendered
others who are dear to me unhappy for ever. My child—you have
deprived her of the nurture of a mother; you have fixed upon her
name a stain which will never be washed out. And yet for all this,
society, cruel as it is to the victims, provides no punishment—hardly
even any censure—to the criminal. Were it now my will to permit
you, you might walk away scatheless from the fair scene you have
ravaged, with nothing to disturb your triumph, but the lamentations
of so many broken hearts. You shall not, however, enjoy this triumph
—for here you shall die!”
Cayley had stood for a few moments, gazing alternately at her
face and at the weapon she held extended towards him. He heard
her address as if he had heard it not. But at the last word, he
recovered a little of his presence of mind, and made an effort to
approach her. She at that moment fired, but without effect. The
effort of drawing the trigger had depressed the muzzle of the
weapon, and the ball entered the floor at his feet. She lost not an
instant to present and fire the other, the shot of which penetrated
his breast, and he fell next moment before her, with but one
indistinct murmur of agony—and then all was still.
One brief embrace to her child—a moment at the toilet to arrange
her travelling dress, which she had previously prepared, and the
beautiful murderess was ready to fly. She instantly left town for the
south, and, as already mentioned, received shelter and concealment
in the house of her distant kinsman, Sir John Swinton. How long she
was there protected, is not known, but it was probably as long as
the search of justice continued to be in the least eager. It was
always understood, by those aged persons who knew her story, and
from whom the preceding facts have chiefly been derived, that she
ultimately escaped to some remote continental state, where she was
supported by contributions from her relations. So closes one of the
most tragical tales that stain the domestic annals of Scotland during
the last century.
 THE DOWNDRAUGHT.

Side by side with victims, might be placed the kindred species

downdraughts, who are only different from the accident of their
having friends who will rather be weighed down by them to the very
earth—to the grave itself—than permit them to sink by themselves.
The downdraught is in reality a victim, and one of the darkest shade,
being generally a person totally worthless in character, and
abandoned in habits; but then he has not altogether cut the cables
which bound him to his native grade in society—he has not all forgot
himself to disgrace—he is still domesticated with his friends—he has
a mother, or a wife, or a brother, or a sister, or perhaps an old aunt,
who will try to keep him in food and clean linen, and, having lost all
hope of his ever being actively good, will do anything for him, if he
will only preserve a neutrality, and not be positively evil. He is a
victim in appearance (always excepting the clean shirt), but he
enjoys the happy superiority over that class, of having an open door
to fly to when he pleases, and either a kind relation, who considers
him “only a little wild in the meantime,” or else one who, for the
sake of decent appearances, will endeavour to patch up all his
peccadiloes, and even be tyrannised over by him, rather than shock
society by an open rupture. The personal tendencies of a
downdraught to victimization are strong as the currents of the great
deep, but he is withheld from it by others. He has always some
anchorage or other upon decent life, to keep him back from the gulf
to which he would otherwise hurry on. In many cases, the very
kindness and indulgence of friends was the original cause of his
becoming a downdraught. He had every thing held to his head. He
was encouraged in his pretences of headaches as an excuse for
staying away from school. When afterwards an apprentice, he was
permitted to break off, on the score of being compelled to put on
fires and sweep out the shop. Or, perhaps, it was from none of those
causes. Possibly, he was just one of those persons who seem to be
totally destitute of all perception of the terms upon which men are
permitted to exist in this world; that is, that they are either to be so
fortunate as to have “their fathers born before them,” so that they
may accede to wealth without exertion, or must else do something
to induce their fellow-creatures to accord them the means of
livelihood without beggary. That many persons are really born
without this great leading faculty, is unfortunately but too
indisputable; and, assuredly, they are as proper inmates for a lunatic
asylum as more frantic madmen; for what is the use of reason, or
even of talent, without the desire of exerting it, either in one’s own
behalf, or in behalf of mankind? The terms of existence we allude to
are expressed in the text of Scripture, “By the sweat of thy brow
thou shalt earn thy bread;” so that the man must be considered a
kind of heretic, as well as a fool, who will not, or can not,
understand them. Yet the fact is so, that many men arrive at
maturity with either a sense of these conditions of life, more or less
imperfect, or no sense of them at all. They perhaps conceive
themselves to be born to keep down the pavement of Prince’s Street
with boots one inch and a half deep in the heel, or to fumigate the
air of that elegant street with cigars at three shillings per dozen; but
that is the utmost extent to which their notions of the purposes of
life ever extend. These men, of course, are predestined
downdraughts. We see them already with our mind’s eye, exhausting
the kindness and patience of a brother, or a wife, yea almost of a
mother, with their idle and dissolute habits—dragging those relations
slowly but surely down into misery and disgrace—and only in the
meantime saved from being kicked out of doors, as they deserve,
not by any regard for merits of their own, for they have none, but by
the tenderness of those relations for their own reputation.
A decent citizen, of the name of Farney, retired about five-and-
twenty years ago from active life, and, planting himself in a neat villa
a little way beyond the southern suburbs of Edinburgh, resolved to
do nothing all the rest of his life but enjoy the ten or twelve
thousand pounds which he had made by business. He was a placid,
inoffensive old man, only somewhat easy in his disposition, and,
therefore, too much under the control of his wife, who unfortunately
was a person of a vulgarly ambitious character. The pair had but one
child—a daughter, Eliza Farney—the toast of all the apprentices in
the South Bridge, and really an elegant, and not unaccomplished
young lady. The only object which Mr and Mrs Farney now had in
life, besides that of enjoying all its comforts, was the disposal of this
young lady in marriage. Whenever there is such a thing as ten
thousand pounds connected with the name of a young lady, there is
generally a great deal more fuss made about it than when the sum
is said to exist in any other shape or circumstances. It is important
in the eyes of all the young men who think themselves within shot of
it. It is important in the eyes of all the young women who have to
lament that they do not possess similar advantages. It is important
in the eyes of all the fathers and mothers of sons, who think
themselves within range of it. And, lastly, it is important, immensely
important indeed, in the eyes of parties, young lady, mother and
father, sister or brother, who have anything to say in the disposal of
it. Money in this shape, one would almost think, is of a different
value from money in any other: the exchange it bears against cash
in business, or cash in the prospect of him who knows he can win it,
is prodigious. At the very lowest computation, a thousand pounds in
the purse of a young lady is worth ten thousand in the stock of a
man of trade. Nay, it is astonishing what airs we have known a few
hundred pounds of this kind put on in respect, or rather disrespect,
of decent people, who were almost winning as much in the year. In
fact, the fiddle-faddle about the disposal of an heiress is a great
farce, and never fails to put either the parties concerned in the
disposal, or else the candidates for the acquisition, into a thousand
shabby and selfish attitudes. It is hard to say if the young lady
herself is the better for it all. The only certain effect of her
possessing a fortune, is, that it deprives her of ever having the
pleasing assurance, given to most other women, that she is married
for her own sake alone. Sincere love is apt to retire from such a
competition, through the pure force of modesty, its natural
accompaniment; and the man most apt to be successful is he who,
looking upon the affair as only a mercantile adventure, pursues it as
such, and only hopes to be able to fall in love after marriage.
It happened that Eliza Farney was loved, truly and tenderly loved,
by a young man of the name of Russell, whose parents had been
acquainted with the Farneys in their earlier and less prosperous
days, but were now left a little behind them. Young Russell had been
the playmate of Eliza in their days of childhood; he had read books
with her, and taught her to draw, in their riper youth; and all the
neighbours said, that, but for the brilliant prospects of Miss Farney,
she could not have found a more eligible match. Russell, however,
was still but the son of a poor man. He was himself struggling in the
commencement of a business, which he had begun with slender
means, in order to sustain the declining fortunes of his parents. His
walk in life was much beneath the scope of his abilities, much
beneath his moral deserts; but, under a strong impulse of duty, he
had narrowed his mind to the path allotted to him, instead of
attempting to do justice to his talents by entering upon any higher
and more perilous pursuit. Thus, as often happens, an intellect and
character, which might have brightened the highest destinies, were
doomed to a sphere all unmeet for them, where they were in a
manner worse than lost, as they only led to a suspicion which was
apt to be unfavourable to the prospects of their possessor, namely,
that he was likely to be led, by his superior tastes, into pursuits to
which his fortune was inadequate, or into habits which would
shipwreck it altogether. Russell looked upon Eliza Farney, and
despaired. He saw her, as she advanced into womanhood, recede
gradually from his sphere in society, and enter into one more
suitable to her father’s improving fortunes, into which it was not for
him to intrude. Eliza had, perhaps, entertained at one time a girlish
fondness for him; but it was not of so strong a character as to resist
the ambitious maxims of her mother, and the sense of her own
importance and prospects, which began to act upon her in her riper
years.

“Amongst the rest young Edwin sighed,

 But never talked of love.”

Some appearance of coldness, which he saw, or fancied he saw, in

her conduct towards him, caused his proud and pure nature to
shrink back from the vulgar competition which he saw going forward
for the hand of “the heiress.” It was not that the fondest wishes of
his heart were met with disappointment—perhaps he could have
endured that—but he writhed under the reflection, that external
circumstances should separate hearts that once were allied, and that
no conscious purity of feeling, no hope of hereafter distinguishing
himself by his abilities, was of avail against the selfish and worldly
philosophy which dictated his rejection. It was only left for him to
retire into the chambers of his own thoughts, and there form such
solemn resolutions for improving his circumstances and
distinguishing his character, as might hereafter, perhaps, enable him
to prove to the cold being who now despised him, how worthy, how
more than worthy, perhaps, he was of having enjoyed her affections,
even upon the mean calculations by which he was now measured
and found wanting.
The mother, to whom this rupture was chiefly owing, now applied
herself heartily to the grand task of getting her daughter “properly
disposed of.” Every month or so, her house was turned topsy-turvy,
for the purpose of showing off the young lady in gay assemblies.
Care was taken that no one should be invited to these assemblies
who was merely of their own rank. Unless some capture could be
made in a loftier, or what appeared a loftier circle, it was all as
nothing. The human race hang all in a concatenation at each other’s
skirts, those before kicking with all their might to drive off those
behind them, at the same time that they are struggling might and
main, despite of corresponding kicks, to hold fast, and pull
themselves up by means of their own predecessors. This is
particularly the case where a mother has a daughter to dispose of
with the reversion of a few thousands. Money under these
circumstances, as already explained, would be absolutely thrown
away if given only to a person who estimated it at its ordinary value;
it must be given to one who will appreciate it as it ought to be, and
sell pounds of free-will and honourable manhood for shillings of the
vile dross. At length, at a ball held in the Archers’ Hall—a kind of
Almack’s in the east—the very man was met with—a genteel young
spark, said to be grand-nephew to a baronet in the north, and who
was hand in glove with the Greigsons, a family of quis quis gentility
in the New Town, but who loomed very large in the eyes of a person
dwelling in the south side. This fellow, a mere loose adventurer,
whose highest destiny seemed to be to carry a pair of colours if he
could get them, and who positively had no claims upon consideration
whatsoever, except that he kept a decent suit of clothes upon his
back, and was on terms of intimacy with a family supposed to
belong to the haut ton—this poor unanealed wretch, recommended
by impudence and a moustache, which he amiably swore he would
take off when married, gained the prize from which the modest
merit of Russell was repelled. In a perfect fluster of delight with the
attentions he paid to her daughter, terrified lest he should change
his mind, or any unforeseen event prevent the consummation so
devoutly to be wished, the managing mother presented no
obstruction to the courtship. “Such a genteel young man!” she would
say to her husband. “He is greatly taken out in good company. Just
the night before last, he was at the Honourable Mrs ——’s party in
Oman’s Rooms. He danced with Miss Forster, the great heiress, who,
they say, is distractedly in love with him. But he says she has
naething like the elegant carriage o’ our ’Liza. Indeed, between you
and me, says he, jokingly, to me the other day, she’s splay-footed.
He could make his fortune at once, you see, however, and I’m sure
it’s really extraordinary o’ him to particulareese the like o’ us in the
way he’s doing”—and so forth. The old man sat twirling his thumbs
and saying nothing, but having his own fears all the time that all was
not really gold that glittered. He was, however, one of those people
who, upon habit and principle, never say a single word about any
speculative thing that is proposed to them, till the result has been
decided, and then they can tell that they all along thought it would
turn out so. It was untelling the prescience and wisdom that old
Farney believed himself to be thus possessed of. Suffice it to say, the
managing mother, within the month, made out a mittimus of
destruction in favour of her daughter, Eliza Farney, spinster,
consigning her to the custody of William Dempster, Esq., blackguard
by commission, and downdraught by destiny.
The fortune of Miss Farney was not exactly of the kind that suited
Mr Dempster’s views. It was only payable after the death of her
father. Mr Dempster, therefore, saw it to be necessary to take
expedients for obtaining the use of it by anticipation. He commenced
a large concern in some mercantile line, obtaining money in advance
from the old gentleman, in order to set the establishment on foot.
He also procured his signature to innumerable bills, to enable him to
carry it on. The business, in reality, was a mere mask for obtaining
the means of supporting his own depraved tastes and appetites.
There was hardly any kind of extravagance, any kind of vice, which
he did not indulge in at the expense of old Farney. The result was
what might be expected from such premises. Exactly a twelvemonth
after the marriage, Dempster stopped payment, and absconded
without so much as even taking leave of his wife. His folly and
profligacy together had already absorbed the whole fortune with
which Mr Farney had retired from business, besides a good deal
more for which the unfortunate old man was security. He was in
consequence totally ruined, left destitute in old age, without the
least resource; while the young elegant female, who a short year
before was the admiration and envy of glittering circles, had just
become a mother, upon the bed which only waited for her
convalescence to be sold for behoof of her husband’s creditors.
Farney found refuge—and considered himself most fortunate in
finding it—in a beneficiary institution for decayed citizens, of which
he had himself, in better days, been one of the managers, but which
he did not live long to enjoy. His wife, about the same time, died of
one of those numberless and varied diseases which can only be
traced to what is called a broken heart. The daughter—the unhappy,
and, in a great measure, guiltless victim of her wretched ambition—
had no eventual resource, for the support of herself and her infant,
but to open a small school, in which she taught female children the
elements of reading, writing, and sewing. The striking infelicity of
her fate, joined to her own well-known taste and industrious habits,
in time obtained for her considerable patronage in this humble
occupation; and she would eventually have been restored to
something like comfort, but for the unhallowed wretch whose fate
had become identified with her own. Where this fellow went, or how
he subsisted, for the three years during which he was absent, no
one ever knew. He was heard to talk of the smugglers in the Isle of
Man, but it can only be surmised that he joined that respectable
corps. One day, as Mrs Dempster sat in the midst of her little flock of
pupils, the door was opened, and in crawled her prodigal husband,
emaciated, travel-worn, and beggar-like, with a large black spot
upon one of his cheeks, the result of some unimaginably low and
scoundrelly brawl. The moment she recognised him, she fainted in
her chair; the children dispersed and fled from the house, like a flock
of chickens at sight of the impending hawk; and when the
unfortunate woman recovered, she found herself alone with this
transcendant wretch, the breaker of the peace of her family, the
murderer of her mother. He accosted her in the coolest manner
possible, said he was glad to see her so comfortably situated, and
expressed an anxiety for food and liquor. She went with tottering
steps to purvey what he wanted; and while she was busied in her
little kitchen, he sat down by her parlour fire, and commenced
smoking from a nasty black pipe, after the manner of the lowest
mendicants. When food and drink were set before him, he partook
of both with voracious appetite. Mrs Dempster sat looking on in
despair, for she saw that the presence of this being must entirely
blight the pleasant scene which her industry had created around her.
She afterwards said, however, that she could have perhaps
overlooked all, and even again loved this deplorable wretch, if he
had inquired for his child, or expressed a desire to see him. He did
neither—he seemed altogether bent on satisfying his own gross
appetites. After spending a few hours in sulky unintermitted smoking
and drinking, he was conveyed to a pallet in the garret, there to
sleep off his debauch.
 It were needless to go through all the distressing details of what
ensued. Dempster henceforth became a downdraught on his wife.
This forlorn woman often confessed to her friends that she was
perfectly willing to support her husband, provided he would be but
content with the plain fare she could offer him, and just walk about
and do nothing. But he was not of a temper to endure this
listlessness. He required excitement. Instead of quietly spending his
forenoons in the arbour, called the Cage, in the Meadows, among
decayed military pensioners, and other harmless old men, he
prowled about the crowded mean thoroughfares, drinking where he
could get liquor for nothing, and roistering in companies of the most
debased description. He incurred debts in all directions on the
strength of his wife’s character, and she was necessarily compelled
to liquidate them. The struggles which she at this time made were
very great. Like the mother of Gray the poet, she endured all kinds
of ill usage, and persevered under every difficulty to give her son a
respectable education, in order that he might have an opportunity of
wiping away the stains of his father’s vices, and be a comfort to his
mother in the decline of life. To do this, and at the same time
continue paying the vile debts of her profligate husband, was
altogether impossible. She exhausted the beneficence, and even
tired the pity of her friends. It need hardly be mentioned, that the
creditors of a husband have an undeniable claim upon the effects of
his wife. It unfortunately happened that the wretches with whom
Dempster contracted his debts, were as worthless as himself. After
draining every resource which his wife could command, he summed
up his villainy by giving a promissory note for fifteen pounds to one
of his lowest associates. It is supposed that he struck the bargain for
a couple of guineas, for with this sum he again absconded from
Edinburgh, and, taking his way to Greenock, shipped himself on
board of a vessel for America. At first, his wife was thankful for the
relief; she again breathed freely; but her joy was soon turned into
mourning. The promissory note made its appearance; she had just
scraped up and paid her rent; she had not therefore a farthing in the
world. In a fortnight, the whole of her effects were sold upon
distraint. She was turned to the street a second time, almost bent to
the dust with the burden of her miseries. The first night she received
shelter in the house of a respectable “much-tried” widow, who was
the only person she could freely speak to about her destitute
condition. Next day, by the advice of this good woman, she took a
room in the neighbourhood, and endeavoured to gather together her
pupils, who, it seems, did not desert her, but took a deep interest in
her misfortunes. She had also the good fortune to get her boy into
one of the educational hospitals, and she therefore expressed herself
thankful for the mercies she still received.
An interval of many years now occurs in the story of Mrs
Dempster, during which she heard nothing of her husband, except a
rumour that he was drowned on a lumbering excursion in the rapids
of the St Lawrence. Through the influence of her pitiable tale and
real merit, she obtained the situation of superintendant of a large
public seminary for young ladies in a country town. Here she lived in
peace, comfort, and honour, for some years, till she had almost
forgot that ever such a wretch as Dempster existed. What was her
horror one day, when, as she was entertaining a large party of
respectable people at tea, the demon of her fate stood once more
before her, not the mere squalid beggar which he formerly appeared,
but a concentration of blackguardism and shabbiness, of utterly
ruined and broken-down humanity, such as was never perhaps
surpassed, even in the sinks of London and Parisian vice. There was
now more than mendicancy in his aspect—there was robbery,
murder, and every kind of desperate deed. The wan face, blackened
and battered with bruises and wounds—the troubled eye,
bespeaking the troubled spirit—the ropy, sooty attire, through which
peeped the hardly whiter skin—the feet bare, and ulcerated with
walking—every thing told but one tale of unutterable sin and misery.
The guests shrunk aghast from this hideous spectre, and the hostess
shrieked outright. Little regarding the alarm which he had
occasioned, he exclaimed, in a hollow and scarcely earthly voice,
“Give me meat—give me drink—give me clothing—I am destitute of
all; there you sit in enjoyment of every luxury, while your husband,
who is flesh of your flesh, has not known what it is to eat heartily, or
to be covered from the piercing wind, for weeks and months. Shrink
not from me. Wretched as I seem, I am still your husband. Nothing
on earth can break that tie. Meat, I say—drink—I am in my own
house, and will be obeyed. For you, gentles, get you gone; your
company is not now agreeable.” The company dispersed without
farther ceremony, leaving the unhappy woman alone with her
husband.
Next day, the stranger appeared abroad in a decent suit of
clothes, and Mrs Dempster seemed to have recovered a little of her
equanimity. Every sacrifice, however, which she could make for this
wretch, was in vain, or only encouraged him to demand greater
indulgences. An unlimited supply of liquor in his own house would
not satisfy him. He required large sums wherewith to treat all the
canaille of the town. Entreaties, indulgences, every thing that could
be devised to gratify him, were unavailing to impress him with a
sense of his wife’s situation. He intruded his unhallowed front into
her school, and insulted her before her pupils. Those who laughed at
his antics he would seize by the shoulders, and turn out of doors. He
had also a most perverse desire of pushing himself into her
presence, whenever he thought she was conversing with any of her
employers, before whom an observance of propriety and decorum
was most particularly necessary. Indeed, he just delighted to do
exactly what his wife wished him not to do, the grand object of his
low mind being to show how much he had her comfort and welfare
in his power. At length, with every feeling of respect for Mrs
Dempster, her employers, the magistrates, found it necessary to
inform her, that they could not permit her to retain the school any
longer under such circumstances, as it was threatened with utter
annihilation by the gradual diminution of the number of pupils. She
proposed to her husband to allow him regularly the full half of her
earnings, if he would only stay in some other place, and never again
intrude upon her. But he scorned to be bought off, as he said. He
insisted rather upon her giving up the school, and accompanying him
to Edinburgh, where, with the little sum she had saved, and what
besides they could raise by the sale of her superfluous furniture, he
would enter into business on his own account, and she should never
again be obliged to work for either herself or for him. The poor
woman had no alternative. She was compelled to abandon the
scene, where for so many years she had enjoyed the comforts of life
and the respect of society, in order to be dragged at the chariot
wheels, or rather at the cart’s tail, of her husband’s vices and
fortunes, through scenes to which she shuddered to look forward.
In the capital, Dempster’s design of entering into business, if he
ever seriously entertained it, was no more talked of. Fleshed once
again with a taste of his former indulgences, he rushed headlong
into that infamous career, which already had twice ended in
voluntary banishment. His wife’s finances were soon exhausted; but,
with the barbarity of a demon taskmaster, he would every day leave
her with a threat, which she but too well knew he would execute, of
beating her, if she should not be able to produce next morning a
sum necessary for the gratification of his wretched appetites. It was
now in vain to attempt that mode of subsistence by which she had
hitherto supported herself. So long as she was haunted by this evil
genius, that was impracticable. By the interest, however, of some of
her former friends, she obtained a scanty and precarious
employment for her needle, by which she endeavoured to supply the
cravings of her husband, and her own simpler wants. From morning
early, through the whole day, and till long after midnight, this
modest and virtuous woman would sit in her humble lodging,
painfully exerting herself at a tedious and monotonous task, that she
might be able to give to her husband in the morning that sum,
without which she feared he would only rush into greater mischief, if
not into absolute crime. No vigils were grudged, if she only had the
gratification at last of seeing him return. Though he often staid away
the whole night, she never could permit herself to suppose that he
would do so again, but she would sit bending over her work, or, if
she could work no more from positive fatigue, gazing into the dying
embers of her fire, watching and watching for the late and solitary
foot, which, by a strange exertion of the sense, she could hear and
distinguish long ere any sound would have been perceptible to
another person. Alas, for the sleepless nights which woman so often
endures for the sake of her cruel helpmate! Alas, for the generous
and enduring affection which woman cherishes so often for the
selfish heart by which it is enslaved!
A time at length arrived when the supplies purveyed by Mrs
Dempster from her own earnings were quite incompetent to satisfy
this living vampire. She saw him daily rush from her presence,
threatening that he would bring her to the extremity of disgrace by
the methods he would take to obtain money. She lived for weeks in
the agonising fear that the next moment would bring her news of
some awful crime committed by his hand, and for which he was
likely to suffer the last penalty of the law. She hardly knew who or
what were his associates; but occasionally she learned, from
mutterings in his sleep, that his practices were of the most flagitious
and debased kind. He seemed to be the leader or director of a set of
wretches who made a livelihood by midnight burglary. At length, one
day he came home at an unusual hour, accompanied by three
strangers, with whom he entered into conversation in the next room.
Between that apartment and the room in which he was sitting, there
was a door, which, being never used, was locked up. Through the
thin panels, she overheard a scheme laid for entering the house of
——, a villa in the neighbourhood, in order to rob the tenant, whom
they described as a gentleman just returned from the East Indies,
with a great quantity of plate and other valuables. One of the
persons in conference had visited the house, through the kindness of
a servant, to whom he had made up as a sweetheart; and he
therefore was able to lead the attack through such a channel as
rendered success almost certain. “The nabob,” said this person,
“sleeps in a part of the house distant from the room in which his
boxes are for the present deposited. But should he attempt to give
us any disturbance, we have a remedy for that, you know.” And here
the listener’s blood ran cold at hearing a pistol cocked. From all that
she could gather, her husband was only to keep watch at the outside
of the house, while the rest should enter in search of the booty. It is
impossible to describe the horror with which she heard the details of
the plot. Her mind was at first in such a whirl of distracted feeling,
that she hardly knew where she stood; but as the scheme was to be
executed that very evening, she saw it necessary to exert herself
quickly and decisively, and, therefore, she immediately went to the
house of a friend, and wrote an anonymous note to the person most
concerned, warning him of a design (she could use no more specific
language) which she knew was entertained against a certain part of
his property, and recommending him to have it removed to some
more secure part of his house. To make quite sure of this note being
delivered in time, she took it herself to the gate, and left it with the
porter, whom she strictly enjoined to give it immediately into the
hands of his master. She then went home, and spent an evening of
misery more bitter than the cup of death itself. She had formerly
passed many a lonely night at her cheerless fireside, while waiting
for the return of her wretched husband; but she never spent one like
this. When she reflected upon the happiness of her early days, and
the splendid prospects which were then said to lie before her, and
contrasted them with the misery into which she had been so
suddenly plunged, not by any fault of her own, but, as it appeared,
by the mere course of destiny, she could have almost questioned the
justice of that supreme power, by which she piously believed the
concerns of this lower world to be adjusted. What dire calamities
had sprung to her from one unfortunate step! What persecutions she
had innocently endured! How hopeless was her every virtuous
exertion against the perverse counteraction of a being from whom
society could not permit her to be disjoined! And, finally, what an
awful outburst of wretchedness was at this moment, to appearance,
impending over her! Then she recalled one gentle recollection, which
occasionally would steal into her mind, even in her darkest hours,
and fill it with an agreeable but still painful light—the thought of
Russell—Russell, the kind and good, whom, in a moment of girlish
vanity, she had treated harshly, so that he vanished from her
presence for ever, and even from the place where he had suffered
her scorn. Had fate decreed that she should have been united to
that endeared mate of her childhood, how different might have been
her lot!—how different, also, perhaps, might have been his course of
life!—for she feared that her ungenerous cruelty had also made
shipwreck of his noble nature. These meditations were suddenly
disturbed by the entrance of Dempster, who rushed into her room,
holding a handkerchief upon his side, and, pale, gory, and
breathless, fell upon the ground before her. Almost ere she had time
to ascertain the reality of this horrid vision, quick footsteps were
heard upon the stair. The open door gave free admission, and in a
moment the room was half filled with watchmen, at the head of
whom appeared a middle-aged gentleman, of a prepossessing
though somewhat disordered exterior. “This,” he exclaimed, “is the
villain; secure him, if he be yet alive, but I fear he has already met
the punishment which is his due.” The watchmen raised Dempster
from the ground, and, holding his face to the light, found that the
glaze of death was just taking effect upon his eyes. The unhappy
woman shrieked as she beheld the dreadful spectacle, and would
have fallen upon the ground if she had not been prevented by the
stranger, who caught her in his arms. Her eyes, when they first re-
opened, were met by those of Russell.
It would be difficult to describe the feelings with which these long-
severed hearts again recognised each other, the wretchedness into
which she was plunged, by learning that her well-intended efforts
had unexpectedly led to the death of her husband, or the returning
tide of grateful and affectionate emotion which possessed his
bosom, on being informed that those efforts had saved his life, not
to speak of the deep sensation of pity with which he listened to the
tale of her life. A tenderer feeling than friendship was now
impossible, and, if it could have existed, would have hardly been in
good taste; but Russell, now endowed with that wealth which, when
he had it not, would have been of so much avail, contented himself
to use it in the pious task of rendering the declining years of Eliza
Farney as happy as her past life had been miserable.
 TALE OF THE SILVER HEART.

In the course of a ramble through the western part of Fife, I

descended one evening upon the ancient burgh of Culross, which is
situated on a low stripe of land beside the sea-shore, with a line of
high grounds rising behind it, upon which are situated the old abbey
church and the ruins of a very fine mansion-house, once the
residence of the lords of the manor. On stepping forth next morning
from the little inn, I found that the night had been stormy, and that
the waves of the Forth were still rolling with considerable violence,
so as to delay the usual passage of the ferry-boat to
Borrowstouness. Having resolved to cross to that part of the
opposite shore, I found that I should have ample time, before the
boat could proceed, to inspect those remains of antiquity, which now
give the burgh almost its only importance in the eyes of a traveller.
The state of the atmosphere was in the highest degree calculated to
increase the interest of these objects. It was a day of gloom,
scarcely different from night. The sky displayed that fixed dulness
which so often succeeds a nocturnal tempest; the sea was one sheet
of turbid darkness, save where chequered by the breaking wave.
The streets and paths of the little village-burgh showed, each by its
deep and pebbly seam, how much rain had fallen during the night;
and all the foliage of the gardens and woods around, as well as the
walls of the houses, were still drenched with wet. Having secured
the services of the official called the bedral, I was conducted to the
abbey church, which is a very old Gothic structure, but recently
repaired and fitted up as a parochial place of worship. It was fitting,
in such a gloomy day, to inspect the outlines of abbots and
crusaders which still deck the pavement of this ancient temple; and
there was matter, perhaps, for still more solemn reflection in the
view of the adjacent mansion-house. Culross Abbey, as this structure
is called, was finished so lately as the reign of Charles the Second,
and by the same architect with Holyrood House, which it far
exceeded in magnificence. Yet, as the premature ruin of youthful
health is a more affecting object than the ripe decline of age, so did
this roofless modern palace, with the wallflower waving from its
elegant Grecian windows, present a more dismal aspect than could
have been expected from any ruin of more hoary antiquity. The tale
which it told of the extinction of modern grandeur, and the decline of
recently flourishing families, appealed more immediately and more
powerfully to the sympathies than that of remote and more
barbarous greatness, which is to be read in the sterner battlements
of a border tower, or an ancient national fortress. The site had been
chosen upon a lofty terrace overlooking the sea, in order that the
inmates might be enlivened by the ever-changing aspect of that
element, and the constant transit of its ships; but now all useless
was this peculiarity of situation, except to serve to the mariner as a
kind of landmark, or to supply the more contemplative voyager with
the subject of a sigh. With a mind attuned by this object to the most
melancholy reflections, I was conducted to what is called an aisle or
burial vault, projecting from the north side of the church, and which
contains the remains of the former lords of Culross. There images
are shown, cut in beautiful Italian marble, of Sir —— Bruce, his lady,
and several children, all of which must have been procured from the
Continent at a great expense; for this honourable knight and his
family flourished in the early part of the seventeenth century, when
no such art was practised in Scotland. The images, however, and the
whole sepulchre, had a neglected and desolate appearance, as may
be expected by the greatest of personages, when their race has
become unknown at the scene of their repose. In this gloomy
chamber of the heirless dead, I was shown a projection from one of
the side-walls, much like an altar, over which was painted on the
wall the mournfully appropriate and expressive word “Fuimus.” Below
was an inscription on a brass plate, importing that this was the
resting place of the heart of Edward Lord Bruce of Kinloss, formerly
proprietor of the princely estate of Culross; and that the story
connected with it was to be found related in the Guardian, and
alluded to in Clarendon’s History of the Great Rebellion. It was
stated that the heart was enclosed in a silver case of its own shape,
which had reposed here ever since it ceased to beat with the tide of
mortal life in the year 1613, except that it was raised from its cell for
a brief space in 1808, in the course of some repairs upon the
sepulchre. As I had a perfect recollection of the story told by Steele,
which indeed had made a deep impression upon me in boyhood, it
was with no small interest that I beheld the final abode of an object
so immediately connected with it. It seemed as if time had been
betrayed, and two centuries annihilated, when I thus found myself in
presence of the actual membrane, in bodily substance entire, which
had, by its proud passions, brought about the catastrophe of that
piteous tale. What! thought I, and does the heart of Edward Bruce,
which beat so long ago with emotions now hardly known among
men, still exist at this spot, as if the friends of its owner had
resolved that so noble a thing should never find decay? The idea had
in it something so truly captivating, that it was long ere I could quit
the place, or return to the feelings of immediate existence. The
whole scene around, and the little neglected burgh itself, had now
become invested with a fascinating power over me; and I did not
depart till I had gathered, from the traditions of the inhabitants, the
principal materials of the following story, aiding them, after I had
reached home, by reference to more authentic documents:—
Edward Lord Bruce of Kinloss, the second who bore the title, was
the son of the first lord, who is so memorable in history as a
serviceable minister to King James the Sixth during the latter years
of his Scottish reign, having been chiefly instrumental, along with
the Earl of Mar, in smoothing the way for his majesty’s succession to
Queen Elizabeth. After the death of his father, the young Lord Bruce
continued, along with his mother, to enjoy high consideration in the
English court. He was a contemporary and playmate of Henry Prince
of Wales, whom he almost equalled in the performance of all noble
sports and exercises, while, from his less cold character, he was
perhaps a greater favourite among those who were not
prepossessed in favour of youthful royalty. There was not, perhaps,
in the whole of the English court, any young person of greater
promise, or more endearing qualities, than Lord Bruce, though, in
respect of mere external accomplishments, he was certainly rivalled
by his friend Sir George Sackville, a younger son of the Earl of
Dorset. This young gentleman, who was the grandson of one poet,
[1] and destined to be the grandsire of another,[2] was one of those
free and dashing spirits, who, according to the accounts of
contemporary writers, kept the streets of London in an almost
perpetual brawl, by night and by day, with their extravagant frolics,
or, more generally, the feuds arising out of them. His heart and
genius were naturally good, but the influence of less innocent
companions gradually betrayed him into evil habits; and thus many
generous faculties, which might have adorned the highest
profession, were in him perverted to the basest uses. It was often a
subject of wonder that the pure and elevated nature of young Lord
Bruce should tolerate the reckless profligacy of Sackville; but those
who were surprised did not take a very extended view of human
nature. The truth is, that real goodness is often imposed upon by
vice, and sees in it more to attract and delight than it does in
goodness similar to itself. The gentle character of Bruce clung to the
fierce and turbulent nature of Sackville, as if it found in that nature a
protection and comfort which it needed. Perhaps there was
something, also, in the early date of their intimacy, which might tend
to fix the friendship of these dissimilar minds. From their earliest
boyhood they had been thrown together as pages in the household
of the prince, where their education proceeded, step by step, in
union, and every action and every duty was the same. It was further
remarked, that, while the character of Bruce appeared always to be
bolder in the presence of Sackville than on other occasions, that of
Sackville was invariably softened by juxtaposition with Bruce; so that
they had something more like a common ground to meet upon than
could previously have been suspected.
When the two young men were about fourteen, and as yet
displayed little more than the common features of innocent boyhood,
Sackville was permitted by his parents to accompany Bruce on a
summer visit to the paternal estates of the young nobleman in
Scotland. There they enjoyed together, for some weeks, all the
sports of the season and place, which seemed to be as untiring as
their own mutual friendship. One day, as they were preparing to go
out a-hunting, an aged woman, who exercised the trade of spaewife,
or fortune-teller, came up to the gate. The horses upon which they
had just mounted were startled by the uncouth appearance of the
stranger, and that ridden by Sackville was so very restive as nearly
to throw him off. This caused the young Englishman to address her
in language of not the most respectful kind; nor could all the efforts
of Lord Bruce, who was actuated by different feelings, prevent him
from aiming at her once or twice with his whip.
“For heaven’s sake, Sackville,” said Lord Bruce, “take care lest she
make us all repent of this. Don’t you see that she is a spaewife?”
“What care I for your spaewives?” cried Sackville. “All I know is,
that she is a cursed old beggar or gipsy, and has nearly caused me
break my neck!”
“I tell you she is a witch and a fortune-teller,” said his gentler
companion; “and there is not a man in the country but would rather
have his neck broken than say any thing to offend her.”
The woman, who had hitherto stood with a face beaming with
indignation, now broke out—
“Ride on to your hunting, young man,” addressing Sackville; “you
will not have the better sport for abusing the helpless infirmities of
old age. Some day you two will go out to a different kind of sport,
and one only will come back alive; alive, but wishing that he rather
had been doomed to the fate of his companion.”
Both Sackville and Bruce were for the time deeply impressed with
this denunciation, to which the superstitious feelings of the age gave
greater weight than can now be imagined; and even while they
mutually swore that hostility between them was impossible, they
each secretly wished that the doom could be unsaid. Its chief
immediate effect was to deepen and strengthen their friendship.
Each seemed to wish, by bestowing more and more affection upon
his companion, at once to give to himself a better assurance of his
own disposition to quarrel, and to his friend a stronger reason for
banishing the painful impression from his mind. Perhaps this was
one reason—and one not the less strong that it was in some
measure unconscious—why, on the separation of their characters in
ripening manhood, they still clung to each other with such devoted
attachment.
In process of time, a new and more tender relation arose between
these two young men, to give them mutually better assurance
against the doom which had been pronounced upon them. Lady
Clementina Sackville, eldest daughter of the Earl of Dorset, was just
two years younger than Sir George and his friend, and there was not
a more beautiful or accomplished gentlewoman in the court of
Queen Anne. Whether in the walking of a minuet, or in the
personation of a divine beauty in one of Ben Jonson’s court masks,
Lady Clementina was alike distinguished; while her manners, so far
from betraying that pride which so often attends the triumphs of
united beauty and talent, were of the most unassuming and amiable
character. It was not possible that two such natures as those of Lord
Bruce and Lady Clementina Sackville should be frequently in
communion, as was their case, without contracting a mutual
affection of the strongest kind. Accordingly, it soon became
understood that the only obstacle to their union was their extreme
youth, which rendered it proper that they should wait for one or two
years, before their fortunes, like their hearts, should be made one. It
unfortunately happened that this was the very time when the habits
of Sir George Sackville made their greatest decline, and when,
consequently, it was most difficult for Bruce to maintain the
friendship which hitherto subsisted between them. The household of
Lord Dorset was one of that sober cast, which, in the next age, was
characterised by the epithet puritanical. As such, of course, it suited
with the temper of Lord Bruce, who, though not educated in
Scotland, had been impressed by his mother with the grave
sentiments and habits of his native country. Often then did he mourn
with the amiable family of Dorset over the errors of his friend; and
many was the night which he spent innocently in that peaceful circle,
while Sir George roamed about, in company with the most wicked
and wayward spirits of the time.
One night, after he had enjoyed with Lady Clementina a long and
delightful conversation respecting their united prospects, Sir George
came home in a state of high intoxication and excitement,
exclaiming loudly against a Scotch gentleman with whom he had had
a street quarrel, and who had been rescued, as he said, from his
sword, only by the unfair interference of some other “beggarly
Scots.” It was impossible for a Scotsman of Bruce’s years to hear his
countrymen spoken of in this way without anger; but he repressed
every emotion, till his friend proceeded to generalise upon the
character of these “beggarly Scots,” and extended his obloquy from
the individuals to the nation. Lord Bruce then gently repelled his
insinuations, and said, that surely there was one person at least
whom he would exempt from the charge brought against his
country. “I will make no exemptions,” said the infatuated Sackville,
“and least of all in favour of a cullion who sits in his friend’s house,
and talks of him puritanically behind his back.” Bruce felt very
bitterly the injustice of this reproach; but the difficulty of shaping a
vindication rendered his answer more passionate than he wished;
and it was immediately replied to by Sackville with a contemptuous
blow upon the face. There, in a moment, fell the friendship of years,
and deadly gall usurped the place where nothing before had been
but “the milk of kindness.” Lady Clementina, to whom the whole
affair seemed a freak of a hurried and unnatural dream, was
shocked beyond measure by the violence of her brother; but she
was partly consoled by the demeanour of Bruce, who had the
address entirely to disguise his feelings in her presence, and to seem
as if he looked upon the insult as only a frolic. But though he
appeared quite cool, the blow and words of Sackville had sunk deep
into his soul; and after brooding over the event for a few hours, he
found that his very nature had become, as it were, changed. That
bitterest of pains—the pain of an unrequited blow—possessed and
tortured his breast; nor was the reflection that the injurer was his
friend, and not at the time under the control of reason, of much
avail in allaying his misery. Strange though it be, the unkindness of a
friend is the most sensibly felt and most promptly resented; and we
are never so near becoming the irreconcilable enemies of any fellow-
creature, as at the moment when we are interchanging with him the
most earnest and confiding affection. Similar feelings possessed
Sackville, who had really felt of late some resentment at Lord Bruce,
on account of certain references which had been made by his
parents to the regret expressed by this young nobleman respecting
his present course of life. To apologise for his rudeness was not to
be thought of; and, accordingly, these two hearts, which for years
had beat in unison, became parted at once, like rocks split by one of
the convulsions of nature, and a yawning and impassable gulf was
left between.
For some weeks after, the young men never met; Sackville took
care never to intrude into the family circle, and Bruce did not seek
his company. It appeared as if the unfortunate incident had been
forgotten by the parties themselves, and totally unknown to the
world. One day, however, Bruce was met in Paul’s Walk by a young
friend and countryman, of the name of Crawford, a rambling slip of
Scottish nobility, whose very sword seemed, from the loose easy way
in which it was disposed by his side, to have a particular aptitude for
starting up in a quarrel. After some miscellaneous conversation,
Crawford expressed his regret at a story which had lately come to
his ears, respecting a disagreement between Sackville and Bruce.
“What!” he said, “one might have as well expected Castor and Pollux
to rise from their graves and fall a-fighting, as that you two should
have had a tussle! But, of course, the affair was confined merely to
words, which, we all know, matter little between friends. The story
about the batter on the face must be a neat figment clapped upon
the adventure by Lady Fame.”
“Have you indeed heard,” asked Bruce, in some agitation, “that
any such incident took place?”
“Oh, to be sure,” replied his companion; “the whole Temple has
been ringing with it for the last few days, as I am assured by my
friend Jack Topper. And I heard it myself spoken of last week to the
west of Temple Bar. Indeed, I believe it was Sackville himself who
told the tale at first among some of his revellers; but, for my part, I
think it not a whit the more true or likely on that account.”
“It is,” said Bruce, with deep emotion, “too true. He did strike me,
and I, for sake of friendship and love, did not resent it. But what,
Crawford, could I do in the presence of my appointed bride, to right
myself with her brother?”
“Oh, to be sure,” said Crawford, “that is all very true as to the time
when the blow was given; but then, you know, there has been a
great deal of time since. And, love here or love there, people will
speak of such a thing in their ordinary way. The story was told the
other day in my presence to the French ambassador; and Monsieur’s
first question was, ‘Doth the man yet live?’ When told that he was
both living and life-like, he shrugged his shoulders, and looked more
than I can tell.”
“Oh, Crawford,” said Bruce, “you agonise me. I hoped that this
painful tale would be kept between ourselves, and that there would
be no more of it. I still hoped, although tremblingly, that my union
with the woman I love would be accomplished, and that all should
then be made up. But now I feel that I have been but too truly
foredoomed. That union must be anticipated by a very different
event.”
“You know best,” said the careless Crawford, “what is best for your
own honour.” And away he tripped, leaving the flames of hell in a
breast where hitherto every gentle feeling had resided.
The light talk of Crawford was soon confirmed in import by the
treatment which Bruce began to experience in society. It was the
fashion of the age that every injury, however trifling, should be
expiated by an ample revenge; that nothing should be forgiven to
any one, however previously endeared. Accordingly, no distinction
was made between the case of Bruce and any other; no allowance
was made for the circumstances in which he stood respecting the
family of his injurer, nor for their former extraordinary friendship.
The public, with a feeling of which too much still exists, seemed to
think itself defrauded of something which was its right, in the
continued impunity of Sackville’s insolence. It cried for blood to
satisfy itself, if not to restore the honour of the injured party. Bruce,
of course, suffered dreadfully from this sentiment wherever he
appeared; insomuch that, even though he might have been still
disposed to forgive his enemy, he saw that to do so would only be to
encounter greater misery than could accrue from any attempt at
revenge, even though that attempt were certain to end in his own
destruction.
It happened that just at this time Bruce and Sackville had
occasion, along with many other attachés of the court, to attend the
Elector Palatine out of the country, with his newly-married bride,
Elizabeth, the daughter of the king and queen. The two young men
kept apart till they came to Canterbury, where, as the royal train was
viewing the cathedral, it chanced that they saw each other very near.
The elector, who knew a little of their story, immediately called
Sackville up to him, and requested his sword, enjoining him, at the
same time, in a friendly manner, to beware of falling out with Bruce
so long as he was in attendance upon the court. His highness said,
farther, that he had heard his royal father-in-law speak of their
quarrel, and express his resolution to visit any transgression of the
laws by either of them with his severest displeasure. Sackville
obeyed the command of the elector, and withdrew to a part of the
cortege remote from the place where Bruce was standing. However,
it happened, that, in surveying the curiosities of that gorgeous
architectural scene, they came to the monument of a Scottish
crusader, who had died here on his way back from the Holy Land.
Sackville muttered something respecting this object, in which the
words “beggarly Scot” were alone overheard by Bruce, who stood at
no great distance, and who immediately recriminated by using some
corresponding phrase of obloquy applicable to England, to which
Sackville replied by striking his former friend once more upon the
face. Before another word or blow could pass between them, a
number of courtiers had rushed forward to separate them, and they
were immediately borne back to a distance from each other, each,
however, glaring upon the other with a look of concentrated scorn
and hate. The elector thought it necessary, after what had taken
place, that they should be confined for a time to their apartments.
But no interval of time could restore amity to those bosoms where
formerly it had reigned supreme. It was now felt by both that
nothing but blood could wipe out the sense of wrong which they
mutually felt; and, therefore, as the strictness of the king regarding
personal quarrels rendered it impossible to fight in Britain, without
danger of interruption, Bruce resolved to go beyond seas, and
thence send a challenge requesting Sackville to follow him.
In forming this purpose, Bruce felt entirely like a doomed man. He
recollected the prediction of the old woman at Culross Abbey, which
had always appeared to him, somehow, as implying that Sackville
should be the unhappy survivor. Already, he reflected, the least
probable part of the prediction had been fulfilled by their having
quarrelled. Under this impression, he found it indispensable to his
peace that he should return to London, and take leave of two
individuals in whom he felt the deepest interest—his mother and his
once-intended bride. Notwithstanding the painful nature of his
sensations, he found it would be necessary to assume a forced ease
of demeanour in the presence of these beloved persons, lest he
should cause them to interpose themselves between him and his
purpose. The first visit was paid to his mother, who resided at his
own house. He had received, he said, some news from Scotland,
which rendered it necessary that he should immediately proceed
thither; and he briefly detailed a story which he had previously
framed in his own mind for the purpose of deceiving her. After
having made some preparations for his journey, he came to take
leave of her; but his first precautions having escaped from his mind
during the interval, his forehead now bore a gloom as deep as the
shade of an approaching funeral. When his mother remarked this, he
explained it, not perfectly to her satisfaction, but yet sufficiently so
to avert farther question, by reference to the pain of parting with his
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

ebookmass.com