Catriona · Chapter
A Beggar on Horseback explained
David Balfour, newly established as a landed laird, navigates the unfamiliar streets of Edinburgh with a bank porter carrying his gold.
What happens
David Balfour, newly established as a landed laird, navigates the unfamiliar streets of Edinburgh with a bank porter carrying his gold. He must balance visits to his kinsman, Appin's agent, and the Lord Advocate, all while avoiding suspicion. Taking shelter from rain, he witnesses a prisoner escorted by soldiers and meets Catriona Drummond, daughter of James More, who is in need of money for snuff for her imprisoned father. David offers her sixpence and learns she is staying with Mrs. Drummond-Ogilvy beyond the village of Dean.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Identity
David's sudden rise from beggar to laird is marked by his new clothes and sword, yet he feels out of place in the city, highlighting the tension between his former and current status.
Exile and Belonging
Catriona and her father James More are outcasts due to the proscription of the Macgregor name, and David himself is a stranger navigating Edinburgh's complex society.
Loyalty and Betrayal
David must balance his loyalty to Alan Breck and the Jacobite cause with his need to appear loyal to the authorities, as seen in his careful planning of visits.
Characters to notice
- David Balfour
Newly made a landed laird, David walks through Edinburgh with a bank porter, buys clothes and a sword, and plans visits to Mr. Balfour of Pilrig, Stewart the Writer, and the Lord Advocate.
- Catriona Drummond
Daughter of James More, she is in the close with gillies, trying to buy snuff for her imprisoned father. She speaks with David and accepts his sixpence.
- James More Macgregor
Imprisoned and brought daily to the Lord Advocate's house; his daughter Catriona seeks to provide him snuff.
- Neil of the Tom
A short, bandy-legged, red-haired, big-headed gillie accompanying Catriona; he loses the fourpenny-piece meant for snuff.
- Lord Advocate Prestongrange
The Lord Advocate, Grant of Prestongrange, is the official to whom James More is brought; David plans to visit him.
- Mr. Balfour of Pilrig
David's kinsman, whom he intends to visit as a noncommittal call.
Key passages
“Two days before, and even so late as yestermorning, I was like a beggarman by the wayside, clad in rags, brought down to my last shillings, my companion a condemned traitor, a price set on my own head for a crime with the news of which the country rang. Today I was served heir to my position in life, a landed laird, a bank porter by me carrying my gold, recommendations in my pocket, and (in the words of the saying) the ball directly at my foot.”
Just yesterday I was a ragged beggar with a traitor for a companion and a bounty on my head; today I am a landed laird with gold and recommendations.
David reflects on his dramatic reversal of fortune.
“There is no greater wonder than the way the face of a young woman fits in a man's mind, and stays there, and he could never tell you why; it just seems it was the thing he wanted. She had wonderful bright eyes like stars, and I daresay the eyes had a part in it; but what I remember the most clearly was the way her lips were a trifle open as she turned.”
A young woman's face can inexplicably captivate a man; Catriona's bright eyes and slightly open lips struck David deeply.
David describes his first impression of Catriona.
“I took sixpence from my pocket, gave it to Neil, and bade him go about his errand. Then to her, 'That sixpence came with me by Balwhidder,' said I. 'Ah!' she said, 'you are a friend to the Gregara!'”
David gives Neil sixpence for snuff and tells Catriona the coin came from Balwhidder, leading her to call him a friend of the Macgregors.
David's gift establishes a connection with Catriona and the Macgregor clan.
