by G. A. Henty
Chapter 4: In Sweden.
After much discussion, the party agreed that it would be best tomake for Southampton. The road thither was less frequented thanthat leading to London, and there were fewer towns to be passed,and less chance of interruption. Mr. Jervoise had brought with hima valise and suit of clothes for Sir Marmaduke, of sober cut andfashion. They avoided all large towns and, at the places where theyput up, represented themselves as traders travelling from theMidlands to the southern coast, and they arrived at Southamptonwithout having excited the smallest suspicion. Indeed, throughoutthe journey, they had heard no word of the affray near Chapel leFrith, and knew, therefore, that the news had not travelled as fastas they had.
At Southampton, however, they had scarcely put up at an inn whenthe landlord said:
"I suppose, gentlemen, they are talking of nothing else, in London,but the rescue of a desperate Jacobite by his friends. The newsonly reached here yesterday."
"It has occasioned a good deal of scare," Mr. Jervoise replied. "Isuppose there is no word of the arrest of the man, or hisaccomplices? We have travelled but slowly, and the news may havepassed us on the way."
"Not as yet," the landlord replied. "They say that all the northernand 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 ofCumberland or Westmoreland, or perhaps on the Yorkshire moors; butthey are sure to catch him sooner or later."
"It is a bad business altogether," Mr. Jervoise said, "and we canonly hope that all guilty persons will in time get the punishmentthey so well deserve. How can trade be carried on, if the countryis to be disturbed by plots, and conspiracies?"
"How, indeed?" the landlord repeated heartily. "I do not meddle inpolitics, being content to earn my living by my business, and toreceive all who can pay their reckoning, without caring a jotwhether they be Whigs or Tories."
The next morning Mr. Jervoise and Sir Marmaduke went down to theport, 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 withmunitions of war for Sweden, and that one of them would sailshortly. 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 tooffer, I should not say no to them."
"We want to take passage for Sweden," Mr. Jervoise said. "The Kingof that country is, as they say, fitting out an army. Clothes areas necessary for troops as swords and guns, and we think we couldobtain a contract for these goods. There is no hope of doing so,unless we ourselves go over, and, though sorely loath to do so, forneither of us have ever before set foot on board a ship, wedetermined on making the journey, together with our two clerks, forwhom we will take passage at the same rate as for ourselves, seeingthat 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 thegoods 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 notwish to appear eager to go; but the matter was finally settled tothe 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 usa week, or a month or two for aught we know, and we do not want ourhorses 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 ofthe Devonshire ports, which would suit us much better. But weshould not be able to do so, if there were need for returning herefor our horses. Therefore, we would fain dispose of them, and, ifyou can find us a purchaser by tomorrow night, we will pay you afair 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 Ican 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 afriend of mine, are requiring horses for themselves and theirservants, and I have promised my friend a slice of my commission,if he will bring them round hither. Will you name your price forthem?"
"No, I would rather not," Mr. Jervoise said cautiously. "If weasked too high a figure, we might frighten the purchasers away. Ifwe should ask too little, we should be the losers. I daresay theyhave named, to your friend, the price they are willing to give. Youhad better ask from them a good bit above that, then you can comedown little by little, and maybe, seeing the horses are really goodones, they may advance a bit. I am not used to a horse deal, andwill leave it to you to make the bargain. We are sorry to part withthe animals, but they might die on the voyage, or get so injured asto be worthless; and, moreover, we shall have no use for themthere. Therefore, as we must sell, we are ready to take the bestterms we can get."
When they returned to the inn, after an absence of two hours, theyfound that the landlord had sold the horses, for a sum nearlyapproaching their value, the gentlemen being as anxious to purchasethem as they were to sell. The next day, they bought three or fourrolls of west country cloth, and a supply of clothes suitable totheir condition, together with trunks for their carriage. All thesewere sent down to the ship, in the course of the afternoon, andthey themselves embarked late in the evening, as she was to setsail at daybreak.
The lads, accustomed to spacious and airy rooms, were quite takenaback at the small and stuffy cabin allotted to their joint use,and slept but badly, for the loading of the ship continued bytorchlight, until within an hour of the time of their departure.After tossing about for some hours in their narrow beds, they wereglad 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 aninterest 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 fewpersons on the quay, for those who had been engaged in loading thecargo 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 hawserswere thrown off, and, with a gentle wind blowing aft, the shipglided along past the shore, being helped by the tide, which hadbegun to ebb half an hour before. The lads were greatly interestedin watching the well-wooded slope on the left, with the statelyruins of Tintern Abbey rising above the trees. Then they passed theround fort, at the water's edge, on their right, and issued outfrom Southampton Water into the broad sheet between the island andthe mainland.
It was dotted with sails; fishing craft and coasters for the mostpart, but with some larger ships bound from the east toSouthampton, and others that had come in through the Solent. Thiswas very entertaining to the boys, and they were still more pleasedwhen they saw the fortifications of Portsmouth, with cannonpointing seaward, and with many vessels riding in the strait by theside of the town.
"That fort would give the French or the Dutch a hot reception, werethey at any time to think to capture the dockyard and shipping,"Sir Marmaduke said.
"The Dutch have already captured the place, and that withoutshedding a drop of blood," Mr. Jervoise remarked.
"'That is true enough," the knight said, stamping his foot angrilyon the deck, "but what has been won so easily may be lost asquickly. I have seen several changes since I can first remember,and I hope I may live to see another. However, we need not talk ofthat now."
"No, indeed," Mr. Jervoise agreed. "It may be, Sir Marmaduke, thatit would be better if we had talked and thought less of it, duringthe last twelve years; better for ourselves, and for these lads. Wemight still have been r
eady to join His Majesty as soon as helanded, but as, till then, we could do nothing, it seems to me nowthat it would have been wiser had we gone about our businesswithout worrying our heads, to say nothing of risking them, about amatter that may not take place during our lives; as we know, wellenough, the King of France uses the Stuarts only for his ownconvenience, and at heart cares nothing for them or their cause. Itis convenient to have the means of creating trouble here, and of soweakening William; and it may be that, some day or other, it maysuit him to send over an army here to fight William, with the aidof the Stuarts' friends, instead of fighting him in Holland orelsewhere. But whether he may think fit to do so in one year, or intwenty years hence, who can say? It is a question solely ofmilitary policy.
"The Stuarts are simply used, by the French king, to pull Englishchestnuts out of the fire. I would that they had establishedthemselves anywhere rather than in France. It does them harm withvast numbers who would otherwise be their friends, at any rate inEngland. In Scotland it is otherwise, for Scotland has always beenin alliance with France; but in England it is different. France hasalways been the national foe; and, had not Charles and James provedthemselves so subservient to Louis, William of Orange would neverhave been crowned king. There are vast numbers in England who wouldrather see a Stuart than a Dutchman on the throne, but who willnever strike a blow to replace them there, and that because theywill come over backed up by French bayonets.
"Well, let us talk of something else. If the time ever comes toact, 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 otherthings to occupy our thoughts."
"What is it, father," Harry asked, "that the Swedes and Danes aregoing to fight about?"
"It is a difficult question, Harry; but there can be little doubtthat Denmark is in the wrong. The King of Sweden died in April,1697. His death was unfortunate, for the powers contending inEurope had all agreed to refer their quarrels to his mediation. Athis death, Denmark endeavoured to obtain the honour, but failed;and by the mediation, chiefly, of the Swedish regency, peace wasconcluded between France, England, and Holland, in the autumn ofthat year; and, shortly afterwards, the struggle between the GermanEmperor, France, and Spain was also concluded, but not at all tothe satisfaction of the Swedish mediators.
"While Sweden was occupied in this matter of the pacification ofEurope, the King of Denmark thought to take advantage of the factthat Charles of Sweden was but a minor, to press Frederick, Duke ofHolstein, who was in close alliance with him.
"There had long been serious differences between the rulers ofDenmark and Holstein, both of whom were branches of the Oldenburgfamily, and this in reference to the Duchy of Schleswig. Thequarrel had arisen from the act of Christian the Third, of Denmark,who decreed that the descendants of his brother Adolphus shouldgovern Holstein, jointly with the King of Denmark, and thatHolstein and Schleswig should belong to them in common, neithermaking any change in Holstein without the consent of the other Amore foolish arrangement could not have been conceived, for anyonemight have foreseen that it would lead to disputes and troubles. Infact, quarrels continually arose, until, at the Peace of Rosahild,in 1658, the duchy was adjudged to Denmark.
"Holstein, however, never acquiesced in this, and in 1675 there waswar, when, Holstein being defeated, the Danes imprisoned its duke,Christian Albertus, until he signed a renunciation of all hisrights.
"His troops were disarmed, and all his towns and fortressesgarrisoned by Danish troops. On his release, the duke went toHamburg, where he remained till, at the Peace of Fontainebleau,four years later, he was replaced in possession of his estates andrights 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 1689, by which he was confirmed in therights given him, ten years before, with full liberty to raise acertain number of troops, and of building fortresses, on thecondition that he should raise none to the prejudice of Denmark.
"This was another of those stipulations which inevitably lead totrouble, for it afforded to Denmark a pretext for continualcomplaint and interference. When Frederick the Fourth succeeded hisfather as Duke of Holstein, in 1694, the quarrel grew so hot thatDenmark would have invaded Holstein, had not the parties to theTreaty of '89 interfered, and brought about a conference. Thislasted all through the year 1696, but the negotiators appointed tosettle the matter were unable to arrive at any conclusion.
"The following year, Charles of Sweden, who had just succeeded hisfather, furnished the duke with some troops, to help him to buildsome forts that were intended to protect the frontier, in case ofinvasion by Denmark. Christian of Denmark at once attacked andcaptured these forts, and levelled them to the ground. The duke,being too weak to engage in a war with his powerful neighbour, didnot resent this attack, and the negotiations were continued asbefore. In view of the danger of the situation, and the necessityfor a monarch at the head of affairs, the Swedish Diet met, atStockholm, to take part in the funeral of the late king, which wasto be performed on the 24th of November, and to deliberate upon thesituation.
"By the will of the late king, Charles was not to ascend the throneuntil he reached the age of eighteen, but the diet passed a voteoverruling this, and, as the regency concurred, he was at oncecrowned, and the alliance with Holstein was cemented by themarriage, that had been previously arranged between Charles'seldest sister and the Duke of Holstein, being celebrated atStockholm. Charles the Twelfth at once concluded treaties withFrance, England, and Holland; while Denmark is reported to haveprepared for war by making a secret alliance with Augustus ofSaxony, King of Poland, and the Czar of Russia. Both these monarchswere doubtless desirous of extending their dominions, at the costof 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 inobtaining, from the diet, a refusal to pay the Saxon troopsAugustus had brought with him. The king, no doubt, considered thatthese could be employed for the conquest of Livonia, and that theaddition of so large a territory to Poland would so add to hispopularity, 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, asthe czar was bringing a war with the Turks to a conclusion, and didnot wish to throw off the mask until he was free to use his wholeforce against Sweden. The ambassadors were, at last, receivedcivilly, but the czar evaded taking the usual oaths of friendship,and, after long delays, the embassy returned to Sweden, feelingsomewhat disquieted as to the intentions of the czar, but having nosure knowledge of them.
"The King of Poland was more successful in disguising his leaningtowards Denmark, sending the warmest assurances to Charles,requesting him to act as mediator in the quarrel between himselfand the Duke of Brandenburg, and signing a treaty of alliance withSweden. But, while Sweden had no idea of the triple alliance thathad been formed against her, the intention of Denmark to make warwas evident enough, for King Christian was gathering a great navalarmament.
"The Duke of Holstein, becoming much alarmed at these preparations,hastened on the fortifications of Tonningen, on the Eider, threeleagues from its mouth. The garrison of the place was a weak one,and a thousand Swedish troops were thrown in to strengthen it. TheKing of Denmark complained that this was a breach of the treaty,but, as his own preparations for war were unmistakable, no onecould blame the Duke of Holstein for taking steps to defend histerritories.
"As you know, Christian of Denmark died about this time, and wassucceeded by his son Frederick the Fourth.
"Last August, he commenced the war, by sending a naval squadron tocover the passage of four regiments into Pomerania. Charles ofSweden, seeing that Holstein must be crushed by its powerfulneighbour, called upon Holland and the Duke of Lu
nenburg, who werewith Sweden guarantors of the treaty, to enforce its provisions;and a joint protest was sent to the King of Denmark, who wasinformed that, if he invaded Holstein, they should consider it abreach 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 Kingof Poland, and Charles, at first, could hardly believe the reportshe received from the governor of Livonia, that the Saxon troopswere approaching the frontier.
"A few days later, however, came the news that they were advancingagainst Riga. The governor prepared for defence, and hastilymounted 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 setfire to the suburbs on the previous day; and Fleming was surprisedto 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 outhunting, a sport of which he is passionately fond. By all accounts,he is an extraordinary young fellow. He is not content with huntingbears and shooting them, but he and his followers engage them armedonly with forked sticks. With these they attack the bears, pushingand hustling the great creatures, with the forks of their sticks,until they are completely exhausted, when they are bound and sentaway. In this hunt Charles took fourteen alive, one of which nearlykilled him before it was captured. He did not break up the huntingparty, but continued his sport to the end, sending off, however,orders for the concentration of all the troops, in Livonia andFinland, to act against the Saxons.
"As soon as the King of Denmark heard of the siege of Riga, heordered the Duke of Wurtemberg-Neustadt, his commander-in-chief, toenter Holstein with his army, sixteen thousand strong. All of thatcountry was at once overrun, the ducal domains seized, and greatcontributions exacted from Schleswig and Holstein. Fleming and theSaxons, after one severe repulse, forced the garrison of the fortof Dunamund, commanding the mouth of the Duna, to surrender.Tonningen is the only fortress that now holds out in Holstein. Soyou see, lads, there is every chance of there being brisk fighting,and I warrant the young King of Sweden will not be backward in thefray. A man who is fond of engaging with bears, armed with nothingbut a forked stick, is not likely to hang back in the day ofbattle.
"But, at present, we will say no more on the matter. Now that wehave got beyond the shelter of the island, the waves are gettingup, and the vessel is beginning to toss and roll. I see that SirMarmaduke has retired to his cabin. I mean to remain here as longas I can, and I should advise you both to do the same. I havealways heard that it is better to fight with this sickness of thesea, as long as possible, and that it is easier to do so in freshair than in a close cabin."
The lads quite agreed with this opinion, but were, in spite oftheir efforts, presently prostrate. They remained on deck for somehours, and then crawled to their cabin, where they remained for thenext 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 longillness.
Mr. Jervoise had been in frequently to see them, having escaped themalady, from which, as he told them, Sir Marmaduke was suffering tothe full as severely as they were.
"So you have found your feet again," the captain said, when theyappeared 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 wishfor anything better. It has been just as you see it now--a brightsun, 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, ofcourse, as there always must be when there is a brisk wind; but asfor rolling and tossing, you must wait till you see a storm, thenyou will begin to have an idea of what the sea is."
The boys both felt rather crestfallen, for they had flatteredthemselves that their sufferings were caused by something quite outof the ordinary way, and it was mortifying to know that the weatherhad been really fine, and there had been nothing even approaching astorm.
The rest of the voyage was a pleasant one. They found they hadregained their appetites, and were able to enjoy their meals; stillthey were not sorry when they saw the coast of Sweden, and, a fewhours later, entered the port of Gottenburg, where Sir Marmaduke,for the first time, came on deck--looking a mere shadow of hisformer jovial self.
"Well, lads," he said, "I was glad to hear that you got throughthis business quicker than I did. Here we are in Sweden, and hereI, at least, am likely to stay, unless I can pass by land throughHolland, France, and across from Calais, for never again will Iventure upon a long voyage. I have been feeling very ungrateful,for, over and over again, I wished that you had not rescued me, asdeath on Tower Hill would have been nothing to the agonies that Ihave 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 wasas bad as the sea, as it kept on rising and falling beneath hisfeet. Mr. Jervoise agreed to return on board the following day, tofetch the luggage, which would by that time have been got up fromthe hold.
At the hotel, they met several persons able to speak English, andfrom them learnt how matters had been going on since they had lastheard. The town and fortress of Tonningen had fallen, after avigorous defence; it had been bombarded for eight days, and hadrepulsed one assault, but had been captured at the second attack.England and Holland had agreed to furnish fleets, and an army oftwelve thousand Swedes were in readiness to march, at once, whileother 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 hisfriends who resided at Gottenburg. He was fortunate enough to findone of them, who was able to inform him that his wife's cousin wasnow a major, in one of the newly-raised regiments stationed atGottenburg.
He found him without difficulty. Major Jamieson was delighted atthe coming of his former friend.
"You are the last person I expected to see here, Jervoise. It istrue that, when we met last, you said that if matters went wrong inEngland you should come out here, instead of taking refuge inFrance; but, as everything is quiet, I had little hope of seeingyou again, until I paid another visit to Scotland, of which atpresent there is but little prospect. Have you grown tired of doingnothing, and is it a desire to see something of a stirring lifethat has brought you over here?"
Mr. Jervoise related, shortly, the events by which he had beendriven into exile, and expressed his desire to serve in the army ofSweden, and that his son and young Carstairs should also enter thearmy.
"They are but sixteen yet," he said, "but are stout, activefellows, and could hold their own in a day's march or in a stoutfight with many men. Of course, if I could obtain commissions forthem, all the better, but if not they are ready to enlist in theranks. Roughing it will do them no harm."
"Their age is no drawback," Major Jamieson said. "There are many noolder, both in the ranks and as officers. Men in Sweden of all agesand of all ranks are joining, for this unprovoked attack, on thepart of Poland, has raised the national spirit to boiling heat. Thechief difficulty is their and your ignorance of the language. Wereit 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 twentyor thirty Scotchmen in my regiment, and I know a colonel who has a
smany in his, and these I could manage to get, in exchange for anequal number of my Swedes. Ships are coming daily from Scotland,and most of them bring young fellows who have come out to join thearmy.
"You know how the Scots fought, under Gustavus Adolphus, and thereis scarce a glen in Scotland where there are not traditions offathers, or grandfathers, who fought in Hepburn's Green Brigade.Therefore, it is natural that, seeing there is no chance ofmilitary service at home, there should be many young fellows comingout to join.
"I can go across this evening to the minister of war, who is apersonal friend of mine, and get him to give you permission toraise a company of Scotchmen for service. I shall, of course, pointout to him that you will enlist them here. I shall show him theadvantage of these men being gathered together, as their ignoranceof the language makes them, for some time, useless as soldiers ifenrolled in a Swedish regiment. I shall mention that I have twentyin my own corps, who are at present positively useless, and in facta source of great trouble, owing to their understanding nothingthat is said to them, and shall propose that they be at once handedover to you. As to the exchange, we can manage that quietly betweenourselves. You would have no difficulty with fresh-landed men, asthese will naturally be delighted at joining a company of their owncountrymen."
"Thank you very heartily, Jamieson. This altogether exceeds myhopes, but I fear that I know nothing of drilling them."
"Two of my men are sergeants, and, having been in the army for someyears, speak Swedish well. They will do the drilling at first. Themanoeuvres are not complicated, and, for a pound or two, they willbe glad to teach you all the orders necessary. I don't know how youare situated as to money, but I can assure you my purse is at yourservice."
"Thank you; I am, in that respect, excellently well provided, as ismy friend Sir Marmaduke. We have both made provision for unexpectedcontingencies."
"Then, if you will call tomorrow after breakfast, I shall probablyhave your commission ready. As a matter of course, you will havethe appointment of your own officers, and will only have to send intheir names. Each company is from a hundred and forty to a hundredand fifty strong, and has a captain, two lieutenants, and twoensigns."
Mr. Jervoise's news was, on his return to the inn, received withdelight by the two lads; and Sir Marmaduke said:
"I wish I could shake off twenty of my years, Jervoise, and joinalso. Well, well, I daresay I shall get on comfortably enough. Iknow there are a good many English and Scotch Jacobites settled inthe town or neighbourhood, and I shall not be long before I meetsomeone 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 sayingwhen ships may come in. Moreover, it is likely enough that you maylight 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 bedelighted to hear a friendly voice, and be only too glad to enlistin a Scottish company. You can say that each man will have a freeoutfit given him."
Accordingly, the next morning early, the two lads went down to thewharf. Presently they saw three young fellows, who were evidentlyScotch by their dress and caps, talking together. They strolled upnear enough to catch what they were saying.
"It is hard," one said, "that, now we are here, we can make no oneunderstand us, and it seems to me we had far better have stayed athome."
"We shall find some one who speaks our language presently, Jock,"another said more cheerfully. "The old man, where we lodged lastnight, said in his broken tongue, that we had but to go over toMalmoe, or some such place as that, where there is a big camp, andwalk up to an officer and say we wish to enlist."
"Oh, that is all very well," the other grumbled; "but, if he didnot 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 intheir own tongue.
"That we do, sir. If you can put us in the way, we shall begrateful."
"That I can do easily," Harry said. "My father is raising a companyof Scotch and Englishmen, for the regiment commanded by ColonelJamieson. This will be far better than joining a Swedish company,where no one will understand your language, and you will not beable to make out the orders given. My father will give each man whojoins a free outfit."
"That is the very thing for us, sir. We expected to find Scotchregiments here, as there were in the old times, and we had hoped tojoin them; but whether it is a company or regiment, it makes butlittle 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, youwill see my father there. If you know of any others in the samemind 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 tojoin."
"Well, see if you can hunt them up, and bring them with you."
On returning to the inn, they found that Mr. Jervoise had alreadyreceived his commission as captain, and, by ten o'clock, fifteenyoung Scotchmen had been sworn in. All of them had broughtbroadswords and dirks, and Captain Jervoise at once set to workbuying, at various shops, iron head pieces, muskets, and otheraccoutrements.
During the next three days ten other English and Scotchmen hadjoined, and then a ship came in, from which they gathered anotherfour-and-twenty recruits. Arms had already been purchased for them,and, on the following day, Captain Jervoise marched off to Malmoewith his forty-nine recruits. Harry accompanied them, Charlie beingleft behind, with his father, to gather another fifty men as theships arrived.
A week later this number was obtained, and Charlie started withthem for the camp, Sir Marmaduke accompanying them on horseback, inorder to aid Charlie in maintaining order among his recruits. Hehad already fixed upon a small house, just outside the town, and,having met two or three old friends, who had been obliged to leaveEngland at William's accession, he already began to feel at home.
"Don't you fidget about me, Charlie," he said. "Ferrers tells methat there are at least a score of Jacobites here, and that theyform quite a society among themselves. Living is very cheap, and hewill introduce me to a man of business, who will see that my moneyis well invested."
