Rob Roy — Complete

by Walter Scott

  --General, Hear me, and mark me well, and look upon me Directly in my face--my woman's face-- See if one fear, one shadow of a terror, One paleness dare appear, but from my anger, To lay hold on your mercies. Bonduca.

  We were permitted to slumber out the remainder of the night in the bestmanner that the miserable accommodations of the alehouse permitted. TheBailie, fatigued with his journey and the subsequent scenes--lessinterested also in the event of our arrest, which to him could only be amatter of temporary inconvenience--perhaps less nice than habit hadrendered me about the cleanliness or decency of his couch,--tumbledhimself into one of the cribs which I have already described, and soonwas heard to snore soundly. A broken sleep, snatched by intervals, whileI rested my head upon the table, was my only refreshment. In the courseof the night I had occasion to observe that there seemed to be some doubtand hesitation in the motions of the soldiery. Men were sent out, as ifto obtain intelligence, and returned apparently without bringing anysatisfactory information to their commanding officer. He was obviouslyeager and anxious, and again despatched small parties of two or threemen, some of whom, as I could understand from what the others whisperedto each other, did not return again to the Clachan.

  The morning had broken, when a corporal and two men rushed into the hut,dragging after them, in a sort of triumph, a Highlander, whom Iimmediately recognised as my acquaintance the ex-turnkey. The Bailie, whostarted up at the noise with which they entered, immediately made thesame discovery, and exclaimed--"Mercy on us! they hae grippit the puircreature Dougal.--Captain, I will put in bail--sufficient bail, for thatDougal creature."

  To this offer, dictated undoubtedly by a grateful recollection of thelate interference of the Highlander in his behalf, the Captain onlyanswered by requesting Mr. Jarvie to "mind his own affairs, and rememberthat he was himself for the present a prisoner."

  "I take you to witness, Mr. Osbaldistone," said the Bailie, who wasprobably better acquainted with the process in civil than in militarycases, "that he has refused sufficient bail. It's my opinion that thecreature Dougal will have a good action of wrongous imprisonment anddamages agane him, under the Act seventeen hundred and one, and I'll seethe creature righted."

  The officer, whose name I understood was Thornton, paying no attention tothe Bailie's threats or expostulations, instituted a very close inquiryinto Dougal's life and conversation, and compelled him to admit, thoughwith apparent reluctance, the successive facts,--that he knew Rob RoyMacGregor--that he had seen him within these twelve months--within thesesix months--within this month--within this week; in fine, that he hadparted from him only an hour ago. All this detail came like drops ofblood from the prisoner, and was, to all appearance, only extorted by thethreat of a halter and the next tree, which Captain Thornton assured himshould be his doom, if he did not give direct and special information.

  "And now, my friend," said the officer, "you will please inform me howmany men your master has with him at present."

  Dougal looked in every direction except at the querist, and began toanswer, "She canna just be sure about that."

  "Look at me, you Highland dog," said the officer, "and remember your lifedepends on your answer. How many rogues had that outlawed scoundrel withhim when you left him?"

  "Ou, no aboon sax rogues when I was gane."

  "And where are the rest of his banditti?"

  "Gane wi' the Lieutenant agane ta westland carles."

  "Against the westland clans?" said the Captain. "Umph--that is likelyenough; and what rogue's errand were you despatched upon?"

  "Just to see what your honour and ta gentlemen red-coats were doing dounhere at ta Clachan."

  "The creature will prove fause-hearted, after a'," said the Bailie, whoby this time had planted himself close behind me; "it's lucky I didna pitmysell to expenses anent him."

  "And now, my friend," said the Captain, "let us understand each other.You have confessed yourself a spy, and should string up to the nexttree--But come, if you will do me one good turn, I will do you another.You, Donald--you shall just, in the way of kindness, carry me and a smallparty to the place where you left your master, as I wish to speak a fewwords with him on serious affairs; and I'll let you go about yourbusiness, and give you five guineas to boot."

  "Oigh! oigh!" exclaimed Dougal, in the extremity of distress andperplexity; "she canna do tat--she canna do tat; she'll rather behanged."

  "Hanged, then, you shall be, my friend" said the officer; "and your bloodbe upon your own head. Corporal Cramp, do you play Provost-Marshal--awaywith him!"

  The corporal had confronted poor Dougal for some time, ostentatiouslytwisting a piece of cord which he had found in the house into the form ofa halter. He now threw it about the culprit's neck, and, with theassistance of two soldiers, had dragged Dougal as far as the door, when,overcome with the terror of immediate death, he exclaimed, "Shentlemans,stops--stops! She'll do his honour's bidding--stops!"

  "Awa' wi' the creature!" said the Bailie, "he deserves hanging mair nowthan ever; awa' wi' him, corporal. Why dinna ye tak him awa'?"

  "It's my belief and opinion, honest gentleman," said the corporal, "thatif you were going to be hanged yourself, you would be in no such d--dhurry."

  This by-dialogue prevented my hearing what passed between the prisonerand Captain Thornton; but I heard the former snivel out, in a verysubdued tone, "And ye'll ask her to gang nae farther than just to show yewhere the MacGregor is?--Ohon! ohon!"

  "Silence your howling, you rascal--No; I give you my word I will ask youto go no farther.--Corporal, make the men fall in, in front of thehouses. Get out these gentlemen's horses; we must carry them with us. Icannot spare any men to guard them here. Come, my lads, get under arms."

  The soldiers bustled about, and were ready to move. We were led out,along with Dougal, in the capacity of prisoners. As we left the hut, Iheard our companion in captivity remind the Captain of "ta foivekuineas."

  "Here they are for you," said the officer, putting gold into his hand;"but observe, that if you attempt to mislead me, I will blow your brainsout with my own hand."

  "The creature," said the Bailie, "is waur than I judged him--it is awarldly and a perfidious creature. O the filthy lucre of gain that mengies themsells up to! My father the deacon used to say, the penny sillerslew mair souls than the naked sword slew bodies."

  The landlady now approached, and demanded payment of her reckoning,including all that had been quaffed by Major Galbraith and his Highlandfriends. The English officer remonstrated, but Mrs. MacAlpine declared,if "she hadna trusted to his honour's name being used in their company,she wad never hae drawn them a stoup o' liquor; for Mr. Galbraith, shemight see him again, or she might no, but weel did she wot she had sma'chance of seeing her siller--and she was a puir widow, had naething buther custom to rely on."

  Captain Thornton put a stop to her remonstrances by paying the charge,which was only a few English shillings, though the amount sounded veryformidable in Scottish denominations. The generous officer would haveincluded Mr. Jarvie and me in this general acquittance; but the Bailie,disregarding an intimation from the landlady to "make as muckle of theInglishers as we could, for they were sure to gie us plague eneugh," wentinto a formal accounting respecting our share of the reckoning, and paidit accordingly. The Captain took the opportunity to make us some slightapology for detaining us. "If we were loyal and peaceable subjects," hesaid, "we would not regret being stopt for a day, when it was essentialto the king's service; if otherwise, he was acting according to hisduty."

  We were compelled to accept an apology which it would have served nopurpose to refuse, and we sallied out to attend him on his march.

  I shall never forget the delightful sensation with which I exchanged thedark, smoky, smothering atmosphere of the Highland hut, in which we hadpassed the night so uncomfortably, for the refreshing fragr
ance of themorning air, and the glorious beams of the rising sun, which, from atabernacle of purple and golden clouds, were darted full on such a sceneof natural romance and beauty as had never before greeted my eyes. To theleft lay the valley, down which the Forth wandered on its easterlycourse, surrounding the beautiful detached hill, with all its garland ofwoods. On the right, amid a profusion of thickets, knolls, and crags, laythe bed of a broad mountain lake, lightly curled into tiny waves by thebreath of the morning breeze, each glittering in its course under theinfluence of the sunbeams. High hills, rocks, and banks, waving withnatural forests of birch and oak, formed the borders of this enchantingsheet of water; and, as their leaves rustled to the wind and twinkled inthe sun, gave to the depth of solitude a sort of life and vivacity. Manalone seemed to be placed in a state of inferiority, in a scene where allthe ordinary features of nature were raised and exalted. The miserablelittle _bourocks,_ as the Bailie termed them, of which about a dozenformed the village called the Clachan of Aberfoil, were composed of loosestones, cemented by clay instead of mortar, and thatched by turfs, laidrudely upon rafters formed of native and unhewn birches and oaks from thewoods around. The roofs approached the ground so nearly, that AndrewFairservice observed we might have ridden over the village the nightbefore, and never found out we were near it, unless our horses' feet had"gane through the riggin'."

  From all we could see, Mrs. MacAlpine's house, miserable as were thequarters it afforded, was still by far the best in the hamlet; and I daresay (if my description gives you any curiosity to see it) you will hardlyfind it much improved at the present day, for the Scotch are not a peoplewho speedily admit innovation, even when it comes in the shape ofimprovement.*

  * Note I. Clachan of Aberfoil.

  The inhabitants of these miserable dwellings were disturbed by the noiseof our departure; and as our party of about twenty soldiers drew up inrank before marching off, we were reconnoitred by many a beldam from thehalf-opened door of her cottage. As these sibyls thrust forth their greyheads, imperfectly covered with close caps of flannel, and showed theirshrivelled brows, and long skinny arms, with various gestures, shrugs,and muttered expressions in Gaelic addressed to each other, myimagination recurred to the witches of Macbeth, and I imagined I read inthe features of these crones the malevolence of the weird sisters. Thelittle children also, who began to crawl forth, some quite naked, andothers very imperfectly covered with tatters of tartan stuff, clappedtheir tiny hands, and grinned at the English soldiers, with an expressionof national hate and malignity which seemed beyond their years. Iremarked particularly that there were no men, nor so much as a boy of tenor twelve years old, to be seen among the inhabitants of a village whichseemed populous in proportion to its extent; and the idea certainlyoccurred to me, that we were likely to receive from them, in the courseof our journey, more effectual tokens of ill-will than those whichlowered on the visages, and dictated the murmurs, of the women andchildren. It was not until we commenced our march that the malignity ofthe elder persons of the community broke forth into expressions. The lastfile of men had left the village, to pursue a small broken track, formedby the sledges in which the natives transported their peats and turfs,and which led through the woods that fringed the lower end of the lake,when a shrilly sound of female exclamation broke forth, mixed with thescreams of children, the whooping of boys, and the clapping of hands,with which the Highland dames enforce their notes, whether of rage orlamentation. I asked Andrew, who looked as pale as death, what all thismeant.

  "I doubt we'll ken that ower sune," said he. "Means? It means that theHighland wives are cursing and banning the red-coats, and wishingill-luck to them, and ilka ane that ever spoke the Saxon tongue. I haveheard wives flyte in England and Scotland--it's nae marvel to hear themflyte ony gate; but sic ill-scrapit tongues as thae Highlandcarlines'--and sic grewsome wishes, that men should be slaughtered likesheep--and that they may lapper their hands to the elbows in theirheart's blude--and that they suld dee the death of Walter Cuming ofGuiyock,* wha hadna as muckle o' him left thegither as would supper amessan-dog--sic awsome language as that I ne'er heard out o' a humanthrapple;--and, unless the deil wad rise amang them to gie them alesson, I thinkna that their talent at cursing could be amended.

  * A great feudal oppressor, who, riding on some cruel purpose through theforest of Guiyock, was thrown from his horse, and his foot being caughtin the stirrup, was dragged along by the frightened animal till he wastorn to pieces. The expression, "Walter of Guiyock's curse," isproverbial.

  The warst o't is, they bid us aye gang up the loch, and see what we'llland in."

  Adding Andrew's information to what I had myself observed, I could scarcedoubt that some attack was meditated upon our party. The road, as weadvanced, seemed to afford every facility for such an unpleasantinterruption. At first it winded apart from the lake through marshymeadow ground, overgrown with copsewood, now traversing dark and closethickets which would have admitted an ambuscade to be sheltered within afew yards of our line of march, and frequently crossing rough mountaintorrents, some of which took the soldiers up to the knees, and ran withsuch violence, that their force could only be stemmed by the strength oftwo or three men holding fast by each other's arms. It certainly appearedto me, though altogether unacquainted with military affairs, that a sortof half-savage warriors, as I had heard the Highlanders asserted to be,might, in such passes as these, attack a party of regular forces withgreat advantage. The Bailie's good sense and shrewd observation had ledhim to the same conclusion, as I understood from his requesting to speakwith the captain, whom he addressed nearly in the following terms:--"Captain, it's no to fleech ony favour out o' ye, for I scorn it--andit's under protest that I reserve my action and pleas of oppression andwrongous imprisonment;--but, being a friend to King George and his army,I take the liberty to speer--Dinna ye think ye might tak a better time togang up this glen? If ye are seeking Rob Roy, he's ken'd to be betterthan half a hunder men strong when he's at the fewest; an if he brings inthe Glengyle folk, and the Glenfinlas and Balquhidder lads, he may cometo gie you your kail through the reek; and it's my sincere advice, as aking's friend, ye had better tak back again to the Clachan, for thaewomen at Aberfoil are like the scarts and seamaws at the Cumries--there'saye foul weather follows their skirting."

  "Make yourself easy, sir," replied Captain Thornton; "I am in theexecution of my orders. And as you say you are a friend to King George,you will be glad to learn that it is impossible that this gang ofruffians, whose license has disturbed the country so long, can escape themeasures now taken to suppress them. The horse squadron of militia,commanded by Major Galbraith, is already joined by two or more troops ofcavalry, which will occupy all the lower passes of this wild country;three hundred Highlanders, under the two gentlemen you saw at the inn,are in possession of the upper part, and various strong parties from thegarrison are securing the hills and glens in different directions. Ourlast accounts of Rob Roy correspond with what this fellow has confessed,that, finding himself surrounded on all sides, he had dismissed thegreater part of his followers, with the purpose either of lyingconcealed, or of making his escape through his superior knowledge of thepasses."

  "I dinna ken," said the Bailie; "there's mair brandy than brains inGarschattachin's head this morning--And I wadna, an I were you, Captain,rest my main dependence on the Hielandmen--hawks winna pike out hawks'een. They may quarrel among themsells, and gie ilk ither ill names, andmaybe a slash wi' a claymore; but they are sure to join in the lang run,against a' civilised folk, that wear breeks on their hinder ends, and haepurses in their pouches."

  Apparently these admonitions were not altogether thrown away on CaptainThornton. He reformed his line of march, commanded his soldiers tounsling their firelocks and fix their bayonets, and formed an advancedand rear-guard, each consisting of a non-commissioned officer and twosoldiers, who received strict orders to keep an alert look-out. Dougalunderwent another and very close examination, in which he steadfastlyasserted the truth of what he ha
d before affirmed; and being rebuked onaccount of the suspicious and dangerous appearance of the route by whichhe was guiding them, he answered with a sort of testiness that seemedvery natural, "Her nainsell didna mak ta road; an shentlemans likit grandroads, she suld hae pided at Glasco."

  All this passed off well enough, and we resumed our progress.

  Our route, though leading towards the lake, had hitherto been so muchshaded by wood, that we only from time to time obtained a glimpse of thatbeautiful sheet of water. But the road now suddenly emerged from theforest ground, and, winding close by the margin of the loch, afforded usa full view of its spacious mirror, which now, the breeze having totallysubsided, reflected in still magnificence the high dark heathy mountains,huge grey rocks, and shaggy banks, by which it is encircled. The hillsnow sunk on its margin so closely, and were so broken and precipitous, asto afford no passage except just upon the narrow line of the track whichwe occupied, and which was overhung with rocks, from which we might havebeen destroyed merely by rolling down stones, without much possibility ofoffering resistance. Add to this, that, as the road winded round everypromontory and bay which indented the lake, there was rarely apossibility of seeing a hundred yards before us. Our commander appearedto take some alarm at the nature of the pass in which he was engaged,which displayed itself in repeated orders to his soldiers to be on thealert, and in many threats of instant death to Dougal, if he should befound to have led them into danger. Dougal received these threats with anair of stupid impenetrability, which might arise either from consciousinnocence, or from dogged resolution.

  "If shentlemans were seeking ta Red Gregarach," he said, "to be sure theycouldna expect to find her without some wee danger."

  Just as the Highlander uttered these words, a halt was made by thecorporal commanding the advance, who sent back one of the file who formedit, to tell the Captain that the path in front was occupied byHighlanders, stationed on a commanding point of particular difficulty.Almost at the same instant a soldier from the rear came to say, that theyheard the sound of a bagpipe in the woods through which we had justpassed. Captain Thornton, a man of conduct as well as courage, instantlyresolved to force the pass in front, without waiting till he was assailedfrom the rear; and, assuring his soldiers that the bagpipes which theyheard were those of the friendly Highlanders who were advancing to theirassistance, he stated to them the importance of advancing and securingRob Roy, if possible, before these auxiliaries should come up to dividewith them the honour, as well as the reward which was placed on the headof this celebrated freebooter. He therefore ordered the rearguard to jointhe centre, and both to close up to the advance, doubling his files so asto occupy with his column the whole practicable part of the road, and topresent such a front as its breadth admitted. Dougal, to whom he said ina whisper, "You dog, if you have deceived me, you shall die for it!" wasplaced in the centre, between two grenadiers, with positive orders toshoot him if he attempted an escape. The same situation was assigned tous, as being the safest, and Captain Thornton, taking his half-pike fromthe soldier who carried it, placed himself at the head of his littledetachment, and gave the word to march forward.

  The party advanced with the firmness of English soldiers. Not so AndrewFairservice, who was frightened out of his wits; and not so, if truthmust be told, either the Bailie or I myself, who, without feeling thesame degree of trepidation, could not with stoical indifference see ourlives exposed to hazard in a quarrel with which we had no concern. Butthere was neither time for remonstrance nor remedy.

  We approached within about twenty yards of the spot where the advancedguard had seen some appearance of an enemy. It was one of thosepromontories which run into the lake, and round the base of which theroad had hitherto winded in the manner I have described. In the presentcase, however, the path, instead of keeping the water's edge, sealed thepromontory by one or two rapid zigzags, carried in a broken track alongthe precipitous face of a slaty grey rock, which would otherwise havebeen absolutely inaccessible. On the top of this rock, only to beapproached by a road so broken, so narrow, and so precarious, thecorporal declared he had seen the bonnets and long-barrelled guns ofseveral mountaineers, apparently couched among the long heath andbrushwood which crested the eminence. Captain Thornton ordered him tomove forward with three files, to dislodge the supposed ambuscade, while,at a more slow but steady pace, he advanced to his support with the restof his party.

  The attack which he meditated was prevented by the unexpected apparitionof a female upon the summit of the rock.

  "Stand!" she said, with a commanding tone, "and tell me what ye seek inMacGregor's country?"

  I have seldom seen a finer or more commanding form than this woman. Shemight be between the term of forty and fifty years, and had a countenancewhich must once have been of a masculine cast of beauty; though now,imprinted with deep lines by exposure to rough weather, and perhaps bythe wasting influence of grief and passion, its features were onlystrong, harsh, and expressive. She wore her plaid, not drawn around herhead and shoulders, as is the fashion of the women in Scotland, butdisposed around her body as the Highland soldiers wear theirs. She had aman's bonnet, with a feather in it, an unsheathed sword in her hand, anda pair of pistols at her girdle.

  "It's Helen Campbell, Rob's wife," said the Bailie, in a whisper ofconsiderable alarm; "and there will be broken heads amang us or it'slang."

  "What seek ye here?" she asked again of Captain Thornton, who had himselfadvanced to reconnoitre.

  "We seek the outlaw, Rob Roy MacGregor Campbell," answered the officer,"and make no war on women; therefore offer no vain opposition to theking's troops, and assure yourself of civil treatment."

  "Ay," retorted the Amazon, "I am no stranger to your tender mercies. Yehave left me neither name nor fame--my mother's bones will shrink asidein their grave when mine are laid beside them--Ye have left me neitherhouse nor hold, blanket nor bedding, cattle to feed us, or flocks toclothe us--Ye have taken from us all--all!--The very name of ourancestors have ye taken away, and now ye come for our lives."

  "I seek no man's life," replied the Captain; "I only execute my orders.If you are alone, good woman, you have nought to fear--if there are anywith you so rash as to offer useless resistance, their own blood be ontheir own heads. Move forward, sergeant."

  "Forward! march!" said the non-commissioned officer. "Huzza, my boys, forRob Roy's head and a purse of gold."

  He quickened his pace into a run, followed by the six soldiers; but asthey attained the first traverse of the ascent, the flash of a dozen offirelocks from various parts of the pass parted in quick succession anddeliberate aim. The sergeant, shot through the body, still struggled togain the ascent, raised himself by his hands to clamber up the face ofthe rock, but relaxed his grasp, after a desperate effort, and falling,rolled from the face of the cliff into the deep lake, where he perished.Of the soldiers, three fell, slain or disabled; the others retreated ontheir main body, all more or less wounded.

  "Grenadiers, to the front!" said Captain Thornton.--You are to recollect,that in those days this description of soldiers actually carried thatdestructive species of firework from which they derive their name. Thefour grenadiers moved to the front accordingly. The officer commanded therest of the party to be ready to support them, and only saying to us,"Look to your safety, gentlemen," gave, in rapid succession, the word tothe grenadiers--"Open your pouches--handle your grenades--blow yourmatches--fall on."

  The whole advanced with a shout, headed by Captain Thornton,--thegrenadiers preparing to throw their grenades among the bushes where theambuscade lay, and the musketeers to support them by an instant and closeassault. Dougal, forgotten in the scuffle, wisely crept into the thicketwhich overhung that part of the road where we had first halted, which heascended with the activity of a wild cat. I followed his example,instinctively recollecting that the fire of the Highlanders would sweepthe open track. I clambered until out of breath; for a continuedspattering fire, in which every shot was multiplied by a thousand echoe
s,the hissing of the kindled fusees of the grenades, and the successiveexplosion of those missiles, mingled with the huzzas of the soldiers, andthe yells and cries of their Highland antagonists, formed a contrastwhich added--I do not shame to own it--wings to my desire to reach aplace of safety. The difficulties of the ascent soon increased so much,that I despaired of reaching Dougal, who seemed to swing himself fromrock to rock, and stump to stump, with the facility of a squirrel, and Iturned down my eyes to see what had become of my other companions. Bothwere brought to a very awkward standstill.

  The Bailie, to whom I suppose fear had given a temporary share ofagility, had ascended about twenty feet from the path, when his footslipping, as he straddled from one huge fragment of rock to another, hewould have slumbered with his father the deacon, whose acts and words hewas so fond of quoting, but for a projecting branch of a ragged thorn,which, catching hold of the skirts of his riding-coat, supported him inmid-air, where he dangled not unlike to the sign of the Golden Fleeceover the door of a mercer in the Trongate of his native city.

  As for Andrew Fairservice, he had advanced with better success, until hehad attained the top of a bare cliff, which, rising above the wood,exposed him, at least in his own opinion, to all the dangers of theneighbouring skirmish, while, at the same time, it was of such aprecipitous and impracticable nature, that he dared neither to advancenor retreat. Footing it up and down upon the narrow space which the topof the cliff afforded (very like a fellow at a country-fair dancing upona trencher), he roared for mercy in Gaelic and English alternately,according to the side on which the scale of victory seemed topredominate, while his exclamations were only answered by the groans ofthe Bailie, who suffered much, not only from apprehension, but from thependulous posture in which he hung suspended by the loins.

  On perceiving the Bailie's precarious situation, my first idea was toattempt to render him assistance; but this was impossible without theconcurrence of Andrew, whom neither sign, nor entreaty, nor command, norexpostulation, could inspire with courage to adventure the descent fromhis painful elevation, where, like an unskilful and obnoxious minister ofstate, unable to escape from the eminence to which he had presumptuouslyascended, he continued to pour forth piteous prayers for mercy, which noone heard, and to skip to and fro, writhing his body into all possibleantic shapes to avoid the balls which he conceived to be whistling aroundhim.

  In a few minutes this cause of terror ceased, for the fire, at first sowell sustained, now sunk at once--a sure sign that the conflict wasconcluded. To gain some spot from which I could see how the day had gonewas now my object, in order to appeal to the mercy of the victors, who, Itrusted (whichever side might be gainers), would not suffer the honestBailie to remain suspended, like the coffin of Mahomet, between heavenand earth, without lending a hand to disengage him. At length, by dint ofscrambling, I found a spot which commanded a view of the field of battle.It was indeed ended; and, as my mind already augured, from the place andcircumstances attending the contest, it had terminated in the defeat ofCaptain Thornton. I saw a party of Highlanders in the act of disarmingthat officer, and the scanty remainder of his party. They consisted ofabout twelve men most of whom were wounded, who, surrounded by trebletheir number, and without the power either to advance or retreat, exposedto a murderous and well-aimed fire, which they had no means of returningwith effect, had at length laid down their arms by the order of theirofficer, when he saw that the road in his rear was occupied, and thatprotracted resistance would be only wasting the lives of his bravefollowers. By the Highlanders, who fought under cover, the victory wascheaply bought, at the expense of one man slain and two wounded by thegrenades. All this I learned afterwards. At present I only comprehendedthe general result of the day, from seeing the English officer, whoseface was covered with blood, stripped of his hat and arms, and his men,with sullen and dejected countenances which marked their deep regret,enduring, from the wild and martial figures who surrounded them, thesevere measures to which the laws of war subject the vanquished forsecurity of the victors.