Guy Mannering Volume I - Chapter IV

In which the youthful William Mannering, once an ardent student of astrology under a learned cleric, applies his art to foretell perils for the heir of Ellangowan and his beloved Sophia, only to renounce the craft upon pondering its dubious truths and uncanny coincidences; and he then explores the noble yet ruinous castle of Ellangowan, where amidst its ancient grandeur and sequestered beauty he encounters the eerie but fascinating figure of Meg Merrilies, a gipsy sibyl entwined with the mystery of the place and attended by the surly Captain Dirk Hatteraick. The scene is drawn with affectionate detail, blending the melancholy of decaying lineage with the strange liveliness of those who haunt its shadowed courts, whilst the threads of destiny and human fate are spun and twined in a sportive song.