Waverley; or, 'Tis sixty years since — CompleteScott, Walter
History
Waverley; or, 'Tis sixty years since — Complete
Scott, Walter
Historical fiction; Jacobite Rebellion, 1745-1746 -- Fiction; Scotland -- History -- 18th century -- Fiction
With this excuse, or explanation, Waverley was silenced, if not
satisfied; but he could not help testifying some displeasure against
the Blessed Bear, which had given rise to the quarrel, nor refrain from
hinting that the sanctified epithet was hardly appropriate. The Baron
observed, he could not deny that 'the Bear, though allowed by heralds
as a most honourable ordinary, had, nevertheless, somewhat fierce,
churlish, and morose in his disposition (as might be read in Archibald
Simson, pastor of Dalkeith's 'Hieroglyphica Animalium') and had thus
been the type of many quarrels and dissensions which had occurred in
the house of Bradwardine; of which,' he continued, 'I might commemorate
mine own unfortunate dissension with my third cousin by the mother's
side, Sir Hew Halbert, who was so unthinking as to deride my family
name, as if it had been QUASI BEAR-WARDEN; a most uncivil jest, since
it not only insinuated that the founder of our house occupied such a
mean situation as to be a custodier of wild beasts, a charge which, ye
must have observed, is only entrusted to the very basest plebeians;
but, moreover, seemed to infer that our coat-armour had not been
achieved by honourable actions in war, but bestowed by way of
paranomasia, or pun, upon our family appellation,--a sort of bearing
which the French call armoires parlantes, the Latins arma cantantia,
and your English authorities canting heraldry, [Footnote: See Note 12]
being indeed a species of emblazoning more befitting canters,
gaberlunzies, and such like mendicants, whose gibberish is formed upon
playing upon the word, than the noble, honourable, and useful science
of heraldry, which assigns armorial bearings as the reward of noble and
generous actions, and not to tickle the ear with vain quodlibets, such
as are found in jestbooks.' Of his quarrel with Sir Hew he said nothing
more than that it was settled in a fitting manner.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account