The
conversation now became general; and, shortly afterwards, Miss
Bradwardine, who had done the honours with natural grace and simplicity,
retired, and was soon followed by the clergyman. Among the rest of the
party, the wine, which fully justified the encomiums of the landlord,
flowed freely round, although Waverley, with some difficulty, obtained
the privilege of sometimes neglecting the glass. At length, as the
evening grew more late, the Baron made a private signal to Mr. Saunders
Saunderson, or, as he facetiously denominated him, Alexander ab
Alexandro, who left the room with a nod, and soon after returned, his
grave countenance mantling with a solemn and mysterious smile, and placed
before his master a small oaken casket, mounted with brass ornaments of
curious form. The Baron, drawing out a private key, unlocked the casket,
raised the lid, and produced a golden goblet of a singular and antique
appearance, moulded into the shape of a rampant bear, which the owner
regarded with a look of mingled reverence, pride, and delight, that
irresistibly reminded Waverley of Ben Jonson's Tom Otter, with his Bull,
Horse, and Dog, as that wag wittily denominated his chief carousing cups.
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