Waverley

How soon the accounts of the enemies approach had reached the Prince, H.R.H. had immediately ordered Milord le Comte de Nairne, Brigadier, who, being proscribed, is now in France, with the three batalions of the Duke of Athol, the batalion of the Duke of Perth, and some other troups under his command, in order to support Cluny, and to bring off the artilirie. But the action was entirely over before the Comte de Nairne, with his command, cou’d reach nigh to the place. They therefore return’d all to Penrith, and the artilirie marched up in good order.

“Nor did the Duke of Comberland ever afterwards dare to come within a day’s march of the Prince and his army dureing the course of all that retreat, which was conducted with great prudence and safety when in some manner surrounded by enemies.” ↩

As the heathen deities contracted an indelible obligation if they swore by Styx, the Scottish Highlanders had usually some peculiar solemnity attached to an oath which they intended should be binding on them. Very frequently it consisted in laying their hand, as they swore, on their own drawn dirk; which dagger, becoming a party to the transaction, was invoked to punish any breach of faith. But by whatever ritual the oath was sanctioned, the party was extremely desirous to keep secret what the especial oath was which he considered as irrevocable. This was a matter of great convenience, as he felt no scruple in breaking his asseveration when made in any other form than that which he accounted as peculiarly solemn; and therefore readily granted any engagement which bound him no longer than he inclined. Whereas, if the oath which he accounted inviolable was once publicly known, no party with whom he might have occasion to contract would have rested satisfied with any other.

Louis XI of France practised the same sophistry, for he also had a peculiar species of oath, the only one which he was ever known to respect, and which, therefore, he was very unwilling to pledge. The only engagement which that wily tyrant accounted binding upon him was an oath by the Holy Cross of Saint Lo d’Angers, which contained a portion of the True Cross. If he prevaricated after taking this oath Louis believed he should die within the year. The Constable Saint Paul, being invited to a personal conference with Louis, refused to meet the king unless he would agree to ensure him safe conduct under sanction of this oath. But, says Comines, the king replied, he would never again pledge that engagement to mortal man, though he was willing to take any other oath which could be devised. The treaty broke oft, therefore, after much chaffering concerning the nature of the vow which Louis was to take. Such is the difference between the dictates of superstition and those of conscience. ↩

A pair of chestnut trees, destroyed, the one entirely and the other in part, by such a mischievous and wanton act of revenge, grew at Invergarry Castle, the fastness of Macdonald of Glengarry. ↩

The first three couplets are from an old ballad, called “The Border Widow’s Lament.” ↩

“The Place of Fergus’s confinement.” “After that we went to the castle, where a new showman went through the old trick of pointing out Fergus MacIvor’s very dungeon. Peveril said, ‘Indeed, are you quite sure, sir?’ and on being told there was no doubt, was troubled with a fit of coughing, which ended in a laugh. The man seemed exceeding indignant; so, when papa moved on, I whispered who it was. I wish you had seen the man’s start.⁠ ⁠…” June 1, 1828, Letter from Miss Scott.

—⁠Lockhart, IX 256

—⁠Editor

↩

“It is a catholic security.” See Bell’s Principles of the Law of Scotland (8th edition), sec. 914, sub-sec. 6: “(6) Catholic Securities.⁠—When a real security extends over several estates, on one of which there are other securities, the debt of the catholic security falls to be paid ratably from all.” Erskine’s Institutes of the Law of Scotland (Ivory’s edition), vol. I page 581: “66. It is a rule in all real diligences that where a creditor is preferable to others on several different subjects belonging to his debtor, he cannot use his preference arbitrarily, by favouring one of his co-creditors more than another, where his own interest is not concerned, but must allocate his universal, or catholic, debt proportionally against all the subjects or parties whom it affects.” Bell’s Dictionary and Digest of the Law of Scotland (1838 edition): “Catholic Creditor.⁠—A catholic, or universal, creditor is a creditor whose debt is secured over several subjects or over the whole subject belonging to his debtor; as, for example, one who has heritable securities over two or more estates for the same debt. Such a creditor is bound to claim according to certain equitable rules, and is not entitled to exercise his right so as to injure unnecessarily the claims of secondary creditors.”

—⁠Editor

↩

Colophon

Waverley
was published in 1814 by
Walter Scott.

This ebook was produced for
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Disbanded,
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