buthispurposewasdeprecatedbyallaroundhim，andhewaswithdifficultyinducedtoabandonit。
Bothlineswerenowmovingforward，thefirstpreparedforinstantcombat。Theclansofwhichitwascomposed，formedeachasortofseparatephalanx，narrowinfront，andindepthten，twelve，orfifteenfiles，accordingtothestrengthofthefollowing。Thebest-armedandbest-born，forthewordsweresynonymous，wereplacedinfrontofeachoftheseirregularsubdivisions。Theothersintherearshoulderedforwardthefront，andbytheirpressureaddedbothphysicalimpulse，andadditionalardourandconfidence，tothosewhowerefirsttoencounterthedanger。
Downwithyourplaid，Waverley，’’criedFergus，throwingoffhisown；we’llwinsilksforourtartansbeforethesunisabovethesea。’’
Theclansmenoneverysidestripttheirplaids，preparedtheirarms，andtherewasanawfulpauseofaboutthreeminutes，duringwhichthemen，pullingofftheirbonnets，raisedtheirfacestoheaven，andutteredashortprayer；thenpulledtheirbonnetsovertheirbrows，andbegantomoveforwardatfirstslowly。Waverleyfelthisheartatthatmomentthrobasitwouldhaveburstfromhisbosom，Itwasnotfear，itwasnotardour，-itwasacompoundofboth，anewanddeeplyenergeticimpulse，thatwithitsfirstemotionchilledandastounded，thenfeveredandmaddenedhismind。Thesoundsaroundhimcombinedtoexalthisenthusiasm；thepipesplayed，andtheclansrushedforward，eachinitsowndarkcolumn。Astheyadvancedtheymendedtheirpace，andthemutteringsoundsofthementoeachotherbegantoswellintoawildcry。
Atthismomentthesun，whichwasnowrisenabovethehorizon，dispelledthemist。Thevapoursroselikeacurtain，andshowedthetwoarmiesintheactofclosing。ThelineoftheregularswasformeddirectlyfrontingtheattackoftheHighlanders；