On entering the room where they stood crowded together, Waverley easily recognised the object of his visit, not only by the peculiar1 dignity of his appearance, but by the appendage2 of Dugald Mahony, with his battleaxe, who had stuck to him from the moment of his captivity3 as if he had been skewered4 to his side. This close attendance was perhaps for the purpose of securing his promised reward from Edward, but it also operated to save the English gentleman from being plundered5 in the scene of general confusion; for Dugald sagaciously argued that the amount of the salvage6 which he might be allowed would be regulated by the state of the prisoner when he should deliver him over to Waverley. He hastened to assure Waverley, therefore, with more words than he usually employed, that he had ‘keepit ta sidier roy haill, and that he wasna a plack the waur since the fery moment when his honour forbad her to gie him a bit clamhewit wi’ her Lochaber-axe.’
Waverley assured Dugald of a liberal recompense, and, approaching the English officer, expressed his anxiety to do anything which might contribute to his convenience under his present unpleasant circumstances.
‘I am not so inexperienced a soldier, sir,’ answered the Englishman, ‘as to complain of the fortune of war. I am only grieved to see those scenes acted in our own island which I have often witnessed elsewhere with comparative indifference7.’
‘Another such day as this,’ said Waverley, ‘and I trust the cause of your regrets will be removed, and all will again return to peace and order.’
The officer smiled and shook his head. ‘I must not forget my situation so far as to attempt a formal confutation of that opinion; but, notwithstanding your success and the valour which achieved it, you have undertaken a task to which your strength appears wholly inadequate8.’
At this moment Fergus pushed into the press.
‘Come, Edward, come along; the Prince has gone to Pinkie House for the night; and we must follow, or lose the whole ceremony of the caligae. Your friend, the Baron9, has been guilty of a great piece of cruelty; he has insisted upon dragging Bailie Macwheeble out to the field of battle. Now, you must know, the Bailie’s greatest horror is an armed Highlander11 or a loaded gun; and there he stands, listening to the Baron’s instructions concerning the protest, ducking his head like a sea-gull at the report of every gun and pistol that our idle boys are firing upon the fields, and undergoing, by way of penance13, at every symptom of flinching14 a severe rebuke15 from his patron, who would not admit the discharge of a whole battery of cannon16, within point-blank distance, as an apology for neglecting a discourse17 in which the honour of his family is interested.’
‘But how has Mr. Bradwardine got him to venture so far?’ said Edward.
‘Why, he had come as far as Musselburgh, I fancy, in hopes of making some of our wills; and the peremptory18 commands of the Baron dragged him forward to Preston after the battle was over. He complains of one or two of our ragamuffins having put him in peril19 of his life by presenting their pieces at him; but as they limited his ransom20 to an English penny, I don’t think we need trouble the provost-marshal upon that subject. So come along, Waverley.’
‘Waverley!’ said the English officer, with great emotion;’ the nephew of Sir Everard Waverley, of —— shire?’
‘The same, sir,’ replied our hero, somewhat surprised at the tone in which he was addressed.
‘I am at once happy and grieved,’ said the prisoner, ‘to have met with you.’
‘I am ignorant, sir,’ answered Waverley, ‘how I have deserved so much interest.’
‘Did your uncle never mention a friend called Talbot?’
‘I have heard him talk with great regard of such a person,’ replied Edward; ‘a colonel, I believe, in the army, and the husband of Lady Emily Blandeville; but I thought Colonel Talbot had been abroad.’
‘I am just returned,’ answered the officer; ‘and being in Scotland, thought it my duty to act where my services promised to be useful. Yes, Mr. Waverley, I am that Colonel Talbot, the husband of the lady you have named; and I am proud to acknowledge that I owe alike my professional rank and my domestic happiness to your generous and noble-minded relative. Good God! that I should find his nephew in such a dress, and engaged in such a cause!’
‘Sir,’ said Fergus, haughtily21, ‘the dress and cause are those of men of birth and honour.’
‘My situation forbids me to dispute your assertion,’ said Colonel Talbot; ‘otherwise it were no difficult matter to show that neither courage nor pride of lineage can gild22 a bad cause. But, with Mr. Waverley’s permission and yours, sir, if yours also must be asked, I would willingly speak a few words with him on affairs connected with his own family.’
‘Mr. Waverley, sir, regulates his own motions. You will follow me, I suppose, to Pinkie,’ said Fergus, turning to Edward, ‘when you have finished your discourse with this new acquaintance?’ So saying, the Chief of Glennaquoich adjusted his plaid with rather more than his usual air of haughty23 assumption and left the apartment.
The interest of Waverley readily procured24 for Colonel Talbot the freedom of adjourning25 to a large garden belonging to his place of confinement26. They walked a few paces in silence, Colonel Talbot apparently27 studying how to open what he had to say; at length he addressed Edward.
‘Mr. Waverley, you have this day saved my life; and yet I would to God that I had lost it, ere I had found you wearing the uniform and cockade of these men.’
‘I forgive your reproach, Colonel Talbot; it is well meant, and your education and prejudices render it natural. But there is nothing extraordinary in finding a man whose honour has been publicly and unjustly assailed28 in the situation which promised most fair to afford him satisfaction on his calumniators.’
‘I should rather say, in the situation most likely to confirm the reports which they have circulated,’ said Colonel Talbot, ‘by following the very line of conduct ascribed to you. Are you aware, Mr. Waverley, of the infinite distress29, and even danger, which your present conduct has occasioned to your nearest relatives?’
‘Danger!’
‘Yes, sir, danger. When I left England your uncle and father had been obliged to find bail10 to answer a charge of treason, to which they were only admitted by the exertion30 of the most powerful interest. I came down to Scotland with the sole purpose of rescuing you from the gulf31 into which you have precipitated32 yourself; nor can I estimate the consequences to your family of your having openly joined the rebellion, since the very suspicion of your intention was so perilous33 to them. Most deeply do I regret that I did not meet you before this last and fatal error.’
‘I am really ignorant,’ said Waverley, in a tone of reserve, ‘why Colonel Talbot should have taken so much trouble on my account.’
‘Mr. Waverley,’ answered Talbot, ‘I am dull at apprehending34 irony35; and therefore I shall answer your words according to their plain meaning. I am indebted to your uncle for benefits greater than those which a son owes to a father. I acknowledge to him the duty of a son; and as I know there is no manner in which I can requite36 his kindness so well as by serving you, I will serve you, if possible, whether you will permit me or no. The personal obligation which you have this day laid me under (although, in common estimation, as great as one human being can bestow37 on another) adds nothing to my zeal38 on your behalf; nor can that zeal be abated39 by any coolness with which you may please to receive it.’
‘Your intentions may be kind, sir,’ said Waverley, drily; ‘but your language is harsh, or at least peremptory.’
‘On my return to England,’ continued Colonel Talbot, ‘after long absence, I found your uncle, Sir Everard Waverley, in the custody40 of a king’s messenger, in consequence of the suspicion brought upon him by your conduct. He is my oldest friend — how often shall I repeat it? — my best benefactor41! he sacrificed his own views of happiness to mine; he never uttered a word, he never harboured a thought, that benevolence42 itself might not have thought or spoken. I found this man in confinement, rendered harsher to him by his habits of life, his natural dignity of feeling, and — forgive me, Mr. Waverley — by the cause through which this calamity43 had come upon him. I cannot disguise from you my feelings upon this occasion; they were most painfully unfavorable to you. Having by my family interest, which you probably know is not inconsiderable, succeeded in obtaining Sir Everard’s release, I set out for Scotland. I saw Colonel Gardiner, a man whose fate alone is sufficient to render this insurrection for ever execrable. In the course of conversation with him I found that, from late circumstances, from a reexamination of the persons engaged in the mutiny, and from his original good opinion of your character, he was much softened44 towards you; and I doubted not that, if I could be so fortunate as to discover you, all might yet be well. But this unnatural45 rebellion has ruined all. I have, for the first time in a long and active military life, seen Britons disgrace themselves by a panic flight, and that before a foe46 without either arms or discipline. And now I find the heir of my dearest friend — the son, I may say, of his’ affections — sharing a triumph for which he ought the first to have blushed. Why should I lament47 Gardiner? his lot was happy compared to mine!’
There was so much dignity in Colonel Talbot’s manner, such a mixture of military pride and manly48 sorrow, and the news of Sir Everard’s imprisonment49 was told in so deep a tone of feeling, that Edward stood mortified50, abashed51, and distressed52 in presence of the prisoner who owed to him his life not many hours before. He was not sorry when Fergus interrupted their conference a second time.
‘His Royal Highness commands Mr. Waverley’s attendance.’ Colonel Talbot threw upon Edward a reproachful glance, which did not escape the quick eye of the Highland12 Chief. ‘His immediate53 attendance,’ he repeated, with considerable emphasis. Waverley turned again towards the Colonel.
‘We shall meet again,’ he said; ‘in the meanwhile, every possible accommodation — ’
‘I desire none,’ said the Colonel; ‘let me fare like the meanest of those brave men who, on this day of calamity, have preferred wounds and captivity to flight; I would almost exchange places with one of those who have fallen to know that my words have made a suitable impression on your mind.’
‘Let Colonel Talbot be carefully secured,’ said Fergus to the Highland officer who commanded the guard over the prisoners; ‘it is the Prince’s particular command; he is a prisoner of the utmost importance.’
‘But let him want no accommodation suitable to his rank,’ said Waverley. ‘Consistent always with secure custody,’ reiterated54 Fergus. The officer signified his acquiescence55 in both commands, and Edward followed Fergus to the garden-gate, where Callum Beg, with three saddle-horses, awaited them. Turning his head, he saw Colonel Talbot reconducted to his place of confinement by a file of Highlanders; he lingered on the threshold of the door and made a signal with his hand towards Waverley, as if enforcing the language he had held towards him.
‘Horses,’ said Fergus, as he mounted, ‘are now as plenty as blackberries; every man may have them for the catching56. Come, let Callum adjust your stirrups and let us to Pinkie House88 as fast as these ci-devant dragoon-horses choose to carry us.’
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1
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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2
appendage
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| n.附加物 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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4
skewered
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| v.（用串肉扦或类似物）串起，刺穿( skewer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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plundered
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
salvage
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| v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救 | |
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7
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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8
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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9
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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bail
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| v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人 | |
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highlander
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| n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人 | |
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12
highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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13
penance
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| n.（赎罪的）惩罪 | |
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14
flinching
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的现在分词 ) | |
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15
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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16
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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18
peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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19
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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20
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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21
haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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22
gild
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| vt.给…镀金，把…漆成金色，使呈金色 | |
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haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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24
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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adjourning
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| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的现在分词 ) | |
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confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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32
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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33
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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apprehending
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的现在分词 )； 理解 | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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requite
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| v.报酬，报答 | |
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bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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38
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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39
abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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40
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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41
benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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42
benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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43
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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44
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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45
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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46
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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47
lament
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| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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49
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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50
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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51
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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53
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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54
reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
acquiescence
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| n.默许；顺从 | |
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56
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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