THE JOURNEY IS CONTINUED
Before Waverley awakened from his repose, the day was far
advanced, and he began to feel that he had passed many hours
without food. This was soon supplied in form of a copious
breakfast, but Colonel Stewart, as if wishing to avoid the queries
of his guest, did not again present himself. His compliments were,
however, delivered by a servant, with an offer to provide anything
in his power that could be useful to Captain Waverley on his
journey, which he intimated would be continued that evening. To
Waverley's further inquiries, the servant opposed the impenetrable
barrier of real or affected ignorance and stupidity. He removed
the table and provisions, and Waverley was again consigned to his
own meditations.
As he contemplated the strangeness of his fortune, which seemed to
delight in placing him at the disposal of others, without the
power of directing his own motions, Edward's eye suddenly rested
upon his portmanteau, which had been deposited in his apartment
during his sleep. The mysterious appearance of Alice in the
cottage of the glen immediately rushed upon his mind, and he was
about to secure and examine the packet which she had deposited
among his clothes, when the servant of Colonel Stewart again made
his appearance, and took up the portmanteau upon his shoulders.
'May I not take out a change of linen, my friend?'
'Your honour sall get ane o' the Colonel's ain ruffled sarks, but
this maun gang in the baggage-cart.'
And so saying, he very coolly carried off the portmanteau, without
waiting further remonstrance, leaving our hero in a state where
disappointment and indignation struggled for the mastery. In a few
minutes he heard a cart rumble out of the rugged court-yard, and
made no doubt that he was now dispossessed, for a space at least,
if not for ever, of the only documents which seemed to promise
some light upon the dubious events which had of late influenced
his destiny. With such melancholy thoughts he had to beguile about
four or five hours of solitude.
When this space was elapsed, the trampling of horse was heard in
the court-yard, and Colonel Stewart soon after made his appearance
to request his guest to take some further refreshment before his
departure. The offer was accepted, for a late breakfast had by no
means left our hero incapable of doing honour to dinner, which was
now presented. The conversation of his host was that of a plain
country gentleman, mixed with some soldier-like sentiments and
expressions. He cautiously avoided any reference to the military
operations or civil politics of the time; and to Waverley's direct
inquiries concerning some of these points replied, that he was not
at liberty to speak upon such topics.
When dinner was finished the governor arose, and, wishing Edward a
good journey, said that, having been informed by Waverley's
servant that his baggage had been sent forward, he had taken the
freedom to supply him with such changes of linen as he might find
necessary till he was again possessed of his own. With this
compliment he disappeared. A servant acquainted Waverley an
instant afterwards that his horse was ready.
Upon this hint he descended into the court-yard, and found a
trooper holding a saddled horse, on which he mounted and sallied
from the portal of Doune Castle, attended by about a score of
armed men on horseback. These had less the appearance of regular
soldiers than of individuals who had suddenly assumed arms from
some pressing motive of unexpected emergency. Their uniform, which
was blue and red, an affected imitation of that of French
chasseurs, was in many respects incomplete, and sate awkwardly
upon those who wore it. Waverley's eye, accustomed to look at a
well-disciplined regiment, could easily discover that the motions
and habits of his escort were not those of trained soldiers, and
that, although expert enough in the management of their horses,
their skill was that of huntsmen or grooms rather than of
troopers. The horses were not trained to the regular pace so
necessary to execute simultaneous and combined movements and
formations; nor did they seem bitted (as it is technically
expressed) for the use of the sword. The men, however, were stout,
hardy-looking fellows, and might be individually formidable as
irregular cavalry. The commander of this small party was mounted
upon an excellent hunter, and, although dressed in uniform, his
change of apparel did not prevent Waverley from recognising his
old acquaintance, Mr. Falconer of Balmawhapple.
Now, although the terms upon which Edward had parted with this
gentleman were none of the most friendly, he would have sacrificed
every recollection of their foolish quarrel for the pleasure of
enjoying once more the social intercourse of question and answer,
from which he had been so long secluded. But apparently the
remembrance of his defeat by the Baron of Bradwardine, of which
Edward had been the unwilling cause, still rankled in the mind of
the low-bred and yet proud laird. He carefully avoided giving the
least sign of recognition, riding doggedly at the head of his men,
who, though scarce equal in numbers to a sergeant's party, were
denominated Captain Falconer's troop, being preceded by a trumpet,
which sounded from time to time, and a standard, borne by Cornet
Falconer, the laird's younger brother. The lieutenant, an elderly
man, had much the air of a low sportsman and boon companion; an
expression of dry humour predominated in his countenance over
features of a vulgar cast, which indicated habitual intemperance.
His cocked hat was set knowingly upon one side of his head, and
while he whistled the 'Bob of Dumblain,' under the influence of
half a mutchkin of brandy, he seemed to trot merrily forward, with
a happy indifference to the state of the country, the conduct of
the party, the end of the journey, and all other sublunary matters
whatever.
From this wight, who now and then dropped alongside of his horse,
Waverley hoped to acquire some information, or at least to beguile
the way with talk.
'A fine evening, sir,' was Edward's salutation.
'Ow, ay, sir! a bra' night,' replied the lieutenant, in broad
Scotch of the most vulgar description.
'And a fine harvest, apparently,' continued Waverley, following up
his first attack.
'Ay, the aits will be got bravely in; but the farmers, deil burst
them, and the corn-mongers will make the auld price gude against
them as has horses till keep.'
'You perhaps act as quartermaster, sir?'
'Ay, quartermaster, riding-master, and lieutenant,' answered this
officer of all work. 'And, to be sure, wha's fitter to look after
the breaking and the keeping of the poor beasts than mysell, that
bought and sold every ane o' them?'
'And pray, sir, if it be not too great a freedom, may I beg to
know where we are going just now?'
'A fule's errand, I fear,' answered this communicative personage.
'In that case,' said Waverley, determined not to spare civility,
'I should have thought a person of your appearance would not have
been found on the road.'
'Vera true, vera true, sir,' replied the officer, 'but every why
has its wherefore. Ye maun ken, the laird there bought a' thir
beasts frae me to munt his troop, and agreed to pay for them
according to the necessities and prices of the time. But then he
hadna the ready penny, and I hae been advised his bond will not be
worth a boddle against the estate, and then I had a' my dealers to
settle wi' at Martinmas; and so, as he very kindly offered me this
commission, and as the auld Fifteen [Footnote: The Judges of the
Supreme Court of Session in Scotland are proverbially termed among
the country people, The Fifteen.] wad never help me to my siller
for sending out naigs against the government, why, conscience!
sir, I thought my best chance for payment was e'en to GAE OUT
[Footnote: See Note 3.] mysell; and ye may judge, sir, as I hae
dealt a' my life in halters, I think na mickle o' putting my craig
in peril of a Saint John-stone's tippet.'
'You are not, then, by profession a soldier?' said Waverley.
'Na, na; thank God,' answered this doughty partizan, 'I wasna bred
at sae short a tether, I was brought up to hack and manger. I was
bred a horse-couper, sir; and if I might live to see you at
Whitson-tryst, or at Stagshawbank, or the winter fair at Hawick,
and ye wanted a spanker that would lead the field, I'se be caution
I would serve ye easy; for Jamie Jinker was ne'er the lad to
impose upon a gentleman. Ye're a gentleman, sir, and should ken a
horse's points; ye see that through--ganging thing that
Balmawhapple's on; I selled her till him. She was bred out of
Lick-the-ladle, that wan the king's plate at Caverton-Edge, by
Duke Hamilton's White-Foot,' etc., etc., etc.
But as Jinker was entered full sail upon the pedigree of
Balmawhapple's mare, having already got as far as great-grandsire
and great-grand-dam, and while Waverley was watching for an
opportunity to obtain from him intelligence of more interest, the
noble captain checked his horse until they came up, and then,
without directly appearing to notice Edward, said sternly to the
genealogist, 'I thought, lieutenant, my orders were preceese, that
no one should speak to the prisoner?'
The metamorphosed horse-dealer was silenced of course, and slunk
to the rear, where he consoled himself by entering into a vehement
dispute upon the price of hay with a farmer who had reluctantly
followed his laird to the field rather than give up his farm,
whereof the lease had just expired. Waverley was therefore once
more consigned to silence, foreseeing that further attempts at
conversation with any of the party would only give Balmawhapple a
wished-for opportunity to display the insolence of authority, and
the sulky spite of a temper naturally dogged, and rendered more so
by habits of low indulgence and the incense of servile adulation.
In about two hours' time the party were near the Castle of
Stirling, over whose battlements the union flag was brightened as
it waved in the evening sun. To shorten his journey, or perhaps to
display his importance and insult the English garrison,
Balmawhapple, inclining to the right, took his route through the
royal park, which reaches to and surrounds the rock upon which the
fortress is situated.
With a mind more at ease Waverley could not have failed to admire
the mixture of romance and beauty which renders interesting the
scene through which he was now passing--the field which had been
the scene of the tournaments of old--the rock from which the
ladies beheld the contest, while each made vows for the success of
some favourite knight--the towers of the Gothic church, where
these vows might be paid--and, surmounting all, the fortress
itself, at once a castle and palace, where valour received the
prize from royalty, and knights and dames closed the evening amid
the revelry of the dance, the song, and the feast. All these were
objects fitted to arouse and interest a romantic imagination.
But Waverley had other objects of meditation, and an incident soon
occurred of a nature to disturb meditation of any kind.
Balmawhapple, in the pride of his heart, as he wheeled his little
body of cavalry round the base of the Castle, commanded his
trumpet to sound a flourish and his standard to be displayed. This
insult produced apparently some sensation; for when the cavalcade
was at such distance from the southern battery as to admit of a
gun being depressed so as to bear upon them, a flash of fire
issued from one of the embrazures upon the rock; and ere the
report with which it was attended could be heard, the rushing
sound of a cannon-ball passed over Balmawhapple's head, and the
bullet, burying itself in the ground at a few yards' distance,
covered him with the earth which it drove up. There was no need to
bid the party trudge. In fact, every man, acting upon the impulse
of the moment, soon brought Mr. Jinker's steeds to show their
mettle, and the cavaliers, retreating with more speed than
regularity, never took to a trot, as the lieutenant afterwards
observed, until an intervening eminence had secured them from any
repetition of so undesirable a compliment on the part of Stirling
Castle. I must do Balmawhapple, however, the justice to say that
he not only kept the rear of his troop, and laboured to maintain
some order among them, but, in the height of his gallantry,
answered the fire of the Castle by discharging one of his horse-
pistols at the battlements; although, the distance being nearly
half a mile, I could never learn that this measure of retaliation
was attended with any particular effect.
The travellers now passed the memorable field of Bannockburn and
reached the Torwood, a place glorious or terrible to the
recollections of the Scottish peasant, as the feats of Wallace or
the cruelties of Wude Willie Grime predominate in his
recollection. At Falkirk, a town formerly famous in Scottish
history, and soon to be again distinguished as the scene of
military events of importance, Balmawhapple proposed to halt and
repose for the evening. This was performed with very little regard
to military discipline, his worthy quarter-master being chiefly
solicitous to discover where the best brandy might be come at.
Sentinels were deemed unnecessary, and the only vigils performed
were those of such of the party as could procure liquor. A few
resolute men might easily have cut off the detachment; but of the
inhabitants some were favourable, many indifferent, and the rest
overawed. So nothing memorable occurred in the course of the
evening, except that Waverley's rest was sorely interrupted by the
revellers hallooing forth their Jacobite songs, without remorse or
mitigation of voice.
Early in the morning they were again mounted and on the road to
Edinburgh, though the pallid visages of some of the troop betrayed
that they had spent a night of sleepless debauchery. They halted
at Linlithgow, distinguished by its ancient palace, which Sixty
Years Since was entire and habitable, and whose venerable ruins,
NOT QUITE SIXTY YEARS SINCE, very narrowly escaped the unworthy
fate of being converted into a barrack for French prisoners. May
repose and blessings attend the ashes of the patriotic statesman
who, amongst his last services to Scotland, interposed to prevent
this profanation!
As they approached the metropolis of Scotland, through a champaign
and cultivated country, the sounds of war began to be heard. The
distant yet distinct report of heavy cannon, fired at intervals,
apprized Waverley that the work of destruction was going forward.
Even Balmawhapple seemed moved to take some precautions, by
sending an advanced party in front of his troop, keeping the main
body in tolerable order, and moving steadily forward.
Marching in this manner they speedily reached an eminence, from
which they could view Edinburgh stretching along the ridgy hill
which slopes eastward from the Castle. The latter, being in a
state of siege, or rather of blockade, by the northern insurgents,
who had already occupied the town for two or three days, fired at
intervals upon such parties of Highlanders as exposed themselves,
either on the main street or elsewhere in the vicinity of the
fortress. The morning being calm and fair, the effect of this
dropping fire was to invest the Castle in wreaths of smoke, the
edges of which dissipated slowly in the air, while the central
veil was darkened ever and anon by fresh clouds poured forth from
the battlements; the whole giving, by the partial concealment, an
appearance of grandeur and gloom, rendered more terrific when
Waverley reflected on the cause by which it was produced, and that
each explosion might ring some brave man's knell.
Ere they approached the city the partial cannonade had wholly
ceased. Balmawhapple, however, having in his recollection the
unfriendly greeting which his troop had received from the battery
at Stirling, had apparently no wish to tempt the forbearance of
the artillery of the Castle. He therefore left the direct road,
and, sweeping considerably to the southward so as to keep out of
the range of the cannon, approached the ancient palace of Holyrood
without having entered the walls of the city. He then drew up his
men in front of that venerable pile, and delivered Waverley to the
custody of a guard of Highlanders, whose officer conducted him
into the interior of the building.
A long, low, and ill-proportioned gallery, hung with pictures,
affirmed to be the portraits of kings, who, if they ever
flourished at all, lived several hundred years before the
invention of painting in oil colours, served as a sort of guard
chamber or vestibule to the apartments which the adventurous
Charles Edward now occupied in the palace of his ancestors.
Officers, both in the Highland and Lowland garb, passed and
repassed in haste, or loitered in the hall as if waiting for
orders. Secretaries were engaged in making out passes, musters,
and returns. All seemed busy, and earnestly intent upon something
of importance; but Waverley was suffered to remain seated in the
recess of a window, unnoticed by any one, in anxious reflection
upon the crisis of his fate, which seemed now rapidly approaching.