The Waverley novels, by Sir Walter Scott, complete in 12 vol., printed from the latest English ed., embracing the author's last corrections, prefaces & notes.

576 WAVERL'EY NOVELS.
the island of Roseneath, and the continental parishes of Knocktarlitie,
Kilmun, and so forth; nay, his influence extended as far as Cowal, where,
however, it was obscured by that of another factor. The Tower of Knockdunder still occupies, with its remains, a cliff overhanging the Holy Loch.
Duncan swore it had been a royal castle; if so, it was one of the smallest,
the space within only forming a square of sixteen feet, and bearing therefore
a ridiculous proportion to the thickness of the walls, which was ten feet at
least. Such as it was, however, it had long given the title of Captain,
equivalent to that of Chatellain, to the ancestors of Duncan, who were
retainers of the house of Argyle, and held a hereditary jurisdiction under
them, of little extent indeed, but which had great consequence in their
own eyes, and was usually administered with a vigour somewhat beyond
the law.
The present representative of that ancient family was a stout short man
about fifty, whose pleasure it was to unite in his own person the dress of
the Highlands and Lowlands, wearing on his head a black tie-wig, surmounted.by a fierce cocked-hat, deeply guarded with gold lace, while the
rest of his dress consisted of the plaid and philabeg. Duncan superintended
a district which was partly Highland, partly Lowland, and therefore might
be supposed to combine their national habits, in order to show his impartiality to Trojan or Tyrian. The incongruity, however, had a whimsical
and ludicrous effect, as it made his head and body look as if belonging to
different individuals; or, as some one said who had seen the executions of
the insurgent prisoners in 1715, it seemed as if some Jacobite enchanter,
having recalled the sufferers to life, had clapped, in his haste, an Englishman's head on a Highlander's body. To finish the portrait, the bearing of
the gracious Duncan was brief, bluff, and consequential, and the upward
turn of his short copper-coloured nose indicated that he was somewhat
addicted to wrath and usquebaugh.
When this dignitary had advanced up to Butler and to Jeanie, "I take
the freedom, Mr. Deans," he said, in a very consequential manner, "to
salute your daughter, whilk I presume this young lass to be - I kiss every
pretty girl that comes to Roseneath, in virtue of my office." Having made
this gallant speech, he took out his quid, saluted Jeanie with a hearty
smack, and bade her welcome to Argyle's country. Then addressing Butler,
he said, " Ye maun gang ower and meet the carle ministers yonder the
morn, for they will want to do your job, and synd it down with usquebaugh
doubtless-they seldom make dry work in this kintra."
" And the Laird"-said David'Deans, addressing Butler in farther explanation," The Captain,'man," interrupted Duncan; "folk winna ken wha ye are
speaking aboot, unless ye gie shentlemens their proper title."
" The Captain, then," said David, " assures me that the call is unanimous
on the part of the parishioners —a real harmonious call, Reuben."
" I pelieve," said Duncan, "it was as harmonious as could pe expected,
when the tae half o' the bodies were clavering Sassenach, and the t'other
skirling Gaelic, like sea-maws and clackgeese before a storm. Ane wad. hae
needed the gift of tongues to ken preceesely what they said- but I pelieve
the best end of it was,' Long Live MacCallummore and Knockdunder!'And as to its being an unanimous call, I wad be glad to ken fat business
the carles have to call ony thing or ony body but what the Duke and mysell
likes?"
"Nevertheless," said Mr. Butler, "if any of the parishioners have any
scruples, which sometimes happen in the mind of sincere professors, I
should be happy of an opportunity of trying to remove — "
"Never fash your peard about it, man," interrupted Duncan Knock"Leave it a' to me.-Scruple! deil ane o' them has been bred up to scruple
ony thing that they're bidden to do. And if sic a thing suld happen as ye