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diff --git a/4964.txt b/4964.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f68ad0f --- /dev/null +++ b/4964.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13372 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Waverley, Volume I, by Sir Walter Scott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Waverley, Volume I + +Author: Sir Walter Scott + +Posting Date: January 13, 2012 [EBook #4964] +Release Date: January, 2004 +[This file was first posted on April 5, 2002] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WAVERLEY, VOLUME I *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + +[Transcriber's Note: +I feel that it is important to note that this book is part +of the Caledonian series. The Caledonian series is a group +of 50 books comprising all of Sir Walter Scott's works.] + + + + +WAVERLEY + +OR 'T IS SIXTY YEARS SINCE + +BY SIR WALTER SCOTT + +VOLUME I + + + + + +PUBLISHERS' NOTE + + +It has long been the ambition of the present publishers to offer +to the public an ideal edition of the writings of Sir Walter +Scott, the great poet and novelist of whom William Hazlitt said, +'His works are almost like a new edition of human nature.' Secure +in the belief not only that his writings have achieved a permanent +place in the literature of the world, but that succeeding +generations will prize them still more highly, we have, after the +most careful planning and study, undertaken the publication of +this edition of the Waverley Novels and the complete poetical +writings. + +It is evident that the ideal edition of a great classic must be +distinguished in typography, must present the best available text, +and must be illustrated in such a way as at once to be beautiful +in itself and to add to the reader's pleasure and his +understanding of the book. As to the typography and text, little +need be said here. The format of the edition has been most +carefully studied, and represents the use of the best resources of +The Riverside Press. The text has been carefully edited in the +light of Scott's own revisions; all of his own latest notes have +been included, glossaries have been added, and full descriptive +notes to the illustrations have been prepared which will, we hope, +add greatly to the reader's interest and instruction in the +reading of the novels and poems. + +Of the illustrations, which make the special feature of this +edition, something more may be said. In the case of an author like +Sir Walter Scott, the ideal edition requires that the beautiful +and romantic scenery amid which he lived and of which he wrote +shall be adequately presented to the reader. No other author ever +used more charming backgrounds or employed them to better +advantage. To see Scotland, and to visit in person all the scenes +of the novels and poems, would enable the reader fully to +understand these backgrounds and thereby add materially to his +appreciation of the author. + +Before beginning the preparation of this edition, the head of the +department having it in charge made a visit in person to the +scenes of the novels and poems, determined to explore all the +localities referred to by the author, so far as they could be +identified. The field proved even more productive than had been at +first supposed, and photographs were obtained in sufficient +quantity to illustrate all the volumes. These pictures represent +the scenes very much as Scott saw them. The natural scenery-- +mountains, woods, lakes, rivers, seashore, and the like--is nearly +the same as in his day. The ruins of ancient castles and abbeys +were found to correspond very closely with his descriptions, +though in many instances he had in imagination rebuilt these ruins +and filled them with the children of his fancy. The scenes of the +stories extend into nearly every county in Scotland and through a +large part of England and Wales. All of these were thoroughly +investigated, and photographs were made of everything of interest. +One of the novels has to do with France and Belgium, one with +Switzerland, one with the Holy Land, one with Constantinople, and +one with India. For all of these lands, which Scott did not visit +in person, and therefore did not describe with the same attention +to detail as in the case of his own country, interesting pictures +of characteristic scenery were secured. By this method the +publishers have hoped to bring before the reader a series of +photographs which will not only please the eye and give a +satisfactory artistic effect to the volumes, but also increase the +reader's knowledge of the country described and add a new charm to +the delightful work of the author. In addition to the photographs, +old engravings and paintings have been reproduced for the +illustration of novels having to do with old buildings, streets, +etc., which have long since disappeared. For this material a +careful search was made in the British Museum, the Advocates' +Library and City Museum, Edinburgh, the Library at Abbotsford, the +Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, and other collections. + +It has been thought, too, that the ideal edition of Scott's works +would not be complete without an adequate portrayal of his more +memorable characters. This has been accomplished in a series of +frontispieces specially painted for this edition by twenty of the +most distinguished illustrators of England. + +4 PARK STREET, BOSTON. + + + + + +ADVERTISEMENT TO THE WAVERLEY NOVELS + + +IT has been the occasional occupation of the Author of Waverley, +for several years past, to revise and correct the voluminous +series of Novels which pass under that name, in order that, if +they should ever appear as his avowed productions, he might render +them in some degree deserving of a continuance of the public +favour with which they have been honoured ever since their first +appearance. For a long period, however, it seemed likely that the +improved and illustrated edition which he meditated would be a +posthumous publication. But the course of the events which +occasioned the disclosure of the Author's name having, in a great +measure, restored to him a sort of parental control over these +Works, he is naturally induced to give them to the press in a +corrected, and, he hopes, an improved form, while life and health +permit the task of revising and illustrating them. Such being his +purpose, it is necessary to say a few words on the plan of the +proposed Edition. + +In stating it to be revised and corrected, it is not to be +inferred that any attempt is made to alter the tenor of the +stories, the character of the actors, or the spirit of the +dialogue. There is no doubt ample room for emendation in all these +points,--but where the tree falls it must lie. Any attempt to +obviate criticism, however just, by altering a work already in the +hands of the public is generally unsuccessful. In the most +improbable fiction, the reader still desires some air of +vraisemblance, and does not relish that the incidents of a tale +familiar to him should be altered to suit the taste of critics, or +the caprice of the Author himself. This process of feeling is so +natural, that it may be observed even in children, who cannot +endure that a nursery story should be repeated to them differently +from the manner in which it was first told. + +But without altering, in the slightest degree, either the story or +the mode of telling it, the Author has taken this opportunity to +correct errors of the press and slips of the pen. That such should +exist cannot be wondered at, when it is considered that the +Publishers found it their interest to hurry through the press a +succession of the early editions of the various Novels, and that +the Author had not the usual opportunity of revision. It is hoped +that the present edition will be found free from errors of that +accidental kind. + +The Author has also ventured to make some emendations of a +different character, which, without being such apparent deviations +from the original stories as to disturb the reader's old +associations, will, he thinks, add something to the spirit of the +dialogue, narrative, or description. These consist in occasional +pruning where the language is redundant, compression where the +style is loose, infusion of vigour where it is languid, the +exchange of less forcible for more appropriate epithets--slight +alterations in short, like the last touches of an artist, which +contribute to heighten and finish the picture, though an +inexperienced eye can hardly detect in what they consist. + +The General Preface to the new Edition, and the Introductory +Notices to each separate work, will contain an account of such +circumstances attending the first publication of the Novels and +Tales as may appear interesting in themselves, or proper to be +communicated to the public. The Author also proposes to publish, +on this occasion, the various legends, family traditions, or +obscure historical facts which have formed the ground-work of +these Novels, and to give some account of the places where the +scenes are laid, when these are altogether, or in part, real; as +well as a statement of particular incidents founded on fact; +together with a more copious Glossary, and Notes explanatory of +the ancient customs and popular superstitions referred to in the +Romances. + +Upon the whole, it is hoped that the Waverley Novels, in their new +dress, will not be found to have lost any part of their +attractions in consequence of receiving illustrations by the +Author, and undergoing his careful revision. + +ABBOTSFORD, January, 1829. + + + + + +GENERAL PREFACE TO THE WAVERLEY NOVELS + + ---And must I ravel out + My weaved-up follies? + + Richard II, Act IV. + +Having undertaken to give an Introductory Account of the +compositions which are here offered to the public, with Notes and +Illustrations, the Author, under whose name they are now for the +first time collected, feels that he has the delicate task of +speaking more of himself and his personal concerns than may +perhaps be either graceful or prudent. In this particular he runs +the risk of presenting himself to the public in the relation that +the dumb wife in the jest-book held to her husband, when, having +spent half of his fortune to obtain the cure of her imperfection, +he was willing to have bestowed the other half to restore her to +her former condition. But this is a risk inseparable from the task +which the Author has undertaken, and he can only promise to be as +little of an egotist as the situation will permit. It is perhaps +an indifferent sign of a disposition to keep his word, that, +having introduced himself in the third person singular, he +proceeds in the second paragraph to make use of the first. But it +appears to him that the seeming modesty connected with the former +mode of writing is overbalanced by the inconvenience of stiffness +and affectation which attends it during a narrative of some +length, and which may be observed less or more in every work in +which the third person is used, from the Commentaries of Caesar to +the Autobiography of Alexander the Corrector. + +I must refer to a very early period of my life, were I to point +out my first achievements as a tale-teller; but I believe some of +my old schoolfellows can still bear witness that I had a +distinguished character for that talent, at a time when the +applause of my companions was my recompense for the disgraces and +punishments which the future romance-writer incurred for being +idle himself, and keeping others idle, during hours that should +have been employed on our tasks. The chief enjoyment of my +holidays was to escape with a chosen friend, who had the same +taste with myself, and alternately to recite to each other such +wild adventures as we were able to devise. We told, each in turn, +interminable tales of knight-errantry and battles and +enchantments, which were continued from one day to another as +opportunity offered, without our ever thinking of bringing them to +a conclusion. As we observed a strict secrecy on the subject of +this intercourse, it acquired all the character of a concealed +pleasure, and we used to select for the scenes of our indulgence +long walks through the solitary and romantic environs of Arthur's +Seat, Salisbury Crags, Braid Hills, and similar places in the +vicinity of Edinburgh; and the recollection of those holidays +still forms an oasis in the pilgrimage which I have to look back +upon. I have only to add, that my friend still lives, a prosperous +gentleman, but too much occupied with graver business to thank me +for indicating him more plainly as a confidant of my childish +mystery. + +When boyhood advancing into youth required more serious studies +and graver cares, a long illness threw me back on the kingdom of +fiction, as if it were by a species of fatality. My indisposition +arose, in part at least, from my having broken a blood-vessel; and +motion and speech were for a long time pronounced positively +dangerous. For several weeks I was confined strictly to my bed, +during which time I was not allowed to speak above a whisper, to +eat more than a spoonful or two of boiled rice, or to have more +covering than one thin counterpane. When the reader is informed +that I was at this time a growing youth, with the spirits, +appetite, and impatience of fifteen, and suffered, of course, +greatly under this severe regimen, which the repeated return of my +disorder rendered indispensable, he will not be surprised that I +was abandoned to my own discretion, so far as reading (my almost +sole amusement) was concerned, and still less so, that I abused +the indulgence which left my time so much at my own disposal. + +There was at this time a circulating library in Edinburgh, +founded, I believe, by the celebrated Allan Ramsay, which, besides +containing a most respectable collection of books of every +description, was, as might have been expected, peculiarly rich in +works of fiction. It exhibited specimens of every kind, from the +romances of chivalry and the ponderous folios of Cyrus and +Cassandra, down to the most approved works of later times. I was +plunged into this great ocean of reading without compass or pilot; +and, unless when some one had the charity to play at chess with +me, I was allowed to do nothing save read from morning to night. I +was, in kindness and pity, which was perhaps erroneous, however +natural, permitted to select my subjects of study at my own +pleasure, upon the same principle that the humours of children are +indulged to keep them out of mischief. As my taste and appetite +were gratified in nothing else, I indemnified myself by becoming a +glutton of books. Accordingly, I believe I read almost all the +romances, old plays, and epic poetry in that formidable +collection, and no doubt was unconsciously amassing materials for +the task in which it has been my lot to be so much employed. + +At the same time I did not in all respects abuse the license +permitted me. Familiar acquaintance with the specious miracles of +fiction brought with it some degree of satiety, and I began by +degrees to seek in histories, memoirs, voyages and travels, and +the like, events nearly as wonderful as those which were the work +of imagination, with the additional advantage that they were at +least in a great measure true. The lapse of nearly two years, +during which I was left to the exercise of my own free will, was +followed by a temporary residence in the country, where I was +again very lonely but for the amusement which I derived from a +good though old-fashioned library. The vague and wild use which I +made of this advantage I cannot describe better than by referring +my reader to the desultory studies of Waverley in a similar +situation, the passages concerning whose course of reading were +imitated from recollections of my own. It must be understood that +the resemblance extends no farther. + +Time, as it glided on, brought the blessings of confirmed health +and personal strength, to a degree which had never been expected +or hoped for. The severe studies necessary to render me fit for my +profession occupied the greater part of my time; and the society +of my friends and companions, who were about to enter life along +with, me, filled up the interval with the usual amusements of +young men. I was in a situation which rendered serious labour +indispensable; for, neither possessing, on the one hand, any of +those peculiar advantages which are supposed to favour a hasty +advance in the profession of the law, nor being, on the other +hand, exposed to unusual obstacles to interrupt my progress, I +might reasonably expect to succeed according to the greater or +less degree of trouble which I should take to qualify myself as a +pleader. + +It makes no part of the present story to detail how the success of +a few ballads had the effect of changing all the purpose and tenor +of my life, and of converting a painstaking lawyer of some years' +standing into a follower of literature. It is enough to say, that +I had assumed the latter character for several years before I +seriously thought of attempting a work of imagination in prose, +although one or two of my poetical attempts did not differ from +romances otherwise than by being written in verse. But yet I may +observe, that about this time (now, alas! thirty years since) I +had nourished the ambitious desire of composing a tale of +chivalry, which was to be in the style of the Castle of Otranto, +with plenty of Border characters and supernatural incident. Having +found unexpectedly a chapter of this intended work among some old +papers, I have subjoined it to this introductory essay, thinking +some readers may account as curious the first attempts at romantic +composition by an author who has since written so much in that +department. [Footnote: See Appendix No I.] And those who complain, +not unreasonably, of the profusion of the Tales which have +followed Waverley, may bless their stars at the narrow escape they +have made, by the commencement of the inundation, which had so +nearly taken place in the first year of the century, being +postponed for fifteen years later. + +This particular subject was never resumed, but I did not abandon +the idea of fictitious composition in prose, though I determined +to give another turn to the style of the work. + +My early recollections of the Highland scenery and customs made so +favourable an impression in the poem called the Lady of the Lake, +that I was induced to think of attempting something of the same +kind in prose. I had been a good deal in the Highlands at a time +when they were much less accessible and much less visited than +they have been of late years, and was acquainted with many of the +old warriors of 1745, who were, like most veterans, easily induced +to fight their battles over again for the benefit of a willing +listener like myself. It naturally occurred to me that the ancient +traditions and high spirit of a people who, living in a civilised +age and country, retained so strong a tincture of manners +belonging to an early period of society, must afford a subject +favourable for romance, if it should not prove a curious tale +marred in the telling. + +It was with some idea of this kind that, about the year 1805, I +threw together about one-third part of the first volume of +Waverley. It was advertised to be published by the late Mr. John +Ballantyne, bookseller in Edinburgh, under the name of Waverley; +or, 'Tis Fifty Years Since--a title afterwards altered to 'Tis +Sixty Years Since, that the actual date of publication might be +made to correspond with the period in which the scene was laid. +Having proceeded as far, I think, as the seventh chapter, I showed +my work to a critical friend, whose opinion was unfavourable; and +having then some poetical reputation, I was unwilling to risk the +loss of it by attempting a new style of composition. I therefore +threw aside the work I had commenced, without either reluctance or +remonstrance. I ought to add that, though my ingenious friend's +sentence was afterwards reversed on an appeal to the public, it +cannot be considered as any imputation on his good taste; for the +specimen subjected to his criticism did not extend beyond the +departure of the hero for Scotland, and consequently had not +entered upon the part of the story which was finally found most +interesting. + +Be that as it may, this portion of the manuscript was laid aside +in the drawers of an old writing-desk, which, on my first coming +to reside at Abbotsford in 1811, was placed in a lumber garret and +entirely forgotten. Thus, though I sometimes, among other literary +avocations, turned my thoughts to the continuation of the romance +which I had commenced, yet, as I could not find what I had already +written, after searching such repositories as were within my +reach, and was too indolent to attempt to write it anew from +memory, I as often laid aside all thoughts of that nature. + +Two circumstances in particular recalled my recollection of the +mislaid manuscript. The first was the extended and well-merited +fame of Miss Edgeworth, whose Irish characters have gone so far to +make the English familiar with the character of their gay and +kind-hearted neighbours of Ireland, that she may be truly said to +have done more towards completing the Union than perhaps all the +legislative enactments by which it has been followed up. + +Without being so presumptuous as to hope to emulate the rich +humour, pathetic tenderness, and admirable tact which pervade the +works of my accomplished friend, I felt that something might be +attempted for my own country, of the same kind with that which +Miss Edgeworth so fortunately achieved for Ireland--something +which might introduce her natives to those of the sister kingdom +in a more favourable light than they had been placed hitherto, and +tend to procure sympathy for their virtues and indulgence for +their foibles. I thought also, that much of what I wanted in +talent might be made up by the intimate acquaintance with the +subject which I could lay claim to possess, as having travelled +through most parts of Scotland, both Highland and Lowland, having +been familiar with the elder as well as more modern race, and +having had from my infancy free and unrestrained communication +with all ranks of my countrymen, from the Scottish peer to the +Scottish plough-man. Such ideas often occurred to me, and +constituted an ambitious branch of my theory, however far short I +may have fallen of it in practice. + +But it was not only the triumphs of Miss Edgeworth which worked in +me emulation, and disturbed my indolence. I chanced actually to +engage in a work which formed a sort of essay piece, and gave me +hope that I might in time become free of the craft of romance- +writing, and be esteemed a tolerable workman. + +In the year 1807-08 I undertook, at the request of John Murray, +Esq., of Albemarle Street, to arrange for publication some +posthumous productions of the late Mr. Joseph Strutt, +distinguished as an artist and an antiquary, amongst which was an +unfinished romance, entitled Queenhoo Hall. The scene of the tale +was laid in the reign of Henry VI, and the work was written to +illustrate the manners, customs, and language of the people of +England during that period. The extensive acquaintance which Mr. +Strutt had acquired with such subjects in compiling his laborious +Horda Angel-Cynnan, his Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities, and +his Essay on the Sports and Pastimes of the People of England had +rendered him familiar with all the antiquarian lore necessary for +the purpose of composing the projected romance; and although the +manuscript bore the marks of hurry and incoherence natural to the +first rough draught of the author, it evinced (in my opinion) +considerable powers of imagination. + +As the work was unfinished, I deemed it my duty, as editor, to +supply such a hasty and inartificial conclusion as could be shaped +out from the story, of which Mr. Strutt had laid the foundation. +This concluding chapter [Footnote: See Appendix No. II.] is also +added to the present Introduction, for the reason already +mentioned regarding the preceding fragment. It was a step in my +advance towards romantic composition; and to preserve the traces +of these is in a great measure the object of this Essay. + +Queenhoo Hall was not, however, very successful. I thought I was +aware of the reason, and supposed that, by rendering his language +too ancient, and displaying his antiquarian knowledge too +liberally, the ingenious author had raised up an obstacle to his +own success. Every work designed for mere amusement must be +expressed in language easily comprehended; and when, as is +sometimes the case in QUEENHOO HALL, the author addresses himself +exclusively to the antiquary, he must be content to be dismissed +by the general reader with the criticism of Mungo, in the PADLOCK, +on the Mauritanian music, 'What signifies me hear, if me no +understand?' + +I conceived it possible to avoid this error; and, by rendering a +similar work more light and obvious to general comprehension, to +escape the rock on which my predecessor was shipwrecked. + +But I was, on the other hand, so far discouraged by the +indifferent reception of Mr. Strutt's romance as to become +satisfied that the manners of the middle ages did not possess the +interest which I had conceived; and was led to form the opinion +that a romance founded on a Highland story and more modern events +would have a better chance of popularity than a tale of chivalry. + +My thoughts, therefore, returned more than once to the tale which +I had actually commenced, and accident at length threw the lost +sheets in my way. + +I happened to want some fishing-tackle for the use of a guest, +when it occurred to me to search the old writing-desk already +mentioned, in which I used to keep articles of that nature. + +I got access to it with some difficulty; and, in looking for lines +and flies, the long-lost manuscript presented itself. + +I immediately set to work to complete it according to my original +purpose. + +And here I must frankly confess that the mode in which I conducted +the story scarcely deserved the success which the romance +afterwards attained. + +The tale of WAVERLEY was put together with so little care that I +cannot boast of having sketched any distinct plan of the work. The +whole adventures of Waverley, in his movements up and down the +country with the Highland cateran Bean Lean, are managed without +much skill. It suited best, however, the road I wanted to travel, +and permitted me to introduce some descriptions of scenery and +manners, to which the reality gave an interest which the powers of +the Author might have otherwise failed to attain for them. And +though I have been in other instances a sinner in this sort, I do +not recollect any of these novels in which I have transgressed so +widely as in the first of the series. + +Among other unfounded reports, it has been said that the copyright +of Waverley was, during the book's progress through the press, +offered for sale to various book-sellers in London at a very +inconsiderable price. This was not the case. Messrs. Constable and +Cadell, who published the work, were the only persons acquainted +with the contents of the publication, and they offered a large sum +for it while in the course of printing, which, however, was +declined, the Author not choosing to part with the copyright. + +The origin of the story of Waverley, and the particular facts on +which it is founded, are given in the separate introduction +prefixed to that romance in this edition, and require no notice in +this place. + +Waverley was published in 1814, and, as the title-page was +without the name of the Author, the work was left to win its way +in the world without any of the usual recommendations. Its +progress was for some time slow; but after the first two or three +months its popularity had increased in a degree which must have +satisfied the expectations of the Author, had these been far more +sanguine than he ever entertained. + +Great anxiety was expressed to learn the name of the Author, but +on this no authentic information could be attained. My original +motive for publishing the work anonymously was the consciousness +that it was an experiment on the public taste which might very +probably fail, and therefore there was no occasion to take on +myself the personal risk of discomfiture. For this purpose +considerable precautions were used to preserve secrecy. My old +friend and schoolfellow, Mr. James Ballantyne, who printed these +Novels, had the exclusive task of corresponding with the Author, +who thus had not only the advantage of his professional talents, +but also of his critical abilities. The original manuscript, or, +as it is technically called, copy, was transcribed under Mr. +Ballantyne's eye by confidential persons; nor was there an +instance of treachery during the many years in which these +precautions were resorted to, although various individuals were +employed at different times. Double proof-sheets were regularly +printed off. One was forwarded to the Author by Mr. Ballantyne, +and the alterations which it received were, by his own hand, +copied upon the other proof-sheet for the use of the printers, so +that even the corrected proofs of the Author were never seen in +the printing office; and thus the curiosity of such eager +inquirers as made the most minute investigation was entirely at +fault. + +But although the cause of concealing the Author's name in the +first instance, when the reception of Waverley was doubtful, was +natural enough, it is more difficult, it may be thought, to +account for the same desire for secrecy during the subsequent +editions, to the amount of betwixt eleven and twelve thousand +copies, which followed each other close, and proved the success of +the work. I am sorry I can give little satisfaction to queries on +this subject. I have already stated elsewhere that I can render +little better reason for choosing to remain anonymous than by +saying with Shylock, that such was my humour. It will be observed +that I had not the usual stimulus for desiring personal +reputation, the desire, namely, to float amidst the conversation +of men. Of literary fame, whether merited or undeserved, I had +already as much as might have contented a mind more ambitious than +mine; and in entering into this new contest for reputation I might +be said rather to endanger what I had than to have any +considerable chance of acquiring more. I was affected, too, by +none of those motives which, at an earlier period of life, would +doubtless have operated upon me. My friendships were formed, my +place in society fixed, my life had attained its middle course. My +condition in society was higher perhaps than I deserved, certainly +as high as I wished, and there was scarce any degree of literary +success which could have greatly altered or improved my personal +condition. + +I was not, therefore, touched by the spur of ambition, usually +stimulating on such occasions; and yet I ought to stand exculpated +from the charge of ungracious or unbecoming indifference to public +applause. I did not the less feel gratitude for the public favour, +although I did not proclaim it; as the lover who wears his +mistress's favour in his bosom is as proud, though not so vain, of +possessing it as another who displays the token of her grace upon +his bonnet. Far from such an ungracious state of mind, I have +seldom felt more satisfaction than when, returning from a pleasure +voyage, I found Waverley in the zenith of popularity, and public +curiosity in full cry after the name of the Author. The knowledge +that I had the public approbation was like having the property of +a hidden treasure, not less gratifying to the owner than if all +the world knew that it was his own. Another advantage was +connected with the secrecy which I observed. I could appear or +retreat from the stage at pleasure, without attracting any +personal notice or attention, other than what might be founded on +suspicion only. In my own person also, as a successful author in +another department of literature, I might have been charged with +too frequent intrusions on the public patience; but the Author of +Waverley was in this respect as impassible to the critic as the +Ghost of Hamlet to the partisan of Marcellus. Perhaps the +curiosity of the public, irritated by the existence of a secret, +and kept afloat by the discussions which took place on the subject +from time to time, went a good way to maintain an unabated +interest in these frequent publications. There was a mystery +concerning the Author which each new novel was expected to assist +in unravelling, although it might in other respects rank lower +than its predecessors. + +I may perhaps be thought guilty of affectation, should I allege as +one reason of my silence a secret dislike to enter on personal +discussions concerning my own literary labours. It is in every +case a dangerous intercourse for an author to be dwelling +continually among those who make his writings a frequent and +familiar subject of conversation, but who must necessarily be +partial judges of works composed in their own society. The habits +of self-importance which are thus acquired by authors are highly +injurious to a well-regulated mind; for the cup of flattery, if it +does not, like that of Circe, reduce men to the level of beasts, +is sure, if eagerly drained, to bring the best and the ablest down +to that of fools. This risk was in some degree prevented by the +mask which I wore; and my own stores of self-conceit were left to +their natural course, without being enhanced by the partiality of +friends or adulation of flatterers. + +If I am asked further reasons for the conduct I have long +observed, I can only resort to the explanation supplied by a +critic as friendly as he is intelligent; namely, that the mental +organisation of the novelist must be characterised, to speak +craniologically, by an extraordinary development of the passion +for delitescency! I the rather suspect some natural disposition of +this kind; for, from the instant I perceived the extreme curiosity +manifested on the subject, I felt a secret satisfaction in +baffling it, for which, when its unimportance is considered, I do +not well know how to account. + +My desire to remain concealed, in the character of the Author of +these Novels, subjected me occasionally to awkward embarrassments, +as it sometimes happened that those who were sufficiently intimate +with me would put the question in direct terms. In this case, only +one of three courses could be followed. Either I must have +surrendered my secret, or have returned an equivocating answer, +or, finally, must have stoutly and boldly denied the fact. The +first was a sacrifice which I conceive no one had a right to force +from me, since I alone was concerned in the matter. The +alternative of rendering a doubtful answer must have left me open +to the degrading suspicion that I was not unwilling to assume the +merit (if there was any) which I dared not absolutely lay claim +to; or those who might think more justly of me must have received +such an equivocal answer as an indirect avowal. I therefore +considered myself entitled, like an accused person put upon trial, +to refuse giving my own evidence to my own conviction, and flatly +to deny all that could not be proved against me. At the same time +I usually qualified my denial by stating that, had I been the +Author of these works, I would have felt myself quite entitled to +protect my secret by refusing my own evidence, when it was asked +for to accomplish a discovery of what I desired to conceal. + +The real truth is, that I never expected or hoped to disguise my +connection with these Novels from any one who lived on terms of +intimacy with me. The number of coincidences which necessarily +existed between narratives recounted, modes of expression, and +opinions broached in these Tales and such as were used by their +Author in the intercourse of private life must have been far too +great to permit any of my familiar acquaintances to doubt the +identity betwixt their friend and the Author of Waverley; and I +believe they were all morally convinced of it. But while I was +myself silent, their belief could not weigh much more with the +world than that of others; their opinions and reasoning were +liable to be taxed with partiality, or confronted with opposing +arguments and opinions; and the question was not so much whether I +should be generally acknowledged to be the Author, in spite of my +own denial, as whether even my own avowal of the works, if such +should be made, would be sufficient to put me in undisputed +possession of that character. + +I have been often asked concerning supposed cases, in which I was +said to have been placed on the verge of discovery; but, as I +maintained my point with the composure of a lawyer of thirty +years' standing, I never recollect being in pain or confusion on +the subject. In Captain Medwyn's Conversations of Lord Byron the +reporter states himself to have asked my noble and highly gifted +friend,' If he was certain about these Novels being Sir Walter +Scott's?' To which Lord Byron replied, 'Scott as much as owned +himself the Author of Waverley to me in Murray's shop. I was +talking to him about that Novel, and lamented that its Author had +not carried back the story nearer to the time of the Revolution. +Scott, entirely off his guard, replied, "Ay, I might have done so; +but--" there he stopped. It was in vain to attempt to correct +himself; he looked confused, and relieved his embarrassment by a +precipitate retreat.' I have no recollection whatever of this +scene taking place, and I should have thought that I was more +likely to have laughed than to appear confused, for I certainly +never hoped to impose upon Lord Byron in a case of the kind; and +from the manner in which he uniformly expressed himself, I knew +his opinion was entirely formed, and that any disclamations of +mine would only have savoured of affectation. I do not mean to +insinuate that the incident did not happen, but only that it could +hardly have occurred exactly under the circumstances narrated, +without my recollecting something positive on the subject. In +another part of the same volume Lord Byron is reported to have +expressed a supposition that the cause of my not avowing myself +the Author of Waverley may have been some surmise that the +reigning family would have been displeased with the work. I can +only say, it is the last apprehension I should have entertained, +as indeed the inscription to these volumes sufficiently proves. +The sufferers of that melancholy period have, during the last and +present reign, been honoured both with the sympathy and protection +of the reigning family, whose magnanimity can well pardon a sigh +from others, and bestow one themselves, to the memory of brave +opponents, who did nothing in hate, but all in honour. + +While those who were in habitual intercourse with the real author +had little hesitation in assigning the literary property to him, +others, and those critics of no mean rank, employed themselves in +investigating with persevering patience any characteristic +features which might seem to betray the origin of these Novels. +Amongst these, one gentleman, equally remarkable for the kind and +liberal tone of his criticism, the acuteness of his reasoning, and +the very gentlemanlike manner in which he conducted his inquiries, +displayed not only powers of accurate investigation, but a temper +of mind deserving to be employed on a subject of much greater +importance; and I have no doubt made converts to his opinion of +almost all who thought the point worthy of consideration. +[Footnote: Letters on the Author of Waverly; Rodwell and Martin, +London, 1822.] Of those letters, and other attempts of the same +kind, the Author could not complain, though his incognito was +endangered. He had challenged the public to a game at bo-peep, and +if he was discovered in his 'hiding-hole,' he must submit to the +shame of detection. + +Various reports were of course circulated in various ways; some +founded on an inaccurate rehearsal of what may have been partly +real, some on circumstances having no concern whatever with the +subject, and others on the invention of some importunate persons, +who might perhaps imagine that the readiest mode of forcing the +Author to disclose himself was to assign some dishonourable and +discreditable cause for his silence. + +It may be easily supposed that this sort of inquisition was +treated with contempt by the person whom it principally regarded; +as, among all the rumours that were current, there was only one, +and that as unfounded as the others, which had nevertheless some +alliance to probability, and indeed might have proved in some +degree true. + +I allude to a report which ascribed a great part, or the whole, of +these Novels to the late Thomas Scott, Esq., of the 70th Regiment, +then stationed in Canada. Those who remember that gentleman will +readily grant that, with general talents at least equal to those +of his elder brother, he added a power of social humour and a deep +insight into human character which rendered him an universally +delightful member of society, and that the habit of composition +alone was wanting to render him equally successful as a writer. +The Author of Waverley was so persuaded of the truth of this, that +he warmly pressed his brother to make such an experiment, and +willingly undertook all the trouble of correcting and +superintending the press. Mr. Thomas Scott seemed at first very +well disposed to embrace the proposal, and had even fixed on a +subject and a hero. The latter was a person well known to both of +us in our boyish years, from having displayed some strong traits +of character. Mr. T. Scott had determined to represent his +youthful acquaintance as emigrating to America, and encountering +the dangers and hardships of the New World, with the same +dauntless spirit which he had displayed when a boy in his native +country. Mr. Scott would probably have been highly successful, +being familiarly acquainted with the manners of the native +Indians, of the old French settlers in Canada, and of the Brules +or Woodsmen, and having the power of observing with accuracy what +I have no doubt he could have sketched with force and expression. +In short, the Author believes his brother would have made himself +distinguished in that striking field in which, since that period, +Mr. Cooper has achieved so many triumphs. But Mr. T. Scott was +already affected by bad health, which wholly unfitted him for +literary labour, even if he could have reconciled his patience to +the task. He never, I believe, wrote a single line of the +projected work; and I only have the melancholy pleasure of +preserving in the Appendix [Footnote: See Appendix No. III.] the +simple anecdote on which he proposed to found it. + +To this I may add, I can easily conceive that there may have been +circumstances which gave a colour to the general report of my +brother being interested in these works; and in particular that it +might derive strength from my having occasion to remit to him, in +consequence of certain family transactions, some considerable sums +of money about that period. To which it is to be added that if any +person chanced to evince particular curiosity on such a subject, +my brother was likely enough to divert himself with practising on +their credulity. + +It may be mentioned that, while the paternity of these Novels was +from time to time warmly disputed in Britain, the foreign +booksellers expressed no hesitation on the matter, but affixed my +name to the whole of the Novels, and to some besides to which I +had no claim. + +The volumes, therefore, to which the present pages form a Preface +are entirely the composition of the Author by whom they are now +acknowledged, with the exception, always, of avowed quotations, +and such unpremeditated and involuntary plagiarisms as can scarce +be guarded against by any one who has read and written a great +deal. The original manuscripts are all in existence, and entirely +written (horresco referens) in the Author's own hand, excepting +during the years 1818 and 1819, when, being affected with severe +illness, he was obliged to employ the assistance of a friendly +amanuensis. + +The number of persons to whom the secret was necessarily +entrusted, or communicated by chance, amounted, I should think, to +twenty at least, to whom I am greatly obliged for the fidelity +with which they observed their trust, until the derangement of the +affairs of my publishers, Messrs. Constable and Co., and the +exposure of their account books, which was the necessary +consequence, rendered secrecy no longer possible. The particulars +attending the avowal have been laid before the public in the +Introduction to the Chronicles of the Canongate. + +The preliminary advertisement has given a sketch of the purpose of +this edition. I have some reason to fear that the notes which +accompany the tales, as now published, may be thought too +miscellaneous and too egotistical. It maybe some apology for this, +that the publication was intended to be posthumous, and still +more, that old men may be permitted to speak long, because they +cannot in the course of nature have long time to speak. In +preparing the present edition, I have done all that I can do to +explain the nature of my materials, and the use I have made of +them; nor is it probable that I shall again revise or even read +these tales. I was therefore desirous rather to exceed in the +portion of new and explanatory matter which is added to this +edition than that the reader should have reason to complain that +the information communicated was of a general and merely nominal +character. It remains to be tried whether the public (like a child +to whom a watch is shown) will, after having been satiated with +looking at the outside, acquire some new interest in the object +when it is opened and the internal machinery displayed to them. + +That Waverly and its successors have had their day of favour and +popularity must be admitted with sincere gratitude; and the Author +has studied (with the prudence of a beauty whose reign has been +rather long) to supply, by the assistance of art, the charms which +novelty no longer affords. The publishers have endeavoured to +gratify the honourable partiality of the public for the +encouragement of British art, by illustrating this edition with +designs by the most eminent living artists. [Footnote: The +illustrations here referred to were made for the edition of 1829] + +To my distinguished countryman, David Wilkie, to Edwin Landseer, +who has exercised his talents so much on Scottish subjects and +scenery, to Messrs. Leslie and Newton, my thanks are due, from a +friend as well as an author. Nor am I less obliged to Messrs. +Cooper, Kidd, and other artists of distinction to whom I am less +personally known, for the ready zeal with which they have devoted +their talents to the same purpose. + +Farther explanation respecting the Edition is the business of the +publishers, not of the Author; and here, therefore, the latter has +accomplished his task of introduction and explanation. If, like a +spoiled child, he has sometimes abused or trifled with the +indulgence of the public, he feels himself entitled to full belief +when he exculpates himself from the charge of having been at any +time insensible of their kindness. + +ABBOTSFORD, 1st January, 1829. + + + + + +WAVERLEY + +OR 'T IS SIXTY YEARS SINCE + + Under which King, Bezonian? speak, or die! + + Henry IV, Part II. + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The plan of this edition leads me to insert in this place some +account of the incidents on which the Novel of Waverley is +founded. They have been already given to the public by my late +lamented friend, William Erskine, Esq. (afterwards Lord Kinneder), +when reviewing the Tales of My Landlord for the Quarterly Review +in 1817. The particulars were derived by the critic from the +Author's information. Afterwards they were published in the +Preface to the Chronicles of the Canongate. They are now inserted +in their proper place. + +The mutual protection afforded by Waverley and Talbot to each +other, upon which the whole plot depends, is founded upon one of +those anecdotes which soften the features even of civil war; and, +as it is equally honourable to the memory of both parties, we have +no hesitation to give their names at length. When the Highlanders, +on the morning of the battle of Preston, 1745, made their +memorable attack on Sir John Cope's army, a battery of four field- +pieces was stormed and carried by the Camerons and the Stewarts of +Appine. The late Alexander Stewart of Invernahylewas one of the +foremost in the charge, and observing an officer of the King's +forces, who, scorning to join the flight of all around, remained +with his sword in his hand, as if determined to the very last to +defend the post assigned to him, the Highland gentleman commanded +him to surrender, and received for reply a thrust, which he caught +in his target. The officer was now defenceless, and the battle-axe +of a gigantic Highlander (the miller of Invernahyle's mill) was +uplifted to dash his brains out, when Mr. Stewart with difficulty +prevailed on him to yield. He took charge of his enemy's property, +protected his person, and finally obtained him liberty on his +parole. The officer proved to be Colonel Whitefoord, an Ayrshire +gentleman of high character and influence, and warmly attached to +the House of Hanover; yet such was the confidence existing between +these two honourable men, though of different political +principles, that, while the civil war was raging, and straggling +officers from the Highland army were executed without mercy, +Invernahyle hesitated not to pay his late captive a visit, as he +returned to the Highlands to raise fresh recruits, on which +occasion he spent a day or two in Ayrshire among Colonel +Whitefoord's Whig friends, as pleasantly and as good-humouredly as +if all had been at peace around him. + +After the battle of Culloden had ruined the hopes of Charles +Edward and dispersed his proscribed adherents, it was Colonel +Whitefoord's turn to strain every nerve to obtain Mr. Stewart's +pardon. He went to the Lord Justice Clerk to the Lord Advocate, +and to all the officers of state, and each application was +answered by the production of a list in which Invernahyle (as the +good old gentleman was wont to express it) appeared 'marked with +the sign of the beast!' as a subject unfit for favour or pardon. + +At length Colonel Whitefoord applied to the Duke of Cumberland in +person. From him, also, he received a positive refusal. He then +limited his request, for the present, to a protection for +Stewart's house, wife, children, and property. This was also +refused by the Duke; on which Colonel Whitefoord, taking his +commission from his bosom, laid it on the table before his Royal +Highness with much emotion, and asked permission to retire from +the service of a sovereign who did not know how to spare a +vanquished enemy. The Duke was struck, and even affected. He bade +the Colonel take up his commission, and granted the protection he +required. It was issued just in time to save the house, corn, and +cattle at Invernahyle from the troops, who were engaged in laying +waste what it was the fashion to call 'the country of the enemy.' +A small encampment of soldiers was formed on Invernahyle's +property, which they spared while plundering the country around, +and searching in every direction for the leaders of the +insurrection, and for Stewart in particular. He was much nearer +them than they suspected; for, hidden in a cave (like the Baron of +Bradwardine), he lay for many days so near the English sentinels +that he could hear their muster-roll called. His food was brought +to him by one of his daughters, a child of eight years old, whom +Mrs. Stewart was under the necessity of entrusting with this +commission; for her own motions, and those of all her elder +inmates, were closely watched. With ingenuity beyond her years, +the child used to stray about among the soldiers, who were rather +kind to her, and thus seize the moment when she was unobserved and +steal into the thicket, when she deposited whatever small store of +provisions she had in charge at some marked spot, where her father +might find it. Invernahyle supported life for several weeks by +means of these precarious supplies; and, as he had been wounded in +the battle of Culloden, the hardships which he endured were +aggravated by great bodily pain. After the soldiers had removed +their quarters he had another remarkable escape. + +As he now ventured to his own house at night and left it in the +morning, he was espied during the dawn by a party of the enemy, +who fired at and pursued him. The fugitive being fortunate enough +to escape their search, they returned to the house and charged the +family with harbouring one of the proscribed traitors. An old +woman had presence of mind enough to maintain that the man they +had seen was the shepherd. 'Why did he not stop when we called to +him?' said the soldier. 'He is as deaf, poor man, as a peat- +stack,' answered the ready-witted domestic. 'Let him be sent for +directly.' The real shepherd accordingly was brought from the +hill, and, as there was time to tutor him by the way, he was as +deaf when he made his appearance as was necessary to sustain his +character. Invernahyle was afterwards pardoned under the Act of +Indemnity. + +The Author knew him well, and has often heard these circumstances +from his own mouth. He was a noble specimen of the old Highlander, +far descended, gallant, courteous, and brave, even to chivalry. He +had been out, I believe, in 1715 and 1745, was an active partaker +in all the stirring scenes which passed in the Highlands betwixt +these memorable eras; and, I have heard, was remarkable, among +other exploits, for having fought a duel with the broadsword with +the celebrated Rob Roy MacGregor at the clachan of Balquidder. + +Invernahyle chanced to be in Edinburgh when Paul Jones came into +the Firth of Forth, and though then an old man, I saw him in arms, +and heard him exult (to use his own words) in the prospect +of drawing his claymore once more before he died.' In fact, on +that memorable occasion, when the capital of Scotland was menaced +by three trifling sloops or brigs, scarce fit to have sacked a +fishing village, he was the only man who seemed to propose a plan +of resistance. He offered to the magistrates, if broadswords and +dirks could be obtained, to find as many Highlanders among the +lower classes as would cut off any boat's crew who might be sent +into a town full of narrow and winding passages, in which they +were like to disperse in quest of plunder. I know not if his plan +was attended to, I rather think it seemed too hazardous to the +constituted authorities, who might not, even at that time, desire +to see arms in Highland hands. A steady and powerful west wind +settled the matter by sweeping Paul Jones and his vessels out of +the Firth. + +If there is something degrading in this recollection, it is not +unpleasant to compare it with those of the last war, when +Edinburgh, besides regular forces and militia, furnished a +volunteer brigade of cavalry, infantry, and artillery to the +amount of six thousand men and upwards, which was in readiness to +meet and repel a force of a far more formidable description than +was commanded by the adventurous American. Time and circumstances +change the character of nations and the fate of cities; and it is +some pride to a Scotchman to reflect that the independent and +manly character of a country, willing to entrust its own +protection to the arms of its children, after having been obscured +for half a century, has, during the course of his own lifetime, +recovered its lustre. + +Other illustrations of Waverley will be found in the Notes at the +foot of the pages to which they belong. Those which appeared too +long to be so placed are given at the end of the chapters to which +they severally relate. [Footnote: In this edition at the end of +the several volumes.] + + + + + +PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION + + +To this slight attempt at a sketch of ancient Scottish manners the +public have been more favourable than the Author durst have hoped +or expected. He has heard, with a mixture of satisfaction and +humility, his work ascribed to more than one respectable name. +Considerations, which seem weighty in his particular situation, +prevent his releasing those gentlemen from suspicion by placing +his own name in the title-page; so that, for the present at least, +it must remain uncertain whether Waverley be the work of a poet or +a critic, a lawyer or a clergyman, or whether the writer, to use +Mrs. Malaprop's phrase, be, 'like Cerberus, three gentlemen at +once.' The Author, as he is unconscious of anything in the work +itself (except perhaps its frivolity) which prevents its finding +an acknowledged father, leaves it to the candour of the public to +choose among the many circumstances peculiar to different +situations in life such as may induce him to suppress his name on +the present occasion. He may be a writer new to publication, and +unwilling to avow a character to which he is unaccustomed; or he +may be a hackneyed author, who is ashamed of too frequent +appearance, and employs this mystery, as the heroine of the old +comedy used her mask, to attract the attention of those to whom +her face had become too familiar. He may be a man of a grave +profession, to whom the reputation of being a novel-writer might +be prejudicial; or he may be a man of fashion, to whom writing of +any kind might appear pedantic. He may be too young to assume the +character of an author, or so old as to make it advisable to lay +it aside. + +The Author of Waverley has heard it objected to this novel, that, +in the character of Callum Beg and in the account given by the +Baron of Bradwardine of the petty trespasses of the Highlanders +upon trifling articles of property, he has borne hard, and +unjustly so, upon their national character. Nothing could be +farther from his wish or intention. The character of Callum Beg is +that of a spirit naturally turned to daring evil, and determined, +by the circumstances of his situation, to a particular species of +mischief. Those who have perused the curious Letters from the +Highlands, published about 1726, will find instances of such +atrocious characters which fell under the writer's own +observation, though it would be most unjust to consider such +villains as representatives of the Highlanders of that period, any +more than the murderers of Marr and Williamson can be supposed to +represent the English of the present day. As for the plunder +supposed to have been picked up by some of the insurgents in 1745, +it must be remembered that, although the way of that unfortunate +little army was neither marked by devastation nor bloodshed, but, +on the contrary, was orderly and quiet in a most wonderful degree, +yet no army marches through a country in a hostile manner without +committing some depredations; and several, to the extent and of +the nature jocularly imputed to them by the Baron, were really +laid to the charge of the Highland insurgents; for which many +traditions, and particularly one respecting the Knight of the +Mirror, may be quoted as good evidence. [Footnote: A homely +metrical narrative of the events of the period, which contains +some striking particulars, and is still a great favourite with the +lower classes, gives a very correct statement of the behaviour of +the mountaineers respecting this same military license; and, as +the verses are little known, and contain some good sense, we +venture to insert them.] + + + + + +THE AUTHOR'S ADDRESS TO ALL IN GENERAL + + + Now, gentle readers, I have let you ken + My very thoughts, from heart and pen, + 'Tis needless for to conten' + Or yet controule, + For there's not a word o't I can men'; + So ye must thole. + + For on both sides some were not good; + I saw them murd'ring in cold blood, + Not the gentlemen, but wild and rude, + The baser sort, + Who to the wounded had no mood + But murd'ring sport! + + Ev'n both at Preston and Falkirk, + That fatal night ere it grew mirk, + Piercing the wounded with their durk, + Caused many cry! + Such pity's shown from Savage and Turk + As peace to die. + + A woe be to such hot zeal, + To smite the wounded on the fiell! + It's just they got such groats in kail, + Who do the same. + It only teaches crueltys real + To them again. + + I've seen the men call'd Highland rogues, + With Lowland men make shangs a brogs, + Sup kail and brose, and fling the cogs + Out at the door, + Take cocks, hens, sheep, and hogs, + And pay nought for. + + I saw a Highlander,'t was right drole, + With a string of puddings hung on a pole, + Whip'd o'er his shoulder, skipped like a fole, + Caus'd Maggy bann, + Lap o'er the midden and midden-hole, + And aff he ran. + + When check'd for this, they'd often tell ye, + 'Indeed her nainsell's a tume belly; + You'll no gie't wanting bought, nor sell me; + Hersell will hae't; + Go tell King Shorge, and Shordy's Willie, + I'll hae a meat.' + + I saw the soldiers at Linton-brig, + Because the man was not a Whig, + Of meat and drink leave not a skig, + Within his door; + They burnt his very hat and wig, + And thump'd him sore. + + And through the Highlands they were so rude, + As leave them neither clothes nor food, + Then burnt their houses to conclude; + 'T was tit for tat. + How can her nainsell e'er be good, + To think on that? + + And after all, O, shame and grief! + To use some worse than murd'ring thief, + Their very gentleman and chief, + Unhumanly! + Like Popish tortures, I believe, + Such cruelty. + + Ev'n what was act on open stage + At Carlisle, in the hottest rage, + When mercy was clapt in a cage, + And pity dead, + Such cruelty approv'd by every age, + I shook my head. + + So many to curse, so few to pray, + And some aloud huzza did cry; + They cursed the rebel Scots that day, + As they'd been nowt + Brought up for slaughter, as that way + Too many rowt. + + Therefore, alas! dear countrymen, + O never do the like again, + To thirst for vengeance, never ben' + Your gun nor pa', + But with the English e'en borrow and len', + Let anger fa'. + + Their boasts and bullying, not worth a louse, + As our King's the best about the house. + 'T is ay good to be sober and douce, + To live in peace; + For many, I see, for being o'er crouse, + Gets broken face. + + + + + +WAVERLEY + +OR 'TIS SIXTY YEARS SINCE + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +INTRODUCTORY + + +The title of this work has not been chosen without the grave and +solid deliberation which matters of importance demand from the +prudent. Even its first, or general denomination, was the result +of no common research or selection, although, according to the +example of my predecessors, I had only to seize upon the most +sounding and euphonic surname that English history or topography +affords, and elect it at once as the title of my work and the name +of my hero. But, alas! what could my readers have expected from +the chivalrous epithets of Howard, Mordaunt, Mortimer, or Stanley, +or from the softer and more sentimental sounds of Belmour, +Belville, Belfield, and Belgrave, but pages of inanity, similar to +those which have been so christened for half a century past? I +must modestly admit I am too diffident of my own merit to place it +in unnecessary opposition to preconceived associations; I have, +therefore, like a maiden knight with his white shield, assumed for +my hero, WAVERLEY, an uncontaminated name, bearing with its sound +little of good or evil, excepting what the reader shall hereafter +be pleased to affix to it. But my second or supplemental title was +a matter of much more difficult election, since that, short as it +is, may be held as pledging the author to some special mode of +laying his scene, drawing his characters, and managing his +adventures. Had I, for example, announced in my frontispiece, +'Waverley, a Tale of other Days,' must not every novel-reader have +anticipated a castle scarce less than that of Udolpho, of which +the eastern wing had long been uninhabited, and the keys either +lost, or consigned to the care of some aged butler or housekeeper, +whose trembling steps, about the middle of the second volume, were +doomed to guide the hero, or heroine, to the ruinous precincts? +Would not the owl have shrieked and the cricket cried in my very +title-page? and could it have been possible for me, with a +moderate attention to decorum, to introduce any scene more lively +than might be produced by the jocularity of a clownish but +faithful valet, or the garrulous narrative of the heroine's fille- +de-chambre, when rehearsing the stories of blood and horror which +she had heard in the servants' hall? Again, had my title borne, +'Waverley, a Romance from the German,' what head so obtuse as not +to image forth a profligate abbot, an oppressive duke, a secret +and mysterious association of Rosycrucians and Illuminati, with +all their properties of black cowls, caverns, daggers, electrical +machines, trap-doors, and dark-lanterns? Or if I had rather chosen +to call my work a 'Sentimental Tale,' would it not have been a +sufficient presage of a heroine with a profusion of auburn hair, +and a harp, the soft solace of her solitary hours, which she +fortunately finds always the means of transporting from castle to +cottage, although she herself be sometimes obliged to jump out of +a two-pair-of-stairs window, and is more than once bewildered on +her journey, alone and on foot, without any guide but a blowzy +peasant girl, whose jargon she hardly can understand? Or, again, +if my Waverley had been entitled 'A Tale of the Times,' wouldst +thou not, gentle reader, have demanded from me a dashing sketch of +the fashionable world, a few anecdotes of private scandal thinly +veiled, and if lusciously painted, so much the better? a heroine +from Grosvenor Square, and a hero from the Barouche Club or the +Four-in-Hand, with a set of subordinate characters from the +elegantes of Queen Anne Street East, or the dashing heroes of the +Bow-Street Office? I could proceed in proving the importance of a +title-page, and displaying at the same time my own intimate +knowledge of the particular ingredients necessary to the +composition of romances and novels of various descriptions;--but +it is enough, and I scorn to tyrannise longer over the impatience +of my reader, who is doubtless already anxious to know the choice +made by an author so profoundly versed in the different branches +of his art. + +By fixing, then, the date of my story Sixty Years before this +present 1st November, 1805, I would have my readers understand, +that they will meet in the following pages neither a romance of +chivalry nor a tale of modern manners; that my hero will neither +have iron on his. shoulders, as of yore, nor on the heels of his +boots, as is the present fashion of Bond Street; and that my +damsels will neither be clothed 'in purple and in pall,' like the +Lady Alice of an old ballad, nor reduced to the primitive +nakedness of a modern fashionable at a rout. From this my choice +of an era the understanding critic may farther presage that the +object of my tale is more a description of men than manners. A +tale of manners, to be interesting, must either refer to antiquity +so great as to have become venerable, or it must bear a vivid +reflection of those scenes which are passing daily before our +eyes, and are interesting from their novelty. Thus the coat-of- +mail of our ancestors, and the triple-furred pelisse of our modern +beaux, may, though for very different reasons, be equally fit for +the array of a fictitious character; but who, meaning the costume +of his hero to be impressive, would willingly attire him in the +court dress of George the Second's reign, with its no collar, +large sleeves, and low pocket-holes? The same may be urged, with +equal truth, of the Gothic hall, which, with its darkened and +tinted windows, its elevated and gloomy roof, and massive oaken +table garnished with boar's-head and rosemary, pheasants and +peacocks, cranes and cygnets, has an excellent effect in +fictitious description. Much may also be gained by a lively +display of a modern fete, such as we have daily recorded in that +part of a newspaper entitled the Mirror of Fashion, if we contrast +these, or either of them, with the splendid formality of an +entertainment given Sixty Years Since; and thus it will be readily +seen how much the painter of antique or of fashionable manners +gains over him who delineates those of the last generation. + +Considering the disadvantages inseparable from this part of my +subject, I must be understood to have resolved to avoid them as +much as possible, by throwing the force of my narrative upon the +characters and passions of the actors;--those passions common to +men in all stages of society, and which have alike agitated the +human heart, whether it throbbed under the steel corslet of the +fifteenth century, the brocaded coat of the eighteenth, or the +blue frock and white dimity waistcoat of the present day. +[Footnote: Alas' that attire, respectable and gentlemanlike in +1805, or thereabouts, is now as antiquated as the Author of +Waverley has himself become since that period! The reader of +fashion will please to fill up the costume with an embroidered +waistcoat of purple velvet or silk, and a coat of whatever colour +he pleases.] Upon these passions it is no doubt true that the +state of manners and laws casts a necessary colouring; but the +bearings, to use the language of heraldry, remain the same, though +the tincture may be not only different, but opposed in strong +contradistinction. The wrath of our ancestors, for example, was +coloured gules; it broke forth in acts of open and sanguinary +violence against the objects of its fury. Our malignant feelings, +which must seek gratification through more indirect channels, and +undermine the obstacles which they cannot openly bear down, may be +rather said to be tinctured sable. But the deep-ruling impulse is +the same in both cases; and the proud peer, who can now only ruin +his neighbour according to law, by protracted suits, is the +genuine descendant of the baron who wrapped the castle of his +competitor in flames, and knocked him on the head as he +endeavoured to escape from the conflagration. It is from the great +book of Nature, the same through a thousand editions, whether of +black-letter, or wire-wove and hot-pressed, that I have +venturously essayed to read a chapter to the public. Some +favourable opportunities of contrast have been afforded me by the +state of society in the northern part of the island at the period +of my history, and may serve at once to vary and to illustrate the +moral lessons, which I would willingly consider as the most +important part of my plan; although I am sensible how short these +will fall of their aim if I shall be found unable to mix them with +amusement--a task not quite so easy in this critical generation as +it was 'Sixty Years Since.' + + + + + +CHAPTER II + +WAVERLEY-HONOUR--A RETROSPECT + + +It is, then, sixty years since Edward Waverley, the hero of the +following pages, took leave of his family, to join the regiment of +dragoons in which he had lately obtained a commission. It was a +melancholy day at Waverley-Honour when the young officer parted +with Sir Everard, the affectionate old uncle to whose title and +estate he was presumptive heir. + +A difference in political opinions had early separated the Baronet +from his younger brother Richard Waverley, the father of our hero. +Sir Everard had inherited from his sires the whole train of Tory +or High-Church predilections and prejudices which had +distinguished the house of Waverley since the Great Civil War. +Richard, on the contrary, who was ten years younger, beheld +himself born to the fortune of a second brother, and anticipated +neither dignity nor entertainment in sustaining the character of +Will Wimble. He saw early that, to succeed in the race of life, it +was necessary he should carry as little weight as possible. +Painters talk of the difficulty of expressing the existence of +compound passions in the same features at the same moment; it +would be no less difficult for the moralist to analyse the mixed +motives which unite to form the impulse of our actions. Richard +Waverley read and satisfied himself from history and sound +argument that, in the words of the old song, + + Passive obedience was a jest, + And pshaw! was non-resistance; + +yet reason would have probably been unable to combat and remove +hereditary prejudice could Richard have anticipated that his elder +brother, Sir Everard, taking to heart an early disappointment, +would have remained a bachelor at seventy-two. The prospect of +succession, however remote, might in that case have led him to +endure dragging through the greater part of his life as 'Master +Richard at the Hall, the Baronet's brother,' in the hope that ere +its conclusion he should be distinguished as Sir Richard Waverley +of Waverley-Honour, successor to a princely estate, and to +extended political connections as head of the county interest in +the shire where it lay. + +But this was a consummation of things not to be expected at +Richard's outset, when Sir Everard was in the prime of life, and +certain to be an acceptable suitor in almost any family, whether +wealth or beauty should be the object of his pursuit, and when, +indeed, his speedy marriage was a report which regularly amused +the neighbourhood once a year. His younger brother saw no +practicable road to independence save that of relying upon his own +exertions, and adopting a political creed more consonant both to +reason and his own interest than the hereditary faith of Sir +Everard in High-Church and in the house of Stuart. He therefore +read his recantation at the beginning of his career, and entered +life as an avowed Whig and friend of the Hanover succession. + +The ministry of George the First's time were prudently anxious to +diminish the phalanx of opposition. The Tory nobility, depending +for their reflected lustre upon the sunshine of a court, had for +some time been gradually reconciling themselves to the new +dynasty. But the wealthy country gentlemen of England, a rank +which retained, with much of ancient manners and primitive +integrity, a great proportion of obstinate and unyielding +prejudice, stood aloof in haughty and sullen opposition, and cast +many a look of mingled regret and hope to Bois le Due, Avignon, +and Italy. [Footnote: Where the Chevalier St. George, or, as he was +termed, the Old Pretender, held his exiled court, as his situation +compelled him to shift his place of residence.] The accession of +the near relation of one of those steady and inflexible opponents +was considered as a means of bringing over more converts, and +therefore Richard Waverley met with a share of ministerial favour +more than proportioned to his talents or his political importance. +It was, however, discovered that he had respectable talents for +public business, and the first admittance to the minister's levee +being negotiated, his success became rapid. Sir Everard learned +from the public 'News-Letter,' first, that Richard Waverley, +Esquire, was returned for the ministerial borough of Barterfaith; +next, that Richard Waverley, Esquire, had taken a distinguished +part in the debate upon the Excise Bill in the support of +government; and, lastly, that Richard Waverley, Esquire, had been +honoured with a seat at one of those boards where the pleasure of +serving the country is combined with other important +gratifications, which, to render them the more acceptable, occur +regularly once a quarter. + +Although these events followed each other so closely that the +sagacity of the editor of a modern newspaper would have presaged +the two last even while he announced the first, yet they came upon +Sir Everard gradually, and drop by drop, as it were, distilled +through the cool and procrastinating alembic of Dyer's 'Weekly +Letter.' [Footnote: See Note I. ] For it may be observed in +passing, that instead of those mail-coaches, by means of which +every mechanic at his six-penny club, may nightly learn from +twenty contradictory channels the yesterday's news of the capital, +a weekly post brought, in those days, to Waverley-Honour, a +Weekly Intelligencer, which, after it had gratified Sir Everard's +curiosity, his sister's, and that of his aged butler, was +regularly transferred from the Hall to the Rectory, from the +Rectory to Squire Stubbs's at the Grange, from the Squire to the +Baronet's steward at his neat white house on the heath, from the +steward to the bailiff, and from him through a huge circle of +honest dames and gaffers, by whose hard and horny hands it was +generally worn to pieces in about a month after its arrival. + +This slow succession of intelligence was of some advantage to +Richard Waverley in the case before us; for, had the sum total of +his enormities reached the ears of Sir Everard at once, there can +be no doubt that the new commissioner would have had little reason +to pique himself on the success of his politics. The Baronet, +although the mildest of human beings, was not without sensitive +points in his character; his brother's conduct had wounded these +deeply; the Waverley estate was fettered by no entail (for it had +never entered into the head of any of its former possessors that +one of their progeny could be guilty of the atrocities laid by +Dyer's 'Letter' to the door of Richard), and if it had, the +marriage of the proprietor might have been fatal to a collateral +heir. These various ideas floated through the brain of Sir Everard +without, however, producing any determined conclusion. + +He examined the tree of his genealogy, which, emblazoned with many +an emblematic mark of honour and heroic achievement, hung upon the +well-varnished wainscot of his hall. The nearest descendants of +Sir Hildebrand Waverley, failing those of his eldest son Wilfred, +of whom Sir Everard and his brother were the only representatives, +were, as this honoured register informed him (and, indeed, as he +himself well knew), the Waverleys of Highley Park, com. Hants; +with whom the main branch, or rather stock, of the house had +renounced all connection since the great law-suit in 1670. + +This degenerate scion had committed a farther offence against the +head and source of their gentility, by the intermarriage of their +representative with Judith, heiress of Oliver Bradshawe, of +Highley Park, whose arms, the same with those of Bradshawe the +regicide, they had quartered with the ancient coat of Waverley. +These offences, however, had vanished from Sir Everard's +recollection in the heat of his resentment; and had Lawyer +Clippurse, for whom his groom was despatched express, arrived but +an hour earlier, he might have had the benefit of drawing a new +settlement of the lordship and manor of Waverley-Honour, with all +its dependencies. But an hour of cool reflection is a great matter +when employed in weighing the comparative evil of two measures to +neither of which we are internally partial. Lawyer Clippurse found +his patron involved in a deep study, which he was too respectful +to disturb, otherwise than by producing his paper and leathern +ink-case, as prepared to minute his honour's commands. Even this +slight manoeuvre was embarrassing to Sir Everard, who felt it as a +reproach to his indecision. He looked at the attorney with some +desire to issue his fiat, when the sun, emerging from behind a +cloud, poured at once its chequered light through the stained +window of the gloomy cabinet in which they were seated. The +Baronet's eye, as he raised it to the splendour, fell right upon +the central scutcheon, inpressed with the same device which his +ancestor was said to have borne in the field of Hastings,--three +ermines passant, argent, in a field azure, with its appropriate +motto, Sans tache. 'May our name rather perish,' exclaimed Sir +Everard, 'than that ancient and loyal symbol should be blended +with the dishonoured insignia of a traitorous Roundhead!' + +All this was the effect of the glimpse of a sunbeam, just +sufficient to light Lawyer Clippurse to mend his pen. The pen was +mended in vain. The attorney was dismissed, with directions to +hold himself in readiness on the first summons. + +The apparition of Lawyer Clippurse at the Hall occasioned much +speculation in that portion of the world to which Waverley-Honour +formed the centre. But the more judicious politicians of this +microcosm augured yet worse consequences to Richard Waverley from +a movement which shortly followed his apostasy. This was no less +than an excursion of the Baronet in his coach-and-six, with four +attendants in rich liveries, to make a visit of some duration to a +noble peer on the confines of the shire, of untainted descent, +steady Tory principles, and the happy father of six unmarried and +accomplished daughters. + +Sir Everard's reception in this family was, as it may be easily +conceived, sufficiently favourable; but of the six young ladies, +his taste unfortunately determined him in favour of Lady Emily, +the youngest, who received his attentions with an embarrassment +which showed at once that she durst not decline them, and that +they afforded her anything but pleasure. + +Sir Everard could not but perceive something uncommon in the +restrained emotions which the young lady testified at the advances +he hazarded; but, assured by the prudent Countess that they were +the natural effects of a retired education, the sacrifice might +have been completed, as doubtless has happened in many similar +instances, had it not been for the courage of an elder sister, who +revealed to the wealthy suitor that Lady Emily's affections were +fixed upon a young soldier of fortune, a near relation of her own. + +Sir Everard manifested great emotion on receiving this +intelligence, which was confirmed to him, in a private interview, +by the young lady herself, although under the most dreadful +apprehensions of her father's indignation. + +Honour and generosity were hereditary attributes of the house of +Waverley. With a grace and delicacy worthy the hero of a romance, +Sir Everard withdrew his claim to the hand of Lady Emily. He had +even, before leaving Blandeville Castle, the address to extort +from her father a consent to her union with the object of her +choice. What arguments he used on this point cannot exactly be +known, for Sir Everard was never supposed strong in the powers of +persuasion; but the young officer, immediately after this +transaction, rose in the army with a rapidity far surpassing the +usual pace of unpatronised professional merit, although, to +outward appearance, that was all he had to depend upon. + +The shock which Sir Everard encountered upon this occasion, +although diminished by the consciousness of having acted +virtuously and generously had its effect upon his future life. His +resolution of marriage had been adopted in a fit of indignation; +the labour of courtship did not quite suit the dignified indolence +of his habits; he had but just escaped the risk of marrying a +woman who could never love him, and his pride could not be greatly +flattered by the termination of his amour, even if his heart had +not suffered. The result of the whole matter was his return to +Waverley-Honour without any transfer of his affections, +notwithstanding the sighs and languishments of the fair tell-tale, +who had revealed, in mere sisterly affection, the secret of Lady +Emily's attachment, and in despite of the nods, winks, and +innuendos of the officious lady mother, and the grave eulogiums +which the Earl pronounced successively on the prudence, and good +sense, and admirable dispositions, of his first, second, third, +fourth, and fifth daughters. + +The memory of his unsuccessful amour was with Sir Everard, as with +many more of his temper, at once shy, proud, sensitive, and +indolent, a beacon against exposing himself to similar +mortification, pain, and fruitless exertion for the time to come. +He continued to live at Waverley-Honour in the style of an old +English gentleman, of an ancient descent and opulent fortune. His +sister, Miss Rachel Waverley, presided at his table; and they +became, by degrees, an old bachelor and an ancient maiden lady, +the gentlest and kindest of the votaries of celibacy. + +The vehemence of Sir Everard's resentment against his brother was +but short-lived; yet his dislike to the Whig and the placeman, +though unable to stimulate him to resume any active measures +prejudicial to Richard's interest, in the succession to the family +estate, continued to maintain the coldness between them. Richard +knew enough of the world, and of his brother's temper, to believe +that by any ill-considered or precipitate advances on his part, he +might turn passive dislike into a more active principle. It was +accident, therefore, which at length occasioned a renewal of their +intercourse. Richard had married a young woman of rank, by whose +family interest and private fortune he hoped to advance his +career. In her right he became possessor of a manor of some value, +at the distance of a few miles from Waverley-Honour. + +Little Edward, the hero of our tale, then in his fifth year, was +their only child. It chanced that the infant with his maid had +strayed one morning to a mile's distance from the avenue of +Brerewood Lodge, his father's seat. Their attention was attracted +by a carriage drawn by six stately long-tailed black horses, and +with as much carving and gilding as would have done honour to my +lord mayor's. It was waiting for the owner, who was at a little +distance inspecting the progress of a half-built farm-house. I +know not whether the boy's nurse had been a Welsh--or a Scotch- +woman, or in what manner he associated a shield emblazoned with +three ermines with the idea of personal property, but he no sooner +beheld this family emblem than he stoutly determined on +vindicating his right to the splendid vehicle on which it was +displayed. The Baronet arrived while the boy's maid was in vain +endeavouring to make him desist from his determination to +appropriate the gilded coach-and-six. The rencontre was at a happy +moment for Edward, as his uncle had been just eyeing wistfully, +with something of a feeling like envy, the chubby boys of the +stout yeoman whose mansion was building by his direction. In the +round-faced rosy cherub before him, bearing his eye and his name, +and vindicating a hereditary title to his family, affection, and +patronage, by means of a tie which Sir Everard held as sacred as +either Garter or Blue-mantle, Providence seemed to have granted to +him the very object best calculated to fill up the void in his +hopes and affections. Sir Everard returned to Waverley-Hall upon a +led horse, which was kept in readiness for him, while the child +and his attendant were sent home in the carriage to Brerewood +Lodge, with such a message as opened to Richard Waverley a door of +reconciliation with his elder brother. + +Their intercourse, however, though thus renewed, continued to be +rather formal and civil than partaking of brotherly cordiality; +yet it was sufficient to the wishes of both parties. Sir Everard +obtained, in the frequent society of his little nephew, something +on which his hereditary pride might found the anticipated pleasure +of a continuation of his lineage, and where his kind and gentle +affections could at the same time fully exercise themselves. For +Richard Waverley, he beheld in the growing attachment between the +uncle and nephew the means of securing his son's, if not his own, +succession to the hereditary estate, which he felt would be rather +endangered than promoted by any attempt on his own part towards a +closer intimacy with a man of Sir Everard's habits and opinions. + +Thus, by a sort of tacit compromise, little Edward was permitted +to pass the greater part of the year at the Hall, and appeared to +stand in the same intimate relation to both families, although +their mutual intercourse was otherwise limited to formal messages +and more formal visits. The education of the youth was regulated +alternately by the taste and opinions of his uncle and of his +father. But more of this in a subsequent chapter. + + + + + +CHAPTER III + +EDUCATION + + +The education of our hero, Edward Waverley, was of a nature +somewhat desultory. In infancy his health suffered, or was +supposed to suffer (which is quite the same thing), by the air of +London. As soon, therefore, as official duties, attendance on +Parliament, or the prosecution of any of his plans of interest or +ambition, called his father to town, which was his usual residence +for eight months in the year, Edward was transferred to Waverley- +Honour, and experienced a total change of instructors and of +lessons, as well as of residence. This might have been remedied +had his father placed him under the superintendence of a permanent +tutor. But he considered that one of his choosing would probably +have been unacceptable at Waverley-Honour, and that such a +selection as Sir Everard might have made, were the matter left to +him, would have burdened him with a disagreeable inmate, if not a +political spy, in his family. He therefore prevailed upon his +private secretary, a young man of taste and accomplishments, to +bestow an hour or two on Edward's education while at Brerewood +Lodge, and left his uncle answerable for his improvement in +literature while an inmate at the Hall. This was in some degree +respectably provided for. Sir Everard's chaplain, an Oxonian, who +had lost his fellowship for declining to take the oaths at the +accession of George I, was not only an excellent classical +scholar, but reasonably skilled in science, and master of most +modern languages. He was, however, old and indulgent, and the +recurring interregnum, during which Edward was entirely freed from +his discipline, occasioned such a relaxation of authority, that +the youth was permitted, in a great measure, to learn as he +pleased, what he pleased, and when he pleased. This slackness of +rule might have been ruinous to a boy of slow understanding, who, +feeling labour in the acquisition of knowledge, would have +altogether neglected it, save for the command of a taskmaster; and +it might have proved equally dangerous to a youth whose animal +spirits were more powerful than his imagination or his feelings, +and whom the irresistible influence of Alma would have engaged in +field-sports from morning till night. But the character of Edward +Waverley was remote from either of these. His powers of +apprehension were so uncommonly quick as almost to resemble +intuition, and the chief care of his preceptor was to prevent him, +as a sportsman would phrase it, from over-running his game--that +is, from acquiring his knowledge in a slight, flimsy, and +inadequate manner. And here the instructor had to combat another +propensity too often united with brilliancy of fancy and vivacity +of talent--that indolence, namely, of disposition, which can only +be stirred by some strong motive of gratification, and which +renounces study as soon as curiosity is gratified, the pleasure of +conquering the first difficulties exhausted, and the novelty of +pursuit at an end. Edward would throw himself with spirit upon any +classical author of which his preceptor proposed the perusal, make +himself master of the style so far as to understand the story, +and, if that pleased or interested him, he finished the volume. +But it was in vain to attempt fixing his attention on critical +distinctions of philology, upon the difference of idiom, the +beauty of felicitous expression, or the artificial combinations of +syntax. 'I can read and understand a Latin author,' said young +Edward, with the self-confidence and rash reasoning of fifteen, +'and Scaliger or Bentley could not do much more.' Alas! while he +was thus permitted to read only for the gratification of his +amusement, he foresaw not that he was losing for ever the +opportunity of acquiring habits of firm and assiduous application, +of gaining the art of controlling, directing, and concentrating +the powers of his mind for earnest investigation--an art far more +essential than even that intimate acquaintance with classical +learning which is the primary object of study. + +I am aware I may be here reminded of the necessity of rendering +instruction agreeable to youth, and of Tasso's infusion of honey +into the medicine prepared for a child; but an age in which +children are taught the driest doctrines by the insinuating method +of instructive games, has little reason to dread the consequences +of study being rendered too serious or severe. The history of +England is now reduced to a game at cards, the problems of +mathematics to puzzles and riddles, and the doctrines of +arithmetic may, we are assured, be sufficiently acquired by +spending a few hours a week at a new and complicated edition of +the Royal Game of the Goose. There wants but one step further, and +the Creed and Ten Commandments may be taught in the same manner, +without the necessity of the grave face, deliberate tone of +recital, and devout attention, hitherto exacted from the well- +governed childhood of this realm. It may, in the meantime, be +subject of serious consideration, whether those who are accustomed +only to acquire instruction through the medium of amusement may +not be brought to reject that which approaches under the aspect of +study; whether those who learn history by the cards may not be led +to prefer the means to the end; and whether, were we to teach +religion in the way of sport, our pupils may not thereby be +gradually induced to make sport of their religion. To our young +hero, who was permitted to seek his instruction only according to +the bent of his own mind, and who, of consequence, only sought it +so long as it afforded him amusement, the indulgence of his tutors +was attended with evil consequences, which long continued to +influence his character, happiness, and utility. + +Edward's power of imagination and love of literature, although the +former was vivid and the latter ardent, were so far from affording +a remedy to this peculiar evil, that they rather inflamed and +increased its violence. The library at Waverley-Honour, a large +Gothic room, with double arches and a gallery, contained such a +miscellaneous and extensive collection of volumes as had been +assembled together, during the course of two hundred years, by a +family which had been always wealthy, and inclined, of course, as +a mark of splendour, to furnish their shelves with the current +literature of the day, without much scrutiny or nicety of +discrimination. Throughout this ample realm Edward was permitted +to roam at large. His tutor had his own studies; and church +politics and controversial divinity, together with a love of +learned ease, though they did not withdraw his attention at stated +times from the progress of his patron's presumptive heir, induced +him readily to grasp at any apology for not extending a strict and +regulated survey towards his general studies. Sir Everard had +never been himself a student, and, like his sister, Miss Rachel +Waverley, he held the common doctrine, that idleness is +incompatible with reading of any kind, and that the mere tracing +the alphabetical characters with the eye is in itself a useful and +meritorious task, without scrupulously considering what ideas or +doctrines they may happen to convey. With a desire of amusement, +therefore, which better discipline might soon have converted into +a thirst for knowledge, young Waverley drove through the sea of +books like a vessel without a pilot or a rudder. Nothing perhaps +increases by indulgence more than a desultory habit of reading, +especially under such opportunities of gratifying it. I believe +one reason why such numerous instances of erudition occur among +the lower ranks is, that, with the same powers of mind, the poor +student is limited to a narrow circle for indulging his passion +for books, and must necessarily make himself master of the few he +possesses ere he can acquire more. Edward, on the contrary, like +the epicure who only deigned to take a single morsel from the +sunny side of a peach, read no volume a moment after it ceased to +excite his curiosity or interest; and it necessarily happened, +that the habit of seeking only this sort of gratification rendered +it daily more difficult of attainment, till the passion for +reading, like other strong appetites, produced by indulgence a +sort of satiety. + +Ere he attained this indifference, however, he had read, and +stored in a memory of uncommon tenacity, much curious, though ill- +arranged and miscellaneous information. In English literature he +was master of Shakespeare and Milton, of our earlier dramatic +authors, of many picturesque and interesting passages from our old +historical chronicles, and was particularly well acquainted with +Spenser, Drayton, and other poets who have exercised themselves on +romantic fiction, of all themes the most fascinating to a youthful +imagination, before the passions have roused themselves and demand +poetry of a more sentimental description. In this respect his +acquaintance with Italian opened him yet a wider range. He had +perused the numerous romantic poems, which, from the days of +Pulci, have been a favourite exercise of the wits of Italy, and +had sought gratification in the numerous collections of novelle, +which were brought forth by the genius of that elegant though +luxurious nation, in emulation of the 'Decameron.' In classical +literature, Waverley had made the usual progress, and read the +usual authors; and the French had afforded him an almost +exhaustless collection of memoirs, scarcely more faithful than +romances, and of romances so well written as hardly to be +distinguished from memoirs. The splendid pages of Froissart, with +his heart-stirring and eye-dazzling descriptions of war and of +tournaments, were among his chief favourites; and from those of +Brantome and De la Noue he learned to compare the wild and loose, +yet superstitious, character of the nobles of the League with the +stern, rigid, and sometimes turbulent disposition of the Huguenot +party. The Spanish had contributed to his stock of chivalrous and +romantic lore. The earlier literature of the northern nations did +not escape the study of one who read rather to awaken the +imagination than to benefit the understanding. And yet, knowing +much that is known but to few, Edward Waverley might justly be +considered as ignorant, since he knew little of what adds dignity +to man, and qualifies him to support and adorn an elevated +situation in society. + +The occasional attention of his parents might indeed have been of +service to prevent the dissipation of mind incidental to such a +desultory course of reading. But his mother died in the seventh +year after the reconciliation between the brothers, and Richard +Waverley himself, who, after this event, resided more constantly +in London, was too much interested in his own plans of wealth and +ambition to notice more respecting Edward than that he was of a +very bookish turn, and probably destined to be a bishop. If he +could have discovered and analysed his son's waking dreams, he +would have formed a very different conclusion. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +CASTLE-BUILDING + + +I have already hinted that the dainty, squeamish, and fastidious +taste acquired by a surfeit of idle reading had not only rendered +our hero unfit for serious and sober study, but had even disgusted +him in some degree with that in which he had hitherto indulged. + +He was in his sixteenth year when his habits of abstraction and +love of solitude became so much marked as to excite Sir Everard's +affectionate apprehension. He tried to counterbalance these +propensities by engaging his nephew in field-sports, which had +been the chief pleasure of his own youthful days. But although +Edward eagerly carried the gun for one season, yet when practice +had given him some dexterity, the pastime ceased to afford him +amusement. + +In the succeeding spring, the perusal of old Isaac Walton's +fascinating volume determined Edward to become 'a brother of the +angle.' But of all diversions which ingenuity ever devised for the +relief of idleness, fishing is the worst qualified to amuse a man +who is at once indolent and impatient; and our hero's rod was +speedily flung aside. Society and example, which, more than any +other motives, master and sway the natural bent of our passions, +might have had their usual effect upon the youthful visionary. But +the neighbourhood was thinly inhabited, and the home-bred young +squires whom it afforded were not of a class fit to form Edward's +usual companions, far less to excite him to emulation in the +practice of those pastimes which composed the serious business of +their lives. + +There were a few other youths of better education and a more +liberal character, but from their society also our hero was in +some degree excluded. Sir Everard had, upon the death of Queen +Anne, resigned his seat in Parliament, and, as his age increased +and the number of his contemporaries diminished, had gradually +withdrawn himself from society; so that when, upon any particular +occasion, Edward mingled with accomplished and well-educated +young men of his own rank and expectations, he felt an inferiority +in their company, not so much from deficiency of information, as +from the want of the skill to command and to arrange that which he +possessed. A deep and increasing sensibility added to this dislike +of society. The idea of having committed the slightest solecism in +politeness, whether real or imaginary, was agony to him; for +perhaps even guilt itself does not impose upon some minds so keen +a sense of shame and remorse, as a modest, sensitive, and +inexperienced youth feels from the consciousness of having +neglected etiquette or excited ridicule. Where we are not at ease, +we cannot be happy; and therefore it is not surprising that Edward +Waverley supposed that he disliked and was unfitted for society, +merely because he had not yet acquired the habit of living in it +with ease and comfort, and of reciprocally giving and receiving +pleasure. + +The hours he spent with his uncle and aunt were exhausted in +listening to the oft-repeated tale of narrative old age. Yet even +there his imagination, the predominant faculty of his mind, was +frequently excited. Family tradition and genealogical history, +upon which much of Sir Everard's discourse turned, is the very +reverse of amber, which, itself a valuable substance, usually +includes flies, straws, and other trifles; whereas these studies, +being themselves very insignificant and trifling, do nevertheless +serve to perpetuate a great deal of what is rare and valuable in +ancient manners, and to record many curious and minute facts which +could have been preserved and conveyed through no other medium. +If, therefore, Edward Waverley yawned at times over the dry +deduction of his line of ancestors, with their various +intermarriages, and inwardly deprecated the remorseless and +protracted accuracy with which the worthy Sir Everard rehearsed +the various degrees of propinquity between the house of Waverley- +Honour and the doughty barons, knights, and squires to whom they +stood allied; if (notwithstanding his obligations to the three +ermines passant) he sometimes cursed in his heart the jargon of +heraldry, its griffins, its moldwarps, its wyverns, and its +dragons, with all the bitterness of Hotspur himself, there were +moments when these communications interested his fancy and +rewarded his attention. + +The deeds of Wilibert of Waverley in the Holy Land, his long +absence and perilous adventures, his supposed death, and his +return on the evening when the betrothed of his heart had wedded +the hero who had protected her from insult and oppression during +his absence; the generosity with which the Crusader relinquished +his claims, and sought in a neighbouring cloister that peace which +passeth not away; [Footnote: See Note 2.]--to these and similar +tales he would hearken till his heart glowed and his eye +glistened. Nor was he less affected when his aunt, Mrs. Rachel, +narrated the sufferings and fortitude of Lady Alice Waverley +during the Great Civil War. The benevolent features of the +venerable spinster kindled into more majestic expression as she +told how Charles had, after the field of Worcester, found a day's +refuge at Waverley-Honour, and how, when a troop of cavalry were +approaching to search the mansion, Lady Alice dismissed her +youngest son with a handful of domestics, charging them to make +good with their lives an hour's diversion, that the king might +have that space for escape. 'And, God help her,' would Mrs. Rachel +continue, fixing her eyes upon the heroine's portrait as she +spoke, 'full dearly did she purchase the safety of her prince with +the life of her darling child. They brought him here a prisoner, +mortally wounded; and you may trace the drops of his blood from +the great hall door along the little gallery, and up to the +saloon, where they laid him down to die at his mother's feet. But +there was comfort exchanged between them; for he knew, from the +glance of his mother's eye, that the purpose of his desperate +defence was attained. Ah! I remember,' she continued, 'I remember +well to have seen one that knew and loved him. Miss Lucy Saint +Aubin lived and died a maid for his sake, though one of the most +beautiful and wealthy matches in this country; all the world ran +after her, but she wore widow's mourning all her life for poor +William, for they were betrothed though not married, and died in-- +I cannot think of the date; but I remember, in the November of +that very year, when she found herself sinking, she desired to be +brought to Waverley-Honour once more, and visited all the places +where she had been with my grand-uncle, and caused the carpets to +be raised that she might trace the impression of his blood, and if +tears could have washed it out, it had not been there now; for +there was not a dry eye in the house. You would have thought, +Edward, that the very trees mourned for her, for their leaves +dropt around her without a gust of wind, and, indeed, she looked +like one that would never see them green again.' + +From such legends our hero would steal away to indulge the fancies +they excited. In the corner of the large and sombre library, with +no other light than was afforded by the decaying brands on its +ponderous and ample hearth, he would exercise for hours that +internal sorcery by which past or imaginary events are presented +in action, as it were, to the eye of the muser. Then arose in long +and fair array the splendour of the bridal feast at Waverley- +Castle; the tall and emaciated form of its real lord, as he stood +in his pilgrim's weeds, an unnoticed spectator of the festivities +of his supposed heir and intended bride; the electrical shock +occasioned by the discovery; the springing of the vassals to arms; +the astonishment of the bridegroom; the terror and confusion of +the bride; the agony with which Wilibert observed that her heart +as well as consent was in these nuptials; the air of dignity, yet +of deep feeling, with which he flung down the half-drawn sword, +and turned away for ever from the house of his ancestors. Then +would he change the scene, and fancy would at his wish represent +Aunt Rachel's tragedy. He saw the Lady Waverley seated in her +bower, her ear strained to every sound, her heart throbbing with +double agony, now listening to the decaying echo of the hoofs of +the king's horse, and when that had died away, hearing in every +breeze that shook the trees of the park, the noise of the remote +skirmish. A distant sound is heard like the rushing of a swoln +stream; it comes nearer, and Edward can plainly distinguish the +galloping of horses, the cries and shouts of men, with straggling +pistol-shots between, rolling forwards to the Hall. The lady +starts up--a terrified menial rushes in--but why pursue such a +description? + +As living in this ideal world became daily more delectable to our +hero, interruption was disagreeable in proportion. The extensive +domain that surrounded the Hall, which, far exceeding the +dimensions of a park, was usually termed Waverley-Chase, had +originally been forest ground, and still, though broken by +extensive glades, in which the young deer were sporting, retained +its pristine and savage character. It was traversed by broad +avenues, in many places half grown up with brush-wood, where the +beauties of former days used to take their stand to see the stag +coursed with greyhounds, or to gain an aim at him with the +crossbow. In one spot, distinguished by a moss-grown Gothic +monument, which retained the name of Queen's Standing, Elizabeth +herself was said to have pierced seven bucks with her own arrows. +This was a very favourite haunt of Waverley. At other times, with +his gun and his spaniel, which served as an apology to others, and +with a book in his pocket, which perhaps served as an apology to +himself, he used to pursue one of these long avenues, which, after +an ascending sweep of four miles, gradually narrowed into a rude +and contracted path through the cliffy and woody pass called +Mirkwood Dingle, and opened suddenly upon a deep, dark, and small +lake, named, from the same cause, Mirkwood-Mere. There stood, in +former times, a solitary tower upon a rock almost surrounded by +the water, which had acquired the name of the Strength of +Waverley, because in perilous times it had often been the refuge +of the family. There, in the wars of York and Lancaster, the last +adherents of the Red Rose who dared to maintain her cause carried +on a harassing and predatory warfare, till the stronghold was +reduced by the celebrated Richard of Gloucester. Here, too, a +party of Cavaliers long maintained themselves under Nigel +Waverley, elder brother of that William whose fate Aunt Rachel +commemorated. Through these scenes it was that Edward loved to +'chew the cud of sweet and bitter fancy,' and, like a child among +his toys, culled and arranged, from the splendid yet useless +imagery and emblems with which his imagination was stored, visions +as brilliant and as fading as those of an evening sky. The effect +of this indulgence upon his temper and character will appear in +the next chapter. + + + + + +CHAPTER V + +CHOICE OF A PROFESSION + + +From the minuteness with which I have traced Waverley's pursuits, +and the bias which these unavoidably communicated to his +imagination, the reader may perhaps anticipate, in the following +tale, an imitation of the romance of Cervantes. But he will do my +prudence injustice in the supposition. My intention is not to +follow the steps of that inimitable author, in describing such +total perversion of intellect as misconstrues the objects actually +presented to the senses, but that more common aberration from +sound judgment, which apprehends occurrences indeed in their +reality, but communicates to them a tincture of its own romantic +tone and colouring. So far was Edward Waverley from expecting +general sympathy with his own feelings, or concluding that the +present state of things was calculated to exhibit the reality of +those visions in which he loved to indulge, that he dreaded +nothing more than the detection of such sentiments as were +dictated by his musings. He neither had nor wished to have a +confidant, with whom to communicate his reveries; and so sensible +was he of the ridicule attached to them, that, had he been to +choose between any punishment short of ignominy, and the necessity +of giving a cold and composed account of the ideal world in which +he lived the better part of his days, I think he would not have +hesitated to prefer the former infliction. This secrecy became +doubly precious as he felt in advancing life the influence of the +awakening passions. Female forms of exquisite grace and beauty +began to mingle in his mental adventures; nor was he long without +looking abroad to compare the creatures of his own imagination +with the females of actual life. + +The list of the beauties who displayed their hebdomadal finery at +the parish church of Waverley was neither numerous nor select. By +far the most passable was Miss Sissly, or, as she rather chose to +be called, Miss Cecilia Stubbs, daughter of Squire Stubbs at the +Grange. I know not whether it was by the 'merest accident in the +world,' a phrase which, from female lips, does not always exclude +malice prepense, or whether it was from a conformity of taste, +that Miss Cecilia more than once crossed Edward in his favourite +walks through Waverley-Chase. He had not as yet assumed courage to +accost her on these occasions; but the meeting was not without its +effect. A romantic lover is a strange idolater, who sometimes +cares not out of what log he frames the object of his adoration; +at least, if nature has given that object any passable proportion +of personal charms, he can easily play the Jeweller and Dervise in +the Oriental tale, [Footnote: See Hoppner's tale of The Seven +Lovers.] and supply her richly, out of the stores of his own +imagination, with supernatural beauty, and all the properties of +intellectual wealth. + +But ere the charms of Miss Cecilia Stubbs had erected her into a +positive goddess, or elevated her at least to a level with the +saint her namesake, Mrs. Rachel Waverley gained some intimation +which determined her to prevent the approaching apotheosis. Even +the most simple and unsuspicious of the female sex have (God bless +them!) an instinctive sharpness of perception in such matters, +which sometimes goes the length of observing partialities that +never existed, but rarely misses to detect such as pass actually +under their observation. Mrs. Rachel applied herself with great +prudence, not to combat, but to elude, the approaching danger, and +suggested to her brother the necessity that the heir of his house +should see something more of the world than was consistent with +constant residence at Waverley-Honour. + +Sir Everard would not at first listen to a proposal which went to +separate his nephew from him. Edward was a little bookish, he +admitted, but youth, he had always heard, was the season for +learning, and, no doubt, when his rage for letters was abated, and +his head fully stocked with knowledge, his nephew would take to +field-sports and country business. He had often, he said, himself +regretted that he had not spent some time in study during his +youth: he would neither have shot nor hunted with less skill, and +he might have made the roof of Saint Stephen's echo to longer +orations than were comprised in those zealous Noes, with which, +when a member of the House during Godolphin's administration, he +encountered every measure of government. + +Aunt Rachel's anxiety, however, lent her address to carry her +point. Every representative of their house had visited foreign +parts, or served his country in the army, before he settled for +life at Waverley-Honour, and she appealed for the truth of her +assertion to the genealogical pedigree, an authority which Sir +Everard was never known to contradict. In short, a proposal was +made to Mr. Richard Waverley, that his son should travel, under +the direction of his present tutor Mr. Pembroke, with a suitable +allowance from the Baronet's liberality. The father himself saw no +objection to this overture; but upon mentioning it casually at the +table of the minister, the great man looked grave. The reason was +explained in private. The unhappy turn of Sir Everard's politics, +the minister observed, was such as would render it highly improper +that a young gentleman of such hopeful prospects should travel on +the Continent with a tutor doubtless of his uncle's choosing, and +directing his course by his instructions. What might Mr. Edward +Waverley's society be at Paris, what at Rome, where all manner of +snares were spread by the Pretender and his sons--these were +points for Mr. Waverley to consider. This he could himself say, +that he knew his Majesty had such a just sense of Mr. Richard +Waverley's merits, that, if his son adopted the army for a few +years, a troop, he believed, might be reckoned upon in one of the +dragoon regiments lately returned from Flanders. + +A hint thus conveyed and enforced was not to be neglected with +impunity; and Richard Waverley, though with great dread of +shocking his brother's prejudices, deemed he could not avoid +accepting the commission thus offered him for his son. The truth +is, he calculated much, and justly, upon Sir Everard's fondness +for Edward, which made him unlikely to resent any step that he +might take in due submission to parental authority. Two letters +announced this determination to the Baronet and his nephew. The +latter barely communicated the fact, and pointed out the necessary +preparations for joining his regiment. To his brother, Richard was +more diffuse and circuitous. He coincided with him, in the most +flattering manner, in the propriety of his son's seeing a little +more of the world, and was even humble in expressions of gratitude +for his proposed assistance; was, however, deeply concerned that +it was now, unfortunately, not in Edward's power exactly to comply +with the plan which had been chalked out by his best friend and +benefactor. He himself had thought with pain on the boy's +inactivity, at an age when all his ancestors had borne arms; even +Royalty itself had deigned to inquire whether young Waverley was +not now in Flanders, at an age when his grandfather was already +bleeding for his king in the Great Civil War. This was accompanied +by an offer of a troop of horse. What could he do? There was no +time to consult his brother's inclinations, even if he could have +conceived there might be objections on his part to his nephew's +following the glorious career of his predecessors. And, in short, +that Edward was now (the intermediate steps of cornet and +lieutenant being overleapt with great agility) Captain Waverley, +of Gardiner's regiment of dragoons, which he must join in their +quarters at Dundee in Scotland, in the course of a month. + +Sir Everard Waverley received this intimation with a mixture of +feelings. At the period of the Hanoverian succession he had +withdrawn from parliament, and his conduct in the memorable year +1715 had not been altogether unsuspected. There were reports of +private musters of tenants and horses in Waverley-Chase by +moonlight, and of cases of carbines and pistols purchased in +Holland, and addressed to the Baronet, but intercepted by the +vigilance of a riding officer of the excise, who was afterwards +tossed in a blanket on a moonless night, by an association of +stout yeomen, for his officiousness. Nay, it was even said, that +at the arrest of Sir William Wyndham, the leader of the Tory +party, a letter from Sir Everard was found in the pocket of his +night-gown. But there was no overt act which an attainder could be +founded on, and government, contented with suppressing the +insurrection of 1715, felt it neither prudent nor safe to push +their vengeance farther than against those unfortunate gentlemen +who actually took up arms. + +Nor did Sir Everard's apprehensions of personal consequences seem +to correspond with the reports spread among his Whig neighbours. +It was well known that he had supplied with money several of the +distressed Northumbrians and Scotchmen, who, after being made +prisoners at Preston in Lancashire, were imprisoned in Newgate and +the Marshalsea, and it was his solicitor and ordinary counsel who +conducted the defence of some of these unfortunate gentlemen at +their trial. It was generally supposed, however, that, had +ministers possessed any real proof of Sir Everard's accession to +the rebellion, he either would not have ventured thus to brave the +existing government, or at least would not have done so with +impunity. The feelings which then dictated his proceedings were +those of a young man, and at an agitating period. Since that time +Sir Everard's Jacobitism had been gradually decaying, like a fire +which burns out for want of fuel. His Tory and High-Church +principles were kept up by some occasional exercise at elections +and quarter-sessions; but those respecting hereditary right were +fallen into a sort of abeyance. Yet it jarred severely upon his +feelings, that his nephew should go into the army under the +Brunswick dynasty; and the more so, as, independent of his high +and conscientious ideas of paternal authority, it was impossible, +or at least highly imprudent, to interfere authoritatively to +prevent it. This suppressed vexation gave rise to many poohs and +pshaws which were placed to the account of an incipient fit of +gout, until, having sent for the Army List, the worthy Baronet +consoled himself with reckoning the descendants of the houses of +genuine loyalty, Mordaunts, Granvilles, and Stanleys, whose names +were to be found in that military record; and, calling up all his +feelings of family grandeur and warlike glory, he concluded, with +logic something like Falstaff's, that when war was at hand, +although it were shame to be on any side but one, it were worse +shame to be idle than to be on the worst side, though blacker than +usurpation could make it. As for Aunt Rachel, her scheme had not +exactly terminated according to her wishes, but she was under the +necessity of submitting to circumstances; and her mortification +was diverted by the employment she found in fitting out her nephew +for the campaign, and greatly consoled by the prospect of +beholding him blaze in complete uniform. Edward Waverley himself +received with animated and undefined surprise this most unexpected +intelligence. It was, as a fine old poem expresses it, 'like a +fire to heather set,' that covers a solitary hill with smoke, and +illumines it at the same time with dusky fire. His tutor, or, I +should say, Mr. Pembroke, for he scarce assumed the name of tutor, +picked up about Edward's room some fragments of irregular verse, +which he appeared to have composed under the influence of the +agitating feelings occasioned by this sudden page being turned up +to him in the book of life. The doctor, who was a believer in all +poetry which was composed by his friends, and written out in fair +straight lines, with a capital at the beginning of each, +communicated this treasure to Aunt Rachel, who, with her +spectacles dimmed with tears, transferred them to her commonplace +book, among choice receipts for cookery and medicine, favourite +texts, and portions from High-Church divines, and a few songs, +amatory and Jacobitical, which she had carolled in her younger +days, from whence her nephew's poetical tentamina were extracted +when the volume itself, with other authentic records of the +Waverley family, were exposed to the inspection of the unworthy +editor of this memorable history. If they afford the reader no +higher amusement, they will serve, at least, better than narrative +of any kind, to acquaint him with the wild and irregular spirit of +our hero:-- + + Late, when the Autumn evening fell + On Mirkwood-Mere's romantic dell, + The lake return'd, in chasten'd gleam, + The purple cloud, the golden beam: + Reflected in the crystal pool, + Headland and bank lay fair and cool; + The weather-tinted rock and tower, + Each drooping tree, each fairy flower, + So true, so soft, the mirror gave, + As if there lay beneath the wave, + Secure from trouble, toil, and care, + A world than earthly world more fair. + + + But distant winds began to wake, + And roused the Genius of the Lake! + He heard the groaning of the oak, + And donn'd at once his sable cloak, + As warrior, at the battle-cry, + Invests him with his panoply: + Then, as the whirlwind nearer press'd + He 'gan to shake his foamy crest + O'er furrow'd brow and blacken'd cheek, + And bade his surge in thunder speak. + In wild and broken eddies whirl'd. + Flitted that fond ideal world, + And to the shore in tumult tost + The realms of fairy bliss were lost. + + Yet, with a stern delight and strange, + I saw the spirit-stirring change, + As warr'd the wind with wave and wood, + Upon the ruin'd tower I stood, + And felt my heart more strongly bound, + Responsive to the lofty sound, + While, joying in the mighty roar, + I mourn'd that tranquil scene no more. + + So, on the idle dreams of youth, + Breaks the loud trumpet-call of truth, + Bids each fair vision pass away, + Like landscape on the lake that lay, + As fair, as flitting, and as frail, + As that which fled the Autumn gale.-- + For ever dead to fancy's eye + Be each gay form that glided by, + While dreams of love and lady's charms + Give place to honour and to arms! + +In sober prose, as perhaps these verses intimate less decidedly, +the transient idea of Miss Cecilia Stubbs passed from Captain +Waverley's heart amid the turmoil which his new destinies excited. +She appeared, indeed, in full splendour in her father's pew upon +the Sunday when he attended service for the last time at the old +parish church, upon which occasion, at the request of his uncle +and Aunt Rachel, he was induced (nothing both, if the truth must +be told) to present himself in full uniform. + +There is no better antidote against entertaining too high an +opinion of others than having an excellent one of ourselves at the +very same time. Miss Stubbs had indeed summoned up every +assistance which art could afford to beauty; but, alas! hoop, +patches, frizzled locks, and a new mantua of genuine French silk, +were lost upon a young officer of dragoons who wore for the first +time his gold-laced hat, jack-boots, and broadsword. I know not +whether, like the champion of an old ballad,-- + + His heart was all on honour bent, + He could not stoop to love; + No lady in the land had power + His frozen heart to move; + +or whether the deep and flaming bars of embroidered gold, which +now fenced his breast, defied the artillery of Cecilia's eyes; but +every arrow was launched at him in vain. + + Yet did I mark where Cupid's shaft did light; + It lighted not on little western flower, + But on bold yeoman, flower of all the west, + Hight Jonas Culbertfield, the steward's son. + +Craving pardon for my heroics (which I am unable in certain cases +to resist giving way to), it is a melancholy fact, that my history +must here take leave of the fair Cecilia, who, like many a +daughter of Eve, after the departure of Edward, and the +dissipation of certain idle visions which she had adopted, quietly +contented herself with a pisaller, and gave her hand, at the +distance of six months, to the aforesaid Jonas, son of the +Baronet's steward, and heir (no unfertile prospect) to a steward's +fortune, besides the snug probability of succeeding to his +father's office. All these advantages moved Squire Stubbs, as much +as the ruddy brown and manly form of the suitor influenced his +daughter, to abate somewhat in the article of their gentry; and so +the match was concluded. None seemed more gratified than Aunt +Rachel, who had hitherto looked rather askance upon the +presumptuous damsel (as much so, peradventure, as her nature would +permit), but who, on the first appearance of the new-married pair +at church, honoured the bride with a smile and a profound curtsy, +in presence of the rector, the curate, the clerk, and the whole +congregation of the united parishes of Waverley cum Beverley. + +I beg pardon, once and for all, of those readers who take up +novels merely for amusement, for plaguing them so long with old- +fashioned politics, and Whig and Tory, and Hanoverians and +Jacobites. The truth is, I cannot promise them that this story +shall be intelligible, not to say probable, without it. My plan +requires that I should explain the motives on which its action +proceeded; and these motives necessarily arose from the feelings, +prejudices, and parties of the times. I do not invite my fair +readers, whose sex and impatience give them the greatest right to +complain of these circumstances, into a flying chariot drawn by +hippogriffs, or moved by enchantment. Mine is a humble English +post-chaise, drawn upon four wheels, and keeping his Majesty's +highway. Such as dislike the vehicle may leave it at the next +halt, and wait for the conveyance of Prince Hussein's tapestry, or +Malek the Weaver's flying sentrybox. Those who are contented to +remain with me will be occasionally exposed to the dulness +inseparable from heavy roads, steep hills, sloughs, and other +terrestrial retardations; but with tolerable horses and a civil +driver (as the advertisements have it), I engage to get as soon as +possible into a more picturesque and romantic country, if my +passengers incline to have some patience with me during my first +stages. [Footnote: These Introductory Chapters have been a good +deal censured as tedious and unnecessary. Yet there are +circumstances recorded in them which the author has not been able +to persuade himself to retrench or cancel.] + + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE ADIEUS OF WAVERLEY + + +It was upon the evening of this memorable Sunday that Sir Everard +entered the library, where he narrowly missed surprising our young +hero as he went through the guards of the broadsword with the +ancient weapon of old Sir Hildebrand, which, being preserved as an +heirloom, usually hung over the chimney in the library, beneath a +picture of the knight and his horse, where the features were +almost entirely hidden by the knight's profusion of curled hair, +and the Bucephalus which he bestrode concealed by the voluminous +robes of the Bath with which he was decorated. Sir Everard +entered, and after a glance at the picture and another at his +nephew, began a little speech, which, however, soon dropt into the +natural simplicity of his common manner, agitated upon the present +occasion by no common feeling. 'Nephew,' he said; and then, as +mending his phrase, 'My dear Edward, it is God's will, and also +the will of your father, whom, under God, it is your duty to obey, +that you should leave us to take up the profession of arms, in +which so many of your ancestors have been distinguished. I have +made such arrangements as will enable you to take the field as +their descendant, and as the probable heir of the house of +Waverley; and, sir, in the field of battle you will remember what +name you bear. And, Edward, my dear boy, remember also that you +are the last of that race, and the only hope of its revival +depends upon you; therefore, as far as duty and honour will +permit, avoid danger--I mean unnecessary danger--and keep no +company with rakes, gamblers, and Whigs, of whom, it is to be +feared, there are but too many in the service into which you are +going. Your colonel, as I am informed, is an excellent man--for a +Presbyterian; but you will remember your duty to God, the Church +of England, and the--' (this breach ought to have been supplied, +according to the rubric, with the word KING; but as, +unfortunately, that word conveyed a double and embarrassing sense, +one meaning de facto and the other de jure, the knight filled up +the blank otherwise)--'the Church of England, and all constituted +authorities.' Then, not trusting himself with any further oratory, +he carried his nephew to his stables to see the horses destined +for his campaign. Two were black (the regimental colour), superb +chargers both; the other three were stout active hacks, designed +for the road, or for his domestics, of whom two were to attend him +from the Hall; an additional groom, if necessary, might be picked +up in Scotland. + +'You will depart with but a small retinue,' quoth the Baronet, +'compared to Sir Hildebrand, when he mustered before the gate of +the Hall a larger body of horse than your whole regiment consists +of. I could have wished that these twenty young fellows from my +estate, who have enlisted in your troop, had been to march with +you on your journey to Scotland. It would have been something, at +least; but I am told their attendance would be thought unusual in +these days, when every new and foolish fashion is introduced to +break the natural dependence of the people upon their landlords.' + +Sir Everard had done his best to correct this unnatural +disposition of the times; for he had brightened the chain of +attachment between the recruits and their young captain, not only +by a copious repast of beef and ale, by way of parting feast, but +by such a pecuniary donation to each individual as tended rather +to improve the conviviality than the discipline of their march. +After inspecting the cavalry, Sir Everard again conducted his +nephew to the library, where he produced a letter, carefully +folded, surrounded by a little stripe of flox-silk, according to +ancient form, and sealed with an accurate impression of the +Waverley coat-of-arms. It was addressed, with great formality, 'To +Cosmo Comyne Bradwardine, Esq., of Bradwardine, at his principal +mansion of Tully-Veolan, in Perthshire, North Britain. These--By +the hands of Captain Edward Waverley, nephew of Sir Everard +Waverley, of Waverley-Honour, Bart.' + +The gentleman to whom this enormous greeting was addressed, of +whom we shall have more to say in the sequel, had been in arms for +the exiled family of Stuart in the year 1715, and was made +prisoner at Preston in Lancashire. He was of a very ancient +family, and somewhat embarrassed fortune; a scholar, according to +the scholarship of Scotchmen, that is, his learning was more +diffuse than accurate, and he was rather a reader than a +grammarian. Of his zeal for the classic authors he is said to have +given an uncommon instance. On the road between Preston and +London, he made his escape from his guards; but being afterwards +found loitering near the place where they had lodged the former +night, he was recognised, and again arrested. His companions, and +even his escort, were surprised at his infatuation, and could not +help inquiring, why, being once at liberty, he had not made the +best of his way to a place of safety; to which he replied, that he +had intended to do so, but, in good faith, he had returned to seek +his Titus Livius, which he had forgot in the hurry of his escape. +[Footnote: See Note 3.] The simplicity of this anecdote struck the +gentleman, who, as we before observed, had managed the defence of +some of those unfortunate persons, at the expense of Sir Everard, +and perhaps some others of the party. He was, besides, himself a +special admirer of the old Patavinian, and though probably his own +zeal might not have carried him such extravagant lengths, even to +recover the edition of Sweynheim and Pannartz (supposed to be the +princeps), he did not the less estimate the devotion of the North +Briton, and in consequence exerted himself to so much purpose to +remove and soften evidence, detect legal flaws, et cetera, that he +accomplished the final discharge and deliverance of Cosmo Comyne +Bradwardine from certain very awkward consequences of a plea +before our sovereign lord the king in Westminster. + +The Baron of Bradwardine, for he was generally so called in +Scotland (although his intimates, from his place of residence, +used to denominate him Tully-Veolan, or more familiarly, Tully), +no sooner stood rectus in curia than he posted down to pay his +respects and make his acknowledgments at Waverley-Honour. A +congenial passion for field-sports, and a general coincidence in +political opinions, cemented his friendship with Sir Everard, +notwithstanding the difference of their habits and studies in +other particulars; and, having spent several weeks at Waverley- +Honour, the Baron departed with many expressions of regard, warmly +pressing the Baronet to return his visit, and partake of the +diversion of grouse-shooting, upon his moors in Perthshire next +season. Shortly after, Mr. Bradwardine remitted from Scotland a +sum in reimbursement of expenses incurred in the King's High Court +of Westminster, which, although not quite so formidable when +reduced to the English denomination, had, in its original form of +Scotch pounds, shillings, and pence, such a formidable effect upon +the frame of Duncan Macwheeble, the laird's confidential factor, +baron-bailie, and man of resource, that he had a fit of the +cholic, which lasted for five days, occasioned, he said, solely +and utterly by becoming the unhappy instrument of conveying such a +serious sum of money out of his native country into the hands of +the false English. But patriotism, as it is the fairest, so it is +often the most suspicious mask of other feelings; and many who +knew Bailie Macwheeble concluded that his professions of regret +were not altogether disinterested, and that he would have grudged +the moneys paid to the LOONS at Westminster much less had they not +come from Bradwardine estate, a fund which he considered as more +particularly his own. But the Bailie protested he was absolutely +disinterested-- + + 'Woe, woe, for Scotland, not a whit for me!' + +The laird was only rejoiced that his worthy friend, Sir Everard +Waverley of Waverley-Honour, was reimbursed of the expenditure +which he had outlaid on account of the house of Bradwardine. It +concerned, he said, the credit of his own family, and of the +kingdom of Scotland at large, that these disbursements should be +repaid forthwith, and, if delayed, it would be a matter of +national reproach. Sir Everard, accustomed to treat much larger +sums with indifference, received the remittance of L294, 13S. 6D. +without being aware that the payment was an international concern, +and, indeed, would probably have forgot the circumstance +altogether, if Bailie Macwheeble had thought of comforting his +cholic by intercepting the subsidy. A yearly intercourse took +place, of a short letter and a hamper or a cask or two, between +Waverley-Honour and Tully-Veolan, the English exports consisting +of mighty cheeses and mightier ale, pheasants, and venison, and +the Scottish returns being vested in grouse, white hares, pickled +salmon, and usquebaugh; all which were meant, sent, and received +as pledges of constant friendship and amity between two important +houses. It followed as a matter of course, that the heir-apparent +of Waverley-Honour could not with propriety visit Scotland without +being furnished with credentials to the Baron of Bradwardine. + +When this matter was explained and settled, Mr. Pembroke expressed +his wish to take a private and particular leave of his dear pupil. +The good man's ex hortations to Edward to preserve an unblemished +life and morals, to hold fast the principles of the Christian +religion, and to eschew the profane company of scoffers and +latitudinarians, too much abounding in the army, were not +unmingled with his political prejudices. It had pleased Heaven, he +said, to place Scotland (doubtless for the sins of their ancestors +in 1642) in a more deplorable state of darkness than even this +unhappy kingdom of England. Here, at least, although the +candlestick of the Church of England had been in some degree +removed from its place, it yet afforded a glimmering light; there +was a hierarchy, though schismatical, and fallen from the +principles maintained by those great fathers of the church, +Sancroft and his brethren; there was a liturgy, though woefully +perverted in some of the principal petitions. But in Scotland it +was utter darkness; and, excepting a sorrowful, scattered, and +persecuted remnant, the pulpits were abandoned to Presbyterians, +and, he feared, to sectaries of every description. It should be +his duty to fortify his dear pupil to resist such unhallowed and +pernicious doctrines in church and state as must necessarily be +forced at times upon his unwilling ears. + +Here he produced two immense folded packets, which appeared each +to contain a whole ream of closely written manuscript. They had +been the labour of the worthy man's whole life; and never were +labour and zeal more absurdly wasted. He had at one time gone to +London, with the intention of giving them to the world, by the +medium of a bookseller in Little Britain, well known to deal in +such commodities, and to whom he was instructed to address himself +in a particular phrase and with a certain sign, which, it seems, +passed at that time current among the initiated Jacobites. The +moment Mr. Pembroke had uttered the Shibboleth, with the +appropriate gesture, the bibliopolist greeted him, notwithstanding +every disclamation, by the title of Doctor, and conveying him into +his back shop, after inspecting every possible and impossible +place of concealment, he commenced: 'Eh, Doctor!--Well--all under +the rose--snug--I keep no holes here even for a Hanoverian rat to +hide in. And, what--eh! any good news from our friends over the +water?--and how does the worthy King of France?--Or perhaps you +are more lately from Rome? it must be Rome will do it at last--the +church must light its candle at the old lamp.--Eh--what, cautious? +I like you the better; but no fear.' Here Mr. Pembroke with some +difficulty stopt a torrent of interrogations, eked out with signs, +nods, and winks; and, having at length convinced the bookseller +that he did him too much honour in supposing him an emissary of +exiled royalty, he explained his actual business. + +The man of books with a much more composed air proceeded to +examine the manuscripts. The title of the first was 'A Dissent +from Dissenters, or the Comprehension confuted; showing the +Impossibility of any Composition between the Church and Puritans, +Presbyterians, or Sectaries of any Description; illustrated from +the Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, and the soundest +Controversial Divines.' To this work the bookseller positively +demurred. 'Well meant,' he said, 'and learned, doubtless; but the +time had gone by. Printed on small-pica it would run to eight +hundred pages, and could never pay. Begged therefore to be +excused. Loved and honoured the true church from his soul, and, +had it been a sermon on the martyrdom, or any twelve-penny touch-- +why, I would venture something for the honour of the cloth. But +come, let's see the other. "Right Hereditary righted!"--Ah! +there's some sense in this. Hum--hum--hum--pages so many, paper so +much, letter-press--Ah--I'll tell you, though, Doctor, you must +knock out some of the Latin and Greek; heavy, Doctor, damn'd +heavy--(beg your pardon) and if you throw in a few grains more +pepper--I am he that never preached my author. I have published for +Drake and Charlwood Lawton, and poor Amhurst [Footnote: See Note +4.]--Ah, Caleb! Caleb! Well, it was a shame to let poor Caleb +starve, and so many fat rectors and squires among us. I gave him a +dinner once a week; but, Lord love you, what's once a week, when a +man does not know where to go the other six days? Well, but I must +show the manuscript to little Tom Alibi the solicitor, who manages +all my law affairs--must keep on the windy side; the mob were very +uncivil the last time I mounted in Old Palace Yard--all Whigs and +Roundheads every man of them, Williamites and Hanover rats.' + +The next day Mr. Pembroke again called on the publisher, but found +Tom Alibi's advice had determined him against undertaking the +work. 'Not but what I would go to--(what was I going to say?) to +the Plantations for the church with pleasure--but, dear Doctor, I +have a wife and family; but, to show my zeal, I'll recommend the +job to my neighbour Trimmel--he is a bachelor, and leaving off +business, so a voyage in a western barge would not inconvenience +him.' But Mr. Trimmel was also obdurate, and Mr. Pembroke, +fortunately perchance for himself, was compelled to return to +Waverley-Honour with his treatise in vindication of the real +fundamental principles of church and state safely packed in his +saddle-bags. + +As the public were thus likely to be deprived of the benefit +arising from his lucubrations by the selfish cowardice of the +trade, Mr. Pembroke resolved to make two copies of these +tremendous manuscripts for the use of his pupil. He felt that he +had been indolent as a tutor, and, besides, his conscience checked +him for complying with the request of Mr. Richard Waverley, that +he would impress no sentiments upon Edward's mind inconsistent +with the present settlement in church and state. But now, thought +he, I may, without breach of my word, since he is no longer under +my tuition, afford the youth the means of judging for himself, and +have only to dread his reproaches for so long concealing the light +which the perusal will flash upon his mind. While he thus indulged +the reveries of an author and a politician, his darling proselyte, +seeing nothing very inviting in the title of the tracts, and +appalled by the bulk and compact lines of the manuscript, quietly +consigned them to a corner of his travelling trunk. + +Aunt Rachel's farewell was brief and affectionate. She only +cautioned her dear Edward, whom she probably deemed somewhat +susceptible, against the fascination of Scottish beauty. She +allowed that the northern part of the island contained some +ancient families, but they were all Whigs and Presbyterians except +the Highlanders; and respecting them she must needs say, there +could be no great delicacy among the ladies, where the gentlemen's +usual attire was, as she had been assured, to say the least, very +singular, and not at all decorous. She concluded her farewell with +a kind and moving benediction, and gave the young officer, as a +pledge of her regard, a valuable diamond ring (often worn by the +male sex at that time), and a purse of broad gold-pieces, which +also were more common Sixty Years Since than they have been of +late. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A HORSE-QUARTER IN SCOTLAND + + +The next morning, amid varied feelings, the chief of which was a +predominant, anxious, and even solemn impression, that he was now +in a great measure abandoned to his own guidance and direction, +Edward Waverley departed from the Hall amid the blessings and +tears of all the old domestics and the inhabitants of the village, +mingled with some sly petitions for sergeantcies and +corporalships, and so forth, on the part of those who professed +that 'they never thoft to ha' seen Jacob, and Giles, and Jonathan +go off for soldiers, save to attend his honour, as in duty bound.' +Edward, as in duty bound, extricated himself from the supplicants +with the pledge of fewer promises than might have been expected +from a young man so little accustomed to the world. After a short +visit to London, he proceeded on horseback, then the general mode +of travelling, to Edinburgh, and from thence to Dundee, a seaport +on the eastern coast of Angus-shire, where his regiment was then +quartered. + +He now entered upon a new world, where, for a time, all was +beautiful because all was new. Colonel Gardiner, the commanding +officer of the regiment, was himself a study for a romantic, and +at the same time an inquisitive youth. In person he was tall, +handsome, and active, though somewhat advanced in life. In his +early years he had been what is called, by manner of palliative, a +very gay young man, and strange stories were circulated about his +sudden conversion from doubt, if not infidelity, to a serious and +even enthusiastic turn of mind. It was whispered that a +supernatural communication, of a nature obvious even to the +exterior senses, had produced this wonderful change; and though +some mentioned the proselyte as an enthusiast, none hinted at his +being a hypocrite. This singular and mystical circumstance gave +Colonel Gardiner a peculiar and solemn interest in the eyes of the +young soldier. [Footnote: See Note 5.] It may be easily imagined +that the officers, of a regiment commanded by so respectable a +person composed a society more sedate and orderly than a military +mess always exhibits; and that Waverley escaped some temptations +to which he might otherwise have been exposed. + +Meanwhile his military education proceeded. Already a good +horseman, he was now initiated into the arts of the manege, which, +when carried to perfection, almost realise the fable of the +Centaur, the guidance of the horse appearing to proceed from the +rider's mere volition, rather than from the use of any external +and apparent signal of motion. He received also instructions in +his field duty; but I must own, that when his first ardour was +past, his progress fell short in the latter particular of what he +wished and expected. The duty of an officer, the most imposing of +all others to the inexperienced mind, because accompanied with so +much outward pomp and circumstance, is in its essence a very dry +and abstract task, depending chiefly upon arithmetical +combinations, requiring much attention, and a cool and reasoning +head to bring them into action. Our hero was liable to fits of +absence, in which his blunders excited some mirth, and called down +some reproof. This circumstance impressed him with a painful sense +of inferiority in those qualities which appeared most to deserve +and obtain regard in his new profession. He asked himself in vain, +why his eye could not judge of distance or space so well as those +of his companions; why his head was not always successful in +disentangling the various partial movements necessary to execute a +particular evolution; and why his memory, so alert upon most +occasions, did not correctly retain technical phrases and minute +points of etiquette or field discipline. Waverley was naturally +modest, and therefore did not fall into the egregious mistake of +supposing such minuter rules of military duty beneath his notice, +or conceiting himself to be born a general, because he made an +indifferent subaltern. The truth was, that the vague and +unsatisfactory course of reading which he had pursued, working +upon a temper naturally retired and abstracted, had given him that +wavering and unsettled habit of mind which is most averse to study +and riveted attention. Time, in the mean while, hung heavy on his +hands. The gentry of the neighbourhood were disaffected, and +showed little hospitality to the military guests; and the people +of the town, chiefly engaged in mercantile pursuits, were not such +as Waverley chose to associate with. The arrival of summer, and a +curiosity to know something more of Scotland than he could see in +a ride from his quarters, determined him to request leave of +absence for a few weeks. He resolved first to visit his uncle's +ancient friend and correspondent, with the purpose of extending or +shortening the time of his residence according to circumstances. +He travelled of course on horse-back, and with a single +attendant, and passed his first night at a miserable inn, where +the landlady had neither shoes nor stockings, and the landlord, +who called himself a gentleman, was disposed to be rude to his +guest, because he had not bespoke the pleasure of his society to +supper. [Footnote: See Note 6.] The next day, traversing an open +and uninclosed country, Edward gradually approached the Highlands +of Perthshire, which at first had appeared a blue outline in the +horizon, but now swelled into huge gigantic masses, which frowned +defiance over the more level country that lay beneath them. Near +the bottom of this stupendous barrier, but still in the Lowland +country, dwelt Cosmo Comyne Bradwardine of Bradwardine; and, if +grey-haired eld can be in aught believed, there had dwelt his +ancestors, with all their heritage, since the days of the gracious +King Duncan. + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +A SCOTTISH MANOR-HOUSE SIXTY YEARS SINCE + + +It was about noon when Captain Waverley entered the straggling +village, or rather hamlet, of Tully-Veolan, close to which was +situated the mansion of the proprietor. The houses seemed +miserable in the extreme, especially to an eye accustomed to the +smiling neatness of English cottages. They stood, without any +respect for regularity, on each side of a straggling kind of +unpaved street, where children, almost in a primitive state of +nakedness, lay sprawling, as if to be crushed by the hoofs of the +first passing horse. Occasionally, indeed, when such a +consummation seemed inevitable, a watchful old grandam, with her +close cap, distaff, and spindle, rushed like a sibyl in frenzy out +of one of these miserable cells, dashed into the middle of the +path, and snatching up her own charge from among the sunburnt +loiterers, saluted him with a sound cuff, and transported him back +to his dungeon, the little white-headed varlet screaming all the +while, from the very top of his lungs, a shrilly treble to the +growling remonstrances of the enraged matron. Another part in this +concert was sustained by the incessant yelping of a score of idle +useless curs, which followed, snarling, barking, howling, and +snapping at the horses' heels; a nuisance at that time so common +in Scotland, that a French tourist, who, like other travellers, +longed to find a good and rational reason for everything he saw, +has recorded, as one of the memorabilia of Caledonia, that the +state maintained, in each village a relay of curs, called collies, +whose duty it was to chase the chevaux de poste (too starved and +exhausted to move without such a stimulus) from one hamlet to +another, till their annoying convoy drove them to the end of their +stage. The evil and remedy (such as it is) still exist.--But this +is remote from our present purpose, and is only thrown out for +consideration of the collectors under Mr. Dent's Dog Bill. + +As Waverley moved on, here and there an old man, bent as much by +toil as years, his eyes bleared with age and smoke, tottered to +the door of his hut, to gaze on the dress of the stranger and the +form and motions of the horses, and then assembled, with his +neighbours, in a little group at the smithy, to discuss the +probabilities of whence the stranger came and where he might be +going. Three or four village girls, returning from the well or +brook with pitchers and pails upon their heads, formed more +pleasing objects, and, with their thin short-gowns and single +petticoats, bare arms, legs, and feet, uncovered heads and braided +hair, somewhat resembled Italian forms of landscape. Nor could a +lover of the picturesque have challenged either the elegance of +their costume or the symmetry of their shape; although, to say the +truth, a mere Englishman in search of the COMFORTABLE, a word +peculiar to his native tongue, might have wished the clothes less +scanty, the feet and legs somewhat protected from the weather, the +head and complexion shrouded from the sun, or perhaps might even +have thought the whole person and dress considerably improved by a +plentiful application of spring water, with a quantum sufficit of +soap. The whole scene was depressing; for it argued, at the first +glance, at least a stagnation of industry, and perhaps of +intellect. Even curiosity, the busiest passion of the idle, seemed +of a listless cast in the village of Tully-Veolan: the curs +aforesaid alone showed any part of its activity; with the +villagers it was passive. They stood, and gazed at the handsome +young officer and his attendant, but without any of those quick +motions and eager looks that indicate the earnestness with which +those who live in monotonous ease at home look out for amusement +abroad. Yet the physiognomy of the people, when more closely +examined, was far from exhibiting the indifference of stupidity; +their features were rough, but remarkably intelligent; grave, but +the very reverse of stupid; and from among the young women an +artist might have chosen more than one model whose features and +form resembled those of Minerva. The children also, whose skins +were burnt black, and whose hair was bleached white, by the +influence of the sun, had a look and manner of life and interest. +It seemed, upon the whole, as if poverty, and indolence, its too +frequent companion, were combining to depress the natural genius +and acquired information of a hardy, intelligent, and reflecting +peasantry. + +Some such thoughts crossed Waverley's mind as he paced his horse +slowly through the rugged and flinty street of Tully-Veolan, +interrupted only in his meditations by the occasional caprioles +which his charger exhibited at the reiterated assaults of those +canine Cossacks, the collies before mentioned. The village was +more than half a mile long, the cottages being irregularly divided +from each other by gardens, or yards, as the inhabitants called +them, of different sizes, where (for it is Sixty Years Since) the +now universal potato was unknown, but which were stored with +gigantic plants of kale or colewort, encircled with groves of +nettles, and exhibited here and there a huge hemlock, or the +national thistle, overshadowing a quarter of the petty inclosure. +The broken ground on which the village was built had never been +levelled; so that these inclosures presented declivities of every +degree, here rising like terraces, there sinking like tan-pits. +The dry-stone walls which fenced, or seemed to fence (for they +were sorely breached), these hanging gardens of Tully-Veolan were +intersected by a narrow lane leading to the common field, where +the joint labour of the villagers cultivated alternate ridges and +patches of rye, oats, barley, and pease, each of such minute +extent that at a little distance the unprofitable variety of the +surface resembled a tailor's book of patterns. In a few favoured +instances, there appeared behind the cottages a miserable wigwam, +compiled of earth, loose stones, and turf, where the wealthy might +perhaps shelter a starved cow or sorely galled horse. But almost +every hut was fenced in front by a huge black stack of turf on one +side of the door, while on the other the family dunghill ascended +in noble emulation. + +About a bowshot from the end of the village appeared the +inclosures proudly denominated the Parks of Tully-Veolan, being +certain square fields, surrounded and divided by stone walls five +feet in height. In the centre of the exterior barrier was the +upper gate of the avenue, opening under an archway, battlemented +on the top, and adorned with two large weather-beaten mutilated +masses of upright stone, which, if the tradition of the hamlet +could be trusted, had once represented, at least had been once +designed to represent, two rampant Bears, the supporters of the +family of Bradwardine. This avenue was straight and of moderate +length, running between a double row of very ancient horse- +chestnuts, planted alternately with sycamores, which rose to such +huge height, and nourished so luxuriantly, that their boughs +completely over-arched the broad road beneath. Beyond these +venerable ranks, and running parallel to them, were two high +walls, of apparently the like antiquity, overgrown with ivy, +honeysuckle, and other climbing plants. The avenue seemed very +little trodden, and chiefly by foot-passengers; so that being very +broad, and enjoying a constant shade, it was clothed with grass of +a deep and rich verdure, excepting where a foot-path, worn by +occasional passengers, tracked with a natural sweep the way from +the upper to the lower gate. This nether portal, like the former, +opened in front of a wall ornamented with some rude sculpture, +with battlements on the top, over which were seen, half-hidden by +the trees of the avenue, the high steep roofs and narrow gables of +the mansion, with lines indented into steps, and corners decorated +with small turrets. One of the folding leaves of the lower gate +was open, and as the sun shone full into the court behind, a long +line of brilliancy was flung upon the aperture up the dark and +gloomy avenue. It was one of those effects which a painter loves +to represent, and mingled well with the struggling light which +found its way between the boughs of the shady arch that vaulted +the broad green alley. + +The solitude and repose of the whole scene seemed almost monastic; +and Waverley, who had given his horse to his servant on entering +the first gate, walked slowly down the avenue, enjoying the +grateful and cooling shade, and so much pleased with the placid +ideas of rest and seclusion excited by this confined and quiet +scene, that he forgot the misery and dirt of the hamlet he had +left behind him. The opening into the paved court-yard +corresponded with the rest of the scene. The house, which seemed +to consist of two or three high, narrow, and steep-roofed +buildings, projecting from each other at right angles, formed one +side of the inclosure. It had been built at a period when castles +were no longer necessary, and when the Scottish architects had not +yet acquired the art of designing a domestic residence. The +windows were numberless, but very small; the roof had some +nondescript kind of projections, called bartizans, and displayed +at each frequent angle a small turret, rather resembling a pepper- +box than a Gothic watchtower. Neither did the front indicate +absolute security from danger. There were loop-holes for musketry, +and iron stanchions on the lower windows, probably to repel any +roving band of gypsies, or resist a predatory visit from the +caterans of the neighbouring Highlands. Stables and other offices +occupied another side of the square. The former were low vaults, +with narrow slits instead of windows, resembling, as Edward's +groom observed, 'rather a prison for murderers, and larceners, and +such like as are tried at 'sizes, than a place for any Christian +cattle.' Above these dungeon-looking stables were granaries, +called girnels, and other offices, to which there was access by +outside stairs of heavy masonry. Two battlemented walls, one of +which faced the avenue, and the other divided the court from the +garden, completed the inclosure. + +Nor was the court without its ornaments. In one corner was a tun- +bellied pigeon-house, of great size and rotundity, resembling in +figure and proportion the curious edifice called Arthur's Oven, +which would have turned the brains of all the antiquaries in +England, had not the worthy proprietor pulled it down for the sake +of mending a neighbouring dam-dyke. This dove-cot, or columbarium, +as the owner called it, was no small resource to a Scottish laird +of that period, whose scanty rents were eked out by the +contributions levied upon the farms by these light foragers, and +the conscriptions exacted from the latter for the benefit of the +table. + +Another corner of the court displayed a fountain, where a huge +bear, carved in stone, predominated over a large stone-basin, into +which he disgorged the water. This work of art was the wonder of +the country ten miles round. It must not be forgotten, that all +sorts of bears, small and large, demi or in full proportion, were +carved over the windows, upon the ends of the gables, terminated +the spouts, and supported the turrets, with the ancient family +motto, 'Beware the Bear', cut under each hyperborean form. The +court was spacious, well paved, and perfectly clean, there being +probably another entrance behind the stables for removing the +litter. Everything around appeared solitary, and would have been +silent, but for the continued plashing of the fountain; and the +whole scene still maintained the monastic illusion which the fancy +of Waverley had conjured up. And here we beg permission to close a +chapter of still life. [Footnote: See Note 7.] + + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +MORE OF THE MANOR-HOUSE AND ITS ENVIRONS + + +After having satisfied his curiosity by gazing around him for a +few minutes, Waverley applied himself to the massive knocker of +the hall-door, the architrave of which bore the date 1594. But no +answer was returned, though the peal resounded through a number of +apartments, and was echoed from the court-yard walls without the +house, startling the pigeons from the venerable rotunda which they +occupied, and alarming anew even the distant village curs, which +had retired to sleep upon their respective dunghills. Tired of the +din which he created, and the unprofitable responses which it +excited, Waverley began to think that he had reached the castle of +Orgoglio as entered by the victorious Prince Arthur,-- + + When 'gan he loudly through the house to call, + But no man cared to answer to his cry; + There reign'd a solemn silence over all, + Nor voice was heard, nor wight was seen in bower or hall. + +Filled almost with expectation of beholding some 'old, old man, +with beard as white as snow,' whom he might question concerning +this deserted mansion, our hero turned to a little oaken wicket- +door, well clenched with iron-nails, which opened in the court- +yard wall at its angle with the house. It was only latched, +notwithstanding its fortified appearance, and, when opened, +admitted him into the garden, which presented a pleasant +scene. [Footnote: Footnote: At Ravelston may be seen such a garden, +which the taste of the proprietor, the author's friend and +kinsman, Sir Alexander Keith, Knight Mareschal, has judiciously +preserved. That, as well as the house is, however, of smaller +dimensions than the Baron of Bradwardine's mansion and garden are +presumed to have been.] The southern side of the house, clothed +with fruit-trees, and having many evergreens trained upon its +walls, extended its irregular yet venerable front along a terrace, +partly paved, partly gravelled, partly bordered with flowers and +choice shrubs. This elevation descended by three several flights +of steps, placed in its centre and at the extremities, into what +might be called the garden proper, and was fenced along the top by +a stone parapet with a heavy balustrade, ornamented from space to +space with huge grotesque figures of animals seated upon their +haunches, among which the favourite bear was repeatedly +introduced. Placed in the middle of the terrace between a sashed- +door opening from the house and the central flight of steps, a +huge animal of the same species supported on his head and fore- +paws a sun-dial of large circumference, inscribed with more +diagrams than Edward's mathematics enabled him to decipher. + +The garden, which seemed to be kept with great accuracy, abounded +in fruit-trees, and exhibited a profusion of flowers and +evergreens, cut into grotesque forms. It was laid out in terraces, +which descended rank by rank from the western wall to a large +brook, which had a tranquil and smooth appearance, where it served +as a boundary to the garden; but, near the extremity, leapt in +tumult over a strong dam, or wear-head, the cause of its temporary +tranquillity, and there forming a cascade, was overlooked by an +octangular summer-house, with a gilded bear on the top by way of +vane. After this feat, the brook, assuming its natural rapid and +fierce character, escaped from the eye down a deep and wooded +dell, from the copse of which arose a massive, but ruinous tower, +the former habitation of the Barons of Bradwardine. The margin of +the brook, opposite to the garden, displayed a narrow meadow, or +haugh, as it was called, which formed a small washing-green; the +bank, which retired behind it, was covered by ancient trees. + +The scene, though pleasing, was not quite equal to the gardens of +Alcina; yet wanted not the 'due donzellette garrule' of that +enchanted paradise, for upon the green aforesaid two bare-legged +damsels, each standing in a spacious tub, performed with their +feet the office of a patent washing-machine. These did not, +however, like the maidens of Armida, remain to greet with their +harmony the approaching guest, but, alarmed at the appearance of a +handsome stranger on the opposite side, dropped their garments (I +should say garment, to be quite correct) over their limbs, which +their occupation exposed somewhat too freely, and, with a shrill +exclamation of 'Eh, sirs!' uttered with an accent between modesty +and coquetry, sprung off like deer in different directions. + +Waverley began to despair of gaining entrance into this solitary +and seemingly enchanted mansion, when a man advanced up one of the +garden alleys, where he still retained his station. Trusting this +might be a gardener, or some domestic belonging to the house, +Edward descended the steps in order to meet him; but as the figure +approached, and long before he could descry its features, he was +struck with the oddity of its appearance and gestures. Sometimes +this mister wight held his hands clasped over his head, like an +Indian Jogue in the attitude of penance; sometimes he swung them +perpendicularly, like a pendulum, on each side; and anon he +slapped them swiftly and repeatedly across his breast, like the +substitute used by a hackney-coachman for his usual flogging +exercise, when his cattle are idle upon the stand, in a clear +frosty day. His gait was as singular as his gestures, for at times +he hopped with great perseverance on the right foot, then +exchanged that supporter to advance in the same manner on the +left, and then putting his feet close together he hopped upon both +at once. His attire also was antiquated and extravagant. It +consisted in a sort of grey jerkin, with scarlet cuffs and slashed +sleeves, showing a scarlet lining; the other parts of the dress +corresponded in colour, not forgetting a pair of scarlet +stockings, and a scarlet bonnet, proudly surmounted with a +turkey's feather. Edward, whom he did not seem to observe, now +perceived confirmation in his features of what the mien and +gestures had already announced. It was apparently neither idiocy +nor insanity which gave that wild, unsettled, irregular expression +to a face which naturally was rather handsome, but something that +resembled a compound of both, where the simplicity of the fool was +mixed with the extravagance of a crazed imagination. He sung with +great earnestness, and not without some taste, a fragment of an +old Scottish ditty:-- + + False love, and hast thou play'd me this + In summer among the flowers? + I will repay thee back again + In winter among the showers. + Unless again, again, my love, + Unless you turn again; + As you with other maidens rove, + I'll smile on other men. + +[Footnote: This is a genuine ancient fragment, with some +alteration in the two last lines.] + +Here lifting up his eyes, which had hitherto been fixed in +observing how his feet kept time to the tune, he beheld Waverley, +and instantly doffed his cap, with many grotesque signals of +surprise, respect, and salutation. Edward, though with little hope +of receiving an answer to any constant question, requested to know +whether Mr. Bradwardine were at home, or where he could find any +of the domestics. The questioned party replied, and, like the +witch of Thalaba, 'still his speech was song,'-- + + The Knight's to the mountain + His bugle to wind; + The Lady's to greenwood + Her garland to bind. + The bower of Burd Ellen + Has moss on the floor, + That the step of Lord William + Be silent and sure. + +This conveyed no information, and Edward, repeating his queries, +received a rapid answer, in which, from the haste and peculiarity +of the dialect, the word 'butler' was alone intelligible. Waverley +then requested to see the butler; upon which the fellow, with a +knowing look and nod of intelligence, made a signal to Edward to +follow, and began to dance and caper down the alley up which he +had made his approaches. A strange guide this, thought Edward, and +not much unlike one of Shakespeare's roynish clowns. I am not over +prudent to trust to his pilotage; but wiser men have been led by +fools. By this time he reached the bottom of the alley, where, +turning short on a little parterre of flowers, shrouded from the +east and north by a close yew hedge, he found an old man at work +without his coat, whose appearance hovered between that of an +upper servant and gardener; his red nose and ruffled shirt +belonging to the former profession; his hale and sunburnt visage, +with his green apron, appearing to indicate + + Old Adam's likeness, set to dress this garden. + +The major domo, for such he was, and indisputably the second +officer of state in the barony (nay, as chief minister of the +interior, superior even to Bailie Macwheeble in his own department +of the kitchen and cellar)--the major domo laid down his spade, +slipped on his coat in haste, and with a wrathful look at Edward's +guide, probably excited by his having introduced a stranger while +he was engaged in this laborious, and, as he might suppose it, +degrading office, requested to know the gentleman's commands. +Being informed that he wished to pay his respects to his master, +that his name was Waverley, and so forth, the old man's +countenance assumed a great deal of respectful importance. 'He +could take it upon his conscience to say, his honour would have +exceeding pleasure in seeing him. Would not Mr. Waverley choose +some refreshment after his journey? His honour was with the folk +who were getting doon the dark hag; the twa gardener lads (an +emphasis on the word twa) had been ordered to attend him; and he +had been just amusing himself in the mean time with dressing Miss +Rose's flower-bed, that he might be near to receive his honour's +orders, if need were; he was very fond of a garden, but had little +time for such divertisements.' + +'He canna get it wrought in abune twa days in the week at no rate +whatever,' said Edward's fantastic conductor. + +A grim look from the butler chastised his interference, and he +commanded him, by the name of Davie Gellatley, in a tone which +admitted no discussion, to look for his honour at the dark hag, +and tell him there was a gentleman from the south had arrived at +the Ha'. + +'Can this poor fellow deliver a letter?' asked Edward. + +'With all fidelity, sir, to any one whom he respects. I would +hardly trust him with a long message by word of mouth--though he +is more knave than fool.' + +Waverley delivered his credentials to Mr. Gellatley, who seemed to +confirm the butler's last observation, by twisting his features at +him, when he was looking another way, into the resemblance of the +grotesque face on the bole of a German tobacco pipe; after which, +with an odd conge to Waverley, he danced off to discharge his +errand. + +'He is an innocent, sir,' said the butler; 'there is one such in +almost every town in the country, but ours is brought far ben. +[Footnote: See Note 8.] He used to work a day's turn weel +enough; but he helped Miss Rose when she was flemit with the Laird +of Killancureit's new English bull, and since that time we ca' him +Davie Do-little; indeed we might ca' him Davie Do-naething, for +since he got that gay clothing, to please his honour and my young +mistress (great folks will have their fancies), he has done +naething but dance up and down about the toun, without doing a +single turn, unless trimming the laird's fishing-wand or busking +his flies, or may be catching a dish of trouts at an orra time. +But here comes Miss Rose, who, I take burden upon me for her, will +be especial glad to see one of the house of Waverley at her +father's mansion of Tully-Veolan.' + +But Rose Bradwardine deserves better of her unworthy historian +than to be introduced at the end of a chapter. + +In the mean while it may be noticed, that Waverley learned two +things from this colloquy: that in Scotland a single house was +called a TOWN, and a natural fool an INNOCENT. + + + + + +CHAPTER X + +ROSE BRADWARDINE AND HER FATHER + + +Miss Bradwardine was but seventeen; yet, at the last races of the +county town of----, upon her health being proposed among a round +of beauties, the Laird of Bumperquaigh, permanent toast-master and +croupier of the Bautherwhillery Club, not only said MORE to the +pledge in a pint bumper of Bourdeaux, but, ere pouring forth the +libation, denominated the divinity to whom it was dedicated, 'the +Rose of Tully-Veolan'; upon which festive occasion three cheers +were given by all the sitting members of that respectable society, +whose throats the wine had left capable of such exertion. Nay, I +am well assured, that the sleeping partners of the company snorted +applause, and that although strong bumpers and weak brains had +consigned two or three to the floor, yet even these, fallen as +they were from their high estate, and weltering--I will carry the +parody no farther--uttered divers inarticulate sounds, intimating +their assent to the motion. + +Such unanimous applause could not be extorted but by acknowledged +merit; and Rose Bradwardine not only deserved it, but also the +approbation of much more rational persons than the Bautherwhillery +Club could have mustered, even before discussion of the first +magnum. She was indeed a very pretty girl of the Scotch cast of +beauty, that is, with a profusion of hair of paley gold, and a +skin like the snow of her own mountains in whiteness. Yet she had +not a pallid or pensive cast of countenance; her features, as well +as her temper, had a lively expression; her complexion, though not +florid, was so pure as to seem transparent, and the slightest +emotion sent her whole blood at once to her face and neck. Her +form, though under the common size, was remarkably elegant, and +her motions light, easy, and unembarrassed. She came from another +part of the garden to receive Captain Waverley, with a manner that +hovered between bashfulness and courtesy. + +The first greetings past, Edward learned from her that the dark +hag, which had somewhat puzzled him in the butler's account of his +master's avocations, had nothing to do either with a black cat or +a broomstick, but was simply a portion of oak copse which was to +be felled that day. She offered, with diffident civility, to show +the stranger the way to the spot, which, it seems, was not far +distant; but they were prevented by the appearance of the Baron of +Bradwardine in person, who, summoned by David Gellatley, now +appeared, 'on hospitable thoughts intent,' clearing the ground at +a prodigious rate with swift and long strides, which reminded +Waverley of the seven-league boots of the nursery fable. He was a +tall, thin, athletic figure, old indeed and grey-haired, but with +every muscle rendered as tough as whip-cord by constant exercise. +He was dressed carelessly, and more like a Frenchman than an +Englishman of the period, while, from his hard features and +perpendicular rigidity of stature, he bore some resemblance to a +Swiss officer of the guards, who had resided some time at Paris, +and caught the costume, but not the ease or manner, of its +inhabitants. The truth was, that his language and habits were as +heterogeneous as his external appearance. + +Owing to his natural disposition to study, or perhaps to a very +general Scottish fashion of giving young men of rank a legal +education, he had been bred with a view to the bar. But the +politics of his family precluding the hope of his rising in that +profession, Mr. Bradwardine travelled with high reputation for +several years, and made some campaigns in foreign service. After +his demele with the law of high treason in 1715, he had lived in +retirement, conversing almost entirely with those of his own +principles in the vicinage. The pedantry of the lawyer, +superinduced upon the military pride of the soldier, might remind +a modern of the days of the zealous volunteer service, when the +bar-gown of our pleaders was often flung over a blazing uniform. +To this must be added the prejudices of ancient birth and Jacobite +politics, greatly strengthened by habits of solitary and secluded +authority, which, though exercised only within the bounds of his +half-cultivated estate, was there indisputable and undisputed. +For, as he used to observe, 'the lands of Bradwardine, Tully- +Veolan, and others, had been erected into a free barony by a +charter from David the First, cum liberali potest. habendi curias +et justicias, cum fossa et furca (LIE, pit and gallows) et saka et +soka, et thol et theam, et infang-thief et outfang-thief, sive +hand-habend. sive bak-barand.' The peculiar meaning of all these +cabalistical words few or none could explain; but they implied, +upon the whole, that the Baron of Bradwardine might, in case of +delinquency, imprison, try, and execute his vassals at his +pleasure. Like James the First, however, the present possessor of +this authority was more pleased in talking about prerogative than +in exercising it; and excepting that he imprisoned two poachers in +the dungeon of the old tower of Tully-Veolan, where they were +sorely frightened by ghosts, and almost eaten by rats, and that he +set an old woman in the jougs (or Scottish pillory) for saying' +there were mair fules in the laird's ha' house than Davie +Gellatley,' I do not learn that he was accused of abusing his high +powers. Still, however, the conscious pride of possessing them +gave additional importance to his language and deportment. + +At his first address to Waverley, it would seem that the hearty +pleasure he felt to behold the nephew of his friend had somewhat +discomposed the stiff and upright dignity of the Baron of +Bradwardine's demeanour, for the tears stood in the old +gentleman's eyes, when, having first shaken Edward heartily by the +hand in the English fashion, he embraced him a la mode Francoise, +and kissed him on both sides of his face; while the hardness of +his gripe, and the quantity of Scotch snuff which his accolade +communicated, called corresponding drops of moisture to the eyes +of his guest. + +'Upon the honour of a gentleman,' he said, 'but it makes me young +again to see you here, Mr. Waverley! A worthy scion of the old +stock of Waverley-Honour--spes altera, as Maro hath it--and you +have the look of the old line, Captain Waverley; not so portly yet +as my old friend Sir Everard--mais cela viendra avec le tems, as +my Dutch acquaintance, Baron Kikkitbroeck, said of the sagesse of +Madame son epouse. And so ye have mounted the cockade? Right, +right; though I could have wished the colour different, and so I +would ha' deemed might Sir Everard. But no more of that; I am old, +and times are changed. And how does the worthy knight baronet, and +the fair Mrs. Rachel?--Ah, ye laugh, young man! In troth she was +the fair Mrs. Rachel in the year of grace seventeen hundred and +sixteen; but time passes--et singula praedantur anni--that is +most certain. But once again ye are most heartily welcome to my +poor house of Tully-Veolan! Hie to the house, Rose, and see that +Alexander Saunderson looks out the old Chateau Margaux, which I +sent from Bourdeaux to Dundee in the year 1713.' + +Rose tripped off demurely enough till she turned the first corner, +and then ran with the speed of a fairy, that she might gain +leisure, after discharging her father's commission, to put her own +dress in order, and produce all her little finery, an occupation +for which the approaching dinner-hour left but limited time. + +'We cannot rival the luxuries of your English table, Captain +Waverley, or give you the epulae lautiores of Waverley-Honour. I +say epulae rather than prandium, because the latter phrase is +popular: epulae ad senatum, prandium vero ad populum attinet, says +Suetonius Tranquillus. But I trust ye will applaud my Bourdeaux; +c'est des deux oreilles, as Captain Vinsauf used to say; vinum +primae notae, the principal of Saint Andrews denominated it. And, +once more, Captain Waverley, right glad am I that ye are here to +drink the best my cellar can make forthcoming.' + +This speech, with the necessary interjectional answers, continued +from the lower alley where they met up to the door of the house, +where four or five servants in old-fashioned liveries, headed by +Alexander Saunderson, the butler, who now bore no token of the +sable stains of the garden, received them in grand COSTUME, + + In an old hall hung round with pikes and with bows, + With old bucklers and corslets that had borne many shrewd + blows. + +With much ceremony, and still more real kindness, the Baron, +without stopping in any intermediate apartment, conducted his +guest through several into the great dining parlour, wainscotted +with black oak, and hung round with the pictures of his ancestry, +where a table was set forth in form for six persons, and an old- +fashioned beaufet displayed all the ancient and massive plate of +the Bradwardine family. A bell was now heard at the head of the +avenue; for an old man, who acted as porter upon gala days, had +caught the alarm given by Waverley's arrival, and, repairing to +his post, announced the arrival of other guests. + +These, as the Baron assured his young friend, were very estimable +persons. 'There was the young Laird of Balmawhapple, a Falconer by +surname, of the house of Glenfarquhar, given right much to field- +sports--gaudet equis et canibus--but a very discreet young +gentleman. Then there was the Laird of Killancureit, who had +devoted his leisure UNTILL tillage and agriculture, and boasted +himself to be possessed of a bull of matchless merit, brought from +the county of Devon (the Damnonia of the Romans, if we can trust +Robert of Cirencester). He is, as ye may well suppose from such a +tendency, but of yeoman extraction--servabit odorem testa diu--and +I believe, between ourselves, his grandsire was from the wrong +side of the Border--one Bullsegg, who came hither as a steward, or +bailiff, or ground-officer, or something in that department, to +the last Girnigo of Killancureit, who died of an atrophy. After +his master's death, sir,--ye would hardly believe such a scandal, +--but this Bullsegg, being portly and comely of aspect, +intermarried with the lady dowager, who was young and amorous, and +possessed himself of the estate, which devolved on this unhappy +woman by a settlement of her umwhile husband, in direct +contravention of an unrecorded taillie, and to the prejudice of +the disponer's own flesh and blood, in the person of his natural +heir and seventh cousin, Girnigo of Tipperhewit, whose family was +so reduced by the ensuing law-suit, that his representative is now +serving as a private gentleman-sentinel in the Highland Black +Watch. But this gentleman, Mr. Bullsegg of Killancureit that now +is, has good blood in his veins by the mother and grandmother, who +were both of the family of Pickletillim, and he is well liked and +looked upon, and knows his own place. And God forbid, Captain +Waverley, that we of irreproachable lineage should exult over him, +when it may be, that in the eighth, ninth, or tenth generation, +his progeny may rank, in a manner, with the old gentry of the +country. Rank and ancestry, sir, should be the last words in the +mouths of us of unblemished race--vix ea nostra voco, as Naso +saith. There is, besides, a clergyman of the true (though +suffering) Episcopal church of Scotland. [Footnote: See Note 9.] +He was a confessor in her cause after the year 1715, when a +Whiggish mob destroyed his meeting-house, tore his surplice, and +plundered his dwelling-house of four silver spoons, intromitting +also with his mart and his mealark, and with two barrels, one of +single and one of double ale, besides three bottles of brandy. My +baron-bailie and doer, Mr. Duncan Macwheeble, is the fourth on our +list. There is a question, owing to the incertitude of ancient +orthography, whether he belongs to the clan of Wheedle or of +Quibble, but both have produced persons eminent in the law.'-- + + As such he described them by person and name, + They enter'd, and dinner was served as they came. + + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE BANQUET + + +The entertainment was ample and handsome, according to the Scotch +ideas of the period, and the guests did great honour to it. The +Baron eat like a famished soldier, the Laird of Balmawhapple like +a sportsman, Bullsegg of Killancureit like a farmer, Waverley +himself like a traveller, and Bailie Macwheeble like all four +together; though, either out of more respect, or in order to +preserve that proper declination of person which showed a sense +that he was in the presence of his patron, he sat upon the edge of +his chair, placed at three feet distance from the table, and +achieved a communication with his plate by projecting his person +towards it in a line which obliqued from the bottom of his spine, +so that the person who sat opposite to him could only see the +foretop of his riding periwig. + +This stooping position might have been inconvenient to another +person; but long habit made it, whether seated or walking, +perfectly easy to the worthy Bailie. In the latter posture it +occasioned, no doubt, an unseemly projection of the person towards +those who happened to walk behind; but those being at all times +his inferiors (for Mr. Macwheeble was very scrupulous in giving +place to all others), he cared very little what inference of +contempt or slight regard they might derive from the circumstance. +Hence, when he waddled across the court to and from his old grey +pony, he somewhat resembled a turnspit walking upon its hind legs. + +The nonjuring clergyman was a pensive and interesting old man, +with much of the air of a sufferer for conscience' sake. He was +one of those + + Who, undeprived, their benefice forsook. + +For this whim, when the Baron was out of hearing, the Bailie used +sometimes gently to rally Mr. Rubrick, upbraiding him with the +nicety of his scruples. Indeed, it must be owned, that he himself, +though at heart a keen partisan of the exiled family, had kept +pretty fair with all the different turns of state in his time; so +that Davie Gellatley once described him as a particularly good +man, who had a very quiet and peaceful conscience, THAT NEVER DID +HIM ANY HARM. + +When the dinner was removed, the Baron announced the health of the +King, politely leaving to the consciences of his guests to drink +to the sovereign de facto or de jure, as their politics inclined. +The conversation now became general; and, shortly afterwards, Miss +Bradwardine, who had done the honours with natural grace and +simplicity, retired, and was soon followed by the clergyman. Among +the rest of the party, the wine, which fully justified the +encomiums of the landlord, flowed freely round, although Waverley, +with some difficulty, obtained the privilege of sometimes +neglecting the glass. At length, as the evening grew more late, +the Baron made a private signal to Mr. Saunders Saunderson, or, as +he facetiously denominated him, Alexander ab Alexandro, who left +the room with a nod, and soon after returned, his grave +countenance mantling with a solemn and mysterious smile, and +placed before his master a small oaken casket, mounted with brass +ornaments of curious form. The Baron, drawing out a private key, +unlocked the casket, raised the lid, and produced a golden goblet +of a singular and antique appearance, moulded into the shape of a +rampant bear, which the owner regarded with a look of mingled +reverence, pride, and delight, that irresistibly reminded Waverley +of Ben Jonson's Tom Otter, with his Bull, Horse, and Dog, as that +wag wittily denominated his chief carousing cups. But Mr. +Bradwardine, turning towards him with complacency, requested him +to observe this curious relic of the olden time. + +'It represents,' he said, 'the chosen crest of our family, a bear, +as ye observe, and RAMPANT; because a good herald will depict +every animal in its noblest posture, as a horse SALIENT, a +greyhound CURRANT, and, as may be inferred, a ravenous animal in +actu ferociori, or in a voracious, lacerating, and devouring +posture. Now, sir, we hold this most honourable achievement by the +wappen-brief, or concession of arms, of Frederick Red-beard, +Emperor of Germany, to my predecessor, Godmund Bradwardine, it +being the crest of a gigantic Dane, whom he slew in the lists in +the Holy Land, on a quarrel touching the chastity of the emperor's +spouse or daughter, tradition saith not precisely which, and thus, +as Virgilius hath it-- + + Mutemus clypeos, Danaumque insignia nobis + Aptemus. + +Then for the cup, Captain Waverley, it was wrought by the command +of Saint Duthac, Abbot of Aberbrothock, for behoof of another +baron of the house of Bradwardine, who had valiantly defended the +patrimony of that monastery against certain encroaching nobles. It +is properly termed the Blessed Bear of Bradwardine (though old +Doctor Doubleit used jocosely to call it Ursa Major), and was +supposed, in old and Catholic times, to be invested with certain +properties of a mystical and supernatural quality. And though I +give not in to such anilia, it is certain it has always been +esteemed a solemn standard cup and heirloom of our house; nor is +it ever used but upon seasons of high festival, and such I hold to +be the arrival of the heir of Sir Everard under my roof; and I +devote this draught to the health and prosperity of the ancient +and highly-to-be-honoured house of Waverley.' + +During this long harangue, he carefully decanted a cob-webbed +bottle of claret into the goblet, which held nearly an English +pint; and, at the conclusion, delivering the bottle to the butler, +to be held carefully in the same angle with the horizon, he +devoutly quaffed off the contents of the Blessed Bear of +Bradwardine. + +Edward, with horror and alarm, beheld the animal making his +rounds, and thought with great anxiety upon the appropriate motto, +'Beware the Bear'; but, at the same time, plainly foresaw that, as +none of the guests scrupled to do him this extraordinary honour, a +refusal on his part to pledge their courtesy would be extremely +ill received. Resolving, therefore, to submit to this last piece +of tyranny, and then to quit the table, if possible, and confiding +in the strength of his constitution, he did justice to the company +in the contents of the Blessed Bear, and felt less inconvenience +from the draught than he could possibly have expected. The others, +whose time had been more actively employed, began to show symptoms +of innovation--'the good wine did its good office.' [Footnote: +Southey's Madoc.] The frost of etiquette and pride of birth began +to give way before the genial blessings of this benign +constellation, and the formal appellatives with which the three +dignitaries had hitherto addressed each other were now familiarly +abbreviated into Tully, Bally, and Killie. When a few rounds had +passed, the two latter, after whispering together, craved +permission (a joyful hearing for Edward) to ask the grace-cup. +This, after some delay, was at length produced, and Waverley +concluded the orgies of Bacchus were terminated for the evening. +He was never more mistaken in his life. + +As the guests had left their horses at the small inn, or change- +house, as it was called, of the village, the Baron could not, in +politeness, avoid walking with them up the avenue, and Waverley +from the same motive, and to enjoy after this feverish revel the +cool summer evening, attended the party. But when they arrived at +Luckie Macleary's the Lairds of Balmawhapple and Killancureit +declared their determination to acknowledge their sense of the +hospitality of Tully-Veolan by partaking, with their entertainer +and his guest Captain Waverley, what they technically called deoch +an doruis, a stirrup-cup, [Footnote 2: See Note 10] to the honour +of the Baron's roof-tree. + +It must be noticed that the Bailie, knowing by experience that the +day's jovialty, which had been hitherto sustained at the expense +of his patron, might terminate partly at his own, had mounted his +spavined grey pony, and, between gaiety of heart and alarm for +being hooked into a reckoning, spurred him into a hobbling canter +(a trot was out of the question), and had already cleared the +village. The others entered the change-house, leading Edward in +unresisting submission; for his landlord whispered him, that to +demur to such an overture would be construed into a high +misdemeanour against the leges conviviales, or regulations of +genial compotation. Widow Macleary seemed to have expected this +visit, as well she might, for it was the usual consummation of +merry bouts, not only at Tully-Veolan, but at most other +gentlemen's houses in Scotland, Sixty Years Since. The guests +thereby at once acquitted themselves of their burden of gratitude +for their entertainer's kindness, encouraged the trade of his +change-house, did honour to the place which afforded harbour to +their horses, and indemnified themselves for the previous +restraints imposed by private hospitality, by spending what +Falstaff calls the sweet of the night in the genial license of a +tavern. + +Accordingly, in full expectation of these distinguished guests, +Luckie Macleary had swept her house for the first time this +fortnight, tempered her turf-fire to such a heat as the season +required in her damp hovel even at Midsummer, set forth her deal +table newly washed, propped its lame foot with a fragment of turf, +arranged four or five stools of huge and clumsy form upon the +sites which best suited the inequalities of her clay floor; and +having, moreover, put on her clean toy, rokelay, and scarlet +plaid, gravely awaited the arrival of the company, in full hope of +custom and profit. When they were seated under the sooty rafters +of Luckie Macleary's only apartment, thickly tapestried with +cobwebs, their hostess, who had already taken her cue from the +Laird of Balmawhapple, appeared with a huge pewter measuring-pot, +containing at least three English quarts, familiarly denominated a +Tappit Hen, and which, in the language of the hostess, reamed +(i.e., mantled) with excellent claret just drawn from the cask. + +It was soon plain that what crumbs of reason the Bear had not +devoured were to be picked up by the Hen; but the confusion which +appeared to prevail favoured Edward's resolution to evade the +gaily circling glass. The others began to talk thick and at once, +each performing his own part in the conversation without the least +respect to his neighbour. The Baron of Bradwardine sung French +chansons-a-boire, and spouted pieces of Latin; Killancureit +talked, in a steady unalterable dull key, of top-dressing and +bottom-dressing, [Footnote: This has been censured as an +anachronism; and it must be confessed that agriculture of this +kind was unknown to the Scotch Sixty Years Since.] and year-olds, +and gimmers, and dinmonts, and stots, and runts, and kyloes, and a +proposed turnpike-act; while Balmawhapple, in notes exalted above +both, extolled his horse, his hawks, and a greyhound called +Whistler. In the middle of this din, the Baron repeatedly implored +silence; and when at length the instinct of polite discipline so +far prevailed that for a moment he obtained it, he hastened to +beseech their attention 'unto a military ariette, which was a +particular favourite of the Marechal Duc de Berwick'; then, +imitating, as well as he could, the manner and tone of a French +musquetaire, he immediately commenced,-- + + Mon coeur volage, dit elle, + N'est pas pour vous, garcon; + Est pour un homme de guerre, + Qui a barbe au menton. + Lon, Lon, Laridon. + + Qui port chapeau a plume, + Soulier a rouge talon, + Qui joue de la flute, + Aussi du violon. + Lon, Lon, Laridon. + +Balmawhapple could hold no longer, but broke in with what he +called a d--d good song, composed by Gibby Gaethroughwi't, the +piper of Cupar; and, without wasting more time, struck up,-- + + It's up Glenbarchan's braes I gaed, + And o'er the bent of Killiebraid, + And mony a weary cast I made, + To cuittle the moor-fowl's tail. + +[Footnote: Suum cuique. This snatch of a ballad was composed by +Andrew MacDonald, the ingenious and unfortunate author of +Vimonda.] + +The Baron, whose voice was drowned in the louder and more +obstreperous strains of Balmawhapple, now dropped the competition, +but continued to hum 'Lon, Lon, Laridon,' and to regard the +successful candidate for the attention of the company with an eye +of disdain, while Balmawhapple proceeded,-- + + If up a bonny black-cock should spring, + To whistle him down wi' a slug in his wing, + And strap him on to my lunzie string, + Right seldom would I fail. + +After an ineffectual attempt to recover the second verse, he sung +the first over again; and, in prosecution of his triumph, declared +there was 'more sense in that than in all the derry-dongs of +France, and Fifeshire to the boot of it.' The Baron only answered +with a long pinch of snuff and a glance of infinite contempt. But +those noble allies, the Bear and the Hen, had emancipated the +young laird from the habitual reverence in which he held +Bradwardine at other times. He pronounced the claret shilpit, and +demanded brandy with great vociferation. It was brought; and now +the Demon of Politics envied even the harmony arising from this +Dutch concert, merely because there was not a wrathful note in the +strange compound of sounds which it produced. Inspired by her, the +Laird of Balmawhapple, now superior to the nods and winks with +which the Baron of Bradwardine, in delicacy to Edward, had +hitherto checked his entering upon political discussion, demanded +a bumper, with the lungs of a Stentor, 'to the little gentleman in +black velvet who did such service in 1702, and may the white horse +break his neck over a mound of his making!' + +Edward was not at that moment clear-headed enough to remember that +King William's fall, which occasioned his death, was said to be +owing to his horse stumbling at a mole-hill; yet felt inclined to +take umbrage at a toast which seemed, from the glance of +Balmawhapple's eye, to have a peculiar and uncivil reference to +the Government which he served. But, ere he could interfere, the +Baron of Bradwardine had taken up the quarrel. 'Sir,' he said, +'whatever my sentiments tanquam privatus may be in such matters, I +shall not tamely endure your saying anything that may impinge upon +the honourable feelings of a gentleman under my roof. Sir, if you +have no respect for the laws of urbanity, do ye not respect the +military oath, the sacramentum militare, by which every officer is +bound to the standards under which he is enrolled? Look at Titus +Livius, what he says of those Roman soldiers who were so unhappy +as exuere sacramentum, to renounce their legionary oath; but you +are ignorant, sir, alike of ancient history and modern courtesy.' + +'Not so ignorant as ye would pronounce me,' roared Balmawhapple. +'I ken weel that you mean the Solemn League and Covenant; but if +a' the Whigs in hell had taken the--' + +Here the Baron and Waverley both spoke at once, the former calling +out, 'Be silent, sir! ye not only show your ignorance, but +disgrace your native country before a stranger and an Englishman'; +and Waverley, at the same moment, entreating Mr. Bradwardine to +permit him to reply to an affront which seemed levelled at him +personally. But the Baron was exalted by wine, wrath, and scorn +above all sublunary considerations. + +'I crave you to be hushed, Captain Waverley; you are elsewhere, +peradventure, sui juris,--foris-familiated, that is, and entitled, +it may be, to think and resent for yourself; but in my domain, in +this poor Barony of Bradwardine, and under this roof, which is +quasi mine, being held by tacit relocation by a tenant at will, I +am in loco parentis to you, and bound to see you scathless. And +for you, Mr. Falconer of Balmawhapple, I warn ye, let me see no +more aberrations from the paths of good manners.' + +'And I tell you, Mr. Cosmo Comyne Bradwardine of Bradwardine and +Tully-Veolan,' retorted the sportsman in huge disdain, 'that I'll +make a moor-cock of the man that refuses my toast, whether it be a +crop-eared English Whig wi' a black ribband at his lug, or ane wha +deserts his ain friends to claw favour wi' the rats of Hanover.' + +In an instant both rapiers were brandished, and some desperate +passes exchanged. Balmawhapple was young, stout, and active; but +the Baron, infinitely more master of his weapon, would, like Sir +Toby Belch, have tickled his opponent other gates than he did had +he not been under the influence of Ursa Major. + +Edward rushed forward to interfere between the combatants, but the +prostrate bulk of the Laird of Killancureit, over which he +stumbled, intercepted his passage. How Killancureit happened to be +in this recumbent posture at so interesting a moment was never +accurately known. Some thought he was about to insconce himself +under the table; he himself alleged that he stumbled in the act of +lifting a joint-stool, to prevent mischief, by knocking down +Balmawhapple. Be that as it may, if readier aid than either his or +Waverley's had not interposed, there would certainly have been +bloodshed. But the well-known clash of swords, which was no +stranger to her dwelling, aroused Luckie Macleary as she sat +quietly beyond the hallan, or earthen partition of the cottage, +with eyes employed on Boston's 'Crook the Lot,' while her ideas +were engaged in summing up the reckoning. She boldly rushed in, +with the shrill expostulation, 'Wad their honours slay ane another +there, and bring discredit on an honest widow-woman's house, when +there was a' the lee-land in the country to fight upon?' a +remonstrance which she seconded by flinging her plaid with great +dexterity over the weapons of the combatants. The servants by this +time rushed in, and being, by great chance, tolerably sober, +separated the incensed opponents, with the assistance of Edward +and Killancureit. The latter led off Balmawhapple, cursing, +swearing, and vowing revenge against every Whig, Presbyterian, and +fanatic in England and Scotland, from John-o'-Groat's to the +Land's End, and with difficulty got him to horse. Our hero, with +the assistance of Saunders Saunderson, escorted the Baron of +Bradwardine to his own dwelling, but could not prevail upon him to +retire to bed until he had made a long and learned apology for the +events of the evening, of which, however, there was not a word +intelligible, except something about the Centaurs and the +Lapithae. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +REPENTANCE AND A RECONCILIATION + + +Waverley was unaccustomed to the use of wine, excepting with great +temperance. He slept therefore soundly till late in the succeeding +morning, and then awakened to a painful recollection of the scene +of the preceding evening. He had received a personal affront--he, +a gentleman, a soldier, and a Waverley. True, the person who +offered it was not, at the time it was given, possessed of the +moderate share of sense which nature had allotted him; true also, +in resenting this insult, he would break the laws of Heaven as +well as of his country; true, in doing so, he might take the life +of a young man who perhaps respectably discharged the social +duties, and render his family miserable, or he might lose his own +--no pleasant alternative even to the bravest, when it is debated +coolly and in private. + +All this pressed on his mind; yet the original statement recurred +with the same irresistible force. He had received a personal +insult; he was of the house of Waverley; and he bore a commission. +There was no alternative; and he descended to the breakfast +parlour with the intention of taking leave of the family, and +writing to one of his brother officers to meet him at the inn +midway between Tully-Veolan and the town where they were +quartered, in order that he might convey such a message to the +Laird of Balmawhapple as the circumstances seemed to demand. He +found Miss Bradwardine presiding over the tea and coffee, the +table loaded with warm bread, both of flour, oatmeal, and +barleymeal, in the shape of loaves, cakes, biscuits, and other +varieties, together with eggs, reindeer ham, mutton and beef +ditto, smoked salmon, marmalade, and all the other delicacies +which induced even Johnson himself to extol the luxury of a Scotch +breakfast above that of all other countries. A mess of oatmeal +porridge, flanked by a silver jug, which held an equal mixture of +cream and butter-milk, was placed for the Baron's share of this +repast; but Rose observed, he had walked out early in the morning, +after giving orders that his guest should not be disturbed. + +Waverley sat down almost in silence, and with an air of absence +and abstraction which could not give Miss Bradwardine a favourable +opinion of his talents for conversation. He answered at random one +or two observations which she ventured to make upon ordinary +topics; so that, feeling herself almost repulsed in her efforts at +entertaining him, and secretly wondering that a scarlet coat +should cover no better breeding, she left him to his mental +amusement of cursing Doctor Doubleit's favourite constellation of +Ursa Major as the cause of all the mischief which had already +happened and was likely to ensue. At once he started, and his +colour heightened, as, looking toward the window, he beheld the +Baron and young Balmawhapple pass arm in arm, apparently in deep +conversation; and he hastily asked, 'Did Mr. Falconer sleep here +last night?' Rose, not much pleased with the abruptness of the +first question which the young stranger had addressed to her, +answered drily in the negative, and the conversation again sunk +into silence. + +At this moment Mr. Saunderson appeared, with a message from his +master, requesting to speak with Captain Waverley in another +apartment. With a heart which beat a little quicker, not indeed +from fear, but from uncertainty and anxiety, Edward obeyed the +summons. He found the two gentlemen standing together, an air of +complacent dignity on the brow of the Baron, while something like +sullenness or shame, or both, blanked the bold visage of +Balmawhapple. The former slipped his arm through that of the +latter, and thus seeming to walk with him, while in reality he led +him, advanced to meet Waverley, and, stopping in the midst of the +apartment, made in great state the following oration: 'Captain +Waverley--my young and esteemed friend, Mr. Falconer of +Balmawhapple, has craved of my age and experience, as of one not +wholly unskilled in the dependencies and punctilios of the duello +or monomachia, to be his interlocutor in expressing to you the +regret with which he calls to remembrance certain passages of our +symposion last night, which could not but be highly displeasing to +you, as serving for the time under this present existing +government. He craves you, sir, to drown in oblivion the memory of +such solecisms against the laws of politeness, as being what his +better reason disavows, and to receive the hand which he offers +you in amity; and I must needs assure you that nothing less than a +sense of being dans son tort, as a gallant French chevalier, Mons. +Le Bretailleur, once said to me on such an occasion, and an +opinion also of your peculiar merit, could have extorted such +concessions; for he and all his family are, and have been, time +out of mind, Mavortia pectora, as Buchanan saith, a bold and +warlike sept, or people.' + +Edward immediately, and with natural politeness, accepted the hand +which Balmawhapple, or rather the Baron in his character of +mediator, extended towards him. 'It was impossible,' he said, 'for +him to remember what a gentleman expressed his wish he had not +uttered; and he willingly imputed what had passed to the exuberant +festivity of the day.' + +'That is very handsomely said,' answered the Baron; 'for +undoubtedly, if a man be ebrius, or intoxicated, an incident which +on solemn and festive occasions may and will take place in the +life of a man of honour; and if the same gentleman, being fresh +and sober, recants the contumelies which he hath spoken in his +liquor, it must be held vinum locutum est; the words cease to be +his own. Yet would I not find this exculpation relevant in the +case of one who was ebriosus, or an habitual drunkard; because, if +such a person choose to pass the greater part of his time in the +predicament of intoxication, he hath no title to be exeemed from +the obligations of the code of politeness, but should learn to +deport himself peaceably and courteously when under influence of +the vinous stimulus. And now let us proceed to breakfast, and +think no more of this daft business.' + +I must confess, whatever inference may be drawn from the +circumstance, that Edward, after so satisfactory an explanation, +did much greater honour to the delicacies of Miss Bradwardine's +breakfast-table than his commencement had promised. Balmawhapple, +on the contrary, seemed embarrassed and dejected; and Waverley +now, for the first time, observed that his arm was in a sling, +which seemed to account for the awkward and embarrassed manner +with which he had presented his hand. To a question from Miss +Bradwardine, he muttered in answer something about his horse +having fallen; and seeming desirous to escape both from the +subject and the company, he arose as soon as breakfast was over, +made his bow to the party, and, declining the Baron's invitation +to tarry till after dinner, mounted his horse and returned to his +own home. + +Waverley now announced his purpose of leaving Tully-Veolan early +enough after dinner to gain the stage at which he meant to sleep; +but the unaffected and deep mortification with which the good- +natured and affectionate old gentleman heard the proposal quite +deprived him of courage to persist in it. No sooner had he gained +Waverley's consent to lengthen his visit for a few days than he +laboured to remove the grounds upon which he conceived he had +meditated a more early retreat. 'I would not have you opine, +Captain Waverley, that I am by practice or precept an advocate of +ebriety, though it may be that, in our festivity of last night, +some of our friends, if not perchance altogether ebrii, or +drunken, were, to say the least, ebrioli, by which the ancients +designed those who were fuddled, or, as your English vernacular +and metaphorical phrase goes, half-seas-over. Not that I would so +insinuate respecting you, Captain Waverley, who, like a prudent +youth, did rather abstain from potation; nor can it be truly said +of myself, who, having assisted at the tables of many great +generals and marechals at their solemn carousals, have the art to +carry my wine discreetly, and did not, during the whole evening, +as ye must have doubtless observed, exceed the bounds of a modest +hilarity.' + +There was no refusing assent to a proposition so decidedly laid +down by him, who undoubtedly was the best judge; although, had +Edward formed his opinion from his own recollections, he would +have pronounced that the Baron was not only ebriolus, but verging +to become ebrius; or, in plain English, was incomparably the most +drunk of the party, except perhaps his antagonist the Laird of +Balmawhapple. However, having received the expected, or rather the +required, compliment on his sobriety, the Baron proceeded--'No, +sir, though I am myself of a strong temperament, I abhor ebriety, +and detest those who swallow wine gulce causa, for the oblectation +of the gullet; albeit I might deprecate the law of Pittacus of +Mitylene, who punished doubly a crime committed under the +influence of 'Liber Pater'; nor would I utterly accede to the +objurgation of the younger Plinius, in the fourteenth book of his +'Historia Naturalis.' No, sir, I distinguish, I discriminate, and +approve of wine so far only as it maketh glad the face, or, in the +language of Flaccus, recepto amico.' + +Thus terminated the apology which the Baron of Bradwardine thought +it necessary to make for the superabundance of his hospitality; +and it may be easily believed that he was neither interrupted by +dissent nor any expression of incredulity. + +He then invited his guest to a morning ride, and ordered that +Davie Gellatley should meet them at the dern path with Ban and +Buscar. 'For, until the shooting season commence, I would +willingly show you some sport, and we may, God willing, meet with +a roe. The roe, Captain Waverley, may be hunted at all times +alike; for never being in what is called PRIDE OF GREASE, he is +also never out of season, though it be a truth that his venison is +not equal to that of either the red or fallow deer. [Footnote: The +learned in cookery dissent from the Baron of Bradwardine, and hold +the roe venison dry and indifferent food, unless when dressed in +soup and Scotch collops.] But he will serve to show how my dogs +run; and therefore they shall attend us with David Gellatley.' + +Waverley expressed his surprise that his friend Davie was capable +of such trust; but the Baron gave him to understand that this poor +simpleton was neither fatuous, nec naturaliter idiota, as is +expressed in the brieves of furiosity, but simply a crack-brained +knave, who could execute very well any commission which jumped +with his own humour, and made his folly a plea for avoiding every +other. 'He has made an interest with us,' continued the Baron, 'by +saving Rose from a great danger with his own proper peril; and the +roguish loon must therefore eat of our bread and drink of our cup, +and do what he can, or what he will, which, if the suspicions of +Saunderson and the Bailie are well founded, may perchance in his +case be commensurate terms.' + +Miss Bradwardine then gave Waverley to understand that this poor +simpleton was dotingly fond of music, deeply affected by that +which was melancholy, and transported into extravagant gaiety by +light and lively airs. He had in this respect a prodigious memory, +stored with miscellaneous snatches and fragments of all tunes and +songs, which he sometimes applied, with considerable address, as +the vehicles of remonstrance, explanation, or satire. Davie was +much attached to the few who showed him kindness; and both aware +of any slight or ill usage which he happened to receive, and +sufficiently apt, where he saw opportunity, to revenge it. The +common people, who often judge hardly of each other as well as of +their betters, although they had expressed great compassion for +the poor innocent while suffered to wander in rags about the +village, no sooner beheld him decently clothed, provided for, and +even a sort of favourite, than they called up all the instances of +sharpness and ingenuity, in action and repartee, which his annals +afforded, and charitably bottomed thereupon a hypothesis that +David Gellatley was no farther fool than was necessary to avoid +hard labour. This opinion was not better founded than that of the +Negroes, who, from the acute and mischievous pranks of the +monkeys, suppose that they have the gift of speech, and only +suppress their powers of elocution to escape being set to work. +But the hypothesis was entirely imaginary; David Gellatley was in +good earnest the half-crazed simpleton which he appeared, and was +incapable of any constant and steady exertion. He had just so much +solidity as kept on the windy side of insanity, so much wild wit +as saved him from the imputation of idiocy, some dexterity in +field-sports (in which we have known as great fools excel), great +kindness and humanity in the treatment of animals entrusted to +him, warm affections, a prodigious memory, and an ear for music. + +The stamping of horses was now heard in the court, and Davie's +voice singing to the two large deer greyhounds, + + Hie away, hie away, + Over bank and over brae, + Where the copsewood is the greenest, + Where the fountains glisten sheenest, + Where the lady-fern grows strongest, + Where the morning dew lies longest, + Where the black-cock sweetest sips it, + Where the fairy latest trips it. + Hie to haunts right seldom seen, + Lovely, lonesome, cool, and green, + Over bank and over brae, + Hie away, hie away. + +'Do the verses he sings,' asked Waverley, 'belong to old Scottish +poetry, Miss Bradwardine?' + +'I believe not,' she replied. 'This poor creature had a brother, +and Heaven, as if to compensate to the family Davie's +deficiencies, had given him what the hamlet thought uncommon +talents. An uncle contrived to educate him for the Scottish kirk, +but he could not get preferment because he came from our GROUND. +He returned from college hopeless and brokenhearted, and fell into +a decline. My father supported him till his death, which happened +before he was nineteen. He played beautifully on the flute, and +was supposed to have a great turn for poetry. He was affectionate +and compassionate to his brother, who followed him like his +shadow, and we think that from him Davie gathered many fragments +of songs and music unlike those of this country. But if we ask him +where he got such a fragment as he is now singing, he either +answers with wild and long fits of laughter, or else breaks into +tears of lamentation; but was never heard to give any explanation, +or to mention his brother's name since his death.' + +'Surely,' said Edward, who was readily interested by a tale +bordering on the romantic, 'surely more might be learned by more +particular inquiry.' + +'Perhaps so,' answered Rose; 'but my father will not permit any +one to practise on his feelings on this subject.' + +By this time the Baron, with the help of Mr. Saunderson, had +indued a pair of jack-boots of large dimensions, and now invited +our hero to follow him as he stalked clattering down the ample +stair-case, tapping each huge balustrade as he passed with the +butt of his massive horse-whip, and humming, with the air of a +chasseur of Louis Quatorze,-- + + Pour la chasse ordonnee il faut preparer tout. + Ho la ho! Vite! vite debout! + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A MORE RATIONAL DAY THAN THE LAST + + +The Baron of Bradwardine, mounted on an active and well-managed +horse, and seated on a demi-pique saddle, with deep housings to +agree with his livery, was no bad representative of the old +school. His light-coloured embroidered coat, and superbly barred +waistcoat, his brigadier wig, surmounted by a small gold-laced +cocked-hat, completed his personal costume; but he was attended by +two well-mounted servants on horseback, armed with holster- +pistols. + +In this guise he ambled forth over hill and valley, the admiration +of every farm-yard which they passed in their progress, till, 'low +down in a grassy vale,' they found David Gellatley leading two +very tall deer greyhounds, and presiding over half a dozen curs, +and about as many bare-legged and bare-headed boys, who, to +procure the chosen distinction of attending on the chase, had not +failed to tickle his ears with the dulcet appellation of Maister +Gellatley, though probably all and each had hooted him on former +occasions in the character of daft Davie. But this is no uncommon +strain of flattery to persons in office, nor altogether confined +to the barelegged villagers of Tully-Veolan; it was in fashion +Sixty Years Since, is now, and will be six hundred years hence, if +this admirable compound of folly and knavery, called the world, +shall be then in existence. + +These Gillie-wet-foots, as they were called, were destined to beat +the bushes, which they performed with so much success, that, after +half an hour's search, a roe was started, coursed, and killed; the +Baron following on his white horse, like Earl Percy of yore, and +magnanimously flaying and embowelling the slain animal (which, he +observed, was called by the French chasseurs, faire la curee) with +his own baronial couteau de chasse. After this ceremony, he +conducted his guest homeward by a pleasant and circuitous route, +commanding an extensive prospect of different villages and houses, +to each of which Mr. Bradwardine attached some anecdote of history +or genealogy, told in language whimsical from prejudice and +pedantry, but often respectable for the good sense and honourable +feelings which his narrative displayed, and almost always curious, +if not valuable, for the information they contained. + +The truth is, the ride seemed agreeable to both gentlemen, because +they found amusement in each other's conversation, although their +characters and habits of thinking were in many respects totally +opposite. Edward, we have informed the reader, was warm in his +feelings, wild and romantic in his ideas and in his taste of +reading, with a strong disposition towards poetry. Mr Bradwardine +was the reverse of all this, and piqued himself upon stalking +through life with the same upright, starched, stoical gravity +which distinguished his evening promenade upon the terrace of +Tully-Veolan, where for hours together--the very model of old +Hardyknute-- + + Stately stepp'd he east the wa', + And stately stepp'd he west + +As for literature, he read the classic poets, to be sure, and the +'Epithalamium' of Georgius Buchanan and Arthur Johnston's Psalms, +of a Sunday; and the 'Deliciae Poetarum Scotorum,' and Sir David +Lindsay's 'Works', and Barbour's 'Brace', and Blind Harry's +'Wallace', and 'The Gentle Shepherd', and 'The Cherry and The +Slae.' + +But though he thus far sacrificed his time to the Muses, he would, +if the truth must be spoken, have been much better pleased had the +pious or sapient apothegms, as well as the historical narratives, +which these various works contained, been presented to him in the +form of simple prose. And he sometimes could not refrain from +expressing contempt of the 'vain and unprofitable art of poem- +making', in which, he said,'the only one who had excelled in his +time was Allan Ramsay, the periwigmaker.' + +[Footnote: The Baron ought to have remembered that the joyous +Allan literally drew his blood from the house of the noble earl +whom he terms-- + + Dalhousie of an old descent + My stoup, my pride, my ornament.] + +But although Edward and he differed TOTO COELO, as the Baron would +have said, upon this subject, yet they met upon history as on a +neutral ground, in which each claimed an interest. The Baron, +indeed, only cumbered his memory with matters of fact, the cold, +dry, hard outlines which history delineates. Edward, on the +contrary, loved to fill up and round the sketch with the colouring +of a warm and vivid imagination, which gives light and life to the +actors and speakers in the drama of past ages. Yet with tastes so +opposite, they contributed greatly to each other's amusement. Mr. +Bradwardine's minute narratives and powerful memory supplied to +Waverley fresh subjects of the kind upon which his fancy loved to +labour, and opened to him a new mine of incident and of character. +And he repaid the pleasure thus communicated by an earnest +attention, valuable to all story-tellers, more especially to the +Baron, who felt his habits of self-respect flattered by it; and +sometimes also by reciprocal communications, which interested Mr. +Bradwardine, as confirming or illustrating his own favourite +anecdotes. Besides, Mr. Bradwardine loved to talk of the scenes of +his youth, whichl had been spent in camps and foreign lands, and +had many interesting particulars to tell of the generals under +whom he had served and the actions he had witnessed. + +Both parties returned to Tully-Veolan in great good-humour with +each other; Waverley desirous of studying more attentively what he +considered as a singular and interesting character, gifted with a +memory containing a curious register of ancient and modern +anecdotes; and Bradwardine disposed to regard Edward as puer (or +rather juvenis) bonae spei et magnae indolis, a youth devoid of +that petulant volatility which is impatient of, or vilipends, the +conversation and advice of his seniors, from which he predicted +great things of his future success and deportment in life. There +was no other guest except Mr. Rubrick, whose information and +discourse, as a clergyman and a scholar, harmonised very well with +that of the Baron and his guest. + +Shortly after dinner, the Baron, as if to show that his temperance +was not entirely theoretical, proposed a visit to Rose's +apartment, or, as he termed it, her troisieme etage. Waverley was +accordingly conducted through one or two of those long awkward +passages with which ancient architects studied to puzzle the +inhabitants of the houses which they planned, at the end of which +Mr. Bradwardine began to ascend, by two steps at once, a very +steep, narrow, and winding stair, leaving Mr. Rubrick and Waverley +to follow at more leisure, while he should announce their approach +to his daughter. + +After having climbed this perpendicular corkscrew until their +brains were almost giddy, they arrived in a little matted lobby, +which served as an anteroom to Rose's sanctum sanctorum, and +through which they entered her parlour. It was a small, but +pleasant apartment, opening to the south, and hung with tapestry; +adorned besides with two pictures, one of her mother, in the dress +of a shepherdess, with a bell-hoop; the other of the Baron, in his +tenth year, in a blue coat, embroidered waistcoat, laced hat, and +bag-wig, with a bow in his hand. Edward could not help smiling at +the costume, and at the odd resemblance between the round, smooth, +red-cheeked, staring visage in the portrait, and the gaunt, +bearded, hollow-eyed, swarthy features, which travelling, fatigues +of war, and advanced age, had bestowed on the original. The Baron +joined in the laugh. 'Truly,' he said,'that picture was a woman's +fantasy of my good mother's (a daughter of the Laird of +Tulliellum, Captain Waverley; I indicated the house to you when we +were on the top of the Shinnyheuch; it was burnt by the Dutch +auxiliaries brought in by the Government in 1715); I never sate +for my pourtraicture but once since that was painted, and it was +at the special and reiterated request of the Marechal Duke of +Berwick.' + +The good old gentleman did not mention what Mr. Rubrick afterwards +told Edward, that the Duke had done him this honour on account of +his being the first to mount the breach of a fort in Savoy during +the memorable campaign of 1709, and his having there defended +himself with his half-pike for nearly ten minutes before any +support reached him. To do the Baron justice, although +sufficiently prone to dwell upon, and even to exaggerate, his +family dignity and consequence, he was too much a man of real +courage ever to allude to such personal acts of merit as he had +himself manifested. + +Miss Rose now appeared from the interior room of her apartment, to +welcome her father and his friends. The little labours in which +she had been employed obviously showed a natural taste, which +required only cultivation. Her father had taught her French and +Italian, and a few of the ordinary authors in those languages +ornamented her shelves. He had endeavoured also to be her +preceptor in music; but as he began with the more abstruse +doctrines of the science, and was not perhaps master of them +himself, she had made no proficiency farther than to be able to +accompany her voice with the harpsichord; but even this was not +very common in Scotland at that period. To make amends, she sung +with great taste and feeling, and with a respect to the sense of +what she uttered that might be proposed in example to ladies of +much superior musical talent. Her natural good sense taught her +that, if, as we are assured by high authority, music be 'married +to immortal verse,' they are very often divorced by the performer +in a most shameful manner. It was perhaps owing to this +sensibility to poetry, and power of combining its expression with +those of the musical notes, that her singing gave more pleasure to +all the unlearned in music, and even to many of the learned, than +could have been communicated by a much finer voice and more +brilliant execution unguided by the same delicacy of feeling. + +A bartizan, or projecting gallery, before the windows of her +parlour, served to illustrate another of Rose's pursuits; for it +was crowded with flowers of different kinds, which she had taken +under her special protection. A projecting turret gave access to +this Gothic balcony, which commanded a most beautiful prospect. +The formal garden, with its high bounding walls, lay below, +contracted, as it seemed, to a mere parterre; while the view +extended beyond them down a wooded glen, where the small river was +sometimes visible, sometimes hidden in copse. The eye might be +delayed by a desire to rest on the rocks, which here and there +rose from the dell with massive or spiry fronts, or it might dwell +on the noble, though ruined tower, which was here beheld in all +its dignity, frowning from a promontory over the river. To the +left were seen two or three cottages, a part of the village, the +brow of the hill concealed the others. The glen, or dell, was +terminated by a sheet of water, called Loch Veolan, into which the +brook discharged itself, and which now glistened in the western +sun. The distant country seemed open and varied in surface, though +not wooded; and there was nothing to interrupt the view until the +scene was bounded by a ridge of distant and blue hills, which +formed the southern boundary of the strath or valley. To this +pleasant station Miss Bradwardine had ordered coffee. + +The view of the old tower, or fortalice, introduced some family +anecdotes and tales of Scottish chivalry, which the Baron told +with great enthusiasm. The projecting peak of an impending crag +which rose near it had acquired the name of Saint Swithin's Chair. +It was the scene of a peculiar superstition, of which Mr. Rubrick +mentioned some curious particulars, which reminded Waverley of a +rhyme quoted by Edgar in King Lear; and Rose was called upon to +sing a little legend, in which they had been interwoven by some +village poet, + + Who, noteless as the race from which he sprung, + Saved others' names, but left his own unsung. + +The sweetness of her voice, and the simple beauty of her music, +gave all the advantage which the minstrel could have desired, and +which his poetry so much wanted. I almost doubt if it can be read +with patience, destitute of these advantages, although I +conjecture the following copy to have been somewhat corrected by +Waverley, to suit the taste of those who might not relish pure +antiquity. + + Saint Swithin's Chair + + On Hallow-Mass Eve, ere ye boune ye to rest, + Ever beware that your couch be bless'd; + Sign it with cross, and sain it with bead, + Sing the Ave, and say the Creed. + + For on Hallow-Mass Eve the Night-Hag will ride, + And all her nine-fold sweeping on by her side, + Whether the wind sing lowly or loud, + Sailing through moonshine or swath'd in the cloud. + + The Lady she sat in Saint Swithin's Chair, + The dew of the night has damp'd her hair: + Her cheek was pale; but resolved and high + Was the word of her lip and the glance of her eye. + + She mutter'd the spell of Swithin bold, + When his naked foot traced the midnight wold, + When he stopp'd the Hag as she rode the night, + And bade her descend, and her promise plight. + + He that dare sit on Saint Swithin's Chair, + When the Night-Hag wings the troubled air, + Questions three, when he speaks the spell, + He may ask, and she must tell. + + The Baron has been with King Robert his liege + These three long years in battle and siege; + News are there none of his weal or his woe, + And fain the Lady his fate would know. + + She shudders and stops as the charm she speaks;-- + Is it the moody owl that shrieks? + Or is it that sound, betwixt laughter and scream, + The voice of the Demon who haunts the stream? + + The moan of the wind sunk silent and low, + And the roaring torrent had ceased to flow; + The calm was more dreadful than raging storm, + When the cold grey mist brought the ghastly Form! + +'I am sorry to disappoint the company, especially Captain +Waverley, who listens with such laudable gravity; it is but a +fragment, although I think there are other verses, describing the +return of the Baron from the wars, and how the lady was found +"clay-cold upon the grounsill ledge.'" + +'It is one of those figments,' observed Mr. Bradwardine, 'with +which the early history of distinguished families was deformed in +the times of superstition; as that of Rome, and other ancient +nations, had their prodigies, sir, the which you may read in +ancient histories, or in the little work compiled by Julius +Obsequens, and inscribed by the learned Scheffer, the editor, to +his patron, Benedictus Skytte, Baron of Dudershoff.' + +'My father has a strange defiance of the marvellous, Captain +Waverley,' observed Rose, 'and once stood firm when a whole synod +of Presbyterian divines were put to the rout by a sudden +apparition of the foul fiend.' + +Waverley looked as if desirous to hear more. + +'Must I tell my story as well as sing my song? Well--Once upon a +time there lived an old woman, called Janet Gellatley, who was +suspected to be a witch, on the infallible grounds that she was +very old, very ugly, very poor, and had two sons, one of whom was +a poet and the other a fool, which visitation, all the +neighbourhood agreed, had come upon her for the sin of witchcraft. +And she was imprisoned for a week in the steeple of the parish +church, and sparely supplied with food, and not permitted to sleep +until she herself became as much persuaded of her being a witch as +her accusers; and in this lucid and happy state of mind was +brought forth to make a clean breast, that is, to make open +confession of her sorceries, before all the Whig gentry and +ministers in the vicinity, who were no conjurors themselves. My +father went to see fair play between the witch and the clergy; for +the witch had been born on his estate. And while the witch was +confessing that the Enemy appeared, and made his addresses to her +as a handsome black man,--which, if you could have seen poor old +blear-eyed Janet, reflected little honour on Apollyon's taste,-- +and while the auditors listened with astonished ears, and the +clerk recorded with a trembling hand, she, all of a sudden, +changed the low mumbling tone with which she spoke into a shrill +yell, and exclaimed, "Look to yourselves! look to yourselves! I +see the Evil One sitting in the midst of ye." The surprise was +general, and terror and flight its immediate consequences. Happy +were those who were next the door; and many were the disasters +that befell hats, bands, cuffs, and wigs, before they could get +out of the church, where they left the obstinate prelatist to +settle matters with the witch and her admirer at his own peril or +pleasure.' + +'Risu solvuntur tabulae,' said the Baron; 'when they recovered +their panic trepidation they were too much ashamed to bring any +wakening of the process against Janet Gellatley.' [Footnote: See +Note 11] + +This anecdote led to a long discussion of + + All those idle thoughts and fantasies, + Devices, dreams, opinions unsound, + Shows, visions, soothsays, and prophecies, + And all that feigned is, as leasings, tales, and lies. + +With such conversation, and the romantic legends which it +introduced, closed our hero's second evening in the house of +Tully-Veolan. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +A DISCOVERY--WAVERLEY BECOMES DOMESTICATED AT TULLY-VEOLAN + + +The next day Edward arose betimes, and in a morning walk around +the house and its vicinity came suddenly upon a small court in +front of the dog-kennel, where his friend Davie was employed about +his four-footed charge. One quick glance of his eye recognised +Waverley, when, instantly turning his back, as if he had not +observed him, he began to sing part of an old ballad:-- + + Young men will love thee more fair and more fast; + Heard ye so merry the little bird sing? + Old men's love the longest will last, + And the throstle-cock's head is under his wing. + + The young man's wrath is like light straw on fire; + Heard ye so merry the little bird sing? + But like red-hot steel is the old man's ire, + And the throstle-cock's head is under his wing. + + The young man will brawl at the evening board; + Heard ye so merry the little bird sing? + But the old man will draw at the dawning the sword, + And the throstle-cock's head is under his wing. + +Waverley could not avoid observing that Davie laid something like +a satirical emphasis on these lines. He therefore approached, and +endeavoured, by sundry queries, to elicit from him what the +innuendo might mean; but Davie had no mind to explain, and had wit +enough to make his folly cloak his knavery. Edward could collect +nothing from him, excepting that the Laird of Balmawhapple had +gone home yesterday morning 'wi' his boots fu' o' bluid.' In the +garden, however, he met the old butler, who no longer attempted to +conceal that, having been bred in the nursery line with Sumack and +Co. of Newcastle, he sometimes wrought a turn in the flower- +borders to oblige the Laird and Miss Rose. By a series of queries, +Edward at length discovered, with a painful feeling of surprise +and shame, that Balmawhapple's submission and apology had been the +consequence of a rencontre with the Baron before his guest had +quitted his pillow, in which the younger combatant had been +disarmed and wounded in the sword arm. + +Greatly mortified at this information, Edward sought out his +friendly host, and anxiously expostulated with him upon the +injustice he had done him in anticipating his meeting with Mr. +Falconer, a circumstance which, considering his youth and the +profession of arms which he had just adopted, was capable of being +represented much to his prejudice. The Baron justified himself at +greater length than I choose to repeat. He urged that the quarrel +was common to them, and that Balmawhapple could not, by the code +of honour, evite giving satisfaction to both, which he had done in +his case by an honourable meeting, and in that of Edward by such a +palinode as rendered the use of the sword unnecessary, and which, +being made and accepted, must necessarily sopite the whole affair. + +With this excuse, or explanation, Waverley was silenced, if not +satisfied; but he could not help testifying some displeasure +against the Blessed Bear, which had given rise to the quarrel, nor +refrain from hinting that the sanctified epithet was hardly +appropriate. The Baron observed, he could not deny that 'the Bear, +though allowed by heralds as a most honourable ordinary, had, +nevertheless, somewhat fierce, churlish, and morose in his +disposition (as might be read in Archibald Simson, pastor of +Dalkeith's 'Hieroglyphica Animalium') and had thus been the type +of many quarrels and dissensions which had occurred in the house +of Bradwardine; of which,' he continued, 'I might commemorate mine +own unfortunate dissension with my third cousin by the mother's +side, Sir Hew Halbert, who was so unthinking as to deride my +family name, as if it had been QUASI BEAR-WARDEN; a most uncivil +jest, since it not only insinuated that the founder of our house +occupied such a mean situation as to be a custodier of wild +beasts, a charge which, ye must have observed, is only entrusted +to the very basest plebeians; but, moreover, seemed to infer that +our coat-armour had not been achieved by honourable actions in +war, but bestowed by way of paranomasia, or pun, upon our family +appellation,--a sort of bearing which the French call armoires +parlantes, the Latins arma cantantia, and your English authorities +canting heraldry, [Footnote: See Note 12] being indeed a species of +emblazoning more befitting canters, gaberlunzies, and such like +mendicants, whose gibberish is formed upon playing upon the word, +than the noble, honourable, and useful science of heraldry, which +assigns armorial bearings as the reward of noble and generous +actions, and not to tickle the ear with vain quodlibets, such as +are found in jestbooks.' Of his quarrel with Sir Hew he said +nothing more than that it was settled in a fitting manner. + +Having been so minute with respect to the diversions of Tully- +Veolan on the first days of Edward's arrival, for the purpose of +introducing its inmates to the reader's acquaintance, it becomes +less necessary to trace the progress of his intercourse with the +same accuracy. It is probable that a young man, accustomed to more +cheerful society, would have tired of the conversation of so +violent an assertor of the 'boast of heraldry' as the Baron; but +Edward found an agreeable variety in that of Miss Bradwardine, who +listened with eagerness to his remarks upon literature, and showed +great justness of taste in her answers. The sweetness of her +disposition had made her submit with complacency, and even +pleasure, to the course of reading prescribed by her father, +although it not only comprehended several heavy folios of history, +but certain gigantic tomes in high-church polemics. In heraldry he +was fortunately contented to give her only such a slight tincture +as might be acquired by perusal of the two folio volumes of +Nisbet. Rose was indeed the very apple of her father's eye. Her +constant liveliness, her attention to all those little observances +most gratifying to those who would never think of exacting them, +her beauty, in which he recalled the features of his beloved wife, +her unfeigned piety, and the noble generosity of her disposition, +would have justified the affection of the most doting father. + +His anxiety on her behalf did not, however, seem to extend itself +in that quarter where, according to the general opinion, it is +most efficiently displayed, in labouring, namely, to establish her +in life, either by a large dowry or a wealthy marriage. By an old +settlement, almost all the landed estates of the Baron went, after +his death, to a distant relation; and it was supposed that Miss +Bradwardine would remain but slenderly provided for, as the good +gentleman's cash matters had been too long under the exclusive +charge of Bailie Macwheeble to admit of any great expectations +from his personal succession. It is true, the said Bailie loved +his patron and his patron's daughter next (though at an +incomparable distance) to himself. He thought it was possible to +set aside the settlement on the male line, and had actually +procured an opinion to that effect (and, as he boasted, without a +fee) from an eminent Scottish counsel, under whose notice he +contrived to bring the point while consulting him regularly on +some other business. But the Baron would not listen to such a +proposal for an instant. On the contrary, he used to have a +perverse pleasure in boasting that the barony of Bradwardine was a +male fief, the first charter having been given at that early +period when women were not deemed capable to hold a feudal grant; +because, according to Les coustusmes de Normandie, c'est l'homme +ki se bast et ki conseille; or, as is yet more ungallantly +expressed by other authorities, all of whose barbarous names he +delighted to quote at full length, because a woman could not serve +the superior, or feudal lord, in war, on account of the decorum of +her sex, nor assist him with advice, because of her limited +intellect, nor keep his counsel, owing to the infirmity of her +disposition. He would triumphantly ask, how it would become a +female, and that female a Bradwardine, to be seen employed in +servitio exuendi, seu detrahendi, caligas regis post battaliam? +that is, in pulling off the king's boots after an engagement, +which was the feudal service by which he held the barony of +Bradwardine. 'No,' he said, 'beyond hesitation, procul dubio, many +females, as worthy as Rose, had been excluded, in order to make +way for my own succession, and Heaven forbid that I should do +aught that might contravene the destination of my forefathers, or +impinge upon the right of my kinsman, Malcolm Bradwardine of +Inchgrabbit, an honourable, though decayed branch of my own +family.' + +The Bailie, as prime minister, having received this decisive +communication from his sovereign, durst not press his own opinion +any farther, but contented himself with deploring, on all suitable +occasions, to Saunderson, the minister of the interior, the +laird's self-willedness, and with laying plans for uniting Rose +with the young Laird of Balmawhapple, who had a fine estate, only +moderately burdened, and was a faultless young gentleman, being as +sober as a saint--if you keep brandy from him and him from brandy +--and who, in brief, had no imperfection but that of keeping light +company at a time; such as Jinker, the horse-couper, and Gibby +Gaethroughwi't, the piper o' Cupar; 'o' whilk follies, Mr. +Saunderson, he'll mend, he'll mend,' pronounced the Bailie. + +'Like sour ale in simmer,' added Davie Gellatley, who happened to +be nearer the conclave than they were aware of. + +Miss Bradwardine, such as we have described her, with all the +simplicity and curiosity of a recluse, attached herself to the +opportunities of increasing her store of literature which Edward's +visit afforded her. He sent for some of his books from his +quarters, and they opened to her sources of delight of which she +had hitherto had no idea. The best English poets, of every +description, and other works on belles-lettres, made a part of +this precious cargo. Her music, even her flowers, were neglected, +and Saunders not only mourned over, but began to mutiny against, +the labour for which he now scarce received thanks. These new +pleasures became gradually enhanced by sharing them with one of a +kindred taste. Edward's readiness to comment, to recite, to +explain difficult passages, rendered his assistance invaluable; +and the wild romance of his spirit delighted a character too young +and inexperienced to observe its deficiencies. Upon subjects which +interested him, and when quite at ease, he possessed that flow of +natural, and somewhat florid eloquence, which has been supposed as +powerful even as figure, fashion, fame, or fortune, in winning the +female heart. There was, therefore, an increasing danger in this +constant intercourse to poor Rose's peace of mind, which was the +more imminent as her father was greatly too much abstracted in his +studies, and wrapped up in his own dignity, to dream of his +daughter's incurring it. The daughters of the house of Bradwardine +were, in his opinion, like those of the house of Bourbon or +Austria, placed high above the clouds of passion which might +obfuscate the intellects of meaner females; they moved in another +sphere, were governed by other feelings, and amenable to other +rules than those of idle and fantastic affection. In short, he +shut his eyes so resolutely to the natural consequences of +Edward's intimacy with Miss Bradwardine, that the whole +neighbourhood concluded that he had opened them to the advantages +of a match between his daughter and the wealthy young Englishman, +and pronounced him much less a fool than he had generally shown +himself in cases where his own interest was concerned. + +If the Baron, however, had really meditated such an alliance, the +indifference of Waverley would have been an insuperable bar to his +project. Our hero, since mixing more freely with the world, had +learned to think with great shame and confusion upon his mental +legend of Saint Cecilia, and the vexation of these reflections was +likely, for some time at least, to counterbalance the natural +susceptibility of his disposition. Besides, Rose Bradwardine, +beautiful and amiable as we have described her, had not precisely +the sort of beauty or merit which captivates a romantic +imagination in early youth. She was too frank, too confiding, too +kind; amiable qualities, undoubtedly, but destructive of the +marvellous, with which a youth of imagination delights to dress +the empress of his affections. Was it possible to bow, to tremble, +and to adore, before the timid, yet playful little girl, who now +asked Edward to mend her pen, now to construe a stanza in Tasso, +and now how to spell a very--very long word in her version of it? +All these incidents have their fascination on the mind at a +certain period of life, but not when a youth is entering it, and +rather looking out for some object whose affection may dignify him +in his own eyes than stooping to one who looks up to him for such +distinction. Hence, though there can be no rule in so capricious a +passion, early love is frequently ambitious in choosing its +object; or, which comes to the same, selects her (as in the case +of Saint Cecilia aforesaid) from a situation that gives fair scope +for le beau ideal, which the reality of intimate and familiar life +rather tends to limit and impair. I knew a very accomplished and +sensible young man cured of a violent passion for a pretty woman, +whose talents were not equal to her face and figure, by being +permitted to bear her company for a whole afternoon. Thus, it is +certain, that had Edward enjoyed such an opportunity of conversing +with Miss Stubbs, Aunt Rachel's precaution would have been +unnecessary, for he would as soon have fallen in love with the +dairy-maid. And although Miss Bradwardine was a very different +character, it seems probable that the very intimacy of their +intercourse prevented his feeling for her other sentiments than +those of a brother for an amiable and accomplished sister; while +the sentiments of poor Rose were gradually, and without her being +conscious, assuming a shade of warmer affection. + +I ought to have said that Edward, when he sent to Dundee for the +books before mentioned, had applied for, and received permission, +extending his leave of absence. But the letter of his commanding +officer contained a friendly recommendation to him not to spend +his time exclusively with persons who, estimable as they might be +in a general sense, could not be supposed well affected to a +government which they declined to acknowledge by taking the oath +of allegiance. The letter further insinuated, though with great +delicacy, that although some family connections might be supposed +to render it necessary for Captain Waverley to communicate with +gentlemen who were in this unpleasant state of suspicion, yet his +father's situation and wishes ought to prevent his prolonging +those attentions into exclusive intimacy. And it was intimated, +that, while his political principles were endangered by +communicating with laymen of this description, he might also +receive erroneous impressions in religion from the prelatic +clergy, who so perversely laboured to set up the royal prerogative +in things sacred. + +This last insinuation probably induced Waverley to set both down +to the prejudices of his commanding officer. He was sensible that +Mr. Bradwardine had acted with the most scrupulous delicacy, in +never entering upon any discussion that had the most remote +tendency to bias his mind in political opinions, although he was +himself not only a decided partisan of the exiled family, but had +been trusted at different times with important commissions for +their service. Sensible, therefore, that there was no risk of his +being perverted from his allegiance, Edward felt as if he should +do his uncle's old friend injustice in removing from a house where +he gave and received pleasure and amusement, merely to gratify a +prejudiced and ill-judged suspicion. He therefore wrote a very +general answer, assuring his commanding officer that his loyalty +was not in the most distant danger of contamination, and continued +an honoured guest and inmate of the house of Tully-Veolan. + + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A CREAGH, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES + + +When Edward had been a guest at Tully-Veolan nearly six weeks, he +descried, one morning, as he took his usual walk before the +breakfast hour, signs of uncommon perturbation in the family. Four +bare-legged dairy-maids, with each an empty milk-pail in her hand, +ran about with frantic gestures, and uttering loud exclamations of +surprise, grief, and resentment. From their appearance, a pagan +might have conceived them a detachment of the celebrated Belides, +just come from their baling penance. As nothing was to be got from +this distracted chorus, excepting 'Lord guide us!' and 'Eh sirs!' +ejaculations which threw no light upon the cause of their dismay, +Waverley repaired to the fore-court, as it was called, where he +beheld Bailie Macwheeble cantering his white pony down the avenue +with all the speed it could muster. He had arrived, it would seem, +upon a hasty summons, and was followed by half a score of peasants +from the village who had no great difficulty in keeping pace with +him. + +The Bailie, greatly too busy and too important to enter into +explanations with Edward, summoned forth Mr. Saunderson, who +appeared with a countenance in which dismay was mingled with +solemnity, and they immediately entered into close conference. +Davie Gellatley was also seen in the group, idle as Diogenes at +Sinope while his countrymen were preparing for a siege. His +spirits always rose with anything, good or bad, which occasioned +tumult, and he continued frisking, hopping, dancing, and singing +the burden of an old ballad-- + + 'Our gear's a' gane,' + +until, happening to pass too near the Bailie, he received an +admonitory hint from his horse-whip, which converted his songs +into lamentation. + +Passing from thence towards the garden, Waverley beheld the Baron +in person, measuring and re-measuring, with swift and tremendous +strides, the length of the terrace; his countenance clouded with +offended pride and indignation, and the whole of his demeanour +such as seemed to indicate, that any inquiry concerning the cause +of his discomposure would give pain at least, if not offence. +Waverley therefore glided into the house, without addressing him, +and took his way to the breakfast-parlour, where he found his +young friend Rose, who, though she neither exhibited the +resentment of her father, the turbid importance of Bailie +Macwheeble, nor the despair of the handmaidens, seemed vexed and +thoughtful. A single word explained the mystery. 'Your breakfast +will be a disturbed one, Captain Waverley. A party of Caterans +have come down upon us last night, and have driven off all our +milch cows.' + +'A party of Caterans?' + +'Yes; robbers from the neighbouring Highlands. We used to be quite +free from them while we paid blackmail to Fergus Mac-Ivor Vich Ian +Vohr; but my father thought it unworthy of his rank and birth to +pay it any longer, and so this disaster has happened. It is not +the value of the cattle, Captain Waverley, that vexes me; but my +father is so much hurt at the affront, and is so bold and hot, +that I fear he will try to recover them by the strong hand; and if +he is not hurt himself, he will hurt some of these wild people, +and then there will be no peace between them and us perhaps for +our life-time; and we cannot defend ourselves as in old times, for +the government have taken all our arms; and my dear father is so +rash--O what will become of us!'--Here poor Rose lost heart +altogether, and burst into a flood of tears. + +The Baron entered at this moment, and rebuked her with more +asperity than Waverley had ever heard him use to any one. 'Was it +not a shame,' he said, 'that she should exhibit herself before any +gentleman in such a light, as if she shed tears for a drove of +horned nolt and milch kine, like the daughter of a Cheshire +yeoman!--Captain Waverley, I must request your favourable +construction of her grief, which may, or ought to proceed, solely +from seeing her father's estate exposed to spulzie and depredation +from common thieves and sorners, while we are not allowed to keep +half a score of muskets, whether for defence or rescue.' + +Bailie Macwheeble entered immediately afterwards, and by his +report of arms and ammunition confirmed this statement, informing +the Baron, in a melancholy voice, that though the people would +certainly obey his honour's orders, yet there was no chance of +their following the gear to ony guid purpose, in respect there +were only his honour's body servants who had swords and pistols, +and the depredators were twelve Highlanders, completely armed +after the manner of their country. Having delivered this doleful +annunciation, he assumed a posture of silent dejection, shaking +his head slowly with the motion of a pendulum when it is ceasing +to vibrate, and then remained stationary, his body stooping at a +more acute angle than usual, and the latter part of his person +projecting in proportion. + +The Baron, meanwhile, paced the room in silent indignation, and at +length fixing his eye upon an old portrait, whose person was clad +in armour, and whose features glared grimly out of a huge bush of +hair, part of which descended from his head to his shoulders, and +part from his chin and upper-lip to his breast-plate,--'That +gentleman, Captain Waverley, my grandsire,' he said, 'with two +hundred horse,--whom he levied within his own bounds, discomfited +and put to the rout more than five hundred of these Highland +reivers, who have been ever lapis offensionis et petra scandali, a +stumbling-block and a rock of offence, to the Lowland vicinage--he +discomfited them, I say, when they had the temerity to descend to +harry this country, in the time of the civil dissensions, in the +year of grace sixteen hundred forty and two. And now, sir, I, his +grandson, am thus used at such unworthy hands.' + +Here there was an awful pause; after which all the company, as is +usual in cases of difficulty, began to give separate and +inconsistent counsel. Alexander ab Alexandro proposed they should +send some one to compound with the Caterans, who would readily, he +said, give up their prey for a dollar a head. The Bailie opined +that this transaction would amount to theft-boot, or composition +of felony; and he recommended that some canny hand should be sent +up to the glens to make the best bargain he could, as it were for +himself, so that the Laird might not be seen in such a +transaction. Edward proposed to send off to the nearest garrison +for a party of soldiers and a magistrate's warrant; and Rose, as +far as she dared, endeavoured to insinuate the course of paying +the arrears of tribute money to Fergus Mac-Ivor Vich Ian Vohr, +who, they all knew, could easily procure restoration of the +cattle, if he were properly propitiated. + +None of these proposals met the Baron's approbation. The idea of +composition, direct or implied, was absolutely ignominious; that +of Waverley only showed that he did not understand the state of +the country, and of the political parties which divided it; and, +standing matters as they did with Fergus Mac-Ivor Vich Ian Vohr, +the Baron would make no concession to him, were it, he said, 'to +procure restitution in integrum of every stirk and stot that the +chief, his forefathers, and his clan, had stolen since the days of +Malcolm Canmore.' + +In fact his voice was still for war, and he proposed to send +expresses to Balmawhapple, Killancureit, Tulliellum, and other +lairds, who were exposed to similar depredations, inviting them to +join in the pursuit; 'and then, sir, shall these nebulones +nequissimi, as Leslaeus calls them, be brought to the fate of +their predecessor Cacus, + + "Elisos oculos, et siccum sanguine guttur."' + +The Bailie, who by no means relished these warlike counsels, here +pulled forth an immense watch, of the colour, and nearly of the +size, of a pewter warming-pan, and observed it was now past noon, +and that the Caterans had been seen in the pass of Ballybrough +soon after sunrise; so that, before the allied forces could +assemble, they and their prey would be far beyond the reach of the +most active pursuit, and sheltered in those pathless deserts, +where it was neither advisable to follow, nor indeed possible to +trace them. + +This proposition was undeniable. The council therefore broke up +without coming to any conclusion, as has occurred to councils of +more importance; only it was determined that the Bailie should +send his own three milkcows down to the mains for the use of the +Baron's family, and brew small ale, as a substitute for milk, in +his own. To this arrangement, which was suggested by Saunderson, +the Bailie readily assented, both from habitual deference to the +family, and an internal consciousness that his courtesy would, in +some mode or other, be repaid tenfold. + +The Baron having also retired to give some necessary directions, +Waverley seized the opportunity to ask, whether this Fergus, with +the unpronounceable name, was the chief thief-taker of the +district? + +'Thief-taker!' answered Rose, laughing; 'he is a gentleman of +great honour and consequence, the chieftain of an independent +branch of a powerful Highland clan, and is much respected, both +for his own power and that of his kith, kin, and allies.' + +'And what has he to do with the thieves, then? Is he a magistrate, +or in the commission of the peace?' asked Waverley. + +'The commission of war rather, if there be such a thing,' said +Rose; 'for he is a very unquiet neighbour to his unfriends, and +keeps a greater following on foot than many that have thrice his +estate. As to his connection with the thieves, that I cannot well +explain; but the boldest of them will never steal a hoof from any +one that pays black-mail to Vich lan Vohr.' + +'And what is black-mail?' + +'A sort of protection-money that Low-Country gentlemen and +heritors, lying near the Highlands, pay to some Highland chief, +that he may neither do them harm himself, nor suffer it to be done +to them by others; and then if your cattle are stolen, you have +only to send him word, and he will recover them; or it may be, he +will drive away cows from some distant place, where he has a +quarrel, and give them to you to make up your loss.' [Footnote: +See note 13.] + +'And is this sort of Highland Jonathan Wild admitted into society, +and called a gentleman?' + +'So much so,' said Rose, 'that the quarrel between my father and +Fergus Mac-Ivor began at a county meeting, where he wanted to take +precedence of all the Lowland gentlemen then present, only my +father would not suffer it. And then he upbraided my father that +he was under his banner, and paid him tribute; and my father was +in a towering passion, for Bailie Macwheeble, who manages such +things his own way, had contrived to keep this black-mail a secret +from him, and passed it in his account for cess-money. And they +would have fought; but Fergus Mac-Ivor said, very gallantly, he +would never raise his hand against a grey head that was so much +respected as my father's.--O I wish, I wish they had continued +friends!' + +'And did you ever see this Mr. Mac-Ivor, if that be his name, Miss +Bradwardine?' + +'No, that is not his name; and he would consider MASTER as a sort +of affront, only that you are an Englishman, and know no better. +But the Lowlanders call him, like other gentlemen, by the name of +his estate, Glennaquoich; and the Highlanders call him Vich Ian +Vohr, that is, the son of John the Great; and we upon the braes +here call him by both names indifferently.' + +'I am afraid I shall never bring my English tongue to call him by +either one or other.' + +'But he is a very polite, handsome man,' continued Rose; 'and his +sister Flora is one of the most beautiful and accomplished young +ladies in this country; she was bred in a convent in France, and +was a great friend of mine before this unhappy dispute. Dear +Captain Waverley, try your influence with my father to make +matters up. I am sure this is but the beginning of our troubles; +for Tully-Veolan has never been a safe or quiet residence when we +have been at feud with the Highlanders. When I was a girl about +ten, there was a skirmish fought between a party of twenty of them +and my father and his servants behind the mains; and the bullets +broke several panes in the north windows, they were so near. Three +of the Highlanders were killed, and they brought them in wrapped +in their plaids, and laid them on the stone floor of the hall; and +next morning, their wives and daughters came, clapping their +hands, and crying the coronach, and shrieking, and carried away +the dead bodies, with the pipes playing before them. I could not +sleep for six weeks without starting and thinking I heard these +terrible cries, and saw the bodies lying on the steps, all stiff +and swathed up in their bloody tartans. But since that time there +came a party from the garrison at Stirling, with a warrant from +the Lord Justice Clerk, or some such great man, and took away all +our arms; and now, how are we to protect ourselves if they come +down in any strength?' + +Waverley could not help starting at a story which bore so much +resemblance to one of his own day-dreams. Here was a girl scarce +seventeen, the gentlest of her sex, both in temper and appearance, +who had witnessed with her own eyes such a scene as he had used to +conjure up in his imagination, as only occurring in ancient times, +and spoke of it coolly, as one very likely to recur. He felt at +once the impulse of curiosity, and that slight sense of danger +which only serves to heighten its interest. He might have said +with Malvolio, '"I do not now fool myself, to let imagination jade +me!" I am actually in the land of military and romantic +adventures, and it only remains to be seen what will be my own +share in them.' + +The whole circumstances now detailed concerning the state of the +country seemed equally novel and extraordinary. He had indeed +often heard of Highland thieves, but had no idea of the systematic +mode in which their depredations were conducted; and that the +practice was connived at, and even encouraged, by many of the +Highland chieftains, who not only found the creaghs, or forays, +useful for the purpose of training individuals of their clan to +the practice of arms, but also of maintaining a wholesome terror +among their Lowland neighbours, and levying, as we have seen, a +tribute from them, under colour of protection-money. + +Bailie Macwheeble, who soon afterwards entered, expatiated still +more at length upon the same topic. This honest gentleman's +conversation was so formed upon his professional practice, that +Davie Gellatley once said his discourse was like a 'charge of +horning.' He assured our hero, that 'from the maist ancient times +of record, the lawless thieves, limmers, and broken men of the +Highlands, had been in fellowship together by reason of their +surnames, for the committing of divers thefts, reifs, and herships +upon the honest men of the Low Country, when they not only +intromitted with their whole goods and gear, corn, cattle, horse, +nolt, sheep, outsight and insight plenishing, at their wicked +pleasure, but moreover made prisoners, ransomed them, or concussed +them into giving borrows (pledges) to enter into captivity again; +--all which was directly prohibited in divers parts of the Statute +Book, both by the act one thousand five hundred and sixty-seven, +and various others; the whilk statutes, with all that had followed +and might follow thereupon, were shamefully broken and vilipended +by the said sorners, limmers, and broken men, associated into +fellowships, for the aforesaid purposes of theft, stouthreef, +fire-raising, murther, raptus mulierum, or forcible abduction of +women, and such like as aforesaid.' + +It seemed like a dream to Waverley that these deeds of violence +should be familiar to men's minds, and currently talked of as +falling within the common order of things, and happening daily in +the immediate vicinity, without his having crossed the seas, and +while he was yet in the otherwise well-ordered island of Great +Britain. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +AN UNEXPECTED ALLY APPEARS + + +The Baron returned at the dinner-hour, and had in a great measure +recovered his composure and good-humour. He not only confirmed +the stories which Edward had heard from Rose and Bailie +Macwheeble, but added many anecdotes from his own experience, +concerning the state of the Highlands and their inhabitants. The +chiefs he pronounced to be, in general, gentlemen of great honour +and high pedigree, whose word was accounted as a law by all those +of their own sept, or clan. 'It did not indeed,' he said, 'become +them, as had occurred in late instances, to propone their +prosapia, a lineage which rested for the most part on the vain and +fond rhymes of their seannachies or bhairds, as aequiponderate +with the evidence of ancient charters and royal grants of +antiquity, conferred upon distinguished houses in the Low Country +by divers Scottish monarchs; nevertheless, such was their +outrecuidance and presumption, as to undervalue those who +possessed such evidents, as if they held their lands in a sheep's +skin.' + +This, by the way, pretty well explained the cause of quarrel +between the Baron and his Highland ally. But he went on to state +so many curious particulars concerning the manners, customs, and +habits of this patriarchal race that Edward's curiosity became +highly interested, and he inquired whether it was possible to make +with safety an excursion into the neighbouring Highlands, whose +dusky barrier of mountains had already excited his wish to +penetrate beyond them. The Baron assured his guest that nothing +would be more easy, providing this quarrel were first made up, +since he could himself give him letters to many of the +distinguished chiefs, who would receive him with the utmost +courtesy and hospitality. + +While they were on this topic, the door suddenly opened, and, +ushered by Saunders Saunderson, a Highlander, fully armed and +equipped, entered the apartment. Had it not been that Saunders +acted the part of master of the ceremonies to this martial +apparition, without appearing to deviate from his usual composure, +and that neither Mr. Bradwardine nor Rose exhibited any emotion, +Edward would certainly have thought the intrusion hostile. As it +was, he started at the sight of what he had not yet happened to +see, a mountaineer in his full national costume. The individual +Gael was a stout, dark, young man, of low stature, the ample folds +of whose plaid added to the appearance of strength which his +person exhibited. The short kilt, or petticoat, showed his sinewy +and clean-made limbs; the goatskin purse, flanked by the usual +defences, a dirk and steel-wrought pistol, hung before him; his +bonnet had a short feather, which indicated his claim to be +treated as a duinhe-wassel, or sort of gentleman; a broadsword +dangled by his side, a target hung upon his shoulder, and a long +Spanish fowling-piece occupied one of his hands. With the other +hand he pulled off his bonnet, and the Baron, who well knew their +customs, and the proper mode of addressing them, immediately said, +with an air of dignity, but without rising, and much, as Edward +thought, in the manner of a prince receiving an embassy, 'Welcome, +Evan Dhu Maccombich; what news from Fergus Mac-Ivor Vich lan +Vohr?' + +'Fergus Mac-Ivor Vich lan Vohr,' said the ambassador, in good +English, 'greets you well, Baron of Bradwardine and Tully-Veolan, +and is sorry there has been a thick cloud interposed between you +and him, which has kept you from seeing and considering the +friendship and alliances that have been between your houses and +forebears of old; and he prays you that the cloud may pass away, +and that things may be as they have been heretofore between the +clan Ivor and the house of Bradwardine, when there was an egg +between them for a flint and a knife for a sword. And he expects +you will also say, you are sorry for the cloud, and no man shall +hereafter ask whether it descended from the bill to the valley, or +rose from the valley to the hill; for they never struck with the +scabbard who did not receive with the sword, and woe to him who +would lose his friend for the stormy cloud of a spring morning.' + +To this the Baron of Bradwardine answered with suitable dignity, +that he knew the chief of Clan Ivor to be a well-wisher to the +King, and he was sorry there should have been a cloud between him +and any gentleman of such sound principles, 'for when folks are +banding together, feeble is he who hath no brother.' + +This appearing perfectly satisfactory, that the peace between +these august persons might be duly solemnised, the Baron ordered a +stoup of usquebaugh, and, filling a glass, drank to the health and +prosperity of Mac-Ivor of Glennaquoich; upon which the Celtic +ambassador, to requite his politeness, turned down a mighty bumper +of the same generous liquor, seasoned with his good wishes to the +house of Bradwardine. + +Having thus ratified the preliminaries of the general treaty of +pacification, the envoy retired to adjust with Mr. Macwheeble some +subordinate articles with which it was not thought necessary to +trouble the Baron. These probably referred to the discontinuance +of the subsidy, and apparently the Bailie found means to satisfy +their ally, without suffering his master to suppose that his +dignity was compromised. At least, it is certain, that after the +plenipotentiaries had drunk a bottle of brandy in single drams, +which seemed to have no more effect upon such seasoned vessels +than if it had been poured upon the two bears at the top of the +avenue, Evan Dhu Maccombich, having possessed himself of all the +information which he could procure respecting the robbery of the +preceding night, declared his intention to set off immediately in +pursuit of the cattle, which he pronounced to be 'no that far off; +they have broken the bone,' he observed, 'but they have had no +time to suck the marrow.' + +Our hero, who had attended Evan Dhu during his perquisitions, was +much struck with the ingenuity which he displayed in collecting +information, and the precise and pointed conclusions which he drew +from it. Evan Dhu, on his part, was obviously flattered with the +attention of Waverley, the interest he seemed to take in his +inquiries, and his curiosity about the customs and scenery of the +Highlands. Without much ceremony he invited Edward to accompany +him on a short walk of ten or fifteen miles into the mountains, +and see the place where the cattle were conveyed to; adding, 'If +it be as I suppose, you never saw such a place in your life, nor +ever will, unless you go with me or the like of me.' + +Our hero, feeling his curiosity considerably excited by the idea +of visiting the den of a Highland Cacus, took, however, the +precaution to inquire if his guide might be trusted. He was +assured that the invitation would on no account have been given +had there been the least danger, and that all he had to apprehend +was a little fatigue; and, as Evan proposed he should pass a day +at his Chieftain's house in returning, where he would be sure of +good accommodation and an excellent welcome, there seemed nothing +very formidable in the task he undertook. Rose, indeed, turned +pale when she heard of it; but her father, who loved the spirited +curiosity of his young friend, did not attempt to damp it by an +alarm of danger which really did not exist, and a knapsack, with a +few necessaries, being bound on the shoulders of a sort of deputy +gamekeeper, our hero set forth with a fowling-piece in his hand, +accompanied by his new friend Evan Dhu, and followed by the +gamekeeper aforesaid, and by two wild Highlanders, the attendants +of Evan, one of whom had upon his shoulder a hatchet at the end of +a pole, called a Lochaber-axe, [Footnote: See Note 14] and the +other a long ducking-gun. Evan, upon Edward's inquiry, gave him to +understand that this martial escort was by no means necessary as a +guard, but merely, as he said, drawing up and adjusting his plaid +with an air of dignity, that he might appear decently at Tully- +Veolan, and as Vich Ian Vohr's foster-brother ought to do. 'Ah!' +said he, 'if you Saxon duinhe-wassel (English gentleman) saw but +the Chief with his tail on!' + +'With his tail on?' echoed Edward in some surprise. + +'Yes--that is, with all his usual followers, when he visits those +of the same rank. There is,' he continued, stopping and drawing +himself proudly up, while he counted upon his fingers the several +officers of his chief's retinue; 'there is his hanchman, or right- +hand man; then his bard, or poet; then his bladier, or orator, to +make harangues to the great folks whom he visits; then his gilly- +more, or armour-bearer, to carry his sword and target, and his +gun; then his gilly-casfliuch, who carries him on his back through +the sikes and brooks; then his gilly-comstrian, to lead his horse +by the bridle in steep and difficult paths; then his gilly- +trushharnish, to carry his knapsack; and the piper and the piper's +man, and it may be a dozen young lads beside, that have no +business, but are just boys of the belt, to follow the Laird and +do his honour's bidding.' + +'And does your Chief regularly maintain all these men?' demanded +Waverley. + +'All these?' replied Evan; 'ay, and many a fair head beside, that +would not ken where to lay itself, but for the mickle barn at +Glennaquoich.' + +With similar tales of the grandeur of the Chief in peace and war, +Evan Dhu beguiled the way till they approached more closely those +huge mountains which Edward had hitherto only seen at a distance. +It was towards evening as they entered one of the tremendous +passes which afford communication between the high and low +country; the path, which was extremely steep and rugged, winded up +a chasm between two tremendous rocks, following the passage which +a foaming stream, that brawled far below, appeared to have worn +for itself in the course of ages. A few slanting beams of the sun, +which was now setting, reached the water in its darksome bed, and +showed it partially, chafed by a hundred rocks and broken by a +hundred falls. The descent from the path to the stream was a mere +precipice, with here and there a projecting fragment of granite, +or a scathed tree, which had warped its twisted roots into the +fissures of the rock. On the right hand, the mountain rose above +the path with almost equal inaccessibility; but the hill on the +opposite side displayed a shroud of copsewood, with which some +pines were intermingled. + +'This,' said Evan, 'is the pass of Bally-Brough, which was kept in +former times by ten of the clan Donnochie against a hundred of the +Low-Country carles. The graves of the slain are still to be seen +in that little corrie, or bottom, on the opposite side of the +burn; if your eyes are good, you may see the green specks among +the heather. See, there is an earn, which you Southrons call an +eagle. You have no such birds as that in England. He is going to +fetch his supper from the Laird of Bradwardine's braes, but I 'll +send a slug after him.' + +He fired his piece accordingly, but missed the superb monarch of +the feathered tribes, who, without noticing the attempt to annoy +him, continued his majestic flight to the southward. A thousand +birds of prey, hawks, kites, carrion-crows, and ravens, disturbed +from the lodgings which they had just taken up for the evening, +rose at the report of the gun, and mingled their hoarse and +discordant notes with the echoes which replied to it, and with the +roar of the mountain cataracts. Evan, a little disconcerted at +having missed his mark, when he meant to have displayed peculiar +dexterity, covered his confusion by whistling part of a pibroch as +he reloaded his piece, and proceeded in silence up the pass. + +It issued in a narrow glen, between two mountains, both very lofty +and covered with heath. The brook continued to be their companion, +and they advanced up its mazes, crossing them now and then, on +which occasions Evan Dhu uniformly offered the assistance of his +attendants to carry over Edward; but our hero, who had been always +a tolerable pedestrian, declined the accommodation, and obviously +rose in his guide's opinion, by showing that he did not fear +wetting his feet. Indeed he was anxious, so far as he could +without affectation, to remove the opinion which Evan seemed to +entertain of the effeminacy of the Lowlanders, and particularly of +the English. + +Through the gorge of this glen they found access to a black bog, +of tremendous extent, full of large pit-holes, which they +traversed with great difficulty and some danger, by tracks which +no one but a Highlander could have followed. The path itself, or +rather the portion of more solid ground on which the travellers +half walked, half waded, was rough, broken, and in many places +quaggy and unsound. Sometimes the ground was so completely unsafe +that it was necessary to spring from one hillock to another, the +space between being incapable of bearing the human weight. This +was an easy matter to the Highlanders, who wore thin-soled brogues +fit for the purpose, and moved with a peculiar springing step; but +Edward began to find the exercise, to which he was unaccustomed, +more fatiguing than he expected. The lingering twilight served to +show them through this Serbonian bog, but deserted them almost +totally at the bottom of a steep and very stony hill, which it was +the travellers' next toilsome task to ascend. The night, however, +was pleasant, and not dark; and Waverley, calling up mental energy +to support personal fatigue, held on his march gallantly, though +envying in his heart his Highland attendants, who continued, +without a symptom of abated vigour, the rapid and swinging pace, +or rather trot, which, according to his computation, had already +brought them fifteen miles upon their journey. + +After crossing this mountain and descending on the other side +towards a thick wood, Evan Dhu held some conference with his +Highland attendants, in consequence of which Edward's baggage was +shifted from the shoulders of the gamekeeper to those of one of +the gillies, and the former was sent off with the other +mountaineer in a direction different from that of the three +remaining travellers. On asking the meaning of this separation, +Waverley was told that the Lowlander must go to a hamlet about +three miles off for the night; for unless it was some very +particular friend, Donald Bean Lean, the worthy person whom they +supposed to be possessed of the cattle, did not much approve of +strangers approaching his retreat. This seemed reasonable, and +silenced a qualm of suspicion which came across Edward's mind when +he saw himself, at such a place and such an hour, deprived of his +only Lowland companion. And Evan immediately afterwards +added,'that indeed he himself had better get forward, and announce +their approach to Donald Bean Lean, as the arrival of a sidier roy +(red soldier) might otherwise be a disagreeable surprise.' And +without waiting for an answer, in jockey phrase, he trotted out, +and putting himself to a very round pace, was out of sight in an +instant. + +Waverley was now left to his own meditations, for his attendant +with the battle-axe spoke very little English. They were +traversing a thick, and, as it seemed, an endless wood of pines, +and consequently the path was altogether indiscernible in the +murky darkness which surrounded them. The Highlander, however, +seemed to trace it by instinct, without the hesitation of a +moment, and Edward followed his footsteps as close as he could. + +After journeying a considerable time in silence, he could not help +asking, 'Was it far to the end of their journey?' + +'Ta cove was tree, four mile; but as duinhe-wassel was a wee +taiglit, Donald could, tat is, might--would--should send ta +curragh.' + +This conveyed no information. The curragh which was promised might +be a man, a horse, a cart, or chaise; and no more could be got +from the man with the battle-axe but a repetition of 'Aich ay! ta +curragh.' + +But in a short time Edward began to conceive his meaning, when, +issuing from the wood, he found himself on the banks of a large +river or lake, where his conductor gave him to understand they +must sit down for a little while. The moon, which now began to +rise, showed obscurely the expanse of water which spread before +them, and the shapeless and indistinct forms of mountains with +which it seemed to be surrounded. The cool and yet mild air of the +summer night refreshed Waverley after his rapid and toilsome walk; +and the perfume which it wafted from the birch trees, [Footnote: +It is not the weeping birch, the most common species in the +Highlands, but the woolly-leaved Lowland birch, that is +distinguished by this fragrance.] bathed in the evening dew, was +exquisitely fragrant. + +He had now time to give himself up to the full romance of his +situation. Here he sate on the banks of an unknown lake, under the +guidance of a wild native, whose language was unknown to him, on a +visit to the den of some renowned outlaw, a second Robin Hood, +perhaps, or Adam o' Gordon, and that at deep midnight, through +scenes of difficulty and toil, separated from his attendant, left +by his guide. What a variety of incidents for the exercise of a +romantic imagination, and all enhanced by the solemn feeling of +uncertainty at least, if not of danger! The only circumstance +which assorted ill with the rest was the cause of his journey--the +Baron's milk-cows! this degrading incident he kept in the +background. + +While wrapt in these dreams of imagination, his companion gently +touched him, and, pointing in a direction nearly straight across +the lake, said, 'Yon's ta cove.' A small point of light was seen +to twinkle in the direction in which he pointed, and, gradually +increasing in size and lustre, seemed to flicker like a meteor +upon the verge of the horizon. While Edward watched this +phenomenon, the distant dash of oars was heard. The measured sound +approached near and more near, and presently a loud whistle was +heard in the same direction. His friend with the battle-axe +immediately whistled clear and shrill, in reply to the signal, and +a boat, manned with four or five Highlanders, pushed for a little +inlet, near which Edward was sitting. He advanced to meet them +with his attendant, was immediately assisted into the boat by the +officious attention of two stout mountaineers, and had no sooner +seated himself than they resumed their oars, and began to row +across the lake with great rapidity. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE HOLD OF A HIGHLAND ROBBER + + +The party preserved silence, interrupted only by the monotonous +and murmured chant of a Gaelic song, sung in a kind of low +recitative by the steersman, and by the dash of the oars, which +the notes seemed to regulate, as they dipped to them in cadence. +The light, which they now approached more nearly, assumed a +broader, redder and more irregular splendour. It appeared plainly +to be a large fire, but whether kindled upon an island or the +mainland Edward could not determine. As he saw it, the red glaring +orb seemed to rest on the very surface of the lake itself, and +resembled the fiery vehicle in which the Evil Genius of an +Oriental tale traverses land and sea. They approached nearer, and +the light of the fire sufficed to show that it was kindled at the +bottom of a huge dark crag or rock, rising abruptly from the very +edge of the water; its front, changed by the reflection to dusky +red, formed a strange and even awful contrast to the banks around, +which were from time to time faintly and partially illuminated by +pallid moonlight. + +The boat now neared the shore, and Edward could discover that this +large fire, amply supplied with branches of pine-wood by two +figures, who, in the red reflection of its light, appeared like +demons, was kindled in the jaws of a lofty cavern, into which an +inlet from the lake seemed to advance; and he conjectured, which +was indeed true, that the fire had been lighted as a beacon to the +boatmen on their return. They rowed right for the mouth of the +cave, and then, shifting their oars, permitted the boat to enter +in obedience to the impulse which it had received. The skiff +passed the little point or platform of rock on which the fire was +blazing, and running about two boats' lengths farther, stopped +where the cavern (for it was already arched overhead) ascended +from the water by five or six broad ledges of rock, so easy and +regular that they might be termed natural steps. At this moment a +quantity of water was suddenly flung upon the fire, which sunk +with a hissing noise, and with it disappeared the light it had +hitherto afforded. Four or five active arms lifted Waverley out of +the boat, placed him on his feet, and almost carried him into the +recesses of the cave. He made a few paces in darkness, guided in +this manner; and advancing towards a hum of voices, which seemed +to sound from the centre of the rock, at an acute turn Donald Bean +Lean and his whole establishment were before his eyes. + +The interior of the cave, which here rose very high, was +illuminated by torches made of pine-tree, which emitted a bright +and bickering light, attended by a strong though not unpleasant +odour. Their light was assisted by the red glare of a large +charcoal fire, round which were seated five or six armed +Highlanders, while others were indistinctly seen couched on their +plaids in the more remote recesses of the cavern. In one large +aperture, which the robber facetiously called his SPENCE (or +pantry), there hung by the heels the carcasses of a sheep, or ewe, +and two cows lately slaughtered. The principal inhabitant of this +singular mansion, attended by Evan Dhu as master of the +ceremonies, came forward to meet his guest, totally different in +appearance and manner from what his imagination had anticipated. +The profession which he followed, the wilderness in which he +dwelt, the wild warrior forms that surrounded him, were all +calculated to inspire terror. From such accompaniments, Waverley +prepared himself to meet a stern, gigantic, ferocious figure, such +as Salvator would have chosen to be the central object of a group +of banditti. [Footnote: See Note 15.] + +Donald Bean Lean was the very reverse of all these. He was thin in +person and low in stature, with light sandy-coloured hair, and +small pale features, from which he derived his agnomen of BEAN or +white; and although his form was light, well proportioned and +active, he appeared, on the whole, rather a diminutive and +insignificant figure. He had served in some inferior capacity in +the French army, and in order to receive his English visitor in +great form, and probably meaning, in his way, to pay him a +compliment, he had laid aside the Highland dress for the time, to +put on an old blue and red uniform and a feathered hat, in which +he was far from showing to advantage, and indeed looked so +incongruous, compared with all around him, that Waverley would +have been tempted to laugh, had laughter been either civil or +safe. The robber received Captain Waverley with a profusion of +French politeness and Scottish hospitality, seemed perfectly to +know his name and connections, and to be particularly acquainted +with his uncle's political principles. On these he bestowed great +applause, to which Waverley judged it prudent to make a very +general reply. + +Being placed at a convenient distance from the charcoal fire, the +heat of which the season rendered oppressive, a strapping Highland +damsel placed before Waverley, Evan, and Donald Bean three cogues, +or wooden vessels composed of staves and hoops, containing +eanaruich, [Footnote: This was the regale presented by Rob Roy to +the Laird of Tullibody.] a sort of strong soup, made out of a +particular part of the inside of the beeves. After this +refreshment, which, though coarse, fatigue and hunger rendered +palatable, steaks, roasted on the coals, were supplied in liberal +abundance, and disappeared before Evan Dhu and their host with a +promptitude that seemed like magic, and astonished Waverley, who +was much puzzled to reconcile their voracity with what he had +heard of the abstemiousness of the Highlanders. He was ignorant +that this abstinence was with the lower ranks wholly compulsory, +and that, like some animals of prey, those who practise it were +usually gifted with the power of indemnifying themselves to good +purpose when chance threw plenty in their way. The whisky came +forth in abundance to crown the cheer. The Highlanders drank it +copiously and undiluted; but Edward, having mixed a little with +water, did not find it so palatable as to invite him to repeat the +draught. Their host bewailed himself exceedingly that he could +offer him no wine: 'Had he but known four-and-twenty hours before, +he would have had some, had it been within the circle of forty +miles round him. But no gentleman could do more to show his sense +of the honour of a visit from another than to offer him the best +cheer his house afforded. Where there are no bushes there can be +no nuts, and the way of those you live with is that you must +follow,' + +He went on regretting to Evan Dhu the death of an aged man, +Donnacha an Amrigh, or Duncan with the Cap, 'a gifted seer,' who +foretold, through the second sight, visitors of every description +who haunted their dwelling, whether as friends or foes. + +'Is not his son Malcolm taishatr (a second-sighted person)?' asked +Evan. + +'Nothing equal to his father,' replied Donald Bean. 'He told us +the other day, we were to see a great gentleman riding on a horse, +and there came nobody that whole day but Shemus Beg, the blind +harper, with his dog. Another time he advertised us of a wedding, +and behold it proved a funeral; and on the creagh, when he +foretold to us we should bring home a hundred head of horned +cattle, we gripped nothing but a fat bailie of Perth.' + +From this discourse he passed to the political and military state +of the country; and Waverley was astonished, and even alarmed, to +find a person of this description so accurately acquainted with +the strength of the various garrisons and regiments quartered +north of the Tay. He even mentioned the exact number of recruits +who had joined Waverley's troop from his uncle's estate, and +observed they were PRETTY MEN, meaning, not handsome, but stout +warlike fellows. He put Waverley in mind of one or two minute +circumstances which had happened at a general review of the +regiment, which satisfied him that the robber had been an eye- +witness of it; and Evan Dhu having by this time retired from the +conversation, and wrapped himself up in his plaid to take some +repose, Donald asked Edward, in a very significant manner, whether +he had nothing particular to say to him. + +Waverley, surprised and somewhat startled at this question from +such a character, answered, he had no motive in visiting him but +curiosity to see his extraordinary place of residence. Donald Bean +Lean looked him steadily in the face for an instant, and then +said, with a significant nod, 'You might as well have confided in +me; I am as much worthy of trust as either the Baron of +Bradwardine or Vich Ian Vohr. But you are equally welcome to my +house.' + +Waverley felt an involuntary shudder creep over him at the +mysterious language held by this outlawed and lawless bandit, +which, in despite of his attempts to master it, deprived him of +the power to ask the meaning of his insinuations. A heath pallet, +with the flowers stuck uppermost, had been prepared for him in a +recess of the cave, and here, covered with such spare plaids as +could be mustered, he lay for some time watching the motions of +the other inhabitants of the cavern. Small parties of two or three +entered or left the place, without any other ceremony than a few +words in Gaelic to the principal outlaw, and, when he fell asleep, +to a tall Highlander who acted as his lieutenant, and seemed to +keep watch during his repose. Those who entered seemed to have +returned from some excursion, of which they reported the success, +and went without farther ceremony to the larder, where, cutting +with their dirks their rations from the carcasses which were there +suspended, they proceeded to broil and eat them at their own +pleasure and leisure. The liquor was under strict regulation, +being served out either by Donald himself, his lieutenant, or the +strapping Highland girl aforesaid, who was the only female that +appeared. The allowance of whisky, however, would have appeared +prodigal to any but Highlanders, who, living entirely in the open +air and in a very moist climate, can consume great quantities of +ardent spirits without the usual baneful effects either upon the +brain or constitution. + +At length the fluctuating groups began to swim before the eyes of +our hero as they gradually closed; nor did he re-open them till +the morning sun was high on the lake without, though there was but +a faint and glimmering twilight in the recesses of Uaimh an Ri, or +the King's Cavern, as the abode of Donald Bean Lean was proudly +denominated. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +WAVERLEY PROCEEDS ON HIS JOURNEY + + +When Edward had collected his scattered recollection, he was +surprised to observe the cavern totally deserted. Having arisen +and put his dress in some order, he looked more accurately round +him; but all was still solitary. If it had not been for the +decayed brands of the fire, now sunk into grey ashes, and the +remnants of the festival, consisting of bones half burnt and half +gnawed, and an empty keg or two, there remained no traces of +Donald and his band. When Waverley sallied forth to the entrance +of the cave, he perceived that the point of rock, on which +remained the marks of last night's beacon, was accessible by a +small path, either natural or roughly hewn in the rock, along the +little inlet of water which ran a few yards up into the cavern, +where, as in a wetdock, the skiff which brought him there the +night before was still lying moored. When he reached the small +projecting platform on which the beacon had been established, he +would have believed his further progress by land impossible, only +that it was scarce probable but what the inhabitants of the cavern +had some mode of issuing from it otherwise than by the lake. +Accordingly, he soon observed three or four shelving steps, or +ledges of rock, at the very extremity of the little platform; and, +making use of them as a staircase, he clambered by their means +around the projecting shoulder of the crag on which the cavern +opened, and, descending with some difficulty on the other side, he +gained the wild and precipitous shores of a Highland loch, about +four miles in length and a mile and a half across, surrounded by +heathy and savage mountains, on the crests of which the morning +mist was still sleeping. + +Looking back to the place from which he came, he could not help +admiring the address which had adopted a retreat of such seclusion +and secrecy. The rock, round the shoulder of which he had turned +by a few imperceptible notches, that barely afforded place for the +foot, seemed, in looking back upon it, a huge precipice, which +barred all further passage by the shores of the lake in that +direction. There could be no possibility, the breadth of the lake +considered, of descrying the entrance of the narrow and low-browed +cave from the other side; so that, unless the retreat had been +sought for with boats, or disclosed by treachery, it might be a +safe and secret residence to its garrison as long as they were +supplied with provisions. Having satisfied his curiosity in these +particulars, Waverley looked around for Evan Dhu and his +attendants, who, he rightly judged, would be at no great distance, +whatever might have become of Donald Bean Lean and his party, +whose mode of life was, of course, liable to sudden migrations of +abode. Accordingly, at the distance of about half a mile, he +beheld a Highlander (Evan apparently) angling in the lake, with +another attending him, whom, from the weapon which he shouldered, +he recognised for his friend with the battle-axe. + +Much nearer to the mouth of the cave he heard the notes of a +lively Gaelic song, guided by which, in a sunny recess, shaded by +a glittering birch-tree, and carpeted with a bank of firm white +sand, he found the damsel of the cavern, whose lay had already +reached him, busy, to the best of her power, in arranging to +advantage a morning repast of milk, eggs, barley-bread, fresh +butter, and honey-comb. The poor girl had already made a circuit +of four miles that morning in search of the eggs, of the meal +which baked her cakes, and of the other materials of the +breakfast, being all delicacies which she had to beg or borrow +from distant cottagers. The followers of Donald Bean Lean used +little food except the flesh of the animals which they drove away +from the Lowlands; bread itself was a delicacy seldom thought of, +because hard to be obtained, and all the domestic accommodations +of milk, poultry, butter, etc., were out of the question in this +Scythian camp. Yet it must not be omitted that, although Alice had +occupied a part of the morning in providing those accommodations +for her guest which the cavern did not afford, she had secured +time also to arrange her own person in her best trim. Her finery +was very simple. A short russet-coloured jacket and a petticoat of +scanty longitude was her whole dress; but these were clean, and +neatly arranged. A piece of scarlet embroidered cloth, called the +snood, confined her hair, which fell over it in a profusion of +rich dark curls. The scarlet plaid, which formed part of her +dress, was laid aside, that it might not impede her activity in +attending the stranger. I should forget Alice's proudest ornament +were I to omit mentioning a pair of gold ear-rings and a, golden +rosary, which her father (for she was the daughter of Donald Bean +Lean) had brought from France, the plunder, probably, of some +battle or storm. + +Her form, though rather large for her years, was very well +proportioned, and her demeanour had a natural and rustic grace, +with nothing of the sheepishness of an ordinary peasant. The +smiles, displaying a row of teeth of exquisite whiteness, and the +laughing eyes, with which, in dumb show, she gave Waverley that +morning greeting which she wanted English words to express, might +have been interpreted by a coxcomb, or perhaps by a young soldier +who, without being such, was conscious of a handsome person, as +meant to convey more than the courtesy of an hostess. Nor do I +take it upon me to say that the little wild mountaineer would have +welcomed any staid old gentleman advanced in life, the Baron of +Bradwardine, for example, with the cheerful pains which she +bestowed upon Edward's accommodation. She seemed eager to place +him by the meal which she had so sedulously arranged, and to which +she now added a few bunches of cranberries, gathered in an +adjacent morass. Having had the satisfaction of seeing him seated +at his breakfast, she placed herself demurely upon a stone at a +few yards' distance, and appeared to watch with great complacency +for some opportunity of serving him. + +Evan and his attendant now returned slowly along the beach, the +latter bearing a large salmon-trout, the produce of the morning's +sport, together with the angling-rod, while Evan strolled forward, +with an easy, self-satisfied, and important gait, towards the spot +where Waverley was so agreeably employed at the breakfast-table. +After morning greetings had passed on both sides, and Evan, +looking at Waverley, had said something in Gaelic to Alice, which +made her laugh, yet colour up to her eyes, through a complexion +well en-browned by sun and wind, Evan intimated his commands that +the fish should be prepared for breakfast. A spark from the lock +of his pistol produced a light, and a few withered fir branches +were quickly in flame, and as speedily reduced to hot embers, on +which the trout was broiled in large slices. To crown the repast, +Evan produced from the pocket of his short jerkin a large scallop +shell, and from under the folds of his plaid a ram's horn full of +whisky. Of this he took a copious dram, observing he had already +taken his MORNING with Donald Bean Lean before his departure; he +offered the same cordial to Alice and to Edward, which they both +declined. With the bounteous air of a lord, Evan then proffered +the scallop to Dugald Mahony, his attendant, who, without waiting +to be asked a second time, drank it off with great gusto. Evan +then prepared to move towards the boat, inviting Waverley to +attend him. Meanwhile, Alice had made up in a small basket what +she thought worth removing, and flinging her plaid around her, she +advanced up to Edward, and with the utmost simplicity, taking hold +of his hand, offered her cheek to his salute, dropping at the same +time her little curtsy. Evan, who was esteemed a wag among the +mountain fair, advanced as if to secure a similar favour; but +Alice, snatching up her basket, escaped up the rocky bank as +fleetly as a roe, and, turning round and laughing, called +something out to him in Gaelic, which he answered in the same tone +and language; then, waving her hand to Edward, she resumed her +road, and was soon lost among the thickets, though they continued +for some time to hear her lively carol, as she proceeded gaily on +her solitary journey. + +They now again entered the gorge of the cavern, and stepping into +the boat, the Highlander pushed off, and, taking advantage of the +morning breeze, hoisted a clumsy sort of sail, while Evan assumed +the helm, directing their course, as it appeared to Waverley, +rather higher up the lake than towards the place of his +embarkation on the preceding night. As they glided along the +silver mirror, Evan opened the conversation with a panegyric upon +Alice, who, he said, was both CANNY and FENDY; and was, to the +boot of all that, the best dancer of a strathspey in the whole +strath. Edward assented to her praises so far as he understood +them, yet could not help regretting that she was condemned to such +a perilous and dismal life. + +'Oich! for that,' said Evan, 'there is nothing in Perthshire that +she need want, if she ask her father to fetch it, unless it be too +hot or too heavy.' + +'But to be the daughter of a cattle-stealer--a common thief!' +'Common thief!--no such thing: Donald Bean Lean never LIFTED less +than a drove in his life.' + +'Do you call him an uncommon thief, then?' + +'No; he that steals a cow from a poor widow, or a stirk from a +cotter, is a thief; he that lifts a drove from a Sassenach laird +is a gentleman-drover. And, besides, to take a tree from the +forest, a salmon from the river, a deer from the hill, or a cow +from a Lowland strath, is what no Highlander need ever think shame +upon.' + +'But what can this end in, were he taken in such an +appropriation?' + +'To be sure he would DIE FOR THE LAW, as many a pretty man has +done before him.' + +'Die for the law!' + +'Ay; that is, with the law, or by the law; be strapped up on the +KIND gallows of Crieff, [Footnote: See Note 16.] where his father +died, and his goodsire died, and where I hope he'll live to die +himsell, if he's not shot, or slashed, in a creagh.' + +'You HOPE such a death for your friend, Evan?' + +'And that do I e'en; would you have me wish him to die on a bundle +of wet straw in yon den of his, like a mangy tyke?' + +'But what becomes of Alice, then?' + +'Troth, if such an accident were to happen, as her father would +not need her help ony langer, I ken nought to hinder me to marry +her mysell.' + +'Gallantly resolved,' said Edward; 'but, in the meanwhile, Evan, +what has your father-in-law (that shall be, if he have the good +fortune to be hanged) done with the Baron's cattle?' + +'Oich,' answered Evan,'they were all trudging before your lad and +Allan Kennedy before the sun blinked ower Ben Lawers this morning; +and they'll be in the pass of Bally-Brough by this time, in their +way back to the parks of Tully-Veolan, all but two, that were +unhappily slaughtered before I got last night to Uaimh an Ri.' + +'And where are we going, Evan, if I may be so bold as to ask?' +said Waverley. + +'Where would you be ganging, but to the Laird's ain house of +Glennaquoich? Ye would not think to be in his country, without +ganging to see him? It would be as much as a man's life's worth.' + +'And are we far from Glennaquoich?' + +'But five bits of miles; and Vich Ian Vohr will meet us.' + +In about half an hour they reached the upper end of the lake, +where, after landing Waverley, the two Highanders drew the boat +into a little creek among thick flags and reeds, where it lay +perfectly concealed. The oars they put in another place of +concealment, both for the use of Donald Bean Lean probably, when +his occasions should next bring him to that place. + +The travellers followed for some time a delightful opening into +the hills, down which a little brook found its way to the lake. +When they had pursued their walk a short distance, Waverley +renewed his questions about their host of the cavern. + +'Does he always reside in that cave?' + +'Out, no! it's past the skill of man to tell where he's to be +found at a' times; there's not a dern nook, or cove, or corrie, in +the whole country that he's not acquainted with.' + +'And do others beside your master shelter him?' + +'My master? MY master is in Heaven,' answered Evan, haughtily; and +then immediately assuming his usual civility of manner, 'but you +mean my Chief;--no, he does not shelter Donald Bean Lean, nor any +that are like him; he only allows him (with a smile) wood and +water.' + +'No great boon, I should think, Evan, when both seem to be very +plenty.' + +'Ah! but ye dinna see through it. When I say wood and water, I +mean the loch and the land; and I fancy Donald would be put till +'t if the Laird were to look for him wi' threescore men in the +wood of Kailychat yonder; and if our boats, with a score or twa +mair, were to come down the loch to Uaimh an Ri, headed by mysell, +or ony other pretty man.' + +'But suppose a strong party came against him from the Low Country, +would not your Chief defend him?' + +'Na, he would not ware the spark of a flint for him--if they came +with the law.' + +'And what must Donald do, then?' + +'He behoved to rid this country of himsell, and fall back, it may +be, over the mount upon Letter Scriven.' + +'And if he were pursued to that place?' + +'I'se warrant he would go to his cousin's at Rannoch.' + +'Well, but if they followed him to Rannoch?' + +'That,' quoth Evan, 'is beyond all belief; and, indeed, to tell +you the truth, there durst not a Lowlander in all Scotland follow +the fray a gun-shot beyond Bally-Brough, unless he had the help +of the Sidier Dhu.' + +'Whom do you call so?' + +'The Sidier Dhu? the black soldier; that is what they call the +independent companies that were raised to keep peace and law in +the Highlands. Vich Ian Vohr commanded one of them for five years, +and I was sergeant mysell, I shall warrant ye. They call them +Sidier Dhu because they wear the tartans, as they call your men-- +King George's men--Sidier Roy, or red soldiers.' + +'Well, but when you were in King George's pay, Evan, you were +surely King George's soldiers?' + +'Troth, and you must ask Vich Ian Vohr about that; for we are for +his king, and care not much which o' them it is. At ony rate, +nobody can say we are King George's men now, when we have not seen +his pay this twelve-month.' + +This last argument admitted of no reply, nor did Edward attempt +any; he rather chose to bring back the discourse to Donald Bean +Lean. 'Does Donald confine himself to cattle, or does he LIFT, as +you call it, anything else that comes in his way?' + +'Troth, he's nae nice body, and he'll just tak onything, but most +readily cattle, horse, or live Christians; for sheep are slow of +travel, and inside plenishing is cumbrous to carry, and not easy +to put away for siller in this country.' + +'But does he carry off men and women?' + +'Out, ay. Did not ye hear him speak o' the Perth bailie? It cost +that body five hundred merks ere he got to the south of Bally- +Brough. And ance Donald played a pretty sport. [Footnote: See Note +17.] There was to be a blythe bridal between the Lady Cramfeezer, +in the howe o' the Mearns (she was the auld laird's widow, and no +sae young as she had been hersell), and young Gilliewhackit, who +had spent his heirship and movables, like a gentleman, at cock- +matches, bull-baitings, horse-races, and the like. Now, Donald +Bean Lean, being aware that the bridegroom was in request, and +wanting to cleik the cunzie (that is, to hook the siller), he +cannily carried off Gilliewhackit ae night when he was riding +dovering hame (wi' the malt rather abune the meal), and with the +help of his gillies he gat him into the hills with the speed of +light, and the first place he wakened in was the cove of Uaimh an +Ri. So there was old to do about ransoming the bridegroom; for +Donald would not lower a farthing of a thousand punds--' + +'The devil!' + +'Punds Scottish, ye shall understand. And the lady had not the +siller if she had pawned her gown; and they applied to the +governor o' Stirling castle, and to the major o' the Black Watch; +and the governor said it was ower far to the northward, and out of +his district; and the major said his men were gane hame to the +shearing, and he would not call them out before the victual was +got in for all the Cramfeezers in Christendom, let alane the +Mearns, for that it would prejudice the country. And in the +meanwhile ye'll no hinder Gilliewhackit to take the small-pox. +There was not the doctor in Perth or Stirling would look near the +poor lad; and I cannot blame them, for Donald had been misguggled +by ane of these doctors about Paris, and he swore he would fling +the first into the loch that he catched beyond the pass. However +some cailliachs (that is, old women) that were about Donald's hand +nursed Gilliewhackit sae weel that, between the free open air in +the cove and the fresh whey, deil an he did not recover maybe as +weel as if he had been closed in a glazed chamber and a bed with +curtains, and fed with red wine and white meat. And Donald was sae +vexed about it that, when he was stout and weel, he even sent him +free home, and said he would be pleased with onything they would +like to gie him for the plague and trouble which he had about +Gilliewhackit to an unkenn'd degree. And I cannot tell you +precisely how they sorted; but they agreed sae right that Donald +was invited to dance at the wedding in his Highland trews, and +they said that there was never sae meikle siller clinked in his +purse either before or since. And to the boot of all that, +Gilliewhackit said that, be the evidence what it liked, if he had +the luck to be on Donald's inquest, he would bring him in guilty +of nothing whatever, unless it were wilful arson or murder under +trust.' + +With such bald and disjointed chat Evan went on illustrating the +existing state of the Highlands, more perhaps to the amusement of +Waverley than that of our readers. At length, after having marched +over bank and brae, moss and heather, Edward, though not +unacquainted with the Scottish liberality in computing distance, +began to think that Evan's five miles were nearly doubled. His +observation on the large measure which the Scottish allowed of +their land, in comparison to the computation of their money, was +readily answered by Evan with the old jest, 'The deil take them +wha have the least pint stoup.' + +[Footnote: The Scotch are liberal in computing their land and +liquor; the Scottish pint corresponds to two English quarts. As +for their coin, every one knows the couplet-- + + How can the rogues pretend to sense? + Their pound is only twenty pence.] + +And now the report of a gun was heard, and a sportsman was seen, +with his dogs and attendant, at the upper end of the glen. +'Shough,' said Dugald Mahony, 'tat's ta Chief.' + +'It is not,' said Evan, imperiously. 'Do you think he would come +to meet a Sassenach duinhe-wassel in such a way as that?' + +But as they approached a little nearer, he said, with an +appearance of mortification, 'And it is even he, sure enough; and +he has not his tail on after all; there is no living creature with +him but Callum Beg.' + +In fact, Fergus Mac-Ivor, of whom a Frenchman might have said as +truly as of any man in the Highlands, 'Qu'il connoit bien ses +gens' had no idea of raising himself in the eyes of an English +young man of fortune by appearing with a retinue of idle +Highlanders disproportioned to the occasion. He was well aware +that such an unnecessary attendance would seem to Edward rather +ludicrous than respectable; and, while few men were more attached +to ideas of chieftainship and feudal power, he was, for that very +reason, cautious of exhibiting external marks of dignity, unless +at the time and in the manner when they were most likely to +produce an imposing effect. Therefore, although, had he been to +receive a brother chieftain, he would probably have been attended +by all that retinue which Evan described with so much unction, he +judged it more respectable to advance to meet Waverley with a +single attendant, a very handsome Highland boy, who carried his +master's shooting-pouch and his broadsword, without which he +seldom went abroad. + +When Fergus and Waverley met, the latter was struck with the +peculiar grace and dignity of the Chieftain's figure. Above the +middle size and finely proportioned, the Highland dress, which he +wore in its simplest mode, set off his person to great advantage. +He wore the trews, or close trowsers, made of tartan, chequed +scarlet and white; in other particulars his dress strictly +resembled Evan's, excepting that he had no weapon save a dirk, +very richly mounted with silver. His page, as we have said, +carried his claymore; and the fowling-piece, which he held in his +hand, seemed only designed for sport. He had shot in the course of +his walk some young wild-ducks, as, though CLOSE TIME was then +unknown, the broods of grouse were yet too young for the +sportsman. His countenance was decidedly Scottish, with all the +peculiarities of the northern physiognomy, but yet had so little +of its harshness and exaggeration that it would have been +pronounced in any country extremely handsome. The martial air of +the bonnet, with a single eagle's feather as a distinction, added +much to the manly appearance of his head, which was besides +ornamented with a far more natural and graceful cluster of close +black curls than ever were exposed to sale in Bond Street. + +An air of openness and affability increased the favorable +impression derived from this handsome and dignified exterior. Yet +a skilful physiognomist would have been less satisfied with the +countenance on the second than on the first view. The eyebrow and +upper lip bespoke something of the habit of peremptory command and +decisive superiority. Even his courtesy, though open, frank, and +unconstrained, seemed to indicate a sense of personal importance; +and, upon any check or accidental excitation, a sudden, though +transient lour of the eye showed a hasty, haughty, and vindictive +temper, not less to be dreaded because it seemed much under its +owner's command. In short, the countenance of the Chieftain +resembled a smiling summer's day, in which, notwithstanding, we +are made sensible by certain, though slight signs that it may +thunder and lighten before the close of evening. + +It was not, however, upon their first meeting that Edward had an +opportunity of making these less favourable remarks. The Chief +received him as a friend of the Baron of Bradwardine, with the +utmost expression of kindness and obligation for the visit; +upbraided him gently with choosing so rude an abode as he had done +the night before; and entered into a lively conversation with him +about Donald Bean's housekeeping, but without the least hint as to +his predatory habits, or the immediate occasion of Waverley's +visit, a topic which, as the Chief did not introduce it, our hero +also avoided. While they walked merrily on towards the house of +Glennaquoich, Evan, who now fell respectfully into the rear, +followed with Callum Beg and Dugald Mahony. + +We shall take the opportunity to introduce the reader to some +particulars of Fergus Mac-Ivor's character and history, which were +not completely known to Waverley till after a connection which, +though arising from a circumstance so casual, had for a length of +time the deepest influence upon his character, actions, and +prospects. But this, being an important subject, must form the +commencement of a new chapter. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE CHIEF AND HIS MANSION + + +The ingenious licentiate Francisco de Ubeda, when he commenced his +history of 'La Picara Justina Diez,'--which, by the way, is one +of the most rare books of Spanish literature,--complained of his +pen having caught up a hair, and forthwith begins, with more +eloquence than common sense, an affectionate expostulation with +that useful implement, upbraiding it with being the quill of a +goose,--a bird inconstant by nature, as frequenting the three +elements of water, earth, and air indifferently, and being, of +course, 'to one thing constant never.' Now I protest to thee, +gentle reader, that I entirely dissent from Francisco de Ubeda in +this matter, and hold it the most useful quality of my pen, that +it can speedily change from grave to gay, and from description and +dialogue to narrative and character. So that if my quill display +no other properties of its mother-goose than her mutability, +truly I shall be well pleased; and I conceive that you, my worthy +friend, will have no occasion for discontent. From the jargon, +therefore, of the Highland gillies I pass to the character of +their Chief. It is an important examination, and therefore, like +Dogberry, we must spare no wisdom. + +The ancestor of Fergus Mac-Ivor, about three centuries before, had +set up a claim to be recognised as chief of the numerous and +powerful clan to which he belonged, the name of which it is +unnecessary to mention. Being defeated by an opponent who had more +justice, or at least more force, on his side, he moved southwards, +with those who adhered to him, in quest of new settlements, like a +second AEneas. The state of the Perthshire Highlands favoured his +purpose. A great baron in that country had lately become traitor +to the crown; Ian, which was the name of our adventurer, united +himself with those who were commissioned by the king to chastise +him, and did such good service that he obtained a grant of the +property, upon which he and his posterity afterwards resided. He +followed the king also in war to the fertile regions of England, +where he employed his leisure hours so actively in raising +subsidies among the boors of Northumberland and Durham, that upon +his return he was enabled to erect a stone tower, or fortalice, so +much admired by his dependants and neighbours that he, who had +hitherto been called Ian Mac-Ivor, or John the son of Ivor, was +thereafter distinguished, both in song and genealogy, by the high +title of Ian nan Chaistel, or John of the Tower. The descendants +of this worthy were so proud of him that the reigning chief always +bore the patronymic title of Vich Ian Vohr, i.e. the son of John +the Great; while the clan at large, to distinguish them from that +from which they had seceded, were denominated Sliochd nan Ivor, +the race of Ivor. + +The father of Fergus, the tenth in direct descent from John of the +Tower, engaged heart and hand in the insurrection of 1715, and was +forced to fly to France, after the attempt of that year in favour +of the Stuarts had proved unsuccessful. More fortunate than other +fugitives, he obtained employment in the French service, and +married a lady of rank in that kingdom, by whom he had two +children, Fergus and his sister Flora. The Scottish estate had +been forfeited and exposed to sale, but was repurchased for a +small price in the name of the young proprietor, who in +consequence came to reside upon his native domains. [Footnote: See +Note 18.] It was soon perceived that he possessed a character of +uncommon acuteness, fire, and ambition, which, as he became +acquainted with the state of the country, gradually assumed a +mixed and peculiar tone, that could only have been acquired Sixty +Years Since. + +Had Fergus Mac-Ivor lived Sixty Years sooner than he did, he would +in all probability have wanted the polished manner and knowledge +of the world which he now possessed; and had he lived Sixty Years +later, his ambition and love of rule would have lacked the fuel +which his situation now afforded. He was indeed, within his little +circle, as perfect a politician as Castruccio Castracani himself. +He applied himself with great earnestness to appease all the feuds +and dissensions which often arose among other clans in his +neighbourhood, so that he became a frequent umpire in their +quarrels. His own patriarchal power he strengthened at every +expense which his fortune would permit, and indeed stretched his +means to the uttermost to maintain the rude and plentiful +hospitality which was the most valued attribute of a chieftain. +For the same reason he crowded his estate with a tenantry, hardy +indeed, and fit for the purposes of war, but greatly outnumbering +what the soil was calculated to maintain. These consisted chiefly +of his own clan, not one of whom he suffered to quit his lands if +he could possibly prevent it. But he maintained, besides, many +adventurers from the mother sept, who deserted a less warlike, +though more wealthy chief to do homage to Fergus Mac-Ivor. Other +individuals, too, who had not even that apology, were nevertheless +received into his allegiance, which indeed was refused to none who +were, like Poins, proper men of their hands, and were willing to +assume the name of Mac-Ivor. + +He was enabled to discipline these forces, from having obtained +command of one of the independent companies raised by government +to preserve the peace of the Highlands. While in this capacity he +acted with vigour and spirit, and preserved great order in the +country under his charge. He caused his vassals to enter by +rotation into his company, and serve for a certain space of time, +which gave them all in turn a general notion of military +discipline. In his campaigns against the banditti, it was observed +that he assumed and exercised to the utmost the discretionary +power which, while the law had no free course in the Highlands, +was conceived to belong to the military parties who were called in +to support it. He acted, for example, with great and suspicious +lenity to those freebooters who made restitution on his summons +and offered personal submission to himself, while he rigorously +pursued, apprehended, and sacrificed to justice all such +interlopers as dared to despise his admonitions or commands. On +the other hand, if any officers of justice, military parties, or +others, presumed to pursue thieves or marauders through his +territories, and without applying for his consent and concurrence, +nothing was more certain than that they would meet with some +notable foil or defeat; upon which occasions Fergus Mac-Ivor was +the first to condole with them, and after gently blaming their +rashness, never failed deeply to lament the lawless state of the +country. These lamentations did not exclude suspicion, and matters +were so represented to government that our Chieftain was deprived +of his military command. [Footnote: See Note 19.] + +Whatever Fergus Mac-Ivor felt on this occasion, he had the art of +entirely suppressing every appearance of discontent; but in a +short time the neighbouring country began to feel bad effects from +his disgrace. Donald Bean Lean, and others of his class, whose +depredations had hitherto been confined to other districts, +appeared from thenceforward to have made a settlement on this +devoted border; and their ravages were carried on with little +opposition, as the Lowland gentry were chiefly Jacobites, and +disarmed. This forced many of the inhabitants into contracts of +black-mail with Fergus Mac-Ivor, which not only established him +their protector, and gave him great weight in all their +consultations, but, moreover, supplied funds for the waste of his +feudal hospitality, which the discontinuance of his pay might have +otherwise essentially diminished. + +In following this course of conduct, Fergus had a further object +than merely being the great man of his neighbourhood, and ruling +despotically over a small clan. From his infancy upward he had +devoted himself to the cause of the exiled family, and had +persuaded himself, not only that their restoration to the crown of +Britain would be speedy, but that those who assisted them would be +raised to honour and rank. It was with this view that he laboured +to reconcile the Highlanders among themselves, and augmented his +own force to the utmost, to be prepared for the first favourable +opportunity of rising. With this purpose also he conciliated the +favour of such Lowland gentlemen in the vicinity as were friends +to the good cause; and for the same reason, having incautiously +quarrelled with Mr. Bradwardine, who, notwithstanding his +peculiarities, was much respected in the country, he took +advantage of the foray of Donald Bean Lean to solder up the +dispute in the manner we have mentioned. Some, indeed, surmised +that he caused the enterprise to be suggested to Donald, on +purpose to pave the way to a reconciliation, which, supposing that +to be the case, cost the Laird of Bradwardine two good milch cows. +This zeal in their behalf the House of Stuart repaid with a +considerable share of their confidence, an occasional supply of +louis-d'or, abundance of fair words, and a parchment, with a huge +waxen seal appended, purporting to be an earl's patent, granted by +no less a person than James the Third King of England, and Eighth +King of Scotland, to his right feal, trusty, and well-beloved +Fergus Mac-Ivor of Glennaquoich, in the county of Perth, and +kingdom of Scotland. + +With this future coronet glittering before his eyes, Fergus +plunged deeply into the correspondence and plots of that unhappy +period; and, like all such active agents, easily reconciled his +conscience to going certain lengths in the service of his party, +from which honour and pride would have deterred him had his sole +object been the direct advancement of his own personal interest. +With this insight into a bold, ambitious, and ardent, yet artful +and politic character, we resume the broken thread of our +narrative. + +The chief and his guest had by this time reached the house of +Glennaquoich, which consisted of Ian nan Chaistel's mansion, a +high rude-looking square tower, with the addition of a lofted +house, that is, a building of two stories, constructed by Fergus's +grandfather when he returned from that memorable expedition, well +remembered by the western shires under the name of the Highland +Host. Upon occasion of this crusade against the Ayrshire Whigs and +Covenanters, the Vich Ian Vohr of the time had probably been as +successful as his predecessor was in harrying Northumberland, and +therefore left to his posterity a rival edifice as a monument of +his magnificence. + +Around the house, which stood on an eminence in the midst of a +narrow Highland valley, there appeared none of that attention to +convenience, far less to ornament and decoration, which usually +surrounds a gentleman's habitation. An inclosure or two, divided +by dry-stone walls, were the only part of the domain that was +fenced; as to the rest, the narrow slips of level ground which lay +by the side of the brook exhibited a scanty crop of barley, liable +to constant depredations from the herds of wild ponies and black +cattle that grazed upon the adjacent hills. These ever and anon +made an incursion upon the arable ground, which was repelled by +the loud, uncouth, and dissonant shouts of half a dozen Highland +swains, all running as if they had been mad, and every one +hallooing a half-starved dog to the rescue of the forage. At a +little distance up the glen was a small and stunted wood of birch; +the hills were high and heathy, but without any variety of +surface; so that the whole view was wild and desolate rather than +grand and solitary. Yet, such as it was, no genuine descendant of +Ian nan Chaistel would have changed the domain for Stow or +Blenheim. + +There was a sight, however, before the gate, which perhaps would +have afforded the first owner of Blenheim more pleasure than the +finest view in the domain assigned to him by the gratitude of his +country. This consisted of about a hundred Highlanders, in +complete dress and arms; at sight of whom the Chieftain apologised +to Waverley in a sort of negligent manner. 'He had forgot,' he +said, 'that he had ordered a few of his clan out, for the purpose +of seeing that they were in a fit condition to protect the +country, and prevent such accidents as, he was sorry to learn, had +befallen the Baron of Bradwardine. Before they were dismissed, +perhaps Captain Waverley might choose to see them go through a +part of their exercise.' + +Edward assented, and the men executed with agility and precision +some of the ordinary military movements. They then practised +individually at a mark, and showed extraordinary dexterity in the +management of the pistol and firelock. They took aim, standing, +sitting, leaning, or lying prostrate, as they were commanded, and +always with effect upon the target. Next, they paired off for the +broadsword exercise; and, having manifested their individual skill +and dexterity, united in two bodies, and exhibited a sort of mock +encounter, in which the charge, the rally, the flight, the +pursuit, and all the current of a heady fight, were exhibited to +the sound of the great war bagpipe. + +On a signal made by the Chief, the skirmish was ended. Matches +were then made for running, wrestling, leaping, pitching the bar, +and other sports, in which this feudal militia displayed +incredible swiftness, strength, and agility; and accomplished the +purpose which their Chieftain had at heart, by impressing on +Waverley no light sense of their merit as soldiers, and of the +power of him who commanded them by his nod. [Footnote: See Note +20.] + +'And what number of such gallant fellows have the happiness to +call you leader?' asked Waverley. + +'In a good cause, and under a chieftain whom they loved, the race +of Ivor have seldom taken the field under five hundred claymores. +But you are aware, Captain Waverley, that the disarming act, +passed about twenty years ago, prevents their being in the +complete state of preparation as in former times; and I keep no +more of my clan under arms than may defend my own or my friends' +property, when the country is troubled with such men as your last +night's landlord; and government, which has removed other means of +defence, must connive at our protecting ourselves.' + +'But, with your force, you might soon destroy or put down such +gangs as that of Donald Bean Lean.' + +'Yes, doubtless; and my reward would be a summons to deliver up to +General Blakeney, at Stirling, the few broadswords they have left +us; there were little policy in that, methinks. But come, captain, +the sound of the pipes informs me that dinner is prepared. Let me +have the honour to show you into my rude mansion.' + + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +A HIGHLAND FEAST + + +Ere Waverley entered the banqueting hall, he was offered the +patriarchal refreshment of a bath for the feet, which the sultry +weather, and the morasses he had traversed, rendered highly +acceptable. He was not, indeed, so luxuriously attended upon this +occasion as the heroic travellers in the Odyssey; the task of +ablution and abstersion being performed, not by a beautiful +damsel, trained + + To chafe the limb, and pour the fragrant oil, + +but by a smoke-dried skinny old Highland woman, who did not seem +to think herself much honoured by the duty imposed upon her, but +muttered between her teeth, 'Our fathers' herds did not feed so +near together that I should do you this service.' A small +donation, however, amply reconciled this ancient handmaiden to the +supposed degradation; and, as Edward proceeded to the hall, she +gave him her blessing in the Gaelic proverb, 'May the open hand be +filled the fullest.' + +The hall, in which the feast was prepared, occupied all the first +story of lan nan Chaistel's original erection, and a huge oaken +table extended through its whole length. The apparatus for dinner +was simple, even to rudeness, and the company numerous, even to +crowding. At the head of the table was the Chief himself, with +Edward, and two or three Highland visitors of neighbouring clans; +the elders of his own tribe, wadsetters and tacksmen, as they were +called, who occupied portions of his estate as mortgagers or +lessees, sat next in rank; beneath them, their sons and nephews +and foster-brethren; then the officers of the Chief's household, +according to their order; and lowest of all, the tenants who +actually cultivated the ground. Even beyond this long perspective, +Edward might see upon the green, to which a huge pair of folding +doors opened, a multitude of Highlanders of a yet inferior +description, who, nevertheless, were considered as guests, and had +their share both of the countenance of the entertainer and of the +cheer of the day. In the distance, and fluctuating round this +extreme verge of the banquet, was a changeful group of women, +ragged boys and girls, beggars, young and old, large greyhounds, +and terriers, and pointers, and curs of low degree; all of whom +took some interest, more or less immediate, in the main action of +the piece. + +This hospitality, apparently unbounded, had yet its line of +economy. Some pains had been bestowed in dressing the dishes of +fish, game, etc., which were at the upper end of the table, and +immediately under the eye of the English stranger. Lower down +stood immense clumsy joints of mutton and beef, which, but for the +absence of pork, [Footnote: See Note 21.] abhorred in the +Highlands, resembled the rude festivity of the banquet of +Penelope's suitors. But the central dish was a yearling lamb, +called 'a hog in har'st,' roasted whole. It was set upon its legs, +with a bunch of parsley in its mouth, and was probably exhibited +in that form to gratify the pride of the cook, who piqued himself +more on the plenty than the elegance of his master's table. The +sides of this poor animal were fiercely attacked by the clansmen, +some with dirks, others with the knives which were usually in the +same sheath with the dagger, so that it was soon rendered a +mangled and rueful spectacle. Lower down still, the victuals +seemed of yet coarser quality, though sufficiently abundant. +Broth, onions, cheese, and the fragments of the feast regaled the +sons of Ivor who feasted in the open air. + +The liquor was supplied in the same proportion, and under similar +regulations. Excellent claret and champagne were liberally +distributed among the Chief's immediate neighbours; whisky, plain +or diluted, and strong beer refreshed those who sat near the lower +end. Nor did this inequality of distribution appear to give the +least offence. Every one present understood that his taste was to +be formed according to the rank which he held at table; and, +consequently, the tacksmen and their dependants always professed +the wine was too cold for their stomachs, and called, apparently +out of choice, for the liquor which was assigned to them from +economy. [Footnote: See Note 22.] The bag-pipers, three in number, +screamed, during the whole time of dinner, a tremendous war-tune; +and the echoing of the vaulted roof, and clang of the Celtic +tongue, produced such a Babel of noises that Waverley dreaded his +ears would never recover it. Mac-Ivor, indeed, apologised for the +confusion occasioned by so large a party, and pleaded the +necessity of his situation, on which unlimited hospitality was +imposed as a paramount duty. 'These stout idle kinsmen of mine,' +he said, 'account my estate as held in trust for their support; +and I must find them beef and ale, while the rogues will do +nothing for themselves but practise the broadsword, or wander +about the hills, shooting, fishing, hunting, drinking, and making +love to the lasses of the strath. But what can I do, Captain +Waverley? everything will keep after its kind, whether it be a +hawk or a Highlander.' Edward made the expected answer, in a +compliment upon his possessing so many bold and attached +followers. + +'Why, yes,' replied the Chief, 'were I disposed, like my father, +to put myself in the way of getting one blow on the head, or two +on the neck, I believe the loons would stand by me. But who thinks +of that in the present day, when the maxim is, "Better an old +woman with a purse in her hand than three men with belted +brands"?' Then, turning to the company, he proposed the 'Health of +Captain Waverley, a worthy friend of his kind neighbour and ally, +the Baron of Bradwardine.' + +'He is welcome hither,' said one of the elders, 'if he come from +Cosmo Comyne Bradwardine.' + +'I say nay to that,' said an old man, who apparently did not mean +to pledge the toast; 'I say nay to that. While there is a green +leaf in the forest, there will be fraud in a Comyne. + +'There is nothing but honour in the Baron of Bradwardine,' +answered another ancient; 'and the guest that comes hither from +him should be welcome, though he came with blood on his hand, +unless it were blood of the race of Ivor.' + +The old man whose cup remained full replied, 'There has been blood +enough of the race of Ivor on the hand of Bradwardine.' + +'Ah! Ballenkeiroch,' replied the first, 'you think rather of the +flash of the carbine at the mains of Tully-Veolan than the glance +of the sword that fought for the cause at Preston.' + +'And well I may,' answered Ballenkeiroch; 'the flash of the gun +cost me a fair-haired son, and the glance of the sword has done +but little for King James.' + +The Chieftain, in two words of French, explained to Waverley that +the Baron had shot this old man's son in a fray near Tully-Veolan, +about seven years before; and then hastened to remove +Ballenkeiroch's prejudice, by informing him that Waverley was an +Englishman, unconnected by birth or alliance with the family of +Bradwardine; upon which the old gentleman raised the hitherto- +untasted cup and courteously drank to his health. This ceremony +being requited in kind, the Chieftain made a signal for the pipes +to cease, and said aloud, 'Where is the song hidden, my friends, +that Mac-Murrough cannot find it?' + +Mac-Murrough, the family bhairdh, an aged man, immediately took +the hint, and began to chant, with low and rapid utterance, a +profusion of Celtic verses, which were received by the audience +with all the applause of enthusiasm. As he advanced in his +declamation, his ardour seemed to increase. He had at first spoken +with his eyes fixed on the ground; he now cast them around as if +beseeching, and anon as if commanding, attention, and his tones +rose into wild and impassioned notes, accompanied with appropriate +gestures. He seemed to Edward, who attended to him with much +interest, to recite many proper names, to lament the dead, to +apostrophise the absent, to exhort, and entreat, and animate those +who were present. Waverley thought he even discerned his own name, +and was convinced his conjecture was right from the eyes of the +company being at that moment turned towards him simultaneously. +The ardour of the poet appeared to communicate itself to the +audience. Their wild and sun-burnt countenances assumed a fiercer +and more animated expression; all bent forward towards the +reciter, many sprung up and waved their arms in ecstasy, and some +laid their hands on their swords. When the song ceased, there was +a deep pause, while the aroused feelings of the poet and of the +hearers gradually subsided into their usual channel. + +The Chieftain, who, during this scene had appeared rather to watch +the emotions which were excited than to partake their high tone of +enthusiasm, filled with claret a small silver cup which stood by +him. 'Give this,' he said to an attendant, 'to Mac-Murrough nan +Fonn (i.e. of the songs), and when he has drank the juice, bid him +keep, for the sake of Vich Ian Vohr, the shell of the gourd which +contained it.' The gift was received by Mac-Murrough with profound +gratitude; he drank the wine, and, kissing the cup, shrouded it +with reverence in the plaid which was folded on his bosom. He then +burst forth into what Edward justly supposed to be an +extemporaneous effusion of thanks and praises of his Chief. It was +received with applause, but did not produce the effect of his +first poem. It was obvious, however, that the clan regarded the +generosity of their Chieftain with high approbation. Many approved +Gaelic toasts were then proposed, of some of which the Chieftain +gave his guest the following versions:-- + +'To him that will not turn his back on friend or foe.' 'To him +that never forsook a comrade.' 'To him that never bought or sold +justice.' 'Hospitality to the exile, and broken bones to the +tyrant.' 'The lads with the kilts.' 'Highlanders, shoulder to +shoulder,'--with many other pithy sentiments of the like nature. + +Edward was particularly solicitous to know the meaning of that +song which appeared to produce such effect upon the passions of +the company, and hinted his curiosity to his host. 'As I observe,' +said the Chieftain, 'that you have passed the bottle during the +last three rounds, I was about to propose to you to retire to my +sister's tea-table, who can explain these things to you better +than I can. Although I cannot stint my clan in the usual current +of their festivity, yet I neither am addicted myself to exceed in +its amount, nor do I,' added he, smiling, 'keep a Bear to devour +the intellects of such as can make good use of them.' + +Edward readily assented to this proposal, and the Chieftain, +saying a few words to those around him, left the table, followed +by Waverley. As the door closed behind them, Edward heard Vich Ian +Vohr's health invoked with a wild and animated cheer, that +expressed the satisfaction of the guests and the depth of their +devotion to his service. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE CHIEFTAIN'S SISTER + + +The drawing-room of Flora Mac-Ivor was furnished in the plainest +and most simple manner; for at Glennaquoich every other sort of +expenditure was retrenched as much as possible, for the purpose of +maintaining, in its full dignity, the hospitality of the +Chieftain, and retaining and multiplying the number of his +dependants and adherents. But there was no appearance of this +parsimony in the dress of the lady herself, which was in texture +elegant, and even rich, and arranged in a manner which partook +partly of the Parisian fashion and partly of the more simple dress +of the Highlands, blended together with great taste. Her hair was +not disfigured by the art of the friseur, but fell in jetty +ringlets on her neck, confined only by a circlet, richly set with +diamonds. This peculiarity she adopted in compliance with the +Highland prejudices, which could not endure that a woman's head +should be covered before wedlock. + +Flora Mac-Ivor bore a most striking resemblance to her brother +Fergus; so much so that they might have played Viola and Sebastian +with the same exquisite effect produced by the appearance of Mrs. +Henry Siddons and her brother, Mr. William Murray, in these +characters. They had the same antique and regular correctness of +profile; the same dark eyes, eye-lashes, and eye-brows; the same +clearness of complexion, excepting that Fergus's was embrowned by +exercise and Flora's possessed the utmost feminine delicacy. But +the haughty and somewhat stern regularity of Fergus's features was +beautifully softened in those of Flora. Their voices were also +similar in tone, though differing in the key. That of Fergus, +especially while issuing orders to his followers during their +military exercise, reminded Edward of a favourite passage in the +description of Emetrius: + + --whose voice was heard around, + Loud as a trumpet with a silver sound. + +That of Flora, on the contrary, was soft and sweet--'an excellent +thing in woman'; yet, in urging any favourite topic, which she +often pursued with natural eloquence, it possessed as well the +tones which impress awe and conviction as those of persuasive +insinuation. The eager glance of the keen black eye, which, in the +Chieftain, seemed impatient even of the material obstacles it +encountered, had in his sister acquired a gentle pensiveness. His +looks seemed to seek glory, power, all that could exalt him above +others in the race of humanity; while those of his sister, as if +she were already conscious of mental superiority, seemed to pity, +rather than envy, those who were struggling for any farther +distinction. Her sentiments corresponded with the expression of +her countenance. Early education had impressed upon her mind, as +well as on that of the Chieftain, the most devoted attachment to +the exiled family of Stuart. She believed it the duty of her +brother, of his clan, of every man in Britain, at whatever +personal hazard, to contribute to that restoration which the +partisans of the Chevalier St. George had not ceased to hope for. +For this she was prepared to do all, to suffer all, to sacrifice +all. But her loyalty, as it exceeded her brother's in fanaticism, +excelled it also in purity. Accustomed to petty intrigue, and +necessarily involved in a thousand paltry and selfish discussions, +ambitious also by nature, his political faith was tinctured, at +least, if not tainted, by the views of interest and advancement so +easily combined with it; and at the moment he should unsheathe his +claymore, it might be difficult to say whether it would be most +with the view of making James Stuart a king or Fergus Mac-Ivor an +earl. This, indeed, was a mixture of feeling which he did not avow +even to himself, but it existed, nevertheless, in a powerful +degree. + +In Flora's bosom, on the contrary, the zeal of loyalty burnt pure +and unmixed with any selfish feeling; she would have as soon made +religion the mask of ambitious and interested views as have +shrouded them under the opinions which she had been taught to +think patriotism. Such instances of devotion were not uncommon +among the followers of the unhappy race of Stuart, of which many +memorable proofs will recur to the minds of most of my readers. +But peculiar attention on the part of the Chevalier de St. George +and his princess to the parents of Fergus and his sister, and to +themselves when orphans, had riveted their faith. Fergus, upon the +death of his parents, had been for some time a page of honour in +the train of the Chevalier's lady, and, from his beauty and +sprightly temper, was uniformly treated by her with the utmost +distinction. This was also extended to Flora, who was maintained +for some time at a convent of the first order at the princess's +expense, and removed from thence into her own family, where she +spent nearly two years. Both brother and sister retained the +deepest and most grateful sense of her kindness. + +Having thus touched upon the leading principle of Flora's +character, I may dismiss the rest more slightly. She was highly +accomplished, and had acquired those elegant manners to be +expected from one who, in early youth, had been the companion of a +princess; yet she had not learned to substitute the gloss of +politeness for the reality of feeling. When settled in the lonely +regions of Glennaquoich, she found that her resources in French, +English, and Italian literature were likely to be few and +interrupted; and, in order to fill up the vacant time, she +bestowed a part of it upon the music and poetical traditions of +the Highlanders, and began really to feel the pleasure in the +pursuit which her brother, whose perceptions of literary merit +were more blunt, rather affected for the sake of popularity than +actually experienced. Her resolution was strengthened in these +researches by the extreme delight which her inquiries seemed to +afford those to whom she resorted for information. + +Her love of her clan, an attachment which was almost hereditary in +her bosom, was, like her loyalty, a more pure passion than that of +her brother. He was too thorough a politician, regarded his +patriarchal influence too much as the means of accomplishing his +own aggrandisement, that we should term him the model of a +Highland Chieftain. Flora felt the same anxiety for cherishing and +extending their patriarchal sway, but it was with the generous +desire of vindicating from poverty, or at least from want and +foreign oppression, those whom her brother was by birth, according +to the notions of the time and country, entitled to govern. The +savings of her income, for she had a small pension from the +Princess Sobieski, were dedicated, not to add to the comforts of +the peasantry, for that was a word which they neither knew nor +apparently wished to know, but to relieve their absolute +necessities when in sickness or extreme old age. At every other +period they rather toiled to procure something which they might +share with the Chief, as a proof of their attachment, than +expected other assistance from him save what was afforded by the +rude hospitality of his castle, and the general division and +subdivision of his estate among them. Flora was so much beloved by +them that, when Mac-Murrough composed a song in which he +enumerated all the principal beauties of the district, and +intimated her superiority by concluding, that 'the fairest apple +hung on the highest bough,' he received, in donatives from the +individuals of the clan, more seed-barley than would have sowed +his Highland Parnassus, the bard's croft, as it was called, ten +times over. + +From situation as well as choice, Miss Mac-Ivor's society was +extremely limited. Her most intimate friend had been Rose +Bradwardine, to whom she was much attached; and when seen +together, they would have afforded an artist two admirable +subjects for the gay and the melancholy muse. Indeed Rose was so +tenderly watched by her father, and her circle of wishes was so +limited, that none arose but what he was willing to gratify, and +scarce any which did not come within the compass of his power. +With Flora it was otherwise. While almost a girl she had undergone +the most complete change of scene, from gaiety and splendour to +absolute solitude and comparative poverty; and the ideas and +wishes which she chiefly fostered respected great national events, +and changes not to be brought round without both hazard and +bloodshed, and therefore not to be thought of with levity. Her +manner, consequently, was grave, though she readily contributed +her talents to the amusement of society, and stood very high in +the opinion of the old Baron, who used to sing along with her such +French duets of Lindor and Cloris, etc., as were in fashion about +the end of the reign of old Louis le Grand. + +It was generally believed, though no one durst have hinted it to +the Baron of Bradwardine, that Flora's entreaties had no small +share in allaying the wrath of Fergus upon occasion of their +quarrel. She took her brother on the assailable side, by dwelling +first upon the Baron's age, and then representing the injury which +the cause might sustain, and the damage which must arise to his +own character in point of prudence--so necessary to a political +agent, if he persisted in carrying it to extremity. Otherwise it +is probable it would have terminated in a duel, both because the +Baron had, on a former occasion, shed blood of the clan, though +the matter had been timely accommodated, and on account of his +high reputation for address at his weapon, which Fergus almost +condescended to envy. For the same reason she had urged their +reconciliation, which the Chieftain the more readily agreed to as +it favoured some ulterior projects of his own. + +To this young lady, now presiding at the female empire of the tea- +table, Fergus introduced Captain Waverley, whom she received with +the usual forms of politeness. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +HIGHLAND MINSTRELSY + + +When the first salutations had passed, Fergus said to his sister, +'My dear Flora, before I return to the barbarous ritual of our +forefathers, I must tell you that Captain Waverley is a worshipper +of the Celtic muse, not the less so perhaps that he does not +understand a word of her language. I have told him you are eminent +as a translator of Highland poetry, and that Mac-Murrough admires +your version of his songs upon the same principle that Captain +Waverley admires the original,--because he does not comprehend +them. Will you have the goodness to read or recite to our guest in +English the extraordinary string of names which Mac-Murrough has +tacked together in Gaelic? My life to a moor-fowl's feather, you +are provided with a version; for I know you are in all the bard's +councils, and acquainted with his songs long before he rehearses +them in the hall.' + +'How can you say so, Fergus? You know how little these verses can +possibly interest an English stranger, even if I could translate +them as you pretend.' + +'Not less than they interest me, lady fair. To-day your joint +composition, for I insist you had a share in it, has cost me the +last silver cup in the castle, and I suppose will cost me +something else next time I hold cour pleniere, if the muse +descends on Mac-Murrough; for you know our proverb,--"When the +hand of the chief ceases to bestow, the breath of the bard is +frozen in the utterance."--Well, I would it were even so: there +are three things that are useless to a modern Highlander,--a +sword which he must not draw, a bard to sing of deeds which he +dare not imitate, and a large goat-skin purse without a louis-d'or +to put into it.' + +'Well, brother, since you betray my secrets, you cannot expect me +to keep yours. I assure you, Captain Waverley, that Fergus is too +proud to exchange his broadsword for a marechal's baton, that he +esteems Mac-Murrough a far greater poet than Homer, and would not +give up his goat-skin purse for all the louis-d'or which it could +contain.' + +'Well pronounced, Flora; blow for blow, as Conan [Footnote: See +Note 23.] said to the devil. Now do you two talk of bards and +poetry, if not of purses and claymores, while I return to do the +final honours to the senators of the tribe of Ivor.' So saying, he +left the room. + +The conversation continued between Flora and Waverley; for two +well-dressed young women, whose character seemed to hover between +that of companions and dependants, took no share in it. They were +both pretty girls, but served only as foils to the grace and +beauty of their patroness. The discourse followed the turn which +the Chieftain had given it, and Waverley was equally amused and +surprised with the account which the lady gave him of Celtic +poetry. + +'The recitation,' she said, 'of poems recording the feats of +heroes, the complaints of lovers, and the wars of contending +tribes, forms the chief amusement of a winter fire-side in the +Highlands. Some of these are said to be very ancient, and if they +are ever translated into any of the languages of civilised Europe, +cannot fail to produce a deep and general sensation. Others are +more modern, the composition of those family bards whom the +chieftains of more distinguished name and power retain as the +poets and historians of their tribes. These, of course, possess +various degrees of merit; but much of it must evaporate in +translation, or be lost on those who do not sympathise with the +feelings of the poet.' + +'And your bard, whose effusions seemed to produce such effect upon +the company to-day, is he reckoned among the favourite poets of +the mountains?' + +'That is a trying question. His reputation is high among his +countrymen, and you must not expect me to depreciate it. +[Footnote: The Highland poet almost always was an improvisatore. +Captain Burt met one of them at Lovat's table.] + +'But the song, Miss Mac-Ivor, seemed to awaken all those warriors, +both young and old.' + +'The song is little more than a catalogue of names of the Highland +clans under their distinctive peculiarities, and an exhortation to +them to remember and to emulate the actions of their forefathers.' + +'And am I wrong in conjecturing, however extraordinary the guess +appears, that there was some allusion to me in the verses which he +recited?' + +'You have a quick observation, Captain Waverley, which in this +instance has not deceived you. The Gaelic language, being +uncommonly vocalic, is well adapted for sudden and extemporaneous +poetry; and a bard seldom fails to augment the effects of a +premeditated song by throwing in any stanzas which may be +suggested by the circumstances attending the recitation.' + +'I would give my best horse to know what the Highland bard could +find to say of such an unworthy Southron as myself.' + +'It shall not even cost you a lock of his mane. Una, mavourneen! +(She spoke a few words to one of the young girls in attendance, +who instantly curtsied and tripped out of the room.) I have sent +Una to learn from the bard the expressions he used, and you shall +command my skill as dragoman.' + +Una returned in a few minutes, and repeated to her mistress a few +lines in Gaelic. Flora seemed to think for a moment, and then, +slightly colouring, she turned to Waverley--'It is impossible to +gratify your curiosity, Captain Waverley, without exposing my own +presumption. If you will give me a few moments for consideration, +I will endeavour to engraft the meaning of these lines upon a rude +English translation which I have attempted of a part of the +original. The duties of the tea-table seem to be concluded, and, +as the evening is delightful, Una will show you the way to one of +my favourite haunts, and Cathleen and I will join you there.' + +Una, having received instructions in her native language, +conducted Waverley out by a passage different from that through +which he had entered the apartment. At a distance he heard the +hall of the Chief still resounding with the clang of bagpipes and +the high applause of his guests. Having gained the open air by a +postern door, they walked a little way up the wild, bleak, and +narrow valley in which the house was situated, following the +course of the stream that winded through it. In a spot, about a +quarter of a mile from the castle, two brooks, which formed the +little river, had their junction. The larger of the two came down +the long bare valley, which extended, apparently without any +change or elevation of character, as far as the hills which formed +its boundary permitted the eye to reach. But the other stream, +which had its source among the mountains on the left hand of the +strath, seemed to issue from a very narrow and dark opening +betwixt two large rocks. These streams were different also in +character. The larger was placid, and even sullen in its course, +wheeling in deep eddies, or sleeping in dark blue pools; but the +motions of the lesser brook were rapid and furious, issuing from +between precipices, like a maniac from his confinement, all foam +and uproar. + +It was up the course of this last stream that Waverley, like a +knight of romance, was conducted by the fair Highland damsel, his +silent guide. A small path, which had been rendered easy in many +places for Flora's accommodation, led him through scenery of a +very different description from that which he had just quitted. +Around the castle all was cold, bare, and desolate, yet tame even +in desolation; but this narrow glen, at so short a distance, +seemed to open into the land of romance. The rocks assumed a +thousand peculiar and varied forms. In one place a crag of huge +size presented its gigantic bulk, as if to forbid the passenger's +farther progress; and it was not until he approached its very base +that Waverley discerned the sudden and acute turn by which the +pathway wheeled its course around this formidable obstacle. In +another spot the projecting rocks from the opposite sides of the +chasm had approached so near to each other that two pine-trees +laid across, and covered with turf, formed a rustic bridge at the +height of at least one hundred and fifty feet. It had no ledges, +and was barely three feet in breadth. + +While gazing at this pass of peril, which crossed, like a single +black line, the small portion of blue sky not intercepted by the +projecting rocks on either side, it was with a sensation of horror +that Waverley beheld Flora and her attendant appear, like +inhabitants of another region, propped, as it were, in mid air, +upon this trembling structure. She stopped upon observing him +below, and, with an air of graceful ease which made him shudder, +waved her handkerchief to him by way of signal. He was unable, +from the sense of dizziness which her situation conveyed, to +return the salute; and was never more relieved than when the fair +apparition passed on from the precarious eminence which she seemed +to occupy with so much indifference, and disappeared on the other +side. + +Advancing a few yards, and passing under the bridge which he had +viewed with so much terror, the path ascended rapidly from the +edge of the brook, and the glen widened into a sylvan +amphitheatre, waving with birch, young oaks, and hazels, with here +and there a scattered yew-tree. The rocks now receded, but still +showed their grey and shaggy crests rising among the copse-wood. +Still higher rose eminences and peaks, some bare, some clothed +with wood, some round and purple with heath, and others splintered +into rocks and crags. At a short turning the path, which had for +some furlongs lost sight of the brook, suddenly placed Waverley in +front of a romantic waterfall. It was not so remarkable either for +great height or quantity of water as for the beautiful +accompaniments which made the spot interesting. After a broken +cataract of about twenty feet, the stream was received in a large +natural basin filled to the brim with water, which, where the +bubbles of the fall subsided, was so exquisitely clear that, +although it was of great depth, the eye could discern each pebble +at the bottom. Eddying round this reservoir, the brook found its +way as if over a broken part of the ledge, and formed a second +fall, which seemed to seek the very abyss; then, wheeling out +beneath from among the smooth dark rocks which it had polished for +ages, it wandered murmuring down the glen, forming the stream up +which Waverley had just ascended. [Footnote: See Note 24.] The +borders of this romantic reservoir corresponded in beauty; but it +was beauty of a stern and commanding cast, as if in the act of +expanding into grandeur. Mossy banks of turf were broken and +interrupted by huge fragments of rock, and decorated with trees +and shrubs, some of which had been planted under the direction of +Flora, but so cautiously that they added to the grace without +diminishing the romantic wildness of the scene. + +Here, like one of those lovely forms which decorate the landscapes +of Poussin, Waverley found Flora gazing on the waterfall. Two +paces further back stood Cathleen, holding a small Scottish harp, +the use of which had been taught to Flora by Rory Dall, one of the +last harpers of the Western Highlands. The sun, now stooping in +the west, gave a rich and varied tinge to all the objects which +surrounded Waverley, and seemed to add more than human brilliancy +to the full expressive darkness of Flora's eye, exalted the +richness and purity of her complexion, and enhanced the dignity +and grace of her beautiful form. Edward thought he had never, even +in his wildest dreams, imagined a figure of such exquisite and +interesting loveliness. The wild beauty of the retreat, bursting +upon him as if by magic, augmented the mingled feeling of delight +and awe with which he approached her, like a fair enchantress of +Boiardo or Ariosto, by whose nod the scenery around seemed to have +been created an Eden in the wilderness. + +Flora, like every beautiful woman, was conscious of her own power, +and pleased with its effects, which she could easily discern from +the respectful yet confused address of the young soldier. But, as +she possessed excellent sense, she gave the romance of the scene +and other accidental circumstances full weight in appreciating the +feelings with which Waverley seemed obviously to be impressed; +and, unacquainted with the fanciful and susceptible peculiarities +of his character, considered his homage as the passing tribute +which a woman of even inferior charms might have expected in such +a situation. She therefore quietly led the way to a spot at such a +distance from the cascade that its sound should rather accompany +than interrupt that of her voice and instrument, and, sitting down +upon a mossy fragment of rock, she took the harp from Cathleen. + +'I have given you the trouble of walking to this spot, Captain +Waverley, both because I thought the scenery would interest you, +and because a Highland song would suffer still more from my +imperfect translation were I to introduce it without its own wild +and appropriate accompaniments. To speak in the poetical language +of my country, the seat of the Celtic Muse is in the mist of the +secret and solitary hill, and her voice in the murmur of the +mountain stream. He who woos her must love the barren rock more +than the fertile valley, and the solitude of the desert better +than the festivity of the hall.' + +Few could have heard this lovely woman make this declaration, with +a voice where harmony was exalted by pathos, without exclaiming +that the muse whom she invoked could never find a more appropriate +representative. But Waverley, though the thought rushed on his +mind, found no courage to utter it. Indeed, the wild feeling of +romantic delight with which he heard the few first notes she drew +from her instrument amounted almost to a sense of pain. He would +not for worlds have quitted his place by her side; yet he almost +longed for solitude, that he might decipher and examine at leisure +the complication of emotions which now agitated his bosom. + +Flora had exchanged the measured and monotonous recitative of the +bard for a lofty and uncommon Highland air, which had been a +battle-song in former ages. A few irregular strains introduced a +prelude of a wild and peculiar tone, which harmonised well with +the distant waterfall, and the soft sigh of the evening breeze in +the rustling leaves of an aspen, which overhung the seat of the +fair harpress. The following verses convey but little idea of the +feelings with which, so sung and accompanied, they were heard by +Waverley:-- + + There is mist on the mountain, and night on the vale, + But more dark is the sleep of the sons of the Gael. + A stranger commanded--it sunk on the land, + It has frozen each heart, and benumb'd every hand! + + The dirk and the target lie sordid with dust, + The bloodless claymore is but redden'd with rust; + On the hill or the glen if a gun should appear, + It is only to war with the heath-cock or deer. + + The deeds of our sires if our bards should rehearse, + Let a blush or a blow be the meed of their verse! + Be mute every string, and be hush'd every tone, + That shall bid us remember the fame that is flown. + + But the dark hours of night and of slumber are past, + The morn on our mountains is dawning at last; + Glenaladale's peaks are illumined with the rays, + And the streams of Glenfinnan leap bright in the blaze. + +[Footnote: The young and daring adventurer, Charles Edward, landed +at Glenaladale, in Moidart, and displayed his standard in the +valley of Glenfinnan, mustering around it the Mac-Donalds, the +Camerons, and other less numerous clans, whom he had prevailed on +to join him. There is a monument erected on the spot, with a Latin +inscription by the late Doctor Gregory.] + + O high-minded Moray! the exiled! the dear! + In the blush of the dawning the STANDARD uprear! + Wide, wide on the winds of the north let it fly, + Like the sun's latest flash when the tempest is nigh! + +[Footnote: The Marquis of Tullibardine's elder brother, who, long +exiled, returned to Scotland with Charles Edward in 1745.] + + Ye sons of the strong, when that dawning shall break, + Need the harp of the aged remind you to wake? + That dawn never beam'd on your forefathers' eye, + But it roused each high chieftain to vanquish or die. + + O, sprung from the Kings who in Islay kept state, + Proud chiefs of Clan Ranald, Glengarry, and Sleat! + Combine like three streams from one mountain of snow, + And resistless in union rush down on the foe! + + True son of Sir Evan, undaunted Lochiel, + Place thy targe on thy shoulder and burnish thy steel! + Rough Keppoch, give breath to thy bugle's bold swell, + Till far Coryarrick resound to the knell! + + Stern son of Lord Kenneth, high chief of Kintail, + Let the stag in thy standard bound wild in the gale! + May the race of Clan Gillean, the fearless and free, + Remember Glenlivat, Harlaw, and Dundee! + + Let the clan of grey Fingon, whose offspring has given + Such heroes to earth and such martyrs to heaven, + Unite with the race of renown'd Rorri More, + To launch the long galley and stretch to the oar. + + How Mac-Shimei will joy when their chief shall display + The yew-crested bonnet o'er tresses of grey! + How the race of wrong'd Alpine and murder'd Glencoe + Shall shout for revenge when they pour on the foe! + + Ye sons of brown Dermid, who slew the wild boar, + Resume the pure faith of the great Callum-More! + Mac-Neil of the islands, and Moy of the Lake, + For honour, for freedom, for vengeance awake! + +Here a large greyhound, bounding up the glen, jumped upon Flora +and interrupted her music by his importunate caresses. At a +distant whistle he turned and shot down the path again with the +rapidity of an arrow. 'That is Fergus's faithful attendant, +Captain Waverley, and that was his signal. He likes no poetry but +what is humorous, and comes in good time to interrupt my long +catalogue of the tribes, whom one of your saucy English poets +calls + + Our bootless host of high-born beggars, + Mac-Leans, Mac-Kenzies, and Mac-Gregors.' + +Waverley expressed his regret at the interruption. + +'O you cannot guess how much you have lost! The bard, as in duty +bound, has addressed three long stanzas to Vich Ian Vohr of the +Banners, enumerating all his great properties, and not forgetting +his being a cheerer of the harper and bard--"a giver of bounteous +gifts." Besides, you should have heard a practical admonition to +the fair-haired son of the stranger, who lives in the land where +the grass is always green--the rider on the shining pampered +steed, whose hue is like the raven, and whose neigh is like the +scream of the eagle for battle. This valiant horseman is +affectionately conjured to remember that his ancestors were +distinguished by their loyalty as well as by their courage. All +this you have lost; but, since your curiosity is not satisfied, I +judge, from the distant sound of my brother's whistle, I may have +time to sing the concluding stanzas before he comes to laugh at my +translation.' + + Awake on your hills, on your islands awake, + Brave sons of the mountain, the frith, and the lake! + 'T is the bugle--but not for the chase is the call; + 'T is the pibroch's shrill summons--but not to the hall. + + 'T is the summons of heroes for conquest or death, + When the banners are blazing on mountain and heath: + They call to the dirk, the claymore, and the targe, + To the march and the muster, the line and the charge. + + Be the brand of each chieftain like Fin's in his ire! + May the blood through his veins flow like currents of fire! + Burst the base foreign yoke as your sires did of yore, + Or die like your sires, and endure it no more! + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +WAVEELEY CONTINUES AT GLENNAQUOICH + + +As Flora concluded her song, Fergus stood before them. 'I knew I +should find you here, even without the assistance of my friend +Bran. A simple and unsublimed taste now, like my own, would prefer +a jet d'eau at Versailles to this cascade, with all its +accompaniments of rock and roar; but this is Flora's Parnassus, +Captain Waverley, and that fountain her Helicon. It would be +greatly for the benefit of my cellar if she could teach her +coadjutor, Mac-Murrough, the value of its influence: he has just +drunk a pint of usquebaugh to correct, he said, the coldness of +the claret. Let me try its virtues.' He sipped a little water in +the hollow of his hand, and immediately commenced, with a +theatrical air,-- + + 'O Lady of the desert, hail! + That lovest the harping of the Gael, + Through fair and fertile regions borne, + Where never yet grew grass or corn. + +But English poetry will never succeed under the influence of a +Highland Helicon. Allons, courage! + + O vous, qui buvez, a tasse pleine, + A cette heureuse fontaine, + Ou on ne voit, sur le rivage, + Que quelques vilains troupeaux, + Suivis de nymphes de village, + Qui les escortent sans sabots--' + +'A truce, dear Fergus! spare us those most tedious and insipid +persons of all Arcadia. Do not, for Heaven's sake, bring down +Coridon and Lindor upon us.' + +'Nay, if you cannot relish la houlette et le chalumeau, have with +you in heroic strains.' + +'Dear Fergus, you have certainly partaken of the inspiration of +Mac-Murrough's cup rather than of mine.' + +'I disclaim it, ma belle demoiselle, although I protest it would +be the more congenial of the two. Which of your crack-brained +Italian romancers is it that says, + + Io d'Elicona niente + Mi curo, in fe de Dio; che'l bere d'acque + (Bea chi ber ne vuol) sempre mi spiacque! + +[Footnote: + + Good sooth, I reck nought of your Helicon; + Drink water whoso will, in faith I will drink none.] + +But if you prefer the Gaelic, Captain Waverley, here is little +Cathleen shall sing you Drimmindhu. Come, Cathleen, astore (i.e. +my dear), begin; no apologies to the cean-kinne.' + +Cathleen sung with much liveliness a little Gaelic song, the +burlesque elegy of a countryman on the loss of his cow, the comic +tones of which, though he did not understand the language, made +Waverley laugh more than once. [Footnote: This ancient Gaelic +ditty is still well known, both in the Highlands and in Ireland It +was translated into English, and published, if I mistake not, +under the auspices of the facetious Tom D'Urfey, by the title of +'Colley, my Cow.'] + +'Admirable, Cathleen!' cried the Chieftain; 'I must find you a +handsome husband among the clansmen one of these days.' + +Cathleen laughed, blushed, and sheltered herself behind her +companion. + +In the progress of their return to the castle, the Chieftain +warmly pressed Waverley to remain for a week or two, in order to +see a grand hunting party, in which he and some other Highland +gentlemen proposed to join. The charms of melody and beauty were +too strongly impressed in Edward's breast to permit his declining +an invitation so pleasing. It was agreed, therefore, that he +should write a note to the Baron of Bradwardine, expressing his +intention to stay a fortnight at Glennaquoich, and requesting him +to forward by the bearer (a gilly of the Chieftain's) any letters +which might have arrived for him. + +This turned the discourse upon the Baron, whom Fergus highly +extolled as a gentleman and soldier. His character was touched +with yet more discrimination by Flora, who observed he was the +very model of the old Scottish cavalier, with all his excellencies +and peculiarities. 'It is a character, Captain Waverley, which is +fast disappearing; for its best point was a self-respect which was +never lost sight of till now. But in the present time the +gentlemen whose principles do not permit them to pay court to the +existing government are neglected and degraded, and many conduct +themselves accordingly; and, like some of the persons you have +seen at Tully-Veolan, adopt habits and companions inconsistent +with their birth and breeding. The ruthless proscription of party +seems to degrade the victims whom it brands, however unjustly. But +let us hope a brighter day is approaching, when a Scottish country +gentleman may be a scholar without the pedantry of our friend the +Baron, a sportsman without the low habits of Mr. Falconer, and a +judicious improver of his property without becoming a boorish two- +legged steer like Killancureit.' + +Thus did Flora prophesy a revolution, which time indeed has +produced, but in a manner very different from what she had in her +mind. + +The amiable Rose was next mentioned, with the warmest encomium on +her person, manners, and mind. 'That man,' said Flora, 'will find +an inestimable treasure in the affections of Rose Bradwardine who +shall be so fortunate as to become their object. Her very soul is +in home, and in the discharge of all those quiet virtues of which +home is the centre. Her husband will be to her what her father now +is, the object of all her care, solicitude, and affection. She +will see nothing, and connect herself with nothing, but by him and +through him. If he is a man of sense and virtue, she will +sympathise in his sorrows, divert his fatigue, and share his +pleasures. If she becomes the property of a churlish or negligent +husband, she will suit his taste also, for she will not long +survive his unkindness. And, alas! how great is the chance that +some such unworthy lot may be that of my poor friend! O that I +were a queen this moment, and could command the most amiable and +worthy youth of my kingdom to accept happiness with the hand of +Rose Bradwardine!' + +'I wish you would command her to accept mine en attendant,' said +Fergus, laughing. + +I don't know by what caprice it was that this wish, however +jocularly expressed, rather jarred on Edward's feelings, +notwithstanding his growing inclination to Flora and his +indifference to Miss Bradwardine. This is one of the +inexplicabilities of human nature, which we leave without comment. + +'Yours, brother?' answered Flora, regarding him steadily. 'No; you +have another bride--Honour; and the dangers you must run in +pursuit of her rival would break poor Rose's heart.' + +With this discourse they reached the castle, and Waverley soon +prepared his despatches for Tully-Veolan. As he knew the Baron was +punctilious in such matters, he was about to impress his billet +with a seal on which his armorial bearings were engraved, but he +did not find it at his watch, and thought he must have left it at +Tully-Veolan. He mentioned his loss, borrowing at the same time +the family seal of the Chieftain. + +'Surely,' said Miss Mac-Ivor, 'Donald Bean Lean would not--' + +'My life for him in such circumstances,' answered her brother; +'besides, he would never have left the watch behind.' + +'After all, Fergus,' said Flora, 'and with every allowance, I am +surprised you can countenance that man.' + +'I countenance him? This kind sister of mine would persuade you, +Captain Waverley, that I take what the people of old used to call +"a steakraid," that is, a "collop of the foray," or, in plainer +words, a portion of the robber's booty, paid by him to the Laird, +or Chief, through whose grounds he drove his prey. O, it is +certain that, unless I can find some way to charm Flora's tongue, +General Blakeney will send a sergeant's party from Stirling (this +he said with haughty and emphatic irony) to seize Vich lan Vohr, +as they nickname me, in his own castle.' + +'Now, Fergus, must not our guest be sensible that all this is +folly and affectation? You have men enough to serve you without +enlisting banditti, and your own honour is above taint. Why don't +you send this Donald Bean Lean, whom I hate for his smoothness and +duplicity even more than for his rapine, out of your country at +once? No cause should induce me to tolerate such a character.' + +'No cause, Flora?' said the Chieftain significantly. + +'No cause, Fergus! not even that which is nearest to my heart. +Spare it the omen of such evil supporters!' + +'O but, sister,' rejoined the Chief gaily, 'you don't consider my +respect for la belle passion. Evan Dhu Maccombich is in love with +Donald's daughter, Alice, and you cannot expect me to disturb him +in his amours. Why, the whole clan would cry shame on me. You know +it is one of their wise sayings, that a kinsman is part of a man's +body, but a foster-brother is a piece of his heart.' + +'Well, Fergus, there is no disputing with you; but I would all +this may end well.' + +'Devoutly prayed, my dear and prophetic sister, and the best way +in the world to close a dubious argument. But hear ye not the +pipes, Captain Waverley? Perhaps you will like better to dance to +them in the hall than to be deafened with their harmony without +taking part in the exercise they invite us to.' + +Waverley took Flora's hand. The dance, song, and merry-making +proceeded, and closed the day's entertainment at the castle of +Vich Ian Vohr. Edward at length retired, his mind agitated by a +variety of new and conflicting feelings, which detained him from +rest for some time, in that not unpleasing state of mind in which +fancy takes the helm, and the soul rather drifts passively along +with the rapid and confused tide of reflections than exerts itself +to encounter, systematise, or examine them. At a late hour he fell +asleep, and dreamed of Flora Mac-Ivor. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +A STAG-HUNT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES + + +Shall this be a long or a short chapter? This is a question in +which you, gentle reader, have no vote, however much you may be +interested in the consequences; just as you may (like myself) +probably have nothing to do with the imposing a new tax, excepting +the trifling circumstance of being obliged to pay it. More happy +surely in the present case, since, though it lies within my +arbitrary power to extend my materials as I think proper, I cannot +call you into Exchequer if you do not think proper to read my +narrative. Let me therefore consider. It is true that the annals +and documents in my hands say but little of this Highland chase; +but then I can find copious materials for description elsewhere. +There is old Lindsay of Pitscottie ready at my elbow, with his +Athole hunting, and his 'lofted and joisted palace of green +timber; with all kind of drink to be had in burgh and land, as +ale, beer, wine, muscadel, malvaise, hippocras, and aquavitae; +with wheat-bread, main-bread, ginge-bread, beef, mutton, lamb, +veal, venison, goose, grice, capon, coney, crane, swan, partridge, +plover, duck, drake, brisselcock, pawnies, black-cock, muir-fowl, +and capercailzies'; not forgetting the 'costly bedding, vaiselle, +and napry,' and least of all the 'excelling stewards, cunning +baxters, excellent cooks, and pottingars, with confections and +drugs for the desserts.' Besides the particulars which may be +thence gleaned for this Highland feast (the splendour of which +induced the Pope's legate to dissent from an opinion which he had +hitherto held, that Scotland, namely, was the--the--the latter end +of the world)--besides these, might I not illuminate my pages +with Taylor the Water Poet's hunting in the Braes of Mar, where,-- + + Through heather, mosse,'mong frogs, and bogs, and fogs, + 'Mongst craggy cliffs and thunder-batter'd hills, + Hares, hinds, bucks, roes, are chased by men and dogs, + Where two hours' hunting fourscore fat deer kills. + Lowland, your sports are low as is your seat; + The Highland games and minds are high and great? + +But without further tyranny over my readers, or display of the +extent of my own reading, I shall content myself with borrowing a +single incident from the memorable hunting at Lude, commemorated +in the ingenious Mr. Gunn's essay on the Caledonian Harp, and so +proceed in my story with all the brevity that my natural style of +composition, partaking of what scholars call the periphrastic and +ambagitory, and the vulgar the circumbendibus, will permit me. + +The solemn hunting was delayed, from various causes, for about +three weeks. The interval was spent by Waverley with great +satisfaction at Glennaquoich; for the impression which Flora had +made on his mind at their first meeting grew daily stronger. She +was precisely the character to fascinate a youth of romantic +imagination. Her manners, her language, her talents for poetry and +music, gave additional and varied influence to her eminent +personal charms. Even in her hours of gaiety she was in his fancy +exalted above the ordinary daughters of Eve, and seemed only to +stoop for an instant to those topics of amusement and gallantry +which others appear to live for. In the neighbourhood of this +enchantress, while sport consumed the morning and music and the +dance led on the hours of evening, Waverley became daily more +delighted with his hospitable landlord, and more enamoured of his +bewitching sister. + +At length the period fixed for the grand hunting arrived, and +Waverley and the Chieftain departed for the place of rendezvous, +which was a day's journey to the northward of Glennaquoich. Fergus +was attended on this occasion by about three hundred of his clan, +well armed and accoutred in their best fashion. Waverley complied +so far with the custom of the country as to adopt the trews (he +could not be reconciled to the kilt), brogues, and bonnet, as the +fittest dress for the exercise in which he was to be engaged, and +which least exposed him to be stared at as a stranger when they +should reach the place of rendezvous. They found on the spot +appointed several powerful Chiefs, to all of whom Waverley was +formally presented, and by all cordially received. Their vassals +and clansmen, a part of whose feudal duty it was to attend on +these parties, appeared in such numbers as amounted to a small +army. These active assistants spread through the country far and +near, forming a circle, technically called the tinchel, which, +gradually closing, drove the deer in herds together towards the +glen where the Chiefs and principal sportsmen lay in wait for +them. In the meanwhile these distinguished personages bivouacked +among the flowery heath, wrapped up in their plaids, a mode of +passing a summer's night which Waverley found by no means +unpleasant. + +For many hours after sunrise the mountain ridges and passes +retained their ordinary appearance of silence and solitude, and +the Chiefs, with their followers, amused themselves with various +pastimes, in which the joys of the shell, as Ossian has it, were +not forgotten. 'Others apart sate on a hill retired,' probably as +deeply engaged in the discussion of politics and news as Milton's +spirits in metaphysical disquisition. At length signals of the +approach of the game were descried and heard. Distant shouts +resounded from valley to valley, as the various parties of +Highlanders, climbing rocks, struggling through copses, wading +brooks, and traversing thickets, approached more and more near to +each other, and compelled the astonished deer, with the other wild +animals that fled before them, into a narrower circuit. Every now +and then the report of muskets was heard, repeated by a thousand +echoes. The baying of the dogs was soon added to the chorus, which +grew ever louder and more loud. At length the advanced parties of +the deer began to show themselves; and as the stragglers came +bounding down the pass by two or three at a time, the Chiefs +showed their skill by distinguishing the fattest deer, and their +dexterity in bringing them down with their guns. Fergus exhibited +remarkable address, and Edward was also so fortunate as to attract +the notice and applause of the sportsmen. + +But now the main body of the deer appeared at the head of the +glen, compelled into a very narrow compass, and presenting such a +formidable phalanx that their antlers appeared at a distance, over +the ridge of the steep pass, like a leafless grove. Their number +was very great, and from a desperate stand which they made, with +the tallest of the red-deer stags arranged in front, in a sort of +battle-array, gazing on the group which barred their passage down +the glen, the more experienced sportsmen began to augur danger. +The work of destruction, however, now commenced on all sides. Dogs +and hunters were at work, and muskets and fusees resounded from +every quarter. The deer, driven to desperation, made at length a +fearful charge right upon the spot where the more distinguished +sportsmen had taken their stand. The word was given in Gaelic to +fling themselves upon their faces; but Waverley, on whose English +ears the signal was lost, had almost fallen a sacrifice to his +ignorance of the ancient language in which it was communicated. +Fergus, observing his danger, sprung up and pulled him with +violence to the ground, just as the whole herd broke down upon +them. The tide being absolutely irresistible, and wounds from a +stag's horn highly dangerous, the activity of the Chieftain may be +considered, on this occasion, as having saved his guest's life. He +detained him with a firm grasp until the whole herd of deer had +fairly run over them. Waverley then attempted to rise, but found +that he had suffered several very severe contusions, and, upon a +further examination, discovered that he had sprained his ankle +violently. + +[Footnote: The thrust from the tynes, or branches, of the stag's +horns was accounted far more dangerous than those of the boar's +tusk:-- + + If thou be hurt with horn of stag, + it brings thee to thy bier, + But barber's hand shall boar's hurt heal, + thereof have thou no fear.] + +This checked the mirth of the meeting, although the Highlanders, +accustomed to such incidents, and prepared for them, had suffered +no harm themselves. A wigwam was erected almost in an instant, +where Edward was deposited on a couch of heather. The surgeon, or +he who assumed the office, appeared to unite the characters of a +leech and a conjuror. He was an old smoke-dried Highlander, +wearing a venerable grey beard, and having for his sole garment a +tartan frock, the skirts of which descended to the knee, and, +being undivided in front, made the vestment serve at once for +doublet and breeches. [Footnote: This garb, which resembled the +dress often put on children in Scotland, called a polonie (i. e. +polonaise), is a very ancient modification of the Highland garb. +It was, in fact, the hauberk or shirt of mail, only composed of +cloth instead of rings of armour.] He observed great ceremony in +approaching Edward; and though our hero was writhing with pain, +would not proceed to any operation which might assuage it until he +had perambulated his couch three times, moving from east to west, +according to the course of the sun. This, which was called making +the deasil, [Footnote: Old Highlanders will still make the deasil +around those whom they wish well to. To go round a person in the +opposite direction, or withershins (German wider-shins), is +unlucky, and a sort of incantation.] both the leech and the +assistants seemed to consider as a matter of the last importance +to the accomplishment of a cure; and Waverley, whom pain rendered +incapable of expostulation, and who indeed saw no chance of its +being attended to, submitted in silence. + +After this ceremony was duly performed, the old Esculapius let his +patient's blood with a cupping-glass with great dexterity, and +proceeded, muttering all the while to himself in Gaelic, to boil +on the fire certain herbs, with which he compounded an +embrocation. He then fomented the parts which had sustained +injury, never failing to murmur prayers or spells, which of the +two Waverley could not distinguish, as his ear only caught the +words Gaspar-Melchior-Balthazar-max-prax-fax, and similar +gibberish. The fomentation had a speedy effect in alleviating the +pain and swelling, which our hero imputed to the virtue of the +herbs or the effect of the chafing, but which was by the +bystanders unanimously ascribed to the spells with which the +operation had been accompanied. Edward was given to understand +that not one of the ingredients had been gathered except during +the full moon, and that the herbalist had, while collecting them, +uniformly recited a charm, which in English ran thus:-- + + Hail to thee, thou holy herb, + That sprung on holy ground! + All in the Mount Olivet + First wert thou found. + Thou art boot for many a bruise, + And healest many a wound; + In our Lady's blessed name, + I take thee from the ground. + +[Footnote: This metrical spell, or something very like it, is +preserved by Reginald Scott in his work on Witchcraft.] + +Edward observed with some surprise that even Fergus, +notwithstanding his knowledge and education, seemed to fall in +with the superstitious ideas of his countrymen, either because he +deemed it impolitic to affect scepticism on a matter of general +belief, or more probably because, like most men who do not think +deeply or accurately on such subjects, he had in his mind a +reserve of superstition which balanced the freedom of his +expressions and practice upon other occasions. Waverley made no +commentary, therefore, on the manner of the treatment, but +rewarded the professor of medicine with a liberality beyond the +utmost conception of his wildest hopes. He uttered on the occasion +so many incoherent blessings in Gaelic and English that Mac-Ivor, +rather scandalised at the excess of his acknowledgments, cut them +short by exclaiming, Ceud mile mhalloich ort! i.e. 'A hundred +thousand curses on you!' and so pushed the helper of men out of +the cabin. + +After Waverley was left alone, the exhaustion of pain and fatigue +--for the whole day's exercise had been severe--threw him into a +profound, but yet a feverish sleep, which he chiefly owed to an +opiate draught administered by the old Highlander from some +decoction of herbs in his pharmacopoeia. + +Early the next morning, the purpose of their meeting being over, +and their sports damped by the untoward accident, in which Fergus +and all his friends expressed the greatest sympathy, it became a +question how to dispose of the disabled sportsman. This was +settled by Mac-Ivor, who had a litter prepared, of 'birch and +hazel-grey,' + +[FOOTNOTE: + + On the morrow they made their biers + Of birch and hazel grey. Chevy Chase.] + +which was borne by his people with such caution and dexterity as +renders it not improbable that they may have been the ancestors of +some of those sturdy Gael who have now the happiness to transport +the belles of Edinburgh in their sedan-chairs to ten routs in one +evening. When Edward was elevated upon their shoulders he could +not help being gratified with the romantic effect produced by the +breaking up of this sylvan camp. [Footnote: See Note 25.] + +The various tribes assembled, each at the pibroch of their native +clan, and each headed by their patriarchal ruler. Some, who had +already begun to retire, were seen winding up the hills, or +descending the passes which led to the scene of action, the sound +of their bagpipes dying upon the ear. Others made still a moving +picture upon the narrow plain, forming various changeful groups, +their feathers and loose plaids waving in the morning breeze, and +their arms glittering in the rising sun. Most of the Chiefs came +to take farewell of Waverley, and to express their anxious hope +they might again, and speedily, meet; but the care of Fergus +abridged the ceremony of taking leave. At length, his own men +being completely assembled and mustered, Mac-Ivor commenced his +march, but not towards the quarter from which they had come. He +gave Edward to understand that the greater part of his followers +now on the field were bound on a distant expedition, and that when +he had deposited him in the house of a gentleman, who he was sure +would pay him every attention, he himself should be under the +necessity of accompanying them the greater part of the way, but +would lose no time in rejoining his friend. + +Waverley was rather surprised that Fergus had not mentioned this +ulterior destination when they set out upon the hunting-party; but +his situation did not admit of many interrogatories. The greater +part of the clansmen went forward under the guidance of old +Ballenkeiroch and Evan Dhu Maccombich, apparently in high spirits. +A few remained for the purpose of escorting the Chieftain, who +walked by the side of Edward's litter, and attended him with the +most affectionate assiduity. About noon, after a journey which the +nature of the conveyance, the pain of his bruises, and the +roughness of the way rendered inexpressibly painful, Waverley was +hospitably received into the house of a gentleman related to +Fergus, who had prepared for him every accommodation which the +simple habits of living then universal in the Highlands put in his +power. In this person, an old man about seventy, Edward admired a +relic of primitive simplicity. He wore no dress but what his +estate afforded; the cloth was the fleece of his own sheep, woven +by his own servants, and stained into tartan by the dyes produced +from the herbs and lichens of the hills around him. His linen was +spun by his daughters and maidservants, from his own flax; nor did +his table, though plentiful, and varied with game and fish, offer +an article but what was of native produce. + +Claiming himself no rights of clanship or vassalage, he was +fortunate in the alliance and protection of Vich Ian Vohr and +other bold and enterprising Chieftains, who protected him in the +quiet unambitious life he loved. It is true, the youth born on his +grounds were often enticed to leave him for the service of his +more active friends; but a few old servants and tenants used to +shake their grey locks when they heard their master censured for +want of spirit, and observed, 'When the wind is still, the shower +falls soft.' This good old man, whose charity and hospitality were +unbounded, would have received Waverley with kindness had he been +the meanest Saxon peasant, since his situation required +assistance. But his attention to a friend and guest of Vich Ian +Vohr was anxious and unremitted. Other embrocations were applied +to the injured limb, and new spells were put in practice. At +length, after more solicitude than was perhaps for the advantage +of his health, Fergus took farewell of Edward for a few days, +when, he said, he would return to Tomanrait, and hoped by that +time Waverley would be able to ride one of the Highland ponies of +his landlord, and in that manner return to Glennaquoich. + +The next day, when his good old host appeared, Edward learned that +his friend had departed with the dawn, leaving none of his +followers except Callum Beg, the sort of foot-page who used to +attend his person, and who had now in charge to wait upon +Waverley. On asking his host if he knew where the Chieftain was +gone, the old man looked fixedly at him, with something mysterious +and sad in the smile which was his only reply. Waverley repeated +his question, to which his host answered in a proverb,-- + + What sent the messengers to hell, + Was asking what they knew full well. + +[Footnote: Corresponding to the Lowland saying, 'Mony ane speirs +the gate they ken fu' weel.'] + +He was about to proceed, but Callum Beg said, rather pertly, as +Edward thought, that 'Ta Tighearnach (i.e. the Chief) did not like +ta Sassenagh duinhe-wassel to be pingled wi' mickle speaking, as +she was na tat weel.' From this Waverley concluded he should +disoblige his friend by inquiring of a stranger the object of a +journey which he himself had not communicated. + +It is unnecessary to trace the progress of our hero's recovery. +The sixth morning had arrived, and he was able to walk about with +a staff, when Fergus returned with about a score of his men. He +seemed in the highest spirits, congratulated Waverley on his +progress towards recovery, and finding he was able to sit on +horseback, proposed their immediate return to Glennaquoich. +Waverley joyfully acceded, for the form of its fair mistress had +lived in his dreams during all the time of his confinement. + + Now he has ridden o'er moor and moss, + O'er hill and many a glen, + +Fergus, all the while, with his myrmidons, striding stoutly by his +side, or diverging to get a shot at a roe or a heath-cock. +Waverley's bosom beat thick when they approached the old tower of +Ian nan Chaistel, and could distinguish the fair form of its +mistress advancing to meet them. + +Fergus began immediately, with his usual high spirits, to exclaim, +'Open your gates, incomparable princess, to the wounded Moor +Abindarez, whom Rodrigo de Narvez, constable of Antiquera, conveys +to your castle; or open them, if you like it better, to the +renowned Marquis of Mantua, the sad attendant of his half-slain +friend Baldovinos of the Mountain. Ah, long rest to thy soul, +Cervantes! without quoting thy remnants, how should I frame my +language to befit romantic ears!' + +Flora now advanced, and welcoming Waverley with much kindness, +expressed her regret for his accident, of which she had already +heard particulars, and her surprise that her brother should not +have taken better care to put a stranger on his guard against the +perils of the sport in which he engaged him. Edward easily +exculpated the Chieftain, who, indeed, at his own personal risk, +had probably saved his life. + +This greeting over, Fergus said three or four words to his sister +in Gaelic. The tears instantly sprung to her eyes, but they seemed +to be tears of devotion and joy, for she looked up to heaven and +folded her hands as in a solemn expression of prayer or gratitude. +After the pause of a minute, she presented to Edward some letters +which had been forwarded from Tully-Veolan during his absence, and +at the same time delivered some to her brother. To the latter she +likewise gave three or four numbers of the Caledonian Mercury, the +only newspaper which was then published to the north of the Tweed. + +Both gentlemen retired to examine their despatches, and Edward +speedily found that those which he had received contained matters +of very deep interest. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +NEWS FROM ENGLAND + + +The letters which Waverley had hitherto received from his +relations in England were not such as required any particular +notice in this narrative. His father usually wrote to him with the +pompous affectation of one who was too much oppressed by public +affairs to find leisure to attend to those of his own family. Now +and then he mentioned persons of rank in Scotland to whom he +wished his son should pay some attention; but Waverley, hitherto +occupied by the amusements which he had found at Tully-Veolan and +Glennaquoich, dispensed with paying any attention to hints so +coldly thrown out, especially as distance, shortness of leave of +absence, and so forth furnished a ready apology. But latterly the +burden of Mr. Richard Waverley's paternal epistles consisted in +certain mysterious hints of greatness and influence which he was +speedily to attain, and which would ensure his son's obtaining the +most rapid promotion, should he remain in the military service. +Sir Everard's letters were of a different tenor. They were short; +for the good Baronet was none of your illimitable correspondents, +whose manuscript overflows the folds of their large post paper, +and leaves no room for the seal; but they were kind and +affectionate, and seldom concluded without some allusion to our +hero's stud, some question about the state of his purse, and a +special inquiry after such of his recruits as had preceded him +from Waverley-Honour. Aunt Rachel charged him to remember his +principles of religion, to take care of his health, to beware of +Scotch mists, which, she had heard, would wet an Englishman +through and through, never to go out at night without his great- +coat, and, above all, to wear flannel next to his skin. + +Mr. Pembroke only wrote to our hero one letter, but it was of the +bulk of six epistles of these degenerate days, containing, in the +moderate compass of ten folio pages, closely written, a precis of +a supplementary quarto manuscript of addenda, delenda, et +corrigenda in reference to the two tracts with which he had +presented Waverley. This he considered as a mere sop in the pan to +stay the appetite of Edward's curiosity until he should find an +opportunity of sending down the volume itself, which was much too +heavy for the post, and which he proposed to accompany with +certain interesting pamphlets, lately published by his friend in +Little Britain, with whom he had kept up a sort of literary +correspondence, in virtue of which the library shelves of +Waverley-Honour were loaded with much trash, and a good round +bill, seldom summed in fewer than three figures, was yearly +transmitted, in which Sir Everard Waverley of Waverley-Honour, +Bart., was marked Dr. to Jonathan Grubbet, bookseller and +stationer, Little Britain. Such had hitherto been the style of the +letters which Edward had received from England; but the packet +delivered to him at Glennaquoich was of a different and more +interesting complexion. It would be impossible for the reader, +even were I to insert the letters at full length, to comprehend +the real cause of their being written, without a glance into the +interior of the British cabinet at the period in question. + +The ministers of the day happened (no very singular event) to be +divided into two parties; the weakest of which, making up by +assiduity of intrigue their inferiority in real consequence, had +of late acquired some new proselytes, and with them the hope of +superseding their rivals in the favour of their sovereign, and +overpowering them in the House of Commons. Amongst others, they +had thought it worth while to practise upon Richard Waverley. This +honest gentleman, by a grave mysterious demeanour, an attention to +the etiquette of business rather more than to its essence, a +facility in making long dull speeches, consisting of truisms and +commonplaces, hashed up with a technical jargon of office, which +prevented the inanity of his orations from being discovered, had +acquired a certain name and credit in public life, and even +established, with many, the character of a profound politician; +none of your shining orators, indeed, whose talents evaporate in +tropes of rhetoric and flashes of wit, but one possessed of steady +parts for business, which would wear well, as the ladies say in +choosing their silks, and ought in all reason to be good for +common and every-day use, since they were confessedly formed of no +holiday texture. + +This faith had become so general that the insurgent party in the +cabinet, of which we have made mention, after sounding Mr. Richard +Waverley, were so satisfied with his sentiments and abilities as +to propose that, in case of a certain revolution in the ministry, +he should take an ostensible place in the new order of things, not +indeed of the very first rank, but greatly higher, in point both +of emolument and influence, than that which he now enjoyed. There +was no resisting so tempting a proposal, notwithstanding that the +Great Man under whose patronage he had enlisted, and by whose +banner he had hitherto stood firm, was the principal object of the +proposed attack by the new allies. Unfortunately this fair scheme +of ambition was blighted in the very bud by a premature movement. +All the official gentlemen concerned in it who hesitated to take +the part of a voluntary resignation were informed that the king +had no further occasion for their services; and in Richard +Waverley's case, which the minister considered as aggravated by +ingratitude, dismissal was accompanied by something like personal +contempt and contumely. The public, and even the party of whom he +shared the fall, sympathised little in the disappointment of this +selfish and interested statesman; and he retired to the country +under the comfortable reflection that he had lost, at the same +time, character, credit, and,--what he at least equally deplored, +--emolument. + +Richard Waverley's letter to his son upon this occasion was a +masterpiece of its kind. Aristides himself could not have made out +a harder case. An unjust monarch and an ungrateful country were +the burden of each rounded paragraph. He spoke of long services +and unrequited sacrifices; though the former had been overpaid by +his salary, and nobody could guess in what the latter consisted, +unless it were in his deserting, not from conviction, but for the +lucre of gain, the Tory principles of his family. In the +conclusion, his resentment was wrought to such an excess by the +force of his own oratory, that he could not repress some threats +of vengeance, however vague and impotent, and finally acquainted +his son with his pleasure that he should testify his sense of the +ill-treatment he had sustained by throwing up his commission as +soon as the letter reached him. This, he said, was also his +uncle's desire, as he would himself intimate in due course. + +Accordingly, the next letter which Edward opened was from Sir +Everard. His brother's disgrace seemed to have removed from his +well-natured bosom all recollection of their differences, and, +remote as he was from every means of learning that Richard's +disgrace was in reality only the just as well as natural +consequence of his own unsuccessful intrigues, the good but +credulous Baronet at once set it down as a new and enormous +instance of the injustice of the existing government. It was true, +he said, and he must not disguise it even from Edward, that his +father could not have sustained such an insult as was now, for the +first time, offered to one of his house, unless he had subjected +himself to it by accepting of an employment under the present +system. Sir Everard had no doubt that he now both saw and felt the +magnitude of this error, and it should be his (Sir Everard's) +business to take care that the cause of his regret should not +extend itself to pecuniary consequences. It was enough for a +Waverley to have sustained the public disgrace; the patrimonial +injury could easily be obviated by the head of their family. But +it was both the opinion of Mr. Richard Waverley and his own that +Edward, the representative of the family of Waverley-Honour, +should not remain in a situation which subjected him also to such +treatment as that with which his father had been stigmatised. He +requested his nephew therefore to take the fittest, and at the +same time the most speedy, opportunity of transmitting his +resignation to the War Office, and hinted, moreover, that little +ceremony was necessary where so little had been used to his +father. He sent multitudinous greetings to the Baron of +Bradwardine. + +A letter from Aunt Rachel spoke out even more plainly. She +considered the disgrace of brother Richard as the just reward of +his forfeiting his allegiance to a lawful though exiled sovereign, +and taking the oaths to an alien; a concession which her +grandfather, Sir Nigel Waverley, refused to make, either to the +Roundhead Parliament or to Cromwell, when his life and fortune +stood in the utmost extremity. She hoped her dear Edward would +follow the footsteps of his ancestors, and as speedily as possible +get rid of the badge of servitude to the usurping family, and +regard the wrongs sustained by his father as an admonition from +Heaven that every desertion of the line of loyalty becomes its own +punishment. She also concluded with her respects to Mr. +Bradwardine, and begged Waverley would inform her whether his +daughter, Miss Rose, was old enough to wear a pair of very +handsome ear-rings, which she proposed to send as a token of her +affection. The good lady also desired to be informed whether Mr. +Bradwardine took as much Scotch snuff and danced as unweariedly as +he did when he was at Waverley-Honour about thirty years ago. + +These letters, as might have been expected, highly excited +Waverley's indignation. From the desultory style of his studies, +he had not any fixed political opinion to place in opposition to +the movements of indignation which he felt at his father's +supposed wrongs. Of the real cause of his disgrace Edward was +totally ignorant; nor had his habits at all led him to investigate +the politics of the period in which he lived, or remark the +intrigues in which his father had been so actively engaged. +Indeed, any impressions which he had accidentally adopted +concerning the parties of the times were (owing to the society in +which he had lived at Waverley-Honour) of a nature rather +unfavourable to the existing government and dynasty. He entered, +therefore, without hesitation into the resentful feeling of the +relations who had the best title to dictate his conduct, and not +perhaps the less willingly when he remembered the tedium of his +quarters, and the inferior figure which he had made among the +officers of his regiment. If he could have had any doubt upon the +subject it would have been decided by the following letter from +his commanding officer, which, as it is very short, shall be +inserted verbatim:-- + +SIR,-- + +Having carried somewhat beyond the line of my duty an indulgence +which even the lights of nature, and much more those of +Christianity, direct towards errors which may arise from youth and +inexperience, and that altogether without effect, I am reluctantly +compelled, at the present crisis, to use the only remaining remedy +which is in my power. You are, therefore, hereby commanded to +repair to--, the headquarters of the regiment, within three days +after the date of this letter. If you shall fail to do so, I must +report you to the War Office as absent without leave, and also +take other steps, which will be disagreeable to you as well as to, + +Sir, + +Your obedient Servant, + +J. GARDINER, Lieut.-Col. + +Commanding the----Regt. Dragoons. + +Edward's blood boiled within him as he read this letter. He had +been accustomed from his very infancy to possess in a great +measure the disposal of his own time, and thus acquired habits +which rendered the rules of military discipline as unpleasing to +him in this as they were in some other respects. An idea that in +his own case they would not be enforced in a very rigid manner had +also obtained full possession of his mind, and had hitherto been +sanctioned by the indulgent conduct of his lieutenant-colonel. +Neither had anything occurred, to his knowledge, that should have +induced his commanding officer, without any other warning than the +hints we noticed at the end of the fourteenth chapter, so suddenly +to assume a harsh and, as Edward deemed it, so insolent a tone of +dictatorial authority. Connecting it with the letters he had just +received from his family, he could not but suppose that it was +designed to make him feel, in his present situation, the same +pressure of authority which had been exercised in his father's +case, and that the whole was a concerted scheme to depress and +degrade every member of the Waverley family. + +Without a pause, therefore, Edward wrote a few cold lines, +thanking his lieutenant-colonel for past civilities, and +expressing regret that he should have chosen to efface the +remembrance of them by assuming a different tone towards him. The +strain of his letter, as well as what he (Edward) conceived to be +his duty in the present crisis, called upon him to lay down his +commission; and he therefore inclosed the formal resignation of a +situation which subjected him to so unpleasant a correspondence, +and requested Colonel Gardiner would have the goodness to forward +it to the proper authorities. + +Having finished this magnanimous epistle, he felt somewhat +uncertain concerning the terms in which his resignation ought to +be expressed, upon which subject he resolved to consult Fergus +Mac-Ivor. It may be observed in passing that the bold and prompt +habits of thinking, acting, and speaking which distinguished this +young Chieftain had given him a considerable ascendency over the +mind of Waverley. Endowed with at least equal powers of +understanding, and with much finer genius, Edward yet stooped to +the bold and decisive activity of an intellect which was sharpened +by the habit of acting on a preconceived and regular system, as +well as by extensive knowledge of the world. + +When Edward found his friend, the latter had still in his hand the +newspaper which he had perused, and advanced to meet him with the +embarrassment of one who has unpleasing news to communicate. 'Do +your letters, Captain Waverley, confirm the unpleasing information +which I find in this paper?' + +He put the paper into his hand, where his father's disgrace was +registered in the most bitter terms, transferred probably from +some London journal. At the end of the paragraph was this +remarkable innuendo:-- + +'We understand that "this same RICHARD who hath done all this" is +not the only example of the WAVERING HONOUR of W-v-r-ly H-n-r. See +the Gazette of this day.' + +With hurried and feverish apprehension our hero turned to the +place referred to, and found therein recorded, 'Edward Waverley, +captain in----regiment dragoons, superseded for absence without +leave'; and in the list of military promotions, referring to the +same regiment, he discovered this farther article, 'Lieut. Julius +Butler, to be captain, VICE Edward Waverley, superseded.' + +Our hero's bosom glowed with the resentment which undeserved and +apparently premeditated insult was calculated to excite in the +bosom of one who had aspired after honour, and was thus wantonly +held up to public scorn and disgrace. Upon comparing the date of +his colonel's letter with that of the article in the Gazette, he +perceived that his threat of making a report upon his absence had +been literally fulfilled, and without inquiry, as it seemed, +whether Edward had either received his summons or was disposed to +comply with it. The whole, therefore, appeared a formed plan to +degrade him in the eyes of the public; and the idea of its having +succeeded filled him with such bitter emotions that, after various +attempts to conceal them, he at length threw himself into Mac- +Ivor's arms, and gave vent to tears of shame and indignation. + +It was none of this Chieftain's faults to be indifferent to the +wrongs of his friends; and for Edward, independent of certain +plans with which he was connected, he felt a deep and sincere +interest. The proceeding appeared as extraordinary to him as it +had done to Edward. He indeed knew of more motives than Waverley +was privy to for the peremptory order that he should join his +regiment. But that, without further inquiry into the circumstances +of a necessary delay, the commanding officer, in contradiction to +his known and established character, should have proceeded in so +harsh and unusual a manner was a mystery which he could not +penetrate. He soothed our hero, however, to the best of his power, +and began to turn his thoughts on revenge for his insulted honour. + +Edward eagerly grasped at the idea. 'Will you carry a message for +me to Colonel Gardiner, my dear Fergus, and oblige me for ever?' + +Fergus paused. 'It is an act of friendship which you should +command, could it be useful, or lead to the righting your honour; +but in the present case I doubt if your commanding officer would +give you the meeting on account of his having taken measures +which, however harsh and exasperating, were still within the +strict bounds of his duty. Besides, Gardiner is a precise +Huguenot, and has adopted certain ideas about the sinfulness of +such rencontres, from which it would be impossible to make him +depart, especially as his courage is beyond all suspicion. And +besides, I--I, to say the truth--I dare not at this moment, for +some very weighty reasons, go near any of the military quarters or +garrisons belonging to this government.' + +'And am I,' said Waverley, 'to sit down quiet and contented under +the injury I have received?' + +'That will I never advise my friend,' replied Mac-Ivor. 'But I +would have vengeance to fall on the head, not on the hand, on the +tyrannical and oppressive government which designed and directed +these premeditated and reiterated insults, not on the tools of +office which they employed in the execution of the injuries they +aimed at you.' + +'On the government!' said Waverley. + +'Yes,' replied the impetuous Highlander, 'on the usurping House of +Hanover, whom your grandfather would no more have served than he +would have taken wages of red-hot gold from the great fiend of +hell!' + +'But since the time of my grandfather two generations of this +dynasty have possessed the throne,' said Edward coolly. + +'True,' replied the Chieftain; 'and because we have passively +given them so long the means of showing their native character,-- +because both you and I myself have lived in quiet submission, have +even truckled to the times so far as to accept commissions under +them, and thus have given them an opportunity of disgracing us +publicly by resuming them, are we not on that account to resent +injuries which our fathers only apprehended, but which we have +actually sustained? Or is the cause of the unfortunate Stuart +family become less just, because their title has devolved upon an +heir who is innocent of the charges of misgovernment brought +against his father? Do you remember the lines of your favourite +poet? + + Had Richard unconstrain'd resign'd the throne, + A king can give no more than is his own; + The title stood entail'd had Richard had a son. + +You see, my dear Waverley, I can quote poetry as well as Flora and +you. But come, clear your moody brow, and trust to me to show you +an honourable road to a speedy and glorious revenge. Let us seek +Flora, who perhaps has more news to tell us of what has occurred +during our absence. She will rejoice to hear that you are relieved +of your servitude. But first add a postscript to your letter, +marking the time when you received this calvinistical colonel's +first summons, and express your regret that the hastiness of his +proceedings prevented your anticipating them by sending your +resignation. Then let him blush for his injustice.' + +The letter was sealed accordingly, covering a formal resignation +of the commission, and Mac-Ivor despatched it with some letters of +his own by a special messenger, with charge to put them into the +nearest post-office in the Lowlands. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +AN ECLAIRCISSEMENT + + +The hint which the Chieftain had thrown out respecting Flora was +not unpremeditated. He had observed with great satisfaction the +growing attachment of Waverley to his sister, nor did he see any +bar to their union, excepting the situation which Waverley's +father held in the ministry, and Edward's own commission in the +army of George II. These obstacles were now removed, and in a +manner which apparently paved the way for the son's becoming +reconciled to another allegiance. In every other respect the match +would be most eligible. The safety, happiness, and honourable +provision of his sister, whom he dearly loved, appeared to be +ensured by the proposed union; and his heart swelled when he +considered how his own interest would be exalted in the eyes of +the ex-monarch to whom he had dedicated his service, by an +alliance with one of those ancient, powerful, and wealthy English +families of the steady cavalier faith, to awaken whose decayed +attachment to the Stuart family was now a matter of such vital +importance to the Stuart cause. Nor could Fergus perceive any +obstacle to such a scheme. Waverley's attachment was evident; and +as his person was handsome, and his taste apparently coincided +with her own, he anticipated no opposition on the part of Flora. +Indeed, between his ideas of patriarchal power and those which he +had acquired in France respecting the disposal of females in +marriage, any opposition from his sister, dear as she was to him, +would have been the last obstacle on which he would have +calculated, even had the union been less eligible. + +Influenced by these feelings, the Chief now led Waverley in quest +of Miss Mac-Ivor, not without the hope that the present agitation +of his guest's spirits might give him courage to cut short what +Fergus termed the romance of the courtship. They found Flora, with +her faithful attendants, Una and Cathleen, busied in preparing +what appeared to Waverley to be white bridal favours. Disguising +as well as he could the agitation of his mind, Waverley asked for +what joyful occasion Miss Mac-Ivor made such ample preparation. + +'It is for Fergus's bridal,' she said, smiling. + +'Indeed!' said Edward; 'he has kept his secret well. I hope he +will allow me to be his bride's-man.' + +'That is a man's office, but not yours, as Beatrice says,' +retorted Flora. + +'And who is the fair lady, may I be permitted to ask, Miss Mac- +Ivor?' + +'Did not I tell you long since that Fergus wooed no bride but +Honour?' answered Flora. + +'And am I then incapable of being his assistant and counsellor in +the pursuit of honour?' said our hero, colouring deeply. 'Do I +rank so low in your opinion?' + +'Far from it, Captain Waverley. I would to God you were of our +determination! and made use of the expression which displeased +you, solely + + Because you are not of our quality, + But stand against us as an enemy.' + +'That time is past, sister,' said Fergus; 'and you may wish +Edward Waverley (no longer captain) joy of being freed from the +slavery to an usurper, implied in that sable and ill-omened +emblem.' + +'Yes,' said Waverley, undoing the cockade from his hat, 'it has +pleased the king who bestowed this badge upon me to resume it in a +manner which leaves me little reason to regret his service.' + +'Thank God for that!' cried the enthusiast; 'and O that they may +be blind enough to treat every man of honour who serves them with +the same indignity, that I may have less to sigh for when the +struggle approaches!' + +'And now, sister,' said the Chieftain, 'replace his cockade with +one of a more lively colour. I think it was the fashion of the +ladies of yore to arm and send forth their knights to high +achievement.' + +'Not,' replied the lady, 'till the knight adventurer had well +weighed the justice and the danger of the cause, Fergus. Mr. +Waverley is just now too much agitated by feelings of recent +emotion for me to press upon him a resolution of consequence.' + +Waverley felt half alarmed at the thought of adopting the badge of +what was by the majority of the kingdom esteemed rebellion, yet he +could not disguise his chagrin at the coldness with which Flora +parried her brother's hint. 'Miss Mac-Ivor, I perceive, thinks the +knight unworthy of her encouragement and favour,' said he, +somewhat bitterly. + +'Not so, Mr. Waverley,' she replied, with great sweetness. 'Why +should I refuse my brother's valued friend a boon which I am +distributing to his whole clan? Most willingly would I enlist +every man of honour in the cause to which my brother has devoted +himself. But Fergus has taken his measures with his eyes open. His +life has been devoted to this cause from his cradle; with him its +call is sacred, were it even a summons to the tomb. But how can I +wish you, Mr. Waverley, so new to the world, so far from every +friend who might advise and ought to influence you,--in a moment, +too, of sudden pique and indignation,--how can I wish you to +plunge yourself at once into so desperate an enterprise?' + +Fergus, who did not understand these delicacies, strode through +the apartment biting his lip, and then, with a constrained smile, +said, 'Well, sister, I leave you to act your new character of +mediator between the Elector of Hanover and the subjects of your +lawful sovereign and benefactor,' and left the room. + +There was a painful pause, which was at length broken by Miss Mac- +Ivor. 'My brother is unjust,' she said, 'because he can bear no +interruption that seems to thwart his loyal zeal.' + +'And do you not share his ardour?' asked Waverley, + +'Do I not?' answered Flora. 'God knows mine exceeds his, if that +be possible. But I am not, like him, rapt by the bustle of +military preparation, and the infinite detail necessary to the +present undertaking, beyond consideration of the grand principles +of justice and truth, on which our enterprise is grounded; and +these, I am certain, can only be furthered by measures in +themselves true and just. To operate upon your present feelings, +my dear Mr. Waverley, to induce you to an irretrievable step, of +which you have not considered either the justice or the danger, +is, in my poor judgment, neither the one nor the other.' + +'Incomparable Flora!' said Edward, taking her hand, 'how much do I +need such a monitor!' + +'A better one by far,' said Flora, gently withdrawing her hand, +'Mr. Waverley will always find in his own bosom, when he will give +its small still voice leisure to be heard.' + +'No, Miss Mac-Ivor, I dare not hope it; a thousand circumstances +of fatal self-indulgence have made me the creature rather of +imagination than reason. Durst I but hope--could I but think--that +you would deign to be to me that affectionate, that condescending +friend, who would strengthen me to redeem my errors, my future +life--' + +'Hush, my dear sir! now you carry your joy at escaping the hands +of a Jacobite recruiting officer to an unparalleled excess of +gratitude.' + +'Nay, dear Flora, trifle with me no longer; you cannot mistake the +meaning of those feelings which I have almost involuntarily +expressed; and since I have broken the barrier of silence, let me +profit by my audacity. Or may I, with your permission, mention to +your brother--' + +'Not for the world, Mr. Waverley!' + +'What am I to understand?' said Edward. 'Is there any fatal bar-- +has any prepossession--' + +'None, sir,' answered Flora. 'I owe it to myself to say that I +never yet saw the person on whom I thought with reference to the +present subject.' + +'The shortness of our acquaintance, perhaps--If Miss Mac-Ivor will +deign to give me time--' + +'I have not even that excuse. Captain Waverley's character is so +open--is, in short, of that nature that it cannot be misconstrued, +either in its strength or its weakness.' + +'And for that weakness you despise me?' said Edward. + +'Forgive me, Mr. Waverley--and remember it is but within this half +hour that there existed between us a barrier of a nature to me +insurmountable, since I never could think of an officer in the +service of the Elector of Hanover in any other light than as a +casual acquaintance. Permit me then to arrange my ideas upon so +unexpected a topic, and in less than an hour I will be ready to +give you such reasons for the resolution I shall express as may be +satisfactory at least, if not pleasing to you.' So saying Flora +withdrew, leaving Waverley to meditate upon the manner in which +she had received his addresses. + +Ere he could make up his mind whether to believe his suit had been +acceptable or no, Fergus re-entered the apartment. 'What, a la +mort, Waverley?' he cried. 'Come down with me to the court, and +you shall see a sight worth all the tirades of your romances. An +hundred firelocks, my friend, and as many broadswords, just +arrived from good friends; and two or three hundred stout fellows +almost fighting which shall first possess them. But let me look at +you closer. Why, a true Highlander would say you had been blighted +by an evil eye. Or can it be this silly girl that has thus blanked +your spirit. Never mind her, dear Edward; the wisest of her sex +are fools in what regards the business of life.' + +'Indeed, my good friend,' answered Waverley, 'all that I can +charge against your sister is, that she is too sensible, too +reasonable.' + +'If that be all, I ensure you for a louis-d'or against the mood +lasting four-and-twenty hours. No woman was ever steadily sensible +for that period; and I will engage, if that will please you, Flora +shall be as unreasonable to-morrow as any of her sex. You must +learn, my dear Edward, to consider women en mousquetaire.' So +saying, he seized Waverley's arm and dragged him off to review his +military preparations. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +UPON THE SAME SUBJECT + + +Fergus Mac-Ivor had too much tact and delicacy to renew the +subject which he had interrupted. His head was, or appeared to be, +so full of guns, broadswords, bonnets, canteens, and tartan hose +that Waverley could not for some time draw his attention to any +other topic. + +'Are you to take the field so soon, Fergus,' he asked, 'that you +are making all these martial preparations?' + +'When we have settled that you go with me, you shall know all; but +otherwise, the knowledge might rather be prejudicial to you.' + +'But are you serious in your purpose, with such inferior forces, +to rise against an established government? It is mere frenzy.' + +'Laissez faire a Don Antoine; I shall take good care of myself. We +shall at least use the compliment of Conan, who never got a stroke +but he gave one. I would not, however,' continued the Chieftain, +'have you think me mad enough to stir till a favourable +opportunity: I will not slip my dog before the game's afoot. But, +once more, will you join with us, and you shall know all?' + +'How can I?' said Waverley; 'I, who have so lately held that +commission which is now posting back to those that gave it? My +accepting it implied a promise of fidelity, and an acknowledgment +of the legality of the government.' + +'A rash promise,' answered Fergus, 'is not a steel handcuff, it +may be shaken off, especially when it was given under deception, +and has been repaid by insult. But if you cannot immediately make +up your mind to a glorious revenge, go to England, and ere you +cross the Tweed you will hear tidings that will make the world +ring; and if Sir Everard be the gallant old cavalier I have heard +him described by some of our HONEST gentlemen of the year one +thousand seven hundred and fifteen, he will find you a better +horse-troop and a better cause than you have lost.' + +'But your sister, Fergus?' + +'Out, hyperbolical fiend!' replied the Chief, laughing; 'how +vexest thou this man! Speak'st thou of nothing but of ladies?' + +'Nay, be serious, my dear friend,' said Waverley; 'I feel that the +happiness of my future life must depend upon the answer which Miss +Mac-Ivor shall make to what I ventured to tell her this morning.' + +'And is this your very sober earnest,' said Fergus, more gravely, +'or are we in the land of romance and fiction?' + +'My earnest, undoubtedly. How could you suppose me jesting on such +a subject?' + +'Then, in very sober earnest,' answered his friend, 'I am very +glad to hear it; and so highly do I think of Flora, that you are +the only man in England for whom I would say so much. But before +you shake my hand so warmly, there is more to be considered. Your +own family--will they approve your connecting yourself with the +sister of a high-born Highland beggar?' + +'My uncle's situation,' said Waverley, 'his general opinions, and +his uniform indulgence, entitle me to say, that birth and personal +qualities are all he would look to in such a connection. And where +can I find both united in such excellence as in your sister?' + +'O nowhere! cela va sans dire,' replied Fergus, with a smile. 'But +your father will expect a father's prerogative in being +consulted.' + +'Surely; but his late breach with the ruling powers removes all +apprehension of objection on his part, especially as I am +convinced that my uncle will be warm in my cause.' + +'Religion perhaps,' said Fergus, 'may make obstacles, though we +are not bigotted Catholics.' + +'My grandmother was of the Church of Rome, and her religion was +never objected to by my family. Do not think of MY friends, dear +Fergus; let me rather have your influence where it may be more +necessary to remove obstacles--I mean with your lovely sister.' + +'My lovely sister,' replied Fergus, 'like her loving brother, is +very apt to have a pretty decisive will of her own, by which, in +this case, you must be ruled; but you shall not want my interest, +nor my counsel. And, in the first place, I will give you one hint +--Loyalty is her ruling passion; and since she could spell an +English book she has been in love with the memory of the gallant +Captain Wogan, who renounced the service of the usurper Cromwell +to join the standard of Charles II, marched a handful of cavalry +from London to the Highlands to join Middleton, then in arms for +the king, and at length died gloriously in the royal cause. Ask +her to show you some verses she made on his history and fate; they +have been much admired, I assure you. The next point is--I think +I saw Flora go up towards the waterfall a short time since; +follow, man, follow! don't allow the garrison time to strengthen +its purposes of resistance. Alerte a la muraille! Seek Flora out, +and learn her decision as soon as you can, and Cupid go with you, +while I go to look over belts and cartouch-boxes.' + +Waverley ascended the glen with an anxious and throbbing heart. +Love, with all its romantic train of hopes, fears, and wishes, was +mingled with other feelings of a nature less easily defined. He +could not but remember how much this morning had changed his fate, +and into what a complication of perplexity it was likely to plunge +him. Sunrise had seen him possessed of an esteemed rank in the +honourable profession of arms, his father to all appearance +rapidly rising in the favour of his sovereign. All this had passed +away like a dream: he himself was dishonoured, his father +disgraced, and he had become involuntarily the confidant at least, +if not the accomplice, of plans, dark, deep, and dangerous, which +must infer either the subversion of the government he had so +lately served or the destruction of all who had participated in +them. Should Flora even listen to his suit favourably, what +prospect was there of its being brought to a happy termination +amid the tumult of an impending insurrection? Or how could he make +the selfish request that she should leave Fergus, to whom she was +so much attached, and, retiring with him to England, wait, as a +distant spectator, the success of her brother's undertaking, or +the ruin of all his hopes and fortunes? Or, on the other hand, to +engage himself, with no other aid than his single arm, in the +dangerous and precipitate counsels of the Chieftain, to be whirled +along by him, the partaker of all his desperate and impetuous +motions, renouncing almost the power of judging, or deciding upon +the rectitude or prudence of his actions, this was no pleasing +prospect for the secret pride of Waverley to stoop to. And yet +what other conclusion remained, saving the rejection of his +addresses by Flora, an alternative not to be thought of in the +present high-wrought state of his feelings with anything short of +mental agony. Pondering the doubtful and dangerous prospect before +him, he at length arrived near the cascade, where, as Fergus had +augured, he found Flora seated. + +She was quite alone, and as soon as she observed his approach she +rose and came to meet him. Edward attempted to say something +within the verge of ordinary compliment and conversation, but +found himself unequal to the task. Flora seemed at first equally +embarrassed, but recovered herself more speedily, and (an +unfavourable augury for Waverley's suit) was the first to enter +upon the subject of their last interview. 'It is too important, in +every point of view, Mr. Waverley, to permit me to leave you in +doubt on my sentiments.' + +'Do not speak them speedily,' said Waverley, much agitated, +'unless they are such as I fear, from your manner, I must not dare +to anticipate. Let time--let my future conduct--let your brother's +influence--' + +'Forgive me, Mr. Waverley,' said Flora, her complexion a little +heightened, but her voice firm and composed. 'I should incur my +own heavy censure did I delay expressing my sincere conviction +that I can never regard you otherwise than as a valued friend. I +should do you the highest injustice did I conceal my sentiments +for a moment. I see I distress you, and I grieve for it, but +better now than later; and O, better a thousand times, Mr. +Waverley, that you should feel a present momentary disappointment +than the long and heart-sickening griefs which attend a rash and +ill-assorted marriage!' + +'Good God!' exclaimed Waverley, 'why should you anticipate such +consequences from a union where birth is equal, where fortune is +favourable, where, if I may venture to say so, the tastes are +similar, where you allege no preference for another, where you +even express a favourable opinion of him whom you reject?' + +'Mr. Waverley, I HAVE that favourable opinion,' answered Flora; +'and so strongly that, though I would rather have been silent on +the grounds of my resolution, you shall command them, if you exact +such a mark of my esteem and confidence.' + +She sat down upon a fragment of rock, and Waverley, placing +himself near her, anxiously pressed for the explanation she +offered. + +'I dare hardly,' she said, 'tell you the situation of my feelings, +they are so different from those usually ascribed to young women +at my period of life; and I dare hardly touch upon what I +conjecture to be the nature of yours, lest I should give offence +where I would willingly administer consolation. For myself, from +my infancy till this day I have had but one wish--the restoration +of my royal benefactors to their rightful throne. It is impossible +to express to you the devotion of my feelings to this single +subject; and I will frankly confess that it has so occupied my +mind as to exclude every thought respecting what is called my own +settlement in life. Let me but live to see the day of that happy +restoration, and a Highland cottage, a French convent, or an +English palace will be alike indifferent to me.' + +'But, dearest Flora, how is your enthusiastic zeal for the exiled +family inconsistent with my happiness?' + +'Because you seek, or ought to seek, in the object of your +attachment a heart whose principal delight should be in augmenting +your domestic felicity and returning your affection, even to the +height of romance. To a man of less keen sensibility, and less +enthusiastic tenderness of disposition, Flora Mac-Ivor might give +content, if not happiness; for, were the irrevocable words spoken, +never would she be deficient in the duties which she vowed.' + +'And why,--why, Miss Mac-Ivor, should you think yourself a more +valuable treasure to one who is less capable of loving, of +admiring you, than to me?' + +'Simply because the tone of our affections would be more in +unison, and because his more blunted sensibility would not require +the return of enthusiasm which I have not to bestow. But you, Mr. +Waverley, would for ever refer to the idea of domestic happiness +which your imagination is capable of painting, and whatever fell +short of that ideal representation would be construed into +coolness and indifference, while you might consider the enthusiasm +with which I regarded the success of the royal family as +defrauding your affection of its due return.' + +'In other words, Miss Mac-Ivor, you cannot love me?' said her +suitor dejectedly. + +'I could esteem you, Mr. Waverley, as much, perhaps more, than any +man I have ever seen; but I cannot love you as you ought to be +loved. O! do not, for your own sake, desire so hazardous an +experiment! The woman whom you marry ought to have affections and +opinions moulded upon yours. Her studies ought to be your studies; +her wishes, her feelings, her hopes, her fears, should all mingle +with yours. She should enhance your pleasures, share your sorrows, +and cheer your melancholy.' + +'And why will not you, Miss Mac-Ivor, who can so well describe a +happy union, why will not you be yourself the person you +describe?' + +'Is it possible you do not yet comprehend me?' answered Flora. +'Have I not told you that every keener sensation of my mind is +bent exclusively towards an event upon which, indeed, I have no +power but those of my earnest prayers?' + +'And might not the granting the suit I solicit,' said Waverley, +too earnest on his purpose to consider what he was about to say, +'even advance the interest to which you have devoted yourself? My +family is wealthy and powerful, inclined in principles to the +Stuart race, and should a favourable opportunity--' + +'A favourable opportunity!' said Flora--somewhat scornfully. +'Inclined in principles! Can such lukewarm adherence be honourable +to yourselves, or gratifying to your lawful sovereign? Think, from +my present feelings, what I should suffer when I held the place of +member in a family where the rights which I hold most sacred are +subjected to cold discussion, and only deemed worthy of support +when they shall appear on the point of triumphing without it!' + +'Your doubts,' quickly replied Waverley, 'are unjust as far as +concerns myself. The cause that I shall assert, I dare support +through every danger, as undauntedly as the boldest who draws +sword in its behalf.' + +'Of that,' answered Flora, 'I cannot doubt for a moment. But +consult your own good sense and reason rather than a prepossession +hastily adopted, probably only because you have met a young woman +possessed of the usual accomplishments in a sequestered and +romantic situation. Let your part in this great and perilous drama +rest upon conviction, and not on a hurried and probably a +temporary feeling.' + +Waverley attempted to reply, but his words failed him. Every +sentiment that Flora had uttered vindicated the strength of his +attachment; for even her loyalty, although wildly enthusiastic, +was generous and noble, and disdained to avail itself of any +indirect means of supporting the cause to which she was devoted. + +After walking a little way in silence down the path, Flora thus +resumed the conversation.--'One word more, Mr. Waverley, ere we +bid farewell to this topic for ever; and forgive my boldness if +that word have the air of advice. My brother Fergus is anxious +that you should join him in his present enterprise. But do not +consent to this; you could not, by your single exertions, further +his success, and you would inevitably share his fall, if it be +God's pleasure that fall he must. Your character would also suffer +irretrievably. Let me beg you will return to your own country; +and, having publicly freed yourself from every tie to the usurping +government, I trust you will see cause, and find opportunity, to +serve your injured sovereign with effect, and stand forth, as your +loyal ancestors, at the head of your natural followers and +adherents, a worthy representative of the house of Waverley.' + +'And should I be so happy as thus to distinguish myself, might I +not hope--' + +'Forgive my interruption,' said Flora. 'The present time only is +ours, and I can but explain to you with candour the feelings which +I now entertain; how they might be altered by a train of events +too favourable perhaps to be hoped for, it were in vain even to +conjecture. Only be assured, Mr. Waverley, that, after my +brother's honour and happiness, there is none which I shall more +sincerely pray for than for yours.' + +With these words she parted from him, for they were now arrived +where two paths separated. Waverley reached the castle amidst a +medley of conflicting passions. He avoided any private interview +with Fergus, as he did not find himself able either to encounter +his raillery or reply to his solicitations. The wild revelry of +the feast, for Mac-Ivor kept open table for his clan, served in +some degree to stun reflection. When their festivity was ended, he +began to consider how he should again meet Miss Mac-Ivor after the +painful and interesting explanation of the morning. But Flora did +not appear. Fergus, whose eyes flashed when he was told by +Cathleen that her mistress designed to keep her apartment that +evening, went himself in quest of her; but apparently his +remonstrances were in vain, for he returned with a heightened +complexion and manifest symptoms of displeasure. The rest of the +evening passed on without any allusion, on the part either of +Fergus or Waverley, to the subject which engrossed the reflections +of the latter, and perhaps of both. + +When retired to his own apartment, Edward endeavoured to sum up +the business of the day. That the repulse he had received from +Flora would be persisted in for the present, there was no doubt. +But could he hope for ultimate success in case circumstances +permitted the renewal of his suit? Would the enthusiastic loyalty, +which at this animating moment left no room for a softer passion, +survive, at least in its engrossing force, the success or the +failure of the present political machinations? And if so, could he +hope that the interest which she had acknowledged him to possess +in her favour might be improved into a warmer attachment? He taxed +his memory to recall every word she had used, with the appropriate +looks and gestures which had enforced them, and ended by finding +himself in the same state of uncertainty. It was very late before +sleep brought relief to the tumult of his mind, after the most +painful and agitating day which he had ever passed. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +A LETTER FROM TULLY-VEOLAN + + +In the morning, when Waverley's troubled reflections had for some +time given way to repose, there came music to his dreams, but not +the voice of Selma. He imagined himself transported back to Tully- +Veolan, and that he heard Davie Gellatley singing in the court +those matins which used generally to be the first sounds that +disturbed his repose while a guest of the Baron of Bradwardine. +The notes which suggested this vision continued, and waxed louder, +until Edward awoke in earnest. The illusion, however, did not seem +entirely dispelled. The apartment was in the fortress of lan nan +Chaistel, but it was still the voice of Davie Gellatley that made +the following lines resound under the window:-- + + My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here, + My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer; + A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe, + My heart's in the Highlands wherever I go. + +[Footnote: These lines form the burden of an old song to which +Burns wrote additional verses.] + +Curious to know what could have determined Mr. Gellatley on an +excursion of such unwonted extent, Edward began to dress himself +in all haste, during which operation the minstrelsy of Davie +changed its tune more than once:-- + + There's nought in the Highlands but syboes and leeks, + And lang-leggit callants gaun wanting the breeks, + Wanting the breeks, and without hose and shoon, + But we'll a'win the breeks when King Jamie comes hame. + +[Footnote: These lines are also ancient, and I believe to the tune +of We'll never hae peace till Jamie comes hame, to which +Burns likewise wrote some verses.] + +By the time Waverley was dressed and had issued forth, David had +associated himself with two or three of the numerous Highland +loungers who always graced the gates of the castle with their +presence, and was capering and dancing full merrily in the doubles +and full career of a Scotch foursome reel, to the music of his own +whistling. In this double capacity of dancer and musician he +continued, until an idle piper, who observed his zeal, obeyed the +unanimous call of seid suas (i.e. blow up), and relieved him from +the latter part of his trouble. Young and old then mingled in the +dance as they could find partners. The appearance of Waverley did +not interrupt David's exercise, though he contrived, by grinning, +nodding, and throwing one or two inclinations of the body into the +graces with which he performed the Highland fling, to convey to +our hero symptoms of recognition. Then, while busily employed in +setting, whooping all the while, and snapping his fingers over his +head, he of a sudden prolonged his side-step until it brought him +to the place where Edward was standing, and, still keeping time to +the music like Harlequin in a pantomime, he thrust a letter into +our hero's hand, and continued his saltation without pause or +intermission. Edward, who perceived that the address was in Rose's +hand-writing, retired to peruse it, leaving the faithful bearer to +continue his exercise until the piper or he should be tired out. + +The contents of the letter greatly surprised him. It had +originally commenced with 'Dear Sir'; but these words had been +carefully erased, and the monosyllable 'Sir' substituted in their +place. The rest of the contents shall be given in Rose's own +language. + +I fear I am using an improper freedom by intruding upon you, yet I +cannot trust to any one else to let you know some things which +have happened here, with which it seems necessary you should be +acquainted. Forgive me, if I am wrong in what I am doing; for, +alas! Mr. Waverley, I have no better advice than that of my own +feelings; my dear father is gone from this place, and when he can +return to my assistance and protection, God alone knows. You have +probably heard that, in consequence of some troublesome news from +the Highlands, warrants were sent out for apprehending several +gentlemen in these parts, and, among others, my dear father. In +spite of all my tears and entreaties that he would surrender +himself to the government, he joined with Mr. Falconer and some +other gentlemen, and they have all gone northwards, with a body of +about forty horsemen. So I am not so anxious concerning his +immediate safety as about what may follow afterwards, for these +troubles are only beginning. But all this is nothing to you, Mr. +Waverley, only I thought you would be glad to learn that my father +has escaped, in case you happen to have heard that he was in +danger. + +The day after my father went off there came a party of soldiers to +Tully-Veolan, and behaved very rudely to Bailie Macwheeble; but +the officer was very civil to me, only said his duty obliged him +to search for arms and papers. My father had provided against this +by taking away all the arms except the old useless things which +hung in the hall, and he had put all his papers out of the way. +But O! Mr. Waverley, how shall I tell you, that they made strict +inquiry after you, and asked when you had been at Tully-Veolan, +and where you now were. The officer is gone back with his party, +but a non-commissioned officer and four men remain as a sort of +garrison in the house. They have hitherto behaved very well, as we +are forced to keep them in good-humour. But these soldiers have +hinted as if, on your falling into their hands, you would be in +great danger; I cannot prevail on myself to write what wicked +falsehoods they said, for I am sure they are falsehoods; but you +will best judge what you ought to do. The party that returned +carried off your servant prisoner, with your two horses, and +everything that you left at Tully-Veolan. I hope God will protect +you, and that you will get safe home to England, where you used to +tell me there was no military violence nor fighting among clans +permitted, but everything was done according to an equal law that +protected all who were harmless and innocent. I hope you will +exert your indulgence as to my boldness in writing to you, where +it seems to me, though perhaps erroneously, that your safety and +honour are concerned. I am sure--at least I think, my father +would approve of my writing; for Mr. Rubrick is fled to his +cousin's at the Duchran, to to be out of danger from the soldiers +and the Whigs, and Bailie Macwheeble does not like to meddle (he +says) in other men's concerns, though I hope what may serve my +father's friend at such a time as this cannot be termed improper +interference. Farewell, Captain Waverley! I shall probaby never +see you more; for it would be very improper to wish you to call at +Tully-Veolan just now, even if these men were gone; but I will +always remember with gratitude your kindness in assisting so poor +a scholar as myself, and your attentions to my dear, dear father. + +I remain, your obliged servant, + +ROSE COMYNE BRADWARDINE. + +P.S.--I hope you will send me a line by David Gellatley, just to +say you have received this and that you will take care of +yourself; and forgive me if I entreat you, for your own sake, to +join none of these unhappy cabals, but escape, as fast as +possible, to your own fortunate country. My compliments to my dear +Flora and to Glennaquoich. Is she not as handsome and accomplished +as I have described her? + +Thus concluded the letter of Rose Bradwardine, the contents of +which both surprised and affected Waverley. That the Baron should +fall under the suspicions of government, in consequence of the +present stir among the partisans of the house of Stuart, seemed +only the natural consequence of his political predilections; but +how HE himself should have been involved in such suspicions, +conscious that until yesterday he had been free from harbouring a +thought against the prosperity of the reigning family, seemed +inexplicable. Both at Tully-Veolan and Glennaquoich his hosts had +respected his engagements with the existing government, and though +enough passed by accidental innuendo that might induce him to +reckon the Baron and the Chief among those disaffected gentlemen +who were still numerous in Scotland, yet until his own connection +with the army had been broken off by the resumption of his +commission, he had no reason to suppose that they nourished any +immediate or hostile attempts against the present establishment. +Still he was aware that, unless he meant at once to embrace the +proposal of Fergus Mac-Ivor, it would deeply concern him to leave +the suspicious neighbourhood without delay, and repair where his +conduct might undergo a satisfactory examination. Upon this he the +rather determined, as Flora's advice favoured his doing so, and +because he felt inexpressible repugnance at the idea of being +accessary to the plague of civil war. Whatever were the original +rights of the Stuarts, calm reflection told him that, omitting the +question how far James the Second could forfeit those of his +posterity, he had, according to the united voice of the whole +nation, justly forfeited his own. Since that period four monarchs +had reigned in peace and glory over Britain, sustaining and +exalting the character of the nation abroad and its liberties at +home. Reason asked, was it worth while to disturb a government so +long settled and established, and to plunge a kingdom into all the +miseries of civil war, for the purpose of replacing upon the +throne the descendants of a monarch by whom it had been wilfully +forfeited? If, on the other hand, his own final conviction of the +goodness of their cause, or the commands of his father or uncle, +should recommend to him allegiance to the Stuarts, still it was +necessary to clear his own character by showing that he had not, +as seemed to be falsely insinuated, taken any step to this purpose +during his holding the commission of the reigning monarch, + +The affectionate simplicity of Rose and her anxiety for his +safety, his sense too of her unprotected state, and of the terror +and actual dangers to which she might be exposed, made an +impression upon his mind, and he instantly wrote to thank her in +the kindest terms for her solicitude on his account, to express +his earnest good wishes for her welfare and that of her father, +and to assure her of his own safety. The feelings which this task +excited were speedily lost in the necessity which he now saw of +bidding farewell to Flora Mac-Ivor, perhaps for ever. The pang +attending this reflection was inexpressible; for her high-minded +elevation of character, her self-devotion to the cause which she +had embraced, united to her scrupulous rectitude as to the means +of serving it, had vindicated to his judgment the choice adopted +by his passions. But time pressed, calumny was busy with his fame, +and every hour's delay increased the power to injure it. His +departure must be instant. + +With this determination he sought out Fergus, and communicated to +him the contents of Rose's letter, with his own resolution +instantly to go to Edinburgh, and put into the hands of some one +or other of those persons of influence to whom he had letters from +his father his exculpation from any charge which might be +preferred against him. + +'You run your head into the lion's mouth,' answered Mac-Ivor. 'You +do not know the severity of a government harassed by just +apprehensions, and a consciousness of their own illegality and +insecurity. I shall have to deliver you from some dungeon in +Stirling or Edinburgh Castle.' + +'My innocence, my rank, my father's intimacy with Lord M--, +General G--, etc., will be a sufficient protection,' said +Waverley. + +'You will find the contrary,' replied the Chieftain, 'these +gentlemen will have enough to do about their own matters. Once +more, will you take the plaid, and stay a little while with us +among the mists and the crows, in the bravest cause ever sword was +drawn in?' + +[Footnote: A Highland rhyme on Glencairn's Expedition, in 1650, +has these lines-- + + We'll bide a while amang ta crows, + We'll wiske ta sword and bend ta bows] + +'For many reasons, my dear Fergus, you must hold me excused.' + +'Well then,' said Mac-Ivor, 'I shall certainly find you exerting +your poetical talents in elegies upon a prison, or your +antiquarian researches in detecting the Oggam [Footnote: The Oggam +is a species of the old Irish character. The idea of the +correspondence betwixt the Celtic and Punic, founded on a scene in +Plautus, was not started till General Vallancey set up his theory, +long after the date of Fergus Mac-Ivor] character or some Punic +hieroglyphic upon the keystones of a vault, curiously arched. Or +what say you to un petit pendement bien joli? against which +awkward ceremony I don't warrant you, should you meet a body of +the armed West-Country Whigs.' + +'And why should they use me so?' said Waverley. + +'For a hundred good reasons,' answered Fergus. 'First, you are an +Englishman; secondly, a gentleman; thirdly, a prelatist abjured; +and, fourthly, they have not had an opportunity to exercise their +talents on such a subject this long while. But don't be cast down, +beloved; all will be done in the fear of the Lord.' + +'Well, I must run my hazard.' + +'You are determined, then?' + +'I am.' + +'Wilful will do't' said Fergus. 'But you cannot go on foot, and I +shall want no horse, as I must march on foot at the head of the +children of Ivor; you shall have brown Dermid.' + +'If you will sell him, I shall certainly be much obliged.' + +'If your proud English heart cannot be obliged by a gift or loan, +I will not refuse money at the entrance of a campaign: his price +is twenty guineas. [Remember, reader, it was Sixty Years Since.] +And when do you propose to depart?' + +'The sooner the better,' answered Waverley. + +'You are right, since go you must, or rather, since go you will. I +will take Flora's pony and ride with you as far as Bally-Brough. +Callum Beg, see that our horses are ready, with a pony for +yourself, to attend and carry Mr. Waverley's baggage as far as-- +(naming a small town), where he can have a horse and guide to +Edinburgh. Put on a Lowland dress, Callum, and see you keep your +tongue close, if you would not have me cut it out. Mr. Waverley +rides Dermid.' Then turning to Edward, 'You will take leave of my +sister?' + +'Surely--that is, if Miss Mac-Ivor will honour me so far.' + +'Cathleen, let my sister know Mr. Waverley wishes to bid her +farewell before he leaves us. But Rose Bradwardine, her situation +must be thought of; I wish she were here. And why should she not? +There are but four red-coats at Tully-Veolan, and their muskets +would be very useful to us.' + +To these broken remarks Edward made no answer; his ear indeed +received them, but his soul was intent upon the expected entrance +of Flora. The door opened. It was but Cathleen, with her lady's +excuse, and wishes for Captain Waverley's health and happiness. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +WAVERLEY'S RECEPTION IN THE LOWLANDS AFTER HIS HIGHLAND TOUR + + +It was noon when the two friends stood at the top of the pass of +Bally-Brough. 'I must go no farther,' said Fergus Mac-Ivor, who +during the journey had in vain endeavoured to raise his friend's +spirits. 'If my cross-grained sister has any share in your +dejection, trust me she thinks highly of you, though her present +anxiety about the public cause prevents her listening to any other +subject. Confide your interest to me; I will not betray it, +providing you do not again assume that vile cockade.' + +'No fear of that, considering the manner in which it has been +recalled. Adieu, Fergus; do not permit your sister to forget me.' + +'And adieu, Waverley; you may soon hear of her with a prouder +title. Get home, write letters, and make friends as many and as +fast as you can; there will speedily be unexpected guests on the +coast of Suffolk, or my news from France has deceived +me.' [Footnote: The sanguine Jacobites, during the eventful years +1745-46, kept up the spirits of their party by the rumour of +descents from France on behalf of the Chevalier St. George.] + +Thus parted the friends; Fergus returning back to his castle, +while Edward, followed by Callum Beg, the latter transformed from +point to point into a Low-Country groom, proceeded to the little +town of--. + +Edward paced on under the painful and yet not altogether +embittered feelings which separation and uncertainty produce in +the mind of a youthful lover. I am not sure if the ladies +understand the full value of the influence of absence, nor do I +think it wise to teach it them, lest, like the Clelias and +Mandanes of yore, they should resume the humour of sending their +lovers into banishment. Distance, in truth, produces in idea the +same effect as in real perspective. Objects are softened, and +rounded, and rendered doubly graceful; the harsher and more +ordinary points of character are mellowed down, and those by which +it is remembered are the more striking outlines that mark +sublimity, grace, or beauty. There are mists too in the mental as +well as the natural horizon, to conceal what is less pleasing in +distant objects, and there are happy lights, to stream in full +glory upon those points which can profit by brilliant +illumination. + +Waverley forgot Flora Mac-Ivor's prejudices in her magnanimity, +and almost pardoned her indifference towards his affection when he +recollected the grand and decisive object which seemed to fill her +whole soul. She, whose sense of duty so wholly engrossed her in +the cause of a benefactor, what would be her feelings in favour of +the happy individual who should be so fortunate as to awaken them? +Then came the doubtful question, whether he might not be that +happy man,--a question which fancy endeavoured to answer in the +affirmative, by conjuring up all she had said in his praise, with +the addition of a comment much more flattering than the text +warranted. All that was commonplace, all that belonged to the +every-day world, was melted away and obliterated in those dreams +of imagination, which only remembered with advantage the points of +grace and dignity that distinguished Flora from the generality of +her sex, not the particulars which she held in common with them. +Edward was, in short, in the fair way of creating a goddess out of +a high-spirited, accomplished, and beautiful young woman; and the +time was wasted in castle-building until, at the descent of a +steep hill, he saw beneath him the market-town of ----. + +The Highland politeness of Callum Beg--there are few nations, by +the way, who can boast of so much natural politeness as the +Highlanders [Footnote: The Highlander, in former times, had always +a high idea of his own gentility, and was anxious to impress the +same upon those with whom he conversed. His language abounded in +the phrases of courtesy and compliment; and the habit of carrying +arms, and mixing with those who did so, made it particularly +desirable they should use cautious politeness in their intercourse +with each other.]--the Highland civility of his attendant had not +permitted him to disturb the reveries of our hero. But observing +him rouse himself at the sight of the village, Callum pressed +closer to his side, and hoped 'when they cam to the public, his +honour wad not say nothing about Vich Ian Vohr, for ta people were +bitter Whigs, deil burst tem.' + +Waverley assured the prudent page that he would be cautious; and +as he now distinguished, not indeed the ringing of bells, but the +tinkling of something like a hammer against the side of an old +mossy, green, inverted porridge-pot that hung in an open booth, of +the size and shape of a parrot's cage, erected to grace the east +end of a building resembling an old barn, he asked Callum Beg if +it were Sunday. + +'Could na say just preceesely; Sunday seldom cam aboon the pass of +Bally-Brough.' + +On entering the town, however, and advancing towards the most +apparent public-house which presented itself, the numbers of old +women, in tartan screens and red cloaks, who streamed from the +barn-resembling building, debating as they went the comparative +merits of the blessed youth Jabesh Rentowel and that chosen vessel +Maister Goukthrapple, induced Callum to assure his temporary +master 'that it was either ta muckle Sunday hersell, or ta little +government Sunday that they ca'd ta fast.' + +On alighting at the sign of the Seven-branched Golden Candlestick, +which, for the further delectation of the guests, was graced with +a short Hebrew motto, they were received by mine host, a tall thin +puritanical figure, who seemed to debate with himself whether he +ought to give shelter to those who travelled on such a day. +Reflecting, however, in all probability, that he possessed the +power of mulcting them for this irregularity, a penalty which they +might escape by passing into Gregor Duncanson's, at the sign of +the Highlander and the Hawick Gill, Mr. Ebenezer Cruickshanks +condescended to admit them into his dwelling. + +To this sanctified person Waverley addressed his request that he +would procure him a guide, with a saddle-horse, to carry his +portmanteau to Edinburgh. + +'And whar may ye be coming from?' demanded mine host of the +Candlestick. + +'I have told you where I wish to go; I do not conceive any further +information necessary either for the guide or his saddle-horse.' + +'Hem! Ahem!' returned he of the Candlestick, somewhat disconcerted +at this rebuff. 'It's the general fast, sir, and I cannot enter +into ony carnal transactions on sic a day, when the people should +be humbled and the backsliders should return, as worthy Mr. +Goukthrapple said; and moreover when, as the precious Mr. Jabesh +Rentowel did weel observe, the land was mourning for covenants +burnt, broken, and buried.' + +'My good friend,' said Waverley, 'if you cannot let me have a +horse and guide, my servant shall seek them elsewhere.' + +'Aweel! Your servant? and what for gangs he not forward wi' you +himsell?' + +Waverley had but very little of a captain of horse's spirit within +him--I mean of that sort of spirit which I have been obliged to +when I happened, in a mail coach or diligence, to meet some +military man who has kindly taken upon him the disciplining of the +waiters and the taxing of reckonings. Some of this useful talent +our hero had, however, acquired during his military service, and +on this gross provocation it began seriously to arise. 'Look ye, +sir; I came here for my own accommodation, and not to answer +impertinent questions. Either say you can, or cannot, get me what +I want; I shall pursue my course in either case.' + +Mr. Ebenezer Cruickshanks left the room with some indistinct +mutterings; but whether negative or acquiescent, Edward could not +well distinguish. The hostess, a civil, quiet, laborious drudge, +came to take his orders for dinner, but declined to make answer on +the subject of the horse and guide; for the Salique law, it seems, +extended to the stables of the Golden Candlestick. + +From a window which overlooked the dark and narrow court in which +Callum Beg rubbed down the horses after their journey, Waverley +heard the following dialogue betwixt the subtle foot-page of Vich +Ian Vohr and his landlord:-- + +'Ye'll be frae the north, young man?' began the latter. + +'And ye may say that,' answered Callum. + +'And ye'll hae ridden a lang way the day, it may weel be?' + +'Sae lang, that I could weel tak a dram.' + +'Gudewife, bring the gill stoup.' + +Here some compliments passed fitting the occasion, when my host of +the Golden Candlestick, having, as he thought, opened his guest's +heart by this hospitable propitiation, resumed his scrutiny. + +'Ye'll no hae mickle better whisky than that aboon the Pass?' + +'I am nae frae aboon the Pass.' + +'Ye're a Highlandman by your tongue?' + +'Na; I am but just Aberdeen-a-way.' + +'And did your master come frae Aberdeen wi' you?' + +'Ay; that's when I left it mysell,' answered the cool and +impenetrable Callum Beg. + +'And what kind of a gentleman is he?' + +'I believe he is ane o' King George's state officers; at least +he's aye for ganging on to the south, and he has a hantle siller, +and never grudges onything till a poor body, or in the way of a +lawing.' + +'He wants a guide and a horse frae hence to Edinburgh?' + +'Ay, and ye maun find it him forthwith.' + +'Ahem! It will be chargeable.' + +'He cares na for that a bodle.' + +'Aweel, Duncan--did ye say your name was Duncan, or Donald?' + +'Na, man--Jamie--Jamie Steenson--I telt ye before.' + +This last undaunted parry altogether foiled Mr. Cruickshanks, who, +though not quite satisfied either with the reserve of the master +or the extreme readiness of the man, was contented to lay a tax on +the reckoning and horse-hire that might compound for his +ungratified curiosity. The circumstance of its being the fast day +was not forgotten in the charge, which, on the whole, did not, +however, amount to much more than double what in fairness it +should have been. + +Callum Beg soon after announced in person the ratification of this +treaty, adding, 'Ta auld deevil was ganging to ride wi' ta duinhe- +wassel hersell.' + +'That will not be very pleasant, Callum, nor altogether safe, for +our host seems a person of great curiosity; but a traveller must +submit to these inconveniences. Meanwhile, my good lad, here is a +trifle for you to drink Vich Ian Vohr's health.' + +The hawk's eye of Callum flashed delight upon a golden guinea, +with which these last words were accompanied. He hastened, not +without a curse on the intricacies of a Saxon breeches pocket, or +spleuchan, as he called it, to deposit the treasure in his fob; +and then, as if he conceived the benevolence called for some +requital on his part, he gathered close up to Edward, with an +expression of countenance peculiarly knowing, and spoke in an +undertone, 'If his honour thought ta auld deevil Whig carle was a +bit dangerous, she could easily provide for him, and teil ane ta +wiser.' + +'How, and in what manner?' + +'Her ain sell,' replied Callum, 'could wait for him a wee bit frae +the toun, and kittle his quarters wi'her skene-occle.' + +'Skene-occle! what's that?' + +Callum unbuttoned his coat, raised his left arm, and, with an +emphatic nod, pointed to the hilt of a small dirk, snugly +deposited under it, in the lining of his jacket. Waverley thought +he had misunderstood his meaning; he gazed in his face, and +discovered in Callum's very handsome though embrowned features +just the degree of roguish malice with which a lad of the same age +in England would have brought forward a plan for robbing an +orchard. + +'Good God, Callum, would you take the man's life?' + +'Indeed,' answered the young desperado, 'and I think he has had +just a lang enough lease o 't, when he's for betraying honest folk +that come to spend siller at his public.' + +Edward saw nothing was to be gained by argument, and therefore +contented himself with enjoining Callum to lay aside all practices +against the person of Mr. Ebenezer Cruickshanks; in which +injunction the page seemed to acquiesce with an air of great +indifference. + +'Ta duinhe-wassel might please himsell; ta auld rudas loon had +never done Callum nae ill. But here's a bit line frae ta +Tighearna, tat he bade me gie your honour ere I came back.' + +The letter from the Chief contained Flora's lines on the fate of +Captain Wogan, whose enterprising character is so well drawn by +Clarendon. He had originally engaged in the service of the +Parliament, but had abjured that party upon the execution of +Charles I; and upon hearing that the royal standard was set up by +the Earl of Glencairn and General Middleton in the Highlands of +Scotland, took leave of Charles II, who was then at Paris, passed +into England, assembled a body of Cavaliers in the neighbourhood +of London, and traversed the kingdom, which had been so long under +domination of the usurper, by marches conducted with such skill, +dexterity, and spirit that he safely united his handful of +horsemen with the body of Highlanders then in arms. After several +months of desultory warfare, in which Wogan's skill and courage +gained him the highest reputation, he had the misfortune to be +wounded in a dangerous manner, and no surgical assistance being +within reach he terminated his short but glorious career. + +There were obvious reasons why the politic Chieftain was desirous +to place the example of this young hero under the eye of Waverley, +with whose romantic disposition it coincided so peculiarly. But +his letter turned chiefly upon some trifling commissions which +Waverley had promised to execute for him in England, and it was +only toward the conclusion that Edward found these words: 'I owe +Flora a grudge for refusing us her company yesterday; and, as I am +giving you the trouble of reading these lines, in order to keep in +your memory your promise to procure me the fishing-tackle and +cross-bow from London, I will enclose her verses on the Grave of +Wogan. This I know will tease her; for, to tell you the truth, I +think her more in love with the memory of that dead hero than she +is likely to be with any living one, unless he shall tread a +similar path. But English squires of our day keep their oak-trees +to shelter their deer parks, or repair the losses of an evening at +White's, and neither invoke them to wreathe their brows nor +shelter their graves. Let me hope for one brilliant exception in a +dear friend, to whom I would most gladly give a dearer title.' + +The verses were inscribed, + + To an Oak Tree + + In the Church-Yard of ----, in the Highlands of Scotland, + said to mark the Grave of Captain Wogan, killed in 1649. + + Emblem of England's ancient faith, + Full proudly may thy branches wave, + Where loyalty lies low in death, + And valour fills a timeless grave. + + And thou, brave tenant of the tomb! + Repine not if our clime deny, + Above thine honour'd sod to bloom + The flowerets of a milder sky. + + These owe their birth to genial May; + Beneath a fiercer sun they pine, + Before the winter storm decay; + And can their worth be type of thine? + + No! for, 'mid storms of Fate opposing, + Still higher swell'd thy dauntless heart, + And, while Despair the scene was closing, + Commenced thy brief but brilliant part. + + 'T was then thou sought'st on Albyn's hill, + (When England's sons the strife resign'd) + A rugged race resisting still, + And unsubdued though unrefined. + + Thy death's hour heard no kindred wail, + No holy knell thy requiem rung; + Thy mourners were the plaided Gael, + Thy dirge the clamourous pibroch sung. + + Yet who, in Fortune's summer-shine + To waste life's longest term away, + Would change that glorious dawn of thine, + Though darken'd ere its noontide day! + + Be thine the tree whose dauntless boughs + Brave summer's drought and winter's gloom. + Rome bound with oak her patriots' brows, + As Albyn shadows Wogan's tomb. + +Whatever might be the real merit of Flora Mac-Ivor's +poetry, the enthusiasm which it intimated was well calculated to +make a corresponding impression upon her lover. The lines were +read--read again, then deposited in Waverley's bosom, then again +drawn out, and read line by line, in a low and smothered voice, +and with frequent pauses which prolonged the mental treat, as an +epicure protracts, by sipping slowly, the enjoyment of a delicious +beverage. The entrance of Mrs. Cruickshanks with the sublunary +articles of dinner and wine hardly interrupted this pantomime of +affectionate enthusiasm. + +At length the tall ungainly figure and ungracious visage of +Ebenezer presented themselves. The upper part of his form, +notwithstanding the season required no such defence, was shrouded +in a large great-coat, belted over his under habiliments, and +crested with a huge cowl of the same stuff, which, when drawn over +the head and hat, completely overshadowed both, and, being +buttoned beneath the chin, was called a trot-cozy. His hand +grasped a huge jockey-whip, garnished with brassmounting. His thin +legs tenanted a pair of gambadoes, fastened at the sides with +rusty clasps. Thus accoutred, he stalked into the midst of the +apartment, and announced his errand in brief phrase: 'Yer horses +are ready.' + +'You go with me yourself then, landlord?' + +'I do, as far as Perth; where ye may be supplied with a guide to +Embro', as your occasions shall require.' + +Thus saying, he placed under Waverley's eye the bill which he held +in his hand; and at the same time, self-invited, filled a glass +of wine and drank devoutly to a blessing on their journey. +Waverley stared at the man's impudence, but, as their connection +was to be short and promised to be convenient, he made no +observation upon it; and, having paid his reckoning, expressed his +intention to depart immediately. He mounted Dermid accordingly and +sallied forth from the Golden Candlestick, followed by the +puritanical figure we have described, after he had, at the expense +of some time and difficulty, and by the assistance of a 'louping- +on-stane,' or structure of masonry erected for the traveller's +convenience in front of the house, elevated his person to the back +of a long-backed, raw-boned, thin-gutted phantom of a broken-down +blood-horse, on which Waverley's portmanteau was deposited. Our +hero, though not in a very gay humour, could hardly help laughing +at the appearance of his new squire, and at imagining the +astonishment which his person and equipage would have excited at +Waverley-Honour. + +Edward's tendency to mirth did not escape mine host of the +Candlestick, who, conscious of the cause, infused a double portion +of souring into the pharisaical leaven of his countenance, and +resolved internally that, in one way or other, the young +'Englisher' should pay dearly for the contempt with which he +seemed to regard him. Callum also stood at the gate and enjoyed, +with undissembled glee, the ridiculous figure of Mr. Cruickshanks. +As Waverley passed him he pulled off his hat respectfully, and, +approaching his stirrup, bade him 'Tak heed the auld whig deevil +played him nae cantrip.' + +Waverley once more thanked and bade him farewell, and then rode +briskly onward, not sorry to be out of hearing of the shouts of +the children, as they beheld old Ebenezer rise and sink in his +stirrups to avoid the concussions occasioned by a hard trot upon a +half-paved street. The village of--was soon several miles behind +him. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +SHOWS THAT THE LOSS OF A HORSE'S SHOE MAY BE A SERIOUS +INCONVENIENCE + + +The manner and air of Waverley, but, above all, the glittering +contents of his purse, and the indifference with which he seemed +to regard them, somewhat overawed his companion, and deterred him +from making any attempts to enter upon conversation. His own +reflections were moreover agitated by various surmises, and by +plans of self-interest with which these were intimately connected. +The travellers journeyed, therefore, in silence, until it was +interrupted by the annunciation, on the part of the guide, that +his 'naig had lost a fore-foot shoe, which, doubtless, his honour +would consider it was his part to replace.' + +This was what lawyers call a fishing question, calculated to +ascertain how far Waverley was disposed to submit to petty +imposition. 'My part to replace your horse's shoe, you rascal!' +said Waverley, mistaking the purport of the intimation. + +'Indubitably,' answered Mr. Cruickshanks; 'though there was no +preceese clause to that effect, it canna be expected that I am to +pay for the casualties whilk may befall the puir naig while in +your honour's service. Nathless, if your honour--' + +'O, you mean I am to pay the farrier; but where shall we find +one?' + +Rejoiced at discerning there would be no objection made on the +part of his temporary master, Mr. Cruickshanks assured him that +Cairnvreckan, a village which they were about to enter, was happy +in an excellent blacksmith; 'but as he was a professor, he would +drive a nail for no man on the Sabbath or kirk-fast, unless it +were in a case of absolute necessity, for which he always charged +sixpence each shoe.' The most important part of this +communication, in the opinion of the speaker, made a very slight +impression on the hearer, who only internally wondered what +college this veterinary professor belonged to, not aware that the +word was used to denote any person who pretended to uncommon +sanctity of faith and manner. + +As they entered the village of Cairnvreckan, they speedily +distinguished the smith's house. Being also a public, it was two +stories high, and proudly reared its crest, covered with grey +slate, above the thatched hovels by which it was surrounded. The +adjoining smithy betokened none of the Sabbatical silence and +repose which Ebenezer had augured from the sanctity of his friend. +On the contrary, hammer clashed and anvil rang, the bellows +groaned, and the whole apparatus of Vulcan appeared to be in full +activity. Nor was the labour of a rural and pacific nature. The +master smith, benempt, as his sign intimated, John Mucklewrath, +with two assistants, toiled busily in arranging, repairing, and +furbishing old muskets, pistols, and swords, which lay scattered +around his workshop in military confusion. The open shed, +containing the forge, was crowded with persons who came and went +as if receiving and communicating important news, and a single +glance at the aspect of the people who traversed the street in +haste, or stood assembled in groups, with eyes elevated and hands +uplifted, announced that some extraordinary intelligence was +agitating the public mind of the municipality of Cairnvreckan. +'There is some news,' said mine host of the Candlestick, pushing +his lantern-jawed visage and bare-boned nag rudely forward into +the crowd--'there is some news; and, if it please my Creator, I +will forthwith obtain speirings thereof.' + +Waverley, with better regulated curiosity than his attendant's, +dismounted and gave his horse to a boy who stood idling near. It +arose, perhaps, from the shyness of his character in early youth, +that he felt dislike at applying to a stranger even for casual +information, without previously glancing at his physiognomy and +appearance. While he looked about in order to select the person +with whom he would most willingly hold communication, the buzz +around saved him in some degree the trouble of interrogatories. +The names of Lochiel, Clanronald, Glengarry, and other +distinguished Highland Chiefs, among whom Vich Ian Vohr was +repeatedly mentioned, were as familiar in men's mouths as +household words; and from the alarm generally expressed, he easily +conceived that their descent into the Lowlands, at the head of +their armed tribes, had either already taken place or was +instantly apprehended. + +Ere Waverley could ask particulars, a strong, large-boned, hard- +featured woman, about forty, dressed as if her clothes had been +flung on with a pitchfork, her cheeks flushed with a scarlet red +where they were not smutted with soot and lamp-black, jostled +through the crowd, and, brandishing high a child of two years old, +which she danced in her arms without regard to its screams of +terror, sang forth with all her might,-- + + Charlie is my darling, my darling, my darling, + Charlie is my darling, + The young Chevalier! + +'D' ye hear what's come ower ye now,' continued the virago, 'ye +whingeing Whig carles? D'ye hear wha's coming to cow yer cracks? + + Little wot ye wha's coming, + Little wot ye wha's coming, + A' the wild Macraws are coming.' + +The Vulcan of Cairnvreckan, who acknowledged his Venus in this +exulting Bacchante, regarded her with a grim and ire-foreboding +countenance, while some of the senators of the village hastened to +interpose. 'Whisht, gudewife; is this a time or is this a day to +be singing your ranting fule sangs in?--a time when the wine of +wrath is poured out without mixture in the cup of indignation, and +a day when the land should give testimony against popery, and +prelacy, and quakerism, and independency, and supremacy, and +erastianism, and antinomianism, and a' the errors of the church?' + +'And that's a' your Whiggery,' reechoed the Jacobite heroine; +'that's a' your Whiggery, and your presbytery, ye cut-lugged, +graning carles! What! d' ye think the lads wi' the kilts will care +for yer synods and yer presbyteries, and yer buttock-mail, and yer +stool o' repentance? Vengeance on the black face o't! mony an +honester woman's been set upon it than streeks doon beside ony +Whig in the country. I mysell--' + +Here John Mucklewrath, who dreaded her entering upon a detail of +personal experience, interposed his matrimonial authority. 'Gae +hame, and be d--(that I should say sae), and put on the sowens +for supper.' + +'And you, ye doil'd dotard,' replied his gentle helpmate, her +wrath, which had hitherto wandered abroad over the whole assembly, +being at once and violently impelled into its natural channel, 'YE +stand there hammering dog-heads for fules that will never snap +them at a Highlandman, instead of earning bread for your family +and shoeing this winsome young gentleman's horse that's just come +frae the north! I'se warrant him nane of your whingeing King +George folk, but a gallant Gordon, at the least o' him.' + +The eyes of the assembly were now turned upon Waverley, who took +the opportunity to beg the smith to shoe his guide's horse with +all speed, as he wished to proceed on his journey; for he had +heard enough to make him sensible that there would be danger in +delaying long in this place. The smith's eyes rested on him with a +look of displeasure and suspicion, not lessened by the eagerness +with which his wife enforced Waverley's mandate. 'D'ye hear what +the weel-favoured young gentleman says, ye drunken ne'er-do-good?' + +'And what may your name be, sir?' quoth Mucklewrath. + +'It is of no consequence to you, my friend, provided I pay your +labour.' + +'But it may be of consequence to the state, sir,' replied an old +farmer, smelling strongly of whisky and peat-smoke; 'and I doubt +we maun delay your journey till you have seen the Laird.' + +'You certainly,' said Waverley, haughtily, 'will find it both +difficult and dangerous to detain me, unless you can produce some +proper authority.' + +There was a pause and a whisper among the crowd--'Secretary +Murray'--'Lord Lewis Gordon'--'Maybe the Chevalier himsell!' Such +were the surmises that passed hurriedly among them, and there was +obviously an increased disposition to resist Waverley's departure. +He attempted to argue mildly with them, but his voluntary ally, +Mrs. Mucklewrath, broke in upon and drowned his expostulations, +taking his part with an abusive violence which was all set down to +Edward's account by those on whom it was bestowed. 'YE'LL stop ony +gentleman that's the Prince's freend?' for she too, though with +other feelings, had adopted the general opinion respecting +Waverley. 'I daur ye to touch him,' spreading abroad her long and +muscular fingers, garnished with claws which a vulture might have +envied. 'I'll set my ten commandments in the face o' the first +loon that lays a finger on him.' + +'Gae hame, gudewife,' quoth the farmer aforesaid; 'it wad better +set you to be nursing the gudeman's bairns than to be deaving us +here.' + +'HIS bairns?' retorted the Amazon, regarding her husband with a +grin of ineffable contempt--'HIS bairns! + + O gin ye were dead, gudeman, + And a green turf on your head, gudeman! + Then I wad ware my widowhood + Upon a ranting Highlandman' + +This canticle, which excited a suppressed titter among the younger +part of the audience, totally overcame the patience of the taunted +man of the anvil. 'Deil be in me but I'll put this het gad down +her throat!' cried he in an ecstasy of wrath, snatching a bar from +the forge; and he might have executed his threat, had he not been +withheld by a part of the mob, while the rest endeavoured to force +the termagant out of his presence. + +Waverley meditated a retreat in the confusion, but his horse was +nowhere to be seen. At length he observed at some distance his +faithful attendant, Ebenezer, who, as soon as he had perceived the +turn matters were likely to take, had withdrawn both horses from +the press, and, mounted on the one and holding the other, answered +the loud and repeated calls of Waverley for his horse. 'Na, na! if +ye are nae friend to kirk and the king, and are detained as siccan +a person, ye maun answer to honest men of the country for breach +of contract; and I maun keep the naig and the walise for damage +and expense, in respect my horse and mysell will lose to-morrow's +day's wark, besides the afternoon preaching.' + +Edward, out of patience, hemmed in and hustled by the rabble on +every side, and every moment expecting personal violence, resolved +to try measures of intimidation, and at length drew a pocket- +pistol, threatening, on the one hand, to shoot whomsoever dared to +stop him, and, on the other, menacing Ebenezer with a similar doom +if he stirred a foot with the horses. The sapient Partridge says +that one man with a pistol is equal to a hundred unarmed, because, +though he can shoot but one of the multitude, yet no one knows but +that he himself may be that luckless individual. The levy en masse +of Cairnvreckan would therefore probably have given way, nor would +Ebenezer, whose natural paleness had waxed three shades more +cadaverous, have ventured to dispute a mandate so enforced, had +not the Vulcan of the village, eager to discharge upon some more +worthy object the fury which his helpmate had provoked, and not +ill satisfied to find such an object in Waverley, rushed at him +with the red-hot bar of iron with such determination as made the +discharge of his pistol an act of self-defence. The unfortunate +man fell; and while Edward, thrilled with a natural horror at the +incident, neither had presence of mind to unsheathe his sword nor +to draw his remaining pistol, the populace threw themselves upon +him, disarmed him, and were about to use him with great violence, +when the appearance of a venerable clergyman, the pastor of the +parish, put a curb on their fury. + +This worthy man (none of the Goukthrapples or Rentowels) +maintained his character with the common people, although he +preached the practical fruits of Christian faith as well as its +abstract tenets, and was respected by the higher orders, +notwithstanding he declined soothing their speculative errors by +converting the pulpit of the gospel into a school of heathen +morality. Perhaps it is owing to this mixture of faith and +practice in his doctrine that, although his memory has formed a +sort of era in the annals of Cairnvreckan, so that the +parishioners, to denote what befell Sixty Years Since, still say +it happened 'in good Mr. Morton's time,' I have never been able to +discover which he belonged to, the evangelical or the moderate +party in the kirk. Nor do I hold the circumstance of much moment, +since, in my own remembrance, the one was headed by an Erskine, +the other by a Robertson. + +[Footnote: The Reverend John Erskine, D. D, an eminent Scottish +divine and a most excellent man, headed the Evangelical party in +the Church of Scotland at the time when the celebrated Doctor +Robertson, the historian, was the leader of the Moderate party. +These two distinguished persons were colleagues in the Old Grey +Friars' Church, Edinburgh; and, however much they differed in +church politics, preserved the most perfect harmony as private +friends and as clergymen serving the same cure] + +Mr. Morton had been alarmed by the discharge of the pistol and the +increasing hubbub around the smithy. His first attention, after he +had directed the bystanders to detain Waverley, but to abstain +from injuring him, was turned to the body of Mucklewrath, over +which his wife, in a revulsion of feeling, was weeping, howling, +and tearing her elf-locks in a state little short of distraction. +On raising up the smith, the first discovery was that he was +alive; and the next that he was likely to live as long as if he +had never heard the report of a pistol in his life. He had made a +narrow escape, however; the bullet had grazed his head and stunned +him for a moment or two, which trance terror and confusion of +spirit had prolonged somewhat longer. He now arose to demand +vengeance on the person of Waverley, and with difficulty +acquiesced in the proposal of Mr. Morton that he should be carried +before the Laird, as a justice of peace, and placed at his +disposal. The rest of the assistants unanimously agreed to the +measure recommended; even Mrs. Mucklewrath, who had begun to +recover from her hysterics, whimpered forth, 'She wadna say +naething against what the minister proposed; he was e'en ower gude +for his trade, and she hoped to see him wi' a dainty decent +bishop's gown on his back; a comelier sight than your Geneva +cloaks and bands, I wis.' + +All controversy being thus laid aside, Waverley, escorted by the +whole inhabitants of the village who were not bed-ridden, was +conducted to the house of Cairnvreckan, which was about half a +mile distant. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +AN EXAMINATION + + +Major Melville of Cairnvreckan, an elderly gentleman, who had +spent his youth in the military service, received Mr. Morton with +great kindness, and our hero with civility, which the equivocal +circumstances wherein Edward was placed rendered constrained and +distant. + +The nature of the smith's hurt was inquired into, and, as the +actual injury was likely to prove trifling, and the circumstances +in which it was received rendered the infliction on Edward's part +a natural act of self-defence, the Major conceived he might +dismiss that matter on Waverley's depositing in his hands a small +sum for the benefit of the wounded person. + +'I could wish, sir,' continued the Major, 'that my duty terminated +here; but it is necessary that we should have some further inquiry +into the cause of your journey through the country at this +unfortunate and distracted time.' + +Mr. Ebenezer Cruickshanks now stood forth, and communicated to the +magistrate all he knew or suspected from the reserve of Waverley +and the evasions of Callum Beg. The horse upon which Edward rode, +he said, he knew to belong to Vich Ian Vohr, though he dared not +tax Edward's former attendant with the fact, lest he should have +his house and stables burnt over his head some night by that +godless gang, the Mac-Ivors. He concluded by exaggerating his own +services to kirk and state, as having been the means, under God +(as he modestly qualified the assertion), of attaching this +suspicious and formidable delinquent. He intimated hopes of future +reward, and of instant reimbursement for loss of time, and even of +character, by travelling on the state business on the fast-day. + +To this Major Melville answered, with great composure, that so far +from claiming any merit in this affair, Mr. Cruickshanks ought to +deprecate the imposition of a very heavy fine for neglecting to +lodge, in terms of the recent proclamation, an account with the +nearest magistrate of any stranger who came to his inn; that, as +Mr. Cruickshanks boasted so much of religion and loyalty, he +should not impute this conduct to disaffection, but only suppose +that his zeal for kirk and state had been lulled asleep by the +opportunity of charging a stranger with double horse-hire; that, +however, feeling himself incompetent to decide singly upon the +conduct of a person of such importance, he should reserve it for +consideration of the next quarter-sessions. Now our history for +the present saith no more of him of the Candlestick, who wended +dolorous and malcontent back to his own dwelling. + +Major Melville then commanded the villagers to return to their +homes, excepting two, who officiated as constables, and whom he +directed to wait below. The apartment was thus cleared of every +person but Mr. Morton, whom the Major invited to remain; a sort of +factor, who acted as clerk; and Waverley himself. There ensued a +painful and embarrassed pause, till Major Melville, looking upon +Waverley with much compassion, and often consulting a paper or +memorandum which he held in his hand, requested to know his name. + +'Edward Waverley.' + +'I thought so; late of the--dragoons, and nephew of Sir Everard +Waverley of Waverley-Honour?' + +'The same.' + +'Young gentleman, I am extremely sorry that this painful duty has +fallen to my lot.' + +'Duty, Major Melville, renders apologies superfluous.' + +'True, sir; permit me, therefore, to ask you how your time has +been disposed of since you obtained leave of absence from your +regiment, several weeks ago, until the present moment?' + +'My reply,' said Waverley, 'to so general a question must be +guided by the nature of the charge which renders it necessary. I +request to know what that charge is, and upon what authority I am +forcibly detained to reply to it?' + +'The charge, Mr. Waverley, I grieve to say, is of a very high +nature, and affects your character both as a soldier and a +subject. In the former capacity you are charged with spreading +mutiny and rebellion among the men you commanded, and setting them +the example of desertion, by prolonging your own absence from the +regiment, contrary to the express orders of your commanding +officer. The civil crime of which you stand accused is that of +high treason and levying war against the king, the highest +delinquency of which a subject can be guilty.' + +'And by what authority am I detained to reply to such heinous +calumnies?' + +'By one which you must not dispute, nor I disobey.' + +He handed to Waverley a warrant from the Supreme Criminal Court of +Scotland, in full form, for apprehending and securing the person +of Edward Waverley, Esq., suspected of treasonable practices and +other high crimes and misdemeanours. + +The astonishment which Waverley expressed at this communication +was imputed by Major Melville to conscious guilt, while Mr. Morton +was rather disposed to construe it into the surprise of innocence +unjustly suspected. There was something true in both conjectures; +for although Edward's mind acquitted him of the crime with which +he was charged, yet a hasty review of his own conduct convinced +him he might have great difficulty in establishing his innocence +to the satisfaction of others. + +'It is a very painful part of this painful business,' said Major +Melville, after a pause, 'that, under so grave a charge, I must +necessarily request to see such papers as you have on your +person.' + +'You shall, sir, without reserve,' said Edward, throwing his +pocket-book and memorandums upon the table; 'there is but one with +which I could wish you would dispense.' + +'I am afraid, Mr. Waverley, I can indulge you with no +reservation,' + +'You shall see it then, sir; and as it can be of no service, I beg +it may be returned.' + +He took from his bosom the lines he had that morning received, and +presented them with the envelope. The Major perused them in +silence, and directed his clerk to make a copy of them. He then +wrapped the copy in the envelope, and placing it on the table +before him, returned the original to Waverley, with an air of +melancholy gravity. + +After indulging the prisoner, for such our hero must now be +considered, with what he thought a reasonable time for reflection, +Major Melville resumed his examination, premising that, as Mr. +Waverley seemed to object to general questions, his +interrogatories should be as specific as his information +permitted. He then proceeded in his investigation, dictating, as +he went on, the import of the questions and answers to the +amanuensis, by whom it was written down. + +'Did Mr. Waverley know one Humphry Houghton, a non-commissioned +officer in Gardiner's dragoons?' + +'Certainly; he was sergeant of my troop, and son of a tenant of my +uncle.' + +'Exactly--and had a considerable share of your confidence, and an +influence among his comrades?' + +'I had never occasion to repose confidence in a person of his +description,' answered Waverley. 'I favoured Sergeant Houghton as +a clever, active young fellow, and I believe his fellow-soldiers +respected him accordingly.' + +'But you used through this man,' answered Major Melville, 'to +communicate with such of your troop as were recruited upon +Waverley-Honour?' + +'Certainly; the poor fellows, finding themselves in a regiment +chiefly composed of Scotch or Irish, looked up to me in any of +their little distresses, and naturally made their countryman and +sergeant their spokesman on such occasions.' + +'Sergeant Houghton's influence,' continued the Major, 'extended, +then, particularly over those soldiers who followed you to the +regiment from your uncle's estate?' + +'Surely; but what is that to the present purpose?' + +'To that I am just coming, and I beseech your candid reply. Have +you, since leaving the regiment, held any correspondence, direct +or indirect, with this Sergeant Houghton?' + +'I!--I hold correspondence with a man of his rank and situation! +How, or for what purpose?' + +'That you are to explain. But did you not, for example, send to +him for some books?' + +'You remind me of a trifling commission,' said Waverley, 'which I +gave Sergeant Houghton, because my servant could not read. I do +recollect I bade him, by letter, select some books, of which I +sent him a list, and send them to me at Tully-Veolan.' + +'And of what description were those books?' + +'They related almost entirely to elegant literature; they were +designed for a lady's perusal.' + +'Were there not, Mr. Waverley, treasonable tracts and pamphlets +among them?' + +'There were some political treatises, into which I hardly looked. +They had been sent to me by the officiousness of a kind friend, +whose heart is more to be esteemed than his prudence or political +sagacity; they seemed to be dull compositions.' + +'That friend,' continued the persevering inquirer, 'was a Mr. +Pembroke, a nonjuring clergyman, the author of two treasonable +works, of which the manuscripts were found among your baggage?' + +'But of which, I give you my honour as a gentleman,' replied +Waverley, 'I never read six pages.' + +'I am not your judge, Mr. Waverley; your examination will be +transmitted elsewhere. And now to proceed. Do you know a person +that passes by the name of Wily Will, or Will Ruthven?' + +'I never heard of such a name till this moment.' + +'Did you never through such a person, or any other person, +communicate with Sergeant Humphry Houghton, instigating him to +desert, with as many of his comrades as he could seduce to join +him, and unite with the Highlanders and other rebels now in arms +under the command of the Young Pretender?' + +'I assure you I am not only entirely guiltless of the plot you +have laid to my charge, but I detest it from the very bottom of my +soul, nor would I be guilty of such treachery to gain a throne, +either for myself or any other man alive.' + +'Yet when I consider this envelope in the handwriting of one of +those misguided gentlemen who are now in arms against their +country, and the verses which it enclosed, I cannot but find some +analogy between the enterprise I have mentioned and the exploit of +Wogan, which the writer seems to expect you should imitate.' + +Waverley was struck with the coincidence, but denied that the +wishes or expectations of the letter-writer were to be regarded as +proofs of a charge otherwise chimerical. + +'But, if I am rightly informed, your time was spent, during your +absence from the regiment, between the house of this Highland +Chieftain and that of Mr. Bradwardine of Bradwardine, also in arms +for this unfortunate cause?' + +'I do not mean to disguise it; but I do deny, most resolutely, +being privy to any of their designs against the government.' + +'You do not, however, I presume, intend to deny that you attended +your host Glennaquoich to a rendezvous, where, under a pretence of +a general hunting match, most of the accomplices of his treason +were assembled to concert measures for taking arms?' + +'I acknowledge having been at such a meeting,' said Waverley; 'but +I neither heard nor saw anything which could give it the character +you affix to it.' + +'From thence you proceeded,' continued the magistrate, 'with +Glennaquoich and a part of his clan to join the army of the Young +Pretender, and returned, after having paid your homage to him, to +discipline and arm the remainder, and unite them to his bands on +their way southward?' + +'I never went with Glennaquoich on such an errand. I never so much +as heard that the person whom you mention was in the country.' + +He then detailed the history of his misfortune at the hunting +match, and added, that on his return he found himself suddenly +deprived of his commission, and did not deny that he then, for the +first time, observed symptoms which indicated a disposition in the +Highlanders to take arms; but added that, having no inclination to +join their cause, and no longer any reason for remaining in +Scotland, he was now on his return to his native country, to which +he had been summoned by those who had a right to direct his +motions, as Major Melville would perceive from the letters on the +table. + +Major Melville accordingly perused the letters of Richard +Waverley, of Sir Everard, and of Aunt Rachel; but the inferences +he drew from them were different from what Waverley expected. They +held the language of discontent with government, threw out no +obscure hints of revenge, and that of poor Aunt Rachel, which +plainly asserted the justice of the Stuart cause, was held to +contain the open avowal of what the others only ventured to +insinuate. + +'Permit me another question, Mr. Waverley,' said Major Melville. +'Did you not receive repeated letters from your commanding +officer, warning you and commanding you to return to your post, +and acquainting you with the use made of your name to spread +discontent among your soldiers?' + +'I never did, Major Melville. One letter, indeed, I received from +him, containing a civil intimation of his wish that I would employ +my leave of absence otherwise than in constant residence at +Bradwardine, as to which, I own, I thought he was not called on to +interfere; and, finally, I received, on the same day on which I +observed myself superseded in the "Gazette," a second letter from +Colonel Gardiner, commanding me to join the regiment, an order +which, owing to my absence, already mentioned and accounted for, I +received too late to be obeyed. If there were any intermediate +letters, and certainly from the Colonel's high character I think +it probable that there were, they have never reached me.' + +'I have omitted, Mr. Waverley,' continued Major Melville, 'to +inquire after a matter of less consequence, but which has +nevertheless been publicly talked of to your disadvantage. It is +said that a treasonable toast having been proposed in your hearing +and presence, you, holding his Majesty's commission, suffered the +task of resenting it to devolve upon another gentleman of the +company. This, sir, cannot be charged against you in a court of +justice; but if, as I am informed, the officers of your regiment +requested an explanation of such a rumour, as a gentleman and +soldier I cannot but be surprised that you did not afford it to +them.' + +This was too much. Beset and pressed on every hand by accusations, +in which gross falsehoods were blended with such circumstances of +truth as could not fail to procure them credit,--alone, +unfriended, and in a strange land, Waverley almost gave up his +life and honour for lost, and, leaning his head upon his hand, +resolutely refused to answer any further questions, since the fair +and candid statement he had already made had only served to +furnish arms against him. + +Without expressing either surprise or displeasure at the change in +Waverley's manner, Major Melville proceeded composedly to put +several other queries to him. + +'What does it avail me to answer you?' said Edward sullenly. 'You +appear convinced of my guilt, and wrest every reply I have made to +support your own preconceived opinion. Enjoy your supposed +triumph, then, and torment me no further. If I am capable of the +cowardice and treachery your charge burdens me with, I am not +worthy to be believed in any reply I can make to you. If I am not +deserving of your suspicion--and God and my own conscience bear +evidence with me that it is so--then I do not see why I should, by +my candour, lend my accusers arms against my innocence. There is +no reason I should answer a word more, and I am determined to +abide by this resolution.' + +And again he resumed his posture of sullen and determined silence. + +'Allow me,' said the magistrate, 'to remind you of one reason that +may suggest the propriety of a candid and open confession. The +inexperience of youth, Mr. Waverley, lays it open to the plans of +the more designing and artful; and one of your friends at least--I +mean Mac-Ivor of Glennaquoich--ranks high in the latter class, as, +from your apparent ingenuousness, youth, and unacquaintance with +the manners of the Highlands, I should be disposed to place you +among the former. In such a case, a false step or error like +yours, which I shall be happy to consider as involuntary, may be +atoned for, and I would willingly act as intercessor. But, as you +must necessarily be acquainted with the strength of the +individuals in this country who have assumed arms, with their +means and with their plans, I must expect you will merit this +mediation on my part by a frank and candid avowal of all that has +come to your knowledge upon these heads; in which case, I think I +can venture to promise that a very short personal restraint will +be the only ill consequence that can arise from your accession to +these unhappy intrigues.' + +Waverley listened with great composure until the end of this +exhortation, when, springing from his seat with an energy he had +not yet displayed, he replied, 'Major Melville, since that is your +name, I have hitherto answered your questions with candour, or +declined them with temper, because their import concerned myself +alone; but, as you presume to esteem me mean enough to commence +informer against others, who received me, whatever may be their +public misconduct, as a guest and friend, I declare to you that I +consider your questions as an insult infinitely more offensive +than your calumnious suspicions; and that, since my hard fortune +permits me no other mode of resenting them than by verbal +defiance, you should sooner have my heart out of my bosom than a +single syllable of information on subjects which I could only +become acquainted with in the full confidence of unsuspecting +hospitality.' + +Mr. Morton and the Major looked at each other; and the former, +who, in the course of the examination, had been repeatedly +troubled with a sorry rheum, had recourse to his snuff-box and his +handkerchief. + +'Mr. Waverley,' said the Major, 'my present situation prohibits me +alike from giving or receiving offence, and I will not protract a +discussion which approaches to either. I am afraid I must sign a +warrant for detaining you in custody, but this house shall for the +present be your prison. I fear I cannot persuade you to accept a +share of our supper?--(Edward shook his head)--but I will order +refreshments in your apartment.' + +Our hero bowed and withdrew, under guard of the officers of +justice, to a small but handsome room, where, declining all offers +of food or wine, he flung himself on the bed, and, stupified by +the harassing events and mental fatigue of this miserable day, he +sunk into a deep and heavy slumber. This was more than he himself +could have expected; but it is mentioned of the North-American +Indians, when at the stake of torture, that on the least +intermission of agony they will sleep until the fire is applied to +awaken them. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +A CONFERENCE AND THE CONSEQUENCE + + +Major Melville had detained Mr. Morton during his examination of +Waverley, both because he thought he might derive assistance from +his practical good sense and approved loyalty, and also because it +was agreeable to have a witness of unimpeached candour and +veracity to proceedings which touched the honour and safety of a +young Englishman of high rank and family, and the expectant heir +of a large fortune. Every step he knew would be rigorously +canvassed, and it was his business to place the justice and +integrity of his own conduct beyond the limits of question. + +When Waverley retired, the laird and clergyman of Cairnvreckan sat +down in silence to their evening meal. While the servants were in +attendance neither chose to say anything on the circumstances +which occupied their minds, and neither felt it easy to speak upon +any other. The youth and apparent frankness of Waverley stood in +strong contrast to the shades of suspicion which darkened around +him, and he had a sort of naivete and openness of demeanour that +seemed to belong to one unhackneyed in the ways of intrigue, and +which pleaded highly in his favour. + +Each mused over the particulars of the examination, and each +viewed it through the medium of his own feelings. Both were men of +ready and acute talent, and both were equally competent to combine +various parts of evidence, and to deduce from them the necessary +conclusions. But the wide difference of their habits and education +often occasioned a great discrepancy in their respective +deductions from admitted premises. + +Major Melville had been versed in camps and cities; he was +vigilant by profession and cautious from experience, had met with +much evil in the world, and therefore, though himself an upright +magistrate and an honourable man, his opinions of others were +always strict, and sometimes unjustly severe. Mr. Morton, on the +contrary, had passed from the literary pursuits of a college, +where he was beloved by his companions and respected by his +teachers, to the ease and simplicity of his present charge, where +his opportunities of witnessing evil were few, and never dwelt +upon but in order to encourage repentance and amendment; and where +the love and respect of his parishioners repaid his affectionate +zeal in their behalf by endeavouring to disguise from him what +they knew would give him the most acute pain, namely, their own +occasional transgressions of the duties which it was the business +of his life to recommend. Thus it was a common saying in the +neighbourhood (though both were popular characters), that the +laird knew only the ill in the parish and the minister only the +good. + +A love of letters, though kept in subordination to his clerical +studies and duties, also distinguished the pastor of Cairnvreckan, +and had tinged his mind in earlier days with a slight feeling of +romance, which no after incidents of real life had entirely +dissipated. The early loss of an amiable young woman whom he had +married for love, and who was quickly followed to the grave by an +only child, had also served, even after the lapse of many years, +to soften a disposition naturally mild and contemplative. His +feelings on the present occasion were therefore likely to differ +from those of the severe disciplinarian, strict magistrate, and +distrustful man of the world. + +When the servants had withdrawn, the silence of both parties +continued, until Major Melville, filling his glass and pushing the +bottle to Mr. Morton, commenced-- + +'A distressing affair this, Mr. Morton. I fear this youngster has +brought himself within the compass of a halter.' + +'God forbid!' answered the clergyman. + +'Marry, and amen,' said the temporal magistrate; 'but I think even +your merciful logic will hardly deny the conclusion.' + +'Surely, Major,' answered the clergyman, 'I should hope it might +be averted, for aught we have heard tonight?' + +'Indeed!' replied Melville. 'But, my good parson, you are one of +those who would communicate to every criminal the benefit of +clergy.' + +'Unquestionably I would. Mercy and long-suffering are the grounds +of the doctrine I am called to teach.' + +'True, religiously speaking; but mercy to a criminal may be gross +injustice to the community. I don't speak of this young fellow in +particular, who I heartily wish may be able to clear himself, for +I like both his modesty and his spirit. But I fear he has rushed +upon his fate.' + +'And why? Hundreds of misguided gentlemen are now in arms against +the government, many, doubtless, upon principles which education +and early prejudice have gilded with the names of patriotism and +heroism; Justice, when she selects her victims from such a +multitude (for surely all will not be destroyed), must regard the +moral motive. He whom ambition or hope of personal advantage has +led to disturb the peace of a well-ordered government, let him +fall a victim to the laws; but surely youth, misled by the wild +visions of chivalry and imaginary loyalty, may plead for pardon.' + +'If visionary chivalry and imaginary loyalty come within the +predicament of high treason,' replied the magistrate, 'I know no +court in Christendom, my dear Mr. Morton, where they can sue out +their Habeas Corpus.' + +'But I cannot see that this youth's guilt is at all established to +my satisfaction,' said the clergyman. + +'Because your good-nature blinds your good sense,' replied Major +Melville. 'Observe now: This young man, descended of a family of +hereditary Jacobites, his uncle the leader of the Tory interest in +the county of ----, his father a disobliged and discontented +courtier, his tutor a nonjuror and the author of two treasonable +volumes--this youth, I say, enters into Gardiner's dragoons, +bringing with him a body of young fellows from his uncle's estate, +who have not stickled at avowing in their way the High-Church +principles they learned at Waverley-Honour, in their disputes with +their comrades. To these young men Waverley is unusually +attentive; they are supplied with money beyond a soldier's wants +and inconsistent with his discipline; and are under the management +of a favourite sergeant, through whom they hold an unusually close +communication with their captain, and affect to consider +themselves as independent of the other officers, and superior to +their comrades.' + +'All this, my dear Major, is the natural consequence of their +attachment to their young landlord, and of their finding +themselves in a regiment levied chiefly in the north of Ireland +and the west of Scotland, and of course among comrades disposed to +quarrel with them, both as Englishmen and as members of the Church +of England.' + +'Well said, parson!' replied the magistrate. 'I would some of your +synod heard you. But let me go on. This young man obtains leave of +absence, goes to Tully-Veolan--the principles of the Baron of +Bradwardine are pretty well known, not to mention that this lad's +uncle brought him off in the year fifteen; he engages there in a +brawl, in which he is said to have disgraced the commission he +bore; Colonel Gardiner writes to him, first mildly, then more +sharply--I think you will not doubt his having done so, since he +says so; the mess invite him to explain the quarrel in which he is +said to have been involved; he neither replies to his commander +nor his comrades. In the meanwhile his soldiers become mutinous +and disorderly, and at length, when the rumour of this unhappy +rebellion becomes general, his favourite Sergeant Houghton and +another fellow are detected in correspondence with a French +emissary, accredited, as he says, by Captain Waverley, who urges +him, according to the men's confession, to desert with the troop +and join their captain, who was with Prince Charles. In the +meanwhile this trusty captain is, by his own admission, residing +at Glennaquoich with the most active, subtle, and desperate +Jacobite in Scotland; he goes with him at least as far as their +famous hunting rendezvous, and I fear a little farther. Meanwhile +two other summonses are sent him; one warning him of the +disturbances in his troop, another peremptorily ordering him to +repair to the regiment, which, indeed, common sense might have +dictated, when he observed rebellion thickening all round him. He +returns an absolute refusal, and throws up his commission.' + +'He had been already deprived of it,' said Mr. Morton. + +'But he regrets,' replied Melville, 'that the measure had +anticipated his resignation. His baggage is seized at his quarters +and at Tully-Veolan, and is found to contain a stock of pestilent +Jacobitical pamphlets, enough to poison a whole country, besides +the unprinted lucubrations of his worthy friend and tutor Mr. +Pembroke.' + +'He says he never read them,' answered the minister. + +'In an ordinary case I should believe him,' replied the +magistrate, 'for they are as stupid and pedantic in composition as +mischievous in their tenets. But can you suppose anything but +value for the principles they maintain would induce a young man of +his age to lug such trash about with him? Then, when news arrive +of the approach of the rebels, he sets out in a sort of disguise, +refusing to tell his name; and, if yon old fanatic tell truth, +attended by a very suspicious character, and mounted on a horse +known to have belonged to Glennaquoich, and bearing on his person +letters from his family expressing high rancour against the house +of Brunswick, and a copy of verses in praise of one Wogan, who +abjured the service of the Parliament to join the Highland +insurgents, when in arms to restore the house of Stuart, with a +body of English cavalry--the very counterpart of his own plot--and +summed up with a "Go thou and do likewise" from that loyal +subject, and most safe and peaceable character, Fergus Mac-Ivor of +Glennaquoich, Vich Ian Vohr, and so forth. And, lastly,' continued +Major Melville, warming in the detail of his arguments, 'where do +we find this second edition of Cavalier Wogan? Why, truly, in the +very track most proper for execution of his design, and pistolling +the first of the king's subjects who ventures to question his +intentions.' + +Mr. Morton prudently abstained from argument, which he perceived +would only harden the magistrate in his opinion, and merely asked +how he intended to dispose of the prisoner? + +'It is a question of some difficulty, considering the state of the +country,' said Major Melville. + +'Could you not detain him (being such a gentleman-like young man) +here in your own house, out of harm's way, till this storm blow +over?' + +'My good friend,' said Major Melville, 'neither your house nor +mine will be long out of harm's way, even were it legal to confine +him here. I have just learned that the commander-in-chief, who +marched into the Highlands to seek out and disperse the +insurgents, has declined giving them battle at Coryarrick, and +marched on northward with all the disposable force of government +to Inverness, John-o'-Groat's House, or the devil, for what I +know, leaving the road to the Low Country open and undefended to +the Highland army.' + +'Good God!' said the clergyman. 'Is the man a coward, a traitor, +or an idiot?' + +'None of the three, I believe,' answered Melville. 'Sir John has +the commonplace courage of a common soldier, is honest enough, +does what he is commanded, and understands what is told him, but +is as fit to act for himself in circumstances of importance as I, +my dear parson, to occupy your pulpit.' + +This important public intelligence naturally diverted the +discourse from Waverley for some time; at length, however, the +subject was resumed. + +'I believe,' said Major Melville, 'that I must give this young man +in charge to some of the detached parties of armed volunteers who +were lately sent out to overawe the disaffected districts. They +are now recalled towards Stirling, and a small body comes this way +to-morrow or next day, commanded by the westland man--what's his +name? You saw him, and said he was the very model of one of +Cromwell's military saints.' + +'Gilfillan, the Cameronian,' answered Mr. Morton. 'I wish the +young gentleman may be safe with him. Strange things are done in +the heat and hurry of minds in so agitating a crisis, and I fear +Gilfillan is of a sect which has suffered persecution without +learning mercy.' + +'He has only to lodge Mr. Waverley in Stirling Castle,' said the +Major; 'I will give strict injunctions to treat him well. I really +cannot devise any better mode for securing him, and I fancy you +would hardly advise me to encounter the responsibility of setting +him at liberty.' + +'But you will have no objection to my seeing him tomorrow in +private?' said the minister. + +'None, certainly; your loyalty and character are my warrant. But +with what view do you make the request?' + +'Simply,' replied Mr. Morton, 'to make the experiment whether he +may not be brought to communicate to me some circumstances which +may hereafter be useful to alleviate, if not to exculpate, his +conduct.' + +The friends now parted and retired to rest, each filled with the +most anxious reflections on the state of the country. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +A CONFIDANT + + +Waverley awoke in the morning from troubled dreams and +unrefreshing slumbers to a full consciousness of the horrors of +his situation. How it might terminate he knew not. He might be +delivered up to military law, which, in the midst of civil war, +was not likely to be scrupulous in the choice of its victims or +the quality of the evidence. Nor did he feel much more comfortable +at the thoughts of a trial before a Scottish court of justice, +where he knew the laws and forms differed in many respects from +those of England, and had been taught to believe, however +erroneously, that the liberty and rights of the subject were less +carefully protected. A sentiment of bitterness rose in his mind +against the government, which he considered as the cause of his +embarrassment and peril, and he cursed internally his scrupulous +rejection of Mac-Ivor's invitation to accompany him to the field. + +'Why did not I,' he said to himself, 'like other men of honour, +take the earliest opportunity to welcome to Britain the descendant +of her ancient kings and lineal heir of her throne? Why did not I-- + + Unthread the rude eye of rebellion, + And welcome home again discarded faith, + Seek out Prince Charles, and fall before his feet? + +All that has been recorded of excellence and worth in the house of +Waverley has been founded upon their loyal faith to the house of +Stuart. From the interpretation which this Scotch magistrate has +put upon the letters of my uncle and father, it is plain that I +ought to have understood them as marshalling me to the course of +my ancestors; and it has been my gross dulness, joined to the +obscurity of expression which they adopted for the sake of +security, that has confounded my judgment. Had I yielded to the +first generous impulse of indignation when I learned that my +honour was practised upon, how different had been my present +situation! I had then been free and in arms fighting, like my +forefathers, for love, for loyalty, and for fame. And now I am +here, netted and in the toils, at the disposal of a suspicious, +stern, and cold-hearted man, perhaps to be turned over to the +solitude of a dungeon or the infamy of a public execution. O, +Fergus! how true has your prophecy proved; and how speedy, how +very speedy, has been its accomplishment!' + +While Edward was ruminating on these painful subjects of +contemplation, and very naturally, though not quite so justly, +bestowing upon the reigning dynasty that blame which was due to +chance, or, in part at least, to his own unreflecting conduct, Mr. +Morton availed himself of Major Melville's permission to pay him +an early visit. + +Waverley's first impulse was to intimate a desire that he might +not be disturbed with questions or conversation; but he suppressed +it upon observing the benevolent and reverend appearance of the +clergyman who had rescued him from the immediate violence of the +villagers. + +'I believe, sir,' said the unfortunate young man,'that in any +other circumstances I should have had as much gratitude to express +to you as the safety of my life may be worth; but such is the +present tumult of my mind, and such is my anticipation of what I +am yet likely to endure, that I can hardly offer you thanks for +your interposition.' + +Mr. Morton replied, that, far from making any claim upon his good +opinion, his only wish and the sole purpose of his visit was to +find out the means of deserving it. 'My excellent friend, Major +Melville,' he continued, 'has feelings and duties as a soldier and +public functionary by which I am not fettered; nor can I always +coincide in opinions which he forms, perhaps with too little +allowance for the imperfections of human nature.' He paused and +then proceeded: 'I do not intrude myself on your confidence, Mr. +Waverley, for the purpose of learning any circumstances the +knowledge of which can be prejudicial either to yourself or to +others; but I own my earnest wish is that you would intrust me +with any particulars which could lead to your exculpation. I can +solemnly assure you they will be deposited with a faithful and, to +the extent of his limited powers, a zealous agent.' + +'You are, sir, I presume, a Presbyterian clergyman?' Mr. Morton +bowed. 'Were I to be guided by the prepossessions of education, I +might distrust your friendly professions in my case; but I have +observed that similar prejudices are nourished in this country +against your professional brethren of the Episcopal persuasion, +and I am willing to believe them equally unfounded in both cases.' + +'Evil to him that thinks otherwise,' said Mr. Morton; 'or who +holds church government and ceremonies as the exclusive gage of +Christian faith or moral virtue.' + +'But,' continued Waverley, 'I cannot perceive why I should trouble +you with a detail of particulars, out of which, after revolving +them as carefully as possible in my recollection, I find myself +unable to explain much of what is charged against me. I know, +indeed, that I am innocent, but I hardly see how I can hope to +prove myself so.' + +'It is for that very reason, Mr. Waverley,' said the clergyman, +'that I venture to solicit your confidence. My knowledge of +individuals in this country is pretty general, and can upon +occasion be extended. Your situation will, I fear, preclude your +taking those active steps for recovering intelligence or tracing +imposture which I would willingly undertake in your behalf; and if +you are not benefited by my exertions, at least they cannot be +prejudicial to you.' + +Waverley, after a few minutes' reflection, was convinced that his +reposing confidence in Mr. Morton, so far as he himself was +concerned, could hurt neither Mr. Bradwardine nor Fergus Mac-Ivor, +both of whom had openly assumed arms against the government, and +that it might possibly, if the professions of his new friend +corresponded in sincerity with the earnestness of his expression, +be of some service to himself. He therefore ran briefly over most +of the events with which the reader is already acquainted, +suppressing his attachment to Flora, and indeed neither mentioning +her nor Rose Bradwardine in the course of his narrative. + +Mr. Morton seemed particularly struck with the account of +Waverley's visit to Donald Bean Lean. 'I am glad,' he said, 'you +did not mention this circumstance to the Major. It is capable of +great misconstruction on the part of those who do not consider the +power of curiosity and the influence of romance as motives of +youthful conduct. When I was a young man like you, Mr. Waverley, +any such hair-brained expedition (I beg your pardon for the +expression) would have had inexpressible charms for me. But there +are men in the world who will not believe that danger and fatigue +are often incurred without any very adequate cause, and therefore +who are sometimes led to assign motives of action entirely foreign +to the truth. This man Bean Lean is renowned through the country +as a sort of Robin Hood, and the stories which are told of his +address and enterprise are the common tales of the winter +fireside. He certainly possesses talents beyond the rude sphere in +which he moves; and, being neither destitute of ambition nor +encumbered with scruples, he will probably attempt, by every +means, to distinguish himself during the period of these unhappy +commotions.' Mr. Morton then made a careful memorandum of the +various particulars of Waverley's interview with Donald Bean Lean +and the other circumstances which he had communicated. + +The interest which this good man seemed to take in his +misfortunes, above all, the full confidence he appeared to repose +in his innocence, had the natural effect of softening Edward's +heart, whom the coldness of Major Melville had taught to believe +that the world was leagued to oppress him. He shook Mr. Morton +warmly by the hand, and, assuring him that his kindness and +sympathy had relieved his mind of a heavy load, told him that, +whatever might be his own fate, he belonged to a family who had +both gratitude and the power of displaying it. The earnestness of +his thanks called drops to the eyes of the worthy clergyman, who +was doubly interested in the cause for which he had volunteered +his services, by observing the genuine and undissembled feelings +of his young friend. + +Edward now inquired if Mr. Morton knew what was likely to be his +destination. + +'Stirling Castle,' replied his friend; 'and so far I am well +pleased for your sake, for the governor is a man of honour and +humanity. But I am more doubtful of your treatment upon the road; +Major Melville is involuntarily obliged to intrust the custody of +your person to another.' + +'I am glad of it,' answered Waverley. 'I detest that cold-blooded +calculating Scotch magistrate. I hope he and I shall never meet +more. He had neither sympathy with my innocence nor with my +wretchedness; and the petrifying accuracy with which he attended +to every form of civility, while he tortured me by his questions, +his suspicions, and his inferences, was as tormenting as the racks +of the Inquisition. Do not vindicate him, my dear sir, for that I +cannot bear with patience; tell me rather who is to have the +charge of so important a state prisoner as I am.' + +'I believe a person called Gilfillan, one of the sect who are +termed Cameronians.' + +'I never heard of them before.' + +'They claim,' said the clergyman, 'to represent the more strict +and severe Presbyterians, who, in Charles Second's and James +Second's days, refused to profit by the Toleration, or Indulgence, +as it was called, which was extended to others of that religion. +They held conventicles in the open fields, and, being treated with +great violence and cruelty by the Scottish government, more than +once took arms during those reigns. They take their name from +their leader, Richard Cameron.' + +'I recollect,' said Waverley; 'but did not the triumph of +Presbytery at the Revolution extinguish that sect?' + +'By no means,' replied Morton; 'that great event fell yet far +short of what they proposed, which was nothing less than the +complete establishment of the Presbyterian Church upon the grounds +of the old Solemn League and Covenant. Indeed, I believe they +scarce knew what they wanted; but being a numerous body of men, +and not unacquainted with the use of arms, they kept themselves +together as a separate party in the state, and at the time of the +Union had nearly formed a most unnatural league with their old +enemies the Jacobites to oppose that important national measure. +Since that time their numbers have gradually diminished; but a +good many are still to be found in the western counties, and +several, with a better temper than in 1707, have now taken arms +for government. This person, whom they call Gifted Gilfillan, has +been long a leader among them, and now heads a small party, which +will pass here to-day or to-morrow on their march towards +Stirling, under whose escort Major Melville proposes you shall +travel. I would willingly speak to Gilfillan in your behalf; but, +having deeply imbibed all the prejudices of his sect, and being of +the same fierce disposition, he would pay little regard to the +remonstrances of an Erastian divine, as he would politely term me. +And now, farewell, my young friend; for the present I must not +weary out the Major's indulgence, that I may obtain his permission +to visit you again in the course of the day.' + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +THINGS MEND A LITTLE + + +About noon Mr. Morton returned and brought an invitation from +Major Melville that Mr. Waverley would honour him with his company +to dinner, notwithstanding the unpleasant affair which detained +him at Cairnvreckan, from which he should heartily rejoice to see +Mr. Waverley completely extricated. The truth was that Mr. +Morton's favourable report and opinion had somewhat staggered the +preconceptions of the old soldier concerning Edward's supposed +accession to the mutiny in the regiment; and in the unfortunate +state of the country the mere suspicion of disaffection or an +inclination to join the insurgent Jacobites might infer +criminality indeed, but certainly not dishonour. Besides, a person +whom the Major trusted had reported to him (though, as it proved, +inaccurately) a contradiction of the agitating news of the +preceding evening. According to this second edition of the +intelligence, the Highlanders had withdrawn from the Lowland +frontier with the purpose of following the army in their march to +Inverness. The Major was at a loss, indeed, to reconcile his +information with the well-known abilities of some of the gentlemen +in the Highland army, yet it was the course which was likely to be +most agreeable to others. He remembered the same policy had +detained them in the north in the year 1715, and he anticipated a +similar termination to the insurrection as upon that occasion. + +This news put him in such good-humour that he readily acquiesced +in Mr. Morton's proposal to pay some hospitable attention to his +unfortunate guest, and voluntarily added, he hoped the whole +affair would prove a youthful escapade, which might be easily +atoned by a short confinement. The kind mediator had some trouble +to prevail on his young friend to accept the invitation. He dared +not urge to him the real motive, which was a good-natured wish to +secure a favourable report of Waverley's case from Major Melville +to Governor Blakeney. He remarked, from the flashes of our hero's +spirit, that touching upon this topic would be sure to defeat his +purpose. He therefore pleaded that the invitation argued the +Major's disbelief of any part of the accusation which was +inconsistent with Waverley's conduct as a soldier and a man of +honour, and that to decline his courtesy might be interpreted into +a consciousness that it was unmerited. In short, he so far +satisfied Edward that the manly and proper course was to meet the +Major on easy terms that, suppressing his strong dislike again to +encounter his cold and punctilious civility, Waverley agreed to be +guided by his new friend. + +The meeting at first was stiff and formal enough. But Edward, +having accepted the invitation, and his mind being really soothed +and relieved by the kindness of Morton, held himself bound to +behave with ease, though he could not affect cordiality. The Major +was somewhat of a bon vivant, and his wine was excellent. He told +his old campaign stories, and displayed much knowledge of men and +manners. Mr. Morton had an internal fund of placid and quiet +gaiety, which seldom failed to enliven any small party in which he +found himself pleasantly seated. Waverley, whose life was a dream, +gave ready way to the predominating impulse and became the most +lively of the party. He had at all times remarkable natural powers +of conversation, though easily silenced by discouragement. On the +present occasion he piqued himself upon leaving on the minds of +his companions a favourable impression of one who, under such +disastrous circumstances, could sustain his misfortunes with ease +and gaiety. His spirits, though not unyielding, were abundantly +elastic, and soon seconded his efforts. The trio were engaged in +very lively discourse, apparently delighted with each other, and +the kind host was pressing a third bottle of Burgundy, when the +sound of a drum was heard at some distance. The Major, who, in the +glee of an old soldier, had forgot the duties of a magistrate, +cursed, with a muttered military oath, the circumstances which +recalled him to his official functions. He rose and went towards +the window, which commanded a very near view of the highroad, and +he was followed by his guests. + +The drum advanced, beating no measured martial tune, but a kind of +rub-a-dub-dub, like that with which the fire-drum startles the +slumbering artizans of a Scotch burgh. It is the object of this +history to do justice to all men; I must therefore record, in +justice to the drummer, that he protested he could beat any known +march or point of war known in the British army, and had +accordingly commenced with 'Dumbarton's Drums,' when he was +silenced by Gifted Gilfillan, the commander of the party, who +refused to permit his followers to move to this profane, and even, +as he said, persecutive tune, and commanded the drummer to beat +the 119th Psalm. As this was beyond the capacity of the drubber of +sheepskin, he was fain to have recourse to the inoffensive row-de- +dow as a harmless substitute for the sacred music which his +instrument or skill were unable to achieve. This may be held a +trifling anecdote, but the drummer in question was no less than +town-drummer of Anderton. I remember his successor in office, a +member of that enlightened body, the British Convention. Be his +memory, therefore, treated with due respect. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +A VOLUNTEER SIXTY YEARS SINCE + + +On hearing the unwelcome sound of the drum, Major Melville hastily +opened a sashed door and stepped out upon a sort of terrace which +divided his house from the highroad from which the martial music +proceeded. Waverley and his new friend followed him, though +probably he would have dispensed with their attendance. They soon +recognised in solemn march, first, the performer upon the drum; +secondly, a large flag of four compartments, on which were +inscribed the words, COVENANT, KIRK, KING, KINGDOMS. The person +who was honoured with this charge was followed by the commander of +the party, a thin, dark, rigid-looking man, about sixty years old. +The spiritual pride, which in mine host of the Candlestick mantled +in a sort of supercilious hypocrisy, was in this man's face +elevated and yet darkened by genuine and undoubting fanaticism. It +was impossible to behold him without imagination placing him in +some strange crisis, where religious zeal was the ruling +principle. A martyr at the stake, a soldier in the field, a lonely +and banished wanderer consoled by the intensity and supposed +purity of his faith under every earthly privation, perhaps a +persecuting inquisitor, as terrific in power as unyielding in +adversity; any of these seemed congenial characters to this +personage. With these high traits of energy, there was something +in the affected precision and solemnity of his deportment and +discourse that bordered upon the ludicrous; so that, according to +the mood of the spectator's mind and the light under which Mr. +Gilfillan presented himself, one might have feared, admired, or +laughed at him. His dress was that of a West-Country peasant, of +better materials indeed than that of the lower rank, but in no +respect affecting either the mode of the age or of the Scottish +gentry at any period. His arms were a broadsword and pistols, +which, from the antiquity of their appearance, might have seen the +rout of Pentland or Bothwell Brigg. + +As he came up a few steps to meet Major Melville, and touched +solemnly, but slightly, his huge and over-brimmed blue bonnet, in +answer to the Major, who had courteously raised a small triangular +gold-laced hat, Waverley was irresistibly impressed with the idea +that he beheld a leader of the Roundheads of yore in conference +with one of Marlborough's captains. + +The group of about thirty armed men who followed this gifted +commander was of a motley description. They were in ordinary +Lowland dresses, of different colours, which, contrasted with the +arms they bore, gave them an irregular and mobbish appearance; so +much is the eye accustomed to connect uniformity of dress with the +military character. In front were a few who apparently partook of +their leader's enthusiasm, men obviously to be feared in a combat, +where their natural courage was exalted by religious zeal. Others +puffed and strutted, filled with the importance of carrying arms +and all the novelty of their situation, while the rest, apparently +fatigued with their march, dragged their limbs listlessly along, +or straggled from their companions to procure such refreshments as +the neighbouring cottages and alehouses afforded. Six grenadiers +of Ligonier's, thought the Major to himself, as his mind reverted +to his own military experience, would have sent all these fellows +to the right about. + +Greeting, however, Mr. Gilfillan civilly, he requested to know if +he had received the letter he had sent to him upon his march, and +could undertake the charge of the state prisoner whom he there +mentioned as far as Stirling Castle. 'Yea,' was the concise reply +of the Cameronian leader, in a voice which seemed to issue from +the very penetralia of his person. + +'But your escort, Mr. Gilfillan, is not so strong as I expected,' +said Major Melville. + +'Some of the people,' replied Gilfillan, 'hungered and were +athirst by the way, and tarried until their poor souls were +refreshed with the word.' + +'I am sorry, sir,' replied the Major, 'you did not trust to your +refreshing your men at Cairnvreckan; whatever my house contains is +at the command of persons employed in the service.' + +'It was not of creature-comforts I spake,' answered the +Covenanter, regarding Major Melville with something like a smile +of contempt; 'howbeit, I thank you; but the people remained +waiting upon the precious Mr. Jabesh Rentowel for the out-pouring +of the afternoon exhortation.' + +'And have you, sir,' said the Major, 'when the rebels are about to +spread themselves through this country, actually left a great part +of your command at a fieldpreaching?' + +Gilfillan again smiled scornfully as he made this indirect answer +--'Even thus are the children of this world wiser in their +generation than the children of light!' + +'However, sir,' said the Major, 'as you are to take charge of this +gentleman to Stirling, and deliver him, with these papers, into +the hands of Governor Blakeney, I beseech you to observe some +rules of military discipline upon your march. For example, I would +advise you to keep your men more closely together, and that each +in his march should cover his file-leader, instead of straggling +like geese upon a common; and, for fear of surprise, I further +recommend to you to form a small advance-party of your best men, +with a single vidette in front of the whole march, so that when +you approach a village or a wood'--(here the Major interrupted +himself)--'But as I don't observe you listen to me, Mr. +Gilfillan, I suppose I need not give myself the trouble to say +more upon the subject. You are a better judge, unquestionably, +than I am of the measures to be pursued; but one thing I would +have you well aware of, that you are to treat this gentleman, your +prisoner, with no rigour nor incivility, and are to subject him to +no other restraint than is necessary for his security.' + +'I have looked into my commission,' said Mr. Gilfillan,' +subscribed by a worthy and professing nobleman, William, Earl of +Glencairn; nor do I find it therein set down that I am to receive +any charges or commands anent my doings from Major William +Melville of Cairnvreckan.' + +Major Melville reddened even to the well-powdered ears which +appeared beneath his neat military sidecurls, the more so as he +observed Mr. Morton smile at the same moment. 'Mr. Gilfillan,' he +answered, with some asperity, 'I beg ten thousand pardons for +interfering with a person of your importance. I thought, however, +that as you have been bred a grazier, if I mistake not, there +might be occasion to remind you of the difference between +Highlanders and Highland cattle; and if you should happen to meet +with any gentleman who has seen service, and is disposed to speak +upon the subject, I should still imagine that listening to him +would do you no sort of harm. But I have done, and have only once +more to recommend this gentleman to your civility as well as to +your custody. Mr. Waverley, I am truly sorry we should part in +this way; but I trust, when you are again in this country, I may +have an opportunity to render Cairnvreckan more agreeable than +circumstances have permitted on this occasion.' + +So saying, he shook our hero by the hand. Morton also took an +affectionate farewell, and Waverley, having mounted his horse, +with a musketeer leading it by the bridle and a file upon each +side to prevent his escape, set forward upon the march with +Gilfillan and his party. Through the little village they were +accompanied with the shouts of the children, who cried out, 'Eh! +see to the Southland gentleman that's gaun to be hanged for +shooting lang John Mucklewrath, the smith! + + + + + +APPENDICES TO THE GENERAL PREFACE + + +NO. I + +FRAGMENT [Footnote: It is not to be supposed that these fragments +are given in possessing any intrinsic value of themselves; but +there may be some curiosity attached to them, as to the first +etchings of a plate, which are accounted interesting by those who +have, in any degree, been interested in the more finished works of +the artist.] OF A ROMANCE WHICH WAS TO HAVE BEEN ENTITLED + +THOMAS THE RHYMER + +CHAPTER I + +THE sun was nearly set behind the distant mountains of Liddesdale, +when a few of the scattered and terrified inhabitants of the +village of Hersildoune, which had four days before been burned by +a predatory band of English Borderers, were now busied in +repairing their ruined dwellings. One high tower in the centre of +the village alone exhibited no appearance of devastation. It was +surrounded with court walls, and the outer gate was barred and +bolted. The bushes and brambles which grew around, and had even +insinuated their branches beneath the gate, plainly showed that it +must have been many years since it had been opened. While the +cottages around lay in smoking ruins, this pile, deserted and +desolate as it seemed to be, had suffered nothing from the +violence of the invaders; and the wretched beings who were +endeavouring to repair their miserable huts against nightfall +seemed to neglect the preferable shelter which it might have +afforded them without the necessity of labour. + +Before the day had quite gone down, a knight, richly armed and +mounted upon an ambling hackney, rode slowly into the village. His +attendants were a lady, apparently young and beautiful, who rode +by his side upon a dappled palfrey; his squire, who carried his +helmet and lance, and led his battlehorse, a noble steed, richly +caparisoned. A page and four yeomen bearing bows and quivers, +short swords, and targets of a span breadth, completed his +equipage, which, though small, denoted him to be a man of high +rank. + +He stopped and addressed several of the inhabitants whom curiosity +had withdrawn from their labour to gaze at him; but at the sound +of his voice, and still more on perceiving the St. George's Cross +in the caps of his followers, they fled, with a loud cry, 'that +the Southrons were returned.' The knight endeavoured to +expostulate with the fugitives, who were chiefly aged men, women, +and children; but their dread of the English name accelerated +their flight, and in a few minutes, excepting the knight and his +attendants, the place was deserted by all. He paced through the +village to seek a shelter for the night, and, despairing to find +one either in the inaccessible tower or the plundered huts of the +peasantry, he directed his course to the left hand, where he spied +a small decent habitation, apparently the abode of a man +considerably above the common rank. After much knocking, the +proprietor at length showed himself at the window, and speaking in +the English dialect, with great signs of apprehension, demanded +their business. The warrior replied that his quality was an +English knight and baron, and that he was travelling to the court +of the King of Scotland on affairs of consequence to both +kingdoms. + +'Pardon my hesitation, noble Sir Knight,' said the old man, as he +unbolted and unbarred his doors--'Pardon my hesitation, but we are +here exposed to too many intrusions to admit of our exercising +unlimited and unsuspicious hospitality. What I have is yours; and +God send your mission may bring back peace and the good days of +our old Queen Margaret!' + +'Amen, worthy Franklin,' quoth the Knight--'Did you know her?' + +'I came to this country in her train,' said the Franklin; 'and the +care of some of her jointure lands which she devolved on me +occasioned my settling here.' + +'And how do you, being an Englishman,' said the Knight, 'protect +your life and property here, when one of your nation cannot obtain +a single night's lodging, or a draught of water were he thirsty?' + +'Marry, noble sir,' answered the Franklin, 'use, as they say, will +make a man live in a lion's den; and as I settled here in a quiet +time, and have never given cause of offence, I am respected by my +neighbours, and even, as you see, by our FORAYERS from England.' + +'I rejoice to hear it, and accept your hospitality. Isabella, my +love, our worthy host will provide you a bed. My daughter, good +Franklin, is ill at ease. We will occupy your house till the +Scottish King shall return from his northern expedition; meanwhile +call me Lord Lacy of Chester.' + +The attendants of the Baron, assisted by the Franklin, were now +busied in disposing of the horses, and arranging the table for +some refreshment for Lord Lacy and his fair companion. While they +sat down to it, they were attended by their host and his daughter, +whom custom did not permit to eat in their presence, and who +afterwards withdrew to an outer chamber, where the squire and page +(both young men of noble birth) partook of supper, and were +accommodated with beds. The yeomen, after doing honour to the +rustic cheer of Queen Margaret's bailiff, withdrew to the stable, +and each, beside his favourite horse, snored away the fatigues of +their journey. + +Early on the following morning the travellers were roused by a +thundering knocking at the door of the house, accompanied with +many demands for instant admission in the roughest tone. The +squire and page of Lord Lacy, after buckling on their arms, were +about to sally out to chastise these intruders, when the old host, +after looking out at a private casement, contrived for +reconnoitring his visitors, entreated them, with great signs of +terror, to be quiet, if they did not mean that all in the house +should be murdered. + +He then hastened to the apartment of Lord Lacy, whom he met +dressed in a long furred gown and the knightly cap called a +MORTIER, irritated at the noise, and demanding to know the cause +which had disturbed the repose of the household. + +'Noble sir,' said the Franklin, 'one of the most formidable and +bloody of the Scottish Border riders is at hand; he is never +seen,' added he, faltering with terror, 'so far from the hills but +with some bad purpose, and the power of accomplishing it; so hold +yourself to your guard, for--' + +A loud crash here announced that the door was broken down, and the +knight just descended the stair in time to prevent bloodshed +betwixt his attendants and the intruders. They were three in +number; their chief was tall, bony, and athletic, his spare and +muscular frame, as well as the hardness of his features, marked +the course of his life to have been fatiguing and perilous. The +effect of his appearance was aggravated by his dress, which +consisted of a jack or jacket, composed of thick buff leather, on +which small plates of iron of a lozenge form were stitched in such +a manner as to overlap each other and form a coat of mail, which +swayed with every motion of the wearer's body. This defensive +armour covered a doublet of coarse grey cloth, and the Borderer +had a few half-rusted plates of steel on his shoulders, a two- +edged sword, with a dagger hanging beside it, in a buff belt; a +helmet, with a few iron bars, to cover the face instead of a +visor, and a lance of tremendous and uncommon length, completed +his appointments. The looks of the man were as wild and rude as +his attire: his keen black eyes never rested one moment fixed upon +a single object, but constantly traversed all around, as if they +ever sought some danger to oppose, some plunder to seize, or some +insult to revenge. The latter seemed to be his present object, +for, regardless of the dignified presence of Lord Lacy, he uttered +the most incoherent threats against the owner of the house and his +guests. + +'We shall see--ay, marry shall we--if an English hound is to +harbour and reset the Southrons here. Thank the Abbot of Melrose +and the good Knight of Coldingnow that have so long kept me from +your skirts. But those days are gone, by Saint Mary, and you shall +find it!' + +It is probable the enraged Borderer would not have long continued +to vent his rage in empty menaces, had not the entrance of the +four yeomen with their bows bent convinced him that the force was +not at this moment on his own side. + +Lord Lacy now advanced towards him. 'You intrude upon my privacy, +soldier; withdraw yourself and your followers. There is peace +betwixt our nations, or my servants should chastise thy +presumption.' + +'Such peace as ye give such shall ye have,' answered the moss- +trooper, first pointing with his lance towards the burned village +and then almost instantly levelling it against Lord Lacy. The +squire drew his sword and severed at one blow the steel head from +the truncheon of the spear. + +'Arthur Fitzherbert,' said the Baron, 'that stroke has deferred +thy knighthood for one year; never must that squire wear the spurs +whose unbridled impetuosity can draw unbidden his sword in the +presence of his master. Go hence and think on what I have said.' + +The squire left the chamber abashed. + +'It were vain,' continued Lord Lacy, 'to expect that courtesy from +a mountain churl which even my own followers can forget. Yet, +before thou drawest thy brand (for the intruder laid his hand upon +the hilt of his sword), thou wilt do well to reflect that I came +with a safe-conduct from thy king, and have no time to waste in +brawls with such as thou.' + +'From MY king--from my king!' re-echoed the mountaineer. 'I care +not that rotten truncheon (striking the shattered spear furiously +on the ground) for the King of Fife and Lothian. But Habby of +Cessford will be here belive; and we shall soon know if he will +permit an English churl to occupy his hostelrie.' + +Having uttered these words, accompanied with a lowering glance +from under his shaggy black eyebrows, he turned on his heel and +left the house with his two followers. They mounted their horses, +which they had tied to an outer fence, and vanished in an instant. + +'Who is this discourteous ruffian?' said Lord Lacy to the +Franklin, who had stood in the most violent agitation during this +whole scene. + +'His name, noble lord, is Adam Kerr of the Moat, but he is +commonly called by his companions the Black Rider of Cheviot. I +fear, I fear, he comes hither for no good; but if the Lord of +Cessford be near, he will not dare offer any unprovoked outrage.' + +'I have heard of that chief,' said the Baron. 'Let me know when he +approaches, and do thou, Rodulph (to the eldest yeoman), keep a +strict watch. Adelbert (to the page), attend to arm me.' The page +bowed, and the Baron withdrew to the chamber of the Lady Isabella +to explain the cause of the disturbance. + +No more of the proposed tale was ever written; but the Author's +purpose was that it should turn upon a fine legend of superstition +which is current in the part of the Borders where he had his +residence, where, in the reign of Alexander III of Scotland, that +renowned person Thomas of Hersildoune, called the Rhymer, actually +flourished. This personage, the Merlin of Scotland, and to whom +some of the adventures which the British bards assigned to Merlin +Caledonius, or the Wild, have been transferred by tradition, was, +as is well known, a magician, as well as a poet and prophet. He is +alleged still to live in the land of Faery, and is expected to +return at some great convulsion of society, in which he is to act +a distinguished part, a tradition common to all nations, as the +belief of the Mahomedans respecting their twelfth Imaum +demonstrates. + +Now, it chanced many years since that there lived on the Borders a +jolly, rattling horse-cowper, who was remarkable for a reckless +and fearless temper, which made him much admired and a little +dreaded amongst his neighbours. One moonlight night, as he rode +over Bowden Moor, on the west side of the Eildon Hills, the scene +of Thomas the Rhymer's prophecies, and often mentioned in his +story, having a brace of horses along with him which he had not +been able to dispose of, he met a man of venerable appearance and +singularly antique dress, who, to his great surprise, asked the +price of his horses, and began to chaffer with him on the subject. +To Canobie Dick, for so shall we call our Border dealer, a chap +was a chap, and he would have sold a horse to the devil himself, +without minding his cloven hoof, and would have probably cheated +Old Nick into the bargain. The stranger paid the price they agreed +on, and all that puzzled Dick in the transaction was, that the +gold which he received was in unicorns, bonnet-pieces, and other +ancient coins, which would have been invaluable to collectors, but +were rather troublesome in modern currency. It was gold, however, +and therefore Dick contrived to get better value for the coin than +he perhaps gave to his customer. By the command of so good a +merchant, he brought horses to the same spot more than once, the +purchaser only stipulating that he should always come, by night, +and alone. I do not know whether it was from mere curiosity, or +whether some hope of gain mixed with it, but after Dick had sold +several horses in this way, he began to complain that dry bargains +were unlucky, and to hint that, since his chap must live in the +neighbourhood, he ought, in the courtesy of dealing, to treat him +to half a mutchkin. + +'You may see my dwelling if you will,' said the stranger; 'but if +you lose courage at what you see there, you will rue it all your +life.' + +Dicken, however, laughed the warning to scorn, and, having +alighted to secure his horse, he followed the stranger up a narrow +foot-path, which led them up the hills to the singular eminence +stuck betwixt the most southern and the centre peaks, and called +from its resemblance to such an animal in its form the Lucken +Hare. At the foot of this eminence, which is almost as famous for +witch meetings as the neighbouring wind-mill of Kippilaw, Dick was +somewhat startled to observe that his conductor entered the +hillside by a passage or cavern, of which he himself, though well +acquainted with the spot, had never seen or heard. + +'You may still return,' said his guide, looking ominously back +upon him; but Dick scorned to show the white feather, and on they +went. They entered a very long range of stables; in every stall +stood a coal-black horse; by every horse lay a knight in coal- +black armour, with a drawn sword in his hand; but all were as +silent, hoof and limb, as if they had been cut out of marble. A +great number of torches lent a gloomy lustre to the hall, which, +like those of the Caliph Vathek, was of large dimensions. At the +upper end, however, they at length arrived, where a sword and horn +lay on an antique table. + +'He that shall sound that horn and draw that sword,' said the +stranger, who now intimated that he was the famous Thomas of +Hersildoune, 'shall, if his heart fail him not, be king over all +broad Britain. So speaks the tongue that cannot lie. But all +depends on courage, and much on your taking the sword or the horn +first.' + +Dick was much disposed to take the sword, but his bold spirit was +quailed by the supernatural terrors of the hall, and he thought to +unsheath the sword first might be construed into defiance, and +give offence to the powers of the Mountain. He took the bugle with +a trembling hand, and [sounded] a feeble note, but loud enough to +produce a terrible answer. Thunder rolled in stunning peals +through the immense hall; horses and men started to life; the +steeds snorted, stamped, grinded their bits, and tossed on high +their heads; the warriors sprung to their feet, clashed their +armour, and brandished their swords. Dick's terror was extreme at +seeing the whole army, which had been so lately silent as the +grave, in uproar, and about to rush on him. He dropped the horn, +and made a feeble attempt to seize the enchanted sword; but at the +same moment a voice pronounced aloud the mysterious words: + + 'Woe to the coward, that ever he was born, + Who did not draw the sword before he blew the horn!' + +At the same time a whirlwind of irresistible fury howled through +the long hall, bore the unfortunate horse-jockey clear out of the +mouth of the cavern, and precipitated him over a steep bank of +loose stones, where the shepherds found him the next morning, with +just breath sufficient to tell his fearful tale, after concluding +which he expired. + +This legend, with several variations, is found in many parts of +Scotland and England; the scene is sometimes laid in some +favourite glen of the Highlands, sometimes in the deep coal-mines +of Northumberland and Cumberland, which run so far beneath the +ocean. It is also to be found in Reginald Scott's book on +"Witchcraft," which was written in the sixteenth century. It would +be in vain to ask what was the original of the tradition. The +choice between the horn and sword, may perhaps, include as a moral +that it is foolhardy to awaken danger before we have arms in our +hands to resist it. + +Although admitting of much poetical ornament, it is clear that +this legend would have formed but an unhappy foundation for a +prose story, and must have degenerated into a mere fairy tale. +Doctor John Leyden has beautifully introduced the tradition in his +Scenes of Infancy:-- + + Mysterious Rhymer, doom'd by fate's decree, + Still to revisit Eildon's fated tree; + Where oft the swain, at dawn of Hallow-day, + Hears thy fleet barb with wild impatience neigh; + Say who is he, with summons long and high. + Shall bid the charmed sleep of ages fly, + Roll the long sound through Eildon's caverns vast, + While each dark warrior kindles at the blast: + The horn, the falchion grasp with mighty hand, + And peal proud Arthur's march from Fairy-land? + + Scenes of Infancy, Part I. + +In the same cabinet with the preceding fragment, the following +occurred among other disjecta membra. It seems to be an attempt at +a tale of a different description from the last, but was almost +instantly abandoned. The introduction points out the time of the +composition to have been about the end of the eighteenth century. + +THE LORD OF ENNERDALE + +A FRAGMENT OF A LETTER FROM JOHN B----, ESQ., OF THAT ILK, TO +WILLIAM G----, F.R.S.E. + +'FILL a bumper,' said the Knight; 'the ladies may spare us a +little longer. Fill a bumper to the Archduke Charles.' + +The company did due honour to the toast of their landlord. + +'The success of the Archduke,' said the muddy Vicar, 'will tend to +further our negotiation at Paris; and if--' + +'Pardon the interruption, Doctor,' quoth a thin emaciated figure, +with somewhat of a foreign accent; 'but why should you connect +those events, unless to hope that the bravery and victories of our +allies may supersede the necessity of a degrading treaty?' + +'We begin to feel, Monsieur L'Abbe,' answered the Vicar, with some +asperity, 'that a Continental war entered into for the defence of +an ally who was unwilling to defend himself, and for the +restoration of a royal family, nobility, and priesthood who tamely +abandoned their own rights, is a burden too much even for the +resources of this country.' + +'And was the war then on the part of Great Britain,' rejoined the +Abbe, 'a gratuitous exertion of generosity? Was there no fear of +the wide-wasting spirit of innovation which had gone abroad? Did +not the laity tremble for their property, the clergy for their +religion, and every loyal heart for the Constitution? Was it not +thought necessary to destroy the building which was on fire, ere +the conflagration spread around the vicinity?' + +'Yet, if upon trial,' said the Doctor,' the walls were found to +resist our utmost efforts, I see no great prudence in persevering +in our labour amid the smouldering ruins.' + +'What, Doctor,' said the Baronet,'must I call to your recollection +your own sermon on the late general fast? Did you not encourage us +to hope that the Lord of Hosts would go forth with our armies, and +that our enemies, who blasphemed him, should be put to shame?' + +'It may please a kind father to chasten even his beloved +children,' answered the Vicar. + +'I think,' said a gentleman near the foot of the table,'that the +Covenanters made some apology of the same kind for the failure of +their prophecies at the battle of Dunbar, when their mutinous +preachers compelled the prudent Lesley to go down against the +Philistines in Gilgal.' + +The Vicar fixed a scrutinizing and not a very complacent eye upon +this intruder. He was a young man, of mean stature, and rather a +reserved appearance. Early and severe study had quenched in his +features the gaiety peculiar to his age, and impressed upon them a +premature cast of thoughtfulness. His eye had, however, retained +its fire, and his gesture its animation. Had he remained silent, +he would have been long unnoticed; but when he spoke there was +something in his manner which arrested attention. + +'Who is this young man?' said the Vicar in a low voice to his +neighbour. + +'A Scotchman called Maxwell, on a visit to Sir Henry,' was the +answer. + +'I thought so, from his accent and his manners,' said the Vicar. + +It may be here observed that the northern English retain rather +more of the ancient hereditary aversion to their neighbours than +their countrymen of the south. The interference of other +disputants, each of whom urged his opinion with all the vehemence +of wine and politics, rendered the summons to the drawing-room +agreeable to the more sober part of the company. + +The company dispersed by degrees, and at length the Vicar and the +young Scotchman alone remained, besides the Baronet, his lady, +daughters, and myself. The clergyman had not, it would seem, +forgot the observation which ranked him with the false prophets of +Dunbar, for he addressed Mr. Maxwell upon the first opportunity. + +'Hem! I think, sir, you mentioned something about the civil wars +of last century? You must be deeply skilled in them, indeed, if +you can draw any parallel betwixt those and the present evil days +--days which I am ready to maintain are the most gloomy that ever +darkened the prospects of Britain.' + +'God forbid, Doctor, that I should draw a comparison between the +present times and those you mention. I am too sensible of the +advantages we enjoy over our ancestors. Faction and ambition have +introduced division among us; but we are still free from the guilt +of civil bloodshed, and from all the evils which flow from it. Our +foes, sir, are not those of our own household; and while we +continue united and firm, from the attacks of a foreign enemy, +however artful, or however inveterate, we have, I hope, little to +dread.' + +'Have you found anything curious, Mr. Maxwell, among the dusty +papers?' said Sir Henry, who seemed to dread a revival of +political discussion. + +'My investigation amongst them led to reflections at which I have +just now hinted,' said Maxwell; 'and I think they are pretty +strongly exemplified by a story which I have been endeavouring to +arrange from some of your family manuscripts.' + +'You are welcome to make what use of them you please,' said Sir +Henry;' they have been undisturbed for many a day, and I have +often wished for some person as well skilled as you in these old +pot-hooks to tell me their meaning.' + +'Those I just mentioned,' answered Maxwell, 'relate to a piece of +private history, savouring not a little of the marvellous, and +intimately connected with your family; if it is agreeable, I can +read to you the anecdotes in the modern shape into which I have +been endeavouring to throw them, and you can then judge of the +value of the originals.' + +There was something in this proposal agreeable to all parties. Sir +Henry had family pride, which prepared him to take an interest in +whatever related to his ancestors. The ladies had dipped deeply +into the fashionable reading of the present day. Lady Ratcliff and +her fair daughters had climbed every pass, viewed every pine- +shrouded ruin, heard every groan, and lifted every trap-door in +company with the noted heroine of Udolpho. They had been heard, +however, to observe that the famous incident of the Black Veil +singularly resembled the ancient apologue of the mountain in +labour, so that they were unquestionably critics as well as +admirers. Besides all this, they had valorously mounted en croupe +behind the ghostly horseman of Prague, through all his seven +translators, and followed the footsteps of Moor through the forest +of Bohemia. Moreover, it was even hinted (but this was a greater +mystery than all the rest) that a certain performance called the +'Monk,' in three neat volumes, had been seen by a prying eye in +the right hand drawer of the Indian cabinet of Lady Ratcliff's +dressing-room. Thus predisposed for wonders and signs, Lady +Ratcliff and her nymphs drew their chairs round a large blazing +wood-fire and arranged themselves to listen to the tale. To that +fire I also approached, moved thereunto partly by the inclemency +of the season, and partly that my deafness, which you know, +cousin, I acquired during my campaign under Prince Charles Edward, +might be no obstacle to the gratification of my curiosity, which +was awakened by what had any reference to the fate of such +faithful followers of royalty as you well know the house of +Ratcliff have ever been. To this wood-fire the Vicar likewise drew +near, and reclined himself conveniently in his chair, seemingly +disposed to testify his disrespect for the narration and narrator +by falling asleep as soon as he conveniently could. By the side of +Maxwell (by the way, I cannot learn that he is in the least +related to the Nithsdale family) was placed a small table and a +couple of lights, by the assistance of which he read as follows:-- + +'Journal of Jan Van Eulen + +'On the 6th November 1645, I, Jan Van Eulen, merchant in +Rotterdam, embarked with my only daughter on board of the good +vessel Vryheid of Amsterdam, in order to pass into the unhappy and +disturbed kingdom of England. 7th November--a brisk gale-- +daughter sea-sick--myself unable to complete the calculation which +I have begun of the inheritance left by Jane Lansache of Carlisle, +my late dear wife's sister, the collection of which is the object +of my voyage. 8th November--wind still stormy and adverse--a +horrid disaster nearly happened--my dear child washed overboard as +the vessel lurched to leeward. Memorandum--to reward the young +sailor who saved her out of the first moneys which I can recover +from the inheritance of her aunt Lansache. 9th November--calm-- +P.M. light breezes from N. N. W. I talked with the captain about +the inheritance of my sister-in-law, Jane Lansache. He says he +knows the principal subject, which will not exceed L1000 in value. +N. B. He is a cousin to a family of Petersons, which was the name +of the husband of my sister-in-law; so there is room to hope it +may be worth more than he reports. 10th November, 10 A.M. May God +pardon all our sins!--An English frigate, bearing the Parliament +flag, has appeared in the offing, and gives chase.--11 A.M. She +nears us every moment, and the captain of our vessel prepares to +clear for action.--May God again have mercy upon us!' + +'Here,' said Maxwell, 'the journal with which I have opened the +narration ends somewhat abruptly.' + +'I am glad of it,' said Lady Ratcliff. + +'But, Mr. Maxwell,' said young Frank, Sir Henry's grandchild, +'shall we not hear how the battle ended?' + +I do not know, cousin, whether I have not formerly made you +acquainted with the abilities of Frank Ratcliff. There is not a +battle fought between the troops of the Prince and of the +Government during the years 1745-46, of which he is not able to +give an account. It is true, I have taken particular pains to fix +the events of this important period upon his memory by frequent +repetition. + +'No, my dear,' said Maxwell, in answer to young Frank Ratcliff-- +'No, my dear, I cannot tell you the exact particulars of the +engagement, but its consequences appear from the following letter, +despatched by Garbonete Von Eulen, daughter of our journalist, to +a relation in England, from whom she implored assistance. After +some general account of the purpose of the voyage and of the +engagement her narrative proceeds thus:-- + +'The noise of the cannon had hardly ceased before the sounds of a +language to me but half known, and the confusion on board our +vessel, informed me that the captors had boarded us and taken +possession of our vessel. I went on deck, where the first +spectacle that met my eyes was a young man, mate of our vessel, +who, though disfigured and covered with blood, was loaded with +irons, and whom they were forcing over the side of the vessel into +a boat. The two principal persons among our enemies appeared to be +a man of a tall thin figure, with a high-crowned hat and long +neckband, and short-cropped head of hair, accompanied by a bluff, +open-looking elderly man in a naval uniform. "Yarely! yarely! pull +away, my hearts," said the latter, and the boat bearing the +unlucky young man soon carried him on board the frigate. Perhaps +you will blame me for mentioning this circumstance; but consider, +my dear cousin, this man saved my life, and his fate, even when my +own and my father's were in the balance, could not but affect me +nearly. + +'"In the name of Him who is jealous, even to slaying," said the +first--' + +CETERA DESUNT + + + + + +NO. II + +CONCLUSION OF MR. STRUTT'S ROMANCE OF QUEENHOO-HALL + +BY THE AUTHOR OF WAVERLEY + +CHAPTER IV + +A HUNTING PARTY--AN ADVENTURE--A DELIVERANCE + +THE next morning the bugles were sounded by daybreak in the court +of Lord Boteler's mansion, to call the inhabitants from their +slumbers to assist in a splendid chase with which the Baron had +resolved to entertain his neighbour Fitzallen and his noble +visitor St. Clare. Peter Lanaret, the falconer, was in attendance, +with falcons for the knights and teircelets for the ladies, if +they should choose to vary their sport from hunting to hawking. +Five stout yeomen keepers, with their attendants, called Ragged +Robins, all meetly arrayed in Kendal green, with bugles and short +hangers by their sides, and quarter-staffs in their hands, led the +slow-hounds or brachets by which the deer were to be put up. Ten +brace of gallant greyhounds, each of which was fit to pluck down, +singly, the tallest red deer, were led in leashes, by as many of +Lord Boteler's foresters. The pages, squires, and other attendants +of feudal splendour well attired, in their best hunting-gear, upon +horseback or foot, according to their rank, with their boar- +spears, long bows, and cross-bows, were in seemly waiting. + +A numerous train of yeomen, called in the language of the times +retainers, who yearly received a livery coat and a small pension +for their attendance on such solemn occasions, appeared in +cassocks of blue, bearing upon their arms the cognisance of the +house of Boteler, as a badge of their adherence. They were the +tallest men of their hands that the neighbouring villages could +supply, with every man his good buckler on his shoulder, and a +bright burnished broadsword dangling from his leathern belt. On +this occasion they acted as rangers for beating up the thickets +and rousing the game. These attendants filled up the court of the +castle, spacious as it was. + +On the green without you might have seen the motley assemblage of +peasantry convened by report of the splendid hunting, including +most of our old acquaintances from Tewin, as well as the jolly +partakers of good cheer at Hob Filcher's. Gregory the jester, it +may well be guessed, had no great mind to exhibit himself in +public after his recent disaster; but Oswald the steward, a great +formalist in whatever concerned the public exhibition of his +master's household state, had positively enjoined his attendance. +'What,' quoth he,'shall the house of the brave Lord Boteler, on +such a brave day as this, be without a fool? Certes, the good Lord +Saint Clere and his fair lady sister might think our housekeeping +as niggardly as that of their churlish kinsman at Gay Bowers, who +sent his father's jester to the hospital, sold the poor sot's +bells for hawk-jesses, and made a nightcap of his long-eared +bonnet. And, sirrah, let me see thee fool handsomely--speak squibs +and crackers, instead of that dry, barren, musty gibing which thou +hast used of late; or, by the bones! the porter shall have thee to +his lodge, and cob thee with thine own wooden sword till thy skin +is as motley as thy doublet.' + +To this stern injunction Gregory made no reply, any more than to +the courteous offer of old Albert Drawslot, the chief parkkeeper, +who proposed to blow vinegar in his nose to sharpen his wit, as he +had done that blessed morning to Bragger, the old hound, whose +scent was failing. There was, indeed, little time for reply, for +the bugles, after a lively flourish, were now silent, and Peretto, +with his two attendant minstrels, stepping beneath the windows of +the strangers' apartments, joined in the following roundelay, the +deep voices of the rangers and falconers making up a chorus that +caused the very battlements to ring again:-- + + Waken, lords and ladies gay, + On the mountain dawns the day; + All the jolly chase is here, + With hawk and horse, and hunting spear; + Hounds are in their couples yelling, + Hawks are whistling, horns are knelling, + Merrily, merrily, mingle they, + 'Waken, lords and ladies gay.' + + Waken, lords and ladies gay, + The mist has left the mountain grey; + Springlets in the dawn are streaming, + Diamonds on the brake are gleaming, + + And foresters have busy been, + To track the buck in thicket green; + Now we come to chant our lay, + 'Waken, lords and ladies gay.' + + Waken, lords and ladies gay, + To the green-wood haste away; + We can show you where he lies, + Fleet of foot and tall of size; + We can show the marks he made, + When 'gamst the oak his antlers frayed; + You shall see him brought to bay, + 'Waken, lords and ladies gay.' + + Louder, louder chant the lay, + Waken, lords and ladies gay; + Tell them youth, and mirth, and glee + Run a course as well as we; + Time, stern huntsman! who can baulk, + Stanch as hound and fleet as hawk? + Think of this and rise with day, + Gentle lords and ladies gay. + +By the time this lay was finished, Lord Boteler, with his daughter +and kinsman, Fitzallen of Harden, and other noble guests, had +mounted their palfreys, and the hunt set forward in due order. The +huntsmen, having carefully observed the traces of a large stag on +the preceding evening, were able, without loss of time, to conduct +the company, by the marks which they had made upon the trees, to +the side of the thicket in which, by the report of Drawslot, he +had harboured all night. The horsemen, spreading themselves along +the side of the cover, waited until the keeper entered, leading +his ban-dog, a large blood-hound tied in a learn or band, from +which he takes his name. + +But it befell thus. A hart of the second year, which was in the +same cover with the proper object of their pursuit, chanced to be +unharboured first, and broke cover very near where the Lady Emma +and her brother were stationed. An inexperienced varlet, who was +nearer to them, instantly unloosed two tall greyhounds, who sprung +after the fugitive with all the fleetness of the north wind. +Gregory, restored a little to spirits by the enlivening scene +around him, followed, encouraging the hounds with a loud layout, +for which he had the hearty curses of the huntsman, as well as of +the Baron, who entered into the spirit of the chase with all the +juvenile ardour of twenty. 'May the foul fiend, booted and +spurred, ride down his bawling throat with a scythe at his +girdle,' quoth Albert Drawslot; 'here have I been telling him that +all the marks were those of a buck of the first head, and he has +hallooed the hounds upon a velvet-headed knobbler! By Saint +Hubert, if I break not his pate with my cross-bow, may I never +cast off hound more! But to it, my lords and masters! the noble +beast is here yet, and, thank the saints, we have enough of +hounds.' + +The cover being now thoroughly beat by the attendants, the stag +was compelled to abandon it and trust to his speed for his safety. +Three greyhounds were slipped upon him, whom he threw out, after +running a couple of miles, by entering an extensive furzy brake, +which extended along the side of a hill. The horsemen soon came +up, and casting off a sufficient number of slow-hounds, sent them +with the prickers into the cover, in order to drive the game from +his strength. This object being accomplished, afforded another +severe chase of several miles, in a direction almost circular, +during which the poor animal tried every wile to get rid of his +persecutors. He crossed and traversed all such dusty paths as were +likely to retain the least scent of his footsteps; he laid himself +close to the ground, drawing his feet under his belly, and +clapping his nose close to the earth, lest he should be betrayed +to the hounds by his breath and hoofs. When all was in vain, and +he found the hounds coming fast in upon him, his own strength +failing, his mouth embossed with foam, and the tears dropping from +his eyes, he turned in despair upon his pursuers, who then stood +at gaze, making an hideous clamour, and awaiting their two-footed +auxiliaries. Of these, it chanced that the Lady Eleanor, taking +more pleasure in the sport than Matilda, and being a less burden +to her palfrey than the Lord Boteler, was the first who arrived at +the spot, and taking a cross-bow from an attendant, discharged a +bolt at the stag. When the infuriated animal felt himself wounded, +he pushed frantically towards her from whom he had received the +shaft, and Lady Eleanor might have had occasion to repent of her +enterprise, had not young Fitzallen, who had kept near her during +the whole day, at that instant galloped briskly in, and, ere the +stag could change his object of assault, despatched him with his +short hunting-sword. + +Albert Drawslot, who had just come up in terror for the young +lady's safety, broke out into loud encomiums upon Fitzallen's +strength and gallantry. 'By 'r Lady,' said he, taking off his cap +and wiping his sun-burnt face with his sleeve, 'well struck, and +in good time! But now, boys, doff your bonnets and sound the +mort.' + +The sportsmen then sounded a treble mort, and set up a general +whoop, which, mingled with the yelping of the dogs, made the +welkin ring again. The huntsman then offered his knife to Lord +Boteler, that he might take the say of the deer, but the Baron +courteously insisted upon Fitzallen going through that ceremony. +The Lady Matilda was now come up, with most of the attendants; and +the interest of the chase being ended, it excited some surprise +that neither Saint Clere nor his sister made their appearance. The +Lord Boteler commanded the horns again to sound the recheat, in +hopes to call in the stragglers, and said to Fitzallen, 'Methinks +Saint Clere so distinguished for service in war, should have been +more forward in the chase.' + +'I trow,' said Peter Lanaret, 'I know the reason of the noble +lord's absence; for, when that mooncalf Gregory hallooed the dogs +upon the knobbler, and galloped like a green hilding, as he is, +after them, I saw the Lady Emma's palfrey follow apace after that +varlet, who should be thrashed for overrunning, and I think her +noble brother has followed her, lest she should come to harm. But +here, by the rood, is Gregory to answer for himself.' + +At this moment Gregory entered the circle which had been formed +round the deer, out of breath, and his face covered with blood. He +kept for some time uttering inarticulate cries of 'Harrow!' and +'Wellaway!' and other exclamations of distress and terror, +pointing all the while to a thicket at some distance from the spot +where the deer had been killed. + +'By my honour,' said the Baron, 'I would gladly know who has dared +to array the poor knave thus; and I trust he should dearly abye +his outrecuidance, were he the best, save one, in England.' + +Gregory, who had now found more breath, cried, 'Help, an ye be +men! Save Lady Emma and her brother, whom they are murdering in +Brokenhurst thicket.' + +This put all in motion. Lord Boteler hastily commanded a small +party of his men to abide for the defence of the ladies, while he +himself, Fitzallen, and the rest made what speed they could +towards the thicket, guided by Gregory, who for that purpose was +mounted behind Fabian. Pushing through a narrow path, the first +object they encountered was a man of small stature lying on the +ground, mastered and almost strangled by two dogs, which were +instantly recognised to be those that had accompanied Gregory. A +little farther was an open space, where lay three bodies of dead +or wounded men; beside these was Lady Emma, apparently lifeless, +her brother and a young forester bending over and endeavouring to +recover her. By employing the usual remedies, this was soon +accomplished; while Lord Boteler, astonished at such a scene, +anxiously inquired at Saint Clere the meaning of what he saw, and +whether more danger was to be expected. + +'For the present I trust not,' said the young warrior, who they +now observed was slightly wounded; 'but I pray you, of your +nobleness, let the woods here be searched; for we were assaulted +by four of these base assassins, and I see three only on the +sward.' + +The attendants now brought forwaid the person whom they had +rescued from the dogs, and Henry, with disgust, shame, and +astonishment, recognised his kinsman, Gaston Saint Clere. This +discovery he communicated in a whisper to Lord Boteler, who +commanded the prisoner to be conveyed to Queenhoo-Hall, and +closely guarded; meanwhile he anxiously inquired of young Saint +Clere about his wound. + +'A scratch, a trifle!' cried Henry. 'I am in less haste to bind it +than to introduce to you one without whose aid that of the leech +would have come too late. Where is he? where is my brave +deliverer?' + +'Here, most noble lord,' said Gregory, sliding from his palfrey +and stepping forward, 'ready to receive the guerdon which your +bounty would heap on him.' + +'Truly, friend Gregory,' answered the young warrior,'thou shalt +not be forgotten, for thou didst run speedily, and roar manfully +for aid, without which, I think verily, we had not received it. +But the brave forester, who came to my rescue when these three +ruffians had nigh overpowered me, where is he?' + +Every one looked around, but though all had seen him on entering +the thicket, he was not now to be found. They could only +conjecture that he had retired during the confusion occasioned by +the detention of Gaston. + +'Seek not for him,' said the Lady Emma, who had now in some degree +recovered her composure, 'he will not be found of mortal, unless +at his own season.' + +The Baron, convinced from this answer that her terror had for the +time somewhat disturbed her reason, forbore to question her; and +Matilda and Eleanor, to whom a message had been despatched with +the result of this strange adventure, arriving, they took the Lady +Emma between them, and all in a body returned to the castle. + +The distance was, however, considerable, and before reaching it +they had another alarm. The prickers, who rode foremost in the +troop, halted and announced to the Lord Boteler, that they +perceived advancing towards them a body of armed men. The +followers of the Baron were numerous, but they were arrayed for +the chase, not for battle, and it was with great pleasure that he +discerned, on the pennon of the advancing body of men-at-arms, +instead of the cognisance of Gaston, as he had some reason to +expect, the friendly bearings of Fitzosborne of Diggswell, the +same young lord who was present at the May-games with Fitzallen of +Harden. The knight himself advanced, sheathed in armour, and, +without raising his visor, informed Lord Boteler that, having +heard of a base attempt made upon a part of his train by ruffianly +assassins, he had mounted and armed a small party of his retainers +to escort them to Queenhoo-Hall. Having received and accepted an +invitation to attend them thither, they prosecuted their journey +in confidence and security, and arrived safe at home without any +further accident. + +CHAPTER V + +INVESTIGATION OF THE ADVENTURE OF THE HUNTING--A DISCOVERY-- +GREGORY'S MANHOOD--PATE OF GASTON SAINT CLERE--CONCLUSION + +So soon as they arrived at the princely mansion of Boteler, the +Lady Emma craved permission to retire to her chamber, that she +might compose her spirits after the terror she had undergone. +Henry Saint Clere, in a few words, proceeded to explain the +adventure to the curious audience. 'I had no sooner seen my +sister's palfrey, in spite of her endeavours to the contrary, +entering with spirit into the chase set on foot by the worshipful +Gregory, than I rode after to give her assistance. So long was the +chase that, when the greyhounds pulled down the knobbler, we were +out of hearing of your bugles; and having rewarded and coupled the +dogs, I gave them to be led by the jester, and we wandered in +quest of our company, whom it would seem the sport had led in a +different direction. At length, passing through the thicket where +you found us, I was surprised by a cross-bow bolt whizzing past +mine head. I drew my sword and rushed into the thicket, but was +instantly assailed by two ruffians, while other two made towards +my sister and Gregory. The poor knave fled, crying for help, +pursued by my false kinsman, now your prisoner; and the designs of +the other on my poor Emma (murderous no doubt) were prevented by +the sudden apparition of a brave woodsman, who, after a short +encounter, stretched the miscreant at his feet and came to my +assistance. I was already slightly wounded, and nearly overlaid +with odds. The combat lasted some time, for the caitiffs were both +well armed, strong, and desperate; at length, however, we had each +mastered our antagonist, when your retinue, my Lord Boteler, +arrived to my relief. So ends my story; but, by my knighthood, I +would give an earl's ransom for an opportunity of thanking the +gallant forester by whose aid I live to tell it.' + +'Fear not,' said Lord Boteler, 'he shall be found, if this or the +four adjacent counties hold him. And now Lord Fitzosborne will be +pleased to doff the armour he has so kindly assumed for our sakes, +and we will all bowne ourselves for the banquet.' + +When the hour of dinner approached, the Lady Matilda and her +cousin visited the chamber of the fair Darcy. They found her in a +composed but melancholy postmire. She turned the discourse upon +the misfortunes of her life, and hinted, that having recovered her +brother, and seeing him look forward to the society of one who +would amply repay to him the loss of hers, she had thoughts of +dedicating her remaining life to Heaven, by whose providential +interference it had been so often preserved. + +Matilda coloured deeply at something in this speech, and her +cousin inveighed loudly against Emma's resolution. 'Ah, my dear +lady Eleanor,' replied she, 'I have to-day witnessed what I cannot +but judge a supernatural visitation, and to what end can it call +me but to give myself to the altar? That peasant who guided me to +Baddow through the Park of Danbury, the same who appeared before +me at different times and in different forms during that eventful +journey--that youth, whose features are imprinted on my memory, is +the very individual forester who this day rescued us in the +forest. I cannot be mistaken; and, connecting these marvellous +appearances with the spectre which I saw while at Gay Bowers, I +cannot resist the conviction that Heaven has permitted my guardian +angel to assume mortal shape for my relief and protection.' + +The fair cousins, after exchanging looks which implied a fear that +her mind was wandering, answered her in soothing terms, and +finally prevailed upon her to accompany them to the banqueting- +hall. Here the first person they encountered was the Baron +Fitzosborne of Diggswell, now divested of his armour, at the sight +of whom the Lady Emma changed colour, and exclaiming, 'It is the +same!' sunk senseless into the arms of Matilda. + +'She is bewildered by the terrors of the day,' said Eleanor;' and +we have done ill in obliging her to descend.' + +'And I,'said Fitzosborne, 'have done madly in presenting before +her one whose presence must recall moments the most alarming in +her life.' + +While the ladies supported Emma from the hall, Lord Boteler and +Saint Clere requested an explanation from Fitzosborne of the words +he had used. + +'Trust me, gentle lords,' said the Baron of Diggswell, 'ye shall +have what ye demand when I learn that Lady Emma Darcy has not +suffered from my imprudence.' + +At this moment Lady Matilda, returning, said that her fair friend, +on her recovery, had calmly and deliberately insisted that she had +seen Fitzosborne before, in the most dangerous crisis of her life. + +'I dread,' said she, 'her disordered mind connects all that her +eye beholds with the terrible passages that she has witnessed.' + +'Nay,' said Fitzosborne, 'if noble Saint Clere can pardon the +unauthorized interest which, with the purest and most honourable +intentions, I have taken in his sister's fate, it is easy for me +to explain this mysterious impression.' + +He proceeded to say that, happening to be in the hostelry called +the Griffin, near Baddow, while upon a journey in that country, he +had met with the old nurse of the Lady Emma Darcy, who, being just +expelled from Gay Bowers, was in the height of her grief and +indignation, and made loud and public proclamation of Lady Emma's +wrongs. From the description she gave of the beauty of her foster- +child, as well as from the spirit of chivalry, Fitzosborne became +interested in her fate. This interest was deeply enhanced when, by +a bribe to old Gaunt the Reve, he procured a view of the Lady Emma +as she walked near the castle of Gay Bowers. The aged churl +refused to give him access to the castle; yet dropped some hints +as if he thought the lady in danger, and wished she were well out +of it. His master, he said, had heard she had a brother in life, +and since that deprived him of all chance of gaining her domains +by purchase, he--in short, Gaunt wished they were safely +separated. 'If any injury,' quoth he, 'should happen to the damsel +here, it were ill for us all. I tried by an innocent stratagem to +frighten her from the castle, by introducing a figure through a +trap-door, and warning her, as if by a voice from the dead, to +retreat from thence; but the giglet is wilful, and is running upon +her fate.' + +Finding Gaunt, although covetous and communicative, too faithful a +servant to his wicked master to take any active steps against his +commands, Fitzosborne applied himself to old Ursely, whom he found +more tractable. Through her he learned the dreadful plot Gaston +had laid to rid himself of his kinswoman, and resolved to effect +her deliverance. But aware of the delicacy of Emma's situation, he +charged Ursely to conceal from her the interest he took in her +distress, resolving to watch over her in disguise until he saw her +in a place of safety. Hence the appearance he made before her in +various dresses during her journey, in the course of which he was +never far distant; and he had always four stout yeomen within +hearing of his bugle, had assistance been necessary. When she was +placed in safety at the lodge, it was Fitzosborne's intention to +have prevailed upon his sisters to visit and take her under their +protection; but he found them absent from Diggswell, having gone +to attend an aged relation who lay dangerously ill in a distant +county. They did not return until the day before the May-games; +and the other events followed too rapidly to permit Fitzosborne to +lay any plan for introducing them to Lady Emma Darcy. On the day +of the chase he resolved to preserve his romantic disguise, and +attend the Lady Emma as a forester, partly to have the pleasure of +being near her and partly to judge whether, according to an idle +report in the country, she favoured his friend and comrade +Fitzallen of Marden. This last motive, it may easily be believed, +he did not declare to the company. After the skirmish with the +ruffians, he waited till the Baron and the hunters arrived, and +then, still doubting the farther designs of Gaston, hastened to +his castle to arm the band which had escorted them to Queenhoo- +Hall. + +Fitzosborne's story being finished, he received the thanks of all +the company, particularly of Saint Clere, who felt deeply the +respectful delicacy with which he had conducted himself towards +his sister. The lady was carefully informed of her obligations to +him; and it is left to the well-judging reader whether even the +raillery of Lady Eleanor made her regret that Heaven had only +employed natural means for her security, and that the guardian +angel was converted into a handsome, gallant, and enamoured +knight. + +The joy of the company in the hall extended itself to the buttery, +where Gregory the jester narrated such feats of arms done by +himself in the fray of the morning as might have shamed Bevis and +Guy of Warwick. He was, according to his narrative, singled out +for destruction by the gigantic Baron himself, while he abandoned +to meaner hands the destruction of Saint Clere and Fitzosborne. + +'But certes,' said he, 'the foul paynim met his match; for, ever +as he foined at me with his brand, I parried his blows with my +bauble, and, closing with him upon the third veny, threw him to +the ground, and made him cry recreant to an unarmed man.' + +'Tush, man,' said Drawslot, 'thou forgettest thy best auxiliaries, +the good greyhounds, Help and Holdfast! I warrant thee, that when +the hump-backed Baron caught thee by the cowl, which he hath +almost torn off, thou hadst been in a fair plight had they not +remembered an old friend, and come in to the rescue. Why, man, I +found them fastened on him myself; and there was odd staving and +stickling to make them "ware haunch!" Their mouths were full of +the flex, for I pulled a piece of the garment from their jaws. I +warrant thee, that when they brought him to ground thou fledst +like a frighted pricket.' + +'And as for Gregory's gigantic paynim,' said Fabian, 'why, he lies +yonder in the guard-room, the very size, shape, and colour of a +spider in a yew-hedge.' + +'It is false!' said Gregory. 'Colbrand the Dane was a dwarf to +him.' + +'It is as true,' returned Fabian, 'as that the Tasker is to be +married on Tuesday to pretty Margery. Gregory, thy sheet hath +brought them between a pair of blankets.' + +'I care no more for such a gillflirt,' said the jester,' than I do +for thy leasings. Marry, thou hop-o'-my-thumb, happy wouldst thou +be could thy head reach the captive Baron's girdle.' + +'By the mass,' said Peter Lanaret, 'I will have one peep at this +burly gallant'; and, leaving the buttery, he went to the guard- +room where Gaston Saint Clere was confined. A man-at-arms, who +kept sentinel on the strong studded door of the apartment, said he +believed he slept; for that, after raging, stamping, and uttering +the most horrid imprecations, he had been of late perfectly still. +The falconer gently drew back a sliding board of a foot square +towards the top of the door, which covered a hole of the same +size, strongly latticed, through which the warder, without opening +the door, could look in upon his prisoner. From this aperture he +beheld the wretched Gaston suspended by the neck by his own girdle +to an iron ring in the side of his prison. He had clambered to it +by means of the table on which his food had been placed; and, in +the agonies of shame and disappointed malice, had adopted this +mode of ridding himself of a wretched life. He was found yet warm, +but totally lifeless. A proper account of the manner of his death +was drawn up and certified. He was buried that evening in the +chapel of the castle, out of respect to his high birth; and the +chaplain of Fitzallen of Marden, who said the service upon the +occasion, preached the next Sunday an excellent sermon upon the +text, 'Radix malorum est cupiditas,' which we have here +transcribed. + +Here the manuscript, from which we have painfully transcribed, and +frequently, as it were, translated, this tale for the reader's +edification, is so indistinct and defaced, that, excepting certain +howbeits, nathlesses, lo ye's! etc., we can pick out little that +is intelligible, saving that avarice is defined 'a likourishness +of heart after earthly things.' A little farther there seems to +have been a gay account of Margery's wedding with Ralph the +Tasker, the running at the quintain, and other rural games +practised on the occasion. There are also fragments of a mock +sermon preached by Gregory upon that occasion, as for example:-- + +'My dear cursed caitiffs, there was once a king, and he wedded a +young old queen, and she had a child; and this child was sent to +Solomon the Sage, praying he would give it the same blessing which +he got from the witch of Endor when she bit him by the heel. +Hereof speaks the worthy Doctor Radigundus Potator; why should not +mass be said for all the roasted shoe souls served up in the +king's dish on Saturday; for true it is, that Saint Peter asked +Father Adam, as they journeyed to Camelot, an high, great, and +doubtful question, "Adam, Adam, why eated'st thou the apple +without paring?" + +[Footnote: This tirade of gibberish is literally taken or selected +from a mock discourse pronounced by a professed jester, which +occurs in an ancient manuscript in the Advocates' Library, the +same from which the late ingenious Mr. Weber published the curious +comic romance of the Hunting of the Hare. It was introduced in +compliance with Mr Strutt's plan of rendering his tale an +illustration of ancient manners A similar burlesque sermon is +pronounced by the fool in Sir David Lindesay's satire of the Three +Estates. The nonsense and vulgar burlesque of that composition +illustrate the ground of Sir Andrew Aguecheek's eulogy on the +exploits of the jester in Twelfth Night, who, reserving his +sharper jests for Sir Toby, had doubtless enough of the jargon of +his calling to captivate the imbecility of his brother knight, who +is made to exclaim--'In sooth, thou wast in very gracious fooling +last night, when thou spokest of Pigrogremitus, and of the vapours +passing the equinoctials of Quenbus; 't was very good, i' faith!' +It is entertaining to find commentators seeking to discover some +meaning in the professional jargon of such a passage as this.] + +With much goodly gibberish to the same effect; which display of +Gregory's ready wit not only threw the whole company into +convulsions of laughter, but made such an impression on Rose, the +Potter's daughter, that it was thought it would be the Jester's +own fault if Jack was long without his Jill. Much pithy matter, +concerning the bringing the bride to bed, the loosing the +bridegroom's points, the scramble which ensued for them, and the +casting of the stocking, is also omitted from its obscurity. + +The following song which has been since borrowed by the worshipful +author of the famous History of Fryar Bacon, has been with +difficulty deciphered. It seems to have been sung on occasion of +carrying home the bride + + Bridal Song + + To the tune of--'I have been a Fiddler,' etc, + + And did you not hear of a mirth befell + The morrow after a wedding day, + And carrying a bride at home to dwell? + And away to Tewin, away, away! + + The quintain was set, and the garlands were made, + 'T is pity old customs should ever decay; + And woe be to him that was horsed on a jade, + For he carried no credit away, away. + + We met a consort of fiddle-de-dees; + We set them a cockhorse, and made them play + The winning of Bullen and Upsey-frees, + And away to Tewin, away, away! + + There was ne'er a lad in all the parish + That would go to the plough that day; + But on his fore-horse his wench he carries. + And away to Tewin, away, away! + + The butler was quick, and the ale he did tap, + The maidens did make the chamber full gay; + The servants did give me a fuddling cup, + And I did carry't away, away. + + The smith of the town his liquor so took, + That he was persuaded that the ground look'd blue; + And I dare boldly be sworn on a book, + Such smiths as he there's but a few. + + A posset was made, and the women did sip, + And simpering said, they could eat no more; + Full many a maiden was laid on the lip,-- + I'll say no more, but give o'er (give o'er). + +But what our fair readers will chiefly regret is the loss of three +declarations of love; the first by Saint Clere to Matilda; which, +with the lady's answer, occupies fifteen closely written pages of +manuscript. That of Fitzosborne to Emma is not much shorter; but +the amours of Fitzallen and Eleanor, being of a less romantic +cast, are closed in three pages only. The three noble couples were +married in Queenhoo-Hall upon the same day, being the twentieth +Sunday after Easter. There is a prolix account of the marriage- +feast, of which we can pick out the names of a few dishes, such as +peterel, crane, sturgeon, swan, etc. etc., with a profusion of +wild-fowl and venison. We also see that a suitable song was +produced by Peretto on the occasion; and that the bishop who +blessed the bridal beds which received the happy couples was no +niggard of his holy water, bestowing half a gallon upon each of +the couches. We regret we cannot give these curiosities to the +reader in detail, but we hope to expose the manuscript to abler +antiquaries so soon as it shall be framed and glazed by the +ingenious artist who rendered that service to Mr. Ireland's +Shakspeare MSS. And so (being unable to lay aside the style to +which our pen is habituated), gentle reader, we bid thee heartily +farewell. + + + + + +NO. III + +ANECDOTE OF SCHOOL DAYS + +UPON WHICH MR. THOMAS SCOTT PROPOSED TO FOUND A TALE OF FICTION + +It is well known in the South that there is little or no boxing at +the Scottish schools. About forty or fifty years ago, however, a +far more dangerous mode of fighting, in parties or factions, was +permitted in the streets of Edinburgh, to the great disgrace of +the police and danger of the parties concerned. These parties were +generally formed from the quarters of the town in which the +combatants resided, those of a particular square or district +fighting against those of an adjoining one. Hence it happened that +the children of the higher classes were often pitted against those +of the lower, each taking their side according to the residence of +their friends. So far as I recollect, however, it was unmingled +either with feelings of democracy or aristocracy, or indeed with +malice or ill-will of any kind towards the opposite party. In +fact, it was only a rough mode of play. Such contests were, +however, maintained with great vigour with stones and sticks and +fisticuffs, when one party dared to charge and the other stood +their ground. Of course mischief sometimes happened; boys are said +to have been killed at these bickers, as they were called, and +serious accidents certainly took place, as many contemporaries can +bear witness. + +The author's father residing in George Square, in the southern +side of Edinburgh, the boys belonging to that family, with others +in the square, were arranged into a sort of company, to which a +lady of distinction presented a handsome set of colours. Now this +company or regiment, as a matter of course, was engaged in weekly +warfare with the boys inhabiting the Crosscauseway, Bristo Street, +the Potterrow--in short, the neighbouring suburbs. These last were +chiefly of the lower rank, but hardy loons, who threw stones to a +hair's-breadth and were very rugged antagonists at close quarters. +The skirmish sometimes lasted for a whole evening, until one party +or the other was victorious, when, if ours were successful, we +drove the enemy to their quarters, and were usually chased back by +the reinforcement of bigger lads who came to their assistance. If, +on the contrary, we were pursued, as was often the case, into the +precincts of our square, we were in our turn supported by our +elder brothers, domestic servants, and similar auxiliaries. + +It followed, from our frequent opposition to each other, that, +though not knowing the names of our enemies, we were yet well +acquainted with their appearance, and had nicknames for the most +remarkable of them. One very active and spirited boy might be +considered as the principal leader in the cohort of the suburbs. +He was, I suppose, thirteen or fourteen years old, finely made, +tall, blue-eyed, with long fair hair, the very picture of a +youthful Goth. This lad was always first in the charge and last in +the retreat--the Achilles, at once, and Ajax of the +Crosscauseway. He was too formidable to us not to have a cognomen, +and, like that of a knight of old, it was taken from the most +remarkable part of his dress, being a pair of old green livery +breeches, which was the principal part of his clothing; for, like +Pentapolin, according to Don Quixote's account, Green-Breeks, as +we called him, always entered the battle with bare arms, legs, and +feet. + +It fell, that once upon a time, when the combat was at the +thickest, this plebeian champion headed a sudden charge, so rapid +and furious that all fled before him. He was several paces before +his comrades, and had actually laid his hands on the patrician +standard, when one of our party, whom some misjudging friend had +entrusted with a couleau de chasse, or hanger, inspired with a +zeal for the honour of the corps worthy of Major Sturgeon himself, +struck poor Green-Breeks over the head with strength sufficient to +cut him down. When this was seen, the casualty was so far beyond +what had ever taken place before, that both parties fled different +ways, leaving poor Green-Breeks, with his bright hair plentifully +dabbled in blood, to the care of the watchman, who (honest man) +took care not to know who had done the mischief. The bloody hanger +was flung into one of the Meadow ditches, and solemn secrecy was +sworn on all hands; but the remorse and terror of the actor were +beyond all bounds, and his apprehensions of the most dreadful +character. The wounded hero was for a few days in the Infirmary, +the case being only a trifling one. But, though inquiry was +strongly pressed on him, no argument could make him indicate the +person from whom he had received the wound, though he must have +been perfectly well known to him. When he recovered and was +dismissed, the author and his brothers opened a communication with +him, through the medium of a popular ginger-bread baker, of whom +both parties were customers, in order to tender a subsidy in name +of smart-money. The sum would excite ridicule were I to name it; +but sure I am that the pockets of the noted Green-Breeks never +held as much money of his own. He declined the remittance, saying +that he would not sell his blood; but at the same time reprobated +the idea of being an informer, which he said was clam, i.e. base +or mean. With much urgency he accepted a pound of snuff for the +use of some old woman--aunt, grandmother, or the like--with whom +he lived. We did not become friends, for the bickers were more +agreeable to both parties than any more pacific amusement; but we +conducted them ever after under mutual assurances of the highest +consideration for each other. + +Such was the hero whom Mr. Thomas Scott proposed to carry to +Canada, and involve in adventures with the natives and colonists +of that country. Perhaps the youthful generosity of the lad will +not seem so great in the eyes of others as to those whom it was +the means of screening from severe rebuke and punishment. But it +seemed to those concerned to argue a nobleness of sentiment far +beyond the pitch of most minds; and however obscurely the lad who +showed such a frame of noble spirit may have lived or died, I +cannot help being of opinion that, if fortune had placed him in +circumstances calling for gallantry or generosity, the man would +have fulfilled the promise of the boy. Long afterwards, when the +story was told to my father, he censured us severely for not +telling the truth at the time, that he might have attempted to be +of use to the young man in entering on life. But our alarms for +the consequences of the drawn sword, and the wound inflicted with +such a weapon, were far too predominant at the time for such a +pitch of generosity. + +Perhaps I ought not to have inserted this schoolboy tale; but, +besides the strong impression made by the incident at the time, +the whole accompaniments of the story are matters to me of solemn +and sad recollection. Of all the little band who were concerned in +those juvenile sports or brawls, I can scarce recollect a single +survivor. Some left the ranks of mimic war to die in the active +service of their country. Many sought distant lands to return no +more. Others, dispersed in different paths of life,'my dim eyes +now seek for in vain.' Of five brothers, all healthy and promising +in a degree far beyond one whose infancy was visited by personal +infirmity, and whose health after this period seemed long very +precarious, I am, nevertheless, the only survivor. The best loved, +and the best deserving to be loved, who had destined this incident +to be the foundation of literary composition, died 'before his +day' in a distant and foreign land; and trifles assume an +importance not their own when connected with those who have been +loved and lost. + + + + + +NOTES + + +NOTE I + +LONG the oracle of the country gentlemen of the high Tory party. +The ancient News-Letter was written in manuscript and copied by +clerks, who addressed the copies to the subscribers. The +politician by whom they were compiled picked up his intelligence +at coffee-houses, and often pleaded for an additional gratuity in +consideration of the extra expense attached to frequenting such +places of fashionable resort. + +NOTE 2 + +There is a family legend to this purpose, belonging to the +knightly family of Bradshaigh, the proprietors of Haigh Hall, in +Lancashire, where, I have been told, the event is recorded on a +painted glass window. The German ballad of the Noble Moringer +turns upon a similar topic. But undoubtedly many such incidents +may have taken place, where, the distance being great and the +intercourse infrequent, false reports concerning the fate of the +absent Crusaders must have been commonly circulated, and sometimes +perhaps rather hastily credited at home. + +NOTE 3 + +The attachment to this classic was, it is said, actually displayed +in the manner mentioned in the text by an unfortunate Jacobite in +that unhappy period. He escaped from the jail in which he was +confined for a hasty trial and certain condemnation, and was +retaken as he hovered around the place in which he had been +imprisoned, for which he could give no better reason than the hope +of recovering his favourite Titus Livius. I am sorry to add that +the simplicity of such a character was found to form no apology +for his guilt as a rebel, and that he was condemned and executed. + +NOTE 4 + +Nicholas Amhurst, a noted political writer, who conducted for many +years a paper called the Craftsman, under the assumed name of +Caleb D'Anvers. He was devoted to the Tory interest, and seconded +with much ability the attacks of Pulteney on Sir Robert Walpole. +He died in 1742, neglected by his great patrons and in the most +miserable circumstances. + +'Amhurst survived the downfall of Walpole's power, and had reason +to expect a reward for his labours. If we excuse Bolingbroke, who +had only saved the shipwreck of his fortunes, we shall be at a +loss to justify Pulteney, who could with ease have given this man +a considerable income. The utmost of his generosity to Amhurst +that I ever heard of was a hogshead of claret! He died, it is +supposed, of a broken heart; and was buried at the charge of his +honest printer, Richard Francklin.'--Lord Chesterfield's +Characters Reviewed, p. 42. + +NOTE 5 + +I have now given in the text the full name of this gallant and +excellent man, and proceed to copy the account of his remarkable +conversion, as related by Doctor Doddridge. + +'This memorable event,' says the pious writer, 'happened towards +the middle of July 1719. The major had spent the evening (and, if +I mistake not, it was the Sabbath) in some gay company, and had an +unhappy assignation with a married woman, whom he was to attend +exactly at twelve. The company broke up about eleven, and, not +judging it convenient to anticipate the time appointed, he went +into his chamber to kill the tedious hour, perhaps with some +amusing book, or some other way. But it very accidentally happened +that he took up a religious book, which his good mother or aunt +had, without his knowledge, slipped into his portmanteau. It was +called, if I remember the title exactly, The Christian Soldier, or +Heaven taken by Storm, and it was written by Mr. Thomas Watson. +Guessing by the title of it that he would find some phrases of his +own profession spiritualised in a manner which he thought might +afford him some diversion, he resolved to dip into it, but he took +no serious notice of anything it had in it; and yet, while this +book was in his hand, an impression was made upon his mind +(perhaps God only knows how) which drew after it a train of the +most important and happy consequences. He thought he saw an +unusual blaze of light fall upon the book which he was reading, +which he at first imagined might happen by some accident in the +candle, but, lifting up his eyes, he apprehended to his extreme +amazement that there was before him, as it were suspended in the +air, a visible representation of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the +cross, surrounded on all sides with a glory; and was impressed as +if a voice, or something equivalent to a voice, had come to him, +to this effect (for he was not confident as to the words), "Oh, +sinner! did I suffer this for thee, and are these thy returns?" +Struck with so amazing a phenomenon as this, there remained hardly +any life in him, so that he sunk down in the arm-chair in which he +sat, and continued, he knew not how long, insensible.' + +'With regard to this vision,' says the ingenious Dr. Hibbert, 'the +appearance of our Saviour on the cross, and the awful words +repeated, can be considered in no other light than as so many +recollected images of the mind, which probably had their origin in +the language of some urgent appeal to repentance that the colonel +might have casually read or heard delivered. From what cause, +however, such ideas were rendered as vivid as actual impressions, +we have no information to be depended upon. This vision was +certainly attended with one of the most important of consequences +connected with the Christian dispensation--the conversion of a +sinner. And hence no single narrative has, perhaps, done more to +confirm the superstitious opinion that apparitions of this awful +kind cannot arise without a divine fiat.' Doctor Hibbert adds in a +note--'A short time before the vision, Colonel Gardiner had +received a severe fall from his horse. Did the brain receive some +slight degree of injury from the accident, so as to predispose him +to this spiritual illusion?'--Hibbert's Philosophy of Apparitions, +Edinburgh, 1824, p. 190. + +NOTE 6 + +The courtesy of an invitation to partake a traveller's meal, or at +least that of being invited to share whatever liquor the guest +called for, was expected by certain old landlords in Scotland even +in the youth of the author. In requital mine host was always +furnished with the news of the country, and was probably a little +of a humorist to boot. The devolution of the whole actual business +and drudgery of the inn upon the poor gudewife was very common +among the Scottish Bonifaces. There was in ancient times, in the +city of Edinburgh, a gentleman of good family who condescended, in +order to gain a livelihood, to become the nominal keeper of a +coffee-house, one of the first places of the kind which had been +opened in the Scottish metropolis. As usual, it was entirely +managed by the careful and industrious Mrs. B--; while her husband +amused himself with field sports, without troubling his head about +the matter. Once upon a time, the premises having taken fire, the +husband was met walking up the High Street loaded with his guns +and fishing-rods, and replied calmly to someone who inquired after +his wife, 'that the poor woman was trying to save a parcel of +crockery and some trumpery books'; the last being those which +served her to conduct the business of the house. + +There were many elderly gentlemen in the author's younger days who +still held it part of the amusement of a journey 'to parley with +mine host,' who often resembled, in his quaint humour, mine Host +of the Garter in the Merry Wives of Windsor; or Blague of the +George in the Merry Devil of Edmonton. Sometimes the landlady took +her share of entertaining the company. In either case the omitting +to pay them due attention gave displeasure, and perhaps brought +down a smart jest, as on the following occasion: + +A jolly dame who, not 'Sixty Years Since,' kept the principal +caravansary at Greenlaw, in Berwickshire, had the honour to +receive under her roof a very worthy clergyman, with three sons of +the same profession, each having a cure of souls; be it said in +passing, none of the reverend party were reckoned powerful in the +pulpit. After dinner was over, the worthy senior, in the pride of +his heart, asked Mrs. Buchan whether she ever had had such a party +in her house before. 'Here sit I,' he said, 'a placed minister of +the Kirk of Scotland, and here sit my three sons, each a placed +minister of the same kirk. Confess, Luckie Buchan, you never had +such a party in your house before.' The question was not premised +by any invitation to sit down and take a glass of wine or the +like, so Mrs. B. answered drily, 'Indeed, sir, I cannot just say +that ever I had such a party in my house before, except once in +the forty-five, when I had a Highland piper here, with his three +sons, all Highland pipers; and deil a spring they could play amang +them.' + +NOTE 7 + +There is no particular mansion described under the name of Tully- +Veolan; but the peculiarities of the description occur in various +old Scottish seats. The House of Warrender upon Bruntsfield Links +and that of Old Ravelston, belonging, the former to Sir George +Warrender, the latter to Sir Alexander Keith, have both +contributed several hints to the description in the text. The +House of Dean, near Edinburgh, has also some points of resemblance +with Tully-Veolan. The author has, however, been informed that the +House of Grandtully resembles that of the Baron of Bradwardine +still more than any of the above. + +NOTE 8 + +I am ignorant how long the ancient and established custom of +keeping fools has been disused in England. Swift writes an epitaph +on the Earl of Suffolk's fool-- + +Whose name was Dickie Pearce + +In Scotland, the custom subsisted till late in the last century; +at Glamis Castle is preserved the dress of one of the jesters, +very handsome, and ornamented with many bells. It is not above +thirty years since such a character stood by the sideboard of a +nobleman of the first rank in Scotland, and occasionally mixed in +the conversation, till he carried the joke rather too far, in +making proposals to one of the young ladies of the family, and +publishing the bans betwixt her and himself in the public church. + +NOTE 9 + +After the Revolution of 1688, and on some occasions when the +spirit of the Presbyterians had been unusually animated against +their opponents, the Episcopal clergymen, who were chiefly +nonjurors, were exposed to be mobbed, as we should now say, or +rabbled, as the phrase then went, to expiate their political +heresies. But notwithstanding that the Presbyterians had the +persecution in Charles II and his brother's time to exasperate +them, there was little mischief done beyond the kind of petty +violence mentioned in the text. + +NOTE 10 + +I may here mention that the fashion of compotation described in +the text was still occasionally practised in Scotland in the +author's youth. A company, after having taken leave of their host, +often went to finish the evening at the clachan or village, in +'womb of tavern.' Their entertainer always accompanied them to +take the stirrup-cup, which often occasioned a long and late +revel. + +The poculum potatorium of the valiant Baron, his blessed Bear, has +a prototype at the fine old Castle of Glamis, so rich in memorials +of ancient times; it is a massive beaker of silver, double gilt, +moulded into the shape of a lion, and holding about an English +pint of wine. The form alludes to the family name of Strathmore, +which is Lyon, and, when exhibited, the cup must necessarily be +emptied to the Earl's health. The author ought perhaps to be +ashamed of recording that he has had the honour of swallowing the +contents of the Lion; and the recollection of the feat served to +suggest the story of the Bear of Bradwardine. In the family of +Scott of Thirlestane (not Thirlestane in the Forest, but the place +of the same name in Roxburghshire) was long preserved a cup of the +same kind, in the form of a jack-boot. Each guest was obliged to +empty this at his departure. If the guest's name was Scott, the +necessity was doubly imperative. + +When the landlord of an inn presented his guests with deoch an +doruis, that is, the drink at the door, or the stirrup-cup, the +draught was not charged in the reckoning. On this point a learned +bailie of the town of Forfar pronounced a very sound judgment. + +A., an ale-wife in Forfar, had brewed her 'peck of malt' and set +the liquor out of doors to cool; the cow of B., a neighbour of A., +chanced to come by, and seeing the good beverage, was allured to +taste it, and finally to drink it up. When A. came to take in her +liquor, she found her tub empty, and from the cow's staggering and +staring, so as to betray her intemperance, she easily divined the +mode in which her 'browst' had disappeared. To take vengeance on +Crummie's ribs with a stick was her first effort. The roaring of +the cow brought B., her master, who remonstrated with his angry +neighbour, and received in reply a demand for the value of the ale +which Crummie had drunk up. B. refused payment, and was conveyed +before C., the bailie, or sitting magistrate. He heard the case +patiently; and then demanded of the plaintiff A. whether the cow +had sat down to her potation or taken it standing. The plaintiff +answered, she had not seen the deed committed, but she supposed +the cow drank the ale while standing on her feet, adding, that had +she been near she would have made her use them to some purpose. +The bailie, on this admission, solemnly adjudged the cow's drink +to be deoch an doruis, a stirrup-cup, for which no charge could be +made without violating the ancient hospitality of Scotland. + +NOTE 11 + +The story last told was said to have happened in the south of +Scotland; but cedant arma togae and let the gown have its dues. It +was an old clergyman, who had wisdom and firmness enough to resist +the panic which seized his brethren, who was the means of rescuing +a poor insane creature from the cruel fate which would otherwise +have overtaken her. The accounts of the trials for witchcraft form +one of the most deplorable chapters in Scottish story. + +NOTE 12 + +Although canting heraldry is generally reprobated, it seems +nevertheless to have been adopted in the arms and mottos of many +honourable families. Thus the motto of the Vernons, Ver non semper +viret, is a perfect pun, and so is that of the Onslows, Festina +lente. The Periissem ni per-iissem of the Anstruthers is liable to +a similar objection. One of that ancient race, finding that an +antagonist, with whom he had fixed a friendly meeting, was +determined to take the opportunity of assassinating him, prevented +the hazard by dashing out his brains with a battle-axe. Two sturdy +arms, brandishing such a weapon, form the usual crest of the +family, with the above motto, Periissem ni per-iissem--I had died, +unless I had gone through with it. + +NOTE 13 + +Mac-Donald of Barrisdale, one of the very last Highland gentlemen +who carried on the plundering system to any great extent, was a +scholar and a well-bred gentleman. He engraved on his broad- +swords the well-known lines-- + + Hae tibi erunt artes pacisque imponere morem, + Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos. + +Indeed, the levying of black-mail was, before 1745, practised by +several chiefs of very high rank, who, in doing so, contended that +they were lending the laws the assistance of their arms and +swords, and affording a protection which could not be obtained +from the magistracy in the disturbed state of the country. The +author has seen a Memoir of Mac-Pherson of Cluny, chief of that +ancient clan, from which it appears that he levied protection- +money to a very large amount, which was willingly paid even by +some of his most powerful neighbours. A gentleman of this clan, +hearing a clergyman hold forth to his congregation on the crime of +theft, interrupted the preacher to assure him, he might leave the +enforcement of such doctrines to Cluny Mac-Pherson, whose +broadsword would put a stop to theft sooner than all the sermons +of all the ministers of the synod. + +NOTE 14 + +The Town-guard of Edinburgh were, till a late period, armed with +this weapon when on their police-duty. There was a hook at the +back of the axe, which the ancient Highlanders used to assist them +to climb over walls, fixing the hook upon it and raising +themselves by the handle. The axe, which was also much used by the +natives of Ireland, is supposed to have been introduced into both +countries from Scandinavia. + +NOTE 15 + +An adventure very similar to what is here stated actually befell +the late Mr. Abercromby of Tullibody, grandfather of the present +Lord Abercromby, and father of the celebrated Sir Ralph. When this +gentleman, who lived to a very advanced period of life, first +settled in Stirlingshire, his cattle were repeatedly driven off by +the celebrated Rob Roy, or some of his gang; and at length he was +obliged, after obtaining a proper safe-conduct, to make the +cateran such a visit as that of Waverley to Bean Lean in the text. +Rob received him with much courtesy, and made many apologies for +the accident, which must have happened, he said, through some +mistake. Mr. Abercromby was regaled with collops from two of his +own cattle, which were hung up by the heels in the cavern, and was +dismissed in perfect safety, after having agreed to pay in future +a small sum of black-mail, in consideration of which Rob Roy not +only undertook to forbear his herds in future, but to replace any +that should be stolen from him by other freebooters. Mr. +Abercromby said Rob Roy affected to consider him as a friend to +the Jacobite interest and a sincere enemy to the Union. Neither of +these circumstances were true; but the laird thought it quite +unnecessary to undeceive his Highland host at the risk of bringing +on a political dispute in such a situation. This anecdote I +received many years since (about 1792) from the mouth of the +venerable gentleman who was concerned in it. + +NOTE 16 + +This celebrated gibbet was, in the memory of the last generation, +still standing at the western end of the town of Crieff, in +Perthshire. Why it was called the kind gallows we are unable to +inform the reader with certainty; but it is alleged that the +Highlanders used to touch their bonnets as they passed a place +which had been fatal to many of their countrymen, with the +ejaculation 'God bless her nain sell, and the Teil tamn you!' It +may therefore have been called kind, as being a sort of native or +kindred place of doom to those who suffered there, as in +fulfilment of a natural destiny. + +NOTE 17 + +The story of the bridegroom carried off by caterans on his bridal- +day is taken from one which was told to the author by the late +Laird of Mac-Nab many years since. To carry off persons from the +Lowlands, and to put them to ransom, was a common practice with +the wild Highlanders, as it is said to be at the present day with +the banditti in the south of Italy. Upon the occasion alluded to, +a party of caterans carried off the bridegroom and secreted him in +some cave near the mountain of Schiehallion. The young man caught +the small-pox before his ransom could be agreed on; and whether it +was the fine cool air of the place, or the want of medical +attendance, Mac-Nab did not pretend to be positive; but so it was, +that the prisoner recovered, his ransom was paid, and he was +restored to his friends and bride, but always considered the +Highland robbers as having saved his life by their treatment of +his malady. + +NOTE 18 + +This happened on many occasions. Indeed, it was not till after the +total destruction of the clan influence, after 1745, that +purchasers could be found who offered a fair price for the estates +forfeited in 1715, which were then brought to sale by the +creditors of the York Buildings Company, who had purchased the +whole, or greater part, from government at a very small price. +Even so late as the period first mentioned, the prejudices of the +public in favour of the heirs of the forfeited families threw +various impediments in the way of intending purchasers of such +property. + +NOTE 19 + +This sort of political game ascribed to Mac-Ivor was in reality +played by several Highland chiefs, the celebrated Lord Lovat in +particular, who used that kind of finesse to the uttermost. The +Laird of Mac---was also captain of an independent company, but +valued the sweets of present pay too well to incur the risk of +losing them in the Jacobite cause. His martial consort raised his +clan and headed it in 1745. But the chief himself would have +nothing to do with king-making, declaring himself for that +monarch, and no other, who gave the Laird of Mac ---- 'half-a-guinea +the day and half-a-guinea the morn.' + +NOTE 20 + +In explanation of the military exercise observed at the Castle of +Glennaquoich, the author begs to remark that the Highlanders were +not only well practised in the use of the broadsword, firelock, +and most of the manly sports and trials of strength common +throughout Scotland, but also used a peculiar sort of drill, +suited to their own dress and mode of warfare. There were, for +instance, different modes of disposing the plaid, one when on a +peaceful journey, another when danger was apprehended; one way of +enveloping themselves in it when expecting undisturbed repose, and +another which enabled them to start up with sword and pistol in +hand on the slightest alarm. + +Previous to 1720 or thereabouts, the belted plaid was universally +worn, in which the portion which surrounded the middle of the +wearer and that which was flung around his shoulders were all of +the same piece of tartan. In a desperate onset all was thrown +away, and the clan charged bare beneath the doublet, save for an +artificial arrangement of the shirt, which, like that of the +Irish, was always ample, and for the sporran-mollach, or goat's- +skin purse. + +The manner of handling the pistol and dirk was also part of the +Highland manual exercise, which the author has seen gone through +by men who had learned it in their youth. + +NOTE 21 + +Pork or swine's flesh, in any shape, was, till of late years, much +abominated by the Scotch, nor is it yet a favourite food amongst +them. King Jamie carried this prejudice to England, and is known +to have abhorred pork almost as much as he did tobacco. Ben Jonson +has recorded this peculiarity, where the gipsy in a masque, +examining the king's hand, says-- + +You should, by this line, + +Love a horse and a hound, but no part of a swine. + +The Gipsies Metamorphosed. + +James's own proposed banquet for the Devil was a loin of pork and +a poll of ling, with a pipe of tobacco for digestion. + +NOTE 22 + +In the number of persons of all ranks who assembled at the same +table, though by no means to discuss the same fare, the Highland +chiefs only retained a custom which had been formerly universally +observed throughout Scotland. 'I myself,' says the traveller, +Fynes Morrison, in the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign, the scene +being the Lowlands of Scotland, 'was at a knight's house, who had +many servants to attend him, that brought in his meat with their +heads covered with blue caps, the table being more than half +furnished with great platters of porridge, each having a little +piece of sodden meat. And when the table was served, the servants +did sit down with us; but the upper mess, instead of porridge, had +a pullet, with some prunes in the broth.'--Travels, p. 155. + +Till within this last century the farmers, even of a respectable +condition, dined with their work-people. The difference betwixt +those of high degree was ascertained by the place of the party +above or below the salt, or sometimes by a line drawn with chalk +on the dining-table. Lord Lovat, who knew well how to feed the +vanity and restrain the appetites of his clansmen, allowed each +sturdy Fraser who had the slightest pretensions to be a +Duinhewassel the full honour of the sitting, but at the same time +took care that his young kinsmen did not acquire at his table any +taste for outlandish luxuries. His lordship was always ready with +some honourable apology why foreign wines and French brandy, +delicacies which he conceived might sap the hardy habits of his +cousins, should not circulate past an assigned point on the table. + +NOTE 23 + +In the Irish ballads relating to Fion (the Fingal of Mac-Pherson) +there occurs, as in the primitive poetry of most nations, a cycle +of heroes, each of whom has some distinguishing attribute; upon +these qualities, and the adventures of those possessing them, many +proverbs are formed, which are still current in the Highlands. +Among other characters, Conan is distinguished as in some respects +a kind of Thersites, but brave and daring even to rashness. He had +made a vow that he would never take a blow without returning it; +and having, like other heroes of antiquity, descended to the +infernal regions, he received a cuff from the Arch-fiend who +presided there, which he instantly returned, using the expression +in the text. Sometimes the proverb is worded thus--'Claw for claw, +and the devil take the shortest nails, as Conan said to the +devil.' + +NOTE 24 + +The description of the waterfall mentioned in this chapter is +taken from that of Ledeard, at the farm so called, on the northern +side of Lochard, and near the head of the lake, four or five miles +from Aberfoyle. It is upon a small scale, but otherwise one of the +most exquisite cascades it is possible to behold. The appearance +of Flora with the harp, as described, has been justly censured as +too theatrical and affected for the lady-like simplicity of her +character. But something may be allowed to her French education, +in which point and striking effect always make a considerable +object. + +NOTE 25 + +The author has been sometimes accused of confounding fiction with +reality. He therefore thinks it necessary to state that the +circumstance of the hunting described in the text as preparatory +to the insurrection of 1745 is, so far as he knows, entirely +imaginary. But it is well known such a great hunting was held in +the Forest of Brae-Mar, under the auspices of the Earl of Mar, as +preparatory to the Rebellion of 1715; and most of the Highland +chieftains who afterwards engaged in that civil commotion were +present on this occasion. + + + + + +GLOSSARY + + +A', all. + +ABOON, abune, above. + +ABY, abye, endure, suffer. + +ACCOLADE, the salutation marking the bestowal of knighthood. + +AIN, own. + +ALANE, alone. + +AN, if. + +ANE, one. + +ARRAY, annoy, trouble. + +AULD, old. + +AWEEL, well. + +AYE, always. + +BAILIE, a city magistrate in Scotland. + +BAN, curse. + +BAWTY, sly, cunning. + +BAXTER, a baker. + +BEES, in the, stupefied, bewildered. + +BELIVE, belyve, by and by. + +BEN, in, inside. + +BENT, an open field. + +BHAIRD, a bard. + +BLACK-FISHING, fishing by torchlight poaching. + +BLINKED, glanced. + +BLUDE, braid, blood. + +BLYTHE, gay, glad. + +BODLE, a copper coin worth a third of an English penny. + +BOLE, a bowl. + +BOOT-KETCH, a boot-jack. + +BRAE, the side of a hill. + +BRISSEL-COCK, a turkey cock. + +BREEKS, breeches. + +BROGUES, Highland shoes. + +BROKEN MEN, outlaws. + +BROUGHT FAR BEN, held in special favor + +BROWST, a brewing. + +BRUIK, enjoy. + +BUCKIE, a perverse or refractory person. + +BULLSEGG, a gelded bull. + +BURD, bird, a term of familiarity. + +BURN, a brook. + +BUSKING, dress, decoration. + +BUTTOCK-MAIL, a fine for fornication. + +BYDAND, awaiting. + +CAILLIACHS, old women on whom devolved the duty of lamenting for +the dead, which the Irish call keening. + +CALLANT, a young lad, a fine fellow. + +CANNY, prudent, skillful, lucky. + +CANTER, a canting, whining beggar. + +CANTRIP, a trick. + +CARLE, a churl, an old man. + +CATERAN, a Highland irregular soldier, a freebooter. + +CHAP, a customer. + +CLACHAN, a hamlet. + +CLAW FAVOUR, curry favour. + +CLAYMORE, a broad sword. + +CLEEK, a hook. + +CLEIK the cunzie, steal the silver. + +COB, beat. + +COBLE, a small fishing boat. + +COGS, wooden vessels. + +COGUE, a round wooden vessel. + +CONCUSSED, violently shaken, disturbed, forced. + +CORONACH, a dirge. + +CORRIE, a mountain hollow. + +COVE, a cave. + +CRAME, a booth, a merchant's shop. + +CREAGH, an incursion for plunder, termed on the Borders a raid. + +CROUSE, bold, courageous. + +CRUMMY, a cow with crooked horns. + +CUITTLE, tickle. + +CURRAGH, a Highland boat. + +DAFT, mad, foolish. + +DEBINDED, bound down. + +DECREET, an order of decree. + +DEOCH AN DORUIS, the stirrup-cup or parting drink. + +DERN, concealed, secret. + +DINMONTS, wethers in the second year. + +DOER, an agent, a manager. + +DOON, doun, down. + +DOVERING, dozing. + +DUINHE-WASSEL, dunniewassal, a Highland gentleman, usually the +cadet of a family of rank. + +EANARUICH, the regalia presented by Rob Roy to the Laird of +Tullibody. + +ENEUGH, eneuch, enough. + +ERGASTULO, in a penitentiary. + +EXEEMED, exempt. + +FACTORY, stewardship. + +FEAL AND DIVOT, turf and thatch. + +FECK, a quantity. + +FEIFTEEN, the Jacobite rebellion of 1715. + +FENDY, good at making a shift. + +FIRE-RAISING, setting an incendiary fire. + +FLEMIT, frightened, + +FRAE, from. + +FU, full. + +FULE, fool. + +GABERLUNZIE, a kind of professional beggar. + +GANE, gone. + +GANG, go. + +GAR, make. + +GATE, gait, way. + +GAUN, going. + +GAY, gey, very. + +GEAR, goods, property. + +GILLFLIRT, a flirty girl. + +GILLIE, a servant, an attendant. + +GILLIE-WET-FOOT, a barefooted Highland lad. + +GIMMER, a ewe from one to two years old. + +GLISKED, glimpsed. + +GRIPPLE, rapacious, niggardly. + +GULPIN, a simpleton. + +HA', hall. + +HAG, a portion of copse marked off for cutting. + +HAIL, whole. + +HALLAN, a partition, a screen. + +HAME, home. + +HANTLE, a great deal. + +HARST, harvest. + +HERSHIPS, plunder. + +HILDING, a coward. + +HIRSTS, knolls. + +HORNING, charge of, a summons to pay a debt, on pain of being +pronounced a rebel, to the sound of a horn. + +HOWE, a hollow. + +HOULERYING AND POULERYING, hustling and pulling. + +HURLEY-HOUSE, a brokendown manor house. + +ILK, same; of that ilk, of the same name or place. + +ILKA, each, every. + +IN THE BEES, stupefied. + +INTROMIT, meddle with. + +KEN, know. + +KITTLE, tickle, ticklish. + +KNOBBLER, a male deer in its second year. + +KYLOE, a small Highland cow. + +LAIRD, squire, lord of the manor. + +LANG-LEGGIT, long-legged. + +LAWING, a tavern reckoning. + +LEE LAND, pasture land. + +LIE, a word used in old Scottish legal documents to call attention +to the following word or phrase. + +LIFT, capture, carry off by theft. + +LIMMER, a jade. + +LOCH, a lake. + +LOON, an idle fellow, a lout, a rogue. + +LUCKIE, an elderly woman. + +LUG, an ear, a handle. + +LUNZIE, the loins, the waist. + +MAE, mair, more. + +MAINS, the chief farm of an estate. + +MALT ABUNE THE MEAL, the drink above the food, half-seas over. + +MAUN, must. + +MEAL ARK, a meal chest. + +MERK, 13 1/3 pence in English money. + +MICKLE, much, great. + +MISGUGGLED, mangled, rumpled. + +MONY, many. + +MORN, the morn, tomorrow. + +MORNING, a morning dram. + +MUCKLE, much, great. + +MUIR, moor. + +NA, nae, no, not. + +NAINSELL, own self. + +NICE, simple. + +NOLT, black cattle. ony, any. + +ORRA, odd, unemployed. + +ORRA-TIME, occasionally. + +OWER, over. + +PEEL-HOUSE, a fortified tower. + +PENDICLE, a small piece of ground. + +PINGLE, a fuss, trouble. + +PLENISHING, furnishings. + +PLOY, sport, entertainment. + +PRETTY MEN, stout, warlike fellows. + +REIFS, robberies. + +REIVERS, robbers. + +RIGGS, ridges, ploughed ground. + +ROKELAY, a short cloak. + +RUDAS, coarse, hag-like. + +SAIN, mark with the sign of the cross, bless. + +SAIR, sore, very. + +SAUMON, salmon. + +SAUT, salt. + +SAY, a sample. + +SCHELLUM, a rascal. + +SCOUPING, scowping, skipping, leaping, running. + +SEANNACHIE, a Highland antiquary. + +SHEARING, reaping, harvest. + +SHILPIT, weak, sickly. + +SHOON, shoes. + +SIC, siccan, such. + +SIDIER DHU, black soldiers, independent companies raised to keep +peace in the Highlands; named from the tartans they wore. + +SIDIER ROY, red soldiers, King George's men. + +SIKES, small brooks. + +SILLER, silver, money. + +SIMMER, summer. + +SLIVER, slice, slit. + +SMOKY, suspicious. + +SNECK, cut. + +SNOOD, a fillet worn by young women. + +SOPITE, quiet a brawl. + +SORNERS, sornars, sojourners, sturdy beggars, especially those +unwelcome visitors who exact lodgings and victuals by force. + +SORTED, arranged, adjusted. + +SPEIR, ask, investigate. + +SPORRAN-MOLLACH, a Highland purse of goatskin. + +SPRACK, animated, lively. + +SPRING, a cheerful tune. + +SPURRZIE, spoil. + +STIEVE, stiff, firm. + +STIRK, a young steer or heifer. + +STOT, a bullock. + +STOUP, a jug, a pitcher. + +STOUTHREEF, robbery. + +STRAE, straw. + +STRATH, a valley through which a river runs. + +SYBOES, onions. + +TA, the. TAIGLIT, harassed, loitered. + +TAILZIE, taillie, a deed of entail. + +TAPPIT-HEN, a pewter pot that holds three English quarts. + +TAYOUT, tailliers-hors; in modern phrase, Tally-ho! + +TEIL, the devil. + +TEINDS, tithes. + +TELT, told. + +TILL, to. TOUN, a hamlet, a farm. + +TREWS, trousers. + +TROW, believe, suppose. + +TWA, two. + +TYKE, a dog, a snarling fellow. + +UNCO, strange, very. + +UNKENN'D, unknown. + +USQUEBAUGH, whiskey. + +WA', wall. + +WARE, spend. + +WEEL, well. + +WHA, who. + +WHAR, where. + +WHAT FOR, why. + +WHILK, which. + +WISKE, whisk, brandish. + + + + + +END OF VOLUME I + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Waverley, Volume I, by Sir Walter Scott + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WAVERLEY, VOLUME I *** + +***** This file should be named 4964.txt or 4964.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/9/6/4964/ + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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