THE CHIEF AND HIS MANSION
The ingenious licentiate Francisco de Ubeda, when he commenced his
history of 'La Picara Justina Diez,'--which, by the way, is one
of the most rare books of Spanish literature,--complained of his
pen having caught up a hair, and forthwith begins, with more
eloquence than common sense, an affectionate expostulation with
that useful implement, upbraiding it with being the quill of a
goose,--a bird inconstant by nature, as frequenting the three
elements of water, earth, and air indifferently, and being, of
course, 'to one thing constant never.' Now I protest to thee,
gentle reader, that I entirely dissent from Francisco de Ubeda in
this matter, and hold it the most useful quality of my pen, that
it can speedily change from grave to gay, and from description and
dialogue to narrative and character. So that if my quill display
no other properties of its mother-goose than her mutability,
truly I shall be well pleased; and I conceive that you, my worthy
friend, will have no occasion for discontent. From the jargon,
therefore, of the Highland gillies I pass to the character of
their Chief. It is an important examination, and therefore, like
Dogberry, we must spare no wisdom.
The ancestor of Fergus Mac-Ivor, about three centuries before, had
set up a claim to be recognised as chief of the numerous and
powerful clan to which he belonged, the name of which it is
unnecessary to mention. Being defeated by an opponent who had more
justice, or at least more force, on his side, he moved southwards,
with those who adhered to him, in quest of new settlements, like a
second AEneas. The state of the Perthshire Highlands favoured his
purpose. A great baron in that country had lately become traitor
to the crown; Ian, which was the name of our adventurer, united
himself with those who were commissioned by the king to chastise
him, and did such good service that he obtained a grant of the
property, upon which he and his posterity afterwards resided. He
followed the king also in war to the fertile regions of England,
where he employed his leisure hours so actively in raising
subsidies among the boors of Northumberland and Durham, that upon
his return he was enabled to erect a stone tower, or fortalice, so
much admired by his dependants and neighbours that he, who had
hitherto been called Ian Mac-Ivor, or John the son of Ivor, was
thereafter distinguished, both in song and genealogy, by the high
title of Ian nan Chaistel, or John of the Tower. The descendants
of this worthy were so proud of him that the reigning chief always
bore the patronymic title of Vich Ian Vohr, i.e. the son of John
the Great; while the clan at large, to distinguish them from that
from which they had seceded, were denominated Sliochd nan Ivor,
the race of Ivor.
The father of Fergus, the tenth in direct descent from John of the
Tower, engaged heart and hand in the insurrection of 1715, and was
forced to fly to France, after the attempt of that year in favour
of the Stuarts had proved unsuccessful. More fortunate than other
fugitives, he obtained employment in the French service, and
married a lady of rank in that kingdom, by whom he had two
children, Fergus and his sister Flora. The Scottish estate had
been forfeited and exposed to sale, but was repurchased for a
small price in the name of the young proprietor, who in
consequence came to reside upon his native domains. [Footnote: See
Note 18.] It was soon perceived that he possessed a character of
uncommon acuteness, fire, and ambition, which, as he became
acquainted with the state of the country, gradually assumed a
mixed and peculiar tone, that could only have been acquired Sixty
Years Since.
Had Fergus Mac-Ivor lived Sixty Years sooner than he did, he would
in all probability have wanted the polished manner and knowledge
of the world which he now possessed; and had he lived Sixty Years
later, his ambition and love of rule would have lacked the fuel
which his situation now afforded. He was indeed, within his little
circle, as perfect a politician as Castruccio Castracani himself.
He applied himself with great earnestness to appease all the feuds
and dissensions which often arose among other clans in his
neighbourhood, so that he became a frequent umpire in their
quarrels. His own patriarchal power he strengthened at every
expense which his fortune would permit, and indeed stretched his
means to the uttermost to maintain the rude and plentiful
hospitality which was the most valued attribute of a chieftain.
For the same reason he crowded his estate with a tenantry, hardy
indeed, and fit for the purposes of war, but greatly outnumbering
what the soil was calculated to maintain. These consisted chiefly
of his own clan, not one of whom he suffered to quit his lands if
he could possibly prevent it. But he maintained, besides, many
adventurers from the mother sept, who deserted a less warlike,
though more wealthy chief to do homage to Fergus Mac-Ivor. Other
individuals, too, who had not even that apology, were nevertheless
received into his allegiance, which indeed was refused to none who
were, like Poins, proper men of their hands, and were willing to
assume the name of Mac-Ivor.
He was enabled to discipline these forces, from having obtained
command of one of the independent companies raised by government
to preserve the peace of the Highlands. While in this capacity he
acted with vigour and spirit, and preserved great order in the
country under his charge. He caused his vassals to enter by
rotation into his company, and serve for a certain space of time,
which gave them all in turn a general notion of military
discipline. In his campaigns against the banditti, it was observed
that he assumed and exercised to the utmost the discretionary
power which, while the law had no free course in the Highlands,
was conceived to belong to the military parties who were called in
to support it. He acted, for example, with great and suspicious
lenity to those freebooters who made restitution on his summons
and offered personal submission to himself, while he rigorously
pursued, apprehended, and sacrificed to justice all such
interlopers as dared to despise his admonitions or commands. On
the other hand, if any officers of justice, military parties, or
others, presumed to pursue thieves or marauders through his
territories, and without applying for his consent and concurrence,
nothing was more certain than that they would meet with some
notable foil or defeat; upon which occasions Fergus Mac-Ivor was
the first to condole with them, and after gently blaming their
rashness, never failed deeply to lament the lawless state of the
country. These lamentations did not exclude suspicion, and matters
were so represented to government that our Chieftain was deprived
of his military command. [Footnote: See Note 19.]
Whatever Fergus Mac-Ivor felt on this occasion, he had the art of
entirely suppressing every appearance of discontent; but in a
short time the neighbouring country began to feel bad effects from
his disgrace. Donald Bean Lean, and others of his class, whose
depredations had hitherto been confined to other districts,
appeared from thenceforward to have made a settlement on this
devoted border; and their ravages were carried on with little
opposition, as the Lowland gentry were chiefly Jacobites, and
disarmed. This forced many of the inhabitants into contracts of
black-mail with Fergus Mac-Ivor, which not only established him
their protector, and gave him great weight in all their
consultations, but, moreover, supplied funds for the waste of his
feudal hospitality, which the discontinuance of his pay might have
otherwise essentially diminished.
In following this course of conduct, Fergus had a further object
than merely being the great man of his neighbourhood, and ruling
despotically over a small clan. From his infancy upward he had
devoted himself to the cause of the exiled family, and had
persuaded himself, not only that their restoration to the crown of
Britain would be speedy, but that those who assisted them would be
raised to honour and rank. It was with this view that he laboured
to reconcile the Highlanders among themselves, and augmented his
own force to the utmost, to be prepared for the first favourable
opportunity of rising. With this purpose also he conciliated the
favour of such Lowland gentlemen in the vicinity as were friends
to the good cause; and for the same reason, having incautiously
quarrelled with Mr. Bradwardine, who, notwithstanding his
peculiarities, was much respected in the country, he took
advantage of the foray of Donald Bean Lean to solder up the
dispute in the manner we have mentioned. Some, indeed, surmised
that he caused the enterprise to be suggested to Donald, on
purpose to pave the way to a reconciliation, which, supposing that
to be the case, cost the Laird of Bradwardine two good milch cows.
This zeal in their behalf the House of Stuart repaid with a
considerable share of their confidence, an occasional supply of
louis-d'or, abundance of fair words, and a parchment, with a huge
waxen seal appended, purporting to be an earl's patent, granted by
no less a person than James the Third King of England, and Eighth
King of Scotland, to his right feal, trusty, and well-beloved
Fergus Mac-Ivor of Glennaquoich, in the county of Perth, and
kingdom of Scotland.
With this future coronet glittering before his eyes, Fergus
plunged deeply into the correspondence and plots of that unhappy
period; and, like all such active agents, easily reconciled his
conscience to going certain lengths in the service of his party,
from which honour and pride would have deterred him had his sole
object been the direct advancement of his own personal interest.
With this insight into a bold, ambitious, and ardent, yet artful
and politic character, we resume the broken thread of our
narrative.
The chief and his guest had by this time reached the house of
Glennaquoich, which consisted of Ian nan Chaistel's mansion, a
high rude-looking square tower, with the addition of a lofted
house, that is, a building of two stories, constructed by Fergus's
grandfather when he returned from that memorable expedition, well
remembered by the western shires under the name of the Highland
Host. Upon occasion of this crusade against the Ayrshire Whigs and
Covenanters, the Vich Ian Vohr of the time had probably been as
successful as his predecessor was in harrying Northumberland, and
therefore left to his posterity a rival edifice as a monument of
his magnificence.
Around the house, which stood on an eminence in the midst of a
narrow Highland valley, there appeared none of that attention to
convenience, far less to ornament and decoration, which usually
surrounds a gentleman's habitation. An inclosure or two, divided
by dry-stone walls, were the only part of the domain that was
fenced; as to the rest, the narrow slips of level ground which lay
by the side of the brook exhibited a scanty crop of barley, liable
to constant depredations from the herds of wild ponies and black
cattle that grazed upon the adjacent hills. These ever and anon
made an incursion upon the arable ground, which was repelled by
the loud, uncouth, and dissonant shouts of half a dozen Highland
swains, all running as if they had been mad, and every one
hallooing a half-starved dog to the rescue of the forage. At a
little distance up the glen was a small and stunted wood of birch;
the hills were high and heathy, but without any variety of
surface; so that the whole view was wild and desolate rather than
grand and solitary. Yet, such as it was, no genuine descendant of
Ian nan Chaistel would have changed the domain for Stow or
Blenheim.
There was a sight, however, before the gate, which perhaps would
have afforded the first owner of Blenheim more pleasure than the
finest view in the domain assigned to him by the gratitude of his
country. This consisted of about a hundred Highlanders, in
complete dress and arms; at sight of whom the Chieftain apologised
to Waverley in a sort of negligent manner. 'He had forgot,' he
said, 'that he had ordered a few of his clan out, for the purpose
of seeing that they were in a fit condition to protect the
country, and prevent such accidents as, he was sorry to learn, had
befallen the Baron of Bradwardine. Before they were dismissed,
perhaps Captain Waverley might choose to see them go through a
part of their exercise.'
Edward assented, and the men executed with agility and precision
some of the ordinary military movements. They then practised
individually at a mark, and showed extraordinary dexterity in the
management of the pistol and firelock. They took aim, standing,
sitting, leaning, or lying prostrate, as they were commanded, and
always with effect upon the target. Next, they paired off for the
broadsword exercise; and, having manifested their individual skill
and dexterity, united in two bodies, and exhibited a sort of mock
encounter, in which the charge, the rally, the flight, the
pursuit, and all the current of a heady fight, were exhibited to
the sound of the great war bagpipe.
On a signal made by the Chief, the skirmish was ended. Matches
were then made for running, wrestling, leaping, pitching the bar,
and other sports, in which this feudal militia displayed
incredible swiftness, strength, and agility; and accomplished the
purpose which their Chieftain had at heart, by impressing on
Waverley no light sense of their merit as soldiers, and of the
power of him who commanded them by his nod. [Footnote: See Note
20.]
'And what number of such gallant fellows have the happiness to
call you leader?' asked Waverley.
'In a good cause, and under a chieftain whom they loved, the race
of Ivor have seldom taken the field under five hundred claymores.
But you are aware, Captain Waverley, that the disarming act,
passed about twenty years ago, prevents their being in the
complete state of preparation as in former times; and I keep no
more of my clan under arms than may defend my own or my friends'
property, when the country is troubled with such men as your last
night's landlord; and government, which has removed other means of
defence, must connive at our protecting ourselves.'
'But, with your force, you might soon destroy or put down such
gangs as that of Donald Bean Lean.'
'Yes, doubtless; and my reward would be a summons to deliver up to
General Blakeney, at Stirling, the few broadswords they have left
us; there were little policy in that, methinks. But come, captain,
the sound of the pipes informs me that dinner is prepared. Let me
have the honour to show you into my rude mansion.'