CHAPTER LIII
FERGUS A SUITOR
Waverly had, indeed, as he looked closer into the state of theChevalier's Court, less reason to be satisfied with it. It contained, asthey say an acorn includes all the ramifications of the future oak, asmany seeds of TRACASSERIE and intrigue, as might have done honour to theCourt of a large empire. Every person of consequence had some separateobject, which he pursued with a fury that Waverley considered asaltogether disproportioned to its importance. Almost all had theirreasons for discontent, although the most legitimate was that of theworthy old Baron, who was only distressed on account of the commoncause.
'We shall hardly,' said he one morning to Waverley, when they had beenviewing the castle,--'we shall hardly gain the obsidional crown, whichyou wot well was made of the roots or grain which takes root withinthe place besieged, or it may be of the herb woodbind, PARETARIA, orpellitory; we shall not, I say, gain it by this same blockade orleaguer of Edinburgh Castle.' For this opinion, he gave most learned andsatisfactory reasons, that the reader may not care to hear repeated.
Having escaped from the old gentleman, Waverley went to Fergus'slodgings by appointment, to await his return from Holyrood House. 'Iam to have a particular audience to-morrow,' said Fergus to Waverley,overnight, 'and you must meet me to wish me joy of the success which Isecurely anticipate.'
The morrow came, and in the Chief's apartment he found Ensign Maccombichwaiting to make report of his turn of duty in a sort of ditch which theyhad dug across the Castle-hill, and called a trench. In a short timethe Chief's voice was heard on the stair in a tone of impatientfury:--'Callum,--why, Callum Beg,--Diaoul!' He entered the room with allthe marks of a man agitated by a towering passion; and there were fewupon whose features rage produced a more violent effect. The veins ofhis forehead swelled when he was in such agitation; his nostril becamedilated; his cheek and eye inflamed; and his look that of a demoniac.These appearances of half-suppressed rage were the more frightful,because they were obviously caused by a strong effort to temper withdiscretion an almost ungovernable paroxysm of passion, and resulted froman internal conflict of the most dreadful kind, which agitated his wholeframe of mortality.
As he entered the apartment, he unbuckled his broadsword, and throwingit down with such violence that the weapon rolled to the other end ofthe room, 'I know not what,' he exclaimed, 'withholds me from takinga solemn oath that I will never more draw it in his cause. Load mypistols, Callum, and bring them hither instantly;--instantly!' Callum,whom nothing ever startled, dismayed, or disconcerted, obeyed verycoolly. Evan Dhu, upon whose brow the suspicion that his Chief had beeninsulted, called up a corresponding storm, swelled in sullen silence,awaiting to learn where or upon whom vengeance was to descend.
'So, Waverley you are there,' said the Chief, after a moment'srecollection;--'Yes, I remember I asked you to share my triumph, andyou have come to witness my--disappointment we shall call it.' Evan nowpresented the written report he had in his hand, which Fergus threw fromhim with great passion. 'I wish to God,' he said, 'the old den wouldtumble down upon the heads of the fools who attack, and the knaves whodefend it! I see, Waverley, you think I am mad--leave us, Evan, but bewithin call.'
'The Colonel's in an unco kippage,' said Mrs. Flockhart to Evan, as hedescended; 'I wish he may be weel,--the very veins on his brent brow areswelled like whipcord: wad he no tak something?'
'He usually lets blood for these fits,' answered the Highland ancientwith great composure.
When this officer left the room, the Chieftain gradually reassumed somedegree of composure.--'I know, Waverley,' he said, 'that Colonel Talbothas persuaded you to curse ten times a day your engagement with us; nay,never deny it, for I am at this moment tempted to curse my own. Wouldyou believe it, I made this very morning two suits to the Prince, and hehas rejected them both: what do you think of it?'
'What can I think,' answered Waverley, 'till I know what your requestswere?'
'Why, what signifies what they were, man? I tell you it was I that madethem,--I, to whom he owes more than to any three who have joined thestandard; for I negotiated the whole business, and brought in all thePerthshire men when not one would have stirred. I am not likely, Ithink, to ask anything very unreasonable, and if I did they might havestretched a point.--Well, but you shall know all, now that I can drawmy breath again with some freedom.--You remember my earl's patent; itis dated some years back, for services then rendered; and certainlymy merit has not been diminished, to say the least, by my subsequentbehaviour. Now, sir, I value this bauble of a coronet as little as youcan, or any philosopher on earth; for I hold that the chief of sucha clan as the Sliochd nan Ivor is superior in rank to any earl inScotland. But I had a particular reason for assuming this cursed titleat this time. You must know, that I learned accidentally that the Princehas been pressing that old foolish Baron of Bradwardine to disinherithis male heir, or nineteenth or twentieth cousin, who has taken acommand in the Elector of Hanover's militia, and to settle his estateupon your pretty little friend Rose; and this, as being the commandof his king and overlord, who may alter the destination of a fief atpleasure, 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 slipperon her coronation-day, or some such trash. Well sir, as Rose Bradwardinewould always have made a suitable match for me, but for this idioticalpredilection of her father for the heir-male, it occurred to me therenow remained no obstacle, unless that the Baron might expect hisdaughter's husband to take the name of Bradwardine (which you know wouldbe impossible in my case), and that this might be evaded by my assumingthe title to which I had so good a right, and which, of course, wouldsupersede that difficulty. If she was to be also Viscountess Bradwardinein her own right, after her father's demise, so much the better; I couldhave no objection.'
'But, Fergus,' said Waverley, 'I had no idea that you had any affectionfor Miss Bradwardine, and you are always sneering at her father.'
'I have as much affection for Miss Bradwardine, my good friend, as Ithink it necessary to have for the future mistress of my family, and themother of my children. She is a very pretty, intelligent girl, and iscertainly of one of the very first Lowland families; and, with a littleof Flora's instructions and forming, will make a very good figure. As toher father, he is an original, it is true, and an absurd one enough; buthe has given such severe lessons to Sir Hew Halbert, that dear defunctthe Laird of Balmawhapple, and others, that nobody dare laugh at him,so his absurdity goes for nothing. I tell you there could have beenno earthly objection--none. I had settled the thing entirely in my ownmind.'
'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 mytitle would have only provoked a premature and irritating discussion onthe subject of the change of name, when, as Earl of Glennaquoich, Ihad only to propose to him to carry his d-d bear and bootjack PARTYPER PALE, or in a scutcheon of pretence, or in a separate shieldperhaps--any way that would not blemish my own coat of arms. And as toRose, I don't see what objection she could have made, if her father wassatisfied.'
'Perhaps the same that your sister makes to me, you being satisfied.'
Fergus gave a broad stare at the comparison which this suppositionimplied, but cautiously suppressed the answer which rose to his tongue.'Oh, we should easily have arranged all that.--so, sir, I craved aprivate interview, and this morning was assigned; and I asked you tomeet me here, thinking, like a fool, that I should want your countenanceas bride's-man. Well--I state my pretensions--they are not denied;the promises so repeatedly made, and the patent granted--they areacknowledged. But I propose, as a natural consequence, to assume therank which the patent bestowed--I have the old story of the jealousy ofC--and M-- trumped up against me--I resist this pretext, and offer toprocure their written acquiescence, in virtue of the date of my patentas prior to their silly claims--I assure you I would ha
ve had such aconsent 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 mypatent must be suppressed for the present, for fear of disgustingthat rascally coward and FAINEANT--(naming the rival chief of his ownclan)--who has no better title to be a chieftain than I to be Emperorof China; and who is pleased to shelter his dastardly reluctance to comeout, agreeable to his promise twenty times pledged, under a pretendedjealousy of the Prince's partiality to me. And, to leave this miserabledriveller without a pretence for his cowardice, the Prince asks if asa personal favour of me, forsooth, not to press my just and reasonablerequest 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 hisingratitude, and I therefore stated, with all the composure I couldmuster,--for I promise you I trembled with passion,--the particularreasons I had for wishing that his Royal Highness would impose upon meany other mode of exhibiting my duty and devotion, as my views in lifemade, what at any other time would have been a mere trifle, at thiscrisis 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 inthy thought!--why, he answered, that truly he was glad I had made him myconfidant, to prevent more grievous disappointment, for he could assureme, upon the word of a prince, that Miss Bradwardine's affections wereengaged, and he was under a particular promise to favour them. "So, mydear Fergus," said he, with his most gracious cast of smile, "as themarriage 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 thedevil or the Elector, whichever offered the dearest revenge. However,I am now cool. I know he intends to marry her to some of his rascallyFrenchmen, or his Irish officers: but I will watch them close; and letthe man that would supplant me look well to himself.--BISOGNA COPRIRSI,SIGNOR.'
After some further conversation, unnecessary to be detailed, Waverleytook leave of the Chieftain, whose fury had now subsided into a deep andstrong desire of vengeance, and returned home, scarce able to analysethe mixture of feelings which the narrative had awakened in his ownbosom.