CHAPTER XXXIX
THE JOURNEY IS CONTINUED
Before Waverley awakened from his repose, the day was far advanced, andhe began to feel that he had passed many hours without food. This wassoon supplied in form of a copious breakfast, but Colonel Stewart, asif wishing to avoid the queries of his guest, did not again presenthimself. His compliments were, however, delivered by a servant, with anoffer to provide anything in his power that could be useful to CaptainWaverley on his journey, which he intimated would be continued thatevening. To Waverley's further inquiries, the servant opposed theimpenetrable barrier of real or affected ignorance and stupidity. Heremoved the table and provisions, and Waverley was again consigned tohis own meditations.
As he contemplated the strangeness of his fortune, which seemed todelight in placing him at the disposal of others, without the power ofdirecting his own motions, Edward's eye suddenly rested upon hisportmanteau, which had been deposited in his apartment during hissleep. The mysterious appearance of Alice in the cottage of the glenimmediately rushed upon his mind, and he was about to secure andexamine the packet which she had deposited among his clothes, when theservant of Colonel Stewart again made his appearance, and took up theportmanteau 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 thismaun gang in the baggage-cart.'
And so saying, he very coolly carried off the portmanteau, withoutwaiting further remonstrance, leaving our hero in a state wheredisappointment and indignation struggled for the mastery. In a fewminutes he heard a cart rumble out of the rugged court-yard, and madeno doubt that he was now dispossessed, for a space at least, if not forever, of the only documents which seemed to promise some light upon thedubious events which had of late influenced his destiny. With suchmelancholy thoughts he had to beguile about four or five hours ofsolitude.
When this space was elapsed, the trampling of horse was heard in thecourt-yard, and Colonel Stewart soon after made his appearance torequest his guest to take some further refreshment before hisdeparture. The offer was accepted, for a late breakfast had by no meansleft our hero incapable of doing honour to dinner, which was nowpresented. The conversation of his host was that of a plain countrygentleman, mixed with some soldier-like sentiments and expressions. Hecautiously avoided any reference to the military operations or civilpolitics of the time; and to Waverley's direct inquiries concerningsome of these points replied, that he was not at liberty to speak uponsuch topics.
When dinner was finished the governor arose, and, wishing Edward a goodjourney, said that, having been informed by Waverley's servant that hisbaggage had been sent forward, he had taken the freedom to supply himwith such changes of linen as he might find necessary till he was againpossessed of his own. With this compliment he disappeared. A servantacquainted Waverley an instant afterwards that his horse was ready.
Upon this hint he descended into the court-yard, and found a trooperholding a saddled horse, on which he mounted and sallied from theportal of Doune Castle, attended by about a score of armed men onhorseback. These had less the appearance of regular soldiers than ofindividuals who had suddenly assumed arms from some pressing motive ofunexpected emergency. Their uniform, which was blue and red, anaffected imitation of that of French chasseurs, was in many respectsincomplete, and sate awkwardly upon those who wore it. Waverley's eye,accustomed to look at a well-disciplined regiment, could easilydiscover that the motions and habits of his escort were not those oftrained soldiers, and that, although expert enough in the management oftheir horses, their skill was that of huntsmen or grooms rather than oftroopers. The horses were not trained to the regular pace so necessaryto execute simultaneous and combined movements and formations; nor didthey seem bitted (as it is technically expressed) for the use of thesword. The men, however, were stout, hardy-looking fellows, and mightbe individually formidable as irregular cavalry. The commander of thissmall party was mounted upon an excellent hunter, and, although dressedin uniform, his change of apparel did not prevent Waverley fromrecognising his old acquaintance, Mr. Falconer of Balmawhapple.
Now, although the terms upon which Edward had parted with thisgentleman were none of the most friendly, he would have sacrificedevery recollection of their foolish quarrel for the pleasure ofenjoying once more the social intercourse of question and answer, fromwhich he had been so long secluded. But apparently the remembrance ofhis defeat by the Baron of Bradwardine, of which Edward had been theunwilling cause, still rankled in the mind of the low-bred and yetproud laird. He carefully avoided giving the least sign of recognition,riding doggedly at the head of his men, who, though scarce equal innumbers to a sergeant's party, were denominated Captain Falconer'stroop, 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 andboon companion; an expression of dry humour predominated in hiscountenance over features of a vulgar cast, which indicated habitualintemperance. His cocked hat was set knowingly upon one side of hishead, and while he whistled the 'Bob of Dumblain,' under the influenceof half a mutchkin of brandy, he seemed to trot merrily forward, with ahappy indifference to the state of the country, the conduct of theparty, 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 theway with talk.
'A fine evening, sir,' was Edward's salutation.
'Ow, ay, sir! a bra' night,' replied the lieutenant, in broad Scotch ofthe most vulgar description.
'And a fine harvest, apparently,' continued Waverley, following up hisfirst 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 hashorses till keep.'
'You perhaps act as quartermaster, sir?'
'Ay, quartermaster, riding-master, and lieutenant,' answered thisofficer of all work. 'And, to be sure, wha's fitter to look after thebreaking and the keeping of the poor beasts than mysell, that boughtand sold every ane o' them?'
'And pray, sir, if it be not too great a freedom, may I beg to knowwhere 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, 'Ishould have thought a person of your appearance would not have beenfound on the road.'
'Vera true, vera true, sir,' replied the officer, 'but every why hasits wherefore. Ye maun ken, the laird there bought a' thir beasts fraeme to munt his troop, and agreed to pay for them according to thenecessities 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 theestate, and then I had a' my dealers to settle wi' at Martinmas; andso, as he very kindly offered me this commission, and as the auldFifteen [Footnote: The Judges of the Supreme Court of Session inScotland are proverbially termed among the country people, TheFifteen.] wad never help me to my siller for sending out naigs againstthe government, why, conscience! sir, I thought my best chance forpayment was e'en to GAE OUT [Footnote: See Note 3.] mysell; and ye mayjudge, 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 atsae short a tether, I was brought up to hack and manger. I was bred ahorse-couper, sir; and if I might live to see you at Whitson-tryst, orat Stagshawbank, or the winter fair at Hawick, and ye wanted a spankerthat would lead the field, I'se be caution I would serve ye easy; forJamie Jinker was ne'er the lad to impose upon a gentleman. Ye're agentleman, sir, and should ken a horse's points; ye see thatthrough--ganging thing that Balmawhapple's on; I selled her till him.She was bred out of Lick-the-ladle, that wan t
he king's plate atCaverton-Edge, by Duke Hamilton's White-Foot,' etc., etc., etc.
But as Jinker was entered full sail upon the pedigree of Balmawhapple'smare, having already got as far as great-grandsire and great-grand-dam,and while Waverley was watching for an opportunity to obtain from himintelligence of more interest, the noble captain checked his horseuntil they came up, and then, without directly appearing to noticeEdward, said sternly to the genealogist, 'I thought, lieutenant, myorders were preceese, that no one should speak to the prisoner?'
The metamorphosed horse-dealer was silenced of course, and slunk to therear, where he consoled himself by entering into a vehement disputeupon the price of hay with a farmer who had reluctantly followed hislaird to the field rather than give up his farm, whereof the lease hadjust expired. Waverley was therefore once more consigned to silence,foreseeing that further attempts at conversation with any of the partywould only give Balmawhapple a wished-for opportunity to display theinsolence of authority, and the sulky spite of a temper naturallydogged, and rendered more so by habits of low indulgence and theincense 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 theevening sun. To shorten his journey, or perhaps to display hisimportance and insult the English garrison, Balmawhapple, inclining tothe right, took his route through the royal park, which reaches to andsurrounds the rock upon which the fortress is situated.
With a mind more at ease Waverley could not have failed to admire themixture of romance and beauty which renders interesting the scenethrough which he was now passing--the field which had been the scene ofthe tournaments of old--the rock from which the ladies beheld thecontest, while each made vows for the success of some favouriteknight--the towers of the Gothic church, where these vows might bepaid--and, surmounting all, the fortress itself, at once a castle andpalace, where valour received the prize from royalty, and knights anddames closed the evening amid the revelry of the dance, the song, andthe feast. All these were objects fitted to arouse and interest aromantic imagination.
But Waverley had other objects of meditation, and an incident soonoccurred of a nature to disturb meditation of any kind. Balmawhapple,in the pride of his heart, as he wheeled his little body of cavalryround the base of the Castle, commanded his trumpet to sound a flourishand his standard to be displayed. This insult produced apparently somesensation; for when the cavalcade was at such distance from thesouthern battery as to admit of a gun being depressed so as to bearupon them, a flash of fire issued from one of the embrazures upon therock; and ere the report with which it was attended could be heard, therushing sound of a cannon-ball passed over Balmawhapple's head, and thebullet, burying itself in the ground at a few yards' distance, coveredhim with the earth which it drove up. There was no need to bid theparty trudge. In fact, every man, acting upon the impulse of themoment, soon brought Mr. Jinker's steeds to show their mettle, and thecavaliers, retreating with more speed than regularity, never took to atrot, as the lieutenant afterwards observed, until an interveningeminence had secured them from any repetition of so undesirable acompliment on the part of Stirling Castle. I must do Balmawhapple,however, the justice to say that he not only kept the rear of histroop, and laboured to maintain some order among them, but, in theheight of his gallantry, answered the fire of the Castle by dischargingone of his horse-pistols at the battlements; although, the distancebeing nearly half a mile, I could never learn that this measure ofretaliation was attended with any particular effect.
The travellers now passed the memorable field of Bannockburn andreached the Torwood, a place glorious or terrible to the recollectionsof the Scottish peasant, as the feats of Wallace or the cruelties ofWude Willie Grime predominate in his recollection. At Falkirk, a townformerly famous in Scottish history, and soon to be again distinguishedas the scene of military events of importance, Balmawhapple proposed tohalt and repose for the evening. This was performed with very littleregard to military discipline, his worthy quarter-master being chieflysolicitous to discover where the best brandy might be come at.Sentinels were deemed unnecessary, and the only vigils performed werethose of such of the party as could procure liquor. A few resolute menmight easily have cut off the detachment; but of the inhabitants somewere favourable, many indifferent, and the rest overawed. So nothingmemorable occurred in the course of the evening, except that Waverley'srest was sorely interrupted by the revellers hallooing forth theirJacobite songs, without remorse or mitigation of voice.
Early in the morning they were again mounted and on the road toEdinburgh, though the pallid visages of some of the troop betrayed thatthey had spent a night of sleepless debauchery. They halted atLinlithgow, distinguished by its ancient palace, which Sixty YearsSince was entire and habitable, and whose venerable ruins, NOT QUITESIXTY YEARS SINCE, very narrowly escaped the unworthy fate of beingconverted into a barrack for French prisoners. May repose and blessingsattend the ashes of the patriotic statesman who, amongst his lastservices to Scotland, interposed to prevent this profanation!
As they approached the metropolis of Scotland, through a champaign andcultivated country, the sounds of war began to be heard. The distantyet distinct report of heavy cannon, fired at intervals, apprizedWaverley that the work of destruction was going forward. EvenBalmawhapple seemed moved to take some precautions, by sending anadvanced party in front of his troop, keeping the main body intolerable order, and moving steadily forward.
Marching in this manner they speedily reached an eminence, from whichthey could view Edinburgh stretching along the ridgy hill which slopeseastward from the Castle. The latter, being in a state of siege, orrather of blockade, by the northern insurgents, who had alreadyoccupied the town for two or three days, fired at intervals upon suchparties of Highlanders as exposed themselves, either on the main streetor elsewhere in the vicinity of the fortress. The morning being calmand fair, the effect of this dropping fire was to invest the Castle inwreaths of smoke, the edges of which dissipated slowly in the air,while the central veil was darkened ever and anon by fresh cloudspoured forth from the battlements; the whole giving, by the partialconcealment, an appearance of grandeur and gloom, rendered moreterrific 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 unfriendlygreeting which his troop had received from the battery at Stirling, hadapparently no wish to tempt the forbearance of the artillery of theCastle. He therefore left the direct road, and, sweeping considerablyto the southward so as to keep out of the range of the cannon,approached the ancient palace of Holyrood without having entered thewalls of the city. He then drew up his men in front of that venerablepile, 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, affirmedto be the portraits of kings, who, if they ever flourished at all,lived several hundred years before the invention of painting in oilcolours, served as a sort of guard chamber or vestibule to theapartments which the adventurous Charles Edward now occupied in thepalace of his ancestors. Officers, both in the Highland and Lowlandgarb, passed and repassed in haste, or loitered in the hall as ifwaiting for orders. Secretaries were engaged in making out passes,musters, and returns. All seemed busy, and earnestly intent uponsomething of importance; but Waverley was suffered to remain seated inthe recess of a window, unnoticed by any one, in anxious reflectionupon the crisis of his fate, which seemed now rapidly approaching.