memoirs of the jacobites of and . by mrs. thomson, author of "memoirs of the court of henry the eighth," "memoirs of sarah, duchess of marlborough," etc. volume iii. london: richard bentley, new burlington street, publisher in ordinary to her majesty. . london: printed by s. & j. bentley, wilson, and fley, bangor house, shoe lane. preface. in completing this work, i have to repeat my acknowledgments to those friends and correspondents to whom i expressed my obligations in the preface to the first volume; and i have the additional pleasure of recording similar obligations from other channels. i beg to testify my gratitude to sir william maxwell, bart., of montreith, for some information regarding the nithsdale family; which, i hope, at some future time, to interweave with my biography of the earl of nithsdale; and also to miss charlotte maxwell, the sister of sir william maxwell, whose enthusiasm for the subject of the jacobites is proved by the interesting collection of jacobite airs which she is forming, and which will be very acceptable to all who can appreciate poetry and song. to sir john maxwell, bart., of pollock, and to lady matilda maxwell, i offer my best thanks for their prompt and valued suggestions on the same subject. i owe much to the courtesy and great intelligence of mrs. howison craufurd, of craufurdland castle, ayrshire: i have derived considerable assistance from that lady in the life of the earl of kilmarnock, and have, through her aid, been enabled to give to the public several letters never before published. for original information regarding the derwentwater family, and for a degree of zeal, combined with accurate knowledge, i must here express my cordial thanks to the hon. mrs. douglass, to whose assistance much of the interest which will be found in the life of charles radcliffe is justly due. i have also to acknowledge the kindness of mons. amedée pichot, from whose interesting work i have derived great pleasure and profit; and to madame colmache, for her inquiries in the biblothéque du roi, for original papers relating to the subject. to w. e. aytoun, esq., of edinburgh, i beg also to express my acknowledgments for his aid in supplying me with some curious information regarding the duke of perth. the kindness with which my researches, in every direction, have been met, has added to my task a degree of gratification, which now causes its close to be regarded with something almost like regret. one advantage to be gained by the late publication of this third volume, is the criticism of friends on the two former ones. amid many errors, i have been admonished, by my kind adviser and critic, charles kirkpatrick sharpe, esq., of having erred in accepting the common authorities in regard to the celebrated and unfortunate lady grange. whatever were the sorrows of that lady, her faults and the provocation she gave to her irritated husband, were, it appears, fully equal to her misfortunes. since the story of lady grange is not strictly connected with my subject, i have only referred to it incidentally. at some future time, the singular narrative of her fate may afford me a subject of further investigation. i beg to correct a mistake into which i had fallen, in the first volume, respecting those letters relating to the earl of mar, for which i am indebted, to alexander macdonald, esq. these, a distinct collection from that with which i was favoured by james gibson craig, esq., were copied about twelve years ago, from the papers then in the possession of lady frances erskine. they have since passed into the possession of the present earl of mar. an interesting letter in the appendix of this work, will be found relative to the social state of the chevalier st. george, at rome. for permission to publish this i am indebted to the valued friendship of my brother-in-law, samuel coltman, esq., in whose possession it is, having been bequeathed, with other mss. to his mother, by the well-known joseph spence, author of the "anecdotes", and of other works. london, _ th march, ._ contents of the third volume. page lord george murray james drummond, duke of perth flora macdonald william boyd, earl of kilmarnock charles radcliffe with portraits of flora macdonald, prince charles, and lord balmerino. memoirs of the jacobites. lord george murray. this celebrated adherent of the chevalier was born in the year . he was the fifth son of john duke of atholl, and the younger brother of that marquis of tullibardine, whose biography has been already given. the family of atholl had attained a degree of power and influence in scotland, which almost raised them out of the character of subjects. it was by consummate prudence, not unattended with a certain portion of time-serving, that, until the period , the high position which these great nobles held had been in seasons of political difficulty preserved. their political principles were those of indefeasible right and hereditary monarchy. john, first marquis of atholl, the father of lord george murray, married amelia stanley, daughter of charlotte de la tremouille, countess of derby, whose princely extraction, to borrow a phrase of high value in genealogical histories, was the least of her merits. this celebrated woman was remarkable for the virtue and piety of her ordinary life; and, when the season of trial and adversity called it forth, she displayed the heroism which becomes the hour of adversity. her well-known defence of latham house in from the assaults of the parliamentarian forces, and her protracted maintenance of the isle of man, the last place in the english dominions that submitted to the parliament, were followed by a long and patient endurance of penury and imprisonment. the marquis of atholl was consistent in that adherence to the stuarts which the family of his wife had professed. he advocated the succession of james the second, and was rewarded with the royal confidence. indeed, such was the partiality of the king towards him, that had the marquis "in this sale of favour," as an old writer expresses it, "not been firm and inflexible in the point of his religion, which he could not sacrifice to the pleasure of any mortal, he might have been the first minister for scotland."[ ] after the revolution, the marquis retired into the country, and relinquished all public business; thus signifying his opinion of that event. he bequeathed to his son, john second marquis of atholl, and the father of lord george murray, as great a share of prosperity and as many sources of self-exultation as ordinarily fall to the lot of one man. to the blood of the murrays, the marriage with lady amelia stanley had added a connection in kindred with the houses of bourbon and austria, with the kings of spain and duke of savoy, the prince of orange, and most of the crowned heads in europe. upon the extinction of the descendants of john the seventh earl of derby, commonly called the loyal earl of derby, and of his wife charlotte de la tremouille, "all that great and uncommon race of royal and illustrious blood," as it has been entitled, centred in the descendants of the marquis of atholl. in , the barony of strange devolved upon the duke of atholl; and the principality of the isle of man was also bequeathed to the same house by william ninth earl of derby. this was the accession of a later period, but was the consequence of that great and honourable alliance of which the family of atholl might justly boast. the father of lord george murray adopted every precaution, as we have seen,[ ] to preserve the acquisitions of dignity and fortune which the lapse of years had added to his patrimonial possessions. sixteen coats of arms, eight on the paternal side, and eight on the maternal side, had composed the escutcheon of his father, john marquis of atholl. among those great names on the maternal side, which graced a funeral escutcheon, which has been deemed the pattern and model of perfect dignity, and the perfection of ducal grandeur, was the name of the prince of orange.[ ] this plea of kindred was not thrown away upon the marquis of atholl; he declared himself for king william, and entered early into the revolution. for this service he was rewarded with the office of high commissioner to represent his majesty in the scottish parliament. but subsequent events broke up this compact, and destroyed all the cordiality which subsisted between william and the head of the house of atholl. the refusal of the king to own the african company was, it is said, the reason why the marquis withdrew himself from court, and remained at a distance from it during the lifetime of william. the accession of anne brought, at first, fresh honours to this powerful scottish nobleman. he was created in a duke, and was made privy seal: but the politics of the court party changed; the duke of atholl was dismissed from the ministry, and he became henceforth a warm opponent of all the government measures. he spoke with boldness, yet discretion, against the union; and protested against a measure which, as he conceived, gave up all the dignity and antiquity of the kingdom. during his proud career, a marriage with katherine, the daughter of william duke of hamilton, a lady of great prudence, and of eminent piety and virtue, added to the high consideration of the duke of atholl. of this nobleman, certain historians have left the highest character. "he was," says nisbet, "of great parts, but far greater virtues; of a lively apprehension, a clear and ready judgment, a copious eloquence, and of a very considerable degree of good understanding."[ ] it is difficult to reconcile this description with the intrigues and bitterness which characterise the duke of atholl, in lovat's narrative of their rivalry; nor would it be easy to reconcile the public report of many men with the details of their private failings. that, however, which has impugned the consistency and sincerity of the duke of atholl far more than the representations of lovat, is the belief that, whilst his feelings were engaged in one cause, his professions were loud in upholding the other; that he was double and self-interested; and that he saved his vast estates from forfeiture by an act of policy which might, in some bearings, be regarded as duplicity, in proof of which it is asserted, that, whilst he pretended to condemn the conduct of his eldest son in joining the rebellion of , he was the chief instigator of that step.[ ] such was the father to whom lord george murray owed his birth. during the unbroken prosperity of his house, the future general of the jacobite army was born. he was the fifth son of eight children, borne by the first duchess of atholl, and was born in the year . of these, john the eldest, and presumptive heir to the dukedom, had been killed at the battle of mons, or malplaquet, in . he was a youth of great promise, and his death was a source of deep lamentation to his father; a sorrow which subsequent events did not, perhaps, tend to alleviate. william, marquis of tullibardine, was therefore regarded as the next heir to all the vast possessions and ancestral dignities of his house. his faithful adherence to the chevalier st. george, and the part which he adopted in the rebellion of , produced a revolution in the affairs of his family, which, one may suppose, could not be effected without some delicacy, and considerable distress. in the marquis of tullibardine was attainted by an act passed in the first year of george the first; and by a bill, which was passed in the house of commons relating to the forfeited estates, all these estates were vested in his majesty from and after the twenty-fourth of january .[ ] upon this bill being passed, the duke of atholl, who had been residing for many years with the splendour and state of a prince at his castle at blair atholl, journeyed to london, and, being graciously received by george the first, he laid his case before that monarch, representing the unhappy circumstances of his son, and pointing out what effect and influence this might have, in the event of his own death, on the succession of his family, if his estate and honour were not vested in law upon his second son, lord james murray, who had performed very signal service to his majesty in the late rebellion. this petition was received, and a bill was brought into parliament for vesting the honours of john duke of atholl in james murray, esq., commonly called lord james murray; and, as a reward of his steady loyalty, a law was passed, enacting that the act of attainder against william marquis of tullibardine should not be construed to extend to lord james murray or his issue. in consequence of this bill, on the death of the duke of atholl, in , lord james murray succeeded to all those honours and estates, which had thus been preserved through the prudence of his father, and the clemency or policy of the king. in this divided house was lord george murray reared. it soon appeared that he possessed the decision and lofty courage of his ancestry; and that his early predilections, in which probably his father secretly coincided, were all in favour of the stuarts, and that no considerations of self-interest could draw him from that adherence. the events of occurring when lord george murray was only ten years of age, his first active exertions in the cause of the stuarts did not take place until a later period. in the interim, the youth, who afterwards distinguished himself so greatly, served his first apprenticeship to arms in the british forces in flanders. in , when only fourteen years of age, a fresh plan of invasion being formed by spain, and the marquis of tullibardine having again ventured to join in the enterprise, lord george showed plainly his attachment to the jacobite cause. he came over with the marquis, with a small handful of spaniards, and was wounded at the battle of glenshiels on the tenth of june. of his fate after that event, the following account has been given by wodrow,[ ] who prefaces his statement with a congratulatory remark that several of the jacobites were by their sufferings converted from their error. "at glenshiels," he writes, referring to lord george murray, "he escaped, and with a servant got away among the highland mountains, and lurked in a hut made for themselves for some months, and saw nobody. it was a happy providence that either he or his servant had a bible, and no other books. for want of other business, he carefully read that neglected book, and the lord blessed it with his present hard circumstances to him. now he begins to appear abroad, and it is said is soon to be pardoned; and he is highly commended not only for a serious convert from jacobitism, but for a good christian, and a youth of excellent parts, hopes, and expectations." it appears, however, that lord george, however he might be changed in his opinions, did not consider himself safe in scotland. he fled to the continent, and entered the service of sardinia, then, in consequence of the quadruple alliance, allotted to the possessions of the duke of savoy. meantime, through the influence of his family, and, perhaps, on the plea of his extreme youth when he had engaged in the battle of glenshiels, a pardon was obtained for the young soldier. his father, as is related in the manuscript account of the highlands before quoted, "had found it his interest to change sides at the accession of george the first." his second brother, as he was now called, james murray, or marquis of tullibardine, was a zealous supporter of the hanoverian government, although it proved no easy matter to engage his clan in the same cause. during many succeeding years, while lord george murray was serving abroad, cultivating those military acquirements which afterwards, whilst they failed to redeem his party from ruin, extorted the admiration of every competent judge, the progress of events was gradually working its way towards a second great attempt to restore the stuarts. notwithstanding the apparent tranquillity of the chevalier st. george, he had been continually though cautiously maintaining, during his residence at albano, as friendly an intercourse with the english visitors to rome as circumstances would permit. most young men of family and condition travelled, during the time of peace, in italy; many were thus the opportunities which occurred of conciliating these youthful scions of great and influential families. as one instance of this fact, the account given by joseph spence, the author of the "anecdotes" and of "polymetis," affords a curious picture of the eagerness evinced by james and his wife, during the infancy of their son, to ingraft his infant image on the memory, and affections of the english. mr. spence visited rome while charles edward was yet in his cradle. he was expressly enjoined by his father, before his departure from england, on no account to be introduced to the chevalier. yet such were the advances made to him, as his own letter[ ] will show, that it was almost impossible for him to resist the overture: and similar overtures were made to almost every englishman of family or note who visited rome at that period. in addition to these efforts, a continual correspondence was maintained between james and his scottish adherents. the chevalier's greatest accomplishment was his art of writing letters; and he appears eminently to have excelled in that power of conciliation which was so essential in his circumstance. meantime charles grew up, justifying, as he increased in stature, and as his disposition revealed itself, the most ardent expectations of those who wished well to his cause. one failing he very early evinced; that remarkable devotion to certain favourites which marked the conduct of his ancestors; and the partiality was more commonly built upon the adulation bestowed by those favourites than founded in reason. it was in the year that the royal youth, then scarcely nineteen years of age, became acquainted with a man whose qualities of mind, and attractions of manner, exercised a very considerable influence over his destiny; and whose character, pliant, yet bitter, intriguing and perfidious, came afterwards into a painful collision with the haughty overbearing temper, and manly sincerity, of lord george murray. it was in consequence of the practice adopted by some of the hangers-on of the chevalier's court, of luring young english or scottish strangers to its circles, that john murray of broughton, afterwards secretary to prince charles, was first introduced to the young chevalier. murray was the son of sir david murray, bart., by his second wife, a daughter of sir david scott of ancrum: he was at this time only twenty-three years of age, and he had lately completed his studies at edinburgh, where he had gone through a course of philosophy, and studied the civil and municipal laws. the report which prevailed that mr. murray had been educated with the young chevalier was untrue; it was by the desire of his mother, lady murray, that he first, in , visited both france and italy, and perfected himself in the language of those countries, then by no means generally attained by scotchmen. mr. murray had been brought up in the principles of the episcopal church, and therefore there was less reason, than there would have been in the case of a roman catholic, to apprehend his being beguiled into an intimate connection with the exiled stuarts. he had not, however, been long in rome before he was asked by an acquaintance whether he had seen the santi apostoli, as the palace of the chevalier was called. on answering in the negative, he was assured that, through a knowledge of some of the servants, a sight might be obtained of the palace; and also of the protestant chapel, in which, as mr. murray heard with great surprise, the chevalier allowed service to be performed for such of the retinue of the young prince as were of the protestant persuasion. it was also alleged that this indulgence was with the cognizance of the pope, who, in order to remove the barrier which prevented the stuarts from enjoying the crown of england, was willing to allow charles edward to be brought up as a protestant. this assertion was further confirmed by the fact, that the noblemen, lord inverness and lord dunbar, who had the charge of charles edward, were both protestants; a choice on the part of james which had produced all that contention between himself and the princess clementina, with the details of which the courts of europe were entertained. the family and retinue of the chevalier st. george being then at albano, mr. murray was able to gratify his curiosity, and to inspect the chapel, which had neither crucifix, confessional, nor picture in it,--only an altar,--and was not to be distinguished from an english chapel; and here english divines officiated. here, it is said, whilst at his devotions, a slight accident occurred, which nourished a belief in presages in the mind of charles edward. a small piece of the ceiling, ornamented with flowers in fretwork, fell into his lap; it was discovered to be a thistle: soon afterwards, another of these ornaments became detached, and fell also into his lap; this proved to be a rose. such omens, coupled with the star of great magnitude which astronomers asserted to have appeared at his nativity, were, it was thought, not without their effect on the hopes and conduct of the young prince. one can hardly, however, do him so much injustice as to suppose that such could be the case. mr. murray expressed, it is affirmed, a considerable degree of curiosity to see the chevalier and his two sons, who were both highly extolled for their natural gifts and graces; the wish was communicated, and, acting upon the principle of attracting all comers to the court, was soon realised: a page was sent, intimating that mr. murray's attendance would be well received, and he was, by an order from the chevalier, graciously admitted to kiss hands. such was the commencement of that acquaintance which afterwards proved so fatal to the interests of prince charles, and so disgraceful to the cause of the jacobites. such was the introduction of the young prince to the man who subsequently betrayed his companions in misfortune. this step was shortly followed by an intimacy which, probably in the commencement, was grounded upon mutual good-will. men become perfidious by slow degrees; and perform actions, as they advance in life, which they would blush to reflect on in the day-dawn of their honest youth. this account is, however, derived from the statements of an anonymous writer, evidently an apologist for the errors of mr. murray,[ ] and is contradicted so far as the sudden conversion of the young scotchman to the cause of the stuarts, by the fact that he had all his life been a violent jacobite.[ ] on the other hand, it is alleged by mr. murray's champion, that his feelings and affections, rather than his reason, were quickly engaged in the cause of the chevalier, from his opportunities of knowing intimately the personal qualities of the two royal brothers, charles edward and henry benedict. he was, moreover, independent of circumstances; being in the enjoyment of a fortune of three or four hundred a year, which was considered a sufficient independence for a younger brother, and therefore interest, it is alleged, could not have been an inducement to his actions. whether from real admiration, or from a wish to disseminate in scotland a favourable impression of the stuart princes, it is difficult to decide; but mr. murray, in , dispatched to a lady in scotland, who had requested him to describe personages of so great interest to the jacobites, the following, perhaps, not exaggerated portrait of what charles edward was in the days of his youth, and before he had left the mild influence of his father's house. "charles edward, the eldest son of the chevalier de st. george is tall, above the common stature; his limbs are cast in the exact mould, his complexion has in it somewhat of an uncommon delicacy; all his features are perfectly regular, well turned, and his eyes the finest i ever saw; but that which shines most in him, and renders him without exception the most surprisingly handsome person of the age, is the dignity that accompanies his every gesture; there is, indeed, such an unspeakable majesty diffused throughout his whole mien and air, as it is impossible to have any idea of without seeing, and strikes those that do with such an awe, as will not suffer them to look upon him for any time, unless he emboldens them to it by his excessive affability. "thus much, madam, as to the person of this prince. his mind, by all i can judge of it, is no less worthy of admiration; he seems to me, and i find to all who know him, to have all the good nature of the stuart family blended with the spirit of the sobieskys. he is, at least as far as i am capable of seeing into men, equally qualified to preside in peace and war. as for his learning, it is extensive beyond what could be expected from double the number of his years. he speaks most of the european languages with the same ease and fluency as if each of them were the only one he knew; is a perfect master of all the different kinds of latin, understands greek very well, and is not altogether ignorant of hebrew; history and philosophy are his darling entertainments, in both which he is well versed; the _one_ he says will instruct him how to govern _others_, and the _other_ how to govern _himself_, whether in _prosperous_ or _adverse_ fortune. then for his courage, that was sufficiently proved at the siege of gaità, where though scarcely arrived at the age of fifteen, he performed such things as in attempting made his friends and his enemies alike tremble, though for different motives. what he is ordained for, we must leave to the almighty, who alone disposes all; but he appears to be born and endowed for something very extraordinary."[ ] it was not long before mr. murray perceived that, although james stuart had given up all hopes of the english crown for himself, he still cherished a desire of regaining it for his son. scotland was of course the object of all future attempts, according to the old proverb: "he that would england win, must with scotland first begin." the project of an invasion, if not suggested by murray, as has been stated, was soon communicated to him; and his credit attained to such an extent, that he was appointed by the chevalier, at the request of prince charles, to be secretary for scottish affairs. at the latter end of the year he was sent to paris, where he found an emissary of the stuarts, mr. kelly, who was negotiating in their behalf at the court of france. here murray communicated with cardinal tencin, the successor of cardinal fleury, in the management of the affairs of the chevalier, and here he met the exiled marquis of tullibardine, who, notwithstanding his losses and misfortunes in the year , was still sanguine of ultimate success. here, too, was the unfortunate charles radcliffe, who, with others once opulent, once independent, were now forced to submit to receive, with many indignities in the payment, pensions from the french government. it was easy to inflame the minds of persons so situated with false hopes; and murray is said to have been indefatigable in the prosecution of his scheme. after a delay of three weeks in paris, he set off on that memorable undertaking to engage the clans, which ultimately ended in the insurrection of . lord george murray, meantime, had returned to his native country, where he was presented to george the second, and solicited, but ineffectually, a commission in the british army. this was refused, and the ardour in the stuart cause, which we may presume to have wavered, again revived in its original vigour. previous to the insurrection of , lord george murray married amelia, the only surviving child and heiress of james murray of glencarse and strowan, a lady who appears, both from the terms of affection and respect expressed towards her by the marquis of tullibardine, and from the tenour of her own letters, to have coincided warmly in the efforts of her husband for the restoration of the stuarts.[ ] five children were the issue of this marriage. the course which public affairs were now taking checked, however, completely all hopes of domestic felicity. after several unsuccessful negotiations in paris attempted by the agents of james stuart, and in london by lord elcho, the scheme of invasion languished for some time. whilst all was apparently secure, however, the metropolis was the scene of secret cabals and meetings of the jacobites, sometimes at one place, sometimes at another; but unhappily for their cause, the party generally wanted compactness and discretion. "the little jacobites," as those who were not in the secret of these manoeuvres were called, began to flatter themselves that a large army would land in england from france that summer. nor was it the policy of government to check these reports, which strengthened the hands of the ministry, and procured a grant of the supplies with alacrity. the jacobites, meantime, ran from house to house, intoxicated with their anticipated triumphs; and such chance of success as there might be was thus rendered abortive. the year ended, however; and the visions of the jacobites vanished into air. donald cameron of lochiel, the elder, who visited paris for the purpose of ascertaining what were the real intentions of the french cabinet, found that even the cardinal tencin did not think it yet time for the attempt, and he returned to scotland disheartened. the death of the cardinal fleury in added to the discomfiture of his hopes.[ ] above all, the reluctance of the english jacobites to pledge themselves to the same assurances that had been given by the scotch, and their shyness in conversing with the people who were sent from france or scotland on the subject, perplexed the emissaries who arrived in this country, and offered but a faint hope of their assistance from england. but, in the ensuing year, the affairs of the jacobites brightened; france, which had suspended her favours, once more encouraged and flattered the party. a messenger was dispatched to the palace of albano, to acquaint the chevalier that the day was now arrived when his views might be expected to prosper; whilst at the same time the utmost pains were taken by the french government to appear to the english averse to the pretensions of james stuart. it affords, indeed, another trait of the unfortunate tendency of the stuart family to repose a misplaced confidence, that they should have relied on professions so hollow and so vague as those of france. but the dependent and desolate situation of that prince may well be supposed to have blinded a judgment not ripened by any active participation in the general business of life, and narrowed within his little court. besides, there remained some who, after the conflict at culloden was over, could even view the enterprise as having been by no means unauspicious. "upon the whole," writes maxwell of kirkconnel, "the conjuncture seemed favourable; and it is not to be wondered that a young prince, naturally brave, should readily lay hold of it. there was a prospect of recalling his father from an exile nearly as long as his life, saving his country from impending ruin, and restoring both to the enjoyment of their rights."[ ] great preparations were in fact actually made by the french government for the invasion of great britain. the young prince, who was forthwith summoned from rome, was to land in the highlands and head the clans; lord john drummond, it was arranged, should make a descent on the southern part of the island, and endeavour to join the young chevalier, and march towards edinburgh. twelve thousand french were to pour into wales at the same time, under the command of a general who was never named, and to join such english insurgents as should rally to their assistance. this scheme, had it been executed with promptness, might perhaps have prospered better than, in these later times, in the security of an undisturbed succession, we are inclined to allow. general discontents prevailed in england. the partiality which had been shown to the hanoverian troops in preference to the english at the battle of dettingen had irritated, if not alienated, the affections of the army. the king and the duke of cumberland were abroad, and a small number of ships only guarded the coast. parliament was not sitting; and most of the members both of the lords and commons, and of the privy council, were at their country-seats. but the proper moment for the enterprise was lost by delays, and the same opportunity never again occurred. meantime, the young prince who was to influence the destiny of so many brave men, accompanied by his brother, left rome furtively, under pretext of going to hunt at cisterna. a tender affection, cemented by their adversities, existed between james stuart and his sons. as they parted from each other with tears and embracings, the gallant charles edward exclaimed, "i go to claim your right to three crowns: if i fail," he added earnestly, "your next sight of me, sir, shall be in my coffin!" "my son," exclaimed the chevalier, "heaven forbid that all the crowns in the world should rob me of my child!"[ ] mr. murray of broughton was present at this interview; the prelude to disasters and dangers to the ardent young man, and of anxieties and disappointments to his father, feelingly depicted in the chevalier's touching letters to his children.[ ] by a stratagem the young prince effected his journey from rome without its becoming known, and eleven days after his departure from that city elapsed before it was made public. he was accompanied by henry benedict, who was at this time a youth of great promise. he is described as having had, as well as his brother, a very fine person, though somewhat shorter in stature than that ill-fated young man, and of a less delicate complexion. he seems to have been, perhaps, better constituted for the career of difficulty which charles edward encountered. he was of a robust form, with an unusual fire in his eyes. whilst his brother united the different qualities of the stuart and the sobieski, henry benedict is said to have been more entirely actuated by the spirit of his great ancestor, king john of poland; by whom, and the handful of christians whom he headed, a hundred and fifty thousand turks were defeated. even when only nine years of age, the high-spirited boy, whose martial qualities were afterwards subdued beneath the taming influence of a cardinal's hat, resented the refusal of his father to allow him to accompany his brother to assist the young king of naples in the recovery of his dominions; and could only be pacified by the threat of having his garter, the beloved insignia of english knighthood, taken from him as well as his sword.[ ][ ] it soon became evident that the designs of france were not unknown at st. james's. the celebrated chauvelin, secretary of state to louis the fifteenth, had long been employing his influence over the cardinal fleury to counteract the wishes of the english. by a slight accident his designs were disclosed to queen caroline. chauvelin had, unintentionally, among other papers, put into the hands of the earl of waldegrave, then ambassador in france, a letter from the chevalier. lord waldegrave immediately sent it to queen caroline. this involved a long correspondence between sir robert walpole and waldegrave on the subject. "jacobitism," to borrow the language of dr. cox, "at this time produced a tremor through every nerve of government; and the slightest incident that discovered any intercourse between the pretender and france occasioned the most serious apprehensions."[ ] the spirit of insurrection and discontent had long pervaded not only the capital, which was disturbed by frequent tumults, but the country; and the murder of porteous in edinburgh, in , was proved only to be the result of a regular systematic plan of resistance to the government.[ ] the death of queen caroline deprived the oppressed jacobites in both kingdoms of their only friend at court. the unfortunate of all modes of faith met, indeed, with protection and beneficence from that excellent princess. those roman catholics, whose zeal for the stuart cause had exposed them to the rigour of the law, were succoured by her bounty; large sums were sent by her to the indigent and ruined jacobite families; and sir robert walpole, who was greatly disturbed at this show of mercy to the delinquent party, truly exclaimed, "that the jacobites had a ready access to the queen by the backstairs, and that all attempts to suppress them would be ineffectual."[ ] the last efforts of walpole, then lord orford, were exerted to warn the country of the danger to be feared in that second invasion, for prognosticating which he had so often been severely ridiculed. he alluded to "the greatest power in europe, which was setting up a pretender to the throne; the winds alone having hindered an invasion and protected britain." he warned the lords, that the rebellion which he anticipated would be "fought on british ground." the memorable oration in which he unfolded these sentiments, which were delivered with great emotion, touched the heart of frederic prince of wales; who arose, quitted his seat, and, taking lord orford by the hand, expressed his acknowledgments.[ ] that warning was the last effort of one sinking under an excruciating disease, and to whose memory the tragedy of must still have been present. charles edward, to whose ill-omened attempts to sail from dunkirk, walpole had thus alluded, had borne that disastrous endeavour with a fortitude which augured well for his future powers of endurance. mr. maxwell[ ] thus describes his commencement of the voyage. "most of the troops," he says, "were already embarked, when a furious storm dispersed the ships of war, and drove the transports on the coast: the troops already embarked were glad to gain the shore, having lost some of their number. it is hardly possible to conceive a greater disappointment than that which the prince met with on this occasion. how severely soever he might feel it, he did not seem dejected; on the contrary, he was in appearance cheerful and easy; encouraged such of his friends as seemed most deeply affected, telling them providence would furnish him with other occasions of delivering his father's subjects, and making them happy. immediately after this disaster the expedition was given up, and the prince returned to paris, where he lived incognito till he set out for scotland. not long after his return to paris, war was declared betwixt france and england, which gave him fresh hopes that something would be undertaken. but after several months, seeing no appearance, he grew very impatient, and began to think of trying his fortune with such friends as would follow him: he was sick of the obscure way he was in; he thought himself neglected by the court of france, but could not bear the thoughts of returning to rome. he had heard much of the loyalty and bravery of the scotch highlanders; but the number of those clans he could depend upon was too inconsiderable to do anything effectual. while he was thus perplexed and fluctuating, john murray of broughton arrived from scotland." in this emergency, the flattering representations of murray of broughton found a ready response in the young prince's heart. notwithstanding the assertions of that individual in his evidence at lovat's trial, that he had used every means to dissuade the prince from going to scotland,[ ] it is expressly stated by mr. maxwell,[ ] that he "advised the prince, in his own name, to come to scotland at any rate; it was his opinion that the prince should come as well provided and attended as possible, but rather come alone than delay coming; that those who had invited the prince, and promised to join him if he came at the head of four or five thousand regular troops, would do the same if he came without any troops at all; in fine, that he had a very strong party in scotland, and would have a very good chance of succeeding. this was more than enough to determine the prince. the expedition was resolved upon, and murray despatched to scotland with such orders and instructions as were thought proper at that juncture." mr. murray may therefore be considered as in a great measure responsible for the event of that proceeding, which he afterwards denounced as a "desperate undertaking." he found, unhappily, ready instruments in the unfortunate marquis of tullibardine, in mr. radcliffe, and others, whose fate he may thus be considered to have hastened by his alluring representations of the prospects of success. when it was decided that charles edward should throw himself on the loyalty of the clans, and intimation was given of the whole scheme, lord george murray prepared for action. the landing of the prince, the erection of a standard at glenfinnin, the march through lochiel, and the encampment between glengarry and fort augustus, were events which he did not personally aid by his presence. he was, indeed, busily employed in assembling his father's tenantry; and it was not until the prince arrived at perth that lord george murray was presented to him; he was almost immediately created a lieutenant-general in the prince's service. his power in the highlands was, indeed, of a far greater extent than that military rank would seem to imply; for, although the marquis of tullibardine was the nominal commander in the north, to lord george murray was entrusted the actual management of affairs; an arrangement with which the modest and conscientious tullibardine willingly complied. the character of lord george might be considered as partly sobered by time; since, at the commencement of the rebellion of , he was forty years of age. he was in the full vigour, therefore, of his great natural and intellectual powers, which, when at that period of life they have been ripened by exercise and experience, are perhaps at their zenith. the person of lord george was tall and robust; he had the self-denial and energy of his countrymen. he slept little, and entered into every description of detail; he was persevering in everything which he undertook; he was vigilant, active, and diligent. to these qualities he united a natural genius for military operations; and his powers were such, that it was justly thought, that, had he been well instructed in military tactics, he would have formed one of the ablest generals of the day. as it was, the retreat from derby, ill-advised as it may be deemed, is said to have sufficiently manifested his skill as a commander. in addition to these attributes, lord george was brave to the highest degree; and, in all engagements, was always the first to rush sword in hand into danger. as he advanced to the charge, and looked round upon the highlanders, whose character he well understood, it was his practice to say, "i do not ask you, my lads, to go before; but only to follow me."[ ] it cannot be a matter of surprise, that, with this bold and resolute spirit, lord george was the darling of the highland soldiers; and that his strong influence over their minds should have enabled him to obviate, in some measure, the deficiencies of discipline. "taking them," as a contemporary writer asserts, "merely as they came from the plough, he made them perform prodigies of valour against english armies, always greatly superior in number to that of the prince charles edward, although the english troops are allowed to be the best in europe." thus endowed, lord george murray showed how feeble are the advantages of birth, compared with those of nature's gift. in rank, if not in family connections, and in an hereditary hold upon the affections of his countrymen, the duke of perth might be esteemed superior; but, brave and honourable as he was, that amiable nobleman could never obtain the confidence of the army as a general. it is not, however, to be supposed that any commander would ever have obtained an influence over a highland army, if he had not added high birth to his other requisites. the clansmen were especially aristocratic in their notions; and the names which they had honoured and loved from their birth, were alone those to which they would eagerly respond. to counterbalance the fine, soldierly characteristics which graced the lofty and heroic lord george murray, some defects, of too stern a nature to be called weaknesses, but yet indicative of narrowness of mind, clouded his excellent qualities. unlike most great men, he was not open to conviction. that noble candour, which can bear counsels, or receive even admonition with gratitude, was not a part of his haughty nature. a sense of superiority over every human being rendered him impatient of the slightest controul, and greedy of exclusive power. he was imperious and determined; and was deficient in the courtesy which forms, combined with honesty, so fine an attribute in a soldier's bearing. "he wanted," says one who knew him well, "the sole ordering of everything."[ ] at perth, lord george murray met with the famous chevalier johnstone, whom he soon adopted into his service. this young soldier, whose pen has supplied memoirs of the rebellion of , and upon whose statements much of the reported merits of lord george murray rests, was the only son of a merchant in edinburgh, and the descendant of an ancient and well-connected family. by the marriage of his sister he was nearly related to the house of rollo; and, from these and other circumstances, he mingled with the best society in his native city. having been educated in jacobite and episcopalian principles, young johnstone hailed with delight the arrival of prince charles: he resolved instantly to join his standard. escaping from edinburgh, he hastened to duncrub, the seat of lord rollo, near perth. here he awaited the arrival of the young chevalier; and here he was introduced by his cousins, the daughters of lord rollo, to the duke of perth and to lord george murray. the chevalier johnstone was one of the first low-countrymen that joined the standard of charles edward. lord george murray very soon discovered that the requisites for forming a good soldier and an active partizan were centred in young johnstone. for the former he was qualified by an open and impetuous character, generally combined with a desperate courage. the jollity and licence of the cavalier school, which characterized johnstone, did not materially detract from, but added rather to the popularity of his character. as a partizan, he has proved his zeal by his memoirs, which afford a sample of much heat and prejudice, and which have, in upholding lord george murray, done an injury to the memory of charles edward, of which the adversaries of his cause have not failed to take advantage. to many errors of character, and to some egotism, the chevalier johnstone, as he came to be called in after-life, united a kind heart and an enthusiastic disposition. he acted for a considerable time as aide-de-camp to lord george murray, and afterwards in the same capacity with the prince. but his liveliest admiration appears to have been directed towards the general who has been classed with montrose and dundee,[ ] and no subsequent service under other masters ever effaced his impression of respect and confidence to lord george murray. after the battle of preston-pans johnstone received a captain's commission from the prince: and, exhausted with his duties as aide-de-camp, he formed a company, with which he joined the duke of perth's regiment. his history, mingled up as it is with that of the general under whom he first served, must necessarily be incorporated with the following narrative. lord george murray continued, for some time, busily engaged in rallying around him his brother's vassals. the duke of atholl is partly proprietor, partly superior, of the country which bears his name. that region is inhabited by stuarts and robinsons, none of the duke's name living upon his estates. of these, several have fiefs or mortgages of the atholl family, and command the common people of their respective clans; but, like other highlanders, they believe that they are bound to rise in arms when the chief of their whole clan requires it. the vassals on the atholl territory were well-affected to the stuarts, great pains having been taken by the father of lord george murray, notwithstanding his efforts to appear loyal to the government, to infuse the spirit of jacobitism among them.[ ] of the events which succeeded his joining the prince's standard at perth, until the commencement of the retreat from derby, lord george murray has left a succinct relation. it is written, as are his letters, in a plain, free, manly style, which dispels all doubt as to the sincerity of the narrator. "i joined the standard at perth,"[ ] he begins, "the day his royal highness arrived there. as i had formerly known something of a highland army, the first thing i did was to advise the prince to endeavour to get proper people for provisors and commissaries, for otherwise there would be no keeping the men together, and they would straggle through the whole country upon their marches if it was left to themselves to find provisions; which, beside the inconveniency of irregular marches, and much time lost, great abuses would be committed, which, above all things, we were to avoid. i got many of the men to make small knapsacks of sacking before we left perth, to carry a peck of meal each upon occasion; and i caused take as many threepenny loaves there as would be three days' bread to our small army, which was carried in carts. i sent about a thousand of these knapsacks to crieff, to meet the men who were coming from atholl." the difficulties which lord george encountered were, it is evident, considerable. upon the arrival of charles edward at perth, his army amounted only to two thousand men,[ ] until he was joined by lord george murray, by the duke of perth, and by lord nairn, and other persons of distinction.[ ] there were few persons in that army who were capable, by being versed in military affairs, of giving lord george murray any advice or assistance. the highland chiefs possessed the most heroic courage; but they knew no other manoeuvre but that of rushing, sword in hand, upon an enemy. the irish officers were equally deficient in experience and knowledge; and, with the exception of mr. sullivan, are stated "to have had no more knowledge than the whole stock of subalterns, namely, the knowing how to mount and quit guard." such is the description given of the collected forces by johnstone. but, although not trained as regular soldiers, and accustomed chiefly to the care of herds of black cattle, whom they wandered after in the mountains, the highlanders had a discipline of their own. their chiefs usually kept about them several retainers experienced in the use of arms; and a meeting of two or three gentlemen was sure to bring together a little army, for the habits of the clansmen were essentially military. it was, some considered, a circumstance favourable to lord george murray, that, being unprepared by an early military education, he was unfettered by its formal rules, and therefore was more calculated to lead an undisciplined army of highlanders, whose native energies he knew how to direct better than a skilful tactician would have ventured to do.[ ] during his stay at perth, the highlanders, so prone to irregularities when not in active service, were tranquil under the strictest military rule.[ ] it was here, however, that the first seeds of dissension were sown between charles edward and lord george. sir thomas sheridan, the tutor of the prince, who was allowed to "have lived and died a man of honour," but who was manifestly incapable of the great charge intrusted to him, both in the education of the young princes and as their adviser in after-life, added to his other deficiencies a total ignorance of the british constitution and habits of thinking. the prince, of course, was equally ill-informed. they were therefore in the practice, in conversation, of espousing sentiments of arbitrary power, which were equally impolitic and unbecoming. sincere and shrewd, lord george murray lost no time in expressing to charles edward his decided disapproval of this tone of discourse. his motives in these expostulations were excellent, but his overbearing manner nullified all the good that might have been effected. he offended the prince, who repressed indeed his secret indignation, but whose pride, fostered by circumstances, could ill brook the assumption of his general.[ ] it was not until the prince reached edinburgh that a regular council was formed; consisting of the duke of perth, lord george murray, lord elcho, secretary murray, sir thomas sheridan, and mr. sullivan, the highland chiefs, and afterwards of all the colonels in the army. but, among the advisers of the prince, an "ill-timed emulation," as mr. maxwell calls it, now crept in, and bred great dissension and animosities. "the dissensions," he states, "began at edinburgh:" according to sir walter scott, they had an earlier origin, and originated at perth. they were aggravated, as in the council at perth in the time of lord mar, by the base passions of an individual. detesting the weak and crooked policy of mar and viewing from his calm position as an inferior actor, with a fiendish pleasure, the embarrassments and mistakes of him whom he hated, stood the master of sinclair. blinded by a selfish jealousy of power over the mind of him whom he afterwards betrayed to the ruin which he was working, and "aiming at nothing less than the sole direction and management of everything, the secretary murray sacrificed to this evil passion, this thirst for ascendancy, all the hopes of prosperity to charles edward--all present peace to the harassed and perplexed young man whom his counsels had brought to scotland. it was he," strongly, and perhaps bitterly, writes mr. maxwell, "that had engaged the prince to make this attempt upon so slight a foundation, and the wonderful success that had hitherto attended it was placed to his account." by some the sincerity of murray's loyalty and good-faith were even credited. the duke of perth, among a few others, judged of murray's heart by his own, went readily into all his schemes, and confirmed the prince in the opinion which he had imbibed of his favourite. after kelly had left the prince, murray contrived to gain over sullivan and sir thomas sheridan, and by that means effectually governed charles edward. the fearless, lofty, honest character of lord george murray alone offered an obstacle to the efforts of the secretary to obtain, for his own purposes, an entire controul; he cherished towards the general that aversion which a mean and servile nature ever feels to one whose dealings are free from fraud or deceit. he also feared him as a rival, and it became his aim to undermine him, and to lay a plot for the chief stay and prop of the undertaking. it was naturally to be supposed that lord george murray's age, his high birth, his experience and influence, and his great capacity, would have given him an advantage over his dastardly rival, and have gained the first consideration with the prince. but murray of broughton, unhappily, had acquired an early influence over the credulous mind of the young adventurer. his acquaintance beneath the roof of the santi apostoli had secured an unhappy confidence in his fidelity and worth. he shortly took advantage of the sentiments which ought to have ensured the nicest honour, the most scrupulous truth, in return, to deceive and to mislead his young master.[ ] unfortunately there was one point upon which the honour of lord george murray was to be suspected. he "_was said_" to have solicited a commission in the english army.[ ] upon this supposed early defection of lord george to the hanoverian party, murray grounded his accusations. "he began by representing lord george as a traitor to the prince; he assured him that he had joined on purpose to have an opportunity of delivering him up to government. it was hardly possible to guard against this imposture. the prince had the highest opinion of his secretary's integrity, and knew little of lord george murray. so the calumny had its full effect. lord george soon came to know the suspicion the prince had of him, and was affected, as one may easily imagine; to be sure, nothing could be more shocking to a man of honour, and one that was now for the third time venturing his life and fortune for the royal cause. the prince was partly undeceived by lord george's gallant behaviour at the battle; and, had lord george improved that opportunity, he might perhaps have gained the prince's favour, and get the better of the secretary: but his haughty and overbearing manner prevented a thorough reconciliation, and seconded the malicious insinuations of his rival." another anecdote is related, on the authority of murray of broughton: on the tenth of october the chevalier issued a manifesto, dated from holyrood house. this document is acknowledged, even by the opposite party, to have been remarkably well written:[ ] but it was not completed without some heart-burnings, arising from the distrust of many members of the kirk, who conceived that it did not contain assurances for the security of their manner of divine worship. a grand council was therefore held, concerning the alterations which were necessary to conciliate the good opinion of the presbyterians. mr. kelly, who had drawn up the manifesto, was very tenacious of his performance; but the majority of those who were present were of opinion that the manifesto would prosper better if a promise of putting the penal laws against papists into effect were added to it. upon this proposition the young chevalier was observed to change countenance, doubtless reflecting that it would be ungrateful to depress those who had been such real friends to his father. he had, however, the prudence to say but little, and to maintain a neutral position during the debate, which was carried on with much bitterness on both sides of the question. it is remarkable that the duke of perth, sullivan, and o'neil, who were all papists, voted for the addition; whilst many who were of the reformed church opposed it. amongst these was lord george murray, who, starting up and turning to charles edward, exclaimed, with an oath, "sir, if you permit this article to be inserted, you will lose five hundred thousand friends;" meaning that there were that number of papists in england. on this, the prince arose from his chair and withdrew, offended, as it was thought, by the vehemence and overbearing advice of lord george. as he left the room, he said, "i will have it decided by a majority." but the freedom with which he had been treated appears to have rankled in his mind. the additional clause was negatived, and the manifesto remained in the same state as when it came from mr. kelly's hands.[ ] there were, indeed, times when lord george endeavoured to retrieve mistakes of which he was conscious, and upon some occasions he subdued his lofty temper so far as to be "very obsequious and respectful, but had not temper to go through with it." "he now and then broke into such violent sallies as the prince could not digest, though the situation of his affairs forced him to bear with them.[ ] the secretary's station and favour had attached to him such as were confident of success, and had nothing in view but making their fortunes. nevertheless, lord george had greater weight and influence in the council, and generally brought the majority over to his opinion; which so irritated the ambitious secretary, that he endeavoured to give the prince a bad impression of the council itself, and engaged to lay it entirely aside." it was not only in regard to lord george murray that the influence of the secretary was prejudicial to the prince's interests; neither was lord george the only person whom he dreaded as a rival. having access to the most intimate communication with charles edward, he abused the youth and inexperience of the ill-fated man to inspire him with a distrust of many gentlemen of good family and of integrity, whose fidelity he contrived to whisper away. all employments were filled up at the secretary's nomination; and he contrived to bestow them upon his own creatures, who would never thwart his measures. hence it followed that places of trust were bestowed on "insignificant little fellows," while there were abundance of gentlemen of merit who might have been of great use, had they met with the confidence of their prince. "those that murray had thus placed," continues mr. maxwell, "seconded his dirty little views; and it was their interest, too, to keep their betters at a distance from the prince's person and acquaintance." until a very short time before charles edward left perth, he appears to have felt the most unqualified admiration for the highland character, which he had carefully studied.[ ] he thus expressed himself to his father: "i have occasion every day to reflect on your majesty's last words to me,--that i should find power, if tempered with justice and clemency, an easy thing to myself, and not grievous to those under me. 'tis owing to the observance of this rule, and to my conformity to the customs of these people, that i have got their hearts, to a degree not easy to be conceived by those who do not see it. one who observes the discipline which i have established, would take my little army to be a body of picked veterans; and, to see the love and harmony that reigns amongst us, he would be apt to look upon it as a large well-ordered family, in which every one loves another better than himself." he even applauded the rude climate of scotland. "i keep my health better in these wild mountains than i used to do in the campagna felice; and sleep sounder, lying on the ground, than i used to do in the palaces at rome." in this happy temper the prince set out on his march from perth to edinburgh. the march was made in the most perfect good order, and the strictest discipline prevented any depredations. as the insurgent army passed by stirling, the standard of the chevalier was saluted by some shot from the castle. nevertheless, lord george murray sent into the town, and the gates were opened; and bread, cheese, and butter sent out to sell, near to bannockburn, where the army halted. on the seventeenth of september the city of edinburgh was taken. in the description of the courtly scenes of holyrood, it does not appear that lord george murray took any conspicuous part. his sphere was the council-room, or the camp, or the battle-field; and of his proceedings in these different occupations he has left a very particular account, written with the same manly spirit and fearless tone which he displayed in ordinary life. when the prince's council had received accounts of sir john cope's landing at dunbar, they left edinburgh and lay upon their arms at duddingstone, and on the twentieth marched to meet the enemy. lord george commanded the van, and, whilst passing the south side of pinkie gardens, he heard that cope was at or near preston, and that he would probably gain the high ground at fawside. there was no time to deliberate or to wait for orders. well acquainted with the ground, lord george struck off through the fields, without keeping to any road. he went without being even preceded by the usual escort to choose the ground where to halt. in less than half an hour, by marching quickly, he gained the eminence; he slackened his pace and waited for the rear, still proceeding slowly towards tranent, always fronting the enemy. general cope's army was drawn up on the plain between preston grange and tranent, with deep broad ditches between them. after much reconnoitring and some firing, on the part of the enemy, from these ditches, at the highlanders, who they thought had never seen cannon, and would therefore be intimidated, the english army was drawn up on the east side of the village of tranent, where, on a dry stubble-field, with a small rising in front to shelter them, they lay down to repose in rank and file. "it was now night," writes lord george murray;[ ] "and when all the principal officers were called together, i proposed the attacking the enemy at break of day. i assured them that it was not only practicable, but that it would, in all probability, be attended with success. i told them i knew the ground myself, and had a gentleman or two with me who knew every part thereabouts: there was indeed a small defile at the east end of the ditches, but, once that was past, there would be no stop; and though we should be long on our march, yet, when the whole line was past the defile, they had nothing to do but to face to the left, and in a moment the whole was formed, and then to attack. the prince was highly pleased with the proposal, as indeed the whole officers were; so, after placing a few pickets, everybody lay down at their posts; and supped upon what they had with them. at midnight the principal officers were called again, and all was ordered as was at first proposed. word was sent to the atholl brigade to come off their post at two in the morning, and not to make the least noise." before four in the morning the army began to march, and an arrangement of the first line, which had been previously agreed upon, was now put into execution. those who had had the right the day before, were to have the rear and the left; and this alteration was made without the least noise or confusion. the duke of perth therefore went into the front, lord george giving up his guides to him. no horse marched at that time, for fear of being discovered. when the army had advanced within a hundred paces of the ditches, they marched on to the attack, lord george calling on cameron of lochiel to incline to the left. as the enemy discovered their approach, the noise of the cannon announced that the engagement had begun. notwithstanding that lord george murray's regiment was the last to pass the defile towards the enemy, it was the first to fire. "our whole first line," writes the gallant soldier, "broke through the enemy. some of them were rallying behind us; but when they saw our second line coming up, they then made the best of their way." lord george pursued the enemy to the walls of bankton house, the residence of colonel gardiner; and here a party of the enemy got over the ditch, and fired at the highland foe. this little company, brave as it was, was composed of only fourteen men, headed by a lieutenant-colonel. "i got before a hundred of our men," writes lord george, "who had their guns presented to fire upon them, and at my desire they kept up their fire, so that those officers and soldiers surrendered themselves prisoners; and nothing gave me more pleasure that day than having it in my power to save those men, as well as several others." this declaration was perhaps necessary, to rescue the memory of lord george from the opprobrium of cruelty; since it has been asserted, that at the battle of culloden he issued orders to give no quarter, and that such a document to that effect, in the handwriting of lord george, was in the possession of the duke of cumberland.[ ] this stigma on the fame of lord george murray may have originated from the desperate character of that last effort: his haughty temper may have been exasperated in the course of the fatal contest. it is a charge which can now only be repelled by the previous character of the individual against whom it is made, since it was never fairly made out, nor satisfactorily contradicted. after the action was partially over, lord george murray perceived that a number of people were gathered together on the height near to tranent. mistaking them for the enemy, the general marched with his regiment, accompanied by lochiel, who had kept his men together in good order, back to the narrow causeway that led up to tranent. here he found that the supposed enemy were only country-people and servants. from them, however, he learned that the enemy were at cokenny, only a mile and a half distant; and he instantly determined on pursuing them. his energy and valour in thus doing so, after the events of that harassing and exhausting day, cannot but be admired. he found on arriving at cokenny, a force of about three hundred highlanders, a volunteer company recently embodied at inverness by president forbes. these soon surrendered; between sixteen and seventeen hundred prisoners were taken that day, among whom were seventy officers.[ ] "his royal highness," adds lord george murray in giving this his personal narrative, "took the same care of their wounded as of his own. i do not mention the behaviour of all our officers and men that day; their actions shewed it. i only take notice of those two that were immediately under my eye, which was lochiel's regiment and the stewarts of appin." as the enemy's foot-soldiers had made little or no resistance during the battle of preston-pans, they might have been all cut to pieces had it not been for the interposition of prince charles and his officers, who gained that day as much honour by their humanity as by their bravery. the prince, when the rout began, mounted his horse, galloped all over the field, and his voice was heard amid that scene of horror, calling on his men to spare the lives of his enemies, "whom he no longer looked upon as such." far from being elated with the victory, which was considered as complete, the care of the kind-hearted and calumniated young man was directed to assist the wounded. owing to his exertions, eighty-three of the officers were saved, besides hundreds of soldiers. "the prince," writes mr. maxwell, "had a livelier sense of other people's misfortunes than of his own good-fortune." this spirit of humanity was extended to the two lieutenants-general. the conduct of the duke of perth was ever consistent with his mild character. on that occasion, at all events, lord george participated in the noble clemency which usually characterized the jacobites. "in the evening," he writes,[ ] "i went with the officer prisoners to a house in musselburgh that was allotted for them. those who were worst wounded were left at colonel gardiner's house, where surgeons attended them; the others walked, as i did, along with them without a guard (as they had given me their parole); and to some, who were not able to walk, i gave my own horses. it was a new-finished house that was got for them, where there was neither table, bed, chair, nor chimney grate. i caused buy some new-thrashed straw, and had by good-fortune as much cold provisions and liquor of my own as made a tolerable meal to them all; and when i was going to retire, they entreated me not to leave them; for, as they had no guard, they were afraid that some of the highlanders, who had got liquor, might come in upon them and insult or plunder them." beside these suffering men lord george lay on a floor all night, having given up the minister's house in musselburgh, which had been destined as his quarters, to those who were valetudinary. on the following day those officers who were tolerably well were removed to pinkie house, where prince charles was staying. lord george then returned to the field of battle, to give directions about the cannon, and to see about the other wounded prisoners. he afterwards repaired to pinkie house, the gardens of which were thronged that night with the prisoners, privates, to whom provisions were sent; "and the night before," as lord george relates, "i got some of their own provisions carried from cokenny to colonel gardiner's courts and gardens for their use. in these things i ever laid it down as a maxim, to do by others as i would wish they would do by me, had i been in their place, and they in mine." such is the spirit in which the unfortunate were regarded by the victors of that day; and these two accounts, that of lord george murray and that of maxwell of kirkconnel, written without any mutual compact, and at different times, and even in different countries, disprove the following gross and improbable statement of henderson's of that which occurred after the day at preston was fought and won. according to his account, professedly that of an eye-witness, the conduct of the young chevalier (who, he acknowledges, had, by the advice of the duke of perth, sent to edinburgh for surgeons,) was, in the highest degree, unfeeling and indecent. he stood by the road-side, his horse near him, "with his armour of tin, which resembled a woman's stays, affixed to the saddle; he was on foot, clad as an ordinary captain, in a coarse plaid, and large blue bonnet, a scarlet waistcoat with a narrow plain lace about it; his boots and knees were much dirtied (the effect of his having fallen into a ditch, as i afterwards understood); he was exceeding merry, and twice said, 'my highlanders have lost their plaids,' at which he laughed very heartily, being in no way affected when speaking of the dead or wounded. nor would his jollity have been interrupted, if he had not looked upon seven standards that had been taken from the dragoons; on which he said, in french, (a language he frequently spoke in,) 'we have missed some of them.' after this, he refreshed himself upon the field, and, with the utmost composure, ate a piece of cold beef and drank a glass of wine, amidst the deep and piercing groans of the poor men who had fallen victims to his ambition."[ ] after this flippant and hard-hearted conduct, as it is described, the prince is said to have ridden off to pinkie house, leaving the bulk of the wounded on the field that day, to be brought in carts to edinburgh. "few," he says, "recovered; and those who did, went begging through the streets, their heads tied about with bandages, but obtaining no relief from their conquerors. the property of the prisoners, the fine linen of the officers, their gold and silver hilted swords, their watches and rings, were worn by the lowest among the soldiery almost before their eyes."[ ] the battle of preston, which was magnified by lord lovat as a "glorious victory not to be paralleled in history," although not meriting such extravagant remarks, produced the most important consequences to the jacobite cause. among not the least important was the acquisition of all the arms of the whole body of foot, and even of the volunteers. these went to supply the recruits whom the marquis of tullibardine and others were sending daily to the camp. no enemy was left in the field to oppose the progress of charles edward's victorious troops.[ ] when, having, as the chevalier johnstone asserts, escaped from the field of battle by placing a white cockade on his head, cope arrived at coldstream with his troops in great disorder, he was greeted by lord mark ker, one of a family who had long had hereditary claims to wit as well as courage, with the bitter remark, that "he believed he was the first general in europe that had brought tidings of his own defeat." "the prince," writes maxwell of kirkconnel, "was now, properly speaking, master of scotland." the militia, which had been raised in some parts of scotland for the service of government, was dismissed; and the chevalier's orders were obeyed in many places far from his army. these advantages were, however, rather glaring than solid and permanent. after the battle of preston, it became a serious and important question what step was to be taken. it was the prince's earnest desire to push the advantages thus gained by an immediate invasion of england, before the hanoverians had time to recover from their surprise. but this spirited and, as the event proved, sagacious opinion was objected to on the score of the smallness of the forces, and the probability of an accession of strength before marching southwards. lastly, the fatal hope of aid from france, that _ignis fatuus_ which had misled the jacobite party before, and on which it was their misfortune to depend, was adduced as an argument. the prince yielded to his counsellors, and consented to remain some time in edinburgh. upon this decision lord george murray offers no opinion. the castle of edinburgh remained still unsubdued; and the prince, upon his return to that city, resolved on blockading the fortress. this was a very unpopular step, but charles had no alternative; since it was of vital importance to reduce a place of so great strength and consequence. accordingly a proclamation was issued, forbidding, under pain of death, that any provisions should be sent up to the castle; and the management of this blockade was entrusted to lord george murray.[ ] this able general now proposed to place guards in such a manner as should prevent the garrison in the castle marching out to surprise him, but his exertions were baffled by the want of judgment and incompetency of those beneath him in command. the guard was placed near the weigh-house at the foot of the castle-rock, so that the battery of the half-moon, as it was termed, near the castle-gate, bore upon it, and many of the guard within would have perished upon the first firing. this was not the only mistake. mr. o'sullivan, one of prince charles's officers, one day placed a small guard near the west kirk, which was not only exposed to the enemy's fire, but conveniently situated near the sally-port, whence the besieged might issue and take the party there prisoners; for no relief could be sent to them in less than two hours' time, owing to its being necessary to pass round the whole circumference of the castle to arrive at that point. "i never," says lord george murray, "knew of that guard's being placed there, until they were taken prisoners." so severe a service was this blockade, that it was found necessary to relieve the guards, which were thus placed, by different corps who could not know the risk which they encountered. desertions from the jacobite army were among the most formidable evils with which lord george had to contend. it was therefore important not to discourage the soldiery. in the midst of difficulty the high-minded cameron of lochiel came forward to offer his own person, and to risk his own regiment in this service. he agreed to take all the guards, and to relieve them with the soldiers of his own regiment, who were quartered for that purpose in the outer parliament house. "i was with him," writes lord george,[ ] "when the guards were relieved, and the men did their duty exceedingly, especially when there was danger; and, when the fire was hottest from the castle, they kept their post with much resolution and bravery. lochiel and i being much with them, gave them a heartiness that hindered them from complaining of a duty which was so hard, and which the rest of the army had not in their turns. we even placed new guards to keep the castle from sallying, as they seemed disposed; and keppoch's regiment was brought into town to take some of the guards and support them. i lay in town for some nights, and was constantly visiting the guards and sentinels." the castle, nevertheless, seated on the precipitous rocks, which, steep as they are, have yet been "scaled by love and ambition,"[ ] defied the blockaders. the highlanders continued to keep guard in the weigh-house, and, stationing themselves in the grass-market, the smithfield as well as the hay-market of edinburgh, lying on the south side of the castle-hill, awaited there the proceedings of the enemy. on the twenty-ninth of september, a letter was sent to the provost of edinburgh by general guest, intimating, that, unless a communication were kept up between the city and the castle, he should be under the necessity of using cannon to dislodge the highlanders. it was said that guest had an order from the government, signed by the marquis of tweedale, empowering him to lay the city in ashes if the citizens did not remove the highlanders from their quarters. a message was dispatched from the provost to general guest obtaining a respite for that night; but, meantime, the utmost consternation prevailed in the town. twelve o'clock at night was the hour fixed upon for the execution of this threat of the enemy; and, although many who reasoned did not believe in the existence of the order, the lower classes were seized with a panic, and the streets were crowded with women and children running towards the gates, and with people removing their property to more secure quarters. when the clocks struck twelve, the hour fixed in general guest's message, the noise of the cannon was heard firing upon the principal streets; but the highlanders were all under shelter, and only a few poor inhabitants were injured. nothing was heard except imprecations on that government which had issued so cruel an order, since it was quite out of the power of the citizens to dislodge the highlanders from their quarters. but the firing was soon intermitted; and whether the garrison had private orders only to threaten, or whether they found it impossible to execute so barbarous an order, is unknown. they spared the city generally, and only directed their fire to any place where they fancied that they saw a highlander. on the following morning a deputation of citizens waited on the chevalier, and showed him general guest's letter. he immediately replied, that he was surprised and concerned at the barbarity of the order, but that if, out of compassion for the city, he were to remove his guards, the castle might with equal reason summon him to quit the town, and abandon all the advantages of which he was possessed. a respite of a day was afterwards obtained; and subsequently for six days, in case the highlanders would abstain from firing at the castle; and a dispatch to london was sent to obtain a mitigation of the order in council. meantime, on the first of october, the highlanders fired; whether at some people who were carrying provisions to the castle, or at the castle itself, is uncertain. reprisals were instantly made by a heavy cannonading and small shot. the firing continued for some days, bringing terror to the hearts of those who lived remote from the scene of danger; whilst the aged and infirm were carried out of that noble city, thus threatened with destruction. sir walter scott observes, that the generation of his own time alone can remember edinburgh in peace, undisturbed by civil commotion. the fathers of that generation remembered the days of --_their_ fathers the disturbances of . the fathers of those who had witnessed the rebellion of could remember the revolution of . the merciful temper of the young chevalier saved the city of edinburgh. at first he resolved to continue the blockade; and he renewed his former orders, prohibiting any person from going to the castle without a pass from his secretary, and threatening any one who was disobedient to this proclamation with instant death. but, when he beheld the distress to which the firing had already reduced the city,--then, let it be remembered, comprised within boundaries of very moderate extent,--he issued another proclamation, expressing his deep concern for the many murders which were committed upon the innocent inhabitants of the city, so contrary to the laws of war, to the truce granted to the city, and even exceeding the powers given. his humanity had, therefore, yielded to the barbarity of his enemy; the blockade of the castle was taken off, and the threatened punishment suspended.[ ] the army of charles edward was now increasing daily; and, in consequence of the reports which were circulated in the metropolis, a panic spread there, of which no estimate can be made without consulting the newspapers of that time. among other writers who employed their talents in inveighing against the cause of james stuart, was the celebrated henry fielding, whose papers in the _true patriot_ upon the subject present a curious insight into those transient states of public feeling, which perished almost as soon as expressed. the rapidity of the progress made by the insurgents is declared by his powerful pen to have been unprecedented. "can history," he writes, "produce an instance parallel to this,--of six or seven men landing in a powerful nation, in opposition to the inclination of the people, in defiance of a vast and mighty army? (for, though the greater part of this army was not then in the kingdom, it was so nearly within call, that every man of them might, within the compass of a few days, or weeks at farthest, have been brought home and landed in any part of it.) if we consider, i say, this handful of men landing in the most desolate corner, among a set of poor, naked, hungry, disarmed slaves, abiding there with impunity till they had, as it were, in the face of a large body of his majesty's troops collected a kind of army, or rather rabble, together, it will be extremely difficult to assign any adequate cause whatsoever, for this unexampled success, without recurring to one, of whose great efficacy we have frequent instances in sacred history: i mean, the just judgment of god against an offending people." the state of public morals, fielding considers, to have drawn down upon society this signal visitation of providence. "indeed, such monstrous impieties and iniquities have i both seen and heard of, within these last three years, during my sojourning in what is called the world, particularly the last winter, while i tarried in the great city, that, while i verily believe we are the silliest people under heaven in every other light, we are wiser than sodom in wickedness."[ ] the consternation of the sister kingdom had now, indeed, become general; on the slightest report of foreign ships being seen in the downs, the dismay of the london citizens was extreme: and such was the liberality, or such were the fears of the inhabitants of the county of york, the capital of which may almost have been deemed, in those days, a northern metropolis, that forty thousand pounds were subscribed for its defence, after a grave and mournful address of the archbishop of that diocese.[ ] when the prince had determined to take off the blockade, and indeed had actually resolved to evacuate edinburgh and to march southwards, he sent orders to lord george murray to nail the cannon upon the city walls, and to retire to musselburgh and dalkeith. but the sagacious lord george, apprehending no further cannonading from the castle, begged permission not to make a precipitate retreat, and obtained leave to continue three weeks longer in edinburgh, during which time the town remained in a much quieter state than it had been heretofore. whilst lord george murray was quartered in edinburgh, he communicated frequently with his wife, the lady emilia, who remained with her children at tullibardine. that lady seems to have taken a deep interest in the events which so deeply concerned her family. she was the first to communicate to the marquis of tullibardine the intelligence of the victory of preston-pans. "i pray god," she says in her postscript, "to prosper his royal highness's arms, and congratulate your grace upon his happy success." a gentleman, who had seen her husband after the battle, had brought to the anxious wife the tidings of his success. towards the end of october the prince resolved to march into england, without waiting any longer for the landing of french auxiliaries, or even for the arrival of the friendly clans of frasers and mackintoshes, who were ready to march from the north to join charles edward. by some of the chevalier's advisers he was recommended to go to berwick; but this was a scheme counteracted by the counsels of lord george murray, who, in the presence of the principal officers, represented it as "a thing at least of great difficulty, and of not so great use as to lose time, which is precious." lord george therefore proposed marching into england by the other road; but, to conceal their design, he advised that the army should be divided into three columns; one to go by kelso, the second by moffat, and a third by galashiels, selkirk, and hawick; so that all the columns should join on an appointed day near carlisle. the plan was approved; and, the secret being very well kept, on the thirty-first of october the army prepared to march.[ ] it is remarkable, that, during the whole period of their stay in edinburgh, no general review of the jacobite forces had taken place. the consequent uncertainty of what was really the amount of those forces, which existed in england, fostered the general panic. "abundance of people," writes mr. maxwell, "friends as well as enemies, had made it their business to find out the number of the prince's army, but to no purpose. great pains had been taken to conceal its weakness."[ ] in order to conceal the design upon england, a scheme was formed, allowing three days to elapse between the marching of the two great divisions of the army; and accordingly the prince, attended by lord george murray, took up his abode at the palace of dalkeith, and here he remained until the third of november. in this princely abode the young representative of the stuart line may have remembered the adverse fortunes of queen mary, and the bold character of the regent morton, to whom the castle of dalkeith belonged, when it had acquired from the character of its owner the name of the "lion's den." after the death of morton, the barony of dalkeith was included in the attainder; and the castle had been considered, during many years, as public property, and was inhabited by general monk during the usurpation of cromwell. but, long before charles edward made it his temporary residence, dalkeith had been repaired and beautified by anne duchess of buccleugh and monmouth, the widow of the unfortunate duke of monmouth. it was, as it is now, an appropriate residence for royalty. the more ancient part of the building has, it is true, lost its castellated appearance; but the beautiful site on the steep banks of the eske, and the thickness of the walls, are still proofs of former strength and great importance, to which the contiguity of dalkeith to edinburgh conduce; whilst the junction of the north and south esk in the park add to the beauties of this noble demesne. the chevalier johnstone was still aide-de-camp to lord george murray, and remained to accompany the general on his march. among those with whom the exertions of lord george were frequently united was mr. o'sullivan, an irish officer, and the object of charles edward's partiality and confidence, and he was a man of considerable abilities. having received his education in a romish college abroad, o'sullivan had originally entered into priest's orders. it was his lot to be recommended as a tutor to the son of marshal maillebois, who, perceiving in the young ecclesiastic proofs of a genius better adapted to the use of the sword than to the gravity of the gown, encouraged him to apply himself to the profession of arms. there were not wanting in those days opportunities of cultivating a military turn, and corsica was the scene of mr. o'sullivan's first exploits. here he acted as secretary to marshal villebois; an office of no slight responsibility, for the marshal was tainted with the prevalent vice of the day, and scarcely ever left the dinner-table in a state fit for public business. o'sullivan, therefore, in the course of those oppressions which the french inflicted on the inhabitants of corsica, acquired not only great experience in business, but also in military affairs; as well as knowledge in what is termed the art of making irregular war. to this acquirement he afterwards added another; for, having served a campaign on the rhine, it was said by a french general, under whom he fought, that his knowledge of the regular art of war was equal to that of any general in europe. to his abilities were attributed much of the rapid success of those whom it was the fashion of the newspapers of the day to describe as "a handful of savages," but whom the loungers about the english court soon learned to dread.[ ] it is now necessary, before entering into details of fresh operations, to review the proceedings of lord george murray during the last few weeks, and to give some notion how he exercised the functions of his generalship. his chief sources of annoyance, besides the intrigues in the prince's council, were the deserters from the jacobite army. before leaving edinburgh, lord george murray had despatched a number of prisoners to logierait; and the following letter shows how rigid were the instructions which he peremptorily sent to his brother, the marquis of tullibardine, at perth. the correspondence of lord george murray proves him to have been a man of a stern, hard nature; and effaces much of the impression produced by his united valour and clemency in the field of battle. "dear brother, "things vary so much from time to time that i can say nothing certain as yet, but refer you to the enclosed letter; but depend upon having nothing express from me with you before monday night. but, in the mean time, you must resolve to be ready to march on tuesday morning, by keinacan and tay bridge, so as to be at crieff on wednesday; and even that way, if you do your best, you will be half a march behind: but you will be able to make up that on thursday, when i reckon we may meet at dunblane or doun: but of this more fully in my next. it is believed for certain that cope will embark at aberdeen. "i hope the meal was with you before this--thirty-five bolls--for it was at inuar last night. it shall be my study to have more meal with you on monday night, for you must distribute a peck a man; and, cost what it will, there must be pocks to each man, to contain a peck or two for the men to have always with them. buy linen, yarn, or anything; for these pocks are of absolute necessity--nothing can be done without them. his royal highness desires you to acquaint glenmoriston and glencoe, if they come your way, of this intended march, so that they may go by tay bridge (if you please, with you); and what meal you can spare, let them have. you may please tell your own people that there is a project to get arms for them. "yours, adieu! "george murray." "saturday, nine at night." "for god's sake!" he adds in another part of his letter, "cause some effectual measures to be taken about the deserters: i would have their houses and crops destroyed, for an example to others, and themselves punished in a most rigorous manner." another source of anxiety was connected with the prisoners of war. it was difficult to know how to dispose of them. the island in the loch of clunie, not far from dunkeld, was afterwards considered by the marquis as the most suitable place for the reception of the prisoners; and was conceded by lady ogilvy, the daughter of lord airlie, for that purpose, in her father's absence. in a letter addressed by tullibardine to the earl of airlie, to whom the loch of clunie belonged, a spirit of kindness and consideration is shown, very different to the stern mandates of lord george murray. "i presume," writes the marquis, "your lor'ship will not only cheerfully make everything be carefully prepared for their reception, but also contribute what's possible to prevent any dangerous mutiny or escape among them." although describing these prisoners as a "troublesome and dangerous set of people," he recommends no harsh measures, except precautionary vigilance.[ ] beef, mutton, and meal were provided and paid for by the marquis, who, ultimately, was obliged to quarter a considerable number of the prisoners in barns and other outhouses near logierait. this charge appears to have been very unwelcome to the good old tullibardine, who talks to his sister in law, lady emilia murray, of "ane unworthy pack of prisoners that is sent us."[ ] meantime, the want of money for the supply of the garrison at perth was another source of uneasiness to lord george murray. many disappointments, on this score, occurred. "i told you," lord george writes to his brother, "that some gentlemen had promised to his royal highness some money in loan, more besides what they already gave; but it is to their ladies you will please to write, as they appear to do the thing, and not the husbands."[ ] "i have been as pressing," he says in another letter to the marquis, "about money to be sent to you, both formerly and now, as if my life depended upon it. there is three hundred pounds sent at present, mostly in specie. you are desired to write to people in the country to advance money, particularly to lady methven; which if they do not immediately, their corn and other effects will be seized."[ ] previously to his march southwards, prince charles appointed viscount strathallan governor, and deputy governor of perth, and commander-in-chief during the absence of the marquis of tullibardine, whom lord george murray now summoned to join him, considering that the addition of the marquis's tenantry to the army was of the utmost importance. "i am extremely anxious," he writes, "to have our men here, at least as many as would make lord nairn's battalion, and mine, five hundred each; for at present i could get them supply'd with guns, targets, tents, and, those who want them, shoes also: but if they be not here soon, them that come first, will be first serv'd." these directions were reiterated, and were also repeated by the pen of lady emilia murray, to whom her lord sent immediate accounts of all that occurred. this spirited and indefatigable help-meet resided generally at tullibardine. "these," she writes, "were his words, 'i entreat, for god's sake, that the duke of atholl send off the men here immediately, or they will be too late for arms, targets, tents, &c.; nay, for our march, which begins on thursday." all this haste and impetuosity was meekly but decidedly resisted by the slow marquis of tullibardine. he thus writes in reply to one of his brother's most urgent entreaties: "about ten o'clock in the afternoon i received your express, dated the fourth, four o'clock, afternoon, and am very much concerned to find that it is morally impossible for me, or any of the men in these parts, to be up with you against thursday night, the day you say it is resolved, in a council of war, to march southward. did any of us endeavour to make too much haste to join the prince, i am afraid we should be like a good milk cow, that gives a great pail of milk, and after, kicks it down with her foot. forgive the comparison."[ ] other apprehensions also increased the desire of lord george to begin his march. "i am desired to let you know," he writes to the marquis of tullibardine, "that there is one kimber, an anabaptist, who came from london with a design to assassinate the prince; he is about twenty-seven years old, black hair, of a middling stature, and talks fluently and bluntly about his travels in the west indies." this man, it was suspected, afterwards changed his name to geffreys. he was supposed to have even been received by the marquis of tullibardine at his table, and to have obtained a pass from him; but nothing more was disclosed, as far as the correspondence informs us, touching this attempt. lord george continued in a fever of vexation and anxiety at the delay of his brother, upon whose arrival at the camp, the march to england was to begin. public affairs in england favoured, as he justly thought, the most decisive measures. "everything," he writes to his brother, "is in great confusion in england, particularly in london, where credite is at a stand. the greatest banquiers have stopt payment; all would go to our wish, if we could but march instantly. if you delay longer," lord george adds, "it will be the utter ruine of the cause. you should wait for nobody but your own men." the arrival of supplies from france, of arms and ammunition, though they were represented as being very inferior in quantity to what had been expected, gave encouragement to the hopes of the sanguine; and re-assured in some degree, even the anxious mind of lord george murray. before finally quitting perth, the marquis of tullibardine received a compliment from the gentlemen prisoners of war there, which proved how soldierlike and courteous his conduct towards them had been. they inquired whether he would have morning levees, since they wished "to wait upon him." to this the marquis replied, with his thanks, that, although not fond of ceremonious visits, he would always be "glad to cultivate an acquaintance with gentlemen whose actions show they are true britons, by standing up for and supporting the ancient constitution and liberties of well-born subjects, whose honour is engaged to shake off the slavery of a foreign yoke."[ ] notwithstanding all the remonstrances of lord george, who had reiterated his entreaties during the whole of the month of october, the winter was far advanced before the marquis left his castle of blair to proceed southwards.[ ] on the thirty-first of october, a considerable force took the road to duddingstone, a small village at the foot of arthur's seat; presenting, before the highland army poured in upon its serene precincts, a scene of repose and quiet beauty, finely contrasted with the clamour of the city, and the grandeur of the rugged hill. foremost rode lord elcho, commanding the first troop of horse-guards, consisting of sixty-two gentlemen, and their servants, under five officers, forming altogether a troop of a hundred and twenty horse. a smaller troop, not amounting to more than forty horse, followed under the command of arthur elphinstone, afterwards lord balmerino. then came a little squadron of horse grenadiers, with whom were incorporated the perthshire gentlemen, in the absence of their own commander, lord strathallan, who was left governor of perth. the whole of this squadron did not amount to a hundred. it was commanded by william earl of kilmarnock, the representative of an ancient and noble family, which, as an historian remarks, "sometimes matched with the blood-royal." "he was," adds the same writer, "in the flower of his age, being about forty years old. the elegance of his person, and comeliness of his features, which were every way handsome, bespake internal beauties."[ ] it is remarkable, that, at this very time, the young lord boyd, lord kilmarnock's son, held a commission in the british army and fought against the jacobites. the aberdeen and bamffshire gentlemen, amounting with their servants to a hundred and twenty, with seventy or eighty hussars, were commanded by lord pitsligo; but mr. murray, "who would have a share at least of everything," was their colonel.[ ] the infantry consisted of thirteen little battalions, for the highlanders would not be commanded by any but their own chiefs; and it was necessary therefore to have as many regiments as there were clans. on the third of november, the prince marched from dalkeith on foot, at the head of the clans, who were commanded under him by lord george murray. the acclamations of the people of edinburgh, who flocked in crowds to witness the departure of the army, were loud and friendly. yet it is remarkable, that in spite of his long residence in that city, in spite of his hereditary claims on its inhabitants, and of the popularity of his manners, the party of the prince in that capital never increased in proportion to his expectations. this indifference to the cause of charles edward has with much reason been attributed to the strong and unalterable distrust entertained by all zealous presbyterians of any approach to popery: the firmness of the scottish character to a principle may be plainly read in the reluctance of the lowlanders to hazard, even for a stuart, the safety of what they esteem to be their vital interests.[ ] it was, however, a fine, although a mournful sight, when the clans taking the road to london left dalkeith. it was indeed only after long and anxious deliberation, that these brave men had resolved to risk an advance to england, without any certain expectation of a rising in that country; yet there were many among the chiefs who went forth that day, and among these were some of the bravest and the most determined who "trusted in themselves alone."[ ] among those who were declared secretly to have desponded of success, and yet to have gone on in the career from a sense of honour, was lord george murray. the march to england was very judiciously planned and well executed. "it resembled," observes the chevalier johnstone, "on a small scale, that of marshal saxe some years before, when he advanced to lay siege to maestricht." the prince went day after day on foot, contrary to general expectation; for it was thought that he would only have done so at the beginning to encourage the soldiers: but in dirty lanes, and in deep snow, the youth reared in seclusion and luxury took his chance with the common men, and could scarcely ever be prevailed upon even to get on horseback to ford a river. "it's not to be imagined," writes his affectionate partisan and historian maxwell, "how much this manner of bringing himself down to a level with the men, and his affable behaviour to the meanest of them, endeared him to the army."[ ] on arriving at lauder, hearing that some of the highlanders had remained behind with a view, it was thought, of deserting, charles got on horseback before it was light, rode back two or three miles, and brought the stragglers with him.[ ] on the fourth instant he reached kelso. such was the success of this well-contrived march, and such the secrecy with which it was made, that marshal wade, who was at newcastle with eleven thousand men, continued to cover and protect that place, without an idea of advancing to intercept the highland troops. indeed, the secret was so well kept, that hardly any subordinate officer in the prince's service knew where the junction of the columns was intended to take place.[ ] arduous as the prince's march had been to kelso, it was enlivened by some incidents in which the stern and haughty lord george murray must have participated, as well as the gallant young chevalier. on passing through preston hall gate, the first morning of his march, the prince found breakfast there prepared for him by order of the duchess of gordon, for which act that lady was deprived of a yearly pension of one thousand pounds, given to her in consideration of her grace's having educated her family in the protestant religion.[ ] as he passed fala danes, the ladies of whitborough, who were the sisters of a zealous adherent of the prince, robert anderson, entertained charles and his chief officers with a collation in the open air. the royal guest, being asked to leave some memorial of his visit, cut from the hilt of his sword a piece of crimson velvet, which is still preserved at whitborough. at lauder, charles took up his abode in hurlestane castle, the seat of the earl of lauderdale. from kelso, charles dispatched the guards across the tweed; not so much to reconnoitre, as to amuse the enemy: they went some miles into the country, and, when they came to any english villages, made inquiries as to what reception and accommodation the army might meet with on arriving there. the object of this manoeuvre was to keep general wade in suspense as to the movements of the army, and to prevent his marching towards carlisle. such was the success of these artifices, that wade, who had decided on a march to berwick, countermanded that order. on the sixth of november the jacobite forces crossed the tweed: that river was scarcely fordable; but the highlanders were elated beyond measure, and, even when bathed in the water, expressed their delight by discharging their pieces and uttering cries of joy. such was their humour, that they gave the horses which were taken from the enemy the name of general cope, by way of expressing their contempt for the fugitive englishman. amid indications of homage, especially from the women of the town of jedburgh, who ran forth to kiss the young hero's hand, charles entered jedburgh, and took up his residence at an inn in the centre of the town, called the nag's head. on the following day he led his troops over the rule water, famous for the warriors of old who dwelt near its banks; and over the knot o' gate into liddiesdale, "noted in former times for its predatory hands, as in more recent times for its primitive yeomen and romantic minstrelsy."[ ] after a march of twenty-five miles, the prince arrived at haggiehaugh, upon liddel water; here he slept, the highlanders finding their quarters for the night as well as they could in barns, or byres, or houses, as their fortune might be. on the eighth of november charles edward, proceeding down the liddel water, met the column of horse which had taken the middle road by selkirk and hawick. they joined him at gritmill green upon the banks of the esk, four miles below langholm. shortly afterwards the first division of the prince's army crossed the river, which here separates the two kingdoms, as the tweed does at berwick, and trod upon english ground. that event was signalized by a loud shout, whilst the highlanders unsheathed their swords. but soon a general panic was spread among the soldiery, by the intelligence that cameron of lochiel, in drawing his sword, had drawn blood from his hand.[ ] this was regarded as an omen of mournful import. what was of much more vital consequence was the incessant desertion of the troops, especially from the column which the prince commanded. arms were afterwards found flung away in the fields, and the roads to lanarkshire and stirlingshire were crowded with these renegades. this circumstance lord george murray accounted for in these terms, when, upon a subsequent occasion, he wrote to his brother, complaining of the fact: "we are quite affronted with the scandalous desertion of our men: it was the taking money instead of the best men, which is the occasion of all the evil; for good men, once coming out, would have been piqued in honour, and not deserted us on the point of fighting the enemy."[ ] such was the skill and secrecy with which the whole of this march had been planned, chiefly by the suggestions of lord george murray, that the forces were very much surprised on finding that all the three columns arrived nearly at the same time, on a heath in england, about two miles distant from the city of carlisle. the plan was executed with such precision, that there was not an interval of two hours between the junction of the columns.[ ] it was now resolved to invest carlisle. few cities in england have been the scenes of more momentous events than that which was now the object of the chevalier's efforts. long the centre of border hostilities, it was the fate of carlisle to be at once the witness of the insurrection of , and the scene of punishment of those who were concerned in that movement. in modern times, the importance of carlisle as a fortress has inevitably declined; and it is at present regarded as a venerable relic of former strength, rather than as a place of defence. but, in ancient days, the warden of the marches, selected from among the nobles of tried fidelity and courage, attracted to the castle of carlisle a host of youthful aspirants for military renown, who there sought to be trained to arms, amid contests not depending upon a single achievement, but requiring watchfulness, patient labour, and skill, slowly and painfully to be acquired. founded by william rufus, who restored the city after it had lain two hundred years in ruins, owing to the depredations of the danes; and improved and enlarged successively by richard the third and henry the eighth; the castle had received the unhappy mary stuart: and here she was treated with an insidious respect which soon threw off the mask. in the time of queen elizabeth, the citadel, which was entirely built by henry the eighth, fell into decay; and after the prohibition of all incursions on england on the part of king james the sixth, carlisle ceased to be of so much importance as a military possession; and its position, as one of the keys of england, did not avail to secure any great attention to its dilapidated state. at the time of charles edward's arrival in cumberland, the fortifications of the city had been neglected for several centuries; but it still bore the outward aspect of former strength. the works, which had thus been left to moulder away, were in the form of a triangle, and were separated from the town by a deep ditch. upon the east angle, which is also cut off from the parade by a ditch, is seated the castle, properly so called, though the whole generally goes by that name. these works consist of a dungeon, the walls of which are twelve feet in thickness; a tower, called the captain's tower; two gates, one to each ward; there being an inward and an outward ward. in the castle there is a great chamber, and a hall, but no storehouse for ammunition. in the walls of the town, three gateway towers, a semi-circular bastion called springeld tower, and the citadel, complete the fortifications: unless we comprise several square towers with which the city walls are furnished; especially one at the west sally-port, and the tile tower, both of considerable strength.[ ] the foreground of the castle is formed of green and level meadows washed by the river eden; and, in modern days, two fine stone bridges add to the beauty of the scene. the hanging banks are crowned with the village and church of stanwix, and the mountains of bewcastle form the distance. "to the south," to use the words of hutchinson in his history of cumberland, "you command the plains towards penrith, shut in on either side with a vast range of mountains, over which crossfell and skiddaw are distinctly seen greatly eminent. to the east a varied tract of cultivated country, scattered over with villages and hamlets, mingle beautifully with woodlands on the extensive landscape; the distant horizon formed by the heights of northumberland. to the west, the solway frith sparkles out, a shining expanse of waters, flowing along a cultivated tract of land on the english coast; on the other, the bold heights of weffel and a chain of mountains extend towards the sea."[ ] when charles edward spread out his forces before carlisle, the garrison within its mouldering walls was composed of a company of invalids, under the command of colonel durand; but the cumberland militia were almost all collected within the city walls. colonel durand, however, as well as the mayor of the place, showed a spirit of defence; and the latter issued a proclamation informing the inhabitants that he was not paterson, a scotchman, but pattieson, a true-born englishman, who was determined to hold out the city to the last. since charles had no battering cannon, it appeared impossible to reduce the castle if it were well-defended; but it was resolved to make the attempt. whilst he was meditating an attack, the news that wade's army was marching from newcastle drew him for some days from continuing these operations. the report proved, however, to be groundless; and the duke of perth was sent, therefore, with several regiments to begin the siege. the jacobite army had all crossed the river eden at rowcliff, four miles below carlisle; and next day they marched to harraby, blackhall, and boutcherby, to the southward of carlisle. at harraby lord george murray remained, in order to cover the siege; that place being most contiguous to carlisle, and on the highway to penrith: the other troops under his command lay in the adjoining villages. the duke of perth had the direction of the trenches. it was here that an event occurred, which shortly afterwards excited the greatest discontent among the followers of charles edward.[ ] the attack upon the city was made from stanwix bank; the marquis of tullibardine, who had at length joined the insurgent army, with his tenantry, assisting the duke of perth. as it was market-day on the ninth, when the jacobites made their appearance within a quarter of a mile of carlisle, the highland soldiers were mingled with the market-people returning home, so that the garrison dared not fire upon them. on the following day, the city was attacked in three places; but the marquis of tullibardine, who commanded a four-gun battery, planted at the entrance of a lane, was heard to say to his followers, "gentlemen, we have not metal for them; retreat." after three days' attack, however, the courage of mr. pattieson, and the strength of the garrison, gave way. the valiant mayor forgot his english birth so far as to hang out a white flag, and to request a capitulation for the town. the garrison and townsmen of carlisle, in the opinion of the writers of the day, merited no more credit than that of edinburgh, in their defence and capitulation. in the siege, the highland army had only one man killed, and another wounded; and the reduction of carlisle gave great, but not lasting, lustre to their arms. on entering carlisle, lord george murray is said, in the newspapers of the day, to have encountered an old friend, who asked him how he could be so rash as to lend himself to the aid of a hopeless and futile invasion. to this lord george is declared to have replied, that he was well aware that the cause was hopeless; but that, having once engaged to maintain it, honour compelled him to continue his exertions.[ ] it was not, however, long before those fatal dissensions appeared which effectually defeated all that valour or fidelity could effect to save charles edward from defeat. it was, perhaps, the well-earned popularity of the duke of perth, his forbearance, and the gratitude evinced towards him by the inhabitants of carlisle, as he rode triumphantly through their city, that first roused the jealousy of lord george murray's proud nature. the disinterested conduct of the duke of perth, as soon as he became informed of the sentiments entertained towards him by lord george murray, was worthy of himself. that brave and excellent young man modestly withdrew from a rivalry which, he justly concluded, must be injurious to the cause of that prince whose interests he had espoused; for few men could cope with the natural abilities, the force of character, and the experience of lord george. he was by far the most able general that appeared in either of the two insurrections in the cause of the stuarts. "his personal hardihood and bravery," remarks lord mahon, "might be rivalled by many others; but none could vie with him in planning a campaign, providing against disasters, or improving victory." whilst the jacobite forces lay encamped near carlisle, certain differences of opinion arose in the council. there were some who had even thought that it would be desirable, before investing carlisle, to return to scotland to collect a greater force. lord george murray, seconded by the duke of perth, had opposed this cautious proposal; and recommended that part of the army should stay at brampton, and the rest go to blockade carlisle. the duke of perth had seconded this scheme, and it had accordingly been decided that lord george should command the blockade, whilst the duke conducted the battery. the result has been seen; and the prince was now master of carlisle. a few days after he had taken possession of the town, a council of war was called, to consider what was next to be done. some of the officers proposed returning to scotland; others were in favour of encamping near carlisle, and waiting to see whether there would be any rising in england. others advised marching forwards, by the west of england; arguing, that having carlisle, happen what might, they had a safe retreat. charles edward declared himself to be of the last-mentioned opinion, and his inclinations were seconded by lord george to a certain extent. he stated the advantages and disadvantages of both propositions; but added, that, although he could not venture to advise the prince to march into england without more encouragement than they had hitherto received, yet he was persuaded that if his royal highness marched south, his army, though but small, would follow him. upon this, charles immediately said these words, "i will venture it." "i spoke," adds lord george, "with the more caution, since some things had happened about the time of the blockade of carlisle, and a little before, which had made me desirous to serve only as a volunteer, and not as a general officer; but, as all the other officers were very pressing with me, i soon laid that thought aside."[ ] what those circumstances were, lord george explains in the following letter to his brother. his difficulties, owing to the want of arrangements, such as his skill and experience might have suggested, had he been first in command, appear to have been sufficiently trying. yet, in the extract from a letter dated nov. , from harraby, lord george does ample justice to the exertions of the duke of perth. this epistle was written whilst the blockade and battery were going on. "i am sorry to find that it is impossible to go on so quick with the battery of cannon as would have been wished. by the report of those i sent there, the ground is marshy, and vastly too much exposed; and, notwithstanding all the pains taken by the duke of perth, who is indefatigable in that service, and who meets with innumerable difficulties, i suspect the place pitched upon will not answer. but, if the thing be prosecuted, i think it my duty to tell you, so as you may represent it to his royal highness, that the men posted upon the blockade of carlisle will not expose themselves, either in trenches, or all night in the open air, within cannon-shot, or even musket-shot of the town, except it be in their turn with the rest of the army, and that it be decided by lot who is to mount the guard, first night, second, and so on. the way i would propose, if it be approved of by a council of war, is as follows:--that fifty men be draughted out of each of the battalions that are at brampton, with proper officers, and at least two majors out of the six battalions, and be sent to quarter at butcherby, which, i believe, is within a mile of the battery; and, as i suppose, one hundred and fifty men will mount guard at the battery. these six battalions will furnish two guards; your men will furnish one, general gordon and lord ogilvie's one, which, in the whole, makes four guards, or reliefs; and i think, by that time, the town will be either taken or the blockade removed. i don't mention the duke of perth's regiment, because they have more than their turn of the duty already, besides furnishing workmen, &c. and for colonel roy stuart's regiments, i suppose they have the guard of the equipage, &c.; and they will, perhaps, be able to furnish some workmen. if anything be done of this nature, the sooner i hear of it the better. i ever am, dear brother, your most affectionate brother, and faithful humble servant, "george murray."[ ] this advice was disregarded. a court-martial was held to consider of the plan suggested by lord george. by this council the detachments proposed by lord george for the relief of the battery were refused, upon the plea that those corps had lately encountered all the fatigue of the blockade at edinburgh, and that it would not be fair to put them again upon that service. on the day after receiving this decision, in the hand-writing of secretary murray, lord george addressed the following letter to the prince. his conduct upon this occasion shows the proud and fiery spirit of this able commander. " th november, . "sir, "i cannot but observe how little my advice as a general officer has any weight with your royal highness, ever since i had the honour of a commission from your hands. i therefore take leave to give up my commission. but as i ever had a firm attachment to the royal family, and in particular to the king my master, i shall go on as a volunteer, and design to be this night in the trenches as such, with any others that will please to follow me, though i own i think there are full few on this post already. your royal highness will please order whom you think fit to command on this post, and the other parts of the blockade. i have the honour to be, sir, your royal highness's most faithful and most humble servant, (signed) "george murray.[ ] "lord elcho has the command till you please to appoint it otherwise." to his brother, the marquis of tullibardine, lord george wrote still more fully. in this letter, after informing the marquis that he had given up his commission of lieutenant-general, lord george complains of a want of confidence on the part of the prince, in regard to the terms which were to be accepted or rejected in the surrender of carlisle. touching these, charles edward, who was now almost completely under the controul of secretary murray, acted in a weak and vacillating manner. when pressed by lord george murray to give him full instructions, he hesitated; lord george entreated him, if he could not decide during his presence in the camp, that the prince would send instructions after him.[ ] "when he would not come to any fixed resolution before i came away, i begged his royal highness would send his intentions and instructions after me, that i might conduct myself by them; but his secretary told me plainly, he took that matter to be his province, as he seems indeed to take everything upon him both as to civil and military. there are many other things which have determined me to wish to have no command; and it is some time past since i observed things must go into utter confusion. i shall show, as a volunteer, that no man wishes more success to the cause; and i can be of more use charging in the first rank of your atholl men than as a general, where i was constantly at a loss to know what was doing. i am of opinion you should reduce your men to two battalions; one for lord nairn, the other mr. mercer. when you are quartered anywhere, if you have a hole to spare, i shall be as often with you as i can; at other times, i shall lye with the men in a barn, which i doubt not will hearten them much. in every thing, as a volunteer, i shall do all i can to advance the service; but am determined never to act as an officer. i have several things to say at meeting. if you have occasion for tent or horses, they are at your service, for i design to keep none, but make presents of them all. "adieu! yours, george murray." "haroby, th nov. ." * * * * * not only were the seeds of disunion thus sown between the prince and the generals, but also between the marquis of tullibardine and lord george murray. "i did expect," writes lord george to the marquis, "that you would have upon occasion stood my friend; but i find you are too apt to hearken to designing people, by your being so ready to blame me before i was heard; and, except you show some regard for me, how can i expect it of others? i told his royal highness that you had acquainted me that he desired to see me. he said, no, he had nothing particular to say to me. i told him i should be as ready to serve in a private station, and as a volunteer, in the first rank of your men, as ever i could be in any other. he said i might do so. nothing else passed. i spoke a good time to sir thomas sheridan, and told him in particular, that if anything was taken amiss in my letter, as having expressed my attachment to the king, without having mentioned his royal highness, it was very injurious to me; for having mentioned the king and royal family, (and designing my letter to be short,) i thought it needless to be more particular; for surely, next to the king, i would serve none on earth before his royal highness: which, after what i have shown, and all my actions since i joined the standard, could not be called in question. i mentioned several particulars, wherein i showed that i had no authority in the station i was in, and that others acted as general who had not any call, but used his royal highness's name. that in the drudgery, i was employed, but anything of moment was done without my participation. that, in short, i had ventured my all--life, fortune, family--every thing, my honour; which last i had some to lose, but none to gain, in the way things were managed, and therefore resolved upon a private station."[ ] the concluding paragraph of this painful letter is written with a force and bitterness which show how deeply this ardent servant of a failing cause was wounded by what he justly deemed unmerited caprice and disrespect. "i wish you would be careful of the atholl men, that they be not slighted; which never should have happened as long as i had any command. i find scarce any of them have got even thanks for venturing life and fortune, and even the gallows; and, which is worse, (i don't know how it is come about,) they are not thought equally good with other men. if you would send me the notes, that were made out, of the way of modelling them into two different regiments, i would do, now that i have time to do it, as much as possible for the good of the service and general comfort. i always am, dear brother, your most faithful and humble servant and affectionate brother, "george murray."[ ] "haroby, th nov. ." * * * * * there was also another source of complaint, which, though appearing on the surface to have originated with the duke of perth, was clearly traceable to the prince, or rather to his adviser, secretary murray. a marked slight had been passed on lord george murray on the very night on which the battery on carlisle was opened. he had gone into the trenches; and, seeing the duke of perth there, he had desired him, in case of anything extraordinary happening, to let him know, and that he would aid him by every means in his power. what private orders the duke had was not known; but, far from applying to lord george for aid or counsel, he sent to brampton, seven miles' distance, whenever any difficulty occurred, and acquainted the prince with it, but took no notice of lord george, although he was an older officer than himself, and had been sent to harroby to cover the siege. upon this, lord george, who thought he was entitled to know what had passed in the trenches, complained, but received no satisfactory answer: and thus aggrieved, and, as he conceived, insulted, he sent that letter to the prince, which has justly been censured as making an invidious distinction between the young chevalier and his father.[ ] these acts of indiscretion and intemperance were followed by another proceeding still less worthy of the soldier and the man of honour: lord george murray indeed lowered himself, when, at the same time that he wrote to the prince, he set on foot a petition praying charles that he would dismiss all roman catholics from his councils. this was aimed at the duke of perth and sir thomas sheridan; nor can we assign to it any better motive than that it was intended to re-instate lord george murray in the command. some allowance may, nevertheless, be made for the prejudices of a presbyterian, acting on the determined and overbearing nature of a high-spirited man. but the vital principles of our christian faith tend to soften animosities, to humble pride, and to accord to others the same intention to act rightly as that of which we ourselves are prone to boast. a sincere, a truly pious member of the christian church cannot be an intolerant partizan of certain modes of faith. there dwells within his breast a deeper sentiment than that which is inspired by the worldly and sublunary distinctions of sect. and lord george murray, seeing his young and blameless rival, the duke of perth, brave, honourable, and moderate, had shown greater zeal for true religion had he not availed himself of an unworthy plea to base upon it an invidious and covert insinuation. he was reproved by the magnanimity of the man whom he desired to remove from the prince's councils. although the duke of perth did not profess to acquiesce in the opinion that it was unreasonable that he should have the chief command, although he did not pretend to acknowledge the justice of the claim, he nobly gave up, for the sake of a prince whom he loved, the superiority to lord george murray. his conduct on this occasion recalls the generous sentiments of the knight and soldier in ancient times; unhappily it failed in producing that unanimity which it was intended to effect. the rancour between lord george murray and the secretary still remained, although it did not break out on every occasion, and sometimes gave way to the common cause when the interests of all were at stake.[ ] at carlisle the forces were reviewed and were found to amount to above five thousand foot, with five hundred[ ] on horseback, mostly low-country gentlemen followed by their servants, under the name of guards, hussars, &c.[ ] after a few days rest, and after completing every arrangement for the preservation of carlisle, the army marched to penrith; lord george preceding the rest of the forces at the head of six regiments and some horse. this was an adventurous undertaking with so small a force; for there were now in england above sixty thousand men in arms including the militia and the newly raised regiments; but the prince, observes mr. maxwell, "had hitherto had a wonderful run of success." he was still buoyed up with hopes of a landing of french troops, and of an insurrection in his favour.[ ] on the twenty-fourth of november the prince marched from carlisle to penrith, and thence to lancaster, which he reached on the twenty-fifth, at the head of the vanguard of his army. he was dressed in a light plaid belt, with a blue sash, a blue bonnet on his head, decorated with a white rose, the sound of the bagpipes, and the drum playing "the king shall have his own again;" the banners, on which were inscribed the words "liberty and property, church and king," failed, nevertheless, to inspire the cold spectators who beheld them with a corresponding enthusiasm. the army advanced towards preston, lord george murray commanding the van; and on the twenty-sixth of november, the whole force assembled before that town, the very name of which struck terror into scottish breasts. nor were the english jacobites without their fears, nor devoid of associations with the name of a place in which the hopes of their party had been blighted in , and their banners steeped in blood. the walls of preston recalled to many of the volunteers of lancashire the prison in which their fathers had died of fever, or starvation, or of broken hearts. it is remarkable, as one of the newspapers of the day observes, that many of those who joined the chevalier's ranks were the sons of former insurgents. "hanging," adds the coarse party writer, "is hereditary in some families."[ ] lord george murray, in order to avoid the "freit," or, in other words, to humour the superstition of the highlanders, who had a notion that they never should get beyond preston, crossed the ribble bridge, and landed a great many of his men on the other side of the water, about a mile from the town, where they halted the next day, waiting for some intelligence, of which it is presumed, says lockhart, "they were disappointed." here it was necessary to divide even this little army for the convenience of quarters.[ ] at preston the prince was received with enthusiastic cheers, but when officers were ordered to beat up for recruits, no one enlisted. the tents which had been provided had been left on the road from moffat to edinburgh; and the season was so severe, that it was impossible even for highlanders to sleep in them; the town was too small to receive them; the same arrangement that had been begun at carlisle was still pursued, and the army went in two great divisions, though with scarcely a day's march between them. lord george murray commanded what was called the low-country regiments; but the greater part of these was, observes mr. maxwell, "highlanders by their language, and all were in their dress, for the highland garb was the uniform of the whole army." one can easily conceive what must have been the effect of this gallant force, unbroken by fatigue or privation, and glorying in their enterprise, as they entered into the friendly county of lancaster, filled with roman catholic gentry, who gathered around the standard of the prince. the colours of the tartan, which was worn, as we have seen, by the whole of the army, both highlanders and lowlanders, although denominated by a writer in the _scots' magazine_ as a "vulgar glare," never offend the eye, but are, according to a high authority, "beautifully blended and arranged." "great art," observed the celebrated mr. west, "(that is to say, much knowledge of the principles of colouring with pleasing effect,) has been displayed in the composition of the tartans of several clans, regarding them in general as specimens of national taste, something analogous to the affecting but artless strains of the native music of scotland." this garb, which excited the attention and admiration of napoleon at the battle of waterloo, consisted of the truis, the kilted plaid, and philibeg. the truis, be it observed, for the benefit of the dwellers in the south, were used by gentlemen on horseback, and by others according to their choice; but the common garb of the people was the plaid and kilt; and this was the usual dress down to the passing of the act for suppressing the garb. the tartan is said to have been known in flanders; and the tartan and kilt to have been adopted in the lowlands before their adoption among the mountains.[ ] without attempting to meddle in the dangerous and intricate question of antiquity, it must be acknowledged that the highland dress is well adapted to the habits of a pastoral people, as well as being extremely graceful and picturesque. it is also admirably fitted to oppose the inclemency of those regions in which, among the other habits which characterise the peculiar people who wear it, it is still regarded as a loved and revered badge of national distinction. in the various campaigns in holland, the highlanders suffered far less than other nations in that damp and chilly climate; in the retreat to corunna, under the hero sir john moore, their plaids bound lightly round their bodies, they experienced the convenience of that simple form of dress in a rapid and protracted march. light and free, the mountaineer could pursue, without restraint, the most laborious occupations; he could traverse the glens, or ascend mountains which offer a hopeless aspect to the inhabitants of more civilized spheres. but it was not only as a convenient and durable mode of apparel that the kilt and philibeg were advantageous. the highland costume, when it formed a feature among english or foreign regiments, cemented a spirit which was felt and feared by foes. it bound those who wore it in a common bond, not to dishonour the garb which their chiefs and their forefathers had worn, by an act of cowardice, or by deeds of cruelty.[ ] little did the english government, or the inhabitants of the metropolis, or probably the country in general, know the character of the brave, ill-fated band of highlanders, who were now advancing into the very heart of the country. it was the custom, especially among those who wished to gain preferment at court, or who affected to be fashionable, to speak of the highlanders as low, ignorant savages; semi-barbarians, to whom the vulgar qualities of personal courage and hardihood might be allowed, but who had neither any urbanity to strangers, nor refined notions of honour. the word "rebel," was a mild name for those who were following prince charles's standard as it was borne southwards. the hardened villains, "the desperadoes, rabble, thieves, banditti!"[ ] are the terms usually employed in expressing the sovereign contempt felt by ignorance for an honourable, religious, and primitive people. it seems also to have been thought only necessary for the duke of cumberland to show his face in the north, to put to flight a beggarly handful of undisciplined men, whose moral character, if we might credit certain passages in the magazines of the day, was as low as their military acquirements. by other nations besides their own sister country, the same erroneous notions concerning the scottish highlanders prevailed. in germany it was conceded that they might be capable of becoming "good and useful subjects when converted from heathenism." the french, too, presumed to look upon them with contempt, until they met them, when acting as auxiliaries to other powers, so often in battle, and beheld them so generally in the front, that they verily believed at last, there were twelve battalions in the army instead of two; and one of their generals, broglio, in after times remarked, that "he had often wished to be a man of six feet high, but that he became reconciled to his size after he saw the wonders performed by the little mountaineers."[ ] it is scarcely now necessary to allude to these errors at that time prevalent regarding the valour of the scottish host. tributes from every known country have long elevated this brave and oppressed people into a proud and honourable position. instead, however, of the undisciplined savages who were supposed to be traversing the country, it was sooner found than acknowledged, that the intrepidity of the highlanders was united to humanity, and to upright principles. to their noble qualities was added a deep sense of religion. in after-times it was remarked, that no trait in the character of the highlanders was more remarkable than the respect which was paid by the different regiments which were eventually employed in the british service, to their chaplains. the men when they got into any little scrape were far more anxious, writes general stuart, "to conceal it from their chaplain than from their commanding officer." but, however the public prints might revile, and the polite society at st. james's ridicule, and misunderstand the highlanders, the general whose lot it was to conquer the unfortunate jacobites knew well of what materials their forces were composed. the duke of cumberland, at the battle of fontenoy, had been so much pleased with the conduct of the famous black watch, that he had offered them any favour which they chose to ask, or which he could grant, to mark his approbation. the answer to this proof of approbation was worthy of those valiant auxiliaries, who are described by the french as "highland furies, who rushed in upon us with more fury than ever did a sea driven by a tempest." the highlanders replied, after thanking the royal duke for his courtesy, "that no favour he could bestow on them would gratify them so much as to pardon a soldier of their regiment, who lay under a sentence of court martial, by which he was decreed to incur a heavy corporal punishment; the infliction of which would," they said, "bring dishonour on themselves, their friends, and their country." the request was granted. it was, nevertheless, the countrymen of these highlanders, men as heroic as true, as nice in their sense of honour as the black watch, upon whom the duke wreaked the utmost of his vengeance after culloden, whom he hunted with bloodhounds,--whose honest hearts he broke by every possible indignity, though their gallant spirits could never be subdued. as the army advanced, a great multitude assembled to gaze upon the singular spectacle. the very arms borne by the highlanders were objects of curiosity and surprise, no less than of alarm, to the populace, who stood by the way-side expressing their good-will to the expedition, but who, when asked to join the insurgents, declined, saying, "they did not understand fighting."[ ] the formidable weapons with which the highlanders contrived to make themselves terrible to their enemies, consisted of a broad-sword, girded on the left side, and a dirk or short thick dagger on the right, used only when the combat was so close as to render the broadsword useless. in ancient times, these fierce warriors brandished a small short-handled hatchet or axe, for the purpose of a close fight. a gun, a pair of pistols, and a target, completed their armour, except when ammunition failed, when they substituted for the gun, the lochaber axe; this was a species of long lance, or pike, with a formidable weapon at the end of it, adapted either for cutting or stabbing. the lochaber axe had fallen into disuse since the introduction of the musket; but a rude, yet ready substitute had been found for it, by fixing scythes at the end of a pole, with which the highlanders resisted the attacks of cavalry. such had been their arms in the early part of the insurrection of , and such they continued until, at the battles of falkirk and preston pans, they had collected muskets from the slain on the battle-field. in addition to these weapons, the gentlemen sometimes wore suits of armour and coats of mail; in which, indeed, some of the principal jacobites have been depicted; but, with these, the common men never incumbered themselves, both on account of the expense, and of the weight, which was ill-adapted to their long marches and steep hills.[ ] a distinguishing mark which the highland clans generally adopted, was the badge. this was frequently a piece of evergreen, worn on the bonnet, and placed, during the insurrection of , beside the white cockade. when lord lovat's men assembled near the aird, they wore, according to the evidence given on the state trials, sprigs of yew in their bonnets.[ ] these badges, although generally considered to have been peculiar to the clans, were, observes a modern writer,[ ] "like armorial bearings, common to all countries in the middle ages; and shared by the highlanders among the general distinctions of chivalry, were only peculiar to them when disused by others." thus, the broom worn by geoffrey plantagenet, count d'anjou;--and the raspberry by francis the first of france, were only discontinued as an ornament to the head when transferred to the habit, or housings; but the highland clans, tenacious of their customs, wore the plant not only upon their caps, but placed them on the head of the clan standard. the white cockade was now regarded as the peculiar badge of the party; yet it seems not, at all events among the clan fraser, to have superseded the evergreen. some few traces are left, in the present day, to certify, nevertheless, that they were worn during the contest of . "lord hardwicke's act, and continual emigration," remarks john sobieski stuart, "have extirpated the memory of these distinctions once as familiar as the names of those who bore them; and all of whom i have been able to collect any evidence are, the macdonalds, the macphersons, the grants, the frasers, the stuarts, and the campbells." "the memory of most," mournfully remarks the same writer, "has now perished among the people; but, within a recent period, various lists have been composed--some by zealous enthusiasts, who preferred substitution to loss, and some by the purveyors of the carpet highlanders, who once a-year illuminate the splendour of a ball-room with the untarnished broadswords and silken hose, never dimmed in the mist of a hill, or sullied in the dew of the heather."[ ] the macdonalds, until a very short period before the rebellion of , were known by the heather bow. "let every man," said one of their chiefs of old, looking round on a field of blooming heather, "put over his head that which is under his feet." the destined sufferers of glenco were marked by their "having a fair busk of heather, well spread and displayed over the head of a staff." the clan macgregor wore the fir; and the clan grant assumed a similar badge; whilst the badge of the frasers is said to have been supplied for ages by a yew of vast size, in glen-dubh, at the head of strath fearg. the badge assigned to the macphersons was the water lily, which abounds in the lochs of hamkai, upon the margin of which was the gathering place of the clan chattan. some of these distinctions appear to have been used during the year , as we see in the case of the frasers, but all to have emerged into the one general distinction of the jacobites, the white rose, first worn by david the second, at the tournament of windsor in , when he carried the "_rose argent_." this badge had been almost forgotten in scotland, until the year , when it was worn by the adherents of james stuart, on his birthday, the tenth of june. "by the irish catholics," observes the editor of the "vestiarium scoticum," "it is still worn on the same day; but in scotland its memory is only retained in the ballads of ' , and ' ." the muses, who, as burns has remarked, are all jacobites, have celebrated this badge in these terms:-- "o' a' the days are in the year, the tenth o' june i lo' maist dear, when our _white roses_ a' appear, for the sake o' jamie the rover."[ ] the highland host, after marching through preston, to the sounds of the bagpipes, which played "the king shall have his own again," took the road through wigan, towards manchester. the prince was informed that the english troops had broken down the bridge at warrington; and that circumstance, which decided him to go through wigan, somewhat encouraged his naturally sanguine temper, as it showed fear on the part of the enemy. during this march, the kind-hearted young man went on foot, except occasionally, when we find notice of his riding a fine horse in the public prints of the day. he usually, however, gave up his carriage to the venerable lord pitsligo, and marched at the head of one of the columns. he never took dinner, but ate a hearty supper; and then, throwing himself upon a bed, slept until four in the morning, when he arose, to prosecute the fatigues of another day, fatigues which youth, a sound constitution, and, above all, a great degree of mental energy, enabled him to endure. wigan, which the chevalier's forces now approached, had been, in the time of queen elizabeth, agitated by religious differences; and the queen's commission for promoting the ordinances of the reformed church had been there met with a vigorous resistance. during the civil wars, this town, both from its vicinity to latham house, and from its attachment to charles the first, took a distinguished part, and obtained the characteristic designation of the "faithful and loyal town of wigan." after the insurrection of , the oaths of supremacy and allegiance to the reigning family had been, in vain, strongly urged upon the inhabitants of lancashire, and a large mass of landed estates were, in consequence, put in jeopardy; although it does not appear that the owners were dispossessed of their estates, or that any other use was made of the register taken of all the landed properties in the county, except to assist the magistrates in the suppression of the insurrection in the north. nevertheless, the expectation which charles might naturally entertain of a general rising in lancashire was not realized. "nothing," observes mr. maxwell, "looked like a general concurrence until he came to manchester."[ ] this was remarkable, for manchester had been the head-quarters of many of the parliamentary party in lancashire during the civil wars; whilst preston and wigan had both been royalist boroughs. but a singular alteration had taken place in the people of manchester, who had changed from roundheads to jacobites.[ ] during the whole of the preceding march the highland army had levied the public revenue with great accuracy; but no extortion, nor any attempts at plunder, had disgraced their cause, nor reflected on lord george murray as their general.[ ] at manchester, the first organized force raised in england for the chevalier joined charles edward. it was a regiment of two hundred men, commanded by colonel townley, a gentleman who had been in the french service; and was called the manchester regiment. it was composed of young men of the most reputable families in the town, of several substantial farmers and tradesmen, and of about one hundred common men. the accession of this troop gave great encouragement to the prince; yet there were still many who thought very badly of the enterprise, and the advice afterwards given by lord george murray at derby, to retreat, was also whispered at manchester, lord george being resolved to retreat, should there be no insurrection in england, nor landing from france. "at manchester, one of his friends told lord george," relates maxwell, "that he thought they had entered far enough into england, since neither of these events had happened." to this lord george replied that they might make a farther trial, and proceed to derby; where, if there should be no greater encouragement to go on, he should propose a retreat to the prince.[ ] the reception of prince charles at manchester, was celebrated with demonstrations of enthusiastic joy. as he marched on foot into the town, at the head of the clans, halting to proclaim the chevalier st. george, king, the bells rang, and preparations were made for illuminations and bonfires in the evening. the prince was attended by twelve scottish and english noblemen: from these he was distinguished by wearing the white cockade on the top of his cap, in the centre, instead of on the side, as did his general officers. peculiarly formed to grace such occasions as a triumphal entry into an important and friendly town, charles edward quickly won the good will of the female part of the community; and the beauty and grace of the kingdom were soon, to use a phrase of a contemporary writer, enlisted in his behalf. to the personal attributes of the prince, "joining the good nature of the stuarts with the spirit of the sobieski," charles edward added one accomplishment which the monarch then on the throne of england did not possess: he spoke english well, although with a foreign accent: in this last respect, he resembled some of those around him, more especially the duke of perth, who, having been long abroad, in vain endeavoured to conceal the french idiom and pronunciation by affecting a broad scottish dialect.[ ] still, in spite of these advantages, and notwithstanding the known predilection of the lancastrians for the cause of the stuarts, the lowest populace alone joined the standard of charles. one melancholy, though admirable exception has been already referred to in the person of colonel francis townley. this gentleman was a member of an ancient family, and the nephew of mr. townley, whose seat in townley hall, lancashire, lays claim to high antiquity; and yet, is modern in comparison with a former residence, once seated on what is still called the castle hill. francis townley was a man of literary acquirements, which, indeed, eminently distinguished his relative, the celebrated charles townley, who formed at rome, and afterwards brought to london, the well-known collection of marbles which was bought by the trustees of the british museum for twenty thousand pounds; (supposed to be a sum far beneath its actual value,) and which still graces that national structure. the family of townley had been remarkable for their fidelity to the stuarts long before colonel francis townley raised a troop for the chevalier. the grandfather of this unfortunate man, had been tried for rebellion, in , but acquitted; it was therefore very unlikely that when his accomplished descendant espoused the same ill-starred cause, there would be any mercy shown to a family so deeply implicated in jacobitism. francis townley was afterwards taken prisoner, and tried with other persons, chiefly captains in the manchester regiment. of these the greater number were hung on kennington common. the head of colonel townley was severed from his body, according to sentence, after death, and was placed upon temple bar; but those of most of his brothers in arms were preserved in spirits, and sent into the country, to be placed in public situations in manchester and carlisle.[ ] prince charles now prepared to proceed on his march to macclesfield, while lord george murray was sent with his division to congleton. the accompaniments of the jacobite army, if we can venture to believe a letter inserted in the gentleman's magazine for , and purporting to be written by a lady in preston to her friend in london, formed a singular spectacle. four ladies of some distinction are stated in this letter to have marched with the army. these were lady ogilvie, mrs. murray of broughton, a lady of great beauty and spirit, the celebrated jenny cameron, and another female, unknown, but who is supposed to have been the mistress of sir thomas sheridan. the populace, nevertheless, mistook sheridan for a priest, and assigned to him the nick-name of the "archbishop of canterbury." the first two ladies went in a chariot by themselves; the others were in a coach and six with the young chevalier, to whose dejection and weariness as he passed through preston, jenny cameron is said to have administered cordials. by the same writer the jacobite army are described as looking like "hunted hares." such is a specimen of one of the ephemeral slanders of the day; and the circumstance of the coach and six tends to disprove the whole letter. the prince, it is evident from every isolated account, marched on foot until he entered derby.[ ] it was, however, perfectly true that mrs. murray of broughton and lady ogilvie, whose husbands were both with the army, attended the movements of the highland force. and now were the merits of lord george murray as a general, certain very soon to be called into active play; for, on the twenty-sixth of november, william augustus, duke of cumberland, had left london at the head of an army, to oppose the insurgents. on the character of the royal individual who, in his twenty-fifth year came forward to rescue his country, as it was said, from the yoke of a foreign invader; and whose promising, but immature talents, backed by a great military force, were effectual in defeating the skill of an experienced general, some reflections will naturally arise. william, duke of cumberland, was born in the year . he very early demonstrated that predilection for military affairs which obtained for him from walpole the praise of having been "one of the five only really great men whom he had ever seen." he very soon, also, betrayed that cruel and remorseless spirit which was wreaked on the brave and the defenceless; that indifference to suffering which too aptly was repaid by an indignant people with the name of "the butcher;"--that thirst for blood which we read of in heathen countries, before the commandments of the god of israel, or the beautiful commentary of a saviour of mercy upon those sacred commandments, had chastened and humanized the people. those tendencies which, whilst england was elate with success, and when she gloried in a suppressed rebellion, raised the duke of cumberland to a hero;--and, when reflection came, sank him to a brute; were manifested in the dawn of youth. in after years, (what extreme of odium could be greater?)--even children instinctively feared him. one day, when playing with his nephew, afterwards george the third, a child, the duke drew a sword to amuse him. the incident occurred long after the mouldering bones upon the field of culloden were whitened in the sun; long after the brave balmerino had suffered, and vengeance had revelled in the doom of the beloved kilmarnock. but the sins of the remorseless cumberland cried to heaven. they were registered in the mind of a child. the boy turned pale and trembled, and acknowledged that he thought his "uncle cumberland was going to kill him." the duke shocked and deeply hurt, referred to popular prejudice the impression which was the result of crime. imperious, aspiring, independent, the grasping and able intellect of the duke soon imbibed a knowledge of affairs beyond his years. when scarcely out of the nursery he loved the council chamber, and delighted in the recitals of foreign wars. as he reached manhood, he affected a lofty and philosophical coldness; a dangerous attribute in youth, and one which either springs from a frigid disposition, or else infallibly contracts the heart. but, in the case of the duke of cumberland, it concealed a proud and selfish spirit, which could ill brook the superiority of his elder brother, frederic, prince of wales, or bear with temper the popularity of another. when, in after years, his brother's death was communicated to him, those jealous and disdainful feelings broke forth. "it is a great blow to the country," he said, sarcastically; "but i hope, in time, it will recover it." that want of faith in human nature, of reverence for good motives, that absence of a generous confidence which one can suppose strongly characterise the lost angels, were among the many odious features in the character of this truly bad man. the prevailing feeling of his mind was, contempt for everything and everybody;--a contempt for renown;--a contempt, in after life, for politics, which he conceived were below his attention; a contempt for women, whom he lowered by a sort of preference consistent with the rest of his coarse character, but whose modest virtues he mistrusted. with this affectation of superiority, the duke combined the littleness of envy. when he had attained the height of his popularity, his satisfaction was tarnished by the reputation of admiral vernon, who was the idol of the public. as a general, his acknowledged and eminent qualities were sullied by the german puerilities of an exact attention to military trifles; any deficiency in etiquette was punished like a crime: the formation of a new pattern of spatterdashes was treated as an important event. nor was this all. he introduced into an army of englishmen the german notions of military severity; he fostered a system which it has taken nearly a century of great efforts, and good works in the humane, to annul. "he was," says horace walpole, "a draco in legislation;" adding, "that in the duke's amended mutiny bill the word 'death' occurred at every clause."[ ]--such is the general colouring of his public character. a strong and sensitive feeling with regard to the national honour; a devoted reverence for the sovereign authority; which were the only principles and institutions which he seemed to respect, are the milder traits. in private, he countenanced, by his own practice, most of those vices which scarcely existed with greater impunity, or with less inconvenience from public opinion, in the days of charles the second, than in those in which cumberland flourished, and left a finished model of a character without one redeeming excellence. as a soldier, however, the merits of the duke, if merits those can be called which were the natural effects of animal courage, and of a strong, remorseless mind, must be, at all events, acknowledged. he behaved with great gallantry in his first campaign with his royal father, and was wounded at the battle of dettingen. at too early an age, in , he was placed at the head of a great army, in order to oppose marshal saxe; and the event of the battle of fontenoy proved the error. but, in that engagement, the valour of the young general was admitted on all hands. "his royal highness," relates the author of "the conduct of the officers at fontenoy considered," "was everywhere, and could not without being on the spot have cheered that highlander who with his broad sword killed nine men, and making a stroke at the tenth, had his arm shot off,--by a promise of something better than the arm which he, the duke, saw drop from him."[ ] it was with the hope of retrieving the lost reputation of the duke at fontenoy, and in order to remedy the glaring defects of general hawley, that this young man, old in hardened feelings, but full of ardour and courage, was sent to repel the forces of the chevalier. it was also thought by the government that the placing a prince of the blood-royal at the head of the army would have a powerful influence on the minds of the people, and neutralize the counter-influence of charles edward.[ ] the duke therefore assumed the command of an army ten thousand strong, and set out from london to intimidate the enemy. the duke of cumberland was by no means so ignorant of the force which he was now destined to attack, as were most of the other "good people of england, who knew as little of their neighbours of the scottish mountains, as they did of the inhabitants of the most remote quarter of the globe."[ ] in the battle of fontenoy, the duke of cumberland had become acquainted with the peculiar mode of fighting practised by the highlanders, in the manoeuvre of the "black watch," or nd; and had shown his judgment in allowing them to fight in their own way. this gallant regiment, in which many of the privates were gentlemen, were exempted at this time from the service of crushing the rebellion, only to have a duty, perhaps more cruel and more unwarrantable, forced upon them, after the battle of culloden. by a singular circumstance, the black watch was commanded by lord john murray, a brother of lord george murray's, sir robert munro officiating as acting colonel.[ ] at macclesfield, prince charles gained the intelligence that the duke of cumberland had taken the command of ligonier's army, and that he was quartered at lichfield, coventry, stafford, and newcastle-under-line. the prince then resolved to go direct to derby; and it was to conceal his design, and to induce the duke to collect his whole army at lichfield, that lord george murray marched with a division of the army to congleton, which was the road to lichfield. congleton, being on the borders of staffordshire, was sufficiently near newcastle-under-line for lord george to send general ker to that place to gain intelligence of the enemy. general ker advanced to a village about three miles from newcastle, and very nearly surprised a body of dragoons, who had only time to make off. he took one prisoner, a man named weir, who was a noted spy, and who had been at edinburgh during the whole of the prince's stay there, and had since always kept within one day's march of the army. it was proposed to hang him; but charles could not be brought to consent to the measure, and insisted that weir was not, strictly speaking, a spy, since he wore no disguise. "i cannot tell," observes mr. maxwell, "whether the prince on this occasion was guided by his opinion or by his inclination: i suspect the latter, because it was his constant practice to spare his enemies when they were in his power. i don't believe there was an instance to the contrary to be found in this expedition."[ ] upon the third of december, lord george murray with his division of the army marched by leek to ashbourn; and the prince, with the rest of the forces, came from macclesfield to leek, where, considering the distance of the two columns of his army, and the neighbourhood of the enemy, he naturally considered his situation as somewhat precarious. it was possible for the enemy, by a night-march, to get betwixt the two columns; and, contemplating this danger, the prince set out at midnight to ashbourn, where it was conceived that the forces should proceed in one body towards derby. "thus," remarks a modern historian, "two armies in succession had been eluded by the highlanders; that of wade at newcastle, in consequence of the weather or the old marshal's inactivity, and that of cumberland through the ingenuity of their own leaders."[ ] charles edward and his officers slept at ashbourn hall, now in the possession of sir william boothby, baronet; into whose family the estate passed in the time of charles the second.[ ] the young prince had now advanced far into that county which has no rival in this island in the beauty and diversity of its scenery, in the simple, honest character of its fine peasantry, or in the rank and influence of its landed proprietors. the history of these families is connected with the civil, and foreign wars of the kingdom; and already had the moors and valleys of derbyshire been the scene of contest which had the restoration of the stuarts for their aim and end. in , a battle was fought near ashbourn, in which the royalists were defeated; in , just a century before charles edward entered ashbourn, charles the first had attended service in the beautiful gothic church of ashbourn, as he marched his army through the peak towards doncaster. the inhabitants of the district retained some portion of their ancient loyalty to the stuarts. as prince charles ascended the height, from which, leading towards derby, a view of the town of ashbourn, seated in a deep valley, and of the adjacent and romantic country, may be seen, the roads were lined with peasantry, decorated with white cockades, and showing their sentiments by loud acclamations, bonfires, and other similar demonstrations. "one would have thought," remarks mr. maxwell,[ ] "that the prince was now at the crisis of his adventure; that his fate, and the fate of the three kingdoms, must be decided in a few days. the duke of cumberland was at lichfield; general wade, who was moving up with his army along the west side of yorkshire, was about this time at ferry bridge, within two or three days' march. so that the prince was, with a handful of brave, indeed, but undisciplined men, betwixt two armies of regular troops, one of them above double, the other almost double, his number." it was owing to the skill and prudence of lord george murray that this gallant but trifling force was enabled to return to scotland, for scarcely ever was there a handful of valiant men placed in a situation of more imminent peril. derby, which is fifteen miles from ashbourn, was thrown into the utmost confusion and disorder when the news that the vanguard of the insurgent army was approaching it became generally known. "the hurry," says a contemporary writer, "was much increased by the number of soldiers, and their immediate orders to march out of town, and nothing but distraction was to be read in every countenance. the best part of the effects and valuables had been sent away or secreted some days before, and most of the principal gentlemen and tradesmen, with their wives and children, were retiring as fast as possible."[ ] the borough of derby, although by no means so opulent when charles edward and his friends visited it as in the present day, presented, perhaps, a far more appropriate scene for the faint and transient shadow of a court, than it now affords. it had, even within the memory of man, an aspect singularly dignified, important, and antique in its streets; and it still possesses many residences which are adapted for the higher orders, rather than for the industrious burgesses of a town. these are chiefly seated on the outside of the town. they were, so late as , and perhaps much later, "inhabited by persons of quality, and many coaches were kept there." to the west, king's mead, where formerly there was a monastery of the benedictine order, is now graced by a series of stately detached residences, which, under the modernized name of nun's green, constitute the court end of derby. but, interspersed in the streets, there are still many ancient tenements in which prince charles and his high-born adherents might find suitable accommodation. party feeling ran high in derby, and most of its leading and principal denizens were tories, and even jacobites. it was in derby that henry sacheverell preached his famous sermon, on "communication of sin." this literary firebrand was first thrown out to the high-church party in , when the high sheriff, george sacheverell, of callow, was attended by dr. henry sacheverell as his chaplain, and the walls of all saints church resounded with the denunciations of that vehement, and ill-judging man. the seed that was thus sown fell into a land fertile in high church propensities; the grand jury intreated dr. sacheverell to print his discourse; and, eventually, when they considered that, by the mild sentence given against their preacher on his trial, they had gained a triumph, bonfires proclaimed their joy, in the market-place of that town, where the warfare of sacheverell had first begun. on the accession of george the first, and when the chevalier landed in scotland, fresh manifestations of the jacobite party broke forth. the church of all saints was again the scene of its display. three principal clergymen in the town openly espoused the stuart cause. sturges, the rector of all saints, prayed openly for "king james"--but, after a moment's pause, said, "i mean king george." "the congregation became tumultuous; the military gentlemen drew their swords, and ordered him out of the pulpit, into which he never returned."[ ] perhaps the event which tended most to quiet the spirit of jacobitism among the lower classes in the town, was the erection of silk mills, in . nothing tranquillises extreme views in politics more surely than employment; few things attach men's minds to a government more, than efforts crowned with success. notwithstanding the memory of sacheverell, a whig member had been returned, in the last election, for the borough; the great merits and influence of the house of cavendish overpowering the uproarious tories, who, in vain, broke windows, and attacked their enemies. but discontent again broke forth. the winter of found the whole nation in a state of suffering and discontent; and many of the constitutional securities for liberty and property had been given up, in order to secure the stability of the throne. taxation had been imposed, in the worst and most unpopular form, that of excise duties, in order to maintain an expensive court, and to pay for continental wars, which were maintained to preserve the hereditary german possessions of the king. yet, in spite of these crying evils, such is the difficulty of inducing englishmen to incur the risk of forfeiture and disaster, that even the town of derby had diligently provided itself with a defence against the chevalier's divided forces, on hearing of their approach. during the month of september , in consequence of instructions from london, the duke of devonshire, attended by the greatest appearance of gentlemen ever seen in the town before, assembled the clergy, in order to consider of such measures as were necessary for the support of the government. an association was entered into, and sums were liberally contributed, after a splendid dinner, at that ungrateful inn, the george, which, during the sojourn of charles edward at derby, changed its sign, into the safe and ambiguous title of the king's head. two companies of volunteers, of six hundred men each, were raised by the association. a proposal to call out the county militia was vehemently negatived, probably from that spirit of distrust which pervaded the councils of king george's government. by an order in council, passed in the previous september, all roman catholics had been prohibited from keeping a horse of above five pounds in value, and restrained from going five miles from their dwellings. it was, therefore, deemed advisable to select the volunteer forces from the well-affected, and not to employ the militia of a county so manifestly disposed to foster the young adventurer as derbyshire was at that time considered. during the month of november, a great degree of alarm had disturbed the burgesses of derby; and from the communications of the duke of devonshire, then lord-lieutenant of the county, to the mayor, it appears that the young chevalier completely baffled the duke of cumberland and general wade, by his rapid movement into the very heart of england.[ ] so late as the twelfth of december, the duke of devonshire and his eldest son, the marquis of hartington, were stationed at the george inn, to watch the event of the coming storm, and to concert means for averting the threatened danger. some days previously, the duke had reviewed a company of six hundred volunteers, together with one hundred and twenty men raised at his own expense; and those townsmen, who were not jacobites, were in high spirits, concluding that the duke of cumberland must have overtaken and attacked the insurgents. on the evening of the twelfth, the soldiers were summoned to the market-place, where they stood for some hours; they were then sent to quarters to refresh themselves; about ten the drums beat to arms, and, being again drawn out, these valiant defenders of the borough marched out of the town, by torch-light, towards nottingham, headed by the duke of devonshire. on the following morning, about eleven, two of the vanguard of the insurgent army rode into the town; and, after seizing a very good horse, belonging to a mr. stamford, went to the george inn, and there inquiring for the magistrates, they demanded billets for nine thousand men, or more. in a short time afterwards, the vanguard itself rode into the town; this detachment consisted of about thirty men; they are described in the account of a cotemporary writer, probably an eye witness, as "likely men," making a good appearance, in blue regimentals faced with red, with scarlet waistcoats trimmed with gold lace. they posted themselves in the market-place, where they rested for two or three hours; at the same time bells were rung, and bonfires made upon the pretext of "preventing any resentment" from the rebels that might ensue upon a cold reception. about midday, lord george murray, lord elcho, and several other chiefs arrived, with troops to the number of one hundred and fifty, the flower of the army, who made "a fine show." soon afterwards the main body marched into the town in tolerable order, six or eight abreast, with about eight standards, most of them having a white flag with a red cross. but the appearance of the main body was totally different to that of the vanguard, and justified the contemptuous opinion and expectations formed by the loyal inhabitants of derby, of their coming foe. as they marched along, the sound of their bagpipes was heard, for the first time, in the crowded and ancient streets of the borough; but the dress and bearing of these brave, but ill-accoutred men excited the derision of the thriving population of an important country town. they were, says the writer in the _derby mercury_ of the day, "a parcel of shabby, pitiful looking fellows, mixed up with old men and boys, dressed in dirty plaids, and as dirty shirts, without breeches, and wore their stockings, made of plaid, not half way up their legs, and some without their shoes, or next to none, and numbers of them so fatigued with their long march, that they really commanded our pity more than our fear."[ ] about five in the evening, when it was nearly dark, the prince, with the other column, arrived. he walked on foot, attended by a great body of men, to a house appointed for his reception, belonging to lord exeter, and seated in full-street. here guards were placed around the temporary abode of the prince; and here, during his stay at derby, he held his councils. "every house," adds the writer before quoted, "was pretty well filled (though they kept driving in till ten or eleven at night), and we thought we should never have seen the last of them. the duke of atholl had his lodgings at thomas gisborne's, esq.; the duke of perth at mr. rivett's; lord elcho at mr. storer's; lord pitsligo at mr. meynell's; lord george murray at mr. heathcote's; old gordon, of glenbucket, at mr. alderman smith's; lord nairn at mr. john bingham's; lady ogilvie, mrs. murray, and some other persons of distinction at mr. francey's; and their chiefs and great officers were lodged in the best gentlemen's houses.[ ] many ordinary houses both public and private, had forty or fifty men each, and some gentlemen near one hundred." the prince, upon his arrival at derby, resolved to halt for one day, and to take the advice of his council what was to be done at this juncture. his hopes were high, and his confidence in the good-will of the people of england to his cause was unabated. he continued to entertain the notion that george the second was an usurper, for whom no man would willingly draw his sword; that "the people of england, as was their duty, still nourished that allegiance for the race of their native princes which they were bound to hold sacred, and that if he did but persevere in his daring attempt, heaven itself would fight in his cause." his conversation, when at table, beneath the roof of exeter house, turned on the discussion "how he should enter london, whether on foot, or on horseback, or whether in highland or in lowland garb."[ ] nor was charles edward singular in his sanguine state of mind. it was observed, says mr. maxwell, "that the army never was in better spirits than while at derby."[ ] the judgment which lord george murray had formed at manchester, remained, however, unaltered by all these expectations. on the following morning, when the council met, he represented to the prince that they had marched so far into the country, depending on french succours, or on an insurrection, neither of which had taken place; that the prince's army, by itself, was wholly unprepared to face the troops which the "elector of hanover," as lord george denominated him, had assembled. besides general wade's army, which was coming to oppose them, and that of the duke of cumberland, forming together a force of between seventeen and eighteen thousand strong, there was a third army, encamped on finchley common, of which george the second was going to take the command in person. even supposing that the prince should be successful in an engagement with one of these armies, "he might be undone by a victory." the loss of one thousand or fifteen hundred men would incapacitate the rest of his small force from another encounter; and supposing that he was routed in that country, he and all his friends must unavoidably be killed. on the whole, including the army formed at london, there would be a force of thirty thousand men to oppose an army of five thousand fighting men; that before such a host, pursued lord george,[ ] "it could not be supposed one man could escape; for the militia, who had not appeared much against us hitherto, would, upon our defeat, possess all the roads, and the enemy's horse would surround us on all hands; that the whole world would blame us as being rash and foolish, to venture a thing that could not succeed, and the prince's person, should he escape being killed in the battle, must fall into the enemy's hands." "his royal highness," continues lord george murray in his narrative, "had no regard to his own danger, but pressed with all the force of argument to go forward. he did not doubt but the justness of his cause would prevail, and he could not think of retreating after coming so far; and he was hopeful there might be a defection in the enemy's army, and that several would declare for him. he was so very bent on putting all to the risk, that the duke of perth was for it, since his royal highness was. at last, he proposed going to wales, instead of returning to carlisle, but every other officer declared his opinion for a retreat, which some thought would be scarce practicable. i said all that i thought of to persuade the retreat, and, indeed, the arguments to me seemed unanswerable; and for the danger, though i owned an army upon a retreat did not fight with equal valour as when they advanced, yet, if the thing were agreed to, i offered to make the retreat, and be always in the rear myself; and that each regiment would take it by turns till we came to carlisle; and that the army should march in such order, that if i were attacked, i might be supported as occasion required, and without stopping the army (except a very great body of the enemy should be upon me), i would send aide-de-camps to desire such assistance as i should judge the occasion would require; but that i really believed there would be no great danger; for, as we were informed, the duke of cumberland was at stafford, and would in all appearance, that night or next morning, be drawing near london to intercept us, so that if our design were not mentioned till next morning that it should be put in execution, we would be got to ashbourn before he could have certain information of our design to retreat." the prince, who was naturally bold and enterprising, and who had been hitherto successful in every thing, was indignant at this. since he had set out from edinburgh, he had never had a thought but of going on, and fighting everything in his way to london. he had the highest idea of the bravery of his own men, and a despicable opinion of his enemies, and hitherto with good reason; and he was confirmed in these notions by some of those that were nearest his person; these sycophants, more intent upon securing his favour than promoting his interest, "were eternally saying whatever they thought would please, and never hazarded a disagreeable truth."[ ] a connected narrative of the proceedings in council has been given by lord elcho; and, at the risk of some recapitulations, it is here inserted, not having been previously published entire. "the fifth, in the morning, lord george murray, and all the commanders of battalions and squadrons, waited on the prince, and lord george told him that it was the opinion of every body present that the scots had now done all that could be expected of them. that they had marched into the heart of england, ready to join any party that would declare for him. that none had done so, and that the counties through which the army had passed had seemed much more enemies, than friends, to his cause. that there were no french landed in england; and that if there was any party in england for him, it was very odd that they had never so much as either sent him money or intelligence, or the least advice what to do. but if he could produce any letter from any person of distinction, in which there was an invitation for the army to go to london, or to any other part of england, that they were ready to go; but if nobody had either invited them, or meddled in the least in their affairs, it was to be supposed that there was either no party at all, or, if there was, they did not choose to act with them, or else they would ere now have let him know it. suppose even the army marched on and beat the duke of cumberland, yet, in the battle they must lose some men; and they had, after that, the king's own army, consisting of seven hundred men, near london to deal with. on the contrary, if either of these armies beat them, there would not a man escape; as the militia, although they durst never face the army while in a body, yet they would have courage enough to put an end to them if ever they were routed; and so the people that were in armies in scotland would fall an easy sacrifice to the fury of the government. again, suppose the army was to slip the king's and duke's army, and get into london, the success of the affair would entirely depend on the mob's declaring for or against it; and that if the mob had been much inclined to his cause since his march into england, to be sure some of his friends in london would have fallen upon some method to let him know it; but if the mob was against the affair, four thousand five hundred men would not make a great figure in london. lord george concluded by saying, that the scots army had done their part; that they came into england at the prince's request, to join his english friends, and to give them courage by their appearance to take arms and declare for him publicly, as they had done, or to join the french if they had landed. but as none of these things had happened, that certainly four thousand five hundred scots had never thought of putting a king on the english throne by themselves. so he said his opinion was, they should go back and join their friends in scotland, and live and die with them. "after lord george had spoken, all the rest of the gentlemen present spoke their sentiments, and they all agreed with lord george except two (the duke of perth and sir william gordon), who were for going to wales to see if the welsh would join. "the prince heard all these arguments with the greatest impatience, fell into a passion, and gave most of the gentlemen that had spoke very abusive language; and said they had a mind to betray him. the case was, he knew nothing about the country, nor had the smallest idea of the force that was against him, nor how they were situated." fully convinced that the regular army would never dare to fight against him, and trusting to the consciences of men more than to the broad sword of his army, he always believed that he should enter st. james's with as little difficulty as he had done holyrood-house. "he continued," says lord elcho, "all that day positive he would march to london. the irish in the army were always for what he was for, and were heard to say, that day, 'that they knew if they escaped being killed, the worst that could happen to them was a few months imprisonment.'" the reluctance of the unfortunate and brave young chevalier was increased by the evident ardour which his men, in the expectation of an engagement with the duke of cumberland, were at that very instant displaying, whilst the arguments which sealed charles edward's fate, resounded within the walls of exeter-house. the highlanders, whose heroism balanced the inequality of the respective forces, breathed nothing but a desire for the combat. they were to be seen, during all that eventful day, in crowds before the shops of the cutlers, quarrelling who should be the first to get their swords sharpened.[ ] in the very midst of the discussions, a courier arrived from lord john drummond, informing the prince that he had landed at montrose with his regiment, the scottish brigade, newly raised in france, and some pickets of the irish brigade, the rest of which would probably be in scotland before the letter reached the prince.[ ] but this favourable intelligence, far from lessening the desire of lord george to secure a retreat, rather increased his determination to uphold that resolution; and emboldened him to unfold to charles edward a plan for a scottish campaign, which, he thought, might be prosecuted with advantage. in retreating to scotland, the prince, he argued, would have the advantage of retiring upon his reinforcements, which included the highlanders at perth, and the succours brought by lord john drummond. he concluded his address by a request, in the name of the persons present, that they should go back and join their friends in scotland, to live or die with their countrymen. two councils were held upon this important subject, for in the afternoon the prince convened another, to consider of the advices which the courier sent by lord john drummond had brought. "the debates," observes the chevalier johnstone, "were very keen." the prince obstinately insisted upon giving battle to the duke of cumberland on the next day, the sixth; but he stood alone in that opinion. the chiefs of clans, who, since the council held at perth, had never opposed the prince in anything, feeling that they had now advanced too far to retreat, nevertheless opposed the march to london. they pointed to the coldness with which the insurgent army had hitherto been received; and asked how, supposing by some miracle the forces were to reach london, an army of four thousand men would appear among a population of a million people? the prince still insisted upon marching to london; he even opposed the retreat, on the ground of the immense risk. the duke of cumberland, he contended, would pursue them hotly, and be always at their heels. marshal wade, he remarked, would certainly receive orders to intercept the army, so that they would "be placed between two fires, and caught as it were, in a net." this argument was met by the assurances which have been already stated in lord george murray's own language--that he would manage the retreat, taking always the rear. that he ably and effectually fulfilled that promise, was shown in the result. at length the prince, finding the greater part of the council was of lord george's opinion, and deserted even by the duke of perth, who, after for long time resting his head on the fire-place in silence, accorded loudly with the clans, consented to the retreat. this assent, wrung from him, was given with these bitter words,--"rather than go back," exclaimed the high-spirited young man, "i would wish to be twenty feet under ground.[ ] henceforth," he added, haughtily, "i will hold no more councils, for i am accountable to no one for my actions, except to my father." the usual double-dealing, and factious contention of party, succeeded this painful scene in the council. "after the council was dismissed," says mr. maxwell,[ ] "some of those who had voted against the retreat, and the secretary, who had spoken warmly for it in private conversation with the prince, condemned this resolution, and endeavoured to instil some suspicion of the courage and fidelity of those who had promoted it. the prince was easily persuaded that he had been too complaisant in consenting to a retreat, but would not retract the consent he had given, unless he could bring back those to whom he had given it over to his own sentiments; which he hoped he might be able to do, since the secretary had altered his opinion. with this view he called another meeting of the council, in the evening, but found all the rest, to a man, firm in their former sentiments; upon which, the prince gave up a second time his own opinion and inclination, to the advice and desire of his council." the character of one individual was, however, elicited in this affair. "from this time," observes mr. maxwell,[ ] "the secretary ceased to be in odour of sanctity with those that were not highly prejudiced in his favour. the little knave appeared plainly in his conduct on this occasion. he argued strenuously for the retreat, because he thought it the only prudent measure, till he found it was carried by a great majority, and would certainly take place; and then he condemned it, to make his court to the prince, to whom it was disagreeable, and lay the odium upon other people, particularly lord george, whom he endeavoured to blacken on every occasion." some people will wonder that this bare-faced conduct did not open the prince's eyes as to the baseness of secretary murray's heart; "but," says maxwell, "if we consider that murray was in the highest degree of favour, the steps by which he rose to it, and the arts he used to maintain himself and exclude everybody that could come in competition with him, he will easily conceive how he got the better of any suspicions his behaviour might have created at this time." the question, whether the arguments of lord george murray were guided by wisdom, or whether they might be better characterised as the result of a cold, and, in this case, unworthy prudence, has been very differently canvassed. "there are not a few," observes mr. maxwell, "who still think the prince would have carried his point had he gone on from derby; they build much upon the confusion there was at london, and the panic which prevailed among the elector's troops at this juncture.[ ] it is impossible to decide with any degree of certainty, whether he would or would not have succeeded,--that depended upon the disposition of the army and of the city of london, ready to declare for the prince. what could he do with four thousand four hundred men, suppose he got to london, whatever were the dispositions of the army and the city? it is certain the prince had no intelligence from either. this leads me to examine the conduct of the prince's friends in england. the cry was general against them about this time in the prince's army, and they are still exclaimed against by foreigners, who, having but a very superficial knowledge of these affairs, conclude that either the english are all become hanoverians, or, if there are still some that have an english heart, they must be strangely degenerated, since they did not lay hold of this opportunity of shaking off the german yoke. though i am convinced the prince had a great many well-wishers in england, and though it is my opinion he would have succeeded had they all declared for him, nevertheless i cannot join in the cry against them, no more than i can condemn abundance of his friends in scotland who did not join him. i have told elsewhere upon what a slender foundation this expedition was undertaken. murray had imposed upon the prince, and hurried him into it, without concerting anything with england. the english had always insisted upon a body of regular troops, not under seven and not above twelve thousand effective men. they saw the prince in england with a handful of militia, which they could never think a match for thirty thousand regular troops. it is true the english have, in former times, taken arms upon less encouragement and less provocation than they had met with of late; but in those days the common people were accustomed to arms, and the insurgents were as good soldiers as any that could be brought against them." such is the reasoning of an eye-witness. one thing is certain, contemporary writers appear to have generally acquiesced in the propriety of the retreat; and that circumstance constitutes the strongest evidence in favour of the step. yet, viewing events at this distance of time, and taking into account the panic which seized, not only the public mind, but which affected the heads of the government on hearing of the bold and rapid march of the insurgents, our faith in the wisdom of a retreat is weakened. in the night when it was announced in the fashionable circles of st. james's that the prince had reached derby, a general consternation was diffused throughout society. a lady of the highest rank, who was in one of the assemblies of the day, related to one of her descendants that upon the intelligence reaching the party where she was, the rooms were instantly cleared, and on the following morning there was not a carriage to be seen in london. nor were these apprehensions confined to any particular sphere.[ ] the arrival of the troops at derby was known in london on the ninth of december, henceforth called by the english "black monday." many of the inhabitants fled in terror from the metropolis, taking their treasures with them; the shops were closed: people thronged to the bank to obtain payment of its notes, and it only escaped bankruptcy by the following stratagem. those who came first being entitled to priority of payment, the managers of the bank took care to be surrounded by agents with notes, to whom their pretended claims were paid in sixpences to gain time. these agents went out by one door and came back by another, so that the _bona fide_ holders of notes could never get near enough to present them; and the bank stood out by these means until the panic had died away. king george even embarked all his most precious effects on his yachts, which were stationed in the tower-quay, in readiness to convey him away, should the dreaded highlanders, as it now began to be generally expected, march to london in a few days. the "moneyed corporations," according to smollett, were all in the deepest dejection; they reflected that the highlanders, of whom they had conceived a most terrible idea, were within four days' march of the capital; they anticipated a revolution ruinous to their own prosperity, and were overwhelmed with dismay. "i was assured," writes the chevalier johnstone, (who differed from his general, lord george,) "on good authority, when i was in london, some time after our unfortunate defeat, that the duke of newcastle, then secretary of state for the war department, remained inaccessible in his own house the whole of the th of december, weighing in his mind the part which it would be most prudent for him to take, and even uncertain whether he should not instantly declare himself for the pretender. it was even said at london, that fifty thousand men had actually left that city to meet the prince and join his army, and every body in the capital was of opinion, that, if we had beaten the duke of cumberland, the army of finchley common would have dispersed of its own accord, and that by advancing rapidly to london, we might have taken possession of that city without the least resistance from the inhabitants, and without exchanging a single shot with the soldiers. thus a revolution would have been effected in england, so glorious for the few scotchmen by whom it was attempted, and altogether so surprising, that the world would not have comprehended it. it is true, the english were altogether ignorant of the number of our army, from the care we took in our marches to conceal it; and it was almost impossible for their spies ever to discover it, as we generally arrived in the towns at nightfall, and left them before the break of day. in all the english newspapers our numbers were uniformly stated as high as twelve or fifteen thousand men. under such circumstances, some temporary advantages might have been gained by marching southwards; for it is now believed that the jacobite party in england were much more numerous than we have generally understood; and that thousands would have flocked to the standard of charles edward had he been accompanied by a sufficient force to authorise the expectation of his success." the british administration was, it is true, devoid of men of talent or principle, and discontent and distress prevailed in the country. in the city of london, the jacobite party was very strong; its member was alderman heathcote, who, with sir watkin williams wynn, had announced to lord temple his determination to rise immediately upon a landing of troops from france.[ ] the prevalence of jacobite principles among the english gentry is supposed to have infected many officers in the royal army, who might have avowed them at any crisis in the public affairs; many were, at all events, suspected of jacobite principles; "and the mere suspicion," remarks lord mahon, "would have produced nearly the same effects as the reality,--bewilderment, distrust, and vacillation in the chiefs." "had, then, the highlanders combined to push forward," observes this able writer, "must not the increasing terror have palsied all power of resistance? would not the little army at finchley, with so convenient a place for dispersing as the capital behind it, have melted away at their approach?" in confirmation of this surmise may be quoted an anecdote which is related of a company of the celebrated black watch, which had been exempted during the insurrection of from serving against their countrymen; more than three hundred of the regiment having brothers and relations engaged in the jacobite army.[ ] but it was afterwards employed on a service which might well have been assigned to others;--to execute the decrees of burning, and to lay waste the districts where the forefathers of these brave men had lived. on marching one company of this famous regiment out of london, the highlanders, on arriving at hounslow, suddenly became immovable; they halted, and refused to proceed, or to bear arms against their countrymen. their commanders, in dismay, turned to the chaplain of the regiment, to use his influence. the clergyman then in office happened to be ferguson, the celebrated astronomer. he mounted on a temporary rostrum or pulpit, harangued the highlanders, and, after an emphatic address, prevailed on them to march forward. such were some of the difficulties which the english government encountered. to this may be added, the defenceless state of the coasts of kent and essex. the french ministers were now in "the very crisis of decision as to their projected expedition." the preparations at dunkirk were completed; and had charles edward, by advancing, shown that such aid was only a secondary matter in his favour, their fleet would have set sail. besides, the jacobites in england were by no means in so apathetic and subdued a condition as that which has been generally represented.[ ] "i believe then," emphatically remarks lord mahon, "that had charles marched onward from derby he might have gained the british throne; but i am far from thinking that he would long have held it." "whether he (charles edward)," says sir walter scott, "ought ever to have entered england, at least without collecting all the forces which he could command, is a very disputable point; but it was clear, that whatever influence he might for a time possess, arose from the boldness of his advance. the charm, however, was broken the moment he showed, by a movement in retreat, that he had undertaken an enterprise too difficult for him to achieve."[ ] in the opinion of the chevalier johnstone, whose judgment was formed under the influence of lord george murray, much of the failure of the expedition was owing to the inactivity of lord john drummond, who ought, according to his statement, to have advanced by forced marches to the assistance of prince charles. nor was this the only error of that zealous, but inexperienced general: through his representations, the false intelligence that an army of ten thousand men was awaiting him in scotland, was conveyed to the prince; the disembarkation of this force was continually and confidently expected. "the first thing we did in the morning," says chevalier johnstone, "was to see whether the wind was favourable;" and this delusive expectation had a very great influence in deciding the resolution taken at derby to retreat to scotland. whatever were the reasons which actuated the council of war, the result was, in the first instance, both painful to those who promoted the decision of the question, and highly obnoxious to the army. arrangements were, however, made to keep the proposed retreat as secret as possible, both in order to baffle the duke of cumberland and not to irritate the highlanders. yet the design was soon penetrated by those who were intent upon every movement of their superiors. lord george murray, in his journal, describes the sensation which the projected retreat occasioned, in the following terms.[ ] "our resolution was to be kept secret, as it was of great consequence the enemy should have the intelligence of our march as late as possible. yet, in the afternoon, one sir john macdonald, an irish officer in the french service who had come over with the prince, came where lochiel, and keppoch and i were talking together, and railed a great deal about our retreat. 'what!' says he to keppoch, 'a macdonald turn his back?' and to lochiel, 'for shame; a cameron run away from the enemy! go forward, and i'll lead you.' this gentleman was old, and had dined heartily, for he was much subject to his bottle: we endeavoured to persuade him that he was mistaken, but he still insisted, and said he had certain information of it. to tell the truth, i believe he liked his quarters and entertainment better in england than in scotland, and would rather have been taken than return; for he thought, as he was in the french service, he did not run the same risk as others did. some people, seeing the prince so much cast down about the retreat, to ingratiate themselves, blamed the resolution; and though they had in the morning, as much as any body, given their hearty concurrence in the measure, and had exprest themselves so; yet, as they saw the retreat would certainly be put in execution, though they appeared against it, they thought proper to say that their reason for agreeing to it was because they knew the army would never fight well when the officers were against it. sir thomas sheridan and his royal highness's secretary acted this part. and the duke of atholl, who had not been present in the morning, when the prince sent for him in the afternoon, and spoke to him, seemed much for going forwards. in the evening, when this was understood by the rest of the officers, they told his royal highness that they valued their lives as little as brave men ought to do; and if he inclined to go forward they would do their duty to the last, but desired that those that advised his royal highness to go forward would sign their opinion, which would be a satisfaction to them. this put a stop to all underhand dealings, and the duke of atholl when he heard others upon the same subject, was fully satisfied as to the necessity of the measure." the town of derby presented, during its occupation by the jacobites, a singular scene. the highlanders, hitherto maintaining a character for good order, now broke loose upon the townsmen of a city, which they, perhaps, began to consider as their own. they took the opportunity of replenishing themselves with gloves, buckles, powder-flasks, handkerchiefs, &c., which they demanded from the tradespeople, whose shops they entered. being refreshed with a good night's rest, they ran about from house to house, until the town looked as if it were the resort of some highland fair. "if they liked a person's shoes better than their own," relates a contemporary writer, "nothing was more common for them than to demand them off their feet, and not to give them anything, or what they asked for them." this insolence grew upon the forbearance of the townsmen, who dared not to resist martial law. even the medical profession did not escape an unwilling participation in the concerns of the jacobites. dr. hope, a physician residing in the town, and a member of the highly-respectable family there, was summoned to attend one of the sojourners in exeter-house. the tradition which has preserved this anecdote among the descendants of dr. hope, has not specified the name of the invalid. the physician was told that he must go instantly: he was blindfolded, and led by armed men into the presence of his patient, without knowing whither he was conducted; a precaution, it may be presumed, adopted to prevent a refusal. the church of all saints witnessed what its protestant ministers must have viewed with indignation and sorrow. prayers were ordered to be said at six o'clock in the evening, when a roman catholic clergyman entered the sacred edifice, and performed the service according to the ritual of his church.[ ] in addition to these impolitic acts of a short-lived power, proclamations were made by the town crier, levying the excise duties; and a demand of one hundred pounds was made upon the post-office. in other quarters, even these forms were omitted, and plunder and outrage, which, says the author of the derby mercury, "were they to be stated would fill our paper," were mercilessly committed. nevertheless, such was the tendency of the town of derby to jacobite principles, that, among the higher orders, the brief appearance of the young and unfortunate adventurer was long remembered with interest, and his fate recalled with regret. the ladies of derby vied with each other in making white cockades, of delicate and costly workmanship, to present to the hero of the day. to some of these admiring votaries he presented his picture, a dangerous gift in after-times, when a strict system of scrutiny prevailed; and when even to be suspected of jacobite principles was an effectual barrier to all promotion in offices, and a severe injury to those in trade. one of these jacobite ladies[ ] is known by her family to have kept the portrait of the prince behind the door of her bedchamber, carefully veiled from any but friendly inspection. early on the morning of friday, the sixth of december, the drums beat to arms, and the bagpipes were heard playing in different parts of the town: the forces, it was expected by the townsmen, were thus summoned to continue their march to loughborough, a town full of jacobites, who were known to have been pledging the young adventurer's health on their bare and bended knees.[ ] the retreat was begun in such haste, and attended with such confusion, that many of the highlanders left their arms behind them, where they were quartered. at nine o'clock, prince charles, in deep dejection, was seen mounted on a black horse, which had belonged to the brave colonel gardiner;--to quit exeter-house, and, crossing the market-place, to proceed to broken-row; he then turned through sadler gate, towards ashbourn; he was followed by the main body of his army. before eleven o'clock, derby, so lately resembling, in its busy streets, the animated scene of a highland fair, was totally cleared of all the highland troops. but the consternation of the inhabitants paralyzed them. on that day no market was held, as usual; nor did the bells toll to church on the next sunday; nor was divine service performed in any of the numerous and fine churches which grace the town.[ ] the retreat, thus begun under such inauspicious circumstances, was left solely to the guidance of the general who had so earnestly recommended it; and lord george murray took the sole management of it. in the dawn of the morning, when some of the troops had begun their march, the highlanders did not perceive in which direction they were marching; they believed that they were going to give the duke of cumberland battle. when they discovered that they were in retreat, a murmur of lamentation ran through the ranks. "the inferior officers," lord elcho relates,[ ] "were much surprised when they found the army moving back, and imagined some bad news had been received; but, when they were told everything, and found the army had marched so far into england without the least invitation from any englishman of distinction, they blamed their superiors much for carrying them so far, and approved much of going back to scotland. they had all along imagined they were marching to join the english, and were acting in concert with them. to the common men it was given out the army was going to meet their friends from scotland, and to prevent marshal wade from getting in between them, whose army was at wetherby and doncaster." the influence, however, of these contradictory reports upon the common men was soon conspicuous. the march was at first regular enough; but the whole bearing of the highlanders was changed. dispirited and indignant, they became reckless in their conduct: they lingered on the way, and committed outrages of which but few instances had been heard during their march southwards. lord george murray found it difficult to keep his army together. "in the advance," observes sir walter scott, "they showed the sentiments of brave men, come, in their opinion, to liberate their fellow-citizens; in the retreat, they were caterans, returning from a creagh." the cause which they had adopted, had lost, from this moment, all hope, though the mournful interest attached to it still remained, perhaps, with increasing force. in order to conceal the retreat as long from the enemy as possible, a party of horse was ordered to advance some miles in the direction of lichfield, where the duke of cumberland was posted; and, to keep up the delusion, powder was distributed among the army. it was also insinuated that wade was at hand, and that they were going to fight him; but when the soldiers found themselves on the road to ashbourn they suspected the truth, and became still more sullen and dejected. another artifice adopted to raise their spirits was a report, circulated purposely among them, that the reinforcements expected from scotland were on their road, and that having met these, near preston the army would resume its march southwards. this project, however distasteful to lord george murray, was, it seems, seriously entertained by the prince. and now commenced the difficulties of that undertaking in which lord george had pledged himself to conduct an army of little more than six thousand men, in the depth of winter, in safety to scotland, although in the neighbourhood of two great armies. the management of this retreat has been a subject of admiration to all competent judges of military affairs; it has conferred lasting honour on the capacity of lord george murray as a general. it was of the greatest importance, under his circumstances, that lord george should know of the movements and intentions of the enemy; and such was his system, such his address, in employing spies and emissaries, that he was always informed of what took place in the armies of the duke and general wade. one of his principal agents was hewett, a butcher in derby; who, from his local knowledge, could tell many particulars of the country-gentlemen, as well as of the movements of the duke and his formidable forces.[ ] the highland army arrived on the night of the sixth at ashbourn, on the following day they reached leek, on the ninth they arrived at manchester, where a great revulsion of feeling had taken place. the "hanoverian mob," to use the expression of mr. maxwell, were determined to dispute the prince's entrance; but when his vanguard appeared, these noisy heroes were instantly silenced.[ ] from manchester the prince proceeded to wigan, and thence to preston, where he halted on the twelfth. here the disappointed young man recurred to his cherished project, that of having reinforcements sent from scotland, under viscount strathallan, who had been left in command at perth, and those also under lord john drummond. upon his arrival at preston, he sent the duke of perth into scotland to bring them with the utmost expedition. he was resolved to retire no further until he met them, and then to march directly for london, casting his whole chance of success upon the event of that step. among the generals and chiefs of this army a different sentiment had now arisen. a safe retreat was their object, and the subject of universal attention. hitherto there had been little or no danger; it was impossible for the enemy to overtake the army before it had reached preston; but between preston and carlisle it was practicable for the enemy's cavalry to come up with the prince's army during that march. there was even a greater danger to be apprehended than the pursuit of the duke. marshal wade had left his position at newcastle-upon-tyne, having been ordered by the duke to place himself between the insurgent forces and scotland, in order to cut off the retreat. there were in those days but few roads, or even passes in the mountainous regions of cumberland and westmoreland, by which a regular army could march. there was, however, an excellent road from newcastle to penrith, a town through which wade might march his army, and where he could arrive a day or two before the prince, and intercept his retreat. on the fifteenth the prince arrived at kendal, and here lord george murray, taking a body of life-guards, went in person to reconnoitre the position of the enemy. he brought back several prisoners, who gave him all the information of which he was desirous. from what was thus gathered, lord george perceived that the whole cavalry of wade's army might possibly overtake the highland forces before they could reach carlisle; he therefore represented to the prince the propriety of sacrificing the cannon and heavy baggage to the safety of the men; since the mountainous journey from kendal to penrith rendered the transit of such carriages very difficult. but the prince was determined that his retreat should have the air of retiring, not of flying; he was resolved not to leave a single piece of his cannon; he would rather fight both armies than give such a proof of weakness. he issued peremptory orders that the march should be continued as before, and that not a single carriage should be left at kendal. the dissensions between charles edward and lord george murray had now ripened into reproaches on the one hand, answered by something not unlike taunts on the other. the former had cherished a predilection for battles ever since his victory at glandsmuir, and he often broke out into expressions of anger towards his general, for his having prevented his fighting the duke of cumberland at derby. as they quitted kendal, lord george observed to charles, "since your royal highness is always for battles, be the circumstances what they may; i now offer you one, in three hours from this time, with the army of marshal wade, who is only three miles distant from this place." the prince made no reply, but mounted into his carriage. all his ardour in marching at the head of the clans was gone; he had become listless, careless, and dejected since the retreat. the army were dispirited by his gloomy and mournful aspect; and a still greater degree of difficulty and responsibility devolved therefore upon their general. on the sixteenth of december the army slept at shap, and on the seventeenth the prince arrived at penrith; but the artillery, and the regiment of the macdonalds of glengarry, could only reach shap by nightfall. on the following morning lord george proceeded towards penrith. scarcely had he begun his march when he saw a number of the enemy's light horse hovering about, but not venturing within musket-shot. about midday, as the highland army began to ascend an eminence about half-way between shap and penrith, they discovered cavalry riding two and two abreast on the top of the hill. these instantly disappeared, but the noise of the kettle-drums and trumpets announced that they were only on the other side of the hill, and that they were probably forming in order of battle. lord george was in the rear of the highland army. the advanced guard stopped at the foot of the hill, when suddenly they formed a resolution to advance sword in hand on the enemy, without informing lord george of their resolution. on arriving at the summit of the hill, the party whose kettle-drums and trumpets had caused such an alarm, were found to be only three hundred light horse and chasseurs, who instantly fled. one prisoner only was made, a man who fell from his horse. it was desirable, on all accounts, to have preserved the life of this person, but the fury of the highlanders was such that he was instantly cut to pieces. after this alarm, this detachment of the highland army resumed their march: the appearance of the light horse had, however, begotten an impression that wade's forces were not far distant. the chevalier johnstone, more especially, had strong misgivings on the subject; his fears were confirmed by his serjeant dickson, who called his attention to something black on a hill about three miles distant. this appearance, which every one else regarded as bushes, was soon found to be the english army, slowly but surely advancing. before the vanguard could recover the surprise, the duke of cumberland, who had pursued them with forced marches, fell upon the macdonalds, who were in the rear, with fury. fortunately the road running between thorn hedges and ditches, the english cavalry could not act in such a manner as to surround the army, nor present a larger front than the breadth of the road. the highlanders instantly ran to the enclosures in which the english were, fell on their knees, and began to cut down the hedges with their dirks. this precaution was necessary, for their limbs were unprotected by anything lower than their kilts. during this operation, they sustained the fire of the english with admirable firmness. as soon as the hedges were cut down, they jumped into the enclosures sword in hand, and broke the english battalions. a fierce and deadly contest ensued. the english were nearly cut to pieces without quitting their ground. platoons might, indeed, be seen, composed of forty or fifty men falling beneath the highlanders, yet they remained firm, closing up their ranks, as fast as an opening was made by the broad-swords of the highlanders. this remarkable attack was made in person by lord george murray, at the head of the macphersons, whom he ordered to charge. at length the english dragoons were driven from their posts, and closely pursued until they arrived at the moor where their main body was planted. in this "scuffle" the macphersons lost only twelve men; about one hundred of the english were killed or wounded. a footman in the service of the duke of cumberland was the only prisoner made by the highlanders. this man declared that his royal master would have been killed, if the pistol, with which a highlander took aim at his head, had not missed fire. prince charles, with much courtesy, sent him back instantly to the duke.[ ] such is a brief account of the engagement which lord george murray calls a "little skirmish," but which must have afforded, at all events, some notion of highland valour to the duke of cumberland and his dragoons. but, independent of the dauntless bravery of the macphersons, to the skill of lord george murray may be attributed much of the success of the action. before the firing began, he contrived, by rolling up his colours, and causing them to be carried half open to different places, to deceive the enemy with regard to the numbers of the highland force; and to make them conclude that the whole of the army was posted in the village of clifton. with about a thousand men in all, he contrived to defeat five hundred dragoons, backed by a great body of cavalry, all well disciplined troops. the moon, which was in its second quarter, appeared at intervals during the close of the action, and gave but a fitful light, being often over-clouded, so that the combatants fought almost in gloom, except for a few minutes at a time. the english, being all on horseback, were just visible to their foes, but the "little highlanders" were in darkness. "we had the advantage," observes lord george, "of seeing their disposition, but they could not see ours."[ ] this encounter had the effect of saving the prince and the whole army. "it was lucky," calmly remarks lord george murray, "that i made that stand at clifton, for otherwise the enemy would have been at our heels, and come straight to penrith, where, after refreshing two or three hours, they might have come up with us before we got to carlisle."[ ] lord george was in imminent danger during the action at clifton. fortunately, an old man, glenbucket, who was very infirm, remained at the end of the village on horseback. he entreated lord george to be very careful, "for if any accident happened, he would be blamed." "he gave me," relates lord george, "his targe; it was convex, and covered with a plate of metal, which was painted; the paint was cleared in two or three places, with the enemy's bullets; and, indeed, they were so thick about me, that i felt them hot about my head, and i thought some of them went through my hair, which was about two inches long, my bonnet having fallen off."[ ] in this skirmish lord george commanded the glengarry regiment, who had remained, at the general's request, in the rear, to guard the baggage. the officers, observes lord george, "behaved to my wish, and punctually obeyed the orders they received. that very morning, however, the glengarry regiment had told lord george that they would not have stayed three days behind the rest of the army to guard the baggage for any man but himself." the stewarts, of appin, were also among the most valiant of the combatants; but the most signal instances of courage were shown by macpherson of clunie, and his fierce band. this unfortunate chief was engaged in the insurrection of ; that circumstance had been overlooked by government; and, in the very year , he had been appointed to a company in lord loudon's regiment, and had taken the oaths to government. his clan were, however, anxious to espouse the cause of charles edward. whilst clunie wavered, his honour requiring the fulfilment of his oaths, his affections, and his hereditary principles leading him to follow charles, his wife, although a stanch jacobite, and a daughter of lord lovat, entreated him not to break his oaths, and represented that nothing would end well which began with perjury. she was overruled by the friends of clunie, and he hastened to his ruin.[ ] the victorious general remained at clifton half an hour after all the other officers had proceeded to penrith. this circumstance disproved a statement given in the english newspapers, which intimated that the highlanders had been beaten from their post at clifton. on the contrary, "i heard," observed lord george, "that the enemy went a good many miles for quarters, and i am persuaded they were as weary of that day's fatigue as we could be." upon arriving at penrith, lord george found the prince much pleased with what had occurred. he was, however, just taking horse for carlisle. on the next day, after staying a very short time at penrith to refresh, lord george joined charles edward in that city, which had yielded so short a time previously to his arms; and here various circumstances occurred which sufficiently show the discord which prevailed in the councils of the young chevalier. during the march, the young prince had manifested a lofty sense of his own honour; but it was combined with a great degree of obstinacy in some respects, almost accompanied by puerility. disgusted with the retreat, indignant with the promoter of that step, bent upon returning to england, unhappy, discouraged, and distracted by evil counsels, the prince had plainly shown, that he would controvert the opinions of lord george in every possible instance. he had lingered so late in the morning before leaving his quarters, as to detain the rear, which that general commanded, long after the van. this was a great inconvenience, and difficult for an impetuous temper to tolerate. the prince not only refused to allow the army to be eased of any of the ammunition, being resolved "rather to fight both their armies than to give such a proof of his weakness;"[ ] but he carried that order to an extreme, behaving as a petulant young man, who exerts power more in anger than from reflection. the march thus encumbered had been made with a degree of difficulty and fatigue which tried the patience of the soldiers, who were obliged, in one instance, to drag, like horses, the heavy waggons, in order to get them through a stream of water where there was a narrow pass, and a steep ascent.[ ] no enemy had molested the troops after they left penrith; and it appeared evident that, at that time, the duke of cumberland had no intention of coming to a pitched battle, but intended only to take advantage of the disorder which he might suppose would have attended the retreat of an army of militia. on arriving at carlisle, a council of war was held. lord george murray was in favour of evacuating carlisle, but his influence was overruled. "i had been so much fatigued," he remarks, "for some days before, that i was very little at the prince's quarters that day." it was, however, determined to leave a garrison in carlisle, for prince charles had set his heart upon returning to england. he, therefore, placed in the castle mr. hamilton, whilst the unfortunate mr. townley commanded the town. "this," remarks mr maxwell,[ ] "was perhaps the worst resolution that the prince had taken hitherto. i cannot help condemning it, though there were specious pretexts for it." it would, indeed, have been highly advantageous for the prince to have retained one of the keys of england; and he might have hoped to return before the place could be retaken. of this, however, he could not be certain; and he was undoubtedly wrong in exposing the lives of the garrison without an indispensable necessity, which, according to maxwell, did not exist; for "blowing up the castle, and the gates of the town might equally have given him an entry into england." the day after the prince had arrived in carlisle, he left it, and proceeded northwards. one cause of this, apparently, needless haste was, the state of the river esk, about seven miles from carlisle; it was, by a nearer road, impassable. this stream, it was argued, might be swollen by a few hours rain, and then it could not be forded. the prince might thus be detained at carlisle; and he had now become extremely impatient to know the exact state of his affairs in scotland; to collect his forces, in order to return to england. letters from lord john drummond had re-assured him of the good will of the court of france--that delusive hope was not even then extinct. advice from viscount strathallan had imparted excellent accounts of the army in scotland. under these circumstances, charles hastened forward, and encountered the difficult passage over the esk. hope again gladdened the heart of one for whose errors, when we consider the stake for which he fought, and the cherished wishes of his youth, too little allowance has been made. but, in the eyes of others, the prospect of the young chevalier's return to england was regarded as wholly visionary; and the planting a garrison in the dilapidated fortress of carlisle, was deemed indifference to the fate of his adherents who remained, unwillingly, and certain of their doom. "the retreat from derby was considered throughout england," observes sir walter scott, "as the close of the rebellion: as a physician regards a distemper to be nearly overcome, when he can drive it from the stomach and nobler parts, into the extremities of the body."[ ] the army, after marching from three o'clock in the morning until two in the afternoon, arrived on the borders of the esk. this river, which is usually shallow, had already been swollen by an incessant rain of several days, to the depth of four feet. it was, therefore, necessary to cross it instantly, for fear of a continuation of the rain, and an increase of the danger. the passage over the esk was admirably contrived; it could only have been effected by highlanders. the cavalry formed in the river, to break the force of the current, about twenty-five paces above the ford where the infantry were to pass. then the highlanders plunged into the water, arranging themselves into ranks of ten or twelve a-breast, with their arms locked in such a manner as to support one another against the rapidity of the river, leaving sufficient intervals between their ranks for the passage of the water. "we were nearly a hundred men a-breast," writes lord george murray;[ ] "and it was a very fine show. the water was big, and most of the men breast-high. when i was near across the river, i believe there were two thousand men in the water at once: there was nothing seen but their heads and shoulders; but there was no danger, for we had crossed many waters, and the ford was good; and highlanders will pass a water where horses will not, which i have often seen. they hold by one another, by the neck of the coat, so that if one should fall, he is in no danger, being supported by the others, so all went down, or none." the scene must have been extremely singular. "the interval between the cavalry," remarks an eyewitness, "appeared like a paved street through the river, the heads of the highlanders being generally all that was seen above the water. cavalry were also placed beneath the ford, to pick up all those who might be carried away by the current. in an hour's time the whole army had passed the river esk; and the boundary between england and scotland was again passed."[ ] lord george murray had, on this occasion, assumed the national dress. "i was this day," he says "in my philibeg." well might he, in after times, when reviewing the events of the memorable campaign of , dwell with pride on the hardihood of those countrymen from whom he was for ever an exile when he composed his journal. "all the bridges that were thrown down in england," he remarks, "to prevent their advancing in their march forwards, never retarded them a moment." nor was the philibeg assumed merely for the convenience of the passage over the esk. "i did not know," writes lord george, "but the enemy might have come from penrith by brampton, so shunned the water of eden, to have attacked us in passing this water of esk; and nothing encouraged the men more, than seeing their officers dressed like themselves, and ready to share their fate." some ladies had forded the river on horseback immediately before the highland regiments. these fair, and bold equestrians might have given intelligence; but luckily they did not. the general who had provided so carefully and admirably for the safety of his troops, knew well how to temper discipline with indulgence. fires were instantly kindled to dry the men as they quitted the water. the poor highlanders, when they found themselves on scottish ground, forgot all the vexation of their retreat, and broke out into expressions of joy;--of short lived continuance among a slaughtered and hunted people. it was near night; yet the bagpipes struck up a national air as the last of the highland host passed the river: and the highlanders began dancing reels, "which," relates lord george, "in a moment dried them, for they had held up the tails of their short coats in passing the river; so when their legs were dry, all was right." this day, forming an epoch in the sorrowful narrative of the insurrection of , was the birthday of prince charles, who then attained his twenty-fifth year. many mercies had marked the expedition into england, fruitless as it had proved. after six weeks' march, and sojourn, in england, amid innumerable enemies, threatened by two formidable armies in different directions, the jacobite forces, entering england on the eighth of november, and quitting it on the twentieth of december, had returned without losing more than forty men, including the twelve killed at clifton wall. they had traversed a country well-peopled with english peasantry, without any attacks except upon such marauders as strayed from their main body. as soon as the army had passed the river, the prince formed it into two columns, which separated; the one, conducted by charles edward, took the road to ecclefechan; the other, under the command of lord george murray, marched to annan. in the disposition of these routes, the principal object was to keep the english in a state of uncertainty as to the direction in which the jacobite army intended to go, and the towns which they purposed to occupy: and the end was answered; for no just notion was given of the movements of the highlanders until after the subsequent junction of the two columns; and time was thus gained. there being no town within eight or ten miles from the river esk, the army were obliged to march nearly all night. the column conducted by the prince had to cross mossy ground, under a pouring rain, which had continued ever since the skirmish at clifton wall. the guides who conducted lord george's division led them off the road; this was, however, a necessary precaution in order to shun houses, the lights from which might have tempted the drenched and hungry soldiers to stray, and take shelter. then the hardy and energetic general of his matchless forces first felt the effects of this laborious march in unusual debility, and fever. at moffat, this column halted; and divine service was performed in different parts of the town, all the men attending. "our people," remarks lord george, "were very regular that way; and i remember, at derby, the day we halted, as a battle was soon expected, many of our officers and people took the sacrament."[ ] on the twenty-fifth of december, lord george arrived at glasgow, having passed through the towns of hamilton and douglas, and here, on the following day, charles edward also arrived, with the other column. lord elcho, who had conducted the cavalry through dumfries, preceded the two great divisions. it was resolved to give the army some days' rest after the excessive fatigue which the men had uncomplainingly sustained. the spirits of charles edward were now recruited, and his example contributed not a little to the alacrity and energy of his force. small, indeed, did it appear, when he reviewed it on glasgow-green, and found how little he had suffered during his expedition into england. hitherto charles had carefully concealed his weakness; but now, hoping in a few days to double his army, he was not unwilling to show with what a handful of men he had penetrated into england, and conducted an enterprise, bold in its conception, and admirable in its performance. at glasgow, the melancholy fate of the brave garrison in carlisle became known to the jacobite army. two days after the prince had left, the duke of cumberland invested it, and began to batter that part of the wall which is towards the irish gate. the governor of the castle, mr. hamilton, determined to capitulate even before a breach had been made in the walls; and his proposal was vainly resisted by the brave francis townley and others, who were resolved to defend themselves to the last extremity. "they were in the right."[ ] they might have held out for several days, and perhaps obtained better terms; but the governor persisted in surrendering to the clemency of king george, promised by his inhuman and dishonourable son. assurances of intercession were given by the duke of cumberland, and the garrison of three hundred men surrendered. on the duke's return to london, it was decided by the british government that he was not bound to observe a capitulation with rebels. the brave, and confiding prisoners perished, twelve of the officers by the common hangman, at kennington; others, at carlisle--many died in prison. their fate reflected strongly upon the conduct of charles edward; but the general character of that young prince, his hatred of blood, his love of his adherents, prove that it was not indifference to their safety which actuated him in the sacrifice of the garrison of carlisle. he was possessed with an infatuation, believing that he should one day, and that day not distant, re-enter england; he was surrounded by favourites, who all encouraged his predilections, and fostered the hereditary self-will of his ill-starred race. the blood of townley, and of his brave fellow-sufferers, rests not as a stain on the memory of lord george murray; and the prince alone must bear the odium of that needless sacrifice to a visionary future. "we must draw a veil," says the chevalier johnstone, "over this piece of cruelty, being altogether unable either to discover the motive for leaving this three hundred men at carlisle, or to find an excuse for it."[ ] on arriving at glasgow, the prince sent a gentleman to perth to procure a particular account of the state of affairs in that part of the country; and on finding that his forces were so widely scattered that a considerable time must elapse before they could reassemble, he gave up the hope of returning to england, and determined upon the sieges of edinburgh and stirling. on the fourth of january he marched from glasgow to bannockburn, where he took up his quarters; and lord george murray, with the clans, occupied falkirk. before the twelfth of the same month, general hawley, who had now formed a considerable army in edinburgh, resolved upon raising the siege of stirling, before which the trenches were opened. lord george murray was, however, resolved to make a strong effort to prevent this scheme of general hawley's from taking effect. hearing that there was a provision made of bread and forage at linlithgow for general hawley's troops, he resolved to surprise the town and to carry off the provisions. he set out at four o'clock in the morning; was joined by lord elcho and lord pitsligo, with their several bodies of horse, and before sunrise linlithgow was invested. the jacobites were disturbed, however, in their quarters by a party of general hawley's dragoons; and a report which prevailed that another body of horse and foot were also approaching, induced lord george to return to falkirk. on the following day he returned to stirling; and the clans were quartered in the adjacent villages. the reinforcements which had been so long expected from the north were now near at hand; so that they could scarcely fail to arrive before an engagement began. the clans were augmented in number, and what was almost of equal importance, they had regained confidence and health on returning to their native land. all were in high spirits at the prospect of an engagement. the prince employed the fifteenth day of the month in choosing a field of battle; on the sixteenth he reviewed the army. the plan of the engagement was drawn out by lord george murray, according to his usual practice. the army of the insurgents amounted to nine thousand men. on that evening he learned that general hawley had encamped on the plain between that town and the river carron: upon which a council was called, and it was resolved the next day to attack the enemy. the sympathies of the modern reader can scarcely fail to be enlisted in the cause of the jacobites, who appear henceforth in the character of the valiant defenders of their hills and homes, their hereditary monarchy, their national honour and rights. whatever an englishman may have felt on beholding the incursions of a highland force in his own country, the sentiment is altered into one of respect and of compassion when he views the scene of the contest changed, and sees the hopeless struggle fought on scottish ground. never were two parties more strongly contrasted than the hanoverians and the jacobites. the very expressions which each party used towards the other, as well as their conduct in the strife, are characteristic of the coarse insolence of possession, and the gallant contest for restoration. nothing could present a more revolting contrast than that between the individuals who headed the armies of government, and the unfortunate prince charles and his brave adherents. in opposition to his generosity and forbearance stood the remorseless vengeance of the duke of cumberland. in comparison with the lofty, honest, fearless lord george murray, was the low instrument of cumberland, the detestable hawley. one blushes to write his name an english word. succeeding general wade, whose feeble powers had become nearly extinct in the decline of age, general hawley was the beloved officer, the congenial associate of the young and royal commander-in-chief, who even at his early age could select a man without love to man, or reverence to god, for his general. these two were kindred spirits, worthy of an union in the task of breaking the noblest hearts, and crushing and enslaving the finest people that ever blessed a land of sublime beauty. perhaps, if one may venture to make so strong an assertion, the general was more odious than his patron. it is, indeed, no easy point to decide towards which of these two notorious, for i will not call them distinguished men, the disgust of all good minds must be excited in the greater degree. in contempt for their fellow men, in suspicion and distrust, they were alike. in the directions for hawley's funeral, he wrote in his will: "the priest, i conclude, will have his fee: let the puppy take it. i have written all this with my own hand; and this i did because i hate priests of all professions, and have the worst opinion of all members of the law." to this low and ignorant contempt for the members of two learned professions, hawley added an utter disregard of every tie of honour; he was wholly unconscious of the slightest emotion of humanity; he revelled in the terrors of power. the citizens beheld, with disgust, gibbets erected on his arrival there, to hang up any rebels who might fall into his hands: the very soldiers detested the general who had executioners to attend the army. the generous nature of englishmen turned against the man, who, as it has been well remarked, "deserved not the name of soldier." they gave him the nick-name of the "chief justice;" and hated him as a man unworthy to cope with brave and honourable foes. general hawley had all the contempt, fashionable in those days, for highland valour. "give me but two regiments of horse," he said, "and i will soon ride over the whole highland army." he quickly, however, learned his mistake; his contempt was, therefore, changed into a fiendish abhorrence, exhibited in the most horrible forms of unmitigated revenge. it was decided by charles and his generals, in a council held on the evening preceding the battle of falkirk, to attack the hanoverian troops by break of day. the tor wood, formerly an extensive forest, but much decayed, lay between the two armies. the high road from stirling to falkirk, through bannockburn, passes through what was once the middle of the wood. about eleven in the morning the jacobite army was seen, marching in two columns, and advancing to the rising ground. scarcely had they begun their march than the sky was overcast, and a violent storm blinded their enemy, who were, on the other hand, marching with their bayonets fixed; the fury of the tempest was such, that they could hardly secure their pieces from the rain. lord george murray, with his drawn sword in his hand, and his target on his arm, conducted the macdonalds of keppoch. this clan regiment advanced very slowly that they might keep their ranks until they had gained possession of the ground they wanted; they then turned their backs to the wind, and formed into the line of battle. the field which they intended to occupy was skirted by a deep morass as they came foot by foot, within pistol shot of the enemy. meantime, general ligonier, with three regiments of dragoons, began to move towards the highlanders: whilst lord george murray, riding along the ranks of the macdonalds, was forbidding them to fire until he gave orders. the english came at last, on full trot, almost close up to the line: then lord george murray gave the word of command to fire; the dragoons were instantly repulsed and fled back; upon which lord george commanded the macdonalds to keep within ranks, and stand firm. a total rout of the king's troops ensued; and the field of battle presented a strange spectacle. the english troops were, during the whole of the battle, severely incommoded by the storm of wind and rain, which almost blinded the enemy; but, independent of this accidental cause, their usual valour was, on this day, called into question. they fled in every direction. this famous battle did not last more than twenty minutes from the first fire of the macdonalds to the retreat of the last regiment of dragoons. before it grew dark general hawley gave orders that his tents should be burned; he then retreated to linlithgow. many brave english officers fell in this ill-conducted engagement, and their defeat was attributed at once to the arrogant confidence of hawley, and to the courage and discipline of the macdonalds of keppoch, who, under the skilful command of lord george murray, are considered to have won the day. "if the bravery of the macdonald regiments were put out of view," observes mr. chambers, "it might be said that the storm had gained the jacobites the battle." but the rain, which lasted during the whole of the battle, prevented a full advantage of the defeat being taken. the highlanders, who do not use cartridges, were unable to load again, but were forced to have recourse to their broadswords; they were, however, out-lined by one-half of the enemy's infantry, and one of the battalions wheeling about, they were thrown into disorder by the force of a flank fire. they retreated up the hill, and before they could be rallied, the english, who could not be prevailed upon to stand a second attack of the highland broadswords, had begun an orderly retreat. had the whole of the jacobite army been at hand, to rush headlong upon the enemy the moment they turned their backs, few of their infantry would have escaped being killed or taken.[ ] lord george murray, advancing with the atholl men, who had kept the line in perfect order, pursued the retreating army towards falkirk. he had arrived at the foot of the hill just as the english troops entered the town, which was at the distance of a musket-shot from the place where he stood. it was then proposed by most of the officers to retire towards dunnipace, in order to shelter the men from the incessant rain; but lord george opposed this proposition. he had observed the disorder of the english: "let them not have time," he remarked, "to rally, and to line the houses, and clean their guns, so as to defend the town of falkirk; there is not a moment to be lost." he concluded with the expression of count mercy at the battle of parma--"i will either lie in the town, or in paradise." prince charles coming up at the instant, approved of the resolution. a singular difficulty now occurred; there were no bag-pipes to inspirit the men with a warlike air; the pipers, as soon as a battle began, were in the practice of giving their pipes into the keeping of boys, who had to take care of themselves, and often disappeared with the instruments. "the pipers, who," as lord george remarks, "were commonly as good men as any," then charged with the rest. this circumstance, which might appear trifling, was in fact the cause why the macdonalds and other clans had not rallied from the first.[ ] such was the importance of the national music at this critical moment. in ancient days the bards shared the office of encouragement to the clans. it was their part to stimulate valour, and, before the battle began they passed from tribe to tribe, giving exhortations, and expatiating on the dishonour of retreat. they familiarized the people with a notion of death, and took from it, in one sense, its sting. when their voices could no longer be heard, they were succeeded by the pipes, whose wailing and powerful strains kept alive the enthusiasm which languished when those notes ceased to be heard.[ ] lochiel, lord ogilvy, colonel roy stewart, and several other chiefs, followed lord george murray into the town. on the ensuing day charles and most of the army entered it. all were disappointed not to overtake the enemy; and lord george murray has left on record proofs of his bitter disappointment at the fruitless issue of this gallant encounter, much of which he attributes to want of decision and arrangement. early on the morning of the battle, he had given the prince a scroll of the line of battle, which was approved; he had requested that it might be filled in with the names of officers appointed to command. "i never," he observes, "heard that there was any appointment made that day." when it was agreed to march towards the enemy between twelve and one, he asked the prince whether, since there was no other lieutenant-general there, he should march at the head of the army? he was answered in the affirmative, after which he never received any other instructions until the action was over. the difficulties which lord george had, therefore, to encounter, without knowing who were to command in the different stations; with only two aides-de-camp, both on foot, whilst his personal enemies were near the prince in the time of the action, and did little to advise or suggest, are strongly insisted upon in his narrative. "i believe," he adds, after firmly but dispassionately stating all these unhappy mistakes, "that my conduct was unexceptionable, and that in the advantages we gained i had a considerable share."[ ] the day succeeding the victory of falkirk was passed by the insurgents in burying the slain, and in collecting the spoils. a deep pit was dug by the country people, into which the english soldiers and the highland clansmen were precipitated into one common grave. the former were easily distinguished by the frightful gashes of the broad-swords on their breasts and limbs. the tomb contained a heap of human bodies; and long after the event the spot of this rude sepulchre might be traced by a deep hollow in the field.[ ] charles edward had now arrived at another crisis of his singular destiny. the fate of a single day had once more rendered him victorious, but it requires a superior and matured judgment to profit by success. "one thing is certain," remarks an eye-witness of this contest, and that is, "that the vanquished will always have great resources in the negligence of the victorious party." the battle of falkirk struck terror into every english heart, and the panic of the black monday again spread like a contagion throughout the country. after the retreat from derby, the higher ranks of society in england, who had betrayed an unwonted degree of alarm, concluded that they had nothing more to fear even from "a band of men so desperately brave who had done so much with such little means." the victory at falkirk was, therefore, received with redoubled alarm; and at court, during a ball which was held instantly after the event, only two persons appeared with calm and cheerful countenances. these were the king, whose personal courage was undoubted, and general cope, who rejoiced that hawley's failure might in some measure excuse his own.[ ] under these circumstances, and being assured that the panic in edinburgh equalled that in london, prince charles was strongly advised to repair to edinburgh and to resume the possession of the capital. he hesitated, and the delay proved fatal to his interests. there was no time to be lost;--the conduct of hawley had inspired universal contempt not only for his abilities, but for his cowardice. "general hawley," wrote general wightman to duncan forbes, "is much in the same situation as general cope, and was never seen in the field during the battle; and everything would have gone to wreck in a worse manner than at preston, if general huske had not acted with judgment and courage, and appeared everywhere." lord george murray remained at falkirk with the clans until apprised, through the secretary murray, that the duke of cumberland was expected at edinburgh on the twenty-eighth of the month; and that it was charles's intention to attack him as soon as he arrived at falkirk. at the first news of the project, lord george seemed to approve of it; he drew up a plan of the battle, which he submitted to the ardent young chevalier, who was delighted to think that he was to have to oppose the duke of cumberland in person. but this hope was transient; for on the very same evening, a representation, signed at falkirk, by lord george murray and all the commanders of clans, begging him to retreat, was presented to the disappointed and indignant charles edward. the great desertions which were daily taking place since the battle, was made the chief plea of this unexpected address; two thousand men, it was alleged, had gone off since that action, whilst the army of the enemy was reinforced. some of the battalions were said to be one-third weaker than before the engagement at falkirk. the prince received this address with a dissatisfaction even more apparent than that which he had shown at derby, when persuaded to retreat. he dashed his head against the wall with violence, exclaiming, "good god! have i lived to see this?" as the event showed, it had perhaps been wiser to have risked the event of an action at that time, than to have awaited the mournful catastrophe of culloden. at length, although he never could be brought to approve of the step, charles gave a reluctant and sorrowful consent to that which all his chieftains called upon him to adopt. the burden of the censure which was afterwards cast upon this decision, was thrown upon the lieutenant-general. "i was told," writes lord george, "that i was much blamed for it. i really cannot tell who was the first that spoke of it, but this i am sure, every one of us were unanimously of the same opinion." the siege of stirling had proved, indeed, wholly unsuccessful; that very morning the battery, although it had been long in preparation, was silenced in a few hours after it began to play. it was therefore determined to abandon it; and it was decided that the time of the army would be more profitably employed in driving lord loudon from inverness, and in taking the forts in the north, than in a rash engagement, or a hopeless siege. the spirit of the enterprise was, indeed, gone; otherwise such a retreat could never have been proposed and entertained. it was, however, fully determined on. the deepest dejection prevailed among the army when it was announced. the prince still remained at bannockburn. on the thirty-first of the month it was determined to have a general review of the troops; the retreat was not to begin until ten o'clock. early in the morning charles edward, still hoping that the desertions were not so numerous as had been represented, and that the "odious retreat" might be prevented, came out to view his troops. there was hardly the appearance of an army to receive him. on hearing the decision of the prince, the men had risen at day-break and had gone off to the frews, many of them having arrived by that time at that ford. there was nothing to be done; lord george murray, who had now joined the prince from falkirk, and who was quartered with some troops in the town of stirling, was summoned. the prince marched off with some of the chiefs and the few troops he had with him, and lord george brought up the rear. a great portion of the artillery was left behind; the heaviest pieces being nailed up and abandoned. the retreat was thus precipitately commenced, and presented a very different aspect to the withdrawal of the prince's troops from derby. of this disorderly and disreputable march, lord george murray knew nothing until it was begun. the very morning on which it took place, the church of st. ninian's, where the powder was lodged, was blown up. lord george murray was in his quarters when he heard the great noise of the explosion, and thought it was a firing from the castle. "my surprise," he thus writes, "is not to be expressed.[ ] i knew no enemy was even come the length of falkirk; so that, except the garrison of stirling castle, nothing could hurt us. i imagined they had sallied, and made the confusion i observed. i shall say no more about this; a particular account of it is wrote. i believe the like of it never was heard of." the destruction of st. ninian's tower is attributed by most historians to the awkwardness of the highlanders, in attempting to destroy their ammunition. "i am apt to think it was an accident," observes maxwell, "or, at least, the design of some very private person, for there was no warning given to any body to get out of the way. nine or ten country people, and five of the jacobite soldiers, perished from the explosion; and the prince, over whose existence a special providence appeared to have watched, was within being hurt when the explosion took place."[ ] the highland army was quartered on the first night of their march at doune and dumblain; and assembled the next day at crieff. here charles edward again reviewed them, and to his surprise found that they had mostly re-assembled, and that scarcely a thousand of the troops were wanting. the young prince, who had reluctantly consented to the retreat upon the supposition that he had lost one half of his army, reproached lord george murray with having advised that step. many were the censures heaped upon the general for his councils; and it must be acknowledged, that the caution apparent in his character was, in this instance, carried to an extreme. he excused himself on the plea of his opinion having been that of the whole army; but exonerated himself from any participation in the sudden departure, or, as he calls it, "the flight" from stirling. at the council which was then called, heats and animosities rose to a height which had never before been witnessed, even among the vehement and discordant advisers of the prince. after many fierce altercations, it was determined that prince charles should march to inverness by the highland road; and that lord george murray, with his horse, and the low country regiments, should proceed along the coast road, by montrose and aberdeen to the same place. during the last few months the marquis of tullibardine had been stationary, employing himself in the fruitless endeavour to stimulate the tenantry and the neighbourhood to join the army of charles edward. after leaving bannockburn he remained at polmaise, a small village in stirlingshire, until urged by lord george to repair to blair castle, to garrison that place; for which purpose, according to his opinion, a body of fifty men would be sufficient. in his letters to his brother, lord george recommends a degree of severity towards deserters which was not consonant with the mild temper of tullibardine: "those who have gone home without a special licence on furlough, must be exemplarily punished, either in their persons or effects, or in both; for when our all depends, lenity would be folly." after urging the marquis to send off the men to blair by dozens, he adds, "if rewards and punishments do not, i know not what will. by the laws of god and man you have both in your power and your person:" thus alluding to the marquis's position as a chief. but these decisive measures were impracticable. "i was ordered by the duke of atholl" writes david robertson from blair, to his brother, an officer in lord george's regiment, "to take up and imprison all deserters; but i might as well attempt to move a mountain, being left here without money, or men capable of being made officers." nor was the marquis's power more effectual. the most sincere desire to comply with every wish or counsel of lord george murray's, actuated, indeed, this estimable man. he seems, from his letters, to have felt the most unbounded and affectionate admiration for his brother; a sentiment only inferior to his devotion to the prince; yet we can perceive a covert allusion in some of his injunctions to those frequent disagreements with charles, of which the marquis was probably not ignorant. "pray, take care of our young master's glory as well as your own, and the king's service, which ought to be dear to all honest men who are above selfish views. excuse me," adds the aged nobleman, whose anxieties and sufferings were soon to close in a prison, "for not writing with my own hand; since seeing you, excessive rheumatick pains has rendered it almost impossible." by robertson of strowan, a man noted for his eccentricities, a very gloomy view was taken of the proceedings of the generals and courtiers who surrounded charles. he was ordered by the prince to stay at home, and to stop all the deserters who came in his way. he obeyed the command; but obeyed with the observation, that "all were running to the devil, except the duke of atholl and the laird of strowan." he hinted in his letters, that he could disclose much to the "duke," respecting his nearest relations, both as to their dislike to himself, and their disrespect to his grace. the friendly intercourse between lord george and his brother continued, nevertheless, unabated. the former on one occasion congratulates his brother on the valour of the "atholl men," at the battle of falkirk. the encomium was answered by the marquis's complaints of the sad change in the spirit and loyalty of the clan since the defection of their "unnatural brother james" from the stuart cause. nothing but vexations and disappointments occurred to the marquis on his return to blair. his rents were refused by his tenants on account of their expenditure in the prince's service, and the country around perth was left exposed to the enemy. for some time entreaties from lord george to his brother, that he would send men to replace those who were killed at falkirk of the atholl men, were met by excuses too well grounded in reason. all the "corners of the country" were searched by the marquis's agent, to raise the men in an "amicable way," but without avail. the exertions of poor tullibardine, nevertheless, continued indefatigable, notwithstanding the truly scottish complaints, sciatica and rheumatic pains. "i omit," he writes, "nothing that lies in my power that can contribute towards the public service. god knows what dilatory and imposing evasions one has to struggle with amid a multitude of refractory people in these parts." at length the sum of three hundred pounds was sent to him by secretary murray in order to maintain the recruits whom he had raised on his own estates. eventually the seeds of dissension were sown between lord george murray and his brother. nor can we wonder, however we may grieve, at such an event. the aim of the one was personal glory, fame. the whole heart of the other was centred in the success of the cause. when he suspected that the intentions of that brother, of whom he was so proud, were less disinterested than his own, a mild, but earnest and mournful reproof was wrung from his kind and trusting heart.[ ] until, however, the seat of war was transferred to the paternal home of lord george murray--whilst his immediate interests were spared--the marquis of tullibardine evinced the most sincere confidence in his intentions, and admiration for his talents. afterwards, suspicions, which have been in a great measure dissipated by the testimony of brave and honourable men, might disturb the repose, but could not, eventually, sully the fame of lord george murray. in thus reverting to the domestic concerns of this celebrated man, the position of his lady and children naturally recur. lady george murray had resided during the troubles of at tullibardine, in the parish of blackford, in perthshire. the castle of tullibardine had been fortified by a portion of the earl of mar's army in : but was taken by the earl of argyle. until after the close of the last insurrection it was inhabited by lady george murray; but when the fate of her husband was involved in the general wreck, the old building was suffered to fall to ruin. from this residence, such of lady george murray's letters to her husband as are preserved in the atholl correspondence are dated. they are chiefly addressed to the marquis of tullibardine, and form the medium of correspondence between him and his brother. here, too, she gave birth, after the battle of falkirk, to a daughter named katherine; and during the confinement which followed this event, her ladyship's office as correspondent was fulfilled by her young daughter, who bore the name of amelia. to the letter of this child, lord tullibardine replies with his accustomed courtesy and kindly feeling. "with extreme satisfaction i received," he says, "a mighty well wrote letter from you, which could not but charm me with your endearing merit. i rejoice in being able to congratulate your mother and you on the glorious share my brother george has again had in the fresh victory which providence has given the prince regent over his proud hanoverian enemies! dear child, i thank you kindly for enquiring after my health." to these near, and, as it appears, cherished ties, lord george was probably re-united during the march to crieff. but whatever of domestic happiness he may have enjoyed, its duration was transient; and he passed on to a service full of the hardships of war, but in which he was doomed never more to possess the laurels of victory. from crieff, lord george murray marched to perth, and thence by montrose and aberdeen to inverness. during the inclemency of the winter many of the cavalry lost their horses; but the troopers being, as sir walter relates, "chiefly gentlemen, continued to adhere with fidelity to their ill-omened standards."[ ] a storm of snow rendered the march from aberdeen both dangerous and tedious. lord george had above three hundred carriages of artillery to convey, although a great portion of the artillery was sunk in the river tay, at perth. in forming a junction at inverness, the prince had three objects in view--to reduce fort-william and fort-augustus, on one side; on the other to disperse the army with which lord loudon had opposed him in the north; lastly, to keep possession of the east coast, from which quarter reinforcements and supplies were expected to arrive from france. it was, therefore, decided that lord george murray should continue along the eastern coast, in order to intercept lord loudon's army, in case it came that way. on the sixteenth of february he crossed the river spey, and proceeded by elgin, forres, and nairn, to culloden, where he arrived the day before the castle of inverness surrendered to charles. lord george murray then gave the prince an account of his march, of which even this hardy general speaks as of a journey of inconceivable trouble and fatigue. here discussions took place, in which, as usual, the prince differed in some important points from his lieutenant-general. the plan which lord george proposed was, to procure five thousand bolls of meal in bamff, murray, and nairn, laying a tax in an equal manner on these several shires, and to send this supply to the highlands; so that in case the duke of cumberland, who was now proceeding northwards, should follow them thither, they could have subsistence. to this scheme charles objected; and the meal was lodged in inverness. his confidence in his general, notwithstanding the incessant displays of his ability, was now wholly undermined. charles's affairs were indeed rapidly declining; money, the principal sinew of war, was wanting. "his little stock might have held out a little longer," observes mr. maxwell, "had it been well managed; but it is more than probable that his principal steward was a thief from the beginning." the secretary murray, against whom this charge is levelled, was not, perhaps, more faithless when he appropriated to himself the funds of his unfortunate master, than when he planted in the breast of charles, misgivings of his friends, and abused his influence to mislead a confiding nature. there was, however, no proof against murray of broughton of dishonesty, "but there were very strong presumptions; and his underlings, who suspected that their opportunity would not last long, made the best of it, and filled their pockets with the public money."[ ] by the officers and soldiers at culloden, lord george was received with joy. they regretted his absence, and were pleased to say that had he been with them they should have "given a good account of lord loudon and his troops, whom they had been prevented from pursuing at inverness." lord george soon found that these professions were sincere. the prince was induced to send him to dingwall, that he might assist the earl of cromartie in pursuing lord loudon, who had passed up to tain. this scheme having proved impracticable, he returned to inverness. meantime the county of atholl suffered under the unparalleled cruelties of the english soldiery. the duke of cumberland had visited that interesting district; and it requires little more to be said, to comprehend that beauty was turned to desolation; that crimes hitherto unheard of among a british army reflected dishonour on the conquerors, and brought misery to the conquered. on the sixth of february, , the duke had arrived at perth. his first orders were to seize the duchess of perth, the mother of the duke, and the viscountess strathallan, and to carry them to a small, wretched prison in edinburgh, where they remained nearly a year. the duke of cumberland was succeeded at edinburgh by his brother-in-law, the prince of hesse, who had landed at leith with five thousand infantry and five hundred huzzars in the pay of england. these were stationed in the capital, ready to swarm into the country to subdue its brave inhabitants. whilst lord george murray was still at inverness, he heard that his cherished home, the territory of his proud forefathers, the scenes of his youth, were ravaged by a detachment of cumberland's army. the houses of such gentlemen as had assisted prince charles were burned; and their families, after receiving every species of indignity that could palliate the guilt of a future revenge, and that could break honest hearts, were turned out to perish on the hills with cold and hunger. the very nature of englishmen appears to have been changed during this most mournful, most disgraceful warfare; and never did the british army sink so low in morals, in humanity, as during the german yoke of a prince whom one rejects as a countryman.[ ] lord george was instantly ordered to go to atholl. little could he suspect the construction afterwards placed on his conduct, and the snare which was laid for him by his enemies, in the events of the next few weeks. lord george marched with unheard of dispatch towards atholl. already had the duke of cumberland placed at different parts, in that district, bands of the argyleshire campbells, to the amount of three hundred in number. a thousand more, it was reported, were coming from the same quarter; and it was lord george's aim to intercept this reinforcement. he set off, followed by his brave "atholl-men," conducting his march through byeways across the mountains; and in one march, day and night, he traversed a tract of thirty miles. it was, however, impossible to transport cannon through these almost impassable solitudes; yet, with a force not exceeding seven hundred men, lord george contrived to surprise the enemy at these posts. he entered atholl in the early part of the night; his detachment then separated, and, dividing itself into small parties, each gentleman whose home had been invaded took the shortest road to his own house. the english soldiers were surprised in their sleep, and, according to the chevalier johnstone, lay murdered in their beds; but this is contradicted by many authorities.[ ] these highland gentlemen attacked, during that night, thirty of the posts in question, and all of them were carried. few of the government troops were put to the sword; about three hundred were taken prisoners, and between two and three hundred barricaded themselves in the castle of blair.[ ] the marquis of tullibardine had, it appears, been driven from that fortress some time previously. misfortune was not new to one who had joined in the insurrection of . "as the late rothiemurcus,[ ] your father," he writes to a friend,[ ] in a letter to which he dared not even state his place of residence, "showed me particular friendship and kindness on just such an unfortunate occasion as the present, makes me hope you will have no less regard for me in taking care of some small concerns of mine; which consists in taking care of two of three of my servants and some baggage, which i send you, rather than it should fall into enemies' hands; so that if you cannot keep it, and get it sent me in time and place convenient, it may be of some use to yourself, whom i esteem on your family and father's account; though we have not had the occasion of a personal acquaintance, which i hope may yet agreeably happen, in whatever bad situation our affairs may at present appear; then i may agreeably be able to return you suitable thanks for such an obligation as will for ever oblige, "sir, "your affectionate humble servant and cousin, "atholl." th march, . * * * * * the clan of atholl was the largest that engaged in prince charles's service, and numbered nearly fifteen hundred men. lord george now collected three hundred more of these vassals, and invested blair castle. one difficulty he had in the deficiency of cannon; he obtained, however, some field-pieces from inverness, but his artillery was too light to make an impression on the walls. there was an alternative, which was, to reduce the castle by famine. blair, as it happened, was defended by a stout and sturdy veteran, sir andrew agnew, who was resolved only to yield upon extreme necessity his important charge. during the siege, lord george wrote on the subject of the enterprise to his brother the marquis of tullibardine. the letter was answered in a manner which shows that some want of candour had been evinced towards the marquis, who was regarded by all the jacobites as the legitimate owner of blair. the epistle breathes the tone of mournful resentment. "since, contrary to the rules of right reason, you have been pleased to tell me a sham story about the expedition to blair," such are the expressions used by the marquis of tullibardine, "you may now do what the gentlemen of that country wish with the castle."[ ] with the true value of a high-born man for the memorials of his ancestors, the marquis grieved most for the loss of his great-great-grandfather's grandfather's, and father's pictures. "they will be ane irreparable loss." but every thing that could promote the public service was to be resigned cheerfully and willingly for that cause. not only did he proffer the sacrifice of his castle, but he pointed out to his brother a gate which had formerly been a portcullis, leading into it. this was at that time half-built up, and boarded, with a hollow large enough to hold a horse at rack and manger; and the marquis suggested that this place might be more easily penetrated than any other part of the wall, so as to make an entrance into the vaulted room called "the servants' hall." whether or not lord george decided to take advantage of this hint is unknown. the attack made upon the castle of blair was conducted by him in person, and was begun simultaneously with those headed by his followers upon the various posts at blairfitty, kinachie side, and several places near blair. upon the persons of the prisoners were found copies of their orders from the duke of cumberland, and these were signed by colonel campbell, and contained instructions to attack the rebels wherever they should meet them; and in case of resistance, it was the duke's orders that _they should get no quarter_.[ ] stimulated by these intercepted documents, lord george, early on the morning of the eighteenth of march, began the siege of blair. many have been the accounts given, and various are the surmises upon the motives of lord george in not reducing the castle; but in estimating the real difficulties of his undertaking, the testimony of a soldier and a contemporary must be taken in evidence. blair was defended by a man of no ordinary character, sir andrew agnew, lieutenant-colonel of the royal north british fusiliers, who had been sent with a detachment from perth by the route of dunkeld, through the pass of killicrankie, to take possession of the castle. when sir andrew first posted himself in blair no apprehensions of a blockade were entertained; and no fear of a supply of provisions being cut off was suggested. the quantity of garrison provisions sent into it was therefore extremely small, as was also the store of ammunition. in regard to water, the garrison were in a better condition. a draw-well in the castle supplied them after the blockade: previously, the inhabitants had usually fetched the water they required from a neighbouring barn or brook, which formed itself into a pool in front of the house.[ ] blair castle was then an irregular and very high building, with walls of great thickness, having a great tower, called cumming's tower, projecting from the west end of the front of the house, which faces the north. this tower could be defended by musket shot from its windows. adjoining to the eastern gavel of the old house a new building had been begun, but had only been carried up a few feet at the time of the siege. since the year , great alterations have been made in this building, which has been lowered and modernized, and the cumming's tower wholly taken away. it was between nine and ten in the morning when lord george murray appeared before blair castle, and planted his men so as to prevent the garrison from sallying out, or from getting in provisions.[ ] the castle was soon so completely invested by the advanced guard of the jacobites, that they fired from behind the nearest walls and enclosures at the picket guard of the besieged. some horses were hurriedly taken into the castle with a small quantity of provender; and in such haste, that one of these animals was put into the lower part of cumming's tower without forage or water. there was a great entrance and staircase on the east side of the castle; this was now barricaded, and a small guard placed near it; the garrison, consisting of two hundred and seventy men, were then parcelled out into different chambers, with a charge not to fire until actually attacked. a sort of platform was laid over the new building of the castle, and an ensign with a guard of twenty-five soldiers placed on this to defend that part from serving as a lodgement to the besiegers. there was also a guard placed over the draw-well, to prevent the water being drawn up except at a certain hour in the morning. besides the garrison, there were within the castle, about seven servants of the duke of atholl's; namely, a land steward, a female housekeeper, three maid servants, a gardener, and a gamekeeper. lord george murray having established his quarters in the village of blair, about a quarter of a mile from the north of the castle, soon sent down a summons to sir andrew agnew, bart. to surrender, intimating that "he should answer to the contrary at his peril." now sir andrew was reputed to be a man of an outrageous temper; and the highlanders, who could face the duke of cumberland's dragoons, shrank from encountering the sturdy, imperious old soldier. the only person, therefore, who could be prevailed upon to carry the summons, was a maid-servant from the inn at blair, who being a comely highland girl, and acquainted with some of the soldiers, conceived herself to be on so friendly a footing with them that she might encounter the risk. the summons was written on a very dirty piece of paper; and corresponded well with the appearance of the herald who conveyed it. provided with this, the young woman set out; as she approached the castle, she waived the summons over her head several times, and drawing near one of the windows on the basement story, made herself heard. she was received by the officers with boisterous mirth; they assured her that they should soon visit the village, and her master's house, again, and drive away the highlanders. but, when entreated by the girl to take her into sir andrew's presence, they all at first refused; at last the summons was reluctantly conveyed to the commandant by a lieutenant more venturesome than the rest. this emissary soon, however, fled from the presence of the baronet, who broke out with the most vehement expressions of rage on reading the contents of the paper; uttered strong epithets against lord george murray, and threatened to shoot any messenger who might dare to convey any future communication. the young girl returned to blair. as she drew near the village, she perceived lord george murray, lord nairn, clunie macpherson and other officers standing in the churchyard of blair; and observed that they were evidently diverted by her errand, and its result.[ ] from that time lord george murray made no attempt to hold any parley with the garrison, but continued to blockade the castle. his men were even posted close up against the walls, wherever they could not be annoyed with the musketry; particularly at that part on which the scaffold guard was placed, where they stood, heaving up stones from time to time, and uttering their jokes against the veteran, sir andrew agnew.[ ] "the cannon," as lord george murray observes in his narrative, "were not only small, but bad. one of them seldom hit the castle, though not half-musket shot from it." various schemes were formed by lord george during this siege, but many obstacles concurred to check them. it had indeed been proposed before lord george left inverness, to blow up blair castle; but not only had lord george no orders to attempt that, but there seemed also to be a difficulty from the situation of the place. it appeared at one time his intention, also, to have set the building on fire. "on the eighteenth," writes lord elcho, "lord george began to fire against the castle with two four pounders; and as he had a furnace along with him, finding his bullets were too small to damage the walls, he endeavoured by firing red hot balls to set the house on fire, and several times set the roof on fire, but by the care of the besieged it was always extinguished. a constant fire of small arms was kept against the windows, and the besieged kept a close fire from the castle with their small arms." "as the castle," continues the same writer, "is situated upon rocky ground, there was no blowing it up; so the only chance lord george had to get possession of it was to starve it, which he had some hopes of, as there were so many mouths in it." from this opinion, the judgment of lord george murray, in some measure, differed. "it might, i believe," he says, "have been entered by the old stables, under protection of which the wall could have been undermined, if i had been furnished with proper workmen." but all his efforts, in both these schemes, proved ineffectual. the red hot balls lodging in the solid timbers of the roof, only charred, and did not ignite the beams; and falling down, were caught up in iron ladles brought out of the duke of atholl's kitchen, and thrown into water. disappointed in this attempt, lord george removed his few field-pieces to a nearer position on the south side of the castle, where, however, his firing produced no better effect than heretofore. never was there an officer more insensible to fear than the defender of blair. whilst lord george was thus ineffectually battering the walls of the house, sir andrew agnew looked out over the battlements; and seeing the little impression that was made on the walls, he exclaimed, "hout! i daresay the man's mad, knocking down his own brother's house." meantime the siege lasted nearly a fortnight, and the garrison were reduced to the greatest extremity for provisions. one hope, however, the commandant had, and that was of sallying forth, and escaping. the castle of menzies was then occupied by colonel webster, who was posted there in order to secure the passage of the river tay; and, as an alternative to starvation, a scheme was suggested for stealing out from blair in the night time, and marching through a mountainous part of country to join the king's troops at castle menzies. whilst this project was in contemplation, the brave garrison were threatened with a new danger. during the blockade, there was heard a noise of knocking, seemingly beneath the floor of the castle, as if miners were at work in its deep vaults, to blow it up. all the inmates of blair thought such must indeed be the case: for lord george had now gained possession of a bowling-green near the castle, and also of a house in which the bowls were kept: from this bowl-house a subterranean passage might easily have been dug to the very centre of the ground underneath the building, and a chamber or mine formed there for holding barrels of gunpowder, sufficient to complete the work of destruction. this scheme must have occurred to the mind of lord george murray, who was born at blair, and well acquainted with its construction. his objections to pursue it appear, as has been stated, to have been perceived and controverted by the marquis of tullibardine. they arose, as he has himself declared, and as the english also appear to have considered, from his want of workmen to perform the attempt. the plan of undermining was not thought practicable; and the noise which so greatly alarmed the garrison was proved to be only the reverberation of strokes of an axe with which a soldier was cutting a block of wood which lay on the floor of one of the uppermost rooms. the most unfavourable suspicions were, however, eventually affixed to lord george's neglect of this mode of attack. whether such conduct proceeded, on his part, from an aversion to destroy the home of his youth, and his birthplace; whether he had still hopes of reducing sir andrew to capitulate; or whether, as it has been often vaguely asserted, a secret agreement existed between himself and james, duke of atholl, that the castle should be saved, can only be determined by a far closer insight into motives than human power can obtain. we may accord to lord george murray, without a blemish on his fidelity, a pardonable reluctance to level to the dust the pride of his family; that every effort was made to subdue blair, except the last, is evident from the testimony of all contemporary historians. meantime the garrison had one source of confidence in their extremity, on which sailors are more apt to reckon than landsmen. they trusted to the _luck_ of their commandant. never had the stout veteran who had fought, in , at ramilies, been either sick, or wounded. he had never been in any battle that the english did not win. yet it was deemed prudent not to allow any means of aid to be neglected, in so pressing a danger as the state of the siege presented. the earl of crawford was then supposed to be at dunkeld, having the command both of the british troops and of a body of hessians who had lately been marched from edinburgh. it was resolved to send to that nobleman for aid. the duke of atholl's gardener, a man named wilson, undertook that dangerous embassy; he was charged with a letter from sir andrew to the earl, and was allowed to take his choice of any horse in the castle.[ ] before sir andrew and his starving garrison could gain intelligence of the fate of wilson, or could have heard the result of his enterprise, a strange reverse in their affairs took place. on the morning of the first of april, not a single highlander was to be seen by any of the guards on duty. all had vanished; and a visit from the young woman from the inn at blair shortly followed their disappearance. from her, the garrison heard that lord george had, in fear of the arrival of troops from dunkeld, suddenly withdrawn with all his followers. the old sir andrew, nevertheless, fearful of some stratagem, would not allow his garrison to sally out: they were shut up until the following day, when the earl of crawford appeared before the castle, and relieved all fears. the officers and soldiers were then drawn out, with sir andrew at the head of it. "my lord," cried the old soldier, "i am very glad to see you; but, _by all that's good_, you are come too late, and we have nothing to give you to eat!" to which lord crawford answered courteously; and laughing, begged of sir andrew to partake of such provisions as he had brought with him. that day sir andrew and the earl, and their officers, dined in the summer-house of the garden at blair, in high spirits at the result of the siege. the disappearance of lord george murray was soon explained; nor can the statement of those reasons which induced him to abandon the siege of blair be given in a more satisfactory manner than as they were stated by lord elcho; to whom they must have appeared satisfactory, otherwise he would not have left so clear and decisive a testimony in favour of lord george murray's motives. it is worthy of remark, that lord elcho's statement agrees in every particular with that addressed some years afterwards by lord george to mr. murray of abercairney, and now preserved in the jacobite memoirs by forbes.[ ] "on the twenty-fourth of march, the hessians from perth and crieff moved to its relief. they encamped the first night at nairn house, and next night at dunkeld, and there was some firing betwixt them and a party of lord george's across the river. those that marched from crieff encamped at tay bridge on the twenty-seventh. upon this motion of the hessians, lord george sent an express to the prince, to tell him that if he would send twelve hundred men, he would pitch upon an advantageous ground and fight them. the prince sent him word he could not send him them in the way his army was then situated. on the thirty-first the earl of crawford marched with st. george's dragoons, five hundred hessians, and sixty hussars, and encamped at dawallie, four miles north of dunkeld, and next day they advanced to pittachrie. both these days lord george had several skirmishes with the hussars; but although he laid several snares for them, he never could catch but one of them, who was an officer and a swede, who had his horse shot under him. lord george used him very civilly, and sent him back with a letter of compliment which he wrote to the prince of hesse. on the first of april lord george murray drew his men up in battle opposite to lord crawford at pittachrie, and then retreated before him, in order to draw him into the pass of killicrankie; but lord crawford never moved, but sent for reinforcements to the prince of hesse. lord george, upon hearing of the march of that reinforcement to sustain lord crawford, and that the body of hessians from lay bridge were marching to blair by kinachin, quitted the country and marched his men to strathspan, and from thence to speyside. he himself went to inverness, where he found his enemies had persuaded the prince that he might have taken blair castle if he had had a mind, but that he had spared it because it was his brother's house; and in short they made the prince believe, that in the letter he had wrote to the prince of hesse, he had engaged to betray him the first opportunity; and that by the prince of hesse and his brother's means, he was entirely reconciled to the government. what mr. murray had insinuated to the prince about lord george, on his first coming to perth had made such an impression, that the prince always believed it, notwithstanding lord george's behaviour was such (especially in action) as to convince the whole army of the falsity of such accusations. however it opened his mind upon the matter of the irish officers, so far as to make some of them promise to watch lord george's motions, particularly in case of a battle, and they promised the prince to shoot him, if they could find he intended to betray him." from the following letter addressed by lord george murray to his brother the marquis of tullibardine, it is evident that he had had it in contemplation during some time, to abandon the siege of blair, and that the sudden appearance of the body of hessians six thousand strong, within a day's march of blair, was not the only cause of his raising a siege which every one acknowledges must have terminated in favour of the besiegers within a few days. "blair, th of march, . "dear brother,[ ] "i received your letter of the th; i am sorry you seem to think i told you a sham story (as you express it) about our expedition here. i told you we were to endeavour to take possession of castle grant, and try to hinder that clan taking party against us; this was done so far as in our power. i also told you if we could contrive to surprise any of the parties in this country we might attempt it; but that depended so much upon incidents, that my very hopes could not reach so far as we performed. secrecy and expedition was our main point, once we resolved upon the thing, which was not till i met clunie and sheen in badenoch. if the greatest fatigues, dangers, and hard duties deserve approbation, i think some thanks are due to us, and from none more than yourself; for my own part, i was once seventy hours without three of sleep; but we undergo all hardships for the good of common cause. you will ever find me, dear brother, your most affectionate brother and faithful servant, "george murray." "i am so ill supported with men, money, and every thing else, our people here have no pay, that after all our endeavours, i'm afraid we must abandon this country without the castle." this letter brought the following characteristic reply. it is dated from inverness, whither the marquis had repaired.[ ] "brother george. "this evening i had yours of yesterday's date. as to any difference betwixt you and i, without prejudice to passed expedition and secrecy mentioned, at meeting it must be discussed the best way we can, since lately behaving according to dutiful sentiments, nobody is more satisfied than i am of your indefatigable activity for the public service. had you sent me your letters to the secretary, who i am very sorry to say is at elgin dangerously ill, or any other of the ministry to whom expresses were addressed, i should have directly endeavoured getting the most satisfactory answers could be sent your pressing reale demands, which are not well understood if much regarded by everybody here; i am informed by mr. hay and cruben, who were just now with me, that all the men who were with you have been fully paid till wednesday last; and that with some necessary foresight and pains, you might have had a good deal of provisions from below the pass, whilst that expedient was practicable; since you might have naturally known that money cannot be soon sent from hence, but on an absolute necessity; you know that meal can be still brought you from kiliwhimen. with that i wrote to you the twenty-sixth, in case the enemy could not be otherwise forced out of my house, i gave sir thomas sheridan an account to be sent to you of a secret passage into it, which is here again transmitted, in case of making any advantageous use of it has been hitherto neglected; was it not hoped by this time you have near got the better of these obstinate intruders into the castle, at any rate i should go myself and try if i could not usefully help towards reducing them to a speedy surrendering of such unfortified, though thick old walls as it is composed of. pray continue your accustomed vigilance on such a valuable occasion as will render you dear to all honest men, as well as particularly giving me an opportunity of showing with what esteem i am, dear brother, your most affectionate brother, and most humble servant." [no signature.] "inverness, th of march, ." in addition to the testimony of lord elcho, that of maxwell of kirkconnel, has considerable weight in lord george murray's favour. "he was censured," observes this excellent writer, "by his enemies as being too tender of a family seat.[ ] as i do not know the situation of this castle, i cannot determine whether it was in his power to blow it up, or whether he had time to do it after he was informed of the march of the hessians. but he has been so calumniated by the secretary and his creatures, that nothing less than a direct proof ought to have any weight against him. in this case it is absurd to suspect him, because the family seat could never be in danger. if it was in his power to blow it up, he had only to acquaint the governor when the mine was ready, and let him send one of his officers to view it; the governor would certainly have prevented the effecting it and saved the castle." "about the same time that the siege of blair was abandoned, that of fort william was also raised. it was found, indeed, difficult to make the highlanders perform the regular duties of a siege; extremely brave in an attack, when allowed to fight in their own way, they were not possessed of that steady valour which is necessary to maintain a post; and it was not easy to keep them long in their quarters, or even at their posts, without action."[ ] the loss of blair, and the failure of the siege of fort william, were followed by other misfortunes. fatal mistakes in the vain endeavour to retrieve a sinking cause ensued. in the midst of his adversity, the young and gallant adventurer, for whom so much blood was shed, supported his spirits in a wonderful manner, and acted, with a heavy heart, the part of the gay and prosperous. he gave balls at inverness, and even danced himself, which he had declined doing when in the midst of his prosperity at edinburgh. those who looked only on the surface of affairs were deceived by his appearance of happiness; but the well informed knew too well that the crisis which was to end the struggle was rapidly approaching. to complete the sad summary of disappointments and misfortunes, it was now ascertained that the expedition from boulogne, and that from dunkirk, with which the false-hearted french had so long amused the unfortunate jacobites, were entirely and perfidiously relinquished. lord george murray, meantime, was ordered to march to inverness. he was now worn with fatigues, and by the protracted anxieties of his situation. foreseeing, as he must have done, many of the dangers and difficulties of the contest; observing, on the one hand, his eldest brother, the marquis of tullibardine, the adherent of the stuarts, proscribed, impoverished, a nominal proprietor of his patrimonial estates; on the other, beholding his second brother, the actual duke of atholl, cherished by government, prosperous, honours showered down upon him; what impulses less strong than that of a generous, and fixed principle of fidelity could have maintained his exertions in a service so desperate as that in which he had engaged? the great deficiency in lord george murray's character was the absence of hope; but, independent of that vital defect, his attributes as a soldier and a general cannot fail to excite admiration. his exertions were unparalleled; besides the marching and fatigue that others had to undergo, he had the vast responsibility of command. "though others were relieved and took their turns," he remarks, "i had none to relieve." on first assuming the command, he received and despatched every express himself; and saw the guards and sentinels settled. in gaining intelligence he was indefatigable; and his discipline was such that the country suffered but little from the visitations of his well-governed forces. but the time was fast approaching when his great abilities, which never ceased to be acknowledged by the whole army, his fortitude, and personal valour were to be put to the severest test. on the third of april, lord george murray joined charles edward at inverness. on the eleventh intelligence was received that the duke of cumberland, who had been stationed for some time at aberdeen, was marching towards inverness. at first the intelligence of the duke's approach was received with acclamations of joy; but the circumstances under which the battle of culloden was eventually fought, and the fatigues and impediments by which it was prefaced, changed that sentiment into one of distrust and despondency.[ ] upon receiving intelligence of the duke's approach, expresses were sent in all directions in order to re-assemble the jacobite forces. those troops which had been at the siege of fort william were on their march to inverness; but lord cromartie and his detachment were still at a great distance; the duke of perth and lord john drummond were at spey-side, with a considerable body of men and all the horse. these were ordered to retire as cumberland's army approached. unhappily, many of the highlanders, it being now seed time, had slipped away to their homes, and it was, indeed, no easy task to allure them back. the influence of lord george murray over the forces continued, nevertheless, unabated. his mode of managing this fine, but rude people, was well adapted to his purpose, and proceeded from an intimate knowledge of their character. "fear" he considered as necessary as "love." "i was told," he remarks, "that all the highlanders were gentlemen, and never to be beaten, but i was well acquainted with their tempers." their chiefs even inflicted personal chastisement upon them, which they received without murmurs when conscious of an offence. but they would only receive correction from their own officers, and never would the chief of one clan correct even the lowest soldier of another. "but i," observes lord george, "had as much authority over them all as each had amongst his own men; and i will venture to say that never an officer was more beloved of the whole, without exception, than i was." at any time when there was a post of more danger than another, lord george, possessing as he did this unbounded influence over the minds of his countrymen, found it more difficult to restrain those who were too forward, than in finding those who were willing to rush into peril. on sunday morning, the thirteenth of april, it became a matter of certainty among the jacobite forces that the enemy had passed the spey. on the following day, lochiel joined the army; the duke of perth also returned, and the prince and his forces assembled on an open moor, near culloden. many of the officers suggested that it would be desirable to retire to a stronger position than this exposed plain, until the army were all collected, but the baggage being at inverness, this scheme was rejected. the experienced eye of lord george murray soon perceived that the ground which had been chosen was ill-adapted for the highland mode of warfare, and he proposed that the other side of the water of nairn should be reconnoitred. but objections were made to any change of position; and, situated as lord george now was, distrusted by the prince, and, perhaps, in some measure by others, since the failure at blair, he was in no condition to contest so important a point. it was afterwards attempted to venture an attack by night. to this proposition not only the prince, but lord george and most of the other officers were at first favourable: but, in the evening, it being generally understood that there was no provision for the subsistence of the men the next day, a circumstance attributable to the negligence of the persons employed for the purpose at inverness, a number of men dispersed in search of food. the forces being thus reduced, lord george objected, in concert with others, to the projected night march; but charles edward, trusting to the bravery of his army, and being for fighting on all occasions, was determined on the attempt. "what he had seen them do, and the justice of his cause, made him too venturous."[ ] the attack was, therefore, agreed upon, and lord george commanding the rear, after marching nearly six miles, found that it would be impossible to attack the enemy before day-break, and, therefore, gave it up, and returned to culloden about five in the morning. fatigued and hungry, the army awaited the approach of the english forces. it was between ten and eleven in the morning when they drew up on the moor, and were placed in order of battle by o'sullivan. again lord george observed to that officer, that the ground was unfavourable: the reply was, that the moor was so interspersed with moss and deep earth, that the enemy's horse and cannon could be of little service to them; and that it was therefore well selected. by this time the young and unfortunate master of lovat had joined the forces, but lord cromartie was still, by a fatal mistake, absent; and macpherson, of clunie, was at three or four miles distance, marching with all possible expedition towards culloden. the stragglers and others were also collecting, so that, as lord george conjectured, the army would have been increased by two or three thousand more men that night, or the next day. stimulated by this reflection, he again looked wistfully to the position beyond the water, and considered that if they passed there, they would probably leave the moors to the enemy, and occupy a better post. but he was overruled. * * * * * "i shall say little," writes lord george murray, in his journal, "of this battle, which was so fatal." in a memoir, written by colonel ker, of gradyne, an officer of distinguished military reputation, a minute and animated account is, however, given of all the incidents of the eventful fifteenth of april. charles edward having with some difficulty procured some bread and whiskey at culloden, reposed for a short time after marching all night. in the morning intelligence was brought him that the enemy were in sight. whilst the army was forming, colonel ker was sent to reconnoitre the enemy. on returning, he informed the prince and lord george murray, who was then with him, that the enemy were marching in three columns, with their cavalry on the left, so that they would form their line of battle in an instant. the prince then ordered his men to draw up in two lines, and the few horse which he had were disposed in the rear towards the wings; the cannon was to be dispersed in the front; this was brought up with difficulty from the want of horses. the ground which had been occupied the day before was too distant for the army to reach; so that they were drawn up a mile to the westward with a stone enclosure which ran down to the water of nairn, on the right of the first line. the highland soldiers, many of whom had been summoned from their sleep among the woods of culloden, were aroused from among the bushes, and came drowsy, and half-exhausted to the field; yet they formed themselves into order of battle with wonderful dispatch. unhappily no council of war was held upon the plain of culloden in the hurry of that day. in addition to the confusion, and want of concert which this omission produced, was a still more injurious circumstance. the army, as has been related, was drawn up in two lines; lord george commanded the first, which was composed of the atholl brigade. this regiment was placed by lord george on the right of the line: unfortunately, the clan macdonald, proud and fiery, claimed the precedence. they grounded their assertion of right to the usage of time immemorial; and to their having had it during the two previous battles. lord george, on the other hand, uncompromising as usual, insisted that in those actions even, his atholl men had the pre-eminence. the prince, unable to decide, persuaded the chief of the macdonalds to waive his claim; but the pride of the scotch is never subdued; and whilst macdonald yielded, their men were offended and disgusted with his compliance. the duke of cumberland formed his line of battle at a great distance, and marched in battle order until he came within cannon shot, when he halted, and placed his artillery in different parts in the front. his army, to use a military phrase, outwinged that of charles, both to the right and left, without his cavalry.[ ] it is not, as lord george murray observes, "an easy task to describe a battle." most officers are necessarily taken up with what is near them, and the confusion, noise, and agitation effectually impede observation. the commencement of the battle of culloden was obscured by a thick fall of hail and snow, and on this occasion the tempestuous climate of scotland favoured her enemies, for the prince's army faced the wind, and encountered the snow-storm in their faces. it was expected that the duke would begin the attack; and a party of his horse were sent during the interval to reconnoitre the jacobite army. when they came within cannon shot, loud hurras were heard on both sides; and voices (soon for ever to be silenced) sent up to heaven expressions of exultation and defiance. the young chevalier, whilst awaiting that event, rode along the lines to encourage his men, placing himself in a post of danger, in which one of his servants was killed by his side. after some few minutes of solemn expectation, lord george murray, who commanded the right of the army, sent colonel ker to the prince to know if he should begin the attack? an answer in the affirmative was returned. as the right was farther distant than the left, colonel ker went first to the duke of perth who commanded the left, and ordered him to begin; he then rode along the field until he came to the right line, where lord george murray received from him a similar command. the prince then placed himself behind the centre of the army, having the whole of his forces under his eye, and thus being able to send orders on all exigencies. the cannon of prince charles was first heard. it was returned with a firing from the enemy of grape shot, which did great execution. the highlanders, who were forbidden to move until the word of command was given, suffered that fire very impatiently. some of them threw themselves flat on the ground, and a few gave way and ran off.[ ] the artillery of the enemy was very well served; that of the jacobites was managed by common soldiers, the cannoniers belonging to one battery being absent. the contest was in every way unequal; yet the brave insurgents, although ready to drop with fatigue, seemed to forget all their weariness and hunger when the enemy advanced. at length, after some preliminary manoeuvres, the prince sent orders to lord george murray to march up to the enemy. it seemed, indeed, high time to come to a close engagement; for the cannonading of the enemy, which was directed chiefly towards the place which the prince occupied among the cavalry, was very destructive; yet still lord george delayed the attack, judging, as it is supposed, that the adversaries were still at too great a distance, and that the strength of his men would be exhausted before they could reach them. there appears also to have been another reason for the delay; lord george had, on his right, a farm-house, and some old enclosure walls, which the enemy now occupied; and he is conjectured to have been waiting until the duke of cumberland's army came up to these walls, which would prevent him being flanked by the dragoons, who were, he observed, mostly on the left. but the duke did not advance. the highlanders, who were impatient at the delay, called out loudly to be led on; and at last he gave the command to attack. his orders were obeyed. as his line began to move, the enemy began a smart fire, which played chiefly upon the atholl men, and was kept up by a detachment of campbells, who were stationed behind the enclosure walls. it was the custom of the highlanders to give a general discharge of their fire-arms, and then to rush, sword in hand, upon their foes: and the only chance of a victory for their party that day, was a general shock of their whole line at once; for the fury and valour of these northern warriors produced results almost incredible. unhappily, several circumstances destroyed this advantage. the two armies were not exactly parallel to each other, the right of prince charles's being nearer to the foe than the left. the impetuosity of the highlanders was such, that they broke their ranks before it was time to give their fire; their eagerness to come up with an enemy that had so greatly the advantage of them at such a distance, made them rush on with such violence, and in such a confusion, that their fire-arms were of little service.[ ] this, it appears, was the disadvantage which lord george had apprehended. but there was still another inconvenience: the wind, which had favoured the jacobites at falkirk, was now against them. they were buried in a cloud of smoke, and felt their enemies without seeing them. in spite of all these obstacles they went, sword in hand, and broke the first line of the enemy; but the second advancing, and firing on them, they gave way, leaving, says one who beheld the terrific scene, "many brave fellows on the spot." the rout, which began on the right of the army, soon became general. the right line was, in fact, beaten before the centre could advance to support it: and the centre of the army gave way, whilst the macdonalds, who were advancing on the left, seeing themselves abandoned on the right, and exposed to be flanked by enemies who had nothing to oppose them in front, retired also.[ ] lord george murray behaved with incomparable valour, as indeed did the whole of the line which he commanded, which was received by the enemy with bayonets. these were the more destructive, as the highlanders would never be at the trouble, on a march, to carry targets. yet the duke's line of battle was broken in several places, and two pieces of cannon were taken.[ ] the brave troops whom lord george commanded marched up to the very point of the bayonets, which they could not see until they were upon them, on account of the smoke which was driven in their faces. as the first line of the english army was broken, and as others were brought up to their relief, some cannon, charged with cartouch shot from their second line, caused lord george murray's horse to start and plunge so much, that he thought the animal was wounded: he quitted his stirrups, and was thrown. "after thus being dismounted, i brought up," writes lord george, "two regiments of our second line, who gave them fire, but nothing could be done; all was lost."[ ] the only good effect of the reinforcement was to arrest for a while the pursuit of the cavalry, and thus to save many lives. the field of battle was soon abandoned to the fury of an enemy, whose brutal thirst for vengeance increased as the danger and opposition diminished. some may consider that the day of culloden was a day of disgrace to the highlanders; but to them it was an event of honour, compared with the discredit which it brought upon their foes. to england was the disgrace. it was, at all events, even if we measure the standard of honour by the degree of military success, an inglorious victory. independent of the inequality of numbers, was the inequality of circumstances; but greater, in many senses, on this occasion, were the conquered, than their conquerors. the prince, seeing his army entirely routed, was at length prevailed upon to retire. most of his horse soldiers assembled round his person; and he rode leisurely, and in good order, for the enemy advanced very leisurely over the ground. "they made," observes maxwell, "no attack where there was any body of the prince's men together, but contented themselves with sabering such unfortunate people as fell in their way, single and disarmed." "as the duke's corps," lord elcho relates, "continued to pursue in order of battle, always firing their cannon and platoons in advancing, there were not so many people taken or killed as there would have been had they detached corps to pursue; but every body that fell into their hands got no quarter, except a few whom they reserved for public punishment." in the flight of the prince's army, most of the left wing took the road to inverness; the right wing crossed the water of nairn, and went to ruthven of badenoch; the rest, to the number of five hundred, mostly officers, followed the prince into stratherick, where he had stopped about four miles from the field of culloden. of the prince's conduct after the battle, a very painful impression is given by lord elcho. "as he had taken it into his head he had been betrayed, and particularly by lord george murray, he seemed very diffident of everybody except the irish officers; and he appeared very anxious to know whether he had given them all higher commissions than they had at their arrival, on purpose that they might get them confirmed to them upon their return to france. he neither spoke to any of the scots' officers present, nor inquired after any of the absent. nor, indeed, at any of the preceding battles did he ever inquire after any of the wounded officers. he appeared very uneasy as long as the scots were about him; and in a short time ordered them all to go to ruthven of badenoch, where he would send them orders; but before they had rode a mile, he sent mr. sheridan after them, to tell them that they might disperse, and everybody shift for himself the best way he could. lord george murray and lord john drummond repeated the same orders to all the body of the army that had assembled at ruthven. the prince kept with him some of fitzjames's horse, and went that night to a house in the head of stratherick, where he met lord lovat and a great many other scots' gentlemen, who advised him not to quit the country, but to stay and gather together his scattered forces. but he was so prejudiced against the scots, that he was afraid they would give him up to make their peace with the government; for some of the irish were at pains to relate to him, in very strong terms, how the scots had already sold his great-grandfather to the english: and, as he was naturally of a suspicious temper, it was not a difficult matter to persuade him of it. and he always believed it until the fidelity of the highlanders shown to him during the long time he was hid in their country, convinced him and everybody else of the contrary."[ ] this history of distrust and ingratitude is, however, to be contrasted with very different statements. when the prince heard from colonel ker, after the battle, that lord george murray had been thrown from his horse, but was not wounded, charles, in the presence of all the officers who were assembled around his person, desired colonel ker to find out lord george, and to "take particular care of him." nor was there, among the whole number of those writers who witnessed the battle of culloden, a dissentient voice with regard to the bravery of their lieutenant-general and to the admirable disposition of his troops. had he, like lord strathallan, sought and found his fate upon the field of battle, his memory would have been exalted into that of a hero. two days after the defeat, the duke of perth, the marquis of tullibardine, lord george murray, lord ogilvie, lord nairn, and several other chieftains and officers met at ruthven in badenoch, and discussed the events which had ended in the ruin of their cause. they were unanimous in concluding that the night attack, upon which many persons insisted as practicable, could not have been attempted.[ ] for some time after the battle, hopes were entertained of an effectual rallying of the forces. by a letter from one of the prince's aides-de-camp, alexander macleod, to clunie macpherson, on the very day of the battle, it appears that his party soon hoped, or pretended to hope, "to pay cumberland back in his own coin." a review of the fragment of the army was projected at fort-augustus, on the seventeenth of april; and amends were promised to be made for the "ruffle at culloden."[ ] "for god's sake," wrote mr. macleod, "make haste to join us; and bring with you all the people that can possibly be got together. take care in particular of lumisden and sheridan, as they carry with them the sinews of war." to this letter lord george murray added some lines, which prove how hopeless, at that moment, he considered any project of rallying; and, indeed, even before the epistle was dispatched to clunie, the prince had left gorteleg, and taken refuge in "clanranald's country." notwithstanding the prince's flight, lord george murray, presuming that he could still make a stand, remained at ruthven, where a force of between two and three thousand men was assembled. it was found, however, impossible, from the want of provisions, to keep such an army together; and, in a few days, a message from charles, ordering his ill-fated adherents to disperse, decided their fate. at this epoch lord george murray addressed a letter to charles, certainly not calculated to soothe the feelings of the unfortunate young man, nor to conciliate the bitter spirit which afterwards, during the lapse of years, never abated towards his former general. the letter began thus.[ ] "may it please your royal highness, as no person in these kingdoms ventured more frankly in the cause than myself, and as i had more at stake than almost all the others put together, i cannot but be very deeply affected with our late loss, and present situation; and i declare, that were your royal highness's person in safety, the loss of the cause, and the unfortunate and unhappy state of my countrymen is the only thing that grieves me; for i thank god i have resolution to bear my own family's ruin without a grudge." after this preface lord george, in no softened terms, pointed out what he conceived to be the causes of the failure of the enterprise;--the imprudence of having set up the standard without aid from france; the deficiencies and blunders of mr. o'sullivan, whose business it was to reconnoitre the field of battle, but who had not so much as viewed it before the affair of culloden. he next pointed out the negligence, if not treachery, of mr. hay, who had the charge of the provisions. to the disgraceful mismanagement of this important department might, indeed, the ruin of the army be traced. "for my own part," added lord george, "i never had any particular discussion with either of them; but i ever thought them incapable and unfit to serve in the stations they were placed in." after these too just remarks, lord george formally resigned his commission into the prince's hands. it had, it appears, been his intention to have done so after the failure at blair; but he was dissuaded by his friends. "i hope your royal highness will now accept of my demission. what commands you may have for me in any other situation, please honour me with them." this letter was dated from ruthven, two days after the battle of culloden. the inference which has been drawn from it was, that lord george did not contemplate the abandonment of the campaign. it appears to have been his opinion that the highlanders could have made a summer campaign without any risk, marching, as they could, through places in which no regular troops could follow them. they could never starve as long as there were sheep and cattle in the country; and they might probably have carried on an offensive, instead of a defensive war. but charles, disheartened, as men of over sanguine tempers usually are, in misfortune, to the last degree, resolved on escaping to france. he addressed a farewell letter to the chiefs, and then commenced that long and perilous course of wanderings in which his character rose to heroism, and which presents one of the most interesting episodes in history of which our annals can boast. lord george murray was long a fugitive from place to place in his native country, before he could find means to escape to the continent. in december ( ) he visited, in private, his friends in edinburgh, and then embarking at anstruther, in the frith of forth, he set sail for holland. whether he ever returned to his native country is doubtful, although it appears, from a letter among the stuart papers, that he had it in contemplation, in order to bring over his wife and family. his fate in a foreign land, however embittered by the ingratitude and hatred of charles edward, was cheered by the presence of his wife and children, with the exception of his eldest son, who was retained in scotland, and educated under the auspices of james duke of atholl. his first movement after reaching holland, was to repair to rome, there to pay his respects to the chevalier st. george, and to unfold to him the motives of his conduct in the foregoing campaign of . the chevalier, affectionately attached as he was to his eldest son, was aware of his defects, and sensible of the pernicious influence which was exercised over his mind by the enemies of lord george murray; james, who never appears in a more amiable light than in his correspondence, endeavoured to conciliate both parties. his letters to charles edward, treasured among the stuart papers, display kindness and great good sense. his mediation in this instance was, however, wholly ineffectual. after the treacherous conduct of murray of broughton, the prince began even to suspect that lord george was concerned in the baseness of that individual. this notion was urgently combated by james; at the same time he recommended the prince, not only as a matter of right, but of policy, to conciliate lord george, who "owned that he had been wrong towards charles, but insisted upon his zeal in the prince's service." "persons," adds the politic chevalier, "like him may do both good and hurt; and it is prudent to manage them, and would manifestly be of prejudice could they be able to say their former services had been disregarded." but james addressed himself to one who could never dissimulate. whatever charles's errors might be, they were not envenomed by any portion of cunning, and no motive of prudence could soften him towards one whom he unjustly disliked. lord george, who expected no favour from the english government, was, nevertheless, anxious to be "near home." he left rome in may , and after remaining some time at bologna, proceeded to paris.[ ] here charles was playing that ill-judged and desperate game, which was better suited to a rash impostor, than to the acknowledged descendant of a long line of monarchs. here he was rapidly effacing the remembrance of the brave and generous wanderer who trusted to the honesty of the highlanders; who bore his misfortunes as if he had been born in that land of heroes. the first idea of charles, upon hearing of lord george murray's arrival in paris, was to imprison him as a traitor. "i hope in god," writes his father to the young prince, "you will not think of getting lord george secured after all i wrote to you about him, and will at least receive him civilly." but no intercessions could nullify the indignation of charles towards his former general. it was far from lord george murray's intention, if we may believe the chevalier st. george, again to embroil himself in public affairs, or even to remain in paris. his intention was to live privately in germany or flanders, in the hope of being rejoined by his wife. upon reaching paris, he informed the prince of his arrival; and proposed paying his respects to him at st. omer, where charles was then living. late on the evening of the eleventh of july, , a gentleman, who at first refused to give his name, but who afterwards announced himself as mr. stafford, called on lord george to convey to him a message desiring him not to "go near" the prince, and ordering him to leave paris immediately. an answer was returned, signifying that the prince's commands should be obeyed. lord george left paris, and he and the unfortunate young man whom he had served, met no more. it is possible that the irritation of charles was aggravated by the recent intelligence of his brother's having become a cardinal: upon receiving the news of that event he shut himself up for some hours alone. the name of his brother was no longer to be uttered in his presence nor his health drunk at table.[ ] charles was at this time in the power of both the kellys, who are described by one of his adherents as "false, ambitious, and sordidly avaricious." after visiting poland, where he was received by marshall belriski as a relation, and where he endeavoured to negotiate the restitution of some crown jewels to james, as in right of the chevalier's wife, the princess sobieski, lord george settled at cleves. he changed his name to that of de valignie, and here he remained in obscurity with his family. "my wife," he writes to the chevalier st. george, "came here on the tenth of september, , but was soon after seized with an intermitting fever, which has not yet left her. she begs leave to throw herself at your majesty's feet." in , lord george removed to emmerick; here he wrote an account of his campaign, which he addressed to mr. hamilton of bangour; from this, repeated extracts have been given in this memoir of his life. the kindness of james stuart towards him continued unabated: he recommended him to the notice of the court of france; and consulted him as to the probable success of a future enterprise in scotland. on such a project lord george murray expressed himself cautiously, yet somewhat encouragingly; and declared himself ready to shed the last drop of his blood in the cause. happily his zeal was not again put to the test. lord george appears, in his letters, to have cherished in his retirement at emmerick, a lingering hope that at some future day the stuarts might make another attempt. he was now in the decline of life, and yearning to behold again the country which he was destined to see no more. "how happily," he writes to mr. edgar,[ ] "should you and i be to sit over a bottle in angus, or perthshire, after a restoration, and talk over old services. may that soon happen!" meantime some members of lord george's family suffered the severest distress. his uncle, lord nairn, had, it is true, escaped to france; but lady nairn and her daughter, lady clementina, were reduced to the utmost penury in scotland. they remained in their native country, probably with the hope of saving the wreck of their fortunes, until all that the troops had spared was sold, and the money which accrued from the sale was exhausted. such was the rapacity of the plunderers, that they took even lady nairn's watch and clothes. the government, although in possession of her estate, never gave her one farthing for subsistence, but even made her pay a rent for the garden of one of lord nairn's own houses in which she lived. but this is only one instance of that catalogue of cruelties towards the jacobites, which it would take volumes to detail. in , lord george murray visited dresden, where, owing to the mediation of james stuart, he was well received. his letters at this period refer frequently to the exertions which he made for lord macleod, the son of lord cromartie: to this young man a company was given in finland, in the prussian service, and the chevalier st. george furnished him with his accoutrements and equipage. the eldest son of lord george murray remained, as we have seen, in scotland; but the second was, through the favour of the chevalier, recommended to the especial notice of the court of prussia. the visit of lord george to dresden seems to have been chiefly designed to push the interests of this young man, who was introduced to the count and countess de bruhl. the youth was to study the military science and exercises at dresden, and at the same time to enjoy, in the house of the pope's nuncio, the advantage of seeing company, and of forming connections. having arranged these affairs, lord george returned to emmerick. his wife had left him for scotland, in order to be confined there; and this event, attended by so much inconvenience, and prefaced by a voyage of twelve days, "put her," as lord george observed, "somewhat out of countenance, after twenty-three years' marriage." her return was delayed for some time. "i shall be pretty lonely this winter ( )," writes lord george to mr. edgar, "for my wife, who was brought to bed of a daughter the middle of september, recovered but very slowly, and now the season of the year is too far advanced for her to venture so long a voyage; besides, she has some thoughts that lady sinclair (his daughter) may come with her in the spring." in his solitude, anxieties about his patrimonial property added to the sorrows of the exile. "i am told,"[ ] he writes, "that the duke of atholl is desirous of selling the roialty of the isle of man to the london government, for which, they say, he is offered fifteen thousand pounds sterling. had it not been for my situation, i believe he could not have done it without my consent; but, i'm sorry to say it, and it is a truth, that he is full as much my enemy as any of that government. he has sent my eldest son abroad, but, as i understand, with positive orders not to see nor correspond with me. all this is the more extraordinary that, thirty years ago, before he turned courtier, he seemed to have very different notions. most people in britain now regard neither probity nor any other virtue--all is selfish and vainal (venial). but how can i complean of such hard usage, when my royal master has met with what is a thousand times more cruel: he bears it like a christian hero, and it would ill suit me to repine. i thank the almighty i never did, and i think it my greatest honour and glory to suffer in so just and upright a cause." hope, however, of one day returning to scotland, was not extinct. he thus continues: "upon receipt of the note you sent me, i have gott the carabin, for which i return you many thanks. i expect to kill a wild bore with it; but i fain hope providence may still order it that i may make use of it at home, and, if all succeeds to our wishes, how happy should i think myself to send you, when you returned to angus, a good fatt stagg, shott in the forest of atholl with your own gun." until five years before his death, lord george still cherished the hope that france would again find it her interest to support the claims of the stuarts. he had always considered that the support of the french would be decisive of the success of the cause. "had the ministers of the court of versailles, ten years ago, been persuaded that the supporting of his royal highness the prince, at the beginning of his attempt, in a proper manner with the best measures they could take for the interest of their master as well as that of the king, our gracious sovereign, i think i do not say too much if i affirm that his royal highness would not have failed of success. i had at that time opportunities of knowing the sentiments and way of thinking of most people in great britain. many, very many, wished well to the cause. great numbers would have looked on, and would have turned to the side that had success. but there is no recalling what is passed. i believe that in france they are convinced now of the error they were in at the time. if ever they resolve to espouse the cause of the royal family it must be in earnest, and their main view must be that. then there would be no difficulty in adjusting limits in america. i have been much longer upon the subject than i intended. perhaps zeal has led me too far." the period was now approaching when lord george murray was to close a life of vicissitude and turmoil. he died in at medenblinck, in holland, leaving three sons and two daughters. upon the death of james duke of atholl in , john, the eldest son of lord george murray, succeeded to the dukedom, and to the great possessions of the family. he married his first cousin, charlotte, only daughter and heiress of his uncle, the duke of atholl; and in their graces sold the sovereignty of the isle of man, upon the disposal of which lord george murray had expressed much solicitude, to the british government. the present duke of atholl, who succeeded his father in , is the grandson of john, third duke of atholl, and the great-grandson of lord george murray. the descendants of this justly celebrated man have, therefore, shared a happier fortune than those of many of the other attainted noblemen of his party. the attainder was not, however, set aside in favour of the son of lord george murray without a petition to the king, upon which the house of lords gave a favourable report, and the objection was overcome.[ ] besides his eldest son, lord george left two others; james, of strowan, in right of his mother; george, of pitkeathly, who became vice-admiral of the white--and two daughters; amelia, first married to lord sinclair, and afterwards to james farquharson, of inverness; and charlotte, who died unmarried. the mind of lord george murray was one of great original power, and less dependent upon those circumstances which usually affect the formation of character, than that of most men. he was determined and inflexible in opinions, yet cautious in action. that he was sincere and honourable there can now be little doubt. it was his consciousness of upright intentions which inspired him with contempt for the littleness of others; and with his love of superiority, his self-will and ambition, there was wrought a strong conviction of his own worth, as opposed to the hollowness of some of his party. throughout all his letters, and in his journal, there is a strong evidence of his confidence in his own powers; of a self-sufficiency too lofty to be called vanity, but which sometimes descends to egotism. to his courage, his energy and perseverance, his military contemporaries have borne unanimous testimony. they seem entirely to have comprehended a character which the unfortunate charles edward could never appreciate. they felt the justness of his ascendancy, and discriminated between the bluntness of an ardent and honest mind, careless of ordinary forms, and the arrogance of an inferior capacity. as a soldier, indeed, the qualities of lord george murray rose to greatness: so enduring, and so fearless, so careless of danger to himself, yet so solicitous for others. as a general, some great defects may be pointed out in his composition, without detracting from his merits as a private individual. let us first turn to the bright side of the picture. in activity and exertion lord george murray has not been surpassed even by the more fortunate, although, perhaps, not greater commanders of modern times. he was indefatigable in business, and any one who desired access to him could see him at any hour, whether at meals or in bed. "on some occasions," he remarks, "i have been waked six times a night, and had either orders to write, or letters to answer every time; for as i mostly commanded a separate body of the army, i had many details that, in a more regular army, would belong to different people." every order, even that which sent an officer to an out-post, was written by his own hand, and explained by him; every contingency that might occur in the execution was canvassed, and every objection that was suggested was answered by himself. the officers, therefore, confiding in their general, performed their duties with cheerfulness, and made their reports with exactness. there was no confusion, nor misapprehension, wherever lord george presided. as a disciplinarian, he was pre-eminent; no army ever quitted a country with so little odium, nor left behind them such slight memorials of their march, as that of charles edward when it returned from derby. the greatest excess that the highlanders were known to commit was the seizing horses to carry their baggage, or to carry their sick;--and these it was lord george's endeavour always to restore, even at a great inconvenience to the soldiers. even with every precaution it was impossible wholly to restrain plundering, although the general undertook in person to control that evil. "how often," he writes, "have i gone into houses on our marches to drive the men out of them, and drubbed them heartily?" this able man possessed another great requisite as a commander. he thoroughly understood his materials, he was perfectly acquainted with the temper and disposition of his soldiers. it was the attribute which made marlborough unconquerable; and, in an army chiefly of highlanders, it was one of the greatest value. by this lord george acquired over the members of every respective clan as much influence as each chief separately had. his corrections were well applied, and never lessened the confidence nor affections of the soldiery. from the highest to the lowest, the men and officers had a confidence in him, which induced them to apply to him for redress in grievances, and to consider him as an umpire in disputes. but lord george was not only a disciplinarian; in his own person, he set the example of a scrupulous honesty. "i never," he writes in his explanation of his conduct, "took the least thing without paying the full value. i thought that i could not reasonably find fault with others in that, if i did not show them a good example." to the sick and wounded lord george invariably paid the utmost attention; and, under his guidance, the highlanders, heretofore so fierce towards each other in their contests, were remarkable for a degree of humanity which was disgracefully contrasted with the barbarity of their conquerors. such were his general attributes in his military station. whatever doubts may have existed in the mind of charles edward as to the fidelity of his general, are silenced by the long and hopeless exile of lord george murray, and by the continued friendship of the chevalier st. george. no overtures, as in the case of the earl of mar, to the british government, nor efforts on the part of his prosperous and favoured brother, the duke of atholl, have transpired to show that in saving blair, there was a secret understanding that there should be a future reward, nor that any surmise of treachery had opened a door to reconciliation. charles, be it remembered, was under that daily, hourly influence, which weakens the judgment, and exasperates the passions. his opinion of lord george murray must not be accepted as any evidence against one who had redeemed the inconsistencies of his youth by the great exertions of his manhood. some vital defects there were, nevertheless, in this general, of powerful intellect, and of earnest and honourable intentions. his character partook too largely of that quality which has raised his country as a nation in all other countries, prudence. for his peculiar situation he was far too cautious. persevering and inflexible, he was destitute of hope. if it be true, that he entered into the undertaking with a conviction that the cause could never prosper, he was the last man that should have been the general of an army whose ardour, when not engaged in action, he invariably restrained. all contending opinions seem to hesitate and to falter when they relate to the retreat from derby, the grand error of the enterprise; the fatal step, when the tide served, and the wind was propitious, and an opportunity never to be regained, was for ever lost. in private society, lord george murray is reported to have been overbearing and hasty; his fine person, and handsome countenance were lessened in their agreeableness by a haughty deportment. he was simple, temperate, and self-denying in his habits. in his relations of life, he appears to have been respectable. his letters show him to have enjoyed, at least, the usual means of education offered to a soldier, who entered upon active service at sixteen, or to have improved his own acquirements. they are clear and explicit, and bear the impress of sincerity and good sense. distrusted as he was by charles edward, and misrepresented by others, we may accord to lord george murray the indulgence which he claims from posterity in these, the last words of his vindication:-- "upon the whole, i shall conclude with saying, if i did not all the good i would, i am sure i did all i could." footnotes: [ ] nisbet's heraldry, part iii. p. . [ ] in the life of the marquis of tullibardine, vol. i. [ ] see nisbet's heraldry. [ ] nisbet's heraldry, part iii. p. . [ ] see a ms. account of the highlands of scotland, british museum, king's library. [ ] "case of the forfeited estates, in a letter to a certain noble lord. london, ." [ ] wodrow's analecta, vol. iii. p. . [ ] see appendix, no. . for a curious original letter from mr. spence; for this document i am indebted to my brother-in-law, samuel coltman, esq. it was in the possession of his mother. [ ] "genuine memoirs of john murray, esq. london, ." [ ] "maxwell of kirkconnel's narrative," p. . [ ] life of james murray, esq. [ ] see atholl correspondence. printed for the abbotsford club. [ ] home, p. . [ ] narrative, p. . [ ] life of john murray, esq., p. . [ ] see stuart papers, in dr. brown's history of the highlands. [ ] life of j. murray, esq., p. . [ ] this disposition, observes a modern historian, was inherited both by charles edward and his brother from their mother, the princess clementina, who devoted herself, during the years of their infancy, to their welfare with unceasing care.--histoire de charles edouard, par amedée pichot; tome première, p. . [ ] life of sir robert walpole, vol. ii. p. . [ ] ibid. p. . [ ] life of sir robert walpole, vol. ii. p. . [ ] the prince took off at the same time the interdict which had passed against any of lord orford's family appearing at his court. [ ] maxwell's narrative, p. . [ ] see state trials by howell, vol. xviii. p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] memoirs of the chevalier johnstone, p. . [ ] chevalier johnstone's memoirs. translated from the french, p. . [ ] see introduction to the chevalier johnstone's memoirs. [ ] the highlands of scotland described, ms. british museum, . [ ] see forbes's jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] one thousand is mentioned by the chevalier johnstone; two thousand, in other authorities. the prince himself wrote to his father (sept. th, from perth), "i have got together men." forbes, note, p. . [ ] johnstone's memoirs, note, p. . [ ] tales of a grandfather, rd series, vol. ii, p. . [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] lord mahon. [ ] maxwell, pp. , ; also tales of a grandfather, rd series, vol. ii. p. . [ ] i adopt this expression of sir walter scott in the tales of a grandfather (vol. ii. rd series, p. ), which seems to imply some doubt on the subject. [ ] history of the rebellion. taken from the scots magazine, p. . [ ] life of murray of broughton, p. . [ ] maxwell's narrative, p. . [ ] forbes. note, p. . [ ] lord george murray's narrative. forbes, p. . [ ] british chronologist, vol. ii. p. . [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] henderson's history of the rebellion, p. . [ ] ibid. [ ] henderson. maxwell of kirkconnel. [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] border antiquities, by sir walter scott. no. iv. vol. i. [ ] history of the rebellion, from the scots magazine, p. . [ ] true patriot, a weekly periodical, december , . [ ] general advertiser, . [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] the true patriot, december , . [ ] jacobite correspondence, p. . [ ] ibid. p. . [ ] ibid. p. . [ ] jacobite correspondence, p. . [ ] jacobite correspondence, p. . duke of atholl to lord george murray. [ ] jacobite correspondence, p. . [ ] see correspondence. [ ] henderson's hist. rebellion, p. . [ ] maxwell. [ ] chambers. [ ] home. [ ] maxwell's narrative, p. . [ ] ibid. [ ] chevalier johnstone, p. . [ ] chambers, hist. rebel. people's edition, p. . [ ] chambers, p. . [ ] lockhart papers, vol. ii. p. . [ ] jacobite correspondence of the atholl family, p. . [ ] chevalier johnstone, p. . [ ] border antiquities, by sir walter scott, p. ; also maxwell's narrative, p. . [ ] hutchinson's history of cumberland. [ ] lockhart papers, vol. ii. p. . [ ] general advertiser for . [ ] jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] forbes's jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] forbes's jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] see lockhart, vol. ii. p. ; also lord mahon, vol. iv. p. , note. [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] maxwell says men. two or three hundred were to be left in carlisle, p. . [ ] johnstone's memoirs of the rebellion, p. . [ ] baines's history of lancashire, ii, . [ ] general advertiser for - . [ ] maxwell, page . the following is a list of the chevalier's officers and troops, taken from the history of the rebellion, extracted from the scots' magazine for and , p. . this list makes the amount of the forces considerably greater than the statement given elsewhere. a list of the chevalier's officers and troops. _regiments._ _colonels._ _men._ lochyel cameron of loch. appin stuart of ardshiel atholl lord g. murray clanronald clan, of clan., jun. keppoch macdonald of keppoch glenco macdonald of glenco ------ carried forward ------ a list of the chevalier's officers and troops--_continued._ _regiments._ _colonels._ _men._ brought forward ogilvie lord ogilvie glenbucket gordon of glen. perth, duke of perth (and pitsligo's foot) robertson robertson of strowan maclachan mac. of maclachan glencarnick macgregor glengary macdonald of glen., jun. nairn lord nairn edinburgh john roy stuart (and lord kelly's) in several small corps {lord elcho } horse { } {lord kilmarnock } lord pitsligo's horse ----- total ----- [ ] "my grandfather," says general stuart, "always wore tartans; truis, and with the plaid thrown over the shoulder, when on horseback; and kilt, when on foot; and never any other clothes, except when in mourning." app. xxii. [ ] sketches of the highlanders, by general stuart of garth. vol. ii. app. xxii. also note. [ ] see the true patriot, under the head apocrypha, . [ ] stuart's sketches, ii. . [ ] tales of a grandfather, iii. . [ ] general stuart's sketches of the highlanders, p. . [ ] state trials, vol. xviii. p. . [ ] john sobieski stuart. [ ] vestiarium scoticum, p. , note. edited by john sobieski stuart. [ ] these observations are all taken from the notes to the vestiarium scoticum, a beautiful work, extremely interesting, as being written by the hand of a stuart, and full of information. [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] baines's history of lancashire, iv. . [ ] tales of a grandfather, iii. p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] tales of a grandfather. [ ] baines's lancashire, ii. p. ; also iii. p. . [ ] gentleman's magazine, vol. xv. p. . [ ] i omit horace walpole's exact expression, which is more witty than proper. [ ] sketches of the highlanders, by general stewart, vol. ii. p. ; also georgian era, pp. , . [ ] brown's hist. of the highlanders, vol. iii. p. . [ ] general stewart, p. . [ ] ibid. p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] chambers's hist. of the rebellion; edition for the people, p. . [ ] glover's hist. of derbyshire, vol. i. p. . there is, in ashbourn church, an exquisite monument, sculptured by banks, and supposed to have given the notion of the figures in lichfield cathedral to chantry. a young girl, the only child of her parents, sir brook and lady boothby, reposes on a cushion, not at rest, but in the uneasy posture of suffering. on the tablet beneath are these words: "i was not in safety, neither had i rest, and the trouble came." to which were added; "the unfortunate parents ventured their all on the frail bark, and the wreck was total."--a history and an admonition. [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] extract from the derby mercury. glover's hist. of derbyshire, vol. ii. p. to . [ ] glover, vol. ii. pt. ; from hutton's derby. [ ] glover, vol. ii. pt. . p. . [ ] glover, vol. ii. pt. i. p. . from the derby mercury, the first number of which was issued march , , by mr. samuel drewry, market-place. appendix to glover's hist., . [ ] probably the house wherein lord george murray was lodged, belonged to a member of the heathcote family, of stoncliffe hall, darley dale, derbyshire. [ ] tales of a grandfather, iii. p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] lord george murray's narrative, forbes, p. and . [ ] maxwell of kirkconnell, p. . [ ] chevalier johnstone, p. . [ ] ibid. p. . [ ] chambers, p. , and lord elcho's ms. [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] chevalier johnstone, p. . [ ] lord mahon's history of england, vol. iii. p. . [ ] general stewart's sketches, vol. ii. p. . [ ] lord mahon, vol. iii. p. . [ ] tales of a grandfather, vol. iii. p. . [ ] jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] such is the account of a writer in the derby mercury, see glover's history of derby; but this statement is at variance with lord george murray's journal. [ ] the grandmother of the author. [ ] tradition. [ ] glover, vol. ii. pt. i. p. . [ ] lord elcho's ms. [ ] glover, vol. ii. pt. i. p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] this account is taken from maxwell's narrative, p. and ; and from the chevalier johnstone's memoirs, p. and . [ ] jacobite mem. p. . [ ] the hussars, under the command of lord pitsligo, had gone off to penrith. [ ] jacobite mem. p. . [ ] note to general stewart's sketches, vol. i. p. . [ ] maxwell. [ ] jacobite mem. p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] tales of a grandfather, vol. iii. p. . [ ] jacobite mem. p. . [ ] johnstone, p. . [ ] this statement tends somewhat to disprove the assertion that roman catholic priests occupied the pulpits at derby, made in the papers of the time. see p. [ ] maxwell. [ ] johnstone, p. . [ ] maxwell p. . [ ] lord murray's narrative, forbes, p. . [ ] general stuart, i., p. . [ ] forbes; note, p. . [ ] chambers's hist. of the rebellion, p. . [ ] tales of a grandfather, iii. . [ ] forbes, p. . maxwell, p. . see, also, for the references to the last eight pages, lord mahon, henderson, chambers, and home. [ ] scots' magazine, p. . [ ] atholl correspondence, p. . _et passim_. [ ] tales of a grandfather, vol. iii. p. . [ ] maxwell, p. ; also forbes, p. . [ ] lord george murray's journal. forbes, p. . johnstone's memoirs, p. . maxwell, p. . [ ] according to lord elcho's account (ms.), ten or twelve only were killed, and the rest taken prisoners. [ ] forbes' johnstone. [ ] grant of rothiemurcus. [ ] atholl correspondence, p. . [ ] see vol. i.--life of the marquis of tullibardine. [ ] lord elcho's ms. [ ] see a very curious account of the siege of blair castle, written by a subaltern officer in the king's service. scots' magazine for . [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] scots' magazine, p. . [ ] ibid. [ ] there was one horse which seemed endowed with supernatural strength, for when, eventually, the castle was relieved, the horse, which had been shut up without forage, was found, after eight or ten days of abstinence, alive, and "wildly staggering about" in its confinement. it was afterwards sent as a present by captain wentworth, to whom it belonged, to his sister in england. [ ] see forbes, p. , . [ ] jacobite correspondence, p. . [ ] jacobite correspondence, p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] these circumstances will be fully detailed in the life of the duke of perth. [ ] maxwell. [ ] colonel ker's narrative, forbes, p. and . [ ] lord elcho's ms. [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] lord elcho's ms. [ ] colonel ker's narrative, p. . [ ] lord g. murray's account, forbes, p. . [ ] lord elcho's ms. [ ] lockhart, vol. ii. p. . [ ] atholl correspondence, p. . [ ] brown's history of the highlands, pt. v. p. .; from the stuart papers. [ ] see stuart papers. brown, _passim_. [ ] stuart papers; from dr. brown. [ ] secretary to the chevalier st. george. [ ] stuart papers. appendix. brown, p. . [ ] chambers. ed. for the people, p. . james drummond, styled duke of perth. in a history of the house of drummond, compiled in the year , by lord strathallan, the author thus addresses his relative, james, earl of perth, on the subject of their common ancestry: "take heire a view of youre noble and renowned ancestors, of whose blood you are descended in a right and uninterrupted male line; as also of so many of the consanguinities and ancient affinities of youre family in the infancy thereof, as the penury of our oldest records and the credit of our best traditions has happily preserved from the grave of oblivion. the splendor of your fame," he adds, "needs no commendation, more than the sune does to a candle; and even a little of the truth from me may be obnoxious to the slander of flattery, or partiality, by reason of my interest in it. therefore i'll say the less; only this is generally known for a truth, that justice, loyaltie, and prudence, which have been but incident virtues and qualities in others, are all three as inherent ornaments, and hereditary in yours."[ ] such praise far exceeds in value the mere homage to ancient lineage. with these noble qualities, the race of drummond combined the courage to defend their rights, and the magnanimity to protect the feeble. this last characteristic is beautifully described in the following words: "for justice, as a poor stranger, often thrust out of doors from great houses, where grandeur and utility are commonly the idolls that's worshipped,--_quid non mortalia pectora cogis?_--has always found sanctuary in yours, which has ever been ane encouragement to the good, a terror to the bad, and free from the oppression of either." to this magnanimous spirit were added loyalty to the sovereign, and prudence in the management of private affairs; a virtue of no small price, for it rendered the house of drummond independent of court favour, and gave to its prosperity a solid basis. "the chiefs of this family lived," says their historian, "handsomely, like themselves; and still improved or preserved their fortunes since the first founder." the origin of this race is, perhaps, as interesting as that of any of the scottish nobility, and has the additional merit of being well ascertained. after the death of edward the confessor, the next claimant to the crown, edgar atheling, alarmed for his safety after the norman conquest, took shipping with his mother agatha, and with his two sisters, margaret and christiana, intended to escape to hungary; but owing to a violent storm, or, as the noble historian of the drummonds well expresses it, "through divine providence," he was driven upon the scottish coast, and forced to land upon the north side of the firth of forth. he took shelter in a little harbour west of the queen's ferry, ever since called st. margaret's hook, from edgar's sister margaret, who, for the "rare perfectiones of her body and mind," was afterwards chosen by malcolm canmore, to the great satisfaction of the nation, for his queen. margaret was therefore married to the scottish monarch at dunfermline in the year . this alliance was not the only advantage derived by the young and exiled english king from his accidental landing in scotland. penetrated with gratitude for former services conferred upon himself by edward the confessor, malcolm supported the cause of edgar, and received and bestowed upon his adherents lands and offices, in token of kindness to his royal guest. hence some of the most potent families in the kingdom had their origin. amongst the train of edgar atheling at dunfermline was an hungarian, eminent for his faithful services, but especially for his skilful and successful conduct of the vessel in which the fugitives had sailed from england. he was highly esteemed by the grateful queen margaret, who recommended him to the king; and, for his reward, lands, offices, and a coat of arms suitable to his quality, were conferred on him, together with the name of drummond. it was about this period that surnames were first introduced, and that patronymicks were found insufficient to designate heroes. since the new designations were often derived from some office, as well as the possession of lands and peculiar attributes, the hungarian obtained his name in consequence of his nautical skill; dromont, or dromond, being, in different nations, the name of a ship, whence the commander was called dromount, or dromoner. the first lands bestowed upon the hungarian were situated in dumbartonshire, and in the jurisdiction of the lennox; a county full of rivers, lochs, and mountains, "emblematically expressed," says lord strathallan, "in the coats of arms then given to him, wherein hunting, waters, hounds, inhabitants wild and naked, are represented." to these gifts was added the office of thane, seneschal, or stuart heritable of lennox,--names all meaning the same thing, but altering with the times.[ ] the hungarian, whose christian name is conjectured to have been maurice, was then naturalized a scot; and all the parts of his coat-armour were contrived to indicate his adventures, his name, office, and nation. he died in an encounter near alnwick castle, fighting valiantly, in order to avenge the surprise of that place by william rufus, in . the records of the family of drummond were for several generations defective after the death of maurice; but there exists no doubt but that he was the founder of a family once so prosperous, and afterwards so unfortunate. the name of maurice was preserved, according to the scottish custom of naming the eldest son after his father, for many succeeding generations. the family continued to increase in importance, and to enjoy the favour of royalty; and the marriage of the beautiful annabella drummond to robert the third, king of scotland, produced an alliance between the house of drummond and the royal families of austria and burgundy. in james the third ennobled the race by making john drummond, the twelfth chief in succession, a lord of parliament. as the annals of the race are reviewed, many instances of valour, wisdom, and unchangeable probity arise; whilst some events, which have the features of romance, diversify the chronicle. among these is the story of the fair margaret drummond, who has been celebrated by several of our best historians. between margaret and james the fourth of scotland an attachment existed. they were cousins; and a pretext was made by the nobles and council, on that account, to prevent a marriage which they alleged to be within the degrees of consanguinity permitted by the canon law: nevertheless, under promise of a marriage, margaret consented to live with her royal lover, and the result of that connexion was a daughter. this happened when james was only in his sixteenth year, and whilst he was duke of rothsay; yet the monarch was so much touched in conscience by the engagement, or betrothal, between him and the young lady, that he remained unmarried until the age of thirty, about a year after the death of margaret drummond. that event, it was surmised, was caused by poison; the common tradition being that a potion was provided for margaret at breakfast, in order to free the king from his bonds, that he might "match with england." "but it so happened," says the narrative,[ ] "that she called two of her sisters, then with her in drummond, to accompany her that morning, to wit, lilias, lady fleming, and a younger, sybilla, a maid; whereby it fell out all the three were destroyed with the force of the poyson. they ly burried in a curious vault covered with three faire blue marble stones, joyned closs together, about the middle of the queir of the cathedral church of dumblane; for about this time the burial-place for the familie of drummond at innerpeffrie was not yet built. the monument which containes the ashes of these three ladyes stands entire to this day, and confirms the credit of this sad storie." the daughter of margaret drummond, lady margaret stuart, was well provided for by the king; and was married, in the year , to lord gordon, the eldest son of the earl of huntley, "a gallant and handsome youth." from this union four noble families are descended; the gordons, earls of huntley; the countess of sutherland; the countess of atholl, who was the mother of lady lovat; and lady saltoun. james the fourth testified his regret for the death of his beloved margaret, and his solicitude for her soul's benefit, in a manner characteristic of his age and character. in the treasurer's accounts for february - , there occurs this entry, "item, to the priests that sing in dumblane for margaret drummond, their quarter fee, five pounds:" and this item, occurring regularly during the reign of james the fourth, "paid to two priests who were appointed to sing masses for margaret in the cathedral of dumblane, where she was buried," marks his remembrance of his betrothed wife. one of the greatest ornaments of the ancient house of drummond was william drummond, a descendant of the drummonds of carnock, son of sir john drummond of hawthornden, and author of the "history of the five james's," kings of scotland.[ ] the friend of drayton, and of ben jonson, this man of rare virtues presents one of the brightest examples of that class to which he belonged, the scottish country-gentleman. true-hearted, like the rest of his race, drummond was never called forth from a retirement over which virtue and letters cast their charms, except by the commotions of his country. his grief at the death of charles the first, whom he survived only one year, is said to have shortened his days. in , the title of earl of perth was added to the other honours of the family of drummond,[ ] who derived a still further accession of honour and repute by the probity and firmness of its members in the great rebellion. like most of the other scottish families of rank, they suffered great losses, and fell into embarrassed circumstances on account of heavy fines exacted by oliver cromwell. the house, castle drummond, was garrisoned by the protector's troops, and the estates were ravaged and ruined. yet the valiant and true-hearted descendants of those who had been thus punished for their allegiance, were ready again to adopt the same cause, and to adhere to the same principles that had guided their forefathers. in the person of james drummond, fourth earl of perth, who succeeded his father the third earl, in , several high honours were centred. he was made, by charles the second, justice-general, and afterwards lord high chancellor of scotland. he continued to be a favourite with james the second; and in , when james fled from england, the earl of perth, endeavouring to follow him, was thrown into prison, first at kirkaldy, and afterwards at stirling, until the privy council, upon his giving security for five thousand pounds, permitted him to follow his royal master. from james, the earl received the title of duke, which his successors adopted, and which was given to them by the jacobite party, of which we find repeated instances in the letters of lord mar. his son, lord drummond, succeeded to all the inconveniences which attend the partisans of the unfortunate. returning from france, in , he was obliged to give security for his good conduct, in a large sum. in consequence of the assassination plot, the vigilance of government was increased, and, in , he was committed to edinburgh castle. during the reign of william, a system of exaction was carried on with respect to this family. "in a word," says the author of lochiell's memoirs, himself a drummond, speaking of james lord drummond, "that noble lord was miserably harassed all this reign. he represented a family which had always been a blessing to the country where it resided; and he himself was possessed of so many amiable qualities, that he was too generally beloved not to be suspected by such zealous ministers. he was humble, magnificent, and generous; and had a certain elevation and greatness of soul that gave an air of dignity and grandeur to all his words and actions. he had a person well-turned, graceful and genteel, and was besides the most polite and best bred lord of his age. his affability, humanity, and goodness gained upon all with whom he conversed; and as he had many friends, so it was not known that he had any personal enemies. he had too much sincerity and honour for the times. the crafty and designing are always apt to cover their vices under the mask of the most noble and sublime virtues; and it is natural enough for great souls to believe that every person of figure truly is what he ought to be, and that a person of true honour thinks it even criminal to suspect that any he is conversing with is capable of debasing[ ] the dignity of his nature so low as to be guilty of such vile and ignoble practices. none could be freer of these, or indeed of all other vices, than the noble person i speak of. the fixed and unalterable principles of justice and integrity, which always made the rules of his conduct, were transmitted to him with his blood, and are virtues inherent and hereditary in the constitution of that noble family."[ ] lord drummond was afterwards engaged in the insurrection of : he was attainted, but escaped to france, and, dying in , left the inheritance of estates which he had saved by a timely precaution, and the empty title of duke of perth,[ ] to his son james drummond, the unfortunate subject of this memoir. such was the character borne by the father of james, duke of perth. this ill-fated adherent of the stuarts was born on the eleventh of may ; and three months afterwards, on the twenty-eighth of august, his father deemed it expedient to execute a deed conveying the family estates to him, by which means the property, at that time, escaped forfeiture. like many other young men under similar circumstances, this young nobleman was educated at the scottish college of douay, consistently with the principles of his family, who were at that time roman catholics. in his twenty-first year, the young duke of perth came over to scotland, and devoted himself, in the absence of his father, to the management of his estate. it is probable that his own inclinations might have led him to prefer the occupations of an elegant leisure to the turmoils of contention; but, be that as it may, it was not reserved for the head of the house of drummond to rest contentedly in his own halls. the nearest kinsmen of the young nobleman were active partisans of the chevalier st. george. his brother, lord john drummond who had been confirmed in all his devotion to the cause by his education at douay, had entered the service of the king of france, and had raised a regiment called the royal scots, of which he was the colonel. he was destined to take an active share in the events to which all were at this time looking forward, some with dread, others with impatience. but his influence was less likely to be permanent over his brother, than that of the duke's mother, whose wishes were all deeply engaged in behalf of james stuart. this lady, styled duchess of perth, was the daughter of george first duke of gordon, and of lady elizabeth howard, duchess of gordon, who, in , had astonished the faculty of advocates at edinburgh by sending them a silver medal with the head of the chevalier engraved upon it. the duchess of perth inherited her mother's determined character and political principles; for her adherence to which she eventually suffered, together with other ladies of rank, by imprisonment. these ties were strong inducements to the young duke of perth to take an active part in the affair of , and it is said to have been chiefly on his mother's persuasions that he took his first step. but there was another individual, whose good-faith to the cause had been proved by exertion and suffering; this was the brave william, viscount strathallan, who possessed higher qualities than those of personal valour and loyalty. "his character as a good christian," writes bishop forbes, "setting aside his other personal qualities and rank in the world, as it did endear him to all his acquaintances, so did it make his death universally regretted."[ ] lord strathallan was the eldest surviving son of sir john drummond of macheany, whom he had succeeded in his estates; and, in , became viscount strathallan, lord madertie, and lord drummond of cromlix, in consequence of the death of his cousin.[ ] he had engaged in the rebellion of , and had been taken prisoner, as well as his brother, mr. thomas drummond, at the battle of sheriff muir; but no proceedings had been instituted against him. his escape on that occasion, as well as the part which his kinsman, the earl of perth, took on that eventful day, are thus alluded to in an old ballad entitled the battle of the sheriff muir. "_to the tune of the 'horseman's sport.'_ "lord perth stood the storm; seaforth, and lukewarm kilsyth, and strathallan, not sla', man, and hamilton fled--the man was not bred, for he had no fancy to fa', man. so we ran, and they ran; and they ran, and we ran; and we ran, and they ran awa', man."[ ] lord strathallan joined the standard of prince charles in , and afterwards acted an important part in the events of that period. he was not only himself a zealous supporter of the stuarts, but was aided in no common degree by his wife, the eldest daughter of the baroness nairn and of lord william murray,--in his schemes and exertions. lady strathallan inherited from her mother, a woman of undoubted spirit and energy, the determination to act, and the fortitude to sustain the consequences of her exertions. but there was still another individual, not to specify various members of the same family, whose aid was most important to the cause of the jacobites. this was andrew drummond, one of the family of macheany, and uncle of lord strathallan. he was the founder of the banking-house of drummond at charing cross, which was formed, as it has been surmised, for the express purpose of facilitating supplies to the partisans of the chevalier. this spirited member of the family remained unchanged in his principles during the course of a life protracted until the age of eighty-one. his part in the great events of the day was well known, and meanly avenged by sir robert walpole, who, in the course of the insurrection, caused a run upon the bank. the concern, backed by its powerful connections, stood its ground; but the banker forgave not the minister. when the tumults of were at an end, mr. drummond so far yielded to the dictates of prudence as to go to court: he was received by george the second, to whom he paid his obeisance. but when the minister, anxious to conciliate his stern and formidable foe, advanced to offer him his hand, mr. drummond turned round, folded his hands behind his back, and walked away. "it was my duty," he said afterwards, "to pay my respects to his majesty, but i am not obliged to shake hands with his minister!" on the young james drummond duke of perth, as chief of the house of drummond, the eyes of the jacobites were turned, with expectations which were, to the utmost of the young nobleman's power, fulfilled. it was by his mother's desire that he had been educated in france, where he was confirmed in the principles of the romish faith. he possessed, indeed, some acquirements, and displayed certain qualities calculated to inspire hope in those who depended upon his exertions that he would prove a valuable adherent to the cause. naturally courageous, his military turn had been improved by a knowledge of the theory of war: his disposition united great vivacity to the endearing qualities of benevolence and liberality; he had the every-day virtues of good-nature, mildness, and courtesy. his pursuits were creditable to a nobleman. he was skilled in mathematics, an elegant draughtsman, a scholar in various languages, a general lover of literature, and a patron of the liberal arts. nor was a fondness for horse-racing, in which he indulged, and in which his horses frequently bore away the prize, likely to render him unpopular in the eyes of his countrymen. but there were some serious drawbacks to the utility of the young nobleman as a public man. his health, in the first place, was precarious. when a child, a barrel had been rolled over him, and a bruise was received in his lungs, to the effects of which his friends attributed a weakness and oppression from which he usually suffered at bed-time; when "he usually," as a contemporary relates, "took a little boiled bread and milk, or some such gentle food."[ ] this was an inauspicious commencement of an active and anxious career. it was afterwards discovered, that with all his acquirements and accomplishments, and with his natural gallantry, the duke was no practical soldier. in obtaining an influence over the minds of his countrymen, the young duke possessed one great advantage. he was descended from a house noted for the highest principles of honour.[ ] "to give the reader an undeniable proof of the generous maxims of that house," says the author of lochiell's memoirs, "it will be proper to notice, that, by the laws of scotland, no person succeeding to an estate is, in a legal sense, vested in the property until he serves himself heir to the person from whom he derives his title. the heir often took the advantage of this when the creditors were negligent, and passing by his father, and perhaps his grandfather, served heir to him who was last infefted; for unless they were actually seised of the estate according to the forms of law, they were no more than simple possessors, and could not encumber the land with any deed or debts; whereby the heir got clear of all that intervened betwixt himself and the person whom he represented by his service. this was an unjustifiable practice, which the diligence of creditors might always have prevented; and which is now wholly prevented by an act of parliament obliging every one possessing an estate to pay the debts of his predecessors, as well as his own, whether representing them by a service or not. "but the house of perth was always so firmly attached to honour and justice, that there are no less than fifteen retours, descending lineally from father to son, extant among their records. "now a retour is a writ returned from the court of attorney, testifying the service of every succeeding heir; and is therefore an unexceptionable evidence of paying his predecessor's debts, and of performing his obligations and deeds. such has been, and still is, the uniform practice of the truly noble lords of the house of montrose and, perhaps, some others of the ancient nobility have followed the same course, which will not only entail a blessing upon their family and posterity, but will likewise be a perpetual memorial of their integrity, honour, and antiquity." the young duke of perth fully maintained this high character of honour and liberal dealings, and as a landholder and a chief, he would, had he been spared, have proved himself a valuable member of society. he was, relates an historian, a father to the poor;--and the interval of ten years between his return to scotland and the rebellion was engaged in establishing manufactures for the employment of his tenantry, and in acts of beneficence. unhappily, it was not long before political combinations diverted the attention which was so well bestowed in the improvement of his country. in the beginning of the year , seven persons of distinction signed the association, engaging themselves to take arms, and to venture their lives and fortunes for the stuarts. among these was the duke of perth. this association was committed to drummond of bochaldy, who, besides, carried with him a list of those chiefs and chieftains who, the subscribers thought, were willing to join them, should a body of troops land from france. this list contained so great a number of names, that murray of broughton, in his evidence at the trial of lord lovat, said he considered it to be "a general list of the highlands;" a palpable refutation of the reasoning of those who have represented the jacobite insurrection as a partial and factious movement. the duke of perth had now irrevocably pledged himself to engage in the cause, which required a very different character of mind to that which he seems to have possessed. like the unfortunate lord derwentwater, he was calculated to adorn a smooth and prosperous course; but not to contend with fiery spirits, nor to act in concert with overbearing tempers. averse to interference, and retiring in his disposition, the duke was conceived, by those who mistook arrogance for talent, to have been possessed of only limited abilities. the friend or relative who composed the epitaph to his memory inscribed on the duke's tomb at antwerp, has borne testimony to the strength of his understanding. all have coincided in commending the honour and faith which procured him the respect of all parties, and the chivalric bravery which won him the affection of the soldiery. it is a melancholy task to trace the career of one so high-minded, so gentle, and so formed to adorn the peaceful tenour of a country life, through scenes of turmoil, disaster, and dismay; and, during the continuance of arduous exertions, to recall the slow and certain progress of a fatal disease, which progressed during hardships too severe for the delicate frame of this amiable young man to sustain without danger. the younger brother of the duke, lord john drummond, was constituted of different materials. courteous, honourable, and high-minded, like his brother, he added to those attributes of the gentleman a strong capacity for military affairs, to which he had applied himself from his earliest youth. intrepid and resolute, the roughness of the soldier was softened in this fine martial character by an elegance and ease of manner which sprang from a kind and gentle temper. the energy of lord john drummond's mind was shown by the enlistment of the scottish legion, under the protection of louis the fifteenth. in him the soldiers always knew that they had a sure, and firm friend: like his brother, when on the conquering side, clemency and humanity were never, even in the heat of victory, forgotten by the young general. individuals like these lamented and unfortunate brothers give a mournful interest to the history of the jacobites. the duke of perth was one of the most sanguine of those who desired to see charles edward land on the coast of scotland. of the representations which induced the prince to take that step, and especially of the part taken in the affair by the well-known murray of broughton, various accounts have been given. from mr. home we learn, that mr. murray used every argument in his power to deter the prince from invading scotland without a regular force to support him. this account was doubtless the version which the secretary himself gave of his part in the business. the statement of lord elcho differs greatly from that of mr. home.[ ] "mr. murray," says lord elcho, "in the beginning of the year , sent one young glengarry to the prince with a state of his affairs in scotland, in which it is believed he represented everybody that had ever spoke warmly of the stuart family, as people that would join him if he came."[ ] after mr. murray's own visit to france, he had an interview with all the members of the association, and there detailed to them the conference he had had with the prince. the duke of perth was the only person who did not, in that council, expressly declare against the prince's coming to scotland without assistance from france. the battle of fontenoy, on the eleventh of may , in which the british army was cut to pieces, encouraged, nevertheless, the ardent spirit of charles to proceed in his enterprise. the number of regular troops in scotland he well knew, was at that time inconsiderable; and he had, as he conceived, from the representations of murray, no other opponents than the british army. he was, probably, wholly ignorant of the powerful enemies who afterwards co-operated against him in the south-western parts of scotland.[ ] the duke of perth had already, in the beginning of the year, received, as well as others, his commission. he was appointed general of the forces in the north of scotland, and was therefore one of the most important personages for government to seize. the duke was at that time at drummond castle, a place only exceeded in beauty and splendour, in the highlands, by dunkeld and blair. the aspect of this commanding edifice is one which recalls the association of ancient power and princely wealth. beneath its walls is an expanse of a magnificent and varied country, combining all those features which characterize lands long held in peace by opulent and liberal possessors. "noble avenues, profuse woods," thus speaks one of unerring accuracy, "a waste of lawn and pasture, an unrestrained scope, everything bespeaks the carelessness of liberality and extensive possessions; while the ancient castle, its earliest part belonging to the year , stamps on it that air of high and distant opulence which adds so deep a moral interest to the rural features of baronial britain."[ ] from the castle it was now attempted to make the duke of perth a prisoner; but since it would have been impossible to detain a chief, prisoner in his own halls, and among his own retainers, a stratagem, peculiarly revolting to the highland code of honour, was adopted to ensnare the young nobleman. two highland officers, sir patrick murray and mr. campbell of inverary, were employed in this transaction, and a warrant was given to them to apprehend the duke of perth. this they knew to be impossible without a large force; they therefore condescended to lower the character of scotchmen, by violating the first principles which regulate the intercourse of gentlemen. they were base enough to abuse the hospitality of the kind and ready host who had often welcomed them to drummond castle. one day, these gentlemen sent the duke word that they should dine with him; he returned, in answer, that he should be proud to see them. on the twenty-sixth of july, , they went, and were entertained at dinner with the liberal courtesy which always shone forth under that roof. one of the duke's footmen, meantime, having espied an armed force about the house, called his grace to the door of the room, and begged him to take care of himself. this caution was even repeated more than once; but the duke, trusting that others were like himself, only smiled, and said he did not think that any gentleman "could be guilty of so dirty an action." but he found that he was mistaken. after dinner, when the officers had drunk a little, they took courage to inform the duke of their errand; and, to confirm their statement, one of them drew the warrant out of his pocket. the duke behaved with great presence of mind; he received their summons calmly, but begged permission to retire to a closet in the room where they were sitting, to get himself ready. this was assented to: the duke went into the closet, in which, however, there was a door; he opened it and, slipping down a flight of stairs, escaped to a wood adjacent to his castle. this wood was already surrounded by an armed force, and he was obliged to crawl on his hands and feet to avoid being observed by the sentinels. in such a situation he was hindered and wounded by briers and thorns, and at last was obliged to hide himself in a dry ditch from his pursuers. they were, indeed, misled by the servants at the castle, who, upon their inquiring for the fugitive, declared that he had gone away on horseback. the officers however on their return to crieff, where they were quartered, passed so near the place where he lay, that he heard what they were saying. when all the soldiers were out of sight, he sprang up; and seeing a countryman with a pony, having no bridle, but only a halter about its neck, he begged to have the use of it, and his request was granted. after this, he first rode to the house of mr. murray of abercairney, and afterwards to that of mr. drummond of logie. here he was saved by one of those presentiments of evil which one can neither explain nor deny. in the dead of night he was awakened by his host, who begged the duke to take refuge elsewhere; for fears, which he could not account for, haunted his mind. the fugitive arose from his bed, and set off elsewhere. shortly afterwards the house was invaded by a party of armed men, who came to search for him, but retired disappointed. his next meeting with his faithless guest, sir patrick murray, was on the field of gladsmuir, when the treacherous officer was made prisoner. the duke then took his revenge with characteristic good-humour; for, after saluting the captured officer, he said smilingly, "sir patie, i am to dine with _you_ to-day."[ ] after his escape from logie, the duke of perth crossed over to angus, incognito, and, attended only by one servant, rode through the north country without molestation, and arrived at the camp of prince charles. here he met the afterwards celebrated roy stuart, then a captain of grenadiers in lord john drummond's' regiment. that officer had embarked at helvoetsluys for harwich, where he had scarcely arrived before the ship in which he had sailed was searched by authority of a government warrant. charles edward was at this time at castle mingry, whence accounts had travelled to the capital of his arrival and projected hostilities. it was long before his intentions were even believed; and, when believed, they were treated at first with contempt. the duke of argyll, who was then at roseneath, had an intercepted letter of the prince's put into his hands, addressed to sir alexander macdonald, together with a copy of one to the laird of macleod. the duke hastened to edinburgh, and laid these papers before mr. craigie the advocate. "what a strange chimera," said craigie, laughing, "is it to suppose a young man with seven persons capable of overturning a throne!" "his landing with seven persons only," replied argyll gravely, "is a circumstance the more to be feared."[ ] sir john cope, nevertheless, long delayed obeying the orders of government to march northwards, although great pains were taken by some of the whig party to magnify the danger, and to add to the terrors of the foe. reports were even stated, in the presence of the magistrates, of a camp in ardnamirchan, which was a large scots mile in circumference,--of several ships of war hovering near the coast,--of cannon of an enormous size; whilst the young chevalier was described as one of the strongest men in christendom. all agreed that the invader had chosen the period of his enterprise judiciously. scotland contained but few forces, and those were newly levied men, sufficient in number merely to garrison the forts and to overawe smugglers. never was a country less prepared to receive an invasion,[ ] and general cope's blunders soon encouraged the hopes of the jacobites, until they were elated beyond measure. the sanguine charles edward pledged the general's health in a glass of brandy: "here's a health to mr. cope!" he cried, in the presence of his forces; "and, if all the usurper's generals follow his example, i shall soon be at st. james's." the toast was given by the private soldiers, to whom whiskey was distributed to drink it. well furnished with artillery, of which the insurgents were destitute, general cope might have obtained an easy victory, or at any rate have dispersed the jacobite army. happy would it have been for scotland, had the rebellion thus been extinguished, before the brave had sunk in civil strife, or loyal hearts been broken in the silent agony of imprisonment! many acts of heroism, numberless traits of fortitude, would indeed have been lost to the mournful admiration of posterity; but the vigorous hand, which crushes a hopeless struggle in its outset, is ever, in effect, the hand of mercy. from this time the duke of perth shared in the short-lived triumph of his prince. he marched with the army to dunkeld, where, supping in the house of james, duke of atholl, who retired at their approach, the unfortunate charles edward forced a gaiety which he was said, at that time, not to feel; asked for scottish dishes; and, having picked up a few words of gaelic, pledged the highland officers in that tongue. the duke of perth attended in the triumphant entrance into perth on the fourth of september. this was the first town of consequence that charles edward had visited; and his appearance, mounted on a fine horse presented to him by major macdonell, and dressed in a superb suit of tartan trimmed with gold, produced a great impression upon the assembled multitude, who greeted him with loud acclamations. he was conducted in triumph to the house of viscount stormont, the eldest brother of the celebrated earl of mansfield. lord stormont, though friendly to the cause, was not disposed to risk his life and property for the stuarts. he withdrew from the dangerous honour of entertaining the prince, yet left his family to receive him with all loyalty, and the chevalier took up his abode at lord stormont's. it was an antique house with a wooden front, which stood on the spot now occupied by the perth union bank, near the bottom of the high-street.[ ] the evening was closed by a ball given by the prince to the ladies of the town. the prince, probably wearied by the day's proceedings, danced only one dance, and then withdrew. his bed, it is said, was prepared by the fair hands of lord stormont's sister. on the following day a different scene took place, for all was not compliment that charles encountered in the loyal town of perth. mass having been celebrated publicly, charles was as publicly rebuked by a minister of the kirk, who reminded him of his father's failure in the last rebellion, which he attributed to his adherence to popery, to "which he had sacrificed his crown." "i prefer," replied the young chevalier boldly, "a heavenly crown to an earthly one!"[ ] the duke of perth had summoned many of his tenants to meet him at blair, where he required them to bring all the rent due, under pain of punishment; and he now ordered them also to carry arms to the extent of their power. he is said to have insisted upon his privilege as chief, with a degree of rigour which, when his power was exerted to force his tenants into a course of certain peril, cannot be justified. unhappily, the practice was of too frequent occurrence among some of the chieftains to permit us entirely to dismiss it as a calumny. the amiable lord derwentwater, the brave lord southesk, as has been remarked elsewhere, and proved by letters and contemporary statements, were not free from a similar charge. the following anecdote is so little in accordance with the forbearance assigned to the duke of perth both by enemies and friends, that it must, however, be read with distrust. it is related by james macpherson:[ ] speaking of the compulsory measures adopted, he says, "to this oppression of the duke of perth's likewise several submitted (such are the terrors of arbitrary power). three however resisted, declaring that besides the inconvenience which the neglect of their affairs would subject them to, and the danger of the undertaking, it was against their conscience to assist the cause of popery against the true religion of their country; to which one of them had the boldness to add, he was sorry to see his grace embarked in such a cause. upon this, the duke, flying into a rage, snatched up a pistol which lay in his tent, and immediately shot the poor man through the head. after which the other two made their escape from him, and one from the camp, the other being pursued and killed by one of the rebels, who was witness to the whole transaction." whilst the army remained at perth, a singular incident occurred, which seems to prove that the subsequent surrender of edinburgh was by no means unexpected by prince charles.[ ] one evening, when macpherson was on duty as one of the prince's guards, a person came to the camp, and was by his desire conducted to the presence of the chevalier. a long conference ensued, at which the duke of perth and the marquis of tullibardine were present. soon after the departure of this stranger, it was rumoured that edinburgh was to be betrayed to the jacobites, and that they were to take possession in a few days. there must, therefore, have been some secret communication. in the memorable events which followed this rumour, the duke of perth continually shared. he rode by the side of charles edward when the gallant adventurer, leaving perth on the eleventh of september, crossed the firth at the frew, and passed so near the walls of stirling, that the balls fired upon him and his forces from the castle fell within twenty yards of the prince. he proceeded on the march, commenced by the chevalier with the sum of only one guinea in his pocket, until they arrived at gray's hill, a place two miles west of edinburgh. here deputies from the town arrived to treat with charles. "i do not treat with subjects," was the chevalier's reply; whilst the duke of perth added, "the king's declaration, and the prince's manifesto, are such as every subject ought to accept with joy." meantime, a company of volunteers under the command of captain drummond, a gentleman of very different political sentiments to those of the majority of this name, had assembled in the college yard, when, after being addressed by their gallant leader, they proffered their services to aid the dragoons stationed in the city, under the command of general guest, in repelling the jacobites. on sunday, the fire-bell sounding in the time of divine service, emptied all the churches; and the people, rushing into the streets, beheld the volunteers drawn up in the lawn market, awaiting the arrival of the dragoons, with whom they were prepared to march out of the town to repel the rebels. but this gallant resolution was not put into execution; and a force of two thousand strong, not half of the soldiery having fire-locks, was suffered to force their way into a town garrisoned by two thousand seven hundred soldiers, all well supplied with arms and ammunition. that edinburgh was surrendered by the treachery of its provost, seems beyond all doubt. archibald stewart, who held that office at this critical moment, gave many indications of perfidy or cowardice, which have been duly related, although with little comment, by historians. notwithstanding that the approach of the insurgents had been by measured paces, and that they had advanced so leisurely as to spend some hours lying on the bank of a rivulet near linlithgow, no preparations for defence had been made, although it was the wish of many of the inhabitants to resist the jacobite army. it had been found that all the calms, or moulds for bullets, had been bought up; ladies having gone to the shops where they were made, to purchase them. when the danger became proximate, the provost merely remarked, that, if the enemy wished to enter, he did not know how they could be prevented. he viewed the fortifications, it is true, and rummaged up some grenades that had lain in a chest since . but the most suspicious incident occurred during a meeting of the town council, when a highland spy, having a letter in his hand, was apprehended, and brought before the assembly. the letter was given to the provost, who hurried it into his pocket, and in great haste broke up the assembly.[ ] in all the deliberations for the defence of the city, it was perceived that mr. provost stewart was a dead-weight upon any measures of vigour; and nothing could have been done to preserve edinburgh from surrendering, unless he had been absolutely bound in chains. yet this unworthy magistrate, so faithless to his trust, so discreditable an instrument of the jacobite cause, was afterwards acquitted, after a trial of four days, by the lords justiciary. the progress of that cause now appeared such as to promise success to the future exertions of its partisans. on the seventeenth of september, the prince received the news that edinburgh was taken, and a stand of one thousand arms seized; a circumstance which added greatly to the joy of the insurgents, who stood in need of arms. "when the army came near town," writes lord elcho, "it was met by vast multitudes of people, who by their repeated shouts and huzzas expressed a great deal of joy to see the prince. when they came into the suburbs, the crowd was prodigious, and all wishing the prince prosperity; in short, nobody doubted but that he would be joined by ten thousand men at edinburgh, if he could arm them. the army took the road to duddingston: lord strathallan marching first, at the head of the horse; the prince next, on horseback, with the duke of perth on his right, and lord elcho on his left; then lord george murray, on foot, at the head of the column of infantry. from duddingston, the army entered the king's park, by a breach made in the wall. lord george halted some time in the park, but afterwards marched the foot to duddingston; and the prince continued on horseback, always followed by the crowd, who were happy if they could touch his boots, or his horse furniture. in the steepest part of the road going down to the abbey, he was obliged to alight and walk; but the mob, out of curiosity, and some out of fondness, to touch him or kiss his hand, were like to throw him down: so, as soon as he was down the hill, he mounted his horse and rode through st. anne's yard into holyrood house, amidst the cries of six thousand people, who filled the air with their acclamations of joy. he dismounted in the inner court, and went up stairs into the gallery; and from thence into the duke of hamilton's apartments, which he occupied all the time he was at edinburgh. the crowd continued all night in the outer court of the abbey, and huzzaed every time the prince appeared at the window. he was joined, upon his entering the abbey, by the earl of kelly, lord balmerino, mr. hepburn of keith, mr. lockhart younger of carnwath, mr. graham younger of airth, mr. rollo younger of powhouse, mr. stirling of craigbarnet, mr. hamilton of bangor, sir david murray, and several other gentlemen of distinction: but not one of the mob, who were so fond of seeing him, were asked to enlist in his service; and, when he marched to fight cope, he had not one of them in his army."[ ] the prince, who was thus received with acclamations into the home of his forefathers, was at this time in the bloom of youth, being in the twenty-fifth year of his age. neither the agitation produced by the events of that critical day on his sensitive temper, nor the fatigue of the previous march to a young soldier, could diminish the grace of his deportment, nor hide the natural majesty of his carriage. "the figure and presence of charles stuart," even home remarks, "were not ill-suited to his lofty pretensions." he was in height about five feet ten inches, of a slender form; his features were aquiline; his complexion, though ruddy from the highland air, was naturally fair. he had the pointed chin, and small mouth in proportion to his other features, of charles the first. the colour of his eyes has been variously described; being, according to some, "large rolling brown eyes," whilst in many of his portraits he is depicted as having full blue eyes.[ ] the hair of charles stuart was concealed under a "pale peruke;" but, is said to have been red, or, according to most of his portraits, of a sandy hue. as he rode, with extreme grace, upon a fine bay gelding presented to him by the duke of perth, the bystanders remarked that an "irregular smile," as one of them has expressed it, lighted up, by fits, a countenance which told but too plainly every emotion of the heart. an anxious, watchful look was, at times, directed to those around and near him; and, in particular, rested on the face of lord elcho, who, though a gallant officer, the prince may perhaps have too well conjectured, was not, even at that early period, a sincere and firm adherent. to the duke of perth, on the contrary, the ill-fated young chevalier showed a marked respect, and sat for some moments on horseback in st. anne's yard, whilst the duke, like "an intelligent farmer, informed him of the different nature and produce of the different parcels of ground."[ ] dressed, as he was, in the highland garb,--a blue sash wrought with gold coming over his shoulder, a green velvet bonnet with a gold lace round it on his head, a white cockade,--the cross of st. andrew on his breast, his hand resting on a silver-hilted sword, and a pair of pistols on his saddle;--associated in the minds of all around him with the remembrance of scotland in her independence, and of scottish monarchs in their greatness, the enthusiasm which was inspired in a slow, but ardent people cannot be a matter of surprise. long did the remembrance of that day continue to be cherished, in mingled pride and sorrow! it is true, the opinions of men differed according to their secret bias. the jacobites, who looked on the young prince, compared him to robert the bruce, to whom he bore, they fancied, a resemblance. the whigs beheld in him the gentleman of fashion, but not the hero and the conqueror. all parties seem to have remarked the dejection and languor of his manner as he prepared to enter the palace of holyrood. it was, indeed, impossible, from the deportment of charles on his first introduction into scotland, or from his conduct whilst his affairs prospered, to comprehend the strength of his determination, or to calculate upon his power of endurance. in prosperity he was, it is true, brave, courteous, often amiable, often generous, but sometimes betraying the petulance and obstinacy which historians have been fond of considering as hereditary propensities in the heroic young man, but which are the common attributes of the inexperienced and the spoiled. in adversity he was meek, grateful, magnanimous; capable of forgetting his own unparalleled sufferings, in considering those of others; never breathing an accent of revenge; rising above fortune. he resembled charles the second more in his hatred of shedding blood, than in his vices, which were in the young chevalier the effect of circumstances, rather than of a depraved nature. he had the fortitude of charles the first: in truth, and right intention he exceeded both of these his ancestors; and in this, as in other respects, he showed more of the scottish character, more of the true sense of highland honour, than any of his immediate predecessors in the stuart line. naturally gay, though variable; quick and shrewd, rather than deep or strong in intellect; easily to be flattered, too easily led by some, too wilful in resisting the counsels of others,--as a prince, as the head of a court, he soon won upon the affections of the people who beheld him; but there were vital defects mingled with his great and good qualities, which well verified the saying of the whigs, "that he would prove neither a hero nor a conqueror." as the prince walked along the piazza close to the apartment of the duke of hamilton, a gentleman stepped out of the crowd, and, drawing his sword, raised his arm aloft, and walked up stairs before charles edward. the remarkable person who thus signalized his loyalty was james hepburn of keith, a gentleman of learning and intelligence, whose jacobitism was of a more enlightened description than that of the party with whom he thus identified himself. since the insurrection of , in which, when a very young man, he had been engaged, mr. hepburn had become a professed jacobite. yet he disclaimed the hereditary, indefeasible right of kings, and condemned the measures of james the second. cherishing even these opinions, he had nevertheless kept himself during twenty years ready to take up arms for charles edward, from a hatred to the union between england and scotland, a measure which he deemed injurious and humiliating to his country. idolized by the jacobites, beloved by some of the whigs, a "model of ancient simplicity, manliness and honour,"[ ] the accession of hepburn to the jacobite cause was lamented by those who esteemed him, and who saw in his notions of the independence of scotland only a visionary speculation. the entrance of prince charles had taken place early in the day: soon after noon he was proclaimed regent at the ancient cross of edinburgh, and his father's manifesto was read in the same place. six heralds in their robes, with a trumpet, came to the cross, which was surrounded by the brave camerons in three ranks. the streets and windows were crowded to excess; whilst david beato, a writing-master in edinburgh, read the papers to the heralds. the beautiful mrs. murray of broughton sat on horseback with a drawn sword in her hand beside the cross, her dress decorated with the white ribbon which was the token of adherence to the house of stuart. whilst these events took place, a spectator in the crowd, viewing clearly that all was the show of power, without the substantial capacity to perpetuate it, resolved to write the history of what, he foresaw, would be a short-lived though perhaps fierce contest. he was not mistaken. this individual was alexander henderson. the following account is given by lord elcho of the chevalier's court during the short time that he inhabited holyrood house.[ ] "the prince lived in edinburgh, from the twenty-second of september to the thirty-first of october, with great splendour and magnificence;--had every morning a numerous court of his officers. after he had held a council, he dined with his principal officers in public, where there was always a crowd of all sorts of people to see him dine. after dinner he rode out, attended by his life-guards, and reviewed his army; where there were always a great number of spectators, in coaches and on horseback. after the review he came to the abbey, where he received the ladies of fashion that came to his drawing-room. then he supped in public; and generally there was music at supper, and a ball afterwards. before he left edinburgh, he despatched sir james stewart to manage his affairs in the country and solicit succours." this remarkable scene was soon followed by the battle of preston pans. the memorable words of charles edward before the victory, "i have flung away the scabbard!" were followed by a total rout of the king's troops. the duke of perth was appointed lieutenant-general of the forces. after the engagement which ensued, when the heat of the contest was over, he distinguished himself in a manner in which every brave and loyal man would wish to imitate his example,--by saving the lives of the combatants. his tenantry, commanded by lord nairn, were among the most eager of the combatants on that day. when the defeat of the king's troops was manifest, a terrible carnage ensued. some of the conquered threw down their arms, and begged for quarter, which was refused them; others, who fled into the enclosures, were murdered; and all who were overtaken were cut in the most cruel manner by broad-swords and lochaber axes. the kind-hearted duke of perth, seeing this slaughter, made a signal to cameron of lochiel to stop the impetuosity of his men; and sent his aid-de-camp, or, as he was then called, his gentleman, for that purpose. no sooner had the duke done this, than he sprang himself upon a fleet bay mare, a racer, which had won the king's plate at leith some years before; and, taking a major of the king's troops along with him, "shot like an arrow through the field," and saved numbers: as also did his gentleman, mr. stuart.[ ] but these efforts were insufficient to prevent a cruel and terrible destruction of some of the bravest and best of the british officers. in the battle of preston pans fell the famous colonel gardiner. his fate was, it is said, envied by general cope, who, witnessing the destruction of his army, wished to have died on the field. whilst the highlanders were carried away to the house of colonel gardiner, close by, the young chevalier stood by the road-side, having sent to edinburgh by the advice of the duke of perth for surgeons. at this moment, henderson, that spectator of the proclamation who had resolved to write a history of the war, having slept at musselburgh, only at two miles' distance, the night before, stepped forward to take a survey of the field. "it was one scene of horror, capable," writes this historian,[ ] "of softening the hardest heart, being strewed not so much with the dead as with the wounded: the broken guns, halberts, pikes, and canteens showing the work of the day. in the midst of this distressing spectacle, an act of mercy shone forth, like a light from heaven." "major bowles," continues henderson, "of hamilton's dragoons, being dismounted, the enemy fell upon and wounded him in eleven different places; and just as some inhuman wretch was fetching a stroke, which perhaps would have proved mortal, mr. stuart threw up his sword and awarded the blow." from preston pans charles edward rode to pinkie house, a seat of the marquis of tweedale. in the elation of victory, a consideration which can alone excuse the disregard of the sufferings of others which the foregoing narrative states, the prince is said to have left the bulk of the wounded upon the field until the next day, when they were brought in carts to the infirmary of edinburgh. the neighbourhood was afterwards scattered over with the wounded who recovered, and who begged throughout the country, where they met with kindness and humanity from all, except from the adventurers, as they were called. such is the testimony of one who has not failed to bear witness to acts of humanity where they really existed; and it would be unfair to suppress the statements of contemporaries on either side of the question. at the same time, this account is wholly at variance with the deep sorrow afterwards betrayed by charles when he spoke of the sufferings of the scottish people on his account; nor is it consistent with the sensibility and humanity evinced, as the same historian avows, by the duke of perth.[ ] upon the return of prince charles to edinburgh, in order to carry on affairs with every appearance of royalty, he appointed a council, who met every day at holyrood house at ten o'clock for the despatch of business. the members of this council were the two lieutenants-general, the duke of perth, and lord george murray, who had been appointed in conjunction with the former; secretary murray; sullivan, quarter-master-general; lord pitsligo, lord elcho, sir thomas sheridan, and all the highland chiefs. the fine characteristics, and powerful mind of lord george murray, and the prominent part which he took in the insurrection, demand a long and separate account. among the rest of this ill-starred council, the principal members in point of rank, if not of influence, were alexander, lord forbes of pitsligo, who, after the battle of preston, joined the prince's standard with a troop of a hundred horse. the character of this nobleman gave his example a great influence among all who knew him, and who respected the ardent piety, bordering upon fanaticism, which characterized his religious sentiments, and the heartfelt earnestness of his political opinions. early in life this venerable man had sworn allegiance to william the third, and taken his seat in parliament; he became, however, an opponent to the union, and, from the period of that measure, his course was a decided system of calm and steady adherence to jacobite principles. he engaged in the rebellion of , yet by the forbearance of government was permitted to retain his title and estate. he now again embarked in the same adventurous cause, leaving the study of moral philosophy, on which he had written several essays, and the security of a private career, for the sake of conscience. no hope of gain, no inducement of ambition, lured this adherent of charles edward to the standard of the stuarts. aged, and so infirm that he was compelled by his bodily weakness to accept the generous proposal of charles edward to travel on all the marches in the prince's carriage, whilst the chevalier walked at the head of his army, lord pitsligo again came forward at what he conceived to be the dictates of duty. his example drew many others into the undertaking. of course, his subsequent history closed in the usual melancholy manner: his life was, it is true, spared; but his estates were forfeited, and his title extinguished. he died at auchiries, in aberdeenshire. david, lord elcho, who held also a place in the council, and who was colonel of the first troop of horseguards, was the son of james, fourth earl of wemyss, and of janet the daughter of colonel francis charteris of amisfield, whose immense property was afterwards vested in the wemyss family. lord elcho was at this time only twenty-four years of age, and therefore his appointment to the colonelcy of the horse was a signal compliment to his abilities. of his personal character much may be gleaned from his unpublished narrative, written in a dry, caustic, and uninspiring style; and penned by one who seems to have desired to do justice, but whose personal dislike to the young chevalier over-masters his inclination to the cause. notwithstanding a plain disapproval of many measures, and a marked conviction of the wilfulness of his young leader, lord elcho was true to the cause which he had adopted. his account of the manner in which the council of the regent, as he was styled, was conducted, is so characteristic, not only of those to whom he refers, but of his own mind, that i shall give it in the unvarnished phraseology in which he composed it.[ ] "the prince in his council used always first to declare what he was for, and then he asked everybody's opinion in their turn. there was one-third of the council whose principles were, that kings and princes can never either act, or think wrong; so, in consequence, they always confirmed whatever the prince said. the other two-thirds, who thought that kings and princes thought sometimes like other men, and were not altogether infallible, and that this prince was no more so than others, begged leave to differ from him, when they could give sufficient reasons for their difference of opinion, which very often was no hard matter to do; for as the prince and his old governor, sir thomas sheridan, were altogether ignorant of the ways and customs in great britain, and both much for the doctrine of absolute monarchy, they would very often, had they not been prevented, have fallen into blunders which might have hurt the cause. the prince could not bear to hear anybody differ in sentiment from him, and took a dislike to everybody that did; for he had a notion of commanding this army, as any general does a body of mercenaries, and so let them know only what he pleased, and they obey without inquiring further about the matter. this might have done better had his favourites been people of the country; but they were irish, and had nothing at stake. the scotch, who ought to be supposed to give the best advice they were capable of giving, thought they had a little right to know, and be consulted in what was for the good of the cause in which they had so much concern; and, if it had not been for their insisting strongly upon it, the prince, when he found that his sentiments were not always approved of, would have abolished his council long ere he did. there was a very good paper sent one day by a gentleman in edinburgh, to be perused by this council. the prince, when he heard it read, said that it was below his dignity to enter into such a reasoning with subjects, and ordered the paper to be laid aside. the paper afterwards was printed under the title of the prince's declaration to the people of england, and is esteemed the best manifesto published in those times; for the ones that were printed at rome and paris were reckoned not well calculated for the present age." before the prince had left edinburgh, intrigues had begun to distract his councils. "an ill-timed emulation," remarks an eye-witness of the rebellion, "soon crept in, and bred great dissension and animosities: the council was insensibly divided into factions, and came to be of little use, when measures were approved of, or condemned, not for themselves, but for the sake of their author."[ ] unhappily, the duke of perth, amiable, but inexperienced and unsuspecting, confided in one whose machinations, guided by an unbounded love of rule, eventually accelerated the ruin of the cause. the very name of murray of broughton recalls with a shudder the remembrance of selfish ambition and treachery. this unprincipled man, private secretary to charles edward, had a remarkable influence over the young chevalier's mind; an influence acquired during a long and intimate acquaintance abroad. "he was," observes mr. maxwell, "the only personal acquaintance the prince found in scotland." to a desire of having the sole government of the prince's council he "sacrificed what chance there was of a restoration, although upon that all his hopes were built." the expedition to scotland and england was, according to the same authority, the entire suggestion of murray; and the credit of that success which had hitherto attended the attempt, was now solely attributed to the secretary's advice. "the duke of perth," adds the same writer, "judging of murray's heart by his own, entertained the highest opinion of his integrity, went readily into all his schemes, and confirmed the prince in the esteem he had already conceived for murray." the man whom murray most dreaded as a rival was lord george murray, the coadjutor with the duke of perth in the command of the army; and it soon became no difficult task, not only to persuade prince charles, who knew but little personally of lord george, that that impetuous but honest man was a traitor, but also to inspire the amiable duke of perth with suspicions foreign to his generous nature. few of the calm spectators of the struggle were very sanguine as to its result; but the moderate hopes which they dared to entertain were all dashed to the ground by the unbridled love of sway which the secretary indulged, and which filled him with a base and bitter enmity towards men of talent and influence. too truly is the effect of his representations told in these few and simple words, written by one who was devotedly attached to the misled, confiding charles, upon whose ignorance of the world murray condescended to practise.[ ] "all those gentlemen that joined the prince after murray, were made known under the character he thought fit to give them; and all employments about the prince's person, and many in the army, were of his nomination. these he filled with such as he had reason to think would never thwart his measures, but be content to be his tools and creatures without aspiring higher. thus, some places of the greatest trust were given to little insignificant fellows; while there were abundance of gentlemen of figure and merit that had no employment at all, and who might have been of great use, had they been properly employed. those that murray had thus placed, seconded his little dirty views: it was their interest, too, to keep their betters at a distance from the prince's person and acquaintance. these were some of the disadvantages the prince laboured under during this whole expedition." as soon as the expedition into england was decided, a gentleman was dispatched to france to hasten the assistance expected from that quarter. the first intention of the insurgents was to march to newcastle, and give battle to general wade; then to proceed, if the prince proved victorious, by the eastern coast to england, in order to favour the expected landing of the french upon that side. this scheme was overruled by lord george murray, with what success history has declared. it was natural, when all was lost, for those who wished well to the cause, to retrace their steps, and to desire that any measures had been adopted, rather than those which had proved so disastrous: but this is the common feeling of regret, and cannot be relied on as the sober dictate of judgment. on his departure from edinburgh, the young chevalier was followed by the good will of many who had viewed his arrival with regret. the people, says maxwell of kirkconnel, "were affected with the dangers they apprehended he might be exposed to, and doubtful whether they ever should see him again."[ ] "everybody was mightily taken," adds the same writer, "with the prince's figure and personal behaviour. there was but one voice about them." what was still more important, the short duration of military rule exercised by charles edward had been so conducted as to create no disgust. the guard of the city had been entrusted to cameron of lochiel, the younger; and under his firm and judicious controul, the persons and effects of the citizens, had been as secure as in time of peace. "the people had the pleasure of seeing the whole apparatus of war, without feeling the effects of it."[ ] day after day some new and graceful instance of the humanity and kindness of the young chevalier's disposition had transpired. at this period of his life there was a degree of magnanimity in the sentiments of one, of whose principles despair, and the desertion of his friends afterwards made such a wreck. the following trait of this ill-fated young man is too beautiful--it reflects too much credit, through him, upon the party of whom he was the head--to be omitted; more especially as the narrative from which it is taken is not in the hands of general readers. "but what gave people the highest idea of him was, the negative he gave to a thing that very nearly concerned his interest, and upon which the success of his enterprise perhaps depended. it was proposed to send one of the prisoners to london, to demand of that court a cartel for the exchange of prisoners taken and to be taken during this war, and to intimate that a refusal would be looked upon as a resolution on their part to give no quarter. it was visible a cartel would be of great advantage to the prince's affairs: his friends would be more ready to declare for him, if they had nothing to fear but the chance of war in the field; and, if the court of london refused to settle a cartel, the prince was authorised to treat his prisoners in the same manner that the elector of hanover was determined to treat such of the prince's friends as might fall into his hands. it was urged, a few examples would compel the court of london to comply. it was to be presumed that the officers of the english army would make a point of it. they had never engaged in the service, but upon such terms as are in use among all civilized nations, and it would be no stain on their honour to lay down their commissions if these terms were not observed; and, that, owing to the obstinacy of their own prince. though this scheme was plausible, and represented as very important, the prince could never be brought into it; it was below him to make empty threats, and he would never put such as those into execution; he would never, in cold blood, take away lives which he had saved in heat of action at peril of his own."[ ] on the thirty-first of october, the prince set out from holyrood house in the evening, amid a crowd of people assembled to bid him farewell. on the following day he joined one column of his army at dalkeith. the army marched in two columns, by different roads, to carlisle: that which the prince commanded, and which was conducted by lord george murray, was composed of the guards, and the clans; charles edward marched on foot at the head of the highlanders, and the guards led the van. the other column went by peebles and moffat, having with them the artillery and heavy baggage. it was composed of the atholl brigade, the duke of perth's regiment, lord ogilvie, of glenbucket, and roy stuart's regiment. the greater part of the horse was commanded by the duke of perth. a week afterwards these two columns were re-united, and the troops were quartered in villages to the west of carlisle. on the thirteenth of october the town of carlisle was invested by the duke of perth and lord george murray, with the horse and lowland regiments. the conduct of the duke of perth, during the siege of five days which ensued, has been a subject of eulogy for every writer who has undertaken to relate the affairs of the period. the siege was attempted in the face of many difficulties, the prince having no battering cannon; so that, if the town had been well defended, it would have been found impossible to reduce it: still, being a place of great strength, and the key to england, he resolved to make the attempt. it was in this undertaking that the duke of perth reaped the benefit of his scientific knowledge of the art of war, and that he showed a degree of skill as well as of military ardour, which would, had his life been spared, have rendered him an excellent general. the castle of carlisle, built upon the east angle of the fortifications, was of course the object of his attack. on tuesday, the thirteenth of october, after his return from brampton, where the prince remained with the clans to cover the siege, the duke began his operations. his officers had forced four carpenters to go along with them in order to assist in erecting the batteries. in short, all ablebodied men were seized on by the insurgents, and those who had horses and ladders were constrained to carry them to the siege of carlisle. the duke then "broke ground," to use a military expression, about three hundred yards from the citadel, at the spring garden; and encountered the fire of the cannon from the town, approaching so near that the garrison even threw grenadoes at them. on wednesday, the trenches were opened, and were conducted by mr. grant, chief engineer, whose skill was greatly commended. on friday morning, batteries were erected within forty fathoms of the walls. during all this time the cannon and small arms from the castle played furiously, but with so little destruction to the besiegers, that only two men were killed. the weather was so intensely cold, that even the highlanders could scarcely sustain its inclemency; yet the duke of perth and the marquis of tullibardine, the one delicate in constitution, the other broken and in advancing age, worked at the trenches like any common labourer, in their shirts. on the friday, when the cannon began to play, and the scaling-ladders were brought out for an assault, a white flag was hung out, and the city offered to surrender. an express was sent to the chevalier at brampton; whose answer was, "that he would not do things by halves," and that the city had no reason to expect terms, unless the castle surrendered also. that event took place, in consequence, immediately; and the capitulation was signed by the duke of perth, and by colonel durand, who had been sent from london to defend carlisle. in the afternoon of the same day, the duke of perth entered the town, and took possession in the name of james the third, whose manifesto was read; the mayor and aldermen attending the duke, the sword and mace being carried before them. the duke of perth won many of those who were enemies to charles edward, over to his cause, by the humanity and civility with which he treated the conquered citizens, over whom he had the chief command until charles arrived. but even the important advantage thus gained could not still the animosities which had been kindled in the breasts of those who ought to have laid aside all private considerations for the good of their common undertaking. hitherto lord george murray and the duke of perth had had separate commands, and had not interfered with each other until the siege of carlisle. here the duke had acted as the chief in command; he had directed the attack, signed the capitulation, and given orders in the town until the prince arrived. this was a precedent for the whole campaign, and it ill-suited the fiery temper of lord george murray to brook it tamely. there was, indeed, much to be said in favour of lord george's alleged wrongs, in this preference of one so young and inexperienced as the duke of perth. in the first place, lord george was an older lieutenant-general than his rival; nor could it be agreeable to his lordship to serve under a man so much his inferior in age and experience. "lord george," observes mr. maxwell, "thought himself the fittest man to be at the head of the army; nor was he the only person that thought so. had it been left to the gentlemen of the army to choose a general, lord george would have carried it by vast odds against the duke of perth." but there was still another pretext, which was insisted upon as a reason less offensive to the duke of perth, whose gentle and noble qualities had much endeared him even to those who did not wish to see him chief in command; this was his religious persuasion. it was argued that, at that time in england, roman catholics were excluded from all employments, civil and military, by laws anterior to the revolution; it was contended that these laws, whether just or not, ought to be complied with until they were repealed; and that a defiance of these laws would confirm all that had been heard of old from the press and from the pulpit, of the prince's designs to subvert both church and state: neither could it be alleged in excuse for the young prince, that a superiority of genius or of experience had won this distinction, in opposition to custom, for the duke of perth. whilst these murmurs distracted the camp, immediately after the surrender of carlisle, lord george murray resigned his commission of lieutenant-general, and informed the prince that thenceforth he would serve as a volunteer. upon this step, mr. maxwell, who seems to have known intimately the merits of the case, makes the following temperate and beautiful reflection.[ ] "it would be rash in me to pretend to determine whether ambition, or zeal for the prince's service, determined lord george to take this step; or, if both had a share in it, which was predominant: it belongs to the searcher of hearts to judge of an action which might have proceeded from very different motives." under these circumstances, violent discussions took place in the army; and the result was, the wise resolution on the part of a certain officer, not improbably mr. maxwell himself, to represent the consequences of these altercations to the duke of perth. the undertaking was one of delicacy and difficulty; but the individual who undertook it had not miscalculated the true gentlemanly humility, the real dignity and disinterestedness, of the gallant man to whom he addressed himself. the narrative goes on as follows: "a gentleman who had been witness to such conversation, and dreaded nothing so much as dissension in a cause which could never succeed but by unanimity, resolved to speak to the duke of perth upon this ungrateful subject. he had observed that those that were loudest in their complaints were least inclined to give themselves any trouble in finding out a remedy." "the duke, who at this time was happy, but not elevated, upon his success, reasoned very coolly on the matter. he could never be convinced that it was unreasonable that he should have the principal command; but when it was represented to him, that since that opinion prevailed, whether well or ill founded, the prince's affairs might equally suffer, he took his resolution in a moment; said he never had anything in view but the prince's interest, and would cheerfully sacrifice everything to it. and he was as good as his word; for he took the first opportunity of acquainting the prince with the complaints that were against him, insisted upon being allowed to give up his command, and to serve henceforth at the head of his regiment." after his resignation, the duke of perth sank gracefully into the duties of the post assigned to him. but his ardour in the cause was unsubdued; and he was frequently known, during the march from carlisle to derby, to ride down three horses a day when information of the enemy was to be procured. the short sojourn of the prince at derby, and the inglorious retreat, have been detailed by the various biographers and historians of that period; but, amongst the various accounts which have been given, that which is contained in a letter from derby has not hitherto been presented to the reader, except in a collection rarely to be met with, and now but little known.[ ] on wednesday, the th of december ( ), two of the insurgents entered the town, inquired for the magistrates, and demanded billets for nine thousand men, and more. a short time afterwards the vanguard broke into the town, consisting of about thirty men, clothed in blue faced with gold, and scarlet waistcoats with gold lace; and, being "likely men," they made a good appearance. they were drawn up in the market-place, and remained there two hours; at the same time the bells were rung, and bonfires were lighted, in order to do away with the impression that the chevalier's vanguard had been received disrespectfully. about three o'clock lord elcho, on horseback, arrived at the head of the life-guards, about one hundred and fifty men, the flower of the army, who rode gallantly into the town, dressed like the vanguard, making a very fine display. the guards were followed by the main body of the army, who marched in tolerable order, two or three abreast, with eight standards, mostly having white flags and a red cross; the bag-pipers playing as they entered. whilst they were in the market-place, they caused the chevalier to be proclaimed king, and then asked for the magistrates. these functionaries appeared without their gowns of office, having cautiously sent them out of the town; a circumstance which was with some difficulty excused by the insurgents. in the dusk of the evening charles edward arrived: he walked on foot, attended by many of his men, who followed him to exeter house, where the prince remained until his retreat northwards. here he had guards placed all round the house, and here he maintained the semblance of a court, in the very heart of that country which he so longed to enter. the temporary abode of charles edward still remains in perfect repair, and much in the same state, with the exception of change of furniture, as when he held levees there. exeter house at that time belonged to brownlow, earl of exeter, whose connexion with the town of derby was owing to his marriage with a lady of that city. the house stands back from full street, and is situated within a small triangular court. an air of repose, notwithstanding the noise of a busy and important town, characterizes this interesting dwelling. it is devoid of pretension; its gables and chimneys proclaim the elizabethan period. a wide staircase, rising from a small hall, leads to a square, oak-panelled drawing-room, the presence-chamber in the days of the ill-fated charles. on either side are chambers, retaining, as far as the walls are concerned, much of the character of former days, but furnished recently. one of these served the prince as a sleeping-room; the rest were occupied by his officers of state, and by such of his retinue as could be accommodated in a house of moderate size. the tenement contains many small rooms and closets, well adapted, had there been need, for concealment and escape. the back of exeter house is picturesque in the extreme. the character of the building is here more distinctly ancient; and its architecture is uniform, though simple. beyond the steps by which you descend from a spacious dining-room, is a long lawn, enclosed between high walls, and extending to the brink of the river derwent. a tradition prevails in derby, that, after the retreat, one of the highland officers who had been left behind, hearing of the approach of the duke of cumberland's army, escaped through this garden, and, plunging into the river, swam down its quiet waters for a considerable distance, until he gained a part of the opposite shore where he thought he might land without detection. another more interesting association connects the spot with the poet dr. darwin, who is said to have planted some willows which grow on the opposite side of the river to exeter house. here charles remained for some days. the dukes of atholl and perth, and the other noblemen who commanded regiments, together with lady ogilvie and mrs. murray of broughton, were lodged in the best gentlemen's houses. every house was tolerably well filled; but the highlanders continued pouring in till ten or eleven o'clock, until the burgesses of derby began to think they "should never have seen the last of them." "at their coming in," says the writer of the letter referred to, "they were generally treated with bread, cheese, beer and ale, while all hands were aloft getting supper ready. after supper, being weary with their long march, they went to rest, most upon straw-beds, some in beds." on friday morning, only two days after the minds of the inhabitants had been agitated by the arrival of the jacobites, they heard the drums beat to arms, and the bag-pipers playing about the town. it was supposed that this was a summons to a march to loughborough, on the way to london; but a very different resolution had been adopted. the prince's council had, the very morning before, met to advise their inexperienced leader as to the steps which he might deem it advisable to take. the memorable decision to return to the north was not arrived at without a painful scene, such as those who felt deeply the situation of the chevalier could never forget. the sentiments with which the ardent young man listened to the proposal are thus detailed by mr. maxwell. the statement at once exonerates the prince of two faults with which his memory has been taxed, those of cowardice and obstinacy. to a coward the great risk of advancing would have appeared in strong colours. an obstinate man would never have yielded to the arguments which were proffered. the description which maxwell gives of the prince's flatterers is such as too fatally applies to the generality of those who have not the courage to be sincere.[ ] "the prince, naturally bold and enterprising, and hitherto successful in everything, was shocked with the mention of a retreat. since he set out from edinburgh, he had never a thought but of going on, and fighting everything he found in his way to london. he had the highest idea of the bravery of his own men, and a despicable opinion of his enemies: he had hitherto had reason for both, and was confirmed in these notions by some of those who were nearest his person. these sycophants, more intent upon securing his favour than promoting his interest, were eternally saying whatever they thought would please, and never hazarded a disagreeable truth."[ ] the duke of perth coincided, on this occasion, with charles in wishing to advance; or, to use the words of lord george murray, "the duke of perth was for it, since his royal highness was."[ ] it now seems to be admitted that the judgment of the strong mind of lord george murray was less sound in this instance than the opinion of those who were more guided by feeling than by reflection, less cautious than the sagacious general, less willing and less able to balance the arguments on either side.[ ] "there are not a few," remarks mr. maxwell, "who still think the prince would have carried his point had he gone on from derby. they built much upon the confusion there was at london, and the panic which prevailed among the elector's troops at this juncture. it is impossible to decide with any degree of certainty whether he would or would not have succeeded; that depended upon the disposition of the army, and of the city of london, ready to declare for the prince." never had the soldiery been in greater spirits than during their stay at derby; but the deepest dejection prevailed, when, in spite of some manoeuvres to deceive them, they found themselves on the road to ashbourn. the despair and disgust of the prince were as painful to behold, as they were natural. he had played for the highest stake, and lost it. yet one there was who could look on the drooping figure of the disconsolate young man as he followed the van of the army, and attribute to ill-humour the dejection of that ardent and generous mind. the following is an extract from lord elcho's narrative. "doncaster.--the prince, who had marched all the way to derby on foot at the head of a column of infantry, now mounted on horseback, and rode generally after the van of the army, and appeared to be out of humour. upon the army marching out of derby, mr. morgan, an english gentleman, came up to mr. vaughan, who was riding in the life-guards, and after saluting him said, 'd---- me, vaughan, they are going to scotland!' mr. vaughan replied, 'wherever they go, i am determined, now i have joined them, to go along with them.' upon which mr. morgan said with an oath, 'i had rather be _hanged_ than go to scotland to _starve_.' mr. morgan _was hanged_ in ; and mr. vaughan is an officer in spain."[ ] in six days afterwards the jacobite army arrived at preston, and from this place, where the prince halted, he sent the duke of perth to scotland to summon his friends from perth to join him, in order to renew the attack upon england. the prince was resolved to retire only until he met that reinforcement, and then to march to london, be the consequence what it would.[ ] but this scheme, so dearly cherished by charles, was impracticable. the duke of perth, taking with him an escort of seventy or eighty horse, set out for kendal. he was assailed as he passed through that place by a mob, which he dispersed by firing on them, and resumed his march; but near penrith he was attacked by a far more formidable force in a band of militia both horse and foot, greatly superior in numbers to his troops, and was obliged to retire to kendal. on the fifteenth he rejoined the prince's army, after this fruitless attempt. the retreat of the prince's army, managed as it was with consummate skill by lord george murray, continued without any division of the forces until they had passed the river esk. there the army separated; and the duke of perth commanding one column of the army took the eastern line to scotland, while charles marched to annan in dumfrieshire. the siege of stirling is the next event of note in which we find the duke of perth engaged. he here acted again as lieutenant-general, and commanded the siege. here, too, the valour and fidelity of two other members of his family were again proved. lord john drummond, who had landed in scotland while the jacobites were at derby, with the french brigade, was slightly wounded in the battle of falkirk. he had the honour of being near the prince in the centre of the battle with his grenadiers; and it was on his artillery and engineers that the chevalier chiefly depended for success in reducing stirling. lord strathallan had also assembled his men, and joined the army. while the prince's army were flushed with the victory of falkirk, the alternative of again marching to london, or of continuing the siege of stirling, was discussed. the last-mentioned plan was unhappily adopted; and the duke of perth called upon general blakeney to surrender. the answer was, that the general had always hitherto been regarded as a man of honour, and that he would always behave himself as such, and would hold out the place as long as it was tenable. upon this, fresh works were erected; and monsieur mirabel, the chief engineer, gave it as his opinion that the castle would be reduced in a few days. the unfortunate result of that ill-advised siege, and the consequent retreat of the prince from stirling, have been, with every appearance of reason, as much blamed as the retreat from derby. it was a fatal resolution, and one which was not adopted by the prince without sincere reluctance, and not until after a strong representation, signed at falkirk by lord george murray and by all the clans, begging that his royal highness would consent to retreat, had been presented to him. the great desertion that had taken place since the battle was adduced as a reason for this movement; and the siege of stirling, it was also urged, must necessarily be raised, on account of the inclemency of the weather, which the soldiers could hardly bear in their trenches, and the impaired state of the artillery.[ ] the winter was passed in a plan of operations, for which the generalship of prince charles, or rather the able judgment of lord george murray, has been eulogized. making the neighbourhood of inverness the centre, from which he could direct all the operations of his various generals, the prince employed his army of eight thousand men extensively and usefully. the siege of fort william was carried on by brigadier stapleton; lord george murray had invested blair castle; lord john drummond was making head against general bland; the duke of perth was in pursuit of lord loudon. this portion of the operations was attended with so much difficulty and danger, that charles must have entertained a high opinion of him to whom it was entrusted. lord cromartie had been already sent to disperse, if possible, lord loudon's little army; but that skilful and estimable nobleman had successfully eluded his adversary, who found it impossible either to entice him into an action, or to force him out of the country. lord loudon had taken up his quarters at dornoch, on the frith which divides rosshire from sutherland. here he was secure, as lord cromartie had no boats. it was therefore deemed necessary to have two detachments; one to guard the passage of the frith, the other to go by the head of it. this was a matter of some difficulty, for the prince had at that time hardly as many men at inverness as were necessary to guard his person. it was, however, essential to attack lord loudon, whose army cut off all communication with caithness, whence the prince expected provisions and men. in this dilemma an expedient had been thought of some time previously, and preparations had been made for it; but the execution was extremely dangerous. mr. maxwell gives the following account of it:[ ] "all the fishing-boats that could be got on the coast of moray had been brought to findhorn; the difficulty was, to cross the frith of moray unperceived by the english ships that were continually cruizing there: if the design was suspected, it could not succeed. two or three north-country gentlemen, that were employed in this affair, had conducted it with great secrecy and expedition. all was ready at findhorn when the orders came from inverness to make the attempt, and the enemy had no suspicion. moir of stoneywood set out with this little fleet in the beginning of the night, got safe across the frith of moray, and arrived in the morning at tain, where the duke of perth, whom the prince had sent to command this expedition, was ready. the men were embarked with great despatch, and by means of a thick fog, which happened very opportunely, got over to sutherland without being perceived. the duke of perth marched directly to the enemies' quarters, and, after some disappointments, owing to his being the dupe of his good nature and politeness, succeeded in dispersing lord loudon's army: and this era, in the opinion of mr. maxwell, is the finest part of the prince's expedition." henceforth, all was dismay and disaster. the affairs of charles edward had now begun visibly to decline, for money, the sinews of the war, was not to be had; and the military chest, plundered, as it has been stated, by villains who robbed the prince by false musters, was exhausted. the hopes of the chevalier were in the lowest state, when the intelligence reached inverness that the duke of cumberland was advancing from aberdeen to attack his forces. upon receiving these tidings, the prince sent messengers far and wide to call in his scattered troops, expecting that he should be strong enough to venture a battle. the duke of perth, who at that time commanded all the troops that were to the eastward of inverness, was planted near the river spey. when the enemy approached, he retired to elgin. on the same day, the twelfth of april , the duke of cumberland passed the spey, and encamped within three or four miles of elgin. this retreat of the duke of perth has been severely condemned. it appears, however, that he, and lord john drummond who was with him, could not muster two thousand five hundred men. the river, which was very low, was fordable in many places; so much so, that the enemy might march a battalion in front. the duke had no artillery, whilst the enemy had a very good train. there was no possibility of sending reinforcements from inverness; above all, says mr. maxwell, "nothing was to be risked that might dishearten the common soldiers on the eve of a general and decisive action." but the same candid and experienced soldier acknowledges that the duke of perth remained too long at nairn, whither he retired, and where the duke of cumberland advanced within a mile of the town, and followed the retiring army of perth for a mile or two, though to no purpose, the foot-soldiers being protected by fitzjames's horse. the delay at nairn has, it is true, been excused, on the grounds of a command from prince charles to the duke of perth and his brother not to retire too hastily before cumberland, but to keep as near to him as was consistent with their safety. this message "put them on their mettle, and well-nigh occasioned their destruction." the duke of perth continued to retreat, until he halted somewhat short of culloden, where the prince arrived that evening, and took up his quarters at culloden house.[ ] the following day was the fifteenth of april, the anniversary of that on which the duke of cumberland, the disgrace of his family, the hard-hearted conqueror of a brave and humane foe, first saw the light. it was expected that he would choose his birth-day for the combat, but the fatal engagement of culloden was deferred until the following morning. the battle of culloden was prefaced by a general sentiment of despair among those who shared its perils. "this," says mr. maxwell,[ ] referring to the morning of the engagement, "was the first time the prince, ever thought his affairs desperate. he saw his little army much reduced, and half-dead with hunger and fatigue, and found himself under a necessity of fighting in that miserable condition, for he would not think of a retreat; which he had never yielded to but with the greatest reluctance, and which, on this occasion, he imagined would disperse the few men he had, and put an inglorious end to his expedition. he resolved to wait for the enemy, be the event what it would; and he did not wait long, for he had been but a few hours at culloden, when his scouts brought him word that the enemy was within two miles, advancing towards the moor, where the prince had drawn up his army the day before. the men were scattered among the woods of culloden, the greatest part fast asleep. as soon as the alarm was given, the officers ran about on all sides to rouse them, if i may use the expression, among the bushes; and some went to inverness, to bring back such of the men as hunger had driven there. notwithstanding the pains taken by the officers to assemble the men, there were several hundreds absent from the battle, though within a mile of it: some were quite exhausted, and not able to crawl; and others asleep in coverts that had not been beat up. however, in less time than one could have imagined, the best part of the army was assembled, and formed on the moor, where it had been drawn up the day before. every corps knew its post, and went straight without waiting for fresh orders; the order of battle was as follows: the army was drawn up in two lines; the first was composed of the atholl brigade, which had the right; the camerons, stuarts of appin, frazers, macintoshes, farquharsons, chisholms, perths, roy stuart's regiment, and the macdonalds, who had the left." the highlanders, though faint with fatigue and want of sleep, forgot all their hardships at the approach of an enemy; and, as a shout was sent up from the duke of cumberland's army, they returned it with the spirit of a valiant and undaunted people. the order of battle was as follows: the right wing was commanded by lord george murray, and the left by the duke of perth; the centre of the first line by lord john drummond, and the centre of the second by brigadier stapleton. there were five cannon on the right, and four on the left of the army.[ ] the duke of perth had therefore, from his important command, the privilege of spending the short period of existence, which, as the event proved, providence allotted to him, in the service of a prince whom he loved; whilst he had the good fortune to escape that responsibility which fell to the lot of his rival, lord george murray. the influence which that nobleman had acquired over the council of war had enabled him far to eclipse the duke of perth in importance; but it was the fate of lord george murray to pay a heavy penalty for that distinction. but not only did the amiable and high-minded duke of perth calmly surrender to one, who was esteemed a better leader than himself, the post of honour; but he endeavoured to reconcile to the indignity put upon them the fierce spirit of the macdonalds, who were obliged to cede their accustomed place on the right to the atholl men. "if," said the duke, "you fight with your usual bravery, you will make the left wing a right wing; in which case i shall ever afterwards assume the honourable surname of macdonald."[ ] the duke's standard was borne, on this occasion, by the laird of comrie, whose descendant still shows the claymore which his ancestors brandished; whilst the duke exclaimed aloud, "claymore!"[ ] happy would it have been for charles, had a similar spirit purified the motives of all those on whom he was fated to depend! the battle was soon ended! half-an-hour of slaughter and despair terminated the final struggle of the stuarts for the throne of britain! during that fearful though brief[ ] space, one thousand of the jacobites were killed; no quarter being given on either side. exhausted by fatigue and want of food, the brave highlanders fell thick as autumn leaves upon the blood-stained moor, near culloden house. about two hundred only on the king's side perished in the encounter. during the whole battle, taking into account the previous cannonading, the jacobites lost, as the prisoners afterwards stated, four thousand men. but it was not until after the fury of the fight ceased, that the true horrors of war really began. these may be said to consist, not in the ardour of a strife in which the passions, madly engaged, have no check, nor stay; but in the cold, vindictive, brutal, and remorseless after-deeds, which stamp for ever the miseries of a conflict upon the broken hearts of the survivors. "exceeding few," says mr. maxwell, "were made prisoners in the field of battle, which was such a scene of horror and inhumanity as is rarely to be met with among civilized nations. every circumstance concurs to heighten the enormity of the cruelties exercised on this occasion; the shortness of the action, the cheapness of the victory, and, above all, the moderation the prince had shown during his prosperity,--the leniency, and even tenderness, with which he had always treated his enemies. but that which was done on the field of culloden was but a prelude to a long series of massacres committed in cold blood, which i shall have occasion to mention afterwards."[ ] the chevalier, leaving that part of the field upon which bodies in layers of three or four deep were lying, rode along the moor in the direction of fort augustus, where he passed the river of nairn. he halted, and held a conference with sir thomas sheridan, sullivan, and hay; and, having taken his resolution, he sent young sullivan to the gentlemen who had followed him, and who were now pretty numerous. sheridan at first pretended to conduct them to the place where the prince was to re-assemble his army; but, having ridden half a mile towards ruthven, he there stopped, and dismissed them all in the prince's name, telling them it was the prince's "pleasure that they should shift for themselves." this abrupt and impolitic, not to say ungracious and unsoldier-like proceeding, has been justified by the necessity of the moment. there were no magazines in the highlands, in which an unusual scarcity prevailed. the lowlanders, more especially, must have starved in a country that had not the means of supporting its own inhabitants, and of which they knew neither the roads nor the language. it is, however, but too probable, that various suspicions, which were afterwards dispelled, of the fidelity of the scots, induced charles to throw himself into the hands of his irish attendants at this critical juncture.[ ] the duke of perth, with his brother lord john drummond, and lord george murray, with the atholl men, and almost all the low-country men who had been in the jacobite army, retired to ruthven, where they remained a short time with two or three thousand men, but without a day's subsistence. the leaders of this band finding it impossible to keep the men together, and receiving no orders from the prince, came to a resolution of separating. they took a melancholy farewell of each other, brothers and companions in arms, and many of them united by ties of relationship. the chieftains dispersed to seek places of shelter, to escape the pursuit of cumberland's "bloodhounds:" the men went to their homes. such is the statement of maxwell of kirkconnel, relative to the duke of perth: according to another account, the course which the duke pursued was the following:-- he is said to have been wounded in the back and hands in the battle, and to have fled with great precipitancy from the field of battle. he obtained, it is supposed, that shelter which, even under the most dangerous and disastrous circumstances, was rarely refused to the poor jacobites. the exact spot of his retreat has never been ascertained; yet persons living have been heard to say, that in the houses of their grandfathers or ancestors, the duke of perth took refuge, until the vigilance of pursuit had abated. the obscurity into which this and other subjects connected with have fallen, may be accounted for by the apathy which, at the beginning of the present century existed concerning all subjects connected with the ill-starred enterprise of the stuarts; and the loss of much interesting information, which the curiosity of modern times would endeavour in vain to resuscitate, has been the result. tradition, however, often a sure guide, and seldom, at all events, wholly erroneous, has preserved some trace of the unfortunate wanderer's adventures after all was at an end. as it might be expected, and as common report in the neighbourhood of drummond castle states, the duke returned to the protection of his own people. to them, and to his stately home, he was fondly attached, notwithstanding his foreign education. on first going from perth to join the insurrection, as he lost sight of his castle, he turned round, and as if anticipating all the consequences of that step, exclaimed, 'o! my bonny drummond castle, and my bonny lands!' the personal appearance of the duke was well known over all the country, for he was universally beloved, and was in the practice of riding at the head of his tenantry and friends, called in that neighbourhood 'his guards,' to michaelmas market at crieff, the greatest fair in those parts; where thousands assembled to buy and sell cattle and horses. he was therefore afterwards easily recognised, although in disguise. "sometime after the battle of culloden," as the same authority relates,[ ] "the duke returned to drummond castle, where his mother usually resided; and lived there very privately, skulking about the woods and in disguise; he was repeatedly seen in a female dress, barefooted, and bare-headed. once a party came to search the castle unexpectedly; he instantly got into a wall press or closet, or recess of some sort, where a woman shut him in, and standing before it, remained motionless till they left that room, to carry on the search, when he got out at a window and gained the retreats in the woods. after he had withdrawn from scotland, and settled in the north of england, he occasionally visited strathearn." in one of these visits he called, disguised as an old travelling soldier, at drummond castle, and desired the housekeeper to show him the rooms of the mansion. she was humming the song of "the duke of perth's lament," and having learnt the name of the song he desired her to sing it no more. when he got into his own apartment he cried out, "this is the duke's own room;" when, lifting his arm to lay hold of one of the pictures, she observed he was in tears, and perceived better dress under his disguise, which convinced her he was the duke himself.[ ] for some time the duke continued these wanderings, stopping now and then to gaze upon his castle, the sight of which affected him to tears. "it was now," says the writer of the case of thomas drummond, "that for obvious reasons, to elude discovery, the report of his death on shipboard or otherwise, would be propagated by his friends and encouraged by himself." it is stated upon the same evidence, that instead of sailing to france, as it has been generally believed, the duke fled to england; that he was conveyed on board a ship and landed at south shields, a few miles only distant from biddick, a small sequestered village, chiefly inhabited at that time by banditti, who set all authority at defiance. biddick is situated near the river wear, a few miles from sunderland; it was, at that time, both from situation and from the character of its inhabitants, a likely place for one flying from the power of the law to find a shelter; it was, indeed, a common retreat for the unfortunate and the criminal. that the duke of perth actually took refuge there for some time, is an assertion which has gained credence from the following reasons:-- in the first place: "in the history, directory, and gazette of the counties of northumberland and durham, and the town and counties of newcastle-upon-tyne, by william parson and william white, two volumes, - , the following passage occurs relating to biddick, in the parish of houghton-le-spring:-- "it was here that the unfortunate james drummond, commonly called duke of perth, took sanctuary after the rebellion of - , under the protection of nicholas lambton, esq., of south biddick, where he died, and was buried at pain-shaw." in the case of thomas drummond, (on whom i shall hereafter make some comments,) letters stated to be from lord john drummond are referred to, and quoted in part. these are said to have been addressed by lord john drummond from boulogne, to the duke at houghton-le-spring. the passage quoted runs thus: "i think you had better come to france, and you would be out of danger; as i find you are living in obscurity at houghton-le-spring. i doubt that it is a dangerous place; you say it is reported that you died on your passage. i hope and trust you will still live in obscurity." these expressions, which it must be owned have very much the air of being coined for the purpose, would certainly, were the supposed letters authenticated, establish the fact of the duke's retreat to houghton-le-spring. upon the doubtful nature of the intelligence, which was alone gleaned by the friends and relatives of the duke of perth, a superstructure of romance, as it certainly appears to be, was reared. the duke was never, as it was believed, married; and in the estates were restored to his kinsman, the honourable john drummond, who was created baron perth, and who died in , leaving the estates, with the honour of chieftainship, to his daughter clementina sarah, now lady willoughby d'eresby. in , a claimant to the honours and estates appeared in thomas drummond, who declared himself to be the grandson of james duke of perth; according to his account, the duke of perth on reaching biddick, took up his abode with a man named john armstrong, a collier or pitman. the occupation of this man was, it was stated, an inducement for this choice on the part of the duke, as in case of pursuit, the abyss at a coal-pit might afford a secure retreat; since no one would dare to enter a coal-pit without the permission of the owners. the duke, it is stated in the case of thomas drummond, commenced soon after his arrival at biddick, the employment of a shoemaker, in order to lull suspicion; he lost money by his endeavours, and soon relinquished his new trade. he is said to have become, in the course of time, much attached to the daughter of his host, john armstrong, and to have married her at the parish church of houghton-le-spring, in . he resided with his wife's family until his first child was born, when he removed to the boat-house, a dwelling with the use and privilege of a ferry-boat attached to it, and belonging to nicholas lambton, esq. of biddick; who, knowing the rank and misfortunes of the duke, bestowed it on him from compassion. here he lived, and with the aid of a small huckster's shop on the premises, supported a family, which in process of time, amounted to six or seven children; two of whom, mrs. atkinson and mrs. peters, aged women, but still in full possession of their intellect, have given their testimony to the identity of this shoemaker and huckster to the duke of perth.[ ] the papers, letters, documents and writings, a favourite diamond ring, and a ducal patent of nobility, were, however, "all lost in the great flood of the river wear in ;" and the duke is said to have deeply lamented this misfortune. it is not, however, very likely that he would have carried his ducal patent with him in his flight; and had he afterwards sent for it from drummond castle, some of his family must have been apprised of his existence. it is stated, however, but only on hearsay, that thirteen years after the year , the duke visited his forfeited castle of drummond, disguised as an old beggar, and dressed up in a light coloured wig. this rumour rests chiefly upon the evidence of the rev. dr. malcolm, lld., who, in , published a genealogical memoir of the ancient and noble house of drummond; and who declared, on being applied to by the family of thomas drummond, that he had been told by mrs. sommers, the daughter-in-law of patrick drummond, esq., of drummondernock, the intimate friend of the duke of perth, that the duke survived the events of the battle of culloden a long time, and years afterwards, visited his estates, and was recognised by many of his "trusty tenants."[ ] a similar report was, at the same time, very prevalent at strathearn; and it has been positively affirmed, that a visit was received by mr. græme, at garnock, from the duke of perth, long after he was believed to be dead. at this time, it is indeed wholly impossible to verify, or even satisfactorily to refute such statements; but the existence of a report in scotland, that the duke did not perish at sea, may be received as an undoubted fact.[ ] in , when the case of thomas drummond was first agitated, mrs. atkinson and mrs. elizabeth peters, the supposed daughters of james duke of perth, were both alive, and on their evidence much of the stability of the case depended. the claimant, thomas drummond, who is stated to have been the eldest son of james, son of james duke of perth, was born in , and was living in at houghton-le-spring, in the occupation of a pitman. much doubt is thrown upon the whole of the case, which was not followed up, by the length of time which elapsed before any claim was made on the part of this supposed descendant of the duke of perth. the act for the restoration of the forfeited estates was not passed, indeed, until two years after the death (as it is stated) of the duke of perth, that is, in ; yet one would suppose that he would have carefully instructed his son in the proper manner to assert his rights in case of such an event. that son lived to a mature age, married and died, yet made no effort to recover what were said to be his just rights.[ ] such is the statement of those who seek to establish the belief that the duke of perth lived to a good old age, married, had children, and left heirs to his title and estates. on the other hand, it is certain that it was generally considered certain, at the time of the insurrection, that the duke died on his voyage to france; and it was even alluded to by one of the counsel at the trials of lord kilmarnock and lord balmerino in august , when the name of the duke of perth being mentioned, "who," said the speaker, "i see by the papers, is dead." but it _is_ certainly _remarkable_, that neither maxwell of kirkconnel, nor lord elcho, the one in his narrative which has been printed, the other in his manuscript memoir, mention the death of the duke of perth on the voyage, which, as they both state, they shared with him. so important and interesting a circumstance would not, one may suppose, have occurred without their alluding to it. "all the gentlemen," lord elcho relates, "who crossed to nantes, proceeded to paris after their disembarkation;"[ ] but he enters into no further particulars of their destination. his silence, and that of maxwell of kirkconnel, regarding the duke of perth's death, seems, if it really took place, to have been inexplicable. all doubt, but that the story of the unfortunate duke's death was really true, appears however to be set at rest by the epitaph which some friendly or kindred hand has inscribed on a tomb in the chapel of the english nuns at antwerp, commemorating the virtues and the fate of the duke, and of his brother lord john drummond. this monumental tribute would hardly have been inscribed without some degree of certainty that the remains of the duke were indeed interred there. m. s.[ ] fratrum illustriss, jac. et joan. ducum de perth, antiquiss. nobiliss. familiæ de drummond apud scotos, principum. jacobus, ad studia humaniora proclivior, literis excultus, artium bonarum et liberalium fautor eximius; in commune consulens, semper in otio civis dignissimus. mirâ morum suavitate, et animi fortitudine ornatus, intaminatâ fide splendebat humani generis amicus. in pace clarus, in bello clarior; appulso enim carolo p. in scotiam, gladio in causâ gentis stuartorum rearrepto, veterorum curâ posthabitâ, gloriæ et virtuti unice prospiciens, alacri vultu labores belli spectabat; pericula omnia minima ducebat: in prælio strenuus, in victoriâ clemens, heros egregius. copiis caroli tandem dissipatis, patriâ, amicis, re domi amplissimâ, cunctis præter mentem recti consciam, fortiter desertis, in galliam tendens, solum natale fugit. verum assiduis laboribus et patriæ malis gravibus oppressus, in mari magno, die natale revertente, ob. maii, ; æt. . et reliquiæ, ventis adversis, terrâ sacratâ interclusæ, in undis sepultæ. joannes, ingenio felici martiali imbutus, a primâ adolescentiâ, militiæ artibus operam dedit. fortis, intrepidus, propositi tenax, mansuetudine generosâ, et facilitate morum, militis asperitate lenitâ. legioni scoticæ regali, ab ipsomet conscriptæ, a rege christianiss. lud. xv. præpositus. flagrante bello civili in britanniâ, auxilis gallorum duxit; et post conflictum infaustum cullodinensem, in eadem navi cum fratre profugus. in flandriâ, sub imperatore com. de saxe, multùm meruit: subjectis semper præsidium, belli calamitatum (agnoscite britanni!) insigne levamen. ad summos martis dignitates gradatim assurgens, gloriæ nobilis metæ appetens, in medio cursu, improvisa lethi vi raptus, septemb. a.d. , Æt. . in angl. monach. sacello antwerpiæ jacet. the preceding narrative is given to the reader without any further comment, except upon the general improbability of the story. it might not appear impossible that the duke may have taken refuge in the then wild county of durham for a time, but that two credible historians, maxwell of kirkconnel, and lord elcho, assert positively that he sailed for nantes in a vessel which went by the north-west coast of ireland; lord elcho and maxwell being themselves on board, seems decisive of the entire failure of the case before quoted. it seems also wholly incredible, that the duke of perth, whose rank was still acknowledged in france, and whose early education in that country must have familiarised him with its habits, should have remained contentedly during the whole of his life, associating with persons of the lowest grade, in an obscure village in durham. at the time of the duke of perth's death in , one brother, lord john drummond, was living. this brave man, whose virtues and whose fate are recorded in the epitaph, survived his amiable and accomplished brother only one year, and died suddenly of a fever, after serving under marshal saxe at the siege of bergen-op-zoom. his services in the insurrection of were considerable; like his brother, he escaped to france after the contest was concluded. he died unmarried; and two sisters, the lady mary, and the lady henrietta drummond, died also unmarried. the mother of james duke of perth long survived him, living until . it is said in the case of thomas drummond, that she never forgave her son for what she considered his lukewarmness in the cause of the stuarts, and refused to have any intercourse with him after the failure of the rebellion; but those who thus write, must have formed a very erroneous conception of the duke's conduct: if he might not escape such a charge, who could deserve the praise of zeal, sincerity, and disinterestedness? the duchess was one of the most strenuous supporters of the stuarts, and suffered for her loyalty to them by an imprisonment in edinburgh castle. she was committed to prison on the eleventh of february, , and liberated on bail on the seventeenth. on the forfeiture of the drummond estates she retired to stobhall, where she remained until her death, at the advanced age of ninety. she was considered a woman of great spirit, energy, and ability, and is supposed to have influenced her son in his political opinions and actions. some idea may be formed of the painful circumstances which follow the forfeiture of estates from the following passage, extracted from the introduction to the letters of james earl of perth, chancellor of scotland in the time of james the second, and lately printed for the camden society.[ ] "when a considerable portion of the drummond estates were restored to the heir (no poor boon, though dilapidated, lopped, and impoverished,) he found upon them four settlements of cottages, in which the soldiery had been located after the battle of culloden, to keep down the _rebels_. there were thirty near drummond castle, another division at cullander, a third at balibeg, and a fourth at stobhall. demolition might satisfy the abhorrence of the latter three, but what could reconcile him to the outrage under his very eyes, as he looked from his chamber or castle terrace? it was intolerable, and that every trace might be obliterated, he caused an embankment to be made, and carried a lake-like sheet of water over the very chimney tops of the military dwellings. there is now the beautiful lake, gleaming with fish, and haunted by the wild birds of the highlands; and we believe the deepest diver of them all, could not observe one stone upon another of the cabins which held the ruthless military oppressors left by the duke of cumberland a century ago." the usual accounts of the duke's movements after the battle of culloden, state, however, that about a month subsequent to that event, when the fugitive charles stuart, in the commencement of his wanderings, landed by accident upon the little isle of errifort, on the east side of lewis, he saw, from the summit of a hill which he had climbed, two frigates sailing northwards. the chevalier in vain endeavoured to persuade the boatmen who had brought him from lewis, to go out and reconnoitre these ships. his companions judged these vessels to be english; the prince alone guessed them to be french. he was right. they were two frigates from nantes, which had been sent with money, arms, and ammunition to succour charles, and were now returning to france. on board one of them was the duke of perth, lord elcho, lord john drummond, old lochiel, sir thomas sheridan and his nephew mr. hay, maxwell of kirkconnel, and mr. lockhart of carnwath, and several low-country gentlemen, who had been wandering about in these remote parts when the frigates were setting out on their return,[ ] and finding that the prince was gone, and that nothing was to be done for his service, had determined to escape. on the tenth of june these frigates reached nantes: lord elcho affirms that "all arrived safe at nantes;" one only is said never to have gained that shore. worn out by fatigues too severe, and, perhaps, the progress of disease being aided by sorrow, the duke of perth is generally stated to have died on ship-board on his passage. his malady is understood to have been consumption. another celebrated member of this distinguished family, lord strathallan, was not spared to witness the total ruin of all his hopes. he fell at the battle of culloden. the impression among his descendants is, that, seeing the defeat certain, he rushed into the thick of the battle, determined to perish. in lord strathallan's name was included in the bill of attainder then passed; but, in , one of the most graceful acts of george the fourth, whose sentiments of compassion for the stuarts and their adherents do credit to his memory, was the restoration of the present viscount strathallan to the peerage by the title of the sixth viscount. it is with regret that we take leave, amid the discordant scenes of an historical narrative, of one whose high purposes and blameless career are the best tribute to virtue, the noblest ornament of the party which he espoused. modest, yet courageous; moderate, though in the ardour of youth; devout, without bigotry; and capable of every self-sacrifice for the good of others, on the memory of the young duke of perth not a shadow rests to attract the attention of the harsh to defects of intention, unjustly attributed to the leader of the jacobite insurrection. footnotes: [ ] genealogy of the most noble and ancient house of drummond. by a freind to vertue and the family.--unpublished. [ ] the office of thane or seneschal was, to be the _giusticiare_ or guardian of that country; to lead the men up to the war, according to the roll or list made out; and to be collector for the athbane of the kingdom for the king's rents in that district. the athbane was the highest officer in the kingdom--chief minister, treasurer, steward. the thanes were next to the athbanes, and were the first that king malcolm advanced to the new title of earls.--see lord strathallan's genealogy of the house of drummond. [ ] genealogy of the house of drummond, . [ ] amongst his other literary efforts, drummond of hawthornden left a ms "historie of the family of perth." [ ] lady willoughby d'eresby is heiress to the estate of perth, and representative in the female line of the earldom of perth in scotland and of the dukedom in france. at the same time that the dukedom of perth was created, the last earl's brother was created duke de melfort. his descendants are, therefore, the male representatives of the earldom of perth, and george drummond perth de melfort in france is now claiming the title. (letter from viscount strathallan, to whose courtesy i am indebted for this information.) [ ] "reducing."--editor [ ] memoirs of sir ewen cameron of lochiell. [ ] the title of duke was afterwards assumed by the young chief of the house of drummond, and was given to him by the jacobites generally; but, in consequence of his father's attainder, and the forfeiture of his title, he was, in the eye of the law, simply a commoner. hence he is described by home as "james drummond, commonly called duke of perth, his father having been so created by james the second at st. germains." the right of the duke to this dignity was at that time, and it still is, recognised in france. without entering into the merits of the question of right, and to prevent confusion, it is therefore expedient to designate this jacobite nobleman by the name usually assigned to him in his own time. [ ] forbes's jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] wood's peerage. [ ] curious collection of scottish songs; aberdeen, . [ ] henderson, history of the rebellion of ' , p. . [ ] memoirs of lochiell, p. . [ ] history of the rebellion, p. . [ ] lord elcho's narrative, ms. [ ] see the history of the rebellion, by rae; and the cochrane correspondence. [ ] maculloch's highlands. [ ] forbes's jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] henderson, p. . [ ] henderson, p. . [ ] chambers' history of the rebellion; edit. for the people; p. . [ ] "history of the present rebellion in scotland, . from the relation of mr. james macpherson, who was first in the service of the rebels." in contradiction to this statement, to which macpherson adds, that the chevalier attended mass daily, the testimony of one of the daily papers (the caledonian mercury) may be given, as inserted by mr. chambers in his very interesting history of the rebellion of . the prince visited an episcopal chapel; the name of the clergyman, armstrong, and the text, isaiah xiv. , are specified. it was the first protestant place of worship that the prince had ever attended. hist. of the rebellion, p. . [ ] history of the present rebellion, p. .--it is remarkable that two histories of the two rebellions were composed by men who had changed sides. that of by patten, who was rewarded for his disclosures, as king's evidence, by a pension. what reward was bestowed on mr. james macpherson does not yet appear. [ ] history of the present rebellion, p. . [ ] notes and observations taken from mss. in the possession of a. macdonald, esq., register office, edinburgh. [ ] lord elcho's ms. [ ] in exeter house, derby, there is a portrait of prince charles, painted by wright of derby, in which the eyes are hazel. that in the earl of newburgh's possession, at hassop, has blue eyes. [ ] henderson, p. . home, p. . [ ] home, . alexander henderson. [ ] lord elcho's narrative, ms. [ ] henderson, p. . [ ] henderson, p. . [ ] henderson differs in this account from home. "charles," says the latter, "remained on the field of battle till mid-day, giving orders for the relief of the wounded of both armies, for the disposal of his prisoners, and preserving, both from temper and from judgment, every appearance of moderation and humanity," p. . [ ] lord elcho's ms. [ ] maxwell of kirkconnel's narrative, p. . [ ] maxwell of kirkconnel's narrative, p. . [ ] maxwell's narrative, p. . [ ] maxwell's narrative, p. . [ ] maxwell of kirkconnel's narrative, p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] history of the rebellion of and . extracted from the scots' magazine, p. . [ ] maxwell's narrative, p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] jacobite memoirs. [ ] lord mahon is decidedly of this opinion. see vol. iv. hist. of england, respecting the jacobites. [ ] lord elcho's ms. [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] p. . [ ] chambers. [ ] lord elcho's narrative. [ ] the estate of comrie is now in the possession of sir david dundas, and the descendant of its former owner, and the duke's standard-bearer is reduced to be the landlord of the village inn. see letters of james duke of perth, chancellor of scotland. printed for the camden society, and edited by wm. jerdan, esq. [ ] the battle, according to the newspapers of the day, lasted about half an hour. [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] see lord elcho's ms. narrative; which, however, since it is written in a bitter spirit, and varies in many details and in most opinions from maxwell's, i am not disposed wholly to trust. [ ] the traditionary accounts have been collected, in the case of thos. drummond, a claimant of the honours and estates of the earldom of perth. newcastle upon tyne, . i do not vouch for the truth of these anecdotes, but they have an air of probability. [ ] case of thomas drummond, p. . [ ] see case of thomas drummond, p. . [ ] case, p. . dr. malcolm had in his book made a different statement; but had contemplated re-publishing his work, with corrections, among which the existence (after ) of james drummond, was to be asserted. [ ] for this information, and also for a copy of the case of thomas drummond, i am indebted to the kindness of w. e. aytoun, esq. [ ] in , another appeal, and a fresh claim to the drummond estates, and to the earldom of perth, were brought forward by the descendant of john drummond, the great-uncle of james, duke of perth. the said john drummond was raised to the dignity of the english peerage in , by james the second, by the title of viscount melfort; in he was raised to the dignity of earl of melfort; and afterwards, following the monarch to st. germains, was created duke of melfort. the great-grandson of the duke of melfort was a roman catholic priest, who officiated some years back at the chapel in moorfields; he was living in in france, at a very advanced age. the pamphlet in which, in , he asserted his claim, and which was laid before the house of lords, was professedly written "by an unfortunate nobleman;" with the appeal of charles edward (drummond), duke of melfort, heir male, and chief representative of the house of drummond of perth, submitted to the united kingdom of great britain, &c., vo., london, . [ ] lord elcho's ms. [ ] for the copies of these epitaphs i am indebted to robert chambers, esq. this is that gentleman's account of the inscriptions:-- "the within is a correct copy of the inscription, as entered in bishop forbes's ms., vol. , dated on title page, . the entry of inscriptions is immediately subsequent to a copied letter or memorandum of may, , and antecedent to one of november, . "fama perennis, lauru porrecta, vetat mori principes immaculatis proavum honoribus dignos. hoc elogium, d.d.d. t.d. l.l.d. "n.b.--the above is engraven, all in capitals, on the tomb at antwerp, with the coat armorial of the family on the top of the inscription." the following is the english translation of the originals in latin, copied from the papers of bishop forbes:-- sacred to the memory of the most illustrious brothers, james and john, dukes of perth, chiefs of the house of drummond, a very ancient and noble family in scotland. james, the more disposed of the two to the study of belles lettres, excelled in literature; was eminent as a favourer of the fine and liberal arts. providing for the common good, he was always a most worthy citizen in peace. characterized by the sweetness of his manners, and distinguished by the strength of his mind, he ever shone with unstained faith as a friend of mankind. great in peace, he was still greater in war, for when prince charles landed in scotland, he drew his sword in the cause of the house of stuart, put all other cares aside, and uniformly looking forward to glory and worth, he ever gazed with a cheerful countenance on the toils of war: he was utterly regardless of all danger, without want of energy in battle, he was merciful in victory, indeed a man of rare occurrence; at length when the forces of charles were wasted away, his native land, his friends, and a very ample estate, were all, when weighed in estimation with a mind conscious of right, bravely deserted: turning his steps towards france, he fled his native country. oppressed by the troubles of his lot, and the heavy misfortunes of his country, he died on the great ocean, on the th of may, in the thirty-third year of his age; and his remains, precluded from consecrated ground by adverse winds, were given to the deep. john, imbued with a happy turn of mind for military affairs, from early youth applied himself to the military art. brave, intrepid, and firm in purpose, he was ennobled by gentleness, and softened the asperity of the soldier by the ease of his manners. he was placed over the royal scotch legion, enlisted by himself, by the most christian king, louis xv. whilst the civil war was raging in britain he led the french auxiliary forces, and after the unfortunate battle of culloden, was a fugitive in the same ship as his brother. in flanders, under the general count saxe, he served a long time, ever a defence to those under his command, a remarkable comforter (learn, o britons!) in the calamities of war; gradually rising to the highest dignities of war, and seeking to attain the goal of noble glory, he was carried away by sudden death in the midst of his course, th september, a.d. . aged . [ ] edited by w. jerdan, esq., m.r.s.l., . [ ] maxwell, p. . flora macdonald. the character of this celebrated woman, heroic, yet gentle, was formed in the privacy of the strictest highland seclusion. she was born in the island of south uist, in : she was the daughter of macdonald of milton. the clan of her family was that of macdonald of clanranald; the chief of which is called in gaelic, mack-ire-allein, and in english, the captain of clan ranald. the estate of this chief, which is held principally from the crown, is situated in moidart and arisaig on the continent of scotland, and in the islands of uist, benbecula, and rum. his vassals, capable of military service, amounted in to five hundred.[ ] the hebrides were at that time regarded in the more civilized parts of europe somewhat in the same light as the arctic regions are now considered by the inhabitants of england, and other polished nations: "when i was at ferney in ," boswell relates, "i mentioned our design (of going to the hebrides) to voltaire. he looked at me as if i had talked of going to the north pole, and said, 'you do not insist on my accompanying you!' 'no, sir.' 'then i am very willing you should go.'" in this remote, and, in the circles of london, almost unknown region, flora macdonald was born and educated. the death of her father, macdonald of milton, when she was only a year old, made an important change in the destiny of the little highland girl. her mother married again, and became the wife of macdonald of armadale in skye. flora was, therefore, removed from the island of south uist to an island which was nearer to the means of acquiring information than her native place. it was a popular error of the times, more especially among the english whigs, to regard the highlanders of every grade, as an ignorant, barbarous race. so far as the lowest classes were concerned, this imputation might be well-founded, though certainly not so well as it has much longer been in the same classes in england. previously to the reign of george the third many of the peasantry could not read, and many could not understand what they read in english. there were few books in gaelic, and the defect was only partially supplied by the instruction of bards and seneachies. but, among the middle and higher classes, education was generally diffused. the excellent grammar-schools in inverness, fortrose, and dunkeld sent out men well-informed, excellent classical scholars, and these from among that order which in england is the most illiterate--the gentlemen-farmers. the universities gave them even a greater extent of advantages. when the hessian troops were quartered in atholl, the commanding officers, who were accomplished gentlemen, found a ready communication in latin at every inn. upon the colonel of the hessian cavalry halting at dunkeld, he was addressed by the innkeeper in latin. this class of innkeepers has wholly, unhappily, disappeared in the highlands.[ ] but it was in the island of skye that classical learning was the most general, and there an extraordinary degree of intelligence and acquirement prevailed among the landed gentry. "i believe," observes general stewart, "it is rather unique for the gentry of a remote corner to learn latin, merely to talk to each other; yet so it was in skye." the acquisition of this branch of learning was not, indeed, expensive. latin was taught for two shillings and sixpence the quarter, and english and writing for one shilling. indeed it is scarcely more now. the people seldom quitted their insular homes, except when on service; and, to the silence of their wild secluded scenes, the romance of poetry and the composition of song gave a relief and a charm. the education of flora macdonald received probably little aid from the classical teacher; but her mind was formed, not among the rude and uncultured, but among those who appreciated letters; and the influence of such an advantage in elevating and strengthening the character must be taken into account in forming a due estimation of her heroic qualities. thus situated, flora passed her life in obscurity, until, at the age of twenty-four, the events which succeeded the battle of culloden brought those energies, which had been nurtured in retirement, into active exertion. indeed, until about a year before she engaged in that enterprise which has rendered her name so celebrated, she had never quitted the islands of south uist and skye; she had, at that time, passed about nine months in the family of macdonald of largoe in argyleshire, and this was the only change of scene, or of sphere, which she had ever witnessed.[ ] her step-father was an enemy to the cause which, from her earliest years, her heart espoused. a company of militia had been formed to assist the british government by sir alexander macdonald, the chieftain of one division of the clan, and in this regiment macdonald of armadale held a commission as captain, at the time when the duke of cumberland was "making inquisition for blood" throughout the western highlands. but the prepossessions of flora were unalienably engaged in favour of the exiled stuarts; and they were not, perhaps, the less likely to glow from being necessarily suppressed. her disposition, notwithstanding all her subsequent display of courage, was extremely mild; and her manners corresponded to her temper. her complexion was fair; and her figure, though small, well-proportioned. in more advanced life boswell, who with dr. johnson visited her, characterized her person and deportment as "genteel." there was nothing unfeminine, either in her form or in her manners, to detract from the charm of her great natural vivacity, or give a tone of hardness to her strong good sense, calm judgment, and power of decision. her voice was sweet and low; the harsher accents of the scottish tongue were not to be detected in her discourse; and she spoke, as bishop forbes relates, "english (or rather scots) easily, and not at all through the erse tone." in all the varied circumstances of her life, she manifested a perfect modesty and propriety of behaviour, coupled with that noble simplicity of character which led her to regard with surprise the tributes which were afterwards paid to her conduct, and to express her conviction that far too much value was placed upon what she deemed merely an act of common humanity. in skye, the "isle of mist" of the poet, she could hear imperfect intelligence of the wanderings of the jacobite leaders. she was connected by kindred with some under whose roof the prince had taken refuge. the first movement which the prince made after taking leave of lord lovat at gortuleg, was to repair first to fort augustus, and then to invergarie near fort augustus. here he took leave of those followers who had attended him as he quitted the field of culloden; and retained only mr. o'sullivan, captain o'neil, captain alan macdonald, and one burke, a servant. it was not until he had remained a whole day at fort augustus that the prince could be persuaded that all hopes of his troops rejoining him were at an end. on friday, the eighteenth of april, he went to lochnargaig, where he stayed one night with dr. cameron of glenkearn; and on the following day he proceeded to oban, which is situated on a corner of clanranald's estate. he was, therefore, under the protection of a kinsman of flora macdonald. he pursued his journey on the next day to the country of arisaig, and rested at a small village called glenbeisdale, whence he proceeded to boradale, the place at which he had first landed in beginning the enterprise which was now terminated. it had been the opinion of clanranald, one of the prince's most faithful adherents, that he ought not to leave the mainland, but to take shelter in different small huts, which should be built for his accommodation; whilst clanranald should take a trip to the isles, and look out for a vessel to convey the unfortunate wanderer into france. by the influence of mr. o'sullivan this counsel was overruled; and clanranald, finding that charles was determined to sail for long island, provided an eight-oared boat, which belonged to alexander macdonald of boradale; and, having provided it with rowers and other requisites for the voyage, the party set sail from lochnanuagh for the isle of uist on the twenty-fourth of april. they assumed false names: the prince was called mr. sinclair; mr. o'sullivan was old sinclair, his father; captain alan macdonald, a relation of clanranald, became mr. graham.[ ] donald macleod the pilot, and about six men, rowers, also accompanied the prince, but did not change their names; a clergyman of the church of rome attended the party. the design which charles edward had formed, was to reach the long island, under which name are comprehended those western islands which run in a straight line from north to south, and are at a short distance from each other. from some part of the long island charles hoped to procure a vessel in which he could escape to france, or at any rate to orkney, and thence to norway or sweden. at this time a proclamation, offering a reward of thirty thousand pounds for his apprehension, had been issued by the british government. the prince set sail on the evening of the twenty-sixth of april, embarking at boradale, on the very spot where he had landed, with just sufficient daylight to get clear of loch luagh; for, as the coast had been guarded by english ships ever since his arrival in scotland, it was not safe to go beyond the mouth of the loch in open day. before the voyage was commenced, the prince was warned by his faithful pilot that there would be a storm that night. "i see it coming!" but charles edward, anxious to leave the main land, where parties were dispersed in pursuit of him, was determined to trust his fate to the winds. the party, therefore, entered the boat, the prince seating himself at the feet of the pilot. there was also another macleod in the boat; this was murdoch, the son of the pilot, a boy of fifteen years of age. the character of this youth was of no common order. when he had heard of the battle of culloden, he had provided himself with a claymore, a dirk, and a pistol; and had run off from school to take his chance in the field. after the defeat he found means to trace out the road which the prince had taken, and to follow him step by step; "and this was the way," related donald macleod, "that i met wi' my poor boy." another person who was in the boat, and who afterwards made a conspicuous figure in that romance of real life, was ned bourke, or burke. this man had belonged to a most valuable class, the chairmen of edinburgh, whose honesty is proverbial; their activity and civility almost incredible to english notions. bourke was not, as his name seemed to imply, an irishman; but a native of north uist. he had been a servant to mr. alexander macleod, one of charles edward's aides-de-camp; and was the man who had led the prince off the field of battle, and guided him all the way to boradale: for ned bourke knew scotland, and indeed a great portion of england, well, having been servant to several gentlemen. in this, his most important service, the honest man did not disgrace his ancient and honourable calling as a chairman. "excellent things" were spoken of him to donald macleod, who seems to have made some demur as to his irish name, and to have objected to taking him on board. thus guided, and thus guarded, charles edward might fear the winds and waves; but treachery was not to be dreaded. not far had the men rowed before a violent storm arose; such as even donald had not, from his own account, ever been "trysted with before," though he had all his life been a seafaring man. the prince was now as impatient to return to the land as he had been to quit it; "for," he said, "i would rather face cannons and muskets than be in such a storm as this!" but donald was firm in proceeding on the voyage: "since we are here," he replied, "we have nothing for it, but, under god, to set out to sea directly." he refused to steer for the rock, which runs three miles along the side of the loch; observing, "is it not as good for us to be drowned in clear water, as to be dashed to pieces on a rock, and drowned also?" a solemn silence followed this decisive reply. every one expected instant destruction. the night was pitch-dark; and there was no light in the boat. they dreaded being landed on some part of the island of skye, where the militia were in arms to prevent the prince's escape. but, to use the words of the pilot, "as god would have it," that danger was not encountered. by daybreak the party discovered that they were close to rushness, in the island of benbecula, having run according to the pilot's account, thirty-two leagues in eight hours. during this perilous voyage the spirits of charles never sank; he encouraged every one around him, working himself at the oars: "he was," says mr. maxwell, "the only one that seemed void of concern." such were the circumstances under which charles edward landed in the long island;--the event which brought him into communication with flora macdonald. she was at that time calmly engaged in the usual duties of her station; but the spirit so prevalent in the highlands was not extinguished in the western islands, either by the dread of the english militia, or by the defeat of the prince. all the jacobites of that period, to adopt the language of president forbes, "how prudent soever, became mad; all doubtful people became jacobites; and all bankrupts became heroes, and talked of nothing but hereditary right and victory. and what was more grievous to men of gallantry, and, if you believe me, more mischievous to the public, all the fine ladies, if you except one or two, became passionately fond of the young adventurer, and used all their arts for him in the most intemperate manner."[ ] it was not, however, an idle, romantic fancy, but a fixed sentiment of duty, acting upon a kindly heart, which originated the enthusiasm of flora. whilst the prince was traversing the long island in poverty and danger, a desolate wanderer wanting the common necessaries of life, but still patient and cheerful ever hoping once more to assemble his faithful highlanders,--living at one time four days in a desert island, then putting to sea pursued by ships,--flora macdonald had accidentally quitted her usual residence at armadale in skye, for the purpose of visiting her step-brother at milton. during her abode at milton, captain o'neil, who was loitering about the country for the purpose of gaining intelligence for charles edward, formed an acquaintance with this young lady, and, it is said, paid his addresses to her. more than two months had now elapsed since charles first trusted his hopes to the chance of finding a vessel on the coast of the long island, to take him to france. during that period his fortunes had assumed a far more threatening aspect than at any previous time. friends had proved faithless; murray of broughton, whom the prince then still regarded as one of the "firmest, honestest men in the world," had shown to others his real motives, and the deep selfishness, cowardice, and rapacity, of his heart. in his utmost need, when the prince was in want of food, that wretched man had, in reply to a message from charles asking money, answered that he had none; having _only_ sixty louis-d'ors for himself, which were not worth sending. what was perhaps of more immediate moment was, that, whilst the friends of the young chevalier had diminished, the number of his foes around him had increased. fifteen ships of war were to be seen near the coasts of the long island, thus most effectually destroying all hopes of a french vessel being able to cruize near the shore. to complete his misfortunes, the duke of cumberland, upon learning that his unfortunate kinsman had sheltered himself in the western islands, had sent captain caroline scott, an officer as infamous as hawley and lockhart, to scour the long island. such were the circumstances of charles towards the latter end of june . he was then coursing along the shores of the long island, until, pursued by french ships, he was obliged to land, happily for himself, on the island of benbecula, between the north and south uist. providence seemed to have conducted him to that wild and bleak shore. scarcely had he reached it, than a storm arose, and drove his pursuers off the coast. here the prince and his starving companions were overjoyed to find a number of crabs, or, as the scottish pilot termed them, _partans_; a boon to the famished wanderers. from a hut, about two miles from the shore, charles removed, first to the house of lady clanranald; and afterwards, by the advice of clanranald, he went to south uist, and took up his abode near the hill of coradale in the centre of the island, that being thought the most secure retreat. here charles remained until again driven from this hut by the approach of captain scott, with a detachment of five hundred men, who advanced close to the place where he was concealed. the unfortunate prince then determined upon a last and painful effort to save those who had braved hitherto the severities of their lot for his sake. he parted with all his followers except o'neil. donald macleod shed tears on bidding him farewell. macleod was taken prisoner a few days afterwards in benbecula, by lieutenant allan macdonald, of knock, in slate, in the island of skye. he was put on board the furnace,[ ] and brought down to the cabin before general campbell, who examined him minutely. the general asked him "if he had been along with the pretender?" "yes," said donald, "i was along with that young gentleman, and i winna deny it." "do you know," said the general, "what money was upon the gentleman's head? no less a sum than four thousand pounds sterling, which would have made you and your family happy for ever." "what then," said donald, "what could i have gotten by it? i could not have enjoyed it for two days, conscience would have gotten the better of me; and although i could have got england and scotland for my prince, i would not have allowed a hair of his head to be hurt."[ ] after this separation, the prince, accompanied by o'neil, again returned to traverse the mountainous districts of south uist. he walked in the direction of benbecula, and about midnight entered a shealing, or hut, which belonged to angus macdonald, the brother of his future deliverer. the interview which shortly took place between them, was not, as it may readily be conceived, unpremeditated.[ ] repeatedly, before the meeting, had o'neil asked flora whether she would like to see the prince? she answered with emotion that she would. she had even expressed an earnest desire to see him; and had said, if she could be of any use in aiding him to escape from his enemies, she would do it. o'neil had had various opportunities of studying the real character of flora macdonald. he must have had an extraordinary notion of her energy when he first proposed to her, whilst they met in clanranald's house, to take the prince with her to skye, dressed up in woman's clothes. this proposition appeared to flora so "fantastical and dangerous," that she positively declined it. "a macdonald, a macleod, a campbell militia were," she observed, "in south uist in quest of the prince: a guard was posted at every ferry; every boat was seized; no person could leave long island without a passport; and the channel between uist and skye was covered with ships of war." such was her resolution whilst she discussed the subject with o'neil at the house of her kinsman, clanranald. nor does that sense of the dangers of her undertaking lessen the heroism of the enterprise. but her woman's heart, however timid it might be at clanranald's castle, was touched, when she beheld the prince; and compassion, from which spring the noblest resolves, inspired her to exertion. as the prince, attended by o'neil, drew near to the hut belonging to angus macdonald, the latter quitted charles, and went aside, with a design to inform himself whether the independent companies of militia were to pass that way, or not, on the following day, as he had been informed. such, at least, was his pretext; but he had an appointment with flora macdonald, who was awaiting him near the hut. to his question, she answered that "they would not pass until the day after." then o'neil ventured to tell the young lady that he had brought a friend to see her. she inquired in some agitation "if it was the prince?" he replied that it was, and he instantly brought her into the shealing. the kind heart of flora was afflicted at the sight. charles was exhausted with fatigue and misery; he had become thin and weak, and his health was greatly affected by the hardships which he had undergone. he and o'neil had lost indeed the means of personal comfort; they had but two shirts with them, and every article of wearing apparel was worn out. to a feeble mind, the depressed state of prince charles's affairs, his broken-down aspect, and the dangers which surrounded him, would have inspired reluctance to serve one so desolate. these circumstances, however, only softened the resistance which flora had at first made to the scheme suggested for his escape, and renewed her desire to aid him. after her first introduction, the discourse for some time turned upon his dangerous situation; the best remedy for which was, as both the prince and o'neil hinted, for flora to convey him in disguise to skye, where her mother lived. this seemed the more feasible, from the situation which her father-in-law held, and which would enable him to give a pass for herself and her servant. the prince assented to the expediency of the proposal, which originated with o'neil, and immediately asked flora if she would undertake to carry the plan into effect. flora answered with great respect and loyalty, but declined, saying that "sir alexander macdonald, who commanded the militia in skye, was too much her friend for her to be the instrument of his ruin." o'neil endeavoured to combat this opinion, representing that sir alexander was not then in the country, and could not therefore be implicated: he added, that she might easily convey the prince to her mother's, at armadale, as she lived close by the waterside. o'neil also told her of the honour and immortal fame which would redound from so glorious an action; and the prince assured her that he should always retain a deep sense of "so conspicuous a service." the firmness of flora had resisted the arguments of o'neil; but it was overcome by these few words from the prince. she consented to let o'neil know on the following day at what time every arrangement would be made for the plan which had been proposed, and she left the prince and his adherent to shelter themselves in the mountains of coradale.[ ] on leaving the shealing, flora at first returned to milton; but, having fully made up her mind to undertake the enterprise, she set out for ormaclade, the seat of clanranald, on saturday the twenty-first of june. her journey was not without perilous adventures. on passing a ford, she was taken prisoner by one of the militia, on account of not having a passport. she inquired by whom they were commanded; and, finding that her step-father was their captain, she refused to give an answer to the questions put to her until she saw him. she was made a prisoner for that night; her captivity being shared by her servant neil mac kechan, a clansman, who was the father of marshal macdonald, duke of tarentum. in the morning, hugh macdonald of armadale, the step-father of flora, arrived, and liberated her; granting a passport for herself, her servant, and for another woman whom she styled betty burke, a good spinster, whom armadale in the innocency of his heart recommended to his wife at armadale, as she had much lint to spin. his letter has been preserved; and there is every reason to believe, that, when writing it, armadale was wholly unconscious of the design of flora.[ ] the letter of armadale to his wife ran as follows:--"i have sent your daughter from this country lest she should be frightened with the troops lying here. she has got one betty burke, an irish girl, who, as she tells me, is a good spinner. if her spinning pleases you, you may keep her till she spins all your lint: or, if you have any wool to spin, you may employ her. i have sent mac kechan along with your daughter and betty burke, to take care of them. i am, your dutiful husband, "hugh macdonald." "june nd, ." * * * * * it was late in the afternoon of the sunday on which flora had obtained her passport, before she could communicate with her friends in the mountains; about four o'clock, however, they received a message telling them that _all was well_. the prince and his companion, therefore, determined immediately to join their protectress. upon being set at liberty, flora went immediately to ormaclade, where she had, in lady clanranald, an enthusiastic assistant. she remained at ormaclade for several days, making arrangements for the complete disguise of the prince. the prince and o'neil had only waited for the arrival of flora's messenger to set out and meet their heroic friend; but the trusty individual who had brought them the tidings that _all was well_, informed them that they could not pass either of the fords which separated south uist from benbecula, as they were guarded by militia. in this extremity the prince knew not how he should ever reach the place appointed for his meeting with flora, which was rossinish, in benbecula, from which spot she was to conduct him to skye. an inhabitant of south uist, seeing his perplexity, offered him a boat: the proffered aid was accepted; and charles, with o'neil, was landed on a promontory which the pilot of the boat assured the prince was the island of benbecula. charles therefore dismissed the boatmen, with orders to meet him on the opposite side of the island; and began his journey. he had not gone far when he found himself surrounded with water, and perceived that the pilot had made a mistake. neither charles nor his companions had ever before been in this part of benbecula. they looked around them on the desolate prospect, and perceived that they were on a peninsula, perfectly desert, and which at high-water was separated from benbecula. at first charles hoped, that, when the tide was out, some passage might be discovered; but the waves retired and no passage appeared. the prince was not disheartened; for his courage, never justly questioned, had gained its best allies, patience and fortitude, during the adversities of the last few months. he supported the fainting spirits of his companions; and, to encourage them to search for a passage, said that he knew of one, although he was in fact as ignorant as they were. at length he discovered a passage, and the party reached a little hut, which they were assured was in benbecula.[ ] he marched on, exhausted as he was, to rossinish, and arrived there at midnight, but found not the deliverer they expected; on the contrary, he learned that they were within fifty miles of the enemy. hungry as they were, having eaten nothing all day, the prince and his fainting companions were obliged to retreat four miles. captain o'neil was then sent to ormaclade, to inquire why flora had not been true to her appointment. she told him that she now considered that north uist would be a safer place of refuge than skye, and that she had engaged a cousin of hers to receive him there. o'neil remained at ormaclade, and sent a boy to inform the prince, who was now only at eight miles' distance, of this proposal; but that scheme was soon abandoned, the gentleman to whom flora referred refusing to receive the prince. in this dilemma, charles was informed that his enemies had quitted rossinish, and he therefore hastened to that place. his safe arrival there was, indeed, almost miraculous. near him was a guard of fifty men; the island was full of militia; and the secret of his being in it was known to many a poor cotter. but, in these vicissitudes of his eventful and unhappy life, the prince was thrown among a faithful and honourable people, in whose bosoms the conviction was planted, that to betray him would bring down a curse upon themselves and their posterity. on arriving at rossinish, captain o'neil was again dispatched to flora to express the disappointment of charles on not seeing her, and to beg her to join him. she promised faithfully to do so on the following day; and she kept her word. having hired a six-oared boat to convey her to skye, and appointed it to be at a certain part of the coast, she set out for rossinish: accompanied by lady clanranald, whose participation in the cause was shortly afterwards punished by imprisonment;--by a mrs. macdonald, and by mac kechan, her servant. they entered a hut, where they found this unfortunate descendant of an ill-fated race preparing his own dinner. it consisted of the heart, liver, and kidneys of a sheep, which he was turning upon a wooden spit. the compassion of the ladies was roused by this sight; but charles, as he bade them welcome to the humble repast, moralized on his fate. he observed, that all _kings_ would be benefited by such an ordeal as that which he had endured. his philosophy was seasoned by the hope of attaining what he ever desired,--the hereditary monarchy which he believed to be his birthright. he observed, that the wretched to-day, may be happy to-morrow. at the dinner, flora macdonald sat on the right-hand of the prince, and lady clanranald on the left. after the meal was ended, charles was requested by flora to assume the female apparel which lady clanranald had brought. it was, of course, very homely, and consisted of a flowered linen gown, a light-coloured quilted petticoat, and a mantle of clean camlet, made after the irish fashion, with a hood. their dangers, as he put on his dress, did not check the merriment of the party; and many jokes were passed upon the costume of betty burke. a small shallop was lying near the shore, and flora proposed that they should remove near to the place whence they were to embark, for her fears had been excited by a message which arrived from ormaclade, acquainting lady clanranald that a party of soldiers, under the infamous captain fergusson, had arrived at her house, and had taken up their quarters there. lady clanranald hastened home, where she managed to deceive and perplex both general campbell, who had lately arrived in benbecula, and captain fergusson. and now another trial was at hand:--it was necessary for captain o'neil and the prince to separate. the irishman would fain have remained with charles, but flora was firm, as well as kind; her opinion on this point was decided; and o'neil was obliged to yield. this point was not gained without much difficulty, for charles even remonstrated. o'neil took his leave, and made his way, through a country traversed by troops, to south uist, where o'sullivan had been left. "i could now," writes captain o'neil in his journal, when he relates his departure from the prince, "only recommend him to god and his good fortune." this kind-hearted man was afterwards taken prisoner by captain fergusson, who had him stripped and threatened not only with the rack, but also with being whipped by his hangman, because he would not disclose where the prince was. these cruelties were opposed, however, by a junior officer, who, coming out with a drawn sword, threatened fergusson with a beating, and saved o'neil from the punishment which was to have been the requital of his fidelity. when all were gone, except flora, the prince, and mac kechan, the party proceeded to the sea-shore, where they arrived wet and wearied, and passed the night upon a rock. they made a fire to warm themselves, and endeavoured still to maintain hope and cheerfulness. how picturesque and singular must have been the group, thus awaiting the moment which should perhaps only conduct them to fresh perils! as they reclined among the heath which grew on the rock, four wherries, filled with armed men, caused the little party to extinguish their fire, and to hide themselves in the heather. the wherries, which made at first for the shore, sailed by to the southward, within a gun-shot of the spot where charles edward and flora were concealed. at eight o'clock in the evening of saturday, the twenty-eighth of june , the prince and she set sail from benbecula for skye. the evening on which they quitted the shores which had been to them such scenes of peril was clear; but, not long after they had embarked, the sea became rough, and the weather stormy. prince charles resolved never to despond, sang songs to prevent the spirits of the company from flagging, and talked gaily and hopefully of the future. exhausted by her previous exertions, flora sank into a sleep; and charles carefully watched her slumbers, being afraid lest the voices of the boatmen should arouse her, or, in the dark, that any of the men should step upon her. she awoke in a surprise at some little bustle in the boat, and asked hastily "what was the matter?" what must have been her emotions at that moment! the next day, sunday, was one of anxiety. the boatmen had lost their track, and had no compass; the wind had changed, it was then calm. they made, however, towards waternish, in the west of skye; but they found the place possessed by militia, and three boats were visible near the shore. a man on board one of the boats fired at them; on which they made away as fast as they could; for, in addition to that danger, several ships of war were now in sight. the prince and his friends took shelter, therefore, in a cleft of a rock on the shore, and there remained to rest the men, who had been up all night, and to prepare their provisions for dinner. the party then resumed their voyage: fortunately it was calm, for otherwise, in any distress of weather, they must have been overtaken and have perished, for an alarm had already been given of the appearance of a strange boat, and the militia were upon the watch; the promised reward set upon charles having excited all the vigilance of his enemies. at length, after rowing some time, they landed at kilbride in troternish, in skye, about twelve miles to the north of waternish. but several parties of militia were in the neighbourhood. flora now quitted the boat, and went with neil mac kechan to mugstat, the residence of sir alexander macdonald: here she desired one of the servants to apprise lady macdonald of her arrival. the lady was not unprepared to receive her, for a kinswoman had gone a short time before to tell her of the enterprise in which flora had engaged. lady margaret was well disposed to give the cause every assistance in her power. she was the daughter of the celebrated susanna, countess of eglintoune, and of alexander, ninth earl of eglintoune, who was supposed, while ostensibly supporting the family on the throne, to be a secret friend of the stuarts.[ ] lady margaret was one of seven sisters, famed for their loveliness, and for the "eglintoune air," a term applied to that family as a tribute to the lofty grace of their deportment. "it was a goodly sight," observes mr. chambers, "a century ago, to see the long processions of sedans containing lady eglintoune and her daughters devolve from the close,[ ] and proceed to the assembly rooms in the west bow, where there was usually a considerable crowd of plebeian admirers congregated, to behold their lofty and graceful figures step from the chairs on the pavement." lady margaret was greatly beloved in skye. when she rode through the island, the people ran before her, and took the stones off the road, lest her horse should stumble. her husband was also very popular. such was the hospitality of mugstat, that every week a hogshead of claret was drunk at his table.[ ] lady margaret had now been married six years to sir alexander macdonald of macdonald. she was the mother of three sons, two of whom were eminently distinguished. the first, sir james macdonald, was a young man of singular accomplishments, and the friend of lord lyttleton; he was endowed "with great talents for business, great propriety of behaviour, great politeness of manners." to these acquirements he added those amiable qualities, which, united to great erudition, procured him the title of the "marcellus of the western isles." his early death was regarded as a general calamity; his tomb was honoured by an inscription composed by lyttleton. when dr. johnson visited the isle of skye, this young man, who died at rome in the twenty-fifth year of his age, was still mentioned with tears. his brother, sir alexander, the english-bred chieftain, but ill-supplied his loss. he was no highlander. "were i in your place, sir," said johnson to the young chieftain, "in seven years i would make this an independent island. i would roast oxen whole, and hang out a flag as a signal to the macdonalds to come and get beef and whiskey." sir alexander, of whom johnson had heard heavy complaints of rents racked, and the islanders driven to emigration, bore with politeness the rough assaults of the doctor: he nevertheless started difficulties. "nay, sir," rejoined johnson, "if you are born to object, i have done with you, sir. i would have a magazine of arms." "they would rust," was the meek reply. "let there be men to clean them," cried the doctor, "your ancestors did not use to let their arms rust!" such was lady margaret's second son. the third, and youngest son of lady margaret, revived, however, all the fondly remembered virtues of sir james. some persons may still recall the benignant appearance of the late venerable sir archibald macdonald, lord chief baron of the court of exchequer in england: there are many who must recollect his virtues and acquirements with respect. the character of lady margaret was not that of her second son; but of a spirited generous woman. she was not one who would allow the arms of her ancestors "to rust." before the prince's arrival, her energies had been employed in contriving the fittest route for him to take after leaving mugstat, for she was as enthusiastic an adherent of charles edward as any of her female relations. whilst he was in north uist, he had sent lady margaret a letter, enclosed, by hugh macdonald of balishair, to his brother donald roy macdonald, with orders to deliver it to lady margaret alone; and, in case of attack while at sea, to sink it, by tying it to a stone. this letter revealed the secret of the prince's intention to quit the long island: it informed lady margaret that charles wanted almost all necessary habiliments; and desired that some shirts and blankets might be provided for him; the prince having hitherto slept only in his plaid, a custom which he retained almost constantly during his wanderings. balishair's letter had also unfolded a plan at that time in contemplation, that charles should take refuge on the small grass-island called fladdanuach, belonging to sir alexander macdonald, and having only one tenant upon it. thither lady margaret was to send donald roy macdonald with the articles to be in readiness for the prince. lady margaret had instantly complied with these injunctions. eventually the notion of making fladdanuach the retreat of charles was given up; but the zealous lady margaret had made the most careful preparations for that scheme, and it was not from any negligence on her part that it was abandoned. the packet sent by balishair contained, however, another valuable paper. this was a letter written in prince charles's own hand, chiefly one of compliment, and full of gratitude to lady margaret for sending him newspapers, which had been delivered to him through macdonald of balishair. this precious letter had, some time before flora had arrived at mugstat, been delivered to lady margaret. when she received it, she rose from her seat, and kissing it said, alluding to a precaution which had been recommended, "i will never burn it; i will preserve it for the sake of him who wrote it to me. although king george's forces should come to the house, i shall find means to secure it." afterwards, however, her house being searched by the dreaded fergusson, she considered it necessary for charles's safety to burn it; although, as it proved, there was no search whatsoever for papers. lady margaret had been aided in her efforts and plans by a zealous kinsman, captain roy macdonald, who had been wounded at the battle of culloden. this person was still under medical care, and was living in the house of a surgeon named maclean, at troternish. when charles landed at skye, roy macdonald, wounded as he was, had sailed to fladdanuach, at lady margaret's bidding, with clothes and money, and had returned just in time to witness her perplexity at the prince's unexpected arrival. upon that event being made known by flora macdonald to lady margaret, she sent a message to captain roy macdonald, entreating him to come to her immediately. he complied, and found lady margaret walking in the garden of mugstat, talking very earnestly to alexander macdonald of kingsburgh, a gentleman of the neighbourhood, who acted as factor, or chamberlain, to sir alexander. as roy macdonald approached, lady margaret exclaimed, holding up her hands, "oh, donald roy, we are ruined for ever!" it was then imparted to him that the prince was within a quarter of a mile from mugstat, in woman's clothes; that lieutenant macleod, who was employed to guard that part of skye, and three or four of his militia-men, were about the house; a number of others being not far distant: what was still more alarming, flora macdonald and the lieutenant were at that time conversing together in the dining-room. a consultation immediately ensued as to the plan the most proper to ensure charles edward's safety. donald roy macdonald declared, that, whatever they should agree upon, "he would undertake (god willing) to accomplish at the risk of his life." kingsburgh was first called upon to give his opinion. he proposed that the prince should sail by the point of troternish to raasay, because it would be impossible for him to remain in skye with safety. this plan was, however, opposed by lady margaret, who said, that, if the prince was to sail for raasay, it were better that he should remain at mugstat all night. in short, no scheme appeared practicable; and the consultation was frequently broken off in despair, and renewed only to start fresh difficulties. at last donald roy said, "what do you think, kingsburgh, if the prince should run the risk of making his way over to portree by land?" kingsburgh, notwithstanding that he was full of apprehension, thought that the plan might be tried, although the distance from mugstat to portree was fourteen long highland miles. at first it was decided that donald roy should be the bearer of this scheme to the prince; but it was afterwards argued, that, since the prince must make "a monstrous figure" in woman's clothes, there might be some suspicion excited by donald roy's talking to so singular a stranger. it was therefore determined that no one except flora macdonald should be entrusted with the perilous task of taking messages to charles at his station on the shore. lady margaret in the course of this conversation expressed "that she was in great difficulties." it was impossible that she could apply to any of the clan for assistance. the general belief was, that sir alexander macdonald was unfriendly to the prince, and that no greater favour could be shown by the chief than seizing the royal fugitive. this increased the danger of charles's remaining in skye, and threw her entirely upon the good offices of kingsburgh and roy donald. during this conference flora macdonald was keeping up what she afterwards described to bishop forbes as "a close chit-chat" with lieutenant macleod, who put to her questions which she answered as "she thought fit." lady margaret, meantime, could not forbear going in and out in great anxiety; a circumstance which flora observed, and which could not but add to her embarrassment; nevertheless, this extraordinary young woman maintained the utmost composure. she even dined in company with the lieutenant without betraying her perplexity in a single instance: never was the value of that admirable quality, presence of mind, more forcibly seen than in this instance. it had been the office of the lieutenant to examine every boat that had landed, and to investigate into the motives and destination of every passenger. how the boat which had conveyed the prince to skye escaped search has not been explained. at all events, flora completely baffled every inquiry; and perhaps no one could do so better than a scottish woman. the ordinary caution in reply, observable in highland females, is very striking. the prince was awaiting his fate all this time upon the rock at the shore, not above a gun-shot from the foot of the garden. the faithful and anxious servant mac kechan went to him repeatedly, but without molestation; and macdonald of kingsburgh, who could not controul his anxiety to see charles edward, providing himself with a bottle of wine and some bread, also repaired to him. the prince was then sitting upon the shore, having startled a flock of sheep, the running of which first attracted kingsburgh to the place where he was planted. charles had removed to a more distant spot than that which he had at first selected, for he had been apprised by neil mac kechan of kingsburgh's intended visit, and conducted by that faithful servant to the back of a certain hill, where he was requested to wait until kingsburgh should reach him. it was also announced to charles by neil, that he was to go to portree, resting by the way at the house of kingsburgh, who was a staunch jacobite. when kingsburgh drew near to the place where charles awaited him, he saw the prince approaching him with a short thick cudgel (not a very feminine appendage) in his hand. "are you," cried charles, "mr. macdonald of kingsburgh?" "yes, sir," replied kingsburgh. "then," said charles, "all is well; come let us be going." macdonald, however, first begged the prince to partake of some refreshment, which he did; the top of a rock serving for a table. this being done, they proceeded on their journey; kingsburgh telling his fellow-traveller with no less admiration than joy, "that he could recollect no cause either of business or duty for his being at mugstat that day." "i'll tell you the cause," said the prince; "providence sent you hither to take care of me." they were now interrupted by some country-people coming from the kirk. these sociable rustics were disposed to favour the prince and his companion with their conversation. kingsburgh could think of no other way of getting rid of them than saying, "eh, sirs! cannot ye let alone talking o' your worldly affairs on the sabbath? and have patience till another day?" the poor people took the pious hint and moved off.[ ] for some time after the prince had set out, flora remained at mugstat, where lady margaret, who could only speak to her in presence of the officer, pressed her much to stay, and feigned a great anxiety to retain her for a few days, telling her that she had promised to do so the first time that she came that way. but flora excused herself, saying that she wanted to be at home in these troublesome times, and also to see her mother. she was at length suffered to depart, accompanied by mrs. macdonald of kirkibost, the lady who had apprised lady margaret of her visit, but who was not in the secret of the prince's disguise. this lady's maid and man servant, and mac kechan completed the party. lady margaret during the whole of this agitating affair never saw the prince "in any shape."[ ] flora and her companions soon overtook the prince and kingsburgh. they found the curiosity of her companion somewhat inconvenient, for mrs. macdonald was very anxious to see the "strange woman's" face; but it was always turned away from her inquisitive gaze. yet mrs. macdonald made her observations nevertheless. "she never," she said, "had seen before such an impudent-looking woman--and she must either be an irish woman, or a man in woman's clothes!" flora, who had the happy and rare art of not saying too much, replied that "she was an irishwoman, for she had seen her before." the maid who attended mrs. macdonald took notice of the supposed irish woman's awkward way of managing her petticoats, and remarked what long strides she took in walking. in particular, in wading a rivulet, the prince lifted up his troublesome garments so high, that mac kechan called out to him "for god's sake to take care, or he would discover himself." charles laughed heartily, and thanked him for his cautions: he much feared that they would be neglected. flora began to be apprehensive of the loquacious and observant mistress and maid. she, as well as mrs. macdonald, was now on horseback, and she proposed that the ladies should go on a little faster, and leave those on foot to take their time. there was another object in this arrangement: the country was traversed by parties of militia, and it was necessary for the prince and kingsburgh to diverge by a cross-road over the hills to the place of their destination. they went therefore by by-paths, south-south-east, to kingsburgh's house, which they reached at midnight; flora having arrived there a short time before. she had parted with her other companions on the road. during this journey of seven long miles, which were performed in a drenching rain, there was no slight risk, owing to the very singular demeanour of the prince, and to the awkwardness with which he performed his part. betty burke was regarded by the gazing passers-by as a very strange woman. when the country-people greeted him with an obeisance, he returned it with a bow instead of a curtsey; and in all his gestures he forgot the woman, and retained the man. after the remonstrance upon holding his skirts too high, he let them fall down into the streams which often intersected his path. "your enemies, sir," remarked kingsburgh, "call you a pretender, but you are the worst at your trade that i ever saw." "why," replied charles laughing, "they do me perhaps as much injustice in this as in other respects. i have all my life despised assumed characters, and am the worst dissembler in the world." lady kingsburgh, not expecting her husband that night, had retired to rest; and her house was not at this time in the best possible condition for receiving visitors. kingsburgh, however, introduced charles into the hall, and sent a servant up-stairs to desire lady kingsburgh to rise and dress herself. but the lady was not disposed to comply with her husband's commands that night. she sent a message to beg that he and his guests would help themselves to whatsoever they found in the house, and excuse her absence. as soon as she had despatched this answer, her daughter, a child of seven years of age, ran into the room, and told her, with much astonishment, that her father had brought home the most odd "_ill-shaken-up wife_" that she had ever seen, and had conducted her into the hall. kingsburgh now made his appearance, and entreated his wife to come down-stairs, her presence being absolutely requisite.[ ] lady kingsburgh was now really aroused. she could not help suspecting that her husband had taken into his house some of those proscribed and wretched fugitives who were skulking about the country. she could well imagine the distress of many of the jacobites, for a paper had been, for some weeks, read in the kirks, forbidding all persons to give any sort of sustenance to a rebel, under pain of being deprived of it themselves.[ ] she now dressed herself, sending her little girl into the hall to fetch her keys. the child went down-stairs, but returned, saying that she could not go into the hall, the "strange woman" was walking backwards and forwards in so frightful a manner. lady kingsburgh therefore went herself, but stopped short at the door on seeing the stranger, whose aspect seems to have been unusually gaunt and unwomanly. her husband, however, bade her go in for her keys, and at last she found courage to enter. as she walked into the hall, charles arose from his seat and advanced to meet her. according to the custom of the day, which applied both to ladies and gentlemen, he offered her the compliment of a salute. lady kingsburgh felt the roughness of no woman's cheek against her own. alarmed at the discovery, she nearly fainted; she spoke not, neither did the stranger. she went hastily towards kingsburgh, and told him her suspicions. no reproaches were uttered on her part for the introduction, which had evidently some risk connected with it; she merely asked, "does this strange woman know anything about the prince?" her husband, taking her hand, replied, "my dear, this is the prince himself." "the prince!" returned lady kingsburgh; "then we shall all be hanged!" "we can die but once," answered kingsburgh; "could we die in a better cause? we are only doing an act of humanity." he then desired her to send in supper. "let us have eggs, butter, cheese, or whatever can be procured in the shortest time." the lady remonstrated. "eggs, butter, and cheese for a prince!" "he will never look at such a supper." "ah, my dear," returned kingsburgh, "you little know how this poor prince has fared of late. our supper will be a banquet to him. besides, any formal preparation would excite suspicion. make haste, and come to supper yourself." lady kingsburgh had now a new source of alarm. "_i_ come to supper!" she cried; "i do not know how to behave before a prince." she was reassured by her husband, who told her that there was no difficulty in behaving before _this_ prince, who was so easy and obliging. the party, who had undergone such a day's journey, sat up nearly till dawn, and became merry over their supper. never was there a more joyous or inspiring guest at a feast than the unfortunate charles. he was now in the house of a trusted adherent; and his spirits, which had been unaltered even in huts and caverns, gladdened all present. his favourite toast, was "to the black eye!" by which, as his pilot to the long island, donald macleod, relates, he meant the second daughter of france; "and i never heard him," said donald, "name any particular health but that alone. when he spoke of that lady, which he did frequently, he appeared to be more than ordinarily well-pleased."[ ] the prince ate heartily, and drank a bumper of brandy to the health of his host and hostess. when the ladies had retired, he took out a little black piece of tobacco-pipe which had been his consolation in all his wanderings, and began to smoke. like most persons who have recourse to a similar practice, prince charles framed an excuse for it on the plea of health, telling kingsburgh, that he had found it essential, in order to cure the tooth-ache, from which he had suffered much. his pipe had obtained the name, among his companions, of the "_cutty_". a small china punch-bowl was then produced by the host, and was twice replenished with the very popular beverage called toddy, of which the prince expressed his unqualified approbation. conversation, thus aided and exhilarated, flowed freely; and the charm of charles's gay courtesy was long remembered by his highland landlord, who thus, at the risk of all that was dear to him, welcomed the unfortunate wanderer to his home. morning dawned before either the prince or kingsburgh talked of retiring. at last kingsburgh became anxious. he knew that it was necessary for charles to proceed to portree early the next day; and he earnestly desired that the prince should have some rest. he refused to fill the bowl again, and began to urge his highness to retire. charles eagerly pressed for another supply of usquebaugh and warm water. in the contention, the bowl, which kingsburgh had brought from mugstat for the prince to drink the wine out of on the shore, was broken. this ended the altercation, and charles retired to rest. the next day was far advanced before the prince, after his conviviality of the preceding evening, was aroused; and the watchful flora in vain sent kingsburgh into his chamber to persuade him to rise. kingsburgh had not the heart to awaken the fugitive from a repose which he so rarely enjoyed, and, on finding him in a profound sleep, retired. at last, one o'clock had struck, and the prince was summoned to begin another journey. kingsburgh, inquiring if he had had a good night, was answered that he had never enjoyed a better one in his life. "i had almost forgotten," said charles, "what a good bed was." he then prepared to set out. he was first to go to portree; his destination being, ultimately, the island of raasay. the choice of this place as a retreat originated in the ancient league which subsisted between the families of macdonald and of raasay. whenever the head of either family died, his sword was given to the head of the other. the chief of raasay had joined the highland army, but had saved his estate by conveying it to his son, young macleod. sir alexander macdonald, on that occasion, had thus addressed his neighbour and ally: "don't be afraid, raasay; i'll use my interest to keep you safe; and, if your estate should be taken, i'll buy it for the family. and he would have done it."[ ] on quitting kingsburgh, the prince was determined to cast off his disguise. kingsburgh was favourable to the change, but flora would not consent to it: it was necessary, she thought, that the wanderer should leave the house in the same dress as he had entered it; so that, if inquiry were made, the servants would not be able to describe his appearance. he, therefore, once more figured in the habiliments of betty burke; and the only change, which was at the suggestion of kingsburgh, was in the article of shoes; those in which he had walked being now worn out; a new pair was therefore supplied by kingsburgh. when the exchange was made, kingsburgh hung up the old shoes in a corner of his room, observing, that they might still do him some service. charles inquired, "how?" "why," replied kingsburgh, "when you are at st. james's, i shall hold up these shoes before you, and thus remind you of your night's entertainment and protection under my roof." charles, with a smile, desired him to be as "good as his word." these precious deposits, never being required to appear at st. james's, were, after old kingsburgh's death, cut into pieces, and kept as relics by the jacobite ladies, and even by the grave but enthusiastic bishop forbes.[ ] it had been decided that flora macdonald should proceed on horseback to portree by a different road, and should meet the prince there. she therefore took a temporary leave of charles; and kingsburgh accompanied him to a wood not far from his house. when the prince had departed, lady kingsburgh went up-stairs, and folded up the sheets in which he had slept, declaring that they should never be washed nor used till her death, when they should be made into her winding-sheet. she was afterwards induced to divide this valuable memorial with flora macdonald. mac kechan, and a little herd-boy by way of a guide, alone accompanied the prince, as he set out upon a laborious walk of fourteen miles towards portree. it would have excited much suspicion, had any more important persons attended him. at an appointed place charles threw off his female attire, and again "grasped the claymore." his clothes were concealed in a bush until they could be carried to kingsburgh's house, where they were burnt upon the alarm of a search on the part of the military. the gown only was retained, by the express desire of kingsburgh's daughter.[ ] the prince now once more wore the highland dress, which had been furnished him by kingsburgh. meantime, captain roy macdonald had gone to seek the young macleod of raasay, or, as he was called, rona, whose very brother-in-law, archibald macqueen, was then in search for the prince in south uist. young macleod, though at first indisposed to confide the place where his father had taken refuge to roy macdonald, ended eventually by expressing, both on his own part and on that of his father, the strongest desire to serve the prince, especially in his distress. "then," said roy macdonald, "i expect the prince this night at portree; and as there is no boat on this side fit to carry him over to raasay, you must do your best, rona, to get one for the purpose to ferry the prince over to raasay, for thither he means to set out from portree." rona undertook this service, but was unwilling to leave portree until he should see the prince; for he had not been "out" in the last campaign. but, being repeatedly urged by roy macdonald, he at last embarked in a crazy old boat which filled perpetually with water, and could only with assistance be made to convey passengers from portree to raasay, a distance nearly of five miles. before young raasay embarked, roy macdonald had received a note from kingsburgh, importing that flora macdonald was so fatigued that she could not go to portree so soon as she had intended; and ordering the captain to provide a boat to ferry her about to strath, because it would be easier to her "to make it out" by sea than overland. captain roy macdonald took the hint, and judged exactly for whom the boat thus carefully alluded to was to be provided. on monday the thirtieth of june, young raasay, and his brothers murdoch macleod and malcolm macleod, arrived after a short, but perilous voyage within a mile of portree. malcolm went to the shore, leaving rona in the boat. as he walked from the beach, he saw three persons approaching. it is said, that at raasay nine months of the year are rainy. this june evening was one of the rainy periods; and malcolm macleod could not, through the darkness, discover who these three persons were. the place of meeting agreed upon was a small public-house near the shore, about half a mile from the port of portree; to this house malcolm macleod sent to captain roy macdonald, desiring him to come out and speak to a friend. roy macdonald complied with the summons, taking with him a half mutchkin stoup full of whiskey. macleod then informed him that rona and his brother murdoch were on the shore with a boat, which, with much difficulty and danger they had brought from raasay to convey the prince to that island; he begged that they would not delay, as it was raining very heavily. donald roy macdonald then told malcolm that the three persons whom he had seen going towards the public-house were the prince, mac kechan, and the herd-boy. of their approach he had been apprized by the energetic flora, who had arrived at portree some hours previously. donald roy macdonald, who is described as being the model of "a perfect highland gentleman," shared the enthusiasm of flora. although still lame from the wound in his foot, he had, during the course of that evening, looked out incessantly for the prince, but was unable to see him. he had not, however, been long in the public-house, before the voice of the herd-boy calling for the landlord, and desiring to know if one donald roy macdonald were there, drew his attention. he stepped out, and was told by the boy that there was a gentleman, a little above the house, who desired to speak to him. the captain sent the boy away, and immediately went to the spot where the prince stood. charles embraced him, putting his head first over one shoulder, and then over the other; and telling donald to use no ceremony, for that it was impossible to know who might be observing them. when donald expressed his regret at the darkness of the night, charles said, "i am more sorry that _our lady_" (so he called flora macdonald) "should be so abused with the rain." after they entered the house, a curious scene took place. "the prince," relates donald roy,[ ] "no sooner entered the house than he asked if a dram could be got there, the rain pouring down from his clothes; he having on plaid, without breeches, trews, or even philibeg. before he sat down, he got his dram; and then the company desired him to shift, and put on a dry shirt, captain roy macdonald giving him his philibeg. the prince refused to shift, as miss flora macdonald was in the room; but the captain and neil mac kechan told him, it was not time to stand upon ceremonies, and prevailed upon him to put on a dry shirt. by this time they had brought some meat into the room, (the prince having called for it before he would think of shifting,) which consisted of butter, cheese, bread, and roasted fish." the prince was so hungry and exhausted, after a walk from kingsburgh to portree, "seven good highland miles," that he began to eat before he put on his coat. the supply of food which he had brought with him consisted of a cold hen, a bottle of brandy, and a lump of sugar in one of his pockets: these, with the addition of a bottle of whiskey procured at portree, constituted his store of provisions until he reached raasay. on seeing the prince eat heartily, whilst only in his shirt and philibeg, captain donald macdonald could not forbear smiling. "sir," he observed, "i believe that is the english fashion," "what fashion do you mean?" asked the prince. "they say," replied donald, "that the english, when they eat heartily, throw off their clothes." "they are right," answered charles, "lest anything should incommode their hands when they are at work." the prince then asked, if any drink could be had. he was told that he could have nothing but whiskey or water, for no such thing as beer or ale was to be had in the isle of skye. then charles asked if he could have some milk, but was informed that there was none in the house. the only beverage which seemed attainable was water, of which there was a supply in what captain donald macdonald called an "ugly cog," which the landlord of the house used for throwing water out of his boat. this vessel though coarse, was clean. "the captain," relates donald roy, "had been taking a drink out of the cog, and he reached it to the prince,[ ] who took it out of his hand, and, after looking at the cog, he stared the captain in the face, who upon this made up to him (the landlord being in the room), and whispered him softly in the ear to drink out of it without any ceremony; for though the cog looked ill, yet it was clean; and, if he should show any nicety, it might raise a suspicion about him in the landlord's mind. the prince said, 'you are right,' and took a hearty draught of water out of the rough cog, and then he put on his coat." during all this scene, captain roy macdonald could scarcely disguise his anxiety that the prince should leave portree. but charles was reluctant to relinquish shelter and society; the rain was still heavily pouring down, and the night on which the unfortunate wanderer was again to trust his fate to strangers was very dark. in vain, therefore, did macdonald, when the landlord had left the room, represent to charles, that this, being a public-house, was frequented by all "sorts of folks," and that some curiosity would be excited by his appearance. there was, indeed, no rest for the proscribed fugitive. charles then asked for tobacco, that he might smoke a pipe "before he went off." macdonald answered, that there was no tobacco, except that which was very coarse; only "roll tobacco." but charles persisted in having it, saying "that it would serve his horn very well." the landlord therefore was ordered to bring in a quarter of a pound, which he did in scales, at four-pence halfpenny. the prince gave a sixpence, but the landlord was desired by captain macdonald to bring in the change. charles smiled at donald roy's exactness, and said he would not be at the trouble to pick up the halfpence; but donald roy persuaded him to do so, saying, that in his highness's present situation he would find "bawbees very useful to him." a bottle of whiskey having been dispatched between the prince, donald roy macdonald, and neil mac kechan, and the pipe being finished, charles reluctantly began to talk of his departure. he had learned to rely upon the fidelity of the brave clan, one young and gentle daughter of which had protected him from south uist, and brought him through a country swarming with militia to portree. he was unwilling to be separated from donald roy, and entreated him in a low voice to accompany him. but donald begged him to remember that it was not in his power to be useful to him, considering the open wound in his left foot; that he should only prove a burden to him, for it would be out of his power to skulk from place to place; and indeed it would be necessary for him to ride on horseback, so that any of the parties of militia who were ranging about would be sure to descry him at a distance, and that would be ruin to the chance of escape. charles then said, that "he had always found himself safe in the hands of a macdonald, and that, as long as he could have a macdonald with him, he still should think himself safe." again and again he urged this point. it was affecting to see how confidingly this ill-fated young man, noble in his nature, leaned upon those whom he had learned to trust. it is melancholy to reflect that a temper so kindly should ever have been worked up, and irritated almost to madness, by those intrigues and misrepresentations which eventually, combining with the wreck of his other moral qualities, alienated him from all who really loved him. "the prince," as donald relates, "could not think of parting with him at all." this was the first time that charles had entrusted himself, without a single familiar friend or attendant, to strangers. "are you," he said, again addressing donald, "afraid to go with me? so long as _i_ have, you shall not want." again captain macdonald referred to his crippled foot: "he behoved to see," he said, "that his going would only expose the prince to new dangers, of which he had already too many to contend with." in the course of the conversation he took occasion to tell the prince, since he had honoured the macdonalds with his regard, that, although sir alexander macdonald and his followers did not join his standard, they wished him well. "i am sensible enough of all that," was the reply of charles. donald also inquired whether the prince was well provided with money; as in case of need, lady margaret macdonald would supply his wants. but charles, after expressing his gratitude to lady margaret, declined her aid, as he believed that he had sufficient to carry him to the mainland. this painful and memorable scene came at last to a conclusion. after being repeatedly urged by donald to depart, charles bade mac kechan farewell. he then turned to flora macdonald: "i believe, madam," he said, "that i owe you a crown of borrowed money." she answered, in her literal and simple manner, "it was only half-a-crown." this sum the prince paid her. he then saluted her, and said: "notwithstanding all that has happened, i hope, madam, we shall meet in st. james's yet." in this calm, and, apparently laconic manner, he bade flora adieu. but, though fate did not permit charles to testify his gratitude at st. james's, he is said never to have mentioned without a deep sense of his obligations the name of his young protectress. in her loyal and simple heart a sense of duty, enthusiastic reverence, and fond regret dwelt, whilst that heart continued to beat; and, through the vicissitudes of her after-life, the service which she had rendered to the prince recurred like a ray of sunshine upon a destiny almost continually clouded and darkened by calamity. flora was left alone at portree, attended still by mac kechan, who afterwards escaped, rejoined the prince, and went to france with him. mac kechan was a man of good education, and was conjectured by bishop forbes to have been the author of the "alexis, or the young adventurer," a romance embodying the principal incidents of charles edward's life; but of this there is no proof. meanwhile the prince proceeded to the shore. he tied the bottle of whiskey, bought of the landlord, to his belt on one side, and the brandy, the cold hen, and the four shirts on the other. as he went, he saw the landlord of the public-house looking out of a window after him; on which he changed his road. he met young raasay and his brothers at the appointed place; and it was there agreed, that in a few days donald macdonald should follow the prince to raasay. at his departure the prince took out the lump of sugar from his pocket, and said, "pray give this to _our lady_, for i fear she will get no sugar where she is going." the captain refused however to accept of that which seems to have been considered as a great delicacy. charles then enjoined captain macdonald to secrecy as to his destination. "tell nobody--no, not _our lady_--where i am going; for it is right that my course should not be known."[ ] they then parted; and at daybreak, july the first, , charles sailed for raasay. captain macdonald then returned to portree, where he slept a great portion of the next day. here he was closely questioned by the landlord, who said, that he had a great notion that the gentleman who had supped at his house was the prince, for he had something noble about him. probably the imprudent liberality of charles, and his carelessness about money, may have added to the impression which his lofty air and fascinating manners generally produced. on the fourth of july, charles, after various adventures in the island of raasay, escaped to the mountains. this event was announced by a letter sent mysteriously by murdoch macleod to roy macdonald, and delivered to him in the darkness of night. it had neither address on it, nor place, nor date; but was written by charles. "sir, "i have parted as i intended. make my compliments to all to whom i have given trouble. i am, sir, your humble servant, "james hermion." this letter was burned by roy macdonald, though with great reluctance, on the day when he subsequently learned that flora macdonald had been made a prisoner. flora, after parting from the prince, went to armadale to her mother, after a very fatiguing journey across the country. her emotions on separating from charles have been expressed in a poem entitled "the lament of flora macdonald," beginning thus: "far o'er the hills of the heather so green, and down by the corrie that skips in the sea, the bonny young flora sat weeping her love-- the dew on her plaid, and the tear in her e'e. she looked at a boat with the breezes that swung, and ay as it lessened she sighed and she sung, 'farewell to the lad i shall ne'er see again! farewell to my hero, the gallant and young! farewell to the lad i shall ne'er see again,'"[ ] during eight or ten days flora remained in her house at armadale without imparting to any one, even to her mother, the events of the last week. to make her mother a participator in that affair would indeed have been no act of kindness, at a time when the merest suspicion of being a jacobite was regarded as a crime. at the expiration of ten days flora received a message from a person of her own name, donald macdonald of castletown, in skye, about four miles from armadale, to bid her come to his house in order to meet there the commanding officer of an independent company, one macleod of taliskar, who had ordered macdonald to surrender. flora, a little suspicious of what might happen, thought proper to consult with her friends as to what step she should take. they unanimously agreed that she ought not to go; but "go she would." then they consulted together what she should say in case of an investigation. but flora had made up her mind as to the answers she should give. she set out to meet her fate. she probably expected that she should be released after a short examination; for she knew not then through what channel the part which she had taken in the prince's escape had transpired. the fact was, that the boatmen who had brought her with charles from skye had on their return communicated to captain fergusson every particular of the prince's appearance, and had even described the gown which he had worn. flora afterwards remembered, that at mugstat lady margaret had warned her that this would be the case, and had pointed out to her the indiscretion of allowing these men to go back to north uist. as she went on the road to castleton, flora met her father-in-law, macdonald of armadale, who was returning home; and shortly afterwards she was apprehended by captain macleod of taliskar, with a party of soldiers, who were going to seek for her at her mother's house. she was not suffered to take leave of her mother, nor of her other friends; but was carried on board the furnace, a sloop of war, commanded by captain john fergusson, and which lay near raasay. happily for flora, general campbell was on board, and by his orders she was treated with the utmost respect. at her first examination she merely acknowledged, that, on leaving uist, she had been solicited by "a great lusty woman" to give her a passage, as she was a soldier's wife. her request, flora said, was granted; and the woman, upon being landed in skye, had walked away, and flora had seen nothing more of the stranger. but upon finding that she was mildly treated, and on hearing that the boatmen had related every circumstance of her voyage, she confessed the whole truth to general campbell. the vessel was bound for leith. about three weeks after she had been apprehended, as the ship cruized about, it approached the shore of armadale. here flora was permitted to land, in order to bid adieu to her parents. she was sent ashore under a guard of two officers and a party of soldiers, and was forbidden to say anything in erse, or anything at all except in presence of the officers. here she stayed two hours, and then returned to the ship. with what emotions she left the island of skye and found herself carried as a prisoner to leith, it is not perhaps in these tranquil days easy to conceive. after her apprehension, her father-in-law, armadale, to use the phrase of some of the unfortunate jacobites, "began a-skulking;" a report having gone about that he had given a pass to his daughter, although aware that she was travelling with "the pretender" disguised in woman's clothes. there was also another source of suspicion against him, which was his having the prince's pistols in his keeping. these were given him by macdonald of milton, the brother of flora; they had been received either from charles himself, or from o'sullivan or o'neil; but still they furnished a proof of some communication between charles edward and armadale. another sufferer was donald roy macdonald. among not the least energetic of those who aided the escape of charles edward from the long island, was donald roy macdonald. a model of the true highland gentleman in deportment, handsome in person, his conduct fully bore out his character. to this warm-hearted disinterested young man the prince quickly attached himself. crippled as he was, he was obliged also to "go a-skulking." he concealed himself in three different caves, where by turns he made his abode for eight weeks, wrapping himself up in his plaid, and making his bed of the heather; his subsistence he owed to the care of lady margaret macdonald, who brought him food, though at the risk of her own safety. it is consolatory to find heroic friendship, or compassionate interest, enlivening the melancholy annals of civil contentions, of revenge and treachery. the sufferings of captain macdonald during his concealment, although alleviated by lady margaret's care, were nevertheless considerable. during the months of july and august, which he passed in the caves, the midges and flies annoyed his frame, sensitive from the still open wound, and drove him for coolness into the recesses of the caverns. it was necessary to be very careful in stepping out, lest the country-people should discover his retreat. late at night, or very early in the morning, he crept out to supply his bottle with water from some neighbouring _burn_ or rivulet. at last, the act of indemnity set him free. until the month of november , his wound, exasperated by constant exertion, was very troublesome. his misery was solaced by the care and skill of a friendly surgeon, who sent donald roy dressings by a proper hand, even while he remained in the cave, and at last the wound healed. in an account of the prince's escape, written by donald at the request of bishop forbes, he says, "he (donald roy) now walks as cleverly as ever, without any the smallest pain or halt; and made his last journey from skye to edinburgh in twelve days on foot, and, as he came along, visited several friends and acquaintances."[ ] one cannot help rejoicing that lady margaret macdonald escaped all inconvenience, except suspicion. the conduct of her husband, sir alexander, had been prudent. during the progress of the insurrection he had written to keppoch, after the retreat from stirling:--"seeing i look upon your affairs as in a desperate state, i will not join you: but then, i assure you, i will as little rise against you." of sir alexander's followers, a force amounting to five hundred men, only two had joined the prince; these were james macdonald of the isle of hisker,[ ] and captain donald roy macdonald.[ ] the estates of sir alexander, therefore, remained uninjured, and his family continued to enjoy them. the chief sufferers from the visit of prince charles to their house were macdonald of kingsburgh and his wife. upon hearing of the prince's escape, captain fergusson went first to mugstat; where gaining no intelligence, he proceeded to kingsburgh. he there examined every person with the utmost exactness, and inquired into every particular of the accommodation afforded to one whom he styled "the pretender." "whom you mean by _the pretender_, i do not pretend to guess!" was the reply of mrs. macdonald of kingsburgh. kingsburgh was made prisoner, and was sent to fort augustus on parole without any guard, by general campbell's order. but the clemency shown by campbell ceased when kingsburgh reached fort augustus. he was thrown into a dungeon, was plundered of everything, and loaded with irons. sir everard faulkner, who was employed to examine him, reminded him how fine an opportunity he had lost of "making himself and his family for ever." "had i gold and silver piled heap upon heap to the bulk of yon huge mountain," was the noble reply, "that mass could not afford me half the satisfaction i find in my own breast from doing what i have done!" whilst he was confined at fort augustus, an officer of distinction came to him, and asked him if he should know the prince's head if he saw it. "i should know the head very well if it were on the shoulders," was the answer. "but if it were not on the shoulders?" said the officer. "in that case i will not pretend to know anything about it," returned kingsburgh. his discrimination was not put to the test. kingsburgh was removed to edinburgh castle under a strong guard of kingston's light-horse. he was at first put into a room with several other gentlemen, but was afterwards removed into solitary confinement, and not allowed to speak to any one, except to the officer on guard, and the keeper, who acted as his servant. in this place he remained for a year, when by the act of grace he was set at liberty on the fourth of july ; "having thus," as an author has observed, "got a whole year's safe lodging for affording that of one night!"[ ] before her farewell to her friends in armadale, flora macdonald had exchanged the vessel which captain fergusson commanded, for one commanded by commodore smith, a gentleman capable of estimating her character. at armadale, she procured a change of clothes, and took as her personal attendant an honest girl, named kate macdonald, who could speak nothing but gaelic. this girl offered herself as a servant, finding that flora could get no one else to attend her in her calamity. among her companions in trouble, she found, on returning to the ship, captain o'neil, who had persuaded her to undertake the enterprise which had produced her present imprisonment. this gentleman had also, when he urged her good offices, proffered his hand in marriage, in order that her reputation might not suffer by her adventure by "flood and field." when flora saw him on board the vessel, she went up to him, and slapping him on the cheek, said, "to that black face i owe all my misfortune!" o'neil however answered, "that, instead of being her misfortune, it was her highest honour, and it would yet redound more to her credit, if she did not pretend to be ashamed of what she had done."[ ] she was confined for a short time in dunstaffnage castle. this now ruinous fortress, once a royal residence, is situated near the mouth of loch etive, a short distance from oban, in argyleshire; it stands upon a rocky promontory which juts out into the lake, which is one of the most secluded and solemn scenes that nature, in all the grandeur of those regions, presents.[ ] near the castle is a convenient building, which is now, as probably it was in , inhabited by the factors of the duke of argyle, who is the hereditary keeper of dunstaffnage castle, under the crown. it was probably in this house that flora was lodged. the castle is on three of its sides little else than a shell; but the fourth is in tolerable repair. the entrance to this sequestered and solemn abode is from the sea, by a staircase; probably in old times a drawbridge, which fell from a staircase. the ancient grandeur of dunstaffnage, long used as one of the earliest residences of the scottish kings; famed also as the place from which the stone of dunstaffnage, sometimes called the stone of scone, on which they were crowned, was brought; had long passed away before flora tenanted its chambers. but the associations which it presented were not likely to dim the ardour of her loyalty to the last of that race who had once held their sway over the proud castle of dunstaffnage; nor would the roofless chapel, of exquisite architectural beauty, near dunstaffnage, where many of the scottish kings repose, be an object devoid of deep and mournful interest to one who had lately beheld a singular instance of the mutability of all human grandeur. two letters, which show the mode of flora macdonald's introduction to the keeper of the castle, neil campbell, have been preserved.[ ] one of them is as follows: "horse-shoe bay, aug. . "dear sir, "i must desire the favour of you to forward my letters by an express to inverary; and, if any are left with you, let them be sent by the bearer. i shall stay here with commodore smith till sunday morning. if you can't come, i beg to know if you have any men now in garrison at your house, and how many? make my compliments to your lady, and tell her i am obliged to desire the favour of her for some days to receive a very pretty young rebel. her zeal, and the persuasion of those who ought to have given her better advice, has drawn her into a most unhappy scrape by assisting the young pretender to make his escape. i need say nothing further till we meet; only assure you that i am, dear sir, your sincere friend and humble servant, "john campbell." "i suppose you have heard of miss flora macdonald." early in september the ship arrived in leith roads, and remained there until november. by this time the fame of this obscure highland girl had reached the well-wishers to prince charles in edinburgh, and many crowded to see her. among these was the rev. robert forbes, who happened at that time to be episcopal minister of the port. at this period the episcopal church of scotland consisted of a few scattered congregations, under the spiritual guidance of a reduced number of titular bishops. the church was, however, deeply attached to the stuarts; and the pious and enthusiastic man who now visited flora in her adversity, was among the most zealous of the adherents to that ill-fated cause. he had himself known calamity, having been apprehended at st. ninian's in the preceding year, , and imprisoned until the following may. this circumstance, which had prevented him from taking any active part in the commotions, preserved mr. forbes in safety; and his exertions, which were directed to the purpose of collecting, from such of the insurgents as fell in his way, narratives of their several parts in the events of , have been very effective. through his efforts a valuable collection of authentic memoirs, from which extracts have been published within these last few years, have added a new light, and consequently a new charm, to the narrative of prince charles's adventures, and to the biography of his followers. mr. forbes, at the time when he visited flora, was residing in the house of lady bruce of kinross, within the walls of cromwell's citadel at leith. it was one part of mr. forbes's plan, in the pursuit of which he contemplated forming an accurate history of the whole insurrection, to visit the state prisoners as they were either carried to london, or passed on their return to the highlands. most of his collection was therefore formed at the close of the last campaign, when the recollections of the unfortunate actors in the affair were vivid and accurate. among other minor occupations was the acquisition of relics of charles edward, whom the worthy divine almost idolized. "perhaps," says mr. chambers,[ ] "the most curious and characteristic part of the work is a series of relics which are found attached to the inside of the boards of certain volumes. in one i find a slip of thick blue silk cloth, of a texture like sarcenet, beneath which is written, 'the above is a piece of the prince's garter.' below this is a small square piece of printed linen, the figures being in lilac on a white ground, with the following inscription: 'the above is a piece of the identical gown which the prince wore for five or six days, when he was obliged to disguise himself in a female dress, under the name of betty burke. a _swatch_ of the said gown was sent from mrs. macdonald of kingsburgh,' then follows a slip of tape, with the following note: 'the following is a piece of that identical apron-string which the prince wore about him when in a female dress. the above bit i received out of miss flora macdonald's own hands, upon thursday, november , .'" in , this reverend enthusiast was chosen by the presbyteries of caithness and orkney as their bishop, and was consecrated at cupar in fife in the same year. he was the last bishop whose charge was limited only to those two districts. mr. forbes was accompanied in his visits to flora macdonald, while at leith, by lady bruce, lady mary cochrane, mrs. clerk, and many other ladies; who made valuable presents of clothes to the heroine, and who listened to her narrative, as she delivered it to mr. forbes, with many expressions of sympathy and applause. when she related that part of her voyage from uist in which the prince watched over her whilst asleep, some of these fair jacobites cried out, "o, madam! what a happy creature you are, to have that dear prince to watch over you in your sleep." "i could," cried mrs. mary clerk, "wipe your shoes with pleasure, and think it my honour to do so, when i reflect that you had the prince for your handmaid!" perhaps not the worst gift sent to flora, during her stay at leith, was a thimble and needles, with white thread of different sorts, from lady bruce. this act of friendship flora felt as much as any that she received, for she had suffered as much from the state of idleness during her being in custody, as from any other privation.[ ] her time thus passed away almost cheerfully. her gentle, prudent, and placid deportment won upon the esteem of those who were least friendly to her opinions. the officers who were appointed to guard her, although they could not permit her to set her foot on shore, were pleased at the attention which she received from visitors. commodore smith behaved to her with fatherly regard. whilst she was in leith roads, in the eltham, he presented her with a handsome riding-suit, in plain mounting, and some fine linen for riding-shirts. he gave her advice how to act in her difficult and perilous situation, and even allowed the officers to go ashore to seek for good company for their prisoner; although persons who merely came from curiosity were denied access. captain knowles of the bridgewater, also in the leith roads, was most courteous and considerate to the amiable prisoner. when her friends visited her, she was allowed to ask for such refreshments for them as she thought proper; as if she had been at her own fireside. easy, modest, and winning, in the midst of all her anxiety for her friends, and in the uncertainty of her own fate, she was cheerful; yet a subdued and modest gravity gave an interest to her unpretending character. when solicited to join in the amusement of dancing, she refused, alleging that her "dancing-days were over; and that, at all events, she could not dance until she should be assured of the prince's safety, and until she had the happiness of seeing him again." at length, carrying with her the good wishes of all who had conversed with her, flora left the harbour of leith. after being conveyed from place to place, she was put on board the royal sovereign on the twenty-seventh of november, the vessel then lying at the nore, and conveyed to london. here she was kept a prisoner under circumstances of great mitigation, for she was lodged in a private house. in this situation she continued for a year; when the act of indemnity, passed in , set her at liberty. she was then discharged, without a single question being addressed to her on the subject of her conduct. after being released,--at the instigation, according to a tradition in her family, of frederic prince of wales,--she was domesticated in the family of the dowager lady primrose, an ardent jacobite, who afterwards, in , was courageous enough to receive the young chevalier during a visit of five days, which were employed by charles in the vain endeavour to form another scheme of invasion. the abode of lady primrose was the resort of the fashionable world; and crowds of the higher classes hastened to pay their tribute to the heroine of the day. it may be readily conjectured, how singular an impression the quiet, simple manners of flora must have made upon the excited minds of those who looked, perhaps, for high pretensions,--for the presence of an amazon, and the expressions of an heroine of romance. the compliments which were offered to flora, excited in her mind nothing but the most unequivocal surprise that so simple an act should produce so extraordinary a sensation. she is stated to have been presented to frederic prince of wales, and to have received from him the highest compliment to her fidelity and heroism. when, in explanation of her conduct, flora macdonald said that she would perform the same act of humanity to any person who might be similarly situated, the prince remarked, "you would, i hope, madam, do the same, were the same event to happen over again." the grace and courtesy of this speech may partly be attributed to the amiable traits which profligate habits had not wholly obliterated in the prince; partly to his avowed opposition to his royal father, and the bad terms on which he stood with his brother. it must still be acknowledged, that frederic displayed no ordinary degree of good-feeling in this interview with flora. his son george the third, and his grandson george the fourth, both did credit to themselves by sentiments equally generous towards their ill-fated and royal kinsman. after this intoxicating scene, presenting in their most brilliant colours, to the eye of one who had never visited either edinburgh or london, the fascinations of the higher classes of society, flora returned to skye. she left the metropolis unchanged in her early affections, unaltered in the simplicity of her manners. the country, presenting so lately the miserable spectacle of civil war, was now calmed into a mournful tranquillity, as she passed through it on her journey to skye; but in the highlands, and more especially in the western isles, the love and loyalty which had of old been devoted to the stuarts were unaltered. it was, indeed, long before they were obliterated; and, for years after the fatal , the name of charles edward was uttered with tears. nor is this sentiment of respect even now extinct; nor will it, perhaps, ever be wholly annihilated. the journey from london to skye was performed by flora in a postchaise, and her expenses were defrayed by lady primrose. her companion was, by her own choice, malcolm macleod of raasay, who had met the prince at portree, and had completed the work begun by flora. he too had been imprisoned, but had regained his liberty. "so," afterwards malcolm related to his friends, with a triumphant air, "i went to london to be hanged, and returned in a postchaise with miss flora macdonald!" they visited dr. burton, another released prisoner, at york. here malcolm was asked by that gentleman what was his opinion of prince charles. "he is the most cautious man not to be a coward, and the bravest not to be rash, that i ever saw," was the reply. in , flora macdonald was married to her cousin alexander macdonald the younger of kingsburgh, who appears to have been worthy of his distinguished wife. in person, young kingsburgh had completely the figure of a gallant highlander, the graceful mien and manly looks which a certain popular scots' song has attributed to that character. "when receiving dr. johnson in after-years, kingsburgh appeared in true highland costume, with his plaid thrown about him, a large blue bonnet with a knot of black ribbon like a cockade, a brown short coat of a kind of duffil, a tartan waistcoat with gold buttons and gold button-holes, a bluish philibeg, and tartan hose. he had jet hair tied behind; and was a large stately man, with a steady sensible countenance."[ ] such was the man to whom, after a short eventful period of peril and vicissitude, it was the lot of flora macdonald to be united. kingsburgh is also declared by boswell to have had one virtue of his country in perfection--that of hospitality; and, in this, to have far surpassed the son of lady margaret macdonald, sir alexander macdonald of armadale, an english-bred chieftain, at whose house dr. johnson and his friend "had small company, and could not boast of their cheer." that gentleman, "an eton-bred scholar," had few sympathies with the poor tenants by whom he was surrounded. so true is dr. johnson's remark, "that the highland chiefs should not be allowed to go farther south than aberdeen." in her union with young kingsburgh flora enjoyed a source of satisfaction not to be estimated lightly. she became the daughter-in-law of a man whose virtues were remembered with the deepest respect in skye.[ ] when in dr. johnson and boswell visited the island, they found flora and her husband living in apparent prosperity in the dwelling wherein charles edward had been so hospitably entertained. kingsburgh the younger, as the head of the house, received the doctor at his door, and with respectful attention supported him into the house. a comfortable parlour with a good fire was appropriated to the guests, and the "dram" went round. presently supper was served, and then flora made her appearance. "to see dr. samuel johnson, the great champion of the english tories, salute miss flora macdonald in the isle of skye, was," as boswell observes, "a striking sight." in their notions flora and the doctor were in many respects congenial; and dr. johnson not only had imbibed a high opinion of flora, but found that opinion confirmed on acquaintance. conversation flowed freely. flora told him that during a recent visit to the main land she had heard that mr. boswell was coming to skye; and that mr. johnson, a young english "_buck_," was coming with him. dr. johnson was highly entertained with this fancy. he retired however early to rest, and reposed on the very bed on which charles edward had slept so long and so soundly on his way from mugstat to portree. the room was decorated with a great variety of maps and prints; among others was hogarth's head of wilkes grinning, with the cap of liberty on a pole by him. boswell appears, as far as we can guess from his expressions, to have shared the apartment. "to see dr. samuel johnson," remarks boswell, "lying on that bed in the isle of skye, in the house of miss flora macdonald, again struck me with such a group of ideas as it is not easy for words to express." upon boswell giving vent to this burst of rapture, dr. johnson smiled and said, "i have had no ambitious thoughts in it." he afterwards remarked that he would have given a great deal rather than not have lain in that bed.[ ] on quitting the house, dr. johnson and his friend were rowed by kingsburgh, across one of the lochs which flow in upon all the coasts of skye, to a place called grishinish; and here the highland host bade his guests adieu. all seemed smiling and prosperous; but even at this time kingsburgh was embarrassed in his affairs, and contemplated going to america. that scheme was eventually accomplished. during the passion for emigration which prevailed in the highlands, kingsburgh removed to north carolina, where he purchased an estate. scarcely had he settled upon his property before the american war broke out. like most of the jacobites who were in america at that time, he sided with the british government. he even took up arms in the cause, and became captain of a regiment called the north carolina highlanders. many singular adventures occurred both to him and to flora in the course of the contest. at length they returned to skye, but not together; she sailed first. in the voyage home, her ship encountered a french ship of war. an action ensued. whilst the ladies among the passengers were below, flora stayed on deck, and encouraged the sailors with her voice and manner. she was thrown down in the confusion, and broke her arm. with her wonted vivacity she afterwards observed, that she had risked her life both for the house of stuart and for that of brunswick, but had got very little for her pains. her husband remained in america for some time after she returned to scotland, but joined her at last. flora had a numerous family of sons and daughters. charles, her eldest son, was a captain in the queen's rangers. he was worthy of bearing his mother's name. as his kinsman, the late lord macdonald, saw his remains lowered into the grave, he remarked, "there lies the most finished gentleman of my family and name!" alexander, the second son, also in the king's service, was lost at sea. ranald, the third, was a captain of marines. he was remarkable for his elegant person, and estimable for his high professional reputation. james, the fourth son, served in tarlton's british legion, and was a brave officer. the late lieutenant-colonel john macdonald, in exeter, long survived his brothers. this officer was introduced to king george the fourth, who observed, on his presentation, to those around him, "this gentleman is the son of a lady to whom my family (thus designating the stuarts) owe a great obligation." of two daughters, one, mrs. macleod of lochbuy, died not many years ago. the following letters refer to the family who have been thus enumerated.[ ] from mrs. macdonald to mrs. mackenzie of delvin, by dunkell. "dunvegan, twenty-fourth july, "dear madam, "i arrived at inverness the third day after parting with you, in good health and without any accidents, which i always dread; my young 'squire continued always very obliging and attentive to me. i stayed at inverness for three days. i had the good-luck to meet with a female companion from that to skye. i was the fourth day, with great difficulty, at raasay, for my hands being so pained with the riding. "i arrived here a few days ago with my young daughter, who promises to be a stout highland dairg, quite overgrown of her age. nanny and her small family are well: her husband was not sailed the last accounts she had from him. "i have the pleasure to inform you, upon my arrival here, that i had two letters from my husband; the latter dated tenth may. he was then in very good health, and informs me that my son charles has got the command of a troop of horse in lord cathcart's regiment. but alas! i have heard nothing since i left you about my son sandy,[ ] which you may be sure gives me great uneasiness; but still hope for the best. "by public and private news, i hope we will soon have peace re-established, to our great satisfaction: which, as it's a thing long expected and wished for, will be for the utility of the whole nation; especially to poor me, that has my all engaged,--fond to hear news, and yet afraid to get it. "i wait here till a favourable opportunity for the long island shall offer itself.--as i am upon all occasions under the greatest obligations to you, would you get a letter from my son johny sooner than i would get one from him, you would very much oblige me by dropping me a few lines communicating to me the most material part of his letter. "i hope you and the ladies of your family will always accept of my kindest respects; and i ever am, with esteem, dear madam, your affectionate, humble servant, "flora macdonald. "please direct to me, to mrs. macdonald, late of kingsborrow, south uist, by dunvegan." two years, it seems, elapsed, and the summer of arrived, and the fate of alexander macdonald was still unknown; yet the mother's heart still clung to hope, as it proved by the following letter. no murmurs escape from one who seems to have sustained unrepiningly the sorrows which reach the heart most truly; the wreck of fortune, not for ourselves, but for our children, and the terrors of suspense. one source of consolation she possessed: her surviving sons were brave, honourable, and respected. but "sandy" never returned. mrs. mackenzie of delvine, by dunkell. "milton, third of july, . "dear madam, "i received your agreeable favour a fortnight ago, and am happy to find that your health is not worse than when i left you. i return you my sincere thanks for your being so mindful of me as to send me the agreeable news about johny's arrival, which relieved me from a great deal of distress, as that was the first accounts i had of him since he sailed. i think, poor man! he has been very lucky, for getting into bread so soon after landing. i had a letter from john, which, i suppose, came by the same conveyance with yours. i am told by others that it will be in his power now to show his talents, as being in the engineer department. he speaks feelingly of the advantages he got in his youth, and the good example showed him, which i hope will keep him from doing anything that is either sinful or shameful.[ ] "i received a letter from captain macdonald, my husband, dated from halifax, the twelfth of november ' ; he was then recovering his health, but had been very tender for some time before. my son charles is captain in the british legion, and james a lieutenant in the same: they are both in new york. ranald is captain of marines, and was with rodney at the taking of st. eustatia. as for my son sandy, who was a-missing, i had accounts of his being carried to lisbon, but nothing certain, which i look upon the whole as a hearsay; but the kindness of providence is still to be looked upon, as i have no reason to complain, as god has been pleased to spare his father and the rest. i am now at my brother's house, on my way to skye, to attend my daughter, who is to lie-in in august; they are all in health at present. as for my health at present, it's tolerable, considering my anxious mind and distress of times. "it gives me a great deal of pleasure to hear such good accounts of young mr. m'kinnie:[ ] no doubt he has a great debt to pay, who represents his worthy and amiable uncle. i hope you will be so good as remember me to your female companions. i do not despair of the pleasure of seeing you once more, if peace was restored; and i am, dear madam, with respect and esteem, your affectionate friend, "flora macdonald." flora died in , having attained the age of seventy. her corpse was interred, wrapt in the sheet on which charles edward had lain at kingsburgh, and which she had carried with her to america, intending that, wherever she should be entombed, it should serve as her winding-sheet. the life and character of flora macdonald exemplify how true it is, that, in the performance of daily duties, and in domestic life, the loftiest qualities of woman may be formed; for the hourly practice of self-controul, the exercise of judgment, the acquisition of fortitude, tend to the perfection of those virtues which ennobled her career. in all her trials she acted a woman's part. her spirit was fortified by a strength that was ever gentle. she was raised by circumstances above a private sphere; when these ceased to actuate her, she returned cheerfully to what many might deem obscurity, but which she gladdened by a kind and cheerful temper. no vain-glory, no egotism, vulgarized her one great effort. the simplicity of her character was inherent and unextinguishable; and the deep interest which was attached to her character was never lessened by any display. her enthusiasm for the stuart cause ceased only with her life. when any person thoughtlessly, or cruelly, applied the term "pretender" to the prince whom she reverenced, her anger for a moment was aroused. but contention ill accorded with the truly feminine, yet noble and well-principled, mind of flora macdonald. upon the error or truth of that belief in hereditary and indefeasible right which she entertained, it is of little moment, in estimating her virtues, to pass an opinion. perhaps we may venture to conclude with dr. johnson, "that being in rebellion, from a notion of another's right, is not connected with depravity; and that we had this proof of it, that all mankind applaud the pardoning of rebels, which they would not do in the case of murderers and robbers." footnotes: [ ] general stewart's sketches of the highlanders, vol. ii. p. . app. [ ] see general stewart's sketches. [ ] chambers. note, p. . [ ] lockhart's memoirs, vol. ii. p. . [ ] stewart, vol. i. p. . [ ] brown's highlands, p. . [ ] donald macleod's narrative, in bishop forbes's collection. [ ] home, app. p. . [ ] o'neil's narrative. [ ] brown's history of the highlands, p. , note, vol. iii. [ ] maxwell of kirkconnel, p. . [ ] chambers' traditions of edinburgh, p. . [ ] eglintoune house was situated on the west side of the old stamp-office close, high street. it is now occupied by a vintner.--chambers' traditions, p. . [ ] boswell, p. . [ ] a genuine account of the prince's escape.--scots' magazine for . [ ] captain roy macdonald's narrative. forbes, p. . [ ] chambers. edit. for the people, p. . [ ] note in scots' magazine for ; from a ms. by colonel macalister. [ ] donald macleod's narrative. forbes, p. . [ ] boswell's journey to the hebrides, p. . [ ] chambers, p. , and note. [ ] it was, (be it known, for the gratification of those curious in such matters,) "sprigged with blue." [ ] jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] forbes, p. . [ ] curious tracts in the british museum, vol. iv. scotland. [ ] jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] a small isle about eight miles to the westward of south uist. [ ] forbes. narrative of captain donald macdonald. [ ] scots' magazine for . [ ] note in chambers' memoirs of the rebellion. [ ] preface to the jacobite memoirs by mr. robert chambers, to whom the public owe so much on this and other subjects. [ ] brown's hist. of the highlands, vol. iii. p. . [ ] preface to jacobite memoirs, xi. [ ] chambers, p. . taken from the lyon in mourning, mss. [ ] boswell's tour to the hebrides. [ ] dr. johnson's tour to the hebrides, p. . [ ] dr. johnson's tour to the hebrides, p. . [ ] from the collection of charles kirkpatrick sharpe, esq. they were printed, on the occasion of the queen's visit to scotland, in the edinburgh advertiser for . [ ] so named, in compliment to sir alexander macdonald of slate, or rather to his wife, lady margaret, the friend of flora macdonald. [ ] this alludes to the attention paid him when young, and under the care of mr. mackenzie, by that gentleman and his family. [ ] the late sir alexander muir mackenzie of delvine, bart. william boyd, earl of kilmarnock. the unfortunate nobleman who is the subject of this memoir, could boast of as long line of ancestors as most families in europe. among his forefathers were men eminent for loyalty, and distinguished for bravery, and of honour as untainted as their blood; but when william, fourth earl of kilmarnock, succeeded to his title, there was little except this high ancestry to elate him with pride, or to raise him above dependence upon circumstances. the earl of kilmarnock derived his title from a royal borough of the same name, in the shire of cunningham in ayrshire; and, in former times when the chieftainship was in repute in that part of scotland, that branch of the family of boyd, or boyde, from whom the earl was descended, claimed to be chiefs. the greatness of the boyd family commenced with simon, the brother of walter, first high steward of scotland, and founder of the monastery of paisley, in . robert, the son of simon, is designated in the foundation church of that monastery, as nephew of walter, high steward; and is distinguished on account of his fair complexion, by the word boyt, or boyd,[ ] from the celtic boidh, signifying fair, or yellow. "he was," says nisbet, "doubtless, predecessor to the lords boyd, and earls of kilmarnock."[ ] the family of boyd continued to flourish until, in the fifteenth century, it was ennobled by james the third, who owed to one of its members, sir alexander boyd of duncow, esteemed to be a mirror of chivalry, an inculcation into the military exercises, which were deemed, in those days, essential to the education of royalty. but the sunshine of kingly favour was not enjoyed by the boyds without some alloy. robert boyd of kilmarnock, who was raised to the peerage, under the title of lord boyd, and whose eldest son was created earl of arran, experienced various vicissitudes. he died in england, in exile; and his brother, sir alexander, perished in , on a scaffold, erected on the castle hill of edinburgh. the fortunes of the family were, however, restored in the person of thomas, earl of arran, who married the eldest sister of king james the third. the beautiful island of arran was given as the dower of this lady: and her husband, who is said in the paston letters to have been a "light, clever, and well-spoken, fair archer; devoutest, most perfect, and truest to his lady, of knights," enjoyed a short gleam of royal favour. his vicissitudes, however, befel him whilst on an embassy in denmark, his enemies undermined him at home: he was driven to wander in foreign countries, and died at antwerp, where a magnificent monument was erected to his memory, by charles the bold, duke of burgundy. his title was attainted, but his property was restored to his son; and in , the title of earl of kilmarnock was added to that of lord boyd, which alone seems to have been retained by the family during the intervening generations. during the reign of charles the first, his descendants were considered to be steady royalists; but, notwithstanding their claiming descent from the stuarts, the views and principles of the family in the troublous period of the revolution of , underwent a total change. william, the third earl of kilmarnock, and the father of the unhappy adherent of charles edward, took the oaths of allegiance to the reigning family, and supported the treaty of union; joining at first the party entitled the _squâdrone volante_; but eventually deserting them for the whigs. when the insurrection of broke out, this nobleman plainly manifested that the notions which had actuated his ancestor to join the association at cumberland in favour of charles the first, were no longer deemed valid by him. the superiority of the burgh of kilmarnock having been granted in to his ancestors, the earl summoned the inhabitants of the burgh to assemble, and to arm themselves in support of government. at the general meeting of the fencible corps at cunningham, lord kilmarnock appeared, followed by five hundred of his men, well armed, and so admirably trained, that they made the best figure on that occasion among the forces collected.[ ] in compliance with orders which he received from the duke of argyll, lord kilmarnock marched with his volunteers to garrison the houses of drummakil, cardross, and gastartan, in order to prevent the rebels from crossing the forth. unhappily for the fortunes of his family, the earl died two years afterwards: and in the year , his son, then a boy of fourteen years of age, succeeded to his title. the mother of the young nobleman still survived: she was the lady eupheme, daughter of william, eleventh earl of ross; and one child only, the earl of kilmarnock, had been the issue of her marriage. the youth, whose fate afterwards extorted pity from the most prejudiced spectators of his fate, was educated in the principles of the scottish church. these, as the chaplain who attended lord kilmarnock in the last days of his existence observes, are far from "having the least tendency to sedition," and a very different bias was apparent in the conduct of the presbyterian ministers during the whole course of the insurrections of . the young nobleman appears to have imbibed, with this persuasion, a sincere conviction of those incontrovertible, and all-important truths of christianity which, happily, the contentions of sect cannot nullify, nor the passions of mankind assail. "he always believed," such is his own declaration, "in the great truths of god's being and providence, and in a future state of rewards and punishments for virtue and vice." he had never, he declared at that solemn moment when nothing appeared to him of consequence save truth, "been involved in the fashionable scepticism of the times." as he grew up, a character more amiable than energetic, and dispositions more calculated to inspire love than to insure respect, manifested themselves in the young nobleman. he was singularly handsome, being tall and slender, and possessing what was termed by an eyewitness of his trial, "an extreme fine person;" he was mild, and well-bred, humble, and conscientious. it is true, that in his hours of penitence he recalled, with anguish, "a careless and dissolute life," by which, as he affirmed, he reduced himself to great and perplexing difficulties; he repented for his "love of vanity and addictedness to impurity and sensual pleasure," which had "brought pollution and guilt upon his soul, and debased his reason, and, for a time, suspended the exercise of his social affections, which were, by nature, strong in him, and, in particular, the love of his country." such was his own account of that youth, which, deprived of the guidance of a father, with high rank and great personal attractions to endanger it, was passed, according to his own confession, in dissipation and folly. it appears, nevertheless, that he was greatly respected by his neighbours and tenantry, who were not, perhaps, disposed to judge very severely the errors of a young and popular man. when only eleven years of age, lord kilmarnock, then lord boyd, had appeared in arms for government with his father; on which occasion he conducted himself so gracefully as to attract the admiration of all beholders.[ ] his early prepossessions, granting that they may have accorded with those of his father, were, however, soon dissipated when he allied himself with a family who had been conspicuous in the jacobite cause. this was the house of livingstone, earl of linlithgow and calendar; george, the fourth earl, having, in , been engaged in the insurrection under lord mar, had been attainted, and his estate of one thousand two hundred and ninety-six pounds yearly forfeited to the crown. nor has this forfeiture ever been reversed; and the present representative of the family, sir thomas livingstone, of westquarter and bedlormie, remains, notwithstanding an appeal in before lord kenyon, then attorney-general, a commoner.[ ] lady anne livingstone, who was the object of the young lord kilmarnock's choice, is reported to have been a woman of great beauty, and, from her exertions in her husband's behalf, appears to have possessed a fine, determined spirit. although her father's title was not restored, she had sufficient interest, in , to obtain from the english government a lease of the forfeited estates for fifty-nine years, at the rent of eight hundred and seventy-two pounds, twelve shillings per annum.[ ] this was, no doubt, a source of considerable pecuniary benefit to her, and also of assistance, very greatly required by lord kilmarnock, who was in impoverished circumstances. honours, indeed, centered in him, but were productive of no real benefit. by the grandmother of his wife, the lady margaret hay, sole surviving daughter of charles the twelfth earl of errol, he had a claim to that earldom, which, coupling with its dignity that of the hereditary high constable of scotland, descended in the female line, and after the death of a brother in infancy, constituted the lady anne livingstone a countess of errol in her own right. thus, lord kilmarnock had, to borrow horace walpole's expression, "four earldoms in him," kilmarnock, errol, linlithgow, and calendar; and yet he is said to have been so poor, as "often to have wanted a dinner." but to this mode of expression we must not entirely trust for accuracy. with the inheritance of the earldoms of errol, and of linlithgow, and calendar, there came a stock of old jacobite principles; lord linlithgow had, indeed, suffered what was perhaps worse than death for his adherence to james stuart. the earl of errol, the grandfather of lady kilmarnock, had led a more prudent course. still he was a hearty jacobite, and though, as lockhart declares, he did not at first make a "great outward appearance," yet he was much trusted by the party; his family had always been favourable to the stuarts, and he was, also, generally considered to cherish similar sentiments.[ ] he had, nevertheless, taken the oaths to government in ; yet on the alarm of an invasion in , he was deemed so dangerous a person that he was sent as a prisoner to edinburgh castle, where he died. the love suit of lord kilmarnock was not likely, under his impoverished circumstances, to prosper uninterruptedly. when he succeeded to his estate he had found it much encumbered, and a considerable portion of the old inheritance alienated. lord kilmarnock's disposition was not formed for economy; he was generous even to profusion, and, as we have seen had not escaped the temptations incident to his age. his addresses to the lady anne livingstone are said to have been prompted by his necessities; her fortune was deemed considerable; and her family, well knowing the state of the earl's affairs, regarded his proposals of marriage unfavourably. but the young nobleman during the course of his courtship, and in opposing these objections, formed an interest in the heart of the young lady. he was, indeed, a man born to charm the imagination of the romantic, if not at that period of his youth, to rivet affection by esteem. in his boyhood, although he made some degree of progress in classical attainments, and even in philosophy and mathematics, thus proving that natural ability was not wanting, he was far more successful in attaining mere accomplishments, which add a powerful charm to comeliness and symmetry than in mastering more solid studies. he became an adept in fencing, in riding, in drawing, and also in music; and acquired the distinctive and comprehensive designation, of being "a polite gentleman."[ ] disgusted with the cold discussions on settlements and rent rolls, and disregarding maternal cautions, lady anne soon followed the dictates of her own heart. she married the young and handsome nobleman without her mother's consent, and a tardy sanction to the union was wrung from lady livingstone only when it was too late to withhold her approval. the marriage was not, it was said by those who were disposed to scandalize the earl of kilmarnock, productive of happiness. the young countess was possessed, indeed, of beauty, wit, and good sense: but her husband, if we may accredit the memoirs of his life, gave her much cause to complain of his conduct. they lived, however, as the same doubtful authority states, "if not happily, at least civilly together." such is the statement of a contemporary writer; it must, however, be adopted with just as much allowance as we give to similar reports raised by party writers in the present day: and it will be shown[ ] not to accord with the dying declarations of lord kilmarnock. "i leave behind," he wrote to his agent, "in lady kilmarnock, what is dearest to me."[ ] subsequently to his marriage, lord kilmarnock's necessities and the additional burden of a family induced him to apply to the english government for a pension, founded, as it is probable, on his father's services to government in . but this statement, and the conditions upon which the bounty was given are left in obscurity. "whether," says the anonymous biographer of lord kilmarnock, "my lord kilmarnock's pension was a ministerial bribe, or a royal bounty, is a question i cannot determine with any certainty; but i have reason to suspect the former, since few pensions, granted by a certain administration, that of sir robert walpole, deserved the latter." the same writer truly observes, that little or no dependance is to be placed on that loyalty which wants the support of bribes and pensions. "the practice," he adds, "is too general, and a defection of this kind of men may be fatal to the state."[ ] the pension, as it appears from horace walpole's letters, was taken from lord kilmarnock by lord wilmington. "lord kilmarnock," he writes to sir horace mann, "is a presbyterian, with four earldoms in view, but so poor since lord wilmington's stopping a pension that my father had given him, that he often wanted a dinner."[ ] in the last days of his existence the earl, indeed, acknowledged that the state of his affairs was, in part, the reason of his defection from government. he attributed it, (though, it must be stated, under the pressing arguments of a minister of religion who considered what he termed "rebellion" as the most heinous sin,) to the great and pressing difficulties into which he had brought himself, by extravagance and dissipation: and declared, according to the account of his spiritual guide, that the "exigency of his affairs was very pressing at the time of the rebellion; and that, besides the general hope he had of mending his fortune by the success of it, he was also tempted by another prospect, of retrieving his circumstances if he followed the pretender's standard."[ ] until the commencement of the insurrection of , lord kilmarnock enjoyed the possession of dean castle, a very ancient edifice, situated about half a mile north east of the town of kilmarnock, in ayrshire. "it is," says grose in his antiquities of scotland, "at a small distance from the main road leading from kilmarnock to stewarton, and consists of a large vaulted square tower, which seems to have been built about the beginning of the fifteenth century: this is surrounded by a court and other buildings more modern."[ ] such is the description of dean castle before the year ; when, to add to lord kilmarnock's other necessities, it was partially destroyed by fire, leaving only a ruin which he was too much impoverished even to restore to its former habitable state. in the "great square tower," referred to by grose, and of which a view is preserved in his work on scotland, the boyd family had dwelt in the days of their greatness, when one of their race was created earl of arran. in that tower had the earl imprisoned his royal wife, the lady margaret, sister of james the third, who was divorced from him, pleading, as some say, a prior contract with the lord hamilton, to whom she was afterwards united, taking to him the isle of arran as her dower. it does not appear that the earl of kilmarnock was originally in the confidence of the jacobite party: and their designs were not only matured, but far in full operation before he took an open or active part in the stuart cause. it happened, however, that when charles edward resided at holyrood, the countess of kilmarnock was living in edinburgh. her beauty, and the gaiety of her manners, attracted the admiration of the young prince, who bestowed no small portion of attention on the fascinating daughter of one of his father's adherents. lady kilmarnock was as much attached to pleasure as the young and beautiful usually are: she delighted in public diversions, and led the way to all parties of amusement. her ambition, no less than her early prepossessions conspired, it is said, to make her a jacobite; and she hoped, by the favour of charles edward, to obtain the restoration of her father's title. her entreaties to the earl of kilmarnock to join the standard of the prince were stimulated, therefore, by a double motive; and, indeed, to a generous and romantic mind, there required neither the inducements of ambition, nor of gratified vanity, to espouse that part which seemed most natural to the scotch. after the battle of preston pans, lady kilmarnock's persuasions took effect: her husband presented himself to the young chevalier, who received him with every mark of esteem and distinction, declared him a member of the privy council, raised him to the rank of a general, and appointed him colonel of his guards.[ ] another occurrence is, however, stated to have had a considerable influence in forming the earl's decision. during the course of the conflict, he met, at linlithgow, that incomparable man, and excellent officer, colonel gardiner. this individual, whose character forms so fine a relief to the party-spirited and debased condition of the british army in the time of george the second, was a native of linlithgowshire, having been born at carriden, in the year of the revolution, . his life commencing in that important era, had been one of events. he had first entered the dutch service; then had served in marlborough's army at ramilies. until this incident of his life, the young soldier, then only nineteen, had run a course of dissolute pleasure, and had obtained, from the frankness and gaiety of his disposition, the name of the _happy rake_. being in the forlorn hope, he was wounded, and left in a state hovering between life and death, on the field, and in state of partial insensibility, from which he was aroused at times to perfect consciousness. the ball which had struck gardiner, had entered his mouth; and without breaking a single tooth, or touching the forepart of his tongue, had passed through his neck, coming out above an inch and a half on the left side of the vertebræ. he was abandoned by marlborough's troops, who, according to their custom, left the wounded to their fate, while they pursued their advantages against the french. in this state, the first serious emotions of gratitude, the first convictions of a peculiar providence suggested themselves to the mind of the young officer: and although they did not, for some years, produce an absolute amendment of life, they laid the foundation of his future conversion, and of that exemplary piety and purity which extorted admiration even in a dissolute age. after being present at every battle that marlborough had fought in flanders, colonel gardiner had signalized his courage in the insurrection of ; and in he was again ordered to the north to meet the jacobite forces near edinburgh.[ ] it was during this, his last campaign, when broken by ill health and premature age, for this brave and good man despaired of the restoration of peace to his country, that he supped in company with lord kilmarnock, at linlithgow. colonel gardiner's prognostications had long been most gloomy. "i have heard him say," declared dr. doddridge, "many years before the scottish insurrection, that a few thousands might have a fair chance for marching from edinburgh to london, uncontrolled, and throw the whole kingdom into an astonishment." this opinion was derived from his knowledge of the defenceless state of the country, and the general prevailing disaffection. and the pious, but somewhat distrustful views of gardiner led him to assign yet more solemn reasons for his anticipations of evil. "for my own part, though i fear nothing for myself, my apprehensions for the public are very gloomy, considering the deplorable prevalency of almost all kinds of wickedness among us; the natural consequences of the contempt of the gospel. i am daily offering up my prayers to god for this sinful land of ours, over which his judgments seem to be gathering; and my strength is sometimes so exhausted with those strong cries and tears, which i pour out before god upon this occasion, that i am hardly able to stand when i arise from my knees."[ ] imbued with these convictions, colonel gardiner, when he was retreating at linlithgow with the troops under his command, spoke unguardedly to lord kilmarnock of the prospects of the english army, and thus confirmed the wavering inclination of that ill-fated nobleman to follow charles edward.[ ] the decisive step was not, it appears, taken until after the battle of preston pans, in which colonel gardiner, who had a mournful presentiment of the event of that engagement, fell, after a deportment truly worthy of the british soldier, and of the christian. this brave officer, after having received two wounds, fought on, his feeble frame animated by the almost supernatural force of strong determination. as he headed a party of foot who had lost their leader, and cried out, "fire on, my lads, fear nothing;" his right-arm was cut down by a highlander who advanced with a scythe, fastened to a pole. he was dragged from his horse; and the work of butchery was completed by another highlander, who struck him on the head with a broadsword: gardiner had only power to say to his servant, "take care of yourself." the faithful creature hastened to an adjoining mill for a cart to convey his master to a place of safety. it was not until two hours had elapsed, that he was able to return. the mangled body, all stripped and plundered, was, even then, still breathing; and the agony of that gallant spirit was protracted until the next day, when he expired in the house of the minister of tranent. this digression, introducing as it does, one of the _real_ heroes of this mournful period, may be pardoned. according to the evidence on his trial, lord kilmarnock first joined the standard of charles edward on the "banks of the river which divides england from scotland;"[ ] but maxwell of kirkconnel mentions that the earl marched from edinburgh on the thirty-first of october, , at the head of a little squadron of horse grenadiers, with whom were some perthshire gentlemen, who, in the absence of their own commander, were placed under the conduct of lord kilmarnock.[ ] after this decisive step, lord kilmarnock continued to follow charles during the whole of that ill-fated campaign, which ended in the battle of culloden. during the various events of that disastrous undertaking, his character, like that of many other commanders in the chevalier's army, suffered from imputations of cruelty. that this vice was not accordant with his general disposition of mind, the minister who attended him on his death-bed sufficiently attests. "for myself," declares mr. foster, "i must do this unhappy criminal the justice to own, that he _never_ appeared, during the course of my attendance upon him, to be of any other than a soft, benevolent disposition. his behaviour was always mild and temperate. i could discern no resentment, no disturbance or agitation in him."[ ] so gentle a character is not the growth of a day; and if ever lord kilmarnock were betrayed into actions of violence, it must have been under circumstances of a peculiar nature. among other charges which were specified against him, was a participation in the blowing up of the church of st. ninian's, in the retreat from stirling. but when, in the retirement of his prison chamber, the unfortunate nobleman reviewed his conduct, and confessed the errors of his life, he fully and satisfactorily cleared himself from the heinous imputation implied in this work of destruction. when the army of charles were retiring from stirling he was confined to his bed ill of a fever. the first intimation that he had of the blowing up of the tower of st. ninian's was the noise, of which he never could obtain a clear account. by the insurgents it was represented as accidental: "this can i certainly say, as to myself, that i had no knowledge before hand, nor any concurrence in a designed act of cruelty." such was lord kilmarnock's declaration to mr. foster. another instance of barbarity also laid to the charge of the earl was, his alleged treatment of certain prisoners of war who were intrusted to his care in the church of inverness. he was accused of stripping these unfortunate persons of their clothes. upon this point he admitted that an order to deprive the prisoners of their garments for the use of the highlanders was issued by charles edward: that the warrant for executing this order was sent to him. he did not, as he declared, enter the church in person, but committed the office of execution to an inferior officer. the prisoners, as might be expected, refused to submit to this indignity; upon which a second order was issued, and their clothes were taken from them. the well-timed remonstrance of boyer, marquis d'eguilles, who had been sent by the court of france in the character of ambassador to charles edward, arrested, however, the act of cruelty, which not even extreme necessity can excuse. this nobleman had arrived some time previously at montrose, bringing in the ship in which he sailed, arms and a small sum of money,[ ] and his influence, which was exerted in behalf of the captives, was happily considerable. he represented to the earl of kilmarnock, that the rules of war did not authorise the outrage which was contemplated. lord kilmarnock, convinced by his remarks, repaired to charles edward, leaving heaps of the clothes lying in the streets of inverness, with sentinels standing to guard them. by the arguments which he addressed to the prince, these garments were restored to their unfortunate owners; and a great stain on the memory both of charles and of his adherent was thus partially effaced. of such a nature were those imputations which were charged upon lord kilmarnock; but they appear to have met with only a transient credence; whilst a general impression of his gentleness, and a prevailing regret for his fate endured as long as the memory of the dire contest, and of its tragical termination, dwelt in the recollection of those who witnessed those mournful times. after the battle of culloden, the prisoners were immediately set free. the duke of cumberland, as he entered inverness, taking his road amid the carcasses of the dead strewed in the way, called for the keys of the prisons, and with his own hands released the captives there, and, clapping them on the shoulders as they came down stairs, exclaimed, "brother soldiers, you are free."[ ] unfortunately his compassion was of a party nature, and was only aroused for his own adherents. at culloden, fatal to so many brave men, lord kilmarnock was spared only to taste much more deeply of the pangs of death than if he had met it in battle. his fate had, indeed, been anticipated by the superstitious; and it was considered a rash instance of hardihood in the unfortunate nobleman to resist an omen which, about a year before the rebellion had broken out, is said to have happened in his house. one day, as the maid who attended usually upon lady kilmarnock was inspecting some linen in an upper room of dean castle, the door of the apartment suddenly opened of its own accord, and the view of a bloody head, resembling that of lord kilmarnock, was presented to the affrighted woman. as she gazed in horror, the head rolled near her. she endeavoured in vain to repel it with her foot. she became powerless, but she was still able to scream; her shrieks brought lord kilmarnock and his countess to the chamber. the apparition had vanished; but she related succinctly the story "which, at that time," says the historian who repeats it,[ ] "lord kilmarnock too much ridiculed, though it could have been wished that he had been forewarned by the omen. such was the superstition of the times, in which ignorance and credulity found such ready supporters." at culloden, this ill-fated nobleman occupied a post not far from the prince, in the rear of whom was a line of reserve, consisting of three columns, the first of which, on the left, was commanded by lord kilmarnock; the centre column by lord lewis gordon and glenbucket; and the right by the justly-celebrated roy stewart. in the opposite ranks, an ensign in the royal regiment, was his son, lord boyd. during the confusion of the fight, when half-blinded by the smoke, the unhappy lord kilmarnock, as if fated to fulfil the omen, mistook a party of english dragoons for fitzjames's horse, and was accordingly taken prisoner. he was led along the lines of the british infantry. the vaunted beauty of his countenance, and the matchless graces of which so much has been said, were now obliterated by the disorder of his person, and his humiliating position. his hat had been lost in the conflict, and his long hair fell about his face. the soldiers as he was led along stood in mute compassion at this sight. among those who thus looked upon this unfortunate man was his son, lord boyd, who was constrained to witness, without attempting to alleviate, the distress of that moment. when the earl passed the place where his son stood, the youth, unable to bear that his father should be thus exposed bareheaded to the storm which played upon the scene of carnage, stepped out of the ranks and taking his own hat from his head, placed it on that of his father. it was the work of an instant, and not a syllable escaped the lips of the agitated young man.[ ] lord kilmarnock was carried from the moor, which already, to use the words of an eyewitness among the government troops, "was covered with blood; the men, what with killing the enemy, dabbling their feet in the blood, and splashing it about one another, looked like so many butchers."[ ] never, did even their enemies declare, was a field of battle bestrewn with a finer, perhaps with a nobler race. "every body allowed," writes one of cumberland's officers, "that men of a larger size, larger limbs, and better proportioned, could not be found." the flower of their unhappy country; hundreds of these had not yet been blessed with the repose of death, but were left to languish in agony until the next day, when they were butchered by the orders of cumberland. one of them, john alexander fraser, in the master of lovat's regiment, was rescued by lord boyd from destruction. a soldier had struck him with the butt of his musket, intending, according to the orders given, to beat out his brains. the poor wretch, his nose and cheek-bone broken, and one of his eyes pierced, still breathed when this young nobleman passed him. he observed the poor creature, and ordered his servants to carry him to a neighbouring kiln, where, in time, his wounds were cured. "he lived," observes mr. chambers, "many years afterwards, a dismal memorial of the cruelties of culloden."[ ] according to one account, lord kilmarnock owed his escape from the field of battle with his life to the brave and generous lord ancrum, who delivered him to the duke of cumberland; and the same narrative adds, that the duke issued orders that no one should mention the earl's imprisonment to his son, but considerately imparted the intelligence to the young man himself. it is only fair to mention this redeeming trait in a man who had so many awful, and almost inexpiable sins to answer for at the last day, when not our professions of kindness, but our acts of mercy or of wrong will be placed before a solemn and final account. after his surrender at culloden, the earl of kilmarnock was conveyed to london. that metropolis, in some of its most attractive features, was well known to him: he had frequently resided there for several months during the year, and had associated with the friends of government who were near the court. he was now to view it under a very different aspect; and during the period which elapsed between his surrender and his trial, he had ample time to weigh the respective value of that society which had formerly so much delighted him, and in which, it is said he "had affected to talk freely of religion;" and of those great truths which were now his only source of support. whatever may have been his early errors, the remaining days of lord kilmarnock were characterized by gentleness to those who were placed in authority over him; forbearance to those who slandered him, and submission to god. unable to conquer a natural intense love of life, he assumed no pretended intrepidity:[ ] yet manifested a still greater concern for his character, than for his fate. society in general, as well as the annalists of the times, mourned for him, and with him; and many who beheld his doom, would have sacrificed much of their own personal safety to avert the close of that tragic scene. but these were not times when the generous might venture to interfere with security.[ ] two noblemen, differing greatly in character from lord kilmarnock, shared his imprisonment: arthur, sixth earl of balmerinoch, or, as it is usually spelled balmerino, (pronounced balmérino), and george, earl of cromartie. of these individuals, lord balmerino, although an uncultured soldier, has excited by far the greatest interest. he was descended, like most of his associates from an ancient family. it was of german origin,[ ] first known in scotland in the reign of robert bruce, to whose sister, a german knight, sirnamed elphingston, or elphinstone, was married. such was the esteem in which robert bruce held his foreign brother-in-law, that he gave him lands in midlothian, which still bear the name of elphinstone.[ ] hence was he called elphinstone of that ilk--a mode of expression employed in scotland to prevent the repetition of the same name. in process of time certain estates which a descendant of the german knight acquired at arthbeg, in stirlingshire, were also endowed with that surname; and, during several centuries, the martial and hardy race to whom those lands belonged continued in the same sphere, that of private gentlemen, chiefs of the house of elphinstone. they were remarkable, in successive generations, for that bold and manly character which eventually distinguished their ill-fated descendant, arthur balmerino, and which, in time, extorted applause from the most prejudiced politicians of the opposite party. alexander elphinstone, in the reign of david the second, might have emulated the supposed deeds of guy earl of warwick; he rivalled him in gigantic figure, in immense strength, and knightly prowess. his disposition was not only martial, but chivalric; for, conscious of extraordinary power, "he was more able," says a writer of the last century, "to overlook an affront, than men less capable of resenting it." his son, inferior in bodily strength, equalled him in military exploits, which distinguished indeed a succession of the elphinstones of that ilk.[ ] at flodden, john elphinstone, who was created a lord of parliament by james the fourth, was killed by the side of his royal master, and being not unlike to that monarch in face and figure, his body was carried to berwick by the english, who mistook it for that of the king.[ ] in the reign of james the sixth, james, the second son of the third lord elphinstone, was created a baron by the name and title of lord balmerino. he rose to high honours in the state; but the first disgrace that befell the family occurred in this reign. this was the marriage of john, the second lord balmerino, to jane ker, sister of the infamous ker, earl of somerset, and favourite of james the sixth, who, for his sake, denounced a curse on his posterity, which seems, says the writer before quoted, "to have followed them and the nation ever since." like most of the noble families in scotland, the house of balmerino became impoverished during the civil wars; and when the father of arthur elphinstone succeeded to his title, he found his estates wofully diminished. he was, however, one of those men who were capable, by ability and prudence, of redeeming the fortunes of his family. circumstances were, indeed, adverse to the prosperity of any whose loyalty to the stuarts was suspected. lord balmerino was prudent, but he was sincere. he was "a man of excellent parts, improved by reading, being, perhaps, one of the very best lawyers in the kingdom, and very expert in the scottish constitution; he reasoned much and pertinently in parliament, and testifying, on all occasions, an unshaken loyalty to his prince, and zealous affection to his country, he gained the esteem and love of all good men." such was the father, of whom this noble character was drawn, to whom arthur, lord balmerino, owed his being. such was the man whom it would have been the wiser policy of the british ministry to have conciliated, on the accession of george the first, but whose son they drove into an act of imprudence by their distrust and injustice. the first wife of john, fourth lord balmerino, was the daughter of hugh, earl of eglintoun, and, consequently, she was connected with some of the most strenuous supporters of the stuart cause in the kingdom of scotland. by her he had two sons, hugh, who was killed in , at the siege of lisle, and james, who was educated to the profession of the law. upon the death of this lady, lord balmerino married anne, daughter of ross, the last archbishop of st. andrews, and by her had two sons: arthur, who became eventually lord balmerino, and alexander, who died in , unmarried; and a daughter, anne, who died also unmarried. the subject of this memoir may, therefore, be deemed the last of the house of balmerino.[ ] arthur elphinstone was born in the year . he had, until late in life, no expectation of succeeding to the title of his father after the death of hugh, there being still an elder brother, james. the characteristics of all this branch of the elphinstone family appear almost invariably to have been those of honour and justice, and james resembled his father in the integrity of his principles. the following character is drawn of him by a contemporary writer: "he was rather a solid pleader than a refined orator; but he understood the law so well, and preserved the chastity of his character so tenderly, by avoiding being concerned in any scandalous actions, that he was listened to with great attention by the bench, at a time when it was filled by the most eminent lawyers that ever appeared in scotland." the abilities of this able and conscientious man soon raised him to the bench, where he discharged his duties with that high and nice sense of integrity which can only be described by the word honour. he never mixed party-spirit with his judgments: he lent himself to no ministerial purposes. the dignity of the judge was preserved in his manly and courageous character: and such was his application to business, that his court was thronged with practitioners when those of other judges were nearly deserted. arthur, his younger brother, possessed not his application, but displayed much, nevertheless, of the natural ability of his family. "he was not much acquainted with books; and though he was rich in repartee, yet he never affected to reason." such is the remark of a contemporary writer. yet who might not envy the clear, undisturbed intellect which showed him, in a moment of peculiar temptation, the value of plain dealing, and the inestimable price of a good conscience? some members of a family seem fated to suffer for the others. arthur elphinstone was educated in the principles which brought him to the scaffold: they were those of his father and brother, who were both fortunate enough to preserve them in their own breasts, and yet not to encounter trouble on that account. and, during the reign of queen anne the family appear to have been deemed so well affected, as to procure them promotion, not only in civil but military service. when very young, arthur elphinstone obtained the command of a company of foot in lord shannon's regiment, on the accession of george the first. his real opinions were, however, manifested by his resignation of his commission; and by his joining the standard of lord mar, under whom he commanded a company, and served in the battle of sherriff muir. by throwing up his commission, he escaped being punished as a deserter, and was allowed to retire to the continent. according to some accounts, he went first to denmark; by others it is said, that he entered at once into the french service. he remained, at all events, twenty years in exile from his family; but in , an event occurred, which greatly increased the natural desire which his father, declining in strength, had long cherished of again beholding his son. alexander elphinstone, the younger brother of arthur, died at leith, two years before the insurrection broke out. this young man had had the misfortune in , to fight a duel, shortly after which his adversary, lieutenant swift, had died of his wounds. the combat took place on the links of leith; the affair was notorious, and alexander had been threatened with a prosecution, which was not, however, put into execution. this painful circumstance, coupled with alexander elphinstone's death, may have naturally added to the wish which lord balmerino entertained, to rescue his exiled son from the sentence of outlawry under which he stood, and to restore him again to his home. probably the desire of perpetuating honours which had been gained by legitimate exertions, may have been contemplated by the aged nobleman when he revolved in his mind how he could compass the safe return of his younger, and surviving son, to scotland. james, the heir to the title, great as was the lustre which his abilities and integrity shed upon it, was not likely to perpetuate more honours, having no children by his wife elizabeth carnegie, daughter of david, fourth earl of northesk. it is one of the innumerable instances of human short-sightedness, that the very recall of arthur elphinstone to scotland was the cause of the extinction of family honours, and of that line in which they rested. according to some accounts, he remained abroad until the general act of indemnity, from which he was not excepted, took effect:[ ] but by others it is stated, that his father, having made a strong application to government, obtained a free pardon for his son. if such were the case, there seems a degree of ingratitude in again joining the enemies of government, which one can scarcely reconcile with the generous character of this brave man. he was in switzerland when he received a summons to return to his native country. his conduct upon the arrival of this intelligence was honest and candid towards him, to whom, according to his notions, he owed allegiance. he wrote to the chevalier (st. george) and laid open the circumstances of the case before him; stating that he should not accept the proffered pardon without his permission. james answered this explanation with his own hand; and not only gave arthur elphinstone permission to return to scotland, but informed him that he had ordered his banker at paris to pay his travelling expenses. thus authorized, arthur returned home, welcomed by his aged father with a satisfaction which happily was not destined to be alloyed by any adverse circumstances during the lifetime of the venerable nobleman. thus was this ill-fated man restored to that land which probably, although long severed from its glens and mountains, he had not ceased to love. he was now of middle age, being in his forty-fifth year; but his disposition, in spite of his long residence among foreigners, was still thoroughly scotch. he was as undaunted by danger as any of his valiant ancestors had been, consequently he had no need to have recourse to guile; in short, falsehood would have been impossible to that frank nature. he was blunt in speech, but endowed with the kindest heart that ever throbbed in the dungeons of that grim fortress in which his manly career was closed. he had not, however, the prudence which is characteristic of his countrymen: and which, once well understood, is as distinct from selfishness and craft as their martial vehemence has generally been from cruelty. a service in foreign campaigns had not lessened his ideas of honour; which were perhaps more truly cherished among military men on the continent, than at that period in england. few british troops, for example, ever proved themselves more worthy of the name of soldiers than the hessians who served in scotland in . to the fine and soldierly attributes of lord balmerino, to an intrepidity almost amounting to indifference, to a warm and generous heart, were united that ready and careless humour which accord so well with the loftier qualities of the mind, and certainly rather enhance, than detract from the charm of graver attributes of character. in appearance, lord balmerino was strongly contrasted with the fellow-sufferer with whom his name is indelibly associated. "his person," writes a contemporary, "was very plain, his shape clumsy, but his make strong: and he had no marks of the polite gentleman about him. he was illiterate in respect of his birth; but rather from a total want of application to letters, than want of ability."[ ] his manners are said to have been natural, if not courtly; his countenance only inferior in its ungainliness to that of lovat, but, expressing, we may suppose, a very different temper of mind, harsh as were its features, it captivated, as well as that of the handsome kilmarnock, female regard.[ ] according to some statements, lord balmerino married in , before the first insurrection;[ ] but no distinct allusion to a connection of so early a period is to be found in the authenticated narratives of his life. it was not, it seems evident, until after his return from switzerland, that he married margaret, daughter of captain chalmers--"the pretty peggy," who was at once his solace and his sorrow when in the tower of london. in , the father, whom he had returned to cheer in his decline, died at his house in leith, and was buried at the family seat at restalrig in leith. his son james, succeeded to the title.[ ] when the intelligence arrived, that charles edward had landed in scotland, arthur elphinstone hastened to the standard of the prince. on the thirty-first of october, , he marched from edinburgh, on the expedition to england, having the command of a troop of horse, not complete, in number about forty.[ ] his military talents were well known, for he had distinguished himself in several campaigns in flanders.[ ] but, as he took into the field only his menial servants, no very important posts were entrusted to him; and his career appears not to have been signalized by any remarkable military exploits. in short, it may be truly said of him as of dr. donne by izaak walton, that "nothing in his life became him like the leaving it." after joining the insurgent army, lord balmerino engaged in all the various movements of that enterprise. after the siege of carlisle he entered that city at the head of his troop, with pipes playing, and colours flying, having been at twelve miles' distance when the town was taken; he then proceeded in the fatal expedition to derby, and returned a second time to carlisle, preceding in his march the main body of the army towards scotland. he was present at the battle of falkirk, but did not engage in it: some of the cavalry having been kept as a _corps de reserve_ in that engagement. his participation in that day's victory was, however, afterwards imputed to him as an act of rebellion, although he was merely drawn up in a field near the field of battle, in company with lord kilmarnock and lord pitsligo. the body which he commanded, went by the name of arthur elphinstone's life guards.[ ] a few weeks before the battle of culloden, the elder brother of arthur elphinstone, james lord balmerino, died, leaving the title which he had enjoyed for so short a period, to the brother, who was then engaged in so perilous a course. this accession of honour brought with it little increase of fortune, but rather the responsibility of succeeding to encumbered estates. of these most had, indeed, passed into other families. to the first lord balmerino charters of numerous lands and baronies had been given; barntoun, barrie, balumby, innerpeffer, balgregie, balmerino, dingwall, &c., were among his possessions. in , the barony of restalrig, in south leith, was sold to lord balmerino by the noted and profligate robert logan, baron of restalrig, to whose family that now valuable property, including the grounds lying near the river, had belonged, until the days of the queen regent, mary. this estate, on which lord balmerino's father resided, appears to have been almost the only vestige of the former opulence of this branch of the elphinstone family.[ ] his embarrassed circumstances are deemed by some writers to have had a considerable share in deciding lord balmerino to join in a contest in which he had so little to lose; but it appeared, in the hour of trial, that his principles of allegiance to the stuarts had been unaltered since the days of his youth, and that they were alone sufficient to account for the part which he adopted. at the battle of culloden lord balmerino was made prisoner by the grants, to whom, as one of the witnesses on his trial affirmed, he surrendered himself. he was conveyed to castle grant, and from thence to london, to the same dreary fortress in which lord kilmarnock was likewise immured. the fate of these two unfortunate men, hitherto but little dependant on each other, was henceforth associated, until the existence of both was closed on the scaffold. george, the third earl of cromartie, was the only one of their fellow-prisoners who was arraigned and tried with kilmarnock and balmerino. he had taken even a more decided part in the insurrection than balmerino, having raised four hundred of his clan, who were with him in the battle of falkirk. his son, the young lord macleod, was also in the jacobite army, and both father and son were surprised at dunrobin, by a party of the earl of sutherland's militia, on the fifteenth of april, and taken prisoners. lord cromartie had, as well as lords kilmarnock and balmerino, strong ties to life, strong claims upon his reason to have withheld him from a hazardous participation in a cause of peril. he had been married more than twenty years to isabel, daughter of sir william gordon, and had by her a numerous family. for this nobleman, a powerful interest was afterwards successfully exerted. these three noblemen were brought to london early in june. they were shortly afterwards followed by about eight hundred companions in misfortune. of these, who arrived in the thames on the twenty-first of june, about two hundred were left at tilbury fort; while six hundred were deposited in the various prisons of the metropolis. from henceforth scenes of distress, and even of horror, were daily presented to the prisoners. the marquis of tullibardine expired soon after his arrival at the tower; lord macleod, with happier fate, rejoined his father; mr. murray of broughton, who was treated with a distinction, at that time, unexplicable, was also lodged in the same fortress. those who were led to expect the severest measures, might envy the calm departure of the good old marquis of tullibardine; but all hearts bled when the gallant colonel townley, a roman catholic gentleman of distinction, was dragged on a sledge, along with other prisoners, to kennington, his arms pinioned; insulted by a brutal multitude, and there hanged. the horrid barbarities of this sentence being fulfilled on his body, which was still breathing, the hangman preparing to take out the heart and bowels, struck it several times on the chest, before life (and perhaps consciousness) was wholly extinct. day after day, the awful tragedies were repeated, exceeding any similar displays of power since the days of the tudors. each of these _martyrs_, as the voice of their own party pronounced them, in their last moments declared, that "they died in a just cause--that they did not repent of what they had done--that they doubted not their deaths would be avenged." when, after nine executions had taken place in one morning, the heart of the last sufferer was thrown into the fire, a savage shout from the infuriated multitude followed the words "god save king george!" the unfortunate man who had just perished was a young gentleman, named dawson, a graduate of st. john's college, cambridge. he had for some time been engaged to a young lady of good family, and great interest had been made to procure his pardon. the lovers were sanguine in their expectations, and the day of his release was to have been that of their marriage. when all hope was at an end, the young lady, not deterred by the remonstrances of her kindred, resolved upon following mr. dawson to the place of execution. her intention was at length acceded to: she drove in a hackney-coach after the sledges, accompanied by a relative, and by one female friend. as the shout of brutal joy succeeded the silence of the solemn scene, the words "my love,--i follow thee,--i follow thee!" burst from the lips of the broken-hearted girl. she fell on the neck of her companion, and, whilst she uttered these words, "sweet jesus!--receive our souls together!" expired.[ ] recitals of these domestic tragedies, proofs of the unrelenting spirit of government, tended to break the firmness of some of those who survived. lord cromartie sank into dejection; kilmarnock's fine and gentle nature was gradually purified for heaven. balmerino rose to heroism. the prisons were crowded with captives; the noblemen alone were committed to the tower; even two of the scottish chiefs were sent to newgate; the officers were committed to the new gaol, southwark; the common men to the marshalsea. meantime, strong and prompt measures were determined upon by government. bills of indictment for high treason were found against lord kilmarnock, the earl of cromartie, and the lord balmerino, by the grand jury of the county of surrey: a writ of certiorari was issued for removing the indictments into the house of peers, on the twenty-sixth of june, and their trial was appointed to take place on the twenty-eighth of july following. westminster hall was accordingly prepared for the trials, and a high steward appointed in the person of the justly celebrated lord hardwicke. on the petition of lord kilmarnock, mr. george ross was engaged as his solicitor, with permission to have free access to him at all times. on the appointed day the trials commenced. westminster hall was fitted up with unprecedented magnificence; and tickets were issued by the lord chamberlain to the peers, to give access to their friends. at eight o'clock in the morning, the judges in their robes, with the garter-king-at-arms, the usher of the black rod, and the serjeant-at-arms waited on the lord high steward at his house in ormond street: garter in his coat of the king's arms, and black rod, having the white staff attended them. after a short interval the procession to westminster hall began: lord hardwicke, designated during the term of the trial as "his grace," came forth to his coach, his train borne, and followed by the chief judges and judges. his coach was preceded by his grace's twenty gentlemen, uncovered, in five coaches two and two; by the serjeant-at-arms, and the black rod. the heralds occupied the back seats of his grace's coach; the judges in their coaches followed. as the procession entered the palace-yard, the soldiers rested their muskets and the drums beat, as to the royal family. meantime, the peers in their robes were assembled; the lord high steward having passed to the house, through the painted chamber, prayers were read; and the peers were called over by garter-king-at-arms. the lord steward, followed first by his four gentlemen attendants, two and two; and afterwards by the clerks of the house of lords, and the clerks of the crown; by the peers, and the peers' sons, proceeded to westminster hall, the lord steward being alone uncovered, and his train borne by a page. proclamation for silence having been made by the lord steward's serjeant-at-arms, the commission was read, the lords standing up, uncovered. then his grace, making obeisance to the lords, reseated himself; and garter, and the black rod, with their reverences, jointly presented the white staff, on their knees, to his grace. thus fully invested with his office, the lord steward took his staff in his hand and descended from the woolsack to a chair prepared for him on an ascent before the throne. the three lords had been brought during this time from the tower. the earl of kilmarnock was conveyed in lord cornwallis's coach, attended by general williamson, deputy governor of the tower; the earl of cromartie, in general williamson's coach, attended by captain marshal; and lord balmerino in the third coach, attended by mr. fowler, gentleman gaoler, who had the axe covered by his side. a strong body of soldiers escorted these carriages. the three lords being conducted into the hall, proclamation was made by the serjeant-at-arms that the lieutenant of the tower should bring his prisoners to the bar, the proclamation being made in this form:--"oyez, oyez, oyez, lieutenant of the tower of london, bring forward your prisoners, william earl of kilmarnock, george earl of cromartie, and arthur lord balmerino, together with the copies of their respective commitments, pursuant to the order of the house of lords." then the lords were led to the bar of the house by the lieutenant-governor, the axe being carried before them with its edge turned from them. the prisoners, when they approached the bar, made three reverences, and fell upon their knees. then said the lord high steward your "lordships may arise;" upon which the three lords arose and bowed to his grace the high steward, and to the house, which compliment was returned by the lord high steward, and by the peers. thus began the trial; "the greatest, and the most melancholy scene," wrote horace walpole to sir horace mann, "that i ever saw. as it was the most interesting sight, it was the most solemn and fine; a coronation is but a puppet show, and all the splendour of it idle; but this sight at once feasted one's eyes, and engaged one's passions;"--a signal avowal for one whom a long continuance in the world's business, and, perhaps, worse, its pleasures, had hardened. a hundred and thirty-nine lords were present, making a noble sight on their benches, and assisting at a ceremony which is said to have been conducted with the most awful solemnity and decency throughout, with one or two exceptions.[ ] the lord chancellor hardwicke, who presided on this occasion, has been justly deemed one of the brightest ornaments of the woolsack. the son of an attorney at dover, as philip yorke, he had risen to the highest offices of the law, by his immense acquirements, and his incomparable powers of illustration and arrangement. by his marriage with a niece of the celebrated lord somers, he strengthened his political interest, which, however, it required few adventitious circumstances to secure. three great men have expressed their admiration of lord hardwicke almost in similar terms: lord mansfield, burke, and wilkes. "when his lordship pronounced his decrees, wisdom herself might be supposed to speak."[ ] in manner, he was usually considered to be dignified, impressive, and unruffled; and his intentions were allowed to be as pure and elevated, as his views were patriotic. on this eventful day, since we cannot reject the testimony of an eye-witness of discernment, we must believe that party spirit, which had usually so little influence over his sense of justice, swayed the prepossessions of lord hardwicke. at all events, it affected his treatment of the unhappy men to whom he displayed a petulance wholly derogatory to his character as a judge, and discreditable to his feelings as a man. "instead of keeping up the humane dignity of the law of england, whose character is to point out any favour to the criminal, he crossed them, and almost scolded at any offer they made towards defence." such is the remark of horace walpole.[ ] comely in person, and possessing a fine voice, lord hardwicke had every opportunity, on this occasion, of a graceful display of dignity and courtesy; yet his deportment, usually so calm and lofty, was obsequious, "curiously searching for occasion to bow to the minister, and, consequently, applying to the other ministers, in a manner, for their orders;--not even ready at the ceremonial." notwithstanding, lord hardwicke, on his death-bed, could with confidence declare "that he had never wronged any man." the unhappy jacobites seem, indeed, to have been considered exceptions to all the common rules of clemency. none of the royal family were present at the trial, from a proper regard for the feelings of the prisoners, and also, perhaps, from a nice sense of the peculiarity of their own condition. after the warrants to the lieutenant of the tower were read, the lord high steward addressed the prisoners, telling them that although their crimes were of the most heinous nature, they were still open to such defences as circumstances, and the rules of law and justice would allow. the indictments for high treason were then read: to these, lords kilmarnock and cromartie pleaded guilty; but when the question was put to lord balmerino, he demanded boldly, but respectfully to be heard, objecting to two clauses in the indictment, in which he was styled "arthur lord balmerino, of the town of carlisle," and also charging him with being at the taking of carlisle, when he could prove "that he was not within twelve miles of it." not insisting upon these objections, and the question being again put to him, he then pleaded, 'not guilty.' lord kilmarnock and lord cromartie were removed from the bar, and the trial of balmerino began. it was prefaced by addresses from sir richard loyd, king's counsel, and from mr. serjeant skinner, who made, what was justly considered by h. walpole, "the most absurd speech imaginable," calling "rebellion, surely the sin of witchcraft," and applying to the duke of cumberland the unfortunate appellation of "scipio."[ ] the attorney general followed, and witnesses were afterwards examined, who fully proved, though accused by balmerino of some inconsistencies, his acts of adherence to the chevalier; his being present in towns where james stuart was proclaimed king; his wearing the regimentals of prince charles's body guards; his marching into carlisle at the head of his troops, with a white cockade in his cap; his presence at the battle of falkirk, in a field with lords kilmarnock and pitsligo, who were at the head of a corps of reserve. six witnesses were examined, but there was no cross-examination, except such as balmerino himself attempted. the witnesses were chiefly men who had served in the same cause for which the brave balmerino was soon to suffer. after they had delivered their testimony, the "old hero," as he was well styled, shook hands cordially with them. in one or two instances, as far as can be judged by the answers, the evidence seems to have been given with reluctance. lord balmerino being asked if he had any thing to offer in his defence, he observed that none of the witnesses had agreed upon the same day as that which was named in the indictment for being at carlisle; and objected to the indictment, that he was not at the taking of carlisle as therein specified. his objections were taken into consideration; the lords retired to their chamber, and there consulted the judges whether it be necessary that an overt act of high treason should be proved to have been committed on the particular day named in the indictment. the answer being in the negative, every hope of acquittal was annihilated for balmerino. he gave up every further defence, and apologised with his usual blunt courtesy for giving their lordships so much trouble: he said that his objections had been the result of advice given by mr. ross, his solicitor, who had laid the case before counsel. the question was then put by the lord high steward, standing up, uncovered, to the lords, beginning with the youngest peer, lord herbert of cherbury; "whether arthur lord balmerino were guilty of high treason, or not guilty?" an unanimous reply was uttered by all those who were present; "guilty upon my honour." lord balmerino, who had retired while the question was put, was then brought back to the bar to hear the decision of the lords. it was received with the intrepidity which had, all throughout the trial, characterised the soldier and the man. during the intervals of form, his natural playfulness and humour appeared, and the kindness of his disposition was manifested. a little boy being in the course of the trial near him, but not tall enough to see, he took him up, made room for the child, and placed him near himself. the axe inspired him with no associations of fear. he played upon it, while talking, with his fingers, and some one coming up to listen to what he was saying, he held it up like a fan between his face and that of the gentleman-gaoler, to the great amusement of all beholders. and this carelessness of the emblem of death was but a prelude to the calmness with which he met his fate. "all he troubled himself about," as a writer of the time observed, "was to end as he begun, and to let his sun set with as _full_ and _fair_ a light as it was possible."[ ] during the time that the lords were withdrawn, the solicitor-general murray, and brother of murray of broughton, addressed balmerino, asking him "how he could give the lords so much trouble," when he had been told by his solicitor that the plea could be of no use to him? the defection and perfidy of murray of broughton were now generally known; and the officious insolence of his inquiry was both revolting and indiscreet. balmerino asked who this person was, and being told, exclaimed, "oh! mr. murray, i am extremely glad to see you. i have been with several of your relations, the poor lady, your mother, was of great use to us at perth."[ ] an admirable and well-merited rebuke. he afterwards declared humorously that one of his reasons for not pleading guilty was, "that so many fine ladies might not be disappointed of their show." besides the interest which at such a moment the grave dignity of kilmarnock, contrasted with the lofty indifference of balmerino, might excite, there was some diversion among the peers, owing to the eccentricity of several of their body. of these, one, lord windsor, affectedly said when asked for his vote, "i am sorry i must say, _guilty upon my honour_." another nobleman, lord stamford, refused to answer to the name of henry, having been christened harry. "what a great way of thinking," remarks horace walpole, "on such an occasion." lord foley withdrew, as being a well-wisher to poor balmerino; lord stair on the plea of kindred--"uncle," as horace walpole sneeringly remarks, to his great-grandfather; and the earl of moray on account of his relationship to balmerino, his mother, jane elphinstone, being sister to that nobleman.[ ] but the greatest source of amusement to all who were present was the celebrated audrey, or to speak in more polite phrase, ethelreda, lady townshend, the wife of charles, third viscount townshend, and the mother of the celebrated wit, charles townshend. lady townshend was renowned for her epigrams, to which, perhaps, in this case, her being separated from her husband gave additional point. when she heard her husband vote, "_guilty upon my honour_," she remarked, "i always knew _my_ lord was _guilty_, but i never knew that he would own it upon his _honour_." her sarcastic humour was often exhibited at the expense of friend or foe. when some one related that whitfield had recanted, "no, madam," she replied, "he has only _canted_." and when lord bath ventured to complain to this audacious leader of fashion, that he had a pain in his side, she cried out, "oh! that cannot be, you have _no side_." a touch of feminine feeling softened the harshness of the professed wit, always a dangerous, and scarcely ever a pleasing character in woman. as lady townshend gazed on the prisoners at the bar, and saw the elegant and melancholy aspect of lord kilmarnock, the heart that was not wholly seared by a worldly career is said to have been deeply and seriously touched by the graces of that incomparable person, and the mournful dignity of his manner. perhaps, opposition to her husband, whose grandfather was minister to george the first, and whose mother was a walpole, gave the additional luxury of partisanship; that passion which lasted even some weeks after the scene was closed; and when the fashionable world were left to enjoy, undisturbed by any fears of any future rebellion, all the dangerous attractions of the dissolute court. the first day's proceedings being at an end, the prisoners were remanded to the tower. on the following morning the proceedings were resumed, and the lords having assembled in the painted chamber, took their places in westminster hall. the three lords were then again brought to the bar, again kneeled down, again were bidden to arise. the attorney-general having prayed for judgment upon the prisoners, they were desired by the lord high steward to say "why judgment of death should not be passed against them according to law." the reply of lord kilmarnock is described as having been a "very fine speech, delivered in a very fine voice;" his behaviour during the whole of the trial, a "most just mixture between dignity and submission." such is the avowal of one who could not be supposed very favourable to the party; but whose better feelings were, for once, called into play during this remarkable scene.[ ] the address of lord kilmarnock, however beautiful and touching in expression, will not, however, satisfy those who look for consistency in the most solemn moments of this chequered state of trial; but in perusing the summary of it, let it be remembered that he was a father; the father of those who had already suffered deeply for his adherence to charles edward; that he was the husband of a lady who, whatever may have been their differences, was at that awful hour still fondly beloved; that he dreaded penury for his children, an apprehension which those who remembered the fate of the jacobites of might well recall; a dread, aggravated by his rank; a dread, the bitterness of which is indescribable; the temptations it offers unspeakably great. these considerations, far stronger than the fear of death, actuated lord kilmarnock. he arose, and a deep silence was procured, whilst he offered no justification of his conduct, "which had been," he said, "of too heinous a nature to be vindicated, and which any endeavour to excuse would rather aggravate than diminish." he declared himself ready to submit to the sentence which he was conscious that he had deserved. "covered with confusion and grief, i throw myself at his majesty's feet." he then appealed to the uniform honour of his life, previous to the insurrection, in evidence of his principles. "my sphere of action, indeed, was narrow; but as much as i could do in that sphere, it is well known, i have always exerted myself to the utmost in every part of his majesty's service i had an opportunity to act in, from my first appearance in the world, to the time i was drawn into the crime, for which i now appeal before your lordships." he referred to his conduct during the civil contest; to his endeavours to avert needless injury to his opponents; to his care of the prisoners, a plea which he yet allowed to be no atonement for the "blood he had been accessary to the spilling of. neither," he said, "do i plead it as such, as at all in defence of my crime." "i have a son, my lords," he proceeded, "who has the honour to carry his majesty's commission; whose behaviour, i believe, will sufficiently evince, that he has been educated in the firmest revolution principles, and brought up with the warmest attachment to his majesty's interests, and the highest zeal for his most sacred person. "it was my chief care to instruct him in these principles from his earliest youth, and to confirm him, as he grew up, in the justice and necessity of them to the good and welfare of the nation. and, i thank god, i have succeeded;--for his father's example did not shake his loyalty; the ties of nature yielded to those of duty; he adhered to the principles of his family, and nobly exposed his life at the battle of culloden, in defence of his king and the liberties of great britain, in which i, his unfortunate father, was in arms to destroy." lord kilmarnock next alluded to the services of his father in , when his zeal and activity in the service of government had caused his death: "i had then," he added, "the honour to serve under him." lord kilmarnock proceeded to explain his own circumstances at the time of the insurrection: he declared that he was not one of those dangerous persons who could raise a number of men when they will, and command them on any enterprise they will: "my interests," he said, "lie on the south side of the forth, in the well inhabited, and well affected counties of kilmarnock and falkirk, in the shires of ayr and stirling." his influence he declared to be very small. this portion of his appeal was ill-advised; for it seems to have been the policy of government to have selected as objects of royal mercy those who had most in their power, not the feeble and impoverished members of the jacobite party. it has been shown what favour would have been manifested to the chief of the powerful clan cameron, had he deigned to receive it: and the event proved, that not the decayed branches, but the vigorous shoots were spared. lord cromartie, who had taken a far more signal part in the insurrection than either kilmarnock or balmerino, and whose resources were considerable, was eventually pardoned, probably with the hope of conciliating a numerous clan. after appealing to his surrender in extenuation of his sentence, and beseeching the intercession of the lords with his majesty, lord kilmarnock concluded--"it is by britons only that i pray to be recommended to a british monarch. but if justice allow not of mercy, my lords, i will lay down my life with patience and resignation; my last breath shall be employed in the most fervent prayers for the preservation and prosperity of his majesty, and to beg his forgiveness, and the forgiveness of my country." he concluded, amid the tears and commiseration of a great majority of those who heard his address. the earl of cromartie was then called upon to speak in arrest of judgment. his defence is said to have been a masterly piece of eloquence. it ended with a pathetic appeal, which fell powerless on those who heard him.[ ] "but, after all, if my safety shall be found inconsistent with that of the public, and nothing but my blood be thought necessary to atone for my unhappy crimes; if the sacrifice of my life, my fortune, and family, are judged indispensable for stopping the loud demands of public justice; if, notwithstanding all the allegations that can be urged in my favour, the bitter cup is not to pass from me, not mine, but thy will, o god, be done."[ ] balmerino then arose to answer the accustomed question. he produced a paper, which was read for him at the bar, by the clerk of the court. it was a plea which had been sent by the house of lords that morning to the prisoners, and which, it was hoped, would save all of these unfortunate men. it contained an objection to the indictments, stating that the act for regulating the trials of rebels, and empowering his majesty to remove such as are taken in arms from one county to another, where they might be tried by the common courts of peers, did not take effect till after the facts, implying treason, had been committed by the prisoners.[ ] the two earls had not made use of this plea, but lord balmerino availed himself of it, and demanded counsel on it. upon the treatment which he then encountered, the following remark is made by one who viewed the scene, and whose commiseration for the jacobites forms one of the few amiable traits of his character.[ ] "the high steward," relates horace walpole, "almost in a passion, told him, that when he had been offered counsel, he did not accept it;--but do think on the ridicule of sending them the plea, and then denying them counsel on it."[ ] a discussion among the lords then took place; and the duke of newcastle, who, as the same writer truly remarks, "never lost an opportunity of being absurd," took it up as a ministerial point "in defence of his creature, the chancellor." lord granville, however, moved, according to order, to return to the chamber of parliament, where the duke of bedford and many others spoke warmly for their "having counsel," and that privilege was granted. "i said _their_," observes walpole, "because the plea would have saved them all, and affected nine rebels who had been hanged that very morning." the lords having returned to the hall, and the prisoners being again called to the bar, lord balmerino was desired to choose his counsel. he named mr. forester, and mr. wilbraham, the latter being a very able lawyer in the house of commons. lord hardwicke is said to have remarked privately, that wilbraham, he was sure, "would as soon be hanged as plead such a cause." but he was mistaken: the conclusion of the trial was again deferred until the following day, friday, august the first, when mr. wilbraham, accompanied by mr. forester, appeared in court as counsel for the prisoners. previously, however, to the proceedings of the last day, lord balmerino was informed that his only hope was ill-founded; the plea was deemed invalid by the counsel; and the straw which had, with the kindest and most laudable intentions, been thrown on the stream to arrest his fate, was insufficient to save him. he bore this disappointment with that fortitude which has raised the character of his countrymen: when he appeared on that last day, in westminster hall, with his brother prisoners, he submitted, in the following brief and simple words, to his destiny. "as your lordships have been pleased to allow me counsel, i have advised with them; and my counsel tell me, there is nothing in that paper which i delivered in on wednesday last, that will be of any use to me; so i will not give your lordships any more trouble." when again asked, according to the usual form, as well as the other prisoners, whether he had anything more to say in arrest of judgment, lord balmerino replied; "no, my lords, i only desire to be heard for a moment." expressing his regret that he should have taken up so much of their lordships' time, he assured them that the plea had not been put in to gain time, but because he had believed there was something in the objection that would do him good. he afterwards added these few words, which one might have wished unsaid: "my lords, i acknowledge my crime, and i beg your lordships will intercede with his majesty for me." the serjeant-at-arms was then distinctly heard proclaiming silence; and the lord high steward delivered what horace walpole has termed, "his very long, and very poor speech, with only one or two good passages in it." on this, there may be, doubtless, contending opinions. those who looked upon the prisoners, and saw men in the full vigour of life, condemned to death, for acting upon acknowledged, though misapplied principles, could scarcely listen to that protracted harangue with an unbiassed judgment. the tenour of the lord high steward's address had, throughout, one marked feature; it presented no hope of mercy; it left no apology nor plea upon which the unhappy prisoners might expect it. it amplified every view of their crime, and pointed out, in strong and able language, its effect upon every relation of society. in conclusion, lord hardwicke said, "i will add no more: it has been his majesty's justice to bring your lordships to a legal trial; and it has been his wisdom to show, that as a small part of his national forces was sufficient to subdue the rebel army in the field, so the ordinary course of his law is strong enough to bring even their chiefs to justice. "what remains for me, is a very painful, though a very necessary part. it is to pronounce that sentence which the law has provided for crimes of this magnitude--a sentence full of horror! such as the wisdom of our ancestors has ordained, as one guard about the sacred person of the king, and as a fence about this excellent constitution, to be a terror to evil doers, and a security to them that do well." and then was heard, thrilling every tender heart with horror, the sentence of hanging, first to be put into execution, and followed by decapitation. the horrible particularities were added--"_of being hanged by the neck,--but not till you are dead--for you must be cut down alive;_"--the rest of this sentence, since it has long ago been suffered to fall into oblivion, may, for the sake of our english feelings, rest there. by those to whom it was addressed, it was heard in the full conviction that it might be carried out on them: since that very morning, nine prisoners of gentle birth had suffered the extreme penalties of that barbarous law.[ ] of the calm manner in which his doom was heard by one of the state prisoners, horace walpole has left the following striking anecdote: "old balmerino keeps up his spirits to the same pitch of gaiety: in the cell at westminster, he showed lord kilmarnock how he must lay his head; bid him not wince, lest the strokes should cut his head or his shoulders; and advised him to bite his lips. as they were to return, he begged they might have another bottle together, as they should never meet any more till--he pointed to his neck. at getting into his coach, he said to the gaoler, 'take care, or you will break my shins with this d----d axe.'"[ ] the english populace could not forbear delighting in the composure of balmerino, who, on returning from westminster hall after his sentence, could stop the coach in which he was about to be conducted to the tower to buy gooseberries; or, as he expressed it in his national phrase, _honey-blobs_.[ ] that night, not contented with saying publicly at his levee, that lord kilmarnock had proposed murdering the english prisoners, the duke of cumberland proposed giving his mistress a ball; but the notion was abandoned, lest it should have been regarded as an insult to the prisoners, and _not_ because a particle of highminded regret for the sufferers could ever enter that hard and depraved heart. too well did the citizens of london understand the duke of cumberland's merits, when, it being proposed to present him with the freedom of some company, one of the aldermen cried aloud, "then let it be of the butchers'!"[ ] the commission was dissolved in the usual forms: "all manner of persons here present were desired to depart in the fear of god, and of our sovereign lord the king." the white staff of office was broken by the lord high steward; the lords adjourned to the chamber of parliament; the prisoners returned to the tower.[ ] three weeks elapsed, after the trial, before the execution of lord kilmarnock and lord balmerino. during that interval, hope sometimes visited the prisoners in their cells, great intercession being made for them by persons of the highest rank. but it was in vain, for the counsels of the duke of cumberland influenced the heart of his royal father, who it is generally believed, would otherwise have been disposed to compassion. during this interval, the sorrows of the prisoners were aggravated by frequent rumours that their beloved prince was taken; but he was safe among his highlanders, and defied the power even of an armed force to surprise him in his singular and various retreats. the earl of cromartie was the only one of the three prisoners to whom royal mercy was extended. this nobleman had been considered, before the insurrection, as the only branch of the mackenzies who could be relied upon. he had been backward in joining the jacobite army, and had never shared the confidence of charles edward. he had been disgusted with the preference shown to murray and to sullivan, to the prejudice of more powerful adherents of the cause: and it was reported, had rather surrendered himself to the earl of sutherland's followers, than resisted when they apprehended him.[ ] amiable in private life, affable in manner, and exempt from the pride of a highland chieftain, this nobleman had been beloved by his neighbours of inferior rank; to the poor he had been a kind benefactor. the domestic relations of life he had fulfilled irreproachably. every heart bled for him; and the case of his son, lord macleod, who had espoused the same cause, excited universal commiseration. on the sunday following the trial, lady cromartie presented her petition to the king: he gave her no hopes; and the unhappy woman fainted when he left her. it is pleasing to rest upon one action of clemency, before returning to the horrors of capital punishment. to the intercession of frederick prince of wales, lord cromartie eventually owed his life; that intercession is believed to have been procured by the merits and the attractions of lady cromartie, who was indefatigable in her exertions. this lady, the daughter of sir william gordon of dalfolly, is said to have possessed every quality that could render a husband happy. beautiful and intellectual, she manifested a degree of spirit and perseverance when called upon to act in behalf of her husband and children, that raised her character to that of a heroine. she was then the mother of nine children, and about to give birth to a tenth. during the period of suspense, her conduct presented that just medium between stoicism and excess of feeling, which so few persons in grief can command.[ ] at last, a reprieve for lord cromartie arrived on the eleventh of august; it was not, however, followed by a release, nor even by a free pardon. during two years, lord cromartie was detained a prisoner in the tower, there, being condemned to witness the departure of his generous friends, kilmarnock and balmerino, to the scaffold. on february the eighteenth, , he was permitted to leave his prison, and to lodge in the house of a messenger. in the following august he went into devonshire, where he was desired to remain. a pardon passed the great seal for his lordship on the twentieth of october, , with a condition that he should remain in any place directed by the king. he died in poland-street in london, on the twenty-eighth of september, .[ ] on thursday, the seventh of august, the reverend james foster, a presbyterian minister, was allowed access to lord kilmarnock, to prepare him for a fate which now seemed inevitable. great intercession had been made for the ill-fated prisoner, by his kinsman, james, sixth duke of hamilton, and husband of the celebrated beauty, miss gunning; but the friendly efforts of that nobleman were thought rather to have "hurried him to the block."[ ] when a report reached him that one of the prisoners would be spared, lord kilmarnock had desired, with the utmost nobleness of soul, that cromartie should be preferred to himself. balmerino lamented that he had not been taken with lord lovat; "for then," he remarked, "we might have been sacrificed, and these two brave men have been spared." but these regrets were unavailing, and lord kilmarnock and his friend prepared to meet their doom. mr. foster, on conversing with lord kilmarnock, found him humbled, but not crushed by his misfortunes; contrite for a life characterized by many errors, but trustful of the infinite mercy, to which we fondly turn from the stern justice of unforgiving man. and the reverend gentleman on whom the solemn responsibility of preparing a soul for judgment was devolved, appears to have discharged his task with a due sense of its delicacy, with fidelity and kindness. having introduced himself to lord kilmarnock with the premises that his lordship would allow him to deal freely with him; that he did not expect to be flattered, nor to have the malignity of his crimes disguised or softened;--mr. foster told him, "that in his opinion, the wound of his mind, occasioned by his private and public vices, must be probed and searched to the bottom, before it could be capable of receiving a remedy." "if he disapproved of this plan," mr. foster thought "he could be of no use to him, and therefore declined attendance." to this lord kilmarnock replied that, "whilst he thought it was not mr. foster's province to interfere in things remote from his office, yet it was now no time to prevaricate with him, nor to play the hypocrite with god, before whose tribunal he should shortly appear." this point being settled, the minister of the gospel deemed it necessary to persuade the earl, that he was not to be amused with vain delusive hopes of a reprieve; that he must view his sentence as inevitable; otherwise that his mind might be distracted between hope and fear; and that true temper of penitence which alone could recommend him to divine mercy would be unattainable. the unfortunate earl touchingly answered, that indeed, when he consulted his reason, and argued calmly with himself, he could see no ground of mercy; yet still the hope of life would intrude itself. he was afraid, he said, that buoyed up by this delusive hope, when the warrant for his execution came down, he should have not only the terror of his sentence to contend with, but the fond delusions of his own heart:--to overcome the bitter disappointment--the impossibility of submission. he therefore assured mr. foster, that he would do all in his own power to repel that visionary enemy, and to fix his thoughts on the important task of perfecting his repentance, and of preparing for death and eternity. in regard to the part which lord kilmarnock had taken in recent events, there seemed no difficulty in impressing his mind with a deep sense of the responsibility which he had incurred in helping to diffuse terror and consternation through the land, in the depredation and ruin of his country: and in convincing him that he ought to consider himself accessory to innumerable private oppressions and murders. "yes," replied lord kilmarnock, with deep emotion "and murders of the innocent too," and frequently he acknowledged this charge with tears, and offered up short petitions to god for mercy. but when mr. foster mentioned to him that the consequences of the "rebellion and its natural tendency was to the subversion of our excellent free constitution, to extirpate our holy religion, and to introduce the monstrous superstitions and cruelties of popery," lord kilmarnock hesitated; and owned, at length, that he did not contemplate such mischiefs as the result of the contest; that he did not believe that the young chevalier would run the risk of defeating his main design by introducing popery; nor would so entirely forget the warnings which the history of his family offered, so far as to make any attacks upon the liberties and constitution of the country. his entering into the rebellion was occasioned, as he then declared, by the errors and vices of his previous life; and was a kind of desperate scheme to extricate him from his difficulties. humbled and penetrated by the remembrance of former levity, lord kilmarnock remarked, that not only was providence wise and righteous, but to him, gracious; and that he regarded it as an unspeakable mercy to his soul, that he had not fallen at the battle of culloden, impenitent and unreflecting; for that, if the rebellion had been successful, he should have gone on in his errors, without ever entertaining any serious thought of amendment. "often," added the contrite and chastened man, "have i made use of these words of christ, 'father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as i will, but as thou wilt.'" but he had checked himself by the reflection, that it was not for him who had been so great a sinner, to address himself to god in the same language with his blessed saviour, who was perfectly innocent and holy. in time, aided by the representations of his spiritual attendant, the deepest remorse for a life not untainted by impurity of conduct, was succeeded by religious peace. it was then that the prisoner turned to that bread of life which christ hath left for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. but the minister who led him into the fold of the great shepherd, would not consent to administer to him the holy sacrament without a full confession made in the presence of the gentleman gaoler, of his past offences, and of his contrition for them. at that solemn moment, when the heart was laid open to human witnesses, lord kilmarnock professed the deepest penitence for his concurrence in the rebellion, and for the irregularities of his private life: he declared his conviction that the holy sacrament would be of no benefit to him whatsoever, if his remorse and contrition were not sincere. this assurance was, in other words, yet, in substance the same, emphatically repeated. during the conversations held with lord kilmarnock, mr. foster perceived that the confessions of the penitent were free and ingenuous; that he examined his own heart with a searching and scrupulous care, sternly challenging memory to the aid of conscience. at last, he declared that he should rather prefer the speedy execution of his sentence to a longer life, if he were sure that he should again be entangled by the snares and temptations of the world. this was a few days before his death. gradually, but effectually, the spirit that had so much in it of a heavenly temper; the heart, so framed to be beloved, was purified and elevated; so that, a beautiful and holy calm, a heavenly disinterestedness, a patience worthy of him who bore the name of christian, were manifested in one whom it were henceforth wrong to call unhappy. when lord cromartie's reprieve became known to mr. foster, he dreaded, lest this subdued, yet fortified mind, should be disturbed by the jealousies to which our worldly condition is prone: he trembled lest the sorrow of separation from a world which lord kilmarnock had loved too fondly, should be revived by the pardon of his friend. "therefore," relates mr. foster, "in the morning before i waited upon him, i prepared myself to quiet and mollify his mind. but one of the first things he said to me was, that he was extremely glad that the king's mercy had been shown to lord cromartie." "my lord," inquired mr. foster, "i hope you do not think you have any injustice shown you?" lord kilmarnock's answer was, "not in the least; i have pleaded guilty: i entirely acquiesce in the justice of my sentence; and if mercy be extended to another, i can have no reason to complain, when nothing but justice is done to me." with regard to some points upon which the public odium was directed to the young chevalier and his party, lord kilmarnock was very explicit in his last conversations with mr. foster. we have already seen how far he was enabled to clear himself concerning his conduct to the prisoners at inverness. a report having been industriously circulated, probably with a view to excuse the barbarities of the duke of cumberland, that an order had been issued in the pretender's council at inverness, to destroy the prisoners who might be taken at the battle of culloden, mr. foster put the question to lord kilmarnock, whether that statement were true? "i can most sincerely and freely answer, no," was the satisfactory reply; and a similar contradiction was given by the dying man to every accusation of a similar tendency.[ ] on monday the eleventh of august, general williamson desired mr. foster, "in the gentlest terms that he could use, to apprize lord kilmarnock, that he had received the order for his, and for lord balmerino's execution." mr. foster at first refused to undertake this office. "i was so shocked at it," writes the good man "that i could not think of delivering the message myself, but would endeavour to prepare the unfortunate lord for it, by divesting him, as far as i could, of all hope of life." such, indeed, had been the continual aim of all the reverend minister's counsels; and he had hoped to entrust the last mournful task of informing him of the order to other hands. on finding lord kilmarnock in a very resigned and calm state of mind, he ventured, however, to hint to him how necessary was that diligent and constant preparation for death which he had endeavoured to impress upon his mind. this was sufficient: the ill-fated prisoner immediately inquired, "whether the warrant for his execution was come down?" "i told him that it was," relates mr. foster, "and that the day fixed upon was the following monday." lord kilmarnock received this intimation with a solemn consciousness of the awful nature of its import; but no signs of terror nor of anxiety added to the sorrows of that hour. in the course of conversation, he observed to mr. foster, that "he was chiefly concerned about the consequences of death, in comparison of which he considered the 'thing itself' a trifle: with regard to the manner of his death he had, he thought, no great reason to be terrified, for that the stroke appeared to be scarcely so much as the drawing of a tooth, or the first shock of a cold bath upon a weak and fearful temper." at the last hour, nevertheless, the crowd,--the scaffold,--the doom, upset that sublime and heavenly resignation,--the weakness of the flesh prevailed, although only for an instant. in the silence and solitude of his prison, lord kilmarnock's recollection reverted to those whom human nature were shortly to be left to buffet with the storms of their hard fate. it reverted also to those who might, in any way, have suffered at his hands. the following touching epistle, addressed to his factor, mr. robert paterson, written two days only before his execution, shows how tender was his affection for his unhappy wife: in how christian a spirit towards others he died. his consideration for the poor shoemakers of elgin is one of those beautiful traits of character which mark a conscientious mind. the original of this letter is still in existence, and is in the possession of the great-grandson of him to whom it was addressed.[ ] "sir, "i have commended to your care the inclosed packet, to be delivered to my wife in the manner your good sense shall dictate to you, will be least shocking to her. let her be prepared for it as much by degrees, and with great tenderness, as the nature of the thing will admit of. the entire dependance i have all my life had the most just reason to have on your integrity and friendship to my wife and family, as well as to myself, make me desire that the inclosed papers may come to my wife through your hands, in confidence; but you will take all the pains to comfort her, and relieve the grief i know she will be in, that you and her friends can. she is what i leave dearest behind me in the world; and the greatest service you can do to your dead friend, is to contribute as much as possible to her happiness in mind, and in her affairs. "you will peruse the state[ ] before you deliver it to her, and you will observe that there is a fund of hers (i don't mention that of five hundred scots a-year); as the interest of my mother-in-law's portion in the countess of errol's hands, with, i believe, a considerable arrear upon it; which, as i have ordered a copy of all these papers to that countess, i did not care to put in. there is another thing of a good deal of moment, which i mention only to you, because if it could be taken away without noise it would be better; but if it is pushed it will be necessary to defend it. that is, a bond which you know mr. kerr, director to the chancery, has of me for a considerable sum of money, with many years interest on it, which was almost all play debt. i don't think i ever had fifty pounds, or the half of it, of mr. kerr's money, and i am sure i never had a hundred; which however i have put it to, in the inclosed declaration, that my mind may be entirely at ease. my intention with respect to that sum was to wait till i had some money, and then buy it off, by a composition of three hundred pounds, and if that was not accepted of, to defend it; in which i neither saw, nor now see anything unjust; and now i leave it on my successors to do what they find most prudent in it. beside my personal debt mentioned in general and particular in the state,[ ] there is one for which i am liable in justice, if it is not paid, owing to poor people, who gave their work for it by my orders; it was at elgin in murray; the regiment i commanded wanted shoes. i commissioned something about seventy pair of shoes and brogues, which might come to about three shillings, or three and sixpence each, one with another. the magistrates divided them among the shoemakers of the town and country, and each shoemaker furnished his proportion. i drew on the town for the price out of the composition laid on them, but i was told afterwards at inverness, that it was believed the composition was otherwise applied, and the poor shoemakers not paid. as these poor people wrought by my orders, it will be a great ease to my heart to think they are not to lose by me, as too many have done in the course of that year; but had i lived, i might have made some enquiry after it; but now it is impossible, as their hardships in loss of horses, and such things which happened through my soldiers, are so interwoven with what was done by other people, that it would be very hard, if not impossible, to separate them. if you will write to mr. jones of dalkinty, at elgin, (with whom i was quartered when i lay there,) he will send you an account of the shoes, and if they were paid to the shoemakers or no; and if they are not, i beg you'll get my wife, or my successors, to pay them when they can. "receive a letter to me from mrs. boyd, my cousin malcomb's widow; i shall desire her to write to you for an answer. "accept of my sincere thanks for your friendship and good services to me. continue them to my wife and children. "my best wishes are to you and yours, and for the happiness and prosperity of the good town of kilmarnock, and i am, sir, your humble servant, "kilmarnock." tower of london, august th, . on the saturday previous to the execution of lord kilmarnock, general williamson gave his prisoners a minute account of all the circumstances of solemnity, and outward terror, which would accompany it. lord kilmarnock heard it much with the same expression of concern as a man of a compassionate disposition would read it, in relation to others. after suggesting a trifling alteration in the arrangements after the execution, he expressed his regret that the headsman should be, as general williamson informed him, a "good sort of man;" remarking, that one of a rougher nature and harder heart, would be more likely to do his work quickly. he then requested that four persons might be appointed to receive the head when it was severed from the body, in a red cloth; that it might not, as he had heard was the case at other executions, "roll about the scaffold and be mangled and disfigured." "for i would not," he added, "though it may be but a trifling matter, that my remains should appear with any needless indecency after the just sentence of the law is satisfied." he spoke calmly and easily on all these particulars, nor did he even shrink when told that his head would be held up and exhibited to the multitude as that of a traitor. "he knew," he said, "that it was usual, and it did not affect him." during these singular conversations, his spiritual attendant and the general, could hardly have been more precise in their descriptions had they been portraying the festive ceremonials of a coming bridal, than they were in the fearful minutiæ of the approaching execution. it was thought by them that such recitals would accustom the mind of the prisoner to the apparatus and formalities that would attend his death, and that these would lose their influence over his mind. "he allowed with me," observes mr. foster, "that such circumstances were not so melancholy as dying after a lingering disorder, in a darkened room, with weeping friends around one, and whilst the shattered frame sank under slow exhaustion." but experience and human feelings contradict this observation of the resigned and unhappy sufferer; we look to death, under such an aspect, as the approach of rest; but human nature shrinks from the violent struggle, the momentary but fierce convulsion, plunging us, as it were, into the abyss of the grave. at this moment of his existence, when it was certain ruin at court and in the army, to befriend the jacobite prisoner, a friend, the friend of his youth, came nobly forward to attend lord kilmarnock in his dying moments. this was john walkinshaw craufurd, of craufurdland in the county of ayr, between whose family and that of the house of boyd, a long and intimate friendship of several centuries had existed; "so much so," observes a member of the present family of craufurd,[ ] "that a subterranean passage is said to exist between our old castles, of which we _fancy_ proofs; but these are fire-side legends." "the family of craufurd," observes mr. burke, "is one of antiquity and eminence in a part of the empire where ancestry and exploit have ever been held in enthusiastic admiration." by marriage, in the thirteenth century, it is allied anciently with the existing house of loudon; and its connection and friendship with the house of boyd was cemented by the death of one of its heads, robert craufurd, in , in consequence of a wound received at the wyllielee, from attending james boyd, earl of arran, in a duel with the earl of eglintoun. in the days of charles the first and second, the craufurds had been covenanters, as appears in the history of that time: and in the year , they were stanch whigs; and colonel walkinshaw craufurd had, when called upon to pay a mournful proof of respect to lord kilmarnock, attained the rank of colonel in the british army. besides the ancient friendship of the family, there had been several intermarriages; and the father of colonel craufurd had espoused, after the death of miss walkinshaw, elenora, the widow of the honorable thomas boyd, the brother of lord kilmarnock. colonel walkinshaw craufurd was a fine specimen of the true scottish gentleman, and of the british officer. he was a very handsome, stately man, of high-bred manners, and portly figure, whom his tenantry both feared and honoured. he lived almost continually in the highest circles in london, except when in service, and also at the court, visiting his castle in ayrshire only in the hunting season, for he kept a pack of hounds. to such a man the sacrifice of public opinion, then all against the jacobites,--the sure loss of court favour,--the risk of losing all military promotion, were no small considerations; yet he cast them all to the winds, and came nobly forward to pay the last respect to his kinsman and friend. already had he distinguished himself at the battle of dettingen and fontenoy; and he might reasonably expect the highest military honours: yet he incurred the risk of attending lord kilmarnock on the scaffold, and performing that office for him which that nobleman required. i almost blush to write the sequel; for _this_ act, colonel craufurd was, immediately after the last scene was over, put down to the very bottom of the army list.[ ] such was the petty and vindictive policy of the british government, influenced, it may be presumed, by the same dark mind that visited upon the faithful highlanders the horrors of military law, in punishment of their fidelity and heroism. "the king," observes horace walpole, referring to these and other acts, "is much inclined to mercy; but the duke of cumberland, who has not so much of cæsar after a victory, as in gaining it, is for the utmost severity."[ ] whilst the mind of lord kilmarnock was thus gradually prepared for death, lord balmerino passed cheerfully the hours which were so soon to terminate in his doom. fondly attached to his young wife, balmerino obtained the boon of her society in his prison. so much were the people attracted by the hardihood and humour of this brave old man, that it was found necessary by the authorities to stop up the windows of his prison-chamber in the tower, in order to prevent his talking to the populace out of the window. one only was left unclosed, with characteristic cruelty: it commanded a view of the scaffolding erected for his execution.[ ] one day the lieutenant of the tower brought in the warrant for his death: lady balmerino fainted. "lieutenant," said lord balmerino, "with your d----d warrant you have spoiled my lady's dinner." lord balmerino is said to have written to the duke of cumberland a "very sensible letter," requesting his intercession with the king; but this seems to have been unavailing, from the well-known exclamation of george the second, when solicited for the other prisoners, "will no one speak a word to me for poor balmerino?" the day appointed for the execution was the eighteenth of august, at eight in the morning. mr. foster visited lord kilmarnock, and found him in a calm and happy temper, without any disturbance of that serenity which had of late blessed his days of imprisonment. he affected not to brave death, but viewed it in the awful aspect in which even the best of men, and the most hopeful christians, must consider that solemn change. he expressed his belief, that a man who had led a dissolute life, and who yet believed the consequences of death, to affect indifference at that hour, showed himself either to be very impious, or very stupid. one apprehension still clung to his mind, proving how sensitive had been that conscience which strove in vain to satisfy itself. he told mr. foster "he could not be sure that his repentance was sincere, because it had never been tried by the temptation of returning to society." lord kilmarnock continued in a composed state of mind during the whole morning. after a short prayer, offered up by mr. foster, at his desire, he was informed that the sheriffs waited for the prisoners. he heard this announcement calmly; and said to general williamson, with his wonted grace, "general, i am ready to follow you." he then quitted his prison, and descended the stairs. as he was going down, he met lord balmerino; and the friends embraced. "my lord," said the noble balmerino, "i am heartily sorry to have your company in this expedition."[ ] the prisoners then proceeded to the outward gate of the tower, where the sheriffs, who had walked there in procession, received them: this was about ten o'clock in the morning of the eighteenth of august. the bodies of the two noblemen having been delivered with the usual formalities to the sheriffs, they proceeded to the late transport office, a building near the scaffold. two presbyterian ministers, mr. foster and mr. home, accompanied lord kilmarnock, whilst the chaplain of the tower and another clergyman, attended lord balmerino. three rooms, hung with black, were prepared; one for each of the condemned noblemen; another, fronting the scaffold, for spectators. here, those who were so soon to suffer, had a short conference with each other, chiefly relating to the order, said to have been issued at culloden, to give no quarter. this was a subject, not only of importance to lord kilmarnock's memory, but to the character of the jacobite party generally. "did you, my lord," said the generous balmerino, still anxious, even at the last hour, to justify his friends, "see or know of any order, signed by the prince, to give no quarter at the battle of culloden?" "no, my lord," replied kilmarnock. "nor i neither," rejoined balmerino; "and therefore it seems to be an invention to justify their own murderous scheme." to this lord kilmarnock answered, "no, my lord, i do not think it can be an invention, because, while i was a prisoner at inverness, i was told by several officers that there was such an order, signed 'george murray,' and that it was in the duke of cumberland's custody." to this statement, (which was wholly erroneous) lord balmerino exclaimed, "lord george murray! why then, they should not charge it on the prince." after this explanation, he bade kilmarnock a last farewell: as he embraced him, he said, in the same noble spirit, that he had ever shown, "my dear lord kilmarnock, i am only sorry i cannot pay all this reckoning alone: once more, farewell for ever." lord kilmarnock was then left with the sheriffs, and his spiritual advisers. in their presence, he solemnly declared himself to be a protestant, and said that he was thoroughly satisfied of the legality of the king's claim to the throne. he had been educated in these principles, and he now thoroughly repented having ever engaged in the rebellion. he afterwards stated to his friends that he had within this week taken the sacrament twice in evidence of the truth of his repentance. the hour of noon was now fast approaching, when the last act of relentless justice was to be performed. mr. foster, after permitting the earl a few moments to compose himself, suggested that he should engage with him in prayer, and afterwards proceed to the scaffold. the minister then addressed himself to all who were present, urging them to join with him in this last solemn office, and in recommending the soul of an unhappy penitent to the mercy of god. those who were engaged in this sad scene, sank on their knees, whilst, after a petition relating to the prisoner, a prayer was offered up "for king george, for our holy religion, for our inestimable british liberties." this prayer, for the royal family, lord kilmarnock had often protested he would, at the latest moment, offer up to the throne of god. after this solemn duty had been performed, lord kilmarnock bade an affectionate farewell to the gentlemen who had accompanied him, and here mr. foster's office ceased, the rev. mr. home, a young clergyman, and a personal friend of lord kilmarnock, succeeding him in attendance upon the prisoner. many reports prevailed of lord kilmarnock's fear of death, and of the weakness of his resolution; and balmerino, it is said, apprehended that he would not "behave well," an expression used, perhaps, in reference to his opinions, perhaps in anticipation of a failure of courage. as leaning upon the arm of his friend mr. home, lord kilmarnock saw, for the first time, that outward apparatus of death to which he had taken such pains to familiarise himself; "nature still recurred upon him;"--for an instant, the home of peace, to which he was hastening, was forgotten;--"the multitude, the block, the coffin, the executioner, the instrument of death," appalled one, whose character was amiable, rather than exalted. he turned to his attendant, and exclaimed, "home, this is terrible!" yet his countenance, even as he uttered these words, was unchanged, and in a few moments, he regained the composure of one whose hope was in the mercy of his creator. what else could sustain him in the agonies of that moment? "his whole behaviour," writes mr. foster, "was so humble and resigned, that not only his friends, but every spectator, was deeply moved; the executioner burst into tears, and was obliged to use artificial spirits to support and strengthen him." as the man kneeled down, after the usual custom, to pray for forgiveness, lord kilmarnock desired him to have courage, and placing a purse of gold in his hand, told him that the dropping of a handkerchief should be the signal for the blow. mr. foster having rejoined lord kilmarnock on the scaffold, a long conversation, in a low voice, took place between them; for lord kilmarnock made no speech. "i wish," said mr. foster, "i had a voice loud enough to tell the multitude with what sentiments your lordship quits the world." again, the unfortunate nobleman embraced his friends; and bade mr. foster, who quitted the scaffold a few minutes before his execution, a last farewell. during all this time, which was more than half an hour, he took no notice of the multitude below: except, observing that the green baize over the wall obstructed the view, he desired that it might be lifted up that the crowd might see the spectacle of his execution. a delay now took place, attributed by some to lord kilmarnock's "unwillingness to depart:"[ ] but owing to a few trivial circumstances which, as mr. foster remarks, "are unnecessary to be mentioned in order to vindicate the noble penitent from the imputation of fear in the critical moment." to the last, a scrupulous attention to decorum, and nicety in dress characterized lord kilmarnock. at his trial, he was described as having been a little too precise, and his hair "too exactly dressed for a person in his situation." on the scaffold the same care was manifested. he appeared in a mourning suit, and his hair, which was unpowdered, was dressed according to the fashion of the day, in a bag, which it took some time to undo, in order to replace the bag by a cap. even then, the cap being large, and the hair long, his lordship was apprehensive that some of the hair might escape, and intercept the stroke of the axe. he therefore requested a gentleman near him, to tie the cap round his head, that he might bind up the hair more closely. as this office was performed, the person to whom he had applied, wished his lordship a continuance of his resolution until he should meet with eternal happiness. "i thank you," returned lord kilmarnock, with his usual courtesy and sweetness; "i find myself perfectly easy and resigned." there was also another impediment,--the tucking of his shirt under his waistcoat was next adjusted. then lord kilmarnock, taking out a paper containing the heads of his last devotions, advanced to the utmost stage of the scaffold, and kneeled down at the block, on which, in praying, he placed his hands, until the executioner remonstrated, begging of him to let his hands fall down, lest they should be mangled, or should intercept the blow. he was also told that the neck of his waistcoat was in the way; he therefore arose, and with the help of colonel walkinshaw craufurd, had it taken off. near him were standing those who held the cloth ready to receive his head; among these mr. home's servant heard lord kilmarnock tell the executioner, that in two minutes he would give the signal. a few moments were spent in fervent devotion; then the sign was given, and the head was severed from the body by one stroke. it was not exposed to view according to custom: but was deposited in a coffin with the body, and delivered to his lordship's friends. one peculiarity attended this execution. it is not required by law that the head of a person decapitated should be exposed; but is a custom adopted in order to satisfy the multitude that the execution has been accomplished. since, by lord kilmarnock's dying request, this practice was omitted, the sheriffs ordered that all the attendants on the scaffold should kneel down, so that the view of the execution might not be impeded[ ] to those who were below. the scaffold was immediately cleared, and put in order for another victim; and mr. ford, the under-sheriff, who had attended the first execution, went into the room in the transport office where balmerino awaited his doom. "i suppose," inquired the undaunted balmerino, "that my lord kilmarnock is no more." and having asked how he died, and being told the account, he said: "it is well done, and now, gentlemen, i will no longer detain you, for i desire not to protract my life." he spoke calmly, and even cheerfully; lord kilmarnock had shed tears as he bade his friends farewell, but balmerino, whilst others wept, was even cheerful, and hastened to the scaffold. his deportment, when in the room where he awaited the summons to death, was graceful and yet simple, without either any ostentation of bravery, or indications of indifference to his fate. he did not defy the terror, he rose above it. he conversed freely with his friends, and refreshed himself twice with wine and bread, desiring the company to drink to him, as he expressed it in his scottish phrase, "ain degrae ta haiven;" but above all, he prayed often and fervently for support, and support was given. true to the last to his professions, lord balmerino was dressed in what was called by a contemporary, "his rebellious regimentals," such as he had worn at culloden; they were of blue cloth, turned up with red; underneath them was a flannel waistcoat and a shroud. he ascended the scaffold, "treading," as an observer expressed it, "with the air of a general," and surveying the spectators, bowed to them; he walked round it, and read the inscription on his coffin, "arthurus dominus de balmerino, decollatus, ^o die august. , ætatis suæ ^o;" observed "that it was right," and with apparent pleasure looked at the block saying, it was his "pillow of rest." lord balmerino then pulling out his spectacles, read a paper to those who stood around him, and delivered it to the sheriff to do with it as he thought proper. it was subsequently printed in a garbled form, much of it being deemed too treasonable for publication, and in that form is preserved in the state trials.[ ] it is now given as it was really spoken. "i was bred in the anti-revolution principles, which i have ever persevered in, from a sincere persuasion that the restoration of the royal family, and the good of my native country, are inseparable. the action of my life which now stares me most in the face, is my having accepted a commission in the army from the late princess anne, who i knew had no more right to the crown than her predecessor, the prince of orange, whom i always considered as an infamous usurper. "in the year , as soon as the king landed in scotland, i thought it my indispensable duty to join his standard, though his affairs were then in a desperate situation. "i was in switzerland in the year , where i received a letter from my father acquainting me that he had procured me remission, and desiring me to return home. not thinking myself at liberty to comply with my father's desire without the king's approbation, i wrote to rome to know his majesty's pleasure, and was directed by him to return home; and at the same time i received a letter of credit upon his banker at paris, who furnished me with money to defray the expense of my journey, and put me in repair. i think myself bound, upon this occasion, to contradict a report which has been industriously spread, and which i never heard of till i was prisoner; that orders were given to the prince's army to give no quarter at the battle of culloden. with my eye upon the block, which will soon bring me unto the highest of all tribunals, i do declare that it is without any manner of foundation, both because it is impossible it could have escaped the knowledge of me, who was captain of the prince's life guards, or of lord kilmarnock, who was colonel of his own regiment; but still more so, as it is entirely inconsistent with the mild and generous nature of that brave prince, whose patience, fortitude, intrepidity, and humanity, i must declare upon this solemn occasion, are qualities in which he excels all men i ever knew, and which it ever was his desire to employ for the relief and preservation of his father's subjects. i believe rather, that this report was spread to palliate and excuse the murders they themselves committed in cold blood after the battle of culloden. "i think it my duty to return my sincere acknowledgments to major white and mr. fowler, for their humane and complaisant behaviour to me during my confinement. i wish i could pay the same compliment to general williamson, who used me with the greatest inhumanity and cruelty; but having taken the sacrament this day, i forgive him, as i do all my enemies. "i die in the religion of the church of england, which i look upon as the same with the episcopal church of scotland, in which i was brought up." after delivering this speech, lord balmerino laid his head upon the block, and said, "god reward my friends, and forgive my enemies: bless and restore the king; preserve the prince, and the duke of york,--and receive my soul." the executioner then being called for, and kneeling to ask forgiveness, lord balmerino interrupted him. "friend, you need not ask my forgiveness; the execution of your duty is commendable." he then gave the headsman three guineas, saying, "this is all i have; i can only add to it my coat and waistcoat," which, accordingly, he took off, laying them on the coffin for the executioner. after putting on a flannel jacket made for the occasion, and a plaid cap, he went to the block in order to show the executioner the signal. he then returned to his friends. "i am afraid," he said, addressing them, "that there are some here who may think my behaviour bold: remember, sir," he added, addressing a gentleman near him, "what i tell you; it arises from a just confidence in god, and a clear conscience." memorable, and beautiful words, distinguishing between the presumption of indifference, and the security of a living faith. when he laid his head on the block to try it, he said, "if i had a thousand lives i would lay them all down in the same cause." lord balmerino then showed the executioner where to strike the blow; he examined the edge of the axe, and bade the man to strike with resolution; "for in _that_, friend," he said, as he replaced the axe in the hand of the man, "will consist your mercy." he asked how many strokes had been given to lord kilmarnock. two clergymen coming up at that moment, he said, "no, gentlemen, i believe you have already done me all the service you can." he called loudly to the warder, and gave him his perriwig; and instantly laid down his head upon the block, but being told that he was on the wrong side, he vaulted round, and extending his arms uttered this short prayer: "o lord, reward my friends, forgive my enemies:"--he uttered, it has been stated, another ejaculation for king james; but that petition was suppressed in the printed accounts of his death: then, pronouncing these words, "receive my soul," he gave the signal by throwing up his arm, as if he were giving the signal for battle. his intrepidity, and the suddenness of that last sign terrified the executioner, whose arm became almost powerless; the affrighted man struck the blow on the part directed, but though, it is hoped, it destroyed all sensation, the head was not severed, but fell back on the shoulders, exhibiting a ghastly sight. two more strokes of the axe were requisite to complete the work. then, the head having been received in a piece of scarlet cloth, the lifeless remains of the true, and noble hearted soldier were deposited in a coffin, and delivered to his friends. a vast multitude viewed this spectacle, so execrable in its cruelty, so great in the deportment of the sufferers. even on the masts of ships, in the calm river, were the spectators piled; all classes of society were interested in this memorable scene; and, for a few short weeks, the fashionable circles were diverted by the humours of lady townshend, and the witticisms of george selwyn. during the imprisonment of kilmarnock, it had been the fancy of the former to station herself under the window of his chamber in one of the dismal towers in which he was detained; to send messages to him, and to obtain his dog and snuff-box. but even this show of affected feeling failed to make compassion fashionable in the regions of st. james's. calumny was busy at the grave of the beheaded jacobites; and the accounts of those who attended them in their last hours were attacked by anonymous pamphleteers. it was said, among other things, that balmerino uttered no prayer at the last moment; and his behaviour was contrasted with that of kilmarnock. on this allegation, mr. ford, the under-sheriff, who was on the scaffold, observes, "the authors of these attacks being concealed are unworthy of other notice, since nothing is easier to an ingenious and unprejudiced mind, than to distinguish between the subject and the man: my lord kilmarnock was happily educated in right principles, which he deviated from, and repented; whereas, the great, though unhappy balmerino, was unfortunate in his,--but, as he lived, he died."[ ] the characters of these two noblemen, who, in life, held a very dissimilar course, until they coöperated in arms, are strongly contrasted. to kilmarnock belonged the gentle qualities which enhance the pleasures of society, but often, too, increase its perils: the susceptible, affectionate nature, not fortified by self-controul; the compassionate disposition, acting rather from impulse than principle. infirm in principle, his rash alliance with a party who were opposed to all that he had learned to respect in childhood; and whom he joined, from the stimulus of a misdirected ambition, cannot be justified. to this, it was generally believed, he was greatly incited by the persuasions of his mother-in-law, the countess of errol. whilst we bestow our cordial approbation on those who engaged in civil strife from a sense of duty, and from notions of allegiance, which had never been exterminated from their moral code, we condemn such as, attaching themselves to the jacobite party, outraged their secret convictions, betrayed the trusts of government, and violated the promise of their youth. such a course must spring either from selfishness, or weakness, or from a melancholy union of both. in lord kilmarnock it was far more the result of weakness than of self-interest: his fortunes were desperate, and his mind was embittered towards the ruling government: his admiration was attracted by the gallantry and resolution of those who adhered to the chevalier: his sense of what was due to his rank, and the consciousness of high descent, coupled with empty honours and real poverty, stimulated him to take that course which seemed the most likely to regain a position, without ever enjoying which a man may be happy, but which few can bear to lose. this was his original error; he joined the standard of charles edward,--but he was no jacobite. he fought against his own convictions, the hereditary and ineffaceable prepossessions implanted in the heart by a parent. from henceforth, until immured in the tower, all in the career of lord kilmarnock was turbulence; and, it must be acknowledged, crime. for nothing can justify a resistance of sovereign power, save a belief in its illegality. "i engaged in the rebellion," was lord kilmarnock's confession, "in opposition to my own principles, and to those of my family; in contradiction to the whole tenor of my conduct." such were his expressions at that hour when no earthly considerations had power to seduce him into falsehood. by those historians who espouse the jacobite cause, this avowal has been severely censured; and lord kilmarnock has been regarded as deserting the party which he had espoused. but, with his conviction, such a line of conduct as that which he pursued in prison, could alone be honest, and therefore alone consistent with his religious hopes, before he quitted life. such censure has been well answered in lord kilmarnock's own words, "i am in little pain for the reflections which the inconsiderate or prejudiced part of my countrymen, (if there are any such whom my suffering the just sentence of the law has not mollified,) may cast upon me for this confession. the wiser or more ingenious will, i hope, approve my conduct, and allow with me, that next to doing right is to have the courage and integrity to avow that i have done wrong." these sentiments were not, be it observed, made public until after his death. if, in early life, the career of lord kilmarnock were tainted by dissolute conduct, his deep contrition, his sincere confession of his errors, his endeavours to amend them, redeem those very errors in the eyes of human judgment, as they will probably plead for him, with one who is more merciful than man. in his prison, his patience in suspense, his forbearance to those who had urged on his death, his generous sentiments towards his companions in misfortune,--his care for others, his trust in the mercy of his saviour, present as instructive a lesson as mortals can glean from the errors and the penitence of others. contrasted with the gentle, unfortunate kilmarnock, the gallant bearing of balmerino rises to heroism. one cannot, for the sake of his party, help regretting that he had not taken a more prominent part in the councils of the young chevalier, or held a more distinguished position in the field. his integrity, his strong sense, and moral courage might have had an advantageous influence over the wavering, and confirmed the indecisive. in the field, his would have been the desperate valour which suits a desperate cause; but his resources were few, and his influence proportionately small. the soldier of fortune, driven at an early age from home, sent from country to country, serving, with little hope of advancement, under various generals, balmerino had learned to view life almost as a matter of indifference, compared with the honest satisfaction of preserving consistency. his existence had been one of trial, and of banishment from all domestic pleasures, and in the perils of his youthful days, he had learned to view it as so precarious, that his final doom came not to him as a surprise, but seemed merely a natural conclusion of a career of danger and adventure. his heroism may excite less admiration even than the resignation of those who had more to lose; but his intrepidity, his courageous sincerity, his contempt of all display, his carelessness of himself, and the tender concern which he evinced for others, are qualities which we should not be _english_ not to appreciate and venerate. his were the finest attributes of the soldier and the jacobite: the firm, unflinching adherence; the enthusiastic loyalty; the utter repugnance to all compromising; and the lofty disregard of opinion, which extorted, even from those who endeavoured to ridicule, a reluctant respect. for the relentless pretext of what was called justice, which sent this brave man to his doom, there is no possibility of accounting, except in the deep party hatred of the government. lord kilmarnock is believed to have owed his death to the false report industriously spread of his having treated the english prisoners with cruelty; but no such plea could injure balmerino. one dark influence, at that time all powerful at court, all powerful among the people, denied them mercy;--and the crowds which witnessed the death of kilmarnock and of balmerino, hastened to do homage to the duke of cumberland. nothing can, in fact, more plainly show the effect of frequent executions upon the character of a people than the details of the year . with the inhabitants of london, like the french at the time of the revolution, the value of life was lowered; the indifference to scenes of horror formed a shocking feature in their conduct. in the great world, jests, and witticisms delighted the satellites of power. it was the barbarous fashion to visit temple bar for the purpose of viewing the heads exhibited there; spying glasses being let out for the ghastly spectacle. and the coarse, unfeeling invectives of the press prove the general state of the public mind, in those days, more effectually than any other fact could do:--in the present times, the cruelty which pursues its victim to the grave would not be tolerated. in his latest hours, the chief concern of lord kilmarnock seems to have been for his eldest son, to whom he addressed the following beautiful letter. extract of the late earl of kilmarnock's letter to his son lord boyd. "dated, tower, th of august, . "dear boyd, "i must take this way to bid you farewell, and i pray god may ever bless you and guide you in this world, and bring you to a happy immortality in the world to come. i must, likewise, give you my last advice. seek god in your youth, and when you are old he will not depart from you. be at pains to acquire good habits now, that they may grow up, and become strong in you. love mankind, and do justice to all men. do good to as many as you can, and neither shut your ears nor your purse to those in distress, whom it is in your power to relieve. believe me, you will find more joy in one beneficent action; and in your cool moments you will be more happy with the reflection of having made any person so, who without your assistance would have been miserable, than in the enjoyment of all the pleasures of sense (which pall in the using), and of all the pomps and gaudy show of the world. live within your circumstances, by which means you will have it in your power to do good to others. above all things, continue in your loyalty to his present majesty, and the succession to the crown as by law established. look on that as the basis of the civil and religious liberty and property of every individual in the nation. prefer the public interests to your own, wherever they interfere. love your family and your children, when you have any; but never let your regard to them drive you on the rock i split upon; when, on that account, i departed from my principles, and brought the guilt of rebellion, and civil and particular desolation on my head, for which i am now under the sentence justly due to my prince. use all your interest to get your brother pardoned and brought home as soon as possible, that his circumstances, and bad influence of those he is among, may not induce him to accept of foreign service, and lose him both to his country and his family. if money can be found to support him, i wish you would advise him to go to geneva, where his principles of religion and liberty will be confirmed, and where he may stay till you see if a pardon can be procured him. as soon as commodore burnet comes home, inquire for your brother billie, and take care of him on my account. i must again recommend your unhappy mother to you. comfort her, and take all the care you can of your brothers: and may god of his infinite mercy, preserve, guide, and comfort you and them through all the vicissitudes of this life, and after it bring you to the habitations of the just, and make you happy in the enjoyment of himself to all eternity!" paper delivered by the late earl of kilmarnock to mr. foster. "sunday, th of august, . "as it would be a vain attempt in me to speak distinctly to that great concourse of people, who will probably be present at my execution, i chose to leave this behind me, as my last solemn declaration, appealing for my integrity to god, who knows my heart. "i bless god i have little fear of temporal death, though attended with many outward circumstances of terror; the greatest sting i feel in death is that i have deserved it. "lord balmerino, my fellow-sufferer, to do justice, dies in a professed adherence to the mistaken principles he had imbibed from his cradle. but i engaged in the rebellion in opposition to my own principles, and to those of my family; in contradiction to the whole tenour of my conduct, till within these few months that i was wickedly induced to renounce my allegiance, which ever before i had preserved and held inviolable. i am in little pain for the reflection which the inconsiderate or prejudiced part of my countrymen (if there are any such, whom my suffering the just sentence of the law has not mollified,) may cast upon me for this confession. "the wiser, or more ingenious, will, i hope, approve my conduct, and allow with me that, next to doing right, is to have the courage and integrity to own that i have done wrong. "groundless accusations of cruelty have been raised and propagated concerning me; and charges spread among the people of my having solicited for, nay, even actually signed orders of general savage destruction, seldom issued among the most barbarous nations, and which my soul abhors. and that the general temper of my mind was ever averse from, and shocked at gross instances of inhumanity, i appeal to all my friends and acquaintance who have known me most intimately, and even to those prisoners of the king's troops to whom i had access, and whom i ever had it in my power to relieve; i appeal, in particular, for my justification as to this justly detested and horrid crime of cruelty, to captain master, of ross, captain-lieutenant luon, and lieutenant george cuming of alter. "these gentlemen will, i am persuaded, as far as relates to themselves, and as far as has fallen within their knowledge as credible information, do me justice; and then, surely my countrymen will not load a person, already too guilty and unfortunate, with undeserved infamy, which may not only fix itself on his own character, but reflect dishonour on his family. "i have no more to say, but that i am persuaded, if reasons of state, and the demands of public justice had permitted his majesty to follow the dictates of his own royal heart, my sentence might have been mitigated. had it pleased god to prolong my life, the remainder of it should have been faithfully employed in the service of my justly offended sovereign, and in constant endeavours to wipe away the very remembrance of my crime. "i now, with my dying breath, beseech almighty god to bless my rightful sovereign, king george, and preserve him from the attacks of public and private enemies. "may his majesty, and his illustrious descendants, be so guided by the divine providence as ever to govern with that wisdom, and that care for the public good, as will preserve to them the love of their subjects, and secure their right to reign over a free and happy people to the latest posterity." that lord boyd reciprocated the affection of his father appears from the following letter, which he addressed, a few days after the execution of lord kilmarnock, to colonel walkinshaw craufurd, who was then at scarborough. "my dear john, "i had yours last post, and i don't know in what words to express how much i am obliged to you for doing the last duties to my unfortunate father; you can be a judge what a loss i have suffered; you knew him perfectly well, that he was the best of friends, the most affectionate husband, and the tenderest parent. poor lady kilmarnock bears her loss much better than i could have imagined; but it was entirely owing to her being prepared several days before she got the melancholy accounts of it. i shall be here for some time, as i have a good deal of business to do in this country; so i shall be extremely glad to see you as soon as possible. i am, my dear john, your most sincere friend and obedient humble servant, boyd." "kilmarnock (house) august th, ." yet the young nobleman did not, it appears, entirely satisfy the expectations of those who were interested in his fate, and attached to his father's memory, as the following extract from a letter written by mr. george rosse, to colonel craufurd, shows.[ ] "dear sir, "i am favoured with yours of the thirteenth from scarborough, and had the honour of one letter from lord boyd since his father's execution, and sorry to tell you, it was not wrote in such terms as i could show or make any use of. if you had seen him, i dare say it would have been otherwise. however, i took the liberty of writing with plainness to him, in hopes of drawing from him, what may be shown to his honour and to his own immediate advantage. * * * * * "i put him in mind of writing to his cousin, duke of hamilton, and mr. home; an omission, which, with submission, is unpardonable, as he was apprised of their goodness to his father; and i gave him some hints with relation to himself, by authority of the ministry, which, if he continue in the army, may be improved upon. those things i think proper to mention to you, as i know your friendship for boyd, that you may take an opportunity of mentioning them to him, when you are with him, which i hope will be soon. he is appointed deputy captain-lieutenant; but that i look upon as a step to higher preferment. i should like to hear from you; direct to (crawfurdland) kilmarnock, and i am, dear sir, your most obedient, humble servant. "geo. rosse." leicesterfield, september th, . notwithstanding these seeming acts of negligence, which may possibly have been explained, lord boyd became, in every way, worthy of being the representative of an ancient race. he was an improved resemblance of his amiable, unhappy father. possessing his father's personal attributes, he added, to the courtesy and kindliness of his father's character, strength of principle, a perfect consistency of conduct, and sincere religious connections, both in the early and latter period of his life. his deportment is said to have combined both the sublime and the graceful; his form, six feet four inches in height, to have been the most elegant; his manners the most polished and popular of his time. in his domestic relations he was exemplary, systematic, yet with the due liberality of a nobleman, in his affairs; sagacious and conscientious as a magistrate; generous to his friends. "he puts me in mind," said one who knew him, "of an ancient hero; and i remember dr. johnson was positive that he resembled homer's character of jaspedon."[ ] "his agreeable look and address," observes that adorer of rank, boswell, "prevented that restraint, which the idea of his being lord high constable of scotland might otherwise have occasioned."[ ] at the time of his father's execution, lord boyd was only twenty years of age. he claimed and obtained the maternal estate, and obtained it in . in he succeeded mary, countess of errol in her own right, his mother's aunt, as earl of errol, and left the army in which he had continued to serve. he retired to slains castle, where he passed his days in the exercise of those virtues which become a man who is conscious, by rank and fortune, of a deep responsibility, and who regards those rather as trusts, than possessions. he died at calendar-house, in , universally lamented, and honoured. the countess of kilmarnock survived her husband only one year; and died at kilmarnock in . two sons were, however, left, in addition to lord boyd, to encounter, for some years, considerable difficulties. of these, the second, charles, who was in the insurrection of , escaped to the isle of arran, where he lay concealed, in that, the ancient territory of the boyds, for a year. he amused himself, having found an old chest of medical books, with the study of medicine and surgery, which he afterwards practised with some degree of skill among the poor. he then escaped to france, and married there a french lady; but eventually he found a home at slains castle, where he was residing when dr. johnson and boswell visited scotland. he was a man of considerable accomplishment; but, as boswell observed, "with a pompousness or formal plenitude in his conversation," or as dr. johnson expressively remarked, "with too much elaboration in his talk." "it gave me pleasure," adds boswell, "to see him, a steady branch of the family, setting forth all its advantages with much zeal." william boyd, the fourth son of lord kilmarnock, was in the royal navy, and on board commodore burnet's ship at the time of his father's execution. he was eventually promoted to a company of the th foot, in . lord balmerino left no descendants to recall the remembrance of his honest, manly character. his wife, margaret chalmers, survived him nearly twenty years, and died at restalrig, on the th of august, , aged fifty-six. the remains of these two unfortunate noblemen were deposited under the gallery, at the west end of the chapel in the tower. beside them repose those of simon, lord lovat. "as they were associates in crime, so they were companions in sepulchre," observes a modern writer, "being buried in the same grave."[ ] but the more discriminative judge of the human heart will spurn so rash, and undiscerning a remark; and marvel that, in the course of one contest, characters so differing in principle, so unlike in every attribute of the heart, and viewed, even by their enemies, with sentiments so totally opposite, should thus be mingled together in their last home. footnotes: [ ] wood's peerage. [ ] who, adds the same authority, carried azure, a fess chequé, argent and gules: and for their crest, a hand issuing out of a wreath, pointing with the thumb and two fingers: motto, _confido_; supporters, two squirrels collared or. [ ] reay, . [ ] reay, . [ ] wood's peerage. the defect of the title is the failure of issue male. the title of livingstone was considered by the same authority as untouched. [ ] ibid. [ ] lockhart papers, i. . note. calendar. [ ] memoirs of lord kilmarnock. london, , p. . [ ] memoirs of the earl of kilmarnock, p. . [ ] ms. letter presented to me by mrs. howison craufurd, of craufurdland castle, ayrshire. [ ] memoirs of lord kilmarnock, p. . [ ] horace walpole's letters, ii. p. . [ ] foster's account, p. . [ ] grose, . [ ] memoirs of lord kilmarnock, p. . [ ] life of colonel gardiner, by dr. doddridge, _passim_. [ ] doddridge. life of colonel gardiner, p. . [ ] henderson, p. . [ ] state trials of george ii. [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] forbes's account, p. . [ ] maxwell, p. . this nobleman was at the battle of culloden. [ ] henderson, p. . [ ] henderson, p. . [ ] note in chambers, p. . [ ] history of the rebellion, from the scots' magazine, p. . [ ] chambers, p. . henderson, p. . [ ] observations on the account of the behaviour of lords kilmarnock and balmerino, . [ ] ibid. [ ] nesbitt, heraldry, vol. i. p. . [ ] "elphingstone, in the shire of hadington, and in the parish of tranent, a village at the distance of three miles s.s.w. from tranent."--edinburgh gazetteer. [ ] nesbitt, p. . [ ] memoirs of lord balmerino. london, . [ ] wood's peerage. [ ] life of lord balmerino, p. . buchan's account of the earls of keith, p. . [ ] scots' magazine for . [ ] scots' magazine for . [ ] georgian era. [ ] wood's peerage. [ ] maxwell, p. . [ ] georgian era. [ ] state trials, vol. xviii. [ ] edinburgh gazetteer. art. "south leith." [ ] history of the rebellion from the scots' magazine, p. . [ ] horace walpole's letters to sir horace mann, vol. ii. p. . [ ] georgian era. [ ] ibid. [ ] state trials, vol. xviii. p. . [ ] observations on the account, &c., p. . [ ] horace walpole, vol. ii. p. [ ] ibid. vol. ii. p. . [ ] horace walpole. [ ] see scots' magazine for . [ ] state trials. [ ] state trials. [ ] note. the plea was couched in these words: "july th, . it is conceived that the late act of parliament, empowering his majesty to transport such as are taken in arms from one county to another, where they may be tried by the course of the common law, did not take place till after that time, that the facts implying treason, were actually committed by the accused prisoners, and if so, the grand jury of surrey, or of any other county whatsoever, where these acts of treason are not alleged to have been committed, could not, agreeable to law, find bills against such prisoners; and it may, on that score, be prayed, that the indictment be quashed, or that an arrest of judgment be thereupon granted." what a bitter, though unavailing feeling of regret accompanies the reflection that this benevolent attempt to save the lives of these brave men, was fruitless. [ ] letters to sir h. mann, vol. ii. p. . [ ] state trials , p. . [ ] h. walpole, p. . letters to g. montagu. [ ] walpole's letters to montagu, p. . folio. [ ] letters to sir h. mann, vol. ii. p. . [ ] state trials, by hargreaves, pp. , . [ ] memoirs of the earl of kilmarnock and cromartie, and of lord balmerino, . [ ] life of lord cromartie, . [ ] buchan's memoirs of the house of keith, p. . [ ] walpole's letters to sir h. mann, vol. ii. p. . [ ] foster's account, p. . [ ] for a copy of this letter i am indebted to the kindness of mrs. craufurd of craufurdland castle, kilmarnock. the original is in the possession of martin paterson, esq. of kilmarnock, and is endorsed "copy of the last instructions of lord kilmarnock to his factor, mr. robert paterson." [ ] statement. [ ] statement. [ ] mrs. howison craufurd, the lady of william howison craufurd, esq., of craufurdland castle, ayrshire. to this lady i am indebted for much of the information (afforded by her admirable letters) which has been introduced into this memoir of lord kilmarnock. to this lady i addressed an inquiry respecting an original portrait of lord kilmarnock. her efforts to obtain any intelligence of one have been wholly unavailing; and we have been led to the conclusion that, in the fire at dean castle, all the portraits of lord kilmarnock must have been destroyed; his resemblance, his name, his honour, and his castle thus becoming extinct at once. at craufurdland castle there is a fine portrait of lord kilmarnock's brother, his widow and daughter, painted in oils, after a singular fashion, black and white; giving it a ghastly hue. this perhaps accounts for the local tradition near kilmarnock, "that on hearing of his brother's death, mr. boyd's colour fled, and never returned; nor was he ever seen to smile again." a tradition not difficult of belief. the present mr. craufurd, of craufurdland castle, represents also the family of howison of bræ-head. in mrs. howison craufurd's family an amusing circumstance relative to lord lovat occurred. he was one evening in a ball-room, and was paying court to the great-grandmother of that lady. as he was playfully examining, and holding in his hand her diamond solitaire, a voice whispered in his ear, "that government officers were in pursuit of him; and that he must decamp." decamp he did, taking with him, _perhaps_ by accident, the costly jewel. the young lady was in the greatest trepidation, and her family were resolved to recover the ornament. many years after, on his return from france, lovat, whose character, in _no_ respect, rose above suspicion, was taxed with the robbery, and refunded a sum which gave twenty pounds to each of a host of granddaughters, then in their girlhood. [ ] in a letter from mrs. craufurd of craufurdland to the author, this fact is stated. it is mentioned as traditionary elsewhere, but is attested by the family. [ ] h. walpole, vol. ii. p. . [ ] h. walpole's letters to mr. montagu. [ ] foster's account, p. . [ ] walpole. [ ] ford's account in state trials, p. , . [ ] for the original of lord balmerino's real speech, which is highly characteristic of its author, i am indebted to charles kirkpatrick sharpe, esq. "i was brought up in true, loyal, and anti-revolution principles and i hope the world is convinced that they stuck to me. i must acknowledge i did a very inconsiderate thing, for which i am heartily sorry, in accepting a company of foot from the princess anne, who i know had no more right to the crown than her predecessor the prince of orange.... to make amends for what i had done i joined the ... (pretender) when he was in scotland in , and when all was over i made my escape, and lived abroad till the year . "in the beginning of that year i got a letter from my father which very much surprised me; it was to let me know he had a promise of a remission for me. i did not know what to do; i was then, (i think,) in the canton of berne, and had nobody to advise with: but next morning i wrote a letter to the ... (pretender) who was then at rome, to acquaint the ... (pretender) that this was come without my asking or knowledge, and that i would not accept of it without his consent. i had in answer to mine, a letter written with ... (the pretender's) own hand, allowing me to go home; and he told me his banker would give me money for my travelling charges when i came to paris, which accordingly i got. when the ... (the pretender's son) came to edinburgh i joined him, though i might easily have excused myself from taking arms on account of my age; but i never could have had peace of conscience if i had stayed at home.... i am at a loss when i come to speak of the ... (pretender's son,) i am not a fit hand to draw his character, i shall leave that to others. (here he gives a fulsome character of the pretender's son.) "pardon me if i say, wherever i had the command, i never suffered any disorders to be committed, as will appear by the duke of buccleugh's servants at east park; by the earl of findlater's minister, mr. lato, and my lord's servant, a. cullen; by mr. rose, minister at nairn, (who was pleased to favour me with a visit when i was prisoner at inverness;) by mr. stewart, principal servant to the lord president at the house of culloden; and by several other people. all this gives me great pleasure, now that i am looking upon the block on which i am ready to lay down my head; and though it would not have been my own natural inclination to protect everybody, it would have been my interest to have done it for ... (the pretender's son) abhorred all those who were capable of doing injustice to any.... i have heard since i came to this place, that there has been a most wicked report spread, and mentioned in several of the newspapers that ... (the pretender's son) before the battle of culloden, had given out orders that no quarter should be given to the enemy. this is such an unchristian thing, and so unlike ... (the pretender's son,) that nobody (the jacobites) that knows him will believe it. it is very strange if there had been any such orders, that neither the earl of kilmarnock, who was colonel of the regiment of the foot guards, nor i, who was colonel of the second troop of life guards, should ever have heard anything of it; especially since we were both at the head-quarters the morning before the battle; i am convinced that it is a malicious report industriously spread to.... "ever since my confinement in the tower, when major white or mr. fowler did me the honour of a visit, their behaviour was always so kind and obliging to me that i cannot find words to express it; but i am sorry i cannot say the same thing of a general williamson: he has treated me barbarously, but not quite so ill as he did the bishop of rochester; and had it not been for a worthy clergyman's advice, i should have prayed for him in the words of david, psalm , from the th to the th verse. i forgive him and all my enemies. i hope you will have the charity to believe i die in peace with all men; for yesterday, i received the holy eucharist from the hands of a clergyman of the church of england, in whose communion i die as in union with the episcopal church of scotland. "i shall conclude with a short prayer."--(here a prayer is mentioned much the same as in wm. ford's account.) [ ] the account which i have given of lord kilmarnock's behaviour and fate, and also of lord balmerino's, is taken from the following works, to which i have not thought it necessary separately to refer. foster's account of the behaviour of lord kilmarnock; and the vindication of foster's account from the misrepresentations of some dissenting teachers: london, . account by t. ford, under-sheriff at the execution, in the state trials, vol. xviii. p. . horace walpole's letters to geo. montagu, and to sir h. mann. scots' magazine for ; and buchan's life of marshal keith; also a collection of tracts in the british museum, relating to the rebellion, , and chiefly published during that year. [ ] for both these letters, hitherto unpublished, i am indebted for the courtesy of mrs. craufurd of craufurdland castle. [ ] forbes's life of beattie, vol. ii. p. . [ ] journey to the hebrides, p. [ ] bayley's history of the tower, p. . charles radcliffe. the fate of charles radcliffe has been regarded as one of the most severe, and his death as one of the most unjustifiable acts inflicted on those who suffered for their adherence to the stuart cause. this unfortunate man was the third son of francis earl of derwentwater, by the lady mary tudor, the daughter of charles the second, and was born in . he was the younger brother of james earl of derwentwater, who suffered in , for his adherence to the stuart cause. there was also another elder brother, francis, who died unmarried, not taking any apparent interest in the politics of the day. the family of radcliffe were not regarded by the descendants of their common ancestor, charles the second, in the light of kindred whom the rules of decorum, and the usages of society might induce them to disclaim, or at all events, to acknowledge with shame or reluctance; the vitiated notions of the day attached a very different value to the parentage of royalty, even when associated with dishonour. the marriage of sir francis radcliffe to the daughter of mary davis was that event which procured his elevation to the peerage; and this alliance, was considered as elevating the dignity of an ancient house.[ ] the closest ties of friendship united the stuarts and the radcliffes, even from their earliest infancy. educated, as well as his elder brother, james, chiefly at st. germains, and with the chevalier james stuart, and brought up in the roman catholic faith, charles radcliffe, owing to the natural ardour of his disposition, imbibed much more readily than his brother the strong party views which characterized the jacobites as a body. in james, earl of derwentwater, the convictions of his faith, grounded as they are upon the belief of those great truths common to all christians, worked healthfully; expanding the benevolence of his heart, teaching him mercy, moderation, and forbearance. on charles, impetuous, zealous, stronger in intellect than his brother, but devoid of prudence, the same mode of culture, the same precepts acted differently. he became, even in early life, violent in his opinions, until the horror of what he deemed error, amounted to bigotry. henceforth his destiny was swayed by those fierce resentments towards the opposite party by which not only his brother, but even the chevalier himself, seem to have been so rarely actuated; a remarkable degree of moderation and candour raising the character of james stuart, whilst lord derwentwater was the gentlest of opponents, the most honourable of foes. in early life charles radcliffe appears to have been chiefly dependent upon his brother's kindness and bounty; whilst his pursuits and inclinations, characterized in a letter by lord derwentwater as his "pleasures," were of an expensive description. but it was not long before other causes of concern besides want of money, or a love of dissipation began to disquiet those who were interested in the welfare of the radcliffe family. about the year , the young earl of derwentwater returned from the continent to his patrimonial property at dilstone, in northumberland, accompanied by his brother francis, and by charles who either frequently visited him, or wholly resided with him at his seat. during this period of the life of charles radcliffe, an insight into the general state of the family is afforded by several letters, addressed by the earl of derwentwater to lady swinburne of capheaton, whom he styles his "cousin." the relationship between these families originated in the marriage of mrs. lawson, daughter of sir william fenwick of meldon, after the death of her first husband, with francis, first earl of derwentwater, and grandfather of james radcliffe, and of his brothers. mrs. lawson's daughter, isabel, married sir john swinburne of capheaton who was rescued from a singular fate by one of the radcliffe family. when a child, he was sent to a monastery in france, where a member of that family accidentally saw him, and observing that he resembled the swinburnes in northumberland, he inquired his name, and how he came there? to these questions, the monks answered that they knew not his name; a sum of money was sent annually from england to defray his expenses; but of all other particulars they were wholly ignorant. on investigating the matter, it was found, however, that the child had been taught that his name was swinburne; and that circumstance, coupled with the mysterious disappearance of the heir of that family from northumberland induced the superior of the convent to permit his return home, where he identified himself to be the son of john swinburne and of jane blount, by the description which he gave of the marks of a cat, and of a punchbowl, which were still in the house.[ ] he was afterwards advanced by charles the second to the dignity of a baronet. to mary, the daughter of anthony englefield, of whiteknights, berks, and wife of sir william swinburne, of capheaton, the son of that man whose childhood has so romantic a story associated with it, the following letters are addressed. of these, the first is written by the celebrated john radcliffe, physician to queen anne. dr. radcliffe was probably a distant relation of the family, although no distinctive trace of that connection appears: he was a native of wakefield, near yorkshire; but when these letters were written, he had attained the highest eminence in his profession that could be secured by one man; and was in the possession of wealth which he eventually employed in the foundation of the radcliffe library, at oxford.[ ] the "mr. radcliffe" to whom he refers, and to whose malady his skill was called upon to administer, was colonel thomas radcliffe, the uncle of lord derwentwater: the patient was at the time suffering from mental delusion, in consequence of a fever. these to sir william swinburne at capheaton. dec. , . "sir, "yours i received, and am very glad to hear that yourself and my lady is in so good health. i hope in a short time mr. radcliffe will be so too. he is recovered; but he had such a severe fever that he continues weak still. my lord derwentwater and his brother" (francis) "and mr. fenwick, are all come safe from holland, and are very well, and we shall drink your health together this night. he intends to be with you very speedily in the country. i do not doubt that you will extremely like his conversation: for he has a great many extraordinary good qualities, and i do not doubt but he will be as well beloved as his uncle. my most humble service to your lady and the rest of the good family, and i wish you a merry christmas; and that i might be so happy as to take a share of it with you, would be a great satisfaction to him who is your most obliged and most faithful, humble servant, "john radcliffe." the next letter is from sir william swinburne to his lady; in this he speaks of the pleasure with which lord derwentwater had returned to dilstone, the seat of his ancestors, which he was, in so few short years, to forfeit. to my lady swinburne, at capheaton. beaufort, th feb. . "dear love! "my lord" (derwentwater) "is very well pleased with dilstone, and says it answers all that he has heard of it: but is resolved to build a new house, though roger fenwick told him he thought his lordship need not alter a stone of it. upon thursday my lord dines at dilstone. yours for ever, "william swinburne. "p.s. i understand my lord intends to be at capheaton on saturday, and then upon tuesday at witton, and so for widdrington. my lord's leg is a little troublesome; but he intends to hunt the fox to-morrow, and it is a rule all to be abed at ten o'clock the night. here is old mr. bacon and his son, mr. fenwick, of bywell. my lord killed a squirl, and sir marmaduke a pheasant or two, and myself one, this morning--which is all, &c." the following letter from lord derwentwater, to lady swinburne, shows that the illness which occasioned so much uneasiness was obstinate: it affords a curious sample of the medical treatment of dr. radcliffe, who kindly, and perhaps wisely, humoured his patient in the desire to go to newcastle. "i have been just now with my dear uncle, and jack thornton was with me. he received us very well: but is yet unease about those people that disturb him, and he says that he must go down to newcastle by sea, or else he will never get quitte of them. this is an ode fancy; but i believe we shall comply with it, for the doctor dous not sime very averce to it, and was for sending joseph back with him; but i have taken the horse into my stable, for i feared it mit hurt the horse to return so soon. in fin, i fansed sir william would like the value of the horse better than to have him sent back. i have been offered eighteen pound. i would have sir william let me know by the next post whether he will have the horse or the money. i shall have the honor to whrit to him very soon." the two following epistles, one from lady derwentwater, the other from the earl, speak of married happiness, alloyed, not only by the distempered fancies of an invalid uncle, but by the melancholy accounts of a brother's behaviour. it does not, however, appear certain which of the brothers, whether francis or charles, was thus alluded to. for the honourable lady swineburne, junior, at capheaton. "hadcross, aug. . "i have manny thanks to returne your ladyship for the favour of your letter and oblidging congratulations. my lord darwenwater's great merit and agreable temper makes me think i have all the prospect imadgenable of being intierly happy. i desier the favour your ladyship will present my humble sarvise to sir william. my father and mother joinse with me in this, and dessiers there complements to your ladyship, i beg you will be assured that i am, very much madam, your ladyship's most humble servant. "a. darvenwatar." for my lady swinburne, at the blew ball, in st. james's place, near st. james's, london. "heatherope, feb. . "madam, "i fear'd the good news miechal writ gibson, might be false; because i have not heard anything of it from yourself, nor from my uncle, who, i flatter myself, would writ a line to give me so much satisfaction: but i hope all my doubts will vanish if your ladyship does me the favour to confirm what will be so great a content to us. if i could but be sure that my dear uncle avows all his fancys about the men he thought spoke to him, to be nothing but the unlucky effect of his favour,[ ] and that he thinks to come over to manage his affairs, will be the most credeble and most kind way of proceeding, both as to himself and family, then i shall believe he was the same man he was befor, which, if you confirm, will be one of the most joyfull and the most unexpected good news that could befall your ladyship's humble, obedient servant, and affectionate kindsman, "darwentwater. "i should have writ to your ladyship sooner, and really can have no good excuse: for i should have write to my dear cousen, though my head was full of fox-hunting: and though i had a mind to banish out of a new-married head some melancholic accounts of my brother's behaviour, which i suppose you have had intelligence of, or else of my dear wife's second miscarriage, which has been a great affliction to us, but i flatter myself with the hope of her having better luck another time. she presents her humble service, and so does my lady webb. i hope sir william was well, and cosen jacky, when you heard last. my brother charles has been at sir marmeduke constable's, and designs for london. adieu!" in may , only one year before the fatal insurrection of broke out, the following letter, referring to different members of his family, was written by the earl. what a pleasing picture of an affectionate nature does this correspondence afford.[ ] for my lady swinburne, junior, at capheaton. "kathcrosse, may, , . "now i write with pleasure to your ladyship, since i hope to be so happy as to enjoy your good companie in a few months, i mean immediately after york races, for my two years will be out here the tenth of july. indeed sir john has behaved himself wonderfully well to us quite the holl time, really performing in everything more than i could have expected from a man of honnor, as indeed i had reason to believe him. my lady is not of so steady a temper; but however, we agree very well: and she is mighty fond of my wife, which i take very kindly, since as yet we are but one. never any body could be so desirous to goe to the north as my wife is, especially just comming from the divertions of london, except your ladyship or myself, who longs to be established there, that we may at least be out of the way of such inhuman proceedings as we saw, upon all accounts, this year at london. my poor dear uncle's case may serve for one instance. after getting the better in all the courts, and, that lastly, the lord chancellor and eleven judges had given there decree in favor of will. constable, and my uncle, a factious party, most young rakes, have reversed the decree, and given it for roper, by a divition of fifty-three against twenty-three torrys, who were resolute enough to appear in a good cause, being forsaken by their brethren, who were afraid to be caled favourers of poperie. i long to hear what my uncle will say to this news. if he be well, it will nettle him in spite of resignation. gibson writes word they are at doway; but he does not know when my uncle will sett forwards. i do not know where to wish him: for i really don't know how he is. for in one letter gibson writes, he tells me my uncle is as well as ever he was in his life; and at the end of the letter he tells me his honnor is afraid of being pursude. 'tis certain my uncle writes in another stille than usuall: for, in letters of business he continually mentions god almighty, the blessed virgin, and the saints. all i say is, god send him over a comfort to his friends, which he must be if he is well. brother frank is recovered, but is the very same man. brother charles is mighty uneasie: he is no ritcher, though i doe what i can to help him in his pleasures. "pray my duty to my uncle and aunt, to whom i will write soon, and kind services to all other relations. "if your ladyship will tell tom errington that i have executed the leases, and that i wonder cousin tom errington is not in for a quarter part of redgroves, and that, supposing there were some such valuable reason as my cousin tom's not being willing to accept of it, or having resigned it to one of those mentioned in the lease, which by the bye i should take very ill, then that lease of redgrove's may stand good: but otherways i would have the lease altered, and my cousin tom errington to come in for a quarter part, as i promised him he should. in letting him know this, your ladyship will oblige your humble and obedient servant and kinsman, "derwentwater. "my dear wife presents her humble service to your ladyship, and desires the same may be made acceptable to all with you. we expect lord wald and my lady to make my sister happy, who will do the same by them." the felicity which lord derwentwater enjoyed was of brief duration. according to tradition among his descendants, he was urged on to those steps which ended in his death by the violent counsels of his brother charles, whose impetuosity the unfortunate earl often regretted, expressing, in his private correspondence, how much his rash and intemperate spirit distressed and alarmed him. of the progress, and the principal features of the insurrection of , and of the part which lord derwentwater took in that event, an account has already been given.[ ] "happy," observes the biographer of charles radcliffe, "had it been for him, happy for his lady, and happy for his family, had the earl staid at home, and suffered himself to be withheld from that fatal expedition."[ ] charles radcliffe was at that time twenty-two years of age; he had no experience in military affairs, but was full of spirit and courage, ready to offer himself for every daring, and even hopeless enterprise, and seeming to set no value on his life where honour was to be won. such a character soon became popular with the leaders of the movement in the north; and lord derwentwater gave the conduct of his tenantry into his brother's hands, captain shaftoe commanding under mr. radcliffe. the behaviour of this young commander throughout the whole of the expedition was consistent with this character of intrepidity; but that which surprised many persons in a man who had never before engaged in war, was the judgment, as well as courage, which he displayed. and perhaps, had his counsels been followed, the result of that ill-starred rising, in which so many brave men perished, might have been less disastrous to the party whom he espoused. when the insurgents were at hexham, and intelligence was brought that general carpenter was approaching, mr. radcliffe proposed that the jacobite troops should go out and fight the english before they had recovered from their long march; but his opinion was overruled. his was that description of mind which gleans much from observation; he studied the countenances of those around him, and formed his own conclusion of their characters. when any false alarm happened to be given that the king's troops were near, it was his practice, undaunted himself, to watch the countenances of his officers, when they were ordered to head their corps, and march against the enemy. some of them, he observed, turned pale, and looked half-dead with fear; the eyes of others flashed with fire and fury: on these, he was certain that a dependence might be placed in the time of action, whilst he forbore from placing the others in any post of responsibility. nor were his own party the only subjects of his curiosity. until this eventful period of his life, he had seen but little of the world, "and now," observes his biographer, "he fancied himself on his travels." he therefore passed over no object of interest cursorily; at every town he visited, he inquired what were the customs of the place--what monuments of celebrated men, or other objects of antiquity were to be found there; and of these he made written notes; whilst in the council and the camp, he studied the tempers and passions of men. when, upon the forces arriving at hawick, the highlanders mutinied, and going to the top of a rising ground declared that they would not stir a step farther, but would march with lord wristoun to the west of scotland, mr. radcliffe thought their views reasonable, and advocated the endeavour to strike a bold stroke in scotland, and to aim at the entire conquest of that kingdom. his opinion, which events justified, was overruled, and the leaders of his party were resolute in continuing their fatal and rash project of proceeding to england. mr. radcliffe, on finding that his representations were ineffectual, begged that he might have an hundred horse given to him, that with them he might try his fortune with the highlanders: this was also denied him, for fear of weakening the force; and he was constrained to proceed with his confederates in arms to preston. in the action at that place, mr. radcliffe behaved with a heroism that deserved a happier fate. it was a fine sight to behold him and his brother lord derwentwater, endeavouring to animate their men, by words and example, and maintaining their ground with unequalled bravery, obliging the king's forces to retire. during the action mr. radcliffe encountered the utmost danger, standing in the midst of the firing, and doing as much duty as the lowest soldiers in the ranks. but his life was spared only to encounter a more disastrous termination, after a long and wearisome exile. when, being invested on all sides by the enemy, the insurgents proposed a capitulation, the gallant young man exclaimed, "that he would rather die, with his sword in his hand, like a man of honour, than be dragged to the gallows, there to die like a dog." these exclamations fell unheeded; and he was obliged to submit with the rest; soon afterwards, this fine, high-spirited youth, was carried to newgate, there to await his trial, in company with his companions in error and misfortune. in newgate, mr. radcliffe witnessed a scene of desperation, accompanied with the ordinary circumstances of licentiousness, and reckless misery, which, unchecked by adequate regulations, the prisons of that day afforded. until after the execution of lord derwentwater and of lord kenmure had taken place, hopes of a reprieve sustained the unhappy prisoners in newgate, and, "flaunting apparel, venison pasties," wine, and other luxuries, for which they paid an enormous price, were the ordinary indulgences of those who were incarcerated in that crowded receptacle.[ ] contributions were made from many different quarters for the prisoners; and the friends of the "rebels" were observed to be also very generous to the turnkeys. numbers of ladies visited the prison, and a choice of the most expensive viands was daily proffered by the lavish kindness of their fair enthusiasts. of course much scandal followed upon the steps of this dangerous and costly kindness; and escapes were facilitated, perhaps, not without connivance on the part of government. on the fourteenth of march an attempt was made by some of these unfortunate people to get out of the press-yard, by breaking through a part of the wall, from which they were to be let down by a rope; but they were discovered, and, in consequence, heavily ironed. nevertheless, on the twenty-third of march almost all of the prisoners were released from their fetters, an indulgence which was a proof of the lenity of the government, as the ordinary keepers of the prison would not have dared to have allowed it.[ ] after this, mr. forster and others amused themselves with the game of shuttlecock, at which, relates the author of the secret history of the rebels in newgate, the "valiant forster beat every one who engaged him: so that he triumphed with his feathers in the prison, though he could not do it in the field." on the tenth of april that gentleman made his escape: and henceforth, a lieutenant, with thirty of the foot guards, was ordered to do constant duty at newgate. meantime, crowded as the building was, a spotted fever broke out, and seemed likely to relieve the civil authorities from no small number of the unfortunate prisoners. on the eighth of may, mr. radcliffe was arraigned at the exchequer bar, at westminster, for high treason: to this he pleaded not guilty. in a few days afterwards he was brought there again, and tried upon the indictment; he had no plea to offer in his defence, and was found guilty. he soon afterwards was carried to westminster, accompanied by eleven other prisoners, to receive sentence of death. they were conveyed in six coaches to the court. as the coach in which mr. radcliffe was seated, drove into fleet street, it encountered the state carriage in which george the first, who was then going to hanover for the first time since his accession, was driving. this obliged mr. radcliffe's coach to stop; and, perceiving that he was opposite to a distiller's shop, he called for a pint of aniseed, which he and a fellow-prisoner, with a servant of newgate, drank, and then proceeded to westminster. mr. radcliffe was several times reprieved; and it was thought he might have been pardoned; but affrighted, perhaps, by his brother's fate, and probably weary of imprisonment, he now began to project a plan of escape, to which he was emboldened by the great success of several similar attempts. greater vigilance was, indeed, resorted to in the prison, after the flight of brigadier mackintosh, who had knocked down the turnkey, and ran off through the streets: and all cloaks, riding-hoods, and arms, were prohibited being brought in by the visiters who came to visit the prisoners. it is amusing to hear, that a certain form of riding-hoods acquired, at this time, the name of a nithsdale, in allusion to the escape of the earl of nithsdale.[ ] on the day appointed for mr. radcliffe's escape, the prisoners gave a grand entertainment in newgate: this took place in a room called the castle, in the higher part of the prison. mr. radcliffe, when the party were at the highest of their mirth, observing a little door open in the corner of the room, passed through it followed by thirteen of the prisoners; and succeeded in finding their way, unmolested, to the debtor's side, where the turnkey, not knowing them, and supposing them to be visiters to the prisoners, allowed them to pass on. mr. radcliffe was dressed in mourning, and had, according to his own subsequent account to a fellow prisoner in newgate, a "brown tye-wig." in this way, without any disguise, but wearing his ordinary attire, did he escape, leaving within the prison walls, his friend, basil hamilton, nephew of the duke of hamilton, who, as it was deposed on his trial, was his chum, or companion, living with him in a room, the windows of which looked upon the garden of the college of physicians. after remaining concealed for some time, mr. radcliffe took the first opportunity of getting a passage to france.[ ] he lived, for many years, in paris, in great poverty, tantalized with promises of assistance from the french court, yet witnessing the ungenerous treatment of the chevalier by that court. his nephew, john radcliffe, who was killed accidentally, assisted him with remittances in for some time, and james stuart gave him a small pension: his difficulties and privations must have been considerable; yet they never lessened his ardour in the cause for which he had sacrificed every worldly advantage. either to amend his ruined fortunes, or to gratify a passion long unrequited, mr. radcliffe was resolved upon marriage. the object of his hopes was charlotte maria, countess of newburgh, the widow of hugh, lord clifford of chudleigh, and the mother of two daughters by that nobleman. this lady was about a year older than himself, being born in . it is a tradition in the family of lord petre, the lineal descendant of james, earl of derwentwater, that charles radcliffe offered his hand twelve times to the countess of newburgh, and was as often refused. wearied by his importunity, lady newburgh at last forbade him the house. but the daring character of mr. radcliffe, and his strong will, suggested an expedient, and he was resolved to obtain an interview. to compass this end, he actually descended into an apartment in which the countess was sitting, through the chimney; and taking her by surprise, obtained her consent to an union. of the truth of this curious courtship, there is tolerably good evidence, not only in the belief of the petre family, but from a picture representing the fact, which is at thorndon.[ ] the nuptials took place at brussels, in the church of the virgin mary, on the twenty-fourth of june, ,[ ] and in , james bartholomew, who became, after the death of his mother, third earl of newburgh, was born at vincennes.[ ] lady newburgh had every reason, as far as prudence could be allowed to dictate to the affections, for her reluctance to a marriage with mr. radcliffe. he was, at this time, an outlawed man, with a sentence of death passed upon him, and no hope could ever be revived of his regaining, even after the death of his nephew, the family honours and estates. yet, in the ardour and fearlessness of charles radcliffe's character there must have been much to compensate for those circumstances, and to win the fancy of the young. there seems no reason to suppose that the union thus strangely formed was infelicitous; and indeed, from family documents, it is evident that the family so marked out by fate for sorrow, were happy in their mutual affection. of the two daughters of lady newburgh's first marriage, anna, the eldest, was married to the count de mahony, whose descendants, the gustiniani might claim the title of newburgh, were they not debarred by being born aliens. another was frances, who died unmarried. this lady is mentioned in a letter written by charles radcliffe, recently before his death, when he was confined to the tower, with peculiar affection, as "that other tender mother of my dear children."[ ] in the year , mr. radcliffe visited england, and resided several months in pall mall; yet the ministry did not consider it necessary to take any notice of his return, nor, probably, would they ever have concerned themselves on that subject, had not a second insurrection brought the unfortunate man into notice. in , he again returned, and endeavoured by the mediation of friends to procure a pardon, but was unsuccessful in that attempt.[ ] irritated, perhaps, by that refusal, and still passionately attached to the cause which he had espoused; undeterred by the execution of his brother, or by the sufferings of his friends, from mixing himself in the turmoils of a second contest, charles radcliffe, on the breaking out of the insurrection of , again ventured his life on the hazard. he had no lands to lose, no estates to forfeit; but he had all to gain; for the death of his nephew made him the head of the unfortunate house of radcliffe. after that event, he assumed the title of earl of derwentwater, and it was of course assigned to him at the court of st. germains, and indeed always insisted upon by him; but the estates were alienated, and there appeared no hope under the present government of ever recovering those once enviable possessions. under these circumstances, mr. radcliffe was naturally a likely object for the representations of the sanguine, or the intrigues of the designing to work upon; and in this temper of mind he met, in the year , with john murray of broughton, at paris, where that gentleman remained three weeks; and became intimately acquainted with mr. radcliffe, who is described among others, as a "wretched dependant on french pensions, with difficulty obtained, and accompanied with contempt in the payment." while the fashionable world were diverting themselves with epigrams upon the rebellion, a small expedition was fitted out, consisting of twenty french officers, and sixty scotch and irish, who embarked at dunkirk on board the esperance privateer; among these was charles radcliffe and his eldest son. at this time nothing was spoken of in london except the daring attempt in scotland,--sometimes in derision,--sometimes in serious apprehension: "the dowager strafford," writes horace walpole (sept. ), "has already written cards for my lady nithesdale, my lady tullebardine, the duchess of perth and berwick, and twenty more revived peeresses, to invite them to play at whist, monday three months: for your part, you will divert yourself with their old taffetys, and tarnished slippers, and their awkwardness the first day they go to court in clean linen."[ ] "i shall wonderfully dislike," observes the same writer, "being a loyal sufferer in a threadbare coat, and shivering in an attic chamber at hanover, or reduced to teach latin and english to the young princes at copenhagen. will you ever write to me in my garret at herenhausen? i will give you a faithful account of all the promising speeches that prince george and prince edward make whenever they have a new sword, and intend to reconquer england." one of the first adverse circumstances that befel the jacobites in , was the capture of the vessel in which mr. radcliffe hoped to reach the shores of scotland. it was taken during the month of november by the sheerness man-of-war; and mr. radcliffe and his son were carried to london and imprisoned in the tower. on the twenty-first of november he was conveyed, under a strong guard from the tower, to westminster; he was brought to the bar, by virtue of a habeas corpus, and the record of his former conviction and attainder was at the same time removed there by certiorari. these being read to him, the prisoner prayed that counsel might be allowed him; and named mr. ford and mr. jodrel, who were accordingly assigned to him as counsel. a few days were granted to prepare the defence, and on the twenty-fourth of the month the prisoner was again brought up; he pleaded that he was not the person named in the record, who was described as charles radcliffe, but maintained that he was the earl of derwentwater. he also requested that the trial might be put off, that two witnesses, one from brussels, the other from st. germains, might be summoned. this was refused. the prisoner then challenged one of the jury, but that challenge was overruled. during these proceedings the lofty, arrogant manner, and the vehement language of mr. radcliffe drew from his counsel the remark that he was disordered in his senses. the judge, mr. justice foster, who tried the case, bore his contemptuous conduct with great forbearance. when brought into court, to be arraigned, he would neither hold up his hand, nor plead, insisting that he was a subject of france, and appealing to the testimony of the neapolitan minister, who happened to be in court. but not one of these objections was allowed, and the trial proceeded. no fresh indictment was framed, and the point at issue related merely to the identity of the prisoner. the award in mr. radcliffe's case was agreeable to the precedent in the case of sir walter raleigh, and execution was awarded on his former offence, judgment not being again pronounced, having been given on the former arraignment. this mode of proceeding might be law, but no one after the lapse of thirty years, and the frequent communications of the prisoner with the english government, can regard such a proceeding as _justice_: and, as in the case of sir walter raleigh, it brought odium upon the memory of james the first, so it excited in the reign of george the second almost universal commiseration for the sufferer, and disgust at the course adopted. the evidence in this case was far from being such as would be accepted in the present day. two northumberland men were sworn to the fact that the prisoner at the bar was the younger brother of the earl of derwentwater, and that they had seen him march out from hexham, in northumberland, at the head of five hundred of lord derwentwater's tenantry; they recognized him, as they declared, by a scar on his face; they had been to see him in the tower, to refresh their memories, and could swear to him, as charles radcliffe, brother of the earl of derwentwater. after this deposition, roger downs, a person who had acted in the capacity of barber to the state prisoners, in , was called. to him mr. radcliffe thus addressed himself:[ ] "i hope, sir, you have some conscience; you are now sworn, and take heed what you say." to this downs replied; "i shall speak nothing but the truth. i well remember that i was appointed close shaver at newgate, in the year and , when the rebels were confined there, and shaved all those who were close confined." the counsel then asked, "pray, sir, did you shave charles radcliffe, esquire, the late earl of derwentwater's brother, who was confined in newgate for being concerned in the rebellion in the year , or who else did you shave of the said rebels at that time? and pray, sir, who was keeper, or who were turnkeys of the said gaol of newgate." the answer of downs was couched in these words, "william pitt, esq. was head keeper, and mr. rouse, and mr. revel, were head turnkeys, who appointed my master to be barber, to shave the prisoners; and i attended in my master's stead, and used to go daily to wait on the rebel prisoners, and i particularly remember that i shaved basil hamilton, a reputed nephew of the late duke of hamilton, and charles radcliffe, esq., brother to the late earl of derwentwater, who i perfectly remember were chums, or companions, in one room, in the press-yard, in newgate, that looked into the garden of the college of physicians, and for which service i was always very well paid." the counsel then desired him to look at the prisoner and inform the court if that gentleman were the very same charles radcliffe that he shaved in newgate, at the aforesaid time, and who after escaped out of newgate. to this downs returned the following reply: "i cannot on my oath say he is." then the head keeper of newgate was called, and he produced the books belonging to the gaol, wherein were the names of charles radcliffe, and other rebels, who had been condemned, and were respited several times. this gentleman said, that the books produced then in court were in the same condition that he found them: but as to the person of the prisoner he knew nothing, his confinement having taken place several years before he belonged to the gaol. abraham mosely, a servant of the head keeper, was then called, but he was not sworn; another gentleman was afterwards brought to the bar; as the book was handed to him to be sworn, mr. radcliffe, looking earnestly at him, inquired what book it was that he was going to be sworn upon: the officer answered it was the new testament. mr. radcliffe replied, "he is no christian, and believes neither in god nor devil." the evidence of this witness, whose name is suppressed, was, however, received, and it seems not to have been inconsistent with his alleged character. it was the disclosure of a confidential conversation on the part of mr. radcliffe, who had imparted to the witness in what manner he had escaped from newgate in . the witness was asked whether the prisoner was drunk when he made this confession: he answered that he was. then being asked if he were drunk himself, he replied that he never got drunk; upon which mr. radcliffe said hastily, that "some people would get drunk if at free cost." the prisoner examining no witnesses, the chief justice summed up the case, and in ten or fifteen minutes the jury, who had retired, brought in a verdict of guilty. a rule was then made for the proper writ for the execution of the prisoner, on the eighth of december, and he was remanded to the tower. when informed by the court of the time fixed for his doom, mr. radcliffe said he wished they had given him a longer time, that so he might have been able to acquaint some people in france, and that his brother, the earl of morton, and he might "have set out on their journey together." the unhappy mr. radcliffe returned to his prison. much has been written of the arrogance and intemperance of his conduct and language, but much must be allowed for the subservience of the contemporary writers, as well as for the irritated feelings of the man. considering himself as a nobleman, and meeting with disrespect, and, perhaps, harsh usage, a quick temper was aggravated almost to madness. to his inferiors the passion and pride of his character were so offensive that the warders of the tower could be scarcely induced to give him their attendance; and this inconvenience was the more severely felt as a man named mcdermont, who had been his equerry for twenty-three years, was sent to newgate on the very day when mr. radcliffe entered the tower. at the hour of his last earthly trial, this man, whose eventful and singular life was brought to a close at the age of fifty-three, redeemed the errors of the last few weeks of anguish, and of bitter disappointment. he submitted calmly to his doom. the sullen sorrow, and the intolerable haughtiness of his manner, were exchanged for a composure, solemn and affecting, and for a courtesy which well became the brother of lord derwentwater. between eight and nine on the morning of the eighth of december, the sheriff, driving in a mourning coach to the east gate of the tower, demanded the prisoner. the gate was opened, and in about ten minutes a landau, in which mr. radcliffe was seated, drove out at the east gate, towards little tower hill. he was accompanied by the under-sheriffs, and by the officers of the tower: the landau was surrounded by a party of foot guards, with their bayonets fixed. the street was lined with horse soldiers, from the iron gate of the tower, to the scaffold, which was encompassed also with horse soldiers. at the foot of the stairs of the scaffold a booth was erected, for the reception of the prisoner. like lord balmerino, mr. radcliffe wore his regimentals, which were those of the french army; and consisted of a scarlet coat, with gold buttons, the sleeves faced with black velvet; a scarlet waistcoat, trimmed with gold lace; and white silk stockings. his hat was encircled with a white feather. as the prisoner alighted from the landau, he saw some of his friends standing near the booth; he paid his compliments to them with the grace of a well-bred man; and, smiling, asked of the sheriffs, who had preceded him in the mourning-coach, "if he was to enter the booth?" he was answered in the affirmative. "it is well," he replied; and he went in, and there passed about ten minutes in his devotions. the scaffold had been provided early that morning with a block, covered with black, a cushion, and two sacks of sawdust; and the coffin of the unhappy prisoner, also covered with black, was placed on the stage. mr. radcliffe ascended the scaffold with great calmness, and asked for the executioner. "i am but a poor man," said the unfortunate man, "but there are ten guineas for you: if i had more, i would give it you; do your execution so as to put me to the least possible misery." he then kneeled down, and folding his hands, uttered a short prayer. he arose, and was then assisted by two of the warders in the last preparations for his doom, taking off his coat and waistcoat, and substituting for his wig a white cap. having taken a respectful leave of the sheriffs, he was about to kneel down, when it was discovered that it would be necessary to tuck back the collar of his shirt. that office was performed by the executioner. then, after saying a short prayer, and crossing himself several times, he laid his head upon the block. in less than half a minute afterwards, he gave the signal, by spreading out his hands: his head was severed at one blow, and the body fell upon the scaffold. the executioner, searching his pockets, found in them a silver crucifix, his beads, and half-a-guinea. no friend attended the man who had been so long exiled from his own country, on the scaffold; but four undertakers' men stood, with a piece of red cloth, to receive the head of the ill-fated charles radcliffe. his body, being wrapt in a blanket, was put into the coffin, with his head, and conveyed to the nag's head, in gray's inn lane, and thence, in the dead of the night, to mr. walmsbey's, north street, red lion square, whence it was removed to be interred in the church-yard of st. giles's-in-the-fields, where a neglected stone alone marks his burial-place. the following is the inscription on the coffin:--"carolus radcliffe, comes de derwentwater, decollatus, die vo. decembris, , ætatis ." to this were added the words, so appropriate to the close of an adventurous life, "requiescat in pace." desolate as these last hours appear to have been, and uncheered by the presence of a friend, some tender care was directed to the remains of the unfortunate sufferer. his head was afterwards sewn on to the body by a dependant of lord petre's family, a woman of the name of thretfall, whose grandson, a carpenter, who lived for many years at ingatestone hall, essex, a seat of lord petre's, used to relate to the happier children of a later generation (the descendants of james, earl of derwentwater), the circumstances, of which he had heard in his childhood. the countess of newburgh was afterwards buried by the side of her husband; and the sexton of st. giles's church, some years since, on the lid of the coffin giving way, perceived some gold lace in a state of preservation; so that it seems probable that the blanket in which the bleeding remains were removed, was superseded by the costly and military attire worn by the prisoner. previous to his death mr. radcliffe wrote to his family. his letters, and all the memorials of his brother, and of himself, have been sedulously preserved by the family to whom they have descended. lady anna maria radcliffe, the only daughter of james, earl of derwentwater, married in , james, eighth baron petre, of writtle, county essex. a connexion had already subsisted between the families, a sister of lord derwentwater having married a petre of the collateral branch, seated at belhouse, in essex, which branch is now extinct. lady anna radcliffe appears to have entertained the deepest reverence for her father's memory, and to have held all that belonged to him, or that related to his fate, sacred. she caused a large mahogany chest to be made to receive the clothes which he wore on the scaffold, and also the covering of the block; likewise, a cast of his face taken after death: and having deposited these relics in the chest, she added a written paper with her seal and signature, _anne petre_, authenticating the said apparel and documents, and solemnly forbidding any of her descendants or other persons to make use of the chest for any other purpose, but "to contain her father's clothes, unless some other receptacle more costly be by them provided." this box is deposited in a room at thorndon hall, with letters and papers relating both to _james_, lord derwentwater, and to his brother _charles_. the eldest son of mr. radcliffe, called the lord kinnaird, in right of the barony of kinnaird, remained a prisoner in the tower at the time of his father's execution; and the uncertainty of that young man's fate must greatly have added to the distress of his father. in the spring of , he was suffered to return to france, on a cartel, an exchange of prisoners including him as a native of france. the circumstance to which the youth owed his long imprisonment, was a report which gained ground that he was the second son of james stuart, henry benedict, whom the english political world believed, at that time, to be on the eve of going to ireland, and under this impression, the mob followed the young man as he was conveyed from the vessel to the tower with insults. before returning to france, he was received by the duke of richmond, his mother's relative, with great consideration, and entertained at what horace walpole terms "a great dinner."[ ] such was what the same author calls the _stuartism_ in some of the highest circles. lord kinnaird afterwards put in a claim for the reversion of the derwentwater estate, but without success, for it had already been sold by the commissioners. a scene of iniquitous fraud, in the sale of the forfeited estate belonging to lord derwentwater was afterwards detected by lord gage, for which dennis bond, esquire, and sergeant birch, commissioners of the sale, were expelled the house.[ ] in , an act was passed vesting the several estates of james, earl of derwentwater in trustees, for the benefit of greenwich hospital; but, out of the funds thus arising, , _l._ was appropriated to the widowed countess of newburgh, and the interest of the remaining , _l._, was to be paid to james bartholomew, lord kinnaird, during his life, and after his death the principal to revert to his eldest son.[ ] from the chevalier, the widowed countess of newburgh received, as the following letter will shew, much kindness and sympathy; the conduct of james to his fallen and powerless adherents, appears to have been almost invariably marked by compassion and generosity. the countess of newburgh survived her husband ten years, during which time the affection of the chevalier, and of his sons, for her husband's memory was evinced by kindness to his widow, as the following letter testifies:-- lady derwentwater to the chevalier de st. george.[ ] sir, i received the honour of our majesty's most gracious letter, and beg leave to return my grateful thanks. your majesty is very good in commending my dear lord who did but his duty: he gave his life most willingly for your majesty's service, and i am persuaded that your majesty never had a subject more attacht to his duty than he was. the prince of wales and the duke of york have been so good to show a great concern for my loss, and recommended most strongly to the king of france my famyly. his majesty has been most extremely good and gracious to them. my son, that was captain in dillon's, has now the brevet of colonel reform'd with appointments of livres a-year; his sisters have livres a-year each of them, with his royal promis of his protection of the famyly for ever. the marquise de mezire, and her daughter the princess de monteban have been most extremely friendly to my famyly in this affair. i am, your majesty's most dutyfull subject, charlotte derwentwater. st. germains, february, ye th, . of the countess's two younger sons, one, james clement radcliffe, an officer in the french service, survived till , the other, who bore his father's name, charles, died in . three of her daughters died unmarried, but lady mary, the fourth, married francis eyre, esq., of walworth castle, northamptonshire. on the failure of the issue of three sons, in the title of newburgh passed into the family of eyre through the marriage of the above mary, and devolved upon francis eyre, the grandson of charlotte countess of newburgh, and of charles radcliffe, father of the present earl of newburgh. by the marriage of lady anne radcliffe, the only daughter of james, earl of derwentwater, in , to robert james, eighth baron petre, the present lord petre is the rightful representative of that attainted nobleman, being the third in direct descent from lady anne radcliffe, whose only brother, john,[ ] was killed accidentally abroad, having never been married.[ ] in concluding this account of the unfortunate charles radcliffe, a reflection naturally arises in the mind, how different would have been the spirit of administration in the present day to that which the government of that period displayed:--how great would have been the horror of shedding the blood of honourable and valiant men; how universal the sentiment of mournful commiseration; and how strong the conviction, that men, so true to an ill fated cause, would have been faithful to any engagements which required them to abandon their efforts in that cause; had clemency, but too imperfectly understood in those turbulent and merciless times, excited their gratitude, and for ever ensured their fidelity. footnotes: [ ] "genuine and impartial memoirs of the life and character of charles radcliffe, wrote by a gentleman of the family, (mr. eyre,) to prevent the public being imposed on by any erroneous or partial accounts, to the prejudice of this unfortunate gentleman." london, printed for the proprietor, and sold by e. cole, . [ ] hodgson's hist. of northumberland, vol. ii. p. , note. [ ] ibid. p. . [ ] fever. [ ] at thorndon, the seat of lord petre, in norfolk, are other original letters of lord derwentwater, referring to his wife. in most touching terms he thanks the mother of lady derwentwater for having "given her to him." this, and other interesting documents, are highly prized, and consequently carefully preserved by the ancient and noble family to whom they have descended. [ ] see life of lord derwentwater, vol. i. [ ] ibid. . [ ] secret history of the rebels in newgate, rd edition, london, . [ ] ibid. p. . [ ] secret history. [ ] state trials. [ ] for this anecdote, and also for a considerable portion of the materials of this memoir, i am indebted to the great kindness and intelligence of the hon. mrs. douglas, daughter of the present lord petre. [ ] wood's peerage. [ ] ms. letter. [ ] i must again refer to the information supplied by the hon. mrs. douglas. [ ] life of charles radcliffe, p. . [ ] letter to g. montagu, p. . [ ] state trials; quoted from the impartial history of the late charles radcliffe, written at the time. [ ] letter to sir h. mann, vol. ii. p. . [ ] a review of the reign of geo. ii. london. . [ ] douglas's peerage, edit. by wood. [ ] brown's hist. highlands, (stuart papers, appendix) page . [ ] in my first volume, i have stated that the earl of newburgh was the direct representative of james earl of derwentwater. (see p. , vol. i.) into this error i was betrayed by an obscure passage in burke's extinct peerage. i am indebted to the hon. mrs. douglass, to whom i have before expressed my obligations, for a correction of this mistake, and also for the copy of the pedigree in the appendix. this lady has also explained the reason why so many accounts have stated that the body of james earl of derwentwater was interred in st. giles's church-yard. his body was privately removed to dagenham park, in essex, a house his countess had hired in order to be near london. a report, meanwhile, was circulated by his friends that he had been buried in st. giles's; and, when no further danger of tumult was to be apprehended, the remains of the earl were deposited with his ancestors in the vaults of the chapel at dilstone. the mother of the present mr. howard, of corby castle, and sister of sir thomas neave, bart., has often related to her young relations, that when she and her sisters were children, they were afraid to pass at night along the gallery at dagenham, it being popularly supposed that lord derwentwater still walked there, carrying his head under his arm. this must have been, at least, seventy years after his death. [ ] see appendix, no. , also note. appendix no. i. this letter was addressed by the rev. joseph spence, author of "polymetus," and of "spence's anecdotes," and prebend of durham, to his father, who had forbidden him to enter into the society of the chevalier, at rome. the rev. joseph spence left this letter, with other mss. and books, to the late mrs. coltman, mother of samuel coltman, esq., of darley dale. it is not dated, but undoubtedly refers to the chevalier, james stuart. "sir, "about a month ago, mr. ---- and i being in search of some of the antiquities of your place, we became acquainted with an english gentleman, very knowing in this kind of learning, and who proved of great use to us; his name is dr. cooper, a priest of the church of england, whom we did not suspect to be of the pretender's retinue, but took him to be a curious traveller, which opinion created in me a great liking for his conversation. on easter eve, he made us the compliment, that as he supposed us bred in the profession of the said church, he thought it incumbent on him to invite us to divine service, next day being easter sunday. such language, at rome, appeared to me a jest. i stared at the doctor, who added that the pretender (whom he called king), had prevailed with the late pope, to grant licence for having divine service according to the rules of the church of england, performed in his palace, for the benefit of the protestant gentlemen of his suite, his domestics, and travellers; and that dr. berkley and himself were appointed for the discharge of this duty; and that prayers were read as ordinarily here as in london. i should have remained of st. thomas's belief, had i not been a witness that this is a matter of fact, and as such, have noted it down, as one of the greatest wonders of rome. this was the occasion of my first entrance into the pretender's house: i became acquainted with both the doctors, who are sensible, well-bred men. i put several questions to them about the pretender, and, if credit can be given them, they assure me he is a moral, upright man, being far from any sort of bigotry, and most averse to disputes and distinctions of religion, whereof not a word is admitted in his family. they described him in person very much to the resemblance of king charles ii., which they say he approaches more and more every day, with a great application to business, and a head well turned that way, having only some clerks, to whom he dictates such letters as he does not write with his own hand. in some days after, my friend and i went to take the evening air, in the stately park called villa ludovici, there we met, face to face, on a sudden, with the pretender, his princess, and court; we were so very close before we understood who they were, that we could not retreat with decency, common civility obliged us to stand side-ways in the alley, as others did, to let them pass by. the pretender was easily distinguished by his star and garter, as well as by his air of greatness, which discovered a majesty superior to the rest. i felt at that instant of his approach, a strange convulsion in body and mind, such as i never was sensible of before, whether aversion, awe, or respect occasioned it, i can't tell: i remarked his eyes fixed on me, which, i confess, i could not bear--i was perfectly stunned, and not aware of myself, when, pursuant to what the standers-by did, i made him a salute; he returned it with a smile, which changed the sedateness of his first aspect into a very graceful countenance; as he passed by i observed him to be a well-sized, clean-limbed man. i had but one glimpse of the princess, which left me a great desire of seeing her again; however, my friend and i turned off into another alley, to reason at leisure on our several observations: there we met dr. cooper, and, after making some turns with him, the same company came again in our way. i was grown somewhat bolder, and resolved to let them pass as before, in order to take a full view of the princess: she is of a middling stature, well-shaped, and has lovely features: wit, vivacity, and mildness of temper, are painted in her look. when they came to us, the pretender stood, and spoke a word to the doctor, then looking at us, he asked him whether we were english gentlemen; he asked us how long we had been in town, and whether we had any acquaintance in it, then told us he had a house, where english gentlemen would be very welcome. the princess, who stood by, addressing herself to the doctor in the prettiest english i think i ever heard, said, 'pray, doctor, if these gentlemen be lovers of music, invite them to my concert, to-night; i charge you with it;' which she accompanied with a salute in the most gracious manner. it was a very hard task, sir, to recede from the honour of such an invitation, given by a princess, who, although married to the pretender, deserves so much in regard to her person, her house, and family. however, we argued the case with the doctor, and represented the strict orders we had to the contrary; he replied, there would be no prohibition to a traveller against music, even at the ceremonies of the roman catholic church; that if we missed this occasion of seeing this assembly of the roman nobility, we might not recover it while we stayed in rome; and, that it became persons of our age and degree to act always the part of gentlemen, without regard to party humours. these arguments were more forcible than ours, so we went, and saw a bright assembly of the prime roman nobility, the concert composed of the best musicians of rome, a plentiful and orderly collation served; but the courteous and affable manner of our reception was more taking than all the rest. we had a general invitation given us whilst we stayed in town, and were desired to use the palace as our house, we were indispensably obliged to make a visit next day, in order to return thanks for so many civilities received;--those are things due to a turk. we were admitted without ceremony; the pretender entertained us on the subject of our families as knowingly as if he had been all his life in england: he told me some passages of myself and father, and of his being against the followers of king charles i. and ii., and added, "that if you, sir, had been of age before my grandfather's death, to learn his principles, there had been little danger of your taking party against the rights of a stuart." "he then observed how far the prejudices of education and wrong notions of infancy are apt to carry people from the paths of their ancestors: he discoursed as pertinently on several of our neighbouring families as i could do, upon which i told him i was surprised at his so perfect knowledge of our families in england; his answer was, that from his infancy he had made it his business to acquire the knowledge of the laws, customs, and families of his country, so that he might not be reported a stranger when the almighty pleased to call him thither. these and the like discourses held until word was brought that dinner was served; we endeavoured all we could to withdraw, but there was no possibility for it after he had made us this compliment, "i assure you, gentlemen, i shall never be for straining man's inclinations; however, our grandfathers, who were worthy people, dined, and i hope there can be no fault found that we do the same." there is every day a regular table of ten or twelve covers well served, unto which some of the qualified persons of his court, or travellers, are invited: it is supplied with english and french cooking, french and italian wines; but i took notice that the pretender eat only of the english dishes, and made his dinner of roast-beef, and what we call devonshire-pie: he also prefers our march beer, which he has from leghorn, to the best wines: at the dessert, he drinks his glass of champagne very heartily, and to do him justice, he is as free and cheerful at his table as any man i know; he spoke much in favour of our english ladies, and said he was persuaded he had not many enemies among them; then he carried a health to them. the princess with a smiling countenance took up the matter, and said, "i think then, sir, it would be but just that i drink to the cavaliers." sometime after, the pretender begun a health to the prosperity of all friends in england, which he addressed to me. i took the freedom to reply, that as i presumed he meant his own friends, he would not take it ill that i meant mine. "i assure you, sir," said he, "that the friends you mean can have no great share of prosperity till they become mine, therefore, here's prosperity to yours and mine." after we had eat and drank very heartily, the princess told us we must go see her son, which could not be refused; he is really a fine promising child, and is attended by english women, mostly protestants, which the princess observed to us, saying, that as she believed he was to live and die among protestants, she thought fit to have him brought up by their hands; and that in the country where she was born, there was no other distinction but that of honour and dishonour. these women, and particularly two londoners, kept such a racket about us to make us kiss the young pretender's hand that to get clear of them as soon as we could, we were forced to comply: the princess laughed very heartily, and told us that she did not question but the day would come that we should not be sorry to have made so early an acquaintance with her son. i thought myself under a necessity of making her the compliment, that being hers, he could not miss being good and happy. on the next post day, we went, as commonly the english gentlemen here do, to the pretender's house for news. he had received a great many letters, and after perusing them he told us that there was no great prospect of amendment in the affairs of england; that the secret committee and several other honest men were taking abundance of pains to find out the cause of the nation's destruction, which knowledge, when attained to, would avail only to give the more concern to the public without procuring relief; for that the authors would find means to be above the reach of the common course of justice: he bemoaned the misfortune of england groaning under a load of debts, and the severe hardships contracted and imposed to support foreign interests: he lamented the ill-treatment and disregard of the ancient nobility; and said it gave him great trouble to see the interest of the nation abandoned to the direction of a new set of people, who must at any rate enrich themselves by the spoil of their country: "some may imagine," continued he, "that these calamities are not displeasing to me, because they may, in some measure, turn to my advantage; i renounce all such unworthy thoughts.""[ ] footnote: [ ] the rest of the letter not being material, is omitted. no. ii.--the pedigree of the derwentwater family. (_see page ._) francis radcliffe, st earl of derwentwater; died ;===catherine fenwick. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+-+-+-+--------+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | francis, nd earl of derwentwater; === lady mary tudor; born ; four sons; four born ----; married ; died . | mar. three times; died . whose fates daughters. | are unknown. | +-------------------------------+---------+------------------------------------+ | | | | james, rd earl===anna maria francis; charles === charlotte, countess of mary === mr. derwentwater; | webb; no radcliffe;| newburgh, in her own tudor. | petre, beheaded ; | born ; issue. beheaded | right, the descendants | of aged . | mar. ; , | of her daughter in her | belhouse. | died . aged . | first husband, thomas | | | clifford, being born no surviving issue. | | aliens do not succeed. | | she died . +---------------+ | | | | john, died anne === robert james, | unmarried, radcliffe; | th lord petre; | about . born | born ; | mar. ; | mar. ; | died . | died . +-----------------------+-----------+ | | | | | james bartholomew,===miss james; mary; born===francis +----------------------+ th earl newburgh; | kemp. no issue; ----; mar. | eyre, of | born - ; mar. | died . ; died | hassop robert, th lord === anne howard; ; died . | . | petre; b. ; | born ; | | mar. ; | mar. ; +------------+ | died . | died . | | | anthony, === miss webb; | +---------------------------------+ th earl | now | | | newburgh; | living, | robert, th === mary howard; other b. ----; | . +----------------------------+ lord petre; | born ; issue. mar. --; | | | born ; | mar. ; died . | francis eyre,===miss gladwin. other mar. ; | died . | th earl | issue. died . | no issue. newburgh; | | born ; | +----------------------+ mar. ; | | | died . | william, th, and other | present, lord issue. +----------------------+------------------+-+-+ petre. | | | | | thomas eyre, th earl francis eyre, th, three newburgh; born ; and present, earl daughters. mar. ; died . newburgh. no issue. no. iii. the following address affords a curious specimen of the subtlety of lord lovat, and the mode usually adopted by him of cajoling his clan. it was copied by alexander macdonald, esq., from an old process, in which it was produced before the court of session, and it is preserved in the register house, edinburgh; the signature, date, and address are, holographs of lord lovat. the honourable the gentlemen of the name of fraser. my dear friends, since, by all appearances, this is the last time of my life i shall have occasion to write to you, i being now very ill of a dangerous fever, i do declare to you before god, before whom i must apear, and all of us at the great day of judgement, that i loved you all, i mean you and all the rest of my kindred and family who are for the standing of their chief and name; and, as i loved you, so i loved all my faithful commons in general more than i did my own life or health, or comfort, or satisfaction; and god to whom i must answer, knows that my greatest desire and the greatest happiness i proposed to myself under heaven was, to make you all live happy and make my poor commons flourish; and that it was my constant principle to think myself mutch hapier with a hundred pounds and see you all live well at your ease about mee than have ten thousand pounds a year, and see you in want or misery. i did faithfully desire and resolve to make up, and put at their ease allexander fraser of topatry, and james fraser of castle ladders and their familys; and whatever disputs might ever be betwixt them and me which our mutual hot temper occasioned, joyned with the malice and calomny of both our ennemies, i take god to witness, i loved those two brave men as i did my own life for their great zeal and fidelity they showed for their chief and kindred; i did likewise resolve to support the families of struy foyers and culdithels families, and to the lasting praise of culdithel and his familie. i never knew himself to sarwe from his faithfull zeal for his chief and kindred, nor none of his familie, for which i hope god will bless him and them and their posterity. i did likewise desyring to make my poor commons live at their ease and have them always well clothed and well armed after the highland maner, and not to suffer them to wear low country cloths, but make them live like their forefathers with the use of their arms, that they might always be in condition to defend themselves against their ennemies, and to do service to their friends, especially to the great duke of argile, and to his worthy brother the earl of illay, and to that glorious and noble famyly who were always our constant and faithful friends; and i conjure you and all honest frasers to be zealous and faithfull friends and servants to the family of argile and their friends, whilst a campbell and a fraser subsists. if it be god's will that for the punishment of my great and many sins and the sins of my kindred, i should now depart this life before i put these just and good resolutions in execution; yet i hope that god in his mercy will inspire you and all honest frasers to stand by and be faithfull to my cousin inverlahie and the other heirs male of my family, and to venture your lives and fortunes to put him or my nearest heirs male named in my testament written by john jacks, in the full possession of the estate and honours of my forefathers, which is the onely way to preserve you from the wicked designs of the family of tarbat and glengary joyned to the family of athol: and you may depend upon it, and you and your posterity will see it and find it, that if you do not keep stedfast to your chief, i mean the heir male of my famyly; but weakly or falsely for little private interest and views abandon your duty to your name, and suffer a pretended heiresse, and her mackenzie children to possess your country and the true right of the heirs male, they will certainly in les than an age chasse you all by slight and might, as well gentlemen, as commons, out of your native country, which will be possessed by the mackenzies and the mackdonalls, and you will be, like the miserable unnatural jews, scattered, and vagabonds throughout the unhappy kingdom of scotland, and the poor wifes and children that remains of the name, without a head or protection when they are told the traditions of their familie will be cursing from their hearts the persons and memory of those unnaturall cowardly knavish men, who sold and abandoned their chief, their name, their birthright, and their country, for a false and foolish present gain, even as the most of scots' people curs this day those who sold them and their country to the english by the fatal union, which i hope will not last long. i make my earnest and dying prayers to god almighty, that he may, in his mercy, thro the merits of christ jesus, save you and all my poor people, whom i always found honest and zealous to me and their duty, from that blindness of heart that will inevitably bring those ruins and disgraces upon you and your posterity; and i pray that almighty and mercifull god, who has often miraculously saved my family and name from utter ruin, may give you the spirit of courage, of zeal, and of fidelity, that you owe to your chief, to your name, to your selves, to your children, and to your country; and may the most mercifull, and adorable trinity, father, son and holy spirit, three persons, one god, save all your souls eternally, throu the blood of christ jesus, our blessed lord and saviour, to whom i heartily recommende you. i desire that this letter may be kept in a box, at beaufort, or maniack, and read once a-year by the heir male, or a principale gentleman of the name, to all honest frasers that will continue faithfull to the duty i have enjoined in this above-written letter, to whom, with you and all honest frasers, and my other friends, i leave my tender and affectionat blessing, and bid you my kind, and last farewell. lovat. london, the of aprile, . not being able to write myself, i did dictat the above letter to the little french boy, that's my servant. it contains the most sincere sentiments of my heart; and if it touch my kindred in reading of it, as it did me while i dictat it, i am sure it will have a good effect, which are my earnest prayers to god. iv. allusion having been made often, in the course of these memoirs, to the process of "serving oneself heir" to an estate, in scotland: the following document,[ ] shewing the form of such a process, may not be deemed uninteresting. claim for william maxwell, esq. of carruchan, who served heir-male in general of robert, fourth earl of nithisdale. "honourable persons and good men of inquest: i, william maxwell, of carruchan, who was son of captain maxwell of carruchan, who was son of alexander maxwell, of yark and terraughty, who was son of the honourable james maxwell, of breckonside, immediate younger brother of john, third earl of nithisdale, who was father of robert, fourth earl of nithisdale, say unto your wisdoms, that the said maxwell of nithisdale, nephews of my great-great-great-grandfather, died in the faith and peace of our sovereign lord the king then reigning, and that i am nearest and lawful heir male in general to the said robert, fourth earl of nithisdale, the nephew of my great-great-great-grandfather, and that i am of lawful age. therefore i beseech your wisdoms to serve and cognesce me nearest and lawful heir male in general to the said deceased robert, fourth earl of nithisdale, and cause your clerk of the court to return my service to your majesty's chancery. under my seal, "according to justice and your wisdom's answer, &c. &c." footnote: [ ] i am indebted for a copy of this process to sir john maxwell, bart. pollok. * * * * * transcriber's note: the following errors in the original have been corrected. contents page - page number for flora mcdonald changed from to page - no footnote marker for second footnote page - missing quotation mark added before (that is to say, page - missing quotation mark added after of the heather. vestiarum scoticum changed to vestiarium scoticum page - extra quotation mark removed from after retreat to the prince. page - extra quotation mark removed from after in a few days. page - missing quotation mark added before was pretty well filled page - charles had carefuly changed to charles had carefully page - missing quotation mark added about the same time page - missing quotation mark added after ( ), and before for my wife page - recal the slow changed to recall the slow page - missing quotation mark added after light from heaven. page - extra quotation mark removed from before the duke of perth marched page - roman carholic changed to roman catholic page - extra quotation mark removed from after antwerpiæ jacet. page - extra comma removed from after know who might page - missing quotation mark added after earls of kilmarnock. page - extra quotation mark removed from after linlithgow, and calendar; page - recal of arthur changed to recall of arthur page - removed unnecessary apostrophe from after giving their lordships page - missing quotation mark added before would as soon be hanged page - and exexempt changed to and exempt craufurland castle, kilmarnock changed to craufurdland castle, kilmarnock page - missing quotation mark added after receiving a remedy. page - inquired mr. forster, changed to inquired mr. foster, page - missing quotation mark added after lord balmerino's execution. page - missing quotation mark added before is one of antiquity page - missing quotation mark added before i now, with my page - missing quotation mark added before i put him in mind page - missing quotation mark added before his agreeable look page - missing quotation mark added after designs for london. adieu! page - missing volume number in footnote inserted. page - where at the highest changed to were at the highest page - willian pitt, esq. changed to william pitt, esq. page - was a a report changed to was a report page - missing quotation mark added before he then observed page - missing quotation mark added after such unworthy thoughts." a jacobite exile: being the adventures of a young englishman in the service of charles the twelfth of sweden by g. a. henty. contents preface. chapter : a spy in the household. chapter : denounced. chapter : a rescue. chapter : in sweden. chapter : narva. chapter : a prisoner. chapter : exchanged. chapter : the passage of the dwina. chapter : in warsaw. chapter : in evil plight. chapter : with brigands. chapter : treed by wolves. chapter : a rescued party. chapter : the battle of clissow. chapter : an old acquaintance. chapter : in england again. chapter : the north coach. chapter : a confession. preface. my dear lads, had i attempted to write you an account of the whole of the adventurous career of charles the twelfth of sweden, it would, in itself, have filled a bulky volume, to the exclusion of all other matter; and a youth, who fought at narva, would have been a middle-aged man at the death of that warlike monarch, before the walls of frederickshall. i have, therefore, been obliged to confine myself to the first three years of his reign, in which he crushed the army of russia at narva, and laid the then powerful republic of poland prostrate at his feet. in this way, only, could i obtain space for the private adventures and doings of charlie carstairs, the hero of the story. the details of the wars of charles the twelfth were taken from the military history, written at his command by his chamberlain, adlerfeld; from a similar narrative by a scotch gentleman in his service; and from voltaire's history. the latter is responsible for the statement that the trade of poland was almost entirely in the hands of scotch, french, and jewish merchants, the poles themselves being sharply divided into the two categories of nobles and peasants. yours sincerely, g. a. henty. chapter : a spy in the household. on the borders of lancashire and westmoreland, two centuries since, stood lynnwood, a picturesque mansion, still retaining something of the character of a fortified house. it was ever a matter of regret to its owner, sir marmaduke carstairs, that his grandfather had so modified its construction, by levelling one side of the quadrangle, and inserting large mullion windows in that portion inhabited by the family, that it was in no condition to stand a siege, in the time of the civil war. sir marmaduke was, at that time, only a child, but he still remembered how the roundhead soldiers had lorded it there, when his father was away fighting with the army of the king; how they had seated themselves at the board, and had ordered his mother about as if she had been a scullion, jeering her with cruel words as to what would have been the fate of her husband, if they had caught him there, until, though but eight years old, he had smitten one of the troopers, as he sat, with all his force. what had happened after that, he did not recollect, for it was not until a week after the roundheads had ridden away that he found himself in his bed, with his mother sitting beside him, and his head bandaged with cloths dipped in water. he always maintained that, had the house been fortified, it could have held out until help arrived, although, in later years, his father assured him that it was well it was not in a position to offer a defence. "we were away down south, marmaduke, and the roundheads were masters of this district, at the time. they would have battered the place around your mother's ears, and, likely as not, have burnt it to the ground. as it was, i came back here to find it whole and safe, except that the crop-eared scoundrels had, from pure wantonness, destroyed the pictures and hacked most of the furniture to pieces. i took no part in the later risings, seeing that they were hopeless, and therefore preserved my property, when many others were ruined. "no, marmaduke, it is just as well that the house was not fortified. i believe in fighting, when there is some chance, even a slight one, of success, but i regard it as an act of folly, to throw away a life when no good can come of it." still, sir marmaduke never ceased to regret that lynnwood was not one of the houses that had been defended, to the last, against the enemies of the king. at the restoration he went, for the first time in his life, to london, to pay his respects to charles the second. he was well received, and although he tired, in a very short time, of the gaieties of the court, he returned to lynnwood with his feelings of loyalty to the stuarts as strong as ever. he rejoiced heartily when the news came of the defeat of monmouth at sedgemoor, and was filled with rage and indignation when james weakly fled, and left his throne to be occupied by dutch william. from that time, he became a strong jacobite, and emptied his glass nightly "to the king over the water." in the north the jacobites were numerous, and at their gatherings treason was freely talked, while arms were prepared, and hidden away for the time when the lawful king should return to claim his own. sir marmaduke was deeply concerned in the plot of , when preparations had been made for a great jacobite rising throughout the country. nothing came of it, for the duke of berwick, who was to have led it, failed in getting the two parties who were concerned to come to an agreement. the jacobites were ready to rise, directly a french army landed. the french king, on the other hand, would not send an army until the jacobites had risen, and the matter therefore fell through, to sir marmaduke's indignation and grief. but he had no words strong enough to express his anger and disgust when he found that, side by side with the general scheme for a rising, a plot had been formed by sir george barclay, a scottish refugee, to assassinate the king, on his return from hunting in richmond forest. "it is enough to drive one to become a whig," he exclaimed. "i am ready to fight dutch william, for he occupies the place of my rightful sovereign, but i have no private feud with him, and, if i had, i would run any man through who ventured to propose to me a plot to assassinate him. such scoundrels as barclay would bring disgrace on the best cause in the world. had i heard as much as a whisper of it, i would have buckled on my sword, and ridden to london to warn the dutchman of his danger. however, as it seems that barclay had but some forty men with him, most of them foreign desperadoes, the dutchman must see that english gentlemen, however ready to fight against him fairly, would have no hand in so dastardly a plot as this. "look you, charlie, keep always in mind that you bear the name of our martyred king, and be ready ever to draw your sword in the cause of the stuarts, whether it be ten years hence, or forty, that their banner is hoisted again; but keep yourself free from all plots, except those that deal with fair and open warfare. have no faith whatever in politicians, who are ever ready to use the country gentry as an instrument for gaining their own ends. deal with your neighbours, but mistrust strangers, from whomsoever they may say they come." which advice charlie, at that time thirteen years old, gravely promised to follow. he had naturally inherited his father's sentiments, and believed the jacobite cause to be a sacred one. he had fought and vanquished alured dormay, his second cousin, and two years his senior, for speaking of king james' son as the pretender, and was ready, at any time, to do battle with any boy of his own age, in the same cause. alured's father, john dormay, had ridden over to lynnwood, to complain of the violence of which his son had been the victim, but he obtained no redress from sir marmaduke. "the boy is a chip of the old block, cousin, and he did right. i myself struck a blow at the king's enemies, when i was but eight years old, and got my skull well-nigh cracked for my pains. it is well that the lads were not four years older, for then, instead of taking to fisticuffs, their swords would have been out, and as my boy has, for the last four years, been exercised daily in the use of his weapon, it might happen that, instead of alured coming home with a black eye, and, as you say, a missing tooth, he might have been carried home with a sword thrust through his body. "it was, to my mind, entirely the fault of your son. i should have blamed charlie, had he called the king at westminster dutch william, for, although each man has a right to his own opinions, he has no right to offend those of others--besides, at present it is as well to keep a quiet tongue as to a matter that words cannot set right. in the same way, your son had no right to offend others by calling james stuart the pretender. "certainly, of the twelve boys who go over to learn what the rector of apsley can teach them, more than half are sons of gentlemen whose opinions are similar to my own. "it would be much better, john dormay, if, instead of complaining of my boy, you were to look somewhat to your own. i marked, the last time he came over here, that he was growing loutish in his manners, and that he bore himself with less respect to his elders than is seemly in a lad of that age. he needs curbing, and would carry himself all the better if, like charlie, he had an hour a day at sword exercise. i speak for the boy's good. it is true that you yourself, being a bitter whig, mix but little with your neighbours, who are for the most part the other way of thinking; but this may not go on for ever, and you would, i suppose, like alured, when he grows up, to mix with others of his rank in the county; and it would be well, therefore, that he should have the accomplishments and manners of young men of his own age." john dormay did not reply hastily--it was his policy to keep on good terms with his wife's cousin, for the knight was a man of far higher consideration, in the county, than himself. his smile, however, was not a pleasant one, as he rose and said: "my mission has hardly terminated as i expected, sir marmaduke. i came to complain, and i go away advised somewhat sharply." "tut, tut, man!" the knight said. "i speak only for the lad's good, and i am sure that you cannot but feel the truth of what i have said. what does alured want to make enemies for? it may be that it was only my son who openly resented his ill-timed remarks, but you may be sure that others were equally displeased, and maybe their resentment will last much longer than that which was quenched in a fair stand-up fight. certainly, there need be no malice between the boys. alured's defeat may even do him good, for he cannot but feel that it is somewhat disgraceful to be beaten by one nearly a head shorter than he." "there is, no doubt, something in what you say, sir marmaduke," john dormay said blandly, "and i will make it my business that, should the boys meet again as antagonists, alured shall be able to give a better account of himself." "he is a disagreeable fellow," sir marmaduke said to himself, as he watched john dormay ride slowly away through the park, "and, if it were not that he is husband to my cousin celia, i would have nought to do with him. she is my only kinswoman, and, were aught to happen to charlie, that lout, her son, would be the heir of lynnwood. i should never rest quiet in my grave, were a whig master here. "i would much rather that he had spoken wrathfully, when i straightly gave him my opinion of the boy, who is growing up an ill-conditioned cub. it would have been more honest. i hate to see a man smile, when i know that he would fain swear. i like my cousin celia, and i like her little daughter ciceley, who takes after her, and not after john dormay; but i would that the fellow lived on the other side of england. he is out of his place here, and, though men do not speak against him in my presence, knowing that he is a sort of kinsman, i have never heard one say a good word for him. "it is not only because he is a whig. there are other whig gentry in the neighbourhood, against whom i bear no ill will, and can meet at a social board in friendship. it would be hard if politics were to stand between neighbours. it is dormay's manner that is against him. if he were anyone but celia's husband, i would say that he is a smooth-faced knave, though i altogether lack proof of my words, beyond that he has added half a dozen farms to his estate, and, in each case, there were complaints that, although there was nothing contrary to the law, it was by sharp practice that he obtained possession, lending money freely in order to build houses and fences and drains, and then, directly a pinch came, demanding the return of his advance. "such ways may pass in a london usurer, but they don't do for us country folk; and each farm that he has taken has closed the doors of a dozen good houses to john dormay. i fear that celia has a bad time with him, though she is not one to complain. i let charlie go over to rockley, much oftener than i otherwise should do, for her sake and ciceley's, though i would rather, a hundred times, that they should come here. not that the visits are pleasant, when they do come, for i can see that celia is always in fear, lest i should ask her questions about her life at home; which is the last thing that i should think of doing, for no good ever comes of interference between man and wife, and, whatever i learned, i could not quarrel with john dormay without being altogether separated from celia and the girl. "i am heartily glad that charlie has given alured a sound thrashing. the boy is too modest. he only said a few words, last evening, about the affair, and i thought that only a blow or two had been exchanged. it was as much as i could do, not to rub my hands and chuckle, when his father told me all about it. however, i must speak gravely to charlie. if he takes it up, every time a whig speaks scornfully of the king, he will be always in hot water, and, were he a few years older, would become a marked man. we have got to bide our time, and, except among friends, it is best to keep a quiet tongue until that time comes." to sir marmaduke's disappointment, three more years went on without the position changing in any way. messengers went and came between france and the english jacobites, but no movement was made. the failure of the assassination plot had strengthened william's hold on the country, for englishmen love fair play and hate assassination, so that many who had, hitherto, been opponents of william of orange, now ranged themselves on his side, declaring they could no longer support a cause that used assassination as one of its weapons. more zealous jacobites, although they regretted the assassination plot, and were as vehement of their denunciations of its authors as were the whigs, remained staunch in their fidelity to "the king over the water," maintaining stoutly that his majesty knew nothing whatever of this foul plot, and that his cause was in no way affected by the misconduct of a few men, who happened to be among its adherents. at lynnwood things went on as usual. charlie continued his studies, in a somewhat desultory way, having but small affection for books; kept up his fencing lesson diligently and learned to dance; quarrelled occasionally with his cousin alured, spent a good deal of his time on horseback, and rode over, not unfrequently, to rockley, choosing, as far as possible, the days and hours when he knew that alured and his father were likely to be away. he went over partly for his own pleasure, but more in compliance with his father's wishes. "my cousin seldom comes over, herself," the latter said. "i know, right well, that it is from no slackness of her own, but that her husband likes not her intimacy here. it is well, then, that you should go over and see them, for it is only when you bring her that i see ciceley. i would she were your sister, lad, for she is a bright little maid, and would make the old house lively." therefore, once a week or so, charlie rode over early to rockley, which was some five miles distant, and brought back ciceley, cantering on her pony by his side, escorting her home again before nightfall. ciceley's mother wondered, sometimes, that her husband, who in most matters set his will in opposition to hers, never offered any objection to the girl's visits to lynnwood. she thought that, perhaps, he was pleased that there should be an intimacy between some member, at least, of his family, and sir marmaduke's. there were so few houses at which he or his were welcome, it was pleasant to him to be able to refer to the close friendship of his daughter with their cousins at lynnwood. beyond this, celia, who often, as she sat alone, turned the matter over in her mind, could see no reason he could have for permitting the intimacy. that he would permit it without some reason was, as her experience had taught her, out of the question. ciceley never troubled her head about the matter. her visits to lynnwood were very pleasant to her. she was two years younger than charlie carstairs; and although, when he had once brought her to the house, he considered that his duties were over until the hour arrived for her return, he was sometimes ready to play with her, escort her round the garden, or climb the trees for fruit or birds' eggs for her. such little courtesies she never received from alured, who was four years her senior, and who never interested himself in the slightest degree in her. he was now past eighteen, and was beginning to regard himself as a man, and had, to ciceley's satisfaction, gone a few weeks before, to london, to stay with an uncle who had a place at court, and was said to be much in the confidence of some of the whig lords. sir marmaduke was, about this time, more convinced than ever that, ere long, the heir of the stuarts would come over from france, with men, arms, and money, and would rally round him the jacobites of england and scotland. charlie saw but little of him, for he was frequently absent, from early morning until late at night, riding to visit friends in westmoreland and yorkshire, sometimes being away two or three days at a time. of an evening, there were meetings at lynnwood, and at these strangers, who arrived after nightfall, were often present. charlie was not admitted to any of these gatherings. "you will know all about it in time, lad," his father said. "you are too young to bother your head with politics, and you would lose patience in a very short time. i do myself, occasionally. many who are the foremost in talk, when there is no prospect of doing anything, draw back when the time approaches for action, and it is sickening to listen to the timorous objections and paltry arguments that are brought forward. here am i, a man of sixty, ready to risk life and fortune in the good cause, and there are many, not half my age, who speak with as much caution as if they were graybeards. still, lad, i have no doubt that the matter will straighten itself out, and come right in the end. it is always the most trying time, for timorous hearts, before the first shot of a battle is fired. once the engagement commences, there is no time for fear. the battle has to be fought out, and the best way to safety is to win a victory. i have not the least doubt that, as soon as it is known that the king has landed, there will be no more shilly-shallying or hesitation. every loyal man will mount his horse, and call out his tenants, and, in a few days, england will be in a blaze from end to end." charlie troubled himself but little with what was going on. his father had promised him that, when the time did come, he should ride by his side, and with that promise he was content to wait, knowing that, at present, his strength would be of but little avail, and that every week added somewhat to his weight and sinew. one day he was in the garden with ciceley. the weather was hot, and the girl was sitting, in a swing, under a shady tree, occasionally starting herself by a push with her foot on the ground, and then swaying gently backward and forward, until the swing was again at rest. charlie was seated on the ground, near her, pulling the ears of his favourite dog, and occasionally talking to her, when a servant came out, with a message that his father wanted to speak to him. "i expect i shall be back in a few minutes, ciceley, so don't you wander away till i come. it is too hot today to be hunting for you, all over the garden, as i did when you hid yourself last week." it was indeed but a short time until he returned. "my father only wanted to tell me that he is just starting for bristowe's, and, as it is over twenty miles away, he may not return until tomorrow." "i don't like that man's face who brought the message to you, charlie." "don't you?" the boy said carelessly. "i have not noticed him much. he has not been many months with us. "what are you thinking of?" he asked, a minute later, seeing that his cousin looked troubled. "i don't know that i ought to tell you, charlie. you know my father does not think the same way as yours about things." "i should rather think he doesn't," charlie laughed. "there is no secret about that, ciceley; but they don't quarrel over it. last time your father and mother came over here, i dined with them for the first time, and i noticed there was not a single word said about politics. they chatted over the crops, and the chances of a war in europe, and of the quarrel between holstein and denmark, and whether the young king of sweden would aid the duke, who seems to be threatened by saxony as well as by denmark. i did not know anything about it, and thought it was rather stupid; but my father and yours both seemed of one mind, and were as good friends as if they were in equal agreement on all other points. but what has that to do with nicholson, for that is the man's name who came out just now?" "it does not seem to have much to do with it," she said doubtfully, "and yet, perhaps it does. you know my mother is not quite of the same opinion as my father, although she never says so to him; but, when we are alone together, sometimes she shakes her head and says she fears that trouble is coming, and it makes her very unhappy. one day i was in the garden, and they were talking loudly in the dining room--at least, he was talking loudly. well, he said--but i don't know whether i ought to tell you, charlie." "certainly you ought not, ciceley. if you heard what you were not meant to hear, you ought never to say a word about it to anyone." "but it concerns you and sir marmaduke." "i cannot help that," he said stoutly. "people often say things of each other, in private, especially if they are out of temper, that they don't quite mean, and it would make terrible mischief if such things were repeated. whatever your father said, i do not want to hear it, and it would be very wrong of you to repeat it." "i am not going to repeat it, charlie. i only want to say that i do not think my father and yours are very friendly together, which is natural, when my father is all for king william, and your father for king james. he makes no secret of that, you know." charlie nodded. "that is right enough, ciceley, but still, i don't understand in the least what it has to do with the servant." "it has to do with it," she said pettishly, starting the swing afresh, and then relapsing into silence until it again came to a standstill. "i think you ought to know," she said suddenly. "you see, charlie, sir marmaduke is very kind to me, and i love him dearly, and so i do you, and i think you ought to know, although it may be nothing at all." "well, fire away then, ciceley. there is one thing you may be quite sure of, whatever you tell me, it is like telling a brother, and i shall never repeat it to anyone." "well, it is this. that man comes over sometimes to see my father. i have seen him pass my window, three or four times, and go in by the garden door into father's study. i did not know who he was, but it did seem funny his entering by that door, as if he did not want to be seen by anyone in the house. i did not think anything more about it, till i saw him just now, then i knew him directly. if i had seen him before, i should have told you at once, but i don't think i have." "i daresay not, ciceley. he does not wait at table, but is under the steward, and helps clean the silver. he waits when we have several friends to dinner. at other times he does not often come into the room. "what you tell me is certainly curious. what can he have to say to your father?" "i don't know, charlie. i don't know anything about it. i do think you ought to know." "yes, i think it is a good thing that i should know," charlie agreed thoughtfully. "i daresay it is all right, but, at any rate, i am glad you told me." "you won't tell your father?" she asked eagerly. "because, if you were to speak of it--" "i shall not tell him. you need not be afraid that what you have told me will come out. it is curious, and that is all, and i will look after the fellow a bit. don't think anything more about it. it is just the sort of thing it is well to know, but i expect there is no harm in it, one way or the other. of course, he must have known your father before he came to us, and may have business of some sort with him. he may have a brother, or some other relation, who wants to take one of your father's farms. indeed, there are a hundred things he might want to see him about. but still, i am glad you have told me." in his own mind, charlie thought much more seriously of it than he pretended. he knew that, at present, his father was engaged heart and soul in a projected jacobite rising. he knew that john dormay was a bitter whig. he believed that he had a grudge against his father, and the general opinion of him was that he was wholly unscrupulous. that he should, then, be in secret communication with a servant at lynnwood, struck him as a very serious matter, indeed. charlie was not yet sixteen, but his close companionship with his father had rendered him older than most lads of his age. he was as warm a jacobite as his father, but the manner in which william, with his dutch troops, had crushed the great jacobite rebellion in ireland, seemed to him a lesson that the prospects of success, in england, were much less certain than his father believed them to be. john dormay, as an adherent of william, would be interested in thwarting the proposed movement, with the satisfaction of, at the same time, bringing sir marmaduke into disgrace. charlie could hardly believe that his cousin would be guilty of setting a spy to watch his father, but it was certainly possible, and as he thought the matter over, as he rode back after escorting ciceley to her home, he resolved to keep a sharp watch over the doings of this man nicholson. "it would never do to tell my father what ciceley said. he would bundle the fellow out, neck and crop, and perhaps break some of his bones, and then it would be traced to her. she has not a happy home, as it is, and it would be far worse if her father knew that it was she who had put us on our guard. i must find out something myself, and then we can turn him out, without there being the least suspicion that ciceley is mixed up in it." the next evening several jacobite gentlemen rode in, and, as usual, had a long talk with sir marmaduke after supper. "if this fellow is a spy," charlie said to himself, "he will be wanting to hear what is said, and to do so he must either hide himself in the room, or listen at the door, or at one of the windows. it is not likely that he will get into the room, for to do that he must have hidden himself before supper began. i don't think he would dare to listen at the door, for anyone passing through the hall would catch him at it. it must be at one of the windows." the room was at an angle of the house. three windows looked out on to the lawn in front; that at the side into a large shrubbery, where the bushes grew up close to it; and charlie decided that here, if anywhere, the man would take up his post. as soon, then, as he knew that the servants were clearing away the supper, he took a heavy cudgel and went out. he walked straight away from the house, and then, when he knew that his figure could no longer be seen in the twilight, he made a circuit, and, entering the shrubbery, crept along close to the wall of the muse, until within two or three yards of the window. having made sure that at present, at any rate, no one was near, he moved out a step or two to look at the window. his suspicions were at once confirmed. the inside curtains were drawn, but the casement was open two or three inches. charlie again took up his post, behind a bush, and waited. in five minutes he heard a twig snap, and then a figure came along, noiselessly, and placed itself at the window. charlie gave him but a moment to listen, then he sprang forward, and, with his whole strength, brought his cudgel down upon the man's head. he fell like a stone. charlie threw open the window, and, as he did so, the curtain was torn back by his father, the sound of the blow and the fall having reached the ears of those within. sir marmaduke had drawn his sword, and was about to leap through the window, when charlie exclaimed: "it is i, father. i have caught a fellow listening at the window, and have just knocked him down." "well done, my boy! "bring lights, please, gentlemen. let us see what villain we have got here." but, as he spoke, charlie's head suddenly disappeared, and a sharp exclamation broke from him, as he felt his ankles grasped and his feet pulled from under him. he came down with such a crash that, for a moment, he was unable to rise. he heard a rustling in the bushes, and then his father leapt down beside him. "where are you, my boy? has the scoundrel hurt you?" "he has given me a shake," charlie said as he sat up; "and, what is worse, i am afraid he has got away." "follow me, gentlemen, and scatter through the gardens," sir marmaduke roared. "the villain has escaped!" for a few minutes, there was a hot pursuit through the shrubbery and gardens, but nothing was discovered. charlie had been so shaken that he was unable to join the pursuit, but, having got on to his feet, remained leaning against the wall until his father came back. "he has got away, charlie. have you any idea who he was?" "it was nicholson, father. at least, i am almost certain that it was him. it was too dark to see his face. i could see the outline of his head against the window, and he had on a cap with a cock's feather which i had noticed the man wore." "but how came you here, charlie?" "i will tell you that afterwards, father. don't ask me now." for, at this moment, some of the others were coming up. several of them had torches, and, as they approached, sir marmaduke saw something lying on the ground under the window. he picked it up. "here is the fellow's cap," he said. "you must have hit him a shrewd blow, charlie, for here is a clean cut through the cloth, and a patch of fresh blood on the white lining. how did he get you down, lad?" "he fell so suddenly, when i hit him, that i thought i had either killed or stunned him; but of course i had not, for it was but a moment after, when i was speaking to you, that i felt my ankles seized, and i went down with a crash. i heard him make off through the bushes; but i was, for the moment, almost dazed, and could do nothing to stop him." "was the window open when he came?" "yes, sir, two or three inches." "then it was evidently a planned thing. "well, gentlemen, we may as well go indoors. the fellow is well out of our reach now, and we may be pretty sure he will never again show his face here. fortunately he heard nothing, for the serving men had but just left the room, and we had not yet begun to talk." "that is true enough, sir marmaduke," one of the others said. "the question is: how long has this been going on?" sir marmaduke looked at charlie. "i know nothing about it, sir. till now, i have not had the slightest suspicion of this man. it occurred to me, this afternoon, that it might be possible for anyone to hear what was said inside the room, by listening at the windows; and that this shrubbery would form a very good shelter for an eavesdropper. so i thought, this evening i would take up my place here, to assure myself that there was no traitor in the household. i had been here but five minutes when the fellow stole quietly up, and placed his ear at the opening of the casement, and you may be sure that i gave him no time to listen to what was being said." "well, we had better go in," sir marmaduke said. "there is no fear of our being overheard this evening. "charlie, do you take old banks aside, and tell him what has happened, and then go with him to the room where that fellow slept, and make a thorough search of any clothes he may have left behind, and of the room itself. should you find any papers or documents, you will, of course, bring them down to me." but the closest search, by charlie and the old butler, produced no results. not a scrap of paper of any kind was found, and banks said that he knew the man could neither read nor write. the party below soon broke up, considerable uneasiness being felt, by all, at the incident of the evening. when the last of them had left, charlie was sent for. "now, then, charlie, let me hear how all this came about. i know that all you said about what took place at the window is perfectly true; but, even had you not said so, i should have felt there was something else. what was it brought you to that window? your story was straight-forward enough, but it was certainly singular your happening to be there, and i fancy some of our friends thought that you had gone round to listen, yourself. one hinted as much; but i said that was absurd, for you were completely in my confidence, and that, whatever peril and danger there might be in the enterprise, you would share them with me." "it is not pleasant that they should have thought so, father, but that is better than that the truth should be known. this is how it happened;" and he repeated what ciceley had told him in the garden. "so the worthy master john dormay has set a spy upon me," sir marmaduke said, bitterly. "i knew the man was a knave--that is public property--but i did not think that he was capable of this. well, i am glad that, at any rate, no suspicion can fall upon ciceley in the matter; but it is serious, lad, very serious. we do not know how long this fellow has been prying and listening, or how much he may have learnt. i don't think it can be much. we talked it over, and my friends all agreed with me that they do not remember those curtains having been drawn before. to begin with, the evenings are shortening fast, and, at our meeting last week, we finished our supper by daylight; and, had the curtains been drawn, it would have been noticed, for we had need of light before we finished. two of the gentlemen, who were sitting facing the window, declared that they remembered distinctly that it was open. mr. jervoise says that he thought to himself that, if it was his place, he would have the trees cut away there, for they shut out the light. "therefore, although it is uncomfortable to think that there has been a spy in the house, for some months, we have every reason to hope that our councils have not been overheard. were it otherwise, i should lose no time in making for the coast, and taking ship to france, to wait quietly there until the king comes over." "you have no documents, father, that the man could have found?" "none, charlie. we have doubtless made lists of those who could be relied upon, and of the number of men they could bring with them, but these have always been burned before we separated. such letters as i have had from france, i have always destroyed as soon as i have read them. perilous stuff of that sort should never be left about. no; they may ransack the place from top to bottom, and nothing will be found that could not be read aloud, without harm, in the marketplace of lancaster. "so now, to bed, charlie. it is long past your usual hour." chapter : denounced. "charlie," sir marmaduke said on the following morning, at breakfast, "it is quite possible that that villain who acted as spy, and that other villain who employed him--i need not mention names--may swear an information against me, and i may be arrested, on the charge of being concerned in a plot. i am not much afraid of it, if they do. the most they could say is that i was prepared to take up arms, if his majesty crossed from france; but, as there are thousands and thousands of men ready to do the same, they may fine me, perhaps, but i should say that is all. however, what i want to say to you is, keep out of the way, if they come. i shall make light of the affair, while you, being pretty hot tempered, might say things that would irritate them, while they could be of no assistance to me. therefore, i would rather that you were kept out of it, altogether. i shall want you here. in my absence, there must be somebody to look after things. "mind that rascal john dormay does not put his foot inside the house, while i am away. that fellow is playing some deep game, though i don't quite know what it is. i suppose he wants to win the goodwill of the authorities, by showing his activity and zeal; and, of course, he will imagine that no one has any idea that he has been in communication with this spy. we have got a hold over him, and, when i come back, i will have it out with him. he is not popular now, and, if it were known that he had been working against me, his wife's kinsman, behind my back, my friends about here would make the country too hot to hold him." "yes, father; but please do not let him guess that we have learnt it from ciceley. you see, that is the only way we know about it." "yes, you are right there. i will be careful that he shall not know the little maid has anything to do with it. but we will think of that, afterwards; maybe nothing will come of it, after all. but, if anything does, mind, my orders are that you keep away from the house, while they are in it. when you come back, banks will tell you what has happened. "you had better take your horse, and go for a ride now. not over there, charlie. i know, if you happened to meet that fellow, he would read in your face that you knew the part he had been playing, and, should nothing come of the business, i don't want him to know that, at present. the fellow can henceforth do us no harm, for we shall be on our guard against eavesdroppers; and, for the sake of cousin celia and the child, i do not want an open breach. i do not see the man often, myself, and i will take good care i don't put myself in the way of meeting him, for the present, at any rate. don't ride over there today." "very well, father. i will ride over and see harry jervoise. i promised him that i would come over one day this week." it was a ten-mile ride, and, as he entered the courtyard of mr. jervoise's fine old mansion, he leapt off his horse, and threw the reins over a post. a servant came out. "the master wishes to speak to you, master carstairs." "no ill news, i hope, charlie?" mr. jervoise asked anxiously, as the lad was shown into the room, where his host was standing beside the carved chimney piece. "no, sir, there is nothing new. my father thought that i had better be away today, in case any trouble should arise out of what took place yesterday, so i rode over to see harry. i promised to do so, one day this week." "that is right. does sir marmaduke think, then, that he will be arrested?" "i don't know that he expects it, sir, but he says that it is possible." "i do not see that they have anything to go upon, charlie. as we agreed last night, that spy never had any opportunity of overhearing us before, and, certainly, he can have heard nothing yesterday. the fellow can only say what many people know, or could know, if they liked; that half a dozen of sir marmaduke's friends rode over to take supper with him. they can make nothing out of that." "no, sir; and my father said that, at the worst, it could be but the matter of a fine." "quite so, lad; but i don't even see how it could amount to that. you will find harry somewhere about the house. he has said nothing to me about going out." harry jervoise was just the same age as charlie, and was his greatest friend. they were both enthusiastic in the cause of the stuarts, equally vehement in their expressions of contempt for the dutch king, equally anxious for the coming of him whom they regarded as their lawful monarch. they spent the morning together, as usual; went first to the stables and patted and talked to their horses; then they played at bowls on the lawn; after which, they had a bout of sword play; and, having thus let off some of their animal spirits, sat down and talked of the glorious times to come, when the king was to have his own again. late in the afternoon, charlie mounted his horse and rode for home. when within half a mile of the house, a man stepped out into the road in front of him. "hullo, banks, what is it? no bad news, i hope?" and he leapt from his horse, alarmed at the pallor of the old butler's face. "yes, master charles, i have some very bad news, and have been waiting for the last two hours here, so as to stop you going to the house." "why shouldn't i go to the house?" "because there are a dozen soldiers, and three or four constables there." "and my father?" "they have taken him away." "this is bad news, banks; but i know that he thought that it might be so. but it will not be very serious; it is only a question of a fine," he said. the butler shook his head, sadly. "it is worse than that, master charles. it is worse than you think." "well, tell me all about it, banks," charlie said, feeling much alarmed at the old man's manner. "well, sir, at three this afternoon, two magistrates, john cockshaw and william peters--" ("both bitter whigs," charlie put in.) "--rode up to the door. they had with them six constables, and twenty troopers." "there were enough of them, then," charlie said. "did they think my father was going to arm you all, and defend the place?" "i don't know, sir, but that is the number that came. the magistrates, and the constables, and four of the soldiers came into the house. sir marmaduke met them in the hall. "'to what do i owe the honour of this visit?' he said, quite cold and haughty. "'we have come, sir marmaduke carstairs, to arrest you, on the charge of being concerned in a treasonable plot against the king's life.' "sir marmaduke laughed out loud. "'i have no design on the life of william of orange, or of any other man,' he said. 'i do not pretend to love him; in that matter there are thousands in this realm with me; but, as for a design against his life, i should say, gentlemen, there are few who know me, even among men like yourselves, whose politics are opposed to mine, who would for a moment credit such a foul insinuation.' "'we have nothing to do with that matter, sir marmaduke,' john cockshaw said. 'we are acting upon a sworn information to that effect.' "sir marmaduke was angry, now. "'i can guess the name of the dog who signed it,' he said, 'and, kinsman though he is by marriage, i will force the lie down his throat.' "then he cooled down again. "'well, gentlemen, you have to do your duty. what do you desire next?' "'our duty is, next, to search the house, for any treasonable documents that may be concealed here.' "'search away, gentlemen,' sir marmaduke said, seating himself in one of the settles. 'the house is open to you. my butler, james banks, will go round with you, and will open for you any cupboard or chest that may be locked.' "the magistrates nodded to the four soldiers. two of them took their post near the chair, one at the outside door, and one at the other end of the room. sir marmaduke said nothing, but shrugged his shoulders, and then began to play with the ears of the little spaniel, fido, that had jumped up on his knees. "'we will first go into the study,' john cockshaw said; and i led them there. "they went straight to the cabinet with the pull-down desk, where sir marmaduke writes when he does write, which is not often. it was locked, and i went to sir marmaduke for the key. "'you will find it in that french vase on the mantel,' he said. 'i don't open the desk once in three months, and should lose the key, if i carried it with me.' "i went to the mantel, turned the vase over, and the key dropped out. "'sir marmaduke has nothing to hide, gentlemen,' i said, 'so, you see, he keeps the key here.' "i went to the cabinet, and put the key in. as i did so i said: "'look, gentlemen, someone has opened, or tried to open, this desk. here is a mark, as if a knife had been thrust in to shoot the bolt.' "they looked where i pointed, and william peters said to cockshaw, 'it is as the man says. someone has been trying to force the lock--one of the varlets, probably, who thought the knight might keep his money here.' "'it can be of no importance, one way or the other,' cockshaw said roughly. "'probably not, mr. cockshaw, but, at the same time i will make a note of it.' "i turned the key, and pulled down the door that makes a desk. they seemed to know all about it, for, without looking at the papers in the pigeonholes, they pulled open the lower drawer, and took two foreign-looking letters out from it. i will do them the justice to say that they both looked sorry, as they opened them, and looked at the writing. "'it is too true,' peters said. 'here is enough to hang a dozen men.' "they tumbled all the other papers into a sack, that one of the constables had brought with him. then they searched all the other furniture, but they evidently did not expect to find anything. then they went back into the hall. "'well, gentlemen,' sir marmaduke said, 'have you found anything of a terrible kind?' "'we have found, i regret to say,' john cockshaw said, 'the letters of which we were in search, in your private cabinet--letters that prove, beyond all doubt, that you are concerned in a plot similar to that discovered three years ago, to assassinate his majesty the king.' "sir marmaduke sprang to his feet. "'you have found letters of that kind in my cabinet?' he said, in a dazed sort of way. "the magistrate bowed, but did not speak. "'then, sir,' sir marmaduke exclaimed, 'you have found letters that i have never seen. you have found letters that must have been placed there by some scoundrel, who plotted my ruin. i assert to you, on the honour of a gentleman, that no such letters have ever met my eye, and that, if such a proposition had been made to me, i care not by whom, i would have struck to the ground the man who offered me such an insult.' "'we are sorry, sir marmaduke carstairs,' mr. peters said, 'most sorry, both of us, that it should have fallen to our duty to take so painful a proceeding against a neighbour; but, you see, the matter is beyond us. we have received a sworn information that you are engaged in such a plot. we are told that you are in the habit of locking up papers of importance in a certain cabinet, and there we find papers of a most damnatory kind. we most sincerely trust that you may be able to prove your innocence in the matter, but we have nothing to do but to take you with us, as a prisoner, to lancaster.' "sir marmaduke unbuckled his sword, and laid it by. he was quieter than i thought he could be, in such a strait, for he has always been by nature, as you know, choleric. "'i am ready, gentlemen,' he said. "peters whispered in cockshaw's ear. "'ah yes,' the other said, 'i had well-nigh forgotten,' and he turned to me. 'where is master charles carstairs?' "'he is not in the house,' i said. 'he rode away this morning, and did not tell me where he was going.' "'when do you expect him back?' "'i do not expect him at all,' i said. 'when master charles rides out to visit his friends, he sometimes stays away for a day or two.' "'is it supposed,' sir marmaduke asked coldly, 'that my son is also mixed up in this precious scheme?' "'it is sworn that he was privy to it,' john cockshaw said, 'and is, therefore, included in the orders for arrest.' "sir marmaduke did not speak, but he shut his lips tight, and his hand went to where the hilt of his sword would have been. two of the constables went out and questioned the grooms, and found that you had, as i said, ridden off. when they came back, there was some talk between the magistrates, and then, as i said, four constables and some soldiers were left in the house. sir marmaduke's horse was brought round, and he rode away, with the magistrates and the other soldiers." "i am quite sure, banks, that my father could have known nothing of those letters, or of any plot against william's life. i have heard him speak so often of the assassination plot, and how disgraceful it was, and how, apart from its wickedness, it had damaged the cause, that i am certain he would not have listened to a word about another such business." "i am sure of that, too," the old butler said; "but that is not the question, master charles. there are the papers. we know that sir marmaduke did not put them there, and that he did not know that they were there. but how is it to be proved, sir? everyone knows that sir marmaduke is a jacobite, and is regarded as the head of the party in this part of the country. he has enemies, and one of them, no doubt, has played this evil trick upon him, and the putting of your name in shows what the motive is." "but it is ridiculous, banks. who could believe that such a matter as this would be confided to a lad of my age?" "they might not believe it in their hearts, but people often believe what suits their interest. this accusation touches sir marmaduke's life; and his estate, even if his life were spared, would be confiscated. in such a case, it might be granted to anyone, and possibly even to the son of him they would call the traitor. but the accusation that the son was concerned, or was, at any rate, privy to the crime intended by the father, would set all against him, and public opinion would approve of the estates passing away from him altogether. "but now, sir, what do you think you had best do?" "of course i shall go on, banks, and let them take me to join my father in lancaster jail. do you think i would run away?" "no, sir, i don't think you would run away. i am sure you would not run away from fear, but i would not let them lay hands on me, until i had thought the matter well over. you might be able to do more good to sir marmaduke were you free, than you could do if you were caged up with him. he has enemies, we know, who are doing their best to ruin him, and, as you see, they are anxious that you, too, should be shut up within four walls." "you are right, banks. at any rate, i will ride back and consult mr. jervoise. besides, he ought to be warned, for he, too, may be arrested on the same charge. how did you get away without being noticed?" "i said that i felt ill--and i was not speaking falsely--at sir marmaduke's arrest, and would lie down. they are keeping a sharp lookout at the stables, and have a soldier at each door, to see that no one leaves the house, but i went out by that old passage that comes out among the ruins of the monastery." "i know, banks. my father showed it to me, three years ago." "i shall go back that way again, sir, and no one will know that i have left the house. you know the trick of the sliding panel, master charles?" "yes, i know it, and if i should want to come into the house again, i will come that way, banks." "here is a purse," the butler said. "you may want money, sir. should you want more, there is a store hidden away, in the hiding place under the floor of the priest's chamber, at the other end of the passage. do you know that?" "i know the priest's chamber of course, because you go through that to get to the long passage, but i don't know of any special hiding place there." "doubtless, sir marmaduke did not think it necessary to show it you then, sir, but he would have done it later on, so i do not consider that i am breaking my oath of secrecy in telling you. you know the little narrow loophole in the corner?" "yes, of course. there is no other that gives light to the room. it is hidden from view outside by the ivy." "well, sir, you count four bricks below that, and you press hard on the next, that is the fifth, then you will hear a click, then you press hard with your heel at the corner, in the angle of the flag below, and you will find the other corner rise. then you get hold of it and lift it up, and below there is a stone chamber, two feet long and about eighteen inches wide and deep. it was made to conceal papers in the old days, and i believe food was always kept there, in case the chamber had to be used in haste. "sir marmaduke uses it as a store place for his money. he has laid by a good deal every year, knowing that money would be wanted when troops had to be raised. i was with him about three weeks ago, when he put in there half the rents that had been paid in. so, if you want money for any purpose, you will know where to find it." "thank you, banks. it may be very useful to have such a store, now." "where shall i send to you, sir, if i have any news that it is urgent you should know of?" "send to mr. jervoise, banks. if i am not there, he will know where i am to be found." "i will send will ticehurst, master charles. he is a stout lad, and a shrewd one, and i know there is nothing that he would not do for you. but you had best stop no longer. should they find out that i am not in the house, they will guess that i have come to warn you, and may send out a party to search." charlie at once mounted, and rode back to mr. jervoise's. "i expected you back," that gentleman said, as he entered. "bad news travels apace, and, an hour since, a man brought in the news that sir marmaduke had been seen riding, evidently a prisoner, surrounded by soldiers, on the road towards lancaster. so that villain we chased last night must have learnt something. i suppose they will be here tomorrow, but i do not see what serious charge they can have against us. we have neither collected arms, nor taken any steps towards a rising. we have talked over what we might do, if there were a landing made from france, but, as there may be no landing, that is a very vague charge." "unfortunately, that is not the charge against my father. it is a much more serious business." and charlie repeated the substance of what banks had told him, interrupted occasionally by indignant ejaculations from mr. jervoise. "it is an infamous plot," he said, when the lad had concluded his story. "infamous! there was never a word said of such a scheme, and no one who knows your father would believe it for an instant." "yes, sir, but the judges, who do not know him, may believe it. no doubt those who put those papers there, will bring forward evidence to back it up." "i am afraid that will be the case. it is serious for us all," mr. jervoise said thoughtfully. "that man will be prepared to swear that he heard the plot discussed by us all. they seized your father, today, as being the principal and most important of those concerned in it, but we may all find ourselves in the same case tomorrow. i must think it over. "it is well that your man warned you. you had best not stay here tonight, for the house may be surrounded at daybreak. harry shall go over, with you, to one of my tenants, and you can both sleep there. it will not be necessary for you to leave for another two or three hours. you had better go to him now; supper will be served in half an hour. i will talk with you again, afterwards." harry was waiting outside the door, having also heard the news of sir marmaduke's arrest. "it is villainous!" he exclaimed, when he heard the whole story. "no doubt you are right, and that john dormay is at the bottom of it all. the villain ought to be slain." "he deserves it, harry; and, if i thought it would do good, i would gladly fight him, but i fear that it would do harm. such a scoundrel must needs be a coward, and he might call for aid, and i might be dragged off to lancaster. moreover, he is ciceley's father, and my cousin celia's husband, and, were i to kill him, it would separate me altogether from them. however, i shall in all things be guided by your father. he will know what best ought to be done. "it is likely that he, too, may be arrested. this is evidently a deep plot, and your father thinks that, although the papers alone may not be sufficient to convict my father, the spy we had in our house will be ready to swear that he heard your father, and mine, and the others, making arrangements for the murder of william of orange; and their own word to the contrary would count but little against such evidence, backed by those papers." they talked together for half an hour, and were then summoned to supper. nothing was said, upon the subject, until the servitors had retired, and the meal was cleared away. mr. jervoise was, like sir marmaduke, a widower. "i have been thinking it all over," he said, when they were alone. "i have determined to ride, at once, to consult some of my friends, and to warn them of what has taken place. that is clearly my duty. i shall not return until i learn whether warrants are out for my apprehension. of course, the evidence is not so strong against me as it is against sir marmaduke; still, the spy's evidence would tell as much against me as against him. "you will go up, harry, with your friend, to pincot's farm. it lies so far in the hills that it would probably be one of the last to be searched, and, if a very sharp lookout is kept there, a body of men riding up the valley would be seen over a mile away, and there would be plenty of time to take to the hills. there charlie had better remain, until he hears from me. "you can return here, harry, in the morning, for there is no probability whatever of your being included in any warrant of arrest. it could only relate to us, who were in the habit of meeting at sir marmaduke's. you will ride over to the farm each day, and tell charlie any news you may have learnt, or take any message i may send you for him. "we must do nothing hastily. the first thing to learn, if possible, is whether any of us are included in the charge of being concerned in a plot against william's life. in the next place, who are the witnesses, and what evidence they intend to give. no doubt the most important is the man who was placed as a spy at sir marmaduke's." "as i know his face, sir," charlie said eagerly, "could i not find him, and either force him to acknowledge that it is all false, or else kill him? i should be in my right in doing that, surely, since he is trying to swear away my father's life by false evidence." "i should say nothing against that, lad. if ever a fellow deserved killing he does; that is, next to his rascally employer. but his death would harm rather than benefit us. it would be assumed, of course, that we had removed him to prevent his giving evidence against us. no doubt his depositions have been taken down, and they would then be assumed to be true, and we should be worse off than if he could be confronted with us, face to face, in the court. we must let the matter rest, at present." "would it be possible to get my father out of prison, sir? i am sure i can get a dozen men, from among the tenants and grooms, who would gladly risk their lives for him." "lancaster jail is a very strong place," mr. jervoise said, "and i fear there is no possibility of rescuing him from it. of course, at present we cannot say where the trial will take place. a commission may be sent down, to hold a special assizes at lancaster, or the trial may take place in london. at any rate, nothing whatever can be done, until we know more. i have means of learning what takes place at lancaster, for we have friends there, as well as at most other places. when i hear from them the exact nature of the charge, the evidence that will be given, and the names of those accused of being mixed up in this pretended plot, i shall be better able to say what is to be done. "now, i must mount and ride without further delay. i have to visit all our friends who met at lynnwood, and it will take me until tomorrow morning to see and confer with them." a few minutes after mr. jervoise had ridden off, his son and charlie also mounted. a man went with them, with a supply of torches, for, although harry knew the road--which was little better than a sheep track--well enough during the day, his father thought he might find it difficult, if not impossible, to follow it on a dark night. they congratulated themselves upon the precaution taken, before they had gone very far, for there was no moon, the sky was overcast, and a drizzling rain had begun to come down. they could hardly see their horses' heads, and had proceeded but a short distance, when it became necessary for their guide to light a torch. it took them, therefore, over two hours to reach the mountain farm. they were expected, otherwise the household would have been asleep. mr. jervoise had, as soon as he determined upon their going there, sent off a man on horseback, who, riding fast, had arrived before night set in. there was, therefore, a great turf fire glowing on the hearth when they arrived, and a hearty welcome awaiting them from the farmer, his wife, and daughters. harry had, by his father's advice, brought two changes of clothes in a valise, but they were so completely soaked to the skin that they decided they would, after drinking a horn of hot-spiced ale that had been prepared for them, go at once to bed, where, in spite of the stirring events of the day, both went off to sleep, as soon as their heads touched the pillows. the sun was shining brightly, when they woke. the mists had cleared off, although they still hung round the head of ingleborough, six miles away, and on some of the other hilltops. the change of weather had an inspiriting effect, and they went down to breakfast in a brighter and more hopeful frame of mind. as soon as the meal was over, harry started for home. "i hope it won't be long before i can see you again, harry," charlie said, as he stood by the horse. "i hope not, indeed; but there is no saying. my father's orders are that i am to stay at home, if people come and take possession, and send a man off to you with the news privately, but that, if no one comes, i may myself bring you over any news there is; so i may be back here this afternoon." "i shall be looking out for you, harry. remember, it will be horribly dull for me up here, wondering and fretting as to what is going on." "i know, charlie; and you shall hear, as soon as i get the smallest scrap of news. if i were you, i would go for a good walk among the hills. it will be much better for you than moping here. at any rate, you are not likely to get any news for some hours to come." charlie took the advice, and started among the hills, not returning until the midday meal was ready. before he had finished his dinner there was a tap at the door, and then a young fellow, whom he knew to be employed in mr. jervoise's stables, looked in. charlie sprang to his feet. "what's the news?" he asked. "master harry bade me tell you, sir, that a magistrate, and four constables, and ten soldier men came today, at nine o'clock. he had returned but a half-hour when they rode up. they had an order for the arrest of mr. jervoise, and have been searching the house, high and low, for papers. no one is allowed to leave the place, but master harry came out to the stables and gave me his orders, and i did not find much difficulty in slipping out without their noticing me. mr. harry said that he had no news of mr. jervoise, nor any other news, save what i have told you. he bade me return at once as, later on, he may want to send me again. i was to be most careful that no one should see me when i got back, and, if i was caught, i was on no account to say where i had been to." the farmer insisted upon the young fellow sitting down at the table, and taking some food, before he started to go back. he required no pressing, but, as soon as his hunger was satisfied, he started again at a brisk run, which he kept up as long as charlie's eye could follow him down the valley. although the boy by no means wished mr. jervoise to be involved in his father's trouble, charlie could not help feeling a certain amount of pleasure at the news. he thought it certain that, if his father escaped, he would have to leave the country, and that he would, in that case, take him as companion in his flight. if mr. jervoise and harry also left the country, it would be vastly more pleasant for both his father and himself. where they would go to, or what they would do, he had no idea, but it seemed to him that exile among strangers would be bearable, if he had his friend with him. it would not last many years, for surely the often talked-of landing could not be very much longer delayed; then they would return, share in the triumph of the stuart cause, and resume their life at lynnwood, and reckon with those who had brought this foul charge against them. that the jacobite cause could fail to triumph was a contingency to which charlie did not give even a thought. he had been taught that it was a just and holy cause. all his school friends, as well as the gentlemen who visited his father, were firm adherents of it, and he believed that the same sentiments must everywhere prevail. there was, then, nothing but the troops of william to reckon with, and these could hardly oppose a rising of the english people, backed by aid from france. it was not until after dark that the messenger returned. "master harry bade me tell you, sir, that a gipsy boy he had never seen before has brought him a little note from his father. he will not return at present, but, if mr. harry can manage to slip away unnoticed in the afternoon, tomorrow, he is to come here. he is not to come direct, but to make a circuit, lest he should be watched and followed, and it may be that the master will meet him here." charlie was very glad to hear this. harry could, of course, give him little news of what was going on outside the house, but mr. jervoise might be able to tell him something about his father, especially as he had said he had means of learning what went on in lancaster jail. he was longing to be doing something. it seemed intolerable to him that he should be wandering aimlessly among the hills, while his father was lying in lancaster, with a charge affecting his life hanging over him. what he could do he knew not, but anything would be better than doing nothing. mr. jervoise had seemed to think that it was out of the question to attempt a rescue from lancaster; but surely, if he could get together forty or fifty determined fellows, a sudden assault upon the place might be successful. then he set to work reckoning up the grooms, the younger tenants, and the sons of the older ones, and jotted down the names of twenty-seven who he thought might join in the attempt. "if harry could get twenty-three from his people, that would make it up to the number," he said. "of course, i don't know what the difficulties to be encountered may be. i have ridden there with my father, and i know that the castle is a strong one, but i did not notice it very particularly. the first thing to do will be to go and examine it closely. no doubt ladders will be required, but we could make rope ladders, and take them into the town in a cart, hidden under faggots, or something of that sort. "i do hope mr. jervoise will come tomorrow. it is horrible waiting here in suspense." the next morning, the hours seemed endless. half a dozen times he went restlessly in and out, walking a little distance up the hill rising from the valley, and returning again, with the vain idea that mr. jervoise might have arrived. still more slowly did the time appear to go, after dinner. he was getting into a fever of impatience and anxiety, when, about five o'clock, he saw a figure coming down the hillside from the right. it was too far away to recognize with certainty, but, by the rapid pace at which he descended the hill, he had little doubt that it was harry, and he at once started, at the top of his speed, to meet him. the doubt was soon changed into a certainty. when, a few hundred yards up the hill, he met his friend, both were almost breathless. harry was the first to gasp out: "has my father arrived?" "not yet." harry threw himself down on the short grass, with an exclamation of thankfulness. "i have run nearly every foot of the way," he said, as soon as he got his breath a little. "i had awful difficulty in getting out. one of the constables kept in the same room with me, and followed me wherever i went. they evidently thought i might hear from my father, or try to send him a message. at last, i got desperate, and ran upstairs to that room next mine, and closed and locked the door after me. you know the ivy grows high up the wall there, and directly i got in, i threw open the casement and climbed down by it. it gave way two or three times, and i thought i was gone, but i stuck to it, and managed each time to get a fresh hold. the moment i was down, i ran along by the foot of the wall until i got round behind, made a dash into that clump of fir trees, crawled along in a ditch till i thought i was safe, and then made a run for it. i was so afraid of being followed that i have been at least three miles round, but i don't mind, now that my father hasn't arrived. i was in such a fright that he might come and go before i got here." chapter : a rescue. the two lads walked slowly down the hill together. harry had heard no more than charlie had done, of what was going on. the messenger from his father was a young fellow, of seventeen or eighteen, with a gipsy face and appearance. how he had managed to elude the vigilance of the men on watch, harry did not know. he, himself, had only learnt his presence when, as he passed some bushes in the garden, a sharp whisper made him stop, and a moment later a hand was thrust through the foliage. he took the little note held out, and caught sight of the lad's face, through the leaves, as he leant forward and said: "go on, sir, without stopping. they may be watching you." harry had thrust the note into his pocket, and sauntered on for some time. he then returned to the house, and there read the letter, with whose contents charlie was already acquainted. eagerly, they talked over what each had been thinking of since they had parted, early on the previous day; and discussed charlie's idea of an attack on lancaster jail. "i don't know whether i could get as many men as you say, charlie. i don't think i could. if my father were in prison, as well as yours, i am sure that most of the young fellows on the estate would gladly help to rescue him, but it would be a different thing when it came to risking their lives for anyone else. of course i don't know, but it does not seem to me that fifty men would be of any use, at all, towards taking lancaster castle. it always seemed to me a tremendously strong place." "yes, it does look so, harry; but perhaps, on examining it closely, one would find that it is not so strong as it looks, by a long way. it seems to me there must be some way or other of getting father out, and, if there seems even the least bit of a chance, i shall try it." "and you may be sure i will stand by you, charlie, whatever it is," harry said heartily. "we have been just like brothers, and, of course, brothers ought to stick to each other like anything. if they don't, what is the use of being brothers? i daresay we shall know more, when we hear what my father has to say; and then we may see our way better." "thank you, harry. i knew you would stick by me. of course, i don't want to do any mad sort of thing. there is no hurry, anyhow, and, as you say, when we know more about it, we may be able to hit upon some sort of plan." it was not until eight o'clock that mr. jervoise arrived. he looked grievously tired and worn out, but he spoke cheerfully as he came in. "i have had a busy two days of it, boys, as you may guess. i have no particularly good news to tell you, but, on the other hand, i have no bad news. i was in time to warn all our friends, and when the soldiers came for them in the morning, it was only to find that their nests were empty. "they have been searching the houses of all sir marmaduke's tenants, charlie, and questioning man, woman, and child as to whether they have seen you. "ah! here is supper, and i am nearly famished. however, i can go on talking while i eat. i should have been here sooner, but i have been waiting for the return of the messenger i sent to lancaster. "yesterday morning there was an examination of your father, charlie, or rather, an examination of the testimony against him. first the two letters that were discovered were put in. without having got them word for word, my informer was able to give me the substance of them. both were unsigned, and professed to have been written in france. the first is dated three months back. it alludes to a conversation that somebody is supposed to have had with sir marmaduke, and states that the agent who had visited him, and who is spoken of as mr. h, had assured them that your father was perfectly ready to join, in any well-conceived design for putting a stop to the sufferings that afflicted the country, through the wars into which the foreign intruder had plunged it, even though the plan entailed the removal of the usurper. the writer assured sir marmaduke of the satisfaction that such an agreement on his part had caused at saint germains, and had heightened the high esteem in which sir marmaduke was held, for his long fidelity to the cause of his majesty. it then went on to state that a plan had been already formed, and that several gentlemen in the south were deeply pledged to carry it out, but that it was thought specially advisable that some from the north should also take part in it, as, from their persons being unknown near the court, they could act with more surety and safety. they would, therefore, be glad if he would take counsel, with the friends he had mentioned, as to what might seem to them the best course of proceeding. there was no occasion for any great haste and, indeed, some weeks must elapse before the blow was struck, in order that preparations should be made, in france, for taking instant advantage of it. "the rest of the letter was to the same purpose, but was really a repetition of it. the second letter was dated some time later, and was, as before, an answer to one the knight was supposed to have written. it highly approved of the suggestions therein made; that sir marmaduke and his friends should travel, separately and at a few days' interval, to london, and should take lodgings there in different parts of the town, and await the signal to assemble, near richmond, when it was known that the king would go hunting there. it said that special note had been made of the offer of sir marmaduke's son, to mingle among the king's attendants and to fire the first shot, as, in the confusion, he would be able to escape and, being but a boy, as he said, none would be able to recognize him afterwards. "in the event, of course, of the first shot failing, the rest of the party, gathered in a body, would rush forward, despatch the usurper, cut their way, sword in hand, through any who barred their path to the point where their horses were concealed, and then at once scatter in various directions. for this great service, his majesty would not fail to evince the deepest gratitude, upon his restoration to his rightful throne, and pledged his royal word that each of the party should receive rank and dignity, together with ample estates, from the lands of which the chief supporters of the usurper would be deprived. "so you see, charlie, you were to have the honour of playing the chief part in this tragedy." "honour indeed!" charlie exclaimed passionately. "dishonour, sir. was there ever so infamous a plot!" "it is a well-laid plot, charlie, and does credit to the scoundrel who planned it. you see, he made certain that sir marmaduke would be attainted, and his estates forfeited, but there existed just a possibility that, as you are but a boy, though a good big one, it might be thought that, as you were innocent of the business, a portion at least of the estate might be handed to you. to prevent this, it was necessary that you also should be mixed up in the affair." "has john dormay appeared in the matter so far, mr. jervoise?" "not openly, charlie. my informant knows that there have been two or three meetings of whig magistrates, with closed doors, and that at these he has been present, and he has no doubt, whatever, that it is he who has set the ball rolling. still, there is no proof of this, and he did not appear yesterday. the man who did appear was the rascal who tried to overhear us the other night. he stated that he had been instigated by a gentleman of great loyalty--here one of the magistrates broke in, and said no name must be mentioned--to enter the household of sir marmaduke, a gentleman who, as he believed, was trafficking with the king's enemies. he had agreed to do this, in spite of the danger of such employment, moved thereto not so much by the hope of a reward as from his great loyalty to his majesty, and a desire to avert from him his great danger from popish plots. having succeeded in entering sir marmaduke's service, he soon discovered that six gentlemen, to wit, myself and five friends, were in the habit of meeting at lynnwood, where they had long and secret talks. knowing the deep enmity and hostility these men bore towards his gracious majesty, he determined to run any hazard, even to the loss of his life, to learn the purport of such gatherings, and did, therefore, conceal himself, on one occasion behind the hangings of a window, and on another listened at an open casement, and did hear much conversation regarding the best manner in which the taking of the king's life could be accomplished. this, it was agreed, should be done in the forest at richmond, where all should lie in wait, the said sir marmaduke carstairs undertaking that he and his son would, in the first place, fire with pistol or musquetoon, and that, only if they should fail, the rest should charge forward on horse, overthrow the king's companions, and despatch him, mr. william jervoise undertaking the management of this part of the enterprise. no date was settled for this wicked business, it being, however, agreed that all should journey separately to london, and take up their lodging there under feigned names; lying hid until they heard from a friend at court, whose name was not mentioned, a day on which the king would hunt at richmond. he further testified that, making another attempt to overhear the conspirators in order that he might gather fuller details as to the manner of the plot, he was seen by master charles carstairs, who, taking him by surprise, grievously assaulted him, and that he and the others would have slain him, had he not overthrown master carstairs and effected his escape before the others, rushing out sword in hand, had time to assail him. "during his stay at lynnwood he had, several times, watched at the window of the room where sir marmaduke carstairs sits when alone, and where he writes his letters and transacts business, and that he observed him, more than once, peruse attentively papers that seemed to be of importance, for, after reading them, he would lay them down and walk, as if disturbed or doubtful in mind, up and down the room; and these papers he placed, when he had done with them, in the bottom drawer of a desk in his cabinet, the said desk being always carefully locked by him. "that is all that i learnt from lancaster, save that instructions have been given that no pains should be spared to secure the persons of those engaged in the plot, and that a special watch was to be set at the northern ports, lest they should, finding their guilt discovered, try to escape from the kingdom. so you see that your good father, sir marmaduke, is in a state of sore peril, and that the rest of us, including yourself, will be in a like strait if they can lay hands on us." "but it is all false!" charlie exclaimed. "it is a lie from beginning to end." "that is so, but we cannot prove it. the matter is so cunningly laid, i see no way to pick a hole in it. we are jacobites, and as such long regarded as objects of suspicion by the whig magistrates and others. there have been other plots against william's life, in which men of seeming reputation have been concerned. this man's story will be confirmed by the man who set him on, and by other hidden papers, if necessary. as to the discovery of the documents, we may know well enough that the fellow himself put them there, but we have no manner of proof of it. it is evident that there is nothing for us but to leave the country, and to await the time when the king shall have his own again. my other friends, who were with me this afternoon when the news came from lancaster, all agreed that it would be throwing away our lives to stay here. we all have money by us, for each has, for years, laid by something for the time when money will be required to aid the king on his arrival. "having agreed to take this course, we drew up a document, which we all signed, and which will be sent in when we have got clear away. in it we declare that being informed that accusations of being concerned in a plot against the life of william of orange have been brought against us, we declare solemnly before god that we, and also sir marmaduke carstairs and his son, are wholly innocent of the charge, and that, although we do not hesitate to declare that we consider the title of the said william to be king of this realm to be wholly unfounded and without reason, and should therefore take up arms openly against it on behalf of our sovereign did occasion offer, yet that we hold assassination in abhorrence, and that the crime with which we are charged is as hateful in our sight as in that of any whig gentleman. as, however, we are charged, as we learn, by evilly disposed and wicked persons, of this design, and have no means of proving our innocence, we are forced to leave the realm until such time shall arrive when we can rely on a fair trial, when our reputation and honour will weigh against the word of suborned perjurers and knaves. "we were not forgetful of your father's case, and we debated long as to whether our remaining here could do him service. we even discussed the possibility of raising a force, and attacking lancaster castle. we agreed, however, that this would be nothing short of madness. the country is wholly unprepared at present. the whigs are on the alert, and such an attempt would cost the lives of most of those concerned in it. besides, we are all sure that sir marmaduke would be the first to object to numbers of persons risking their lives in an attempt which, even if, for the moment, successful, must bring ruin upon all concerned in it. nor do we see that, were we to remain and to stand in the dock beside him, it would aid him. our word would count for no more than would this protest and denial that we have signed together. a prisoner's plea of not guilty has but a feather's weight against sworn evidence. "at the same time, charlie, i do not intend to leave the country until i am sure that nothing can be done. as force is out of the question, i have advised the others to lose not an hour in trying to escape and, by this time, they are all on the road. two are making for bristol, one for southampton, and two for london. it would be too dangerous to attempt to escape by one of the northern ports. but, though force cannot succeed, we may be able to effect your father's escape by other means, and it is for this purpose that i am determined to stay, and i shall do so until all hope is gone. alone you could effect nothing; but i, knowing who are our secret friends, may be able to use them to advantage. "we will stay here tonight, but tomorrow we must change our quarters, for the search will be a close one. during the day we will go far up over the hills, but tomorrow night we will make for lancaster. i have warned friends there to expect us, and it is the last place where they would think of searching for us." "you will take me with you, too, father?" harry exclaimed eagerly; while charlie expressed his gratitude to mr. jervoise, for thus determining to risk his own life in the endeavour to effect the escape of sir marmaduke. "yes, i intend to take you with me, harry. they will pretend, of course, that, in spite of our assertions of innocence, our flight is a confession of guilt, and you may be sure that we shall be condemned in our absence, and our estates declared confiscated, and bestowed upon some of william's minions. there will be no place for you here. "my own plans are laid. as you know, your mother came from the other side of the border, and a cousin of hers, with whom i am well acquainted, has gone over to sweden, and holds a commission in the army that the young king is raising to withstand russia and saxony; for both are thinking of taking goodly slices of his domains. i could not sit down quietly in exile, and, being but forty, i am not too old for service, and shall take a commission if i can obtain it. there are many scottish jacobites who, having fled rather than acknowledge dutch william as their king, have taken service in sweden, where their fathers fought under the great gustavus adolphus; and, even if i cannot myself take service, it may be that i shall be able to obtain a commission for you. you are nearly sixteen, and there are many officers no older. "should evil befall your father, charlie, which i earnestly hope will not be the case, i shall regard you as my son, and shall do the same for you as for harry. "and now, i will to rest, for i have scarce slept the last two nights, and we must be in the saddle long before daybreak." the little bedroom, that charlie had used the two previous nights, was given up to mr. jervoise; while harry and charlie slept on some sheep skins, in front of the kitchen fire. two hours before daybreak they mounted and, guided by the farmer, rode to a shepherd's hut far up among the hills. late in the afternoon, a boy came up from the farm, with the news that the place had been searched by a party of troopers. they had ridden away without discovering that the fugitives had been at the farm, but four of the party had been left, in case mr. jervoise should come there. the farmer, therefore, warned them against coming back that way, as had been intended, naming another place where he would meet them. as soon as the sun was setting they mounted and, accompanied by the shepherd on a rough pony, started for lancaster. after riding for three hours, they stopped at a lonely farm house, at which mr. jervoise and his friends had held their meeting on the previous day. here they changed their clothes for others that had been sent for their use from lancaster. mr. jervoise was attired as a small trader, and the lads in garb suitable to boys in the same rank of life. they still, however, retained their swords, and the pistols in their holsters. three miles farther they met their host, as arranged, at some crossroads, and rode on until within three miles of lancaster. they then dismounted, placed their pistols in their belts, and handed their horses to the two men, who would take them back to the hut in the hills, where they would remain until required. it was two o'clock in the morning when they entered lancaster and, going up to a small house, standing in a garden in the outskirts of the town, mr. jervoise gave three low knocks in quick succession. the door was opened almost immediately. no light was shown, and they entered in the dark, but as soon as the door was closed behind them, a woman came out with a candle from an inner room. "i am glad to see you safe, mr. jervoise," a man said. "my wife and i were beginning to be anxious, fearing that you might have fallen into the hands of your enemies." "no, all has gone well, herries; but it is a long ride from the hills here, and we walked the last three miles, as we wanted to get the horses back again before daylight. we are deeply grateful to you for giving us shelter." "i would be ready to do more than that," the man said, "for the sake of the good cause. my wife's father and mine both fell at naseby, and we are as loyal to the stuarts as they were. you are heartily welcome, sir, and, as we keep no servant, there will be none to gossip. you can either remain in the house, in which case none will know of your presence here; or, if you wish to go abroad in the town, i will accompany you, and will introduce you to any acquaintance i may meet as a cousin of my wife who, with his two sons, has come over from preston to pay us a visit. i don't think that anyone would know you, in that attire." "i will run no more risks than are necessary, herries. those i wish to see will visit me here, and, if i go out at all, it will not be until after dark." for a fortnight they remained at the house. after dark each day, a man paid mr. jervoise a visit. he was the magistrates' clerk, and had an apartment in the castle. from him they learned that a messenger had been despatched to london, with an account of the evidence taken in sir marmaduke's case; and that, at the end of twelve days, he had returned with orders that all prisoners and witnesses were to be sent to town, where they would be examined, in the first place, by his majesty's council; and where sir marmaduke's trial for high treason would take place. they were to be escorted by a party of twelve troopers, under the command of a lieutenant. the fugitives had, before, learned that the search for mr. jervoise had been given up; it being supposed that he, with his son and young carstairs had, with their accomplices, all ridden for the coast at the first alarm, and had probably taken ship for france before the orders had arrived that all outgoing vessels should be searched. harry and charlie had both been away for two or three days, and had been occupied in getting together ten young fellows, from the two estates, who would be willing and ready to attempt to rescue sir marmaduke from his captors' hands. they were able to judge, with tolerable accuracy, when the messenger would return from london and, two days previously, the men had been directed to ride, singly and by different roads, and to put up at various small inns in manchester, each giving out that he was a farmer in from the country, either to purchase supplies, or to meet with a customer likely to buy some cattle he wished to dispose of. charlie had paid a visit to lynnwood, and had gone by the long passage into the priest's chamber, and had carried off the gold hidden there. as soon as it was known that the messenger had returned, herries had borrowed a horse, and had ridden with a note to the farmer, telling him to go up to the hills and bring the horses down, with one of his own, to the place where he had parted from them, when they entered lancaster. there he was met by mr. jervoise and the lads and, mounting, they started with the spare horse for blackburn, choosing that line in preference to the road through preston, as there were troops stationed at the latter town. the next day they rode on to manchester. they went round, that evening, to the various inns where the men had put up, and directed them to discover whether, as was probable, the escort was to arrive that night. if so, they were to mount at daybreak, and assemble where the road crossed the moor, three miles north of chapel le frith, where they would find mr. jervoise awaiting them. at nine o'clock that evening the troop rode in and, at daybreak, mr. jervoise and the boys started. two of the men were already at the spot indicated, and, half an hour later, the whole of them had arrived. mr. jervoise led them back to a spot that he had selected, where the road dipped into a deep valley, in which, sheltered from the winds, was a small wood. leaving one at the edge, to give warning directly the escort appeared on the road over the brow, he told the rest to dismount. most of them were armed with pistols. all had swords. "do you," he said, "who are good shots with your pistols, fire at the men when i give the word--let the rest aim at the horses. the moment you have opened fire, dash forward and fall on them. we are already as numerous as they are, and we ought to be able to dismount or disable four or five of them, with our first fire. i shall give the order as sir marmaduke arrives opposite me. probably the officer will be riding. i shall make the officer my special mark, for it may be that he has orders to shoot the prisoner, if any rescue is attempted. "i don't suppose they will be at all prepared for an attack. they were vigilant, no doubt, for the first two days but, once out of lancashire, they will think that there is no longer any fear of an attempt at rescue. pursue those that escape for half a mile or so, and then draw rein, and, as soon as they are out of sight, strike due north across the fells. keep to the east of glossop, and then make your way singly to your homes. it will be better for you to travel up through yorkshire, till you are north of ingleborough, so as to come down from the north to your farms. "i know that you have all engaged in this affair for love of sir marmaduke or myself, and because you hate to see a loyal gentleman made the victim of lying knaves; but when we come back with the king, you may be sure that sir marmaduke and i will well reward the services you have rendered." it was an hour before the man on the lookout warned them that the troop had just appeared over the hill. they mounted now, and, pistol in hand, awaited the arrival of the party. two troopers came first, trotting carelessly along, laughing and smoking. a hundred yards behind came the main body, four troopers first, then the lieutenant and sir marmaduke, followed by the other six troopers. with outstretched arm, and pistol pointed through the undergrowth, mr. jervoise waited till the officer, who was riding on his side of the road, came abreast of him. he had already told the boys that he intended to aim at his shoulder. "they are the enemies of the king," he said, "but i cannot, in cold blood, shoot down a man with whom i have no cause for quarrel. i can depend upon my aim, and he will not be twelve paces from the muzzle of my pistol." he fired. the officer gave a sudden start, and reeled on his horse, and, before he could recover himself, the band, who had fired at the flash of the first pistol, dashed out through the bushes and fell upon the troopers. four men had dropped, one horse had fallen, and two others were plunging wildly as, with a shout, their assailants dashed upon them. all who could turn their horse's head rode furiously off, some along the road forward, others back towards manchester. the lieutenant's horse had rolled over with him, as that of mr. jervoise struck it on the shoulder, with the full impetus of its spring. "it is all over, sir marmaduke, and you are a free man. we have nothing to do now but to ride for it." and, before the knight had fairly recovered from his astonishment, he found himself riding south across the moor, with his son on one side of him, and mr. jervoise and harry on the other. "you have saved my life, jervoise," he said, holding out his hand to his friend. "they had got me so firmly in their clutches, that i thought my chances were at an end. "how are you, charlie? i am right glad to see you, safe and sound, for they had managed to include you in their pretended plot, and, for aught i knew, you had been all this time lying in a cell next mine in lancaster castle. "but who are the good fellows who helped you?" mr. jervoise briefly gave an account of the affair. "they are only keeping up a sham pursuit of the soldiers, so as to send them well on their way. i told them not to overtake them, as there was no occasion for any further bloodshed, when you were once out of their hands. by tomorrow morning they will all be at work on their farms again, and, if they keep their own counsel, need not fear." suddenly sir marmaduke reined in his horse. "we are riding south," he said. "certainly we are," mr. jervoise said. "why not? that is our only chance of safety. they will, in the first place, suspect us of having doubled back to the hills, and will search every farmhouse and cottage. our only hope of escape is to ride either for bristol, or one of the southern ports." "i must go back," sir marmaduke said doggedly. "i must kill that scoundrel john dormay, before i do anything else. it is he who has wound this precious skein, in order to entrap us, expecting, the scoundrel, to have my estates bestowed on him as a reward." "it were madness to ride back now, sir marmaduke. it would cost you your life, and you would leave charlie here fatherless, and with but little chance of ever regaining the estate. you have but to wait for a time, and everything will right itself. as soon as the king comes to his own, your estates will be restored, and then i would not seek to stay your hand, if you sought vengeance upon this cunning knave." "besides, father," charlie put in, "much as he deserves any punishment you can give him, you would not kill cousin celia's husband and ciceley's father. when the truth is all made known, his punishment will be bitter enough, for no honest man would offer him a hand, or sit down to a meal with him. "ciceley has been as a young sister to me, and her mother has ever been as kind as if she had been my aunt. i would not see them grieved, even if that rogue came off scot free from punishment; but, at any rate, father, i pray you to let it pass at present. this time we have happily got you out of the clutches of the whigs, but, if you fell into them again, you may be sure they would never give us another chance." sir marmaduke still sat irresolute, and charlie went on: "besides, father, mr. jervoise has risked his life in lingering in lancashire to save you, and the brave fellows who aided us to rescue you have risked theirs, both in the fray and afterwards, if their share in it should ever be known; and it would not be fair to risk failure, after all they have done. i pray you, father, be guided by the opinion of your good friend, mr. jervoise." sir marmaduke touched his horse's flank with his heel. "you have prevailed, charlie. your last argument decided me. i have no right to risk my life, after my good friends have done so much to save me. john dormay may enjoy his triumph for a while, but a day of reckoning will surely come. "now, tell me of the others, jervoise. have all escaped in safety?" "all. your boy brought me the news of your arrest, and that we were charged with plotting william's assassination. i rode that night with the news, and next day all were on the road to the coast, and were happily on board and away before the news of their escape could be sent to the ports." "and now, what are your plans, jervoise--that is, if you have any plans, beyond reaching a port and taking ship for france?" "i am going to sweden," mr. jervoise said, and then repeated the reasons that he had given charlie for taking this step. "i am too old for the wars," sir marmaduke said. "i was sixty last birthday, and though i am still strong and active, and could strike a shrewd blow in case of need, i am too old for the fatigues and hardships of campaigning. i could not hope, at my age, to obtain a commission in the swedish service." "no, i did not think of your joining the army, sir marmaduke, though i warrant you would do as well as most; but i thought that you might take up your residence at stockholm, as well as at saint germains. you will find many scottish gentlemen there, and not a few jacobites who, like yourself, have been forced to fly. besides, both the life and air would suit you better than at saint germains, where, by all accounts the life is a gay one, and men come to think more of pleasure than of duty. moreover, your money will go much further in sweden than in france." sir marmaduke, checking the horse's speed, said, "i have not so much as a penny in my pocket, and methinks i am like to have some trouble in getting at the hoard i have been collecting, ever since dutch william came to the throne, for the benefit of his majesty when he arrives." "you will have no trouble in getting at that, father," charlie said laughing, "seeing that you have nothing to do but to lean over, and put your hand into my holsters, which are so full, as you see, that i am forced to carry my pistols in my belt." "what mean you, lad?" "i mean, father, that i have the whole of the hoard, that was stowed away in the priest's hiding place;" and he then related how banks had revealed to him the secret of the hiding place, and how he had, the night before sir marmaduke was removed from lancaster castle, visited the place and carried away the money. "i could not see banks," he said, "but i left a few words on a scrap of paper, saying that it was i who had taken the money. otherwise he would have been in a terrible taking, when he discovered that it was gone." "that is right good news, indeed, lad. for twelve years i have set aside half my rents, so that in those bags in your holsters there are six years' income, and the interest of that money, laid out in good mortgages, will suffice amply for my wants in a country like sweden, where life is simple and living cheap. the money itself shall remain untouched, for your use, should our hopes fail and the estates be lost for all time. that is indeed a weight off my mind. "and you are, i hope, in equally good case, jervoise, for if not, you know that i would gladly share with you?" "i am in very good case, sir marmaduke, though i none the less thank you for your offer. i too have, as you know, put aside half my income. my estates are not so large as those of lynnwood. their acreage may be as large, but a good deal of it is mountain land, worth but little. my fund, therefore, is not as large as yours, but it amounts to a good round sum; and as i hope, either in the army or in some other way, to earn an income for myself, it is ample. i shall be sorry to divert it from the use for which i intended it, but that cannot now be helped. i have had the pleasure, year by year, of putting it by for the king's use, and, now that circumstances have changed, it will be equally useful to myself." "do you know this country well, jervoise?" "personally i know nothing about it, save that the sun tells me that, at present, i am travelling south, sir marmaduke. but, for the last few days i have been so closely studying a map, that i know the name of every town and village on the various routes." "and whither think you of going?" "to london or southampton. strangers are far less noticed in large towns than in small, and we could hardly hope to find a ship, bound for sweden, in any of the dorset or devon ports." chapter : in sweden. after much discussion, the party agreed that it would be best to make for southampton. the road thither was less frequented than that leading to london, and there were fewer towns to be passed, and less chance of interruption. mr. jervoise had brought with him a valise and suit of clothes for sir marmaduke, of sober cut and fashion. they avoided all large towns and, at the places where they put up, represented themselves as traders travelling from the midlands to the southern coast, and they arrived at southampton without having excited the smallest suspicion. indeed, throughout the journey, they had heard no word of the affray near chapel le frith, and knew, therefore, that the news had not travelled as fast as they had. at southampton, however, they had scarcely put up at an inn when the landlord said: "i suppose, gentlemen, they are talking of nothing else, in london, but the rescue of a desperate jacobite by his friends. the news only reached here yesterday." "it has occasioned a good deal of scare," mr. jervoise replied. "i suppose there is no word of the arrest of the man, or his accomplices? we have travelled but slowly, and the news may have passed us on the way." "not as yet," the landlord replied. "they say that all the northern and eastern ports are watched, and they make sure of catching him, if he presents himself there. the general opinion is that he will, for a time, go into hiding with his friends, in the hills of cumberland or westmoreland, or perhaps on the yorkshire moors; but they are sure to catch him sooner or later." "it is a bad business altogether," mr. jervoise said, "and we can only hope that all guilty persons will in time get the punishment they so well deserve. how can trade be carried on, if the country is to be disturbed by plots, and conspiracies?" "how, indeed?" the landlord repeated heartily. "i do not meddle in politics, being content to earn my living by my business, and to receive all who can pay their reckoning, without caring a jot whether they be whigs or tories." the next morning mr. jervoise and sir marmaduke went down to the port, leaving the lads to wander about the town at their pleasure, as two persons were likely to attract less attention than four. they found that there were two vessels in port, loading with munitions of war for sweden, and that one of them would sail shortly. they at once went on board her, and saw the captain. "do you carry any passengers?" "none have applied so far," the captain said; "but, if they were to offer, i should not say no to them." "we want to take passage for sweden," mr. jervoise said. "the king of that country is, as they say, fitting out an army. clothes are as necessary for troops as swords and guns, and we think we could obtain a contract for these goods. there is no hope of doing so, unless we ourselves go over, and, though sorely loath to do so, for neither of us have ever before set foot on board a ship, we determined on making the journey, together with our two clerks, for whom we will take passage at the same rate as for ourselves, seeing that they are both related to us." "have you any goods with you?" "we shall take over but a bale or two of cloth, as samples of the goods we can supply; but, beyond that, we have but little luggage, seeing that our stay may be a very short one." there was a little haggling for terms, as the two gentlemen did not wish to appear eager to go; but the matter was finally settled to the satisfaction of both parties. on their return to the inn, mr. jervoise took the host aside. "we have business connected with our trade in cloth in sweden, where we hope to obtain a large contract. the matter may occupy us a week, or a month or two for aught we know, and we do not want our horses to be eating their heads off, here, while we are away. besides, we may be able, on our return, to take a passage to one of the devonshire ports, which would suit us much better. but we should not be able to do so, if there were need for returning here for our horses. therefore, we would fain dispose of them, and, if you can find us a purchaser by tomorrow night, we will pay you a fair commission on the money we receive." "i doubt not that i can do that readily enough," the landlord said. "three of them are fine animals, fit for any gentleman's riding. the other is a stout hackney. trust me, i will get the best price i can for them." the next day he came up to their room. "i have had a good offer for the horses," he said. "two gentlemen, who arrived yesterday from france, and are staying at the inn of a friend of mine, are requiring horses for themselves and their servants, and i have promised my friend a slice of my commission, if he will bring them round hither. will you name your price for them?" "no, i would rather not," mr. jervoise said cautiously. "if we asked too high a figure, we might frighten the purchasers away. if we should ask too little, we should be the losers. i daresay they have named, to your friend, the price they are willing to give. you had better ask from them a good bit above that, then you can come down little by little, and maybe, seeing the horses are really good ones, they may advance a bit. i am not used to a horse deal, and will leave it to you to make the bargain. we are sorry to part with the animals, but they might die on the voyage, or get so injured as to be worthless; and, moreover, we shall have no use for them there. therefore, as we must sell, we are ready to take the best terms we can get." when they returned to the inn, after an absence of two hours, they found that the landlord had sold the horses, for a sum nearly approaching their value, the gentlemen being as anxious to purchase them as they were to sell. the next day, they bought three or four rolls of west country cloth, and a supply of clothes suitable to their condition, together with trunks for their carriage. all these were sent down to the ship, in the course of the afternoon, and they themselves embarked late in the evening, as she was to set sail at daybreak. the lads, accustomed to spacious and airy rooms, were quite taken aback at the small and stuffy cabin allotted to their joint use, and slept but badly, for the loading of the ship continued by torchlight, until within an hour of the time of their departure. after tossing about for some hours in their narrow beds, they were glad to go on deck, and to plunge their heads into a pail of water, and were then, after combing their long hair, able to take an interest in what was passing round them. the sailors were busy; stowing away the cargo last received, tidying the decks, and coiling down the ropes. there were but few persons on the quay, for those who had been engaged in loading the cargo had gone off to bed, as soon as the last bale was on board. in half an hour the sailors began to hoist the sails, the hawsers were thrown off, and, with a gentle wind blowing aft, the ship glided along past the shore, being helped by the tide, which had begun to ebb half an hour before. the lads were greatly interested in watching the well-wooded slope on the left, with the stately ruins of tintern abbey rising above the trees. then they passed the round fort, at the water's edge, on their right, and issued out from southampton water into the broad sheet between the island and the mainland. it was dotted with sails; fishing craft and coasters for the most part, but with some larger ships bound from the east to southampton, and others that had come in through the solent. this was very entertaining to the boys, and they were still more pleased when they saw the fortifications of portsmouth, with cannon pointing seaward, and with many vessels riding in the strait by the side of the town. "that fort would give the french or the dutch a hot reception, were they at any time to think to capture the dockyard and shipping," sir marmaduke said. "the dutch have already captured the place, and that without shedding a drop of blood," mr. jervoise remarked. "'that is true enough," the knight said, stamping his foot angrily on the deck, "but what has been won so easily may be lost as quickly. i have seen several changes since i can first remember, and i hope i may live to see another. however, we need not talk of that now." "no, indeed," mr. jervoise agreed. "it may be, sir marmaduke, that it would be better if we had talked and thought less of it, during the last twelve years; better for ourselves, and for these lads. we might still have been ready to join his majesty as soon as he landed, but as, till then, we could do nothing, it seems to me now that it would have been wiser had we gone about our business without worrying our heads, to say nothing of risking them, about a matter that may not take place during our lives; as we know, well enough, the king of france uses the stuarts only for his own convenience, and at heart cares nothing for them or their cause. it is convenient to have the means of creating trouble here, and of so weakening william; and it may be that, some day or other, it may suit him to send over an army here to fight william, with the aid of the stuarts' friends, instead of fighting him in holland or elsewhere. but whether he may think fit to do so in one year, or in twenty years hence, who can say? it is a question solely of military policy. "the stuarts are simply used, by the french king, to pull english chestnuts out of the fire. i would that they had established themselves anywhere rather than in france. it does them harm with vast numbers who would otherwise be their friends, at any rate in england. in scotland it is otherwise, for scotland has always been in alliance with france; but in england it is different. france has always been the national foe; and, had not charles and james proved themselves so subservient to louis, william of orange would never have been crowned king. there are vast numbers in england who would rather see a stuart than a dutchman on the throne, but who will never strike a blow to replace them there, and that because they will come over backed up by french bayonets. "well, let us talk of something else. if the time ever comes to act, we shall be ready, but till then we can let the matter sleep, the more so as we have a new life before us, and plenty of other things to occupy our thoughts." "what is it, father," harry asked, "that the swedes and danes are going to fight about?" "it is a difficult question, harry; but there can be little doubt that denmark is in the wrong. the king of sweden died in april, . his death was unfortunate, for the powers contending in europe had all agreed to refer their quarrels to his mediation. at his death, denmark endeavoured to obtain the honour, but failed; and by the mediation, chiefly, of the swedish regency, peace was concluded between france, england, and holland, in the autumn of that year; and, shortly afterwards, the struggle between the german emperor, france, and spain was also concluded, but not at all to the satisfaction of the swedish mediators. "while sweden was occupied in this matter of the pacification of europe, the king of denmark thought to take advantage of the fact that charles of sweden was but a minor, to press frederick, duke of holstein, who was in close alliance with him. "there had long been serious differences between the rulers of denmark and holstein, both of whom were branches of the oldenburg family, and this in reference to the duchy of schleswig. the quarrel had arisen from the act of christian the third, of denmark, who decreed that the descendants of his brother adolphus should govern holstein, jointly with the king of denmark, and that holstein and schleswig should belong to them in common, neither making any change in holstein without the consent of the other a more foolish arrangement could not have been conceived, for anyone might have foreseen that it would lead to disputes and troubles. in fact, quarrels continually arose, until, at the peace of rosahild, in , the duchy was adjudged to denmark. "holstein, however, never acquiesced in this, and in there was war, when, holstein being defeated, the danes imprisoned its duke, christian albertus, until he signed a renunciation of all his rights. "his troops were disarmed, and all his towns and fortresses garrisoned by danish troops. on his release, the duke went to hamburg, where he remained till, at the peace of fontainebleau, four years later, he was replaced in possession of his estates and rights of sovereignty. "but this did not last long. new troubles arose, but sweden, england, and holland interested themselves in favour of the duke, and a peace was concluded in , by which he was confirmed in the rights given him, ten years before, with full liberty to raise a certain number of troops, and of building fortresses, on the condition that he should raise none to the prejudice of denmark. "this was another of those stipulations which inevitably lead to trouble, for it afforded to denmark a pretext for continual complaint and interference. when frederick the fourth succeeded his father as duke of holstein, in , the quarrel grew so hot that denmark would have invaded holstein, had not the parties to the treaty of ' interfered, and brought about a conference. this lasted all through the year , but the negotiators appointed to settle the matter were unable to arrive at any conclusion. "the following year, charles of sweden, who had just succeeded his father, furnished the duke with some troops, to help him to build some forts that were intended to protect the frontier, in case of invasion by denmark. christian of denmark at once attacked and captured these forts, and levelled them to the ground. the duke, being too weak to engage in a war with his powerful neighbour, did not resent this attack, and the negotiations were continued as before. in view of the danger of the situation, and the necessity for a monarch at the head of affairs, the swedish diet met, at stockholm, to take part in the funeral of the late king, which was to be performed on the th of november, and to deliberate upon the situation. "by the will of the late king, charles was not to ascend the throne until he reached the age of eighteen, but the diet passed a vote overruling this, and, as the regency concurred, he was at once crowned, and the alliance with holstein was cemented by the marriage, that had been previously arranged between charles's eldest sister and the duke of holstein, being celebrated at stockholm. charles the twelfth at once concluded treaties with france, england, and holland; while denmark is reported to have prepared for war by making a secret alliance with augustus of saxony, king of poland, and the czar of russia. both these monarchs were doubtless desirous of extending their dominions, at the cost of sweden, whose continental possessions are considerable. "augustus is not yet very firmly seated on the throne of poland. there are several parties opposed to him, and these united in obtaining, from the diet, a refusal to pay the saxon troops augustus had brought with him. the king, no doubt, considered that these could be employed for the conquest of livonia, and that the addition of so large a territory to poland would so add to his popularity, that he would have no further troubles in his kingdom. "charles the twelfth, being in ignorance of this secret agreement, sent an embassy to russia, to announce his accession to the throne. the ambassadors were kept a long time waiting for an audience, as the czar was bringing a war with the turks to a conclusion, and did not wish to throw off the mask until he was free to use his whole force against sweden. the ambassadors were, at last, received civilly, but the czar evaded taking the usual oaths of friendship, and, after long delays, the embassy returned to sweden, feeling somewhat disquieted as to the intentions of the czar, but having no sure knowledge of them. "the king of poland was more successful in disguising his leaning towards denmark, sending the warmest assurances to charles, requesting him to act as mediator in the quarrel between himself and the duke of brandenburg, and signing a treaty of alliance with sweden. but, while sweden had no idea of the triple alliance that had been formed against her, the intention of denmark to make war was evident enough, for king christian was gathering a great naval armament. "the duke of holstein, becoming much alarmed at these preparations, hastened on the fortifications of tonningen, on the eider, three leagues from its mouth. the garrison of the place was a weak one, and a thousand swedish troops were thrown in to strengthen it. the king of denmark complained that this was a breach of the treaty, but, as his own preparations for war were unmistakable, no one could blame the duke of holstein for taking steps to defend his territories. "as you know, christian of denmark died about this time, and was succeeded by his son frederick the fourth. "last august, he commenced the war, by sending a naval squadron to cover the passage of four regiments into pomerania. charles of sweden, seeing that holstein must be crushed by its powerful neighbour, called upon holland and the duke of lunenburg, who were with sweden guarantors of the treaty, to enforce its provisions; and a joint protest was sent to the king of denmark, who was informed that, if he invaded holstein, they should consider it a breach of the treaty of altena, and treat him as a common enemy. frederick replied by sending some troops into the duchy. "no active operations took place, until the beginning of this year. up to that time, sweden had not doubted the friendship of the king of poland, and charles, at first, could hardly believe the reports he received from the governor of livonia, that the saxon troops were approaching the frontier. "a few days later, however, came the news that they were advancing against riga. the governor prepared for defence, and hastily mounted cannon on the walls. his powers of resistance, however, were lessened by the fact that the river duna was frozen over. fleming, who commanded the saxon troops, arrived before the town, early in february, with four thousand men. the governor had set fire to the suburbs on the previous day; and fleming was surprised to find that, instead of taking it by surprise, as he had hoped, the place was in a position to offer a stout resistance. however, he attacked the fort of cobrun, on the opposite side of the river, and carried it by assault. "the news was brought to young charles the twelfth when he was out hunting, a sport of which he is passionately fond. by all accounts, he is an extraordinary young fellow. he is not content with hunting bears and shooting them, but he and his followers engage them armed only with forked sticks. with these they attack the bears, pushing and hustling the great creatures, with the forks of their sticks, until they are completely exhausted, when they are bound and sent away. in this hunt charles took fourteen alive, one of which nearly killed him before it was captured. he did not break up the hunting party, but continued his sport to the end, sending off, however, orders for the concentration of all the troops, in livonia and finland, to act against the saxons. "as soon as the king of denmark heard of the siege of riga, he ordered the duke of wurtemberg-neustadt, his commander-in-chief, to enter holstein with his army, sixteen thousand strong. all of that country was at once overrun, the ducal domains seized, and great contributions exacted from schleswig and holstein. fleming and the saxons, after one severe repulse, forced the garrison of the fort of dunamund, commanding the mouth of the duna, to surrender. tonningen is the only fortress that now holds out in holstein. so you see, lads, there is every chance of there being brisk fighting, and i warrant the young king of sweden will not be backward in the fray. a man who is fond of engaging with bears, armed with nothing but a forked stick, is not likely to hang back in the day of battle. "but, at present, we will say no more on the matter. now that we have got beyond the shelter of the island, the waves are getting up, and the vessel is beginning to toss and roll. i see that sir marmaduke has retired to his cabin. i mean to remain here as long as i can, and i should advise you both to do the same. i have always heard that it is better to fight with this sickness of the sea, as long as possible, and that it is easier to do so in fresh air than in a close cabin." the lads quite agreed with this opinion, but were, in spite of their efforts, presently prostrate. they remained on deck for some hours, and then crawled to their cabin, where they remained for the next three days, at the end of which time they came on deck again, feeling better, but as weak as if they had suffered from a long illness. mr. jervoise had been in frequently to see them, having escaped the malady, from which, as he told them, sir marmaduke was suffering to the full as severely as they were. "so you have found your feet again," the captain said, when they appeared on deck. "you will be all right now." "we feel much better," harry said, "now that the storm is over." "storm! what storm? the weather has been splendid. we cannot wish for anything better. it has been just as you see it now--a bright sun, and just enough wind for her to carry whole sail." the lads both looked astonished. "then why should we roll and toss about so much?" harry asked. "roll and toss! nonsense, lad! there has been a little movement, of course, as there always must be when there is a brisk wind; but as for rolling and tossing, you must wait till you see a storm, then you will begin to have an idea of what the sea is." the boys both felt rather crestfallen, for they had flattered themselves that their sufferings were caused by something quite out of the ordinary way, and it was mortifying to know that the weather had been really fine, and there had been nothing even approaching a storm. the rest of the voyage was a pleasant one. they found they had regained their appetites, and were able to enjoy their meals; still they were not sorry when they saw the coast of sweden, and, a few hours later, entered the port of gottenburg, where sir marmaduke, for the first time, came on deck--looking a mere shadow of his former jovial self. "well, lads," he said, "i was glad to hear that you got through this business quicker than i did. here we are in sweden, and here i, at least, am likely to stay, unless i can pass by land through holland, france, and across from calais, for never again will i venture upon a long voyage. i have been feeling very ungrateful, for, over and over again, i wished that you had not rescued me, as death on tower hill would have been nothing to the agonies that i have been enduring!" as soon as the vessel was warped alongside the quay, they landed, and put up at an hotel, sir marmaduke insisting that the ground was as bad as the sea, as it kept on rising and falling beneath his feet. mr. jervoise agreed to return on board the following day, to fetch the luggage, which would by that time have been got up from the hold. at the hotel, they met several persons able to speak english, and from them learnt how matters had been going on since they had last heard. the town and fortress of tonningen had fallen, after a vigorous defence; it had been bombarded for eight days, and had repulsed one assault, but had been captured at the second attack. england and holland had agreed to furnish fleets, and an army of twelve thousand swedes were in readiness to march, at once, while other armies were being formed. the king had, the week before, reviewed the army gathered at malmoe; and had, on the previous day, arrived at gottenburg, accompanied by the duke of holstein. mr. jervoise went, the same afternoon, to find out some of his friends who resided at gottenburg. he was fortunate enough to find one of them, who was able to inform him that his wife's cousin was now a major, in one of the newly-raised regiments stationed at gottenburg. he found him without difficulty. major jamieson was delighted at the coming of his former friend. "you are the last person i expected to see here, jervoise. it is true that, when we met last, you said that if matters went wrong in england you should come out here, instead of taking refuge in france; but, as everything is quiet, i had little hope of seeing you again, until i paid another visit to scotland, of which at present there is but little prospect. have you grown tired of doing nothing, and is it a desire to see something of a stirring life that has brought you over here?" mr. jervoise related, shortly, the events by which he had been driven into exile, and expressed his desire to serve in the army of sweden, and that his son and young carstairs should also enter the army. "they are but sixteen yet," he said, "but are stout, active fellows, and could hold their own in a day's march or in a stout fight with many men. of course, if i could obtain commissions for them, all the better, but if not they are ready to enlist in the ranks. roughing it will do them no harm." "their age is no drawback," major jamieson said. "there are many no older, both in the ranks and as officers. men in sweden of all ages and of all ranks are joining, for this unprovoked attack, on the part of poland, has raised the national spirit to boiling heat. the chief difficulty is their and your ignorance of the language. were it not for that, i could obtain, from the minister of war, commissions for you at once." he sat thinking for some minutes, in silence. "i think i see how it can be managed, jervoise. i have some twenty or thirty scotchmen in my regiment, and i know a colonel who has as many in his, and these i could manage to get, in exchange for an equal number of my swedes. ships are coming daily from scotland, and most of them bring young fellows who have come out to join the army. "you know how the scots fought, under gustavus adolphus, and there is scarce a glen in scotland where there are not traditions of fathers, or grandfathers, who fought in hepburn's green brigade. therefore, it is natural that, seeing there is no chance of military service at home, there should be many young fellows coming out to join. "i can go across this evening to the minister of war, who is a personal friend of mine, and get him to give you permission to raise a company of scotchmen for service. i shall, of course, point out to him that you will enlist them here. i shall show him the advantage of these men being gathered together, as their ignorance of the language makes them, for some time, useless as soldiers if enrolled in a swedish regiment. i shall mention that i have twenty in my own corps, who are at present positively useless, and in fact a source of great trouble, owing to their understanding nothing that is said to them, and shall propose that they be at once handed over to you. as to the exchange, we can manage that quietly between ourselves. you would have no difficulty with fresh-landed men, as these will naturally be delighted at joining a company of their own countrymen." "thank you very heartily, jamieson. this altogether exceeds my hopes, but i fear that i know nothing of drilling them." "two of my men are sergeants, and, having been in the army for some years, speak swedish well. they will do the drilling at first. the manoeuvres are not complicated, and, for a pound or two, they will be glad to teach you all the orders necessary. i don't know how you are situated as to money, but i can assure you my purse is at your service." "thank you; i am, in that respect, excellently well provided, as is my friend sir marmaduke. we have both made provision for unexpected contingencies." "then, if you will call tomorrow after breakfast, i shall probably have your commission ready. as a matter of course, you will have the appointment of your own officers, and will only have to send in their names. each company is from a hundred and forty to a hundred and fifty strong, and has a captain, two lieutenants, and two ensigns." mr. jervoise's news was, on his return to the inn, received with delight by the two lads; and sir marmaduke said: "i wish i could shake off twenty of my years, jervoise, and join also. well, well, i daresay i shall get on comfortably enough. i know there are a good many english and scotch jacobites settled in the town or neighbourhood, and i shall not be long before i meet someone i know. "as the matter seems settled, i should advise you lads to go down, the first thing in the morning, to the wharves. there is no saying when ships may come in. moreover, it is likely enough that you may light upon young fellows who have landed within the last few weeks, and who have been kept so far, by their ignorance of the language, from enlisting." "that is a very good idea," mr. jervoise said. "they will be delighted to hear a friendly voice, and be only too glad to enlist in a scottish company. you can say that each man will have a free outfit given him." accordingly, the next morning early, the two lads went down to the wharf. presently they saw three young fellows, who were evidently scotch by their dress and caps, talking together. they strolled up near enough to catch what they were saying. "it is hard," one said, "that, now we are here, we can make no one understand us, and it seems to me we had far better have stayed at home." "we shall find some one who speaks our language presently, jock," another said more cheerfully. "the old man, where we lodged last night, said in his broken tongue, that we had but to go over to malmoe, or some such place as that, where there is a big camp, and walk up to an officer and say we wish to enlist." "oh, that is all very well," the other grumbled; "but, if he did not understand us, we should be no better off than before." "are you wanting to enlist?" harry said, going up to them. the men gave an exclamation of pleasure, at being addressed in their own tongue. "that we do, sir. if you can put us in the way, we shall be grateful." "that i can do easily," harry said. "my father is raising a company of scotch and englishmen, for the regiment commanded by colonel jamieson. this will be far better than joining a swedish company, where no one will understand your language, and you will not be able to make out the orders given. my father will give each man who joins a free outfit." "that is the very thing for us, sir. we expected to find scotch regiments here, as there were in the old times, and we had hoped to join them; but whether it is a company or regiment, it makes but little difference, so that we are with those who speak our tongue." "very well, then. if you come to the lion inn, at nine o'clock, you will see my father there. if you know of any others in the same mind as yourselves, and willing to join, bring them with you." "there are ten or twelve others who came over in the ship with us, two days since, and i have no doubt they will be fine and glad to join." "well, see if you can hunt them up, and bring them with you." on returning to the inn, they found that mr. jervoise had already received his commission as captain, and, by ten o'clock, fifteen young scotchmen had been sworn in. all of them had brought broadswords and dirks, and captain jervoise at once set to work buying, at various shops, iron head pieces, muskets, and other accoutrements. during the next three days ten other english and scotchmen had joined, and then a ship came in, from which they gathered another four-and-twenty recruits. arms had already been purchased for them, and, on the following day, captain jervoise marched off to malmoe with his forty-nine recruits. harry accompanied them, charlie being left behind, with his father, to gather another fifty men as the ships arrived. a week later this number was obtained, and charlie started with them for the camp, sir marmaduke accompanying them on horseback, in order to aid charlie in maintaining order among his recruits. he had already fixed upon a small house, just outside the town, and, having met two or three old friends, who had been obliged to leave england at william's accession, he already began to feel at home. "don't you fidget about me, charlie," he said. "ferrers tells me that there are at least a score of jacobites here, and that they form quite a society among themselves. living is very cheap, and he will introduce me to a man of business, who will see that my money is well invested." chapter : narva. for the next fortnight, drilling went on from morning till night, the officers receiving instructions privately from the sergeants, and further learning the words of command by standing by while the men were being drilled. at the end of that time, both officers and men were sufficiently instructed to carry out the simple movements which were, alone, in use in those days. it was not, however, until two months later that they were called upon to act. the english and dutch fleets had arrived, and effected a junction with that of sweden, and the danish fleet had shut themselves up in the port of copenhagen, which was closely blockaded. a large army had crossed to zeeland, and repulsed the danes, who had endeavoured to prevent their landing, and had then marched up to within sight of the walls of copenhagen, which they were preparing to besiege; when the king of denmark, alarmed at this unexpected result of his aggression on holstein, conceded every point demanded, and peace was signed. the negotiations were carried on in holland, and the swedes were extremely angry, when they found that they were baulked of their expected vengeance on their troublesome neighbours. the peace, however, left charles the twelfth at liberty to turn his attention to his other foes, and to hurry to the assistance of riga, which was beleaguered by the saxons and poles; and of narva, against which city the russians had made several unsuccessful assaults. without losing an hour, the king crossed to malmoe. the troops there were ordered to embark, immediately, in the vessels in the harbour. they then sailed to revel, where the swedish commander, welling, had retired from the neighbourhood of riga, his force being too small to meet the enemy in the open field. no sooner had the troops landed than the king reviewed them, and general welling was ordered, at once, to march so as to place himself between the enemy and wesenberg, where a large amount of provisions and stores for the use of the army had been collected. the two lieutenants, in the company of captain jervoise, were young scotchmen of good family, who had three months before come over and obtained commissions, and both had, at the colonel's request, been transferred to his regiment, and promoted to the rank of lieutenants. captain jervoise and his four officers messed together, and were a very cheerful party; indeed, their commander, to the surprise both of his son and charlie, had quite shaken off his quiet and somewhat gloomy manner, and seemed to have become quite another man, in the active and bracing life in which he was now embarked. cunningham and forbes were both active young men, full of life and energy, while the boys thoroughly enjoyed roughing it, and the excitement and animation of their daily work. sometimes they slept in the open air, sometimes on the floor of a cottage. their meals were rough but plentiful. the king's orders against plundering were very severe, and, even when in denmark, the country people, having nothing to complain of, had brought in supplies regularly. here in linovia they were in swedish dominions, but there was little to be purchased, for the peasantry had been brought to ruin by the foraging parties of the russians and poles. there was some disappointment, that the enemy had fallen back at the approach of welling's force, but all felt sure that it would not be long before they met them, for the king would assuredly lose no time in advancing against them, as soon as his army could be brought over. they were not, however, to wait for the arrival of the main force, although the cavalry only took part in the first affair. general welling heard that a force of three thousand circassians had taken up their quarters in a village, some fifteen miles away, and sent six hundred horse, under majors patkul and tisenbausen, to surprise them. they were, at first, successful and, attacking the circassians, set fire to the village, and were engaged in slaughtering the defenders, when twenty-one squadrons of russian cavalry came up and fell upon them, attacking them on all sides, and posting themselves so as to cut off their retreat. the swedes, however, gathered in a body, and charged the russians so furiously that they cut a way through their ranks, losing, however, many of their men, while major patkul and another officer were made prisoners. the king was at revel when this engagement took place, and, although but few of the troops had arrived, he was too impatient for action to wait until the coming of the fleet. he therefore marched to wesenberg, with his bodyguard and a few troops from revel. he at once despatched a thousand men, to cover the frontier, and issued orders for the rest of the troops to leave the whole of their baggage behind them, to take three days' provision in their haversacks, and to prepare to march the next morning. major jamieson came into the cottage, occupied by captain jervoise and his officers, late in the evening. they had a blazing fire, for it was now the middle of november, and the nights were very sharp. "well, jervoise, what do you think of the orders?" he asked, as he seated himself on a log that had been brought in for the fire. "i have not thought much about them, except that we are going to do a long and quick march somewhere." "and where is that somewhere, do you think?" "that, i have not the slightest idea." "you would not say that it was to narva?" "i certainly should not, considering that we have but five thousand infantry, and three thousand cavalry, and of these a large number have been so weakened, by fever, as to be unfit for fighting; while at narva, report says there are eighty thousand russians, in a strongly intrenched camp." "well, that is where we are going, jervoise, nevertheless. at least, that is what the colonel has told me." "he must have been surely jesting, major. we may be going to push forward in that direction, and occupy some strong position until the army comes up, but it would be the height of madness to attack an enemy, in a strong position, and just tenfold our force." "well, we shall see," jamieson said coolly. "it is certain that narva cannot hold out much longer, and i know that the king has set his heart on relieving it; but it does seem somewhat too dangerous an enterprise to attack the russians. at any rate, that is the direction in which we are going, tomorrow. it is a good seventy miles distant, and, as they say that the whole country has been devastated, and the villagers have all fled, it is evident that when the three days' bread and meat we carry are exhausted we shall have to get some food, out of the russian camp, if nowhere else." captain jervoise laughed, as did the others. "we can live for a short time on the horses, jamieson, if we are hard pushed for it, though most of them are little beyond skin and bone." "that is true. the cavalry are certainly scarcely fit for service. welling's troops have had a very hard time of it, and we may thank our stars, though we did not think so at the time, that we were kept nearly three months at malmoe, instead of being here with welling." "but do you seriously think, major, that the king means to attack the russians?" cunningham asked. "my own idea is that he does, cunningham. i cannot see what else there is for us to do. at any rate, if he does, you may be sure that we shall make a tough fight for it. the cavalry showed, the other day, that they can stand up against many times their number of the russians, and if they can do it, i fancy we can. there is one thing, the very audacity of such an attempt is in its favour." "well, we will all do our best, you may be sure; but since thermopylae, i doubt if men have fought against longer odds." the next morning the men fell in. captain jervoise, who, like all of his rank, was mounted, took his place at the head of his company, and the little army marched away from wesenberg. it was a dreary march to purts, but the sight of the ruined villages, and devastated fields, aroused a feeling of indignation and fury among the troops, and a fierce longing to attack men who had so ruthlessly spread ruin through a fertile country. orders were issued, that evening, that the men were to husband their provisions as much as possible, and the order was more strictly obeyed than such orders usually are, for the men saw, for themselves, that there was no possibility of obtaining fresh supplies in the wasted country, and were well aware that there existed no train of waggons and horses capable of bringing up stores from wesenberg. there were a few aged men and women remaining at purts, and from these they learned that their next day's march would take them to a very difficult pass, which was held by six hundred of the russian cavalry, together with a force of infantry and some guns. it was the intention of the king to encamp that evening near the pass, and, when within three or four miles of it, general meidel, who had with him the quartermaster of the army, and four hundred cavalry, rode on ahead to choose a site for the camp. he presently saw a large body of russian foragers in front of him, and sent back to the king for permission to attack them. charles ordered the army to continue its march, and, hurrying forward with some of his officers, joined general meidel and charged the foragers, killing many, taking others prisoners, and putting the rest to flight. he followed close upon their heels, and rode right up to the mouth of the pass, in spite of the heavy fire of artillery and musketry opened by the russians. he at once determined to take advantage of the alarm produced by the defeat of the russian cavalry, and, although darkness was now drawing on, brought up some of his infantry and artillery, and attacked with such vigour that the russians fled, after offering a very feeble resistance. a battalion of foot were ordered to occupy the pass, while the rest of the army piled their arms, and lay down where they stood. in the morning, they were astonished at the strength of the position that had been gained so easily. the defile was deep and narrow, a rapid stream ran through it, and the ground was soft and marshy. a few determined men should have been able to bar the advance of an army. the troops were in high spirits at the result of this, their first action against the enemy, and were the more pleased that they found, in the russian camp, sufficient provisions to replace those they had used. after a hearty meal, they again advanced at a brisk march. the defile was captured on the evening of the th november, and, early in the morning of the th, the army reached lagena, a league and a half from narva, and, ordering the troops to follow, the king rode forward to reconnoitre the russian position. the troops were weary with their long marches, and many of those who had, but recently, recovered from fever were scarce able to drag themselves along, while great numbers were unfit to take part in a battle, until after two or three days of rest. the officers of the malmoe regiment, for it had taken its name from the camp where it had been formed, were gathered in a group at its head, discussing the situation. most of the officers were of opinion that, to attack at once, with men and horses worn out with fatigue, was to ensure destruction; but there were others who thought that, in face of so great an army as that gathered in front of them, the only hope was in an immediate attack. major jamieson was one of these. "the king is right," he said. "if the russian army have time to form, and to advance against us in order of battle, we must be annihilated. at present, their camp is an extensive one, for, as i hear, it extends in a great semi-circle four or five miles long, with the ends resting on the river. they cannot believe that we intend to attack them, and, if we go straight at them, we may possibly gain a footing in their intrenchments, before the whole army can gather to aid those at the point of attack. it will be almost a surprise, and i think the king is right to attempt it, for it is only by a quick and sudden stroke that we can gain a success over so great an army." the halt was but a short one and, as soon as the regiments had arrived at the positions assigned to them, they advanced. as soon as they appeared, on a rise of ground facing the intrenchments, the enemy opened fire. the king had already reconnoitred a portion of their position, exposing himself recklessly to their shot, and, as soon as the troops came up, he issued orders for them to prepare to attack in two columns. first, however, several of the regiments were ordered to fall out, and to cut down bushes and make fascines, to enable the troops to cross the ditches. the intrenchment was a formidable one, being provided with parapets armed with chevaux de frise, and flanked by strong exterior works, while several batteries had been placed to sweep the ground across which an enemy must advance. the right column, under general welling, was to march to a point nearly in the centre of the great semicircle; while the left, under general rhenschild, was to assault a point about halfway between the centre and the river, where one of the largest and most powerful of the enemy's batteries was placed. the king himself was with this wing, with his bodyguard, and he hoped that here he might meet the czar commanding in person. the russian emperor had, however, left the camp that morning, to fetch up forty thousand men who were advancing from plescow, and the command of the army had been assumed by the duke of croy. the swedish left wing had with it a battery of twenty-one guns, while sixteen guns covered the attack on the right. it was two o'clock in the afternoon when two guns gave the signal for the advance. hitherto the weather had been fine, but it had become gradually overcast, and, just as the signal was given, a tremendous storm of snow and hail began. it set right in the face of the russians, and concealed from them the movement of the swedes, for which, indeed, they were wholly unprepared, believing that the small force they saw was but the advance guard of a great swedish army, and that no attack need be expected until the main body arrived. the consequence was, the swedes were almost at the edge of the ditch before they were perceived, and both columns attacked with such vigour and courage that, in a quarter of an hour, they had gained a footing in the intrenchments, and had so filled up the ditch with the fascines that the cavalry were able to follow them. the russians were so astounded at this sudden attack that they lost heart altogether. the swedish left, as soon as it entered the intrenchments, swept along them, the russians abandoning their guns and batteries, and making for their bridge across the river. unfortunately for them, their huts were built close behind the works, and in rear was another intrenchment, designed to repel assaults from the town; and the terrified crowd, unable to make their way rapidly along, over ground encumbered by their huts, crossed the interior intrenchments, thinking to make their way faster through the fields to the bridge. the swedish king, however, placed himself at the head of his bodyguard, and, followed by the rest of his horse, charged right upon them, cutting down great numbers, and driving the rest before them towards the river, while the infantry kept up a heavy fire upon the fugitives in the intrenchments. the panic had spread quickly, and the russian troops nearest to the bridge were already pouring over, when the mass of the fugitives arrived. these pressed upon the bridge in such numbers that it speedily gave way, cutting off the retreat of their comrades behind. ignorant of the result, the terrified crowd pushed on, pressing those in front of them into the river, and the number of drowned was no less than that of those who fell beneath the bullets, pikes, and sabres of the swedes. in their despair the russians, rallied by some of their generals, now attempted to defend themselves, and, by occupying some houses and barracks, and barricading the passages between these with overturned waggons, they fought bravely, and repulsed, for some time, every effort of the swedes. darkness was now falling, and the king hastened to the spot where the battle was fiercely raging. as he ran towards it, he fell into a morass, from which he was rescued with some difficulty, leaving his sword and one boot behind him. however, he at once pushed on, and placed himself at the head of the infantry engaged in the assault. but even his presence and example did not avail. the russians maintained their position with desperate courage, and, when it became quite dark, the assault ceased. the right column had met with equal success. it had penetrated the intrenchments, defeated all the russians who opposed it, and now moved to assist the left wing. the king, however, seeing that the russian defences could not be carried, by a direct assault, without great loss, gathered the army in the space between the town and the russian intrenchments, and placed them in a position to repel an attack, should the russians take the offensive; giving orders that, at daylight, the hill on which the enemy had their principal battery should be assaulted. the guns here commanded all the intrenchments, and the capture of that position would render it impossible for the russians to continue their defence, or for the now separated wings of the army to combine. the officers in command of the russian right wing, finding themselves unable to cross the river on their broken bridge, and surrounded by the swedes, sent in to surrender in the course of the evening, and two battalions of the swedish guards took possession of the post that had been so gallantly defended. the king granted them permission to retire with their arms, the colours and standards being given up, and the superior officers being retained as prisoners of war. the broken bridge was repaired and, early the next morning, the russian troops passed over. their left wing was, after the surrender of their right, in a hopeless position, for on that side no bridge had been thrown over the river, and their retreat was wholly cut off. on learning, before daybreak, that the right wing had surrendered, they too sent in to ask for terms. the king granted them freedom to return to their country, but without their standards or arms. they filed off before him, officers and soldiers bareheaded, and passed over the bridge, their numbers being so great that all had not crossed until next morning. the russians lost over , men killed or drowned, a hundred and forty-five cannon, and twenty-eight mortars, all of which were new, besides vast quantities of military stores and provisions. a hundred and fifty-one colours, and twenty standards, and the greater proportion of their muskets, together with the military chest, the duke of croy, their commander-in-chief, and the whole of their generals, colonels, majors, and captains, fell into the hands of the swedes, as prisoners of war. the total loss in killed and wounded of the swedes was under two thousand, the chief loss being due to the desperate resistance of the russians, after the battle was irretrievably lost. it may be doubted whether so complete and surprising a victory, between armies so disproportionate in force, was ever before gained. the king had exposed himself, throughout the day, most recklessly, and was everywhere in the thick of the russian bullets, and yet he escaped without so much as a scratch. the malmoe regiment had been with the left wing, but suffered comparatively little loss, as they were one of the last to enter the intrenchments, and it was only when darkness was closing in that they were called up to take a part in the attack on the position held by the russians. "never was the saying, that fortune favours the brave, more signally verified, jervoise," major jamieson said, as he sat down to a rough breakfast with the officers of the scottish company, on the morning after the russian surrender. "that's true enough, but russians are brave, too, as they showed at the end of the day. i fancy you have a scotch proverb to the effect that 'fou folk come to no harm.' i think that is more applicable in the present case." the major laughed. "the fou folk relates rather to drunkenness than madness, jervoise. but, of course, it would do for both. i own that the whole enterprise did seem, to me, to be absolute madness, but the result has justified it. that sudden snowstorm was the real cause of our victory, and, had it not been for that, i still think that we could not have succeeded. the russian cannon certainly continued to fire, but it was wholly at random, and they were taken by surprise when we suddenly appeared at the side of the ditch, while we were across before they could gather any force sufficient to defend it. "after that, panic did the rest. the commander in chief fell early into our hands. there was no one to give orders, no one to rally them, and i expect the russian soldiers gave us credit for having brought on that storm, to cover our assault, by the aid of malign spirits. "well, lads, and how did you feel when the shots were whistling about?" "i did not like it at all, major," charlie said. "it seemed such a strange thing, marching along in the thick of that snowstorm, hearing the rush of cannonballs overhead, and the boom of guns, and yet be unable to see anything but the rear files of the company in front." "it was an uncanny feeling, charlie. i felt it myself, and was very grateful that we were hidden from the enemy, who, of course, were blazing away in the direction in which they had last seen us. we only lost three killed and twelve wounded, altogether, and i think those were, for the most part, hit by random shots. "well, if this is the way the king means to carry on war, we shall have enough of it before we are done." the sick and wounded were sent into the town, the first thing, but it was not until the russians had all crossed the river that the king, himself, rode triumphantly into the place, surrounded by his staff, amid the wild enthusiasm of the inhabitants, whom his victory had saved from ruin and massacre. the town, although strongly fortified, was not a large one, and its houses were so dilapidated, from the effects of the russian bombardment, that but few of the troops could be accommodated there. the rest were quartered in the russian huts. on the th, a solemn service of thanksgiving for the victory was celebrated, with a salute from all the cannon of the town and camp, and by salvos of musketry from the troops. the question of provisions was the most important now. it was true that large quantities had been captured in the russian camp, but, beyond a magazine of corn, abandoned by the fugitives at tama and brought in, there was no prospect of replenishing the store when exhausted, for the whole country, for a great distance round, had been completely devastated by the russians. these had not retreated far, having been rallied by the czar at plescow, and quartered in the towns of the frontier of livonia, whence they made incursions into such districts as had not been previously wasted. "this is dull work," archie cunningham said, one day. "the sooner we are busy again, the better. there is nothing to do, and very little to eat. the cold is bitter, and fuel scarce. one wants something to warm one's blood." "you are not likely to have anything of that kind, for some months to come," major jamieson replied dryly. "you don't suppose we are going to have a battle of narva once a week, do you? no doubt there will be a few skirmishes, and outpost encounters, but beyond that there will be little doing until next spring. you can make up your mind, for at least five months, of the worst side of a soldier's life--dull quarters, and probably bad ones, scanty food, cold, and disease." "not a very bright lookout, major," forbes laughed. "i hope it won't be as bad as that." "then i advise you to give up hoping, and to make up your mind to realities, forbes. there is a good deal of illness in the camp now, and there will be more and more as the time goes on. there is nothing like inaction to tell upon the health of troops. however, we certainly shall not stay here. it would be impossible to victual the army, and i expect that, before long, we shall march away and take up quarters for the winter. "as to operations on a great scale, they are out of the question. after the thrashing they have had, the russians will be months before they are in a condition to take the offensive again; while we are equally unable to move because, in the first place, we are not strong enough to do so, and in the second we have no baggage train to carry provisions with us, and no provisions to carry if we had it." on the th of december, the king quitted narva with the army, and on the th arrived at lais, an old castle six miles from derpt, and here established his headquarters. a few of the troops were stationed in villages, but the greater part in rough huts in the neighbourhood, and along the frontier. it was not long before major jamieson's predictions were verified. a low fever, occasioned by the fatiguing marches and the hardships they had endured, added to the misery from the cold and wet that penetrated the wretched huts, spread rapidly through the army. many died, and great numbers were absolutely prostrated. the king was indefatigable in his efforts to keep up the spirits of the troops. he constantly rode about from camp to camp, entering the huts, chatting cheerfully with the soldiers, and encouraging them by kind words and assurances that, when the spring came, they would soon gain strength again. at narva the four young officers had all purchased horses. most of the swedish officers were mounted; and the king encouraged this, as, on occasion, he could thereby collect at once a body of mounted men ready for any enterprise; but their own colonel preferred that, on the march, the lieutenants and ensigns should be on foot with their men, in order to set them an example of cheerful endurance. those who wished it, however, were permitted to have horses, which were, on such occasions, led in the rear of the regiment. captain jervoise had approved of the purchase of the horses, which were got very cheaply, as great numbers had been captured. "if we can get over the difficulty of the forage," he said, "you will find them very useful for preserving your health during the winter. a ride will set your blood in motion, and, wherever we are quartered, there are sure to be camps within riding distance. the king approves of officers taking part in dashing expeditions, so you may be able to take a share in affairs that will break the monotony of camp life." they found great benefit from being able to ride about. forage was indeed very scarce. they had no means of spending their pay on luxuries of any kind, their only outlay being in the purchase of black bread, and an occasional load of forage from the peasants. their regiment was with the force under the command of colonel schlippenbach, which was not very far from marienburg, a place open to the incursions of the russians. baron spens was at signiz, and colonel alvedyhl at rounenberg, and to both these places they occasionally paid a visit. in order to keep the company in health, captain jervoise encouraged the men to get up games, in which the four young officers took part. sometimes it was a snowball match in the open; at other times a snow fort was built, garrisoned, and attacked. occasionally there were matches at hockey, while putting the stone, throwing the caber, running and wrestling matches, were all tried in turn; and the company suffered comparatively little from the illness which rendered so large a proportion of the swedish army inefficient. colonel schlippenbach was an energetic officer, and had, several times, ridden past when the men were engaged in these exercises. he expressed to captain jervoise his approval of the manner in which he kept his men in strength and vigour. "i shall not forget it," he said, one day, "and if there is service to be done, i see that i can depend upon your company to do it." in january, he took a party of horse, and reconnoitred along the river aa, to observe the motions of the saxons on the other side; and, hearing that a party of them had entered marienburg, he determined to take possession of that place, as, were they to fortify it, they would be able greatly to harass the swedes. sending word to the king of his intention, and asking for an approval of his plan of fortifying the town, he took three companies of infantry and four hundred horse, made a rapid march to marienburg, and occupied it without opposition. he had not forgotten his promise, and the company of captain jervoise was one of those selected for the work. its officers were delighted at the prospect of a change, and, when the party started, captain jervoise was proud of the show made by his men, whose active and vigorous condition contrasted strongly with the debility and feebleness evident, so generally, among the swedish soldiers. as soon as marienburg was entered, the men were set to work, to raise and strengthen the rampart and to erect bastions; and they were aided, a few days later, by a reinforcement of two hundred infantry, sent by the king, with some cannon, from the garrison of derpt. as the place was surrounded by a morass, it was, ere long, put into a position to offer a formidable defence against any force that the russians or saxons might bring against it. the swedes engaged on the work gained strength rapidly, and, by the time the fortifications were finished, they had completely shaken off the effects of the fever. chapter : a prisoner. a fortnight after the fortifications of marienburg were completed, colonel schlippenbach sent off lieutenant colonel brandt, with four hundred horse, to capture a magazine at seffwegen, to which the saxons had forced the inhabitants of the country round to bring in their corn, intending later to convey it to the headquarters of their army. the expedition was completely successful. the saxon guard were overpowered, and a thousand tons of corn were brought, in triumph, into marienburg. some of it was sent on to the army, abundance being retained for the use of the town and garrison, in case of siege. it was now resolved to surprise and burn pitschur, a town on the frontier from which the enemy constantly made incursions. it was held by a strong body of russians. baron spens was in command of the expedition. he had with him both the regiments of horse guards. much excitement was caused, in marienburg, by the issue of an order that the cavalry, and a portion of the infantry, were to be ready to march at daylight; and by the arrival of a large number of peasants, brought in by small parties of the cavalry. many were the surmises as to the operation to be undertaken, its object being kept a strict secret. captain jervoise's company was one of those in orders, and paraded at daybreak, and, after a march of some distance, the force joined that of baron spens. the troops were halted in a wood, and ordered to light fires to cook food, and to prepare for a halt of some hours. great fires were soon blazing and, after eating their meal, most of the troops wrapped themselves in the blankets that they carried, in addition to their greatcoats, and lay down by the fires. they slept until midnight, and were then called to arms again. they marched all night, and at daybreak the next morning, the th of february, were near pitschur, and at once attacked the russian camp outside the town. taken completely by surprise, the russians fought feebly, and more than five hundred were killed before they entered the town, hotly pursued by the swedes. shutting themselves up in the houses, and barricading the doors and windows, they defended themselves desperately, refusing all offers of surrender. the livonian peasants were, however, at work, and set fire to the town in many places. the flames spread rapidly. great stores of hides and leather, and a huge magazine filled with hemp, added to the fury of the conflagration, and the whole town was burned to the ground; numbers of the russians preferring death by fire, in the houses, to coming out and surrendering themselves. many of the fugitives had succeeded in reaching a strong position on the hill commanding the town. this consisted of a convent, surrounded by strong walls mounted with cannon, which played upon the town while the fight there was going on. as baron spens had no guns with him, he was unable to follow up his advantage by taking this position, and he therefore gave orders to the force to retire, the peasants being loaded with booty that they had gathered before the fire spread. the loss of the swedes was thirty killed and sixty wounded, this being a small amount of loss compared with what they had inflicted upon the enemy. "i call that a horrible business, captain jervoise," charlie said, when the troops had returned to marienburg. "there was no real fighting in it." "it was a surprise, charlie. but they fought desperately after they gained the town." "yes, but we did nothing there beyond firing away at the windows. of course, i had my sword in my hand; but it might as well have been in its sheath, for i never struck a blow, and i think it was the same with most of our men. one could not cut down those poor wretches, who were scarce awake enough to use their arms. i was glad you held our company in rear of the others." "yes; i asked the colonel before attacking to put us in reserve, in case the enemy should rally. i did it on purpose, for i knew that our men, not having, like the swedes, any personal animosity against the russians, would not like the work. if it had come to storming the convent, i would have volunteered to lead the assault. at any rate, i am glad that, although a few of the men are wounded, no lives are lost in our company." harry cordially agreed with his friend. "i like an expedition, charlie, if there is fighting to be done; but i don't want to have anything more to do with surprises. however, the cavalry had a good deal more to do with it than we had; but, as you say, it was a ghastly business. the only comfort is they began it, and have been robbing the peasants and destroying their homes for months." many small expeditions were sent out with equally favourable results; but captain jervoise's company took no part in these excursions. charles the twelfth was passionately fond of hunting and, in spite of his many occupations, found time occasionally to spend a day or two in the chase. a few days after the attack upon pitschur, he came to marienburg to learn all particulars of the russian position from colonel schlippenbach, as he intended, in the spring, to attack the triangle formed by three fortresses, in order to drive the russians farther back from the frontier. "i hear that there are many wolves and bears in the forest, five leagues to the north. i want a party of about fifty footmen to drive the game, and as many horse, in case we come across one of the parties of russians. i want some hearty, active men for the march. i will send the foot on this afternoon, and ride with the horse so as to get there by daybreak. which is your best company of infantry?" "my best company is one composed chiefly of scotchmen, though there are some english among them. it belongs to the malmoe regiment, and is commanded by captain jervoise, an englishman. i do not say that they are braver than our swedes; they have not been tested in any desperate service; but they are healthier and more hardy, for their officers, since the battle of narva, have kept them engaged in sports of all kinds--mimic battles, foot races, and other friendly contests. i have marked them at it several times, and wondered sometimes at the rough play. but it has had its effect. while the rest of suborn's regiment suffered as much from fever as the other troops, scarce a man in this company was sick, and they have, all the winter, been fit for arduous service at any moment." "that is good indeed, and i will remember it, and will see that, another winter, similar games are carried on throughout the army. let the company be paraded at once. i will, myself, inspect them." the company's call was sounded, and, surprised at a summons just as they were cooking their dinners, the troops fell in, in front of their quarters, and the officers took their places in front of them, and waited for orders. "i wonder what is up now," nigel forbes said to harry. "you have not heard anything, from your father, of our being wanted, have you?" "no; he was just as much surprised as i was, when a sergeant ran up with schlippenbach's order that the company were to fall in." five minutes after they had formed up, three officers were seen approaching on foot. "it is the colonel himself," forbes muttered, as captain jervoise gave the word to the men to stand to attention. a minute later, captain jervoise gave the order for the salute, and harry saw that the tall young officer, walking with the colonel, was the king. without speaking a word, charles walked up and down the line, narrowly inspecting the men, then he returned to the front. "a fine set of fellows, schlippenbach. i wish that, like my grandfather, i had some fifteen thousand of such troops under my orders. present the captain to me." the officers were called up, and captain jervoise was presented. "your company does you great credit, captain jervoise," the king said. "i would that all my troops looked in as good health and condition. colonel schlippenbach tells me that you have kept your men in good health, all through the winter, by means of sports and games. it is a good plan. i will try to get all my officers to adopt it another winter. do the men join in them willingly?" captain jervoise and his officers had all, during the nine months that had passed since they landed in sweden, done their best to acquire the language, and could now speak and understand it thoroughly. "they like it, your majesty. our people are fond of games of this kind. my four officers take part in them with the men." the king nodded. "that is as it should be. it must create a good feeling on both sides. present your officers to me, captain jervoise." this was done, and the king spoke a few words to each. charlie had often seen the king at a distance, but never before so close as to be able to notice his face particularly. he was a tall young fellow, thin and bony. his face was long, and his forehead singularly high and somewhat projecting. this was the most noticeable feature of his face. his eyes were quick and keen, his face clean-shaven, and, had it not been for the forehead and eyes, would have attracted no attention. his movements were quick and energetic, and, after speaking to the officers, he strode a step or two forward and, raising his voice, said: "i am pleased with you, men. your appearance does credit to yourselves and your officers. scottish troops did grand service under my grandfather, gustavus adolphus, and i would that i had twenty battalions of such soldiers with me. i am going hunting tomorrow, and i asked colonel schlippenbach for half a company of men who could stand cold and fatigue. he told me that i could not do better than take them from among this company, and i see that he could not have made a better choice. but i will not separate you, and will therefore take you all. you will march in an hour, and i will see that there is a good supper ready for you, at the end of your journey." colonel schlippenbach gave captain jervoise directions as to the road they were to follow, and the village, at the edge of the forest, where they were to halt for the night. he then walked away with the king. highly pleased with the praise charles had given them, the company fell out. "get your dinners as soon as you can, men," captain jervoise said. "the king gave us an hour. we must be in readiness to march by that time." on arriving at the village, which consisted of a few small houses only, they found two waggons awaiting them, one with tents and the other with a plentiful supply of provisions, and a barrel of wine. the tents were erected, and then the men went into the forest, and soon returned with large quantities of wood, and great fires were speedily lighted. meat was cut up and roasted over them, and, regarding the expedition as a holiday, the men sat down to their supper in high spirits. after it was eaten there were songs round the fires, and, at nine o'clock, all turned into their tents, as it was known that the king would arrive at daylight. sentries were posted, for there was never any saying when marauding parties of russians, who were constantly on the move, might come along. half an hour before daybreak, the men were aroused. tents were struck and packed in the waggon, and the men then fell in, and remained until the king, with three or four of his officers and fifty cavalry, rode up. fresh wood had been thrown on the fires, and some of the men told off as cooks. "that looks cheerful for hungry men," the king said, as he leaped from his horse. "i did not know whether your majesty would wish to breakfast at once," captain jervoise said; "but i thought it well to be prepared." "we will breakfast by all means. we are all sharp set already. have your own men had food yet?" "no, sir. i thought perhaps they would carry it with them." "no, no. let them all have a hearty meal before they move, then they can hold on as long as may be necessary." the company fell out again, and, in a quarter of an hour, they and the troopers breakfasted. a joint of meat was placed, for the use of the king and the officers who had come with him, and captain jervoise and those with him prepared to take their meal a short distance away, but charles said: "bring that joint here, captain jervoise, and we will all take breakfast together. we are all hunters and comrades." in a short time, they were all seated round a fire, with their meat on wooden platters on their knees, and with mugs of wine beside them; captain jervoise, by the king's orders, taking his seat beside him. during the meal, he asked him many questions as to his reasons for leaving england, and taking service with him. "so you have meddled in politics, eh?" the king laughed, when he heard a brief account of captain jervoise's reason for leaving home. "your quarrels, in england and scotland, have added many a thousand good soldiers to the armies of france and sweden, and, i may say, of every country in europe. i believe there are some of your compatriots, or at any rate scotchmen, in the czar's camp. i suppose that, at william's death, these troubles will cease." "i do not know, sir. anne was james' favourite daughter, and it may be she will resign in favour of her brother, the lawful king. if she does so, there is an end of trouble; but, should she mount the throne, she would be a usurper, as mary was up to her death in ' . as anne has been on good terms with william, since her sister's death, i fear she will act as unnatural a part as mary did, and, in that case, assuredly we shall not recognize her as our queen." "you have heard the news, i suppose, of the action of the parliament last month?" "no, sir, we have heard nothing for some weeks of what is doing in england." "they have been making an act of settlement of the succession. anne is to succeed william, and, as she has no children by george of denmark, the succession is to pass from her to the elector of hanover, in right of his wife sophia, as the rest of the children of the elector of the palatinate have abjured protestantism, and are therefore excluded. how will that meet the views of the english and scotch jacobites?" "it is some distance to look forward to, sire. if anne comes to the throne at william's death, it will, i think, postpone our hopes, for anne is a stuart, and is a favourite with the nation, in spite of her undutiful conduct to her father. still, it will be felt that for stuart to fight against stuart, brother against sister, would be contrary to nature. foreigners are always unpopular, and, as against william, every jacobite is ready to take up arms. but i think that nothing will be done during anne's reign. the elector of hanover would be as unpopular, among englishmen in general, as is william of orange, and, should he come to the throne, there will assuredly ere long be a rising to bring back the stuarts." charles shook his head. "i don't want to ruffle your spirit of loyalty to the stuarts, captain jervoise, but they have showed themselves weak monarchs for a great country. they want fibre. william of orange may be, as you call him, a foreigner and a usurper, but england has greater weight in the councils of europe, in his hands, than it has had since the death of elizabeth." this was rather a sore point with captain jervoise, who, thorough jacobite as he was, had smarted under the subservience of england to france during the reigns of the two previous monarchs. "you englishmen and scotchmen are fighting people," the king went on, "and should have a military monarch. i do not mean a king like myself, who likes to fight in the front ranks of his soldiers; but one like william, who has certainly lofty aims, and is a statesman, and can join in european combinations." "william thinks and plans more for holland than for england, sire. he would join a league against france and spain, not so much for the benefit of england, which has not much to fear from these powers, but of holland, whose existence now, as of old is threatened by them." "england's interest is similar to that of holland," the king said. "i began this war, nominally, in the interest of the duke of holstein, but really because it was sweden's interest that denmark should not become too powerful. "but we must not waste time in talking politics. i see the men have finished their breakfast, and we are here to hunt. i shall keep twenty horse with me; the rest will enter the forest with you. i have arranged for the peasants here to guide you. you will march two miles along by the edge of the forest, and then enter it and make a wide semicircle, leaving men as you go, until you come down to the edge of the forest again, a mile to our left. "as soon as you do so, you will sound a trumpet, and the men will then move forward, shouting so as to drive the game before them. as the peasants tell me there are many wolves and bears in the forest, i hope that you will inclose some of them in your cordon, which will be about five miles from end to end. with the horse you will have a hundred and thirty men, so that there will be a man every sixty or seventy yards. that is too wide a space at first, but, as you close in, the distances will rapidly lessen, and they must make up, by noise, for the scantiness of their numbers. if they find the animals are trying to break through, they can discharge their pieces; but do not let them do so otherwise, as it would frighten the animals too soon, and send them flying out all along the open side of the semicircle." it was more than two hours before the whole of the beaters were in position. just before they had started, the king had requested captain jervoise to remain with him and the officers who had accompanied him, five in number. they had been posted, a hundred yards apart, at the edge of the forest. charlie was the first officer left behind as the troop moved through the forest, and it seemed to him an endless time before he heard a faint shout, followed by another and another, until, at last, the man stationed next to him repeated the signal. then they moved forward, each trying to obey the orders to march straight ahead. for some time, nothing was heard save the shouts of the men, and then charlie made out some distant shots, far in the wood, and guessed that some animals were trying to break through the lines. then he heard the sound of firing directly in front of him. this continued for some time, occasionally single shots being heard, but more often shots in close succession. louder and louder grew the shouting, as the men closed in towards a common point, and, in half an hour after the signal had been given, all met. "what sport have you had, father?" harry asked, as he came up to captain jervoise. "we killed seventeen wolves and four bears, with, what is more important, six stags. i do not know whether we are going to have another beat." it soon turned out that this was the king's intention, and the troops marched along the edge of the forest. charlie was in the front of his company, the king with the cavalry a few hundred yards ahead, when, from a dip of ground on the right, a large body of horsemen suddenly appeared. "russians!" captain jervoise exclaimed, and shouted to the men, who were marching at ease, to close up. the king did not hesitate a moment, but, at the head of his fifty cavalry, charged right down upon the russians, who were at least five hundred strong. the little body disappeared in the melee, and then seemed to be swallowed up. "keep together, shoulder to shoulder, men. double!" and the company set off at a run. when they came close to the mass of horsemen, they poured in a volley, and then rushed forward, hastily fitting the short pikes they carried into their musket barrels; for, as yet, the modern form of bayonets was not used. the russians fought obstinately, but the infantry pressed their way step by step through them, until they reached the spot where the king, with his little troop of cavalry, were defending themselves desperately from the attacks of the russians. the arrival of the infantry decided the contest, and the russians began to draw off, the king hastening the movement by plunging into the midst of them with his horsemen. charlie was on the flank of the company as it advanced, and, after running through a russian horseman with the short pike that was carried by officers, he received a tremendous blow on his steel cap, that stretched him insensible on the ground. when he recovered, he felt that he was being carried, and soon awoke to the fact that he was a prisoner. after a long ride, the russians arrived at plescow. they had lost some sixty men in the fight. charlie was the only prisoner taken. he was, on dismounting, too weak to stand, but he was half carried and half dragged to the quarters of the russian officer in command. the latter addressed him, but, finding that he was not understood, sent for an officer who spoke swedish. "what were the party you were with doing in the wood?" "we were hunting wolves and bears." "where did you come from?" "from marienburg." "how strong were you?" "fifty horse and a hundred and forty foot," charlie replied, knowing there could be no harm in stating the truth. "but it was a long way to march, merely to hunt, and your officers must have been mad to come out, with so small a party, to a point where they were likely to meet with us." "it was not too small a party, sir, as they managed to beat off the attack made upon them." the russian was silent for a moment, then he asked: "who was the officer in command?" "the officer in command was the king of sweden," charlie replied. an exclamation of surprise and anger broke from the russian general, when the answer was translated to him. "you missed a good chance of distinguishing yourself," he said to the officer in command of the troops. "here has this mad king of sweden been actually putting himself in your hands, and you have let him slip through your fingers. it would have got you two steps in rank, and the favour of the czar, had you captured him, and now he will be in a rage, indeed, when he hears that five hundred cavalry could do nothing against a force only a third of their number." "i had no idea that the king of sweden was there himself," the officer said humbly. "bah, that is no excuse. there were officers, and you ought to have captured them, instead of allowing yourself to be put to flight by a hundred and fifty men." "we must have killed half the horsemen before the infantry came up." "all the worse, colonel, that you did not complete the business. the infantry would not have been formidable, after they discharged their pieces. however, it is your own affair, and i wash my hands of it. what the czar will say when he hears of it, i know not, but i would not be in your shoes for all my estates." as charlie learned afterwards, the colonel was degraded from his rank by the angry czar, and ordered to serve as a private in the regiment he commanded. the officer who acted as translator said something in his own tongue to the general, who then, through him, said: "this officer tells me that by your language you are not a swede." "i am not. i am english, and i am an ensign in the malmoe regiment." "all the worse for you," the general said. "the czar has declared that he will exchange no foreign officers who may be taken prisoners." "very well, sir," charlie said, fearlessly. "he will be only punishing his own officers. there are plenty of them in the king of sweden's hands." the general, when this reply was translated to him, angrily ordered charlie to be taken away, and he was soon lodged in a cell in the castle. his head was still swimming from the effects of the blow that had stricken him down, and, without even trying to think over his position, he threw himself down on the straw pallet, and was soon asleep. it was morning when he woke and, for a short time, he was unable to imagine where he was, but soon recalled what had happened. he had been visited by someone after he had lain down, for a platter of bread and meat stood on the table, and a jug of water. he was also covered with two thick blankets. these had not been there when he lay down, for he had wondered vaguely as to how he should pass the night without some covering. he took a long draught of water, then ate some food. his head throbbed with the pain of the wound. it had been roughly bandaged by his captors, but needed surgical dressing. "i wonder how long i am likely to be, before i am exchanged," he said to himself. "a long time, i am afraid; for there are scores of russian officers prisoners with us, and i don't think there are half a dozen of ours captured by the russians. of course, no exchange can take place until there are a good batch to send over, and, it may be, months may pass before they happen to lay hands on enough swedish officers to make it worth while to trouble about exchanging them." an hour later the door opened, and an officer entered, followed by a soldier with a large bowl of broth and some bread. "i am a doctor," he said in swedish. "i came in to see you yesterday evening, but you were sound asleep, and that was a better medicine than any i can give; so i told the man to throw those two barrack rugs over you, and leave your food in case you should wake, which did not seem to me likely. i see, however, that you did wake," and he pointed to the plate. "that was not till this morning, doctor. it is not an hour since i ate it." "this broth will be better for you, and i daresay you can manage another breakfast. sit down and take it, at once, while it is hot. i am in no hurry." he gave an order in russian to the soldier, who went out, and returned in a few minutes with a small wooden tub, filled with hot water. by this time charlie had finished the broth. the doctor then bathed his head for some time in hot water, but was obliged to cut off some of his hair, in order to remove the bandage. as he examined the wound, charlie was astounded to hear him mutter to himself: "it is a mighty nate clip you have got, my boy; and, if your skull had not been a thick one, it is lying out there on the turf you would be." charlie burst into a fit of laughter. "so you are english, too," he exclaimed, as he looked up into the surgeon's face. "at laste irish, my boy," the doctor said, as surprised as charlie had been. "to think we should have been talking swedish to each other, instead of our native tongue. and what is your name? and what is it you are doing here, as a swede, at all?" "my name is charles carstairs. i come from lancashire, just on the borders of westmoreland. my father is a jacobite, and so had to leave the country. he went over to sweden, and i, with some friends of his, got commissions." "then our cases are pretty much alike," the doctor said. "i had gone through dublin university, and had just passed as a surgeon, when king james landed. it didn't much matter to me who was king, but i thought it was a fine opportunity to study gunshot wounds, so i joined the royal army, and was at the battle of the boyne. i had plenty of work with wounds, early in the day, but when, after the irish had fairly beat the dutchman back all day, they made up their minds to march away at night, i had to lave my patients and be off too. then i was shut up in limerick; and i was not idle there, as you may guess. when at last the surrender came, i managed to slip away, having no fancy for going over with the regiments that were to enter the service of france. i thought i could have gone back to dublin, and that no one would trouble about me; but someone put them up to it, and i had to go without stopping to ask leave. i landed at bristol, and there, for a time, was nearly starving. "i was well nigh my wits' end as to what to do for a living, and had just spent my last shilling, when i met an english captain, who told me that across at gottenburg there were a good many irish and scotchmen who had, like myself, been in trouble at home. he gave me a passage across, and took me to the house of a man he knew. of course, it was no use my trying to doctor people, when they could not tell me what was the matter with them, and i worked at one thing and another, doing anything i could turn my hands to, for four or five months. that is how i got to pick up swedish. then some people told me that russia was a place where a doctor might get on, for that they had got no doctors for their army who knew anything of surgery, and the czar was always ready to take on foreigners who could teach them anything. i had got my diploma with me, and some of my friends came forward and subscribed enough to rig me out in clothes and pay my passage. what was better, one of them happened to have made the acquaintance of le ford, who was, as you may have heard, the czar's most intimate friend. "i wished myself back a hundred times before i reached moscow, but when i did, everything was easy for me. le ford introduced me to the czar, and i was appointed surgeon of a newly-raised regiment, of which le ford was colonel. that was eight years ago, and i am now a sort of surgeon general of a division, and am at the head of the hospitals about here. till the war began i had not, for five years, done any military work, but had been at the head of a college the czar has established for training surgeons for the army. i was only sent down here after that business at narva. "so, you see, i have fallen on my feet. the czar's is a good service, and we employ a score or two of scotchmen, most of them in good posts. he took to them because a scotchman, general gordon, and other foreign officers, rescued him from his sister sophia, who intended to assassinate him, and established him firmly on the throne of his father. "it is a pity you are not on this side. perhaps it isn't too late to change, eh?" charlie laughed. "my father is in sweden, and my company is commanded by a man who is as good as a father to me, and his son is like my brother. if there were no other reason, i could not change. why, it was only yesterday i was sitting round a bivouac fire with king charles, and nothing would induce me to fight against him." "i am not going to try to persuade you. the czar has treated me well, and i love him. by the way, i have not given you my name after all. it's terence kelly." "is not the czar very fierce and cruel?" "bedad, i would be much more cruel and fierce if i were in his place. just think of one man, with all russia on his shoulders. there is he trying to improve the country, working like a horse himself, knowing that, like every other russian, he is as ignorant as a pig, and setting to improve himself--working in the dockyards of holland and england, attending lectures, and all kinds of subjects. why, man, he learnt anatomy, and can take off a leg as quickly as i can. he is building a fleet and getting together an army. it is not much good yet, you will say, but it will be some day. you can turn a peasant into a soldier in six months, but it takes a long time to turn out generals and officers who are fit for their work. "then, while he is trying everywhere to improve his country, every man jack of them objects to being improved, and wants to go along in his old ways. didn't they get up an insurrection, only because he wanted them to cut off their beards? any other man would have lost heart, and given it up years ago. it looks as hopeless a task as for a mouse to drag a mountain, but he is doing it. "i don't say that he is perfect. he gets into passions, and it is mighty hard for anyone he gets into a passion with. but who would not get into passions, when there is so much work to be done, and everyone tries to hinder instead of to help? it would break the heart of saint patrick! why, that affair at narva would have broken down most men. here, for years, has he been working to make an army, and the first time they meet an enemy worthy of the name, what do they do? why, they are beaten by a tenth of their number of half-starved men, led by a mad-brained young fellow who had never heard a shot fired before, and lose all their cannon, guns, ammunition, and stores. why, i was heartbroken, myself, when i heard of it; but peter, instead of blowing out his brains, or drowning himself, set to work, an hour after the news reached him, to bring up fresh troops, to re-arm the men, and to prepare to meet the swedes again, as soon as the snow is off the ground. "if james of england had been peter of russia, he would be ruling over ireland now, and england and scotland, too. "but now, i must be off. don't you worry about your head. i have seen as bad a clip given by a blackthorn. i have got to go round now and see the wounded, and watch some operations being done, but i will come in again this evening. don't eat any more of their messes, if they bring them in. you and i will have a snug little dinner together. i might get you put into a more dacent chamber, but the general is one of the old pig-headed sort. we don't pull together, so i would rather not ask any favours from him. "the czar may come any day--he is always flying about. i will speak to him when he comes, and see that you have better entertainment." chapter : exchanged. late in the afternoon, doctor kelly came in again to the cell. "come along," he said; "i have got lave for you to have supper with me, and have given my pledge that you won't try to escape till it is over, or make any onslaught on the garrison, but will behave like a quiet and peaceable man." "you are quite safe in giving the pledge, doctor," charlie laughed. "come along then, me boy, for they were just dishing up when i came to fetch you. it is cold enough outside, and there is no sinse in putting cold victuals into one in such weather as this." they were not long in reaching a snugly-furnished room, where a big fire was burning. another gentleman was standing, with his back to it. he was a man of some seven or eight and twenty, with large features, dark brown hair falling in natural curls over his ears, and large and powerful in build. "this is my friend, charlie carstairs," the doctor said. "this, carstairs, is peter michaeloff, a better doctor than most of those who mangle the czar's soldiers." "things will better in time," the other said, "when your pupils begin to take their places in the army." "i hope so," the doctor said, shrugging his shoulders. "there is one comfort, they can't be much worse." at this moment a servant entered, bearing a bowl of soup and three basins. they at once seated themselves at the table. "so you managed to get yourself captured yesterday," doctor michaeloff said to charlie. "i have not had the pleasure of seeing many of you gentlemen here." "we don't come if we can help it," charlie laughed. "but the cossacks were so pressing, that i could not resist. in fact, i did not know anything about it, until i was well on the way." "i hope they have made you comfortable," the other said, sharply. "i can't say much for the food," charlie said, "and still less for the cell, which was bitterly cold. still, as the doctor gave me two rugs to wrap myself up in, i need not grumble." "that is not right," the other said angrily. "i hear that the king of sweden treats our prisoners well. "you should have remonstrated, kelly." the irishman shrugged his shoulders. "i ventured to hint to the general that i thought an officer had a right to better treatment, even if he were a prisoner, but i was told sharply to mind my own business, which was with the sick and wounded. i said, as the prisoner was wounded, i thought it was a matter that did come to some extent under my control." "what did the pig say?" "he grumbled something between his teeth, that i did not catch, and, as i thought the prisoner would not be kept there long, and was not unaccustomed to roughing it, it was not worthwhile pressing the matter further." "have you heard that an officer has been here this afternoon, with a flag of truce, to treat for your exchange?" doctor michaeloff said, turning suddenly to charlie. "no, i have not heard anything about it," charlie said. "he offered a captain for you, which you may consider a high honour." "it is, no doubt," charlie said, with a smile. "i suppose his majesty thought, as it was in his special service i was caught, he was bound to get me released, if he could." "it was a hunting party, was it not?" "yes. there was only the king with four of his officers there, and my company of foot, and fifty horse. i don't think i can call it an escort, for we went principally as beaters." "rustoff missed a grand chance there, kelly. "what regiment do you belong to?" and he again turned to charlie. "the malmoe regiment. the company is commanded by an english gentleman, who is a neighbour and great friend of my father. his son is an ensign, and my greatest friend. the men are all either scotch or english, but most of them scotch." "they are good soldiers, the scotch; none better. there are a good many in the russian service, also in that of austria and france. they are always faithful, and to be relied upon, even when native troops prove treacherous. and you like charles of sweden?" "there is not a soldier in his army but likes him," charlie said enthusiastically. "he expects us to do much, but he does more himself. all through the winter, he did everything in his power for us, riding long distances from camp to camp, to visit the sick and to keep up the spirits of the men. if we live roughly, so does he, and, on the march, he will take his meals among the soldiers, and wrap himself up in his cloak, and sleep on the bare ground, just as they do. and as for his bravery, he exposes his life recklessly--too recklessly, we all think--and it seemed a miracle that, always in the front as he was, he should have got through narva without a scratch." "yes, that was a bad bit of business, that narva," the other said thoughtfully. "why do you think we were beaten in the horrible way we were?--because the russians are no cowards." "no; they made a gallant stand when they recovered from their surprise," charlie agreed. "but in the first place, they were taken by surprise." "they ought not to have been," the doctor said angrily. "they had news, two days before, brought by the cavalry, who ought to have defended that pass, but didn't." "still, it was a surprise when we attacked," charlie said, "for they could not suppose that the small body they saw were going to assail them. then, we had the cover of that snowstorm, and they did not see us, until we reached the edge of the ditch. of course, your general ought to have made proper dispositions, and to have collected the greater part of his troops at the spot facing us, instead of having them strung out round that big semicircle, so that, when we made an entry they were separated, and each half was ignorant of what the other was doing. still, even then they might have concentrated between the trenches and the town. but no orders had been given. the general was one of the first we captured. the others waited for the orders that never came, until it was too late. if the general who commanded on the left had massed his troops, and marched against us as we were attacking the position they held on their right, we should have been caught between two fires." "it was a badly managed business, altogether," doctor michaeloff growled; "but we shall do better next time. we shall understand charles's tactics better. we reckoned on his troops, but we did not reckon on him. "kelly tells me that you would not care to change service." "my friends are in the swedish army, and i am well satisfied with the service. i daresay, if russia had been nearer england than sweden is, and we had landed there first, we should have been as glad to enter the service of the czar as we were to join that of king charles. everyone says that the czar makes strangers welcome, and that he is a liberal master to those who serve him well. as to the quarrel between them, i am not old enough to be able to give my opinion on it, though, as far as i am concerned, it seems to me that it was not a fair thing for russia to take advantage of sweden's being at war with denmark and augustus of saxony, to fall upon her without any cause of quarrel." "nations move less by morality than interest," doctor michaeloff said calmly. "russia wants a way to the sea--the turks cut her off to the south, and the swedes from the baltic. she is smothered between them, and when she saw her chance, she took it. that is not good morality. i admit that it is the excuse of the poor man who robs the rich, but it is human nature, and nations act, in the long run, a good deal like individuals." "but you have not told me yet, doctor," charlie said, turning the conversation, "whether the proposal for an exchange was accepted." "the general had no power to accept it, carstairs. it had to be referred to the czar himself." "i wish his majesty could see me, then," charlie laughed. "he would see that i am but a lad, and that my release would not greatly strengthen the swedish army." "but then the czar may be of opinion that none of his officers, who allowed themselves to be captured by a handful of men at narva, would be of any use to him," doctor michaeloff laughed. "that may, doubtless, be said of a good many among them," charlie said, "but, individually, none of the captains could be blamed for the mess they made of it." "perhaps not, but if all the men had been panic stricken, there were officers enough to have gathered together and cut their way through the swedes." "no doubt there were; but you must remember, doctor michaeloff, that an officer's place is with his company, and that it is his duty to think of his men, before thinking of himself. supposing all the officers of the left wing, as you say, had gathered together and cut their way out, the czar would have had a right to blame them for the capture of the whole of the men. how could they tell that, at daybreak, the general would not have given orders for the left wing to attack the swedes? they were strong enough still to have eaten us up, had they made the effort, and had the czar been there in person, i will warrant he would have tried it." "that he would," doctor michaeloff said warmly. "you are right there, young sir. the czar may not be a soldier, but at least he is a man, which is more than can be said for the officer who ordered sixty thousand men to lay down their arms to eight thousand." "i am sure of that," charlie said. "a man who would do as he has done, leave his kingdom, and work like a common man in dockyards, to learn how to build ships, and who rules his people as he does, must be a great man. i don't suppose he would do for us in england, because a king has no real power with us, and peter would never put up with being thwarted in all his plans by parliament, as william is. but for a country like russia, he is wonderful. of course, our company being composed of scotchmen and englishmen, we have no prejudices against him. we think him wrong for entering upon this war against sweden, but we all consider him a wonderful fellow, just the sort of fellow one would be proud to serve under, if we did not serve under charles of sweden. "well, doctor kelly, when do you think the czar will be here?" the doctor did not reply, but michaeloff said quietly: "he arrived this afternoon." "he did!" charlie exclaimed excitedly. "why did you not tell me before, doctor kelly? has he been asked about my exchange, and is the swedish officer still here?" "he is here, and you will be exchanged in the morning. "i have other things to see about now, and must say goodnight; and if you should ever fall into the hands of our people again, and doctor kelly does not happen to be near, ask for peter michaeloff, and he will do all he can for you." "then i am really to be exchanged tomorrow, doctor?" charlie said, as doctor michaeloff left the room. "it seems like it." "but did not you know?" "no, i had heard nothing for certain. i knew the czar had come, but i had not heard of his decision. i congratulate you." "it is a piece of luck," charlie said. "i thought it might be months before there was an exchange. it is very good of the king to send over so quickly." "yes; and of the czar to let you go." "well, i don't see much in that, doctor, considering that he gets a captain in exchange for me; still, of course, he might have refused. it would not have been civil, but he might have done it." "what did you think of my friend, charlie?" "i like him. he has a pleasant face, though i should think he has got a temper of his own. he has a splendid figure, and looks more like a fighting man than a doctor. i will write down his name, so as not to forget it, as he says he might be able to help me if i am ever taken prisoner again, and you did not happen to be with the army. it is always nice having a friend. look at the difference it has made to me, finding a countryman here." "yes, you may find it useful, carstairs; and he has a good deal of influence. still, i think it probable that if you ever should get into a scrape again, you will be able to get tidings of me, for i am likely to be with the advanced division of our army, wherever it is, as i am in charge of its hospitals. "you had better turn in now, for i suppose you will be starting early, and i have two or three patients i must visit again before i go to bed. this is your room, next to mine. i managed, after all, to get it changed." "that is very good of you, doctor, but it really would not have mattered a bit for one night. it does look snug and warm, with that great fire." "yes, the stoves are the one thing i don't like in russia. i like to see a blazing fire, and the first thing i do, when i get into fresh quarters, is to have the stove opened so that i can see one. this is a second room of mine. there were three together, you see, and as my rank is that of a colonel, i was able to get them, and it is handy, if a friend comes to see me, to have a room for him." an hour later, just as charlie was dozing off to sleep, the doctor put his head in to the door. "you are to start at daybreak, carstairs. my servant will call you an hour before that. i shall be up. i must put a fresh bandage on your head before you start." "thank you very much, doctor. i am sorry to get you up so early." "that is nothing. i am accustomed to work at all hours. good night." at eight o'clock, having had a bowl of broth, charlie descended to the courtyard in charge of an officer and two soldiers, the doctor accompanying him. here he found a swedish officer belonging to the king's personal staff. the russian handed the lad formally over to his charge, saying: "by the orders of the czar, i now exchange ensign carstairs for captain potoff, whom you, on your part, engage to send off at once." "i do," the swede said; "that is, i engage that he shall be sent off, as soon as he can be fetched from revel, where he is now interned, and shall be safely delivered under an escort; and that if, either by death, illness, or escape, i should not be able to hand him over, i will return another officer of the same rank." "i have the czar's commands," the russian went on, "to express his regret that, owing to a mistake on the part of the officer commanding here, ensign carstairs has not received such worthy treatment as the czar would have desired for him, but he has given stringent orders that, in future, any swedish officers who may be taken prisoners shall receive every comfort and hospitality that can be shown them." "goodbye, doctor kelly," charlie said, as he mounted his horse, which had been saddled in readiness for him. "i am greatly obliged to you for your very great kindness to me, and hope that i may some day have an opportunity of repaying it." "i hope not, carstairs. i trust that we may meet again, but hope that i sha'n't be in the position of a prisoner. however, strange things have happened already in this war, and there is no saying how fortune may go. goodbye, and a pleasant journey." a russian officer took his place by the side of the swede, and an escort of twenty troopers rode behind them, as they trotted out through the gate of the convent. "it was very kind of the king to send for me," charlie said to the swede, "and i am really sorry that you should have had so long a ride on my account, captain pradovich." "as to that, it is a trifle," the officer said. "if i had not been riding here, i should be riding with the king elsewhere, so that i am none the worse. but, in truth, i am glad i came, for yesterday evening i saw the czar himself. i conversed with him for some time. he expressed himself very courteously with respect to the king, and to our army, against whom he seems to bear no sort of malice for the defeat we inflicted on him at narva. he spoke of it himself, and said, 'you will see that, some day, we shall turn the tables upon you.' "the king will be pleased when i return with you, for we all feared that you might be very badly hurt. all that we knew was that some of your men had seen you cut down. after the battle was over, a search was made for your body. when it could not be found, questions were asked of some of our own men, and some wounded russians, who were lying near the spot where you had been seen to fall. "our men had seen nothing, for, as the russians closed in behind your company as it advanced, they had shut their eyes and lay as if dead, fearing that they might be run through, as they lay, by the cossack lances. the russians, however, told us that they had seen two of the cossacks dismount, by the orders of one of their officers, lift you on to a horse, and ride off with you. there was therefore a certainty that you were still living, for the russians would assuredly not have troubled to carry off a dead body. his majesty interested himself very much in the matter, and yesterday morning sent me off to inquire if you were alive, and if so, to propose an exchange. "i was much pleased, when i reached plescow yesterday, to learn that your wound is not a serious one. i saw the doctor, who, i found, was a countryman of yours, and he assured me that it was nothing, and made some joke that i did not understand about the thickness of north country skulls. "the czar arrived in the afternoon, but i did not see him until late in the evening, when i was sent for. i found him with the general in command, and several other officers, among whom was your friend the doctor. the czar was, at first, in a furious passion. he abused the general right and left, and i almost thought, at one time, that he would have struck him. he told him that he had disgraced the russian name, by not treating you with proper hospitality, and especially by placing you in a miserable cell without a fire. "'what will the king of sweden think?' he said. 'he treats his prisoners with kindness and courtesy, and after narva gave them a banquet, at which he himself was present. the duke of croy writes to me, to say he is treated as an honoured guest rather than as a prisoner, and here you disgrace us by shutting your prisoner in a cheerless cell, although he is wounded, and giving him food such as you might give to a common soldier. the swedes will think that we are barbarians. you are released from your command, and will at once proceed to moscow and report yourself there, when a post will be assigned to you where you will have no opportunity of showing yourself ignorant of the laws of courtesy. "'doctor,' he went on, 'you will remember that all prisoners, officers and men, will be henceforth under the charge of the medical department, and that you have full authority to make such arrangements as you may think necessary for their comfort and honourable treatment. i will not have russia made a byword among civilized peoples.' "then he dismissed the rest of them, and afterwards sat down and chatted with me, just as if we had been of the same rank, puffing a pipe furiously, and drinking amazing quantities of wine. indeed, my head feels the effects of it this morning, although i was quite unable to drink cup for cup with him, for, had i done so, i should have been under the table long before he rose from it, seemingly quite unmoved by the quantity he had drank. i have no doubt he summoned me especially to hear his rebuke to the general, so that i could take word to the king how earnest he was, in his regrets for your treatment." "there was nothing much to complain of," charlie said; "and, indeed, the cell was a palace after the miserable huts in which we have passed the winter. i am glad, however, the czar gave the general a wigging, for he spoke brutally to me on my arrival. you may be sure, now, that any prisoners that may be taken will be well treated; for doctor kelly, who has been extremely kind to me, will certainly take good care of them. as to my wound, it is of little consequence. it fell on my steel cap, and i think i was stunned by its force, rather than rendered insensible by the cut itself." after three hours' riding they came to a village. as soon as they were seen approaching, there was a stir there. a man riding ahead waved the white flag that he carried, and, when they entered the village, they found a party of fifty swedish cavalry in the saddle. the russian escort, as soon as the swedish officer and charlie had joined their friends, turned and rode off. a meal was in readiness, and when charlie, who was still feeling somewhat weak from the effects of his wound, had partaken of it, the party proceeded on their way, and rode into marienburg before nightfall. two or three miles outside the town, they met harry jervoise. two soldiers had been sent on at full speed, directly charlie reached the village, to report that he had arrived there and was not seriously wounded, and, knowing about the time they would arrive, harry had ridden out to meet his friend. "you are looking white," he said, after the first hearty greeting. "i am feeling desperately tired, harry. the wound is of no consequence, but i lost a good deal of blood, and it is as much as i can do to keep my saddle, though we have been coming on quietly on purpose. however, i shall soon be all right again, and i need hardly say that i am heartily glad to be back." "we have all been in a great way about you, charlie, for we made sure that you were very badly wounded. i can tell you, it was a relief when the men rode in three hours ago, with the news that you had arrived, and were not badly hurt. the men seemed as pleased as we were, and there was a loud burst of cheering when we told them the news. cunningham and forbes would have ridden out with me; but cunningham is on duty, and forbes thought that we should like to have a chat together." on his arrival, charlie was heartily welcomed by captain jervoise and the men of the company, who cheered lustily as he rode up. "you are to go and see the king at once," captain jervoise said as he dismounted. "i believe he wants to hear, especially, how you were treated. make the best of it you can, lad. there is no occasion for the feeling of charles against the russians being embittered." "i understand," charlie said. "i will make things as smooth as i can." he walked quickly to the little house where the king had taken up his quarters. there was no sentry at the door, or other sign that the house contained an occupant of special rank. he knocked at the door, and hearing a shout of "enter," opened it and went in. "ah, my young ensign; is it you?" the king said, rising from a low settle on which he was sitting by the fire, talking with colonel schlippenbach. "hurt somewhat, i see, but not badly, i hope. i was sure that you would not have been taken prisoner, unless you had been injured." "i was cut down by a blow that clove my helmet, your majesty, and stunned me for some time; but, beyond making a somewhat long gash on my skull, it did me no great harm." "that speaks well for the thickness of your skull, lad, and i am heartily glad it is no worse. now, tell me, how did they treat you?" "it was a somewhat rough cell into which i was thrown, sir, but i was most kindly tended by an irish doctor high in the czar's service, and, when the czar himself arrived, and learned that i had not been lodged as well as he thought necessary, i hear he was so angered that he disgraced the general, deprived him of his command, and sent him to take charge of some fortress in the interior of russia; and i was, by his orders, allowed to occupy the doctor's quarters, and a bedroom was assigned to me next to his. i heard that the czar spoke in terms of the warmest appreciation of your treatment of your prisoners, and said that any of your officers who fell into his hands should be treated with equal courtesy." charles looked gratified. "i am glad to hear it," he said. "in the field, if necessary, blood must flow like water, but there is no reason why we should not behave towards each other with courtesy, when the fighting is over. you know nothing of the force there, at present?" "no, sir, i heard nothing. i did not exchange a word with anyone, save the doctor and another medical man; and as the former treated me as a friend, rather than as an enemy, i did not deem it right to question him, and, had i done so, i am sure that he would have given me no answer." "well, you can return to your quarters, sir. your company did me good service in that fight, and colonel schlippenbach did not speak in any way too warmly in their favour. i would that i had more of these brave englishmen and scotchmen in my service." charlie's head, however, was not as hard as he had believed it to be; and the long ride brought on inflammation of the wound, so that, on the following morning, he was in a high state of fever. it was a fortnight before he was convalescent, and the surgeon then recommended that he should have rest and quiet for a time, as he was sorely pulled down, and unfit to bear the hardships of a campaign; and it was settled that he should go down with the next convoy to revel, and thence take ship for sweden. he was so weak, that although very sorry to leave the army just as spring was commencing, he himself felt that he should be unable to support the fatigues of the campaign, until he had had entire rest and change. a few hours after the decision of the surgeon had been given, major jamieson and captain jervoise entered the room where he was sitting, propped up by pillows. "i have a bit of news that will please you, charlie. the king sent for the major this morning, and told him that he intended to increase our company to a regiment, if he could do so. he had heard that a considerable number of scotchmen and englishmen had come over, and were desirous of enlisting, but, from their ignorance of the language, their services had been declined. he said that he was so pleased, not only with the conduct of the company in that fight, but with its discipline, physique, and power of endurance, that he had decided to convert it into a regiment. he said he was sorry to lose its services for a time; but, as we lost twenty men in the fight, and have some fifteen still too disabled to take their places in the ranks, this was of the less importance. "so we are all going to march down to revel with you. major jamieson is appointed colonel, and i am promoted to be major. the king himself directed that cunningham and forbes shall have commissions as captains, and you and harry as lieutenants. the colonel has authority given him to nominate scotch and english gentlemen of good name to make up the quota of officers, while most of our own men will be appointed non-commissioned officers, to drill the new recruits. the king has been good enough, at colonel jamieson's request, to say that, as soon as the regiment is raised and organized, it shall be sent up to the front." "that is good news, indeed," charlie said, with more animation than he had evinced since his illness. "i have been so accustomed to be attended to, in every way, that i was quite looking forward with dread to the journey among strangers. still, if you are all going, it will be a different thing altogether. i don't think you will be long in raising the regiment. we only were a week in getting the company together, and, if they have been refusing to accept the services of our people, there must be numbers of them at gottenburg." early on the following morning, charlie and the men unable to march were placed in waggons, and the company started on its march to revel. it was a heavy journey, for the frost had broken up, and the roads were in a terrible state from the heavy traffic passing. there was no delay when they reached the port, as they at once marched on board a ship, which was the next day to start for sweden. orders from the king had already been received that the company was to be conveyed direct to gottenburg, and they entered the port on the fifth day after sailing. the change, the sea air, and the prospect of seeing his father again greatly benefited charlie, and, while the company was marched to a large building assigned to their use, he was able to make his way on foot to his father's, assisted by his soldier servant, jock armstrong. "why, charlie," sir marmaduke carstairs exclaimed as he entered, "who would have thought of seeing you? you are looking ill, lad; ill and weak. what has happened to you?" charlie briefly related the events that had brought about his return to gottenburg, of which sir marmaduke was entirely ignorant. postal communications were rare and uncertain, and captain jervoise had not taken advantage of the one opportunity that offered, after charlie had been wounded, thinking it better to delay till the lad could write and give a good account of himself. "so jervoise, and his son, and that good fellow jamieson are all back again? that is good news, charlie; and you have been promoted? that is capital too, after only a year in the service. and you have been wounded, and a prisoner among the russians? you have had adventures, indeed! i was terribly uneasy when the first news of that wonderful victory at narva came, for we generally have to wait for the arrival of the despatches giving the lists of the killed and wounded. i saw that the regiment had not been in the thick of it, as the lists contained none of your names. i would have given a limb to have taken part in that wonderful battle. when you get as old as i am, my boy, you will feel a pride in telling how you fought at narva, and helped to destroy an entire russian army with the odds ten to one against you. "of course, you will stay here with me. i suppose you have leave at present?" "yes, father, colonel jamieson told me that my first duty was to get strong and well again, and that i was to think of no other until i had performed that. and how have you been getting on, father?" "very well, lad. i don't pretend that it is not a great change from lynnwood, but i get along very well, and thank heaven, daily, that for so many years i had set aside a portion of my rents, little thinking that the time would come when they would prove my means of existence. my friends here have invested the money for me, and it bears good interest, which is punctually paid. with the english and scotch exiles, i have as much society as i care for, and as i find i am able to keep a horse--for living here is not more than half the cost that it would be in england--i am well enough contented with my lot. "there is but one thing that pricks me. that villain john dormay has, as he schemed for, obtained possession of my estates, and has been knighted for his distinguished services to the king. i heard of this some time since, by a letter from one of our jacobite friends to whom i wrote, asking for news. he says that the new knight has no great cause for enjoyment in his dignity and possessions, because, not only do the jacobite gentry turn their backs upon him, when they meet him in the town, but the better class of whigs hold altogether aloof from him, regarding his elevation, at the expense of his wife's kinsman, to be disgraceful, although of course they have no idea of the evil plot by which he brought about my ruin. there is great pity expressed for his wife, who has not once stirred beyond the grounds at lynnwood since he took her there, and who is, they say, a shadow of her former self. ciceley, he hears, is well. that cub of a son is in london, and there are reports that he is very wild, and puts his father to much cost. as to the man himself, they say he is surrounded by the lowest knaves, and it is rumoured that he has taken to drink for want of better company. it is some comfort to me to think that, although the villain has my estates, he is getting no enjoyment out of them. "however, i hope some day to have a reckoning with him. the stuarts must come to their own, sooner or later. until then i am content to rest quietly here in sweden." chapter : the passage of the dwina. a few hours after charlie's arrival home, major jervoise and harry came round to the house. "i congratulate you, jervoise, on your new rank," sir marmaduke said heartily, as he entered; "and you, too, harry. it has been a great comfort to me, to know that you and charlie have been together always. at present you have the advantage of him in looks. my lad has no more strength than a girl, not half the strength, indeed, of many of these sturdy swedish maidens." "yes, charlie has had a bad bout of it, carstairs," major jervoise said cheerfully; "but he has picked up wonderfully in the last ten days, and, in as many more, i shall look to see him at work again. i only wish that you could have been with us, old friend." "it is of no use wishing, jervoise. we have heard enough here, of what the troops have been suffering through the winter, for me to know that, if i had had my wish and gone with you, my bones would now be lying somewhere under the soil of livonia." "yes, it was a hard time," major jervoise agreed, "but we all got through it well, thanks principally to our turning to at sports of all kinds. these kept the men in health, and prevented them from moping. the king was struck with the condition of our company, and he has ordered that, in future, all the swedish troops shall take part in such games and amusements when in winter quarters. of course, charlie has told you we are going to have a regiment entirely composed of scots and englishmen. i put the scots first, since they will be by far the most numerous. there are always plenty of active spirits, who find but small opening for their energy at home, and are ready to take foreign service whenever the chance opens. besides, there are always feuds there. in the old days, it was chief against chief. now it is religion against religion; and now, as then, there are numbers of young fellows glad to exchange the troubles at home for service abroad. there have been quite a crowd of men round our quarters, for, directly the news spread that the company was landing, our countrymen flocked round, each eager to learn how many vacancies there were in the ranks, and whether we would receive recruits. their joy was extreme when it became known that jamieson had authority to raise a whole regiment. i doubt not that many of the poor fellows are in great straits." "that i can tell you they are," sir marmaduke broke in. "we have been doing what we can for them, for it was grievous that so many men should be wandering, without means or employment, in a strange country. but the number was too great for our money to go far among them, and i know that many of them are destitute and well-nigh starving. we had hoped to ship some of them back to scotland, and have been treating with the captain of a vessel sailing, in two or three days, to carry them home." "it is unfortunate, but they have none to blame but themselves. they should have waited until an invitation for foreigners to enlist was issued by the swedish government, or until gentlemen of birth raised companies and regiments for service here. however, we are the gainers, for i see that we shall not have to wait here many weeks. already, as far as i can judge from what i hear, there must be well-nigh four hundred men here, all eager to serve. "we will send the news by the next ship that sails, both to scotland and to our own country, that men, active and fit for service, can be received into a regiment, specially formed of english-speaking soldiers. i will warrant that, when it is known in the fells that i am a major in the regiment, and that your son and mine are lieutenants, we shall have two or three score of stout young fellows coming over." the next day, indeed, nearly four hundred men were enlisted into the service, and were divided into eight companies. each of these, when complete, was to be two hundred strong. six scottish officers were transferred, from swedish regiments, to fill up the list of captains, and commissions were given to several gentlemen of family as lieutenants and ensigns. most of these, however, were held over, as the colonel wrote to many gentlemen of his acquaintance in scotland, offering them commissions if they would raise and bring over men. major jervoise did the same to half a dozen young jacobite gentlemen in the north of england, and so successful were the appeals that, within two months of the return of the company to gottenburg, the regiment had been raised to its full strength. a fortnight was spent in drilling the last batch of recruits, from morning till night, so that they should be able to take their places in the ranks; and then, with drums beating and colours flying, the corps embarked at gottenburg, and sailed to join the army. they arrived at revel in the beginning of may. the port was full of ships, for twelve thousand men had embarked, at stockholm and other ports, to reinforce the army and enable the king to take the field in force; and, by the end of the month, the greater portion of the force was concentrated at dorpt. charlie had long since regained his full strength. as soon as he was fit for duty, he had rejoined, and had been engaged, early and late, in the work of drilling the recruits, and in the general organization of the regiment. he and harry, however, found time to take part in any amusement that was going on. they were made welcome in the houses of the principal merchants and other residents of gottenburg, and much enjoyed their stay in the town, in spite of their longing to be back in time to take part in the early operations of the campaign. when they sailed into the port of revel, they found that the campaign had but just commenced, and they marched with all haste to join the force with which the king was advancing against the saxons, who were still besieging riga. their army was commanded by marshal steinau, and was posted on the other side of the river dwina, a broad stream. charles the twelfth had ridden up to colonel jamieson's regiment upon its arrival, and expressed warm gratification at its appearance, when it was paraded for his inspection. "you have done well, indeed, colonel," he said. "i had hardly hoped you could have collected so fine a body of men in so short a time." at his request, the officers were brought up and introduced. he spoke a few words to those he had known before, saying to charlie: "i am glad to see you back again, lieutenant. you have quite recovered from that crack on your crown, i hope. but i need not ask, your looks speak for themselves. you have just got back in time to pay my enemies back for it." the prospect was not a cheerful one, when the swedes arrived on the banks of the dwina. the saxons were somewhat superior in force, and it would be a desperate enterprise to cross the river, in the teeth of their cannon and musketry. already the king had caused a number of large flat boats to be constructed. the sides were made very high, so as to completely cover the troops from musketry, and were hinged so as to let down and act as gangways, and facilitate a landing. charlie was standing on the bank, looking at the movements of the saxon troops across the river, and wondering how the passage was to be effected, when a hand was placed on his shoulder. looking round, he saw it was the king, who, as was his custom, was moving about on foot, unattended by any of his officers. "wondering how we are to get across, lieutenant?" "that is just what i was thinking over, your majesty." "we want another snowstorm, as we had at narva," the king said. "the wind is blowing the right way, but there is no chance of such another stroke of luck, at this time of year." "no, sir; but i was thinking that one might make an artificial fog." "how do you mean?" the king asked quickly. "your majesty has great stacks of straw here, collected for forage for the cattle. no doubt a good deal of it is damp, or if not, it could be easily wetted. if we were to build great piles of it, all along on the banks here, and set it alight so as to burn very slowly, but to give out a great deal of smoke, this light wind would blow it across the river into the faces of the saxons, and completely cover our movements." "you are right!" the king exclaimed. "nothing could be better. we will make a smoke that will blind and half smother them;" and he hurried away. an hour later, orders were sent out to all the regiments that, as soon as it became dusk, the men should assemble at the great forage stores for fatigue duty. as soon as they did so, they were ordered to pull down the stacks, and to carry the straw to the bank of the river, and there pile it in heavy masses, twenty yards apart. the whole was to be damped, with the exception of only a small quantity on the windward side of the heaps, which was to be used for starting the fire. in two hours, the work was completed. the men were then ordered to return to their camps, have their suppers, and lie down at once. then they were to form up, half an hour before daybreak, in readiness to take their places in the boats, and were then to lie down, in order, until the word was given to move forward. this was done, and just as the daylight appeared the heaps of straw were lighted, and dense volumes of smoke rolled across the river, entirely obscuring the opposite shore from view. the saxons, enveloped in the smoke, were unable to understand its meaning. those on the watch had seen no sign of troops on the bank, before the smoke began to roll across the water, and the general was uncertain whether a great fire had broken out in the forage stores of the swedes, or whether the fire had been purposely raised, either to cover the movements of the army and enable them to march away and cross at some undefended point, or whether to cover their passage. the swedish regiments, which were the first to cross, took their places at once in the boats, the king himself accompanying them. in a quarter of an hour the opposite bank was gained. marshal steinau, an able general, had called the saxons under arms, and was marching towards the river, when the wind, freshening, lifted the thick veil of smoke, and he saw that the swedes had already gained the bank of the river, and at once hurled his cavalry against them. the swedish formation was not complete and, for a moment, they were driven back in disorder, and forced into the river. the water was shallow, and the king, going about among them, quickly restored order and discipline, and, charging in solid formation, they drove the cavalry back and advanced across the plain. steinau recalled his troops and posted them in a strong position, one flank being covered by a marsh and the other by a wood. he had time to effect his arrangements, as charles was compelled to wait until the whole of his troops were across. as soon as they were so, he led them against the enemy. the battle was a severe one, for the swedes were unprovided with artillery, and the saxons, with the advantages of position and a powerful artillery, fought steadily. three times marshal steinau led his cavalry in desperate charges, and each time almost penetrated to the point where charles was directing the movements of his troops; but, at last, he was struck from his horse by a blow from the butt end of a musket; and his cuirassiers, with difficulty, carried him from the field. as soon as his fall became known, disorder spread among the ranks of the saxons. some regiments gave way, and, the swedes rushing forward with loud shouts, the whole army was speedily in full flight. this victory laid the whole of courland at the mercy of the swedes, all the towns opening their gates at their approach. they were now on the confines of poland, and the king, brave to rashness as he was, hesitated to attack a nation so powerful. poland, at that time, was a country a little larger than france, though with a somewhat smaller population, but in this respect exceeding sweden. with the poles themselves he had no quarrel, for they had taken no part in the struggle, which had been carried on solely by their king, with his saxon troops. the authority of the kings of poland was much smaller than that of other european monarchs. the office was not a hereditary one; the king being elected at a diet, composed of the whole of the nobles of the country, the nobility embracing practically every free man; and, as it was necessary, according to the constitution of the country, that the vote should be unanimous, the difficulties in the way of election were very great, and civil wars of constant occurrence. charles was determined that he would drive augustus, who was the author of the league against him, from the throne; but he desired to do this by means of the poles themselves, rather than to unite the whole nation against him by invading the country. poland was divided into two parts, the larger of which was poland proper, which could at once place thirty thousand men in the field. the other was lithuania, with an army of twelve thousand. these forces were entirely independent of each other. the troops were for the most part cavalry, and the small force, permanently kept up, was composed almost entirely of horsemen. they rarely drew pay, and subsisted entirely on plunder, being as formidable to their own people as to an enemy. lithuania, on whose borders the king had taken post with his army, was, as usual, harassed by two factions, that of the prince sapieha and the prince of oginski, between whom a civil war was going on. the king of sweden took the part of the former, and, furnishing him with assistance, speedily enabled him to overcome the oginski party, who received but slight aid from the saxons. oginski's forces were speedily dispersed, and roamed about the country in scattered parties, subsisting on pillage, thereby exciting among the people a lively feeling of hatred against the king of poland, who was regarded as the author of the misfortunes that had befallen the country. from the day when charlie's suggestion, of burning damp straw to conceal the passage of the river, had been attended with such success, the king had held him in high favour. there was but a few years' difference between their ages, and the suggestion, so promptly made, seemed to show the king that the young englishman was a kindred spirit, and he frequently requested him to accompany him in his rides, and chatted familiarly with him. "i hate this inactive life," he said one day, "and would, a thousand times, rather be fighting the russians than setting the poles by the ears; but i dare not move against them, for, were augustus of saxony left alone, he would ere long set all poland against me. at present, the poles refuse to allow him to bring in reinforcements from his own country; but if he cannot get men he can get gold, and with gold he can buy over his chief opponents, and regain his power. if it costs me a year's delay, i must wait until he is forced to fly the kingdom, and i can place on the throne someone who will owe his election entirely to me, and in whose good faith i can be secure. "that done, i can turn my attention to russia, which, by all accounts, daily becomes more formidable. narva is besieged by them, and will ere long fall; but i can retake narva when once i can depend upon the neutrality of the poles. would i were king of poland as well as of sweden. with eighty thousand polish horse, and my own swedish infantry, i could conquer europe if i wished to do so. "i know that you are as fond of adventure as i am, and i am thinking of sending you with an envoy i am despatching to warsaw. "you know that the poles are adverse to business of all kinds. the poorest noble, who can scarcely pay for the cloak he wears, and who is ready enough to sell his vote and his sword to the highest bidder, will turn up his nose at honest trade; and the consequence is, as there is no class between the noble and the peasant, the trade of the country is wholly in the hands of jews and foreigners, among the latter being, i hear, many scotchmen, who, while they make excellent soldiers, are also keen traders. this class must have considerable power, in fact, although it be exercised quietly. the jews are, of course, money lenders as well as traders. large numbers of these petty nobles must be in their debt, either for money lent or goods supplied. "my agent goes specially charged to deal with the archbishop, who is quite open to sell his services to me, although he poses as one of the strongest adherents of the saxons. with him, it is not a question so much of money, as of power. being a wise man, he sees that augustus can never retain his position, in the face of the enmity of the great body of the poles, and of my hostility. but, while my agent deals with him and such nobles as he indicates as being likely to take my part against augustus, you could ascertain the feeling of the trading class, and endeavour to induce them, not only to favour me, but to exert all the influence they possess on my behalf. as there are many scotch merchants in the city, you could begin by making yourself known to them, taking with you letters of introduction from your colonel, and any other scotch gentleman whom you may find to have acquaintanceship, if not with the men themselves, with their families in scotland. i do not, of course, say that the mission will be without danger, but that will, i know, be an advantage in your eyes. what do you think of the proposal?" "i do not know, sire," charlie said doubtfully. "i have no experience whatever in matters of that kind." "this will be a good opportunity for you to serve an apprenticeship," the king said decidedly. "there is no chance of anything being done here, for months, and as you will have no opportunity of using your sword, you cannot be better employed than in polishing up your wits. i will speak to colonel jamieson about it this evening. count piper will give you full instructions, and will obtain for you, from some of our friends, lists of the names of the men who would be likely to be most useful to us. you will please to remember that the brain does a great deal more than the sword, in enabling a man to rise above his fellows. you are a brave young officer, but i have many a score of brave young officers, and it was your quick wit, in suggesting the strategy by which we crossed the dwina without loss, that has marked you out from among others, and made me see that you are fit for something better than getting your throat cut." the king then changed the subject with his usual abruptness, and dismissed charlie, at the end of his ride, without any further allusion to the subject. the young fellow, however, knew enough of the king's headstrong disposition to be aware that the matter was settled, and that he could not, without incurring the king's serious displeasure, decline to accept the commission. he walked back, with a serious face, to the hut that the officers of the company occupied, and asked harry jervoise to come out to him. "what is it, charlie?" his friend said. "has his gracious majesty been blowing you up, or has your horse broken its knees?" "a much worse thing than either, harry. the king appears to have taken into his head that i am cut out for a diplomatist;" and he then repeated to his friend the conversation the king had had with him. harry burst into a shout of laughter. "don't be angry, charlie, but i cannot help it. the idea of your going, in disguise, i suppose, and trying to talk over the jewish clothiers and cannie scotch traders, is one of the funniest things i ever heard. and do you think the king was really in earnest?" "the king is always in earnest," charlie said in a vexed tone; "and, when he once takes a thing into his head, there is no gainsaying him." "that is true enough, charlie," harry said, becoming serious. "well, i have no doubt you will do it just as well as another, and after all, there will be some fun in it, and you will be in a big city, and likely to have a deal more excitement than will fall to our lot here." "i don't think it will be at all the sort of excitement i should care for, harry. however, my hope is, that the colonel will be able to dissuade him from the idea." "well, i don't know that i should wish that if i were in your place, charlie. undoubtedly, it is an honour being chosen for such a mission, and it is possible you may get a great deal of credit for it, as the king is always ready to push forward those who do good service. look how much he thinks of you, because you made that suggestion about getting up a smoke to cover our passage." "i wish i had never made it," charlie said heartily. "well, in that case, charlie, it is likely enough we should not be talking together here, for our loss in crossing the river under fire would have been terrible." "well, perhaps it is as well as it is," charlie agreed. "but i did not want to attract his attention. i was very happy as i was, with you all. as for my suggestion about the straw, anyone might have thought of it. i should never have given the matter another moment's consideration, and i should be much better pleased if the king had not done so, either, instead of telling the colonel about it, and the colonel speaking to the officers, and such a ridiculous fuss being made about nothing." "my dear charlie," harry said seriously, "you seem to be forgetting that we all came out here, together, to make our fortune, or at any rate to do as well as we could till the stuarts come to the throne again, and our fathers regain their estates, a matter concerning which, let me tell you, i do not feel by any means so certain as i did in the old days. then, you know, all our friends were of our way of thinking, and the faith that the stuarts would return was like a matter of religion, which it was heresy to doubt for an instant. well, you see, in the year that we have been out here one's eyes have got opened a bit, and i don't feel by any means sanguine that the stuarts will ever come to the throne of england again, or that our fathers will recover their estates. "you have seen here what good soldiers can do, and how powerless men possessing but little discipline, though perhaps as brave as themselves, are against them. william of orange has got good soldiers. his dutch troops are probably quite as good as our best swedish regiments. they have had plenty of fighting in ireland and elsewhere, and i doubt whether the jacobite gentlemen, however numerous, but without training or discipline, could any more make head against them than the masses of muscovites could against the swedish battalions at narva. all this means that it is necessary that we should, if possible, carve out a fortune here. so far, i certainly have no reason to grumble. on the contrary, i have had great luck. i am a lieutenant at seventeen, and, if i am not shot or carried off by fever, i may, suppose the war goes on and the army is not reduced, be a colonel at the age of forty. "now you, on the other hand, have, by that happy suggestion of yours, attracted the notice of the king, and he is pleased to nominate you to a mission in which there is a chance of your distinguishing yourself in another way, and of being employed in other and more important business. all this will place you much farther on the road towards making a fortune, than marching and fighting with your company would be likely to do in the course of twenty years, and i think it would be foolish in the extreme for you to exhibit any disinclination to undertake the duty." "i suppose you are right, harry, and i am much obliged to you for your advice, which certainly puts the matter in a light in which i had not before seen it. if i thought that i could do it well, i should not so much mind, for, as you say, there will be some fun to be got out of it, and some excitement, and there seems little chance of doing anything here for a long time. but what am i to say to the fellows? how can i argue with them? besides, i don't talk polish." "i don't suppose there are ten men in the army who do so, probably not five. as to what to say, count piper will no doubt give you full instructions as to the line you are to take, the arguments you are to use, and the inducements you are to hold out. that is sure to be all right." "well, do not say anything about it, harry, when you get back. i still hope the colonel will dissuade the king." "then you are singularly hopeful, charlie, that is all i can say. you might persuade a brick wall to move out of your way, as easily as induce the king of sweden to give up a plan he has once formed. however, i will say nothing about it." at nine o'clock, an orderly came to the hut with a message that the colonel wished to speak to lieutenant carstairs. harry gave his friend a comical look, as the latter rose and buckled on his sword. "what is the joke, harry?" his father asked, when charlie had left. "do you know what the colonel can want him for, at this time of the evening? it is not his turn for duty." "i know, father; but i must not say." "the lad has not been getting into a scrape, i hope?" "nothing serious, i can assure you; but really, i must not say anything until he comes back." harry's positive assurance, as to the impossibility of changing the king's decision, had pretty well dispelled any hopes charlie might before have entertained, and he entered the colonel's room with a grave face. "you know why i have sent for you, carstairs?" "yes, sir; i am afraid that i do." "afraid? that is to say, you don't like it." "yes, sir; i own that i don't like it." "nor do i, lad, and i told his majesty so. i said you were too young for so risky a business. the king scoffed at the idea. he said, 'he is not much more than two years younger than i am, and if i am old enough to command an army, he is old enough to carry out this mission. we know that he is courageous. he is cool, sharp, and intelligent. why do i choose him? has he not saved me from the loss of about four or five thousand men, and probably a total defeat? a young fellow who can do that, ought to be able to cope with jewish traders, and to throw dust in the eyes of the poles. "i have chosen him for this service for two reasons. in the first place, because i know he will do it well, and even those who consider that i am rash and headstrong, admit that i have the knack of picking out good men. in the next place, i want to reward him for the service he has done for us. i cannot, at his age, make a colonel of him, but i can give him a chance of distinguishing himself in a service in which age does not count for so much, and count piper, knowing my wishes in the matter, will push him forward. moreover, in such a mission as this, his youth will be an advantage, for he is very much less likely to excite suspicion than if he were an older man.' "the king's manner did not admit of argument, and i had only to wait and ask what were his commands. these were simply that you are to call upon his minister tomorrow, and that you would then receive full instructions. "the king means well by you, lad, and on turning it over, i think better of the plan than i did before. i am convinced, at any rate, that you will do credit to the king's choice." "i will do my best, sir," charlie said. "at present, it all seems so vague to me that i can form no idea whatever as to what it will be like. i am sure that the king's intentions are, at any rate, kind. i am glad to hear you say that, on consideration, you think better of the plan. then i may mention the matter to major jervoise?" "certainly, carstairs, and to his son, but it must go no farther. i shall put your name in orders, as relieved from duty, and shall mention that you have been despatched on service, which might mean anything. come and see me tomorrow, lad, after you have received count piper's instructions. as the king reminded me, there are many scotchmen at warsaw, and it is likely that some of them passed through sweden on the way to establish themselves there, and i may very well have made their acquaintance at gottenburg or stockholm. "once established in the house of one of my countrymen, your position would be fairly safe and not altogether unpleasant, and you would be certainly far better off than a swede would be engaged on this mission. the swedes are, of course, regarded by the poles as enemies, but, as there is no feeling against englishmen or scotchmen, you might pass about unnoticed as one of the family of a scottish trader there, or as his assistant." "i don't fear its being unpleasant in the least, colonel. nor do i think anything one way or the other about my safety. i only fear that i shall not be able to carry out properly the mission intrusted to me." "you will do your best, lad, and that is all that can be expected. you have not solicited the post, and as it is none of your choosing, your failure would be the fault of those who have sent you, and not of yourself; but in a matter of this kind there is no such thing as complete failure. when you have to deal with one man you may succeed or you may fail in endeavouring to induce him to act in a certain manner, but when you have to deal with a considerable number of men, some will be willing to accept your proposals, some will not, and the question of success will probably depend upon outside influences and circumstances over which you have no control whatever. i have no fear that it will be a failure. if our party in poland triumph, or if our army here advances, or if augustus, finding his position hopeless, leaves the country, the good people of warsaw will join their voices to those of the majority. if matters go the other way, you may be sure that they will not risk imprisonment, confiscation, and perhaps death, by getting up a revolt on their own account. the king will be perfectly aware of this, and will not expect impossibilities, and there is really no occasion whatever for you to worry yourself on that ground." upon calling upon count piper the next morning, charlie found that, as the colonel had told him, his mission was a general one. "it will be your duty," the minister said, "to have interviews with as many of the foreign traders and jews in warsaw as you can, only going to those to whom you have some sort of introduction from the persons you may first meet, or who are, as far as you can learn from the report of others, ill disposed towards the saxon party. here is a letter, stating to all whom it may concern, that you are in the confidence of the king of sweden, and are authorized to represent him. "in the first place, you can point out to those you see that, should the present situation continue, it will bring grievous evils upon poland. proclamations have already been spread broadcast over the country, saying that the king has no quarrel with the people of poland, but, as their sovereign has, without the slightest provocation, embarked on a war, he must fight against him and his saxon troops, until they are driven from the country. this you will repeat, and will urge that it will be infinitely better that poland herself should cast out the man who has embroiled her with sweden, than that the country should be the scene of a long and sanguinary struggle, in which large districts will necessarily be laid waste, all trade be arrested, and grievous suffering inflicted upon the people at large. "you can say that king charles has already received promises of support from a large number of nobles, and is most desirous that the people of the large towns, and especially of the capital, should use their influence in his favour. that he has himself no ambition, and no end to serve save to obtain peace and tranquillity for his country, and that it will be free for the people of poland to elect their own monarch, when once augustus of saxony has disappeared from the scene. "in this sealed packet you will find a list of influential citizens. it has been furnished me by one well acquainted with the place. the jews are to be assured that, in case of a friendly monarch being placed on the throne, charles will make a treaty with him, insuring freedom of commerce to the two countries, and will also use his friendly endeavours to obtain, from the king and diet, an enlargement of the privileges that the jews enjoy. to the foreign merchants you will hold the same language, somewhat altered, to suit their condition and wants. "you are not asking them to organize any public movement, the time has not yet come for that; but simply to throw the weight of their example and influence against the party of the saxons. of course our friends in warsaw have been doing their best to bring round public opinion in the capital to this direction, but the country is so torn by perpetual intrigues, that the trading classes hold aloof altogether from quarrels in which they have no personal interest, and are slow to believe that they can be seriously affected by any changes which will take place. "our envoy will start tomorrow morning. his mission is an open one. he goes to lay certain complaints, to propose an exchange of prisoners, and to open negotiations for peace. all these are but pretences. his real object is to enter into personal communication with two or three powerful personages, well disposed towards us. "come again to me this evening, when you have thought the matter over. i shall then be glad to hear any suggestion you may like to make." "there is one thing, sir, that i should like to ask you. it will evidently be of great advantage to me, if i can obtain private letters of introduction to scotch traders in the city. this i cannot do, unless by mentioning the fact that i am bound for warsaw. have i your permission to do so, or is it to be kept a close secret?" "no. i see no objection to your naming it to anyone you can implicitly trust, and who may, as you think, be able to give you such introductions, but you must impress upon them that the matter must be kept a secret. doubtless the saxons have in their pay people in our camp, just as we have in theirs, and were word of your going sent, you would find yourself watched, and perhaps arrested. we should, of course wish you to be zealous in your mission, but i would say, do not be over anxious. we are not trying to get up a revolution in warsaw, but seeking to ensure that the feeling in the city should be in our favour; and this, we think, may be brought about, to some extent, by such assurances as you can give of the king's friendship, and by such expressions of a belief in the justice of our cause, and in the advantages there would be in getting rid of this foreign prince, as might be said openly by one trader to another, when men meet in their exchanges or upon the street. so that the ball is once set rolling, it may be trusted to keep in motion, and there can be little doubt that such expressions of feeling, among the mercantile community of the capital, will have some effect even upon nobles who pretend to despise trade, but who are not unfrequently in debt to traders, and who hold their views in a certain respect." "thank you, sir. at what time shall i come this evening?" "at eight o'clock. by that time, i may have thought out farther details for your guidance." chapter : in warsaw. upon leaving the quarters of count piper, charlie returned to the camp, and, after discussing the matter with major jervoise, proceeded with him to the colonel's hut. "well, you look brighter this morning, carstairs. are you better pleased, now you have thought the matter over?" "yes, sir. what you said last night has been quite confirmed by count piper, and the matter does not really seem so difficult. i am merely, as a foreigner in the employment of the king of sweden, to talk with foreigners in warsaw, to assure them that the king is sincere in his desire to avoid war with poland, and will gladly make a lasting peace between the two countries, to urge upon them to show themselves favourable to his project for securing such a peace, by forcing augustus to resign the crown, and to use what influence they can in that direction, both upon their fellow traders and upon the poles." "there is nothing very difficult about that," colonel jamieson said cheerfully, "as it happens to be quite true; and there can be no real question as to the true interest of poland, and especially of the trading classes in the great towns, from whom heavy contributions towards the expenses of war are always exacted by their own rulers, and who have to pay a ruinous ransom in case of their city being captured by the enemy. the traders of warsaw will need no reminder of such well-known facts, and will be only too glad to be assured that, unless as a last resource, our king has no intention of making war upon poland, and they will certainly be inclined to bestir themselves to avert such a possibility. you have, i suppose, a list of names of the people with whom you had best put yourself into communication?" "yes, sir. here is a list. there are, i see, ten scotchmen, fifteen frenchmen, and about as many jews." "i know nothing of the frenchmen, and less of the jews," the colonel said, taking the list; "but i ought to know some of the scotchmen. they will hail from dundee and glasgow, and, it may be, dumfries." he ran his eye down the list. "aha! here is one, and we need go no further. allan ramsay; we were lads together at the high school of glasgow, and were classmates at the college. his father was a member of the city council, and was one of the leading traders in the city. allan was a wild lad, as i was myself, and many a scrape did we get into together, and had many a skirmish with the watch. allan had two or three half brothers, men from ten to twenty years older than himself, and, a year or two after i came out to sweden and entered the army as an ensign, who should i meet in the streets of gottenburg, but allan ramsay. "we were delighted to see each other, and he stopped with me nearly a week. he had, after leaving the college, gone into his father's business, but when the old man died he could not get on with his half brothers, who were dour men, and had little patience with allan's restlessness and love of pleasure. so, after a final quarrel, they had given him so much money for his share of the business, and a letter of introduction to a trader in poland, who had written to them saying that he wanted a partner with some capital; and allan was willing enough to try the life in a strange country, for he was a shrewd fellow, with all his love of fun. "five years afterwards, he came through gottenburg again. i did not see him, for my regiment was at stockholm at the time, but he wrote me a letter saying that he had been in scotland to marry and bring back one janet black, the daughter of a mercer, whom i remember well enough as an old flame of his. "he reported that he was doing well, and that the poles were not bad fellows to live among, though less punctual in their payments than might be wished. he said he did not suppose that, as a swedish officer, i should ever be in poland, unless sweden produced another gustavus adolphus; but if i was, he would be delighted to welcome me, and that anyone i asked in warsaw would direct me to his shop. i wonder that i did not think of him before; but that is ten years ago, and it had altogether passed out of my mind, till i saw his name here. unless he is greatly changed, you may be sure of a hearty welcome from allan ramsay, for my sake. we need not trouble about the other names. he will know all about them, and will be able to put you in the way of getting at them." this was a great relief to charlie, who felt that it would be an immense advantage to have the house of someone, from whom he might expect a welcome, to go to on his arrival in warsaw; and he was able, during the day, to talk over the prospects of the journey, with harry jervoise, with a real sense of interest and excitement in his mission. in the evening, he again went to the house of the minister. the latter, a close observer of men, saw at once that the young officer was in much better spirits than he had been in the morning. "have you obtained information respecting any of the persons whose names i gave you?" he asked. "yes, sir. it seems that, most fortunately, the trader named allan ramsay is an old friend of colonel jamieson, and the colonel has given me a letter to him which will, he assures me, procure me a hearty welcome." "and have you thought anything more of your best plan of action?" "yes, sir. it seems to me that i had better dress myself in an attire such as might be worn by a young scotchman, journeying through the country to place himself with a relation established in business. i could ride behind the royal envoy, as if i had received permission to journey under the protection of his escort, and could drop behind a few miles from the capital, and make my way in alone. i could not, of course, inquire for allan ramsay in polish, but i know enough french to ask for him at any shop having a french name over it, if i did not happen to light upon one kept by a scotchman." "yes, that plan will do very well. but you will have no difficulty in finding the house, as i have arranged that a man shall accompany you as servant. he is a lithuanian, and is the grandson of a soldier of gustavus adolphus, who married and settled there. his grandfather kept up his connection with his native country, and the young fellow speaks swedish fairly, and, of course, polish. for the last three weeks i have employed him in various matters, and find him shrewd and, i believe, faithful. such a fellow would be of great use to you, and could, if necessary, act as your interpreter in any interviews you may have with polish jews, although you will find that most of these men speak other languages besides their own." he touched a bell, and on a servant entering, said: "bring stanislas bistron here." an active, well-built young fellow of some four and twenty years of age entered the room a minute later. his fair hair and blue eyes showed that he took after his swedish ancestors. "this is the gentleman, stanislas, that you are to accompany to warsaw, as his servant. you will obey him, in all respects, as if he had hired you in his service, and, should he arrive at any situation of danger or difficulty, i trust that you will not be found wanting." the man had looked closely at charlie. "i will do my best, sir, and i doubt not that the gentleman's service will suit me. he has the look of one who would be kind to his servants." "wait at the outside door," the count said. "captain carstairs will speak to you as he leaves." the man bowed and went out, and the count then said, with a smile at the look of surprise on charlie's face: "it was not a slip of the tongue. here is a commission, signed by his majesty, appointing you to the rank of captain, as he has long considered that you had well won your promotion, by your suggestion which enabled him to cross the dwina without loss; but he thought there would be a difficulty in placing you over the heads of so many officers senior to yourself. this inconvenience no longer exists, now that you have what may be considered a staff appointment, and the rank may, moreover, add to your weight and influence in your interviews with persons at warsaw. "you will need money. here is a purse for your expenses. you may meet with some of these men, especially among the jewish traders, who may need a bribe. bribery is common, from the highest to the lowest, in poland. you will find, in this letter of instructions, that you are authorized to promise sums of money to men whose assistance may be valuable. it is impossible to fix the sums. these must depend upon the position of the men, and the value of their services; and i can only say do not be lavish, but at the same time do not hesitate to promise a sum that will secure the services of useful men. your best plan will be to find out, if you are able, what each man expects, and to make what abatement you can. the only limit placed is that you must not commit the royal treasury to a total sum exceeding ten thousand crowns. you will, i hope, find a smaller sum suffice. "the envoy will start at six tomorrow morning. i do not know that there are any further instructions to give you. you will find details, in these written instructions, as to the manner in which you are to communicate, from time to time, the result of your mission, and you will receive orders when to return." outside the house, charlie saw his new servant waiting him. "you have a horse, stanislas?" "yes, sir, i have been provided with one. i have also a brace of pistols, and a sword." "i hope you will not have to use them, but in these disturbed times they are necessaries." "i have better clothes than these, sir, if you wish me to look gay." "by no means," charlie replied. "i am going in the character of a young scotchman, on my way to join a relative in business in warsaw, and you accompany me in the capacity of guide and servant. as i should not be in a position to pay high wages, the more humble your appearance, the better. we start at six in the morning. the envoy will leave the royal quarters at that hour, and we travel with his escort. join me a quarter of an hour before that at my hut. you had better accompany me there now, so that you may know the spot. i shall not require your services before we start, as my soldier servant will saddle my horse, and have all in readiness." harry came to the door of the hut, as he saw his friend approaching. "well, charlie, is all satisfactorily settled? "yes, quite satisfactorily, i think. that is my new servant. count piper has appointed him. he speaks swedish and polish." "that will be a great comfort to you, charlie. jock armstrong, who has not picked up ten words of swedish since he joined, would have been worse than useless." "i have another piece of news, harry, that i am in one way very glad of, and in another sorry for. i had always hoped that we should keep together, and that, just as we joined together, and were made lieutenants at the same time, it would always be so." "you have got another step?" harry exclaimed. "i am heartily glad of it. i thought very likely you might get it. indeed, i was surprised that you did not get it, at once, after our fight with the saxons. i am sure you deserved it, if ever a fellow did, considering what it saved us all." "of course it is for that," charlie replied, "though i think it is very absurd. count piper said the king would have given it to me at once, only it would have taken me over the heads of so many men older than myself; but he considered that, now i am going on a sort of staff work, away from the regiment, i could be promoted, and he thought, too, that the title of captain would assist me in my mission." "of course it will," harry said, warmly. "that is just what i told you, you know. this business was not quite to your liking, but it was a good long step towards making your fortune. don't you think that i shall be jealous of your going ahead, for i am not in the least. i am sorry you are going away, for i shall miss you terribly; but i am quite content to be with the regiment, and to work my way up gradually. as it is, i am senior lieutenant in the regiment, and the first battle may give me my company; though i don't expect it, for i do not think my father would wish the colonel to give me the step, if it occurred, for all the other lieutenants are older than we are, though they are junior to us in the regiment, and i feel sure that he would prefer me to remain for another two or three years as lieutenant. in fact, he said as much to me, a short time ago. still, when i am fit to command a company, there is no doubt i shall get it. "of course, i am sorry you are going, very sorry, charlie; but, even if you go altogether on to the staff, i shall see a good deal of you, for, as the king is always with the army, this must be your headquarters still. "i wonder how long you will be away. i like the look of the fellow who is going with you. it was an honest, open sort of face, as far as i saw it. at any rate, it is a comfort to think that you won't be absolutely alone, especially among people whose language you don't know. mind, if you are sending letters to count piper, be sure you send a few lines, by the same messenger, to let me know how you are going on. not long letters, you know; i expect you will have your hands pretty well full; but just enough to give me an idea of how you are, and what you are doing." the following morning, charlie started. he had said goodbye to no one, except the colonel, major jervoise, and harry, as it was not considered advisable that his departure with the envoy for warsaw should be talked about. he only joined the party, indeed, after they had ridden out of the camp. he had laid aside his uniform, and was dressed in clothes which major jervoise had procured for him, from one of the last-joined recruits who had but just received his uniform. the lieutenant commanding the escort of twenty troopers rode up to him, as he joined the party. "baron seckers informs me that he has given permission to a young scotchman and his servant, travelling to warsaw, to ride under his protection. are you the person in question, sir?" "it is all right, lieutenant eberstein," charlie said, with a smile. "don't you recognize me?" "of course--lieutenant carstairs. i was at the hunt where you were taken prisoner; but i did not expect to see you in this garb." "i am going on duty," charlie said, "and am dressed according to orders. do not address me by my name. i am at present sandy anderson, going to join a relation in warsaw." "ah, ah! is that so? going to put your head into the den of the lion augustus. well, i rather envy you, for it is likely, by all accounts, to be dull work here for some time. it is hard to be sitting idle, while the russian guns are thundering round narva. now, i must join the baron again. where would you rather ride--after us, or behind the escort?" "behind the escort. i think it will be more natural, and i can chat more freely with my servant. he is a lithuanian, but speaks swedish, and i hope to get some information from him." the lieutenant rode on, and, as he passed the troopers, he told them that the two men behind had the baron's permission to ride with them, in order that they might have protection from the bands of pillagers who were roaming through the country. "now, stanislas," charlie said. "we can talk freely together. do you know warsaw?" "i have been there several times, sir, but i never stopped there long. still, i can find my way about the town." "when were you there last?" "some two months ago. it was just before i entered the swedish service." "and what do the people say about the war?" "they are bitterly opposed to it. the king entered upon it without consulting the diet, which was altogether contrary to the constitution. it is true that the king may do so, in cases of emergency, and obtain the sanction of the diet afterwards. there was no urgency here, and the king made his agreement with the czar and the king of denmark without anyone knowing of it. he certainly obtained a sort of sanction from the diet afterwards, but everyone knows how these things are worked. he has a strong party, of course, because it is the interest of a great many people to retain him in power, as no one can say who would be chosen to succeed him. but among the people in general, the traders and the peasants, he is hated, and so are his saxon soldiers. "suppose he had gained a slice of swedish territory. it would not have benefited them; while, as it is, all sorts of misfortunes and troubles have come upon the country, and none can say how much greater may ensue. "poland is always split up into parties. they used to unite against the turk, and they would unite again against the swedes, if their country was invaded; but as long as king charles keeps his army beyond the frontier, they are too deeply engaged in their own quarrels to think of anything else." "then, even if i were known, in the city, to be in the swedish service, there would be little danger, stanislas?" "i do not say that, at all," the man said gravely. "in the first place, warsaw is held by saxon soldiers, who would show you but scant mercy, were you known to be a swedish officer; and, in the second place, the lower classes are ever ready to make tumults; and, if worked upon by the archbishop, or the nobles of the king's party, they would readily enough tear a stranger to pieces. "going as you do as a scotchman, there is, i hope, little danger, especially if you are received into a scottish household." the journey passed without incident, until they were within a few miles of warsaw, when charlie, after formally thanking baron seckers for the protection his escort had afforded him, fell behind with his servant. several parties of armed men had been met with, but they knew better than to interfere with the little body of swedish cavalry; while, in the towns through which they passed, the baron was respectfully received as the envoy of the dreaded king of sweden. "is there another gate to the city, on this side of the town, beside that by which the swedes will enter? if so, it would be as well to use it, so that there should seem to be no connection between us and them," said charlie. there was another gate, and by this they rode into warsaw, at that time a city of far greater importance than it is at present. the gate was unguarded, and they passed through without question. the citizens were talking excitedly in groups, evidently discussing the question of the arrival of the swedish envoy, and the chances of peace; and no attention was paid to the travellers, whose appearance denoted them to be persons of no importance. richly-attired nobles, in costumes of almost oriental magnificence, galloped through the streets on splendid horses, scattering the groups of citizens, and paying no attention whatever to the angry murmurs that followed them. charlie stopped at a small inn, and there the horses were put up. stanislas made inquiries for the shop of allan ramsay, mentioning that his employer was a relation of the scottish merchant, and had come out to be with him, until he had learned the language. "the scots know their business," the landlord grumbled. "they and the french and the jews, together, have their hand in everyone's pocket. they buy the cattle and grain of the peasants, for what they choose to give for them, and send them out of the country, getting all the profits of the transaction; while, as to the nobles, there is scarce one who is not deep in their books." "still, you could not do without them," stanislas said. "there must be somebody to buy and to sell, and as the nobles won't do it, and the peasants can't, i don't see that the foreigners are to be blamed for coming in and taking the trade." "that is true enough," the landlord admitted reluctantly. "still, there is no doubt the country is kept poor, while, between them, these men gather up the harvest." "better that than let it rot upon the ground," stanislas said unconcernedly; and then, having obtained the name of the street where several of the scottish traders had places of business, he and charlie started on foot. they were not long in finding the shop with the sign of the merchant swinging over the door. "you had better wait outside, stanislas, while i go in and see the master. no; if he is not in the shop, his men will not understand me, so come in with me till you see that i have met him, and then go back to the inn for the night. whether i join you there will depend upon the warmth of my welcome." two or three young poles were in the shop. stanislas asked them for allan ramsay, and they replied that he was taking his evening meal upstairs, whereupon charlie produced the letter from colonel jamieson, and stanislas requested one of them to take it up to the merchant. three minutes later the inner door opened, and a tall man with a ruddy face and blue eyes entered, holding the open letter in his hand. charlie took a step forward to meet him. "so you are sandy anderson," he said heartily, with a merry twinkle in his eye, "my connection, it seems, and the friend of my dear classmate jamieson? come upstairs. who is this scotch-looking lad with you?" "he is my servant and interpreter. his grandfather was a swede, and to him he owes his fair hair and complexion. he is a lithuanian. he is to be trusted, i hope, thoroughly. he was sent with me by--" "never mind names," the scotchman said hastily. "we will talk about him afterwards. now come upstairs. your letter has thrown me quite into a flutter. "never say anything in english before those poles," he said, as he left the shop; "the fellows pick up languages as easily as i can drink whisky, when i get the chance. one of them has been with me two years, and it is quite likely he understands, at any rate, something of what is said. "here we are." he opened a door, and ushered charlie into a large room, comfortably furnished. his wife, a boy eight years of age, and a girl a year older, were seated at the table. "janet," the merchant said, "this is captain carstairs, alias sandy anderson, a connection of ours, though i cannot say, for certain, of what degree." "what are you talking of, allan?" she asked in surprise; for her husband, after opening and partly reading the letter, had jumped up and run off without saying a word. "what i say, wife. this gentleman is, for the present, sandy anderson, who has come out to learn the business and language, with the intent of some day entering into partnership with me; also, which is more to the point, he is a friend of my good friend jock jamieson, whom you remember well in the old days." "i am very glad, indeed, to see any friend of jock jamieson," janet ramsay said warmly, holding out her hand to charlie, "though i do not in the least understand what my husband is talking about, or what your name really is." "my name is carstairs, madam. i am a captain in the swedish service, and am here on a mission for king charles. colonel jamieson, for he is now colonel of the regiment to which i belong--" "what!" the merchant exclaimed. "do you mean to say that our jock jamieson is a colonel? well, well, who would have thought he would have climbed the tree so quickly?" "it is a regiment entirely of scotch and englishmen," charlie said; "and he was promoted, to take its command, only a short time since." "well, please to sit down and join us," mrs. ramsay said. "it is bad manners, indeed, to keep you talking while the meat is getting cold on the table. when you have finished, it will be time enough to question you." while the meal was going on, however, many questions were asked as to colonel jamieson, the regiment, and its officers. "as soon as matters are more settled," the merchant said, "i will give myself a holiday, and janet and i will go and spend a few days with jock. many of the names of the officers are well known to me, and two or three of the captains were at glasgow college with jock and myself. it will be like old times, to have four or five of us talking over the wild doings we had together." the supper over, the children were sent off to bed. allan ramsay lit a long pipe. a bottle of wine and two glasses were placed on the table, and mrs. ramsay withdrew, to see after domestic matters, and prepare a room for charlie. "now, lad, tell me all about it," allan ramsay said. "jock tells me you are here on a mission, which he would leave it to yourself to explain; but it is no business of mine, and, if you would rather keep it to yourself, i will ask no questions." "there is no secret about it, as far as you are concerned, mr. ramsay, for it is to you and to other merchants here that i have come to talk it over;" and he then went fully into the subject. the scotchman sat, smoking his pipe in silence, for some minutes after he had concluded. "we do not much meddle with politics here. we have neither voice nor part in the making of kings or of laws, and, beyond that we like to have a peace-loving king, it matters little to us whom the diet may set up over us. if we were once to put the tips of our fingers into polish affairs, we might give up all thought of trade. they are forever intriguing and plotting, except when they are fighting; and it would be weary work to keep touch with it all, much less to take part in it. it is our business to buy and to sell, and so that both parties come to us, it matters little; one's money is as good as the other. if i had one set of creditors deeper in my books than another, i might wish their party to gain the day, for it would, maybe, set them up in funds, and i might get my money; but, as it is, it matters little. there is not a customer i have but is in my debt. money is always scarce with them; for they are reckless and extravagant, keeping a horde of idle loons about them, spending as much money on their own attire and that of their wives as would keep a whole scotch clan in victuals. but, if they cannot pay in money, they can pay in corn or in cattle, in wine or in hides. "i do not know which they are fondest of--plotting, or fighting, or feasting; and yet, reckless as they are, they are people to like. if they do sell their votes for money, it is not a scotchman that should throw it in their teeth; for there is scarce a scotch noble, since the days of bruce, who has not been ready to sell himself for english gold. our own highlanders are as fond of fighting as the poles, and their chiefs are as profuse in hospitality, and as reckless and spendthrift. "but the poles have their virtues. they love their country, and are ready to die for her. they are courteous, and even chivalrous, they are hospitable to an excess, they are good husbands and kindly masters, they are recklessly brave; and, if they are unduly fond of finery, i, who supply so many of them, should be the last to find fault with them on that score. they are proud, and look down upon us traders, but that does not hurt us; and, if they were to take to trading themselves, there would be no place for us here. but this has nothing to do with our present purpose. "certainly, if it was a question of polish affairs, neither the foreign nor the jewish merchants here would move a finger one way or the other. we have everything to lose, and nothing to gain. suppose we took sides with one of the parties, and the other got the upper hand. why, they might make ordinances hampering us in every way, laying heavy taxes on us, forbidding the export of cattle or horses, and making our lives burdensome. true, if they drove us out they would soon have to repeal the law, for all trade would be at an end. but that would be too late for many of us. "however, i do not say that, at the present time, many would not be disposed to do what they could against augustus of saxony. we are accustomed to civil wars; and, though these may cause misery and ruin, in the districts where they take place, they do not touch us here in the capital. but this is a different affair. augustus has, without reason or provocation, brought down your fiery king of sweden upon us; and, if he continues on the throne, we may hear the swedish cannon thundering outside our walls, and may have the city taken and sacked. therefore, for once, politics become our natural business. "but, though you may find many well wishers, i doubt if you can obtain any substantial aid. with saxon troops in the town, and the nobles divided, there is no hope of a successful rising in warsaw." "the king did not think of that," charlie said. "his opinion was, that were it evident that the citizens of warsaw were strongly opposed to augustus of saxony, it would have a great moral effect, and that, perhaps, they might influence some of the nobles who, as you say, are deeply in their books, or upon whose estates they may hold mortgages, to join the party against the king." "they might do something that way," allan ramsay agreed. "of course, i have no money out on mortgages. i want badly enough all the money i can lay hands on in my own business. giving credit, as we have to, and often very long credit, it requires a large capital to carry on trade. but the jews, who no doubt do hold large mortgages on the land, cannot exert much power. they cannot hold land themselves, and, were one of them to venture to sell the property of any noble of influence, he would be ruined. the whole class would shrink from him, and, like enough, there would be a tumult got up, his house would be burned over his head, and he and his family murdered. "still, as far as popular opinion goes, something might be done. at any rate, i will get some of my friends here tomorrow, and introduce you to them and talk it over. but we must be careful, for augustus has a strong party here, and, were it suspected that you are a swedish officer, it would go very hard with you. "tomorrow you must fetch your servant here. i have already sent round to the inn, and you will find your valises in your room. you said you could rely thoroughly upon him?" "yes, he was handed over to me by count piper himself; and moreover, from what i have seen of him, i am myself confident that he can be trusted. he is of swedish descent, and is, i think, a very honest fellow." for a fortnight, charlie remained at allan ramsay's, and then, in spite of the pressing entreaties of his host and hostess, took a lodging near them. he had, by this time, seen a good many of the leading traders of the town. the scotch and frenchmen had all heartily agreed with his argument, that it was for the benefit of poland, and especially for that of warsaw, that augustus of saxony should be replaced by another king, who would be acceptable to charles of sweden; but all were of opinion that but little could be done, by them, towards bringing about this result. with the jewish traders his success was less decided. they admitted that it would be a great misfortune, were warsaw taken by the swedes, but, as poles, they retained their confidence in the national army, and were altogether sceptical that a few thousand swedes could withstand the host that could be put in the field against them. several of them pointedly asked what interest they had in the matter, and, to some of these, charlie was obliged to use his power of promising sums of money, in case of success. there were one or two, however, of whom he felt doubtful. chief among these was ben soloman muller, a man of great influence in the jewish community. this man had placed so large a value upon his services, that charlie did not feel justified in promising him such a sum. he did not like the man's face, and did not rely upon the promises of silence he had given, before the mission was revealed to him. it was for this reason, principally, that he determined to go into lodgings. should he be denounced, serious trouble might fall upon allan ramsay, and it would at least minimize this risk, were he not living at his house when he was arrested. ramsay himself was disposed to make light of the danger. "i believe myself that ben soloman is an old rogue, but he is not a fool. he cannot help seeing that the position of the king is precarious, and, were he to cause your arrest, he might get little thanks and no profit, while he would be incurring the risk of the vengeance of charles, should he ever become master of the town. did he have you arrested, he himself would be forced to appear as a witness against you, and this he could hardly do without the matter becoming publicly known. "i do not say, however, that, if he could curry favour with the king's party by doing you harm, without appearing in the matter, he would hesitate for a moment. "even if you were arrested here, i doubt whether any great harm would befall me, for all the scotch merchants would make common cause with me, and, although we have no political power, we have a good deal of influence one way or another, and augustus, at this time, would not care to make fresh enemies. however, lad, i will not further dispute your decision. were i quite alone, i would not let you leave me, so long as you stop in this city, without taking great offence; but, with a wife and two children, a man is more timid than if he had but himself to think of." charlie therefore moved into the lodging, but every day he went for three or four hours to the shop, where he kept up his assumed character by aiding to keep the ledgers, and in learning from the polish assistants the value of the various goods in the shop. one evening, he was returning after supper to his lodging, when stanislas met him. "i observed three or four evil-looking rascals casting glances at the house today, and there are several rough-looking fellows hanging about the house this evening. i do not know if it means anything, but i thought i would let you know." "i think it must be only your fancy, stanislas. i might be arrested by the troops, were i denounced, but i apprehend no danger from men of the class you speak of. however, if we should be interfered with, i fancy we could deal with several rascals of that sort." at the corner of his street, three or four men were standing. one of them moved, as he passed, and pushed rudely against him, sending his hat into the gutter. then, as his face was exposed, the fellow exclaimed: "it is he, death to the swedish spy!" they were the last words he uttered. charlie's sword flew from its scabbard, and, with a rapid pass, he ran the man through the body. the others drew instantly, and fell upon charlie with fury, keeping up the shout of, "death to the swedish spy!" it was evidently a signal--for men darted out of doorways, and came running down the street, repeating the cry. "go, stanislas!" charlie shouted, as he defended himself against a dozen assailants. "tell ramsay what has happened; you can do no good here." a moment later, he received a tremendous blow on the back of the head, from an iron-bound cudgel, and fell senseless to the ground. chapter : in evil plight. when charlie recovered his senses, he found himself lying bound in a room lighted by a dim lamp, which sufficed only to show that the beams were blackened by smoke and age, and the walls constructed of rough stone work. there was, so far as he could see, no furniture whatever in it, and he imagined that it was an underground cellar, used perhaps, at some time or other, as a storeroom. it was some time before his brain was clear enough to understand what had happened, or how he had got into his present position. gradually the facts came back to him, and he was able to think coherently, in spite of a splitting headache, and a dull, throbbing pain at the back of his head. "i was knocked down and stunned," he said to himself, at last. "i wonder what became of stanislas. i hope he got away. "this does not look like a prison. i should say that it was a cellar, in the house of one of the gang that set upon me. it is evident that someone has betrayed me, probably that jew, ben soloman. what have they brought me here for? i wonder what are they going to do with me." his head, however, hurt him too much for him to continue the strain of thought, and, after a while, he dozed off to sleep. when he awoke, a faint light was streaming in through a slit, two or three inches wide, high up on the wall. he still felt faint and dizzy, from the effects of the blow. parched with thirst, he tried to call out for water, but scarce a sound came from his lips. gradually, the room seemed to darken and become indistinct, and he again lapsed into insensibility. when he again became conscious, someone was pouring water between his lips, and he heard a voice speaking loudly and angrily. he had picked up a few words of polish from stanislas--the names of common things, the words to use in case he lost his way, how to ask for food and for stabling for a horse, but he was unable to understand what was said. he judged, however, that someone was furiously upbraiding the man who was giving him water, for the latter now and then muttered excuses. "he is blowing the fellow up, for having so nearly let me slip through their fingers," he said to himself. "probably they want to question me, and find out who i have been in communication with. they shall get nothing, at present, anyhow." he kept his eyes resolutely closed. presently, he heard a door open, and another man come in. a few words were exchanged, and, this time, wine instead of water was poured down his throat. then he was partly lifted up, and felt a cooling sensation at the back of his head. some bandages were passed round it, and he was laid down again. there was some more conversation, then a door opened and two of the men went out; the third walked back to him, muttering angrily to himself. charlie felt sure that he had been moved from the place in which he had been the evening before. his bonds had been loosed, and he was lying on straw, and not on the bare ground. opening his eyelids the slightest possible degree, he was confirmed in his belief, by seeing that there was much more light than could have entered the cellar. he dared not look farther, and, in a short time, fell into a far more refreshing sleep than that he before had. the next time he woke his brain was clearer, though there was still a dull sense of pain where he had been struck. without opening his eyes, he listened attentively. there was some sound of movement in the room, and, presently, he heard a faint regular breathing. this continued for some time, and he then heard a sort of grunt. "he is asleep," he said to himself, and, opening his eyes slightly looked round. he was in another chamber. it was grimy with dirt, and almost as unfurnished as the cellar, but there was a window through which the sun was streaming brightly. he, himself, lay upon a heap of straw. at the opposite side of the room was a similar heap, and upon this a man was sitting, leaning against the wall, with his chin dropped on his chest. the thought of escape at once occurred to charlie. could he reach the window, which was without glass and a mere opening in the wall, without awakening his guard, he could drop out and make for allan ramsay's. as soon as he tried to move, however, he found that this idea was for the present impracticable. he felt too weak to lift his head, and, at the slight rustle of straw caused by the attempt, the man opposite roused himself with a start. he gave another slight movement, and then again lay quiet with his eyes closed. the man came across and spoke, but he made no sign. some more wine was poured between his lips, then the man returned to his former position, and all was quiet. as he lay thinking his position over, charlie thought that those who had set his assailants to their work must have had two objects--the one to put a stop to his efforts to organize an agitation against the king, the second to find out, by questioning him, who were those with whom he had been in communication, in order that they might be arrested, and their property confiscated. he could see no other reason why his life should be spared by his assailants, for it would have been easier, and far less troublesome, to run him through as he lay senseless on the ground, than to carry him off and keep him a prisoner. this idea confirmed the suspicion he had first entertained, that the assault had been organized by ben soloman. he could have no real interest in the king, for he was ready to join in the organization against him, could he have obtained his own terms. he might intend to gain credit with the royal party, by claiming to have stopped a dangerous plot, and at the same time to benefit himself, by bringing about the expulsion or death of many of his foreign trade rivals. for this end, the jew would desire that he should be taken alive, in order to serve as a witness against the others. "he will not get any names from me," he said. "besides, none of them have promised to take any active measures against augustus. i did not ask them to do so. there is no high treason in trying to influence public opinion. still, it is likely enough that the jew wants to get me to acknowledge that an insurrection was intended, and will offer me my freedom, if i will give such testimony. as i am altogether in his power, the only thing to do is to pretend to be a great deal worse than i am, and so to gain time, till i am strong enough to try to get away from this place." all this was not arrived at, at once, but was the result of half-dreamy cogitation extending over hours, and interrupted by short snatches of sleep. he was conscious that, from time to time, someone came into the room and spoke to his guard; and that, three or four times, wine was poured between his lips. once he was raised up, and fresh cloths, dipped in water, and bandages applied to his head. in the evening, two or three men came in, and he believed that he recognized the voice of one of them as that of ben soloman. one of the men addressed him suddenly and sharply in swedish. "how are you feeling? are you in pain? we have come here to give you your freedom." charlie was on his guard, and remained silent, with his eyes closed. "it is of no use," ben soloman said in his own language. "the fellow is still insensible. the clumsy fool who hit him would fare badly, if i knew who he was. i said that he was to be knocked down, silenced, and brought here; and here he is, of no more use than if he were dead." "he will doubtless come round, in time," another said in an apologetic tone. "we will bring him round, if you will have patience, ben soloman." "well, well," the other replied, "a few days will make no difference; but mind that he is well guarded, directly he begins to gain strength. i will get him out of the town, as soon as i can. allan ramsay has laid a complaint, before the mayor, that his countryman has been attacked by a band of ruffians, and has been either killed or carried off by them. it is a pity that servant of his was not killed." "we thought he was dead. two or three of us looked at him, and i could have sworn that life was out of him." "well, then, you would have sworn what was not true, for he managed to crawl to ramsay's, where he lies, i am told, dangerously ill, and an official has been to him, to obtain his account of the fray. it was a bungled business, from beginning to end." "we could not have calculated on the fellows making such a resistance," the other grumbled. "this one seemed but a lad, and yet he killed three of our party, and the other killed one. a nice business that; and you will have to pay their friends well, ben soloman, for i can tell you there is grumbling at the price, which they say was not enough for the work, which you told them would be easy." "it ought to have been," the jew said sullenly. "fifteen or twenty men to overpower a lad. what could have been more easy? however, i will do something for the friends of the men who were fools enough to get themselves killed, but if i hear any grumbling from the others, it will be worse for them; there is not one i could not lay by the heels in jail. "well, as to this young fellow, i shall not come again. i do not want to be noticed coming here. keep a shrewd lookout after him." "there is no fear about that," the man said. "it will be long ere he is strong enough to walk." "when he gets better, we will have him taken away to a safe place outside the town. once there, i can make him say what i like." "and if he does not get well?" "in that case, we will take away his body and bury it outside. i will see to that myself." "i understand," the other sneered. "you don't want anyone to know where it is buried, so as to be able to bring it up against you." "you attend to your own business," the jew said angrily. "why should i care about what they say? at any rate, there are some matters between you and me, and there is no fear of your speaking." "not until the time comes when i may think it worth my while to throw away my life, in order to secure your death, ben soloman." "it is of no use talking like that," the jew said quietly. "we are useful to each other. i have saved your life from the gibbet, you have done the work i required. between us, it is worse than childish to threaten in the present matter. i do not doubt that you will do your business well, and you know that you will be well paid for it; what can either of us require more?" charlie would have given a good deal to understand the conversation, and he would have been specially glad to learn that stanislas had escaped with his life; for he had taken a great fancy to the young lithuanian, and was grieved by the thought that he had probably lost his life in his defence. three days passed. his head was now clear, and his appetite returning, and he found, by quietly moving at night, when his guard was asleep, that he was gaining strength. the third day, there was some talking among several men who entered the room; then he was lifted, wrapt up in some cloths, and put into a large box. he felt this being hoisted up, it was carried downstairs, and then placed on something. a minute afterwards he felt a vibration, followed by a swaying and bumping, and guessed at once that he was on a cart, and was being removed, either to prison or to some other place of confinement. the latter he considered more probable. the journey was a long one. he had no means of judging time, but he thought that it must have lasted two or three hours. then the rumbling ceased, the box was lifted down, and carried a short distance, then the lid was opened and he was again laid down on some straw. he heard the sound of cart wheels, and knew that the vehicle on which he had been brought was being driven away. he was now so hungry that he felt he could no longer maintain the appearance of insensibility. two men were talking in the room, and when, for a moment, their conversation ceased, he gave a low groan, and then opened his eyes. they came at once to his bedside, with exclamations of satisfaction. "how do you feel?" one asked in swedish. "i do not know," he said in a low tone. "where am i, how did i get here?" "you are with friends. never mind how you got here. you have been ill, but you will soon get well again. someone hit you on the head, and we picked you up and brought you here." "i am weak and faint," charlie murmured. "have you any food?" "you shall have some food, directly it is prepared. take a drink of wine, and see if you can eat a bit of bread while the broth is preparing." charlie drank a little of the wine that was put to his lips, and then broke up the bread, and ate it crumb by crumb, as if it were a great effort to do so, although he had difficulty in restraining himself from eating it voraciously. when he had finished it, he closed his eyes again, as if sleep had overpowered him. an hour later, there was a touch on his shoulder. "here is some broth, young fellow. wake up and drink that, it will do you good." charlie, as before, slowly sipped down the broth, and then really fell asleep, for the jolting had fatigued him terribly. it was evening when he awoke. two men were sitting at a blazing fire. when he moved, one of them brought him another basin of broth, and fed him with a spoon. charlie had been long enough in the country to know, by the appearance of the room, that he was in a peasant's hut. he wondered why he had been brought there, and concluded that it must be because allan ramsay had set so stringent a search on foot in the city, that they considered it necessary to take him away. "they will not keep me here long," he said to himself. "i am sure that i could walk now, and, in another two or three days, i shall be strong enough to go some distance. that soup has done me a deal of good. i believe half my weakness is from hunger." he no longer kept up the appearance of unconsciousness, and, in the morning, put various questions, to the man who spoke swedish, as to what had happened and how he came to be there. this man was evidently, from his dress and appearance, a jew, while the other was as unmistakably a peasant, a rough powerfully-built man with an evil face. the jew gave him but little information, but told him that in a day or two, when he was strong enough to listen, a friend would come who would tell him all about it. on the third day, he heard the sound of an approaching horse, and was not surprised when, after a conversation in a low tone outside, ben soloman entered. charlie was now much stronger, but he had carefully abstained from showing any marked improvement, speaking always in a voice a little above a whisper, and allowing the men to feed him, after making one or two pretended attempts to convey the spoon to his mouth. "well, master englishman," ben soloman said, as he came up to his bedside, "what do you think of things?" "i do not know what to think," charlie said feebly. "i do not know where i am, or why i am here. i remember that there was a fray in the street, and i suppose i was hurt. but why was i brought here, instead of being taken to my lodgings?" "because you would be no use to me in your lodging, and you may be a great deal of use to me here," ben soloman said. "you know you endeavoured to entrap me into a plot against the king's life." charlie shook his head, and looked wonderingly at the speaker. "no, no," he said, "there was no plot against the king's life. i only asked if you would use your influence among your friends to turn popular feeling against augustus." "nothing of the kind," the jew said harshly. "you wanted him removed by poison or the knife. there is no mistake about that, and that is what i am going to swear, and what, if you want to save your life, you will have to swear too; and you will have to give the names of all concerned in the plot, and to swear that they were all agreed to bring about the death of the king. now you understand why you were brought here. you are miles away from another house, and you may shout and scream as loud as you like. you are in my power." "i would die rather than make a false accusation." "listen to me," the jew said sternly. "you are weak now, too weak to suffer much. this day week i will return, and then you had best change your mind, and sign a document i shall bring with me, with the full particulars of the plot to murder the king, and the names of those concerned in it. this you will sign. i shall take it to the proper authorities, and obtain a promise that your life shall be spared, on condition of your giving evidence against these persons." "i would never sign such a villainous document," charlie said. "you will sign it," ben soloman said calmly. "when you find yourself roasting over a slow charcoal fire, you will be ready to sign anything i wish you to." so saying, he turned and left the room. he talked for some time to the men outside, then charlie heard him ride off. "you villain," he said to himself. "when you come, at the end of a week, you will not find me here; but, if i get a chance of having a reckoning with you, it will be bad for you." charlie's progress was apparently slow. the next day he was able to sit up and feed himself. two days later he could totter across the room, and lie down before the fire. the men were completely deceived by his acting, and, considering any attempt to escape, in his present weak state, altogether impossible, paid but little heed to him, the peasant frequently absenting himself for hours together. looking from his window, charlie saw that the hut was situated in a thick wood, and, from the blackened appearance of the peasant's face and garments, he guessed him to be a charcoal burner, and therefore judged that the trees he saw must form part of a forest of considerable extent. the weather was warm, and his other guard often sat, for a while, outside the door. during his absence, charlie lifted the logs of wood piled beside the hearth, and was able to test his returning strength, assuring himself that, although not yet fully recovered, he was gaining ground daily. he resolved not to wait until the seventh day; for ben soloman might change his mind, and return before the day he had named. he determined, therefore, that on the sixth day he would make the attempt. he had no fear of being unable to overcome his jewish guard, as he would have the advantage of a surprise. he only delayed as long as possible, because he doubted his powers of walking any great distance, and of evading the charcoal burner, who would, on his return, certainly set out in pursuit of him. moreover, he wished to remain in the hut nearly up to the time of the jew's return, as he was determined to wait in the forest, and revenge himself for the suffering he had caused him, and for the torture to which he intended to put him. the evening before the day on which he decided to make the attempt, the charcoal burner and the jew were in earnest conversation. the word signifying brigand was frequently repeated, and, although he could not understand much more than this, he concluded, from the peasant's talk and gestures, that he had either come across some of these men in the forest, or had gathered from signs he had observed, perhaps from their fires, that they were there. the jew shrugged his shoulders when the narration was finished. the presence of brigands was a matter of indifference to him. the next day, the charcoal burner went off at noon. "where does he go to?" charlie asked his guard. "he has got some charcoal fires alight, and is obliged to go and see to them. they have to be kept covered up with wet leaves and earth, so that the wood shall only smoulder," the man said, as he lounged out of the hut to his usual seat. charlie waited a short time, then went to the pile of logs, and picked out a straight stick about a yard long and two inches in diameter. with one of the heavier ones he could have killed the man, but the fellow was only acting under the orders of his employer, and, although he would doubtless, at ben soloman's commands, have roasted him alive without compunction, he had not behaved with any unkindness, and had, indeed, seemed to do his best for him. taking the stick, he went to the door. he trod lightly, but in the stillness of the forest the man heard him, and glanced round as he came out. seeing the stick in his hand he leaped up, exclaiming, "you young fool!" and sprang towards him. he had scarce time to feel surprise, as charlie quickly raised the club. it described a swift sweep, fell full on his head, and he dropped to the ground as if shot. charlie ran in again, seized a coil of rope, bound his hands and feet securely, and dragged him into the hut. then he dashed some cold water on his face. the man opened his eyes, and tried to move. "you are too tightly bound to move, pauloff," he said. "i could have killed you if i had chosen, but i did not wish to. you have not been unkind to me, and i owe you no grudge; but tell your rascally employer that i will be even with him, someday, for the evil he has done me." "you might as well have killed me," the man said, "for he will do so when he finds i let you escape." "then my advice to you is, be beforehand with him. you are as strong a man as he is, and if i were in your place, and a man who meant to kill me came into a lonely hut like this, i would take precious good care that he had no chance of carrying out his intentions." charlie then took two loaves of black bread and a portion of goat's flesh from the cupboard; found a bottle about a quarter full of coarse spirits, filled it up with water and put it in his pocket, and then, after taking possession of the long knife his captive wore in his belt, went out of the hut and closed the door behind him. he had purposely moved slowly about the hut, as he made these preparations, in order that the jew should believe that he was still weak; but, indeed, the effort of dragging the man into the hut had severely taxed his strength, and he found that he was much weaker than he had supposed. the hut stood in a very small clearing, and charlie had no difficulty in seeing the track by which the cart had come, for the marks of the wheels were still visible in the soft soil. he followed this until, after about two miles' walking, he came to the edge of the wood. then he retraced his steps for a quarter of a mile, turned off, and with some difficulty made his way into a patch of thick undergrowth, where, after first cutting a formidable cudgel, he lay down, completely exhausted. late in the afternoon he was aroused from a doze by the sound of footsteps, and, looking through the screen of leaves, he saw his late jailers hurrying along the path. the charcoal burner carried a heavy axe, while the jew, whose head was bound up with a cloth, had a long knife in his girdle. they went as far as the end of the forest, and then retraced their steps slowly. they were talking loudly, and charlie could gather, from the few words he understood, and by their gestures, something of the purport of their conversation. "i told you it was of no use your coming on as far as this," the jew said. "why, he was hardly strong enough to walk." "he managed to knock you down, and afterwards to drag you into the house," the other said. "it does not require much strength to knock a man down with a heavy club, when he is not expecting it, conrad. he certainly did drag me in, but he was obliged to sit down afterwards, and i watched him out of one eye as he was making his preparations, and he could only just totter about. i would wager you anything he cannot have gone two hundred yards from the house. that is where we must search for him. i warrant we shall find him hidden in a thicket thereabouts." "we shall have to take a lantern then, for it will be dark before we get back." "our best plan will be to leave it alone till morning. if we sit outside the hut, and take it in turns to watch, we shall hear him when he moves, which he is sure to do when it gets dark. it will be a still night, and we should hear a stick break half a mile away. we shall catch him, safe enough, before he has gone far." "well, i hope we shall have him back before ben soloman comes," the charcoal burner said, "or it will be worse for both of us. you know as well as i do he has got my neck in a noose, and he has got his thumb on you." "if we can't find this swede, i would not wait here for any money. i would fly at once." "you would need to fly, in truth, to get beyond ben soloman's clutches," the charcoal burner said gruffly. "he has got agents all over the country." "then what would you do?" "there is only one thing to do. it is our lives or his. when he rides up tomorrow, we will meet him at the door as if nothing had happened, and, with my axe, i will cleave his head asunder as he comes in. if he sees me in time to retreat, you shall stab him in the back. then we will dig a big hole in the wood, and throw him in, and we will kill his horse and bury it with him. "who would ever be the wiser? i was going to propose it last time, only i was not sure of you then; but, now that you are in it as deep as i am--deeper, indeed, for he put you here specially to look after this youngster--your interest in the matter is as great as mine." the jew was silent for some time, then he said: "he has got papers at home which would bring me to the gallows." "pooh!" the other said. "you do not suppose that, when it is found that he does not return, and his heirs open his coffers, they will take any trouble about what there may be in the papers there, except such as relate to his money. i will warrant there are papers there which concern scores of men besides you, for i know that ben soloman likes to work with agents he has got under his thumb. but, even if all the papers should be put into the hands of the authorities, what would come of it? they have got their hands full of other matters, for the present, and with the swedes on their frontier, and the whole country divided into factions, who do you think is going to trouble to hunt up men for affairs that occurred years ago? even if they did, they would not catch you. they have not got the means of running you down that ben soloman has. "i tell you, man, it must be done. there is no other way out of it." "well, conrad, if we cannot find this fellow before ben soloman comes, i am with you in the business. i have been working for him on starvation pay for the last three years, and hate him as much as you can." when they reached the hut they cooked a meal, and then prepared to keep alternate watch. charlie slept quietly all night, and, in the morning, remained in his hiding place until he heard, in the distance, the sound of a horse's tread. then he went out and sat down, leaning against a tree by the side of the path, in an attitude of exhaustion. presently he saw ben soloman approaching. he got up feebly, and staggered a few paces to another tree, farther from the path. he heard an angry shout, and then ben soloman rode up, and, with a torrent of execrations at the carelessness of the watchers, leapt from his horse and sprang to seize the fugitive, whom he regarded as incapable of offering the slightest resistance. charlie straightened himself up, as if with an effort, and raised his cudgel. "i will not be taken alive," he said. ben soloman drew his long knife from his girdle. "drop that stick," he said, "or it will be worse for you." "it cannot be worse than being tortured to death, as you said." the jew, with an angry snarl, sprang forward so suddenly and unexpectedly that he was within the swing of charlie's cudgel before the latter could strike. he dropped the weapon at once, and caught the wrist of the uplifted hand that held the knife. the jew gave a cry of astonishment and rage, as they clasped each other, and he found that, instead of an unresisting victim, he was in a powerful grasp. for a moment there was a desperate struggle. the jew would, at ordinary times, have been no match for charlie, but the latter was far from having regained his normal strength. his fury at the treatment he had received at the man's hands, however, enabled him, for the moment, to exert himself to the utmost, and, after swaying backwards and forwards in desperate strife for a minute, they went to the ground with a crash, ben soloman being undermost. the jew's grasp instantly relaxed, and charlie, springing to his feet and seizing his cudgel, stood over his fallen antagonist. the latter, however, did not move. his eyes were open in a fixed stare. charlie looked at him in surprise for a moment, thinking he was stunned, then he saw that his right arm was twisted under him in the fall, and at once understanding what had happened, turned him half over. he had fallen on the knife, which had penetrated to the haft, killing him instantly. "i didn't mean to kill you," charlie said aloud, "much as you deserve it, and surely as you would have killed me, if i had refused to act as a traitor. i would have broken your head for you, but that was all. however, it is as well as it is. it adds to my chance of getting away, and i have no doubt there will be many who will rejoice when you are found to be missing. "now," he went on, "as your agents emptied my pockets, it is no robbery to empty yours. money will be useful, and so will your horse." he stooped over the dead man, and took the purse from his girdle, when suddenly there was a rush of feet, and in a moment he was seized. the thought flashed through his mind that he had fallen into the power of his late guardians, but a glance showed that the men standing round were strangers. "well, comrade, and who are you?" the man who was evidently the leader asked. "you have saved us some trouble. we were sleeping a hundred yards or two away, when we heard the horseman, and saw, as he passed, he was the jew of warsaw, to whom two or three of us owe our ruin, and it did not need more than a word for us to agree to wait for him till he came back. we were surprised when we saw you, still more so when the jew jumped from his horse and attacked you. we did not interfere, because, if he had got the best of you, he might have jumped on his horse and ridden off, but directly he fell we ran out, but you were so busy in taking the spoil that you did not hear us. "i see the jew is dead; fell on his own knife. it is just as well for him, for we should have tied him to a tree, and made a bonfire of him, if we had caught him." charlie understood but little of this, but said when the other finished: "i understand but little polish." "what are you then--a russian? you do not look like one." "i am an englishman, and am working in the house of allan ramsay, a scotch trader in warsaw." "well, you are a bold fellow anyhow, and after the smart way in which you disposed of this jew, and possessed yourself of his purse, you will do honour to our trade." "i hope you will let me go," charlie said. "my friends in warsaw will pay a ransom for me, if you will let me return there." "no, no, young fellow. you would of course put down this jew's death to our doing, and we have weight enough on our backs already. he is a man of great influence, and all his tribe would be pressing on the government to hunt us down. you shall go with us, and the purse you took from ben soloman will pay your footing." charlie saw that it would be useless to try and alter the man's decision, especially as he knew so little of the language. he therefore shrugged his shoulders, and said that he was ready to go with them, if it must be so. the jew's body was now thoroughly searched. various papers were found upon him, but, as these proved useless to the brigands, they were torn up. "shall we take the horse with us?" one of the men asked the leader. "no, it would be worse than useless in the forest. leave it standing here. it will find its way back in time. then there will be a search, and there will be rejoicing in many a mansion throughout the country, when it is known that ben soloman is dead. they say he has mortgages on a score of estates, and, though i suppose these will pass to others of his tribe, they can hardly be as hard and mercenary as this man was. "i wonder what he was doing in this forest alone? let us follow the path, and see where he is going. "honred, you have a smattering of several languages, try then if you can make our new comrade understand." the man tried in russian without success, then he spoke in swedish, in which language charlie at once replied. "where does this pathway lead to?" "to a hut where a charcoal burner lives. i have been imprisoned there for the last fortnight. it was all the jew's doing. it was through him that i got this knock here;" and he pointed to the unhealed wound at the back of his head. "well, we may as well pay them a visit," the chief said, when this was translated to him. "we are short of flour, and they may have some there, and maybe something else that will be useful." chapter : with brigands. the man who had spoken to charlie drew the long knife from the back of the jew, wiped it on the grass, and handed it to him. "that ought to be your property," he said. "it has done you good service." not sorry to have a weapon in addition to his cudgel, charlie placed it in his belt, and then started with the bandits. he would not have cared to face the charcoal burner alone; but now that the band regarded him as enrolled among their number, he felt no uneasiness respecting him. when they issued from the trees, the jew was seen standing at the door of the hut. he at once ran in on seeing them, and came out again, accompanied by the charcoal burner, who carried his axe on his shoulder. the jew started, on catching sight of charlie among the ranks of the brigands, and said a word or two to his companion. "well, master charcoal burner," the leader of the party said, "how is it that honest woodmen consort with rogues of the town?" "i don't know that they do so, willingly," the man said gruffly. "but some of us, to our cost, have put our heads into nooses, and the rogues of the town have got hold of the other end of the ropes, and we must just walk as we are told to." "well, that is true enough," the brigand said. "and you, jew, what are you doing here?" "i am like conrad," he replied, sulkily. "it is not only countrymen who have their necks in a noose, and i have to do what i am ordered." "by a bigger rogue than yourself?" "that is so; bigger and cleverer." "you are expecting him here now, our new comrade tells us. well, you need expect him no longer. he will not come. if you will go along the path, you will come upon his body, and may bury him if you like to take the trouble." an exclamation of satisfaction broke from the two men. "you have done us a service, indeed," the charcoal burner said. "we had thought to do it for ourselves, this morning, for after the escape of him you call your new comrade, he would have shown us no mercy." "you may thank our new comrade, and not us," the brigand said. "we only arrived on the spot when it was all over." the jew looked at charlie in astonishment. "what! did he kill ben soloman?" "that did he; or rather, the jew killed himself. there was a grapple hand to hand, and a wrestle. the jew fell undermost, and was pierced with his own knife." "but the lad is but just out of a sickbed, and has no strength for a struggle, and ben soloman, though past middle life, was strong and active." "neither strong enough nor active enough," the man laughed. "you have been nicely taken in. who would have thought that two jews and a pole would have been cheated by an english lad? his face shows that he has been ill, and doubtless he has not yet recovered his full strength, but he was strong enough, anyhow, to overthrow ben soloman. "now, what have you in the hut? we are in need of provisions." the hut was ransacked; the flour, two bottles of spirits, and a skin of wine seized, and the meat cut up and roasted over the fire. after the meal was eaten, the captain called upon charlie to tell his story more fully, and this he did, with the aid of the man who spoke swedish; starting, however, only at the point when he was attacked in the street, as he felt it better to remain silent as to his connection with the swedish army. "but what was the cause of ben soloman's hostility to you?" "there are some in warsaw who are of opinion that augustus of saxony has done much harm to poland, in engaging without cause in the war against charles of sweden, and who think that it would be well that he should be dethroned, and some other prince made king in his place. to this party many of the traders belong, and the jew had reason to think that i was acquainted with the design, and could give the names of those concerned in it. there was really no plot against augustus, but it was only intended that a popular demonstration against his rule should be made. but soloman wanted me to give evidence that there was a conspiracy against the king's life, so that he might gain great credit by exposing it, and might at the same time rid himself of many of his rivals in the trade." "he was an artful fox," the leader of the brigands said, when this had been translated to him. "but where is the jew he put over you?" three or four of the men sprang to their feet and ran out, but the jew was nowhere to be seen. the captain was furious, and abused his men right and left, while his anger was in no way mitigated when one of them told him that, if he had wanted the jew kept, he should have given one of them orders to look after him. this was so evident that the chief was silenced for a moment. "how long is it since any of you saw him last?" "he went round with the wineskin, and filled our cups just as we sat down to breakfast," one of the men said. "i have not noticed him since." nor had any of the others. "then it will be no use to pursue. he has had more than half an hour's start, and long before this he will have mounted ben soloman's horse, and have ridden off. "well, comrade," he said, turning to charlie, "this settles your movements. i was but half in earnest before as to your joining us; but it is clear now that there's nothing else for you to do, for the present. this fellow will, directly he gets to warsaw, denounce you as the murderer of his master. that he is sure to do to avert suspicion from himself, and, if you were to return there, it would go hard with you. so, for a time, you must throw in your lot with us." when this was translated to charlie, he saw at once the force of the argument. he could not have denied that the jew had fallen in a hand-to-hand struggle with himself, and, were he to appear in warsaw, he might be killed by the co-religionists of ben soloman; or, if he escaped this, might lie in a dungeon for months awaiting his trial, and perhaps be finally executed. there was nothing for him now but to rejoin the swedes, and it would be some time, yet, before he would be sufficiently recovered to undertake such a journey. "i should not mind, if i could send a letter to allan ramsay, to tell him what has befallen me. he will be thinking i am dead, and will, at any rate, be in great anxiety about me." "i have taken a liking to you, young fellow," the leader said, "and will send in one of my men to warsaw with a letter; that is, if you can write one." "yes, i can write. fortunately there are paper, pen, and an ink horn on that shelf. ben soloman brought them the last time he came, to write down the lies he wanted me to testify to. i am greatly obliged to you, and will do it at once." as he had, only the day before he was attacked, sent off a messenger to count piper, telling him all he had done the previous week, there was no occasion to repeat this, and he had only to give an account of his capture, and the events that had since occurred. "you see," he said, "i cannot return to warsaw. the jew who was here unfortunately heard that it was in a struggle with me ben soloman was killed, and he will, of course, denounce me as his murderer, though the deed was done in fair fight. i should have all his tribe against me, and might be imprisoned for months awaiting trial. i am still very weak, and could not attempt the journey to the frontier. i am, however, gaining strength, and, as soon as i am quite recovered, i shall take the first opportunity of leaving the men i am with, and making for the swedish camp. please forward this news by a sure hand to count piper, and express my sorrow that my mission has not been completed, although, indeed, i do not think that my further stay at warsaw would have been any great service, for it is clear that the great majority of the traders will not move in the matter until the swedes advance, and, from their point of view, it is not to their interest to do so. "i know but little of the men i am with at present, beyond the fact that they are bandits, nor can i say whether they are disbanded soldiers, or criminals who have escaped from justice; but at any rate they show me no ill will. i have no doubt i shall be able to get on fairly with them, until i am able to make my escape. i wish i had poor stanislas with me. only one of the men here speaks swedish, and he does not know very much of the language. i cannot say, at present, whether the twenty men here are the whole of the band, or whether they are only a portion of it. nor do i know whether the men subsist by plundering the peasants, or venture on more serious crimes. thanking you for your great kindness during my stay at warsaw, i remain, yours gratefully-- "charlie carstairs." while he was occupied in writing this letter, an animated conversation was going on between the bandits. charlie gathered that this related to their future operations, but more than this he could not learn. in a postscript to the letter, he requested allan ramsay to hand over to the bearer some of the clothes left in his lodgings, and to pay him for his trouble. "as to the money i left in your hands, i do not think it worth while for you to send it. however much these men may consider me a comrade, i have not sufficient faith in their honesty to believe that money would reach me safely; but, if you send me a suit of clothes, two or three gold pieces might be wrapped up in a piece of cloth and shoved into the toe of a shoe. the parcel must be a small one, or there would be little chance of the man carrying it far. i will ask him, however, to bring me a sword, if you will buy one for me, and my pistols." he folded up the letter and gave it to the captain. there was no means of fastening it, but this mattered little, because, being written in english, there was no chance of its being read. the captain handed it to one of the men, with instructions for its delivery. the messenger started at once. the others, after remaining a short time in the hut, set out through the forest. after an hour's walking, charlie was unable to go further. the captain, seeing this, ordered four of the men to stop with him, and to follow the next morning. as soon as he had gone on with the rest of the band, the men set about collecting sticks and making a fire. charlie, who was utterly exhausted, threw himself on the ground, and was not long before he fell sound asleep. when he awoke, the shades of evening were already falling, and the men were sitting over the fire, roasting a portion of a goat, one of a flock they had fallen in with in the wood, where large numbers roamed about in a semi-wild state. the man who could speak swedish was one of those who had remained with him, and, from him, he learnt that the present headquarters of the band were some six miles farther away. this distance was performed next morning, frequent halts being made to enable him to sit down and rest; and it was not till five hours after the start that they arrived. overgrown as it now was, with trees and undergrowth, he could see that a village once stood there. it must, however, have been abandoned a very long time, as trees of considerable size grew among the low walls and piles of stones that marked where cottages had stood. the place occupied by the brigands had, in former times, been a castellated building of some strength, standing on a knoll in the middle of the village, which had probably been inhabited by the retainers of its owner. part of the wall had fallen, but a large arched room, that had doubtless been the banqueting hall of the castle, remained almost intact, and here the brigands had established themselves. several fires burned on the flagged floors, the smoke finding its way out through holes and crevices in the roof. some fifty men were gathered round these, and were occupied in cooking their midday meal. "i am glad to see that you have arrived," the captain said, coming across to charlie. "i expected you two hours ago, and intended, as soon as we had finished our meal, to send out another four men to meet you and help to carry you in." "thank you," charlie said. "it is not the men's fault we are late, but the last part of the way we came on very slowly. i was getting so exhausted that i had to stop every few hundred yards." "well, you had better eat something, and then lie down for a sleep. meat is plentiful with us, for there are thousands of goats in the forest, and occasionally we get a deer or wild boar. if we had but bread and wine we should live like nobles. our supplies, however, are low at present, and we shall have to make an expedition, tomorrow or next day, to replenish them." charlie ate a few mouthfuls of meat, and then lay down and slept, for some hours, on a bed of leaves. he was awoke by loud and excited talking among the men, and learnt from honred that one of the men, who had been left on watch at the mouth of the path by which he had entered the forest, had just brought in the news that a party of a hundred infantry, led by the jew, had arrived with a cart. in this the body of ben soloman had been sent off, while the troops had established themselves in the little clearing round the hut. "this comes of letting that jew escape," the captain said. "no doubt he told the story his own way, and the jewish traders went to the governor and asked that troops should be sent to root us out. well, they are far enough away at present, and i have sent off to have their movements watched. it is a good nine miles, from here to the hut, and they may look for a week before they find this place, unless that rascally jew has heard of it from the woodman, or they get hold of the fellow himself, though i should think they will hardly do that. i fancy he has some cause of quarrel with the authorities, and will not put himself in the way of being questioned closely, if he can help it." the next morning when charlie awoke, two men were standing beside him. his eyes first fell on the one who had been to the town, and who held a large bundle in his hand. then he turned his eyes to the other, and gave an exclamation of pleasure, as he saw that it was stanislas. he looked pale and weak, and was evidently just recovering from a severe illness. "why, stanislas!" he exclaimed. "this is a pleasure, indeed. i never for a moment dreamt of seeing you. i heard from the jew who guarded me that you got away, but i was afraid that you had been badly wounded. why, my brave fellow, what brings you here?" "i have come to be with your honour," the man said. "it was, of course, my duty to be by your side. i was very ill for a week, for i had half a dozen wounds, but i managed, after the assailants left me, to crawl back to mr. ramsay's to tell him what had happened. i don't remember much about the next few days. since then i have been mending rapidly. none of the wounds were very serious, and it was more loss of blood, than anything else, that ailed me. mr. ramsay searched high and low for you, and we had all given you up for dead, till a few hours before this man arrived with your letter. "we heard you had killed ben soloman. i had a long talk with your messenger, who received a handsome present from mr. ramsay, and he agreed to conduct me here, upon my solemn promise that, if the captain would not receive me, i would not give any information, on my return, as to the whereabouts of the band. mr. ramsay hired a light cart, and that brought us yesterday far into the forest. we camped there, and i had not more than a couple of miles to walk to get here this morning." "have you seen the captain?" charlie asked eagerly. "yes. i was stopped by some sentries, a quarter of a mile away, and was kept there while my guide came on and got permission of the captain for me to be brought in. when i met him, i had no great difficulty in persuading him to let me stop, for mr. ramsay had given me fifty rix-dollars to give him; and so, your honour, here i am, and here is a letter from mr. ramsay himself." "i cannot tell you how glad i am to have you, stanislas. i am getting better, but i am so weak that i took five hours, yesterday, to get six miles. now i have got you to talk to, i shall pick up strength faster than i have been doing, for it has been very dull work having no one who could understand me. there is only one man here who understands a word of swedish." "we will soon get you round, sir, never fear. i have brought with me four casks of wine. they were left at the place where the cart stopped last night, but the captain has sent off men already to bring them in. you will be all the better for a suit of clean clothes." "that i shall. it is a month now since i had a change, and my jerkin is all stained with blood. i want a wash more than anything; for there was no water near the hut, and the charcoal burner used to bring in a small keg from a spring he passed on his way to his work. that was enough for drinking, but not enough for washing--a matter which never seemed to have entered into his head, or that of the jew, as being in the slightest degree necessary." "there is a well just outside," stanislas said. "i saw them drawing water in buckets as we came in. i suppose it was the well of this castle, in the old time." "i will go and have a wash, and change my clothes the first thing," charlie said. "mr. ramsay's letter will keep till after that." they went out to the well together. "so you heard the story, that i had killed ben soloman, before you left?" "yes; before your letter arrived, mr. ramsay sent for me, and told me a jewish trader had just informed him that news had come that ben soloman had been murdered, and the deed had been done by the young scotchman who had been with him. mr. ramsay did not believe the story in the slightest. he admitted that ben soloman might have been murdered, and even said frankly that, hated as he was, it was the most natural end for him to come to; but that you should have done so was, he said, absurd. in the first place, he did not think that you were alive; and in the second, it was far more probable that you had been murdered by ben soloman, than that he should have been murdered by you. "however, even before your letter came, three or four hours later, there seemed no longer any doubt that you had killed the jew. by that time, there was quite an uproar among his people. he was the leader of their community, and had dealings with so many nobles that his influence was great; and, although he was little liked, he was regarded as an important person, and his loss was a very heavy one to the jewish community. a deputation went to the governor, and we heard that troops would be at once sent out to capture you, and the band of brigands you had joined. mr. ramsay told me that it was fortunate, indeed, that you had not returned to the city. but, no doubt, he has told you all that in the letter." "i feel quite another man, stanislas," charlie said, when he had changed his garments. "now i can read the letter you brought me." after expressing the great satisfaction he felt, at the news that charlie was alive, mr. ramsay went on to say that, even were he well, he could not return to warsaw in the present state of public feeling. "your story that you were attacked, grievously wounded, and, after being confined here for some days, carried away and confined in the wood, by order of ben soloman, and that he visited you there, would be treated with derision. the version given by the man who brought in the story of the jew's death was that he himself was staying in the cottage of a charcoal burner, an acquaintance of his, and that a party of brigands, of whom you were one, arrived there, and that they were boasting of having caused the death of ben soloman, who had fallen by your hand. he managed to escape from the brigands, and on the road found the dead body of his employer, who was, he knew, that morning coming out to give him some instructions. my opinion, and that of my friends who knew you, was that the fellow had himself killed and robbed his master; but your letter, of course, showed that his account was true to some extent--that ben soloman had fallen in a struggle with you, and that you yourself were a prisoner in the hands of these bandits. still, as it would be next to impossible for you to prove the truth of your story, and as the jews of the place, who are numerous and influential, are dead against you, your life would certainly be forfeited were you to be captured. "i know your story to be true, but it would appear wildly improbable, to others, that this wealthy jew should have conspired, in the first place, to cause an attack to be made upon an unknown young stranger, still less that he should have had him carried off to the forest, and should have gone to visit him there. the explanation that you were a swedish officer in disguise would not benefit you in any way, while it would involve us who knew you in your danger, and would cause the jew to be regarded as a man who had lost his life in endeavouring to unmask a plot against poland. therefore, i think it is extremely fortunate that you are, for the present, safe in the hands of these brigands, and should certainly advise you to make no attempt to leave them, until you are perfectly well and strong. "i have, as you directed me, hidden a few pieces of gold in your shoe, and have handed the rest of your money to your man, who is starting to join you. he will conceal it about him. i have just heard that a body of troops are starting at once for the forest, and that orders have been sent to other towns, to send detachments into it at different points, so it is evident the authorities are determined to catch you, if possible. if you had killed half a dozen traders in a smaller way, they would have cared little about it; but just at present, pressed as the king is by want of money, he is bound to do everything he can to please the jewish traders, as it is upon them that he must rely for loans for the payment of his troops. "in this matter, then, he will leave no stone unturned to gratify them, and i should strongly advise your band to move away from the neighbourhood, at any rate for a time. they may plunder whole villages with impunity, but what is regarded as the murder of the richest citizen of warsaw, a man mixed up in business and politics with half the principal nobles of the land, is a different matter altogether. do not think of trying to traverse the country until you are perfectly strong. it will be a dangerous business at the best, but with your man with you, to bear the brunt of replying to questions, i have every confidence that you will succeed in making your way through. as to this, i can give no advice, as there is no saying as to the point from which you may start, or the directions in which you may travel. "should you, at any time, find yourself in a town in which there are any of my countrymen established in trade, and you will find them nearly everywhere, use my name. i think it is pretty generally known to scotchmen in poland. you will see i have inclosed a note that will be useful to you." the inclosure contained only a few words: "i, allan ramsay, merchant of warsaw, do declare the bearer of this note to be my friend, and beg any countrymen of mine, to whom he may present himself, to assist him in every way, and, should he require money, to furnish him with it, i undertaking to make myself responsible for the same, and to pay all monies and other charges that he may incur." "the first thing to do," charlie said, as he placed the letters in his doublet, "is to let the leader of our band know that other bodies of troops, besides that at the hut, are about to enter the forest. he may decide that it is necessary to march away at once." as soon, indeed, as the outlaw received the tidings, he issued orders for the band to prepare for instant departure. "a party of five or six men together," he said to charlie, "might hide in this forest for years. but a band of fifty is too large to be long concealed. to begin with, they must get food, and must either buy it or hunt for it; and in the second, there are a considerable number of men living in the forest, charcoal burners and herders of goats and swine, and any of these, if questioned by the troops, might mention that they had seen a considerable number of men passing. as it is, we will break up into parties of seven or eight, and appoint a rendezvous where we may meet again." the band was speedily mustered, for, with the exception of those who were watching the forest through which the troops at the hut must march to reach them, the whole were close at hand. a messenger was sent off to call in the scouts. then the booty that had been taken during their late excursions was brought out, and emptied on the ground. it consisted of money and jewellery. it was divided into equal portions, of which each member took one, the lieutenants of the band two, and the captain three. "you don't share this time," the latter said to charlie; "but next time, of course, you and your comrade will each have your portion." when this was done, the men were told off in parties of six or seven, and instructions given as to the point of rendezvous. each band chose its own leader, and, in an hour from the reception of the news, the place was deserted, and the parties were making their way in different directions through the forest. charlie and stanislas formed part of the captain's own force, which numbered ten in all. "do you think they will all turn up at the meeting place?" charlie asked the leader, whose name he now ascertained was ladislas koffski. "they may," he said. "but it is seldom that bands, when they once disperse like this, ever come together again. it is impossible to content everyone, and any man who is chosen leader of a party may, if he is dissatisfied, persuade those with him to join some other band. even if they do not go in a body, many are sure to break off and make for their homes, to enjoy the booty they have gathered. "but, upon the other hand, as we go we shall gather up fresh recruits. with so many disbanded soldiers and discontented men roaming the country, there is no difficulty in getting as many men as one cares to keep together. "fifty is the outside that is advisable, for with more, even if one makes a good haul, it comes to so little, a head, that the men are dissatisfied. of course they work in small parties, but this does not succeed so well as when a small band are under a single leader." "how long have you been at this work?" "since last autumn." "and you find it pay?" "we do not get much in money. as you saw, there were but four rix dollars a head, and that is the result of a month's work. still, that is not bad for men who might otherwise starve. sometimes we do worse and sometimes better, but that is about the average. still, the life is a pleasant one, and unless we disbanded soldiers took to it, what would there be for us to do? if government would keep us on regular pay, there would soon be no brigands left, except the men who have escaped from justice. but the treasury is empty, and, even at the best of times, the troops are badly and irregularly paid, and are forced to plunder to keep life together. they are almost in rags, and though we poles do not mind fighting, there is generally a difficulty in getting sufficient infantry. as for the cavalry, they are nobles, and draw no pay. "how do you feel today?" "better. the night's rest, and a wash and change of clothes this morning, have made me feel another man. how far do you intend to march?" "we shall go slowly for a day or two. the other parties have all pushed on ahead fast, but by taking matters quietly, and by keeping a sharp lookout, we need have no great fear of being surprised. i know the forest well, and its thickest hiding places, so we can afford to travel slowly, and as you become accustomed to it you will be able to make longer journeys." for ten days they travelled through the forest, increasing their distance daily, as charlie regained his strength. the last day or two they did not make less than twenty miles a day. their faces were turned steadily east. occasionally they passed large tracts of cleared land, villages, and cultivated fields. at some of these they stopped and replenished their stock of flour, which they took without paying for it, but did no farther damage. of meat they had abundance. two or three men started each day as soon as they halted, and, in a short time, returned with a goat or young pig. "we are now close to the bug river," ladislas said at their last halting place. "tomorrow we shall meet some, at least, of our comrades. i do not expect a great many, for we were pretty equally divided as to the direction we should travel in. practically, we were safe from pursuit when we had gone fifteen miles, for the forest there spreads out greatly, and those in search of us would know that further pursuit would be useless. many of my men did not care about going farther, but all this part of the country has been so harried, for the last two or three years, that we thought it best to try altogether new ground. when we have crossed the bug we shall be beyond the forest, but there are great swamps and morasses, and hills with patches of wood. many streams take their rise there, all meeting farther on, and forming the dnieper. we must keep north of that river, for to the south the country is thinly populated, and we should have difficulty in maintaining ourselves." charlie made no comment, but he was glad to hear that the band intended to keep to the north of the dnieper, for that river would have formed a serious obstacle to his making his way to rejoin the swedes. the next day, they reached the bank of the bug, and, following the river down, came after an hour's walking upon a great fire, round which fifteen men were stretched. these, as the captain's party approached, rose to their feet with a shout of welcome. "that is better than i expected," ladislas said, as they came up to them. "five and twenty is quite enough for work here. in the forests one can do with more, but, moving steadily on, as we mean to do, till we get pretty near the eastern frontier, five and twenty is ample. it is enough, when together, to surprise a village; and it is not too many, travelling in twos and threes, to attract attention. things always go on better, too, after a dispersal. many who are discontented, or who want to command a band of their own, break off, and one starts fresh, with just the men one likes best to keep." "we had begun to give you up, captain," one of the men said, as he joined the other party. "we have been here six days." "we travelled but slowly, at first, and it is only the last two days we have really made fair journeys; but there was no reason for any great haste. the world is all our own, and, at any rate, as long as we were in the forest, there was no fear of wanting food. "so i see some of our comrades have left us." "we can do very well without them, captain. there were thirty of us here two days ago. essos and polinski quarrelled, and essos was killed. then polinski wanted us to elect him captain, and to move away at once. four or five, who have always been grumblers, joined him at once, and persuaded some of the others, till we were about equally divided. it came pretty nearly to a fight; but neither liked to begin, and they moved away." "there are quite enough of us left," ladislas said. "as to essos and polinski, i am heartily glad that they have gone. i know they have both been scheming for the leadership for some time. most of the others can be very well spared, too. there are plenty of us here for travel. there is no doubt, as we agreed before starting, that there is not much more to be done in this part of the country. what with the civil wars, and the bands of soldiers without a leader, and others like ourselves who do not mean to starve, the peasants have been wrought up into a state of desperation. they have little left to lose, but what they have got they are ready to fight to the death for, and, lately, at the first alarm they have sounded the bells and assembled for miles round, and, equipped with scythes and flails, routed those who meddled with them. we had more than one hot fight, and lost many good men. besides, many of the nobles who have suffered have turned out, with their followers, and struck heavy blows at some of the bands; so that the sooner we get out of this country, which is becoming a nest of hornets, the better, for there is little booty and plenty of hard blows to be got. "we will go on, as we agreed, till near the eastern frontier. the country is well covered with forest there, and we can sally out on which side we like, for, if there is not much gold to be had in the russian villages, there is plenty of vodka, and sometimes things worth taking in their churches. the priests and headmen, too, have generally got a little store, which can be got at with the aid of a few hot coals, or a string twisted tight enough round a thumb. at any rate we sha'n't starve; but we must move on pretty fast, for we shall have to get up a warm hut in the forest, and to lay in a stock of provisions before the winter sets in. so we must only stop to gather a little plunder when a good opportunity offers." chapter : treed by wolves. charlie and stanislas were, that evening, sitting apart from the rest, at a short distance from the fire, talking over the future. they agreed that it would be comparatively easy to withdraw from the band as they journeyed forward, if, as seemed likely, they travelled in very small parties. if, indeed, they found themselves with two others, they could leave openly, for these would scarcely care to enter upon a desperate struggle, merely for the sake of retaining two unwilling companions in the band. the difficulties would only begin when they started alone. as they were talking, the captain came across to them. "i can guess," he said, "that you are talking together as to the future. i like you, young englishman, and i like your companion, who seems an honest fellow, but i would not keep you with me by force. i understand that you are not placed as we are. we have to live. most of us would live honestly if we could, but at present it is the choice of doing as we do, or starving. we occasionally take a few crowns, if we come across a fat trader, or may ease a rich farmer of his hoard, but it is but seldom such a chance comes in our way. as a rule, we simply plunder because we must live. it is different with you. your friends may be far away, but if you can get to them you would have all that you need. therefore, this life, which is hard and rough, to say nothing of its danger, does not suit you; but for all that, you must stay with us, for it would be madness for you to attempt to escape. "as i told you, the peasants are maddened, and would kill any passing stranger as they would a wild beast. they would regard him as a spy of some band like ours, or of a company of disbanded soldiers, sent forward to discover which houses and villages are best worth plundering. in your case, you have other dangers to fear. you may be sure that news has been sent from warsaw to all the different governors, with orders for your arrest for killing ben soloman, and these orders will be transmitted to every town and village. your hair and eyes would at once betray you as strangers, and your ignorance of the language would be fatal to you. if, therefore, you escaped being killed as a robber by the peasants, you would run the risk of arrest at the first town or village you entered. "translate that to him, stanislas. he is learning our language fast, but he cannot understand all that." "that is just what we were talking about," charlie said, when stanislas had repeated the captain's speech, "and the danger seems too great to be risked. think you, that when we get farther to the east, we shall be able to make our way more easily up into livonia?" "much more easily, because the forest is more extensive there; but not until the winter is over. the cold will be terrible, and it would be death to sleep without shelter. besides, the forests are infested with wolves, who roam about in packs, and would scent and follow and devour you. but when spring comes, you can turn your faces to the north, and leave us if you think fit, and i promise you that no hindrance shall be thrown in your way. i only ask you not to risk your lives by trying now to pass through poland alone." "i think you are right, ladislas, and i promise you that we will not attempt to leave you during our journey east. as you say, it would be impossible for us to travel after winter had once set in. it is now the end of september." "and it will be november before we reach our destination. we shall not travel fast. we have no motive for doing so. we have to live by the way, and to gather a little money to help us through the winter. we may shoot a bear or an elk sometimes, a few deer, and hares, but we shall want two or three sacks of flour, and some spirits. for these we must either get money, or take the goods. the first is the best, for we have no means of dragging heavy weights with us, and it would not do to infuriate the peasants by plundering any of them within twenty miles of the place where we mean to winter. that would set them all against us." "i tell you frankly, ladislas, that we shall not be willing to aid in any acts of robbery. of course, when one is with an army one has to plunder on a large scale, and it has often gone terribly against the grain, when i have had to join parties sent out to forage. but it has to be done. i would rather not join men in taking food, yet i understand that it may be necessary. but as to taking money, i will have nothing to do with it. at the same time, i understand that we cannot share your food, and be with you, without doing something. stanislas has brought me a little money from warsaw, and i shall be ready to pay into the common treasury a sum sufficient to pay for our share of the food. as to money taken, we shall not expect any share of it. if you are attacked, we shall of course fight, and shall be ready to do our full share in all work. so, at any rate, you will not be losers by taking us with you." "that is fair enough," the captain said, when stanislas had translated what charlie said, suppressing, however, his remarks about foraging with the army, as the brigands were ignorant that charlie and he had any connection with the swedes, or that he was not, as he had given out, a young englishman come out to set up as a trader. the band now journeyed slowly on, keeping near the north bank of the dnieper. they went by twos and threes, uniting sometimes and entering a village or surrounding a farmhouse at night, and taking what they wanted. the people were, however, terribly poor, and they were able to obtain but little beyond scanty supplies of flour, and occasionally a few gold or silver trinkets. many other bands of plunderers had passed along, in the course of the summer, and the robbers themselves were often moved to pity by the misery that they everywhere met with. when in small parties they were obliged to avoid entering any villages, for once or twice furious attacks were made upon those who did so, the women joining the men in arming themselves with any weapon that came to hand, and in falling upon the strangers. only once did they succeed in obtaining plunder of value. they had visited a village, but found it contained nothing worth taking. one of the women said: "why do you trouble poor people like us? there is the count's chateau three miles away. they have every luxury there, while we are starving." after leaving the village, the man to whom she had spoken repeated what she had said, and it was agreed to make the attempt. at the first cottage they came to they made further inquiries, and found that the lord of the soil was very unpopular; for, in spite of the badness of the times, he insisted on receiving his rents without abatement, and where money was not forthcoming, had seized cattle and horses, assessing them at a price far below what they would have fetched at the nearest market. they therefore marched to the house. it was a very large one. the captain thoughtfully placed charlie and stanislas among the six men who were to remain without, to prevent any of the inmates leaving the chateau. with the rest, he made a sudden attack on the great door of the house, and beat it down with a heavy sledge hammer. just as it gave way, some shots were fired from the inside, but they rushed in, overpowered the servants, and were soon masters of the place. in half an hour they came out again, laden with booty. each man carried half a dozen bottles of choice wine, from the count's cellar, slung at his belt. on their shoulders they carried bundles containing silver cups and other valuables; while six of them had bags of silver money, that had been extracted from the count by threats of setting fire to the chateau, and burning him and his family. a halt was made two or three miles away, when the silver was divided into shares as usual, the men being well satisfied when they learned that charlie and his companion claimed no part of it. some of the provisions they had also taken were eaten. each man had a flask of wine, with which the count's health was derisively drunk. "this has been a good night's work," the leader said, "and you have each sixty rix dollars in your pockets, which is more than you have had for months past. that will keep us in provisions and spirits all through the winter; but mind, although we took it without much trouble, we have not heard the last of the business. no doubt, by this time, the count has sent off a messenger to the nearest town where there are troops, and, for a day or two, we shall have to march fast and far. it is one thing to plunder villages, and another to meddle with a rich nobleman." for the next forty-eight hours they marched by night instead of by day, keeping always together, and prepared to resist an attack. one morning they saw, from their hiding place among some high reeds near the river, a body of about sixty horsemen ride past at a distance. they were evidently searching for something, for parties could be seen to break off several times, and to enter woods and copses, the rest halting till they came out again. as the band had with them enough food for another three days, they remained for thirty-six hours in their hiding place, and then, thinking the search would by that time be discontinued, went on again. the next day they killed two or three goats from a herd, the boy in charge of them making off with such speed that, though hotly pursued and fired at several times, he made his escape. they carried the carcasses to a wood, lit a fire, and feasted upon them. then, having cooked the rest of the flesh, they divided it among the band. by this time the wine was finished. the next day they again saw horsemen in the distance, but remained in hiding till they had disappeared in the afternoon. they then went into a village, but scarcely had they proceeded up the street when the doors were opened, and from every house men rushed out armed with flails, clubs, and axes, and fell upon them furiously, shouting "death to the robbers!" they had evidently received warning that a band of plunderers were approaching, and everything had been prepared for them. the band fought stoutly, but they were greatly outnumbered, and, as but few of them carried firearms, they had no great advantage in weapons. charlie and stanislas, finding that their lives were at stake, were forced to take part in the fray, and both were with the survivors of the band, who at last succeeded in fighting their way out of the village, leaving half their number behind them, while some twenty of the peasants had fallen. reduced now to twelve men and the captain, they thought only of pushing forward, avoiding all villages, and only occasionally visiting detached houses for the sake of obtaining flour. the country became more thinly populated as they went on, and there was a deep feeling of satisfaction when, at length, their leader pointed to a belt of trees in the distance, and said: "that is the beginning of the forest. a few miles farther, and we shall be well within it." by nightfall they felt, for the first time since they had set out on their journey, that they could sleep in safety. a huge fire was lit, for the nights were now becoming very cold, and snow had fallen occasionally for the last four or five days, and in the open country was lying some inches deep. the next day they journeyed a few miles farther, and then chose a spot for the erection of a hut. it was close to a stream, and the men at once set to work, with axes, to fell trees and clear a space. it was agreed that the captain and two of the men, of the most pacific demeanour, should go to the nearest town, some forty miles away, to lay in stores. they were away five days, and then returned with the welcome news that a cart, laden with flour and a couple of barrels of spirits, was on a country track through the forest a mile and a half away. "how did you manage, captain?" charlie asked. "we went to the house of a well-to-do peasant, about a mile from the borders of the wood. i told him frankly that we belonged to a band who were going to winter in the forest, that we would do him no harm if he would give us his aid, but that if he refused he would soon have his place burnt over his head. as we said we were ready to pay a fair sum for the hire of his cart, he did not hesitate a moment about making the choice. the other two remained at his cottage, so as to keep his family as hostages for his good faith, and i went with him to the town, where we bought six sacks of good flour and the two barrels of spirits. we got a few other things--cooking pots and horns, and a lot of coarse blankets, and a thick sheepskin coat for each man. they are all in the car. i see that you have got the hut pretty nearly roofed in, so, in a day or two, we shall be comfortable." they went in a body to the place where the cart had been left, but it required two journeys before its contents were all transported to the hut. another three days and this was completed. it was roughly built of logs, the interstices being filled in with moss. there was no attempt at a door, an opening being left four feet high and eighteen inches wide for the purpose of an entry. the skin of a deer they had shot, since they arrived, was hung up outside; and a folded rug inside. there was no occasion for windows. a certain amount of light made its way in by an orifice, a foot square, that had been left in the roof for the escape of smoke. the hut itself consisted of one room only, about eighteen feet square. when this was finished, all hands set to work to pile up a great stack of firewood, close to the door, so as to save them from the necessity of going far, until snow had ceased falling, and winter had set in in earnest. the cart had brought six carcasses of sheep, that had been purchased from a peasant; these were hung up outside the hut to freeze hard, and the meat was eaten only once a day, as it would be impossible to obtain a fresh supply, until the weather became settled enough to admit of their hunting. the preparations were but just finished when the snow began to fall heavily. for a week it came down without intermission, the wind howled among the trees, and even charlie, half stifled as he was by the smoke, felt no inclination to stir out, except for half an hour's work to clear away the snow from the entrance, and to carry in wood from the pile. the time passed more cheerfully than might have been expected. he had by this time begun to talk polish with some facility, and was able to understand the stories that the men told, as they sat round the fire; sometimes tales of adventures they themselves had gone through, sometimes stories of the history of poland, its frequent internal wars, and its struggles with the turks. making bread and cooking occupied some portion of the time, and much was spent in sleep. at the end of a week the snow ceased falling and the sun came out, and all were glad to leave the hut and enjoy the clear sky and the keen air. while they had been confined to the hut, two of the men had made a large number of snares for hares, and they at once started into the forest, to set these in spots where they saw traces of the animals' passage over the snow. the rest went off in parties of twos and threes in search of other game. with the exception of charlie, all were accustomed to the woods; but, as stanislas had much less experience than the others, the captain decided to go with them. "it is easy for anyone to lose his way here," he said. "in fact, except to one accustomed to the woods, it would be dangerous to go far away from the hut. as long as it is fine, you will find your way back by following your own tracks, but if the weather changed suddenly, and it came on to snow, your case would be hopeless. one of the advantages of placing our hut on a stream is that it forms a great aid to finding one's way back. if you strike it above, you follow it down; if below, upwards, until you reach the hut. of course you might wander for days and never hit it, still it is much more easy to find than a small object like the hut, though even when found, it would be difficult to decide whether it had been struck above or below the hut. "now, there is one rule if, at any time, you get lost. don't begin to wander wildly about, for, if you did, you would certainly walk in a circle, and might never be found again. sit down quietly and think matters over, eat if you have got any food with you; then examine the sky, and try to find out from the position of the sun, or the direction in which the clouds are going, which way the hut ought to lie. always take with you one of your pistols; if you fire it three times, at regular intervals, it will be a signal that you want help, and any of us who are within hearing will come to aid you." with the exception of hares, of which a good many were snared, the hunting was not productive. tracks of deer were seen not unfrequently, but it was extremely difficult, even when the animals were sighted, to get across the surface of the snow to within range of the clumsy arquebuses that two or three of the men carried. they did, however, manage to shoot a few by erecting a shelter, just high enough for one man to lie down under, and leaving it until the next snowstorm so covered it that it seemed but a knoll in the ground, or a low shrub bent down and buried under the weight of the snow. these shelters were erected close to paths taken by the deer, and, by lying patiently all day in them, the men occasionally managed to get a close shot. several bears were killed, and two elks. these afforded food for a long time, as the frozen flesh would keep until the return of spring. holes were made in the ice on the stream, and baited hooks being set every night, it was seldom that two or three fish were not found fast on them in the morning. altogether, therefore, there was no lack of food; and as, under the teaching of the captain, charlie in time learnt to be able to keep his direction through the woods, he was often able to go out, either with stanislas or alone, thus keeping clear of the close smoky hut during the hours of daylight. upon the whole he found the life by no means an unpleasant one. among the articles purchased by the captain were high boots, lined with sheepskin, coming up to the thigh. with these and the coats, which had hoods to pull over the head, charlie felt the cold but little during the day; while at night he found the hut often uncomfortably warm, sleeping, as they all did, in the same attire in which they went out. in february the weather became excessively severe, more so, the peasants and charcoal burners they occasionally met with declared, than they ever remembered. the wild animals became tamer, and in the morning when they went out, they frequently found tracks of bears that had been prowling round the hut in search of offal, or bones thrown out. they were now obliged to hang their supply of meat, by ropes, from boughs at some distance from the ground, by which means they were enabled to prevent the bears getting at it. they no longer dared to venture far from the hut, for large packs of wolves ranged through the forest, and, driven by hunger, even entered villages, where they attacked and killed many women and children, made their entrance into sheds, and tore dogs, horses, and cattle to pieces, and became at last so dangerous that the villagers were obliged to keep great fires burning in the streets at night, to frighten them away. several times the occupants of the hut were awakened by the whining and snarling of wolves outside. but the walls and roof were alike built of solid timber, and a roughly-made door of thick wood was now fastened, every night, against the opening, and so stoutly supported by beams behind it as to defy assault. beyond, therefore, a passing grumble at being awakened by the noise, the men gave themselves no trouble as to the savage animals outside. "if these brutes grow much bolder," the captain said one day, "we shall be prisoners here altogether. they must have come down from the great forest that extends over a large part of russia. the villages are scarce there, and the peasants take good care to keep all their beasts in shelter, so no doubt they are able to pick up more at the edge of the forest here." "how far are we from the russian frontier?" "i do not think anyone could tell you. for aught i know, we may be in russia now. these forests are a sort of no man's land, and i don't suppose any line of frontier has ever been marked. it is russia to the east of this forest, some thirty miles away, and it is poland to the west of it. the forest is no good to anyone except the charcoal burners. i have met both russians and poles in the wood, and, as there is plenty of room for all--ay, and would be were there a thousand to every one now working in it--they are on friendly terms with each other, especially as the two nations are, at present, allied against sweden." in spite of the wolves, charlie continued his walks in the forest, accompanied always by stanislas. both carried axes and pistols, and, although charlie had heard many tales of solitary men, and even of vehicles, being attacked by the wolves in broad daylight, he believed that most of the stories were exaggerations, and that the chances of two men being attacked in daylight were small, indeed. he had found that the track, by which the cart had brought the stores, was a good deal used, the snow being swept away or levelled by the runners of sledges, either those of peasants who came into the forest for wood or charcoal, or of travellers journeying between russia and poland. he generally selected this road for his walk, both because it was less laborious than wading through the untrodden snow, and because there was here no fear of losing his way, and he was spared the incessant watchfulness for signs that was necessary among the trees. at first he had frequently met peasants' carts on the road, but, since the cold became more severe and the wolves more numerous and daring, he no longer encountered them. he had indeed heard, from some of the last he saw, that they should come no more, for that the charcoal burners were all abandoning their huts, and going into the villages. one afternoon, when they had, on their return, nearly reached the spot where they left the road to strike across the forest to the hut, they heard a noise behind them. "that is a pack of wolves, in full cry!" stanislas exclaimed. "you had better get up into a tree. they are after something." they hastily clambered into a tree, whose lower branches were but six or seven feet from the ground. a moment later two horses, wild with fright, dashed past, while some twenty yards behind them came a pack of fifty or sixty wolves. they were almost silent now, with their red tongues hanging out. "the brutes have been attacking a sledge," stanislas said in a low tone. "you saw the horses were harnessed, and their broken traces were hanging by their side. it is easy to read the story. the sledge was attacked; the horses, mad with fear, broke their traces and rushed off, or perhaps the driver, seeing at the last moment that escape was impossible, slashed the ropes with his knife, so as to give the horses a chance. i expect they got a start, for the wolves would be detained a little at the sledge." "do you think the poor beasts will get safe out of the forest, stanislas?" "i don't think so, but they may. the chase has evidently been a long one, and the wolves have tired themselves with their first efforts to come up to them. it did not seem to me that they were gaining when they passed us. it is simply a question of endurance, but i fancy the wolves will last longest. "see, here is a party of stragglers. i suppose they stopped longer at the sledge." "it seems to me they are on our scent, stanislas. do you see, they are coming along at the side of the road where we walked, with their heads down." "i am afraid they are. well, we shall soon see. yes, they are leaving the road where we did." a moment later a dozen wolves ran up to the trunk of the tree, and there gathered snuffing and whining. presently one caught sight of the two figures above them, and with an angry yelp sprang up in the air, and immediately all were growling, snarling, and leaping. charlie laughed out loud at their impotent efforts. "it is no laughing matter, sir," stanislas said gravely. "they cannot climb up here, stanislas." "no, but they can keep us here. it will be dark in an hour, and likely enough they will watch us all night." "then we had better shoot two of them, and jump down with our hatchets. keeping back to back, we ought to be able to face ten wolves." "yes, if that were all; but see, here come three or four more, and the dozen will soon swell to a score. no, we shall have to wait here all night, and probably for some time tomorrow, for the men are not likely to find us very early, and they will hardly hear our pistols unless some of them happen to come in this direction." "do you think, if we shoot two or three of them, the rest will go?" "certainly not. it will be all the worse. their comrades would at once tear them to pieces and devour them, and the scent of blood would very soon bring others to the spot." "well, if we have got to wait here all night, stanislas, we had better choose the most comfortable place we can, at once, before it gets dark. we must mind we don't go to sleep and tumble off." "there will be no fear of our sleeping," stanislas said. "the cold will be too great for that. we shall have to keep on swinging our hands and feet, and rubbing our noses, to prevent ourselves from getting frostbitten." "well, i have never felt the cold in these clothes," charlie said. "no, sir, but you have never been out at night, sitting cramped on a tree." hour after hour passed. even in the darkness they could see the wolves lying in the snow below them, occasionally changing their position, keeping close together for warmth, and often snarling or growling angrily, as one or two shifted their position, and tried to squeeze in so as to get into a warm spot. the cold was intense and, in spite of swinging his legs and arms, charlie felt that his vital heat was decreasing. "this is awful, stanislas. i do not think we can last on till morning." "i begin to have doubts myself, sir. perhaps it would be better to leap down and make a fight of it." "we might shoot some of them first," charlie said. "how many charges have you?" "i have only two, besides one in the barrel." "and i have only three," charlie said. "powder has run very short. the captain was saying, yesterday, that we must send to the village and try to get some more. still, six shots will help us." "not much, sir. there must be thirty or forty of them now. i have seen some come from the other way. i suppose they were part of the pack that followed the horses." charlie sat for some time thinking. then he exclaimed: "i think this is a dead tree." "it is, sir. i noticed it when we climbed up. the head has gone, and i think it must have been struck with lightning last summer." "then i think we can manage." "manage what, sir?" the man asked in surprise. "manage to make a fire, stanislas. first of all, we will crawl out towards the ends of the branches as far as we can get, and break off twigs and small boughs. if we can't get enough, we can cut chips off, and we will pile them all where these three big boughs branch off from the trunk. we have both our tinderboxes with us, and i see no reason why we should not be able to light a fire up here." "so we might," stanislas said eagerly. "but if we did, we might set the whole tree on fire." "no bad thing, either," charlie rejoined. "you may be sure the fire will keep the wolves at a respectful distance, and we could get down and enjoy the heat without fear." "i believe your idea will save our lives, sir. ten minutes ago i would not have given a crown for our chances." they at once crawled out upon two of the great branches, and a renewed chorus of snarls from below showed that their foes were watchful. the snapping of the small branches excited a certain amount of uneasiness among them, and they drew off a short distance. in ten minutes charlie and his companion worked themselves back to the main trunk, each carrying an armful of twigs. they first cut off a number of small dry chips, and made a pile of these at the junction of one of the branches with the trunk. they then got out their tinderboxes and bunches of rags, shook a few grains of powder from one of the horns among the chips, and then got the tinder alight. a shred of rag, that had been rubbed with damp powder, was applied to the spark and then placed among the shavings. a flash of light sprang up, followed by a steady blaze, as the dried chips caught. one by one at first, and then, as the fire gained strength, several sticks at a time were laid over the burning splinters, and in five minutes a large fire was blazing. charlie and his companion took their seats where the other two big branches shot out from the trunk. these were two or three feet higher than that on which the fire had been lighted, and, ere long, a sensation of genial warmth began to steal over them. fresh sticks were lighted as the first were consumed, and before long the trunk, where the flames played on it, began to glow. light tongues of flame rose higher and higher, until the trunk was alight ten or twelve feet up. "the wolves are all gone," charlie said, looking down. "i don't suppose they have gone very far, sir. but when the tree once gets fairly alight, you may be sure they won't venture anywhere near it." they had already been forced to move some little distance away from the trunk, by the heat, and as the flames rose higher and higher, embracing in the course of half an hour the whole of the trunk and upper branches, they felt that it was perfectly safe to drop off into the snow beneath them. blazing brands soon began to fall. they stood a short distance away, so as to be beyond the risk of accident, but, at charlie's suggestion, they ran in from time to time, gathered up the brands and laid them at the foot of the trunk, and in a short time a second fire was kindled here. the tree was now a pyramid of fire, lighting up the snow for a long distance round. outside this circle the wolves could be heard whining and whimpering, occasionally uttering a long-drawn howl. "they know that they are baulked of their prey," stanislas said. "we shall have some of the big branches falling soon, and shall be able to keep up a roaring fire, that will last until daylight. i should think by that time the wolves will be tired of it, and will make off; but if not, the captain will be sure to send men out to search for us. he will guess we have been treed by wolves, and we have only to get into another tree, and fire our pistols, to bring them in this direction." "but they may be attacked, too," charlie remarked. "there are ten of them, and they are sure to come armed with axes and swords. they ought to be able to fight their way through a good-sized pack. besides, the wolves will be so cowed by this great fire, that i don't think they will have the courage to meddle with so strong a party." one by one the arms of the tree fell, burnt through at the point where they touched the trunk. they would have been far too heavy to be dragged, but three or four of them fell across the lower fire, and there lay blazing. not knowing which way the tree itself would fall, charlie and his companion were obliged to remain at some distance off, but the heat there was amply sufficient for them. at last the trunk fell with a crash, and they at once established themselves as near the fire as they could sit, without being scorched, and there chatted until morning began to break. they felt sure that some, at least, of the wolves were around them, as they occasionally caught sight of what looked like two sparks among the undergrowth; these being, as they knew, the reflection of the fire in the eyes of a wolf. there was a tree hard by in which they could, if necessary, take refuge, and they therefore resolved to stay near the fire. fortunately the night had been perfectly still, and, as the tree they had fired was a detached one, the flames had not spread, as charlie had at one time been afraid they would do. half an hour after daylight had fairly broken, they discharged three shots at regular intervals with their pistols, then they waited half an hour. "shall we fire again?" "no. not until we hear shots from them," charlie replied. "we have but four charges left, and if the wolves made a sudden rush, we might want to use them." after a time, both thought they heard the distant report of a musket. stanislas looked at charlie inquiringly. the latter shook his head. "no, no! stanislas. that gun would be heard twice as far as one of these pistols. let us wait until we are pretty sure that they are near. i don't like leaving ourselves without other protection than our axes." chapter : a rescued party. after a considerable pause, a gun was again fired, this time much nearer to them. charlie drew out his pistol and was about to reply, when his companion touched his arm. "look!" he said. charlie turned in time to see several gray forms flit rapidly between the bushes. he stepped to the edge of the road, and saw some wolves spring out through the bushes, and go straight along the road. "what can have scared them?" he asked, in surprise. "the gun was not near enough for that." "no, besides they would have fled deeper into the forest, instead of taking to the road. perhaps they hear something coming." almost at the same moment, two shots were heard in the direction towards which the wolves were making. "that is it!" charlie excitedly exclaimed. "another body of wolves have attacked a passing traveller. heap the wood on, stanislas. if we make a great fire, and they get as far as this, possibly they could spring off and take refuge here. at any rate, the brands will be better weapons even than our axes." the ends of such branches as they were able to move were brought together, and a few blows with their axes speedily broke off several of the outer ends of charred wood. these were thrown on, and the fire soon blazed up high again. two more shots were heard, this time close at hand. they ran into the road. a sledge, with several figures in it, was coming along at full speed. it was almost surrounded by wolves, and, as they looked, two of them sprang at the horses' heads; but two shots again rung out, and they dropped backwards among their companions, many of whom threw themselves at once upon their bodies, while the sledge continued on its headlong course. "here! here!" charlie shouted at the top of his voice, waving his hands to show the direction which they were to take. a moment later the sledge dashed past them, and swept up to the fire. "seize the blazing brands!" charlie shouted, as those in the sledge threw themselves out. he and stanislas rolled the two first wolves over with their pistols, and then joined the others. the driver had run at once to the horses, and had muffled them, by throwing his coat over the head of one, and a rug over the head of the other, and, though snorting and trembling in every limb, they stood quiet until he had thrown a head rope round each of their necks, and fastened them to the heaviest of the branches. then he seized a handful of fallen leaves, which were exposed by the melting of the snow above them, and threw them into the fire, whence a dense smoke poured out. the wolves had again stopped to devour the two animals that had been shot, and this gave time to the men, by their united efforts, to move a heavy branch and place it across two others, whose ends lay in the fire, so as to form with them a sort of triangular breastwork, the face of which, next to them, was manned by the two travellers, their servants, charlie, and stanislas, with blazing brands. charlie and his companion hastily loaded their pistols again. the two gentlemen had each rifles and a brace of pistols, as had their servants. a lady and child had been lifted from the sledge, and these crouched down at the angle by the fire. the sledge and the two horses protected one of the faces of the position, and the driver, at his master's orders, took his position on the front seat again, so as to shoot down any wolf that might try to attack the flank of the outside horse. the wolves looked doubtful at the appearance of the dense smoke rising up, but, after a little hesitation, they rushed to the attack. four were rolled over by bullets from the rifles, and, as they came within a few yards, the pistols cracked out in rapid succession. as soon as these were all emptied, the six men caught up the blazing brands, and struck full in the faces of the wolves, shouting loudly as they did so. seized with a momentary panic, the animals turned and fled, and then a fierce fight took place between the injured wolves and their companions. there was but just time to recharge the rifles and pistols, when they came on again. although the fire of the defenders was as deadly as before, the wolves seemed this time determined to get at their victims. in vain were blows showered on their heads, while those who first sprang on the tree were stabbed with the knives the defenders held in their left hands. the contest could have had but one termination, when suddenly two shots were heard, and then, with loud shouts, a party of men burst through the forest, and with pistol and axe fell on the wolves. this unexpected onslaught had a decisive effect, and, with loud howls and yelps, the wolves turned and fled. up to this time, not a word had been exchanged by the defenders, beyond charlie's first shout of "lay this branch across those two," and the order of one of the gentlemen to the coachman to take his place in the sledge--where he had done his work well, for four wolves lay dead by the flank of the outside horse. several of those that had sprung at the heads of the horses had been shot or cut down by the master, who had placed himself close to them, and the horses' thick mufflings had saved them from any serious injury. as soon as the wolves fled, the gentleman turned to charlie, and, flinging down his weapons, threw his arms round his neck. "you have preserved us from death, sir. you have saved my wife and child from being torn to pieces. how can i express my thanks to you?" "it was fortunate that we happened to be here," charlie said, "and that we had this fire handy." a cry from the child called off the gentleman's attention, and he ran to his wife, who had sunk fainting on the ground; and charlie, not a little pleased at this diversion, turned to ladislas and his men, who were looking on with the most intense astonishment at the scene. charlie leapt over the branch, and grasped ladislas by the hand. "you have arrived at the nick of time, ladislas. another three minutes, and it would have been all over with us." "yes, i could see it was a close thing as soon as i caught sight of you. we have been wondering all night what became of you, and set out as soon as it was light. we fired a shot occasionally, but we listened in vain for your three shots." "we fired them half an hour after daylight," charlie said; "but, as we had then only five charges left between us, and there were wolves all round, we dared not waste them." "we heard firing at last," the captain went on. "first two shots faintly, then two nearer, and a minute later two others. we knew then that you must be engaged with wolves, and we were running as hard as we could in the direction of the shots, when we heard a number fired close together. of course we could make nothing of it, but on we ran. then there was another outbreak of firing, this time quite close. a moment later we caught sight of a confused mass. there was a fire, and a sledge with two horses, and a man standing up in it shooting; and we could see a desperate fight going on with the wolves in front, so alexander and hugo fired their pieces into the thick of them. we set up a yell, and went at them with our axes, yet i did not feel by any means sure that they would not be too many for us. "but what on earth does it all mean? and how is it that you have lived through the night? we had no expectation of finding you alive. however, that fire tells its own tale, as though nothing less than burning up a big tree would content you." "i will tell you all, presently. it is too long a story now. let us help these travellers to go their way, before the wolves rally again." "they will not do that," the captain said confidently. "if it was night, they might hang about the neighbourhood, but they are cowardly beasts in the daytime, and easily scared. they are still going away at their best pace, i will be bound." while charlie was speaking to ladislas, one of the travellers had been talking to stanislas, who, in answer to his question, had informed him that he was in charlie's service, and that the latter was an english gentleman, who had, from a variety of circumstances, especially the suspicion with which all strangers were regarded, been unable to travel through the country, and had therefore been passing the winter hunting, with this company of disbanded soldiers who had so opportunely arrived to their assistance. the other traveller had, by this time, carried his wife beyond the heat of the fire, and had applied some snow to her forehead, pouring a little brandy from the flask between her lips. she had now begun to revive, and, leaving her, he approached the party. his brother met him, and in a few words told him what he had learned from stanislas. "my friends," he said, "my brother tells me that you are a party of discharged soldiers, who are passing the winter in a hut here in the forest, supporting yourselves by shooting and fishing. i have to thank providence for the thought that sent you here. i have to thank you for your prompt assistance, to which we are indebted for our lives. "i am count nicholas staroski, and can at least make a substantial return for the service you have done me. my estates lie some sixty miles to the north. you will have no difficulty in finding me. present yourselves there at easter. i shall certainly be at my chateau then. i will then talk over what can be done for you. those who like to settle down on land shall have land, those who would like employment in my household shall have it, those who would prefer money to go their own way and settle in their own villages shall each have a heavy purse." then he turned to charlie. "you, sir, as my brother has learned from your brave follower here, are an english gentleman. to you i owe far heavier obligation than to these soldiers, for you and your man incurred a terrible risk, and well-nigh sacrificed your lives for ours. i pray you come with us, and stay with us for a time. i shall then hear your plans, and your object in visiting this country, and if i can in any way further them, you may be sure i will do so to the utmost; for the present, i can promise you at least excellent hunting, and the heartiest welcome." "i thank you very heartily, count staroski, and accept gladly your invitation; but i must first speak to the captain of these men, to whom i am much beholden for the kindness he has shown me." he went across to ladislas, who had heard what was said. "you will not think it ungrateful for me to quit you so suddenly, ladislas," he said in a low voice. "assuredly not. you have done us a service, indeed, in thus enabling us to obtain favour with the count. he is one of our richest and most powerful nobles, and our fortunes are as good as made." "i will introduce you to him personally," charlie said. "this, count, is the leader of the party. he has shown me very great kindness, and has proved a true friend. from what i have seen of him, i have no doubt whatever that, in spite of certain acts of lawlessness to which he and his friends have been driven of late, you will find him, in any position you may be good enough to give him, an honest and thoroughly trustworthy man." "i will bear it in mind," the count said. "now, the sooner we are off, the better. how far is it to the next village?" "about seven miles, count." the count gave orders for the sledge to be taken on to the road again. "one moment," the captain said, taking charlie aside. "pray tell us, in a few words, what has happened. the burning of the tree is a mystery to us, and we shall die of curiosity if we have to remain here for another two months with the matter unexplained." in as few words as possible, charlie related to the men the story of the preceding night, which was greeted with exclamations of surprise and admiration. "truly, you have your wits about you," the captain said. "i should have been frozen to death, if i had been in your position, for i should certainly never have thought of lighting a fire up in a tree. "well, goodbye, if we do not see you again, may all good fortune attend you, and may the saints protect you from all danger." charlie shook hands with the men all round, and then hurried down to the sledge. the coachman was already in the front seat, the countess and her child had taken their places, and the two armed servants and stanislas were standing behind, in readiness to jump on to a board fastened above the runners. "i must apologize for keeping you waiting, countess," charlie said as he ran up. "i had to explain to my friends, in a few words, how this had all come about." "we are also longing to know," the count said. "but i have not yet introduced you to my wife, nor have i learned the name of the gentleman to whom i owe so much." "ah, sir," the young countess said, holding out her hand after charlie had given his name, "what do we not owe you? i shall never forget it all, never." "we will talk when we have started, feodora. let us get out of this forest as soon as we can." he took his place beside his wife, and set the child on his knees; his brother and charlie sitting opposite to him. the servants spread a bearskin rug over their knees, and then jumped into their places, as the driver cracked his whip, and the horses started. "you must think us almost mad to be driving through the forest, at this time of the year," the count said to charlie. "but the countess is a russian. we have been staying two months at her father's place, a hundred miles to the east. my two youngest children are at home, and two days since a message arrived, saying that one of them was dangerously ill. we had heard, of course, many tales of the numbers and fierceness of the wolves, but we hoped that, by travelling only by day and with excellent horses, there was not much to fear, especially as we were five armed men. "we fell in with a few wolves yesterday, but beat them off easily enough. last night, we stopped at a little village in the forest. they certainly made me feel uneasy there, with their tales about the wolves, but there was no help for it. we started as soon as day broke, and had driven some fifteen miles, before we came up to you. we had not gone five when the wolves began to show themselves. "at first, they kept well behind us, but presently we came upon a large number, who joined in near where we saw an overturned sledge, with the snow stained with blood all round it. from there we kept up a running fight, and must have killed a score; but their numbers increased, rather than diminished, and when a fresh pack came up from ahead, a quarter of a mile before we saw you, it looked as if our case was hopeless; for the horses, which had been going at the top of their speed from the time we started, were beginning to flag, while the wolves were fast closing in upon us, and were just beginning to attack the horses, when i saw you in the road. "and now, pray tell us how you came to be there so opportunely, and how it was that you had that great fire blazing." charlie gave the full history of the previous night's adventure. "wonderful!" the count and his brother exclaimed; and the former went on: "i have heard many stories of escapes from wolves, but never one like yours. it was an admirable thought, indeed, that of at once obtaining heat and frightening the wolves away, by setting the tree on fire. that thought saved our lives as well as your own, for our fate would have been the same as those unfortunate travellers, whose horses you saw, and who brought the wolves upon you. "and now, sir, would it be impertinent to ask for what purpose you have come to poland? believe me, i only put the question in order to see if i can in any way be of assistance to you." "i do not know, count, whether my avowal will affect you unfavourably, but i know that it will make no difference in your conduct towards me. i am, as my servant told you, an englishman by birth; but i and my father were obliged, in consequence of political opinions, to leave the country, and i am now a captain in the service of charles of sweden." exclamations of surprise broke from his hearers. "well, sir," the count said, smiling, "as his majesty king charles, although not yet one-and-twenty, is one of the greatest generals in europe, i cannot consider it strange that you, who appear to me to be no older, should be a captain in his service. but i own that i pictured, to myself, that the officers of these wonderful soldiers were fierce-looking men, regular iron veterans." "i am but eighteen," charlie said, "and i myself feel it absurd that i should be a captain. it is but two years since i was appointed an ensign, and the king happening to be with my company, when we had a sharp fight with the russians, he rewarded us by having us made into a regiment; so each of us got promotion. i was appointed captain last may, as a reward for a suggestion that turned out useful." "may i ask what it was, captain carstairs, for it seems to me that you are full of happy ideas?" "king charles, as you may have heard, speaks freely to officers and soldiers as he moves about the camp. i was standing on the edge of the river, looking across at the saxons, on the day before we made the passage, when the king came up and spoke to me. he said there was no hope of our passage being covered--as our advance against the russians at narva had been--by a snowstorm; and i said that, as the wind was at our backs, if we were to set fire to the great straw stacks the smoke would hide our movements from the saxons. the idea was a very simple one, and would no doubt have occurred to the king himself; however, he put it into execution with success, and was good enough, afterwards, to promote me to the rank of captain." "so it was owing to you that our army--or rather the saxon army, for but few poles were engaged in the battle--was defeated," the count said, smiling. "well, sir, it will do you no harm with us, for personally we are entirely opposed to augustus of saxony. but you have not yet explained how you, an officer in the swedish service, came to be here." "i was sent by king charles to warsaw, to ascertain the feeling of the trading classes there. i had an introduction to a scottish merchant, and i passed as a countryman of his, who had come out to enter his business. one of the objects of my mission was to endeavour to induce the foreign merchants in warsaw to do what they could to promote a feeling in favour of peace with the swedes, and the substitution of another king in place of augustus." "it is not very clear, captain carstairs, how you can be fulfilling that object by passing your winter with a party of robbers--for i suppose your disbanded soldiers were little better--in a forest on the confines of russia." charlie laughed. "it is rather a long story, count. perhaps you will kindly tell me the news about public affairs, first." "by no means," the count said. "that is a long story, too, and my wife would much rather hear yours than listen to it. she has not yet recovered from the events of this morning. but we will wait until we are at the village. we have left the forest behind us, and another half hour will take us to stromoff, where we can get pretty good accommodation." the horses, a splendid pair of animals, had, during their passage through the forest, shown every sign of fear; starting nervously, swerving, and going in sharp, sudden rushes, and always needing a constant strain on the reins to keep them from bolting. once away from the trees, however, they settled down into a fast trot, and the seven miles to stromoff were done in less than half an hour. no sooner did the landlord of the inn learn the name of his guest, than he, his wife, and sons bustled about in the greatest haste to make things comfortable for them. huge fires were lighted in the guest rooms, and the common room was cleared of the other customers, until the chamber should be sufficiently warmed for occupation; while in the kitchen preparations were made for a meal, to which, in half an hour from their arrival, the party in the sledge sat down. when this was over, settles were placed round the fire, and charlie then gave a full account of his adventures, from the time he was attacked in the streets of warsaw. "so it was you, captain carstairs, after whom there was so keen a search in september. the death of ben soloman made a great stir, and i can assure you that there are a great many people who owe you a debt of gratitude. the man had no sons, and all his property passed to his widow, whom he had, it seems, treated harshly during his lifetime. she was from holland, and wished to return to her people, so, as his means were very large, she made the easiest terms with all those on whose estates her husband had held mortgages, in order to wind up her affairs as soon as possible. thus, his death was the subject of wide rejoicings. however, if you had been caught at the time, i fear it would have gone hard with you; for the jews were all very keen about it--as the man, rascal though he was, was one of the chief heads of their religion--and were you to fall into their hands in any of the towns, they would either kill you or send you to warsaw." "and now, sir, will you tell me what has taken place since september?" "things have moved slowly. augustus endeavoured, after his defeat on the dwina, to make peace with charles on his own account, and without the knowledge of the diet, but charles refused to give audience to any of his agents, and would not even see the beautiful countess of konigsmark, who is, you know, herself a swede, and whom augustus sent, thinking that her blandishments might win over the young king. it was useless. charles maintained the ground that he took up from the first--namely, that he would treat with the diet, but would have nothing whatever to say to augustus. so the diet sent an embassy of four senators. "instead of receiving them with every pomp and ceremony, as they expected, the king met them on horseback. he demanded that, as a first condition, they should dethrone augustus. parties in the diet were pretty equally divided; but the proposal was rejected, for even those most hostile to augustus resented the proposal that we, a free and unconquered people, should be ordered by a foreign prince to change our king. so nothing came of it. "the swedish army advanced a certain distance into poland, and there were a great number of skirmishes, but there has been no serious fighting, nor is there much chance of any, until the snow has gone and the country dried up in the spring. at present, augustus is quarrelling with the diet, who still set themselves against the importation of more saxon troops. but doubtless, before the campaign begins in earnest, he will have settled matters with the senators, and will have his own way in that respect. there is, however, little chance of the diet agreeing to call out the whole forces of the country, and the next battle will, like the last, be between the swedes and the saxons, who may have with them perhaps a few thousand poles, belonging to the king's party." "you don't belong to the king's party, count?" "no. i, like the majority of our nobles, have no interest whatever in the war, for we were never consulted before it began. it is an affair between saxony and the swedes. let them fight it out. it would be a bad day for poland, if augustus and the russians were to overcome and despoil sweden. we want no addition of territory, for that would be to strengthen our kings against us. we see the trouble caused by augustus having saxony at his command, and if he had other territory, the country would be divided into two parts, one of which would have nothing in common with the other. "still less do we wish to see russia gain territory to the north of us. hitherto we have thought but little of the muscovites, but this war has shown that they can put great armies into the field, and the czar is making them into a nation which may some day be formidable to us. "charles has sent every assurance that he has no ill will towards poland, and is an enemy not of the country but of its king--who had formed a coalition against him in a time of profound peace--and that his hostility will altogether cease with the overthrow and expulsion of augustus. so you see, we who live at a distance from the capital, and hold ourselves altogether aloof from the intrigues of court, look on at the fray as if it were one in which we have no part or lot. if augustus drives out the swedes, we shall probably have trouble with him afterwards. if charles drives out augustus, we shall have a fresh king, and shall no doubt choose one upon the recommendation of charles, who will then march away again, leaving us to manage our own affairs. therefore, we have no animosity whatever against you as a swedish officer, but for comfort's sake it is better that nothing should be said of this, and that i should introduce you to my friends simply as an english gentleman, who has rendered me the greatest possible service." the countess retired to bed, a short time after they had finished their meal, and the others sat up talking until late in the evening. charlie learnt that the country was still in a greatly disturbed state. parties of disbanded soldiers and others, rendered desperate by cold and hardship, were everywhere plundering the peasantry, and many encounters had taken place between them and the nobles, who, with their retainers, had marched against them. travel would be dangerous for a long time to come. "therefore, until the spring, you must not think of moving," the count said. "indeed, i think that your best plan, when you start, will be to work due north, and join the swedish forces near narva. it will be shorter as well as less dangerous. still, we can talk of that later on." the next morning they started early, and arrived in the afternoon at the chateau of the count. it was not a fortified building, for the poles differed from the western nations, abstaining from fortifying their towns and residences, upon the ground that they were a free people, capable of defending their country from foreign invasion, and therefore requiring no fortified towns, and that such places added to the risks of civil war, and enabled factions to set the will of the nation at defiance. the building was a large one, but it struck charlie as being singularly plain and barn-like in comparison with the residences of country gentlemen in england. a number of retainers ran out as they drove up into the courtyard, and exclamations of surprise and dismay rose, as the wounds on the horses' flanks and legs were visible; and when, in a few words, the count told them that they had been attacked by wolves, and had been saved principally by the english gentleman and his follower, the men crowded round charlie, kissed his hands, and in other ways tried to show their gratitude for his rescue of their master and mistress. "come along," the count said, taking his arm and leading him into the house. "the poor fellows mean well, and you must not be vexed with them." the countess's first question had been for her child, and with an exclamation of thankfulness, when she heard that it was better, she had at once hurried into the house. as soon as they had entered, the count left charlie in charge of his brother, and also hurried away. he was not long before he returned. "the child is doing well," he said, "and now that it has got its mother again, it will, i think, improve rapidly. the doctor said this morning that he considered it out of danger, but that it needed its mother sorely, to cheer and pet it." in a very short time the tables were laid. the count, his brother, and charlie sat at an upper table, and the hall was filled with the various officers and retainers. the count's arrival was expected, for a horseman had been sent forward on their arrival at the inn the evening before. the dinner had therefore been cooked in readiness, and charlie was astonished at the profusion with which it was served. fish, joints, great pies, and game of many kinds were placed on the table in unlimited quantities; the drink being a species of beer, although excellent wine was served at the high table. he could now understand how often the polish nobles impoverished themselves by their unbounded hospitality and love of display. "i suppose, for tomorrow, you will like to remain quiet," the count said, "but after that we will try to amuse you. there is game of all sorts to be shot, or if you have had enough sport, lately, there will be a sledge and horses at your disposal, whenever you choose to ride or drive, and in a few days we will give an entertainment, in honour at once of our return, your visit, and the child's restoration to health. then you will have an opportunity of seeing our national dances." charlie had had enough shooting, but he greatly enjoyed the drives in the sledges, behind the spirited horses. the entertainment came off a fortnight after his arrival at the chateau. the guests, for the most part, arrived early in the afternoon, many having driven in from great distances. the preparations had been on an immense scale, and the scene at night was a brilliant one. never had charlie seen anything like the magnificence of the dresses, not of the ladies only, but also of the gentlemen; the poles having the true oriental love for rich costumes, a taste that their national dress permitted them to gratify to the utmost. next to the splendour of the dresses, charlie was surprised at the grace and spirit of the dancing, which was far more vivacious than that of western nations. the poles were long considered to be the best dancers in the world. it was their great national amusement; and all danced, from noble to peasant, entering into it with spirit and enthusiasm, and uniting the perfection of rhythmical motion with the grace and ease peculiar to them, and to their kinsmen the hungarians. the dancing was kept up, with unflagging energy, during the whole night; and then, after a substantial breakfast, the men and women were muffled up in furs, and took their places in the sledges. the count would gladly have had charlie remain with him until spring began, but he was anxious to rejoin the army; and, seeing that this was so, the count did everything in his power to facilitate his journey, which, after talking it over, had been decided should be direct towards the royal camp. the count's brother insisted upon accompanying him on the journey, as in this way many of the difficulties would be avoided. two sledges were prepared, the one for the use of charlie and count john, and the other for the two servants and baggage. both were horsed by the fastest animals in the count's stables. charlie himself had been loaded with presents, which he had been obliged somewhat reluctantly to accept, as he saw that a refusal would hurt and mortify his kind hosts. he had, on his arrival, been provided with an ample wardrobe of clothes of all kinds, and to these were now added dolmans, cloaks, rugs, and most costly furs. a splendid gun, pistols, and a sword, with the hilt studded with gems, completed his outfit; while stanislas had been presented with a heavy purse of money. the whole of the retainers of the castle were assembled to see them start, and the count and countess, at parting, made him promise to come and pay them another visit, if the fortune of war should bring him within the possibility of reaching them. the journey was a delightful one. each night they put up at the chateau of some nobleman. to many of these count john staroski was personally known; at the others, his name secured at once a hearty welcome for himself and his companion. travelling only by day, and at the full speed of the horses, they escaped interruption by the marauding bands, and in fourteen days after starting they drove into the town where charles of sweden had his headquarters, after being twice stopped and questioned by bodies of swedish horse. the town was crowded with troops, and they had some difficulty in finding a lodging for themselves, and stabling for the horses. as soon as this was done, charlie proceeded alone to the quarters of count piper. chapter : the battle of clissow. charlie sent in his name, and was shown in at once. "i am glad, indeed, to see you, captain carstairs," the minister said, as he entered. "we had given you up for lost. we heard first that you had been murdered in the streets of warsaw. a month later, a man brought a letter to me from your scotch friend ramsay, to say that you were accused of the murder of a jew trader, a man, it seems, of some importance in warsaw. ramsay said that you were in the company of a band of brigands, and that the man who went with you as your servant had joined you, and had taken you some money. he forwarded the letter you had sent him explaining your position, and said he thought that, upon the whole, it was the best thing you could have done, as a vigorous search had been set on foot, at the instance of the jews, and there would have been but little chance of your making your way through the country alone. he added that he felt confident that, if alive, you would manage somehow to rejoin us before the campaign opened in the spring. "i am glad that you have been able to do so, but your appearance, at present, is rather that of a wealthy polish noble, than of a companion of brigands." "i was able to do some service to count staroski, as, when travelling with his wife and child, and his brother, count john, he was attacked by a pack of wolves. i have been staying with him for some weeks, and his brother has now had the kindness to accompany me here. he has thereby made my passage through the country easy, as we have travelled with fast horses in his sledge, and have always put up at the chateaux of nobles of his acquaintance. i have, therefore, avoided all risk of arrest at towns. in the letter forwarded to you i explained the real circumstances of the death of the jew." "yes, we quite understood that, captain carstairs. you had a very narrow escape from death at his hands, and, as the danger was incurred purely in the king's service, it will not be forgotten. up to the time when the jew organized the attack upon you in warsaw, i was well satisfied with your reports of your work. so far nothing has come of it, as augustus has been too strong for any movement against him, but we hope, ere long, to defeat him so decisively that our friends will be able to declare against him. i will inform the king of your return, and i have no doubt he will be glad to hear your story from your own lips. he loves tales of adventure, and time hangs somewhat heavily on hand, as, until the frost breaks, nothing can be done in the field." on the following day, indeed, charlie was sent for to the royal quarters, and had to recount the story of his adventures in full to the king, who was highly interested in them, and at the conclusion requested him to introduce count john staroski, in order that he might express to him his obligation for the service he had rendered to one of his officers. this done, charlie drove out with the count to the village where colonel jamieson's regiment was quartered, and where his return was received with delight by harry, and with great pleasure by major jervoise and his fellow officers. he was obliged to give a short outline of what he had been doing since he left, but put off going into details for a future occasion. "and are you coming back to us now, charlie?" harry asked. "certainly. my success in the diplomatic way was not sufficiently marked for them to be likely to employ me in that line again. we must return this afternoon, as the king has invited us both to sup with him tonight." two days later, count john staroski started upon his return journey, much pleased with the reception he had met with from the king of sweden, and determined to work vigorously, among the nobles of his acquaintance, to bring about the dethronement of augustus of saxony. charlie had already seen count piper, who had told him that, although the king and himself were both well satisfied with the work he had done, there was not at present any mission of the same sort on which he could be employed. indeed, it was evident that, until the saxons had been decisively defeated, political action would be useless, and that, therefore, for the present he could either remain at headquarters, or rejoin his regiment. charlie at once chose the latter alternative. "very well, captain carstairs, you can rejoin when you like, but remember i may claim your services again. you see, now that you have acquired a knowledge of polish, your value for this sort of work is largely increased." as soon as the frost had broken, the swedish army commenced its advance. skirmishes frequently took place, but augustus had, as yet, no army with which he could meet them in the field, and he summoned a diet at warsaw, in hopes of persuading the poles to decide upon calling out the whole national force. in this he failed altogether. the citizens, led by the foreign traders, were already openly opposed to him, and their attitude so encouraged his opponents in the diet, that many of these rose and openly denounced the government, and the conduct of the king, that had brought the country into its present difficulties. as the swedish army advanced, they were joined by the duke of holstein, and, in spite of the efforts of a considerable body of the enemy, under prince wisniowiski, progressed steadily, crossed the river memel, and, when near grodno, were met by an embassy sent by the diet, to endeavour to persuade charles not to advance further. an interview took place between the king, the poles, and his ministers, the conversation on both sides being in latin. but as the ambassadors had no definite plans to propose, and their leaders were wholly devoted to augustus, the king refused to allow his advance to be arrested, and continued his march. when near praga they crossed the plain where charles gustavus, king of sweden, had defeated the polish army in a great battle, that had lasted for three days. the city was occupied, and a contribution of , crowns imposed upon it, in addition to food for the army while it remained there. plundering, however, was strictly forbidden, and, as the king issued a proclamation declaring that he was no enemy of the polish republic, but simply of their king, the inhabitants were, on the whole, well satisfied with the conduct of the invaders. a halt was made here for some time, and a bridge was thrown across the vistula, while the army rested after the long and fatiguing marches it had made. a fresh attempt was made to arrest the advance of the swedes, and the cardinal primate, himself, met the king; but nothing came of the negotiations, and the army entered warsaw. here they were warmly received, and great entertainments were given to the king. towards the end of june, they again advanced to meet the force that augustus had gathered, and on the th of july the swedes arrived within a few miles of clissow. the next day some reinforcements arrived, and the king decided to give battle on the following day, which was the anniversary of the victory on the dwina, the previous year. his army was twelve thousand strong, while that of augustus was nearly double that strength, and was very strongly posted, his camp being surrounded by morasses, although situated on rising ground which commanded the whole of the country round it. the bogs in the front were found to be so impassable, that the swedes were forced to make a circuit to the left, where the ground was firmer. this movement obliged the enemy also to change front, a movement that caused considerable confusion, as they themselves were forced to traverse boggy ground, to take up a new position facing that by which the swedes would now advance. the attack was commenced by the division commanded by the duke of holstein, but, scarcely had he set his troops in motion than he was mortally wounded, by a ball from a falconet. his troops, however, pushed forward vigorously. the polish division opposed to them resisted the two first assaults bravely, but gave way at the third attack, and were driven from the ground, in such confusion that they took no further part in the engagement. while this was going on, the saxon cavalry had been repulsed by that of charles, and, passing in their retreat under the fire of three infantry regiments, suffered so heavily that they left the field. the swedish foot now advanced all along the line, and in the centre destroyed several battalions of saxons. but the swedish right was attacked so vigorously by the saxon left, under field marshal steinau, that for a time the conflict was doubtful. the swedish horse guards and other cavalry, however, charged with such determination that the saxon horse on this flank were also defeated, and driven off the field, while the swedish infantry, advancing without firing, drove several battalions of saxon foot into a village, where, being surrounded, almost all were killed or taken prisoners. the saxon horse, gathering once more, attempted bravely to retrieve the fate of the day, and engaged the swedish horse with such desperate valour, that a considerable portion of the saxon infantry were enabled, under cover of the conflict, to draw off, cross the morasses, and make their escape. the battle lasted four hours, and had been, throughout, severely contested. the saxons lost four thousand killed and wounded, and three thousand taken prisoners, while the swedes had eleven hundred killed and wounded. forty-eight cannon were captured by the victors, together with all the baggage and waggons. the death of the duke of holstein, a gallant prince who was exceedingly popular with the army, and beloved by the king, cast a gloom over this great victory, which virtually laid poland at the feet of the victors, and insured the fulfilment of the object for which charles had persisted in the war. jamieson's regiment had been on the left wing, but, as it had been held in reserve, to strengthen the line at any point at which it might give way, the scotch had taken but a small share in the fighting, and had but thirty men killed and wounded by the shot and bullets that passed over the heads of the fighting line. the captain of one of the companies was among those killed, and charlie, who had, since he rejoined the regiment, been doing duty as lieutenant, now took the vacant place. the army still advanced. augustus sent in several proposals for peace, but these were all rejected. the saxons had speedily rallied after the battle, but were not in a position to oppose the advance of the victorious swedes, who occupied cracow without meeting with any resistance. seeing that augustus would not be strong enough to hazard another pitched battle, charles had, on the morning after the victory, ordered three of his regiments, of which jamieson's was one, to march with all speed to reinforce major general schlippenbach, who had sent an urgent request for aid, as he heard that the russian army, fifty thousand strong, was preparing to cross the frontier; and as he had but six thousand, he could not hope to oppose their advance successfully. as the king's orders enjoined the troops to march with the greatest possible speed, they performed the journey back to warsaw in four days, although the distance exceeded a hundred miles. mounted messengers had been sent on before them, and, on reaching the town, they found boats already prepared to take them down the river to danzic, where orders had already been sent for ships to be in readiness to convey them to revel. the fatigues since the campaign opened had been severe, and the troops all enjoyed the long days of rest, while the craft that conveyed them dropped quietly down the vistula. then came the short sea passage. on their arrival at revel, bad news met them. they had come too late. on the th of july the russian army had passed the frontier, and the swedes had tried to oppose them at the passage of the river embach; but the water was low, from the effects of a long drought, and the russians were enabled to ford it at several points. the swedes fell upon those who first crossed, and for two hours repulsed their attacks, obtaining at some points considerable advantage, and capturing some guns, but, as fresh reinforcements poured across the river, the tide of battle turned. the russian cavalry drove back the swedish horse, who, as they retreated, rode through the infantry and threw them into disorder. these were attacked by the russians before they could recover from their confusion, and were almost entirely destroyed or taken prisoners. the general, and many of the mounted officers, effected their escape, rallied the broken cavalry, and fell back towards revel. the russians spread over the country and plundered it, burning the little town of valk, murdering its inhabitants, and carrying off into slavery the whole of the population who fell into their hands. the arrival of the three regiments was hailed with much satisfaction by the people of revel, who feared that the russians might besiege the town. they did not, however, approach within many miles, but, after completely wasting the country, retired across the frontier. the victory that had been gained over the swedes at embach, and the destruction of the greater part of general schlippenbach's force, enabled the czar to turn his arms against ingria, the extreme eastern province of sweden, which included the shores of lake ladoga and the whole of the coast of the baltic between narva and finland. urgent messages were sent by the governor of that province to general schlippenbach, requesting him to send him aid, as he had not even sufficient men to garrison the walled towns. the general was, however, afraid that narva would be again besieged, and he therefore dared not reduce his small force to any considerable degree, but drew one company from each of the three regiments, and embarked them on board a ship for the mouth of the neva. as there seemed little prospect of service, for a time, near revel, all the officers were eager that their company should be chosen for the service in ingria. colonel jamieson therefore said: "i do not wish to choose one company more than another; all can equally be depended upon. therefore, i think the fairest way will be to draw lots as to which shall go." the lot fell upon charlie's company, which therefore formed part of the expedition. on reaching the mouth of the neva, they heard that the town of notteburg, situated at the point where the neva issues from the lake, was already besieged by the russians, and that the swedish vessels on the lake had been obliged to come down the river. a fort had been raised by the russians on the bank, to prevent succour being conveyed into the town, and two thousand men had crossed the river and occupied a small redoubt on the northern side, so that the town was completely invested. the newly-arrived force was ordered to march, at once, with a hundred horse and four field pieces, the whole under the command of major sion, who was well acquainted with the country. "what do you think of this expedition, captain carstairs?" his lieutenant, john bowyer, asked him. "i would rather be back with king charles," charlie replied. "of course, i don't know the geography of the place, but if the russians keep their eyes at all open, i don't see how a force like ours, with cavalry and guns, can hope to enter the town unnoticed. the addition of the horsemen seems to me altogether ridiculous, as they could be no good whatever, if they did enter the town. as for those four field pieces, they will hamper our march; and as they say the russians have already some forty cannon in position about the town, those little pieces would be useless. "four hundred infantry, making the attempt at night under good guidance, might manage to slip into the place, but this procession of ours is, to my mind, tempting destruction, for we certainly cannot hope to cut our way, by force, through the whole russian army. "but even if we do get inside the town, our plight can be no better. the russians' cannon are bombarding it, night and day, and more batteries are in course of erection, and schlippenbach the governor, who is, i believe, a brother of the general, has but a few pieces to reply to them. "were there an army advancing to the relief of the place, it would be different altogether, for our reinforcement might be of vital importance in repelling assaults, until aid arrived. but there is no hope of aid. the king's army is some nine hundred miles away, and his hands are full. general schlippenbach has sent as many men as he could spare. they say there are at least twenty thousand russians round the town, and where is an army to come from that can compel them to raise the siege? to my mind, we shall either be destroyed making our way into the town, or, if we do get in, shall be made prisoners of war, if not massacred--for the russians have but vague ideas as to giving quarter--when the town falls, which may be a fortnight hence." "it seems a bad lookout, altogether," the lieutenant remarked. "very much so. the best possible thing that could befall us would be for the russians to make us out, before we get too far into their lines, in which case we may be able to fall back before they can gather in overwhelming strength, and may thus draw off without any very great loss." major sion called the captains of the infantry companies, and the troop of horse, to a sort of council of war, when the little force halted for an hour at three o'clock in the afternoon. "we have another ten miles to march, gentlemen, and i should like to ask your opinion as to whether it would be best to try to force our way in as soon as we get there, or to halt at a distance of three or four miles from the russians, and make our effort at daybreak before they are fairly afoot." the other three officers gave their opinion in order of seniority, and all advocated the plan of falling upon the muscovites at daybreak. "and what do you think, captain carstairs?" major sion asked charlie. "i regret to say, major, that my opinion differs from that of the other gentlemen, and this for several reasons. in the first place, if we halt so near the russians, our presence in their neighbourhood may be betrayed by a peasant, and we may be surprised in the night. if no such mishap should take place, we should have to be on foot two hours before sunrise. i in no way doubt your knowledge of the road, but it is at all times difficult to make out a mere track, like that we are following, at night, and in the morning we might well find ourselves involved in the russian intrenchments, from which we could not extricate ourselves before a large force had gathered round us, in which case we must be all either killed or taken prisoners. my own suggestion would be that we should remain here another two hours, and then continue our march so as to reach the spot, where we are to endeavour to break through their line, about sunset. should we be observed, as we most likely should be, we might at that hour be taken for a freshly-arrived body of russian troops. there would be no risk of losing our way, and we might hope to be close upon them before we were discovered to be enemies. if we succeed, as i trust we shall, in breaking our way through and reaching the town, well and good. if, on the other hand, we find greater obstacles than we expect, and are forced to fall back fighting, we shall have the advantage that darkness will be setting in. the russians, the greater part of whom will be ignorant of our strength, will lose time before they move, fearing they may be assaulted in other quarters, and in the darkness we might be able to make good our escape, which it is certain none of us would do, should we meet with a repulse at daybreak." "your reasons are very just, captain carstairs. though certainly my opinion was in accordance with that given by your fellow officers, i am bound to say that your argument seems unanswerable. "what say you, gentlemen? i have two objects in view--the first to reinforce the garrison of notteburg, the second to save the troops under my command, if i should fail in doing so. i know the country well, but its features will be considerably altered. trees will have been cut down, houses levelled, intrenchments thrown up, camps scattered here and there, and i own that in the dark, i might, as captain carstairs says, very easily miss my way. i think his proposal therefore unites the greatest chances of getting through their line and entering the town, with a possibility of drawing off the troops without great loss, in case of failure." the other three officers at once agreed, and orders were issued for the men to lie down until five o'clock and rest themselves before pursuing their march. it was past that hour before they were in motion again. major sion, with a peasant from the neighbourhood of notteburg, rode ahead. then came the troop of cavalry, with the guns close behind them, followed by the infantry. as they approached the russian lines, the peasant several times went on in advance, and presently a trooper rode down the line, with the order that the troops with firearms were to light their matches, and the spearmen to keep in a compact body. they were now not far from the russian lines, and the destruction that had been wrought during the last ten days was visible to them. every tree and bush had been felled, for use in the intrenchments or for the erection of shelters. a few blackened walls alone showed where houses had stood. gardens had been destroyed, and orchards levelled. light smoke could be seen rising at many points from the russian fires, and, when the troops were halted, they were but half a mile from the intrenchments. word was passed down that the rapid swedish march was to be moderated, and that they were to move carelessly and at a slow rate, as if fatigued by a long march, and that the spears were to be carried at the trail, as they were so much longer than those used by the russians that their length would, if carried erect, at once betray the nationality of the troops. there was no attempt at concealment, for the cavalry would be visible for a considerable distance across the flat country. considerable bodies of men could be seen, gathered round fires at a distance of not more than a quarter of a mile on either hand, but, as the column passed between them, there was no sign of any stir. in a short time, the order was passed for the troops to form from column into line, and the cavalry officer who brought it said that there was a russian battery erected right across the road, a little more than a quarter of a mile ahead. "things look better, captain carstairs," the lieutenant said, as the company, which happened to be leading, fell into line. "yes, i have no doubt we shall take their battery, coming down, as we do, upon its rear. the question is, are there any intrenchments ahead? major sion told us, when we halted, that the peasant assured him that there were no works beyond it, and that it was the weakest point of the line; but it is three days since he came out from notteburg, and, working hard as the russians evidently do, they may have pushed on their intrenchments far in advance of the battery by this time." the force halted for a moment. the guns were unlimbered, turned round, and loaded. then the line of cavalry opened right and left, the four pieces poured a discharge of grape into the russians, clustered thickly in the battery four hundred yards away, and then, with a shout, the swedish cavalry charged, the infantry coming on at a run behind them. the surprise was complete. with cries of terror, the russians for the most part leapt from the battery and fled, and the few who attempted to defend their guns were sabred by the cavalry. "there are other works ahead!" major sion exclaimed, as, sitting on his horse, he looked over the parapet, "and bodies of troops scattered all about. push forward, men, at a double, and do you, captain sherlbach, cut a way for us with your cavalry." the sun had set a few minutes before the guns were fired, and charlie, as he led his men over the earthwork, and saw the russian lines in front, congratulated himself upon the fact that, in another half hour, it would be quite dark. as they approached the next line of works, a scattering fire of musketry opened upon them, but the aim was wide, and without loss they reached the work. the russians, though inferior in numbers, defended themselves obstinately, and continually received reinforcements of bodies of men, running up from all sides. in five minutes the swedes cleared the works of them, but, as they prepared to advance again, they saw a large body of horse riding down to bar their advance, while numbers of footmen were running to occupy some intrenchments ahead of them. trumpets were sounding to the right, left, and rear. "we cannot force our way farther," the major said to charlie. "we knew nothing of these works, and they are fatal to our enterprise. we must retreat while we can. do you not think so?" "yes, sir, i think the enterprise is quite hopeless." the order was given. the troops faced about, formed into closer order, and at the double retraced their steps, the spearmen of each company forming its front line, and the musketeers the second. already it was growing dusk. the cavalry, riding ahead, scattered the small bodies of men who threw themselves in their way, and the battery they had first taken was entered without loss. there was a momentary halt here, for the men to recover their wind. then the musketeers poured a volley into a dark line advancing upon them, the horsemen charged in among them, the long pikes of the front line cleared the way, and, with a shout, the swedes passed through their foes and pressed forward. but more troops were gathering to bar their way, and the major changed the line of march sharply to the right, sweeping along by the side of the force through which they had just cut their way, the musketeers on the flank firing into them as they passed. the movement was an adroit one, for in the gathering darkness the enemy in front would not be able to distinguish friends from foes, or to perceive the nature of the movement. for a few minutes they were unmolested, then the course was again changed, and charlie was beginning to think that, in the darkness, they would yet make their escape, when a dull heavy sound was heard in their rear. "that's the russian cavalry, bowyer. take the musketeers on with you, and keep close to the company ahead. i will break them up with the pikemen. if they do come up to you, give them a volley and then continue your retreat with the rest." while the captains of the other two companies had placed their pikemen in the front line, charlie had placed his in the rear, in order to repel any attack of cavalry from that direction. he now formed them in a close clump, taking his place among them. the russian squadrons came along with a deep roll like that of thunder. they were but thirty yards away when they perceived the little cluster of men with levelled lances. a few, unable to check their horses, rushed upon the points, but most of them reined in their little steeds in time. in a moment, the swedes were surrounded by a wall of yelling horsemen, some of whom tried to break through the hedge of spears, while others discharged their pistols. charlie listened anxiously for the roll of a volley of musketry, but no sound came, and he felt sure that the whole body of cavalry had halted round him, and that his movement had saved the rest, who would now, if fortunate, be able to make their way off in the darkness. but the men were falling now from the pistol fire of the cossacks, and, feeling that the work had been done, he determined to make one effort to save the men with him. "level your spears, and charge through them shoulder to shoulder," he said. "it is your only chance. once through, throw away your spears, and break up in the darkness. most of you may escape. "now!" with a shout, the swedes rushed forward in a body. horses and riders went down before them. there was a rush from behind. charlie shouted to the rear rank, to face about, but in the confusion and din his words were unheard. there was a brief struggle in the darkness. charlie emptied his pistols, and cut down more than one of his opponents, then a sword fell on his shoulder, while at the same moment he was ridden over by a cossack, and was stunned by the force of his fall. when he recovered consciousness, several men with torches were moving about him, and, at the orders of an officer, were examining the bodies of the fallen. he saw them pass their swords through the bodies of three of his own men, who were lying near him, and as they came up to him he closed his eyes, expecting a similar fate. "this is an officer, captain," one of the torch bearers said in russian. "very well. carry him to the camp, then. if he is alive, the general may want to question him." seeing that he breathed, four of the russian soldiers took him upon their shoulders, and carried him away. the pain of his wound, caused by the movement, was acute, but he retained consciousness until, after what seemed to him a journey of immense length, he was again laid down on the ground, close to a large fire. several officers stood round him, and he asked, first in polish and then in swedish, for water, and at the orders of one who seemed of superior rank to the others, some was at once brought to him. "your king treats his prisoners well," the officer said. "we will do everything we can for you." half an hour later, a doctor came to his side, and cutting open his coat, applied a bandage to his shoulder. "is it a serious wound?" charlie asked in swedish. "it might be worse, but it will be a troublesome one; it is a sabre cut, and has cleft right through your shoulder bone. are you hurt anywhere else?" "no, i do not think so. i was knocked down in the dark, and i believe stunned, though i have a sort of recollection of being trampled on, and i feel sore all over." the surgeon felt his ribs and limbs, repeatedly asking him if it hurt him. when he finished the examination, he said: "you are doubtless badly bruised, but i don't think anything is broken. our cossack horses are little more than ponies. had they been heavy horse, they would have trod your life out." a few moments later there was a sound of trampling horses. they halted close by. the officers drew back, and a moment later marshal scheremetof, the commander of the russian army, came up to charlie's side. "which of you speaks swedish?" he asked the officers, and one of them stepped forward. "ask him what force was this that attacked us, and with what object." as charlie saw no reason for concealment, he replied that it was a body of four hundred swedish infantry, and a troop of horse, with four guns, and that their object was to enter the town. "they must have been mad to attempt to cut their way through our whole army," the general said, when the answer was translated to him; "but, by saint paul, they nearly succeeded. the swedes are mad, but this was too much even for madmen. ask him whence the force came. it may be that a large reinforcement has reached vyburg, without our knowing it." "we arrived two days since," charlie replied, when the question was put to him. "we came in a ship together from revel." "did others come with you?" was next asked, at the general's dictation. "no other ship but ours has arrived." "but others are coming?" as charlie had no doubt that great efforts would be made to send further reinforcements, he replied: "many more troops are coming, but i cannot say when they will arrive." "will it be soon?" "that i cannot say, but i don't think they will come from revel. there was a talk of large reinforcements, but whether from sweden or from the king's army, i cannot say." "are you a swede?" the general asked. "i am an englishman in the swedish service, general." "we have many of your countrymen with us," the general said. "it would have been better for you, had you come to the czar. "see that he is well treated," he said to the officers, and then mounted and rode away. chapter : an old acquaintance. the next morning charlie was placed in a tent, in which lay several officers who had been wounded, either the night before or by shots from the town. he learned with great pleasure, upon questioning the doctor, that the swedes had got off safely in the darkness. some eight or ten men only had straggled and been made prisoners, and not more than twenty had been left dead on the field. he had the satisfaction, therefore, of knowing that the defence made by his own pikemen had been the means of saving the whole force. in other respects he had nothing to complain of, for he was well attended to, and received the same treatment as the russians. for another ten days the roar of the cannon continued, some seventy guns keeping up an incessant fire on the town. at the end of that time the governor capitulated, and was allowed to march out with the honours of war. only forty out of the brave garrison remained unwounded at the end of the siege. they, as well as such of their comrades as were strong enough to travel, passed through the lines of the russians, and marched to vyburg. three weeks after being made a prisoner, charlie's wound was so far healed that the surgeon pronounced him able to sit a horse, and, under the escort of an officer and four cossacks, he was taken by easy stages to bercov, a prison fortress a short distance from moscow. he had inquired from the surgeon who attended him for doctor kelly. the doctor knew him, but said that he was not with the army, but was, he believed, away visiting some towns on the volga, where a serious pestilence was raging. charlie remained but a short time at bercov. his wound was healing rapidly, and the surgeon who attended him assured him that there was every prospect of his making a complete cure, if he would but keep his arm, for some weeks, in a sling. he had nothing to complain of, either as to his comfort or food. the governor, who spoke a little polish, visited him every day, and asked many questions as to his native country. on one of these visits he said to him: "you asked me yesterday if i knew doctor kelly, one of the chief surgeons of the army, who, as you had heard, was at present on the volga. you mentioned that he was a friend of yours, and that you had made his acquaintance, when you were unlucky enough before to be a prisoner in our hands. i am sorry to say that i have today seen an official report, in which his name appears among the list of those who have fallen victims to the pestilence." "i am sorry to hear that," charlie exclaimed; "both because he was very kind to me, and i liked him much, and because, in the second place, i was sure that he would have used his influence, with the czar, to obtain my exchange as soon as possible." "it is very unfortunate," the governor said, "especially as these exchanges are of rare occurrence. a few officers may be taken prisoners on each side in the skirmishes, but the numbers are too small to make the loss of any importance, either to russia or sweden, and it is months since either have taken any steps to bring about exchanges. i myself have no influence. my appointment here is a sort of punishment, for having offended the czar by not having brought up my regiment in time to take part in the fight, when you attacked us at narva. i saved the regiment, but that was not regarded as any excuse for having been three days longer on the march than the czar expected; so i was sent here, as a sort of dismissal from active service. "you know no one else who could move in your matter?" "no one. the governor of the castle at plescow was a surly fellow, and was reprimanded by the czar, at least so i heard, for not having treated me sufficiently well. i was only three or four days there, and the only officer i saw besides doctor kelly was a friend of his, another doctor. he was at the table when i dined with kelly. he seemed to me to be a fine fellow, and, by the by, he did say jokingly that, if i was ever made prisoner again, i was to ask for him, and that he would do anything he could for me." "what was his name?" the governor asked. "peter michaeloff. "do you know him?" he added, as he saw a look of surprise in the governor's face. "i know one of that name," the governor said doubtfully, "i don't know that he is a doctor; though he may be, for he knows something of many things." "oh, he was a doctor," charlie said confidently. "i know kelly said he could take off a limb as well as he could do it, himself." "what sort of man was he?" "he was a tall, strong man, with black hair and gray eyes. he has rather a positive way of talking, and seemed to have very strong opinions about things. he looked good tempered, but i should say that he could be passionate enough, if he were put out." "that might be the peter michaeloff i know," the governor said. "you are sure he said that you were to ask for him, if you were a second time taken prisoner?" "i am quite certain he said so, though i don't know whether the promise meant much. but he certainly spoke as if he thought he might be able to help me, and, though it did not seem likely that i could have such bad luck twice, i think he meant at the time what he said, and i should think he was the sort of man who would keep his word." "i will make some inquiries," the governor said, "and find out, if i can, where he is at present. yes, i should think that he would be able to assist you, if he chose to interest himself in the matter." ten days later, the governor came into charlie's room. "an officer has arrived, with an order for your removal," he said. "you are to be taken up again to notteburg." "i am very sorry," charlie said. "i have been very comfortable here. you have been very kind to me, and i feel sure the change will not be for the better. besides, we are nearly into september now, and in that marshy country round the lake and river, the winter will be even more severe than it is here. the only thing i can think of is that the swedes at vyburg may have taken a russian captain prisoner, and that they are going to exchange us." the governor shook his head. "there are no longer any swedes at vyburg. all ingria is in our hands and the swedes have retired into finland. it may be that it is the work of your friend. i sent a message to peter michaeloff, should he be found in that neighbourhood, by an officer who was going there, telling him that you were here, and that, having met him when a prisoner at plescow, you relied on his good offices. should the officer have found him there, and have given him my message, he may probably have begged the field marshal to order you to be taken to the prison there, where he could be near you, and visit you sometimes." "your doctors must have a good deal more influence in your army than they have among the swedes," charlie remarked, "if that is how it has come about." "it would be a matter of favour," the governor said. "if michaeloff is acquainted with the field marshal, or had attended him when unwell, he could ask a little favour of that sort. if the field marshal sent you here, he could send for you again without more trouble than signing his name to the order." "well, if it is michaeloff who has done this," charlie grumbled; "no doubt he meant it kindly, but i would much rather that he left me here. a ride of two hundred and fifty miles, in august, is not pleasant to begin with, and the thought of winter in those swamps is enough to make one shiver." "with a comfortable room and a warm stove, you will not find much to complain of, captain carstairs," the governor said with a smile; "and, no doubt, michaeloff may be enabled to obtain leave for you to go out with him on parole. i was about myself to ask you, now that you are strong and well again, whether you would like to give your parole, and offer you the use of my horse for a ride, when inclined for it." "thank you, governor. if michaeloff can do that, it will certainly be a boon, but i am not disposed to agree that the change can be his work. in the first place, we don't know that he is there. in the second, i can hardly think that he could have managed it; and, most of all, i do not see he could possibly have had a hand in the matter, for, even supposing the officer had found him directly he arrived, and then given him the message, and he had acted upon it at once, there would have been no time for the order to get here. it would have needed a messenger riding night and day, with frequent relays of horses, to have got to notteburg and back since the day i spoke to you about the matter. "when am i to start?" "as soon as you have eaten your breakfast. the order says 'send at once,' and field marshals expect their orders to be attended to promptly." on descending to the courtyard after breakfast, charlie was surprised to see that, instead of a horse as he had expected, a well-appointed carriage, with an ample supply of rugs, was standing there. the governor was there to see him off. "well, sir," charlie said. "if this is the way in which you convey prisoners from one place to another in russia, i shall certainly be able, when i meet king charles, to report to him most favourably as to the treatment of his officers who have fallen into the czar's hands. this will make the journey a very much more pleasant one than i had expected." "i am glad you are pleased," the governor said, "and that you have no unpleasant recollection of your stay here." a minute later, the carriage dashed out through the gate of the prison. an officer was seated by charlie's side, two cossacks galloping in front, while two others rode behind. "it was worth making the change, if only for this drive," charlie thought cheerfully, as the dust flew up in a cloud before the horses' hoofs, and he felt a sense of exhilaration from the keen air that blew in his face. the journey was performed with great rapidity. one of the cossacks galloped ahead, as soon as they arrived at the station where they changed horses, and had fresh ones in readiness at the next post house. the cossacks themselves were changed at every other station, fresh relays from the men stationed there taking their place. excellent meals were served three times a day, and each night a comfortable bed was provided, at the last post house where they stopped. the officer was a pleasant fellow, but he spoke nothing except russian, and, although charlie fancied he understood him to some extent when he spoke to him in polish, he shook his head and gave no answers in that language. late in the evening of the third day, they arrived at notteburg. the building at which the carriage stopped was of considerable size. it stood in the heart of the town, and had no outward appearance of a prison. it was apparently at a side entrance at which they stopped. on the officer knocking at the door, it was opened by two cossacks, who, after exchanging a few words in russian with the officer, led charlie along a passage and up a narrow staircase, which led into a somewhat spacious corridor. they opened a door, and he found himself in a comfortable room. a table laid for dinner with handsome silver and appointments stood in the middle of the room, which was carpeted with tartar rugs. one of the cossacks opened an inner door, which led into a bedroom, snugly furnished. "it must be the doctor, after all," charlie murmured to himself, in great surprise. "i see now that there was plenty of time for a letter to come up here and have gone back again, and i suppose the good fellow has got leave for me to stay for a night in his quarters, before i am handed over to the prison. well, for the last three days i have travelled like a prince, and this is the closing act of it." he enjoyed a good wash, then returned to the other room, and sat down in a comfortable chair to wait for his host. he was on the point of dozing off, when the door opened, and peter michaeloff entered. charlie sprang to his feet. "well, captain carstairs," the russian said, holding out his hand, "so it seems you had bad luck again. you must have quite an affection for our prisons." "i shall have, at least, a pleasant remembrance of the kindness shown to me as a prisoner," charlie said; "and i am sure it is you that i have to thank for my transfer here, and for the pleasant journey i have had. i could not have travelled more comfortably, if i had been a russian grandee." "well, i am glad to meet you again," the doctor said heartily. "let me see, it is some twenty months since we supped together last at kelly's quarters. poor fellow! i shall miss him greatly. you have heard of his death?" "the governor of bercov told me of it, a fortnight ago. i was indeed sorry to hear it. i shall never forget his kindness to me." "yes, he was a good man, skilful in his profession, and full of zeal and energy. the blood runs faster somehow, in the veins of you islanders, than of us sluggish muscovites. if we could but at one sweep banish every russian official, from the highest to the lowest, and fill their places with men from your islands, what progress we should make, what work could we get done, what reforms could be carried out! "however, at present," he went on, changing the subject abruptly, "the point is supper. i am as hungry as a bear, for i have been at work since daylight, and have eaten nothing since i broke my fast." he rang a handbell placed on the table. two cossacks entered bearing dishes, and the doctor and his guest at once fell to on the supper, which was excellent. "hard work deserves good food," the russian said, in reply to a remark of charlie's as to the excellence both of the food and wine. "your charles does not think so, i hear, and lives on the roughest of food. what will be the consequence? he will wear himself out. his restless activity will exhaust his powers, and weaken his judgment. i can eat rough food if i can get no better, but i take the best, when opportunity offers. "what have you been doing ever since you left plescow? i inquired after you the other day, when our troops broke up schlippenbach's force on the embach. i found you were not among the prisoners, and i wondered if you were among the killed." "i was not in livonia at the time. i was with the king's army at warsaw. three regiments were sent off, the day after the battle of clissow, by boats down the vistula, and then by ship to revel. mine was one of them, but we arrived a fortnight too late." "then you were present at charles' third victory? how that young fellow handles his troops, and what wonderful troops they are! now we will get into our easy chairs again, and you shall tell me something about what you have been doing, since we last met." charlie gave a sketch of his adventures. "so you fought at the dwina, too? you have had luck in going through three battles without a wound." when charlie stated that he had gone to warsaw on a private mission, whose nature was immaterial to the story, the doctor broke in: "you need not tell me what it was, it was of course something to do with augustus. the way charles is hunting down that unfortunate king is shocking, it is downright malignity. why, he has wasted fifteen months over it already, and it has cost him ingria. he could have made any terms with poland he liked, after his victory on the dwina, and would then have been free to use all his forces against us. as it is, he has wasted two summers, and is likely to waste another, and that not for any material advantage, but simply to gratify his hatred against augustus; and he has left us to take ingria almost without a blow, and to gain what russia has wanted for the last hundred years, a foothold on the baltic. he may be a great general, but he is no politician. no real statesman would throw away solid advantages in order to gratify personal pique." "he considers augustus the author of this league against him," charlie said. "he and the czar had no grounds at all of quarrel against him." "we talked over that, the last time we met," the doctor said with a laugh, "and i told you then that a foothold on the baltic was so necessary to russia, that she would have accepted the alliance of the prince of darkness himself to get it. as to augustus, i don't defend him. he was ambitious, as i suppose most of us are. he thought he saw an opportunity of gaining territory. he has found that he has made a mistake, and will of course lose a province. but charles' persecution of him goes beyond all bounds. never before did a sovereign insist upon a nation consenting to dethrone its king at his dictation. "but go on with your story." he listened without remark, until charlie concluded. "i wish you had been in our service," he said, "instead of that of sweden. you would have mounted fast. you have all the requisites for success, above all, promptitude of decision and quickness of invention. you did well in getting away from that jewish scoundrel in the hut, and in killing his master, but it was your adventure with the wolves that showed your quality. that idea of setting fire to the tree in which you were sitting, in order at once to warm yourself and to frighten away the wolves, would never have occurred to a russian, and the quickness with which you formed, with three logs, a redoubt against the wolves, showed a quick military eye, and the ability to think and act in a moment of danger. "now tell me how it was that you were the only officer captured the other day." charlie briefly related how he, with the pikemen of his company, had stayed behind to check the pursuit of the russian horse, and to gain time for the main body to lose themselves in the darkness. the russian struck his fist on the arm of his chair. "it was well done," he said. "there is the difference. a russian captain would have done it, if he had been ordered, and he and his men would, without a question, have sacrificed themselves to cover the retreat of the rest, but he would never have done it on his own initiative. the idea would never have struck him. he would have plodded along until the enemy's cavalry came up and annihilated them all. by the way, why did you not ask for me at once?" "i had asked for doctor kelly the day after i was taken prisoner, and was told that he had gone to the volga. i thought that he would be back before long, and it was only when i heard of his death that it occurred to me to endeavour to find one who had kindly promised, after a few hours' acquaintance only, to befriend me should i ever find myself in a similar scrape." "it would have saved you the journey down to moscow. i heard, of course, that a swedish captain had been made prisoner that night, but i was myself at moscow at the time, and did not happen to notice the name of the officer taken. were you well treated at bercov?" "the governor there was most kind, and all the arrangements of the prison seem excellent. i had no reason whatever to complain. the governor was good enough to come frequently himself to talk to me. he is a fine soldierly man, and though he did not say much, i think he is eating his heart out at being laid on the shelf there, instead of aiding to fight the battles of his country." the russian took out a pocketbook and made a note, then he rose. "it is time for bed," he said. "i am up at daybreak." "i hope i shall see you often in the prison," charlie said. "i suppose i shall go in there tomorrow morning. i am indebted to you, indeed, for the very great kindness you have shown me." "no, you will not go in early. i have got leave for you for another day, and i am going to take you for a drive in the morning. you will be called an hour before sunrise. take your breakfast as soon as you are dressed. do not wait for me. i have work to do before i start, and shall breakfast elsewhere." as soon as charlie had breakfasted the next morning, a cossack told him that the carriage was below, and he followed him to the door where he had entered on the previous evening. the carriage was a simple one, but the three horses harnessed abreast to it were magnificent animals. charlie stood admiring them for some little time. "i should think," he said to himself, "the doctor must be a man of large property, and most likely of noble family, who has taken up his profession from pure love of it. he is evidently full of energy, and has an intense desire to see russia greater and higher in the rank of nations. i suppose that, like kelly, he is one of the principal medical officers in the army. certainly he must be a man of considerable influence to obtain my transfer here so easily, and to see that i travelled so comfortably. i wonder where he is going to take me this morning." four or five minutes later charlie's friend appeared at the door. he was evidently out of temper. he sprung hastily into the vehicle, as if he had altogether forgotten that he had asked charlie to accompany him. then, as his eye fell on him, he nodded and said briefly, "jump in." a little surprised at the unceremonious address, charlie sprang into the seat beside him without hesitation, seeing that his companion was evidently so much out of temper that he was not thinking of what he was doing at the moment. the coachman cracked his whip, and the spirited horses went off, at a rate of speed that threatened danger to persons traversing the narrow streets of the town. the cracking of the coachman's whip, and an occasional loud shout and the jangling of the bells, gave, however, sufficient warning of their approach. charlie smiled at the alacrity with which every one sprang out of the way, and either leapt into doorways or squeezed themselves against the wall. he was surprised, however, to see that not only did the townspeople show no resentment, at the reckless pace at which the carriage was driven, but that the soldiers, officers as well as men, cleared out as quickly, and without any expression of indignation or anger. indeed, most of them, as soon as they gained a place of safety, saluted his companion. "these russians have evidently a higher respect for their doctors than have the swedes," he said to himself. "i am sure that not even the chief surgeon of the army would be treated with anything like the same respect, and, indeed, no one would recognize him at all, if he were not in uniform." the doctor seemed to pay no attention to what was passing round him, but was muttering angrily to himself. it was not until they dashed out into the open country that he seemed to remember charlie's presence at his side. "these people are enough to vex one of the saints, by their stupidity," he said. "unless they have some one standing behind them with a whip, they cannot be trusted to do what they are told. it is not that they are not willing, but that they are stupid. no one would believe that people could be so stupid. they drive me well nigh to madness sometimes, and it is the more irritating because, against stupidity, one is powerless. beating a man or knocking him down may do him good if he is obstinate, or if he is careless, but when he is simply stupid it only makes him more stupid than before. you might as well batter a stone wall. "you slept well and breakfasted well, captain carstairs?" "excellently well, thank you. what superb horses you have, doctor." "yes. i like travelling fast. life is too short to throw away time in travelling. a busy man should always keep good horses." "if he can afford to do so," charlie said with a laugh. "i should say that every one, busy or not, would like to sit behind such horses as these, and, as you say, it would save a good deal of time to one who travelled much. but three such horses as these would only be in the reach of one with a very long purse." "they were bred here. their sire was one of three given by the king of england to the czar. the dams were from the imperial stables at vienna. so they ought to be good." charlie guessed that the team must have been a present from the czar, and, remembering what doctor kelly had said of the czar's personal communications with him, he thought that the ruler of russia must have a particular liking for doctors, and that the medical profession must be a more honoured and profitable one in russia than elsewhere. after driving with great rapidity for upwards of an hour along the banks of the neva, charlie saw a great number of people at work on an island in the middle of the river, some distance ahead, and soon afterwards, to his surprise, observed a multitude on the flat, low ground ahead. "this is what i have brought you to see," his companion said. "do you know what they are doing?" "it seems to me that they are building a fortress on that island." "you are right. we have got a footing on the sea, and we are going to keep it. while charles of sweden is fooling away his time in poland, in order to gratify his spite against augustus, we are strengthening ourselves here, and never again will sweden wrest ingria from our hands." "it is marvellous how much has been done already," charlie said, as he looked at the crowd of workmen. "everything was prepared," his companion said. "while the army was invading livonia, and driving the remnant of the swedes into revel, thousands of carts laden with piles of wood, stone, and cement were moving towards ingria. tens of thousands of workmen and peasants were in motion from every part of russia towards this point, and, the day after notteburg surrendered, they began their work here. it was the opportunity in the lifetime of a nation, and we have seized it. the engineers who had, in disguise, examined it months ago, had reported that the island was covered at high tides, and was unfit to bear the foundations of even the slightest buildings. piles are being driven in, as close as they will stand, over every foot of ground in it. over this a coating of concrete many feet thick will be laid, and on this the fortress, which is to be the centre and heart of russia, will rise. in the fort will stand a pile, which will be the tomb of the future czars of russia, and there in front of us, where you see fifty thousand peasants at work, shall be the future capital of the empire." "but it is a swamp," charlie said in astonishment, alike at the vastness of the scheme, and the energy with which it was being prosecuted. "nature has made it a swamp," his companion said calmly, "but man is stronger than nature. the river will be embanked, the morass drained, and piles driven everywhere, as has been done in the island, and the capital will rise here. the fort has already been named the fortress of saint peter and saint paul. the capital will be named alike after the patron saint and its founder--petersburg." they had now reached the spot. the carriage stopped and they alighted. charlie saw, with astonishment, that a wide deep cut had been driven, between the road and the river, in a straight line. looking down into it, he saw that it was paved with the heads of piles, and that carts were already emptying loads of concrete down upon it. "every bag of cement, every stone that you see, has been brought from a great distance," his companion said. "there is not a stone to be had within fifty miles of this spot. the work would seem well-nigh impossible, but it is the work of a nation. in another month, there will be a hundred and fifty thousand peasants at work here, and well nigh as many carts, bringing materials for the work and provisions for the workers." "it is stupendous! but it will take years to complete, and it will surely be terribly unhealthy here?" "i calculate the work will occupy ten years, and will cost a hundred thousand, maybe two hundred thousand lives," the other said calmly; "but what is that to the making of a nation? before, russia was stifled, she could not grow. now we have a communication with the world. the island that lies at the mouth of the neva will be fortified, and become a great naval arsenal and fort. along the walls which will rise here will be unloaded the merchandise of europe, and in exchange the ships will carry away our products. some day we shall have another port on the south, but for the present this must suffice. you will say that this is dangerously near our frontier, but that will soon be remedied. as we have pushed the swedes out of ingria, so in time shall we drive them from livonia on the west, and from finland on the north. "but i must to work." and he motioned to a group of five or six officers, who had been standing a short distance away, to approach him. charlie was struck with the air of humility with which they saluted his companion, who at once asked a number of questions as to the supplies that had arrived, the progress that had been made, at a point where they had met with a deep slough into which the piles had penetrated without meeting with any firm ground, the number of huts that had been erected during the past three days for the reception of labourers, the state of stocks of meat and flour, and other particulars. to each he gave short, sharp orders. when they had left, he turned to charlie. "you guess who i am, i suppose?" "i guess now, your majesty," charlie said respectfully, "but until now the idea that my kind friend was the czar himself never entered my mind. i understood, from doctor kelly, that you were a surgeon." "i don't think he said so," the czar replied. "he simply said that i could perform an amputation as well as he could, which was not quite true. but i studied surgery for a time in holland, and performed several operations under the eyes of the surgeons there. "i saw that you did not recognize my name. it is known to every russian, but doubtless you never heard of me save as peter the czar. directly you mentioned it to the commandant at bercov, and described my appearance, he knew who it was you were speaking of, and despatched a messenger at once to me. he will be here in the course of a week or so. upon your report of the state of the prison, i at once despatched an order for him to hand over his command to the officer next in rank, and to proceed hither at once. he is evidently a good administrator, and heaven knows i have need of such men here. "i was pleased with you, when i saw you with my friend doctor kelly. it was pleasant not to be known, and hear a frank opinion such as you gave me, and as you know, i sent you back on the following morning. i certainly told kelly, at the time, not to mention who i was, but i did not intend that he should keep you in ignorance of it after i had left, and it was not until i heard, from your jailer at bercov, that you were ignorant that peter michaeloff was the czar, that i knew that he had kept you in ignorance of it until the end. "i should have liked to have kept you as my guest for a time, but winter comes on early and suddenly, and if you did not go now you might be detained here until the spring. i have therefore given orders that one of the swedish vessels we captured on the lake should be got in readiness, and its crew placed on board again. you shall embark in an hour, and it shall carry you to any port in sweden you may choose. the wind is from the east, and you have every chance of a quick run thither." charlie expressed his warm thanks to the czar for his thoughtful kindness. "i have much to do now," the czar said, "and must hand you over to the care of one of my officers. he will accompany you, in my carriage, to the spot where the vessel is lying, near the mouth of the river, and will there see you on board. should the fortune of war again throw you into our hands, do not lose an hour in sending a message to peter michaeloff." so saying, the czar shook hands with charlie, beckoned an officer to him and gave him instructions, and then moved away among the workmen, while charlie, with his conductor, took their places in the vehicle and drove rapidly off. an hour later, he was on board the swedish vessel, whose master and crew were delighted at their sudden and unlooked for release. the former was overjoyed, for the vessel was his own property. "you will find your things in your cabin, sir," he said. "they were sent on board this morning, together with food and wine sufficient for a month's voyage, whereas, with this wind, we ought not to be more than four days. at which port will you land?" "i would rather go to gottenburg, captain, though it is farther for you than stockholm." "it shall be gottenburg, sir. it is thanks to you that i have got my liberty and my ship, and a day or two can make no difference to me." charlie, indeed, had thought the matter over as he drove along. he would not be able to rejoin the army until it had gone into winter quarters, and therefore decided that he would go to gottenburg, apply for six months' leave, and spend the winter with his father. somewhat puzzled at the mention of his things having gone on board, he went into the cabin, and found there a handsome pelisse trimmed with costly furs, two robes composed of valuable skins, and a change of clothes. the wind held fair, blowing strongly, and four days later he arrived at gottenburg. chapter : in england again. charlie was received with delight by his father, whom he had not seen since the spring of the previous year. "then you got my letter, charlie?" sir marmaduke asked, when the first greetings were over. "and yet, i do not see how you could have done so. it is little over a fortnight since i wrote, and i had not looked for you for another month yet." "i have certainly received no letter, father. a fortnight ago i was in a russian prison, and my arrival here, in so short a time, seems to me almost miraculous;" and he then briefly related his singular experiences. "now about the letter, father," he said, as he concluded. "i suppose you must have written to ask me to get leave for a time, as it seems that you were expecting me shortly. i suppose you felt that you would like me with you, for a time." "so i should, lad, of that you may be sure, but i should not have called you away for that. no, i had this letter the other day from old banks. you know he writes to me once a year. his letters have been only gossip so far, for you know my precious cousin kicked him out of the house, as soon as he took possession; but this is a different matter. read it for yourself." charlie took the letter, and with some trouble spelt through the crabbed handwriting. it began: "honoured sir and master, i hope that this finds you and captain charles both well in health. i have been laid up with rhematis in the bones, having less comfort in my lodgings than i used to have at lynnwood. your honour will have heard that king william has fallen from his horse, and broken his collarbone, and died. may the lord forgive him for taking the place of better men. anne has come to the throne, and there were some hopes that she would, of herself, step aside and let him to whom the throne rightly belongs come to it. such, however, has not been the case, and those who know best think that things are no forwarder for william's death, rather indeed the reverse, since the princess anne is better liked by the people than was her sister's husband. "there is no sure news from lynnwood. none of the old servants are there; and i have no one from whom i can learn anything for certain. things however are, i hear, much worse since young mr. dormay was killed in the duel in london, of which i told you in my last letter. "dame celia and mistress ciceley go but seldom abroad, and when seen they smile but little, but seem sad and downcast. the usurper has but small dealing with any of the gentry. there are always men staying there, fellows of a kind with whom no gentleman would consort, and they say there is much drinking and wild going on. as captain charles specially bade me, i have done all that i could to gather news of nicholson. till of late i have heard nothing of him. he disappeared altogether from these parts, just after your honour went away. news once came here from one who knew him, and who had gone up to london on a visit to a kinsman, that he had met him there, dressed up in a garb in no way according with his former position, but ruffling it at a tavern frequented by loose blades, spending his money freely, and drinking and dicing with the best of them. "a week since he was seen down here, in a very sorry state, looking as if luck had gone altogether against him. benjamin haddock, who lives, as you know, close to the gate of lynnwood, told me that he saw one pass along the road, just as it was dusk, whom he could swear was that varlet nicholson. he went to the door and looked after him to make sure, and saw him enter the gate. next day nicholson was in lancaster. he was spending money freely there, and rode off on a good horse, which looked ill assorted with his garments, though he purchased some of better fashion in the town. it seemed to me likely that he must have got money from the usurper. i do not know whether your honour will deem this news of importance, but i thought it well to write to you at once. any further news i may gather, i will send without fail. "your humble servant, "john banks." "there is no doubt that this is of importance," charlie said, when he had read the letter through. "it is only by getting hold of this villain that there is any chance of our obtaining proof of the foul treachery of which you were the victim. hitherto, we have had no clue whatever as to where he was to be looked for. now, there can be little doubt that he has returned to his haunts in london. i understand now, father, why you wanted me to get leave. you mean that i shall undertake this business." "that was my thought, charlie. you are now well-nigh twenty, and would scarce be recognized as the boy who left four years ago. the fellow would know me at once, and i might be laid by the heels again under the old warrant; besides being charged with breaking away from the custody of the soldiers. besides, in this business youth and strength and vigour are requisite. i would gladly take the matter in my own hands, but methinks you would have a better chance of bringing it to a favourable issue. now that anne is on the throne, she and her advisers will look leniently upon the men whose only fault was devotion to her father; and if we can once get this foul charge of assassination lifted from our shoulders, i and jervoise and the others who had to fly at the same time, may all be permitted to return, and obtain a reversal of the decree of the act of confiscation of our estates. "i have no friends at court, but i know that jervoise was a close acquaintance, years ago, of john churchill, who is now duke of marlborough, and they say high in favour with anne. i did not think of it when i wrote to you, but a week later it came to my mind that his intervention might be very useful, and i took advantage of an officer, leaving here for the army, to send by him a letter to jervoise, telling him that there was now some hope of getting at the traitor who served as john dormay's instrument in his plot against us. i said that i had sent for you, and thought it probable you would take the matter in hand; and i prayed him to send me a letter of introduction for you to the duke, so that, if you could by any means obtain the proof of our innocence of this pretended plot, he might help you to obtain a reversal of the act of confiscation against us all. i have asked him to write at once, and i will send the letter after you, as soon as i get it. "i know nothing of london, but i have heard of the bull's head, in fenchurch street, as being one frequented by travellers from the country. you had best put up there, and thither i will forward the note from jervoise." "the letter will be a useful one, indeed, father, when i have once wrung the truth from that villain nicholson. it will be an expedition after my own heart. there is first the chance of punishing the villain, and then the hope of restoring you to your place at dear old lynnwood." "you must be careful, charlie. remember it would never do to kill the rascal. that would be the greatest of misfortunes; for, with his death, any chance of unmasking the greater villain would disappear." "i will be careful, father. i cannot say how i shall set about the matter, yet. that must depend upon circumstances; but, as you say, above all things i must be careful of the fellow's life. when is there a ship sailing, father?" "the day after tomorrow, charlie. you will want that time for getting clothes, suitable to a young gentleman of moderate condition, up from the country on a visit to london. you must make up your mind that it will be a long search before you light on the fellow, for we have no clue as to the tavern he frequents. as a roistering young squire, wanting to see london life, you could go into taverns frequented by doubtful characters, for it is probably in such a place that you will find him. "however, all this i must leave to you. you showed yourself, in that polish business, well able to help yourself out of a scrape, and if you could do that among people of whose tongues you were ignorant, you ought to be able to manage on english soil." "at any rate, i will do my best, father, of that you may be sure. i have the advantage of knowing the fellow, and am pretty certain that he will not know me." "not he, charlie," his father said confidently. "even in the last two years, since you were here with jervoise and the others, you have changed so much that i, myself, might have passed you in the street without knowing you. "now, you had better go off and see about your things. there is no time to be lost. i have drawn out a hundred guineas of my money, which will, i should say, serve you while you are away; but don't stint it, lad. let me know if it runs short, and i will send you more." "i have money, too, father. i have four months' pay due, besides money i have in hand, for there was but little need for us to put our hands in our pockets." ten days later, charlie arrived in the port of london, and took up his abode at the bull's head, where he found the quarters comfortable, indeed, after the rough work of campaigning. the next morning he took a waiter into his confidence. "i have come to london to see a little life," he said, "and i want to be put into the way of doing it. i don't want to go to places where young gallants assemble. my purse is not deep enough to stand such society. i should like to go to places where i shall meet hearty young fellows, and could have a throw of the dice, or see a main fought by good cocks, or even sally out and have a little fun with the watch. my purse is fairly lined, and i want some amusement--something to look back upon when i go home again. what is the best way to set about it?" "well, sir, if that is your humour, i have a brother who is one of the mayor's tipstaffs. he knows the city well, ay, and westminster, too, and the purlieus of saint james's, and whether you want to meet young gallants or roistering blades, or to have a look in at places where you can hire a man to cut another's throat for a few crowns, he can show you them. he will be on duty now, but i will send him a message to come round this evening, and i warrant me he will be here. he has showed young squires from the country over the town before this, and will guess what is on hand when he gets my message." having nothing to do, charlie sauntered about the town during the day, looking into the shops, and keeping a keen eye on passers by, with the vague hope that he might be lucky enough to come across his man. after he had finished his supper, the waiter came up and told him that his brother was outside. "i have spoken to him, sir, and he warrants that he can take you into the sort of society you want to meet, whatever it may be." charlie followed him out. a man was standing under the lamp that swung before the door. "this is the gentleman i was speaking to you of, tony." as the man took off his cap, charlie had a good view of his face. it was shrewd and intelligent. "you understand what i want?" he asked, as the waiter ran into the house again, to attend to his duties. "yes, sir. so far as i understood him, you wish to go to taverns of somewhat inferior reputations, and to see something of that side of london life. if you will pardon my boldness, it is somewhat of a dangerous venture. in such places brawls are frequent, and rapiers soon out. "you look to me like one who could hold his own in a fray," he added, as his eye ran over the athletic figure before him, "but it is not always fair fighting. these fellows hang together, and while engaged with one, half a dozen might fall upon you. as to your purse, sir, it is your own affair. you will assuredly lose your money, if you play or wager with them. but that is no concern of mine. neither, you may say, is your life; but it seems to me that it is. one young gentleman from the country, who wanted, like you, to see life, was killed in a brawl, and i have never forgiven myself for having taken him to the tavern where he lost his life. thus, i say that, though willing enough to earn a crown or two outside my own work, i must decline to take you to places where, as it seems to me, you are likely to get into trouble." "you are an honest fellow, and i like you all the more, for speaking out frankly to me," charlie said, "and were i, as i told your brother, thinking of going to such places solely for amusement, what you say would have weight with me. but, as i see that you are to be trusted, i will tell you more. i want to find a man who did me and mine a grievous ill turn. i have no intention of killing him, or anything of that sort, but it is a matter of great importance to lay hand on him. all i know of him is that he is a frequenter of taverns here, and those not of the first character. just at present he is, i have reason to believe, provided with funds, and may push himself into places where he would not show himself when he is out of luck. still, it is more likely he is to be found in the lowest dens, among rascals of his own kidney. i may lose a little money, but i shall do so with my eyes open, and solely to obtain a footing at the places where i am most likely to meet him." "that alters the affair," the man said gravely. "it will add to your danger; for as you know him, i suppose he knows you, also." "no. it is four years since we met, and i have so greatly changed, in that time, that i have no fear he would recognize me. at any rate, not here in london, which is the last place he would suspect me of being in." "that is better. well, sir, if that be your object, i will do my best to help you. what is the fellow's name and description?" "he called himself nicholson, when we last met; but like enough that is not his real name, and if it is, he may be known by another here. he is a lanky knave, of middle height; but more than that, except that he has a shifty look about his eyes, i cannot tell you." "and his condition, you say, is changeable?" "very much so, i should say. i should fancy that, when in funds, he would frequent places where he could prey on careless young fellows from the country, like myself. when his pockets are empty, i should say he would herd with the lowest rascals." "well, sir, as you say he is in funds at present, we will this evening visit a tavern or two, frequented by young blades, some of whom have more money than wit; and by men who live by their wits and nothing else. but you must not be disappointed, if the search prove a long one before you run your hare down, for the indications you have given me are very doubtful. he may be living in alsatia, hard by the temple, which, though not so bad as it used to be, is still an abode of dangerous rogues. but more likely you may meet him at the taverns in westminster, or near whitehall; for, if he has means to dress himself bravely, it is there he will most readily pick up gulls. "i will, with your permission, take you to the better sort to begin with, and then, when you have got more accustomed to the ways of these places, you can go to those a step lower, where, i should think, he is more likely to be found; for such fellows spend their money freely, when they get it, and unless they manage to fleece some young lamb from the country, they soon find themselves unable to keep pace with the society of places where play runs high, and men call for their bottles freely. besides, in such places, when they become unable to spend money freely, they soon get the cold shoulder from the host, who cares not to see the money that should be spent on feasting and wine diverted into the pockets of others. "i shall leave you at the door of these places. i am too well known to enter. i put my hand on the shoulder of too many men, during the year, for me to go into any society without the risk of someone knowing me again." they accordingly made their way down to westminster, and charlie visited several taverns. at each he called for wine, and was speedily accosted by one or more men, who perceived that he was a stranger, and scented booty. he stated freely that he had just come up to town, and intended to stay some short time there. he allowed himself to be persuaded to enter the room where play was going on, but declined to join, saying that, as yet, he was ignorant of the ways of town, and must see a little more of them before he ventured his money, but that, when he felt more at home, he should be ready enough to join in a game of dice or cards, being considered a good hand at both. after staying at each place about half an hour, he made his way out, getting rid of his would-be friends with some little difficulty, and with a promise that he would come again, ere long. for six days he continued his inquiries, going out every evening with his guide, and taking his meals, for the most part, at one or other of the taverns, in hopes that he might happen upon the man of whom he was in search. at the end of that time, he had a great surprise. as he entered the hotel to take supper, the waiter said to him: "there is a gentleman who has been asking for you, in the public room. he arrived an hour ago, and has hired a chamber." "asking for me?" charlie repeated in astonishment. "you must be mistaken." "not at all, sir. he asked for mr. charles conway, and that is the name you wrote down in the hotel book, when you came." "that must be me, sure enough, but who can be asking for me i cannot imagine. however, i shall soon know." and, in a state of utter bewilderment as to who could have learnt his name and address, he went into the coffee room. there happened, at the moment, to be but one person there, and as he rose and turned towards him, charlie exclaimed in astonishment and delight: "why, harry, what on earth brings you here? i am glad to see you, indeed, but you are the last person in the world i should have thought of meeting here in london." "you thought i was in a hut, made as wind tight as possible, before the cold set in, in earnest. so i should have been, with six months of a dull life before me, if it had not been for sir marmaduke's letter. directly my father read it through to me he said: "'get your valises packed at once, harry. i will go to the colonel and get your leave granted. charlie may have to go into all sorts of dens, in search of this scoundrel, and it is better to have two swords than one in such places. besides, as you know the fellow's face you can aid in the search, and are as likely to run against him as he is. his discovery is as important to us as it is to him, and it may be the duke will be more disposed to interest himself, when he sees the son of his old friend, than upon the strength of a letter only.' "you may imagine i did not lose much time. but i did not start, after all, until the next morning, for when the colonel talked it over with my father, he said: "'let harry wait till tomorrow. i shall be seeing the king this evening. he is always interested in adventure, and i will tell him the whole story, and ask him to write a few lines, saying that harry and carstairs are young officers who have borne themselves bravely, and to his satisfaction. it may help with the duke, and will show, at any rate, that you have both been out here, and not intriguing at saint germains.' "the colonel came in, late in the evening, with a paper, which the king had told count piper to write and sign, and had himself put his signature to it. i have got it sewn up in my doublet, with my father's letter to marlborough. they are too precious to lose, but i can tell you what it is, word for word: "'by order of king charles the twelfth of sweden. this is to testify, to all whom it may concern, that captain charles carstairs, and captain harry jervoise--'" "oh, i am glad, harry!" charlie interrupted. "it was horrid that i should have been a captain, for the last year, and you a lieutenant. i am glad, indeed." "yes, it is grand, isn't it, and very good of the king to do it like that. now, i will go on-- "'have both served me well and faithfully during the war, showing great valour, and proving themselves to be brave and honourable gentlemen, as may be seen, indeed, from the rank that they, though young in years, have both attained, and which is due solely to their deserts.' "what do you think of that?" "nothing could be better, harry. did you see my father at gottenburg?" "yes. the ship i sailed by went to stockholm, and i was lucky enough to find there another, starting for england in a few hours. she touched at gottenburg to take in some cargo, and i had time to see sir marmaduke, who was good enough to express himself as greatly pleased that i was coming over to join you." "well, harry, i am glad, indeed. before we talk, let us go in and have supper, that is, if you have not already had yours. if you have, i can wait a bit." "no; they told me you had ordered your supper at six, so i told them i would take mine at the same time; and, indeed, i can tell you that i am ready for it." after the meal, charlie told his friend the steps he was taking to discover nicholson. "do you feel sure that you would know him again, harry?" "quite sure. why, i saw him dozens of times at lynnwood." "then we shall now be able to hunt for him separately, harry. going to two or three places, of an evening, i always fear that he may come in after i have gone away. now one of us can wait till the hour for closing, while the other goes elsewhere." for another fortnight, they frequented all the places where they thought nicholson would be most likely to show himself; then, after a consultation with their guide, they agreed that they must look for him at lower places. "like enough," the tipstaff said, "he may have run through his money the first night or two after coming up to town. that is the way with these fellows. as long as they have money they gamble. when they have none, they cheat or turn to other evil courses. now that there are two of you together, there is less danger in going to such places; for, though these rascals may be ready to pick a quarrel with a single man, they know that it is a dangerous game to play with two, who look perfectly capable of defending themselves." for a month, they frequented low taverns. they dressed themselves plainly now, and assumed the character of young fellows who had come up to town, and had fallen into bad company, and lost what little money they had brought with them, and were now ready for any desperate enterprise. still, no success attended their search. "i can do no more for you," their guide said. "i have taken you to every house that such a man would be likely to use. of course, there are many houses near the river frequented by bad characters. but here you would chiefly meet men connected, in some way, with the sea, and you would be hardly likely to find your man there." "we shall keep on searching," charlie said. "he may have gone out of town for some reason, and may return any day. we shall not give it up till spring." "well, at any rate, sirs, i will take your money no longer. you know your way thoroughly about now, and, if at any time you should want me, you know where to find me. it might be worth your while to pay a visit to islington, or even to go as far as barnet. the fellow may have done something, and may think it safer to keep in hiding, and in that case islington and barnet are as likely to suit him as anywhere." the young men had, some time before, left the inn and taken a lodging. this they found much cheaper, and, as they were away from breakfast until midnight, it mattered little where they slept. they took the advice of their guide, stayed a couple of nights at islington, and then went to barnet. in these places there was no occasion to visit the taverns, as, being comparatively small, they would, either in the daytime or after dark, have an opportunity of meeting most of those living there. finding the search ineffectual, charlie proposed that they should go for a long walk along the north road. "i am tired of staring every man i meet in the face, harry. and i should like, for once, to be able to throw it all off and take a good walk together, as we used to do in the old days. we will go eight or ten miles out, stop at some wayside inn for refreshments, and then come back here for the night, and start back again for town tomorrow." harry at once agreed, and, taking their hats, they started. they did not hurry themselves, and, carefully avoiding all mention of the subject that had occupied their thoughts for weeks, they chatted over their last campaign, their friends in the swedish camp, and the course that affairs were likely to take. after four hours' walking they came to a small wayside inn, standing back twenty or thirty yards from the road. "it is a quiet-looking little place," charlie said, "and does but a small trade, i should say. however, no doubt they can give us some bread and cheese, and a mug of ale, which will last us well enough till we get back to barnet." the landlord placed what they demanded before them, and then left the room again, replying by a short word or two to their remarks on the weather. "a surly ill-conditioned sort of fellow," harry said. "it may be, harry, that badness of trade has spoiled his temper. however, so long as his beer is good, it matters little about his mood." they had finished their bread and cheese, and were sitting idly, being in no hurry to start on their way back, when a man on horseback turned off from the road and came up the narrow lane in which the house stood. as charlie, who was facing that way, looked at him he started, and grasped harry's arm. "it is our man," he said. "it is nicholson himself! to think of our searching all london, these weeks past, and stumbling upon him here." the man stopped at the door, which was at once opened by the landlord. "all right, i suppose, landlord?" the man said, as he swung himself from his horse. "there is no one here except two young fellows, who look to me as if they had spent their last penny in london, and were travelling down home again." he spoke in a lowered voice, but the words came plainly enough to the ears of the listeners within. another word or two was spoken, and then the landlord took the horse and led it round to a stable behind, while its rider entered the room. he stopped for a moment at the open door of the taproom, and stared at the two young men, who had just put on their hats again. they looked up carelessly, and harry said: "fine weather for this time of year." the man replied by a grunt, and then passed on into the landlord's private room. "that is the fellow, sure enough, charlie," harry said, in a low tone. "i thought your eyes might have deceived you, but i remember his face well. now what is to be done?" "we won't lose sight of him again," charlie said. "though, if we do, we shall know where to pick up his traces, for he evidently frequents this place. i should say he has taken to the road. there were a brace of pistols in the holsters. that is how it is that we have not found him before. well, at any rate, there is no use trying to make his acquaintance here. the first question is, will he stay here for the night or not--and if he does not, which way will he go?" "he came from the north," harry said. "so if he goes, it will be towards town." "that is so. our best plan will be to pay our reckoning and start. we will go a hundred yards or so down the road, and then lie down behind a hedge, so as to see if he passes. if he does not leave before nightfall, we will come up to the house and reconnoitre. if he does not leave by ten, he is here for the night, and we must make ourselves as snug as we can under a stack. the nights are getting cold, but we have slept out in a deal colder weather than this. however, i fancy he will go on. it is early for a man to finish a journey. if he does, we must follow him, and keep him in sight, if possible." two hours later they saw, from their hiding place, nicholson ride out from the lane. he turned his horse's head in their direction. "that is good," charlie said. "if he is bound for london, we shall be able to get into his company somehow; but if he had gone up to some quiet place north, we might have had a lot of difficulty in getting acquainted with him." as soon as the man had ridden past they leapt to their feet, and, at a run, kept along the hedge. he had started at a brisk trot, but when, a quarter of a mile on, they reached a gate, and looked up the road after him, they saw to their satisfaction that the horse had already fallen into a walk. "he does not mean to go far from barnet," charlie exclaimed. "if he had been bound farther, he would have kept on at a trot. we will keep on behind the hedges as long as we can. if he were to look back and see us always behind him, he might become suspicious." they had no difficulty in keeping up with the horseman. sometimes, when they looked out, he was a considerable distance ahead, having quickened his pace; but he never kept that up long, and by brisk running, and dashing recklessly through the hedges running at right angles to that they were following, they soon came up to him again. once, he had gone so far ahead that they took to the road, and followed it until he again slackened his speed. they thus kept him in sight till they neared barnet. "we can take to the road now," harry said. "even if he should look round, he will think nothing of seeing two men behind him. we might have turned into it from some by-lane. at any rate, we must chance it. we must find where he puts up for the night." chapter : the north coach. barnet was then, as now, a somewhat straggling place. soon after entering it, the horseman turned off from the main road. his pursuers were but fifty yards behind him, and they kept him in sight until, after proceeding a quarter of a mile, he stopped at a small tavern, where he dismounted, and a boy took his horse and led it round by the side of the house. "run to earth!" harry said exultantly. "he is not likely to move from there tonight." "at any rate, he is safe for a couple of hours," charlie said. "so we will go to our inn, and have a good meal. by that time it will be quite dark, and we will have a look at the place he has gone into; and if we can't learn anything, we must watch it by turns till midnight. we will arrange, at the inn, to hire a horse. one will be enough. he only caught a glimpse of us at that inn, and certainly would not recognize one of us, if he saw him alone. the other can walk." "but which way, charlie? he may go back again." "it is hardly likely he came here merely for the pleasure of stopping the night at that little tavern. i have no doubt he is bound for london. you shall take the horse, harry, and watch until he starts, and then follow him, just managing to come up close to him as he gets into town. i will start early, and wait at the beginning of the houses, and it is hard if one or other of us does not manage to find out where he hides." they had no difficulty in arranging with the landlord for a horse, which was to be left in a stable he named in town. they gave him a deposit, for which he handed them a note, by which the money was to be returned to them by the stable keeper, on their handing over the horse in good condition. after the meal they sallied out again, and walked to the tavern, which was a small place standing apart from other houses. there was a light in the taproom, but they guessed that here, as at the other stopping place, the man they wanted would be in a private apartment. passing the house, they saw a light in a side window, and, noiselessly opening a little wicket gate, they stole into the garden. going a short distance back from the window, so that the light should not show their faces, they looked in, and saw the man they sought sitting by the fire, with a table on which stood a bottle and two glasses beside him, and another man facing him. "stay where you are, harry. i will steal up to the window, and find out whether i can hear what they are saying." stooping close under the window, he could hear the murmur of voices, but could distinguish no words. he rejoined his companion. "i am going to make a trial to overhear them, harry, and it is better that only one of us should be here. you go back to the inn, and wait for me there." "what are you going to do, charlie?" "i am going to throw a stone through the lower part of the window. then i shall hide. they will rush out, and when they can find no one, they will conclude that the stone was thrown by some mischievous boy going along the road. when all is quiet again i will creep up to the window, and it will be hard if i don't manage to learn something of what they are saying." the plan was carried out, and charlie, getting close up to the window, threw a stone through one of the lowest of the little diamond-shaped panes. he heard a loud exclamation of anger inside, and then sprang away and hid himself at the other end of the garden. a moment later he heard loud talking in the road, and a man with a lantern came round to the window; but in a few minutes all was quiet again, and charlie cautiously made his way back to the window, and crouched beneath it. he could hear plainly enough, now, the talk going on within. "what was i saying when that confounded stone interrupted us?" "you were saying, captain, that you intended to have a week in london, and then to stop the north coach." "yes, i have done well lately, and can afford a week's pleasure. besides, jerry skinlow got a bullet in his shoulder, last week, in trying to stop a carriage on his own account, and jack mercer's mare is laid up lame, and it wants four to stop a coach neatly. jack ponsford is in town. i shall bring him out with me." "i heard that you were out of luck a short time ago." "yes, everything seemed against me. my horse was shot, and, just at the time, i had been having a bad run at the tables and had lost my last stiver. i was in hiding for a fortnight at one of the cribs; for they had got a description of me from an old gentleman, who, with his wife and daughter, i had eased of their money and watches. it was a stupid business. i dropped a valuable diamond ring on the ground, and in groping about for it my mask came off, and, like a fool, i stood up in the full light of the carriage lamp. so i thought it better, for all reasons, to get away for a month or so, until things quieted down. i wanted to visit my banker, and it was a good many miles to tramp." "oh, you have got a banker, captain?" "i have one who is just as good, though i cannot say he shells out his money willingly--in fact he was rude enough to say, when i called this time, that if i ever showed my face to him again he would shoot me, even if he were hung for it. bad taste, wasn't it? at any rate, i mustn't call on him again too soon." "you haven't settled on the night yet, i suppose, captain?" "about the end of next week. friday will be a full moon, i think, and i like a moon for the work. it gives light enough to see what you are doing, and not light enough for them to see much of you. so i suppose i may as well fix friday. i will send up a message for jack mercer and jerry skinlow to be here on thursday evening. i will be here that afternoon, and settle matters with them as to where they shall meet me, and what each man shall do. then i will ride back to town, and come out again just as it gets dark, with jack ponsford." "i suppose you will do it north of here?" "no, i will do it a mile or two out of town. the road north of this is getting rather a bad reputation, and in going out of barnet the guard now looks to his blunderbuss, and the passengers get their pistols ready. it isn't once in a hundred times they have pluck enough to use them, but they always think they will, until the time comes. near town we shall take them by surprise, and stop them before they have time to think of getting out their arms. "confound that window. shove something into the hole, johnson. i can feel the cold right down my back." a cloth was pushed into the broken pane, and charlie could hear no more of what was said inside. he had heard, indeed, enough for his purpose, but he had hoped to gather the name of the place at which the man would put up in london. however, he was well satisfied with his success, and at once made his way back to the inn. "well, charlie, how have you succeeded?" harry asked, as he sat down at the table. "could not be better, harry, though i did not find out where he puts up in london. however, that is of small consequence. in the first place, i found out that our suspicions were right, and that the fellow is a highwayman, and seems to be captain of a gang consisting anyhow of three, and perhaps of more, fellows like himself. in the second place, he intends, with his three comrades, to attack the coach on friday week, two or three miles out of town. nothing could better suit our purpose, even if we had planned the affair ourselves. of course, we will be there. if we can capture him while engaged in that work, we can get anything out of him. he has either got to confess or be hanged." "that is a stroke of good luck, indeed," harry exclaimed. "it will be rather difficult to manage, though. the fellows will be sure to be masked; and, if we were to shoot him instead of one of the others, it would be fatal." "yes, that would be awkward. besides," charlie said, "even if we did recognize him and shot his horse, he might jump up behind one of the other men, or might make off across the country, and we might lose sight of him before we could get down from the top of the coach to pursue." "it might be better if we were mounted, instead of being on the coach." "better in some ways, harry; but if they heard two mounted men coming along beside the coach, they would probably take the alarm and not attack at all; while, if we were to keep a bit behind, and ride up as soon as we heard the firing--for they generally shoot one of the horses to bring the coach to a standstill--they might ride off as soon as they heard the sound of the horses on the road. those fellows are splendidly mounted. their lives depend upon it, and nothing we should be able to hire would be likely to have a chance with them." "well, we shall have plenty of time to think this over, charlie. i suppose we shall carry out our plan tomorrow, as we arranged." "certainly. it is as important to find out where he lives in london as it was before, for if he gets away, we can then look him up there. we may as well go to bed at once, for i shall start at four, so as to get to town before him, however early he may be off. but as we know, now, he is going up on pleasure and not on business, i don't suppose he will be in any hurry in the morning." charlie arrived in town about eight o'clock, and, having breakfasted at the first tavern he came to, walked along for some distance, to decide upon the spot where he should take up his position. as nicholson was going up, as he said, to enjoy himself, it was not likely that he would put up at islington, but would take up his quarters in the centre of the town. he therefore decided to walk on, until he came to some junction of important roads; and there wait, as the man might make either for the city or westminster, though the latter appeared the more probable direction. here he walked up and down for an hour, and then, entering a tavern, took his place at the window, where he could see up the street, called for a stoup of wine, and prepared for a long wait. it was not, indeed, until three o'clock that he saw nicholson coming along. he was more gaily dressed than he had been on the previous day. he had on a green cloth coat with gold braid round the cuffs, an embroidered waistcoat, yellow breeches, top boots, and three-cornered hat. he was riding at foot pace. charlie went to the door as soon as he passed, and saw that, as he expected, he took the road to westminster. looking round, he saw harry riding about a hundred yards behind. charlie had no difficulty in keeping up with nicholson, and traced him to a house in a quiet street lying behind the abbey. a boy came out and held the horse, while its rider dismounted, and then led it away to the stable of an inn a short distance away. charlie turned at once, and joined harry. "i need not have taken all the trouble i have, harry, still there was no knowing. evidently the fellow has no fear of being detected, and is going to pass, for a week, as a gentleman from the country. i suppose he is in the habit of stopping at that house whenever he comes up with his pockets lined, and is regarded there as a respectable gentleman by the landlord. now you had better take your horse to the stable, where you agreed to hand it over, and we will meet at our lodgings and plan what to do next." the discussion did not lead to much. there did not seem, to them, anything to do until the day when the coach was to be attacked, but they agreed it would be well to take the advice of their friend the tipstaff. hitherto, they had not told him more of their motive for desiring to find nicholson, than charlie had said at his first interview with him. they thought it would be better, now, to make him more fully acquainted with the facts, for they had found him shrewd, and eager to assist them to the best of his power. they therefore sent a boy with a note to him, at the court, and at seven o'clock he came to their lodgings. "we have found our man," charlie said as he entered. "i am very glad to hear it, gentlemen. i had quite given up all hopes that you would be able to do so, and thought he must have left town altogether for a time." "sit down and take a glass of wine. we want your advice in this matter, and unless you know how much there is at stake, you will not be able to enter fully into the affair. "some four years ago, this fellow was concerned in a plot by which six gentlemen, among whom were our friends, were brought to ruin. they were in the habit of meeting together, being all of similar political opinions, and advantage was taken of this by a man, who hoped to profit largely by their ruin, especially by that of my father. in order to bring this about, he recommended this fellow we are in search of to my father, who happened, at the time, to be in want of a servant. "the fellow undoubtedly acted as a spy, for i once caught him at it. but spying alone would have been of no use, for there was nothing at any time said that would have brought harm upon them. they simply discussed what thousands of other people have discussed, the measures that should be taken on behalf of the stuarts, if one of them came over from france supported by a french force. the fellow, however, swore that the object of these meetings was to arrange for an assassination of william. he gave full details of the supposed plot, and in order to give substance to his statements, he hid, in a cabinet of my father's, a number of compromising papers, professing to be letters from abroad. "these were found by the officers sent to arrest my father. he and his five friends managed to escape, but their estates were forfeited. of course, what we want to prove is the connection between this spy and his employer, who, for his services in bringing this supposed plot to light, received as a reward my father's estates. there is no way of doing this, unless this man can be brought to confess his own villainy in the matter of the letters, and to denounce the scoundrel whose agent he was. probably, by this time, he has got nearly all he can expect from his employer, and will at least feel no scruples in exposing him, if by so doing he can save his own neck. "now, we have not only discovered the man, but have found out that he is a notorious highwayman, and the leader of a gang; but more, i have found out the day and hour on which he proposes to stop and rob the north coach." "well, mr. carstairs, if you have done that," the man said, "you have done marvels. that you should find the man might be a piece of good luck, but that you should have learned all this about him seems to me wonderful." "it was a lucky accident, altogether. we saw him, watched him, and managed to overhear a conversation from which we gathered these facts. it was all simple enough. of course, our idea is that we should, if possible, catch him in the act of robbing the coach, bind and take charge of him, saying that we should hand him over to justice, when the coachman and passengers would, of course, appear to testify against him. instead of doing this, we should take him somewhere, and then give him the option of either making a clean breast of the whole story, and remaining in our custody until called upon to testify to his statement in a court of justice, whenever required; or of being handed over to the authorities, to be tried and hung as a highwayman. "one of our greatest difficulties is how to effect his capture. the attack will be made at night on the coach, and in the darkness we might shoot him, or he might get away. he is at present in london, at a lodging in a street behind the abbey, where, doubtless, his real profession is altogether unsuspected by the people of the house. "now you know the whole affair. let us have your opinion as to the manner in which we had best set about the business." the man sat for some time, in silence. "i can think of no better plan than yours, sir, and yet it seems to me that there is scarcely any chance of your catching him at the coach. of course, it would be easy enough if you did not care whether you killed or caught him. all you would have to do would be to get half a dozen stout fellows, armed with pistols, on the coach with you instead of passengers, and then you would be pretty certain to kill some of them, perhaps all; but, as you can't do that, and are afraid to shoot lest you should kill him, it seems to me that you have a very small chance of catching him that way." charlie and his friend so thoroughly saw this, that they sat silent when he ceased speaking. "we could not arrest him now, i suppose?" harry said at last. "well, you see, you have got nothing against him. he may have been a knight of the road for the last five years, but you have no witnesses to prove it, and it is not much use to accuse him of intending to rob the north mail. you have no proofs, even of that. it is only your word against his. "there is no doubt that, after they have robbed the coach, they will separate. they may go away in twos, or singly. now, you see, we know three of this fellow's hiding places. he would hardly choose the one at barnet. it is too close. it is more likely he would choose the next place, the little inn in which you saw him first; but i think it more likely still that he and his mates will divide the plunder, half a mile or so from the place where they stopped the coach, and will then separate, and i am inclined to think his most likely course is to strike off from the main road, make a long round, and come down before morning to where he is now. he may take his horse into its stable, or, more likely, he may leave it at some place he may know of on the road leading out through putney, and then arrive at his lodgings just about daybreak. he would explain he had been at a supper, and had kept it up all night, and no one would even have a suspicion he had been engaged in the affair with the coach. i am sure that is his most likely plan." "then, what would you do?" harry asked. "what i should do is this. i will get two sharp active boys. i know of two who would just do, they have done jobs for us before now. i will give them the exact description of those two taverns, and send them down the day before the coach is to be attacked, and tell them that, that night, they are each to keep watch over one of them, see who goes in, watch till they come out, and then follow them, for days if necessary, and track them down. then they can send word up by the guard of the coach, each day; so that, if we find our man does not come back here by saturday morning, we shall have news that will put us on his track again, before long. "however, i think he is sure to come back here. you had better point out to me, this evening, where he lodges, and i shall be able to find out, before long, whether they are respectable people, or whether they are likely to be pals of his. "if they are respectable, i will see them on friday evening, show them my badge, and tell them that the man who has been lodging here is a notorious highwayman, and that i am going to arrest him. to prevent any chance of a mistake, i will put three or four of my mates round the house, to see that no one goes out to give him the alarm. i will come down and open the door for you, at two o'clock in the morning. you can then come up with me into his bedroom, and as he comes in, i will nab him. "if, on the other hand, i find the people of the house have a doubtful reputation in the neighbourhood, we must simply hide in doorways, make a rush upon him as he goes up to the house, and overpower him there. if one stands in his doorway, and leaps out on him as he comes up, he won't have much chance of using a pistol. i will have a cart ready, close by. we will truss him up tightly, gag him and put him into it, and i will have some place ready for us to drive him to, if you think that plan is as good as any other." "i think it is an excellent plan, and could not be better," charlie exclaimed, and his friend heartily agreed with him. "i think you will be able to get anything out of him, when you get him there," said the tipstaff. "he is sure to have some of the swag about him, and, even if none of the passengers of the coach are able to swear to him, that and the talk you overheard would be sufficient to hang him." "can those boys you speak of write?" "not they, sir." "there might be a difficulty about a verbal message." "the guard will give it, all right, if he gets half a crown with it. you need not trouble about that, sir. i will have a man to meet each coach, as it comes in. "and now we have arranged matters, sir, i will go with you to see the house, and will send a sharp fellow down tomorrow, to make inquiries about the people of the place." when they returned, the friends sat for a long time, talking together. the suggested plan looked so hopeful that they felt confident of its success. "i think, charlie," harry said, "it would be a good thing for us to present ourselves to the duke of marlborough. then we shall see if he is disposed to take an interest in us, and help us. if he is, he will tell us what had best be done towards getting nicholson's statement made in the presence of some sort of official who will act on it. if he gives us the cold shoulder, we shall have to do as best we can in some other direction, and it will be well to have the matter settled, if possible, before we catch the fellow." "i think that will be a very good plan, harry. i know where he lives. i inquired directly i came over. tomorrow morning we can go there and inquire, at the door, at what hour he receives callers." the next day at eleven o'clock the young men, dressed in their best attire, called at the duke's. they were informed that the great man was at home, and would be as likely to see them then as at any other hour. accordingly they entered, and were shown into an anteroom, and sent their names in by a footman. he returned with a request that they would follow him, and were shown into a library, where a singularly handsome man, in the prime of life, was sitting at a desk. he looked at them in some surprise. "is there not some mistake, young gentlemen?" he asked. "my servant gave the names as captain jervoise, and captain carstairs. i do not recall the names as those of officers in her majesty's service." "no, my lord, we have the honour to be captains in the service of king charles of sweden, as this document, signed both by his minister, count piper, and by the king himself, will testify." the duke took the paper, and read it. "the king of sweden speaks very highly of you both, gentlemen," he said cordially. "it is no mean credit to have gained such warm praise from the greatest general of his time. what can i do for you? do you wish to be transferred from the service of sweden to that of her majesty? we have need of good officers, and i can promise that you shall receive the same rank that you now hold, and it is likely that, before long, you will have an opportunity of seeing some service under your national flag." "i thank you warmly for your kindness, my lord, but it is not with that view that we have now come to you, though i am sure that we both should prefer to fight under our own flag, rather than under that of a foreign king, however kindly he may be disposed to us, personally. we have called upon a private matter, and i am the bearer of this letter from my father, who had once the honour of your lordship's friendship." "jervoise," the duke repeated, as he took the letter. "not mat jervoise, surely?" "that is my father's name, sir." "do i remember him? why, he was one of my closest friends when i was a lad, and i once stayed with him at his father's place, for a fortnight, on a journey i took to the north. but i will read his letter-- "what changes happen," he said, as he laid it down. "to think that mat jervoise should be an exile, his old home in the hands of strangers, and he a major in the swedish service; and that i should never have heard a word about it! "well, young sir," and he held out his hand to harry, "i can promise you my aid and protection, to the utmost, in whatever matter you may be concerned. i seem to remember the name of your companion, too." "his father, sir marmaduke, was a neighbour of ours. there has always been great friendship between the two families." "of course, i remember him now. he was some fifteen or twenty years older than your father. i remember that i went over with your father and grandfather, and dined at his place. he is still alive and well, i hope?" "he is both, sir," charlie said; "but, like major jervoise, an exile." "you amaze me, but i will not ask you to tell me more, now. i have to be at saint james's at twelve. "let me see, this evening i shall be engaged. come tomorrow morning, at half past eight, and i shall then be able to give you an hour, or maybe two, if necessary, and will then hear the whole story fully." the young men, on presenting themselves the next morning, at the hour named, were at once ushered in. "now, let us lose no time," the duke said, after shaking hands heartily. "which of you will tell the story?" "carstairs will do so, my lord," harry replied. "the mischief was hatched in his house, and my father, and six other gentlemen, were the victims of the treachery of a kinsman of his." charlie told the story of the events that had brought about the ruin of his father and friends. "it is monstrous!" the duke exclaimed indignantly, when he had brought this part of his story to a conclusion. "that my old friend, mat jervoise, should be concerned in a plot for assassination, is, i would pledge my life, untrue; and sir marmaduke carstairs was, i know, an honourable gentleman, who would be equally incapable of such an act. that they were both jacobites, i can well believe, for the jacobites are strong everywhere in the north, but, as half of us are or have been jacobites, that can scarcely be counted as an offence. at any rate, a stuart is upon the throne now, and, as long as she reigns, there is no fear that a civil war will be set up by another of the race. the story, as you have told it, sir, is, i doubt not for a moment, true, but at present it is unsupported; and though, on my assurance of their loyalty, i think i can promise that her majesty would extend a pardon to the gentlemen who have been so unjustly accused, i fear that she could not, by her own act, restore the estates that have been confiscated, unless you can bring some proof that this fellow you speak of was suborned to get up false evidence against them." "that, sir, is what i shall have the honour to inform you now." and charlie then related the story of their quest for the man nicholson, and its result. "rarely devised and carried out," the duke said warmly. "do you lay the knave by the heels, and frighten him into confessing the truth, and i will see to the rest of the matter. i do not know that i ought to let the north coach be robbed, after the information you have given me, but, as we will hunt down all the other fellows, and shall probably recover the booty they carry off, the passengers will have no reason to grumble. "well, young sirs, the king of sweden has given you a testimonial as to your bravery and conduct. if necessary, i will give you one for your ingenuity in planning and carrying out a difficult scheme. "so you have both been with the swedes through their campaign against the russians and poles. i envy you. king charles' service is a grand school for soldiers, and that victory of narva is the most extraordinary one ever seen. had you the honour of any personal intercourse with the king?" "only during three days, when our company formed part of his escort at a hunting expedition," harry, whom he addressed, replied. "but carstairs spoke to him more frequently. he has been a captain nearly two years, while i only had my promotion two months ago. we were in the same regiment, and of the same rank, but carstairs was promoted by the king, after the battle at the passage of the dwina, as a reward for the suggestion he made in conversation with him, that the passage might be made under the screen of smoke caused by the lighting of the forage stacks." "i must have a long talk with you both. it is certain that, next spring, the campaign with france will re-open, and your experience in the field will be very useful to me. the swedes are wonderful soldiers. the muscovites, at present, are little better than barbarians carrying european arms, but the saxons are good troops, and the swedes have twice beaten them heavily, and they evidently retain the fighting qualities that, under gustavus adolphus, shook the imperial power to its centre. "the trouble is to find time. i am pestered with men desirous of employment in the army, with persons who want favours at court, with politicians of both parties, with people with schemes and intrigues of all kinds. i have to be in attendance at the palace, and to see into the whole details of the organization of the army. i have no doubt that, at present, my antechamber is crowded with people who want to see me." he looked at his tablets. "next wednesday evening i am free, except for a reception at lord godolphin's, but i can look in there late. i will not ask you here, because i want you to myself. i will have a private room at parker's coffee house in covent garden. we will sup at seven. when you go there, ask for mr. church's room, and make yourself comfortable there until i come, for i can never answer for my own hours. in that way, we shall be free from all chance of interruption, and i can pick your brains undisturbed. you will remember the day and hour. should there be any change in this private matter of yours, do not hesitate to come to me here." tony peters, their guide and adviser, reported favourably as to the people with whom the highwayman was lodging. "the house is kept by the widow of an usher at the palace. she entertains gentlemen from the country, who come up on business at the courts of justice, or with people of influence at court. i have ascertained that our man passes as a well-to-do trader of salisbury, who comes up, two or three times a year, to transact business, and to enjoy for a short time the pleasures of town. he is liberal in his payments, and is held in high respect by the woman, whose only objection to him, as a lodger, is the late hours he keeps. he is a crafty fellow this, for by always going to the same house, and comporting himself with moderation, he secures a place of retirement, where, however close the quest after him, there will be no suspicion whatever, as to his profession, on the part of the people he is with. "my man found out all these matters from the servant wench. we shall have no difficulty in taking him quietly. the woman will be so terrified, when i tell her what he is wanted for, that she will do anything rather than have a scandal that would damage the reputation of the house." he assured charlie that he need give the matter no further thought. all the arrangements would be made, and, unless he heard farther from him, he and harry would only have to present themselves, at the door of the house in question, at two o'clock on the morning of saturday. the evening with the duke passed off pleasantly. the general's questions turned, not so much upon the actual fighting, as upon the organization of the swedes, their methods of campaigning, of victualling the army, of hutting themselves in winter, the maintenance of discipline in camp, and other military points that would be of service to him in his next campaign. "your king is very wise, in so strictly repressing all plundering and violence," he said. "only so can a general maintain an army in an enemy's country. if the peasantry have confidence in him, and know that they will get a fair price for their produce, they will bring it into the market gladly, in spite of any orders their own government may issue to the contrary. i am determined that, if i again lead an english army in the field, i will follow king charles' example; though i shall find it more difficult to enforce my orders than he does, for he is king as well as general, and his swedes are quiet, honest fellows, while my army will be composed of ne'er-do-wells--of men who prefer to wear the queen's uniform to a prison garment, of debtors who wish to escape their creditors, and of men who find village life too quiet for them, and prefer to see the world, even at the risk of being shot, to honest labour on the farms. it requires a stern hand to make a disciplined army out of such materials, but when the time of fighting comes, one need wish for no better." before parting with them, the duke inquired farther into their arrangements for the arrest of the highwayman, and said he should expect to see them on saturday, and that, if he heard that all had gone well, he would at once take steps for bringing the matter before a court that would deal with it. the young men felt restless, as the day approached. they had seen no more of tony, but they felt complete confidence in him, and were sure that they would hear if any difficulties arose; but though, throughout friday, they did not quit their lodging, no message reached them. chapter : a confession. at the appointed hour, as the clock of the abbey was striking, they gave three gentle knocks at the door of the house. it was immediately opened by tony, who held a candle in his hand, closed the door quietly behind them, and then led them into a parlour. "well, tony, i suppose all has gone well, as we have not heard from you." "there was nothing to tell you, sir, and, indeed, i have been mightily busy. in the first place, i got two days' leave from the courts, and went down myself, in a light cart, with the boys and two men. that way i made sure that there should be no mistake as to the houses the boys were to watch. the two men i sent on, ten miles beyond the farthest tavern there to watch the road, and if any horseman goes by tonight, to track him down. "this evening i came here. i brought with me one of my comrades from the courts, and we told the good woman the character of the lodger we had seen leave the house a quarter of an hour before. she almost fainted when we showed her our badges, and said we must arrest him, on his return, as a notorious highwayman and breaker of the laws. she exclaimed that her house would be ruined, and it took some time to pacify her, by saying that we would manage the job so quietly that no one in the house need know of it, and that we would, if possible, arrange it so that the place of his arrest should not be made public. "at that, she at once consented to do all that we wished her. we searched his room carefully, and found some watches, rings, and other matters, that answered to the description of those stolen from a coach that was stopped near dorking, three weeks ago. my mate has taken them away. as she was afraid that a scuffle in the bedroom might attract the attention of the four other gentlemen who are lodging here, i arranged that it should be done at the door. in that case, if there was any inquiry in the morning, she could say that it was some drunken fellow, who had come to the house by mistake, and had tried to force his way in. "so she put this parlour at our disposal, and, as i have got the shutters up and the curtains drawn, there is no fear of his noticing the light, for, as we may have some hours to wait, it is more pleasant to have a candle, than to sit in the dark." "does she come down to let him in?" harry asked. "no, sir, the door is left on the latch. she says he finds his way up to his room, in the dark, and the candle and a tinderbox are always placed handy for him there. we will take our shoes off presently, and, when we hear footsteps come up to the door and stop, we will blow out the candle and steal out into the passage, so as to catch him directly he closes the door. i have got handcuffs here, some rope, and a gag." "very well, then. i will undertake the actual seizing of him," charlie said. "you slip on the handcuffs, and you, harry, if you can find his throat in the dark, grip it pretty tightly, till tony can slip the gag into his mouth. then he can light the candle again, and we can then disarm and search him, fasten his legs, and get him ready to put in the cart." the hours passed slowly, although tony did his best to divert them, by telling stories of various arrests and captures in which he had been concerned. the clock had just struck five, when they heard a step coming up the quiet street. "that is likely to be the man," tony said. "it is about the hour we expected him." he blew out the candle and opened the door quietly, and they went out into the passage. a moment later the step stopped at the door, the latch clicked, and it was opened. a man entered, and closed the door behind him. as he did so charlie, who had marked his exact position, made a step forward and threw his arms round him. the man gave an exclamation of surprise and alarm, and then struggled fiercely, but he was in the hands of one far stronger than himself. a moment later, he felt that his assailant was not alone, for he was grasped by the throat, and at the same time he felt something cold close round his wrists. there was a sharp click, and he knew that he was handcuffed. then a low voice said, "i arrest you, in the name of the queen, for being concerned in the robbery of the portsmouth coach at dorking." then a gag was forced between his teeth. bewildered at the suddenness of the attack, he ceased to struggle, and remained quiet, in the grasp of his captors, till there was the sound of the striking of flint and steel hard by. then tony came out of the parlour with a lighted candle, the highwayman was lifted into the room, and the door was shut. he then saw that his captors were three in number. there were two young gentlemen, and a smaller man, who, as he looked at him, held out a badge, and showed that he was an officer of the law. his pistols and sword were removed, then his pockets were searched, and two watches and three purses, with some rings and bracelets, were taken out and laid on the table. "it came off, you see," tony said to charlie. "well, master nicholson, to use one of your aliases, of which you have, no doubt, a score or more, you may consider yourself under arrest, not only for the robbery of the portsmouth coach three weeks ago, but of the north coach last evening." the prisoner started. it seemed impossible to him that that affair should be known yet, still less his connection with it. "you know what that means?" tony went on grimly. "tyburn. now i am going to make you a little safer still. you have been a hard bird to catch, and we don't mean to let you slip through our fingers again." so saying, he bound his arms closely to his side with a rope, and then, with a shorter piece, fastened his ankles securely together. "now i will fetch the cart." he had been gone but five minutes, when they heard a vehicle stop at the door. the others lifted the highwayman by his shoulders and feet, carried him out, and laid him in the cart. tony closed the door quietly behind them, and then jumped up by the side of the driver, who at once started the horse at a brisk trot. they crossed westminster bridge, and, after another ten minutes' drive, stopped at a small house standing back from the road, in a garden of its own. "we will carry him in, tony," charlie said, "if you will get the door open." they carried him in through the door, at which a woman was standing, into a room, where they saw, to their satisfaction, a blazing fire. the prisoner was laid down on the ground. leaving him to himself, charlie and his friends sat down to the table, which was laid in readiness. two cold chickens, and ham, and bread had been placed on it. "now, tony, sit down. you must be as hungry as we are." "thank you, gentlemen. i am going to have my breakfast in the kitchen, with my wife." as he spoke, the woman came in with two large tankards full of steaming liquid, whose odour at once proclaimed it to be spiced ale. "well, wife, we have done a good night's work," tony said. "a good night's work for all of us," charlie put in. "your husband has done us an immense service, mrs. peters, and, when our fathers come to their own again, they will not forget the service he has rendered us." when they had made a hearty meal, tony was called in again. "now, tony, we will proceed to business. you have got pen and ink and paper, i suppose?" "i have everything ready, sir. i will clear away this table, so as to have all in order." when this was done, the highwayman was lifted up and placed in a chair, and the gag removed from his mouth. "you don't remember us, i suppose, my man?" charlie began. "the last time i saw you was when i brought my stick down on your head, when you were listening outside a window at lynnwood." an exclamation of surprise broke from the prisoner. "yes, i am charlie carstairs, and this gentleman is harry jervoise. by the way, i have made a mistake. i have seen you twice since then. the first time was in a wayside tavern, some twelve miles beyond barnet, nine days ago. the second time was at another tavern in barnet. you will remember that a mischievous boy threw a stone, and broke one of the lattice panes of the window, where you were sitting talking over this little affair of the north coach." a deep execration broke from the lips of the highwayman. "now you see how we know all about it," charlie went on. "now, it entirely depends on yourself whether, in the course of another hour, we shall hand you over to a magistrate, as the leader of the gang who robbed the north coach, and took part in the robbery near dorking--we have found some of the watches and other plunder in your bedroom--or whether you escape trial for these offences. you may be wanted for other, similar affairs." "yes, sir," tony put in. "now i see him, he answers exactly to the description of a man the officers have been in search of, for a long time. he goes by the name of dick cureton, and has been engaged in at least a dozen highway robberies, to my knowledge." "you see," charlie went on, "there is no doubt whatever what will happen, if we hand you over to the officers. you will be hung at tyburn, to a moral certainty. there is no getting out of that. "now, on the other hand, you have the alternative of making a clean breast of your dealings with john dormay, of how he put you at lynnwood to act as a spy, how you hid those two letters he gave you in my father's cabinet, and how he taught you the lying story you afterwards told before the magistrates at lancaster. after having this story written down, you will sign it in the presence of this officer and his wife, and you will also repeat that story before any tribunal before which you may be brought. "i don't know whether this is a hanging matter, but, at any rate, i can promise that you shall not be hung for it. the duke of marlborough has taken the matter in hand, and will, i have no doubt, be able to obtain for you some lesser punishment, if you make a clean breast of it. i don't say that you will be let free. you are too dangerous a man for that. but, at any rate, your punishment will not be a heavy one--perhaps nothing worse than agreeing to serve in the army. you understand that, in that case, nothing whatever will be said as to your being dick cureton, or of your connection with these last coach robberies. you will appear before the court simply as robert nicholson, who, having met captain jervoise and myself, felt constrained to confess the grievous wrong he did to our fathers, and other gentlemen, at the bidding of, and for money received from, john dormay." "i do not need any time to make up my mind," the highwayman said. "i am certainly not going to be hung for the advantage of john dormay, who has paid me poorly enough, considering that it was through me that he came into a fine estate. i take it that you give me your word of honour, that if i make a clean breast of it, and stick to my story afterwards, this other business shall not be brought up against me." "yes, we both promise that on our word of honour." "very well then; here goes." the story he told was in precise accordance with the suspicions that his hearers had entertained. he had been tramping through the country, sometimes pilfering, sometimes taking money as a footpad. he had, one day, met john dormay and demanded his money. he was armed only with a heavy cudgel, and thought dormay was defenceless. the latter, however, produced a pistol from his pocket, and compelled him to drop his stick; and then, taking him by the collar, made him walk to his house. he had asked him questions as to his previous life, and had then given him the choice of going to jail, or of acting under his instructions, in which case he would be well rewarded. naturally, he had chosen the second alternative. and, having him completely under his thumb, john dormay had made him sign a paper, acknowledging his attempt at highway robbery upon him. the rest of the story was already known to his hearers. he had, several times, overheard the conversations in the dining room, but had gathered nothing beyond talk of what would be done, if the pretender came over. john dormay had taught him the story of the assassination plot, and had given him the letters to hide. he now swore that the whole story was false, and had been told entirely at the dictation of john dormay, and from fear of the consequence to himself, if he refused to obey his orders. when he had finished, tony's wife was called in, and she made her mark, and her husband signed his name, as witnesses to the signature of robert nicholson. "now, i hope i may have something to eat," the man said, recklessly. "i am ready to tell my story to whomsoever you like, but am not ready to be starved." "give him food, tony," charlie said, "and keep a sharp lookout after him. we will go across, and show this paper to the duke." "i will bring the matter, at once, before the council," the general said, when charlie gave him the document, and briefly stated its contents. "there is a meeting at three o'clock today. i shall see the queen previously, and will get her to interest herself in the matter, and to urge that justice shall be done without any delay. i will arrange that the man shall be brought before the council, at the earliest date possible. if you will come here this evening, i may be able to tell you more. come at eight. i shall be in then to dress, as i take supper at the palace, at nine." "i have ventured to promise the man that he shall not be hung, my lord." "you were safe in doing so. the rogue deserves the pillory or branding, but, as he was almost forced into it, and was the mere instrument in the hands of another, it is not a case for hanging him. he might be shipped off to the plantations as a rogue and a vagabond. "what are you smiling at?" "i was thinking, sir, that, as you said there were a good many of that class in the army, the man might have the option of enlisting given him." "and so of getting shot in the netherlands, instead of getting hung at tyburn, eh? well, i will see what i can do." at eight o'clock, they again presented themselves. the duke looked at them critically. "you will do," he said. "put your cloaks on again, and come with me. where do you suppose that you are going?" "before the council, sir," harry suggested. "bless me, you don't suppose that your business is so pressing, that ministers have been summoned in haste to sit upon it. no, you are going to sup with the queen. i told her your story this afternoon. she was much interested in it, and when i informed her that, young as you both were, you had fought behind charles of sweden, in all his desperate battles, and that he had not only promoted you to the rank of captain, but that he had, under his own hand, given you a document expressing his satisfaction at your conduct and bravery, she said that i must bring you to supper at the palace. i told her that, being soldiers, you had brought with you no clothes fit for appearance at court; but, as at little gatherings there is no ceremony, she insisted that i should bring you as you are. "my wife sarah went on half an hour ago, in her chair. there will probably be two others, possibly godolphin and harley, but more likely some courtier and his wife. "you do not feel nervous, i hope? after being accustomed to chat with charles of sweden, to say nothing of the czar of russia, carstairs, you need not feel afraid of queen anne, who is good nature itself." nevertheless, both the young men felt nervous. after being conducted up some private stairs, the duke led them into an oak-panelled room, of comparatively small size, lighted by numerous tapers, which displayed the rich hangings and furniture. a lady was sitting by the fire. a tall, handsome woman, with a somewhat imperious face, stood on the rug before her, talking to her, while a pleasant-looking man, who by his appearance and manner might have been taken for a country squire, was sitting opposite, playing with the ears of a spaniel lying on his knee. the tall lady moved aside, as they entered, and charlie noticed a little glance of affectionate welcome pass between her and the duke--for the pair were devotedly attached to each other--then he bowed to the seated lady. "madam," he said, "allow me to present to you the two young officers, of whose bravery charles of sweden has written so strongly, and whose parents have, with other gentlemen, been driven from the land by villainy." the young men bowed deeply. anne held out her hand, and each in turn, bending on one knee, raised it to his lips. "there," she said, "let that be the beginning and end of ceremony. this is not a court gathering, but a family meeting. i want to hear your stories, and i want you, for the time, to forget that i am anne of england. i know that your fathers have always been faithful to our house, and i hope that their sons will, ere long, do as good service for me as they have done for a foreign prince. "you have not seen these gentlemen yet, sarah?" "no, my husband has kept them to himself." "i have had but little time to give them, sarah, and wanted it all, to question them on the swedish modes of warfare." "and you thought i should be an interruption? "i am glad to meet you both, nevertheless. since my husband likes you, i am sure to do so;" and she smiled pleasantly, as she gave a hand to each. they were then introduced to the prince consort, george of denmark. at this moment, supper was announced. the queen and the duchess went in together, followed by the four gentlemen. "lord godolphin and mr. harley were to have been of the party tonight," the queen said, as she took her seat at table, "but i put them off till tomorrow, as i wanted to hear these gentlemen's story." during the meal, the conversation was gay. as soon as the last dish was removed, the party returned to the other room. then the queen called upon the young men to tell their story. charlie began, and related up to the time when he had aided in the rescue of his father from the hands of his escort. harry told the story of their military experiences, and then charlie related his narrow escape at warsaw, his adventure with the brigands, and the fight with the wolves. "that is the most exciting of all," the queen said. "i think that even you, general, would rather have gone through the battle of narva, than have spent that night among the wolves." "that would i, indeed, madam, and i doubt if i should have got as well through it as captain carstairs did. i am sure, madam, you will agree with me, that these young gentlemen ought to be fighting under our flag, rather than that of sweden. there is no blame to them, for they were most unjustly driven from the country; but i hope that, by monday at this time, i shall have the pleasure of presenting a document for your majesty's signature, stating that, in the opinion of the council, a very grave miscarriage of justice has taken place; and that the gentlemen, whose estates were four years ago confiscated, are proved to be innocent of the crime of which they were accused, and are true and faithful subjects of your majesty; and that the proceedings against them are hereby quashed, and their estates restored to them. "i had the honour of relating to you, this afternoon, the manner in which these gentlemen have succeeded in bringing the truth to light." shortly afterwards, the party broke up, the queen speaking most graciously to each of the young men. on monday morning, they received a summons to appear before the council, at two o'clock in the afternoon, and to produce one robert nicholson, whose evidence was required in a matter of moment. they hired a carriage, and took the highwayman with them to saint james's, and were conducted to the council chamber; where they found lord godolphin, the marquis of normanby, mr. harley, and the duke of marlborough, together with two judges, before whom the depositions, in the case of sir marmaduke carstairs and his friends, had been laid. lord normanby, as privy seal, took the chair, and briefly said that, having heard there had been a grievous miscarriage of justice, he had summoned them to hear important evidence which was produced by captains carstairs and jervoise, officers in the service of the king of sweden. "what have you to say, captain carstairs?" "i have, sir, only to testify that this man, who stands beside me, is robert nicholson, who was in my father's employment for two years, and was, i believe, the principal witness against him. captain jervoise can also testify to his identity. i now produce the confession, voluntarily made by this man, and signed in the presence of witnesses." he handed in the confession, which was read aloud by a clerk standing at the lower end of the table. a murmur of indignation arose from the council, as he concluded. "you have acted the part of a base villain," lord normanby said to nicholson. "hanging would be too good for such a caitiff. what induced you to make this confession?" "i have long repented my conduct," the man said. "i was forced into acting as i did, by john dormay, who might have had me hung for highway robbery. i would long ago have told the truth, had i known where to find the gentlemen i have injured; and, meeting them by chance the other day, i resolved upon making a clean breast of it, and to take what punishment your lordships may think proper; hoping, however, for your clemency, on account of the fact that i was driven to act in the way i did." one of the judges, who had the former depositions before him, asked him several questions as to the manner in which he had put the papers into sir marmaduke's cabinet. he replied that he found the key in a vase on the mantel, and after trying several locks with it, found that it fitted the cabinet. "his statement agrees, my lords," the judge said, "with that made by sir marmaduke carstairs in his examinations. he then said that he could not account for the papers being in his cabinet, for it was never unlocked, and that he kept the key in a vase on the mantel, where none would be likely to look for it." in a short time, all present were requested to withdraw, but in less than five minutes they were again called in. "gentlemen," lord normanby said to the young officers, "i have pleasure in informing you, that the council are of opinion that the innocence of your fathers and friends, of the foul offence of which they were charged, is clearly proven; and that they have decided that the sentence passed against them, in their absence, shall be quashed. they will also recommend, to her majesty, that the sentence of confiscation against them all shall be reversed. "as to you, sir, seeing that you have, however tardily, endeavoured to undo the evil you have caused, we are disposed to deal leniently, and, at the request of the duke of marlborough, we have agreed, if you are ready to leave the country and enlist at once, as a soldier in the army of flanders, and there to expiate your fault by fighting in the service of your country, we will not recommend that any proceedings shall be taken against you. but if, at any time, you return hither, save as a soldier with a report of good conduct, this affair will be revived, and you will receive the full punishment you deserve. "for the present you will be lodged in prison, as you will be needed to give evidence, when the matter of john dormay comes up for hearing." nicholson was at once removed in custody. the two young officers retired, an usher bringing them a whispered message, from marlborough, that they had better not wait to see him, as the council might sit for some time longer; but that, if they would call at his house at five o'clock, after his official reception, he would see them. "this is more than we could have hoped for," harry said, as they left saint james's. "a fortnight ago, although i had no intention of giving up the search, i began to think that our chances of ever setting eyes on that rascal were of the slightest; and now everything has come right. the man has been found. he has been made to confess the whole matter. the case has been heard by the council. our fathers are free to return to england, and their estates are restored to them; at least, the council recommends the queen, and we know the queen is ready to sign. so that it is as good as done." "it seems too good to be true." "it does, indeed, charlie. they will be delighted across the water. i don't think my father counted, at all, upon our finding nicholson, or of our getting him to confess; but i think he had hoped that the duke would interest himself to get an order, that no further proceedings should be taken in the matter of the alleged plot. that would have permitted them to return to england. he spoke to me, several times, of his knowledge of the duke when he was a young man; but churchill, he said, was a time server, and has certainly changed his politics several times; and, if a man is fickle in politics, he may be so in his friendships. it was a great many years since they had met, and marlborough might not have been inclined to acknowledge one charged with so serious a crime. "but, as he said to me before i started, matters have changed since the death of william. marlborough stands far higher, with anne, than he did with william. his leanings have certainly been, all along, jacobite, and, now that he and the tories are in power, and the whigs are out of favour, marlborough could, if he chose, do very much for us. it is no longer a crime to be a jacobite, and indeed, they say that the tories are intending to upset the act of succession, and bring in a fresh one, making james stuart the successor to anne. "still, even if we had succeeded so far, by marlborough's influence, that our fathers could have returned to england without fear of being tried for their lives, i do not think that either of them would have come, so long as the charge of having been concerned in an assassination plot was hanging over them. "now that they are cleared, and can come back with honour, it will be different, altogether. it will be glorious news for them. of course, we shall start as soon as we get the official communication that the estates are restored. we shall only have to go back to them, for, as you know, yours is the only estate that has been granted to anyone else. the others were put up for sale, but no one would bid for them, as the title deeds would have been worth nothing if king james came over. so they have only been let to farmers, and we can walk straight in again, without dispossessing anyone." "i don't know what to do about john dormay," charlie said. "there is no doubt that, from what the judge said, they will prosecute him." "so they ought to," harry broke in. "he has striven, by false swearing, to bring innocent men to the scaffold. why, it is worse than murder." "i quite agree with you, harry, and, if i were in your place, i would say just as strongly as you do that he ought to be hung. but you see, i am differently situated. the man is a kinsman of ours by marriage. my cousin celia has been always most kind to me, and is my nearest relative after my father. she has been like an aunt, and, indeed, did all she could to supply the place of a mother to me; and i am sure my little sweetheart ciceley has been like a sister. this must have been a most terrible trial to them. it was a bad day for cousin celia when she married that scoundrel, and i am sure that he has made her life a most unhappy one. still, for their sake, i would not see his villainy punished as it deserves, nor indeed for our own, since the man is, to a certain extent, our kinsman. "besides, harry, as you must remember well enough, ciceley and i, in boy and girl fashion, used to say we should be some day husband and wife, and i have never since seen anyone whom i would so soon marry as my bonny little cousin; and if ciceley is of the same mind, maybe some day or other she may come to lynnwood as its mistress; but that could hardly be, if her father were hung for attempting to swear away the life of mine." "no, indeed, charlie. i know how fond you were of your cousin." "indeed, harry, there was a talk between my father and cousin celia, a few months before the troubles came, of a formal betrothal between us, and, had it not been for the coolness between our fathers, it would have taken place." "yes, i remember now your telling me about it, charlie. "well, what is to be done? for i agree with you that, if possible, john dormay must escape from the punishment he deserves. but how is it to be done?" "well, harry, a week or two will make no difference to our fathers. they will have no expectation of hearing from us, for a long time to come. i should say it were best that i should go down and warn him, and i shall be glad if you will go with me." "of course i will go," harry said. "indeed, it were best that the warning came from me. the man is a villain, and a reckless one; and in his passion, when he hears that his rascality is known, the prize for which he schemed snatched from him, and his very life in danger, might even seek to vent his rage and spite upon you. now it is clear, charlie, that you could not very well kill a man, and afterwards marry his daughter. the thing would be scarce seemly. but the fellow is no kinsman of mine. he has grievously injured us, and i could kill him without the smallest compunction, and thereby rid the world of a scoundrel, and you of a prospective father-in-law of the most objectionable kind." charlie laughed. "no, harry; we will have no killing. we will go down and see him together. we will let him know that the orders are probably already on the road for his arrest, and that he had best lose not an hour, but at once cross the water. i should not think that he would wish to encumber himself with women, for i never thought he showed the least affection to either his wife or daughter. at any rate, we will see that he does not take them with him. i will tell him that, if he goes, and goes alone, i will do my best to hush up the matter; and that, so long as he remains abroad, the tale of his villainy shall never be told; but that, if he returns, the confession of nicholson shall be published throughout the country, even if no prosecution is brought against him." when they called upon the duke, he shook them warmly by the hand. "this parchment is the royal assent to the decision of the council, that the estates of those inculpated in the alleged plot for the assassination of the late king should be forthwith restored to them, it having been clearly proved that they have been falsely accused of the said crime, and that her majesty is satisfied that these gentlemen are her true and loyal subjects. "i think i may say," the duke continued with a smile, "that no affair of state has ever been so promptly conducted and carried through." "we feel how deeply indebted we are, for our good fortune, to your kindness, your grace," charlie said. "we know that, but for you, months might have elapsed, even years, before we could have obtained such a result, even after we had the confession of nicholson in our hands." "i am glad, in every way, to have been able to bring this about," the duke said. "in the first place, because i have been able to right a villainous piece of injustice; in the second, because those injured were loyal gentlemen, with no fault save their steadfast adherence to the cause of the stuarts; and lastly, because one of these gentlemen was my own good friend, mat jervoise, of whose company i have so many pleasant recollections. "i hope that, as soon as you have informed your fathers that their names are cleared, and their property restored, you will think of what i said, and will decide to quit the service of sweden, and enter that of your queen. "an officer fighting for a foreign monarch is, after all, but a soldier of fortune, however valiantly he fights. he is fighting for a cause that is not his own, and, though he may win rewards and honours, he has not the satisfaction that all must feel who have risked their lives, not for gold, but in the service of their country. but i do not want any answer from you on that head now. it is a matter for you to decide upon after due thought. i only say that i shall go out, early in the spring, to take command of the army; and that, if you present yourselves to me before i leave, i shall be glad to appoint you on my personal staff, with the same rank you now hold. "you can now leave the country without any farther trouble. as to the affair of the man dormay, a messenger has been sent off, this afternoon, with an order to the magistrates at lancaster, to arrest him on the charge of suborning false evidence, by which the lives of some of her majesty's subjects were endangered; and of forging letters whereby such evil designs might be furthered. i do not suppose i shall see you again before you sail, for tomorrow we go down to our country place, and may remain there some weeks. i may say that it was the desire to get your affair finished, before we left town, that conduced somewhat to the speed with which it has been carried through." after again thanking the duke most warmly for his kindness, and saying that they would lay his offer before their fathers, and that their own inclinations were altogether in favour of accepting it, the young men took their leave. "it is unfortunate about dormay." "most unfortunate," harry said. "i think, if we start tomorrow morning, harry, we shall be in time. there is no reason why the messenger should travel at any extraordinary speed, and, as he may be detained at lancaster, and some delay may arise before officers are sent up to lynnwood to make the arrest, we may be in time. "we must take a note of the date. it is one we shall remember all our lives. it is the th of november, and we will keep it up as a day of festivity and rejoicing, as long as we live." "that will we," harry agreed. "it shall be the occasion of an annual gathering of those who got into trouble from those suppers at sir marmaduke's. i fancy the others are all in france, but their friends will surely be able to let them know, as soon as they hear the good news. "i think we shall have a stormy ride tomorrow. the sky looks very wild and threatening." "it does, indeed; and the wind has got up very much, in the last hour.'' "yes, we are going to have a storm, beyond all doubt." the wind got up hourly, and when, before going to bed, they went to pass an hour at a tavern, they had difficulty in making their way against it. several times in the night they were awoke by the gusts, which shook the whole house, and they heard the crashing of falling chimney pots above the din of the gale. they had arranged to start as soon as it was light, and had, the evening before, been to a posting inn, and engaged a carriage with four horses for the journey down to lancashire. "there is no starting today, gentlemen," the landlord said, as they went down to breakfast by candlelight. "i have looked out, and the street is strewn with chimney pots and tiles. never do i remember such a gale, and hour by hour it seems to get worse. why, it is dangerous to go across the street." "well, we must try," charlie said, "whatever the weather. it is a matter of almost life and death." "well, gentlemen, you must please yourselves, but i am mistaken if any horse keeper will let his animals out, on such a day as this." as soon as they had eaten their breakfasts, they wrapped themselves up in their cloaks, pressed their hats over their heads, and sallied out. it was not until they were in the streets that they realized how great was the force of the gale. not only were the streets strewn with tiles and fragments of chimney pots, but there was light enough for them to see that many of the upper windows of the houses had been blown in by the force of the wind. tiles flew about like leaves in autumn, and occasionally gutters and sheets of lead, stripped from the roofs, flew along with prodigious swiftness. "this is as bad as a pitched battle, charlie. i would as lief be struck by a cannonball as by one of those strips of lead." "well, we must risk it, harry. we must make the attempt, anyhow." it was with the greatest difficulty that they made their way along. although powerful young fellows, they were frequently obliged to cling to the railings, to prevent themselves from being swept away by the gusts, and they had more than one narrow escape from falling chimneys. although the distance they had to traverse was not more than a quarter of a mile, it took them half an hour to accomplish it. the post master looked at them in surprise, as they entered his office flushed and disordered. "why, gentlemen, you are not thinking of going on such a day as this? it would be a sheer impossibility. why, the carriage would be blown over, and if it wasn't, no horses would face this wind." "we would be willing to pay anything you may like to ask," charlie said. "it ain't a question of money, sir. if you were to buy the four horses and the carriage, you would be no nearer, for no post boy would be mad enough to ride them; and, even supposing you got one stage, which you never would do, you would have to buy horses again, for no one would be fool enough to send his animals out. you could not do it, sir. why, i hear there are half a dozen houses, within a dozen yards of this, that have been altogether unroofed, and it is getting worse instead of better. if it goes on like this, i doubt if there will be a steeple standing in london tomorrow. "listen to that!" there was a tremendous crash, and, running out into the street, they saw a mass of beams and tiles lying in the roadway--a house two doors away had been completely unroofed. they felt that, in such a storm, it was really impossible to proceed, and accordingly returned to their lodgings, performing the distance in a fraction of the time it had before taken them. for some hours the gale continued to increase in fury. not a soul was to be seen in the streets. occasional heavy crashes told of the damage that was being wrought, and, at times, the house shook so that it seemed as if it would fall. never was such a storm known in england. the damage done was enormous. the shores were strewn with wrecks. twelve ships of the royal navy, with fifteen hundred men, were lost; and an enormous number of merchant vessels. many steeples, houses, and buildings of all kinds were overthrown, and the damage, in london alone, was estimated at a million pounds. there were few who went to bed that night. many thought that the whole city would be destroyed. towards morning, however, the fury of the gale somewhat abated, and by nightfall the danger had passed. the next morning the two friends started, and posted down to lancashire. the journey was a long one. in many places the road was completely blocked by fallen trees, and sometimes by the ruins of houses and barns. in the former case, long detours had often to be made through villainous roads, where the wheels sank almost to their axles, and, in spite of the most liberal bribes to post boys and post masters, the journey occupied four days longer than the usual time. at last, they reached the lodge gate of lynnwood. a man came out from the cottage. he was the same who had been there in sir marmaduke's time. charlie jumped out of the post chaise. "why, norman, don't you know me?" the man looked hard at him. "no, sir, i can't say as i do." "what, not charlie carstairs?" "bless me, it is the young master!" the man said. "to think of my not knowing you. but you have changed wonderful. why, sir, i have been thinking of you often and often, and most of all the last three days, but i never thought of you like this." "why the last three days, norman?" "haven't you heard the news, sir?" "no, i have heard nothing. captain jervoise and i--my old friend, you know, norman--have posted all the way from london, and should have been here six days ago, if it had not been for the storm." "well, sir, there is bad news; at least, i don't know whether you will consider it bad. most of the folk about here looks at it the other way. but the man in there shot hisself, three days ago. a magistrate, with some men from lancaster, came over here. they say it was to arrest him, but i don't know the rights of the case. anyhow, it is said they read some paper over to him, and then he opened a drawer at the table where he was sitting, and pulled out a pistol, and shot hisself before anyone could stop him. "there have been bad goings here of late, mr. charles, very bad, especially for the last year. he was not friends with his son, they say, but the news of his death drove him to drink, worse than before; and besides, there have been dicing, and all sorts of goings on, and i doubt not but that the ladies have had a terrible time of it. there were several men staying in the house, but they all took themselves off, as soon as it was over, and there are only the ladies there now. they will be glad enough to see you, i will be bound." charlie was shocked; but at the same time, he could not but feel that it was the best thing that could happen, and harry freely expressed himself to that effect. "we won't take the carriage up to the house," charlie said, after a long pause. "take the valises out, and bring them up to the house presently, norman." he paid the postilion who had brought them from lancaster, and stood quiet until the carriage had driven off. "i hope sir marmaduke is well, sir. we have missed him sorely here." "he was quite well when i saw him, ten weeks ago. i hope he will be here before long. i am happy to say that his innocence of the charge brought against him has been proved, and his estates, and those of mr. jervoise and the other gentlemen, have been restored by the queen." "that is good news, indeed, sir," the man exclaimed. "the best i have heard for many a long year. everyone about here will go wild with joy." "then don't mention it at present, norman. any rejoicings would be unseemly, while john dormay is lying dead there." "shall i go up with you, charlie, or will you go alone?" harry asked. "of course, there are some horses here, and you could lend me one to drive over to our own place." "you shall do that presently, harry, and tell them the news. but come in now. you know my cousin and ciceley. it will be all the better that you should go in with me." his cousin received charlie with a quiet pleasure. she was greatly changed since he had seen her last, and her face showed that she had suffered greatly. ciceley had grown into a young woman, and met him with delight. both were pleased to see harry. "we were talking of you but now, charlie," mrs. dormay said. "ciceley and i agreed that we would remove at once to our old place, and that this should be kept up for you, should you at any time be able to return. now that queen anne is on the throne, and the tories are in power, we hoped that you, at least, would ere long be permitted to return. how is your dear father?" "he is well, cousin, and will, i trust, be here ere long. our innocence of the charge has been proved, the proceedings against us quashed, and the act of confiscation against my father, mr. jervoise, and the others reversed." "thank god for that," mrs. dormay said earnestly, and ciceley gave an exclamation of pleasure. "that accounts, then, for what has happened here. "i do not want to talk about it, charlie. you may imagine how ciceley and i have suffered. but he was my husband, spare him for my sake." "i will never allude to the subject again, cousin," charlie said. "but i must tell you that harry and i have posted down from london, in hopes of being in time to warn him, and enable him to escape. i need not say we did so because he was your husband, and ciceley's father." harry then turned the subject, by a remark as to the effects of the storm. then ciceley asked questions as to their life abroad, and there was so much to tell, and to listen to, that even mrs. dormay's face brightened. harry willingly allowed himself to be persuaded to remain for the night, and to ride over to his place in the morning. the funeral took place two days later. charlie went as sole mourner. "he was my kinsman," he said to harry, "and, though i can pretend no sorrow at his death, my attendance at the funeral will do something towards stopping talk, and will make it easier for my cousin." the next day, mrs. dormay and ciceley returned to rockley, whose tenant had fortunately left a few weeks before. charlie and harry both went over with them, and stayed for three or four days, and they were glad to see that mrs. dormay seemed to be shaking off the weight of her trouble, and was looking more like her old self. they then rode to lancaster, and returned to london by coach. they crossed to gottenburg by the first vessel that was sailing, and sir marmaduke was delighted to hear the success of their mission, and that he was at liberty to return at once, as master of lynnwood. "luck favoured you somewhat, charlie, in throwing that vagabond in your way, but for all else we have to thank you both, for the manner in which you have carried the affair out, and captured your fox. as for john dormay, 'tis the best thing that could have happened. i have often thought it over, while you have been away, and have said to myself that the best settlement of the business would be that you, harry, when you obtained proofs, should go down, confront him publicly, and charge him with his treachery, force him to draw, and then run him through the body. charlie would, of course, have been the proper person, in my absence, so to settle the matter, but he could not well have killed my cousin's husband, and it would have added to the scandal. "however, the way it has turned out is better altogether. it will be only a nine days' wonder. the man has been cut by all the gentry, and when it is known that he shot himself to escape arrest, many will say that it was a fit ending, and will trouble themselves no more concerning him. "you are coming back with me, i hope, charlie. i have seen but little of you for the last four years, and if you are, as you say, going with the duke of marlborough to the war in the spring, i don't want to lose sight of you again till then. you can surely resign your commission here without going back to the army, especially as you have leave of absence until the end of march." charlie hesitated. "i think so, too," harry said. "i know that the colonel told the king the whole story, when he asked for leave for me and obtained that paper. he told my father that the king was greatly interested, and said: 'i hope the young fellows will succeed, though i suppose, if they do, i shall lose two promising young officers.' so he will not be surprised when he hears that we have resigned. "as for me, i shall, of course, go on at once. my father will, i am sure, be delighted to return home. the hardships have told upon him a good deal, and he has said several times, of late, how much he wished he could see his way to retiring. i think, too, he will gladly consent to my entering our own service, instead of that of sweden. he would not have done so, i am sure, had william been still on the throne. now it is altogether different." "well, harry, if you do see the king, as it is possible you may do, or if you do not, you might speak to the colonel, and ask him, in my name, to express to charles my regret at leaving his service, in which i have been so well treated, and say how much i feel the kindly interest that his majesty has been pleased to take in me. if there had been any chance of the war coming to an end shortly, i should have remained to see it out; but, now that the polish business may be considered finished, it will be continued with russia, and may go on for years, for the czar is just as obstinate and determined as charles himself." accordingly, the next morning, charlie sent in the formal resignation of his commission to the war minister at stockholm, and harry left by ship for revel. sir marmaduke placed his business affairs in the hands of a scotch merchant at gottenburg, with instructions to call in the money he had lent on mortgage, and, two days later, took passage with charlie for hull, whence they posted across the country to lancaster, and then drove to lynnwood. as soon as the news spread that sir marmaduke had returned, the church bells rang a joyous peal, bonfires were lighted, the tenants flocked in to greet him, and the gentry for miles round rode over to welcome and congratulate him. the next morning he and charlie rode over to rockley. "oh, marmaduke," cried celia, "i am happy indeed to know that you are back again. i have never known a day's happiness since you went." "well, don't let us think any more about it, celia," sir marmaduke said, as he kissed her tenderly. "let us look on it all as an ugly dream. it has not been without its advantages, as far as we are concerned. it has taken me out of myself, and broadened my view of things. i have not had at all an unpleasant time of it in sweden, and shall enjoy my home all the more, now that i have been away from it for a while. as to charlie, it has made a man of him. he has gained a great deal of credit, and had opportunities of showing that he is made of good stuff; and now he enters upon life with every advantage, and has a start, indeed, such as very few young fellows can have. he enters our army as a captain, under the eye of marlborough himself, with a reputation gained under that of the greatest soldier in europe. "so we have no reason to regret the past, cousin, and on that score you have no cause for grief. as to the future, i trust that it will be bright for both of us, and i think," he added meaningly, "our former plans for our children are likely to be some day realized." four years later, indeed, the union that both parents had at heart took place, during one of the pauses of the fierce struggle between the british forces under marlborough, and the french. at blenheim, ramillies, and oudenarde, and in several long and toilsome sieges, charlie had distinguished himself greatly, and was regarded by marlborough as one of the most energetic and trustworthy of his officers. he had been twice severely wounded, and had gained the rank of colonel. harry jervoise--who had had a leg shot away, below the knee, by a cannonball at ramillies, and had then left the army with the rank of major--was, on the same day as his friend, married to the daughter of one of the gentlemen who had been driven into exile with his father. in the spring charlie again joined the army, and commanded a brigade in the desperate struggle on the hill of malplaquet, one of the hardest fought battles in the history of war. peace was made shortly afterwards, and, at the reduction of the army that followed, he went on half pay, and settled down for life at lynnwood, where tony peters and his wife had, at the death of the former occupant of the lodge, been established. when harry jervoise returned to the swedish headquarters, with the news that his father was cleared, he was the bearer of a very handsome present from charlie to his faithful servant stanislas, who had, on their return from poland, been at once employed by count piper on other service. when, years afterwards, the young pretender marched south with the highland clans, neither charlie nor harry were among the gentlemen who joined him. he had their good wishes, but, having served in the british army, they felt that they could not join the movement in arms against the british crown; and indeed, the strong jacobite feelings of their youth had been greatly softened down by their contact with the world, and they had learned to doubt much whether the restoration of the stuarts would tend, in any way, to the benefit or prosperity of britain. they felt all the more obliged to stand aloof from the struggle, inasmuch as both had sons, in the army, that had fought valiantly against the french at dettingen and fontenoy. the families always remained united in the closest friendship, and more than one marriage took place between the children of charlie carstairs and harry jervoise. [illustration: moseley hall, staffordshire] secret chambers and hiding-places historic, romantic, & legendary stories & traditions about hiding-holes, secret chambers, etc. by allan fea author of "the flight of the king," "king monmouth," etc. with eighty illustrations third and revised edition contents chapter i a great deviser of "priest's holes" chapter ii hindlip hall chapter iii priest-hunting at braddocks chapter iv the gunpowder plot conspirators chapter v harvington, ufton, and ingatestone chapter vi compton winyates, salford prior, sawston, oxburgh, parham, paxhill, etc. chapter vii king-hunting: boscobel, moseley, trent, and heale chapter viii cavalier-hunting, etc. chapter ix james ii.'s escapes chapter x james ii.'s escapes (_continued_): ham house, and "abdication house" chapter xi mysterious rooms, deadly pits, etc. chapter xii hiding-places in jacobite dwellings and in scottish castles and mansions chapter xiii concealed doors, subterranean passages, etc. chapter xiv miniature hiding-holes for valuables, etc. chapter xv hiding-places of smugglers and thieves chapter xvi the scottish hiding-places of prince charles edward list of illustrations moseley hall, staffordshire hindlip hall, worcestershire braddocks, essex fireplace at braddocks ashby st. ledgers, northamptonshire the plot room, ashby st. ledgers huddington court, worcestershire entrance porch, huddington court entrance to "priest's hole," harvington hall harvington hall, worcestershire ufton court, berkshire " " garden terrace, berkshire hiding-place, ufton court " " " ingatestone hall, essex " " " "priest's hole," sawston hall scotney castle, sussex compton winyates, warwickshire the minstrels' gallery, compton winyates sawston hall, cambridgeshire pickersleigh court, worcestershire salford prior hall, warwickshire " " " " hiding-place, salford prior showing entrance to hiding place, salford prior oxburgh hall, norfolk entrance to hiding-place, parham hall paxhill, sussex cleeve prior manor house, worcestershire baddesley clinton hall, warwickshire hiding-place beneath "the chapel," boscobel, salop hiding-place in "the squire's bedroom," boscobel entrance to hiding-place in the garret, or "chapel," boscobel secret panel, trent house, somersetshire boscobel entrance to hiding-place, trent house hiding-place, trent house trent house in heale house, wiltshire madeley court, shropshire " " the courtyard, shropshire " " shropshire entrance to "priest's hole," the upper house, madeley, shropshire interior of "priest's hole," moseley hall, staffordshire secret panel at salisbury secret chamber, chastleton, oxfordshire old summer house, salisbury chastleton, oxfordshire " front entrance, oxfordshire broughton hall, staffordshire st. john's hospital, warwick staircase, broughton hall shipton court, oxfordshire broughton castle, oxfordshire entrance gate, bradshawe hall, derbyshire moyles court, hampshire toddington manor house, bedfordshire, in "rat's castle," elmley king's hill farm, elmley, kent entrance to secret passage, "abdication house," rochester "abdication house," rochester monument of sir richard head "restoration house," rochester armscot manor house, worchestershire entrance gate, armscot manor house woodstock palace, oxfordshire markyate cell, hertfordshire birtsmorton court, worcestershire porch at chelvey court, somersetshire hurstmonceaux castle, sussex bovey house, south devon mapledurham house, oxfordshire " " " entrance to secret staircase, partingdale house, mill hill, middlesex introduction the secret chamber is unrivalled even by the haunted house for the mystery and romance surrounding it. volumes have been written about the haunted house, while the secret chamber has found but few exponents. the ancestral ghost has had his day, and to all intents and purposes is dead, notwithstanding the existence of the psychical society and the investigations of mr. stead and the late lord bute. "alas! poor ghost!" he is treated with scorn and derision by the multitude in these advanced days of modern enlightenment. the search-light of science has penetrated even into his sacred haunts, until, no longer having a leg to stand upon, he has fallen from the exalted position he occupied for centuries, and fallen moreover into ridicule! in the secret chamber, however, we have something tangible to deal with--a subject not only keenly interesting from an antiquarian point of view, but one deserving the attention of the general reader; for in exploring the gloomy hiding-holes, concealed apartments, passages, and staircases in our old halls and manor houses we probe, as it were, into the very groundwork of romance. we find actuality to support the weird and mysterious stories of fiction, which those of us who are honest enough to admit a lingering love of the marvellous must now doubly appreciate, from the fact that our school-day impressions of such things are not only revived, but are strengthened with the semblance of truth. truly bishop copleston wrote: "if the things we hear told be avowedly fictitious, and yet curious or affecting or entertaining, we may indeed admire the author of the fiction, and may take pleasure in contemplating the exercise of his skill. but this is a pleasure of another kind--a pleasure wholly distinct from that which is derived from discovering what was _unknown_, or clearing up what was _doubtful_. and even when the narrative is in its own nature, such as to please us and to engage our attention, how, greatly is the interest increased if we place entire confidence in its _truth_! who has not heard from a child when listening to a tale of deep interest--who has not often heard the artless and eager question, 'is it true?'" from horace walpole, mrs. radcliffe, scott, victor hugo, dumas, lytton, ainsworth, le fanu, and mrs. henry wood, down to the latest up-to-date novelists of to-day, the secret chamber (an ingenious _necessity_ of the "good old times") has afforded invaluable "property"--indeed, in many instances the whole vitality of a plot is, like its ingenious opening, hinged upon the masked wall, behind which lay concealed what hidden mysteries, what undreamed-of revelations! the thread of the story, like fair rosamond's silken clue, leads up to and at length reveals the buried secret, and (unlike the above comparison in this instance) all ends happily! bulwer lytton honestly confesses that the spirit of romance in his novels "was greatly due to their having been written at my ancestral home, knebworth, herts. how could i help writing romances," he says, "after living amongst the secret panels and hiding-places of our dear old home? how often have i trembled with fear at the sound of my own footsteps when i ventured into the picture gallery! how fearfully have i glanced at the faces of my ancestors as i peered into the shadowy abysses of the 'secret chamber.' it was years before i could venture inside without my hair literally bristling with terror." what would _woodstock_ be without the mysterious picture, _peveril of the peak_ without the sliding panel, the castlewood of _esmond_ without father holt's concealed apartments, _ninety-three, marguerite de valois, the tower of london, guy fawkes_, and countless other novels of the same type, without the convenient contrivances of which the _dramatis personæ_ make such effectual use? apart, however, from the importance of the secret chamber in fiction, it is closely associated with many an important historical event. the stories of the gunpowder plot, charles ii.'s escape from worcester, the jacobite risings of and , and many another stirring episode in the annals of our country, speak of the service it rendered to fugitives in the last extremity of danger. when we inspect the actual walls of these confined spaces that saved the lives of our ancestors, how vividly we can realise the hardships they must have endured; and in wondering at the mingled ingenuity and simplicity of construction, there is also a certain amount of comfort to be derived from drawing a comparison between those troublous and our own more peaceful times. secret chambers and hiding-places chapter i a great deviser of "priest's holes" during the deadly feuds which existed in the middle ages, when no man was secure from spies and traitors even within the walls of his own house, it is no matter of wonder that the castles and mansions of the powerful and wealthy were usually provided with some precaution in the event of a sudden surprise--_viz._ a secret means of concealment or escape that could be used at a moment's notice; but the majority of secret chambers and hiding-places in our ancient buildings owe their origin to religious persecution, particularly during the reign of elizabeth, when the most stringent laws and oppressive burdens were inflicted upon all persons who professed the tenets of the church of rome. in the first years of the virgin queen's reign all who clung to the older forms of the catholic faith were mercifully connived at, so long as they solemnised their own religious rites within their private dwelling-houses; but after the roman catholic rising in the north and numerous other popish plots, the utmost severity of the law was enforced, particularly against seminarists, whose chief object was, as was generally believed, to stir up their disciples in england against the protestant queen. an act was passed prohibiting a member of the church of rome from celebrating the rites of his religion on pain of forfeiture for the first offence, a year's imprisonment for the second, and imprisonment for life for the third.[ ] all those who refused to take the oath of supremacy were called "recusants" and were guilty of high treason. a law was also enacted which provided that if any papist should convert a protestant to the church of rome, both should suffer death, as for high treason. [footnote : in december, , a priest was hanged before the door of a house in gray's inn fields for having there said mass the month previously.] the sanguinary laws against seminary priests and "recusants" were enforced with the greatest severity after the discovery of the gunpowder plot. these were revived for a period in charles ii.'s reign, when oates's plot worked up a fanatical hatred against all professors of the ancient faith. in the mansions of the old roman catholic families we often find an apartment in a secluded part of the house or garret in the roof named "the chapel," where religious rites could be performed with the utmost privacy, and close handy was usually an artfully contrived hiding-place, not only for the officiating priest to slip into in case of emergency, but also where the vestments, sacred vessels, and altar furniture could be put away at a moment's notice. it appears from the writings of father tanner[ ] that most of the hiding-places for priests, usually called "priests' holes," were invented and constructed by the jesuit nicholas owen, a servant of father garnet, who devoted the greater part of his life to constructing these places in the principal roman catholic houses all over england. [footnote : _vita et mors_ ( ), p. .] "with incomparable skill," says an authority, "he knew how to conduct priests to a place of safety along subterranean passages, to hide them between walls and bury them in impenetrable recesses, and to entangle them in labyrinths and a thousand windings. but what was much more difficult of accomplishment, he so disguised the entrances to these as to make them most unlike what they really were. moreover, he kept these places so close a secret with himself that he would never disclose to another the place of concealment of any catholic. he alone was both their architect and their builder, working at them with inexhaustible industry and labour, for generally the thickest walls had to be broken into and large stones excavated, requiring stronger arms than were attached to a body so diminutive as to give him the nickname of 'little john,' and by this his skill many priests were preserved from the prey of persecutors. nor is it easy to find anyone who had not often been indebted for his life to owen's hiding-places." how effectually "little john's" peculiar ingenuity baffled the exhaustive searches of the "pursuivants," or priest-hunters, has been shown by contemporary accounts of the searches that took place frequently in suspected houses. father gerard, in his autobiography, has handed down to us many curious details of the mode of procedure upon these occasions--how the search-party would bring with them skilled carpenters and masons and try every possible expedient, from systematic measurements and soundings to bodily tearing down the panelling and pulling up the floors. it was not an uncommon thing for a rigid search to last a fortnight and for the "pursuivants" to go away empty handed, while perhaps the object of the search was hidden the whole time within a wall's thickness of his pursuers, half starved, cramped and sore with prolonged confinement, and almost afraid to breathe, lest the least sound should throw suspicion upon the particular spot where he lay immured. after the discovery of the gunpowder plot, "little john" and his master, father garnet, were arrested at hindlip hall, worcestershire, from information given to the government by catesby's servant bates. cecil, who was well aware of owen's skill in constructing hiding-places, wrote exultingly: "great joy was caused all through the kingdom by the arrest of owen, knowing his skill in constructing hiding-places, and the innumerable number of these dark holes which he had schemed for hiding priests throughout the kingdom." he hoped that "great booty of priests" might be taken in consequence of the secrets owen would be made to reveal, and directed that first he should "be coaxed if he be willing to contract for his life," but that "the secret is to be wrung from him." the horrors of the rack, however, failed in its purpose. his terrible death is thus briefly recorded by the governor of the tower at that time: "the man is dead--he died in our hands"; and perhaps it is as well the ghastly details did not transpire in his report. the curious old mansion hindlip hall (pulled down in the early part of the last century) was erected in by john abingdon, or habington, whose son thomas (the brother-in-law of lord monteagle) was deeply involved in the numerous plots against the reformed religion. a long imprisonment in the tower for his futile efforts to set mary queen of scots at liberty, far from curing the dangerous schemes of this zealous partisan of the luckless stuart heroine, only kept him out of mischief for a time. no sooner had he obtained his freedom than he set his mind to work to turn his house in worcestershire into a harbour of refuge for the followers of the older rites. in the quaint irregularities of the masonry free scope was given to "little john's" ingenuity; indeed, there is every proof that some of his masterpieces were constructed here. a few years before the "powder plot" was discovered, it was a hanging matter for a priest to be caught celebrating the mass. yet with the facilities at hindlip he might do so with comfort, with every assurance that he had the means of evading the law. the walls of the mansion were literally riddled with secret chambers and passages. there was little fear of being run to earth with hidden exits everywhere. wainscoting, solid brickwork, or stone hearth were equally accommodating, and would swallow up fugitives wholesale, and close over them, to "open, sesame!" again only at the hider's pleasure. chapter ii hindlip hall the capture of father garnet and "little john" with two others, hall and chambers, at hindlip, as detailed in a curious manuscript in the british museum, gives us an insight into the search-proof merits of abingdon's mansion. the document is headed: "_a true discovery of the service performed at hindlip, the house of mr. thomas abbingdon, for the apprehension of mr. henry garnet, alias wolley, provincial of the jesuits, and other dangerous persons, there found in january last,_ ," and runs on:-- "after the king's royal promise of bountiful reward to such as would apprehend the traitors concerned in the powder conspiracy, and much expectation of subject-like duty, but no return made thereof in so important a matter, a warrant was directed to the right worthy and worshipful knight, sir henry bromlie; and the proclamation delivered therewith, describing the features and shapes of the men, for the better discovering them. he, not neglecting so a weighty a business, horsing himself with a seemly troop of his own attendants, and calling to his assistance so many as in discretion was thought meet, having likewise in his company sir edward bromlie, on monday, jan. last, by break of day, did engirt and round beat the house of mayster thomas abbingdon, at hindlip, near worcester. mr. abbingdon, not being then at home, but ridden abroad about some occasions best known to himself; the house being goodlie, and of great receipt, it required the more diligent labour and pains in the searching. it appeared there was no want; and mr. abbingdon himself coming home that night, the commission and proclamation being shown unto him, he denied any such men to be in his house, and voluntarily to die at his own gate, if any such were to be found in his house, or in that shire. but this liberal or rather rash speech could not cause the search so slightly to be given over; the cause enforced more respect than words of that or any such like nature; and proceeding on according to the trust reposed in him in the gallery over the gate there were found two cunning and very artificial conveyances in the main brick-wall, so ingeniously framed, and with such art, as it cost much labour ere they could be found. three other secret places, contrived by no less skill and industry, were found in and about the chimneys, in one whereof two of the traitors were close concealed. these chimney-conveyances being so strangely formed, having the entrances into them so curiously covered over with brick, mortared and made fast to planks of wood, and coloured black, like the other parts of the chimney, that very diligent inquisition might well have passed by, without throwing the least suspicion upon such unsuspicious places. and whereas divers funnels are usually made to chimneys according as they are combined together, and serve for necessary use in several rooms, so here were some that exceeded common expectation, seeming outwardly fit for carrying forth smoke; but being further examined and seen into, their service was to no such purpose but only to lend air and light downward into the concealments, where such as were concealed in them, at any time should be hidden. eleven secret corners and conveyances were found in the said house, all of them having books, massing stuff, and popish trumpery in them, only two excepted, which appeared to have been found on former searches, and therefore had now the less credit given to them; but mayster abbingdon would take no knowledge of any of these places, nor that the books, or massing stuff, were any of his, until at length the deeds of his lands being found in one of them, whose custody doubtless he would not commit to any place of neglect, or where he should have no intelligence of them, whereto he could [not] then devise any sufficient excuse. [illustration: hindlip hall, worcestershire] three days had been wholly spent, and no man found there all this while; but upon the fourth day, in the morning, from behind the wainscot in the galleries, came forth two men of their own voluntary accord, as being no longer able there to conceal themselves; for they confessed that they had but one apple between them, which was all the sustenance they had received during the time they were thus hidden. one of them was named owen, who afterwards murdered himself in the tower; and the other chambers; but they would take no other knowledge of any other men's being in the house. on the eighth day the before-mentioned place in the chimney was found, according as they had all been at several times, one after another, though before set down together, for expressing the just number of them. "forth of this secret and most cunning conveyance came henry garnet, the jesuit, sought for, and another with him, named hall; marmalade and other sweetmeats were found there lying by them; but their better maintenance had been by a quill or reed, through a little hole in the chimney that backed another chimney into the gentlewoman's chamber; and by that passage candles, broths, and warm drinks had been conveyed in unto them. "now in regard the place was in so close... and did much annoy them that made entrance in upon them, to whom they confessed that they had not been able to hold out one whole day longer, but either they must have squeeled, or perished in the place. the whole service endured the space of eleven nights and twelve days, and no more persons being there found, in company with mayster abbingdon himself, garnet, hill [hall], owen, and chambers, were brought up to london to understand further of his highness's pleasure." that the government had good grounds for suspecting hindlip and its numerous hiding-places may be gathered from the official instructions the worcestershire justice of the peace and his search-party had to follow. the wainscoting in the east part of the parlour and in the dining-room, being suspected of screening "a vault" or passage, was to be removed, the walls and floors were to be pierced in all directions, comparative measurements were to be taken between the upper and the lower rooms, and in particular the chimneys, and the roof had to be minutely examined and measurements taken, which might bring to light some unaccounted-for space that had been turned to good account by the unfortunate inventor, who was eventually starved out of one of his clever contrivances. only shortly before owen had had a very narrow escape at stoke poges while engaged in constructing "priests' holes" at the manor house. the secluded position of this building adapted it for the purpose for which a roman catholic zealot had taken it. but this was not the only advantage. the walls were of vast thickness and offered every facility for turning them to account. while "little john" was busily engaged burrowing into the masonry the dreaded "pursuivants" arrived; but somehow or other he slipped between their fingers and got away under cover of the surrounding woods. the wing of this old mansion which has survived to see the twentieth century witnessed many strange events. it has welcomed good queen bess, guarded the martyr king, and refused admittance to dutch william. a couple of centuries after it had sheltered hunted jesuits, a descendant of william penn became possessed of it, and cleared away many of the massive walls, in some of which--who can tell?--were locked up secrets that the rack failed to reveal--secrets by which owen "murdered himself" in the tower! one of the hiding-places at hindlip, it will be remembered, could be supplied with broth, wine, or any liquid nourishment through a small aperture in the wall of the adjoining room. a very good example of such an arrangement may still be seen at irnham hall, in lincolnshire.[ ] a large hiding-place could thus be accommodated, but detection of the narrow iron tube by which the imprisoned fugitive could be kept alive was practically impossible. a solid oak beam, forming a step between two bedrooms, concealed a panel into which the tube was cunningly fitted and the step was so arranged that it could be removed and replaced with the greatest ease.[ ] [footnote : the fire which destroyed a wing of irnham hall a few years ago fortunately did not touch that part of the building containing a hiding-place.] [footnote : harvington hall, mentioned hereafter, has a contrivance of this kind.] the hiding-place at irnham (which measures eight feet by five, and about five feet six inches in height) was discovered by a tell-tale chimney that was not in the least blackened by soot or smoke. this originally gave the clue to the secret, and when the shaft of the chimney was examined, it was found to lead direct to the priest's hole, to which it afforded air and light. had not the particular hiding-place in which garnet and his companions sought shelter been discovered, they could well have held out the twelve days' search. as a rule, a small stock of provisions was kept in these places, as the visits of the search parties were necessarily very sudden and unexpected. the way down into these hidden quarters was from the floor above, through the hearth of a fireplace, which could be raised an lowered like a trap-door.[ ] [footnote : see fowlis's _romish treasons._] in a letter from garnet to ann vaux, preserved in the record office, he thus describes his precarious situation: "after we had been in the hoale seven days and seven nights and some odd hours, every man may well think we were well wearyed, and indeed so it was, for we generally satte, save that some times we could half stretch ourselves, the place not being high eno', and we had our legges so straitened that we could not, sitting, find place for them, so that we both were in continuous paine of our legges, and both our legges, especially mine, were much swollen. we were very merry and content within, and heard the searchers every day most curious over us, which made me indeed think the place would be found. when we came forth we appeared like ghosts."[ ] [footnote : _state papers_, domestic (james i.).] there is an old timber-framed cottage near the modern mansion of hindlip which is said to have had its share in sheltering the plotters. a room is pointed out where digby and catesby concealed themselves, and from one of the chimneys at some time or another a priest was captured and led to execution. chapter iii priest-hunting at braddocks in the parish of wimbish, about six miles from saffron walden, stand the remains of a fine old tudor house named broad oaks, or braddocks, which in elizabeth's reign was a noted house for priest-hunting. wandering through its ancient rooms, the imagination readily carries us back to the drama enacted here three centuries ago with a vividness as if the events recorded had happened yesterday. "the chapel" and priests' holes may still be seen, and a fine old stone fireplace that was stripped of its overmantel, etc., of carved oak by the "pursuivants" in their vain efforts when father gerard was concealed in the house. [illustration: braddocks, essex] [illustration: fireplace at braddocks] the old essex family of wiseman of braddocks were staunch romanists, and their home, being a noted resort for priests, received from time to time sudden visits. the dreaded topcliffe had upon one occasion nearly brought the head of the family, an aged widow lady, to the horrors of the press-yard, but her punishment eventually took the form of imprisonment. searches at braddocks had brought forth hiding-places, priests, compromising papers, and armour and weapons. let us see with what success the house was explored in the easter of the year . gerard gives his exciting experiences as follows[ ]:-- [footnote : see autobiography of father john gerard.] "the searchers broke down the door, and forcing their way in, spread through the house with great noise and racket. "their first step was to lock up the mistress of the house[ ] in her own room with her two daughters, and the catholic servants they kept locked up in divers places in the same part of the house. [footnote : jane wiseman, wife of william wiseman. n.b.--the late cardinal wiseman was descended from a junior branch of this family. see life of father john gerard, by john morris.] "they then took to themselves the whole house, which was of a good size, and made a thorough search in every part, not forgetting even to look under the tiles of the roof. the darkest corners they examined with the help of candles. finding nothing whatever they began to break down certain places that they suspected. they measured the walls with long rods, so that if they did not tally they might pierce the part not accounted for. then they sounded the walls and all the floors to find out and break into any hollow places there might be. "they spent two days in this work without finding anything. thinking therefore that i had gone on easter sunday, the two magistrates went away on the second day, leaving the pursuivants to take the mistress of the house and all her catholic servants of both sexes to london to be examined and imprisoned. they meant to leave some who were not catholics to keep the house, the traitor (one of the servants of the house) being one of them. "the good lady was pleased at this, for she hoped that he would be the means of freeing me and rescuing me from death; for she knew that i had made up my mind to suffer and die of starvation between two walls, rather than come forth and save my own life at the expense of others. "in fact, during those four days that i lay hid i had nothing to eat but a biscuit or two and a little quince jelly, which my hostess had at hand and gave me as i was going in. "she did not look for any more, as she supposed that the search would not last beyond a day. but now that two days were gone and she was to be carried off on the third with all her trusty servants, she began to be afraid of my dying of sheer hunger. she bethought herself then of the traitor who she heard was to be left behind. he had made a great fuss and show of eagerness in withstanding the searchers when they first forced their way in. for all that she would not have let him know of the hiding-places, had she not been in such straits. thinking it better, however, to rescue me from certain death, even at some risk to herself, she charged him, when she was taken away and everyone had gone, to go into a certain room, call me by my wonted name, and tell me that the others had been taken to prison, but that he was left to deliver me. i would then answer, she said, from behind the lath and plaster where i lay concealed. the traitor promised to obey faithfully; but he was faithful only to the faithless, for he unfolded the whole matter to the ruffians who had remained behind. "no sooner had they heard it than they called back the magistrates who had departed. these returned early in the morning and renewed the search. "they measured and sounded everywhere much more carefully than before, especially in the chamber above mentioned, in order to find out some hollow place. but finding nothing whatever during the whole of the third day, they proposed on the morrow to strip off the wainscot of that room. "meanwhile, they set guards in all the rooms about to watch all night, lest i should escape. i heard from my hiding-place the password which the captain of the band gave to his soldiers, and i might have got off by using it, were it not that they would have seen me issuing from my retreat, for there were two on guard in the chapel where i got into my hiding-place, and several also in the large wainscoted room which had been pointed out to them. "but mark the wonderful providence of god. here was i in my hiding-place. the way i got into it was by taking up the floor, made of wood and bricks, under the fireplace. the place was so constructed that a fire could not be lit in it without damaging the house; though we made a point of keeping wood there, as if it were meant for a fire. "well, the men on the night watch lit a fire in this very grate and began chatting together close to it. soon the bricks which had not bricks but wood underneath them got loose, and nearly fell out of their places as the wood gave way. on noticing this and probing the place with a stick, they found that the bottom was made of wood, whereupon they remarked that this was something curious. i thought that they were going there and then to break open the place and enter, but they made up their minds at last to put off further examination till next day. "next morning, therefore, they renewed the search most carefully, everywhere except in the top chamber which served as a chapel, and in which the two watchmen had made a fire over my head and had noticed the strange make of the grate. god had blotted out of their memory all remembrance of the thing. nay, none of the searchers entered the place the whole day, though it was the one that was most open to suspicion, and if they had entered, they would have found me without any search; rather, i should say, they would have seen me, for the fire had burnt a great hole in my hiding-place, and had i not got a little out of the way, the hot embers would have fallen on me. "the searchers, forgetting or not caring about this room, busied themselves in ransacking the rooms below, in one of which i was said to be. in fact, they found the other hiding-place which i thought of going into, as i mentioned before. it was not far off, so i could hear their shouts of joy when they first found it. but after joy comes grief; and so it was with them. the only thing that they found was a goodly store of provision laid up. hence they may have thought that this was the place that the mistress of the house meant; in fact, an answer might have been given from it to the call of a person in the room mentioned by her. "they stuck to their purpose, however, of stripping off all the wainscot of the other large room. so they set a man to work near the ceiling, close to the place where i was: for the lower part of the walls was covered with tapestry, not with wainscot. so they stripped off the wainscot all round till they came again to the very place where i lay, and there they lost heart and gave up the search. "my hiding-place was in a thick wall of the chimney behind a finely inlaid and carved mantelpiece. they could not well take the carving down without risk of breaking it. broken, however, it would have been, and that into a thousand pieces, had they any conception that i could be concealed behind it. but knowing that there were two flues, they did not think that there could be room enough there for a man. "nay, before this, on the second day of the search, they had gone into the room above, and tried the fireplace through which i had got into my hole. they then got into the chimney by a ladder to sound with their hammers. one said to another in my hearing, 'might there not be a place here for a person to get down into the wall of the chimney below by lifting up this hearth?' 'no,' answered one of the pursuivants, whose voice i knew, 'you could not get down that way into the chimney underneath, but there might easily be an entrance at the back of this chimney.' so saying he gave the place a knock. i was afraid that he would hear the hollow sound of the hole where i was. "seeing that their toil availed them nought, they thought that i had escaped somehow, and so they went away at the end of the four days, leaving the mistress and her servants free. the yet unbetrayed traitor stayed after the searchers were gone. as soon as the doors of the house were made fast, the mistress came to call me, another four days buried lazarus, from what would have been my tomb, had the search continued a little longer. for i was all wasted and weakened as well with hunger as with want of sleep and with having to sit so long in such a narrow space. after coming out i was seen by the traitor, whose treachery was still unknown to us. he did nothing then, not even to send after the searchers, as he knew that i meant to be off before they could be recalled." the wisemans had another house at north end, a few miles to the south-east of dunmow. here were also "priests' holes," one of which (in a chimney) secreted a certain father brewster during a rigid search in december, .[ ] [footnote : _state papers_, dom. (eliz.), december, . see also life of father john gerard, p. .] great harrowden, near wellingborough, the ancient seat of the vaux family, was another notorious sanctuary for persecuted recusants. gerard spent much of his time here in apartments specially constructed for his use, and upon more than one occasion had to have recourse to the hiding-places. some four or five years after his experiences at braddocks he narrowly escaped his pursuers in this way; and in , when the "pursuivants" were scouring the country for him, as he was supposed to be privy to the gunpowder plot, he owed his life to a secret chamber at harrowden. the search-party remained for nine days. night and day men were posted round the house, and every approach was guarded within a radius of three miles. with the hope of getting rid of her unwelcome guests, lady vaux revealed one of the "priests' holes" to prove there was nothing in her house beyond a few prohibited books; but this did not have the desired effect, so the unfortunate inmate of the hiding-place had to continue in a cramped position, there being no room to stand up, for four or five days more. his hostess, however, managed to bring him food, and moments were seized during the latter days of the search to get him out that he might warm his benumbed limbs by a fire. while these things were going on at harrowden, another priest, little thinking into whose hands the well-known sanctuary had fallen, came thither to seek shelter; but was seized and carried to an inn, whence it was intended he should be removed to london on the following day. but he managed to outwit his captors. to evade suspicion he threw off his cloak and sword, and under a pretext of giving his horse drink at a stream close by the stable, seized a lucky moment, mounted, and dashed into the water, swam across, and galloped off to the nearest house that could offer the convenience of a hiding-place.[ ] [footnote : see life of john gerard, p. .] at hackney the vaux family had another, residence with its chapel and "priest's hole," the latter having a masked entrance high up in the wall, which led to a space under a gable projection of the roof. for double security this contained yet an inner hiding-place. in the existing brooke house are incorporated the modernised remains of this mansion. chapter iv the gunpowder plot conspirators lord vaux of harrowden, sir william catesby of ashby st. ledgers, and sir thomas tresham of rushton hall (all in northamptonshire) were upon more than one occasion arraigned before the court of the star chamber for harbouring jesuits. the old mansions ashby st. ledgers and rushton fortunately still remain intact and preserve many traditions of romanist plots. sir william catesby's son robert, the chief conspirator, is said to have held secret meetings in the curious oak-panelled room over the gate-house of the former, which goes by the name of "the plot room." once upon a time it was provided with a secret means of escape. at rushton hall a hiding-place was discovered in behind a lintel over a doorway; it was full of bundles of manuscripts, prohibited books, and incriminating correspondence of the conspirator tresham. another place of concealment was situated in the chimney of the great hall and in this father oldcorn was hidden for a time. gayhurst, or gothurst, in buckinghamshire, the seat of sir everard digby, also remains intact, one of the finest late tudor buildings in the country; unfortunately, however, only recently a remarkable "priest's hole" that was here has been destroyed in consequence of modern improvements. it was a double hiding-place, one situated beneath the other; the lower one being so arranged as to receive light and air from the bottom portion of a large mullioned window--a most ingenious device. a secret passage in the hall had communication with it, and entrance was obtained through part of the flooring of an apartment, the movable part of the boards revolving upon pivots and sufficiently solid to vanquish any suspicion as to a hollow space beneath. [illustration: ashby st. ledgers, northamptonshire] [illustration: the plot room, ashby st. legers] as may be supposed, tradition says that at the time of digby's arrest he was dragged forth from this hole, but history shows that he was taken prisoner at holbeach house (where, it will be remembered, the conspirators catesby and percy were shot), and led to execution. for a time digby sought security at coughton court, the seat of the throckmortons, in warwickshire. the house of this old roman catholic family, of course, had its hiding-holes, one of which remains to this day. holbeach as well as hagley hall, the homes of the litteltons, have been rebuilt. the latter was pulled down in the middle of the eighteenth century. here it was that stephen littleton and robert winter were captured through the treachery of the cook. grant's house, norbrook, in warwickshire, has also given way to a modern one. ambrose rookwood's seat, coldham hall, near bury st. edmunds, exists and retains its secret chapel and hiding-places. there are three of the latter; one of them, now a small withdrawing-room, is entered from the oak wainscoted hall. when the house was in the market a few years ago, the "priests' holes" duly figured in the advertisements with the rest of the apartments and offices. it read a little odd, this juxtaposition of modern conveniences with what is essentially romantic, and we simply mention the fact to show that the auctioneer is well aware of the monetary value of such things. at the time of the gunpowder conspiracy rookwood rented clopton hall, near stratford-on-avon. this house also has its little chapel in the roof with adjacent "priests' holes," but many alterations have taken place from time to time. who does not remember william howitt's delightful description--or, to be correct, the description of a lady correspondent--of the old mansion before these restorations. "there was the old catholic chapel," she wrote, "with a chaplain's room which had been walled up and forgotten till within the last few years. i went in on my hands and knees, for the entrance was very low. i recollect little in the chapel; but in the chaplain's room were old and i should think rare editions of many books, mostly folios. a large yellow paper copy of dryden's _all for love, or the world well lost_, date , caught my eye, and is the only one i particularly remember."[ ] [footnote : howitt's _visits to remarkable places_.] huddington court, the picturesque old home of the winters (of whom robert and thomas lost their lives for their share in the plot), stands a few miles from droitwich. a considerable quantity of arms and ammunition were stored in the hiding-places here in in readiness for general rising. [illustration: huddington court, worcestershire] [illustration: entrance porch, huddington court] two other houses may be mentioned in connection with the memorable plot--houses that were rented by the conspirators as convenient places of rendezvous an account of their hiding-places and masked exits for escape. one of them stood in the vicinity of the strand, in the fields behind st. clement's inn. father gerard had taken it some time previous to the discovery of the plot, and with owen's aid some very secure hiding-places were arranged. this he had done with two or three other london residences, so that he and his brother priests might use them upon hazardous occasions; and to one of these he owed his life when the hue and cry after him was at its highest pitch. by removing from one to the other they avoided detection, though they had many narrow escapes. one priest was celebrating mass when the lord mayor and constables suddenly burst in. but the surprise party was disappointed: nothing could be detected beyond the smoke of the extinguished candles; and in addition to the hole where the fugitive crouched there were two other secret chambers, neither of which was discovered. on another occasion a priest was left shut up in a wall; his friends were taken prisoners, and he was in danger of starvation, until at length he was rescued from his perilous position, carried to one of the other houses, and again immured in the vault or chimney. the other house was "white webb's," on the confines of enfield chase. in the record office there is a document describing how, many popish books and relics were discovered when the latter was searched. the building was full of trap-doors and secret passages. some vestiges of the out-buildings of "white webb's" may still be seen in a quaint little inn called "the king and tinker." but of all the narrow escapes perhaps father blount's experiences at scotney castle were the most thrilling. this old house of the darrells, situated on the border of kent and sussex, like hindlip and braddocks and most of the residences of the roman catholic gentry, contained the usual lurking-places for priests. the structure as it now stands is in the main modern, having undergone from time to time considerable alterations. a vivid account of blount's hazardous escape here is preserved among the muniments at stonyhurst--a transcript of the original formerly at st. omers. one christmas night towards the close of elizabeth's reign the castle was seized by a party of priest-hunters, who, with their usual mode of procedure, locked up the members of the family securely before starting on their operations. in the inner quadrangle of the mansion was a very remarkable and ingenious device. a large stone of the solid wall could be pushed aside. though of immense weight, it was so nicely balanced and adjusted that it required only a slight pressure upon one side to effect an entrance to the hiding-place within. those who have visited the grounds at chatsworth may remember a huge piece of solid rock which can be swung round in the same easy manner. upon the approach of the enemy, father blount and his servant hastened to the courtyard and entered the vault; but in their hurry to close the weighty door a small portion of one of their girdles got jammed in, so that a part was visible from the outside. fortunately for the fugitives, someone in the secret, in passing the spot, happened to catch sight of this tell-tale fragment and immediately cut it off; but as a particle still showed, they called gently to those within to endeavour to pull it in, which they eventually succeeded in doing. at this moment the pursuivants were at work in another part of the castle, but hearing the voice in the courtyard, rushed into it and commenced battering the walls, and at times upon the very door of the hiding-place, which would have given way had not those within put their combined weight against it to keep it from yielding. it was a pitchy dark night, and it was pelting with rain, so after a time, discouraged at finding nothing and wet to the skin, the soldiers put off further search until the following morning, and proceeded to dry and refresh themselves by the fire in the great hall. when all was at rest, father blount and his man, not caring to risk another day's hunting, cautiously crept forth bare-footed, and after managing to scale some high walls, dropt into the moat and swam across. and it was as well for them that they decided to quit their hiding-hole, for next morning it was discovered. the fugitives found temporary security at another recusant house a few miles from scotney, possibly the old half-timber house of twissenden, where a secret chapel and adjacent "priests' holes" are still pointed out. the original manuscript account of the search at scotney was written by one of the darrell family, who was in the castle at the time of the events recorded.[ ] [footnote : see morris's _troubles of our catholic forefathers._] chapter v harvington, ufton, and ingatestone we will now go in search of some of the most curious hiding-places in existence. there are numerous known examples all over the country, and perhaps as many again exist, which will preserve their secret for ever. for more than three hundred years they have remained buried, and unless some accident reveals their locked-up mysteries, they will crumble away with the walls which contain them; unless, indeed, fire, the doom of so many of our ancestral halls, reduces them to ashes and swallows up the weird stories they might have told. in many cases not until an ancient building is pulled down are such strange discoveries made; but, alas! there are as many instances where structural alterations have wantonly destroyed these interesting historical landmarks. [illustration: entrance to "priest's hole," harvington hall] [illustration: harvington hall, worcestershire] unaccounted-for spaces, when detected, are readily utilised. passages are bodily run through the heart of many a secret device, with little veneration for the mechanical ingenuity that has been displayed in their construction. the builder of to-day, as a rule, knows nothing of and cares less, for such things, and so they are swept away without a thought. to such vandals we can only emphasise the remarks we have already made about the market value of a "priest-hole" nowadays. a little to the right of the kidderminster road, and about two miles from the pretty village of chaddesley corbet, with its old timber houses and inn, stands the ghostly old hall of harvington. the ancient red-brick pile rises out of its reed-grown moat with that air of mystery which age and seeming neglect only can impart. coming upon it unexpectedly, especially towards dusk, one is struck with the strange, dignified melancholy pervading it. surely hood's _haunted house_ or poe's _house of usher_ stands before us, and we cannot get away from the impression that a mystery is wrapped within its walls. harvington hall dates from the reign of henry viii., but it has undergone various changes, so it is difficult to affix any particular period or style to its architecture; indeed, it is this medley of different styles which forms such a poetically picturesque outline. in its day harvington could doubtless hold its own with the finest mansions in the country, but now it is forgotten, deserted, and crumbling to pieces. its very history appears to be lost to the world, as those who go to the county histories and general topographical works for information will find. inside the mansion, like the exterior, the hand of decay is perceptible on every side; the rooms are ruined, the windows broken, the floors unsafe (excepting, by the way, a small portion of the building which is habitable). a ponderous broad oak staircase leads to a dismantled state-room, shorn of the principal part of its panelling, carving, and chimney-pieces.[ ] other desolate apartments retain their names as if in mockery; "the drawing-room," "the chapel," "lady yates's nursery," and so forth. at the top of the staircase, however, we must look around carefully, for beneath the stairs is a remarkable hiding-place. [footnote : most of the interior fittings were removed to coughton court, warwickshire.] with a slight stretch of the imagination we can see an indistinct form stealthily remove the floorboard of one of the stairs and creep beneath it. this particular step of a short flight running from the landing into a garret is, upon closer inspection, indeed movable, and beneath gapes a dark cavity about five feet square, on the floor of which still remains the piece of sedge matting whereon a certain father wall rested his aching limbs a few days prior to his capture and execution in august, . the unfortunate man was taken at rushock court, a few miles away where he was traced after leaving harvington. there is a communication between the hiding-place and "the banqueting-room" through, a small concealed aperture in the wainscoting large enough to admit of a tube, through which a straw could be thrust for the unhappy occupant to suck up any liquid his friends might be able to supply. in a gloomy corridor leading from the tower to "the reception-room" is another "priest's hole" beneath the floor, and entered by a trap-door artfully hidden in the boards; this black recess is some seven feet in depth, and can be made secure from within. supposing the searchers had tracked a fugitive priest as far as this corridor, the odds are in favour that they would have passed over his head in their haste to reach the tower, where they would make sure, in their own minds at least, of discovering him. again, here there is a communication with the outside world. an oblong aperture in the top oak beam of the entrance gateway to the house, measuring about four inches across, is the secret opening--small enough to escape the most inquisitive eye, yet large enough to allow of a written note to pass between the captive and those upon the alert watching his interests.[ ] [footnote : n.b.--in addition to the above hiding-places at harvington, one was discovered so recently as ; at least, so we have been informed. this was some years after our visit to the old hall.] a subterranean passage is said to run under the moat from a former hiding-place, but this is doubtful; at any rate, there are no evidences of it nowadays. [illustration: ufton court, berkshire] [illustration: garden terrace, ufton court] altogether, harvington is far from cheerful, even to a pond hard by called "gallows pool"! the tragic legend associated with this is beyond the province of the present work, so we will bid adieu to this weird old hall, and turn our attention to another obscure house situated in the south-east corner of berkshire. the curious, many-gabled mansion ufton court both from its secluded situation and quaint internal construction, appears to have been peculiarly suitable for the secretion of persecuted priests. here are ample means for concealment and escape into the surrounding woods; and so carefully have the ingenious bolts and locks of the various hiding-places been preserved, that one would almost imagine that there was still actual necessity for their use in these matter-of-fact days! a remarkable place for concealment exists in one of the gables close to the ceiling. it is triangular in shape, and is opened by a spring-bolt that can be unlatched by pulling a string which runs through a tiny hole pierced in the framework of the door of the adjoining room. the door of the hiding-place swings upon a pivot, and externally is thickly covered with plaster, so as to resemble the rest of the wall, and is so solid that when sounded there is no hollow sound from the cavity behind, where, no doubt the crucifix and sacred vessels were secreted. [illustration: hiding-place, ufton court] [illustration: hiding place, ufton court] not far off, in an upper garret, is a hiding-place in the thickness of the wall, large enough to contain a man standing upright. like the other, the door, or entrance, forms part of the plaster wall, intersected by thick oak beams, into which it exactly fits, disguising any appearance of an opening. again, in one of the passages of this curious old mansion are further evidences of the hardships to which romish priests were subjected--a trap in the floor, which can only be opened by pulling up what exteriorly appears to be the head of one of the nails of the flooring; by raising this a spring is released and a trap-door opened, revealing a large hole with a narrow ladder leading down into it. when this hiding-place was discovered in , its contents were significant--_viz._ a crucifix and two ancient petronels. apartments known as "the chapel" and "the priest's vestry" are still pointed out. the walls throughout the house appear to be intersected with passages and masked spaces, and old residents claim to have worked their way by these means right through from the garrets to the basement, though now the several hiding-places do not communicate one with another. there are said to be no less than twelve places of concealment in various parts of the building. a shaft in the cellar is supposed to be one of the means of exit from "the dining-room," and at the back of the house a subterranean passage may still be traced a considerable distance under the terrace. [illustration: ingatestone hall, essex] [illustration: ingatestone hall] an interesting discovery was made some years ago at ingatestone hall, essex, the ancient seat of the petres. the late rev. canon last, who had resided there as private chaplain for over sixty years, described to us the incidents of this curious "find," to which he was an eye-witness. some of the floor-boards in the south-east corner of a small ante-room adjoining what was once "the host's bedroom," facing the south front, broke away, rotten with age, while some children were playing there. these being removed, a second layer of boards was brought to light within a foot of the old flooring, and in this a trap-door was found which, when opened, discovered a large "priest's hole," measuring fourteen feet long, ten feet high, and two feet wide. a twelve-step ladder led down into it, and the floor being on a level with the basement of the house was covered with a layer of dry sand to the depth of nearly a foot, so as to absorb any moisture from the ground.[ ] in the sand a few bones of a bird were found, possibly the remains of food supplied to some unfortunate priest. those who climb down into this hole will find much that is interesting to repay them their trouble. from the wall projects a candle-holder, rudely modelled out of clay. an examination of the brick-work in the interior of the "priest's hole" proves it to be of later construction than the rest of the house (which dates from the early part of the sixteenth century), so in all likelihood "little john" was the manufacturer. [footnote : at moorcroft house, near hillingdon, middlesex, now modernised and occupied as a private lunatic asylum, ten priests were once concealed for four days in a hiding-place, the floor of which was covered some inches in water. this was one of the many comforts of a "priest's hole"!] standing in the same position as when first opened, and supported by two blocks of oak, is an old chest or packing-case made of yew, covered with leather, and bound with bands of iron, wherein formerly the vestments, utensils, etc., for the mass were kept. upon it, in faded and antiquated writing, was the following direction: "for the right hon. the lady petre at ingatestone hall, in essex." the petres had quitted the old mansion as a residence for considerably over a century when the discovery was made. [illustration: priest's hole, sawston hall] chapter vi compton winyates, salford prior, sawston, oxburgh, parham, paxhill, etc. of all the ancient mansions in the united kingdom, and there is still, happily, a large selection, none perhaps is so picturesque and quaintly original in its architecture as the secluded warwickshire house compton winyates. the general impression of its vast complication of gable ends and twisted chimneys is that some enchanted palace has found its way out of one of the fairy-tale books of our early youth and concealed itself deep down in a sequestered hollow among the woods and hills. we say concealed itself, for indeed it is no easy matter to find it, for anything in the shape of a road seems rather to lead _away from_, than _to_ it; indeed, there is no direct road from anywhere, and if we are fortunate enough to alight upon a footpath, that also in a very short time fades away into oblivion! so solitary also is the valley in which the mansion lies and so shut in with thick clustering trees, that one unacquainted with the locality might pass within fifty yards of it over and over again without observing a trace of it. when, however, we do discover the beautiful old structure, we are well repaid for what trouble we may have encountered. to locate the spot within a couple of miles, we may state that brailes is its nearest village; the nearest town is banbury, some nine miles away to the east. perhaps if we were to analyse the peculiar charm this venerable pile conveys, we should find that it is the wonderful _colour_, the harmonies of greys and greens and reds which pervade its countless chimney clusters and curious step-gables. we will be content, however, with the fascinating results, no matter how accomplished, without inquiring into the why and wherefore; and pondering over the possibilities of the marvellous in such a building see, if the interior can carry out such a supposition. [illustration: scotney hall, sussex] [illustration: compton winyates, warwickshire] wending our way to the top of the house, past countless old-world rooms and corridors, we soon discover evidences of the days of priest-hunting. a "protestant" chapel is on the ground floor (with a grotesquely carved screen of great beauty), but up in the roof we discover another--a "popish" chapel. from this there are numerous ways of escape, by staircases and passages leading in all directions, for even in the almost impenetrable seclusion of this house the profoundest secrecy was necessary for those who wished to celebrate the rites of the forbidden religion. should the priest be surprised and not have time to descend one of the many staircases and effect his escape by the ready means in the lower part of the house, there are secret closets between the timber beams of the roof and the wainscot into which he could creep. curious rooms run along each side in the roof round the quadrangle, called "the barracks," into which it would be possible to pack away a whole regiment of soldiers. not far away are "the false floors," a typical amy robsart death-trap! a place of security here, once upon a time, could only be reached by a ladder; later, however, it was made easier of access by a dark passage, but it was as secure as ever from intrusion. the fugitive had the ready means of isolating himself by removing a large portion of the floor-boards; supposing, therefore, his lurking-place had been traced, he had only to arrange this deadly gap, and his pursuers would run headlong to their fate. many other strange rooms there are, not the least interesting of which is a tiny apartment away from everywhere called "the devil's chamber," and another little chamber whose window is _invariably found open in the morning, though securely fastened on the previous night!_ various finds have been made from time to time at compton winyates. not many years ago a bricked-up space was found in a wall containing a perfect skeleton!--at another an antique box full of papers belonging to the past history of the family (the comptons) was discovered in a secret cavity beneath one of the windows. [illustration: minstrel's gallery, compton winyates] the "false floors" to which we have alluded suggests a hiding-place that was put to very practical use by two old maiden ladies some years ago at an ancient building near malvern, pickersleigh court. each night before retiring to rest some floor-boards of a passage, originally the entrance to a "priest's hole," were removed. this passage led to their bedroom, so that they were protected much in the same way as the fugitive at compton winyates, by a yawning gap. local tradition does not record how many would-be burglars were trapped in this way, but it is certain that should anyone ever have ventured along that passage, they would have been precipitated with more speed than ceremony into a cellar below. pickersleigh, it may be pointed out, is erroneously shown in connection with the wanderings of charles ii. after the battle worcester.[ ] [footnote : see _the flight of the king._] salford prior hall (otherwise known as "the nunnery," or abbots salford), not far from evesham, is another mansion remarkable for its picturesqueness as well as for its capacity for hiding. it not only has its roman catholic chapel, but a resident priest holds services there to this day. up in the garret is the "priest's hole," ready, it would seem, for some present emergency, so well is it concealed and in such perfect working order; and even when its position is pointed out, nothing is to be seen but the most innocent-looking of cupboards. by removing a hidden peg, however, the whole back of it, shelves and all, swings backwards into a dismal recess some four feet in depth. this deceitful swing door may be secured on the inside by a stout wooden bolt provided for that purpose. [illustration: compton winyates, warwickshire] [illustration: sawston hall, cambridgeshire] [illustration: pickersleigh court, worcestershire] [illustration: salford prior hall, warwickshire] [illustration: salford prior hall] [illustration: hiding-place, salford prior] [illustration: hiding-place, salford prior (shewing entrance)] another hiding place as artfully contrived and as little changed since the day it was manufactured is one at sawston, the ancestral seat of the old family of huddleston. sawston hall is a typical elizabethan building. the one which preceded it was burnt to the ground by the adherents of lady jane grey, as the huddleston of that day, upon the death of king edward vi., received his sister mary under his protection, and contrived her escape to framlingham castle, where she was carried in disguise, riding pillion behind a servant. the secret chamber, as at harvington, is on the top landing of the staircase, and the entrance is so cleverly arranged that it slants into the masonry of a circular tower without showing the least perceptible sign from the exterior of a space capable of holding a baby, far less a man. a particular board in the landing is raised, and beneath it, in a corner of the cavity, is found a stone slab containing a circular aperture, something after the manner of our modern urban receptacles for coal. from this hole a tunnel slants downwards at an angle into the adjacent wall, where there is an apartment some twelve feet in depth, and wide enough to contain half a dozen people--that is to say, not bulky ones, for the circular entrance is far from large. blocks of oak fixed upon the inside of the movable floor-board fit with great nicety into their firm oak sockets in the beams, which run at right angles and support the landing, so that the opening is so massive and firm that, unless pointed out, the particular floor-board could never be detected, and when secured from the inside would defy a battering-ram. [illustration: oxburgh hall, norfolk] the huddlestons, or rather their connections the thornboroughs, have an old house at leyburn, in yorkshire, named "the grove," which also contained its hiding-place, but unfortunately this is one of those instances where alterations and modern conveniences have destroyed what can never be replaced. the priest, father john huddleston (who aided king charles ii. to escape, and who, it will be remembered, was introduced to that monarch's death-bed by way of a _secret staircase_ in the palace of whitehall), lived in this house some time during the seventeenth century. one of the most ingenious hiding-places extant is to be seen at oxburgh hall, near stoke ferry, the grand old moated mansion of the ancient bedingfield family. in solidity and compactness it is unique. up in one of the turrets of the entrance gateway is a tiny closet, the floor of which is composed of brickwork fixed into a wooden frame. upon pressure being applied to one side of this floor, the opposite side heaves up with a groan at its own weight. beneath lies a hollow, seven feet square, where a priest might lie concealed with the gratifying knowledge that, however the ponderous trap-door be hammered from above, there would be no tell-tale hollowness as a response. having bolted himself in, he might to all intents and purposes be imbedded in a rock (though truly a toad so situated is not always safe from intrusion). three centuries have rolled away and thirteen sovereigns have reigned since the construction of this hiding-place, but the mechanism of this masterpiece of ingenuity remains as perfect as if it had been made yesterday! those who may be privileged with permission to inspect the interesting hall will find other surprises where least expected. an oak-panelled passage upon the basement of the aforesaid entrance gateway contains a secret door that gives admittance into the living-rooms in the most eccentric manner. a priest's hole beneath the floor of a small oratory adjoining "the chapel" (now a bedroom) at borwick hall, lancashire, has an opening devised much in the same fashion as that at oxburgh. by leaning his weight upon a certain portion of the boards, a fugitive could slide into a convenient gap, while the floor would adjust itself above his head and leave no trace of his where-abouts. [illustration: entrance to hiding-place, parham hall, sussex] window-seats not uncommonly formed the entrance to holes beneath the level of the floor. in the long gallery of parham hall, sussex, an example of this may be seen. it is not far from "the chapel," and the officiating priest in this instance would withdraw a panel whose position is now occupied by a door; but the entrance to the hiding-place within the projecting bay of the window is much the same as it ever was. after the failure of the babington conspiracy one charles paget was concealed here for some days. the tudor house of tusmore, in oxfordshire, also had a secret chamber, approached through a fixed settle in "the parlour" window. a tradition in the neighbourhood says that the great fish-pond near the site of the old house was dug by a priest and his servant in the days of religious persecution, constituting their daily occupation for twelve years! paxhill, in sussex, the ancient seat of the bordes, has a priest's hole behind a window-shutter, and it is large enough to hold several persons; there is another large hiding-hole in the ceiling of a room on the ground floor, which is reached through a trap-door in the floor above. it is provided with a stone bench. in castles and even ecclesiastical buildings sections of massive stone columns have been found to rotate and reveal a hole in an adjacent wall--even an altar has occasionally been put to use for concealing purposes. at naworth castle, for instance, in "lord william's tower," there is an oratory behind the altar, in which fugitives not only could be hidden but could see anything that transpired in its vicinity. in chichester cathedral there is a room called lollards' prison, which is approached by a sliding panel in the old consistory-room situated over the south porch. the manor house of great chalfield, in wiltshire, has a unique device by which any suspected person could be watched. the eye of a stone mask in the masonry is hollowed out and through this a suspicious lord of the manor could, unseen, be a witness to any treachery on the part of his retainers or guests. [illustration: paxhill, sussex] [illustration: cleeve prior manor house, worcestershire] the old moated hall baddesley clinton, in warwickshire, the ancient seat of the ferrers, has a stone well or shaft near "the chapel." there were formerly projections or steps by which a fugitive could reach a secret passage extending round nearly two sides of the house to a small water-gate by the moat, where a boat was kept in readiness. adjoining the "banqueting-room" on the east side of the building is a secret chamber six feet square with a bench all round it. it is now walled up, but the narrow staircase, behind the wainscoting, leading up to it is unaltered. cleeve prior manor house, in worcestershire (though close upon the border of warwickshire)) famous for its unique yew avenue, has a priest's hole, a cramped space five feet by two, in which it is necessary to lie down. as at ingatestone, it is below the floor of a small chamber adjoining the principal bedroom, and is entered by removing one of the floor-boards. wollas hall, an elizabethan mansion on bredon hill, near pershore (held uninterruptedly by the hanford family since the sixteenth century), has a chapel in the upper part of the house, and a secret chamber, or priest's hole, provided with a diminutive fire-place. when the officiating priest was about to celebrate mass, it was the custom here to spread linen upon the hedges as a sign to those in the adjacent villages who wished to attend. a hiding-place at treago, herefordshire (an unique specimen of a thirteenth-century fortified mansion) inhabited by the mynor family for more than four hundred years), has quite luxurious accommodation--a sleeping-place and a reading-desk. it is called "pope's hole." the walls on the south-east side of the house are of immense thickness, and there are many indications of secret passages within them. [illustration: baddesley clinton, warwickshire] some fifty years ago a hiding-hole was opened in a chimney adjoining "the chapel" of lydiate hall, lancashire; and since then one was discovered behind the rafters of the roof. another ancient house close by contained a priest's hole where were found some religious books and an old carved oak chair. myddleton lodge, near ilkley, had a secret chapel in the roof, which is now divided up into several apartments. in the grounds is to be seen a curious maze of thickly planted evergreens in the shape of a cross. from the fact that at one end remain three wooden crosses, there is but little doubt that at the time of religious persecution the privacy of the maze was used for secret worship. when slindon house, sussex, was undergoing some restorations, a "priest's hole" communicating with the roof was discovered. it contained some ancient devotional books, and against the walls were hung stout leathern straps, by which a person could let himself down. the internal arrangements at plowden hall, shropshire, give one a good idea of the feeling of insecurity that must have been so prevalent in those "good old days." running from the top of the house there is in the thickness of the wall, a concealed circular shoot about a couple of feet in diameter, through which a person could lower himself, if necessary, to the ground floor by the aid of a rope. here also, beneath the floor-boards of a cupboard in one of the bedrooms, is a concealed chamber with a fixed shelf, presumably provided to act as a sort of table for the unfortunate individual who was forced to occupy the narrow limits of the room. years before this hiding-place was opened to the light of day (in the course of some alterations to the house), its existence and actual position was well known; still, strange to say, the way into it had never been discovered. chapter vii king-hunting: boscobel, moseley, trent, and heale when the civil war was raging, many a defeated cavalier owed his preservation to the "priests' holes" and secret chambers of the old roman catholic houses all over the country. did not charles ii. himself owe his life to the conveniences offered at boscobel, moseley, trent, and heale? we have elsewhere[ ] gone minutely into the young king's hair-breadth adventures; but the story is so closely connected with the present subject that we must record something of his sojourn at these four old houses, as from an historical point of view they are of exceptional interest, if one but considers how the order of things would have been changed had either of these hiding-places been discovered at the time "his sacred majesty" occupied them. it is vain to speculate upon the probabilities; still, there is no ignoring the fact that had charles been captured he would have shared the fate of his father. [footnote : see _the flight of the king_.] [illustration: hiding-place beneath "the chapel," boscobel, salop] [illustration: entrance to hiding-place in "the garret" or "chapel," boscobel] [illustration: hiding-place in "the squire's bedroom," boscobel] [illustration: secret panel, trent house, somersetshire] [illustration: boscobel, salop] [illustration: hiding-place, trent house] [illustration: entrance to hiding-place, trent house] [illustration: trent house in ] [illustration: heale house, wiltshire] after the defeat of wigan, the gallant earl of derby sought refuge at the isolated, wood-surrounded hunting-lodge of boscobel, and after remaining there concealed for two days, proceeded to gatacre park, now rebuilt, but then and for long after famous for its secret chambers. here he remained hidden prior to the disastrous battle of worcester. upon the close of that eventful third of september, , the earl, at the time that the king and his advisers knew not which way to turn for safety, recounted his recent experiences, and called attention to the loyalty of the brothers penderel. it was speedily resolved, therefore, to hasten northwards towards brewood forest, upon the borders of staffordshire and salop. "as soon as i was disguised," says charles, "i took with me a country fellow whose name was richard penderell.... he was a roman catholic, and i chose to trust them [the penderells] because i knew they had hiding-holes for priests that i thought i might make use of in case of need." before taking up his quarters in the house, however, the idea of escaping into wales occured to charles, so, when night set in, he quitted boscobel wood, where he had been hidden all the day, and started on foot with his rustic guide in a westerly direction with the object of getting over the river severn, but various hardships and obstacles induced penderel to suggest a halt at a house at madeley, near the river, where they might rest during the day and continue the journey under cover of darkness on the following night; the house further had the attraction of "priests' holes." "we continued our way on to the village upon the severn," resumes the king, "where the fellow told me there was an honest gentleman, one mr. woolfe, that lived in that town, where i might be with great safety, for he had hiding-holes for priests.... so i came into the house a back way, where i found mr. woolfe, an old gentleman, who told me he was very sorry to see me there, because there was two companies of the militia foot at that time in arms in the town, and kept a guard at the ferry, to examine everybody that came that way in expectation of catching some that might be making their escape that way; and that he durst not put me into any of the hiding-holes of his house, because they had been discovered, and consequently, if any search should be made, they would certainly repair to these holes, and that therefore i had no other way of security but to go into his barn and there lie behind his corn and hay." [illustration: madeley court, shropshire] [illustration: the courtyard, madeley court] [illustration: madeley court] [illustration: entrance to "priest's hole," the upper house, madeley] the madeley "priest's hole" which was considered unsafe is still extant. it is in one of the attics of "the upper house," but the entrance is now very palpable. those who are curious enough to climb up into this black hole will discover a rude wooden bench within it--a luxury compared with some hiding-places! the river severn being strictly guarded everywhere, charles and his companions retraced their steps the next night towards boscobel. after a day spent up in the branches of the famous _royal oak_, the fugitive monarch made his resting-place the secret chamber behind the wainscoting of what is called "the squire's bedroom." there is another hiding-place, however, hard by in a garret which may have been the one selected. the latter lies beneath the floor of this garret, or "popish chapel," as it was once termed. at the top of a flight of steps leading to it is a small trap-door, and when this is removed a step-ladder may be seen leading down into the recess.[ ] the other place behind the wainscot is situated in a chimney stack and is more roomy in its proportions. here again is an inner hiding-place, entered through a trap-door in the floor, with a narrow staircase leading to an exit in the basement. so much for boscobel. [footnote : the hiding-place in the garret measures about feet inches in depth by - / or - / feet in width.] moseley hall is thus referred to by the king: "i... sent penderell's brother to mr. pitchcroft's [whitgreaves] to know whether my lord wilmot was there or no, and had word brought me by him at night that my lord was there, that there was a _very secure hiding-hole_ in mr. pitchcroft's house, and that he desired me to come thither to him." it was while at moseley the king had a very narrow escape. a search-party arrived on the scene and demanded admittance. charles's host himself gives the account of this adventure: "in the afternoon [the king] reposing himself on his bed in the parlour chamber and inclineing to sleep, as i was watching at the window, one of the neighbours i saw come running in, who told the maid soldiers were comeing to search, who thereupon presentlie came running to the staires head, and cried, 'soldiers, soldiers are coming,' which his majestie hearing presentlie started out of his bedd and run to _his privacie, where i secured him the best i could_, and then leaving him, went forth into the street to meet the soldiers who were comeing to search, who as soon as they saw and knew who i was were readie to pull mee to pieces, and take me away with them, saying i was come from the worcester fight; but after much dispute with them, and by the neighbours being informed of their false information that i was not there, being very ill a great while, they let mee goe; but till i saw them clearly all gone forth of the town i returned not; but as soon as they were, i returned to release him and did acquaint him with my stay, which hee thought long, and then hee began to bee very chearful again. in the interim, whilst i was disputing with the soldiers, one of them called southall came in the ffould and asked a smith, as hee was shooing horses there, if he could tell where the king was, and he should have "a thousand pounds for his payns...." this southall was a great priest-catcher. [illustration: "priest's hole," moseley hall, staffordshire] the hiding-place is located beneath the floor of a cupboard, adjoining the quaint old panelled bedroom the king occupied while he was at moseley. even "the merry monarch" must have felt depressed in such a dismal hole as this, and we can picture his anxious expression, as he sat upon the rude seat of brick which occupies one end of it, awaiting the result of the sudden alarm. the cupboard orginally was screened with wainscoting, a panel of which could be opened and closed by a spring. family tradition also says there was a outlet from the hiding-place in a brew-house chimney. situated in a gable end of the building, near the old chapel, in a garret, there is another "priest's hole" large enough only to admit of a person lying down full length. before the old seat of the whitgreaves was restored some fifteen or twenty years ago it was one of the most picturesque half-timber houses, not only in staffordshire, but in england. it had remained practically untouched since the day above alluded to (september th, ). before reaching trent, in somersetshire, the much sought-for king had many hardships to undergo and many strange experiences. we must, however, confine our remarks to those of the old buildings which offered him an asylum that could boast a hiding-place. trent house was one of these. the very fact that it originally belonged to the recusant gerard family is sufficient evidence. from the gerards it passed by marriage to the wyndhams, who were in residence in the year we speak of. that his majesty spent much of his time in the actual hiding-place at trent is very doubtful. altogether he was safely housed here for over a fortnight, and during that time doubtless occasional alarms drove him, as at moseley, into his sanctuary; but a secluded room was set apart for his use, where he had ample space to move about, and from which he could reach his hiding-place at a moment's notice. the black oak panelling and beams of this cosy apartment, with its deep window recesses, readily carries the mind back to the time when its royal inmate wiled away the weary hours by cooking his meals and amusing himself as best he could--indeed a hardship for one, such as he, so fond of outdoor exercise. close to the fireplace are two small, square secret panels, at one time used for the secretion of sacred books or vessels, valuables or compromising deeds, but pointed out to visitors as a kind of buttery hatch through which charles ii. received his food. the king by day, also according to local tradition, is said to have kept up communication with his friends in the house by means of a string suspended in the kitchen chimney. that apartment is immediately beneath, and has a fireplace of huge dimensions. an old tudor doorway leading into this part of the house is said to have been screened from observation by a load of hay. now for the hiding-place. between this and "my lady wyndham's chamber" (the aforesaid panelled room that was kept exclusively for charles's use) was a small ante-room, long since demolished, its position being now occupied by a rudely constructed staircase, from the landing of which the hiding-place is now entered. the small secret apartment is approached through a triangular hole in the wall, something after the fashion of that at ufton court; but when one has squeezed through this aperture he will find plenty of room to stretch his limbs. the hole, which was close up against the rafters of the roof of the staircase landing, when viewed from the inside of the apartment, is situated at the base of a blocked-up stone tudor doorway. beneath the boards of the floor--as at boscobel and moseley--is an inner hiding-place, from which it was formerly possible to find an exit through the brew-house chimney. it was from trent house that charles visited the dorsetshire coast in the hopes of getting clear of england; but a complication of misadventures induced him to hasten back with all speed to the pretty little village of trent, to seek once, more shelter beneath the roof of the royalist colonel wyndham. to resume the king's account:-- "as soon as we came to frank windham's i sent away presently to colonel robert philips [phelips], who lived then at salisbury, to see what he could do for the getting me a ship; which he undertook very willingly, and had got one at southampton, but by misfortune she was amongst others prest to transport their soldiers to jersey, by which she failed us also. "upon this, i sent further into sussex, where robin philips knew one colonel gunter, to see whether he could hire a ship anywhere upon that coast. and not thinking it convenient for me to stay much longer at frank windham's (where i had been in all about a fortnight, and was become known to very many), i went directly away to a widow gentlewoman's house, one mrs. hyde, some four or five miles from salisbury, where i came into the house just as it was almost dark, with robin philips only, not intending at first to make myself known. but just as i alighted at the door, mrs. hyde knew me, though she had never seen me but once in her life, and that was with the king, my father, in the army, when we marched by salisbury some years before, in the time of the war; but she, being a discreet woman, took no notice at that time of me, i passing only for a friend of robin philips', by whose advice i went thither. "at supper there was with us frederick hyde, since a judge, and his sister-in-law, a widow, robin philips, myself, and dr. henshaw [henchman], since bishop of london, whom i had appointed to meet me there. "while we were at slipper, i observed mrs. hyde and her brother frederick to look a little earnestly at me, which led me to believe they might know me. but i was not at all startled by it, it having been my purpose to let her know who i was; and, accordingly, after supper mrs. hyde came to me, and i discovered myself to her, who told me she had a very safe place to hide me in, till we knew whether our ship was ready or no. but she said it was not safe for her to trust anybody but herself and her sister, and therefore advised me to take my horse next morning and make as if i quitted the house, and return again about night; for she would order it so that all her servants and everybody should be out of the house but herself and her sister, whose name i remember not. "so robin philips and i took our horses and went as far as stonehenge; and there we staid looking upon the stones for some time, and returned back again to hale [heale] (the place where mrs. hyde lived) about the hour she appointed; where i went up into the hiding-hole, that was very convenient and safe, and staid there all alone (robin philips then going away to salisbury) some four or five days." both exterior and interior of heale house as it stands to-day point to a later date than , though there are here and there vestiges of architecture anterior to the middle of the seventeenth century; the hiding-place, however, is not among these, and looks nothing beyond a very deep cupboard adjoining one of the bedrooms, with nothing peculiar to distinguish it from ordinary cupboards. but for all its modern innovations there is something about heale which suggests a house with a history. whether it is its environment of winding river and ancient cedar-trees, its venerable stables and imposing entrance gate, or the fact that it is one of those distinguished houses that have saved the life of an english king, we will not undertake to fathom. chapter viii cavalier-hunting, etc. an old mansion in the precincts of the cathedral at salisbury is said to have been a favourite hiding-place for fugitive cavaliers at the time of the civil war. there is an inn immediately opposite this house, just outside the close, where the landlord (formerly a servant to the family who lived in the mansion) during the troublous times acted as a secret agent for those who were concealed, and proved invaluable by conveying messages and in other ways aiding those royalists whose lives were in danger. [illustration: secret panel at salisbury] there are still certain "priests' holes" in the house, but the most interesting hiding-place is situated in the most innocent-looking of summer-houses in the grounds. the interior of this little structure is wainscoted round with large panels like most of the summer-houses, pavilions, or music-rooms of the seventeenth century, and nothing uncommon or mysterious was discovered until some twenty-five years ago. by the merest accident one of the panels was found to open, revealing what appeared to be an ordinary cupboard with shelves. further investigations, however, proved its real object. by sliding one of the shelves out of the grooves into which it is fixed, a very narrow, disguised door, a little over a foot in width, in the side of the cupboard and in the thickness of the wall can be opened. this again reveals a narrow passage, or staircase, leading up to the joists above the ceiling, and thence to a recess situated immediately behind the carved ornamental facing over the entrance door of the summer-house. in this there is a narrow chink or peep-hole, from which the fugitive could keep on the look-out either for danger or for the friendly royalist agent of the "king's arms." when it was first discovered there were evidences of its last occupant--_viz._ a jacobean horn tumbler, a mattress, and a handsomely worked velvet pillow; the last two articles, provided no doubt for the comfort of some hunted cavalier, upon being handled, fell to pieces. it may be mentioned that the inner door of the cupboard can be securely fastened from the inside by an iron hook and staple for that purpose. hewitt, mine host of the "king's arms," was not idle at the time transactions were in progress to transfer charles ii. from trent to heale, and received within his house lord wilmot, colonel phelips, and other of the king's friends who were actively engaged in making preparations for the memorable journey. this old inn, with its oak-panelled rooms and rambling corridors, makes a very suitable neighbour to the more dignified old brick mansion opposite, with which it is so closely associated. [illustration: secret chamber, chastleton, oxfordshire] [illustration: old summer house, salisbury (shewing carving in which is a peep-hole for hiding-place behind)] many are the exciting stories related of the defeated royalists, especially after the worcester fight. one of them, lord talbot, hastened to his paternal home of longford, near newport (salop), and had just time to conceal himself ere his pursuers arrived, who, finding his horse saddled, concluded that the rider could not be far off. they therefore searched the house minutely for four or five days, and the fugitive would have perished for want of food, had not one of the servants contrived, at great personal risk, to pay him nocturnal visits and supply him with nourishment. the grey old jacobean mansion chastleton preserves in its oak-panelled hall the sword and portrait of the gallant cavalier captain arthur jones, who, narrowly escaping from the battlefield, speeded homewards with some of cromwell's soldiers at his heels; and his wife, a lady of great courage, had scarcely concealed him in the secret chamber when the enemy arrived to search the house. little daunted, the lady, with great presence of mind, made no objection whatever--indeed, facilitated their operations by personally conducting them over the mansion. here, as in so many other instances, the secret room was entered from the principal bedroom, and in inspecting the latter the suspicion of the roundheads was in some way or another aroused, so here they determined to remain for the rest of the night. an ample supper and a good store of wine (which, by the way, had been carefully drugged) was sent up to the unwelcome visitors, and in due course the drink effected its purpose--its victims dropped off one by one, until the whole party lay like logs upon the floor. mrs. arthur jones then crept in, having even to step over the bodies of the inanimate roundheads, released her husband, and a fresh horse being in readiness, by the time the effects of the wine had worn off the royalist captain was far beyond their reach. the secret room is located in the front of the building, and has now been converted into a very, comfortable little dressing-room, preserving its original oak panelling, and otherwise but little altered, with the exception of the entry to it, which is now an ordinary door. chastleton is the beau ideal of an ancestral hall. the grand old gabled house, with its lofty square towers, its jacobean entrance gateway and dovecote, and the fantastically clipped box-trees and sun-dial of its quaint old-fashioned garden, possesses a charm which few other ancient mansions can boast, and this charm lies in its perfectly unaltered state throughout, even to the minutest detail. interior and exterior alike, everything presents an appearance exactly as it did when it was erected and furnished by walter jones, esquire, between the years and . the estate originally was held by robert catesby, who sold the house to provide funds for carrying on the notorious conspiracy. among its most valued relics is a bible given by charles i. when on the scaffold to bishop juxon, who lived at little compton manor house, near chastleton. this bible was always used by the bishop at the divine services, which at one time were held in the great hall of the latter house. other relics of the martyr-king used to be at little compton--_viz._ some beams of the whitehall scaffold, whose exact position has occasioned so much controversy. the velvet armchair and footstool used by the king during his memorable trial were also preserved here, but of late years have found a home at moreton-in-the-marsh, some six miles away. visitors to that interesting collection shown in london some years ago--the stuart exhibition--may remember this venerable armchair of such sad association. [illustration: chastleton] [illustration: entrance door, chastleton] it may be here stated that after charles i.'s execution, juxon lived for a time in sussex at an old mansion still extant, albourne place, not far from hurstpierpoint. we mention this from the fact that a priest's hole was discovered there some few years ago. it was found in opening a communication between two rooms, and originally it could only be reached by steps projecting from the inner walls of a chimney. not many miles from albourne stands street place, an elizabethan sussex house of some note. a remarkable story of cavalier-hunting is told here. a hiding-place is said to have existed in the wide open fireplace of the great hall. tradition has it that a horseman, hard pressed by the parliamentary troopers, galloped into this hall, but upon the arrival of his pursuers, no clue could be found of either man or horse! the gallant prince rupert himself, upon one occasion, is said to have had recourse to a hiding hole, at least so the story runs, at the beautiful old black-and-white timber mansion, park hall, near oswestry. a certain "false floor" which led to it is pointed out in a cupboard of a bedroom, the hiding-place itself being situated immediately above the dining-room fireplace. a concealed chamber something after the same description is to be seen at the old seat of the fenwicks, wallington, in northumberland--a small room eight feet long by sixteen feet high, situated at the back of the dining-room fireplace, and approached through the back of a cupboard. behind one of the large panels of "the hall" of an old building in warwick called st. john's hospital is a hiding-place, and in a bedroom of the same house there is a little apartment, now converted into a dressing-room, which formerly could only be reached through a sliding panel over the fireplace. the manor house of dinsdale-on-tees, durham, has another example, but to reach it it is necessary to pass through a trap-door in the attics, crawl along under the roof, and drop down into the, space in the wall behind a bedroom fireplace, where for extra security there is a second trap-door. [illustration: broughton hall, staffordshire] [illustration: st. john's hospital, warwick] full-length panel portraits of the salwey family at stanford court, worcestershire (unfortunately burned down in ), concealed hidden recesses and screened passages leading up to an exit in the leads of the roof. in one of these recesses curious seventeenth-century manuscripts were found, among them, the household book of a certain "joyce jeffereys" during the civil war. the old jacobean mansion broughton hall, staffordshire, had a curious hiding-hole over a fireplace and situated in the wall between the dining-room and the great hall; over its entrance used to hang a portrait of a man in antique costume which went by the name of "red stockings." at lyme hall, cheshire, the ancient seat of the leghs, high up in the wall of the hall is a sombre portrait which by ingenious mechanism swings out of its frame, a fixture, and gives admittance to a room on the first floor, or rather affords a means of looking down into the hall.[ ] we mention this portrait more especially because it has been supposed that scott got his idea here of the ghostly picture which figures in _woodstock_. a _bonâ-fide_ hiding-place, however, is to be seen in another part of the mansion in a very haunted-looking bedroom called "the knight's chamber," entered through a trap-door in the floor of a cupboard, with a short flight of steps leading into it. [footnote : a large panel in the long gallery of hatfield can be pushed aside, giving a view into the great hall, and at ockwells and other ancient mansions this device may also be seen.] referring to scott's novel, a word may be said about fair rosamond's famous "bower" at the old palace of woodstock, surely the most elaborate and complicated hiding-place ever devised. the ruins of the labyrinth leading to the "bower" existed in drayton's time, who described them as "vaults, arched and walled with stone and brick, almost inextricably wound within one another, by which, if at any time her [rosamond's] lodging were laid about by the queen, she might easily avoid peril imminent, and, if need be, by secret issues take the air abroad many furlongs about woodstock." [illustration: staircase, broughton hall] in a survey taken in , it is stated that foundation signs remained about a bow-shot southwest of the gate: "_the form and circuit both of the place and ruins show it to have been a house of one pile, and probably was filled with secret places of recess and avenues to hide or convey away such persons as were not willing to be found if narrowly sought after._" ghostly gambols, such as those actually practised upon the parliamentary commissioners at the old palace of woodstock, were for years carried on without detection by the servants at the old house of hinton-ampner, hampshire; and when it was pulled down in the year , it became very obvious how the mysteries, which gave the house the reputation of being haunted, were managed, for numerous secret stairs and passages, not known to exist were brought to light which had offered peculiar facilities for the deception. about the middle of the eighteenth century the mansion passed out of the hands of its old possessors, the stewkeleys, and shortly afterwards became notorious for the unaccountable noises which disturbed the peace of mind of the new tenants. not only were there violent knocks, hammerings, groanings, and sounds of footsteps in the ceilings and walls, out strange sights frightened the servants out of their wits. a ghostly visitant dressed in drab would appear and disappear mysteriously, a female figure was often seen to rush through the apartments, and other supernatural occurrences at length became so intolerable that the inmates of the house sought refuge in flight. later successive tenants fared the same. a hundred pounds reward was offered to any who should run the ghosts to earth; but nothing resulted from it, and after thirty years or more of hauntings, the house was razed to the ground. secret passages and chambers were then brought to light; but those who had carried on the deception for so long took the secret with them to their graves.[ ] [footnote : a full account of the supernatural occurrences at hinton-ampner will be found in the life of richard barham.] it is well known that the huge, carved oak bedsteads of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were often provided with secret accommodation for valuables. one particular instance we can call to mind of a hidden cupboard at the base of the bedpost which contained a short rapier. but of these small hiding-places we shall speak presently. it is with the head of the bed we have now to do, as it was sometimes used as an opening into the wall at the back. occasionally, in old houses, unmeaning gaps and spaces are met with in the upper rooms midway between floor and ceiling, which possibly at one time were used as bed-head hiding-places. shipton court, oxon, and hill hall, essex, may be given as examples. dunster castle, somersetshire, also, has at the back of a bedstead in one of the rooms a long, narrow place of concealment, extending the width of the apartment, and provided with a stone seat. sir ralph verney, while in exile in france in , wrote to his brother at claydon house, buckinghamshire, concerning "the odd things in the room my mother kept herself--_the iron chest in the little room between her bed's-head and the back stairs._" this old seat of the verneys had another secret chamber in the middle storey, entered through a trap-door in "the muniment-room" at the top of the house. here also was a small private staircase in the wall, possibly the "back stairs" mentioned in sir ralph's letters.[ ] [footnote : see _memoirs of the verney family._] [illustration: shipton court, oxfordshire] [illustration: broughton castle, oxfordshire] before the breaking out of the civil war, hampden, pym, lord brooke, and other of the parliamentary leaders, held secret meetings at broughton castle, oxon, the seat of lord saye and sele, to organise a resistance to the arbitrary measures of the king. in this beautiful old fortified and moated mansion the secret stairs may yet be seen that led up to the little isolated chamber, with massive casemated walls for the exclusion of sound. anthony wood, alluding to the secret councils, says: "several years before the civil war began, lord saye, being looked upon as the godfather of that party, had meetings of them in his house at broughton, where was a room and passage thereunto which his servants were prohibited to come near."[ ] there is also a hiding-hole behind a window shutter in the wall of a corridor, with an air-hole ingeniously devised in the masonry. [footnote : _memorials of hampden._] the old dower-house of fawsley, not many miles to the north-east of broughton, in the adjoining county of northamptonshire, had a secret room over the hall, where a private press was kept for the purpose of printing political tracts at this time, when the country was working up into a state of turmoil. when the regicides were being hunted out in the early part of charles ii.'s reign, judge mayne[ ] secreted himself at his house, dinton hall, bucks, but eventually gave himself up. the hiding-hole at dinton was beneath the staircase, and accessible by removing three of the steps. a narrow passage which led from it to a space behind the beams of the roof had its sides or walls thickly lined with cloth, so as to muffle all sound. [footnote : there is a tradition that it was a servant of mayne who acted as charles i.'s executioner.] bradshawe hall, in north-west derbyshire (once the seat of the family of that name of which the notorious president was a member), has or had a concealed chamber high up in the wall of a room on the ground floor which was capable of holding three persons. of course tradition says the "wicked judge was hidden here." [illustration: entrance gate, bradshawe hall, derbyshire] the regicides colonels whalley and goffe had many narrow escapes in america, whither they were traced. what is known as "judge's cave," in the west rock some two miles from the town of new haven, conn., afforded them sanctuary. for some days they were concealed in an old house belonging to a certain mrs. eyers, in a secret chamber behind the wainscoting, the entrance to which was most ingeniously devised. the house was narrowly searched on may th, , at the time they were in hiding.[ ] [footnote : stiles's _judges_, p. ] upon the discovery of the rye house plot in , suspicion falling upon one of the conspirators, william, third lord howard of escrick, the sergeant-at-arms was despatched with a squadron of horse to his house at knights-bridge, and after a long search he was discovered concealed in a hiding-place constructed in a chimney at the back of a tall cupboard, and the chances are that he would not have been arrested had it not been evident, by the warmth of his bed and his clothes scattered about, that he had only just risen and could not have got away unobserved, except to some concealed lurking-place. when discovered he had on no clothing beyond his shirt, so it may be imagined with what precipitate haste he had to hide himself upon the unexpected arrival of the soldiers.[ ] [footnote : see roger north's _examen_.] numerous other houses were searched for arms and suspicious papers, particularly in the counties of cheshire and lancashire, where the duke of monmouth was known to have many influential friends, marked enemies to the throne.[ ] [footnote : see oulton hall mss., hist. mss. com. rep. iii. p. .] monmouth's lurking-place was known at whitehall, and those who revealed it went the wrong way to work to win court favour. apart from the attractions of lady wentworth, whose companionship made the fugitive's enforced seclusion at toddington, in bedfordshire, far from tedious, the mansion was desirable at that particular time on account of its hiding facilities. an anonymous letter sent to the secretary of state failed not to point out "that vastness and intricacy that without a most diligent search it's impossible to discover _all the lurking holes in it, there being severall trap dores on the leads and in closetts, into places to which there is no other access._"[ ] the easy-going king had to make some external show towards an attempt to capture his erring son, therefore instructions were given with this purpose, but to a courtier and diplomatist who valued his own interests. toddington place, therefore, was _not_ explored. [footnote : vide king _monmouth_.] [illustration: moyles court, hampshire] [illustration: toddington manor house, bedfordshire, in (from an old drawing)] few hiding-places are associated with so tragic a story as that at moyles court, hants, where the venerable lady alice lisle, in pure charity, hid two partisans of monmouth, john hickes and richard nelthorpe, after the battle of sedgemoor, for which humane action she was condemned to be burned alive by judge jeffreys--a sentence commuted afterwards to beheading. it is difficult to associate this peaceful old jacobean mansion, and the simple tomb in the churchyard hard by, with so terrible a history. a dark hole in the wall of the kitchen is traditionally said to be the place of concealment of the fugitives, who threw themselves on lady alice's mercy; but a dungeon-like cellar not unlike that represented in e. m. ward's well-known picture looks a much more likely place. it was in an underground vault at lady place, hurley, the old seat of the lovelaces, that secret conferences were held by the adherents of the prince of orange. three years after the execution of the duke of monmouth, his boon companion and supporter, john, third lord lovelace, organised treasonable meetings in this tomb-like chamber. tradition asserts that certain important documents in favour of the revolution were actually signed in the hurley vault. be this as it may, king william iii. failed not, in after years, when visiting his former secret agent, to inspect the subterranean apartment with very tender regard. chapter ix james ii.'s escapes we have spoken of the old houses associated with charles ii.'s escapes, let us see what history has to record of his unpopular brother james. the stuarts seem to have been doomed, at one time or another, to evade their enemies by secret flight, and in some measure this may account for the romance always surrounding that ill-fated line of kings and queens. james v. of scotland was wont to amuse himself by donning a disguise, but his successors appear to have been doomed by fate to follow his example, not for recreation, but to preserve their lives. mary, queen of scots, upon one occasion had to impersonate a laundress. her grandson and great-grandson both were forced to masquerade as servants, and her great-great-grandson prince james frederick edward passed through france disguised as an abbé. the escapades of his son the "bonnie prince" will require our attention presently; we will, therefore, for the moment confine our thoughts to james ii. with the surrender of oxford the young prince james found himself fairfax's prisoner. his elder brother charles had been more fortunate, having left the city shortly before for the western counties, and after effecting his escape to scilly, he sought refuge in jersey, whence he removed to the hague. the duke of gloucester and the princess elizabeth already had been placed under the custody of the earl of northumberland at st. james's palace, so the duke of york was sent there also. this was in . some nine months elapsed, and james, after two ineffectual attempts to regain his liberty, eventually succeeded in the following manner. though prisoners, the royal children were permitted to amuse themselves within the walls of the palace much as they pleased, and among the juvenile games with which they passed away the time, "hide-and-seek" was first favourite. james, doubtless with an eye to the future, soon acquired a reputation as an expert hider, and his brother and sister and the playmates with whom they associated would frequently search the odd nooks and corners of the old mansion in vain for an hour at a stretch. it was, therefore, no extraordinary occurrence on the night of april th, , that the prince, after a prolonged search, was missing. the youngsters, more than usually perplexed, presently persuaded the adults of the prison establishment to join in the game, which, when their suspicions were aroused, they did in real earnest. but all in vain, and at length a messenger was despatched to whitehall with the intelligence that james, duke of york, had effected his escape. everything was in a turmoil. orders were hurriedly dispatched for all seaport towns to be on the alert, and every exit out of london was strictly watched; meanwhile, it is scarcely necessary to add, the young fugitive was well clear of the city, speeding on his way to the continent. the plot had been skilfully planned. a key, or rather a duplicate key, had given admittance through the gardens into st. james's park, where the royalist, though outwardly professed parliamentarian, colonel bamfield was in readiness with a periwig and cloak to effect a speedy disguise. when at length the fugitive made his appearance, minus his shoes and coat, he was hurried into a coach and conveyed to the strand by salisbury house, where the two alighted, and passing down ivy lane, reached the river, and after james's disguise had been perfected, boat was taken to lyon quay in lower thames street, where a barge lay in readiness to carry them down stream. so far all went well, but on the way to gravesend the master of the vessel, doubtless with a view to increasing his reward, raised some objections. the fugitive was now in female attire, and the objection was that nothing had been said about a woman coming aboard; but he was at length pacified, indeed ere long guessed the truth, for the prince's lack of female decorum, as in the case of his grandson "the bonnie prince" nearly a century afterwards, made him guess how matters really stood. beyond gravesend the fugitives got aboard a dutch vessel and were carried safely to middleburg. we will now shift the scene to whitehall in the year , when, after a brief reign of three years, betrayed and deserted on all sides, the unhappy stuart king was contemplating his second flight out of england. the weather-cock that had been set up on the banqueting hall to show when the wind "blew protestant" had duly recorded the dreaded approach of dutch william, who now was steadily advancing towards the capital. on tuesday, december th, soon after midnight, james left the palace by way of chiffinch's secret stairs of notorious fame, and disguised as the servant of sir edward hales, with ralph sheldon--la badie--a page, and dick smith, a groom, attending him, crossed the river to lambeth, dropping the great seal in the water on the way, and took horse, avoiding the main roads, towards farnborough and thence to chislehurst. leaving maidstone to the south-west, a brief halt was made at pennenden heath for refreshment. the old inn, "the woolpack," where the party stopped for their hurried repast, remains, at least in name, for the building itself has of late years been replaced by a modern structure. crossing the dover road, the party now directed their course towards milton creek, to the north-east of sittingbourne, where a small fishing-craft lay in readiness, which had been chartered by sir edward hales, whose seat at tunstall[ ] was close by. [footnote : the principal seat of the hales, near canterbury, is now occupied as a jesuit college. the old manor house of tunstall, grove end farm, presents both externally and internally many features of interest. the family was last represented by a maid lady who died a few years since.] one or two old buildings in the desolate marsh district of elmley, claim the distinction of having received a visit of the deposed monarch prior to the mishaps which were shortly to follow. king's hill farm, once a house of some importance, preserves this tradition, as does also an ancient cottage, in the last stage of decay, known as "rats' castle." [illustration: "rats' castle," elmley, kent] [illustration: king's hill farm, elmley, kent] at elmley ferry, which crosses the river swale, the king got aboard, but scarcely had the moorings been cast than further progress was arrested by a party of over-zealous fishermen on the look out for fugitive jesuit priests. the story of the rough handling to which the poor king was subjected is a somewhat hackneyed school-book anecdote, but some interesting details have been handed down by one captain marsh, by james's natural son the duke of berwick, and by the earl of ailesbury. from these accounts we gather that in the disturbance that ensued a blow was aimed at the king, but that a canterbury innkeeper named platt threw himself in the way and received the blow himself. it is recorded, to james ii.'s credit, that when he was recognised and his stolen money and jewels offered back to him, he declined the former, desiring that his health might be drunk by the mob. among the valuables were the king's watch, his coronation ring, and medals commemorating the births of his son the chevalier st. george and of his brother charles ii. the king was taken ashore at a spot called "the stool," close to the little village of oare, to the north-west of faversham, to which town he was conveyed by coach, attended by a score of kentish gentlemen on horseback. the royal prisoner was first carried to the "queen's arms inn," which still exists under the name of the "ship hotel." from here he was taken to the mayor's house in court street (an old building recently pulled down to make way for a new brewery) and placed under a strict guard, and from the window of his prison the unfortunate king had to listen to the proclamation of the prince of orange, read by order of the mayor, who subsequently was rewarded for the zeal he displayed upon the occasion. the hardships of the last twenty-four hours had told severely upon james. he was sick and feeble and weakened by profuse bleeding of the nose, to which he, like his brother charles, was subject when unduly excited. sir edward hales, in the meantime, was lodged in the old court hall (since partially rebuilt), whence he was removed to maidstone gaol, and to the tower. bishop burnet was at windsor with the prince of orange when two gentlemen arrived there from faversham with the news of the king's capture. "they told me," he says, "of the accident at faversham, and desired to know the prince's pleasure upon it. i was affected with this dismal reverse of the fortunes of a great prince, more than i think fit to express. i went immediately to bentinck and wakened him, and got him to go in to the prince, and let him know what had happened, that some order might be presently given for the security of the king's person, and for taking him out of the hands of a rude multitude who said they would obey no orders but such as came from the prince." upon receiving the news, william at once directed that his father-in-law should have his liberty, and that assistance should be sent down to him immediately; but by this time the story had reached the metropolis, and a hurried meeting of the council directed the earl of feversham to go to the rescue with a company of life guards. the faithful earl of ailesbury also hastened to the king's assistance. in five hours he accomplished the journey from london to faversham. so rapidly had the reports been circulated of supposed ravages of the irish papists, that when the earl reached rochester, the entire town was in a state of panic, and the alarmed inhabitants were busily engaged in demolishing the bridge to prevent the dreaded incursion. but to return to james at faversham. the mariners who had handled him so roughly now took his part--in addition to his property--and insisted upon sleeping in the adjoining room to that in which he was incarcerated, to protect him from further harm. early on saturday morning the earl of feversham made his appearance; and after some little hesitation on the king's side, he was at length persuaded to return to london. so he set out on horseback, breaking the journey at rochester, where he slept on the saturday night at sir richard head's house. on the sunday he rode on to dartford, where he took coach to southwark and whitehall. a temporary reaction had now set in, and the cordial reception which greeted his reappearance revived his hopes and spirits. this reaction, however, was but short-lived, for no sooner had the poor king retired to the privacy of his bed-chamber at whitehall palace, than an imperious message from his son-in-law ordered him to remove without delay to ham house, petersham. [illustration: entrance to secret passage, "abdication house," rochester] [illustration: "abdication house," rochester] james objected strongly to this; the place, he said, was damp and unfurnished (which, by the way, was not the case if we may judge from evelyn, who visited the mansion not long before, when it was "furnished like a great prince's"--indeed, the same furniture remains intact to this day), and a message was sent back that if he must quit whitehall he would prefer to retire to rochester, which wish was readily accorded him. chapter x james ii.'s escapes (_continued_), ham house, and "abdication house" tradition, regardless of fact, associates the grand old seat of the lauderdales and dysarts with king james's escape from england. a certain secret staircase is still pointed out by which the dethroned monarch is said to have made his exit, and visitors to the stuart exhibition a few years ago will remember a sword which, with the king's hat and cloak, is said to have been left behind when he quitted the mansion. now there existed, not many miles away, also close to the river thames, _another_ ham house, which was closely associated with james ii., and it seems, therefore, possible, in fact probable, that the past associations of the one house have attached themselves to the other. in ham house, weybridge, lived for some years the king's discarded mistress catherine sedley, countess of dorchester. at the actual time of james's abdication this lady was in france, but in the earlier part of his reign the king was a frequent visitor here. in charles ii.'s time the house belonged to jane bickerton, the mistress and afterwards wife of the sixth duke of norfolk. evelyn dined there soon after this marriage had been solemnised. "the duke," he says, "leading me about the house made no scruple of showing me all the hiding-places for the popish priests and where they said masse, for he was no bigoted papist." at the duke's death "the palace" was sold to the countess of dorchester, whose descendants pulled it down some fifty years ago. the oak-panelled rooms were richly parquetted with "cedar and cyprus." one of them until the last retained the name of "the king's bedroom." it had a private communication with a little roman catholic chapel in the building. the attics, as at compton winyates, were called "the barracks," tradition associating them with the king's guards, who are said to have been lodged there. upon the walls hung portraits of the duchesses of leeds and dorset, of nell gwyn and the countess herself, and of earl portmore, who married her daughter. here also formerly was holbein's famous picture, bluff king hal and the dukes of suffolk and norfolk dancing a minuet with anne boleyn and the dowager-queens of france and scotland. evelyn saw the painting in august, , and records "the sprightly motion" and "amorous countenances of the ladies." (this picture is now, or was recently, in the possession of major-general sotheby.) a few years after james's abdication, the earl of ailesbury rented the house from the countess, who lived meanwhile in a small house adjacent, and was in the habit of coming into the gardens of the palace by a key of admittance she kept for that purpose. upon one of these occasions the earl and she had a disagreement about the lease, and so forcible were the lady's coarse expressions, for she never could restrain the licence of her tongue, that she had to be ejected from the premises, whereupon, says ailesbury, "she bade me go to my----king james," with the assurance that "she would make king william spit on me." [illustration: monument of sir richard head] [illustration: "restoration house," rochester] but to follow james ii.'s ill-fortunes to rochester, where he was conveyed on the tuesday at noon by royal barge, with an escort of dutch soldiers, with lords arran, dumbarton, etc., in attendance--"a sad sight," says evelyn, who witnessed the departure. the king recognised among those set to guard him an old lieutenant of the horse who had fought under him, when duke of york, at the battle of dunkirk. colonel wycke, in command of the king's escort, was a nephew of the court painter sir peter lely, who had owed his success to the patronage of charles ii. and his brother. the part the colonel had to act was a painful one, and he begged the king's pardon. the royal prisoner was lodged for the night at gravesend, at the house of a lawyer, and next morning the journey was continued to rochester. the royalist sir richard head again had the honour of acting as the king's host, and his guest was allowed to go in and out of the house as he pleased, for diplomatic william of orange had arranged that no opportunity should be lost for james to make use of a passport which the duke of berwick had obtained for "a certain gentleman and two servants." james's movements, therefore, were hampered in no way. but the king, ever suspicious, planned his escape from rochester with the greatest caution and secrecy, and many of his most attached and loyal adherents were kept in ignorance of his final departure. james's little court consisted of the earls of arran, lichfield, middleton, dumbarton, and ailesbury, the duke of berwick, sir stephen fox, major-general sackville, mr. grahame, fenton, and a few others. on the evening of the king's flight the company dispersed as was customary, when ailesbury intimated, by removing his majesty's stockings, that the king was about to seek his couch. the earl of dumbarton retired with james to his apartment, who, when the house was quiet for the night, got up, dressed, and "by way of the back stairs," according to the stuart papers, passed "through the garden, where macdonald stayed for him, with the duke of berwick and mr. biddulph, to show him the way to trevanion's boat. about twelve at night they rowed down to the smack, which was waiting without the fort at sheerness. it blew so hard right ahead, and ebb tide being done before they got to the salt pans, that it was near six before they got to the smack. captain trevanion not being able to trust the officers of his ship, they got on board the _eagle_ fireship, commanded by captain welford, on which, the wind and tide being against them, they stayed till daybreak, when the king went on board the smack." on christmas day james landed at ambleteuse. thus the old town of rochester witnessed the departure of the last male representative of the stuart line who wore a crown. twenty-eight years before, every window and gable end had been gaily bedecked with many coloured ribbons, banners, and flowers to welcome in the restored monarch. the picturesque old red brick "restoration house" still stands to carry us back to the eventful night when "his sacred majesty" slept within its walls upon his way from dover to london--a striking contrast to "abdication house," the gloomy abode of sir richard head, of more melancholy associations. much altered and modernised, this old mansion also remains. it is in the high street, and is now, or was recently, occupied as a draper's shop. here may be seen the "presence-chamber" where the dethroned king heard mass, and the royal bedchamber where, after his secret departure, a letter was found on the table addressed to lord middleton, for both he and lord ailesbury were kept in ignorance of james ii.'s final movements. the old garden may be seen with the steps leading down to the river, much as it was a couple of centuries ago, though the river now no longer flows in near proximity, owing to the drainage of the marshes and the "subsequent improvements" of later days. the hidden passage in the staircase wall may also be seen, and the trap-door leading to it from the attics above. tradition says the king made use of these; and if he did so, the probability is that it was done more to avoid his host's over-zealous neighbours, than from fear of arrest through the vigilance of the spies of his son-in-law.[ ] [footnote : it may be of interest to state that the illustrations we give of the house were originally exhibited at the stuart exhibition by sir robert g. head, the living representative of the old royalist family] exactly three months after james left england he made his reappearance at kinsale and entered dublin in triumphal state. the siege of londonderry and the decisive battle of the boyne followed, and for a third and last time james ii. was a fugitive from his realms. the melancholy story is graphically told in mr. a. c. gow's dramatic picture, an engraving of which i understand has recently been published. how the unfortunate king rode from dublin to duncannon fort, leaving his faithful followers and ill-fortunes behind him; got aboard the french vessel anchored there for his safety; and returned once more to the protection of the grande monarque at the palace of st. germain, is an oft-told story of stuart ingratitude. [illustration: armscot manor house, worcestershire] [illustration: entrance gate, armscot manor house] chapter xi mysterious rooms, deadly pits, etc. at the "restoration house" previously mentioned there is a secret passage in the wall of an upper room; but though the merry monarch is, according to popular tradition, credited with a monopoly of hiding-places all over england, it is more than doubtful whether he had recourse to these exploits, in which he was so successful in , upon such a joyful occasion, except, indeed, through sheer force of habit. even cromwell's name is connected with hiding-places! but it is difficult to conjecture upon what occasions his excellency found it convenient to secrete himself, unless it was in his later days, when he went about in fear of assassination. hale house, islington, pulled down in , had a concealed recess behind the wainscot over the mantel-piece, formed by the curve of the chimney. in this, tradition says, the lord protector was hidden. nor is this the solitary instance, for a dark hole in one of the gable ends of cromwell house, mortlake (taken down in ), locally known as "old noll's hole," is said to have afforded him temporary accommodation when his was life in danger.[ ] the residence of his son-in-law ireton (cromwell house) at highgate contained a large secret chamber at the back of a cupboard in one of the upper rooms, and extended back twelve or fourteen feet, but the cupboard has now been removed and the space at the back converted into a passage. [footnote : see faulkner's _history of islington_.] the ancient manor house of armscot, in an old-world corner of worcestershire, contains in one of its gables a hiding-place entered through a narrow opening in the plaster wall, not unlike that at ufton court, and capable of holding many people. from the fact that george fox was arrested in this house on october th, , when he was being persecuted by the county magistrates, the story has come down to the yokels of the neighbourhood that "old guy fawkes, the first quaker," was hidden here! in his journal fox mentions his arrest at armscot after a "very large and precious meeting" in the barn close by; but we have no allusion to the hiding-place, for he appears to have been sitting in the parlour when henry parker, the justice, arrived--indeed, george fox was not the sort of man to have recourse to concealments, and owe his escape to a "priest's hole." the suggestion of a sudden reverse in religious persecution driving a quaker to such an extremity calls to mind an old farmstead where a political change from monarchy to commonwealth forced puritan and cavalier consecutively to seek refuge in the secret chamber. this narrow hiding-place, beside the spacious fire-place, is pointed out in an ancient house in the parish of hinchford, in eastern essex. even the notorious judge jeffreys had in his house facilities for concealment and escape. his old residence in delahay street, westminster, demolished a few years ago, had its secret panel in the wainscoting, but in what way the cruel lord chancellor made use of it does not transpire; possibly it may have been utilised at the time of james ii.'s flight from whitehall. a remarkable discovery was made early in the last century at the elizabethan manor house of bourton-on-the-water, gloucestershire, only a portion of which remains incorporated in a modern structure. upon removing some of the wallpaper of a passage on the second floor, the entrance to a room hitherto unknown was laid bare. it was a small apartment about eight feet square, and presented the appearance as if some occupant had just quitted it. a chair and a table within, each bore evidence of the last inmate. over the back of the former hung a priest's black cassock, carelessly flung there a century or more ago, while on the table stood an antique tea-pot, cup, and silver spoon, the very tea leaves crumbled to dust with age. on the same storey were two rooms known as "the chapel" and the "priest's room," the names of which signify the former use of the concealed apartment. sir walter scott records a curious "find," similar in many respects to that at bourton. in the course of some structural alterations to an ancient house near edinburgh three unknown rooms were brought to light, bearing testimony of their last inmate. one of them had been occupied as a bedroom. the clothing of the bed was disarranged, as if it had been slept in only a few hours previously, and close by was an antique dressing-gown. how interesting it would be to know some particulars of the sudden surprise which evidently drove the owner of the garment from his snug quarters--whether he effected his escape, or whether he was captured! the walls of this buried chamber, if they could speak, had some curious story to relate. not many years ago the late squire of east hendred house, berkshire, discovered the existence of a secret chamber in casually glancing over some ancient papers belonging to the house. "the little room," as it was called, from its proximity to the chapel, had no doubt been turned to good account during the penal laws of elizabeth's reign, as the chamber itself and other parts of the house date from a much earlier period. long after the palatial sussex mansion of cowdray was burnt down, the habitable remains (the keeper's lodge, in the centre of the park) contained an ingenious hiding-place behind a fireplace in a bedroom, which was reached by a movable panel in a cupboard, communicating with the roof by a slender flight of steps. it was very high, reaching up two storeys, but extremely narrow, so much so that directly opposite a stone bench which stood in a recess for a seat, the wall was hollowed out to admit of the knees. when this secret chamber was discovered, it contained an iron chair, a quaint old brass lamp, and some manuscripts of the montague family. the cowdray tradition says that the fifth viscount was concealed in this hiding-place for a considerable period, owing to some dark crime he is supposed to have committed, though he was generally believed to have fled abroad. secret nocturnal interviews took place between lord montague and his wife in "my lady's walk," an isolated spot in cowdray park. the montagues, now extinct, are said to have been very chary with reference to their roman catholic forefathers, and never allowed the secret chamber to be shown.[ ] [footnote : see _history of a great english house_.] a weird story clings to the ruins of minster lovel manor house, oxfordshire, the ancient seat of the lords lovel. after the battle of stoke, francis, the last viscount, who had sided with the cause of simnel against king henry vii., fled back to his house in disguise, but from the night of his return was never seen or heard of again, and for nearly two centuries his disappearance remained a mystery. in the meantime the manor house had been dismantled and the remains tenanted by a farmer; but a strange discovery was made in the year . a concealed vault was found, and in it, seated before a table, with a prayer-book lying open upon it, was the entire skeleton of a man. in the secret chamber were certain barrels and jars which had contained food sufficient to last perhaps some weeks; but the mansion having been seized by the king, soon after the unfortunate lord lovel is supposed to have concealed himself, the probability is that, unable to regain his liberty, the neglect or treachery of a servant or tenant brought about this tragic end. a discovery of this nature was made in in a hidden vault at the foot of a stone staircase at brandon hall, suffolk. kingerby hall, lincolnshire, has a ghostly tradition of an unfortunate occupant of the hiding-hole near a fireplace being intentionally fastened in so that he was stifled with the heat and smoke; the skeleton was found years afterwards in this horrible death-chamber. bayons manor, in the same county, has some very curious arrangements for the sake of secretion and defence. there is a room in one of the barbican towers occupying its entire circumference, but so effectually hidden that its existence would never be suspected. in two of the towers are curious concealed stairs, and approaching "the bishop's tower" from the outer court or ballium, part of a flight of steps can be raised like a drawbridge to prevent sudden intrusion.[ ] [footnote : see burke's _visitation of seats_, vol. i.] a contributor to that excellent little journal _the rambler_, unfortunately now extinct, mentions another very strange and weird device for security. "in the state-room of my castle," says the owner of this death-trap, "is the family shield, which on a part being touched, revolves, and a flight of steps becomes visible. the first, third, fifth, and all odd steps are to be trusted, but to tread any of the others is to set in motion some concealed machinery which causes the staircase to collapse, disclosing a vault some seventy feet in depth, down which the unwary are precipitated." at tyttenhanger house, hertfordshire, and in the old manor house of newport, isle of wight (where the captive king charles i. spent some of his last melancholy days), there are rooms with passages in the walls running completely round them. similar passages were found some years ago while making alterations to highclere castle hampshire. the once magnificent madeley court, salop[ ] (now, alas! in the last stage of desolation and decay, surrounded by coal-fields and undermined by pits), is honeycombed with places for concealment and escape. a ruinous apartment at the top of the house, known as "the chapel" (only a few years ago wainscoted to the ceiling and divided by fine old oak screen), contained a secret chamber behind one of the panels. this could be fastened on the inside by a strong bolt. the walls of the mansion are of immense thickness, and the recesses and nooks noticeable everywhere were evidently at one time places of concealment; one long triangular recess extends between two ruinous chambers (mere skeletons of past grandeur), and was no doubt for the purpose of reaching the basement from the first floor other than by the staircases. in the upper part of the house a dismal pit or well extends to the ground level, where it slants off in an oblique direction below the building, and terminates in a large pool or lake, after the fashion of that already described at baddesley clinton, in warwickshire. [footnote : this house must not be confused with "the upper house," connected with charles ii.'s wanderings.] everything points to the former magnificence of this mansion; the elaborate gate-house, the handsome stone porch, and even the colossal sundial, which last, for quaint design, can hold its own with those of the greatest baronial castles in scotland. the arms of the brooke family are to be seen emblazoned on the walls, a member of whom, sir basil, was he who christened the hunting-lodge of the giffards "boscobel," from the italian words "bos co bello," on account of its woody situation. it is long since the brookes migrated from madeley--now close upon two centuries. the deadly looking pits occasionally seen in ancient buildings are dangerous, to say the least of it. they may be likened to the shaft of our modern lift, with the car at the bottom and nothing above to prevent one from taking a step into eternity! a friend at twickenham sends us a curious account of a recent exploration of what was once the manor house, "arragon towers." we cannot do better than quote his words, written in answer to a request for particulars. "i did not," he says, "make sufficient examination of the hiding-place in the old manor house of twickenham to give a detailed description of it, and i have no one here whom i could get to accompany me in exploring it now. it is not a thing to do by one's self, as one might make a false step, and have no one to assist in retrieving it. the entrance is in the top room of the one remaining turret by means of a movable panel in the wall opposite the window. the panel displaced, you see the top of a thick wall (almost on a line with the floor of the room). the width of the aperture is, i should think, nearly three feet; that of the wall-top about a foot and a half; the remaining space between the wall-top and the outer wall of the house is what you might perhaps term 'a chasm'--it is a sheer drop to the cellars of the house. i was told by the workmen that by walking the length of the wall-top (some fifteen feet) i should reach a stairway conducting to the vaults below, and that on reaching the bottom, a passage led off in the direction of the river, the tradition being that it actually went beneath the river to ham house." chapter xii hiding-places in jacobite dwellings and in scottish castles and mansions during the jacobite risings of and some of the "priest's holes" in the old roman catholic houses, especially in the north of england and in scotland, came into requisition not only for storing arms and ammunition, but, after the failure of each enterprise, for concealing adherents of the luckless house of stuart. in the earlier mansion of worksop, nottinghamshire (burnt down in ), there was a large concealed chamber provided with a fireplace and a bed, which could only be entered by removing the sheets of lead forming the roofing. beneath was a trap-door opening to a precipitous flight of narrow steps in the thickness of a wall. this led to a secret chamber, that had an inner hiding-place at the back of a sliding panel. a witness in a trial succeeding "the ' " declared to having seen a large quantity of arms there in readiness for the insurrection. the last days of the notorious lord lovat are associated with some of the old houses in the north. cawdor castle, nairnshire, and netherwhitton, in northumberland, claim the honour of hiding this double-faced traitor prior to his arrest. at the former is a small chamber near the roof, and in the latter is a hiding-place measuring eight feet by three and ten feet high. nor must be forgotten the tradition of mistress beatrice cope, behind the walls of whose bedroom lovat (so goes the story) was concealed, and the fugitive, being asthmatical, would have revealed his whereabouts to the soldiers in search of him, had not mistress cope herself kept up a persistent and violent fit of coughing to drown the noise. a secret room in the old tudor house ty mawr, monmouthshire, is associated with the jacobite risings. it is at the back of "the parlour" fireplace, and is entered through a square stone slab at the foot of the staircase. the chamber is provided with a small fireplace, the flue of which is connected with the ordinary chimney, so as to conceal the smoke. the same sort of thing may be seen at bisham abbey, berks. early in the last century a large hiding-place was found at danby hall, yorkshire. it contained a large quantity of swords and pistols. upwards of fifty sets of harness of untanned leather of the early part of the eighteenth century were further discovered, all of them in so good a state of preservation that they were afterwards used as cart-horse gear upon the farm. no less than nine of the followers of "bonnie prince charlie" are said to have been concealed in a secret chamber at fetternear, kemnay, aberdeenshire, an old seat of the leslys of balquhane. it was situated in the wall behind a large bookcase with a glazed front, a fixture in the room, the back of which could be made to slide back and give admittance to the recess. quite by accident an opening was discovered in a corner cupboard at an old house near darlington. certain alterations were in progress which necessitated the removal of the shelves, but upon this being attempted, they descended in some mysterious manner. the back of the cavity could then be pushed aside (that is to say, when the secret of its mechanism was discovered), and a hiding-place opened out to view. it contained some tawdry ornaments of highland dress, which at one time, it was conjectured, belonged to an adherent of prince charlie. the old mansion of stonyhurst, lancashire, contained eight hiding-places. one of them, exactly like that at fetternear, was at the back of a bookcase. a secret spring was discovered which opened a concealed door in the wall. in the space behind, a quantity of james ii. guineas, a bed, a mattress, and a flask of rum were found. a former student of this famous jesuit college, who was instrumental in the discovery of a "priest's hole," has provided us with the following particulars: "it would be too long to tell you how i first discovered that in the floor of my bedroom, in the recess of the huge elizabethan bay window, was a trap-door concealed by a thin veneering of oak; suffice it say that with a companion i devoted a delightful half-holiday to stripping off the veneering and breaking the lock of the trap-door. between my floor and the ceiling of the long gallery below, was contrived a small room about five feet in height and the size and shape of the bay window recess. in one corner of this hiding-hole was what seemed a walled-up doorway, and it occurred to my companion and myself that we had heard some vague old tradition that all this part of the house was riddled with secret passages leading from one concealed chamber to another, but we did not seek to explore any farther." in pulling down a portion of the college, a hollow beam was discovered that opened upon concealed hinges, used formerly for secreting articles of value or sacred books and vessels; and during some alterations to the central tower, over the main entrance to the mansion, a "priest's hole" was found, containing seven horse pistols, ready loaded and some of them richly ornamented with silver. a view could be obtained from the interior of the hiding-place, in the same manner as that which we have described in the old summer-house at salisbury; a small hole being devised in the design of the sherburn arms upon the marble shield over the gateway. this was the only provision for air and light. the quaint discovery of rum at stonyhurst suggests the story of a hiding-place in an old house at bishops middleham, near durham, mentioned by southey in his _commonplace book_. the house was occupied for years by a supposed total abstainer; but a "priest's hole" in his bedroom, discovered after his death full of strong liquor, revealed the fact that by utilising the receptacle as a cellar he had been able to imbibe secretly to his heart's content. a large quantity or georgian gold coins were found some years ago in a small hiding-place under the oaken sill of a bedroom window at gawthorp hall, lancashire, placed there, it is supposed, for the use of prince charles's army in passing through the country in . the laird of belucraig (an old mansion in the parish of aboyne, aberdeenshire) was concealed after "the ' " in his own house, while his wife, like the hostess of chastleton, hospitably entertained the soldiers who were in search of him. the secret chamber where he was concealed was found some years ago in making some alterations to the roof. in it were a quantity of jacobite papers and a curious old arm-chair. the original entry was through a panel at the back of a "box bed" in the wainscot of a small, isolated bedroom at the top of the house. the room itself could only be reached by a secret staircase from a corridor below. the hiding-place was therefore doubly secure, and was a stronghold in case of greatest emergency. the innes of drumgersk and belucraig were always staunch roman catholics and jacobites. their representatives lived in the old house until . in another old aberdeenshire mansion, dalpersie house, a hiding-hole or recess may be seen in one of the upper chambers, where was arrested a gordon, one of the last victims executed after "the ." the ancient castles of fyvie, elphinstone, and kemnay house have their secret chambers. the first of these is, with the exception of glamis, perhaps, the most picturesque example of the tall-roofed and cone-topped turret style of architecture introduced from france in the days of james vi. a small space marked "the armoury" in an old plan of the building could in no way be accounted for, it possessing neither door, window, nor fireplace; a trap-door, however, was at length found in the floor immediately above its supposed locality which led to its identification. at kemnay (aberdeenshire) the hiding-place is in the dining-room chimney; and at elphinstone (east lothian), in the bay of a window of the great hall, is a masked entrance to a narrow stair in the thickness of the wall leading to a little room situated in the northeast angle of the tower; it further has an exit through a trap-door in the floor of a passage in the upper part of the building. the now ruinous castle of towie barclay, near banff, has evidences of secret ways and contrivances. adjoining the fireplace of the great hall is a small room constructed for this purpose. in the wall of the same apartment is also a recess only to be reached by a narrow stairway in the thickness of the masonry, and approached from the flooring above the hall. a similar contrivance exists between the outer and inner walls of the dining hall of carew castle, pembrokeshire. coxton tower, near elgin, contains a singular provision for communication from the top of the building to the basement, perfectly independent of the staircase. in the centre of each floor is a square stone which, when removed, reveals an opening from the summit to the base of the tower, through which a person could be lowered. another curious old scottish mansion, famous for its secret chambers and passages, is gordonstown. here, in the pavement of a corridor in the west wing, a stone may be swung aside, beneath which is a narrow cell scooped out of one of the foundation walls. it may be followed to the adjoining angle, where it branches off into the next wall to an extent capable of holding fifty or sixty persons. another large hiding-place is situated in one of the rooms at the back of a tall press or cupboard. the space in the wall is sufficiently large to contain eight or nine people, and entrance to it is effected by unloosing a spring bolt under the lower shelf, when the whole back of the press swings aside. whether the mystery of the famous secret room at glamis castle, forfarshire, has ever been solved or satisfactorily explained beyond the many legends and stories told in connection with it, we have not been able to determine. the walls in this remarkable old mansion are in parts over twelve feet thick, and in them are several curious recesses, notably near the windows of the "stone hall." the secret chamber, or "fyvie-room," as it is sometimes called, is said to have a window, which nevertheless has not led to the identification of its situation. sir walter scott once slept a night at glamis, and has described the "wild and straggling arrangement of the accommodation within doors." "i was conducted," he says, "to my apartment in a distant corner of the building. i must own, as i heard door after door shut after my conductor had retired, i began to consider myself too far from the living and somewhat too near the dead--in a word, i experienced sensations which, though not remarkable either for timidity or superstition, did not fail to affect me to the point of being disagreeable." we have the great novelist's authority for saying that the entrance of the secret chamber (in his time, at any rate), by the law or custom of the family, could be known to three persons at once--_viz._ the earl of strathmore, his heir-apparent, and any third person whom they might take into their confidence. the great mystery of the secret chamber was imparted to the heir of glamis, or the heir-presumptive, as the case might be, upon the eve of his arriving at his majority, and thus it passed into modern times from the dim and distant feudal days. that the secret should be thus handed down through centuries without being divulged is indeed remarkable, yet so is the story; and many a time a future lord of glamis has boasted that he would reveal everything when he should come of age. still, however, when that time _did_ arrive, in every case the recipient of the deadly secret has solemnly refused point blank to speak a word upon the subject. there is a secret chamber at the old cumberland seat of the ancient family of senhouse. to this day its position is known only by the heir-at-law and the family solicitor. this room at nether hall is said to have no window, and has hitherto baffled every attempt of those not in the secret to discover its whereabouts. remarkable as this may seem in these prosaic days, it has been confirmed by the present representative of the family, who, in a communication to us upon the subject, writes as follows: "it may be romantic, but still it is true that the secret has survived frequent searches of visitors. there is no one alive who has been in it, that i am aware, except myself." brandeston hall, suffolk, is also said to have a hiding place known only to two or three persons. chapter xiii concealed doors, subterranean passages, etc. numerous old houses possess secret doors, passages, and staircases--franks, in kent; eshe hall, durham; binns house, scotland; dannoty hall, and whatton abbey, yorkshire; are examples. the last of these has a narrow flight of steps leading down to the moat, as at baddesley clinton. the old house marks, near romford, pulled down in after many years of neglect and decay--as well as the ancient seat of the tichbournes in hampshire, pulled down in --and the west side of holme hall, lancashire, demolished in the last century, proved to have been riddled with hollow walls. secret doors and panels are still pointed out at bramshill, hants (in the long gallery and billiard-room); the oak room, bochym house, cornwall; the king's bedchamber, ford castle, northumberland; the plotting-parlour of the white hart hotel, hull; low hall, yeadon, yorkshire; sawston; the queen's chamber at kimbolton castle, huntingdonshire, etc., etc. a concealed door exists on the left-hand side of the fireplace of the gilt room of holland house, kensington, associated by tradition with the ghost of the first lord holland. upon the authority of the princess lichtenstein, it appears there is, close by, a blood-stain which nothing can efface! it is to be hoped no enterprising person may be induced to try his skill here with the success that attended a similar attempt at holyrood, as recorded by scott![ ] [footnote : _vide_ introduction to _the fair maid of perth_] in the king's writing-closet at hampton court may be seen the "secret door" by which william iii. left the palace when he wished to go out unobserved; but this is more of a _private_ exit than a _secret_ one. [illustration: woodstock palace, oxfordshire (from an old print)] [illustration: markyate cell, hertfordshire] the old château du puits, guernsey, has a hiding-hole placed between two walls which form an acute angle; the one constituting part of the masonry of an inner courtyard, the other a wall on the eastern side of the main structure. the space between could be reached through the floor of an upper room. cussans, in his _history of hertfordshire_, gives a curious account of the discovery of an iron door up the kitchen chimney of the old house markyate cell, near dunstable. a short flight of steps led from it to another door of stout oak, which opened by a secret spring, and led to an unknown chamber on the ground level. local tradition says this was the favourite haunt of a certain "wicked lady ferrers," who, disguised in male attire, robbed travellers upon the highway, and being wounded in one of these exploits, was discovered lying dead outside the walls of the house; and the malignant nature of this lady's spectre is said to have had so firm a hold upon the villagers that no local labourer could be induced to work upon that particular part of the building. beare park, near middleham, yorkshire, had a hiding-hole entered from the kitchen chimney, as had also the rookery farm, near cromer; west coker manor house; and the chantry, at ilminster, both in somerset. at the last named, in another hiding-place in the room above, a bracket or credence-table was found, which is still preserved. many weird stories are told about bovey house, south devon, situated near the once notorious smuggling villages of beer and branscombe. upon removing some leads of the roof a secret room was found, furnished with a chair and table. the well here is remarkable, and similar to that at carisbrooke, with the exception that two people take the place of the donkey! thirty feet below the ground level there is said to have been a hiding-place--a large cavity cut in the solid rock. many years ago a skeleton of a man was found at the bottom. such dramatic material should suggest to some sensational novelist a tragic story, as the well and lime-walk at ingatestone is said to have suggested _lady audley's secret_. a hiding-place something after the same style existed in the now demolished manor house of besils leigh, berks. down the shaft of a chimney a cavity was scooped out of the brickwork, to which a refugee had to be lowered by a rope. one of the towers of the west gate of bodiam castle contains a narrow square well in the wall leading to the ground level, and, as the guide was wont to remark, "how much farther the lord only knows"! this sort of thing may also be seen at mancetter manor, warwickshire, and ightham moat, kent, both approached by a staircase. a communication formerly ran from a secret chamber in the oak-panelled dining-room of birtsmorton court, worcestershire, to a passage beneath the moat that surrounds the structure, and thence to an exit on the other side of the water. during the wars of the roses sir john oldcastle is said to have been concealed behind the secret panel; but now the romance is somewhat marred, for modern vandalism has converted the cupboard into a repository for provisions. the same indignity has taken place at that splendid old timber house in cheshire, moreton hall, where a secret room, provided with a sleeping-compartment, situated over the kitchen, has been modernised into a repository for the storing of cheeses. from the hiding-place the moat could formerly be reached, down a narrow shaft in the wall. chelvey court, near bristol, contained two hiding-places; one, at the top of the house, was formerly entered through a panel, the other (a narrow apartment having a little window, and an iron candle-holder projecting from the wall) through the floor of a cupboard.[ ] both the panel and the trap-door are now done away with, and the tradition of the existence of the secret rooms almost forgotten, though not long since we received a letter from an antiquarian who had seen them thirty years before, and who was actually entertaining the idea of making practical investigations with the aid of a carpenter or mason, to which, as suggested, we were to be a party; the idea, however, was never carried out. [footnote : see _notes and queries_, september, .] [illustration: birtsmorton court, worcestershire] [illustration: porch, chelvey court, somersetshire] granchester manor house, cambridgeshire, until recently possessed three places of concealment. madingley hall, in the same neighbourhood, has two, one of them entered from a bedroom on the first floor, has a space in the thickness of the wall high enough for a man to stand upright in it. the manor house of woodcote, hants, also possessed two, which were each capable of holding from fifteen to twenty men, but these repositories are now opened out into passages. one was situated behind a stack of chimneys, and contained an inner hiding-place. the "priests' quarters" in connection with the hiding-places are still to be seen. harborough hall, worcestershire, has two "priests' holes," one in the wall of the dining-room, the other behind a chimney in an upper room. the old mansion of the brudenells, in northamptonshire, deene park, has a large secret chamber at the back of the fireplace in the great hall, sufficiently capacious to hold a score of people. here also a hidden door in the panelling leads towards a subterranean passage running in the direction of the ruinous hall of kirby, a mile and a half distant. in a like manner a passage extended from the great hall of warleigh, an elizabethan house near plymouth, to an outlet in a cliff some sixty yards away, at whose base the tidal river flows. speke hall, lancashire (perhaps the finest specimen extant of the wood-and-plaster style of architecture nicknamed "magpie "), formerly possessed a long underground communication extending from the house to the shore of the river mersey; a member of the norreys family concealed a priest named richard brittain here in the year , who, by this means, effected his escape by boat. the famous secret passage of nottingham castle, by which the young king edward iii. and his loyal associates gained access to the fortress and captured the murderous regent and usurper mortimer, earl of march, is known to this day as "mortimer's hole." it runs up through the perpendicular rock upon which the castle stands, on the south-east side from a place called brewhouse yard, and has an exit in what was originally the courtyard of the building. the earl was seized in the midst of his adherents and retainers on the night of october th, , and after a skirmish, notwithstanding the prayers and entreaties of his paramour queen isabella, he was bound and carried away through the passage in the rock, and shortly afterwards met his well-deserved death on the gallows at smithfield. but what ancient castle, monastery, or hall has not its traditional subterranean passage? certainly the majority are mythical; still, there are some well authenticated. burnham abbey, buckinghamshire, for example, or tenterden hall, hendon, had passages which have been traced for over fifty yards; and one at vale royal, nottinghamshire, has been explored for nearly a mile. in the older portions in both of the great wards of windsor castle arched passages thread their way below the basement, through the chalk, and penetrate to some depth below the site of the castle ditch at the base of the walls.[ ] in the neighbourhood of ripon subterranean passages have been found from time to time--tunnels of finely moulded masonry supposed to have been connected at one time with fountains abbey. [footnote : see marquis of lorne's (duke of argyll) _governor's guide to windsor_.] a passage running from arundel castle in the direction of amberley has also been traced for some considerable distance, and a man and a dog have been lost in following its windings, so the entrance is now stopped up. about three years ago a long underground way was discovered at margate, reaching from the vicinity of trinity church to the smugglers' caves in the cliffs; also at port leven, near helston, a long subterranean tunnel was discovered leading to the coast, no doubt very useful in the good old smuggling days. at sunbury park, middlesex, was found a long vaulted passage some five feet high and running a long way under the grounds. numerous other examples could be stated, among them at st. radigund's abbey, near dover; liddington manor house, wilts; the bury, rickmansworth; "sir harry vane's house," hampstead, etc., etc. chapter xiv miniature hiding-holes for valuables, etc. small hidden recesses for the concealment of valuables or compromising deeds, etc., behind the wainscoting of ancient houses, frequently come to light. many a curious relic has been discovered from time to time, often telling a strange or pathetic story of the past. a certain lady hoby, who lived at bisham abbey, berkshire, is said by tradition to have caused the death of her little boy by too severe corporal punishment for his obstinacy in learning to write, a grim sequel to the legend happened not long since. behind a window shutter in a small secret cavity in the wall was found an ancient, tattered copy-book, which, from the blots and its general slovenly appearance, was no doubt the handiwork of the unfortunate little victim to lady hoby's wrath. when the old manor house of wandsworth was pulled down recently, upon removing some old panelling a little cupboard was discovered, full of dusty phials and mouldy pill-boxes bearing the names of poor queen anne's numerous progeny who died in infancy. richard cromwell spent many of his later years at hursley, near winchester, an old house now pulled down. in the progress of demolition what appeared to be a piece of rusty metal was found in a small cavity in one of the walls, which turned out to be no less important a relic than the seal of the commonwealth of england. walford, in _greater london_, mentions the discovery of some articles of dress of elizabeth's time behind the wainscot of the old palace of richmond, surrey. historical portraits have frequently been found in this way. behind the panelling in a large room at the old manor house of great gaddesden, herts, were a number of small aumbrys, or recesses. a most interesting panel-portrait of queen elizabeth was found in one of them, which was exhibited at the tudor exhibition. in , when the house of john wesley at lewisham was pulled down, who should be found between the walls but the amorous merry monarch and a court beauty! the former is said to be riley's work. secretary thurloe's mss., as is well known, were found embedded in a ceiling of his lodgings at lincoln's inn. in pulling down a block of old buildings in newton street, holborn, a hidden space was found in one of the chimneys, and there, covered with the dust of a century, lay a silver watch, a silk guard attached, and seals bearing the lovat crest. the relic was promptly claimed by mr. john fraser, the claimant to the long-disputed peerage.[ ] [footnote : december th, .] small hiding-places have been found at the manor house of chew magna, somerset, and milton priory, a tudor mansion in berkshire. in the latter a green shagreen case was found containing a seventeenth-century silver and ivory pocket knife and fork. a small hiding-place at coughton court, warwickshire, brought to light a bundle of priest's clothes, hidden there in the days of religious persecution. in a small chamber was found at sanderstead court, surrey, containing a small blue-and-white jar of charles i.'s time. three or four small secret repositories existed behind some elaborately carved oak panels in the great hall of the now ruinous harden hall, near stockport. in similar recesses at gawdy hall, suffolk, were discovered two ancient apostle spoons, a watch, and some jacobean mss. a pair of gloves and some jewels of seventeenth-century date were brought to light not many years ago in a secret recess at woodham mortimer manor house, essex. a very curious example of a hiding-place for valuables formerly existed at an old building known as terpersie castle, near alford, lincolnshire. the sides of it were lined with stone to preserve articles from damp, and it could be drawn out of the wall like a drawer. in the year a hidden receptacle was found at the elizabethan college of wedmore, kent, containing roman catholic mss. and books; and at bromley palace, close by, in a small aperture below the floor, was found the leathern sole of a pointed shoe of the middle ages! small hiding-places of this nature existed in a wing, now pulled down, of the abbey house, whitby (in "lady anne's room"). at castle ashby, northants; fountains hall, near ripon; ashes house, near preston; trent house, somerset; and ockwells, berks,[ ] are panels opening upon pivots and screening small cavities in the walls. [footnote : another hiding-place is said to have existed behind the fireplace of the hall.] [illustration: hurstmonceaux castle, sussex] chapter xv hiding-places of smugglers and thieves horsfield, in his _history of sussex_, gives a curious account of the discovery in of an iron chest in a recess of a wall at the now magnificent ruin hurstmonceaux castle. in the thickness of the walls were many curious staircases communicating with the galleries. when the old castle was allowed to fall into ruin, the secret passages, etc., were used by smugglers as a convenient receptacle for contraband goods. until recently there was an ingenious hiding-place behind a sliding panel at the old "bell inn" at sandwich which had the reputation of having formerly been put to the same use; indeed, in many another old house near the coast were hiding-places utilised for a like purpose. in pulling down an old house at erith in a vault was discovered with strong evidence that it had been extensively used for smuggling. the pretty village of branscombe, on the devonshire coast, was, like the adjacent village of beer, a notorious place for smugglers. "the clergy house," a picturesque, low-built tudor building (condemned as being insecure and pulled down a few years ago), had many mysterious stories told of its former occupants, its underground chambers and hiding-places; indeed, the villagers went so far as to declare that there was _another house_ beneath the foundations! a secret chamber was discovered at the back of a fireplace in an old house at deal, from which a long underground passage extended to the beach. the house was used as a school, and the unearthly noises caused by the wind blowing up this smugglers' passage created much consternation among the young lady pupils. a lady of our acquaintance remembers, when a schoolgirl at rochester, exploring part of a vaulted tunnel running in the direction of the castle from eastgate house, which in those days was a school, and had not yet received the distinction of being the "nun's house" of _edwin drood_. some way along, the passage was blocked by the skeleton of a donkey! our informant is not given to romancing, therefore we must accept the story in good faith. all round the coast-line of kent once famous smuggling buildings are still pointed out. movable hollow beams have been found supporting cottage ceilings, containing all kinds of contraband goods. in one case, so goes the story, a customs house officer in walking through a room knocked his head, and the tell-tale hollow sound (from the beam, not from his head, we will presume) brought a discovery. at folkestone, tradition says, a long row of houses used for the purpose had the cellars connected one with the other right the way along, so that the revenue officers could be easily evaded in the case of pursuit. the modern utility of a convenient secret panel or trap-door occasionally is apparent from the police-court reports. the tenements in noted thieves' quarters are often found to have intercommunication; a masked door will lead from one house to the other, and trap-doors will enable a thief to vanish from the most keen-sighted detective, and nimbly thread his way over the roofs of the neighbouring houses. there was a case in the papers not long since; a man, being closely chased, was on the point of being seized, when, to the astonishment of his pursuers, he suddenly disappeared at a spot where apparently he had been closely hemmed in. many old houses in clerkenwell were, sixty or seventy years ago, notorious thieves' dens, and were noted for their hiding-places, trap-doors, etc., for evading the vigilance of the law. the name of jack sheppard, as may be supposed, had connection with the majority. one of these old buildings had been used in former years as a secret jesuits' college, and the walls were threaded with masked passages and places of concealment; and when the old "red lion inn" in west street was pulled down in , some artful traps and false floors were discovered which tarried well with its reputation as a place of rendezvous and safety for outlaws. the "rising sun" in holywell street is a curious example, there being many false doors and traps in various parts of the house; also in the before-mentioned newton street a panel could be raised by a pulley, through which a fugitive or outlaw could effect his escape on to the roof, and thence into the adjoining house. one of the simplest and most secure hiding-places perhaps ever devised by a law-breaker was that within a water-butt! a cone-shaped repository, entered from the bottom, would allow a man to sit within it; nevertheless, to all intents and purposes the butt was kept full of water, and could be apparently emptied from a tap at its base, which, of course, was raised from the ground to admit the fugitive. we understand such a butt is still in existence somewhere in yorkshire. a "secret staircase" in partingdale house, mill hill, is associated (by tradition) with the notorious dick turpin, perhaps because of its proximity to his haunts upon finchley common. as it exists now, however, there is no object for secrecy, the staircase leading merely to the attics, and its position can be seen; but the door is well disguised in a corinthian column containing a secret spring. various alterations have taken place in this house, so once upon a time it may have had a deeper meaning than is now perceptible. another supposed resort of this famous highwayman is an old ivy-grown cottage at thornton heath. narrow steps lead up from the open chimney towards a concealed door, from which again steps descend and lead to a subterranean passage having an exit in the garden. [illustration: bovey house, south devon] [illustration: mapledurham house, oxfordshire] we do not intend to go into the matter of modern secret chambers, and there are such things, as some of our present architects and builders could tell us, for it is no uncommon thing to design hiding-places for the security of valuables. for instance, we know of a certain suburban residence, built not more than thirty years ago, where one of the rooms has capacities for swallowing up a man six feet high and broad in proportion. we have known such a person--or shall we say victim?--to appear after a temporary absence, of say, five minutes, with visible signs of discomfort; but as far as we are aware the secret is as safe in his keeping as is the famous mystery in the possession of the heir of glamis. an example of a sliding panel in an old house in essex (near braintree) was used as a pattern for the entrance to a modern secret chamber;[ ] and no doubt there are many similar instances where the ingenuity of our ancestors has thus been put to use for present-day requirements. [footnote : according to the newspaper reports, the recently recovered "duchess of devonshire," by gainsborough, was for some time secreted behind a secret panel in a sumptuous steam-launch up the river thames, from whence it was removed to america in a trunk with a false bottom.] our collection of houses with hiding-holes is now coming to an end. we will briefly summarise those that remain unrecorded. "new building" at thirsk has, or had, a secret chamber measuring three feet by six. upon the outside wall on the east side of the house is a small aperture into which a stone fitted with such nicety that no sign of its being movable could possibly be detected; at the same time, it could be removed with the greatest ease in the event of its being necessary to supply a person in hiding with food. catledge hall, cambridgeshire, has a small octangular closet adjoining a bedroom, from which formerly there was a secret way on to the leads of the roof. [illustration: mapledurham house, oxfordshire] [illustration: entrance to secret staircase, partingdale house, mill-hill, middlesex] at dunkirk hall, near west bromwich, is a "priest's hole" in the upper part of the house near "the chapel," which is now divided into separate rooms. mapledurham house, axon, the old seat of the blounts, contains a "priest's hole" in the attics, descent into which could be made by the aid of a rope suspended for that purpose. upton court, near slough, possesses a "priest's hole," entered from a fireplace, provided with a double flue--one for smoke, the other for ventilation to the hiding-place. knebworth house, hertfordshire, formerly had a secret chamber known as "hell hole." eastgate house, rochester (before mentioned), has a hiding-place in one of the upstairs rooms. it has, however, been altered. milsted manor, kent, is said to have a secret exit from the library; and sharsted court (some three miles distant) has a cleverly marked panel in the wainscoting of "the tapestry dressing-room," which communicates by a very narrow and steep flight of steps in the thickness of the wall with "the red bedroom." the "clough inn," chard, somersetshire, is said by tradition to have possessed three secret rooms! cawdor castle, nairnshire--a hiding-place formerly in "the tower." bramhall hall, cheshire--two secret recesses were discovered not long ago during alterations. the following also contain hiding-places:--hall-i'-the-wood, bolling hall, mains hall, and huncoat hall, all in lancashire; drayton house, northants; packington old hall, warwickshire; batsden court, salop; melford hall, suffolk, fyfield house, wilts; "new building," southwater, sussex; barsham rectory, suffolk; porter's hall, southend, essex; kirkby knowle castle and barnborough hall, yorkshire; ford house, devon; cothele, cornwall; hollingbourne manor house, kent (altered of late years); salisbury court, near shenley, herts. of hiding-places and secret chambers in the ancient castles and mansions upon the continent we know but little. two are said to exist in an old house in the hradschin in prague--one communicating from the foundation to the roof "by a windlass or turnpike." a subterranean passage extends also from the house beneath the street and the cathedral, and is said to have its exit in the hirch graben, or vast natural moat which bounds the château upon the north. a lady of our acquaintance remembers her feeling of awe when, as a school-girl, she was shown a hiding-place in an old mansion near baden-baden--a huge piece of stone masonry swinging aside upon a pivot and revealing a gloomy kind of dungeon behind. the old french châteaux, according to froisart, were rarely without secret means of escape. king louis xvi., famous for his mechanical skill, manufactured a hiding-place in an inner corridor of his private apartments at the palace of versailles. the wall where it was situated was painted to imitate large stones, and the grooves of the opening were cleverly concealed in the shaded representations of the divisions. in this a vast collection of state papers was preserved prior to the revolution.[ ] [footnote : vide _the memoirs of madame campan._] mr. lang tells us, in his admirable work _pickle the spy_, that bonnie prince charlie, between the years and , spent much of his time in the convent of st. joseph in the rue st. dominique, in the faubourg st. germain, which under the late empire ( ) was the hotel of the minister of war. here he appears to have been continually lurking behind the walls, and at night by a secret staircase visiting his protectress madame de vassés. allusion is made in the same work to a secret cellar with a "dark stair" leading to james iii.'s furtive audience-chamber at his residence in rome. so recently as the year a hiding-place in an old french house was put to practical use by the duchesse de berry after the failure of her enterprise to raise the populace in favour of her son the duc de bordeaux. she had, however, to reveal herself in preference to suffocation, a fire, either intentionally or accidentally, having been ignited close to where she was hidden, recalling the terrible experiences of father gerard at "braddocks." chapter xvi the scottish hiding-places of prince charles edward the romantic escapes of prince charles edward are somewhat beyond the province of this book, owing to the fact that the hiding-places in which he lived for the greater part of five months were not artificial but natural formations in the wild, mountainous country of the western highlands. far less convenient and comfortable were these caves and fissures in the rocks than those secret places which preserved the life of the "young chevalier's" great-uncle charles ii. altogether, the terrible hardships to which the last claimant to the stuart throne was subjected were far greater in every way, and we can but admire the remarkable spirit, fortitude, and courage that carried him through his numerous dangers and trials. the wild and picturesque character not only of the scotch scenery, but of the loyal highlanders, who risked their all to save their king, gives the story of this remarkable escape a romantic colouring that surpasses any other of its kind, whether real or fictitious. this, therefore, is our excuse for giving a brief summary of the prince's wanderings, if only to add to our other hiding-places a record of the names of the isolated spots which have become historical landmarks. in his flight from the fatal battlefield of culloden the young prince, when about four miles from inverness, hastily determined to make the best of his way towards the western coast. the first halt was made at castle dounie, the seat of the crafty old traitor lord lovat. a hasty meal having been taken here, charles and his little cavalcade of followers pushed on to invergarry, where the chieftain, macdonnell of glengarry, otherwise "pickle the spy,"[ ] being absent from home, an empty house was the only welcome, but the best was made of the situation. here the bulk of the prince's companions dispersed to look after their own safety, while he and one or two chosen friends continued the journey to glenpean, the residence of the chieftain donald cameron. from mewboll, which was reached the next night, the fugitives proceeded on foot to oban, where a hovel was found for sleeping-quarters. in the village of glenbiasdale, in arisaig, near to where charles had landed on his disastrous enterprise, he learned that a number of royalist cruisers were upon the alert all along the coast, whereupon he determined to watch his opportunity and get across to the western isles, and remain concealed until a french vessel could be found to take him abroad. [footnote : _vide_ andrew lang's _pickle the spy_.] a boat was procured, and the little party safely embarked, but in the voyage encountered such heavy seas that the vessel very nearly foundered; a landing, however, being effected at a place called roonish, in the isle of benbecula, a habitation had to be made out of a miserable hut. two days being thus wretchedly spent, a move was made to the island of scalpa, where charles was entertained for four days in the house of donald campbell. meanwhile, a larger vessel was procured, the object being to reach stornoway; but the inclemency of the weather induced charles and his guide donald macleod to make the greater part of the journey by land. arriving there hungry, worn out, and drenched to the skin, the prince passed the night at kildun, the house of mrs. mackenzie; an alarm of danger, however, forced him to sea again with a couple of companions, o'sullivan and o'neal; but shortly after they had embarked they sighted some men-of-war, so put to land once more at the island of jeffurt. four days were passed away in this lonely spot, when the boat put out to sea once more, and after many adventures and privations the travellers landed at loch wiskaway, in benbecula, and made their headquarters some two miles inland at a squalid hut scarcely bigger than a pigstye. the next move was to an isolated locality named glencorodale, in the centre of south uist, where in a hut of larger dimensions the prince held his court in comparative luxury, his wants being well looked after by sir alexander and lady macdonald and other neighbouring jacobites. with thirty thousand pounds reward offered for his capture, and the western isles practically surrounded by the enemy, it is difficult to imagine the much-sought-for prize coolly passing his weary hours in fishing and shooting, yet such was the case for the whole space of a month. an eye-witness describes charles's costume at this time as "a tartan short coat and vest of the same, got from lady clanranald; his nightcap all patched with soot-drops, his shirt, hands, and face patched with the same; a short kilt, tartan hose, and highland brogs." from south uist the fugitive removed to the island of wia, where he was received by ranald macdonald; thence he visited places called rossinish and aikersideallich, and at the latter had to sleep in a fissure in the rocks. returning once more to south uist, charles (accompanied by o'neal and mackechan) found a hiding-place up in the hills, as the militia appeared to be dangerously near, and at night tramped towards benbecula, near to which another place of safety was found in the rocks. the memorable name of flora macdonald now appears upon the scene. after much scheming and many difficulties the meeting of the prince and this noble lady was arranged in a squalid hut near rosshiness. the hardships encountered upon the journey from benbecula to this village were some of the worst experiences of the unfortunate wanderer; and when his destination was reached at last, he had to be hurried off again to a hiding-place by the sea-shore, which provided little or no protection from the driving torrents of rain. early each morning this precaution had to be taken, as the royalist soldiers, who were quartered only a quarter of a mile distant, repaired to the hut every morning to get milk from the woman who acted as charles's hostess. upon the third day after the prince had arrived, flora macdonald joined him, bringing with her the disguise for the character he was to impersonate upon a proposed journey to the isle of skye--_viz._ "a flowered linen gown, a light-coloured quilted petticoat, a white apron, and a mantle of dun camlet, made after the irish fashion, with a hood." a boat lay in readiness in a secluded nook on the coast, and "betty burke"--the pseudo servant-maid--flora macdonald, and mackechan, as guide, embarked and got safely to kilbride, in skye. not, however, without imminent dangers. a storm nearly swamped the boat; and upon reaching the western coast of the island they were about to land, when a number of militiamen were noticed on shore, close at hand, and as they recognised their peril, and pulled away with might and main, a volley of musketry would probably have had deadly effect, had not the fugitives thrown themselves at the bottom of the boat. at the house of the macdonalds of mugstat, whose representative dreaded the consequences of receiving charles, another macdonald was introduced as an accomplice by the merest accident. this staunch jacobite at once took possession of "betty," and hurried off towards his house of kingsburgh. upon the way the ungainly appearance of flora's maid attracted the attention of a servant, who remarked that she had never seen such an impudent-looking woman. "see what long strides the jade takes!" she cried; "and how awkwardly she manages her petticoats!" and this was true enough, for in fording a little brook "betty burke" had to be severely reprimanded by her chaperon for her impropriety in lifting her skirts! upon reaching the house, macdonald's little girl caught sight of the strange woman, and ran away to tell her mother that her father had brought home "the most old, muckle, ill-shapen-up wife" she had ever seen. startling news certainly for the lady of kingsburgh! the old worn-out boots of the prince's were discarded for new ones ere he departed, and fragments of the former were long afterwards worn in the bosoms of jacobite ladies. the next step in this wonderful escape was to portree, where temporary accommodation was found in a small public-house. here charles separated from his loyal companions neil mackechan and the immortal flora. the "betty burke" disguise was discarded and burnt and a highland dress donned. with new guides the young chevalier now made his headquarters for a couple of days or so in a desolate shepherd's hut in the isle of raasay; thence he journeyed to the north coast of the isle of skye, and near scorobreck housed himself in a cow-shed. at this stage of his journey charles altered his disguise into that of a servant of his then companion malcolm macleod, and at the home of his next host (a mackinnon of ellagol) was introduced as "lewie caw," the son of a surgeon in the highland army. by the advice of the mackinnons, the fugitive decided to return, under their guidance, again to the mainland, and a parting supper having been held in a cave by the sea-shore, he bid adieu to the faithful macleod. the crossing having been effected, not without innumerable dangers, once more charles found himself near the locality of his first landing. for the next three days neither cave nor hut dwelling could be found that was considered safe; and upon the fourth day, in exploring the shores of loch nevis for a hiding-place, the fugitives ran their little craft right into a militia boat that was moored to and screened from view by a projecting rock. the soldiers on land immediately sprang on board and gave chase; but with his usual good luck charles got clear away by leaping on land at a turn of the lake, where his retreat was covered by dense foliage. after this the prince was under the care of the macdonalds, one of which clan, macdonald of glenaladale, together with donald cameron of glenpean, took the place of the mackinnons. a brief stay was made at morar lake and at borrodaile (both houses of the macdonalds); after which a hut in a wood near the latter place and an artfully constructed hiding-place between two rocks with a roof of green turf did service as the prince's palace. in this cave charles received the alarming news that the argyllshire militia were on the scent, and were forming an impenetrable cordon completely round the district. forced once more to seek refuge in flight, the unfortunate stuart was hurried away through some of the wildest mountainous country he had yet been forced to traverse. a temporary hiding-place was found, and from this a search-party exploring the adjacent rocks and crags was watched with breathless interest. still within the military circle, a desperate dash for liberty had now to be planned. nearly starved and reduced to the last extremity of fatigue, charles and his guides, glenpean and glenaladale, crept stealthily upon all-fours towards the watch-fires, and taking advantage of a favourable moment when the nearest sentry was in such a position that their approach could be screened by the projecting rocks, in breathless silence the three stole by, and offering up a prayer for their deliverance, continued their foot-sore journey until their legs would carry them no farther. the next four days charles sought shelter in caves in the neighbourhood of glenshiel, strathcluanie, and strathglass; but the most romantic episode in his remarkable adventures was the sojourn in the secret caves and hiding-places of the notorious robbers of glenmoriston, under whose protection the royal fugitive placed himself. with these wild freebooters he continued for three weeks, during which time he made himself extremely popular by his freedom of intercourse with them. the wanderer left these dwellings of comparative luxury that he might join hands with other fugitive jacobites, macdonald of lochgarry and cameron of clunes, and took up his quarters in the wood-surrounded huts near loch arkaig and auchnacarry. the poor youth's appearance at this period is thus described by one of his adherents: "the prince was at this time bare-footed, had an old black kilt-coat on, philabeg and waistcoat, a dirty shirt, and a long red beard, a gun in his hand, and a pistol and dirk by his side." moving again to miserable hovels in the wild recesses of the mountain benalder, the chieftains lochiel and cluny acted now as the main bodyguard. the former of these two had devised a very safe hiding-place in the mountain which went by the name of "the cage," and while here welcome news was brought that two friendly vessels had arrived at lochnanuagh, their mission being, if possible, to seek out and carry away the importunate heir to the stuart throne. the last three or four days of charles's memorable adventures were occupied in reaching glencamger, halts being made on the day at corvoy and auchnacarry. on saturday, september th, , he was on board _l'heureux_, and nine days later landed at roscoff, near morlaix. so ended the famous escapades of the young chevalier prince charles edward. here is a fine field open to some enterprising artistic tourist. how interesting it would be to follow prince charles throughout his journeyings in the western highlands, and illustrate with pen and pencil each recorded landmark! not long since mr. andrew lang gave, in a weekly journal (_the sketch_), illustrations of the most famous of all the prince's hiding-places--_viz._ the cave in glenmoriston, inverness-shire.[ ] the cave, we are told, is "formed like a tumulus by tall boulders, but is clearly a conspicious object, and a good place wherein to hunt for a fugitive. but it served its turn, and as another cave in the same district two miles off is lost, perhaps it is not so conspicious as it seems." it is about twenty feet wide at the base, and the position of the hearth and the royal bed are still to be seen, with "the finest purling stream that could be, running by the bed-side." how handy for the morning "tub"! [footnote : they appeared originally in blaikie's _itinerary of prince curies stuart_ (scottish history society).] in that remarkable collection of stuart relics on exhibition in were many pathetic mementoes of charles's wanderings in the highlands. here could be seen not only the mittens but the chemise of "betty burke"; the punch-bowl over which the prince and the host of kingsburgh had a late carousal, and his royal highness's table-napkins used in the same hospitable house; a wooden coffee-mill, which provided many a welcome cup of coffee in the days of so many hardships; a silver dessert-spoon, given to dr. macleod by the fugitive when he left the isle of skye; the prince's pocket-book, many of his pistols, and a piece of his tartan disguise; a curious relic in the form of two lines of music, sent as a warning to one of his lurking-places--when folded in a particular way the following words become legible, "conceal yourself; your foes look for you." there was also a letter from charles saying he had "arrived safe aboard ye vessell" which carried him to france, and numerous little things which gave the history of the escape remarkable reality. the recent dispersal of the famous culloden collection sent long-cherished jacobite relics broadcast over the land. the ill-fated stuart's bed and walking-stick were of course the plums of this sale; but they had no connection with the highland wanderings after the battle. the only object that had any connection with the story was the gun of _l'heureux_. we understand there is still a much-prized heirloom now in glasgow--a rustic chair used by the prince when in skye. the story is that, secreted in one of his cave dwellings, he espied a lad in his immediate vicinity tending some cows. hunger made him reveal himself, with the result that he was taken to the boy's home, a farm not far off, and had his fill of cream and oatcakes, a delicacy which did not often fall in his way. the visit naturally was repeated; and long afterwards, when the rank of his guest came to the knowledge of the good farmer, the royal chair was promoted from its old corner in the kitchen to an honored position worthy of such a valued possession. the end. index bedfordshire:-- toddington place berkshire:-- besils leigh bisham abbey east hendred house hurley, lady place milton priory ockwells ufton court windsor castle buckinghamshire:-- burnham abbey claydon house dinton hall gayhurst, or gothurst slough, upton court stoke poges manor house cambridgeshire:-- catledge hall granchester manor house madingley hall sawston hall cheshire:-- bramhall hall harden hall lyme hall moreton hall cornwall:-- bochym house cothele port leven cumberland:-- naworth castle nether hall derbyshire:-- bradshawe hall devonshire:-- bovey house branscombe, "the clergy house" ford house warleigh durham:-- bishops middleham darlington dinsdale-on-tees eshe hall essex:-- braddocks, or broad oaks braintree dunmow, north end hill hall hinchford ingatestone hall romford, marks southend, porter's hall woodham mortimer manor house gloucestershire:-- bourton-on-the-water manor house hampshire:-- bramshill highclere castle hinton-ampner hursley moyles court tichbourne woodcote manor house herefordshire:-- treago hertfordshire:-- great gaddesden manor house hatfield house knebworth house markyate cell, dunstable rickmansworth, the bury shenley, salisbury court tyttenhanger house huntingdonshire:-- kimbolton castle kent:-- bromley palace deal dover, st. radigund's abbey erith folkestone franks hollingbourne manor house ightham moat lewisham, john wesley's house margate milsted manor rochester, abdication house rochester, eastgate house rochester, restoration house sandwich, "bell inn" sharsted court twissenden wedmore college lancashire:-- bolling hall borwick hall gawthorp hall hall-i'-the-wood holme hall huncoat hall lydiate hall mains hall preston, ashes house speke hall stonyhurst lincolnshire:-- bayons manor irnham hall kingerby hall terpersie castle middlesex:-- enfield, white webb's hackney, brooke house hampstead, sir harry vane's house hampton court hendon, tenterden hall highgate, cromwell house hillingdon, moorcroft house islington, hale house kensington, holland house knightsbridge london, lincoln's inn london, newton street, holborn london, "red lion inn," west street, clerkenwell london, "rising sun," holywell street mill hill, partingdale house sunbury park twickenham, arragon towers westminster, delahay street norfolk:-- cromer, rookery farm oxburgh hall northamptonshire:-- ashby st. ledgers castle ashby deene park drayton house fawsley great harrowden rushton hall northumberland:-- ford castle netherwhitton wallington nottinghamshire:-- nottingham castle vale royal worksop oxfordshire:-- broughton castle chastleton mapledurham house minster lovel manor house shipton court tusmore house woodstock shropshire:-- batsden court boscobel house gatacre park longford, newport madeley court madeley, upper house oswestry, park hall plowden hall somersetshire:-- chard, "clough inn" chelvey court chew magna manor house dunster castle ilminster, the chantry trent house west coker manor house staffordshire:-- broughton hall moseley hall west bromwich, dunkirk hall suffolk:-- barsham rectory brandeston hall brandon hall coldham hall gawdy hall melford hall surrey:-- mortlake, cromwell house petersham, ham house richmond palace sanderstead court thornton heath wandsworth manor house weybridge, ham house sussex:-- albourne place arundel castle bodiam castle chichester cathedral cowdray hurstmonceaux castle parham hall paxhill scotney castle slindon house southwater, horsham, "new building" street place warwickshire:-- baddesley clinton clopton hall compton winyates coughton court mancetter manor packington old hall salford prior hall warwick, st. john's hospital wiltshire:-- fyfield house great chalfield heale house liddington manor house salisbury worcestershire:-- armscot manor house birtsmorton court cleeve prior manor house harborough hall harvington hall hindlip hall huddington court malvern, pickersleigh court stanford court wollas hall yorkshire:-- bamborough hall beare park danby hall dannoty hall fountains abbey fountains hall hull, white hart hotel kirkby knowle castle leyburn, the grove myddleton lodge, ilkley thirsk, "new building" whatton abbey whitby, abbey house yeadon, low hall aberdeenshire:-- belucraig dalpersie house fetternear fyvie castle gordonstown kemnay house banffshire:-- towie barclay castle elginshire:-- coxton tower forfarshire:-- glamis castle haddingtonshire:-- elphinstone castle linlithgowshire:-- binns house nairnshire:-- cawdor castle monmouthshire:-- ty mywr pembrokeshire:-- carew castle isle of wight:-- newport manor house guernsey:-- château du puits memory of steven gibbs ( - ). [transcriber's note: this e-book, a pamphlet by daniel defoe, was originally published in , and was prepared from _the novels and miscellaneous works of daniel de foe_, vol. (london: henry g. bohn, ). archaic spellings have been retained as they appear in the original, and obvious printer errors have been corrected without note.] and what if the _pretender_ should come? or some considerations of the advantages and real consequences of the pretender's possessing the crown of great britain. london: printed, and sold by _j. baker_, at the _black boy_ in _pater-noster-row_. . [_price d._] and what if the pretender should come? or some considerations, &c. if the danger of the pretender is really so great as the noise which some make about it seems to suppose, if the hopes of his coming are so well grounded, as some of his friends seem to boast, it behoves us who are to be the subjects of the approaching revolution, which his success must necessarily bring with it, to apply ourselves seriously to examine what our part will be in the play, that so we may prepare ourselves to act as becomes us, both with respect to the government we are now under, and with respect to the government we may be under, when the success he promises himself shall (if ever it shall) answer his expectation. in order to this it is necessary to state, with what plainness the circumstances of the case will admit, the several appearances of the thing itself. . as they are offered to us by the respective parties who are for or against it. . as they really appear by an impartial deduction from them both, without the least bias either to one side or other; that so the people of britain may settle and compose their thoughts a little in this great, and at present popular, debate; and may neither be terrified nor affrighted with mischiefs, which have no reason nor foundation in them, and which give no ground for their apprehensions; and, on the other hand, may not promise to themselves greater things from the pretender, if he should come hither, than he will be able to perform for them. in order to this we are to consider the pretender in his person and in his circumstances. . the person who we call the pretender; it has been so much debated, and such strong parties have been made on both sides to prove or disprove the legitimacy of his birth, that it seems needless here to enter into that dispute; the author of the review, one of the most furious opposers of the name and interest of the pretender, openly grants his legitimacy, and pretends to argue against his admission from principles and foundations of his own forming; we shall let alone his principles and foundations here, as we do his arguments, and only take him by the handle which he fairly gives us, viz., that he grants the person of the pretender legitimate; if this be so, if the person we contend about be the lawful true son of king james's queen, the dispute whether he be the real son of the king will be quite out of the question; because by the laws of great britain, and of the whole world, a child born in wedlock shall inherit, as heir of the mother's husband, whether begotten by him, as his real father, or not. now to come at the true design of this work, the business is, to hear, as above, what either side have to say to this point. the friends of his birth and succession argue upon it thus, if the person be lawfully begotten, that is, if born really of the body of the queen dowager, during the life of king james, he was without any exception his lawful son; if he was his lawful son, he was his lawful heir; if he was his lawful heir, why is he not our lawful king? since hereditary right is indefeasible, and is lately acknowledged to be so; and that the doctrine of hereditary right being indefeasible, is a church of england doctrine ever received by the church, and inseparable from the true members of the church, the contrary being the stigmatizing character of republicans, king-killers, enemies to monarchy, presbyterians, and fanatics. the enemies of the birth and succession of the person called the pretender argue upon it thus, that he is the lawfully begotten, or son born really of the body of the queen dowager of the late king james, they doubt; and they are justified in doubting of it, because no sufficient steps were taken in the proper season of it, either before his birth, to convince such persons as were more immediately concerned, to know the truth of it, that the queen was really with child, which might have been done past all contradiction at that time, more than ever after; or at his birth, to have such persons as were more immediately concerned, such as her present majesty, &c., thoroughly convinced of the queen being really delivered of a child, by being present at the time of the queen's labour and delivery. this being omitted, which was the affirmative, say they, which ought to have been proved, we ought not to be concerned in the proof of the negative, which by the nature of the thing could not be equally certain; and therefore we might be justly permitted to conclude that the child was a spurious, unfair production, put upon the nation; for which reason we reject him, and have now, by a legal and just authority, deposed his father and him, and settled the succession upon the house of hanover, being protestants. the matter of his title standing thus, divides the nation into two parties, one side for, and the other against the succession, either of the pretender, or the house of hanover, and either side calling the other the pretender; so that if we were to use the party's language, we must say, one side is for, and the other side against, either of the pretenders; what the visible probabilities of either of these claims succeeding are, is not the present case; the nation appears at this time strangely agitated between the fears of one party, and the hopes of the other, each extenuating and aggravating, as their several parties and affections guide them, by which the public disorder is very much increased; what either of them have to allege is our present work to inquire; but more particularly what are the real or pretended advantages of the expected reign of him, who we are allowed to distinguish by the name of the pretender; for his friends here would have very little to say to move us to receive him, it they were not able to lay before us such prospects of national advantages, and such, views of prosperity, as would be sufficient to prevail with those who have their eyes upon the good of their country, and of their posterity after them. that then a case so popular, and of so much consequence as this is, may not want such due supports as the nature of the thing will allow, and especially since the advantages and good consequences of the thing itself are so many, and so easy to be seen as his friends allege; why should not the good people of britain be made easy, and their fears be turned into peaceable satisfaction, by seeing that this devil may not be so black as he is painted; and that the noise made of the pretender, and the frightful things said of his coming, and of his being received here, may not be made greater scarecrows to us than they really are; and after all that has been said, if it should appear that the advantages of the pretender's succession are really greater to us, and the dangers less to us, than those of the succession of hanover, then much of their difficulties would be over, who, standing neuter as to persons, appear against the pretender, only because they are made to believe strange and terrible things of what shall befall the nation in case of his coming in, such as popery, slavery, french power, destroying of our credit, and devouring our funds (as that scandalous scribbler, the review, has been labouring to suggest), with many other things which we shall endeavour to expose to you, as they deserve. if, we say, it should appear then that the dangers and disadvantages of the pretender's succession are less than those of the house of hanover, who, because of an act of parliament, you know must not be called pretenders, then there will remain nothing more to be said on that score, but the debate must be of the reasonableness and justice on either side, for their admittance; and there we question not but the side we are really pleading for will have the advantage. to begin, then, with that most popular and affrighting argument now made use of, as the bugbear of the people, against several other things besides jacobitism, we mean french greatness. it is most evident that the fear of this must, by the nature of the thing, be effectually removed upon our receiving the pretender; the grounds and reasons why french greatness is rendered formidable to us, and so much weight supposed to be in it, that like the name of scanderberg, we fright our very children with it, lie only in this, that we suggest the king of france being a professed enemy to the peace and the liberty of great britain, will most certainly, as soon as he can a little recover himself, exercise all that formidable power to put the pretender upon us, and not only to place him upon the throne of great britain, but to maintain and hold him up in it, against all the opposition, either of the people of britain or the confederate princes leagued with the elector of hanover, who are in the interest of his claim, or of his party. now, it is evident, that upon a peaceable admitting this person, whom they call the pretender, to receive and enjoy the crown here, all that formidable power becomes your friend, and the being so must necessarily take off from it everything that is called terrible; forasmuch as the greater terror and amusement the power we apprehend really carries with it, the greater is the tranquillity and satisfaction which accrues to us, when we have the friendship of that power which was so formidable to us before: the power of france is represented at this time very terrible, and the writers who speak of it apply it warm to our imaginations, as that from whence we ought justly to apprehend the impossibility of keeping out the pretender, and this, notwithstanding they allow themselves at the same time to suppose all the confederate powers of europe to be engaged, as well by their own interest, as by the new treaties of barrier and guarantee, to support and to assist the claim of the elector of hanover, and his party. now, if this power be so great and so formidable, as they allege, will it not, on the other side, add a proportion of increase to our satisfaction, that this power will be wholly in friendship and league with us; and engaged to concern itself for the quieting our fears of other foreign invaders; forasmuch as having once concerned itself to set the person of the pretender upon the throne, it cannot be supposed but it shall be equally concerned to support and maintain him in that possession, as what will mightily conduce to the carrying on the other projects of his greatness and glory with the rest of europe; in which it will be very much his interest to secure himself from any opposition he might meet with from this nation, or from such as might be rendered powerful by our assistance. an eminent instance we have of this in the mighty efforts the french nation have made for planting, and preserving when planted, a grandson of france upon the throne of spain; and how eminent are the advantages to france from the success of that undertaking; of what less consequence then would it be to the august monarchy of france, to secure and engage to himself the constant friendship and assistance of the power of great britain, which he would necessarily do, by the placing this person upon the throne, who would thereby in gratitude be engaged to contribute his utmost in return to the king of france, for the carrying on his glorious designs in the rest of europe. while, then, we become thus necessary to the king of france, reason dictates that he would be our fast friend, our constant confederate, our ally, firmly engaged to secure our sovereign, and protect our people from the insults and attempts of all the world; being thus engaged reciprocally with the king of france, there must necessarily be an end of all the fears and jealousies, of all the apprehensions and doubts, which now so amuse us, and appear so formidable to us from the prospect of the power and greatness of france; then we shall on the contrary say to the world, the stronger the king of france is, the better for the king of england; and what is best for the king, must be so for his people; for it is a most unnatural way of arguing, to suppose the interest of a king, and of his people, to be different from one another. and is not this then an advantage incomparably greater to britain, when the pretender shall be upon the throne, than any we can propose to ourselves in the present uneasy posture of affairs, which it must be acknowledged we are in now, when we cannot sleep in quiet, for the terrible apprehensions of being overrun by the formidable power of france. let us also consider the many other advantages which may accrue to this nation, by a nearer conjunction, and closer union with france, such as increase of commerce, encouragement of manufactures, balance of trade; every one knows how vast an advantage we reaped by the french trade in former times, and how many hundred thousand pounds a year we gained by it, when the balance of trade between us and france ran so many millions of livres annually _against_ the french by the vast exportation of our goods to them, and the small import which we received from them again, and by the constant flux of money in specie, which we drew from them every year, upon court occasions, to the inexpressible benefit of the nation, and enriching of the subject, of which we shall have occasion to speak hereafter more fully. in the meantime it were to be wished that our people who are so bugbeared with words, and terrified with the name of french, french power, french greatness, and the like, as if england could not subsist, and the queen of england was not able to keep upon her throne any longer than the king of france pleased, and that her majesty was going to be a mere servant to the french king, would consider that this is an unanswerable argument for the coming of the pretender, that we may make this so formidable prince our friend, have all his power engaged in our interest, and see him going on hand in hand with us, in the securing us against all sorts of encroachments whatsoever; for if the king of france be such an invincible mighty monarch, that we are nothing in his eyes or in his hands; and that neither britain, or all the friends britain can make, are able to deliver us from him; then it must be our great advantage to have the pretender be our king, that we may be out of the danger of this formidable french power being our enemy; and that, on the other hand, we may have so potent, so powerful, so invincible a prince be our friend. the case is evidently laid down to every common understanding, in the example of spain; till now, the spaniards for many ages have been overrun and impoverished by their continued wars with the french, and it was not doubted but one time or other they would have been entirely conquered by the king of france, and have become a mere province of france; whereas now, having but consented to receive a king from the hands of the invincible monarch, they are made easy as to the former danger they were always in, axe now most safe under the protection of france; and he who before was their terror, is now their safety, and being safe from him it appears they are so from all the world. would it not then be the manifest advantage of this nation to be likewise secured from the dangerous power of france, and make that potentate our fast friend, who it is so apparent we are not able to resist as an enemy? this is reducing the french power the softest way, if not the best and shortest way; for if it does not reduce the power itself, it brings it into such a circumstance, as that all the terror of it is removed, and we embrace that as our safety and satisfaction, which really is, and ought to be, our terror and aversion; this must of necessity be our great advantage. how strange is it that none of our people have yet thought of this way of securing their native country from the insults of france? were but the pretender once received as our king, we have no more disputes with the king of france, he has no pretence to invade or disturb us; what a quiet world would it be with us in such a case, when the greatest monarch in the universe should be our fast friend, and be in our interest to prevent any of the inconveniences which might happen to us from the disgust of other neighbours, who may be dissatisfied with us upon other accounts. as to the terrible things which some people fright us, and themselves with, from the influence which french councils may have upon us, and of french methods of government being introduced among us; these we ought to esteem only clamours and noise, raised by a party to amuse and affright us; for pray let us inquire a little into them, and see if there be any reason for us to be so terrified at them; suppose they were really what is alleged, which we hope they are not; for example, the absolute dominion of the king of france over his subjects, is such, say our people, as makes them miserable; well, but let us examine then, are we not already miserable for want of this absolute dominion? are we not miserably divided? is not our government miserably weak? are we not miserably subjected to the rabbles and mob? nay, is not the very crown mobbed here every now and then, into whatever our sovereign lord the people demand? whereas, on the contrary, we see france entirely united as one man; no virulent scribblers there dare affront the government; no impertinent p----ments there disturb the monarch with their addresses and representations; no superiority of laws restrain the administration; no insolent lawyers talk of the sacred constitution, in opposition to the more sacred prerogative; but all with harmony and general consent agree to support the majesty of their prince, and with their lives and fortunes; not in complimenting sham addresses only, but in reality, and effectually, support the glory of their great monarch. in doing this they are all united together so firmly, as if they had but one heart and one mind, and that the king was the soul of the nation: what if they are what we foolishly call slaves to the absolute will of their prince? that slavery to them is mere liberty? they entertain no notion of that foolish thing liberty, which we make so much noise about; nor have they any occasion of it, or any use for it if they had it; they are as industrious in trade, as vigorous in pursuit of their affairs, go on with as much courage, and are as well satisfied when they have wrought hard twenty or thirty years to get a little money for the king to take away, as we are to get it for our wives and children; and as they plant vines, and plough lands, that the king and his great men may eat the fruit thereof, they think it as great a felicity as if they eat it themselves. the badge of their poverty, which we make such a noise of, and insult them about so much, viz., their wooden shoes, their peasants make nothing of it; they say they are as happy in their wooden shoes, as our people are with their luxury and drunkenness; besides, do not our poor people wear iron shoes, and leather doublets, and where is the odds between them? all the business, forsooth, is this trifle we call liberty, which rather than be plagued with so much strife and dissension about it as we are, who would be troubled with; now, it is evident _the peace_ and union which we should enjoy under the like methods of government here, which we hope for under the happy government of the pretender, must needs be a full equivalent for all the pretended rights and privileges which we say we shall lose; and how will our rights and privileges be lost? will they not rather be centred in our common receptacle, viz., the sovereign, who is, according to the king of france's happy government, the common magazine of universal privilege, communicating it to, and preserving it for, the general use of his subjects, as their safety and happiness requires. thus he protects their commerce, encourages their foreign settlements, enlarges their possessions abroad, increases their manufactures, gives them room for spreading their numerous race over the world; at home he rewards arts and sciences, cultivates learning, employs innumerable hands in the labours of the state, and the like; what if it be true that all they gain is at his mercy? does he take it away, except when needful, for the support of his glory and grandeur, which is their protection? is it not apparent, that under all the oppressions they talk so much of, the french are the nation the most improved and increased in manufactures, in navigation, in commerce, within these fifty years, of any nation in the world? and here we pretend liberty, property, constitutions, rights of subjects, and such stuff as that, and with all these fine gewgaws, which we pretend propagate trade, and increase the wealth of the nation, we are every day declining, and become poor; how long will this nation be blinded by their own foolish customs? and when will they learn to know, that the absolute government of a virtuous prince, who makes the good of his people his ultimate end, and esteems their prosperity his glory, is the best, and most godlike, government in the world. let us then be no more rendered uneasy with the notions, that with the pretender we must entertain french methods of government, such as tyranny and arbitrary power; tyranny is no more tyranny, when improved for the subjects' advantage: perhaps when we have tried it we may find it as much for our good many ways, nay, and more too, than our present exorbitant liberties, especially unless we can make a better use of them, and enjoy them, without being always going by the ears about them, as we see daily, not only with our governors, but even with one another; a little french slavery, though it be a frightful word among us, that is, being made so by custom, yet may do us a great deal of good in the main, as it may teach us not to over (under) value our liberties when we have them, so much as sometimes we have done; and this is not one of the least advantages which we shall gain by the coming of the pretender, and consequently one of the good reasons why we should be very willing to receive him. the next thing which they fill us with apprehensions of in the coming of the pretender, is the influence of french councils, which they construe thus, viz., that the pretender being restored here by the assistance of france, will not only rule us by french methods, viz., by french tyranny, but in gratitude to his restorer he will cause us to be always ready with english blood and treasure to assist and support the french ambition in the invasions he will ever be making upon europe, and in the oppressions of other nations; till at last he obtain the superiority over them all, and turn upon us too, devouring the liberties of europe in his so long purposed and resolved universal monarchy. as to the gratitude of the pretender to the king of france, why should you make that a crime? are not all people bound in honour to retaliate kindness? and would you have your prince be ungrateful to him that brought him hither? by the same rule, you would expect he could be ungrateful to us that receive him; besides, if it be so great an advantage to us to have him brought in, we shall be all concerned also in gratitude to the king of france for helping us to him; and sure we shall not decline making a suitable return to him for the kindness; and is this anything more than common? did we not pay the dutch six hundred thousand pounds sterling for assisting the late king william? and did we not immediately embark with them in the war against the king of france? and has not that revolution cost the nation one hundred millions of british money to support it? and shall we grudge to support the pretender and his benefactor, at the same expense, if it should be needful, for carrying on the new scheme of french liberty, which when that time comes may be in a likely and forward way to prevail over the whole world, to the general happiness of europe. there seems to be but one thing more which those people, who make such a clamour at the fears of the pretender, take hold of, and this is religion; and they tell us that not only french government, and french influence, but french religion, that is to say, popery, will come upon us; but these people know not what they talk of, for it is evident that they shall be so far from being loaded with religion, that they will rather obtain that so long desired happiness, of having no religion at all. this we may easily make appear has been the advantage which has been long laboured for in this nation; and as the attainments we are arrived to of that kind are very considerable already, so we cannot doubt but that if once the pretender were settled quietly among us, an absolute subjection, as well of religious principles, as civil liberties, to the disposal of the sovereign, would take place. this is an advantage so fruitful of several other manifest improvements, that though we have not room in this place to enlarge upon the particulars, we cannot doubt but it must be a most grateful piece of news to a great part of the nation, who have long groaned under the oppressions and cruel severities of the clergy, occasioned by their own strict lives, and rigorous virtue, and their imposing such austerities and restraints upon the people; and in this particular the clamour of slavery will appear very scandalous in the nation, for the slavery of religion being taken off, and an universal freedom of vice being introduced, what greater liberty can we enjoy. but we have yet greater advantages attending this nation by the coming of the pretender than any we have yet taken notice of; and though we have not room in this short tract to name them all, and enlarge upon them as the case may require, yet we cannot omit such due notice of them, as may serve to satisfy our readers, and convince them how much they ought to favour the coming of the pretender, as the great benefit to the whole nation; and therefore we shall begin with our brethren of scotland; and here we may tell them, that they, of all the parts of this island, shall receive the most evident advantages, in that the setting the pretender upon the throne shall effectually set them free from the bondage they now groan under, in their abhorred subjection to england by the union, which may, no question, be declared void, and dissolved, as a violence upon the scottish nation, as soon as ever the pretender shall be established upon the throne; a few words may serve to recommend this to the scots, since we are very well satisfied we shall be sure to oblige every side there by it: the opposition all sides made to the union at the time of the transaction of the union in the parliament there, cannot but give us reason to think thus; and the present scruple, even the presbyterians themselves make, of taking the abjuration, if they do not, as some pretend, assure us that the said presbyterian nonjurors are in the interest of the pretender, yet they undeniably prove, and put it out of all question, that they are ill-pleased with the yoke of the union, and would embrace every just occasion of being quietly and freely discharged from the fetters which they believe they bear by the said union; now there is no doubt to be made, but that upon the very first appearance of the pretender, the ancient kingdom of scotland should recover her former well-known condition, we mean, of being perfectly free, and depending upon none but the king of france. how inestimable an advantage this will be to scotland, and how effectually he will support and defend the scots against their ancient enemies, the english, forasmuch as we have not room to enlarge upon here, we may take occasion to make out more particularly on another occasion. but it may not be forgotten here, that the union was not only justly distasteful to the scots themselves, but also to many good men, and noble patriots of the church, some of whom entered their protests against passing and confirming, or ratifying the same, such as the late lord hav----sham, and the right wise and right noble e---- of nott----, whose reasons for being against the said union, besides those they gave in the house of p----s, which we do by no means mean to reflect upon in the least in this place; we say, whose other reasons for opposing the said union were founded upon an implacable hatred to the scots kirk, which has been established thereby: it may then not admit of any question, but that they would think it a very great advantage to be delivered from the same, as they would effectually be by the coming of the pretender; wherefore by the concurring judgment of these noble and wise persons, who on that account opposed the union, the coming of the pretender must be an inexpressible advantage to this nation; nor is the dissolving the union so desirable a thing, merely as that union was an establishing among us a wicked schismatical presbyterian generation, and giving the sanction of the laws to their odious constitution, which we esteem (you know) worse than popery; but even on civil accounts, as particularly on account of the p----s of scotland, who many of them think themselves egregiously maltreated, and robbed of their birthright, as p----s, and have expressed themselves so in a something public manner. now we cannot think that any of these will be at all offended that all this new establishment should be revoked; nay, we have heard it openly said, that the scots are so little satisfied with the union at this time, that if it were now to be put to the vote, as it was before, whether they should unite with england, or no, there would not be one man in fifteen, throughout scotland, that would vote for it. if then it appears that the whole nation thus seems to be averse to the union, and by the coming in of this most glorious pretender that union will be in all appearance dissolved, and the nation freed from the incumbrance of it, will any scots man, who is against the union, refuse to be for the pretender? sure it cannot be; i know it is alleged, that they will lay aside their discontent at the union, and unite together against the pretender, because that is to unite against popery; we will not say what a few, who have their eyes in their heads, may do; but as the generality of the people there are not so well reconciled together, as such a thing requires, it is not unlikely that such a uniting may be prevented, if the pretender's friends there can but play the game of dividing them farther, as they should do; to which end it cannot but be very serviceable to them to have the real advantages of receiving the pretender laid before them, which is the true intent and meaning of the present undertaking. but we have more and greater advantages of the coming of the pretender, and such as no question will invite you to receive him with great satisfaction and applause; and it cannot be unnecessary to inform you, for your direction in other cases, how the matter, as to real and imaginary advantage, stands with the nation in this affair; and first, the coming of the pretender will at once put us all out of debt. these abomination whigs, and these bloody wars, carried on so long for little or nothing, have, as is evident to our senses now, (whatever it was all along), brought a heavy debt upon the nation; so that if what a known author lately published is true, the government pays now almost six millions a year to the common people for interest of money; that is to say, the usurers eat up the nation, and devour six millions yearly; which is paid, and must be paid now for a long time, if some kind turn, such as this of the coming of the pretender, or such like, does not help us out of it; the weight of this is not only great, insuperably great, but most of it is entailed for a terrible time, not only for our age, but beyond the age of our grandchildren, even for ninety-nine years; by how much the consideration of this debt is intolerable and afflicting to the last degree, by so much the greater must the obligation be to the person who will ease the nation of such a burden, and therefore we place it among the principal advantages which we are to receive from the admission of the pretender, that he will not fail to rid us of this grievance, and by methods peculiar to himself deliver us from so great a burden as these debts are now, and, unless he deliver us, are like to be to the ages to come; whether he will do this at once, by remitting most graciously to the nation the whole payment, and consequently take off the burden _brevi manu_, as with a sponge wiping out the infamous score, leaving it to fall as fate directs, or by prudent degrees, we know not, nor is it our business to determine it here; no doubt the doing it with a jerk, as we call it, _comme une coup de grace_, must be the most expeditious way; nay, and the kindest way of putting the nation out of its pain; for lingering deaths are counted cruel; and though _une coup d'eclat_ may make an impression for the present, yet the astonishment is soonest over; besides, where is the loss to the nation in this sense? though the money be stopped from the subject on one hand, if it be stopped to the subjects on the other, the nation loses or gains nothing: we know it will be answered, that it is unjust, and that thousands of families will be ruined, because they who lose, will not be those who gain. but what is this to the purpose in a national revolution; unjust! alas! is that an argument? go and ask the pretender! does not he say you have all done unjustly by him? and since the nation in general loses nothing, what obligation has he to regard the particular injury that some families may sustain? and yet farther, is it not remarkable, that most part of the money is paid by the cursed party of whigs, who from the beginning officiously appeared to keep him from his right? and what obligation has he upon him to concern himself for doing them right in particular, more than other people? but to avoid the scandal of partiality, there is another thought offers to our view, which the nation is beholding to a particular author for putting us in mind of; if it be unjust that we should suppose the pretender shall stop the payment on both sides, because it is doing the whigs wrong, since the tories, who perhaps being chiefly landed men, pay the most taxes; then, to keep up a just balance, he need only continue the taxes to be paid in, and only stop the annuities and interest which are to be paid out. thus both sides having no reason to envy or reproach one another with hardships, or with suffering unequally; they may every one lose their proportion, and the money may be laid up in the hands of the new sovereign, for the good of the nation. this being thus happily proposed, we cannot pass over the great advantages which would accrue to this nation in such a case, by having such a mass of money laid up in the exchequer at the absolute command of a most gracious french sovereign. but as these things are so glorious, and so great, as to admit of no complete explication in this short tract, give us leave, o people of great britain, to lay before you a little sketch of your future felicity, under the auspicious reign of such a glorious prince, as we all hope, and believe the pretender to be. . you are to allow, that by such a just and righteous shutting up of the exchequer in about seven years' time, he may be supposed to have received about forty millions sterling from his people, which not being to be found in specie in the kingdom, will, for the benefit of circulation, enable him to treasure up infinite funds of wealth in foreign banks, a prodigious mass of foreign bullion, gold, jewels, and plate, to be ready in the tower, or elsewhere, to be issued upon future emergency, as occasion may allow. this prodigious wealth will necessarily have these happy events, to the infinite satisfaction and advantage of the whole nation, and the benefit of which i hope none will be so unjust, or ungrateful, to deny. . it will for ever after deliver this nation from the burden, the expense, the formality, and the tyranny, of parliaments. no one can perhaps at the first view be rightly sensible of the many advantages of this article, and from how many mischiefs it will deliver this nation. . how the country gentlemen will be no longer harassed to come, at the command of every court occasion, and upon every summons by the prince's proclamation, from their families and other occasions, whether they can be spared from their wives, &c., or no, or whether they can trust their wives behind them, or no; nay, whether they can spare money or no for the journey, or whether they must come carriage paid or no; then they will no more be unnecessarily exposed to long and hazardous journeys, in the depth of winter, from the remotest corners of the island, to come to london, just to give away the country's money, and go home again; all this will be dispensed with by the kind and gracious management of the pretender, when he, god bless us, shall be our more gracious sovereign. . in the happy consequence of the demise of parliaments, the country will be eased of that intolerable burden of travelling to elections, sometimes in the depth of winter, sometimes in the middle of their harvest, whenever the writs of elections arbitrarily summons them. . and with them the poor gentlemen will be eased of that abominable grievance of the nation, viz., the expense of elections, by which so many gentlemen of estates have been ruined, so many innocent people, of honest principles before, have been debauched, and made mercenary, partial, perjured, and been blinded with bribes to sell their country and liberties to who bids most. it is well known how often, and yet how in vain, this distemper has been the constant concern of parliaments for many ages, to cure, and to provide sufficient remedies for. now if ever the effectual remedy for this is found out, to the inexpressible advantage of the whole nation; and this perhaps is the only cure for it that the nature of the disease will admit of; what terrible havock has this kind of trade made among the estates of the gentry, and the morals of the common people? . how also has it kept alive the factions and divisions of the country people, keeping them in a constant agitation, and in triennial commotions? so that what with forming new interests, and cultivating old, the heats and animosities never cease among the people. but once set the pretender upon the throne, and let the funds be but happily stopped, and paid into his hands, that he may be in no more need of a parliament, and all these distempers will be cured as effectually as a fever is cured by cutting off the head, or as a halter cures the bleeding at the nose. how infatuated then is this nation, that they should so obstinately refuse a prince, by the nature of whose circumstances, and the avowed principles of whose party, we are sure to obtain such glorious things, such inestimable advantages, things which no age, no prince, no attempt of parties, or endeavour, though often aimed at of ministers of state, have ever been able to procure for us. . this amassing of treasure, by the stopping the funds on one hand, and the receiving the taxes on the other, will effectually enable the pretender to set up, and effectually maintain, that glorious, and so often-desired method of government, _au coup de canon, anglice_, a standing army. this we have the authority of the ancient borough of carlisle, that it is the safety of the prince, and the glory of the nation, as appears by their renowned address to king james ii. then we should see a new face of our nation, and britain would no more be a naked nation, as it has formerly been; then we should have numerous and gallant armies surrounding a martial prince; ready to make the world, as well as his own subjects, tremble; then our inland counties would appear full of royal fortifications, citadels, forts, and strong towns; the beauty of the kingdom, and awe of factious rebels: it is a strange thing that this refractory people of ours could never be made sensible how much it is for the glory and safety of this nation that we should be put into a posture of defence against ourselves: it has been often alleged, that this nation can never be ruined but with their own consent: if then we are our own enemies, is it not highly requisite that we should be put in a position to have our own ruin prevented? and that since it is apparent we are no more fit to be trusted with our own liberties, having a natural and a national propensity to destroy and undo ourselves, and may be brought to consent to our own ruin, we should have such princes, as for the future know how to restrain us, and how reasonable is it to allow them forces to do so? we might enlarge here upon the great and certain advantages of this best of governments, a standing army; we might go back to the persian, grecian, and roman empires, which had never arrived to such a pitch of glory if the people and nations whom they subdued had been able to nose them with such trifles as what we call constitution, national right, ancient privileges, and the like; we might descend also to particular advantages of government, which it is hoped we may attain to in britain when the pretender arrives, some of which are grown obsolete, and out of use, by custom, and long possession of those troublesome things called liberties; among these may be reckoned, . the whole kingdom will be at once eased of that ridiculous feather-cap's expense of militia and trained-bands, which serve for little else but to justify the picking the peoples' pockets, with an annual tax of trophy-money, and every now and then putting the city of london and parts adjacent, to ten thousand pound charge, to beat drums, and shoot muskets, for nothing; when, on the contrary, you shall in the blessed revolution we now invite you to, have all this done gratis, by the standing troops kept constantly in pay; and your lieutenancy may lay down their commissions among the rest of non-significants of the nation. . you shall be for ever out of danger of being ridden again by the mob, your meeting-houses shall no more be the subject of the enraged rabbles; nor shall the bank of england desire the drums to beat at midnight to raise a guard for grocers' hall; your new monarch will suffer none to insult or plunder the city but himself; and as the city itself shall never want soldiers, (how should it, when the whole kingdom shall become a garrison?) the money in the bank shall always be defended by a strong guard, who shall, whenever there is any danger of its being too safe, convey it, for its eminent security, from grocers'-alley to the tower, or to the exchequer, where it shall not fail to be kept for the advantage of the public. . again; upon this happy change we shall immediately be delivered from that most infamous practice of stock-jobbing, of which so much has been said to so little purpose; for the funds being turned all into one general stock, and the prince being himself your security, you may even write upon all your companies this general phrase, viz., no transfer, as they do when the books are shut up at the bank, or east-india house; so as all the rivers of water are swallowed up in the sea, as one ocean, to which they are all tending, so all these petty cheats will be engulfed at once in the general ocean of state trick, and the exchange-alley men may justly be said to buy the bear-skin ever after. . when (which is a blessing we fear we cannot hope for before) we may expect to be delivered from the throng of virulent and contumacious libels which now infest our streets; and the libellers themselves being most exemplarily punished, for a terror to the rest, will not dare to affront the government with ballads and balderdash; if an impudent fellow dares lift up his pen against the authority and power of his prince, he shall instantly feel the weight of that power to crush him, which he ought before to have feared; and pamphleteers shall then not be whipped and pilloried, but hanged; and when two or three of them have suffered that way, it is hoped those wholesome severities may put an effectual stop to the noise and clamour they now make in the nation; above all, the hands of the government will then be set free from the fetters of law; and it shall not be always necessary for the ministers of state to proceed by all the forms of the courts of justice, in such cases, by which the scribblers of the age pretend to stand it out against the government, and put their own construction upon their libels. but when these happy days arrive, juries and judges shall find and determine in these and all other cases, bring verdicts, and give sentence, as the prince in his royal justice shall direct. we might enter here upon a long list of other happy circumstances we shall all arrive to, and of great advantages not here named, which the coming in of the pretender shall infallibly bring us to the enjoyment of, particularly in matters of religion, civil right, property, and commerce; but the needful brevity of this tract will not admit of it, we shall only add one thing more, which gives weight to all the rest, viz., that the certainty of these things, and of their being the natural consequences of the bringing in the pretender, adds to the certain felicity of that reign. this sums up the happiness of the pretender's reign; we need not talk of security, as the review has done, and pretend he is not able to give us security for the performance of anything he promises; every man that has any sense of the principles, honour, and justice of the pretender, his zeal for the roman catholic cause, his gratitude to his benefactor, the french king, and his love to the glory and happiness of his native country, must rest satisfied of his punctually performing all these great things for us; to ask him security, would be not to affront him only, but to affront the whole nation; no man can doubt him; the nature of the thing allows that he must do us all that kindness; he cannot be true to his own reason without it; wherefore this treaty executes itself, and appears so rational to believe, that whoever doubts it may be supposed to doubt even the veracity of james the just. what unaccountable folly then must those people be guilty of, who stand so much in the way of their own and their country's happiness, as to oppose, or pretend to argue against, the receiving this glorious prince, and would be for having dutch men and foreigners forsooth to come, and all under the notion of their being protestants? to avoid and detect which fallacy, we shall in our next essay enter into the examination of the religion and orthodox principles of the person of the pretender, and doubt not to make it out, for the satisfaction of all tender consciences, that he is a true protestant of the church of england, established by law, and that in the very natural primitive sense of that phrase as it was used by his royal predecessor, of famous and pious memory, charles ii.----and as such, no doubt, he will endeavour for the recovery of the crown, which crown, if he obtains it, you see what glorious things he may do for himself, and us. _quam si non tenuit magnis tamen excidit ausis._ memoirs of the jacobites of and . by mrs. thomson, author of "memoirs of the court of henry the eighth," "memoirs of sarah, duchess of marlborough," etc. volume ii. london: richard bentley, new burlington street, publisher in ordinary to her majesty. . london: printed by s. & j. bentley, wilson, and fley, bangor house, shoe lane. contents to the second volume. page william maxwell, earl of nithisdale (with a portrait of the countess of nithisdale) william gordon, viscount kenmure william murray, marquis of tullibardine sir john maclean rob roy macgregor campbell simon fraser, lord lovat (with a portrait) memoirs of the jacobites. william maxwell, earl of nithisdale. it is happily remarked by the editor of the culloden papers, with regard to the devotion of many of the highland clans to the exiled family of stuart, that "it cannot be a subject requiring vindication; nor," adds the writer, "if it raise a glow on the face of their descendants, is it likely to be the blush of shame." the descendants of william maxwell, earl of nithisdale, have reason to remember, with a proud interest, the determined and heroic affection which rescued their ancestor from prison, no less than the courage and fidelity which involved their chief in a perilous undertaking, and in a miserable captivity. the first of that ancient race, who derived their surname from the lordship of maxwell, in the county of dumfries, was robert de maxwell of carlaverock, who, in , was killed at the battle of bannockburn, fighting under the banners of king james the third. from that period until the seventeenth century, the house of maxwell continued to enjoy signal proofs of royal favour; it was employed in important services and on high missions, extending its power and increasing its possessions by intermarriages with the richest and noblest families in scotland. an enumeration of the honours and privileges enjoyed by this valiant race will show in how remarkable a degree it was favoured by the stuarts, and how various and how forcible were the reasons which bound it to serve that generous and beloved race of scottish monarchs. herbert, who succeeded john de maxwell, was one of the commissioners sent by alexander the second to england, to treat for a marriage with one of the daughters of that crown; and, having concluded the negotiation favourably, was endowed with the office of lord great chamberlain of scotland, which he held during his life-time, and which was afterwards bestowed on his son. eustace de maxwell, in the time of robert de bruce, was among those patriots who adhered to the scottish king. the castle of carlaverock, one of the most ancient possessions of the brave maxwells, stands a memento, in its noble ruins, of the disinterested loyalty of its owners. the remains of carlaverock afford but a slight notion of its former strength. the importance of its situation is, however, undoubted. situated on the south borders of the nith, near to glencapel quay, it constituted a stronghold for the scottish noble, who scarcely feared a siege within its walls, and when the army of edward advanced to invest it, refused to surrender; "for the fortress was well furnished," says grose, "with soldiers, engines, and provisions." but this defiance was vain; after sustaining an assault, carlaverock was obliged to capitulate; when the generosity of edward's measures excited the admiration of all humane minds. the troops, only sixty in number, were taken into the king's service, as a token of his approval of their brave defence; they were then released, ransom free, and received each a new garment, as a gift from the king. carlaverock was, some time after, retaken by the scotch, and sir eustace de maxwell resumed his command over the garrison. it was again invested by king edward; but, on this occasion, eustace drove the english from the attack, and retained possession of the fortress. afterwards, of his own free will, he demolished the fortress, that no possession of his might favour the progress of the enemy. he was rewarded by several grants of lands, and twenty-two pounds in money. in the fifteenth century, herbert de maxwell marrying a daughter of the maxwells of terregles (terre eglise), the son of that marriage was ennobled, and was dignified by the title of lord de maxwell. his successor perished at flodden, but the grandson of the first lord had a happier fortune, and was entrusted by james the fifth to bring over mary of guise to scotland, first marrying her as the king's proxy. the house of maxwell prospered until the reign of james the sixth; by whom john, lord maxwell, was created earl of morton, and made warden of the marches: but a reverse of fortune ensued. from some court intrigue, the warden was removed from office, and his place supplied by the laird of johnstones; all the blood of the maxwells was aroused; a quarrel and a combat were the result; and, in the scuffle, the new-made earl of morton was killed. the injury was not forgotten, and john, who succeeded the murdered man, deemed it incumbent upon him to avenge his father. in consequence, the laird of johnstone soon fell a sacrifice to this notion of honour, or outbreak of offended pride. the crime was not, however, passed over by law; the offender was tried, and executed, in , at the cross in edinburgh; and his honours were forfeited. but again the favour of the stuarts shone forth; the title of morton was not restored, but robert, the brother of the last earl of morton, was created earl of nithisdale, and restored to the lordship of maxwell; with precedency, as earl, according to his father's creation as earl of morton. this kindness was requited by a devoted loyalty; and, in the reign of charles the first, the earl of nithisdale suffered much, both by sequestration and imprisonment, for the royal cause. in , in consequence of failure of the direct line, the title and estates of the nithisdale family devolved on a kinsman, john lord herries, whose grandson, william, the subject of this memoir, proved to be the last of the maxwell family that has ever enjoyed the earldom. he was served heir male, and of line male and entail of his father, on the twenty-sixth of may, ; and heir male of his grandfather, the earl of nithisdale, on the sixteenth of the same month.[ ] at his accession to his title, the earl of nithisdale possessed no common advantages of fortune and station. "he was allied," says the scottish peerage, "to most of the noble families in the two kingdoms." his mother, the lady lucy, was daughter to the marquis of douglas; his only sister, lady mary maxwell, was married to charles stewart, earl of traquair; and he had himself wedded a descendant of that noble and brave marquis of worcester who had defended ragland castle against fairfax. in addition to these family honours, lord nithisdale possessed rich patrimonial estates in one of the most fertile and luxuriant counties in scotland. the valley of the nith, from which he derived his title, owned his lordship over some of its fairest scenes. young, rich, and happily married, he was in the full sunshine of prosperity when, in the year , he was called upon to prove the sincerity of that fidelity to the house of stuart for which his family had so greatly suffered, and for which it had been so liberally repaid. it is remarkable that the adventurers in the unfortunate cause of the chevalier st. george were, with rare exceptions, men of established credit, men who had vast stakes in their country, and who had lost no portion of their due consideration in the eyes of others by extravagance or profligacy. this fact marks the insurrection of , as presenting a very different aspect to that of other insurrections raised by faction, and supported by men of desperate fortunes. so early as the year , it appears by colonel hooke's secret negotiations in favour of the stuarts, that the bulk of the scottish nobility had their hearts engaged in the cause, and that their honour was pledged to come forward on the first occasion. in the enumeration given by one of the agents employed in traversing the country, lord nithisdale and his relatives are mentioned as certain and potent allies. "in tweedale," writes mr. fleming to the minister of louis the fourteenth, "the earl of traquair, of the house of stuart, and the laird of stanhope are powerful. in the shires of annandale, niddesdale, and galloway, are the earl of niddesdale, with the viscount of kenmure, the laird of spinkell, with the numerous clan of the maxwells; and there is some hope also of the earl of galloway; thus the king's party is connected through the whole kingdom, and we are certain of being masters of all the shires, except argyleshire, clydesdale, renfrew, dumbarton, and kyle."[ ] "an affair of this nature," adds mr. fleming, "cannot be communicated to all the well affected; and it is a great proof of the zeal of those to whom it is trusted, that so many people have been able to keep this secret so inviolably." such was the commencement of that compact which, held together by the word of scotchmen, was in few instances broken; but was maintained with as scrupulous a regard to honour and fidelity by the poorest highlander that ever trod down the heather, as by the great nobleman within his castle hall. among the list of the most considerable chiefs in scotland, with an account of their disposition for or against the government, the earl of nithisdale is specified by contemporary writers as one who is able to raise three hundred men, and willing to employ that force in the service of the pretender.[ ] in the resolution to carry the aid of his clansmen to the service of either side, the chieftain of that day was powerfully assisted by the blind devotion of the brave and faithful people whom he led to battle. unhappily, the influence of the chief was often arbitrarily, and even cruelly exerted, in cases of doubtful willingness in their followers. it will be interesting to scrutinize the motives and characters of those who occupied the chief posts in command, upon the formation of this southern party in favour of the chevalier. although some of these chiefs have obtained celebrity in history, yet their efforts were sincere; their notions of patriotism, be they just, or be they erroneous, deserve a rescue from oblivion; their sufferings, and the heroism with which they were encountered, show to what an extent the fixed principle to which the scotch are said ever to recur, will carry the exertions, and support the fortitude, of that enduring and determined people. to william gordon, viscount kenmure and baron of lochinvar, was entrusted, in a commission from the earl of mar, the command of the insurgents in the south of scotland. this choice of a general displayed the usual want of discernment which characterized the leaders of the rebellion of . grave, and as a contemporary describes him, "full aged;" of extraordinary knowledge in public affairs, but a total stranger to all military matters; calm, but slow in judgment; of unsullied integrity,--endowed, in short, with qualities truly respectable, but devoid of energy, boldness, and address, yet wanting not personal courage, there could scarcely have been found a more excellent man, nor a more feeble commander. at the head of a troop of gentlemen, full of ardour in the cause, the plain dress and homely manners of lord kenmure seemed inappropriate to the conspicuous station which he held; for the exercise of his functions as commander was attended by some circumstances which required a great combination of worldly knowledge with singleness of purpose. george seaton, the fifth earl of wintoun, was another of those noblemen who raised a troop of horse, and engaged, from the very first commencement of the rebellion, in its turmoils. the family of seaton, of which the earl of wintoun was the last in the direct line, "affords in its general characteristics," says a celebrated scottish genealogist, "the best specimen of our ancient nobility. they seem to have been the first to have introduced the refined arts, and an improved state of architecture in scotland. they were consistent in their principles, and, upon the whole, as remarkable for their deportment and baronial respectability, as for their descent and noble alliances."[ ] in consequence of so many great families having sprung from the seatons, they were styled "_magnæ nobilitatis domini_;" and their antiquity was as remarkable as their alliances, the male representation of the family, and the right to the honours which they bore, having been transmitted to the present earl of eglintoun, through an unbroken descent of seven centuries and a half. the loyalty of the seatons was untainted. the first earl of wintoun had adopted as one of his mottoes, "_intaminatis fulget honoribus_," and the sense of those words was fully borne out by the testimony of time. the seatoun charter chest contained, as one of their race remarked, no remission of any offence against government, a fact which could not be affirmed of any other scottish family of note. but this brave and ancient house had signal reason for remaining hitherto devoted to the monarchs of the scottish throne. four times had the seatons been allied with royalty: two instances were remarkable. george seatoun, second earl of huntly, married the princess annabella, daughter of james the first, and from that union numerous descendants of scottish nobility exist to this day: and george, the third lord seaton, again allied his house with that of stuart, by marrying the lady margaret stuart, daughter of the earl of buchan, and granddaughter of robert the second. in consequence of these several intermarriages, it was proverbially said of the house of seaton, "the family is come of princes, and reciprocally princes are come of the family." and these bonds of relationship were cemented by services performed and honours conferred. the devotion of the seatons to mary, queen of scots, has been immortalised by the pen of sir walter scott. george, the seventh lord seaton, attended on that unhappy princess in some of the most brilliant scenes of her eventful life, and clung to her in every vicissitude of her fate. he, as ambassador to france, negotiated her marriage with the dauphin, and was present at the celebration of the nuptials. he afterwards aided his royal mistress to escape from lochleven castle, in , and conducted her to niddry castle, his own seat. when, in gratitude for his fidelity, mary would have created him an earl, lord seaton declined the honour, and preferred his existing rank as premier baron of scotland. mary celebrated his determination in a couplet, written both in french and in latin: "il y a des comtes, des rois, des ducs aussi, ce't assez pour moy d'estre signeur de seton." the successor of lord seaton, robert, judged differently from his father, and accepted from james the sixth the patent for the earldom of wintoun; distinguishing the new honour by a courage which procured for him the appellation of "greysteel."[ ] george, the fifth earl of wintoun, and the unfortunate adherent to the jacobite cause, succeeded to the honours of his ancestors under circumstances peculiarly embarrassing. his legitimacy was doubted: at the time when his father died, this ill-fated young man was abroad, his residence was obscure; and as he held no correspondence with any of his relations, little was known with regard to his personal character. in consequence partly of his absence from scotland, partly, it is said, of an actual hereditary tendency, a belief soon prevailed that he was insane, or rather, as a contemporary expresses it, "mighty subject to a particular kind of caprice natural to his family."[ ] the viscount kingston, next heir to the title of wintoun, having expressed his objections to lord wintoun's legitimacy, the young man, in , took steps to establish himself as his father's heir. two witnesses were produced who were present at the marriage of his parents, and bonds were found in the family chests, designating lord wintoun as "our eldest lawful son," by dame christian hepburn countess of wintoun, "our spouse." this important point being established, lord wintoun served himself heir to his father and became the possessor of the family estates, chiefly situated in east lothian, their principal residence being the palace of seaton, so recognized in the royal charters, from its having been the favourite resort of royalty, the scene of entertainment to mary of scots, and her court, and the residence of charles the first, when in scotland in . it was afterwards the place of meeting for the jacobite nobles, and their adherents.[ ] differing from many of his companions in arms, lord wintoun was a zealous protestant; but without any regard to the supremacy of either mode of faith, it appears to have been a natural consequence of his birth and early associations that he should cling to the house of the stuarts. one would almost have applied to the young nobleman the term "recreant," had he wavered when the descendant of mary stuart claimed his services. but such a course was far from his inclination. it was afterwards deemed expedient by his friends to plead for him on the ground of natural weakness of intellect; "but," says a contemporary, "lord wintoun wants no courage, nor so much capacity as his friends find it for his interest to suggest."[ ] he was forward in action, and stimulated the military ardour of his followers, as they rushed with their ancient cry of "set-on" to the combat. the earliest motto borne on these arms by the seatons, "hazard, yet forward," might indeed be mournfully applied to all who engaged in the hopeless rebellion of . lord wintoun, like lord derwentwater, was in the bloom of his youth when he summoned his tenantry to follow him to the rendezvous appointed by lord kenmure. he took with him three hundred men to the standard of james stuart; but he appears to have carried with him a fiery and determined temper,--the accompaniment, perhaps, of noble qualities, but a dangerous attribute in times of difficulty. robert dalzell, sixth earl of carnwath, was another of those scottish noblemen whose adherence to the stuarts can only be regarded as a natural consequence of their birth and education. the origin of his family, which was of great antiquity in the county of lanark, but had been transplanted into nithisdale, is referred to in the following anecdote. in the reign of kenneth the second, a kinsman of the king having been taken and hung by the picts, a great reward was offered by kenneth, if any one would rescue and restore the corpse of his relation. the enterprise was so hazardous, that no one would venture on so great a risk. "at last," so runs the tale, "a certain gentleman came to the king, and said, 'dalziel,' which is the old scottish word for 'i dare.' he performed his engagement, and won for himself and his posterity the name which he had verified, and an armorial bearing corresponding to the action." to james the first and to charles the first the dalziels owed their honours, and had the usual fortune of paying dearly for them, during the great rebellion, by sequestration, and by the imprisonment of robert, first earl of carnwath, after the battle of worcester, whither he attended charles the second. undaunted by the adversities which his house had formerly endured, robert dalzell, of glenæ, sixth earl of carnwath, again came forward in to maintain the principles in which he had been nurtured, and to assist the family for whom his ancestors had suffered. during his childhood, the tutor of this nobleman had made it his chief care to instil into his mind the doctrine of hereditary right, and its consequent, passive obedience and non-resistance. at the university of cambridge, young dalzell had imbibed an affection for the liturgy and discipline of the church of england; whilst his attainments had kept pace with the qualities of his heart, and the graces of his deportment. he was, in truth, a young man of fair promise, and one whose fate excited great interest, when a sombre tranquillity had succeeded to the turbulence of rebellion. gentle in his address, affable, kind-hearted, lord carnwath had a natural and ready wit, and a great command of language, to which his english education had doubtless contributed. he was related by a former marriage between the families to the earl of wintoun, whose troop was commanded by captain james dalzell, the brother of lord carnwath. this young officer had served in the army of george the first, but he threw up his commission at the beginning of the rebellion,--a circumstance which saved him from being shot at preston as a deserter.[ ] robert balfour, fifth earl of burleigh, was among the chiefs who, shortly after the outbreak, avowed their adherence to the pretender's party. he was one of the few jacobites whose personal character has reflected discredit upon his motives, and disgraced his compeers: his story has the air of romance, but is perfectly reconcilable with the spirit of the times in which lord burleigh figured. when a very young man he became attached to a girl of low rank, and was sent abroad by his friends in hopes of removing his attachment. before he quitted scotland, he swore, however, that if the young woman married in his absence, he would kill her husband. upon returning home, he found that the unfortunate object of his affections had been united to henry stenhouse, the schoolmaster at inverkeithing. the threat had not been uttered without a deep meaning: young balfour kept his word, and hastening to the school where stenhouse was pursuing his usual duties, he stabbed him in the midst of his scholars. the victim of this murderous attack died twelve days afterwards. nearly eight years had elapsed since the crime had been perpetrated, and the wretched murderer had encountered, since that time, his trial, in the court of justiciary, and had received sentence of death by beheading; but he escaped from prison a few days previously, by exchanging clothes with his sister. he was then a commoner; but in , the title of lord burleigh, and an estate of six hundred and ninety-seven pounds yearly, devolved upon him. when the rebellion broke out, his restless spirit, as well, perhaps, as the loss of reputation, and the miseries of reflection, impelled him to enter into the contest. such were the principal promoters of the insurrection in the south of scotland; they were held together by firm bonds of sympathy, and their plans were concerted in renewed conferences at stated periods. the twenty-ninth of may was, of course, religiously observed by this increasing and formidable party. during the previous year ( ) the jacobite gentry had met at lochmaben, under pretence of a horse-racing; and, although it does not appear that the earl of nithisdale was among those who assembled on that occasion, yet several of his kinsmen attended. the plates which were the prizes had significant devices: on one of them were wrought figures of men in a falling posture; above them stood one "eminent person," the pretender, underneath whom were inscribed the words from ezekiel, xxi. , "i will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is, and i will give it him." when the races were ended, lord burleigh, then master of burleigh, led the way to the cross of lochmaben, where, with great solemnity, drums beating, and colours displayed, those there colected drank to "_their king's health;_" the master of burleigh giving the toast, and uttering an imprecation on all such as should refuse to pledge it. these meetings had been continued for several years, and, during the reign of queen anne, without any molestation from government.[ ] lord nithisdale took a decided part in all these measures, and was one of those who were considered as entirely to be trusted by the earl of mar, with regard to the projected arrival of the pretender in scotland. on the sixth of august, , that project was communicated by mar to the earl of nithisdale, through the medium of captain dalzell, who was despatched likewise to lord kenmure, and to the earl of carnwath. lord nithisdale obeyed the summons, and met the great council of the jacobite nobles at braemar, where the decisive and irrevocable step was taken. lord nithisdale, in common with the other members of what was now termed the jacobite association, had been diligently preparing the contest. meetings of the association had been frequent, and even public. the finest horses had been bought up at any cost, with saddles and accoutrements, and numbers of horse-shoes. many country gentlemen, who were in the habit of keeping only two or three saddle-horses at a time, now collected double the number; and a suspicion prevailed that it was the intention of some, who were jacobites, to mount a troop. but no seizure had been made of their property in the last reign, there being few justices of the peace in dumfriesshire, nominated by queen anne, who were not in the service of the chevalier.[ ] trained bands were, however, soon raised by the well-affected gentry of the county for the protection of the neighbourhood; and nithisdale was traversed by armed bands,--closeburn house, then the residence of sir thomas kirkpatrick,[ ] being a frequent point of union for the friends of the hanoverian interests to assemble.[ ] at trepons, in the upper part of nithisdale, was the first blood drawn that was shed in this disastrous quarrel, mr. bell of nimsea, a jacobite gentleman, being there shot through the leg by one of the guards, on his refusing to obey orders.[ ] the occurrence was typical of the remorseless cruelty which was afterwards exhibited towards the brave but unfortunate insurgents. by a clause in the act "for encouraging loyalty in scotland," passed on the thirtieth of august, power was given to the authorities to summon to edinburgh all the heads of the jacobite clans, and other suspected persons, by a certain day, to find bail for their good conduct. among the long list of persons who were thus cited to appear, was the earl of nithisdale. upon his non-appearance, he was, with the rest, denounced, and declared a rebel.[ ] this citation was followed by an outbreak on the part of lord kenmure and his followers, simultaneous to that on which the northumberland jacobites had decided. and the borders now became the chief haunts of the insurgents, who continued moving from place to place, and from house to house, in order to ripen the scheme which involved, as they considered, their dearest interests. the loyal inhabitants of dumfries were engaged, one saturday, in the solemnities of preparation for the holy sacrament, when they received intimation of a plot to surprise and take possession of the town on the following sabbath, during the time of communion. this project was defeated by the prompt assembling of forces, notwithstanding that lord kenmure, with one hundred and fifty-three horsemen, advanced within a mile and a half of the town, on his march from moffat. upon being advised of the preparations made for defence, this too prudent commander addressed his troops, and said, "that he doubted not there were, in the town, as brave gentlemen there as himself, and that he would not go on to dumfries that day." he returned to lochmaben, where, on the following thursday, the pretender's standard was proclaimed: lochmaben is a small market-town about fifteen miles from dumfries; it served for some time as the head-quarters of the jacobite party. "at their approach," relates the historian of that local insurrection, "the people of that place had put their cattle into a fold to make room for their horses; but the beasts having broken the fold, some of them drew home to the town a little before day; and a townsman, going to hunt one of 'em out of his yeard, called on his dog nam'd 'help.' hereupon the sentries cried 'where?' and apprehending it had been a party from dumfries to attack them, gave the alarm to the rebels, who got up in great confusion." lord kenmure, attended by the jacobite chiefs, and lord nithisdale, soon quitted the town of lochmaben; and proceeding to ecclefechan, and thence marching to langholme, reached hawick on the fifteenth of september, and determined on proceeding from that place into teviotdale. meantime measures were taken by the duke of roxburgh, who was lieutenant governor of dumfriesshire, to prevent the castle of carlaverock being made available for the jacobite forces. the duke gave orders that the back bridge of the isle should be taken off, and a communication thus cut off between the papists in the lower part of galloway and the rebels in the borders. the inhabitants of the parish of carlaverock were also strictly watched, being tenants, mostly, of the earl of nithisdale; and the same precaution was taken with regard to his lordship's tenantry in traquair, terregles, and kirkcunyean; yet, according to the statement of mr. reay, a most violent partisan against the jacobites, the humble dwellers on these estates were but little disposed to follow their chieftain, who took, so the same account declares, "only two or three domestic servants with him."[ ] this, however, is contradicted by the assertion of mr. patten, who specifies that lord nithisdale was followed by three hundred of his tenantry; and also by the expectations which were founded, upon a close survey and scrutiny, by the agents of the chevalier before the outbreak.[ ] lord nithisdale had now taken a last farewell of the beautiful and smiling country of his forefathers; with what bright hopes, with what anticipations of a successful march and a triumphant return he may have quitted terregles, it is easy to conjecture. unhappily his enterprise was linked to one over which a man, singularly ill-fitted for the office of command, presided: for it was decreed that the jacobite forces, under the command of lord kenmure, should proceed to the assistance of mr. forster's ill-fated insurrection in the north of england. the history of that luckless and ill-concerted enterprise has been already given.[ ] the earl of nithisdale was taken prisoner after the battle of preston, but little mention is made of his peculiar services at that place. lord nithisdale was, with other prisoners of the same rank, removed to london. the prisoners of inferior rank were disposed of, under strong guards, in the different castles of lancaster, chester, and liverpool. the indignities which were wreaked upon the unfortunate jacobites as they entered london have been detailed in the life of lord derwentwater. amid the cries of a savage populace, and the screams of "no warming pan," "king george for ever!" an exclamation which proves how deeply the notion of spurious birth had sunk into the minds of the people, the earl of nithisdale was conducted, his arms tied with cords, and the reins of his horse taken from him, with his unfortunate companions, into the tower. he arrived in london on the th of december, .[ ] of the manner in which the state prisoners of that period were treated, there are sufficient records left to prove that no feeling of compassion for what might be deemed a wrong, but yet a generous principle of devotion to the stuarts, no high-toned sentiment of respect to bravery, nor consideration for the habits and feelings of their prisoners, influenced the british government during that time of triumph. the mode in which those unfortunate captives were left in the utmost penury and necessity to petition for some provision, after their estates were escheated, plainly manifests how little there was of that sympathy with calamity which marks the present day.[ ] but if the state prisoners in london were treated with little humanity, those who were huddled together in close prisons at preston, chester, liverpool, and the other towns were in a still more wretched condition. in the stores of the state paper office are to be found heartrending appeals for mercy, from prisoners sinking under dire diseases from too close contiguity, or from long confinement in one apartment. consumption seems to have been very prevalent; and in newgate the gaol fever raged. for this rigorous confinement the excuse was, that it had been found impossible to give the prisoners air, without risk of escape. in chester, the townspeople conspired to assist the poor wretches in this endeavour; and perhaps, in regard to those of meaner rank, the authorities were not very averse to the success of such efforts, for the prisons were crowded, and the expense of even keeping the unfortunate captives alive began to be a source of complaint on the part of government. the great majority of the prisoners of the north were country gentlemen, roman catholics, from cumberland and northumberland,--men who were hearty and sincere in their convictions of the righteousness of their cause--men, whose ancestors had mustered their tenantry in the field for charles the first. to those whose lives were spared, a petition was recommended, and taken round for signature, praying that their sentence of death or of imprisonment might be exchanged for transportation. but, whether these high-spirited gentlemen expected that another insurrection might act in their favour, or whether they preferred death to a final farewell, under circumstances so dreadful, to their country, does not appear. they mostly refused to sign the petition, which was offered to them singly: and the commandant at preston, colonel rapin, in his correspondence with lord townshend, expresses his annoyance at their obstinacy, and expatiates on the inconvenience of the numbers under his charge at preston. at length, after captain john dalzell, brother to the earl of carnwath, had signed the petition, a large body of the prisoners were ordered to be transported without their petitioning, and to be put in irons. they were hurried away to liverpool, to embark thence for the colonies, gentlemen and private soldiers mingled in one mass; but orders were afterwards sent by lord townshend to detain the gentlemen. three hundred and twenty-seven prisoners had, however, been already shipped off. those who remained were not permitted to converse, even with each other, without risk,--one thomas wells being appointed as a spy to write to the jacobites, and to discourse with them, under the garb of friendliness, in order to draw out their real sentiments.[ ] from this digression, which may not be deemed irrelevant, since it marks the spirit of the times, we return to the unhappy prisoners in the tower, which was now thickly tenanted by the fallen jacobites. lord nithisdale had the sorrow of knowing that many of his friends and kinsmen were in the same gloomy and impenetrable fortress to which he had been conducted. it is possible that the jacobite noblemen were not hopeless; and that remembering the clemency of william the third to those who had held a treasonable correspondence with the court of st. germains, they might look for a similar line of policy from the reigning monarch. it must be acknowledged, however, that government had been greatly exasperated by acts of violence and of wanton destruction on the part of the jacobites throughout the country; and that the general disaffection throughout the north, and, in particular, the strong tory predilections at oxford, must have greatly aggravated the dangers, and consequently, in a political view, have enhanced the crimes of the chevalier's adherents. "the country," writes colonel rapin to lord townshend, "is full of them [the jacobites], and the same spirit reigns in london." "oxford," writes an informant, under the name of _philopoliticus_, "is debauched by jacobitism. they call the parliament the rump; and riots in the street, with cries of 'down with the rump!' occur daily." even the fellows and heads of the colleges were disposed to jacobite opinions; and the jacobites had expected that the city would become the chevalier's head-quarters as it had been that of charles the first.[ ] but that which hastened the fate of the earl of nithisdale and of his friends, was the landing of james stuart, at peterhead, in scotland, on the twenty-second of december,--an event which took place too late for his friends and partisans, and fatally increased the calamities of those who had suffered in his cause. on monday, the ninth of january, he made his public entry into perth, and, on the same day, the reigning monarch addressed his parliament.[ ] "among the many unavoidable ill consequences of this rebellion," said the king, "none affects me more sensibly than that extraordinary burden which it has, and must, create to my faithful subjects. to ease them as far as lies in my power, i take this first opportunity of declaring that i freely give up all the estates that shall become forfeited to the crown by this rebellion, to be applied towards defraying the extraordinary expense incurred on this occasion." as soon as a suitable address had been returned by both houses, a debate concerning the prisoners taken in rebellion ensued, and a conference was determined on with the house of lords. mr. lechmere, who was named to carry up the message to the lords, returned, and made a long and memorable speech, concerning the rise, depth, and extent of the rebellion; after which it was resolved, _nemine contradicente_, to impeach the earl of derwentwater, william lord widdrington, william earl of nithisdale, robert earl of carnwath, george earl of wintoun, william viscount kenmure, and william lord nairn, of high treason. the same evening, a committee was appointed to draw up articles of impeachment; and so great was the dispatch used, and so zealous were the committee, that in two hours the articles were prepared, agreed to, and ordered to be engrossed with the usual saving clause. during this time, the lords remained sitting, and before ten o'clock the articles were presented before that assembly. on the following day, the prisoners were conducted before the bar of the house, where the articles of impeachment were read to them, and they were desired to prepare their replies on the sixteenth day of the month. thus only six days were allowed for their answers; upon application, however, two days more were granted. the prisoners were allowed to choose counsel, and also to have a free communication with any persons, either peers or commoners, whom they might name. on the twenty-first of january, the king again addressed his parliament, and referred to the recent landing of the "pretender" in scotland. the reply of the two houses to this speech emphatically declares, "that the landing of the pretender hath increased their indignation against him and his adherents, and that they were determined to do everything in their power to assist his majesty, not only in subduing the present rebellion, but in destroying the seeds and causes of it, that the like disturbance may never rise again to impair the blessings of his majesty's reign."[ ] on the ninth of february the six impeached lords were brought, at eleven in the morning, to the court erected in westminster hall, wherein both lords and commons were assembled. the ceremonial of opening this celebrated court was conducted in the following manner:-- the lords being placed on their proper seats, and the lord high steward on the woolsack, the clerk of the crown in the court of chancery, after making three reverences to the lord steward, presented, on his knees, the king's commission; which, after the usual reverences, was placed on the table. a proclamation for silence was then heard. the high steward stood up and addressed the peers, "his majesty's commission is going to be read; your lordships are desired to attend." the peers hereupon arose, uncovered themselves, and stood while the commission was being read. the voice of the sergeant-at-arms exclaimed, "god save the king!" the herald and gentleman usher of the black rod, after three reverences, kneeling, then presented the white staff to his grace, the high steward; upon which his grace, attended by the herald, the black rod, and seal bearer, removed from the woolsack to an armed chair which was placed on the uppermost step but one next to the throne. the clerk of the crown ordered the serjeant-at-arms to make another proclamation for silence; and amidst the stillness, the lieutenant of the tower brought in, amid an assembly of their compeers, his prisoners. lord wintoun was alone absent; for he had obtained a few days of delay.[ ] the earl of nithisdale pleaded guilty, with his companions in misfortune. on thursday, the nineteenth of january, when called upon for his answer, his defence was couched in the following terms: "it is with the greatest confusion," he began, "the said earl appears at your lordships' bar, under the weight of an impeachment by the commons of great britain for high treason." he went on to declare that he had ever been a zealous assertor of the liberties of his country, and never engaged in any design to subvert the established government and good laws of the kingdom. when summoned by those who were entrusted with the administration of the government in scotland to edinburgh, he did, he alleged, not obey the summons, being assured that if he went thither he would be made a close prisoner. he was therefore forced to abscond; for being at that time in ill-health, a confinement in edinburgh castle would have endangered his life. the earl also stated that he had remained in privacy, until several of the persons mentioned in the impeachment had appeared in arms very near the place where they had lain concealed. he then "inconsiderately and unfortunately" joined them, with four domestics only, and proceeded in their company to the places named in the indictment; but knew nothing of the intended insurrection until the party "were actually in arms." after some expressions, stating that he was deeply sensible of his offence, he confessed, with "a sorrow equal to his crime," that he was guilty; "but referred to his hopes of mercy, grounded on his having capitulated at preston, where he performed the duty of a christian in preventing effusion of blood; and on his reliance on his majesty's mercy." on being further asked by the lord high steward whether he had anything to say "why judgment should not pass upon him according to law," lord nithisdale recapitulated the points in his answer in so weak a voice, that the lord steward reiterated the former question: "have you pleaded anything in arrest of judgment?" "no, my lord, i have not," was the reply. the earl of nithisdale received the sentence of condemnation with the other lords; and, like them, had the misery of hearing his doom prefaced by a long and admired harangue. the sentence was then pronounced in all its barbarous particularities; the law being in this, as the lord high steward declared, deaf to all distinctions of rank, "required that he should pronounce them." but his grace intimated the most ignominious and painful parts of the sentence were usually remitted. lord nithisdale, unlike lord widdrington and lord kenmure, who had referred in terms of anguish to their wives and children, had made no appeal on the plea of those family ties, to which few of his judges could have been insensible. he returned to the tower, under sentence of death, to be saved by the heroism of a woman; according to some accounts, of his mother;[ ] but actually, by the fearless, devoted affection of his wife. winifred, countess of nithisdale, appears, from her portrait by kneller, to have conjoined to an heroic contempt of danger a feminine and delicate appearance, with great loveliness of countenance.[ ] she was descended from a family who knew no prouder recollection than that their castle-towers had been the last to welcome the unhappy charles the first in the manner suited to royalty. her mother was the lady elizabeth herbert, daughter of edward, the second marquis of worcester, and author of "the century of inventions." lady nithisdale was therefore the great-granddaughter of that justly honoured marquis of worcester whose loyalty and disinterestedness were features of a character as excellent in private life, as benevolent, as sincere, as it was conspicuous in his public career. yet, so universal, so continual has been the popular prejudice against popery in this country, that even the virtues of this good man could scarcely rescue him from the imputation, as lord clarendon expresses it, of being "that sort of catholics, the people rendered odious, by accusing to be most jesuited." the maternal family of lady nithisdale were, therefore, of the same faith with her husband, and, like his family, they had suffered deeply for the cause of the stuarts; and it is remarkable that, with what some might deem infatuation, many descendants of those who had seen their fairest possessions ravaged, their friends and kindred slain, should be ready to suffer again. it is impossible for any reasoning to dispel the idea that this must be a true and fixed principle, independent, in many noble instances, of the hope of reward,--a far less enduring motive, and one which would be apt to change with every change of fortune. lady nithisdale, on her father's side, was descended from the herberts of powis castle, who were ennobled in the reign of james the first. she was the fourth daughter of william, marquis of powis, who followed james the second, after his abdication, to france, and was created by that monarch duke of powis, a title not recognised in england.[ ] the titular duke of powis, as he is frequently called in history, chose to remain at st. germains, and was at length outlawed for not returning within a certain period. he died at st. germains in . upon the death of her father, lady winifred herbert was placed with her elder sister, the lady lucy, in the english convent at bruges, of which lady lucy eventually became abbess. a less severe fate was, however, in store for the younger sister. under these adverse circumstances, so far as related to the proper maintenance of her father's rank in england, was winifred herbert reared. how and where she met with lord nithisdale, and whether the strong attachment which afterwards united them so indissolubly, was nurtured in the saloons of st. germains, or in the romantic haunts of nithisdale, we have no information to decide, neither have the descendants of the family been able even to ascertain the date of her marriage. it is not improbable, however, that, before his marriage, lord nithisdale visited paris and rome, since the practice of making what was called "the grand tour" not only prevailed among the higher classes, but especially among the jacobite nobility, many of whom, as in the case of lord derwentwater, were educated abroad; and this is more especially likely to have been the case in the instance of lord nithisdale, since, as lady nithisdale remarks in her narrative, her husband was a roman catholic in a part of scotland peculiarly adverse to that faith, "the only support," as she calls him, "of the catholics against the inveteracy of the whigs, who were very numerous in that part of scotland." in her participation of those decided political opinions, which were inbred in lady nithisdale, she appears not to have departed from that feminine character which rises to sublimity when coupled with a fearless sacrifice of selfish considerations. it was the custom of the day for ladies to share in the intrigues of faction, more or less. lady fauconbridge, the countess of derwentwater, lady seaforth, all appear to have taken a lively part in the interests of the jacobites. the duchess of marlborough was, politically speaking, extinct; but the restless love of ascendancy is never extinct. the fashionable world were still divided between her, and the rival whom she so despised, catherine sedley, duchess of buckingham. but lady nithisdale, living in the north, and possibly occupied with her two children, remained, as she affirms, in the country, until the intelligence of her lord's committal to the tower brought her from her seclusion years afterwards; she writes thus to her sister, the lady lucy herbert, abbess of the english augustine nuns at bruges, who had, it seems, requested from her an account of the circumstances under which lord nithisdale escaped from the tower. "i first came to london," lady nithisdale writes, "upon hearing that my lord was committed to the tower. i was at the same time informed that he had expressed the greatest anxiety to see me, having, as he afterwards told me, no one to console him till i came. i rode to newcastle, and from thence took the stage to york. when i arrived there, the snow was so deep that the stage could not set out for london. the season was so severe, and the roads so bad, that the post itself was stopped: however, i took horses and rode to london, though the snow was generally above the horses' girths and arrived safe without any accident." after this perilous journey, the determined woman sought interviews with the reigning ministers, but she met with no encouragement; on the contrary, she was assured that, although some of the prisoners were to be saved, lord nithisdale would not be of the number. "when i inquired," she continues, "into the reason of this distinction, i could obtain no other answer than that they would not flatter me. but i soon perceived the reasons, which they declined alleging me. a roman catholic upon the frontiers of scotland, who headed a very considerable party, a man whose family had always signalized itself by its loyalty to the royal house of stuart, would," she argued, "become a very agreeable sacrifice to the opposite party. they still," so thought lady nithisdale, "remembered the defence of the castle of carlaverock against the republicans by lord nithisdale's grandfather, and were resolved not to let his grandson escape from their power." upon weighing all these considerations, lady nithisdale perceived that all hope of mercy was vain; she determined to dismiss all such dependance from her mind, and to confide in her own efforts. it was not impossible to bribe the guards who were set over the state prisoners: indeed, from the number of escapes, there must either have been a very venal spirit among the people who had the charge of the prisoners generally, or a compassionate leaning in their favour. having formed her resolution, lady nithisdale decided to communicate it to no one, except to her "dear evans," a maid, or companion, who was of paramount assistance to her in the whole affair. meantime, public indications of compassion for the condemned lords, seemed to offer better hopes than the dangerous enterprise of effecting an escape. on the eighteenth of february, orders were sent both to the lieutenant of the tower and to the sheriffs of london and middlesex for the executions of the rebel lords.[ ] great solicitations had, meantime, been made for them, and the petitions for mercy not only reached the court, but came down to the two houses of parliament, and being seconded by some members, debates ensued. that in the commons ended in a motion for an adjournment, carried by a majority of seven only, and intended to avoid any further interposition in that house. many who used to vote with the government, influenced, says a contemporary writer, by "the word _mercy_, voted with the contrary party." in the house of peers, however, the question being put, whether the petitions should be received and read, it was carried by a majority of nine or ten voices. but the sanguine hopes of those who were hanging upon the decisions of the lords for life or death, were again cruelly disappointed. after reading the petitions, the next question was, whether in case of an impeachment, the king had power to reprieve? this was carried by an affirmative, and followed by a motion to address his majesty, humbly to desire him to reprieve the lords who lay under sentence of death. these relentings, and the successive tides of feeling displayed in this high assembly, prove how divided the higher classes were on the points of hereditary monarchy, and others also at issue; but the whig ascendancy prevailed. there was a clause introduced into the address, which nullified all former show of mercy; and the king was merely petitioned "to reprieve such of the condemned lords as deserve his mercy; and that the time of the respite should be left to his majesty's discretion." this clause was carried by five votes only. to the address the following inauspicious answer was returned from king george: "that on this, and other occasions, he would do what he thought most consistent with the dignity of his crown, and the safety of his people." this struggle between the parties ended, says the author of the register, "in the execution of two of these condemned lords, and the removal of some others from their employments, that had been most solicitous for their preservation." the objects of this petty tyranny could well afford to succumb under the workings of that mean and revengeful spirit, whilst they might cherish the conviction of having used their efforts in the true spirit of that christianity which remembers no considerations of worldly interest, when opposed to duty. lady nithisdale's relation of this anxious and eventful day, the twenty-third of february, is far too animated to be changed in a single expression. she had refused to remain confined with lord nithisdale in the tower, on the plea of infirm health; but actually, because she well knew that she could better aid his cause whilst herself at liberty. she was then forbidden to see her husband; but by bribing the guards, she often contrived to have secret interviews with him, until the day before that on which the prisoners were condemned. "on the twenty-second of february, which fell on a thursday, our general petition was presented to the house of lords, the purport of which was to interest the lords to intercede with his majesty to pardon the prisoners. we were, however, disappointed. the day before the petition was to be presented, the duke of st. albans, who had promised my lady derwentwater to present it, when it came to the point, failed in his word. however, as she was the only english countess concerned, it was incumbent on her to have it presented. we had but one day left before the execution, and the duke still promised to present the petition; but for fear he should fail, i engaged the duke of montrose to secure its being done by one or the other. i then went in company with most of the ladies of quality then in town, to solicit the interest of the lords as they were going to the house. they all behaved to me with great civility, but particularly the earl of pembroke, who, though he desired me not to speak to him, yet he promised to employ his interest in my favour, and honourably kept his word, for he spoke very strongly in our behalf."[ ] "the subject of the debate was, whether the king had the power to pardon those who had been condemned by parliament: and it was chiefly owing to lord pembroke's speech that it was carried in the affirmative. however, one of the lords stood up and said that the house could only intercede for those who should prove themselves worthy of their intercession, but not for all of them indiscriminately. this salvo quite blasted all my hopes, for i was assured that it was aimed at the exclusion of those who should refuse to subscribe to the petition, which was a thing i knew my lord would never submit to; nor, in fact, could i wish to preserve his life on those terms. as the motion had passed generally, i thought i could draw from it some advantage in favour of my design. accordingly i immediately left the house of lords, and hastened to the tower, where, affecting an air of joy and satisfaction, i told the guards i passed by, that i came to bring joyful tidings to the prisoners. i desired them to lay aside their fears, for the petition had passed the house in their favour. i then gave them some money to drink to the lords and his majesty, though it was trifling; for i thought if i were too liberal on the occasion, they might suspect my designs, and that giving them something would gain their good will and services for the next day, which was the eve of the execution." on the following day lady nithisdale was too much occupied in preparations for her scheme to visit the tower; the evening of the eventful twenty-third of february arrived; and when all things were put in readiness, this resolute and well-judging woman threw herself upon the confidence of one in whose power she was, to a certain degree, and whose co-operation she could only secure by such a proceeding. she sent for the landlady of the house in which she lodged, and told her that she had made up her mind to effect lord nithisdale's escape, since there was no chance of his being pardoned. she added those few but thrilling words: "this is the last night before his execution!" while she spoke, perhaps, the condemned nobleman was supplicating on his knees to god for that mercy which was withheld by man. imagination paints the despondency of lord derwentwater; the calm and dignified sorrow of the justly pitied kenmure. lady nithisdale then made a request calculated to alarm a woman of an ordinary character; but she seems to have understood the disposition of the person whom she thus addressed. "i told her that i had every thing in readiness, and that i trusted she would not refuse to accompany me, that my lord might pass for her. i pressed her to come immediately, as we had no time to lose." this sudden announcement, which a less sagacious mind might have deemed injudicious, had the effect which lady nithisdale expected; the undertaking was one of such risk, that it could only be an enterprise of impulse, except to her whose affections were deeply interested in the result. the consent of mrs. mills was carried by storm, as well as that of another coadjutor, a mrs. morgan, who usually bore the name of hilton, to whom lady nithisdale dispatched a messenger, begging her to come immediately. "their surprise and astonishment," remarks lady nithisdale, speaking of these, her two confidantes, "made them consent, without ever thinking of the consequences." the scheme was, that mrs. mills, who was tall and portly, should pass for lord nithisdale; mrs. morgan was to carry concealed the bundle of "clothes that were to serve mrs. mills when she left her own behind her." after certain other preparations, all managed with infinite dexterity and shrewdness, these three heroines set out in a coach for the tower, into which they were to be admitted, under the plea of taking a last leave of lord nithisdale. lady nithisdale, even whilst her heart throbbed with agitation, continued to support her spirits. "when we were in the coach;" she relates, "i never ceased talking, that they her companions might have no leisure to repent. "on our arrival at the tower, the first i introduced was mrs. morgan (for i was only allowed to take in one at a time). she brought in the clothes which were to serve mrs. mills when she left her own behind her. when mrs. morgan had taken off what she had brought for my purpose, i conducted her back to the staircase; and in going i begged her to send my maid to dress me, that i was afraid of being too late to present my last petition that night if she did not come immediately. i dispatched her safe, and went partly down stairs to meet mrs. mills, who had the precaution to hold her handkerchief to her face, as is natural for a woman to do when she is going to take her last farewell of a friend on the eve of his execution. i had indeed desired her to do so, that my lord might go out in the same manner. her eyebrows were rather inclined to be sandy, and my lord's were very dark and very thick. however, i had prepared some paint of the colour of hers, to disguise his with; i also brought an artificial head-dress of the same coloured hair as hers, and i painted his face and his cheeks with rouge to hide his long beard, which he had not had time to shave. "all this provision i had before left in the tower. the poor guards, whom my slight liberality the day before had endeared me to, let me go quietly out with my company, and were not so strictly on the watch as they usually had been; and the more so, as they were persuaded, from what i had told them the day before, that the prisoners would obtain their pardon. i made mrs. mills take off her own hood, and put on that which i had brought for her. i then took her by the hand and led her out of my lord's chamber; and in passing through the next room, in which were several people, with all the concern imaginable i said, 'my dear mrs. catherine, go in all haste, and send me my waiting-maid; she certainly cannot reflect how late it is. i am to present my petition to-night, and if i let slip this opportunity i am undone, for to-morrow is too late. hasten her as much as possible, for i shall be on thorns till she comes.' everybody in the room, who were chiefly the guards' wives and daughters, seemed to compassionate me exceedingly, and the sentinel officiously opened me the door. when i had seen her safe out, i returned to my lord and finished dressing him. i had taken care that mrs. mills did not go out crying, as she came in, that my lord might better pass for the lady who came in crying and afflicted; and the more so, as he had the same dress that she wore. when i had almost finished dressing my lord in all my petticoats except one, i perceived it was growing dark, and was afraid that the light of the candles might betray us, so i resolved to set off. i went out leading him by the hand, whilst he held his handkerchief to his eyes. i spoke to him in the most piteous and afflicted tone, bewailing bitterly the negligence of evans, who had ruined me by her delay. then i said, 'my dear mrs. betty, for the love of god, run quickly and bring her with you; you know my lodging, and if you ever made dispatch in your life, do it at present: i am almost distracted with this disappointment.' the guards opened the door, and i went down stairs with him, still conjuring him to make all possible dispatch. as soon as he had cleared the door i made him walk before me, for fear the sentinel should take notice of his walk, but i continued to press him to make all the dispatch he possibly could. at the bottom of the stairs i met my dear evans, into whose hands i confided him. i had before engaged mr. mills to be in readiness before the tower to conduct him to some place of safety, in case we succeeded. he looked upon the affair as so very improbable to succeed, that his astonishment, when he saw us, threw him into such a consternation that he was almost out of himself; which evans perceiving, with the greatest presence of mind, without telling him anything, lest he should mistrust them, conducted him to some of her own friends on whom she could rely, and so secured him, without which we certainly should have been undone. when she had conducted him and left him with them, she returned to mr. mills, who had by this time recovered himself from his astonishment. they went home together; and having found a place of security, they conducted him to it. in the mean time, as i had pretended to have sent the young lady on a message, i was obliged to return up stairs and go back to my lord's room in the same feigned anxiety of being too late, so that everybody seemed sincerely to sympathise in my distress. when i was in the room, i talked as if he had been really present. i answered my own questions in my lord's voice, as nearly as i could imitate it. i walked up and down as if we were conversing together, till i thought they had time enough thoroughly to clear themselves of the guards. i then thought proper to make off also. i opened the door and stood half in it, that those in the outward chamber might hear what i said, but held it so close that they could not look in. i bade my lord formal farewell for the night, and added, that something more than usual must have happened to make evans negligent on this important occasion, who had always been so punctual in the smallest trifles, that i saw no other remedy than to go in person. that if the tower was then open, when i had finished my business, i would return that night; but that he might be assured i would be with him as early in the morning as i could gain admittance into the tower, and i flattered myself i should bring more favourable news. then, before i shut the door, i pulled through the string of the latch, so that it could only be opened in the inside. "i then shut it with some degree of force, that i might be sure of its being well shut. i said to the servant as i passed by (who was ignorant of the whole transaction), that he need not carry in candles to his master till my lord sent for them, as he desired to finish some prayers first."[ ] thus ended this singular, successful, and heroic scheme. it was now necessary that the devoted lady nithisdale should secure her own safety. she had, it seems, been bent upon proffering a last petition to king george, in case her attempt had failed. she drove home to her lodgings, where a friend, named mackenzie, waited to take her petition. "there is no need of a petition," were the words that broke from the agitated woman; "my lord is safe, and out of the tower, and out of the hands of his enemies, though i know not where he is." lady nithisdale then discharged the coach which had brought her to her lodgings, a precaution which she always observed for fear of being traced,--never going in the same vehicle to more than one place. she sent for a chair, and went to the duchess of buccleugh, who had promised to present her petition, having taken her precaution against all events. the duchess expected her, but had company with her; and lady nithisdale barely escaped being shown into the room where her friend was with her company. she, however, excused herself, and, sending a message to her grace, proceeded to the residence of the duchess of montrose. "this lady had ever," said lady nithisdale, "borne a part in my distresses;" she now left her company to see and console the wife of the rebel lord, of whom, she conjectured, lady nithisdale must have taken, that night, a last farewell. as the two friends met, the duchess, to her astonishment, found her visitor in a transport of joy; "she was extremely shocked and frightened," writes lady nithisdale; "and has since confessed to me that she thought my troubles had driven me out of myself." she cautioned lady nithisdale to secrecy, and even to flight; for the king had been extremely irritated by the petition already sent in by lady nithisdale. the generous duchess was, among those who frequented the court, the only person that knew lady nithisdale's secret. after a brief interview, lady nithisdale, sending for a fresh chair, hurried away to a house which her faithful attendant evans had found for her, and where she was to learn tidings of lord nithisdale. here she learned that lord nithisdale had been removed from the lodging to which he had at first been conducted, to the mean abode of a poor woman just opposite the guard-house. here the former lord of carlaverock and of nithisdale met his wife. lady nithisdale hurries over the meeting, but her simple account has its own powers of description. the good woman of the house had, it seems, but one small room up a pair of stairs, and a very small bed in it. "we threw ourselves on the bed that we might not be heard walking up and down. she left us a bottle of wine and some bread, and mrs. mills brought us some more in her pockets the next day. we subsisted on this provision from thursday till saturday night, when mr. mills came and conducted my lord to the venetian ambassador's. we did not communicate the affair to his excellency, but one of the servants concealed him in his own room till wednesday, on which day the ambassador's coach-and-six was to go down to dover to meet his brother. my lord put on a livery, and went down in the retinue, without the least suspicion, to dover; where mr. michel (which was the name of the ambassador's servant) hired a small vessel, and immediately set sail for calais. the passage was so remarkably short, that the captain threw out this reflection,--that the wind could not have served better if the passengers had been flying for their lives, little thinking it to be really the case. "mr. michel might have easily returned without suspicion of being concerned in my lord's escape; but my lord seemed inclined to have him with him, which he did, and he has at present a good place under our young master. this is an exact and as full an account of this affair, and of the persons concerned in it, as i could possibly give you, to the best of my memory, and you may rely upon the truth of it. for my part, i absconded to the house of a very honest man in drury lane, where i remained till i was assured of my lord's safe arrival on the continent. i then wrote to the duchess of buccleugh (everybody thought till then that i was gone off with my lord) to tell her that i understood i was suspected of having contrived my lord's escape, as was very natural to suppose; that if i could have been happy enough to have done it, i should be flattered to have the merit of it attributed to me; but that a bare suspicion without proof, would never be a sufficient ground for my being punished for a supposed offence, though it might be motive sufficient for me to provide a place of security; so i entreated her to procure leave for me to go about my business. so far from granting my request, they were resolved to secure me if possible. after several debates, mr. solicitor-general, who was an utter stranger to me, had the humanity to say, that since i showed such respect to government as not to appear in public, it would be cruel to make any search after me. upon which it was resolved that no further search should be made if i remained concealed; but that if i appeared either in england or scotland, i should be secured. but this was not sufficient for me, unless i could submit to see my son exposed to beggary. my lord sent for me up to town in such haste, that i had not time to settle anything before i left scotland. i had in my hand all the family papers, and i dared trust them to nobody: my house might have been searched without warning, consequently they were far from being secure there. in this distress, i had the precaution to bury them in the ground, and nobody but myself and the gardener knew where they were. i did the same with other things of value. the event proved that i had acted prudently; for after my departure they searched the house, and god only knows what might have transpired from those papers! all these circumstances rendered my presence absolutely necessary, otherwise they might have been lost; for though they retained the highest preservation after one very severe winter, (for when i took them up they were as dry as if they came from the fire-side,) yet they could not possibly have remained so much longer without prejudice." lord nithisdale went to rome, and never revisited his native country; indeed, the project of the rebellion of , and the unceasing efforts and hopes by which it was preceded on the part of the jacobites, must have rendered such a step impracticable to one who seems to have been especially obnoxious to the house of hanover. his escape, according to lady nithisdale, both infuriated and alarmed george the first, "who flew into an excessive passion," as she expresses it, on the news transpiring; and exclaimed that he was betrayed, and that it could not have been done without a confederacy. he instantly dispatched messengers to the tower, to give orders that the prisoners who were still there, might be the more effectually secured. he never forgave lady nithisdale; and the effects of his powerful resentment were such, as eventually to drive her for ever from england. inexperienced, young, a stranger in the vast metropolis, lady nithisdale was now left alone, to skulk from place to place that she might avoid the effects of the royal displeasure. she absconded to the house of an "honest man" in drury lane, where she remained in concealment until she heard of her husband's safe arrival on the continent. a report, meantime, prevailed of her having been the means of lord nithisdale's escape; and it was generally believed that she had gone with him. to the surprise of the duchess of buccleugh, lady nithisdale one day appeared before her, the object of that sudden and perhaps undesired visit being to obtain, by the influence of the duchess, leave to quit london; and to disseminate, through her grace, a belief that the safety of lord nithisdale was not procured by his wife's means. it must have been one of the most aggravating circumstances to that noble and affectionate being, to have employed so much artifice in the conduct of this affair; but, if ever artifice be allowable, it is when opposed as a weapon to tyranny. besides, lady nithisdale had now not only her own safety to consider; she had to protect the interests of her son. those whom she had mortally offended were eager to punish her courage by imprisonment. the solicitor-general, however, showed a more compassionate spirit than his employers, and in the course of several debates in the house of commons, submitted that if lady nithisdale paid so much respect to government as not to appear in public, it would be cruel to make any farther search after her. it was therefore decided that unless the lady were seen in england or scotland, she should be unmolested; but if she were observed in either of those countries, she should be secured. this might be a decision of mercy, but lady nithisdale could not submit to it, unless she left her son's estate to be ruined by waste and plunder. hurried as she had been to london, she had found time only to make one arrangement, which proved to be of the utmost importance. "i had in my hands," she relates, "all the family papers, and dared trust them to nobody. my house might have been searched without warning, consequently they were far from being secure there. in this distress i had the precaution to bury them in the ground, and nobody but myself and the gardener knew where they were: i did the same with other things of value. the event proved that i had acted prudently to save these papers." lady nithisdale determined to return, at all risks, to scotland; and it was, perhaps, from her care in concealing the important documents to which she refers, that the estates were not escheated. she soon put into execution the heroic determination, of which she made no boast. her journey was full of perils; not only those incident to the time and season of the year, but the great risk of being betrayed and discovered. little respect was paid, in that reign, when truly the spirit of chivalry was extinguished, to the weaker sex. ladies, active and instrumental as they were in political intrigues, if found out, were made to pay the penalty of their dissaffection with hard imprisonment; or, if at large, wandered from place to place, conscious that the eye of the law pursued their footsteps. lady seaforth, the wife of one of the rebel lords, was reduced to necessity, even of the common necessaries of life; and lady widdrington and her children shared the same cruel privations.[ ] believing herself, also, to be an object of peculiar dislike to george the first, lady nithisdale's courage in braving the royal displeasure a second time, certainly appears to border upon folly and a rash temerity. but she knew well that if she could once reach the land of the maxwells, the strict respect paid to the head of the clan, and the remarkable fidelity of all ranks of the scotch to those who trust to their honour, would there prove her safeguard. the great danger was in making the journey. but the young heroic countess dismissed all fear from her mind, and prepared for her enterprise. "in short," she thus prefaces her narrative, "as i had once exposed my life for the safety of the father, i could not do less than hazard it once more for the fortune of the son. i had never travelled on horseback but from york to london, as i told you; but the difficulties did not arise now from the severity of the season, but the fear of being discovered and arrested. to avoid this, i bought three saddle-horses, and set off with my dear evans and a very trusty servant, whom i brought with me out of scotland. we put up at all the smallest inns on the road, that could take in a few horses, and where i thought i was not known; for i was thoroughly known at all the considerable inns on the northern road. thus i arrived safe at traquhair, where i thought myself secure, for the lieutenant of the county being a friend of my lord's, would not permit any search to be made after me without sending me previous notice to abscond. here i had the assurance to rest myself two whole days, pretending that i was going to my own house with leave from government. i sent no notice to my house, that the magistrates of dumfries might not make too narrow enquiries about me. so they were ignorant of my arrival in the country till i was at home, where i still feigned to have permission to remain. to carry on the deceit the better, i sent to all my neighbours and invited them to come to my house. i took up my papers at night and sent them off to traquhair. it was a particular stroke of providence that i made the dispatch i did, for they soon suspected me, and by a very favourable accident, one of them was overheard to say to the magistrates of dumfries, that the next day they would insist on seeing my leave from government. this was bruited about, and when i was told of it, i expressed my surprise that they should be so backward in coming to pay their respects; 'but,' said i, 'better late than never: be sure to tell them that they shall be welcome whenever they choose to come.' "this was after dinner, but i lost no time to put everything in readiness with all possible secrecy; and the next morning before day-break, i set off again for london with the same attendants, and, as before, put up at the smallest inns and arrived safe once more."[ ] the report of her journey into scotland had preceded lady nithisdale's return to london; and, if we may credit her assertions, which are stated with so much candour as to impart a certain conviction of their truthfulness, their king was irritated beyond measure at the intelligence. orders were immediately issued for her arrest; and the monarch protested that lady nithisdale did whatever she pleased in spite of him; that she had given him more trouble than any other woman in europe. again driven into obscurity, lady nithisdale took the opinion of a very celebrated lawyer, whose name she does not specify, and, upon his opinion, determined to retire to the continent. the reasons which her legal adviser assigned for this counsel was, that although, in other circumstances, a wife cannot be prosecuted for saving her husband, yet in cases of high treason, according to the rigour of the law, the head of a wife is responsible for that of a husband. since the king was so incensed against lady nithisdale there could be no answering for the consequences, and he therefore earnestly besought her to leave the kingdom. lady nithisdale, conscious of the wisdom of this recommendation, and wearied, perhaps, of a life of apprehension, determined to adopt the plan recommended. it is evident that she joined lord nithisdale at rome, whither he had retired; for the statement which she has left concludes in a manner which shows that the devoted and heroic wife had been enabled to rejoin the husband for whom she had encountered so much anxiety, contumely, and peril. her son, it appears, also accompanied her, from her reference to "our young master," meaning the master of nithisdale; since, when she wrote, the prince charles edward could not be endowed with that appellation, his father being then alive. her narrative is thus concluded:[ ]-- "this is the full narrative of what you desired, and of all the transactions which passed relative to this affair. nobody besides yourself could have obtained it from me; but the obligations i owe you, throw me under the necessity of refusing you nothing that is in my power to do. as this is for yourself alone, your indulgence will excuse all the faults which must occur in this long recital. the truth you may, however, depend upon; attend to that and overlook all deficiencies. my lord desires you to be assured of his sincere friendship. i am, with the strongest attachment, my dear sister, yours most affectionately, "winifred nithisdale." little is known of the earl of nithisdale after his escape to rome, where he died in . he thus lived through a period of comparative quiet, till his native country was again on the eve of being embroiled in a civil war, more replete with danger, sullied by greater crimes, and more disastrous to his native country, than the short-lived struggle of . an exile from his scottish possessions, lord nithisdale possibly implanted in the mind of his own son that yearning to establish the rights of the stuarts which appears not to have been eradicated from the hearts of the scottish jacobites until their beloved and royal race had become lineally extinct. the descendants of william, earl of nithisdale, have never been able to ascertain where his lordship is buried. his noble and admirable wife died at rome, as well as her husband; but her remains were brought to this country, and they are deposited at arundel castle. john maxwell, who assumed the title of earl of nithisdale, appears to have remained absent from scotland until the troubles of began. it was probably on the death of his father in , that he returned to take possession of the family estates,--that this, the representative of the family of maxwell, ventured to appear in dumfriesshire. the following correspondence which passed between the earl of nithisdale, popularly so called, and his friend, mr. craik, of arbigland[ ] in dumfriesshire, is a curious commentary upon the motives and reasons which actuated the minds of the jacobites in the second attempt to re-establish the stuart family. the first letter from mr. craik is dated october the thirteenth, , when edinburgh castle was blockaded by charles edward, who was publishing his manifestoes from the saloons of holyrood house. the answer from lord nithisdale is written in reply to one of remonstrance addressed to him by his friend. there is no date, but it is obviously written at edinburgh. the remonstrances from mr. craik were instantly dispatched, to avert, if possible, any decided step on the part of lord nithisdale. the arguments which it contains shew the friendly intention of the earnest writer. lord nithisdale had, in his former letter, challenged his friend to assign his reasons for dissuading him from the enterprise. letter from mr. craik to lord nithisdale. "my waiting for a safe hand to convey this to you has prevented my answering yours of the thirteenth sooner. it must give me great pleasure that you have not determined to engage in the present enterprize, which from several apparent symptoms i had reason to apprehend; and if you stick by your promise of doeing nothing rashly (fitt only for desperados indeed!) in a matter of such moment, i shall be sett at ease from the anxiety i felt on your account. "in mine which gave occasion to yours, i really had no intention to enter into the merits of the cause: all i meant was, to make experiment how far my interest with you could prevail to keep you undetermined till meeting, when i might promise myself more success in reasoning upon the subject, than while you remained in town, where the spirit of the place, the people you converse with, the things you hear and see, all unite to inflame your passions and confound your understanding. but since it has, beyond my intention, engaged you to explain your sentiments at large, and to call upon you to give my opinion, and since i suppose your arguments contain all that can be said by those of the party who would be thought to judge coolly and act reasonably at this juncture, i shall, with the freedom and openness of a friend, consider them as they lye before me in yours; and if i am forced to exceed the limits of a letter, you may blame yourself, who drew me in. you tell me you are ready to believe; i agree in opinion with you, that as matters are come to this length, it's now greatly to the interest of scotland to wish success to the undertaking, and that nothing but the improbability of success should hinder every scotsman to join in it. this tho' a verrie material point, you take for granted without assigning a single reason; but as i know it is one of their delusive arguments, now much in use where you are, and the chief engine of the party to seduce well-meaning men to concur in the ruin of the constitution and their country, i shall give you what i apprehend you must mean by it in the most favourable light it will bear; and then from an impartial stating of the fact as it truely stands, leave yourself to judge how far an honest man, a wise one, and a lover of his country, can justify either to himself or the worlde, his being of this opinion. the meaning of your argument i take to be this: that by the unaccountable success of the enterprize and the tame submission of the people in general, if the scheme misgive all scotland becomes involved in the guilt, and may expect the outmost severitys this government and the people of england can afflict them with; but on the other hand, should the undertaking be crowned with success, as scotesmen have the merit of it, they must become the peculiar favourites of the family they have raised to the throne, and reap all the advantages they can promise themselves from a grateful and generous prince. i hope i have done justice to your argument, allow me allso to do justice to facts and truth. "the people of great britain having found, from repeated experiments, how precarious their libertys were in the hands of the princes who founded their title to govern them in hereditary right,--that however absurd the pretence was in itself, no example could make them forego a claim which so much flattered their ambition, and upon which only, with any shew of reason, arbitrary power and tyranny can be built at last,--determined to secure (as far as human prudence can) the possession of that inestimable blessing to themselves and posterity by fixing the royal power in a family whose only title should be the free choice of the people, and who, should they attempt, would be restrained from inslaving those they governed, and would not only act most absurdly, but might reckon upon having the same voice of the people against them. "the maxims by which our hereditary princes conducted themselves, were sufficiently felt to the sad experience of our forefathers; thank god we were reserved for happier times! history will inform you of their repeated and unwearied attempts to subvert the constitution and inslave a free people. their sacrifizing the interest of the nation to france, their violating their oaths and promises, their persecutions and their schemes to establish a religion which in its nature is inconsistent with the toleration of any other, though reasons of state may make it wink at this on particular occasions,--but should i descend to particulars, it would lead me beyond the limites i have prescribed myself. "the present family have now reigned over us these thirty years, and though during so long a time they may have fallen into errors, or may have committed faults, (as what government is without?) yett i will defy the most sanguin zealot to find in history a period equal to this in which scotland possessed so uninterrupted a felicity, in which liberty, civil and religious, was so universally enjoyed by all people of whatever denomination--nay, by the open and avowed ennemys of the family and constitution, or a period in which all ranks of men have been so effectually secured in their property. have not trade, manufactures, agriculture, and the spirit of industry in our country, extended themselves further during this period and under this family than for ages before? has any man suffered in his liberty, life, or fortune, contrary to law? stand forth and name him if you can. tho' the king's person, his family, his government, and his ministers, have been openly abused a thousand times in the most scurrilous and reproachful terms, could it ever provoke him to one arbitrary act or to violate those laws which he had made the rule of his government? look into the reigns of the james's and the charles's, and tell me wither these divine and hereditary princes were guided by the same spirit of mildness and forgivness? "i am sensible how often and how many destructive designs have been imputed to the prince upon the throne and his ministers, of the cry raised against standing armies, of the complaints of corruption, long parliaments, and hanoverian interest pursued in opposition to that of britain; but i am allso sensible there is not a true friend to liberty, a dispassionate and sober man, but who (now the mask is laid aside) perceives they were, at bottom, the artifices and popular pretences of men struggling to force themselves into power, or of those who in the dark were aiming the destruction of our happy constitution. "men endued with popular talents, of figure and fortune in the world, and without the advantages of apparent disinterestedness on their side, will allways have address enough, with a seeming plausibility, to pervert every act of government at home, and to defame and run down every publick transaction abroad; and disciples will never be wanting of capacity and passions fitted to become the dupes of such false apostles. the corruption complained of is but too universal, and it's to be feared too deep-rooted to be cured; it is the constant attendant of peace and wealth; and such is the depravity of our natures, that these blessings cannot be enjoyed without having this plague, the most sordid and detestable of all vices, accompanying them. but if it is in our governours, it is also in the people, and change your kings and ministers as often as you please, whoever is in possession, or whoever is in quest of power, will allways lay hold of the vices, the follys, or the prejudices of mankind to exclude others from it or to acquire it to themselves. "it's to be hoped most people now perceive with what views they were taught to exclaim against and oppose a standing body of native and freeborn troops; but it is to be lamented their eyes were reserved to be opened only by the greatest of all publick calamitys." it appears, however, from the following letter of mr. craik, that lord nithisdale was really implicated in the insurrection:-- "my lord, "i am sincerely and deeply touched with your lordship's situation, and can honestly assure you it would give me a real satisfaction could i any how contribute to save you on this unhappy occasion. as you have done me the honour to ask my opinion how you are to conduct yourself, and as the doctor has informed me of the circumstances of your journey, i should but ill deserve the character of humanity and good nature you are pleased to give me, if i did not, with freedom and candour, lay before you what, after this day having fully considered it, appears to me most for your honour, and the safty and preservation of your life and family. "it is certain the habeas corpus act is suspended, and i doubt not but as soon as the lenth you have gone and your being returned is known above, warrants will be issued to carrie you up to london; if you retire out of the kingdom, it will not prevent your being attainted; and i am afraid the unfortunate step you have made will putt your estate but too much within the reach of the law, and your family is undone. if you stay till you are apprehended, not only your estate, but your person is in the mercy of the government, and how far severitys on this occasion may be carried, is not for me to prescribe; only i am apprehensive your religion, quality, and estate, will make you but too obnoxious to the government, and when the affair is over, informers will not be wanting to furnish them with materials. "we are not ignorant what arts and industry have been employed to draw you out of the retirement and quiet you were well disposed to remain in. we are sensible you were imposed upon by those already embarked; and it will acquit you before god and every sober man, if you no longer keep measures with those who have deceived you in a matter of such moment, when your life and fortune were at stake. my lord, i have impartially laid before you the present circumstance you are in, as far as my abilities enable me to judge, that you may have it under your lordship's consideration; i shall next take the freedom to suggest what to me appears the safest and most prudent part now left to you to act, and which i likeways submit to your lordship's own judgment, without taking upon me to decide. what i mean is this, that your lordship should, without loss of time, surrender your person to the governor of carlisle, and acquaint him you came to throw yourself upon the clemency of the government; at the same time, your lordship would, by express, have some proper friend at london advised of your intention, and one of some weight and interest, and who was fitt to put your conduct in the most favourable light. you will easily perceive that this confidence in the government, and voluntary surrender of your person, and your preventing all others in an early repentance must distinguish you, in the eyes of the government, from every other person who has embarked, and entitle you to its favour and protection: whereas, if you wait till you are apprehended, or leave the kingdom, your case, tho' quite different, will be ranked with those who have gone the greatest lengths. if your lordship approve of this, if you think proper to lett me know by a line to-morrow, i shall not faill to be in town on tuesday; and as i have a friend at london who i know is very capable and well disposed to serve you, if it be agreeable to you, shall, with the doctor, concert the letter proper to be sent." the answer of lord nithisdale contains a curious summary of some of the motives which actuated the jacobites of . letter from lord nithisdale to mr. craik. "dear sir, "i have both yours, giving your opinion on the present affairs, without assigning your reasons, and as i take it, urging an answer from me, whether i am determined to take a share in the present enterprise, which you seem to think i should not. i shall answer the last first, by telling you that i have not yet fully digested my thoughts on that matter; only be assured i'll do nothing rashly--that's only for desperados. as to the other, i'm ready to believe you agree in opinion with me, that as matters are come this length, it's now greatly the interest of scotland to wish success to the undertaking; and that nothing but the improbability of success should hinder every scotsman to join in it; and indeed i don't think there's great reason to fear that either, unless vast numbers of foreign forces are poured into the country for support of the party in possession. "the militia of england are little to be feared, nor do i believe they'll be trusted with arms, as there's a chance what way they may be used, particularly by that part of the country who only know how to handle them. as to the dutch who are come over, there's now greater reason to believe they'll be recalled, and it may be some time before others are sent in their place, if at all. i do believe the united states, if they dare, will give all the support they can; but if france shall really prove in earnest, i imagine they'll consider it necessary to be quiet. other foreign forces may be sent in, but on the other hand there's a very great improbability; thir people will likewise get aid, and here there's assembling a very numerous resolute army. the prospect of the situation of the country for some time to come, must affect every well-wisher to it, and the consequences to this part, if the undertaking shall misgive, appear to me terrible; if it succeed, what have we to fear? you'll answer, the introduction of popery and arbitrary government; but i don't imagine, considering the success and fate of his grandfather and uncle, that will be attempted; and as to any fear that we may be made dependant and tributary to the foreign powers giving aid to the present adventure, that i'm not apprehensive of, nor do i imagine it would be in his power to accomplish, tho' inclinable to it. i shall say no more on the subject; only it's easier preventing an evil than remedying, and that may be applyed to both sides; only this one further i observe, that i think it's the interest of the nation to have a sovereign settled whose title is unquestionable: we see the inconveniencys attending the other. you'll perhaps answer, there will still be a pretender; but i reply, not so dangerous an one, if at all. you write, in your letter, that people may, without meaning, be treated and led away with popular arguments. i assure you i'm none of these--what i have said now, is on a sunday forenoon. however, i should wish you communicate my mind to nobody. if any material news occur before the bearer leave edinburgh, you shall have them; and to-morrow i'll mind your commission, and any other you shall give with respect to your nursery, &c., which i hope you're still carrying on, and that your garden-wall is now completed. if you had some pieces of cannon to place in it, would it not keep out against an army not provided with battering-pieces, seeing it's at a sufficient distance from the thundering of any castle? were it not for fear of your horses, i should wish you came in here and saw the fortifications made on our city-wall, and the army against which they were intended; the last is worth your while. no court in europe is filled with such a set of well-look'd brave fellows. "i hope my dykers are going on, and beg you'll acquaint the tenants to have the rents ready, in regard i'm to be soon in the country, and won't make any stay above a day or two; this to you, but to yourself i can yet fix no time for coming out as i can't think of leaving edinburgh till i see how matters turn, and it's also necessary to stay and take care of my house, furniture, papers, &c. i believe i shall eat my christmas goose with you, if i don't go into england, which i would incline for sake of a jaunt, if i thought it safe and had a right set with me. i ever am, dear sir, "your's &c." another letter from a kinsman of lord nithisdale's shews that he was not alone in his inclination to join in the insurrection of . letter from mr. maxwell of carruchan. "october th. "dr. willie, "by accounts this day from edinburgh, allmost everybody is going along with the stream, so that a short delay wou'd lose all the merit. this has determined me to do the thing so suddenly, that i have not time to send for you, unless it were to see me go off, which is impossible. i depend upon your protection for those i leave behind. what gives me the greatest concern is least some such creditors as have still my father's security, should molest him in my absence. i recommend particularly to you, that if you can hear of any, you'll endeavour to make them sensible that they are as safe as before, and tell the comissary that i expect the same piece of friendship from him, who lyes more in the way of hearing what passes of that kind. i believe there are three or four thousand french or irish landed in wales, with lord john drummond. the highland army marches south the beginning of the week. farewell dear willie. god bless you! ever your's (signed) ja. maxwell." "saturday.--i set out before daylight to-morrow." from mr. maxwell of carruchan, to mr. craik of arbigland. since lord nithisdale's name did not appear in the list of the young chevalier's officers, we must conclude that he did not persevere in his resolutions. there is no date to mr. craik's second letter, but it must have been written after carlisle had surrendered to the duke of cumberland,--an event which took place on the thirtieth of december, . the earl of nithisdale, as he was styled, lived until the year , and possibly in peace and prosperity, since the family estates were spared to him. he married his first cousin, lady catherine stewart, daughter of the earl of traquhair by lady mary maxwell, and left an only daughter. this lady, named after her celebrated grandmother winifred, was also, by courtesy, endowed with the honours of the forfeited rank, and styled lady winifred maxwell. her ladyship would have inherited the barony of herries, of terregles, but for the attainder of her grandfather. the estates of lord nithisdale were inherited by her son, marmaduke william constable, esq., of everingham park, in the county of york; who, on the death of his mother, assumed, by royal licence, the surname of maxwell. the title of nithisdale, except for the attainder, would have descended upon the next heir, mr. maxwell of carruchan.[ ] footnotes: [ ] there is no statement of the date of lord nithisdale's birth in any of the usual authorities, neither can his descendant, william constable maxwell, esq., of terregles, supply the deficient information. [ ] secret history of colonel hooke's negotiations, by himself, p. . london, . [ ] patten's history of the rebellion, of , p. . [ ] service of the earl of eglintoun, as heir male of the earl of wintoun. printed for the family. extract from "peerage law by riddell," p. . published in . [ ] service of the earl of eglintoun, p. . [ ] buchan's account of the earls marischal, p. . [ ] eglinton case. [ ] patten, p. . [ ] patten, p. . life of the earls marischal, p. . [ ] reay's history of the late rebellion. dumfries, . [ ] reay, p. . [ ] now of sir charles stuart menteath, bart. [ ] reay, p. . [ ] id. [ ] id. p. . [ ] reay, p. . [ ] patten, pp. - . colonel hooke's negotiations. [ ] in the life of lord derwentwater. [ ] reay, p. . [ ] see letters in the state paper office from lord widdrington, and many others of inferior rank, no. . . [ ] state papers, , no. . [ ] state papers, no. , july , . [ ] reay, p. . [ ] reay, p. . [ ] a faithful register of the late rebellion, london, p. , . [ ] faithful register, p. . [ ] her picture, painted in the bloom of her youth, is still at terregles, in dumfriesshire, the seat of william constable maxwell, esq., the descendant of lord nithisdale. to mrs. constable maxwell, of terregles, i am indebted for the following interesting description of the portrait of lady nithisdale, to which i have referred. "her hair is light brown, slightly powdered, and she is represented with large soft eyes, regular features, and fair, rather pale complexion. her soft expression and delicate appearance give little indication of the strength of mind and courage which she displayed. her dress is blue silk, with a border of cambric, and the drapery a cloak of brown silk." [ ] his son was restored to his father's honours. the title of marquis of powis became extinct; but the estates devolved on lord herbert of cherbury, husband to the last marquis's niece; and ultimately to lady henrietta herbert, who married lord clive, created earl of powis.--_burke's extinct peerage_. [ ] faithful register, p. . [ ] faithful register, p. . [ ] burke's history of the commoners of great britain and ireland, vol. i. p. . [ ] see letters and petitions in the state papers, no. iii. p. . [ ] see burke's commoners, vol. i. p. . [ ] see burke's commoners, vol. i. p. . [ ] i am indebted to the present mr. craik, of arbigland, for this correspondence. [ ] i am indebted for some of these particulars to the courtesy of william constable maxwell, esq., present owner of terregles, carlaverock, and also of the beautiful hereditary property of lincluden. william gordon, viscount kenmure. the origin of the distinguished surname of gordon is not clearly ascertained: "some," says douglass, "derive the gordons from a city of macedonia, named gordonia; others from a manor in normandy called gordon, possessed by a family of that name. the territory of gordon in berwickshire was, according to another account, conferred by david the first upon an anglo-norman settler, who assumed from it the name of gordon." william gordon, sixth earl of kenmure, was descended from a younger son of the ducal house of gordon; in sir john gordon of lochinvar was created viscount kenmure and lord of lochinvar; and the estates continued in an unbroken line until they descended to william, the sixth viscount, who was the only scottish peer in who suffered capital punishment. this unfortunate nobleman succeeded his father in ; and possessed, up to the period of his taking the command of the army in the south, the estates belonging to his family in the stuartry of kirkcudbright. kenmure castle, still happily enjoyed by the family of gordon, stands upon an eminence overlooking the meadows, at that point where the river ken expands into a lake. the castle was originally a single tower, to which various additions have been made according to the taste of different owners. the castle keep is now ruinous and unroofed, but the body of the house is in good repair. a fine prospect over the scenery of the glenhens is commanded by the eminence on which the castle stands. an ancient avenue of lime-trees constitutes the approach to the fortress from the road. in this abode dwelt the viscount kenmure until the summons of lord mar called him from the serene tenour of a course honoured by others, and peaceful from the tranquillity of the unhappy nobleman's own disposition; for his was not the restless ambition of mar, nor the blind devotion of the duke of perth; nor the passion for fame and ascendancy which stimulated lord george murray in his exertions. lord kenmure was, it is true, well acquainted with public business, and an adept in the affairs of the political world, in which he had obtained that insight which long experience gives. his acquaintance with books and men was said to be considerable; he is allowed, even by one who had deserted the party which lord kenmure espoused, to be of a "very extraordinary knowledge."[ ] but his calm, reflective mind, his experience, his resources of learning, rather indisposed than inclined this nobleman from rising when called upon to lend his aid to the perilous enterprise of james stuart. beloved in private life, of a singularly good temper, calm, mild, of simple habits, and plain in his attire, he was as it was generally observed, the last man whom one might have expected to rush into the schemes of the jacobite party. that one so skilled in human affairs should venture, even in a subordinate degree, to espouse so desperate a cause as that of james was generally reputed to be, might seem to prove that even the wise were sanguine, or that they were carried away by the enthusiasm of the hour. neither of these circumstances appear to bear any considerable weight in revolving the conduct of lord kenmure. a stronger influence, perhaps, than that of loyalty operated on the conduct of viscount kenmure. he was married: his wife, the spirited and energetic mary dalzell, was the only sister of robert, sixth earl of carnwath. her family were deeply imbued with the principles of hereditary right and of passive obedience; and lady kenmure cherished these sentiments, and bestowed the energies of her active mind on the promotion of that cause which she held sacred. the house of dalzell had been sufferers in the service of the stuarts. by her mother's side, lady kenmure was connected with sir william murray of stanhope, and with his singular, and yet accomplished son, sir alexander murray of stanhope, who was taken prisoner at preston, fighting for the jacobites. the earl of carnwath, lady kenmure's brother, was one of those men whose virtues and acquirements successfully recommend a cause to all who are under the influence of such a character. having been educated at cambridge, he had imbibed an early affection for the liturgy of the church of england; his gentle manners, his talents, and his natural eloquence, established him in the affections of his friends and acquaintance. this nobleman was, like his sister, ready to sacrifice everything for conscience sake: like her, he was a sufferer for that which he esteemed to be justice. he was afterwards taken prisoner at preston, impeached before the house of peers in , and sentenced to be executed as a traitor, and his estate forfeited; but eventually he was respited and pardoned. he survived to be four times married. another of lady kenmure's brothers, john dalzell, was, it is true, a captain in the army upon the breaking out of the rebellion in ; but, at the summons of him whom he esteemed his lawful sovereign, he threw up his commission, and engaged in the service of james. when lord kenmure received a commission from the earl of mar to head the friends of the chevalier in the south, he had ties which perhaps were among some of the considerations which led him to hesitate and to accept the proffered honour unwillingly. on his trial he referred to his wife and "four small children," as a plea for mercy. but lady kenmure, sanguine and resolute, did not view these little dependent beings as obstacles to a participation in the insurrection. if she might be considered to transgress her duty as a mother, in thus risking the fortunes of her children, she afterwards compensated by her energy and self-denial for her early error of judgment. it had been arranged that the insurrection in dumfriesshire was to break out in conjunction with that headed in northumberland by mr. forster. to effect this end, numbers of disaffected, or, as the jacobite writers call them, well-affected noblemen and gentlemen assembled in parties at the houses of their friends, moving about from place to place, in order to prepare for the event. it was on the twelfth of october, , that viscount kenmure set out in the intention of joining the earl of wintoun, who was on his road to moffat, and who was accompanied by a party of lothian gentlemen and their servants. it is said by the descendants of viscount kenmure, on hearsay, that his lordship's horse three times refused to go forward on that eventful morning; nor could he be impelled to do so, until lady kenmure taking off her apron, and throwing it over the horse's eyes, the animal was led forward. the earl of carnwath had joined with lord kenmure, and rode forwards with him to the rencontre with lord wintoun. lord kenmure took with him three hundred men to the field.[ ] at the siege of preston, in which those who fell dead upon the field were less to be compassionated than the survivors, lord kenmure was taken prisoner. his brother-in-law, the earl of carnwath, shared the same fate. they were sent with the principal state prisoners to london. the same circumstances, the same indignities, attended the removal of lord kenmure to his last earthly abode, as those which have been already related as disgracing the humanity of englishmen, when the earl of derwentwater was carried to the tower. the subsequent sufferings of these brave men were aggravated by the abuses which then existed in the state prisons of england. the condition of these receptacles of woe, at that period, beggars all description. corruption and extortion gave every advantage to those who could command money enough to purchase luxuries at an enormous cost. oppression and an utter carelessness of the well-being of the captive, pressed hardly upon those who were poor. no annals can convey a more heartrending description of the sufferings of the prisoners confined in county gaols, than their own touching and heartfelt appeals, some of which are to be found in the state paper office. in the tower, especially, it appears from a diary kept by a gentleman who was confined there, that the greatest extortion was openly practised. mr. forster and a mr. anderton, who were allowed to live in the governor's house, were charged the sum of five pounds a-week for their lodging and diet,--a demand which, more than a century ago, was deemed enormous. several of the highland chiefs, and among them the celebrated brigadier mackintosh, were "clapped up in places of less accommodation, for which, nevertheless, they were charged as much as would have almost paid the rent of the best houses in st. james's square and piccadilly." mr. forster, it must be added, was obliged to pay sixty guineas for his privilege of living in the governor's house; and mr. anderton to give a bribe of twenty-five guineas for having his irons off. a similar tax was made upon every one who entered, and who could pay, and they were thankful to proffer the sum of twenty guineas, the usual demand, to be free from irons. it was, indeed, not the mere freedom from chains for which they paid, but for the power of effecting their escape. upon every one who did not choose to be turned over to the common side, a demand was made of ten guineas fee, besides two guineas weekly for lodging, although in some rooms men lay four in a bed. presents were also given privately, so that in three or four months' time, three or four thousand pounds were paid by the prisoners to their jailers. many of the prisoners being men of fortune, their tables were of the most luxurious description; forty shillings was often paid for a dish of peas and beans, and thirty shillings for a dish of fish; and this fare, so unlike that of imprisonment, was accompanied by the richest french wines. the vicious excesses and indecorums which went on in the tower, among the state prisoners, are said to have scandalized the graver lookers on.[ ] the subsequent distress and misery which ensued may, of course, be traced, in part to this cause. lord derwentwater, ever decorous and elevated in his deportment, was shocked at the wayward and reckless conduct of some of the jacobites on their road to london, told one of the king's officers at barnet that these prisoners "were only fit for bedlam." to this it was remarked, that they were only fit for bridewell. whilst hopes of life continued, this rebuke still applied. the prisoners were aided in their excesses by the enthusiasm of the fair sex. the following extract from another obscure work, "the history of the press-yard," is too curious to be omitted. "that while they [the prisoners] flattered themselves with hopes of life, which they were made to believe were the necessary consequences of a surrender at discretion, they did, without any retrospect to the crimes they were committed for, live in so profuse a manner, and fared so voluptuously, through the means of daily visitants and helps from abroad, that money circulated very plentifully; and while it was difficult to change a guinea almost at any house in the street, nothing was more easy than to have silver for gold to any quantity, and gold for silver, in the prison,--those of the fair sex, from persons of the first rank to tradesmen's wives and daughters, making a sacrifice of their husbands' and parents' rings, and other precious moveables, for the use of those prisoners; so that, till the trial of the condemned lords was over, and that the earl of derwentwater and viscount kenmure were beheaded, there was scarce anything to be seen amongst them but flaunting apparel, venison pasties, hams, chickens, and other costly meats, with plenty of wine." meantime the trial of the attainted lords took place, and checked, like the sudden appearance of a ghostly apparition, this horrible merriment,--with which, however, few names which one desires to cherish and to respect are connected. the same forms that attended the impeachment and trial of his companions, were carried on at the trial of lord kenmure. the unhappy nobleman replied in few and touching words, and, in a voice which could not be heard, pleaded guilty; an inconsistency, to express it in the mildest terms, of which he afterwards sincerely repented. at the end of the trial, to the question "what have you to say for yourself why judgment should not be passed upon you according to law?" "my lords," replied lord kenmure, "i am truly sensible of my crime, and want words to express my repentance. god knows i never had any personal prejudice against his majesty, nor was i ever accessory to any previous design against him. i humbly beg my noble peers and the honourable house of commons to intercede with the king for mercy to me, that i may live to show myself the dutifullest of his subjects, and to be the means to keep my wife and four small children from starving; the thoughts of which, with my crime, makes me the most unfortunate of all gentlemen." after the trial, great intercessions were made for mercy, but without any avail, as far as lord derwentwater and lord kenmure were concerned. they were ordered for execution on the th of february, . the intelligence of the condemnation of these two lords, produced the greatest dismay among their fellow sufferers in the tower; and the notion of escape, a project which was singularly successful in some instances, was resorted to, in the despair and anguish of the moment, by those who dreaded a cruel and ignominious death. lord kenmure, meantime, prepared for death. a very short interval was, indeed, allowed for those momentous considerations which his situation induced. he was sentenced on the ninth of february, and in a fortnight afterwards was to suffer. yet the execution of that sentence was, it seems, scarcely expected by the sufferer, even when the fatal day arrived. the night before his execution, lord kenmure wrote a long and affecting letter to a nobleman who had visited him in prison a few days previously. there is something deeply mournful in the fate of one who had slowly and unwillingly taken up the command which had ensured to him the severest penalties of the law. there is an inexpressibly painful sentiment of compassion and regret, excited by the yearning to live--the allusion to a reprieve--the allusion to the case of lord carnwath as affording more of hope than his own--lastly, to what he cautiously calls "an act of indiscretion," the plea of guilty, which was wrung from this conscientious, but sorrowing man, by a fond value for life and for the living. so little did lord kenmure anticipate his doom, that, when he was summoned to the scaffold the following day, he had not even prepared a black suit,--a circumstance which he much regretted, since he "might be said to have died with more decency." the following is the letter which he wrote, and which he addressed to a certain nobleman. "my very good lord, "your lordship has interested yourself so far in mine, and the lords, my fellow prisoners' behalf, that i should be the greatest criminal now breathing, should i, whether the result of your generous intercession be life or death, be neglectful of paying my acknowledgments for that act of compassion. "we have already discoursed of the motives that induced me to take arms against the prince now in possession of the throne, when you did me the honour of a visit three days since in my prison here; i shall therefore wave that point, and lament my unhappiness for joining in the rest of the lords in pleading guilty, in the hopes of that mercy, which the generals wills and carpenter will do us the justice to say was promised us by both of them. mr. piggot and mr. eyres, the two lawyers employed by us, advised us to this plea, the avoiding of which might have given us further time for looking after the concerns of another life, though it had ended in the same sentence of losing this which we now lie under. thanks be to the divine majesty, to whose infinite mercy as king of kings, i recommend myself in hopes of forgiveness, tho' it shall be my fate to fail of it here on earth. had the house of commons thought fit to have received our petition with the same candour as yours has done, and recommended us to the prince, we might have entertained some hopes of life; but the answer from st. james's is such as to make us have little or no thoughts of it. "under these dismal apprehensions, then, of approaching dissolution, which, i thank my god for his holy guidance, i have made due preparation for, give me leave to tell you, that howsoever i have been censured on account of the family of the gordons, which i am an unhappy branch of, that i have ever lived and will die in the profession of the protestant religion, and that i abhor all king-killing doctrines that are taught by the church of rome as dangerous and absurd. and though i have joined with some that have taken arms, of that persuasion, no other motive but that of exercising to the person called the pretender, whom i firmly believe to be the son of the late king james the second, and in defence of whose title i am now going to be a sacrifice, has induced me to it. your lordship will remember the papers i have left with you, and deliver them to my son. they may be of use to his future conduct in life, when these eyes of mine are closed in death, which i could have wished might have stolen upon me in the ordinary course of nature, and not by the hand of the executioner. but as my blessed saviour and redeemer suffered an ignominious and cruel death, and the son of god, made flesh, did not disdain to have his feet nailed to the cross for the sins of the world; so may i, poor miserable sinner, as far as human nature will allow, patiently bear with the hands of violence, that i expect suddenly to be stretched out against me. "your lordship will also, provided there is no hopes of a reprieve this night, make me acquainted with it as soon as possible, that i may meet that fate with readiness which, in a state of uncertainty, i expect with uneasiness. i must also be pressing with your lordship that if, in case of death, any paper under my name should come out as pretended to have been written by me, in the manner or form of a speech, you will not believe it to be genuine; for i, that am heartily sorry for disowning my principles in one spoken before your lordship and the rest of my peers, will never add to that act of indiscretion by saying anything on the scaffold but my prayers for the forgiveness of my poor self and those that have brought me to be a spectacle to men and angels, especially since i must speak in my last moments according to the dictates of my conscience, and not prevaricate as i did before the lords, for which i take shame to myself. and such a method of proceeding might do injury to my brother carnwath, who, i am told, is in a much fairer way than i am of not being excluded from grace. i have nothing farther than to implore your lordships to charge your memory with the recommendations i gave you to my wife and children, beseeching god that he will so sanctify their afflictions, that after the pains and terrors of this mortal life they may with me be translated to the regions of everlasting joy and happiness, to which blessed state of immortality your lordship shall also, while i am living, be recommended in the prayers of, my very good lord, your most affectionate kinsman, kenmure." "from my prison, in the tower of london, feb. , ." the following paper, the original of which is still in the hands of his descendants, was written by lord kenmure the night before his execution:-- "it having pleased the almighty god to call me now to suffer a violent death, i adore the divine majesty, and cheerfully resign my soul and body to his hands, whose mercy is over all his works. it is my very great comfort that he has enabled me to hope, through the merits and by the blood of jesus christ, he will so purifie me how that i perish not eternally. i die a protestant of the church of england, and do from my heart forgive all my enemies. i thank god i cannot accuse my selfe of the sin of rebellion, however some people may by a mistaken notion think me guilty of it for all i did upon a laite occasione; and my only desire ever was to contribute my small endeavour towards the re-establishing my rightfull sovereigne and the constitutione of my countrie to ther divine rights and loyall setlment; and by pleading guilty i meant no more then ane acknowledgment of my having been in armes, and (not being bred to the law) had no notion of my therby giving my assent to any other thing contained in that charge. i take god to wittnes, before whom i am very soon to apear, that i never had any desire to favour or to introduce popery, and i have been all along fully satisfied that the king has given all the morall security for the church of england that is possible for him in his circumstances. i owne i submitted myselfe to the duck of brunswick, justly expecting that humantity would have induced him to give me my life, which if he had done i was resolved for the future to have lived peaceably, and to have still reteaned a greatfull remembrance of so greatt a favour, and i am satisfied the king would never have desired me to have been in action for him after; but the caice is otherways. i pray god forgive those who thirst after blood. had we been all putt to the sword immediatly upon our surrender, that might have born the construction of being don in the heatt and fury of passion; but now i am to die in cold blood, i pray god it be not imputed to them. may almighty god restore injured right, and peace, and truth, and may he in mercy receave my soull. kenmure."[ ] it was decreed that the earl of derwentwater and the viscount kenmure should suffer on the same day. on the morning of the twenty-fourth of february, at ten o'clock, these noblemen were conducted to the transport office on tower hill, where they had separate rooms for their private devotions, and where such friends as desired to be admitted to them could take a last farewell. it had been settled that the earl of nithisdale should also suffer at the same time, but during the previous night he had escaped. whether the condemned lords, who were so soon to exchange life for immortality, were made aware of that event or not, has not transpired. what must have been their emotions, supposing that they were conscious that one who had shared their prison, was likely to be restored to his liberty and to his family! lord kenmure conducted himself with a manly composure and courage during this last trial of his submission and fortitude. his reserve, however, on the scaffold was remarkable. it proceeded from a fear, incidental to a conscientious mind, of saying anything inconsistent with his loyalty and principles; and from an apprehension, natural in the dying husband and father, of injuring the welfare of those whom he was to leave at the mercy of government. lord derwentwater suffered first: his last ejaculation, "sweet jesus be merciful unto me!" was cut short by the executioner severing his head from his body. then, after the body and the head had been carried away, the scaffold was decently cleared, and fresh baize laid upon the block, and saw-dust strewed, that none of the blood might appear to shock the unhappy man who was to succeed the young and gallant derwentwater in that tragic scene. lord kenmure then advanced. he was formally delivered from the hands of one sheriff to those of the other, who had continued on the stage on which the scaffold was erected all the time, and who then addressed the condemned man. the first question related to the presence of clergy, and of other friends; and lord kenmure stated, in reply, that he had the assistance of two clergymen, and desired the presence of some friends who were below. these persons were then called up, and lord kenmure retired with his friends and the two clergymen to the south side of the stage, where they joined in penitential prayers, some of them written for the occasion, and others out of a printed book, not improbably the book of common prayer, since lord kenmure was a protestant and an episcopalian. lord kenmure employed himself for some time in private supplications; and afterwards a clergyman, in a prayer, recommended the dying man to the mercy of god. a requiem completed the devotions of the unfortunate kenmure. sir john fryer, one of the sheriffs, then inquired if his lordship had had sufficient time; and expressed his willingness to wait as long as lord kenmure wished. he also requested to know if lord kenmure had anything to say in private; to these questions a negative was returned. the executioner now came forward. lord kenmure was accompanied by an undertaker, to whom the care of his body was to be entrusted; he was also attended by a surgeon, who directed the executioner how to perform his office, by drawing his finger over that part of the neck where the blow was to be given. lord kenmure then kissed the officers and gentlemen on the scaffold, some of them twice and thrice; and being again asked if he had anything to say, answered, "no." he had specified the chevalier st. george in his prayers, and he now repeated his repentance for having pleaded guilty at his trial. he turned to the executioner, who, according to the usual form, asked forgiveness. "my lord," said the man, "what i do, is to serve the nation; do you forgive me?" "i do," replied lord kenmure; and he placed the sum of eight guineas in the hands of the headsman. the final preparations were instantly made. lord kenmure pulled off, unassisted, his coat and waistcoat: one of his friends put a white linen cap on his head; and the executioner turned down the collar of his shirt, in order to avoid all obstacles to the fatal stroke. then the executioner said, "my lord, will you be pleased to try the block?" lord kenmure, in reply, laid down his head on the block, and spread forth his hands. the headsman instantly performed his office. the usual words, "this is the head of a traitor!" were heard as the executioner displayed the streaming and ghastly sight to the multitude. the body of lord kenmure, after being first deposited at an undertaker's in fleet street, was carried to scotland, and there buried among his ancestors. a letter was found in his pocket addressed to the chevalier, recommending to him the care of his children; but it was suppressed.[ ] thus died one of those men, whose honour, had his life been spared, might have been trusted never again to enter into any scheme injurious to the reigning government; and whose death inspires, perhaps, more unmitigated regret than that of any of the jacobite lords. lord kenmure's short-lived authority was sullied by no act of cruelty; and his last hours were those of a pious, resigned, courageous christian. he was thrust into a situation as commander in the south, peculiarly unfitted for his mild, reserved, and modest disposition: and he was thus carried away from that private sphere which he was calculated to adorn.[ ] after her husband's death, the energies of lady kenmure were directed to secure the estates of kenmure to her eldest son. she instantly posted down to scotland, and reached kenmure castle in time to secure the most valuable papers. when the estates were put up for sale, she contrived, with the assistance of her friends, to raise money enough to purchase them; and lived so carefully as to be able to deliver them over to her son, clear of all debt, when he came of age. four children were left dependent upon her exertions and maternal protection. of these robert, the eldest, died in unmarried, in his twenty-eighth year. james also died unmarried. harriet, the only daughter, was married to her mother's cousin-german, captain james dalzell, uncle of robert earl of carnwath. john gordon, the second and only surviving son of lord kenmure, married, in , the lady frances mackenzie, daughter of the earl of seaforth; and from this marriage is descended the present viscount kenmure, to whom the estate was restored in . lady kenmure survived her husband sixty-one years. in , she appears to have resided in paris, where, after the commotions of , she probably took refuge. here, aged as she must have been, the spirit of justice, and the love of consistency were shewn in an anecdote related of her by drummond of bochaldy, who was mingled up in the cabals of the melancholy court of st. germains. it had become the fashion among prince charles's sycophants and favourites, to declare that it was not for the interest of the party that there should be any restoration while king james lived; this idea was diligently circulated by kelly, a man described by drummond as full of trick, falsehood, deceit, and imposition; and joined to these, having qualities that make up a thorough sycophant. it was kelly's fashion to toast the prince in all companies first, and declare that the king could not last long. at one of the entertainments, which he daily frequented, at the house of lady redmond, the dinner, which usually took place at noon, being later than usual, lady kenmure, in making an afternoon's visit, came in before dinner was over. she was soon surprised and shocked to hear the company drinking the prince's health without mentioning the king's. "lady kenmure," adds drummond, "could not bear it, and said it was new to her to see people forget the duty due to the king." kelly immediately answered, "madam, you are old fashioned; these fashions are out of date." she said that she really was old fashioned, and hoped god would preserve her always sense and duty enough to continue so; on which she took a glass and said "god preserve our king, and grant him long life, and a happy reign over us!"[ ] lady kenmure died on the th of august, , at terregles, in dumfriesshire, the seat of the nithisdale family. footnotes: [ ] patten, p. [ ] patten. reay. [ ] "secret history of the rebels in newgate;" a scarce sixpenny tract, in the british museum. third edition. [ ] for this interesting paper i am indebted to the hon. mrs. bellamy, sister of the present and niece of the late viscount kenmure. [ ] faithful register of the late rebellion, p. ; also state trials. [ ] the impression on the minds of lord kenmure's descendants is, that he was by no means a man of feeble character, but one of great fortitude and resolution. [ ] memoirs of sir ewen cameron of lochiel, p. . presented to the abbotsford club. william murray, marquis of tullibardine. among the nobility who hastened to the hunting-field of braemar, was william marquis of tullibardine and eldest son of the first duke of athole. the origin of the powerful family of murray commences with sir william de moraira, who was sheriff in perth in , in the beginning of the reign of king alexander the second. the lands of tullibardine were obtained by the knight in , by his marriage with adda, the daughter of malise, seneschal of stratherio. after the death of william de moraira, the name of this famous house merged into that of murray, and its chieftains were for several centuries known by the appellation of murray of tullibardine. it was not until the seventeenth century that the family of murray was ennobled, when james the sixth created sir john murray earl of tullibardine. the unfortunate subject of this memoir was the son of one of the most zealous promoters of the revolution of . his father, nearly connected in blood with william the third, was appointed to the command of a regiment by that monarch, and entrusted with several posts of great importance, which he retained in the time of queen anne, until a plot was formed to ruin him by lord lovat, who endeavoured to implicate the duke in the affair commonly known by the name of the queensbury plot. the duke of athole courted inquiry upon that occasion; but the business having been dropped without investigation, he resigned the office of privy seal, which he then held, and became a warm opponent of the act of union which was introduced into parliament in . after this event the duke of athole retired to perthshire, and there lived in great magnificence until, upon the tories coming into power, he was chosen one of the representatives of the scottish peerage in , and afterwards a second time constituted lord privy seal. it is singular that, beholding his father thus cherished by government, the marquis of tullibardine should have adopted the cause of the chevalier: and not, as it appears, from a momentary caprice, but, if we take into consideration the conduct of his whole life, from a fixed and unalienable conviction. at the time of the first rebellion, the marquis was twenty-seven years of age; he may therefore be presumed to have been mature in judgment, and to have passed over the age of wild enthusiasm. the impulses of fanaticism had no influence in promoting the adoption of a party to which an episcopalian as well as a roman catholic might probably be peculiarly disposed. lord tullibardine had been brought up a presbyterian; his father was so firm and zealous in that faith, as to excite the doubts of the tory party, to whom he latterly attached himself, of his sincerity in their cause. according to lord lovat, the arch-enemy of the athole family, the duke had not any considerable portion of that quality in his character, which lord lovat represents as one compound of meanness, treachery, and revenge, and attributes the hatred with which athole persecuted the brave and unfortunate duke of argyle, to the circumstance of his having received a blow from that nobleman before the whole court at edinburgh, without having the spirit to return the insult.[ ] it appears, from the same authority, that the loyalty which the duke of athole professed towards king william was of a very questionable description. it becomes, indeed, very difficult to ascertain what were really the duke of athole's political tenets. under these conflicting and unsettled opinions the young marquis of tullibardine was reared. there seems little reason to doubt that his father, the duke of athole, continued to act a double part in the troublous days which followed the accession of george the first. it was, of course, of infinite importance to government to secure the allegiance of so powerful a family as that of murray, the head of whom was able to bring a body of six thousand men into the field. it nevertheless soon appeared that the young heir of the house of athole had imbibed very different sentiments to those with which it was naturally supposed a nobleman, actually in office at that time, would suffer in his eldest son. the first act of the marquis was to join the earl of mar with two thousand men, clansmen from the highlands, and with fourteen hundred of the duke of athole's tenants;[ ] his next, to proclaim the chevalier king. almost simultaneously, and whilst his tenantry were following their young leader to the field, the duke of athole was proclaiming king george at perth.[ ] the duke was ordered, meantime, by the authorities, to remain at his castle of blair to secure the peace of the county, of which he was lord-lieutenant. the marquis of tullibardine's name appears henceforth in most of the events of the rebellion. there exists little to shew how he acquitted himself in the engagement of sherriff muir, where he led several battalions to the field; but he shewed his firmness and valour by remaining for some time at the head of his vassals, after the unhappy contest of was closed by the ignominious flight of the chevalier. all hope of reviving the jacobite party being then extinct for a time, the marquis escaped to france, where he remained in tranquillity for a few years; but his persevering endeavours to aid the stuart cause were only laid aside, and not abandoned. during his absence, the fortunes of the house of athole sustained no important change. the office of privy seal was, it is true, taken from the duke and given to the marquis of annandale; but by the favour of government the estates escaped forfeiture, and during the very year in which the rebellion occurred, the honours and lands which belonged to the unfortunate tullibardine were vested, by the intercession of his father, in a younger son, lord james murray. the effect of this may have been to render the marquis still more determined in his adherence to the stuart line. he was not, however, the only member of the house of murray who participated in the jacobite cause. no less consistent in his opinions than the marquis of tullibardine, william, the second lord nairn, came forward to espouse the cause of the stuarts. this nobleman was the uncle of lord tullibardine, and bore, before his marriage with margaret, only daughter of the first lord nairn, the appellation of lord william murray. the title was, however, settled by patent upon him and his heirs; and this obligation, conferred by charles the second, was bestowed upon one whose gratitude and devotion to the line of stuart ceased only with his life. lord nairn had been educated to the naval service, and had distinguished himself for bravery. he refused the oaths at the revolution, and consequently did not take his seat in parliament. his wife, margaret, appears to have shared in her husband's enthusiasm, and to have resembled him in courage. in the earl of mar's correspondence frequent allusion is made to her under the name of mrs. mellor. "i wish," says the earl on one occasion, "our men had her spirit." and the remembrances which he sends her, and his recurrence to her, show how important a personage lady nairn must have been. aided by these two influential relations, the marquis of tullibardine had engaged in the dangerous game which cost scotland so dear. upon the close of the rebellion, lord nairn was not so fortunate as to escape to france with his relation. he was taken prisoner, tried, and condemned to be executed. at his trial he pleaded guilty; but he was respited, and afterwards pardoned. his wife and children were eventually provided for out of the forfeited estate; but neither punishment nor favour prevented his sons from sharing in the rebellion of . another individual who participated in the rebellion of was lord charles murray, the fourth surviving son of the duke of athole, and one of those gallant, fine-tempered soldiers, whose graceful bearing and good qualities win upon the esteem even of their enemies. at the beginning of the rebellion, lord charles was an officer on half-pay in the british service; he quickly joined the insurgent army, and obtained the command of a regiment. such was his determination to share all dangers and difficulties with his troops, that he never could be prevailed upon to ride at the head of his regiment, but went in his highland dress, on foot, throughout the marches. this young officer crossed the forth with general mackintosh, and joined the northumbrian insurgents in the march to preston. at the siege of that town lord charles defended one of the barriers, and repelled colonel dormer's brigade from the attack. he was afterwards made prisoner at the surrender, tried by a court-martial, and sentenced to be shot as a deserter from the british army. he was, however, subsequently reprieved, but died only five years afterwards.[ ] the marquis of tullibardine was not, however, the only jacobite member of the family who had been spared after the rebellion of , to renew his efforts in the cause. his brother, the celebrated lord george murray, was also deeply engaged in the same interests. in , the hopes of the party were revived by the war with spain, and their invasion of great britain was quietly planned by the duke of ormond, who hastened to madrid to hold conferences with alberoni. shortly afterwards the chevalier was received in that capital, and treated as king of england. in march, , the ill-fated expedition under the duke of ormond was formed, and a fleet, destined never to reach its appointed place of rendezvous, sailed from cadiz. the enterprise met with the usual fate of all the attempts formed in favour of the stuarts. with the exception of two frigates, none of the ships proceeded farther than cape finisterre, where they were disabled by a storm. these two vessels reached the coast of scotland, having on board of them the earl of seaforth, the earl marischal, the marquis of tullibardine,[ ] three hundred spaniards, and arms for two thousand men. they landed at the island of lewes, but found the body of the jacobite party resolved not to move until all the forces under ormond should be assembled. during this interval of suspense, disputes between the marquis of tullibardine and the lord marischal, which should have the command, produced the usual effects among a divided and factious party, of checking exertion by diminishing confidence. it appears, however, that the marquis had a commission from the chevalier to invade scotland; in virtue of which he left the island of lewes, whence he had for some time been carrying on a correspondence with the highland chieftains, and landed with the three hundred spaniards on the main land. the ministers of george the first lost no time in repelling this attempt by a foreign power, and it is singular that they employed dutch troops for the purpose; and that scotland, for the first time, beheld her rights contested by soldiers speaking different languages, and natives of different continental regions. the government had brought over two thousand dutch soldiers, and six battalions of imperial troops from the austrian netherlands, and these were now sent down to inverness, where general wightman was stationed. as soon as he was informed of the landing of the spanish forces, that commander marched his troops to glenshiel, a place between fort augustus and benera. he attacked the invaders: the highlanders were quickly repulsed and fled to their hills; the spaniards were taken prisoners; but the marquis of tullibardine and the earl of seaforth escaped, and, retreating to the island of lewes, again escaped to france. during twenty-six years the marquis of tullibardine, against whom an act of attainder was passed, remained in exile. he appears to have avoided taking any active part in political affairs. "these seven or eight years," he says in a letter addressed to the chevalier, "have sufficiently shewn me how unfit i am for meddling with the deep concerns of state."[ ] he resided at puteaux, a small town near paris, until called imperatively from his retreat. during the period of inaction, no measures were taken to reconcile those whom he had left, the more gallant portion of the highlanders, to the english government. "the state of arms," says mr. home, "was allowed to remain the same; the highlanders lived under their chiefs, in arms; the people of england and the lowlanders of scotland lived, without arms, under their sheriffs and magistrates; so that every rebellion was a war carried on by the highlanders against the standing army; and a declaration of war with france or spain, which required the service of the troops abroad, was a signal for a rebellion at home. strange as it may seem, it was actually so."[ ] during the interval between the two rebellions of and , the arts of peace were cultivated in england, and the national wealth augmented; but no portion of that wealth altered the habits of the highland chieftains, who, looking continually for another rebellion, estimated their property by the number of men whom they could bring into the field. an anecdote, illustrative of this peculiarity, is told of macdonald of keppoch, who was killed at the battle of culloden. some low-country gentlemen were visiting him in , and were entertained with the lavish hospitality of a highland home. one of these guests ventured to ask of the landlord, what was the rent of his estate. "i can bring five hundred men into the field," was the reply. it was estimated, about this time, that the whole force which could be raised by the highlanders amounted to no more than twelve thousand men; yet, with this inconsiderable number, the jacobites could shake the british throne. the danger which might arise to the government, in case of a foreign war, from the highlanders, was foreseen by duncan forbes of culloden, and a scheme was formed by that good and great man, and communicated to lord hay, adapted to reconcile the chieftains to the sovereignty of the house of hanover, and at the same time to preserve the peace of the country. this was, to raise four or five highland regiments, appointing an english or scotch officer of undoubted loyalty to king george, to be colonel of each regiment, and naming all the inferior officers from a list drawn up by president forbes, and comprising all the chiefs and chieftains of the disaffected clans. most unhappily this plan was rejected. had it been adopted, the melancholy events of the last rebellion might not have left an indelible stain upon our national character. the highlanders, once enlisted in the cause of government, would have been true to their engagements; and the fidelity of the officers, when serving abroad, would have been a guarantee for the good conduct of their relations at home. it was not, however, deemed practicable; and the energies of a determined and unemployed people were again brought into active force. it is said to have met with the decided approbation of sir robert walpole, but it was negatived by the cabinet.[ ] the year witnessed the revival of the jacobite association, which had been annihilated by the attainders and exiles of its members after the last rebellion. the declaration of war between spain and england, induced a belief that hostilities with france would follow; and accordingly, in , seven persons of distinction met at edinburgh, and signed an association, which was to be carried to the chevalier st. george at rome, together with a list of those chiefs and chieftains who were ready to join the association, if a body of french troops should land in scotland. this was the commencement of the second rebellion; and it was seconded with as pure a spirit of devotion to the cause, as exalted an enthusiasm, as if none had bled on the scaffold in the previous reign, or attainders and forfeitures had never visited with poverty and ruin the adherents of james stuart. the marquis of tullibardine was selected as one of the attendants of charles edward, in the perilous enterprise of the invasion. he was the person of the highest rank among those who accompanied the gallant and unfortunate adventurer in his voyage from the mouth of the loire to scotland, in a little vessel, la doutelle, with its escort of a ship of seven hundred tons, the elizabeth. during this voyage the strictest incognito was preserved by the prince, who was dressed in the habit of the scotch college, at paris, and who suffered his beard to grow, in order still better to disguise himself. at night the ship sailed without a light, except that which proceeded from the compass, and which was closely covered, the more effectually to defy pursuit. as it tracked the ocean, with its guardian, the elizabeth, the sight of a british man-of-war off lizard point excited the ardour of the youthful hero on board of la doutelle. captain d'eau, the commander of the elizabeth, determined to attack the english ship, and requested the aid of mr. walsh, who commanded the doutelle. his request was denied, probably from the responsibility which would have been incurred by walsh, if he had endangered the safety of the vessel in which the prince sailed. the attack was therefore made by the brave d'eau alone. it was succeeded by a fight of two hours, during which the doutelle looked on, while the prince vainly solicited walsh to engage in the action. the commander refused, and threatened the royal youth to send him to his cabin if he persisted. both ships were severely damaged in the encounter and la doutelle was obliged to proceed on her way alone, the elizabeth returning to france to refit. on the twenty-first of july, la doutelle approached the remote range of the hebrides, comprehending lewes, uist, and barra, often called, from being seen together, the long island. as the vessel neared the shore, a large hebridean eagle hovered over the masts. the marquis of tullibardine observed it, and attributed to its appearance that importance to which the imagination of his countrymen gives to such incidents; yet, not wishing to appear superstitious, or to show what is called a "highland freit," it was not until the bird had followed the ship's course for some time, that he drew the attention of the prince to the circumstance. as they returned on deck after dinner, he pointed out the bird to charles edward, observing at the same time, "sir, i hope this is a happy omen, and promises good things to us; the king of birds is come to welcome your royal highness, on your arrival in scotland." the prince and his followers landed, on the twenty-third of july, at the island of eriska, belonging to clanranald, and situated between the isles of barra and of south uist, their voyage having been accomplished in eighteen days. here all the party landed, with the exception of the marquis, who was laid up with the gout, and unable to move. his condition was supposed to be one of peril, for two ships had been espied, and the prince and his associates hurried off, with all the expedition they could, to shore. the long boat was got out, and sent to procure a pilot, who was discovered in the person of the hereditary piper of clanranald, who piloted the precious freight safely to shore. the two vessels which had produced so much alarm, proved afterwards to be only merchant-vessels. in these "malignant regions," as dr. johnson describes them, referring to the severity of the climate and the poverty of the soil, prince charles and his adherents were lodged in a small country house, with a hole in the roof for a chimney, and a fire in the middle of the room. the young adventurer, reared among the delicacies of the palace at albano, was often obliged to go to the door for fresh air. "what a plague is the matter with that fellow," exclaimed angus macdonald, the landlord, "that he can neither sit nor stand still, nor keep within nor without doors?" the night, it must be observed, was unusually wet and stormy, so that the prince had no alternative between smoke and rain. the pride of the scotch, in this remote region, was exemplified in another trifling occurrence: the prince, who was less fatigued than the rest of the party, with that consideration for others, and disregard of his own personal comfort, which formed at this period so beautiful a part of his character, insisted that his attendants should retire to rest. he took a particular care of sir thomas sheridan, his tutor, and examined closely the bed appropriated to him, in order to see that it was well aired. the landlord, indignant at this investigation, called out to him, "that the bed was so good, and the sheets were so good, that a prince might sleep in them."[ ] the farm-house in which this little incident took place, and which first received the prince, who was destined to occupy so great a variety of dwellings in scotland, was situated in borrodale, a wild, mountainous tract of country, which forms a tongue of land between two bays. borrodale, being difficult of access, was well-chosen as the landing-place of charles; whilst around, in most directions, were the well-wishers to his cause. the marquis of tullibardine accompanied charles in his progress until the prince landed at glenfinnin,[ ] which is situated about twenty miles from fort william, and forms the outlet from moidart to lochaber; here the standard of charles edward was unfurled. the scene in which this ill-omened ceremonial took place is a deep and narrow valley, in which the river finnin runs between high and craggy mountains, which are inaccessible to every species of carriage, and only to be surmounted by travellers on foot. at each end of the vale is a lake of about twelve miles in length, and behind the stern mountains which enclose the glen, are salt-water lakes, one of them an arm of the sea. the river finnin empties itself into the lake of glenshiel, at the extremity of the glen. on the eighteenth of august prince charles crossed this lake, slept at glensiarick, and on the nineteenth proceeded to glenfinnin. when charles landed in the glen, he gazed around anxiously for cameron of lochiel, the younger, whom he expected to have joined him. he looked for some time in vain; that faithful adherent was not then in sight, nor was the glen, as the prince had expected, peopled by any of the clansmen whose gathering he had expected. a few poor people from the little knot of hovels, which was called the village, alone greeted the ill-starred adventurer. disconcerted, prince charles entered one of the hovels, which are still standing, and waited there for about two hours. at the end of that time, the notes of the pibroch were heard, and presently, descending from the summit of a hill, appeared the camerons, advancing in two lines, each of them three men deep. between the lines walked the prisoners of war, who had been taken some days previously near loch lochiel. the prince, exhilarated by the sight of six or seven hundred brave highlanders, immediately gave orders for the standard to be unfurled. the office of honour was entrusted to the marquis of tullibardine, on account of his high rank and importance to the cause. the spot chosen for the ceremony was a knoll in the centre of the vale. upon this little eminence the marquis stood, supported on either side by men, for his health was infirm, and what we should now call a premature old age was fast approaching. the banner which it was his lot to unfurl displayed no motto, nor was there inscribed upon it the coffin and the crown which the vulgar notion in england assigned to it. it was simply a large banner of red silk, with a white space in the middle. the marquis held the staff until the manifesto of the chevalier and the commission of regency had been read. in a few hours the glen in which this solemnity had been performed, was filled not only with highlanders, but with ladies and gentlemen to admire the spectacle. among them was the celebrated miss, or, more properly, mrs. jeanie cameron, whose passionate attachment for the prince rendered her so conspicuous in the troublous period of . the description given of her in bishop forbes's jacobite memoirs destroys much of the romance of the story commonly related of her. "she is a widow," he declares, "nearer fifty than forty years of age. she is a genteel, well-looking, handsome woman, with a pair of pretty eyes, and hair black as jet. she is of a very sprightly genius, and is very agreeable in conversation. she was so far from accompanying the prince's army, that she went off with the rest of the spectators as soon as the army marched; neither did she ever follow the camp, nor ever was with the prince in private, except when he was in edinburgh."[ ] soon after the unfurling of the standard, we find the marquis of tullibardine writing to mrs. robertson of lude, a daughter of lord nairn, and desiring her to put the castle of blair into some order, and to do honours of the place when the prince should come there. the marquis, it is here proper to mention, was regarded by all the jacobites as still the head of his house, and uniformly styled by that party the "duke of athole," yet he seldom adopted the title himself; and in only one or two instances in his correspondence does the signature of athole occur.[ ] on the thirty-first of august the prince visited the famous blair athole, or field of athole, the word _blair_ signifying a pleasant land, and being descriptive of that beautiful vale situated in the midst of wild and mountainous scenery. after riding along a black moor, in sight of vast mountains, the castle, a plain massive white house, appears in view. it is seated on an eminence above a plain watered by the gary, called, by pennant, "an outrageous stream, which laves and rushes along vast beds of gravel on the valley below." the approach to blair castle winds up a very steep and high hill, and through a great birch wood, forming a most picturesque scene, from the pendent form of the boughs waving with the wind from the bottom to the utmost summits of the mountains. on attaining the top, a view of the beautiful little straith, fertile and wooded, with the river in the middle, delights the beholder. the stream, after meandering in various circles, suddenly swells into a lake that fills the vale from side to side; this lake is about three miles long, and retains the name of the river. when prince charles visited blair, it was a fortified house, and capable of holding out a siege afterwards against his adherents. its height was consequently lowered, but the inside has been finished with care by the ducal owner. the environs of this beautiful place are thus described by the graphic pen of pennant,[ ] whose description of them, having been written in , is more likely to apply to the state in which it was when prince charles beheld it, than that of any more modern traveller. "the duke of athoel's estate is very extensive, and the country populous; while vassalage existed, the chieftain could raise two or three thousand fighting-men, and leave sufficient at home to take care of the ground. the forests, or rather chases, (for they are quite naked,) are very extensive, and feed vast numbers of stags, which range at certain times of the year in herds of five hundred. some grow to a great size. the hunting of these animals was formerly after the manner of an eastern monarch. thousands of vassals surrounded a great tract of country, and drove the deer to the spot where the chieftains were stationed, who shot them at their leisure. "near the house is a fine walk surrounding a very deep glen, finely wooded, but in dry weather deficient in water at the bottom; but on the side of the walk on the rock is a small crystalline fountain, inhabited at that time by a pair of naiads, in the form of golden fish. "in a spruce-fir was a hang-nest of some unknown bird, suspended at the four corners to the boughs; it was open at top an inch and a half in diameter, and two deep; the sides and bottom thick, the materials moss, worsted, and birch-bark, lined with hair and feathers. the stream affords the parr,[ ] a small species of trout seldom exceeding eight inches in length, marked on the sides with nine large bluish spots, and on the lateral line with small red ones. no traveller should omit visiting yorke cascade, a magnificent cataract, amidst most suitable scenery, about a mile distant from the house. this country is very mountainous, has no natural woods, except of birch; but the vast plantations that begin to cloath the hills will amply supply these defects."[ ] with what sensations must the marquis of tullibardine have approached this beautiful and princely territory, from which he had been excluded, his vassals becoming the vassals of a younger brother, and he a proscribed and aged man, visiting as an alien the home of his youth! sanguine hopes, however, perhaps mitigated the bitterness of the reflections with which the faithful and disinterested marquis of tullibardine once more found himself within the precincts of his proud domain. several anecdotes are told of prince charles at blair; among others, "that when the prince was at the castle, he went into the garden, and taking a walk upon the bowling-green, he said he had never seen a bowling-green before; upon which mrs. robertson of lude called for some bowls that he might see them, but he told her that he had had a present of bowls sent him, as a curiosity, to rome from england."[ ] on the second of september, the prince left blair and went to the house of lude, where he was very cheerful, and took his share in several dances, such as minuets and highland reels; the first reel the prince called for was, "this is no' mine ain house;" he afterwards commanded a strathspey minuet to be danced. on the following day, while dining at dunkeld, some of the company happened to observe what a thoughtful state his father would now be in from the consideration of those dangers and difficulties which he had to encounter, and remarked that upon this account he was much to be pitied, because his mind must be much upon the rack. the prince replied, that he did not half so much pity his father as his brother;[ ] "for," (he said) "the king has been inured to disappointments and distresses, and has learnt to bear up easily under the misfortunes of life; but, poor harry!--his young and tender years make him much to be pitied, for few brothers love as we do." on the fourth of september, prince charles entered perth; the marquis of tullibardine, as it appears from several letters addressed to him by lord george murray, who wrote from perth, remained at blair, but only, as it is evident from the following extract from a letter by lord george murray, whilst awaiting the arrangement of active operations. on the twenty-second of september he received a commission from the prince, constituting and appointing him commander-in-chief of the forces north of the forth; the active duties of the post were, however, fulfilled by lord george murray, who writes in the character of a general:[ ] "dear brother, "things vary so much from time to time, that i can say nothing certain as yet, but refer you to the enclosed letter; but depend upon having another express from me with you before monday night. but in the meantime you must resolve to be ready to march on tuesday morning, by keinacan and tay bridge, so as to be at crieff on wednesday, and even that way, if you do your best, you will be half a mark behind; but you will be able to make that up on thursday, when i reckon we may meet at dumblane, or doun; but of this more fully in my next. it is believed for certain, that cope will embark at aberdeen. "i hope the meal was with you this day, thirty-five bolls,--for it was at invar last night. it shall be my study to have more meal with you on monday night, for you must distribute a peck a man; and cost what it will, there must be frocks made to each man to contain a peck or two for the men to have always with them. "buy linen, yarn, or anything, for these frocks are of absolute necessity--nothing can be done without them. his royal highness desires you to acquaint glenmoriston and glenco, if they come your way of this intended march, so that they may go by taybridge (if you please, with you), and what meal you can spare let them have. you may please tell your own people that there is a project to get arms for them. yours. adieu. "george murray." from his age and infirmities, the marquis was precluded from taking an active part in the long course of events which succeeded the unfurling of the standard at glenfinnin. he appears to have exercised a gentle, but certain sway over the conduct of others, and especially to have possessed a control over the high-spirited lord george murray, whose conduct he did not always approve.[ ] whilst at blair, the marquis was saluted as duke of athole by all who entered his house; but the honour was accompanied by some mortifications. his younger brother, the duke of athole, had taken care to carry away everything that could be conveyed, and to drive off every animal that could be driven from his territory. the marquis had therefore great difficulty in providing even a moderate entertainment for the prince; whilst the army, now grown numerous, were almost starving. "the priests," writes a contemptuous opponent, "never had a fitter opportunity to proclaim a general fast than the present. no bull of the pope's would ever have been more certain of finding a most exact and punctual obedience." after the battle of culloden had sealed the fate of the jacobites, the marquis of tullibardine was forced, a second time, to seek a place of refuge. he threw himself, unhappily, upon the mercy of one who little deserved the confidence which was reposed in his honour, or merited the privilege of succouring the unfortunate. the following are the particulars of his fate:-- about three weeks after the battle of culloden the marquis of tullibardine traversed the moors and mountains through strathane in search of a place of safety and repose: he had become a very infirm old man, and so unfit for travelling on horseback, that he had a saddle made on purpose, somewhat like a chair, in which he rode in the manner ladies usually do. on arriving in the vicinity of loch lomond he was quite worn out, and recollecting that a daughter of the family of polmain (who were connected with his own) was married to buchanan of drumakiln, who lived in a detached peninsula, running out into the lake, the fainting fugitive thought, on these accounts, that the place might be suitable for a temporary refuge. the marquis was attended by a french secretary, two servants of that nation, and two or three highlanders, who had guided him through the solitary passes of the mountains. against the judgment of these faithful attendants, he bent his course to the ross, for so the house of drumakiln is called, where the laird of drumakiln was living with his son. the marquis, after alighting, begged to have a private interview with his cousin, the wife of drumakiln; he told this lady he was come to put his life into her hands, and what, in some sense, he valued more than life, a small casket,[ ] which he delivered to her, intreating her, whatever became of him, that she would keep that carefully till demanded in his name, as it contained papers of consequence to the honour and safety of many other persons. whilst he was thus talking, the younger drumakiln rudely broke in upon him, and snatching away the casket, he said he would secure it in a safe place, and went out. meantime the french secretary and the servants were watchful and alarmed at seeing the father and son walking in earnest consultation, and observing horses saddled and dispatched with an air of mystery, whilst every one appeared to regard them with compassion. all this time the marquis was treated with seeming kindness; but his attendants suspected some snare. they burst into loud lamentations, and were described by some children, who observed them, to be 'greeting and roaring like women.' this incident the lady of drumakiln (who was a person of some capacity) afterwards told her neighbours as a strange instance of effeminacy in these faithful adherents. at night the secretary went secretly to his master's bedside, and assured him there was treachery. the marquis answered he could believe no gentleman capable of such baseness, and at any rate he was incapable of escaping through such defiles as they had passed; he told him in that case it could only aggravate his sorrow to see him also betrayed; and advised him to go off immediately, which he did. early in the morning a party from dumbarton, summoned for that purpose, arrived to carry the marquis away prisoner. he bore his fate with calm magnanimity. the fine horses which he brought with him were detained, and he and one attendant who remained were mounted on some horses belonging to drumakiln. such was the general sentiment of disgust with drumakiln, that the officer who commanded the party taunted that gentleman in the bitterest manner, and the commander of dumbarton castle, who treated his noble prisoner with the utmost respect and compassion, regarded drumakiln with the coldest disdain. the following anecdotes of the odium which drumakiln incurred, are related by mrs. grant.[ ] "very soon after the marquis had departed, young drumakiln mounted the marquis's horse, (the servant riding another which had belonged to that nobleman,) and set out to a visit to his father-in-law polmaise. "when he alighted, he gave his horse to a groom who, knowing the marquis well, recognised him--'come in poor beast (said he); times are changed with you since you carried a noble marquis, but you shall always be treated well here for his sake.' drumakiln ran in to his father-in-law, complaining that his servant insulted him. polmaise made no answer, but turning on his heel, rang the bell for the servant, saying, 'that gentleman's horses.' "after this and several other rebuffs the father and son began to shrink from the infamy attached to this proceeding. there was at that time only one newspaper published at edinburgh, conducted by the well-known ruddiman; to this person the elder drumakiln addressed a letter or paragraph to be inserted in his paper, bearing that on such a day the marquis surrendered to him at his house. this was regularly dated at ross: very soon after the father and son went together to edinburgh, and waiting on the person appointed to make payments for affairs of this nature, demanded their reward. it should have been before observed, that the government were at this time not at all desirous to apprehend the marquis, though his name was the first inserted in the proclamation. this capture indeed greatly embarrassed them, as it would be cruel to punish, and partial to pardon him. the special officer desired drumakiln to return the next day for the money. meanwhile he sent privately to ruddiman and examined him about the paragraph already mentioned. they found it on his file, in the old laird's handwriting, and delivered it to the commissioner. the commissioner delivered the paragraph, in his own handwriting, up to the elder, saying, '_there_ is an order to the treasury, which ought to satisfy you,' and turned away from him with marked contempt." "soon after the younger laird was found dead in his bed, to which he had retired in usual health. of five children which he left, it would shock humanity to relate the wretched lives, and singular, and untimely deaths, of whom, indeed, it might be said, "on all the line a sudden vengeance waits, and frequent hearses shall besiege their gates." and they were literally considered by all the neighbourhood as caitiffs, "whose breasts the furies steel'd and curst with hearts unknowing how to yield."--pope. the blasting influence of more than dramatic justice, or of corroding infamy, seemed to reach every branch of this devoted family. after the extinction of the direct male heirs, a brother, who was a captain in the army, came home to take possession of the property. he was a person well-respected in life, and possessed some talent, and much amenity of manners. the country gentlemen, however, shunned and disliked him, on account of the existing prejudice. this person, thus shunned and slighted, seemed to grow desperate, and plunged into the lowest and most abandoned profligacy. it is needless to enter into a detail of crimes which are hastening to desired oblivion. it is enough to observe that the signal miseries of this family have done more to impress the people of that district with a horror of treachery, and a sense of retributive justice, than volumes of the most eloquent instruction could effect. on the dark question relative to temporal judgments it becomes us not to decide. yet it is of some consequence, in a moral view, to remark how much all generous emulation, all hope of future excellence, is quenched in the human mind by the dreadful blot of imputed infamy."[ ] this account of the retributive justice of public opinion which was visited upon drumakiln, is confirmed by other authority.[ ] it is consolatory to reflect that the marquis of tullibardine, after a life spent in an honest devotion to the cause which he believed to be just, was spared, by a merciful release, from the horrors of a public trial, and of a condemnation to the scaffold, which age and ill-health were not sufficient pleas to avert. after remaining some weeks in confinement at dumbarton, he was carried to edinburgh, where he remained until the thirteenth of may, . he was then put on board the eltham man-of-war, lying in the leith roads, bound for london. his health all this time was declining, yet he had the inconvenience of a long sea voyage to sustain, for the eltham went north for other prisoners before it sailed for london. but at length the marquis reached his last home, the tower, where he arrived on the twenty-first of june. he survived only until the ninth of july. little is known of this unfortunate nobleman, except what is honourable, consistent, and amiable. he had almost ceased to be scotch, except in his attachments, and could scarcely write his own language. he seems to have been generally respected; and he bore his reverses of fortune with calmness and fortitude. in his last moments he is said to have declared, that although he had been as much attached to the cause of james stuart as any of his adherents, if he might now advise his countrymen, it should be never more to enter into rebellious measures, for, having failed in the last attempt, every future one would be hopeless.[ ] the marquis died in the fifty-eighth year of his age, and was buried in the chapel in the tower, which has received few more honest men, or public characters more true to the principles which they have professed. the following letter, written in march, , during the siege of blair castle, when it was commanded by a garrison under sir andrew agnew, and addressed to lord george murray, shows the strong sense which the marquis entertained of what was due to his country and his cause. "brother george, "since, contrary to the rules of right reason, you was pleased to tell me a sham story about the expedition to blair, without further ceremony for me, you may now do what the gentlemen of the country think fit with the castle: i am in no concern about it. our great-great-grandfather, grandfather, and father's pictures will be an irreparable loss on blowing up the house; but there is no comparison to be made with these faint images of our forefathers and the more necessary publick service, which requires we should sacrifice everything that can valuably contribute towards the country's safety, as well as materially advancing the royal cause. pray give my kind service to all valuable friends, to which i can add nothing but that, in all events, you may be assured i shall ever be found with just regard, dear brother, your most affectionate brother and humble servant." "inverness, "march , ." "ps. at the upper end of the door of the old stable, there was formerly a gate which had a portcullis into the castle; it is half built up and boarded over on the stable side, large enough to hold a horse at hack and manger. people that don't know the place imagine it may be much easier dug through than any other part of the wall, so as to make a convenient passage into the vaulted room, which is called the servants' hall." of the fate of this princely territory, and upon the fortunes of the family of which the marquis of tullibardine was so respectable a member, much remains to be related; but it appertains more properly to the life of the warlike and ambitious brother of the marquis, the celebrated lord george murray. footnotes: [ ] lord lovat's memoirs, p. . [ ] wood's peerage. [ ] reay, p. . [ ] wood's peerage. [ ] see brown's history of the highlands. but home, in his history of the rebellion, speaks of lords tullibardine and seaforth as coming from a different quarter. "most of these persons," he says, "came privately from france." [ ] athol correspondence. printed for the abbotsford club. app. . [ ] home's history of the rebellion, p. . [ ] home, pp. , . [ ] jacobite memoirs. [ ] glenfinnin is in the shire of inverness, and the parish of glenelg. it is situated at the head of loch shiel. [ ] jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] introductory notice, athol correspondence, p. ix. [ ] pennant's scotland, vol. i. p. . [ ] it has lately been proved, beyond doubt, that the parr is a young salmon, not a distinct fish. [ ] pennant, p. . [ ] jacobite memoirs, pp. , . [ ] henry benedict, afterwards cardinal york. [ ] jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] see forbes's jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] this casket was never more seen. it was supposed to contain family jewels. [ ] mrs. grant's ms. for which i am indebted for the whole of this account. [ ] mrs. grant's ms. [ ] note in forbes's jacobite memoirs, p. . [ ] wood's peerage. [ ] athole correspondence. introductory notice. sir john maclean. the name maclean, abbreviated from mac gillean, is derived from the founder of the clan, "gillean n'a tuaidh," gillean of the battle-axe, so called from his carrying with him as his ordinary weapon, a battle-axe. from this hero are descended the three principal families who compose the clan maclean, who was also designated gillean of duart. it is related of gillean that, being one day engaged in a stag-hunt on the mountain of bein't sheala, and having wandered away from the rest of his party, the mountain became suddenly enveloped in a deep mist, and that he lost his track. for three days he wandered about; and, at length exhausted, threw himself under the shelter of a cranberry bush, previously fixing the handle of his battle-axe in the earth. he was discovered by his party, who had been vainly endeavouring to find him, insensible on the ground, with his arm round the handle of the battle-axe, whilst the head of the weapon rose above the bush. hence, probably, the origin of the crest used by the clan maclean, the battle-axe surrounded by a laurel-branch.[ ] to gillean of the battle-axe various origins have been ascribed; truly is it observed, that "there is little wisdom in attempting to thread the mazes of fanciful and traditionary genealogies."[ ] like other families of importance, in feudal times, the macleans had their seneachie, or historian; and, by the last of these, dr. john beaton, the descent, in regular order, from aonaglius turmi teanebrach, a powerful monarch of ireland, to fergus the first, of scotland, is traced. a tradition had indeed prevailed, that the founder, of the house of maclean was a son of fitzgerald, an earl of kildare,--a supposition which is contemptuously rejected by the historian of this ancient race. "in fact," he remarks, "from various sources, gillean can be proved to have been in his grave, long before such a title as earl of kildare was known, and nearly two hundred years before the name of fitzgerald existed."[ ] it appears, indeed, undoubted, from ancient records and well-authenticated sources, that the origin of gillean was derived from the source which has been stated. when the lordship of the isles was forfeited, the clan maclean was divided into four branches, each of which held of the lords of the isles; these branches were the macleans of duart, the macleans of lochbuy, the macleans of coll, and the macleans of ardgour. of these, the most important branch was the family of duart, founded by lachlan maclean, surnamed lubanich. this powerful chief obtained such an ascendant at the court of the lord of the isles, as to provoke the enmity of the chief of mackinnon, who, on the occasion of a stag-hunt, formed a plot to cut off lachlan and his brother, hector maclean. but the conspiracy was discovered by its objects; mackinnon suffered death at the hands of the two brothers for his design; and the lord of the isles, sailing in his galley towards his castle of ardtorinsh in morven, was captured, and carried to icolumb-kill, where he was obliged, sitting on the famous black rock of iona, held sacred in those days, to swear that he would bestow in marriage upon lachlan lubanich his daughter margaret, granddaughter, by her mother's side, of robert the second, king of scotland: and with her, as a dowry, to give to the lord of duart, eriska, with all its isles. the dowry demanded consisted of a towering rock, commanding an extensive view of the islands by which it is surrounded, and occupying a central situation among those tributaries.[ ] from the bold and aspiring chief was sir john maclean of duart descended. the marriage of lachlan lubanich with margaret of the isles took place in the year .[ ] between the time of lachlan lubanich and the birth of sir john maclean, the house of duart encountered various reverses of fortune. it has been shown how the chief added the rock of eriska to his possessions; in the course of the following century, a great part of the isles of mull and tirey, with detached lands in isla, jura, scarba, and in the districts of morven, lochaber, and knapdale, were included in the estates of the chiefs of duart, who rose, in the time of james the sixth, to be among the most powerful of the families of the hebrides. the principal seats of the chiefs of the macleans were duart and aros castles in mull, castle gillean in kerrara, on the coast of lorn, and ardtornish castle in morven. in , on occasion of the visit of one of the chiefs, lachlan, to the court of charles the first, he was created a baronet of nova scotia, by the title of sir lachlan maclean of morven. but various circumstances, and more especially the enmity of the argyle family, and the adherence of maclean to the stuarts, had contributed to the decline of their pre-eminence before the young chief, whose destiny it was to make his name known and feared at the court of england, had seen the light. the family of maclean in all its numerous and complicated branches, had been distinguished for loyalty and independence during the intervening centuries between the career of gillean and the birth of that chieftain whose devotion to the jacobite cause proved eventually the ruin of the house of duart. throughout the period of the great rebellion, and of the protectorate, the chief of the macleans had made immense sacrifices to support the interests of the king, and to bring his clan into the field. in the disgraceful transactions, by which it was agreed that scotland should withdraw her troops from england upon the payment of four hundred thousand pounds, in full of all demands, the faithful highland clans of the north and west, the grahams, macleans, camerons, and many others, had no participation. one main actor in that bargain, by which a monarch was bought and sold, was the marquis of argyle, the enemy and terror of his highland neighbours, the macleans of duart. upon the suppression of the royal authority, domestic feuds were ripened into hostilities during the general anarchy; and few of the oppressed and harassed clans suffered more severely, or more permanently than the macleans of duart. archibald, the first marquis of argyle, fixed an indelible stain upon his memory by acts of unbridled licence and aggression, in relation to his highland neighbours; the unfortunate macleans of duart especially experienced the effects of his wrath, and suffered from his manoeuvres.[ ] in the time of cromwell, argyle having procured from the lords of the treasury, a grant of the tithes of argyleshire, with a commission to collect several arrears of the feu-duty, cesses, taxation, and supply, and some new contributions laid on the subject by parliament, under the names of ammunition and contribution money, the power which such an authority bestowed, in days when the standard of right was measured by the amount of force, may readily be conceived. on the part of argyle, long-cherished views on the territories of his neighbour, maclean of duart, were now brought into co-operation with the most remorseless abuse of authority. sir lachlan maclean of duart, the great-grandfather of sir john maclean, was then chief of the clan. the marquis of argyle directed that application should be made to this unfortunate man for his quota of these arrears, and also for some small sums for which he had himself been security for the chief. sir lachlan was in no condition to comply with this demand; for he had suffered more deeply in the royal cause than any of his predecessors. during the rule of argyle and leslie in scotland, a rule which might aptly be denominated a reign of terror, the possessions of the chief in mull had been ravaged by the parliamentary troops, without any resistance from the harmless inhabitants, who had been instructed by their lord to offer no retaliation that could furnish a plea for future oppression. the castle of duart had been besieged, and surrendered to argyle and leslie, upon condition that the defenceless garrison, and eight irish gentlemen, inmates of the hospitable highlander's home, should be spared. still more, the infant son of sir lachlan had been kidnapped from his school at dumbarton by argyle, and was paraded by the side of the marquis to intimidate the chief, who was made to understand that any resistance from him would be fatal to his child,--"an instrument," observes the seneachie, "which the coward well knew might be used with greater effect upon the noble father of his captive, than all the campbell swords the craven lord could muster." under these circumstances, sir lachlan maclean was neither in the temper nor the condition to comply with the exactions of those whom he also regarded as having usurped the sovereign authority. he refused; and his refusal was exactly what his enemy desired. the next step which argyle took was to claim the amount due to him from the chief, which, by buying up all the debts, public and private, of maclean, he swelled to thirty thousand pounds, before a court of law. such was the state of scottish judicial proceedings in those days, that the process was ended before sir lachlan had even heard of its commencement. he hastened, when informed of it, to edinburgh, in order to make known his case before the "committee of estates," then acting with sovereign authority in scotland. but he was intercepted at inverary, cast into prison upon a writ of attachment, issued and signed by argyle himself, and immured in argyle's castle of carrick, for a debt due to archibald, marquis of argyle. it was there required of him that he should grant a bond for fourteen thousand pounds scots, and sign a doqueted account for sixteen thousand pounds more, bearing interest. for a time the unhappy chief refused to sign the bond thus demanded; for a year he resisted the oppression of his enemy, and bore his imprisonment, with the aggravation of declining health. at last his friends, alarmed at his sinking condition, entreated him, as the only means of release, to comply with the demand of argyle. sir lachlan signed the document, was set free, and returned to duart, where he expired in april, . to his family he bequeathed a legacy of contention and misfortune. his successor, sir hector maclean, the young hostage who had been kidnapped from dumbarton, was a youth of a warlike and determined spirit, who resisted the depredations of the plundering clan of campbells in lorn and ardnamuchan, and, on one occasion, hung up two of the invaders at his castle of dunnin morvern. such, in spite of this summary mode of proceeding, were sir hector's ideas of honour, that, notwithstanding his doubts of the validity of the bond obtained from his father, he conceived that the superscription of his father's name to it rendered it his duty to comply with its conditions as he could. he is declared by one authority to have paid ten thousand pounds of the demand; by another that fact is doubted, since, when sir john maclean's guardians investigated it, no receipts for sums alleged to have been paid on account were to be found.[ ] but this is again accounted for by the seneachie or family historian. sir hector maclean fell in the battle of inverkeithing, where, out of eight hundred of his clan who fought against general lambert, only forty escaped. he was succeeded by his brother allan, a child, subject to the management of guardians. by their good care, a great portion of the debt to argyle was paid, but there still remained sufficient to afford the insatiable enemy of his house a fair pretext of aggression. the case was again brought before the scottish council; it was even referred to charles the second; but, by the representations of the duke of lauderdale, the argyle influence prevailed. the famous marquis of argyle was, indeed, no longer in existence; he had perished on the scaffold: but his son still grasped at the possessions of his neighbour; and, although king charles desired that lauderdale "should see that maclean had justice," the duke, who was then scottish lord commissioner, on his return to scotland, decided that the rents of the estates should be made payable to argyle on account of the bond, a certain portion of them being reserved for the maintenance of the chief. sir allan died a little more than a year after this decision had been made, ignorant of the decree; and left, to bear the buffeting of the storm, his son, sir john maclean, a child only four years of age, who succeeded his father in .[ ] his estates had been placed under the care of two of his nearest kinsmen, lachlan maclean of brolas, and lachlan maclean of torloisk, men of profound judgment and of firm character, from whose guardianship much was expected by the clan. but the minor possessed a friend as true as any kinsman could be, and one of undoubted influence and sagacity, in the celebrated sir ewan cameron of lochiel. against his interest, in despite of argyle, that brave and noble man espoused the cause of the weak and of the fatherless, notwithstanding that he was himself a debtor to argyle, of whose power and will to injure he had shortly a proof. finding that lochiel was resolved to protect and assist the young maclean, the earl of argyle[ ] sent to demand from sir ewan the payment of the debt he owed, assuring him that it was his intention to follow out the law with the greatest rigour. sir ewan answered that he had not the money to pay, neither would he act against his friends. this threat, however, obliged sir ewan to continue in arms, contrary to proclamation, and also to obtain a protection from the privy council in edinburgh, against the vengeance of argyle. but that which occasioned the greatest vexation to sir ewan, was an opportunity which he conceived that the tutors or guardians of the young maclean had lost the power of emancipating their ward from the clutches of argyle's power. this, he thought, might have been effected upon the forfeiture of the marquis of argyle to the crown, when he considered that an opportunity might have been afforded to maclean's guardians to release their ward from argyle's hands, by a transaction with certain creditors of that nobleman, to whom the sum claimed by argyle from maclean had been promised, but never paid. thus, by an unaccountable oversight, the power of the argyle family over the fortunes of the macleans was continued. under these adverse circumstances, sir john maclean succeeded to his inheritance. his principal guardian, although bearing a high reputation among the clan, was esteemed by sir ewan as "a person who seems to have been absolutely unfitt for manageing his affairs att such a juncture;"[ ] and soon proved to be far too easy and credulous to contest with the crafty campbells. full of compassion for the helpless infant chief, sir ewan now resolved never to abandon the macleans until matters were adjusted between them. he passed the winter of the year in edinburgh, where he was, at one time, so much incensed against the earl of argyle for his cruelty to the macleans, and so indignant at his conduct to himself, that the valiant chief of the camerons was with difficulty restrained by his servant from shooting argyle as he stepped into his coach to attend the council.[ ] whilst the counsels of sir ewan cameron prevailed with the guardians, the macleans remained merely on the defensive; but when the insinuations of lord macdonald, who had much influence with one of the young heir's guardians, were listened to, the macleans were incited to reprisals and plunder, to which it was at all times no difficult matter to stimulate highlanders. at length the powerful and mortal foe succeeded to his heart's content in his scheme of oppression. argyle, in his capacity of hereditary justiciary of the isles, summoned the clan maclean to appear and stand their trials for treasonable convocations, garrisoning their houses and castles, &c.; the unfortunate clansmen, knowing their enemy to be both judge and evidence, did not obey. immediately they were declared rebels and outlaws, and a commission of fire and sword was issued against them. all communication between them and the privy council, who might have redressed their wrongs, was cut off: those who happened to fall into the hands of the campbells, were cruelly treated; and those who styled themselves maclean were blockaded in the islands, and almost starved for want of provisions. reduced in strength by the battle of inverkeithing, the clan was but ill-prepared to resist so formidable a foe as argyle, whose men, therefore, landed without opposition, the people flying to their mountains as the enemy approached. the young chief was sent, for protection, first to the fortified island of thernburg, and afterwards to kintail, under the care of the earl of seaforth, who had, not long previously, acted as a sort of arbitrator in the affairs of the family.[ ] while sir john maclean was thus, probably, unconscious of his wrongs and dangers, secured from personal injury, the strong old castle of duart was taken possession of by argyle, who, finding it garrisoned, was obliged to publish an indemnity, which he had obtained on purpose, remitting all crimes committed by the macleans since the eighteenth of september, , on condition that the castle should be delivered to him,--a demand with which the islanders were forced to comply. but in vain did argyle endeavour to prevail upon the honest and simple clansmen to renounce their allegiance to their chief, and to become his vassals.[ ] every species of indignity and of plunder was inflicted upon these hapless, but faithful highlanders in vain; a "monster," as he is termed, "bearing the stamp of human appearance, named sir neill campbell," in vain chased the poor inhabitants to the hills, and there exhibited acts of cruelty too shocking to be related. a promise, however, of payment of rents was at last obtained by argyle, and he left the island, after garrisoning the castles. but this tribute was never paid. the macleans could neither bear to see the halls of duart and of aros castle tenanted by their foes, nor would they submit to pay to them their rents. a league of defence was again formed; letters of fire and sword were, in consequence, issued; but argyle was baffled by a hurricane in his second invasion of duart. nature conspired with the injured in their protection; and, after some time, the guardians of sir john maclean, accompanied by lord macdonald, proceeded to london in order to appeal to the privy council. the appeal thus made was prolonged until the year , when it was at last settled by the scottish council; and the island of tyrie was given to the earl of argyle, in full payment of his claim upon the estates of sir john maclean. the character of the young chief was, meantime, formed under the influence of these events, of which, when he grew up, whilst yet the storm raged, he could not be ignorant. one principle he inherited from his ancestors--a determined fidelity to the stuart cause. when he was fifteen years of age, the death of his guardians threw the management of his affairs into his own hands; this was in the years and , one of the most critical periods in english history. having appointed certain gentlemen his agents, or factors, the young chief went, according to the fashion of his times, to travel. he first repaired to the court of england, at that time under the sway of james the second; he then crossed to france, and returned not to the british dominions until he accompanied james into ireland. the character of sir john maclean, as he attained manhood, and entered into the active business of life, has been drawn with great felicity by the author of "the memoirs of lochiel."[ ] "he was," says this writer, "of a person and disposition more turned for the court and the camp, than for the business of a private life. there was a natural vivacity and politeness in his manner, which he afterwards much improved by a courtly education; and, as his person was well-made and gracefull, so he took care to sett it off by all the ornaments and luxury of dress. he was of a sweet temper, and good-natured. his witt lively and sparkeling, and his humour pleasant and facetious. he loved books, and acquired the languages with great facility, whereby he cultivated and enriched his understanding with all manner of learning, but especially the belles lettres; add to this, a natural elegancy of expression, and ane inexhaustible fancy, which, on all occasions, furnished him with such a copious variety of matter, as rendered his conversation allways new and entertaining. but with all these shining qualitys, the natural indolence of his temper, and ane immoderate love of pleasure, made him unsuiteable to the circumstances of his family. no persons talked of affairs, private or publick, with a better grace, or more to the purpose, but he could not prevail with himself to be att the least trouble in the execution. he seemed to know everything, and from the smallest hint so penetrated into the circumstances of other people's buisiness, that he often did great services by his excellent advice; and he was of a temper so kind and obligeing, that he was fond of every occasion or doeing good to his friends, while he neglected many inviteing opportunities of serveing himself." the first hostilities between france and england, after the revolution, broke out in ireland, whence it was the design of james the second to incite his english and scottish subjects to his cause. and there was, apparently, ample grounds for hope; england was rent with factions, lord dundee was raising a civil war in scotland, and half europe was in contention with the other, whether the late king of england should be supported. "i will recover my own dominions with my own subjects," was the boast of james, "or perish in the attempt." unhappily, like his son, his magnanimity ended in expressions. sir john maclean accompanied james when he landed, on the twelfth of march, , in ireland; after the siege of derry, the chief returned to scotland, accompanied by sir alexander maclean of otter, and there very soon showed his determination in favour of the insurrection raised by dundee. sir john maclean's first step was to send maclean of lochbuy as his lieutenant with three hundred men to join dundee. his party encountered a major of general mackay's army at knockbreak in badenoch; a conflict ensued, and mackay's men were put to flight. this was the first blood that was shed for james the second in scotland. sir john maclean soon afterwards joined dundee in person, leaving his castle of duart well defended. this fort, which had witnessed so many invasions, was besieged during the absence of the chief by sir george rooke, who cannonaded it several days without effect. its owner, meantime, had joined dundee, and was appointed to the command of the right wing of the army. at the battle of killicrankie, sir john maclean distinguished himself, as became the descendant of a brave and loyal race, at the head of his clan; he probably witnessed the death of dundee. few events in scottish history could have affected those who followed a general to the field so severely. lord dundee had been foremost on foot during the action; he was foremost on horseback, when the enemy retreated, in the pursuit. he pressed on to the mouth of the pass of killicrankie to cut off the escape. in a short time he perceived that he had overrun his men: he stopped short: he waved his arm in the air to make them hasten their speed. conspicuous in his person he was observed; a musket-ball was aimed at that extended arm; it struck him, and found entrance through an opening in his armour. the brave general was wounded in the arm-pit. he rode off the field, desiring that the mischance might not be disclosed, and fainting, dropped from his horse. as soon as he was revived, he desired to be raised, and looking towards the field of battle asked how things went. "well," was the reply. "then," he said, "i am well," and expired. william the third understood the merits of his brave opponent. an express was sent to edinburgh with an account of the action. "dundee," said the king (and the _soldier_ spoke), "must be dead, or he would have been at edinburgh before the express." when urged to send troops to scotland, "it is needless," he answered; "the war ended with dundee's life." and the observation was just: a peace was soon afterwards concluded.[ ] sir john maclean, nevertheless, continued in arms under the command of colonel cannon, and lost several brave officers by the incapacity of this commander. after the peace was signed, he returned to live upon his estates, until argyle, having procured a commission from william to reduce the macleans by fire or sword, invaded the island of mull with two thousand five hundred men. sir john being unprepared to resist him, after advising his vassals to accept protection from argyle, again retired to the island of thernburg, whence he captured several of king william's vessels which were going to supply the army in ireland.[ ] the massacre of glencoe operated in some respects favourably, after the tragedy had been completed, upon the circumstances of the jacobites. terrified at the odium incurred, a more lenient spirit was henceforth shown to them by government. many persons were exempted from taking the oaths, and were allowed to remain in their houses. early in the year , sir john maclean took advantage of this favourable turn of affairs, and, after obtaining permission through the influence of argyle, and placing the castle of duart under that nobleman's control, he went to england. he soon became a favourite at the court of one who, if we except the massacre of glencoe, evinced few dispositions of cruelty to the scottish jacobites. king william is said, nevertheless, to have had a real antipathy to the highlanders; and queen mary, whose heart turned to the adherents of her forefathers, was obliged to conceal her partiality for her northern subjects. it had appeared, however, on several occasions, during the absence of her consort, and was now evinced in her good offices to the chief of the clan maclean. that the chief was of a deportment to confirm the kind sentiments thus shown towards him, the character which has been given of him amply proves. sir john maclean was, as the author of sir ewan cameron's life relates, "the only person of his party that went to court, which no doubt contributed much to his being so particularly observed by the queen, who received him most graciously, honoured him frequently with her conversation, and said many kind and obliging things to him. sir john on his part acquitted himself with so much politeness and address, that her majesty soon began to esteem him. he took the proper occasions to inform her of the misfortunes of his family, and artfully insinuated that he and his predecessors had drawn them all upon themselves by the services they had rendered to her grandfather, father, and uncle. she answered, that the antiquity and merit of his family were no strangers to her ears; and that, though she had taken a resolution never to interpose betwixt her father's friends and the king her husband, yet, she would distinguish him so far as to recommend his services to his majesty by a letter under her own hand; and that she doubted not but that it would have some influence, since it was the first favour of that nature which she had ever demanded." sir john is, however, declared by another authority to have declined the commission thus offered to him. although he had received king james's permission to reconcile himself with the government, he did not, it appears, choose to bear arms in its defence. such is the statement of one historian.[ ] by another it is said that "sir john was much caressed while he continued in the army,"[ ]--a sentence which certainly seems to imply that he had assented to king william's offer. at all events, he managed to engage the confidence of the king so far, that william "not only honoured him with his countenance, but told argyle that he must part with sir john's estate, and that he himself would be the purchaser." the nobleman to whom william addressed this injunction was of a very different temper from his father and grandfather, who had both died on the scaffold. archibald, afterwards created by william duke of argyle, had in become the head of that powerful family; he was of a frank, noble, and generous disposition. "he loved," says the same writer, "his pleasures, affected magnificence, and valued money no further than as it contributed to support the expence which the gallantry of his temper daily put him to. he several times offered very easy terms to sir john; and particularly he made one overture of quitting all his pretentions to that estate, on condition of submitting to be the earl's vassall for the greatest part of it, and paying him two thousand pounds sterling, which he had then by him in ready money; but the expensive gayety of sir john's temper made him unwilling to part with the money, and the name of a vassall suited as ill with his vanity, which occasioned that and several other proposals to be refused. however, as the generous earl was noways uneasy to part with the estate, so he, with his usewall frankness, answered king william that his majesty might always command him and his fortunes; and that he submitted his claim upon sir john's estate, as he did everything else, to his royal pleasure." a tradition exists in the family, that when argyle sent messengers with his proposals to the castle of duart, sir john pushed away the boat, as it neared the shore, with his own hands. this was worthy the pride of a highland chieftain. to such a height, in short, did william's favour amount, and so far did he in this instance carry his usual policy of conciliating his enemies by courtesy and aid, that he ordered maclean to go as a volunteer in his service, assuring him that he would see that no harm was done to his property in his absence. sir john, previous to his intended departure from england, went to scotland to put his affairs in order. on his return he was told by queen mary that there were reports to his prejudice; he denied them, and satisfied the queen that all suspicions of his fidelity were unfounded. upon the strength of this assurance the queen wrote in maclean's favour to the king, in holland, whither sir john then proceeded to join his majesty. but this profession of fidelity to one monarch soon proved to be hollow. maclean was truly one of the politicians of the day, swayed by every turn of fortune, and cherishing a deep regard for his own interest in his heart. to inspire dislike and distrust wherever he desired to secure allegiance was the lot of william, of whom it has been bitterly said, that in return for having delivered three kingdoms from popery and slavery, he was, before having been a year on the throne, repaid "with faction in one of them, with rebellion in the other, and with both in the third." how expressive was the exclamation wrung from him, "that he wished he had never been king of scotland." sir john maclean was one of those who added another proof to the king's conviction, "that the flame of party once raised, it was in vain to expect that truth, justice, or public interest could extinguish it."[ ] on arriving at bruges, maclean heard of the battle of landau, in which the french army had proved victorious against the confederates; and at the same time a report prevailed that a counter revolution had taken place in england, and that william was already dethroned. sir john changed his course upon this intelligence, and hastened to st. germains, where he was, as might be expected, coldly received. he remained there until the death of william, and then he married the daughter of sir enæas macpherson of skye. upon the accession of anne, sir john took advantage of the general indemnity offered to those who had gone abroad with james the second, and resolved to avail himself of this opportunity of returning home; but, unluckily, he was detained until a day after the act had specified, by the confinement of his wife, who was taken ill at paris, and there, in november , gave birth to a son, who afterwards succeeded to the baronetcy. although there was some risk in proceeding, yet sir john, trusting to the queen's favourable disposition to the jacobites, embarked, and with his wife and child reached london. there he was immediately committed to the tower, but his imprisonment had a deeper source than the mere delay of a few weeks. the queensbury plot at that time agitated the public, and produced considerable embarrassment in the counsels of state.[ ] it appears that sir john maclean had taken no part in this obscure transaction which could affect his honour, or impair his chance of favour from queen anne; for, so soon as he was liberated, she bestowed upon him a pension of five hundred pounds a-year, which he enjoyed during the remainder of his life. for some years sir john maclean continued to divide his time between london and the highlands, where he frequently visited his firm friend sir ewan cameron of lochiel, at his castle of achnacarry. his estates had not been materially benefited by the brief sunshine of king william's favour. upon finding that maclean had gone to st. germains, that monarch had confirmed to the duke of argyle the former grant of the island of tyrie, which the successors of the duke have since uninterruptedly enjoyed until the present day. its value was, at the time of its passing into the hands of the campbells, about three hundred pounds sterling per annum.[ ] the chief of the clan maclean was certain never to escape the suspicions of the government, after the death of anne, during whose reign the highlanders experienced an unwonted degree of tranquillity. upon her demise the whole state of affairs was changed; and none experienced greater inconveniences from the vigilance of government than sir ewan cameron and his friend maclean. lochiel, as his biographer observes, "drank deeply of this bitter cup."[ ] it was during one of maclean's visits to achnacarry, when in company with his now venerable friend, that the governor of fort william attempted to take him and sir ewan prisoners, but they made their escape. during the night of their flight, however, sir maclean caught a severe cold, which ended afterwards fatally. when the earl of mar raised the standard of the chevalier in scotland, sir john joined him at achterarder, some days before the battle of sherriff muir. in that engagement the clan maclean distinguished themselves, and some of their brave chieftains were killed in the battle. after the day was over, sir john retired to keith, where he parted from his followers, never to rejoin them. a consumption, incurred from the cold caught in his escape, was then far advanced. he declined an offer made to receive him on board the chevalier's ship, bound for france, and went to gordon castle, where, on the twelfth of march, , he expired. thus ended a life characterized by no ordinary share of vicissitude and misfortune. if the fate of sir john maclean be less tragical than that of other distinguished jacobites, it was, it must be acknowledged, one replete with anxiety and disappointment. he may be said to have been peculiarly "born to trouble." to our modern notions of honour and consistency, his conduct in becoming a courtier of william the third, appears to betray that unsoundness and hollowness of political principle which, more or less, was the prevalent moral disease of the period, and which was attributable to some of the most celebrated men of the day. it undoubtedly forms an unfavourable contrast to the stern independence of sir ewan cameron of lochiel, and of other highland chieftains, and too greatly resembles the code of politics adopted by the earl of mar. but those who knew sir john maclean intimately, considered him a man of straightforward integrity; they deemed him above dissimulation, and have placed his name among those who despised every worldly advantage for the sake of principle, and who loved the cause which he had espoused for its own sake. the broken towers of duart and of aros, the ruins of those once proud lords of the soil, attest the sacrifices which they made, and form a melancholy commentary upon their history. the castle of aros, in the island of mull, "is interesting," says macculloch,[ ] "from the picturesque object which it affords to the artist; the more so, as the country is so devoid of scenes on which his pencil can be exerted. still more striking, from its greater magnitude and more elevated position, is duart castle, once the stronghold of the macleans, and till lately garrisoned by a detachment from fort william. it is fast falling into ruin since it was abandoned as a barrack. when a few years shall have passed, the almost roofless tenant will surrender his spacious apartments to the bat and the owl, and seek shelter, like his neighbours, in the thatched hovel which rises near him. but the walls, of formidable thickness, may long bid defiance even to the storms of this region; remaining to mark to future times the barbarous splendour of the ancient highland chieftains, and, with the opposite fortress of ardtornish, serving to throw a gleam of historical interest over the passage of the sound of mull." hitherto iona had received the last remains of the lords of duart; but sir john maclean was not carried to the resting-place of his forefathers. he was buried in the church of raffin in bamffshire, in the family vault of the gordons of buckie. in iona, that former "light of the western world," are the tombs of the brave and unfortunate macleans. their bones are interred in the vaults of the cathedral, which, after coasting the barren rocks of mull, buffeted by the waves, the traveller beholds rising out of the sea, "giving," as it is finely expressed, "to this desolate region an air of civilization, and recalling the consciousness of that human society which, presenting elsewhere no visible traces, seems to have abandoned these rocky shores to the cormorant and the gull." on the tombs of the highland warriors who repose within st. mary's church in iona, are sculptured ships, swords, armorial bearings, appropriate memorials to the island lords, or, as the chevalier not inaptly called them, "little kings;" and, undistinguishable from the graves of the chiefs, are the funereal allotments of the kings of scotland, iceland, and norway.[ ] sir john maclean left one son and six daughters. his son hector was born in france, but brought to scotland at the age of four, and placed under the care of his kinsman, maclean of coll, where he remained until he was eighteen years of age; when he repaired to edinburgh, and in the college made considerable progress in the usual course of studies in that institution. after various journeys abroad, chiefly to paris, sir hector maclean returned in to edinburgh, intending again to lead his clansmen to the standard of prince charles; but a temporary imprisonment, occasioned by the treachery of a man in whose house he lodged, prevented his appearance in the field. he was detained in confinement until released as a subject of the king of france. he died at rome in the year , in the forty-seventh year of his age. at his death the title of baronet devolved upon allan of brolas, great-grandson of donald, first maclean of brolas, and younger brother of the first baronet. although the chief was thus prevented from following prince charles to the field of culloden, many of his clan distinguished themselves there; charles maclean of drimnin appeared at the head of five hundred of the clan, and his regiment, which was under the command of the duke of perth, was among those that broke forward with drawn swords from the lines, and routed the left wing of the duke of cumberland's army. the whole of the front line of this gallant regiment was swept away as they presented themselves before their foes. they were afterwards overpowered by numbers, and obliged to retire. their leader, as he retreated, inquired for one of his sons, who was missing. "i fear," said an attendant to whom the inquiry was addressed, "that he has fallen." the fate of the father is well told in these few words,[ ] "if he has, it shall not be for naught," was his reply; and he rushed forward to avenge him. many of the clan fell in the massacre after the battle of culloden muir. hundreds of the highlanders who escaped the inhumanity of their conquerors, died of their wounds or of hunger, in the hills, at twelve or fourteen miles' distance from the field of battle. "their misery," says a contemporary writer, "was inexpressible." while the cannon was sounding, and bells were pealing in the capital cities of england and ireland, for the united events of the duke of cumberland's birth and the battle of culloden moor, fires were seen blazing in morvern, in which numerous villages were burned by order of the victorious cumberland. the macleans who came from mull, seem generally to have escaped; they made off in one of the long boats for their island, the night after the engagement, and were fortunate enough to carry with them a cargo of brandy and some money.[ ] a calmer, though less interesting career has, since , been the fate of the chiefs of the clan maclean.[ ] sir allan, respected and beloved, became a colonel in the british army. he retired eventually to the sacred isle of inch kenneth, in mull, where he exercised the hospitality characteristic, in ancient times, of the lords of duart. dr. johnson has handed down the memory of the venerable chief, not only in a few descriptive pages of a tour to the hebrides, but in a latin poem, translated by sir daniel sandford.[ ] in the lines he refers to sir allan in these terms. "o'er glassy tides i thither flew, the wonders of the spot to view; in lowly cottage great maclean held there his high ancestral reign."[ ] sir allan maclean died in : he was succeeded by his nearest male relation, sir hector maclean, of the family of brolas. the brother of sir hector, sir fitzroy grafton maclean, a distinguished officer, and formerly governor of the island of st. thomas, is now chief of the clan maclean. two sons continue the line. of these, the eldest, colonel charles fitzroy maclean, has chosen, like his father, the profession of arms. he commands the eighty-first foot: and has, by his marriage with a daughter of the hon. and rev. dr. marsham, an heir to the ancestral honours of the house. the youngest son of sir fitzroy maclean is donald maclean, of witton castle, durham, the member for oxford, married to harriet, daughter of general frederick maitland, a descendant of the duke of lauderdale, whose former injustice to the clan maclean has been noticed in this work. it is remarkable, that the same fidelity, the same loyalty, that sacrificed every possession to the cause of james stuart, has been, since the extinction of that cause, worthily employed, with distinguished talent and success, in the service of government. such instances are not uncommon in the history of the jacobites. footnotes: [ ] historical and genealogical account of the clan maclean, by a seneachie. [ ] brown's highlands. [ ] historical account of the clan maclean, p. . [ ] "eriska is interesting as having been the first place where charles edward landed in scotland. it is the boundary of ottervore toward the north, and is separated from south uist by a narrow rocky sound. upon a detached and high rock at its southern end are to be seen the remains of a square tower, the abode of some ancient chieftain."--_macculloch_, vol. i. p. . [ ] hist. account. [ ] memoirs of lochiel, p. . this account is preferable to that given by the historian of the house of maclean, as it is of course a more dispassionate statement, although the facts stated are nearly the same. see hist. and gen. acct. pp. , . [ ] memoir of lochiel, p. . [ ] according to the memoirs of lochiel, it appears that sir allan must have died in or ; since the author speaks, in , of the "late sir allan." [ ] archibald, ninth earl, was only restored to the earldom. [ ] memoirs of lochiel, p. . [ ] id. p. . [ ] mem. of lochiel, p. . hist. acct. of the clan, p. . [ ] memoirs of lochiel. [ ] supposed to be john drummond of balhaldy. [ ] dalrymple's memorials, p. . [ ] hist. acct. p. . [ ] memoirs of lochiel, p. . [ ] hist. account of the maclean family, p. . [ ] memoirs of lochiel, p. . [ ] dalrymple, p. . [ ] dalrymple's memorials. see collection of original papers, p. . sir john maclean's discovery, part ii. p. . [ ] mem. of locheil, p. . [ ] id. p. . [ ] macculloch's western islands of scotland, vol. i. p. . [ ] macculloch, vol. i. p. . [ ] hist. notices of the macleans, p. . [ ] hist. of the rebellion, p. . from the scots' magazine. aberdeen, . [ ] an accomplished descendant of the macleans of lochbuy, miss moss, of edinburgh, has left a beautiful tribute to the valour of her clan in a ballad of the forty-five. the following passage occurs in dr. brown's history of the highlands, vol. iv. part ii. p. , relative to the macleans of lochbuy, coll, and ardgour:--"their estates being afterwards restored, they listened to the persuasions of professor forbes, and remained quiet until the subsequent insurrection of , when a general rising of the clans would most probably have placed the crown upon the head of the descendant of their ancient line of kings." this reproach rests only on the three houses just mentioned, and not on the macleans of brolas, nor of mull, who were at the battle of culloden. for a portion of the materials of the foregoing narrative i am greatly indebted to the historical and genealogical account of the clan maclean, by a seneachie. the work is compiled chiefly from the duart manuscripts. [ ] hist. notices, p. . [ ] see history of iona by lachlan maclean, esq., glasgow. rob roy macgregor campbell. "the clan gregiour," according to an anonymous writer of the seventeenth century, "is a race of men so utterly infamous for thieving, depredation, and murder, that after many acts of the council of scotland against them, at length in the reign of king charles the first, the parliament made a strict act suppressing the very name." upon the restoration, when, as the same writer declares, "the reins were given to all licentiousness, and loyalty, as it was called, was thought sufficient to compound for all wickedness, the act was rescinded. but, upon the late happy revolution, when the nation began to recover her senses, some horrid barbarities having been committed by that execrable crew, under the leading of one robert roy macgregiour, yet living, the parliament under king william and queen mary annulled the said act rescissory, and revived the former penal statute against them."[ ] such is the summary account of one who is evidently adverse to the political creed, no less than to the daring violence, of the clan macgregor. little can, it is true, be offered in palliation for the extraordinary career of spoliation and outrage which the history of this race of highlanders presents; and which terminated only with the existence of the clan itself. the clan gregor, anciently known by the name of clan albin, dated their origin from the ninth century, and assumed to be the descendants of king alpin, who flourished in the year : so great is its antiquity, that an old chronicle asserts, speaking of the clan macarthur, "that none are older than that clan, except the hills, the rivers, and the clan albin." among the conflicts which for centuries rendered the highlands the theatre of perpetual strife, the clan albin, or, as in process of time it was called, the clan gregor, was marked as the most turbulent members of the state. it was never safe to dispute with them, and was deemed idle to inquire whether the lands which they occupied were theirs by legal titles, or by the right of the sword. situate on the confines of scotland, and protected by the inaccessible mountains which surrounded them, they could defy even their most powerful neighbours, who were always desirous of conciliating allies so dangerous in times of peace, so prompt in war. the boundaries which they occupied stretched along the wilds of the trosaëhs and balquhidder, to the northern and western heights of mannach and glenurely, comprehending portions of the counties of argyle, perth, dumbarton, and stirling, which regions obtained the name of the country of the mac gregors. a part of these domains being held by the _coir à glaive_, or right of the sword, exposed the clan gregor to the enmity of their formidable neighbours, the earls of argyle and breadalbane, who, obtaining royal grants of such lands, lost no opportunity of annoying and despoiling their neighbours, under legal pretexts. hence many of the contests which procured for the macgregors a character of ferocity, and brought upon them 'letters of fire and sword.' a commission was granted first in the reign of queen mary, in , to the most powerful clansmen and nobles, to pursue, and exterminate the clan gregor, and prohibiting, at the same time, that her majesty's liege subjects should receive or assist any of the clan, or give them meat, drink, or clothes. the effect which such an edict was likely to produce upon a bold, determined, desperate people may readily be conceived. hitherto the clan gregor had been a loyal clan. from the house of alpin had descended the royal family of stewart, with whom the macgregors claimed kindred, bearing upon their shields, in gaelic, the words, 'my tribe is royal.' they had been also in favour with the early scottish monarchs, one of whom had ennobled the macgregors of glenurely, who could cope with the most elevated families in scotland, in possessions and importance. but, after the edict of mary, a palpable decline in the fortunes of the clan gregor was manifest, until it was for ever extinguished in modern days. henceforth the macgregors exhibited a contempt for those laws which had never afforded them protection. they became, in consequence of the cruel proclamation against them, dependent for subsistence upon their system of predatory warfare. they grew accustomed to bloodshed, and could easily be '_hounded out_,' as sir walter scott expresses it, to commit deeds of violence. hence they were incessantly engaged in desperate feuds, in which the vengeance of an injured and persecuted people was poured out mercilessly upon the defenceless. hence they became objects of hatred to the community, until the famous contest of glenfruin, between the macgregors and the colquhouns of luss, brought once more the royal displeasure upon them in the reign of james the sixth. the sequestered valley, which obtained, from the memorable and tragical events of the combat, the name of the glen of sorrow, is situated about six miles from loch lomond, and is watered by the river fruin which empties itself into that lake. in the spring of the year , alexander of glenstrae, chief of the macgregors, went from the country of lennox to balquhidder, for the express purpose of conciliating the feuds which subsisted between his brother and sir humphrey colquhoun of luss. after a conference, apparently pacific, but well understood by the macgregors to augur no friendly intentions, the assembled members of that clan prepared to return to their homes. they were followed by the laird of luss, who was resolved to surprise them on their route. but his treachery was secretly known by those whom he pursued. the right bank of loch lomond is so steep and woody that before the formation of roads, the highlanders found it impossible to pass that way. the way to argyleshire, therefore, ran along the vale of fruin in a circuitous direction to the head of loch long, and again turned eastward towards loch lomond. in the middle of the glen the macgregors, who were peacefully returning home, were attacked by the colquhouns. the assailants were four to one; but the valour of the macgregors prevailed, and two hundred colquhouns were left dead on the field. the very name of colquhoun was nearly annihilated. the account of the battle was transmitted by the laird of luss to james the sixth, at edinburgh; and the message was accompanied by two hundred and twenty shirts, stained with blood, which were presented to the king by sixty women, widows of those slain in the glen of sorrow. these ladies rode on white poneys, and carried in their hands long poles, on which were extended the stained garments. but the shirts, it is said, were soiled by the way, and the widows were hireling mourners, who comforted themselves with the loved beverages of their country on their return, and were in many instances obliged to be carried to their homes.[ ] the indignation of james the sixth, unmitigated by any friendly representations on behalf of the macgregors, burst forth fatally for the clan. the macgregors were formally outlawed by act of parliament; they were pursued with blood-hounds, and when seized, were put to death without trial. their chief, the unfortunate alexander of glenstrae surrendered to his enemy the earl of argyle, with eighteen of his followers, on condition that he might be taken safely out of scotland. but the severity of government stopped not here. the very name of gregor was blotted out, by an order in council, from the names of scotland. those who had hitherto borne it were commanded to change it under pain of death, and were forbidden to retain the appellations which they had been accustomed from their infancy to cherish. those who had been at glenfruin were also deprived of their weapons, excepting a pointless knife to cut their victuals. they were never to assemble in any number exceeding four; and by an act of parliament passed in , these laws were extended to the rising generation, lest as the children of the proscribed parents grew up, the strength of the clan should be restored. for these severe acts, the only apology that can be offered is the unbridled fury and cruelty of the macgregors, when irritated; of which it is necessary to mention one instance, as an example of the many left on record, of which the clan were convicted. in the battle of glenfruin, which james had visited so rigorously upon the macgregors, the greater part of those who bore the name of colquhoun were exterminated. yet a still more savage act was perpetrated after the day was won. the town of dumbarton contained, at that time, a seminary famous for learning, where many of the colquhouns, as well as the sons of the neighbouring gentry, were sent for education. upon hearing of the encounter at glenfruin, eighty of these high-spirited boys set off to join their relatives; but the colquhouns, anxious for the safety of their young kinsfolk, would not permit them to join in the fight, but locked them up in a barn for safety. here they remained, until the event of the day left the macgregors masters of what might well be called "the glen of sorrow." the boys, growing impatient for their release, became noisy; when the macgregors, discovering their hiding-place, and thirsting for vengeance, set fire to the barn, and the young inmates were consumed. according to another account, they were all put to the sword by one of the guard, a macgregor, whose distinctive appellation was ciar mohr, "the mouse-coloured man." when the chief of the macgregor's clan repaired to the barn, and, knowing that the boys were the sons of gentlemen, was desirous of ensuring their safety, he asked their guards where they were. when told of what had occurred, macgregor broke out into the exclamation, that "his clan was ruined." the sad event was commemorated, until the year , by an annual procession of the dumbarton youths, to a field at some distance from their school, where they enacted the melancholy ceremonial of a mock funeral, over which they set up a loud lamentation. the site of the farm where this scene was enacted is still pointed out; and near it runs a rivulet, the gaelic name of which signifies "the burn of the young ghosts:" so deep was the memory of this horrible deed.[ ] a fearful retribution followed the clan for years. they had no friend at court to plead their cause; and the most cruel hardships became the lot of the innocent, as well as the guilty, of their clan. the country was filled with troops ready to destroy them, so that all who were able, were forced to fly to rocks, caverns, and to hide themselves among the woods. few of the macgregors, at this period of the scottish history, were permitted to die a natural death. as an inducement to the murder of these wretched people, a reward was offered for every head of a macgregor that was conveyed to the privy council at edinburgh. those who died a natural death were buried in silence and secrecy by their kinsfolk, for the graves of the persecuted clan were not respected; the bodies of the dead being exhumed, and the heads cut off, to be sent to the council. never has there been, in the history of mankind, a more signal instance of national odium than that which pursued this brave, though violent race. the spirit in which they were denounced has in it little of the character of justice, and reminds us of the vengeance of the jewish people upon the different hostile tribes to whom they were opposed. in process of time, the last remnant of the lands pertaining to the macgregors was bestowed upon archibald, seventh earl of argyle, whose family had profited largely by the destruction of the clan: for every macgregor whom they had destroyed, they had received a reward. in , the earl was commanded to root out this thievish and barbarous race; a commission which he executed remorselessly, dragging the parents to death, and leaving their offspring to misery and to revenge; for the deep consciousness of their wrongs grew up with the young, and prepared them for deeds of violence and vengeance. notwithstanding the severities of the stuarts towards the macgregors, the loyalty of the clan continued unimpeachable. it was appreciated by one who is not celebrated for remembering benefits. charles the second had, in , the grace to remove the proscription from the macgregors, by an act which was passed in the first scottish parliament after his restoration. he permitted them the use of their family name, and other privileges of his liege subjects, assigning as a reason for this act of favour, that the loyalty and affection of those who were once called macgregors, during the late troubles, might justly wipe off all former reproach from their clan. this act of grace, according to the anonymous writer quoted in the commencement of this memoir, was to be accounted for by the prevalent licentiousness of that monarch's reign. it gave, indeed, but little satisfaction to the nonconforming presbyterians, who saw with resentment that the penalties unjustly imposed upon themselves were relaxed in favour of the macgregors. but this dissatisfaction was of short duration. after the revolution, "an influence," says sir walter scott, "inimical to this unfortunate clan, said to be the same with that which afterwards dictated the massacre of glencoe, occasioned the reaction of the penal statutes against the macgregors."[ ] it is, however, consolatory to find that the proscription was not acted upon during the reign of william. the name of macgregor was again heard in public halls, in parliament, and courts of justice. still, however, whilst the statutes remained, it could not legally be borne. attempts were made to restore the appellation of clan alb, but nothing was decided; when, at length, all necessity for such an alteration was done away by an act of parliament abolishing forever the penal statutes against the clan. whilst the macgregors were still a proscribed race, robert macgregor campbell, or robert roy, so called among his kindred, in the adoption of a celtic phrase, expressive of his ruddy complexion and red hair, appeared as their champion. at the time of his birth, to bear the name of macgregor was felony; and the descendant of king alpin adopted the maiden name of his mother, a daughter of campbell of fanieagle, in order to escape the penalty of disobedience. his father, donald macgregor of glengyle, was a lieutenant-colonel in the king's service: his ancestry was deduced from ciar mohr, "the mouse-coloured man," who had slain the young students at the battle of glenfruin. after the death of allaster macgregor of glenstrae, the last chieftain, the office of chief had ceased to be held by any representative of the scattered remnant of this hunted tribe. various families had ranged themselves under the guidance of chieftains, which, among highlanders, signifies the head of a branch of a tribe, in contradistinction to that of chief, who is the leader of the whole name.[ ] the chieftain of glengyle lived in the mountainous region between loch lomond and loch katrine; his right to his territories there might or might not be legal; it was far more convenient to his neighbours to waive the question with any member of this fierce race, than to inquire too rigidly into the tenure by which the lands were held. rob roy, though he deduced his origin from a younger son of the laird of macgregor, was one of a family who had, within the preceding century, been of humble fortunes. his great-grandfather had been a cotter; from his grandfather he inherited the generous temper and the daring spirit which, more or less, characterized the clan. callum, or malcolm, had been outlawed for an attempt to carry off an heiress, but obtained his pardon for saving the life of his enemy, the duke of argyle. the date of rob roy's birth is uncertain, but is supposed to have taken place about the middle of the seventeenth century; consequently, after the period when his clan had endured every variety of fortune, from the cruel edicts of james the sixth to the consolatory acts of charles the second. the education of this extraordinary man was limited; and he is said not to have exhibited in his youth any striking traits of the intrepidity which distinguished him in after life. but he was endowed with a vigorous intellect, and with an enthusiasm which had been deepened by the peculiar circumstances of his clan and kinsfolk. it is impossible to comprehend the character of rob roy, unless we look into the history of his race, as we have briefly done, and consider how strong must have been the impressions which hereditary feuds, and wrongs visited upon father and child, had made upon a mind of no common order. his youth was occupied in acquiring the rude accomplishments of the age. in the management of the broadsword the ardent and daring boy soon acquired proficiency; his frame was robust and muscular, and his arm of unusual length. at an early age he is said by tradition to have tried his powers in a predatory excursion, of which he was the leader. this was in the year , and it was called the herdship, or devastation of kippen, in the lennox. no lives were sacrificed, but the marauding system was carried to its extent. the young macgregor was educated in the presbyterian faith. "he was not," says his biographer,[ ] "free from those superstitious notions so prevalent in his country; and, although few men possessed more strength of mind in resisting the operation of false and gloomy tenets, he was sometimes led away from the principles he had adopted, to a belief in supernatural appearances." nor was it likely that it should be otherwise; for the wildest dreams of fancy were cherished in the seclusion of the region, then inconceivably retired and remote, in which rob roy is said to have passed days in silent admiration of nature in her grandest aspects; for the man who afterwards appeared so stern and rugged to his enemies, was accessible to the tenderest feelings, and to the most generous sympathies.[ ] although his father had succeeded in military life, rob roy was destined to a far more humble occupation. the discrepancy between the scottish pride of ancestry and the lowly tracks which are occasionally chalked out for persons of the loftiest pretensions to origin, is manifest in the destination of rob roy. he became a dealer in cattle. it was, it is true, the custom for landed proprietors, as well as their tenantry, to deal in the trade of grazing and selling cattle. in those days, no lowlanders, nor any english drovers, had the audacity to enter the highlands. "the cattle," says sir walter scott, "which were the staple commodity of the mountains, were escorted down to fairs, on the borders of the lowlands, by a party of highlanders, with their arms rattling round them; and who dealt, however, in all faith and honour with their southern customers." after describing the nature of the affrays which were the result of such collision, sir walter remarks, "a slash or two, or a broken head, was easily accommodated, and as the trade was of benefit to both parties, trifling skirmishes were not allowed to interrupt its harmony." for some time, the speculations in which rob roy engaged were profitable; he took a tract of land in balquhidder for the purpose of grazing, and his success soon raised him in the estimation of the county. but his cattle were often carried away by hordes of big robbers from inverness, ross, and sutherland, and he was obliged, in defence, to maintain a party of men to repel these incursions. hence the warlike tastes which were afterwards more fully displayed. the death of his father placed rob roy in an important situation in his county; he became, moreover, guardian to his nephew, gregor of macgregor of glengyle,--a position which gave him great influence with the clan. he had now become the proprietor of craig royston; but his ordinary dwelling was at inversnaid, from which place he took his appellation, macgregor of inversnaid. these estates were of considerable extent, but of small value: they extended from the head of loch lomond twelve miles along its eastern border, and stretched into the interior of the country, partly around the base of ben lomond. from these estates rob roy assumed sometimes the title of craig royston, sometimes that of baron of inversnaid,--a term long applied in scotland to puisne lairds.[ ] the influence of an energetic and powerful mind was now plainly exhibited in the celebrity which rob roy soon acquired in the neighbouring counties. the macgregors had a peculiar constitution in their clanship, which rendered them compact and formidable as a body. in all the forays so common at that period, rob roy took little or no part; yet the terror of his name caused him to receive all the credit of much that occurred in the vicinity. three great noblemen, bitter enemies, sought his alliance; of these one was james the first duke of montrose, and archibald tenth earl of argyle, who were opposed to each other not only in political opinions, but from personal dislike. montrose deemed it essential to conciliate rob roy as a matter of speculation, and entered into a sort of partnership with the far-famed drover in the buying and selling of cattle, of which rob roy was considered an excellent judge. argyle, on the other hand, was conscious of the injuries which his ancestors had inflicted on the macgregors, and was inclined to befriend rob roy from compassion, and a sense of justice. the earl was also flattered by the laird's having assumed the name of campbell, which he regarded as a compliment to himself. but the overtures of argyle were at first spurned by rob roy, whose alliance with the marquis of montrose increased his hatred of argyle. he was afterwards won over to more moderate sentiments, and a lasting friendship was eventually formed between him and argyle. the friendship and patronage of montrose were secure until money transactions, the usual source of alienations and bickerings, produced distrust on the one hand, and bitterness on the other. montrose had advanced rob roy certain sums to carry on his speculations: they were successful until the defalcation of a third and inferior partner prevented rob roy from repaying the marquis the money due to him. he was required to give up his lands to satisfy the demands upon him. for a time he refused, but ultimately he was compelled by a law-suit to mortgage his estates to montrose with an understanding that they were to be restored to him whenever he could pay the money. some time afterwards he made an attempt to recover his estate by the payment of his debts; but he was at first amused by excuses, and afterwards deprived of his property. such is the simple statement of his partial biographer; but sir walter scott gives the story a darker colouring. in his preface to rob roy he mentions that rob roy absconded, taking with him the sum of one thousand pounds which he had obtained from different gentlemen in scotland for the purpose of buying cattle. in an advertisement to that effect was put into the daily papers repeatedly; but the active highlander was beyond the reach of law. to this period we must assign a total change in the habits and characteristics of rob roy, who now began a lawless and marauding course of life. he went up into the highlands where he was followed by one whose character has been variously represented--mary macgregor of comar, his wife. according to one account, she was by no means the masculine and cruel being whom scott has so powerfully described; yet, from several traits, it is obvious that she was one of the most determined of her sex, and that her natural boldness of spirit was exaggerated by an insult which was never forgiven, either by herself or by her husband. this was the forcible expulsion of herself and her family from their home at inversnaid by graham of killearn, one of montrose's agents; and the cruel act was accompanied by circumstances which nothing but death could blot from the memory of the outraged and injured macgregor. the loss of property was nothing when compared with that one galling recollection. the kind and once honourable rob roy was now driven to desperation. his natural capacity for warlike affairs had been improved in the collection of the black mail, or protection fees; a service of danger, in which many a bloody conflict with freebooters had shown the macgregors of what materials their leader was composed. the black mail was a private contribution, often compulsatory, for the maintenance of the famous black watch, an independent corps of provincial militia, and so called from the colour of their dress, in contradistinction to the red soldiers, or _leidar dearag_. "from the time they were first embodied," writes general stewart, "till they were regimented, the highlanders continued to wear the dress of their country. this, as it consisted so much of the black, green, and blue tartan, gave them a dark and sombre appearance in comparison with the bright uniform of the regulars, who, at that time, had coats waistcoats, and breeches of scarlet cloth. hence the term _dhu_, or black, as applied to this corps."[ ] in collecting both the imposts laid on for the maintenance of this corps, and in enforcing the black mail, rob roy had already gained the confidence of the better classes, whilst, by his exploits, he had taught the freebooter to tremble at his name. his journeys to england had not, either, been unprofitable to him in gaining friends. by a strict regard to his word, a true highland quality, he had gained confidence; whilst his open and engaging demeanour had procured him friends. soon after his expulsion from his property, rob roy travelled into england to collect a sum of money which was due to him. on returning through moffat, his generous indignation was aroused by seeing the penalty of the law inflicted upon a young girl for fanaticism: two of her kinsmen had already suffered. as a party of soldiers were preparing to carry the girl, bound hand and foot, to a river, rob roy interposed; and, receiving an insolent reply, he sprang upon the soldiers and in an instant released the young woman, by plunging eight of her guards into the water. he then drew his claymore, and cut the cords which bound the intended victim. a short skirmish left him master of the field. rob roy now prepared to remove from his dwelling at inversnaid, into one more remote, and protected by its natural position. this was craig royston, or, as it is sometimes spelt, craigrostan, whither rob roy removed his furniture and other effects. a tract, entitled "the highland rogue," published during the lifetime of rob roy, contains a striking description of this almost inaccessible retreat. it is situated on the borders of loch lomond, and is surrounded with stupendous rocks and mountains. the passages along these heights are so narrow, that two men cannot walk abreast; "it is a place," adds the same writer, "of such strength and safety, that one person well acquainted with it, and supplied with ammunition, might easily destroy a considerable army if they came to attack him, and he, at the same time, need not so much as be seen by them." for this romantic scene, rob roy quitted inversnaid; henceforth his occupation as a grazier and drover, and his character as a country gentleman, were lost in that of a freebooter. many anecdotes have been related of his feats in the dangerous course which he henceforth adopted: but of these, some are so extraordinary, as to be incredible; others are perfectly consistent with the daring spirit of a man who had vowed to avenge his wrongs. the duke of montrose was the first object of his wrath; accordingly, hearing that the tenantry of the duke had notice to pay their rents, he mustered his men, and visiting these gentlemen, compelled them to pay him the money, giving them, nevertheless receipts, which discharged them of any future call from montrose. this practice he carried on with impunity for several years, until a more flagrant outrage drew down the anger of his enemy. this was no less than the abduction of the duke's factor, killearn, who had formerly expelled the family of rob roy from inversnaid. killearn had gone to chapellaroch in stirlingshire, for the purpose of collecting rents; he anticipated, on this occasion, no interruption to his office, because rob roy had caused it to be given out, by proclamation, some days before, that he had gone to ireland. towards evening, nevertheless, he made his appearance before the inn at chapellaroch, his piper playing before him; his followers were stationed in a neighbouring wood. the rents had just been collected, when the sound of the bagpipes announced to killearn the approach of his enemy. the factor sprang up, and threw the bags, full of money, into a loft. rob roy entered, with the usual salutations, laid down his sword, and sat down to partake of the entertainment. no sooner was the repast ended, than he desired his piper to strike up a tune. in a few minutes, by this signal, six armed men entered the room; when rob roy, taking hold of his sword, asked the factor, "how he had prospered in his collection of the rents?" "i have got nothing yet," replied the trembling killearn; "i have not begun to collect." "no, no, chamberlain," cried rob roy, "falsehood will not do for me. i demand your book." the book was produced, the money was found and delivered to rob roy, who gave his usual receipt. after this, the unfortunate factor was carried off to an island near the east of loch katrine, where he was confined a considerable time; and when he was released, was warned not to collect the rents of the country in future, as rob roy intended to do so himself,--the more especially as the lands had originally belonged to the macgregors, and he was, therefore, only reclaiming his own.[ ] this predatory war against the duke of montrose was carried on for a considerable time. it was favoured by the nature of the country over which the freebooter ruled triumphant, and by the secret good wishes of the highlanders who resided in the neighbourhood. no roads were at that time formed in this region of singular beauty. narrow valleys, thinly inhabited, and surrounded by forests and wilds, and guarded by rocks, passes, and other features of natural strength, afforded to rob roy all those advantages which he, who knew every defence which nature gave to marauders in those retired haunts, could well appreciate. the habits of the highlanders were also, at this time, essentially warlike. "the use of arms," to borrow a description from an anonymous writer, "formed their common occupation, and the affairs of war their ordinary pursuit. they appeared on all public occasions, at market, and even at church, with their broadswords and their dirks; and, more recently, when the use of fire-arms became general, they seldom travelled without a musket and pistol." the clan macgregor possessed these military tastes in an inordinate degree; and the wars of the foregoing century had accustomed them to a degree of union and discipline not, at that period, common among the highlanders, who were considered, in those respects, as superior to their lowland brethren.[ ] the vicinity of the rich districts of the lowlands gave a rich stimulus to the appetite for plunder natural to a martial and impoverished people. above all, their energies were inspired by an undying sense of ancient and present injuries, and the remembrance of their sufferings was never erased from their minds. at this time, the most disturbed districts in scotland were those nearest to the lowlands; the bitterness of political feelings was added to the sense of injustice, and the loss of lands. rob roy knew well how to avail himself of this additional incentive to violence; he avowed his determination to molest all who were not of jacobite principles; and he put that resolution into active practice. the character of the individual who exercised so singular a control over his followers, and over the district in which he lived, had changed since his early, dreamy days, or since the period of his honest exertions as a drover. rob roy had become in repute with robin hood of the lowlands. his personal appearance added greatly to the impression of his singular qualities. the author of "the highland rogue" describes him as a man of prodigious strength, and of such uncommon stature as to approach almost to a gigantic size. he wore a beard above a foot long, and his face as well as his body was covered with dark red hair, from which his nick-name originated. the description given by sir walter scott does not entirely correspond with this portraiture. "his stature," says that writer, "was not of the tallest, but his person was uncommonly strong and compact." the great peculiarity of his frame was the great length of his arms, owing to which he could, without stooping, tie the garters of his highland hose, which are placed two inches below the knee. his countenance was sternly expressive in the hour of peril; but, at calmer moments, it wore that frank and kindly aspect which wins upon the affections of our species. his frame was so muscular, that his knee was described as resembling that of a highland bull, evincing strength similar to that animal. his exercise of the broadsword was, even in those days, superlative; and his intimate knowledge of the wild country over which he may be said to have ruled, gave him as great an advantage as his personal prowess. to these qualifications may be added another, perhaps more important still,--that quick perception of character, and that penetration into human motives, without which no mind can obtain a mastery over another. to these characteristics were added a fearless and generous spirit, a hatred of oppression, and compassion for the oppressed. although descended from the dark murderer of the young students, rob roy had none of the ferocity of his race in his composition. he was never the cause of unnecessary bloodshed, nor the contriver of any act of cruel revenge. "like robin hood," says scott, "he was a kind and gentle robber, and while he took from the rich, he was liberal to the poor. this might in part be policy, but the universal tradition of the country speaks it to have arisen from a better motive. all whom i have conversed with, and i have in my youth seen some who knew rob roy personally, gave him the character of a benevolent, humane man, in his way." that "way" was certainly not followed out on the most approved principles of morality, and he is well described as resembling in his code of morals an "arab chief." but if ever man may be excused for a predatory course of life, the chieftain, as he was now called, of the macgregors may be pardoned for actions which, in those who had suffered less from wrong and oppression, would be deemed unpardonable. the revival of that latent affection for the stuarts which ever existed in the highlands, greatly favoured the success of rob roy in his unsettled and exciting career. many of the chieftains were now arraying their people to follow them to the field upon a summons from their rightful prince; and even the duke of argyle, who had at first attached himself to the prince of orange, was wavering in his resolutions, never having been restored to his property and jurisdiction since the attainder and death of his father. under these circumstances the assistance of rob roy became of infinite importance to argyle. the most deadly feuds raged between him and montrose, who, upon hearing that roy was on friendly terms with argyle, had sent to offer to the freebooter not only that he would withdraw his claims on his estate, but also that he would give him a sum of money if he would go to edinburgh and give information against argyle for treasonable practices. but this base overture was indignantly rejected by rob roy, who deigned not even to reply to the letter, but contented himself with forwarding it to argyle. hence the bitter enmity of montrose towards the macgregors, during the whole course of his future life.[ ] from this time rob roy kept no measures with his enemies, and his incursions were so frequent and so dreaded, that in a garrison was established at inversnaid to check the irruptions of his party. but rob roy was too subtle and too powerful for his enemies. he bribed an old woman of his clan, who lived within the garrison, to distribute whiskey to the soldiers. whilst they were in a state of intoxication, he set fire to the fort. he was suspected of this outrage, but still it passed with impunity, for no one dared to attack him; the affair was passed over in silence, and the government re-established the fort of inversnaid. numbers of the desperate and vagrant part of his clansmen now crowded around rob roy at craig royston, and swore obedience to him as their chieftain. the country was kept in continual awe by these marauders, who broke into houses and carried off the inmates to craig royston, there to remain until heavy ransoms were paid. their chieftain, meantime, laughed at justice, and defied even the great montrose. he had spies in every direction, who brought him intelligence of all that was going on. no person could travel near the abode of this mountain bandit without risk of being captured and carried to craig royston. in many instances the treatment of the prisoners is said to have been harsh; in some it was tempered by the relentings of rob roy. on one occasion, having seized upon a gentleman whose means had been reduced by great losses, he not only set him at liberty, but gave him money to pay his travelling expenses, and sent him in one of his own boats as far as he could travel by water. the incursions of this scottish robin hood were contrived with the utmost caution and secrecy, and executed with almost incredible rapidity. no one knew when he would appear, nor in what direction he would turn his dreaded attention. he is even said to have threatened the duke of montrose in his own residence at buchanan. his enterprises were, however, not always contrived for a serious end, but sometimes partook of the love of a practical joke, which is a feature in the scottish character. "the highland rogue" gives the following account of one of his exploits:--[ ] "rob roy's creditors now grew almost past hopes of recovering their money. they offered a large reward to any that should attempt it successfully; but not an officer could be found who was willing to run such a hazard of his life; till at length a bailiff, who had no small opinion of his own courage and conduct, undertook the affair. "having provided a good horse and equipt himself for the journey, he set out without any attendance, and in a few hours arrived at craigroiston, where, meeting with some of rob roy's men, he told them he had business of great importance to deliver to their master in private. rob roy having notice of it, ordered them to give him admittance. as soon as he came in, the captain demanded his business. 'sir,' (says the other) 'tho' you have had misfortunes in the world, yet knowing you to be in your nature an honourable gentleman, i made bold to visit you upon account of a small debt, which i don't doubt but you will discharge if it lies in your power.' 'honest friend,' (says m'gregor) 'i am sorry that at present i cannot answer your demand; but if your affairs will permit you to lodge at my house to-night, i hope by to-morrow i shall be better provided.' the bailiff complied, and was overjoyed at the success he had met with. he was entertained with abundance of civility, and went to bed at a seasonable time. "rob roy then ordered an old suit of clothes to be stuffed full of straw, not wholly unlike one of the taffies that the mob dress up and expose upon the st of march, in ridicule of the welshmen; only, instead of a hat with a leek in it, they bound his head with a napkin. the ghastly figure being completely formed, they hung it upon the arm of a tree directly opposite to the window where the officer lay: he rising in the morning and finding his door locked, steps back to the window and opens the casement, in expectation of finding some of the servants, when, to his great astonishment, he cast his eye upon the dreary object before him: he knew not what to make of it; he began to curse his enterprise, and wished himself safe in his own house again. in the midst of his consternation, he spied one of the servants, and calling to him, desired him to open the door. the fellow seemed surprised at finding it locked, begged his pardon, and protested it was done by mistake. as soon as the bailiff got out, 'prithee friend,' (says he) 'what is it that hangs upon yonder tree?' 'o sir,' (says the other) ''tis a bailiff, a cursed rogue that has the impudence to come hither to my master, and dun him for an old debt; and therefore he ordered him to be hanged there for a warning to all his fraternity. i think the impudent dog deserved it, and in troth, we have been commended by all his neighbours for so doing.' the catchpole was strangely terrified at this account, but hoping that the servant did not know him to be one of the same profession, he walked away with a seeming carelessness, till he thought himself out of sight, and then looking round and finding the way clear, he threw off his coat and ran for his life, not resting, nor so much as looking behind him, till he came to a village about three or four miles off; where, when he had recovered breath, he told the story of his danger and escape, just as he apprehended it to be. rob roy was so pleased with the success of his frolic, that the next day he sent home the bailiff's coat and horse, and withal let his neighbours know that it was only a contrivance to frighten him away; by which means the poor rogue became the common subject of the people's diversion." this adventure was immediately recounted to the governor of stirling castle by the messenger, who hastened to that fortress. a party of soldiers was ordered out to seize rob roy; but the chieftain gained intelligence of their approach, and rob roy retreated to the hills; whilst the country of the macgregors was roused, and put into a state of defence. the soldiers, meantime, worn out with their search among the hills, took possession of an empty house and filled it with heath for beds. the macgregors, always active and watchful, set fire to the house, and drove their enemies from their post. thus rob roy escaped the pursuit of justice, the troopers being obliged to return to stirling castle. he was not always so fortunate as to avoid imminent danger; yet he had a faithful friend who watched over his safety, and who would have willingly sacrificed his life for that of macgregor. this was the chieftain's lieutenant, fletcher, or macanaleister, "the _little john_ of his band," and an excellent marksman. "it happened," writes sir w. scott, "that macgregor and his party had been surprised and dispersed by a superior force of horse and foot, and the word was given to 'split and squander.' jack shifted for himself; but a bold dragoon attached himself to pursuit of rob roy, and overtaking him, struck at him with his broadsword. a plate of iron in his bonnet saved mac gregor from being cut down to the teeth; but the blow was heavy enough to bear him to the ground, crying as he fell, 'o macanaleister, there is naething in her,' (_i.e._ in the gun:) the trooper at the same time exclaiming, 'd--n ye, your mother never brought your nightcap;' had his arm raised for a second blow, when macanaleister fired, and the ball pierced the dragoon." his feats had, however, in most instances, the character of an unwarrantable oppression, notwithstanding that they were sometimes accompanied by traits of a generous and chivalric spirit. very few of those who lived in his neighbourhood could depend upon an hour's security, without paying the tax of black mail, which he audaciously demanded; and the licentiousness of his reckless troop was the theme of just reprobation, and the cause of terror to many innocent and peaceable inhabitants in the west of perth and stirlingshire. on one occasion campbell, of abernchile, who had found it convenient to submit to the assessment of the black mail, neglected the regular payment of the tax. rob roy, angry at his disobedience, rode up to his house, knocked at the door, and demanded admittance. a party of friends was at dinner with the host, and the door was closed against macgregor. rob roy sounded his horn; instantly his followers appeared in view. rob roy ordered them to drive off the cattle from the estate: abernchile was forced to make an humble apology in order to avert his wrath, and to pay the exaction. another enterprise of rob roy's was directed to the welfare of his ward and relative, macgregor of glengyle. the estates of glengyle were pledged, or, as it is called in scotland, "under a contract of wadset." the creditor was a man of influence and fortune; but, like most other scottish proprietors who were enabled to take advantage of the wadset rights, he was grasping and merciless. it was not uncommon, in those times, for men to whom estates had been pledged, to take the most unfair advantages of small and needy proprietors; and from the great superiority which a superior claimed over his vassals, it became almost impossible for his inferiors to resist his rapacity, or to defeat his cunning. some months before the period of redemption had expired, rob roy, aware of the danger to which his ward was exposed, raised a sum of money in order to redeem the pledge. it was pretended by the creditor, that the bond securing the power of redemption was lost; and since a few months only of the period remained, a plan was formed by him for protracting the settlement of the affair. rob roy, unhappily, was elsewhere occupied: the period expired; the young macgregor ceased, therefore, to be the proprietor of his estate; he was ordered to leave it, and to remove his attendants, cattle, and tenants within eight days. "but law," as dr. johnson observes, "is nothing without power." before those eight days had elapsed, rob roy had assembled his _gillies_, had followed his creditor into argyleshire, had met him, nevertheless, in strathfillan, and had carried him prisoner to an inn. there the unjust creditor was desired to give up the bond, and told to send for it from his castle. the affrighted man promised all that could be required of him; rob roy would not trust him, but sent two of his followers for the bond, which was brought at the end of two days. when it was delivered to macgregor, he refused to pay the sum of redemption, telling the creditor that the money was too small a fine for the wrong which he had inflicted; and that he might be thankful to escape as well as he might. against all acts of oppression, except those which he thought proper to commit himself, rob roy waged war. he was the avenger of the injured, and the protector of the humble; and lest his own resources should prove insufficient for these purposes, a contract was entered into with several neighbouring proprietors to combine, for the purposes of defence, and protection to others. the duke of montrose and his agent, graham of killearn, were still the especial objects of macgregor's hatred. when a widow was persecuted by the merciless factor, and distrained for rent, rob roy intercepted the officers who went out against her, and gave them a severe chastisement; and a similar excursion was made in favour of any poor man who was obliged to pay a sum of money for rent. the collectors of the rent were disarmed, and obliged to refund what they had received. upon the same principle of might against right, rob roy supported his family and retainers upon the contents of a meal-store which montrose kept at a place called moulin; and when any poor family in the neighbourhood were in want of meat, rob roy went to the store-keeper, ordered the quantity which he wanted, and directed the tenants to carry it away. there was no power either of resistance or complaint. if the parks of montrose were cleared of their cattle, the duke was obliged to bear the loss in silence. at length, harassed by constant depredations, montrose applied to the privy council for redress, and obtained the power of pursuing and repressing robbers, and of recovering the goods stolen by them. but, in this act, such was the dread of rob roy's power, that his name was intentionally omitted in the order in council. the retreat into which rob roy retired, in times of danger, was a cave at the base of ben lomond, and on the borders of the loch. the entrance to this celebrated recess is extremely difficult from the precipitous heights which surround it. mighty fragments of rock, partially overgrown with brushwood and heather, guard the approach. here robert de bruce sheltered himself from his enemies; and here rob roy, who had an enthusiastic veneration for that monarch, believed that he was securing to himself an appropriate retirement. it was, indeed, inaccessible to all but those who knew the rugged entrance; and here, had it not been for the projects which brought the chevalier st. george to england, rob roy might have defied, during his whole lifetime, the vengeance of montrose. from this spot macgregor could almost command the whole country around loch lomond; a passionate affection to the spot became the feeling, not only of his mind, but of that of his wife, who, upon being compelled to quit the banks of loch lomond, gave way to her grief in a strain which obtained the name of "rob roy's lament." of the exquisite beauty, and of the grandeur and interest of the scene of rob roy's seclusion, thousands can now form an estimate. dr. johnson was no enthusiast when he thus coldly and briefly adverted to the characteristics of loch lomond. "had loch lomond been in a happier climate, it would have been the boast of wealth and vanity to own one of the little spots which it incloses, and to have employed upon it all the arts of embellishment. but as it is, the islets which court the gazer at a distance, disgust him at his approach, when he finds instead of soft lawns and shady thickets, nothing more than uncultivated ruggedness."[ ] from this retreat rob roy frequently emerged upon some mission of destruction, or some errand of redress. his name was a terror to all who had ever incurred his wrath; his depredations were soon extended to the lowlands. one night a report prevailed in dumbarton, that rob roy intended to surprise the militia and to fire the town. it was resolved to anticipate this attack, and accordingly the militia made their way to craig royston; and having secured the boats on loch lomond, which belonged to the macgregors, they proceeded to seek for rob roy. but the chieftain had collected his followers, and, retreating into his cave, he laughed at his enemies, who were forced to retire without encountering him, the object of their search. it is indeed remarkable, that outrages so audacious, and a power so imperative as that of rob roy, should have defied all control within forty miles of the city of glasgow, an important and commercial city. "thus," as sir walter scott observes, "a character like his, blending the wild virtues, the subtle policy, and unconstrained licence of an american indian, was flourishing in scotland during the augustan age of queen anne and george the first. addison, it is probable, and pope, would have been considerably surprised if they had known that there existed, in the same island with them, a personage of rob roy's peculiar habits and profession." to the various other traits in the character of rob roy, there was added that tenacity of purpose, that obstinate and indefatigable hatred, which were common to the highlanders. their feuds were, it is true, hereditary, and were implanted in their minds before the reason could calm the passions. the fierce, implacable temper of the macgregors had been aggravated by long-standing injuries and insults; among those who might be considered the chief foes of their race were the heads of the house of athole. an uncontrolled, vehement spirit of revenge against that family burned in the breast of rob roy macgregor; nor did he lose any opportunity of proving the sincerity of his professions of hatred. hitherto the wild feats of the marauder had met with continual success; no reverse had lessened his control over his followers, nor lowered his individual pride. but at length his enemy, the earl of athole, had a brief, but signal triumph over the dreaded chief. the circumstances under which it occurred are the following:-- emboldened by his continued success, rob roy had descended into the plains, and headed an enterprise which was attended with the direst consequences: so desolating were its effects, that it is known by the name of the "herriship of kilrane." the outrage was severely taken up by government, and a reward was offered for the head of the freebooter. it was even resolved to explore his cave. one day, when on the banks of lochearn, attended by two of his followers, rob roy encountered seven men, who required him to surrender; but the freebooter darted from their view, and climbed a neighbouring hill, whence he shot three of the troopers, and dispersed the rest. this occurrence drove him, for some time, from his stronghold on loch lomond. the earl of athole had deeply felt the insults of rob roy, and he now took advantage of this temporary change of fortune to ensnare him. on a former occasion he had made an ineffectual attempt to overcome macgregor. the scene had taken place on the day of the funeral of rob roy's mother. this was at balquhidder: when rob roy had beheld the party of the earl's friends approaching, he grasped his sword, yet met the earl with a smile, and affected to thank him for the honour of his company. the earl replied, that his was not a visit of compliment: and that rob roy must accompany him to perth. remonstrance was vain, and rob roy pretended compliance; but, whilst his friends looked on indignant and amazed, macgregor drew his sword; the earl instantly discharged a pistol at him: it missed its mark, and, during a momentary pause, the sister of rob roy, and the wife of glenfalloch, grasped athole by the throat and brought him to the ground. the clan meantime assembled in numbers, and the earl was thankful to be released from the fierce amazon who held him, and to retire from the country of the macgregors. the earl of athole now judged force to be unavailing, and he resolved to try stratagem. after wandering, in consequence of the proclamation of government, from place to place, rob roy was greeted by a friendly message from the earl of athole, inviting him to blair athole. macgregor had not forgotten the day of his mother's funeral. he acted, on this occasion, with the frankness of an honest and unsuspecting nature. he doubted the earl's sincerity; and he wrote to him, freely stating that he did so. he was answered by the most solemn assurances of protection, notwithstanding that all this time athole was employed by government to bring rob roy to justice. macgregor was, however, deceived: he rode to blair, attended only by one servant, and was received with the utmost professions of regard, but was requested to lay aside his dirk and sword, as the countess of athole would not suffer any armed man to enter the castle. rob roy complied with lord athole's entreaty. what was his surprise when the first remark made by lady athole was her surprise at his appearing unarmed; rob roy then felt that he was betrayed. angry words, followed by a scuffle, ensued: the freebooter was overpowered; for sixty men, armed, entered before he could strike a blow. rob roy was carried towards edinburgh. he had proceeded as far as logierait, under a strong guard, when he contrived, with his usual address and good luck, to make his escape. but the dangers which attended his eventful career were not at an end. he was surprised as he retired to the farm of portnellan, near the head of loch katrine, by his old enemy, the factor of montrose, with a party of men, who surrounded the house in which rob roy slept before he was out of bed; yet, the moment that he appeared, sword in hand, they fled in dismay. these, and many other incidents, rest so much upon tradition, and are so little supported by authority, that they belong rather to romance than to history. it is with the part which rob roy took in the actual concerns of his country that his biographer has most concern. this brave but reckless individual was exactly the man to adopt a dangerous cause, and to play a desperate game. proscribed, hunted, surrounded by enemies, burning under the consciousness of wrong, and unable to retrace his path to a peaceable mode of life, rob roy was a ready partisan of the jacobite cause. in , he had transactions with two emissaries of the house of stuart, and was called to account for that negotiation before the commander-in-chief in edinburgh. he escaped punishment; and prepared, in , to lead his clans to the field, headed by macgregor of glengyle, his nephew.[ ] upon michaelmas day, having made themselves masters of the boats in loch lomond, seventy of the macgregors possessed themselves of inch-murrain, a large island on the lake. about midnight they went ashore at bonhill, about three miles above dumbarton. meantime the alarm was spread over the country; bells were rung, and cannon fired from dumbarton castle. the macgregors, therefore, thought fit to scamper away to their boats, and to return to the island. here they indulged themselves in their usual marauding practices, "carrying off deer, slaughtering cows, and other depredations." soon afterwards they all hurried away to the earl of mar's encampment at perth; here they did not long remain, but returned to loch lomond on the tenth of october.[ ] they now mustered their forces. such was the terror of their name, that both parties appear to have been afraid of the macgregors, and to think "it would be their wisdom to part peaceably with them, because, if they should make any resistance, and shed the blood of so much as one macgregiour, they would set no bounds to their fury, but burn and slay without mercy." this was the opinion held by some; by others resistance was thought the more discreet as well as the more honourable part. a body of volunteers was brought from paisley, and it was resolved, if possible, to retake the boats captured by the macgregors, who could now make a descent wherever they pleased. a singular spectacle was beheld on the bosom of loch lomond: four pinnaces and seven boats, which had been drawn by the strength of horses up the river levin, which, next to the spey, is the most rapid stream in scotland, were beheld, their sails spread, cleaving the dark waters which reflected in their mirror a sight of armed men, who were marching along the side of the loch, in order to scour the coast. never had anything been seen of the kind on loch lomond before. "the men on the shore," writes an eyewitness, "marched with the greatest ardour and alacrity. the pinnaces on the water discharging their patararoes, and the men their small arms, made so very dreadful a noise thro' the multiply'd rebounding echoes of the vast mountains on both sides the loch, that perhaps there never was a more lively resemblance of thunder." this little fleet was joined in the evening by the enemy of the macgregors, sir humphrey colquhoun of luss, followed by "fourty or fifty stately fellows, in their short hose and belted plaids, armed each of 'em with a well-fixed gun on his shoulder." at luss a report prevailed that the macgregors were reinforced by macdonald of glengarry, and had amounted to fifteen hundred strong: but this proved to be an idle rumour; their numbers were only four hundred. this falsehood did not dishearten the men of paisley. "they knew," says the chronicler of their feats, "that the macgregiours and the devil are to be dealt with after the same way; and that if they be resisted, they will flee." on the following morning the party from paisley went on their expedition, and arrived at inversnaid. here, in order to "arouse those thieves and rebels from their dens," they fired a gun through the roof of a house on the declivity of a mountain; upon which an old woman or two came crawling out, and scrambled up the hill; but no other persons appeared. "whereupon," adds the narrator,[ ] "the paisley men, under the command of captain finlason, assisted by captain scot, a half-pay officer, of late a lieutenant of colonel kerr's regiment of dragoons, who is indeed an officer, wise, stout, and honest; the dumbarton men, under the command of david colquhoun and james duncanson, of garshark, magistrates of the burgh, with several of the other companies, to the number of an hundred men in all, with the greatest intrepidity leapt on shore, got up to the top of the mountain, and drew up in order, and stood about an hour, their drums beating all the while: but no enemie appearing, they thereupon went in quest of the boats which the rebels had seized; and having casually lighted on some ropes, anchors, and oars hid among the shrubs, at length they found the boats drawn up a good way on the land, which they hurled down to the loch. such of them as were not damaged, they carried off with them; and such as were, they sunk or hewed in pieces. and that same night they return'd to luss, and thence next day, without the loss or hurt of so much as one man, to dumbarton, whence they had first set out altogether, bringing along with them the whole boats they found in their way on either side the loch, and in creeks of the isles, and moored them under the cannon of the castle. and thus in a short time, and with little expense, the m'greigours were towed, and a way pointed how the government might easily keep them in awe." the historian remarks, as a good augury, that a violent storm had raged for three days before. in the morning, notwithstanding this much magnified triumph on the part of his enemies, neither rob roy nor his followers were in the least daunted, but went about "proclaiming the pretender," and carrying off plunder. "yesternight,[ ] about seven," writes the same historian, "we had ane accountt from one of our townsmen, who had been five miles in the country, in the paroch of baldernock, that three or four hundred of the clans, forerunners of the body coming, had at drummen, near dunkeld, proclaimed the pretender; but no accountt to us from these places, nor from sterling. our magistrates sent fitt men at eight yesternight for information, and can hardly return till afternoon, if they have access to the three garrisons, of which they are i hear ordered to goe to to-day. i hear by report, without sufficient authority, that it's the m'grigors come with a party, proclaimed the pretender, tore the exciseman's book, and went away. h. e." * * * * * in a letter from leslie, dated the twentieth of january, , it is stated that the country did not oppose the incursions of rob roy, being mostly in his interest, or indifferent. emboldened by this passive conduct, rob roy marched to falkland on the fourth of january, , and took possession of the palace for a garrison. he afterwards joined the earl of mar's forces at perth, yet, whether from indolence or caution, took but little share in the signal events of the day. he hovered sometimes in the lowlands, uncertain whether to proclaim peace, or to embark with his macgregors in the war: some said he declined fighting under lord mar, from the fear of offending the duke of argyle; at all events he had the wiliness to make the belligerent powers each conceive him as of their respective parties. at the battle of sherriff muir, macgregor had the address to make both the jacobites and hanoverians conceive, that, had he joined them, the glory of the day would have been secured. the inhabitants of leslie, who had heard, with dismay, the news of the burning of auchterarder and blackford, were now affrighted by a rumour that rob roy had a commission to burn leslie, and all between that place and perth. but, whilst the burgesses of leslie were daily looking for this dreaded event, rob roy was forced to retreat to dundee, by the approach of the king's troops. he left behind him a character of reckless rapacity, and of a determined will, notwithstanding some generous and humane actions. he was, nevertheless, esteemed to be among the fairest and discreetest of the party to whom he was attached, notwithstanding his favourite speech, "that he desired no better breakfast than to see a whig's house burning." the people could not, indeed, trust any man's assurances after the recent and cruel devastation at auchterarder. when the fortune of the battle was decided, he was heard to say, in answer to demands that he should send his forces to the attack, "if they cannot do it without me, they cannot do it with me," and he immediately left the field. such is the popular account of his conduct on that occasion. the partizans of rob roy have, however, given a very different version of his conduct. the duke of argyle was the patron and friend of macgregor; and he could neither, therefore, openly adopt a course which the duke disapproved, nor would he altogether retire from a cause to which he was disposed to be favourable. with the true gaelic caution rob roy waited to see which side prevailed, and then hastened to avail himself of an opportunity of that which had become the darling pursuit of his existence--plunder. he retired from sherriff muir to falkland, carrying terror wherever he passed. * * * * * the following letter, descriptive of his progress affords a curious picture of the state of that harassed and wretched country:-- "d. b. "i received yours this evening, but i find you have been quit mistaken about our condition. you datt our freedom and libertie from the rebels long befor its commencement, and for profe take the folowing accompt of what past heir these last ten days. upon the fourth instant rob roey, with one hundred and fifty men, com to falkland, and took possession of the place for a garrison, from which they came through the countrey side and robs and plunder, taking cloaths and victuals, and every thing that maks for them, nor to oposs them till this day eight days. the sixth instant there coms thirty-two highland men (i had almost said devils) to leslie; we saw them at formand hills and resolved to resist, and so man, wife, and child drew out. "the men went to the east end of the town, and met them in the green with drawn swords in the hands, and we askt them what they were for; they said they wanted cloaths and money; we answeared they should get neither of them heir, at which they stormed and swore terribly, and we told them if they were come for mischeif they should have thee fill of it; at which ther were some blows. but they seeing us so bold, they began to feear that we should fall upon them, and so they askt libertie to march through the town, which we granted, but withall told them if they went upon the least house in the town, ther should never a man go back to fackland to tell the news, though we should die on the spot, and so they marsht through the town and got not so much as the rise of a cap. and they were so afraid that they did not return, but went down over the hank hill, and east to the minister's land; and their they faced about and fired twenty shots in upon the peple that were looking at them, but, glory to god, without doing the least hurt. and so they went off to the formand hils, and plundred all the could carry or drive, and threatned dreadfully they should be avenged on leslie and burn it." the pursuit of plunder was considered by rob roy as a far more venial offence than if he had fought against lord mar, or offended argyle, with whom he continued on such convenient terms, that he did not leave perth until after the arrival of that general. he then retired with the spoils he had acquired, and continued for some years in the practice of the same marauding incursions which had already proved so troublesome and distressing to his neighbours. in the subsequent indemnity, or free pardon, the tribe of macgregor was specially excepted; and their leader, robert campbell, alias macgregor, commonly called robert roy, was attainted. the severities which followed the rebellion of , drove rob roy to a remote retreat in the highlands, where he lived in a solitary hut, half covered with copsewood, and seated under the brow of a barren mountain. here he resided in poverty, and what was worse to his restless spirit, in idleness. here he was in frequent dread of pursuit from the agents of the law; and several anecdotes are told with what veracity it is difficult to judge, of his dexterity in evading justice. attainted, disappointed, aged, and poor, he had one grievous addition to his sorrows, which it required a cheerful and energetic mind to sustain,--that of a family devoid of principle. among the five sons of macgregor, coll, james, robert, duncan, and ronald, four were known to be but too worthy of the name given by the enemies of the macgregors to the individuals of that tribe--"devils." of coll, the eldest, little is ascertained. robert, or robbiq, or the younger, as the gaelic word signifies, inherited all the fierceness, without the generosity, of his race. at sixteen years of age, he deliberately shot at a man of the name of maclaren, and wounded him so severely that he died. his brothers were implicated in this murder. on their trials, they were charged with being not only murderers, but notorious thieves and receivers of stolen goods. robert was proved to have boasted of having drawn the first blood of the maclarens; and the brothers were all accused of having followed this murder by houghing and killing forty head of young cattle belonging to a kinsman of the deceased. robert roy, the principal party in the crime, did not appear before the high court of justiciary, to which he was summoned: he was therefore outlawed. the other brothers were tried, and the prosecution was conducted by the celebrated duncan forbes, of culloden. the prisoners were acquitted of being accessory to the murder of maclaren; but the jury were unanimous in thinking that the charge of being reputed thieves was made out, and they were ordered to find caution for their good behaviour. robert roy was advised to retire to france: his brother james remained in scotland, and took an active part in the rebellion of ; when, with the assistance of his cousin glengyle, he surprised the fort of inversnaid; he afterwards led to the battle of preston pans six companies of his clan. his thigh-bone was broken in that battle; yet he appeared again at culloden, and was subsequently attainted. the life of james macgregor was spared only to present a tissue of guilty schemes, and to end in infamy and exile. that of rob roy was dyed yet deeper in crimes, of which a second trial and an ignominious death were the dreadful result. he was hung in the grass market in edinburgh, in the year . james, his brother, being reduced to the most humiliating condition, died in france, after exhibiting in his conduct, whilst in scotland, if possible, almost a deeper shade of depravity than that displayed by his brother. their father was, however, released from his existence before these desperate men had sullied the name which he transmitted to them by their transgressions. as he declined in strength, rob roy became more peaceable in disposition; and his nephew, the head of the clan, renounced the enmity which had subsisted between the macgregors and the duke of montrose. the time of this celebrated freebooter's death is uncertain, but is generally supposed to have occurred after the year . "when he found himself approaching his final change," says sir walter scott, "he expressed some contrition for particular parts of his life. his wife laughed at these scruples of conscience, and exhorted him to die like a man, as he had lived. in reply, he rebuked her for her violent passions and the counsels she had given him. "you have put strife," he said, "betwixt me and the best men of my country, and now you would place enmity between me and my god."" although he had been educated in the protestant faith, rob roy had become a catholic long before his death. "it was a convenient religion," he used to say, "which for a little money could put asleep the conscience, and clear the soul from sin." the time and causes of his conversion are only surmised; but when he had resolved on this important step, the freebooter left his lovely residence in the highlands, and repairing to drummond castle, in perthshire, sought an old catholic priest, by name alexander drummond. his confessions were stated by himself to have been received by groans from the aged man to whom he unburthened his heart, and who frequently crossed himself whilst listening to the recital. even after this manifestation of penitence, rob roy returned to his old practices, and accompanying his nephew to the northern highlands, he is stated to have so greatly enriched himself, that he returned to the braes of balquhidder, and began farming. he is said in the decline of life to have visited london, and to have been pointed out to george the second by the duke of argyle, whilst walking in the front of st. james's palace. he still had an imposing and youthful appearance, and the king is said to have declared that he had never seen a handsomer man in the highland garb.[ ] but this, and other anecdotes, rest on no better authority than tradition. his strength, always prodigious, continued until a very late period; but at last it was extinguished even before the spirit which had stimulated it had died away. he is acknowledged, even by his partial biographer, to have declined one duel, and to have been worsted in another; but impaired eyesight, and decayed faculties are pleaded in defence of a weakness which cast dishonour on macgregor. his deathbed was in character with his life: when confined to bed, a person with whom he was at enmity proposed to visit him. "raise me up," said rob roy to his attendants, "dress me in my best clothes, tie on my arms, place me in my chair. it shall never be said that rob roy macgregor was seen defenceless and unarmed by an enemy." his wishes were executed; and he received his guest with haughty courtesy. when he had departed, the dying chief exclaimed: "it is all over now--put me to bed--call in the piper; let him play '_ha til mi tulidh_' (we return no more) as long as i breathe." he was obeyed,--he died, it is said, before the dirge was finished. his tempestuous life was closed at the farm of inverlochlarigbeg, (the scene, afterwards, of his son's frightful crimes,) in the braes of balquhidder. he died in , and his remains repose in the parish churchyard, beneath a stone upon which some admirer of this extraordinary man has carved a sword. his funeral is said to have been attended by all ranks of people, and a deep regret was expressed for one whose character had much to recommend it to the regard of highlanders. he left behind him the memory of a character by nature singularly noble, humane, and honourable, but corrupted by the indulgence of predatory habits. that he had ever very deep religious impressions is doubted; and his conversion to popery has been conjectured to have succeeded a wavering and unsettled faith. when dying, he showed that he entertained a sense of the practical part of christianity, very consistent with his highland notions. he was exhorted by the clergyman who attended him to forgive his enemies; and that clause in the lord's prayer which enjoins such a state of mind was quoted. rob roy replied: "ay, now ye hae gien me baith law and gospel for it. it's a hard law, but i ken it's gospel." "rob," he said, turning to his son, "my sword and dirk lie there: never draw them without reason, nor put them up without honour. i forgive my enemies; but see you to them,--or may"--the words died away, and he expired. reason may disapprove of such a character as that of rob roy, but the imagination and the feelings are carried away by so much generosity, such dauntless exertion in behalf of the friendless, as were displayed by the outlawed and attainted freebooter. he was true to his word, faithful to his friends, and honourable in the fulfilment of his pecuniary obligations. how many are there, who abide in the sunshine of the world's good opinion, who have little claim to similar virtues! footnotes: [ ] from the wodrow ms. in the advocate's library. [ ] macleay's history of the macgregors, p. . [ ] historical memoir of the clan macgregor, by dr. macleay, p. . [ ] preface to rob roy. waverley novels. [ ] sir w. scott. [ ] macleay. [ ] id. [ ] macleay. [ ] stewart's sketches, vol. i. p. . [ ] macleay, p. . [ ] trials of the macgregors, xxiv. [ ] macleay, p. . [ ] see trials, &c. p. . [ ] tour to the hebrides. [ ] macleay. [ ] this account of what is called in history the "loch lomond expedition," is taken from the wodrow mss. in the advocate's library in edinburgh. extracts from these mss. have been printed by james dennistoun, esq., to whose work i am indebted for this narrative of rob roy's martial career. [ ] the loch lomond expedition, p. . [ ] loch lomond expedition. wodrow correspondence, p. . also reay's history of the rebellion, p. . [ ] macleay, p. . simon fraser, lord lovat. the memoirs of simon fraser, lord lovat, have been written in various forms, and with a great diversity of opinions. some have composed accounts of this singular, depraved, and unfortunate man, with the evident determination to give to every action the darkest possible tinge; others have waived all discussion on his demerits by insisting largely upon the fame and antiquity of his family. he has himself bequeathed to posterity an apology for his life, and from his word we are bound to take so much, but only so much, as may accord with the statements of others in mitigation of the heinous facts which blast his memory with eternal opprobrium. as far as the researches into the remote antiquity of scotland may be relied upon, it appears that the name of fraser was amongst the first of those which scotland derived from normandy, and the origin of this name has been referred to the remote age of charles the simple. a nobleman of bourbon--such is the fable,--presented that monarch with a dish of strawberries. the loyal subject, who bore the name of julius de berry, was knighted on the spot, and the sirname of fraize was given him in lieu of that which he had borne. hence the ancient armorial bearing of the frasers, a field azure, semé with strawberries: and hence the widely-spreading connection of the frasers with the noble family of frezeau, or frezel, in france, a race connected with many of the royal families in europe. for a considerable period after the elevation of julius de berry, the name was written frezeau, or frisil. the period at which the frasers left normandy for scotland has been assigned to the days of malcolm canmore, where john, the eldest of three brothers of the house, founded the fortunes of the frasers of oliver castle in tweedale, by marrying eupheme sloan, heiress of tweedale: whilst another brother settled beyond the forth, and became possessed of the lands of inverkeithing. eventually those members of this norman race who had at first settled in tweedale, branched off to aberdeenshire, and to inverness-shire;[ ] and it was in this latter county, at beaufort, a property which had been long held by his family, that the famous lord lovat was born. such is the account generally received. according to others, the family of fraser is of scandinavian origin. when the scandinavians invaded the eastern coast of britain, and the northern coast of france, one branch of the family of frizell, or fryzell, settled in scotland; another in normandy, where the name has retained its original pronunciation.[ ] the castle of beaufort, anciently a royal fortress, had been bestowed upon the frasers, in the year . it is situated in the beautiful neighbourhood of inverness, in the district of the aird; it was besieged by the army of edward the first during the invasion of scotland by the usual method of throwing stones from catapultæ, at a distance of seven hundred yards. a subsidiary fortress, lovat, heretofore inhabited by one of the constables of the crown, whom the lawlessness of the wild inhabitants and the turbulence of their chieftains had rendered it necessary to establish in the west of scotland, also fell into the possession of the frasers. the present seat of the family of lovat, still called beaufort, is built on a part of the ground originally occupied by a fortress. it lies on a beautiful eminence near the beauly, and is surrounded by extensive plantations. the race, thus engrafted upon a scottish stock, continued to acquire from time to time fresh honours. it was distinguished by bravery and fidelity. when edward the first determined to subdue scotland, he found three powers refuse to acknowledge his pretensions. these were, sir william wallace, sir simon fraser, commonly called the patriot, and the garrison of stirling. when bruce, with an inconsiderable force fought the english army at methven, near perth, and was thrice dismounted, sir simon fraser thrice replaced him on his saddle; he was himself taken prisoner and ordered to be executed. and then might be witnessed one of those romantic instances of highland devotion, which appear almost incredible to the calmer notions of a modern era. a rumour went abroad that the stay of the country, the gallant fraser, was to suffer for his fidelity to his country's interests. herbert de norham, one of his followers, and thomas de boys, his armour-bearer, swore, that if the report were true, they would not survive their master. they died voluntarily on the day of his execution. in , the frasers were ennobled; the head of the house was created a lord of parliament by james the first, and the title was preserved in regular succession, until, by the death of hugh, the eleventh lord lovat, it reverted, together with all the family estates, now of considerable value and extent, to thomas fraser, of beaufort, great uncle of the last nobleman. this destination of the property and honours was settled by a deed, executed by hugh, lord lovat, in order to preserve the male succession in the family. it was the cause of endless heart-burnings and feuds. hugh had married the lady emelia murray, daughter of john, marquis of athole, and had daughters by that marriage. he had, in the first instance, settled upon the eldest of them the succession, on condition of her marrying a gentleman of the name of fraser. but this arrangement agreed ill with the highland pride; and upon a plea of his having been prevailed on to give this bond, contrary to the old rights and investments of the family, he being of an easy temper, having been imposed on to grant this bond, he set it aside by a subsequent will in favour of his great uncle, dated march th, .[ ] the families of murray and fraser were, at the time that the title of lovat descended upon thomas fraser, united in what outwardly appeared to be an alliance of friendship. their politics, indeed, at times differed. the late lord lovat had persisted in his adherence to james the second of england after his abdication, and had marshalled his own troops under the banners of the brave dundee. the marquis of athole, then lord tullibardine, on the other hand, had adopted the principles of the revolution, and had received a commission of colonel from william the third, to raise a regiment of infantry for the reigning monarch.[ ] thus were the seeds of estrangement between these families, so nearly united in blood, sown; and they were aggravated by private and jarring interests, and by manoeuvres and intrigues, of which lord lovat, who has left a recital of them, was, from his own innate taste for cabals, and aptitude to dissimulation, calculated to be an incomparable judge. of the character of thomas of beaufort, the father of simon, little idea can be formed, except that he seems to have been chiefly guided by the subtle spirit of his son simon. the loss of an elder son, alexander, after whose death simon was considered as the acknowledged heir of the frasers, may have increased the influence which a young, ardent temper naturally exercises over a parent advanced in years. of his father, simon, in his various memoirs and letters, always speaks with respect; and he refers with pride and pleasure to his mother's lineage. "his mother," he remarks, writing in the third person, "was dame sybilla macleod, daughter of the chief of the clan of the macleods, so famous for its inviolable loyalty to its princes."[ ] during his life-time his great nephew, thomas fraser of beaufort, had borne the title of laird of beaufort. "he now took possession," says his biographer, "without opposition, of the honours and titles which had descended to him, and enjoyed them until his death." according to other authorities, however, thomas fraser never assumed the rank of a nobleman, but retired to the isle of sky, where he died in , three years after his accession to the disputed honours and estates. the family of thomas of beaufort was numerous. of fourteen children, six died in infancy; of the eight who survived, simon fraser only mentions two,--his elder brother, alexander, and his younger, john. alexander, who died in , was of a violent and daring temper. a determined adherent of james the second, he joined viscount dundee in , when the standard was raised in favour of the abdicated monarch. during a funeral which had assembled at beauly, near inverness, alexander received some affront, which, in a fit of passion, he avenged. he killed his antagonist, and instantly fled to wales, in order to escape the effects of his crime. he died in wales, without issue. john became a brigadier in the dutch service, and was known by the name of le chevalier fraser. he died in , "when," says his brother, lord lovat, in his memoirs, "i lost my only brother, a fine young fellow."[ ] simon fraser, afterwards lord lovat, was born at inverness,--according to some accounts in , to others in : he fixes the date himself at . he was educated at the university of aberdeen, where he distinguished himself, and took the degree of master of arts. during his boyhood he shewed his hereditary affection to the stuarts,--an affection which was probably sincere at that early age: and he was even imprisoned for his open avowal of that cause, at the time when his elder brother repaired to the standard of dundee. deserting the study of the civil law, to which he had been originally destined, simon fraser entered a company in the regiment of lord tullibardine, his relation; nevertheless, he twice attempted to benefit the jacobite cause,--once, by joining the insurrection promoted by general buchan, and a second time by forming a plan, which was rendered abortive by the famous victory at la hogue, for surprising the castle of edinburgh, and proclaiming king james in that capital. this plot escaped detection; and the young soldier pursued his military duties, until the death of hugh lord lovat drew him from the routine of his daily life into intrigues which better suited his restless and dauntless character. although his father, it is clearly understood, never bore the title of lord lovat, simon, immediately upon the death of lord hugh, took upon himself the dignity and the offices of master of lovat. he seems, indeed, to have assumed all the importance, and to have exercised all the authority, which properly belonged to lord lovat. he was at this time nearly thirty years of age, and he had passed his life, not in mere amusement, but in acquiring a knowledge of the world in prosecuting his own interests. it is true, his leisure hours might have been more innocently bestowed even in the most desultory pursuits, than in the debasing schemes and scandalous society in which his existence was passed: it is true, that in studying his own interests, he forgot his true interest, and failed lamentably; still, he had not been idle in his vocation. he is said, on tradition, to have been one of the most frightful men ever seen; and the portrait which hogarth took of him, corroborates that report. he inherited the courage natural to his family, and his character, in that single respect, shone out at the last with a radiancy that one almost regrets, since it seemed so inconsistent that a career of the blackest vice and perfidy should close with something little less than dignity of virtue. he seems to have been endowed with a capacity worthy of a better employment than waiting upon a noble and wealthy relative, or inflaming discords between highland clans. if we may adduce the latin quotations which lovat parades in his memoirs, and which he uttered during his last hours, we must allow him to have cultivated the classics. his letters are skilful, even masterly, cajoling, yet characteristic. it is affirmed that in spite of a physiognomy vulgar in feature, and coarse and malignant in expression, he could, like richard of gloucester, obliterate the impression produced by his countenance, and charm those whom it was his interest to please. his effrontery was unconquerable: whilst conscious of the most venal motives, and even after he had displayed to the world a shameless tergiversation, he had the assurance always to claim for himself the merit of patriotism. "for my part," he said on one occasion, in conversation with his friends, "i die a martyr to my country."[ ] in after life, lovat is described by a contemporary writer, "to have had a fine comely head to grace temple bar." he was a man of lofty stature, and large proportion; and in the later portion of his life, he grew so corpulent, that "i imagined," says the same writer, "the doors of the tower must be altered to get him in."[ ] "lord lovat," says another writer, "makes an odd figure, being generally more loaded with clothes than a dutchman: he is tall, walks very upright, considering his great age, and is tolerably well shaped; he has a large mouth and short nose, with eyes very much contracted and down-looking; a very small forehead, covered with a large periwig,--this gives him a grim aspect, but on addressing any one, he puts on a smiling countenance: he is near-sighted, and affects to be much more so than he really is." "his natural abilities," remarks the editor of the culloden papers, "were excellent, and his address, accomplishments, and learning far above the usual lot of his countrymen, even of equal rank. with the civilized, he was the modern perfect fine gentleman; and in the north, among his people, the feudal baron of the tenth century."[ ] it seems absurd to talk of the religious principles of a man who violated every principle which religion inculcates; yet the mind is naturally curious to know whether any bonds of faith, or suggestion of conscience ever checked, even for an instant, the career of this base, unprincipled man. after much deception, much shuffling, and perhaps much self-delusion, lord lovat was, by his own declaration, a roman catholic: his sincerity, even in this avowal, has been questioned. in politics, he was in heart (if he had a heart) a jacobite; and yet, on his trial, he insisted strongly upon his affection for the reigning family. such were the characteristics of simon fraser, when, by the death of hugh lord lovat, his father and himself were raised from the subservience of clansmen to the dignity of chieftains. to these traits may be added a virtue rare in those days, and, until a long time afterwards, rare in highland districts;--he was temperate: when others lost themselves by excesses, he preserved the superiority of sobriety; and perhaps his crafty character, his never-ending designs, his remorseless selfishness, were rendered more fatal and potent by this singular feature in his deportment. there was another circumstance, less rare in his country, the advantage of an admirable constitution. it was this, coupled with his original want of feeling, which sustained him in the imprisonment in the tower, and enabled him to display, at eighty, the elasticity of youth. lord lovat was never known to have had the headache, and to the hour of his death he read without spectacles. a very short time after the death of hugh lord lovat elapsed, before those relatives to whom he had bequeathed his estates were involved in the deadliest quarrel with the family of lord tullibardine. the family of lord tullibardine, at that time called lord murray, furnish one of those numerous instances which occur in the reign of william the third, of an open avowal of whig principles, joined to a secret inclination to favour the jacobite party. the marquis of athole, the father of lord tullibardine, had been a powerful royalist in the time of charles the first; but had, nevertheless, promoted the revolution, and had hastened, in , to court the favour of the prince of orange, with whom his lady claimed kindred. disappointed in his hopes of distinction, the marquis returned to his former views upon the subject of legitimacy; and finally retired into private life, leaving the pursuit of fortune to his son, lord john, afterwards earl tullibardine, and marquis of athole. the disgust of the old marquis towards the government of william the third, and the evident determination which his son soon manifested to ingratiate himself with that monarch, had, at the time when the death of hugh lord lovat took place, completely alienated the marquis from his son, and produced an entire separation of their interests.[ ] in his zeal for the king's service, lord tullibardine had endeavoured to raise a regiment of infantry; and it happened, that at this time simon fraser, as he expresses it, "by a most extraordinary stroke of providence, held a commission in that regiment." this commission had been procured for him by his cousin, lord lovat, who looked upon it as the best means of "bringing him out in the world," as he expressed himself. the mode in which simon was induced by lord murray to accept of this commission, and the manner in which he was, according to his own statement, induced to support a scheme which was adverse to the interests of king james, is narrated in his own memoirs. if we may believe his account, he opposed the formation of this regiment by every exertion in his power: he aided the stewarts and robinsons of athole, devoted jacobites, and determined opposers of lord murray, whose claims on them as their chieftain they refused to admit; and when lord murray, on being appointed one of the secretaries of state, resolved to give up the colonelcy of the troop, he tried every means in his power to dissuade his cousin, hugh lord lovat, to whom it was offered, from accepting the honour which it was inconsistent with his principles to bear. this conduct, according to the hero of the tale, was highly applauded by the old marquis of athole, who even engaged his young relative, simon, to pass the winter in the city of perth with the younger son of the marquis, lord mungo murray, in order that they might there prosecute together the study of mathematics. simon accepted the invitation; and whilst he was at perth, he was, according to his own statement, cajoled by lord murray into accepting the commission, which "he held by a stroke of providence;" and which was represented by lord murray, as simon affirms, to be actually a regiment intended for the service of king james, who, it was expected, would make a descent into scotland in the following summer. and it was observed that since the laird of beaufort was so zealous in his service, he could not do his majesty a greater benefit than in accepting this commission. influenced by these declarations, simon had not only accepted the commission, but had used his influence to make up a complete company from his own clan: nevertheless, the command of the company was long delayed. his pride as a highlander and a soldier was aggrieved by being obliged to sit down content, for some time, as a lieutenant of grenadiers; and, at last, the company was only given upon the payment of a sum of money to the captain, who made room for the laird of beaufort. nor was this all; for upon the lord murray being made one of the secretaries of state, he insisted upon the regiment taking oath of abjuration, which had never before been tendered to the scottish army.[ ] such had been the state of affairs when hugh lord lovat was taken ill, and died at perth. the manner in which simon fraser represents this event, is far more characteristic of his own malignant temper, than derogating to the family upon whom he wreaks all the luxury of vengeance that words could give. simon, it appears, had persuaded lord lovat to go to dunkeld, to meet his wife, the daughter of the marquis of athole, in order to conduct her to lovat. lord lovat, disgusted by the treachery of the earl of tullibardine in respect to the regiment, had refused to have anything more to do with "this savage family of athole," as he called them, "who would certainly kill him."[ ] according to an account more to be relied on than that of the scheming and perfidious simon, the aversion which lord lovat imbibed during his latter days to his wife's kindred, was implanted in his mind by simon fraser, in order to gain his weak-minded relative over to that plot which he had formed in order to secure the estates of lovat to his own branch of the house.[ ] this, however, is the account given by fraser of his kinsman's last illness:-- "in reality he had been only two days at dunkeld, when he fell sick, and the atholes, not willing to be troubled with the care of an invalid, or for some other reasons, sent him to an inn in the city of perth, hard by the house of dr. james murray, a physician, the relation or creature of the marquis of athole, upon whom the care of lord lovat's person was devolved. "the moment the laird of beaufort heard the news that lord lovat had been conducted, very ill, to the town of perth, he set out to his assistance. but before his arrival, in consequence of the violent remedies that had been administered to him, he lost the use of his reason, and lay in his bed in a manner incapable of motion,--abandoned by his wife and the whole family of athole, who waited for his dissolution in great tranquillity, at the house of dr. murray, their relation." lord lovat, however, recollected his cousin, and embracing him said, "did not i tell you, my dear simon, that these devils would certainly kill me? see in what a condition i am!" simon could not refrain from tears at this melancholy spectacle. he threw himself on the bed beside lord lovat, and did not quit him till he died the next morning in his arms. meanwhile, not an individual of the athole family entered his apartment after having once seen him in the desperate condition in which he had been found by the laird of beaufort. such was the state of family discord when lord lovat died; and it was discovered, to the consternation of the marquis of athole and his sons, that he had made a will in favour of his relation thomas of beaufort, and to the exclusion of his own daughter. the right of thomas of beaufort was deemed incontestable; and not a man, it was presumed, dreamed of disputing it. yet it was soon obvious that the earl of tullibardine, who had now acquired the title of viceroy of scotland, was determined to support a claim in behalf of the daughter of lord lovat, and to have her declared heiress to her father. this scheme was coupled with a design of marrying the young lady also to one of lord tullibardine's own sons,[ ] of whom he had five, and, according to simon fraser, without fortune to bestow on any of his children. the master of lovat, simon fraser, as he rightfully was now, communicated this scheme to his father, and entreated him to resist this claim. recourse was had to several of the most able lawyers of the kingdom, and their opinion unanimously was, that lord tullibardine had no more right to make his "niece heiress of lovat than to put her in possession of the throne of scotland: that the right of thomas of beaufort to those honours and estates was incontrovertible, and that the king himself would not deprive him of them, except for high treason." it appears that lord tullibardine was satisfied of the justice of the opinion as far as the title was concerned, but he still considered that the property of the last lord lovat ought to descend to his daughter and heiress. the point was warmly viewed between the earl and the master of lovat; but the conference ended with no farther satisfaction to either of the gentlemen than that of having each a full opportunity of reviling the other: such, at least, is the account given by one of the parties; no reasonable person will venture wholly to vouch for its accuracy, yet the dialogue does not appear improbable. this firmness and spirit threw the lord commissioner into a violent passion; he exclaimed in a furious tone, "i have always known you for an obstinate, insolent rascal; i don't know what should hinder me from cutting off your ears, or from throwing you into a dungeon, and bringing you to the gallows, as your treasons against the government so richly deserve." simon, having never before been accustomed to such language, immediately stuck his hat on his head, and laying his hand upon the hilt of his sword, was upon the point of drawing it, when he observed that lord tullibardine had no sword: upon this he addressed him in the following manner. "i do not know what hinders me, knave and coward as you are, from running my sword through your body. you are well known for a poltroon, and if you had one grain of courage, you would never have chosen your ground in the midst of your guards, to insult a gentleman of a better house, and of a more honourable birth than your own; but i shall one day have my revenge. as for the paltry company that i hold in your regiment, and which i have bought dearer than ever any company was bought before,--it is the greatest disgrace to which i was ever subject, to be a moment under your command; and now, if you please, you may give it to your footman."[ ] such was the beginning of a long course of hostilities which were thenceforth carried on between the murrays and the clan of fraser, and which was productive of the deepest crimes on the part of the master of lovat. that he was fully prepared to enter into any schemes, however desperate, to ensure the succession of the estates of lovat, cannot be doubted. he prosecuted his designs without remorse or shame. the matter of surprise must be, that he found partisans and followers willing to aid him in crime, and that he possessed an influence over his followers little short, on their part, of infatuation. the first suggestion that occurred to the mind of this bold and reckless man was, perhaps, a natural and certainly an innocent method of securing tranquillity to the enjoyment of his inheritance. he resolved to engage the affections of the young daughter of the late lord lovat, and, by an union with that lady, to satisfy himself that no doubt could arise as to his title to the estates, nor with regard to any children whom he might have in that marriage; nor was the hand of the master of lovat, if we put aside the important point of character, a proffer to be despised. the estate of beaufort had long been in the possession of his father, as an appanage of a younger son; and had only been lent as a residence to hugh lord lovat, on account of the ruinous state of the castle of lovat. downie castle, another important fortress, also accrued to the father of simon lovat; and the estate of lovat itself was one of the finest and best situated in scotland.[ ] in addition to these, the family owned the large domain of sthratheric, which stretches along the western banks of the ness, and comprises almost the whole circumference of that extensive and beautiful lake. the pretensions of the master were, therefore, by no means contemptible; and as he was young, although, according to dates, ten years older than he states himself to be, in his memoir of his life, he had every reason to augur success. for a time, this scheme seemed to prosper. the young lady, amelia fraser, was not averse to receive the master of lovat as her suitor; and the intermediate party, fraser, of tenechiel, who acted as interpreter to the wishes of the master, actually succeeded in persuading the young creature to elope with him, and to fix the very day of her marriage with the master, to whom fraser promised to conduct her. but either she repented of this clandestine step, or fraser of tenechiel, dreading the power of the athole family, drew back; for he reconducted her back to her mother at castle downie, even after her assurance had been given that she would marry her cousin.[ ] the circumstances of this elopement are obscurely stated by lord lovat in his account of the affair; and he does not refer to the treachery or remorse of his emissary fraser of tenechiel, nor does he dwell upon a disappointment which must have gratified his mortal enemies of the house of athole. yet it appears, from the long and early intimacy to which he alludes as having subsisted between himself and the dowager lady lovat, that he may have had many opportunities of gaining the regard of the young daughter of that lady,--an idea which accounts, in some measure, for her readiness to engage in the scheme of the elopement. at all events, he expresses his rage and contempt, and makes no secret of his determined revenge on those who had, as he conceived, frustrated his project. the young lady was at first placed under the protection of her mother at castle downie, the chief residence of the clan fraser; but there it was not thought prudent to allow her to abide, and she was therefore carried, under an escort, to dunkeld, the house of her uncle, the marquis of athole. and here another match was very soon provided for her, and again her consent was gained, and again the preliminaries of marriage were arranged for this passive individual. the nobleman whom her relations now proposed to her was william, afterwards eleventh lord salton, also a fraser, whose father was a man of great wealth and influence, although referred to by the master of lovat as the "representative of an unconsiderable branch of the frasers who had settled in the lowlands of the county of aberdeen."[ ] this match was suggested to the athole family by one robert fraser "an apostate wretch," as the master of lovat calls him, a kinsman, and an advocate; and he advised the marquis of athole, not only to marry the young lady to the heir of lord salton, but also, by various schemes and manoeuvres, to get lord salton declared head of the clan of frasers. this plot was soon divulged; disappointment, rage, revenge were raised to the height in the breast of the master of lovat. his pride was as prominent a feature in this bold and vindictive man, as his duplicity. throughout life, he could, it is true, bend for a purpose, as low as his designs required him to bend; but the fierce exclusiveness of a highland chieftain never died away, but rankled in his heart to the last. it must be admitted that he had just cause of irritation against the murrays, first for disputing the claim of his father to the lovat title and estates, a claim indisputably just; nor was their project for constituting lord salton the head of the clan fraser, either a wise or an equitable scheme. it was heard with loud indignation in that part of the country where the original stock of this time-honoured race were, until their name was stained by the crimes of simon fraser, held in love and reverence. it was heard by the master of lovat perhaps with less expression of his feelings than by his followers; but the meditated affront was avenged, and avenged by a scheme which none but a demon could have devised. it was avenged; but it brought ruin on the head of the avenger. perhaps in no other country, at the same period, could the wrongs of an individual have been visited upon an aggressor with the same dispatch and ruthless determination as in the highlands. until the year , when the spirit of clanship was broken, never to be restored, those "hereditary monarchies founded on custom, and allowed by general consent rather than established by laws,"[ ] existed in their full vigour. the military ranks of the clans was fixed and continual during the rare intervals of local quiet, and every head of a family was captain of his own tribe.[ ] the spirit of rivalry between the clans kept up a taste for hostility, and converted rapine into a service of honour. revenge was considered as a duty, and superstition aided the dictates of a fiery and impetuous spirit. a people naturally humane, naturally forbearing, had thus, by the habits of ages immemorial, become remorseless plunderers and resolute avengers. when any affront was offered to a chieftain, the clan was instantly summoned. they came from their straths and their secluded valleys, wherein there was little intercourse with society in general to tame their native pride, or to weaken the predominant emotion of their hearts,--their pride in their chieftain. they came fearlessly, trusting, not only in the barriers which nature had given them in their rocks and fastnesses, but in the unanimity of their purpose. each clan had its stated place of meeting, and when it was summoned upon any emergency, the fiery cross, one end burning, the other wrapt in a piece of linen stained with blood, was sent among the aroused clansmen, traversing those wild moors, and penetrating into the secluded glens of those sublime regions. it was sent, by two messengers, throughout the country, and passed from hand to hand, these messengers shouting, as they went, the war-cry of the clan, which was echoed from rock to rock. and then arose the cry of the coronach, that wail, appropriate to the dead, but uttered also by women, as the fiery cross roused them from their peaceful occupations, and hurried from them their sons and their husbands. never was the fiery cross borne throughout the beautiful country of invernessshire, never was the wail of the coronach heard on a more ignoble occasion, than on the summons of the master of lovat, in the september of the year . after some fruitless negotiation, it is true, with lord salton, and after availing himself of the power of his father, as chieftain, to imprison robert fraser, and several other disaffected clansmen whom that person had seduced from their allegiance, the master of lovat prepared for action. the traitors to his cause had escaped death by flight, but the clan were otherwise perfectly faithful to their chieftain. fear, as well as love, had a part in their allegiance; yet it has been conjectured that the hereditary devotion of the highlanders must, originally, have had its origin in gratitude for services and for bounty, which it was the interest of every chieftain to bestow. the master of lovat, or, as he was called by his people, the chieftain, first assembled his people at their accustomed place, to the number of sixty and seventy, and bade them be in readiness when called upon. he thanked them for their prompt attendance, and then dismissed them. during the next month, however, he was met, coming from inverness, by lord salton and lord mungo murray, who were returning from castle downie. such was the preparation for the disgraceful scenes which quickly followed. as soon as the master of lovat and his father were informed of the flight of their treacherous clansmen, they wrote a letter to lord salton, and conjured him, in the name of the clan, to remain at home, and not to disturb their repose nor to interfere with the interests of their chief; and they assured him, that though a fraser, he should, if he entered their country, pay for that act of audacity by his head. such is lord lovat's account: it is not borne out by the statements of others; yet since the affair must have been generally discussed among the clan, it is probable, that he would not have given this version of it without foundation. lord salton, according to the same statement, at first received this letter in good part; and wrote to lord lovat and to the master, giving his word that he would only interfere to make peace; and that, for this reason, he would proceed to the seat of the dowager lady lovat, at beaufort.[ ] upon afterwards discovering that this courtesy was a mere feint, and that this new claimant to the honours of chief was in close correspondence with the murrays, who were with him and the dowager at beaufort, the master of lovat wrote to his father, who was at sthratheric, to meet him at lovat, which was only three miles' distance from beaufort, whilst he should himself proceed to the same place by way of inverness, where he trusted that lord salton would grant him an interview for the purpose of explaining their mutual differences.[ ] no sooner had the master arrived at inverness, than he found, as he declares, so much reason to distrust the assurances of lord salton, that he wrote him a letter, sent, as he says, "with all diligence by a gentleman of his train, to adhere to his word passed to his father and himself, and to meet him the next day at two in the afternoon, three miles from beaufort, either like a friend, or with sword and pistol, as he pleased."[ ] such is the account transmitted by lord lovat, and intended to give the air of an "affair of honour" to a desperate and lawless attack upon fraser of salton, and on those friends who supported his pretensions to the hand of the heiress of lovat. the real facts of the case were, that fraser of salton was to pass through inverness on his way to dunkeld, where the espousals between him and the heiress of lovat were to be celebrated. whether simon fraser purposed merely to prevent the accomplishment of this marriage, or whether he had fully matured another scheme:--whether he was incited by disappointment to rush into unpremeditated deeds of violence, or whether his design had been fostered in the recesses of his own dark mind, cannot be fully ascertained. in some measure his revenge was gratified. he was enabled, by the events which followed, to delay the marriage of fraser of salton, and to retard the nuptials,--which, indeed, never took place. "this wild enterprise," observes arnot, in his collection of criminal trials in scotland, "was to be accomplished by such deeds, that the stern contriver of the principal action is less shocking than the abject submission of his accomplices."[ ] lord salton dispatched an answer, saying, that he would meet the master of lovat at the appointed time, as his "good friend and servant." but the bearer of that message distrusted the reply, and informed the master that he believed it was fraser of salton's intention to set out and to pass through inverness early in the morning, in order to escape the interview. measures were taken accordingly, by the master of lovat. at a very early hour he was seen passing over the bridge of inverness, attended by six gentlemen, as he himself relates, and two servants, completely armed. this is the master's statement; but on his subsequent trial, it appeared that the fiery cross and the coronach had been sent throughout all the country; that a body of four or five hundred men in arms were in attendance, and that they had met in the house of one of the clansmen, fraser of strichen, where the master took their oaths of fidelity, and where they swore on their dirks to be faithful to him in his enterprise.[ ] "the inhabitants of inverness," says lord lovat, "observing their alert and spirited appearance, lifted up their hands to heaven, and prayed god to prosper their enterprise." these simple and deluded people, doubtless, but partially understood the nature of that undertaking which they thus called on heaven to bless. the master of lovat and his party had not proceeded more than four or five miles from inverness, than they observed a large party of "runners issuing out of the wood of bonshrive, which is crossed by the high road." "it is a custom," adds lord lovat, "in the north of scotland, for almost every gentleman to have a servant in livery, who runs before his horse, and who is always at his stirrup when he wishes to mount or to alight; and however swift any horse may be, a good runner is always able to match him." the gentlemen who attended the master of lovat, were soon able to perceive that lord salton was one of the leaders of the party who was quitting the wood of bonshrive, and emerging into the high road; and that his lordship was accompanied by lord mungo murray, a younger son of the marquis of athole, and, as the master of lovat intimates, an early friend of his own. the account which lord lovat's narrative henceforth presents, of that which ensued, is so totally at variance with the evidence on his trial, that it must be disregarded and rejected as unworthy of credit, as well as the boast with which he concludes it, of having generously saved the lives of lord salton, and of his own kinsman, lord mungo. it appeared afterwards, that his followers had orders to seize them, dead or alive. these two young noblemen were, it seems, almost instantly overpowered by numbers, notwithstanding the attendance of the "runners," on whom lord lovat so much insists. lord mungo was taken prisoner by the master himself. they were then deprived of their horses, and being mounted on poneys, were conducted to fanellan, guards surrounding them, with their muskets loaded, and dirks drawn, to a house belonging to lord lovat, where they were kept in close confinement, guarded by a hundred clansmen. gibbets were erected under the windows of the house, to intimidate the prisoners; and at the end of a week they were marched off to castle downie,--the master of lovat going there in warlike array, with a pair of colours and a body of five hundred men. from castle downie, lord salton and lord mungo were led away into the islands and mountains, and were treated with great indignity. these adversaries being thus disposed of, the master of lovat invested the castle of downie with an armed force, and soon took possession of a fortress, tenanted only by a defenceless woman, the dowager lady lovat. but that lady was a murray; one of a resolute family, and descended on her mother's side from a stanley. she was the grand-daughter of charlotte de la tremouille, who defended latham house against the parliamentary forces in . notwithstanding that armed men were placed in the different apartments of the castle, she was undaunted. attempts were made by the master of lovat to compel her to sign certain deeds, securing to him that certainty of the right to the estates, for which he was ready to plunge in the deepest of crimes. she was firm--she refused to subscribe her name. her refusal was the signal, or the incentive, for the completion of another plot, of a last resource,--a compulsory marriage between the master of lovat and herself. the awful and almost incredible details of that last act of infuriated villany, prove lady lovat to have been a woman of strong resolution, and of a deep sensibility. the ceremony of marriage was pronounced by robert monro, minister of abertaaffe. the unhappy lady lovat's resistance and prayers were heard in the very court-yard below, although the sound of bagpipes were intended to drown her screams. morning found the poor wretched being, to make use of one of the expressions used by an eye-witness, "out of her judgment; she spoke none, but gave the deponent a broad stare." for several days reason was not restored to her, until, greeted by one of her friends with the epithet "madam," she answered, "call me not madam, but the most miserable wretch alive." the scene of this act of diabolical wickedness[ ] is razed to the ground: castle downie was burned by the royal troops, in the presence of him who had committed such crimes within its walls, and of three hundred of his clansmen, shortly after the battle of culloden. it appears from a letter written by thomas lovat, the father of the master, to the duke of argyle, that he and his son were shortly "impeached for a convocation," and for making prisoners of lord salton and lord mungo murray, for which they were charged before him, were fined, discharged their fines, and "gave security to keep the peace."[ ] so lightly was that gross invasion of the liberty that threatened the lives of others at first treated! "we have many advertisements," adds thomas lovat, "that athole is coming here in person, with all the armed men he is able to make, to compel us to duty, and that without delay. if he come, so we are resolved to defend ourselves; the laws of god, of nature, and the laws of all nations, not only allowing, but obliging all men, _vim vi repellere_. and i should wish from my heart, if it were consistent with divine and human laws, that the estates of athole and lovat were laid as a prize, depending on the result of a fair day betwixt him and me."[ ] it was, perhaps, an endeavour to avert the impending ruin and devastation that followed, that the master of lovat gave their liberty to lord saltoun and lord mungo murray, although not until he had threatened them both with hanging for interfering with his inheritance, and compelling lord saltoun to promise that he would, on arriving at inverness, send a formal obligation for eight thousand pounds, never more to concern himself with the affairs of the lovat estate, and that neither he nor the marquis of athole would ever prosecute either lord lovat or his son, or their clan in general, for the disgrace they had received in having been made prisoners, for any of the transactions of this affair.[ ] but it was evident that, in spite of this concession, the vengeance of the marquis of athole never slept; and that he was resolved to wreak it upon the head of the wretch who had for ever blasted the happiness of his sister. the master of lovat was shortly aware that it would no longer be prudent to remain with his victim in the castle of downie. his wife, as it was then his pleasure to call her, remained in a condition of the deepest despair. she would neither eat nor drink whilst she was in his power; and her health appears to have suffered greatly from distress and fear. in the dead of night she was summoned to leave castle downie, to be removed to a more remote and a wilder region, where the unhappy creature might naturally expect, from the desperate character of her pretended husband, no mitigation of her sorrows. since rumours were daily increasing of the approach of lord athole's troops, the clan of fraser was again, when lady lovat was conveyed from the scene of her anguish, called forth to assist their leader, and the wail of the coronach was again heard in that dismal and portentous night: for portentous it was. this crime, the first signal offence of simon fraser, stamped his destiny. its effects followed him through life: it entailed others: it was the commencement of a catalogue of iniquities almost unprecedented in the career of one man's existence. crushed, broken-spirited, afraid of returning to her kindred, whose high fame she seems to have thought would be sullied by her misfortunes, lady lovat was conducted by fraser to the island of aigas. they stole thither on horseback, attended by a single servant, and arriving at the sea-shore, they there took a boat, and were carried to the obscure island which fraser had chosen for his retreat. thomas fraser of beaufort, the father of simon, thus writes to the duke of argyle respecting this singular and revolting union. "we have gained a considerable advantage by my eldest son's being married to the dowager of lovat; and if it please god they live together some years, our circumstances will be very good. our enemies are so galled at it, that there is nothing malice or cruelty can invent but they design and practice against us; so that we are forced to take to the hills, and keep spies at all parts; by which, among many other difficulties, the greatest is this,--that my daughter-in-law, being a tender creature, fatigue and fear of bloodshed may put an end to her, which would make our condition worse than ever."[ ] and now there took place, in the mind of lady lovat, one of those singular revulsions which experience teaches us to explain rather than induces us to believe as neither impossible nor uncommon. lady lovat, it is said upon the grave authority of a reverend biographer, became attached to the bonds which held her. "here," says mr. arbuthnot, in his life of lord lovat,[ ] "he continued a month or six weeks, and by this time the captain had found means to work himself so effectually into the good graces of the lady, that, as he reported, 'she doated on him, and was always unhappy at his absence.'" however true or however false this representation may be, the marriage service was again, as it was said, solemnized, at the suggestion of the master of lovat, and with the free consent of lady lovat.[ ] on the twenty-sixth of october, , we find simon fraser writing in the following terms to the laird of culloden. the answer is not given in the culloden papers, but it not improbably contained a recommendation to repeat the marriage ceremonials:-- "beaufort, the th of oct., . "dear sir, "thir lords att inverness, with the rest of my implacable enemies, does so confound my wife, that she is uneasy till she see them. i am afraid that they are so madd with this disapointment, that they will propose something to her that is dangerous, her brother having such power with her; so that really, till things be perfectly accommodatt, i do nott desire they should see her, and i know not how to manage her. so i hope you will send all the advice you can to your oblidged humble servant, sim. fraser." "i hope you will excuse me for not going your lenth, since i have such a hard task at home." from simon fraser to the laird of culloden. "nov. rd, . "sir, "i pray you receive the inclosed acompt of my business, and see if your own conscience, in sight of god, doth not convince you that it is literally true. i hade sent it to you upon saturday last, but you were not at home; however, i sent it that day to the laird of calder, who, i hope, will not sitt down on me, but transmitt it to my best friends; and i beseech you, sir, for god's sak, that you do the like. i know the chancellour is a just man, notwithstanding his friendship to my lord tilliberdine. i forgive you for betraying of me; but neither you, nor i, nor i hope god himself, will forgive him that deceived you, and caused you to do it. i am very hopeful in my dear wife's constancey, if they do not put her to death. now i ad no more, but leaves myself to your discretion; and reste, sir, your faithful friend and servant, sim. fraser." lady lovat lived to hear her husband deny that he had ever sought her in marriage, and to see him married to two different wives; and he scrupled not to represent the unfortunate lady lovat as the last possible object of his regard--as a "widow, old enough to be his mother, dwarfish in her person, and deformed in her shape."[ ] this, as far as related to disparity of years, was untrue; the dowager was only four years older than the master of lovat. meantime justice had not slumbered; and one morning, a charge "against captain simon fraser, of beaufort, and many others, persons mostly of the clan fraser, for high treason, in forming unlawful associations, collecting an armed force, occupying and fortifying houses and garrisons, &c.," was left by the herald, pursuant to an old scottish custom, in a cloven stick which was deposited at the river side, opposite to the isle of aigas.[ ] of this no notice was taken by simon, except to renew his addresses to his clan, and to hasten, as far as he could from his secluded retreat, a systematic resistance to the marquis of athole, and even to the royal troops, whose approach was expected. but his fears were aroused. again he sought to avert the coming danger by concession; and he determined, in the first instance, on restoring lady lovat to her friends. it is stated by mr. arbuthnot, but still on the authority of the master of lovat, that lady lovat had now become reluctant to return to her relations. nor is it improbable that this statement is true, without referring that reluctance to any affection for the wretch with whom her fate was linked. she complied, nevertheless, with the proposal of the master; and leaving the island of aigas, she proceeded first to castle downie, and afterwards to dunkeld, where, according to arbuthnot, she was obliged by her brother, the marquis, to join in a prosecution against her husband, for a crime which she had forgiven. according to a letter from the duke of argyle, addressed to the rev. mr. carstares, chaplain to king william, she fully exculpated the master from the charges made against him on her account.[ ] this exculpation was doubtless given when the unhappy woman was under the influence of that subtle and powerful mind, which lent its aid to its guilty schemes. simon fraser himself, as we have seen, in writing to duncan forbes, declared--"i am very hopeful in my dear wife's constancy, if they do not put her to death." this might be only a part of his usual acting,--a trait of that dissimulation which was the moral taint of his character; or it may have been true that the humiliated being whom he called his wife had really learned to cherish one who seemed born to be distrusted, hated, and shunned. the return of lady lovat to her family was of no avail in mitigating the indignation of the marquis of athole. by his influence with the privy council, who were, it is said, completely under his control, he procured an order from king william for the march of troops against the clan of fraser, with instructions, according to simon fraser, to overrun the country, to burn, kill, and to destroy the whole clan, without exception; and, without issuing a citation to thomas fraser of beaufort, or to his son, to appear--without examining a single witness--a printed sentence was published against all the frasers, men and women and children, and their adherents. even the sanctuary of churches was not to be respected: "in a word," says lord lovat's manifesto, "history, sacred or profane, cannot produce an order so pregnant with such unexampled cruelty as this sentence, which is carefully preserved in the house of lovat, to the eternal confusion and infamy of those who signed it."[ ] the government which sanctioned the massacre of glencoe was perfectly capable of issuing a proclamation which confounded the innocent with the guilty, and punished before trial. the master of lovat assembled his clan. that simple and faithful people, trusting in the worth and honour of their leader, swore that they would never desert him, that they would leave their wives, their children, and all that they most valued, to live and die with him. an organized resistance was planned; and the master of lovat intreated his father, as he himself expressed it, with tears, "to retire into the country of his kinsmen, the macleods of rye." the proposal was accepted, and thomas of beaufort, for he never assumed the disputed title of lord lovat, took refuge among that powerful and friendly clan. the prosecution against the master of lovat was, in the mean time, commenced in the court of justiciary; "the only case," so it has been called, "since the revolution, in which a person was tried in absence, before the court of justiciary, a proof led, a jury inclosed, a verdict returned, and sentence pronounced; forfeiting life, estate, honours, fame, and posterity."[ ] none of the parties who were summoned, appeared. the jury returned a verdict finding the indictment proved, and the court adjudged captain fraser and the other persons accused, to be executed as traitors; "their name, fame, memory, and honours, to be extinct, and their arms to be riven forth and deleted out of the books of arms; so that their posterity may never have place, nor be able hereafter to bruite or enjoy any honours, offices, titles, or dignities; and to have forfeited all their lands, heritages, and possessions whatsoever."[ ] after this sentence, a severer one than that usually passed in such cases, the master of lovat, for the period of four years, led a life of skirmishes, escapes, and hardships of every description. he retired into the remote highlands, then almost impenetrable; and, followed by a small band of his clansmen, he wandered from mountain to mountain, resolved never to submit, nor yield himself up to justice. since his father's estates were forfeited, and he could draw no means of subsistence from them, he was often obliged to the charity of the hospitable highlanders for some of their coarse fare; and when that resource failed, or when he had lived too long on the bounty of a neighbourhood, he and his companions made nightly incursions into the lowlands, and, carrying off cattle and provisions, retreated again to their caverns, there to satisfy hunger with the fruits of their incursions.[ ] during the four years of misery and peril in which the master of lovat continued to evade justice, his father died, among his relations in the island of skye. his decease was caused, according to the representation of his son, by a hasty march made to escape the king's troops, who, he heard, were coming to the islands to pursue him. among the few humane traits in the character of simon fraser, the habitual respect and affection borne by the highlanders to parents appears to have been perceptible. he speaks of thomas of beaufort in his life with regret and regard; but seals those expressions of tenderness with an oath that he "would revenge himself on his own and his father's enemies with their blood, or perish in the attempt." such were his notions of filial piety. the master of lovat had now attained the rank for which he had made such sacrifices of safety and of fame; and had the hollow satisfaction of a disputed title, with an attainted estate, and a life over which the sword of destiny was suspended. a sentence of outlawry followed that of condemnation, and letters of fire and sword were issued against him. he was forbidden all correspondence or intercourse with his fellow subjects: he was cast off and rejected by his friends, and in constant danger either of being captured by the officers of justice, or assassinated by his enemies. the commission for destroying the clan of fraser was not, indeed, put into execution; but that wild and beautiful district which owned him for its lord, was ravaged by the king's troops stationed at inverness, or intimidated by the highland army, commanded by lord lovat's early companions, but now deadly foes,--lord james and lord mungo murray. at length, after gaining a complete victory, according to his own account, at stratheric, over the tributaries of lord athole, and extracting from the prisoners an oath by which they "renounced the claims on our saviour and their hopes in heaven if ever they returned to the territories of his enemy, the guilty and unfortunate man grew weary of his life of wandering, penury, and disgrace." he was always fertile in expedients, and audacious in proffering his petitions for mercy. during his father's life, a petition in the form of a letter, written by thomas of beaufort, and signed by seven frasers, had been addressed to the duke of argyle, appealing to his aid at court, upon the plea of that "entire friendship which the family of lovat had with, and dependence upon, that of argyle, grounded upon an ancient propinquity of blood, and zealously maintained by both through a tract and series of many ages."[ ] the duke of argyle had, it was well understood, made some applications on behalf of the frasers; and lord lovat now resolved to push his interest in the same friendly quarter, and to endeavour to obtain a remission of the sentence out against his head. his efforts were the more successful, because king william had by this time begun to suspect the fidelity of lord tullibardine, and to place a strong reliance upon the integrity and abilities of the duke of argyle. the duke represented to his majesty not only the ancient friendship subsisting between the house of campbell and that of fraser, but also that the king might spend "a hundred times the value of the fraser estate before he could reduce it, on account of its inaccessible situation and its connection with the neighbouring clans."[ ] the duke's account of his success is given with characteristic good sense in the following letter:-- the earl of argyle to the laird of culloden. "edinburgh, sept. , . "sir, "in complyance with your desyre and a great many other gentlemen, with my own inclination to endeavour a piece of justice, i have made it my chief concern to obtain beaufort's (now i think i may say lord lovatt's) pardon, and the other gentlemen concerned with him in the convocation and seizing of prisoners, which are crymes more immediately against his majesty, which i have at last obtained and have it in my custody. i designe to-morrow for argyllshire; and, there not being a quorum of exchequer in town, am oblidged to delay passing the remission till next moneth. we have all had lyes enuf of his majestie before: his goodness in this will, i hope, return my friend culloden to his old consistency, and make e. argyll appear to him as good a presbiterian and a weel wisher to his country in no lesse a degree then tullibardine, who plundered my land some tyme agoe, and culloden's lately. pray recover the same spiritt you had at the revolution; let us lay assyde all resentments ill founded, all projects which may shake our foundation; let us follow no more phantasms (i may say rather divells), who, with a specious pretext leading us into the dark, may drownd us. i fynd some honest men's eyes are opened, and i shall be sorie if culloden's continue dimm. you have been led by jacobitt generales to fight for presbiterie and the liberty of the country. is that consistent? if not speedily remedied, remember i tell you the posteritie of such will curse them. let me have a plain satisfactorie answer from you, that i may be in perfect charitie with culloden. adieu." accordingly, the duke having obtained his pardon, lord lovat was enjoined to lay down his arms, and to go privately to london. that sentence, which had followed the prosecution on the part of lady lovat, was not, at that time, remitted, for fear of disobliging the athole family. upon arriving in london, lord lovat found that lord seafield, the colleague of the earl of tullibardine, was disinclined to risk incurring the displeasure of the athole family. he put off the signing of the pardon from time to time. he was even so much in awe of the earl of tullibardine, that he endeavoured to get the king to sign the pardon when he was at loo; that mr. pringle, the other secretary of state, might bear the odium of presenting it for signature. during this delay, lord lovat, not being able with safety to return to scotland, resolved to occupy the interval of suspense by a journey into france. whilst lord lovat's affairs were in this condition, the marquis of athole, resolved for ever to put it out of lord lovat's power to gain any ascendancy over the young heiress of lovat, amelia fraser, was employed in arranging a marriage for that lady to the son of alexander mackenzie, lord prestonhall. it was agreed, by a marriage settlement, that mr. mackenzie should take the name and title of fraserdale, and that the children of that marriage should bear the name of fraser. the estate of lovat was settled upon fraserdale in his life, with remainder to his children by his wife.[ ] it indeed appears, that the estate of lovat was never surrendered to lord lovat; that he bore in scotland, according to some statements, no higher title than that of lord of beaufort; and that a regular receiver of the rents was appointed by the guardians of amelia fraser:[ ] so completely were the dark designs of simon fraser defeated in their object! he was, however, graciously received at st. germains, whither he went whilst yet, james the second, in all the glory of a sanctified superstition, lived with his queen, the faithful partner of his misfortunes. lord lovat ascribes this visit to st. germains to his intention of dissipating the calumnious stories circulated against him by the marquis of athole. the flourishing statement which he gives in his memoirs of king james's reception, may, however, be treated as wholly apocryphal. james the second, with all his errors, was too shrewd a man, too practised in kingcraft, to speak of the "perfidious family of athole," or to mention the head of that noble house by the title of that "old traitor." lord lovat's incapacity to write the truth, and his perpetual endeavour to magnify himself in his narrative, cause us equally to distrust the existence of that document, with the royal seal affixed to it, which he says the king signed with his own hand, declaring that he would protect lord lovat from "the perfidious and faithless family of athole."[ ] the fact is, and it redounds to the credit of james the second, that monarch, eager as he ever remained to attach partisans to his interests, never received lord lovat into his presence.[ ] the infamy of the exploits of the former master of lovat had preceded his visit to france: the whole account of his own reception at st. germains, written with astonishing audacity, and most circumstantially worded, was a fabrication. lord lovat's usual readiness in difficulties did not fail him; he was a ruined man, and it was puerile to shrink from expedients. he applied to the pope's nuncio, and expressed his readiness to become a roman catholic. the suit was, of course, encouraged, and the arch hypocrite, making a recantation of all his former errors, professed himself a member of the holy catholic church, and acknowledged the pope as its head. this avowal cost him little, for he was by no means prejudiced in favour of any specific faith; and it gained him for the time, some little popularity in the gay metropolis in which he had taken refuge. king james, indeed, to his honour, was still resolute in declining his personal homage; but louis the fourteenth was less scrupulous, and the marquis de torcy, the favourite and minister of the french king, presented the abjured of england and scotland at the palais of versailles. it is difficult to picture to oneself the savage and merciless fraser, the pillager, the destroyer, the outlaw, conversing, as he is said to have done, with the saintly and sagacious madame maintenon. it is scarcely possible to conceive elegant and refined women of any nation receiving this depraved, impenitent man, with the rumour of his recent crimes still fresh in their memory, into their polished circles. yet they made no scruple in that dissolute city, to associate with the abandoned wretch who dared not return to scotland, and who only looked for a pardon for his crimes through the potent workings of a faction. lord lovat well knew the value of female influence. he dressed in the height of fashion--he adapted his language and sentiments to the tone of those around the court. he was a man of considerable conversational talents; "his deportment," says his biographer, "was graceful and manly." when he was first presented to louis the fourteenth, who was desirous of asking some questions concerning the invasion of scotland, he is said to have prepared an elaborate address, which he forgot in the confusion produced by the splendour around him, but to have delivered an able extempore speech, with infinite ease and good taste, upon the spur of the moment, to the great amusement of louis, who learned from de torcy the circumstance.[ ] his advancement at the court of versailles was interrupted by the necessity of his return to england, in order to obtain at last a final pardon from the king for his offences. it is singular that the instrument by whom he sought to procure this remission was william carstairs, that extraordinary man, who had suffered in the reign of james the second the thumb-screw, and had been threatened with the iron boot, for refusing to disclose the correspondence between the friends of the revolution. mr. carstairs was now secretary to king william, and he little knew, when he counselled that monarch to pardon lovat, what a partisan of the jacobite cause he was thus restoring to society. his mediation was effectual, perhaps owing to a dislike which had arisen in the mind of william against the athole family; and a pardon was procured for lord lovat. the affair was concluded at loo, whither lovat followed the king from england. "he is a bold man," the monarch is said to have observed to carstairs, "to come so far under sentence of death." the pardon was unlimited, and that it might comprise the offence against lady athole, it was now "a complete and ample pardon for every imaginable crime." the royal seal was appended to it, and there remained only to get that of scotland also affixed. lovat entrusted the management of that delicate and difficult matter to a cousin, a simon fraser also, by whose treachery it was suppressed; and lord seafield caused another pardon to pass the great seal, in which the treason against king william was alone specified; and other offences were left unpardoned. upon this, lord lovat cited the marquis of athole before the lords justiciary in edinburgh to answer before them for a false accusation: but on the very day of supporting his charge, as the biographer of his family relates, his patron the duke of argyle was informed that the judges had been corrupted, and that "certain death would be the result if he appeared."[ ] this statement is taken from lord lovat's own complication of falsehoods, his incomparably audacious "manifesto." notwithstanding that lovat had appeared with a retinue of a hundred armed gentlemen, "as honorable as himself," with the intention of intimidating the judges;--in spite of the duke of argyle's powerful influence, the friends of the outlawed nobleman counselled him again to retreat to england, and to suffer judgment to go by default. the duke of argyle, he says, would not lose sight of him till he had seen him on horseback, and had ordered his own best horse to be brought round to the door. there was no remedy for what was called by lord lovat's friends, the "rascality" of the judges:--and again this unworthy highlander was driven from his own country to seek safety in the land wherein his offences had received their pardon. the inflexibility of the justiciary lords, or their known integrity, form a fine incident in history; for the scottish nation was at this period, ridden by court faction, and broken down by recent oppression and massacre. lord lovat, meeting the duke of argyle on the frontiers, accompanied his grace to london; and here, notwithstanding his boast, "that after his arrival in london he was at the duke's house every day," he appears, about this time, to have been reduced to a state of miserable poverty, and merited desertion. in the following letter to mr. carstairs, he complains that nothing is done for him--he applies to mr. carstairs for a little money to carry him home, "having no other door open." lord lovat to mr. carstairs, "london, june th, . "dear sir, "i reckon myself very unhappy that my friends here do so much neglect me; and i believe my last journey to england has done me a vast prejudice; for if i had been at home, i would have got something done in my lord evelin's business, and would have got money before now, that might serve me to go a volunteer with the king, or maintain me anywhere; but my friend at home must have worse thoughts now of my affairs than ever, having staid so long here, and got nothing done. however, i now resolve to go to scotland, not being able to subsist longer here. i have sent the inclosed note, that, according to your kind promise, i may have the little money which will carry me home, and it shall be precisely paid before two months; and i must say, it is one of the greatest favours ever was done me, not having any other door open, if you were not so generous as to assist me, which i shall alwise gratefully remember, and continue with all sincerity, dear sir, your faithful and obliged servant, lovat." the death of william the third revived the hopes of the jacobite party; and to that centre of attraction the ruined and the restless, the aspiring and the profligate, alike turned their regards. never was so great a variety of character, and so great a diversity of motives displayed in any cause, as in the various attempts which were made to secure the restoration of the stuarts. on some natures those opinions, those schemes, which were generally known under the name of jacobitism, acted as an incentive to self-sacrifice--and to a constancy worthy of better fortune. in other minds the poison of faction worked irremediable mischief: many who began with great and generous resolves, sank into intrigue, and ended in infidelity to the cause which that had espoused. but lord lovat came under neither of these classes; he knew not the existence of a generous emotion; he was consistent in the undeviating selfishness and baseness of his career. if he had a sincere predilection, he was disposed to the interest of king james. hereditary tendencies scarcely ever lose their hold upon the mind entirely: notions on politics are formed at a much earlier age than is generally supposed. the family of fraser had been, as we have seen, from ages immemorial employed in defence of the stuart kings; and early prepossessions were imbibed by the unworthy descendant of a brave race, before his passions had interfered to warp the generous sentiment of loyalty. as he grew up, lord lovat learned to accommodate himself to any party; and it was justly observed by lord middleton, one of the favourite courtiers at st. germains, that though he boasted so much of his adherence to his sovereign, he had never served any sovereign but king william, in whose army he had commanded a regiment.[ ] the period was now, however, approaching, when he whose moral atmosphere was, like his native climate, the tempest and the whirlwind, might hope to glean some benefit from the impending storm which threatened the peace of the british empire. on the sixth of september, , james the second of england expired at st. germains. this event was favourable to those of the jacobite party who wished to bring forward the interests of the young prince of wales. james had long been infirm, and had laid aside all schemes of worldly elevation. he had passed his time between the diversion of hunting and the duties of religion. his widowed queen retained, on the contrary, an ardent desire to see her son restored to the throne of england. she implanted that wish in his own breast; she nourished it by the society of those whom she placed around him; and she passed her time in constantly forming new schemes for the promotion of that restoration to which her sanguine anticipations were continually directed. the death of james was succeeded by two events: one, the avowed determination of louis the fourteenth to take the exiled family of stuart under his protection, and the consequent proclamation of the young prince of wales as king of england; the other, the bill for the attainder of the pretended prince of wales, in the english parliament, with an additional clause of attainder against the queen, mary of modena, together with an oath of abjuration of the "pretender." the debates which impeded the progress of this measure, plainly prove how deeply engrafted in the hearts of many of the higher classes were those rights which they were thus enforced to abjure.[ ] this was one of the last acts of william. his death, in , revived the spirits of the jacobites, for the partiality of anne to her brother, the young prince, was generally understood; and it appears, from the letters which have been published in later days to have been of a far more real and sisterly character than has generally been supposed. the death of the young duke of gloucester appeared, naturally, to make way for the restoration of the stuart family; and there is no doubt but that anne earnestly desired it; and that on one occasion, when her brother's life was in danger from illness, her anxiety was considerable on his account. it is, therefore, no matter of reproach to the jacobites, as an infatuation, although it has frequently been so represented, that they cherished those schemes which were ultimately so unfortunate, but which, had it not been that "popery appeared more dreadful in england than even the prospect of slavery and temporal oppression," would doubtless have been successful without the disastrous scenes which marked the struggle to bring them to bear. lord lovat was at this time no insignificant instrument in the hands of the jacobite party. when he found that the sentence of outlawry was not reversed; when he perceived that he must no longer hope for the peaceable enjoyment of the lovat inheritance, his whole soul turned to the restoration of king james; and, after his death, to that of the young prince of wales. yet he seems, in the course of the extraordinary affairs in which the queen, mary of modena, was rash enough to employ him, to have one eye fixed upon st. james's, another upon st. germains, and to have been perfectly uncertain as to which power he should eventually dedicate his boasted influence and talents. lord lovat may be regarded as the first promoter of the insurrection of in scotland. whether his exertions proceeded from a real endeavour to promote the cause of the jacobites, or whether they were, as it has been supposed, the result of a political scheme of the duke of queensbury's, it is difficult to determine, and immaterial to decide; because his perfidy in disclosing the whole to that nobleman has been clearly discovered. it seems, however, more than probable, that he could not go on in the straightforward path; and that he was in the employ of the duke of queensbury from the first, has been confidently stated.[ ] early in , lord lovat went to france, and pretending to have authority from some of the highland clans and scottish nobility, offered the services of his countrymen to the court of st. germains. this offer was made shortly before the death of james the second, and a proposal was made in the name of the scottish jacobites to raise an army of twelve thousand men, if the king of france would consent to land five thousand men at dundee, and five hundred at fort william. his proposals were listened to, but his integrity was suspected.[ ] according to his own account, lord lovat, being in full possession of his family honours, upon the death of king william, immediately proclaimed the prince of wales in his own province, and acting, as he declares, in accordance with the advice of his friend, the duke of argyle, repaired to france, "in order to do the best that he could in that country."[ ] he immediately, to pursue his own statement, engaged the earl lord marischal, the earl of errol, lord constable of scotland, in the cause; and then, passing through england and holland, in order to go to france through flanders, he arrived in paris with this commission about the month of september. sir john maclean, cousin-german of lord lovat, had resided ten years at the court of st. germains, and to his guidance lovat confided himself. by maclean, lovat was introduced to the duke of perth, as he was called, who had been chancellor of scotland when james the second abdicated, and whose influence was now divided at the court of st. germains, by the earl of middleton. for never was faction more virulent than in the court of the exiled monarch, and during the minority of his son. the duke of perth represented lord middleton as a "faithless traitor, a pensionary of the english parliament, to give intelligence of all that passes at the court of st. germains." it was therefore agreed that this scheme of the invasion should be carried on unknown to that nobleman, and to this secrecy the queen, it is said, gave her consent. she hailed the prospect of an insurrection in scotland with joy, and declared twenty times to lord lovat that she had sent her jewels to paris to be sold, in order to send the twenty thousand crowns,[ ] which lord lovat represented would be necessary to equip the highland forces. hitherto the court of st. germains had been contented merely to keep up a correspondence with their friends, retaining them in their principles, though without any expectation of immediate assistance. the offer of lord lovat was the first step towards more active exertions in the cause of the stuarts. it is in this sense that he may almost be considered as the father of the rebellion of . he first excited those ardent spirits to unanimity and to action; and the project of restoration, which only languished whilst anne lived, was never afterwards abandoned until after the year . either through the indiscretion of queen mary of modena, or through some other channel, the plot of the invasion became known to lord middleton. jealous of the family of perth, his avowed enemies, lord middleton, according to lord lovat, was enraged at the project, and determined to ruin the projectors. it is very true that the antipathies between the prevailing factions may have excited lord middleton's anger; but it is evident, from his lordship's letters and memoranda, that his dislike had a far deeper source--the profligacy of the agent lovat; a profligacy which had deterred, as it was afterwards found, many of the highland chiefs from lending their aid to the cause. party fury, however, ran high, and before the affair of the insurrection could be settled, lord middleton, declaring that the last words of king james had made a powerful impression on his mind, retired into the convent of benedictines at paris, to be satisfied of some doubts, and to be instructed in the doctrines of the roman catholic church. but this temporary retirement rather revived than decreased the favour of the queen towards him. she trusted to his advice; and, as the statement which lord lovat gave of the affairs of scotland appeared too favourable to the excluded family to be believed, louis the fourteenth counselled the court of st. germains to send with lord lovat, or, as he is invariably called in all contemporary documents, simon fraser, a person who could be trusted to bring back a genuine account. accordingly, james murray of stanhope, the brother of sir david murray, was employed to this effect. "he was," says lord lovat, "a spy of lord middleton's, his sworn creature, and a man who had no other means of subsistence."[ ] from other accounts, however, mr. murray is shown to have been a man of probity, although in great pecuniary difficulties, as many of the younger members of old families were at that time.[ ] mr. james murray was sent forward into scotland six weeks before lord lovat set out from france; and the court had the wisdom to send with the latter another emissary in the person of mr. john murray, of abercairney. after these arrangements were completed, lord lovat received his commission. he set out upon his expedition by way of brussels, to calais. not being furnished with passports, and having no other pass than the orders of the marquis de torcy to the commandants of the different forts upon the coast, he was obliged also, to wait for an entire month, the arrival of an english packet for the exchange of prisoners,--the captain of the vessel having been bribed to take him and his companions on board as english prisoners of war, and to put them on shore during the night, in his boat, near dover. through the interest of louis the fourteenth, lovat had received the commission from king james of major-general, with power to raise and command forces in his behalf:[ ] and thus provided, he proceeded to scotland, where he was met by the duke of argyle, his friend, and conducted by that nobleman to edinburgh. such was the simple statement of lovat's first steps on this occasion. according to his memorial, which he afterwards presented to queen mary, he received assurances of support from the catholic gentry of durham, who, "when he showed them the king's picture, fell down on their knees and kissed it."[ ] this flattering statement appeared, however, to resemble the rest of the memorial of his proceedings, and met with little or no credence even in the quarter where it was most likely to be well received. from the duke of queensbury, lord lovat received a pass to go into the highlands, which was procured under feigned names, both for him and his two companions, from lord nottingham, then secretary of state. after this necessary preliminary, lord lovat made a tour among some of the principal nobility in the lowlands. he found them, even according to his own statement, averse to take up arms without an express commission from the king. but he remarks, writing always as he does in the third person, "my lord lovat pursued his journey to the highlands, where they were overjoyed to see him, because they believed him dead, having been fourteen months in france, without writing any word to his country. they came from all quarters to see him. he showed them the king's instructions, and the king of france's great promises. they were ravished to see them, and prayed to god to have their king there, and they should soon put him on the throne. my lord lovat told them that they must first fight for him, and beat his enemies in the kingdom. they answered him, that, if they got the assistance he promised them, they would march in three days' advertisement, and beat all the king's enemies in the kingdom."[ ] this statement, though possibly not wholly untrue, must be taken with more than the usual degree of allowance for the exaggeration of a partisan. many of the highland noblemen and chieftains were, indeed, well disposed to the cause of which lord lovat was the unfortunate and unworthy representative; but all regretted that their young king, as they styled him, should repose trust in so bad a character, and in many instances refused to treat with lovat. and, indeed, the partial success which he attained might be ascribed to the credit of his companion captain john murray, a gentleman of good family, whose brother, murray of abercairney, was greatly respected in his county. the embryo of the two rebellions may be distinctly traced in the plain and modest memorial which captain murray also presented, on his return from scotland, at the court of st. germains. "the earl and countess of errol," he relates, "with their son lord hay, were the first to whom i spoke of the affairs of the king of england." "speaking at edinburgh with the king's friends, about his majesty's affairs, in a more serious way than i had done before, i found that these affairs had not been mentioned among them a long time before, and that it was to them an agreeable surprise to see some hopes that they were to be revived by my negotiation." the greatest families in scotland were, indeed,[ ] ready to come forward upon condition of a certain assistance from france; and a scheme seems even to have been suggested for the invasion of england, and to have formed the main feature in one of those various plots which were as often concerted, and as often defeated, in favour of the excluded family.[ ] in france, these continual schemes, and the various changes in the english government, were regarded with the utmost contempt. "the people," writes the duke of perth, chancellor of scotland, "are kept from amusement, frameing conceits of government and religion, such as our giddy people frame to themselves, and make themselves the scorn and reproach of mankind, for all are now foes under the name of english, and we are said to be so changeable and foolish, that nothing from our parts seems strange. beheading, dethroning, and banishing of kings, being but children's play with us."[ ] but all the promise of this plan was defeated, as it is generally and confidently asserted, by the character of lord lovat. a general distrust prevailed, of his motives and of his authority, even in that very country where he had once led on his clansmen to crimes for which they had paid dearly in the humiliation and devastation of their clan. he was indeed, prevented from lingering near the home of his youth, from the decrees which had been issued against him, and the risk of discovery. disappointed in his efforts, unable to raise even fifty men of his own clan, and resolved upon gaining influence and favour in some quarter or another, he determined upon betraying the whole scheme, which has since obtained in history the name of the scottish plot, to the duke of queensbury. it was on pretext of obtaining a passport for france, that lord lovat now sought an interview with the duke in london. he there discovered to that able and influential minister, then secretary of state for scotland, the entire details of the meditated insurrection, together with the names of the principal scottish nobility concerned in the conspiracy. the duke, it appears, perfectly appreciated the character of his informant. he seems to have reflected, that from such materials as those which composed the desperate and hardened character of lovat, the best instruments of party may be selected. he consented, it is generally believed,--although historians differ greatly according to their particular bias, as to the fact,--to furnish lovat with a passport, and to employ him as a spy in the french court, in order to prosecute his discoveries still farther. when lovat was afterwards charged with this act of treachery, he declared, that he had told the duke of queensbury little more than what had escaped through the folly or malice of the jacobites; but acknowledged that a mutual compact had passed between him and the duke of queensbury.[ ] somerville, in his history of the reign of queen anne, remarks, that it is doubtful whether fraser of lovat had ever any intention of performing effectual service to the chevalier. "no sooner had he set foot in england," adds the same historian, "than he formed the nefarious project of counter-plotting his associate, and betraying the trust which he had procured through the facility and precipitate confidence of the queen."[ ] the duke of queensbury immediately communicated the plot, disclosed by lovat, to queen anne. in the main points the conduct of that able and influential minister appears to have been tolerably free from blame during the inquiry into the scottish plot which was afterwards instituted; but it is a proof of the horror and suspicion in which lord lovat was held, that the duke of queensbury's negotiations with so abandoned a tool for some time diminished the political sway which he had heretofore possessed in scotland.[ ] lord lovat returned to paris, where he had the effrontery to hand in a boasting memorial of his services, written with that particularity which gives an air of extreme accuracy to any statement. in this art he was generally accomplished, yet he seems on this occasion to have failed. for some time he flourished; alternately, one day at versailles--one day at st. germains; and, whilst an under-current of dislike and suspicion marked his course, all, apparently, went on successfully with this great dissembler. the earl of middleton, indeed, was undeceived. "i doubt not," he writes to the marquis de torcy, "you will be as much surprised at lord lovat's memorial as we have been; for although i never had a good opinion of him, yet, i did not believe him fool enough to accuse himself. he has not, in some places, been as careful as authors of romance to preserve probability." "if the king thinks proper to apprehend him," concludes lord middleton, "it should be done without noise. his name should not be mentioned any more, and at the same time his papers should be seized."[ ] such were the preparations for the secret incarceration which it was then the practice of the french court to sanction. lord lovat was not long in ignorance of the intrigues, as he calls them, which were carried on to blast his reputation at the court of st. germains. in other words, he perceived that the double game which he had been playing was discovered, and discovered in time to prevent any new or important trust being committed to his command. he fell ill, or perhaps feigned illness, probably in order to account for his absence from court; and, although backed by the influence of the earl of melfort, brother of the duke of perth, and by the marquis de torcy, he found that he could never recover the confidence of the queen mother. he took the usual plan adopted by servants who perceive that they are on the eve of being discarded--he announced his determination to retire. "my lord," he wrote to lord middleton, "i am daily informed, that the queen has but a scurvy opinion of me, and that i did her majesty bad rather than good service by my journey. my lord, i find that my enemies have greater power with the queen than i can have; and to please them, and ease her majesty, i am resolved to meddle no more with any affairs till the king is of age."[ ] there seemed to have been little need of this voluntary surrender of his employments; for, after undergoing an examination, in writing from the pope's nuncio, and after several letters had passed between lord middleton and himself, the altercation was peremptorily closed by a _lettre de cachet_, and lord lovat was committed, according to some statements, to the bastille,--as others relate, to the castle of angoulême.[ ] upon this occasion the hardihood of lord lovat's character, which shone out so conspicuously at his death, was thus exemplified. "as they went along the captain (by this name he was generally called among his friends) discoursed the officer with the same freedom as if he had been carrying him to some merry-meeting; and, on observing on his men's coats a badge all full of points, with this device--_monstrorum terror_,--'the terror of monsters,' he said wittily, pointing to the men, 'behold there the terror, and here the monster!' meaning himself. 'and if either of the kings had a hundred thousand of such, they would be fitter to fright their enemies than to hurt any one of them.' he took occasion, also, to let his attendants know of what a great and noble family he was, and how much blood had been spent in the cause of the monarchs by his ancestors."[ ] according to lord lovat's manifesto, he was at dinner at bourges, whither he had been sent on some pretext by the french government, when "a grand fat prevôt, accompanied by his lieutenant and twenty-four archers, stole into the drawing-room, and seized lord lovat as if he had been an assassin, demanding from him his sword in the king's name. the villain of a prevôt," adds his lordship, "was so obliging as to attend lord lovat, with his archers, all the way to angoulême. he had the luck to procure a cursed little chaise, where lord lovat was in a manner buried alive under the unwieldy bulk of this enormous porpoise." this relation, so different from that given by mr. arbuthnot, weakens the veracity of both accounts, and leads one to infer that the long narrative by the reverend gentleman of lord lovat's adventures in the bastille were written upon hearsay.[ ] in the castle of angoulême lord lovat continued for three years; at first, being treated with great severity: "thirty-five days in perfect darkness, where every moment he expected death, and prepared to meet it with becoming fortitude. he listened with eagerness and anxiety to every noise, and, when his door screached upon its hinges, he believed that it was the executioner come to put an end to his unfortunate days." in this predicament, finding that the last punishment was delayed, he "thought proper to address himself to a grim jailoress, who came every day to throw him something to eat, in the same silent and cautious manner in which you would feed a mad dog."[ ] by the "clink of a louis d'or," the prisoner managed to subdue the fidelity of this fair jailoress; she supplied him with pens and paper, and he immediately began a correspondence with his absent friends at the french court. after a time, the severity of lord lovat's imprisonment was mitigated. the castle of angoulême was, in a manner, an open prison, having an extensive park within its walls, with walks open to the inhabitants; and here, through the influence of monsieur de torcy, lord lovat was permitted to take exercise. his insinuating manners won upon the inhabitants, and the prison of angoulême became so agreeable to him, that he was often heard to say, that "if there was a beautiful and enchanting prison in the world, it was the castle of angoulême." meantime, the scheme of invasion was by no means relinquished on the part of the jacobites, although it had received a considerable check from the treachery of its agents. it is stated by some historians that scarcely had lord lovat quitted england, than sir john maclean, his cousin-german, and campbell, of glendarnel, disclosed the plot to lord athole and lord tarbat. these noblemen instantly went to queen anne, and accused the duke of queensbury of high treason, in carrying on a villanous plot with the court of st. germains. queensbury defended himself before the house of lords, and the accusation, which rested chiefly on the assertions of ferguson, the famous hatcher of plots, was declared false and scandalous, and ferguson was committed to newgate. the reluctance of the duke of queensbury to give up the correspondence, excited, however, suspicions of his integrity; which, as harley, lord oxford, expressed it, could only be cleared up by fraser, lord lovat;[ ] but lord lovat was not then to be found. in all this singular and complicated affair, it is impossible to help wondering at the folly and audacity which lord lovat had shown in returning to france, conscious of having placed himself at the mercy of ruthless politicians, and aware that in that country he could expect no redress nor protection from law. but the original crime for which he had been sent forth, an outlaw from his country, was the source of all his subsequent mistakes and misfortunes. france was open to him; scotland was closed; and england was a scene of peril to one who trod on fragile ice, beneath which a deep gulf yawned. lord lovat had been two years in prison before any of his former friends, for even he was not wholly devoid of partisans, interfered with success in his behalf; and it was the good, old-fashioned feeling of kindred that finally moved the marquis de frezelière, or frezel, or frezeau de la frezelière, to interest himself in the fate of his despised, and perhaps forgotten, relative. "the house of frezelière, which ascends," says lord lovat, "in an uninterrupted line, and without any unequal alliance, to the year , with its sixty-four quarterings in its armorial bearings, and all noble, its titles of seven hundred years standing in the abbey of nôtre dame de noyers in touraine, and its many other circumstances of inherent dignity," was, as we have seen, derived from the same blood with the family of frezel, or fraser. in former, and more prosperous days, a common and authentic act of recognition of this relationship had been drawn up at paris by the marquis and his many illustrious kinsmen, the three sons of the marshal luxembourg de montmorenci; and executed, on the other hand, by simon fraser, lord lovat, and by his brother, and several of their nearest kin. the marquis de frezelière appears to have been a fine specimen of that proud and valiant aristocracy, not even then wholly broken down in france by the effeminacy of the times. he was haughty and determined, "an eagle in the concerns of war," and of a spirit not to be subdued. by his powerful intercession, checked only by the disgust which mary of modena felt towards lovat, he procured from the king of france permission for his relative to repair to the waters of bourbon for the restoration of his health. this order was signed by louis the fourteenth, and countersigned by the marquis de torcy, as "colbert." four days afterwards, a second order was received by the authorities at angoulême, by which his majesty commanded that lord lovat, after the restoration of his health, should repair to his town of saumur, until further orders. "at the same time," says lord lovat, "he was permitted to take with him the chevalier de frezel, his brother." these orders were dated august the second and august the fourteenth, . the brother, whom lord lovat always designates as the chevalier de fraser, had been placed with a doctor of the civil law at bourges, in order to learn french, and the profession of a civilian. he had been arrested at the same time with lord lovat; and was now, after a temporary separation, permitted to share the pleasures of a removal to bourbon. according to lord lovat, a pension from the french government was settled upon this young man as long as he resided in france; and lord lovat received also the ample income of four thousand francs, (one hundred and sixty-six pounds, thirteen shillings and fourpence,) from the same quarter: nor was it in the power of his enemies at st. germains to induce louis the fourteenth to withdraw this allowance.[ ] the marquis de frezelière continued firm in his regard towards lord lovat. on his road to saumur, lord lovat was received and entertained at the château of the marquis with hospitality and kindness, and no opportunity was omitted by which the marquis could testify the sincerity of his interest in the fate of his relative. meantime daily reports were circulated that the projected insurrection, far from being abandoned, had been revived, and that the chevalier was going to undertake the conduct of the invasion in person. but that young prince was still inexorable to any petition in favour of lovat, and was wisely resolved not to let him participate in the operations. "were he not already in prison," he is stated by lovat himself to have said, "i would make it my first request to the king of france to throw him into one." this fixed aversion was owing to the determined dislike of the queen to abdicate, as it was her resolution, if there were no other person to be employed, never to make lord lovat an instrument of her affairs. lovat, therefore, now clearly perceived that, during the life of the queen and of lord middleton, he must look for nothing favourable from the court of st. germains. that of versailles, although, by his account, decidedly friendly to his release, refused to support those whom the chevalier had renounced. he resolved, therefore, to make every exertion to return to his own country, and to place himself once more at the head of his clan, who, in spite of his crimes, in spite of his long absence and imprisonment, had still refused to acknowledge any other chief. the attempt was indeed desperate, but lovat resolved to risk it, and to escape, at all events, from france. to the vengeance of the athole family, lord lovat always imputed much of the severity shown him by the court at st. germains: and it is probable that the representations of that powerful house may have contributed to the odium in which the character of lord lovat was universally held. his own deeds were, however, sufficient to ensure him universal hatred. the great source of surprise is, that this unscrupulous intriguer, this unprincipled member of society, seems, at times, during the course of his eventful life, to have met with friends, firm in their faith to him, and to have enjoyed, in that respect, the privilege of virtue. the young heiress of lovat, amelia fraser, was now married to alexander mackenzie, son of lord prestonhall; mr. mackenzie had adopted the title of fraserdale; and a son had been born of this marriage, who had been named after his grandfather, hugh. fraserdale and his lady had taken possession both of the title and estates of lord lovat, during his absence; but, since the dignity and estates had always been enjoyed by an heir-male, from the origin of the house of fraser, these claimants to the estate of the outlawed lovat spread a report that the honours and lands had, in old times, belonged to the bissets, whose daughter and only child had married a fraser, from whom the estates had descended to the heir of that line. a suit was instituted against lord lovat and, on the ninth of march, , lord prestonhall, the father of fraserdale, himself adjudged the lordship and barony of lovat to amelia fraser. an entail of the estates and honours upon the heirs of the marriage between amelia fraser and mackenzie of fraserdale, was then executed, and the former assumed the title of lady lovat, whilst her son was designated the master of lovat.[ ] lord prestonhall seems to have acted with the same unscrupulous spirit which characterizes most of the business transactions of those who intermeddled with the forfeited or disputed estates. it was his aim, as the memorial for the lovat case, subsequently tried, sets forth, to extirpate the clan of the frasers, and to raise that of the mackenzies upon its ruins. "accordingly," says mr. anderson, in his curious and elaborate account of the house of fraser, "he framed a deed, with the sly contrivance of sinking the frasers into the mackenzies, by encouraging the former to change their names, and providing, as a condition of the estate, that should they return to, and reassume their ancient name of fraser, they should forfeit their right."[ ] the arms of mackenzie, macleod of lewis, and bisset, were to be quartered with those of fraser, in this deed, which bore the signature of robert mackenzie, and was dated the twenty-third of february, . this decision, and the deed which followed it, appeared to complete the misfortunes of the disgraced and banished lord lovat. but, in fact, the act of injustice and rapacity, so repugnant to the spirit of the highlanders,--this attempt to force upon the heirs of fraser a foreign name, and thus to lower the dignity of the clan, was the most auspicious event that could happen to the wretched outlaw. what was his exact condition, or what were his circumstances, during the seven years of his imprisonment, three of which were passed under strict, though not harsh control, in the castle of angoulême, and four, apparently on his parole, in the fortress of saumur, it is not easy to describe. the cause of the obscurity of his fate at this time, is not that too little, but that too much, has been stated relative to his movements. it is always an inconvenience when one cannot take a man's own story in evidence. according to lord lovat's own account, these weary years were spent in visits to different members of the nobility. the charming countess de la roche succeeded the marquis de la frezelière as his friend and patroness, after the death of the marquis in , an event which, according to lord lovat's statement, brought him nearly to the grave from grief. the countess was a woman of a masculine understanding, and of admirable talents, bold, insinuating, and ambitious. her education in the household of the great condé, and her long attendance upon the princess de conti, the hero's daughter, had qualified her for those arduous and delicate intrigues, without which no woman of intellect at that period in france might think herself sufficiently distinguished. the appointment of the duke of hamilton as ambassador at the court of louis, rendered such a friend as madame de la roche, who was also distantly related to him, very essential for the prosecution of lord lovat's present schemes, which were, to obtain his release, and to procure employment in any enterprise concerted by the jacobites against england. fate, however, relieved lord lovat from one apprehension. the duke of hamilton was killed in a duel by lord mohun, in hyde park; and this fresh source of danger was thus annihilated. the kindness which the famous colbert, marquis de torcy, had shown to lord lovat, and the promise which he had given to that nobleman, not to break his parole, and to return to england, seems to have been the only check to a long-cherished project on the part of lord lovat to escape to london, and to risk all that law might there inflict. it is uncertain in what manner, during the tedious interval between intrigues and intrigues, he solaced his leisure. it has been stated by one of his biographers that he actually joined a society of jesuits,--by another, that he took priest's orders, and acted as parochial priest at st. omers. of course, in compiling a defence of his life, the wary man of the world omitted such particulars as would, at any rate, betray inconsistency, and beget suspicion. his object in becoming a jesuit, is said to have been to hear confessions and to discover intrigues. with respect to the report of his having entered the order of jesuits, it is justly alleged in answer, that no jesuit is permitted to hear confessions until he has been fifteen years a member of the society, or, at least, in priest's orders.[ ] the rumour of his having become an ecclesiastic, in any way, no doubt originated in lord lovat's joke on a subsequent occasion, when "he declared that had he wished it, and had remained in priest's orders, which he did not deny having assumed for some purpose, he might have become pope in time."[ ] whilst lord lovat, contrary to the advice of madame la roche, was deliberating whether he should not leave france, he was surprised, in the summer of , by a visit from one of the principal gentlemen of his clan, fraser of castle lader, son of malcolm fraser, of culdelthel, a very considerable branch of the family of lovat. this gentleman brought lord lovat a strong remonstrance from all his clan at his absence--an entreaty to him to return--a recommendation that he would join himself in an alliance with the duke of argyle, who was disposed to aid him; he added affectionate greetings from some of the principal gentry of his neighbourhood, and, among others, from john forbes, of culloden. this important ally was the father of the justly celebrated duncan forbes, afterwards lord president. these messages decided lord lovat. after some indecision he left saumur, and being allowed by his parole to travel to any place in france, he went on the twelfth of august, , to rouen, under pretence of paying a visit there. from rouen he proceeded to dieppe, but finding no vessel there, he travelled along the coast of normandy, and from thence to boulogne. from that port he sailed in a small smack, in a rough sea, during the night, and landed at dover, november the eleventh, . he met his kinsman, alexander fraser, on the quay at dover, and with him proceeded to london. his former friend, the duke of argyle, was now dead; but alliances, as well as antipathies, are hereditary in scotland, and john, duke of argyle, was well disposed to assist one whose family had been anciently connected with his own. besides, the state of public affairs was now totally changed since lord lovat had left england, and it was incumbent upon the government to avail themselves of any tool which they might require for certain ends and undertakings. queen anne was now dead,--the last of the stuart dynasty in this kingdom. whatever were her failings and her weaknesses as a woman, she has left behind her the character of having loved her people; and she was endeared to them by her purely english birth, her homely virtue of economy, and her domestic unpretending qualities. her reign had been one of mercy; no subject had suffered for treason during her rule: she had few relations with foreign powers; and when, in her opening speech to the parliament, she expressed that her heart was "wholly english," she spoke her real sentiments, and described, in that simple touch the true character of her mind. she was succeeded by a german prince, who immediately showered marks of his royal favour upon the whigs; whilst the tories, who formed so large a party in the kingdom, were alienated from the government by the manifest aversion to them which george the first rather aimed to evince than laboured to conceal. the jacobites differed in some measure from the tories, inasmuch as the latter were generally well affected to the accession of the hanoverian family, until disgusted by the choice of the new administration. dissensions quickly rose to their height; and when the government was attacked in the house of commons by sir william wyndham, the unusual sounds, "the tower! the tower!" were heard once more amid the inflamed assembly. the spirit of disaffection quickly spread throughout england; the very life-guards were compelled by an angry populace, when celebrating the anniversary of the restoration of the stuarts, to join in the cry of "high church and ormond!" lord bolingbroke had withdrawn to france--treasonable papers were discovered and intercepted on their way from jacobite emissaries to dr. swift, tumults were raised in the city of london and in westminster, and were punished with a severity to which the metropolis had been unaccustomed since the reign of james the second. all these manifestations had their origin in one common source,--the deeply concerted schemes which were now nearly brought into maturity at the court of st. germains. the following extract of a letter dated from luneville, and taken from the macpherson papers, shows what was meditated abroad; it is in schrader's hand. (translation.) "luneville, june th, . "it is likely the chevalier st. george is preparing for some great design, which is kept very private. it was believed he would drink the waters of plombière for three weeks, as is customary, and that he would come afterwards to pass fifteen days at luneville; but he changed his measures; he did not continue to drink the waters, which he drank only for ten days, and came back to luneville on saturday last. he sets out to-morrow very early for bar. lord galmoy went before him, and set out this morning. lord talmo, who came lately from france, is with him, and some say that the duke of berwick is incognito in this neighbourhood. "the chevalier appears pensive,--that, indeed, is his ordinary humour. mr. floyd, who has been these five days at the court of his royal highness, told a mistress he has there, that when he leaves her now, he will take his leave of her perhaps for the last time:--in short, it is certain that everything here seems sufficiently to announce preparations for a journey. it is said, likewise, in private, that the chevalier has had letters that the queen is very ill. i have done everything i could to discover something of his designs. i supped last night with several of his attendants, thinking to learn something; but they avoid to explain themselves. they only say that the chevalier did not find himself the better for drinking the waters; that he would now go to repose himself for some time at bar, until he goes, the beginning of next month, to the prince de vandemont's, at commercie, where their royal highnesses will come likewise. they say they do not know yet if they will remain in this country or not; that they will follow the destiny of the chevalier, and that it is not known yet what it shall be."[ ] when lord lovat thus precipitately threw himself once more on the mercy of his country, he could not have been ignorant that the cabals which had long been carried on against the hanoverian succession, were now shortly to break out in open rebellion; and it was, without doubt, in the hope of profiting in some measure during the confusion of the coming troubles, that he had hastened, at the risk of his life, to england. he entrusted the secret of his arrival immediately to the duke of argyle, whom he met in london. that nobleman, one of the few disinterested men whose virtues might almost obtain the name of patriotism in those days, saw the danger which lord lovat would incur if he returned to scotland. sentence of death had been passed upon him; it might be acted upon by an adverse judge at any moment. he besought lovat to remain in england until a remission of that sentence could be obtained; and for this purpose addresses to the court for mercy were circulated for signature throughout the northern counties of scotland.[ ] to further the success of this scheme, lord lovat had recourse to his neighbour and early friend, john forbes, laird of culloden, whose after-services in the royal cause, and whose strict alliance of friendship with the duke of argyle, secured to him a considerable influence in that part of scotland in which he resided. "much honoured and dear sir,"--thus wrote lord lovat to the laird,--"the real friendship that i know you have for my person and family makes me take the freedom to assure you of my kind service, and to entreat you to join with my other friends between sky and nesse, to sign the addresse which the court requires, in order to give me my remission. your cousin james, who has generously exposed himself to bring me out of chains, will inform you of all steps and circumstances of my affairs since he saw me. i wish, dear sir, from my heart, you were here; i am confident you would speak to the duke of argyle and to the earl of isla, to let them know their own interest, and their reiterated promises to do for me. perhaps they may have, sooner than they expect, a most serious occasion for my service. but it is needless to preach now that doctrine to them; they think themselves in ane infallible security; i wish they may not be mistaken. however, i think it's the interest of all who love this government, betwixt sky and nesse, to see me at the head of my clan, ready to join them; so that i believe none of them will refuse to sign ane adresse to make me a scotsman. i am perswaded, dear sir, that you will be of good example to them on that head. but secrecy, above all, must be keept; without which all may go wrong. i hope you will be stirring for the parliament, for i will not be reconciled to you if you let prestonall outvote you. brigadier grant, to whom i am infinitely obliged, has written to foyers to give you his vote, and he is ane ungrat villian if he refuses him. [if] i was at home, the little pitiful barons of the aird durst not refuse you. but i am hopefull that the news of my going to brittain will hinder prestonall to go north; for i may come to meet him when he lest thinks of me. i am very impatient to see you, and to assure you most sincerely how much i am, with love and respect, right honourable, your most obedient and most humble servant, "lovat." "the th of nov. ." the nature of the address to which this letter refers was not only an appeal to the king in behalf of lord lovat, but also an engagement, on the part of his friends, to answer for the loyalty of lord lovat, in any sum required. it is remarkable that when james fraser, the kinsman of lovat, arrived in the county of inverness, and declared the purpose of his journey, the lairds who were well-affected to the nobility, joined in giving their subscriptions; and the earl of sutherland, the lord strathallan, and the nobility of the counties of ross and sutherland, signed them also. the duke of montrose, however, boldly opposed them, and described lord lovat as a man unworthy of the king's confidence.[ ] a year, however, had elapsed, whilst lovat was hanging about the court, before the address was brought to london by lord isla, brother of the duke of argyle, and afterwards archibald, duke of argyle. the address was presented on sunday, the twenty-fourth of july, . "the earl of orkney," says lord lovat, "who was the lord in waiting, held out his hand to receive them from the king, according to custom. the king, however, drew them back, folded them up, and, as if he had been pre-advised of their contents, put them into his pocket."[ ] and with this sentence, denoting that the crisis of his affairs was at hand, end the memoirs which lord lovat either wrote or dictated to others, of the early portion of his life. meantime, the earl of stair, the english ambassador at paris, had discovered the embryo scheme of invasion, and had communicated it to the british court, although, unhappily for both parties, not in sufficient time to damp the hopes of the unfortunate jacobites. on the sixth of september, , the earl of mar set up his standard at braemar. consistent with the usual fatality attending every attempt of the stuarts, this event was preceded only five days by the death of louis the fourteenth--the only real friend of the excluded family; but the jacobites had now proceeded too far to recede.[ ] lord lovat resolved, however, to profit in the general disasters. his influence among his clansmen was obvious: whether for good or, in some instances, for evil, there is much to admire in the resolute adherence of those faithful mountaineers, who had resisted the assumption of a stranger, and invited back to their hills the long-absent and ruined chief, whom they regarded as their own. lord lovat now found means to represent to the english government, that if he could have a passport to go into the highlands, he might be instrumental in quelling the rebellion. the ministry, in their perplexities, availed themselves of his aid, and a pass was granted to him, under the name of captain brown. he once more set out for his own country, and reached edinburgh in safety, attended only by his kinsman, major fraser. from edinburgh he resolved to proceed in a ship--when he could procure one, for the country was all in commotion. meantime he took up his abode, still maintaining his disguise, in the grass market. his real name was soon discovered, and information was given to the lord justice clerk, who granted a warrant for his apprehension, as a person "outlawed and intercommuned;" and to prevent any difficulty in apprehending the prisoner, a party of the town guard was ordered to escort the peace officers to the lodgings of lord lovat. the officer who had the command of the town guard happened, however, to be acquainted with lovat, and he interposed his aid on this occasion. he listened to the account which lovat gave of the business which had brought him to edinburgh. the provost was next gained over to the opinion, that it would be wrong to oppose any obstruction to one who had his majesty's passport: he ordered lord lovat to be set at liberty; and in order to give some colour of justice to this act, he declared that the information must have been wrong, it being laid against captain fraser,--whereas, the person taken appeared to be captain brown. lovat was once more in safety: he changed his lodgings, however; and, as soon as possible, set sail for inverness. again danger, in another form, retarded his arrival among his clan. a storm arose, the ship was obliged to put into the nearest harbour, and lord lovat was driven into fraserburgh, which happened to be within a few miles of the abode of his old enemy and rival lord saltoun. mr. forbes, one of the culloden family, was now fortunately for lord lovat, with him on his majesty's service. after some consultation together, he and lovat decided to make themselves known to mr. baillie, town-clerk of fraserburgh: they did so, were kindly received, and provided with horses to convey them to culloden house, the seat of the future lord president of scotland, duncan forbes. here they arrived in november, after incurring great risks from the jacobite troops, who were patroling in parties over the country.[ ] culloden house, famed in history, was inhabited by a race whose views, conduct, and personal character present a singular contrast, with those of lord lovat, or with those of other adventurers in political life. the head of the family was, at the period of the first insurrection, john forbes, a worthy representative of an honourable, consistent, and spirited family. the younger brother of john forbes was the celebrated duncan forbes, a man whose toleration of lord lovat, not to say countenance of that compound of violence and duplicity, seems to be the only incomprehensible portion of his lofty and beautiful character. "duncan forbes was born," observes a modern writer, "of parents who transmitted their estate to his elder brother, and to all their children an hereditary aversion to the house of stuart, which they appear to have resisted from the very commencement of the civil wars, and upon the true grounds on which that resistance ought to have been made."[ ] by a singular fortune the hereditary estates of culloden and ferintosh had been ravaged, the year after the revolution, by the soldiers of buchan and cannon, on account of the jacobite principles of the owners. a liberal compensation was made in the form of a perpetual grant of a liberty to distil into spirits the grain of the barony of ferintosh,--a name which has become almost as famous as that of culloden. it was the subsequent fate of culloden to witness on its moors the total destruction of that cause which its owners had so long resisted and deprecated. duncan forbes, who, during a course of many years, was bound by an inexplicable alliance with lovat, was at this period about thirty years of age. he had already attained the highest reputation for eloquence, assiduity, and learning at the scottish bar, and during his frequent opportunities for display before the house of lords. but it was his personal character, during a period of vacillating principles, and almost of disturbed national reason, which obtained that singular and benignant influence over his fellow-countrymen for which the life of duncan forbes is far more remarkable, far more admirable, than for the exercise of his brilliant and varied talents. he had "raised himself," observes the same discriminating commentator on his life and correspondence, "to the high station which he afterwards held by the unassisted excellence of a noble character, by the force of which he had previously won and adorned all the subordinate gradations of office."[ ] he adorned this unenvied and unsullied pinnacle of fame by virtues of which the record is ennobling to the mind. "he is," observes another writer, "in every situation, so full of honour, of gentleness, of kindness, and intrepidity, that we doubt if there be any one public man in this part of the empire, or of the age that is gone, whose qualities ought to be so strongly recommended to the contemplation of all those who wish to serve their country." it was in such society as this that lord lovat, by a rare fortune, was brought, after his long and disgraceful exile. it was to such a home of virtue, of intelligence, of the purest and best affections, that he was introduced after a long course of contamination in the lowest scenes of french corruption, which had succeeded an equally demoralising initiation into the less graceful vices of the court of george the first. the inestimable privilege came too late in one sense. lord lovat had gained nothing but wariness by the lapse of years; but the benefit to his worldly condition was considerable. from this time until a few years before the insurrection of , lord lovat may be regarded as a jealous partisan of the house of hanover. no doubt, a general survey of the state of society in scotland would, independent of his own personal views, have satisfied him that in such a course was the only chance of permanent safety. the wretchedness of the state of things at that period, can scarcely be adequately comprehended by those who live in times when liberty of opinion is universally an understood condition of civilized intercourse. it is difficult for any person who lives now to carry himself back, by reading or conversation, into the prospects or feelings of the people of scotland about a hundred years ago. the religious persecutions of the stuarts had given a darker hue to the old austerity of their calvinism. the expectation of change constantly held out by that family divided the nation into two parties, differing on a point which necessarily made each of them rebels in the eyes of the other; and thus the whole kingdom was racked by jealousies, heart-burnings, and suspicions. the removal, by the union, of all the patronage and show of royalty, spread a gloom and discontent, not only over the lower, but over the higher ranks. the commencement of a strict system of general taxation was new, while the miserable poverty of the country rendered it unproductive and unpopular. the great families still lorded it over their dependants, and exercised legal jurisdiction within their own domains; by which the general police of the kingdom was crippled, and the grossest legal oppression practised. the remedy adopted for all these evils, which was to abate nothing and to enforce everything under the direction of english counsels or of english men, completed the national wretchedness, and infused its bitterest ingredient into the brim full cup. the events of the year present but a feeble exemplification of the truth of this description compared with the annals of , for the first rebellion was, happily, soon closed. lord lovat did not hesitate long on which side he should enlist himself; and the intelligence that his rival, mackenzie of fraserdale, had taken up arms in favour of the chevalier, decided his course.[ ] on the fifth of november he assembled all those of his clan who were still faithful to him, and who had been warned of his approach by his friends. he was received among them with exclamations of joy; and, hearing that a body of mackintoshes, a jacobite clan, were marching to reinforce sir john mackenzie, who commanded the castle at inverness, he marched forward with his adherents to intercept them, and to prevent their joining what he then called "the rebel garrison." the citadel of inverness, built in by oliver cromwell, and called oliver's fort, stood on the east bank of the river ness, and was a regular pentagon, with bastions, ramparts, and a moat; the standard of the protectorate, with the word "emmanuel" inscribed upon it, had formerly been displayed upon its ramparts. it was calculated to hold two thousand men, and was washed on one side by the river. as a fortress it had many inconveniencies; approaches to it were easy, and the town afforded a quarter for an enemy's army. in it had been partly dismantled by charles the second, because it was the relic of usurpation, and constituted a check upon the adjacent highlanders, who were then considered loyal.[ ] it is said by one who saw it after the restoration to have been a very superb work, and it was one of the regular places for the deposition of arms at the time of the rebellion of . subsequently it was much augmented and enlarged, and bore, until its destruction after the battle of culloden, the name of fort george, an appellation now transferred to its modern successor on the promontory of ardesseil. it was against this important fortress that lord lovat now marched with as much zeal and intrepidity as if he had been fighting in the cause of that family for whom his ancestors had suffered. he proceeded straight to inverness, and placing himself on the west side of the town despatched a party of troops to prevent any supply of arms or provisions from approaching the castle by the firth. forbes of culloden lay to the east, and the grants, to the number of eight hundred, to the south side of the town. sir john mackenzie finding himself thus invested on all sides, took advantage of a spring tide that came up to the town and made the river navigable, to escape with all his troops; and lord lovat immediately gained possession of the citadel. the fame of this inglorious triumph has, however, been divided between lovat and hugh rose of kilravock,[ ] whose brother, in pursuing the jacobite guard to the tolbooth, was shot through the body. but whoever really deserved the laurel, lord lovat profited largely by his dishonest exertions in a cause which he began life by disliking, and ended by abjuring. on the thirteenth of november lord lovat was joined by the earl of sutherland; and, leaving a garrison in inverness, the two noblemen marched into the territory of the earl of seaforth, where they intimidated the natives into submission. lord lovat also despatched a friend to perth, where the main portion of the jacobite army lay, to claim the submission of his clansmen, who were led by his rival, mackenzie of fraserdale. they complied with his summons to the number of four hundred, and lovat, after entering murray and strathspey, and exacting obedience to the king's troops in these districts, prepared to attack lord seaforth, who was threatening to invest inverness. but duncan forbes, who was then serving with the army, restrained the ardour of his neighbour, and hostilities were terminated in the north without further bloodshed.[ ] lord lovat was quickly repaid for his exertions. from george the first he received three letters of thanks, and an invitation to go to court; and in march, , a remission of the sentence of death which had been passed upon him, received the royal signature. he was appointed governor of inverness, with a free company of highlanders. what, perhaps, still more gratified his natural thirst for vengeance was the fate of his rival, the husband of amelia lovat, mackenzie of fraserdale, who was attainted of high treason, and whose life-interest in the lands and barony of lovat were forfeited and escheated to the crown. to complete the good fortune of lovat, the king was graciously pleased, in june, , to make him a present of the forfeited lands; and lovat immediately took possession of the estate, and entered his claim to the honours and dignities which were appended to the lands.[ ] it was now that he added another motto to the arms of the frasers, and struck out the quarterings of the bisset family, which had been made a plea for his adversary. the ancient frasers, or frizells, had for their motto "_je suis prest_," to which this honour to their house now added the words, "_sine sanguine victor_," denoting that he had come peaceably to the estate.[ ] he was now the undisputed lord lovat; hitherto he had borne, generally, the convenient name of captain fraser, given to him in his military capacity; and it appears, in spite of all his boastings, that he had scarcely been called by any other title at the french court than that of fraser of beaufort. he had now an admirable opportunity of obliterating the remembrance of his past life, and of conciliating good opinion by the consistency and regulation of his present conduct. notwithstanding his crimes his clansmen turned towards him gladly; his neighbours were willing to assist him in the support of his honours, and he enjoyed what he had never before experienced, the confidence of his sovereign. lord lovat began his season of prosperity by litigations, which lasted between twelve and fourteen years. his first aim was to set aside the pretensions of hugh fraser, the son of mackenzie of fraserdale, who claimed the title of lord lovat after his father's death; and also, by virtue of settlements, asserted rights to the estate. the contest was finally decided by the house of lords in favour of lord lovat's enjoying the honours and lands during his life, the fee remaining with fraserdale, who died in . vexatious and expensive suits occupied the period between and , when they were brought to a final conclusion. lovat now assumed a state corresponding to his station, and suitable to the turn of his mind for display. not only the lands, heritages, tenements, annual rents, &c., of the unfortunate mackenzie of fraserdale were bestowed on him for his services in suppressing what in the deed of gift was termed "the late unnatural rebellion in the north of scotland;" but also the "goods, jewels, gear, utensils and _domecills_, horses, sheep, cattle, corn," and, in short, whatsoever had belonged to the mackenzies, together with five hundred pounds of money, which had fallen into the king's hands. it was, indeed, some time before all this could be accomplished, as the correspondence between lord lovat and his friend duncan forbes sufficiently shows. "inverness, the th march, . "my dearest general,[ ] "i send you the inclosed letter from the name of macleod, which i hope you will make good use of; for it's most certain, i keep'd the m'leods at home, which was considerable service done to the government. the earle went off from cullodin to cromarty last night; and tho' he got a kind letter from marlbrugh, congratulating him on his glorious actions, yet he was obliged to own to general wightman, that his lordship would have got nothing done in the north without my dear general and me. i wish he may do us the same justice at court: if not, i am sure, if i live, i will inform the king in person of all that passed here since the rebellion. the earle's creatures openly speak of the duke of argyle's being recalled. i could not bear it. you know my too great vivacity on that head. i was really sick with it, and could not sleep well since. i expect impatiently a letter from you to determinal my going to london, or my stay here, where i am very well with general wightman, but always much mortified to see myself the servant of all, without a post or character. i go to-morrow to castle grant to take my leave of my dear alister dow. your brother is to follow and to go with alister to london this week. i find the duke was gone before you could be at london. i hope, my dear general, you will take a start to london to serve his grace, and do something for your poor old corporal; and, if you suffer glengarry, frazerdale, or the chisholm, to be pardoned, i will never carry a musquet any more under your command, though i should be obliged to go to affrick. however, you know how obedient i am to my general's orders. you forgot to give the order, signed by you and the other depicts, to meddle with frazerdale's estate for the king's service. i intreat you send it me, for ---- is afraid to meddle without authority. adieu, mon aimable general; vous savez que je vous aime tendrement; et que je suis mille fois plus à vous qu'à moy-même pour la vie. "lovat." in another letter, he observes--"the king has been pleased, this very day, to give me a gift of all fraserdale's escheat." still, however, one thing was wanting; the rapacious lovat had not obtained his former enemy's plate; general wightman had taken possession of it as from the person with whom it was deposited; and he was celebrated for his unwillingness to part with what he had gained. at last, however, the greediness of lovat was appeased if not satisfied by a present from general cadogan of the plate which he had taken, belonging to fraserdale; and by a compromise with general wightman, lovat paying the general one-half of the value of the plate which was worth only one hundred and fifty pounds. thus were the remains of the unhappy jacobites parcelled out among these military plunderers. during this year, the avocations of lord lovat's turbulent leisure were pleasingly varied by the cares of a love suit. the young lady who was persuaded to link her fate to his, was margaret, the fourth daughter of ludovick grant, of grant; she is said to have been young and beautiful. but several obstacles retarded for awhile her union with lord lovat. in the first place, he was not wholly unmarried to the dowager of lovat, who was still alive. the family of athole had, it is true, annulled that marriage, yet there were still legal doubts and difficulties in the way of a fresh bond. lord lovat was now, however, according to his own report to his "dearest general" at culloden, in high favour with king george and the prince of wales; and to them he broached the subject of his marriage. "i had a private audience of king george this day; and i can tell you, dear general, that no man ever spoke freer language to his majesty or to the prince than i did." "they still behave to me like kind brothers; and i spoke to them both of my marriage, they approve of it mightily, and my lord islay brother of the duke [of argyle], is to make the proposition to the king; and, so that i believe it will do, with that agreement that my two great friends wish and desire it."[ ] he could, however, do nothing except in a sinister manner; nor was there ever one motive which sprang from a right source. again he thus addresses duncan forbes:-- "i spoke to the duke and my lord islay about my marriage, and told them that one of my greatest motifs to that design, was to secure them the joint interest of the north." this must have been a pleasing consideration for the young lady, but that which follows is scarcely less promising and agreeable. "they [the duke and lord islay] are both to speak of it to the king; but islay desired me to write to you, to know if there would be any fear of a poursuit of adherence from that other person [the dowager lady lovat], which is a chimirical business, and tender fear for me in my dear islay. but when i told him that the lady denyed, before the justice court, that i had anything to do with her, and that the pretended marriage is declared nul (which islay says should be done by the commissarys only), yet, when i told him that the witnesses were all dead who were at the pretended marriage, he was satisfyed that they could make nothing of it, though they would endeavour it."[ ] this letter, which shows in too clear colours how unscrupulous even men of reputed honour, such as lord islay, were on some points in those days, seems to have removed all obstacles; and, during the following year ( ), lord lovat was united to margaret grant. her father was the head of a numerous and powerful clan, and this marriage tended greatly to increase the influence of lord lovat among the highlanders. two children, a son and a daughter, were the result of this union. prosperity once more shone upon the chieftain of the frasers; and he now restored to his home, castle downie, all the baronial state which must so well have accorded with that ancient structure. the famous sergeant macleod, in his memoirs, gives a graphic account of his reception at castle downie by lord lovat, where the old soldier repaired to seek a commission in the celebrated highland company, afterwards called the highland watch.[ ] "at three o'clock," says the biographer of macleod,[ ] "on a summer's morning, he set out on foot from edinburgh; and about the same hour, on the second day thereafter, he stood on the green of castle downie, lord lovat's residence, about five or six miles beyond inverness; having performed in forty-eight hours a journey of a hundred miles and upwards, and the greater part of it through a mountainous country. his sustenance on this march was bread and cheese, with an onion, all which he carried in his pocket, and a dram of whiskey at each of the three great stages on the road,--and at falkland, the half-way house between edinburgh, by the way of kinghorn and perth. he never went to bed during the whole of this journey; though he slept once or twice for an hour or two together, in the open air, on the road side. "by the time he arrived at lord lovat's park the sun had risen upwards of an hour, and shone pleasantly, according to the remark of our hero, well pleased to find himself in this spot, on the walls of castle downie, and those of the ancient abbey of beaulieu in the near neighbourhood. between the hours of five and six lord lovat appeared walking about in his hall, in a morning dress, and at the same time a servant flung open the great folding doors, and all the outer doors and windows of the house. it is about this time that many of the great families of the present day go to bed. "as macleod walked up and down on the lawn before the house, he was soon observed by lord lovat who immediately went out, and, bowing to the sergeant with great courtesy, invited him to come in. lovat was a fine-looking tall man, and had something very insinuating in his manners and address. he lived in the fullness of hospitality, being more solicitous, according to the genius of the feudal times, to retain and multiply adherents than to accumulate wealth by the improvement of his estate. as scarcely any fortune, and certainly not _his_ fortune, was adequate to the extent of his views, he was obliged to regulate his unbounded hospitality by rules of prudent economy. as his spacious hall was crowded by kindred visitors, neighbours, vassals, and tenants of all ranks, the table, that extended from one end of it nearly to the other, was covered at different places with different kinds of meat and drink--though of each kind there was always great abundance. at the head of the table the lords and lairds pledged his lordship in claret, and sometimes champagne; the tacksmen, or demiwassals, drank port or whiskey-punch; tenants, or common husbandmen, refreshed themselves with strong beer; and below the utmost extent of the table, at the door, and sometimes without the door of the hall, you might see a multitude of frasers, without shoes or bonnets, regaling themselves with bread and onions, with a little cheese, perhaps, and small beer. yet amidst the whole of the aristocratic inequality, lord lovat had the address to keep all his guests in perfectly good humour. 'cousin,' he would say to such and such a tacksman or demiwassal, 'i told my pantry lads to hand you some claret, but they tell me you like port or punch best.' in like manner to the beer drinkers he would say, 'gentlemen, there is what you please at your service; but i send you ale because i understand you like ale.' everybody was thus well pleased; and none were so ill bred as to gainsay what had been reported to his lordship. "this introduction was followed by still further condescension on the part of lord lovat. he looked at the veteran who had served in lord orkney's regiment, under marlborough, at ramilies and malplaquet, with approbation. "'i know,' said his lordship, 'without your telling me, that you have come to enlist in the highland watch; for a thousand men like you i would give an estate.' donald macleod then, at lovat's request, related his history and pedigree,--that subject which most delights the heart of a highlander. lord lovat clasped him in his arms, and kissed him, and then led him into an adjoining bedchamber, where lady lovat then lay, to whom he introduced the sergeant. lady lovat raised herself in her bed, called for a bottle of brandy, and drank prosperity to lord lovat, to the highland watch, and to donald macleod. 'it is superfluous to say,' adds the sergeant, 'that in this toast the lady was pledged by the gentlemen.'" in contradiction to this attractive account of lord lovat's splendour and hospitality we must quote a very different description, given by the astronomer ferguson. lord lovat's abode, according to his account, boasted, indeed, a numerous feudal retinue within its walls, but presented little or no comfort. it was a rude tower with only four apartments in it, and none of these spacious. lord lovat's own room served at once as his place for constant residence, his room for receiving company, and his bedchamber. lady lovat's bedchamber was allotted to her for all these purposes also. the domestics and a herd of retainers were lodged in the four lower rooms of the tower, a quantity of straw constituting their bed-furniture. sometimes above four hundred persons were thus huddled together here; the power which their savage and ungrateful chieftain exercised over them was despotic; and ferguson himself had occasionally the pleasurable sight of some half dozen of them hung up by the heels for hours, on a few trees near the house.[ ] the pretended loyalty of the chief to the exiled family constituted a strong bond of union between lovat and his followers; and having them once under his command, "that indefinable magic by which he all his life swayed those who neither loved nor esteemed him," to borrow mrs. grant's expression, caused them afterwards to follow his desperate fortunes. "he resembled, in this respect," says the same admirable writer, "david when in the cave of adullam, for every one that was discontented, and every one that was in debt, literally resorted to him." lovat, once settled in the abode of his ancestors, did all that he could do to efface the memory of the past, and to redeem the good opinion of his neighbours. one thing he alone left undone,--he did not amend his life. crafty, vindictive, gross, tyrannical, few men ever continued long such a career with impunity. he was long distrusted by the good of both parties; by the one he was regarded as a spy of government, by the other as one whose jacobite loyalty was only a pretext to win the affections of the honest and simple highlanders. yet, at last, he succeeded in obtaining influence, partly by his real talents, partly by his artifices and knowledge of character. "when one considers," observes mrs. grant, "that his appearance was disgusting and repulsive, his manners, except when he had some deep part to play, grossly familiar, and meanly cajoling, and that he was not only stained with crimes, but well known to possess no one amiable quality but fortitude, which he certainly displayed in the last extremity, his influence over others is to be regarded as inexplicable." although the most valuable possessions of his family were on the aird, the chief centre of his popularity was in stratheric, a wild hilly district between inverness and fort augustus. there he was beloved by the common people, who looked upon him as a patriot, and there he made it his chief study to secure their affections, often going unlooked for to spend the day and night with his tenants there, and banishing reserve, he indulged in a peculiar strain of jocularity perfectly suited to his audience. his conversation, composed of ludicrous fancies and blandishments, was often intermingled with sound practical advice and displays of good sense. the following curious account of his table deportment, and ordinary mode of living, is from the pen of mrs. grant of laggan, who was well acquainted with those who had personally known lord lovat. "if he met a boy on the road, he was sure to ask whom he belonged to, and tell him of his consequence and felicity in belonging to the memorable clan of fraser, and if he said his name was simon to give him half-a-crown, at that time no small gift in stratheric; but the old women, of all others, were those he was at most pains to win, even in the lowest ranks. he never was unprovided with snuff and flattery, both which he dealt liberally among them, listened patiently to their old stories, and told them others of the king of france, and king james, by which they were quite captivated, and concluded by entreating that they impress their children with attachment and duty to their chief, and they would not fail to come to his funeral and assist in the coranach _keir_. at castle downie he always kept an open table to which all comers were welcome, for of all his visitors he contrived to make some use;--from the nobleman and general by whose interest he could provide for some of his followers, and by that means strengthen his interest with the rest, to the idle hanger-on whose excursions might procure the fish and game which he was barely suffered to eat a part of at his patron's table. never was there a mixture of society so miscellaneous as was there assembled. from an affectation of loyalty to his new masters lovat paid a great court to the military stationed in the north; such of the nobility in that quarter as were not in the sunshine, received his advances as from a man who enjoyed court favour, and he failed not to bend to his own purposes every new connection he formed. in the mean time the greatest profusion appeared at table while the meanest parsimony reigned through the household. the servants who attended had little if any wages; their reward was to be recommended to better service afterwards; and meantime they had no other food allowed to them but what they carried off on the plates: the consequence was, that you durst not quit your knife and fork for a moment, your plate was snatched while you looked another way; if you were not very diligent, you might fare as ill amidst abundance as the governor of barataria. a surly guest once cut the fingers of one of these harpies when snatching his favourite morsel away untasted. i have heard a military gentleman who occasionally dined at castle downie describe those extraordinary repasts. there was a very long table loaded with a great variety of dishes, some of the most luxurious, others of the plainest--nay, coarsest kind: these were very oddly arranged; at the head were all the dainties of the season, well dressed and neatly sent in; about the middle appeared good substantial dishes, roasted mutton, plain pudding and such like. at the bottom coarse pieces of beef, sheeps' heads, haggiss, and other national but inelegant dishes, were served in a slovenly manner in great pewter platters; at the head of the table were placed guests of distinction, to whom alone the dainties were offered; the middle was occupied by gentlemen of his own tribe, who well knew their allotment, and were satisfied with the share assigned to them. at the foot of the table sat hungry retainers, the younger sons of younger brothers, who had at some remote period branched out from the family; for which reason he always addressed them by the title of 'cousin.' this, and a place, however low, at his table, so flattered these hopeless hangers-on, that they were as ready to do lovat's bidding "in the earth or in the air" as the spirits are to obey the command of prospero." "the contents of his sideboard were as oddly assorted as those of his table, and served the same purpose. he began,--'my lord, here is excellent venison, here turbot, &c.: call for any wine you please; there is excellent claret and champagne on the sideboard. pray, now, dunballock or killbockie, help yourselves to what is before you; there are port and lisbon, strong ale and porter, excellent in their kind;' then calling to the other end of the table,--'pray, dear cousin, help yourself and my other cousins to that fine beef and cabbage; there is whiskey-punch and excellent table-beer.' his conversation, like his table, was varied to suit the character of every guest. the retainers soon retired, and lovat (on whom drink made no impression) found means to unlock every other mind, and keep his own designs impenetrably secret; while the ludicrous and careless air of his discourse helped to put people off their guard; and searchless cunning and boundless ambition were hid under the mask of careless hilarity." but darker deeds even than these diversified the pursuits of a man who had quitted the prisons of angoulême and of saumur only to wreak, upon his own faithful and trusting clansmen, or his neighbours, as well as his foes, the vindictive cruelty of a nature utterly depraved, not softened even by kindness, still less chastened by a long series of misfortunes. lovat's re-establishment at the head of his clan seems to have intoxicated him, and the display of his power to have risen into a ruling passion. above all, he boasted of it to duncan forbes, whose endurance of this wretched ally's correspondence lasted until the pretended friendship was succeeded by avowed treachery to the government to which he had professed such gratitude, and to the king and prince whom he was wont to call "the bravest fellows in the world."[ ] in accordance with this spirit of self-glorification was lovat's erection of two monuments,--filial piety dictating the inscription on one of them, that dedicated to his father, and his own audacious vanity assisting in the composition of the tribute to his own virtues. it was his lordship's favourite boast that at his birth a number of swords which hung up in the hall of his paternal home leaped themselves out of their scabbards, denoting that he was to be a mighty man of arms. the presage was not fulfilled, but lord lovat's ingenuity suggested the following means of imposing upon the credulity of his simple clansmen, by the composition of an epitaph which he erected in the old church of kirkhill, a few miles from castle downie. to the memory of thomas lord fraser, of lovat, who chose rather to undergo the greatest hardships of fortune than to part with the ancient honours of his house, and bore these hardships with undaunted fortitude of mind. this monument was erected by simon lord fraser of lovat, his son. who, likewise, having undergone many and great vicissitudes of good and bad fortune, through the malice of his enemies, he, in the end, at the head of his clan, forced his way to his paternal inheritance with his sword in his hand, and relieved his kindred and followers from oppression and slavery; and both at home and in foreign countries, by his eminent actions in the war and the state, he has acquired great honours and reputation. hic tegit ossa lapis simonis fortis in armis, restituit pressum nam genus ille suum: hoc marmor posuit cari genitoris honori, in genus afflictum par erat ejus amor. sir robert munro, who was killed at the battle of falkirk, being on a visit to lord lovat, went with his host to see this monument. "simon," said the brave and free-spoken scotsman, "how the devil came you to put up such boasting romantic stuff?" "the monument and inscription," replied lovat, "are chiefly for the frasers, who must believe whatever i require, their chief, of them, and then posterity will think it as true as the gospel." yet he did not scruple, when it suited his purpose, to designate his clansmen, the lairds around him, as "the little pitiful barons of the aird;"--this was, however, when writing to his friends of opposite politics to the frasers, generally to duncan forbes. the devotion of his unfortunate adherents can hardly be conceived in the present day. in the early part of his career, before his rapacity, his licentiousness, and falsehood were fully known, one may imagine a fearless and ardent young leader, of known bravery, engaging the passions even of the most wary among his followers in his personal quarrels: but it is wonderful how, when the character of the man stood revealed before them, any could be found to lend their aid to deeds which had not the colour of justice, nor even the pretence of a generous ardour, to recommend them to the brave. but lovat was not the only melancholy instance in which that extraordinary feature in the highland character, loyalty to a chieftain, was employed in aiding the darkest treachery, and in deeds of violence and cruelty. for many years, lovat revelled in the indulgence of the fiercest passions; but he paid in time the usual penalty of guilt. his name came to be a bye-word. every act of violence, done in the darkness of night,--the oppressions of the helpless, the corruption of the innocent,--every plot which was based upon the lowest principles, were attributed to him. his vengeance was such, that while the public knew the hand that dealt out destruction, they dared not to name the man. the hated word was whispered by the hearth; it was muttered with curses in the hovel; but the voice which breathed it was hushed when the band of numerous retainers, swift to execute the will of the feudal tyrant, was remembered. his power, thus tremblingly acknowledged, was fearful; his wrath, never was appeased except by the ruin of those who had offended him. with all this, the manners of lord lovat were courteous, and, for the times, polished; whilst beneath that superficial varnish lay the coarsest thoughts, the most degrading tastes. his address must have been consummate; and to that charm of manner may be ascribed the wonderful ascendancy which he acquired even over the respectable part of the community. something of his ready humour was displayed soon after lord lovat's restoration to his title, in his rencontre with his early friend, lord mungo murray, in the streets of edinburgh. lord mungo had sworn to avenge the wrongs and insults inflicted by lord lovat on himself and lord saltoun, whenever he had an opportunity. seeing lord lovat approaching, he drew his sword and made towards him as fast as he could. lord lovat, being near-sighted, did not perceive him, but was apprised of his danger by a friend who was walking with him; upon which his lordship also drew, and prepared for his defence. lord mungo, seeing this, thought proper to decline the engagement, and wheeled round in order to retire. the people crowded about the parties, and somewhat impeded lord mungo's retreat; upon which lord lovat called out to the people, "pray, gentlemen, make room for lord mungo murray," lord mungo slank away, and the affair ended without bloodshed. an affair with the profligate duke of wharton, was very near ending more fatally. lord lovat, during the year , happening to be in london, mingled there in the fashionable society for which his long residence in france had, in some measure, qualified him. in the course of his different amusements, he encountered one evening, at the haymarket, the beautiful doña eleanora sperria, a spanish lady who had visited england under the character of the ambassador's niece. his attentions to this lady, and his admiration of her attractions, were observed by the jealous eye of the duke of wharton, who immediately sent him a challenge. lord lovat accepted it, replying, that "none of the family of lovat were ever cowards," and appointing to meet the duke with sword and pistol. the encounter took place in hyde-park. they first fired at each other, and then had recourse to the usual weapon, the sword. lovat was unlucky enough to fall over the stump of a tree, and was disarmed by wharton, who gave him his life, and what was in those days perhaps even still more generous, never boasted of the affair until some years afterwards. lovat lived, however, chiefly in scotland. four children were born to writhe under his sway; the eldest, simon, the master of lovat, gentle, sincere, of promising abilities, and upright in conduct, suffered early and late from the jealousy of his father, who could not comprehend his mild virtues. this unfortunate young man was treated with the utmost harshness by lord lovat, who kept him in slavish subjection to his own imperious will, and treated him as if he had been the offspring of some low-born dependant, instead of his heir. still, those who were well-wishers to the lovat family, built their hopes upon the virtues of the young master of lovat, and they were not deceived. although forced by his father to quit the university of st. andrews, where he was studying in , and to enter into the rebellion, he retrieved that early act by a subsequent respectability of life, and by long and faithful services. but there was another victim still more to be pitied, and over whose destiny the vices of lord lovat exercised a still more fatal sway than on those of his son. the story of primrose campbell is, perhaps, the saddest among this catalogue of crimes and calamities. she was the daughter of john campbell, of mamore, and the sister of john duke of argyle, the friend and patron of duncan forbes; and she had been, by lovat's introduction, for some time a companion of his first wife.[ ] lord lovat, about the year , became a widower. he then cast his eyes upon the ill-fated miss campbell, and sought her in marriage. the match was of great importance to him, on account of the family connection; and lord lovat had reason to believe, that whatever the young lady might think of it, her friends were not opposed to the union. she was staying with her sister, lady roseberry, when lovat proffered his odious addresses. she to whom they were addressed, knew him well: for she entertained the utmost abhorrence of her suitor, and repeatedly rejected his proposals. at last, he gained her consent to the union which he sought, by the following stratagem. miss campbell, while residing still with her sister in the country, received a letter, written apparently by her mother, and, beseeching her immediate attendance at a particular house in edinburgh, in which she lay at the point of death. the young lady instantly set out, and reached the appointed place: here, instead of beholding her mother, she was received by the hated and dreaded lovat.[ ] she was constrained to listen to his proffers of marriage; but she still firmly refused her assent. upon this, lord lovat told the unhappy creature that the house to which she had been brought was one in which no respectable woman ought ever to enter;--and he threatened to blast her character upon her continued refusal to become his wife. distracted, intimidated by a confinement of several days, the young lady finally consented. she was married to the tyrant, who conveyed her to one of his castles in the north, probably to downie, the scene of his previous crimes. here she was secluded in a lonely tower, and treated with the utmost barbarity, probably because she could neither conceal nor conquer her disgust to the husband of her forced acceptance. yet outward appearances were preserved: a lady, the intimate friend of her youth, was advised to visit, as if by accident, the unhappy lady lovat, in order to ascertain the truth of the reports which prevailed of lord lovat's cruelty. the visitor was received by lovat with extravagant expressions of welcome, and many assurances of the pleasure which it would afford lady lovat to see her. his lordship then retired, and hastening to his wife, who was secluded without even tolerable clothes, and almost in a state of starvation, placed a costly dress before her, and desired her to attire herself, and to appear before her friend. his commands were obeyed; he watched his prisoner and her visitor so closely, that no information could be conveyed of the unhappiness of the one, or of the intentions of the other.[ ] this outrageous treatment, which lord lovat is reported, also, to have exercised over his first wife, went on for some time. lady lovat was daily locked up in a room by herself, a scanty supply of food being sent her, which she was obliged to devour in silence. the monotony of her hapless solitude was only broken by rare visits from his lordship. under these circumstances, she bore a son, who was named archibald campbell fraser, and who eventually succeeded to the title. in after years, when he frowned at any contradiction that she gave him, lady lovat used to exclaim, "oh, boy! dinna look that gate--ye look so like your father." these words spoke volumes. the character of the lady whose best years were thus blighted by cruelty, and who was condemned through a long life to bear the name of her infamous husband, was one peculiarly scotch. homely in her habits, and possessing little refinement of manner, she had the kindest heart, the most generous and self-denying nature that ever gladdened a house, or bore up a woman's weakness under oppression. the eldest son of lord lovat, simon, was a sickly child. his father, who was very anxious to have him to his house, placed him under lady lovat's charge; and, whenever he went to the highlands, left her with this pleasing intimation, "that if he found either of the boys dead on his return, he would shoot her through the head." partly through fear, and partly from the goodness and rectitude of her mind, lady lovat devoted her attentions so entirely to the care of the delicate and motherless boy, that she saved his life, and won his filial reverence and affection by her attention. he loved her as a real parent. the skill in nursing and in the practical part of medicine thus acquired, was never lost; and lady lovat was noted ever after, among those who knew her, as the "old lady of the faculty." family archives, it is said, reveal a tissue of almost unprecedented acts of cruelty towards this excellent lady. they were borne with the same spirit that in all her life guided her conduct,--a strict dependance upon providence. she regarded her calamities as trials, or tests, sent from heaven, and received them with meek submission. in after years, during the peaceful decline of her honoured life, when a house near her residence in blackfriars wynd, edinburgh, took fire, she sat calmly knitting a stocking, and watching, occasionally, the progress of the flames. the magistrates and ministers came, in vain, to entreat her to leave her house in a sedan; she refused, saying, that if her hour was come, it was in vain for her to think of eluding her fate: if it were not come, she was safe where she was. at length she permitted the people around her to fling wet blankets over the house, by which it was protected from the sparks. she seems, however, to have made considerable exertions to rid herself from an unholy bond with her husband. like many other scottish ladies of quality, in those days, her education had been limited; and it was not until late in life that she acquired the art of writing, which she then learned by herself without a master. she never attained the more difficult process of spelling accurately. she now, however, contrived to make herself understood by her friends in this her dire distress: and to acquaint them with her situation and injuries, by rolling a letter up in a clue of yarn, and dropping it out of her window to a confidential person below. her family then interfered, and the wretched lady was released, by a legal separation, from her miseries. she retired to the house of her sister, and eventually to edinburgh. when, in after times, her grand nephews and nieces crowded around her, she would talk to them of these days of sorrow. "listen, bairns," she was known to observe, "the events of my life would make a good novel; but they have been of sae strange a nature, that i'm sure naebody wad believe them."[ ] but domestic tyranny was a sphere of far too limited a scope for lord lovat: his main object was to make himself absolute over that territory of which he was the feudal chieftain; to bear down everything before him, either by the arts of cunning, or through intimidation. some instances, singular, as giving some insight into the state of society in the highlands at that period, have been recorded.[ ] very few years after the restitution of his family honours had elapsed, before he happened to have some misunderstanding with one of the dowager lady lovat's agents, a mr. robertson, whom her ladyship had appointed as receiver of her rents. one night, during the year , a number of persons, armed and disguised, were seen in the dead of night, very busy among mr. robertson's barns and outhouses. that night, the whole of his stacks of corn and hay were set on fire and entirely consumed. lord lovat was suspected of being the instigator of this destruction; yet such was the dread of his power, that mr. robertson chose rather to submit to the loss in silence than to prosecute, or even to name, the destroyer. a worse outrage was perpetrated against fraser of phopachy, a gentleman of learning and character, and one who had befriended lord lovat in all his troubles, and had refused to join with fraserdale in the rebellion of . mr. fraser had the charge of lord lovat's domestic affairs, more especially of his law contests, both in edinburgh and in london. when accounts were balanced between lord lovat and mr. fraser, it was found that a considerable sum was due to the latter. among his other peculiarities lord lovat had a great objection to pay his debts. as usual, he insulted fraser, and even threatened him with a suit. mr. fraser, knowing well the man with whom he had to deal, submitted the affair to arbitration. a mr. cuthbert of castlehill was chosen on the part of his lordship; the result was, a decision that a very considerable sum was due to fraser. lord lovat was violently enraged at this, and declared that castlehill had broken his trust. not many days afterwards, castlehill park, near inverness, was invaded by a party of highlanders, armed and disguised; the fences and enclosures were broken down, and a hundred of his best milch-cows killed. again the finger of public opinion pointed at lovat, but pointed in silence, as the author of this wicked attack. none dared to name him; all dreaded a summary vengeance: his crimes were detailed with a shudder of horror and disgust; their author was not mentioned. lord lovat, moreover, instantly commenced a law-suit against fraser, in order to set aside the arbitration. this process, which lasted during the lifetime of the victim, was scarcely begun when one night fraser's seat at phopachy, which, unhappily, was near the den of horrors, castle downie, was beset by highlanders, armed and disguised, who broke into the house and inquired for mr. fraser. he was, luckily, abroad. the daughters of the unfortunate gentleman were, however, in the house; they were bound to the bed-posts and gagged; and, doubtless, the whole premises would have been pillaged or destroyed, had not a female servant snatched a dirk from the hands of one of the ruffians; and although wounded, defended herself, while by her shrieks she roused the servants and neighbours. the villains fled, all save two, who were taken, and who, after a desperate resistance, were carried off to the gaol at inverness; they were afterwards tried, and capitally convicted of housebreaking, or _hamesaken_, as it is called in scotland, and eventually hung. it appeared, from the confession of one of these men to a clergyman at inverness, that the same head which planned the destruction of mr. robertson's stacks had contrived this outrage, and had even determined on the murder of his former friend, mr. fraser. but the hour was now at hand in which retribution for these crimes was to be signally visited upon this disgrace to his species.[ ] one more sufferer under his vile designs must be recorded, the unhappy lady grange. in that story which has been related of her fate, and which might, indeed, furnish a theme for romance, she is said to have ever alluded to lord lovat as the remorseless contriver of that scheme which doomed her to sufferings far worse than death, and to years of imbecility and wanderings.[ ] the subtlety of lord lovat equalled his fierceness; it is not often that such qualities are combined in such fearful perfection. he could stoop to the smallest attentions to gain an influence or promote an alliance: a tradition is even believed of his going to the dancing-school with two young ladies, and buying them _sweeties_, in order to conciliate the favour of their father, lord alva. his habitual cunning and management were manifested in his discipline of his clan. it was his chief aim to impress upon the minds of his vassals that his authority among them was absolute, and that no power on earth could absolve them from it; that they had no right to inquire into the merits or justifiableness of the action they were ordered to engage in; his will ought to be their law, his resentment a sufficient reason for taking his part in a quarrel, whether it were right or wrong. one can hardly conceive that it could be requisite for the frasers to give any fresh proof of their obedience and fealty; yet it seems to have required a continual effort on the part of lord lovat to establish his authority and to keep up his dignity among the frasers. the reason assigned for this is, that though they were his vassals, tenants, and dependants, yet they must be brought to acknowledge his sovereignty; otherwise, when on some emergency he might require their assistance, they might assume their natural right of independence, and refuse to rise. it was lord lovat's policy, therefore, to discourage all disposition in his clansmen to enter trade or to go to sea and seek their fortunes abroad, lest they should both shake off their dependence on him, and also, by emigrating, diminish the broad and pompous retinue with which he chose to appear on all occasions. it was therefore his endeavour to check industry, to oppose improvement, to preach up the heroism of his ancestors, who never stooped to the meannesses of commerce, but made themselves famous by martial deeds. "never," thus argued the chieftain, "had those brave men enervated their bodies and debased their minds by labours fit only for beasts or stupid drudges. should not the generous blood which flowed in their veins still animate the brave frasers to deeds of heroism?"[ ] notwithstanding all these exalted sentiments, the chief, who was set upon this pinnacle of power, hesitated not to retain a hired assassin for the purpose of executing any of his dark projects. donald gramoach, a notorious robber, was long in the employ of lovat, who lavished large sums upon him. at length, in the year , this man was apprehended, lodged in dingwall gaol; and being convicted of robbery, was sentenced to be hanged. lord lovat immediately despatched a body of his highlanders to rescue the prisoner; but the magistrates were aware of his intentions; the prison was doubly guarded, and the culprit met with his due punishment. lord lovat had long thrown off the mask of courtesy, and had laid aside the arts of fawning to which he had had recourse before his claims to the honours and estates had been fully acknowledged. his tenants now felt the iron rule of a merciless and necessitous master; for lord lovat's expenditure far exceeded his means and revenue. he raised his rents, and many of the farmers were forced to quit their farms; but his _vassals by tenure_ were even more ruinously oppressed by suits of law, compelling them to make out their titles to their estates; if they failed in so doing, he insisted on forfeiture or escheate; and, in some instances, these suits were so expensive that it was almost wiser to relinquish an estate, than to be plundered in long and anxious processes. at last, to prevent their utter ruin, the gentlemen who held lands under lord lovat determined upon resistance; after twenty-seven years of bondage they resolved to free themselves. they met together, and unanimously resolved to unite their arms, and to deliver themselves by their swords; to this extremity were reduced these brave and devoted adherents, who had blindly rushed into every crime and every danger at the command of their ungrateful chieftain. their resolution alarmed the tyrant; he ordered the suits against his vassals to be stopped, and excused, as well as he could, and with his usual odious courtesy, the severities into which he had been led. he was playing a desperate game; and the adherence of these unhappy dependants was soon to be put to the test. his oppression of his stewards and agents was consistent with the rest of his conduct. they could rarely induce him to settle his accounts; and if they ventured to ask for sums due to them, he threatened them with actions at law. he was all powerful, and they were forced to submit. his inferior servants were treated even still more oppressively. if they wished to leave his lordship's service, or asked for their wages, he alleged some crime against them, which he always found sufficient witnesses to prove. they were then sent off to the cave of beauly, a dismal retreat, about a mile from his castle, where they were confined until they were reduced to submission. that such enormities should have been tolerated in a land of liberty, seems almost incredible; but the slavery of the clans, the poverty and ignorance of the people, the vast power and influence of the chief, account, in some measure, for this degrading bondage on the one hand, this absolute monarchy on the other.[ ] this long-endured course of tyranny had not tended to humble the heart of him who indulged in such an immoderate exercise of power. the ambition of lord lovat, always of a low and personal nature, increased with years. he watched the state of public affairs, and built upon their threatening character a scheme by which he might, as he afterwards said, "be in a condition of humbling his neighbours." his allegiance was henceforth given to the jacobites, and his fidelity, if such a word could ever be used as applied to him, seems actually to have lasted two years,--that is from to , when a spanish invasion was undertaken in favour of the pretender. to that lord lovat promised to lend his aid, and wrote to lord seaforth, promising to join him. but the invasion was then defeated, and lovat continued to enjoy royal favour at home. on this occasion the letter which lord lovat had written to lord seaforth, was shown to chisholm of knoebsford before it was delivered, and an affidavit of its contents was sent up to court. upon lord lovat becoming acquainted with this, he immediately got himself introduced at court, possibly with a view to deceiving the public mind. lady seaforth having asked some favour from him, he refused to grant it, unless she would return that letter, which had been addressed to her son. with his usual cunning he had omitted to sign the letter, which he thought could not therefore be fixed upon him. upon receiving it back, lovat showed it to a friend, who remarked that there was enough in it to condemn thirty lords. he immediately threw it into the fire. during many years of iniquity, lord lovat had preserved, to all appearance, the good will of duncan forbes. that great lawyer had been lovat's legal advocate during the long and expensive suits for the establishment of his claims, and had generously refused all fees or remuneration for his exertions. the letters addressed by lovat to him breathe the utmost regard, and speak an intimacy which, as sir walter scott observes, "is less wonderful when we consider that duncan forbes could endure the society of the infamous charteris."[ ] lovat's expressions of regard were frequently written in french. "mon aimable general:" he writes to mr. john forbes, also, the president's elder brother.--"my dear culloden." "your affectionate friend, and most obedient and most humble servant." to the president, whom he always addressed with some allusion to his brief military service,--"my dear general." "your own lovat." in such professions as these are made to mr. john forbes. "my dearest provost (we must give you your title, since it is to last but short), my dear general's letter and yours are terrible; but i was long ere now prepared for all that could happen to me on your illustrious brother's account: i'll stand by him to the last; and if i fall, as i do not doubt but i will, i'll receive the blow without regret. but all i can tell you is this, that we are very like to see a troublesome world, and my generall and you will be yet useful; and i am ready to be with you to the last drop, for i am yours eternally, lovat." his frequent style to the president was thus,--"the most faithfull and affectionat of your slaves." it is indeed evident, in almost every letter, what real obligations lovat received from both culloden and his brother; and how strenuously they supported his claim against fraserdale.[ ] at the hospitable house of culloden he was a frequent guest,--"a house, or castle," says the author of "letters from the north," written previous to the year , "belonging to a gentleman whose hospitality knows no bounds. it is the custom of that house, at the first visit or introduction, to take up war freedom, by cracking his nut, as he terms it; that is, a cocoa-shell, which holds a pint, filled with champagne, or such other sort of wine as you shall chuse. you may guess, by the introduction, of the contents of the volume. few go away sober at any time; and for the greatest part of his guests, in the conclusion, they cannot go at all." "this he partly brings about artfully, by proposing, after the public healths (which always imply bumpers), such private ones as he knows will pique the interest or inclination of each particular person of the company, whose turn it is to take the lead, to begin it in a brimmer; and he himself being always cheerful, and sometimes saying good things, his guests soon lose their guard, and then--i need say no more."[ ] in this hospitable house, a strange contrast to the penuriousness and despotic management of castle downie, lord lovat was on the most intimate footing. his professions of friendship to the laird were unceasing. "i dare freely say," he observes in one of his characteristic letters, "that there is not a forbes alive wishes your personal health and prosperity more than i do, affectionate and sincerely; and i should be a very ungrateful man if it was otherways, for no man gave me more proofs of love and friendship at home and abroad than john forbes of colodin did. "as to carrying your lime to lovat, i shall do more in it than if it was for my own use. i shall give the most pressing orders to my officers to send in my tenants' horses; and to show them the zeal and desire that i have to serve you, i shall send my own labouring horses to carry it, with as much pleasure as if it was to build a house in castle downie." even his wife and his "bearns" are "colodin's faithful slaves--" "i'll never see a laird of culodin i love so much," he declares in another letter;--in which, also, he reminds mr. forbes of a promise that he "will do him the honour, since he cannot himself at this time be present, to hold up his forthcoming child to receive the holy water of baptisme, and make it a better christian than the father. i expect this mark of friendship from my dear john forbes of culodin."[ ] yet all these professions were wholly forgotten, when lord lovat, being fairly established in his honours, no longer deemed the friendship of the forbes family necessary to him. an occasion then occurred, in which mr. forbes's "grateful slave" showed the caprice inherent in his nature. forbes of culloden had long been the representative of inverness, chiefly through the interest of lord lovat; but when sir william grant came forward to oppose the return of forbes, to the dismay of that gentleman, lord lovat turned round, and, upon the plea of consanguinity, used his interest in favour of the new candidate. the disappointment resulting from this defeat is said to have preyed upon the spirits of the worthy laird of culloden, and to have caused his death.[ ] the decline of this alliance between the forbes family and lord lovat, was the prelude to greater changes. in order to repress the local disturbances in the highlands, government had adopted a remedy, well termed by sir walter scott, "of a doubtful and dangerous character." this was the raising of a number of independent companies among the highlanders, to be commanded by chieftains, and officered by their sons, by tackmen, or by _dnihne_ vassals. at the period when those great military roads were formed in the highlands between the year and , these companies were better calculated, it was supposed, to maintain the repose of a country with which they were well acquainted, than regular troops. but the experiment did not succeed. the highland companies, known by the famous name of the black watch, traversed the country, it is true, night and day, and tracked its inmost recesses; they knew the most dangerous characters; they were supposed to suppress all internal disorders. but they were highlanders. whilst they looked leniently upon robberies and outrages to which they had been familiarized from their youth, they revived in their countrymen the military spirit which the late act for disarming the clans had subdued. upon their removal from the highlands, and their exportation to flanders, the mischief became apparent; and no regular force being sent to the highlands in their stead, those chieftains who were favourable to the exiled family, found it easy to turn the restless temper and martial habits of their clansmen to their own purposes. lord lovat was one of those who thus acted. the ministry, irritated by his patronage of sir william grant's interests, in preference to those of forbes, at the election for inverness, suddenly deprived him of his pension in , and also of the command of the free company of highlanders. this was a rash proceeding, and contrary to the advice of president forbes. lord lovat, who had caused his clansmen to enter his regiment by rotation, and had thus, without suspicion, been training his clan to the use of arms, soon showed how dangerous a weapon had been placed in his hand, and at how critical a period he had been incensed to turn it against government. he had long been suspected. even in , information had been given of his buying up muskets, broadswords, and targets, in numbers. when challenged to defend himself from the imputation of jacobitism by a friend, he insisted upon the services he had done in as a reason why he should for ever be free from the imputation of disloyalty; and he continued to play the same subtle part, and to pretend indifference to all fresh enterprises, to his friends at culloden, as that which he had always affected. "everybody expects we shall have a war very soon," he writes to his friend john forbes in --"which i am not fond of; for being now growne old, i desire and wish to live in peace with all mankind, except some damned presbyterian ministers who dayly plague me."[ ] yet, even then he was engaged in a plot to restore the stuarts. in , when he was sheriff for the county, he received the celebrated roy stuart, who was imprisoned at inverness for high treason, when he broke out of gaol, and kept him six weeks in his house; sending by him an assurance to the pretender of his fidelity, and at the same time desiring roy stuart to procure him a commission as lieutenant-general, and a patent of dukedom. this was the secret spring of his whole proceeding. it is degrading to the rest of the jacobites, to give this double traitor an epithet ever applied to honourable, and fervent, and disinterested men. the sole business of lovat was personal aggrandizement; revenge was his amusement. henderson, in his "history of the rebellion," attributes to lord lovat the entire suggestion of the invasion of . it is true that the chevalier refused to accede to the proposal made by roy stuart of an invasion in , not considering, as he said, that the "time for his deliverance was as yet come." but, after consulting the pope, it was agreed that the present time might be well employed in "whetting the minds of the highlanders, and in sowing in them the seeds of loyalty that so frequently appeared." in consequence of this, lord lovat's request was granted; a letter was written to him from the court, then at albano, giving him full power to act in the name of james, and the title of duke of fraser and lieutenant-general of the highlands was conferred upon the man who seems to have had the art of infatuating all with whom he dealt.[ ] lord lovat immediately changed the whole style of his deportment. he quitted the comparative retirement of castle downie; went to edinburgh, where he set up a chariot, and lived there in a sumptuous manner, though with little of those ceremonials which we generally associate with rank and opulence. he now sought and obtained a very general acquaintance. few men had more to tell; and he could converse about his former hardships, relate the account of his introduction to louis the fourteenth, and to the gracious maintenon. he returned to castle downie. that seat, conducted hitherto on the most penurious scale, suddenly became the scene of a plenteous hospitality; and its lord, once churlish and severe, became liberal and free. he entertained the clans after their hearts' desire, and he kept a purse of sixpences for the poor. as his castle was almost in the middle of the highlands, it was much frequented; and the crafty lovat now adapted his conversation to his own secret ends. he expatiated to the highlanders, always greedy of fame, and vain beyond all parallel of their country, upon the victories of montrose on the fields of killicrankie and cromdale. "such a sword and target," he would say to a listener, "your honest grandfather wore that day, and with it he forced his way through a hundred men. well did i know him; he was my great friend, and an honest man. few are like him now-a-days;--you resemble him pretty much." then he began to interpret prophecies and dreams, and to relate to his superstitious listeners the dreams their fathers had before the battle, in which they fought. he would trace genealogies as far back as the clansmen pleased, and show their connection with their chieftains. they were all his "cousins and friends;" for he knew every person that had lived in the country for years. then he spoke of the superiority of the broad-sword and target over the gun and the bayonet; he sneered at the weakness of an army, after so many years of peace, commanded by boys; he boasted of the valour of the scots in sweden and france; he even unriddled the prophecies of bede and of merlin. by these methods he prepared the minds of those over whom he ruled for the rebellion; but in the event, as it has been truly said, "the thread of his policy was spun so fine that at last it failed in the maker's hand."[ ] the shrewdness of lovat's judgment might indeed be called in question, when he decided to risk the undisturbed possession of his highland property for a dukedom and prospect. but there were many persons of rank and influence who believed, with prince charles edward, that "the hanoverian yoke was severely felt in england, and that now was the time to shake it off." "the intruders of the family of hanover," observes a strenuous jacobite,[ ] "conscious of the lameness of their title and the precariousness of their tenure, seem to have had nothing in view but increasing their power, and gratifying their insatiable avarice: by the former, they proposed to get above the caprice of the people; and by the latter, they made sure of something, happen what would." "abundance of the tories," he further remarks, "had still a warm side for the family of stuart; and as for the old stanch whigs, their attachment and aversion to families had no other spring but their love of liberty, which they saw expiring with the family of hanover: they had still this, and but this chance to recover it. in fine, there was little opposition to be dreaded from any quarter but from the army,--gentlemen of that profession being accustomed to follow their leaders, and obey orders without asking any questions. but there were malcontents among them, too; such as were men of property, whose estates exceeded the value of their commissions, did by no means approve of the present measures."[ ] upon the whole the conjuncture seemed favourable, and lord lovat, whose political views were very limited, was the first to sign the association despatched in , according to some accounts, by others in , and signed and sealed by many persons of note in scotland, inviting the chevalier to come over to that country. his belief was, that france had at all times the power to bring in james stuart if she had the will; that, indeed, was the general expectation of the jacobites. "most of the powers in europe," writes mr. maxwell, "were engaged, either as principals or auxiliaries, in a war about the succession to the austrian dominions. france and england were hitherto only auxiliaries, but so deeply concerned, and so sanguine, that it was visible they would soon come to an open rupture with one another; and spain had been at war with england some years, nor was there the least prospect of an accommodation. from those circumstances it seemed highly probable that france and spain would concur in forwarding the prince's views." influenced by these considerations, lovat now became chiefly involved in all the schemes of the chevalier. in , when the invasion was actually resolved upon, lovat was fixed upon as a person of importance to conduct the insurrection in the highlands. nor did the failure of that project deter him from continued exertions. during the two succeeding years, and until after the battle of preston pans, he acted with such caution and dissimulation, that, had his party lost, he might still have made terms, as he thought, with the hanoverians. in the beginning of the year , prince charles despatched several commissions to be distributed among his friends in scotland, with certain letters delivered by sir hector maclean, begging his friends in the highlands to be in readiness to receive him, and desiring, "if possible, that all the castles and fortresses in scotland might be taken before his arrival."[ ] on the twenty-fifth of july,[ ] the gallant charles edward landed in a remote corner of the western highlands, with only seven adherents. lord lovat was informed of this event, but he continued to play the deep game which his perfidious mind suggested on all occasions. he sent one of his principal agents into lochaber to receive the young prince's commands, as regent of the three kingdoms, and to express his joy at his arrival. he sent also secretly for his son, who was then a student at the university of st. andrews, and compelled him to leave his pursuits there, appointing him colonel of his clan. arms, money, and provisions were collected; and the fiery cross was circulated throughout the country. such proceedings could not be concealed, and the lord advocate, craigie, wrote to lord lovat from edinburgh, in the month of august, calling upon him to prove his allegiance, referring to lovat's son as well able to assist him, and asking his counsels on the state of the highlands. the epistle alluded to a long cessation of any friendly correspondence between the lord advocate and lord lovat. it was answered by assurances of loyalty. "i am as ready this day (as far as i am able) to serve the king and government as i was in the year , &c. but my clan and i have been so neglected these many years past, that i have not twelve stand of arms in my country, though i thank god i could bring twelve hundred good men to the field for the king's service if i had arms and other accoutrements for them." he then entreats a supply of arms, names a thousand stand to be sent to inverness, and promises to engage himself in the king's service. he continues,--"therefore, my good lord, i earnestly entreat that as you wish that i would do good service to the government on this critical occasion, you may order immediately a thousand stand of arms to be delivered to me and my clan at inverness, and then your lordship shall see that i will exert myself for the king's service; and if we do not get these arms immediately, we will certainly be undone; for these madmen that are in arms with the pretended prince of wales, threaten every day to burn and destroy my country if we do not rise in arms and join them; so that my people cry hourly that they have no arms to defend themselves, nor no protection or support from the government. so i earnestly entreat your lordship may consider seriously on this, for it will be an essential and singular loss to the government if my clan and kindred be destroyed, who possess the centre of the highlands of scotland, and the countries most proper, by their situation, to serve the king and government." "as to my son, my lord, that you are so good as to mention, he is very young, and just done with his colleges at st. andrews, under the care of a relation of yours, mr. thomas craigie, professor of hebrew, who i truly think one of the prettiest, most complete gentlemen that i ever conversed with in any country: and i think i never saw a youth that pleased him more than my eldest son; he says he is a very good scholar, and has the best genius for learning of any he has seen, and it is by mr. thomas craigie's positive advice, which he will tell you when you see him, that i send my son immediately to utrecht to complete his education. but i have many a one of my family more fitted to command than he is at his tender age; and i do assure your lordship that they will behave well if they are supported as they ought from the government." this artful letter, wherein he talks of sending his son to utrecht, when he was, at that time, by threats and persuasion driving him into the field of civil war, is finished thus:-- "i hear that mad and unaccountable gentleman" (thus he designates the prince) "has set up a standard at a place called glenfinnin--monday last. this place is the inlet from moydart to lochaber; and i hear of none that joined him as yet, except the camerons and macdonells." but this masterpiece of art could not deceive the honest yet discerning mind of him to whom it was addressed. since the death of mr. forbes, the president had resided frequently at culloden, now his own property; his observing eye was turned upon the proceedings of his neighbour at castle downie, but still appearances were maintained between him and lovat. "this day," writes the president to a friend, "the lord lovat came to dine with me. he said he had heard with uneasiness the reports that were scattered abroad; but that he looked on the attempt as very desperate; that though he thought himself but indifferently used lately, in taking his company from him, yet his wishes still being, as well as his interest, led him to support the present royal family; that he had lain absolutely still and quiet, lest his stirring in any sort might have been misrepresented or misconstrued; and he said his business with me was, to be advised what was to be done on this occasion. i approved greatly of his disposition, and advised him, until the scene should open a little, to lay himself out to gain the most certain intelligence he could come at, which the situation of his clan will enable him to execute, and to prevent his kinsmen from being seduced by their mad neighbours, which he readily promised to do." consistent with these professions were the letters of lovat to the president. "i have but melancholy news to tell you, my dear lord, of my own country; for i have a strong report that mad foyers is either gone, or preparing to go, to the west; and i have the same report of poor kilbockie; but i don't believe it. however, if i be able to ride in my chariot the length of inverness, i am resolved to go to stratherrick next week, and endeavour to keep my people in order. i forgot to tell you that the man yesterday assured me that they were resolved to burn and destroy all the countries where the men would not join them, with fire and sword, which truly frights me much, and has made me think of the best expedient i could imagine to preserve my people. "as i know that the laird of lochiel has always a very affectionate friendship for me, as his relation, and a man that did him singular services, and as he is perfectly well acquainted with gortuleg, i endeavoured all i could to persuade tom to go there, and that he should endeavour in my name to persuade lochiel to protect my country; in which i think i could succeed; but i cannot persuade gortuleg to go; he is so nice with his points of honour that he thinks his going would bring upon him the character of a spy, and that he swears he would not have for the creation. i used all the arguments that i was capable of, and told him plainly that it was the greatest service he could do to me and to my country, as i knew he could bring me a full account of their situation, and that is the only effectual means that i can think of to keep the stratherrick men and the rest of my people at home. he told me at last he would take some days to consider of it until he comes out of stratherrick; but i am afraid that will be too late. i own i was not well pleased with him, and we parted in a cooler manner than we used to do."[ ] in all his letters he characterizes charles edward, to whom he had just pledged his allegiance, as the "pretended prince." his affectation of zeal in the cause of government, his pretence of an earnest endeavour to arrest the career of the very persons whom he was exciting to action, his exertions with my "cousin gortuleg," and his delight to find that "honest kilbockie," whom he had been vilifying, had not stirred, and would do nothing without his consent, might be amusing if they were not traits of such wanton irreclaimable falsehood in an aged man, soon to be called to an account, before a heavenly tribunal, for a long career of crime and injury to his neighbours. if any further instance of his duplicity can be read with patience, the following letter to lochiel, who, according to lovat, had a very affectionate friendship for him, affords a curious specimen of cunning.[ ] " . "dear lochiel, "i fear you have been over rash in going ere affairs were ripe. you are in a dangerous state. the elector's general, cope, is in your rear, hanging at your tail with three thousand men, such as have not been seen here since dundee's affair, and we have no force to meet him. if the macphersons will take the field i would bring out my lads to help the work; and 'twixt the two we might cause cope to keep his christmas here; but only cluny is earnest in the cause, and my lord advocate plays at cat and mouse with me; but times may change, i may bring him to saint johnstone's tippet. meantime look to yourselves, for ye may expect many a sour face and sharp weapons in the south. i'll aid when i can, but my prayers are all i can give at present. my service to the prince, but i wish he had not come here so empty-handed. siller would go far in the highlands. i send this by evan fraser, whom i have charged to give it to yourself; for were duncan to find it, it would be my head to an onion. farewell! "your faithful friend, "lovat." "for the laird of lochiel. "yese." but perhaps the most odious feature in this part of lovat's career was his treachery to duncan forbes, whose exertions had placed his unworthy client in possession of his property, and whose early ties of neighbourhood ought, at any rate, to have secured him from danger. a party of the stratherric frasers, kinsmen and clansmen of lovat's, attacked culloden house, as there was every reason to believe with the full concurrence of lovat. forbes, who was perfectly aware of the source whence the assault proceeded, appeared to treat it lightly, talked of it as an "idle attempt," never hinting that he guessed lovat's participation in the affair, and only lamenting that the ruffians had "robbed the gardener and the poor weaver, who was a common benefit to the country." lovat, as it has been sagaciously remarked, the guilty man, took it up much more knowingly. this tissue of artifice was carried on for some weeks; first by a vehement desire to have arms sent in order to repel the rebels, then by hints that the inclinations of his people, and the extensive popularity of the cause began to make it doubtful whether he could control their rash ardour. "your lordship may remember," he wrote to forbes, "that i had a vast deal of trouble to prevent my men rising at the beginning of this affair; but now the contagion is so general, by the late success of the highlanders, that they laugh at any man that would dissuade them from going; so that i really know not how to behave. i really wish i had been in any part of britain these twelve months past, both for my health and other considerations."[ ] the feebleness of his health was a point on which, for some reasons or other, he continually insisted. it is not often that one can hear an aged man complain, without responding by pity and sympathy. "i'm exceeding glad to know that your lordship is in great health and spirits: i am so unlucky that my condition is the reverse; for i have neither health nor spirits. i have entirely lost the use of my limbs, for i can neither walk nor mount a horseback without the help of three or four men, which makes my life both uneasy and melancholy. but i submit to the will of god." this account, indeed, rather confirms a tradition that lord lovat, after the separation from his wife, sank into a state of despondency, and lay two years in bed previous to the rebellion of . when the news of the prince's landing was brought to him, he cried out, "lassie, bring me my brogues.--i'll rise too."[ ] at length, this wary traitor took a decisive step. his dilatoriness had made many of the pretender's friends uneasy, and showed too plainly that he had been playing a double game. he was urged by some emissaries of charles edward "to throw off the mask," upon which he pulled off his hat and exclaimed "there it is!" he then, in the midst of his assembled vassals, drank "confusion to the white horse, and all the generation of them."[ ] he declared that he would "cut off" in a moment any of his tenants who refused to join the cause, and expressed his conviction that as sure as the sun shined his "master would prevail." this was in the latter part of the summer: on the twenty-first of september the battle of preston pans raised the hopes of the jacobites to the highest pitch, and alexander macleod was sent to the highland chieftains to stimulate their loyalty and to secure their rising. upon his visiting castle downie he found lovat greatly elated by the recent victory, which he declared was not to be paralleled. he now began to assemble his men, and to prepare in earnest for that part which he had long intended to adopt; "but," observes sir walter scott, "with that machiavelism inherent in his nature, he resolved that his own personal interest in the insurrection should be as little evident as possible, and determined that his son, whose safety he was bound, by the laws of god and man, to prefer to his own, should be his stalking-horse, and in case of need his scape-goat."[ ] lord president forbes, who had been addressing himself to the highland chieftains, exhorting the well-affected to bestir themselves, and entreating those who were devoted to the pretender not to involve themselves and their families in ruin, expostulated by letter with lord lovat upon the course which his son was now openly pursuing, pointing out how greatly it would reflect upon the father, whose co-operation or countenance he supposed to be impossible. the letters written on this subject by forbes are admirable, and show a deep interest not only in the security of his country, but also in the fate of the young man, who afterwards redeemed his involuntary errors by a career of the highest respectability. "you have now so far pulled off the mask," writes the president, "that we can see the mark you aimed at." "you sent away your son, and the best part of your clan," he adds, after a remonstrance full of good sense and candour, "to join the pretender, with as little concern as if no danger had attended such a step. and i am sorry to tell you, my lord, that i could sooner undertake to plead the cause of any one of those unhappy gentlemen who are actually in arms against his majesty; and i could say more in defence of their conduct, than i could in defence of your lordship's."[ ] can any instance of moral degradation be adduced more complete than this? the implication of a son by a father, who had used his absolute authority to drive his son into an active part in the affairs of the day? "i received the honour of your lordship's letter," writes lovat, in reply, "late last night, of yesterday's date; and i own that i never received any one like it since i was born; and i give your lordship the thousand thanks for the kind freedom you use with me in it; for i see by it that for my misfortune of having ane obstinate stubborn son, and ane ungrateful kindred, my family must go to destruction, and i must lose my life in my old age. such usage looks rather like a turkish or persian government than like a british. am i, my lord, the first father that had ane undutiful and unnatural son? or am i the first man that has made a good estate, and saw it destroyed in his own time? but i never heard till now, that the foolishness of a son, would take away the liberty and life of a father, that lived peaceably, that was ane honest man, and well inclined to the rest of mankind. but i find the longer a man lives, the more wonders, and extraordinary things he sees. "now, my lord, as to the civil war that occasions my misfortune; and in which, almost the whole kingdom is involved on one side or other. i humbly think that men should be moderate on both sides, since it is morally impossible to know the event. for thousands, nay, ten thousands on both sides are positive that their own party will carry; and suppose that this highland army should be utterly defeat, and that the government should carry all in triumph, no man can think that any king upon the throne would destroy so many ancient families that are engaged in it." upon the news of the pretender's troops marching to england, the frasers, headed by the master of lovat, formed a sort of blockade round fort augustus; upon which the earl of loudon, with a large body of the well-affected clans, marched, in a very severe frost during the month of december, to the relief of fort augustus. his route lay through stratherric, lord lovat's estate, on the south side of loch ness. fort augustus surrendered without opposition; and the next visit which lord loudon paid was to castle downie, where he prevailed on lord lovat to go with him to inverness, and to remain there under loudon's eye, until his clan should have been compelled to bring in their arms. lord lovat was now very submissive; he promised that this should be done in three days, and highly condemned the conduct of his son. but he still delayed to surrender the arms; and, at last, found means, in spite of his lameness which he was always lamenting, to get out of the house where he was lodged by a back passage, and to make his escape to the isle of muily, in glenstrathfarrer. here he occupied himself in exciting all the clans, especially his own frasers, to join in the insurrection. a scheme having been submitted to the duke of cumberland, for the prevention of all future disturbances by transporting all those who had been found in arms to america, lord lovat had this document translated into gaelic, and circulated in the highlands, in order to exasperate the natives against the duke, and to show that that general intended to extirpate them root and branch. unhappily, the event did not serve to dispel those suspicions. this manifesto, as it was called, was read publicly in the churches every sunday. the march of the rebels to inverness drove lord loudon to retire into sutherland early in , and president forbes had accompanied him in his retreat. it was, therefore, again practicable for lord lovat to return to his own territory; and we find him, before the battle of culloden, alternately at castle downie, or among some of his adherents, chiefly at the house of fraser of gortuleg, from which the following letter which exemplifies much of the character of lovat, appears to have been written. "march , . "my dearest child, "gortulegg came home last night, with inocralachy's brother; and the two sandy fairfield's son, and mine: and i am glad to know, that you are in perfect health, which you may be sure i wish the continuance of. i am sure for all sandy's reluctance to come to this country, he will be better pleased with it than any where else; for he has his commerade, gortuleg's son, to travell up and down with him; i shall not desire him to stay ane hour in the house but when he pleases. "my cousin, mr. william fraser, tells me that the prince sent notice to sir alexander bennerman, by sir john m'donell, that he would go some of these days, and view my country of the aird, and fish salmon upon my river of beauly, i do not much covet that great honour at this time as my house is quite out of order, and that i am not at home myself nor you: however, if the prince takes the fancy to go, you must offer to go along with him, and offer him a glass of wine and any cold meat you can get there. i shall send sanday doan over immediately, if you think that the prince is to go: so i have ordered the glyd post to be here precisely this night. "mr. william fraser says, that sir alexander bennerman will not give his answer to sir john m'donell, till he return about the prince's going to beaufort; and that cannot be before saturday morning. so i beg, my dearest child, you may consider seriously of this, not to let us be affronted; for after sir alexander and other gentlemen were entertained at your house, if the prince should go and meet with no reception, it will be ane affront, and a stain upon you and me while we breathe. so, my dearest child, don't neglect this; for it is truely of greater consequence to our honour than you can imagine, tho' in itself it's but a maggot: but, i fancy, since cumberland is comeing so near, that these fancy's will be out of head. however, i beg you may not neglect to acquaint me (if it was by ane express) when you are rightly informed that the prince is going. i have been extreamly bad these four days past with a fever and a cough; but i thank god i am better since yesterday affernoon. i shall be glad to see you here, if you think it proper for as short or as long a time as you please. all in this family offer you their compliments: and i ever am, more than i can express, my dearest child, your most affected and dutiful father, "----." "p.s.--the prince's reason for going to my house is, to see a salmon kill'd with the rod, which he never saw before; and if he proposes that fancy, he must not be disappointed. "i long to hear from you by the glyd post some time this night. i beg, my dear child, you may send me any news you have from the east, and from the north, and from the south."[ ] it was not until after the battle of culloden that charles edward and lord lovat first met. in that engagement, lovat's infirmities, as well as his precautions, had prevented his taking an active part; but his son, the master of lovat, whose energy in the cause which he had unwillingly espoused, met the praise of prince charles, led his clan up to the encounter, and was one of the few who effected a junction with the prince on the morning of the battle. fresh auxiliaries from the clan fraser were hastening in at the very moment of that ill-judged action; and they behaved with their accustomed bravery, and were permitted to march off unattacked, with their pipes playing, and their colours flying. the great body of the clan fraser were led by charles fraser, junior, of inverlaltochy, as lieutenant-colonel in the absence of the master of lovat, who was coming up with three hundred men, but met the highlanders flying. the brave inverlaltochy was killed; and the fugitives were sorely harassed by kingston's light horse. the battle of culloden occurring shortly afterwards, decided the question of lord lovat's political bias. very different accounts have been transmitted of the feelings and conduct of prince charles after the fury of the contest had been decided. by some it has been stated, that he lost on that sad occasion those claims to a character for valour which even his enemies had not hitherto refused him; but mr. maxwell has justified the unfortunate and inexperienced young man. "the prince," he says, "seeing his army entirely routed, and all his endeavours to rally the men fruitless, was at last prevailed upon to retire. most of his horse assembled around his person to secure his retreat, which was made without any danger, for the enemy advanced very leisurely over the ground. they were too happy to have got so cheap a victory over a prince and an enemy that they had so much reason to dread. they made no attack where there was any body of the prince's men together, but contented themselves with sabering such unfortunate people as fell in his way single and disarmed."[ ] "if he did less at culloden than was expected from him," adds this partial, but honest follower, "'twas only because he had formerly done more than could be expected." he justly blames the prince's having come over without any officer of experience to guide him. "he was too young himself, and had too little experience to perform all the functions of a general; and though there are examples of princes that seem to have been born generals, they had the advice and assistance of old experienced officers, men that understood, in detail, all that belongs to any army."[ ] lord elcho, in his manuscript, thus accounts for the censures which were cast upon the prince by those who shared his misfortunes. "what displeased the people of fashion (consequence) was, that he did not seem to have the least sense of what they had done for him; but, after all, would afterwards say they had done nothing but their duty, as his father's subjects were bound to do. "and there were people about him that took advantage to represent the scotch to him as a mutinous people, and that it was not so much for him they were fighting as for themselves; and repeated to him all their bad behaviour to charles the first and charles the second, and put it to him in the worst light, that at the battle of culloden he thought that all the scots in general were a parcel of traitors. and he would have continued in the same mind had he got out of the country immediately; but the care they took of his person when he was hiding made him change his mind, and affix treason only to particulars."[ ] after the battle was decided, and the plain of culloden abandoned to the fury of an enemy more merciless and insatiable than any who ever before or after answered to an english name, the prince retired across a moor in the direction of fort augustus, and, according to maxwell, slept that night at the house of fraser of gortuleg; and there for the first time saw lord lovat. but this interview is declared by arbuthnot, who appears to have gathered his facts chiefly from local information, in the castle of downie; and the testimony of sir walter scott confirms the assertion. "a lady," writes sir walter, "who, then a girl, was residing in lord lovat's family, described to us the unexpected appearance of prince charles and his flying attendants at castle downie. the wild and desolate vale on which she was gazing with indolent composure, was at once so suddenly filled with horsemen riding furiously towards the castle, that, impressed with the idea that they were fairies, who, according to men, are visible only from one twinkle of the eyelid to another, she strove to refrain from the vibration which she believed would occasion the strange and magnificent apparition to become invisible. to lord lovat it brought a certainty more dreadful than the presence of fairies or even demons. the tower on which he had depended had fallen to crush him, and he only met the chevalier to exchange mutual condolences."[ ] the prince, it is affirmed, rushed into the chamber where lovat, supported by men, for he could not stand without assistance, awaited his approach. the unhappy fugitive broke into lamentations. "my lord," he exclaimed, "we are undone; my army is routed: what will become of poor scotland?" unable to utter any more, he sank fainting on a bed near him. lord lovat immediately summoned assistance, and by proper remedies the prince was restored to a consciousness of his misfortunes, and to the recollection that castle downie, a spot upon which the vengeance of the government was sure to fall, could be no safe abiding place for him or for his followers.[ ] such was the commencement of those wanderings, to the interest and romance of which no fiction can add. after this conference was ended, prince charles went to invergarie; lord lovat prepared for flight. his first place of retreat was to a mountain, whence he could behold the field of battle; he collected his officers and men around him, and they gazed with mournful interest upon the plain of culloden. heaps of wounded men were lying in their blood; others were still pursued by the soldiers of an army whose orders were, from their royal general, _to give no quarter_; fire and sword were everywhere; vengeance and fury raged on the moor watered by the river nairn. here, too, the unhappy frasers and their chief might view culloden house, a large fabric of stone, graced with a noble avenue of great length leading to the house, and surrounded by a park covered with heather. here charles edward had slept the night before the battle. the remembrance of many social hours, of the hospitality of that old hall, might recur at this moment to the mind of lovat. but whatever might be his reflections, his fortitude remained unbroken. he turned to the sorrowful clan around them, and addressed them. he recurred to his former predictions: "i have foretold," he said, still attempting to keep up his old influence over the minds of his clans, "that our enemies would destroy us with the fire and sword; they have begun with me, nor will they cease until they have ravaged all the country." he still, however, exhorted his captains to keep together their men, and to maintain a mountain war, so that at least they might obtain better terms of peace. having thus counselled them, he was carried upon the shoulders of his followers to the still farther mountains, from one of which he is said, by a singular stroke of retributive justice, to have beheld castle downie, the scene of his crime, to maintain the splendour of which he had sacrificed every principle, and compassed every crime, burned by the infuriated enemy. nine hundred men, under brigadier mordaunt, were detached for this purpose. in one of the highland fastnesses lovat remained some time; but the blood-thirsty cumberland was eager in pursuit. parties of soldiers were sent out in search of lovat, and he soon found that it was no longer safe to remain in the vicinity of beaufort. he fled, in the first instance, to cawdor castle. in this famous structure, with its iron-grated doors, its ancient tapestry hanging over secret passages and obscure approaches, he took refuge. in one of its towers, in a small low chamber beneath the roof, the wretched old man concealed himself for some months. when he was at last obliged to quit it, he descended by means of a rope from his chamber. he had still lost neither resolution nor energy. on the fourth of may, fifteen of the jacobite chieftains, lord lovat among the number, met in the island of mortlaig, to concert measures for raising a body of men to resist the victorious troops. on this occasion lord lovat declared that they need not be uneasy, since he had no doubt but that they should be able to collect eight or ten thousand men to fight the elector of hanover's troops. cameron of lochiel, murray of broughton, and several other leaders of distinction were present; lord lovat was attended by many of his own clan, who were armed with dirks, swords, and pistols, and marked by wearing sprays of yew in their bonnets. but the conference broke up without any important result. the leaders embraced each other, drank to prince charles's health, and separated. on this occasion lord lovat headed that party among the jacobites who still looked for aid from france, and abjured the notion of surrendering to the conqueror.[ ] still hunted, to use his own expression, "like a fox," through the main land, lovat now got off in a boat to the island of morar, where he thought himself secure from his enemies; but it was decreed that his iniquitous life should not close in peaceful obscurity. it was not long before he heard that a party of the king's troops had arrived in pursuit of him, and a detachment of the garrison of fort william, on board the terror and furnace sloops, was also despatched, to make descents on different parts of the island. lovat retreated into the woods; captain mellon, who commanded the detachment searched every town, village, and house; but not finding the fugitive, he resolved to traverse the woods, planting parties at the openings to intercept an escape. in the course of his researches he passed a very old tree, which, from some slits in its trunk, he and his men perceived to be hollow. one of the soldiers, peeping into the aperture, thought he saw a man's leg; upon which he summoned his captain, who, on investigating farther, found on one side a large opening, in which stood a pair of legs, the rest of the figure being hidden within the hollow of the tree. this was, however, quickly discovered to be lord lovat, for whom this party had then been three days in search. he was wrapped in blankets, to protect his aged limbs from the cold. thus discovered, lovat was forced to surrender, but his spirit rose with the occasion: he told captain mellon that "he had best take care of him; for if he did not, he should make him answer for his conduct before a set of gentlemen the very sight of whom would make him tremble." he was taken, in the first instance, to fort william, where he was treated with humanity, in obedience to the express orders of the duke of cumberland. from this prison lovat wrote a letter to the duke, reminding his royal highness of the services which he had performed in , and of the favour shown him by george the first. "i often carried your royal highness," pursues the unhappy old man, "in my arms, in the palaces of kensington and of hampton court, to hold you up to your royal grandfather, that he might embrace you, for he was very fond of you and the young princesses." he then represented to the duke that if mercy were shown him, and he "might have the honour to kiss the duke's hand, he might do more service to the king and government than destroying a hundred such old and very infirm men like me, (past seventy, without the least use of my hands, legs, or knees,) can be of advantage in any shape to the government." he was conveyed soon after this letter, which is dated june the twenty-second, , to fort augustus. he had requested that a litter might be prepared for him, for he was not able either to stand, walk, or ride. on the fifteenth of july he was removed, under a strong guard, to stirling, where a party of lord mark ker's dragoons received him. after a few days rest he passed through edinburgh for the last time; thence to berwick, and on the twenty-fifth he began his last journey under the escort of sixty dragoons commanded by major gardner. his journey to london was divided into twenty stages, and he was to travel one stage a day. it was, indeed, of importance to the government that he should reach london alive, since many disclosures were expected from lovat. on reaching newcastle three days afterwards he appeared to be in a very feeble state, and walked from his coach to his lodgings supported by two of the dragoons. as he travelled along in a sort of cage, or horse-litter, the acclamations and hisses of the populace everywhere assailed him; but his spirits were unbroken, and he talked confidently of his return. but as he drew near london this security diminished. he happened to reach london a few days before the unhappy jacobite noblemen were beheaded on tower hill. on his way to the tower he passed the scaffold which was erected for their execution. "ah!" he exclaimed, "i suppose it will not be long before i shall make my exit there." he was received in the tower by the lieutenant-governor, who conducted him to the apartment prepared for his reception. here, reclining in an elbow chair, he is said to have broken out into reflections upon his eventful and singular career. he uttered many moral sentiments, and expressed himself, as many other men have done on similar occasions, perfectly satisfied with his own intentions. such was the self-deception of this extraordinary man.[ ] in this prison lovat remained during five months without being brought to trial. but the delay was of infinite importance; it prepared him to quit, with what may be almost termed heroism, a life which he had employed in iniquity. without remembering this interval, during which ample time for preparation had been afforded, the hardihood which could sport with the most solemn of all subjects, would shock rather than astonish. in consideration of the conduct of many of our state prisoners on the scaffold, we must recollect how familiarized they had previously become with death, in those gloomy chambers whence they could see many a fellow sufferer issue, to shed his blood on the same scaffold which would soon be re-erected for themselves. during his imprisonment, lovat had the affliction of hearing that his estates, after being plundered of everything and destroyed by fire, were given by the duke of cumberland to james fraser of cullen castle.[ ] he was therefore left without a shilling of revenue during his confinement, and was thus treated as a convicted prisoner. in this situation he was reduced to the utmost distress, and indebted solely to the bounty of a kinsman, administered through governor williamson, for subsistence. at length, early in the year , upon preferring a petition to the house of lords, these grievances were in a great measure redressed. yet the unhappy prisoner had sustained many hardships. among others the legal plunder of his strong box, containing the sum of seven hundred pounds, and of many valuables.[ ] after much deliberation on the part of the crown lawyers, lord lovat was impeached of high treason. "we learn," says mr. anderson, "from lord mansfield's speech in the sutherland cause, that much deliberation was necessary. it was foreseen that his lordship would have recourse to art. if he was tried as a commoner he might claim to be a peer; if tried as a peer he might claim to be a commoner. everything was fully considered; the true solid ground upon which he was tried as a peer, was the presumption in favour of the heirs male."[ ] on monday, the ninth of march, the proceedings were commenced against lord lovat; and a renewal took place of that scene which horace walpole declared to be "most solemn and fine;--a coronation is a puppet-show, and all the splendour of it idle; but this sight at once feasted the eyes, and engaged all one's passions." lord lovat was now dragged forth to play the last scene of his eventful life. his size had by this time become enormous, so that when he had first entered the tower it was jestingly said that the doors must be enlarged to receive him. he could neither walk nor ride, as he was almost helpless; he was deaf, purblind, eighty years of age, ignorant of english law, and it was therefore not a matter of surprise that the high-born tribes, who thronged to his trial, were disappointed in the brilliancy of his parts, and in the readiness of his wit. "i see little of parts in him," observes walpole, "nor attribute much to that cunning for which he is so famous; it might catch wild highlanders." singular, indeed, must have been the contrast between lord lovat and the polished assembly around him: the lord high steward, hardwicke, comely, and endowed with a fine voice, but "curiously searching for occasions to bow to the minister, henry pelham," and asking at all hands what he was to do. the rude highland clansmen, vassals of lord lovat's, but witnesses against him; above all, the blot and scourge of the jacobite cause, murray of broughton, who was the chief witness against the prisoner, must have formed an assembly of differing characters not often to be seen, and never to be forgotten. the trial lasted five days; it affords, as has been well remarked, a history of the whole of the rebellion of . robert chevis of muirtown, a near neighbour of lovat's, but, as the counsel for the crown observed, a man of very different principles, gave testimony against the prisoner. at the end of the third day, lord lovat, pleading that he had been up at four o'clock in the morning, "to attend their lordships," and declaring that he would rather "die on the road than not pay them that respect," prayed a respite of a day, which was granted. it appeared, indeed, doubtful in what form death would seize him first, and whether disease and age might not cheat the scaffold of its victim. lord lovat spoke long in his defence, but without producing any revulsion in his favour. throughout the whole of the proceedings he appears not to have dreaded the rigour of the law; when the defence was closed, and the lord high steward was about to put the question, guilty or not guilty, to the house, the lieutenant of the tower was ordered by the lord steward to take the prisoner from the bar, but not back to the tower. "if your lordships," said lovat, "would send me to the highlands, i would not go to the tower any more." he was pronounced guilty by the unanimous votes of one hundred and seventeen lords present. he was then informed of his sentence, and remanded to his prison. on the following day, march the nineteenth, he was brought up to receive sentence. on that occasion, in reply to the question "why judgment of death should not be passed upon him," he made a long and, considering his fatigues and infirmities, an extraordinary speech, giving the lords "millions of thanks for being so good in their patience and attendance," and drawing a parallel between the two different men of the name of murray, who had figured in the trial. the one was murray of broughton; the other, murray afterwards lord mansfield. he then went into the history of his life; or, at least, into such passages of it as were proper for the public ear. he was interrupted by the lord high steward, whose conduct to the unhappy state prisoner is said to have been peevish and overbearing. judgment of death was then pronounced upon him, and the barbarous sentence which had been passed upon the earl of wintoun was pronounced; "to be hanged by the neck, but not till you are dead," &c. the prisoner then spoke again; hoping by this reiterated reference to his services, to obtain a mitigation of the sentence; but he spoke to those who heard, without compassion, the petitions for mercy which fell from an aged, tottering, and miserable old man. well has it been said, "whatever his character or his crimes might be, the humanity of the british government incurred a deep reproach, from the execution of an old man on the very verge of the grave."[ ] at last, the lord high steward put the final question; "would you offer anything further?" "nothing," was the reply, "but to thank your lordships for your goodness to me. god bless you all; i bid you an everlasting farewell. we shall not meet all again in the same place,--i am sure of that." lord lovat was reconducted to the tower--that prison on entering which he had boasted, that if he were not old and infirm they would have found it difficult to have kept him there. the people told him they had kept those who were much younger. "yes," he answered, "but they had not broken so many gaols as i have." he now met his approaching fate with a composure that it is difficult not to admire, even in lovat. and yet reflection may perhaps suggest that the insensibility to the fear of death--an emotion incident to conscientious minds--bespeaks, in one whose responsibilities had been so grossly abused, an insensibility springing from utter depravity. let us, however, give to the wretched man every possible allowance. he wrote, in terms of affection, a letter full of religious sentiments to his son, after his own condemnation. when the warrant came down for his execution, he exclaimed, "god's will be done!" with the courtesy that had charmed and had betrayed others all his life, he took the gentleman who brought the warrant by the hand, thanked him, drank his health, and assured him that he would not then change places with any prince in christendom. he appears, indeed, to have had no misgivings, or he affected to have none, as to his eternal prospects. when the lieutenant of the fortress in the tower asked him how he did? "do?" was his reply; "why i am about doing very well, for i am going to a place where hardly any majors, and very few lieutenant-generals go." some friends still remained warmly attached to this singular man. mr. william fraser, his cousin, advanced a large sum of money to general williamson, to provide for his wants; and, after acting as his solicitor, attended him to the last. but lord lovat felt deeply the circumstance of his having been convicted by his own servants: "it is shocking," he observed, "to human nature. i believe that they will carry about with them a sting that will accompany them to their grave; yet i wish them no evil." he prayed daily, and fervently; and expressed unbounded confidence in the divine mercy. "so, my dear child," he thus wrote to his son, "do not be in the least concerned for me; for i bless god i have strong reasons to hope that when it is god's will to call me out of this world, it will be by his mercy, and the suffering of my saviour, jesus christ, to enjoy everlasting happiness in the other world. i wish this may be yours." after he had penned this remarkable letter, he asked a gentleman who was in his room how he liked the letter? the reply was, "i like it very well; it is a very good letter." "i think," answered lord lovat, "it is a christian letter."[ ] in this last extremity of his singular fortunes, the wife, whom he had so cruelly treated, forgetful of every thing but her christian duty, wrote to him, and offered to repair immediately to london, and to go to him in the tower, if he desired it. but lord lovat returned an answer, in which, for the first time, he adopted the language of conjugal kindness to lady lovat, and refused the generous proposal, worthy of the disinterestedness of woman's nature. he declared that he could not take advantage of it, after all that had occurred.[ ] meantime, an application was made in favour of lovat by a mr. painter, of st. john's college, oxford, in the form of three letters, one of which was addressed to the king, another to lord chesterfield, a third to henry pelham. the courage of the intercession can scarcely be appreciated in the present day; in that melancholy period, the slightest word uttered in behalf of the insurgents, brought on the interceder the imputation of secret jacobitism, a suspicion which even president forbes incurred. the petitions for mercy were worded fearlessly; "in a word," thus concludes that which was addressed to the king, "bid lovat live; punish the vile traytor with life; but let me die; let me bow down my head to the block, and receive without fear the friendly blow, which, i verily believe, will only separate the soul from its body and miseries together."[ ] in his letter to lord chesterfield the oxonian repeats his offer of undergoing the punishment instead of the decrepid old man: "this i will be bold to say," he adds: "i will not disgrace your patronage by want of intrepidity in the hour of death, and that all the devils in milton, with all the ghastly ghosts of scotsmen that fell at culloden, if they could be conjured there, should never move me to say, coming upon the scaffold, 'sir, this is terrible.'"[ ] to mr. pelham he declared, that "the post that he wanted was not of the same nature with other court preferments, for which there is generally a great number of competitors, but may be enjoyed without a rival." the observations which lord lovat made upon this well-meant but absurd proposal, show his natural shrewdness, or his disbelief in all that is good and generous. "this," he exclaimed, on being told of these remarkable letters, "is an extraordinary man indeed. i should like to know what countryman he is, and whether the thing is fact. perhaps it may be only some _finesse_ in politics, to cast an odium on some particular person. in short, sir, i'm afraid the poor gentleman is weary of living in this wicked world; in that case, the obligation is altered, because a part of the benefit is intended for himself." in his last days, lovat avowed himself a roman catholic; but his known duplicity caused even this profession of faith to be distrusted. it is probable that like many men who have seen much of the world, and have mingled with those of different persuasions, lord lovat attached but little importance to different modes of faith. he was as unscrupulous in his religious professions as in all other respects. early in his career, he thought it expedient to obtain the favour of the pope's nuncio at paris by conforming to the romish faith. he declared to the duke of argyle and to lord leven that he could not get the court of st. germains to listen to his projects until he had declared himself a papist. one can scarcely term this venal conversion[ ] an adoption of the principles of any church. the outward symbols of his pretended persuasion had, however, become dear to him, from habit: he carried about his person a silver crucifix, which he often kissed. "observe," he said, "this crucifix! did you ever see a better? how strongly the passions are marked, how fine the expression is! we keep pictures of our best friends, of our parents, and others, but why should we not keep a picture of him who has done more than all the world for us?" when asked, "of what particular sort of catholic are you? a jesuit?" he answered to the nobleman who inquired, (and whose name was not known,) "no, no, my lord, i am a jansenist;" he then avowed his intimacy with that body of men, and assured the nobleman, that in _his_ sense of being a roman catholic, he "was as far from being one as his lordship, or as any other nobleman in the house." "this is my faith," he observed on another occasion, after affirming that he had studied controversy for three years, and then turned roman catholic; "but i have charity for all mankind, and i believe every honest man bids fair for heaven, let his persuasion be what it may; for the mercies of the almighty are great, and his ways past finding out." the allusion to his funeral had something touching, coming from the old highland chieftain. almost the solitary good trait in lovat's character was the fondness for his highland home--a pride in his clan--a yearning to the last for the mountains, the straths, the burns, now ravaged by the despoiler, and red with the blood of the frasers. "bury me," he said, "in my own tomb in the church of kirk hill; in former days, i had made a codicil to my will, that all the pipers from john o'groat's house to edinburgh should be invited to play at my funeral: that may not be now--but still i am sure there will be some good old highland women to sing a coronach at my funeral; and there will be a crying and clapping of hands--for i am one of the greatest of the highland chieftains." the circumstance which gave him the most uneasiness was the bill then depending for destroying the ancient privileges and jurisdiction of the highland chiefs. "for my part," he exclaimed, when referring to the measure, "i die a martyr to my country." he became much attached to one of his warders, and the usual influence which he seems to have possessed over every being with whom he came into collision, attracted the regards of this man to him. "go with me to the scaffold," said lovat--"and leave me not till you see this head cut off the body. tell my son, the master of lovat, with what tenderness i have parted from you." "do you think," he exclaimed, on the man's expressing some sympathy with his approaching fate, "i am afraid of an axe? 'tis a debt we all owe, and what we must all pay; and do you not think it better to go off so, than to linger with a fever, gout, or consumption? though my constitution is so good, i might have lived twenty years longer had i not been brought hither." during the week which elapsed between the warrant for his being brought down to the tower, and his death, although, says a gentleman who attended him to the scaffold, "he had a great share of memory and understanding, and an awful idea of religion and a future state, i never could observe, in his gesture or speech, the least symptom of fear, or indeed any symptoms of uneasiness."[ ] "i die," was his own expression, "as a christian, and a highland chieftain should do,--that is, not in my bed." throughout the whole of that solemn interval, the certainty of his fate never dulled the remarkable vivacity of his conversation, nor the gay courtesy of his manners. no man ever died less consistently with his life. "it is impossible,"--such is the admission of a writer who detests his crimes,--"not to admire the fearlessness even of this monster in his last moments. but, in another view, it is somewhat difficult to resist a laugh of scorn at his impudent project of atoning for all the vices of a long and odious career, by going off with a fine sentiment on his lips."[ ] on thursday, the ninth of april, and the day appointed for his death, lord lovat awoke about three in the morning, and then called for a glass of wine and water, as was his custom. he took the greatest pains that every outward arrangement should bear the marks of composure and decency,--a care which may certainly incline one to fancy, that the heroism of his last moments may have had effect, in part, for its aim, and that, as talleyrand said of mirabeau, "he dramatized his death." but, it must be remembered, that in those days, it was the custom and the aim of the state prisoners to go to the scaffold gallantly; and thus virtuous men and true penitents walked to their doom attired with the precision of coxcombs. lord lovat, who had smoked his pipe merrily during his imprisonment with those about him, and had heard the last apprisal of his fate without emotion, was angry, when within a few hours of death and judgment, that his wig was not so much powdered as usual. "if he had had a suit of velvet embroidered, he would wear it," he said, "on that occasion." he then conversed with his barber, whose father was a muggletonian, about the nature of the soul, adding with a smile, "i hope to be in heaven at one o'clock, or i should not be so merry now." but, with all this loquacity, and display of what was, perhaps, in part, the insensibility of extreme age, the "behaviour that was said to have had neither dignity nor gravity"[ ] in it at the trial, had lost the buffoonish character which characterized it in the house of lords. at ten o'clock, a scaffold which had been erected near the block fell down, and several persons were killed, and many injured; but the proceedings of the day went on. no reprieve, no thoughts of mercy ever came to shake the fortitude of the old man. at eleven, the sheriffs of london sent to demand the prisoner's body: lord lovat retired for a few moments to pray; then, saying, "i am ready," he left his chamber, and descended the stairs, complaining as he went, "that they were very troublesome to him." he was carried to the outer gate in the governor's coach, and then delivered to the sheriffs, and was by them conveyed to a house, lined with black, near to the scaffold. he was promised that his head should not be exposed on the four corners of the scaffold, that practice, in similar cases, having been abandoned: and that his clothes might be delivered with his corpse to his friends, as a compensation for which, to the executioner, he presented ten guineas contained in a purse of rich texture. he then thanked the sheriff, and saluted his friends, saying, "my blood, i hope, will be the last shed upon this occasion." he then walked towards the scaffold. it was a memorable and a mournful sight to behold the aged prisoner ascending those steps, supported by others, thus to close a life which must, at any rate, soon have been extinguished in a natural decay. as he looked round and saw the multitudes assembled to witness this disgraceful execution, "god save us!" he exclaimed; "why should there be such a bustle about taking off an old grey head, that cannot get up three steps without two men to support it?" seeing one of his friends deeply dejected, "cheer up," he said, clapping him on the shoulder; "i am not afraid, why should you be?" he then gave the executioner his last gift, begging him not to hack and cut about his shoulders, under pain of his rising to reproach him. he felt the edge of the axe, and said "he believed it would do;" then his eyes rested for some moments on the inscription on his coffin. "simon dominus fraser de lovat, decollat. april , . Ætat ." he repeated the line from horace:-- "dulce et decorum est pro patriâ mori." then quoted ovid:--"nam genus et proavos, et quæ non fecimus ipsi, vix ea nostra voco." he took leave of his solicitor, mr. william fraser, and presented him with his gold cane, as a mark of his confidence and token of remembrance. then he embraced another relative, mr. james fraser. "james," said the old chieftain, "i am going to heaven, but you must continue to crawl a little longer in this evil world." he made no address to the assembled crowds, but left a paper, which he delivered to the sheriffs, containing his last protestations. after his sentence, lovat had accustomed his crippled limbs to kneel, that he might be able to assume that posture at the block. he now kneeled down, and after a short prayer gave the preconcerted signal that he was ready; this was the throwing of a handkerchief upon the floor. the executioner severed his head from his body at one blow. a piece of scarlet cloth received his head, which was placed in the coffin with his body and conveyed to the tower, where it remained until four o'clock. it was then given to an undertaker. in the paper delivered to the sheriff there were these words, which would have partly been deemed excellent had they proceeded from any other man:--"as it may reasonably be expected of me that i should say something of myself in this place, i declare i die a true but unworthy member of the holy, catholic, apostolic church. as to my death, i cannot look upon it but as glorious. i sincerely pardon all my enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, from the highest to the lowest, whom god forgive as i heartily do. i die in perfect charity with all mankind. i sincerely repent of all my sins, and firmly hope to obtain pardon and forgiveness for them through the merits and passion of my blessed lord and redeemer, jesus christ, into whose hands i recommend my soul. amen. lovat." "in the tower, april , ." * * * * * the public might well contrast the relentless hand of justice, in this instance, with the mercy of queen anne. she, like her brother the chevalier, averse from shedding blood, had spared the life of an old man, who had been condemned in her reign for treason. many other precedents of a similar kind have been adduced.[ ] but this act of inhumanity was only part of a system of what was called justice; but which was the justice of the heathen, and not of the christian. if the character of lord lovat cannot be deduced from his actions, it must be impossible to understand the motives of man from any course of life; for never was a career more strongly marked by the manifestation of the passions, than that of this unworthy descendant of a great line. his selfishness was unbounded, his rapacity insatiable; his brutality seems incredible. in the foregoing narrative, the mildest view has been adopted of his remorseless cruelty: of his gross and revolting indulgences, of his daily demeanour, which is said to have outraged everything that is seemly, everything that is holy, in private life, little has been written. much that was alleged to lovat, in this particular, has been contradicted: much may be ascribed to the universal hatred of his name, which tinted, perhaps too highly, his vices, in his own day. something may be ascribed to party prejudice, which gladly seized upon every occasion of reproach to an adversary. yet still, there is too much that is probable, too much that is too true, to permit a hope that the private and moral character of lord lovat can be vindicated from the deepest stains. by his public life, he has left an indelible stain upon the honour of the highland character, upon his party, upon his country. of principle he had none:--for prudence, he substituted a low description of time-serving: he never would have promoted the interests of the hanoverians in the reign of george the first, if the court of st. germains had tolerated his alliance: he never would have sided with charles edward, if the court of st. james's had not withdrawn its confidence. his pride and his revengeful spirit went hand in hand together. the former quality had nothing in it of that lofty character which raises it almost to a virtue, in the stern scottish character: it was the narrow-minded love of power which is generated in a narrow sphere. in the different relations of his guilty life, only one redeeming feature is apparent,--the reverence which lord lovat bore to his father. with that parent, seems to have been buried every gentle affection: he regarded his wives as slaves; he looked upon his sons with no other regard and solicitude, than as being heirs of his estates. as a chief and a master, his conduct has been variously represented; the prevailing belief is, that it was marked by oppression, violence, and treachery: yet, as no man in existence ever was so abandoned as not to have his advocates, even the truth of this popular belief has been questioned, on the ground that the influence which he exercised over them, in being able to urge them to engage in whatsoever side he pleased, argues some qualities which must have engaged their affections.[ ] he who pleads thus, must, however, have forgotten the hereditary sway of a highland chieftain, existing in unbroken force in those days: he must have forgotten the sentiment which was inculcated from the cradle, the loyalty of clanship,--a sentiment which led on the brave hearts in which it was cherished to far more remarkable exertions and proofs of fidelity than even the history of the frasers can supply. but the deepest dye of guilt appears in lord lovat's conduct as a father. it was not only that he was, in the infancy and boyhood of his eldest born, harsh and imperious: such was the custom of the period. it was not only that he impelled the young man into a course which his own reason disapproved, and which he undertook with reluctance and disgust throwing, on one occasion, his white cockade into the fire, and only complying with his father's orders upon force. this was unjustifiable compulsion in any father, but it might be excused on the plea of zeal for the cause. but it appeared on the trial that the putting forward the master of lovat was a mere feint to save himself at the expense of his son, if affairs went wrong. in lord lovat's letters to president forbes the poor young man was made to bear the brunt of the whole blame; although lord lovat had frequently complained of his son's backwardness to certain members of his clan. on the trial it appeared that the whole aim of lord lovat was, as sir john strange expressed it, "an endeavour to avoid being fixed himself and to throw it all upon his son,--that son whom he had, in a manner, forced into the rebellion." rare, indeed, is such a case;--with that, let these few remarks on the character of lord lovat, conclude. human nature can sink to no lower depth of degradation. lord lovat left, by his first wife, three children:--simon, master of lovat; janet, who was married to ewan macpherson of cluny,--a match which lord lovat projected in order to increase his influence, and to strengthen his highland connections. this daughter was grandmother to the present chief, and died in . he had also another daughter, sybilla. this daughter was one of those rare beings whose elevated minds seem to expand in despite of every evil influence around them. her mother died in giving her birth; and lord lovat, perhaps from remorse for the uncomplaining and ill-used wife, evinced much concern at the death of his first lady, and showed a degree of consideration for his daughters which could hardly have been expected from one so steeped in vice. although his private life at castle downie, after the death of their mother was disgusting in detail, and therefore, better consigned to oblivion, the gentle presence of his two daughters restrained the coarse witticisms of their father, and he seemed to regard them both with affection and respect, and to be proud of the decorum of their conduct and manners. disgusted with the profligacy which, as they grew up, they could not but observe at castle downie, the young ladies generally chose to reside at leatwell, with lady mackenzie, their only aunt; and lord lovat did not resent their leaving him, but rather applauded a delicacy of feeling which cast so deep a reproach upon him. he was to them a kind indulgent father. when janet, lady clunie, was confined of her first child, he brought her to castle downie that she might have the attendance of physicians more easily than in the remote country where the macphersons lived. he always expressed regret that her mother had not been sufficiently attended to when her last child was born. the fate of sybilla fraser presents her as another victim to the hardness and impiety of lovat. "she possessed," says mrs. grant, "a high degree of sensibility, which when strongly excited by the misfortunes of her family, exalted her habitual piety into all the fervour of enthusiasm." when lovat passed through badenoch, after his apprehension, sybilla, who was there with lady clunie, followed him to dalwhinney, and there, in an agony of mind which may be readily conceived, entreated her aged father to reconcile himself to his maker, and to withdraw his thoughts from the world. she was answered by taunts at her "womanish weakness," as lovat called it, and by coarse ridicule of his enemies, with a levity of mind shocking under such circumstances. the sequel cannot be better told than in these few simple words: "sybilla departed almost in despair; prayed night and day, not for his life, but for his soul; and when she heard soon after, that 'he had died and made no sign,' grief in a short time put an end to her life."[ ] the master of lovat was implicated, as we have shown, in the troubles of . early in that year, he had the misery of discovering the treachery of his father, by accidentally finding the rough draught of a letter which lord lovat had written to the president, in order to excuse himself at the expense of his son. "good god!" exclaimed the young man, "how can he use me so? i will go at once to the president, and put the saddle on the right horse." in spite of this provocation, he did not, however, reveal his father's treachery; whilst lord lovat was balancing between hopes and fears, and irresolute which side to choose, the master at last entreated, with tears in his eyes, that "he might no longer be made a tool of--but might have such orders as his father might stand by." having received these orders, and engaged in the insurrection, the master of lovat was zealous in discharging the duties in which he had thus unwillingly engaged. his clan were among the few who came up at culloden in time to effect a junction with prince charles. in an act of attainder was passed against him; he surrendered himself to government, and was confined nine months in edinburgh castle. in a full and free pardon passed the seals for him. he afterwards became an advocate, but eventually returned to a military life, and was permitted to enter the english army. in he raised a regiment of one thousand eight hundred men, of which he was constituted colonel, at the head of which he distinguished himself at louisbourg and quebec. he was afterwards appointed colonel of the st foot, and performed eminent services in the american war. the title of his father had been forfeited, and his lands attainted. but in the lands and estates were restored upon certain conditions, in consideration of colonel fraser's eminent services, and in consideration of his having been involved in "the late unnatural rebellion" at a tender age. colonel fraser rose to the rank of lieutenant-general, and died in without issue; he was generally respected and compassionated. he was succeeded in the estates by his half-brother, archibald campbell fraser, the only child whom lord lovat had by his second wife. this young man had mingled, when a boy, from childish curiosity among the jacobite troops at the battle of culloden, and had narrowly escaped from the dragoons. he afterwards entered into the portuguese service, where he remained some years; but, being greatly attached to his own country, he returned. he could not, however, conscientiously take the oaths to government, and therefore never had any other military employment. "with much truth, honour, and humanity," relates mrs. grant, "he inherited his father's wit and self-possession, with a vein of keen satire which he indulged in bitter expressions against the enemies of his family. some of these i have seen, and heard many songs of his composing, which showed no contemptible power of poetic genius, although rude and careless of polish." he sank into habits of dissipation and over-conviviality, which impaired a reputation otherwise high in his neighbourhood, and became careless and hopeless of himself. what little he had to bequeath was left to a lady of his own name to whom he was attached, and who remained unmarried long after his death. it is rather remarkable that archibald campbell fraser, generally, from his command of the invernessshire militia, called colonel fraser, should survive his five sons, and that the estates which lord lovat had sacrificed so much to secure to his own line should revert to another family of the clan fraser,--the frasers of stricken, the present proprietors of lovat and stricken, being in aberdeenshire the twenty-second in succession from simon fraser of invernessshire.[ ] footnotes: [ ] anderson's historical account of the family of frisel or fraser, p. . [ ] one of lord lovat's family--it is not easy to ascertain which--emigrated after the rebellion of into ireland, and settled in that country, where he possessed considerable landed property, which is still enjoyed by one of his descendants. there is an epitaph on the family vault of this branch of the frizells or frazers, in the churchyard of old ross, in the county of wexford, bearing this inscription:--"the burial place of charles frizell, son of charles fraser frizell of ross, and formerly of beaufort, north britain." for this information i am indebted to the rev. john frizell, of great normanton, derbyshire, and one of this irish branch of the family, of which his brother is the lineal representative. [ ] anderson's historical account of the family of fraser. [ ] memoirs of the life of lord lovat, written by himself in the french language, p. . [ ] memoirs of the life of lord lovat, p. . [ ] in speaking of the other members of the family, mr. anderson remarks:--"the parish registers of kiltarlity, kirkill, and kilmorack, were at the same time examined with the view of tracing the other children of thomas of beaufort, but the communications of the various clergymen led to the knowledge that no memorials of them exist. the remote branches called to the succession in general fraser's entail proves, to a certainty, that these children died unmarried."--_anderson's historical account of the family of fraser._ it appears, however, from a previous note, that a branch of the family still exists in ireland. [ ] see state trials. lovat. [ ] letter from fort augustus in gentleman's magazine for . [ ] introduction to culloden papers, p. . gentleman's magazine, vol. xvi. p. . [ ] see lord lovat's memoirs, p. . also anderson and woods. [ ] lord lovat's memoirs, p. . [ ] lord lovat's memoirs, p. . [ ] chambers's biography. [ ] anderson, p. . [ ] lord lovat's memoirs, p. . [ ] lord lovat's memoirs, p. . [ ] arnot on the state trials, p. . [ ] memoirs. [ ] stewart's sketches, p. . [ ] brown's highlands, vol. i. p. . [ ] memoirs, p. . [ ] id. p. [ ] memoirs, p. . [ ] arnot, p. . [ ] arnot, p. . anderson, p. . [ ] arnot, p. . [ ] anderson, p. . [ ] lord lovat's manifesto, p. . [ ] ibid. [ ] anderson, p. . [ ] life and adventures of lord lovat, by the rev. archibald arbuthnot, one of the society for propagating christian knowledge, and minister of killarlaty, presbytery of inverness. london, . [ ] life and adventures, p. . [ ] manifesto. [ ] arnot, p. . [ ] chambers's dictionary. [ ] manifesto, p. . [ ] arnot, p. . [ ] arnot, p. . [ ] life of lord lovat, p. . [ ] anderson, p. . [ ] manifesto, p. . [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] macpherson. stuart papers, vol. i. p. . [ ] manifesto. [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] anderson, p. . [ ] macpherson papers. [ ] see smollet, vol. ix. pp. and . [ ] lockhart memoirs, vol. i. p. . [ ] macpherson. stuart papers, vol. i. p. . [ ] manifesto, p. . [ ] two thousand five hundred pounds. [ ] manifesto, p. . [ ] see murray papers. advocate's library in edinburgh. [ ] lockhart memoirs, vol. i. p. . [ ] stuart papers. macpherson, vol. i. p. . [ ] stuart papers. macpherson, vol. i. p. . [ ] stuart papers. macpherson, vol. i. p. . [ ] ibid. p. . [ ] letter from james earl of perth, chancellor of scotland, &c.--edited by william jerdan, esq., and printed for the camden society, p. . [ ] arbuthnot, p, . [ ] somerville, p. . [ ] somerville, p. . also, lockhart's memoirs, p. ; macpherson, vol. i. p. . [ ] stuart papers, p. . [ ] id. p. . [ ] anderson. chambers. [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] of the two accounts of lord lovat's imprisonment, namely, mr. arbuthnot's and lord lovat's, the latter bears, strange to say, the greatest air of truth. mr. arbuthnot's, independent of his erring in the place of imprisonment, appears to me a pure romance. [ ] manifesto, p. . [ ] carstares. state papers, p. . [ ] manifesto, p. . [ ] anderson, p. . [ ] id. p. . [ ] free examination of the memoir of lord lovat, quoted in arbuthnot, p. . [ ] anderson, p. . [ ] from the macpherson papers, vol. ii. p. . [ ] culloden papers, p. . [ ] manifesto, p. . [ ] ibid. p. . [ ] smollet, p. xi. patten's history of the rebellion, p. . [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] edinburgh review, no. li. art. _culloden papers_, . this article is attributed to the honourable lord cockburn. [ ] see introduction to the culloden papers. [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] shaw's hist. of moray, p. . [ ] ibid. [ ] anderson, p. . [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] shaw, p. . [ ] such was the style in which lovat, to be complimentary, usually addressed duncan forbes, on account of the military capacity in which the future lord president had acted during the rebellion. [ ] culloden papers, p. . [ ] culloden papers, p. . [ ] sergeant macleod served in , when only thirteen years of age, in the scots royals, afterwards under marlborough, then at the battle of sherriff muir in . after a variety of campaigns he was wounded in the battle of quebec, in , and came home in the same ship that brought general wolf's body to england. macleod died in chelsea hospital at the age of one hundred and three. his memoirs are interesting. [ ] memoirs of the life of sergeant donald macleod, p. . london, . [ ] anderson. from king's monumenta antiqua. [ ] culloden papers. [ ] mrs. grant's ms. [ ] anderson, p. . from family archives. [ ] chambers's traditions of edinburgh. [ ] chambers's traditions of edinburgh, p. . [ ] culloden papers, "quarterly review," vol. xiv. this article is written by sir walter scott, and the anecdote is given on his personal knowledge. [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] lady grange's memoirs. [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] arbuthnot. [ ] quarterly review, vol. xiv. culloden papers. [ ] culloden papers, p. . [ ] burt's letters from the north, vol. xxi. [ ] culloden papers, p. . [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] culloden papers, p. . [ ] henderson's history of the rebellion, p. . [ ] henderson, p. . [ ] james maxwell, of kirkconnell; his narrative, of which i have a copy, has been printed for the maitland club, in edinburgh; it is remarkably clear, and ably and dispassionately written, and was composed immediately after the events of the year , of which mr. maxwell was an eye-witness. [ ] maxwell of kirkconnell's narrative of the prince's expedition, p. . [ ] see lord elcho's narrative. ms. [ ] some say the fifteenth. see henderson. [ ] culloden papers, pp. , . [ ] anderson, p. . [ ] culloden papers, p. . [ ] chambers's traditions of edinburgh, p. . [ ] explained in the trial, by chevis, one of the witnesses, to be in allusion to the royal arms. [ ] quarterly review, vol. xiv. p. . [ ] edinburgh review, , vol. xxvi. p. . [ ] state trials, vol. xviii. [ ] maxwell of kirkconnel, p. . [ ] id. [ ] lord elcho's mss. [ ] quarterly review, vol. xiv. p. . [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] state trials, vol. xviii. p. . [ ] arbuthnot, p. . [ ] chambers's biography. art. _fraser_. [ ] state trials. [ ] anderson, p. . [ ] laing's history of scotland, p. . [ ] state trials, vol. xviii. p. . [ ] chambers's traditions of edinburgh, p. . [ ] gentleman's magazine, vol. xvii. p. . these letters were afterwards collected and sold for a guinea. [ ] in allusion to the expression of agony and dismay used some time before by lord kilmarnock. [ ] somerville's reign of queen anne, p. , to edition; from lockhart and macpherson. [ ] state trials. [ ] edinburgh review, vol. xxvi. p . [ ] horace walpole. [ ] state trials, vol. xviii. p. . [ ] free examination of the life of lord lovat; london . [ ] mrs. grant's ms. [ ] anderson, p. . end of the second volume. * * * * * transcriber's note: the following errors in the original have been corrected. page - willian gordon changed to william gordon page - missing quotation mark added after to the action. page - missing quotation mark added after he was guilty page - lady winifrid herbert changed to lady winifred herbert page - missing quotation marked added after their preservation. page - they cold not changed to they could not page - missing quotation mark added after name of gordon. page - missing quotation mark added before soon after page - missing footnote marker for footnote between "pleas to avert" and "would be hopeless" page - a high a reputation changed to a high reputation page - missing footnote marker for footnote between "he soon became" and "never to interpose" page - themselves was relaxed changed to themselves were relaxed page - now affrighed changed to now affrighted page - missing quotation mark added after me and my god." page - missing quotation mark added after for high treason. page - referred to the changed to referred to by the page - missing quotation mark added before hereditary monarchies page - missing quotation mark added after high road. page - missing quotation mark added before gave security page - extra quotation mark removed from after without delay. page - thomas fraser of beufort changed to thomas fraser of beaufort page - extra quotation mark removed from after "beaufort, the th of oct., . page - missing quotation mark added after neighbouring clans. page - missing quotation mark added before as honorable as missing quotation mark added before certain death page - missing quotation mark added after means of subsistence. page - missing comma added after marquis de torcy page - missing apostrophe added to priests orders page - missing quotation mark added after cattle, corn, page - missing quotation mark added before this introduction tacksmen or demiwassal changed to tacksman or demiwassal page - 'oh, boy! changed to "oh, boy! page - under london's changed to under loudon's page - jacobites chieftains changed to jacobite chieftains page - missing single quotation mark added after this is terrible. page - missing quotation mark added before and leave me page - missing quotation mark added before he might no longer