s invitation to
accompany him to the field.
    »Why did not I,« he said to himself, »like other men of honour, take the
earliest opportunity to welcome to Britain the descendant of her ancient kings,
and lineal heir of her throne? Why did not I
 
Unthread the rude eye of rebellion,
And welcome home again discarded faith,
Seek out Prince Charles, and fall before his feet?
 
All that has been recorded of excellence and worth in the house of Waverley has
been founded upon their loyal faith to the house of Stuart. From the
interpretation which this Scotch magistrate has put upon the letters of my uncle
and father, it is plain that I ought to have understood them as marshalling me
to the course of my ancestors; and it has been my gross dulness, joined to the
obscurity of expression which they adopted for the sake of security, that has
confounded my judgment. Had I yielded to the first generous impulse of
indignation when I learned that my honour was practised upon, how different had
been my present situation! I had then been free and in arms, fighting, like my
forefathers, for love, for loyalty, and for fame. And now I am here, netted and
in the toils, at the disposal of a suspicious, stern, and cold-hearted man,
perhaps to be turned over to the solitude of a dungeon, or the infamy of a
public execution. O Fergus! how true has your prophecy proved; and how speedy,
how very speedy, has been its accomplishment!«
    While Edward was ruminating on these painful subjects of contemplation, and
very naturally, though not quite so justly, bestowing upon the reigning dynasty
that blame which was due to chance, or, in part at least, to his own
unreflecting conduct, Mr. Morton availed himself of Major Melville's permission
to pay him an early visit.
    Waverley's first impulse was to intimate a desire that he might not be
disturbed with questions or conversation; but he suppressed it upon observing
the benevolent and reverend appearance of the clergyman who had rescued him from
the immediate violence of the villagers.
    »I believe, sir,« said the unfortunate young man, »that in any other
circumstances I should have had as much gratitude to express to you as the
safety of my life may be worth; but such is the present tumult of my mind, and
such is my anticipation of what I am yet likely to endure, that I can hardly
offer you thanks for your interposition.«
    Mr. Morton replied, »that, far from making any claim upon his