Old Mortality, Complete

by Walter Scott

  CHAPTER XV.

  Quantum in nobis, we've thought good To save the expense of Christian blood, And try if we, by mediation Of treaty, and accommodation, Can end the quarrel, and compose This bloody duel without blows. Butler.

  The increased pace of the party of horsemen soon took away from theirzealous captives the breath, if not the inclination, necessary forholding forth. They had now for more than a mile got free of thewoodlands, whose broken glades had, for some time, accompanied them afterthey had left the woods of Tillietudlem. A few birches and oaks stillfeathered the narrow ravines, or occupied in dwarf-clusters the hollowplains of the moor. But these were gradually disappearing; and a wide andwaste country lay before them, swelling into bare hills of dark heath,intersected by deep gullies; being the passages by which torrents forcedtheir course in winter, and during summer the disproportioned channelsfor diminutive rivulets that winded their puny way among heaps of stonesand gravel, the effects and tokens of their winter fury;--like so manyspendthrifts dwindled down by the consequences of former excesses andextravagance. This desolate region seemed to extend farther than the eyecould reach, without grandeur, without even the dignity of mountainwildness, yet striking, from the huge proportion which it seemed to bearto such more favoured spots of the country as were adapted tocultivation, and fitted for the support of man; and thereby impressingirresistibly the mind of the spectator with a sense of the omnipotence ofnature, and the comparative inefficacy of the boasted means ofamelioration which man is capable of opposing to the disadvantages ofclimate and soil.

  It is a remarkable effect of such extensive wastes, that they impose anidea of solitude even upon those who travel through them in considerablenumbers; so much is the imagination affected by the disproportion betweenthe desert around and the party who are traversing it. Thus the membersof a caravan of a thousand souls may feel, in the deserts of Africa orArabia, a sense of loneliness unknown to the individual traveller, whosesolitary course is through a thriving and cultivated country.

  It was not, therefore, without a peculiar feeling of emotion, that Mortonbeheld, at the distance of about half a mile, the body of the cavalry towhich his escort belonged, creeping up a steep and winding path whichascended from the more level moor into the hills. Their numbers, whichappeared formidable when they crowded through narrow roads, and seemedmultiplied by appearing partially, and at different points, among thetrees, were now apparently diminished by being exposed at once to view,and in a landscape whose extent bore such immense proportion to thecolumns of horses and men, which, showing more like a drove of blackcattle than a body of soldiers, crawled slowly along the face of thehill, their force and their numbers seeming trifling and contemptible.

  "Surely," said Morton to himself, "a handful of resolute men may defendany defile in these mountains against such a small force as this is,providing that their bravery is equal to their enthusiasm."

  While he made these reflections, the rapid movement of the horsemen whoguarded him, soon traversed the space which divided them from theircompanions; and ere the front of Claverhouse's column had gained the browof the hill which they had been seen ascending, Bothwell, with hisrearguard and prisoners, had united himself, or nearly so, with the mainbody led by his commander. The extreme difficulty of the road, which wasin some places steep, and in others boggy, retarded the progress of thecolumn, especially in the rear; for the passage of the main body, in manyinstances, poached up the swamps through which they passed, and renderedthem so deep, that the last of their followers were forced to leave thebeaten path, and find safer passage where they could.

  On these occasions, the distresses of the Reverend Gabriel Kettledrummleand of Mause Headrigg, were considerably augmented, as the brutaltroopers, by whom they were guarded, compelled them, at all risks whichsuch inexperienced riders were likely to incur, to leap their horses overdrains and gullies, or to push them through morasses and swamps.

  "Through the help of the Lord I have luppen ower a wall," cried poorMause, as her horse was, by her rude attendants, brought up to leap theturf enclosure of a deserted fold, in which feat her curch flew off,leaving her grey hairs uncovered.

  "I am sunk in deep mire where there is no standing--I am come into deepwaters where the floods overflow me," exclaimed Kettledrummle, as thecharger on which he was mounted plunged up to the saddle-girths in awell-head, as the springs are called which supply the marshes, the sablestreams beneath spouting over the face and person of the captivepreacher.

  These exclamations excited shouts of laughter among their militaryattendants; but events soon occurred which rendered them all sufficientlyserious.

  The leading files of the regiment had nearly attained the brow of thesteep hill we have mentioned, when two or three horsemen, speedilydiscovered to be a part of their own advanced guard, who had acted as apatrol, appeared returning at full gallop, their horses much blown, andthe men apparently in a disordered flight. They were followed upon thespur by five or six riders, well armed with sword and pistol, who haltedupon the top of the hill, on observing the approach of the Life-Guards.One or two who had carabines dismounted, and, taking a leisurely anddeliberate aim at the foremost rank of the regiment, discharged theirpieces, by which two troopers were wounded, one severely. They thenmounted their horses, and disappeared over the ridge of the hill,retreating with so much coolness as evidently showed, that, on the onehand, they were undismayed by the approach of so considerable a force aswas moving against them, and conscious, on the other, that they weresupported by numbers sufficient for their protection. This incidentoccasioned a halt through the whole body of cavalry; and whileClaverhouse himself received the report of his advanced guard, which hadbeen thus driven back upon the main body, Lord Evandale advanced to thetop of the ridge over which the enemy's horsemen had retired, and MajorAllan, Cornet Grahame, and the other officers, employed themselves inextricating the regiment from the broken ground, and drawing them up onthe side of the hill in two lines, the one to support the other.

  The word was then given to advance; and in a few minutes the first linesstood on the brow and commanded the prospect on the other side. Thesecond line closed upon them, and also the rear-guard with the prisoners;so that Morton and his companions in captivity could, in like manner, seethe form of opposition which was now offered to the farther progress oftheir captors.

  The brow of the hill, on which the royal Life-Guards were now drawn up,sloped downwards (on the side opposite to that which they had ascended)with a gentle declivity, for more than a quarter of a mile, and presentedground, which, though unequal in some places, was not altogetherunfavourable for the manoeuvres of cavalry, until near the bottom, whenthe slope terminated in a marshy level, traversed through its wholelength by what seemed either a natural gully, or a deep artificial drain,the sides of which were broken by springs, trenches filled with water,out of which peats and turf had been dug, and here and there by somestraggling thickets of alders which loved the moistness so well, thatthey continued to live as bushes, although too much dwarfed by the soursoil and the stagnant bog-water to ascend into trees. Beyond this ditch,or gully, the ground arose into a second heathy swell, or rather hill,near to the foot of which, and' as if with the object of defending thebroken ground and ditch that covered their front, the body of insurgentsappeared to be drawn up with the purpose of abiding battle.

  Their infantry was divided into three lines. The first, tolerablyprovided with fire-arms, were advanced almost close to the verge of thebog, so that their fire must necessarily annoy the royal cavalry as theydescended the opposite hill, the whole front of which was exposed, andwould probably be yet more fatal if they attempted to cross the morass.Behind this first line was a body of pikemen, designed for their supportin case the dragoons should force the passage of the marsh. In their rearwas their third line, consisting of countrymen armed with scythes setstraight on poles, hay
-forks, spits, clubs, goads, fish-spears, and suchother rustic implements as hasty resentment had converted intoinstruments of war. On each flank of the infantry, but a little backwardfrom the bog, as if to allow themselves dry and sound ground whereon toact in case their enemies should force the pass, there was drawn up asmall body of cavalry, who were, in general, but indifferently armed, andworse mounted, but full of zeal for the cause, being chiefly eitherlandholders of small property, or farmers of the better class, whosemeans enabled them to serve on horseback. A few of those who had beenengaed in driving back the advanced guard of the royalists, might now beseen returning slowly towards their own squadrons. These were the onlyindividuals of the insurgent army which seemed to be in motion. All theothers stood firm and motionless, as the grey stones that lay scatteredon the heath around them.

  The total number of the insurgents might amount to about a thousand men;but of these there were scarce a hundred cavalry, nor were the half ofthem even tolerably armed. The strength of their position, however, thesense of their having taken a desperate step, the superiority of theirnumbers, but, above all, the ardour of their enthusiasm, were the meanson which their leaders reckoned, for supplying the want of arms,equipage, and military discipline.

  On the side of the hill that rose above the array of battle which theyhad adopted, were seen the women and even the children, whom zeal,opposed to persecution, had driven into the wilderness. They seemedstationed there to be spectators of the engagement, by which their ownfate, as well as that of their parents, husbands, and sons, was to bedecided. Like the females of the ancient German tribes, the shrill crieswhich they raised, when they beheld the glittering ranks of their enemyappear on the brow of the opposing eminence, acted as an incentive totheir relatives to fight to the last in defence of that which was dearestto them. Such exhortations seemed to have their full and emphatic effect;for a wild halloo, which went from rank to rank on the appearance of thesoldiers, intimated the resolution of the insurgents to fight to theuttermost.

  As the horsemen halted their lines on the ridge of the hill, theirtrumpets and kettle-drums sounded a bold and warlike flourish of menaceand defiance, that rang along the waste like the shrill summons of adestroying angel. The wanderers, in answer, united their voices, and sentforth, in solemn modulation, the two first verses of the seventy-sixthPsalm, according to the metrical version of the Scottish Kirk:

  "In Judah's land God is well known, His name's in Israel great: In Salem is his tabernacle, In Zion is his seat. There arrows of the bow he brake, The shield, the sword, the war. More glorious thou than hills of prey, More excellent art far."

  A shout, or rather a solemn acclamation, attended the close of thestanza; and after a dead pause, the second verse was resumed by theinsurgents, who applied the destruction of the Assyrians as propheticalof the issue of their own impending contest:--

  "Those that were stout of heart are spoil'd, They slept their sleep outright; And none of those their hands did find, That were the men of might.

  When thy rebuke, O Jacob's God, Had forth against them past, Their horses and their chariots both Were in a deep sleep cast."

  There was another acclamation, which was followed by the most profoundsilence.

  While these solemn sounds, accented by a thousand voices, were prolongedamongst the waste hills, Claverhouse looked with great attention on theground, and on the order of battle which the wanderers had adopted, andin which they determined to await the assault.

  "The churls," he said, "must have some old soldiers with them; it was norustic that made choice of that ground."

  "Burley is said to be with them for certain," answered Lord Evandale,"and also Hackston of Rathillet, Paton of Meadowhead, Cleland, and someother men of military skill."

  "I judged as much," said Claverhouse, "from the style in which thesedetached horsemen leapt their horses over the ditch, as they returned totheir position. It was easy to see that there were a few roundheadedtroopers amongst them, the true spawn of the old Covenant. We must managethis matter warily as well as boldly. Evandale, let the officers come tothis knoll."

  He moved to a small moss-grown cairn, probably the resting-place of someCeltic chief of other times, and the call of "Officers to the front,"soon brought them around their commander.

  "I do not call you around me, gentlemen," said Claverhouse, "in theformal capacity of a council of war, for I will never turn over on othersthe responsibility which my rank imposes on myself. I only want thebenefit of your opinions, reserving to myself, as most men do when theyask advice, the liberty of following my own.--What say you, CornetGrahame? Shall we attack these fellows who are bellowing younder? You areyoungest and hottest, and therefore will speak first whether I will orno."

  "Then," said Cornet Grahame, "while I have the honour to carry thestandard of the Life-Guards, it shall never, with my will, retreat beforerebels. I say, charge, in God's name and the King's!"

  "And what say you, Allan?" continued Claverhouse, "for Evandale is somodest, we shall never get him to speak till you have said what you haveto say."

  "These fellows," said Major Allan, an old cavalier officer of experience,"are three or four to one--I should not mind that much upon a fair field,but they are posted in a very formidable strength, and show noinclination to quit it. I therefore think, with deference to CornetGrahame's opinion, that we should draw back to Tillietudlem, occupy thepass between the hills and the open country, and send for reinforcementsto my Lord Ross, who is lying at Glasgow with a regiment of infantry. Inthis way we should cut them off from the Strath of Clyde, and eithercompel them to come out of their stronghold, and give us battle on fairterms, or, if they remain here, we will attack them so soon as ourinfantry has joined us, and enabled us to act with effect among theseditches, bogs, and quagmires."

  "Pshaw!" said the young Cornet, "what signifies strong ground, when it isonly held by a crew of canting, psalm-singing old women?"

  "A man may fight never the worse," retorted Major Allan, "for honouringboth his Bible and Psalter. These fellows will prove as stubborn assteel; I know them of old."

  "Their nasal psalmody," said the Cornet, "reminds our Major of the raceof Dunbar."

  "Had you been at that race, young man," retorted Allan, "you would havewanted nothing to remind you of it for the longest day you have to live."

  "Hush, hush, gentlemen," said Claverhouse, "these are untimelyrepartees.--I should like your advice well, Major Allan, had our rascallypatrols (whom I will see duly punished) brought us timely notice of theenemy's numbers and position. But having once presented ourselves beforethem in line, the retreat of the Life-Guards would argue gross timidity,and be the general signal for insurrection throughout the west. In whichcase, so far from obtaining any assistance from my Lord Ross, I promiseyou I should have great apprehensions of his being cut off before we canjoin him, or he us. A retreat would have quite the same fatal effect uponthe king's cause as the loss of a battle--and as to the difference ofrisk or of safety it might make with respect to ourselves, that, I amsure, no gentleman thinks a moment about. There must be some gorges orpasses in the morass through which we can force our way; and, were weonce on firm ground, I trust there is no man in the Life-Guards whosupposes our squadrons, though so weak in numbers, are unable to trampleinto dust twice the number of these unpractised clowns.--What say you, myLord Evandale?"

  "I humbly think," said Lord Evandale, "that, go the day how it will, itmust be a bloody one; and that we shall lose many brave fellows, andprobably be obliged to slaughter a great number of these misguided men,who, after all, are Scotchmen and subjects of King Charles as well as weare."

  "Rebels! rebels! and undeserving the name either of Scotchmen or ofsubjects," said Claverhouse; "but come, my lord, what does y
our opinionpoint at?"

  "To enter into a treaty with these ignorant and misled men," said theyoung nobleman.

  "A treaty! and with rebels having arms in their hands? Never while Ilive," answered his commander.

  "At least send a trumpet and flag of truce, summoning them to lay downtheir weapons and disperse," said Lord Evandale, "upon promise of a freepardon--I have always heard, that had that been done before the battle ofPentland hills, much blood might have been saved."

  "Well," said Claverhouse, "and who the devil do you think would carry asummons to these headstrong and desperate fanatics? They acknowledge nolaws of war. Their leaders, who have been all most active in the murderof the Archbishop of St Andrews, fight with a rope round their necks, andare likely to kill the messenger, were it but to dip their followers inloyal blood, and to make them as desperate of pardon as themselves."

  "I will go myself," said Evandale, "if you will permit me. I have oftenrisked my blood to spill that of others, let me do so now in order tosave human lives."

  "You shall not go on such an errand, my lord," said Claverhouse; "yourrank and situation render your safety of too much consequence to thecountry in an age when good principles are so rare.--Here's my brother'sson Dick Grahame, who fears shot or steel as little as if the devil hadgiven him armour of proof against it, as the fanatics say he has given tohis uncle.

  [Note: Cornet Grahame. There was actually a young cornet of the Life-Guards named Grahame, and probably some relation of Claverhouse, slain in the skirmish of Drumclog. In the old ballad on the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, Claverhouse is said to have continued the slaughter of the fugitives in revenge of this gentleman's death.

  "Haud up your hand," then Monmouth said; "Gie quarters to these men for me;" But bloody Claver'se swore an oath, His kinsman's death avenged should be.

  The body of this young man was found shockingly mangled after the battle, his eyes pulled out, and his features so much defaced, that it was impossible to recognise him. The Tory writers say that this was done by the Whigs; because, finding the name Grahame wrought in the young gentleman's neckcloth, they took the corpse for that of Claver'se himself. The Whig authorities give a different account, from tradition, of the cause of Cornet Grahame's body being thus mangled. He had, say they, refused his own dog any food on the morning of the battle, affirming, with an oath, that he should have no breakfast but upon the flesh of the Whigs. The ravenous animal, it is said, flew at his master as soon as he fell, and lacerated his face and throat.

  These two stories are presented to the reader, leaving it to him to judge whether it is most likely that a party of persecuted and insurgent fanatics should mangle a body supposed to be that of their chief enemy, in the same manner as several persons present at Drumclog had shortly before treated the person of Archbishop Sharpe; or that a domestic dog should, for want of a single breakfast, become so ferocious as to feed on his own master, selecting his body from scores that were lying around, equally accessible to his ravenous appetite.]

  He shall take a flag of truce and a trumpet, and ride down to the edge ofthe morass to summon them to lay down their arms and disperse."

  "With all my soul, Colonel," answered the Cornet; "and I'll tie my cravaton a pike to serve for a white flag--the rascals never saw such a pennonof Flanders lace in their lives before."

  "Colonel Grahame," said Evandale, while the young officer prepared forhis expedition, "this young gentleman is your nephew and your apparentheir; for God's sake, permit me to go. It was my counsel, and I ought tostand the risk."

  "Were he my only son," said Claverhouse, "this is no cause and no time tospare him. I hope my private affections will never interfere with mypublic duty. If Dick Grahame falls, the loss is chiefly mine; were yourlordship to die, the King and country would be the sufferers.--Come,gentlemen, each to his post. If our summons is unfavourably received, wewill instantly attack; and, as the old Scottish blazon has it, God shawthe right!"