It is impossible to describe
the pleasure which this assurance gave the Baron, who, with an air of
gallantry half appertaining to the stiff Scottish laird, and half to the
officer in the French service, offered his arm to the fair speaker, and
led the way, in something between a stride and a minuet step, into the
large dining parlour, followed by all the rest of the good company.
By dint of Saunderson's directions and exertions, all here, as well as
in the other apartments, had been disposed as much as possible according
to the old arrangement; and where new movables had been necessary, they
had been selected in the same character with the old furniture, There
was one addition to this fine old apartment, however, which drew
tears into the Baron's eyes. It was a large and spirited painting,
representing Fergus Mac-Ivor and Waverley in their Highland dress; the
scene a wild, rocky, and mountainous pass, down which the clan were
descending in the background. It was taken from a spirited sketch, drawn
while they were in Edinburgh by a young man of high genius, and had
been painted on a full-length scale by an eminent London artist. Raeburn
himself (whose Highland chiefs do all but walk out of the canvas) could
not have done more justice to the subject; and the ardent, fiery, and
impetuous character of the unfortunate Chief of Glennaquoich was finely
contrasted with the contemplative, fanciful, and enthusiastic expression
of his happier friend.
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