A HIGHLAND FEAST.
Ere Waverley entered the banqueting hall, he was offered the patriarchal refreshment of a bath for the feet, which the sultry weather, and the morasses he had traversed, rendered highly acceptable.He was not, indeed, so luxuriously attended upon this occasion as the heroic travellers in the Odyssey; the task of ablution and abstersion being performed, not by a beautiful damsel, trained To chafe the limb, and pour the fragrant oil, but by a smoke-dried skinny old Highland woman, who did not seem to think herself much honoured by the duty imposed upon her, but muttered between her teeth, ``Our fathers' herds did not feed so near together, that I should do you this service.'' Asmall donation, however, amply reconciled this ancient handmaiden to the supposed degradation; and, as Edward proceeded to the hall, she gave him her blessing, in the Gaelic proverb, ``May the open hand be filled the fullest.''
The hall, in which the feast was prepared, occupied the first storey of Ian nan Chaistel's original erection, and a huge oaken table extended through its whole length.The apparatus for dinner was simple, even to rudeness, and the company numerous, even to crowding.At the head of the table was the Chief himself, with Edward, and two or three Highland visitors of neighbouring clans; the elders of his own tribe, wadsetters, and tacksmen, as they were called, who occupied portions of his estate as mortgagers or lessees, sat next in rank; beneath them, their sons, and nephews, and foster-brethren; then the officers of the Chief's household, according to their order; and, lowest of all, the tenants who actually cultivated the ground.Even beyond this long perspective, Edward might see upon the green, to which a huge pair of folding doors opened, a multitude of Highlanders of a yet inferior description, who, nevertheless, were considered as guests, and had their share both of the countenance of the entertainer, and of the cheer of the day.In the distance, and fluctuating round this extreme verge of the banquet, was a changeful group of women, ragged boys and girls, beggars, young and old, large greyhounds, and terriers, and pointers, and curs of low degree; all of whom took some interest, more or less immediate, in the main action of the piece.
This hospitality, apparently unbounded, had yet its line of economy.Some pains had been bestowed in dressing the dishes of fish, game, etc., which were at the upper end of the table, and immediately under the eye of the English stranger.Lower down stood immense clumsy joints of mutton and beef, which, but for the absence of pork,<*> abhorred in the Highlands, resembled * Pork or swine's flesh, in any shape, was, till of late years, much * abominated by the Scotch, nor is it yet a favourite food amongst them.
* King Jamie carried this prejudice to England, and is known to have * abhorred pork almost as much as he did tobacco.Ben Jonson has recorded * this peculiarity, where the gipsy in a masque, examining the king's * hand, says---*
* ------``You should, by this line, * Love a horse, and a hound, but no part of a swine.''
* _The Gipsies Metamorphosed._
*
* James's own proposed banquet for the devil was a loin of pork and a poll * of ling, with a pipe of tobacco for digestion.
the rude festivity of the banquet of Penelope's suitors.
But the central dish was a yearling lamb, called, ``a hog in har'st,'' roasted whole.It was set upon its legs, with a bunch of parsley in its mouth, and was probably exhibited in that form to gratify the pride of the cook, who piqued himself more on the plenty than the elegance of his master's table.The sides of this poor animal were fiercely attacked by the clansmen, some with dirks, others with the knives which were usually in the same sheath with the dagger, so that it was soon rendered a mangled and rueful spectacle.Lower down still, the victuals seemed of yet coarser quality, though sufficiently abundant.
Broth, onions, cheese, and the fragments of the feast, regaled the sons of Ivor who feasted in the open air.
The liquor was supplied in the same proportion, and under similar regulations.Excellent claret and champagne were liberally distributed among the Chief's immediate neighbours;whisky, plain or diluted, and strong beer, refreshed those who sat near the lower end.Nor did this inequality of distribution appear to give the least offence.Every one present understood that his taste was to be formed according to the rank which he held at table; and, consequently, the tacksmen and their dependants always professed the wine was too cold for their stomachs, and called, apparently out of choice, for the liquor which was assigned to them from economy.<*> The bagpipers, * Note M.A Scottish Dinner Table.<! p142>
three in number, screamed, during the whole time of dinner, a tremendous war-tune; and the echoing of the vaulted roof, and clang of the Celtic tongue, produced such a Babel of noises, that Waverley dreaded his ears would never recover it.Mac-Ivor, indeed, apologised for the confusion occasioned by so large a party, and pleaded the necessity of his situation, on which unlimited hospitality was imposed as a paramount duty.``These stout idle kinsmen of mine,'' he said, ``account my estate as held in trust for their support; and I must find them beef and ale, while the rogues will do nothing for themselves but practise the broadsword, or wander about the hills, shooting, fishing, hunting, drinking, and making love to the lasses of the strath.
