by Walter Scott
CHAPTER XLIII
THE BALL
Ensign Maccombich having gone to the Highland camp upon duty, and BailieMacwheeble having retired to digest his dinner and Evan Dhu's intimationof martial law in some blind change-house, Waverley, with the Baron andthe Chieftain, proceeded to Holyrood House. The two last were in fulltide of spirits, and the Baron rallied in his way our hero upon thehandsome figure which his new dress displayed to advantage. 'If you haveany design upon the heart of a bonny Scotch lassie, I would premonishyou, when you address her, to remember and quote the words ofVirgilius:--
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 thus elegantlyrendered;
For cruel love has 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, 'hear mysong:
She wadna hae a Lowland laird, Nor be an English lady; But she's away with Duncan Graeme, 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 cause ofthe gallant and handsome young Prince, who threw himself upon the mercyof his countrymen, rather like a hero of romance than a calculatingpolitician. It is not, therefore, to be wondered that Edward, whohad spent the greater part of his life in the solemn seclusion ofWaverley-Honour, should have been dazzled at the liveliness and eleganceof the scene now exhibited in the long-deserted halls of the Scottishpalace. The accompaniments, indeed, fell short of splendour, being suchas the confusion and hurry of the time admitted; still, however, thegeneral effect was striking, and, the rank of the company 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 education,and command of the French and Italian languages.
When the bustle attending the conclusion of the dance permitted, Edward,almost intuitively, followed Fergus to the place where Miss Mac-Ivor wasseated. The sensation of hope, with which he had nursed his affectionin absence of the beloved object, seemed to vanish in her presence, and,like one striving to recover the particulars of a forgotten dream,he would have given the world at that moment to have recollectedthe grounds on which he had founded expectations which now seemed sodelusive. He accompanied Fergus with downcast eyes, tingling ears,and the 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 ears,or the tumult on which he casts his wandering look.
Flora seemed a little--a very little--affected and discomposed at hisapproach. 'I bring 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 escapedevery ear but one that was feverish with apprehension. It was, however,distinctly marked, and, combined with her whole tone and manner, plainlyintimated, 'I will never think of Mr. Waverley as a more intimateconnexion.' Edward stopped, bowed, and looked at Fergus, who bit hislip; a movement of anger, which proved that he also had put a sinisterinterpretation on the reception which his sister had given his friend.'This, then, is an end of my day-dream!' Such was Waverley's firstthought, and it was so exquisitely painful as to banish from his cheekevery drop of blood.
'Good God!' said Rose Bradwardine, 'he is not yet recovered!'
These words, which she uttered with great emotion, were overheard by theChevalier himself, who stepped hastily forward, and, taking Waverley bythe hand, inquired kindly after his health, and added, that he wished tospeak with him. By a strong and sudden effort, which the circumstancesrendered indispensable, Waverley recovered himself so far as to followthe 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 I amdeeply interested in the affair. But, my good young friend, you must puta more severe restraint upon your feelings. There are many here whoseeyes can see as clearly as mine, but the prudence of whose tongues maynot be equally trusted.'
So saying, he turned easily away, and joined a circle of officers ata few 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, you willbe able to fill up from an inn near your own residence), you must haveobserved, and doubtless with sympathetic pain, the reluctant agony withwhich the poor jades at first apply their galled necks to the collarsof the harness. But when the irresistible arguments of the postboy haveprevailed upon them to proceed a mile or two, they will become callousto the first sensation; and being warm at the harness, as the saidpostboy may term it, proceed as if their withers were altogetherunwrung. This simile so much corresponds with the state of Waverley'sfeelings in the course of this memorable evening, that I prefer it(especially as being, I trust, wholly original) to any more splendidillustration with which Byshe's ART OF POETRY might supply me.
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 a 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,in mental 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 ought heto droop beneath the frown of a capricious beauty?
O nymph, unrelenting and cold as thou art, My bosom is proud as thine own.
&nbs
p; With the feeling expressed in these beautiful lines (which, however,were not then written) [They occur in Miss Seward's fine verses,beginning--To thy rocks, stormy Lannow, adieu.], Waverley determinedupon convincing Flora that he was not to be depressed by a rejection,in which his vanity whispered that perhaps she did her own prospects asmuch injustice as his. And, to aid this change of feeling, there lurkedthe secret and unacknowledged hope, that she might learn to prize hisaffection more highly when she did not conceive it to be altogetherwithin her own choice to attract or repulse it. There was a mystic toneof encouragement, also, in the Chevalier's words, though he feared theyonly referred to the wishes of Fergus in favour of a union betweenhim and his sister. But the whole circumstances of time, place, andincident, combined at once to awaken his imagination, and to call uponhim for a manly and decisive tone of conduct, leaving to fate to disposeof the issue. Should he appear to be the only one sad and disheartenedon the eve of battle, how greedily would the tale be commented upon bythe slander which had been already but too busy with his fame? Never,never, he internally resolved, shall my unprovoked enemies possess suchan 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 passed thegroup, Waverley exerted his powers of fancy, animation, and eloquence,and attracted the general admiration of the company. The conversationgradually assumed the tone best qualified for the display of his talentsand acquisitions. The gaiety of the evening was exalted in character,rather than checked, by the approaching dangers of the morrow. Allnerves were strung for the future, and prepared to enjoy the present.This mood of mind is highly favourable for the exercise of the powersof imagination, for poetry, and for that eloquence which is allied topoetry. Waverley, as we have elsewhere observed, possessed at times awonderful flow of rhetoric; and, on the present occasion, he touchedmore than once the higher notes of feeling, and then again ran off ina wild voluntary of fanciful mirth. He was supported and excited bykindred spirits, who felt the same impulse of mood and time; and eventhose of more cold and calculating habits were hurried along by thetorrent. Many ladies declined the dance, which still went forward, and,under various pretences, joined the party to which the 'handsome youngEnglishman' 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 of lessexcitation, 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 stationsof society. Certainly she had hitherto accounted among the incurabledeficiencies of Edward's disposition, the MAUVAISE HONTE, which, asshe had been educated in the first foreign circles, and was littleacquainted with the shyness of English manners, was, in her opinion,too nearly related to timidity and imbecility of disposition. But ifa passing 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,the resolution 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 seenhim dreaming and dozing about the banks of Tully-Veolan like anhypochondriac person, or, as Burton's ANATOMIA hath it, a phrenesiac orlethargic patient, you would wonder where he hath sae suddenly acquiredall 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 ofsense and 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 to-morrow 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 dignitymingled with courtesy, which well became his high birth and loftypretensions. An hour had hardly flown away when the musicians played thesignal for parting, so well known in Scotland.' [Which is, or was wontto be, the old air of 'Good-night, and joy be with you a'!']
'Good-night, then, said the Chevalier, rising; 'Good-night, and joybe with 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 volueres 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.'
