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 LEONARD WILLIAM 
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 UNIVERSITY OF 
 CALIFORNIA 
 SANTA 
 
I 
 
 THE TEUE STOEY BOOK 
 
WORKS BY ANDREW LANG. 
 
 COCK LANE AND COMMON SENSE : a Series of 
 Papers Crown 8 TO. 6s. 6d. net. 
 
 BAN and ARRIERE BAN: a Rally of Fugitive 
 Rhymes. Crown 8vo. 5s. net. 
 
 ST. ANDREWS. With 8 Plates and 24 Illustrations 
 in the Text by T. Hodge. 8vo. 15s. net. 
 
 HOMER AND THE EPIC. Crown 8vo. 9s. net. 
 
 CUSTOM AND MYTH : Studies of Early Usage and 
 Belief. With 15 Illustrations. Grown 8vo. 3s. 6tZ. 
 
 BALLADS OF BOOKS. Edited by ANDREW LANG. 
 
 Fcp. 8vo. 6s. 
 LETTERS TO DEAD AUTHORS. Fcp. 8vo. 2s. Gd. net. 
 
 BOOKS AND BOOKMEN. With 2 Coloured Plates 
 and 17 Illustrations. Fcp. 8vo. 2*. 6d. net. 
 
 OLD FRIENDS. Fcp. 8vo. 2s. Gd. net. 
 
 LETTERS ON LITERATURE. Fcp. 8vo. 2s. fid. net. 
 
 GRASS OF PARNASSUS. Fcp. 8vo. 2s. 6d. tut. 
 
 ANGLING SKETCHES. With 20 Illustrations by 
 W. G. Burn-Murdoch. Crown 8vo. Is. 6d. 
 
 THE BLUR FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW 
 LANG. With 8 Plates and 130 Illustrations in the Text by 
 H. J. Ford and G. P. Jacomb Hood. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG. 
 With 4 Plates and 96 Illustrations in the Text by H. J. Ford 
 and Lancelot Speed. Crown 8vo. 6*. 
 
 THE GREEN FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW 
 LANG. With 11 Plates and 88 Illustrations in the Text by 
 H. J. Ford. Crown 8vo. 6*. 
 
 THE BLUE POETRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW 
 
 LANG. With 12 Plates and 88 Illustrations in the Text by 
 H. J. Ford and Lancelot Speed. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 SCHOOL EDITION, without Illustrations. Fcp. 8vo. 2s. Qd. 
 
 SPECIAL EDITION, printed on Indian paper. With Notes, but 
 without Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 THE TRUE STORY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW 
 LANG. With 8 Plates and 58 Illustrations in the Text by H. J. 
 Ford, Lucien Davis, Lancelot Speed, and L. Bogle. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 London: LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. 
 New York : 15 East 16* Street. 
 
MONTEZUMA GREETS THE SPANIARDS 
 
THE 
 
 TRUE STORY BOOK 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 ANDBEW LANG 
 
 With NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS by L. BOGLE, 
 LUCIEN DAVIS, H. J. FORD, C. H. M. KERR, and LANCELOT SPEED 
 
 THIRD EDITION 
 
 LONDON 
 LONGMANS, GEEEN, AND CO. 
 
 AND NEW YORK : 15 EAST 1C"' STREET 
 1894 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
D 
 
 24- 
 
 DEDICATION 
 
 TO FEAKCIS MAcCUNN 
 
 You like the things I used to like, 
 The things Tin fond of still, 
 
 The sound of fairy wands tlmt strike 
 Men into beasts at will ; 
 
 The cruel stepmother, the fair 
 Stepdaughter, kind and leal. 
 
 The bull and bear so debonair, 
 The trenchant fairy steel. 
 
 You love the world where brute and fish 
 Converse with man and bird, 
 
 Where dungeons open at a wish, 
 And seas dry at a word. 
 
 That merry world to-day we leave, 
 
 We list an oiver-true tale, 
 Of hearts that sore for Charlie grieve, 
 
 When handsome princes fail, 
 
 Of gallant races overthrown, 
 
 Of dungeons ill to climb, 
 There' s no such tale of trouble known*, 
 
 In all the fairy time. 
 
 There Montezuma still were king, 
 There Charles would wear the crown- 
 
 And there the Highlanders would ding 
 The Hanoverian down : 
 
viii DEDICATION 
 
 In Fairyland the Rightful Cause 
 Is never long a -winning, 
 
 In Fairyland the fairy laws 
 Are prompt to punish sinning : 
 
 For Fairyland's the land of joy, 
 And this the world of pain, 
 
 So back to Fairyland, my boy, 
 We'll jcurney once again i 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 IT is not without diffidence that the editor offers The True 
 Story Book to children. We have now given them three 
 fairy books, and their very kind and flattering letters to the 
 editor prove, not only that they like the three fairy books, but 
 that they clamour for more. What disappointment, then, to 
 receive a volume full of adventures which actually happened 
 to real people ! There is not a dragon in the collection, nor 
 even a giant ; witches, here, play no part, and almost all the 
 characters are grown up. On the other hand, if we have no 
 fairies, we have princes in plenty, and a sweeter young prince 
 than Tearlach (as far as this part of his story goes) the 
 editor flatters himself that you shall nowhere find, not in 
 Grimm, or Dasent, or Perrault. Still, it cannot be denied 
 that true stories are not so good as fairy tales. They do not 
 always end happily, and, what is worse, they do remind a 
 young student of lessons and schoolrooms. A child may fear 
 that he is being taught under a specious pretence of diversion, 
 and that learning is being thrust on him under the disguise 
 of entertainment. Prince Charlie and Cortes may be asked 
 about in examinations, whereas no examiner has hitherto set 
 questions on ' Blue Beard,' or ' Heart of Ice,' or ' The Ked 
 Etin of Ireland.' There is, to be honest, no way of getting 
 over this difficulty. But the editor VOW T S that he does not 
 mean to teach anybody, and he has tried to mix the stories 
 
INTBODUCTION 
 
 up so much that no clear and consecutive view of history can 
 possibly be obtained from them ; moreover, when history 
 does come in, it is not the kind of history favoured most by 
 examiners. They seldom set questions on the conquest of 
 Mexico, for example. 
 
 That is a very long story, but, to the editor's taste, it is 
 simply the best true story in the w r orld, the most unlikely, 
 and the most romantic. For who could have supposed that 
 the new-found world of the West held all that wealth of 
 treasure, emeralds and gold, all those people, so beautiful 
 and brave, so courteous and cruel, with their terrible gods, 
 hideous human sacrifices, and almost Christian prayers ? 
 That a handful of Spaniards, themselves mistaken for chil- 
 dren of a white god, should have crossed the sea, should have 
 found a lovely lady, as in a fairy tale, ready to lead them to 
 victory, should have planted the cross on the shambles of 
 Huitzilopochtli, after that wild battle on the temple crest, 
 should have been driven in rout from, and then recaptured, 
 the Venice of the West, the lake city of Mexico all this is as 
 strange, as unlocked for, as any story of adventures in a new 
 planet could be. No invention of fights and wanderings in 
 Noman's land, no search for the mines of Solomon the king, 
 can approach, for strangeness and romance, this tale, which is 
 true, and vouched for by Spanish conquerors like Bernal 
 Diaz, and by native historians like Ixtlilochitl, and by later 
 missionaries like Sahagun. Cortes is the great original of 
 all treasure-hunters and explorers in fiction, and here no 
 feigned tale can be the equal of the real. As Mr. Prescott's 
 admirable history is not a book much read by children (nor 
 even by ' grown-ups ' for that matter), the editor hopes 
 children will be pleased to find the ' Adventures in Anahuac ' 
 in this collection. Miss Edge worth tells us in Orlandino how 
 much the tale delighted the young before Mr. Prescott wrote 
 
INTEODUCTION xi 
 
 that excellent narrative of the world's chief adventure. May 
 it please still, as it did when the century was young ! 
 
 The adventures of Prince Charlie are already known, in 
 part, to boys and girls who have read the Tales of a Grand- 
 father, for pleasure and not as a school book. But here Mrs. 
 McCunn has treated of them at greater length and more 
 minutely. The source, here, is in these seven brown octavo 
 volumes, all written in the closest hand, which are a treasure 
 of the Advocates' Library in Edinburgh. The author is Mr. 
 Forbes, a bishop of the persecuted Episcopalian Church in 
 Scotland. Mr. Forbes collected his information very carefully, 
 closely comparing the narratives of the various actors in the 
 story. Into the boards of his volumes are fastened a scrap of 
 the Prince's tartan waistcoat, a rag from his sprigged calico 
 dress, a bit of his brogues a twopenny treasure that has been 
 wept and prayed over by the faithful. Nobody, in a book for 
 children, would have the heart to tell the tale of the Prince's 
 later years, of a moody, heart-broken, degraded exile. But, 
 in the hills and the isles, bating a little wilfulness and fool- 
 hardiness, and the affair of the broken punch -bowl, Prince 
 Charles is a model for princes and all men, brave, gay, much- 
 enduring, good-humoured, kind, royally courteous, and con- 
 siderate, even beyond what may be gathered from this part of 
 the book, while the loyalty of the Highlanders (as in the case 
 of Mackinnon, flogged nearly to death) was proof against tor- 
 ture as well as against gold. It is the Sobieski strain, not the 
 Stuart, that we here admire in Prince Charles ; it is a piety, a 
 loyalty, a goodness like Gordon's that we revere in old Lord 
 Pitsligo in another story. 
 
 Many of the tales are concerned with fighting, for that is 
 the most dramatic part of mortal business. These English 
 captives who retake a ship from the Turks, these heroes of 
 the Shannon and the Chesapeake, were doubtless good men and 
 
xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 true in all their lives, but the light of history only falls on 
 them in war. The immortal Three Hundred of Thermopylae 
 would also have been unknown, had they not died, to a man, 
 for the sake of the honour of Lacedaemon. The editor con- 
 ceives that it would have been easy to give more ' local colour ' 
 to the sketch of Thermopylae : to have dealt in description of the 
 Immortals, drawn from the friezes in Susa, lately discovered 
 by French enterprise. But the story is Greek, and the Greeks 
 did not tell their stories in that way, but with a simplicity 
 almost bald. Yet who dare alter and 'improve ' the narrative 
 of Herodotus ? In another most romantic event, the finding 
 of Vineland the Good, by Leif the Lucky, our materials are 
 vague with the vagueness of a dream. Later fancy has 
 meddled with the truth of the saga. English readers, 110 
 doubt, best catch the charm of the adventure in Mr. Eudyard 
 Kipling's astonishingly imaginative tale called ' The Best Story 
 in the World.' For the account of Isandhlwana, and Rorke's 
 Drift, ' an ower-true tale,' the editor has to thank his friend 
 Mr. Eider Haggard, who was in South Africa at the time of 
 the disaster, and who has generously given time and labour to 
 the task of ascertaining, as far as it can be ascertained, the 
 exact truth of the melancholy, but, finally, not inglorious, busi- 
 ness. The legend of ' Two Great Cricket Matches ' is taken, 
 in part, from Lillywhite's scores, and Mr. Eobert Lyttelton's 
 spirited pages in the ' Badminton ' book of Cricket. The second 
 match the editor writes of ' as he who saw it,' to quote Caxton 
 on Dares Phrygius. These legends prove that a match is 
 never lost till it is won. 
 
 Some of the True Stories contain, we may surmise, traces 
 of the imaginative faculty. The escapes of Benvenuto 
 Cellini, of Trenck, and of Casanova must be taken as the 
 heroes chose to report them ; Benvenuto and Casanova have 
 no firm reputation . for veracity. Again, the escape of Caesar 
 
INTRODUCTION xiii 
 
 Borgia is from a version handed down by the great Alexandre 
 Damas, and we may surmise that Alexandre allowed it to 
 lose nothing in the telling ; he may ha ve ' given it a sword 
 and a cocked hat,' as was Sir Walter's wont. About Kaspar 
 Hauser's mystery we can hardly speak of ' the truth,' for 
 the exact truth will never be known. The depositions of the 
 earliest witnesses were not taken at once ; some witnesses 
 altered their evidence in later years ; parts of the records of 
 Nuremberg are lost in suspicious circumstances. The Duchess 
 of Cleveland's book, Kaspar Hauser, is written in defence of 
 her father, Lord Stanhope. The charges against Lord Stan- 
 hope, that he aided in, or connived at, the slaying of Kaspar, 
 because Kaspar was the true heir of the House of Baden are 
 as childish as they are wicked. But the Duchess hardly allows 
 for the difficulties in which we find ourselves if we regard 
 Kaspar as absolutely and throughout an impostor. This, how- 
 ever, is not the place to discuss an historical mystery ; this 
 ' true story ' is told as a romance founded on fact ; the hypo- 
 thesis that Kaspar was a son and heir of the house of Baden 
 seems, to the editor, to be absolutely devoid of evidence. 
 
 To Madame Von Platt Stuarc the author ow r es permis- 
 sion to quote the striking adventures of her father, or of her 
 uncle, on the flooded Findhorn. The Lays of the Deer 
 Forest, which contain this tale in the volume of notes, were 
 written by John Sobieski Stuart, and by Charles Edward 
 Stuart, and the editor is uncertain as to which of those 
 gentlemen w r as the hero of these perilous crossings of the 
 Highland river. Many other good tales, legends, and studies 
 of natural history and of Highland manners may be found in 
 the Lays of the Deer Forest, apart from the curious interest 
 of the poems. On the whole, with certain exceptions, the 
 editor has tried to find true stories rather out of the beaten 
 paths of history ; the narrative of John Tanner, for instance. 
 
xiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 is probably true, but the book in which his adventures were 
 published is now rather difficult to procure. For 'A Boy 
 among the Eed Indians,' < Two Cricket Matches,' The 
 Spartan Three Hundred,' 'The Finding of Vineland the 
 Good,' and ' The Escapes of Lord Pitsligo,' the editor is 
 himself responsible, as far as they do not consist of extracts 
 from the original sources. Miss May Kendall translated or 
 adapted Casanova's escape and the piratical and Algerine tales. 
 Mrs. Lang reduced the narrative of the Chevalier Johnstone, 
 and did the escapes of Caesar Borgia, of Trenck, and Cervantes, 
 while Miss Blackley renders that of Benvenuto Cellini. Mrs. 
 McCunn, as already said, compiled from the sources indicated 
 the Adventures of Prince Charles, and she tells the story 
 of Grace Darling ; the contemporary account is, unluckily, 
 rather meagre. Miss Alleyne did ' The Kidnapping of the 
 Princes,' Miss C. A. Hutton the ' Story of Kaspar Hauser.' 
 Miss Wright reduced the Adventures of Cortes from Prescott, 
 and Mr. Rider Haggard has already been mentioned in con- 
 nection with Isandhlwana. 
 
 Here the editor leaves The True Story Book to the indul- 
 gence of children, explaining, once more, that his respect for 
 their judgment is very great, and that he would not dream of 
 imposing lessons on them, in the shape of a Christmas book. 
 No, lessons are one thing, and stories are another. But, 
 though fiction is undeniably stranger and more attractive 
 than truth, yet true stories are also rather attractive and 
 strange, now and then. And, after all, we may return once 
 more to Fairyland, after this excursion into the actual worka- 
 day world. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 A Boy among the Bed 
 
 Indians .... 1 
 Casanova's Escape . . . 16 
 Adventures on the Findhorn . 29 
 The Story of Grace Darling . 41 
 The ' Shannon ' and the 
 
 ' Chesapeake ' . .48 
 
 Captain Snelgrave and the 
 
 Pirates . . ... 52 
 T/ic Spartan Three Hundred. 64 
 Prince dial-lie's Wanderings . 63 
 Two Grea* Matches . . 105 
 2Vie Story of Kaspar Hauser. 113 
 4n Artist's Adventure . . 122 
 27&6 TaZe o/ Isandhlwana and 
 
 Rorke's Drift . . .132 
 .How .Lei/ 7ie Lucky found 
 
 Vineland the Good. . . 153 
 The Escapes of Cervantes . 161 
 
 The Worthy Enterprise of 
 John Foxe . . . . 
 
 Baron Trench 
 
 The Adventure of John 
 Rawlins 
 
 The Chevalier Johnstone's 
 Escape from Culloden 
 
 The Adventures of Lord Pit- 
 
 168 
 176 
 
 186 
 193 
 
 207 
 The Escape of Ccesar Borgia 
 
 from the Castle of Medina 
 
 del Campo .... 213 
 The Kidnapping of the Princes 219 
 The Conquest of Montezuma's 
 
 Empire 224 
 
 Adventures of Bartholomew 
 
 Portugues, a Pirate . . 326 
 The Return of the French 
 
 Freebooters . 330 
 
 PLATES 
 
 Montezuma greets the Spaniards . 
 The Findhorn . . To face 36 
 Grace Darling . . 44 
 
 ' Some of the Pirates 
 
 . . . had thrown 
 
 several Buckets of 
 
 Claret upon him . ,, 60 
 
 The Ball hit the 
 
 Middle Stum 
 
 108 
 
 Frontispiece 
 He prepared to attack 
 
 the Sentry . . To face 126 
 Montezuma greets the 
 
 Spaniards. . . 270 
 Cortes in the Temple 
 
 of Huitzilopochtli . 276 
 Montezuma assailed 
 
 by Missiles . . 296 
 
A BOY AMONG THE BED INDIANS 
 
 rE earliest event of my life which I distinctly remember (says 
 John Tanner) is the death of my mother. This happened when 
 I was two years old, and many of the attending circumstances 
 made so deep an impression that they are still fresh in my memory. 
 I cannot recollect the name of the settlement at which we lived, 
 but I have since learned it was on the Kentucky Kiver, at a con- 
 siderable distance from the Ohio. 
 
 My father, whose name was John Tanner, was an emigrant 
 from Virginia, and had been a clergyman. 
 
 When about to start one morning to a village at some distance, 
 he gave, as it appeared, a strict charge to my sisters, Agatha 
 and Lucy, to send me to school ; but this they neglected to do until 
 afternoon, and then, as the weather was rainy and unpleasant, I insisted 
 on remaining at home. When my father returned at night, and 
 found that I had been at home all day, he sent me for a parcel of 
 small canes, and flogged me much more severely than I could 
 suppose the offence merited. I was displeased with my sisters for 
 attributing all the blame to me, when they had neglected even to 
 tell me to go to school in the forenoon. From that time, my 
 father's house was less like home to me, and I often thought and 
 said, ' I wish I could go and live among the Indians.' 
 
 One day we went from Cincinnati to the mouth of the Big 
 Miami, opposite which we were to settle. Here was some cleared 
 land, and one or two log cabins, but they had been deserted on 
 account of the Indians. My father rebuilt the. cabins, and inclosed 
 them with a strong picket. It was early in the spring when we 
 arrived at the mouth of the Big Miami, and we were soon engaged 
 in preparing a field to plant corn. I think it was not more than 
 ten days after our arrival, when my lather told us in the morning, 
 that, from the actions of the horses, he perceived there were 
 Indians lurking about in the woods, and he said to me, ' John, you 
 
 P 
 
2 A BOY AMONG THE RED INDIANS 
 
 must not go out of the house to-day.' After giving strict charge to 
 my stepmother to let none of the little children go out, he went to 
 the field, with the negroes, and my elder brother, to drop corn. 
 
 Three little children, besides myself, were left in the house with 
 my stepmother. To prevent me from going out. my stepmother 
 required me to take care of the little child, then not moro than a 
 few months old ; but as I soon became impatient of confinement, I 
 began to pinch my little brother, to make him cry. My mother, 
 perceiving his uneasiness, told me to take him in my arms and 
 walk about the house ; I did so, but continued to pinch him. My 
 mother at length took him from me to nurse him. I watched 
 my opportunity, and escaped into the yard ; thence through a small 
 door in the large gate of the wall into the open field. There was a 
 walnut-tree at some distance from the house, and near the 
 side of the field where I had been in the habit of finding some of 
 the last year's nuts. To gain this tree without being seen by my 
 father and those in the field, I had to use some precaution. I 
 remember perfectly well having seen my father, as I skulked 
 towards the tree ; he stood in the middle of the field, with his gun 
 in his hand, to watch for Indians, while the others were dropping 
 corn. As I came near the tree, I thought to myself, ' I wish I 
 could see these Indians.' I had partly filled with nuts a straw hat 
 which I wore, when I heard a crackling noise behind me ; I looked 
 round, and saw the Indians ; almost at the same instant, I was 
 seized by both hands, and dragged off betwixt two. One of them 
 took my straw hat, emptied the nuts on the ground, and put it on 
 my head. The Indians who seized me were an old man and a 
 young one; these were, as I learned subsequently, Manito-o-geezhik, 
 and his son Kish-kau-ko. 
 
 After I saw myself firmly seized by both wrists by the two 
 Indians, I was not conscious of anything that passed for a con- 
 siderable time. I must have fainted, as I did not cry out, and I 
 can remember nothing that happened to me until they threw me 
 over a large log, which must have been at a considerable distance 
 from the house. The old man I did not now see ; I was dragged 
 along' between Kish-kau-ko and a very short thick man. I had 
 probably made some resistance, or done something to irritate this 
 last, for he took me a little to one side, and drawing his tomahawk, 
 motioned to me to look up. This I plainly understood, from the 
 expression of his face, and his manner, to be a direction for me to 
 look up for the last time, as he was about to kill me. I did as he 
 
A BOY AMONG THE RED INDIANS 
 
 3 
 
 directed, but Kish-kau-ko caught his hand as the tomahawk was 
 descending, and prevented him from burying it in my brains. 
 Loud talking ensued between the two. Kish-kau-ko presently raised 
 
 a yell : the old man and four others answered it by a similar yell, 
 and came running up. I have since understood that Kish-kau-ko 
 complained to his father that the short man had made an attempt 
 
 B2 
 
4 A BOY AMONG THE BED INDIANS 
 
 to kill his little brother, as he called me. The old chief, after re- 
 proving him, took me by one hand, and Kish-kau-ko by the other 
 and dragged me betwixt them, the man who had threatened to 
 kill me, and who was now an object of terror to me, being kept at 
 some distance. I could perceive, as I retarded them somewhat in 
 their retreat, that they were apprehensive of being overtaken ; some 
 of them were always at some distance from us. 
 
 It was about one mile from my father's house to the place 
 where they threw me into a hickory-bark canoe, which was con- 
 cealed under the bushes, on the bank of the river. Into this they 
 all seven jumped, and immediately crossed the Ohio, landing at the 
 mouth of the Big Miami, and on the south side of that river. 
 Here they abandoned their canoe, and stuck their paddles in the 
 ground, so that they could be seen from the river. At a little 
 distance in the woods they had some blankets and provisions con- 
 cealed ; they offered me some dry venison and bear's grease, but 
 I could not eat. My father's house was plainly to be seen from 
 the place where we stood ; they pointed at it, looked at me, and 
 laughed, but I have never known what they said. 
 
 After they had eaten a little, they began to ascend the Miami, 
 dragging me along as before. 
 
 It must have been early in the spring when we arrived at Sau-ge- 
 nong, for I can remember that at this time the leaves were small, 
 and the Indians were about planting their corn. They managed to 
 make me assist at their labours, partly by signs, and partly by the 
 few words of English old Manito-o-geezhik could speak. After 
 planting, they all left the village, and went out to hunt and dry 
 meat. When they came to their hunting-grounds, they chose a 
 place where many deer resorted, and here they began to build a 
 long screen like a fence ; this they made of green boughs and small 
 trees. When they had built a part of it, they showed me how to 
 remove the leaves and dry brush from that side of it to which the 
 Indians were to come to shoot the deer. In this labour I was 
 sometimes assisted by the squaws and children, but at other times 
 I was left alone. It now began to be warm weather, and it hap- 
 pened one day that, having been left alone, as I was tired and thirsty, 
 I fell asleep. I cannot tell how long I slept, but when I began to 
 awake, I thought I heard someone crying a great way off. Then 
 I tried to raise up my head, but could not. Being now more awake 
 I saw my Indian mother and sister standing by me, and perceived 
 that my face and bead were wet, The old woman and her 
 
A BOY AMONG THE RED INDIANS 5 
 
 daughter were crying bitterly, but it was some time before I per- 
 ceived that my head was badly cut and bruised. It appears that, 
 after I had fallen asleep, Manito-o-geezhik, passing that way, had 
 perceived me, had tomahawked me, and thrown me in the bushes ; 
 and that when he came to his camp he had said to his wife, ' Old 
 woman, the boy I brought you is good for nothing; I have killed 
 him ; you will find him in such a place.' The old woman and her 
 daughter having found me, discovered still some signs of life, and 
 had stood over me a long time, crying, and pouring cold water on 
 my head, when I waked. In a few days I recovered in some 
 measure from this hurt, and was again set to work at the screen, 
 but I was more careful not to fall asleep ; I endeavoured to assist 
 them at their labours, and to comply in all instances with their 
 directions, but I was notwithstanding treated with great harshness, 
 particularly by the old man, and his two sons She-mung and Kwo- 
 tash-e. While we remained at the hunting camp, one of them put 
 a bridle in my hand, and pointing in a certain direction motioned 
 me to go. I went accordingly, supposing he wished me to 
 bring a horse : I went and caught the first I could find, and in this 
 way I learned to discharge such services as they required of me. 
 
 I had been about two years at Sau-ge-nong, when a great council 
 was called by the British agents at Mackinac. This council was 
 attended by the Sioux, the Winnebagoes, the Menomonees, and 
 many remote tribes, as well as by the Qjibbeways, Ottawwaws, &c. 
 When old Manito-o-geezhik returned from this council, I soon 
 learned that he had met there his kinswoman, Net-no-kwa, who, not- 
 withstanding her sex, was then regarded as principal chief of the 
 Ottawwaws. This woman had lost her son, of about my age, by death ; 
 and, having heard of me, she wished to purchase me to supply his place. 
 My old Indian mother, the Otter woman, when she heard of this, 
 protested vehemently against it. I heard her say, * My son has 
 been dead once, and has been restored to me ; I cannot lose him 
 again.' But these remonstrances had little influence when 
 Net-no-kwa arrived with plenty of whisky and other presents. 
 She brought to the lodge first a ten-gallon keg of whisky, blankets, 
 tobacco, and other articles of great value. She was perfectly 
 acquainted with the dispositions of those with whom she had to 
 negotiate. Objections were made to the exchange until the con- 
 tents of the keg had circulated for some time ; then an additional 
 keg, and a few more presents, completed the bargain, and I was 
 transferred to Net-no-kwa. This woman, who was then advanced 
 
6 A BOY AMONG THE RED INDIANS 
 
 in years, was of a more pleasing aspect than my former mother. 
 She took me by the hand, after she had completed the negotiation 
 with my former possessors, and led me to her own lodge, which 
 stood near. Here I soon found I was to be treated more indul- 
 gently than I had been. She gave me plenty of food, put good 
 clothes upon me, and told me to go and play with her own sons 
 We remained but a short time at Sau-ge-nong. She would not 
 stop with me at Mackinac, which we passed in the night, but ran 
 along to Point St. Ignace, where she hired some Indians to take 
 care of me, while she returned to Mackinac by herself, or with one 
 or two of her young men. After finishing her business at 
 Mackinac, she returned, and, continuing on our journey, we arrived 
 in a few days at Shab-a-wy-wy-a-gun. 
 
 The husband of Net-no-kwa was an Ojibbeway of Eed River, 
 called Taw-ga-we-ninne, the hunter. He was seventeen years 
 younger than Net-no-kwa, and had turned off a former wife on 
 being married to her. Taw-ga-we-ninne was always indulgent and 
 kind to me, treating me like an equal, rather than as a dependent. 
 When speaking to me, he always called me his son. Indeed, he 
 himself was but of secondary importance in the family, as every- 
 thing belonged to Net-no-kwa, and she had the direction in all 
 affairs of any moment. She imposed on me, for the first year, 
 some tasks. She made me cut wood, bring home game, bring 
 water, and perform other services not commonly required of the 
 boys of my age ; but she treated me invariably with so much kind- 
 ness that I was far more happy and content than I had been in the 
 family of Manito-o-geezhik. She sometimes whipped me, as she 
 did her own children : but I was not so severely and frequently 
 beaten as I had been before. 
 
 Early in the spring, Net-no-kwa and her husband, with their 
 family, started to go to Mackinac. They left me, as they had 
 done before, at Point St. Ignace, as they would not run the risk of 
 losing me by suffering me to be seen at Mackinac. On our return, 
 after we had gone twenty-five or thirty miles from Point St. 
 Ignace, we were detained by contrary winds at a place called 
 Me-nau-ko-king, a point running out into the lake. Here we en- 
 camped with some other Indians, and a party of traders. Pigeons 
 were very numerous in the woods, and the boys of my age, and the 
 traders, were busy shooting them. I had never killed any game, 
 and, indeed, had never in my life discharged a gun. My mother 
 had purchased at Mackinac a keg of powder, which, as they thought 
 
A -BOY AMONG THE RED INDIANS 7 
 
 it a little clamp, was here spread out to dry. Taw-ga-we-ninne 
 had a large horseman's pistol; and, finding myself somewhat em- 
 boldened by his indulgent manner toward me, I requested per- 
 mission to go and try to kill some pigeons with the pistol. My 
 request was seconded by Net-no-kwa, who said, ' It is time for our 
 son to begin to learn to be a hunter.' Accordingly, my father, as 
 I called Taw-ga-we-ninne, loaded the pistol and gave it to me, say- 
 ing, ' Go, my son, and if you kill anything with this, you shall 
 immediately have a gun and learn to hunt.' Since I have been a 
 man, I have been placed in difficult situations ; but my anxiety for 
 success was never greater than in this, my first essay as a hunter. 
 I had not gone far from the camp before I met with pigeons, 
 and some of them alighted in the bushes very near me. I cocked 
 my pistol, and raised it to my face, bringing the breech almost in 
 contact with my nose. Having brought the sight to bear upon the 
 pigeon, I pulled trigger, and was in the next instant sensible of a 
 humming noise, like that of a stone sent swiftly through the air. 
 I found the pistol at the distance of some paces behind me, and 
 the pigeon under the tree on which he had been sitting. My face 
 was much bruised, and covered with blood. I ran home, carrying 
 my pigeon in triumph. My face was speedily bound up ; my pistol 
 exchanged for a fowling-piece ; I was accoutred with a powder- 
 horn, and furnished with shot, and allowed to go out after birds. 
 One of the young Indians went with me, to observe my manner 
 of shooting. I killed three more pigeons in the course of the 
 afternoon, and did not discharge my gun once without killing. 
 Henceforth I began to be treated with more consideration, and was 
 allowed to hunt often, that I might become expert. 
 
 Game began to be scarce, and we all suffered from hunger. 
 The chief man of our band was called As-sin-ne-boi-nainse (the 
 Little Assinneboin), and he now proposed to us all to move, as the 
 country where we were was exhausted. The day on which we 
 were to commence our removal was fixed upon, but before it 
 arrived our necessities became extreme. The evening before the 
 day on which we intended to move my mother talked much of all 
 our misfortunes and losses, as well as of the urgent distress under 
 which we were then labouring. At the usual hour I went to sleep, 
 as did all the younger part of the family ; but I was wakened 
 again by the loud praying and singing of the old woman, who con- 
 tinued her devotions through great part of the night, v^ery early 
 on the following morning she called us all to get up, and put on 
 
8 A BOY AMONG THE BED INDIANS 
 
 our moccasins, and be ready to move. She then called Wa-me- 
 gon-a-biew to her, and said to him, in rather a low voice, ' My son, 
 last night I sung and prayed to the Great Spirit, and when I slept, 
 there came to me one like a man, and said to me, " Net-no-kwa, 
 to-morrow you shall eat a bear. There is, at a distance from the 
 path you are to travel to-morrow, and in such a direction " (which 
 she described to him), " a small round meadow, with something like 
 a path leading from it ; in that path there is a bear." Now, my 
 son, I wish you to go to that place, without mentioning to anyone 
 what I have said, and you will certainly find the bear, as I have 
 described to you.' But the young man, who was not particularly 
 dutiful, or apt to regard what his mother said, going out of the 
 lodge, spoke sneeringly to the other Indians of the dream. ' The 
 old woman,' said he, ' tells ine we are to eat a bear to-day ; but I 
 do not know who is to kill it.' The old woman, hearing him, called 
 him in, and reproved him ; but she could not prevail upon him to 
 go to hunt. 
 
 I had my gun with me, and I continued to think of the conver- 
 sation I had heard between my mother and Wa-me-gon-a-biew 
 respecting her dream. At length I resolved to go in search of the 
 place she had spoken of, and without mentioning to anyone my 
 design, I loaded my gun as for a bear, and set off on our back track. 
 I soon met a woman belonging to one of the brothers of Taw-ga- 
 we-ninne, and of course my aunt. This woman had shown little 
 friendship for us, considering us as a burthen upon her husband, 
 who sometimes gave something for our support ; she had also often 
 ridiculed me. She asked me immediately what I was doing on the 
 path, and whether I expected to kill Indians, that I came there 
 with my gun. I made her no answer ; and thinking I must be not 
 far from the place where my mother had told Wa-me-gon-a-biew to 
 leave the path, I turned off, continuing carefully to regard all the 
 directions she had given. At length I found what appeared at 
 some former time to have been a pond. It was a small, round, 
 open place in the woods, now grown up with grass and small 
 bushes. This I thought must be the meadow my mother had 
 spoken of; and examining around it, I came to an open space in the 
 bushes, where, it is probable, a small brook ran from the meadow ; 
 but the snow was now so deep that I could see nothing of it. My 
 mother had mentioned that, when she saw the bear in her dream, 
 she had, at the same time, seen a smoke rising from the ground. 
 I was confident this was the place she had indicated, and I watched 
 
A BOY AMONG THE EED INDIANS 9 
 
 long, expecting to see the smoke ; but, wearied at length with waiting, 
 I walked a few paces into the open place, resembling a path, when 
 I unexpectedly fell up to my middle in the snow. I extricated 
 myself without difficulty, and walked on ; but, remembering that I 
 had heard the Indians speak of killing bears in their holes, it 
 occurred to me that it might be a bear's hole into which I had 
 fallen, and, looking down into it, I saw the head of a bear lying 
 cloae to the bottom of the hole. I placed the muzzle of my gun 
 nearly between his eyes and discharged it. As soon as the smoke 
 cleared away, I took a piece of stick and thrust it into the eyes and 
 into the wound in the head of the bear, and, being satisfied that he 
 was dead, I endeavoured to lift him out of the hole ; but being 
 unable to do this, I returned home, following the track I had made 
 in coming out. As I came near the camp, where the squaws had 
 by this time set up the lodges, I met the same woman I had seen 
 in going out, and she immediately began again to ridicule me. 
 ' Have you killed a bear, that you come back so soon, and walk so 
 fast ? ' I thought to myself, ' How does she know that I have killed 
 a bear ? ' But I passed by her without saying anything, and went 
 into my mother's lodge. After a few minutes, the old woman said, 
 ' My son, look in that kettle, and you will find a mouthful of beaver 
 meat, which a man gave me since you left us in the morning. You 
 must leave half of it for Wa-me-gon-a-biew, who has not yet 
 returned from hunting, and has eaten nothing to-day.' I accordingly 
 ate the beaver meat, and when I had finished it, observing an 
 opportunity when she stood by herself, I stepped up to her, and 
 whispered in her ear, * My mother, I have killed a bear.' ' What do 
 you say, my son ? ' said she. * I have killed a bear.' ' Are you 
 sure you have killed him ? ' ' Yes.' ' Is he quite dead ? ' ' Yes.' 
 She watched my face for a moment, and then caught me in 
 her arms, hugging and kissing me with great earnestness, and 
 for a long time. I then told her what my aunt had said 
 to me, both going and returning, and this being told to her 
 husband when he returned, he not only reproved her for it, but 
 gave her a severe flogging. The bear was sent for, and, as being 
 the first I had killed, was cooked all together, and the hunters of 
 the whole band invited to feast with us, according to the custom 
 of the Indians. The same day one of the Crees killed a bear and 
 a moose, and gave a large share of the meat to my mother. 
 
 One winter I hunted for a trader called by the Indians Aneeb, 
 which means an elm-tree. As the winter advanced, and the 
 
10 
 
 A BOY AMONG THE RED INDIANS 
 
 weather became more and more cold, I found it difficult to procure 
 as much game as I had been in the habit of supplying, and as was 
 wanted by the trader. Early one morning, about mid-winter, I 
 started an elk. I pursued until night, and had almost overtaken 
 him ; but hope and strength failed me at the same time. What 
 
 clothing I had on me, notwithstanding the extreme coldness of the 
 weather, was drenched with sweat. It was not long after I turned 
 towards home that I felt it stiffening about me. My leggings were 
 of cloth, and were torn in pieces in running through the bush. I 
 was conscious I was somewhat frozen before I arrived at the place 
 where I had left our lodge standing in the morning, and it was now 
 
A BOY AMONG THE BED INDIANS 11 
 
 midnight. I knew it had been the old woman's intention to move, 
 and I knew where she would go ; but I had not been informed she 
 would go on that day. As I followed on their path, I soon ceased 
 to suffer from cold, and felt that sleepy sensation which I knew 
 preceded the last stage of weakness in such as die of cold. I re- 
 doubled my efforts, but with an entire consciousness of the danger 
 of my situation ; it was with no small difficulty that I could prevent 
 myself from lying down. At length I lost all consciousness for 
 some time, how long I cannot tell, and, awaking as from a dream, 
 I found I had been walking round and round in a small circle not 
 more than twenty or twenty-five yards over. After the return of 
 my senses, I looked about to try to discover- my path, as I had 
 missed it ; but, while I was looking, I discovered a light at a dis- 
 tance, by which I directed my course. Once more, before I reached 
 the lodge, I lost my senses ; but I did not fall down ; if I had, I 
 should never have got up again ; but I ran round and round in a 
 circle as before. When I at last came into the lodge, I immediately 
 fell down, but I did not lose myself as before. I can remember 
 seeing the thick and sparkling coat of frost on the inside of the 
 pukkwi lodge, and hearing my mother say that she had kept a 
 large fire in expectation of my arrival ; and that she had not thought 
 I should have been so long gone in the morning, but that I should 
 have known long before night of her having moved. It was a 
 month before I was able to go out again, my face, hands, and 
 legs having been much frozen. 
 
 There is, on the bank of the Little Saskawjewun, a place which 
 looks like one the Indians would always choose to encamp at. In 
 a bend of the river is a beautiful landing-place, behind it a little plain, 
 a thick wood, and a small hill rising abruptly in the rear. But 
 with that spot is connected a story of fratricide, a crime so un- 
 common that the spot where it happened is held in detestation, and 
 regarded with terror. No Indian will land his canoe, much less 
 encamp, at ' the place of the two dead men: They relate that 
 many years ago the Indians were encamped here, when a quarrel 
 arose between two brothers, having she-she-gwi for totems. 1 One 
 drew his knife and slew the other ; but those of the band who were 
 present, looked upon the crime as so horrid that, without hesitation 
 or delay, they killed the murderer, and buried them together. 
 
 As I approached this spot, I thought much of the story of the 
 two brothers, who bore the same totem with myself, and were, as I 
 
 1 The totem ia the crest of the Indians. 
 
12 A BOY AMONG THE EED INDIANS 
 
 supposed, related to my Indian mother. I had heard it said that, 
 if any man encamped near their graves, as some had done soon 
 after they were buried, they would be seen to come out of the 
 ground, and either re -act the quarrel and the murder, or in some 
 other manner so annoy and disturb their visitors that they could 
 not sleep. Curiosity was in part my motive, and I wished to be 
 able to tell the Indians that I not only stopped, but slept quietly 
 at a place which they shunned with so much fear and caution. 
 The sun was going down as I arrived; and I pushed my little 
 canoe in to the shore, kindled a fire, and, after eating my supper, 
 lay down and slept. Very soon I saw the two dead men come and 
 sit down by my fire, opposite me. Their eyes were intently fixed 
 upon me, but they neither smiled nor said anything. I got up 
 and sat opposite them by the fire, and in this situation I awoke. 
 The night was dark and gusty, but I saw no men, or heard any 
 other sound than that of the wind in the trees. It is likely I fell 
 asleep again, for I soon saw the same two men standing below the bank 
 of the river, their heads just rising to the level of the ground I had 
 made my fire on, and looking at me as before. After a few minutes, 
 they rose one after the other, and sat down opposite me ; but now 
 they were laughing, and pushing at me with sticks, and using 
 various methods of annoyance. I endeavoured to speak to them, 
 but my voice failed me ; I tried to fly, but my feet refused to dc 
 their office. Throughout the whole night I was in a state of agita- 
 tion and alarm. Among other things which they said to me, one 
 of them told me to look at the top of the little hill which stood 
 near. I did so, and saw a horse fettered, and standing looking at 
 me. 'There, my brother,' said the ghost, ' is a horse which I give 
 you to ride on your journey to-morrow ; and as you pass here on 
 your way home, you can call and leave the horse, and spend 
 another night with us.' 
 
 At last came the morning, and I was in no small degree pleased 
 to find that with the darkness of the night these terrifying visions 
 vanished. But my long residence among the Indians, and the 
 frequent instances in which I had known the intimations of dreams 
 verified, occasioned me to think seriously of the horse the ghost had 
 given me. Accordingly I went to the top of the hill, where I dis- 
 covered tracks and other signs, and, following a little distance, 
 found a horse, which I knew belonged to the trader I was going to 
 see. As several miles travel might be saved by crossing from this 
 point on the Little Saskawjewun to the Assinneboiri, I left the 
 
A BOY AMONG THE BED INDIANS 13 
 
 canoe, and, having caught the horse, and put my load upon him, 
 led him towards the trading-house, where I arrived next day. In 
 all subsequent journeys through this country, I carefully shunned 
 ' the place of the two dead ' ; and the account I gave of what I had 
 seen and suffered there confirmed the superstitious terrors of the 
 Indians. 
 
 I was standing by our lodge one evening, when I saw a 
 good-looking young woman walking about and smoking. She 
 noticed me from time to time, and at last came up and asked me 
 to smoke with her. I answered that I never smoked. ' You do 
 not wish to touch my pipe ; for that reason you will not smoke 
 with me.' I took her pipe and smoked a little, though I had not 
 been in the habit of smoking before. She remained some time, and 
 talked with me, and I began to be pleased with her. After this we 
 saw each other often, and I became gradually attached to her. 
 
 I mention this because it was to this woman that I was after- 
 wards married, and because the commencement of our acquaintance 
 was not after the usual manner of the Indians. Among them it 
 most commonly happens, even when a young man marries a 
 woman of his own band, he has previously had no personal 
 acquaintance with her. They have seen each other in the village ; 
 he has perhaps looked at her in passing, but it is probable they 
 have never spoken together. The match is agreed on by the old 
 people, and when their intention is made known to the young 
 couple, they commonly find, in themselves, no objection to the 
 arrangement, as they know, should it prove disagreeable mutually, 
 or to either party, it can at any time be broken off. 
 
 I now redoubled my diligence in hunting, and commonly came 
 home with meat in the early part of the day, at least before night. 
 I then dressed myself as handsomely as I could, and walked about 
 the village, sometimes blowing the Pe-be-gwun, or flute. For 
 some time Mis-kwa-bun-o-kwa pretended she was not willing to 
 marry me, and it was not, perhaps, until she perceived some abate- 
 ment of ardour on my part that she laid this affected coyness 
 entirely aside. For my own part, I found that my anxiety to take 
 a wife home to my lodge was rapidly becoming less and less. I 
 made several efforts to break off the intercourse, and visit her no 
 more ; but a lingering inclination was too strong for me. When 
 she perceived my growing indifference, she sometimes reproached 
 me, and sometimes sought to move me by tears and entreaties ; but 
 I said nothing to the old woman about bringing her home, and 
 
14 A BOY AMONG THE BED INDIANS 
 
 became daily more and more unwilling to acknowledge her publicly 
 as my wife. 
 
 About this time I had occasion to go to the trading-house on 
 Bed River, and I started in company with a half-breed belonging 
 to that establishment, who was mounted on a fleet horse. The dis- 
 tance we had to travel has since been called by the English settlers 
 seventy miles. We rode and went on foot by turns, and the one 
 who was on foot kept hold of the horse's tail, and ran. We passed 
 over the whole distance in one day. In returning, I was by myself, 
 and without a horse, and I made an effort, intending, if possible, to 
 accomplish tbe same journey in one day ; but darkness, and 
 excessive fatigue, compelled me to stop when I was within about ten 
 miles of home. 
 
 When I arrived at our lodge, on the following day, I saw Mis- 
 kwa-bun-o-kwa sitting in my place. As I stopped at the door of 
 the lodge, and hesitated to enter, she hung down her head ; but 
 Net-no-kwa greeted me in a tone somewhat harsher than was 
 common for her to use to me. ' W'ill you turn back from the door 
 of the lodge, and put this young woman to shame, who is in all 
 respects better than you are ? This affair has been of your seeking, 
 and not of mine or hers. You have followed her about the village 
 heretofore ; now you would turn from her, and make her appear 
 like one who has attempted to thrust herself in your way.' I was, in 
 part, conscious of the justness of Net-no-kwa's reproaches, and in 
 part prompted by inclination ; I went in and sat down by the side 
 of Mis-kwa-bun-o-kwa, and thus we became man and wife. Old 
 Net-no-kwa had, while I was absent at Red River, without my 
 knowledge or consent, made her bargain with the parents of the 
 young woman, and brought her home, rightly supposing that it 
 would be no difficult matter to reconcile me to the measure. In 
 most of the marriages which happen between young persons, the 
 parties most interested have less to do than in this case. The 
 amount of presents which the parents of a woman expect to receive 
 in exchange for her diminishes in proportion to the number of 
 husbands she may have had. 
 
 I now began to attend to some of the ceremonies of what may 
 be called the initiation of warriors, this being the first time I had 
 been on a war-party. For the first three times that a man accom- 
 panies a war-party, the customs of the Indians require some peculiar 
 and painful observances, from which old warriors may, if they 
 choose, be exempted. The young warrior must constantly paint 
 
A BOY AMONG THE BED INDIANS 15 
 
 his face black ; must wear a cap, or head-dress .of some kind ; must 
 never precede the old warriors, but follow them, stepping in their 
 tracks. He must never scratch his head, or any other part of his 
 body, with his fingers, but if he is compelled to scratch he must 
 use a small stick ; the vessel he eats or drinks out of, or the knife 
 he uses, must be touched by no other person. 
 
 The young warrior, however long and fatiguing the march, 
 must neither eat, nor drink, nor sit down by day ; if he halts for a 
 moment, he must turn his face towards his own country, that the 
 Great Spirit may see that it is his wish to return home again. 
 
 It was Tanner's wish to return home again, and after many 
 dangerous and disagreeable adventures he did at last, when almost 
 an old man, come back to the Whites and tell his history, which, as 
 he could not write, was taken down at his dictation. 1 
 
 1 From Tanner's Captivity. New York, 1830. 
 
16 
 
 CASANOVA'S ESCAPE 
 
 IN July 1755 Casanova di Seingalt, a Venetian gentleman, who, 
 by reason of certain books of magic he possessed, fell under the 
 displeasure of the Church, was imprisoned by order of the Inquisi- 
 tion in a cell in the ducal palace. 
 
 The cell in which he was, imprisoned was one of seven called 
 ' The Leads,' because they were under the palace roof, which was 
 covered neither by slates nor bricks, but great heavy sheets of 
 lead. They were guarded by archers, and could only be reached 
 by passing through the hall of council. The secretary of the In- 
 quisition had charge of their key, which the gaoler, after going the 
 round of the prisoners, restored to him every morning. Four of the 
 cells faced eastward over the palace canal, the other three westward 
 over the court. Casanova's was one of the three, and he calcu- 
 lated that it was exactly above the private room of the inquisitors. 
 
 For many hours after the gaoler first turned the key upon 
 Casanova he was left alone in the gloomy cell, not high enough for 
 him to stand upright in, and destitute even of a couch. He laid 
 aside his silk mantle, his hat adorned with Spanish lace and a 
 white plume for, when roused from sleep and arrested by the In- 
 quisition, he had put on the suit lying ready, in which he intended 
 to have gone to a gay entertainment. The heat of the cell was 
 extreme : the prisoner leaned his elbows on the ledge of the grating 
 which admitted to the cell what light there was, and fell into a 
 deep and bitter reverie. Eight hours passed, and then the complete 
 solitude in which he was left began to trouble him. Another hour, 
 another, and another ; but when night really fell, to take Casanova's 
 own account, 
 
 ' I became like a raging madman, stamping, cursing, and utter- 
 ing wild cries. After more than an hour of this furious exercise, 
 seeing no one, not hearing the least sign which could have made 
 me imagine that anyone was aware of my fury, I stretched myself 
 
CA8AXQVA'8 ESCAPE 17 
 
 On the ground. . . . But my bitter grief and anger, and the hard 
 floor on which I lay, did not prevent me from sleeping. 
 
 ' The midnight bell woke me : I could not believe that I had 
 really passed three hours without consciousness of pain. Without 
 moving, lying as I was on my left side, I stretched out my right 
 hand for my handkerchief, which I remembered was there. Grop- 
 ing with my hand heavens ! suddenly it rested upon another hand, 
 icy cold ! Terror thrilled me from head to foot, and my hair rose : 
 I had never in all my life known such an agony of fear, and would 
 never have thought myself capable of it. 
 
 ' Three or four minutes I passed, not only motionless, but be- 
 reft of thought ; then, recovering my senses, I began to think that 
 the hand I touched was imaginary. In that conviction I stretched 
 out my arm once more, only to encounter the same hand, which, 
 with a cry of horror, I seized, and let go again, drawing back my 
 own. I shuddered, but being able to reason by this time, I 
 decided that while I slept a corpse had been laid near me for I 
 was sure there was nothing when I lay down on the floor. But 
 whose was the dead body ? Some innocent sufferer, perhaps one 
 of my own friends, whom they had strangled, and laid there that I 
 might find before my eyes when I woke the example of what my 
 own fate was to be ? That thought made me furious : for the third 
 time I approached the hand with my own : I clasped it, and at the 
 same instant I tried to rise, to draw this dead body towards me, 
 and be certain of the hideous crime. But, as I strove to prop my- 
 self on my left elbow, the cold hand I was clasping became alive, 
 and was withdrawn and I knew that instant, to my utter aston- 
 ishment, that I held none other than my own left hand, which, 
 lying stiffened on the hard floor, had lost heat and sensation entirety.' 
 
 That incident, though comic, did not cheer Casanova, but gave 
 him matter for the darkest reflections since he saw himself in a 
 place where, if the unreal seemed so true, reality might one day 
 become a dream. In other words, he feared approaching madness. 
 
 But at last came daybreak, and by-and-by the gaoler returned, 
 asking the prisoner if he had had time to find out what he would 
 like to eat. Casanova was allowed to send for all he needed from 
 his own apartments in Venice, but writing-implements, any metal 
 instruments whatever, even knife and fork, and the books he men- 
 tioned, were struck from his list. The inquisitors sent him books 
 which they themselves thought suitable, and which drove him, he 
 said, to the verge of madness. 
 
 
 
IS CASANOVA'S SCAPE 
 
 He was not ill-treated having a daily allowance given him to 
 buy what food he liked, which was more than he could spend. 
 But the loss of liberty soon became insupportable. For months he 
 believed that his deliverance was close at hand ; but when Novem- 
 ber came, and he saw no prospect of release, he began to form pro- 
 
 jects of escape. And soon the idea of freeing liimself, however wild 
 and impossible it seemed, took complete possession of him. 
 
 By-and-by he was allowed half an hour's daily promenade in 
 the corridor (galetas) outside his cell a dingy, rat-infested place, 
 into which old rubbish was apt to drift. One day Casanova noticed 
 a piece of black marble on the floor polished, an inch thick and 
 
CASANOVA'S ESCAPE 19 
 
 six inches long. He picked it up stealthily, and without any 
 definite intention, managed to hide it away in his cell. 
 
 Another morning his eyes fell upon a long iron bolt, lying on 
 the floor with other old odds and ends, and that also, concealed in 
 his dress, he bore into his cell. When left alone, he examined it 
 carefully, and realised that if pointed, it would make an excellent 
 spontoon. He took the black marble, and after grinding one end 
 of the bolt against it for a long while, he saw that he had really 
 succeeded in wearing the iron down. For fifteen days he worked, 
 till he could hardly stir his right arm, and his shoulder felt almost 
 dislocated. But he had made the bolt into a real tool; or, if 
 necessary, a weapon, with an excellent point. He hid it in the 
 straw of his armchair so carefully that, to find it, one must have 
 known that it was there ; and then he began to consider what use 
 he should make of it. 
 
 He was certain that the room underneath was the one in which 
 on entering he had seen the secretary of the Inquisition, and which 
 was probably opened every morning. A hole once made in the 
 floor, he could easily lower himself by a rope made of the sheets 
 of his bed, and fastened to one of the bed-posts. He might hide 
 under the great table of the tribunal till the door was opened, and 
 then make good his escape. It was probable, indeed, that one of 
 the archers would mount guard in this room at night ; but him 
 Casanova resolved to kill with his pointed iron. The great diffi- 
 culty really was that the hole in the floor was not to be made in a 
 day, but might be a work of months. And therefore some pretext 
 must be found to prevent the archers from sweeping out the cell, 
 as they were accustomed to do every morning. 
 
 Some days after, alleging no reason, he ordered the archers not 
 to sweep. This omission was allowed to pass for several mornings, 
 and then the gaoler demanded Casanova's reason. He answered, 
 that the dust settled on his lungs, and made him cough, and might 
 give him a mortal disease. Laurent, the gaoler, offered to throw 
 water on the floor before sweeping it ; but Casanova's arguments 
 against the dampness of the atmosphere that would result were 
 equally ingenious. Laurent's suspicions, however, were roused, 
 and one day he ordered the room to be swept most carefully, and 
 even lit a candle, and on the pretence of cleanliness, searched the 
 cell thoroughly. Casanova seemed indifferent, but the next day, 
 having pricked his finger, he showed his handkerchief stained with 
 blood, and said that the gaoler's cruelty had brought on so severe a 
 
 c2 
 
20 CASANOVA'S ESCAPE 
 
 cough that he had actually broken a small blood-vessel. A doctor 
 was sent for, who took the prisoner's part, and forbade sweeping 
 out the cell in future. One great point was gained ; but the work 
 could not begin yet, owing to the fearful cold. The prisoner would 
 have been forced to wear gloves, and the sight of a worn glove 
 might have excited suspicion. So he occupied himself with another 
 stratagem the creation, little by little, of a lamp, for the solace of 
 the endless winter nights. One by one, the gaoler himself, unsus- 
 pectingly, brought the different ingredients : oil was imported in 
 salads, wick the prisoner himself made from threads pulled from 
 the quilt, and in time the lamp was complete. 
 
 The very unwelcome sojourn of a Jewish usurer, like himself 
 captive of the Inquisition, in his cell, forced Casanova to delay his 
 projects of escape till after Easter, when the Jew was imprisoned 
 elsewhere. 
 
 No sooner had he left than Casanova, by the light of the lamp 
 constructed with so much difficulty, began his task. Drawing his 
 bed away, he set to work to bore through the plank underneath, 
 gathering the fragments of wood in a napkin which the next 
 morning he contrived to empty out behind a heap of old cahier books 
 in the corridor and after six hours' labour, pulling back his bed, 
 which concealed all trace of it from the gaoler's eyes. 
 
 The first plank was two inches thick ; the next day he found 
 another plank beneath it, and he pierced this only to find a third 
 plank. It was three weeks before he dug out a cavity large enough 
 for his purpose in this depth of wood, and his disappointment was 
 great when, underneath the planks, he came to a marble pavement 
 which resisted his one tool. But he remembered having read of a 
 general who had broken with an axe hard stones, which he first 
 made brittle by vinegar, and this Casanova possessed. He poured 
 a bottle of strong vinegar into the hole, and the next day, whether 
 it was the effect of the vinegar or of his stronger resolution, he 
 managed to loosen the cement which bound the pieces of marble 
 together, and in four hours had destroyed the pavement, and found 
 another plank, which, however, he believed to be the last. 
 
 At this point his work was once more interrupted by the 
 arrival of a fellow-prisoner, who only stayed, however, for eight 
 days. A more serious delay was caused by the fact that unwittingly 
 a part of. his work had been just above one of the great beams that 
 supported the ceiling, and he was forced to enlarge the hole by one- 
 fourth. But at last all was done. Through a.hole so thin as to be 
 
CASANOVA 1 8 ESCAPE 21 
 
 quite imperceptible from below he saw the room underneath. 
 There was only a thin film of wood to be broken through on the 
 night of his escape. For various reasons, he had fixed on the 
 night of August 27. But hear his own words : 
 
 ' On the 25th,' writes Casanova, ' there happened what makes 
 me shudder even as I write. Precisely at noon I heard the rattling 
 of bolts, a fearful beating of my heart made me think that my last 
 moment had come, and I flung myself on my armchair, stupefied. 
 Laurent entered, and said gaily : 
 
 ' " Sir, I have come to bring you good news, on which I con- 
 gratulate you ! " 
 
 ' At first I thought my liberty was to be restored I knew no 
 other news which could be good ; and I saw that I was lost, for 
 the discovery of the hole would have undone me. But Laurent 
 told me to follow him. I asked him to wait till I got ready. 
 
 ' " No matter," he said, " you are only going to leave this dismal 
 cell for a light one, quite new, where you can see half Venice 
 through the two windows ; where you can stand upright ; where " 
 
 ' But I cannot bear to write of it I seemed to be dying. I 
 implored Laurent to tell the secretary that I thanked the tribunal 
 for its mercy, but begged it in Heaven's name to leave me where I 
 was. Laurent told me, with a burst of laughter, that I was mad, 
 that my present cell was execrable, and that I was to be transferred 
 to a delightful one. 
 
 ' " Come, come, you must obey orders," he exclaimed. 
 
 ' He led me away. I felt a momentary solace in hearing him 
 order one of his men to follow with the armchair, where my 
 spontoon was still concealed. That was always something ! If my 
 beautiful hole in the floor, that I had made with such infinite pains, 
 could have followed me too but that was impossible ! My body 
 went ; my soul stayed behind. 
 
 ' As soon as Laurent saw me in the fresh cell, he had the arm- 
 chair set down. I flung myself upon it, and he went away, telling 
 me that my bed and all my other belongings should be brought to 
 me at once.' 
 
 For two hours Casanova was left alone in his new cell, utterly 
 hopeless, and expecting to be consigned for the rest of his life to 
 one of the palace dungeons, from which no escape could be possible. 
 Then the gaoler returned, almost mad with rage, and demanded 
 the axe and all the instruments which the prisoner must have em- 
 ployed in penetrating the marble pavement. Calmly, without 
 
22 CASANOVA'S ESCAPE 
 
 stirring, Casanova told him that he did not know what he was 
 talking about, but that, if he had procured tools, it could only 
 have been from Laurent himself, who alone had entrance to the cell. 
 
 Such a reply did not soften the gaoler's anger, and for some 
 time Casanova was very badly treated. Everything was searched ; 
 but his tool had been so cleverly concealed that Laurent never 
 found it. Fortunately it was the gaoler's interest not to let the 
 tribunal know of the discovery he had made. He had the floor of 
 the cell mended without the knowledge of the secretary of the 
 Inquisition, and when this was done, and he found himself secure 
 from blame, Casanova had little difficulty in making peace with 
 him, and even told him the secret of the lamp's construction. 
 
 Fortunately, out of the tribunal's allowance to the prisoner 
 enough was always left, after he had provided for his own needs, 
 for a gift or bribe, to the gaoler. But Laurent did not relax his 
 vigilance, and every morning one of the archers went round the 
 cell with an iron bar, giving blows to walls and floor, to assure 
 himself that there was nothing broken. But he never struck the 
 ceiling, a fact which Casanova resolved to turn to accoimt at the 
 first opportunity. 
 
 One day the prisoner ordered his gaoler to buy him a particular 
 book, and Laurent, objecting to an expense which seemed to him 
 quite needless, offered to borrow him a book of one of the other 
 prisoners, in exchange for one of his own. Here at last was an 
 opportunity. Casanova chose a volume out of his small library, 
 and gave it to the gaoler, who returned in a few minutes with a 
 Latin book belonging to one of the other prisoners. 
 
 Pen and ink were forbidden, but in this book Casanova found a 
 fragment of paper ; and he contrived, with the nail of his little 
 finger, dipped in mulberry juice, to write on it a list of his library 
 and returned the volume, asking for a second. The second came, 
 and in it a short letter in Latin. The correspondence between the 
 prisoners had really begun. 
 
 The writer of the Latin letter was the monk Balbi, imprisoned 
 in the Leads with a companion, Count Andre Asquin. He 
 followed it by a much longer one, giving the history of his own life, 
 and all that he knew of his fellow-prisoners. Casanova formed a 
 very poor opinion of Father Balbi's character from his letters ; but 
 assistance of some kind he must have, since the gaoler must needs 
 discover any attempt to break through the ceiling, unless that 
 attempt was made from above. But Casanova soon thought of 
 
CASANOVA'S ESCAPE 23 
 
 a plan by which Ealbi could break through his ceiling, undis- 
 covered. 
 
 ' I wrote to him,' he relates, ' that I would find some means of 
 sending him an instrument with which he could break through the 
 roof of his cell, and having climbed upon it, go to the wall 
 separating his roof from mine. Breaking through that, he would 
 find himself on my roof, which also must be broken through. 
 That done, I would leave my cell, and he, the Count, and I 
 together, would manage to raise one of the great leaden squares 
 that formed the highest palace roof. Once outside that, I would 
 be answerable for the rest. 
 
 ' But first he must tell the gaoler to buy him forty or fifty 
 pictures of saints, and by way of proving his piety, he must cover 
 his walls and ceiling with these, putting the largest on the ceiling. 
 When he had done this, I would tell him more. 
 
 ' I next ordered Laurent to buy me the new folio Bible that was 
 just printed ; for I fancied its great size might enable me to conceal 
 my tool there, and so send it to the monk. But when I saw it, I 
 became gloomy the bolt was two inches longer than the Bible. 
 The monk wrote to me that the cell was already covered according 
 to my direction, and hoped I would lend him the great Bible which 
 Laurent told him I had bought. But I replied that for three or 
 four days I needed it myself. 
 
 ' At last I hit upon a device. I told Laurent that on Michaelmas 
 Day I wanted two dishes of macaroni, and one of these must be 
 the largest dish he had, for I meant to season it, and send it, with 
 my compliments, to the worthy gentleman who had lent me books. 
 Laurent would bring me the butter and the Parmesan cheese, but I 
 myself should add them to the boiling macaroni. 
 
 ' I wrote to the monk preparing him for what was to happen, and 
 on St. Michael's Day all came about as I expected. I had hidden 
 the bolt in the great Bible, wrapped in paper, one inch of it showing 
 on each side. I prepared the cheese and butter ; and in due time 
 Laurent brought me in the boiling macaroni and the great dish. 
 Mixing my ingredients, I filled the dish so full that the butter 
 nearly ran over the edge, and then I placed it carefully on the 
 Bible, and put that, with the dish resting on it, into Laurent's 
 hand, warning him not to spill a drop. All his caution was 
 necessary : he went away with his eyes fixed on his burden, lest 
 the butter should run over ; and the Bible, with the bolt projecting 
 from it, were covered, and more tha,n covered, by the huge dish. 
 
24 CASANOVA'S ESCAPE 
 
 His one care was to hold that steady, and I saw that I had 
 succeeded. Presently he came back to tell me that not a drop of 
 butter had been spilt.' 
 
 Father Balbi next began his work, detaching from the roof one 
 large picture, which he regularly put back in the same place to 
 conceal the hole. In eight days he had made his way through the 
 roof, and attacked the wall. This was harder work, but at last he 
 had removed six and twenty bricks, and could pass through to 
 Casanova's roof. This he was obliged to work at very carefully, lest 
 any fracture should appear visible below. 
 
 One Monday, as Father Balbi was busy at the roof, Casanova 
 suddenly heard the sound of opening doors. It was a terrible 
 moment, but he had time to give the alarm signal, two quick 
 blows on the ceiling. Then Laurent entered, bringing another 
 prisoner, an ugly, ill-dressed little man of fifty, in a black wig, who 
 looked like what he was, a spy of the Inquisition. 
 
 Casanova soon learned the history of Soradici for this was the 
 spy's name and when his new companion was asleep he wrote to 
 Balbi the account of what had happened. For the present, evi- 
 dently the work must be given up, no confidence whatever could 
 be placed in Soradici. Yet soon Casanova thought of a plan of 
 making use even of this traitor. 
 
 First he ordered Laurent to buy him an image of the Virgin 
 Mary, holy water, and a crucifix. Next he wrote two letters, 
 addressed to friends in Venice letters in which he made no com- 
 plaint, but spoke of the benevolence of the Inquisition, and the 
 blessing that his trials had been to him. These letters, which, even 
 if they reached the hands of the secretary, could do him no possible 
 harm, he entrusted to Soradici, in case he should soon be set free ; 
 exacting the spy's solemn oath, on the crucifix and the image of the 
 Virgin, not to betray him, but to give the letters to his friends. 
 
 Soradici took the oath required of him, and sewed the letters 
 into his vest. None the less, Casanova felt confident that he would be 
 betrayed, and this was exactly what happened. Two days after the 
 spy was sent for to the secretary, and when he returned to the cell, 
 his companion soon discovered that he had given up the letters. 
 
 Casanova affected the utmost anguish and despair. He flung 
 himself down before the image of the Virgin, and demanded ven- 
 geance on the monster who had ruined him by breaking so solemn 
 a pledge. Then he lay down with his face to the wall, and for the 
 whole day uttered 110 single word to the spy, who, terrified at his. 
 
CASANOVA'S ESCAPE 25 
 
 companion's prayer for vengeance, entreated his forgiveness. But 
 when the spy slept he wrote to Father Balbi and told him to go 011 
 with his work the next day, beginning at exactly three o'clock, and 
 working four hours. 
 
 The next day, after the gaoler had left them, bearing with him 
 the book of Father Balbi in which the prisoner's letter was con- 
 cealed, Casanova called his companion. The spy, by this time, was 
 really ill with terror ; for he believed that he had provoked the 
 wrath of the Virgin Mary by breaking his oath. He was ready to 
 do anything his companion told him to do, and weak enough to 
 credit any falsehood. 
 
 Casanova put on a look of inspiration, and said : 
 
 ' Learn that at break of day the Holy Virgin appeared to me, and 
 commanded me to forgive you. You shall not die. The grief that 
 your treachery caused me made me pass all the night sleepless, 
 since I knew that the letters you had given to the secretary would 
 prove my ruin and my one consolation was to believe that in three 
 days I should see you die in this very cell. But though my mind 
 was full of my revenge unworthy of a Christian at break of day 
 the image of the Blessed Virgin that you see moved, opened her 
 lips, and said : " Soradici is under my protection : I would have 
 you pardon him. In reward of your generosity I will send one of 
 my angels in figure of a man, who shall descend from heaven to 
 break the roof of the cell, and in five or six days to release you. 
 To-day this angel will begin his work at three o'clock, and will 
 work till half an hour before the sun sets, for he must return to me 
 by daylight. When you escape you will take Soradici with you, 
 and you will take care of him all his life, on condition that he quits 
 the profession of a spy for ever." With these words the Blessed 
 Virgin disappeared.' 
 
 At first even the spy's credulity would hardly be persuaded that 
 Casanova had not dreamed ; but when at the appointed hour the 
 sound of the angel working in the roof was really to be heard, when 
 it lasted four hours, and ceased again as foretold, all his doubt van- 
 ished, and he was ready to follow Casanova blindly. The thought 
 of once more betraying lima never entered his mind ; he believed 
 that the Blessed Virgin herself was on the side of his companion. 
 
 The angel would appear, Casanova told him, on the evening of 
 October 31. And at the hour appointed Father Balbi, not looking 
 in the least like an angel, came feet foremost through the ceiling. 
 Casanova embraced him, left him to guard the spy, and himself 
 
26 CASANOVA'S ESCAPE 
 
 ascending through the roof, crossed over into the other cell and 
 greeted the monk's fellow-prisoner, Count Andre, who had all this 
 time kept their secret, but, being old and infirm, had no desire to fly 
 with them. 
 
 The next thing was to return into the garret above the two cells, 
 and set to work to break through the palace roof itself. Most of 
 this task fell to Casanova, till he reached the great sheet of lead sur- 
 mounting the planks, and there the monk's help was necessary. 
 Uniting their strength, they raised it till an opening was made wide 
 enough to pass through. But outside the moonlight was too strong, 
 and they would have been seen from below had they ventured on 
 the roof. They returned into the cell and waited. Casanova had 
 made strong ropes by tying together sheets, towels, and whatever 
 else would serve. Now, since there was nothing to be done till the 
 moon sank, he sat down and wrote a courteous letter to the Inquisi- 
 tion, explaining his reasons for attempting to escape. 
 
 The spy, too cowardly to risk his life in so daring a venture, and 
 beginning to see that he had been imposed upon, begged Casanova 
 on his knees to leave him behind, praying for the fugitives and 
 this Casanova was thankful to do, for Soradici could only have en- 
 cumbered him. Father Balbi, though for the last hour he had been 
 heaping reproaches on his friend's rashness, was less of a coward 
 than the spy, and as the time had come to start he followed 
 Casanova. They crept out on the roof, and began cautiously to 
 ascend it. Half-way up the monk begged his companion to stop, 
 saying that he had lost one of the packages tied round his neck. 
 
 * Was it the package of cord ? ' asked Casanova. 
 
 ' No,' replied the monk, ' but a black coat, and a very precious 
 manuscript.' 
 
 'Then,' said Casanova, resisting a sudden temptation to throw 
 Balbi after his packet, ' you must be patient, and come along.' 
 
 The monk sighed, and followed. Soon they had reached the 
 highest point of the roof, and here Balbi contrived to lose his hat, 
 which rolled down the roof, failed to lodge in the gutter, and fell 
 into the canal below. The poor fellow grew desperate, and said it was 
 a bad omen. Casanova soothed him, and left him seated where he 
 was, while he himself went to investigate, his faithful tool in his hand. 
 
 Now fresh difficulties began. For a long time Casanova could 
 find no way of re-entering the palace, except into the cell they had 
 quitted. He was growing hopeless, when he saw a skylight, that 
 he was sure was too far away from their starting-point to belong to. 
 
CASANOVA'S ESCAPE 27 
 
 any of the cells. He made his way to it ; it was barred with a fine 
 iron grating that needed a file. And Casanova only had one tool ! 
 Sitting on the roof of the skylight, he nearly abandoned himself 
 to despair, till the bell striking midnight suddenly roused him. It 
 was the first of November : All Saint's Day the day on which he 
 had long had a curious foreboding that he should recover his liberty. 
 Fired with hope, he set his tool to work at the grating, and in a 
 quarter of an hour he had wrenched it away entire. He set it 
 down by the skylight, and went back for the monk. They regained 
 the skylight together. 
 
 Casanova let down his companion through the skylight by the 
 cord, and found that the floor was so far away that he himself 
 dared not risk the leap. And though the cord was still in his 
 hands, he had nowhere to fasten it. The monk, inside, could give 
 him no help and, not knowing what to do, he set out on another 
 voyage of discovery. 
 
 It was successful, for in a part of the roof which he had not yet 
 visited he found a ladder left by some workmen, and long enough 
 for his purpose. Indeed, it seemed likely to be too long, for when 
 he tried to introduce it into the skylight, it only entered as far as 
 the sixth round, and then was stopped by the roof. However, with 
 a superhuman effort Casanova, hanging to the roof, below the sky- 
 light, managed to lift the other end of the ladder, nearly, in the 
 action, flinging himself down into the canal. But he had succeeded 
 in forcing the ladder farther in, and the rest was comparatively 
 easy. He climbed up again to the skylight, lowered the ladder, 
 and in another moment was standing by his companion's side. 
 
 They found themselves in a garret opening into another room, 
 well barred and bolted. But just then Casanova was past all 
 exertion. He flung himself on the ground, the packet of cord under 
 his head, and fell into a sleep of utter exhaustion. It was dawn 
 when he was roused at last by the monk's despairing efforts. For 
 two hours the latter had been shaking him, and even shouting in 
 his ears, without the slightest effect ! 
 
 Casanova rose, saying : 
 
 ' This place must have a way out. Let us break everything 
 there is no time to lose ! ' 
 
 They found, at last, a door, of which Casanova's tool forced the 
 lock, and which led them into the room containing the archives 
 or records of the Venetian Eepublic. From this they descended 
 a staircase, then another, and so made their way into the. 
 
28 CASANOVA'S ESCAPE 
 
 chancellor's office. Here Casanova found a tool which secretaries 
 used to pierce parchment, and which was some little help to them 
 for he found it impossible to force the lock of the door through 
 which they had next to part, and the only way was to break a hole 
 in it. Casanova set to work at the part of the door that looked 
 most likely to yield, while his companion did what he could with 
 the. secretary's instrument they pushed, rent, tore the wood ; the 
 noise that they made was alarming, but they were compelled to 
 risk it. In half an hour they had made a hole large enough to get 
 through. The monk went first, being the thinner; he pulled 
 Casanova after him dusty, torn, and bleeding, for he had worked 
 harder than Father Balbi, who still looked respectable. 
 
 They were now in a part of the palace guarded by doors against 
 which no possible effort of theirs could have availed. The only way 
 was to wait till they were opened, and then take flight. Casanova 
 tranquilly changed his tattered garments for a suit which he had 
 brought with him, arranged his hair, and made himself look 
 except for the bandages he had tied round his wounds much more 
 like a strayed reveller than an escaped prisoner. All this time the 
 monk was upbraiding him bitterly, and at last, tired of listening, 
 Casanova opened a window, and put out his head, adorned with a 
 gay plumed hat. The window looked out upon the palace court, 
 and Casanova was seen at once by people walking there. He drew 
 back his head, thinking that he had brought destruction upon him- 
 self; but after all the accident proved fortunate. Those who had 
 seen him went immediately to tell the authority who kept the key 
 of the hall at the top of the grand staircase, at whose window 
 Casanova's head had appeared, that he must unwittingly have shut 
 someone in the night before. Such a thing might easily have 
 happened, and the keeper of the keys came immediately to see if 
 the news were true. 
 
 Presently the door opened, and quite at his ease, the keeper 
 appeared, key in hand. He looked startled at Casanova's strange 
 figure, but the latter, without stopping or uttering a word, passed 
 him, and descended the stairs, followed by the frightened monk. 
 Thej 7 did not run, nor did they loiter; Casanova was already, in 
 spirit, beyond the confines of the Venetian Eepublic. Still followed 
 by the monk, he reached the water-side, stepped into a gondola, 
 and flinging himself down carelessly, promised the rowers more 
 than their fare if they would reach Fusina quickly. Soon they 
 had left Venice behind them ; and a few days after his wonderful 
 escape Casanova was in perfect safety beyond Italy. 
 
29 
 
 ADVENTURES ON THE FINDHORN 
 
 THE following adventures in crossing the Findhorn are extracted 
 from ' Lays of the Deer Forest,' by John Sobieski and Charles 
 Edward Stuart (London, 1848). 
 
 I had lost my boat in the last speat ; it was the third which 
 had been taken away in that year, and, until I obtained another, I 
 was obliged to ford the river. I went one day as usual ; there was 
 a dark bank of cloud lying in the west upon Beann-Drineachain, 
 but all the sky above was blue and clear, and the water moderate, 
 as I crossed into the forest. I merely wanted a buck, and, there- 
 fore, only made a short circuit to the edge of Dun-Fhearn, and 
 rolled a stone down the steep into the deep, wooded den. As it 
 plunged into the burn below, I heard the bound of feet coming up ; 
 but they were only two small does, and I did not ' speak ' to them, 
 but amused myself with watching their uneasiness and surprise as 
 they perked into the bosky gorge, down which the stone had 
 crashed like a nine-pounder ; and, as their white targets jinked 
 over the brae, I went on to try the western terraces. 
 
 There is a smooth dry brae opposite to Logie Gumming, caUed 
 ' Braigh Choilich-Choille,' ' great part of the slope of which is 
 covered with a growth of brackens from five to six feet high, mixed 
 with large masses of foxgloves, of such hixuriance that the stems 
 sometimes rise five from a single root, and more than seven feet 
 in height, of which there is often an extent of five feet of 
 blossoms, loaded with a succession of magnificent bells. As we 
 crossed below this beautiful covert, I observed Dreadnought sud- 
 denly turn up the wind towards it. I immediately made for the 
 crest beyond where the bank rises smooth and open, and whence 
 I had a free sweep of the summit and of both sides. I had 
 just reached the top when the dog entered the thicket of the ferns, 
 and I saw their tall heads stir about twenty yards before him, 
 
 1 The woodcocks' brae, from the frequency with which they breed there. 
 
BO 
 
 ADVENTURES OJ>r THE FINDHORN 
 
 followed by a roar from his deep tongue, and a fine buck bolted up 
 the brae. I gave a short whistle to stop him, and immediately he 
 stood to listen, but behind a great spruce fir, which then, with 
 
 many others, formed a noble group upon the summit of the terrace. 
 The sound of the dog dislodged him in an instant, and he shot out 
 through the open glade, when I followed him with the rifle, and 
 sent him over on his horns like a wheel down the steep, and splash, 
 
ADVENTURES ON THE FINDBORN 31 
 
 like a round shot, into the little rill at its foot. We brittled him 
 on the knog of an old pine, and rewarded the dog, and drank the 
 Dochfalla ; when, having occasion to send the piper to the other 
 side of the wood, and being so near home, I shouldered the roe, 
 and took the way for the ford of Craig- Darach, a strong wide 
 broken stream with a very bad bottom, but the nearest then pass- 
 able. 
 
 As I descended the Bruach-gharbh, Dreadnought stopped and 
 looked up into a pine, then approaching the tree, searched it all 
 round with his nose. I scanned the branches, but could see nothing 
 except an old hawk's nest, which had been disused long ago-; and 
 if it had not, I do not understand how it should be interesting to a 
 hound. The dog, however, continued to investigate the stump and 
 stem of the fir, gaze into the branches, turning his head from side 
 to side, and setting up his ears like a cocked-hat. I laid down the 
 buck, and unslung my double gun, and threw a stick at the nest, 
 when out shot a large pine-martin, and, like a squirrel, sprung 
 along the branches from tree to tree, till I brought him to the 
 ground. Dreadnought examined him with a sort of wrinkle in his 
 whiskers, and turned away, and sat down in dignified abstraction ; 
 while I remounted the buck, and braced the martin to his feet with 
 the little ' ial-chas, ; or foot-straps used for trussing the legs of the 
 roe. We then resumed our path for the ford. 
 
 As I descended through the Boat- Shaw, I heard a heavy sound 
 from the water, but when I came out from the birches upon the green 
 bank on its brink, I saw that the river had come down, and was just 
 lipping with the top of the stone, the sight of whose head was the 
 mark for the last possibility of crossing. As I looked upon its con- 
 tracting ring, I perceived that the stream was still growing ; there 
 was no time to be lost, for the alternative now was to go round by 
 the bridge of Daltulich, a circuit of four miles ; and I knew that, 
 before I reached the next good ford, the water would be a continu- 
 ous rapid, probably six feet deep : I decided, therefore, upon trying 
 the chance where I was. Dreadnought, who had gone about 
 thirty yards up the stream to take the deep water in the pool of 
 Craig-Daracli, had observed my hesitation with one leg out and one 
 in the \vater, and was standing on the point of the rock waiting the 
 result. As soon as I made another step he plunged into the river, 
 and in a few moments was rolling on the bank of silver sand 
 thrown up by the back-water upon the opposite side of the river. 
 As I advanced through the stream, he looked at me occasionally, 
 
32 ADVENTURES ON THE FINDHORN 
 
 and I at him, and the beautiful smooth sand and green bank upon 
 his side for by that time I began to wish I was there too. I was 
 then in pretty deep water for a ford, but still some distance from 
 the deepest part ; my kilt was floating round me in the boiling 
 water, and the strong eddy, formed by the stream running against 
 my legs, gulped and gushed with increasing weight. I moved 
 slo'wly and carefully, for the whole ford was filled with large round 
 slippery stones from the size of a sixty-pound shot to a two-hundred- 
 weight shell. I stopped to rest, and looked back to the ford mark : 
 it was wholly gone, and I saw only the broad smooth wave of water 
 which slipped over its head. Ten paces more, and I should be 
 through the deepest part. I stepped steadily and rigidly, but I 
 wanted the use of my balancing limbs and the freedom of my 
 breath ; for the barrels of the double gun and rifle, which were 
 slung at my back, were passed under my arms to keep them out of 
 the water ; and I was also obliged to hold the legs of the buck, 
 which, loaded with the ' wood-cat,' were crossed upon my breast. 
 At every step the round and slidering stones endangered my footing, 
 rendered still more unsteady by the upward pressure of the water. 
 In this struggle the current gave a great gulp, and a wave plashed 
 up over my guns. I staggered downwards with the stream, and 
 could not recover a sure footing for several yards. At last I secured 
 my hold against a large fixed stone, and paused to rest. After a 
 little I made another effort to proceed. 
 
 The water was now running above my belt, and at the first step 
 which I made from the stone I found that it deepened abruptly 
 before me. I felt that in six inches more that strong stream would 
 lift me off my legs ; and with great difficulty I gained about two 
 yards up the current to ascertain if the depth was continuous, but 
 the bottom still shelved before me, and, as I persisted in attempting 
 it, I was turned round by the stream, the waves were leaping 
 through the deep channel before me, and having no arms to balance 
 my steps, I began to think of the bonnie banks on either side the 
 river. In this jeopardy poor Dreadnought had not been uncon- 
 cerned ; at the first moment of my struggle he had gone down the 
 great stony beach which lay before me, and, sitting down by the 
 water, watched me with great anxiety, and at last began to whine, 
 and whimper, and tremble with agitation. But when he saw me 
 stagger down the stream, he rose, went in up to his knees, howled, 
 pawed the water, and lapped the waves with impatience. Mean- 
 while I was obliged to come to a rest, with my left foot planted 
 
ADVENTURES ON THE FINDHOEN 33 
 
 strongly against a stone, for the mere resistance to the pressure of 
 water, which, rushing with a white foam from my side, was suffi- 
 cient exertion without the weight of the buck and the two guns, 
 which amounted to more than seventy pounds. 
 
 After a few moments' pause I made a last effort to reach the 
 east bank ; but it was now impossible, and I turned to make an 
 attempt to regain the Tarnaway side. I was at least thirty yards 
 lower down than when I entered the stream, and the water was 
 rushing and foaming all round me ; another stagger nearly carried 
 me off my feet, and, in the exertion to keep them, a thick transpi- 
 ration rose upon my forehead, my ears began to sing, and my head 
 to swim, while, disordered in their balance, the buck and the guns 
 almost strangled me. I looked down the channel ; the water was 
 running in a white, broken rapid into the black pool below, and 
 swept with a wide, foaming back-water under the steep rock which 
 turned its force. The soft green bank before me was sleeping be- 
 neath the shade of the weeping birches, where bluebells and prim- 
 roses grew thick in the short smooth turf, and, though they had 
 long shed their blossoms, the bright patches of their clusters were 
 yet visible among the tall foxgloves, which still retained the purple 
 bells upon their tops. The bank looked softer, and greener, and 
 more inviting than ever it had done before ; but my eyes grow dim 
 and my limbs faint with that last struggle, I felt for my dirk 
 knife, for a desperate rolling swim for lifo seemed now inevitable, 
 and, steadying myself in the stream, I cut loose the straps of the 
 buck and the slings of the guns, and retaining them only with my 
 hands, held them ready to let go as soon as I should be taken off 
 my legs. When they were free, I dipped my hand in the water, 
 and laved it over my brow and face. The singing of my ears ceased, 
 and my sight came clear, and I discovered that I had lost my 
 bonnet in the struggle, and distinguished the white cockade dancing 
 like a little ' cailleach ' of foam in the vortex of the pool below. 
 
 Being now morally relieved from the weight of the roe and 
 guns though resolved to preserve them to the last I resumed my 
 attempt for the west bank ; but when I reached a similar distance 
 to that which I had gained for the other, I found an equally deep 
 channel before me, and that the diminished water by which I had 
 been encouraged was only the shoaling of a long bank which 
 extended with the stream. I now saw that before I joined my 
 bonnet, which still danced and circled in the pool below, there was 
 only one effort left to struggle up the stream, and reach the point 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 ADVENTURES ON THE FINDHORN 
 
 from which I had taken the water. But this was a desperate 
 attempt ; for at every step I had to find a safe footing at the upper 
 side of some stone, and then with all my strength to force myself 
 against the current. But often the stones gave way, and, loosening 
 from their bed, went rolling and rumbling down the rapid, and I 
 was driven back several feet, to recommence the same struggle. 
 The river also was still increasing, and the flat sand, which was 
 dry when I left it, was now a sheet of water. While I was thug 
 wrestling with the stream, I saw Dreadnought enter, not at his 
 usual place in the pool, but at the tail, just above the run of the 
 stream in which I was struggling. He came whimpering over, and 
 
 crossed about a yard or two above me ; but instead of making for 
 the bank, he turned in the water, and swam towards me. The 
 stream, however, was too strong for him, and carried him down. 
 I called and waved to the forest, and he turned and steered for its 
 bank, but did not reach the shelving sand tiU he was well tumbled 
 in the top of the rapid, out of which he only emerged in time to 
 catch a little back-water, which helped him on to the shore. The 
 aiternpt of the dog to reach me had passed while I rested : and 
 when he gained the bank, I resumed my effort to make the shallower 
 water. 
 
 Dreadnought's eye was turned towards me as he came dripping 
 up the bank, and seeing me move forward, he ran before me to the 
 water's edge, at the right entrance of the ford, whining, and 
 
ADVENTURES ON THE FINDHORN 35 
 
 howling, and baying, as if he knew as well as I that it was the 
 place to make for. In a few steps the stones became less slippery, 
 and the bottom more even, and I began to think that I might 
 gain it, when, at the rocky point above, I saw a white mass of 
 foam, loaded with brushwood, sticks, and rubbish, borne along 
 by a ridge of yellow curdling water, at least two feet higher than 
 the stream. I gathered all rny strength, and made a struggle 
 for the bank opposite to where I was. The water was already 
 above my belt, and rushing between my arms as I bore up the 
 guns. I felt myself lifted off my legs ; again I held the ground. 
 The green bank was only a few yards distant, but the deep 
 water was close below, and the yellow foaming flood above. 
 As I staggered on, I heard it coming down, crumpling up and 
 crackling the dead boughs which it bore along. I stumbled upon 
 a round stone, and nearly fell backward, but it was against the 
 stream which forced me forward. I felt the spray splash over 
 my head : I was nearly blind and deaf. I made a desperate effort 
 with the last strength which I had left, and threw myself gasping 
 on the bank. 
 
 Dreadnought sprang forward, jumped over and over me, whined, 
 and kissed my face and hands, and tried to turn me over with his 
 snout, and scratched and pawed me to make me speak ; but I could 
 not yet, and gasped, and choked, and felt as if my heart would 
 burst. I lay, dripping and panting, with my arms stretched out on 
 the grass, unable to move, except with the convulsive efforts of my 
 breath. At last I sat up, but I could scarcely see : a thin gauzy 
 cloud was over my eyes, a heavy pressure rung in my ears, my 
 feet still hung in the water, which was now sweeping a wide white 
 torrent from bank to bank, and running with a fierce current 
 through both the pools below. The back-water, where my bonnet 
 had danced, no longer remained ; all was carried clear out in one 
 long rush down to the Cluag. ' Benedictum sit nomen Domini ! ' I 
 thought, as I crossed myself. I stretched out my hand, and plucked 
 the nearest flowers, and smelled their sweet greenwood scent with 
 inexpressible delight. I never thought that flowers looked so beau- 
 tiful, or had half so much perfume, though they were only the 
 pale wild blossoms of the fading year. I placed them in my 
 breast^ and have them still, and never look upon them without 
 repeating 
 
 ' DE PROFUNDIS CLAMAVI AD TE, DOMINE ! ' 
 
 D2 
 
36 ADVENTURES ON THE FINDHOEN 
 
 Such were the hazards on the fords of the Findhorn ; but even by 
 boat the struggle was sometimes no less arduous, though it enabled 
 us to cross the water at a height otherwise impassable, of which 
 the following passage is an example : 
 
 One evening I was returning with the piper, and the old hound 
 which had accompanied me at the ford. As we descended towards 
 the pool of Cluag, where I had left the coble quietly moored 
 in the morning, Dreadnought frequently turned and looked at me 
 with hanging ears and a heavy cheerless eye; and when we 
 came to the path which led down to the river he stopped, and 
 dropped behind, and followed at my heel, though usually he trotted 
 on before, and instead of waiting for the boat, took the water, 
 which he preferred to the coble. When we came out from the 
 trees upon the steep bank above the river, I understood his altered 
 manner. From rock to rock the stream was running a white, 
 furious, rushing torrent, and the little boat tugging and jibbing on 
 her chain, and swinging and bobbing upon the top of the froth, like 
 the leaves which danced upon the eddy. Dreadnought had heard 
 the sound of the river, and knew what there was at work before us. 
 The boat was moored near the throat of the pool, in the back-water 
 of a little bay, now entirely filled with froth and foam up to the 
 gunwale of the coble, which was defended by a sharp point of rock, 
 from whose breakwater the stream was thrown off in a wild shoot- 
 ing torrent. Within the bay the reaction of the tide formed a 
 quick back-water, which raised the stream without nearly two feet 
 higher than the level within, and at times sucked the boat on to 
 the point, where she was struck in the stem by the gushing stream 
 and sent spinning round at the full swing of her ' tether.' 
 
 Donald looked at me. There was no alternative but the bridge 
 of Daltullich, more than four miles about, with two bucks to carry, 
 and ourselves well run since four o'clock in the morning. I stood 
 for some moments considering the chances, and the manifest proba- 
 bility of going down the stream. Immediately after emerging from 
 the little mooring bay there was a terrific rush of water discharged 
 through the narrow throat of the pool, and raised to the centre in a 
 white fierce tumbling ridge, for which the shortness of the pool 
 afforded no allowance for working, while the little back-water, 
 which, in ordinary cases, caught us on the opposite side, and took 
 us into the bank, was lost in a flood, which ran right through 
 the basin like a mill- lead. ' Can you swim, Donald ? ' said I me- 
 chanically, Swim-, Sir ! ' said he, who knew how often I had seen 
 
ADVENTURES ON THE FINDHORN 50 
 
 him tumbled by the waves both in salt water and fresh. ' Oh yes, I 
 know you can. But I was thinking of that stream.' ' Ougu- 
 dearbh ! ' replied Donald : ' But it was myself that never tried it 
 yon way ! ' ' And what do you think of her ? ' ' Faith, Thig- 
 hearna, you know best but if you try it, I shall not stay behind.' 
 
 We had often ridden the water together by day and night, in 
 flood and fair ; and, narrow as the pool was, I thought we could 
 get through it. We threw in a broken branch to prove the 
 speed of the current, but it leaped through the plunging water 
 like a greyhound, and was away in a moment down to the 
 fierce white battling vortex of the Scuddach, where there was no 
 salvation for thing alive ; a few moments it disappeared in the 
 wild turmoil, and then came up beyond white and barked, and 
 shivered like a splintered bone. Donald, however, saw that I was 
 going to try the venture, and he was already up the bank unlocking 
 the chain without a w r ord. The bucks were deposited in the stern 
 of the boat, the guns laid softly across them, covered with a plaid, 
 and Dreadnought followed slowly and sternly, and laid himself 
 down with an air as if, like Don Alphonso of Castile, ' the body 
 trembled at the dangers into which the soul was going to carry it.' 
 I took the oars there were no directions to be given Donald knew 
 how to cross the pool, and every other where we were used to 
 ferry. 
 
 The boat's head was brought round to the stream, for it was 
 necessary to run her into it with the impulse of the back-water to 
 shoot her forward, or she would have been drawn back, stern fore- 
 most, into the eddy, where the jaw of the water, over the point of 
 the rock, would have swamped us in an instant. Donald knelt at 
 the bows, and held fast by a light painter till I cried ' Ready ! ' 
 when the little shallop sprung from the rope, tilted away like a sea- 
 bird, and glided towards the roaring torrent. I looked over my 
 shoulder ; Donald was gripping the bows, his teeth set fast, but a 
 gleam of light was in his eye as we plunged headlong into the burst- 
 ing stream. A blow like the stroke of a mighty wooden hammer 
 lifted the boat into the surf; there was a crack as if her bows were 
 stove in, and she shot shivering through the pool, filled with water 
 to our knees, and sending the spray over us like a sheet. The 
 rocks and trees seemed to fly away ; the roaring water spouted and 
 boiled, as it lifted up the boat, which spun round like a leaf, with 
 her starboard gunwale lipping with the waves ; but a few seconds 
 swept us through the pool, and we were flying into the mad turn- 
 
40 ADVENTURES ON THE FINDHORN 
 
 bling thunder of the rapid below. I kept the larboard bow to the 
 stream, and pulled with all my might ; but I thought she did not 
 move, the eddy of the great mid- stream seemed to fix her in the 
 ridge of the torrent, and take her along with it ; the oars bent like 
 willows to the strain, a boiling gush from below lifted her bows, 
 and threw her gunwale under the froth. I thought we were gone, 
 but I redoubled the last desperate strokes, and we shot out of the 
 foaming ridge towards the opposite bank, rolling, and leaping, and 
 plunging into the throat of the rapid. Donald sat like a tiger ready 
 for the spring, and as we neared the shore, bounded on the grass 
 with the chain. This checked the speed of the boat ; I unshipped 
 the oars, and sprung out just as the coble came crash alongside the 
 bank, then swirling round, her head flew out to the stream, dragging 
 Donald along the grass after her. I jumped into the water, and 
 caught hold of the bow; for two minutes the struggle was doubtful 
 and she continued to drag us along : at last Donald reached the 
 stump of a tree, and, running round it, made a turn of the chain 
 and brought her up. 
 
 We sat down, and wiped our faces, and looked at each other in 
 silence. The incredibly short space of time which had elapsed 
 since we stood on the ' other side,' with the mysterious future 
 before us, and now to be sitting on ' this,' and call it the past, was 
 like a dream. The tumult, the flying shoot, the concussion at 
 parting and arriving, seemed like an explosion, as if we had been 
 blown up and thrown over. ' I don't think that boat will ever go 
 back again, Thighearna,' said Donald. ' Why not ? ' ' Did you 
 not feel her twist, and hear her split, when we came into the burst 
 of the stream ? ' replied Donald. * I don't know,' said I ; ' I felt 
 and heard a great many things, but there was no time to think 
 what they were.' ' Oh, it was not thinking that I was,' answered 
 Donald ; ' but the water came squirting up in my face through her 
 ribs, and I held on by both bows, expecting at every stroke to see 
 them open and let me through.' We got up and examined the 
 boat's bottom ; there was a yawning rent from the stem to the 
 centre; and part of the torn planks lapped one over the other by the 
 twist, the bows being only held together by the iron band which 
 bound the gunwale. 
 
41 
 
 THE STORY OF GEACE DARLING 
 
 A CAREFUL reader of the ' Times ' on the morning of Tuesday, 
 September 11, 1838, might have found, if he cared to look, a 
 certain paragraph in an obscure corner headed ' The Wreck of the 
 " Forfarshire." ' It is printed in the small type of that period ; the 
 story is four days old, for in those days news was not flashed from 
 one end of the country to the other ; and, moreover, the story is very 
 incomplete. 
 
 On the evening of Wednesday, September 5, the steamship 
 ' Forfarshire ' left Hull for Dundee, carrying a cargo of iron, and 
 having some forty passengers on board. The ship was only eight 
 years old ; the master, John Humble, was an experienced seaman ; 
 and the crew, including firemen and engineers, was complete. But 
 even before the vessel left the dock one passenger at least had felt 
 uneasily that something was wrong that there was an unusual 
 commotion among officials and sailors. Still, no alarm was given, 
 and at dusk the vessel steamed prosperously down the Humber. 
 
 The next day (Thursday, the Cth) the weather changed, the 
 wind blowing N.N.W., and increasing towards midnight to a 
 perfect gale. On the morning of Friday, the 7th, a sloop from 
 Montrose, making for South Shields, saw a small boat labouring 
 hard in the trough of the sea. The Montrose vessel bore down on 
 it, and in spite of the state of the weather managed to get the boat's 
 crew on board. 
 
 They were nine men in all, the sole survivors, as they believed 
 themselves to be, of the crew and passengers of the ' Forfarshire,' 
 which was then lying a total wreck on Longstone, one of the 
 outermost of the Fame Islands. 
 
 It was a wretched story they had to tell of lives thrown away 
 through carelessness and negligence, unredeemed, as far as their 
 story went, by any heroism or unselfish courage. 
 
42 THE STORY OF GRACE DARLING 
 
 While still in the Humber, and not twenty miles from Hull, it 
 was found that one of the boilers leaked, but the captain refused to 
 put about. The pumps were set to work to fill the boiler, and the 
 vessel kept on her way, though slowly, not passing between the 
 Farne Islands and the mainland till Thursday evening. It was 
 eight o'clock when they entered Berwick Bay ; the wind freshened 
 and was soon blowing hard from the N.N.W. The motion of the 
 vessel increased the leakage, and it was now found that there were 
 holes in all the three boilers. Two men were set to work the 
 pumps, one or two of the passengers also assisting, but as fast as the 
 water was pumped into the boilers it poured out again. The bilge 
 was so full of steam and boiling water that the firemen could not 
 get to the fires. Still the steamer struggled on, labouring heavily, 
 for the sea was running very high. At midnight they were off St. 
 Abbs Head, when the engineers reported that the case was hope- 
 less ; the engines had entirely ceased to work. The ship rolled 
 helplessly in the waves, and the rocky coast was at no great 
 distance. They ran up the sails fore and aft to try and ksep her off 
 the rocks, and put her round so that she might run before the 
 wind, and as the tide was setting southward she drifted fast with 
 wind and tide. Torrents of rain were falling, and in spite of the 
 wind there was a thick fog. Some of the passengers were below, 
 others were on deck with crew and captam, knowing well their 
 danger. 
 
 About three the noise of breakers was distinctly heard a little 
 way ahead, and at the same time a light was seen away to the left, 
 glimmering faintly through the darkness. It came home to the 
 anxious crew with sickening certainty that they were being driven 
 on the Farne Islands. [Now these islands form a group of desolate 
 whinstone rocks lying off the Northumbrian coast. They arc 
 twenty in number, some only uncovered at low tide, and all offering 
 a rugged iron wall to any ill-fated boat that may be driven upon 
 them. Even in calm weather and by daylight seamen are glad 
 to give them a wide berth.] 
 
 The master of the ' Forfarshire ' in this desperate strait attempted 
 to make for the channel which runs between the Islands and the 
 mainland. It was at best a forlorn chance ; it was hopeless here ; 
 the vessel refused to answer her helm ! On she drove in the dark- 
 ness, nearer and nearer came the sound of the breakers ; the fear 
 and agitation on board the boat grew frantic. Women wailed and 
 shrieked; the captain's wife clung to him, weeping; the crew 
 
THE STORY OF GRACE DARLING 43 
 
 lost all instinct of discipline, and thought of nothing but saving 
 their skins. 
 
 Between three and four the shock came a hideous grinding 
 noise, a strain and shiver of the whole ship, and she struck violently 
 against a great rock. In the awful moment which followed five of 
 the crew succeeded in lowering the larboard quarter-boat and pushed 
 off in her. The mate swung himself over the side, and also reached 
 her ; and a passenger rushing at this moment up from the cabin 
 and seeing the boat already three yards from the ship, cleared the 
 space with a bound and landed safely in her, though nearly 
 upsetting her by his weight. She righted, and the crew pulled 
 off with the desperate energy of men rowing for their lives. The 
 sight of agonised faces, the shrieks of the drowning were lost 
 in the darkness and in the howling winds, and the boat with 
 the seven men on. board was swept along by the rapidly-flowing 
 tide. 
 
 Such was the story the exhausted boat's-crew told next morning 
 to their rescuers on board the Montrose sloop. And the rest of the 
 ship's company what of them ? Had they all gone down by the 
 island crag with never a hand stretched out to help them ? 
 
 Hardly had the boat escaped from the stranded vessel when a 
 great wave struck her on the quarter, lifted her up bodily, and 
 dashed her back on the rock. She struck midships on the sharp 
 edge and broke at once into two pieces. The after part was washed 
 clean away with about twenty passengers clinging to it, the captain 
 and his wife being among them. A group of people, about nine in 
 number, were huddled together near the bow ; they, with the whole 
 fore part of the ship, were lifted right on to the rock. In the fore 
 cabin was a poor woman, Mrs. Dawson, with a child on each arm. 
 When the vessel was stranded on the rock the waves rushed into 
 the exposed cabin, but she managed to keep her position, cowering 
 in a corner. First one and then the other child died from cold and 
 exhaustion, and falling from the fainting mother were swept from 
 her sight by the waves, but the poor soul herself survived all the 
 horrors of the night. 
 
 It was now four o'clock ; the storm was raging with unabated 
 violence, and it was still two hours to daybreak. About a mile from 
 Longstorie, the island on which the vessel struck, lies Brownsman, 
 the outermost of the Fame Islands, on which stands the lighthouse. 
 At this time the keeper of the lighthouse was a man of the name of 
 William Darling. He was an elderly, almost an old man, and the 
 
44 THE STORY OF GRACE DARLING 
 
 only other inmates of the lighthouse were his wife and daughter 
 Grace, a girl of twenty-two. On this Friday night she was awake, 
 and through the raging of the storm heard shrieks more persistent 
 and despairing than those of the wildest sea-birds. In great trouble 
 she rose and awakened her father. The cries continued, but in the 
 darkness they could do nothing. Even after day broke it was 
 difficult to make out distant objects, for a mist was still hanging 
 over the sea. At length, with a glass they could discern the wreck 
 on Longstone, and figures moving about on it. Between the two 
 islands lay a mile of yeasty sea, and the tide was running hard 
 between them. The only boat on the lighthouse was a clumsily 
 built jolly-boat, heavy enough to tax the strength of two strong 
 men in ordinary weather, and here there was but an old man and 
 a young girl to face a raging sea and a tide running . dead against 
 them. Darling hesitated to undertake anything so dangerous, but 
 his daughter would hear of no delay. On the other side of that 
 rough mile of sea men were perishing, and she could not stay where 
 she was and see them die. 
 
 So off they set in the heavy coble, the old man with one oar, the 
 girl with the other, rowing with straining breath and beating hearts. 
 Any moment they might be whelmed in the sea or dashed against 
 the rocks. Even if they got the crew off it would be doubtful if they 
 could row them to the lighthouse ; the tide was about to turn, and 
 would be against them on their homeward journey ; death seemed 
 to face them on every side. 
 
 When close to the rock there was imminent danger of their 
 being dashed to pieces against it. Steadying the boat an instant, 
 Darling managed to jump on to the rock, while Grace rapidly rowed 
 out a little and kept the boat from going on the rocks by rowing 
 continually. It is difficult to imagine how the nine shipwrecked 
 people, exhausted and wearied as they were, were got into the boat 
 in such a sea, especially as the poor woman, Mrs. Dawson, was in an 
 almost fainting condition ; but finally got on board they all were. 
 Fortunately, one or two of the rescued crew were able to assist in 
 the heavy task of rowing the boat back to Brownsman. 
 
 The storm continued to rage for several days after, and the 
 whole party had to remain in the lighthouse. Moreover, a boat- 
 load which had come to their rescue from North Shields was also 
 storm- stayed, twenty guests in all, so that the housewifely powers 
 of Grace and her mother were taxed to the utmost. 
 
 It is told of this admirable girl that she was the tenderest and 
 
THE STORY OF GRACE DARLING 47 
 
 gentlest of nurses and hostesses, as she was certainly one of the 
 most singularly courageous of women. 
 
 She could never be brought to look upon her exploit as in any 
 way remarkable, and when by-and-by honours and distinctions 
 were showered upon her, and people carne from long distances to 
 see her, she kept through it all the dignity of perfect simplicity and 
 modesty. 
 
 Close to Bamborough, on a windy hill, lie a little grey church 
 and a quiet churchyard. At all seasons high winds from the North 
 Sea blow over the graves and fret and eat away the soft grey sand- 
 stone of which the plain headstones are made. So great is the wear 
 and tear of these winds that comparatively recent monuments look 
 like those which have stood for centuries. On one of these stones 
 lies a recumbent figure, with what looks not unlike a lance clasped 
 in the hand and laid across the breast. Involuntarily one thinks of 
 the stone Crusaders, who lie in their armour, clasping their half- 
 drawn swords, awaiting the Resurrection morning. It is the monu- 
 ment of Grace Darling, who here lies at rest with her oar still clasped 
 in her strong right hand. 
 
48 
 
 THE 'SHANNON' AND THE 'CHESAPEAKE 
 
 AMONG the captains of British 38-gun frigates who ardently 
 longed for a meeting with one of the American 44 -guns, in our 
 war with the United States, was Captain Philip Bowesbere Broke, 
 of the ' Shannon.' The desire sprang from no wish to display his 
 own valour, only to show the world what wonderful deeds could be 
 done when the ship and crew were in all respects fitted for battle. 
 He had put his frigate in fighting order, taught his men the art of 
 attack and defence, and out of a crew not very well disposed and 
 got together in a rather haphazard manner, had made a company 
 as pleasant to command as it was dangerous to meet. 
 
 With this desire, in March 1813 Captain Broke sailed from 
 Halifax on a cruise in Boston Bay. But to his disappointment 
 two American frigates, the weather being foggy, left the harbour 
 without his having a chance to encounter them. Two remained, 
 however, and one of these, the ' Chesapeake,' commanded by Cap- 
 tain James Lawrence, was nearly ready for sea. When her pre- 
 parations were complete, Captain Broke addressed to her com- 
 manding officer a letter of challenge, having previously sent a 
 verbal message, which had met with no reply. 
 
 'As the " Chesapeake" appears now ready for sea,' began this 
 letter, ' I request you will dome the favour to meet the " Shannon" 
 with her, ship to ship, to try the fortune of our respective flags.' 
 
 He then gave an account of the ' Shannon's ' forces, which were 
 somewhat inferior to the ' Chesapeake 's.' The ' Chesapeake ' had 
 376 men, the ' Shannon ' 306 men and 24 boys, and the American 
 vessel also had the advantage in guns. 
 
 ' I entreat you, sir,' Captain Broke concluded, ' not to imagine 
 that I am urged by mere personal vanity to the wish of meeting 
 the " Chesapeake," or that I depend only upon your personal 
 ambition for your acceding to this invitation. We have both nobler 
 
THE ' SHANNON ' AND THE ' CHESAPEAKE ' 49 
 
 motives. . . . Favour me with a speedy reply.. We are short of 
 provisions and water, and cannot stay long here.' 
 
 This letter he entrusted to Captain Plocum, a discharged 
 prisoner ; but it so happened that before his boat reached the shore, 
 the American frigate left it Captain Lawrence having received 
 permission from Commodore Bairbridge to sail and attack the 
 ' Shannon ' in response to Captain Broke' s verbal challenge. 
 
 Some manoeuvring between the two ships took place ; but at 
 last, in the evening of June 1, 1813, the ' Chesapeake,' with three 
 ensigns flying, steered straight for the ' Shannon's ' starboard 
 quarter. Besides the ensigns, she had flying at the fore a large 
 white flag, inscribed with the words : ' Sailors' Eights and Free 
 Trade,' with the idea, perhaps, that this favourite American motto 
 would damp the energy of the ' Shannon's ' men. The ' Shannon ' 
 had a Union Jack at the fore, an old rusty blue ensign at the mizzen 
 peak, and two other flags rolled up, ready to be spread if either of 
 these should be shot away. She stood much in need of paint, and 
 her outward appearance hardly inspired much belief in the order 
 and discipline that reigned within. 
 
 At twenty minutes to six Captain Lawrence came within fifty 
 yards of the ' Shannon's ' starboard quarter, and gave three cheers. 
 Ten minutes after the ' Shannon ' fired her first gun, then a second. 
 Then the ' Chesapeake ' returned fire, and the remaining guns on 
 the broadside of each ship went off as fast as they could be dis- 
 charged. 
 
 Four minutes before six the * Chesapeake's ' helm, probably 
 from the death of the men stationed at it, being for the moment 
 unattended to, the ship lay with her stem and quarter exposed to her 
 opponent's broadside, which did terrible execution. At six o'clock, 
 the ' Chesapeake ' and ' Shannon ' being in close contact, the 
 ' Chesapeake,' endeavouring to make a little ahead, was stopped by 
 becoming entangled with the anchor of the ' Shannon.' Captain 
 Broke now ran forward, and, seeing the ' Chesapeake's ' men de- 
 serting the quarter-deck guns, he ordered the two ships to be lashed 
 together, the great guns to cease firing, and Lieutenant Watt to 
 bring up the quarter-deck men, who were to act as boarders. This 
 was done instantly, and at two minutes past six Captain Broke 
 leaped aboard the ' Chesapeake,' followed by twenty men, and 
 reached her quarter-deck. 
 
 Here not an officer or man was to be seen. Upon the ' Chesa- 
 peake's ' gangways, twenty-five or thirty Americans made a slight 
 
 
 
50 THE 'SHANNON* AND THE 'CHESAPEAKE* 
 
 resistance, but were quickly driven towards the forecastle. Several 
 fled over the bows, some, it is believed, plunged into the sea, the 
 rest laid down their arms and submitted. 
 
 Lieutenant Watt, with others, followed quickly. Hardly had he 
 stepped upon the taffrail of the ' Chesapeake ' when he was shot 
 through the foot by a musket ball ; but, rising in spite of it, he 
 ordered one of the ' Shannon's ' 9-pounders to be directed at the 
 ' Chesapeake's ' mizzen top, whence the shot had come. The second 
 division of the Marines now rushed forward, and while one party 
 kept down the Americans who were ascending the main hatchway, 
 another party answered a destructive fire which still continued from 
 the main and mizzen tops. The ' Chesapeake's ' main top was pre- 
 sently stormed by midshipman William Smith. This gallant young 
 man deliberately passed along the ' Shannon's '* foreyard, which 
 was braced up to the ' Chesapeake's ' mainyard, and thence into her 
 top. All further annoyance from the ' Chesapeake's ' mizzen top 
 was put a stop to by another of the * Shannon's ' midshipmen, who 
 fired at the Americans from the yardarm as fast as his men could 
 load the muskets and hand them to him. 
 
 After the Americans upon the forecastle had submitted, Captain 
 Broke ordered one of his men to stand sentry over them, and sent 
 most of the others aft, where the cor flict was still going on. He 
 was in the act of giving them orders when the sentry called out 
 lustily to him. On turning, the captain found himself opposed by 
 three of the Americans, who, seeing they were superior to the 
 British then msjc them, had armed themselves afresh. Captain 
 Broke parried the middle fellow's pike, and wounded him in the 
 face, but instantly received from the man on the pikeman's right a 
 blow with the butt-end of a musket, which bared his skull and 
 nearly stunned him. Determined to finish the British commander, 
 the third man cut him down with his broadsword, but at that very 
 instant was himself cut down by Mindham, one of the ' Shannon's ' 
 seamen. Can it be wondered if all concerned in this breach of 
 faith fell victims to the indignation of the ' Shannon's ' men ? It 
 was as much as Captain Broke could do to save from their fury a 
 young midshipman, who, having slid down a rope from the ' Chesa- 
 peake's ' foretop, begged his protection. 
 
 While in the act of tying a handkerchief round his commander's 
 head, Mindham, pointing aft, called out : 
 
 ' There, sir there goes up the old ensign over the Yankee 
 colours 1 ' 
 
THE 'SHANNON' AND THE 'CHESAPEAKE' 51 
 
 Captain Broke saw it hoisting (with what feelings may be 
 imagined), and was instantly led to the ' Chesapeake's ' quarter- 
 deck, where he sat down. 
 
 That act of changing the ' Chesapeake's ' colours proved fatal 
 to a gallant British officer and four or five fine fellows of tho 
 ' Shannon's ' crew. We left Lieutenant Watt just as, having raised 
 himself on his feet after his wound, he was hailing the ' Shannon ' 
 to fire at the 'Chesapeake's' mizzen tap. He then called for an 
 English ensign, and hauling down the American flag, bent, owing 
 to the ropes being tangled, the English flag below instead of above 
 it. Observing the American stripes going up first, the ' Shannon's', 
 people reopened their fire, and, directing their guns with their accus- 
 tomed precision at the lower part of the ' Chesapeake's ' mizzen mast, 
 killed Lieutenant Watt and four or five of their comrades. Before 
 the flags had got halfway to the mizzen peak, they were pulled 
 down and hoisted properly, and the men of the ' Shannon ' ceased 
 their fire. 
 
 An unexpected fire of musketry, opened by the Americans who 
 had fled to the hold, killed a fine young marine, William Young. 
 On this, Lieutenant Falkiner ordered three or four muskets that 
 were ready to be fired down the hold, and Captain Broke, from the 
 quarter-deck, told the lieutenant to summon. The Americans replied, 
 ' We surrender ' ; and all hostilities ceased. Almost immediately 
 after Captain Broke 's senses failed him from loss of blood, and he 
 was conveyed on board his own ship. 
 
 Between the discharge of the first gun and the time of Captain 
 Broke's boarding only eleven minutes had passed, and in four 
 minutes more the 'Chesapeake' was completely his. As a rule, 
 however, this good fortune did not attend our arms in the conflict 
 with the American marine. 
 
 B 2 
 
5'2 
 
 CAPTAIN SNELGBAVE AND THE PIRATES 
 
 IN the year 1719, I, being appointed commander of the ' Bird ' 
 galley, arrived at the River Sierra Leone, on the north coast of 
 Guinea. There were, at the time of our unfortunate arrival in that 
 river, three pirate ships, who had then taken ten English ships in 
 that place. The first of these was the * Rising Sun,' one Cochlyn 
 commander, who had not with him above twenty-five men ; the 
 second was a brigantine commanded by one Le Bouse, a French- 
 man, whose crew had formerly served with Cochlyn's under the 
 pirate Moody ; the third was a large ship commanded by Captain 
 Davis, with a crew of near one hundred and fifty men. This Davis 
 was a generous man, nor had he agreed to join with the others 
 when I was taken by Cochlyn ; which proved a great misfortune to 
 me, for I found Cochlyn and his crew to be a set of the basest and 
 most cruel villains that ever were. 
 
 I come now to give an account of how I was taken by them. It 
 becoming calm about seven o'clock, and growing dark, we anchored 
 in the river's mouth, soon after which I went to supper with the 
 officers that usually ate with me. About eight o'clock the officer of 
 the watch upon deck sent me word, ' He heard the rowing of a boat.' 
 Whereupon we all immediately went on deck, and the night being 
 very dark, I ordered lanterns and candles to be got ready, suppos- 
 ing the boat might come from the shore with some white gentlemen 
 that lived there as free merchants. I ordered also, by way of pre- 
 caution, the first mate, Mr. Jones, to go into the steerage to put 
 things in order, and to send me twenty men on the quarter-deck 
 with firearms and cutlasses, which I thought he went about, for 
 I did not in the least suspect Mr. Jones would have proved such a 
 villain as he did afterwards. 
 
 As it was dark, I could not yet see the boat, but heard the noise 
 
CAPTAIN SNELGEAVE AND THE PIRATES 53 
 
 of the rowing very plain. Whereupon I ordered the second mate 
 to hail the boat, to which the people in it answered, ' They belonged 
 to the " Two Friends," Captain Elliot, of Barbadces.' At this, one 
 of the officers who stood by me said he knew that captain very well. 
 I replied, ' It might be so, but I woiud not trust any boat in such a 
 place,' and ordered him to hasten the first mate, with the people 
 and arms, on deck. By this time our lanterns and candles were 
 brought up, and I ordered the boat to be hailed again ; to which the 
 people in it answered, ' They were from America,' and at the same 
 time fired a volley of small shot at us, which showed the boldness 
 of these villains. For there were in the boat only twelve of them, 
 as I understood afterwards, who knew nothing of the strength of 
 our ship, which was indeed considerable, we having sixteen guns 
 and forty- five men on board. But, as they told me after we were 
 taken, ' they depended on the same good-fortune as in the other 
 ships they had taken, having met with no resistance, for the 
 people were generally glad of an opportunity of entering with 
 them.' 
 
 "Which last was but too true. 
 
 When they first began to fire, I called aloud to the first mate 
 to fire at the boat out of the steerage portholes, which not being 
 done, and the people I had ordered upon deck with small arms not 
 appearing, I was extremely surprised, and the more when an 
 officer came and told me ' The people would not take arms.' 
 
 I went down into the steerage, where I saw a great many of 
 them looking at one another, little thinking that my first mate had 
 prevented them from taking arms. I asked them with some rough- 
 ness why they had not obeyed my orders, saying it would be the 
 greatest reproach in the world to us all to be taken by a boat. 
 
 Some of them answered that they would have taken arms, but 
 the chest they were kept in could not be found. 
 
 By this time the boat was along the ship's side, and there being 
 nobody to oppose them, the pirates immediately boarded us, and 
 coming 011 the quarter-deck, fired their pieces several times down 
 into the steerage, giving one sailor a wound of which he died 
 afterwards. 
 
 At last some of our people bethought themselves to call out 
 for quarter, which the pirates granting, their quartermaster came 
 down into the steerage, asking where the captain was. I told him I 
 had been so till now. On that he asked me how I durst order 
 my people to fire at their boat out of the steerage. 
 
54 CAPTAIN SNELGEAVE AND THE PIRATES 
 
 I answered, ' I thought it my duty to defend my ship if my 
 people would have fought.' 
 
 On that he presented a pistol to my breast, which I had but 
 just time to parry before it went off, so that the bullet passed 
 between my side and arm. The rogue, finding he had not shot mo, 
 turned the butt- end of the pistol, and gave me such a blow on the 
 head as stunned me, so that I fell on my knees, but immediately 
 recovering myself, I jumped out of the steerage upon the quarter- 
 deck, where the pirate boatswain was. 
 
 He was a bloodthirsty villain, having a few days before killed a 
 poor sailor bscause he did not do something as soon as he ordered 
 him. This cruel monster was asking some of my people where 
 their captain was, so at my coming upon deck one of them pointed 
 me out. Though the night was very dark, yet, there being four 
 lanterns with candles, h3 had a full sight of me; whereupon, 
 lifting up his broadsword, he swore that no quarter should be given 
 to any captain that defended his ship, at the same time aiming a 
 full stroke at niy head. To avoid it I stooped so low that the 
 quarter-deck rail received the blow, and was cut in at least an inch 
 deep, which happily saved my head from being cleft asunder, 
 and the sword breaking at the same time with the force of his 
 blow on the rail, it prevented hia cutting me to pieces. 
 
 By good fortune his pistols, that hung at his girdle, were all 
 discharged, otherwise he would doubtless have shot me. But he 
 took one of them and endeavoured to beat out my brains, which 
 some of my people observing, cried : 
 
 * For God's sake don't kill our captain, for we never were with a 
 better man.' 
 
 This turned the rage of him and two other pirates on my 
 people, and saved my life; but they cruelly used my poor men, 
 cutting and beating them unmercifully. One of them had his chin 
 almost cut off, and another received such a wound on the head 
 that he fell on the deck as dead, but afterwards, by the care of our 
 surgeon, he recovered. 
 
 Then the quartermaster, coming on deck, took me by the hand, 
 and told me my life was safe, provided none of my people com- 
 plained of me. I answered that I was sure none of them could. 
 
 By this time tha pirate ship had drawn near, for they had sent 
 .their boat before to discover us ; and on approaching, without 
 asking any questions, gave us a great broadside, believing, as it 
 proved afterwards, that we had taken their boat and people. So 
 
CAPTAIN SNELGBAVE AND THE PIE ATE S 55 
 
 the quartermaster told them, through the speaking-trumpet, that 
 they had taken a brave prize, with all manner of good victuals and 
 fresh provisions on board. 
 
 Just after this, Cochlyn, the pirate captain, ordered them to 
 dress a quantity of these victuals ; so they took many geese, turkeys, 
 fowls, and ducks, making our people cut their heads off and pull 
 the great feathers out of then' wings, but they would not stay till 
 the other feathers were pulled off. All these they put into our 
 great furnace, which would boil victuals for five hundred negroes, 
 together with several Westphalia hams and a large pig. This 
 strange medley filled the furnace, and the cook was ordered to boil 
 them out of hand. 
 
 As soon as the pirate ship had done firing, I asked the quarter- 
 master's leave for our surgeon to dress my poor people that had 
 been wounded, and I likewise went to have my arm dressed, it 
 being very much bruised by the blow given me by the pirate boat- 
 swain. Just after that a person came to me from the quarter- 
 master, desiring to know what o'clock it was by my watch ; which, 
 judging to be a civil way of demanding it, I sent it him immediately, 
 desiring the messenger to tell him it was a very good gold watch. 
 When it was delivered to the quartermaster he held it up by the 
 chain, and presently laid it down on the deck, giving it a kick with 
 his foot, saying it was a pretty football. On which one of the 
 pirates caught it up, saying he would put it in the common chest to 
 be sold at the mast. 
 
 By this time I was loudly called upon to go on board the pirate 
 ship, and there was taken to the commander, who asked me several 
 questions about my ship, saying she would make a fine pirate 
 man-of-war. 
 
 As soon as I had done answering the captain's questions, a tall 
 man, with four pistols in his girdle and a broadsword in his hand, 
 came to me on the quarter-deck, telling me his name was James 
 Griffin, and we had been schoolfellows. Though I remembered 
 him very well, yet having formerly heard it had proved fatal to 
 some who had been taken by pirates to own any knowledge of 
 them, I told him I could not remember any such person by name. 
 On that he mentioned some boyish pranks that had formerly passed 
 between us. But I, still denying any knowledge of him, he told me 
 that he supposed I took him to be one of the pirate's crew because I 
 saw him dressed in that manner, but that he was a forced man, 
 and since he had been taken, though they spared his life, they had 
 
56 CAPTAIN SNELGEAVE AND THE PIRATES 
 
 obliged him to act as master of the pirate ship. And the reason of 
 his being so armed was to prevent their ill-using him, for there were 
 hardly any among the crew but what were cruel villains. But he 
 would himself take care of me that night, when I should be in the 
 greatest danger, because many of their people would soon get drunk 
 with the good liquors found in my ship. 
 
 I then readily owned my former acquaintance with him, and he 
 turned to Captain Cochlyn and desired that a bowl of punch might 
 be made. So we went into the cabin, where there was not chair, 
 nor anything else to sit upon, for they always kept a clear ship, 
 ready for an engagement. So a carpet was spread on the deck, on 
 which we sat down cross-legged, and Captain Cochlyn drank my 
 health, desiring that I would not be cast down at my misfortune, 
 for my ship's company in general spoke well of me, and they had 
 goods enough left in the ships they had taken to make a man of me. 
 Then he drank several other healths, among which was that of the 
 Pretender, by the name of King James the Third. 
 
 It being by this time midnight, my schoolfellow desired the 
 captain to have a hammock hung up for me to sleep in, for it 
 seemed everyone lay rough, as they call it, that is, on the deck, 
 the captain himself not being allowed a bed. This being granted, 
 and soon after done, I took leave of the captain, and got into my 
 hammock, but I could not sleep in my melancholy circumstances. 
 Moreover, the execrable curses I heard among the ship's company 
 kept me awake, though Mr. Griffin, according to his promise, 
 walked by me with his broadsword in his hand, to protect me from 
 insults. 
 
 Some time after, it being about two o'clock in the morning, the 
 pirate boatswain (that attempted to kill me when taken) came on 
 board very drunk, and being told I was in a hammock, he came 
 near me with his cutlass. My generous schoolfellow asked him 
 what he wanted ; he answered, ' To kill me, for I was a vile dog.' 
 Then Griffin bade the boatswain keep his distance, or he would 
 cleave his head asunder with his broadsword. Nevertheless, the 
 bloodthirsty villain came on to kill me ; but Mr. Griffin struck at 
 him with his sword, from which he had a narrow escape ; and then 
 he ran away. So I lay unmolested till daylight. 
 
 I come now to relate how Mr. Simon Jones, my first mate, and 
 ten of my men entered with the pirates. The morning after we 
 were taken he came to me and told me that his circumstances v/ere 
 bad at home ; moreover, he had a wife whom he could not love ; 
 
CAPTAIN SNELGEAVE AND THE PIRATES 57 
 
 and for these reasons he had entered with the pirates and signed 
 their articles. I was greatly surprised at this declaration, and told 
 him I believed he would repent when too late. And, indeed, I saw 
 
 the poor man afterwards despised by his brethren in iniquity, and 
 have been told he died a few months after they left Sierra Leone. 
 However, I must do him the justice to own he never showed any 
 
58 CAPTAIN SNELGEAVE AND THE PIRATES 
 
 disrespect to me, and the ten people he persuaded to enter with him 
 remained very civil to me. But I learned afterwards from one of 
 them that, before we came to Sierra Leone, Jones had said that he 
 hoped we should meet with pirates, and that it was by his contriv 
 ance that the chest of arms was hid out of the way when we were 
 taken. And when I called on the people in the steerage to fire 
 on the pirate boat, Jones prevented them, declaring that this was 
 an opportunity he had long wished for, and that if they fired a 
 musket they would all be cut to pieces. Moreover, to induce them 
 to enter with the pirates, he had assured them that I had promised 
 to enter myself. So it was a wonder I escaped so well, having such 
 a base wretch for my first officer. 
 
 As soon as the fumes of the liquor were out of the pirates' heads 
 they went on board the prize, as they called my ship, and all hands 
 went to work to clear it, by throwing over bales of woollen goods, 
 \vith many other things of great value, so that before night they 
 had destroyed between three and four thousand pounds worth of the 
 cargo money and necessaries being what they wanted. The sight 
 of this much grieved me, but I was obliged in prudence to be silent. 
 
 That afternoon there came 011 board to see me Captain Henry 
 Glynn, with whom I was acquainted, who resided at Sierra Leone, 
 but though an honest, generous person, was on good terms with 
 the pirates. He brought with him the captains of the two other 
 pirate ships, and Captain Davis generously said he was ashamed 
 to hear how I had been used, for their reasons for going a-pirat- 
 ing were to revenge themselves on base merchants and cruel com- 
 manders, but none of my people gave me the least ill character ; 
 and, indeed, it was plain that they loved me. 
 
 This was by ho means relished by Cochlyn ; however, he put a 
 good face on it. 
 
 That night the boatswain came down into the steerage, where 
 he had seen me sitting with the ship's carpenter, but since we hap- 
 pened to have changed places, and it had grown so dark he could 
 not distinguish our faces, he, thinking I sat where he had seen me 
 before, presented a pistol and drew the trigger, swearing he would 
 blow my brains out. By good fortune the pistol did not go off, but 
 only flashed in the pan ; by the light of which the carpenter, 
 observing that he should have been shot instead of me, it so pro- 
 voked him that he ran in the dark to the boatswain, and having 
 wrenched the pistol out of his hand, he beat him to such a degree 
 that he almost killed him. The noise of the fray being heard on 
 board the pirate ship that lay close to us, a boat was sent from her, 
 
CAPTAIN SNELGEAVE AND THE PIRATES 59 
 
 and they being told the truth of the matter, the officer in her carried 
 away this wicked villain, who had three times tried to murder me. 
 
 I had one bundle of my own things left to me, in which was a 
 black suit of clothes. But a pirate, who was tolerably sober, came 
 in and said he would see what was in it. He then took out my 
 black suit, a good hat and wig, and some other things. Whereon I 
 told him I hoped he would not deprive me of them, for they would 
 be of no service to him in so hot a country, but would be of great 
 use to me, as I hoped soon to return to England. 
 
 I had hardly done speaking, when he lifted up his broadsword 
 and gave me a blow on the shoulder with the flat side of it, 
 whispering in my ear at the same time : 
 
 * I give you this caution, never to dispute the will of a pirate ; 
 for, supposing I had cleft your skull asunder for your impudence, 
 what would you have got by it but destruction ? ' 
 
 I gave him thanks for his warning, a,nd soon after he put on the 
 clothes, which in less than half an hour after I saw him take off 
 and throw overboard, for some of the pirates, seeing him dressed 
 in that manner, had thrown several buckets of claret upon him. 
 This person's true name was Francis Kennedy. 
 
 The next day, understanding that the three pirate captains were 
 on shore at my friend Captain Glynn's, I asked leave to go tc them, 
 which was granted, and next day I went on board in company with 
 them. Captain Davis desired Cochlyn to order all his people on 
 the quarter-deck, and made a speech to them on my behalf, which they 
 falling in with, it was resolved to give me the ship they designed to 
 leave to go into mine, with the remains of my cargo, and further, 
 the goods remaining in the other prizes, worth, with my own, 
 several thousand pounds. Then one of the leading pirates proposed 
 that I should go along with them down the coast of Guinea, where 
 I might exchange the goods for gold, and that, no doubt, as they 
 went they should take some French and Portuguese vessels, and 
 then they might give me as many of their best slaves as would fill 
 the ship ; that then he would' advise me to go to the island of 
 St. Thomas and sell them there, and after rewarding my people in 
 a handsome manner, I might return with a large sum of money to 
 London and bid the merchants defiance. 
 
 This proposal was approved of, but it struck me with a sudden 
 damp. So I began to say it would not be proper for me to accept 
 of such a quantity of other people's goods as they had so gene- 
 rously voted for me. On which I was interrupted by several, who 
 began to be very angry. 
 
60 CAPTAIN SNELGEAVE AND THE PIEATES 
 
 On this Captain Davis said : ' I know this man, and can easily 
 guess his thoughts ; for he thinks, if he should act in the manner 
 you have proposed, he will ever after lose his reputation. Now I 
 am for allowing everybody to go to the devil their own way, so 
 desire you will give him the remains of his own cargo and let him 
 do with it what he thinks fitting.' 
 
 This was readily granted ; and now, the tide being turned, they 
 were as kind to me as they had at first been severe, and we 
 employed ourselves in saving what goods we could. 
 
 And through the influence of Captain Davis, one of the ships 
 the pirates had taken, called the * Bristol Snow,' was spared from 
 burning for they burned such prizes as they had no use for. And 
 I was set entirely at liberty, and went to the house of Captain 
 Glynn, who, when the pirates left the river of Sierra Leone, 
 together with other English captains who had been hiding from the 
 pirates in the woods, their ships having been taken, helped me to 
 fit up the ' Bristol Snow ' that we might return to England in it. 
 And we left the river Sierra Leone the 10th day of May, and came 
 safe to Bristol, where I found a letter from the owner of the ship 
 I had gone out with, who had heard of my misfortune, and most 
 generously comforted me, giving money for my poor sailors and 
 promising me command of another ship a promise which he soon 
 after performed. 
 
 I shall now inform the reader what became of my kind school- 
 fellow, Griffin, and my generous friend Davis. The first got out of 
 the hands of the pirates by taking away a boat from the stern of 
 the ship he was in when on the coast of Guinea, and was driven 011 
 shore there. But afterwards he went passenger to Barbadoes in an 
 English ship, where he was taken with a violent fever, and so died. 
 
 As for Davis, he sailed to the island Princess, belonging to the 
 Portuguese, which is in the Bay of Guinea. Here the people soon 
 discovered they were pirates by their lavishness ; but the Governor 
 winked at it, because of the great gain he made by them. But 
 afterwards, someone putting it intb his mind that if the King of 
 Portugal heard of this it would be his ruin, he plotted to destroy 
 Davis. And when, before sailing, Captain Davis came on shore with 
 the surgeon and some others to bid farewell to the Governor, they 
 found no Governor, but many people with weapons were gathered 
 together in the street, who at a word from the Governor's steward 
 fired at Davis and his men. The surgeon and two others were killed 
 on the spot, but Davis, though struck by four shots, went on running 
 
' SOME OF THE PIRATES . . . HAD THROWN SEVERAL BUCKETS 
 OF CLARET UPON HIM.' 
 
CAPTAIN SNELGRAVE AND THE PIRATES G3 
 
 towards the boat. But being closely pursued, a fifth shot made him 
 lull ; and the Portuguese, being amazed at his great strength and 
 
 courage, cut his throat that they niignt be sure of him. Thus fell 
 Captain Davis, who, allowing for the course of life he had been 
 unhappily engaged in, was a most generous, humane person, 
 
64 
 
 THE SPARTAN THREE HUNDRED 
 
 THIS is the story of the greatest deed of arms that was ever done. 
 The men who fought in it were not urged by ambition or 
 greed, nor were they soldiers who knew not why they went to battle. 
 They warred for the freedom of their country, they were few against 
 many, they might have retreated with honour, after inflicting great 
 loss on the enemy, but they preferred, with more honour, to die. 
 
 It was four hundred and eighty years before the birth of Christ. 
 The Great King, as the Greeks called Xerxes, the Persian monarch, 
 was leading the innumerable armies of Asia against the small and 
 divided country of Greece. It was then split into a number of 
 little States, not on good terms with each other, and while some 
 were for war, and freedom, and ruin, if ruin must come, with 
 honour, others were for peace and slavery. The Greeks, who deter- 
 mined to resist Persia at any cost, met together at the Isthmus of 
 Corinth, and laid their plans of defence. The Asiatic army, coming 
 by land, would be obliged to march through a narrow pass called 
 Thermopylae, with the sea on one side of the road, and a steep and 
 inaccessible precipice on the other. Here, then, the Greeks made 
 up their minds to stand. They did not know, till they had marched 
 to Thermopylae, that behind the pass there was a mountain path, 
 by which soldiers might climb round and over the mountain, and 
 fall upon their rear. As the sea on the right hand of the Pass of 
 Thermopylae lies in a narrow strait, bounded by the island of 
 Euboea, the Greeks thought that their ships would guard their rear 
 and prevent the Persians from landing men to attack it. Their 
 army encamped in the Pass, having wide enough ground to man- 
 oeuvre in, between the narrow northern gateway, so to speak, by 
 which the invaders would try to enter, and a gateway to the 
 south. Their position was also protected by an old military wall, 
 which they repaired. 
 
THE SPAETAN THEEE HUNDRED 65 
 
 The Greek general was Leonidas, the Spartan king. He chose 
 three hundred men, all of whom had sons at home to maintain 
 their families and to avenge them if they fell. Now the manner 
 of the Spartans was this : to die rather than yield. However 
 sorely defeated, or overwhelmed by numbers, they never left the 
 ground alive and tmvictorious, and as this was well known, their 
 enemies were seldom eager to attack such resolute fighters. 
 
 Besides the Spartans, Leonidas led some three or four thousand 
 men from other cities, and he was joined -at Thermopylae by the 
 Locrians and a thousand Phocians. Perhaps he may have had six 
 or eight thousand soldiers under him, while the Persians may have 
 outnumbered them by the odds of a hundred to one. Why, you 
 may ask, did the Greeks not send a stronger force ? The reason 
 was very characteristic. They were holding their sports at the 
 time, racing, running, boxing, jumping, and they were also about 
 to be engaged in another festival. They would not omit or put off 
 their games however many thousand barbarians might be knocking 
 at their gates. There is something boyish, and something fine in 
 this conduct, but we must remember, too, that the games were a 
 sacred festival, and that the Gods might be displeased if they were 
 omitted. 
 
 Leonidas, then, thought that at least he could hold the Pass 
 till the games were over, and his countrymen could join him. But 
 when he found, on arriving at ThermopylaB, that he would have to 
 hold two positions, the Pass itself, and the mountain path, of whose 
 existence he had not been aware, then some of his army wished to 
 return home. But Leonidas refused to let them retreat, and bade 
 the Phocians guard the path across the hills, while he sent home 
 for reinforcements. He could not desert the people whom he had 
 come to protect. Meanwhile the Greek fleet was also alarmed, 
 but was rescued by a storm which wrecked many of the Persian 
 vessels. 
 
 Xerxes was now within sight of Thermopylae. He sent a horse- 
 man forward to spy out the Greek camp, and this man saw the 
 Spartans amusing themselves with running and wrestling, and 
 combing their long hair, outside the wall. They took no notice of 
 him, and he returning, told Xerxes how few they were, and how 
 unconcerned. Xerxes then sent for Demaratus, an exiled king of 
 Sparta in his camp, and asked what these things meant. 'O 
 king ! ' said Demaratus, ' this is what I told you of yore, when you 
 laughed at my words. These men have come to fight you for the 
 
66 THE SPARTAN THREE HUNDRED 
 
 Pass, and for that battle they are making ready, for it is our 
 country fashion to comb and tend our hair when we are about to 
 put our heads in peril.' 
 
 Xerxes would not believe Demaratus. He waited four days, 
 and then, in a rage, bade his best warriors, the Medes and Cissians, 
 bring the Greeks into his presence. The Medes, who were brave 
 men, and had their defeat at Marathon, tezz years before, to avenge, 
 fell on, but their spears were short, their shields were thin, and 
 they could not break a way into the stubborn forest of bronze and 
 steel. In wave upon wave, all day long, they dashed against the 
 Greeks, and left their best lying at the mouth of the Pass. 
 ' Thereby was it made clear to all men, and not least to the king, 
 that men are many, but heroes are few.' 
 
 Next day Xerxes called on his bodyguard, the Ten Thousand 
 Immortals, and they came to close quarters, but got no more glory 
 than the Medes. Thrice the King leaped from his chair in dismay 
 as thrice the Greeks drove the barbarians in rout. And on the 
 third day they had no better fortune. 
 
 But there was a man, a Malian, whose name is a scorn to this 
 hour ; he was called Epialtes. He betrayed to Xerxes the secret of 
 the mountain path, probably for money. He later fled to Thessaly 
 with a price on his head, but returned to Anticyra, and there he 
 was slain by Athenades. Then Xerxes was glad beyond measure 
 when he heard of the path, and sent his men along the path by night. 
 They found the Phocians guarding it, but the Phocians disgracefully 
 fled to the higher part of the mountain. The Persians, disdaining 
 to pursue them, marched to the pass behind the Spartan camp, and 
 the Greeks were now surrounded in van and rear. But news of this 
 had come to Leonidas, and his army was not of one mind as to 
 what they should do. Some were for retreating and abandoning a 
 position which it was now impossible to hold. Leonidas bade them 
 depart ; but for him and his countrymen it was not honourable to 
 turn their backs on any foe. He sent away the soothsayer, or 
 prophet, Megistias, but he returned, and bade his son go home. 
 The Thespians, to their immortal honour, chose to bide the brunt 
 with Leonidas. There thus remained what was left of the Three 
 Hundred, their personal attendants, seven hundred Thespians, and 
 some Thebans, about whose conduct it is difficult to speak with 
 certainty, as accounts differ. Leonidas, on this last day of his life, 
 did not wait to be attacked in front and rear, but, sallying into the 
 open, himself assailed, .the Persians. They drove the barbarians 
 
THE SPARTAN THREE HUNDRED 67 
 
 like cattle with their spears ; the captains of the barbarians drove 
 them back on the spears with whips. Many fell from the path 
 into the sea, and there perished, and many more were trodden 
 down and died beneath the feet of their own companions. But 
 the spears of the Greeks broke at last in their hands, so they drew 
 their swords, and rushed to yet closer quarters. In this charge fell 
 Leonidas, ' the bravest man,' says the Greek historian, ' of men 
 whose names I know,' and he knew the names of all the Three 
 Hundred. Over the body of Leonidas fell the two brothers of 
 Xerxes, for they fought for the corpse, and four times the Greeks 
 drove back the Persians. Now came up the Persians with the 
 traitor Epialtes, attacking the Greeks in the rear. Now was their 
 last hour come, so they bore the body of the king within the wall. 
 There they occupied a little mound in a sea of enemies, and there 
 each man fought till he died, stabbing with his dagger when his 
 sword was broken, and biting, and striking with the fist, when 
 the dagger-point was blunted. Among them all, none made a 
 better end than Eurytus. He was suffering from a disease of the 
 eyes, but he bade them arm him, and lead him into the 
 thick of the battle. Of another, Dieneces, it is told that 
 hearing the arrows of the Persians would darken the sun, he 
 answered, ' Good news ! we shall fight in the shade.' One man 
 only, Aristodemus, who also was suffering from a disease of the 
 eyes, did not join his countrymen, but returned to Sparta. There 
 he was scouted for a coward, but, in the following year, he fell at 
 Plataea, excelling all the Spartans in deeds of valour. 
 
 This is the story of the Three Hundred. The marble lion 
 erected where Leonidas fell has perished, and perished has the 
 column engraved with their names, but their glory is immortal. 1 
 
 1 Herodotus. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 CHAPTEE I 
 
 THE FLIGHT 
 
 APEIL 16, 1746. It was an April afternoon, grey and cold, with 
 gleams of watery sunshine, for in the wilds of Badenoch the 
 spring conies but slowly, and through April on to May the mountains 
 are as black and the moors as sombre and lifeless as in the dead of 
 winter. In a remote corner of this wild track stood, in 1746, a grey, 
 stone house with marsh-lands in front, severe and meagre as the 
 houses were at that time in the Highlands. Upstairs in a room by 
 herself a little girl of ten was looking out of the window. She had 
 been sent up there to be out of the way, for this was a very busy 
 day in the household of Gortuleg. The Master, Mr. Fraser, was 
 entertaining the chief of his clan, old Lord Lovat, who, in these 
 anxious days, when the Prince was at Inverness and the Duke of 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 69 
 
 Cumberland at Aberdeen, had thought fit to retire into the wilds 
 of Badenoch, to the house of his faithful clansman. 
 
 Downstairs, the astute old man of eighty was sitting in his arm- 
 chair by the fire, plotting how he could keep in with both parties 
 and secure his own advantage whichever side might win. By some 
 
 strange infatuation the household at Gortuleg were cheerful and 
 elate. A battle was imminent, nay, might have been fought even 
 now, and they were counting securely on another success to the 
 Prince's army. So the ladies of the family staunch Jacobites 
 every one of them (as, indeed, most ladies were even in distinctly 
 
70 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 Whig households) were busy preparing a feast in honour of the 
 expected victory. The little girl sat alone upstairs, hearing the din 
 and commotion and looking out on the vacant marsh-land outside. 
 Suddenly and completely the noise ceased below, and the child 
 seized her opportunity and crept downstairs. All was still in the 
 big living-room, only in the dim recess of the fireplace the old lord 
 was sitting, a silent, brooding figure, in his deep armchair. The 
 rest of the household, men and women, gentle and simple, were 
 all crowded in the doorway, breathlessly intent on something out- 
 side. Threading her way through them the child crept outside the 
 circle and looked eagerly to see what this might be. Across the 
 grey marshes horsemen were riding, riding fast, though the horses 
 strained and stumbled, and the riders had a weary, dispirited air. 
 ' It is the fairies ' was the idea that flashed through her brain, 
 and in a moment she was holding her eyelids open with her fingers, 
 for she knew that the ' good people,' if they do show themselves, are 
 only visible between one winking of the eyes and another. But 
 this vision did not pass away, and surely never were fairy knights 
 in such a sorry plight as was this travel-stained, dishevelled company 
 that drew rein at the door of Gortuleg. 
 
 The leader of the band was a young man in Highland dress, 
 tall and fair, and with that ' air ' of which his followers fondly 
 complained afterwards that no disguise could conceal it. At the 
 sight of him, arriving in this plight at their doors, a great cry of 
 consternation broke from the assembled household. There was 
 no need to tell the terrible news : the Prince was a fugitive, a 
 battle had been lost, and the good cause was for ever undone! 
 It was no time for idle grieving, immediate relief and refresh- 
 ment must be provided, and the Prince sent forward without 
 delay on his perilous flight. The ladies tore off their laces and 
 handkerchiefs to bind up wounds, and wine was brought out for the 
 fugitives. There is no certain account of Charles's interview with 
 Lord Lovat ; we do not know whether the cunning old man turned 
 and upbraided the Prince in his misfortune, or whether the instincts 
 of a Highland gentleman overcame for a moment the selfishness of 
 the old chief. Any waj 7 , this was no time to bandy either upbraidings 
 or compliments. Forty minutes of desperate fighting on the field 
 of Culloden that morning had broken for ever the strength of the 
 Jacobite cause. Hundreds lay dead where they fell, hundreds were 
 prisoners in the hands of the most relentless of enemies, hundreds 
 were fleeing in disarray to their homes among the mountain fast- 
 
PEINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 71 
 
 nesses. For the Prince the only course seemed to be flight to the West 
 coast. There, surely, some vessel might be found to convey him to 
 France, there to await better times and to secure foreign allies. A 
 price was on his head, his enemies would certainly be soon on his 
 traces, he dared not delay longer than to snatch a hasty meal and 
 drink some cups of wine. 
 
 At Gortuleg the party broke up and went their several ways. 
 The Prince was accompanied by the Irish officers of his house- 
 hold, Sir Thomas Sheridan, O'Neal, and O'Sullivan, gentlemen- 
 adventurers who had accompanied him from France and whose 
 advice in his day of triumph had often been injudicious. Let it be 
 said for them that they were at least faithful and devoted when his 
 fortunes were desperate. As guide went a certain Edward Burke, 
 who, fortunately for the party, knew every yard of rugged ground 
 between Inverness and the Western sea. During all the time that 
 he shared the Prince's wanderings this Edward Burke acted as his 
 valet, giving him that passionate devotion which Charles seems to 
 have inspired in all who knew him personally at this time. 
 Eeduced now to a handful of weary, wounded men, the Prince's 
 party continued their flight through the chilly April night. At two 
 o'clock next morning they had passed the blackened ruins of Fort 
 George. As dawn broke they drew rein at the house of Invergarry. 
 But the gallant chief of the Macdonells was away, and the hospitable 
 house was deserted and silent ; the very re ?ms were without furni- 
 ture or any accommodation, and the larder was bare of provisions. 
 But wearied men are not fastidious, and without waiting to change 
 their clothes, they rolled themselves up in their plaids on the bare 
 boards, and slept the sleep of utter weariness. It was high noon 
 before they woke up again woke up to find breakfast unexpectedly 
 provided, for the faithful Burke had risen betimes and drawn 
 two fine salmon from the nets set in the river. Here for greater 
 security the Prince and his valet changed clothes, and the journey 
 was continued through Lochiel's country. The next stage was at 
 the head of Loch Arkaig, where they were the guests of a certain 
 Cameron of Glenpean, a stalwart, courageous farmer, whom the 
 Prince was destined to see more of in his wanderings. Here the 
 country became so wild and rugged that they had to abandon their 
 horses and clamber over the high and rocky mountains on foot. In 
 his boyhood in Italy the Prince had been a keen sportsman, and had 
 purposely inured himself to fatigue and privations. These habits 
 stood him now in good stead ; he could rival even the light-footed 
 
72 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 Highlanders on long marches over rough ground ; the coarsest and 
 scantiest meals never came amiss to him ; he could sleep on the hard 
 ground or lie hid in bogs for hours with a stout heart and a cheerful 
 spirit. 
 
 Here on the night of Saturday, the 19th, among the mountains 
 that surround Loch Morar, no better shelter could be found than a 
 shieling used for shearing sheep. 
 
 The next day, Sunday, the 20th, they came down to the coast 
 and found refuge in the hospitable house of Borodale, belonging to 
 Mr. Angus Macdonald, a clansman of Clanranald's. Nine months 
 before, when the Prince had landed from France and had thrown 
 himself without arms or following on the loyalty of his Highland 
 friends, this Angus Macdonald had been proud to have him as his 
 guest. One of his sons, John, had joined the Prince's army and had 
 fought under his own chief, young Clanranald. This young man 
 was at this time supposed to have been killed at Culloden, though in 
 fact he had escaped unhurt. When the Prince, therefore, entered this 
 house of mourning he went up to Mrs. Macdonald and asked her 
 with tears in his eyes if she could endure the sight of one who had 
 caused her such distress. ' Yes,' said the high-hearted old Highland- 
 woman, ' I would be glad to have served my Prince though all my 
 sons had perished in his service, for in so doing they would only 
 have done their duty.' l 
 
 While resting here at Borodale, Charles sent his final orders to the 
 remnant of his gallant army, which under their chiefs had drawn 
 to a head at Ruthven. They were to disperse, he wrote, and secure 
 their own safety as best they could; they must wait for better 
 times, when he hoped to return bringing foreign succours. Heart- 
 breaking orders these were for the brave men who had lost all in the 
 Prince's cause, and who were now proscribed and homeless fugitives. 
 
 Charles and the handful of men who accompanied him had 
 expected that, once safely arrived at the coast, their troubles would 
 be over and the way to France clear. But at Borodale they learned 
 that the Western seas swarmed with English ships of war and with 
 sloops manned by the local militia. A thorough search was being 
 made of every bay and inlet of the mainland, and of every island, 
 even to the Outer Hebrides, and further, to remote St. Kilda ! 
 This disconcerting news was brought by young Clanranald and Mr. 
 
 1 ' I had three sons, who now hae nane, 
 
 I bred them toiling sarely, 
 And I wad bare them a' again 
 And lose them a' for Charlie !' 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 73 
 
 ^Eneas Macdonald of Kinloch Moidart, the Parisian banker who 
 had accompanied Charles from France. The latter had just 
 returned from an expedition to South Uist, where he had more 
 than once narrowly escaped being taken by some vigilant English 
 cruiser. It was impossible, he urged, for a ship of any size to 
 escape through such a closely-drawn net ; the idea of starting 
 directly for France must be abandoned, but could the Prince 
 escape to the outer islands and there secure a suitable vessel, he 
 iniyht be out upon the wide seas before his departure was dis- 
 covered. It was therefore decided that the little party should cross 
 the Minch in an open boat and make for the Long Island. For this 
 expedition the very man was forthcoming in the person of the 
 Highland pilot w r ho had accompanied Mr. Macdonald to South 
 Uist. This was old Donald MacLeod of Guatergill, in Skye, a 
 trader of substance and a man of shrewdness and experience. In 
 spite of being a MacLeod he was a staunch Jacobite, and had joined 
 the Prince's army at Inverness. He had a son, a mere lad, at 
 school in that place ; this boy, hearing that a battle was likely 
 to take place, flung aside his book, borrowed a dirk and a 
 pistol, and actually fought in the battle of Culloden. More lucky than 
 most, he escaped from the fight, tracked the Prince to Borodale, and 
 arrived in time to take his place as one of the eight rowers whom 
 his father had collected for the expedition. The boat belonged to 
 the missing John Macdonald, for the Borodale family gave life 
 and property equally unhesitatingly in the Prince's service. 
 
 On April 26, in the deepening twilight, the party started from 
 Loclmanuagh. Hardly had they set out when they were over- 
 taken by a terrible storm, the worst storm, Donald declared, that 
 be had ever been out in, and he was an experienced sailor. The 
 Prince demanded vehemently that the boat should be run on shore, 
 but Donald, knowing the rock-bound coast, answered that to do so 
 would be to run on certain death. Their one chance was to hold 
 out straight to sea. It was pitch dark, the rain fell in torrents ; 
 they had neither lantern, compass, nor pump on board. Charles 
 lay at the bottom of the boat, with his head between Donald's 
 knees. No one spcke a word ; every moment they expected to be 
 overwhelmed in the waves or dashed against a rock, and for several 
 hours the vessel rushed on in the darkness. ' But as God would 
 have it,' to use Donald's words, ' by peep of day we discovered our- 
 selves to be on the coast of the Long Isle. We made Directly for 
 the nearest land, which was Eossinish in Benbecula.' 
 
74 PEINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 Here they found only a deserted hut, low, dark, and destitute 
 of window or chimney ; the floor was clay, and when they had lit a 
 fire, the peat smoke was blinding and stifling. Still, they could dry 
 their clothes and sleep, even though it were on a bed no better than 
 a sail spread on the hard ground. Here they rested two days, and 
 then found a more comfortable refuge in the Island of Scalpa, 
 where the tacksman although a Campbell was a friend of 
 Donald MacLeod's and received them hospitably. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 ON THE LONG ISLAND 
 
 THE object of the expedition was, of course, to find some vessel big 
 enough to carry the Prince and his friends over to France. Such 
 ships were to be had in Stornoway, and Donald MacLeod, being a 
 man well known in these parts, undertook to secure a vessel and 
 pilot, under the pretence of going on a trading expedition to the 
 Orkneys. The Prince and his party were to remain at Scalpa till 
 Donald should send for them. On May 3 came the message 
 that vessel and pilot were in readiness, and that they should come 
 to Stornoway without a moment's delay. 
 
 Owing to the wind being ahead it was impossible to go by sea, 
 and the Prince and his two Irish followers were forced to go the 
 thirty miles to Stornoway on foot. No footpath led through the 
 wastes of heavy, boggy moorlands, the rain fell with an even down- 
 pour, and the guide stupidly mistook the way and added eight 
 long Highland miles to the distance. They were thoroughly 
 drenched, exhausted, and famished when Donald met them at a 
 place a mile or two out of Stornoway. Having cheered their bodies 
 with bread and cheese and brandy, and their souls with the hopeful 
 prospect of starting the next day for France, he took them to a 
 house in the neighbourhood, Kildun, where the mistress, though 
 a MacLeod, was, like most of her sex, an ardent Jacobite. Leaving 
 the Prince and his friends to the enjoyment of food, dry clothes, a 
 good fire, and the prospect of comfortable beds for tired limbs, 
 Donald went back to Stornoway in hopeful spirits to complete his 
 arrangements for taking the Prince on board. Another twenty- 
 four hours and the ship would have weighed anchor, and the worst 
 difficulties would be left behind. But as soon as he entered 
 
PEINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 75 
 
 Stornoway he saw that something was wrong. Three hundred 
 men of the militia were in arms, and the whole place was in an 
 uproar. The secret had leaked out ; one of the boat's crew, getting 
 tipsy, had boasted that the Prince was at hand with five hundred 
 men, ready to take by force what he could not obtain by 
 good-will. 
 
 The inhabitants of Stornoway were all Mackenzies, pledged by 
 their chief, Seaforth, to loyal support of the Government. It is 
 eternally to their honour that all that they demanded was that the 
 Prince should instantly remove himself from their neighbourhood. 
 Not one amongst them seems to have suggested that a sum of 
 80,OOOZ. was to be gained by taking the Prince prisoner. So 
 complete was Donald's confidence in their honesty that he did not 
 hesitate to say to a roomful of armed militiamen, ' He has only two 
 companions with him, and when I am there I make a third, and 
 yet let me tell you, gentlemen, that if Seaforth himself were here 
 he durst not put a hand to the Prince's breast.' Donald doubtless 
 looked pretty formidable as he said these words ; at any rate, the 
 ' honest Mackenzies ' had no sinister intentions, only they vehemently 
 insisted that the party should depart at once, and, what was worse, 
 absolutely refused to give them a pilot. In vain Donald offered 
 500Z. ; fear made them obdurate ; and so, depressed and crestfallen, 
 Donald returned to Kildun and urged the Prince to instant flight. 
 But not even the fear of immediate capture could induce the three 
 wearied men to set out again in the wet and darkness to plod over 
 rocks and morasses with no certain goal. So Donald had to control 
 his fears and impatience till next day. 
 
 At eight next morning they started in the boat, hospitable Mrs. 
 MacLeod insisting on their taking with them beef, rroal, and even 
 the luxuries of brandy, butter, and sugar. The weather being 
 stormy they landed on a little desert island called Eiurn, which the 
 Stornoway fishermen used as a place for drying fish. Between 
 some fish which they found drying on the rocks and Mrs. MacLeod's 
 stores they lived in comparative luxury for the next few days. Ned 
 Burke, the valet, was told off as cook ; but he soon found that the 
 Prince was far more skilful in the art of cookery than himself. It 
 was his Royal Highness who suggested the luxury of butter with 
 the fish, and who made a quite original cake by mixing the brains 
 of a cow with some meal, giving orders to ' birsle the bannock weel, 
 or it would not do at all.' Donald used to declare that in all his 
 life ' he never knew anyone better at a shift than the Prince when 
 
76 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 he happened to be at a pinch.' Like many another unfortunate 
 man, whether prince or peasant, Charles found unfailing comfort 
 in tobacco. He seems to have smoked nothing more splendid than 
 clay pipes, and ' as in his wanderings these behoved to break, he 
 used to take quills, and putting one into the other and all into the 
 end of the " cutty," this served to make it long enough, and the 
 tobacco to smoke cool.' 
 
 Donald records another characteristic little trait of the Prince at 
 this time. On quitting the island he insisted on leaving money on 
 the rocks to pay for the fish they had consumed. 1 
 
 In the meantime the situation was growing more and more 
 dangerous. Rumours had got abroad that the Prince was in the 
 Long Island, and the search was being actively pursued. Two 
 English men-of-war were stationed near the island, and sloops and 
 gunboats ran up every bay and sound, while bodies, of militia carried 
 on the search by land. These, from their intimate knowledge of 
 the country, would have been the more formidable enemy of the 
 two if many of their officers had not had a secret sympathy with 
 the Jacobite cause and very lukewarm loyalty to the Government. 
 
 For several days the Prince's boat had been so constantly 
 pursued that it was impossible for the crew to land. They ran 
 short of food, and were reduced to eating oatmeal mixed with salt 
 water, a nauseous mixture called in Gaelic, Drammach. At last 
 they ran into a lonely bay in Benbecula, where they were free from 
 pursuit. It is characteristic of the Prince's irrepressible boyishness 
 that he and the boatmen here went lobster-hunting with great 
 enjoyment and success. 
 
 Without help at this juncture the little party must either have 
 starved or fallen into the hands of their enemies. Charles therefore 
 sent a message to the old chief of Clanranald the largest proprietor 
 in South Uist begging him to come and see him. 
 
 Nine months before, when the Prince had landed on that island 
 on his way from France, the old gentleman had refused to see him, 
 pleading old age and infirmity. His brother, Macdonald of Boisdale, 
 had seen the Prince and had vehemently urged him to give up so 
 hopeless a design and to return to France ; and, when he found that 
 all persuasion was in vain, had roundly refused to promise him any 
 assistance from his brother's clan. And though young Clanranald 
 
 1 In this he resembled his father, who, on leaviug Scotland after the failure of 1715, 
 sent money to Argyll to compensate the country folk whose cottages had been burned in 
 the war ; an act without precedent or imitation. 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 77 
 
 had, indeed, joined the Prince's standard, it was with many mis- 
 givings and against his better judgment. 
 
 But now, in the hour of Charles's total abandonment and distress, 
 this gallant family laid aside all selfish prudence. The old chief, in 
 spite of age and ill-health, came immediately to the wretched hut 
 w r here Charles had taken refuge, bringing with him Spanish wines, 
 provisions, shoes, and stockings. He found the young man, whom 
 he reverenced as his rightful king, in a hut as big as, and no cleaner 
 than, a pig-st3 T e, haggard and worn with hardship and hunger. ' His 
 shirt,' as Dougal Graham, the servant, was quick to observe, ' was 
 as dingy as a dish-clout.' That last little detail of misery appealed 
 strongly to the womanly heart of Lady Clanranald, who immediately 
 sent six good shirts to the Prince. 
 
 For the next three weeks Charles enjoyed a respite under the 
 vigilant protection of Clanranald and his brother Boisdale. They 
 found a hiding-place for him in the Forest-house of Glencoridale, a 
 hut rather bigger and better than most. By a system of careful 
 spies and watchers they kept the Prince informed of every move- 
 ment of the enemy. It was the month of June June as it is in 
 the North, when days are warm and sunny and the evening twilight 
 is prolonged till the ea,rly dawn, and there is no night at all. South 
 Uist, beyond all other islands of the Hebrides, abounds in game of 
 all kinds, and the Prince was always a keen sportsman. He 
 delighted his followers by shooting birds on the wing, he fished 
 (though it was only sea-fishing from a boat), and he shot red-deer 
 on the mountains. 
 
 Once, when Ned Burke was preparing some collops from a deer 
 the Prince had shot, a wild, starved-looking lad approached, and 
 seeing the food, thrust his hand into the dish without either ' with 
 your leave or by your leave,' and began devouring it like a savage. 
 Ned in a rage very naturally began to beat the boy, but the gentle 
 Prince interfered, and reminded his servant of the Christian duty 
 of feeding the hungry, adding, ' I cannot see anyone perish for 
 lack of food or raiment if I have it in my power to help them.' 
 Having been fed and clothed the wretched boy went off straight to 
 a body of militia in the neighbourhood and tried to betray the 
 Prince to them. Fortunately, his appearance and manners were 
 such that no one believed him, and he was laughed at for his pains. 
 Out of at least a hundred souls, gentle and simple, who knew of the 
 Prince's hiding-place, this ' young Judas ' was the only one who 
 dropped the slightest hint of his whereabouts. 
 
78 PEINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 Nor was it only among the Jacobite clans that Charles found 
 devoted and vigilant friends. 
 
 The two most powerful chiefs in the North-west of Scotland were 
 at this time MacLeod of MacLeod and Sir Alexander Macdonald of 
 Mugstatt, or Mouggestot, in Skye. These two had, to the great dis- 
 appointment of the Jacobites, declared for the Government, and had 
 shown considerable zeal in trying to suppress the rising ; but in 
 the very household of Mugstatt Charles had a romantic and zealous 
 adherent in the person of Lady Margaret, Sir Alexander Macdonald's 
 wife. A daughter of the house of Eglintoun, she had been brought 
 up in Jacobite principles, and now, in the absence of her husband, 
 did all she could to help the Prince in his distress. Through the 
 help of a certain Mr. Hugh Macdonald of Belshair she kept Charles 
 informed of the enemy's movements and sent him newspapers. 
 Towards the end of June the Government authorities were pretty 
 certain that the Prince was hiding somewhere in the Long Island, 
 and attention began to be concentrated on that spot. Two more 
 English cruisers were sent there, under Captains Scott and Fer- 
 gusson men who had learnt lessons of cruelty from the greatest 
 master of that art, the Duke of Cumberland and militia bands 
 patrolled the whole island. It was quite necessary to remove the 
 Prince from Glencoridale, and the faithful Belshair was at once 
 despatched by Lady Margaret to consult with Charles about his 
 further movements. This Mr. Macdonald of Belshair arranged 
 with Macdonald of Boisdale one of the shrewdest as well as 
 kindest of the Prince's friends that they should meet at the Forest- 
 house of Glencoridale. The meeting, in spite of hardships and 
 danger and a worse than uncertain future, was a merry one. The 
 two Highland gentlemen dined with the Prince (on 'sooty beef 
 and apparently a plate of butter!), and the talk was cheerful and 
 free. Forgetful of the gloomy prospects of the Jacobite cause, and 
 ignoring the victorious enemies encamped within a few miles of 
 them, they talked hopefully of future meetings at St. James's, the 
 Prince declaring that ' if he had never so much ado he would be at 
 least one night merry with his Highland friends.' But St. James's 
 was far enough off from Coridale, and in the meantime it became 
 daily more certain that there was no longer safety for the Prince 
 in Uist. 
 
 The pleasant life in the Forest-house had to be broken up, and 
 for the next ten weary days the little party lived in their boat, 
 eluding as well as they could their enemies by sea and by land. 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 79 
 
 Their difficulties were much increased and their spirits sadly 
 disturbed by the fact that their generous friend Boisdale had been 
 taken prisoner. 
 
 It is one of the most singular facts of the Prince's wanderings 
 that as soon as he lost one helpful friend another immediately rose 
 up to take his place. This time an ally was found literally in 
 the enemy's camp. One of the officers in command of the militia 
 in Benbecula was a certain Hugh Macdonald of Armadale, in 
 Skye, a clansman of Sir Alexander's, but, like many another Mac- 
 donald, a Jacobite at heart. It is very uncertain how far he was 
 personally responsible for the plan that was at this time being 
 formed for the Prince's escape. Donald MacLeod and others of the 
 Prince's party were certain that Charles had met and talked with 
 him at Eossinish and had presented him with his pistols. This 
 gentleman had a step- daughter, a certain Flora Macdonald, a girl 
 of remarkable character, courage, and discretion. She generally 
 lived with her mother at Armadale, in Skye, but just now she was 
 paying a visit to her brother in South Uist. It is difficult to make 
 out how or when or by whom the idea was first started that this 
 lady should convey the Prince to Skye disguised as her servant, 
 but it appears that she had had more than one interview with 
 O'Neal on the subject. On Saturday, June 21, being closely 
 pursued by the implacable Captain Scott, Charles parted with his 
 faithful little band of followers in Uist, paying the boatmen as 
 generously as his slender purse would allow. With two clean 
 shirts under his arm and with only O'Neal as his companion he 
 started for Benbecula. Arriving at midnight in a small shieling 
 belonging to Macdonald of Milton, ' by good fortune,' as O'Neal 
 puts it, ' we met with Miss Flora Macdonald, whom I formerly 
 knew.' It is a little difficult to believe that young ladies of Miss 
 Flora's discretion were in the habit of frequenting lonely shielings 
 far from their homes at midnight, at a time when the whole coun- 
 try was infested with soldiers. Nor does the beginning of her 
 interview with O'Neal sound like the language of surprise. ' Then 
 I told her I brought a friend to see her ; and she, with some emo- 
 tion, asked me if it was the Prince. I answered that it was, and in- 
 stantly brought him in.' Among all the stout Highland hearts which 
 were ready to risk everything for him, Charles never found one 
 more brave and pitiful than that of the girl who was introduced to 
 him in this strange and perilous situation. 
 
 The plan was at once proposed to her that she should convey 
 
80 PETNCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 the Prince with her to Skye disguised in female attire as her maid, 
 Flora was no mere romantic miss, eager for adventure and carried 
 away by her feelings. She was quite aware of the danger she 
 would bring on herself, and more especially on her friends, by this 
 course. It was with some reluctance that she at last gave her con- 
 sent, but once her word was pledged she was ready to go to the 
 death if need were, and threw all her feminine ingenuity into 
 carrying out the scheme. They arranged that she was to go next 
 day to consult with Lady Clanranald and to procure feminine attire 
 as a disguise for the Prince. As soon as all was prepared they were 
 to meet at Rossmish in Benbecula ; in the meantime O'Neal under- 
 took to come and go between the Prince and Miss Macdonald to 
 report progress and convey messages. 
 
 The two men seem to have returned to a hiding-place in the 
 neighbourhood of Glencoridale, and Miss Flora returned to Milton. 
 She had to pass one of the narrow sea fords next day on her way to 
 Ormaclade, the Clanranalds' house ; this ford was guarded by a 
 body of militia, and having no passport, she and her servant, Neil 
 MacKechan, were taken prisoners. The situation was awkward in 
 the extreme, and every hour's delay was an added danger. To her 
 great relief she learned that the officer in command, who was 
 expected that morning, was her stepfather, Mr. Hugh Macdonald. 
 On his arrival he was (or affected to be) extremely surprised to find 
 his stepdaughter a prisoner in the guard-room ; but with a com- 
 plaisance very remarkable in an officer of the Government, he drew 
 her out passports for herself, for her servant Neil, and for a new 
 Irish servant, Betty Burke, whom she desired to take with her to 
 Skye. So great was Macdonald' s interest in this unknown Betty 
 that he actually wrote a letter to his wife in Skye recommending 
 the girl. 
 
 ' I have sent your daughter from this country,' he wrote, ' lest 
 she should be frightened by the troops lying here. She has got one 
 Betty Burke, an Irish girl, who, she tells me, is a good spinster. If 
 her spinning pleases you, you may keep her till she spins all your 
 lint.' In spite of the gravity of the situation, one cannot help 
 thinking that Flora and her stepfather must have had a good deal 
 of amusement concocting this circumstantial and picturesque 
 falsehood. 
 
 As soon as she was set at liberty Flora went to Ormaclade, where 
 Lady Clanranald entered heartily into the plan. Among her stores 
 they chose a light coloured quilted petticoat, a flowered gown 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 81 
 
 lilac flowers on a white ground, to be particular an apron and a 
 long duffle cloak. Fortunately Highland women are tall and large, 
 for the Prince's height, 5 feet 10 inches, though moderate for a man, 
 looked ungainly enough in petticoats. 
 
 It was Friday the 25th before the way was clear for Flora and 
 Lady Clanranald to meet the Prince at the rendezvous at Rossinish 
 in Benbecula. The four intervening days had been full of difficulties 
 for Charles and O'Neal. The fords between the two islands were so 
 well guarded that there was no chance of their being able to cross 
 them on foot ; they had no boat, and the hours were passing for them 
 in an agony of suspense. At last they risked asking a chance boat 
 which was passing to set them across, and accomplished the passage 
 in safety. But when they did arrive at the hut at Eossinish, 
 
 cold, wet, and wearied, they found that a party of militia were en- 
 camped within half a mile, and that the soldiers came every 
 morning to that very hut for milk. Charles was by this time 
 accustomed to the feeling that he was carrying his life in his hands. 
 At daybreak he had to leave the hut to make room for his pursuers, 
 all day he had to lie in an unsheltered fissure of a rock, where the 
 rain the heavy, relentless ram of the West Highlands poured 
 down on him ; if it did clear at all, then that other plague of the 
 Highlands, swarms of midges, nearly drove him distracted. On 
 Friday the militiamen moved off, and the way being clear, Lady 
 Clanranald, Miss Flora Macdonald, and a certain Mrs. Macdonald of 
 Kirkibost came to visit him and O'Neal in their hut, bringing the 
 
 Q 
 
82 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 female attire with them. These loyal ladies found their lawful 
 sovereign roasting a sheep's liver on a spit ; but neither discomfort, 
 danger, nor dirt could do away with the courtly charm of his manner 
 or the fine gaiety of his address. He placed Miss Macdonald on 
 hia right hand he always gave his preserver the seat of honour 
 and Lady Clanranald at his left, and the strange little dinner-party 
 proceeded merrily. But before it was finished a messenger broke 
 in to tell Lady Clanranald that the infamous Captain Fergusson 
 had arrived at Ormaclade, and was demanding the mistress of the 
 house with angry suspicion. 
 
 The Prince had now to part with O'Neal, in spite of the poor 
 fellow's entreaties to be allowed to remain with him. Miss Mac- 
 donald had only passports for three and the danger was urgent. 
 He was a faithful and affectionate friend, this O'Neal, if a little 
 boastful and muddle-headed. He could shortly afterwards have 
 escaped to France as 0' Sullivan did in a French ship, if he had 
 not insisted on going to Skye to try to fetch off the Prince. He 
 missed the Prince, and fell into the hands of Captain Fergusson. 
 
 CHAPTEE III 
 
 IN SKYE 
 
 ON Saturday (June 26) the Prince put on his female attire for the 
 first time, and very strangfe he must have felt as he sat in flowered 
 calico on wet, slippery rocks, trying to keep himself warm beside 
 a fire kindled on the beach. It was eight in the evening when 
 they started, and the storm broke on them as soon as they were out 
 at sea. The whole party was distressed and anxious, apparently, 
 except Charles himself, who sang songs and told stories to keep up 
 the spirits of his companions. Long afterwards Flora Macdonald 
 loved to tell how chivalrously and considerately he looked after her 
 comfort on that dangerous journey. 
 
 Going round the north end of the Isle of Skye, they came ashore 
 close to Mugstatt, Sir Alexander Macdonald's place. That chief 
 was himself away at Fort Augustus with the Duke of Cumberland, 
 but his wife, Lady Margaret, who, as we have seen, was a staunch 
 friend to the Prince, was at home. Still in her position it was 
 most undesirable that Charles should present himself at her house. 
 Miss Macdonald and her servant Neil went up to the house the 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 83 
 
 garden sloped down to the part of the shore where they had 
 landed leaving Betty Burke sitting on the boxes in her flowered 
 gown and duffle cloak. 
 
 Miss Macdonald had good reason to congratulate herself on her 
 prudence when she found Lady Margaret's drawing-room full of 
 guests. Among these was Mrs. Macdonald of Kirkibost, but she 
 was already in the secret ; Mr. Macdonald of Kingsburgh was also 
 there, but he was a man of such a chivalrous spirit and so kindly 
 in his disposition, that the secret would have been safe with him 
 even if he had not been as he was a staunch Jacobite at heart. 
 Far more formidable was a third guest, young Lieutenant MacLeod, 
 a militia officer who, with a small body of men, was stationed at 
 Mugstatt for the express purpose of examining every boat that 
 might arrive from the Long Island. He certainly neglected this 
 duty as far as Miss Macdonald' s boat was concerned, possibly out 
 of complaisance to her hostess, Lady Margaret, possibly because the 
 young lady's careless demeanour disarmed all suspicion. 
 
 The situation was a most anxious one for Miss Macdonald ; she 
 had to carry on an easy flow of chat with a young officer while 
 all the time she could think of nothing but Betty Burke sitting on 
 her box on the shore. Every moment was precious and nothing 
 was being done. 
 
 At last, during dinner, she managed to confide the whole situa- 
 tion to Kingsburgh, and while she kept the lieutenant engaged, the 
 latter left the room and sent for Lady Margaret to speak to him on 
 business. (He was her husband's factor, and there was nothing to 
 excite remark in his wanting a private talk with her.) On learning 
 the news she for a moment lost her head, and screamed out that 
 they were undone. But with much sense and kindness Kings- 
 burgh reassured her, saying that if necessary he would take the 
 Prince to his own house, adding, with a touch of his characteristic 
 chivalry, that he was now an old man, and it made very little dif- 
 ference to him whether he should die with a halter round his neck 
 or await a death which could not be far distant. 
 
 As for the immediate future, the first idea that occurred both to 
 Lady Margaret and Kingsburgh was, ' Let us send for Donald Koy.' 
 This Donald was a brother of the Macdonald of Belshair who had 
 visited the Prince at Coridale. He had been ' out ' with the Prince's 
 army, and was now living with a surgeon near Mugstatt, trying to 
 recover from a serious wound in his foot received at Culloden. 
 This Donald must have been a good fellow, popular, and liked by 
 
 G2 
 
84 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 all ; for even in those dangerous times he seems to have lived on 
 an intimate footing with the very militia officers who were sent to 
 search for hidden Jacobites. 
 
 No man could have been more suited for Kingsburgh's purpose 
 than Donald. Not only was he sensible, honourable, and brave, 
 but as an acknowledged Jacobite he had less to lose if discovered, 
 and as a young and amiable man his person could not fail to be 
 acceptable to the Prince. 
 
 On his arrival he found Kingsburgh and Lady Margaret walking 
 up and down the garden. ' Donald ! ' cried the lady, ' we are 
 undone for ever ! ' After much rapid, anxious talk, the three 
 agreed that the safest place for the Prince would be the Island of 
 Easay. Old Easay had been ' out ' and was in hiding, his second 
 son was recovering from a wound received at Culloden, and the 
 eldest, though he had kept quiet from motives of prudence, was 
 quite as keen a Jacobite as the other two. Their eagerness to 
 serve the Prince could be relied on, and as the island had been re- 
 cently devastated by the Government soldiers, it was not likely to 
 be visited again. 
 
 Donald Eoy undertook to see young MacLeod of Easay and 
 to make arrangements for meeting the Prince at Portree next day, 
 while Kingsburgh promised to carry the Prince off with him to 
 his own house and to send him next day under safe guidance to 
 Portree. In this way, whatever happened, Lady Margaret would 
 not be compromised. 
 
 So the garden conclave broke up, and the three separated. 
 Lady Margaret returned to her drawing-room, where, poor woman, 
 she sadly disconcerted Miss Macdonald by nervously going in and 
 out of the room. However, the lieutenant seems to have been 
 too much taken up with his companion to notice his hostess's 
 demeanour. Donald Eoy, in spite of his lame foot, set off for 
 Portree in search of young Easay, and old Kingsburgh hurried off 
 to look for Charles, carrying refreshments with him. Not finding 
 him on the shore below the garden, the old man walked on rather 
 anxiously till, seeing some sheep running, he concluded that some- 
 one must have disturbed them, and went to the spot. A tall, un- 
 gainly woman in a long cloak started forward to meet him bran- 
 dishing a big knotted stick. As soon as Kingsburgh named him- 
 self the Prince knew that he had found a friend, and placed himself 
 in his hands with the frank confidence he always showed in dealing 
 with his Highland followers, a confidence which they so nobly justified. 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 85 
 
 After the Prince had had something to eat and drink, the pair 
 set out to walk to Kingsburgh, a considerable distance off. Un- 
 fortunately it was Sunday, and they met many country people 
 returning from church, who were all eager to have a little business 
 chat with Sir Alexander's factor. He got rid of most of them by 
 slyly reminding them of the sacredness of the day, for the Prince's 
 awkward movements and masculine stride made his disguise 
 very apparent. ' They may call you the Pretender,' cried Kings- 
 burgh, between annoyance and amusement, ' but I never knew 
 anyone so bad at your trade.' 
 
 At the first stream they had to cross the Prince lifted his skirts 
 with a most masculine disregard of appearances, and to mend 
 matters, when he came to the next, let his petticoats float in the 
 water with a most unfeminine disregard of his clothes. 
 
 Halfway on their road Miss Macdonald rode past them on 
 horseback, accompanied by Mrs. Macdonald of Kirkibost and the 
 latter's maid. ' Look, look,' cried that damsel, ' what strides the 
 jade takes ! I dare say she's an Irishwoman or else a man in 
 woman's clothes.' Miss Macdonald thought it best to quicken her 
 pace and make no reply. 
 
 She was already at Kingsburgh when the Prince and his host 
 arrived there at about eleven o'clock. All the household w r ere in 
 bed. A message was sent up to Mrs. Macdonald to tell her of the 
 arrival of guests, but she very naturally refused to get up, and 
 merely sent her compliments to Miss Macdonald and begged she 
 would help herself to everything she wanted. When, however, 
 her husband came up to her room and gravely requested her to 
 come down and attend to his guest, she felt that something was 
 wrong. Nor did it allay her fears when her little daughter ran up 
 crying that ' the most odd, muckle, ill-shaken-up wife ' she had seen 
 in all her life was walking up and down in the hall. Mrs. Mac- 
 donald entered the main room with some misgiving, and in the 
 uncertain firelight saw a tall, ungainly woman striding up and 
 down. The figure approached her and, according to the manners 
 of the time, saluted her. The rough touch of the unshaven lip left 
 no doubt on the lady's mind ; her husband's guest was certainly a 
 man in disguise, probably a proscribed Jacobite. She hurried out 
 of the room and met Kingsburgh in the hall. It did not occur 
 to this good woman to upbraid her husband for bringing danger 011 
 his family ; her first question was, ' Do you think the stranger will 
 know anything about the Prince ? ' 
 
8.5 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 1 My dear,' said Kingsburgh very gravely, taking her hands in 
 his, ' this is the Prince himself ! ' 
 
 * The Prince ! ' cried Mrs. Macdonald, rather overwhelmed, ' then 
 we shall all be hanged ! ' 
 
 ' We can die but once,' said her husband, ' could we ever die in 
 a better cause ? ' 
 
 Then, returning to the homely necessities of the hour, he begged 
 her to bring bread and cheese and eggs. 
 
 Bread and cheese and eggs to set before Royalty ! This disgrace 
 to her housewifery affected Mrs. Macdonald almost as feelingly as 
 the danger they were in. The idea, too, of sitting down at supper 
 with her lawful sovereign caused the simple lady the greatest 
 embarrassment. However, she was prevailed upon to take the seat 
 at the Prince's left hand, while Miss Macdonald had her usual place 
 at his right. After the ladies had retired Charles lighted his ' cutty,' 
 and he and Kingsburgh had a comfortable chat and a bowl of punch 
 over the fire. Indeed, good food, good fires, and good company were 
 such congenial luxuries after the life he had been leading, that Charles 
 sat on and on in his chair, and the hospitable Kingsburgh had at 
 last to insist upon his guest going to bed. 
 
 Hour after hour the Prince slept on next morning, Kingsburgh 
 being unwilling to disturb the one good rest he might have for 
 weeks ; Miss Macdonald was growing impatient and Mrs. Macdonald 
 anxious, and at last Kingsburgh consented to rouse him at about 
 one o'clock. Portree was seven miles off, and had to be reached 
 before dark. It was decided that the Prince might resume male 
 attire en route, but in case of exciting suspicion among the servants 
 he had still to masquerade as Betty Burke till he left the house. 
 Mrs. Macdonald, her daughter, and Miss Flora all came up to assist 
 at his toilet, for ' deil a preen could he put in,' as his hostess ex- 
 pressed herself. He laughed so heartily over his own appearance 
 that they could hardly get his dress fastened. Before he left the 
 room he permitted Flora Macdonald to cut off a lock of his hair, 
 which she divided with Mrs. MacLeod. "What is a still more 
 touching proof of the devotion of these two good women is that they 
 carefully took off the sheets of the Prince's bed, vowing that these 
 should be neither washed nor used again till they should serve each 
 of them as winding-sheets. Kingsburgh accompanied his guests 
 part of the way, assisted Charles to change his dress in a little wood, 
 and then, with tears, bade him farewell. 
 
 Flora Macdonald rode on to Portree by another road, leaving 
 
PEINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 87 
 
 her servant, Neil MacKechan, and a little herd-.boy to act as guides 
 to the Prince. 
 
 In the meantime, Donald Eoy had been active in the Prince's 
 service. At Portree he had met young Eona MacLeod of Rasay 
 and his brother Murdoch, and, as he had expected, found them 
 eager to face any danger or difficulty for their Prince. They had 
 a cousin rather older than themselves, Malcolm MacLeod, who had 
 been a captain in the Prince's army. He entered into the scheme 
 as heartily as the other two, and only suggested prudently that 
 Kona should leave the matter to himself and Murdoch, who were 
 ' already as black as black can be.' But Eona was not to be baulked 
 of his share of the danger and glory of serving the Prince, and 
 vowed that he would go even if it should cost him his estate and 
 his head. So with two stout faithful boatmen they arrived within 
 a mile of Portree, drew up their, boat among the rocks where it 
 could be hid, and remained waiting for the Prince, while the night 
 fell and the rain came down in sheets. 
 
 It had been arranged at Mugstatt that Donald Eoy was to meet 
 the Prince late on Monday afternoon in the one public-house that 
 Portree could boast. This public -house consisted of one large, dirty, 
 smoky room, and people of all kinds kept going in and out, and here 
 Donald took up his post. Flora Macdonald was the first to arrive, 
 and she, Donald Eoy, and Malcolm MacLeod sat together over the 
 fire waiting anxiously. It was already dark when a small, wet herd- 
 boy slipped in and going up to Donald whispered that a gentleman 
 wanted to see him. The poor Prince was standing in the darkness 
 outside drenched to the skin. As soon as they were at the inn Donald 
 insisted on his changing his clothes, and Malcolm at once gave him 
 his own dry philibeg. Food they could get, and water was brought 
 in an old, battered, rusty tin from which the Prince drank, being 
 afraid of arousing suspicion by any fastidiousness. He also bought 
 sixpennyworth of the coarsest tobacco, and nearly betrayed his 
 quality to the already suspicious landlord by a princely indifference 
 to his change, but Malcolm prudently secured the ' bawbees ' and 
 put them into the Prince's sporran. 
 
 Miss Flora now rose very sadly to go, as she had to continue 
 her journey that night. The Prince kissed her and said farewell 
 with much suppressed emotion, but with his usual hopefulness 
 added that he trusted that they might yet meet at St. James's. 
 These constant partings from so many faithful, warm-hearted 
 friends were among the hardest trials of Charles's wandering life. 
 
88 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 He seems to have clung with special affection to Donald Roy, and 
 urged him again and again not to leave him, but to go with him to 
 Rasay. Donald could only reply that the state of his wounded foot 
 made it impossible. 
 
 This conversation took place as they plunged through wet and 
 darkness from Portree down to the shore where the boat was lying. 
 Malcolm MacLeod, who made a third in the little party, had a spirit 
 as firm and a heart as warm as Donald's own, and before the end 
 of the week the Prince was clinging with the same affection to this 
 new friend. 
 
 The wild and desolate island of Easay offered the Prince a 
 comparatively secure hiding-place, and the three MacLeods had 
 both the will and the power to protect him, and to provide a reason- 
 able amount of comfort for him. But a kind of restlessness seems 
 to have come over the Prince at this time. It was only by being 
 constantly on the move that he could escape from anxious and painful 
 thoughts. Possibly he may have felt a little insecure in the midst 
 of the Clan MacLeod (though he had met nowhere with more 
 devotion than that of the three cousins) ; he certainly seems to 
 have bestowed far more affection and confidence on Malcolm than 
 on the other two. 
 
 On Thursday he insisted on starting for Skye, in spite of the 
 entreaties of the young MacLeods, nor would he turn back when 
 a storm broke and threatened to overwhelm them. It was night 
 before they landed at Trotternish, a night such as had become 
 familiar to the Prince, dark and chill and pouring with rain. They 
 made for a byre on the property of Mr. Nicholson of Scorobeck. 
 Young Easay went on in front to see that no one was there. ' If 
 there had been anyone in it, what would you have done ? ' he asked 
 the Prince rather reproachfully; for Charles's self-will and fool- 
 hardiness must at times have been very trying to those who were 
 risking life and estate for him. In the byre they lighted a fire, 
 dried their clothes, and slept for some hours. The next day, Eona 
 being away, the Prince asked Murdoch if he would accompany him 
 into the country of the Mackinnons in the south of Skye (the old 
 chief of that clan had been in the Prince's army, and Charles felt 
 that he would be safe amongst them). Murdoch's wound prevented 
 his undertaking such a journey it was thirty miles over the wildest 
 part of Skye but Malcolm could go, and his cousin assured the 
 Prince that he could nowhere find a more faithful and devoted 
 servant. So the pair set out in the morning for their wild tramp. 
 
PBINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 89 
 
 To prevent discovery the Prince affected to be Malcolm's servant, 
 walked behind him, and, further to disguise himself, put his periwig 
 in his pocket and bound a dirty cloth round his head a disguise 
 specially calculated, one would think, to excite attention. The two 
 young men talked frankly and confidentially, making great strides 
 in friendship as they went along. Once a covey of partridges rose, 
 and, with a true British instinct for sport at all hazards, 1 the Prince 
 raised his gun and would have fired if Malcolm had not caught 
 his arm. They were careful to pass through the hostile MacLeod 
 country at night, and at break of day arrived in Strath, the country 
 of the Mackinnons. Malcolm MacLeod had c-j sister married to a 
 Mackinnon, an honest, warm-hearted fellow who had followed his 
 chief and served as captain in the Prince's army. To his house 
 they directed their steps; Mackinnon himself was away, but his 
 wife received her brother and his friend with the utmost kindness. 
 The Prince passed for a certain Lewis Caw, a surgeon's apprentice 
 (who was actually 'skulking' in Skye at the time), and acted his 
 part of humble retainer so well that poor Malcolm was quite 
 embarrassed; and the rough servant-lass treated him with the 
 contempt Highland servants seem to have for their own class, if 
 ' Lowland bodies.' Both the tired travellers lay down to sleep, and 
 when Malcolm awoke late in the afternoon he found the sweet- 
 tempered Prince playing with Mrs. Mackinnon's little child. ' Ah, 
 little man,' he cried, in a moment of forgetfulness, ' you may live 
 to be a captain in my service yet.' ' Or you an old sergeant in his,' 
 said the indignant nurse, jealous of her charge's position. 
 
 Next day Malcolm went out to meet his brother-in-law. He 
 had absolute confidence in Mackinnon's faithfulness and loyalty, 
 but he feared that his warm-hearted feelings might lead him into 
 indiscretions which would betray the Prince ; and in spite of all 
 warnings Mackinnon could not restrain his tears when he saw his 
 Prince under his roof in such a wretched plight. 
 
 It was important that Charles should be at once taken to the 
 mainland, and John Mackinnon went off at noon to the house of 
 the chief of the Mackinnons to borrow a boat. This old man was 
 a fine type of a Highland gentleman. It was his daily probably 
 his only prayer that he might die on the field of battle fighting 
 for his king and country. He was simple-minded, brave, and faith- 
 ful, and though now between sixty and seventy, as active and 
 courageous as any young man. John had received injunctions 
 
 1 Charles, about 1743, introduced golf iuto Italy, according to Lord Elcho. 
 
90 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 not to betray the Prince's presence in the neighbourhood to the 
 laird, but to keep such a piece of news from his chief was quite 
 beyond honest John's powers. Nothing would restrain the old man 
 from going off at once with his wife to pay their homage to the 
 Prince. Nor would he hear of anyone conducting Charles to the 
 mainland but himself. 
 
 At eight o'clock that night the little party embarked. The 
 Prince took a most affecting farewell of Malcolm MacLeod. With 
 courtly punctilio he sent a note to Donald Koy to tell of his safe 
 departure, then pressed ten guineas almost his last on his friend's 
 acceptance, smoked a last pipe with him, and finally presented him 
 with the invaluable ' cutty.' 
 
 CHAPTEE IV 
 
 ON THE MAINLAND 
 
 To understand the Prince's proceedings for the next few weeks 
 it is necessary to have a claar idea of the country which was 
 the scene of his wanderings. From Loch Hourn (which opens 
 opposite Sleat in Skye) on the north down to Loch Shiel on the 
 south a little group of wild and rugged peninsulas run out into the 
 Atlantic, called respectively Knoydart, Morar, Arisaig, and Moidart. 
 Between these deep narrow lochs run far inland. Loch Nevis lies 
 between Knoydart and Morar ; Loch Morar, a freshwater loch, cuts 
 off the peninsula of the same name from Arisaig, and this again is 
 separated from Moidart by Lochs Nanuagh and Aylort, and Loch 
 Shiel separates the whole group from Ardnamurchan in the south. 
 The wild, inaccessible nature of the country, the deep valleys and 
 many rocky hollows in the hills offered many hiding-places ; but a 
 glance at the map will show that a vigilant enemy by stationing 
 men of war in all the lochs and drawing a cordon of soldiers from 
 the head of Loch Hourn to the head of Loch Shiel, could draw the 
 net so tightly that escape would be nearly impossible. 
 
 In these first days of July, however, the search was still chiefly 
 confined to the Long Island and Skye, and Charles got a clear start 
 of his enemies. On July 5, in the early morning, he and his faith- 
 ful Mackinnons landed at a place named Mallach on Loch Nevis, 
 and spent the next three days in the open. They were in a good 
 
92 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 deal of perplexity as to their next movements, and when Charles 
 learned that old Clanranald was staying in the neighbourhood, at 
 the home of his kinsman Scothouse, he sent to ask his advice 
 and help, expecting confidently to find the old faithful kindness 
 that had helped him in Uist. But the old gentleman had had 
 enough of danger and suffering in the Prince's cause ; his son 
 was a fugitive, his brother a prisoner, he himself was in hiding. 
 The sudden appearance of Mackinnon startled him into a state of 
 nervous terror, and he declared querulously that he could do no 
 more nor knew anyone else who could give any help. Mackinnon 
 returned indignant and mortified, but the Prince received the news 
 philosophically, ' Well, Mr. Mackinnon, we must do the best we 
 can for ourselves.' 
 
 It was the first rebuff he had met with ; but a day or two later he 
 found the same lukewarm spirit in Mr. Macdonald of Morar, a former 
 friend. The poor man had had his house burnt over his head and 
 was living with his family in a wretched hut, and probably thought 
 that he had suffered enough for the cause. This desertion cut the 
 Prince to the quick. ' I hope, Mackinnon,' he cried, addressing John, 
 * that you will not desert me too.' The old chief thought that the 
 words were addressed to him. ' I will never leave your Royal 
 Highness in the hour of danger,' he declared, with tears, and John's 
 reply was no less fervent. 
 
 There was one house in the neighbourhood where the Prince 
 could always count on a welcome whether he came at midnight, at 
 cockcrow, or at noon, whether as a Prince on his way to win a 
 crown or as a beggar with neither home nor hope. The hospitable 
 house of Borodale was a mass of blackened ruins, but the laird 
 1 my kind old landlord,' as the Prince fondly called him and his 
 two sons had still strong hands, shrewd heads, and warm hearts 
 ready for the Prince's service. 
 
 From Morar the Prince and the two Mackinnons walked 
 through the summer night over the wildest mountain track and 
 arrived at Borodale in the early morning. Old Angus was still in 
 bed when they knocked at the door of the bothy where the family 
 was living. He came to the door, wrapt in his blanket. When 
 Mackinnon explained who it was that desired his hospitality, the 
 old man's welcome came prompt and unhesitating. J have brought 
 him here,' said Mackinnon, ' and will commit him to your charge. 
 I have done my duty, do you do yours.' 
 
 ' I am glad of it,' said Angus, ' and shall not fail to take care of 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 93 
 
 him. I shall lodge him so securely that all the forces in Great 
 Britain shall not find him.' 
 
 So John Mackinnon, having done all he could, parted from the 
 Prince with the same affectionate sorrow that had marked the fare- 
 wells of all his faithful Highlanders. He was caught on his return to 
 Skye hy the cruel Captain Scott, and five days later was brought 
 back to Loclmanuagh, a prisoner on board an English man-of-war. 
 Opposite the place where the ship cast anchor was a fissure in the 
 
 rock, and halfway up was what looked like a mere grassy bank. In 
 reality it was a small hut roofed with sods, so contrived that no 
 one unless he were in the secret would have suspected it of being 
 anything but a grassy slope. Here the Prince had spent the 
 preceding night, but as soon as the ship entered the loch he 
 betook himself to the hills. He was accompanied by old Borodale 
 and his son John the young man who had been supposed to 
 have died at Culloden. A cousin of Borodale's, Macdonald of 
 
94 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 Glenaladale, had always been a special friend of the Prince's. He 
 joined him now in the wilds, resolved to share all his worst dangers, 
 though he had to leave his wife and ' five weak pretty children ' 
 unprotected and living in a bothy, the only home the English 
 soldiers had left them. The first plan these brave men concerted 
 together was to carry the Prince into Lochiel's country, where 
 young Clanranald had promised to provide him a hiding-place. 
 On their way, however, they heard that a body of soldiers 
 were approaching from Loch Arkaig, which completely blocked 
 their way on that side. That same night old Borodale learnt that 
 General Campbell with several ships was in Loch Nevis, Captain 
 Scott was still in Lochnanuagh, and parties from these ships were 
 searching every foot of ground in their neighbourhoods. At the 
 same time troops had been landed at the head of Loch Hourn, and 
 others simultaneously at the head of Loch Shiel. Between these 
 two points the distance as the crow flies must be some twenty or 
 five-and-twenty miles, but the wild mountainous nature of the 
 country makes the actual distance far greater. In spite cf all 
 difficulties the Government troops in a few days had drawn a 
 complete cordon from one point to the other. This cordon con- 
 sisted of single sentinels planted within sight of each other who 
 permitted no one to pass unchallenged. At night large fires were 
 lighted, and every quarter of an hour patrolling parties passed 
 from one to the other to see that all the sentinels were on the 
 alert. 
 
 Charles's case was almost desperate. Foi several days he and 
 his companions lived like hunted animals on the mountain-tops. 
 They were frequently within sight of some camp of the enemy ; 
 more than once they had to go precipitately down one side of 
 a hill because the soldiers were coming up the other. They 
 changed their quarters at night, sometimes marching long miles 
 merely to reach some mountain which having been searched the 
 day before was less likely to be visited again. In the daytime the 
 Prince could snatch a few hours of troubled sleep in some rocky 
 hollow while the rest of the party kept guard. News of the enemy's 
 movements was brought them occasionally by secret friends under 
 cover of darkness, but even their approach was full of terror for 
 the fugitives. Worst of all was their suffering from hunger. 
 The soldiers devoured and destroyed what meagre stores the 
 country could boast, and in spite of the generosity of the poorer 
 clansmen no food could be had. For four days the whole party 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 95 
 
 lived on a few handfuls of dry meal and some butter. On one 
 occasion soldiers passed below their lair driving cattle. The Prince, 
 who was starving, proposed to follow them, and ' lift ' some of the 
 cattle in the night. His companions remonstrated, but he led the 
 party himself, and secured the beef. 1 The guide, and indeed the 
 leader of the little band, was a farmer, Donald Cameron of Glenpean. 
 But for this man's daring courage and his intimate knowledge 'of 
 the country the Prince must sooner or later have fallen into the 
 hands of his enemies. 
 
 The circle was daily being drawn more closely round the prey, 
 and daily the fear of starvation stared them in the face. Should 
 they wait to die like driven deer or make one desperate effort to 
 break through the toils that surrounded them, and either escape 
 or die like men ? For brave men there could only be one answer 
 to such a question. On the night of July 25 they determined to 
 force their way through the cordon. 
 
 All that day the Prince had lain in closest hiding on a hill on the 
 confines of Knoydart, not a mile from the chain of sentinels. He 
 had slept some hours while two of the party had kept watch and 
 the other two had gone and foraged for food, bringing back two dry 
 cheeses as the result. (Old Borodale had gone back at this time ; 
 the party consisted of his son John, Glenaladale and his brother, and 
 Cameron of Glenpean.) All day parties of soldiers had been 
 searching the neighbourhood, and now the sentinel fires were alight 
 all along the line of defence. At nightfall the little band started, 
 walking silently and rapidly up a mountain called Drumnachosi. 
 The way was very steep, and the night very dark. Once crossing a 
 little stream the Prince's foot slipped, he stumbled, and would have 
 fallen down over a cliff had not Cameron caught one arm and 
 Glenaladale the other and pulled him up. From the top of the 
 hill they could see the sentinel fires close in front of them, and 
 were near enough to hear the voices of the soldiers quite distinctly. 
 Under cover of the friendly darkness they crept up another hill 
 and came out opposite another fire. At a point midway between 
 these two posts a mountain torrent had made a deep fissure 
 on the side of a hill on the further side. Could they break 
 through the line and reach this river-bed the overhanging banks, 
 aided by the darkness of night, would conceal their figures, and 
 following the stream they coiild cross over into wild broken 
 
 1 The authority for this is an unpublished anecdote in Bishop Forbes's MS., Thz 
 Lyon in Mourning. 
 
90 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 country, where they could hide themselves. Donald Cameron, with 
 a fine Highland gallantry, undertook to make trial of the way first. 
 If he could reach the spot and return again to report ' all safe,' the 
 rest of the party might make the attempt. It had all to be done 
 in a quarter of an hour, for that was the interval at which the 
 patrolling parties succeeded each other. 
 
 In dead silence they waited till the sentinels had past ; then as 
 stealthily and rapidly as a cat Cameron slipped down the hillside 
 and disappeared into the darkness. The rest stood breathless, 
 straining every nerve for the faintest sound ; no footfall or falling 
 pebble broke the stillness, and in a few long, heavily- weighted 
 minutes Cameron returned and whispered that all was well. It 
 was two o'clock now and the darkness was growing thinner. They 
 waited till the sentries had crossed again and had now their backs 
 to the passage, then they all moved forward in perfect silence. 
 Beaching the torrent, they sank on all fours and one after the other 
 crept up the rocky bed without a sound. The dreaded cordon was 
 passed, and in a short time they reached a place where they were 
 completely hidden and could take a little much-needed rest. 
 
 Once clear of this chain of their enemies they turned north- 
 ward to the Glenelg country. Their plan was to go through the 
 Mackenzie's country to Poole Ewe, where they hoped to find a 
 French vessel. But the next day they learned from a wayfaring 
 man that the only French ship which had been there had left the 
 coast. Seeing that that plan was fruitless, their next idea was to 
 move eastward into the wilds of Inverness and wait there till the 
 way should be clear for the Prince's joining Lochiel in Badenoch. 
 
 In Glen Sheil they parted with Cameron of Glenpean, and here 
 too they had a curious adventure which might have proved seriously 
 inconvenient to them. They had spent a whole hot August day 
 hiding behind some rocks on a bare hillside, the midges had 
 tormented them, and they were oppressed with thirst, but had 
 not ventured from their hiding-place even to look for water. At 
 sunset a boy appeared bringing quarts of goat's milk ; he was the 
 son of a certain Macraw, a staunch though secret friend in the 
 neighbourhood. Glenaladale at this time carried the fortune of 
 the little party some forty gold louis and a few shillings in his 
 sporran. He paid the lad for the milk, and in his hurry did not 
 notice that he had dropped his purse. They had hardly gone an 
 English mile before the loss was discovered, and Glenaladale insisted 
 at all risks on going back to look for the purse. He and his cousin 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 97 
 
 did indeed find it lying at the expected place, but though some 
 shillings remained the louis were gone. It was midnight before 
 the indignant pair reached Macraw's house, and the family were 
 all asleep. They roused the master, however, and fairly told him 
 what had happened. No shadow of doubt seems to have crossed 
 the father's mind, no word of expostulation rose to his lips. ' With- 
 out a moment's delay he returned to the house, got hold of a rope 
 hanging there, and gripped his son by the arm in great passion, 
 
 saying, " You damned scoundrel, this instant get these poor gentle- 
 men's money, or by the heavens I'll hang you to that very tree you 
 see there." The boy, shivering with fear, went instantly for the 
 money, which he had buried underground thirty yards from his 
 fa.ther's house.' This accident turned out most luckily for the 
 Prince. He and Glenaladale's brother while awaiting the other 
 two had hidden behind some rocks ; shortly after they were hidden 
 they saw an officer and two soldiers coming along the very path 
 they had intended to take. But for the delay caused by their 
 
98 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 companions going back they must have fallen into the hands of their 
 enemies. 
 
 They now turned eastward, and after a long night's march found 
 themselves in the wild tract of country called the Braes of Glen- 
 moriston. 
 
 Here Charles was to find a new set of friends, different indeed 
 from the chivalrous Kingsburgh and the high-bred Lady Margaret, 
 but men who were as staunch and incorruptible as any of his for- 
 mer friends. These were the famous ' Seven Men of Glenmoris- 
 ton,' men who had served in the Prince's army, and who now lived 
 a wild, lawless life among the mountains, at feud with everything 
 that represented the existing law and order. They have been de- 
 scribed as a robber band, but that title is misleading. They were 
 rather a small remnant of irreconcilable rebels who had vowed 
 undying enmity and revenge against Cumberland and his soldiers. 
 And indeed there was ample excuse for their hatred and violence 
 in the cruelties they saw practised all round them. Sixty of their 
 clansmen after surrendering themselves had been shipped off to the 
 colonies, all their own possessions and those of their neighbours 
 had been seized, and friends and kinsfolk had been brutally put to 
 death. 
 
 Swooping down like mountain eagles on detached bands of 
 soldiers, these seven men wreaked instant vengeance on oppressors 
 and informers, and carried off arms and baggage in the face of 
 larger bodies of the enemy. To these men, ignorant, reckless, and 
 lawless, Charles unhesitatingly confided his person, a person on 
 whose head a sum of thirty thousand pounds was set. 
 
 Four of these men were in a cave, Coraghoth, in the Braes of 
 Glenmoriston, when Glenaladale brought Charles to see them. 
 They had expected to see young Clanranald, and as soon as they 
 saw the Prince one of their number recognised him, but had the 
 presence of mind to address him as an old acquaintance by the 
 name of ' MacCullony.' When the four knew who their guest 
 really was, they bound themselves to be faithful to him by the 
 dreadful Highland oath, praying ' that their backs might be to God, 
 and their faces to the devil, and that all the curses the Scriptures 
 do pronounce might come upon them and their posterity if they 
 did not stand firm to the Prince in the greatest danger.' 
 
 For about three weeks Charles shared the life of these out- 
 laws, sleeping in caves and holes of the earth, living on the wild 
 deer of their shooting and the secret gifts of the peasantry. They 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 99 
 
 did not understand his English, but the Prince was beginning to 
 pick up a little Gaelic. He was able at least to improve their 
 cooking and reprove their swearing, two services they liked after- 
 wards to recall. Here too, as elsewhere on his wanderings, the 
 Prince gained the hearts of all his followers by his gracious gaiety 
 and plucky endurance of hardships. In the beginning of August 
 his hopes had again turned to Poole Ewe, but learning for a 
 second time that no French ship could land on the closely 
 guarded coast, he and his friends determined to remain in the 
 northern straths of Inverness- shire till the Government troops 
 should withdraw from the Great Glen the chain of lakes which 
 now forms the Caledonian Canal and thus leave the way clear 
 into Badenoch, where Lochiel and Macpherson of Cluny were 
 hiding. 
 
 A curious incident is supposed to have helped the Prince at this 
 time. There had been among his Life Guards a handsome youth 
 named Roderick Mackenzie, son of a jeweller in Edinburgh, who 
 in face and figure was startlingly like the Prince. This lad was 
 actually ' skulking ' among the Braes of Glenmoriston at the time 
 when the Prince was surrounded in Knoydart. A party of soldiers 
 tracked him to a hut, which they surrounded. Flight was impos- 
 sible, and the poor boy stood at bay. As he fell beneath their 
 sword-thrusts he cried out, ' Villains, ye have slain your King.' 
 Whether these words were a curious last flash of vanity, or whether 
 he intended to serve the Prince by a generous act of imposture, can 
 never be known. The soldiers at any rate believed that they had 
 secured the prize. They carried off Mackenzie's head with them 
 to Fort Augustus, and the authorities seem for some time to have 
 been under the impression that it was indeed that of the Prince. 
 Possibly it was owing to this that in the middle of August the 
 Government rather relaxed their vigilance along the Great Glen. 
 Charles was eager to press at once into Badenoch, but the wary 
 outlaws would only consent to taking him to the Lochiel country, 
 between Loch Arkaig, Loch Lochy, and Loch Garry. They 
 travelled chiefly by night ; the season was very wet, and the rivers 
 were in flood, and they had to cross the Eiver Garry Highland 
 fashion in a line, with each man's arm on his neighbour's shoulder, 
 for the water was running breast-high. 
 
 At this time the Prince's condition was as bad as at any period 
 of his wanderings. His clothes were of the coarsest, and they were 
 in rags. Lady Clanranald's six good shirts had long since disap- 
 
 H 2 
 
100 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 peared ; it was as much as he could do to have a clean shirt once a 
 fortnight. The provisions they carried were reduced to one peck of 
 meal. In this state did the Prince arrive in the familiar country 
 round Loch Arkaig. It was a year almost to the day since he had 
 passed through that very country elate and hopeful at the head of 
 his brave Macdonalds and Camerons. He was now a fugitive, ill- 
 fed, ill- clad, with a price on his head; the only thing that was un- 
 changed was the faithful devotion of his Highlanders. 
 
 Cameron of Clunes and Macdonald of Lochgarry, or Lochgarie, 
 though they were themselves ' skulking,' received the Prince with the 
 utmost kindness and found a hiding-place for him in a hut in a wood 
 at the south side of Loch Arkaig. Here the outlaws left him ; only 
 one of their number, Patrick Grant, remained till the Prince should 
 be supplied with money to reward their faithful service. From this 
 place, also, John Macdonald and Glenaladale's brother returned to 
 the coast, where they were to keep a careful look-out and to send 
 the Prince news of any French ship which might appear. 
 
 Glenaladale still remained, but the Prince's thoughts were turn- 
 ing more and more towards Badenoch, where his friend Lochiel was 
 in comparatively secure hiding. 
 
 Among all the gallant gentlemen who risked life and estate in 
 this rising there is no figure more attractive than that of the 
 * Gentle Lochiel.' He had for years before the rebellion been the 
 mainstay of the Jacobite party. No man in the Highlands carried 
 so much weight as he, partly from his position, but more from his 
 talents and the charm of his character. * Wise ' and ' gentle ' are 
 the words that were applied to him, and with all the qualities of a 
 high-bred gentleman he combined the simpler virtues of the High- 
 land clansman faithfulness, courage, and a jealous sense of per- 
 sonal honour. From the very beginning he had seen the folly of 
 the rising. But when he had failed to convince Charles of its 
 hopelessness, he had thrown himself into the movement as if it 
 had been of his own devising. Never did he afterwards reproach 
 Charles by word or look for the ill-fated result. 
 
 He and his cousin, Macpherson of Cluny, were at this time 
 hiding among the recesses of Benalder. The road to Inverness 
 ran by within a few miles, and at a little distance lay Lord 
 Loudoun's camp, but so great was the devotion of the clansmen, so 
 admirable their caution and secrecy, that the English commander 
 had not the slightest suspicion that the two most important Jacobite 
 fugitives had for three months been in hiding so near to him. 
 
PPINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 101 
 
 Lochiel had been wounded in the feet at Culloden, and his^lame- 
 ness as well as his dangerous position prevented his going to look 
 for the Prince. He had two brothers, one a doctor and the other 
 a clergyman, both accomplished and bold men, who had also 
 been involved in the Jacobite rebellion. Towards the end of 
 August, news having come to Benalder that the Prince was living 
 near Auchnacarry under the protection of Cameron of Chines, the 
 two Cameron brothers set off secretly for that country. The Prince 
 with a son of Clunes and the faithful outlaw Patrick Grant were 
 at this time living in a hut in a wood close to Loch Arkaig. It 
 was early on the morning of August 25, the Prince and young 
 Clunes were asleep in the hut, while Patrick Grant kept watch. 
 He must have got drowsy, for waking with a start he saw a party 
 of men approaching. He rushed into the hut and roused the Prince 
 and his companion. Charles had long lived in expectation of such 
 moments. He kept his presence of mind completely, decided that 
 it was too late to fly, and prepared to defend himself. The fowling- 
 pieces were loaded and got into position, and they very nearly 
 received their friends with a volley. Dr. Cameron in his narrative 
 describes the Prince's appearance thus : ' He was barefoot ; had an 
 old black kilt coat on and philibeg and waistcoat, a dirty shirt and a 
 long red beard, a gun in his hand and a pistol and dirk at his side ; 
 still he was very cheerful and in good health.' 
 
 Another week they all waited in the neighbourhood of Auch- 
 nacarry (the ruined home of the Lochiels). At last a message 
 reached them from Benalder that the passes were free and that 
 they might safely try to join Lochiel. Having parted with his 
 devoted friend Glenaladale, who returned to the coast, the Prince, 
 with Dr. Cameron and Lochgarry, arrived on August 30 at Mel- 
 laiieuir, at the foot of Benalder. People in hiding have no means 
 of discriminating their friends from their enemies at a little dis- 
 tance. Lochiel seeing a considerable party approaching believed 
 that he was discovered and determined to make a good fight for it. 
 He as narrowly missed shooting Charles as Charles had missed 
 shooting Dr. Cameron the week before. When, however, he recog- 
 nised the figure in the coarse brown coat, the shabby kilt, and the 
 rough red beard, he hobbled to the door and wanted to receive the 
 Prince on his knees. ' My dear Lochiel,' remonstrated Charles as he 
 embraced him, ' you don't know who may be looking down from 
 these hills.' 
 
 In the hut there was a sufficiency of mutton, beef sausages, 
 
102 PEINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 bacon, Jbutter, cheese, &c., and an anker of whisky, and the Prince 
 was almost overwhelmed by such an excess of luxury. ' Now, 
 gentlemen,' he said with a cheerful air, ' now I live like a Prince.'' 
 Charles's wardrobe was as usual most dilapidated, and Cluny's three 
 sisters set at once to work to make him a set of six shirts with 
 their own fair hands, doubtless sewing the most passionate loyalty 
 and infinite regret into their * seams.' 
 
 The hiding-place where the Prince was now concealed was a 
 verj T curious hut contrived by Cluny in one of the inmost recesses 
 of the hills. It was called ' The Cage,' and was placed in a little 
 thicket on the rocky slope of a hill. The walls were formed by 
 actual growing trees with stakes planted between them, the whole 
 woven together by ropes of heather and birch. Till you were close 
 to the hut it looked merely like a thick clump of trees and bushes. 
 The smoke escaped along the rocks, and the stone being of a bluish 
 colour it could easily pass unnoticed. This hut could only hold 
 six persons at a time, so the party generally divided in this way : 
 one man cooked the food, four played cards, and the last man looked 
 on at the others and possibly smoked ! 
 
 Probably they played cards and talked and jested over the daily 
 needs and hardships, and spoke little of the disastrous times that 
 lay behind them, or the doubtful hopes that lay before them. Fear- 
 ing lest the Prince might have to remain in hiding all winter the 
 ingenious Cluny began to fit up a subterranean dwelling, thickly 
 boarded up, where the party would have been in safety and shelter. 
 But in the meantime no efforts were lacking to find a means of 
 escape. Lochiel's brother, the clergyman, a man of great prudence, 
 went secretly to Edinburgh, and there procured a ship and sent it 
 round to a port on the East coast to await the Prince. Succour, 
 however, had come from another quarter; it was known to the 
 Prince and his followers that a certain Colonel Warren was fitting 
 out a couple of ships in France for the purpose of bringing off the 
 Prince, and daily they expected news of their arrival. On 
 September 6 two ships, L'Heurcux and La Princesse, appeared at 
 Lochnanuagh. Old Borodale and his two sons immediately fled 
 to the hills, leaving a faithful servant to find out and report to them 
 who the strangers might be. After nightfall, twelve French officers 
 came to the hut where they were hiding and told their errand. 
 Information was at once sent to Glenaladale, who undertook to go 
 to Auchnacarry and send on the news through Cameron of Clunes, 
 he himself not knowing where the Prince was hiding. Any delay, 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 108 
 
 even of a few hours, might be fatal, as the presence of the French 
 ships must sooner or later become known to the authorities at Fort 
 Augustus. To his dismay Glenaladale failed to find Chines, and 
 only by an accident met with an old woman, who directed him to 
 the place where the latter was hiding. A messenger was at once 
 despatched, and he, happening by a curious chance to meet with 
 Cluny and Dr. Cameron on a dark night in Badenoch, gave them 
 his message, and an express was at once sent to the Cage. On 
 September 13, at one in the morning, the party which now 
 included Cluny, Lochiel, Macpherson of Breakachie, and some 
 others of the Prince's more important followers set off for the 
 coast. They travelled by night, remaining in concealment by day, 
 
 but so lonely was the country, so recklessly high were the Prince's 
 spirits, that one whole day he amused himself by flinging up caps 
 into the air and shooting at them. 
 
 Again he passed through the well-known country round Loch 
 Arkaig, past Auchnacarry, the home of the Lochiels, which was lying 
 in ruins, over the rugged hills where he had been hunted like a 
 wild creature a few weeks before, down to the familiar waters of 
 Lochnanuagh, back to the warm-hearted household of Borodale. 
 
 A considerable number of Jacobite gentlemen who had lain for 
 months in hiding had been drawn to Lochnanuagh by the report 
 of the landing of the French ships ; amongst these were young 
 Clanranald, Glenaladale, and Macdonald of Daleby. On the 
 Prince's ship there sailed with him Lochgarry, John Eoy Stuart, Dr. 
 
104 PRINCE CHARLIE'S WANDERINGS 
 
 Cameron, and Lochiel. ' The gentlemen as well as commons were 
 seen to weep, though they boasted of being soon back with an 
 irresistible force,' says the newspaper of the day. For the greater 
 part they never came back, never saw again the homes they loved 
 so well. Most were to spend a life of hope deferred and of desperate 
 longings for home, as dependents on a foreign Court. Dr. Cameron 
 was ten years later taken prisoner in London and executed, the 
 last man who suffered as a rebel ; Lochiel died two years after he 
 left Scotland, a heart-broken exile. ' Weep ye not for the dead, 
 neither bemoan him; but weep sore for him that goeth away, 
 for he shall return no more nor see his native country.' ' 
 
 1 The authorities are Chambers's Jacobite jlffinoirs, selected from the MS. Lyon in 
 Mourning ; Chambers's History of the Rising of 1745 ; Macdonald of Glenaladale's manu- 
 script, published in Blackwood's Magazine ; Ewald's History of Prince Charles Edward, 
 and the contemporary pamphlets anonymouslv published by Dr. Burton on information 
 derived from Bishop Forbes, who collected it at first hand. Fastened on the interior of 
 the cover of the Lyon in Mourning is a shred of the flowered calico worn by the Prince 
 in disguise. 
 
105 
 
 TWO GEE AT MATCHES 
 
 THE University matches, between the elevens of Oxford and Cam- 
 bridge, are the most exciting that are played at Lord's. The 
 elevens have been so equal that neither University is ever more 
 than one or two victories ahead of its opponent. The players are 
 at their best for activity and strength, and the fielding is usually 
 the finest that can anywhere be seen. But, of all University 
 matches, the most famous are those of 1870 and of 1875, for these 
 were the most closely contested. 
 
 In 1870 Cambridge had won for three years running. They 
 had on their side Mr. Yardley, one among the three best gen- 
 tlemen bats who ever played, the others being Dr. Grace and Mr. 
 Alan Steel. In 1869, when Cambridge won by 58 runs, Mr. Yardley 
 had only made 19 and 0. Mr. Dale and Mr. Money were the other 
 pillars of Cambridge batting : they had Mr. Thornton too, the hardest 
 of hitters, who hit over the pavilion (with a bat which did not 
 drive !) when he played for Eton against Harrow. On the Oxford 
 side were Mr. Tylecote (E. F. S.), a splendid bat, Mr. Ottaway, one 
 of the most finished bats of his day, and Mr. Pauncefote. The 
 Oxford team was unlucky in its bowling, as Mr. Butler had strained 
 his arm. In one University match, Mr. Butler took all ten wickets 
 in one innings. He was fast, with a high delivery, and wickets 
 were not so good then as they are now. Mr. Francis was also an 
 excellent bo\yler, not so fast as Mr. Butler ; and Mr. Belcher, who 
 bowled with great energy, but did not excel as a bat, was a useful 
 man. For Cambridge, Mr. Cobden bowled fast, Mr. Ward was an 
 excellent medium pace bowler, Mr. Money's slows were sometimes 
 fortunate, and Mr. Bourne bowled slow round. Cambridge went in 
 first, and only got 147. Mr. Yardley fell for 2, being caught by 
 Mr. Butler off Mr. Francis. Mr. Scott's 45 was the largest score, 
 and Mr. Thornton contributed 17, while Mr. Francis and Mr. Belcher 
 divided the wickets. Oxford was only 28 runs better than Cam- 
 
106 
 
 TWO GEE AT MATCHES 
 
 bridge, so that you might call it anybody's match. A good stand 
 was made for the first wicket, Mr. Fortescue getting 35, and Mr. 
 Hadow 17, but there was no high scoring. Mr. Butler got 18, which 
 is not a bad score for a bowler, but Mr. Stewart and Mr. Belcher, 
 who followed him, got ducks, and clearly the tail was not strong in 
 batting. The beginning of the Cambridge second innings was most 
 flattering to Oxford. When the fifth wicket fell, Cambridge had 
 but 40 runs, or twelve ' on.' 
 
 Tobin and Money, Fryer and Scott had made but 8 among them, 
 
 but Dale was in, and Yardley joined him. Mr. Dale was playing in 
 perfect style, and he needed to do so, for Mr. Francis was bowling 
 his best. Then came an hour and a half, or so, of sorrow for 
 Oxford. Mr. Butler was tried, and bowled eight overs for 8 runs, 
 but his arm was hurt, and he had to go off. He got Mr. Thornton's 
 wicket, but Oxford were playing, as Tom Sayers fought, with a 
 broken arm. Seven bowlers were put on, but the end of it was 
 that, after making the first 100 recorded in these matches, Mr. 
 Yardley sent a hard hit to Mr. Francis, who caught and bowled 
 him. Mr. Dale was splendidly caught at leg by Mr. Ottaway, off 
 
TWO GREAT MATCHES 107 
 
 Mr. Francis, with one hand over the ropes. He got 67 ; there was 
 but one other double figure, Mr. Thornton's 11. 
 
 Oxford had to make 178 to win, and 178 is never easy to get, 
 especially in a University match, where so much depends on it, 
 and men are often nervous, as you shall see. Mr. Hadow came to 
 grief, but Mr. Ottaway and Mr. Fortescue were not nervous bats. 
 Mr. Ward bowled beautifully, but they got 44 and 69 ; it was 72 
 for one wicket, and Oxford were buoyant. At 86, however, the 
 second wicket fell, and E. F. S. joined Mr. Ottaway. He put 
 011 29, and Ottaway 's defence was like a stone wall. Finally 
 Mr. Ward bowled Mr. Tylecote ; 25 to get and seven wickets to 
 get them. It seemed all over but shouting. Another wicket fell 
 for 1 ; 24 to get, and six wickets to fall. Mr. Hill came in, and 
 played like a printed book, while Mr. Ottaway was always 
 there. He played a ball to short leg, and Mr. Fryer held it so low 
 down that Mr. Ottaway appealed. I dare say Oxford men in the 
 pavilion distinctly saw that ball touch the ground, but the umpire 
 did not ; 17 to get, and four wickets to fall ; but the last two 
 wickets had scored exactly nothing in the first innings. But Mr. 
 Francis could bat, and he stayed while Mr. Hill made 12, when he 
 was 1. b. w. to Ward, for a single. Four runs to get, and three 
 wickets to fall ! ' Mr. Charles Marsham's face wore a look that his 
 friends know well.' Mr. Butler came in; he scored well in the 
 first innings, and he could hit. Then came a bye. Four to get and 
 three wickets to fall. Mr. Hill hit the next square, good for a 4, 
 but Mr. Bourne got at it, and only a single was run. Three to get 
 and three wickets to fall. We did not get them ! Mr. Cobden, 
 who had not done much, took the ball. Mr. Hill made a single to 
 cover point. The next ball, to Mr. Butler, was well up on the off 
 stump. Mr. Butler drove at it, Mr. Bourne caught it, and Mr. 
 Belcher walked in, * rather pale,' says Mr. Lyttelton, and if so, it 
 was unusual. Mr. Belcher was of a ruddy countenance. He was 
 yorked ! he took a yorker for a half volley. Let us pity Mr. 
 Stewart. If he could escape that one ball, the odds were that Mr. 
 Hill would make the runs next over. Mr. Pauncefote had told Mr. 
 Stewart to keep his bat immovable in the block-hole, but he did 
 not. Cobden scattered his bails to the breezes, * and smash went 
 Mr. Charles Marsham's umbrella against the pavilion brickwork.' 
 Cambridge had won by two. 
 
 This is called Cobden's year, and will be so called while cricket 
 
108 TWO GREAT MATCHES 
 
 is played. But, in fact, Mr. Ward had taken six wickets for 29, 
 and these were all the best bats. 
 
 Mr. Butler's revenge came next year. He took fifteen wickets, 
 and made the winning hit. Oxford's revenge came in 1875. In 
 1874 Cambridge was terribly beaten. They went in on a good 
 wicket. Mr. Tabor, first man in, got 52, when a shower came. The 
 first ball after the shower, Mr. Tabor hit at a dropping ball of Mr. 
 Lang's, and was bowled. The whole side were then demolished by 
 Mr. Lang and Mr. Ridley, for 109, and 64 second innings, while 
 Oxford got 265 first innings. In 1876 Oxford had Mr. Webbe, an 
 admirable bat, as he is still ; Mr. Lang, who had been known to 
 score ; Mr. Ridley, a cricketer of the first class ; Mr. Royle, the finest 
 field, with Mr. Jardine, ever seen ; Mr. Game, who had not quite 
 come into his powers as a hitter, and Mr. Grey Tylecote, a good all- 
 round man ; also Mr. Pulman, a sterling cricketer, and Mr. Buckland, 
 a very useful player all round. Cambridge had Mr. George Longman, 
 who could play anything but Mr. Ridley's slows ; Mr. Edward 
 Lyttelton, one of the prettiest and most spirited bats in the world ; 
 Mr. A. P. Lucas, whom it were superfluous to praise ; Mr. Sims, a 
 hard hitter ; Mr. W. J. Patterson, a renowned bat, and others. In 
 bowling, Oxford had Mr. Ridley, whose slows were rather fast and 
 near the ground. Being as tall as Mr. Spofforth, and following his 
 ball far up the pitch, Mr. Ridley was alarming to the nervous 
 batsman. He fielded his own bowling beautifully. Mr. Lang was 
 a slow round-arm bowler with a very high delivery, and a valuable 
 twist from either side. Mr. Buckland was afterwards better known 
 as a bowler ; Mr. Royle could also deliver a dangerous ball ; the fast 
 bowler was Mr. Foord Kelcey, but he, again, was lame, through an 
 accident to his foot. For Cambridge Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Sims 
 bowled. Lang and Webbe went to the wicket for Oxford, and made 
 a masterly stand, the ball being cut and driven to the ropes in all 
 directions. Mr. Webbe got 55, Mr. Lang 45, while Mr. Ridley con- 
 tributed 21, Mr. Pulman 25, and Mr. Buckland 22. The whole 
 score was 200, 86 for the first wicket. Mr. Longman's 40 was the 
 best score for Cambridge, and Mr. Edward Lyttelton got 23 ; total 
 163. Mr. Lang got five wickets for 35, Mr. Ridley, Mr. Buckland, 
 and Mr. Foord Kelcey divided the other four. In the second 
 Oxford innings Mr. Sharpe got six wickets for 66, and the whole 
 score was but 137, in which Mr. Pulman's 30 was very useful ; Mr. 
 Royle, Mr. Game, and Mr. Webbe got 21, 22, and 21, and Mr. Grey 
 Tylecote, not out, .contributed an invaluable 12, The tail of the 
 
Has 
 
TWO GREAT MATCHES 111 
 
 Cambridge side made 14 among them in the first innings, not 
 an assortment of duck's eggs. Cambridge went in, with 175 to get, 
 much like Oxford in 1870. An over was bowled before seven 
 o'clock, and resulted in a four to leg. Sharpe and Hamilton, who 
 went in last, first innings, went in first in the second, to avoid losing 
 a good bat in the five minutes before drawing stumps. One doubts 
 if it was worth Mr. Kidley's while to insist on that one over, but 
 such is the letter of the law. The two victims, in any case, played 
 rarely, Mr. Sharpe making 29 and Mr. Hamilton 11. Mr. Lucas, 
 however, was bowled by Mr. Buckland for 5. Two for 26. Mr. 
 Longman came in and drove off Mr. Lang and Mr. Ridley. Mr. 
 Eoyle then took the ball, a fast change-bowler. He bowled three 
 maidens, and then settled Mr. Sharpe (at G5), Mr. Blacker (at 67), 
 and Mr. Longman at 76 (for 23), with a fine breaking shooter such 
 as you seldom see now. Twenty years ago a large percentage of 
 balls shot dead. Mr. Greenfield and Mr. Edward Lyttelton stuck 
 together. 
 
 At 97, an awful yell went up ; mid-on had missed Mr. Lyttelton, 
 a low hard catch, but one which he would have taken nine times 
 in ten. At 101, Mr. Campbell caught Mr. Greenfield off Mr. Eoyle, 
 six down and 70 to get. Then Mr. Sims came hi, and another 
 yeU was heard. Mid-on had given Mr. Lyttelton another let-off, an 
 easy thing he might have held in his mouth. Mid-on wished that the 
 earth would open and swallow him. Presently Mr. Lyttelton hit 
 Mr. Buckland a beautiful skimming smack to square leg. Mr. 
 Webbe was standing deeper, but, running at full speed along the 
 ropes, sideways to the catch, he held it low down a repetition of 
 what he did unto Mr. Lyttelton when they played for Harrow and 
 Eton. Mr. Lyttelton had scored 20, but not in his best manner. 
 There were now three wickets to fall for 60 ; Oxford seemed to 
 have the advantage. Sims and Patterson had added 14 (40 to win), 
 when a heavy shower came down, lasted for an hour and a half, 
 and left Oxford with a wet ball and a slippery ground. The rain, 
 which favoured Oxford in 1874, when Cambridge collapsed, was 
 now on the Cambridge side. Mr. Sims was determined to knock the 
 runs off by a forcing game, and these were the right tactics. Then 
 Ridley went on, and his first slow bowled Mr. Patterson clean. Mr. 
 Macan came in, and got a single (13 to win). Then Mr. Sims hit 
 Mr. Ridley over his head to the ropes for 4 (9 to win). Mr. Lang 
 went on for Mr. Royle, a leg bye followed, and then a no -ball (7 to 
 win). Mr. Lang then, in a moment of despair, as unusual measures 
 
112 TWO GEEAT MATCHES 
 
 were needed, bowled a full pitch right at Mr. Sims's head. Mr. Sims, 
 naturally concluding that two more hits would finish the match, 
 hit at it as hard as he could. Mr. Pulman was standing by the ropes 
 4 in the country ' and the ball soared towards him ; would it cross 
 the ropes ? would Pulman reach it ; he had a long way to run ? 
 He reached it, he held it, and back went Mr. Sims. There remained 
 Mr. Smith, in the same historical position as Mr. Belcher. There 
 were six runs to get, and Mr. Macan, his companion, a good bat, was 
 not yet settled. Some one in the pavilion said, ' His legs are trembling, 
 Oxford wins.' Mr. Smith, unlike Mr. Belcher, stopped two of Mr. 
 Ridley's slows, but not with enthusiasm. To the third he played 
 slowly forward, the ball hit the middle stump, and Oxford won by 
 six runs. 
 
 There was also a very good match in 1891. Cambridge was far 
 the better team, and went in, second innings, for a small score. But 
 Mr. Berkeley (left-hand medium) bowled so admirably that there 
 were only two wickets to fall for the last run. Mr. Woods, how- 
 ever, was not nervous, and hit the first ball he received for 4 to 
 the ropes. Still, I am inclined to think that, in these three matches, 
 the bowling of Mr. Berkeley was the best, for he had very little 
 encouragement, whereas, with 178 or so to get, a bowler has a 
 good chance, and is on his mettle. 
 
 The moral is, don't poke about in your block-hole, but hit, and, 
 when you bowl in an emergency, aim at getting wickets by any 
 means, rather than at keeping down runs. 
 
113 
 
 THE STORY OF KASPAR 
 
 ON May 28 r 1828, the town of Nuremberg, in Bavaria, presented 
 a singularly deserted appearance, as it was Whit-Monday, and 
 most of the inhabitants were spending their holiday in the country* 
 A cobbler, who lived in Umschlitt Square, was an exception to the 
 general rule, but towards four o'clock he, too, thought that he would 
 take a stroll cutside the city walls. When he came out of his door 
 his curiosity was excited by a strange figure, which was leaning, as 
 
 if unable to support itself, against a wall near, and uttering a 
 moaning sound. The figure was that of a young man of about 
 seventeen, dressed in a grey riding suit, and wearing a pair of 
 dilapidated boots ; he held a letter in one hand. 
 
 The cobbler's curiosity led him to approach the strange figure, 
 which moaned some incoherent sounds, and held out the letter 
 in its hand. This was addressed ' To the Captain of the 4th 
 
 I 
 
114 THE STORY OF KASPAE HAUSEB 
 
 squadron of the 6th regiment of dragoons now stationed at Nureni- 
 fcerg ' ; and, as he lived quite near, the cobbler thought the surest 
 way of gratifying his own curiosity was to take the stranger 
 there. The poor creature stumbled and shuffled along behind his 
 guide, and reached the captain's house quite worn out. The 
 captain was not at home, but his servant, pitying the sufferings of 
 the stranger, gave him a sack of straw to lie on in the stable, and 
 brought him some bread and meat and beer. The meat and the beer 
 he would not touch, but ate the bread greedily and drank some 
 water ; he then fell fast asleep. Towards eight o'clock the captain 
 came home, and was told of his strange visitor, and of the letter he 
 had brought with him. This letter was written in a feigned hand, 
 and said that the writer, a poor labourer with ten children, had 
 received the boy in 1812, and had kept him shut up in his house for 
 sixteen years, not allowing him to see or know anything; that he 
 could keep him no longer, and so sent him to the captain, who 
 could make a soldier of him, hang him, or put him up the chimney, 
 just as he chose. He added that the boy knew nothing and could 
 tell nothing, but w r as quick at learning. Enclosed was a letter 
 giving the date of the boy's birth (April 30, 1812), and purporting 
 to be written by the mother ; but the writing, paper, and ink all 
 showed that the two letters were by the same person. 
 
 The captain could make nothing of this mysterious letter, but 
 went to the stable, where he found the stranger still asleep. After 
 many pushes, kicks, and thumps he awoke. When asked his 
 name and where he came from, he made some sounds, which were 
 at last understood to be, ' Want to be a soldier, as father was ; ' 
 ' Don't know,' and ' Horse home.' These sentences he repeated 
 over and over again like a parrot, and at last the captain decided 
 to send his new recruit to the police office. Here he was asked his 
 name, where he came from, &c., &c., but the result of the police 
 inspector's questioning was the same : the stranger repeated his 
 three sentences, and at last, in despair of getting any sensible reply 
 from him, he was put into a cell in the west tower of the prison 
 where vagrants were kept. This cell he shared with another 
 prisoner, a butcher boy, who was ordered to watch him carefully, as 
 the police naturally suspected him of being an impostor. He slept 
 soundly through the night and woke at sunrise. He spent the 
 greater part of the day sitting on the floor taking no notice of 
 anything, but at last the gaoler gave him a sheet of paper and a 
 pencil to play with. These he seized with pleasure and carried 
 
THE STORY OF KASPAR 
 
 115 
 
 them off to a seat ; nor did he stop writing until he had covered 
 the paper with letters and syllables, arranged just as they would be 
 in a copy-book. Among the letters were three complete words, 
 ' Kaspar Hauser,' and ' reiter ' (horse soldier). ' Kaspar Hauser ' 
 
 was evidently his name, though he did not recognise it when called 
 by it. 
 
 The news of the strange arrival spread through the city. The 
 guard-house, where he spent part of the day, was thronged by a 
 curious crowd, anxious to see this strange creature, who looked at 
 
 12 
 
116 THE STORY OF KASPAR HAUSER 
 
 things without seeing them, who could not bear a strong light, who 
 loathed any food but bread and water, and who, parrot -like, repeated 
 a couple of phrases which he evidently did not understand, and one 
 word, ' horse,' to which he seemed to attach some meaning. What 
 they saw was a youth of about seventeen, with fair hair and blue 
 eyes, the lower part of his face slightly projecting like a monkey's. 
 He was four feet nine inches in height, broad-shouldered, with tiny 
 hands and delicate little feet, which had never worn shoes nor been 
 put to their natural use, for the soles were as soft as a baby's. He 
 was dressed in grey riding-breeches, a round jacket, which had 
 been made out of a frock-coat by cutting off the skirts, and wore a 
 round felt hat bound with red leather. In his pockets were some 
 rags, some tracts, a rosary, and a paper of gold sand. 
 
 Everyone who saw him and watched him came to the same 
 conclusion, that his mind was that of a child of two or three, while 
 his body was nearly grown up ; and yet he was not half-witted, 
 because he immediately began to pick up words and phrases, had a 
 wonderful memory, and never forgot a face he had once seen, or the 
 name which belonged to it. During the next two or three weeks 
 he spent part of every day in the guard-room ; part with the family 
 of the gaoler, whose children taught him to talk and to walk as 
 they did their own baby sister. He was not afraid of anything ; 
 swords were whirled round his head without his paying any atten- 
 tion to them ; he stretched out his hand to the flame of a lighted 
 candle, and cried when it burnt him, and when he saw his face in a 
 looking-glass, looked behind it for the other person. He was 
 particularly pleased when anything bright or glittering was given to 
 him. Whenever this happened he called out * Horse, horse,' and 
 made signs as if he wanted to hang it on to the neck of something. 
 At last one of the policemen gave him a wooden horse, when his 
 happiness was complete, and he spent hours sitting on the floor 
 playing with this horse and the dozens of horses which were given 
 to him by his visitors as soon as they heard of his liking for them. 
 
 Six or seven weeks passed in this way, and all this time the town 
 council were discussing what they would do with him. At last 
 they decided to adopt him as the ' Child of Nuremberg,' and to 
 have him properly cared for and taught, so that, if possible, some- 
 thing of his past might be learned. He was taken away from the 
 prison and put under the charge of Professor Daumer, whose 
 interest in the youth led him to undertake the difficult task of 
 developing his mind so that it might fit his body. The burgomaster 
 
THE STOEY OF KASPAE HAUSER 117 
 
 issued a notice to the inhabitants that in future they would not be 
 allowed to see Kaspar Hauser at all hours of the day, and that the 
 police had orders to interfere if the curiosity of visitors led them to 
 annoy Dr. Daumer and his household. He entered Dr. Daumer's 
 house on July 18, 1828, and during the next five months made 
 such astonishing progress that the delight of his teacher knew no 
 bounds. In order to satisfy public curiosity the burgomaster pub- 
 lished, in July, a short account of Hauser's previous life, gleaned 
 from him by careful questioning. It was to this effect : 
 
 ' He neither knows who he is nor where he came from, for it was 
 only at Nuremberg that he came into the world. He always lived 
 in a hole, where he sat on straw on the ground ; he never heard a 
 sound, nor saw any vivid light. He awoke and he slept, and 
 awoke again ; when he awoke he found a loaf of bread and a pitcher 
 of water beside him. Sometimes the water tasted nasty and then he 
 fell asleep again, and when he woke up found he had a clean shirt on ; 
 he never saw the face of the man who came to him. He had two 
 wooden horses and some ribbons to play with ; was never ill, never 
 unhappy in his hole ; once only the man struck him with a stick for 
 making too much noise with his horses. One day the man came 
 into his room and put a table over his feet ; something white lay on 
 the table, and on this the man made black marks with a pencil 
 which he put into his fingers. This the man did several times, and 
 when he was gone Kaspar imitated what he had done. At last he 
 taught him to stand and to walk, and finally carried him out of his 
 hole. Of what happened next Kaspar had no very clear idea, until 
 he found himself in Nuremberg with the letter in his hand.' 
 
 At first sight this story seems quite impossible, but it is borne 
 out by two or three things. Kaspar's legs were deformed in just 
 such a way as would happen in the case of a person who had spent 
 years sitting on the ground ; he never walked properly to the end, 
 and had great difficulty in getting upstairs. His feet showed no 
 signs of use, except the blisters made by his boots and his walk to 
 Nuremberg ; he could see in the dark easily and disliked light ; and 
 finally, for several months after he came to Nuremberg, he refused 
 to eat anything but bread and water, and was, in fact, made quite 
 ill by the smell of meat, beer, wine, or milk. 
 
 For the first four months of his stay with Daumer, his senses of 
 sight, taste, hearing, and smell were very acute. He had got past 
 the stage in which he disliked light, and could now see much further 
 than most people by day, without, however, losing his power of 
 
118 THE STORY OF KASPAR HAUSER 
 
 seeing in the dark ; at the . same time he conld not distinguish 
 between a thing and a picture of that thing, and could not for a 
 long time judge distances at all, for he saw everything flat. His 
 favourite colours were r6d and yellow ; black and green he particu- 
 larly disliked ; everything ugly was called green. He could not be 
 persuaded that a ball did not roll because it wished to do so, or that 
 his top did not spin of its own accord. For a long time he saw no 
 reason why animals should not behave like human beings, and was 
 much annoyed because the cat refused to sit up at table and to eat 
 with its paws, blaming its disobedience in not doing as it was told. 
 He further thought that a cow which had lain down in the road 
 would do well to go home to bed if it were tired. His sense of 
 smell was very keen, painfully so, in fact, for he was made quite ill 
 by the smell of the dye in his clothes, the smell of paper, and of 
 many other things which other people do not notice at all ; while 
 the smell of a sweep a hundred yards off on the other side of the 
 road upset him for a week. On the other hand, he could distinguish 
 the leaves of trees by their smell. 
 
 By November he had made sufficient progress to make it pos- 
 sible for Dr. Daumer to teach him other things besides the use of 
 his senses : he was encouraged to write letters and essays, to use 
 his hands in every way, to draw, to make paper-models, to dig in 
 the garden, where he had a little plot of ground with his name in 
 mustard and cress ; in fact, to use his lately acquired knowledge. 
 The great difficulty was to persuade him to eat anything but bread 
 and water, but by slow degrees he learned to eat different forms of 
 farinaceous food, gruel, bread and milk, rice, &c., into which a little 
 gravy and meat was gradually introduced. By the following May 
 he could eat meat without being made ill by it, but never drank 
 anything but water, except at breakfast, when he had chocolate. 
 
 For the next eleven months he lived a happy, simple life with 
 his friend and tutor, who mentions, however, that the intense 
 acuteness of his senses was gradually passing away, but that he 
 had still the charming, obedient, child-like nature which had won 
 all hearts. In the summer, public interest was aroused by the 
 news that Kaspar Hauser was writing his life, and the paper was 
 eagerly looked forward to. All went well until October 17, when 
 Kaspar was discovered senseless in a cellar under Dr. Daumer's 
 house, with a wound in his forehepd. He was carried upstairs 
 and put to bed, when he kept on moaning, ' Man ! man ! tell 
 mother (Mrs. Daumer) tell professor man beat me black sweep.' 
 
THE STORY OF KASPAR HAUSER 119 
 
 For some days he was too ill to give any account of his wound, but 
 at last said, that he had gone downstairs and was suddenly attacked 
 by a man with a black face, 1 who hit him on the head ; that he fell 
 down, and when he got up the man was gone ; that he went to look 
 for Mrs. Daumer, and, as he could not find her, finally hid in the 
 cellar to be quite safe. After this murderous attack it was no 
 longer safe to leave him in Dr. Daumer' s house, so when well 
 again he was removed to the house of one of the magistrates, and 
 constantly guarded by two policemen, without whom he never 
 went out. He was not very happy here, and after some months 
 was put under the charge of Herr von Tucher (June 1830), with 
 whom he remained for eighteen months. At first the arrangement 
 answered admirably ; he was happy in his new home, his only 
 trouble being that he was sent to the grammar school and put into 
 one of the upper forms, where he had to learn Latin, a task which 
 proved too hard for his brain. By this time his face had quite lost 
 the brutish character it had when he came to Nuremberg, and its 
 expression was pleasant, though rather sad. Unfortunately for 
 himself, he was one of the sights of Nuremberg, was always intro- 
 duced to any stranger of distinction who came to the town, and 
 attracted even more attention than the kangaroo ; so that even his 
 warmest friends were obliged to admit that he was rather spoiled. 
 
 At the beginning of 1831, an Englishman, Lord Stanhope, came 
 to Nuremberg, saw the foundling, was curiously interested in him, 
 and wished to adopt him. Kaspar was very much flattered, and 
 drew unfavourable comparisons between this Englishman who 
 thought nothing too good for him, and his guardians, who were 
 thinking of apprenticing him to a bookbinder. Lord Stanhcpe's 
 kindness turned his head, and Herr von Tucher, after repeated re- 
 monstrances, resigned his guardianship in December 1831. With 
 the full consent of the town council of Nuremberg, Lord Stanhope 
 removed Kaspar to Ansbach, and placed him under the care of Dr. 
 Mayer. It was generally supposed that this was only preparatory 
 to taking him to England. Ample funds were provided for his main- 
 tenance, but the journey to England was again and again put off ; 
 and at last there were signs that Lord Stanhope was not quite satis- 
 fied with his new plaything. So much had been said about Kaspar's 
 cleverness, that his new teachers were disappointed to find that his 
 acquirements were about those of a boy of eight. They accused 
 him of laziness and of deceit ; and he, finding himself suspected 
 1 Probably the man had tied a piece of black crape over his face as a mask, 
 
120 THE STORY OF KASPAR HAUSER 
 
 and closely questioned as to everything he did, took refuge in false- 
 hood. At last a government clerkship of the lowest class was pro- 
 cured for him, but great complaints were made of his inattention to 
 his duties (mainly copying) ; he was unhappy, and, when on a visit 
 to Nuremberg in the summer, made plans for the happy time when 
 he should be able to come back and live with his friends there. 
 For the people of Ansbach, though making him one of the shows of 
 the place, do not seem to have had that perfect belief in him shown 
 by his earlier friends ; while his new guardians expected a great deal 
 too much from him. His chief friend in Ansbach was the clergyman 
 who had prepared him for confirmation, who noticed, in November 
 1833, that he was very much depressed ; but this passed away. 
 On the afternoon of December 14, Kaspar came to call on the 
 clergyman's wife, and was particularly happy and bright. Three 
 hours afterwards he staggered into his tutor's house, holding his 
 hand to his side, gasping out ' Garden man stabbed give purse 
 let it drop come ' and dragged the astonished Dr. Mayer 
 off to a public garden, where a little purse was found on the ground. 
 In it was a piece of paper, on which was written backwards in 
 pencil these lines : ' I come from the Bavarian frontier. I will 
 even tell you my name, " M. L. 0." ' 
 
 Kaspar was taken home and put to bed, when it was discovered 
 that there was a deep stab in his left side. For some hours he was 
 too ill to be questioned, but on the 15th he was able to tell 
 his story. On the 14th, as he was coming out of the government 
 buildings to go home to dinner, he was accosted by a man who 
 promised to tell him who his parents were, if he would come to a 
 spot in the public gardens. He refused, as he was going home to 
 dinner, but made an appointment for that afternoon. After dinner 
 he called on the clergyman's wife, and then went to the gardens, 
 where he found the man waiting for him. The man led him to the 
 Uz monument, which was at a little distance from the main path, 
 and shut in by trees. Here he made him take a solemn oath of 
 secrecy and handed him the little purse, which Kaspar, in his hurry 
 to seize it, let drop. As he stooped to pick it up he was stabbed, 
 and when he lifted himself up the stranger was gone. Then he ran 
 home. 
 
 For two days he was not supposed to be in any danger, but fever 
 set in : the doctors gave no hope of his recovery, and on the 17th he 
 died. 
 
 His death caused great excitement, not only in Ansbach an4 
 
THE STORY OF KASPAE HAUSEE 121 
 
 Nuremberg, but throughout all Germany. The question as to 
 whether he was an impostor or not was hotly debated ; those who 
 favoured the former theory insisting that he had killed himself acci- 
 dentally when he only meant to wound himself and so excite sym- 
 pathy. Some of the doctors declared, however, that that was quite 
 impossible, for the wound was meant to kill, and could only have 
 been self-inflicted by a left-handed person of great strength, for it had 
 pierced through a padded coat. A large reward (1,200Z.) was offered 
 for the capture of the assassin, but in vain ; and the spot of the 
 murder was marked by an inscription in Latin: 
 
 HIC 
 
 OCCULTUS 
 
 OCCULTO 
 OCCISUS EST 
 
 (Here the Mystery was mysteriously murdered). 
 
 The same idea is repeated on his tombstone. * Here lies K. H., 
 the riddle of the age. His birth was unknown, his death mys- 
 terious.' 
 
 His death was the signal for a violent paper- war between his 
 friends and his enemies. It raged hotly for years ; but his friends 
 have never succeeded in proving who he was ; why, after having 
 been shut up for so long, he was at last set free ; or why his death 
 was, after all, necessary; while his enemies have utterly failed to 
 prove that he was an impostor. 1 
 
 1 This is rather a picturesque than a critical story of Kaspar Hauser. The evidence 
 of the men who first met him shows that he could then speak quite rationally. The 
 curious will find a brief but useful account of him in the Duchess of Cleveland's ' Kaspar 
 Hauser' (Macmillans. 1893.) 
 
122 
 
 AN ABTIST'S ADVENTURE 
 
 NEARLY four hundred years ago, a boy was born in Italy who 
 grew up to be one of the most accomplished artists of his own 
 or any other age. Besides excelling as a sculptor, modeller, and 
 medallist, he was a musician, an author, and an admirable swords- 
 man ; and popes, kings, and other great princes eagerly employed 
 him, and vied with each other to secure his services. His name was 
 Benvenuto Cellini. 
 
 Under Pope Clement VII. he took part in the defence of the 
 Castle of St. Angelo, when it was besieged by the Constable de 
 Bourbon, and the Pope reposed such confidence in Cellini that he 
 was entrusted with the task of removing all the gems in the treasury 
 from their settings, and concealing the stones in the thick folds of 
 his clothing. However, I am not going to enlarge on Benvenuto's 
 many talents, but to tell you of a wonderful adventure which befell 
 him in the very Castle of St. Angelo he had helped to defend. 
 
 Those were lawless days, and Cellini was a man of fiery temper, 
 to whom blows came more naturally than patience and forbearance. 
 So it came to pass that, being told that a certain goldsmith named 
 Pompeo had been spreading false reports about him, Benvenuto 
 fell upon him one fine day in the very midst of Rome, and promptly 
 stabbed him to death. 
 
 This might possibly have been overlooked, but a workman, 
 jealous of Cellini's success and reputation, accused the artist to the 
 reigning Pope, Paul III., of having purloined some of the jewels 
 entrusted to his care during the siege, and Paul was not to be trifled 
 with where the affairs of the treasury were concerned. Moreover, 
 a near relation of the Pope's was Cellini's sworn enemy, and this 
 sufficed to seal his fate. 
 
 So, when taking a walk one morning, Benvenuto suddenly found 
 himself face to face with Crespino, the sheriff, attended by his band 
 
AN ARTIST'S ADVENTURE 123 
 
 of constables. Crespino advanced, saying, 'You are the Pope's 
 prisoner.' 
 
 ' Crespino,' exclaimed Benvenuto, ' you must take me for some 
 one else.' 
 
 ' No, no,' replied Crespino, ' I know you perfectly, Benvenuto, and 
 I have orders to carry you to the Castle of St. Angelo, where great 
 nobles and men of talent like yourself are sent.' 
 
 Then he politely begged Benvenuto to give up his sword, and led 
 him off to the Castle, where he was locked up in a room above the 
 keep. 
 
 It was easy enough for Benvenuto to refute the accusations 
 brought against him ; nevertheless he was kept prisoner, in spite 
 of the intervention of the French ambassador, who demanded his 
 liberty hi the name of Francis I. 
 
 The governor of the Castle was, like Cellini, a Florentine, and at 
 first showed himself full of kind attentions towards his countryman, 
 allowing him a certain amount of liberty on parole, within the 
 Castle walls. Growing suspicious later, he kept his prisoner closer, 
 but after a time he restored him to comparative liberty. 
 
 When Benvenuto found how changeable the governor's humour 
 was, he set himself to think over matters seriously. * For,' he 
 reflected, 'should a fresh fit of anger or suspicion cause him to 
 confine me more strictly, I should feel myself released from my word, 
 and it may be as well to be prepared.' 
 
 Accordingly he ordered some new coarse linen sheets to be 
 brought him, but when soiled he did not send them back. When 
 his servants asked for the sheets so as to have them washed he bade 
 them say no more, as he had given them to one of the poor soldiers 
 on guard, who would be sure to get into trouble if the matter were 
 known. By degrees he emptied the straw out of his mattress, 
 burning a little of it at a time in his fireplace, and replacing it with 
 the sheets, which he cut into strips some inches wide. As soon as 
 he thought these strips were long enough for his purpose, he told 
 his servants that he had given all the sheets away, and that in 
 future they had better bring him finer linen, which he would be sure 
 to return. 
 
 Now it so happened that every year the governor was subject to 
 a most distressing illness, which, for the time being, entirely deprived 
 him of his reason. When it began to come on, he would talk and 
 chatter incessantly. Each year he had some fresh hallucination, at 
 one time fancying himself an oil -jar, at another a frog, and skipping 
 
124 AN ARTIST'S ADVENTURE 
 
 about like one. Again, another time, he declared he was dead, 
 and wished to be buried ; and so, year by year, he was the victim 
 of some new delusion. This year he imagined he was a bat, and as 
 he walked about he uttered little half-smothered cries like a bat, 
 and flapped his hands and moved his body as though about to fly. 
 His faithful old servants and his doctors noticed this, and, thinking 
 change of ideas and variety of conversation might do him good, 
 they frequently fetched Benvenuto to entertain him. 
 
 One day the governor asked Benvenuto whether it had ever 
 occurred to him to desire to fly, and, on being answered in the affir- 
 mative, he inquired further how he should set about it. 
 
 Benvenuto replied that the only flying creature it would be at 
 all possible to imitate artificially was the bat, on which the poor 
 man cried out, ' True, true, that's it, that's the thing.' Then turn- 
 ing round he said, ' Benvenuto, if you had everj-thing you required 
 for it, do you think you could fly ? ' 
 
 ' Oh, yes,' said the artist ; ' if you will only leave me free to do it, 
 I will engage to make a pair of wings of fine waxed cloth, and to fly 
 from here to Prati with them.' 
 
 ' And I, too,' exclaimed the governor ; ' I could do it too, but the 
 Pope has ordered me to keep you like the apple of his eye, and as I 
 strongly suspect you're a cunning fellow, I shall lock you well up 
 and give you no chance of flying.' 
 
 Thereupon, and in spite of all Benvenuto's entreaties and pro- 
 testations, the governor ordered him to be taken back to prison and 
 more carefully guarded than ever. 
 
 Seeing he could not help himself, Cellini exclaimed before the 
 officers and attendants : ' Very well ! lock me up and keep me safe, 
 for I give you due warning I mean to escape in spite of every- 
 thing.' 
 
 No sooner was he shut up in his cell than he fell to turning over 
 in his mind how this escape could be made, and began minutely 
 examining his prison, and, after discovering what he thought would 
 be a sure way of getting out, he considered how best he might let 
 himself down from the top of this enormous donjon tower, which 
 went by the name of ' II Mastio.' He began by measuring the 
 length of the linen strips, which he had cut and joined firmly to- 
 gether so as to form a sort of rope, and he thought there would be 
 enough for his purpose. Next, he armed himself with a pair of pincers 
 which he had taken from one of his guards who was fond of car- 
 pentering, and who, amongst his tools, had a particularly large and 
 
AN ARTISTS ADVENTURE 125 
 
 strong pair of pincers, which appeared so useful to Benvenuto that 
 he abstracted them, and hid them in his mattress. 
 
 As soon as he thought himself safe from interruption, he began 
 to feel about for the nails in the ironwork of the door, but owing to 
 its immense thickness they were by no means easy to get at. How- 
 ever, he managed at length to extract the first nail. Then came 
 the question, how to conceal the hole left behind. This he con- 
 trived by making a paste of rusty scrapings and wax, which he 
 modelled into an exact representation of the head of a nail, and in 
 this way he replaced each nail he drew by a facsimile of its head, 
 in wax. 
 
 Great care was required to leave just a sufficient number of 
 nails to keep the ironwork and hinges in their places. But 
 Benvenuto managed this by first drawing the nails, cutting them as 
 short as he dared, and then replacing them in such a way as to 
 keep things together, and yet to allow of their being easily drawn 
 out at the last moment. 
 
 All this was by no means easy to contrive, for the governor was 
 constantly sending some one to make sure that his prisoner was safe. 
 
 The two men who were specially charged with this duty were 
 rough and rude, and one of them in particular took pains to inspect 
 the whole room carefully every evening, paying special attention to 
 the locks and hinges. 
 
 Cellini lived in constant terror lest it should occur to them to 
 examine his bedding, where, besides the pincers, he had hidden a 
 long sharp dagger and some -other instruments, as well as his long 
 strips of linen. Each morning he swept out and dusted his room 
 and carefully made his bed, ornamenting it with flowers which he 
 got the soldier from whom he had taken the pincers to bring him. 
 When his two warders appeared he desired them on no account to 
 go near or touch his bed, for fear of soiling or disturbing it. Some- 
 times, in order to tease him, they would touch it, and then he 
 would shout : ' Ah ! you dirty rascals ! Just let me get at one of 
 your swords and see how I'll punish you ! How dare you touch 
 the bed of such a man as I am ? Little care I about risking my 
 own life, for I should be certain to take yours. Leave me in peace 
 with my grief and trouble, or I will show you what a man can do 
 when driven to desperation ! ' 
 
 These words were repeated to the governor, who forbade the 
 gaolers touching Cellini's bed, or entering his room armed. The 
 bed once safe, he felt as if all else must go right. 
 
126 AN ARTIST'S ADVENTURE 
 
 One night the governor had a worse attack than ever, and in a 
 fit of madness kept repeating that he certainly was a bat, and that, 
 should they hear of Benvenuto's escape, they must let him fly off 
 too, as he was sure he could fly better at night and would overtake 
 the fugitive. ' Benvenuto,' said he, ' is but a sham bat, but as I 
 am a real bat, and he has been given into my keeping, I shall soon 
 catch him again, depend on it.' 
 
 This bad attack lasted several nights, and the Savoyard soldier, 
 who took an interest in Benvenuto, reported to him that the 
 servants were quite worn out watching their sick master. Hearing 
 this, Cellini resolved to attempt his escape at once, and set hard to 
 work to complete his preparations. He worked all night, and about 
 two hours before dawn he, with much care and trouble, removed the 
 hinges from the door. The casing and bolts prevented his opening it 
 wide, so he chipped away the woodwork, till at length he was able 
 to slip through, taking with him his linen ropes, which he had 
 wound on two pieces of wood like two great reels of thread. 
 
 Having passed the door he turned to the right of the tower, and 
 having removed a couple of tiles, he easily got out on the roof. He 
 wore a white doublet and breeches and white boots, into one of 
 which he had slipped his dagger. Taking one end of his linen rope, 
 he now proceeded to hook it carefully over an antique piece of tile 
 which was firmly cemented into the wall. This tile projected 
 barely four fingers' breadth, and the band hooked over it as on a 
 stirrup. When he had made it firm he prayed thus : ' O Lord, my 
 God, come now to my aid, for Thou knowest that my cause is 
 righteous, and that I am aiding myself.' Then he gently let him- 
 self slide down the rope till he reached the ground. There was no 
 moon, but the sky was clear, and once down he gazed up at the 
 tower from which he had made so bold a descent, and went off in 
 high spirits, thinking himself at liberty, which indeed was by no 
 means the case. 
 
 On this side of the Castle the governor had had two high walls 
 built to inclose his stables and his poultry-yard, and these walls had 
 gates securely bolted and barred on the outside. 
 
 In despair at these obstacles Benvenuto roamed about at random, 
 cursing his bad luck, when suddenly he hit his foot against a long 
 pole which lay hidden in the straw. With a good deal of effort he 
 managed to raise it against the wall and to scramble up to the top. 
 Here he found a sharply sloping coping stone which made it im- 
 possible to draw the pole up after him, but he fastened a portion of 
 
HE PREPARED TO ATTACK THE SENTRY 
 
AN ARTISTS ADVENTURE 129 
 
 the second linen band to it, and by this means let himself down as 
 he had done outside the donjon tower. 
 
 By this time Benvenuto was much exhausted, and his hands 
 were all cut and bleeding ; however, after a short rest he climbed 
 the last inclosure, and was just in the act of fastening his rope to a 
 battlement, when, to his horror, he saw a sentinel close to him. 
 Desperate at this interruption, and at the thought of the risk he 
 ran, he prepared to attack the sentry, who, however, seeing a man 
 advance on him with a drawn dagger and determined air, promptly 
 took to his heels, and Benvenuto returned to his rope. Another 
 guard was near, but, hoping not to have been observed, the fugi- 
 tive secured his band and hastily slid down it. Whether it was 
 fatigue, or that he thought himself nearer the ground than he really 
 was, it is impossible to say, but he loosened his hold, and fell, 
 hitting his head, and lay stretched on the ground for more than an 
 hour. 
 
 The sharp freshness of the air just before sunrise revived him, 
 but his memory did not return immediately, and he fancied his head 
 had been cut off and that he was in purgatory. By degrees, as his 
 senses returned, he realised that he was no longer in the Castle, and 
 remembered what he had done. He put his hands to his head and 
 withdrew them covered with blood, but on carefully examining 
 himself he found he had no serious wound, though on attempting 
 to move he discovered that his right leg was broken. Nothing 
 daunted, he drew from his boot his poniard with its sheath, which 
 had a large ball at the end ; the pressure of this ball on the bone 
 had caused the fracture. He threw away the sheath, and cutting 
 off a piece of the remaining linen band with his dagger, he bound up 
 his leg as best he could, and then, dagger in hand, proceeded to 
 drag himself along on his knees towards the gate of the town. It 
 was still closed, but seeing one stone near the bottom, which did 
 not look very huge, he tried to displace it. After repeated efforts it 
 shook, and at length yielded to his efforts, so, forcing it out, he 
 squeezed himself through. 
 
 He had barely entered Eome when he was attacked by a band 
 of savage dogs, who bit and worried him cruelly. He fought de- 
 sperately with his dagger, and gave one dog such a stab that it fled 
 howling, followed by the rest of the pack, leaving Benvenuto free to 
 drag himself as best he could towards St, Peter's. 
 
 By this time it was broad daylight, and there was much risk of 
 discovery ; so, seeing a water-carrier passing with his train of asses 
 
130 -AN ARTIST'S ADVENTURE 
 
 laden with jars full of water, Benvenuto hailed him and begged he 
 would carry him as far as the steps of St. Peter's. 
 
 ' I am a poor fellow,' said he, ' who have broken my leg trying 
 to get out of the window of a house where I went to see my lady- 
 love. As the house belongs to a great family, I much fear I shall 
 be cut to pieces if I am found here ; so pray help me off and you 
 shall have a gold crown for your pains,' and Benvenuto put his 
 hand to his purse, which was well filled. 
 
 The water-carrier readily consented, and carried him to St. 
 Peter's, where he left him on the steps, from whence Benvenuto 
 began to crawl towards the palace of Duke Ottavio, whose wife, a 
 daughter of the emperor's, had brought many of Cellini's friends 
 from Florence to Borne in her train. She was well disposed to- 
 wards the great artist, and he felt that beneath her roof he would 
 be in safety. Unluckily, as he struggled along, he was seen and 
 recognised by a servant of Cardinal Cornaro's, who had apartments 
 in the Vatican. The man hurried to his master's room, woke him 
 up, and cried : ' Most reverend lord, Benvenuto is below ; he must 
 have escaped from the Castle, and is all bleeding and wounded. He 
 appears to have broken his leg, and we have no idea where he is 
 going.' 
 
 'Run at once,' exclaimed the Cardinal, 'and fetch him here, 
 to my room.' 
 
 When Benvenuto appeared the Cardinal assured him he need 
 have no fears, and sent off for the first surgeons in Rome to attend 
 to him. Then he shut him up in a secret room, and went off to try 
 and obtain his pardon from the Pope. 
 
 Meantime a great commotion arose in Rome, for the linen ropes 
 dangling from the great tower had attracted notice, and all the town 
 was running out to see the strange sight. At the Vatican Cardinal 
 Cornaro met a friend, to whom he related all the details of Ben- 
 venuto's escape, and how he was at that very moment hidden in a 
 secret chamber. Then they both went to the Pope, who, as they 
 threw themselves at his feet, cried, ' I know what you want with 
 me.' 
 
 'Holy Father,' said the Cardinal's friend, 'we entreat you 'to 
 grant us the life of this poor man. His genius deserves some 
 consideration, and he has just shown an almost superhuman 
 amount of courage and dexterity. We do not know what may be 
 the crimes for which your Holiness has seen fit to imprison him, 
 but if they are pardonable we implore you to forgive him.' 
 
AN ARTISTS ADVENTURE 131 
 
 The Pope, looking somewhat abashed, replied that he had im- 
 prisoned Benvemito for being too presumptuous ; ' however,' he 
 added, ' I am well aware of his talents and am anxious to keep him 
 near me, and am resolved to treat him so well that he shall have 
 no desire to return to France. I am sorry he is ih 1 ; bid him recover 
 quickly, and we will make him forget his past sufferings.' 
 
 I am sorry to say the Pope was not so good as his words, for 
 Benvenuto's enemies plotted against him, and after a time he was 
 once more shut up in his former prison, from which, however, he 
 was eventually delivered at the urgent request of the King of France, 
 who warmly welcomed the great artist to his Court, where he spent 
 some years in high honour. 
 
132 
 
 THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA AND 
 WORKS'S DEIFT 
 
 LTHOUGH but fourteen years have 
 gone by since 1879, perhaps some 
 people, if they chance to be young, 
 have forgotten about the Zulus, and 
 the story of our war with them ; so, 
 before beginning the tale of Isandhl- 
 wana and Eorke's Drift, it may be 
 worth while to tell of these matters 
 in a few words. 
 
 The Zulus live in South-Eastern 
 Africa. Originally they were not 
 one tribe but many, though the same 
 blood was in them all. Nobody 
 knows whence they came or who 
 were their forefathers; but they 
 seem to have sprung from an Arab 
 or Semitic stock, and many of their 
 customs, such as the annual feast of 
 the first fruits, resemble those of the 
 
 Jews. At the beginning of this century there arose a warrior 
 king, called Chaka, who gathered up the scattered tribes of the 
 Zulus as a woodman gathers sticks, and as of the frail brushwood 
 the woodman makes a stout faggot, that none can break, so of 
 these tribes Chaka fashioned a nation so powerful that no other 
 black people could conquer it. 
 
 The deeds of Chaka are too many to write of here. Seldom has 
 there been a monarch, black or white, so terrible or so absolute, and 
 never perhaps has a man lived more wicked or more clever. Out of 
 ' nothing,' as the Kafirs say, he made the Amazulu, or the ' people 
 
THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 133 
 
 of heaven,' so powerful, that before he died he could send out an 
 army of a hundred thousand men to destroy those whom he feared 
 or hated or whose cattle he coveted. These soldiers were never 
 beaten ; if they dared to turn their back upon an enemy, however 
 numerous, they were killed when the battle was done, so that 
 soon they learned to choose death with honour before the foe in 
 preference to death with shame at the hands of the executioner. 
 Where Chaka's armies went they conquered, till the country was 
 swept of people for hundreds of miles in every direction. At 
 length, after he had killed or been the cause of the violent death of 
 more than a million human beings, in the year 1828 Chaka's own 
 hour came ; for, as the Zulu proverb says, ' the swimmer is at 
 last borne away by the stream.' He was murdered by the princes 
 of his house and his body servant Umbopo or Mopo. But as he 
 lay dying beneath their spear thrusts, it is said that the great 
 king prophesied of the coming of white men who should conquer 
 the land that he had won. 
 
 'What,' he said, ' do you slay me, my brothers dogs of mine 
 own house whom I have fed, thinking to possess the land? I 
 tell you that I hear the sound of running feet, the feet of a great 
 white people, and they shall stamp you flat, children of my 
 father.' 
 
 After the death of Chaka his brother Dingaan reigned who had 
 murdered him. In due course he was murdered also, and his 
 brother Panda succeeded to the throne. Panda was a man of peace, 
 and the only one of the four Zulu kings who died a natural death ; 
 for though it is not commonly known, the last of these kings, 
 our enemy Cetywayo, is believed to have met his end by poison. 
 In 1873, Cetywayo was crowned king of Zululand in succession to 
 his father Panda on behalf of the English Government by Sir Theo- 
 philus Shepstone. He remained a firm friend to the British till Sir 
 Bartle Frere declared war on him in 1879. Sir Bartle-Frerc made 
 war upon the Zulus because he was afraid of their power, and the 
 Zulus accepted the challenge because we annexed the Trans- 
 vaal and would not allow them to fight the Boers or the Swazis. 
 They made a brave resistance, and it was not until there were 
 nearly as many English soldiers in their country armed with 
 breech-loading rifles as they had effective warriors left alive in it, 
 for the most part armed with spears only, that at length we con- 
 quered them. But their heart was never in the war ; they defended 
 their country against invasion indeed, but by Cetywayo's orders 
 
134 THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 
 
 they never attacked ours. Had they wished to do so, there was 
 nothing to prevent them from sweeping the outlying districts of 
 Natal and the Transvaal after our first great defeat at Isandhlwana, 
 but they spared us. 
 
 And now I have done with dull explanations, and will go on to 
 tell of the disaster at Isandhlwana or the ' place of the Little 
 Hand,' and of the noble defence of Borke's Drift. 
 
 On the 20th of January, 1879, one of the British columns that 
 were invading Zululand broke its camp on the left bank of the 
 Buffalo river, and marched by the road that ran from Borke's 
 Drift to the Indeni forest, encamping that evening under the 
 shadow of a steep-cliffed and lonely mountain, called 'Isandhlwana. 
 This force was known as number 3 column, and with it went Lord 
 Chelmsford, the general in command of the troops. The buildings 
 at Korke's Drift were left in charge of sixty men of the 2nd batta- 
 lion 24th regiment under the late Colonel Bromhead, then a 
 lieutenant, and some volunteers and others, the whole garrison 
 being commanded, on the occasion of the attack, by Lieutenant 
 Chard, K.E. 
 
 On January 21, Colonel, then Major, Dartnell, the officer in com- 
 mand of the Natal Mounted Police and volunteers, who had been 
 sent out to effect a reconnaissance of the country beyond Isandhl- 
 wana, reported that the Zulus were in great strength in front of him. 
 Thereupon Lord Chelmsford ordered six companies of the 2nd 
 battalion 24th regiment, together with four guns and the Mounted 
 Infantry, to advance to his support. This force, under the command 
 of Colonel Glyn, and accompanied by Lord Chelmsford himself, left 
 Isandhhvana at dawn on the 22nd, a despatch having first been 
 sent to Lieut. -Colonel Durnford. B.E., who was in command of some 
 five hundred friendly Natal Zulus, about half of whom were 
 mounted and armed with breech-loaders, to move up from Borke's 
 Drift and strengthen the camp, which was now in charge of Lieut. - 
 Colonel Pulleine of the 1st battalion 24th regiment. Orders were 
 given to Colonel Pulleine by the general that he was to ' defend ' 
 the camp. 
 
 About ten o'clock that morning Colonel Durnford arrived at 
 Isandhlwana and took over the command of the camp, which was 
 then garrisoned by seven hundred and seventy-two European and 
 eight hundred and fifty-one native troops, in all one thousand six 
 hundred and twenty-three men, with two guns. Little did Lord 
 Chelmsford and those with him guess in what state they would 
 
THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 135 
 
 find that camp when they returned to it some eighteen hours later, 
 or that of those sixteen hundred men the great majority would then 
 be dead ! 
 
 Meanwhile a Zulu ' impi ' or army, numbering about twenty 
 thousand men, or something more than one-third of King Cetywayo's 
 entire strength, had moved from the Upindo Hill on the night of 
 January 21, and taken up its position on a stony plain, a mile and 
 a half to the east of Isandhlwana. The impi was made up of the 
 Undi regiment, about three thousand strong, that formed its breast, 
 or centre, the Nokenke and Umcityu regiments, seven thousand 
 strong, that formed its right wing or horn, and the Imbonanbi and 
 Nkobamikosi regiments, ten thousand strong, forming its left horn 
 or wing. That night the impi slept upon its spears and watched 
 in silence, lighting no fires. The king had reviewed it three days 
 previously, and his orders to it were that it should attack number 
 3 column, and drive it back over the Buffalo, but it had no 
 intention of giving battle on the 22nd, for the state of the moon was 
 not propitious, so said the ' doctors ' ; moreover, the soldiers had not 
 been * moutied,' that is, sprinkled with medicines to ' put a great 
 heart ' into them and ensure their victory. The intention of the 
 generals was to attack the camp at dawn on the 23rd ; and the 
 actual engagement was brought about by an accident. 
 
 Before I tell of this or of the fight, however, it may be as well to 
 describe how these splendid savages were armed and disciplined. 
 To begin with, every corps had a particular head-dress and fighting 
 shields of one colour, just as in our army each regiment has its own 
 facings on the tunics. These shields are cut from the hides of oxen, 
 and it is easy to imagine what a splendid sight was presented by a 
 Zulu impi twenty thousand strong, divided into several regiments, 
 one with snow-white shields and tall cranes' feathers on their heads, 
 one with coal-black shields and black plumes, and others with red 
 and mottled shields, and bands of fur upon their foreheads. In their 
 war with the English many of the Zulus were armed with muzzle- 
 loading guns and rifles of the worst description, of which they 
 could make little use, for few of them were trained to handle fire- 
 arms. A much more terrible weapon in their hands, and one that 
 did nearly all the execution at Isandhlwana, was the broad-bladed 
 short-shafted stabbing assegai. This shape of spear was intro- 
 duced by the great king Chaka, and if a warrior cast it at an 
 enemy, or even chanced to lose it in a fight, he was killed when the 
 fray was over. Before Chaka's day the Zulu tribes used light 
 
136 THE TALE OF ISANbHLWANA 
 
 assegais, which they threw at the enemy from a distance, and thus 
 their ammunition was sometimes spent before they came to close 
 quarters with the foe. 
 
 Among the Zulus every able-bodied man was enrolled in one or 
 other of the regiments even the girls and boys were made into 
 regiments or attached to them, and though these did not fight, they 
 carried the mats and cooking pots of the army, and drove the cattle 
 for the soldiers to eat when on the march. Thus it will be seen that 
 this people differed from any other in the world in modern days, 
 for whereas even the most courageous and martial of mankind look 
 upon war as an exceptional state of affairs and an evil only to be 
 undertaken in self-defence, or perhaps for purposes of revenge and 
 aggrandisement, the Zulus looked on peace as the exceptional state, 
 and on warfare as the natural employment of man. Chaka taught 
 them that lesson, and they had learnt it well, and so it came about 
 that Cetywayo was forced to allow the army to fight with us when 
 Sir Bartle Frere gave them an opportunity of doing so, since their 
 hearts were sick with peace, and for years they had clamoured to be 
 allowed to ' wash their spears,' saying that they were no longer men, 
 but had become a people of women. Indeed, had the king not done 
 so, they would have fought with each other. It is a terrible thing 
 to be obliged, year after year, to keep quiet an army of some fifty or 
 sixty thousand men who are too proud to work and clamour daily 
 to be led to battle that they may die as their fathers died. We may 
 be sure that the heart of many a Zulu warrior beat high as in dead 
 silence he marched that night from the heights of Upindo towards 
 the doomed camp of Isandhlwana, since at last he was to satisfy the 
 longing of his blood, and fight to the death with a foe whom he 
 knew to be worthy of him. 
 
 Doubtless, also, the hearts of the white men beat high that night 
 as they gathered round the fires of their camp, little knowing that 
 thousands of Zulu eyes were watching them from afar, or that the 
 black rock looming above them was destined to stand like some 
 great tombstone over their bones for ever. Englishmen also are a 
 warlike race, and there was honour and advancement to be won, 
 and it would seem that but few of those who marched into the Zulu 
 country guessed how formidable was the foe with whom they had 
 to deal. A horde of half- naked savages armed with spears did not 
 strike English commanders, imperfectly acquainted with the history 
 and nature of those savages, as particularly dangerous enemies. 
 Some there were, indeed, who, having spent their lives in the country, 
 
THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 137 
 
 knew what was to be expected, but they were set down as ' croakers,' 
 and their earnest warnings of disaster to come were disregarded. 
 
 Now let us return to the camp. It will be remembered that 
 Colonel Glyn's force, accompanied by General Lord Chelmsford, had 
 left at dawn. About eight o'clock a picket placed some 1,500 yards 
 distant reported that Zulus were approaching from the north-east. 
 This information was despatched by mounted messengers to Colonel 
 Glyn's column. 
 
 Lieut. -Colonel Durnford, with his mounted natives and a rocket 
 battery arriving from Korke's Drift about 10 A.M., took over the 
 command of the camp from Colonel Pulleine. According to the evi- 
 dence of Lieutenant Cochrane given at the court of inquiry, Colonel 
 Pulleine thereupon stated to Colonel Durnford the orders that he 
 had received, to ' defend the camp,' and it would appear that either 
 then or subsequently some altercation took place between these 
 two officers. In the issue, however, Colonel Durnford advanced his 
 mounted force to ascertain the enemy's movements, and directed a 
 company of the 1st battalion 24th regiment to occupy a hill about 
 1,200 yards to the north of the camp. 
 
 Other companies of the 24th were stationed at various points 
 at a distance from the camp. It may be well to explain here, that 
 to these movements of troops, which, so far as can be ascertained, 
 were made by the direct orders of Colonel Durnford, must be attri- 
 buted the terrible disaster that followed. There are two ways of 
 fighting a savage or undisciplined enemy ; the scientific way, such 
 as is taught in staff colleges, and the unscientific way that is to be 
 learned in the sterner school of experience. We English were not the 
 first white men who had to deal with the rush of the Zulu impis. The 
 Boers had encountered them before, at the battle of the Blood River, 
 and armed only with muzzle-loading ' roers,' or elephant guns> de- 
 spite their desperate valour, had worsted them, with fearful slaugh- 
 ter. But they did not advance bodies of men to this point or to 
 that, according to the scientific method ; they drew their ox waggons 
 into a square, lashing them together with ' reims ' or hide -ropes, and 
 from behind this rough defence, with but trifling loss to themselves, 
 rolled back charge after charge of the warriors of Dingaan. 
 
 Had this method been followed by our troops at the battle of 
 Isandhlwana, who had ample waggons at hand to enable them to 
 execute the manoeuvre, had the soldiers even been collected in a 
 square beneath the cliff of the mountain, it cannot be doubted but 
 that, armed as they were with breech-loaders, they would have been 
 
138 THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 
 
 able to drive back not only the impi sent against them, but, if 
 necessary, the entire Zulu army. Indeed, that this would have 
 been so is demonstrated by what happened on the same day at 
 Korke's Drift, where a hundred and thirty men repelled the desperate 
 assaults of three or four thousand. Why, then, it may be asked, did 
 Colonel Durnford, a man of considerable colonial experience, adopt 
 the more risky, if the more scientific, mode of dealing with the 
 present danger, and this in spite of Colonel Pulleine's direct intima- 
 tion to him that his orders were ' to defend the camp ' ? As it 
 chances, the writer of this account, who knew Colonel Durnford 
 well, and has the greatest respect for the memory of that good officer, 
 and honourable gentleman, is able to suggest an answer to the 
 problem which at the time was freely offered by the Natal colonists. 
 A few years before, it happened that Colonel Durnford was engaged 
 upon some military operations against a rebellious native chief in 
 Natal. Coming into contact with the followers of this chief, in the 
 hope that matters might be arranged without bloodshed, Durnford 
 ordered the white volunteers under his command not to fire, with the 
 result that the rebels fired, killing several of his force and wounding 
 him in the arm. This incident gave rise to an irrational indignation 
 in the colony, and for a while he himself was designated by the un- 
 generous nickname of ' Don't fire Durnford.' It is alleged, none 
 can know with what amount of truth, that it was the memory of 
 this undeserved insult which caused Colonel Durnford to insist 
 upon advancing the troops under his command to. engage the Zulus 
 in the open, instead of withdrawing them to await attack in the 
 comparative safety of a ' laager.' 
 
 The events following the advance of the various British com- 
 panies at Isandhlwana are exceedingly difficult to describe in their 
 proper order, since the evidence of the survivors is confused. 
 
 It would appear, however, that Durnford' s mounted Basutos 
 discovered and fired on a portion of the Umcityu regiment, which, 
 forgetting its orders, sprang up and began to charge. Thereon, 
 accepting the position, the other Zulu regiments joined the move- 
 ment. Very rapidly, and with the most perfect order, the impi 
 adopted the traditional Zulu ox-head formation, namely, that of a 
 centre and two horns, the centre representing the skull of the ox. 
 In this order they advanced towards the English camp, slowly 
 and without sound. Up to this time there had been no particular 
 alarm in the camp. The day was bright and lovely, with a hot sun 
 tempered by a gentle breeze that just stirred the tops of the grasses, 
 
THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 
 
 139 
 
 and many men seem to have been strolling about quite unaware of 
 their imminent danger, although orders were given to collect the 
 transport oxen, which were at graze outside the camp ; not for the 
 
140 THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 
 
 purpose of inspanning the waggons, but to prevent them from being 
 captured by the enemy. One officer (Captain, now Colonel, Essex) 
 reports that after the company had been sent out, he retired to his 
 tent to write letters, till, about twelve o'clock, a sergeant came to tell 
 him that firing was to be heard behind a hih 1 in face of the camp. 
 He mounted a horse and rode up the slope, to find the company firing 
 on a line of Zulus eight hundred paces away to their front. This line 
 was about a thousand yards long, and shaped like a horn, tapering 
 towards the point. It advanced slowly, taking shelter with great 
 skill behind rocks, and opened a quite ineffective fire on the soldiers. 
 Meanwhile the two guns were shelling the Zulu centre with great 
 effect, the shells cutting lanes through their dense ranks, which closed 
 up over the dead in perfect discipline and silence. The attack was 
 now general, all the impi taking part in it except a reserve regiment 
 that sat down upon the ground taking snuff, and never came into 
 action, and the Uiidi corps, which moved off to the right with the 
 object of passing round the north side of the Isandhlwana hill. 
 
 On came the Zulus in silence, and ever as they came the two 
 horns crept further and further ahead of the black breast of their array. 
 Hundreds of them fell beneath the fire of the breech-loaders, but they 
 did not pause in their attack. Ammunition began to fail the soldiers, 
 and orders having reached them too late to concentrate on the 
 camp, they retired slowly to that position. Captain Essex also rode 
 back, and assisted the quartermaster of the 24th to place boxes 
 of ammunition in a mule cart, till presently the quartermaster was 
 shot dead at his side. Now the horns or nippers of the foe were 
 beginning to close on the doomed camp, and the friendly natives, who 
 knew well what this meant, though as yet the white men had not 
 understood their danger, began to steal away by twos and threes, 
 and then, breaking into open rout, they rushed through the camp, 
 seeking the waggon road to Eorke's Drift. 
 
 Then at last the Zulu generals saw that the points of the horns 
 had met behind the white men, and the moment was ripe. Abandon- 
 ing its silence and slow advance, the breast of the impi raised the 
 war-cry and charged, rolling down upon the red coats like a wave 
 of steel. So swift and sudden was this last charge, that many of 
 the soldiers had no time to fix bayonets. For a few moments the 
 scattered companies held the impi back, and the black stream flowed 
 round them, then it flowed over them, sweeping them along like 
 human wreckage. In a minute the defence had become an utter 
 rout. Some of the defenders formed themselves into groups and 
 
THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 141 
 
 fought back to back till they fell where they stood, to be found weeks 
 afterwards mere huddled heaps of bones. Hundreds of others fled 
 for the waggon road, to find that the Undi regiment, passing round 
 the Isandhlwana mountain, had occupied it already. Back they 
 rolled from the hedge of Undi spears to fall upon the spears of the 
 attacking regiments. One path of retreat alone remained, a dry 
 and precipitous ' donga ' or watercourse, and into this plunged a 
 rabble of men, white and black, mules, horses, guns, and waggons. 
 
 Meanwhile the last act of the tragedy was being played on the 
 field of death. With a humming sound such as might be made by 
 millions of bees, the Zulu swarms fell upon those of the soldiers 
 who remained alive, and, after a desperate resistance, stabbed them. 
 Wherever the eye looked, men were falling and spears flashing in 
 the sunshine, while the ear was filled with groans of the dying and 
 the savage S'yee 8' gee of the Zulu warriors as they passed their 
 assegais through and through the bodies of the fallen. Many a 
 deed of valour was done there as white men and black grappled in 
 the death-struggle, but their bones alone remained to tell the tale 
 of them. Shortly after the disaster, one of the survivors told the 
 present writer of a duel which he witnessed between a Zulu and 
 an officer of the 24th regiment. The officer having emptied his 
 revolver, set his back against the wheel of a waggon and drew his 
 sword. Then the Zulu came at him with his shield up, turning 
 and springing from side to side as he advanced. Presently he 
 lowered the shield, exposing his head, and the white man falling 
 into the trap aimed a fierce blow at it. As it fell the shield was 
 raised again, and the sword sank deep into its edge, remaining 
 fixed in the tough ox-hide. This was what the Zulu desired ; with 
 a twist of his strong arm he wrenched the sword from his opponent's 
 hand, and in another instant the unfortunate officer was down with 
 an assegai through his breast. 
 
 In a few minutes it was done, all resistance had been over- 
 powered, the wounded had been murdered for the Zulu on the 
 war-path has no mercy and the dead mutilated and cut open to 
 satisfy the horrible native superstition. Then those regiments that 
 remained upon the field began the work of plunder. Most of the 
 bodies they stripped naked, clothing themselves in the uniforms 
 of the dead soldiers. They stabbed the poor oxen that remained 
 fastened to the ' trek-tows ' of the waggons, and they drank all the 
 spirits that they could find, some of them, it is said, perishing 
 through the accidental consumption of the medical stores. Then, 
 
142 THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 
 
 when the sun grew low, they retreated, laden with plunder, taking 
 with them the most of their dead, of whom there are believed to 
 have been about fifteen hundred, for the Martinis did their work 
 well, and our soldiers had not died unavenged. 
 
 All this while Lord Chelmsford and the division which he 
 accompanied were in ignorance of what had happened within a few 
 miles of them, though rumours had reached them that a Zulu force 
 was threatening the camp. The first to discover the dreadful truth 
 was Commandant Lonsdale of the Natal Native Contingent. This 
 officer had been ill, and was returning to camp alone, a fact that 
 shows how little anything serious was expected. He reached it 
 about the middle of the afternoon, and there was nothing to reveal 
 to the casual observer that more than three thousand human 
 beings had perished there that day. The sun shone on the white 
 tents and on the ox waggons, around and about which groups of red- 
 coated men were walking, sitting, and lying. It did not chance to 
 occur to him that those who were moving were Zulus wearing the 
 coats of English soldiers, and those lying down, soldiers whom 
 the Zulus had killed As Commandant Lonsdale rode, a gun was 
 fired, and he heard a bullet whizz past his head. Looking in the 
 direction of the sound, he saw a native with a smoking rifle in his 
 hand, and concluding that it was one of the men under his com- 
 mand who had discharged his piece accidentally, he took no more 
 notice of the matter. Forward he rode, till he was within ten 
 yards of what had been the headquarter tents, when suddenly out 
 of one of them there stalked a great Zulu, bearing in his hand a 
 broad assegai from which blood was dripping. Then his intelli- 
 gence awoke, and he understood. The camp was in the possession 
 of the enemy, and those who lay here and there upon the grass like 
 holiday makers in a London park on a Sunday in summer, were 
 English soldiers indeed, not living but dead. 
 
 Turning his horse, Commandant Lonsdale fled as swiftly as 
 it could carry him. More than a hundred rifle-shots were fired 
 after him, but the Zulu marksmanship was poor, and he escaped 
 untouched. A while afterwards, a solitary horseman met Lor<i 
 Chelmsford and his staff returning : he saluted, and said, * The 
 camp is in the possession of the enemy, sir ! ' None who heard those 
 words will forget them, and few men can have experienced a more 
 terrible shock than that which fell upon the English general in 
 this hour. 
 
THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 
 
 143 
 
 Slowly, and with all military precaution, Lord Chelmsford and 
 his force moved onward, till at length, when darkness had fallen, 
 they encamped beneath the fatal hill of Isandhlwana. Here, mo- 
 mentarily expecting to be attacked, they remained all night amid 
 the wreck, the ruin, and the dead, but not till the following dawn 
 did they learn the magnitude of the disaster that had overtaken 
 
 our arms. Then they saw, and in silence marched from that fatal 
 field, heading for Eorke's Drift, and leaving its mutilated dead to 
 the vulture and the jackal. 
 
 Now let us follow the fate of the mob of fugitives, who, driven 
 back from the waggon road by the Undi, plunged desperately into 
 the donga near it, the sole avenue of retreat which had not been 
 
144 THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 
 
 besieged by the foe, in the hope that they might escape the 
 slaughter by following the friendly natives who were mixed up 
 with them. How many entered on that terrible race for life is not 
 known, but it is certain that very few won through. Indeed, it is 
 said that, with the exception of some natives, no single man who 
 was not mounted lived to pass the Buffalo Eiver. For five miles or 
 more they rode and ran over paths that a goat would have found it 
 difficult to keep his footing on, while by them, and mixed up with 
 them, went the destroying Zulus. Very soon the guns became 
 fixed among the boulders, and one by one the artillerymen were 
 
 savage sprang on this man, and now on that ; the assegai flashed 
 up, a cry of agony echoed among the rocks, and a corpse fell 
 heavily to the red earth. Still, those whom it pleased Providence 
 to protect struggled forward, clinging to their horses' rnanes as 
 they leaped from boulder to boulder, till at length they came to 
 a cliff, beneath which the Buffalo rolled in flood. Down this cliff 
 they slid and stumbled, few of them can tell how ; then,' driven 
 to it by the pitiless spears, they plunged into the raging river. 
 Many were drowned in its waters, some were shot in the stream, 
 some were stabbed upon the banks, yet a few, clinging to the manes 
 and tails of their horses, gained the opposite shore in safety. 
 
 Among these were two men whose memory their country will not 
 willingly let die, who, indeed (it is the first time in our military history), 
 have been decreed the Victoria Cross although they were already 
 dead : Lieutenants Coghill and Melvill of the 24th regiment. One 
 of these, Lieutenant Coghill, the writer of this sketch had the good 
 fortune to know well. A kindlier-hearted and merrier young English 
 gentleman never lived. Melvill and Coghill were swept away upon 
 the tide of flight, down the dreadful path that led to Fugitives' Drift, 
 but Melvill bore with him the colours of the 24th regiment that 
 were in his charge as adjutant, not tied round his waist, as has been 
 reported, but upon the pole to which they were attached. He 
 arrived in safety at the river, but, owing to the loss of his horse, 
 was unable to cross it, and took refuge upon a rock in mid-stream, 
 still holding the colours in his hand. Coghill, whose knee was dis- 
 abled by an accident and who had reached the Natal bank already, 
 saw the terrible position of his friend and brother officer, and, though 
 spears flashed about him and bullets beat the water like hail, 
 with a courage that has rarely been equalled, he turned his horse 
 and swam back to his assistance. The worst was over ; safety lay 
 
THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 145 
 
 before him, there behind him in the river was almost certain death ; 
 but this gallant gentleman heeded none of these things, for there 
 also were the colours of his regiment and his drowning friend. 
 Back he swam to the rock through the boiling current. Soon his 
 horse was shot dead beneath him, yet, though none knows how, the 
 two of them came safe to shore. The colours were lost indeed, for 
 they could no longer carry them and live, but these never fell into 
 the hands of their savage foes : days afterwards they were searched 
 for and found in the bed of the river. Breathless, desperate, lamed, 
 and utterly outworn, the two friends struggled up the bank and the 
 hill beyond. But Zulus had crossed that stream as well as the 
 fugitive Englishmen. They staggered forward for a few hundred 
 yards, then, unable to go further, the friends stood back to back and 
 the foe closed in upon them. There they stood, and there, fighting 
 desperately, the heroes died. Peace be with them in that land to 
 which they have journeyed, and among men, immortal honour to 
 their names ! 
 
 They sold their lives dearly, for several Zulus were found lying 
 about their bodies. 
 
 About forty white men lived to cross the river at Fugitives' 
 Drift, and these, almost the only English survivors of the force at 
 Isandhlwana, rode on, still followed by Zulus, to the provision depot 
 at Helpmakaar some fifteen miles away, where they mustered and 
 entrenched themselves as best they were able, expecting to be 
 attacked at any moment. But no attack was delivered, the Zulus 
 being busily employed elsewhere. 
 
 Some little distance from the banks of the Buffalo, and on the 
 Natal side near to a mountain called Tyana, stood two buildings 
 erected by the Eev. Mr. Witt; Korke's Drift, from which No. 3 
 column had advanced, being immediately in front of them. One of 
 these buildings had been utilised as a storehouse and hospital, and 
 in 'it were thirty-five sick men. The other was occupied by a 
 company of the 2nd 24th regiment, under the command of the late 
 Lieut. Bromhead. 1 
 
 On January 22, the ponts at Korke's Drift were left in charge of 
 Lieut. Chard, B.E., with a few men. About a quarter-past three 
 on that day an officer of Lonsdale's regiment, Lieut. Adendorff, 
 and a carbineer, were seen galloping wildly towards the ponts. On 
 coming to the bank of the river, they shouted to Lieut. Chard to 
 
 1 Col. Bromhead died recently. 
 
 L 
 
143 THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 
 
 take them across, and so soon as he reached tliem, they communi* 
 cated to him the terrifying news that the general's camp had been 
 captured and destroyed by a Zulu impi. A few minutes later a 
 message arrived from Lieut. Bromhead, who also had learned the 
 tidings of disaster, requesting Lieut. Chard to join him at the 
 commissariat store. Mounting his horse he rode thither, to find 
 Lieut. Bromhead, assisted by Mr. Dolton, of the commissariat, and 
 the entire force at his command, amounting to about 130, inclusive 
 of the sick and the chaplain, Mr. Smith, a Norfolk man, actively 
 engaged in loopholing and barricading the house and hospital (both 
 of which buildings were thatched), and in connecting them by means 
 of a fortification of mealie bags and waggons. Having ridden round 
 the position, Lieut. Chard returned to the Drift. Sergeant Milne 
 and Mr. Daniells, who managed the ponts, offered to moor them 
 in the middle of the stream, and with the assistance of a few men 
 to defend them from their decks. This gallant suggestion being 
 rejected as impracticable, Lieut. Chard withdrew to the buildings 
 with the waggon and those under his command. 
 
 They arrived there about 3.30, and shortly afterwards an officer of 
 Durnford's native horse rode up, accompanied by about 100 mounted 
 men, and asked for orders. He was requested to send out outposts 
 in the direction of the enemy, and, having checked their advance as 
 much as possible, to fall back, when forced so to do, upon the buildings 
 and assist in their defence. Posts were then assigned to each man 
 in the little garrison, and, this done, the defensive preparations went 
 on, all doing their utmost, for they felt that the life of every one 
 of them was at stake. Three-quarters of an hour went by, and the 
 officer of Durnford's horse rode up, reporting that the Zulus were 
 advancing in masses, and that his men were deserting in the 
 direction of Helpmakaar. At this time some natives of the Natal 
 contingent under the command of Capt. Stephenson also retired, 
 an example which was followed by that officer himself. 
 
 Lieuts. Chard and Bromhead now saw that their lines of defence 
 were too large for the number of men left to them, and at once began 
 the erection of an inner entrenchment formed of biscuit boxes 
 taken from the stores. When this wall was but two boxes high, 
 suddenly there appeared five or six hundred Zulus advancing at a 
 run against the southern side of their position. These were soldiers 
 of the Undi regiment, the same that had turned the Isandhlwana 
 mountain, cutting off all possibility of retreat by the waggon road, 
 who, when they knew that the camp was taken, had advanced 
 
THE TALE OF 1SANDHLWANA 147 
 
 to destroy the guard of Korke's Drift. On they came, to be met 
 presently by a terrible and concentrated fire from the Martinis. 
 Many fell, but they did not stay till, when within 50 yards of the 
 wall, the cross fire from the store took them in flank. Their loss 
 was now so heavy that, checking their advance, some of them took 
 cover among the ovens, cookhouse, and outbuildings, whence they in 
 turn opened fire upon the garrison. Hundreds more rushing round 
 the hospital c^me at full speed against the north-west fortification of 
 sacks filled with corn. In vain did the Martinis pump a hail of lead 
 into them : on they came straight to the frail defence, striving to take 
 it at the point of the assegai. But here they were met by British 
 bayonets and a fire so terrible that even the courage of the Zulus 
 could not prevail against it, and they fell back, that is, those of them 
 who were left alive. 
 
 By this time the main force of the Undi had arrived, two 
 thousand of them, perhaps, and having lined an overlooking ledge 
 of rocks, took possession of the garden of the station and the bush 
 surrounding it, from all of which the fire, though badly directed, 
 was so continuous that at length the little garrison of white men 
 were forced back into their inner entrenchment of biscuit boxes. 
 Creeping up under cover of the bush, the Zulus now delivered 
 assault after assault upon the wall. Each of these fierce rushes 
 was repelled with the bayonets wielded by the brave white men 
 on its further side. The assegais clashed against the rifle barrels, 
 everywhere the musketry rang and rolled, the savage war-cries and 
 the cheers of the Englishmen rose together through the din, while 
 British soldier and Zulu warrior thrust and shot and tore at each 
 other across the narrow wall, that wall which all the Undi could 
 not climb. 
 
 Now it grew dark, for the night was closing in ; the spears 
 flashed dimly, and in place of smoke long tongues of flame shot from 
 the rifle barrels, illumining the stern faces of those who held them as 
 lightning does. But soon there was to be light. If any had leisure 
 to observe, they may have seen flakes of fire flying upwards from 
 the dim bush, and wondered what they were. They were bunches 
 of burning grass being thrown on spears to fall in the thatch of the 
 hospital roof. Presently something could be seen on this roof that 
 shone like a star. It grew dim, then suddenly began to brighten 
 and to increase till the star-like spot was a flame, and a hoarse cry 
 passed from man to man of : ' O God ! the hospital is on fire ! ' 
 
 The hospital was on fire, and in it were sick men, some of whom 
 
 L2 
 
146 THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 
 
 could not move. It was defended by a garrison, a handful of men, 
 and at one and the same time these must bear away the sick to the 
 Store building, and hold the burning place against the Zulus, who 
 now were upon them. They did it, but not all of it, for this was 
 beyond the power of mortal bravery and devotion. When the 
 thatch blazed above them, room after room did Privates Williams 
 and Hook, R. and W. Jones, and some few others hold with the white 
 arm for their ammunition was spent against the assegais of the 
 Zulus, while their disabled comrades were borne away to the store 
 building beneath the shelter of the connecting wall. One of them 
 lost his life here, others were grievously wounded, but, dead or alive, 
 their names should always be remembered among their countrymen, 
 ay ! and always will. Yet they could not save them every one ; 
 the fire scorched overhead and the assegais bit deep in front, and 
 ever, as foes fell, fresh ones sprang into their places, and so, fighting 
 furiously, those few gallant men were thrust back, alas ! leaving 
 some helpless comrades to die by fire and the spear. 
 
 It would be of little use to follow step by step all the events of 
 that night. All night long the firing went on, varied from time to 
 time by desperate assaults. All night long the little band of defenders 
 held back the foe. All were weary, some of them were dead and 
 more wounded, but they fought on by the light of the burning 
 hospital, wasting no single shot. To and fro went the bearded 
 clergyman with prayers and consolations upon his lips, and a bag 
 of cartridges in his .hands, and to and fro also went Chard and 
 Bromhead, directing all things. By degrees the Englishmen were 
 driven back, the hospital and its approaches were in the hands of 
 the foe, and now they must retire to the inner wall of the cattle 
 kraal. But they collected sacks of mealies and built two redoubts, 
 which gave them a second line of fire, and let the Zulus do what 
 they would, storm the place they could not, nor could they serve 
 it as they had served the hospital and destroy it by fire. 
 
 At length the attacks slackened, the firing dwindled and died, 
 and the daw r n broke, that same dawn which showed to General 
 Lord Chelmsford and those with him all the horror of Isandhl- 
 wana's field. Here also at Rorke's Drift it revealed death and to 
 spare, but for the most part the corpses were those of the foe, some 
 four hundred of whom lay lost in their last sleep around the burn- 
 ing hospital, in the bush, and beneath the walls of corn-sacks ; four 
 hundred killed by one hundred and thirty-nine white men all told, 
 of whom thirty-five were sick when the defence began. The little 
 
THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 149 
 
 band had suffered, indeed, for fifteen of them were dead, and twelve 
 wounded, some mortally, but seeing what had been done the loss 
 was small. Had the Zulus once won an entrance over the last 
 entrenchment of biscuit boxes not a man would have remained 
 alive. Surely biscuits were never put to a nobler or a stranger use. 
 
 The daylight had come and the enemy vanished with the night, 
 retreating over a hill to the south-west. But, as the defenders 
 of Rorke's Drift guessed, he had no intention of abandoning his 
 attack. Therefore they knew that this was no time to be idle. 
 Sallying out of their defences they collected the arms of the dead 
 Zulus, then returned, and began to strip the roof of the store of its 
 thatch, which was a constant source of danger to them, seeing that 
 fire is a deadlier foe even than the assegai. They were thus en- 
 gaged when again the Zulus appeared to make an end of them. 
 Once more the weary soldiers took up their positions, and a while 
 passed. Now they perceived that the Undi, which had been 
 advancing, slowly commenced to fall back , a movement that they 
 were at a loss to understand, till a shout from those who were 
 engaged in stripping the roof told the glad news that English troops 
 were advancing to their relief. 
 
 These were the remains of No. 3 column, moving down from 
 Isandhlwana. Little did the general and these with him expect to 
 find a soul living at Eorke's Drift, for they also had seen the sullen 
 masses of the Undi retreating from the post, and the columns of 
 smoke rising from the burning hospital confirmed their worst fears. 
 What then was their joy when they perceived a Union Jack flying 
 amidst the smoke, and heard the ring of a British cheer rising 
 from the shattered walls and the defences of sacks of corn ! For- 
 ward galloped Col. Russell and his mounted men, and in five 
 minutes more those who remained of the garrison were safe, and 
 the defence of Rorke's Drift was a thing of the past ; another 
 glorious page ready to be bound into that great book which is 
 called ' The Deeds of Englishmen.' 
 
 Nearly six months passed before all the dead at Isandhlwana 
 were reverently buried. Strange were the scenes that those saw 
 whose task it was to lay them to their rest. Here, hidden by the 
 rank grass, in one heap behind the officers' tents, lay the bodies of 
 some seventy men, who had ma de their last stand at this spot ; 
 lower down the hill lay sixty more. Another band of about the 
 same strength evidently had taken refuge among the rocks of the 
 
150 
 
 THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 
 
 mountains, an I defended themselves there till their ammunition was 
 exhausted, and their ring broken by the assegai. All about the 
 plain lay Englishmen and Zulus, as they had died in the dread 
 struggle: here side by side, amidst rusted rifles and bent assegais, 
 here their bony arms still locked in the last hug of death, and 
 yonder the Zulu with the white man's bayonet through his skull, 
 the soldier with the Zulu's assegai in what had been his heart. One 
 man was found, who, when his cartridges were spent, and his rifle 
 
 was broken, had defended himself to the end with a tent-hammer that 
 lay among his bones, and another was stretched beneath the precipice, 
 from the crest of which he had been hurled. 
 
 Well, they buried them where they were discovered, and there 
 they sleep soundly beneath the shadow of Isandhlwana's cliff. 
 
 And now a few words more, and this true story will be finished. 
 We conquered the Zulus at last, at a battle called Ulundi, where they 
 hurled themselves in vain upon the bullets and bayonets of the 
 
THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 151 
 
 British square. To the end they fought bravely for their king and 
 country, and though they were savages, and, like all savages, cruel 
 when at war, they were also gallant enemies, and deserve our respect. 
 The king himself, Cetywayo, was hunted down, captured, and sent into 
 captivity. Afterwards, there was what is called a ' popular movement' 
 on his behalf in England, and he was sent back to Zululand, with 
 permission to rule half the country. Meanwhile, after the conclusion 
 of the war, our Government would not take the land, and a settlement 
 was effected, under which thirteen chiefs were put in authority over 
 the country. As might have been expected, these chiefs fought with 
 each other, and many men were killed. When Cetywayo returned 
 the fighting became fiercer than ever, since those who had tasted 
 power refused to be dispossessed, until at last he was finally defeated, 
 and, it is believed, poisoned by his own side, to whom he had ceased 
 to be serviceable. Meanwhile also, the Dutch Boers, taking advan- 
 tage of the confusion, occupied a great part of Zululand, which they 
 still hold. Indeed, they would long ago have taken it all, had not 
 the English government, seeing the great misery to which its ever- 
 changing policy had reduced the unhappy Zulus, assumed authority 
 over the remainder of the country. From that day forward, there 
 has been no more killing or trouble in British Zululand, which is 
 ruled by Sir Melmoth Osborn, K.C.M.G., and the Queen has no 
 more contented subjects than the Zulus, nor any who pay their 
 taxes with greater regularity ! 
 
 But the Zulus as a nation are dead, and never again will a great 
 Impi, such as swept away our troops at Isandhlwana, be seen 
 rushing down to war. Their story is but one scene in the vast drama 
 which is being enacted in this generation, and which some of you 
 who read these lines may live to see, not accomplished, indeed, but 
 in the way of accomplishment the drama of the building up of a 
 great Anglo-Saxon empire in Africa an empire that within the next 
 few centuries may well become one of the mightiest in the world. We 
 have made many and many a mistake, but still that empire grows ; 
 in sp'.te of the errors of the Home Government, the obstinacy of the 
 Boers, the power of native chiefs, and .the hatred of Portuguese, still 
 it grows. Already it is about as big as Europe, and it is only a 
 baby yet, a baby begotten by the genius and courage of individual 
 Englishmen. 
 
 When the child has become a giant yes, even in those far-off 
 ages when it is a very old giant, a king among the nations we 
 may be sure that, from generation to generation, men will show their 
 
152 THE TALE OF ISANDHLWANA 
 
 sons the mountain that was called Isandhlwana, or the place of the 
 Little Hand, and a certain spot on the banks of the Buffalo Elver, 
 and tell the tale of how beneath that hill the wild Zulus of the 
 ancient times overwhelmed the forces of the early English settlers ; 
 of how, for a long night through, a few men of those forces held two 
 grass -thatched sheds against their foe's savage might ; and of how 
 some miles away two heroes named Melville and Coghill died 
 together whilst striving to save the colours of their regiment from 
 the grasp of the victorious ' Children of Heaven.' 
 
 Now it may interest you to know that these last words are 
 written with a pen that was found among the bones of the dead at 
 Isandhlwana. 
 
 H. EIDER HAGGARD. 
 
153 
 
 HOW LEIF THE LUCKY FOUND 
 VINE LAND THE GOOD 
 
 THIS is the story of the first finding of America by the Icelanders, 
 nearly five hundred years before Columbus. They landed on 
 the coast, and staj^ed for a short time ; where they landed is uncer- 
 tain. Thinking that it was in New England, the people of Boston 
 have erected a statue of Leif in their town. The story was not 
 written till long after Leif s time, and it cannot all be true. Dead 
 men do not return and give directions about their burial as we read 
 here. We have omitted a silly tale of a one-footed man. In the 
 middle ages, people believed that one-footed men lived in Africa ; 
 they thought Vineland was near Africa, so they brought the fable 
 into the Saga. 
 
 Hundreds of years before Columbus discovered America, there 
 lived in Iceland a man named Eric the Red. His father had slain 
 a man in Norway, and fled with his family to Iceland. Eric, too, 
 was a dangerous man. His servants did mischief on the farm of a 
 neighbour, who slew them. Then Eric slew the farmer, and also 
 Holmgang Hrafn, a famous duellist, of whom the country was well rid. 
 Eric was banished from that place, and, in his new home, had a new 
 quarrel. He lent some furniture to a man who refused to restore 
 it. Eric, therefore, carried off his goods, and the other pursued 
 him. They fought, and Eric killed him. For this he was made 
 an outlaw, and went sailing to discover new countries. He found 
 one, where he settled, calling it Greenland, because, he said, people 
 would come there more readily if it had a good name. 
 
 One Thorbiorn, among others, sailed to Greenland, but came in 
 an unlucky time, for fish were scarce, and some settlers were 
 drowned. At that day, some of the new comers were Christians, 
 some still worshipped the old Gods, Thor and Woden, and practised 
 magic. These sent for a prophetess to tell them what the end 
 gf their new colony would be. It is curious to know what a real 
 
154 
 
 HOW LEIF THE LUCKY FOUND 
 
 witch was like, and how she behaved, so we shall copy the story from 
 the old Icelandic book. 
 
 ' When she came in the evening, with the man who had been 
 sent to meet her, she was clad in a dark-blue cloak, fastened with 
 a strap, and set with stones quite down to the hem. She wore 
 glass beads around .her neck, and upon her head a black lambskin 
 hood, lined with white catskin. In her hands she carried a staff, 
 
 
 upon which there was a knob, which was ornamented with brass, 
 and set with stones up about the knob. Circling her waist she 
 wore a girdle of touchwood, and attached to it a great skin pouch, 
 in which she kept the charms which she used when she was prac- 
 tising her sorcery. She wore upon her feet shaggy calfskin shoes, 
 with long, tough latchets, upon the ends of which there were large 
 brass buttons. She had catskin gloves upon her hands ; the gloves 
 
VINELAND THE GOOD 155 
 
 were white inside and lined with fur. When she entered, all of the 
 folk felt it to be their duty to offer her becoming greetings. She 
 received the salutations of each individual according as he pleased 
 her. Yeoman Thorkel took the sibyl by the hand, and led her to 
 the seat which had been made ready for her. Thorkel bade her 
 run her eyes over man and beast and home. She had little to 
 say concerning all these. The tables were brought forth in the 
 evening, and it remains to be told what' manner of food was pre- 
 pared for the prophetess. A porridge of goat's beestings was made 
 for her, and for meat there were dressed the hearts of every kind of 
 beast which could be obtained there. She had a brass spoon, and 
 a knife with a handle of walrus tusk, with a double hasp of brass 
 around the haft, and from this the point was broken. And when 
 the tables were removed, Yeoman Thorkel approaches the prophetess 
 Thorbiorg, and asks how she is pleased with the home, and the 
 character of the folk, and how speedily she would be likely to be- 
 come aware of that concerning which he had questioned her, and 
 which the people were anxious to know. She replied that she 
 could not give an opinion in this matter before the morrow, after 
 that she had slept there through the night. And on the morrow, 
 when the day was far spent, such preparations were made as were 
 necessary to enable her to accomplish her soothsaying. She bade 
 them bring her those women who knew the incantation which she 
 required to work her spells, and which she called Warlocks ; but 
 such women were not to be found. Thereupon a search was made 
 throughout the house, to see whether anyone knew this [incanta- 
 tion]. Then says Gudrid, Thorbiorn's daughter : " Although I am 
 neither skilled in the black art nor a sibyl, yet my foster-mother, 
 Halldis, taught me in Iceland that spell-song, which she called 
 Warlocks." Thorbiorg answered : " Then art thou wise in season ! " 
 Gudrid replies ; " This is an incantation and ceremony of such a 
 kind that I do not mean to lend it any aid, for that I am a Christian 
 woman." Thorbiorg answers : " It might so be that thou couldst 
 give thy help to the company here, and still be no worse woman 
 than before ; however, I leave it with Thorkel to provide for my 
 needs." Thorkel now so urged Gudrid that she said she must needs 
 comply with his wishes. The women then made a ring round about, 
 while Thorbiorg sat up on the spell- dais. Gudrid then sang the 
 song, so sweet and well, that no one remembered ever before to have 
 heard the melody sung with so fair a voice as this. The sorceress 
 thanked her for the song, and said : " She has indeed lured many 
 
156 HOW LEIF THE LUCKY FOUND 
 
 spirits hither, who think it pleasant to hear this song, those who 
 were wont to forsake us hitherto and refuse to submit themselves 
 to us. Many things are now revealed to me, which hitherto have 
 been hidden, both from me and from others. And I am able to 
 announce that this period of famine will not endure longer, but the 
 season will mend as spring approaches. The visitation of disease, 
 which has been so long upon you, will disappear sooner than ex- 
 pected." ' 
 
 After this, Thorbiorn sailed to the part of Greenland where Eric 
 the Red lived, and there was received with open arms. Eric had 
 two sons, one called Thorstein, the other Leif the Lucky, and it was 
 Leif who afterwards discovered Vineland the Good, that is, the 
 coast of America, somewhere between Nova Scotia and New Eng- 
 land. He found it by accident. He had been in Norway, at the 
 court of king Olaf, who bade him proclaim Christianity in Green- 
 land. As he was sailing thither, Leif was driven by tempests out of 
 his course, and came upon coasts which he had never heard of, 
 where wild vines grew, and hence he called that shore Vineland 
 the Good. The vine did not grow, of course, in Iceland. But Leif 
 had with him a German Tyrker, and one day, when they were on 
 shore, Tyrker was late in joining the rest. He was very much 
 excited, and spoke in the German tongue, saying ' I have found 
 something new, vines and grapes.' Then they filled their boat full 
 of grapes, and sailed away. He also brought away some men from 
 a wreck, and with these, and the message of the Gospel, he sailed 
 back to Greenland, to his father, Eric the Red, and from that day he 
 was named Leif the Lucky. But Eric had no great mind to be- 
 come a Christian, he had been born to believe in Thor and his own 
 sword. 
 
 Next year Leif s brother, Thorstein, set out to find Vineland, 
 and Eric, first burying all his treasures, started with him, but he 
 fell from his horse, and broke his ribs, and his company came 
 within sight of Ireland, but Vineland they did not see, so they re- 
 turned to Ericsfirth in Greenland, and there passed the winter. 
 
 There was much sickness, and one woman died. After her death 
 she rose, and they could only lay her by holding an axe before her 
 breast. Thorstein, Eric's son, died also, but in the night he arose 
 again and said that Christian burial should be given to men in con- 
 secrated ground. For the manner had been to bury the dead in 
 their farms with a long pole driven through the earth till it touched 
 the breast of the corpse. Afterwards the priest came, and poured 
 
VINELAND THE GOOD 
 
 157 
 
 holy water through the hole, and not till then, perhaps long after 
 the death, was the funeral service held. After Thorstein rose and 
 spoke, Christian burial was always used in Greenland. Next year 
 came Karlsefni from Iceland, with two ships, and Eric received him 
 kindly, and gave all his crew winter quarters. In summer nothing 
 would serve Karlsefni but to search again for Vineland the Good. 
 They took three ships and one hundred and sixty men, and south 
 they sailed. They passed Flat Stone Land, where there were white 
 foxes, and Bear Island, where they saw a bear, and Forest Land, and 
 
 a cape where they found the keel of a wrecked ship, this they named 
 Keelness. Then they reached the Wonder Strands, long expanses 
 of sandy shore. Now Karlsefni had with him two Scotch or Irish 
 savages, the swiftest of all runners, whom King Olaf had given to 
 Leif the Lucky, and they were fleeter-footed than deer. They wore 
 only a plaid and kilt all in one piece, for the rest they were naked. 
 Karlsefni landed them south of Wonder Strands, and bade them run 
 south and return on the third day to report about the country. 
 When they returned one carried a bunch of grapes, the other ears 
 
158 SOW LEIF THE LUCKY FOUND 
 
 of native wheat (maize ?). Then they sailed on, passed an isle 
 covered with birds' eggs, and a firth, which they called Streamfirth, 
 from the tide in it. 
 
 Beyond Streamfirth they landed and established themselves 
 there. 
 
 ' There were mountains thereabouts. They occupied themselves 
 exclusively with the exploration of the country. They remained 
 there during the winter, and they had taken no thought for this 
 during the summer. The fishing began to fail, and they began to 
 fall short of food. Then Thorhall the Huntsman disappeared. 
 They had already prayed to God for food, but it did not come as 
 promptly as their necessities seemed to demand. They searched 
 for Thorhall for three half- days, and found him on a projecting 
 crag. He was lying there, and looking up at the sky, with mouth 
 and nostrils agape, and mumbling something. They asked him 
 why he had gone thither ; he replied, that this did not concern 
 anyone. They asked him then to go home with them, and he did 
 so. Soon after this a whale appeared there, and they captured it, 
 and flensed it, and no one could tell what manner of whale it was ; 
 and when the cooks had prepared it, they ate of it, and were all 
 made ill by it. Then Thorhall, approaching them, says : " Did not 
 the Red-beard (that is, Thor) prove more helpful than your Christ ? 
 This is my reward for the verses which I composed to Thor the 
 Trustworthy ; seldom has he failed me." When the people heard 
 this, they cast the whale down into the sea, and made their appeals 
 to God. The weather then improved, and they could now row out 
 to fish, and thenceforward they had no lack of provisions, for they 
 could hunt game on the land, gather eggs on the island, and catch 
 fish from the sea.' 
 
 Next spring Thorhall the heathen left them, laughing at the wine 
 which he had been promised, and sailed north. He and his crew 
 were driven to Ireland, where they were captured and sold as slaves, 
 and that was all Thorhall got by worshipping the Bed Beard. 
 Karlsefni sailed south and reached a rich country of wild maize, 
 where also was plenty of fish and of game. Here they first met 
 the natives, who came in a fleet of skin-canoes. 'They were 
 swarthy men and ill-looking, and the hair of their heads was ugly. 
 They had great eyes and were broad of cheek.' 
 
 The Icelanders held up a white shield in sign of peace, and the 
 natives withdrew. They may have been Eskimo or Bed Indians. 
 
 The winter was mild and open, but spring had scarce returned, 
 
VINELAND THE GOOD 159 
 
 when the bay was as full of native canoes ' as if ashes had been 
 sprinkled over it.' They only came to trade and exchanged furs for 
 red cloth, nor did they seem to care whether they got a broad piece 
 of cloth or a narrow one. They also wanted weapons, but these 
 Karlsefm refused to sell. The market was going on busily when 
 a bull that Karlsefni had brought from Greenland came out of the 
 wood and began to bellow, whereon the Skraelings (as they called 
 the natives) ran ! Three weeks passed when the Skraelings returned 
 in very great force, waving their clubs against the course of the sun, 
 whereas in peace they waved them with it. Karlsefni showed a 
 red shield, the token of war, and fighting began. It is not easy to 
 make out what happened, for there are two sagas, or stories of these 
 events, both written down long after they occurred. In one we 
 read that the Skraelings were good slingers, and also that they used 
 a machine which reminds one rather of gunpowder than of anything 
 else. They swung from a pole a great black ball, anl it made a 
 fearful noise when it fell among Karlsefni's men. SD frightened 
 were they that they saw Skraelings where there were none, and 
 they were only rallied by the courage of a woman named Freydis, 
 who seized a dead man's sword and faced the Skraelings, beating 
 her bare breast with the flat of the blade. On this the Skraelings 
 ran to their canoes and paddled away. In the other account 
 Karlsefni had fortified his house with a palisade, behind which the 
 women waited. To one of them, Gudrid, the appearance of a white 
 woman came ; her hair was of a light chestnut colour, she was pale 
 and had very large eyes. 'What is thy name ? ' she said to Gudrid. 
 ' My name is Gudrid ; but what is thine ? ' ' Gudrid ! ' says the 
 strange woman. Then came the sound of a great crash and the 
 woman vanished. A battle followed in which many Skraelings 
 were slain. 
 
 It all reads like a dream. In the end Karlsefni sailed back to 
 Ericsfirth with a great treasure of furs. A great and prosperous 
 family in Iceland was descended from him at the time when the 
 stories were written down. But it is said that Freydis who 
 frightened the Skraelings committed many murders in Vineland 
 among her own people. 
 
 The Icelanders never returned to Vineland the Good, though a 
 bishop named Eric is said to have started for the country in 1121. 
 Now, in the story of Cortes, you may read how the Mexicans 
 believed in a God called Quetzalcoatl, a white man in appearance, 
 who dwelt among them and departed mysteriously, saying that he 
 
160 HOW LEIF THE LUCKY FOUND VINE LAND 
 
 would come again, and they at first took Cortes and his men for the 
 children of Quetzalcoatl. So we may fancy if we please that Bishop 
 Eric, or one of his descendants, wandered from Vineland south and 
 west across the continent and arrived among the Aztecs, and by 
 them was taken for a God. 1 
 
 1 The story is taken from the Saga of Eric the Red, and from the Flatey Book in Mr. 
 Eeeves's Finding of Wineland the Good (Clarendon Press, 1890). The discovery of 
 Vineland was made about the year 1000. The saga of Eric the Red was written about 
 1300-1334, but two hundred years before, about 1134, Ari the learned mentions Vine- 
 land as quite familiar in his hlandingabdk. There are other traces of Vineland, 
 earlier than the manuscript of the Saga of Eric the Red. Of course we do not know 
 when that saga was first written down. The oldest extant manuscript of it belonged 
 to one Hauk, who died in 1334. 
 
101 
 
 THE ESCAPES OF CERVANTES 
 
 MOST people know of the terrible war, waged even down to the 
 present century, between the Christian ships cruising about 
 the Mediterranean and the dreaded Moors or Corsairs of the Barbary 
 Coast. It was a war that began in the name of religion, the 
 Crescent against the Cross ; but, as far as we can learn from the 
 records of both sides, there was little to choose in the way that 
 cither party treated the captives. A large number of these were 
 chained to the oars of the galleys which were the ships of battle of 
 the middle ages, and sometimes the oars were so long and heavy 
 that they needed forty men to each. The rowers had food enough 
 to give them the strength necessary for their work, and that was 
 all, and the knowledge that they were exerting themselves for the 
 downfall of their fellow- Christians, often of their fellow-country- 
 men, must have made their labour a toil indeed. Often it hap- 
 pened that a man's courage gave way and he denied his faith and 
 his country, and rose to great honours in the service of the Sultan, 
 the chief of the little kings who swarmed on the African coasts, 
 The records of the Corsairs bristle with examples of these success- 
 ful renegades, many of them captured as boys, who were careless 
 under what flag they served, as long as their lives were lives of 
 adventure. 
 
 All the captives were not, however, turned into galley slaves. 
 Some were taken to the towns and kept in prisons called bagnios, 
 waiting till their friends sent money to redeem them. If this was 
 delayed, they were set to public works, and treated with great 
 severity, so that their letters imploring deliverance might become 
 yet more urgent. The others, known as the king's captives, whose 
 ransom might be promptly expected, did no work and were kept 
 apart from the rest. 
 
 It was on September 26, 1575, that Miguel Cervantes, the future 
 author of ' Don Quixote,' fell into the hands of a Greek renegade 
 
 M 
 
162 THE ESCAPES OF CERVANTES 
 
 Dali Mami by name, captain of a galley of twenty-two banks of 
 oars. Cervantes, the son of a poor but well-descended gentleman of 
 Castile, had served with great distinction under Don John of Austria 
 at the battle of Lepanto four years earlier, and was now returning 
 with his brother Rodrigo to Spain on leave, bearing with him letters 
 from the commander-in-chief, Don John, the Duke of Sesa, Viceroy 
 of Sicily, and other distinguished men, testifying to his qualities as 
 a soldier, ' as valiant as he was unlucky,' and recommending 
 Philip II. to give him the command of a Spanish company then 
 being formed for Italian service. But all these honours proved his 
 bane. The Spanish squadron had not sailed many days from Naples 
 when it encountered a Corsair fleet, and after a sharp fight Cervantes 
 and his friends were carried captive into Algiers. 
 
 Of course the first thing done was to examine each man as to 
 his position in life, and the amount of ransom he might be expected 
 to bring, and the letters found upon Miguel Cervantes impressed 
 them with the notion that he was a person of consequence, and 
 capable of furnishing a large sum of money. They therefore took 
 every means of ensuring his safety, loading him with chains, 
 appointing him guards, and watching him day and night. 
 
 ' Stone walls do not a prison make, 
 Nor iron bars a cage.' 
 
 Cervantes never lost heart a moment, but at once began to plan 
 an escape for himself and his fellow -captives. But the scheme 
 broke down owing to the treachery of the man in whom he had 
 confided, and the Spaniards, particularly Cervantes, were made to 
 suffer a stricter confinement than before. The following year the 
 old Cervantes sent over what money he had been able to raise on 
 his own property and his daughters' marriage portions for the 
 ransom of his sons, by the hands of the Redemptorist Fathers, an 
 Order which had been founded for the sole purpose of carrying on 
 this charitable work. But when the sum was offered to Dali Mami 
 he declared it wholly insufficient for purchasing the freedom of 
 such a captive, though it was considered adequate as the ransom 
 of the younger brother Rodrigo. Accordingly, in August 1577, 
 Rodrigo Cervantes set sail for Spain, bearing secret orders from his 
 brother Miguel to fit out an armed frigate, and to send it by way of 
 Valencia and Majorca to rescue himself and his friends. 
 
 But even before the departure of Rodrigo, Cervantes had been 
 laying other plans. He had, somehow or other, managed to make 
 
THE ESCAPES OF CERVANTES IBS 
 
 acquaintance with the Navarrese gardener of a Greek renegade 
 named Azan, who had a garden stretching down to the sea-shore, 
 about three miles east of Algiers, where Cervantes was then im- 
 prisoned. This gardener had contrived to use a cave in Azan's 
 garden as a hiding place for some escaped Christians, and as far 
 back as February 1577 about fifteen had taken refuge there, under 
 the direction of Cervantes. How they remained for so many 
 months undiscovered, and how they were all fed, no one can tell ; 
 but this part of the duty had been undertaken by a captive renegade 
 called El Dorador, or the Gilder, to whom their secret had been 
 confided. 
 
 Meanwhile, Rodrigo had proved faithful to his trust. He had 
 equipped a frigate for sea, under the command of a tried soldier, 
 Viana by name, who was familiar with the Barbary coast. It set 
 sail at the end of September, and by the 28th had sighted Algiers. 
 From motives of prudence the boat kept to sea till nightfall, when it 
 silently approached the shore. The captives hailed it with joy, and 
 were in the act of embarking, when a fishing craft full of Moors 
 passed by, and the rescue vessel was forced to put to sea. Mean- 
 while, Cervantes and the fugitives in the cave had to return dis- 
 heartened into hiding, and await another opportunity. 
 
 But once lost, the opportunity was gone for ever. Before any 
 fresh scheme could be concerted, El Dorador had betrayed the hiding 
 place of the Christians and their plan of escape to the cruel Dey or 
 King Azan, who saw in the information a means to satisfy his 
 greed. According to the law of the country, he was enabled to 
 claim the escaped slaves as his own property (except Cervantes, for 
 whom he paid 500 crowns), and with a company of armed men 
 presented himself before the cave. 
 
 In this dreadful strait Cervantes' courage never faltered. He 
 told the trembling captives not to fear, as he would take upon 
 himself the entire responsibility of the plan. Then, addressing 
 Azan's force, he proclaimed himself the sole contriver of the scheme, 
 and professed his willingness to bear the punishment. The Turks 
 were struck dumb at valour such as this, in the presence of the 
 most dreadful torments, and contented themselves with ordering 
 the captives into close confinement at the bagnio, hanging the 
 gardener, and bringing Cervantes bound to receive his sentence from 
 the Dey Azan himself. 
 
 The threats of impalement, torture, mutilation of every kind, 
 which Cervantes well knew to be no mere threats, had no effect 
 
 M 2 
 
164 THE ESCAPES OF CEEVANTES 
 
 upon his faithful soul. He stuck to the story he had told, and the 
 Dey, ' wearied by so much constancy,' as the Spanish historian says, 
 ended by loading him with chains, and throwing him again into 
 prison. 
 
 For some time he remained here, strictly and closely guarded, 
 but his mind always active as to plans of escape. At last, however, 
 he managed to enter into relations with Don Martin de Cordoba, 
 General of Oran, by means of a Moor, who undertook to convey 
 letters asking for help for the Spanish prisoners. But his ill for- 
 tune had not yet deserted him. The messenger fell into the hands 
 of other Moors, who handed him over to Azan, and the wretched 
 man was at once put to a cruel death by the Dey's orders. 
 Curiously enough, the sentence of 2,000 lashes passed upon Cer- 
 vantes was never carried into effect. 
 
 Disappointments and dangers only made Cervantes more de- 
 termined to free himself or die in the attempt ; but nearly two 
 years dragged by before he saw another hope rise before him, 
 though he did everything he could in the interval to soothe the 
 wretched lot of his fellow-captives. This time his object was to 
 induce two Valencia merchants of Algiers to buy an armed frigate, 
 destined to carry Cervantes and a large number of Christians back 
 to Spain, but at the last minute they were again betrayed, this time 
 by a countryman, and again Cervantes took the blame on his own 
 shoulders, and confessed nothing to the Dey. 
 
 Now it seemed indeed as if his last moment had come. His 
 hands were tied behind him, and a cord was put round his neck ; 
 but Cervantes never swerved from the tale he had resolved to tell, 
 and at the close of the interview found himself within the walls of 
 a Moorish prison, where he lay for five months loaded with fetters 
 and chains, and treated with every kind of severity, though never 
 with actual cruelty. 
 
 All this time his mind was busy with a fresh scheme, nothing 
 short of a concerted insurrection of all the captives in Algiers, num- 
 bering about 25,000, who were to overpower the city, and to plant 
 the Spanish flag on its towers. His measures seem to have been 
 taken with sufficient prudence and foresight to give them a fair 
 chance of success, bold as the idea was, but treachery as usual 
 caused the downfall of everything. Why, under such repeated pro- 
 vocation, the cruel Azan Aga did not put him to a frightful death 
 it is hard to understand, but in his 'Captive's Story,' Cervantes 
 himself bears testimony to the comparative moderation of the Dey's 
 
THE ESCAPES OF CERVANTES 165 
 
 behaviour towards him. ' Though suffering,' he says, ' often, if not 
 indeed always, from hunger and thirst, the worst of all our miseries 
 was the sight and sound of the tortures daily inflicted by our 
 master on our fellow-Christians. Every day he hanged one, im- 
 paled another, cut off the ears of a third ; and all this for so little 
 reason, or even for none at all, that the very Turks knew he did it 
 for the mere pleasure of doing it ; and because to him cruelty was 
 the natural employment of mankind. Only one man did he use 
 well, and that was a Spanish soldier, named Saavedra, and though 
 this Saavedra had struck blows for liberty which will be remembered 
 by Moors fop many years to come, yet Azan never either gave him 
 stripes himself, nor ordered his servants to do so, neither did he 
 ever throw him an evil word ; while we trembled lest for the 
 smallest of his offences the tyrant would have him impaled, and 
 more than once he himself expected it.' This straightforward 
 account of matters inside the bagnio is the more valuable and in- 
 teresting if we recollect that Cervantes' great-grandmother was a 
 Saavedra, and that the soldier alluded to in the text was really 
 himself. It is impossible to explain satisfactorily the sheathing of 
 the tiger's claws on his account alone ; did Cervantes exercise 
 unconsciously a mesmeric influence over Azan ? Did Azan ascribe 
 his captive's defiance of death and worse than death to his bearing 
 a charmed life ? Or did he hold him to be a man of such consequence 
 in his own country, that it was well to keep him in as good condi- 
 tion as Azan's greed would permit ? We shall never know ; only 
 there remains Cervantes' emphatic declaration that during the five 
 long years of his captivity no man's hand was ever lifted against 
 him. 
 
 Meanwhile, having no more money wherewith to ransom his 
 son, Rodrigo de Cervantes made a declaration of his poverty before 
 a court of law, and set forth Miguel's services and claims. In 
 March 1578, the old man's prayer was enforced by the appearance 
 of four witnesses who had known him both in the Levant and in 
 Algiers and could testify to the truth of his father's statement, and a 
 certificate of such facts as were within his knowledge being willingly 
 offered by the Duke of Sesa, the King, Philip II., consented to 
 furnish the necessary ransom. 
 
 But the ill-fortune which had attended Cervantes in these past 
 years seemed to stick to him now. Just when the negotiations 
 were drawing to a conclusion, his father suddenly died, and it 
 appeared as if the expedition of the Redemptorist Fathers would 
 
106 THE ESCAPES OF CERVANTES 
 
 sail without him. However, his mother was happily a woman of 
 energy, and after managing somehow to raise three hundred ducats 
 on her own possessions, appealed to the King for help. This he 
 appears to have granted her at once, and he gave her an order for 
 2,000 ducats on some Valencia merchandise ; but with their usual 
 bad luck they only ultimately succeeded in obtaining about sixty, 
 which with her own three hundred were placed in the hands of the 
 Eedemptorist Fathers. 
 
 It was time : the fact that the term of Azan's government of 
 Algiers had drawn to an end rendered him more than ever greedy 
 for money, and he demanded for Cervantes double the price that he 
 himself had paid, and threatened, if this was not forthcoming, to 
 carry his captive on board his own vessel, which was bound for 
 Constantinople. Indeed, this threat was actually put into effect, 
 and Cervantes, bound and loaded with chains, was placed in 
 a ship of the little squadron that was destined for Turkish waters. 
 The good father felt that once in Constantinople, Cervantes would 
 probably remain a prisoner to the end of his life, and made un- 
 heard of efforts to accomplish his release, borrowing the money 
 that was still lacking from some Algerian merchants, and even 
 using the ransoms that had been entrusted to him for other captives. 
 Then at last Cervantes was set free, and after five years was able 
 to go where he would and return to his native country. 
 
 His work however was not yet done. He somehow discovered 
 that a Spaniard named Blanco de Paz,who had once before betrayed 
 him, was determined, through jealousy, to have him arrested 
 the moment he set foot in Spain, and to this end had procured a 
 mass of false evidence respecting his conduct in Algiers. It is not 
 easy to see what Cervantes could have done to incur the hatred 
 of this man, but about this he did not trouble himself to inquire, 
 and set instantly to consider the best way of bringing his schemes 
 to naught. He entreated his friend, Father Gil, to be present at 
 an interview held before the notary Pedro de Eibera, at which a 
 number of respectable Christians appeared to answer a paper of 
 twenty-five questions, propounded by Cervantes himself, as to the 
 principal events of his five years of imprisonment, and his treat- 
 ment of his fellow-captives. Armed with this evidence, he was 
 able to defy the traitor, and to return in honour to his native land. 
 
 With the rest of his life we have nothing to do. It was not, we 
 may be sure, lacking in adventure, for he was the kind of man to 
 whom adventures come, and as his inheritance was all gone, he 
 
THE ESCAPES OF CERVANTES 167 
 
 went back to his old trade, and joined the army which Philip was 
 assembling to enforce his claim to the crown of Portugal. In this 
 country as in all others to which his wandering life had led him, 
 he made many friends and took notice of what went on around 
 him. He was in all respects a man practical and vigorous, in 
 many ways the exact opposite of his own Don Quixote, who saw 
 everything enlarged and glorified and nothing as it really was, but 
 in other ways the true counterpart of his hero in his desire to give 
 help and comfort wherever it was needed, and to leave the world 
 better than he found it. 
 
168 
 
 THE WORTHY ENTERPRISE OF JOHN FOXE, 
 AN ENGLISHMAN, IN DELIVERING TWO 
 HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX CHRISTIANS 
 OUT OF THE CAPTIVITY OF THE TURKS AT 
 ALEXANDRIA, JANUARY 3, 1577 
 
 AMONG our English merchants it is a common thing to traffic 
 with Spain, for which purpose, in 1563, there set out from 
 Portsmouth a ship called the 'Three Half Moons,' with thirty-eight 
 men on board, and well armed, the better to encounter any foes 
 they might meet. Now, drawing near the Straits, they found them- 
 selves beset by eight Turkish galleys, so that it was impossible for 
 them to fly, but they must either yield or be sunk. This the 
 owner perceiving, manfully encouraged his company, telling them 
 not to faint in seeing such a heap of their foes ready to devour 
 them ; putting them in mind also that if it were God's pleasure 
 to give them into their enemies' hands, there ought not to be one 
 unpleasant look among them, but they must take it patiently; 
 putting them in mind also of the ancient worthiness of their 
 countrymen, who in the hardest extremities have always most 
 prevailed. With other such encouragement they all fell on their 
 knees, making their prayers briefly to God. 
 
 Then stood up Grove, the master, being a comely man, with his 
 sword and target, holding them up in defiance against his enemies. 
 Likewise stood up the owner, boatswain, purser, and every man well 
 armed. Now also sounded up the trumpets, drums, and flutes, which 
 would have encouraged any man, however little heart he had in him. 
 
 Then John Foxe, the gunner, took him to his charge, sending his 
 bullets among the Turks, who likewise fired among the Christians, 
 and thrice as fast. But shortly they drew near, so that the English 
 bowmen fell to shooting so terribly among their galleys that there 
 
THE WORTHY ENTERPRISE OF JOHN FOXE 169 
 
 were twice as many of the Turks slain as the whole number of the 
 Christians. But the Turks discharged twice as fast against the 
 Christians, and so long that the ship was very sorely battered and 
 bruised, which the foe perceiving, made the more haste to come 
 aboard. For this coming aboard many a Turk paid dearly with his 
 life, but it was all in vain, and board they did, where they found a 
 hot skirmish. For the Englishmen showed themselves men indeed, 
 and the boatswain was valiant above the rest, for he fought among 
 the Turks like a mad lion, and there was none of them that could 
 
 stand in his face ; till at last there came a shot that struck him 
 in the breast, so that he fell down, bidding them farewell, and 
 to be of good comfort, and exhorting them rather to win praise by 
 death than to live in captivity and shame. This, they hearing, 
 indeed intended to have done, but the number and press of the 
 Turks was so great that they could not wield their weapons, 
 and so were taken, when they intended rather to have died, 
 except only the master's mate, who shrank from the fight like a 
 notable coward. 
 
 But so it was, and the Turks were victors, though they had little 
 cause of triumph. Then it would have grieved any hard heart to 
 sec these infidels wantonly ill-treating the Christians, who were no 
 
170 THE WORTHY ENTERPRISE OF JOHN FOXE 
 
 sooner in the galleys than their garments were torn from their 
 backs, and they set to the oars. 
 
 I will make no mention of their miseries, being now under 
 their enemies raging stripes, their bodies distressed with too much 
 heat, and also with too much cold ; but I will rather show the 
 deliverance of those who, being in great misery, continually trust in 
 God, with a steadfast hope that He will deliver them. 
 
 Near the city of Alexandria, being a harbour, there is a. ship- 
 road, very well defended by strong walls, into which the Turks are 
 accustomed to bring their galleys every winter, and there repair 
 them and lay them up against the spring. In this road there is a. 
 prison, in which the captives and all those prisoners who serve in 
 the galleys are confined till the sea be calm again for voyaging, 
 every prisoner being most grievously laden with irons on his legs, 
 giving him great pain. Into this prison, all these Christians were 
 put, and fast guarded all the whiter, and every winter. As time 
 passed the master and the owner were redeemed by friends ; but 
 the rest were left in misery, and half-starved except John Foxe, 
 who being a somewhat skilful barber, made shift now and then, by 
 means of his craft, to help out his fare with a good meal. Till at 
 last God sent him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison, 
 so that he had leave to go in and out to the road, paying a stipend 
 to the keeper, and wearing a lock about his leg. This liberty six 
 more had, on the same conditions ; for after their long imprison- 
 ment, it was not feared that they would work any mischief against 
 the Turks. 
 
 In the winter of the year 1577, all the galleys having reached 
 port, and their masters and mariners being at their own homes, 
 the ships themselves being stripped of their masts and sails, there 
 were in the prison two hundred and sixty-eight Christian captives, 
 belonging to sixteen different nations. Among these were three 
 Englishmen, one of them John Foxe, the others William "Wickney 
 and Kobert Moore. And John Foxe, now having been thirteen or 
 fourteen years under the bondage of the Turks, and being weary 
 thereof, pondered continually, day and night, how he might escape, 
 never ceasing to pray God to further his enterprise, if it should be 
 to His glory. 
 
 Not far from the road, at one side of the city, there was a 
 certain victualling-house, which one Peter Unticare had hired, 
 paying a fee to the keeper of the prison. This Peter Unticare was 
 a Spaniard, and also a Christian, and had been a prisoner about 
 
THE WORTHY ENTERPRISE OF JOHN FOXE 171 
 
 thirty years, never contriving any means to escape, but keeping 
 himself quiet without being suspected of conspiracy. But on the 
 coming of John Foxe they disclosed their minds to each other 
 about their loss of liberty ; and to this Unticare John Foxe con- 
 fided a plan for regaining their freedom, which plan the three 
 Englishmen continually brooded over, till they resolved to acquaint 
 five more prisoners with their secret. This being done, they 
 arranged in three more days to make their attempt at escape. 
 "Whereupon John Foxe, and Peter Unticare, and the other six 
 arranged to meet in the prison on the last day of December, and 
 there they told the rest of the prisoners what their intention was, 
 and how they hoped to bring it to pass. And having, without much 
 ado, persuaded all to agree, John Foxe gave them a kind of 
 files, which he had hoarded together by means of Peter Unticare, 
 charging them every man o be free of his fetters by eight o'clock 
 on the following night. 
 
 The next night John Foxe and his six companions, all having 
 met at the house of Peter Unticare, spent the evening mirthfully 
 for fear of rousing suspicion, till it was time for them to put then* 
 scheme into execution. Then they sent Peter Unticare to the 
 master of the road, in the name of one of the masters of the city, 
 with whom he was well acquainted, and at the mention of whose 
 name he was likely to come at once, desiring him to meet him 
 there, and promising to bring him back again. 
 
 The keeper agreed to go with Unticare, telling the warders not 
 to bar the gate, for he would come again with all speed. In the 
 meantime the other seven had provided themselves with all the 
 weapons they could find in the house, and John Foxe took a rusty 
 old sword without a hilt, which he managed to make serve by 
 bending the hand end of the sword instead of a hilt. 
 
 Now the keeper being come to the house, and seeing no light 
 nor hearing any noise, straightway suspected the plot, and was 
 turning back. But John Foxe, standing behind the corner of the 
 house, stepped forth to him. He perceiving it to be John Foxe, 
 said : ' O Foxe ! what have I deserved of thee that thou shouldest 
 seek my death ? ' 
 
 ' Thou, villain,' quoth Foxe, ' hast been a blood-sucker of many 
 a Christian's blood, and now thou shalt know what thou hast deserved 
 at my hands ! ' 
 
 Therewith he lifted up his bright shining sword, cleared of its 
 ten years' rust, and struck him. so strong a blow that his head 
 
172 THE WORTHY ENTERPRISE OF JOHN FOXE 
 
 was cleft asunder, and he fell stark dead to the ground. Thereupon 
 Peter Unticare went in and told the rest how it was with the keeper, 
 and at once they came forth, and with their weapons ran him through 
 and cut off his head, so that no man should know who he was. 
 
 Then they marched towards the road, and entered it softly. 
 There were six warders guarding it, and one of them asked who 
 was there. Then quoth Foxe and his company, ' All friends ! ' 
 
 But when they were within it proved contrary, for, quoth Foxe 
 to his companions : 
 
 ' My masters, here there is not a man to a man, so look you play 
 your parts ! ' They so behaved themselves indeed that they had 
 despatched those six quickly. Then John Foxe, intending not to be 
 thwarted in his enterprise, barred the gate surely, and planted a 
 cannon against it. 
 
 They entered the gaoler's lodge, where they found the keys of 
 the fortress and prison by his bedside, and then they all got better 
 weapons. In this chamber was a chest holding a great treasure, 
 all in ducats, which Peter Unticare and two more stuffed into 
 their garments, as many as they could carry. But Foxe would not 
 touch them, saying that it was his liberty and theirs he sought, and 
 not to make a spoil of the wicked treasure of the infidels. Yet these 
 words did not sink into their hearts, though they had no good of 
 their gain. 
 
 Now, having provided themselves with the weapons they needed, 
 they came 'to the prison, and unlocked its gates and doors, and 
 called forth all the prisoners, whom they employed, some in ram- 
 ming up the gate, some in fitting up a galley which was the best in 
 the road. 
 
 In the prison were several warders, whom John Foxe and his 
 company slew ; but this was perceived by eight more Turks, who 
 fled to the top of the prison, where Foxe and his company had to 
 reach them by ladders. Then followed a hot skirmish, and John 
 Foxe was shot thrice through his apparel, without being hurt ; but 
 Peter Unticare and the other two, who had weighed themselves 
 down with the ducats so that they could not manage their weapons, 
 were slain. 
 
 Among the Turks there was one thrust through who fell from 
 the top of the prison wall, and made such a crying out that the 
 inhabitants of a house or two that stood near came and questioned 
 him, and soon understood the case how the prisoners were attempt- 
 ing to escape. Then they raised both Alexandria on the west side 
 
THE WORTHY ENTEEPBISE OF JOHN FOXE 173 
 
 of the road, and a castle at the end of the city next to the road, and 
 also another fortress on the north side of the road. And now the 
 
 prisoners had no way to escape but one tha-t might saem impossible 
 for them, 
 
174 THE WORTHY ENTERPRISE OF JOHN FOXE 
 
 Then every man set to work, some to their tackling, some carry- 
 ing arms and provisions into the galley, some keeping the enemy 
 from the wall of the road. To be short, there was no man idle, nor 
 any labour spent in vain ; so that presently the galley was ready, 
 and into it they all leaped hastily, and hoisted sail. 
 
 But when the galley had set sail, and was past the shelter of 
 the road, the two castles had full power over it, and what could 
 save it from sinking ? The cannon let fly from both sides, and it 
 was between them both. 
 
 Yet there was not one on board that feared the shot that came 
 thundering about their ears, nor yet was any man scarred or touched. 
 For now God held forth His buckler and shielded this gallej^, hav- 
 ing tried their faith to the uttermost. And they sailed away, being 
 not once touched with the glance of a shot, and were presently out 
 of the reach of the Turkish cannon. Then might you see the Turks 
 coming down to the waterside, in companies like swarms of bees, 
 trying to make ready their galleys which would have been a quick 
 piece of work, seeing that they had in them neither oars, nor sails, 
 nor anything else. Yet they carried them in, but some into one 
 galley, some into another, for there was much confusion among 
 them ; and the sea being rough, and they having no certain guide, 
 it was a thing impossible that they should overtake the prisoners. 
 For they had neither pilot, mariners, nor any skilful master that 
 was ready at this pinch. 
 
 When the Christians were safe out of the enemy's coast, John 
 Foxe called to them all, telling them to fall down upon their knees, 
 thanking God for their delivery, and beseeching Him to aid them 
 to the land of their friends. Then they fell straightway to labour- 
 ing at the oars, striving to come to some Christian country, as near 
 as they could guess by the stars. But the winds were so contrary, 
 now driving them this way, now that, that they were bewildered, 
 thinking that God had forsaken them and left them to yet greater 
 danger. And soon there were no victuals left in the galley ; and the 
 famine grew to be so great that in twenty-eight days there had died 
 eight persons. 
 
 But it fell out that upon the twenty-ninth day, they reached the 
 Isle of Candy, and landed at Gallipoli, where they were made much 
 of by the Abbot and monks, and cared for and refreshed. They 
 kept there the sword with which John Foxe had killed the keeper, 
 esteeming it a most precious jewel. 
 
 Then they sailed along the cost to Tarento, where they sold the 
 
THE WOP THY ENTERPRISE OF JOHN FOXE 175 
 
 galley, and went on foot to Naples, having divided the price. But 
 at Naples they parted asunder, going every man his own way, 
 and John Foxe journeyed to Rome, where he was well entertained 
 by an Englishman and presented to the Pope, who rewarded him 
 liberally and gave him letters to the King of Spain. And by the 
 King of Spain also he was well entertained, and granted twenty 
 pence a day. Thence, desiring to return into his own country, he 
 departed in 1579, and being come into England, he went into the 
 Court, and told all his travel to the Council, who, considering that 
 he had spent a great part of his youth in thraldom, extended to 
 him their liberality, to help to maintain him in age to their own 
 honour and the encouragement of all true-hearted Christians. 
 
176 
 
 . BARON TEENCK 
 
 MOST men who have escaped from prison owe their fame, not to 
 their flight, but to the deeds which caused their imprisonment. 
 It may, however, safely be asserted that few people out of his own 
 country would have heard of Baron Trenck had it not been for the 
 wonderful skill and cunning with which he managed to cut through 
 the ' stone walls ' and ' iron bars ' of all his many 'cages.' He was 
 born at Konigsbergin Prussia in 1726, and entered the body-guard of 
 Frederic II. in 1742, when he was about sixteen. Trenck was a 
 young man of good family, rich, well-educated, and, according to 
 his own account, fond of amusement. He confesses to having 
 shirked his duties more than once for the sake of some pleasure, 
 even after the War of the Austrian Succession had broken out 
 (September 1744), and Frederic, strict though he was, had forgiven 
 him. It is plain from this, that the King must have considered 
 that Trenck had been guilty of some deadly treachery towards 
 him, when in after years he declined to pardon him for crimes 
 which after all the young man had never committed. 
 
 Trenck' s first confinement was in 1746, when he was thrown 
 into the Castle of Glatz, on a charge of corresponding with his cousin 
 and namesake, who was in the service of the Empress Maria Theresa, 
 and of being an Austrian spy. At first he was kindly treated and 
 allowed to walk freely about the fortifications, and he took advan- 
 tage of the liberty given him to arrange a plan of escape with one 
 of his fellow-prisoners. The plot was, however, betrayed by the 
 other man, and a heavy punishment fell on Trenck. By the 
 King's orders, he was promptly deprived of all his privileges, and 
 placed in a cell in one of the towers, which overlooked the ramparts 
 lying ninety feet below, on the side nearest the town. This added 
 a fresh difficulty to his chances of escape, as, in passing from the 
 castle to the town, he was certain to be seen by many people. But 
 no obstacles mattered to Trenck. He had money, and then, as 
 
BAEON TEENCK 177 
 
 now, money could do a great deal. So he began by bribing one of 
 the officials about the prison, and the official in his turn bribed a 
 soap-boiler, who lived not far from the castle gates, and promised to 
 conceal Trenck somewhere in his house. Still, liberty must have 
 seemed a long way off, for Trenck had only one little knife (canif) 
 with which to cut through everything. By dint of incessant and 
 hard work, he managed' to saw through three thick steel bars, but 
 even so, there were eight others left to do. His friend the official 
 then procured him a file, but he was obliged to use it with great 
 care, lest the scraping sound should be heard by his guards. Perhaps 
 they wilfully closed their ears, for many of them were sorry for 
 Trenck ; but, at all events, the eleven bars were at last sawn through, 
 and all that remained was to make a rope ladder. This he did by 
 tearing his leather portnjanteau into strips, and plaiting them into 
 a rope, and as this was not long enough, he added his sheets. The 
 night was dark and rainy, which favoured him, and he reached the 
 bottom of the rampart in safety. Unluckily, he met here with an 
 obstacle on which he had never counted. There was a large drain, 
 opening into one of the trenches, which Trenck had neither seen nor 
 heard of, and into this he fell. In spite of his struggles, he was held 
 fast, and his strength being at last exhausted, he was forced to call 
 the sentinel, and at midday, having been left in the drain for hours 
 to make sport for the town, he was carried back to his cell. 
 
 Henceforth he was still more strictly watched than before, 
 though, curiously enough, his money never seems to have been 
 taken from him, and at this time he had about eighty louis left, which 
 he always kept hidden about him. Eight days after his last at- 
 tempt, Fouquet, the commandant of Glatz, who hated Trenck and 
 all his family, sent a deputation consisting of the adjutant, an officer, 
 and a certain Major Doo, to speak to the unfortunate man, and 
 exhort him to patience and submission. Trenck entered into con- 
 versation with them for the purpose of throwing them off their 
 guard, when suddenly he snatched away Doo's sword, rushed from 
 his cell, knocked down the sentinel and lieutenant who were stand- 
 ing outside, and striking right and left at the soldiers who came 
 flying to bar his progress, he dashed down the stairs and leapt from 
 the ramparts. Though the height was great he, fell into the fosse 
 without injury, and still grasping his sword. He scrambled quickly 
 to his feet and jumped easily over the second rampart, which was 
 much lower than the first, and then began to breathe freery, as he 
 thought he was safe from being overtaken by the soldiers, who 
 
 N 
 
176 BARON TRENCK 
 
 would have to come a long way round. At this moment, however, 
 he saw a sentinel making for him a short distance off, and he 
 rushed for the palisades which divided the fortifications from the 
 open country, from which the mountains and Bohemia were easily 
 reached. In the act of scaling them, his foot was caught tight 
 between the bars, and he was trapped till the sentinel came up, 
 and after a sharp fight got him back to prison. 
 
 For some time poor Trenck was in a sad condition. In his 
 Struggle with the sentinel he had been wounded, while his right 
 foot had got crushed in the palisades. Beside this, he was watched 
 far more strictly than before, for an officer and two men remained 
 always in his cell, and two sentinels were stationed outside. The 
 reason of these precautions of course was to prevent his gaining over 
 his guards singly, either by pity or bribery. His courage sank to its 
 lowest ebb, as he was told on all sides that his imprisonment was 
 for life, whereas long after he discovered the real truth, that the 
 King's intention had been to keep him under arrest for a year only, 
 and if he had had a little more patience, three weeks would have 
 found him free. His repeated attempts to escape naturally angered 
 Frederic, while on the other hand the King knew nothing of the 
 fact which excused Trenck's impatience namely, the belief carefully 
 instilled in him by all around him that he was doomed to per- 
 petual confinement. 
 
 It is impossible to describe in detail all the plans made by 
 Trenck to regain his freedom, first because they were endless, and 
 secondly because several were nipped in the bud. Still the unfor- 
 tunate man felt that as long as his money was not taken from him 
 his case was not hopeless, for the officers in command were gene- 
 rally poor and in debt, and were always sent to garrison work as a 
 punishment. After one wild effort to liberate all the prisoners in 
 the fortress, which was naturally discovered and frustrated, Trenck 
 made friends with an officer named Schell, lately arrived at Glatz, 
 who promised not only his aid but his company in the new enter- 
 prise. As more money would be needed than Trenck had in his 
 possession, he contrived to apply to his rich relations outside the 
 prison, and by some means what we are not told they managed 
 to convey a large sum to him. Suspicion, however, got about that 
 Trenck was on too familiar a footing with the officers, and orders 
 were given that his door should always be kept locked. This occa- 
 sioned further delay, as false keys had secretly to be made, before 
 anything else could be done. 
 
BAltON TBENCR 17S 
 
 Their flight was unexpectedly hastened by Schell accidentally 
 learning that he was in danger of arrest. One night they crept 
 unobserved through the arsenal and over the inner palisade, but on 
 reaching the rampart they came face to face with two of the officers, 
 and again a leap into the fosse was the only way of escape. Luckily 
 the wall at this point was not high, and Trenck arrived at the 
 bottom without injury ; but Schell was not so happy, and hurt his 
 foot so badly that he called on his friend to kill him, and to mako 
 the best of his way alone. Trenck, however, declined to abandon 
 him, and having dragged him over the Outer palisade, took him on 
 his back, and made for the frontier. Before they had gone five 
 hundred yards they heard the boom of the alarm guns from the 
 fortress, while clearer still were the sounds of pursuit. As they 
 knew that they would naturally be sought on the side towards 
 Bohemia, they changed their course and pushed on to the river 
 Neiss, at this season partly covered with ice. Trenck swam over 
 slowly with this friend on his back, and found a boat on the other 
 side. By means of this boat they evaded their enemies, and reached 
 the mountains after some hours, very hungry, and almost frozen to 
 death. 
 
 Here a new terror awaited them. Some peasants with whom 
 they took refuge recognised Schell, and for a moment the fugitives 
 gave themselves up for lost. But the peasants took pity on the two 
 wretched objects, fed them and gave them shelter, till they could 
 make up their minds what was best to be done. To their unspeak- 
 able dismay, they found that they were, after all, only seven miles 
 from Glatz, and that in the neighbouring town of Wunschelburg a 
 hundred soldiers were quartered, with orders to capture all deserters 
 from the fortress. This time, however, fortune favoured the luckless 
 Trenck, and though he and Schell were both in uniform, they 
 rode unobserved through the village while the rest of the people- 
 were at church, and, skirting Wunschelburg, crossed the Bohemian 
 frontier in the course of the day. 
 
 Then follows a period of comparative calm in Trenck's history. 
 He travelled freely about Poland, Austria, Russia, Sweden, Denmark 
 and Holland, and even ventured occasionally across the border into 
 Prussia. Twelve years seem to have passed by in this manner, till 
 in 1758 his mother died, and Trenck asked leave of the council of 
 war to go up to Dantzic to see his family and to arrange his affairs. 
 Curiously enough, it appears never to have occurred to him that he 
 was a deserter, and as such liable to be arrested at any moment, 
 
180 EARON TRENCK 
 
 And this was what actually happened. By order of the King, Trenck 
 was taken first to Berlin, where he was deprived of his money and 
 some valuable rings, and then removed to Magdeburg, of which 
 place Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick was the governor. 
 
 Here his quarters were worse than he had ever known them. 
 His cell was only six feet by ten, and the window was high, with 
 bars without as well as within. The wall was seven feet thick, and 
 beyond it was a palisade, which rendered it impossible for the 
 sentinels to approach the window. On the other side the prisoner 
 was shut in by three doors, and his food (which was not only bad, 
 but very scanty) was passed to him through an opening. 
 
 One thing only was in his favour. His cell was only entered 
 once a week, so he could pursue any work to further his escape 
 without much danger of being discovered. Notwithstanding the 
 high window, the thick wall, and the palisade, notwithstanding too 
 his want of money, he soon managed to open negotiations with the 
 sentinels, and found, to his great joy, that the next cell was empty. 
 If he could only contrive to burrow his way into that, he would be 
 able to watch his opportunity to steal through the open door ; once 
 free he could either swim the Elbe and cross into Saxony, which 
 lay about six miles distant, or else float down the river in a boat 
 till he was out of danger. 
 
 Small as the cell was, it contained a sort of cupboard fixed into 
 the floor by irons, and on these Trenck began to work. After 
 frightful labour he at last extracted the heavy nails which fastened 
 the staples to the floor, and breaking off the heads (which he put 
 back to avoid detection), he kept the rest to fashion for his own 
 purposes. By this means he made instruments to raise the bricks. 
 
 On this side also the wall was seven feet thick, and formed of 
 bricks and stones. Trenck numbered them as he went on with the 
 greatest care, so that the cell might present its usual appearance 
 before the Wednesday visit of his guards. To hide the joins, he 
 scraped off some of the mortar, which he smeared over the place. 
 
 As may be supposed, all this took a very long time. He had 
 nothing to work with but the tools he himself had made, which of 
 course were very rough. But one day a friendly sentinel gave him 
 a little iron rod, and a small knife with a wooden handle. These were 
 treasures, indeed ! And with their help he worked away for six 
 months at his hole, as in some places the mortar had become so 
 hard that it had to be pounded like a stone. 
 
 During this time he enlisted the compassion of some of the- 
 
BARON TEENCK 181 
 
 other sentinels, who not only described to him the lie of the country 
 which he would have to traverse if he ever succeeded in getting out 
 of prison, but interested in his behalf a Jewess named Esther 
 Heymann, whose own father had been for two years a prisoner in 
 Magdeburg. In this manner Trenck became the possessor of a file, 
 a knife, and some writing paper, as the friendly Jewess had agreed 
 to convey letters to some influential people both at Vienna and 
 Berlin, and also to his sister. But this step led to the ruin, not only 
 of Trenck, but of several persons concerned, for they were betrayed 
 by an Imperial Secretary of Embassy called Weingarten, who was 
 tempted by a bill for 20,000 florins. Many of those guilty of 
 abetting Trenck in this fresh effort to escape were put to death, 
 while his sister was ordered to build a new prison for him in the 
 Fort de 1'Etoile, and he himself was destined to pass nine more 
 years in chains. 
 
 In spite of his fetters, Trenck was able in some miraculous way 
 to get on with his hole, but his long labour was rendered useless by 
 the circumstance that his new prison \vas finished sooner than he 
 expected, and he was removed into it hastily, being only able to 
 conceal his knife. He was now chained even more heavily than 
 before, his two feet being attached to a heavy ring fixed in the w T all, 
 another ring being fastened round his body. From this ring was 
 suspended a chain with a thick iron bar, two feet long at the 
 bottom, and to this his hands were fastened. An iron collar was 
 afterwards added to his instruments of torture. 
 
 Besides torments of body, nothing was wanting which could 
 work on his mind. His prison was built between the trenches of 
 the principal rampart, and was of course very dark. It was like- 
 wise very damp, and, to crown all, the name of ' Trenck ' had been 
 printed in red bricks on the wall, above a tomb whose place was 
 indicated by a death's head. 
 
 Here again, he tells us, he excited the pity of his guards, who 
 gave him a bed and coverlet, and as much bread as he chose to 
 eat ; and, wonderful as it may seem, his health did not suffer from 
 all these horrors. As soon as he got a little accustomed to his 
 cramped position, he began to use the knife he had left, and to cut 
 through his chains. He next burst the iron band, and after a long 
 time severed his leg fetters, but in such a way that he could put 
 them on again, and no one be any the wiser. Nothing is more 
 common in the history of prisoners than this exploit, and nothing 
 is more astonishing, yet we meet with the fact again and again in 
 
1S2 BARON TRENCK 
 
 their memoirs and biographies. Trenck at any rate appears to 
 have accomplished the feat without much difficulty, though he 
 found it very hard to get his hand back into his handcuffs. After 
 he had disposed of his bonds, he began to saw at the doors leading 
 to the gallery. These were four in number, and all of wood, but 
 when he arrived at the fourth, his knife broke in two, and the 
 courage that had upheld him for so many years gave way. He 
 
 opened his veins and lay down to die, when in his despair he 
 heard the voice of Gefhardt, the friendly sentinel from the other 
 prison. Hearing of Trenok's sad plight, he scaled the palisade, 
 and, we are told expressly, bound up his wounds, though we are 
 not told how he managed to enter the cell. Be that as it may, the 
 next day, when the guards came to open the door, they found 
 Trenck ready to meet them, armed with a brick in one hand, and a 
 knife, doubtless obtained from Gefhardt, in the other, The first 
 
BAEON TRENCK 183 
 
 man that approached him, he stretched wounded at his feet, and 
 thinking it dangerous to irritate further a desperate man, they 
 made a compromise with him. The governor took off his chains 
 for a time, and gave him strong soup and fresh linen. Then, after 
 a while, new doors were put to his cell, the inner door being lined 
 with plates of iron, and he himself was fastened with stronger 
 chains than those he had burst through. 
 
 For all this the watch must have been very lax, as Gefhardt 
 soon contrived to open communications with him again, and letters 
 were passed through the window (to which the prisoner had made 
 a false and movable frame) and forwarded to Trenck's rich 
 friends. His appeal was always answered promptly and amply. 
 More valuable than money were two files, also procured from 
 Gefhardt, and by their means the new chains were speedily cut 
 through, though, as before, without any apparent break. Having 
 freed his limbs, he began to saw through the floor of his cell, 
 which was of wool. Underneath, instead of hard rock, there was 
 sand, which Trenck scooped out with his hands. This earth was 
 passed through the window to Gefhardt, who removed it when he 
 was on guard, and gave his friend pistols, a bayonet and knives to 
 assist him when he had finally made his escape. 
 
 All seemed going smoothly. The foundations of the prison 
 were only four feet deep, and Trenck's tunnel had reached a 
 considerable distance when everything was again spoilt. A letter 
 written by Trenck to Vienna fell into the hands of the governor, 
 owing to some stupidity on the part of Gefhardt's wife, who had 
 been entrusted to deliver it. The letter does not seem to have 
 contained any special disclosure of his plan of escape, as the 
 governor, who was still Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, could find 
 nothing wrong in Trenck's cell except the false window frame- 
 The cut chains, though examined, somehow escaped detection, 
 from which we gather either that the officials were very careless, 
 or the carpenter very stupid. Perhaps both may have been the 
 case, for as the Seven Years' War (against Austria) was at this time 
 raging, sentinels and officers were frequently changed, and prison 
 discipline insensibly relaxed. Had this not been so, Trenck could 
 never have been able to labour unseen, but as it was, he was merely 
 deprived of his bed, as a punishment for tampering with the 
 window. 
 
 As soon as he had recovered from his fright and an illness which 
 followed, he returned \Q his digging. It was nepessary for him tq 
 
184 BARON TEENCK 
 
 bore under the subterranean gallery of the principal rampart, 
 which was a distance of thirty- seven feet, and to get outside the 
 foundation of the rampart. Beyond that was a door leading to 
 the second rampart. Trenck was forced to work naked, for fear of 
 raising the suspicions of the officials by his dirty clothes, but in 
 spite of all his precautions and the wilful blindness of his guards, 
 who as usual were 011 his side, all was at length discovered. His 
 hole was filled up, and a year's work lost. 
 
 The next torture invented for him was worse than any that had 
 gone before. He was visited and awakened every quarter of an 
 hour, in order that he might not set to work in the night. This 
 lasted for four years, during part of which time Trenck employed 
 himself in writing verses and making drawings on his tin cups, 
 after the manner of all prisoners, and in writing books with his 
 blood, as ink was forbidden. We are again left in ignorance as to 
 how he got paper. He also began to scoop out another hole, but 
 was discovered afresh, though nothing particular seems to have 
 been done to him, partly owing to the kindness of the new governor, 
 who soon afterwards died. 
 
 It had been arranged by his friends that for the space of one 
 year horses should be ready for him at a certain place, on the first 
 and fifteenth of every month. Inspired by this thought, he turned 
 to his burrowing with renewed vigour, and worked away at every 
 moment when he thought he could do so unseen. One day, how- 
 ever, when he had reached some distance, he dislodged a 
 large stone which blocked up the opening towards his cell. His 
 terror was frightful. Not only was the air suffocating and the 
 darkness dreadful, but he knew that if any of the guards were unex- 
 pectedly to come into his cell, the opening must be discovered, and 
 all his toil again lost. For eight hours he stayed in the tunnel 
 paralysed by fear. Then he roused himself, and by dint of super- 
 human struggles managed to open a passage on one side of the 
 stone, and to reach his cell, which for once appeared to him as a 
 haven of rest. 
 
 Soon after this the war ended with the Peace of Paris (1763), 
 and Trenck's hopes of release seemed likely to be realised. He 
 procured money from his friends, and bribed the Austrian Am- 
 bassador in Berlin to open negotiations on his behalf, and while 
 these were impending he rested from his labours for three whole 
 months. Suddenly he was possessed by an idea which was little 
 less than madness. He bribed a major to ask for a visit from Duke 
 
BAEON TRENCK 185 
 
 Ferdinand of Brunswick, again governor of Magdeburg, offering to 
 disclose his passage, and to reveal all his plans of escape, on con- 
 dition that the Duke would promise to plead for him with the King. 
 This message never reached the Duke himself, but some officers 
 arrived ostensibly sent by him, but in reality tools of the major's. 
 They listened to all he had to say, and saw all he had to show, then 
 broke their word, filled up the passage, and redoubled the chains and 
 the watch. 
 
 Notwithstanding this terrible blow, Trenck's trials were drawing 
 to an end. Whether Frederic's heart was softened by his brilliant 
 victories, or whether Trenck's influential friends succeeded in making 
 themselves heard, we do not know, but six months later he was set 
 free, on condition that he -never tried to revenge himself on any 
 one, and that he never again should cross the frontiers of Saxony 
 or Prussia. 
 
186 
 
 THE ADVENTUEE OF JOHN EAWLINS 
 
 TN the year 1621, one John Rawlins, native of Rochester, sailed 
 * from Plymouth in a ship called the ' Nicholas,' which had in its 
 company another ship of Plymouth, and had a fair voyage till they 
 came within sight of Gibraltar. Then the watch saw five sails that 
 seemed to do all in their power to come up with the ' Nicholas,' 
 which, on its part, suspecting them to be pirates, hoisted all the sail 
 it could ; but to no avail, for before the day was over, the Turkish 
 ships of war for so they proved to be not only overtook the Ply- 
 mouth ships, but made them both prisoners. 
 
 Then they sailed for Argier, which, when they reached, the 
 English prisoners were sold as slaves, being hurried like dogs into 
 the market, as men sell horses in England, and marched up and 
 down to see who would give most for them. And though they had 
 heavy hearts and sad countenances, yet many came to behold them, 
 sometimes taking them by the hand, sometimes turning them round 
 about, sometimes feeling their arms and muscles, and bargaining 
 for them accordingly, till at last they were sold. 
 
 John Rawlins was the last who was sold, because his hand was 
 lame, and he was bought by the very captain who took him, named 
 Villa Rise, who, knowing Rawlins' skill as a pilot, bought him and 
 his carpenter at a very low rate paying for Rawlins seven pounds 
 ten reckoned in English money. Then he sent them to work with 
 other slaves : but the Turks, seeing that through Rawlins' lame 
 hand he could not do so much as the rest, complained to their 
 master, who told him that unless he could obtain a ransom of 
 fifteen pounds, he should be banished inland, where he would never 
 see Christendom again. 
 
 But while John Rawlins was terrified with this stern threat of 
 Villa Rise, there was lying in the harbour another English ship that 
 had been surprised by the pirates the ' Exchange,' of Bristol. This 
 ship was bought by an English Turk, who made captain of it 
 another English Turk, and because they were both renegades, they 
 
1 HE ADVENTURE OF JOHN EAWLINS 187 
 
 concluded to have English and Dutch slaves to go in her. So it 
 came about that, inquiring if any English slave were to be sold 
 who could serve them as pilot, they heard of John Kawlins, and 
 forthwith bought him of his master, Villa Kise. 
 
 By January 7 the ship left Argier, with, on board her, sixty- 
 three Turks and Moors, nine English slaves, and a French slave, 
 four Dutchmen, who were free, and four gunners, one English, 
 and one Dutch renegade. 
 
 Now, the English slaves were employed for the most part under 
 hatches, and had to labour hard, all of which John Eawlins took to 
 heart, thinking it a terrible lot to be subject to such pain and 
 danger only to enrich other men, and themselves to return as slaves. 
 Therefore he broke out at last with such words as these : 
 
 * Oh, horrible slavery, to be thus subject to dogs ! Oh, Heaven 
 strengthen my heart and hand, and something shall be done to 
 deliver us from these cruel Mahometan dogs ! ' 
 
 The other slaves, pitying what they thought his madness, bade 
 him speak softly, lest they should all fare the worse for his rashness. 
 
 ' "\Vorse,' said Rawlins, 'what can be worse? I will either 
 regain 1113' liberty at one time or another, or perish in the attempt ; 
 but if you would agree to join with me in the undertaking, I doubt 
 not but we should find some way of winning glory with our freedom.' 
 
 ' Prithee be quiet,' they returned, ' and do not think of impos- 
 sibilities, though, if indeed you could open some way of escape, so 
 that we should not be condemned as madmen for trying as it were 
 to pull the sun out of the heavens, then we would risk our lives; and 
 you may be sure of silence.' 
 
 After this the slavery continued, and the Turks set their captives 
 to work at all the meanest tasks, and even when they laboured 
 hardest, flogged and reviled them, till more and more John Kawlins 
 became resolved to recover his liberty and surprise the ship. So 
 he provided ropes with broad spikes of iron, and all the iron 
 crows, with which he could, with the help of the others, fasten up 
 the scuttles, gratings, and cabins, and even shut up the captain 
 himself with his companions ; and so he intended to work the 
 enterprise, that, at a certain watchword, the English being masters 
 of the gunner-room and the powder, would either be ready to blow 
 the Turks into the air, or kill them as they came out one by one, if 
 by any chance they forced open the cabins. 
 
 Then, very cautiously, he told the four free Dutchmen of his 
 plot, and last of all the Dutch renegades, wlio were also in the 
 
188 THE ADVENTURE OF JOHN RAWLINS 
 
 gunner-room ; and all these consented readily to so daring an 
 enterprise. So he fixed the time for the venture in the captain's 
 morning watch. 
 
 But you must understand that where the English slaves were 
 there always hung four or five iron crows, just under the gun 
 carriages, and when the time came it was very dark, so that John 
 Rawlins, in taking out his iron dropped it on the side of the gun, 
 making such a noise that the soldiers, hearing it, waked the Turks 
 and told them to come down. At this the boatswain of the Turks 
 descended with a candle, and searched everywhere, making a great 
 deal of stir, but finding neither hatchet nor hammer, nor anything 
 else suspicious, only the iron which lay slipped down under the gun- 
 carriages, he went quietly up again and told the captain what 
 had happened, who thought that it was no remarkable thing to 
 have an iron slip from its place. But through this John Rawlins 
 was forced to wait for another opportunity. 
 
 When they had sailed further northward there happened another 
 suspicious accident, for Rawlins had told his scheme to the renegade 
 gunner, who promised secrecy by everything that could induce one 
 to believe in him. But immediately after he left Rawlins, and was 
 absent about a quarter of an hour, when he returned and sat down 
 again by him. Presently, as they were talking, in came a furious 
 Turk, with his sword drawn, who threatened Rawlins as if he 
 would certainly kill him. This made Rawlins suspect that the 
 renegade gunner had betrayed him ; and he stepped back and drew 
 out his knife, also taking the gunner's out of its sheath ; so that 
 the Turk, seeing him with two knives, threw down his sword, saying 
 he was only jesting. But the gunner, seeing that Rawlins suspected 
 him, whispered something in his ear, calling Heaven to witness 
 that he had never breathed a word of the enterprise, and never 
 would. Nevertheless, Rawlins kept the knives in his sleeve all 
 night, and was somewhat troubled, though afterwards the gunner 
 proved faithful and zealous in the undertaking. 
 
 All this time Rawlins persuaded the captain, who himself had 
 little knowledge of seamanship, to steer northward, meaning to draw 
 him away from the neighbourhood of other Turkish vessels. On 
 February 6 they descried a sail, and at once the Turks gave 
 chase, and made her surrender. It proved to be a ship from 
 near Dartmouth, laden with silk. As it was stormy weather, the 
 Turks did not put down their boat, but made the master of the 
 conquered ship put down his, and come on board with five of his 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF JOHN RAWLINS 
 
 189 
 
 meii and a boy, while ten of the Turks' men, among whom were 
 one English and two Dutch renegades belonging to the conspiracy, 
 went to man the prize instead. 
 
 But when Bawlins saw this division of his friends, before they 
 could set out for the other ship, he found means to tell them plainly 
 
 that he would complete his enterprise either that night or the next, 
 and that whatever came of it they must acquaint the four English 
 left on the captured ship with his resolution, and steer for England 
 while the Turks slept and suspected nothing. For, by God's grace, 
 in his first watch he would show them a light, to let them know 
 that the enterprise was begun, or about to be begun. 
 
190 THE ADVENTURE OF 1 JOHN BAWLIN& 
 
 So the boat reached the ship from Dartmouth ; and next 
 Eawlins told the captain and his men whom the Turks had sent 
 down among the other prisoners of his design, and found them 
 willing to throw in their lot with him. 
 
 The next morning, being February 7, the prize from Dartmouth 
 was not to be seen the men indeed having followed Eawlins' 
 counsel and steered for England. But the Turkish captain began 
 to storm and swear, telling Eawlins to search the seas up and down 
 for her which he did all day without success. Then Eawlins, 
 finding a good deal of water in the hold, persuaded the captain, 
 by telling him that the ship was not rightly balanced, to have four 
 of the guns brought aft, that the water might run to the pump. 
 This being done, and the guns placed where the English could use' 
 them for their own purpose, the final arrangement was made. The 
 ship having three decks, those that belonged to the gunner-room 
 were all to be there, and break up the lower deck. The English 
 slaves, who belonged to the middle deck, were to do the same with 
 Ihat, and watch the scuttles. Eawlins himself prevailed with the' 
 gunner to give him as much powder as would prime the guns, and' 
 told them all there was no better watchword than, when the signal 
 gun was heard, to cry : 
 
 ' For God, and King James, and Saint George for England.' 
 
 Then, all being prepared, and every man resolute, knowing' 
 what he had to do, Eawlins advised the gunner to speak to the 
 captain, that he might send the soldiers to the poop, to bring the 
 ship aft, and, weighing it down, send the water to the pumps. This 
 the captain was very willing to do ; and so, at two o'clock in the 
 afternoon the signal was given, by the firing of the gun, whose 
 report tore and broke down all the binnacle and compasses. 
 
 But when the Turks heard this, and the shouts of the con- 
 spirators, and saw that part of ship was torn away, and felt it shake 
 under them, and knew that all threatened their destruction no 
 bear robbed of her whelps was ever so mad as they, for they not only 
 called us dogs, and cried in their tongue, ' The fortune of war ! the 
 fortune of war ! ' but they tried to tear up the planking, setting 
 to work hammers, hatchets, knives, the oars of the boat, the boat 
 hook, and whatever else came to hand, besides the stones and 
 bricks of the cook-room, still trying to break the hatches, and never 
 ceasing their horrible cries and curses. 
 
 Then Eawlins, seeing them so violent, and understanding that 
 the slaves had cleared the decks of all the Turks and Moors under- 
 
THE ADVENTUEE OF JOHN BAWLINS 191 
 
 Heath, began to shoot at them through different scoutholes, with 
 their own muskets, and so lessened their number. At this they 
 cried for the pilot, and so Eawlins, with some to guard him, went 
 to them, and understood by their kneeling that they cried for 
 
 mercy and begged to come down. This they were bidden to do, 
 but coming down one by one, they were taken and slain with their 
 own curtleaxes. And the rest, perceiving this, some of them leapt 
 into the water, still crying : ' The fortune of war ! ' and calling their 
 foes English dogs, and some were slain with the curtleaxes, till the 
 decks were well cleared, 4 and the victory assured. 
 
192 THE ADVENTURE OF JOHN RAWLINS 
 
 At the first report of the gun, and the hurly-burly on deck, the 
 captain was writing in his cabin, and he came out with his curtle- 
 axe in hand, thinking by his authority to quell the mischief. But 
 when he saw that the ship was surprised, he threw down his curtle- 
 axe, and begged Rawlins to save his life, telling him how he had 
 redeemed him from Villa Rise, and put him in command in the 
 ship, besides treating him well through the voyage. This Bawlins 
 confessed, and at last consented to be merciful, and brought the 
 captain and five more renegades into England. 
 
 When all was done, and the ship cleared of the dead bodies, 
 John Rawlins assembled his men, and with one consent gave the 
 praise to God, using the accustomed services on shipboard. And 
 for want of books they lifted up their voices to God, as He put it 
 into their hearts or renewed their memories. Then did they sing a 
 psalm, and last of all, embraced one another for playing the men 
 in such a deliverance, whereby their fear was turned into joy. 
 That same night they steered for England, and arrived at Plymouth 
 on February 13, and were welcomed with all gla.dness. 
 
 As for the ship from Dartmouth, that had arrived in Penzance 
 on February 11, for the English had made the Turks believe 
 that they were sailing to Argier, till they came in sight of Eng- 
 land. Then one of the Turks said plainly that the land was not 
 like Cape Vincent ; but the Englishmen told them to go down 
 into the hold, and trim more to windward, and they should see and 
 know more to-morrow. Thereupon five of them went down very 
 orderly, while the English feigned themselves asleep ; but presently 
 they started up, and nailed down the hatches, and so overpowered 
 the Turks. And this is the story of this enterprise, and the end of 
 John Rawlins' voyage. 
 
193 
 
 THE CHEVALIER JOHNSTONE 'S ESCAPE 
 FROM CULLODEN 
 
 rE Chevalier Johnstone (or de Johnstone, as he preferred to 
 call himself) was closely connected with the Highland army, 
 hastily collected in 1745 for the purpose of restoring Charles 
 Edward to his grandfather's throne. He was aide-de-camp to Lord 
 George Murray, Generalissimo to the little force, and seems to 
 have known enough of warfare to be capable of appreciating his 
 commander's skill. He was also a captain in the regiment of the 
 Duke of Perth, and later, when the petals of the White Rose were 
 trampled under foot, he became an officer in the French service. 
 
 From his position, therefore, he was peculiarly fitted to tell the 
 tale of those two eventful years, 1745 and 1746. Though only the 
 son of a merchant, Johnstone was well connected, and, like many 
 Scottish gentlemen of that day, had been bred in loyalty to the 
 Jacobite cause. He was one of the first to join the Prince when he 
 had reached Perth, and it was from the Prince himself that he 
 received his company, after the fight at Prestonpans. His life was 
 all romance, but the part on which it is our present purpose to dwell 
 is the account he has left in his memoirs of his escape from the 
 field of Culloden, and the terrible sufferings he went through for 
 some months, till he finally made his way safely to Holland. 
 
 ' The battle of Culloden,' he says, 1 ' was lost rather by a series 
 of mistakes on our part than by any skilful manosuvre of the Duke 
 of Cumberland,' and every Scot in arms knew too well the doom 
 that awaited him at the ' Butcher's f hands. The half-starved 
 Highlanders were no match for the well-fed English troops, and 
 when the day was lost, and the rout became general, each man 
 sought to conceal himself in the fastnesses of the nearest mountains, 
 and, as long as he put himself well out of reach, was not particular 
 as to the means he took to purchase safety. 
 
 1 P. 211. 
 
194 JOHNSTONE'S ESCAPE FROM CULLODEN 
 
 Panics disclose strange and unexpected depths in men's minds, 
 and Johnstone was in no respect superior to his fellows. ' Being 
 no longer able to keep myself on my legs,' he relates, 1 ' and the 
 enemy always advancing very slowly, but redoubling their fire, my 
 mind was agitated and undecided whether I should throw away 
 my life, or surrender a prisoner, which was a thousand times 
 worse than death on the field of battle. All at once I perceived a 
 horse, about thirty paces before me, without a rider. The idea of 
 being yet able to escape gave me fresh strength and served as a 
 spur to me. I ran and laid hold of the bridle, which was fast in 
 
 the hand of a man lying on the ground, whom I supposed dead ; 
 but, what was my surprise when the cowardly poltroon, who was 
 suffering from nothing but fear, dared to remain in the most 
 horrible fire to dispute the horse with me, at twenty paces from the 
 enemy. All my menaces could not induce him to quit the bridle. 
 Whilst we were disputing, a discharge from a cannon loaded with 
 grape-shot fell at our feet, without however producing any effect 
 upon this singular individual, who obstinately persisted in retaining 
 the horse. Fortunately for ms, Finlay Cameron, an officer in 
 Lochiel's regiment, a youth of twanty years of age, six feet high, 
 
 1 P. 215. 
 
JOHNSTONE'S ESCAPE FROM CULLODEN 195 
 
 and very strong and vigorous, happened to pass near us. I called 
 on him to assist me. " Ah Finlay," said I, "this fellow will not give 
 ine up the horse." Finlay flew to me like lightning, immediately 
 
 presented his pistol to the head of this man, and threatened to 
 blow out his brains if he hesitated a moment to let go the bridle. 
 The fellow, who had the appearance of a servant, at length yielded 
 and took to his heels. Having obtained the horse, I attempted to 
 
 o2 
 
196 JOHNSTONS' S ESCAPE FROM CULLODEN 
 
 mount him several times, but all my efforts were ineffectual, as I was 
 without strength and completely exhausted. I called again on poor 
 Finlay, though he was already some paces from me, to assist me to 
 mount. He returned, took me in his arms, with as much ease as 
 if I had been a child, and threw me on the horse like a loaded sack, 
 giving the horse at the same time a heavy blow to make him set 
 off with me. Then wishing that I might have the good fortune to 
 make my escape, he bounded off like a roe, and was in a moment 
 out of sight. We were hardly more than fifteen or twenty paces 
 from the enemy when he quitted me. As soon as I found myself 
 at the distance of thirty or forty paces, I endeavoured to set 
 myself right on the horse, put my feet in the stirrups, and rode off 
 as fast as the wretched animal could carry me.' 
 
 There is something peculiarly funny in the simplicity of this 
 account of horse -stealing with violence ! Why a man should be 
 more of a coward who clings to his own property and only means 
 of safety, than the person who deliberately deprives him of both, is 
 not easy to see. But Johnstone never doubts for one moment that 
 what he does is always right, and what anyone else does is 
 always wrong, and he goes on complacently to remark that he pro- 
 bably ' saved the life of the poltroon who held the horse, in rousing 
 him out of his panic fear, for in less than two minutes the English 
 army would have passed over him.' l 
 
 The shelter which Johnstone made up his mind to seek was 
 the castle of Kothiemurchus, the property of the Grant family, situ, 
 ated in the heart of the mountains, and on the banks of the ' rapid 
 Spey.' But his troubles were not so easily over. The English 
 army barred the way, and Johnstone was forced to take the road 
 to Inverness. Again he was turned from his path by the 
 dreaded sight of the British uniform, and, accompanied by a High- 
 lander whom he had met by chance, he took refuge in a small 
 cottage in Fort Augustus. In spite of his peculiar views about 
 courage, Johnstone was a man who generally managed to do what- 
 ever he had set his heart on. He had resolved to go to Rothie- 
 murchus, and to Rothiemurchus he would go. At last he arrived 
 there, but found, to his great disappointment, that the laird, his old 
 friend, was away from home. In his place was his eldest son, who 
 was urgent that Johnstone should surrender himself a prisoner, as 
 Lord Balmerino had just done, by his advice, and under his escort. 
 
 1 P. 217. 
 
JOHNSTONE 'S ESCAPE FEOM CULLODEN 197 
 
 Johnstone replied that he would keep his liberty as long as he 
 could, and when it was no longer possible, he would meet his fate 
 with resignation. We all know the end to which poor Balmerino 
 came, but Johnstone was more fortunate. 
 
 His brother-in-law, the son of Lord Hollo, had been made 
 inspector of merchant ships in the town of Banff, and Johnstone 
 fondly hoped that by his help he might obtain a passage to some 
 foreign country. So he set off with three gentlemen of the name 
 
 of Gordon, who had also been staying at Rothiemurchus, and 
 rested the first night at the house of a shepherd near the mountain 
 of Cairngorm. Here he saw for the first time the stones which 
 bear this name, and though he is flying for his life, he dwells with 
 the delight of a collector on the beauty of the colours, and even 
 persuades his friends to put off their departure for a day, in order 
 that he may search for some specimens himself. He contrived, he 
 tells us,' to find several beautiful topazes, two of which he had cut 
 
 1 P. 229. 
 
198 JOHNSTONE'S ESCAPE FROM CULLODEN 
 
 as seals, and presented to the Duke of York, brother of Prince 
 Charles Edward. 
 
 Four days after leaving Rothiemurchus Banff was reached, and 
 the fugitives were sheltered by a Presbyterian minister, who was a 
 secret adherent of the Stuarts. Jolmstone at once took the pre- 
 caution of exchanging his laced Highland dress for that of an old 
 labourer, ' quite ragged, and exhaling a pestilential odour,' due 
 apparently to its having been used for many years ' when he 
 cleaned the stables of his master.' In this unpleasant disguise, he 
 entered the town of Banff, then garrisoned with four hundred 
 English soldiers, and went straight to the house of a former 
 acquaintance, Mr. Duff. After gaining admittance from the ser- 
 vant with some difficulty, he found with dismay that his brother- 
 in-law was away from home, and he could not therefore carry out 
 his plan of embarking, with his permission, on board one of the 
 merchant ships. There seemed nothing for it, therefore, but for 
 John stone to return at daybreak to the house of Mr. Gordon, where 
 lie had spent the previous night. At daybreak, however, he was 
 roused by a fearful disturbance in the courtyard below, occasioned 
 by the quarrels of some stray soldiers. For a moment he thought 
 death was certain, but the soldiers had no suspicion of his presence 
 in the house, and as soon as they had settled their affairs took 
 themselves off elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. Hollo proved a broken reed, and the Chevalier found, after a 
 few minutes' talk with his brother-in-law, that if he wished to reach 
 the Continent he must not count on a passage in the merchant 
 ships to help him. He therefore, after consultation with his friends, 
 came to the conclusion that his best plan was to make for the Low- 
 lands, and to this end he set out for Edinburgh as soon as possible. 
 Of course this scheme was beset with difficulties and dangers of 
 every kind. The counties through which he would be forced to 
 pass were filled with Calvinists, inspired with deadly hatred of the 
 Jacobite party. To escape their hands was almost certainly to fall 
 into those of the soldiery, and over and above this, government 
 passports were necessary for those who desired to cross the Firths 
 of Forth and Tay. 
 
 But, nothing daunted, Jolmstone went his way. He was passed in 
 disguise from one house to another, well-fed at the lowest possible 
 prices (he tells us of the landlady of a small inn who charged him 
 threepence for ' an excellent young fowl ' and his bed), till at last he 
 found himself in the region of Cortachy, the country of the Ogilvies, 
 
JOHNSTONE'S ESCAPE FROM CULLODEN 199 
 
 who one and all were on the side of the Prince. At Cortachy he was 
 quite secure, as long as 110 English soldiery came by, and even if they 
 did, the mountains were full of hiding places, and there was no risk 
 of treachery at home. Two officers who had served in the French 
 army, Brown and Gordon by name, had sought refuge here before 
 him, and lay concealed in the house of a peasant known as Samuel. 
 They implored him not to run the risk of proceeding south till affairs 
 had quieted down a little, and he agreed to remain at Samuel's 
 cottage till it seemed less dangerous to travel south. 
 
 It would be interesting to know what was ' the gratification 
 beyond his hopes ' which Johnstone gave Samuel when they parted 
 company some time after. It ought to have been something very 
 handsome considering the risks which the peasant had run in his 
 behalf, and also the fact that for several weeks Johnstone and his 
 two friends had shared the scanty fare of Samuel and his family. 
 They had ' no other food than oatmeal, and no other drink than 
 the water of the stream which ran through the glen. We breakfasted 
 every morning on a piece of oatmeal bread which we were enabled 
 to swallow by draughts of water ; for dinner we boiled oatmeal with 
 water, till it acquired a consistency, and we ate it with horn spoons ; 
 in the evening, we poured boiling water on this meal in a dish, for 
 our supper.' l Even this frugal diet could not be swallowed long in 
 peace, for shortly after their arrival, Samuel's daughter, who lived 
 at the mouth of the glen, came to inform her father that some 
 English troops had been seen in the neighbourhood, and whenever 
 there was any chance of their appearing in the glen Johnstone and 
 his friends had to take refuge in the mountains. 
 
 One day this woman arrived with the news that the soldiery were 
 hovering dangerously near, and had taken several notable prisoners. 
 Upon this the fugitives decided to leave their shelter at daybreak the 
 following morning and to make the best of their way to the High- 
 lands, where they would be sure of finding some rocks and caverns 
 to hide them from their foes. 
 
 This resolution once taken, they all went early to bed, and there 
 Johnstone had a dream which he relates with many apologies for 
 his superstition. He fancied himself in Edinburgh safe from the 
 snares of his enemies, and with no fears for the future, and describ- 
 ing his adventures and escapes since the battle of Culloden to his 
 old friend Lady Jane Douglas. The impression of peace and 
 happiness and relief from anxiety was so strong that it remained 
 
 1 P. 249. 
 
200 JOHNSTONE'S ESCAPE FROM CULLODEN 
 
 with him after he woke, and after lying turning the matter over in 
 his mind for another hour, informed Samuel (who had come to 
 rouse him with the intelligence that his companions had already 
 set off for the mountains) that he had altered his plans and intended 
 to go straight to Edinburgh. In vain the old man argued and 
 entreated. Johnstone was determined, and that same evening he 
 set forth on horseback with Samuel for his guide, and made straight 
 for the nearest arm of the sea, which he describes, though quite 
 wrongly, as being only eight miles from Cortachy. 
 
 To reach this, they were obliged to pass through Forfar, a town 
 which, being a Calvinistic stronghold, the Chevalier can never 
 mention without an abusive epithet. But here poor Samuel, whose 
 nerves had doubtless been strained by the perpetual watching and 
 waiting of the last few weeks, was frightened out of his senses by 
 the barking of a dog, and tried to throw himself from his horse. At 
 this juncture, Johnstone, who knew that to be left without a guide 
 in this strange place meant certain death, interfered promptly. 
 ' He was continually struggling to get down,' he says, 1 ' but I pre- 
 vented him by the firm hold I had of his coat. I exhorted him to 
 be quiet ; I reproached him ; I alternately entreated and menaced 
 him ; but all in vain. He no longer knew what he was about, and 
 it was to no purpose I assured him that it was only the barking of 
 a dog. He perspired at every pore, and trembled like a person in 
 an ague. Fortunately I had an excellent horse, and galloped 
 through Forfar at full speed, retaining always fast hold of his coat. 
 As soon as we were fairly out of the town, as no persons had come 
 out of their housss, poor Samuel began to breathe again, and made 
 a thousand apologies for his fears.' 
 
 As the day broke and they drew near Broughty Ferry, where 
 Johnstone intended to cross the Firth of Tay, the Chevalier dis- 
 mounted, and being obliged to part from his horse, offered it as a 
 present to Samuel, who declined the animal from motives of 
 prudence. It was then turned loose in a field (the saddle and bridle 
 being first thrown down a well), and the wayfarers proceeded on 
 their way. Only a few minutes later, they were joined by an 
 acquaintance of Samuel's, who seems to have been of a curious turn 
 of mind, and cross-questioned him as to where hs was going and 
 why. Samuel, with more readiness than could have been expected 
 from his recent behaviour, invented a story that sounded plausible 
 enough, explaining Johnstone to be a young man whom he had 
 
 1 P. 257. 
 
JOHNSTONE'S ESCAPE FROM CULLODEN 201 
 
 picked up on the road, and had taken into his service at low wages, 
 owing to his want of a character. The stranger was satisfied, and 
 after a prolonged drink they separated, when Samuel informed 
 Johnstone that the man was one of the ' greatest knaves and cheats 
 in the country,' and that they would assuredly have been betrayed 
 if he had discovered who they were. 
 
 They arrived at the Ferry about nine in the morning, and by 
 Samuel's advice, the Chevalier immediately sought the help of Mr. 
 Graham, a gentleman of Jacobite family, then living at Duntroon. 
 After a warm welcome from Mr. Graham, who gave him all the 
 entertainment he could without the knowledge of his servants, a 
 boat was engaged to Convey him across the Firth about nine that 
 night. Mr. Graham did not, however, dare to be his guide down to 
 
 the sea-shore, but gave him careful directions as to his following an 
 old woman who had been provided for this purpose. But all Mr. 
 Graham's precautions would have been useless, had not chance 
 once more favoured the Chevalier. His protectress decided that 
 it would be dangerous to allow him to loiter about the shore while 
 the boat was getting ready for sea, so she told her charge to wait 
 for her on the road on top of the hill, and she would return and 
 fetch him when all was ready. Half an hour passed very slowly : 
 the sun was sinking, and the Chevalier grew impatient. He left 
 the road by which he had been sitting, and lay down in a furrow 
 a few yards off, nearer the brow of the hill, so that he might per- 
 ceive his guide at the earliest moment. Scarcely had he changed 
 his quarters, than he heard the sound of horses, and peeping 
 
202 JOHNSTONE'S ESCAPE FROM CULLODEN 
 
 cautiously out, ' saw eight or ten horsemen pass in the very place 
 he had just quitted.' No sooner were they out of sight, than the 
 old woman arrived, trembling with fright. ' Ah ! ' she exclaimed in 
 a transport of joy, 'I did not expect to find you here.' She then 
 explained that the horsemen were English dragoons, and that they 
 had so threatened the boatmen engaged by Mr. Graham that they 
 absolutely refused to fulfil their compact. This was a terrible blow 
 to the Chevalier, but he declined to listen to tho old woman's advice 
 and return for shelter to Mr. Graham, and after much persuasion, 
 induced his guide to show him the way to the public-house by the 
 sea-shore. Here he was welcomed by the landlady, whose son had 
 been likewise ' out ' with the Prince, but neither her entreaties nor 
 those of the Chevalier could move the boatmen from their resolu- 
 tion. They even resisted the prayers of the landlady's two beautiful 
 daughters, till the girls, disgusted and indignant with such cowardice, 
 offered to row him across themselves. 
 
 ' We left Broughty Ferry,' he writes in his memoirs, ' at ten 
 o'clock in the evening, and reached the opposite shore about mid- 
 night.' He then took an affectionate leave of his preservers, and 
 proceeded, footsore as he was, to walk to St. Andrews. At this 
 time Johnstone seems to have felt more physically exhausted than 
 at almost any other moment of his travels ; and it was only by 
 dint of perpetually washing his sore and bleeding feet in the streams 
 he passed, that he managed to reach St. Andrews towards eight 
 o'clock. He at once made his way to the house of his cousin, Mrs. 
 Spence, who, herself a suspected person, was much taken aback by 
 the sight of him, and hastily sent a letter to a tenant farmer living 
 near the town, to provide the fugitive with a horse which would 
 carry him to Wemyss, a seaport town on the way to Edinburgh. 
 The old University city does not appear to have made a favourable 
 impression on the Chevalier. He declares that no town ' ever 
 deserved so much the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah,' : and this, not 
 from any particular wickedness on the part of the inhabitants, but 
 because they were supposed to be Calvinists. However, his senti- 
 ments must have been confirmed when the farmer declined to take 
 his horses out on a Sunday, and, lams as he was, J ohnstone had no 
 choice but to set out on foot for Wemyss. Halfway, he suddenly 
 remembered that close by lived an old servant of his family, married 
 to the gardener of Mr. Beaton, of Balfour. Here he was housed and 
 fed for twenty hours, and then Conducted by his host, a rigid Pres- 
 
 1 P. 274. 
 
JOHNSTONE'S ESCAPE FEOM CULLODEN 203 
 
 byterian, to a tavern at Wemyss, kept by the mother-in-law of the 
 gardener. By her advice they applied to a man named Salmon, 
 who, though a rabid Hanoverian, could be trusted not to betray 
 those who had faith in him. It was hard work to gain over Salmon, 
 who was proof against bribery, but at last it was done. By his 
 recommendation Johnstone was to lie till dawn in a cave near 
 Wemyss (a place whose name means * caves '), and with the first 
 ray of light was to beg a passage to Leith from some men who were 
 with Salmon part owners of a boat. In this cave, which, notwith- 
 standing its narrow entrance, was deep and spacious, the Chevalier 
 was glad to repose his weary bones. But, after dozing about an 
 hour, he was ' awakened by the most horrible and alarming cries 
 that ever were heard." l His first thought was that Salmon had 
 betrayed him, and he retreated to the interior of the cavern, cocked 
 his pistol, and prepared to sell his life dearly. Soon, however, the 
 swift movements accompanying the noise convinced him that it 
 did not proceed from men, for ' sometimes the object was about 
 my ears, and nearly stunned me, and, in an instant, at a consider- 
 able distance. At length I ceased to examine any more this horrible 
 and incomprehensible phenomenon, which made a noise in con- 
 fusion like that of a number of trumpets and drums, with a mixture 
 of different sounds, altogether unknown to me.' 
 
 Effectually aroused by the whining of the owls and bats (for 
 these, of course, were the authors of all this disturbance), Johnstone 
 fixed his eyes on the sea to note the first entrance of the fishing 
 boats into the harbour. He then went down to the shore and 
 began to make the bargain as directed by Salmon, and the fisher- 
 men agreed to land him at Leith for half-a-crown. But alas ! 
 once more his hopes were blighted. He was in the act of stepping 
 in-to the boat, when Salmon's wife appeared on the scene, and 
 forbade her husband to go to Leith that day, still less to take a 
 stranger there. Neither Salmon nor Johnstone dared insist, for 
 fear of rousing the woman's suspicions, and after a short retreat 
 in the cave in order to collect his thoughts, he returned to the 
 tavern at Wemyss, to consult with the friendly landlady. Thanks 
 to her, and with the help of one or two people to whom she intro- 
 duced him, Johnstone at last arrived at the house of one Mr. Seton, 
 whose son had formerly served with Johnstone in the army of the 
 Prince. Here he remained eight days, vainly seeking to find a 
 second man who could aid the fisherman who had already promised 
 
 1 P. 295. 
 
204 JOHNSTONE'S ESCAPE FROM CULLODEN 
 
 to put him across, though it <Joes not appear why Johnstone, who 
 had already observed J that he was able to row, did not take 
 an oar when his own head was at stake. 
 
JOHNSTONS 'S ESCAPE FROM CULLODEN 205 
 
 At last affairs were brought to a crisis, by rumours having got 
 abroad of the presence of a fugitive on the coast. Things seemed 
 in a desperate condition, when young Seton threw himself into the 
 breach, and agreed to help Cousselain, the fisherman, to take the 
 Chevalier to Leith. They were actually launching the boat when 
 the inhabitants of the village, alarmed by the noise they made, 
 raised a cry that a rebel was escaping, and the two' oarsmen had 
 barely time to conceal themselves without being discovered. How- 
 ever, in flat defiance of everyone's advice, and, as it turned out, in 
 spite of the drunken state of Cousselain, Johnstone resolved to 
 repeat the attempt in an hour's time, taking in the end, as he might 
 have done at the beginning, his place at the oar. For a few 
 moments they breathed freely ; then the wind got up, and the 
 waves, and, what was perhaps more dangerous, the drunken 
 Cousselain, who had been placed in the bottom of the boat. ' We 
 were obliged to kick him most unmercifully in order to keep him 
 quiet,' observes Johnstone, ' and to threaten to throw him over- 
 board if he made the least movement. Seton and myself rowed 
 like galley slaves. We succeeded in landing, about six in the 
 morning, on a part of the coast a league and a half to the east of 
 Edinburgh, 1 near the battlefield of Gladsmuir.' Here he parted 
 with his deliverers, tenderly embracing young Seton, and presenting 
 to the ' somewhat sober ' Cousselain a gratification beyond his 
 hopes. 
 
 After taking a little of the food with which Mr. Seton had pro- 
 vided him, he determined to seek refuge for a few days with an old 
 governess, Mrs. Blythe, wife of a small shipowner at Leith. Blythe 
 himself was another of the many ' rigid Calvinists and sworn 
 enemies of the house of Stuart ' to whom Johnstone entrusted his 
 safety during his wanderings, and never once had occasion to repent 
 it. Mr. Blythe, indeed, combined the profession of Calvinist with 
 that of smuggler, and had numerous hiding places in his house for 
 the concealment of contraband goods, which would prove equally 
 serviceable, as Johnstone told him, for ' the most contraband and 
 dangerous commodity that he had ever had in his possession.' 
 
 Though Johnstone had reached the goal of his desires, his perils 
 were by no means at an end. English soldiers visited the house, 
 and could with difficulty be persuaded to admit the exemption 
 pleaded by Mr. Blythe. In consequence of this event, Johnstone 
 accepted the offer of an asylum made him by Lady Jane Douglas, 
 
 1 P. 308. 
 
206 JOHNSTONE'S ESCAPE FEOM CULLODEN 
 
 in her place at Drumsheugh, half a league away. So his dream 
 came true, and after all his wanderings he was safe with Lady Jane, 
 telling the story of his adventures. He remained with her for two 
 months, unknown to anyone but his hostess and the gardener, 
 reading all day, and only taking a walk at night, when the house- 
 hold was in bed. At the end of that time, when Lady Jane and his 
 father were of opinion that he might safely go to London, and 
 thence abroad, fresh rumours as to his whereabouts began to arise, 
 and fearing the immediate visit of a detachment of English soldiers, 
 he was concealed for a whole day under a huge haycock, so over- 
 come by the heat that he could hardly breathe, in spite of a bottle 
 of water and another of wine, with which he was provided. 
 
 This measure, which after all was needless, for no soldiers 
 came, was the last trial he had to undergo before leaving Scot- 
 land, and here we must part from him. In France, which he 
 made his home, he became the friend of many eminent men, and 
 was aide-de-camp in Canada to the Marquis de Montcalm. But 
 the end of his life was sad, and he died in poverty. 1 
 
 1 From Memoirs of the Chevalier de Johnstone. Longmans. London, 1822. The 
 Memoirs were written in French, and deposited in the Scots College at Paris. They 
 were communicated to Messrs. Longman by Robert Watson, the adventurer, who, under 
 Napoleon, was Principal of the Scots College. The Chevalier left a granddaughter, who 
 corresponded on the subject of the Memoirs with Sir Walter Scott. 
 
207 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF LORD PITSLIGO 
 
 WHEN Prince Charles came to Scotland in 1745. to seek his 
 grandfather's crown, no braver and no better man rode with 
 him than Lord Pitsligo. He was now sixty-seven years of age, for 
 he was born in 1678, ten years before James II. was driven out of 
 England. As a young man he had lived much in France, where 
 he became the friend of the famous Fenelon, author of ' Telemaque.' 
 Though much interested in the doctrines of Fenelon, Lord Pitsligo 
 did not change his faith, but remained a member of the persecuted 
 Episcopal Church of Scotland. In France lie met the members of 
 the exiled Eoyal family, whom he never ceased to regard as his lawful 
 monarchs, though Queen Anne, and later the First and Second 
 Georges, occupied the throne of England. When the clans rose for 
 King James, the son of James II., in 1715, Lord Pitsligo, then a man of 
 twenty- seven, joined the forces under his kinsman, Lord Marr. His 
 party was defeated, and he went abroad. He did not stay long with 
 James in Rome, but was allowed to return to his estates in Scotland. 
 Here he lived very quietly, beloved by rich and poor. But, in 
 1745, Prince Charles landed, and the old Lord believed it to be his 
 duty to join him. He had, as he says, no keen enthusiasm for the 
 Stuarts, but to his mind they were his lawful rulers. So aged was 
 he, and so infirm, that, when he left a neighbour's house before set- 
 ting out, a little boy brought a stool to help him to mount his horse. 
 1 My little fellow, he said, ' this is the severest reproof I have yet 
 met with, for presuming to go on such an expedition.' Lady 
 Pitsligo in vain reminded him of the failure of 1715. ' There never 
 was a bridal,' he replied, ' but the second day wac the best.' The 
 gentlemen of his county thought that they could not do wrong in 
 following so learned and excellent a man, so they all mounted the 
 white cockade and rode with him. He arrived just too late for the 
 victory of Preston Pans. * It seemed,' said an eye-witness, * as if 
 
203 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF LOED PITSLIGO 
 
 religion, virtue, and justice were entering the camp under the ap 
 pearance of this venerable old man.' When he wrote home, he said, 
 ' I had occasion to discover the Prince's humanity, I ought to say 
 tenderness : this is giving myself no great airs, for he showed the 
 
 samo dispositions to everybody.' In the fatigues of the campaign, 
 the Prince, who was young and strong, insisted on Lord Pitsligo's 
 using his carriage, while he himself marched on foot at the head of 
 his army. 
 
 After the defeat of Culloden, Lord Pitsligo hid among the moun- 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF LORD PITSLIGO ,209 
 
 tains, living on oatmeal, moistened with hot water. They had not 
 even salt to their brose ; for, as one of the Highlanders said, ' Salt is 
 touchy,' meaning expensive. Yet these men, who -could not even 
 buy salt, never betrayed their Prince for the great reward of thirty 
 thousand pounds, nor any of the other gentlemen in hiding. Pos- 
 sibly they did not believe that there was so much money in the 
 world, Lord Pitsligo had made up his mind not to go abroad again, 
 but to live or die among his own people. At one time he lay for 
 days hidden in a damp hole under a little bridge, and at other times 
 concealed himself in the mosses and moors. Here the lapwings, 
 flitting and crying above him, were like to have drawn the English 
 soldiers to his retreat. His wife gave him two great bags, like these 
 
 which beggars carried ; in these he would place the alms which were 
 given to him, and in this disguise he had many narrow escapes. Once 
 he saw some dragoons on the road behind him, but he was too old 
 and too ill to run. He was obliged to sit down and cough, and one 
 of the dragoons who were in search of him actually gave him some 
 money as they passed by, and condoled with him on the severity 
 of his cough. 
 
 Lord Pitsligo often hid in a cave on the coast of Buchan. Here 
 was a spring of water welling through the rock, and he carved a 
 little cistern for it, to pass the time. He was fed by a little girl, 
 too young to be suspected, who carried his meals from a neigh- 
 bouring farm. One day he was sitting in the kitchen of the farm, 
 when some soldiers came in. and asked the goodwife to guide them 
 
 p 
 
210 THE ADVENTURES OF LORD PITSLTGO 
 
 to Lord Pitsligo's cave. She said, ' That travelling body will go 
 with you,' and Lord Pitsligo conducted the soldiers to his hiding 
 place, left them there, and walked back to the farm. But the follow- 
 ing adventure was perhaps his narrowest escape. 
 
 In March 1756, and of course long after all apprehension of a 
 search had ceased, information having been given to the then com- 
 manding officer at Fraserburgh, that Lord Pitsligo was at that 
 moment in the house of Auchiries, it was acted upon with so much 
 promptness and secrecy, that the search must have proved suc- 
 cessful but for a very singular occurrence. Mrs. Sophia Donald- 
 son, a lady who lived much with the family, repeatedly dreamt on 
 that particular night that the house was surrounded by soldiers. 
 Her mind became so haunted with the idea, that she got out of bed, 
 and was walking through the room in hopes of giving a different current 
 to her thoughts before she lay down again, when, day beginning to 
 dawn, she accidentally looked out at the window as she passed it in 
 traversing the room, and was astonished at actually observing the 
 figures of soldiers among some trees near the house. So completely 
 had all idea of a search been by that time laid asleep, that she sup- 
 posed they had come to steal poultry ; Jacobite poultry-yards afford- 
 ing a safe object of pillage for the English soldiers in those days. 
 Under this impression Mrs. Sophia was proceeding to rouse the 
 servants, when her sister having awaked, and inquiring what was 
 the matter, and being told of soldiers near the house, exclaimed, in 
 great alarm, that she feared they wanted something more than hens. 
 She begged Mrs. Sophia to look out at a window on the other side 
 of the house, when not only soldiers were seen in that direction, 
 but also an officer giving instructions by signals, and frequently 
 putting his fingers on his lips, as if enjoining silence. There was 
 now no time to be lost in rousing the family, and all the haste that 
 could be made was scarcely sufficient to hurry the venerable man 
 from his bed, into a small recess behind the wainscot of an adjoin- 
 ing room, which was concealed by a bed, in which a lady, Miss 
 Gordon of Towie, who was there on a visit, lay, before the soldiers 
 obtained admission. A most minute search took place. The room 
 in which Lord Pitsligo was concealed did not escape : Miss Gordon's 
 bed was carefully examined, and she was obliged to suffer the rude 
 scrutiny of one of the party, by feeling her chin, to ascertain that it 
 was not a man in a lady's night-dress. Before the soldiers had 
 finished their examination in this room, the confinement and 
 anxiety increased Lord Pitsligo's asthma so much, and his breath- 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF LORD PITSLIGO 211 
 
 ing became so loud, that it obliged Miss Gordon, lying in bed, to 
 counterfeit and continue a violent coughing, in order to prevent the 
 high breathing behind the wainscot from being heard. It may 
 easily be conceived what agony she would suffer, lest, by overdoing 
 her part, she should increase suspicion, and in fact lead to a dis- 
 covery. The ruse was fortunately successful. On the search 
 through the house being given over, Lord Pitsligo was hastily taken 
 from his confined situation, and again replaced in bed ; and as soon 
 
 as he was able to speak, his accustomed kindness of heart made him 
 say to his servant, ' James, go and see that these poor fellows get 
 some breakfast, and a drink of warm ale, for this is a cold morning ; 
 they are only doing their duty, and cannot bear me any ill-will.' 
 \Vhen the family were felicitating each other on his escape, he 
 pleasantly observed, ' A poor prize had they obtained it an old 
 dying man ! ' That the friends who lived in the house, the hourly 
 witnesses of his virtues, and the objects of his regard, who saw him 
 
212 THE ADVENTURES OF LORD PITSLIGO 
 
 escape all the dangers that surrounded him, should reckon him the 
 peculiar care of Providence, is not to be wondered at ; and that the 
 dream which was so opportune, as the means of preventing his 
 apprehension, and probably of saving his life, was supposed by some 
 of them at last to be a special interposition of Heaven's protecting 
 shield against his enemies, need not excite surprise. This was ac- 
 cordingly the belief of more than one to their dying hour. 
 
 After some fifteen years, the English Government ceased to 
 think Lord Pitsligo dangerous. He was allowed to live unmolested 
 at the house of his son, where he died in 1762, in his eighty-fifth 
 year. ' He was never heard to speak an ill word of any man living,' 
 says one who knew him well, and who himself spoke many ill 
 words of others. 1 Lord Pitsligo left a little book of ' Thoughts on 
 Sacred Things,' which reminds those who read it of the meditations 
 of General Gordon. His character, as far as its virtues went, is 
 copied in the Baron Bradwardine, in Sir Walter Scott's novel of 
 ' Waverley.' 2 
 
 1 Dr. King, of St. Mary's Hall, Oxford. 
 
 2 From Thoughts Concerning Man's Condition and Duties in this Life. By Alexander, 
 Lord Pitsligo. Edinburgh : Blaekwood. 1854. 
 
213 
 
 THE ESCAPE OF C^SAR BORGIA FROM THE 
 CASTLE OF MEDINA DEL CAMPO 
 
 r/^2ESAE BOEGIAforms, with his father Pope Alexander VI., and his 
 [_ \J sister Lucrezia, one of a trio who have become a proverb for infamy 
 of every kind. His father, Eoderigo, was by birth a Spaniard, and by 
 education a lawyer, in which profession he gained much distinction, till 
 suddenly, with an impetuosity strange in a man who did everything by 
 calculation, he threw up his legal career for that of a soldier. But the 
 rough life was repugnant to one of his temperament, which demanded 
 ease and luxury, so after a little active service, when his courage, during 
 some sharp engagements, was proved beyond a doubt, he abandoned the 
 army also, and retired to live in comfort on the large fortune lately be- 
 queathed to him by his father. 
 
 It required some pressing on the part of his uncle, Calixtus III., 
 recently made Pope, to induce him to leave his native land and his 
 secular existence, for Italy and a Cardinalate. But no sooner did he 
 occupy his new position, than a set of base qualities, which had hitherto 
 lain dormant, suddenly developed themselves, and from this moment 
 he became one of the cleverest and most successful hypocrites of his 
 age. 
 
 It was in 1492, the year that saw the landing of Columbus in 
 America, and the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent at Florence, that the 
 Cardinal Borgia obtained, by means of huge bribes, his election to the 
 Papal Throne, and took the name of Alexander VI. His first care was 
 to establish (for his own credit's sake) order and security in Eome, and 
 this done, he turned his thoughts to the aggrandisement of his family. 
 For when Eoderigo sailed for Italy he was shortly followed by his four 
 children, Francis, Caesar, Lucrezia and Geoffrey, and their mother Eosa 
 Vanozza. All four, but more particularly Caesar and Lucrezia, inherited 
 in the highest degree their father's beauty, talents and wickedness. 
 Honours of every kind were showered upon them, marriages made and 
 unmade to suit the requirements of the moment, murders committed to 
 ensure them wealth and possessions. For eleven years the roll of crime 
 grew heavier day by day, till at last the chastisement came, and the 
 
214 THE ESCAPE OF C^SAR BOEGIA 
 
 Borgias, who had invited several of the Cardinals to supper for the pur- 
 pose of poisoning them and seizing on their revenues, were themselves 
 served with the draught they had intended for their guests. The Pope 
 died alter eight days, in mortal agony, but, owing to his having drunk 
 less of the wine, Caesar slowly recovered, and resumed his old trade of 
 arms. The talsnts which had made him one of the first captains in 
 Italy caused him to be the dread of all his enemies, and finally led to 
 his capture (by violation of a safe-conduct), at the hands of Gonsalvo de 
 Cordova, Captain of the Forces of Ferdinand of Spain.] 
 
 It was in June 1504 that Caesar Borgia, General of the Church 
 and Duke of Romagna and Valentinois, was conducted to the 
 Castle of Medina del Campo in Spain. For two years Caesar waited 
 in prison, hoping that his old ally, Louis XII., whose cousin Mile. 
 d'Albret he had married, would come to his assistance. But he 
 waited in vain and his courage began to give way, when one day 
 something happened which proved to him that he had still one 
 friend left, his faithful Michelotto, a soldier of fortune who had fol- 
 lowed him to Spain, and was now hidden in the neighbourhood of 
 the prison. It was breakfast time, and Caesar was in the act of 
 cutting his bread when he suddenly touched a hard substance, and 
 found a file, and a small bottle containing a narcotic, and a note 
 concealed in the loaf. The note was from Michelotto, and in- 
 formed Caesar that he and the Count of Benevento would hide 
 themselves every night on the road between the castle and the 
 village, in company with three good horses, and that he must make 
 the best use he could of the file and the sleeping draught. 1 
 
 Two years' imprisonment had weighed too heavily on Caesar 
 for him to waste a single moment in trying to regain his freedom. 
 He, therefore, lost no time in beginning to work on one of the bars 
 of his window, which opened on an inside court, and soon con- 
 trived to cut through so far, that a violent shake would enable 
 him to remove it altogether. But the window was nearly seventy 
 feet above the ground, while the only way of leaving the court 
 was by a door reserved for the governor alone, the key of which was 
 always carried about his person. By day it was suspended from 
 his belt, by night it was under his bolster. To gain possession of 
 this key was the most difficult part of the matter. 
 
 Now in spite of the fact that he was a prisoner, Caesar had 
 invariably been treated with all the respect due to his name and 
 rank. Every day at the dinner hour, he was conducted from the 
 
 1 'What follows is translated from Dumas. 
 
THE ESCAPE OF CJESAB BOEGIA 215 
 
 room in which he was confined to the governor's apartments and 
 was received by him as an honoured guest. Don Manuel himself 
 was an old soldier who had served with distinction under Ferdinand, 
 and, while carrying out punctually his orders for Caesar's safe cus- 
 tody, he admired his military talents, and listened with pleasure to 
 the story of his fights. He had often desired that Caesar should 
 breakfast as well as dine with him, but, luckily for himself, the 
 prisoner, perhaps aided by some presentiment, had always refused 
 this favour. It was owing to his solitude that he was able to 
 conceal the instruments for his escape sent by Michelotto. 
 
 Now it happened that the very same day that he had received 
 them, Caesar contrived to stumble, and twist his foot as he was re- 
 turning to his room. When the hour of dinner came he tried to 
 go down, but declared that walking hurt him so much, that he 
 should be obliged to give it up, so the governor paid him a visit 
 instead, and found him stretched on his bed. 
 
 The next day Caesar was no better ; his dinner was ordered to 
 be served upstairs, and the governor paid him a visit as before. He 
 found his prisoner so dull and bored with his own company, that 
 he offered to come and share his supper. Caesar accepted the offer 
 with gratitude and joy. 
 
 This time it was the prisoner who did the honours of the table, 
 and Caesar was particularly charming and courteous in manner. 
 The governor seized the opportunity of putting some questions as 
 to his capture, and inquired, with the pride of a Castilian noble, 
 who set honour above all, what was the exact truth as to the way in 
 which Gonsalvo de Cordova and Ferdinand had broken their faith 
 with him. Caesar showed every disposition to give him satisfaction 
 on this point, but indicated by a sign that he could not speak freely 
 before the valets. This precaution was so natural, that the governor 
 could not seem offended at it, and dismissed his attendants, so that 
 he and his companion remained alone. When the door was shut, 
 Csesar filled his glass and that of the governor, and proposed the 
 king's health. The governor emptied his glass at once, and Caesar 
 began his story, but he had hardly told a third of it, when in spite 
 of its exciting adventures, the eyes of his guest closed as if by magic, 
 and his head fell on the table in a deep sleep. 
 
 At the end of half-an-hour, the servants, not hearing any noise, 
 entered the room, and found the two boon companions, one on the 
 table and the other under it. There was nothing very unusual 
 about such an event to excite their suspicions, so they contented 
 
216 
 
 THE ESCAPE OF CJESAR BORGIA 
 
 themselves with carrying Don Manuel to his chamber and laying 
 Caesar on his bed ; they then locked the door with great care, leaving 
 the prisoner alone. 
 
 For a minute or two longer Caesar lay still, apparently plunged 
 
 in a profound slumber, but when the sound of footsteps had com- 
 pletely died away, he softly raised his head, opened his eyes, and 
 moved towards the door, rather slowly it is true, but without seem- 
 ing to feel any ill-effects from his accident on the previous day. H 
 
THE ESCAPE OF CJESAB BOEGIA 217 
 
 stood still for a few seconds with his ear at the keyhole, then, rais- 
 ing himself, with a strange expression of triumph on his face, he 
 passed his hand over his forehead, and, for the first time since the 
 guards had left the room, breathed freely. 
 
 But there was no time to be lost, and without a moment's delay 
 he fastened the door from the inside as securely as it was fastened 
 without. He next extinguished his lamp, threw open his window, 
 and finished cutting through the bar. This done, he took off the 
 bandages tied round his leg, tore down the curtains, both of his 
 window and his bed, and made them into strips, adding to them 
 sheets, table cloths, napkins, and whatever else he could lay hands 
 on. At last he had a rope between fifty and sixty feet long, which 
 he secured firmly at one end to the bar next to the one that he had 
 sawn away, and mounting on the window r -ledge, he began the most 
 dangerous part of his expedition in trusting himself to this frail 
 support. Happily, Caesar was as strong as he was agile, and slid 
 down the whole length of the cord without accident ; but when he 
 had reached the very end, in vain he tried to touch the earth with 
 his feet. The rope was too short. 
 
 Caesar's position was terrible. The darkness of the night pre- 
 venting his knowing how far he might be above the ground, and 
 his exertions had so fatigued him that he could not have gone back 
 even had he wished. There was no help for it, and, after muttering 
 a short prayer, he let go the rope, and fell, a distance of twelve or 
 fifteen feet. 
 
 The danger he had escaped was too great for the fugitive to 
 mind some slight bruises caused by his fall, so he jumped up, and 
 taking his bearings, made straight for the little door which stood 
 between him and freedom. When he reached it he felt in his pocket 
 for the key, and a cold sweat broke out on his face as he found it 
 was not there. Had he forgotten it in his room, or had he lost it 
 in his descent ? 
 
 Collecting his thoughts as well as he could, he soon came to the 
 conclusion that it must have fallen out of his pocket as he climbed 
 down the rope. So he made his way a second time cautiously 
 across the court, trying to discover the exact spot where it might 
 be, by the aid of the wall of a cistern, which he had caught hold of 
 to raise himself from the ground. But the lost key was so small 
 and so insignificant, that there was little chance that he would ever 
 see it. However, it was his last resource, and Cassar was searching 
 for it with all his might, when suddenly a door opened and the 
 
218 THE ESCAPE OF CMSAH BORGIA 
 
 night patrol came out, preceded by two torches. At first Caesar 
 gave himself up for lost, then, remembering the water-butt that was 
 behind him, he at once plunged into it up to his neck, watching 
 with intense anxiety the movements of the soldiers who were ad- 
 vancing towards his hiding place. They passed him within a few 
 feet, crossed the court, and vanished through the door opposite ; but, 
 though all this had taken such a very short time, the light of the 
 torches had enabled Caesar to distinguish the key lying on the 
 ground, and hardly had the gate closed on the soldiers when he was 
 once more master of his libert}\ 
 
 Half-way between the castle and the village the Count of Bene- 
 vento and Michelotto awaited him with a led horse. Caesar flung 
 himself on its back and all three set out for Navarre, where, after 
 three days' hard riding, they found an asylum with the king, Jean 
 d'Albret, brother of Caesar's wife. 
 
219 
 
 THE KIDNAPPING OF THE PBINCES 
 
 (The following story is adapted from Carlyle's 
 Essay, ' The Prinzenraub ') 
 
 ABOUT the year 1455, one of the Electors of Saxony, Friedrich 
 der Sanftmiitige (Frederick the Mild), quarrelled with a 
 certain knight named Konrad von Kaufungen. Friedrich had 
 hired Konrad, or Kunz as he was called, to fight for him in a war 
 against another Elector. In one of the battles, Kunz was taken 
 prisoner. To ransom himself he was obliged to pay 4,000 gold 
 gulden, for which he thought Friedrich ought to repay him. Fried- 
 rich refused to do so, as Kunz was not his vassal whom he was 
 bound to protect, but only a hired soldier who had to take all risks 
 on himself. Kunz was very angry, and threatened to revenge him- 
 self on the Elector, who took all his threats very calmly, saying to 
 him, * Keep cool, Kunz ; don't burn the fish in the ponds.' But 
 Kunz was in bitter earnest. He went away to an old castle called 
 Isenburg in Bohemia, on the Saxon frontier, where he lived for some 
 time with his two squires, Mosen and Schdnberg, plotting against 
 the Elector and his family. He had, moreover, bribed one of the 
 Elector's servants, Hans Schwalbe, to tell him all that was being 
 done in his castle of Altenburg. In July, Schwalbe sent word to 
 him that, on the seventh day of the month, the Elector and most cf 
 his followers were going away to Leipzig, and would leave the 
 Electress and his two boys, Ernst and Albrecht, guarded only by a 
 few servants, and these, he added, would probably spend the even- 
 ing drinking in the town. Now the castle of Altenburg was built 
 on a steep hill, and one side of it overhung a precipice. As this 
 side was little guarded, Hans agreed to letdown a rope-ladder from 
 one of the windows, and thus enable Kunz to get an entrance into 
 the castle. His plan then was to make his way to the sleeping 
 room of the two little princes, carry them off to his castle at Isen- 
 
220 THE KIDNAPPING OF THE PRINCES 
 
 burg, and keep them till their father should grant his demands. 
 Isenburg Castle was about a day's journey from the little town of 
 Altenburg ; so Kunz and his two squires, Mosen and Schonberg, and 
 a few other men, started early on the 7th to ride to Altenburg, 
 and when they reached it they hid themselves till nightfall. 
 About midnight Kunz and his men went as quietly as possible to 
 the foot of the cliff. Everyone seemed asleep in the castle, and 
 outside no sound was to be heard but the stealthy tramp of the 
 armed men. When they reached the rendezvous under the castle, 
 Kunz gave his men their orders. Mosen, Sehonberg, and three or 
 four more were to come with him into the castle, and, when inside, 
 to lock the doors of the Electress's and the servants' room, while 
 the rest were to guard the gates in order that no one should escape 
 to give the alarm. Each was to be ready when once the princes 
 were secured to ride away for Isenburg as hard as possible. 
 
 Then Kunz whistled softly. He listened for a moment ; an- 
 other whistle answered his own, and a rope-ladder was slowly 
 lowered from one of the windows. Kunz mounted it, and made his 
 way to the room where the two little princes were sleeping under 
 the charge of an old governess. He seized the eldest, a boy of 
 fourteen, and carried him down the ladder, and Mosen followed 
 with a second child in his arms. This boy kept calling out, ' I am 
 not one of the princes ; I am their playfellow, Count von Bardi. 
 Let me go ! Let me go ! ' Thereupon, telling the others to ride on 
 with Prince Ernst in order to secure him, Kunz dashed up the 
 ladder again, and ran to the princes' room, where he found liitle 
 Prince Albrecht hiding under the bed. He caught him up and 
 descended again with him. As he went, the Electress, roused by 
 the boys' cries and finding her door bolted, rushed to the window 
 and begged and implored him not to take her children. 
 
 ' My husband shall grant all your demands, I swear to you,' she 
 cried, ' only leave me my children ! ' 
 
 ' Tell the Elector, Madam,' laughed Kunz, looking up, ' that I 
 can burn the fish in the ponds ! ' 
 
 Then he mounted his horse, which his servant was holding, and 
 away they rode as fast as the horses would carry them. They had 
 not ridden many miles before the clang of bells broke on their ears. 
 The alarm peal of the castle had awakened that of the town, and 
 in a few hours every bell in every belfry in Saxony was ringing an 
 alarm. The sun rose, and Kunz and his followers plunged deeper 
 into the forest, riding through morasses and swamps, over rough 
 
THE KIDNAPPING OF THE PEINCES 221 
 
 and stony ground anywhere to escape from the din of those alarm 
 bells. At last the ride for dear life was nearly over ; the band was 
 within an hour's journey of the castle of Isenburg, when Prince 
 Albrecht declared that he was dying of thirst. 
 
 ' For the love of Heaven, give me something to drink, Sir 
 Knight,' he implored. 
 
 Kunz bade the others ride on, and giving his squire his horse to 
 hold he dismounted, lifted Albrecht down, and began looking for 
 bilberries for him. 
 
 Whilst he was doing so, a charcoal-burner with his dog came 
 up. He was much surprised to see such grand people in the forest, 
 and asked, 
 
 ' What are you doing with the young lord ? ' 
 
 ' He has run away from his parents,' answered Kunz, impa- 
 tiently. ' Can you tell me where bilberries are to be found here ? ' 
 
 ' I do not know,' replied the charcoal-burner, still staring at the 
 strangers. 
 
 Anxious to make him leave them, Kunz turned angrily round 
 on him, and in doing so caught his spars in the bushes, and fell flat 
 on his face. 
 
 Albrecht caught hold of the charcoal-burner's arm. 
 
 1 Save me ! ' he whispered eagerly. ' I am the Elector's son ; 
 this man has stolen me ! ' 
 
 The squire struck at the Prince with his sword, but the charcoal- 
 burner warded aside the blow with his long pole, and felled the 
 man to the ground. Kunz fought fiercely with him, but in answer 
 to his summons for help, and attracted by the barking of the dog, a 
 number of other charcoal-burners appeared on the scene to help 
 their comrade, and Kunz was disarmed and taken prisoner. They 
 marched him in triumph to the monastery of Grtinheim, where he 
 was secured in one of the cells, and in a few days was sent to 
 Freiburg. On the 14th he was tried and condemned to death. 
 It is said that a pardon was sent by the Elector, but if it were so 
 it arrived too late, and Kunz was beheaded. 
 
 The rest of the robber-band with Prince Ernst did not fare 
 much better. The alarm bells had aroused the whole country ; six 
 of the men were captured, and Mosen and the others with Prince 
 Ernst took refuge in a cave near Zwickau. Not daring to venture 
 out, and half starving for want of food, they lay there for three days 
 in wretched plight. Then they learned accidentally from some 
 woodmen, whose conversation they overheard, that Kunz had been 
 
222 
 
 THE KIDNAPPING OF THE PEINCES 
 
 taken prisoner, had been tried, and by this time was in all proba- 
 bility beheaded. As soon as they received this piece of intelligence, 
 they held a consultation and finally decided to send a message to 
 the Amtmann of Zwickau, offering to restore Prince Ernst if a free 
 pardon were granted to them, but threatening, if this was refused, 
 they would at once kill him. Had they known that Kunz was 
 still alive, they might have stipulated for his pardon as well, but 
 
 believing him dead, they made no terms as regards his fate. The 
 Amtmann had no choice but to accede to their demands when 
 their proposal reached him. Prince Ernst was given up. Mosen 
 and the rest fled away, nor were they ever heard of any more. 
 
 When the brave charcoal-burner, Georg Schmidt, was brought 
 before the Elector and his court, the Electress asked him how he 
 had dared to fight the robber-knight with no weapon but his pole. 
 
 ' Madam,' he replied, ' I gave him a sound " drilling " with my 
 pole.' 
 
 All the court laughed, and thenceforward he was always called 
 
THE KIDNAPPING OF THE PBINCES 223 
 
 Georg der Triller (the Driller), and his descendants took this name 
 as their surname. The only reward he would accept for his brave 
 deed was leave for himself and his family to cut what wood they 
 needed in the forest in which he lived. 
 
 The Electress and the two princes made a pilgrimage to the 
 shrine at the monastery of Ebersdorf. and there in the church they 
 hung up the coats which . they and Kunz and the ' Triller ' had 
 worn on the memorable night when they were kidnapped, and 
 there it is said they may be seen at this day. 
 
224 
 
 THE CONQUEST OF MONTE ZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 THE YOUTH OF CORTES 
 
 LONG ago, when Henry VIII. was King of England and Charles V. 
 was King of Spain, there lived a young Spanish cavalier 
 whose name was Hernando Cortes. His father, Don Martin Cortes, 
 sent him to Salamanca when he was about fourteen years old, in- 
 tending to have him educated as a lawyer. But Hernando cared 
 nothing for books, and after wasting two years at college returned 
 home, to the great annoyance of his parents, who were glad enough 
 when, after another year of idleness, he proposed to go and seek his 
 fortune in the New World so lately discovered by Columbus. An 
 exploring expedition was just being fitted out, and Hernando Cortes 
 had quite made up his mind to join it, when he unluckily fell from 
 a high wall which he was climbing, and before he had recovered 
 from his injuries the ships had sailed without him. Two more 
 years did he remain at home after this misadventure, but at length, 
 when he was nineteen years old, he joined a small fleet bound for the 
 Indian Islands. The vessel in which he sailed was commanded 
 by one Alonso Quintero, who, when they reached the Canary Islands, 
 and all the other vessels were detained by taking in supplies, stole out 
 of the harbour under cover of the night, meaning to reach Hispaniola 
 before his companions, and so secure a better chance of trading. 
 However, he met with a furious storm, and was driven back to the 
 port with his ship dismasted and battered. The rest of the fleet 
 generously consented to wait while his ship was being refitted, and 
 after a short delay they set out again, but so soon as they neared 
 the islands, the faithless Quintero again gave his companions the 
 slip, but with no better success, for he met with such heavy gales 
 that he entirely lost his reckoning, and for many days they tossed 
 about helplessly, until one morning they were cheered by the sight 
 of a white dove, which settled upon the rigging. Taking the direc- 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 225 
 
 tion of the bird's flight, they soon reached Hispaniola, where the 
 captain had the satisfaction of finding all the other ships had 
 arrived before him, and had sold all their cargoes. Cortes, as 
 soon as he landed, went to see Ovando, the governor of the island, 
 whom he had known in Spain, and presently was persuaded by him 
 to accept a grant of land and settle down to cultivate it, though at 
 first he said, ' I came to get gold, not to till the ground like a 
 peasant.' So six years passed, during which the monotony of Cortes's 
 life was only broken by occasional expeditions against the natives, 
 in which he learned to endure toil and danger, and became familiar 
 with the tactics of Indian warfare. At length, in 1511, when 
 Diego Velasquez, the governor's lieutenant, undertook the conquest 
 of Cuba, Cortes gladly accompanied him, and throughout the expe- 
 dition made himself a favourite both with the commander and the 
 soldiers. But when later on there arose discontent over the dis- 
 tribution of lands and offices, the malcontents fixed upon Cortes as 
 the most suitable person to go back to Hispaniola, and lay their 
 grievances before the higher authorities. This came to the ears 
 of Velasquez, however, and he at once seized Cortes, whom he 
 loaded with fetters and threw into prison. Luckily he soon suc- 
 ceeded in freeing himself from the irons, and letting himself down 
 from the window took refuge in the nearest church, where he claimed 
 the right of sanctuary. Velasquez, who was very angry at his 
 escape, stationed a guard with orders to seize Cortes if he should 
 leave the sanctuary, and this he was soon careless enough to do. 
 As he stood outside the church an officer suddenly sprang upon 
 him from behind, and made him prisoner once more. This time 
 he was carried on board a ship w r hich was to sail the next morning 
 for Hispaniola, where he was to be tried, but again he managed 
 to escape by dragging his feet through the rings which fettered 
 them, and dropping silently over the ship's side into a little boat 
 under cover of the darkness. As he neared the shore the water 
 became so rough that the boat was useless, and he was forced to 
 swim the rest of the way ; but at last he got safely to land, and 
 again took refuge in the church. After this he married a lady 
 named Catalina Xuarez, and by the aid of her family managed to 
 make his peace with Velasquez. Cortes now received a large 
 estate near St. Jago, where he lived prosperously for some years, 
 and even amassed a considerable sum of money. But at last news 
 came of an exploring expedition which had set out in 1518 under 
 Grijalva, the nephew of Velasquez. He had touched at various 
 
226 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIEE 
 
 places on the Mexican coast, and had held a friendly conference 
 with one cacique, or chief, who seemed desirous of collecting all 
 the information he could about the Spaniards, and their motives in 
 visiting Mexico, that he might transmit it to his master, the Aztec 
 emperor. Presents were exchanged at this interview, and in 
 return for a few glass beads, pins, and such paltry trifles, the 
 Spaniards had received such a rich treasure of jewels and gold 
 ornaments that the general at once sent back one of his ships under 
 the command of Don Pedro de Alvarado to convey the spoil, and 
 acquaint the governor of Cuba with the progress of the expedition, 
 and also with all the information he had been able to glean re- 
 specting the Aztec emperor and his dominions. Now in those 
 days nothing whatever was known about the interior of the country 
 or of its inhabitants it was as strange to the explorers as another 
 planet. 
 
 THE WONDERS OF MEXICO 
 
 This was what they had to tell the governor. Far away to- 
 wards the Pacific Ocean there stood, in a beautiful and most fertile 
 valley, the capital of a great and powerful empire, called by its in- 
 habitants ' Tenochtitlan,' but known to the Europeans only by its 
 other name of ' Mexico,' derived from 'Mexitli,' the war-god of the 
 Aztecs. These Aztecs seem to have come originally from the 
 north, and after many wanderings to have halted at length on the 
 south-western borders of a great lake, of which there were several 
 in the Mexican valley. This celebrated valley was situated at a 
 height of about 7,500 feet above the sea, and was oval in form, 
 about 67 leagues in circumference, and surrounded by towering 
 rocks, which seemed to be meant to protect it from invasion. It 
 was in the year 1325 that the Aztecs paused upon the shore of the 
 lake, and saw, as the sun rose, a splendid eagle perched upon a 
 prickly pear which shot out of a crevice in the rock. It held a 
 large serpent in its claws, and its broad wings were opened towards 
 the rising sun. The Aztecs saw in this a most favourable omen, 
 and there and then set about building themselves a city, laying its 
 foundations upon piles in the marshy ground beside the lake, and 
 to this day the eagle and the cactus form the arms of the Mexican 
 republic. 
 
 The little body of settlers increased rapidly in number and power, 
 and made their name terrible throughout the valley, in which various 
 other tribes had long been settled, until at last they united them- 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 227 
 
 selves with the king of the Tezcucans, to aid him against a tribe 
 called the Tepanecs, who had invaded his territory. The allies were 
 completely successful, and this led to an agreement between the 
 
 states of Mexico, Tezcuco, and Tlacopan, that they should support 
 each other in all their wars, and divide all the spoils between them. 
 This alliance remained unbroken for over a hundred years and 
 
 Q2 
 
228 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 under a succession of able princes the Aztec dominion grew, till at 
 Ihe coming of the Spaniards it reached across the continent, from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The Aztecs had many wise laws and 
 institutions, and were indeed in some respects a highly civilised 
 community. When their emperor died a new one was chosen from 
 among his sons or nephews, by four nobles. The one preferred was 
 obliged to have distinguished himself in war, and his coronation did 
 not take place until a successful campaign had provided enough 
 captives to grace his triumphal entry into the capital, and enough 
 victims for the ghastly sacrifices whjch formed an important part of 
 all their religious ceremonies. Communication was held with the 
 remotest parts of the country by means of couriers, who, trained to 
 it from childhood, travelled with amazing swiftness. Post-houses 
 were established on the great roads, and the messenger bearing his 
 despatches in the form of hieroglyphical paintings, ran to the first 
 station, where they were taken by the next messenger and carried 
 forward, being sent in one day a hundred or two hundred miles. 
 Thus fish was served at the banquets of the emperor Montezuma 
 which twenty-four hours before had been caught in the Gulf of 
 Mexico, two hundred miles away. Thus too the news was carried 
 when any war was going on, and as the messengers ran to acquaint 
 the court with the movements of the royal armies, the people by the 
 way knew whether the tidings were good or bad by the dress of 
 the courier. But the training of warriors was the chief end and 
 aim of all Aztec institutions. Their principal god was the god of 
 war, and one great object of all their expeditions was the capture 
 of victims to be sacrificed upon his altars. They believed that the 
 soldier who fell in battle was transported at once to the blissful 
 regions of the sun, and they consequently fought with an utter dis- 
 regard of danger. The dress of the warriors was magnificent. 
 Their bodies were protected by a vest of quilted cotton, impervious 
 to light missiles, and over this the chiefs wore mantles of gor- 
 geous feather-work, and the richer of them a kind of cuirass of gold 
 or silver plates. Their helmets were of wood, fashioned like the 
 head of some wild animal, or of silver surmounted by plumes of 
 variously coloured feathers, sprinkled with precious stones, beside 
 which they wore many ornaments of gold, and their banners were 
 embroidered with gold and feather- work. 
 
 The Aztecs worshipped thirteen principal gods, and more than two 
 hundred of less importance, each of whom, however, had his day of 
 festival, which was duly observed. At the head of all stood the 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 229 
 
 war-god, the terrible Huitzilopochtli, whose fantastic image was 
 loaded with costly ornaments, and whose temples, in every city of 
 the empire, were the most splendid and stately. The Aztecs also 
 had a legend that there had once dwelt upon the earth the great 
 Quetzalcoatl, god of the air, under whose sway all things had 
 nourished and all people had lived in peace and prosperity ; but he 
 had in some way incurred the wrath of the principal gods, and was 
 compelled to leave the country. On his way he stopped at the city 
 of Cholula, where a temple was dedicated to him, of which the 
 great ruins remain to this day. When he reached the shores of the 
 Mexican Gulf hs embarked in his magic boat, made of serpents' 
 skins, for the fabulous land of Tlapallan, but before he bade his 
 followers farewell he promised that he and his descendants would 
 one day come again. The Aztecs confidently looked forward to the 
 return of their benevolent god, who was said to have been tall in 
 stature, with a white skin, long dark hair, and a flowing beard, and 
 this belief of theirs prepared the way, as you will presently seo, for 
 the success of Cortes. 1 The Mexican temples, or teocallis as they 
 were called which means ' Houses of God ' were very numerous, 
 there being several hundreds of them in each of the principal cities. 
 They looked rather like the Egyptian pyramids, and were divided 
 into four or five stories, each one being smaller than the one belov/ 
 it r and the ascent was by a flight of steps at an angle of the pyramid. 
 This led to a sort of terrace at the base of the second story, "which 
 passed quite round the building to another flight of steps imme- 
 diately over the first, so that it was necessary to go all round tho 
 temple several times before reaching the summit. The top was a 
 broad space on which stood two towers, forty or fifty feet high, 
 which contained the images of the gods. Before these towers stood 
 the dreadful stone of sacrifice, and two lofty altars on which the 
 sacred fires burned continually. Human sacrifices were adopted 
 by the Aztecs about two hundred years before the coming of the 
 Spaniards. Bare at first, they became more and more frequent 
 till at length nearly every festival closed with this cruel abomina- 
 tion. The unhappy victim was held by five priests upon the stone 
 of sacrifice, while the sixth, who was clothed in a scarlet mantle, 
 emblematic of his horrible oflice, cut open his breast with a sharp 
 razor of ' itztli,' a volcanic substance as hard as flint, and tearing 
 
 1 In 1121 Bishop Eric left Iceland for Vinland, part of America discovered by Leii 
 the Lucky (1000-1002). Bishop Eric was heard of no more. Can he have reached the 
 Aztecs, and been regarded as a god ? 
 
230 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 out his heart, held it first up to the sun, which they worshipped, 
 and then cast it at the feet of the god to whom the temple was 
 devoted ; and to crown the horror, the body of the captive thus 
 sacrificed was afterwards given to the warrior who had taken him 
 in battle, who thereupon gave a great banquet and served him up 
 amid choice dishes and delicious beverages for the entertainment of 
 his friends. When the great teocalli of Huitzilopochtli was dedi- 
 cated in the year 1486, no less than 70,000 prisoners were thus 
 sacrificed, and in the whole kingdom every year the victims were 
 never fewer than 20,000, or, as some old writers say, 50,000. 
 The Aztec writing was not with letters and words, but consisted of 
 little coloured pictures, each of which had some special meaning. 
 Thus a ' tongue ' denoted speaking, a ' footprint ' travelling, a ' man 
 sitting on the ground ' an earthquake. As a very slight difference 
 in position or colour intimated a different meaning, this writing 
 was very difficult to read, and in the Aztec colleges the priests 
 specially taught it to their pupils. At the time of the coming of the 
 Spaniards there were numbers of people employed in this picture- 
 writing, but unfortunately hardly any of the manuscripts were pre- 
 served ; for the Spaniards, looking upon them as magic scrolls, caused 
 them to be burned by thousands. In many mechanical arts the 
 Aztecs had made considerable progress. Their ground was well culti- 
 vated, they had discovered and used silver, lead, tin, and copper. 
 Gold, which was found in the river-beds, they cast into bars, or used 
 as money by filling transparent quills with gold dust. They also 
 made many fantastic ornaments of gold and silver, and cast gold 
 and silver vessels, which they carved delicately with chisels. Some 
 of the silver vases were so large that a man could not encircle them 
 with his arms. But the art in which they most delighted was the 
 wonderful feather- work. With the gorgeous plumage of the tropical 
 birds they could produce all the effect of a beautiful mosaic. The 
 feathers, pasted upon a fine cotton web, were wrought into dresses 
 for the wealthy, hangings for their palaces, and ornaments for their 
 temples. 
 
 These then were the people of whom Grijalva sent back to Cuba 
 a few vague reports, and these, and the accounts of the splendour 
 of the treasure, spread like wildfire through the island. The 
 governor having resolved to send out more ships to follow up 
 these discoveries, looked about him for a suitable person to com- 
 mand the expedition and share the expenses of it, and being re- 
 commended by several of his friends to choose Hernando Cortes, he 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 231 
 
 presently did so. Cortes had now attained his heart's desire, and 
 at once began with the utmost energy to purchase and fit out the 
 ships. He used all the money he had saved, and as much more as 
 he could persuade his friends to lend him, and very soon he was in 
 possession of six vessels, and three hundred recruits had enrolled 
 themselves under his banner. His orders were, first, to find Grijalva 
 and to proceed in company with him ; then to seek out and rescue 
 six Christians, the survivors of a previous expedition, who were 
 supposed to be lingering in captivity in the interior ; and to bear in 
 mind, before all things, that it was the great desire of the Spanish 
 monarch that the Indians should be converted to Christianity. They 
 were to be invited to give their allegiance to him, and to send him pre- 
 sents of gold and jewels to secure his favour and protection. The 
 explorers were also to survey the coast, acquaint themselves with 
 the general features of the country, and to barter with the natives. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE EXPEDITION 
 
 But before Cortes was ready to start, a jealousy and distrust of 
 him took possession of the mind of Velasquez, so that he determined 
 to entrust the command of the fleet to someone else. This came to 
 the ears of Cortes, and he with great promptitude assembled his offi- 
 cers secretly, and that very night set sail with what supplies he was 
 able to lay hands upon, his ships being neither ready for sea nor pro- 
 perly provisioned. When morning broke news was carried to Velas- 
 quez that the fleet was under weigh, and he rose hastily and galloped 
 down to the quay. Cortes rowed back to within speaking distance. 
 
 ' This is a courteous way of taking leave of me, truly,' cried the 
 governor. 
 
 ' Pardon me,' answered Cortes, ' time presses, and there are some 
 things that should be done before they are even thought of.' And 
 with that he returned to his vessel, and the little fleet sailed away to 
 Macaca, where Cortes laid hi more stores. This was on November 18, 
 1518. Shortly afterwards he proceeded to Trinidad, a town on the 
 couth coast of Cuba, where he landed, and setting up his standard, 
 invited all who would to join the expedition, holding out to them 
 great hopes of wealth to be gained. Volunteers flocked in daily, 
 including many young men of noble family, who were attracted by 
 \he fame of Cortes. Among them were Pedro de Alvarado, Cristo- 
 val de Olid, Alonso de Avila, Juan Velasquez de Leon, Alonso Her- 
 -aandez de Puertocarrero, and Gonzalo de Sandoval, of all of whom 
 
232 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 you will hear again before the story is finished. Finally, in February 
 1519, when all the reinforcements were assembled, Cortes found he had 
 eleven vessels, one hundred and ten mariners, five hundred and fifty- 
 three soldiers, and two hundred Indians. He also had sixteen horses, 
 ten large guns, and four lighter, which were called falconets. Cortes, 
 before embarking, addressed his little army, saying that he held out 
 to them a glorious prize, and that if any among them coveted riches, 
 he would make them masters of such as their countrymen had never 
 dreamed of ; and so they sailed away for the coast of Yucatan. 
 
 The first thing that happened was that they were overtaken by a 
 furious tempest, and Cortes was delayed by looking after a disabled 
 vessel, and so was the last to reach the island of Cozumel. Here he 
 found that Alvarado, one of his captains, had landed, plundered a 
 temple, and by his violence caused the natives to fly and hide them- 
 selves inland. 
 
 Cortes, much displeased, severely reprimanded his officer, and, 
 by the aid of an interpreter, explained his peaceful intentions to two 
 Indians who had been captured. Then he loaded them with presents, 
 and sent them to persuade their countrymen to return, which they pre- 
 sently did, and the Spaniards had the satisfaction of bartering the 
 trifles they had brought for the gold ornaments of the natives. Next 
 Cortes sent two ships to the opposite coast of Yucatan, where they 
 were to despatch some Indians inland, to seek for and ransom the 
 Christian captives, of whom he had gained some tidings from a 
 trader, and while they were gone he explored the island, and induced 
 the natives to declare themselves Christians by the very summary 
 method of rolling their venerated idols out of their temple, and set- 
 ting up in their stead an image of the Virgin and Child. When the 
 Indians saw that no terrible consequences followed, they listened to 
 the teaching of the good priest, Father Olniedo, who accompanied 
 the expedition, though it is probable that they did not, after all, 
 understand much of his instruction. After eight days the two ships 
 came back, but with no news of the captives, and Cortes sorrow- 
 fully decided that he could wait no longer. He accordingly took in 
 provisions and water, and set sail again, but before they had gone far 
 one of the ships sprang a leak, which obliged them to put back into 
 the same port. It was lucky that they did, for soon after they 
 landed a canoe was seen coming from the shore of Yucatan, which 
 proved to contain one of the long-lost Spaniards, who was called 
 Aguilar. He had been for eight years a slave among the natives in 
 the interior, but his master, tempted by the ransom of glass-beads, 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIEE 233 
 
 hawk -bells, and such treasures, had consented to release him. When 
 he reached the coast the ships were gone, but owing to the fortunate 
 accident of their return, he found himself once more among his 
 countrymen. Cortes at once saw the importance of having him as 
 an interpreter, but in the end he proved to be of more use to the 
 explorers than could have been at first imagined. 
 
 Again the fleet set out, and coasted along the Gulf of Mexico 
 till they reached th3 mouth of the Kio de Tabasco. Here Cortes 
 landed, but found that the Indians were hostile, and were drawn 
 up in great force against him. However, after some hard fighting 
 the Spaniards were victorious, and having taken possession of the 
 town of Tabasco, Cortes sent messengers to the chiefs saying that if 
 they did not at once submit themselves he would ravage the country 
 with fire and sword. As they had no mind for any more fighting 
 they came humbly, bringing presents, and among them thirty slaves, 
 one of whom, a beautiful Mexican girl named Malinche, was after- 
 wards of the utmost importance to the expedition. She had come 
 into the possession of the cacique of Tabasco through some traders 
 from the interior of the country, to whom she had been secretly 
 sold by her mother, who coveted her inheritance. Cortes now re- 
 embarked his soldiers and sailed away to the island of San Juan de 
 Uloa, under the lee of which they anchored, and soon saw the light 
 pirogues of the Indians coming off to them from the mainland. 
 They brought presents of fruit and flowers, and little ornaments of 
 gold which they gladly exchanged for the usual trifles. Cortes 
 was most anxious to converse with them, but found to his disap- 
 pointment that Aguilar could not understand their dialect. In this 
 dilemma he was informed that one of the slaves was a Mexican, 
 and could of course speak the language. This was Malinche, or as 
 the Spaniards always called her, ' Marina.' Cortes was so charmed 
 with her beauty and cleverness that he made her his secretary, 
 and kept her always with him ; and she very soon learned enough 
 Spanish to interpret for him without the help of Aguilar. But at 
 first they were both necessary, and by their aid Cortes learned that 
 bis visitors were subjects of Montezurna, the great Aztec emperor, 
 and were governed by Tenhtlile, one of his nobles. Cortes having 
 ascertained that there was abundance of gold in the interior, 
 dismissed them, loaded with presents, to acquaint their governor 
 with his desire for an interview. The next morning he landed on 
 the mainland with all his force. It was a level sandy plain, and 
 the troops employed themselves in cutting down trees and bushes 
 
284 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUAfA'S EMPIRE 
 
 to provide a shelter from the weather ; in this they were aided by 
 the natives, who built them huts with stakes and earth, mats and 
 cotton carpets, and flocked from all the country round to see the 
 wonderful strangers. They brought with them fruits, vegetables, 
 flowers in abundance, game, and many dishes cooked after the 
 fashion of the country ; and these they gave to, or bartered with, 
 the Spaniards. The next day came Tenhtlile, the governor, with a 
 numerous train, and was met by Cortes, and conducted to his tent 
 
 with great ceremony. All the principal officers were assembled, 
 and after a ceremonious banquet at which the governor was regaled 
 with Spanish wines and confections, the interpreters were sent for 
 and a conversation began. Tenhtlile first asked about the country 
 of the strangers, and the object of their visit. Cortes replied that 
 he was the subject of a powerful monarch beyond the seas, who had 
 heard of the greatness of the Mexican emperor, t,nd had sent him 
 with a present in token of his goodwill, and with a message which 
 ho must deliver in person. He concluded by asking when he could 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 235 
 
 be admitted into Montezuma's presence. To this the Aztec noble 
 replied haughtily, 
 
 ' How is it that you have been here only two days, and demand 
 to see the emperor ? ' 
 
 Then he added that he was surprised to hear that there could 
 be another monarch as powerful as Montezuma, but if it were so 
 his master would be happy to communicate with him, and that he 
 would forward the royal gift brought by the Spanish commander, 
 and so soon as he had learned Montezuma's will would inform him 
 of it. Tenhtlile then ordered his slaves to bring forward the 
 present for the Spanish general. It consisted of ten loads of fine 
 cotton, several mantles of gorgeous feather-work, and a wicker 
 basket of golden ornaments. Cortes received it with due acknow- 
 ledgments, and in his turn ordered the presents for Montezuma to 
 be brought forward. These were an armchair richly carved and 
 painted, a crimson cloth cap with a gold medal, and a quantity of 
 collars, bracelets, and other ornaments of cut-glass, which in a 
 country where glass was unknown were as valuable as real gems. 
 The Aztec governor observed a soldier in the camp in a shining 
 gilt helmet, and expressed a wish that Montezuma should see it, as 
 it reminded him of one worn by the god Quetzalcoatl. Cortes 
 declared his willingness that the helmet should be sent, and begged 
 that the emperor would return it filled with the gold dust of the 
 country, that he might compare its quality with that of his own. 
 He also said that the Spaniards were troubled with a disease of 
 the heart, for which gold was a sure remedy. In fact, he made his 
 want of gold very clear to the governor. While these things were 
 passing Cortes observed one of Tenhtlile's attendants busy with a 
 pencil, and on looking at his work he found it was a sketch of the 
 Spaniards, their costumes, weapons, and all objects of interest being 
 correctly represented both in form and colour. This was the cele- 
 brated picture-writing, and the governor said that this man was 
 drawing all these things for Montezuma, as he would get a much 
 better idea of their appearance thus. Cortes thereupon ordered 
 out the cavalry, and caused them to go through their military 
 exercises upon the firm wet sands of the beach ; and the appearance 
 of the horses which were absolutely unknown in Mexico filled 
 the natives with astonishment, which turned to alarm when the 
 general ordered the cannon to be fired, and they saw for the first 
 time the smoke and flame, and beheld the balls crashing among 
 the trees of the neighbouring forest and reducing them to splinters. 
 
236 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA' S EMPIRE 
 
 Nothing of this sort was lost upon the painters, who faithfully 
 recorded every particular, not omitting the ships the ' water- 
 houses,' as they called them which swung at anchor in the bay. 
 Finally, the governor departed as ceremoniously as he had come, 
 leaving orders with his people to supply the Spanish general with 
 all he might require tih 1 further instructions should come from the 
 emperor. 
 
 In the meantime the arrival of the strangers was causing no 
 small stir in the Mexican capital. A general feeling seems to have 
 prevailed that the Keturn of the White God, Quetzalcoatl, was at 
 hand, and many wonderful signs and occurrences seemed to confirm 
 the belief. 
 
 In 1510 the great lake of Tezcuco, without tempest, earthquake, 
 or any visible cause, became violently agitated, overflowed its 
 banks, and, pouring into the streets of Mexico, swept away many 
 buildings by the fury of its waters. In 1511 one of the towers of 
 the great temple took fire, equally without any apparent cause, and 
 continued to burn in defiance of all attempts to extinguish it. In 
 the following years three comets were seen, and not long before 
 the coming of the Spaniards a strange light broke forth in the 
 east, resembling a great pyramid or flood of fire thickly powdered 
 with stars : at the same time low voices were heard in the air, and 
 doleful wailings, as if to announce some strange, mysterious cala- 
 mity. A lady of the Eoyal house died, was buried, and rose 
 again, prophesying ruin to come. After the conquest she became a 
 Christian. 
 
 Montezuma, terrified at these apparitions, took counsel of Neza- 
 hualpilli, King of Tezcuco, who was a great proficient in astrology ; 
 but far from obtaining any comfort from him, he was still further de- 
 pressed by being told that all these things predicted the speedy down- 
 fall of his empire. When, therefore, the picture-writings showing 
 the Spanish invaders reached Montezuma, they caused him great 
 apprehension, and he summoned the kings of Tezcuco and Tlacopan 
 to consult with them as to how the strangers should be received. 
 There was much division of opinion, but finally Montezuma resolved 
 to send a rich present which should impress them with a high idea 
 of his wealth and grandeur, while at the same time he would forbid 
 them to approach the capital. After eight days at the most, which 
 however seemed a long time to the Spaniards, who were suffering 
 from the intense heat of the climate, the embassy, accompanied by 
 the governor Tenhtlile, reached the camp, and presented to Cortes 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA 1 8 EMPIRE 237 
 
 the magnificent treasure sent by Montezuma. One of the two nobles 
 had been sent on account of his great likeness to the picture of Cortes 
 which the Aztec painter had executed for Montezuma. This resem- 
 blance was so striking that the Spanish soldiers always called this 
 chief ' the Mexican Cortes.' After the usual ceremonious salutes, 
 the slaves unrolled the delicately wrought mats and displayed the 
 gifts they had brought. There were shields, helmets, and cuirasses 
 embossed with plates and ornaments of pure gold, with collars and 
 bracelets of the same previous metal, sandals, fans, plumes, and 
 crests of varieg ted feathers wrought with gold and silver thread 
 and sprinkled -with pearls and precious stones. Also imitations of 
 birds and animals in wrought or cast gold and silver of exquisite 
 workmanship ; and curtain coverlets and robes of cotton, fine as 
 slik of rich and varied hues interwoven with feather- work that 
 rivalled the most delicate painting. There were more than thirty 
 loads of cotton cloth, and the Spanish helmet was returned filled 
 to tho brim with grains of gold. But the things which excited the 
 most admiration were two circular plates of gold and silver as 
 large as carriage-wheels. One, representing the sun, was richly 
 carved with plants and animals, and was worth fifty-two thousand 
 five hundred pounds. The Spaniards could not conceal their rapture 
 at this exhibition of treasure which exceeded their utmost dreams ; 
 and when they had sufficiently admired it the ambassadors cour- 
 teously delivered their message, which was to the effect that 
 Montezuma had great pleasure in holding communication with so 
 powerful a monarch as the King of Spain, but he could not grant a 
 personal interview to the Spaniards ; the way to his capital was too 
 long and too dangerous. Therefore the strangers must return to 
 their own land with the gifts he had sent them. Cortes, though 
 much vexed, concealed his annoyance and expressed his sense of 
 the emperor's munificence. It made him, he said, only the more 
 desirous of a personal interview, so that he felt it was impossible 
 that he should present himself again before his sovereign without 
 having accomplished this great object of his journey. He once 
 more requested them to bear this message to their master, with 
 another trifling gift. This they seemed unwilling to do, and took 
 their leave repeating that the general's wish could not be gratified. 
 The soldiers were by this time suffering greatly from the heat, 
 surrounded as they were by burning sands and evil-smelling 
 marshes, and swarms of venomous insects which tormented them 
 night and day. Thirty of their number died, and the discomfort of 
 
238 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIEE 
 
 the rest was greatly increased by the indifference of the natives, 
 who no longer brought them such abundant supplies, and demanded 
 an immense price for what they did provide. After ten days the 
 Mexican envoys returned, bearing another rich present of stuffs and 
 gold ornaments, which, though not so valuable as the first, was yet 
 worth three thousand ounces of gold. Beside this there were four 
 precious stones, somewhat resembling emeralds, each of which they 
 assured the Spaniards was worth more than a load of gold, and 
 was destined as a special mark of respect for the Spanish monarch, 
 since only the nobles of Mexico were allowed to wear them. 
 Unfortunately, however, they were of no value at all in Europe. 
 Montezuma's answer was the same as before. He positively 
 forbade the strangers to approach nearer to his capital, and requested 
 them to take the treasure he had bestowed upon them, and return 
 without delay to their own country. Cortes received this unwelcome 
 message courteously, but coldly, and turning to his officers ex- 
 claimed, ' This is a rich and powerful prince indeed, yet it shall go 
 hard but we will one day pay him a visit in his capital.' Father 
 Olmedo then tried to persuade the Aztec chiefs to give up their 
 idol- worship, and endeavoured by the aid of Marina and Aguilar to 
 explain to them the mysteries of his own faith, but it is probable 
 that he was not very successful. The chiefs presently withdrew 
 coldly, and that same night every hut was deserted by the natives, 
 and the Spaniards were left without supplies in a desolate wilder- 
 ness. Cortes thought this so suspicious that he prepared for an 
 attack, but everything remained quiet. 
 
 The general now decided to remove his camp to a more healthy 
 place a little farther along the coast, where the ships could anchor 
 and be sheltered from the north wind. But the soldiers began to 
 grumble and be discontented, and to say that it was time to return 
 with their spoil, and not linger upon those barren shores until they 
 had brought the whole Mexican nation about their ears. Fortun- 
 ately at this juncture five Indians made their appearance in the 
 camp, and were taken to the general's tent. They were quite 
 different from the Mexicans in dress and appearance, and wore 
 rings of gold and bright blue gems in their ears and nostrils, while 
 a gold leaf, delicately wrought, was attached to the under lip. 
 Marina could not understand their language, but luckily she found 
 that two of them could speak in the Aztec tongue. They explained 
 that they came from Cempoalla, the chief town of a tribe called the 
 Totonacs, and that their country had been lately conquered by the 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 239 
 
 Aztecs, whose oppressions they greatly resented. They also said 
 that the fame of the Spaniards had reached their master, who had 
 sent to request them to visit him in his capital. It is easy to ima- 
 gine how eagerly Cortes listened to this communication, and how 
 important it was to him. Hitherto, as he knew absolutely nothing 
 of the state of affairs in the interior of the country, he had supposed 
 the empire to be strong and united. Now he saw that the discon- 
 tent of the provinces conquered by Montezuma might be turned to 
 his own advantage, and that by their aid he might hope to succeed 
 in his cherished scheme of subduing the emperor himself. He 
 therefore dismissed the Totonacs with many presents, promising 
 soon to visit their city. Then with his usual energy and diplomacy 
 he turned upon the immediate difficulties which beset him the 
 discontent of the soldiers, the jealousy of some of his officers, and 
 the fact that he had no warrant for his ambitious plans in the 
 commission that he had received from Velasquez. By tact and 
 cunning he managed to settle everything as he wished, and set to 
 work to establish a colony in the name of the Spanish sovereign, 
 and appointed his chief friend Puertocarrero to be one of its magis- 
 trates, and Montejo, who was a friend of Velasquez, to be the other. 
 The new town was called Villa Rica de Vera Cruz, ' The rich town 
 of the True Cross,' and, as you see, its governors and officials were 
 appointed before a single house was built. To them Cortes then 
 resigned the commission which he had received from Velasquez, 
 and the council, which consisted chiefly of his own friends, imme- 
 diately reappointed him to be captain-general and chief justice of 
 the colony, with power to do practically just as he liked. Of course 
 this caused a great commotion in the opposing party, but Cortes 
 put the leaders into irons and sent them on board one of the ships, 
 while he sent the soldiers on a foraging expedition into the surround- 
 ing country. By the time these returned with supplies they had altered 
 their minds, and joined their companions in arms, pledging them- 
 selves to a common cause, while even the cavaliers on board the ship 
 came to the same conclusion, and were reconciled to the new 
 government, and were from that time staunch adherents to Cortes. 
 Peace being thus restored, the army set out to march northwards 
 to the place where it had been decided to build the town. They 
 crossed a river in rafts and broken canoes which they found upon its 
 bank, and presently came to a very different scene from the burning 
 sandy waste, which they had left. The wide plains were covered 
 with green grass, and there were groves of palms, among whicn the 
 
240 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIEE 
 
 Spaniards saw deer and various wild animals, and flocks of phea- 
 sants and turkeys. On their way they passed through a deserted 
 village, in the temples of which they found records in the picture- 
 writing, and also, to their horror, the remains of sacrificed victims. 
 As they proceeded up the river they were met by twelve Indians, 
 sent by the cacique of Cempoalla to show them the way to his town. 
 The farther they went the more beautiful did the country become. 
 The trees were loaded with gorgeous fruits and flowers, and birds 
 and butterflies of every hue abounded. As they approached the 
 Indian city they saw gardens and orchards on each side of the road, 
 and were met by crowds of natives, who mingled fearlessly with the 
 soldiers, bringing garlands of flowers, in which they specially de- 
 
 lighted, to deck the general's helmet and to hang about the neck 
 of his horse. The cacique, who was tall and very fat, received 
 Cortes with much courtesy, and assigned to the army quarters in 
 a neighbouring temple, where they were well supplied with provi- 
 sions, and the general received a present of gold and fine cotton,. 
 But in spite of all this friendliness he neglected no precautions, 
 stationing sentinels, and posting his artillery so as to command the 
 entrance. The following morning Cortes paid the cacique a visit 
 at his own residence, and, by the aid of Marina, a long conference 
 was held in which the Spanish general gained much important in- 
 formation, and promised to aid the Totonacs against Montezuma, 
 and prevent him from carrying off their young men and maidens 
 to be sacrificed to his gods. The following day the army marched 
 
CONQUEST OF MONfEZ#M& EAfPIfiE 241 
 
 off again to the town of Cliialmitztla, which stood like a fortress on a 
 crag overlooking the gulf. Though the inhabitants were alarmed at 
 first, they soon became friendly, and the chiefs came to confer with 
 Cortes and the cacique of Cempoallo, who had accompanied him, car- 
 ried in a litter. Just then there was a stir among the people, and 
 five men entered the market-place where they were standing. By 
 their rich and peculiar dress they seemed to belong to a different 
 race : their dark glossy hair was tied in a knot at the top of the head, 
 and they carried bunches of flowers in their hands. Their atten- 
 dants carried wands, or fans, to brush away the flies and insects 
 from their lordly masters. These persons passed the Spaniards 
 haughtily, scarcely deigning to return their salutations, and they 
 were immediately joined by the Totonac chiefs, who seemed anxious 
 to conciliate them by every sort of attention. The general, much 
 astonished, inquired of Marina what this meant, and she replied 
 that these were Aztec nobles empowered to receive tribute for 
 Montezuma. 
 
 Soon after the chiefs returned in dismay, saying that the Aztecs 
 were very angry with them for entertaining the Spaniards without 
 the emperor's permission, and had demanded twenty young men 
 and maidens to be sacrificed to the gods as a punishment. Cortes 
 was most indignant at this insolence, ami insisted that the Totonacs 
 should not only refuse the demand, but should also seize the Aztec 
 nobles, and throw them into prison. This they did, but the Spanish 
 general managed to get two of them freed in the night, and brought 
 before him. He then very cunningly made them believe that he 
 regretted the indignity that had been offered them, and would help 
 them to get away safely, and the next day would do his best to 
 release their companions. He also told them to report this to 
 Montezuma, assuring him of the great respect and regard in which 
 he was held by the Spaniards. Then he sent them away secretly 
 to the port, and they were taken in one of the vessels, and landed 
 safely at a little distance along the coast. The Totonacs were 
 furious at the escape of some of their prisoners, and would at once 
 have sacrificed the remainder, had not Cortes expressed the utmost 
 horror at the idea, and sent them on board one of the ships for safe 
 keeping, whence he very soon allowed them to join their companions. 
 This artful proceeding had, as we shall presently see, just the effect 
 it was meant to have upon Montezuma. By order of Cortes, mes- 
 sengers were now sent to all the other Totonac towns, telling them 
 of the defiance that had been shown to the emperor, and bidding 
 
242 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIBfi 
 
 them also refuse to pay the tribute. The Indians soon came 
 flocking into Chiahuitztla to see and confer with the powerful 
 strangers, in the hope of regaining liberty by their aid, and so cleverly 
 had Cortes managed to embroil them with Montezuma, that even 
 the most timid felt that they had no choice but to accept the pro- 
 tection of the Spaniards, and make a bold effort for the recovery of 
 freedom. 
 
 Cortes accordingly made them swear allegiance to the Spanish 
 sovereign, and then set out once more for the port where his colony 
 was to be planted. This was only half a league distant, in a wide 
 and fruitful plain, and he was not long in determining the circuit of 
 the walls, and the site of the fort, granary, and other public build- 
 ings. The friendly Indians brought stone, lime, wood, and bricks, 
 and in a few weeks a town rose up, which served as a good starting- 
 point for future operations, a retreat for the disabled, a place for 
 the reception of stores, or whatever might be sent to or from the 
 mother-country, and was, moreover, strong enough to overawe the 
 surrounding country. This was the first colony in New Spain, and 
 was hailed with satisfaction by the simple natives, who could not 
 foresee that their doom was sealed when a white man set his foot 
 upon their soil. 
 
 While the Spaniards were still occupied with their new settle- 
 ment they were surprised by another embassy from Mexico. When 
 the account of the imprisonment of the royal collectors first reached 
 Montezuma, his feelings of fear and superstition were swallowed up 
 in indignation, and he began with great energy to make preparations 
 for punishing his rebellious vassals, and avenging the insult offered 
 to himself. But when the Aztec officers liberated by Cortes 
 reached the capital and reported the courteous treatment they had 
 received from the Spanish commander, he was induced to resume 
 his former timid and conciliatory policy, and sent an embassy con- 
 sisting of two young nephews of his own and four of his chief nobles 
 to the Spanish quarters. As usual they bore a princely gift of gold, 
 rich cotton stuffs, and wonderful mantles of feather embroidery. 
 The envoys on coming before Cortes presented this offering, with 
 the emperor's thanks to him for the courtesy he had shown to the 
 captive nobles. At the same time Montezuma expressed his sur- 
 prise and regret that the Spaniards should have countenanced the 
 rebellion. He had no doubt, he said, that Cortes and his followers 
 were the long-looked-for strangers, and therefore of the same 
 lineage as himself. From deference to them he would spare the 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 243 
 
 Totonacs while they were present, but the day of vengeance would 
 come. Cortes entertained the Indians with frank hospitality, tak- 
 ing care, however, to make such a display of his resources as should 
 impress them with a sense of his power. Then he dismissed them 
 with a few trifling gifts and a conciliatory message to the emperor^ 
 to the effect that he would soon pay his respects to him in his 
 capital, when all misunderstanding between them would certainly 
 be adjusted. The Totonacs were amazed when they understood 
 the nature of this interview ; for, in spite of the presence of the 
 Spaniards, they had felt great apprehension as to the consequence 
 of their rash act, and now they felt absolutely in awe of the 
 strangers who even at a distance could exercise such a mysterious 
 influence over the terrible Montezuma. 
 
 Not long after the cacique of Cernpoalla appealed to Cortes to 
 aid him against a neighbour with whom he had a quarrel. The 
 general at once marched to support him with a part of his force, 
 but when they reached the hostile city they were received in a 
 most friendly manner, and Cortes had no difficulty in reconciling 
 the two chiefs to one another. In token of gratitude the Indian 
 cacique sent eight noble maidens, richly decked with collars and 
 ornaments of gold, whom he begged the general to give as wives 
 to his captains. Cortes seized the opportunity of declaring that 
 they must first become Christians, and be baptized, since the 
 sons of the Church could not be allowed to marry idolaters. The 
 chief replied that his gods were good enough for him, and that he 
 should at once resent any insults offered to them, even if they did 
 riot avenge themselves by instantly destroying the Spaniards. 
 However, the general and his followers had seen too much already 
 of the barbarous rites of the Indian religion and its horrible sacri- 
 fices. Without hesitation they attacked the principal trocalli, where- 
 upon the cacique calied his men to arms, the priests in their blood- 
 stained robes rushed frantically about among the people, calling 
 upon them to defend their gods, and all was tumult and confusion. 
 Cortes acted with his usual promptitude at this crisis. He caused 
 the cacique and the principal inhabitants and the priests to be 
 taken prisoners, and then commanded them to quiet the people, 
 threatening that a single arrow shot at the Spaniards should cost 
 them their lives. Marina also represented the madness of resist- 
 ance, reminding the cacique that if he lost the friendship of the 
 strangers, he would be left alone to face the vengeance of Monte- 
 zuma. This consideration decided him ; covering his face with his 
 
 K2 
 
244 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 hands, he exclaimed that the gods would avenge their own wrongs. 
 Taking advantage of this tacit consent, fifty soldiers rushed up the 
 
 of the temple, and dragging the great wooden idols from 
 their places in the topmost tower, they rolled them down the steps 
 of the pyramid amid the groans of the natives and the triumphant 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 245 
 
 shouts of their comrades, and then burnt them to ashes. The 
 Totonacs, finding that their gods were unable to prevent or even 
 punish this profanation of their temple, now believed that they were 
 indeed less to be feared than the Spaniards, and offered no further 
 resistance. By Cortes's orders the teocalli was then thoroughly 
 purified, and an altar was erected, surmounted by a great cross 
 hung with garlands of roses, and Father Olrnedo said Mass before 
 the Indians and Spaniards, who seem to have been alike impressed 
 by the ceremony. An old disabled soldier, named Juan de Torres, 
 was left to watch over the sanctuary and instruct the natives in its 
 services, while the general, taking a friendly leave of his Totonac 
 allies, set out once more for Villa Rica, to finish his arrangements 
 before departing for the capital. Here he was surprised to find 
 that a Spanish vessel had arrived in his absence, having on 
 board twelve soldiers and two horses, a very welcome addition to 
 the tiny army. Cortes now resolved to execute a plan of which he 
 had been thinking for some time. He knew very well that none of 
 his arrangements about the colony would hold good without the 
 Spanish monarch's sanction, and also that Velasquez had great 
 interest' at court, and would certainly use it against him. There- 
 fore he resolved to send despatches to the emperor himself, and 
 such an amount of treasure as should give a great idea of the extent 
 and importance of his discoveries. He gave up his own share of the 
 spoil, and persuaded his officers to do the same, and a paper was cir- 
 culated among the soldiers, calling upon all who chose to resign the 
 small portion which was due to them, that a present worthy of the 
 emperor's acceptance might be sent home. It is only another 
 proof of the extraordinary power which Cortes had over these rough 
 soldiers, who cared for nothing but plunder, that not a single one 
 refused to give up the very treasure which he had risked so much 
 to gain. 
 
 These are some of the wonderful things that were sent. Two 
 collars made of gold and precious stones. Two birds made of 
 green feathers, with feet, beaks, and eyes of gold, and in the samo 
 piece with them animals of gold resembling snails. A large 
 alligator's head of gold. Two birds made of thread and feather-work, 
 having the quills of their wings and tails, their feet, eyes and the 
 ends of their beaks of gold, standing upon two reeds covered with 
 gold, which are raised on balls of feather-work and gold embroidery, 
 one white and the other yellow, with seven tassels of feather-work 
 hanging from each of them. A large silver wheel, also bracelets, 
 
246 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 leaves, and five shields of the same metal. A box of feather- work 
 embroidered on leather, with a large plate of gold weighing seventy 
 ounces in the midst. A large wheel of gold with figures of strange 
 animals on it, and worked with tufts of leaves, weighing three 
 thousand eight hundred ounces. A fan of variegated feather-work 
 with thirty- seven rods plated with gold. Sixteen shields of precious 
 stones, with feathers of various colours hanging from their rims, 
 and six shields each covered with a plate of gold, with something 
 resembling a mitre in the centre. Besides all this there was a 
 quantity of gold ore, and many pieces of richly embroidered cotton 
 cloth and feather-work. He accompanied this present with a letter 
 to the emperor in which he gave an account of all his adventures 
 and discoveries, and ended by beseeching him to confirm his 
 authority, as he was entirely confident that he should be able to place 
 the Castilian crown in possession of this great Indian empire. He 
 also sent four slaves, who had been rescued from the cage in which 
 were kept the victims about to be sacrificed, and some Mexican 
 manuscripts. 
 
 Very soon after the departure of the treasure-ship Cortes dis- 
 covered that there was a conspiracy among some of his followers, 
 who either did not like the way the general arranged matters, 
 or else were terrified at the prospect of the dangerous campaign 
 that was before them. They had seized one of the ships, and got 
 provisions and water stored, and were on the eve of setting sail for 
 Cuba, when one of their number repented of the part he had taken 
 in the plot, and betrayed it to Cortes, who at once took measures 
 for the arrest of the ringleaders, two of whom were afterwards 
 hanged. This affair showed the general that there were some 
 among his followers who were not heart and soul in the expedition, 
 and who might therefore fail him when he most needed them, and 
 might also cause their comrades to desert if there was any chance 
 for them to escape. He therefore determined to take the bold step 
 of destroying the ships without the knowledge of his army. Ac- 
 cordingly, he marched the whole army to Cempoalla, and when he 
 arrived there he told his plan to a few of his devoted adherents, 
 who entirely approved of it. Through them he persuaded the pilots 
 to declare the ships unseaworthy, and then ordered nine of them to 
 be sunk, having first brought on shore their sails, masts, iron, and 
 all movable fittings. When the news of this proceeding reached 
 Cempoalla, it caused the deepest consternation among the Spaniards, 
 who felt themselves betrayed and abandoned, a mere handful of 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 247 
 
 men arrayed against a great and formidable empire, and cut off 
 from all chance of escape. They murmured loudly, and a serious 
 mutiny was threatened. But Cortes, whose presence of mind never 
 deserted him, managed to reassure them, and to persuade them 
 that he had only done what was really best for everyone ; and he 
 so cunningly dwelt upon the fame and the treasure which they 
 were on the eve of gaining, that not one of them accepted the offer 
 which he made to them of returning to Cuba in the only remaining 
 ship. Their enthusiasm for their leader revived, and as he con- 
 cluded his speech they made the air ring with their shouts of 
 1 To Mexico ! To Mexico ! ' 
 
 THE MARCH TO MEXICO 
 
 While he was still at Cempoalla, news came to Cortes from Villa 
 Rica that four strange ships were hovering off the coast, and that 
 they refused to respond to repeated signals made to them by Don 
 Juan de Escalante, who was in command of the garrison left in tho 
 town. This greatly alarmed Cortes, who was continually dreading 
 the interference of his enemy, the governor of Cuba. He rode 
 hastily back to Villa Kica, and, almost without stopping to rest, 
 pushed on a few leagues northwards along the coast, where he under- 
 stood the ships were at anchor. On his way he met with three 
 Spaniards just landed from them, and learned that they belonged to 
 a squadron fitted out by Francisco de Garay, who had landed on 
 the Florida coast a year before, and had obtained from Spain 
 authority over the countries he might discover in its neighbourhood. 
 Cortes saw he had nothing to fear from them, but he did wish he 
 could have induced the crews of the ships to join his expedition. 
 The three men he easily persuaded, but those who remained on 
 board feared treachery, and refused to send a boat ashore. Finally, 
 by a stratagem, Cortes succeeded in capturing three or four more, 
 out of a boat's crew who came to fetch their comrades, and with 
 this small party of recruits he returned to Cempoalla. On August 1G, 
 1519, Cortes bade farewell to his hospitable Indian friends, and set 
 out for Mexico. His force consisted of about four hundred foot and 
 fifteen horse, with seven pieces of artillery, and in addition to these 
 he had obtained from the cacique of Cempoalla thirteen hundred 
 warriors, and a thousand porters to carry the baggage and drag the 
 guns. During the first day the army marched through the ' tierra 
 caliente,' or hot region. All around them fruit and flowers grew in 
 
248 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 the wildest profusion, as indeed they did all the year round in that 
 wonderful climate ; the air was heavy with perfume, and bright birds 
 and insects abounded. But after some leagues' travel, over roads 
 made nearly impassable by the summer rains, they began to ascend 
 gradually, and at the close of the second day they reached Xalapa, 
 from which they looked out over one of the grandest prospects that 
 could be seen anywhere. Down below them lay the hot region with 
 its gay confusion of meadows, streams, and flowering forests, sprinkled 
 over with shining Indian villages, while a faint line of light upon 
 the horizon told them that there was the ocean they had so lately 
 crossed, beyond which lay their country, which many of them would 
 never see again. To the south rose the mighty mountain called 
 ' Orizaba,' in his mantle of snow, and in another direction the 
 Sierra Madre, with its dark belt of pine-trees, stretched its long lines 
 of shadowy hills away into the distance. Onward and upward they 
 went, and on the fourth day they arrived at the strong town of 
 Naulinco. Here the inhabitants entertained them hospitably, for they 
 were friendly with the Totonacs, and Cortes endeavoured, through 
 Father Olmedo, to teach them something about Christianity. They 
 seem to have listened willingly, and allowed the Spaniards to erect a . 
 cross for their adoration, which indeed they did in most of the places 
 where they halted. The troops now entered upon a rugged, narrow 
 valley, called ' the Bishop's Pass,' and now it began to be terribly 
 cold, the snow and hail beat upon them, and the freezing wind 
 seemed to penetrate to their very bones. The Spaniards were partly 
 protected by their armour, and their thick coats of quilted cotton, 
 but the poor Indians, natives of the hot region and with very little 
 clothing, suffered greatly, and indeed several of them died by the 
 way. The path lay round a bare and dreadful-looking volcanic 
 mountain, and often upon the edge of precipices three thousand feet 
 in depth. After three days of this dreary travelling the army 
 emerged into a more genial climate ; they had reached the great 
 tableland which spreads out for hundreds of miles along the crests of 
 the Cordilleras, more than seven thousand feet above the sea- level. 
 The vegetation of the torrid and temperate regions had of course 
 disappeared, but the fields were carefully cultivated. Many of the 
 crops were unknown to the Spaniards, but they recognised maize 
 and aloes, and various kinds of cactus. Suddenly the troops came 
 upon what seemed to be a populous city, even larger than Cempoalla, 
 and with loftier and more substantial buildings, of stone and lime. 
 There were thirteen teocallis in the town, and in one place in the 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 249 
 
 suburbs one of the Spaniards counted the stored-up skulls of a 
 hundred thousand sacrificed victims. The lord of the town ruled 
 over twenty thousand vassals ; he was a tributary to Montezuma, 
 
 and there was a strong Mexican garrison in the place. This was 
 probably the reason of his receiving Cortes and his army very coldly, 
 and vaunting the grandeur of the Mexican emperor, who could, he 
 declared, muster thirty great vassals, each of whom commanded a 
 
250 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 hundred thousand men. In answer to the inquiries of Cortes, he told 
 him about Montez-uma and his capital. How more than twenty 
 thousand prisoners of war were sacrificed every year upon the altars 
 of his gods, and how the city stood in the midst of a great lake, and 
 was approached by long causeways connected in places by wooden 
 bridges, which when raised cut off all communication with the 
 country and many other strange things which were not of a kind to 
 reassure the minds of the Spaniards. They hardly knew whether 
 to believe the old cacique or not, but at any rate the wonders they 
 heard made them, as one of their cavaliers said, ' only the more 
 earnest to prove the adventure, desperate as it might appear.' 
 
 The natives were also very curious to know about the Spaniards, 
 their horses and dogs, and strange weapons, and Marina in answer- 
 ing their questions took care to expatiate upon the exploits and 
 victories of her adopted countrymen, and to state the extraordinary 
 marks of respect they had received from Montezuma. This had 
 its effect upon the cacique, who presently sent the general some 
 slaves to make bread for the soldiers, and supplied them with the 
 means of refreshment and rest, which they needed so much after their 
 toilful march. 
 
 The army rested in this city four or five days, and even at the end 
 of the last century the Indians would still point out the cypress tree 
 under the shelter of which the conqueror's horse had been tied. When 
 the journey was resumed, the way was through a broad green valley, 
 watered by a splendid river and shaded by lofty trees. On either 
 side of the river an unbroken line of Indian dwellings extended for 
 several leagues, and on some rising ground stood a town which 
 might contain five or six thousand inhabitants, commanded by a 
 fortress with walls and trenches. Here the troops halted again, 
 and met with friendly treatment. 
 
 In their last halting-place Cortes had been advised by the 
 natives to take the route to the ancient city of Cholula, the inhabi- 
 tants of which were a mild race, subjects of Montezuma, and given 
 to peaceful arts, who were likely to receive him kindly. But his 
 Cempoallan allies declared that the Cholulans were false and perfi- 
 dious, and counselled him to go to Tlascala, a valiant little republic 
 which had managed to maintain its independence against the arms 
 of Mexico. The tribe had always been friendly with the Totonacs, 
 and had the reputation of being frank, fearless, and trustworthy. 
 The Spanish general decided to try and secure their goodwill, and ac- 
 cordingly despatched four of the principal Cempoallans with a gift, 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTE ZUMA'S EMPIRE 251 
 
 consisting of a cap of crimson cloth, a sword and a cross-bow, to ask 
 permission to pass through their country, expressing at the same 
 time his admiration of their valour, and of their long resistance of 
 the Aztecs, whose pride he, too, was determined to humble. Three 
 days after the departure of the envoys the army resumed its march, 
 lingering somewhat by the way in hopes of receiving an answer 
 from the Indian Eepublic. But the messengers did not return, 
 which occasioned the general no little uneasiness. As they ad- 
 vanced the country became rougher and the scenery bolder, and at 
 last their progress was arrested by a most remarkable fortification. 
 It was a stone wall nine feet high and twenty feet thick, with a 
 parapet a foot and a half broad at the top, for the protection of those 
 who defended it. It had only one opening in the centre, made by 
 two semicircular lines of wall overlapping each other for the space 
 of forty paces, and having a passage-way between, ten paces wide, 
 so contrived as to be perfectly commanded by the inner wall. This 
 fortification, which extended for more than two leagues, rested at 
 either end on the bold, natural buttresses of the chain of mountains. 
 It was built of immense blocks of stone nicely laid together without 
 cement, and from the remains that still exist it is easy to imagine 
 what its size and solidity must have been. This singular structure 
 marked the limits of Tlascala, and was intended, the natives said, as 
 a barrier against Mexican invasions. The soldiers paused amazed, 
 and not a little apprehensive as to their reception in Tlascala, since 
 a people who were capable of such a work as that would indeed 
 prove formidable should they not be friendly. But Cortes, putting 
 himself at the head of his cavalry, shouted, * Forward, soldiers ; the 
 Holy Cross is our banner, and under that we shall conquer.' And so 
 they marched through the undefended passage, and found themselves 
 in Tlascala. 
 
 The Tlascalan people belonged to the same great family as the 
 Aztecs, and had planted themselves upon the western shore of Lake 
 Tezcuco at about the same period at the close of the twelfth cen- 
 tury. There they remained many years, until they had, for some 
 reason, incurred the displeasure of all the surrounding tribes, who 
 combined to attack them, and a terrible battle took place. Though 
 the Tlascalans were entirely victorious, they were so disgusted by this 
 state of things that they resolved to migrate, and the greater number 
 of them finally settled in the warm and fruitful valley overshadowed 
 by the mountains of Tlascala. After some years the monarchy 
 was divided, first into two : then four separate states, each with its 
 
252 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 own chief, who was independent in his own territory, and possessed 
 equal authority with the other three in all matters concerning the 
 whole republic, the affairs of which were settled by a council con- 
 sisting of the four chiefs and the inferior nobles. They were an 
 agricultural people, and the fertility of their new country was sig- 
 nified by its name ' Tlascala ' meaning the land of bread. Presently 
 their neighbours began to be envious of their prosperit}', and they 
 were frequently obliged to defend themselves against the Cholulans, 
 and were always successful. But when Axayacatl, king of the 
 Aztecs, sent demanding the same tribute and obedience from them 
 which the other people of the country paid him, threatening, if they 
 refused, to destroy their cities, and give their land to their enemies, 
 they answered proudly, ' Neither they nor their forefathers had ever 
 paid tribute or homage to a foreign power, nor ever would pay it. 
 If their country was invaded, they knew how to defend it.' 
 
 This answer brought upon them the forces of the Mexican mon- 
 arch, and a pitched battle was fought in which the republic was 
 again victorious, but from that time hostilities never ceased between 
 the two nations, every captive was mercilessly sacrificed, and the 
 Tlascalan children were trained from the cradle to hate the Mexi- 
 cans with a deadly hatred. In this struggle the Tlascalans received 
 valuable support from a wild and warlike race from the north, called 
 the Otomies. Some of them settled in the republic, and having 
 proved themselves courageous and faithful, were entrusted with the 
 defence of the frontier. After Montezuma became emperor of Mexico 
 greater efforts than before were made to subdue Tlascala. He sent 
 a great army against it, commanded by his favourite son, but his 
 troops were defeated and his son killed. Enraged and mortified, 
 Montezuma made still greater preparations and invaded the valley 
 with a terrific force. But the Tlascalans withdrew to the recesses 
 of the hills, and watching their opportunity, swept down upon the 
 enemy and drove them from their territory with dreadful slaughter. 
 Nevertheless they were greatly harassed by these constant strug- 
 gles with a foe so superior to themselves in numbers and resources. 
 The Aztec armies lay between them and the coast, cutting off all possi- 
 bility of obtaining any supplies. There were some things, as cotton, 
 cacas, and salt, which they were unable to grow or manufacture, of 
 which they had been deprived for more than fifty years, and their 
 taste was so much affected by this enforced abstinence that they did 
 not get used to eating salt with their food for several generations after 
 the conquest, This was the state of affairs in Tlascala when the 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 253 
 
 Spaniards reached it, and it is easy to see how important it was to 
 Cortes to form an alliance with it, but that was not an easy thing 
 to do. 
 
 The Tlascalans had heard about the Christians and their victorious 
 advance, but they had not expected that they would come their way. 
 So they were much embarrassed by the embassy demanding a pas- 
 sage through their territories. The council was assembled, and a 
 great difference of opinion was found among its members. Some 
 believed that these were the white -skinned, bearded men whose 
 coming was foretold, and at all events they were enemies to 
 Mexico, and might help them In their struggle against it. Others 
 prgued that this could not be : the march of the strangers through 
 the land might be tracked by the broken images of the Indian 
 gods, and desecrated temples. How could they be sure that 
 they were not friends of Montezuma ? They had received his em- 
 bassies, accepted his gifts, and were even now on their way to his 
 capital in company with his vassals. This last was the opinion of 
 an aged chief, one of the four rulers of the republic. His name was 
 Xicotencatl, and he was nearly blind, for he was over a hundred years 
 old. He had a son of the same name as himself, an impetuous young 
 man, who commanded a powerful force of Tlascalans and Otomies on 
 the eastern frontier where the great fortification stood. The old chief 
 advised that this force should at once fall upon the Spaniards. If 
 they were conquered they would be at the mercy of the Tlascalans, 
 but if by any mischance his son should fail, the council could declare 
 that they had nothing to do with the attack, laying the whole blame 
 of it upon the young Xicotencatl. Meantime the Cempoallan envoys 
 were to be detained under pretence of assisting at a religious sacri- 
 fice. By this time, as we know, Cortes and his gallant band had 
 passed the rocky rampart, from which, for some reason or other, the 
 Otomie guard was absent. After advancing a few leagues he saw 
 a small party of Indians, armed with sword and buckler, who fled 
 at his approach. He made signs for them to halt, but they only fled 
 the faster. 
 
 The Spaniards spurred their horses, and soon succeeded in over- 
 taking them, when they at once turned, and, without showing the 
 usual alarm at the horses and strange weapons of the cavaliers, 
 attacked them furiously. The latter, however, were far too strong 
 for them, and they would soon have been cut to pieces had not a 
 body of several thousand Indians appeared, coming quickly to their 
 rescue. Cortes seeing them, hastily despatched a messenger to 
 
254 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIEE 
 
 hurry up his infantry. . The Indians, having discharged their missiles, 
 fell upon the little band of Spaniards, striving to drag the riders 
 from their horses and to tear their lances from their grasp. They 
 brought one cavalier to the ground, who afterwards died of his 
 wounds, and they killed two horses, cutting their necks through with 
 one blow of their formidable broadswords. This was a most serious 
 loss to Cortes, whose horses were so important, and so few in number. 
 
 The struggle was a hard one, and it was with no small satisfac- 
 tion that the Spaniards saw their comrades advancing to their aid. 
 No sooner had the main body reached the field of battle, than, 
 hastily falling into position, they poured such a volley from their 
 muskets and cross-bows as fairly astounded the enemy, who made no 
 further attempt to continue the fight, but drew off in good order, leaving 
 the road open to the Spaniards, who were only too glad to get rid of 
 their foes and pursue their way. Presently they met two Tlascalan 
 envoys', accompanied by two of the Cempoallans. The former, on 
 being brought to the general, assured him of a friendly reception in 
 the capital, and declared the late assault upon the troops to have 
 been quite unauthorised. Cortes received his message courteously, 
 pretending to believe that all was as he said. As it was now growing 
 late the Spaniards quickened their pace, anxious to reach a suitable 
 camping-ground before nightfall, and they chose a place upon the 
 bank of a stream, where a few deserted huts were standing. These 
 the weary and famishing soldiers ransacked in search of food, but 
 could find nothing but some animals resembling dogs, which, how- 
 ever, they cooked and ate without ceremony, seasoning their un- 
 savoury repast with the fruit of the Indian fig, which grew wild in 
 the neighbourhood. After several desperate battles with the Tlas- 
 calans, Cortes finally won a great victory. 
 
 The next day as he usually did after gaining a battle -the 
 Spanish commander sent a new embassy to the Tlascalan capital, 
 making as before professions of friendship, but this time threaten- 
 ing that if his offers were rejected he would visit their city as a 
 conqueror, razing their house to the ground and putting every 
 inhabitant to the sword. Of course this message was given to the 
 envoys by the aid of the Lady Marina, who became day by day 
 more necessary to Cortes, and who was. indeed, generally admired 
 for her courage and the cheerfulness with which she endured all 
 the hardships of the camp and raised the drooping spirits of the 
 soldiers, while by every means in her power she alleviated the 
 miseries of her own countrymen. This time, the ambassadors of 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 256 
 
 Cortes received a respectful hearing from the deeply dejected 
 council of Tlascala, for whom nothing remained but to submit. 
 Four principal caciques were chosen to offer to the Spaniards a 
 free passage through the country, and a friendly reception in the 
 capital. Their friendship was accepted, with many excuses for the 
 past, and the chiefs were further ordered to touch at the camp of 
 Xicotencatl, the Tlascalan general, and require him to cease hostilities 
 and furnish the white men with a plentiful supply of provisions. 
 AVhile the Tlascalan envoys were still in the camp came a fresh 
 
 embassy from Montezuma. Tidings had been sent to him of each 
 step in the progress of the Spaniards, and it was with great satis- 
 faction that he had heard of their taking the road to Tlascala, 
 trusting that if they were mortal men they would find their graves 
 there. Great was his dismay, therefore, when courier after courier 
 brought him news of their successes, and how the most redoubt- 
 able warriors had been scattered by this handful of strangers. 
 His superstitious fears returned with greater force than ever, and 
 in his alarm and uncertainty he despatched five great nobles of 
 his court, attended by two hundred slaves, to bear to Cortes a gift 
 consisting of three thousand ounces of gold and several hundred 
 
258 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZtUMA'S 
 
 robes of cotton and feather -work. As th3y laid it at his feet 
 they said that they had come to offer Montezuma's congratulations 
 upon his victories, and to express his regret that he could not 
 receive them in his capital, where the numerous population was 
 so unruly that he could not be answerable for their safety. The 
 merest hint of the emperor's wishes would have been enough 
 to influence any of the natives, but they made very little impres- 
 sion upon Cortes ; and, seeing this, the envoys proceeded, in their 
 master's name, to offer tribute to the Spanish sovereign, pro- 
 vided the general would give up the idea of visiting the capital. 
 This was a fatal mistake, and a most strange one for such a brave 
 And powerful monarch to make, for it amounted to an admission 
 that he was unable to protect his treasures. Cortes in replying 
 expressed the greatest respect for Montezuma, but urged his own 
 sovereign's commands as a reason for disregarding his wishes. 
 He added that though he had not at present the power of requiting 
 his generosity as he could wish, he trusted ' to repay him at some 
 future day with good works.' You will hear before long how he 
 kept his word. 
 
 The Mexican ambassadors were anything but pleased at finding 
 the war at an end and a firm friendship established between their 
 mortal enemies and the Spaniards, and the general saw with some 
 satisfaction the evidences of a jealousy between them, which was his 
 surest hope of success in undermining the Mexican empire. Two 
 of the Aztecs presently returned to acquaint Montezuma with the 
 state of affairs ; the others remained with the Spaniards, Cortes 
 being willing that they should see the deference paid to him by the 
 Tlascalans, who were most anxious for his presence in their city. 
 
 The city of Tlascala lay about six leagues away from the Spanish 
 camp, and the road led through a hilly region, and across a deep 
 ravine over which a bridge had just been built for the passage of 
 the army ; they passed some towns by the way, where they were 
 received with the greatest hospitality. The people flocked out to meet 
 them, bringing garlands of roses, with which they decorated the 
 Spanish soldiers, and wreathed about the necks of their horses. 
 Priests in their white robes mingled with the crowd, scattering 
 clouds of incense from their censers, and thus escorted the army 
 slowly made its way through the gates of the city of Tlascala. 
 Here the press became so great that it was with difficulty that a 
 passage was cleared for it. The flat housetops were crowded with 
 eager spectators, while garlands of green boughs, roses, and honey- 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 257 
 
 suckle were thrown across the streets, and the air was rent with 
 songs and shouts and the wild music of the national instruments. 
 Presently the procession halted before the palace of the aged 
 
 Xicotencatl, the father of the general, and Cortes dismounted 
 from his horse, that the blind old man might satisfy his natural 
 curiosity respecting him, by passing his hand over his face. He 
 
 s 
 
258 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 then le.d the way to a spacious hall, where a hanquet was served to 
 the whole army, after which, quarters were assigned to them in a 
 neighbouring teocalli, the Mexican ambassadors being, at the desire 
 of Cortes, lodged next to himself that he might the better 
 protect them in the city of their foes. 
 
 For some days the Spaniards were feasted and entertained in 
 four quarters of the city, which was really like separate towns 
 divided from one another by high walls, in each of which lived one 
 of the rulers of the republic, surrounded by his own vassals. But 
 amid all these friendly demonstrations the general never for a 
 moment relaxed the strict discipline of the camp, and no soldier 
 was allowed to leave his quarters without special permission. 
 At first this offended the Tlascalan chiefs, as they thought it 
 showed distrust of them. But when Cortes explained that this 
 was only in accordance with the established military system of 
 his country, they began to think it admirable, and the young 
 Xicotencatl proposed, if possible, to imitate it. The Spanish com- 
 mander now turned his thoughts to the converting of the Tlascalans ; 
 but as they refused to part with their own gods, though they were 
 willing enough to add the God of the Christians to their number, 
 he took the advice of the wise Father Olmedo, and abandoned the 
 idea for the time. However, a cross was erected in one of the 
 great squares, and there the Spaniards held their religious services 
 unmolested, and it happened, strangely enough, that they had 
 scarcely left the city when a thin, transparent cloud settled like a 
 column upon the cross, wrapping it round, and continuing through 
 the night to shed a soft light about it. This occurrence did more 
 for the conversion of the natives than all the preaching of Father 
 Olmedo. Several of the Indian princesses were now baptized, and 
 given in marriage to the officers of Cortes. One, who was the 
 daughter of Xicotencatl, became the wife of Alvarado, who was 
 always a great favourite with the Tlascalans. From his gay 
 manners, joyous countenance, and bright golden hair, he gained the 
 nickname of ' Tonatiuh,' or the ' Sun,' while Cortes, who hardly 
 ever appeared anywhere without the beautiful Marina, was called 
 by the natives ' Malinche,' which you will remember was her 
 Indian name. While all this was happening, came yet another 
 embassy from Montezuma, loaded as usual with costly gifts. This 
 time he invited the Spaniards to visit him in his capital, assuring 
 them that they would be welcome. Further, he besought them to 
 enter into no alliance with the base and barbarous Tlascalans, but 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMAS EMPIEE 259 
 
 be invited them to take the route of the friendly city of Cholula, 
 where arrangements were being made, by his orders, for their recep- 
 tion. The Tlascalans were much concerned that Cortes should pro- 
 pose to go to Mexico, and what they told him fully confirmed all 
 the reports he had heard of the power and ambition of Montezuma, 
 of the strength of his capital, and the number of his soldiers. They 
 warned him not to trust to his gifts and his fair words, and when the 
 general said that he hoped to bring about a better understanding 
 between the emperor and themselves, they replied that it was im- 
 possible ; however smooth his words, he would hate them at heart. 
 They also heartily protested against the general's going to Cholula. 
 The people, they said, though not brave in the open field, were 
 crafty ; they were Montezuma' s tools, and would do his bidding. 
 That city, too, was specially under the protection of the god Quetzal - 
 coatl, and the priests were confidently believed to have the power of 
 opening an inundation from the foundations of his shrine, which 
 should overwhelm their enemies in the deluge, and lastly, though 
 many distant places had sent to testify their goodwill, and offer 
 their allegiance, Cholula, only six leagues distant, had done neither. 
 This consideration weighed more with the general than either of 
 the preceding ones, and he promptly despatched a summons to the 
 city demanding a formal tender of its submission. It was not long 
 before deputies arrived from Cholula profuse in expressions of good- 
 will and invitations to visit their city ; but the Tlascalans pointed 
 out that these messengers were below the usual rank of ambassadors, 
 which Cortes regarded as a fresh indignity. He therefore sent a 
 new summons, declaring that if they did not at once send a depu- 
 tation of their principal men he would treat them as rebels to his 
 own sovereign, the rightful lord of these realms. This soon brought 
 some of the highest nobles to the camp, who excused their tardy 
 appearance, by saying that they had feared for their personal safety 
 in the capital of their enemies. The Tlascalans were now more 
 than ever averse to the projected visit. A strong Aztec force 
 was known to be near Cholula, and the city was being actively 
 prepared for defence. Cortes, too, was disturbed by these 
 circumstances, but he had gone too far to recede without showing 
 fear, which could not fail to have a bad effect on his own men, as 
 well as on the natives. Therefore, after a short consultation with 
 his officers, he decided finally to take the road to Cholula. This 
 ancient city lay six leagues to the south of Tlascala, and was most 
 populous and flourishing. The inhabitants excelled in the art of 
 
 s2 
 
2GO THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA' 8 EMPIRE 
 
 working in metals and manufacturing cotton cloth and delicate 
 pottery, but were indisposed to war, and less distinguished for 
 courage than for cunning. You will remember that it was in this 
 place that the god Quetzalcoatl had paused on his way to the coast, 
 and in his honour a tremendous pyramid had been erected, pro- 
 bably by building over a natural hill, and on the top of this rose a 
 gorgeous temple, in which stood an ima.ge of the god bedecked with 
 gold and jewels. To this temple pilgrims flocked from every corner 
 of the empire, and many were the terrible sacrifices offered there, 
 as, indeed, in all the other teocallis, of which there were about four 
 hundred in the city. On the day appointed, the Spanish army set 
 out for Cholula, followed by crowds of citizens, who admired the 
 courage displayed by this little handful of men in proposing to 
 brave the mighty Montezuma in his own territory. An immense 
 body of warriors had offered to join the expedition, but Cortes 
 thought it wise to accept only six thousand, and even these he left 
 encamped at some distance from Cholula, because the caciques of 
 that city, who came out to meet the Spaniards, objected to having 
 their mortal enemies brought within its walls. As the troops drew 
 near the town they were met by swarms of men, women, and 
 children, all eager to catch a glimpse of the strangers, whose persons, 
 horses, and weapons were equally objects of intense curiosity to 
 them. They in their turn were struck by the noble aspect of the 
 Cholulans, who were much superior in dress and general appear- 
 ance to the other tribes they had encountered. An immense 
 number of priests swinging censers mingled with the crowd, and, 
 as before, they were decorated with garlands and bunches of 
 flowers, and accompanied by gay music from various instruments. 
 The Spaniards were also struck by the width and cleanliness of the 
 streets and the solidity of the houses. They were lodged in the 
 court of one of the many teocallis, and visited by the great nobles 
 of the city, who supplied them plentifully with all they needed, and 
 at first paid them such attentions as caused them to believe 
 that the evil apprehensions of the Tlascalans had been merely 
 suspicion and prejudice. But very soon the scene changed. Mes- 
 sengers came from Montezuma, who shortly and pleasantly told 
 Cortes that his approach occasioned much disquietude to their 
 master, and then conferred apart with the Mexicans who were still 
 in the Spanish camp, presently departing, and taking one of them 
 away with them. From this time the Cholulans visited the 
 Spanish quarters no more, and when invited to do so excused 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIEE 261 
 
 themselves, saying they were ill. Also, the supply of provisions 
 ran short, and they said it was because maize was scarce. Natur- 
 ally, Cortes became very uneasy at this change, and his alarm was 
 increased by the reports of the Cempoallans, who told him that in 
 wandering about the city they had seen several streets barricaded, 
 and in some places holes had been dug, and a sharp stake planted 
 upright in each, and branches strewn to conceal them, while the 
 flat roofs of the houses were being stored with stones and other 
 missiles. Some Tlascalans also came in from their camp to inform 
 him that a great sacrifice, mostly of children, had been held in a 
 distant quarter of the town, to secure the aid of the gods in some 
 intended enterprise, and numbers of the people had taken their 
 wives and children out of the city. 
 
 These tidings confirmed the worst suspicions of Cortes, but just- 
 then the Lady Marina made a discovery which changed his doubts 
 into certainty. The wife of one of the Cholulan caciques had taken 
 a great fancy to the Mexican girl, and continually urged her to visit 
 her house, hinting mysteriously that she would in this way escape 
 a great danger which threatened the Spaniards. Marina pretended 
 to be delighted with this proposal, and glad of the chance of escaping 
 from the white men, and by degrees she thus won the confidence of 
 the Cholulan, who presently revealed the whole plot to her. It 
 originated, she said, with the Aztec emperor, who had bribed the 
 caciques of Cholula, her husband among the number, to assault the 
 Spaniards as they marched out of the city, and to throw them into 
 confusion all sorts of obstacles had been placed in their way. A 
 force of twenty thousand Mexicans was already quartered near the 
 city to support the Cholulans, and the Spaniards would, it was con- 
 fidently expected, fall an easy prey to their united enemies. A suffi- 
 cient number of them were to be reserved to be sacrified in Cholula, 
 and the rest led in fetters to the capital of Montezurna. While this 
 conversation was taking place, Marina was making a show of col- 
 lecting and packing up such dresses and jewels as she was to take 
 with her to the house of her new friend. But after a while she 
 managed to slip away without exciting her suspicion, and, rushing 
 to the general, told him all. Cortes at once caused the cacique's 
 wife to be seized, and she repeated to him the same story that she 
 had told to Marina. He was most anxious to gain further particulars 
 of the conspiracy, and accordingly induced two priests, one of them 
 a person of much influence, to visit his quarters, where by courteous 
 treatment and rich presents he got from them a complete confirma- 
 
262 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIItE 
 
 tion of the report. The emperor had been in a state of pitiable 
 vacillation since the arrival of the Spaniards. His first orders had 
 been that they should be kindly received, but on consulting his oracles 
 anew he had obtained for answer that Cholula would be the grave of 
 his enemies, and so positive of success were the Aztecs, that they had 
 already sent into the city numbers of the poles with thongs attached 
 to them with which to bind the prisoners. Cortes now dismissed the 
 priests, bidding them observe the strictest secrecy, which, indeed 
 they were likely to do for their own sakes. He also requested that 
 they would induce some of the principal caciques to grant him an 
 interview in his quarters. When they came he gently rebuked 
 them for their want of hospitality, and said that the Spaniards would 
 burden them no longer, but would leave the city early the next 
 morning. He also asked that they would supply him with two 
 thousand men to carry his artillery and baggage. The chiefs, after 
 some consultation, agreed to this as being likely to favour their own 
 plans. Then he sent for the Mexican ambassadors, and acquainted 
 them with his discovery of the plot, saying that it grieved him 
 much to find Montezuma mixed up in so treacherous an afl'air, 
 and that the Spaniards must now march as enemies against a 
 monarch they had hoped to visit as a friend. The ambassadors, 
 however, asserted their entire ignorance of the conspiracy, and 
 their belief that Montezuma also knew nothing of it. The night 
 that followed was one of intense anxiety ; every soldier lay down 
 fully armed, and the number of sentinels was doubled ; but all 
 remained quiet in the populous city, and the only sounds which 
 reached their ears were the hoarse cries of the priests who, from 
 the turrets of the teocallis, proclaimed through their trumpets the 
 watches of the night. 
 
 With the first streak of morning light Cortes was on horseback, 
 directing the movements of his little band, part of which he posted 
 in the great square court. A strong guard was placed at each of the 
 three gates, and the rest had charge of the great guns which were 
 outside the enclosure, and so placed as to command the roads which 
 led to the teocaUi. The arrangements were hardly completed before 
 the Cholulan caciques appeared, bringing a larger body of porters 
 than had been demanded. They were marched at once into the 
 square, which was, as we have seen, completely lined by the Spanish 
 troops. Cortes then took the caciques aside, and sternly and 
 abruptly charged them with the conspiracy, taking care to show that 
 he knew every detail. The Cholulans were thunderstruck, and 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 263 
 
 gazed with awe upon the strangers who seemed to have the power 
 of reading their most secret thoughts. They made no attempt to 
 deny the accusation, but tried to excuse themselves by throwing the 
 blame on Montezuma. Cortes, however, declared with still more 
 indignation that such a pretence would not serve them, and that he 
 would now make such an example of them as should be a warning 
 to the cities far and near, and then the fatal signal the firing of a 
 g un was given, and in an instant every musket and crossbow was 
 levelled at the unhappy Oholulans as they stood crowded together 
 in the centre. They were completely taken by surprise, having 
 heard nothing of what was going forward, and offered hardly 
 any resistance to the Spanish soldiers, who followed up the discharge 
 of their pieces by rushing upon them with their swords and mowing 
 them down in ranks as they stood. 
 
 While this dreadful massacre was going on the Cholulans from 
 outside, attracted by the noise, began a furious assault upon the 
 Spaniards, but the heavy guns opened fire upon them and swept 
 them off in files as they rushed on, and in the intervals of reloading 
 the cavalry charged into their midst. By this time the Tlascalans 
 had come up, having by order of Cortes bound wreaths of sedge 
 about their heads that they might be the more easily distinguished 
 from the Cholulans, and they fell upon the rear of the wretched 
 townsmen, who, thus harassed on all sides, could no longer maintain 
 their ground. They fled, some to the near buildings, which were 
 speedily set on fire, others to the temples. One strong body headed 
 by the priests got possession of the great teocalli. There was, as 
 you remember, a tradition that if part of the wall was removed the 
 god would send a flood to overwhelm his enemies. Now the Cho- 
 lulans strove with might and main, and at last succeeded in 
 wrenching away a few stones, but dust, not water, followed. In 
 despair they crowded into the wooden turrets which surmounted 
 the temple, and poured down stones, javelins, and burning arrows 
 upon the Spaniards as they came swarming up the steps. But the 
 fiery shower fell harmlessly upon the steel head-pieces of the sol- 
 diers, and they used the blazing shafts to set fire to the wooden 
 towers, so that the wretched natives either perished in the flames 
 or threw themselves headlong from the parapet. In the fair city, 
 lately so peaceful and prosperous, all was confusion and slaughter, 
 burning and plundering. The division of spoil was greatly sim- 
 plified by the fact that the Tlascalans desired wearing-apparel and 
 provisions far more than gold or jewels ; they also took hundreds of 
 
264 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 prisoners, but these Cortes afterwards induced them to release. 
 The work of destruction had gone on for some hours before the 
 general yielded to the entreaties of the Cholulan chiefs who had 
 been saved from the massacre, and of the Mexican envoys, and 
 called off his men, putting a stop as well as he could to further vio- 
 lence. Two of the caciques were also permitted to go to their 
 countrymen with offers of pardon and protection to all who would 
 return to their obedience, and so by degrees the tumult was ap- 
 peased. Presently Cortes helped the Cholulans to choose a successor 
 to their principal cacique, who was among the slain, and confidence 
 being thus restored the people from the country round began to 
 flock in, the markets were again opened, and the ordinary life of 
 the city resumed, though the black and smouldering ruins remained 
 to tell the sad tale of the massacre of Cholula. This terrible ven- 
 geance made a great impression upon the natives, and none trem- 
 bled more than the Mexican monarch upon his throne among the 
 mountains. He felt his empire melting away from him like a 
 morning mist, for some of the most important cities, overawed by 
 the fate of Cholula, now sent envoys to the Spanish camp tendering 
 their allegiance, and trying to secure the favour of the conqueror 
 by rich gifts of gold and slaves. Again did Montezuma seek coun- 
 sel from his gods, but the answers he obtained were far from re- 
 assuring, and he determined to send another embassy to Cortes to 
 declare that he had nothing to do with the conspiracy at Cholula. 
 As usual the envoys were charged with a splendid present of golden 
 vessels and ornaments, and among other things were artificial birds, 
 made in imitation of turkeys with plumage of worked gold ; there 
 were also fifteen hundred robes of delicate cotton cloth. The em- 
 peror's message expressed regret for the late catastrophe, and denied 
 all knowledge of the plot which had, he said, brought a retribution 
 upon its authors which they richly deserved ; and he explained the 
 presence of the Aztec force in the neighbourhood by saying that 
 there was a disturbance that had to be quelled. More than a fort- 
 night had passed since the Spaniards entered Cholnla, and the 
 general had, after the city was once more restored to order, tried to 
 induce the people to give up their false gods, but this they would 
 not do willingly. However, he seized upon the great teocalli of 
 which all the woodwork had been burned, and built a church of the 
 stone that remained, and he opened the cages in which the wretched 
 victims about to be sacrificed were imprisoned, and restored them 
 to liberty, and then he thought it time to begin the march to Mexico 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 265 
 
 once more. So the allied army of Spaniards and Tlascalans set 
 out upon their journey through luxuriant plains and flourishing 
 plantations, met occasionally by embassies from different towns, 
 anxious to claim the protection of the white men, and bringing rich 
 gifts of gold to propitiate them. They passed between the two 
 enormous mountain peaks, Popocatapetl, 'the hill that smokes,' 
 and Iztaccihuatl, ' the white woman,' and presently encountered a 
 blinding snow-storm, from which they found shelter in one of the 
 large stone buildings, put up by the Mexicans for the use of 
 travellers and couriers, and here they encamped for the night. 
 The next morning they reached the top of a range of hills where 
 
 progress was comparatively easy, and they had not gone far when, 
 turning sharply round the shoulder of a hill, they saw spread out 
 before them the lovely Mexican valley. The clearness of the air 
 enabled them to see distinctly the shining cities, the lakes, woods, 
 fields and gardens, and in the midst of all the fair city of Mexico 
 rose as it were from the waters of the great lake, with its towers 
 and temples white and gleaming, and behind it the royal hill of 
 Chapoltepec, the residence of the Mexican kings, crowned with 
 the very same gigantic cypress trees which to this day fling their 
 broad shadows across the land. The Spaniards gazed in rapture 
 over the gay scene, exclaiming, ' It is the promised land ! ' but pre- 
 
266 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMAS EMPIRE 
 
 sently the e\idences of a power and civilisation so far superior to 
 anything they had yet encountered disheartened the more timid 
 among them, they shrank from the unequal contest, and begged to 
 be led back again to Vera Cruz. But this was not the effect pro- 
 duced upon Cortes by the glorious prospect. His desire for treasure 
 and love of adventure were sharpened by the sight of the dazzling 
 spoil at his very feet, and with threats, arguments, and entreaties 
 he revived the drooping spirits of his soldiers, and by the aid of his 
 brave captains succeeded in once more rousing them to enthusiasm, 
 and the march down the slope of the hill was gaily resumed. 
 
 With every step of their progress the woods became thinner, 
 and villages were seen in green and sheltered nooks, the inhabitants 
 of which came out to meet and welcome the Spaniards. Every- 
 where Cortes heard with satisfaction complaints of the cruelty and 
 injustice of Montezuma, and he encouraged the natives to rely on 
 his protection, as he had come to redress their wrongs. The army 
 advanced but slowly, and was soon met by another embassy from 
 the emperor, consisting of several Aztec lords bringing a rich gift 
 of gold, and robes of delicate furs and feathers, and offering four 
 loads of gold to the general, and one to each of his captains, with a 
 yearly tribute to the Spanish sovereign, if they would even then 
 turn back from Mexico. But Cortes replied that he could not 
 answer it to his sovereign if he were to return without visiting the 
 emperor in his capital. The Spaniards came in the spirit of peace 
 as Montezuma would see for himself; but should their presence 
 prove burdensome to him, it would be very easy for them to relieve 
 him of it. 
 
 This embassy had been intended to reach the Spaniards before 
 they crossed the mountains, and the dismay of the Atzec emperor 
 was great when he learned that it had failed, and that the dreaded 
 strangers were actually on their march across the valley. They 
 were so utterly unlike anything he had ever known before, these 
 strange beings, who seemed to have dropped from another planet, 
 and by their superior knowledge and more deadly weapons over- 
 come the hitherto unconquerable nations, though a mere handful of 
 men in comparison to the swarms of his own countrymen. He felt 
 himself to be the victim of a destiny from which nothing could save 
 him. All peace, power, and security seemed to be gone from him, 
 and in despair he shut himself up in his palace, refusing food, and 
 trying by prayers and sacrifices to wring some favour from his 
 gods. But the oracles were dumb. Then he called a council of his 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 267 
 
 chief nobles, but a great difference of opinion arose amongst them. 
 Cacama, the emperor's nephew, king of Tezcuco, counselled him to 
 receive the Spaniards courteously as ambassadors of a foreign 
 prince, while Cuitlahua, his brother, urged him to muster his forces 
 and then and there drive back the invaders, or die in the defence of 
 his capital. But Montezuma could not rouse himself for this 
 struggle. He exclaimed in deep dejection, ' Of what avail is resis- 
 tance when the gods have declared themselves against us ? Yet I 
 mourn for the old and infirm, the women and children, too feeble to 
 fight or fly. For myself and the brave men around me, we must 
 face the storm as best we may ! " and he straightway sent off a last 
 embassy, with his nephew at its head, to meet the Spaniards and 
 welcome them to Mexico. By this time the army had reached the 
 first of the towns built on piles driven into the lake, and were 
 delighted with its fine stone houses, with canals between them 
 instead of streets, up and down which boats passed continually, 
 laden with all kinds of merchandise. Though received with great 
 hospitality, Cortes still was strictly on his guard, and neglected no 
 precaution for the security of his men. Before he left this place a 
 messenger came, requesting him to wait for the arrival of the king 
 of Tezcuco, who very soon afterwards appeared, borne in a palanquin 
 richly decorated with plates of gold and precious stones, having 
 pillars curiously wrought which supported a canopy of green plumes. 
 He was accompanied by a numerous retinue of nobles and inferior 
 attendants, and when he came into the presence of Cortes he de- 
 scended from his palanquin and advanced towards him, his officers 
 sweeping the ground before him as he did so. 
 
 The prince was a handsome young man, erect and dignified ; he 
 made the usual Mexican salutation to people of high rank, touching 
 the earth with his right hand and raising it to his head, and said 
 that he came as the representative of Montezuma to bid the 
 Spaniards welcome to Mexico, and presented the general with three 
 pearls of uncommon size and lustre. Cortes embraced him, and in 
 return threw over his neck a chain of cut glass. Alter this exchange 
 of courtesies, and the most friendly and respectful assurances en 
 the part of Cortes, the Indian prince withdrew, leaving the 
 Spaniards much impressed by his superiority in state and bearing 
 to anything they had before seen in the country. 
 
 Resuming their march along the southern shore of Lake Chalco, 
 through splendid woods, and orchards glowing with unknown fruits, 
 the army came at length to a great dyke or causeway four or five 
 
208 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 nriles long, which divided the Lake Chalco from Xochicalco on the 
 west. It was a lance in breadth at the narrowest part, and in some 
 places wide enough for eight horsemen to ride abreast, and was 
 solidly built of stone and lime. As they passed along it they saw 
 multitudes of Indians darting up and down the lake in their light 
 pirogues, eager to catch a glimpse of the strangers, and they were 
 amazed at the sight of the floating islands, covered with flowers and 
 vegetables and moving like rafts over the waters. All round the 
 margin, and occasionally far out in the lake, they saw little towns 
 and villages half buried in foliage ; and the whole scene seemed to 
 them so new and wonderful that they could only compare it to the 
 magical pictures of the old romances. Midway across the lake the 
 army halted at the town of Cuitlahuae, which was not large, but 
 was remarkable for the beauty of its buildings. The curiosity of 
 the Indians increased as the Spaniards proceeded, and they clam- 
 bered up the causeway and lined the sides of the road, so that the 
 troops were quite embarrassed by them, and Cortes was obliged to 
 resort to commands, and even menaces, to clear a passage. He 
 found, as he neared the capital, a considerable change in the feeling 
 shown towards the government, and heard only of the pomp and 
 magnificence of Montezuma, and nothing of his oppressions. From 
 the causeway the army descended on a narrow point of land which 
 lay between the two lakes, and crossing it reached the royal residence 
 of Iztapalapan. 
 
 This place was governed by the emperor's brother, who, to 
 do greater honour to Cortes, had invited the neighbouring lords to 
 be present at his reception, and at the banquet which followed. 
 The Spaniards were struck with admiration, when, after the usual 
 ceremonies had been gone through, and a gift of gold and costly 
 stuffs had been presented, they were led into one of the gorgeous 
 halls of the palace, the roof of which was of odorous cedar-wood, and 
 the stone walls tapestried with brilliant hangings. But, indeed, this 
 was only one of the many beautiful things whi3h they saw in this 
 fairy city. There were gardens cunningly planted, and watered in 
 every part by means of canals and aqueducts, in which grew gor- 
 geous flowers and luscious fruits. There was an aviary filled with 
 all kinds of birds, remarkable for the brilliancy of their plumage and 
 the sweetness of their songs. But the most elaborate piece of work 
 was a huge reservoir of stone full of water and stocked with all 
 kinds of fish, and by this all the fountains and aqueducts were 
 supplied. In this city of enchantment the army rested for the night, 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 269 
 
 within sight of the capital into which Cortes intended to lead them 
 on the morrow. 
 
 THE OCCUPATION OF MEXICO. 
 
 With the first faint streak of dawn, on the morning of November 8, 
 1519, the Spanish general was astir and mustering his followers, 
 and as the sun rose above the eastern mountains he set forth with 
 his little troop of horsemen as a sort of advanced guard, the Spanish 
 infantry followed, then the baggage, and finally the dark files of the 
 Tlascalan warriors. The whole number cannot have amounted to 
 seven thousand, of which less than four hundred were Spaniards. 
 For a short distance the army kept along the narrow tongue of land 
 between the lakes, and then entered upon the great dyke which 
 crosses the salt waters of Lake Tezcuco to the very gates of the 
 capital. It was wide enough all the way for ten horsemen to ride 
 abreast, and from it the Spaniards could see many towns and 
 villages some upon the shores of the lake, some built upon piles 
 running far out into its waters. These cities were evidently crowded 
 with a thriving population, and contained many temples and 
 other important buildings which were covered with a hard white 
 stucco glistening like enamel in the sunshine. The lake was 
 darkened with a swarm of canoes filled with Indians who were 
 eager to gaze upon the strangers, and here and there floated those 
 fairy islands of flowers which rose and fell with every undulation of 
 the water, and yet were substantial enough to support trees of a 
 considerable size. At the distance of half a league from the capital 
 they encountered a solid fortification, like a curtain of stone, which 
 was built across the dyke. It was twelve feet high, and had a 
 tower at each end, and in the centre a battlemented gateway 
 through which the troops passed. This place was called the Fort 
 of Xoloc, and was afterwards occupied by Cortes in the famous 
 siege of Mexico. Here they were met by several hundred Aztec 
 chiefs in their gay and fanciful costume. Some of them wore 
 broad mantles of delicate, feather embroidery, and collars and 
 bracelets of turquoise mosaic with which fine plumage was curiously 
 mingled, while their ears, underlips, and sometimes even their noses, 
 were adorned with pendants of precious stones, or crescents of fine 
 gold. After the usual formal salutations, which caused some delay, 
 the march was resumed, and the army presently reached a wooden 
 drawbridge which crossed an opening in the dyke, meant to serve 
 ,as an outlet for the water, should it for any reason rise beyond its 
 
270 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA' S EMPIRE 
 
 usual height. As they left this bridge behind them the Spaniards 
 felt that they were indeed committing themselves to the mercy of 
 Montezuma, who might, by means of it, cut them off from communi- 
 cation with the country, and hold them prisoners in his capital. 
 They now beheld the glittering retinue of the emperor emerging 
 from the great street which led through the heart of the city. 
 Amidst a crowd of Indian nobles, preceded by three officers of state 
 bearing golden wands, they saw the royal palanquin, blazing with 
 burnished gold. It was borne on the shoulders of nobles, and over 
 it a canopy of gorgeous feather- work, powdered with jewels and 
 fringed with silver, was supported by four attendants, also of high 
 rank, who were barefooted and walked with a slow, measured pace, 
 with their eyes bent upon the ground. As soon as the procession 
 had come within a short distance of the Spaniards the emperor 
 descended from his palanquin, and advanced under the canopy, 
 leaning upon the arms of his nephew and his brother. The ground 
 before him was strewn with cotton tapestry by his attendants, and 
 the natives who lined the sides of the causeway bent forward with 
 their eyes fixed upon the ground as he passed, whilst some of the 
 humbler class prostrated themselves before him. Montezuma wore 
 the usual broad girdle and square cloak of the finest cotton, on his 
 feet were sandals with soles of gold, and leathern thongs ornamented 
 with the same metal. Both cloak and sandals were sprinkled 
 with pearls and precious stones, principally emeralds, and the green 
 ' chalchivitl,' which was more highly esteemed by the Aztecs than 
 any jewel. On his head he wore only a plume of royal green 
 feathers, a badge of his military rank. He was at this time about 
 forty years of age, and was tall and thin, and of a lighter complex- 
 ion than is usual among his countrymen ; he moved with dignity, 
 and there was a benignity in his whole demeanour which was not 
 to have been anticipated from the reports of his character which 
 had reached the Spaniards. The army halted as Montezuma drew 
 near, and Cortes dismounted and advanced to meet him with a few 
 of the principal cavaliers. The emperor received him with princely 
 courtesy, and expressed his satisfaction at seeing him in his capital. 
 Cortes responded by the most profound expressions of respect and 
 gratitude for all Montezuma' s munificence to the Spaniards ; he 
 then hung round the emperor's neck a chain of coloured crystal, 
 making at the same time a movement as if to embrace him, but 
 was restrained by the two Aztec lords, who were shocked at the 
 idea of such presumption. Montezuma then appointed his brother 
 
.v-" ^r'tv" ' 
 
 MONTEZUMA GREETS THE SPANIARDS 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 273 
 
 to conduct the Spaniards to their quarters in the city, and again 
 entering his litter was borne off amid prostrate crowds in the same 
 state in which he had come. The Spaniards quickly followed, and 
 with colours flying and music playing entered the southern portion 
 of the city of Mexico. The great wide street facing the causeway 
 stretched for some miles in nearly a straight line through the centre 
 of the city. In the clear atmosphere of the tableland it was easy to 
 see the blue mountains in the distance beyond the temples, houses, 
 and gardens which stood on either side of it. But what most im- 
 pressed the Spaniards was the swarrn of people who thronged 
 every street, canal, and roof, and filled every window and doorway. 
 To the Aztecs it must indeed have been a strange sensation when 
 they beheld the fair-faced strangers, and for the first time heard 
 their well-paved streets ringing under the iron tramp of the horses 
 those unknown animals which they regarded with superstitious 
 terror. But their wonder changed to anger when they saw their 
 detested enemies, the Tlascalans. stalking through their city with 
 looks of ferocity and defiance. 
 
 As they passed along the troops frequently crossed bridges which 
 spanned some of the numerous canals, and at length they halted in 
 a wide open space, near the centre of the city, close to the huge 
 temple of the war-god. Facing the western gate of the temple 
 enclosure stood a range of low stone buildings, spreading over a 
 large extent of ground, once a palace belonging to the emperor's 
 father. This was to be the lodging of the Spaniards. Moiitezuma 
 himself was waiting in the courtyard to receive them. Approaching 
 Cortes he took from one of his slaves a massive collar, made of the 
 shells of a kind of crawfish much prized by the Indians, set in gold, 
 and connected by heavy golden links ; from this hung eight finely- 
 worked ornaments, each a span long, made to resemble the craw- 
 fish, but of fine gold. This gorgeous collar he hung round the neck 
 of the general, saying : ' This palace belongs to you, Malinche ' (this 
 was the name by which he always addressed him), 'and your 
 brethren. Kest after your fatigues, for you have much need to do 
 so ; in a little while I will visit you again.' So saying, he withdrew 
 with his attendants. The general's first care was to inspect his new 
 quarters. The rooms were of great size, and afforded accommoda- 
 tion for the whole army the Tlascalans probably encamping in 
 the outer courts. The best apartments were hung with draperies of 
 gaily coloured cotton, and the floors were covered with mats or 
 rushes. There were also low stools carved from single pieces of 
 
 I 
 
274 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA 1 8 EMPIRE 
 
 wood, and most of the rooms had beds made of the palm-leaf, woven 
 into a thick mat, with coverlets, and sometimes canopies of cotton. 
 The general, after a rapid survey, assigned his troops their respective 
 quarters, and took as vigilant precautions for security as if he 
 expected a siege ; he planted his cannon so as to command the 
 approaches to the palace, stationed sentinels along the walls, and 
 ordered that no soldier should leave his quarters under pain of death. 
 After all these precautions he allowed his men to enjoy the banquet 
 prepared for them. This over, the emperor came again, attended 
 by a few nobles ; he was received with great deference by Cortes, 
 and with Marina's aid they conversed, while the Aztecs and the 
 cavaliers stood around in respectful silence. Montezuma made 
 many inquiries concerning the country of the Spaniards, its sove- 
 reign, and its government, and especially asked their reasons for 
 visiting Mexico. Cortes replied that they had desired to see its 
 great monarch, and to declare to him the true faith professed by the 
 Christians. The emperor showed himself to be fully acquainted 
 with all the doings of the Spaniards since their landing, and was 
 curious as to their rank in their own country ; he also learned the 
 names of the principal cavaliers, and their position in the army. 
 At the conclusion of the interview the Aztecs brought forward a gift 
 of cotton robes, enough to supply every man, even including the 
 Tlascalans, and gold chains and ornaments, which were distributed 
 in profusion among the Spaniards. That evening Cortes ordered a 
 general discharge of artillery, and the noise of the guns and the 
 volumes of smoke filled the superstitious Aztecs with dismay, 
 reminding them of the explosions of the great volcano. 
 
 On the following morning he asked permission to return the 
 emperor's visit, and Montezuma sent officers to conduct the 
 Spaniards to his presence. 
 
 On reaching the hall of audience the Mexican officers took off 
 their sandals, and covered their gay attire with mantles of 'nequen/ 
 a coarse stuff made from the fibres of the aloe, and worn only by 
 the poorest classes ; for it was thus humbly that all, excepting the 
 members of his own family, approached the sovereign. Then with 
 downcast eyes and formal obeisance they ushered the Spaniards 
 into the royal presence. They found Montezuma surrounded by a 
 few of his favourite chiefs, and were kindly received by him ; and 
 Cortes soon began upon the subject uppermost in his thoughts, 
 setting forth as clearly as he could the mysteries of his faith, and 
 assuring Montezuma his idols would sink him in perdition. But 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 275 
 
 the emperor only listened calmly, and showed no sign of being con- 
 vinced. He had no doubt, he said, that the god of the Spaniards 
 was good, but his own gods were good also ; what Cortes told him 
 of the creation of the world was like what he had been taught to 
 believe. It was not worth while to discuss the matter farther. He 
 added that his ancestors were not the original possessors of his 
 land, but had been led there by the great Being, who, after giving 
 them laws, and ruling over them for a time, had withdrawn to the 
 region where the sun rises, declaring on his departure that he or 
 his descendants would some day come again and reign. The 
 wonderful deeds of the Spaniards, their fair faces, and the quarter 
 whence they came all showed that they were his descendants. If 
 Montezunia had resisted their visit to his capital, it was because he 
 had heard that they were cruel, that they sent the lightning to 
 consume his people, or crushed them to pieces under the hard feet 
 of the ferocious animals' on which they rode. He was now con- 
 vinced that these were idle tales, that the Spaniards were kind and 
 generous, mortals indeed, but of a different race from the Aztecs, 
 wiser, and more valiant. You, too, he added with a smile, have per- 
 haps been told that I am a god and dwell in palaces of gold and silver. 
 But you see it is false : my houses, though large, are of wood and 
 stone ; and as to my body, he said, baring his tawny arm, you see it 
 is flesh and bone like yours. It is true that I have a great empire 
 inherited from my ancestors, lands, and gold and silver, but your 
 sovereign beyond the waters is, I know, the rightful lord of all. I 
 rule in his name. You, Malinche, are his ambassador ; you and 
 your brethren shall share these things with me. Rest now from 
 your labours. You are here in your own dwellings, and everything 
 shall be provided for your subsistence. I will see that your wishes 
 shall be obeyed in the same way as my own. Cortes, while he 
 encouraged the idea that his own sovereign was the great Being, as 
 Montezuma believed, assured him that his master had no desire to 
 interfere with his authority otherwise than, out of concern for his 
 welfare, to effect his conversion, and that of his people, to Christianity. 
 Before the emperor dismissed his visitors, rich stuffs and orna- 
 ments of gold were distributed among them, so that the poorest 
 soldier received at least two heavy collars of gold, and on their 
 homeward way they could talk of nothing but the generosity and 
 courtesy of the Indian monarch. But the general was harassed by 
 many anxious thoughts. He had not been prepared to find so 
 much luxury, civilisation, and power. He was in the heart of a 
 
276 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZtfMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 great capital which seemed like an extensive fortification, with its 
 dykes and drawbridges, where every house might be converted into 
 a castle. At a nod from the sovereign all communication with the 
 rest of the country might be cut off, and the whole warlike popula- 
 tion be at once hurled upon himself and his handful of followers, 
 and against such odds of what avail would be his superior science ? 
 As to the conquest of the empire, now he had seen the capital, it 
 must have seemed to him a more doubtful enterprise than ever ; but 
 at any rate his best policy was to foster the superstitious reverence 
 in which he was held by both prince and people, and to find out all 
 he could about the city and its inhabitants. To this end he asked 
 the emperor's permission to visit -the principal public buildings, 
 which was readily granted, Montezuma even arranging to meet him 
 at the great temple. Cortes put himself at the head of his cavalry, 
 and, followed by nearly all the Spanish foot, set out under the guid- 
 ance of several caciques sent by Montezuma. They led him to the 
 great teocalli near their own quarters. It stood in the midst of a 
 vast space which was surrounded by a wall of stone and lime 
 about eight feet high, ornamented on the outer side by raised 
 figures of serpents, which gave it the name of the ' Coatepantli,' or 
 ' wall of serpents.' This wall was pierced by huge battlemented 
 gateways, opening upon the four principal streets of the city, and 
 over each gate was a kind of arsenal filled with arms and warlike 
 gear. The teocalli itself was of the usual pyramidal shape, and 
 five stories high, coated on the outside with hewn stones. The 
 ascent was by flights of steps on the outside, and Cortes found 
 two priests and several caciques waiting to carry him up them 
 as they had just carried the emperor ; but the general declined this 
 compliment, preferring to march up at the head of his men. 
 On reaching the great paved space at the summit, the first 
 thing they saw was the stone on which the unhappy victims 
 were stretched for sacrifice ; at the other end of the platform 
 stood two towers, each three stories high, the lower story being 
 of stone, the two upper of carved wood. In these stood the 
 images of the gods, and before each stood an altar upon which 
 blazed the undying fires, the putting out of which was supposed to 
 portend so much woe to the nation. Here also was the huge drum, 
 made of serpents' skins, struck only on extraordinary occasions, 
 when it sent forth a melancholy sound that could be heard for 
 miles a sound of woe to the Spaniards in after times. Montezuma, 
 attended by a high priest, came forward to receive Cortes. 
 After conferring with the priests the emperor conducted the 
 
CORTES IN THE TEMPLE OF HUITZILOPOCHTLI 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA' S EMPIRE 279 
 
 Spaniards into the building, which was adorned with sculptured 
 figures ; at one end was a recess, with a roof of timber richly 
 carved and gilt, and here stood a colossal image of Huitzilopochtli, 
 the war-god. His countenance was hideous ; in his right hand he 
 held a bow, and in his left a bunch of golden arrows, which a mystic 
 legend connected with the victories of his people. A huge serpent 
 of pearls and precious stones was coiled about his waist, and costly 
 jewels were profusely sprinkled over his person. On his left foot 
 were the delicate feathers of the humming-bird, from which, sin- 
 gularly enough, he took his name, while round his neck hung a 
 chain of gold and silver hearts, as an emblem of the sacrifice in 
 which he most delighted. Indeed, even at that moment three 
 bleeding human hearts lay upon the altar before him. The next 
 sanctuary was dedicated to Tezcatlipoca, who, they believed, had 
 created the earth and watched over it. He was represented as 
 a young man, and his image of polished black stone was gar- 
 nished with gold plates and ornaments, among which was a shield 
 burnished like a mirror, in which he was supposed to see re- 
 flected all the doings of the world ; and before this shrine also 
 lay five hearts in a golden platter. From the horrors of this place 
 the Spaniards gladly escaped into the open air, and Cortes said, 
 turning to Montezuma, 'I do not understand how a great and 
 wise prince like you can put faith in such evil spirits as these 
 idols. If you will but permit us to erect here the true cross, and 
 place the images of the Blessed Virgin and her Son in your 
 sanctuaries, you will soon see how your false gods will shrink 
 before them.' Montezuma was greatly shocked at this speech. 
 ' These,' said he, ' are the gods who have led the Aztecs on to victory 
 since they weVe a nation, and who send us the seed time and 
 harvest. Had I thought you would have offered them this outrage 
 I would not have admitted you into their presence.' Cortes then 
 took his leave, expressing concern for having wounded the feelings 
 of the emperor, who remained to expiate, if possible, the crime of 
 having exposed the shrines of his gods to such profanation by the 
 strangers. On descending into the court the Spaniards took a 
 leisurely survey of the other buildings in the enclosure ; there were 
 several other teocallis, but much smaller ones, in which the 
 Spaniards saw implements of sacrifice and many other horrors. 
 And there was also a great mound with a timber framework upon 
 its summit, upon which were strung hundreds of thousands of 
 skulls those of the victims who had been sacrificed. Schools, 
 
280 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIEE 
 
 granaries, gardens, and fountains filled up the remainder of the- 
 enclosed space, which seemed a complete city in itself, containing a , 
 mixture of barbarism and civilisation altogether characteristic cff the = 
 Aztec nation. The next day the Spaniards asked permission to - 
 convert one of the halls in their palace into a chapel where they 
 might hold the services of their church. The request was granted, 
 and while the work was in progress some of them discovered what . 
 seemed to be a door recently plastered over. As there was a rumour 
 that Montezuma kept the treasures of his father in this palace, they 
 did not scruple to gratify their curiosity by removing the plaster' 
 and forcing open the door which it concealed, when they beheld 
 a great hall filled with rich and beautiful stuffs, articles of curious, 
 workmanship of various kinds, gold and silver in bars or just as it, 
 had been dug from the earth, and many jewels of great value. ' I 
 was a young man,' says one of the Spaniards who was allowed a, 
 sight of the treasure, ' and it seemed to me that all the riches of the: 
 world were in that room.' 
 
 By Cortes' order the wall was built up again, and strict injunc- 
 tions were given that the discovery should be kept a profound 
 secret. The Spaniards had now been a week in Mexico, and the> 
 general's anxieties increased daily. Cortes resolved upon a bold 
 stroke. Calling a council of his officers, he laid his difficulties; 
 before them, and, ignoring the opinion of some who advised an 
 immediate retreat, he proposed to march to the royal palace and 
 by persuasion or force to induce Montezuma to take up his abode' 
 in the Spanish quarters. Once having obtained possession of his; 
 person, it would be easy to rule in his name by allowing him a 
 show of sovereignty, until they had taken measures to secure their 
 own safety and the success of their enterprise. A pretext for 
 the seizure of the emperor was afforded by a circumstance which 
 had come to the ears of Cortes while he was still in Cholula. 
 Don Juan de Escalante, who had been left in charge of the 
 Spanish settlement at Vera Cruz, had received a message 
 from an Aztec chief called Quanhpopoca declaring his desire 
 to come in person and tender his allegiance to the Spaniards, 
 and requesting that four soldiers might be sent to protect him 
 through the country of an unfriendly tribe. This was not an un- 
 common request, and the soldiers were sent, but on their arrival 
 two of them were treacherously murdered by the Aztec ; the others 
 escaped, and made their way back to the garrison. The com- 
 mander at once marched with fifty of his men and some thousands of 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 281 
 
 Indians to take vengeance upon the cacique, and though his allies 
 fled before the Mexicans, the few Spaniards stood firm, and by the 
 aid of their firearms made good the field against the enemy. Un- 
 fortunately, seven or eight of them were killed, including EscaJante 
 himself, and the Indians who were taken prisoners declared that 
 the whole proceeding had been by Montezuma's orders. One of 
 the Spaniards fell into the hands of the enemy, but soon died from 
 his wounds. He happened to be a very big man of ferocious 
 appearance, and when his head was sent to Montezuma, the Aztec 
 emperor gazed upon it with a shudder, and commanded that it 
 should be taken out of the city, and not offered at the shrine of any 
 of his gods. He seemed to see in those terrible features a prophecy 
 of his sure destruction. The bolder spirits among the cavaliers 
 approved of the general's plan, and the next day, having asked an 
 audience of Montezuma, Cortes made the necessary arrangements 
 for his enterprise. The principal part of his force was drawn up in 
 the courtyard ; one detachment was stationed in the avenue leading 
 to the palace, to prevent any attempt at rescue by the citizens. 
 Twenty-five or thirty soldiers were ordered to drop in at the palace 
 by twos and threes, as if accidentally, and he took with him five 
 cavaliers on whose coolness and courage he could rely. 
 
 That they should all be in full armour excited no suspicion ; it 
 was too common an occurrence. The Spaniards were graciously 
 received by the emperor, who by the aid of interpreters held a gay 
 conversation with them, and as usual presented them with gold and 
 jewels. He paid Cortes the compliment of offering him one of his 
 daughters in marriage an honour which was respectfully declined, 
 on the ground that he already had one wife. But as soon as the 
 general saw that his soldiers had all come upon the scene he abruptly 
 changed his tone, and accused the emperor of being the author of 
 the treacherous proceedings on the coast. Montezuma listened in 
 surprise, and declared that such an act could only have been 
 imputed to him by his enemies. Cortes pretended to believe him, 
 but said that Quanhpopoca and his accomplices must be sent for 
 that they might be dealt with after their deserts. Montezuma 
 agreed, and, taking his royal signet from his wrist, gave it to one of 
 his nobles, with orders to show it to the Aztec governor and require 
 his immediate presence in the capital, and in case of his resistance 
 to call in the aid of the neighbouring towns. When the messenger 
 had gone, Cortes assured the emperor that he was now convinced 
 pf his innocence in the matter, but that it was necessary that his 
 
282 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA' S EMPIEE 
 
 own sovereign should be equally convinced of it. Nothing would 
 promote this so much as for Montezuma to transfer his residence to 
 the palace occupied by the Spaniards, as this would show a con- 
 descension and personal regard for them which would absolve him 
 from all suspicion. The emperor listened to this proposal witli 
 profound amazement, exclaiming with resentment and offended 
 dignity : 
 
 * When was it ever heard that a great prince like myself willingly 
 left his own palace to become a prisoner in the hands of strangers ? ' 
 
 Cortes declared that he would not go as a prisoner, but would 
 be simply changing his residence. ' If I should consent to such 
 degradation,' he cried, ' my subjects never would.' 
 
 When further pressed, he offered one of his sons and two of his 
 daughters as hostages, so that he might be spared this disgrace. 
 Two hours passed in this fruitless discussion, till Velasquez de Leon, 
 impatient of the long delay, and seeing that to fail in the attempt 
 must ruin them, cried out, ' Why do we waste words on this bar- 
 barian ? Let us seize him, and if he resists plunge our swords into 
 his body ! ' The fierce tone and menacing gesture alarmed the 
 emperor, who asked Marina what the angry Spaniard said. She 
 explained as gently as she could, beseeching him to accompany the 
 white men, who would treat him with all respect and kindness, 
 while if he refused he would but expose himself to violence, perhaps 
 to death. 
 
 This last appeal shook the resolution of Montezuma; looking 
 round for support and sympathy, he saw only the stern faces and mail- 
 clad forms of the Spaniards, and felt that his hour had indeed come. 
 In a scarcely audible voice he consented to accompany them, and 
 orders were given for the royal litter to be brought. The nobles 
 who bore and attended it could hardly credit their senses, but now 
 Montezuma had consented to go pride made him wish to appear 
 to go willingly. As the royal retinue marched dejectedly down the 
 avenue, escorted by the Spaniards, the people ran together in crowds, 
 declaring that the emperor had been carried off by force, and a 
 tumult would have arisen had not he himself called out to them to 
 disperse, since he was of his own accord visiting his friends, and on 
 reaching the Spanish quarters he sent out his nobles to the mob 
 with similar assurances, bidding them all return to their homes. 
 
 He was received with ostentatious respect by the Spaniards, and 
 chose the apartments which pleased him best, which were speedily 
 furnished with tapestry, featherwork, and all other Indian luxuries. 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 283 
 
 He was attended by his own household, and his meals were served 
 with the usual pomp and ceremony, while not even the general 
 himself approached him' without due obeisance, or sat down in his 
 presence uninvited. Nevertheless it was but too clear to his people 
 that he was a prisoner, for day and night the palace was guarded 
 by sixty sentinels in front and sixty in the rear, while another body 
 was stationed in the royal antechamber. This was the state of 
 affairs when Quanhpopoca arrived from the coast. Montezuma 
 received him coldly, and referred the matter to Cortes, who speedily 
 made an end of it by condemning the unhappy chief and his 
 followers to be burnt to death. The funeral piles were erected in 
 the courtyard before the palace, and were made of arrows, javelins, 
 and other weapons drawn by the emperor's permission from those 
 stored round the great teocalli. To crown these extraordinary pro- 
 ceedings, Cortes, just before the executions took place, entered the em- 
 peror s apartments, followed by a soldier bearing fetters in his hands. 
 Sternly he again accused Montezuma of having been the original 
 contriver of the treacherous deed, and said that a crime which 
 merited death in a subject must in some way be atoned for even by 
 a king, whereupon he ordered the soldier to fasten the fetters upon 
 Montezuma' s ankles, and after coolly waiting until it was done 
 turned his back and quitted the room. 
 
 The emperor was speechless under this last insult, like one 
 struck down by a heavy blow. But though he offered no resistance 
 low moans broke from him, which showed the anguish of his spirit. 
 His faithful attendants did their utmost to console him, holding his 
 feet in their arms, and trying to keep the irons from touching him 
 by inserting their own robes ; but it was not the bodily discomfort 
 that so afflicted him, but the feeling that he was no more a king, 
 and so utterly broken in spirit was he that when Cortes came after 
 the execution had taken place, and with his own hands unclasped 
 the irons, Montezuma actually thanked him as if for some great 
 and unmerited favour. Not long after the Spanish general expressed 
 his willingness that the emperor should if he wished return to his 
 own palace, but Montezuma declined the offer, doubtless fearing to 
 trust himself again to the haughty and ferocious chieftains, who 
 could not but despise the cowardly proceedings of their master, so 
 unlike the usual conduct of an Aztec monarch. Montezuma often 
 amused himself with seeing the Spanish troops go through their 
 exercises, or with playing at some of the national games with 
 Cortes and his officers. A favourite one was called ' totoloque,' 
 
284 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 played with golden balls, which were thrown at a golden target, 
 and the emperor always staked precious stones or ingots of gold, 
 and won or lost with equal good-humour, and indeed it did not 
 much matter to him, since if he did win he gave away his gains 
 to his attendants. But while Montezuma thus resigned himself 
 without a struggle to a life of captivity, some of his kinsmen were 
 
 feeling very differently about the matter, and especially his nephew 
 Cacama, lord of the Tezcuco, and second in power to Montezuma 
 himself. 
 
 This prince saw with alarm and indignation his uncle's abject 
 submission to the Spaniards, and endeavoured to form a league with 
 the other chiefs to rescue him out of their hands. But they, from 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA S EMPIRE 285 
 
 jealousy, declined to join him, declaring themselves unwilling to do 
 anything without the emperor's sanction. These plots came to the 
 ears of Cortes, who wished at once to march upon Tezcuco and 
 stamp out this spark of rebellion, hut Montezuma dissuaded him. 
 He therefore sent a friendly message of expostulation, which met 
 with a haughty response, and to a second message asserting the 
 supremacy of the King of Spain Cacama replied that ' he acknow- 
 ledged no such authority. He knew nothing of the Spanish 
 sovereign or his people, nor did he wish to know anything of them.' 
 When Montezuma sent to him to come to Mexico that this differ- 
 ence might be adjusted, he answered that he understood the position 
 of his uncle, and that when he did visit the capital it would be to 
 rescue it, as well as the emperor himself and their common gods, 
 from bondage, to drive out the detested strangers who had brought 
 such dishonour on their country. This reply made Cortes very 
 angry ; but Montezuma, anxious to prevent bloodshed, begged him 
 still to refrain from declaring war against Cacama, saying that it 
 would be better to obtain possession of him personally, which he 
 could easily do by means of several Tezcucan nobles who were in 
 his own pay. So Cacama was enticed by these faithless chiefs into 
 a villa overhanging the lake, where he was easily overpowered and 
 forced into a boat, which speedily brought him to Mexico. Cortes 
 promptly fettered and imprisoned him, while Montezuma declared 
 that he had by his rebellion forfeited his kingdom and appointed his 
 brother a mere boy to reign in his stead. Now Cortes felt him- 
 self powerful enough to demand that Montezuma and all his nobles 
 should formally swear allegiance to the Spanish sovereigns, and 
 accordingly the emperor assembled his principal caciques and briefly 
 stated to them the object for which he had summoned them. 
 
 ' You all know,' said he, ' our ancient tradition how the great 
 Being, who once ruled over the land, declared that he would 
 one day return and reign again. That time has now arrived. 
 The white men have come from the land beyond the ocean, where 
 the sun rises, sent by their master to reclaim the obedience of his 
 ancient subjects. I am ready, for my part, to acknowledge his 
 authority. You have been faithful vassals of mine all the years 
 that I have sat upon the throne of my fathers ; I now expect that 
 you will show me a last act of obedience, by acknowledging the 
 great king beyond the waters to be your lord also, and that you 
 will pay him tribute as you have hitherto done to me.' As he 
 spoke the tears fell fast down his cheeks, and his nobles were deeply 
 
286 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 affested by the sight of his distress. Many of them, coming from a 
 distance, and not having realised what was taking place in the 
 capital, were filled with astonishment on beholding the voluntary 
 abasement of their master, whom they had reverenced as the all- 
 powerful lord of the whole country. His will, they told him, was 
 their law now as ever, and if he thought the sovereign of the 
 strangers was the ancient lord of their country, they were willing 
 to swear allegiance to him as such. Accordingly the oaths were 
 administered with all due solemnity, and a full record of the pro- 
 ceedings was drawn up by the royal notary to be sent to Spain. 
 Cortes now seemed to have accomplished most of the great 
 objects of his expedition, but towards the conversion of the 
 natives he had made no progress, and still the horrible sacrifices 
 took place day by day. The general could bear it no longer, but 
 told the emperor that the Christians could not consent to hold the 
 services of their religion shut in within the narrow walls of the gar- 
 rison. They wished to spread its light abroad and share its bless- 
 ings with the people. To this end they requested that the great 
 teocalli should be given up to them as a fit place where their 
 worship might be conducted in the presence of the whole city. 
 Montezuma listened in consternation. 
 
 ' Malinche,' said he, ' why will you push matters to an extremity 
 that must surely bring down the vengeance of our gods and stir up 
 an insurrection among my people, who will never endure this pro- 
 fanation of their temple ? ' 
 
 Cortes, seeing that he was much agitated, pretended that the 
 demand had come from his followers, and that he would endeavour 
 to persuade them to be contented with one of the sanctuaries of the 
 teocalli. If that were not granted, they should be obliged to take it 
 by force and to throw down the idols in the face of the city. 
 Montezuma, still greatly disturbed, promised to confer with the 
 priests, and in the end the Spaniards were allowed to take possess- 
 ion of one of the sanctuaries, in which, when it had been purified, 
 an altar was raised, surmounted by a crucifix and the image of the 
 Virgin ; its walls were decorated with garlands of fresh flowers, and 
 an old soldier was stationed to watch over it. Then the whole 
 army moved in solemn procession up the winding ascent of the 
 pyramid, and mass was celebrated by Father Olmedo and another 
 priest, while the Aztecs looked on with mingled curiosity and re- 
 pugnance. For a nation will endure any outrage sooner than that 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA' S EMPIRE 287 
 
 which attacks its religion, and this profanation touched a feeling in 
 the natives which the priests were not slow to take advantage of. 
 
 Soon the Spaniards noticed a change in Montezuma. He was 
 grave instead of cheerful, and avoided their society. Many con- 
 ferences went on between him and the priests and nobles, at which 
 even Orteguilla, his favourite page, was not allowed to be present. 
 Presently Cortes received a summons to appear before the emperor, 
 who told him that his predictions had come to pass, his gods were 
 offended, and threatened to forsake the city if the sacrilegious 
 strangers were not driven from it, or sacrificed on their altars as an 
 expiation. ' If you have any regard for your safety,' he continued, 
 ' you will leave the country without delay. I have only to raise my 
 finger, and every Aztec in the land will rise against you.' 
 
 Cortes knew well enough that this was true, but, concealing his 
 dismay, he replied that he should much regret to leave the capital 
 so precipitately, especially when he had no ships to take him back 
 to his own country. He should also regret that if he quitted it 
 under these circumstances he should be driven to taking the 
 emperor with him. Montezuma was evidently troubled by this 
 last suggestion, and finally offered to send workmen to the coast to 
 build ships under the direction of the Spaniards, while he restrained 
 the impatience of his people with the assurance that the white men 
 would leave then; land as soon as they were ready. This was 
 accordingly done, and the work went forward at Vera Cruz with 
 great apparent alacrity, but those who directed it took care to 
 interpose as many delays as possible, while Cortes hoped in the 
 meantime to receive such reinforcements from Spain as should 
 enable him to hold his ground. Nevertheless the whole aspect of 
 affairs in the Spanish quarters was utterly changed ; apprehension 
 had taken the place of security, and as many precautions were 
 observed as if the garrison was actually in a state of siege. Such 
 was the unpleasant state of affairs when, in May 1520, six months 
 after his arrival in the capital, Cortes received tidings from the 
 coast which caused him greater alarm than even the threatened 
 insurrection of the Aztecs. The jealous governor of Cuba was 
 sending an expedition to attack Cortes. 
 
 It was the news of the arrival of this fleet at the place where he 
 had himself landed at first that had caused Cortes so much conster- 
 nation, for he at once suspected that it was sent by his bitter 
 enemy the governor. The commander of this second expedition, 
 who was called Narvaez, having landed, soon met with a Spaniard 
 
288 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA S EMPIRE 
 
 from one of the exploring parties sent out by Cortes. This man 
 related all that had occurred since the Spanish envoys left Vera 
 Cruz, the march into the interior, the furious battles with the 
 Tlascalans, the occupation of Mexico, the rich treasures found in it, 
 and the seizure of Montezuma, 'whereby,' said the soldier, ' Cortes 
 rules over the land like its own sovereign, so that a Spaniard may 
 travel unarmed from one end of the country to the other without 
 insult or injury.' 
 
 Narvaez and his followers listened in speechless amazement to 
 this marvellous report, and the leader waxed more and more 
 indignant at the thought of all that had been snatched from Velas- 
 quez, whose adherent he was. He now openly proclaimed his 
 intention of marching against Cortes and punishing him, so that 
 even the natives who had flocked to this new camp comprehended 
 that these white men were enemies of those who had come before. 
 Narvaez proposed t3 establish a colony in the barren, sandy spot 
 which Cortes had abandoned, and when informed of the existence 
 of Villa Eica, he sent to demand the submission of the garrison. 
 Sandoval had kept a sharp eye upon the movements of Narvaez 
 from the time that his ships had first appeared upon the horizon, 
 and when he heard of his having landed he prepared to defend his 
 post to the last extremity. But the only invaders of Villa Rica 
 were a priest named Guevara and four other Spaniards, who 
 formally addressed Sandoval, pompously enumerating the services 
 and claims of Velasquez, taxing Cortes with rebellion, and finally 
 demanding that Sandoval should tender his submission to Narvaez. 
 That officer, greatly exasperated, promptly seized the unlucky 
 priest and his companions, and, remarking that they might read the 
 obnoxious proclamation to the general himself in Mexico, ordered 
 them to be bound like bales of goods upon the backs of sturdy 
 porters and placed under a guard of twenty Spaniards, and in this 
 way, travelling day and night, only stopping to obtain relays of 
 carriers, they came within sight of the capital at the end of the 
 fourth day. 
 
 Its inhabitants were already aware of the fresh arrival of white 
 men upon the coast. Indeed Montezuma had sent for Cortes and told 
 him there was no longer any obstacle to his leaving the country, as 
 a fleet was ready for him, and in answer to his astonished inquiries, 
 had shown him a picture map sent him from the coast, whereon the 
 Spaniards, with their ships and equipments, were minutely depicted. 
 Cortes pretended to be vastly pleased by this intelligence, and the 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 289 
 
 tidings were received in the camp with firing of cannon and other 
 demonstrations of joy, for the soldiers took the newcomers for a 
 reinforcement from Spain. Not so Cortes, who guessed from the 
 first that they came from the governor of Cuba. He told his sus- 
 picions to his officers, who in turn informed the men ; but, though 
 alarm succeeded their joy, they resolved to stand by their leader 
 come what might. When Sandoval's letter acquainting him with 
 all particulars was brought to Cortes, -he instantly sent and released 
 the bewildered prisoners from their ignominious position, and 
 furnished them with horses to make their entry into the 
 capital, where, by treating them with the utmost courtesy and 
 loading them with gifts, he speedily converted them from enemies 
 into friends, and obtained from them much important information 
 respecting the designs of Narvaez and the feelings of his army. 
 He gathered that gold was the great object of the soldiers, who 
 were evidently willing to co-operate with Cortes if by so doing they 
 could obtain it. Indeed, they had no particular regard for their own 
 leader, who was arrogant, and by no means liberal. Profiting by 
 these important hints, the general sent a conciliatory letter to 
 Narvaez, beseeching him not to unsettle the natives by a show of 
 animosity, when it was only by union they could hope for success, 
 and declaring that for his part he was ready to greet Narvaez as a 
 brother in arms, to share with him the fruits of conquest, and, if he 
 could produce a royal commission, to submit to his authority. Of 
 course Cortes knew well enough that he had no such commission to 
 show. Soon after the departure of Guevara he resolved to send a 
 special envoy of his own, and chose Father Olmedo for the task, with 
 instructions to converse privately with as many of the officers and 
 soldiers as he could with a view to securing their goodwill ; and to 
 this end he was also provided with a liberal supply of gold. During 
 this time Narvaez had abandoned his idea of planting a colony en 
 the sea-coast, and had marched inland and taken up his quarters 
 at Cempoalla. He received the letter of Cortes with scorn, which 
 changed to stern displeasure when Guevara enlarged upon the power 
 of his rival and urged him to accept his friendly offers. But the 
 troops, on the other hand, listened with greedy ears to the accounts of 
 Cortes, his frank and liberal manners, and the wealth of his- camp, 
 where the meanest soldier could stake his ingot and his chain of gold 
 at play, and where all revelled in plenty. And when Father Olmedo 
 arrived, his eloquence and his gifts soon created a party in the 
 interest of Cortes. This could not go on so secretly as not to excite 
 
 U 
 
290 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 the suspicions of Narvaez, and the worthy priest was sent back to 
 his master, but the seed which he had sown was left to grow. 
 
 Narvaez continued to speak of Cortes as a traitor whom he 
 intended to punish, and he also declared he would release Monte- 
 zuma from captivity and restore him to his throne. It was 
 rumoured that the Aztec monarch had sent him a rich gift, and 
 entered into correspondence with him. All this was observed by the 
 watchful eye of Sandoval, whose spies frequented his enemy's camp, 
 and he presently sent to Cortes saying that something must 
 speedily be done to prevent Villa Kica from falling into the hands 
 of the enemy, and pointing out that many of the Indians, from sheer 
 perplexity, were no longer to be relied upon. 
 
 The general felt that it was indeed time to act, but the situation 
 was one of great difficulty. However, he marched against Narvaez, 
 defeated and captured him, embodied his forces, and set out on his 
 return to Mexico, where he had left Alvarado in command. 
 
 On his march he received a letter from. Alvarado, which con- 
 veyed the startling news that the Mexicans were up in arms and 
 had assaulted the Spanish quarters, that they had overwhelmed the 
 garrison with a torrent of missiles, which had killed some and 
 wounded many, and had burned some brigantines which Cortes had 
 built to secure a means of retreat, and it ended by imploring him 
 to hasten to the relief of his men if he would save them or keep his 
 hold on the capital. This was a heavy blow to Cortes, but there 
 was no time for hesitation. He laid the matter fully before his 
 soldiers, and all declared their readiness to follow him. 
 
 On June 24, 1520, the army reached the same causeway 
 by which they had before entered the capital ; but now no crowds 
 lined the roads, and no pirogues swarmed upon the lake; a 
 death-like stillness brooded over the scene. As they marched 
 across Cortes ordered the trumpets to sound, and their shrill notes 
 were answered by a joyful peal of artillery from the beleaguered 
 fortress. The soldiers quickened their pace, and all were soon in 
 the city once more. But here the appearance of things was far 
 from reassuring. In many places they saw the smaller bridges had 
 been taken away ; the town seemed deserted, and the tramp of the 
 horses awakened melancholy echoes in the deserted streets. When 
 they reached the palace the great gates were speedily thrown open, 
 and Cortes and his party were eagerly welcomed by the garrison, 
 who had much to tell and to hear. Of course the general's first 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 291: 
 
 inquiry was as to the origin of the tumult, and this was the story 
 he heard. 
 
 The Aztec festival called ' The incensing of Huitzilopochtli ' was 
 about to be celebrated, in which, as it was an important one, nearly 
 all the nobles took part. The caciques asked the permission of 
 Alvarado to perform their rites in the teocalli which contained the 
 chapel of the Spaniards, and to be allowed the presence of Monte-' 
 zuma. This latter request was refused, but he consented to their 
 using the teocalli provided they came unarmed and held no human 
 sacrifice. Accordingly, on the day appointed the Aztecs assembled 
 to the number of at least six hundred. They w r ore their magnificent 
 gala costumes, with mantles of featherwork sprinkled with precious 
 stones, and collars, bracelets, and ornaments of gold. Alvarado and 
 his men, fully armed, attended as spectators, and when the hapless 
 natives were engaged in one of their ceremonial dances, they fell 
 upon them suddenly, sword in hand. Then followed a great and 
 dreadful slaughter. Unarmed, and taken unawares, the Aztecs 
 were hewn down without resistance. Those who attempted to 
 escape by climbing the wall of serpents were speared ruthlessly, 
 till presently not one of that gay company remained alive ; then 
 the Spaniards added the crowning horror to their dreadful deed by 
 plundering the bodies of their murdered victims. The tidings of 
 the massacre flew like wildfire through the capital, and every long- 
 smothered feeling of hostility burst forth in the cry that arose for 
 vengeance. The city rose in arms to a man and almost before the 
 Spaniards could secure themselves in their defences, they were 
 assaulted with desperate fury : some of the assailants attempted to 
 scale the walls, others succeeded in partially undermining and 
 setting fire to the works. It is impossible to say how the attack 
 would have ended, but the Spaniards entreated Montezuma to 
 interfere, and he, mounting the battlements, conjured the furious 
 people to desist from storming the fortress out of regard for his 
 safety. They so far respected him that they changed their opera- 
 tions into a regular blockade, throwing up works round the palace 
 to prevent the egress of the Spaniards, and suspending the market 
 so that they might not obtain any supplies, and then they sat down 
 to wait sullenly till famine should throw then' enemies into their 
 hands. 
 
 The condition of the besieged was gloomy enough. True their 
 provisions still held out, but they suffered greatly from want of 
 water, that within the enclosure being quite brackish, until a fresh 
 
 u2 
 
292 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 spring was suddenly discovered in the courtyard. Even then the 
 fact that scarcely a man had escaped unwounded, and that they had 
 no prospect before them but a lingering death by famine, or one 
 more dreadful still upon the altar of sacrifice, made their situation 
 a very trying one. The coming of their comrades was therefore 
 doubly welcome. As an explanation of his atrocious act, Alvarado 
 declared that he had but struck the blow to intimidate the natives 
 and crush an intended rising of the people, of which he had received 
 information through his spies. 
 
 Cortes listened calmly till the story was finished, then exclaimed 
 with undisguised displeasure, ' You have done badly. You have 
 been false to your trust. Your conduct has been that of a mad- 
 man ! ' And so saying, he turned and left him abruptly, no doubt 
 bitterly regretting that he had entrusted so important a command 
 to one whose frank and captivating exterior was but the mask for a 
 rash and cruel nature. Vexed with his faithless lieutenant, and 
 embarrassed by the disastrous consequences of his actions, Cortes 
 for the first time lost his self-control, and allowed his disgust and 
 irritation to be plainly seen. He treated Montezuma with haughty 
 coldness, even speaking of him as ' this dog of a king ' in the 
 presence of his chiefs, and bidding them fiercely go tell their master 
 and his people to open the markets, or he would do it for them to 
 their cost. The chiefs retired in deep resentment at the insult, 
 which they comprehended well enough from his look and gesture, 
 and the message lost nothing of its effect in transmission. By the 
 suggestion of Montezuma, Cortes now released his brother Cuitlahua, 
 thinking he might allay the tumult and bring about a better state 
 of things. But this failed utterly, for the prince, who was bold and 
 ambitious, was bitterly incensed by the injuries he had received 
 from the Spaniards. Moreover, he was the heir presumptive to the 
 crown, and was welcomed by the people as a substitute for the 
 captive Montezuma. So being an experienced warrior, he set him- 
 self to arrange a more efficient plan of operations against the 
 Spaniards, and the effect was soon visible. Cortes, meanwhile, had 
 so little doubt of his ability to quench the insurrection that he said 
 as much in the letter that he wrote to the garrison of Villa Rica 
 informing them of his safe arrival in the capital. But his messenger 
 had not been gone half-an-hour before he returned breathless with 
 terror, and covered with wounds, saying that the city was in arms, 
 the drawbridges were raised, and the enemy would soon be upon 
 them. 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 293 
 
 Surely enough before long a hoarse, sullen roar arose, becoming 
 louder and louder, till from the parapet surrounding the enclosure 
 the great avenues that led to it could be seen dark with masses of 
 warriors rolling on in a confused tide towards the fortress, while at 
 the same time the flat roofs of the neighbouring houses were 
 suddenly covered, as if by magic, with swarms of menacing figures, 
 brandishing their weapons a sight to appal the stoutest heart. 
 
 FIGHTING IN MEXICO. 
 
 When notice was given of the approach of the Aztecs, each 
 man was soon at his post, and prepared to give them a warm 
 reception. On they came, rushing forward in dense columns, 
 each with its gay banner, and as they neared the enclosure 
 they set up the hideous yell or shrill whistle used in fight, 
 which rose high above the sound of their rude musical instru- 
 ments. They followed this by a tempest of stones, darts, and 
 arrows, which fell thick as rain on the besieged, and at the same 
 time those upon the roofs also discharged a blinding volley. The 
 Spaniards waited until the foremost column was within fire, and 
 then, with a general discharge of artillery, swept the. ranks of 
 their assailants, mowing them down by hundreds. The Mexicans 
 for a moment stood aghast, but soon rallying swept boldly forward 
 over the prostrate bodies of their comrades : a second and third 
 volley checked them and threw their ranks into disorder, but still 
 they pressed on, letting off clouds of arrows, while those on the 
 house -tops took deliberate aim at the soldiers in the courtyard. 
 Soon some of the Aztecs succeeded in getting close, enough to the 
 wall to be sheltered by it from the fire of the Spaniards, and they 
 made gallant efforts to scale the parapet, but only to be shot down, 
 one after another, as soon as their heads appeared above the ram- 
 part. Defeated here, they tried to effect a breach by battering the 
 wall with heavy pieces of timber, but it proved too strong for them, 
 and then they shot burning arrows among the temporary buildings 
 in the courtyard. Several of these took fire, and soon a fierce con- 
 flagration was raging, which was only to be checked by throwing 
 down part of the wall itself, and thus laying open a formidable 
 breach. This was protected by a battery of heavy guns, and a file 
 of arquebusiers, who kept up an incessant volley through the open- 
 ing. All day the fight raged with fury, and even when night came, 
 and the Aztecs suspended operations according to their usual custom, 
 
294 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'8 EMPIRE 
 
 the Spaniards found but little repose, being in hourly expectation of 
 an assault. Early the next morning the combatants returned to the 
 charge. Cortes did not yet realise the ferocity and determination 
 of the Mexicans, and thought by a vigorous sortie he would reduce 
 them to order, and, indeed, when the gates were thrown open, and 
 he sallied out, followed by his cavalry, supported by a large body of 
 infantry and Tlascalans, they were taken by surprise and retreated 
 in some confusion behind a barricade which they had thrown up 
 across the street. 
 
 But by the time Cortes had ordered up his heavy guns and 
 demolished the barrier they had rallied again, and though, when 
 the fight had raged all day, Cortes was, on the whole, victorious, 
 still he had been so harassed on all sides by the battalions of 
 natives who swarmed in from every side street and lane, by those 
 in canoes upon the canal, and by the showers of huge stones from 
 those upon the house-tops, that his losses had been severe. Earlier 
 in the day he had caused a number of houses to be burned to rid 
 himself of some of his tormentors, but the Aztecs could probably 
 better afford to lose a hundred men than the Spaniards one, and the 
 Mexican ranks showed no signs of thinning. At length, exhausted 
 by toil and hunger, the Spanish commander drew off his men, and 
 retreated into his quarters, pursued to the last by showers of darts 
 and arrows ; and when the Spaniards re-entered their fortress, the 
 Indians once more encamped round it ; and though through the 
 night they were inactive, still they frequently broke the stillness 
 with menacing cries and insults. 
 
 ' The gods have delivered you into our hands at last ! ' they said. 
 ' Huitzilopochtli has long cried for his victims. The stone of sacrifice 
 is ready the knives are sharpened. The wild beasts in the palace 
 are roaring for their feast.' These taunts, which sounded dismally 
 in the ears of the besieged, were mingled with piteous lamentations 
 for Montezuma, whom they entreated the Spaniards to deliver up 
 to them. Cortes was suffering much from a severe wound and 
 from his many anxieties, and he determined to induce Montezuma 
 to exert his authority to allay the tumult. In order to give greater 
 effect to his appearance he put on his imperial robes. His mantle 
 of blue and white was held by a rich clasp of the precious ' chal- 
 chivitl,' which with emeralds of uncommon size, set in gold, also 
 ornamented other portions of his dress. His feet were shod with 
 golden sandals, and upon his head he wore the Mexican diadem. 
 Surrounded by a guard of Spaniards and preceded by a golden 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZVMA'S EMPIRE 295 
 
 wand, the symbol of sovereignty, the Indian monarch ascended the 
 central turret of the palace. His presence was instantly recognised 
 by the people, and a magical change came over the scene: the 
 clang of the instruments and the fierce cries of the assailants 
 ceased, and many in the hushed throng knelt or prostrated them- 
 selves, while all eyes were turned with eager expectation upon the 
 monarch whom they had been taught to regard with slavish awe. 
 Montezuma saw his advantage, and in the presence of his awe- 
 struck people felt once more a king. With his former calm 
 authority and confidence he addressed them : 
 
 ' Why do I see my people here in arms against the palace of my 
 fathers ? Is it that you think your sovereign a prisoner, and wish 
 to release him ? If so you have done well ; but you are mistaken. 
 I am no prisoner. The strangers are my guests. I remain with 
 them only for choice, and can leave them when I will. Have you 
 come to drive them from the city ? That is unnecessary ; they will 
 depart of their own accord if you will open a way for them. Return 
 to your homes then. Lay down your arms. Show your obedience 
 to me, whose right it is. The white men shah 1 go back to their 
 land, and all shall be well again within the. walls of Mexico.' 
 
 As Montezuma declared himself the friend of the detested 
 strangers a murmur of contempt ran through the multitude. Their 
 rage and desire for vengeance made them forget their ancient 
 reverence, and turned them against their unfortunate monarch. 
 
 'Base Aztec,' they cried, 'woman, coward! The white men 
 have made you a woman, fit only to weave and spin.' 
 
 A chief of high rank brandished a javelin at Montezuma, as 
 these taunts were uttered, and in an instant the place where he 
 stood was assailed with a cloud of stones and arrows. The 
 Spaniards, who had been thrown off their guard by the respect 
 shown by the people on their lord's appearance, now hastily inter- 
 posed their shields, but it was too late : Montezuma was wounded 
 by three of the missiles, one of which, a stone, struck him on the 
 head with such violence that he fell senseless to the ground. The 
 Mexicans, shocked at their own sacrilegious act, set up a dismal cry, 
 and dispersed panic-stricken until not one of all the host remained 
 in the great square before the palace. Meanwhile, the unhappy 
 king was borne to his own apartments, and as soon as he recovered 
 from his insensibility the full misery of his situation broke upon 
 him. He had tasted the last bitterness of degradation. He had 
 been reviled and rejected by his people. Even the meanest of the 
 
296 THE CONQUEST OP MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 rabble had raised their hands against him, and he had nothing left 
 to live for. In vain did Cortes and his officers endeavour to soothe 
 the anguish of his spirit and encourage him to hope for better 
 things. Montezuma answered not a word. His wounds, though 
 dangerous, need not have proved fatal had he not refused all 
 remedies, tearing off the bandages as often as they were applied, 
 and maintaining all the while a determined silence. He sat 
 motionless, with downcast eyes, brooding over his humiliation ; but 
 from this painful scene the Spanish general was soon called away 
 by the new dangers which threatened the garrison. 
 
 Opposite to the Spanish quarters stood the great teocalli of 
 Huitzilopochtli, rising to a height of nearly a hundred and fifty feet, 
 and thus completely commanding the palace occupied by the 
 Spaniards. A body of five or six hundred Mexicans, many of them 
 nobles and warriors of the highest rank, now took possession of 
 the teocalli, whence they discharged such a tempest of arrows 
 upon the garrison that it was impossible for any soldier to show 
 himself for an instant outside his defences without great danger, 
 while the Mexicans themselves were completely sheltered. It was 
 absolutely necessary that they should be dislodged, and Cortes en- 
 trusted the task to his chamberlain Escobar, giving him a hundred 
 men for the purpose. But after making three desperate attempts, 
 in which he was repulsed with considerable loss, this officer 
 returned unsuccessful, and Cortes determined to lead the storming 
 party himself, though he was suffering much from a wound which 
 disabled his left hand. He made the arm serviceable, however, by 
 strapping his shield to it, and thus prepared sallied forth at the 
 head of three hundred chosen cavaliers and several thousand of the 
 Indian allies. In the courtyard of the temple a body of Mexicans 
 was drawn up to oppose him, and he charged them briskly, but 
 the horses could not keep their footing on the slippery pavement, 
 and many of them fell. Hastily dismounting the Spaniards sent 
 the animals back to their quarters, and then, renewing the assault, 
 had little difficulty in dispersing the Indians and securing a 
 passage to the teocalli. And now began a great and terrible 
 struggle. You will remember that the huge pyramid-shaped 
 teocalli was built in five divisions, growing smaller and smaller, till 
 at the top you came out upon a square platform, crowned only by 
 the two sanctuaries in which stood the images of the Aztec gods. 
 You will also remember that the only ascent was by flights oi 
 stone steps on the outside, one above another, and that it was 
 
MONTEZUMi. ASSAILED BY MISSILES 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 299 
 
 necessary between each flight to pass by a kind of terrace, right 
 round the building, so that a distance of nearly a mile had to be 
 traversed before reaching the top. Cortes sprang up the lower 
 stairway, followed by Alvarado, Sandoval, Ordaz, and the other 
 gallant cavaliers, leaving a strong detachment to hold the enemy in 
 check at the foot of the temple. On every terrace as well as on the 
 topmost platform the Aztec warriors were drawn up to dispute his 
 passage. From their elevated position they showered down heavy 
 stones, beams, and burning rafters, which thundering along the 
 stairway overturned the ascending Spaniards and carried desolation 
 through their ranks. The more fortunate, eluding or springing 
 over these obstacles, succeeded in gaining the first terrace, where 
 they fell upon their enemies and compelled them to give way, and 
 then, aided by a brisk fire from the musketeers below, they pressed 
 on, forcing their opponents to retreat higher and higher, until at 
 last they were glad to take shelter on the broad summit of the 
 teocalli. Cortes and his companions were close behind them, and 
 the two parties soon found themselves face to fa,ce upon this strange 
 battle-field, engaged in mortal combat in the presence of the whole 
 city, while even the troops in the courtyard ceased hostilities, as if 
 by mutual consent, and watched with breathless interest the issue 
 of the struggle. 
 
 The Spaniards and Mexicans closed with the desperate fury of 
 men who have no hope but in victory. Quarter was neither asked 
 nor given, and to fly was impossible. The edge of the platform was 
 unprotected by parapet or battlement, and many of the combatants, 
 as they struggled together, were seen to roll over the edge of the 
 precipice, locked in a death-grip. Cortes himself but narrowly 
 escaped this frightful fate. Two powerful warriors had seized upon 
 him, and were dragging him violently towards the side of the pyra- 
 mid, when, by sheer strength, he tore himself from their grasp and 
 hurled one of them over the brink with his own arm. 
 
 The battle raged unceasingly for three hours. The number of 
 the Mexicans was double that of the Spaniards, but the armour of 
 the latter and their skill as swordsmen outweighed the odds against 
 them. Resistance grew fainter and fainter on the side of the Aztecs. 
 The priests, who had run to and fro among them with streaming 
 hair and wild gestures, encouraging and urging them on, were all 
 slain or captured. One by one the warriors fell dead upon the blood- 
 drenched pavement, or were hurled from the dizzy height, until at 
 last the wild struggle ceased, and the Spaniards stood alone upon 
 
300 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 the field of battle. Their victory had cost them dear, for forty-five 
 of their comrades lay dead, and nearly all the remainder were more 
 or less seriously wounded ; but there was no time for regrets. The 
 victorious cavaliers rushed to the sanctuaries to find that the cross 
 and the image of the Virgin had disappeared from the one they had 
 
 appropriated, and that in the other, before the grim figure of Huitzi- 
 lopochtli, lay the usual offering of human hearts, possibly those of 
 their own countrymen! With shouts of triumph the Spaniards 
 tore the hideous idol from its niche, and in the sight of the horror- 
 Stricken Aztecs hurled it down the steps of the teocalli, and, after 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 301 
 
 having set fire to the sanctuaries, descended joyfully into the court- 
 yard. 
 
 Passing through the ranks of the Mexicans, who were too much 
 dismayed by all they had witnessed to offer any resistance, they 
 reached their own quarters in safety, and that very night they fol- 
 lowed up the blow they had struck by sallying forth into the sleeping 
 town and burning three hundred houses. Cortes now hoped that 
 the natives were sufficiently subdued to be willing to come to terms 
 with him. He therefore invited them to a parley, and addressed 
 the principal chiefs, who had assembled in the great square, from the 
 turret before occupied by Montezuma. As usual, Marina interpreted 
 for him, and the Indians gazed curiously at their countrywoman, 
 whose influence with the Spanish general was well known. Cortes 
 told them that they must now know how little they had to hope from 
 their opposition to the Spaniards. They had seen their gods trampled 
 in the dust, their altars destroyed, their dwellings burned, and their 
 warriors falling on all sides. ' All this,' he continued, ' you have 
 brought upon yourselves by your rebellion. Yet, for the sake of the 
 affection felt for you by the sovereign you have treated so unworthily, 
 I would willingly stay my hand if you will lay down your arms and 
 return once more to your obedience. But if you do not,' he con- 
 cluded, ' I will make your city a heap of ruins, and leave not a soul 
 alive to mourn over it.' 
 
 But the Spanish commander did not yet understand the character 
 of the Aztecs if he thought to intimidate them by menaces. It was 
 true, they replied, that he had destroyed their temples, broken in 
 pieces their gods, and massacred their countrymen. Many more 
 doubtless were yet to fall under their terrible swords. But they 
 were content so long as for every thousand Mexicans they could 
 shed the blood of a single white man. ' Look out,' they said, ' upon 
 our streets and terraces. See them still thronged with warriors as 
 far as your eyes can reach. Our numbers are scarcely diminished 
 by our losses. Yours, on the contrary, are lessening hour by hour. 
 Your provisions and water are failing. You are perishing from 
 hunger and sickness; you must soon fall into our hands. The 
 bridges are broken down and you cannot escape I There will be 
 too few of you left to glut the vengeance of our gods.' With this 
 they discharged a volley of arrows, which compelled the Spaniards 
 to beat a speedy retreat from the turret. The fierce answer of the 
 Aztecs filled the besieged with dismay. 
 
 The general himself, pressed by enemies without and factions 
 
302 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA' S EMPIEE 
 
 within, was, as usual, only roused to more energetic action by a 
 situation which would have paralysed any ordinary mind. He 
 calmly surveyed his position before deciding what course he would 
 pursue. To retreat was hazardous, and it mortified him cruelly to 
 abandon the city in which he had so long been master and the rich 
 treasure which he had secured, with which he had hoped to pro- 
 pitiate the King of Spain. To fly now was to acknowledge himself 
 further than ever from the conquest and to give great opportunity 
 to his enemy, the Governor of Cuba, to triumph over him. On the 
 other hand, with his men daily diminishing in strength and numbers, 
 with the stock of provisions so nearly exhausted that one small 
 daily ration of bread was all the soldiers had, with the breaches in 
 his fortifications widening every day and his ammunition nearly 
 gone, it was manifestly impossible to hold the place much longer 
 against the enemy. Having reached this conclusion, the next diffi- 
 culty was to decide how and when it would be well to evacuate the 
 city. He tried to fight his way out, but he failed, and when night fell 
 the Mexicans dispersed as usual, and the Spaniards, tired, famished, 
 and weak from their wounds, slowly re-entered the citadel, only to 
 receive tidings of a fresh misfortune. Montezuma was dead. ' The 
 tidings of his death,' says the old Spanish chronicler, 'were re- 
 ceived with real grief by every cavalier and soldier in the army 
 who had had access to his person, for we all loved him as a father, 
 and no wonder, seeing how good he was.' 
 
 Montezuma' s death was a real misfortune for the Spaniards. 
 While he lived there was still a possibility of his influence with the 
 natives being of use to them. Now that hope was gone. The 
 Spanish commander showed all respect for his memory. His body, 
 arrayed in its royal robes, was laid upon a bier, and borne on the 
 shoulders of those nobles who had remained with him to the last to 
 his subjects in the city, whose wailings over it were distinctly heard 
 by the Spaniards ; but where he was buried, and with what honours, 
 they never knew. 
 
 The Spanish general now called a council to decide as speedily 
 as possible the all-important question of the retreat. It was his 
 intention to fall back upon Tlascala, and once there to arrange 
 according to circumstances his future operations. There was 
 some difference of opinion as to the hour of departure ; but owing 
 to the predictions of a soldier named Botello, who pretended to be 
 able to read the stars, and who announced that to leave the city 
 at night would be for the good of his comrades, though he himself 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 303 
 
 would meet his death through it, it was decided that the fortress 
 should be abandoned that very night. After events proved that 
 Botello's prophecy was unfortunately only true as far as he himself 
 was concerned. 
 
 The general's first care was to provide for the safe conveyance 
 of the treasure. The soldiers had most of them converted their 
 share into gold chains or collars which could be easily carried about 
 their persons. But the royal fifth, with that of Cortes himself and 
 his principal officers, was in bars and wedges of solid gold. 
 
 That belonging to the crown was now given in charge to the 
 royal officers, with the strongest horse to carry it, and a special 
 guard for its protection. But much treasure belonging to the 
 crown and to private individuals was necessarily abandoned, and 
 the precious metal lay in shining heaps upon the floors of the palace. 
 ' Take what you will of it,' said Cortes to the soldiers ; ' better you 
 should have it than those Mexican hounds. But be careful not to 
 overload yourselves : he travels safest who travels lightest.' His 
 own wary soldiers took heed to his counsel, taking few treasures, 
 and those of the smallest size. But the troops of Narvaez thought 
 that the very mines of Mexico lay open before them, and the riches 
 for which they had risked so much were within their reach at last. 
 Bushing upon the spoil, they loaded themselves with all they could 
 possibly carry or stow away. 
 
 Cortes next arranged the order of march. The van consisted of 
 two hundred Spanish foot, commanded by Sandoval, with twenty 
 other cavaliers. The rest of the infantry formed the rear-guard 
 under Alvarado and De Leon, while the general himself took charge 
 of the centre, some of the heavy guns, the baggage, the treasure, 
 and the prisoners, among whom were a son and two daughters of 
 Moiitezuma, Cacama, and several nobles. The Tlascalans were 
 pretty equally divided among the three divisions. The general had 
 previously superintended the construction of a portable bridge to be 
 laid across the open canals. This was entrusted to the care of an 
 officer named Magarino and forty men, all pledged to defend the 
 passage to the last extremity. Well would it have been if three 
 such bridges had been made, but the labour would have been great 
 and the time was short. At midnight all was ready, and after a 
 solemn mass had been celebrated by Father Olmedo, the Spaniards 
 for the last time sallied forth from the ancient fortress, the scene of 
 so much suffering and of such great courage. 
 
304 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 THE NIGHT OF HORROR. 
 
 The night was dark, and a fine rain fell steadily. The vast square 
 before the palace was deserted, as indeed it had been since the death 
 of Montezuma, and the Spaniards made their way across it as noise- 
 lessly as possible, and entered the great street of Tlacopan. Though 
 to their anxious eyes every dark lane and alley seemed to swarm 
 with the shadowy forms of their enemies, it was not really so, and 
 all went well until the van drew near the spot where the street 
 opened upon the causeway. Before the bridge could be adjusted 
 across the uncovered breach the Mexican sentinels stationed there 
 fled, raising the alarm as they went. The priests from the summits 
 of the teocallis heard them, and sounded their shells, while the huge 
 drum upon the desolate temple of the war-god sent forth its solemn 
 sound, which heard only in seasons of calamity vibrated through 
 every corner of the capital. The Spaniards saw that there was no 
 time to be lost ; the bridge was fitted with all speed, and Sandoval 
 rode across first to try its strength, followed by the first division, then 
 came Cortes with the baggage and artillery, but before he was well 
 over, a sound was heard as of a stormy wind rising in a forest. 
 Nearer and nearer it came, and from the dark waters of the lake 
 rose the plashing noise of many oars. Then a few stones and arrows 
 fell at random among the hurrying troops, to b& followed by more 
 and more, ever thicker and faster, till they became a terrible 
 blinding storm, while the air was rent with the yells and war-cries 
 of the enemy, who seemed to be swarming in myriads over land and 
 lake. 
 
 The Spaniards pushed on steadily, though the Mexicans, dash- 
 ing their canoes against the sides of the causeway, clambered up and 
 broke in upon their ranks. The soldiers, anxious only to make their 
 escape, simply shook them off, or rode over them, or with their 
 guns and swords drove them headlong down the sides of the dyke 
 again. But the advance of such a body of men necessarily took 
 time, and the leading files had already reached the second gap in 
 the causeway before those in the rear had cleared the first. They 
 were forced to halt, though severely harassed by the fire from the 
 canoes, which clustered thickly round this opening, and many were 
 the urgent messages which were sent to the rear, to hurry up the 
 bridge. But when it was at length clear, and Magarino and his 
 sturdy followers endeavoured to raise it, they found to their horror 
 that the weight of the artillery and the horses passing over it had 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 305 
 
 jammed it firmly into the sides of the dyke; and it was absolutely 
 immovable. Not till many of his men were slain and all wounded 
 did Magarino abandon the attempt, and then the dreadful tidings 
 spread rapidly from man to man, and a cry of despair arose. All 
 means of retreat were cut off; they were held as in a trap. Order 
 and discipline were at an end, for no one could hope to escape 
 except by his own desperate exertions. Those behind pressed for- 
 ward, trampling the weak and wounded under foot, heeding not 
 friend or foe. Those in front were forced over the edge of the gulf, 
 across which some of the cavaliers succeeded in swimming their 
 
 horses, but many failed, or rolled back into the lake in attempting 
 to ascend the opposite bank. The infantry followed pell-mell, heaped 
 one upon the other, frequently pierced by the Aztec arrows, or struck 
 down by their clubs, and dragged into the canoes to be reserved for 
 a more dreadful death. All along the causeway the battle raged 
 fiercely. 
 
 The Mexicans clambered continually up the sides of the dyke, 
 and grappled with the Spaniards, till they rolled together down into 
 the canoes. But while the Aztec fell among friends, his unhappy 
 antagonist was secured, and borne away in triumph to the sacrifice. 
 
306 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 The struggle was long and deadly, but by degrees the opening in the 
 causeway was filled up by the wreck of the waggons, guns, rich 
 bales of stuffs, chests of solid ingots, and bodies of men and horses 
 which had fallen into it ; and over this dismal ruin those in the rear 
 were able to reach the other side. Cortes had found a piace that 
 was fordable, and, halting halfway across, had vainly endeavoured to 
 check the confusion, and lead his followers safely to the opposite bank. 
 But his voice was lost in the wild uproar ; and at length, attended by 
 a few trusty cavaliers, he pushed forward to the front. Here he 
 found Sandoval and his companions, halting before the last breach, 
 trying to cheer on the soldiers to attempt the crossing ; but, though 
 not so beset with enemies as the last, it was wide and deep, and the 
 men's resolution failed them. Again the cavaliers set the example, 
 by plunging into the lake. Horse and foot followed, swimming or 
 clinging to the manes and tails of the horses. Those fared best, as 
 the general had predicted, who travelled lightest, and many were, 
 the unfortunate wretches, who, weighed down by the fatal treasure, 
 were buried with it at the bottom of the lake. Cortes, with a few 
 others, still kept in advance, leading the miserable remnant off the 
 causeway. The din of battle was growing faint in the distance, when 
 the rumour reached them that, without speedy succour, the rearguard 
 must be utterly overwhelmed. It seemed a desperate venture, but 
 the cavaliers, without thinking of the danger, turned their horses, 
 and galloped back to the relief of their comrades. Swimming the 
 canal again, they threw themselves into the thick of the fray. The 
 first gleam of morning light showed the hideous confusion of the 
 scene ; the masses of combatants upon the dyke were struggling till the 
 very causeway seemed to rock, while as far as the eye could see, the 
 lake was covered with a dense crowd of canoes full of warriors. 
 The cavaliers found Alvarado unhorsed, and, with a mere handful of 
 followers, defending himself against an overwhelming tide of the 
 enemy, who by this time possessed the whole rear of the causeway, 
 and received constant reinforcements from the city. The Spanish 
 artillery, which had done good service at first, had been overthrown, 
 and utterly confounded by the rush from the back. In the general 
 ruin, Cortes strove by a resolute charge to give his countrymen time 
 to rally, but it was only for a moment : they were speedily borne 
 down by the returning rush. The general and his companions were 
 forced to plunge into the lake once more, though with their numbers 
 reduced this time, and Alvarado stood for an instant upon the brink, 
 uncertain what to do. There was no time to be lost. He was a 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 307 
 
 tall and powerful man. Setting his long lance firmly on the wreck 
 which strewed the lake, he gave a mighty leap which landed him in 
 safety upon the opposite bank. Aztecs and Tlascalans looked on in 
 amazement at this almost incredible feat, and a general shout arose. 
 This is truly the Tonatiuh the Child of the Sun.' To this day, 
 the place is called ' Alvarado's Leap.' Cortes now rode to the front, 
 
 where the troops were straggling miserably off the fatal causeway. 
 Most fortunately, the attention of the Aztecs was diverted by the 
 rich spoil that strewed the ground, and their pursuit ceased, so that 
 the Spaniards passed unmolested through the village of Popotla. 
 There the Spanish commander dismounted from his weary steed, 
 and sitting down on the steps of an Indian temple, looked mourn- 
 
COS THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'8 EMPIRE 
 
 fully on while the broken files dragged slowly past. It was a piteous 
 spectacle. The cavalry, many of them dismounted, were mingled 
 with the infantry, their shattered mail dripping with the salt ooze, 
 and showing through its rents many a ghastly wound ; their firearms, 
 banners, baggage", artillery, everything was gone. Cortes, as he 
 looked sadly on their thin, disordered ranks, sought in vain many a 
 familiar face, and missed more than one trusty comrade who had 
 stood by his side through all the perils of the conquest ; and accus- 
 tomed as he was to conceal his emotions, he could bear it no longer, 
 but covered his face with his hands, while he wept tears of anguish. 
 It was, however, some consolation to him that Marina had been 
 carried safely through the awful night by her faithful guards. 
 Aguilar was also alive, and Martin Lopez, who had built two boats 
 for him in Mexico, as well as Alvarado, Avila, Sandoval, Olid, and 
 Ordaz. 
 
 But this was no time to give way to vain regrets. Cortes hastily 
 mounted again and led his men as speedily as possible through 
 Tlacopan, and, as soon as he reached the open country, endeavoured 
 to bring his disorganised battalions into something like order. The 
 broken army, half- starved, moved slowly towards the coast. On the 
 seventh morning the army reached the mountain range which over- 
 looks the plains of Otumba. All the day before, parties of the enemy 
 had hovered round, crying vindictively, ' Hasten on. You will soon 
 find yourselves where you cannot escape ! ' Now, as they climbed 
 the steep hillside, Cortes realised what this meant, for his scouts came 
 back reporting that a powerful body of Aztecs was encamped upon 
 the other side waiting for them, and truly enough, when they 
 looked down into the valley, they saw it filled with a mighty host of 
 warriors who had been gathered together by Cuitlahua, and stationed 
 at this point to dispute the passage of the Spaniards. Every chief 
 of importance had taken the field with his whole array. As far as 
 the eye could reach extended a moving mass of glittering shields 
 and spears, mingled with the banners and bright feather-mail of 
 the caciques, and the white cotton robes of their followers. It was 
 a sight to dismay the stoutest heart among the Spaniards, and even 
 Cortes felt that his last hour was come. But since to escape was 
 impossible, he disposed his little army to the best advantage, and 
 prepared to cut his way through the enemy or perish in the 
 attempt. He gave his force as broad a front as possible, protecting 
 it on each flank with his cavalry, now reduced to twenty horsemen, 
 who were instructed to direct their long lances at the faces of the 
 
TEE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 309 
 
 enemy, and on no account to lose their hold of them. The infantry 
 were to thrust, not strike, with their swords, and above all to make 
 for the leaders of the enemy, and then, after a few brave words of 
 encouragement, he and his little band began to descend the hill, 
 rushing, as it seemed, to certain destruction. The enemy met them 
 with the usual storm of stones and arrows, but when the Spaniards 
 closed with them, their superiority became apparent, and the natives 
 were thrown into confusion by their own numbers as they fell back 
 from the charge. The infantry followed up their advantage, and a 
 wide lane was opened in the ranks of the enemy, who receded on all 
 sides as if to allow them a free passage. But it was only to return 
 with fresh fury, and soon the little army was entirely surrounded, 
 standing firmly, protected on all sides by its bristling swords and 
 lances, like an island in the midst of a raging sea. In spite of many 
 gallant deeds and desperate struggles, the Spaniards found themselves, 
 at the end of several hours, only more deeply wedged in by the dense 
 masses of the enemy. Cortes had received another wound, in the 
 head, his horse had fallen under him, and he had been obliged to 
 mount one taken from the baggage train. The fiery rays of the sun 
 poured down upon the nearly exhausted soldiers, who were beginning 
 to despair and give way, while the enemy, constantly reinforced from 
 the rear, pressed on with redoubled fury. At this critical moment 
 the eagle eye of Cortes, ever on the watch for any chance of arrest- 
 ing the coming ruin, descried in the distance a chief, who, from his 
 dress and surroundings, he knew must be the commander of the 
 Aztec forces. He wore a rich surcoat of feather-work, and a 
 gorgeous plume of jewelled feathers floated from his helmet, while 
 above this, and attached to his back between the shoulders, showed 
 a golden net fastened to a short staff the customary symbol of 
 authority for an Aztec commander. Turning quickly round to 
 Sandoval, Olid, Alvarado, and Avila who surrounded him, he cried, 
 pointing to the chief, ' There is our mark ! Follow and support me ! ' 
 And shouting his war-cry he plunged into the thickest of the press. 
 Taken by surprise the enemy fell back ; those who could not escape 
 were trampled under his horse's feet, or pierced by his long lance ; 
 the cavaliers followed him closely; in a few minutes they were 
 close to the Aztec chief, and Cortes hurled him to the ground with 
 one stroke from his lance ; a young cavalier named Juan de Sala- 
 manca hastily dismounted and slew him where he lay, and tearing 
 away his banner presented it to the Spanish general. The cacique's 
 guard, overpowered by this sudden onset, fled precipitately, and 
 
310 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 their panic spread to the other Indians, who, on hearing of the death 
 of their chief, fought no more, but thought only of escape. In their 
 blind terror they impeded and trampled down their own comrades, 
 and the Spaniards, availing themselves folly of the marvellous turn 
 affairs had taken, pursued them off the field, and then returned to 
 secure the rich booty they had left behind them. 
 
 Cortes reached Tlascala in safety, and at once began to prepare 
 his revenge on the Mexicans, aided by reinforcements of a few 
 Spaniards from Vera Cruz. Gunpowder had also to be manufac- 
 
 tured, and a cavalier named Francio Montano undertook the perilous 
 task of obtaining sulphur for the purpose from the terrible volcano of 
 Popocatepetl. He set out with four comrades, and after some days 
 journeying, they reached the dense forest which covered the base 
 of the mountain, and forcing their way upward, came by degrees to 
 a more open region. As they neared the top the track ended, and 
 they had to climb as best they could over the black glazed surface 
 of the lava, which, having issued from the crater in a boiling flood, 
 had risen into a thousand odd forms wherever it met with any 
 obstacle, and continually impeded their progress. After this they 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 311 
 
 arrived at the region of perpetual snow, which increased their 
 difficulties, the treacherous ice giving way at every step, so that 
 
 many times they narrowly escaped falling into the frozen chasms 
 that yawned all round them. At last, however, they reached the 
 
312 THE CONQUEST OF .MONT.EZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 mouth of the crater, and, crawling cautiously to the very edge, 
 peered down, into its gloomy depths. At the bottom of the abyss, 
 which seemed to them to go down into the very heart of the earth, 
 a lurid flame burned sullenly, sending up a sulphureous steam, 
 which cooling as it rose, fell again in showers upon the sides of the 
 cavity. Into this one of the brave explorers had to descend, and 
 when they had cast lots the choice fell upon Montafio himself. His 
 preparations were soon made, and his companions lowered him in 
 a basket into the horrible chasm to a depth of four hundred feet, 
 and there as he hung, he scraped the sulphur from the sides of the 
 crater, descending again and again until he had procured enough 
 for the wants of the ar-my,-with which they returned triumphantly 
 to Tlascala. Meanwhile the construction of the ships went forward 
 prosperously, and by Christmas, in the year 1520, there was no 
 longer any reason to delay the march to Mexico. 
 
 While all these preparations were being made, some changes 
 had taken place among the Aztecs. Cuitlahua had suddenly died 
 after reigning four months, and Guatemozin his nephew had 
 been chosen hi his stead. This young prince had married one of 
 Montezuma's daughters. He was handsome and valiant^ and so 
 terrible that his followers trembled in his presence. He had a sort 
 of religious hatred of the Spaniards, and prepared manfully to meet 
 the perils which he saw threatening his country, for by means of 
 spies he had kept a watch upon the movements of the Spaniards, 
 and had discovered their intention of besieging the capital. Cortes, 
 upon reviewing his army, found that his whole force fell little short 
 of six hundred men, of whom forty were cavalry, and eighty arque- 
 busiers and cross-bowmen. The rest were armed with sword, 
 target, and the long copper-headed pikes, which had been made 
 specially by the general's directions. There were also nine cannons 
 of moderate size, but the supply of powder was but indifferent. 
 Cortes published a code of strict regulations for the guidance of his 
 men before they set out, and addressed them as usual with .stirring 
 words, touching all the springs of devotion, honour, and ambition in 
 their hearts, and rousing their enthusiasm as only he could have 
 done. His plan of action was to establish his headquarters at some 
 place upon the Tezcucan lake, whence he could cut off the supplies 
 from the surrounding country, and place Mexico in a state of 
 blockade until the completion of his ships should enable him to 
 begin a direct assault. The most difficult of the three ways into 
 the valley was the one Cortes chose ; it led right across the moun- 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 313 
 
 tain chain, and he judged wisely that he would be less likely to be 
 annoyed by the enemy in that direction. Before long the army 
 halted within three leagues of Tezcuco, which you will remember 
 was upon the opposite shore of the lake to Mexico, and somewhat 
 further north. Up to this time they only had had a few slight 
 skirmishes with the Aztecs, though beacon fires had blazed upon 
 every hill-top, showing that the country was roused. Cortes thought 
 it very unlikely that he would be allowed to enter Tezcuco, which 
 was now reigned over by Coanaco, the friend and ally of Guatemozin. 
 But the next morning, before the troops were well under arms, 
 came an embassy bearing a golden flag, and a gift for Cortes, and 
 imploring him to spare Coanaco' s territories, and to take up his 
 quarters in his capital. Cortes first sternly demanded an account 
 of the Spaniards who, while convoying treasure to the coast, had 
 been slain by Coanaco just when Cortes himself was retreating to 
 Tlascala. The envoys declared at once that the Mexican emperor 
 alone was to blame ; he had ordered it to be done, and had received 
 the gold and the prisoners. They .then urged that to give them 
 time to prepare suitable accommodation for him, Cortes should not 
 enter Tezcuco until the next day ; but disregarding this he marched 
 in at once, only to find the place deserted, and Coanaco well on his 
 way across the lake to Mexico. The general, however, turned this 
 to his own advantage by assembling the few persons left in the city, 
 and then and there electing a brother of the late sovereign to be 
 ruler in his place, and when a few months later he died, he was 
 succeeded by Ixtlilxochitl, son of Negahualpilli, who, always a friend 
 of the Spaniards, now became their most valuable ally, and by the 
 support of his personal authority and all his military resources, did 
 more than any other Aztec chieftain to rivet the chains of the 
 strangers round the necks of his own countrymen. 
 
 THE SIEGE AND SURRENDER OF MEXICO 
 
 The city of Tezcuco, which lay about half a league from the 
 shore of the lake, was probably the best position Cortes could have 
 chosen for the headquarters of the army. His first care was to 
 strengthen the defences of the palace in which they were lodged, 
 and next to employ eight thousand Indian labourers in widening a 
 stream, which ran towards the lake, so that when the ships arrived 
 they might be put together in Tezcuco, and floated safely down to 
 be launched upon it. Meanwhile many of the places in the neigh- 
 
314 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 bourhood sent in their submission to Cortes, and several noble 
 Aztecs fell into his hands. These men he employed to bear a 
 message to Guatemozin, in which he deprecated the necessity of 
 the present hostilities, and declared himself willing to forget the 
 past, inviting the Mexicans by a timely submission to save their 
 capital from the horrors of a siege. But every man in Mexico was 
 determined to defend it to the uttermost, and this appeal produced 
 no effect. The general now turned his attention to securing all the 
 strong places upon the lake. Iztapalapan was the first ; the attack- 
 ing party, after a sharp struggle, succeeded in entering the town ; 
 many of the inhabitants fled in their canoes, but those who remained 
 were massacred by the Tlascalans in spite of all Cortes could do to 
 restrain them. Darkness set in while the soldiers were eagerly 
 loading themselves with plunder ; some of the houses had been set 
 on fire, and the flames lighted up the scene of ruin and desolation. 
 Suddenly a sound was heard as of the rush of the incoming tide 
 and Cortes with great alarm realised that the Indians had broken 
 down the dykes, and that before long the low-lying ground upon 
 which the town stood would be under water. He hastily called off 
 his men and retreated, the soldiers, heavily laden, wading with 
 difficulty through the flood which gained fast upon them. As they 
 left the burning city behind them they could no longer find their 
 way, and sometimes plunged into deep water where many of the 
 allies, unable to swim, were carried away and drowned. When 
 morning dawned they were harassed by the enemy, who hovered 
 round and discharged volleys of arrows and stones, so that it was 
 with no small satisfaction that they presently found themselves 
 once more within the walls of Tezcuco. Cortes was greatly disap- 
 pointed at this disastrous end of an expedition which had begun so 
 well, but after all the fate of Iztapalapan produced .a good effect, 
 and many more towns sent to tender their allegiance, amongst 
 others Otumba and Chalco, which was a place of great importance. 
 Cortes also managed to induce the tribes, who though friendly to 
 him were hostile to one another, to forget their feuds and combine 
 against Mexico, and to this wise policy he owed much of his future 
 success. 
 
 News now came from Tlascala that the ships were ready, 
 and Sandoval was despatched with a considerable guard to bring 
 them to Tezcuco. On his way he was to stop at Zoltepec, where 
 the massacre of the Spaniards had taken place, to find out and 
 punish all who had had a hand in the matter ; but when they got 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIEE 315 
 
 there the inhabitants had fled. In the deserted temples they had 
 the horror of finding many traces of the fate of their comrades ; for 
 beside their arms and clothing, and the hides of their horses, the 
 heads of several soldiers were found suspended as trophies of victory ; 
 while traced in charcoal upon the wall in one building were the 
 words, in the Spanish language, 'In this place the unfortunate 
 Juan Juste, with many others of his company, was imprisoned.' 
 It was fortunate that the inhabitants had fled, for they would have 
 met with but scant mercy from the Spaniards, who were full of in- 
 dignation at the thought of the horrible doom which had overtaken 
 their companions. Sandoval now resumed his march to Tlascala, 
 but before he could reach it, the convoy appeared transporting the 
 ships through the mountain passes. Eetaining twenty thousand of 
 the warriors as a guard, the Spanish captain dismissed the rest, and 
 after four laborious days Cortes and his garrison had the joy of 
 welcoming them safe within the walls of Tezcuco. It was not long 
 before the general once more sallied forth to reconnoitre the capital, 
 and by the way to chastise certain places which had sent him hos- 
 tile messages. After an exciting struggle Xaltocan and three other 
 towns were taken, and a considerable quantity of gold and food fell 
 into the hands of the victors. Marching on, the general found him- 
 self before Tlacopan, through whose streets he had hurried in con- 
 sternation at the end of the night of horror. It was his intention 
 to occupy the town, which he did after a sharp fight, just before 
 nightfall, and the next morning, seeing the enemy in battle array on 
 the open ground before the city, he marched out against them and 
 routed them utterly. The Aztecs fled into the town, but were driven 
 through its streets at the point of the lance, and compelled once 
 more to abandon it, after which the Tlascalans pillaged and set fire 
 to the houses, much against the will of Cortes, but they were a fierce 
 race, and sometimes dangerous to friends as well as foes. After six 
 days the general went back to Tezcuco, and for some time things 
 went on as before, with many skirmishes and expeditions against 
 the towns garrisoned by the Mexicans. Sandoval took several 
 strongholds which threatened the security of Chalco, and all the 
 while the work upon the canal was going rapidly forward, and the 
 ships were nearing completion in spite of three attempts made by 
 the enemy to burn them. Just at this time came the welcome 
 news that three vessels had arrived at Villa Eica, with two hun- 
 dred men on board well provided with arms and ammunition, and 
 with seventy or eighty horses, and the new comers soon made 
 
316 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 their way to Tezcuco, for the roads to the port were now safe and 
 open. 
 
 In April 1521, Cortes started once more to scour the country 
 with a large force, passing quite round the great lakes, and exploring 
 the mountain regions to the south of them. Here he came upon 
 Aztec forces intrenched in strong towns, often built like eagles' 
 nests upon some rocky height, so that to take them was a work of 
 great difficulty and danger. Once he found himself before a city 
 which it was absolutely necessary to subdue, but he was separated 
 from it by a cleft in the solid rock of no great width, but going sheer 
 down thousands of feet. The bridges which generally crossed it 
 had been broken down at the approach of the Spaniards, and as 
 they stood there, unable to advance, the enemy's archers as usual 
 kept up a steady fire, to which they were unavoidably exposed. 
 The general sent a party to seek a passage lower down, but they 
 met with no success until they came to a spot where two large trees, 
 growing one on either side of the ravine, interlaced their branches 
 overhead, and by this unsteady and perilous bridge one of the 
 Tlascalans ventured to cross. His example was soon followed, and 
 one by one about thirty Spaniards and some more of the natives 
 crawled across, swinging dizzily above the abyss. Three lost their 
 hold and fell, but the rest alighted in safety on the other side and 
 attacked the Aztecs, who were as much amazed at their sudden 
 appearance as if they had dropped from the clouds. Presently a 
 temporary bridge was contrived by which the remainder of the 
 force managed to cross also, and before long the town was taken, 
 and the trembling caciques appeared before Cortes, throwing the 
 blame of their resistance upon the Mexicans, and promising sub- 
 mission for the future. 
 
 The general then continued his march across the eastern 
 shoulder of the mountain, descending finally upon Xochimilco, 
 which was built partly upon the lake like Mexico itself, and was 
 approached by causeways, which, however, were of no great length. 
 It was in the first attack upon this town that Cortes was as 
 nearly as possible taken prisoner by the Aztecs. He had thrown 
 himself into the thick of the fight with his usual bravery, and was 
 trying to resist an unexpected rush of the enemy, when his horse 
 stumbled and fell, he himself received a severe blow upon the head 
 before he could rise, and was seized and dragged off in triumph 
 by several Indians. At this moment a Tlascalan saw his danger 
 and sprang furiously upon his captors, trying to tear him from their 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 317 
 
 grasp. Two Spaniards also rushed to the rescue, and between 
 them the Aztecs were forced to quit their hold of the general, who 
 lost no time in regaining his saddle, and laying about him with his 
 good sword as vigorously as before. After a terrible struggle the 
 enemy was driven out, and Cortes took possession of the city. As 
 it was not yet dusk he ascended the principal teocalli to reconnoitre 
 the surrounding country, and there beheld a sight which could but 
 cause him grave anxiety. The lake was covered with rapidly 
 approaching canoes full of warriors, while inland Indian squadrons 
 were marching up in dense columns. Xochimilco was but four 
 leagues from the capital, and at the first tidings of the arrival of the 
 Spaniards, Guatemozin had mustered a strong force and marched 
 to its relief. Cortes made all possible preparations for the defence 
 of his quarters, but not until the next day did the Mexicans attack 
 him, and then the battle raged long and with varying success ; but 
 in the end Spanish discipline prevailed, and the natives were 
 routed with such dreadful slaughter that they made no further 
 attempt to renew the conflict. The city yielded a rich hoard of 
 plunder, being well stored with gold and feather-work, and many 
 other articles of use or luxury, so that when the general mustered 
 his men upon the neighbouring plain before resuming his march, 
 many of them came staggering under the weight of their spoil. 
 This caused him much uneasiness, since their way would be through 
 a hostile country ; but seeing that the soldiers were determined to 
 keep what they had so hardly won, he contented himself with 
 ordering the baggage to be placed in the centre guarded by part of 
 the cavalry, and having disposed the rest to the best advantage, 
 they once more set forth, at the last moment setting fire to the 
 wooden buildings of Xochimilco, which blazed furiously, the glare 
 upon the water telling far and wide the fate that had befallen it. 
 llestiiig here and there, and engaging in many skirmishes with the 
 Aztecs w r ho followed them up, furious at the sight of the plunder 
 which was being carried away by the invaders, the army presently 
 completed the circuit of the lakes, and reached Tezcuco, to be 
 greeted with the news that the ships were fully rigged and the 
 canal completed, so that there was no longer any reason to delay 
 their operations against Mexico. 
 
 It was a triumphant moment when the vessels were launched, 
 and reached the lake in good order. Cortes saw to their being 
 properly armed and manned, and then reviewed the rest of his 
 
318 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 forces, and summoned his native allies to furnish tlieir promised 
 levies at once. 
 
 The general's plan of action against Mexico was to send Sandoval 
 with one division to take possession of Iztapalapan at the southern 
 end of the lake, while Alvarado and Olid were to secure Tlacopan 
 and Chapoltepec upon its western shore, and at the latter place 
 destroy the aqueduct, and so cut off the supply of fresh water from 
 Mexico. This they did successfully, and in several days of fierce 
 fighting breach after breach was carried, and the Spaniards pene- 
 trated the city as far as the great teocalli, driving the natives 
 before them, while the Tlascalans in the rear filled up the gaps 
 in the dyke as well as they could, and brought up the heavy 
 guns. Cortes and his men now pushed their way into the in- 
 closure of the temple, and some of them rushed to the top, so 
 lately the scene of their terrible battle, and there found a fresh 
 image of the war-god. Tearing away the gold and jewels with 
 which it was bedecked, they hurled it and its attendant priests over 
 the side of the pyramid, and hastened down to the assistance of 
 their comrades, who were by this time in a most perilous position, 
 the Aztecs having rallied and attacked them furiously. Indeed it 
 seemed likely to go hard with them, for they were driven helplessly 
 back down the great street in utter confusion and panic ; but the 
 timely arrival of a small body of cavalry created a diversion 
 in their favour, and Cortes managed to turn them once more and 
 drive the enemy back into the enclosure with much loss. As it was 
 by this time evening, he retreated in good order to Xoloc. Though 
 this affair caused some consternation among the Mexicans, they 
 speedily opened the canals and built up the ramparts again, so that 
 when Cortes renewed the attack the whole scene had to be gone 
 through as before. When they had once gained the street, however, 
 they found it much easier to advance, the Tlascalans having on the 
 last occasion pulled down many of the houses on either side. This 
 time Cortes had determined to destroy some of the cherished buildings 
 of the Mexicans, and began by setting fire to his old quarters, 
 the palace of Axayacatl, and then the palace of Montezuma on 
 the other side of the great square. The sight so maddened the 
 natives that the Spaniards had some ado to make good their retreat, 
 and few reached their camp that night unwounded. The Aztec 
 emperor for his part made frequent sallies against the Spaniards 
 both by land and upon the lake, sometimes with considerable suc- 
 cess. At first he managed to obtain supplies of food in canoes, 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 319 
 
 under cover of the darkness, but by degrees the large towns on the 
 mainland, seeing the Mexicans unable to defend themselves, gave 
 in their allegiance to the Spaniards, and then starvation began to 
 be felt in the unhappy city. In spite of everything, however, all 
 offers of terms from Cortes were steadily refused. 
 
 At this juncture, the general was persuaded by some of his 
 officers that it would be well for two of the divisions to unite, and 
 occupy the great market-place in the heart of the town, and so at 
 a given time they marched along their respective causeways and 
 entered the city. Strict orders were given by Cortes that as 
 they advanced every opening in the causeways should be filled 
 up and made secure. The attack began, and the enemy, taken 
 apparently by surprise, gave way and fell back; on rushed the 
 Spaniards by every street, eager to reach the appointed meeting 
 place. Only the general suspected that the enemy might be 
 purposely luring them on to turn upon them when they were 
 hopelessly involved. Taking a few men with him, he hastily pro- 
 ceeded to see for himself if the way was clear should a retreat 
 become necessary, and found, as he had feared, that all had 
 been too eager to be in the front to attend to this most important 
 duty. In the first street he traversed was a huge gap, twelve feet 
 wide, and at least as many deep, full of water, for it connected two 
 canals. A feeble attempt had been made to fill this up with beams 
 and rubbish, but it had been left before any good had been done. 
 Worse than aU Cortes saw that this breach was freshly made, and 
 that his officers had probably rushed headlong into a snare laid by 
 the enemy. Before his men could do anything towards filling up 
 the trench, the distant sounds of the battle changed into an ever- 
 increasing tumult, the mingled yells and war cries, and the tram- 
 pling of many feet grew nearer, and at last, to his horror, Cortes 
 beheld his men driven to the edge of the fatal gulf, confused, help- 
 less, surrounded by their foes. The foremost files were soon 
 hurried over the edge, some trying to swim across, some beaten 
 down by the struggles of their comrades, or pierced by the darts of 
 the Indians. In vain with outstretched hands did Cortes try to 
 rescue his soldiers from death, or worse still from capture ; he was 
 soon recognised, and six of the enemy tried to seize and drag him 
 into a canoe. It was only after a severe struggle, in which he was 
 wounded in the leg, that he was rescued by his brave followers. 
 Two were killed in the attempt, while another was taken alive 
 as he held the general's horse for him to mount. In all, sixty 
 
320 THE CONQUEST OF MOXTEZUMA'S 
 
 Spaniards were captured on this fatal day, and it was only when 
 the rest reached their guns in the open space before the causeway 
 that they were able to rally and beat back the Aztecs. The other 
 division had fared equally ill, and were moreover in great anxiety 
 as to the fate of Cortes, who was reported to have been killed. 
 When they once more reached their quarters, Sandoval, though 
 badly wounded, rode into the camp of Cortes to learn the truth, and 
 had a long and earnest consultation with him over the disaster, 
 and what was next to be done. As he returned to his camp he was 
 startled by the sound of the great drum on the temple of the war- 
 god, heard only once before during the night of horror, and looking 
 up he saw a long file of priests and warriors, winding round the 
 terraces of the teocalli. As they came out upon the platform at the 
 top he perceived, with rage and despair, that his own countrymen 
 were about to be sacrificed with the usual ghastly ceremonies. 
 The camp was near enough to the city for the white skins of the 
 victims and their unavailing struggles to be distinctly seen by 
 their comrades, who were nevertheless powerless to help them, and 
 their distress and fury may be imagined. 
 
 For five days the horrible scenes went on, the Mexicans feasting, 
 singing, and dancing, while their priests predicted that in eight 
 days the war-god, appeased by these sacrifices, would overwhelm 
 their enemies and deliver them into their hands. These prophecies 
 had a great effect upon the native allies of Cortes, who withdrew 
 from him in immense numbers. But the general treated their 
 superstition with cheerful contempt, and only bargained with the 
 deserters to remain close by and see what would happen. When 
 Ihe ninth day came, and the city was still seen to be beset on 
 every side, they ceased to believe in the oracle, and returned, with 
 their anger against the Mexicans rekindled, and their confidence 
 in the Spaniards greatly strengthened. At this time another vessel 
 loaded with stores and ammunition touched at Vera Cruz, and her 
 cargo was seized and sent on to Cortes by the governor. With his 
 strength thus renewed the Spanish general resumed active opera- 
 tions. This time not a step was taken in advance without securing 
 the entire safety of the army, once and for all, by solidly building 
 tip the dykes, filling every canal, and pulling down every house, 
 so that slowly and by degrees a bare open space was made, which 
 took in more and more of the town, till at last the unhappy Aztecs, 
 after many desperate sallies, were shut into the portion of the city 
 which lay between the northern and western causeways. Here 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 321 
 
 famine and pestilence did their awful work unchecked. The 
 ordinary articles of food were Icng exhausted, and the wretched 
 people ate inoss, insects, grass, weeds, or the bark of trees. They 
 had no fresh water. The dead were unburied, the wounded lay in 
 misery, yet all the endeavours of Cortes to induce Guatemozin and 
 his chiefs to submit were useless. Though the two divisions of the 
 army had proceeded with their work of destruction until they could 
 join their forces, and seven-eighths of the city lay in ruins, though 
 the banner of Castile floated undisturbed from the smouldering 
 remains of the sanctuary on the teocalli of the war-god, still the 
 Aztecs defied the conquerors, and fiercely rejected their overtures 
 of peace. 
 
 Hundreds of famishing wretches died every day, and lay where 
 they feh 1 , for there was no one to bury them. Familiarity with the 
 spectacle made men indifferent to it. They looked on in dumb 
 despair waiting for their own turn to come. There was no com- 
 plaint or lamentation, but deep, unutterable woe. In the midst of 
 this appalling misery Guatemozin remained calm and courageous, 
 and as firmly resolved not to capitulate as at the beginning of 
 the siege. It is even said that when Cortes persuaded a noble 
 Aztec prisoner to bear his proposals for a treaty to the emperor, 
 Guatemozin instantly ordered him to be sacrificed. The general, 
 who had suspended hostilities for several days hoping for a favour- 
 able answer to his message, now resolved to drive him to submission 
 by a general assault, and for that purpose led his men across the 
 dreary waste of ruins to the narrow quarter of the city into which 
 the wretched Mexicans had retreated. But he was met by several 
 chiefs, who, holding out their emaciated arms, exclaimed, ' Why 
 do you delay so long to put an end to our miseries ? Bather kill 
 us at once that we may go to our god Huitzilopochtli, who waits to 
 give us rest from our sufferings ! ' 
 
 Cortes, moved by the piteous sight, replied that he desired not 
 their death but their submission. * Why does your master refuse to 
 treat with me,' he said, 'when in a single hour I can crush him and 
 all his people ? ' Then once more he sent to demand an interview 
 with Guatemozin. This time the emperor hesitated, and agreed 
 jha,t next day he would meet the Spanish general. Cortes, well 
 satisfied, withdrew his force, and next morning presented himself 
 at the appointed place in the great square, where a stone platform 
 had been spread with mats and carpets and a banquet made ready. 
 But after all Guatemozin, instead of coming him self, sent his nobles. 
 
 Y 
 
322 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 
 
 Cortes, though greatly disappointed, received them courteously, per- 
 suading them to partake of the feast he had prepared, and dismissing 
 them with a supply of provisions for their master and a renewed 
 entreaty that he would next day come in person. But though he 
 waited for three hours beyond the time appointed, neither the 
 emperor nor his chiefs appeared, and the general heard that the 
 Mexicans were preparing to resist an assault. He delayed no 
 longer, but ordering Sandoval to support him by bringing up the 
 ships and directing his big guns against the houses near the water, 
 he marched at once into the enemy's quarters. The Mexicans set 
 up a fierce war-cry, and with their usual spirit sent off clouds of 
 arrows and darts ; but the struggle soon became a hand-to-hand 
 one; and weakened by starvation and hemmed in as they were the 
 unhappy Aztecs had no chance against their foes. After a scene of 
 indescribable horror, which appalled even the soldiers of Cortes, used 
 as they were to war and violence, the Spanish commander sounded 
 a retreat and withdrew to his quarters, leaving behind him forty 
 thousand corpses and a smouldering ruin. Through the long night 
 that followed all was silent in the Mexican quarter. There was 
 neither light nor movement. This last blow seemel to have utterly 
 stunned them. They had nothing left to hope for. In the Spanish 
 camp, however, all was rejoicing at the prospect of a speedy termi- 
 nation to the wearisome campaign. The great object of Cortes was 
 now to secure the person of Guatemozin, and the next day, which 
 was August 13, 1521, he led his forces for the last time across the 
 black and blasted ruin which was all that remained of the once 
 beautiful city. In order to give the distressed garrison one more 
 chance, he obtained an interview with the principal chiefs and 
 reasoned with them about the conduct of their emperor. 
 
 ' Surely,' he said, ' Guatemozin will not see you all perish when 
 he can so easily save you.' But when he had with difficulty pre- 
 vailed upon them to urge the king to confer with him, the only 
 answer they could bring was that Guatemozin was ready to die 
 where he was, but would hold no communication with the Spanish 
 commander. ' Go then,' replied the stern conqueror, 'and prepare 
 your countrymen for death. Their last moment is come.' Still, 
 however, he postponed the attack for several hours ; but the troops 
 were impatient at the delay, and a rumour spread that Guatemozin 
 was preparing to escape by the lake. It was useless to hesitate : 
 the word was given, and the terrible scene that ensued repeated the 
 horrors of the day before. While this was going forward on shore 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIEE 323 
 
 numbers of canoes pushed off across the lake, most of them only to 
 be intercepted and sunk by the Spanish ships, which beat down 
 upon them, firing to right and left. Some few, however, under 
 cover of the smoke, succeeded in getting into open water. Sandoval 
 had given particular orders that his captains should watch any boat 
 that might contain Guatemozin, and now two or three large canoes 
 together attracted the attention of one named Garci Holguin, who 
 instantly gave chase, and with a favourable wind soon overtook the 
 fugitives, though they rowed with the energy of despair. As his 
 
 men levelled their guns at the occupants of the boat one rose 
 saying, ' I am Guatemozin ; lead me to Malinche ; I am his prisoner. 
 But let no harm come to my wife and followers.' 
 
 Holguin took them on board, and then requested that the 
 emperor would order the people in the other canoes to surrender. 
 ' There is no need,' he answered sadly, ' they will fight no longer 
 when they see their' prince is taken.' And so it was, for when the 
 news of his capture reached the shore the Mexicans at once ceased 
 to defend themselves. It seemed as if they had only gone on so 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIEE 
 
 long to give their sovereign a better chance of escape. Cortes, who 
 had taken up his station on the flat roof of one of the houses, now 
 sent to command that Guatemozin should be brought before him, 
 and he came, escorted by Sandoval and Holguin, who each claimed 
 the honour of having captured him. The conqueror, who was, as 
 usual, accompanied by the Lady Marina, came forward with digni- 
 fied courtesy to receive his noble prisoner. The Aztec monarch 
 broke the silence saying, ' I have done all I could to defend myself 
 and my people. I am now reduced to this state. Deal with me, 
 Malinche, as you will.' Then laying his hand on a dagger which 
 hung from the belt of Cortes, he added, * Better despatch me at 
 once with this and rid me of life.' 
 
 ' Fear not,' answered the conqueror. ' You shall be treated with 
 honour. You have defended your capital like a brave warrior, and 
 a Spaniard knows how to respect valour even in an enemy.' He 
 then sent for the queen, who had remained on board the Spanish 
 ship, and after ordering that the royal captives should be well 
 cared for and supplied with all they needed, he proceeded to dis- 
 pose of his troops. Olid and Alvarado drew off their divisions to 
 their quarters, leaving only a small guard in the wasted suburbs of 
 the pestilence -stricken city, whilst the general himself, with 
 Sandoval and the prisoners, retired to a town at the end of the 
 southern causeway. That night a tremendous tempest arose, such 
 as the Spaniards had never before witnessed, shaking to its founda- 
 tions all that remained of the city of Mexico. The next day, at 
 the request of Guatemozin, the Mexicans were allowed to leave 
 the capital, and for three days a mournful train of men, women, 
 and children straggled feebly across the causeways, sick and 
 wounded, wasted with famine and misery, turning often to take 
 one more look at the spot which was once their pleasant home. 
 When they were gone the conquerors took possession of the 
 place and purified it as speedily as possible, burying the dead and 
 lighting huge bonfires in the deserted streets. The treasure of gold 
 and jewels found in it fell far short of the expectation of the 
 Spaniards, the Aztecs having probably buried their hoards or 
 sunk them in the lake on purpose to disappoint the avarice of their 
 enemies. Cortes, therefore, to his eternal disgrace, caused Guate- 
 mozin to be tortured ; but fire and cord could not wring the secret 
 of the treasure from this illustrious prince. In later days Cortes 
 hanged "Guatemozin, on pretence of a conspiracy. Cortes, having 
 no further need for his native allies, now dismissed them with 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE 325 
 
 presents and flattering speeches, and they departed well pleased, 
 loaded with the plunder of the Mexican houses, which was despised 
 by the Spanish soldiers. Great was the satisfaction of the con- 
 querors at having thus brought the long campaign successfully to 
 an end. Cortes celebrated the event by a banquet as sumptuous 
 as circumstances would permit, and the next day, at the request 
 of Father Olrnedo, the whole army took part in a solemn service 
 and procession in token of their thankfulness for victory. 
 
 Thus, after a siege of nearly three months, in which the be- 
 leaguered Mexicans showed a constancy and courage under their 
 sufferings which is unmatched in history, fell the renowned capital 
 of the Aztecs, and with its fall the story of the nation comes to an 
 end. 
 
 The Aztec empire fell by its own sin. The constant capture of 
 men from neighbouring states as victims for sacrifice had caused 
 the Aztecs to be hated ; thus Cortes obtained the aid of the Tlasca- 
 lans, but for which even his courage and energy would have been 
 of no avail. He deserted Marina when she ceased to be useful, 
 and gave her as a wife to one of his followers. 
 
ADVENTURES OF BARTHOLOMEW PORTUGUES, 
 A PIRATE 
 
 ACEETAIN pirate, born in Portugal, and from the name of his 
 country called Bartholomew Portugues, was cruising from 
 Jamaica in his boat (in which he had only thirty men and four 
 small guns) near the Cape de Corrientes, in the island of Cuba. In 
 this place he met with a great ship bound for the Havana, well 
 provided, with twenty great guns and threescore and ten men, 
 passengers and mariners. This ship he assaulted, but found 
 strongly defended by them that were on board. The pirate escaping 
 the first encounter, resolved to attack her more vigorously than 
 before, seeing he had sustained no great damage hitherto. This 
 resolution he boldly performed, renewing his assaults so often that 
 after a long and dangerous fight he became master of the great 
 vessel, having lost only ten men, and had four wounded. 
 
 Having possessed themselves of such a ship, and the wind being 
 contrary for returning into Jamaica, the pirates resolved to steer 
 towards the Cape of St. Anthony, on the western side of the isle of 
 Cuba, there to repair themselves and take in fresh water, of which 
 they had great necessity at the time. 
 
 Being now very near the cape above mentioned, they unex- 
 pectedly met with three great ships that were coming from New 
 Spain, and bound for the Havana. By these, not being able to 
 escape, were easily retaken both ship and pirates. Thus they were 
 all made prisoners through the sudden change of fortune, and found 
 themselves poor, oppressad, and stripped of all the riches they had 
 won. 
 
 Two days after this misfortune there happened to arise a huge 
 and dangerous tempest, which separated the ships one from another. 
 The great vessel in which the pirates were arrived at Campeche, 
 where many considerable merchants came to salute and welcome 
 the captain. These knew the Portuguese pirate as one who had 
 
ADVENTURES OF BARTHOLOMEW PORTUGUES 327 
 
 committed innumerable crimes upon these coasts, not only murders 
 and robberies, but also lamentable burnings, which those of Campeche 
 still preserved very fresh in their memory. 
 
 The next day after their arrival the magistrates of the city sent 
 several of their officers to demand and take into custody the 
 prisoners from on board the ship, with intent to punish them 
 according to their deserts. Yet fearing lest the captain of the 
 pirates should escape out of their hands on shore (as he had 
 formerly done, being once their prisoner in the city before), they 
 judged it more convenient to leave him safely guarded on board the 
 ship for the present. In the meanwhile they caused a gibbet to be 
 erected, whereon to hang him the very next day, without any other 
 form of trial than to lead him from the ship to the place of punish- 
 ment. 
 
 The rumour of this tr:ige Jy was presently brought to the ears of 
 Bartholomew Portugues, and he sought all the means he could to 
 escape that night. With this design he took two earthen jars, in 
 which the Spaniards usually carry wine from Spain to the West 
 Indies, and he stopped them very well, intending to use them for 
 swimming, as those who are unskilled in that art do a sort of 
 pumpkins in Spain, and in other places they use empty bladders. 
 Having made this necessary preparation, he waited for the night 
 when all should be asleep, even the sentry that guarded him. But 
 seeing he could not escape his vigilance, he secretly purchased a 
 knife, and with the same gave him a stab that suddenly deprived 
 him of life and the possibility of making any noise. At that instant 
 Bartholomew Portugues committed himself to the sea, with those 
 two earthen jars before mentioned, and by their help and support, 
 though never having learned to swim, he reached the shore. 
 Having landed, without any delay he took refuge in the woods, where 
 he hid himself for three days without daring to appear, not eating 
 any food but wild herbs. 
 
 Those of the city failed not the next day to make diligent search 
 for him in the woods, where they concluded him to be. This strict 
 search Bartholomew Portugues watched from the hollow of a tree, 
 wherein he lay concealed. Seeing them return without finding 
 what they sought for, he adventured to sally forth towards the 
 coast, of Golfotriste, forty leagues distant from the city of Campeche. 
 Here he arrived within a fortnight after his escape from the ship, 
 in which time, as also afterwards, he endured extreme hunger, 
 thirst, and fear of falling again into the hands of the Spaniards. 
 
328 ADVENTURES OF BARTHOLOMEW PORTUGUES 
 
 For during all this journey he had no provision but a small 
 calabash with a little water : neither did he eat anything but a few 
 shellfish, which he found among the rocks nigh the seashore. 
 Besides this, he was compelled to pass some rivers, not knowing 
 
 well how to swim. Being in this distress, he found an old board 
 which the waves had thrown upon the shore, in which there stuck 
 a few great nails. These he took, and with no small labour whetted 
 against a stone, until he made them sharp like knives. With these, 
 
ADVENTURES OF BABTHOLOMEW PORTUGUE8 329 
 
 and no other instruments, he cut down some branches of trees, 
 which he joined together with twigs and osiers, and as well as he 
 could made a boat, or rather a raft, with which he crossed over the 
 rivers. Thus he reached the Cape of Golfotriste, as was said before, 
 where he happened to find a certain vessel of pirates who were great 
 comrades of his own, and were lately come from Jamaica. 
 
 To these pirates he instantly related all his misfortunes, and 
 asked of them a boat and twenty men to return to Campeche and 
 assault the ship that was in the river, from which he had escaped 
 fourteen days before. They readily granted his request, and 
 equipped him a boat with the said number of men. With this 
 small company he set forth for the execution of his design, which 
 he bravely performed eight days after he separated from his com- 
 rades ; for being arrived at the river of Campeche, with un- 
 daunted courage he assaulted the ship before mentioned. Those 
 that were on board were persuaded that Bartholomew's was a boat 
 from the land that came to bring goods, and therefore were not on 
 their defence. So the pirates assaulted them without any fear of 
 ill success, and in a short space of time compelled the Spaniards to 
 surrender. 
 
 Being now masters of the ship, they immediately weighed 
 anchor and set sail, determining to fly from the port, lest they 
 should be pursued by other vessels. This they did with extreme 
 joy, seeing themselves possessors of such a brave ship especially 
 Bartholomew Portugues, their captain, who now, by a second turn 
 of fortune's wheel, was become rich and powerful again, who had 
 been so lately in that same vessel a poor miserable prisoner, and 
 condemned to the gallows. With this plunder he designed to do 
 great things, for he had found in the vessel a great quantity of rich 
 merchandise. Thus he continued his voyage towards Jamaica for 
 four days. But coming nigh to the isle of Pino, on the south side 
 of the island of Cuba, fortune suddenly turned her back once more, 
 never to show him her countenance again ; for a horrible storm 
 arising at sea caused the ship to split against the rocks, and it was 
 totally lost, and Bartholomew, with his companions, escaped in a 
 canoe. 
 
 In this manner he arrived in Jamaica, where he remained but 
 a short time, till he was ready to seek his fortune anew. But from 
 that day of disaster it was always ill-luck with him. 
 
330 
 
 THE EETUEN OF THE FEENCH 
 FEEEBOOTEES l 
 
 IN January, 1688, the daring band of French pirates who, some- 
 times alone, sometimes in company with English captains, had 
 been cruising in the South Seas, resolved to return to St. Domingo 
 with all the treasure they had won from the Spaniards. But it 
 was manifest that this return would be a matter of great difficulty. 
 They had not one seaworthy vessel left in which to set out for a 
 long voyage, and, with forces exhausted by the frightful hardships 
 they had gone through in the past years, they had to pass through 
 a country peopled by Spaniards cowardly, indeed, but innumerable, 
 and only longing for revenge on the reckless crew that had plun- 
 dered so many of their rich ships and towns. Moreover, provisions 
 were scarce among the Spaniards themselves, and it seemed likely 
 that the freebooters, in their passage, would find scant entertain- 
 ment. But they were determined to risk everything, and having 
 prayed, and sunk their canoes that the Spaniards might make no 
 use of them, they set out on their journey. What followed is thus 
 recounted by one of their party, Baveneau de Lussan : 
 
 The Spaniards, having been warned of our approach, employed 
 every means they could think of for our destruction, burning all 
 the provisions before us, setting fire to the prairies we entered, so 
 that we and our horses were almost stifled, and continually blocking 
 our way with great barricades of trees. About three hundred of 
 them formed themselves into a kind of escort, and morning and 
 evening diverted us with the sound of trumpets, but never dared 
 to show their faces. 
 
 A detachment of our men were always set to fire into woods 
 and thickets, to find out if a Spanish ambush were concealed there. 
 
 1 'The return of the French Freebooters from the South Sea, by the mainland, in 
 1688.' Written by Sieur Raveneau de Lussan, one of the party, taken from his Journal 
 fin voyage fait a la Mer da Sud acec les flibustiers de I'Amerique en 1684 el annees suit-antes. 
 Paris. 1689. 
 
RETURN OF THE FRENCH FREEBOOTERS 331 
 
 On January 9 we reached an opening in the forest where we could 
 see a good way before us, and therefore did not fire. But we had 
 been looking in front for what was really on both sides of us, for 
 in the bushes right and left the Spaniards were crouching, and 
 presently they let fly on us so suddenly that only half the guard 
 had time to fire back, and two of our men were killed on the spot. 
 On the 10th we found another ambush, where we surprised our 
 
 enemies, who took to flight, abandoning their horses, which became 
 our property. 
 
 On the llth, as we drew near Segovia, we found yet 
 another ambuscade, which we forced to retire, and passed into the 
 town, ready to fight our best for we thought that here the 
 Spaniards might make a great effort to expel us. But they only 
 discharged their muskets at us now and then from the shelter of 
 the pine-wood above the town, into which they had fled. But we 
 found nothing to eat, for they had burned all the provisions. 
 
332 RETURN OF THE FRENCH FREEBOOTERS 
 
 On the 13th, having left Segovia, we climbed a hill which 
 looked like a good place to camp, and we saw opposite us, on a 
 mountain slope from which only a narrow valley divided us, twelve 
 to fifteen hundred horses, which for some time we took for cattle 
 pasturing there. Rejoicing in the prospect of good cheer, we sent 
 forty men to make sure, and when they came back they told 
 us that what we had taken for cattle were horses, ready saddled, 
 and that in the same place they had found three iiitrenchments a 
 pistol shot from each other, which, rising by degrees to about the 
 middle of the mountain slope, entirely barred the way which we 
 meant to travel the next day. These intrenchments commanded 
 the river which ran the length of the valley, into which it was 
 absolutely necessary for us to descend, there being no other way. 
 They saw a man who, having discovered them, threatened them 
 with a bare cutlass. 
 
 This grievous news was a bitter disappointment to us, especi- 
 ally the loss of our supposed cows, for we were perishing with 
 hunger. But we had to take courage and find out how to leave 
 this place and without delay, for the Spaniards, who were as- 
 sembling from all the country round, would fall upon our little 
 troop, which must be overwhelmed, if we waited for them. The 
 means were not easy to find, and perhaps escape would have 
 seemed impossible, except to our reckless band, who had hitherto 
 succeeded in nearly all our exploits. But ten thousand men could 
 not have crossed that guarded valley without being cut off entirely, 
 both by reason of the number of the Spaniards and the position 
 they occupied. 
 
 Men alone could have gone round without crossing the valley, 
 but we could find no way round for the horses and baggage. For 
 the country on each side was nothing but a thick forest, without 
 the trace of a path, all precipices and ravines, and choked with a 
 multitude of fallen trees. And even had we found a way of escape 
 through so many obstacles, it was indispensable to fight the 
 Spaniards sooner or later, if they were ever to let us alone ! 
 
 There was only one thing to be done to cross these woods, 
 rocks, and mountains, however inaccessible they seemed, and 
 surprise our enemies, taking advantage of the place by coming 
 upon them from above, where they certainly would not expect us. 
 As to our prisoners, horses, and baggage, since through all our 
 march a troop of three hundred Spaniards had been dogging our 
 
RETURN OF THE FRENCH FREEBOOTERS 333 
 
 steps without daring to approach, we would leave eighty men to 
 guard them enough to beat four times as many Spaniards. 
 
 At nightfall we set out, leaving our eighty men, with orders to the 
 sentinels to fire and beat the retreat and the diane at the usual times, 
 to make the three hundred Spaniards who lurked near us think that 
 we had not left the camp. If we were successful we would send back 
 messengers with the good news, but if, an hour after the firing 
 ended, none of us returned, they were to escape how they could. 
 
 All being arranged, we prayed in a low voice, not to be heard 
 by the Spaniards, and set out by the moonlight, two hundred men 
 of us, through this country of rocks, woods, and frightful precipices, 
 where we went leaping and climbing, our feet seeming to be much 
 less use to us than our hands and knees. 
 
 On the 14th, at the break of day, when we had already 
 gained a great height, and were climbing on in profound silence, 
 with the Spanish intrenchments to our left, we saw a sentry party, 
 which, thanks to the fog always thick in this country till ten 
 o'clock in the morning did not discover us. When it had passed 
 we went straight to the place where we had seen it, and we found 
 that there was really a road there. This, when we had halted 
 half an hour to take breath, we followed, guided by the voices of 
 the Spaniards, who were at matins. But we had only gone a few 
 steps when we found two sentinels, very far advanced, on whom we 
 were forced to fire, which warned the Spaniards, who dreamed of 
 nothing less than our coming upon them from above, since they 
 only expected us from below. So those who guarded the intrench- 
 ment about five hundred men being taken at a disadvantage 
 when they thought they had all the advantage on their side, were 
 so terribly frightened that, when we fell upon them all at once, 
 they vanished from the place in an instant, and escaped into the 
 thick fog. 
 
 This unexpected assault so utterly upset their plans that the 
 men in the second intrenchment all passed into the lowest one, 
 where they prepared to defend themselves. We fought them a 
 whole hour, under cover of the first intrenchment, which we had 
 taken, and which commanded them, being higher up the mountain 
 side. But as they would not yield we fancied our shots must have 
 missed, since the fog hindered us from seeing our foes distinctly, so, 
 resolved to waste no more powder, we went down, and fell right on 
 the spot whence they had been firing. Then we assailed them 
 furiously, and at sight of our weapons close upon them which 
 
334 RETURN OF THE FRENCH FREEBOOTERS 
 
 hitherto the fog had concealed they left everything, and fled into 
 the road below the intrenchments. Here they fell into their own 
 trap ; for, thinking it was the only road we could possibly come by, 
 they had cut down trees and blocked it up, and their way being 
 stopped, we could fire upon them from their intrenchmeiit without 
 once missing aim. 
 
 At last, seeing the river in the ravine running down with blood, 
 and tired of pursuing the fugitives, we spared the few remaining 
 Spaniards. After we had chanted the ' Te Deum,' sixty of us went 
 to tell those left in the camp of the victory which Heaven had 
 vouchsafed to us. AVe found them on the point of giving battle to 
 the three hundred Spaniards, who had already (on finding out their 
 weakness) sent a message to them by an officer to tell them that 
 it was hopeless for them to expect to cross the valley, and to offer 
 terms of peace. To which our men replied that were there as many 
 Spaniards as the blades of grass in the prairie they would not be 
 afraid, but would pass through in spite of them, and go where they 
 liked ! 
 
 The officer, being just dismissed with this message when we 
 arrived, shrugged his shoulders with astonishment when he saw us 
 safe back again, and mounted on the horses of his comrades of the 
 intrenchments. He rode off with the news to his troop, whom we 
 presently fired upon, to rid them altogether from their desire to 
 follow in our wake. Unfortunately for them they had not time to 
 mount their horses, so after a brief conflict, in which a great number 
 of them fell, we let the rest go, though we kept their horses. Then, 
 with our baggage, we joined those of our men who had stayed to 
 guard the intrenchments. In both these combats we had only two 
 men slain and four wounded. 
 
 Continuing our journey, we passed one more Spanish intrench- 
 ment, where, since the news of our victory had gone before us, we 
 found no resistance. At last, on the sixteenth day of our march, 
 we reached the river which we had been seeking eagerly, by whose 
 means we meant to gain the sea into which it flowed. 
 
 At once we entered the woods which are on its banks, and 
 everyone set to work in good earnest to cut down trees, in order 
 to construct piperies, with which to descend the river. The reader 
 may perhaps imagine that these piperies were some kind of com- 
 fortable boat to carry us pleasantly along the stream, but they were 
 anything but this. We joined together four or five trunks of a kind 
 of tree with light floating wood, merely stripping off their bark, 
 
BE TURN OF THE FRENCH FREEBOOTERS 335 
 
 and binding them, instead of cord, with a climbing plant growing 
 in those forests, and embracing the trees like ivy, and when these 
 structures, each large enough to hold two men (and in appearance 
 something like huge wicker baskets) were completed, vessels and 
 crew were ready. 
 
 The safest plan was to stand upright in them, armed with long 
 poles to push them off from the rocks, against which the fierce 
 current every moment threatened to dash them. As it was, they 
 
 sank two or three feet deep in the water, so that we were nearly 
 always immersed up to our waists. 
 
 This river rises in the mountains of Segovia, and falls into the 
 sea at Cape Gracia a Dios, after having flowed for a long distance, 
 with frightful rapidity, among an infinite number of huge rocks, 
 and between the most terrible precipices imaginable. We had 
 to pass more than a hundred cataracts great and small, and 
 there were three which the most daring of us could not look 
 at without turning giddy with fear, when we saw and heard 
 the water plunging from such a height into those horrible gulfs. 
 
336 RETURN OF THE FRENCH FREEBOOTERS 
 
 Everything was so fearful that only those who have experienced it 
 can imagine it; as for me, though I shall all my life have my 
 memory full of pictures of the perils of that voyage, it would be 
 impossible for me to give any idea of it which would not be far 
 below the reality. 
 
 We let ourselves go with the current, so rapid that often, in 
 spite of our resistance, it bore us into foaming whirlpools, where we 
 were engulfed with our pieces of wood. But happily before the 
 greatest cataracts, and also just beyond them, there was a basin of 
 calm water, which made it possible for us to gain the bank, drawing 
 our piperies after us. Then, taking out of them whatever valuables 
 we had there, we descended with these, leaping from rock to rock 
 till we had reached the foot of the cataract. Then one of us would 
 return and throw the piperies, which we had left behind, down 
 into the flood and we below caught them as they descended. 
 Sometimes, indeed, we failed to catch them, and had to make new 
 ones. 
 
 When we first set out we voyaged all together, that in case of 
 accident we might come to each other's aid. But in three days, 
 being out of all danger of the Spaniards, we began to travel sepa- 
 rately, since a piperie dashed against the rocks had often been 
 prevented from freeing itself by other piperies which the current 
 hurled against it. It was arranged for those who descended first, 
 when they came to an espe9ially dangerous rapid, to hoist a little 
 flag at the end of a stick, not to warn those behind of the cataract, 
 since they could hear it nearly a league away, but to mark the side 
 on which they ought to land. This plan saved a number of lives, 
 nevertheless many others were lost. 
 
 The bananas which we found on the river bank were almost our 
 only nourishment, and saved us from dying of hunger ; for, though 
 there was plenty of game, our powder and weapons were all wet 
 and spoiled, so that we could not hunt. 
 
 Some days after we had begun to descend the river, as we were 
 travelling separate, several freebooters who had lost all their spoils 
 in gambling were guilty of most cruel treachery. Having gone in 
 advance, these villains concealed themselves behind some rocks 
 commanding the river, in front of which we all had to pass, and as 
 everyone was looking after himself, and we descended unsuspiciously, 
 at pome distance from each other for the reasons already given 
 they had time to fix upon and to massacre five Englishmen, who 
 possessed greater shares of booty than the rest of us. They were 
 
RETURN OF THE FRENCH FREEBOOTERS 337 
 
 completely plundered by these assassins, and my companion and I 
 found their dead bodies on the shore. At night, when we were 
 encamped on the river bank, I reported what we had seen, and the 
 story was confirmed both by the absence of the dead Englishmen 
 and of their murderers, who dared not come back to us, and whom 
 we never saw again. 
 
 On the 20th of February we found the river much wider, 
 and there were no more cataracts. When we had descended some 
 leagues further it was very fine, and the current was gentle, and 
 seeing that the worst of our perils were over, we dispersed into 
 bands of forty each to make canoes, in which we might safely 
 complete our voyage down the river. 
 
 On the 1st of March, by dint of great diligence, having finished 
 four canoes, a hundred and twenty of us embarked, leaving the 
 others, whose canoes were still incomplete, to follow. 
 
 On the 9th we reached the mouth of the river in safety, and 
 lived there among the mulattos and negroes who inhabit the coast, 
 till an English boat, touching there, took on board fifty of us, of 
 whom I was one. On the 6th of April, without any other accident, 
 we arrived at our destination, -St. Domingo. 
 
 PIUXTED BY 
 
 SrOTTISWOODK AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE 
 LOXDOX 
 
THE OUTDOOR WORLD SERIES 
 
 With 12 Coloured Plates and a large number of Illustrations 
 in the Text. Crown 8vo. price 10s. 6d. net. 
 
 BUTTEEFLIES AND MOTHS 
 
 (BRITISH}. 
 By W. FTJBJSTEATJX, F.R.G.S. 
 
 Crown 8vo. price 7*. 6d. 
 With 51(5 Illustrations, including 16 Coloured Plates. 
 
 THE OUTDOOR WORLD 
 
 OR 
 
 THE YOUNG COLLECTOR'S HANDBOOK. 
 By W. FTJRNEATJX, F.R.G.S. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 PART I. ANIMAL LIFE. 
 
 CHAI'. CHAP. 
 
 I. Ponds and Streams. V. Spiders, Centipedes, and 
 
 Millepedes. 
 
 II. Insects and Insect Hunt- ; , _ ... 
 
 incy VI. Reptiles and Reptile 
 
 Hunting. 
 
 III. The Sea-shore. 
 
 IV. Snails and Slugs. 
 
 VII. British Birds. 
 VIII. British Mammals. 
 
 PART II. -THE VEGETABLE WORLD. 
 
 CHAP. CHAP. 
 
 IX. Sea-weeds. XIII. Wild Flowers. 
 
 X!V. Grasses. 
 . Mosses. 
 
 XII. Ferns. XV. Our Forest Trees. 
 
 PART III. THE MINERAL WORLD. 
 CHAP. XVI. Minerals and Fossils. 
 
 London : LONGMANS, GKEEN, & CO. 
 
 New York : 15 East 16 th Street. 
 
THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ 
 
 This book is due on the last DATE stamped below. 
 
 NOV21 78 
 
 H 
 
 7~1984 <B'I 
 
 APR 1 8 '90 
 
 W AY 2 5 ^O 
 
 50m-l,'69(J5643s8)2373 3A,1 
 
D24.L28 1894 
 
 1