'quite follow all his old-fashioned wit, but he must have been a
very pretty fellow, according to the ideas of his time.'
'And it was a shame,' said Ensign Maccombich, who usually followed
his Colonel everywhere, 'for that Tibbert, or Taggart, or whatever
was his name, to stick him under the other gentleman's arm while
he was redding the fray.'
The ladies, of course, declared loudly in favour of Romeo, but
this opinion did not go undisputed. The mistress of the house and
several other ladies severely reprobated the levity with which the
hero transfers his affections from Rosalind to Juliet. Flora
remained silent until her opinion was repeatedly requested, and
then answered, she thought the circumstance objected to not only
reconcilable to nature, but such as in the highest degree evinced
the art of the poet. 'Romeo is described,' said she, 'as a young
man peculiarly susceptible of the softer passions; his love is at
first fixed upon a woman who could afford it no return; this he
repeatedly tells you, -
From love's weak, childish bow she lives unharmed,
and again -
She hath forsworn to love.
Now, as it was impossible that Romeo's love, supposing him a
reasonable being, could continue to subsist without hope, the poet
has, with great art, seized the moment when he was reduced
actually to despair to throw in his way an object more
accomplished than her by whom he had been rejected, and who is
disposed to repay his attachment. I can scarce conceive a
situation more calculated to enhance the ardour of Romeo's
affection for Juliet than his being at once raised by her from the
state of drooping melancholy in which he appears first upon the
scene to the ecstatic state in which he exclaims -
- come what sorrow can,
It cannot countervail the exchange of joy
That one short moment gives me in her sight.'
'Good now, Miss Mac-Ivor,' said a young lady of quality, 'do you
mean to cheat us out of our prerogative? will you persuade us love
cannot subsist without hope, or that the lover must become fickle
if the lady is cruel? O fie! I did not expect such an
unsentimental conclusion.'
'A lover, my dear Lady Betty,' said Flora, 'may, I conceive,
persevere in his suit under very discouraging circumstances.
Affection can (now and then) withstand very severe storms of
rigour, but not a long polar frost of downright indifference.
Don't, even with YOUR attractions, try the experiment upon any
lover whose faith you value. Love will subsist on wonderfully
little hope, but not altogether without it.'
'It will be just like Duncan Mac-Girdie's mare,' said Evan, 'if
your ladyships please, he wanted to use her by degrees to live
without meat, and just as he had put her on a straw a day the poor
thing died!'
Evan's illustration set the company a-laughing, and the discourse
took a different turn. Shortly afterwards the party broke up, and
Edward returned home, musing on what Flora had said. 'I will love
my Rosalind no more,' said he; 'she has given me a broad enough
hint for that; and I will speak to her brother and resign my suit.
But for a Juliet - would it be handsome to interfere with Fergus's
pretensions? though it is impossible they can ever succeed; and
should they miscarry, what then? why then alors comme alors.' And
with this resolution of being guided by circumstances did our hero
commit himself to repose.
CHAPTER LV
A BRAVE MAN IN SORROW
Ifmy fair readers should be of opinion that my hero's levity in
love is altogether unpardonable, I must remind them that all his
griefs and difficulties did not arise from that sentimental
source. Even the lyric poet who complains so feelingly of the
pains of love could not forget, that at the same time he was 'in
debt and in drink,' which, doubtless, were great aggravations of
his distress. There were, indeed, whole days in which Waverley
thought neither of Flora nor Rose Bradwardine, but which were
spent in melancholy conjectures on the probable state of matters
at Waverley-Honour, and the dubious issue of the civil contest in
which he was pledged. Colonel Talbot often engaged him in
discussions upon the justice of the cause he had espoused. 'Not,'
he said, 'that it is possible for you to quit it at this present
moment, for, come what will, you must stand by your rash
engagement. But I wish you to be aware that the right is not with
you; that you are fighting against the real interests of your
country; and that you ought, as an Englishman and a patriot, to
take the first opportunity to leave this unhappy expedition before
the snowball melts.'
In such political disputes Waverley usually opposed the common
arguments of his party, with which it is unnecessary to trouble
the reader. But he had little to say when the Colonel urged him to
compare the strength by which they had undertaken to overthrow the
government with that which was now assembling very rapidly for its
support. To this statement Waverley had but one answer: 'If the
cause I have undertaken be perilous, there would be the greater
disgrace in abandoning it.' And in his turn he generally silenced
Colonel Talbot, and succeeded in changing the subject.
One night, when, after a long dispute of this nature, the friends
had separated and our hero had retired to bed, he was awakened
about midnight by a suppressed groan. He started up and listened;
it came from the apartment of Colonel Talbot, which was divided
from his own by a wainscotted partition, with a door of
communication. Waverley approached this door and distinctly heard
one or two deep-drawn sighs. What could be the matter? The Colonel
had parted from him apparently in his usual state of spirits. He
must have been taken suddenly ill. Under this impression he opened
the door of communication very gently, and perceived the Colonel,
in his night-gown, seated by a table, on which lay a letter and a
picture. He raised his head hastily, as Edward stood uncertain
whether to advance or retire, and Waverley perceived that his
cheeks were stained with tears.
As if ashamed at being found giving way to such emotion, Colonel
Talbot rose with apparent displeasure and said, with some
sternness, 'I think, Mr. Waverley, my own apartment and the hour
might have secured even a prisoner against - '
'Do not say INTRUSION, Colonel Talbot; I heard you breathe hard
and feared you were ill; that alone could have induced me to break
in upon you.'
'I am well,' said the Colonel, 'perfectly well.'
'But you are distressed,' said Edward; 'is there anything can be
done?'
'Nothing, Mr. Waverley; I was only thinking of home, and some
unpleasant occurrences there.'
'Good God, my uncle!' exclaimed Waverley.
'No, it is a grief entirely my own. I am ashamed you should have
seen it disarm me so much; but it must have its course at times,
that it may be at others more decently supported. I would have
kept it secret from you; for I think it will grieve you, and yet
you can administer no consolation. But you have surprised me, - I
see you are surprised yourself, - and I hate mystery. Read that
letter.'
The letter was from Colonel Talbot's sister, and in these words: -
'I received yours, my dearest brother, by Hodges. Sir E. W. and
Mr. R. are still at large, but are not permitted to leave London.
I wish to Heaven I could give you as good an account of matters in
the square. But the news of the unhappy affair at Preston came
upon us, with the dreadful addition that you were among the
fallen. You know Lady Emily's state of health, when your
friendship for Sir E. induced you to leave her. She was much
harassed with the sad accounts from Scotland of the rebellion
having broken out; but kept up her spirits, as, she said, it
became your wife, and for the sake of the future heir, so long
hoped for in vain. Alas, my dear brother, these hopes are now
ended! Notwithstanding all my watchful care, this unhappy rumour
reached her without preparation. She was taken ill immediately;
and the poor infant scarce survived its birth. Would to God this
were all! But although the contradiction of the horrible report by
your own letter has greatly revived her spirits, yet Dr. - -
apprehends, I grieve to say, serious, and even dangerous,
consequences to her health, especially from the uncertainty in
which she must necessarily remain for some time, aggravated by the
ideas she has formed of the ferocity of those with whom you are a
prisoner.
'Do therefore, my dear brother, as soon as this reaches you,
endeavour to gain your release, by parole, by ransom, or any way
that is practicable. I do not exaggerate Lady Emily's state of
health; but I must not - dare not - suppress the truth. Ever, my
dear Philip, your most affectionate sister,
'Lucy TALBOT.'
Edward stood motionless when he had perused this letter; for the
conclusion was inevitable, that, by the Colonel's journey in quest
of him, he had incurred this heavy calamity. It was severe enough,
even in its irremediable part; for Colonel Talbot and Lady Emily,
long without a family, had fondly exulted in the hopes which were
now blasted. But this disappointment was nothing to the extent of
the threatened evil; and Edward, with horror, regarded himself as
the original cause of both.
Ere he could collect himself sufficiently to speak, Colonel Talbot
had recovered his usual composure of manner, though his troubled
eye denoted his mental agony.
'She is a woman, my young friend, who may justify even a soldier's
tears.' He reached him the miniature, exhibiting features which
fully justified the eulogium; 'and yet, God knows, what you see of
her there is the least of the charms she possesses - possessed, I
should perhaps say - but God's will be done.'
' You must fly - you must fly instantly to her relief. It is not -
it shall not be too late.'
'Fly? how is it possible? I am a prisoner, upon parole.'
'I am your keeper; I restore your parole; I am to answer for you.'
'You cannot do so consistently with your duty; nor can I accept a
discharge from you, with due regard to my own honour; you would be
made responsible.'
'I will answer it with my head, if necessary,' said Waverley
impetuously. 'I have been the unhappy cause of the loss of your
child, make me not the murderer of your wife.'
'No, my dear Edward,' said Talbot, taking him kindly by the hand,
'you are in no respect to blame; and if I concealed this domestic
distress for two days, it was lest your sensibility should view it
in that light. You could not think of me, hardly knew of my
existence, when I left England in quest of you. It is a
responsibility, Heaven knows, sufficiently heavy for mortality,
that we must answer for the foreseen and direct result of our
actions; for their indirect and consequential operation the great
and good Being, who alone can foresee the dependence of human
events on each other, hath not pronounced his frail creatures
liable.'
'But that you should have left Lady Emily,' said Waverley, with
much emotion, 'in the situation of all others the most interesting
to a husband, to seek a - '
'I only did my duty,' answered Colonel Talbot, calmly, 'and I do
not, ought not, to regret it. If the path of gratitude and honour
were always smooth and easy, there would be little merit in
following it; but it moves often in contradiction to our interest
and passions, and sometimes to our better affections. These are
the trials of life, and this, though not the least bitter' (the
tears came unbidden to his eyes), 'is not the first which it has
been my fate to encounter. But we will talk of this to-morrow,'
he said, wringing Waverley's hands. 'Good-night; strive to forget
it for a few hours. It will dawn, I think, by six, and it is now
past two. Good-night.'
Edward retired, without trusting his voice with a reply.
CHAPTER LVI
EXERTION
When Colonel Talbot entered the breakfast-parlour next morning, he
learned from Waverley's servant that our hero had been abroad at
an early hour and was not yet returned. The morning was well
advanced before he again appeared. He arrived out of breath, but
with an air of joy that astonished Colonel Talbot.
'There,' said he, throwing a paper on the table, 'there is my
morning's work. Alick, pack up the Colonel's clothes. Make haste,
make haste.'
The Colonel examined the paper with astonishment. It was a pass
from the Chevalier to Colonel Talbot, to repair to Leith, or any
other port in possession of his Royal Highness's troops, and there
to embark for England or elsewhere, at his free pleasure; he only
giving his parole of honour not to bear arms against the house of
Stuart for the space of a twelve-month.
'In the name of God,' said the Colonel, his eyes sparkling with
eagerness, 'how did you obtain this?'
'I was at the Chevalier's levee as soon as he usually rises. He
was gone to the camp at Duddingston. I pursued him thither, asked
and obtained an audience - but I will tell you not a word more,
unless I see you begin to pack.'
'Before I know whether I can avail myself of this passport, or how
it was obtained?'
'O, you can take out the things again, you know. Now I see you
busy, I will go on. When I first mentioned your name, his eyes
sparkled almost as bright as yours did two minutes since. "Had
you," he earnestly asked, "shown any sentiments favourable to his
cause?" "Not in the least, nor was there any hope you would do
so." His countenance fell. I requested your freedom. "Impossible,"
he said; "your importance as a friend and confidant of such and
such personages made my request altogether extravagant." I told
him my own story and yours; and asked him to judge what my
feelings must be by his own. He has a heart, and a kind one,
Colonel Talbot, you may say what you please. He took a sheet of
paper and wrote the pass with his own hand. "I will not trust
myself with my council," he said; "they will argue me out of what
is right. I will not endure that a friend, valued as I value you,
should be loaded with the painful reflections which must afflict
you in case of further misfortune in Colonel Talbot's family; nor
will I keep a brave enemy a prisoner under such circumstances.
Besides," said he, "I think I can justify myself to my prudent
advisers by pleading the good effect such lenity will produce on
the minds of the great English families with whom Colonel Talbot
is connected."'
'There the politician peeped out,' said the Colonel.
'Well, at least he concluded like a king's son: "Take the
passport; I have added a condition for form's sake; but if the
Colonel objects to it, let him depart without giving any parole
whatever. I come here to war with men, but not to distress or
endanger women."'
'Well, I never thought to have been so much indebted to the
Pretend - '
'To the Prince,' said Waverley, smiling.
'To the Chevalier,' said the Colonel; 'it is a good travelling
name, and which we may both freely use. Did he say anything more?'
'Only asked if there was anything else he could oblige me in; and
when I replied in the negative, he shook me by the hand, and
wished all his followers were as considerate, since some friends
of mine not only asked all he had to bestow, but many things which
were entirely out of his power, or that of the greatest sovereign
upon earth. Indeed, he said, no prince seemed, in the eyes of his
followers, so like the Deity as himself, if you were to judge from
the extravagant requests which they daily preferred to him.'
'Poor young gentleman,' said the Colonel, 'I suppose he begins to
feel the difficulties of his situation. Well, dear Waverley, this
is more than kind, and shall not be forgotten while Philip Talbot
can remember anything. My life - pshaw - let Emily thank you for
that; this is a favour worth fifty lives. I cannot hesitate on
giving my parole in the circumstances; there it is (he wrote it
out in form). And now, how am I to get off?'
'All that is settled: your baggage is packed, my horses wait, and
a boat has been engaged, by the Prince's permission, to put you on
board the Fox frigate. I sent a messenger down to Leith on
purpose.'
'That will do excellently well. Captain Beaver is my particular
friend; he will put me ashore at Berwick or Shields, from whence I
can ride post to London; and you must entrust me with the packet
of papers which you recovered by means of your Miss Bean Lean. I
may have an opportunity of using them to your advantage. But I see
your Highland friend, Glen - - what do you call his barbarous name?
and his orderly with him; I must not call him his orderly cut-
throat any more, I suppose. See how he walks as if the world were
his own, with the bonnet on one side of his head and his plaid
puffed out across his breast! I should like now to meet that youth
where my hands were not tied: I would tame his pride, or he should
tame mine.'
'For shame, Colonel Talbot! you swell at sight of tartan as the
bull is said to do at scarlet. You and Mac-Ivor have some points
not much unlike, so far as national prejudice is concerned.'
The latter part of this discourse took place in the street. They
passed the Chief, the Colonel and he sternly and punctiliously
greeting each other, like two duellists before they take their
ground. It was evident the dislike was mutual. 'I never see that
surly fellow that dogs his heels,' said the Colonel, after he had
mounted his horse, 'but he reminds me of lines I have somewhere
heard - upon the stage, I think: -
Close behind him
Stalks sullen Bertram, like a sorcerer's fiend,
Pressing to be employed.
'I assure you, Colonel,' said Waverley,'that you judge too harshly
of the Highlanders.'
'Not a whit, not a whit; I cannot spare them a jot; I cannot bate
them an ace. Let them stay in their own barren mountains, and puff
and swell, and hang their bonnets on the horns of the moon, if
they have a mind; but what business have they to come where people
wear breeches, and speak an intelligible language? I mean
intelligible in comparison to their gibberish, for even the
Lowlanders talk a kind of English little better than the Negroes
in Jamaica. I could pity the Pr - - , I mean the, Chevalier
himself, for having so many desperadoes about him. And they learn
their trade so early. There is a kind of subaltern imp, for
example, a sort of sucking devil, whom your friend Glena - -
Glenamuck there, has sometimes in his train. To look at him, he is
about fifteen years; but he is a century old in mischief and
villainy. He was playing at quoits the other day in the court; a
gentleman, a decent-looking person enough, came past, and as a
quoit hit his shin, he lifted his cane; but my young bravo whips
out his pistol, like Beau Clincher in the "Trip to the Jubilee,"
and had not a scream of Gardez l'eau from an upper window set all
parties a-scampering for fear of the inevitable consequences, the
poor gentleman would have lost his life by the hands of that
little cockatrice.'
'A fine character you'll give of Scotland upon your return,
Colonel Talbot.'
'O, Justice Shallow,' said the Colonel, 'will save me the trouble
- "Barren, barren, beggars all, beggars all. Marry, good air," - and
that only when you are fairly out of Edinburgh, and not yet come
to Leith, as is our case at present.'
In a short time they arrived at the seaport.
The boat rock'd at the pier of Leith,
Full loud the wind blew down the ferry;
The ship rode at the Berwick Law.
'Farewell, Colonel; may you find all as you would wish it! Perhaps
we may meet sooner than you expect; they talk of an immediate
route to England.'
'Tell me nothing of that,' said Talbot; 'I wish to carry no news
of your motions.'
'Simply, then, adieu. Say, with a thousand kind greetings, all
that is dutiful and affectionate to Sir Everard and Aunt Rachel.
Think of me as kindly as you can, speak of me as indulgently as
your conscience will permit, and once more adieu.'
'And adieu, my dear Waverley; many, many thanks for your kindness.
Unplaid yourself on the first opportunity. I shall ever think on
you with gratitude, and the worst of my censure shall be, Que
diable alloit - il faire dans cette galere?'
And thus they parted, Colonel Talbot going on board of the boat
and Waverley returning to Edinburgh.
CHAPTER LVII
THE MARCH
It is not our purpose to intrude upon the province of history. We
shall therefore only remind our readers that about the beginning
of November the Young Chevalier, at the head of about six thousand
men at the utmost, resolved to peril his cause on an attempt to
penetrate into the centre of England, although aware of the mighty
preparations which were made for his reception. They set forward
on this crusade in weather which would have rendered any other
troops incapable of marching, but which in reality gave these
active mountaineers advantages over a less hardy enemy. In
defiance of a superior army lying upon the Borders, under Field-
Marshal Wade, they besieged and took Carlisle, and soon afterwards
prosecuted their daring march to the southward.
As Colonel Mac-Ivor's regiment marched in the van of the clans, he
and Waverley, who now equalled any Highlander in the endurance of
fatigue, and was become somewhat acquainted with their language,
were perpetually at its head. They marked the progress of the
army, however, with very different eyes. Fergus, all air and fire,
and confident against the world in arms, measured nothing but that
every step was a yard nearer London. He neither asked, expected,
nor desired any aid except that of the clans to place the Stuarts
once more on the throne; and when by chance a few adherents joined
the standard, he always considered them in the light of new
claimants upon the favours of the future monarch, who, he
concluded, must therefore subtract for their gratification so much
of the bounty which ought to be shared among his Highland
followers.
Edward's views were very different. He could not but observe that
in those towns in which they proclaimed James the Third, 'no man
cried, God bless him.' The mob stared and listened, heartless,
stupefied, and dull, but gave few signs even of that boisterous
spirit which induces them to shout upon all occasions for the mere
exercise of their most sweet voices. The Jacobites had been taught
to believe that the north-western counties abounded with wealthy
squires and hardy yeomen, devoted to the cause of the White Rose.
But of the wealthier Tories they saw little. Some fled from their
houses, some feigned themselves sick, some surrendered themselves
to the government as suspected persons. Of such as remained, the
ignorant gazed with astonishment, mixed with horror and aversion,
at the wild appearance, unknown language, and singular garb of the
Scottish clans. And to the more prudent their scanty numbers,
apparent deficiency in discipline, and poverty of equipment seemed
certain tokens of the calamitous termination of their rash
undertaking. Thus the few who joined them were such as bigotry of
political principle blinded to consequences, or whose broken
fortunes induced them to hazard all on a risk so desperate.
The Baron of Bradwardine, being asked what he thought of these
recruits, took a long pinch of snuff, and answered drily,'that he
could not but have an excellent opinion of them, since they
resembled precisely the followers who attached themselves to the
good King David at the cave of Adullam - videlicet, every one that
was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one
that was discontented, which the vulgate renders bitter of soul;
and doubtless,' he said, 'they will prove mighty men of their
hands, and there is much need that they should, for I have seen
many a sour look cast upon us.'
But none of these considerations moved Fergus. He admired the
luxuriant beauty of the country, and the situation of many of the
seats which they passed. 'Is Waverley-Honour like that house,
Edward?'
'It is one-half larger.'
'Is your uncle's park as fine a one as that?'
'It is three times as extensive, and rather resembles a forest
than a mere park.'
'Flora will be a happy woman.'
'I hope Miss Mac-Ivor will have much reason for happiness
unconnected with Waverley-Honour.'
'I hope so too; but to be mistress of such a place will be a
pretty addition to the sum total.'
'An addition, the want of which, I trust, will be amply supplied
by some other means.'
'How,' said Fergus, stopping short and turning upon Waverley - 'how
am I to understand that, Mr. Waverley? Had I the pleasure to hear
you aright?'
'Perfectly right, Fergus.'
'And am I to understand that you no longer desire my alliance and
my sister's hand?'
'Your sister has refused mine,' said Waverley, 'both directly and
by all the usual means by which ladies repress undesired
attentions.'
'I have no idea,' answered the Chieftain, 'of a lady dismissing or
a gentleman withdrawing his suit, after it has been approved of by
her legal guardian, without giving him an opportunity of talking
the matter over with the lady. You did not, I suppose, expect my
sister to drop into your mouth like a ripe plum the first moment
you chose to open it?'
'As to the lady's title to dismiss her lover, Colonel,' replied
Edward, 'it is a point which you must argue with her, as I am
ignorant of the customs of the Highlands in that particular. But
as to my title to acquiesce in a rejection from her without an
appeal to your interest, I will tell you plainly, without meaning
to undervalue Miss Mac-Ivor's admitted beauty and accomplishments,
that I would not take the hand of an angel, with an empire for her
dowry, if her consent were extorted by the importunity of friends
and guardians, and did not flow from her own free inclination.'
'An angel, with the dowry of an empire,' repeated Fergus, in a
tone of bitter irony, 'is not very likely to be pressed upon a - -
shire squire. But, sir,' changing his tone, 'if Flora Mac-Ivor
have not the dowry of an empire, she is MY sister; and that is
sufficient at least to secure her against being treated with
anything approaching to levity.'
'She is Flora Mac-Ivor, sir,' said Waverley, with firmness, 'which
to me, were I capable of treating ANY woman with levity, would be
a more effectual protection.'
The brow of the Chieftain was now fully clouded; but Edward felt
too indignant at the unreasonable tone which he had adopted to
avert the storm by the least concession. They both stood still
while this short dialogue passed, and Fergus seemed half disposed
to say something more violent, but, by a strong effort, suppressed
his passion, and, turning his face forward, walked sullenly on. As
they had always hitherto walked together, and almost constantly
side by side, Waverley pursued his course silently in the same
direction, determined to let the Chief take his own time in
recovering the good-humour which he had so unreasonably discarded,
and firm in his resolution not to bate him an inch of dignity.
After they had marched on in this sullen manner about a mile,
Fergus resumed the discourse in a different tone. 'I believe I was
warm, my dear Edward, but you provoke me with your want of
knowledge of the world. You have taken pet at some of Flora's
prudery, or high-flying notions of loyalty, and now, like a
child, you quarrel with the plaything you have been crying for,
and beat me, your faithful keeper, because my arm cannot reach to
Edinburgh to hand it to you. I am sure, if I was passionate, the
mortification of losing the alliance of such a friend, after your
arrangement had been the talk of both Highlands and Lowlands, and
that without so much as knowing why or wherefore, might well
provoke calmer blood than mine. I shall write to Edinburgh and put
all to rights; that is, if you desire I should do so; as indeed I
cannot suppose that your good opinion of Flora, it being such as
you have often expressed to me, can be at once laid aside.'
'Colonel Mac-Ivor,' said Edward, who had no mind to be hurried
farther or faster than he chose in a matter which he had already
considered as broken off, 'I am fully sensible of the value of
your good offices; and certainly, by your zeal on my behalf in
such an affair, you do me no small honour. But as Miss Mac-Ivor
has made her election freely and voluntarily, and as all my
attentions in Edinburgh were received with more than coldness, I
cannot, in justice either to her or myself, consent that she
should again be harassed upon this topic. I would have mentioned
this to you some time since, but you saw the footing upon which we
stood together, and must have understood it. Had I thought
otherwise I would have earlier spoken; but I had a natural
reluctance to enter upon a subject so painful to us both.'
'O, very well, Mr. Waverley,' said Fergus, haughtily, 'the thing
is at an end. I have no occasion to press my sister upon any man.'
'Nor have I any occasion to court repeated rejection from the same
young lady,' answered Edward, in the same tone.
'I shall make due inquiry, however,' said the Chieftain, without
noticing the interruption, 'and learn what my sister thinks of all
this, we will then see whether it is to end here.'
'Respecting such inquiries, you will of course be guided by your
own judgment,' said Waverley. 'It is, I am aware, impossible Miss
Mac-Ivor can change her mind; and were such an unsupposable case
to happen, it is certain I will not change mine. I only mention
this to prevent any possibility of future misconstruction.'
Gladly at this moment would Mac-Ivor have put their quarrel to a
personal arbitrement, his eye flashed fire, and he measured Edward
as if to choose where he might best plant a mortal wound. But
although we do not now quarrel according to the modes and figures
of Caranza or Vincent Saviola, no one knew better than Fergus that
there must be some decent pretext for a mortal duel. For instance,
you may challenge a man for treading on your corn in a crowd, or
for pushing you up to the wall, or for taking your seat in the
theatre; but the modern code of honour will not permit you to
found a quarrel upon your right of compelling a man to continue
addresses to a female relative which the fair lady has already
refused. So that Fergus was compelled to stomach this supposed
affront until the whirligig of time, whose motion he promised
himself he would watch most sedulously, should bring about an
opportunity of revenge.
Waverley's servant always led a saddle-horse for him in the rear
of the battalion to which he was attached, though his master
seldom rode. But now, incensed at the domineering and unreasonable
conduct of his late friend, he fell behind the column and mounted
his horse, resolving to seek the Baron of Bradwardine, and request
permission to volunteer in his troop instead of the Mac-Ivor
regiment.
'A happy time of it I should have had,' thought he, after he was
mounted, 'to have been so closely allied to this superb specimen
of pride and self-opinion and passion. A colonel! why, he should
have been a generalissimo. A petty chief of three or four hundred
men! his pride might suffice for the Cham of Tartary - the Grand
Seignior - the Great Mogul! I am well free of him. Were Flora an
angel, she would bring with her a second Lucifer of ambition and
wrath for a brother-in-law.'
The Baron, whose learning (like Sancho's jests while in the Sierra
Morena) seemed to grow mouldy for want of exercise, joyfully
embraced the opportunity of Waverley's offering his service in his
regiment, to bring it into some exertion. The good-natured old
gentleman, however, laboured to effect a reconciliation between
the two quondam friends. Fergus turned a cold ear to his
remonstrances, though he gave them a respectful hearing; and as
for Waverley, he saw no reason why he should be the first in
courting a renewal of the intimacy which the Chieftain had so
unreasonably disturbed. The Baron then mentioned the matter to the
Prince, who, anxious to prevent quarrels in his little army,
declared he would himself remonstrate with Colonel Mac-Ivor on the
unreasonableness of his conduct. But, in the hurry of their march,
it was a day or two before he had an opportunity to exert his
influence in the manner proposed.
In the meanwhile Waverley turned the instructions he had received
while in Gardiner's dragoons to some account, and assisted the
Baron in his command as a sort of adjutant. 'Parmi les aveugles un
borgne est roi,' says the French proverb; and the cavalry, which
consisted chiefly of Lowland gentlemen, their tenants and
servants, formed a high opinion of Waverley's skill and a great
attachment to his person. This was indeed partly owing to the
satisfaction which they felt at the distinguished English
volunteer's leaving the Highlanders to rank among them; for there
was a latent grudge between the horse and foot, not only owing to
the difference of the services, but because most of the gentlemen,
living near the Highlands, had at one time or other had quarrels
with the tribes in their vicinity, and all of them looked with a
jealous eye on the Highlanders' avowed pretensions to superior
valour and utility in the Prince's service.
CHAPTER LVIII
THE CONFUSION OF KING AGRAMANT'S CAMP
Itwas Waverley's custom sometimes to ride a little apart from the
main body, to look at any object of curiosity which occurred on
the march. They were now in Lancashire, when, attracted by a
castellated old hall, he left the squadron for half an hour to
take a survey and slight sketch of it. As he returned down the
avenue he was met by Ensign Maccombich. This man had contracted a
sort of regard for Edward since the day of his first seeing him at
Tully-Veolan and introducing him to the Highlands. He seemed to
loiter, as if on purpose to meet with our hero. Yet, as he passed
him, he only approached his stirrup and pronounced the single word
'Beware!' and then walked swiftly on, shunning all further
communication.
Edward, somewhat surprised at this hint, followed with his eyes
the course of Evan, who speedily disappeared among the trees. His
servant, Alick Polwarth, who was in attendance, also looked after
the Highlander, and then riding up close to his master, said, -
'The ne'er be in me, sir, if I think you're safe amang thae
Highland rinthereouts.'
'What do you mean, Alick?' said Waverley.
'The Mac-Ivors, sir, hae gotten it into their heads that ye hae
affronted their young leddy, Miss Flora; and I hae heard mae than
ane say, they wadna tak muckle to mak a black-cock o' ye; and ye
ken weel eneugh there's mony o' them wadna mind a bawbee the
weising a ball through the Prince himsell, an the Chief gae them
the wink, or whether he did or no, if they thought it a thing that
would please him when it was dune.'
Waverley, though confident that Fergus Mac-Ivor was incapable of
such treachery, was by no means equally sure of the forbearance of
his followers. He knew that, where the honour of the Chief or his
family was supposed to be touched, the happiest man would be he
that could first avenge the stigma; and he had often heard them
quote a proverb, 'That the best revenge was the most speedy and
most safe.' Coupling this with the hint of Evan, he judged it most
prudent to set spurs to his horse and ride briskly back to the
squadron. Ere he reached the end of the long avenue, however, a
ball whistled past him, and the report of a pistol was heard.
'It was that deevil's buckle, Callum Beg,' said Alick; 'I saw him
whisk away through amang the reises.'
Edward, justly incensed at this act of treachery, galloped out of
the avenue, and observed the battalion of Mac-Ivor at some
distance moving along the common in which it terminated. He also
saw an individual running very fast to join the party; this he
concluded was the intended assassin, who, by leaping an enclosure,
might easily make a much shorter path to the main body than he
could find on horseback. Unable to contain himself, he commanded
Alick to go to the Baron of Bradwardine, who was at the head of
his regiment about half a mile in front, and acquaint him with
what had happened. He himself immediately rode up to Fergus's
regiment. The Chief himself was in the act of joining them. He was
on horseback, having returned from waiting on the Prince. On
perceiving Edward approaching, he put his horse in motion towards
him.
'Colonel Mac-Ivor,' said Waverley, without any farther salutation,
'I have to inform you that one of your people has this instant
fired at me from a lurking-place.'
'As that,' answered Mac-Ivor, 'excepting the circumstance of a
lurking-place, is a pleasure which I presently propose to myself,
I should be glad to know which of my clansmen dared to anticipate
me.'
'I shall certainly be at your command whenever you please; the
gentleman who took your office upon himself is your page there,
Callum Beg.'
'Stand forth from the ranks, Callum! Did you fire at Mr.
Waverley?'
'No,' answered the unblushing Callum.
'You did,' said Alick Polwarth, who was already returned, having
met a trooper by whom he despatched an account of what was going
forward to the Baron of Bradwardine, while he himself returned to
his master at full gallop, neither sparing the rowels of his spurs
nor the sides of his horse. 'You did; I saw you as plainly as I
ever saw the auld kirk at Coudingham.'
'You lie,' replied Callum, with his usual impenetrable obstinacy.
The combat between the knights would certainly, as in the days of
chivalry, have been preceded by an encounter between the squires
(for Alick was a stout-hearted Merseman, and feared the bow of
Cupid far more than a Highlander's dirk or claymore), but Fergus,
with his usual tone of decision, demanded Callum's pistol. The
cock was down, the pan and muzzle were black with the smoke; it
had been that instant fired.
'Take that,' said Fergus, striking the boy upon the head with the
heavy pistol-butt with his whole force - 'take that for acting
without orders, and lying to disguise it.' Callum received the
blow without appearing to flinch from it, and fell without sign of
life. 'Stand still, upon your lives!' said Fergus to the rest of
the clan; 'I blow out the brains of the first man who interferes
between Mr. Waverley and me.' They stood motionless; Evan Dhu
alone showed symptoms of vexation and anxiety. Callum lay on the
ground bleeding copiously, but no one ventured to give him any
assistance. It seemed as if he had gotten his death-blow.
'And now for you, Mr. Waverley; please to turn your horse twenty
yards with me upon the common.' Waverley complied; and Fergus,
confronting him when they were a little way from the line of
march, said, with great affected coolness, 'I could not but
wonder, sir, at the fickleness of taste which you were pleased to
express the other day. But it was not an angel, as you justly
observed, who had charms for you, unless she brought an empire for
her fortune. I have now an excellent commentary upon that obscure
text.'
'I am at a loss even to guess at your meaning, Colonel Mac-Ivor,
unless it seems plain that you intend to fasten a quarrel upon
me.'
'Your affected ignorance shall not serve you, sir. The Prince - the
Prince himself has acquainted me with your manoeuvres. I little
thought that your engagements with Miss Bradwardine were the