The profession which he
followed--the wilderness in which he dwelt--the wild warrior-forms
that surrounded him, were all calculated to inspire terror. From such
accompaniments, Waverley prepared himself to meet a stern, gigantic,
ferocious figure, such as Salvator would have chosen to be the central
object of a group of banditti. [11]
Donald Bean Lean was the very reverse of all these. He was thin in
person and low in stature, with light sandy-coloured hair, and small
pale features, from which he derived his agnomen of BEAN, or white; and
although his form was light, well-proportioned, and active, he appeared,
on the whole, rather a diminutive and insignificant figure. He had
served in some inferior capacity in the French army, and in order to
receive his English visitor in great form, and probably meaning, in his
way, to pay him a compliment, he had laid aside the Highland dress for
the time, to put on an old blue and red uniform, and a feathered hat,
in which he was far from showing to advantage, and indeed looked so
incongruous, compared with all around him, that Waverley would have been
tempted to laugh, had laughter been either civil or safe.
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