after much discussion, the party agreed that it would be best to make for southampton. the road thither was less frequented than that leading to london, and there were fewer towns to be passed, and less chance of interruption. mr. jervoise had brought with him a valise and suit of clothes for sir marmaduke, of sober cut and fashion. they avoided all large towns and, at the places where they put up, represented themselves as traders travelling from the midlands to the southern coast, and they arrived at southampton without having excited the smallest suspicion. indeed, throughout the journey, they had heard no word of the affray near chapel le frith, and knew, therefore, that the news had not travelled as fast as they had.
at southampton, however, they had scarcely put up at an inn when the landlord said:
"i suppose, gentlemen, they are talking of nothing else, in london, but the rescue of a desperate jacobite by his friends. the news only reached here yesterday."
"it has occasioned a good deal of scare," mr. jervoise replied. "i suppose there is no word of the arrest of the man, or his accomplices? we have travelled but slowly, and the news may have passed us on the way."
"not as yet," the landlord replied. "they say that all the northern and 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 of cumberland or westmoreland, or perhaps on the yorkshire moors; but they are sure to catch him sooner or later."
"it is a bad business altogether," mr. jervoise said, "and we can only hope that all guilty persons will in time get the punishment they so well deserve. how can trade be carried on, if the country is to be disturbed by plots, and conspiracies?"
"how, indeed?" the landlord repeated heartily. "i do not meddle in politics, being content to earn my living by my business, and to receive all who can pay their reckoning, without caring a jot whether they be whigs or tories."
the next morning mr. jervoise and sir marmaduke went down to the port, 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 with munitions of war for sweden, and that one of them would sail shortly. 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 to offer, i should not say no to them."
"we want to take passage for sweden," mr. jervoise said. "the king of that country is, as they say, fitting out an army. clothes are as necessary for troops as swords and guns, and we think we could obtain a contract for these goods. there is no hope of doing so, unless we ourselves go over, and, though sorely loath to do so, for neither of us have ever before set foot on board a ship, we determined on making the journey, together with our two clerks, for whom we will take passage at the same rate as for ourselves, seeing that 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 the goods 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 not wish to appear eager to go; but the matter was finally settled to the 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 us a week, or a month or two for aught we know, and we do not want our horses 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 of the devonshire ports, which would suit us much better. but we should not be able to do so, if there were need for returning here for our horses. therefore, we would fain dispose of them, and, if you can find us a purchaser by tomorrow night, we will pay you a fair 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 i can 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 a friend of mine, are requiring horses for themselves and their servants, and i have promised my friend a slice of my commission, if he will bring them round hither. will you name your price for them?"
"no, i would rather not," mr. jervoise said cautiously. "if we asked too high a figure, we might frighten the purchasers away. if we should ask too little, we should be the losers. i daresay they have named, to your friend, the price they are willing to give. you had better ask from them a good bit above that, then you can come down little by little, and maybe, seeing the horses are really good ones, they may advance a bit. i am not used to a horse deal, and will leave it to you to make the bargain. we are sorry to part with the animals, but they might die on the voyage, or get so injured as to be worthless; and, moreover, we shall have no use for them there. therefore, as we must sell, we are ready to take the best terms we can get."
when they returned to the inn, after an absence of two hours, they found that the landlord had sold the horses, for a sum nearly approaching their value, the gentlemen being as anxious to purchase them as they were to sell. the next day, they bought three or four rolls of west country cloth, and a supply of clothes suitable to their condition, together with trunks for their carriage. all these were sent down to the ship, in the course of the afternoon, and they themselves embarked late in the evening, as she was to set sail at daybreak.
the lads, accustomed to spacious and airy rooms, were quite taken aback at the small and stuffy cabin allotted to their joint use, and slept but badly, for the loading of the ship continued by torchlight, until within an hour of the time of their departure. after tossing about for some hours in their narrow beds, they were glad 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 an interest 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 few persons on the quay, for those who had been engaged in loading the cargo 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 hawsers were thrown off, and, with a gentle wind blowing aft, the ship glided along past the shore, being helped by the tide, which had begun to ebb half an hour before. the lads were greatly interested in watching the well-wooded slope on the left, with the stately ruins of tintern abbey rising above the trees. then they passed the round fort, at the water's edge, on their right, and issued out from southampton water into the broad sheet between the island and the mainland.
it was dotted with sails; fishing craft and coasters for the most part, but with some larger ships bound from the east to southampton, and others that had come in through the solent. this was very entertaining to the boys, and they were still more pleased when they saw the fortifications of portsmouth, with cannon pointing seaward, and with many vessels riding in the strait by the side of the town.
"that fort would give the french or the dutch a hot reception, were they at any time to think to capture the dockyard and shipping," sir marmaduke said.
"the dutch have already captured the place, and that without shedding a drop of blood," mr. jervoise remarked.
"'that is true enough," the knight said, stamping his foot angrily on the deck, "but what has been won so easily may be lost as quickly. i have seen several changes since i can first remember, and i hope i may live to see another. however, we need not talk of that now."
"no, indeed," mr. jervoise agreed. "it may be, sir marmaduke, that it would be better if we had talked and thought less of it, during the last twelve years; better for ourselves, and for these lads. we might still have been ready to join his majesty as soon as he landed, but as, till then, we could do nothing, it seems to me now that it would have been wiser had we gone about our business without worrying our heads, to say nothing of risking them, about a matter that may not take place during our lives; as we know, well enough, the king of france uses the stuarts only for his own convenience, and at heart cares nothing for them or their cause. it is convenient to have the means of creating trouble here, and of so weakening william; and it may be that, some day or other, it may suit him to send over an army here to fight william, with the aid of the stuarts' friends, instead of fighting him in holland or elsewhere. but whether he may think fit to do so in one year, or in twenty years hence, who can say? it is a question solely of military policy.
"the stuarts are simply used, by the french king, to pull english chestnuts out of the fire. i would that they had established themselves anywhere rather than in france. it does them harm with vast numbers who would otherwise be their friends, at any rate in england. in scotland it is otherwise, for scotland has always been in alliance with france; but in england it is different. france has always been the national foe; and, had not charles and james proved themselves so subservient to louis, william of orange would never have been crowned king. there are vast numbers in england who would rather see a stuart than a dutchman on the throne, but who will never strike a blow to replace them there, and that because they will come over backed up by french bayonets.
"well, let us talk of something else. if the time ever comes to act, 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 other things to occupy our thoughts."
"what is it, father," harry asked, "that the swedes and danes are going to fight about?"
"it is a difficult question, harry; but there can be little doubt that denmark is in the wrong. the king of sweden died in april, 1697. his death was unfortunate, for the powers contending in europe had all agreed to refer their quarrels to his mediation. at his death, denmark endeavoured to obtain the honour, but failed; and by the mediation, chiefly, of the swedish regency, peace was concluded between france, england, and holland, in the autumn of that year; and, shortly afterwards, the struggle between the german emperor, france, and spain was also concluded, but not at all to the satisfaction of the swedish mediators.
"while sweden was occupied in this matter of the pacification of europe, the king of denmark thought to take advantage of the fact that charles of sweden was but a minor, to press frederick, duke of holstein, who was in close alliance with him.
"there had long been serious differences between the rulers of denmark and holstein, both of whom were branches of the oldenburg family, and this in reference to the duchy of schleswig. the quarrel had arisen from the act of christian the third, of denmark, who decreed that the descendants of his brother adolphus should govern holstein, jointly with the king of denmark, and that holstein and schleswig should belong to them in common, neither making any change in holstein without the consent of the other a more foolish arrangement could not have been conceived, for anyone might have foreseen that it would lead to disputes and troubles. in fact, 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 was war, when, holstein being defeated, the danes imprisoned its duke, christian albertus, until he signed a renunciation of all his rights.
"his troops were disarmed, and all his towns and fortresses garrisoned by danish troops. on his release, the duke went to hamburg, where he remained till, at the peace of fontainebleau, four years later, he was replaced in possession of his estates and rights 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 the rights given him, ten years before, with full liberty to raise a certain number of troops, and of building fortresses, on the condition that he should raise none to the prejudice of denmark.
"this was another of those stipulations which inevitably lead to trouble, for it afforded to denmark a pretext for continual complaint and interference. when frederick the fourth succeeded his father as duke of holstein, in 1694, the quarrel grew so hot that denmark would have invaded holstein, had not the parties to the treaty of '89 interfered, and brought about a conference. this lasted all through the year 1696, but the negotiators appointed to settle the matter were unable to arrive at any conclusion.
"the following year, charles of sweden, who had just succeeded his father, furnished the duke with some troops, to help him to build some forts that were intended to protect the frontier, in case of invasion by denmark. christian of denmark at once attacked and captured these forts, and levelled them to the ground. the duke, being too weak to engage in a war with his powerful neighbour, did not resent this attack, and the negotiations were continued as before. in view of the danger of the situation, and the necessity for a monarch at the head of affairs, the swedish diet met, at stockholm, to take part in the funeral of the late king, which was to be performed on the 24th of november, and to deliberate upon the situation.
"by the will of the late king, charles was not to ascend the throne until he reached the age of eighteen, but the diet passed a vote overruling this, and, as the regency concurred, he was at once crowned, and the alliance with holstein was cemented by the marriage, that had been previously arranged between charles's eldest sister and the duke of holstein, being celebrated at stockholm. charles the twelfth at once concluded treaties with france, england, and holland; while denmark is reported to have prepared for war by making a secret alliance with augustus of saxony, king of poland, and the czar of russia. both these monarchs were doubtless desirous of extending their dominions, at the cost of 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 in obtaining, from the diet, a refusal to pay the saxon troops augustus had brought with him. the king, no doubt, considered that these could be employed for the conquest of livonia, and that the addition of so large a territory to poland would so add to his popularity, 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, as the czar was bringing a war with the turks to a conclusion, and did not wish to throw off the mask until he was free to use his whole force against sweden. the ambassadors were, at last, received civilly, but the czar evaded taking the usual oaths of friendship, and, after long delays, the embassy returned to sweden, feeling somewhat disquieted as to the intentions of the czar, but having no sure knowledge of them.
"the king of poland was more successful in disguising his leaning towards denmark, sending the warmest assurances to charles, requesting him to act as mediator in the quarrel between himself and the duke of brandenburg, and signing a treaty of alliance with sweden. but, while sweden had no idea of the triple alliance that had been formed against her, the intention of denmark to make war was evident enough, for king christian was gathering a great naval armament.
"the duke of holstein, becoming much alarmed at these preparations, hastened on the fortifications of tonningen, on the eider, three leagues from its mouth. the garrison of the place was a weak one, and a thousand swedish troops were thrown in to strengthen it. the king of denmark complained that this was a breach of the treaty, but, as his own preparations for war were unmistakable, no one could blame the duke of holstein for taking steps to defend his territories.
"as you know, christian of denmark died about this time, and was succeeded by his son frederick the fourth.
"last august, he commenced the war, by sending a naval squadron to cover the passage of four regiments into pomerania. charles of sweden, seeing that holstein must be crushed by its powerful neighbour, called upon holland and the duke of lunenburg, who were with sweden guarantors of the treaty, to enforce its provisions; and a joint protest was sent to the king of denmark, who was informed that, if he invaded holstein, they should consider it a breach 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 king of poland, and charles, at first, could hardly believe the reports he received from the governor of livonia, that the saxon troops were approaching the frontier.
"a few days later, however, came the news that they were advancing against riga. the governor prepared for defence, and hastily mounted 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 set fire to the suburbs on the previous day; and fleming was surprised to 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 out hunting, a sport of which he is passionately fond. by all accounts, he is an extraordinary young fellow. he is not content with hunting bears and shooting them, but he and his followers engage them armed only with forked sticks. with these they attack the bears, pushing and hustling the great creatures, with the forks of their sticks, until they are completely exhausted, when they are bound and sent away. in this hunt charles took fourteen alive, one of which nearly killed him before it was captured. he did not break up the hunting party, but continued his sport to the end, sending off, however, orders for the concentration of all the troops, in livonia and finland, to act against the saxons.
"as soon as the king of denmark heard of the siege of riga, he ordered the duke of wurtemberg-neustadt, his commander-in-chief, to enter holstein with his army, sixteen thousand strong. all of that country was at once overrun, the ducal domains seized, and great contributions exacted from schleswig and holstein. fleming and the saxons, after one severe repulse, forced the garrison of the fort of dunamund, commanding the mouth of the duna, to surrender. tonningen is the only fortress that now holds out in holstein. so you see, lads, there is every chance of there being brisk fighting, and i warrant the young king of sweden will not be backward in the fray. a man who is fond of engaging with bears, armed with nothing but a forked stick, is not likely to hang back in the day of battle.
"but, at present, we will say no more on the matter. now that we have got beyond the shelter of the island, the waves are getting up, and the vessel is beginning to toss and roll. i see that sir marmaduke has retired to his cabin. i mean to remain here as long as i can, and i should advise you both to do the same. i have always heard that it is better to fight with this sickness of the sea, as long as possible, and that it is easier to do so in fresh air than in a close cabin."
the lads quite agreed with this opinion, but were, in spite of their efforts, presently prostrate. they remained on deck for some hours, and then crawled to their cabin, where they remained for the next 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 long illness.
mr. jervoise had been in frequently to see them, having escaped the malady, from which, as he told them, sir marmaduke was suffering to the full as severely as they were.
"so you have found your feet again," the captain said, when they appeared 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 wish for anything better. it has been just as you see it now--a bright sun, 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, of course, as there always must be when there is a brisk wind; but as for rolling and tossing, you must wait till you see a storm, then you will begin to have an idea of what the sea is."
the boys both felt rather crestfallen, for they had flattered themselves that their sufferings were caused by something quite out of the ordinary way, and it was mortifying to know that the weather had been really fine, and there had been nothing even approaching a storm.
the rest of the voyage was a pleasant one. they found they had regained their appetites, and were able to enjoy their meals; still they were not sorry when they saw the coast of sweden, and, a few hours later, entered the port of gottenburg, where sir marmaduke, for the first time, came on deck--looking a mere shadow of his former jovial self.
"well, lads," he said, "i was glad to hear that you got through this business quicker than i did. here we are in sweden, and here i, at least, am likely to stay, unless i can pass by land through holland, france, and across from calais, for never again will i venture upon a long voyage. i have been feeling very ungrateful, for, over and over again, i wished that you had not rescued me, as death on tower hill would have been nothing to the agonies that i have 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 was as bad as the sea, as it kept on rising and falling beneath his feet. mr. jervoise agreed to return on board the following day, to fetch the luggage, which would by that time have been got up from the hold.
at the hotel, they met several persons able to speak english, and from them learnt how matters had been going on since they had last heard. the town and fortress of tonningen had fallen, after a vigorous defence; it had been bombarded for eight days, and had repulsed one assault, but had been captured at the second attack. england and holland had agreed to furnish fleets, and an army of twelve thousand swedes were in readiness to march, at once, while other 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 his friends who resided at gottenburg. he was fortunate enough to find one of them, who was able to inform him that his wife's cousin was now a major, in one of the newly-raised regiments stationed at gottenburg.
he found him without difficulty. major jamieson was delighted at the coming of his former friend.
"you are the last person i expected to see here, jervoise. it is true that, when we met last, you said that if matters went wrong in england you should come out here, instead of taking refuge in france; but, as everything is quiet, i had little hope of seeing you again, until i paid another visit to scotland, of which at present there is but little prospect. have you grown tired of doing nothing, and is it a desire to see something of a stirring life that has brought you over here?"
mr. jervoise related, shortly, the events by which he had been driven into exile, and expressed his desire to serve in the army of sweden, and that his son and young carstairs should also enter the army.
"they are but sixteen yet," he said, "but are stout, active fellows, and could hold their own in a day's march or in a stout fight with many men. of course, if i could obtain commissions for them, all the better, but if not they are ready to enlist in the ranks. roughing it will do them no harm."
"their age is no drawback," major jamieson said. "there are many no older, both in the ranks and as officers. men in sweden of all ages and of all ranks are joining, for this unprovoked attack, on the part of poland, has raised the national spirit to boiling heat. the chief difficulty is their and your ignorance of the language. were it 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 twenty or thirty scotchmen in my regiment, and i know a colonel who has as many in his, and these i could manage to get, in exchange for an equal number of my swedes. ships are coming daily from scotland, and most of them bring young fellows who have come out to join the army.
"you know how the scots fought, under gustavus adolphus, and there is scarce a glen in scotland where there are not traditions of fathers, or grandfathers, who fought in hepburn's green brigade. therefore, it is natural that, seeing there is no chance of military service at home, there should be many young fellows coming out to join.
"i can go across this evening to the minister of war, who is a personal friend of mine, and get him to give you permission to raise a company of scotchmen for service. i shall, of course, point out to him that you will enlist them here. i shall show him the advantage of these men being gathered together, as their ignorance of the language makes them, for some time, useless as soldiers if enrolled in a swedish regiment. i shall mention that i have twenty in my own corps, who are at present positively useless, and in fact a source of great trouble, owing to their understanding nothing that is said to them, and shall propose that they be at once handed over to you. as to the exchange, we can manage that quietly between ourselves. you would have no difficulty with fresh-landed men, as these will naturally be delighted at joining a company of their own countrymen."
"thank you very heartily, jamieson. this altogether exceeds my hopes, but i fear that i know nothing of drilling them."
"two of my men are sergeants, and, having been in the army for some years, speak swedish well. they will do the drilling at first. the manoeuvres are not complicated, and, for a pound or two, they will be glad to teach you all the orders necessary. i don't know how you are situated as to money, but i can assure you my purse is at your service."
"thank you; i am, in that respect, excellently well provided, as is my friend sir marmaduke. we have both made provision for unexpected contingencies."
"then, if you will call tomorrow after breakfast, i shall probably have your commission ready. as a matter of course, you will have the appointment of your own officers, and will only have to send in their names. each company is from a hundred and forty to a hundred and fifty strong, and has a captain, two lieutenants, and two ensigns."
mr. jervoise's news was, on his return to the inn, received with delight by the two lads; and sir marmaduke said:
"i wish i could shake off twenty of my years, jervoise, and join also. well, well, i daresay i shall get on comfortably enough. i know there are a good many english and scotch jacobites settled in the town or neighbourhood, and i shall not be long before i meet someone 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 saying when ships may come in. moreover, it is likely enough that you may light 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 be delighted to hear a friendly voice, and be only too glad to enlist in a scottish company. you can say that each man will have a free outfit given him."
accordingly, the next morning early, the two lads went down to the wharf. presently they saw three young fellows, who were evidently scotch by their dress and caps, talking together. they strolled up near enough to catch what they were saying.
"it is hard," one said, "that, now we are here, we can make no one understand us, and it seems to me we had far better have stayed at home."
"we shall find some one who speaks our language presently, jock," another said more cheerfully. "the old man, where we lodged last night, said in his broken tongue, that we had but to go over to malmoe, or some such place as that, where there is a big camp, and walk up to an officer and say we wish to enlist."
"oh, that is all very well," the other grumbled; "but, if he did not 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 in their own tongue.
"that we do, sir. if you can put us in the way, we shall be grateful."
"that i can do easily," harry said. "my father is raising a company of scotch and englishmen, for the regiment commanded by colonel jamieson. this will be far better than joining a swedish company, where no one will understand your language, and you will not be able to make out the orders given. my father will give each man who joins a free outfit."
"that is the very thing for us, sir. we expected to find scotch regiments here, as there were in the old times, and we had hoped to join them; but whether it is a company or regiment, it makes but little 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, you will see my father there. if you know of any others in the same mind 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 to join."
"well, see if you can hunt them up, and bring them with you."
on returning to the inn, they found that mr. jervoise had already received his commission as captain, and, by ten o'clock, fifteen young scotchmen had been sworn in. all of them had brought broadswords and dirks, and captain jervoise at once set to work buying, at various shops, iron head pieces, muskets, and other accoutrements.
during the next three days ten other english and scotchmen had joined, and then a ship came in, from which they gathered another four-and-twenty recruits. arms had already been purchased for them, and, on the following day, captain jervoise marched off to malmoe with his forty-nine recruits. harry accompanied them, charlie being left behind, with his father, to gather another fifty men as the ships arrived.
a week later this number was obtained, and charlie started with them for the camp, sir marmaduke accompanying them on horseback, in order to aid charlie in maintaining order among his recruits. he had already fixed upon a small house, just outside the town, and, having met two or three old friends, who had been obliged to leave england at william's accession, he already began to feel at home.
"don't you fidget about me, charlie," he said. "ferrers tells me that there are at least a score of jacobites here, and that they form quite a society among themselves. living is very cheap, and he will introduce me to a man of business, who will see that my money is well invested."
