第87章
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  deClunybroughtoffandstillpreserves;andhistribelykewaysbroughtoffmanyarms;-theColonelwasafterwardstakenup,and,hiswoundsbeingdress’d,withgreatdifficultierecovered。Mons。deClunylostonlyintheactiontwelvemen,ofwhomsomehaveingbeenonlywounded,fellafterwardsintothehandsoftheenemy,andweresentasslavestoAmerica,whenceseveralofthemreturned,andoneofthemisnowinFrance,aserjeantintheRegimentofRoyalScots。Howsoontheaccountsoftheenemie’sapproachhadreachedthePrince,H。R。H。hadimmediatelyorderedMi-LordleComtedeNairne,Brigadier,who,beingproscribed,isnowinFrance,withthethreebatalionsoftheDukeofAthol,thebatalionoftheDukeofPerth,andsomeothertroupsunderhiscommand,inordertosupportCluny,andtobringofftheartilirie。ButtheactionwasintirelyoverbeforetheComtedeNairne,withhiscommand,cou’dreachnightotheplace。Theythereforereturn’dalltoPenrith,andtheartiliriemarchedupingoodorder。NordidtheDukeofComberlandeverafterwardsdaretocomewithinaday’smarchofthePrinceandhisarmydureingthecourseofallthatretreat,whichwasconductedwithgreatprudenceandsafetywheninsomemannersurroundedbyenemies。’’

  NoteBB,p。-OathupontheDirk。

  AstheheathendeitiescontractedanindelibleobligationiftheysworebyStyx,theScottishHighlandershadusuallysomepeculiarsolemnityattachedtoanoathwhichtheyintendedshouldbebindingonthem。Veryfrequentlyitconsistedinlayingtheirhand,astheyswore,ontheirowndrawndirk;whichdagger,becomingapartytothetransaction,wasinvokedtopunishanybreachoffaith。Butbywhateverritualtheoathwassanctioned,thepartywasextremelydesiroustokeepsecretwhattheespecialoathwas,whichheconsideredasirrevocable。Thiswasamatterofgreatconvenience,ashefeltnoscrupleinbreakinghisasseverationwhenmadeinanyotherformthanthatwhichheaccountedaspeculiarlysolemn;andthereforereadilygrantedanyengagementwhichboundhimnolongerthanheinclined。

  Whereas,iftheoathwhichheaccountedinviolablewasoncepubliclyknown,nopartywithwhomhemighthaveoccasiontocontractwouldhaverestedsatisfiedwithanyother。LouisXI。ofFrancepractisedthesamesophistry,forhealsohadapeculiarspeciesofoath,theonlyonewhichhewaseverknowntorespect,andwhich,therefore,hewasveryunwillingtopledge。TheonlyengagementwhichthatwilytyrantaccountedbindinguponhimwasanoathbytheHolyCrossofSaintLod’Angers,whichcontainedaportionoftheTrueCross。Ifheprevaricatedaftertakingthisoath,Louisbelievedheshoulddiewithintheyear。TheConstableSaintPaul,beinginvitedtoapersonalconferencewithLouis,refusedtomeetthekingunlesshewouldagreetoensurehimsafeconductundersanctionofthisoath。But,saysComines,thekingreplied,hewouldneveragainpledgethatengagementtomortalman,thoughhewaswillingtotakeanyotheroathwhichcouldbedevised。Thetreatybrokeoff,therefore,aftermuchchafferingconcerningthenatureofthevowwhichLouiswastotake。

  Suchisthedifferencebetweenthedictatesofsuperstitionandthoseofconscience。

  Ahomelymetricalnarrativeoftheeventsoftheperiod,whichcontainssomestrikingparticulars,andisstillagreatfavouritewiththelowerclasses,givesaverycorrectstatementofthebehaviourofthemountaineersrespectingthissamemilitarylicense;andastheversesarelittleknown,andcontainsomegoodsense,weventuretoinsertthem。

  Now,gentlereaders,IhaveletyoukenMyverythoughts,fromheartandpen,’Tisneedlessfortoconten’

  Oryetcontroule,Forthere’snotawordo’tIcanmen’-

  Soyemustthole。

  Foronbothsides,somewerenotgood;

  Isawthemmurd’ringincoldblood,Notthegentlemen,butwildandrude,Thebasersort,WhotothewoundedhadnomoodButmurd’ringsport!

  Ev’nbothatPrestonandFalkirk,Thatfatalnightereitgrewmirk,Piercingthewoundedwiththeirdurk,Causedmanycry!

  Suchpity’sshownfromSavageandTurkAspeacetodie。

  Awoebetosuchhotzeal,Tosmitethewoundedonthefiell!

  It’sjusttheygotsuchgroatsinkail,Whodothesame。

  ItonlyteachescrueltysrealTothemagain。

  I’veseenthemencall’dHighlandRogues,WithLowlandmenmake_shangs_abrogs,Supkailandbrose,andflingthecogsOutatthedoor,Takecocks,hens,sheep,andhogs,Andpaynoughtfor。

  IsawaHighlander,’twasrightdrole,Withastringofpuddingshungonapole,Whipp’do’erhisshoulder,skippedlikeafole,Caus’dMaggybann,Lapo’erthemiddenandmidden-hole,Andaffheran。

  Whencheck’dforthis,they’doftentellye-

  Indeed_hernainsell’s_atumebelly;

  You’llnogie’twantingbought,norsellme;

  _Hersell_willhae’t;

  GotellKingShorge,andShordy’sWillie,I’llhaeameat。

  IsawthesoldiersatLinton-brig,BecausethemanwasnotaWhig,Ofmeatanddrinkleavenotaskig,Withinhisdoor;

  Theyburnthisveryhatandwig,Andthump’dhimsore。

  AndthroughtheHighlandstheyweresorude,Asleavethemneitherclothesnorfood,Thenburnttheirhousestoconclude;

  ’Twastitfortat。

  Howcan_hernainsell_e’erbegood,Tothinkonthat?

  Andafterall,Oshameandgrief!

  Tousesomeworsethanmurd’ringthief,Theirverygentlemanandchief,Unhumanly!

  LikePopishtortures,Ibelieve,Suchcruelty。

  Ev’nwhatwasactonopenstageAtCarlisle,inthehottestrage,Whenmercywasclaptinacage,Andpitydead,Suchcrueltyapprov’dbyeveryage,Ishookmyhead。

  Somanytocurse,sofewtopray,Andsomealoudhuzzadidcry;

  TheycursedtherebelScotsthatday,Asthey’dbeennowtBroughtupforslaughter,asthatwayToomanyrowt。

  Therefore,alas!dearcountrymen,Oneverdothelikeagain,Tothirstforvengeance,neverben’

  Yourgunnorpa’,ButwiththeEnglishe’enborrowandlen’,Letangerfa’。

  Thereboastsandbullying,notworthalouse,AsourKing’sthebestaboutthehouse。

  ’Tieayegoodtobesoberanddouce,Toliveinpeace;

  Formany,Isee,forbeingo’ercrouse,Getsbrokenface。

  UnderwhichKing,Bezonian?speak,ordie!

  _HenryIV。Part

  InprintingthisNewEditionoftheWaverleyNovels,thePublishershaveavailedthemselvesoftheopportunitythusaffordedthemofcarefullycollatingitwiththevaluableinterleavedcopyintheirpossession,containingtheAuthor’slatestmanuscriptcorrectionsandnotes;andfromthissourcetheyhaveobtainedseveralannotationsofconsiderableinterest,neverbeforepublished。AsexamplesofsomeofthemoreimportantofthesemaybementionedthenotesonHighJinks’’inGuyMannering,Prtorium’’intheAntiquary,andtheExpulsionoftheScotchBishops’’intheHeartofMidlothian。

  Therehavealsobeeninsertedwithinbracketssomeminornotesexplanatoryofreferencesnowrenderedperhapssomewhatobscurebythelapseoftime。Forthese,thePublishershavebeenchieflyindebtedtoMr。DavidLaing,SecretaryoftheBannatyneClub,andoneofthefewsurvivingfriendsoftheAuthor。

  FortunatelythereisnowlittlemorerequiredinthewayofannotationtotheWaverleyNovels;butinordertoaffordeveryfacilityofreference,aspecialglossaryhasbeenaddedtosuchofthenovelsasrequireit,andeachvolumewillcontainaseparateindex。AGeneralIndexwillalsobeappendedtotheconcludingvolumeoftheseries。

  EDINBURGH,_December_1869,ADVERTISEMENTTOEDITION1829

  IthasbeentheoccasionaloccupationoftheAuthorofWaverleyforseveralyearspasttoreviseandcorrectthevoluminousseriesofNovelswhichpassunderthatname,inorderthat,iftheyshouldeverappearashisavowedproductions,hemightrendertheminsomedegreedeservingofacontinuanceofthepublicfavourwithwhichtheyhavebeenhonouredeversincetheirfirstappearance。Foralongperiod,however,itseemedlikelythattheimprovedandillustratededitionwhichhemeditatedwouldbeaposthumouspublication。

  ButthecourseoftheeventswhichoccasionedthedisclosureoftheAuthor’snamehavinginagreatmeasurerestoredtohimasortofparentalcontrolovertheseWorks,heisnaturallyinducedtogivethemtothepressinacorrected,and,hehopes,animprovedform,whilelifeandhealthpermitthetaskofrevisingandillustratingthem。Suchbeinghispurpose,itisnecessarytosayafewwordsontheplanoftheproposedEdition。

  Instatingittoberevisedandcorrected,itisnottobeinferredthatanyattemptismadetoalterthetenorofthestories,thecharacteroftheactors,orthespiritofthedialogue。Thereisnodoubtampleroomforemendationinallthesepoints-butwherethetreefallsitmustlie。Anyattempttoobviatecriticism,howeverjust,byalteringaworkalreadyinthehandsofthepublic,isgenerallyunsuccessful。Inthemostimprobablefictionthereaderstilldesiressomeairofvraisemblance,anddoesnotrelishthattheincidentsofatalefamiliartohimshouldbealteredtosuitthetasteofcritics,orthecapriceoftheauthorhimself。Thisprocessoffeelingissonaturalthatitmaybeobservedeveninchildren,whocannotendurethatanurserystoryshouldberepeatedtothemdifferentlyfromthemannerinwhichitwasfirsttold。

  Butwithoutalteringintheslightestdegreeeitherthestoryorthemodeoftellingit,theAuthorhastakenthisopportunitytocorrecterrorsofthepressandslipsofthepen。Thatsuchshouldexistcannotbewonderedat,whenitisconsideredthatthePublishersfoundittheirinteresttohurrythroughthepressasuccessionoftheearlyeditionsofthevariousNovels,andthattheAuthorhadnottheusualopportunityofrevision。Itishopedthatthepresenteditionwillbefoundfreefromerrorsofthataccidentalkind。

  TheAuthorhasalsoventuredtomakesomeemendationsofadifferentcharacter,which,withoutbeingsuchapparentdeviationsfromtheoriginalstoriesastodisturbthereader’soldassociations,will,hethinks,addsomethingtothespiritofthedialogue,narrative,ordescription。Theseconsistinoccasionalpruningwherethelanguageisredundant,compressionwherethestyleisloose,infusionofvigourwhereitislanguid,theexchangeoflessforcibleformoreappropriateepithets-slightalterations,inshort,likethelasttouchesofanartist,whichcontributetoheightenandfinishthepicture,thoughaninexperiencedeyecanhardlydetectinwhattheyconsist。

  TheGeneralPrefacetothenewEdition,andtheIntroductoryNoticestoeachseparatework,willcontainanaccountofsuchcircumstancesattendingthefirstpublicationoftheNovelsandTalesasmayappearinterestinginthemselvesorpropertobecommunicatedtothepublic。TheAuthoralsoproposestopublishonthisoccasionthevariouslegends,familytraditions,orobscurehistoricalfacts,whichhaveformedtheground-workoftheseNovels,andtogivesomeaccountoftheplaceswherethescenesarelaid,whenthesearealtogetherorinpartreal;aswellasastatementofparticularincidentsfoundedonfact;togetherwithamorecopiousGlossary,andNotesexplanatoryoftheancientcustomsandpopularsuperstitionsreferredtointheRomances。

  Uponthewhole,itishopedthattheWaverleyNovels,intheirnewdress,willnotbefoundtohavelostanypartoftheirattractionsinconsequenceofreceivingillustrationsbytheAuthor,andundergoinghiscarefulrevision。

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