CHAPTER XV: A Mission.
The next morning early Ronald proceeded to take an inventory of the armsand ammunition left behind by the troops when they had marched to joinSir John Cope at Stirling. Having done this he saw that they were allpacked up in readiness to be sent off the next day under the escort, whowere also to convey the money which the city was required to pay. For theprovost and council, knowing that it was useless to resist the order, andperhaps anxious in the present doubtful state of affairs to stand wellwith Prince Charles, had arranged that the money should be forthcoming ofthe following morning. After his work was over Ronald again spent theevening at Andrew Anderson's.
The next morning he returned to Edinburgh with the arms and escort. Itwas late when he arrived; but as he knew that Lord George Murray would beat work in his tent, he repaired there at once.
"We have brought back the money and arms, Lord George. I have handed overthe arms and ammunition at the magazine tent, and those in charge of themoney have gone into the town with a part of the escort to give it overto the treasurer."
"How many arms did you get?"
"Two hundred and twenty-three muskets and eighty pistols, fourteen kegsof gunpowder, and well nigh a ton of lead."
"That is more than I had expected. And now, Leslie, I have an importantmission for you. The prince this morning asked me whom I could recommend,as a sure and careful person likely to do the business well, to go downinto Lancashire to visit the leading Jacobites there, and urge them totake up arms. I said that I knew of none who would be more likely tosucceed than yourself. Your residence of two years in France has rubbedoff any Scotch dialect you may have had, and at any rate you could passfor a northern Englishman. In the next place, your youth would enable youto pass unsuspected where an older man might be questioned. The princeagreed at once, and took shame to himself that he had not before givenpromotion to one who was his companion on his voyage to Scotland, themore so as he had made Johnstone a captain. Your claims are far greaterthan his, and moreover you have served as an officer in the French army.But, in truth, the fault is in some degree your own, for you spend allyour time in carrying out your duties, and do not show yourself at any ofthe levees or festivities. And you know, with princes, as with otherpeople, out of sight is out of mind. However, the prince at once tooksteps to repair the omission, and has signed your commission as captain.Here it is. You will understand, of course, that it is for past services,and that you are perfectly free to decline this mission to the south ifyou would rather not undertake it. It is unquestionably a dangerous one."
"I will undertake it readily, sir," Ronald said, "and I thank yousincerely for bringing my name before the prince, and the prince himselffor his kindness in granting me his commission, which so far I have donebut little to win. I shall be able, I trust, to carry out this mission tohis satisfaction; and although I am ignorant of the country I shall havethe advantage of taking with me my brave follower, Malcolm Anderson, whofor years was in the habit of going with droves of cattle down intoLancashire, and will not only know the country but have acquaintancesthere, and being known as a drover would pass without suspicion of hisbeing engaged with politics."
"That will do well," Lord George said. "I will get the list of persons onwhom you should call prepared tomorrow. You had best go to Sir ThomasSheridan and Francis Strickland, who came over with you, and get them topresent you to Secretary Murray and recommend you to him. If he hearsthat your mission is of my recommendation he will do all he can to setthe prince against you. Everything that I do is wrong in his eyes, and Ido believe that he would ruin the cause in order to injure me, did he seeno other way to accomplish that end. Therefore, if he mentions my name,as he is like to do, knowing that you have been my aide de camp, be surethat you say nought in my favour, or it will ruin you with him. You will,of course, attend the prince's levee tomorrow, and had best makepreparation to start at nightfall."
The next day, accordingly, Ronald called upon Sir Thomas Sheridan andStrickland, and telling them that the prince had determined to send himon a mission into Lancashire, asked them to present him to SecretaryMurray, from whom he would receive orders for his guidance andinstruction as to the persons whom he was to visit. The two gentlemenproceeded with him to the house in which Secretary Murray had taken uphis abode, and introduced him, with much warmth, as a fellow passenger onboard the Doutelle.
"You have been serving since as Lord Murray's aide de camp?"
"Yes, sir, the prince recommended me to him at Perth, and I have sincehad the honour to carry his orders."
"Captain Leslie, for so the prince has granted him a commission," SirThomas said, "has served two years in the French army, and was present atDettingen and Fontenoy. He mentioned to me on the voyage that he had thehonour of being presented by Marshal Saxe to the King of France, and thathe received his commission from the marshal, to whom he had acted as aidede camp at Fontenoy."
"You have begun well, indeed, young sir," Murray said, "to have receivedat your age, for I judge that you are not yet twenty, commissions in theFrench army and ours."
Ronald bowed.
"He has another claim upon all you Scottish gentlemen," Sir Thomas said,"for Colonel Macdonald told us, when he introduced him to us at Nantes,that it was through his interference and aid alone that he escaped safelyfrom Glasgow, and that all his papers, with the names of the king'sfriends in Scotland, did not fall into George's hands. He was takenprisoner for his share in that affair, but escaped from the ship in theThames, and succeeded in crossing to France. So you see, young as he is,he has rendered good service to the cause."
The expression of the secretary's face, which had before been cold anddistant, changed at once. He had been aware that Ronald had been chosenfor this business on the recommendation of Lord George Murray, and hisjealousy of that nobleman had at once set him against Ronald, of whoseantecedents he was entirely ignorant; but what he now heard entirelyaltered the case, and disposed him most favourably towards him,especially as his own name would have been one of the most prominent inthe list, he having been in constant communication with Colonel Macdonaldduring the stay of the latter in Scotland.
"I had no idea it was to you that we are all so indebted," he saidwarmly. "I heard from Colonel Macdonald, after his return from France,that he owed his escape entirely to the quickness and bravery of a younggentleman of whose name he was ignorant, but who, he feared, would sufferfor his interference on his behalf, and prayed me and all other loyalgentlemen of Scotland to befriend you should they ever discover yourname, for that we assuredly owed it to you that we escaped imprisonment,if not worse. I am truly glad to meet you and thank you in person. And soyou are going on this mission?"
"I have undertaken to do my best, sir. Fortunately I have a faithfulfollower who fought beside my father in '15, followed him to France andfought by his side in the Scottish Dragoons for fifteen years, and whohas since been my best friend. He worked for years, when I was a child,as a drover of cattle from the Highlands into England. He knowsCumberland and Lancashire well, and would be known at every wayside inn.He will accompany me, and I shall pass as his nephew, therefore nosuspicion will be likely to light upon me."
"And you set out tonight?"
"Yes, sir, if my orders and letters are ready."
"There will not be many letters," the secretary said. "It would not dofor you to have documents upon you which might betray you and our friendsthere should you be arrested. I will give you a list of the gentlemen onwhom you have to call, which you had best learn by heart and destroybefore you cross the frontier. You shall have one paper only, and thatwritten so small that it can be carried in a quill. This you can show toone after the other. If you find you are in danger of arrest you candestroy or swallow it. I will give them to you at the prince's levee thisafternoon, and will send to your tent a purse of gold for your expenses."
"I shall need but little for that, sir," Ronald said smiling.
"For your expenses, no," the secretary said; "b
ut one never can say whatmoney may be required for. You may have to buy fresh horses, you may wantit to bribe someone to conceal you. Money is always useful, my youngfriend. By the way, what family of Leslies do you belong to? I heard thatone of your name had accompanied the prince, but no more."
"My father was Leslie of Glenlyon."
"Indeed!" the secretary exclaimed. "Of course, I know the name well. Thelands were confiscated; but we shall soon set that right, and I will seethat they are added to when the time comes to reward the king's friendsand punish his foes."
Ronald now took his leave and returned to Malcolm, who was makingpreparation for the enterprise. He had already purchased two suits ofclothes, such as would be worn by Lowland drovers, and was in highspirits, being more elated than was Ronald himself at the latter'spromotion. In the course of the day he bought two rough ponies, as beingmore suitable for the position they were to assume than the horses withwhich they had been furnished at Perth. Ronald attended the levee, andthanked the prince for the favour which he bestowed upon him.
"You are a young gentleman after my own heart," Prince Charles said, "andI promised myself on shipboard that we should be great friends; but Ihave been so busy since I landed, and you have been so occupied in myservice, that I have seen but little of you. On your return I hope that Ishall be able to have you near my person. I am half jealous of you, forwhile you are younger than I am you have seen good service and taken partin great battles, but hitherto I have led a life almost of idleness."
Ronald bowed deeply at the prince's gracious speech. On his return to histent he found a messenger from the secretary with a purse which, oncounting its contents, they found to amount to a hundred guineas.
They started immediately, and travelled twenty miles before stopping forthe night at a small wayside inn.
"This seems like old times to me," Malcolm said as, after eating supper,they sat by a turf fire, "except that on my way down I had the herd tolook after. There is no fear of our being questioned or suspected till wereach the border, for there is not an English soldier between the Forthand the Tweed; nor is it likely that we shall meet with any difficultywhatever till we get to Carlisle. Cope's forces, or what remain of them,are at Newcastle, and it will be there that the English will gather, andthe western road is likely to be open until, at any rate, Prince Charlesmoves south. George's troops have plenty to think about withoutinterfering with the Lowlands drovers. At the same time, after we haveonce crossed the Tweed, we may as well leave the high road. I know everybypath over the fells."
On the third day after starting they crossed the border and were amongthe hills of Cumberland. They found that among the villages greatapprehension existed. The tales of the rapine and destruction wrought inthe old times by the Scottish forays had been handed down from father toson, and nothing less than the destruction of their homes and the loss oftheir flocks and herds was looked for. Malcolm was welcomed warmly at thelittle village inn where they put up for the night.
"Why, it's well nigh three years since I saw you last," the host said,"and before that it was seldom two months without our seeing you. Whathave you been doing with yourself?"
"I have been gathering the herds in the Highlands," Malcolm said, "whileothers have driven them down for sale; but at present my occupation isgone. The Highlanders are swarming like angry bees whose hive has beendisturbed, and even if we could collect a herd it would not be safe todrive it south; it would be seized and despatched to Edinburgh for theuse of the clans there."
"Is it true that there are fifty thousand of them, and that they havesworn to kill every English man, woman, and child?"
"No, they are not so strong as that," Malcolm said. "From what I hear Ishould say they were not more than half; and I do not think there is anyoccasion for peaceful people to be afraid, for they say that the princehas treated all the prisoners who fell into his hands in the kindestmanner, and that he said that the English are his father's subjects aswell as the Scots, and that he will see that harm is done to no man."
"I am right glad to hear it," the innkeeper said. "I don't know that I ammuch afraid myself; but my wife and daughter are in a terrible fright,and wanted me to quit the house and go south till it is all over."
"There is no occasion for that, man," Malcolm said; "you will have noreason for fear were the whole of the clans to march through yourvillage, unless you took it into your head to stand at the door andshout, 'God bless King George.'"
"I care not a fig about King George or King James," the man said. "It'snought to me who is king at London, and as far as I know that's the waywith all here. Let them fight it out together, and leave us hard workingfolks to ourselves."
"I don't suppose either James or George would care for that," Malcolmsaid laughing; "but from what I have heard of Prince Charles I should saythat there is nothing in the world that he would like better than tostand with broadsword or dagger against the Duke of Cumberland, and sosettle the dispute."
"That would be the most sensible thing to my mind," the innkeeper said;"but what brings you here, Anderson, since you have no herd with you?"
"I am just getting out of it all," Malcolm said. "I have had my share ofhard knocks, and want no more of them. I don't want to quarrel withHighlanders or Lowlanders, and as trade is at a standstill at present,and there's nothing for me to do in the Highlands, I thought I would comesouth till it was all over. There is money to collect and things to lookafter, and I have to notify to our regular customers that the herds willcome down again as soon as the tempest is over; and between ourselves,"he said in a lower voice, "I wanted to get my nephew out of harm's way.He has a hankering to join the prince's army, and I don't want to let himget his brains knocked out in a quarrel which isn't his, so I havebrought him along with me."
"He is a good looking young fellow, I can see, and a strong one. I don'twonder that he wanted to mount the white cockade; lads are always wantingto run their heads into danger. You have had your share of it, as yousay; still you are wise to keep the lad out of it. I don't hold withsoldiering, or fighting in quarrels that don't concern you.
Malcolm and Ronald travelled through Cumberland and Westmoreland, callingupon many of the gentlemen to whom the latter had been charged to deliverPrince Charles's messages. They could not, however, flatter themselvesthat their mission was a success, for from few of those on whom theycalled did they receive assurances that they were prepared to takeaction; all the gentlemen professed affection for the Stuarts, butdeprecated a descent into England unless the prince were accompanied by astrong body of French troops.
The rising of '15 had been disastrous for the Jacobites of the North ofEngland, and though all declared that they were ready again to take uparms and risk all for the cause of the Stuarts, if the prince was at thehead of a force which rendered success probable, they were unanimously ofopinion that it would be nothing short of madness to rise until at anyrate the prince had marched into England at the head of a strong army.
The principal personage upon whom they called was Mr. Ratcliff, a brotherof the Earl of Derwentwater, who had been executed after the rising of'15. That gentleman assured them that he himself was ready to join theprince as soon as he came south, but that he wished the prince to knowthat in his opinion no large number of English would join.
"The memory of '15 is still too fresh," he said; "while the Stuarts havebeen absent so long that, although there are great numbers who wouldprefer them to the Hanoverians, I do not believe that men have the causesufficiently at heart to risk life and property for it. Many will givetheir good wishes, but few will draw their swords. That is what I wishyou to say to Prince Charles. Among gentlemen like myself the feeling ofrespect and loyalty to his father's house is as strong as ever, and weshall join him, however desperate, in our opinion, the chances of successmay be; but he will see that the common people will stand aloof, andleave the battle to be fought out by the clansmen on our side andGeorge's troops on the other."
Some weeks were passed in trav
ersing the country to and fro, for thedesired interviews were often only obtained after considerable loss oftime. They could not ride up as two Highland drovers to a gentleman'shouse, and had to wait their chances of meeting those they wished to seeon the high road, or of sending notes requesting an interview, couched insuch terms that while they would be understood by those to whom they wereaddressed they would compromise no one if they fell into other hands.There was indeed the greatest necessity for caution, for the authoritiesin all the towns and villages had received orders from the government tobe on the lookout for emissaries from the north, and they were frequentlyexposed to sharp examination and questioning. Indeed it was onlyMalcolm's familiarity with the country, and the fact that he had so manyacquaintances ready to testify that he was, as he said, a Scotch drover,in the habit for many years of journeying down from the north withcattle, that enabled them to escape arrest.
After much thought they had decided upon a place of concealment for thequill containing Ronald's credentials, which would, they thought, defythe strictest scrutiny. A hole had been bored from the back into the heelof Ronald's boot deep enough to contain the quill, and after this wasinserted in the hiding place the hole was filled up with cobbler's wax,so that it would need a close examination indeed to discover itsexistence. Thus, although they were several times closely searched, nodocument of a suspicious nature was found upon them.
Their money was the greatest trouble, as the mere fact of so large a sumbeing carried by two drovers would in itself have given rise tosuspicions, although had they been on their return towards Scotland thepossession of such an amount would have been easily explained as theproceeds of the sale of the cattle they had brought down. They hadtherefore left the greater part of it with a butcher in Carlisle, withwhom Malcolm had often had dealings, retaining only ten pounds for theirnecessary expenses.
The day after they reached Manchester four constables came to the littleinn where they were stopping and told them that they were to accompanythem before the magistrates.
"I should like to know what offence we are charged with," Malcolm saidangrily. "Things have come to a pretty pass, indeed, when quiet droversare to be hauled before magistrates without rhyme or reason."
"You will hear the charge quickly enough when you are before theirworships," the constable said; "but that is no affair of mine--myorders are simply to take you there."
"Well, of course we must go," Malcolm said grumblingly; "but here we havebeen well nigh twenty years travelling to and fro between England andScotland, as my host here can testify, without such a thing happeningbefore. I suppose somebody has been robbed on the highway, and so yousharp sighted gentlemen clap hands on the first people you come across."
Three magistrates were sitting when Ronald and Malcolm were brought intothe courthouse. They were first asked the usual questions as to theirnames and business, and then one of the magistrates said:
"Your story is a very plausible one; but it happens that I have herebefore me the reports, sent in from a score of different places, for intimes like these it is needful to know what kinds of persons aretravelling through the country, and two men answering to your descriptionare reported to have visited almost every one of these places. It isstated in nearly every report that you are drovers ordinarily engaged inbringing down herds of Highland cattle, and it is added that in everycase this account was verified by persons who have previously known you.All this would seem natural enough, but you seem to have journeyed hitherand thither without any fixed object. Sometimes you have stopped for twodays at little villages, where you could have had no business, and, inshort, you seem for upwards of a month to have been engaged in wanderingto and fro in such a way as is wholly incompatible with the affairs uponwhich you say you were engaged."
"But you will observe, sir," Malcolm said quietly, "that I have not saidI am engaged upon any affairs whatever. I am not come to England onbusiness, but solely to escape from the troubles which have put a stop tomy trade in the Highlands, and as for fifteen years I was engaged injourneying backwards and forwards, and had many friends andacquaintances, I came down partly, as I have said, to avoid being mixedup in the trouble, partly to call upon old acquaintances, and partly tointroduce to them my nephew, who is new to the work, and will shortly beengaged in bringing down cattle here. I thought the present was a goodopportunity to show him all the roads and halting places in order that hemight the better carry out the business."
"Your story has been well got up," one of the magistrates said, "though Idoubt whether there be a single word of truth in it. However, you will beat present searched, and detained until we get to the bottom of thematter. This is not a time when men can travel to and fro through thecountry without exciting a suspicion that they are engaged upon otherthan lawful business. At present I tell you that in our eyes your conductappears to be extremely suspicious."
The prisoners were then taken to a cell and searched with the utmostrigour. Their clothes were examined with scrupulous care, many of theseams being cut open and the linings slit, to see if any documents wereconcealed there. Their shoes were also carefully examined; but the mudhad dried over the opening where the quill was concealed, and theofficials failed to discover it. Even their sticks were carefullyexamined to see if they contained any hollow place; but at last,convinced that had they been the bearers of any documents these must havebeen discovered, the officials permitted them to resume their clothes,and then paying no heed to the angry complaints of Malcolm at the stateto which the garments had been reduced, they left the prisoners tothemselves.
"Be careful what you say," Malcolm whispered to Ronald. "Many of theseplaces have cracks or peepholes, so that the prisoners can be watched andtheir conversation overheard."
Having said this Malcolm indulged in a long and violent tirade on thehardship of peaceful men being arrested and maltreated in this way, andat the gross stupidity of magistrates in taking an honest drover known tohalf the countryside for a Jacobite spy. Ronald replied in similarstrains, and any listeners there might have been would certainly havegained nothing from the conversation they overheard.
"I should not be surprised," Malcolm said in low tones when night hadcome and all was quiet, "if some of our friends outside try to help us.The news will speedily spread that two men of the appearance of drovershave been taken on suspicion of being emissaries from Scotland, and itwill cause no little uneasiness among all those on whom we have called.They cannot tell whether any papers have been found upon us, nor what wemay reveal to save ourselves, so they will have a strong interest ingetting us free if possible."
"If we do get free, Malcolm, the sooner we return to Scotland the better.We have seen almost all those whom we are charged to call upon, and weare certainly in a position to assure the prince that he need hope for norising in his favour here before he comes, and that it is very doubtfulthat any numbers will join him if he marches south."
The next morning they were removed from the cell in which they had beenplaced to the city jail, and on the following day were again broughtbefore the magistrates.
"You say that you have been calling on people who know you," one of themagistrates began; "and as I told you the other day we know that you havebeen wandering about the country in a strange way, I now requite that youshall tell us the names of all the persons with whom you have hadcommunication."
The question was addressed to Malcolm as the oldest of the prisoners.Ronald looked round the court, which was crowded with people, and thoughtthat in several places he could detect an expression of anxiety ratherthan curiosity.
"It will be a long story," Malcolm said in a drawling voice, "and I wouldnot say for sure but that I may forget one or two, seeing that I havespoken with so many. We came across the hills, and the first person wespoke to was Master Fenwick, who keeps the Collie Dog at Appleswade. Idon't know whether your worship knows the village. I greeted him asusual, and asked him how the wife and children had been faring since Isaw him last. He said they were doing brawly,
save that the eldest boyhad twisted his ankle sorely among the fells."
"We don't want to hear all this nonsense," the magistrate said angrily."We want a list of persons, not what you said to them."
"It will be a hard task," Malcolm said simply; "but I will do the best Ican, your worship, and I can do no more. Let me think, there was JosephRepton and Nat Somner--at least I think it was Nat, but I won't be sureto his Christian name--and John Dykes, and a chap they called Pitman,but I don't know his right name."
"Who were all these people?" the magistrate asked.
"Joe Repton, he is a wheelwright by trade, and Nat Somner he keeps thevillage shop. I think the others are both labouring men. Anyhow they wereall sitting at the tap of the Collie Dog when I went in."
"But what have we to do with these fellows?" the magistrate exclaimedangrily.
"I don't know no more than a child," Malcolm said; "but your worshipordered me to tell you just the names of the persons I met, and I amdoing so to the best of my ability."
"Take care, prisoner," the magistrate said sternly; "you are triflingwith the court. You know what I want you to tell me. You have been tothese villages," and he read out some fifteen names. "What did you gothere for, and whom did you see?"
"That is just what I was trying to tell your worship in regular order,but directly I begin you stop me. I have been going through this districtfor fifteen years, and I am known in pretty well every village inCumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire. Having been away for threeyears, and my trade being stopped by the war, as your worship well knows,I have been going round having a crack with the people I know. Such aswere butchers I promised some fine animals next time I came south; suchas were innkeepers I stayed a night with and talked of old times. If yourworship will have patience with me I can tell you all the names and whatI said to each of them, and what they said to me, and all about it."
"I don't want to know about these things. I am asking you whether youhave not been calling on some of the gentry."
"Indeed, now," Malcolm said with an air of astonishment, "and this is thefirst time that I have heard a word about the gentry since I came intothe court. Well, let me think now, I did meet Squire Ringwood, and hestopped his horse and said to me: 'Is that you, Malcolm Anderson, yourascal;' and I said, 'It's me, sure enough, squire;' and he said, 'Yourascal, that last score of beasts I bought of you--'"
"Silence!" shouted the magistrate as a titter ran through the court. "Allthis fooling will do you no good, I can tell you. We believe that you area traitor to the king and an emissary of the Pretender. If you make aclean breast of it, and tell me the names of those with whom you havebeen having dealings, there may be a hope of mercy for you; but if not,we shall get at the truth other ways, and then your meanness of conditionwill not save you from punishment."
"Your worship must do as you like," Malcolm said doggedly. "I have donemy best to answer your questions, and you jump down my throat as soon asI open my mouth. What should a man of my condition have to do with kingsor pretenders? They have ruined my trade between them, and I care notwhether King George or King James get the best of it, so that they do butmake an end of it as soon as possible, and let me bring down my herdsagain. There's half a dozen butchers in the town who know me, and canspeak for me. I have sold thousands of beasts to Master Tregold; but ifthis is the treatment an honest man meets with I ain't likely to sellthem any more, for as soon as I am let free and get the money theconstables have taken from me I am off to Glasgow and if I ever comesouth of the border again, may I be hung and quartered."
Finding that nothing was to be made out of the prisoners, the magistrateordered them to be taken back to jail.