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"And is this sort of Highland Jonathan Wild admitted into society, and called a gentleman ?"

"So much so, that the quarrel between my father and Fergus Mac-Ivor began at a county meeting, where he wanted to take precedence of all the Lowland gentlemen then present, only my father would not suffer it. And then he upbraided my father that he was under his banner, and paid him tribute; and my father was in a towering passion, for Baillie Macwheeble, who manages such things in his own way, had contrived to keep this black-mail a secret from him, and passed it in his account for cess-money. And they would have fought; but Fergus Mac-Ivor said, very gallantly, he would never raise his hand against a gray head that was so much respected as my father's.01 wish, I wish they had continued friends !”

“And did you ever see this Mr. Mac-Ivor, if that be his name, Miss Bradwardine ?"

"No, that is not his name; and he would consider mister as a sort of affront, only that you are an Englishman, and know no better. But the Lowlanders call him, like other gentlemen, by the name of his estate, Glennaquoich; and the Highlanders call him Vich lan Vohr, that is, the Son of John the Great; and we upon the braes here call him by both names indifferently.

"But he is a very polite, handsome man," continued Rose; "and his sister Flora is one of the most beautiful and accomplished young ladies in this country; she was bred in a convent in France, and was a great friend of mine before this unhappy dispute. Dear Captain Waverley, try your influence with my father to make matters up. I am sure this is but the beginning of our troubles; for TullyVeolan has never been a safe or quiet residence when we have been at feud with the Highlanders. When I was a girl about ten, there was a skirmish fought between a party of twenty of them, and my father and his servants, behind the Mains; and the bullets broke several panes in the north windows, they were so near. Three of the Highlanders were killed, and they brought them in, wrapped in their plaids, and laid them on the stone floor of the hall; and next morning their wives and daughters came, clapping their hands, and crying the coronach and shrieking, and carried away the dead bodies, with the pipes playing before them. I could not sleep for six weeks without starting, and thinking I heard these terrible cries, and saw the bodies lying on the steps, all stiff and swathed up in their bloody tartans. But since that time there came a party from the garrison at Stirling, with a warrant from the Lord Justice Clerk, or some such great man, and took away all our arms; and now, how are we to protect ourselves if they come down in any strength?"

"The whole circumstances now detailed concerning the state of the country, seemed equally novel and extraordinary. Waverley had indeed often heard of Highland thieves, but had no idea of the systematic mode in which their depredations were conducted; and that the practice was connived at, and even encouraged, by many of the Highland chieftains, who not only found these creaghs, or forays, useful for the pur

pose of training individuals of their clans to the practice of arms, but also of maintaining a wholesome terror among their Lowland neighbours, and, levying, as we have seen, a tribute from them, under colour of protection-money.

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'Baillie Macwheeble, who soon afterwards entered, expatiated still more at length upon the same topic. This honest gentleman's conversation was so formed upon his professional practice, that Davie Gallatly once said his discourse was like a charge of horning." He assured our hero, that "from the maist ancient times of record, the lawless thieves, limmers, and broken men of the Highlands, had been in fellowship together, by reason of their surnames, for the committing of divers thefts, reifs and herships upon the honest men of the low country, when they not only intromitted with their whole goods and gear, corn, cattle, horse, nolt, sheep, outsight and insight plenishing, at their wicked plea. sure, but moreover made prisoners, ransomed them, or concussed them into giving borrows (pledges,) to enter into captivity again: All which was directly prohibited in divers parts of the Statute Book, both by the act one thousand five hundred and sixty-seven, and various others; the whilk statutes, with all that had followed and might follow thereupon, were shamefully broken and villipended by the said sornars, limmers, and broken men, associated into fellowships for the aforesaid purposes of theft, stouthreef, fire-raising, murther, raptus mulicrum, or forcible abduction of women, and such like as aforesaid."—Vol. i. pp. 212–228. If Such were the extraordinary feuds and factions of the lairds of that day, not less extraordinary were their reconciliations.

While they were on this topic, the door suddenly opened, and, ushered by Saunders Saunderson, a Highlander, fully armed and equipped, entered the apartment. Had it not been that Saunders acted the part of master of the ceremonies to this martial apparition, without appearing fo deviate from his usual composure, and that neither Mr. Bradwardine nor Rose exhibited any emotion, Edward would certainly have thought the intrusion hostile. As it was, he started at the sight of what he had not yet happened to see, a mountaineer in his full national costume. The individual Gael was a stout dark man of low stature, the ample folds of whose plaid added to the appearance of strength which his person exhibited. The short kilt, or petticoat, showed his sinewy and clean-made limbs; the goat-skin purse, flanked by the usual defences, a dirk and steel-wrought pistol, hung before him; his bonnet had a short feather, which indicated his claim to be treated as a Duinhé- Wassell, or sort of gentleman; a broad sword dangled by his side, a target hung upon his shoulder, and a long Spanish fowling-piece occupied one of his hands. With the other hand be pulled off his bonnet, and the Baron, who well knew their customs, and the proper mode of addressing them, immediately said, with an air of dignity, but without rising, and much, as Edward thought, in the manner of a prince receiving an embassy, "Welcome, Evan Dhu Maccombich, what news from Fergus Mac Ivor Vich Ian Vohr ?"

"Fergus Mac-Ivor Vich Ian Vohr," said the ambassador, in good English, "greets you well, Baron of Bradwardine and Tully-Veolan,

and is sorry there has been a thick cloud interposed between you and him, which has kept you from seeing and considering the friendship and alliances that have been between your houses and forbears of old; and he prays you that the cloud may pass away, and that things may be as they have been heretofore between the clan Ivor and the house of Bradwardine, when there was an egg between them for a flint, and a knife for a sword. And he expects you will also say, you are sorry for the cloud, and no man shall hereafter ask whether it descended from the hill to the valley, or rose from the valley to the hill; for they never struck with the scabbard who did not receive with the sword, and wo to him who would lose his friend for the stormy cloud of a spring morning."

To this the Baron of Bradwardine answered with suitable dignity, that he knew the chief of Clan Ivor to be a well-wisher to the King, and he was sorry there should have been a cloud between him and any gentleman of such sound principles, "for when folks are banding together, feeble is he who hath no brother.”

This appearing perfectly satisfactory, that the peace between these august persons might be duly solemnized, the Baron ordered a stoup of usquebaugh, and, filling a glass, drank to the health and prosperity of Mac-Ivor of Glennaquoich; upon which the Celtic ambassador, to requite his politeness, turned down a mighty bumper of the same generous liquor, seasoned with his good wishes to the house of Bradwardine. 'Having thus ratified the preliminaries of the general treaty of pacification, the envoy retired to adjust with Mr. Macwheeble some subordinate articles, with which it was not thought necessary to trouble the Baron. These probably referred to the discontinuance of the subsidy, and apparently the Baillie found means to satisfy their ally without suffering his master to suppose that his dignity was compromised. At least, it is certain, that after the plenipotentiaries had drunk a bottle of brandy in single drams, which seemed to have no more effect upon such seasoned vessels, than if it had been poured upon the two bears at the top of the avenue, Evan Dhu Maccombich having possess ed himself of all the information which he could procure respecting the robbery of the preceding night, declared his intention to set off immediately in pursuit of the cattle, which he pronounced to be "no that far off-they have broken the bone," he observed, "but have had no time to suck the marrow." —Vol. i. pp. 232-236.

'The den of this Highland Cacus' Waverley resolved to explore, and committing himself to the care of the Celtic ambassador,' proceeded to make a visit of curiosity to the territories and person of the great northern potentate of whom he had so lately, for the first time, heard-Vich Ian Vohr.

In this tour he is led to the cave, and through the fastnesses, of Donald Bean Lean, one of the clan Mac-Ivor, the late invader of the Barony of Bradwardine, of whom we shall give our readers one anecdote.

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But does he carry off men and women ?^

Out, aye. Did not ye hear him speak o' the Perth baillie? It cost

him five hundred marks ere he got to the south o' Bally-brough. And ance Donald played a pretty sport. There was to be a blythe bridal between the Lady Cramfeezer, in the howe o' the Mearns, (She was the auld laird's widow, and not so young as she had been hersell,) and young Gilliewhackit, who had spent his heirship and moveables, like a gentleman, at cock-matches, bull-baitings, horse-races, and the like. Now, Donald Bean Lean, being aware that the bridegroom was in request, and wanting to cleik the cunzie, (that is, to hook the silver,) he cannily carried off Gilliewhackit one night when he was riding dovering hame, (with the malt rather above the meal,) and with the help of his gillies he gat him into the hills with the speed of light, and the first place he wakened in was the cove of Uaimh an Ri, (the King's cave, one of Donald's dens.) So there was old to do about ransoming the bridegroom; for Donald would not lower a farthing of a thousand pounds'—

"The devil!'

Punds Scottish, ye shall understand. And the lady had not the silver if she had pawned her gown; and they applied to the governor o' Stirling castle, and to the major o' the Black Watch; and the governor said, it was too far to the northward, and out of his district; and the major said, his men were gane hame to the shearing, and he would not call them out before the victual was got in for all the Cramfeezers in Christendom, let alone the Mearns, for that it would prejudice the country.'

But savages of all countries are so nearly alike in their habits, that we need waste no more time on Donald, but hasten to present to our readers the extraordinary spectacle of a gentleman of rank and fortune, of the highest spirit and honour, of the most elegant and polished manners, and the best informed understanding, who is, nevertheless, a freebooter, thief, highwayman, and felon, and who glories in being so, and who values the high endowments and gifts he has received from nature and art only as the means of maintaining a savage dominion over a barbarous clan.

And now the report of a gun was heard, and a sportsman was seen, with his dogs and attendant, at the upper end of the glen. "Shogh," said Dugald Mahony, "tat's ta Chief."

'It is not,' said Evan, imperiously. "Do ye think he would come to meet a Sasenach duinhé-wassel (English gentleman) in such a way as that?"

But as they approached a little nearer, he said, with an appearance of mortification, "And it is even he sure enough, and he has not his tail on after all;-there is no living creature with him but Callum Beg

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In fact, Fergus Mac-Ivor, of whom a Frenchman might have said, as truly as of any man in the Highlands, " Qu'il connoît bien ses gens," had no idea of raising himself in the eyes of an English young man of fortune, by appearing with a retinue of idle Highlanders, disproportioned to the occasion. He was well aware that such an unnecessary attendance would seem to Edward rather ludricous than respect

able; therefore, although, had he been to receive a brother chieftain, he would probably have been attended by all that retinue which Evan had described with so much unction, he judged it more respectable to advance to meet Waverley with a single attendant, a very handsome Highland boy, who carried his master's shooting-pouch and his, broadsword, without which he seldom went abroad.

• When Fergus and Waverley met, the latter was struck with a peculiar grace and dignity of the chieftain's figure. Above the middle size, and, finely proportioned, the Highland dress, which he wore in its simplest mode, set off his person to great advantage. He wore the trews, or close trowsers, made of tartan, checked scarlet and white; in other particulars, his dress strictly resembled Evan's, excepting that he had no weapon save a dirk, very richly mounted with silver. His page, as we have said, carried his claymore, and the fowling-piece, which he held in his hand, seemed only designed for sport. His countenance was decidedly Scotch, with all the peculiarities of the northern physiognomy, but had yet so little of its harshness and exaggeration, that it would have been pronounced in any country extremely handsome. The martial air of the bonnet, with a single eagle's feather as a distinction, added much to the manly appearance of his head.

'An air of openness and affability increased the favourable impression derived from this handsome and dignified exterior. Yet a skilful physiognomist would have been less satisfied with the countenance on the second than on the first view. The eye-brow and upper-lip bespoke something of the habit of peremptory command and decisive superiority. Even his courtesy, though open, frank, and unconstrained, seemed to indicate a sense of personal importance; and upon any check or accidental excitation, a sudden, though transient lour of the eye, showed a hasty, haughty, and vindictive temper, not less to be dreaded because it seemed much under its owner's command.'-Vol. i. pp. 281–286. The following view of the territory, the manners, and the society of Vich Ian Vhor is curious.

The Chief and his guest had by this time reached the house of Glennaquoich, which consisted of lan nan Chaistel's mansion, a high rude-looking square tower, with the addition of a lofted house, that is, a building of two stories, constructed by Fergus's grandfather when he returned from that memorable expedition, well remembered by the western shires, under the name of the Highland Host.

'Around the house, which stood on an eminence in the midst of a narrow Highland valley, there appeared none of that attention to convenience, far less to ornament and decoration, which usually surrounds a gentleman's habitation. An inclosure or two, divided by dry stone walls, were the only part of the domain that was fenced; as to the rest, the narrow slips of level ground which lay by the side of the brook éxhibited a scanty crop of barley, liable to constant depredations from the herds of wild ponies and black cattle that grazed upon the adjacent hills. These ever and anon made an incursion upon the arable ground, which was repelled by the loud, uncouth, and dissonant shouts of half a dozen Highland swains, all running as if they had been mad, and every

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