CHAPTER XLIII
THE BALL
Ensign MacCombich having gone to the Highland camp upon duty, andBailie Macwheeble having retired to digest his dinner and Evan Dhu'sintimation of martial law in some blind change-house, Waverley, withthe Baron and the Chieftain, proceeded to Holyrood House. The two lastwere in full tide of spirits, and the Baron rallied in his way our heroupon the handsome figure which his new dress displayed to advantage.'If you have any design upon the heart of a bonny Scotch lassie, Iwould premonish you, when you address her, to remember and quote thewords of Virgilius:--
Nunc insanus amor duri me Martis in armis, Tela inter media atque adversos detinet hostes;
whilk verses Robertson of Struan, Chief of the Clan Donnochy (unlessthe claims of Lude ought to be preferred primo loco), has thuselegantly rendered:--
For cruel love had gartan'd low my leg, And clad my hurdies in a philabeg.
Although, indeed, ye wear the trews, a garment whilk I approve maist ofthe twa, as mair ancient and seemly.' 'Or rather,' said Fergus, 'hearmy song:--
She wadna hae a Lowland laird, Nor be an English lady; But she's away with Duncan Grame, And he's row'd her in his plaidy.'
By this time they reached the palace of Holyrood, and were announcedrespectively as they entered the apartments.
It is but too well known how many gentlemen of rank, education, andfortune took a concern in the ill-fated and desperate undertaking of1745. The ladies, also, of Scotland very generally espoused the causeof the gallant and handsome young Prince, who threw himself upon themercy of his countrymen rather like a hero of romance than acalculating politician. It is not, therefore, to be wondered thatEdward, who had spent the greater part of his life in the solemnseclusion of Waverley-Honour, should have been dazzled at theliveliness and elegance of the scene now exhibited in the long desertedhalls of the Scottish palace. The accompaniments, indeed, fell short ofsplendour, being such as the confusion and hurry of the time admitted;still, however, the general effect was striking, and, the rank of thecompany considered, might well be called brilliant.
It was not long before the lover's eye discovered the object of hisattachment. Flora Mac-Ivor was in the act of returning to her seat,near the top of the room, with Rose Bradwardine by her side. Among muchelegance and beauty, they had attracted a great degree of the publicattention, being certainly two of the handsomest women present. ThePrince took much notice of both, particularly of Flora, with whom hedanced, a preference which she probably owed to her foreign educationand command of the French and Italian languages.
When the bustle attending the conclusion of the dance permitted, Edwardalmost intuitively followed Fergus to the place where Miss Mac-Ivor wasseated. The sensation of hope with which he had nursed his affection inabsence of the beloved object seemed to vanish in her presence, and,like one striving to recover the particulars of a forgotten dream, hewould have given the world at that moment to have recollected thegrounds on which he had founded expectations which now seemed sodelusive. He accompanied Fergus with downcast eyes, tingling ears, andthe feelings of the criminal who, while the melancholy cart movesslowly through the crowds that have assembled to behold his execution,receives no clear sensation either from the noise which fills his earsor the tumult on which he casts his wandering look. Flora seemed alittle--a very little--affected and discomposed at his approach. 'Ibring you an adopted son of Ivor,' said Fergus.
'And I receive him as a second brother,' replied Flora.
There was a slight emphasis on the word, which would have escaped everyear but one that was feverish with apprehension. It was, however,distinctly marked, and, combined with her whole tone and manner,plainly intimated, 'I will never think of Mr. Waverley as a moreintimate connexion.' Edward stopped, bowed, and looked at Fergus, whobit his lip, a movement of anger which proved that he also had put asinister interpretation on the reception which his sister had given hisfriend. 'This, then, is an end of my day-dream!' Such was Waverley'sfirst thought, and it was so exquisitely painful as to banish from hischeek every drop of blood.
'Good God!' said Rose Bradwardine, 'he is not yet recovered!'
These words, which she uttered with great emotion, were overheard bythe Chevalier himself, who stepped hastily forward, and, takingWaverley by the hand, inquired kindly after his health, and added thathe wished to speak with him. By a strong and sudden effort; which thecircumstances rendered indispensable, Waverley recovered himself so faras to follow the Chevalier in silence to a recess in the apartment.
Here the Prince detained him some time, asking various questions aboutthe great Tory and Catholic families of England, their connexions,their influence, and the state of their affections towards the house ofStuart. To these queries Edward could not at any time have given morethan general answers, and it may be supposed that, in the present stateof his feelings, his responses were indistinct even to confusion. TheChevalier smiled once or twice at the incongruity of his replies, butcontinued the same style of conversation, although he found himselfobliged to occupy the principal share of it, until he perceived thatWaverley had recovered his presence of mind. It is probable that thislong audience was partly meant to further the idea which the Princedesired should be entertained among his followers, that Waverley was acharacter of political influence. But it appeared, from his concludingexpressions, that he had a different and good-natured motive, personalto our hero, for prolonging the conference. 'I cannot resist thetemptation,' he said, 'of boasting of my own discretion as a lady'sconfidant. You see, Mr. Waverley, that I know all, and I assure you Iam deeply interested in the affair. But, my good young friend, you mustput a more severe restraint upon your feelings. There are many herewhose eyes can see as clearly as mine, but the prudence of whosetongues may not be equally trusted,'
So saying, he turned easily away and joined a circle of officers at afew paces' distance, leaving Waverley to meditate upon his partingexpression, which, though not intelligible to him in its whole purport,was sufficiently so in the caution which the last word recommended.Making, therefore, an effort to show himself worthy of the interestwhich his new master had expressed, by instant obedience to hisrecommendation, he walked up to the spot where Flora and MissBradwardine were still seated, and having made his compliments to thelatter, he succeeded, even beyond his own expectation, in entering intoconversation upon general topics.
If, my dear reader, thou hast ever happened to take post-horses at ----or at ----(one at least of which blanks, or more probably both, youwill be able to fill up from an inn near your own residence), you musthave observed, and doubtless with sympathetic pain, the reluctant agonywith which the poor jades at first apply their galled necks to thecollars of the harness. But when the irresistible arguments of thepost-boy have prevailed upon them to proceed a mile or two, they willbecome callous to the first sensation; and being warm in the harness,as the said post-boy may term it, proceed as if their withers werealtogether unwrung. This simile so much corresponds with the state ofWaverley's feelings in the course of this memorable evening, that Iprefer it (especially as being, I trust, wholly original) to any moresplendid illustration with which Byshe's 'Art of Poetry' might supplyme.
Exertion, like virtue, is its own reward; and our hero had, moreover,other stimulating motives for persevering in a display of affectedcomposure and indifference to Flora's obvious unkindness. Pride, whichsupplies its caustic as an useful, though severe, remedy for the woundsof affection, came rapidly to his aid. Distinguished by the favour of aprince; destined, he had room to hope, to play a conspicuous part inthe revolution which awaited a mighty kingdom; excelling, probably, inmental acquirements, and equalling at least in personalaccomplishments, most of the noble and distinguished persons with whomhe was now ranked; young, wealthy, and high-born,--could he, or oughthe, to droop beneath the frown of a capricious beauty?
O nymph, unrelenting and cold as thou art, My bosom is proud as thine own.
With the feeling expres
sed in these beautiful lines (which, however,were not then written), [Footnote: They occur in Miss Seward's fineverses, beginning--'To thy rocks, stormy Lannow, adieu.'] Waverleydetermined upon convincing Flora that he was not to be depressed by arejection in which his vanity whispered that perhaps she did her ownprospects as much injustice as his. And, to aid this change of feeling,there lurked the secret and unacknowledged hope that she might learn toprize his affection more highly, when she did not conceive it to bealtogether within her own choice to attract or repulse it. There was amystic tone of encouragement, also, in the Chevalier's words, though hefeared they only referred to the wishes of Fergus in favour of an unionbetween him and his sister. But the whole circumstances of time, place,and incident combined at once to awaken his imagination and to callupon him for a manly and decisive tone of conduct, leaving to fate todispose of the issue. Should he appear to be the only one sad anddisheartened on the eve of battle, how greedily would the tale becommented upon by the slander which had been already but too busy withhis fame! Never, never, he internally resolved, shall my unprovokedenemies possess such an advantage over my reputation.
Under the influence of these mixed sensations, and cheered at times bya smile of intelligence and approbation from the Prince as he passedthe group, Waverley exerted his powers of fancy, animation, andeloquence, and attracted the general admiration of the company. Theconversation gradually assumed the tone best qualified for the displayof his talents and acquisitions. The gaiety of the evening was exaltedin character, rather than checked, by the approaching dangers of themorrow. All nerves were strung for the future, and prepared to enjoythe present. This mood of mind is highly favourable for the exercise ofthe powers of imagination, for poetry, and for that eloquence which isallied to poetry. Waverley, as we have elsewhere observed, possessed attimes a wonderful flow of rhetoric; and on the present occasion, hetouched more than once the higher notes of feeling, and then again ranoff in a wild voluntary of fanciful mirth. He was supported and excitedby kindred spirits, who felt the same impulse of mood and time; andeven those of more cold and calculating habits were hurried along bythe torrent. Many ladies declined the dance, which still went forward,and under various pretences joined the party to which the 'handsomeyoung Englishman' seemed to have attached himself. He was presented toseveral of the first rank, and his manners, which for the present werealtogether free from the bashful restraint by which, in a moment ofless excitation, they were usually clouded, gave universal delight.
Flora Mac-Ivor appeared to be the only female present who regarded himwith a degree of coldness and reserve; yet even she could not suppressa sort of wonder at talents which, in the course of their acquaintance,she had never seen displayed with equal brilliancy and impressiveeffect. I do not know whether she might not feel a momentary regret athaving taken so decisive a resolution upon the addresses of a lover whoseemed fitted so well to fill a high place in the highest stations ofsociety. Certainly she had hitherto accounted among the incurabledeficiencies of Edward's disposition the mauvaise honte which, as shehad been educated in the first foreign circles, and was littleacquainted with the shyness of English manners, was in her opinion toonearly related to timidity and imbecility of disposition. But if apassing wish occurred that Waverley could have rendered himselfuniformly thus amiable and attractive, its influence was momentary; forcircumstances had arisen since they met which rendered in her eyes theresolution she had formed respecting him final and irrevocable.
With opposite feelings Rose Bradwardine bent her whole soul to listen.She felt a secret triumph at the public tribute paid to one whose meritshe had learned to prize too early and too fondly. Without a thought ofjealousy, without a feeling of fear, pain, or doubt, and undisturbed bya single selfish consideration, she resigned herself to the pleasure ofobserving the general murmur of applause. When Waverley spoke, her earwas exclusively filled with his voice, when others answered, her eyetook its turn of observation, and seemed to watch his reply. Perhapsthe delight which she experienced in the course of that evening, thoughtransient, and followed by much sorrow, was in its nature the most pureand disinterested which the human mind is capable of enjoying.
'Baron,' said the Chevalier, 'I would not trust my mistress in thecompany of your young friend. He is really, though perhaps somewhatromantic, one of the most fascinating young men whom I have ever seen.'
'And by my honour, sir,' replied the Baron,'the lad can sometimes be asdowff as a sexagenary like myself. If your Royal Highness had seen himdreaming and dozing about the banks of Tully-Veolan like anhypochondriac person, or, as Burton's "Anatomia" hath it, a phrenesiacor lethargic patient, you would wonder where he hath sae suddenlyacquired all this fine sprack festivity and jocularity.'
'Truly,' said Fergus Mac-Ivor, 'I think it can only be the inspirationof the tartans; for, though Waverley be always a young fellow of senseand honour, I have hitherto often found him a very absent andinattentive companion.'
'We are the more obliged to him,' said the Prince, 'for having reservedfor this evening qualities which even such intimate friends had notdiscovered. But come, gentlemen, the night advances, and the businessof tomorrow must be early thought upon. Each take charge of his fairpartner, and honour a small refreshment with your company.'
He led the way to another suite of apartments, and assumed the seat andcanopy at the head of a long range of tables with an air of dignity,mingled with courtesy, which well became his high birth and loftypretensions. An hour had hardly flown away when the musicians playedthe signal for parting so well known in Scotland. [Footnote: Which is,or was wont to be, the old air of 'Good-night and joy be wi' you a'.]
'Good-night, then,' said the Chevalier, rising; 'goodnight, and joy bewith you! Good-night, fair ladies, who have so highly honoured aproscribed and banished Prince! Good-night, my brave friends; may thehappiness we have this evening experienced be an omen of our return tothese our paternal halls, speedily and in triumph, and of many and manyfuture meetings of mirth and pleasure in the palace of Holyrood!'
When the Baron of Bradwardine afterwards mentioned this adieu of theChevalier, he never failed to repeat, in a melancholy tone,
'Audiit, et voti Phoebus succedere partem Mente dedit; partem volucres dispersit in auras;
which,' as he added, 'is weel rendered into English metre by my friendBangour:--
Ae half the prayer wi' Phoebus grace did find, The t'other half he whistled down the wind.'