His army,
therefore, cut off all possibility of Waverley's escaping into Scotland
in that direction. On the eastern border Marshal Wade, with a large
force, was advancing upon Edinburgh; and all along the frontier, parties
of militia, volunteers, and partizans were in arms to suppress
insurrection, and apprehend such stragglers from the Highland army as had
been left in England. The surrender of Carlisle, and the severity with
which the rebel garrison were threatened, soon formed an additional
reason against venturing upon a solitary and hopeless journey through a
hostile country and a large army, to carry the assistance of a single
sword to a cause which seemed altogether desperate. In this lonely and
secluded situation, without the advantage of company or conversation with
men of cultivated minds, the arguments of Colonel Talbot often recurred
to the mind of our hero. A still more anxious recollection haunted his
slumbers--it was the dying look and gesture of Colonel Gardiner. Most
devoutly did he hope, as the rarely occurring post brought news of
skirmishes with various success, that it might never again be his lot to
draw his sword in civil conflict.
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