Thenextday,whenhisgoodoldhostappeared,Edwardlearnedthathisfriendhaddepartedwiththedawn,leavingnoneofhisfollowersexceptCallumBeg,thesortoffoot-pagewhousedtoattendhisperson,andwhohaditnowinchargetowaituponWaverley。Onaskinghishost,ifheknewwheretheChieftainwasgone,theoldmanlookedfixedlyathim,withsomethingmysteriousandsadinthesmilewhichwashisonlyreply。Waverleyrepeatedhisquestion,towhichhishostansweredinaproverb,-
Whatsentthemessengerstohell,Wasaskingwhattheyknewfullwell。
CorrespondingtotheLowlandsaying,Monyanespeirsthegatetheykenfu’weel。’’
Hewasabouttoproceed,butCallumBegsaidratherpertly,asEdwardthought,thatTaTighearnach_i。e。,_theChiefdidnotliketaSassenaghDuinh-wasseltobepingledwi’micklespeaking,asshewasnatatweel。’’FromthisWaverleyconcludedheshoulddisobligehisfriendbyinquiringofastrangertheobjectofajourneywhichhehimselfhadnotcommunicated。
Itisunnecessarytotracetheprogressofourhero’srecovery。
Thesixthmorninghadarrived,andhewasabletowalkaboutwithastaff,whenFergusreturnedwithaboutascoreofhismen。Heseemedinthehighestspirits,congratulatedWaverleyonhisprogresstowardsrecovery,andfindinghewasabletositonhorseback,proposedtheirimmediatereturntoGlennaquoich。
Waverleyjoyfullyacceded,fortheformofhisfairmistresshadlivedinhisdreamsduringallthetimeofhisconfinement。
Nowhehasriddeno’ermoorandmoss,O’erhillandmanyaglen,Fergus,allthewhile,withhismyrmidons,stridingstoutlybyhisside,ordivergingtogetashotataroeoraheathcock。
Waverley’sbosombeatthickwhentheyapproachedtheoldtowerofIannanChaistel,andcoulddistinguishthefairformofitsmistressadvancingtomeetthem。
Fergusbeganimmediately,withhisusualhighspirits,toexclaim,Openyourgates,incomparableprincess,tothewoundedMoorAbindarez,whomRodrigodoNarvez,constableofAntiquera,conveystoyourcastle;oropenthem,ifyoulikeitbetter,totherenownedMarquisofMantua,thesadattendantofhishalf-slainfriend,BaldovinosoftheMountain-Ah,longresttothysoul,Cervantes!withoutquotingthyremnants,howshouldIframemylanguagetobefitromanticears!’’
SeeDonQuixote。
Floranowadvanced,andwelcomingWaverleywithmuchkindness,expressedherregretforhisaccident,ofwhichshehadalreadyheardtheparticulars,andhersurprisethatherbrothershouldnothavetakenbettercaretoputastrangeronhisguardagainsttheperilsofthesportinwhichheengagedhim。
EdwardeasilyexculpatedtheChieftain,who,indeed,athisownpersonalrisk,hadprobablysavedhislife。
Thisgreetingover,FergussaidthreeorfourwordstohissisterinGaelic。Thetearsinstantlysprungtohereyes,buttheyseemedtobetearsofdevotionandjoy,forshelookeduptoHeaven,andfoldedherhandsasinasolemnexpressionofprayerorgratitude。Afterthepauseofaminute,shepresentedtoEdwardsomeletterswhichhadbeenforwardedfromTully-Veolanduringhisabsence,and,atthesametime,deliveredsometoherbrother。Tothelattershelikewisegavethreeorfournumbersofthe_CaledonianMercury,_theonlynewspaperwhichwasthenpublishedtothenorthoftheTweed。
Bothgentlemenretiredtoexaminetheirdespatches,andEdwardspeedilyfoundthatthosewhichhehadreceivedcontainedmattersofverydeepinterest。
TheletterswhichWaverleyhadhithertoreceivedfromhisrelationsinEngland,werenotsuchasrequiredanyparticularnoticeinthisnarrative。Hisfatherusuallywrotetohimwiththepompousaffectationofonewhowastoomuchoppressedbypublicaffairstofindleisuretoattendtothoseofhisownfamily。
NowandthenhementionedpersonsofrankinScotlandtowhomhewishedhissonshouldpaysomeattention;butWaverley,hithertooccupiedbytheamusementswhichhehadfoundatTully-VeolanandGlennaquoich,dispensedwithpayinganyattentiontohintssocoldlythrownout,especiallyasdistance,shortnessofleaveofabsence,andsoforth,furnishedareadyapology。ButlatterlytheburdenofMr。RichardWaverley’spaternalepistlesconsistedincertainmysterioushintsofgreatnessandinfluencewhichhewasspeedilytoattain,andwhichwouldensurehisson’sobtainingthemostrapidpromotion,shouldheremaininthemilitaryservice。SirEverard’sletterswereofadifferenttenor。Theywereshort;forthegoodBaronetwasnoneofyourillimitablecorrespondents,whosemanuscriptoverflowsthefoldsoftheirlargepostpaper,andleavesnoroomfortheseal;buttheywerekindandaffectionate,andseldomconcludedwithoutsomeallusiontoourhero’sstud,somequestionaboutthestateofhispurse,andaspecialinquiryaftersuchofhisrecruitsashadprecededhimfromWaverley-Honour。
AuntRachelchargedhimtorememberhisprinciplesofreligion,totakecareofhishealth,tobewareofScotchmists,which,shehadheard,wouldwetanEnglishmanthroughandthrough;nevertogooutatnightwithouthisgreat-coat;and,aboveall,towearflannelnexttohisskin。
Mr。Pembrokeonlywrotetoourherooneletter,butitwasofthebulkofsixepistlesofthesedegeneratedays,containing,inthemoderatecompassoftenfoliopages,closelywritten,aprcisofasupplementaryquartomanuscriptof_addenda,delenda,etcorrigenda,_inreferencetothetwotractswithwhichhehadpresentedWaverley。ThisheconsideredasameresopinthepantostaytheappetiteofEdward’scuriosity,untilheshouldfindanopportunityofsendingdownthevolumeitself,whichwasmuchtooheavyforthepost,andwhichheproposedtoaccompanywithcertaininterestingpamphlets,latelypublishedbyhisfriendinLittleBritain,withwhomhehadkeptupasortofliterarycorrespondence,invirtueofwhichthelibraryshelvesofWaverley-Honourwereloadedwithmuchtrash,andagoodroundbill,seldomsummedinfewerthanthreefigures,wasyearlytransmitted,inwhichSirEverardWaverley,ofWaverley-Honour,Bart。wasmarkedDr。toJonathanGrubbet,booksellerandstationer,LittleBritain。
SuchhadhithertobeenthestyleoftheletterswhichEdwardhadreceivedfromEngland;butthepacketdeliveredtohimatGlennaquoichwasofadifferentandmoreinterestingcomplexion。
Itwouldbeimpossibleforthereader,evenwereItoinsertthelettersatfulllength,tocomprehendtherealcauseoftheirbeingwritten,withoutaglanceintotheinterioroftheBritishCabinetattheperiodinquestion。
TheMinistersofthedayhappenednoverysingularevent
tobedividedintotwoparties;theweakestofwhich,makingupbyassiduityofintriguetheirinferiorityinrealconsequence,hadoflateacquiredsomenewproselytes,andwiththemthehopeofsupersedingtheirrivalsinthefavouroftheirsovereign,andoverpoweringthemintheHouseofCommons。Amongstothers,theyhadthoughtitworthwhiletopractiseuponRichardWaverley。Thishonestgentleman,byagravemysteriousdemeanour,anattentiontotheetiquetteofbusiness,rathermorethantoitsessence,afacilityinmakinglongdullspeeches,consistingoftruismsandcommon-places,hashedupwithatechnicaljargonofoffice,whichpreventedtheinanityofhisorationsfrombeingdiscovered,hadacquiredacertainnameandcreditinpubliclife,andevenestablished,withmany,thecharacterofaprofoundpolitician;noneofyourshiningorators,indeed,whosetalentsevaporateintropesofrhetoricandflashesofwit,butonepossessedofsteadypartsforbusiness,whichwouldwearwell,astheladiessayinchoosingtheirsilks,andoughtinallreasontobegoodforcommonandevery-dayuse,sincetheywereconfessedlyformedofnoholidaytexture。
Thisfaithhadbecomesogeneral,thattheinsurgentpartyintheCabinetofwhichwehavemademention,aftersoundingMr。RichardWaverley,weresosatisfiedwithhissentimentsandabilities,astopropose,that,incaseofacertainrevolutionintheministry,heshouldtakeanostensibleplaceintheneworderofthings,notindeedoftheveryfirstrank,butgreatlyhigher,inpointbothofemolumentandinfluence,thanthatwhichhenowenjoyed。Therewasnoresistingsotemptingaproposal,notwithstandingthattheGreatMan,underwhosepatronagehehadenlisted,andbywhosebannerhehadhithertostoodfirm,wastheprincipalobjectoftheproposedattackbythenewallies。Unfortunatelythisfairschemeofambitionwasblightedintheverybud,byaprematuremovement。Alltheofficialgentlemenconcernedinit,whohesitatedtotakethepartofavoluntaryresignation,wereinformedthatthekinghadnofurtheroccasionfortheirservices;and,inRichardWaverley’scase,whichtheMinisterconsideredasaggravatedbyingratitude,dismissalwasaccompaniedbysomethinglikepersonalcontemptandcontumely。Thepublic,andeventhepartyofwhomhesharedthefall,sympathizedlittleinthedisappointmentofthisselfishandinterestedstatesman;andheretiredtothecountryunderthecomfortablereflection,thathehadlost,atthesametime,character,credit,and,-whatheatleastequallydeplored,-emolument。
RichardWaverley’slettertohissonuponthisoccasionwasamasterpieceofitskind。Aristideshimselfcouldnothavemadeoutahardercase。Anunjustmonarch,andanungratefulcountry,weretheburdenofeachroundedparagraph。Hespokeoflongservices,andunrequitedsacrifices;thoughtheformerhadbeenoverpaidbyhissalary,andnobodycouldguessinwhatthelatterconsisted,unlessitwereinhisdeserting,notfromconviction,butforthelucreofgain,theToryprinciplesofhisfamily。Intheconclusion,hisresentmentwaswroughttosuchanexcessbytheforceofhisownoratory,thathecouldnotrepresssomethreatsofvengeance,howevervagueandimpotent,andfinallyacquaintedhissonwithhispleasurethatheshouldtestifyhissenseoftheill-treatmenthehadsustained,bythrowinguphiscommissionassoonastheletterreachedhim。This,hesaid,wasalsohisuncle’sdesire,ashewouldhimselfintimateinduecourse。
Accordingly,thenextletterwhichEdwardopenedwasfromSirEverard。Hisbrother’sdisgraceseemedtohaveremovedfromhiswell-naturedbosomallrecollectionoftheirdifferences,and,remoteashewasfromeverymeansoflearning,thatRichard’sdisgracewasinrealityonlythejust,aswellasnaturalconsequence,ofhisownunsuccessfulintrigues,thegood,butcredulousBaronet,atoncesetitdownasanewandenormousinstanceoftheinjusticeoftheexistingGovernment。Itwastrue,hesaid,andhemustnotdisguiseitevenfromEdward,thathisfathercouldnothavesustainedsuchaninsultaswasnow,forthefirsttime,offeredtooneofhishouse,unlesshehadsubjectedhimselftoitbyacceptingofanemploymentunderthepresentsystem。SirEverardhadnodoubtthathenowbothsawandfeltthemagnitudeofthiserror,anditshouldbehisSirEverard’sbusiness,totakecarethatthecauseofhisregretshouldnotextenditselftopecuniaryconsequences。
ItwasenoughforaWaverleytohavesustainedthepublicdisgrace;thepatrimonialinjurycouldeasilybeobviatedbytheheadoftheirfamily。ButitwasboththeopinionofMr。RichardWaverleyandhisown,thatEdward,therepresentativeofthefamilyofWaverley-Honour,shouldnotremaininasituationwhichsubjectedhimalsotosuchtreatmentasthatwithwhichhisfatherhadbeenstigmatized。Herequestedhisnephewthereforetotakethefittest,and,atthesametime,themostspeedyopportunity,oftransmittinghisresignationtotheWar-Office,andhinted,moreover,thatlittleceremonywasnecessarywheresolittlehadbeenusedtohisfather。HesentmultitudinousgreetingstotheBaronofBradwardine。
AletterfromAuntRachelspokeoutevenmoreplainly。SheconsideredthedisgraceofbrotherRichardasthejustrewardofhisforfeitinghisallegiancetoalawful,thoughexiledsovereign,andtakingtheoathstoanalien;aconcessionwhichhergrandfather,SirNigelWaverley,refusedtomake,eithertotheRoundheadParliamentortoCromwell,whenhislifeandfortunestoodintheutmostextremity。ShehopedherdearEdwardwouldfollowthefootstepsofhisancestors,andasspeedilyaspossiblegetridofthebadgeofservitudetotheusurpingfamily,andregardthewrongssustainedbyhisfatherasanadmonitionfromHeaven,thateverydesertionofthelineofloyaltybecomesitsownpunishment。ShealsoconcludedwithherrespectstoMr。Bradwardine,andbeggedWaverleywouldinformherwhetherhisdaughter,MissRose,wasoldenoughtowearapairofveryhandsomeear-rings,whichsheproposedtosendasatokenofheraffection。ThegoodladyalsodesiredtobeinformedwhetherMr。BradwardinetookasmuchScotchsnuff,anddancedasunweariedly,ashedidwhenhewasatWaverley-Honouraboutthirtyyearsago。