WAVERLEY'S RECEPTION IN THE LOWLANDS AFTER HIS HIGHLAND TOUR
It was noon when the two friends stood at the top of the pass of
Bally-Brough. 'I must go no farther,' said Fergus Mac-Ivor, who during
the journey had in vain endeavoured to raise his friend's spirits, 'If
my cross-grained sister has any share in your dejection, trust me she
thinks highly of you, though her present anxiety about the public cause
prevents her listening to any other subject. Confide your interest to
me; I will not betray it, providing you do not again assume that vile
cockade.'
'No fear of that, considering the manner in which it has been recalled.
Adieu, Fergus; do not permit your sister to forget me.'
'And adieu, Waverley; you may soon hear of her with a prouder title. Get
home, write letters, and make friends as many and as fast as you can;
there will speedily be unexpected guests on the coast of Suffolk, or my
news from France has deceived me.' [The sanguine Jacobites, during the
eventful years 1745-6, kept up the spirits of their party by the rumour
of descents from France on behalf of the Chevalier St. George.]
Thus parted the friends; Fergus returning back to his castle, while
Edward, followed by Callum Beg, the latter transformed from point to
point into a Low-country groom, proceeded to the little town of--.
Edward paced on under the painful and yet not altogether embittered
feelings which separation and uncertainty produce in the mind of a
youthful lover. I am not sure if the ladies understand the full value of
the influence of absence, nor do I think it wise to teach it them, lest,
like the Clelias and Mandanes of yore, they should resume the humour of
sending their lovers into banishment. Distance, in truth, produces in
idea the same effect as in real prospective. Objects are softened, and
rounded, and rendered doubly graceful; the harsher and more ordinary
points of character are mellowed down, and those by which it is
remembered are the more striking outlines that mark sublimity, grace,
or beauty. There are mists, too, in the mental, as well as the natural
horizon, to conceal what is less pleasing in distant objects, and there
are happy lights, to stream in full glory upon those points which can
profit by brilliant illumination.
Waverley forgot Flora Mac-Ivor's prejudices in her magnanimity,
and almost pardoned her indifference towards his affection, when he
recollected the grand and decisive object which seemed to fill her whole
soul. She, whose sense of duty so wholly engrossed her in the cause of
a benefactor,--what would be her feelings in favour of the happy
individual who should be so fortunate as to awaken them? Then came the
doubtful question, whether he might not be that happy man,--a question
which fancy endeavoured to answer in the affirmative, by conjuring up
all she had said in his praise, with the addition of a comment much more
flattering than the text warranted. All that was commonplace--all that
belonged to the everyday world--was melted away and obliterated in those
dreams of imagination, which only remembered with advantage the points
of grace and dignity that distinguished Flora, from the generality of
her sex, not the particulars which she held in common with them,
Edward was, in short, in the fair way of creating a goddess out of a
high-spirited, accomplished, and beautiful young woman; and the time was
wasted in castle-building, until, at the descent of a steep hill, he saw
beneath him the market-town of--.
The Highland politeness of Callum Beg--there are few nations, by the
way, who can boast of so much natural politeness as the Highlanders
[The Highlander, in former times, had always a high idea, of his own
gentility, and was anxious to impress the same upon those with whom
he conversed. His language abounded in the phrases of courtesy and
compliment; and the habit of carrying arms, and mixing with those
who did so, made if particularly desirable they should use cautious
politeness in their intercourse with each other.]--the Highland civility
of his attendant had not permitted him to disturb the reveries of our
hero. But observing him rouse himself at the sight of the village,
Callum pressed closer to his side, and hoped 'When they cam to the
public, his honour wad not say nothing about Vich Ian Vohr, for ta
people were bitter Whigs, deil burst tem.'
Waverley assured the prudent page that he would be cautious; and as he
now distinguished, not indeed the ringing of bells, but the tinkling
of something like a hammer against the side of an old messy, green,
inverted porridge-pot, that hung in an open booth, of the size and
shape of a parrot's cage, erected to grace the east end of a building
resembling an old barn, he asked Callum Beg if it were Sunday.
'Could na say just preceesely--Sunday seldom cam aboon the pass of
Bally-Brough.'
On entering the town, however, and advancing towards the most apparent
public house which presented itself, the numbers of old women, in tartan
screens and red cloaks, who streamed from the barn-resembling building,
debating, as they went, the comparative merits of the blessed youth
Jabesh Rentowel, and that chosen vessel Maister Goukthrapple, induced
Callum to assure his temporary master, 'that it was either ta muckle
Sunday hersell, or ta little government Sunday that they ca'd ta fast.'
On alighting at the sign of the Seven-branched Golden Candlestick,
which, for the further delectation of the guests, was graced with
a short Hebrew motto, they were received by mine host, a tall, thin
puritanical figure, who seemed to debate with himself whether he ought
to give shelter to those who travelled on such a day. Reflecting,
however, in all probability, that he possessed the power of mulcting
them for this irregularity, a penalty which they might escape by passing
into Gregor Duncanson's, at the sign of the Highlander and the Hawick
Gill, Mr. Ebenezer Cruickshanks condescended to admit them into his
dwelling.
To this sanctified person Waverley addressed his request that he would
procure him a guide, with a saddle-horse, to carry his portmanteau to
Edinburgh.
'And whar may ye be coming from?' demanded mine host of the Candlestick.
'I have told you where I wish to go; I do not conceive any further
information necessary either for the guide or his saddle-horse.'
'Hem! Ahem!' returned he of the Candlestick, somewhat disconcerted at
this rebuff. 'It's the general fast, sir, and I cannot enter into ony
carnal transactions on sic a day, when the people should be humbled,
and the back sliders should return, as worthy Mr. Goukthrapple said; and
moreover when, as the precious Mr. Jabesh Rentowel did weel observe, the
land was mourning for covenants burnt, broken, and buried.'
'My good friend,' said Waverley, 'if you cannot let me have a horse and
guide, my servant shall seek them elsewhere.'
'Aweel! Your servant?--and what for gangs he not forward wi' you
himsell?'
Waverley had but very little of a captain of horse's spirit within
him--I mean of that sort of spirit which I have been obliged to when I
happened, in a mail-coach, or diligence, to meet some military man
who has kindly taken upon him the disciplining of the waiters, and the
taxing of reckonings. Some of this useful talent our hero had, however,
acquired during his military service, and on this gross provocation
it began seriously to arise. 'Look ye, sir; I came here for my own
accommodation, and not to answer impertinent questions. Either say you
can, or cannot, get me what I want; I shall pursue my course in either
case.'
Mr. Ebenezer Cruickshanks left the room with some indistinct muttering;
but whether negative or acquiescent, Edward could not well distinguish.
The hostess, a civil, quiet, laborious drudge, came to take his orders
for dinner, but declined to make answer on the subject of the horse and
guide; for the Salique law, it seems, extended to the stables of the
Golden Candlestick.
From a window which overlooked the dark and narrow court in which Callum
Beg rubbed down the horses after their journey, Waverley heard the
following dialogue betwixt the subtle foot-page of Vich Ian Vohr and his
landlord:--
'Ye'll be frae the north, young man?' began the latter.
'And ye may say that,' answered Callum.
'And ye'll hae ridden a lang way the day, it may weel be?'
'Sae lang, that I could weel tak a dram,'
'Gudewife, bring the gill stoup.'
Here some compliments passed, fitting the occasion, when my host of the
Golden Candlestick, having, as he thought, opened his guest's heart by
this hospitable propitiation, resumed his scrutiny.
'Ye'll no hae mickle better whisky than that aboon the Pass?'
'I am nae frae aboon the Pass.'
'Ye're a Highlandman by your tongue?'
'Na; I am but just Aberdeen-a-way.'
'And did your master come frae Aberdeen wi' you?'
'Aye--that's when I left it mysell,' answered the cool and impenetrable
Callum Beg.
'And what kind of a gentleman is he?'
'I believe he is ane o' King George's state officers; at least he's
aye for ganging on to the south; and he has a hantle siller, and never
grudges ony thing till a poor body, or in the way of a lawing.'
'He wants a guide and a horse frae hence to Edinburgh?'
'Aye, and ye maun find it him forthwith.'
'Ahem! It will be chargeable.'
'He cares na for that a bodle.'
'Aweel, Duncan--did ye say your name was Duncan, or Donald?'
'Na, man--Jamie--Jamie Steenson--I telt ye before.'
This last undaunted parry altogether foiled Mr. Cruickshanks, who,
though not quite satisfied either with the reserve of the master, or
the extreme readiness of the man, was contented to lay a tax on the
reckoning and horse-hire, that might compound for his ungratified
curiosity. The circumstance of its being the fast-day was not forgotten
in the charge, which, on the whole, did not, however, amount to much
more than double what in fairness it should have been.
Callum Beg soon after announced in person the ratification of this
treaty, adding, 'Ta auld deevil was ganging to ride wi' ta Duinhe-wassel
hersell.'
'That will not be very pleasant, Callum, nor altogether safe, for our
host seems a person of great curiosity; but a traveller must submit to
these inconveniences. Meanwhile, my good lad, here is a trifle for you
to drink Vich Ian Vohr's health.'
The hawk's eye of Callum flashed delight upon a golden guinea, with
which these last words were accompanied. He hastened, not without a
curse on the intricacies of a Saxon breeches pocket, or SPLEUCHAN, as
he called it, to deposit the treasure in his fob; and then, as if he
conceived the benevolence called for some requital on his part,
he gathered close up to Edward, with an expression of countenance
peculiarly knowing, and spoke in an undertone, 'If his honour thought ta
auld deevil Whig carle was a bit dangerous, she could easily provide for
him, and tell ane ta wiser.'
'How, and in what manner?'
'Her ain sell,' replied Callum, 'could wait for him a wee bit frae the
toun, and kittle his quarters wi' her SKENE-OCCLE.'
'Skene-occle! what's that?'
Callum unbuttoned his coat, raised his left arm, and, with an emphatic
nod, pointed to the hilt of a small dirk, snugly deposited under it,
in the lining of his jacket. Waverley thought he had misunderstood his
meaning; he gazed in his face, and discovered in Callum's very handsome,
though embrowned features, just the degree of roguish malice with which
a lad of the same age in England would have brought forward a plan for
robbing an orchard.
'Good God, Callum, would you take the man's life?'
'Indeed,' answered the young desperado, 'and I think he has had just a
lang enough lease o't, when he's for betraying honest folk, that come to
spend siller at his public.'
Edward saw nothing was to be gained by argument, and therefore contented
himself with enjoining Callum to lay aside all practices against the
person of Mr. Ebenezer Cruickshanks; in which injunction the page seemed
to acquiesce with an air of great indifference.
'Ta Duinhe-wassel might please himsell; ta auld rudas loon had never
done Callum nae ill. But here's a bit line frae ta Tighearna, tat he
bade me gie your honour ere I came back.'
The letter from the Chief contained Flora's lines on the fate of Captain
Wogan, whose enterprising character is so well drawn by Clarendon. He
had originally engaged in the service of the Parliament, but had abjured
that party upon the execution of Charles I; and upon hearing that the
royal standard was set up by the Earl of Glencairn and General Middleton
in the Highlands of Scotland, took leave of Charles II, who was then
at Paris, passed into England, assembled a body of cavaliers in the
neighbourhood of London, and traversed the kingdom, which had been so
long under domination of the usurper, by marches conducted with such
skill, dexterity, and spirit, that he safely united his handful of
horsemen with the body of Highlanders then in arms. After several months
of desultory warfare, in which Wogan's skill and courage gained him the
highest reputation, he had the misfortune to be wounded in a dangerous
manner, and no surgical assistance being within reach, he terminated his
short but glorious career.
Where were obvious reasons why the politic Chieftain was desirous to
place the example of this young hero under the eye of Waverley, with
whose romantic disposition it coincided so peculiarly. But his letter
turned chiefly upon some trifling commissions which Waverley had
promised to execute for him in England, and it was only toward the
conclusion that Edward found these words: 'I owe Flora a grudge for
refusing us her company yesterday; and as I am giving you the trouble
of reading these lines, in order to keep in your memory your promise to
procure me the fishing-tackle and cross-bow from London, I will enclose
her verses on the Grave of Wogan. This I know will tease her; for, to
tell you the truth, I think her more in love with the memory of that
dead hero, than she is likely to be with any living one, unless he
shall tread a similar path. But English squires of our day keep their
oak-trees to shelter their deer-parks, or repair the losses of an
evening at White's, and neither invoke them to wreathe their brows nor
shelter their graves. Let me hope for one brilliant exception in a dear
friend, to whom I would most gladly give a dearer title.'
The verses were inscribed,
TO AN OAK TREE
IN THE CHURCHYARD OF--, IN THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND, SAID TO MARK THE
GRAVE OF CAPTAIN WOGAN, KILLED IN 1649.
Emblem of England's ancient faith,
Full proudly may thy branches wave,
Where loyalty lies low in death,
And valour fills a timeless grave.
And thou, brave tenant of the tomb!
Repine not if our clime deny,
Above thine honoured sod to bloom,
The flowerets of a milder sky.
These owe their birth to genial May;
Beneath a fiercer sun they pine,
Before the winter storm decay--
And can their worth be type of thine?
No! for 'mid storms of Fate opposing,
Still higher swelled thy dauntless heart,
And, while Despair the scene was closing,
Commenced thy brief but brilliant part.
Twas then thou sought'st on Albyn's hill,
(When England's sons the strife resigned),
A rugged race, resisting still,
And unsubdued though unrefined.
Thy death's hour heard no kindred wail,
No holy knell thy requiem rung;
Thy mourners were the plaided Gael;
Thy dirge the clamorous pibroch sung.
Yet who, in Fortune's summer-shine,
To waste life's longest term away,
Would change that glorious dawn of thine,
Though darkened ere its noontide day?
Be thine the Tree whose dauntless boughs
Brave summer's drought and winter's gloom!
Rome bound with oak her patriots' brows,
As Albyn shadows Wogan's tomb.
Whatever might be the real merit of Flora Mac-Ivor's poetry,
the enthusiasm which it intimated was well calculated to make a
corresponding impression upon her lover. The lines were read--read
again--then deposited in Waverley's bosom--then again drawn out, and
read line by line, in a low and smothered voice, and with frequent
pauses which, prolonged the mental treat, as an epicure protracts, by
sipping slowly the enjoyment of a delicious beverage. The entrance
of Mrs. Cruickshanks, with the sublunary articles of dinner and wine,
hardly interrupted this pantomime of affectionate enthusiasm.
At length the tall, ungainly figure and ungracious visage of Ebenezer
presented themselves. The upper part of his form, notwithstanding the
season required no such defence, was shrouded in a large great-coat,
belted over his under habiliments, and crested with a huge cowl of
the same stuff, which, when drawn over the head and hat, completely
over-shadowed both, and being buttoned beneath the chin, was called a
TROT-COZY. His hand grasped a huge jockey-whip, garnished with brass
mounting. His thin legs tenanted a pair of gambadoes, fastened at the
sides with rusty clasps. Thus accoutred, he stalked into the midst of
the apartment, and announced his errand in brief phrase:--
'Yerhorses are ready.'
'You go with me yourself then, landlord?'
'I do, as far as Perth; where you may be supplied With a guide to
Embro', as your occasions shall require.'
Thus saying, he placed under Waverley's eye the bill which he held in
his hand; and at the same time, self-invited, filled a glass of wine,
and drank devoutly to a blessing on their journey. Waverley stared
at the man's impudence, but, as their connexion was to be short, and
promised to be convenient, he made no observation upon it; and, having
paid his reckoning, expressed his intention to depart immediately.
He mounted Dermid accordingly, and sallied forth from the Golden
Candlestick, followed by the puritanical figure we have described,
after he had, at the expense of some time and difficulty, and by the
assistance of a 'louping-on-stane,' or structure of masonry erected for
the traveller's convenience in front of the house, elevated his person
to the back of a long-backed, raw-boned, thin-gutted phantom of a
broken-down blood-horse, on which Waverley's portmanteau was deposited.
Our hero, though not in a very gay humour, could hardly help laughing
at the appearance of his new squire, and at imagining the astonishment
which his person and equipage would have excited at Waverley-Honour.
Edward's tendency to mirth did not escape mine host of the Candlestick,
who, conscious of the cause, infused a double portion of souring into
the pharisaical leaven of his countenance, and resolved internally
that in one way or other the young ENGLISHER should pay dearly for the
contempt with which he seemed to regard him. Callum also stood at the
gate, and enjoyed, with undissembled glee, the ridiculous figure of
Mr. Cruickshanks. As Waverley passed him, he pulled off his hat
respectfully, and approaching his stirrup, bade him 'Tak heed the auld
Whig deevil played him nae cantrip.'
Waverley once more thanked, and bade him farewell, and then rode briskly
onward, not sorry to be out of hearing of the shouts of the children,
as they beheld old Ebenezer rise and sink in his stirrups, to avoid
the concussions occasioned by a hard trot upon a half-paved street. The
village of--was soon several miles behind him.