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with some freedom.–You remember my earl’s patent; it is dated some years back, for services then rendered; and certainly my merit has not been diminished, to say the least, by my subsequent behaviour. Now, sir, I value this bauble of a coronet as little as you can, or any philosopher on earth; for I hold that the chief of such a clan as the Sliochd nan Ivor is superior in rank to any earl in Scotland. But I had a particular reason for assuming this cursed title at this time. You must know, that I learned accidentally that the Prince has been pressing that old foolish Baron of Bradwardine to disinherit his male heir, or nineteenth or twentieth cousin, who has taken a command in the Elector of Hanover’s militia, and to settle his estate upon your pretty little friend Rose; and this, as being the command of his king and overlord, who may alter the destination of a fief at pleasure, the old gentleman seems well reconciled to.’

‘And what becomes of the homage?’

‘Curse the homage!–I believe Rose is to pull off the queen’s slipper on her coronation-day, or some such trash. Well sir, as Rose Bradwardine would always have made a suitable match for me, but for this idiotical predilection of her father for the heir- male, it occurred to me there now remained no obstacle, unless that the Baron might expect his daughter’s husband to take the name of Bradwardine (which you know would be impossible in my case), and that this might be evaded by my assuming the title to which I had so good a right, and which, of course, would supersede that difficulty. If she was to be also Viscountess Bradwardine in her own right, after her father’s demise, so much the better; I could have no objection.’

‘But, Fergus,’ said Waverley, ‘I had no idea that you had any affection for Miss Bradwardine, and you are always sneering at her father.’

‘I have as much affection for Miss Bradwardine, my good friend, as I think it necessary to have for the future mistress of my family, and the mother of my children. She is a very pretty, intelligent girl, and is certainly of one of the very first Lowland families; and, with a little of Flora’s instructions and forming, will make a very good figure. As to her father, he is an original, it is true, and an absurd one enough; but he has given such severe lessons to Sir Hew Halbert, that dear defunct the Laird of Balmawhapple, and others, that nobody dare laugh at him, so his absurdity goes for nothing. I tell you there could have been no earthly objection–none. I had settled the thing entirely in my own mind.’

‘But had you asked the Baron’s consent,’ said Waverley, ‘Or Rose’s?’

‘To what purpose? To have spoke to the Baron before I had assumed my title would have only provoked a premature and irritating discussion on the subject of the change of name, when, as Earl of Glennaquoich, I had only to propose to him to carry his d-d bear and bootjack PARTY PER PALE, or in a scutcheon of pretence, or in a separate shield perhaps–any way that would not blemish my own coat of arms. And as to Rose, I don’t see what objection she could have made, if her father was satisfied.’

‘Perhaps the same that your sister makes to me, you being satisfied.’

Fergus gave a broad stare at the comparison which this supposition implied, but cautiously suppressed the answer which rose to his tongue. ‘Oh, we should easily have arranged all that.–so, sir, I craved a private interview, and this morning was assigned; and I asked you to meet me here, thinking, like a fool, that I should want your countenance as bride’s-man. Well –I state my pretensions–they are not denied; the promises so repeatedly made, and the patent granted–they are acknowledged. But I propose, as a natural consequence, to assume the rank which the patent bestowed–I have the old story of the jealousy of C– and M– trumped up against me–I resist this pretext, and offer to procure their written acquiescence, in virtue of the date of my patent as prior to their silly claims–I assure you I would have had such a consent from them, if it had been at the point of the sword. And then, out comes the real truth; and he dares to tell me, to my face, that my patent must be suppressed for the present, for fear of disgusting that rascally coward and FAINEANT–(naming the rival chief of his own clan)–who has no better title to be a chieftain than I to be Emperor of China; and who is pleased to shelter his dastardly reluctance to come out, agreeable to his promise twenty times pledged, under a pretended jealousy of the Prince’s partiality to me. And, to leave this miserable driveller without a pretence for his cowardice, the Prince asks if as a personal favour of me, forsooth, not to press my just and reasonable request at this moment. After this, put your faith in princes!’

‘And did your audience end here?’

‘End? Oh, no! I was determined to leave him no pretence for his ingratitude, and I therefore stated, with all the composure I could muster,–for I promise you I trembled with passion,–the particular reasons I had for wishing that his Royal Highness would impose upon me any other mode of exhibiting my duty and devotion, as my views in life made, what at any other time would have been a mere trifle, at this crisis a severe sacrifice; and then I explained to him my full plan.’

‘And what did the Prince answer?’

‘Answer? why–it is well it is written, Curse not the king; no, not in thy thought!–why, he answered, that truly he was glad I had made him my confidant, to prevent more grievous disappointment, for he could assure me, upon the word of a prince, that Miss Bradwardine’s affections were engaged, and he was under a particular promise to favour them. “So, my dear Fergus,” said he, with his most gracious cast of smile, “as the marriage is utterly out of question, there need be no hurry, you know, about the earldom.” And so he glided off, and left me PLANTE LA.’

‘And what did you do?’

‘I’ll tell you what I could have done at that moment–sold myself to the devil or the Elector, whichever offered the dearest revenge. However, I am now cool. I know he intends to marry her to some of his rascally Frenchmen, or his Irish officers: but I will watch them close; and let the man that would supplant me look well to himself.–BISOGNA COPRIRSI, SIGNOR.’

After some further conversation, unnecessary to be detailed, Waverley took leave of the Chieftain, whose fury had now subsided into a deep and strong desire of vengeance, and returned home, scarce able to analyse the mixture of feelings which the narrative had awakened in his own bosom.

CHAPTER LIV

‘TO ONE THING CONSTANT NEVER’

‘I am the very child of caprice,’ said Waverley to himself, as he bolted the door of his apartment, and paced it with hasty steps. –‘What is it to me that Fergus Mac-Ivor should wish to marry Rose Bradwardine?–I love her not.–I might have been loved by her, perhaps; but I rejected her simple, natural, and affecting attachment, instead of cherishing it into tenderness, and dedicated myself to one who will never love mortal man, unless old Warwick, the King-maker, should arise from the dead. The Baron, too–I would not have cared about his estate, and so the name would have been no stumbling-block, The devil might have taken the barren moors, and drawn off the royal CALIGAE, for anything I would have minded. But, framed as she is for domestic affection and tenderness, for giving and receiving all those kind and quiet attentions which sweeten life to those who pass it together, she is sought by Fergus Mac-Ivor. He will not use her ill, to be sure–of that he is incapable–but he will neglect her after the first month; he will be too intent on subduing some rival chieftain, or circumventing some favourite at court, on gaining some heathy hill and lake, or adding to his bands some new troop of caterans, to inquire what she does, or how she amuses herself.

And then will canker sorrow eat her bud, And chase the native beauty from her cheek; And she will look as hollow as a ghost, And dim and meagre as an ague fit,
And so she’ll die.

And such a catastrophe of the most gentle creature on earth might have been prevented, if Mr. Edward Waverley had had his eyes! Upon my word, I cannot understand how I thought Flora so much– that is, so very much–handsomer than Rose. She is taller, indeed, and her manner more formed; but many people think Miss Bradwardine’s more natural; and she is certainly much younger. I should think Flora is two years older than I am–I will look at them particularly this evening.’

And with this resolution Waverley went to drink tea (as the fashion was Sixty Years since) at the house of a lady of quality attached to the cause of the Chevalier, where he found, as he expected, both the ladies. All rose as he entered, but Flora immediately resumed her place, and the conversation in which she was engaged. Rose, on the contrary, almost imperceptibly, made a little way in the crowded circle for his advancing the corner of a chair. ‘Her manner, upon the whole, is most engaging,’ said Waverley to himself.

A dispute occurred whether the Gaelic or Italian language was most liquid, and best adapted for poetry; the opinion for the Gaelic, which probably might not have found supporters elsewhere, was here fiercely defended by seven Highland ladies, who talked at the top of their lungs, and screamed the company deaf, with examples of Celtic EUPHONIA. Flora, observing the Lowland ladies sneer at the comparison, produced some reasons to show that it was not altogether so absurd; but Rose, when asked for her opinion, gave it with animation in praise of Italian, which she had studied with Waverley’s assistance. ‘She has a more correct ear than Flora, though a less accomplished musician,’ said Waverley to himself. ‘I suppose Miss Mac-Ivor will next compare Mac-Murrough nan Fonn to Ariosto!’

Lastly, it so befell that the company differed whether Fergus should be asked to perform on the flute, at which he was an adept, or Waverley invited to read a play of Shakespeare; and the lady of the house good-humouredly undertook to collect the votes of the company for poetry or music, under the condition, that the gentleman whose talents were not laid under contribution that evening, should contribute them to enliven the next. It chanced that Rose had the casting vote. Now Flora, who seemed to impose it as a rule upon herself never to countenance any proposal which might seem to encourage Waverley, had voted for music, providing the Baron would take his violin to accompany Fergus. ‘I wish you joy of your taste, Miss Mac-Ivor,’ thought Edward, as they sought for his book. ‘I thought it better when we were at Glennaquoich; but certainly the Baron is no great performer, and Shakespeare is worth listening to.’

ROMEO AND JULIET was selected, and Edward read with taste, feeling, and spirit, several scenes from that play. All the company applauded with their hands, and many with their tears. Flora, to whom the drama was well known, was among the former; Rose, to whom it was altogether new, belonged to the latter class of admirers. ‘She has more feeling, too,’ said Waverley, internally.

The conversation turning upon the incidents of the play, and upon the characters, Fergus declared that the only one worth naming, as a man of fashion and spirit, was Mercutio. ‘I could not,’ he said, ‘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? Oh, 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

If my 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 with 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 wainscoted 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 nightgown, 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 of 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 twelvemonth.

‘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?’

‘Oh, 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 ease 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 with 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 Glenna–Glennamuck there, has sometimes in his train. To look at him, he is about fifteen years; but he is a century old in mischief and villany. 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 brave 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.’

‘Oh, 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 rocked 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 I am 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.’

‘Oh, 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 judgement,’ 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 arbitrament;–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

It was 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 rintherouts.’

‘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 make 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 buckie, 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 further 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 dispatched 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 reason of your breaking off your intended match with my sister. I suppose the information that the Baron had altered the destination of his estate, was quite a sufficient reason for slighting your friend’s sister, and carrying off your friend’s mistress.’

‘Did the Prince tell you I was engaged to Miss Bradwardine?’ said Waverley. ‘Impossible.’

‘He did, sir,’ answered Mac-Ivor; ‘so, either draw and defend yourself, or resign your pretensions to the lady.’

‘This is absolute madness,’ exclaimed Waverley, ‘or some strange mistake!’

‘Oh! no evasion! draw your sword!’ said the infuriated Chieftain,–his own already unsheathed.

‘Must I fight in a madman’s quarrel?’

‘Then give up now, and for ever, all pretensions to Miss Bradwardine’s hand.’

‘What title have you,’ cried Waverley, utterly losing command of himself,–‘What title have you, or any man living, to dictate such terms to me?’ And he also drew his sword.

At this moment the Baron of Bradwardine, followed by several of his troop, came up on the spur, some from curiosity, others to take part in the quarrel, which they indistinctly understood had broken out between the Mac-Ivors and their corps. The clan, seeing them approach, put themselves in motion to support their Chieftain, and a scene of confusion commenced, which seemed likely to terminate in bloodshed. A hundred tongues were in motion at once. The Baron lectured, the Chieftain stormed, the Highlanders screamed in Gaelic, the horsemen cursed and swore in Lowland Scotch. At length matters came to such a pass, that the Baron threatened to charge the Mac-Ivors unless they resumed their ranks, and many of them, in return, presented their fire- arms at him and the other troopers. The confusion was privately fostered by old Ballenkeiroch, who made no doubt that his own day of vengeance was arrived, when, behold! a cry arose of ‘Room! make way!–PLACE A MONSEIGNEUR! PLACE A MONSEIGNEUR!’ This announced the approach of the Prince, who came up with a party of Fitz-James’s foreign dragoons that acted as his bodyguard. His arrival produced some degree of order. The Highlanders re- assumed their ranks, the cavalry fell in and formed squadron, and the Baron and Chieftain were silent.

The Prince called them and Waverley before him. Having heard the original cause of the quarrel through the villany of Callum Beg, he ordered him into custody of the provost-marshal for immediate execution, in the event of his surviving the chastisement inflicted by his Chieftain. Fergus, however, in a tone betwixt claiming a right and asking a favour, requested he might be left to his disposal, and promised his punishment should be exemplary. To deny this, might have seemed to encroach on the patriarchal authority of the Chieftains, of which they were very jealous, and they were not persons to be disobliged. Callum was therefore left to the justice of his own tribe.

The Prince next demanded to know the new cause of quarrel between Colonel Mac-Ivor and Waverley. There was a pause. Both gentlemen found the presence of the Baron of Bradwardine (for by this time all three had approached the Chevalier by his command) an insurmountable barrier against entering upon a subject where the name of his daughter must unavoidably be mentioned. They turned their eyes on the ground, with looks in which shame and embarrassment were mingled with displeasure. The Prince, who had been educated amongst the discontented and mutinous spirits of the court of St. Germains, where feuds of every kind were the daily subject of solicitude to the dethroned sovereign, had served his apprenticeship, as old Frederick of Prussia would have said, to the trade of royalty. To promote or restore concord among his followers was indispensable. Accordingly he took his measures.

‘Monsieur de Beaujeu!’

‘Monseigneur!’ said a very handsome French cavalry officer, who was in attendance.

‘Ayez la bonte d’alligner ces montagnards la, ainsi que la cavalerie, s’il vous plait, et de les remettre a la marche. Vous parlez si bien l’Anglois, cela ne vous donneroit pas beaucoup de peine.’

‘Ah! pas de tout, Monseigneur,’ replied Mons. le Comte de Beaujeu, his head bending down to the neck of his little prancing highly-managed charger. Accordingly he PIAFFED away, in high spirits and confidence, to the head of Fergus’s regiment, although understanding not a word of Gaelic, and very little English.

‘Messieurs les sauvages Ecossois–dat is–gentilmans savages, have the goodness d’arranger vous.’

The clan, comprehending the order more from the gesture than the words, and seeing the Prince himself present, hastened to dress their ranks.

‘Ah! ver well! dat is fort bien!’ said the Count de Beaujeu. ‘Gentilmans sauvages–mais tres bien–Eh bien!–Qu’est-ce que vous appellez visage, Monsieur?’ (to a lounging trooper who stood by him). ‘Ah, oui! FACE–Je vous remercie, Monsieur.– Gentilshommes, have de goodness to make de face to de right par file, dat is, by files.–Marsh!–Mais tres bien–encore, Messieurs; il faut vous mettre a la marche…Marchez donc, au nom de Dieu, parceque j’ai oublie le mot Anglois–mais vous etes des braves gens, et me comprenez tres bien.’

The Count next hastened to put the cavalry in motion. ‘Gentilmans cavalry, you must fall in–Ah! par ma foi, I did not say fall off! I am a fear de little gross fat gentilman is moche hurt. Ah, mon Dieu! c’est le Commissaire qui nous a apporte les premieres nouvelles de ce maudit fracas. Je suis trop fache, Monsieur!’

But poor Macwheeble, who, with a sword stuck across him, and a white cockade as large as a pancake, now figured in the character of a commissary, being overturned in the bustle occasioned by the troopers hastening to get themselves in order in the Prince’s presence, before he could rally his galloway, slunk to the rear amid the unrestrained laughter of the spectators.

‘Eh bien, Messieurs, wheel to de right–Ah! dat is it!–Eh, Monsieur de Bradwardine, ayez la bonte de vous mettre a la tete de votre regiment, car, par Dieu, je n’en puis plus!’

The Baron of Bradwardine was obliged to go to the assistance of Monsieur de Beaujeu, after he had fairly expended his few English military phrases. One purpose of the Chevalier was thus answered. The other he proposed was, that in the eagerness to hear and comprehend commands issued through such an indistinct medium in his own presence, the thoughts of the soldiers in both corps might get a current different from the angry channel in which they were flowing at the time.

Charles Edward was no sooner left with the Chieftain and Waverley, the rest of his attendants being at some distance, than he said, ‘If I owed less to your disinterested friendship, I could be most seriously angry with both of you for this very extraordinary and causeless broil, at a moment when my father’s service so decidedly demands the most perfect unanimity. But the worst of my situation is, that my very best friends hold they have liberty to ruin themselves, as well as the cause they are engaged in, upon the slightest caprice.’

Both the young men protested their resolution to submit every difference to his arbitration. ‘Indeed,’ said Edward, ‘I hardly know of what I am accused. I sought Colonel Mac-Ivor merely to mention to him that I had narrowly escaped assassination at the hand of his immediate dependent–a dastardly revenge, which I knew him to be incapable of authorizing. As to the cause for which he is disposed to fasten a quarrel upon me, I am ignorant of it, unless it be that he accuses me, most unjustly, of having engaged the affections of a young lady in prejudice of his pretensions.’

‘If there is an error,’ said the Chieftain, ‘it arises from a conversation which I held this morning with his Royal Highness himself.’

‘With me?’ said the Chevalier; ‘how can Colonel Mac-Ivor have so far misunderstood me?’

He then led Fergus aside, and, after five minutes’ earnest conversation, spurred his horse towards Edward. ‘Is it possible –nay, ride up, Colonel, for I desire no secrets–Is it possible, Mr. Waverley, that I am mistaken in supposing that you are an accepted lover of Miss Bradwardine?–a fact of which I was by circumstances, though not by communication from you, so absolutely convinced, that I alleged it to Vich Ian Vohr this morning as a reason why, without offence to him, you might not continue to be ambitious of an alliance, which to an unengaged person, even though once repulsed, holds out too many charms to be lightly laid aside.’

‘Your Royal Highness,’ said Waverley, ‘must have founded on circumstances altogether unknown to me, when you did me the distinguished honour of supposing me an accepted lover of Miss Bradwardine. I feel the distinction implied in the supposition, but I have no title to it. For the rest, my confidence in my own merits is too justly slight to admit of my hoping for success in any quarter after positive rejection.’

The Chevalier was silent for a moment, looking steadily at them both, and then said, ‘Upon my word, Mr. Waverley, you are a less happy man than I conceived I had very good reason to believe you.–But now, gentlemen, allow me to be umpire in this matter, not as Prince Regent, but as Charles Stuart, a brother adventurer with you in the same gallant cause. Lay my pretensions to be obeyed by you entirely out of view, and consider your own honour, and how far it is well, or becoming, to give our enemies the advantage, and our friends the scandal, of showing that, few as we are, we are not united. And forgive me if I add, that the names of the ladies who have been mentioned, crave more respect from us all than to be made themes of discord.’

He took Fergus a little apart, and spoke to him very earnestly for two or three minutes, and then returning to Waverley, said– ‘I believe I have satisfied Colonel Mac-Ivor that his resentment was founded upon a misconception, to which, indeed, I myself gave rise; and I trust Mr. Waverley is too generous to harbour any recollection of what is past, when I assure him that such is the case.–You must state this matter properly to your clan, Vich Iain Vohr, to prevent a recurrence of their precipitate violence.’ Fergus bowed. ‘And now, gentlemen, let me have the pleasure to see you shake hands.’

They advanced coldly, and with measured steps, each apparently reluctant to appear most forward in concession. They did, however, shake hands, and parted, taking a respectful leave of the Chevalier. Charles Edward [See Note 31.] then rode to the head of the Mac-Ivors, threw himself from his horse, begged a drink out of old Ballenkeiroch’s canteen, and marched about half a mile along with them, inquiring into the history and connexions of Sliochd nan Ivor, adroitly using the few words of Gaelic he possessed, and affecting a great desire to learn it more thoroughly. He then mounted his horse once more, and galloped to the Baron’s cavalry, which was in front; halted them, and examined their accoutrements and state of discipline; took notice of the principal gentlemen, and even of the cadets; inquired after their ladies, and commended their horses;–rode about an hour with the Baron of Bradwardine, and endured three long stories about Field-Marshal the Duke of Berwick.

‘Ah, Beaujeu, mon cher ami,’ said he as he returned to his usual place in the line of march, ‘que mon metier de prince errant est ennuyant, par fois. Mais, courage! c’est le grand jeu, apres tout.’

CHAPTER LIX

A SKIRMISH

The reader need hardly be reminded, that, after a council of war held at Derby on the 5th of December, the Highlanders relinquished their desperate attempt to penetrate farther into England, and, greatly to the dissatisfaction of their young and daring leader, positively determined to return northward. They commenced their retreat accordingly, and by the extreme celerity of their movements, outstripped the motions of the Duke of Cumberland, who now pursued them with a very large body of cavalry.

This retreat was a virtual resignation of their towering hopes. None had been so sanguine as Fergus Mac-Ivor; none, consequently, was so cruelly mortified at the change of measures. He argued, or rather remonstrated, with the utmost vehemence at the council of war; and, when his opinion was rejected, shed tears of grief and indignation. From that moment his whole manner was so much altered, that he could scarcely have been recognized for the same soaring and ardent spirit, for whom the whole earth seemed too narrow but a week before. The retreat had continued for several days, when Edward, to his surprise, early on the 12th of December, received a visit from the Chieftain in his quarters, in a hamlet about half way between Shap and Penrith.

Having had no intercourse with the Chieftain since their rupture, Edward waited with some anxiety an explanation of this unexpected visit; nor could he help being surprised, and somewhat shocked, with the change in his appearance. His eye had lost much of its fire; his cheek was hollow, his voice was languid; even his gait seemed less firm and elastic than it was wont; and his dress, to which he used to be particularly attentive, was now carelessly flung about him. He invited Edward to walk out with him by the little river in the vicinity; and smiled in a melancholy manner when he observed him take down and buckle on his sword.

As soon as they were in a wild sequestered path by the side of the stream, the Chief broke out,–‘Our fine adventure is now totally ruined, Waverley, and I wish to know what you intend to do:–nay, never stare at me, man. I tell you I received a packet from my sister yesterday, and, had I got the information it contains sooner, it would have prevented a quarrel, which I am always vexed when I think of. In a letter written after our dispute, I acquainted her with the cause of it; and she now replies to me, that she never had, nor could have, any purpose of giving you encouragement; so that it seems I have acted like a madman. Poor Flora! she writes in high spirits; what a change will the news of this unhappy retreat make in her state of mind!’

Waverley, who was really much affected by the deep tone of melancholy with which Fergus spoke, affectionately entreated him to banish from his remembrance any unkindness which had arisen between them, and they once more shook hands, but now with sincere cordiality. Fergus again inquired of Waverley what he intended to do. ‘Had you not better leave this luckless army, and get down before us into Scotland, and embark for the Continent from some of the eastern ports that are still in our possession? When you are out of the kingdom, your friends will easily negotiate your pardon; and, to tell you the truth, I wish you would carry Rose Bradwardine with you as your wife, and take Flora also under your joint protection.’ Edward looked surprised –‘She loves you, and I believe you love her, though, perhaps, you have not found it out, for you are not celebrated for knowing your own mind very pointedly.’ He said this with a sort of smile.

‘How!’ answered Edward,’ can you advise me to desert the expedition in which we are all embarked?’

‘Embarked?’ said Fergus; ‘the vessel is going to pieces, and it is full time for all who can, to get into the long-boat and leave her.’

‘Why, what will other gentlemen do?’ answered Waverley, ‘and why did the Highland chiefs consent to this retreat, if it is so ruinous?’

‘Oh,’ replied Mac-Ivor, ‘they think that, as on former occasions, the heading, hanging, and forfeiting, will chiefly fall to the lot of the Lowland gentry; that they will be left secure in their poverty and their fastnesses, there, according to their proverb, “to listen to the wind upon the hill till the waters abate.” But they will be disappointed; they have been too often troublesome to be so repeatedly passed over, and this time John Bull has been too heartily frightened to recover his good humour for some time. The Hanoverian ministers always deserved to be hanged for rascals; but now, if they get the power in their hands,–as, sooner or later, they must, since there is neither rising in England nor assistance from France,–they will deserve the gallows as fools, if they leave a single clan in the Highlands in a situation to be again troublesome to Government. Aye, they will make root-and-branch work, I warrant them.’

‘And while you recommend flight to me,’ said Edward,–‘a counsel which I would rather die than embrace,–what are your own views?’

‘Oh,’ answered Fergus, with a melancholy air, ‘my fate is settled. Dead or captive I must be before to-morrow.’

‘What do you mean by that, my friend?’ said Edward. ‘The enemy is still a day’s march in our rear, and if he comes up, we are still strong enough to keep him in check. Remember Gladsmuir.’

‘What I tell you is true notwithstanding, so far as I am individually concerned.’

‘Upon what authority can you found so melancholy a prediction?’ asked Waverley.

‘On one which never failed a person of my house. I have seen,’ he said, lowering his voice, ‘I have seen the Bodach Glas.’

‘Bodach Glas?’

‘Yes: have you been so long at Glennaquoich, and never heard of the Grey Spectre? though indeed there is a certain reluctance among us to mention him.’

‘No, never.’

‘Ah! it would have been a tale for poor Flora to have told you. Or, if that hill were Benmore, and that long blue lake, which you see just winding towards yon mountainous country, were Loch Tay, or my own Loch an Ri, the tale would be better suited with scenery. However, let us sit down on this knell; even Saddleback and Ullswater will suit what I have to say better than the English hedgerows, enclosures, and farm-houses. You must know, then, that when my ancestor, Ian nan Chaistel, wasted Northumberland, there was associated with him in the expedition a sort of Southland Chief, or captain of a band of Low-landers, called Halbert Hall. In their return through the Cheviots, they quarrelled about the division of the great booty they had acquired, and came from words to blows. The Lowlanders were cut off to a man, and their chief fell the last, covered with wounds by the sword of my ancestor, Since that time, his spirit has crossed the Vich Ian Vohr of the day when any great disaster was impending, but especially before approaching death. My father saw him twice; once before he was made prisoner at Sheriff-Muir; another time, on the morning of the day on which he died.’

‘How can you, my dear Fergus, tell such nonsense with a grave face?’

‘I do not ask you to believe it; but I tell you the truth, ascertained by three hundred years’ experience at least, and last night by my own eyes.’

‘The particulars, for Heaven’s sake!’ said Waverley, with eagerness.

‘I will, on condition you will not attempt a jest on the subject.–Since this unhappy retreat commenced, I have scarce ever been able to sleep for thinking of my clan, and of this poor Prince, whom they are leading back like a dog in a string, whether he will or no, and of the downfall of my family. Last night I felt so feverish that I left my quarters, and walked out, in hopes the keen frosty air would brace my nerves–I cannot tell how much I dislike going on, for I know you will hardly believe me. However–I crossed a small footbridge, and kept walking backwards and forwards, when I observed with surprise, by the clear moonlight, a tall figure in a grey plaid, such as shepherds wear in the south of Scotland, which, move at what pace I would, kept regularly about four yards before me.’

‘You saw a Cumberland peasant in his ordinary dress, probably.’

‘No: I thought so at first, and was astonished at the man’s audacity in daring to dog me. I called to him but received no answer. I felt an anxious throbbing at my heart; and to ascertain what I dreaded, I stood still, and turned myself on the same spot successively to the four points of the compass–By Heaven, Edward, turn where I would, the figure was instantly before my eyes, at precisely the same distance! I was then convinced it was the Bodach Glas. My hair bristled, and my knees shook. I manned myself, however, and determined to return to my quarters. My ghastly visitant glided before me (for I cannot say he walked), until he reached the footbridge: there he stopped, and turned full round. I must either wade the river, or pass him as close as I am to you. A desperate courage, founded on the belief that my death was near, made me resolve to make my way in despite of him. I made the sign of the cross, drew my sword, and uttered, “In the name of God, Evil Spirit, give place!” “Vich Ian Vohr,” it said, in a voice that made my very blood curdle, “beware of to-morrow!” It seemed at that moment not half a yard from my sword’s point; but the words were no sooner spoken than it was gone, and nothing appeared further to obstruct my passage. I got home, and threw myself on my bed, where I spent a few hours heavily enough; and this morning, as no enemy was reported to be near us, I took my horse, and rode forward to make up matters with you. I would not willingly fall until I am in charity with a wronged friend.’

Edward had little doubt that this phantom was the operation of an exhausted frame and depressed spirits, working on the belief common to all Highlanders in such superstitions. He did not the less pity Fergus, for whom, in his present distress, he felt all his former regard revive. With the view of diverting his mind from these gloomy images, he offered with the Baron’s permission, which he knew he could readily obtain, to remain in his quarters till Fergus’s corps should come up, and then to march with them as usual. The Chief seemed much pleased, yet hesitated to accept the offer.

‘We are, you know, in the rear,–the post of danger in a retreat.’

‘And therefore the post of honour.’

‘Well,’ replied the Chieftain, ‘let Alick have your horse in readiness, in case we should be over-matched, and I shall be delighted to have your company once more.’

The rearguard were late in making their appearance, having been delayed by various accidents and by the badness of the roads. At length they entered the hamlet. When Waverley joined the clan Mac-Ivor, arm in arm with their Chieftain, all the resentment they had entertained against him seemed blown off at once. Evan Dhu received him with a grin of congratulation; and even Callum, who was running about as active as ever, pale indeed, and with a great patch on his head, appeared delighted to see him.

‘That gallows-bird’s skull,’ said Fergus, ‘must be harder than marble: the lock of the pistol was actually broken.’

‘How could you strike so young a lad so hard?’ said Waverley, with some interest.

‘Why, if I did not strike hard sometimes, the rascals would forget themselves.’

They were now in full march, every caution being taken to prevent surprise. Fergus’s people, and a fine clan regiment from Badenoch, commanded by Cluny Mac-Pherson, had the rear. They had passed a large open moor, and were entering into the enclosures which surround a small village called Clifton. The winter sun had set, and Edward began to rally Fergus upon the false predictions of the Grey Spirit. ‘The Ides of March are not past,’ said Mac-Ivor, with a smile; when, suddenly casting his eyes back on the moor, a large body of cavalry was indistinctly seen to hover upon its brown and dark surface. To line the enclosures facing the open ground, and the road by which the enemy must move from it upon the village, was the work of a short time. While these manoeuvres were accomplishing, night sunk down, dark and gloomy, though the moon was at full. Sometimes, however, she gleamed forth a dubious light upon the scene of action.

The Highlanders did not remain long undisturbed in the defensive position they had adopted. Favoured by the night, one large body of dismounted dragoons attempted to force the enclosures, while another, equally strong, strove to penetrate by the high road. Both were received by such a heavy fire as disconcerted their ranks, and effectually checked their progress. Unsatisfied with the advantage thus gained, Fergus, to whose ardent spirit the approach of danger seemed to restore all ifs elasticity, drawing his sword, and calling out ‘Claymore!’ encouraged his men, by voice and example, to break through the hedge which divided them, and rush down upon the enemy. Mingling with the dismounted dragoons, they forced them, at the sword-point, to fly to the open moor, where a considerable number were cut to pieces. But the moon, which suddenly shone out, showed to the English the small number of assailants, disordered by their own success. Two squadrons of horse moving to the support of their companions, the Highlanders endeavoured to recover the enclosures. But several of them, amongst others their brave Chieftain, were cut off and surrounded before they could effect their purpose. Waverley, looking eagerly for Fergus, from whom, as well as from the retreating body of his followers, he had been separated in the darkness and tumult, saw him, with Evan Dhu and Callum, defending themselves desperately against a dozen of horsemen, who were hewing at them with their long broadswords. The moon was again at that moment totally overclouded, and Edward, in the obscurity, could neither bring aid to his friends, nor discover which way lay his own road to rejoin the rear-guard. After once or twice narrowly escaping being slain or made prisoner by parties of the cavalry whom he encountered in the darkness, he at length reached an enclosure, and clambering over it, concluded himself in safety, and on the way to the Highland forces, whose pipes he heard at some distance. For Fergus hardly a hope remained, unless that he might be made prisoner. Revolving his fate with sorrow and anxiety, the superstition of the Bodach Glas recurred to Edward’s recollection, and he said to himself, with internal surprise, ‘What, can the devil speak truth?’ [See Note 32.]

CHAPTER LX

CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS

Edward was in a most unpleasant and dangerous situation. He soon lost the sound of the bagpipes; and, what was yet more unpleasant, when, after searching long in vain, and scrambling through many enclosures, he at length approached the high road, he learned, from the unwelcome noise of kettledrums and trumpets, that the English cavalry now occupied it, and consequently were between him and the Highlanders. Precluded, therefore, from advancing in a straight direction, he resolved to avoid the English military, and endeavour to join his friends by making a circuit to the left, for which a beaten path deviating from the main road in that direction seemed to afford facilities. The path was muddy, and the night dark and cold; but even these inconveniences were hardly felt amidst the apprehensions which falling into the hands of the King’s forces reasonably excited in his bosom.

After walking about three miles, he at length reached a hamlet. Conscious that the common people were in general unfavourable to the cause he had espoused, yet desirous, if possible, to procure a horse and guide to Penrith, where he hoped to find the rear, if not the main body, of the Chevalier’s army, he approached the ale-house of the place. There was a great noise within: he paused to listen. A round English oath or two, and the burden of a campaign song, convinced him the hamlet also was occupied by the Duke of Cumberland’s soldiers. Endeavouring to retire from it as softly as possible, and blessing the obscurity which hitherto he had murmured against, Waverley groped his way the best he could along a small paling, which seemed the boundary of some cottage garden. As he reached the gate of this little enclosure, his outstretched hand was grasped by that of a female, whose voice at the same time uttered, ‘Edward, is’t thou, man?’

‘Here is some unlucky mistake,’ thought Edward, struggling, but gently, to disengage himself.

‘Naen o’ thy foun, now; man, or the red cwoats will hear thee; they hae been houlerying and poulerying every ane that past alehouse door this noight to make them drive their wagons and sick loike. Come into feyther’s, or they’ll do ho a mischief.’

‘A good hint,’ thought Waverley, following the girl through the little garden into a brick-paved kitchen, where she set herself to kindle a match at an expiring fire, and with the match to light a candle. She had no sooner looked on Edward than she dropped the light, with a shrill scream of ‘O feyther! feyther!’

The father, thus invoked, speedily appeared, a sturdy old farmer, in a pair of leather breeches, and boots pulled on without stockings, having just started from his bed;–the rest of his dress was only a Westmoreland statesman’s robe-de-chambre,–that is, his shirt. His figure was displayed to advantage, by a candle which he bore in his left hand ; in his right he brandished a poker.

What hast ho here, wench?’

‘Oh!’ cried the poor girl, almost going off in hysterics, I thought it was Ned Williams, and it is one of the plaid-men!’

‘And what was thee ganging to do wi’ Ned Williams at this time o’ noight?’ To this, which was, perhaps, one of the numerous class of questions more easily asked than answered, the rosy-cheeked damsel made no reply, but continued sobbing and wringing her hands.

‘And thee, lad, dost ho know that the dragoons be a town? Dost ho know that, mon?–ad, they’ll sliver thee like a turnip, mon.’

‘I know my life is in great danger,’ said Waverley, ‘but if you can assist me, I will reward you handsomely, I am no Scotchman, but an unfortunate English gentleman.’

‘Be ho Scot or no,’ said the honest farmer, ‘I wish thou hadst kept the other side of the hallan. But since thou art here, Jacob Jopson will betray no man’s bluid; and the plaids were gay canny, and did not so much mischief when they were here yesterday.’ Accordingly, he set seriously about sheltering and refreshing our hero for the night, The fire was speedily rekindled, but with precaution against its light being seen from without. The jolly yeoman cut a rasher of bacon, which Cicely soon broiled, and her father added a swingeing tankard of his best ale. It was settled, that Edward should remain there till the troops marched in the morning, then hire or buy a horse from the farmer, and, with the best directions that could be obtained, endeavour to overtake his friends. A clean, though coarse bed, received him after the fatigues of this unhappy day.

With the morning arrived the news that the Highlanders had evacuated Penrith, and marched off towards Carlisle; that the Duke of Cumberland was in possession of Penrith, and that detachments of his army covered the roads in every direction. To attempt to get through undiscovered, would be an act of the most frantic temerity. Ned Williams (the right Edward) was now called to council by Cicely and her father, Ned, who perhaps did not care that his handsome namesake should remain too long in the same house with his sweetheart, for fear of fresh mistakes, proposed that Waverley, exchanging his uniform and plaid for the dress of the country, should go with him to his father’s farm near Ullswater, and remain in that undisturbed retirement until the military movements in the country should have ceased to render his departure hazardous. A price was also agreed upon, at which the stranger might board with Farmer Williams, if he thought proper, till he could depart with safety. It was of moderate amount; the distress of his situation, among this honest and simple-hearted race, being considered as no reason for increasing their demand.

The necessary articles of dress were accordingly procured; and, by following by-paths, known to the young farmer, they hoped to escape any unpleasant rencontre, A recompense for their hospitality was refused peremptorily by old Jopson and his cherry-cheeked daughter; a kiss paid the one, and a hearty shake of the hand the other. Both seemed anxious for their guest’s safety, and took leave of him with kind wishes,

In the course of their route, Edward, with his guide, traversed those fields which the night before had been the scene of action. A brief gleam of December’s sun shone sadly on the broad heath, which, towards the spot where the great north-west road entered the enclosures of Lord Lonsdale’s property, exhibited dead bodies of men and horses, and the usual companions of war–a number of carrion-crows, hawks, and ravens.

‘And this, then, was thy last field,’ said Waverley to himself, his eye filling at the recollection of the many splendid points of Fergus’s character, and of their former intimacy, all his passions and imperfections forgotten.–‘Here fell the last Vich Ian Vohr, on a nameless heath; and in an obscure night-skirmish was quenched that ardent spirit, who thought it little to cut a way for his master to the British throne! Ambition, policy, bravery, all far beyond their sphere, here learned the fate of mortals, The sole support, too, of a sister, whose spirit, as proud and unbending, was even more exalted than thine own; here ended all thy hopes for Flora, and the long and valued line which it was thy boast to raise yet more highly by thy adventurous valour!’

As these ideas pressed on Waverley’s mind, he resolved to go upon the open heath, and search if, among the slain, he could discover the body of his friend, with the pious intention of procuring for him the last rites of sepulture. The timorous young man who accompanied him remonstrated upon the danger of the attempt, but Edward was determined. The followers of the camp had already stripped the dead of all they could carry away; but the country people, unused to scenes of blood, had not yet approached the field of action, though some stood fearfully gazing at a distance. About sixty or seventy dragoons lay slain within the first enclosure, upon the high road, and on the open moor. Of the Highlanders, not above a dozen had fallen, chiefly those who, venturing too far on the moor, could not regain the strong ground. He could not find the body of Fergus among the slain. On a little knell, separated from the others, lay the carcasses of three English dragoons, two horses, and the page Callum Beg, whose hard skull a trooper’s broadsword had, at length, effectually cloven. It was possible his clan had carried off the body of Fergus; but it was also possible he had escaped, especially as Evan Dhu, who would never leave his Chief, was not found among the dead; or he might be prisoner, and the less formidable denunciation inferred from the appearance of the Bodach Glas might have proved the true one. The approach of a party, sent for the purpose of compelling the country people to bury the dead, and who had already assembled several peasants for that purpose, now obliged Edward to rejoin his guide, who awaited him in great anxiety and fear under shade of the plantations.

After leaving this field of death, the rest of their journey was happily accomplished. At the house of Farmer Williams, Edward passed for a young kinsman, educated for the church, who was come to reside there till the civil tumults permitted him to pass through the country. This silenced suspicion among the kind and simple yeomanry of Cumberland, and accounted sufficiently for the grave manners and retired habits of the new guest, The precaution became more necessary than Waverley had anticipated, as a variety of incidents prolonged his stay at Fasthwaite, as the farm was called.

A tremendous fall of snow rendered his departure impossible for more than ten days. When the roads began to become a little practicable, they successively received news of the retreat of the Chevalier into Scotland; then, that he had abandoned the frontiers, retiring upon Glasgow; and that the Duke of Cumberland had formed the siege of Carlisle. His army, therefore, cut off all possibility of Waverley’s escaping into Scotland in that direction. On the eastern border, Marshal Wade, with a large force, was advancing upon Edinburgh; and all along the frontier, parties of militia, volunteers, and partisans, were in arms to suppress insurrection, and apprehend such stragglers from the Highland army as had been left in England, The surrender of Carlisle, and the severity with which the rebel garrison were threatened, soon formed an additional reason against venturing upon a solitary and hopeless journey through a hostile country and a large army, to carry the assistance of a single sword to a cause which seemed altogether desperate.

In this lonely and secluded situation, without the advantage of company or conversation with men of cultivated minds, the arguments of Colonel Talbot often recurred to the mind of our hero. A still more anxious recollection haunted his slumbers–it was the dying look and gesture of Colonel Gardiner. Most devoutly did he hope, as the rarely occurring post brought news of skirmishes with various success, that it might never again be his lot to draw his sword in civil conflict. Then his mind turned to the supposed death of Fergus, to the desolate situation of Flora, and, with yet more tender recollection, to that of Rose Bradwardine, who was destitute of the devoted enthusiasm of loyalty, which, to her friend, hallowed and exalted misfortune. These reveries he was permitted to enjoy, undisturbed by queries or interruption;–and it was in many a winter walk by the shores of Ullswater, that he acquired a more complete mastery of a spirit tamed by adversity than his former experience had given him; and that he felt himself entitled to say firmly, though perhaps with a sigh, that the romance of his life was ended, and that its real history had now commenced. He was soon called upon to justify his pretensions by reason and philosophy.

CHAPTER LXI

A JOURNEY TO LONDON

The family at Fasthwaite were soon attached to Edward. He had, indeed, that gentleness and urbanity which almost universally attracts corresponding kindness; and to their simple ideas his learning gave him consequence, and his sorrows interest. The last he ascribed, evasively, to the loss of a brother in the skirmish near Clifton; and in that primitive state of society, where the ties of affection were highly deemed of, his continued depression excited sympathy, but not surprise.

In the end of January, his more lively powers were called out by the happy union of Edward Williams, the son of his host, with Cicely Jopson. Our hero would not cloud with sorrow the festivity attending the wedding of two persons to whom he was so highly obliged. He therefore exerted himself, danced, sang, played at the various games of the day, and was the blithest of the company. The next morning, however, he had more serious matters to think of.

The clergyman who had married the young couple was so much pleased with the supposed student of divinity, that he came next day from Penrith on purpose to pay him a visit. This might have been a puzzling chapter had he entered into any examination of our hero’s supposed theological studies; but fortunately he loved better to hear and communicate the news of the day. He brought with him two or three old newspapers, in one of which Edward found a piece of intelligence that soon rendered him deaf to every word which the Reverend Mr. Twigtythe was saying upon the news from the north, and the prospect of the Duke’s speedily overtaking and crushing the rebels. This was an article in these, or nearly these words:

‘Died at his house, in Hill street, Berkeley Square, upon the 10th inst., Richard Waverley, Esq., second son of Sir Giles Waverley of Waverley-Honour, &c. &c. He died of a lingering disorder, augmented by the unpleasant predicament of suspicion in which he stood, having been obliged to find bail to a high amount, to meet an impending accusation of high-treason. An accusation of the same grave crime hangs over his elder brother, Sir Everard Waverley, the representative of that ancient family; and we understand the day of his trial will be fixed early in the next month, unless Edward Waverley, son of the deceased Richard, and heir to the Baronet, shall surrender himself to justice. In that case, we are assured it is his Majesty’s gracious purpose to drop further proceedings upon the charge against Sir Everard. This unfortunate young gentleman is ascertained to have been in arms in the Pretender’s service, and to have marched along with the Highland troops into England. But he has not been heard of since the skirmish at Clifton, on the 18th December last.’

Such was this distracting paragraph.–‘Good God!’ exclaimed Waverley, ‘am I then a parricide?–Impossible! My father, who never showed the affection of a father while he lived, cannot have been so much affected by my supposed death as to hasten his own. No, I will not believe it,–it were distraction to entertain for a moment such a horrible idea. But it were, if possible, worse than parricide to suffer any danger to hang over my noble and generous uncle, who has ever been more to me than a father, if such evil can be averted by any sacrifice on my part!’

While these reflections passed like the stings of scorpions through Waverley’s sensorium, the worthy divine was startled in a long disquisition on the battle of Falkirk by the ghastliness which they communicated to his looks, and asked him if he was ill. Fortunately the bride, all smirk and blush, had just entered the room. Mrs. Williams was none of the brightest of women, but she was good-natured, and readily concluding that Edward had been shocked by disagreeable news in the papers, interfered so judiciously, that, without exciting suspicion, she drew off Mr. Twigtythe’s attention, and engaged it until he soon after took his leave. Waverley then explained to his friends, that he was under the necessity of going to London with as little delay as possible.

One cause of delay, however, did occur, to which Waverley had been very little accustomed. His purse, though well stocked when he first went to Tully-Veolan, had not been reinforced since that period; and although his life since had not been of a nature to exhaust it hastily (for he had lived chiefly with his friends or with the army), yet he found, that, after settling with his kind landlord, he should be too poor to encounter the expense of travelling post. The best course, therefore, seemed to be, to get into the great north road about Boroughbridge, and there take a place in the Northern Diligence,–a huge old-fashioned tub, drawn by three horses, which completed the journey from Edinburgh to London (God willing, as the advertisement expressed it) in three weeks. Our hero, therefore, took an affectionate farewell of his Cumberland friends, whose kindness he promised never to forget, and tacitly hoped one day to acknowledge by substantial proofs of gratitude. After some petty difficulties and vexatious delays, and after putting his dress into a shape better befitting his rank, though perfectly plain and simple, he accomplished crossing the country, and found himself in the desired vehicle, VIS-A-VIS to Mrs. Nosebag, the lady of Lieutenant Nosebag, adjutant and riding-master of the — dragoons, a jolly woman of about fifty, wearing a blue habit, faced with scarlet, and grasping a silver-mounted horsewhip.

This lady was one of those active members of society who take upon them FAIRE LE FRAIS DE CONVERSATION. She had just returned from the north, and informed Edward how nearly her regiment had cut the petticoat people into ribands at Falkirk, ‘only somehow there was one of those nasty, awkward marshes, that they are never without in ScotIand, I think, and so our poor dear little regiment suffered something, as my Nosebag says, in that unsatisfactory affair. You, sir, have served in the dragoons?’ Waverley was taken so much at unawares, that he acquiesced.

‘Oh, I knew it at once; I saw you were military from your air, and I was sure you could be none of the foot-wobblers, as my Nosebag calls them. What regiment, pray?’ Here was a delightful question. Waverley, however, justly concluded that this good lady had the whole army-list by heart; and, to avoid detection by adhering to truth, answered–‘Gardiner’s dragoons, ma’am; but I have retired some time.’

‘Oh aye, those as won the race at the battle of Preston, as my Nosebag says. Pray, sir, were you there?’

‘I was so unfortunate, madam,’ he replied, ‘as to witness that engagement.’

‘And that was a misfortune that few of Gardiner’s stood to witness, I believe, sir–ha! ha! ha!–I beg your pardon; but a soldier’s wife loves a joke.’

‘Devil confound you!’ thought Waverley; ‘what infernal luck has penned me up with this inquisitive bag!’

Fortunately the good lady did not stick long to one subject. ‘We are coming to Ferrybridge, now,’ she said, ‘where there was a party of OURS left to support the beadles, and constables, and justices, and these sort of creatures that are examining papers and stopping rebels, and all that.’ They were hardly in the inn before she dragged Waverley to the window, exclaiming, ‘Yonder comes Corporal Bridoon, of our poor dear troop; he’s coming with the constable man: Bridoon’s one of my lambs, as Nosebag calls ’em. Come, Mr. –a–a–pray, what ‘s your name, sir?’

‘Butler, ma’am,’ said Waverley, resolved rather to make free with the name of a former fellow officer, than run the risk of detection by inventing one not to be found in the regiment.

‘Oh, you got a troop lately, when that shabby fellow, Waverley, went over to the rebels. Lord, I wish our old cross Captain Crump would go over to the rebels, that Nosebag might get the troop!–Lord, what can Bridoon be standing swinging on the bridge for? I’ll be hanged if he a’nt hazy, as Nosebag says.–Come, sir, as you and I belong to the service, we’ll go put the rascal in mind of his duty.’

Waverley, with feelings more easily conceived than described, saw himself obliged to follow this doughty female commander. The gallant trooper was as like a lamb as a drunk corporal of dragoons, about six feet high, with very broad shoulders, and very thin legs, not to mention a great scar across his nose, could well be. Mrs. Nosebag addressed him with something which, if not an oath, sounded very like one, and commanded him to attend to his duty. ‘You be d–d for a–,’ commenced the gallant cavalier; but, looking up in order to suit the action to the words, and also to enforce the epithet which he meditated, with an adjective applicable to the party, he recognized the speaker, made his military salaam, and altered his tone.–‘Lord love your handsome face, Madam Nosebag, is it you? Why, if a poor fellow does happen to fire a slug of a morning, I am sure you were never the lady to bring him to harm.’

‘Well, you rascallion, go, mind your duty; this gentleman and I belong to the service; but be sure you look after that shy cock in the slouched hat that sits in the corner of the coach. I believe he’s one of the rebels in disguise.’

‘D–n her gooseberry wig!’ said the corporal, when she was out of hearing. ‘That gimlet-eyed jade–mother adjutant, as we call her–is a greater plague to the regiment than prevot-marshal, sergeant-major, and old Hubble-de-Shuff the colonel into the bargain.–Come, Master Constable, let’s see if this shy cock, as she calls him’ (who, by the way, was a Quaker from Leeds, with whom Mrs. Nosebag had had some tart argument on the legality of bearing arms), ‘will stand godfather to a sup of brandy, for your Yorkshire ale is cold on my stomach.’

The vivacity of this good lady, as it helped Edward out of this scrape, was like to have drawn him into one or two others. In every town where they stopped, she wished to examine the CORPS DE GARDE, if there was one, and once very narrowly missed introducing Waverley to a recruiting-sergeant of his own regiment. Then she Captain’d and Butler’d him till he was almost mad with vexation and anxiety; and never was he more rejoiced in his life at the termination of a journey, than when the arrival of the coach in London freed him from the attentions of Madam Nosebag.

CHAPTER LXII

WHAT’S TO BE DONE NEXT?

It was twilight when they arrived in town; and having shaken off his companions, and walked through a good many streets to avoid the possibility of being traced by them, Edward took a hackney- coach and drove to Colonel Talbot’s house, in one of the principal squares at the west end of the town. That gentleman, by the death of relations, had succeeded since his marriage to a large fortune, possessed considerable political interest, and lived in what is called great style.

When Waverley knocked at his door, he found it at first difficult