CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
THE WHOLE OF WHICH HAS BEEN FUDGED OUT OF THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND, ANDWILL THEREFORE BE QUITE NEW TO THE MAJORITY OF OUR READERS.
Were we in want of materials for this eventful history, we have now agood opportunity for spinning out our volumes; but, so far from thisbeing the case, we hardly know how to find space for what it is nowabsolutely necessary that the reader should be acquainted with. Ourfriends may probably recollect, when we remind them of the fact, thatthere was a certain king, James the Second, who sat upon our throne, andwho was a very good Catholic--that he married his daughter, Mary, to oneWilliam of Orange, who, in return for James's kindness in giving him hisdaughter, took away from him his kingdom, on the plea, that if he was abad son-in-law, at all events, he was a sound Protestant. They may alsorecollect, that the exiled king was received most hospitably by thegrand monarque, Louis XIV, who gave him palaces, money, and all that herequired, and, moreover, gave him a fine army and fleet to go to Irelandand recover his kingdom, bidding him farewell with this equivocalsentence, "That the best thing he, Louis, could wish to him was, neverto see his face again." They may further recollect, that King James andKing William met at the battle of the Boyne, in which the former wasdefeated, and then went back to St. Germains, and spent the rest of hislife in acts of devotion, and plotting against the life of King William.Now, among other plots real and pretended, there was one laid in 1695,to assassinate King William on his way to Richmond. This plot wasrevealed, any of the conspirators were tried and executed, but theperson who was at the head of it, a Scotchman, of the name of Sir GeorgeBarclay, escaped. In the year 1696, a bill was passed, by which SirGeorge Barclay and nine others who had escaped from justice, wereattainted of high treason, if they did not choose to surrenderthemselves on or before the 26th day of March ensuing. Strange to say,these parties did not think it advisable to surrender themselves;perhaps it was because they knew that they were certain to be hung; butit is impossible to account for the actions of men: we can only lay thefacts before our readers.
Sir George Barclay was by birth a Scotchman, of high family, and wellconnected, he had been an officer in the army of King James, to whom hewas strongly attached. Moreover, he was a very bigoted Catholic.Whether he ever received a commission from King James, authorising himto assassinate King William, has never been proved; but, as King Jamesis well known to have been admitted into the order of the Jesuits, it isnot at all unlikely. Certain it is, that the baronet went over to St.Germains, landed again in England, and would have made the attempt, hadnot the plot been discovered through some of the inferior accomplices;and it is equally sure that he escaped, although many others were hung:and few people knew what had become of him. The fact was, that whenBarclay had fled to the sea-side, he was assisted over the water by aband of smugglers, who first concealed him in the cave we havedescribed, which was their retreat. This led to a communication andarrangement with them. Sir George Barclay, who, although foiled in hisattempt at assassination, never abandoned the cause, immediatelyperceived what advantages might be derived in keeping up a communicationby means of these outlaws. For some time the smugglers were employed incarrying secret despatches to the friends of James in England andScotland; and, as the importance of the correspondence increased, and itbecame necessary to have personal interviews instead of writtencommunications, Sir George frequently passed over to the cave as arendezvous, at which he might meet the adherents of the exiled king. Inthe course of time he saw the prudence of having the entire control ofthe band, and found little difficulty in being appointed their leader.From the means he obtained from St. Germains, the smuggling was nowcarried on to a great and very profitable extent; and, by theregulations which he enacted, the chance of discovery was diminished.Only one point more was requisite for safety and secrecy, which was, aperson to whom he could confide the charge of the cave. Lady Barclay,who was equally warm in the cause, offered her services, and they wereaccepted; and at the latter end of the year 1696, about one year afterthe plot had failed, Lady Barclay, with her only child, took up herabode in this isolated domicile: Sir George then first making thearrangement that the men should always remain on the other side of thewater, which would be an additional cause of security. For upwards offour years, Lady Barclay had remained an inmate, attending to theinstruction of her little Lilly, and carrying on all the correspondence,and making all the necessary arrangements with vigour and address,satisfied with serving the good cause, and proving her devotedallegiance to her sovereign. Unfortunate and unwise as were the Stuartfamily, there must have been some charm about them, for they hadinstances of attachment and fidelity shown to them, of which no otherline of kings could boast.
Shortly after the tragical event recorded in the last chapter, theJesuit came out of the cave and went up to Sir George, who coollyobserved, "We have just been sending a traitor to his account, goodfather."
"So may they all perish," replied the priest. "We start this evening?"
"Certainly. What news have you for St. Germains?"
"Much that is important. Discontent prevails throughout the country.The affair of Bishop Watson hath brought much odium on the usurper. Hehimself writhes under the tyrannical commands of the Commons, and is atissue with them."
"And in Scotland father?"
"All is there ripe and ready--and an army once landed, would be joinedby thousands. The injustice of the usurper in wishing to sacrifice theScotch Settlement, has worked deep upon the minds of those who advancedtheir money upon that speculation; in the total, a larger sum than everyet was raised in Scotland. Our emissaries have fanned the flame up tothe highest pitch."
"To my thoughts, good father, there needed not further discontent. Havewe not our king dethroned, and our holy religion persecuted?"
"True, my son--true; but still we must lose no means by which we mayincrease the number of our adherents. Some are swayed by one feeling,and some by another. We have contrived to throw no small odium upon theusurper and betrayer of his wife's father, by exposing and magnifying,indeed, the sums of money which he has lavished upon his courtesan,Mistress Villiers, now, by his heretic and unsanctified breath, raisedinto the peerage by the title of Countess of Orkney. All these itemsadded together form a vast sum of discontent; and could we his Catholicmajesty to rouse himself to assert once more his rights by force ofarms, I should not fear for the result."
"Had I not been betrayed," observed Sir George, musing, "before this theking would have had his own again."
"And thrice blessed would have been the arm that had laid the usurperlow," rejoined the Jesuit; "but more of this hereafter. Your lady hathhad much converse with me. She thinks that the character of the man whocommands that cutter is such as to warrant his services for gold--andwishes to essay him."
"The woman Corbett is of that opinion, and she is subtle. At allevents, it can be tried; for he would be of much utility, and therewould be no suspicion. The whole had better be left to her arrangement.We may employ, and pay, yet not trust him."
"That is exactly what Lady Alice had proposed," replied the Jesuit.Here Lilly came out to tell her father that the morning meal was ready,and they all returned to the cave.
That evening the boat was launched, and the Jesuit went over with SirGeorge, and landed at Cherbourg, from whence they both proceeded withall expedition to the court of King James.
We have entered into this short detail, that the reader may just knowthe why and the wherefore these parties in the cave were introduced, andnow we shall continue our most faithful and veracious history.