in answer to the shout of "donald," a tall man in the pantaloons of a prussian regiment, but with his tunic laid aside, came out from a small room that served as a kitchen, and dormitory, for himself.

"i am just ready, sir," he said. "hearing you talking as you came along, and not knowing who you might have with you, i just ran in to put on my coat; but as you passed, and i heard it was scottish you were speaking, i knew that it didna matter."

"put another plate and goblet on the table, donald. i hope that you have meat enough for two of us."

"plenty for four," the soldier said. "the market was full this morning, and the folk so ta'en up wi' this talk of war, and so puzzled because no one could mak' out what it was about, that they did more gossiping than marketing. so when the time came for the market to close, i got half a young pig at less than i should hae paid for a joint, as the woman did not want to carry it home again."

"that is lucky. as you are from perth, donald, it is possible you may know this gentleman. he is mr. fergus drummond, of tarbet."

"i kenned his father weel; aye, and was close beside him at culloden, for when our company was broken i joined one that was making a stand, close by, and it was drummond who was leading it. stoutly did we fight, and to the end stood back to back, hewing with our claymores at their muskets.

"at last i fell, wounded, i couldna say where at the time. when i came to myself and, finding that all was quiet, sat up and felt myself over, i found that it was a musket bullet that had ploughed along the top of my head, and would ha' killed me had it not been that my skull was, as my father had often said when i was a boy, thicker than ordinary. there were dead men lying all about me; but it was a dark night, and as there was no time to be lost if i was to save my skin, i crawled away to some distance from the field; and then took to my heels, and did not stop till next morning, when i was far away among the hills."

while he was talking, donald had been occupied in adding a second plate and knife and fork and glass, and the two officers sat down to their meal. fergus asked the soldier other questions as to the fight in which his father had lost his life; for beyond that he had fought to the last with his face to the foe, the lad had never learnt any particulars, for of the clansmen who had accompanied his father not one had ever returned.

"mr. drummond will take the empty room next to mine, donald. i am going down now with him, to the inn where he has left his horse. as he has a few things there, you had best come with us and bring them here."

the landlord of the inn, on hearing that fergus wished to sell his horse, said that there were two travellers in the house who had asked him about horses; as both had sold, to officers, fine animals they had brought in from the country, there being at present a great demand for horses of that class. one of these persons came in as they were speaking, and after a little bargaining fergus sold the horse to him, at a small advance on the price he had given for it at stettin. the landlord himself bought the saddle and bridle, for a few marks; saying that he could, at any time, find a customer for such matters. donald took the valises and cloak, and carried them back to the palace.

"that matter is all comfortably settled," lindsay said. "now we are free men, but my liberty won't last long. i shall have to go on duty again, in half an hour. but at any rate, there is time to go first with you to the tailor's, and put your uniform in hand."

"i wish to be measured for the uniform of the 3rd royal dragoon guards," fergus said, as he entered the shop and the proprietor came up to him.

"yes, herr tautz; and his excellency, marshal keith," lindsay put in, "wishes you to know that the dress suit must be made instantly, or quicker if possible; for his majesty may, at any moment, order mr. drummond to attend upon him. mr. drummond is appointed one of the marshal's aides-de-camp; and as, therefore, he will often come under the king's eye, you may well believe that the fit must be of the best, or you are likely to hear of it, as well as mr. drummond."

"i will put it in hand at once, lieutenant. it shall be cut out without delay; and in three hours, if mr. drummond will call here, it shall be tacked together in readiness for the first trying on. by eight o'clock tomorrow morning it shall be ready to be properly fitted, and unless my men have bungled, which they very seldom do, it shall be delivered by midday."

"mr. drummond lodges in the next room to myself," the lieutenant said; "and my servant is looking after him, till he gets one of his own, so you can leave it with him."

while the conversation was going on, two of the assistants were measuring fergus.

"will you have the uniform complete, with belts, helmet, and all equipments?"

"everything except the sword," fergus said.

"at least i suppose, lindsay, we can carry our own swords."

"yes, the king has made that concession, which is a wonderful one, for him, that scottish officers in his service may carry their own swords. you see, ours are longer and straighter than the german ones, and most of us have learnt our exercises with them, and certainly we would not fight so well with others; besides, the iron basket protects one's hand and wrist vastly better than the foreign guard. the concession was first made only to generals, field officers and aides-de-camp; but keith persuaded the king, at last, to grant it to all scottish officers, pointing out that they were able to do much better service with their own claymores, than with weapons to which they were altogether unaccustomed; and that scottish men were accustomed to fight with the edge, and to strike downright sweeping blows, whereas the swords here are fitted only for the point, which, although doubtless superior in a duel, is far less effective in a general melee."

"i should certainly be sorry to give up my own sword," fergus said. "it was one of my father's, and since the days when i was big enough to begin to use it, i have always exercised myself with it; though i, too, have learned to use the point a great deal, as i had a german instructor, as well as several scottish ones."

"except in a duel," lindsay said, "i should doubt if skill goes for very much. i have never tried it myself, for i have never had the luck to be in battle; but i fancy that in a cavalry charge strength goes for more than skill, and the man who can strike quickly and heavily will do more execution than one trained to all sorts of nice points and feints. i grant that these are useful, when two men are watching each other; but in the heat of a battle, when every one is cutting and thrusting for his life, i cannot think that there is any time for fooling about with your weapon."

they had by this time left the shop, and were strolling down the streets.

"is there much duelling here?"

"it is strictly forbidden," lindsay said, with a laugh; "but i need hardly say that there is a good deal of it. of course, pains are taken that these affairs do not come to his majesty's ears. fever, or a fall from a horse, account satisfactorily enough for the absence of an officer from parade, and even his total disappearance from the scene can be similarly explained. should the affair come to the king's ears, 'tis best to keep out of his way until it has blown over.

"of course, with us it does not matter quite so much as with prussian officers. frederick's is not the only service open to us. good swords are welcome either at the russian or austrian courts, to say nothing of those of half a dozen minor principalities. at all of these we are sure to find countrymen and friends, and if england really enters upon the struggle--and it seems to me that if there is a general row she can scarcely stand aloof--men who have learned their drill and seen some service might be welcomed, even if their fathers wielded their arms on the losing side, ten years ago.

"of course, to a prussian officer it would be practical ruin to be dismissed from the army. this is so thoroughly well understood that, in cases of duels, there is a sort of general conspiracy on the part of all the officers and surgeons of a regiment to hush the matter up. still, if an officer is insulted--or thinks that he is insulted, which is about the same thing--he fights, and takes the consequences.

"i am not altogether sorry that i am an aide-de-camp, and i think that you can congratulate yourself on the same fact; for we are not thrown, as is a regimental officer, into the company of prussians, and there is therefore far less risk of getting into a quarrel.

"i have no doubt the marshal, himself, will give you a few lessons shortly. he is considered to be one of the finest swordsmen in europe, and in many respects he is as young as i am, and as fond of adventure. he gave me a few when i first came to him, but he said that it was time thrown away, for that i must put myself in the hands of some good maitre d'armes before he could teach me anything that would be useful. i have been working hard with one since, and know a good deal more about it than i did; but my teacher says that i am too hot and impetuous to make a good swordsman, and that though i should do well enough in a melee, i shall never be able to stand up against a cool man, in a duel. of course the marshal had no idea of teaching me arms, but merely, as he said, of showing me a few passes that might be useful to me, on occasion. in reality he loves to keep up his sword play, and once or twice a week van bruff, who is the best master in berlin, comes in for half an hour's practice with him, before breakfast."

after lindsay had left him at the entrance to the palace, fergus wandered about the town for some hours, and then went to the tailor's and had his uniform tried on. merely run together though it was, the coat fitted admirably.

"you are an easy figure to fit, herr drummond," the tailor said. "there is no credit in putting together a coat for you. your breeches are a little too tight--you have a much more powerful leg than is common--but that, however, is easily altered.

"here are a dozen pairs of high boots. i noticed the size of your foot, and have no doubt that you will find some of these to fit you."

this was indeed the case, and among a similar collection of helmets, fergus also had no difficulty in suiting himself.

"i think that you will find everything ready for you by half-past eight," the tailor said, "and i trust that no further alteration will be required. six of my best journeymen will work all night at the clothes; and even should his majesty send for you by ten, i trust that you will be able to make a proper appearance before him, though at present i cannot guarantee that some trifling alteration will not be found necessary, when you try the uniforms on."

fergus supped with the marshal, who had now time to ask him many more questions about his home life, and the state of things in scotland.

"'tis a sore pity," he said, "that we scotchmen and irishmen, who are to be found in such numbers in every european army, are not all arrayed under the flag of our country. methinks that the time is not far distant when it will be so. i am, as you know, a jacobite; but there is no shutting one's eyes to the fact that the cause is a lost one. the expedition of james the third, and still more that of charles edward, have caused such widespread misery among the stuarts' friends that i cannot conceive that any further attempt of the same kind will be made.

"in fact, there is no one to make it. the prince has lost almost all his friends, by his drunken habits and his quarrelsome and overbearing disposition. he has gone from court to court as a suppliant, but has everywhere alienated the sympathies of those most willing to befriend him. i may say that as a king of england and scotland he is now impossible, and his own habits have done more to ruin his cause than even the defeat of culloden. there are doubtless many, in both countries, who consider themselves jacobites, but it is a matter of sentiment and not of passion.

"at any rate, there is no head to the cause now, and cannot possibly be unless the prince had a son; therefore, for at least five-and-twenty years, the cause is dead. even if the prince leaves an heir, it would be absurd to entertain the idea that, after the stuarts have been expelled from england a hundred years, any scotchman or englishman would be mad enough to risk life and property to restore them to the throne.

"another generation and the hanoverians will have become englishmen, and the sentiment against them as foreigners will have died out. then there will be no reason why scotchmen and irishmen should any longer go abroad, and all who wish it will be able to find employment in the army of their own country.

"this, indeed, might have happened long before this, had the georges forgotten that they were electors of hanover as well as kings of great britain; and had surrounded themselves with englishmen instead of filling their courts with germans, whose arrogance and greed made them hateful to englishmen, and kept before their eyes the fact that their kings were foreigners. hanover is a source of weakness instead of strength to great britain, and its loss would be an unmixed benefit to her; for as long as it remains under the british crown, so long must britain play a part in european politics--a part, too, sometimes absolutely opposed to the interests of the country at large."

after supper was over, two general officers dropped in for a chat with the marshal. he introduced fergus to them, and the latter then retired and joined the little party of scottish officers at lindsay's quarters. lindsay introduced him to them, and he was very heartily received, and it was not until very late that they turned into bed.

at half-past eight next morning fergus went to the tailor's, and found that he had kept his promise, to the letter. the uniforms fitted admirably, and were complete in every particular. as marshal keith had, the evening before, informed him that he had received his appointment to the 3rd royal dragoon guards, he had no hesitation in putting on a uniform when, a quarter of an hour later, it arrived at his quarters. donald went out and fetched a hairdresser, who combed, powdered, and tied up his hair in proper military fashion. when he left, donald took him in hand, attired him in his uniform, showed him the exact angle at which his belt should be worn, and the military salute that should be given.

it was fortunate that he was in readiness, for at half-past ten lindsay came in with a message from the marshal that he was, at once, to repair to the palace, with or without a uniform; as the king had sent to say that he should visit keith at eleven, and that he could then present his cousin to him.

it could not be said that fergus felt comfortable, as he started from his quarters. accustomed to a loose dress and light shoes, he felt stiff and awkward in his tight garments, closely buttoned up, and his heavy jack boots; and he found himself constrained to walk with the same stiffness and precision that had amused him in the prussian officers, on the previous day.

"so you have got your uniform," the marshal said, as fergus entered and saluted, as donald had instructed him. "it becomes you well, lad, and the king will be pleased at seeing you in it. he could not have blamed you had it not been ready, for the time has been short, indeed; but he will like to see you in it, and will consider that it shows alacrity and zeal."

presently the door opened and, as the marshal rose and saluted, fergus knew that it was the king. he had never had the king described to him, and had depicted to himself a stiff and somewhat austere figure; but the newcomer was somewhat below middle height, with a kindly face, and the air rather of a sober citizen than of a military martinet. the remarkable feature of his face were his eyes, which were very large and blue, with a quick piercing glance that seemed to read the mind of anyone to whom he addressed himself. so striking were they that the king, when he went about the town in disguise, was always obliged to keep his eyes somewhat downcast; as, however well made up, they would have betrayed him at once, had he looked fixedly at anyone who had once caught sight of his face.

"good morning, marshal!" he said, in a friendly tone. "so this is my last recruit--a goodly young fellow, truly."

the king walked round fergus as if he were examining a lay figure

he walked round fergus as if he were examining a lay figure, closely scrutinizing every article of his appointment, and then gave a nod of approbation.

"always keep yourself like that, young sir. an officer is unfit to take charge of men, unless he can set an example of exactness in dress. if a man is precise in little things, he will be careful in other matters.

"although he is going to be your aide-de-camp, keith, he had better go to his regimental barracks, and drill for a few hours a day, if you can spare him."

"he shall certainly do so, sire. i spoke to his colonel yesterday evening, and told him that i would myself take the lad down to him, this morning, and present him to his comrades of the regiment. it would be well if he could have six months' drilling, for an aide-de-camp should be well acquainted with the meaning of the orders he carries; as he is, in that case, far less likely to make mistakes than he would otherwise be. your majesty has nothing more to say to him?"

"nothing. i hope he is not quarrelsome. but there, it is of no use my hoping that, keith; for your scotchman is a quarrelsome creature by nature, at least so it seems to me. of the duels that, in spite of my orders, take place--i know you all try to hide them from me, keith--i hear of a good many between these hot-headed countrymen of yours and my prussian officers."

"with deference to your majesty, i don't think that that proves much. it would be as fair to say that these duels show how aggressive are your prussian officers towards my quiet and patient countrymen.

"now you can retire, cornet."

fergus gave the military salute, and retired to the anteroom.

"have you passed muster?" lindsay asked with a laugh.

"yes; at least the king found nothing wrong. he was not at all what i thought he would be."

"no; i was astonished myself, the first time i saw him. he is a capital fellow, in spite of his severity in matters of military etiquette and discipline. he is very kind hearted, does not stand at all upon his dignity, bears no malice, and very soon remits punishment he has given in the heat of the moment. i think that he regards us scots as being a people for whom allowances must be made, on the ground of our inborn savagery and ignorance of civilized customs. he does not mind plain speaking on our part and, if in the humour, will talk with us much more familiarly than he would do to a prussian officer."

in a few minutes the bell in the next room sounded. lindsay went in.

"are the horses at the door?"

"yes, marshal."

"then we will mount at once. i told the colonel of the 3rd that i should be at the barracks by twelve o'clock, unless the king wanted me on his business."

fergus had already put on his helmet, and he and lindsay followed keith downstairs. in the courtyard were the horses, which were held by orderlies.

"that is yours, fergus," keith said. "it has plenty of bone and blood, and should carry you well for any distance."

fergus warmly thanked the marshal for the gift. it was a very fine horse, and capable of carrying double his weight. it was fully caparisoned with military bridle and saddle and horse cloth.

they mounted at once. the orderlies ran to their horses, which were held by a mounted trooper, and the four fell in behind the officers. lindsay and fergus rode half a length behind the marshal, but the latter had some difficulty in keeping his horse in that position.

the marshal smiled.

"it does not understand playing second fiddle, fergus. you see, it has been accustomed to head the procession."

as they rode along through the street, all officers and soldiers stood as stiff as statues at the salute, the marshal returning it as punctiliously, though not as stiffly. in a quarter of an hour they arrived at the gate of a large barracks. the guard turned out as soon as the marshal was seen approaching, and a trumpet call was heard in the courtyard as they entered the gate.

fergus was struck with the spectacle, the like of which he had never seen before. the whole regiment was drawn up in parade order. the colonel was some distance in the front, the officers ranged at intervals behind him. suddenly the colonel raised his sword above his head, a flash of steel ran along the line, eight trumpeters sounded the first note of a military air, and the regiment stood at the salute, men and horses immovable, as if carved in stone. a minute later the music stopped, the colonel raised his sword again, there was another flash of steel, and the salute was over. then the colonel rode forward to meet the marshal.

"nothing could have been better, my dear colonel," the latter said. "as i told you yesterday, my inspection of your regiment is but a mere form, for i know well that nothing could be more perfect than its order; but i must report to the king that i have inspected all the regiments now in berlin and potsdam, and others that will form my command, should any untoward event disturb the peace of the country.

"but before i begin, permit me to present to you this young officer, who was yesterday appointed to your regiment. i have already spoken to you of him. this is cornet fergus drummond, a cousin of my own, and whom i recommend strongly to you. as i informed you, he will for the present act as one of my aides-de-camp."

"you have lost no time in getting your uniform, mr. drummond," the colonel said. "i am sure that you will be most cordially received, by all my officers as by myself, as a relation of the marshal, whom we all respect and love."

"i will now proceed to the inspection," the marshal said, and he proceeded towards the end of the line.

the colonel rode beside him, but a little behind. the two aides-de-camp followed, and the four troopers brought up the rear. they proceeded along the front rank, the officers having before this taken up their position in the line. the marshal looked closely at each man as he passed, horse as well as man being inspected.

"i do not think, colonel, that the king himself could have discovered the slightest fault or blemish. the regiment is simply perfect. i hope that during the next few days you will have every shoe inspected by the farrier, and every one showing the least signs of wear taken off and replaced; and that you will also direct the captains of troops to see that the men's kits are in perfect order."

"that shall be done, sir, though i own that i cannot see against whom we are likely to march; for though the air is full of rumours, all our neighbours seem to think of nothing so little as war."

"it may be," keith said with a smile, "that it is merely his majesty's intention to see in how short a time we can place an army, complete in every particular and ready for a campaign, in the field. his majesty is fond of trying military experiments."

"i hope, marshal, that you will do us the honour of drinking a goblet of champagne with us. some of my officers have not yet been presented to you, and i shall be glad to take the opportunity of doing so."

"with pleasure, colonel. a good offer should never be refused."

by this time they had moved to the front of the regiment.

"officers and men of the 3rd royal dragoon guards," keith said in a loud voice, "i shall have great pleasure in reporting to the king the result of my inspection, that the regiment is in a state of perfect efficiency, and that i have been unable to detect the smallest irregularity or blemish. i am quite sure that, if you should at any time be called upon to fight the enemies of your country, you will show that your conduct and courage will be fully equal to the excellence of your appearance. i feel that whatever men can do you will do.

"god save the king!"

he lifted his plumed hat. the trumpet sounded, the men gave the royal salute, and then a loud cheer burst from the ranks; for the rumours current had raised a feeling of excitement throughout the regiment, and though no man could see from what point danger threatened, all felt that great events were at hand.

the regiment was then dismissed, hoarse words of command were shouted, and each troop moved off to its stable; while the colonel and keith rode to the officers' anteroom, the trumpets at the same time sounding the officers' call. in a few minutes all were gathered there. the colonel first presented some of his young officers to the marshal, and then introduced fergus to his new comrades, among whom were two scotch officers.

"mr. drummond will, for the present, serve with the marshal as one of his aides-de-camp; but i hope that he will soon join the regiment where, at any rate, he will at all times find a warm welcome."

keith had already told the colonel that, for the present, fergus would be released from all duty as an aide-de-camp, and would spend his time in acquiring the rudiments of drill.

champagne was now served round. the officers drank the health of the marshal, and he in return drank to the regiment; then all formality was laid aside for a time, and the marshal laughed and chatted with the officers, as if he had been one of themselves. fergus was surrounded by a group, who were all pleased at finding that he could already talk the language fluently; and in spite of the jealousy of the scottish officers, felt throughout the service, the impression that he made was a very favourable one; and the hostility of race was softened by the fact that he was a near relation of the marshal, who was universally popular. he won favour, too, by saying, when the colonel asked whether he would rather have a scottish or a prussian trooper assigned to him, as servant and orderly, that he would choose one of the latter.

after speaking to the adjutant the colonel gave an order and, two minutes later, a tall and powerful trooper entered the room and saluted. the adjutant went up to him.

"karl hoger," he said, "you are appointed orderly and servant to mr. fergus drummond. he is quartered at the officers' house, facing the palace. you will take your horse round there, and await his arrival. he will show you where it is to be stabled. you are released from all regimental duty until further orders."

the man saluted and retired, without the slightest change of face to show whether the appointment was agreeable to him, or otherwise.

half an hour later the marshal mounted and, with his party, rode back to the palace. after he had dismounted, lindsay and fergus rode across to their quarters. karl hoger was standing at the entrance, holding his horse. he saluted as the two officers came up.

"i will go in and see if dinner is ready," lindsay said. "i told donald that we should be back at half-past one, and it is nearly two now, and i am as hungry as a hunter."

fergus led the way to the stable, and pointed out to the trooper the two stalls that the horses were to occupy; for each room in the officers' quarters had two stalls attached to it, the one for the occupant, the other for his orderly.

"i suppose you have not dined yet, karl?"

"no, sir, but that does not matter."

"i don't want you to begin by fasting. here are a couple of marks. when you have stabled the horses and finished here, you had better go out and get yourself dinner. i shall not be able to draw rations for you for today.

"after you have done, come to the main entrance where i met you and take the first corridor to the left. mine is the fifth door on the right-hand side. if i am not in, knock at the next door to it on this side. you will see lieutenant lindsay's name on it.

"you need not be in any hurry over your meal, for i am just going to have dinner, and certainly shall not want you for an hour."

on reaching lindsay's quarters fergus found that dinner was waiting, and he and lindsay lost no time in attacking a fine fish that donald had bought in the market.

"that is a fine regiment of yours, drummond," lindsay said.

"magnificent. of course, i never saw anything like it before, but it was certainly splendid."

"yes. they distinguished themselves in the campaigns of silesia very much. their colonel, grim, is a capital officer--very strict, but a really good fellow, and very much liked by his officers. however, if i were you, i should be in no hurry to join. i had two years and a half in an infantry regiment, before keith appointed me one of his aides-de-camp, and i can tell you it was hard work--drill from morning till night. we were stationed at a miserable country place, without any amusements or anything to do; and as at that time there did not seem the most remote chance of active service, it was a dog's life. everyone was surly and ill tempered, and i had to fight two duels."

"what about?"

"about nothing, as far as i could see. a man said something about scotch officers, in a tone i did not like. i was out of temper, and instead of turning it off with a laugh i took it up seriously, and threw a glass at his head. so of course we fought. we wounded each other twice, and then the others stopped it. the second affair was just as absurd, except that there i got the best of it, and sliced the man's sword arm so deeply that he was on the sick list for two months--the result of an accident, as the surgeon put it down. so although i don't say but that there is a much better class of men in the 3rd than there was in my regiment, i should not be in any hurry to join.

"if there is a row, you will see ten times as much as an aide-de-camp as you would in your regiment, while during peacetime there is no comparison at all between our lives as aides-de-camp and that of regimental officers.

"i fancy you have rather a treasure in the man they have told off to you. he was the colonel's servant at one time, but he got drunk one day, and of course the colonel had to send him back to the ranks. one of the officers told me about him when he came in, and said that he was one of the best riders and swordsmen in the regiment. the adjutant told me that he has specially chosen him for you, because he had a particularly good mount, and that as your orderly it would be of great importance that he should be able to keep up with you. of course, he got the horse when he was the colonel's orderly; and though he was sent back to the ranks six months ago, the colonel, who was really fond of the man, allowed him to keep it."

"i thought it seemed an uncommonly good animal, when he led it into the stable," fergus said. "plenty of bone, and splendid quarters. i hope he was not unwilling to come to me. it is a great fall from being a colonel's servant to become a cornet's."

"i don't suppose he will mind that; and at any rate, while he is here the berth will be such an easy one that i have no doubt he will be well content with it, and i daresay that he and donald will get on well together.

"donald is a cuirassier. after keith appointed me as one of his aides, he got me transferred to the cuirassiers, who are stationed at potsdam. that was how i came to get hold of donald as a servant."

a few minutes after they had done dinner, there was a knock at the door. the orderly entered and saluted.

"you will find my man in there," lindsay said. "at present, mr. drummond and i are living together. i daresay you and he will get on very comfortably."

for the next fortnight, fergus spent the whole day in barracks. he was not put through the usual preliminary work, but the colonel, understanding what would be most useful to him, had him instructed in the words of command necessary for carrying out simple movements, his place as cornet with a troop when in line or column; and being quick, intelligent, and anxious to learn, fergus soon began to feel himself at home.