that
the presence of a victorious army, and the vigilance of almost as
numerous a host of spies and informers, could not prevent attempts being
made (in almost every part of the kingdom) to liberate the King, and
restore the old order of things. But where to find funds and leaders,
was the chief difficulty. The heads of most noble families,
distinguished for loyalty, were either slain, or exiled; their estates
confiscated or wasted by the pressure of enormous fines, their
residences burnt or pillaged, and their farms laid waste. The few who
remained in England, watched and betrayed by their own servants, knew
not how to act, or whom to trust, for every tie of obligation, as well
as all sense of subordination and respect for superiors, were entirely
annihilated.

In passing Lathom-house, Dr. Beaumont pondered on that celebrated scene
of determined female heroism. Though the noble pile bore many marks of
the arduous conflict it had sustained, its walls (like the family to
which it belonged) still displayed the unyielding superiority of
aristocratic loyalty. But Waverly Hall was a complete ruin. A few of the
meaner offices, and a part of the walls, marked where the residence
stood, which once sheltered crafty selfishness. The park afforded a
temporary asylum to a gang of gipseys, whose cattle grazed unmolested on
the unclaimed demesne, once guarded even from the intrusion of admiring
curiosity, by the secluding jealousy of a cold-hearted worldling, whose
pride counteracted his ostentation, and whose timidity was even greater
than his self-love.

Dr. Beaumont was himself the herald of his own return. His humble
equipage attracted no attention. His first care being to lodge his
family, he sought the house of Dame Humphreys. The streets of the
village were silent and deserted. Neither the loom, the flail, nor the
anvil were heard; not a child was to be seen at play; every thing looked
as if this was a portion of that city where progressive action is
suspended, and the sun hangs level over the ocean without power of
sinking. Dr. Beaumont, however, found Dame Humphreys actively employed;
and a superabundance of good cheer shewed that she was intent on
purposes of hospitality. She welcomed the exiled Rector and his family
with cordial transport; and assured him, though she had heard as many
fine men since he left them as there were stars in the sky, she had
never sat under any one by whom she had been so much edified.

The