The door was open,
and the inside of the premises appeared as uncomfortable and rude as its
situation and exterior foreboded. There was no appearance of a floor
of any kind; the roof seemed rent in several places; the walls were
composed of loose stones and turf, and the thatch of branches of trees.
The fire was in the centre, and filled the whole wigwam with smoke,
which escaped as much through the door as by means of a circular
aperture in the roof. An old Highland sibyl, the only inhabitant of this
forlorn mansion, appeared busy in the preparation of some food. By
the light which the fire afforded, Waverley could discover that his
attendants were not of the clan of Ivor, for Fergus was particularly
strict in requiring from his followers that they should wear the tartan
striped in the mode peculiar to their race; a mark of distinction
anciently general through the Highlands, and still maintained by those
chiefs who were proud of their lineage, or jealous of their separate and
exclusive authority.
Edward had lived at Glennaquoich long enough to be aware of a
distinction which he had repeatedly heard noticed; and now satisfied
that he had no interest with his attendants, he glanced a disconsolate
eye around the interior of the cabin.
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