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Two Volumes, Post Svo, handsomely Bound in Cloth* 



PRICE SEVEN SHILLINGS. 



THE STAR CHAMBER. By W. Harrison Ainsworth, 
Author of " Tower of London," " Crichton," &c. 

UNNY LOCKWOOD. By Mrs. Crowe, Author of " Susan 
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6E0B6E BOUTLEDGE ft CO., FABRINGDON STBEET. 




600069346Y 



PHILIP ROLLO; 



THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 



BY 

JAMES GEANT, 

AUTHOE OF "ROMANCE OF WAR," "JANE SETON," &c. &c. 



'* Its a tale of campaigning, of love, and invading, 
Of marches, of routes, bivouacs, enfUading; 
Of batteries and breaches, howitzers and mortars, 
Of posts and intrenchments ; of in and out quarters ; 
Of advancing In line, by columns, divisions. 
And fighting whole days without rum or provisions." 



IN TWO VOLUMES. 
VOL. L 



LONDON : 
GEOEGE EOUTLEDGE & CO., FAEEINGDON-STEEET. 

1854. 



2Uj. <ir, 4jf 



M^BQUODiXB AJXD CO., PRINTEBfl^ LONDON.— V0BK8, NEWTON. 




CONTENTS OF VOL L 



Sunk t^ ^int* 

Pagf 
CHAPTER L— Of my Family, and the Miifoitime of not ha^4!ig a Large 

Mouth 1 

n. — How I became a Soldier of Fortono • • • • 8 

IIL — Sir Donald and his Regiment 17 

IV.—We Sail for the Elbe 23 

V.—Gliick8tadt 28 

VI.— After escaping a fiill into the Elbe, I am in danger of 

falling in Loye ..••••• 34 

Vn.— The Repast 38 

Vm.— Our Cantonment 44 

IX.^The Mysterious Door^-a Discourse on Nymphs . 49 



Sink ijrB ^inntlr« * 

X.— Full effect of a Spanish Pettieoat .... 55 

XL— My First Guard 64 

XII.— Who Prudentia's Spouse .preyed to be • • . 74 
XIIL— Two Kisses for ten Doubloons . . . • • • .79 

XIY. — I preyail on Prudentia to accept of a Ring • . 88 
XV. — ^My Goddess deceiyes me. I quarrel with the HaQ^meister, 

and run him through the body . ^ • • . 94 



Sunk t^ ft ^1 

XYI.— The Scottish Standard • 104 

XYU— The Sconce of Boitzenburg 112 

XYIIL— How our old Scottish blades pommeled the Lnperialists 120 

XIX— The Crown of Fire 125 

XX — ^Rupert-with-the-Red<plume 135 

XXL-The Fair Hair and the Dark Hair . • • . 142 



IV CONTENTS. 

Page 

CHAP. XXIL— Dandy Dreghorn 149 

XXIII.— Ernestine and Gabrielle 157 

XXrV. — ^Probability of escaping, and leaving my Heart behind me 165 

XXV. — A serious Mistake, and a learned Discussion on Women 170 

XXYL— The Scout, and the Effect of a Sneeze . . . .179 



XXVn.— The March towards Lauenbnrg 18C 

XXVIIL— Count Tilly's Opinion of the Presbyterians . . 192 

XXIX,— Cairn na Cuimhne ! 199 

XXX— The Jesuit 205 

XXXT. — Of the Good Deeds our Musketeers were undoing . 212 



Smki^&bi^. 



XXXn.— The Merodeurs 216 

XXXIIL— The Hunter's Cot" 224 

XXXIV.— I obtain a Company of Musketeers . . . .233 

XXXV.— Proteus again 1 242 

XXXVI.— A Forest on Fire 251 

XXXVII.— The Prisoners of the Pistoliera 259 



Sunk t^ ^mitt^. 

XXXVIII.— The Pass of Oldenburg ....... 265 

XXXIX.— Thfe Night of Horrors at Heilinghafen ... 278 

XL. — ^We sail for the Isles of Denmark 280 

XLI.— On Board the good ship Anna Catharina . . . 284 

XLIL— Thfe Rittersaal .290 

XLIIL— ISklarch for the Castle of Nyekiobing .... 298 



INTRODUCTION. 



At a sale of the effects of an eminent antiquary lately 
deceased, it was our happiness and good fortune to become 
the possessor of a certain little MS. volume, closely written, 
in a neat small hand of the 17th century. It is very thick, 
contains nearly a thousand pages, is bound in black leather, 
and is fastened by two brass clasps. On the title-page was 
written, *^ The Storie of my Lyffe, concludit to this year 
1660." 

On examining our literary and antiquarian treasure, 
which we did with ardour, we found that it was the ad- 
ventures of a Scottish gentleman, of that stirring period 
indicated by the date, who had served for a time, as a 
soldier of fortune, in the armies of Denmark. We found 
the book interestiog, from the glimpses of wild adventure, 
hair-breadth escapes, high military courage, and raciness it 
exhibited ; thus, the more we read, the more pleased did 
we become. 

Philip Rollo, for such was the name of the writer, seemed 
to be beside us relating his own startling adventures; and 
we were upon the point of handing over the MS. to our 
enterprising friends of the Bannatyne Club, when, lo ! we 
discovered that there were two serious gaps in it. Though 



VI INTBODUCTION. 

having little doubt that the archasologists would gladly 
publish these curious memoirs even in their mutilated 
state, we preferred to restore the thread of the narrative, 
80 far as we could do so, from the quaint pages of the 
Amsterdam Courant, the Soedish Intelligencer, the warlike 
story of Colonel Monro and others, and, after modernising 
the spelling and language o£ the whole, so as to make it 
more generally readable, handed over our transcript to our 
friend Mr. Routledge, of London. 

Those portions of the work which have been made up 
from contemporary authority, we are much too cunning to 
point out ; though we have little doubt that the critical 
reader will easily recognise them. But we may add that, 
historically considered, we have found the military details 
to tally so closely with those given in the Low Dutch 
" Relation," ** Ye Danish Warres," and other works, that 
our soldier of fortune may defy the closest scrutiny. 

When we read the memoirs of any eminent man of whom 
no portrait is extant, we are naturally curious to know 
what like he was — the colour of his eyes, of his hair, and 
BO forth ; and, most fortunately, before entering upon the 
adventures of Philip BoUo, we are enabled to afford the 
reader a pretty good idea of these matters; for at the 
same extensive sale, where it was our fortune to find the 
MS., a portrait of the cavalier was " knocked down" to 
UB for a comparative trifle — ^nothing, absolutely, when we 
consider that it was a real and well-authenticated t/am^«(m€, 
an artist, so justly esteemed the Vandyke of Scotland, and 
who studied with Sir Anthony under Rubens at Antwerp. 



ESTRODUCTION. VU 

This portrait, which appears, by a date inscribed thereon, 
to have been painted abont the year 1630, exhibits an 
eminently handsome cavalier in the gallant and picturesque 
costume of that time. The face is oval — the forehead 
white and high — the mustaches and imperial well pointed — 
the eyes are dark — the hair long and of the deepest brown. 
The left hand rests in the bowl hilt of a long Spanish 
rapier, which hangs in a magnificent baldric, worn sash- 
wise over the right shoulder ; the right hand rests on a 
helmet, to show that it is the portrait of a gentleman and 
soldier. We have also an admirable example of the 
Scottish costume of the period. This cavalier's doublet 
having loose sleeves, slashed with white, the collar being 
covered by a falling band of the richest point lace ; a short 
crimson cloak hangs jauntily on the left shoulder; the 
breeches are of blue velvet, fringed with point lace, and 
meet the long riding boots, which have tops of ruffled lace. 
A military order sparkles on his breast, and a dagger 
dangles at his right side. Under the helmet there peeps 
out a slip of paper, on which is written, Philip Eolloy hya 
portraitoure. » 

There is a proud and lofty expression in the face of this 
old portrait (which is now hanging above my writing-table), 
that is remarkably pleasing and impressive. While gazing 
at it, the dark eyes seem to fill with dusky fire — the proud 
lips to curl, and the manly breast to expand with the high 
military spirit the original once possessed, while the clouds 
of battle, which envelope the background, seem once more 
to roll around him on the wind. This is power of the 



Vlll INTRODUCTION. 

Japoiesone's pencil — that magic power which the lapse of 
more than two hundred years has failed to obliterate ; and 
we hope that the reader will, erelong, be as interested as 
we are ourselves in the fortunes and misfortunes, loves and 
adventures, of Philip Rollo, whose personal memoirs appear 
to have been compiled by himself for his own amusement, 
rather than for that of others. 



PHILIP ROLLO. 



^nnk till fm\. 

CHAPTER I. 

OF Mr FAMILY, AND THE MISFORTUNE OF NOT RAYINO A LABGE MOUTH. 

I WAS bom in the year after King James VI. acquired tlie 
dominion of England, at my father's tower of CraigroUo, which 
overlooks the great bay of Cromartie. The youngest of four 
sons, I was (God knows why) a child of ill-omen from my birth ; 
for, before that event came to pass, my mother had various 
remarkable dreams, which were darkly and mysteriously construed 
by certain Highland crones of the district; and the whole family 
made up their minds to expect that I should never be the 
source of aught else but discomfort and disgrace to them. 

All unconscious of the disagreeable impressions regarding 
me, I was ushered (poor little devil!) into 'this world on a 
Friday, the most ominous day of the week for such an arrival; 
when a fdrious storm of wind was rolling the waves of the 
North Sea against the Sutors of Cromartie; and a tempest of 
rain was lashing the walls and windows of the old tower, and 
drenching the older pine-woods that surrounded it. A knife and 
spade had been placed below my mother's bed, a Bible below her 
pillow, and the room was plentifully sprinkled with salt, to avert' 
the mal-rnfluence of the fairies, and every way the old fashions of 
tiie Highlands were complied with strictly. i 

VOL, L B 



/ 



2 PHILIP BOLLO; 

My £sither had been particularly anxious for a daughter, 
that he might marry her to his nephew, M'Farquhar of that 
Ilk, to whom Ije was tutor or guardian; and various wise 
women, who had been solemnly convened in council before I 
was bom, had all been morally certain that my mother would 
have a daughter. 

"You have long loved French apples," said old Mhona 
Toshach; " your ladyship is sure to have a daughter." 

My sudden appearance upset all their calculations, and none 
more than those of my father. 

" The devil's in the brat!" said he. " There goes the estate of 
M^Farquhar, with its five hundred broadswords;" for, in our 
Scottish fashion, he was what we call the tiUor of the property. 

As if to increase the general prejudice against me, I squalled 
right lustily, which made all the old crones of the household, and 
the wise women of the parish, with Mhona Toshach, my mother's 
nurse, at their head, tremble and predict that, through life, " sore 
trials and evil would attend the course of the Friday's havm^ 
All the crickets in the bakehouse disappeared that day for ever, 
a surer foreboding of dire calamity. 

Though we were a branch of a Lowland or Perthshire family, 
the gallant Hollos of Duncruib, my fitther, partly to humour 
my mother, who was a daughter of the race of M^Farquhar, and 
partly to please his Highland neighbours, resolved to celebrate 
my arrival in the old country fashion. The old family banner, 
with its azure chevrons, on which the spiders had been spinning 
their webs since it had been last unfurled on the birth of my 
brother Ewen, (for my father was eminently a peaceful man,) was 
displayed on the old tower; and more than one gallant pimcheon 
of ale, and bombarde of Flemish wine were set abroach in the 
yard. I was baptized over a broadsword. Then came the 
solemn and important ceremony of placing in my mouth " the 
BoUo spoon," which was done in presence of the whole household; 
and which, from the consternation it occasioned, requires some 
explanation. 

An ancestor of ours, Sir Eingan RoUo of that Ilk, who had 
accompanied Earl Douglas (afterwards Marshal of France and 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 9 

Duke of Tonraine) on his successful invasion of K&gland, in the 

year of God 1420, when sacking the manor-house of a certain 

English squire, found therein a silver spoon of great size and 

curious woitonanship, which he brought home with him to 

Cromartie, leaving in place thereof his right eye, which he lost 

by an English arrow in the assault. This spoon, doubtless the 

palladium of a long race of well-fed Saxons, became the heirloom 

of the house of Eollo, on which it produced a very remarkable 

^ect — not unlike that which Bigord tells us the loss of the true 

cross at Tiberiade, had upon all children bom afterwards in 

Christendom — for instead of thirty teeth they had but ttventy. So 

all the future Eollos of the Craig, came in time to be distin* 

guiahed by the unusual size of their mouths from the first yea* 

after this spoon was deposited in the oak charter-chesfc of the 

&mily. I had a great-uncle whose mouth, when bom, extended 

from ear to ear; but still it was almost insuj£cient to contain 

this capacious English spoon, which was quite round, measured 

three inches in diameter, and on which our valiant ancestor had 

engraved his crest, a stag's head, with the legend, 

*' This spnne I leave in legacie 
To the maist mouthed Rollo, after me. 
BiNGAN Rollo, 1421." 

Thus, whenever a son or daughter of the femily was bom, the 
insertion of this remarkable heirloom into their mouths was one 
of the usual ceremonies, and was considered as indispensable as 
marriage or christening. Such a trophy was considered some- 
thing to be vain of, by the Hollos of the Craig, who were sorely 
jealous of their neighbours, the Urquharts of Cromartie, who 
deduced their descent from Alcibiades the Athenian!* 

It had been remarked that every KoUo of the Craig, whose 
mouth would not admit this spoon, or at least a portion of it, 
was remarkably unfortunate; thus, of my father's ten brothers, 
three, who were so unhappy as to have mouths like other people, 
after being distinguished for their fSsicility in getting into quarrels 
and turmoils, were all cut off, early in life; one being slain by 
the English at the Baid of the Bedswire; a second with Buo- 
♦ See Sip Thomas Urquhart's World. , 



i PHILIP ROLLO; 

cleacb in the Lowlands of Holland ; and the third, who had be- 
come an officer in a Scottish frigate, being taken by the cruel 
pirates of Barbary, who basely murdered him. Most happily for 
themsdves, my three elder brothers were blessed with enormously 
wide mouths — ^in fact, they were like nothing that I can remem- 
ber but the mouth of a cannon, or the stone gutters of a cathe- 
dral; but I — ^poor little wretch! — had a mouth so remarkably 
small, that no part of this capacious spoon would enter therein 
i — ^not even a segment of it; and from that moment I was 
unanimously considered as a lost, an untrue Rollo. My fath^ 
turned his back upon me from that day, and vowed there was 
less of the Rollo than the M*Farquhar about me ; so, from thence- 
forward, I was, as it were, delivered into the hands of mischance 
and misforttme. 

A goodly volume would be required to narrate all the heart- 
burnings and sore taunts I endured in boyhood, for the smallness 
of my mouth; the studied coldness of my father; the gibes and 
laughter of my brothers; the ominous forebodings and dol^l 
anticipations of the old nurse, Mhona Toshach; and the equivocal 
taunts of the good-natured friends and tenantry, among whom I 
seemed to be viewed like the poor dog, that should be hung after 
aquiring the bad name, the mob and their misdeeds, have given 
him. That diabolical old spoon was the bane of my existence; 
and, influenced by certain hints from my poor mother, who, 
having a very small and very pretty mouth herself, sympathised 
with me, I made more than one essay, to obtain possession of it, for 
the purpose of throwing it into the deepest part of Cromartie bay, 
with a pretty heavy stone attached thereto. But the ancient 
charter-chest, with its iron bands and triple locks, defied all my 
efforts ; and many a hearty kick I gave it, in pure rage and de- 
spite, after every attempt of myself and Mhoua had failed to 
widen my mouth to the family size, by the simple mode of in- 
serting our fingers therein, and puUing the comers in contrary 
directions. 

Had my father (worthy man !) been of a jealous disposition, I 
doubt not that it might have occasioned some dispeace between 
him and my mother, who told him often, that " he ought to love 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 

my mouth tlie more for being so like lier own;" but, wedded to 
his own opinions, based as they were on the traditions and pre- 
dictions of two hundred years, the old gentleman, who had him- 
self a singularly open countenance, was inexorable, and sorely 
dreaded that little Philip was foredoomed to bring disgrace, or 
at least mischance, on the Hollos of the Craig. 

Save this peculiar prejudice, he was one of the best men in the 
county; and was one of those old gentlemen who are always 
looking back and never forward : he stuck manfully to the 
bombasted doublets and fashions of his Other's days, and never 
allowed a Michaelmas to pass without eating a St. Michael's 
bannock, or a Christmas without seeing the yule log laid on 
the hearth, and never was known to kill a spider, in memory of 
the good service once rendered to Scotland and the Bruce in the 
days of old. 

Though I suffered severely from his strange pique, it was 
perhaps the source pf good to me ultimately. Instead of being 
retained at home, like my brothers, spelling over the Auld 
Pry mar, and trembling under the ferrule of Domine Daidle, the 
tutor, fiddler, and fiictor of the family, and spending three parts 
of the day in hunting, shooting with the bow, banqueting, 
dancing, and learning to handle the claymore and target, I was 
despatched to the King's College at Aberdeen, where I was duly 
matriculated in 1621, about the time when the battle was fought 
in Leith Roads between the Spaniards and the Admiral of 
Zealand; for I remember well that it formed the constant topic 
of conversation among my brother students, many of whom were 
from the south country. • 

Here my usual mischance accompanied me, for I was always 
involved in quarrels with the ruffling gallants of the Brave 
City, or lost my money among cheats and sharpers at post and 
pair, or the old game of trumps. Lord knows ! I never had 
much to lose, and I nearly reached the end of my wits and my 
purse together. Then, to crown all, I fell deadly sick of that 
terrible pestilence which has so frequently desolated Aberdeen, 
•having swept away its citizens no less than ten times between 
the years 1401 and 1647. So great was the panic latterly, that 



9 PHILIP BOLLO; 

the classes of the universities were removed to Peterhead ; but 
I, tillable to accompany them, was borne to the huts erected for 
the sick on the links, where we were strictly guarded by 
soldiers, to prevent the infection spreading. 

While there, I received a letter from my fistther condoling 
with me on my doleful case, and hinting broadly, that, had my 
mouth been larger, I could have eaten more, and should 
assuredly have escaped, like my brothers, who were strong and 
well As I had been robbed of my last plack by the crud 
nurses, a few silver crowns had been more welcome, and I 
crushed up the poor man*s letter, for the least mention of my 
" small mouth*' was sufficient to make me tremble with rage. 
My dear mother sent me two jars, one filled with usquebaugh, 
and the other with honey ; but as the soldiers drank the first, 
and the nurses eat the second, I got no use of either. There, 
among the pest-stricken, I lingered long, hovering, as it were, 
between life and death, sighing to be beside my mother, to feel 
her gentle hand on my hot and throbbing brow, and to hear 
her kind voice whispering in my ear; for, boy like, I thought 
if I were only once again beside that kind pai'ent, and she 
touched me, I should become whole and well. 

I thought of the old tower too, though, save one, none loved 
me there; I saw the dark pines that shaded its old grey walls; 
the whin rocks, the heath-clad hills, and the blue bay of 
Cromartie, with the great Sutors, like two Cyclopean towers, 
that overhang its narrow entitince; and sorely I longed to see 
them all once again, before I died. 

Weary, weak and feeble, I hoped %o die soon; but by the 
blessing of God, and the strength of my own constitution, I 
recovered ; nor must I omit to make honourable mention of that 
worthy chirurgeon, Donald Gordon, author of the learned 
<* Fharmac<hpinaXf or Table and Taxe of the Vsual Medicaments 
contayned in his Apothecarie and Chymicall shope, in New 
Aberdene;" and but for whose skill and kindness, I had never 
lived to write these my memoirs. 

I recovered, the plague passed away, the Senatus Academicus 
once more returned to the King*s College, and the classes were 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSILETEEHa 7 

resumed. I commenced my studies again with renewed ardour, 
and again became immersed in the classic pages of Plutarch, 
iof Sallust, and of Nepos. I longed to become a great scholar, a 
renowned statesman, or a gallant soldier — a,ny thing famous and 
lofty, that I might cast from myself the slur that hateful 
heirloom of the RoUos had fixed upon me; that I might leave 
for ever the atmosphere of ill omens with which it had surrounded 
me, and the dark predictions that were ever grating in my ears 
and rankling in my memory. I perfected myself in mathematics 
and the humanities, and spent my whole spare time in acquir- 
ing the use of arms; thus, before I completed a year at King's 
College, I cpuld handle the bow and the arquebuse, toss the pike 
and throw the bar, vault and ride, use pistolette, rapier, -and 
backsword to perfection, so that the oldest and stoutest — ^yea, 
and the boldest — of our students were somewhat wary of offend- 
ing me; for on the shortest notice, off went my gown, and out 
came bilbo and poniard. 

I know not whether it was the nature of my studies, the force 
of circumstances, or my natural inclination towards high enter- 
prise, that have guided me; but tids I may boldly aver, that 
never, to my knowledge, have I swerved from the proper path 
which a gentleman of honour and cavalier of spirit ought to 
pursue in his intercourse with society. 



VHILIPBOtLO: 



CHAPTER II. 

HOW I BECAME A 80L1>IEB OP FOBTUNE. 

Hayikg completed my studies at the King's College, I left it in 
the June of 1626, and returned to my fiather's house, from which 
I had been so long absent, and as I felt with bitterness, 
unregrettedly so, by all save my poor mother, whom to my 
sorrow I found on the verge of death. She had long been 
suffering from a pain in her side, and was dwining away (as we 
Scots say,) but I was not prepared to see her only live to bless 
me, and then close her eyes for ever. 

I felt that the only friend I possessed on eaiiih had left both 
it and me ! I was very — very desolate. 

Many a ghastly visage, and many a stiffened form, have I 
seen since that day of grie^ which passed so many years ago ; 
but that pale foce, and those kind sinking eyes, come vividly 
before me at times, out of the mist of the years that have gone. 
My father, as he closed her eyes, averred sorrowfully, "that, had 
her mouth been larger, she would have respired more freely, 
and might have lived for ten good years longer;'' but she died — 
and on a bed of pigeons* feathers too, to the dismay of all the 
wise women in Cromarty; for it is an old superstition, that one 
cannot die on the feathers of those birds. 

Though a numerous host of relations were around that gloomy 
bed, and crowding the chambers of the old tower, I felt lonely 
(for such was the miserable prejudice against me), and that I 
was viewed as somewhat of an alien among them — even by those 
of my own blood and kindred; and the consciousness of that 
filled my heart with mingled rage and grief. 

My fether was cold as ever, the more so, perhaps, as his heart 
was full of sorrow, and sorrow is ever selfish; but my brothers, 



OB, THE S0OTT18H MUSKETEEB& 9 

Farquhar, Finlay, and Ewen, were colder still with unkind envy, 
for they had heard such glowing reports of my progress in all 
those studies which most become a gentleman. Being certain 
that I had outstripped their slender knowledge, which was con- 
fined to the narrow limits of Dominie Daidle's classes, they were 
so full of jealousy, that our mother had scarcely been lowered 
down into her dark and lonely home, before these youths, who 
were now grown into tall and swinging Highlandmen, challenged 
me to various trials of strength and skill. Though I could easily 
encounter them with broadsword and target, or with single- 
stick, Farquhar could beat me at throwing the hammer, and 
Finlay at tossing the bullet, as Ewen could at bringing down an 
eagle on the wing with a single shot, or splitting a tree by one 
blow of a Lochaber axe; for they were all strong as young horses, 
imtamed as mountain goats, and from their cradles had been 
wont to sup usquebaugh with their porridge. 

My mother's funeral was celebrated after the good old fashion 
of the Highlands, and we buried her by torchlight in the ancient 
kirk of St. Regulus. Under their chief, Ian Dhu, three hundred 
of her kinsmen, the M*Farquhars, came down from the hills, 
with six pipers playing before them, and I shall never forget the 
sad, low wailing of the lament performed by those mountain 
minstrels, as the long fimeral procession wound by night, along 
the margin of Cromartie Firth. The pall was emblazoned with 
sixteen proofs of her gentle blood, and the nearest kinsmen 
carried her poor remains on a bier, around which all the old 
women of her own clan, and my father's barony, moved in a 
melancholy crowd, beating their breasts, tearing their dishevelled 
hair, and lamenting wildly. 

There was no prayer at the grave, because we were old Pro- 
testants; but the Seanachie of her father's race pronounced a 
long oration on her virtues ; the M'Farquhars fired their pistols 
in the air, with an explosion which nearly blew out all the 
church windows; then followed a frightful shoveUing of earth, 
the careful adjusting of a large stone slab — and all was over. 

I was the last who left the darkened church. 

I followed the procession, which, with the pipers strutting in 



10 PHUJPBOLLo; 

front, returned to the tower of Craigrollo, where the ftmeral feast 
was spread and the dredgie to be drank, the great ailyer spoon 
of Sir Kingan being laid, on this solemn occasion, beside my &• 
ther's platter, which stood above the salt. 

The dredgie I willingly pass over, and would as willingly com- 
mit to oblivion ; for I may safely assert that^ of four hundred 
men who were in the tower, not one was sober when the morrow 
dawned; and not less than two hundred gallons of mountain 
whisky were consumed as a libation in my mother^s honour* 
Happily there was no fighting, but only a blow wiUi a dirk and 
a slash with an axe exchanged between a M*Farquhar and a Kolla 
of Thanesland, about precedence at table. 

After six ycara of a quiet life at King's College, being somewhat 
Unused to our Highland manners, I was scared by this terrible 
debauch; for, amid it all, I saw by the hall fire, a chair which 
stood vacant, and there seemed to be ever before me that black 
coffin, with its gilded handles and armorial blazon — the wreath 
of rosemary and the hour-glass on its lid — the deep dark grave 
yawning horribly, in the red light of the torches, that had glared 
on the groined vaults of the ancient kirk. On the morning after 
the dredgie, leaving the hall encumbered by more than four 
hundred armed Celts, who, in their plaids, were sleeping and 
snorting on the floor, I walked forth from the tower to ruminate^ 
and view again the old £stmiliar scenery from which I had so 
long been absent. 

Bising in his full refulgence from the sea, the morning son 
was soaring high above the noble Firth of Cromartie, and no 
prospect that I have since beheld, (and in my wandering life I 
have looked on many,) can compare, in my estimation, with the 
wild mountain shores of my own native bay. 

Its entrance is by two steep and lofty hills named the Suton^ 
which are covered with wood, and overhang the water about a 
mile apart; between these natural towers, as betwe^i the piers of 
a floodgate, the morning sun poured all his Eqplendour on the 
Firth, which at my feet spread out for seventeen miles in length, 
until it vanished in the deep bosom of the Ross-shire mountains, 
and those of the Black Isle. It is the grandest bay in Britain, 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBa II 

and after experienoe has shewn me, that, if its promontories were 
fortified bj cannon, there is no place wherein our Scottish ships 
oonld ride with greater security. 

In pure white haze the morning mists were rising from the 
pine-covered glens, and the fishermen were putting forth their 
nets upon the Firth, which was dotted by the brown sails of their 
little craft. The sky was cloudless, and the waters of Groin Ba 
(the winding bay) slept like a sheet of polished gold and crystal 
blue, at the base of its steep green bordering mountains. 

I sought M*Farquhar*s Bed, a large and rocky cavern which 
lies below the southern Sufcor of Cromarty. It had been a 
fevourite haunt of mine in boyhood; for there an ancestor, 
Doughal Glass, had once found shelter and concealment, after 
having slain an Urquhart of Cromartie by a blow of his dirk in 
a sudden quaiTeL 

The rock in which this cavern yawns, and above which the 
hill rises, pf)ssesses an enormous arch, forming a grand natural 
bridge, below which the waves are ever chafing and booming; 
and within it lies another, hollowed by the billows of the eternal 
sea. From the roof and sides of this cavern, there is a continual 
dropping of water, which petrifies whatever it falls upon, into 
a hard substance, whiter than snow; thus myi'iads of white 
pendants cover the walls and deep recesses of this cavern, the 
whole sides and roof of which ghtter as if built of ice, of crystal, 
and alabaster, presenting the most wonderful and beautiful ap- 
pearance when a casual ray of the .sun glides along the waves 
which roll within it, lighting up the countless prisms of its 
rocks and stalactites. 

To sit there, as in a fairy palace, and dream, with the summer 
sea murmuring at my feet, and the Sutors shaking their dark 
green woods above me, had been my favourite employment in 
other days ; and now, with a heart saddened by recent events, 
and somewhat anxious for the future, on this fiiir morning in 
June, I sought my old familiar haunt. 

When approaching, I was surprised on being sudd#»nly con- 
fronted by the figure of an armed Highlander, in the M*Farquhar 
iartan, with his plaid belted and claymore at his side. My first 



12 PHILIP ROLLO; • 

thought was of Grey DoughaL^ whose spirit is said to haunt the 
place which yet bears his name ; but when he turned, I recog- 
nised the dark locks and handsome face of my mother's nephew, 
youDg Ian Dhu, who, having been earlier abroad than even I, 
impelled by his own solitary thoughts, had sought this place of 
so many old memories and dark traditions, the shelter of our 
common ancestor. 

** Your servant, my cousin," said he, drawing off his gauntlet 
to shake me warmly by the hand. 

The keen expression of lan's clear bright eye, showed that he 
was a Duinewassal of spirit and bravery, while the ardour of 
his manner and the full tone of his rich voice, betokened a good 
and sensible heart. After some conversation upon the beauty 
of the morning, the wonderful grotto in which we had met, and 
then a few observations on the sad ceremony of yesterday, 
Ian became impressed by the melancholy of my manner. 

*' You say that in my kinswoman, the good lady, your mother, 
you have lost your only fiiend," said he ; " Dioul ! I marvel 
much, cousin Philip, that you continue to tarry here, where all 
men show you the boss of their bucklers, and the crust of the 
loaf, your father's race and kindred though they be." 

"True, Ian," I replied; "but what would you have me to 
do?" 

" Push your way in the world, to be sure." 

" But I have no friends," said I. i 

" Friends ! what other friend than his sword does a brave 
fellow require? With a good buff belt to keep it at your thigh, 
it will go all over the world with you, and is the best knife I 
know of, with which to carve out a fair fortune; for it will never 
fail you, if you are but true to it. Now, Philip, when all the 
brave spirits of Scotland are flocking to the German wars, in 
tens of thousands, why should you stay behind? All the troops 
of the great Gustavus Adolphus are led by brave Duinewassals 
and Lowland cavaliers — ^yea, every company, regiment, and 
brigade of his Swedes and allies. All his cities and fortresses 
are governed by Scotsmen, and there are not less than fourteen 
thousand valiant Scots covering themselves with glory and 



OB, THE SCOTTISU MUSKETEERS. 13 

tionour in tlie war against the tyrants of the empire. Ten 
thousand other Scots are going to Denmark to fight the battlep 
of King Christian against Ferdinand of Hapsburg; and my 
cousin, Sir Donald of Strathnaver, is now raising three thousand 
soldiers for that service. Under his banner, I am to lead a 
hundred of my Other's men to the Lochlin of the bards of old." 

"For what?" 

** Dias Muire let! Can you ask? to seek honour for ourselves, 
and to add one ray to the martial glory which for ages has 
encircled the tribes of the Gael." 

Fired by the romantic energy of my stately Highland kins- 
man — 

" Ian," I replied, " I am sorely tempted ; for you open up the 
path I have so long wished to pursue. Here I have nothing 
left to care for, and, if you allow me, I will gladly trail a pike 
under your orders, and march to the wars of Low Germanic." 

'* There spoke the M'Farquhar blood, and I was thinking you 
no better than a Lowlander !" said Ian, his eyes flashing as he 
clapped me on the shoidder; " but it shall never be said that a 
kinsman so near and so dear to Ian Dhu, trailed a pike as a 
private man under our banner, when so many Gunns, Grants, 
and Munroes, cock their bonnets as commissioned officers. I 
shall write to my kinsman, Sir Donald, and in a fortnight from 
this time you shall hear from me. Come, take new courage ! 
together we will push our fortune in these foreign wars, and in 
the hour of battle and danger, my hundred steel hearts of your 
mother's tribe will be ever as a shirt of mail around you, 
Philip!" 

I gave my hand upon it to this high-spirited youth, whose 
energy — as he spoke in his native Gaelic — I cannot infuse into 
this dialogue, which is written fix)m memory. 

" I will leave this place, Ian, with sensations of bitterness 
rather than regret,*' said I, as we ascended to my father's tower; 
"the only being who would have wept for my departure we 
laid yesterday in yonder chapel, on which the morning sun now 
shines so redly. None seem to love me here '* 

" The more reason to march — eh]" 



14 PHILIP BOLLO; 

" Prom my birth my fiither has hated me, because—" (I 
oould not mention the ridiculous reason, for it always filled me 
with anger.) 

"Because— why?" 

** I was not a girl, whom you might have married." 

Ian burst into a fit of uncontrollable laugh ber, and kissed the 
silver brooch by which his plaid was fiistened. 

'* By my soull I think my good imcle was mistaken; for the 
more sons a baron hath to defend his hearth-stone and hall-Kloor, 
the better in these unruly times." 

" I was bom on a Friday, too, and that day has ever been 
regarded in all countries as an unlucky one." 

" Because it was the day on which our Saviour died," said Ian, 
uncovering his head; " and doubtless," he added with a smiley 
'*it w an imlucky day on which to march, to fight, to hunt, or to 
marry; but as for being born — Dioul! as that is an event over 
which we possess no control in our own proper persons, I cannot 
see any ill fortune in it. And you will quit your student's cap 
for the bright helmet, your studies for the camp and leaguer, 
without regret?" 

" Without regret, and with ardour!" 

" It is true that here, at Craigrollo, you have no great scope ' 
for indulging your taste for book-learning ^*' 

" Our literary resources are indeed small ; for the only book in 
the tower is Bishop Carsewell's Prayer-Book for the Beformed 
Kirk, which Robert Lickprivick printed in Gaelic, in 1567, and 
even that lacks half its leaves, Eweu having used them as 
wadding for his pistols." 

This gallant moimtaineer, to whom my heart drew the more 
closely because there were few or none else for whom it could 
care, marched back to his native glen with his people, and I 
waited anxiously for his expected letter. 

Punctually at the close of the fourteenth day, lan's henchman, 
Phadrig Mhor M'Farquhar, a tall strong Highlander, presented 
himself at the tower of the Craig, and taking a letter from his 
sporran, kissed the seal to shew that it had been respected, and 
handed it to me with the deepest reverence, for it contained the 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEB& 15 

handwriting of liis chie£ WhUe Mhona, who was now hoiiso- 
keeper, gave refreshments and a stoup of whisky to Phadrig 
Mhor, I opened his missive, which proved as unintelligble to me 
as Sanscrit, being written in that ancient character the Litvt 
Eireinich, or Gaelic letter, which bears some resemblance to the 
Hebrew, but was even then (1626) becoming somewhat obsolete 
and antiquated. I was compelled to have recourse to old 
Dominie Daidle, by whose aid I learned that the missive ran as 
follows : — 

" For my Right Honourable Cousin, Philip Rolio of the Craig — 
these, 

" Loving Cousin, — I have conferred with our kinsman, Mackay 
of Strathnaver, and he was proud to have the honour of appoint- 
ing you to be an Ensign in my company of pikes. Our cousin 
M* Alpine is your lieutenant, so that it will be no dishonour 
to be commanded by one who shares our blood. Sir Donald 
will embark with the entire regiment for Denmark in two king^s 
ships, which are to be waiting us in the Bay of Cromartie, 
immediately below your father's tower, about the end of this 
month; so that, against that time, I beg you will prepare your 
best coat-of-mail, consisting of back, breast, and pot, together 
with the h'eacan Jheile of the Mackay tartan. 

" I need scarcely remind you again of how many brave Scots, 
by their good swords, their true hearts, and indomitable valour, 
have raised themselves from humbler rank than ours, to the 
highest honours a subject can attain, in the courts and camps of 
that glorious arena on which we are about to enter ! Loving 
cousin, the wide world is all before us, and we have our fathers' 
swords ! If we live to return to the land of the Gael, I hope we 
shall do so covered with wounds (here the dominie shrugged his 
shoulders) and with honour; if we fall, we shall do so gloriously, 
fighting for the civil and religious liberties of Europe. We may 
die far from our homes; but, believe me, the dew of heaven, as it 
falls on our unburied faces, will not be the only tears shed over 
us, Philip. I have but one real regret — ^that we may find our 
last home, so fer from the homes of our kindred ; for the dying 



16 PHILIP BOLLO; 

wish of the true Highlander is ever to be laid in the grave of 
his £stthers, beneath the purple heather and the yellow broom. 
But away with such fears, for it matters little where a heart 
moulders, if that heart be true; and so, with the assurance that 
you will be in readiness to meet us on the day we march into 
Oromartie, I commit you, loying cousin^ to the protection of God. 

" MacFabquhab. - 

" Post Scriptttm, — The bearer, my cousin and henchman, who 
is to be a sergeant in our said regiment of Strathnaver, will 
afford you all other information.'* 



OB, THE SCOTTISH M17BKETEEBS. 17 



CHAPTER III. 

SIR DONALD AND BIS BEOIMENT. 

Fbosi an eminent armourer in the Castlegate of the Brave 
Town of Aberdeen, I had purchased a suit of plain but well-tem- 
pered armour, such as a gentleman might wear, and such as no 
gentleman could be without in those days, before the wars of the 
Covenant. It consisted of back and breast plates, curiously 
inlaid with many rare and quaint devices; steel gloves, arm- 
pieces, a gorget and open helmet, with three iron bars, to protect 
the lace from sword-cuts. As leg-pieces had now gone out of 
fashion, and withal I was to wear a kilt like my comrades, 
tassettes were not required. I had a good pair of our Scottish 
pistols, with iron butts, a back sword and dagger. These cost 
me many pounds Scots, all of which I had saved, with some 
trouble, from the small sums sent me by my poor mother, per 
the favour of John Mucklecuits, the Aberdeen carrier. 

On receiving the letter of Ian, I showed it to my £sither, and 
so strong was his silly prejudice against me, that he said — with 
an unmoved aspect which stung me to the soul — he feared much 
I would never return again; for my uncle Philip, whose mouth 
was too small for the spoon of Sir Eingan, never again darkened 
the door of his father, and so forth; but, having pledged my 
word to our kinsman, I must march, or rather sail for Low Ger- 
manie, whither his blessing would assuredly follow me. 

Pilled with ardour at the prospect before me, and the life of 
wild and warlike adventure, happiness, and pleasure (for such 
I deemed it,) on which I was about to enter, I spent my whole 
time in putting on and taking off my harness, polishing the 

VOL. L C 



pieces, bumiphing the handles of mj sword and Glasgow pistols, 
until they shone like silver; and I hailed with joy the appear* 
ance of two of our Scottish ships of war, which, on rising from 
bed one morning, I saw at anchor in the Firth of Cromartie. 
The early dawn was beautiful, and I remember well how gal* 
lantly those vessels rode, with their heads to the wind, and the 
pennons of St. Andrew streaming astern. 

Sent round from Leith, by order of the Privy Council and of 
His Grace James Stewai-t, Duke of Lennox, who in that year 
was Lord Great Chamberlain and Lord High Admiral of Scot- 
land, they were the Unicom and Crown Royal, two of our 
bravest ships. Each of them carried thirty gross culverins, and 
had two galleries on each side. Their poops and afbercasitlest 
which rose like towers above the water, were oarved over with 
tirophies of artUleiy, and blazons of honour. Their cabins wera^ 
all loopholed for musket shot, and two gallant frigates they were^ 
as ever unfrirled our Scottish flag above the waters. And so I 
thought, B& on that beautiful morning in Septemb^ I saw them 
riding in the noble bay, with their gilded sides, the polished, 
muzzles of their brasd cannon, and their snow-white canvass 
shining in the rising sim. Their captains breakfiisted at the- 
tower of CraigroUo, and about midday, with a beating heart I 
began to arm me iu good earnest; for afar o% on the west^n 
hiUs, the glitter of steel annoxmced that my future oomjrades 
from the wilds of Ross were approaching the shore. 

The bitter pang of leaving my fiither's roo^ perhaps for ever ; 
of breakiBg bread where I might never break it more; of per-* 
forming the little routine and courtesies of our family circle^ each 
as I felt sorrowfully for the last time, had all to be endured on 
that morning. My Other's austere look was softened, and it 
seemed at times that his usually cold eye almost glistened when 
he gazed on me. I thought that my three uncouth brothers 
were kinder and gentler than was their wont All this might 
be fancy, but my heart was fuU. I was hearing their voices for 
the last time, I was going fao: away for a long and inde^nite 
period ; the future was full of danger and obscurity, and never 
n|iore might 1. be under my. £skther!s roofbreei. But I flung these 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HtmkETEEBS. 1^ 

(^ling thoughts from me as one would do a Wefl {daid^ ati<f 
betook me to my annour. 

For the first time I put on my kilt dJtid hose; aiid to my sur^ 
prise^ loond that they were not only exceedingly wal*m, but eJASjr^ 
and comfortable; much more so than the -bomba^ted breeches I; 
had hitherto worn. 

The aspect of Sir Donald's men, this brave r^gHfiehfc' of Sttfatk- 
Bayer, whose name in future wars was &ted to carry teri^r and 
defeat into the lanks of the Austrian and Spionish Imperialists,; 
would have fired even a coward-heart with a glow of cfavkhry,' 
as on that morning they marched dovrn, by the shores of the^ 
¥iiih of Oromartie, fifteen hundred strong ; raised entirely^ 
among his own dan and kinsmen in Farr, Strathnaver, and 
Strathalladate, together with a few Munroes and Gunhs. The'' 
regiment of Sir Donald well deserved the name giveii it in the' 
" Svedish IntelHgencer," the SooUiah Imvmeibles, 

Though it was the fashion in fi)re^ armies to hiive comp^ 
mes of infimtey vastying firom one hundred and fifty to ■ three- 
hundred men, those of Sir Dohidd were regularly composed of 
one hundred men each, the officers being invariably the kinsmeii 
of their soldiers; thus my cousin Ian led the company of 
M^Faa:qiihai», and young Culgraigie the company df Mtinroea/ 
the Laird of Tulloch led a company of th^ elan Forbeis, ahd old! 
Kildon, the company of Mackenzies, and so on; In the LoW-^^ 
landsy axid among the English, it was then customary to h^ve tt^ 
coioor for each company, with a certain munber of hialberdierS- 
to guard it, then so many nmskete^^ to fiank the halberts, 
while the pikes in turn flanked the muskets; but the regiment^ 
of Strathnaver, with fiYe hundred pikes and a thdusia^d muskets, 
hjad only two standards, our Scottish national: ensign, and the 
great banner (^ Maekay, bearing a chevron argent, charged with - 
a J&?abuck?B head, antd two hounds grasping dirks. I'he ^ime 
designs were paiinted on all the drums^ and on the little flags ' 
that waved from the pipers' drones. 

The whole fifteen hundred were unifonnlyaccbutred in steel- 
caps and buff-coats, the officers being fully armed in bright plate 
to the waist, and having plumesf in their headpieces f their kilts 



^ FHIUFBOLLO; 

were of di^]^ .green tairtan^ etxid belted up to the left shoulder, 
aocording to the custom of Highlandmen when going on service. 
The musket^rs carried their powder in bandoliers; and, in a4idi- 
tion to his dirk, eveiy officer and man wore the elajmorei, or 
genuine old Highland sword, which could be used with both 
hands. Their purses were of white goatskin, and profusely 
adorned with silver. 

Marchu;Lg in sectioQS of six abreast, this noble raiment 
poured down the steep and Aarrow pass overhung by Oraigtolloi 
and I shall never forget how my heart expanded, when I beheild 
them moving &x down below where I stood, with their oolouia 
waving, the tall reedy pikes, the burnished musket barrels, hel- 
mets, and breastplates glittering in the sun; the waving of the 
tartans ; the regular motion of l^e bare brown knees and gar- 
tered hose; the hoarse bray of ten great war-pipes, and tho 
hoarser battle of fifteen drums, beating the old Scottish mardi,' 
and making wood, rook, and water echo, as if the thunder: of 
heaven was floating over them. The waving plaids and nodding 
plumes, the flashing steel and martial music, the measured tramp 
of so many marching feet, all combined to raise a wild glow m 
Buy bosom, and I exulted to think that / tocu one of ihesef 
and never assuredly did finer men depart for foreign wars. 
Thej were the flower of Ross and the Lewis, but chiefly fix>m 
IhUhaich Mhic Aio, or the Land of the Mackijn^; and many of 
them exhibited a strength and stature such as our Lowlaodera 
never attain, having always at their command the best of game 
and venison, with all manner of animal food, for the mere trouble 
of shooting or slaying.* 

Though accoutred like the rest, and wearing the Mackay 
tartan, I knew the company of M'Farquhars by the badges in 
their steel caps, and by the remarkable plume of Ian, who marched 
at their head. It was the whole wing of an eagle, with xhe 
feathers expanded over the cone of his helmet, which gave him 
all the formidable aspect of a Koman warrior. As I descended 
the rod^ he sprang from the ranks to greet me. 

« How diiF«rent'with the poor ffighlanden now I 



OB, THE S00T7IBH VUS^TEEBS. 'A 

" ^^Mj cousin and captain/' said I, laughing, **a thousand 
welcomes to Oromartie!" • i 

" Philip, a thousand welcomes to our ranks ! Mjr children,^ 
he added in Gaelic to his company, ^' this gentleman is one of 
boiTselves — ^"tis our kinsman, Hollo of the Oraig-^his mother Ws 
a daughter of our race ; remember thcU, and be his LeiniB Chrios 
(his shirt of mail) in every danger." 
• A wild Highland hurrah was lan's response. 

While the regiment marched down towards the beach, Sir 
Donald of Strathnaver, my colonel, in obedience to a courteous 
invitation which I tendered him in my father's name, turned 
aside to visit our poor tower on the Craig, and attended only 
by his henchman, and a piper who played before him, rode his 
horse slowly and carefully up the steep and rocky path which 
led to the outer gata 

Mackay was somewhat lofty and reserved in manner, but 
'brave and generous as a prince of romance ; his dark grey eyes 
were keen and bright; his form was sinewy, but flexible and Ml 
lof grace; he was about forty years of age, and, although long 
reputed to be one of the most ferocious and predatory among 
the western chie&, he had a singularly pleasing suavity of man- 
aer. All the Highlands were then ringing with the stoiy 
of the terrible vengeance he had recently taken on tUe 
bandits who dwelt in the vast cave of Ben Eadh, a mountain 
in his parish of Reay ; and I gazed on him with no ordinaiy 
interest, for he was the chief to whom 1 had committed my for- 
tunes, and whom I was to follow to fai* and foreign battle-flelds. 

Two sturdy Highland pages carried his armour; and thus 
the handsome olive doublet, which he wore slashed, after the 
Spanish fashion, imparted a somewhat courtly aspect to his 
lordly figure, and formed an agreeable contrast to his tartan 
truis, his steel gauntlets, and cliobh, or basket-hilted sword. 
Conforming to the spirit of his fore&,thers, who, coeval with 
the Lollards of Kyle, had been among the earliest promoters 
of the Keformation, this brave chief raised at different times 
no less than three thousand men for the German wars ; such 
was his enthusiasm in the cause of religious freedom and of 



P2 . . :WBJJL19 BiOLUH 

^EUizabeth ^tuart, tlie^ daughter of James YI^ vbom, with her 
husband Frederick, the Austrians had drxren from the kingdom 
of Bohemia. 

. I icai^ d2ot for the eleotor Fredoriick, for we Soots deemed'' 
hm hut a pitifol Qertoao prineeling ; but I sympathised with 
^he fair qudem who had honoured him with her hand, for she 
was a StuaH and a Scot, bom in our ancient palace of Linlith«> 
gow; and, when at ooUege, I had heard much of the sufferings 
vhic^ her husiiand's base cowardice compelled her to endure 
After the great battle of Prague. Yearly our stont4iearted 
iSoots were ci^wding in thousands to the German wars.; I 
longed, like them> to have an op{)ortunity of aven^ng her on 
the cruel and aggres^ve Imperialists ; and it was this sentiment 
which shed the glory of duralry around our mission. 

Our hereditary en^nies, the English, who naturally hated us 
jSS Scots, were ti^ont to taunt us as mercenaries, who sold our 
awords and our blopd to the highest bidder; though, God wot! 
-We got more blows and bullets than silver dollars in Low 
GermaAie; and once, by the banks of the Bhine, for lack ef 
those same silrer dollara, I saw old Gen^»l Morgan's brigade 
ef English and Putc^ refhse to attack the enemy, when our 
Seotti£^ inyincibles, and a regiment of gallant Irishmen, f(^ 
ibriskly on, and did their work with pike and rapier. 



OB, THE SCK)TT1SH MUSKETEERS. 2i 



CHAPTER IV. 

WE SAIL FOB THE ELBE. 

The culverins of the Unicom and Crown Royal fired a salute 
to the chief of Strathnaver as we embarked, on the first day 
of October, though ooutmiy winds delayed us till the tenth, 
when we set sail. I have an indistinct recollection of feeling 
then a suflTocating sense of sorrow — ^the more bitter and suffocat- 
ing because pride compelled me to repress it — sorrow at finding 
myself fairly adrift from my old parental home ; and the pres- 
sure of my father's hand, the first kindly pressure it had ever 
bestowed on mine, yet lingered there ; and, amid the din and 
hurry of the embarkation, I still seemed to hear his parting 
blessing, mingled with the obstreperous lamentations of old 
Dominie Daidle, to whom I promised to bring a real metal 
horologue from Germany, which was then &,mous for that new 
invention. 

The anchor was weighed, and the sails spread ; the sun was 
setting behind the mountains; the shores of the Black Isle 
receded fast, the figures on the beach lessened to small black 
dots, and then faded away. My father s tower grew less and 
less, while the old chapel of St. Regulus, where my mother lay 
in her dark and narrow home, had long since disappeared. 
There was a roar and din of voices around me, and it seemed 
sad and strange, that the good being who had loved me so 
dearly should know nothing of this eventful day, which threw 
me on the world like a leaf on the blast ; but, as I gazed up- 
wards on the blue sky, I hoped that her eye was still upon me. 

The waters of the Firth were gleaming in gold, and the clouds 
cast a purple shadow on their bosom. 



,94 PHIUFBOLLO; 

The deep green or russet-brown tints of the hills gradually 
became blue, and as I lay against a culverin, watching — ^with a 
heavy heart — the setting sun and the receding shore, I felt like 
the hundreds around me, very sorrowful and very sick. 

I knew that when again the sun whitened our sails^ we 
should see those old familiar hiUs no more. The wind favoui-ed, 
and as the strong current which is ever passing in, or flowing 
out between the steep Sutors, ran with ils, the two ships rolled 
heavily. On our larboard lay the old town of Cromartie, and 
as we passed, a great copper bombarde, which belonged to the 
provost, was repeatedly discharged in our honour. A flag was 
displayed at the ancient cross, which was then at the town-end; 
though I had heard my poor mother tell me, that its place was 
wont to be the centre of the royal burgh, before the sea swallowed 
up one half its streets, the ruins of which, covered with sea- 
weed, were visible to us as we passed along the shora 

The cavern of M'Farquhar's Bed seemed to open and shut 
again as we shot past it; we were soon between the stupendous 
brows of the Sutors^ against whose shining rocks vast sheets of 
snow-white foa,m were hurled by the Murray Firth, though 
witliin the bay we were leaving — ^perhaps for ever — ^the water 
was smooth as a mountain lake. Being sharply built, and swift 
sailers, our ships glided through the narrow passage like shafts 
from a bow, and almost immediately the shores of the inner 
firth, the town of Cromartie, Craigrollo with its tower — already 
diminished to a speck — vanished from our view ; and, Uke an 
ocean -gate fenced by the Sutors, two mighty towers of rock, 
with a narrow stripe of water between, was all that remained of 
the place we had left. The tide was ebbing, and the sunken 
reefs, known as The King^s Seven Sons, were showing their 
naked and ghastly heads above the foam; there, as Mhona 
G^oshach told me, the seven sons of a kiag had perished by 
shipwreck. 

The features of the shore lessened and cha^ged in hue and 
aspect, while the deep green water was thrown up beneath our 
bows in spray, leaving under our quarter galleries a long tvack 
of white froth on the ocean path behind us; but no sooner were 



OB, THESCOmSK MUSKETEEBS. 25 

iAie veseeh dear of tlie Sutors^ than a rerj sensible alteration in 
iheir motion made us remember that they were ploughing the 
fltormy waves of the Firth of Murray, amid whose waters I saw 
the hills of Cromartie, reddened by the last flush of the sun that 
had set, sink gradually low and melt, as it were, away. 

Till darkness settled on the northern deep, the sides of the 
ships w^re lined with soldiers, who gazed with sad and eager 
eyes at the last blue stripe of their native land; mapy wept, and 
uttered emphatic ejaculations of sorrow, with all the poetical 
energy pf their native Gaelic. 

Though feeling for from comfortable in many respects, I drew 
to the side of M'Farquhar, who, being accustomed to boating 
expeditions on the vast lochs of the Great Glen, kept his feet 
manfully ; and, as the shore and the daylight had faded away 
together, he was now gazing by the light of the moon on the 
large silver brooch which fosteiied his tai*tan plaid. 

" A love gift, Ian ]" said I. 

His dark eyes flashed in the moonlight, as he replied with one 
of his honest smiles — 

" Yes— -the brooch of Moina Rose, which she gave me before 
we parted at the chapel of Gill Chuimiu. If I should be slain, 
Philip, you will take it back to Moina, by the hills that look 
down on Loch Oich ]" 

" I will, Ian ; but if I, too, should be slain " 

" Chut 1 then some other brave fellow will surely live to do 
80. There is Munro of Culcraigie, or Mackenzie of Kildon, or 
our kinsman, Phadrig Mhor, for we cannot aU be knocked on 
the head. My poor Moina!" 

" Take care you do not forget her among the blue-eyed Danish 



., " Forget 1" reiterated Ian, with honest warmth; "I swore 
by the great Chief of the universe, and by our fathers' graves in 
JjOna, to be fedthful and true to Moina, and, as we dipped our 
hands together in St. Chuimin*s well, she pledged the same to 
pxe. Nay, nay, Philip, judge me not, as you would by a rake- 
helly ittudent of the King's college." 
Ian kissed the brooch, which in the dearest gift of a High^ 



26 PHILir BOLLO; 

land love ; for, among the monntahis, tke bridegroom giveis hiA 
bride, not a ring, but a brooch, engraved with some heraldit) de^ 
vice, or affectionate inscription, and as the same gift served 'f&t 
many generations, those love-tokens became priceless reliqnes of re* 
membranoe, hy their hallowed and enduring associations, and such 
was the brooch of Moina. It had been her mother^s, and Ian was 
to wear it until he returned to espouse her in Kill Chttimin. 

"And why did you leave her, Ian?" 

*' Eighteen months ago — ^fully six mimths before I was so 
happy as to know and to love her, at a great hunting match on 
the braes of Lochaber, I unfortunately {hedged my word to Sir 
Donald that I would go with him to Germany. like a generous 
gentleman, he offered to release me from my promise; but a 
hundred of my people expected that I was to lead them, and I 
alone; thus it would ill become M^Farquhar to keep his sword 
in the scabbard when he had pledged his word to unsheath it^ 
I could have made Moina mine before I left the hills of our 
race; for a missionary priest, who acts as diaplain to her &mily, 
Sheumas Stiubhart, or James of Jerusalem, as the Lowianders 
call him, offered to unite us secretly at Kill Chnimin ; but I 
would not run the risk of leaving Moina a wedded mourner, a 
widowed bride, like the dames of Fingal's warriors, who spent 
half their time sitting upon the seashore, with hair unbound 
and harp in hand, looking towards the ocean for the return of 
their absent spouses. Hius, if in three years and three days I 
oome not again, I will hold Moina free to be wooed and free to 
won by another." 

lan's voice quavered, though he endeavoured to assume an 
air of bravado, but I saw through the sickly effort. 

"From your gay manner yesterday, Ian, I deemed yott 
happiest of the happy; but, doubtless, every heart has some 
inward sorrow which the eye sees not." 

" True, true, the loudest laugh does not always com<e from the 
lightest heart." 

" Thank Gbdl" said I, observing how his dark eye glisteneA 
" that I have no regret of this kind to render yet more sad thib 
day of parting with my homa" 



OBy THE BOOmSH MUBEETEERS. 37 

"Be happf, Philip," said he; "for all who love you truly are 
here — myself and the hundred brave men of your mother's 
name, who follow the banner of Mackay." 

"And you will return in three years ?" 

" If aUve, I will return in one year, despite the offers of our 
Lowland Chancellor, who has promised me a feudal charter of 
my hereditary estate, to be granted under the Great Seal at 
Holyrood, on the day we enter Prague. Dioul ! as if M'Far- 
quhar valued the right that was held otherwise than as it was 
won, by the edge of the sword. Nay, nay, as Donald of the Isles 
said, I hold my lands by this (laying his hand on his claymore), 
and not by a sheepskin." 



28 PBII.IF BOLLO; 



CHAPTER V. 



OLUCKSTADT. 



His Danish majesty, the gallant King Ohnstian TV., whom 
we were about to reinforce, was at this time waging with the 
vast forces of the empire, an unequal warfare in the same cause 
which the great Gustavus Adolphus, a few years after, main- 
tained so successfully, though he did not survive to behold 
the conclusion of that bitter contest, which from the gates of 
Prague spread along the banks of the Po and the shores of the 
Baltic. . 

The edict of toleration granted by the Emperor Hodolph II. 
to the Bohemians, had been revoked ; and thus they rose in 
arms. They had been defeated at the White Mountain, where 
the chivalry of the Empire trod the standards of the elector 
Frederick in the dust, and the laurels of the Imperialists were 
drenched in Protestant blood. Though wedded to a princess of 
the house of Scotland, the Elector was the basest of cowards, 
and fled, leaving his queen to her fate. Two hundred thousand 
persons had been driven into exile; and though the illustrious 
Count of Mansfeldt, and Christian Duke of Bavaria, for a time 
defended the Bohemians and the Reformed faith with the most 
heroic valour, they were driven headlong before the conquering 
Tilly, whose ferocious legions burst like a torrent into Lower 
Saxony, giving all to fire and sword, and carrying terror and 
despair into the hearts of the Protestants. 

It was at this desperate crisis, and while Gustavus of Sweden 
was warring with Poland, that Christian IV. of Denmark, 
anxious to have the entire glory of saving the Reformed Church 
of Germany from utter destruction, commenced, as it were, a new 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MT7SKETEEBS. 20. 

cmsade against the mighty power of the Emperor Ferdinand, 
aiid drew to his banner the flower of the Saxon circles and of 
the Danish isles, and I may add of our own dear Scottish monn^ 
tains; for, in addition to nearly fourteen thousand Scots who 
followed the standard of Gustavus, there were in the Danish 
army, in addition to our own regiment of fifteen hundred men, 
Sir Alexander Seaton's, of five hundred; Sir James Leslie's, of 
a thousand musketeers; while in the same year we were joined 
by John Maxwell, Earl of Nithsdale. Alexander lindesay, Lord 
Spynie (a gallant grandson of Cardinal Beaton), and Sir James 
^dair, son of John Master of Caithness, levied each a regiment 
of three battalions; and each battalion being a thousand strong, 
made altogether about eleven thousand Scottish soldiers, who 
were marching under the Danish cross.* 

The noble King Christian, then the rival of the Swedish con- 
queror, from his peculiar position, as sovereign of Lower Saxony, 
a£ Jutland, and of Denmark (the isles of which secured for him 
a starong retreat in case of reverses), had many advantages which 
induced the Protestant powers to give him the command of 
those forces raised by them to protect the liberties of Germany. 
CSiristian urged on Gustavus the necessity of co-operation; but' 
that brave prince being at war with Poland, the Dane was left 
single-handed, and fearlessly he undertook the terrible task of 
waging battle with the overgrown empire. 

Trusting to those supplies which were promised to him from 
eveiy part of Keformed Christendom, he had attended the con- 
vocation of the Saxon states, held at Lauenburg, in March, 1625, 
where he entered into a league with the rich burghers who in- 
habited the free cities of the circle, and was chosen Captain- 
Geueral of the confederate army, which was to muster in the 
duchy of Holstein. From thence, with 25,000 Danes, Scots, and 
Germans, he crossed the Elbe, and was joined at the Weser by 
7000 Saxons. 

Under Tilly, the forces of the Catholic league hovered on the 
(Opposite bank; while Wallenstein, attacking Count Mansfeldt 
a* Dessau, cut to pieces 10,000 Protestants, and received the 
'^ Here the Denmylne MSS. corroborate oar CaTaUer. 



so JPHILIP hollo; 

title ci Prince of Eriedland. Manafeldi died of a bvaken heaari. 
Duke Ohristiaii died soon after; and ihvta tba Danidi monatidt 
was left alone to cope with the two greatest genearak the empM 
ever possessed. 

One town after another became their prey, and at a decighfil 
battle fonght near the castle and Tillage of Liitter in Barenbcxg;^ 
the Danes and their Scottish aUies were defeated bj the Cathid*^ 
lies, with the loss of sixty standarcb, their whole artillery, nuuD^r 
officers of distinction, and four thcfhsand men, who were left deadf 
upon the field > 

This was on the 27th August, 1626, a full month before we sailed 
from Cromartie. This severe blow at Liitter comipdled Ghri^ 
tian to retreat to Stade, in the duchy of Bremen, and to thiKt- 
place we supposed Sir Donald would march the small portion h^ 
commanded, of the quota sent by our mother Caledonia to the 
German war. 

After an easy voyage of five days, during which the Umoarm 
and Crown Royal never lost sight of each othei^ on the 15th of 
October we entered the broad bosom of the Elbe; and) just asthis^ 
hazy sun was setting, dropped our anchons in the mud, opposite 
Gluckstadt, a little city on the northorai or right bank of the* 
river. 

The spire of the great church, and the cannon on the ramparts^. 
were shining in the last rays of the sun, and the many tl^ees 
which encircled the fortifications gave a pleasant aspect to- the 
place. The harbour is large, and at the end of the canal which 
ran from it into the town, there was a large tower built on. 
piles of oak, encircled by platforms having batteries of cannob 
to command the Elbe. This tower has long since disappeared 
OiHT cannon saluted the Danish cross which was fiying pn the- 
wooden tower, the cannon of which replied by a salute of 
forty pieces to our double flags; for, acoordJEUg to the order of 
his majesty James VI., issued in 1606, we carried the inter-' 
laced crosses of St. Andrew and St. George at our main-piasthead, 
and the Scottish ensign oq the colour staff at our stem. Soon 
after we anchored, Sir David Drummond (a cavalier of the l^ouse. 
of Meedhope), who commanded two thousand Danish ioot in the 



OB, THE SCOflTIflR HUBKETEEBS. Zl 

qity, came off in a g&j pinnace to bid ns welcome^ and pay bis 
ypspects to oni: colonel, tbe great Sir Donald Mackay of Farr and 
Stratbuaver. 

Being Scotsmen, we naturally looked for bills in surveying 
th9 coast, but we migbt as well bave looked for tbe pyramids of 
Sgypt j for tbere were ouly swampy morasses lying on botb sides 
of tbe turgid Elbe, wbicb was dyked, to keep out tbe water from 
tlie> fields wbere tbe fet sleepy cattle were cbewing tbe cud, sur- 
vo^unded by ricb grass, and tbe drowsy bum of tbe ev^iing 



The broad river flowed slowly and turgidly, and being im-^ 
priBignated witb mud, was all of a yellow colour, unlike tbe pure 
d^ep blue of tbose £erce torrents, tbat, bearing trees and rocks* 
i|pjtb tb^n, rusb firom tbe giant mountains of our native land. 
Tbe fortifications were built on piles, and innumerable water-rats 
were swimming and paddling among tbe mud and slime tbat 
oozed between tbe timber. 

Tbougb tbe sun was sbining, a frowsy pestilential fog rested 
0|9k tbe bosom of tbe river, and overbung tbe town; tbere was 
a. closeness, a stillness in tbe atmospbere, wbicb imparted a 
siirange dulness to tbe place, and seemed to infoct us; for our 
soldiers wbile they crowded the sides of tbe vessels, instead of 
being full of gesture and animation like Higbland^:*s, were 
sLLmt and in^, like tbe fat old burghers who sat on tbe parapets, 
smoking their long Dutob pipes without any sign of motion or 
lifo. The sentinels stood like statues* on the ramparts, and their 
motionless pikes glittered like stars in the sunlight. 

By break of day next morning — at least an hour before tbe 
son bad risen from tbe flat morasses, and while tbe same white 
mist was resting on tbe river — We disembarked in large flat- 
bottomed boats, and drew up in order imder our colours, by 
companies on tbe quay, while our pipes played Mackay^s pibroch, 
Brattach bhan dan Aiodh, till tbe Holsteiners stuck their fingers 
in their ears, and the stones of the street shook, below us. 

Here Captain Torquil M*Coli of that Ilk lost his brother, 
who was sergeant of his pikes. Falling overboard into tbe 
muddy river, despite all oxu? efforts to save bim, the poor man 



31 FHIIJP HOLLO j 

sank under the weight of his headpiece, back, breast and braoelets/ 
and was drowned, or rather suffocated. In mj haste to suco<H]r 
this unfortunate, when floundering among that hideous mud, I- 
neariy fell in affcer him, but was saved by Ian grasping mj plaid, 

" Diouli** said he, '' the tide is out — are you mad? the water 
is thick as piper^s broee — the man is lost — would you too lose 
your life 1" 

It was fortunate my strong kinsman seized me, otherwise I 
Boight have perished with M'OolL The sergeant was a brava 
man, and had fought for his majesty James YI. at the battle of 
Behinnes, twenty-eight years before. 

That maxim of the great Count Tilly, *^ a ragged soldier wiUi' 
a bright musket," applied not to us, for our harness was polished' 
as bright as when the armourer had sent it from his shop; and 
I was astonished by the fineiy disf^yed among our poorest 
private soldiers. The mouths of their sporrans, the brooches of 
their plaids, and the hilts of their dirks, were either omameoted 
with silver, or such precious stones as their own mountains 
afforded — ^the topaz, the amethyst, the cairngorm, and the river 
pearl; for it was their ambition that^ if they were slain, or 
should die &.r £rom their home, there should be wherewithal oa' 
their persons to pay for a respectable funeral 

My brave comrades! too many of them were doomed to find* 
no other grave than the maws of the gorged and hideous crows 
that hoy^red over the battle-fields of Low Qermaniet, when the 
boom of the culverin summoned them from the four winds ot* 
heaven to their terrible feast. 

We were formed in Hne, three ranks deep, on the quay, and 
there were exactly one thousand five hundred and forty men in 
their helmets ; the colours, with the pipes and drums, were in the 
centre; the pikemen flanked the musketeers. Well mounted, 
and clad in a magnificent suit of Italian plate, which was covered 
with so many rare and gold devices that it was usually be- 
lieved to be enchanted, Sir Donald, with his claymore drawn, gave 
the words of command rapidly, as became a cavalier of spirit. 

'^ Gentlemen, height your musketeers-— dress your ranks, pike- 
men I To the right — ^tum; quick marcL" 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. 33 

The colours bent forward rustling in the wind, five hundred 
pikes and a thousand muskets were sloped in the sunshine, and 
with our drums beating that brave Scottish march, which has 
led so often to death but never to defeat, we entered Gliickstadt, 
being duly saluted at the gates with all the honours of war, by 
the Laird of Craigie's regiment of Danes, who formed line, with 
pikes advanced and drums beating. 

This city of Gliickstadt had been so strongly fortified by 
King Christian IV., in 1620, that it held out against the besieg-" 
ing forces of the Emperor Ferdinand II. for two years, and 
defied the whole power of the imperialists to take it by sea; and, 
being then all unused to regularly fortified towns, to me it 
seemed the strongest place in the world. Its locality was 
originally a mere swamp, and there is still a possibility of laying 
the whole outworks under water. We crossed several of the 
canals by which it is intersected, as we marched through the 
narrow streets into the quaint and old-fashioned market-place, 
where we halted before the great church, which stands at one 
comer thereof, and wherein the German colonists and the old 
Catholics were both allowed a chapel for their own worship — a 
toleration and good-fellowship which somewhat surprised our 
Scottish cavaliers, who believe<i it could exist nowhere but in 
the Highlands; for there the real and traditionary ties of clan- 
ship were dearer and stronger than those of religion, the powers 
of the patriarchal chief being superior alike to those of priest 
and presbyter, j 

In the market-place we received our billets from the burgo- 
master; and by good fortune, as it afterwards proved, my cousin 
the captain, M'Alpine our lieutenant, and myself, were quartered 
in one house — a tall building, situated immediately over against 
the great church. 



VOL. I. 



34 FHIUPBOLLO; 



CHAPTER VI. 

AFTEB ESCAPING A fALL INTO THE ELBE, I AM IN DANOEB Of FALLING 
IN LOYE. 

Though the majority of the inhabitants of Gliickstadt had 
retired to adjacent villages or elsewhere, on the town being oc- 
cupied by foreign troops, a considerable crowd surrounded us in 
the market-place, attracted no doubt by the martial and im- 
posing aspect of the garb we wore. The women — they interested 
me most, of course — seemed to be all rather pretty, with bloom- 
ing complexions and fair tresses; and I — ^being fresh from 
King's College — ^was reminded of those yellow-haired dwellers 
by the banks of the Elbe, of whom I had read in Lucan. They 
were all gaudily dressed in hoods^ cloaks, and jQsirdingales, of 
many colours, among which the Danish red predominated. 

By command of the magistrates, the whole regiment had free 
inquartering on the burgesses; and thus^ after marching our 
colours, imder a guard of pikes with pipes sounding, to the 
residence of Sir Donald, who had been invited to occupy the 
mansion of our good countryman the governor, I looked about 
for my billet, which, as I have said, was at a comer of the Platz, 
and almost opposite the great church of the town. 

The house was a large building of Dutch brick and plaster, 
crossed in various ways by diagonal bars of wood, like many of 
the old timber-fronted " Lodgings'* in the borough-towns at home 
in the Lowlands; it had a row of poplars before it, and was sur- 
mounted by a high peaked roof, with a double tier of dormer 
windows. Several solemn-looking storks sat on the sharp 
ridges, twisting their long throats and clapping their wings. I 
would not have discovered the place (each fantastic house being 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HtJSEETEERS. 35 

just like its neighbour) but for the kindness of a cavalier whom 
I met in the street, and knew by his white silk scarf to be one 
of my countrymen. This was the renowned Sir Quentin Home, 
rittmaster of a corps of mounted Holsteiners, of whom more 
anon. On showing him my billet order, addressed OUo £os^ 
kilfie, Hausmeister, he led me at once to the place. 

Like the houses of the Scottish and French towns, this man- 
sion had six or seven stories, opening on each side from one 
common staircase; but, as nearly all its inhabitants had either 
fled or perished of the plague, there were but two flats occupied, 
and one of these was by a personage who styled himself the 
Hausmeister, having been appointed by the proprietor, as he 
afterwards told me, to watch over the building and its tenants, 
and generally to attend to its safety and pi'eservation. Among 
the Austrians, I have since met with many such officials, who 
were considered little better than gate-porters or link-boys ; but 
my Holsteiner, or Dane, or Dutchman (for I could not discover 
what country claimed the honour of giving him birth), received 
me with all the formality of the governor of a fortress welcom- 
ing his successor. There was an ill-concealed scowl on his 
forbidding face as he met me at the door, on which I had 
knocked loudly more than once, with the hilt of my dirk, before 
it was opened. 

"Otto Koskilde?" said I inquiringly, shewing my slip of 
paper, stamped with the town arms. 

He replied with a "Yes," which sounded like a long yawn, and 
bowed. He was a great and powerful fellow, with a broad 
tiger-like mouth, and sinister eyes, that shone like pieces of 
grey glass. He wore enormous red roses on his shoes ; a plum- 
coloured doublet, a pair of bombasted fardingale breeches, 
Spanish leather boots with lawn tops, a high sugar-loaf hat, 
which every puff of wind that shook the poplars threatened to 
blow away; a long Dutch espadone and spurs, though I suppose 
the fellow never had a horse in his stable, or rode any other 
nag than the wooden mare, or chevcd de hois, with a six-pound 
shot at each of his heels. To my words of compliment — crav- 
ing pardon for my intrusion and so £>rth — ^he answered by 



36 ItelLIPROLLO; 

another profound bow, which tilted up the end of his great 
sword ; then, ushering me in, he shut the door, and left me to 
shiffc for myself. 

The staircase was dark, the building silent; I felt as if 
still in the rolling ship, and my footing seemed wavering and 
uncertain, as I ascended. Every apartment sounded hollow, 
and appeared to be empty — ^unfurnished and uncarpeted. I 
knew that my billet was to be on the third floor, and continued 
my ascent, but by mistake tried the doors on the second. Six 
different apartments which I entered were empty, destitute of 
furniture, cold, desolate, and rendered damp by the slimy atmo* 
sphere of the canal, which flowed beneath the window. I was on 
the point of retiring, and descending again to seek this rude and 
unceremonious host or Hausmeister, who treated me with such 
inattention, when before me there appeared a door half open, 
revealing beyond an apartment, that was,, at least, furnished. 

"Zounds !" thought I, "right at last — this is the floor, and 
that is my room ! " 

I knocked gently, however, but without receiving an answer ; 
pushed the door fully open, and entering, found myself in a bed- 
chamber furnished with innumerable articles of ornament and 
luxury. 

In the chimney, which was lined with the blue ware of Delft^ 
a cheerful fire burned on the hearth, between the brass-knobbed 
andirons. Warm tapestry covered the walls, which were hung 
with pictures and gaudily tinted engravings, by the great West- 
phalian engraver, Israel Van Meknen, who died in the last 
century ; statues of alabaster and vases of flowers, jars of red 
Bohemian glass and little figures, decorated the mantelpiece and 
oak side-tables ; a guitar and music-book lay on a chair in one 
comer; a small library occupied another, and within a recess 
stood a most enchanting little bed, with graceful silk drapery. 
There, indeed, beauty might sleep softly, intrenched among 
downy pillows edged with the finest lace. 

" All this for meV* 1 muttered aloud; " Oh no! it cannot be 
•—there is some mistake." 

One glance had just made me acquainted with all these items 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. 37 

6f luxury, when another made me aware that this pretty little 
boudoir, or bedchamber, had an occapant ; for on a sofii, which 
stood between me and the fireplace, a young lady lay fast asleep, 
with a book in her hand. She had fine features, a brilliant 
complexion, long lashes, and the most luxuriant jet hair. Her 
figure was small and graceful in its contour ; her hands and fine 
bosom white as snow, for though she wore a high ruff", it opened 
considerably ih front. She had on a great tub-fardingale of 
crimson satin, with a monstrous hoop, like those of the Countess 
of Essex (of happy memory), flounced and slashed with black 
velvet; but this, instead of spoiling her figure from her position, 
gave it rather a new charm ; for it permitted more than usual 
to be seen of two very handsome taper ankles, encased in scarlet 
silk stockings, which were embroidered with silver about eight 
inches above the shoe, in the Spanish fashion. 

In the whole aspect of this sleeping beauty there was a 
nameless charm, which extremely interested me. Courtesy com- 
pelled me to retire immediately; but I could not restrain my 
desire to know what book she had been reading, and it proved 
to be a Spanish drama by Cervantes, that brave soldier whose 
name will ever reflect immortal lustre on the noble profession of 
arms. 

Charmed with the air of innocence and candour which per- 
vaded this unknown beauty, I would fain have kissed the little 
hand that drooped over one arm of the sofa; but hearing voices, 
I softly and hastily withdrew, mentally resolving — like a rogue 
who had fought his way through all the classes of the King's 
College — that our acquaintance should end less abruptly than it 
had begun. 

Ascending to the third story of the great and seemingly de- 
solate house, I found myself in presence of my cousin Ian, and 
our lieutenant M* Alpine, for, as I have said, we had all been 
happily billeted in the same edifice; and in one of its un- 
furnished chambers Phadrig Mhor was lighting a fire, and 
preparing a meal with' all the ease and rapidity of a Highland 
mountaineer. 



88 PHILIP BOLLO; 



CHAPTER YII. 

THE REPAST. 

*' Welcome, Philip, as we are here before you," said Ian ; " in 
the name of mischiefs mother, where have you been wandering 
to?" 

" Over all this empty house, which I vow is like a great castle, 
and is almost without furniture." 

"Almost!" replied Ian; "why, my cousin, except this room, 
and that one occupied by the Hausmeister, it seems quite deserted. 
Its inhabitants have all died of the plague " 

" The plague ! — pleasant that, for their successors." 

" This was four years ago ; or else they have fled to Copen- 
hagen, to escape the chances and mischances of war — the 
troubles (as the Hausmeister calls them) which always attend 
the march of foreign troops." 

"Troublesr* said I. 

"Ay," replied our lieutenant, Angus Roy M'Alpine, who 
had been in the Low Countries and Grermany before; " troubles — 
for so the Hausmeister was pleased to name free inquartering, 
and the occasional abduction of a pretby maid or a wine-cask, 
things that will now and then happen, where soldiers shake 
their feathers." 

"He is an ill-looking dog, that Hausmeister," I observed, 
" and wears a devilish odd hat and pair of breeches — I hate the 
aspect of the varlet I" 

" Hate no one, Philip," said M'Alpine, quietly ; " for hatred 
and anger are sure to go together — and sorrow perchance may* 
follow; but I instinctively dislike this person, too." 

M'Alpine, a fine-looking soldier, and brave fellow, was' 



OR, TUE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 39 

somewhat of a gloomy and thoughtful cast. Haying once slain a 
friend in a single combat (as we were infonned) — ^the result of a 
sudden quarrel — ^he made a vow to wear crape on his left arm till 
the end of his days, and never to give another challenge, though 
he had often received them, and been compelled to fight more 
than once in defence of his honour and reputation. 

" I am sorry you are averse to the Holsteiner," said Ian; " for 
I have invited him to dine with us.'* 

*'Dine!" we exclaimed together; "surely it was more his 
part to have invited us." 

" Four hungry Highlandmen to dine with one German or 
Dane" replied Ian; " oich ! gentlemen, the thing was not to be 
thought of" 

" I hope I shall not quarrel with him," I continued, remember- 
ing how he had received me ; " in those green eyes of his are 
the very smile of a Campbell." 

"And you know the adage 1" added Tan, as he flung aside his 
sword, plaid, and pistols. 

" While there are leaves on the trees, there will be guile '* 

*' Do not say in a Campbell," said the sergeant, Mhor, pausing 
in his culinary occupation, and bluntly interrupting M'Alpine; 
"do not say so, lieutenant, for my great-grandmother was a 
daughter of Barcaldine." 

" I crave your pardon, sergeant," replied M'Alpine; "but my 
fiither, Torquil Dhu, was slain at Glenlivat by the men of Loch 
Awe, and I have a score to settle with that tribe." 

" Hush ! " said I, " here comes our Dane." 

"Dane — dost thou call him?" said Angus; "nay, being a 
Holsteiner, he is pure German." 

" What a clatter he makes !" 

" 'Tis his espadone on the stair." 

" Dioul!" said my cousin ; " and now let us to dinner." 

We all. rose to receive this personage, whom our Highland 
education made us disposed to treat with the utmost respect as 
the master of the house, or htisbonde, as the Danes would call him 
(though only his deputy) ; Ian bade him welcome in Gaelic, and 
Phaddg Mhor, whose vast stature made the Northman open 



40 PHILIP BOLLO; 

wide bis eyes, placed a chair for lum, and we proceeded to 
dine. 

I have said each of the five or six stories of the mansion 
had two dwellings, consisting of several apartments. Phadrig 
Mhor had ransacked the whole place, and collected within our 
chamber such furniture and utensils as be could procure among 
the vacated and desolate rooms. From one he brought a table; 
from another a high-backed antique chair; from a third a stool; 
from a fourth a tabourette; from another a pot, a kettle, and so 
on, until he had almost furnished our damp chamber, which 
overlooked the row of poplars, beyond which, in the Platz, we 
saw a regiment of Scottish pikemen being drilled to the use of 
the pike, according to the new fashion, as laid down in the FaUas 
Armata of that eminent tactician, Captain Sir Thomas Kellie of 
Edinburgh and that Ilk. 

Our dinner dishes had been borrowed from the old house- 
keeper of Otto Roskilde ; for knives each of us had his skene- 
dhu, and for cups each had his hunting-quaigh or shell, hooped 
with silver; but Otto Koskilde brought his own pewter pot 
which reminded me of a Low lander's beech wood bicker. A 
saddle of mutton, which Phadrig had procured (Heaven alone 
knows how), with boiled Russian tongues, bread and cheese, 
composed a repast on which Fingal himself might have fared 
with satisfaction; and we brewed a brave tappit-hen in a 
gigantic Flemish jug, with Dutch skeidam and hot water in 
equal proportions, sweetened with sugar £rom the Indian isles. 
Beside this, we had four bulbous-looking flasks of French brandy, 
which Phadrig had found when foraging about the rooms, and 
to the evident chagrin of our host) whose grey eyes glistened 
with surprise at the discovery, and anger at our henchman. 

As neither M*Farquhar nor Phadrig Mhor (whom as his fos- 
terer we always treated as an equal) could speak one word of 
any language but their native Gaelic, nearly the whole conver- 
sation fell to the share of the lieutenant, M' Alpine, and myself. 
He spoke a little German, having served in the Low Countries 
under Sir James Bamsay, and I knew a little Spanish, having 
IUH][uir6d it at King's College. 



OB, THE SCOTTISH liUSKETEEBS. 41 

Now it chanced that both these languages were spoken by the 
Hausmeister, who, though at first somewhat reserved even to 
suUfflUieas and silenoe, when his heart warmed by the contents 
of odir gallant tankard, became loquacious in the extreme. 

Though his name was Scandinavian enough in its sound, hav- 
ing imbibed certun undefinable suspicions about this man — 
awakened doubtless by the deep and secret smiles which I detected 
stealing over his sallow and swarthy face, like the quiet ripples 
on the surface of a Dutch canal — I found myself baffled in 
deciding to what country he belonged ; for one moment there 
was something of the Danish softness in his voice, the next it 
had the deep twang of the Swedish, or the harsh growl of the 
German ; and all these various tones were least discernible in 
his Spanish, which he spoke with the greatest fluency. 

Filling up his quaigh to the brim, my cousin Ian, believing 
that we were in presence of a Holsteiner, stood up and drank 
courteously — 

" To the honour of the brave and faithful Holsteiners." 

I translated this to Otto Boskilde, who thereupon stood up in 
his great calf-^kin boots, and returned thanks with tolerable 
politeness; then we all drank to each others healths again, 
clinking our cups together, above, below, and side by side, in the 
old Grerman fashion. The peg-tankard was refilled, and, as the 
afternoon subsided into evening, the evening into night, and the 
shadows of the Platz were thrown upon the stagnant canals, our 
good-fellowship increased; and we spoke openly of the chances 
of the war, and our hopes of beating the Imperialists back to the 
gates of Vienna. At this our Hausmeister shook his great curly 
head of black hair, assuring us that all the power of the North 
could never withstand the torrent which the Emi^eror Ferdinand 
was rolling against it. 

"And which way do you march, sirs, on leaving Gluckstadt 1" 
he asked. 

" We know not," replied M'Alpina 

" Towards the Weser, probably V* he continued, with a casual 
but inquisitive tone. 

" That is as King Chnstiaii shall direct^" said I. 



42 PHILIP BOLLO; 

" Your route must be towards the Weser ; for all the Danes, 
Holsteiners, and Germans who follow Christian IV., have been, 
marching in- that direction since the battle of Liitter was won." 

"I thought a Holsteiner would have said lost,'^ obaierved 
M*Alpine. 

"True !*' replied Otto, with some confusion of manner, "for 
it was indeed lost to the princes of the Protestant confederax^ 
tion; but how many more of your brave countrymen are coming 
to join king Christian 1 " 

" We know not," said I ; " but if they come here as they are 
flocking to the standard of Gustavus Adolphus, like his, the army 
of Christian will be all Scots, I think, and nothing but Soots." 

" And you know not how many more are expected?" 

" You are very inquisitive," said I, laughing; "about nine 
thousand." 

"AllScotsr* 

"All — Murkle's, Spynie's, and Nithsdale's regiments — each 
being a brigade." 

" And of the English, how many?" 

" We know nothing about the English," replied M* Alpine, 
imbibing somewhat of my distrust at these categorical queries; 
" nothing save that, when we sailed, Scotland expected a war 
with them about this new court called the Commission for 
Grievances, which King Charles is about to thrust upon us, and 
we consider to be only that devilish Star-chamber under another 
name." 

" Then, are there no English coming?" 

" One regiment of pikes," I replied briefly, " for they generally 
prefer the service of the Prince of Orange ; but why are you so 
anxious for all this information, Herr Otto?" 

The blood rushed into his sallow face, and he stammered — 

"Is it strange that I, a Holsteiner, should be anxious to 
learn the number of our friends?" 

" Oh ! 'tis quite natural," said I, feeling the justice of his 
reply; " but now, Herr, since I have answered all your questions, 
will you please to answer a few of mine?" 

" It will aflbrd me the utmost gratification if I can do so," he 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 43 

rejoined, filling up his cup, and letting out another button of 
his doublet to make room for its contents. " On what matter 
can I give you information]'* 

" Who is that very attractive damoiselle that occupies one of 
the apartments below?" 

" Damoiselle !" he reiterated, while the paleness of anger over- 
spread his fexje in the twilight ; " you are mistaken, young gen- 
tieman ; there is — assuredly there is no young lady there.'* 

" Come, Herr, rally your thoughts," I continued, with a loud 
laugh, as the liquor mounted to my brain ; " you will be sure to 
remember her — fair and handsome, with the most beautiful dark 
hair, and the longest eyelashes in the world. I warrant me, 
there is not a prettier yt*n^;/er in all Holstein!'* 

" You mean jung-fraiij^ replied Otto, with another of his 
quiet but obnoxious smiles, and this time the fellow was laugh- 
ing in earnest, for I had made — what I afterwards learned to 
be — a mistake ; " but I beg to assure you, that no young 
damoiselle could be hereabout without my knowledge." 

"I am aware of that,** I continued in my tone of banter; 
" but, pray, make no more assertions ; I have no wish to pry into 
your little secrets, Herr — not I, though doubtless this damoiselle 
is the prettiest little woman in Gliickstadt.'* 

"Were this St. John's night, when our fairies and white 
women are all abroad, I would swear thou hadst seen a Trold ; 
for there is no woman here but the old crone my housekeeper, 
to whose smiles thou art welcome. Thei'e is none, 1 vow lo 
you, by the soul of Holger Danske ! *' 

Confounded by the earnestness of the man, struck by a sudden 
and ferocious gleam that passed over his glassy eyes, and sup- 
posing there was in the affair some strange mystery with which 
I had no right to meddle, I dropped the subject, and assisted to 
fill and refill the tankard; nor did we separate until the mid- 
night moon was shining on the broad waters of the Elbe, and the 
strong round tower of Gliickstadt. 

Then Otto Roskilde retired, and the moment he was gone 
we rolled our tartan plaids around us, and lay down on the hard 
boarded -floor, with our targets and clay moras for pillows. 



a rUILIP BOLLO: 



CHAPTER VIII. 



OUB CANTONMENT. 



The next day's sun rose bright and radiant; the birds sang in 
the green poplara; the storks screamed on the red gable-tops; 
the great &ogs were croaking hoarsely among the bronze-like 
slime which was generated on the bosom of the stagnant canals, 
and the business of life commenced in GlUckstadt. 

" 1*11 find her out;" I muttered, as we sat -down to break£ut 
on the remains of our supper, together with a can of Dantzig 
beer, a ham and basket of eggs, which our invaluable Phadrig 
had procured from some confiding sutler in the Platz ; " I will 
find her out, if she is between the roofti*ee and the ground- 
stone!" 

" Who?" asked Ian, overhearing my Gaelic. 

" A feir young lady, whom I discovered yesterday." 

" Dioul ! we have been but one night in this land of Holstein, 
and this inflammatory student hath fSdlen in love 1 " replied Ian, 
laughing aloud, for he thought I was jesting. "How these 
petticoats influence the fisite and the fancies of men!" 

" And where does this fair dame dwell?" said Angus. 

" Below us; did you not hear me speaking about her to the 
husbonde, Hausmeister, or whatever yonder august man in boots 
considers himself." 

" How could we ? you spoke in Dutch." 

" Or Spanish, or some such gibberish, known only to your- 
selves," said Ian, slicing down the ham with his dirk. 

"Below us, too," continued Angus Roy; "that is goodl Why, 
Phadrig Mhor and I investigated the whole place when we 
came in yesterday, and saw no woman but that delectable old 



OB, THE SCOmSH MUSKETEERa 45 

housekeeper, with her linen coif and wrinkled visage. Depend 
upon it, there is no lady here !" 

"You are as bad as that sullen dog, the Herr; for I assure 
you there is a woman — a lady — a veiy pretty one, too ! Pass the 
beer-can, Angus, please." 

" *Tis a feiry," said the sergeant, Mhor, breaking his sixth egg, 

"She is fiiir as the daughter of the snow — that love of Fingal, of 
whom I have heard you sing a hundred times, Phadrig," said I. 

"Here, in this desolate house V* 

" Below us, Ian, as I have said, in a magnificent chamber, too." 

"Come, now," replied Ian, "he is jesting with us all; this is 
some quip he has picked up at college. Look at us again, cousin 
Philip, have our ears grown, since we marched in yesterday?" 

** Cousin Ian, I never was more serious in my life." 

" Why, you might as well tell us there was snow last night, as 
that this beautifuli^lady and stately apartment are in this man- 
sion, when we searched every nook and comer of it for food, fuel, 
and furniture, and the sergeant thrust his Lochaber axe into every 
hole we coxdd not enter ourselves. And pretty, you say?" 

** Actually beautiful ! a dazzling skin — dark hair — an adorable 
figure — the air of a countess." 

"What a diamond ?" exclaimed Angus Roy, shaking back the 
thick red hair which gained him that sobriquet; "what a love 
of a little woman she must be! By the grey stone of M-Gregor, 
I would give my best brooch to see her ! however," he continued, 
pouring some skeidam into his silver-hooped hunting quaigh, "I 
drink to her health." 

"A feiiy's health?" said Ian. 

^* Nay, to the countess thou knowest about, Philip," and then 
the whole three laughed loudly, like frank hearty mountaineers, 
as they were. 

" Beware of snares, Philip," said Ian, as he adjusted his grace- 
ful plaid with the brooch of Moina Rose; " as for me, I would 
not give my brown-eyed Highland maid for all the dames of 
Almaynie^ — ^by St. Colm of the Isles, I would not I" and, as he 
buckled on his sword, the light-hearted young chief began to 
sing an old Gfaelic song. 



46 PHILIP BOLLO; 

** Ouma sldn a ch\ mi, 
Mo chaillin dileas donn ; 
Air *n ctfhcu an cualan reidh, 
*S air an deise dKHreadh fonn. 

"How happy could I be with thee, 
My boniiie brown-eyed maid ! 
In thy loveliness and beauty, 
With innocence array*d. 

"Se cainnt do bheoil hu bhinne learn, 
*Nuair bhiodh mintinn trom ; 
*Stu thogadh suas mo ehridhe 
*Nuair bhiodh tu bruidhiun reUm.** 

*• Thy voice to me was music 
When my poor heart was sad ; 
With thee, how fied the fleet hoars. 
Conversing in the shade I 

Breakfast being over, we took our swords and bonnets, and 
sallied forth to the sunny Platz, where the regiment was parad- 
ing under the colours to commence the course of drill, and 
training to march and countermarch by files, sections, and com- 
panies. As to the handling of arms, our clansmen had known 
that since their childhood ; for they were all men of that glorious 
old race, whose first food in infancy was received firom the point 
of their father's sword; and who were reared like the Spartans 
of old by their Highland mothers^ whose prayers were ever, that 
their warlike sons might have the grace to die — not on their beds 
like sloths or hounds — but on the field of battle, with their 
shields below and their plaids above them. Thus were the 
Scottish clansmen reared in arms, and trained to war and 
daring; and hence we cannot wonder at finding the Highland 
brigades of Christian IV., and of Gustavus Adolphus, the terror 
of the Poles, the Muscovites, and the Imperialists. 

"Now, cousin Philip," said Ian, as we descended the great 
staircase of the mansion ; " show us the bower of your invisible 
countess." 

Undeterred by their jesting, I examined all the doors of the 
empty flats below our billet ; but /ound no trace of the on© I 
looked for. Every chamber appeared to have been long 
deserted; the walls were damp; the dust lay on the floors; 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 4T 

there was rust on the andirons and grates, and spiders had spun 
their webs across the small thick panes of the windows. 
Though completely silenced by the disappearance of the chamber, 
and by the consequent jests, laughter, and disbelief of my friends, 
I was not the less convinced that there lurked some strange 
mystery in the lady's concealment, and the Hausmeister's conni- 
vance thereat. 

This mystery I secretly resolved to probe and nni*avel. It 
was doubtless a very impertinent determination ; but there was 
lass beard then on my chin than now, besides I was very heedless 
and rash. 

I applied my powers of persuasion to the old housekeeper; 
but she was deaf as a cannon, shook her paralytic head, deter- 
mined not to understand me, and pouched with true Grerman 
avidity a gold Scottish noble, or a twelve shilling piece, which 
I gave her in mistake for a dog-dollar. 

The old pile of building became invested with an interest 
which otherwise it would never have possessed. My Mends, 
who frequently discovered me searching for the lost chamber, 
laughed at me for a time without mercy; and none entered 
more into their spirit of raillery than Otto Roskilde, who 
swore that it was a spirit I had seen, a Danish Trold fix)m 
Juteland — a spirit of the Elbe — a white woman from the forests 
of Bremen — or a Trold, and nothing but a Trold ! 

Esther provoked by all this, I frequently ascended and de- 
scended the staircase alone; examined all the doors, and tapped 
on the walls of the desolate rooms; listened for a sound, but 
heard none save the guttural voices of the people in the Platz, 
the croaking of the frogs in the canal, or the hoarser croak of 
Roskilde's old timber-toned housekeeper, dame Krumpel, singing 
a monotonous ditty of Holstein to the birr of her spinning- 
wheeL My beauty was certainly not in the apartments of her 
master; he had but two, and I had taken the liberty of examin- 
ing them both, twenty times. Having been educated at the 
college of James IV., and moreover been a residenter in " the 
brave city" of Aberdeen for so many years, I considered my- 
self more than usually acute; but I was now forced to confess, 



43 PmLIP BOLLO; 

that with all the knowledge of the world I had gathered at the* 
London of the North, in this affair of " my countess" (as Ian 
and Angus named her), I was completely baffled. 

At GlUckstadt on the Elbe we lay in quarters for some time, . 
during which we improved in all points of discipline, according 
to the rules of war then practised by all noble cavaliers of the 
Scottish nation, who had first carried them into the armies of 
northern Europe. 

By speaking our pure old Lowland language, I found little 
or no difficulty in making myself imderstood by the Danish 
officers, and by the brave and honest Holsteiners^ whose peculiar 
dialect of the German I soon acquired. 

Our pay was poor. A captain had about £130 per annum, 
and mine, as ensign of musketeers, was only a slet-dollar per day, 
out of which I had to furnish myself with wine and beer; but 
we had come to fight for honour and glory, not for the base 
lucre or copper shUlinga — for Elizabeth Stuart, and her uncle, 
the brave king Christian — for the liberties of Germany and the 
freedom of the Protestant religion — for, Vivat! we were all 
true Scottish cavaliers. Yet there were many among us who^ 
when the season became moist and the marsh fevers thinned, 
our ranks, grumbled sorely, and openly averred we would have . 
been better at home, fighting our own neighbours, the English, 
than gasping among the frowsy fogs of Holstein. 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 49^ 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE MTSTERIOrS DOOB; — ^A DISCOUB8E ON NTMPRS. 

On the 6th day after our landing, Ian and his sergeant, 
Phadrig Mhor, with sixty of our pikemen, were on guard in the 
great tower at the harbour mouth. After spending the fore- 
noon in lounging with them on the ramparts of their post, fix)m 
whence we had an extensive view of the flat and fertile country, 
with its houses of bright red brick roofed with yellow straw, and 
sheltered by rows of tall elms and taper poplars; after explain- 
ing to them in Gaelic, some chapters of a treatise on fortification 
by Errard of Bois le Due — for we had all resolved to become 
perfect soldiers; after a few glasses of wine with them at a 
tavern close by the guardhouse, and having some lively good- 
for-nothing chatter with the pretty jungfers, or waitresses, whose 
plump round figures, in their short petticoats and spotless white 
vests, made them as charming and piquant as the soubrettes or 
grisettes of Paris, I returned slowly to our billet, passing 
through the evening crowds in the Platz, with my bonnet 
cocked smartly on one side, my plaid waving behind me, and 
my claymore under my arm, feeling very much satisfied with 
my own appearance, and proud that I belonged to a regiment 
whose fifteen hundred pair of sturdy bare legs were* the admiration 
of all the women in GlUckstadt. 

I entered the vast and silent house of Otto Roskilde, and was 
ascending the stair, with my head ftill of ravelins and breast- 
works, pretty ankles and counterscarps, waitresses and fortifica- 
tions, flying sap and salient angles, when a sound struck my ear; 
I suddenly paused— drew breath, and listened. 

The notes of a guitar and of a clear female voice, sweetly 

VOL. I. B 



tSK) PHILIP BOLLO; 

modulated, made my heart beat like ligbtning; for a gaitar was 
in the apartment of that sleeping beauty, whom I had nearly 
forgotten. 

I approached softly ; the door of the same apartment I had 
formerly seen was standing partly open, and I again saw the 
same flair young girl, who had been asleep on the 8o£s^ running 
her fingers over a beautiful guitar, to which she was softly 
singing a lirely Spanish song. Her back was towards me, and 
her neck and shoulders (where visible between her thick lace 
veU and high Spanish ruff) were dazzlingly white. I could dis- 
tinctly see her &ce, which was reflected in an opposite mirror. 
Her hair was dressed loftily over a high pearl-studded comb, 
after the £s»hion of her countrywomen; she had bright lively 
eyes, the most wicked smile, and the finest teeth, in the world. 
The little coquette seemed to be studying smiles and positions 
in the mirror, and, as she did so, a little dimple appeared in each 
of her cheeks, which were pale, or exhibited the fidntest tinge of 
red — altogther unlike the fiill blushing cheeks of the German 
maids of Holstein. Then^ as she sang, her voice rang clearly and 
beautifully as a little sUver bell It was a Tonadilla, from a play 
of the old dramatist, Lopez de Yega; but from which of them 
Heaven only knows; for old Lopez wrote such an incredible 
number, that I do not believe he would have recognised it 
himsel£ 

" Gentil DoBoa, g«ntQ donna — 
Gentil donna, goddess bright! 
Fairer than the morning light! 
How long shall I be doomed to feel, 
The wound thj hand alone can heal? 
Gentil donna, gentil donna — 
Gentil donna, to me give 
The hope from this dear wound to lire. 
Gentil donna — see, the dart 
Of lore has pierced my bleeding heart." 



" Caballero, caballero, 
Caballero, hence away, 
Lest I langh at what yon say: 
Caballero "* 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. '51 

Suddaily, in the mirror's polished depth, her eye 6anght a 
glimpse of my reflected figure^ with its shining cuirass and 
dark green tartans. The guitar dropped fix>m her hand, and she 
turned towards me with a pale and startled expression. It was 
now my turn to be confused, for I had no business there. 

'^ Pardon me, senora,'* said I, in my most dulcet Spani:^ for I 
had perceived at once that she was a Spaniard; "I hav^ 
mistaken the way to my own apartment, and — and———" 

She appeared to rally her spirits, and bowed. 

" This old house," I continued, advancing one pace, '* with its 
long wooden stairs, its dark passages, so full of doors to the 
right and to the left — ^you understand me, senora]" 

« Oh yes ! senor— I think I do." 

" Its wainscoted galleries and ambulatories,*' I continaed^ 
advancing another pace, *' are quite perplexing, and I feel that 
I am an awkward intruder." 

" You look, senor, just like one dropped fix)m the moon," said 
she with a smile, as she resumed her guitar with its broad blue 
ribbon; " but I have the honour to wish you a good day——" 

" And you pardon my intrusion 1" 

" Pardon— oh yesl but, in ascending the stair, keep alwa3rs to 
the right, remember. I cannot be angry with so gallant a 
cavalier," (ffoUmte cahdUero,) 

There was a wicked smile on her lips; but my heart beat 
quick, and I remained gazing upoa her, &scinated by the 
expression of her eyes. 

Those beautiful orbs attracted me more than the curved 
brows, the straight nose, the fine nostril and short upper lip, 
their accessories. They were somewhat of a blue black, or violet 
colour, and sparkled under long fringes of silk, which chastened 
and subdued the fire of their expression. They were full of 
obscure language, of inspiration, and imdefined thoughts, those 
beautiful eyesl They were full of sweetness too, and of power: 
I could imagine that their expression would have been mag- 
nificent in love, and terrible in rage; but at that moment they 
expressed only the most diarmmg archness aiul timidity. 

« Come, senor — are you going?" said she. 



52 PHILIP ROLLO; 

" Certainly, senora," said I, with confusion; " but permit me 
to Idfls your hand, in token that you really forgive me." 

"There, sefior — and now begone; for, on my honour, you 
tire ma" 

I kissed her pretty hand with all the confusion of a boy, and 
hurried away. Such was my flutter, and such my tumult, that 
I omitted to mark well the features of the passage, that I tnight 
find my way back again. 

I saw only those timid, dark, and seducing eyes ! 

I sprang up-stairs to our apartment, in search of any of my 
friends. 

« Hollo, Angus M'Alpine!" cried I. 
Dia! what is the matter?" cried the tall lieutenant of our 
company, as he sprang firom a table where he was playing at 
chess with the Hausmeister, and in doing so overset the board 
and their wine-pot together; " is the house on fire?" 

" No ! but I have found her." 

"Her — ^who?" he asked, while the Hausmeister changed 
colour very perceptibly. 

" I have seen her again." 

"What, thy countess?" said Red Angus, laughing. 

" Yes — and spoken with her." 

" I wish you had tarried with her; for you have spilled our 
wine, and spoiled our game." 

" It is all an illusion — an impossibility," said Herr KoskQde; 
" for I swear to you, gentlemen, there is no such person " 

" Hold, Rollo," said M'Alpine, gravely, on perceiving that I 
was getting wroth; "perhaps there is something supernatural 
in all this." 

" Nothing supernatural at all, Angus. I spoke with her — saw 
her, and kissed her hand." 

" Oho ! Mahoud ! thou art getting on apace," said the lieu- 
tenant, laughing. 

" Beware 1" growled Otto in his deep German bass, " for these 
Trolds are mere unsubstantial forms; hollow behind " 

"Trolds be hanged!" said I; " hollow behind, indeed! Do 
you laugh at me, friend Otto?" 



OS, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEKa 53* 

« No — ^but I say, that I think you have been deceived." 

" Nay, may I die if I ever touched a hand more &ir, more 
round, more beautiful 1 And then her eyes ! Ah, Master Otto \ 
'tis for yourself you keep this fair prize so slily locked up — ^but 
you cannot deceive me. Come with me, gentlemen, and I will 
show you whether or not I have been deceived by the Herr or 
my own eyes, and whether I have deserved the jests of Ian for 
the last week." 

. Angus took his sword in case of accidents; we all descended 
the stair, and I confidently led the way to the lower landing- 
place, turned to the right, and advanced along the passage. Pass- 
ing several doors, I paused; for lo ! that one which led to the 
chamber of my Spaniard had vanished again. I was perplexed 
— thunderatruck ^ while both M'Alpine and the German laughed 
immoderately. I felt conscious that I looked exceedingly foolish ; 
but knew not what to say. Gaping about me, I felt all the 
walls, and sounded them with the pommel of my poniard; I 
listened for the tinkle of the guitar, and bell-like notes of that 
soft warbling voice, but all was still as the grave. 

« 'Tis the work of the devil !" said I. 

"Then you agree with me at last, Herr Ensign]" said Otto. 

" You have been at the wine-house, Philip," added M* Alpine, 
** and the memory of som« red and rosy jungfer has been 
haunting you." 

"Beware, young man!" continued the Hausmeister, with a 
dark and most inexplicable look ; " it may be a wile of the evil 
one, or perhaps of Holger Danske, to bear you away. She may 
be one of the Elle people, whose touch is bewitching, and whose 
breath produces pestilence and sickness. They dwell among 
the sedges of the canals, and the moors of Juteland ; but there 
are times when they venture to enter cities." 

" Have the Elle women beautiful eyesl" 

" They are fair and winning in aspect, but are a mere appear- 
ance, being hollow like a dough trough. They excel in playing 
upon stringed instruments, the notes of which are enchanting; 
and young men like you, Herr Ensign, find the utmost difficulty 
in resisting their fascinations. They are most fi^uently to be 



54 Fmup BOLLo; 

met with in tbe moonliglit nights, dancing among the long soil 
grass, or in summer eyenings under the shadow of trees, to the 
music madehy grotesque gnomes, who play on enormous fiddles; 
and no young man whom they meet, ever experiences a cold 
reception or denial of any thing. You hear me, Herri" 

" By the soul of king Alpine!" said Angus, "they are just 
like our Daoine-shie at home! For God*s Mike and your own, 
Philip Rollo, beware, or we may find a bunch of reeds, or a 
bundle of rotten sticks, in your place some morning when the 
drum beats? Then how would it sound for the sergeant-major to 
report to Sir Donald, that Ensign Kollo had been carried off by 
the fairies!'' 

" I have heard old Dominie Daidle expatiate on the LamisB of 
the early Greeks — evil demons, who assumed the forms of beauti- 
ful nymphs, and enticed young men-- — '* 

" Especially ensigns," suggested Angus. 

" Into lonely places, where they devoured them." 

" Bones and all — oh Lord!" said Angus. 

" Well, Herr " continued Otto Roskilde, " such are our Elle 
women in Denmark and Holstein, and such may be the feir spirit 
you have seen; so I would beseech you to be wary." 

Honest M' Alpine half believed him ; but I observed there was 
a ray of secret mirth twinkling under the glassy surface of this 
man's grey, deceitful eyes; I felt certain that he wsajevnng me, 
but resolved to " byde my time." 



OB, THE SCiOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 56 



35nnk tjit Innnlt. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE PULL EFFECT OP A SPANISH PETTICOAT. 

Notwithstanding the rampant Calvinism of the duchy, 
the Lords of Holstein — for the province has a nobility of its 
own, and a most important, bulbous-looking nobility they are — 
had established a theatre near the market-place; and on this 
night there was to be a performance, as several large red and 
yellow bills, posted on the comers of the Platz and porch of the 
great church, informed those who could read them. Accom- 
panied by M* Alpine and Ian, who had never witnessed any 
thing of the kind before, and who stole away for an hour or so 
from his guard at the Round Tower, I bent my steps towards 
the place. We paid a rixdollar for one of the best seats, and 
found ourselves lodged completely to our satisfaction. 

I had heard old people speak much of the theatrical repre- 
sentations made at Aberdeen in 1603, by one William Shake* 
spear (whose dramas are becomingpopular among his countrymen) 
and other English players, who had been sent by Elizabeth, their 
queen, to perform before his majesty King James VI. of wise 
memory, and his good subjects of " the brave city," to the great 
scandal and indignation of the Calvinist clergy, who abhoired 
all such matters as trumpery, that savoured too much of the 
popish mysteries of the past age. I had seen one or two repre- 
sentations on the Schoolhill (when I was at college), which foiv 
dbly reminded meof the remarks of that gallant soldieriCervante^ 



^6 PHILIP BOLLO; 

when writing of Lopez de Eueda; " until whose time," says he, 
" we were not acquainted with all the machinery now necessary, 
nor with the challenges given by the Moors to the Christians, 
and which are now so common. We saw no figures rise firom 
underground, nor cloud-borne angels come to visit us; the sim- 
ple ornament of the theatre was an old curtain, behind which 
certain minstrels and musicians performed an old romanca" 
Thus had I seen, or rather heard, the plays of Davie Lindsay in 
open daylight,, and I must confess to being in no way prepared 
for the brilliancy of the spectacle which burst upon us, when 
entering the theatre of Chiistian TV, at GlUckstadt; and as for 
my cousin Ian, being but a plain Highland gentleman, wholly 
unaccustomed to cities and their splendours, reared in the 
voiceless solitude of a wooded glen, he was for a time struck 
dumb. 

The large hall of an old-fashioned house, the three wooden 
gables of which were propped on columns of oak, and overhung 
the Flatz, had been recently fitted up for the occasion, and for 
the first time in Holstein a funous dancer was to make her 
debut. 

Across the upper end, as on a dais, the stage was erected, and 
curtained off from the main body of the hall; before it sat the 
members of the orchestra, and behind them were the people of 
the town, seated in close rows on wooden benches. Along the 
sides were balconies hung with crimson cloth, emblazoned with 
the arms of all the princes of the Protestant League, and lighted 
by oil lamps of warmly- coloured glass, for the accommodation 
of the pompous burgomaster and grandees of the city. The 
stage, which was surmounted by the arms of the duchy, and the 
triple hdmet, was profiisely gilded, and brilliantly illuminated by 
rows of wax candles, having reflectors, which threw a blaze of 
light upon a blue curtain, leaving the audience comparatively in 
the shade. 

We were all attention, and as we occupied the most prominent 
stall next to those of the burgomaster and Sir David Drum- 
mond, governor of the town, we had a good opportunity of 
observing the citizeDS as they crowded into their places. Thii$ 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 57 

fipecies of entertainment was almost new in Gluckstadt; thus, as 
the expectation and excitement were great, the theatre was 
soon filled, and in the most prominent part of the pit I ob* 
served our Hausmeister, with his bombasted breeches, high ruff, 
and great basket-hilted espadone, and with a Dutch pipe in his 
mouth, like most of the men around him, enveloping himself in 
a cloud of smoke, which so«n concealed him from the indignant 
glances of the blooming female audience. These were dames 
whose gay dresses made the area appear like a parterre of 
flowers; and I observed that they were generally softly featured, 
and brightly complexioned — the young wearing their fair hair 
dressed over high combs of fretted silver or gold, after the an- 
cient &shion of Holstein; while the old and the married wore 
large linen coifs, like those of our Lowland women at home. 

Many of our Scottish cavaliers, in their bright corslets and 
laced doublets, with their high ruflfe and white scarfe, and a few 
of the counts and barons of the swampy neighbourhood, were 
in the balconies ; and some of the wild-looking clansmen of my 
own valiant regiment, in their tartan plaids and buff coats, were 
scattered here and there, gazing with active-eyed wonder from 
among the mass of stolid-visaged Holsteiners, some of whom 
wore hats and ruffs, in fashion a hnndred years old. The people 
waxed impatient, and the clatter of heavy swords and spurred 
boots on the floor, announced it from time to time, though the 
orchestra endeavoured to soothe them by performing a piece of 
music with their fiddles, viols, sacbuts, shalms, and fiutes. 

I was just wondering who a very pretty damsel, in a brocaded 
boddice and low-bossomed ruff, might be, when Ian exclaimed— 

"Ece! behold!" and I turned towards the stage. 

The blue curtain had suddenly vanished, aud a beautiful scene 
was disclosed. 

It was a bright shore, beyond which lay a brighter sea, 
whereon an orient sun was shining; rocks lay in the foreground, 
with light green vines overhanging them, and many a heavy 
duster of the purple grape. On one side lay the ruin of a 
temple; on the other, an ancient fountain poured forth its spark- 
ling current from a Triton's shell into a marble basin, which. 



5S PHILIP BOLLO j 

without overflowing, seemed to receive the whole current of 
that living water. Afar off, the capes and promontorieB of that 
fisdryland seemed to be sleeping in the glorious sunlight^ vanish- 
ing away into the summer haze exhaled from an azure sea; and 
so real seemed the whole, that I am sure our wild Maokajs and 
fierce M^Earquhars in the seats below, as they crossed themselves 
under their belted plaids, and muttered to each other under theii^ 
thick mustaches, thought it was all reality, or framed by thd 
spells of the Daoine-shie. 

Anon the musicians struck up a Spanish dance, the sound of 
castanets was heard, then, like a dazzling vision, a light and 
beautiful girl appeared before us. Whether she was a human 
being or a fairy, it seemed for a moment difficult to decide; 
until recollection — quick as the flash of a cannon — came upon 
me, and I recognised my mysterious beauty, and gazed upon 
her, wonderstruck and speechless. 

Her native charms, which were very great, were enhanced td 
the utmost by the elegance of her costume, which reached 
scarcely below the knee, and had innumerable little red and black 
flounces. Her boddice and stockings were of scarlet— the former 
was low-bosomed, and revealed the beautiful contour of her form; 
her arms were bare, round and white as snow; but how shall I 
describe the smallness of her feefc and hands, for every way this 
being seemed perfect? The luxuriance of her glossy hair was 
braided into a coronet, and amid its darkness shone a row of pearl 
pins, from each of which depended a little golden balL Heir 
smiles seemed full of love and fascination; and her dark and 
glorious eyes were full of joy and ecstasy. 

In the lightness of her movements she seemed to float upon 
that flood of melody, which filled the whole theatre, and made all 
our hearts swell and leap, we knew not why. Mine was full of 
new and delightful sensations — my voice was gone — I had only 
eyes. While beating time with her castanets, the beautiful 
Spaniard, turned, whirled, and bounded with the lightness of a 
spirit, at every pirouette making her whole muslin dress stand 
out in a circle around her waist; thus my eyes wandered in 
astonishment from her finely formed ankles to her snowy arnu^ 



OB, THE 8C0TTIBH liUSKETEEBS. 59 

from her wMte ahonlders to her braided hair, her smaing face, 
and flashing eyes. 

Young, inexperienced, and susceptible, having but lately left 
my native land, where no such exhibition would have been tolerat- 
ed for a moment, under penalty of the iron jougs and cutty-stool, 
I was borne, as it were, away from myself; my whole soul was 
riveted on the graceful motions of this dazzling dancer, who 
seemed to move amid a sea of light and harmony, nor did I rally 
until a roar of applause shook the rafters of the theatre. 

"How she pirouettes!" said an old countess in the balcony 
near us; "oh, the light flounces — ^the pretty feet!" 

"The devil! she is quite enchanting! beautiftd — beautiful! 
such ankles!" said a major of Reitres. 

^' She dances like a &diy, a trold, an £lle woman!" said the 
burgomaster s wife. 

" Or like the Lady Margarette of Skofgaard, who danced 
twelve knights to death 1" added the burgomaster, Dubbelsteim. 

" Herr Baron," said I to Baron Karl of Klosterfiord, a captain 
of Danish pistoliers, when the blue curtain had fallen, and the 
lady retired, "how is this fair damsel named 1" 

" We only know her as the Senora Prudentia Bandolo." 

" What a charming name for a woman so pretty ! " said a 
cavalier in crimson and gold lace, who accompanied the baron, 
and whom I recognised to be a Sleswiger. 

" Where does she live?" I asked carelessly. 

" I would give my best horse to know," replied the cavalier, 
laughing. 

The baron gave an expressive cough, and said — 

" You would not be half so foolish, Fritz." 

"But she involves herself in a cloud of mystery," replied 
EritsE, who was major of the Sleswig musketeers ; " and the feet 
is, she is a charming little darling, and would look very well 
riding at the head of our regiment." 

" Beside the chaplain, eh? Your staff would then be complete, 
Fritz," replied the baron laughing, and curling up his fair mus- 
taches. " Under protection of the truce between King Christian 
end the Emperor," he added, turning to me, "she has only come 



60 PHILIP BOLLO; 

to Gluckstadt until the troops march towards the Weser; and, asi 
she will dance here a hundred dollars into her purse every night, 
she may form a pretty prize for a foraging party, when we 
approach the frontiera of the empire." 

"Then we musketeers of Bleswig may have her, afker aH!" 
yawned Fritz, as he polished his cuirass with his gauntlet ; " do 
you know, Karl, that since she has been here among us, she ac^ 
tually pretends to have turned Protestant." 

"Pretends!" I reiterated, shocked at the manner in whidi 

these rough soldiers spoke of a being so beautiful; " surely you 

' mistake, for I think there is a great appearance of sincerity 

about her. I would say all was candour, and there was no 

concealment." 

" Do you judge by the fascination of her smile, or the scantiness 
of yonder Spanish petticoat 1" said the major, Fritz, still polishing 
his cuirass. 

"1 judge by her face; its expression is quite artless — she 
really does not seem to be aware of her own charms." 

"The devil! thou art quite smitten!" said the captain of 
pistoliers, with a boisterous laugh. " That idea amuses me ex- 
tremely ; I would give my best helmet to see a woman who was 
so little aware of her own beauty that she required to be told 
of it. I assure you, sir, that these pretty creatures are quite ad 
artificial as their scenery." 

The Sleswig cavalier pulled up his high ruff to conceal how 
he smiled; and, though I felt indignant at their severe remarks 
on the actress, there was such a frank, pleasant, and soldierly air 
about them both, that I could not quarrel with them. They were 
much alike, having both the same devil-may-care aspect; having 
mustaches shorn off at the corners of their mouths, with broad 
foreheads and bold restless eyes ; over his right temple the pisto- 
lier had a sword-cut, which was scarcely healed. After a pause — 

" I say, Fritz," said he; " have you, who are an enterprising 
genius, actually never discovered where this girl lives?" 

" How can I with certainty 1 No one knows any thing about 
where she lives — save that she does not live at home." There 
was a flourish of music. 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 61 

''Ece! the curtain rises again!" said M'Alpine, waving Lis 
bonnet; '' and again all eyes turn towards her, like flowers to- 
wards the sun." 

M7 goddess was again upon the stage, but in a very different 
dress. The scene disclosed was a £a,r stretching valley between 
beautiful mountaius; over one of these rose the pale light of the 
moon; on the other died away the last glow of the west; the 
calm current of a starlit river wound between the shaded hills, 
and the lofty arches of a ruined bridge spanned it; their down- 
ward shadows were reflected deep in the stream below. The 
white columns of a ruined temple, such as might have stood in 
Lybian deserts, arose on one side; on the other stood the red 
square keep of a guarded fortress, and dark Italian pine-woods 
threw their gloom around them. The white-orbed moon soared 
slowly into the blue sky, which became studded by innumerable 
stars; it edged the ruins, the rocks, the leaves, and the riplets of 
the stream below with a silvery wavering Hght; and, lo! there 
seemed to be nothing but objects of nature standing palpably 
before us. 

Clad in long and graceful drapery, which was white as snow, 
girdled by a glittering zone or bandelet below her rounded 
bosom, with her arms bare to those dazzling shoulders, on which her 
long hair rolled unbound, with a lyre in her hand, and a bright 
star sparkling on her radiant brow, Prudentia, as the Genius of 
Poetry, arose from the ruin of a fsdlen column, around which the 
leaves of the ivy, the vine, and acanthus were clustering, and came 
forward greeted by a storm of applause. I know not whether it 
was the style of her dress, or the subdued light around her; but 
she seemed paler, and if possible more beautiful, than before. 

The play was a tragedy, which I now remember not, neither 
have I any recollection of the other characters ; for all my ideas 
were absorbed by the fair Spanish Jigurar4e, who now made her 
appearance as a singer, and after a shoiii prelude on her lyre, the 
notes of which seemed to come from the orchestra, she began to 
warble, with all the sweetness of a little bird, a Spanish song, and 
it seemed to be somewhat like the serenade I had overheard her 
practising; and, however absurd it might seem for a maid of 



62 PHILIP BOLLO; 

llilagna Grsecia to sing in the language of Old £lastile, it served 
the honest Holsteiners quite as well as the purest Greek that was 
spoken in the days of Pythagoras. 

K I was entranced while this siren sung, I was equally 
delighted hy her acting. My heart beat like lightning ; but I 
had one source of disappointment — she neyer once turned her 
dark eyes towards me, nor seemed to obsei've me, although the 
balcony occupied by M* Alpine, the two other cavaliers, and 
myself, was made sufficiently conspicuous by the richness of onr 
dresses. I detected, however, one bright glance of recognition 
thrown among the closely packed masses of the pit; I followed 
the smiling glance, and discovered the round bullet-head and 
grey glistening eyes of our Hausmeister. 

Remembering the stuff he had so recently told me, about 
trolds and fairies and women who were hollow behind, I was 
making mental resolutions to punch a hole or two in his doublet, 
when the sudden descent of the curtain, and rapid extinction of 
half the lights, broke the spell of the place; but the voice of 
Prudentia still seemed to linger in my ear, as, in closing the 
epilogue, she sang the last verses of Lopez de Vega. 

'^ Will she appear again to night, Herr Bai^on?" I asked the 
captain of the pistoliers. 

" No, thank Heaven !" said he, yawning; " the drama is over.* 

" And I am tired to death,*' added Fritz, wrapping his mantle 
about him ; " why, Herr Ensign, you do not mean to say you 
could endure another hour of this 1'* 

I neither waited to see their covert smiles, nor bid them adieu, 
but avoided Ian and M*Alpine by mingling with the crowd, and 
hurried away, that I might see Prudentia as she left the theatre, 
or at least contrive to intercept her as she entered that 
mysterious house which seemed to be our common residence. 

After the glare and heat of the theatre for so many hours, ihe 
moonlit street seemed by contrast to be dark and cold. I rolled 
my plaid about me, and, in the shadow of a projecting doorway, 
stood watching at the comer of the Platz; still and sluggish as 
a stream of ink, the canal lay on one hand; the dark and dirty 
street, through which the crowd was dispersing, opened on th« 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. B$ 

other. The storks were making uncouth sounds on the gables 
overhead, and before me stood our tall mansion, the door of 
which (after my two friends had entered) was unclosed no more; 
and I watched in vain till the Laird of Craigie's drums began to 
beat reveHUe, and I heard the shrill fifes pouring the old Lowland 
air to the morning wind — 

" Cauld an' raw the wind does blaw, 
Oh, sicsl it's winter fiiirly; 
Bat though the hills be owre wi snaw. 
We maun up in the mornin* early!" 

Every person in Gliickstadt had long since retired to their 
homes, but I saw nothing of my charming actress, and re^ 
membered the remarkable observation of Major Fritz — ^that she 
lived every where but at home. 

I thought of Herr Boskilde, who seemingly had not returned 
cither, and my mind began to exchange its obstinacy for anger 
and jealousy. Grey morning stole along the waveless waters of 
the Elbe; the quaint houses threw their heavy shadows against 
each other; and the stars, which had been shining in the puddles 
of the unpaved streets, disappeared. The kites, the crows, and 
other ravenous birds, which, with the storks, formed then the 
only scavengers in Gliickstadt, were all busy burying their long 
bills among the heaps of mud and other debris of the silent 
streets, before it occurred to me that I looked very like a fool or a 
housebreaker, to be shivering there at such an untimeous hour. 

With this pleasant conviction I returned to my quarters, cold 
and weary, vexed and sleepy. 

On ascending the stair, I saw the broad hat, the brown cloak, 
and espadone of Herr Otto, hanging as usual on three pegs at 
the first landing-place; and, on pausing there for a moment, I 
heard him snoring as he did every night, like a sow-gelder wind- 
ing his horn. 

" 'Zounds l" said I, as I lay down to sleep completely mysti- 
fied ; " for one moment I have never taken my eyes from that 
door; none have entered but Ian and Angus Roy, and here is 
our Hausmeister, whom I left at the theatre, snorting com- 
fortably in his own bed ! " 



64 PHILIP BOLLOj 



CHAPTER XI. 

MT riBST aUASD. 

In my dreams s)ie danced again before me, and lier voice was 
lingering in my ear. I could still see that fEdry figure, with the 
star beaming on her brow, the robe of musHn, the glancing 
ankles and shoulders, and hear the notes of that modulated voice, 
whose accents were like the tinkle of fairy beUs. At twenty 
years of age, one only requires a day or two to fall (as one sup- 
poses) completely in love: — I was only twenty; the object of my 
secret adoration was beautiful, and I had seen her surrounded 
by all those accessories that will enhance beauty to the utmost 
extent. As a student, I had no time to fall in love; as a soldier, 
it seemed to be quite a matter of course — ^for I remembered the 
great Spanish novelist, who asserted that a soldier without a 
mistress, was like a ship without a compass. 

The moment I was out of bed and dressed, I instituted another 
search for her chamber door. 

" The very devil is in it !" said I, for none was visible. 

I was not so far gone in love as to lose my appetite; I made 
a hearty breakfast with my friends, put on my headpiece, corslet, 
kilt, and sword, and sallied forth to our place of arms. 

I was for guard that day, and marched with fifty musketeers 
of our regiment to relieve my cousin Ian at the old round tower 
and gate of Gliickstadt, which adjoined it. 

We approached the post with a pipe playing, our arms carried, 
and matches lighted. Ian drew out his guard in line to I'eceive 
us; his piper, in reply to ours, played the Mackaf/s Salute; then 
arms were presented, and the posts delivered over. 

"Now, Philip," said Ian, before he marched off the old guard, 



OB, THE SOOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 65 

*I have received from the governor, Sir David Drummond, in 
person, the most strict orders to examine all persons who pass 
or repass this bai-rier ; and these orders I was to deliver to you, 
who must in turn repeat them to your successor. It would seem 
that there are spies in the city, who communicate with the 
Imperialists. Two days after our landing here, our arrival and 
our strength were both known to the generals of the Empii-e; 
hence it is believed that Count Tilly will leave no means untried 
to cut us off on our march to join the king." 

"Indeed!" 

" Yes — as Sinclair's clan-regiment was cut to pieces among the 
Norwegian Alps; so look well to it, Philip Hollo, and see that 
none pass this gate without a written order fix)m Sir David 
Drummond." 

"And what of the burgomaster?" 

"Dioul! the burgomaster Dubbelsteim is under the baton 
just now. When a drum beats, the voice of law is dumb," re- 
plied Ian, throwing his plaid over his shoulders. 

"You will return, Ian, and share my dinner?" said I. 

"And why came you not to share mine yesterday? but I need 
scarcely ask. Doubtless you were searching all day for that 
iihaginary door, which leads to where the spirit lives." 

"Spirit?" 

" The Trold — did not that £sit Holsteiner tell us it was a fairy ?" 

" The Holsteiner is a lying poltroon," said I, with sudden pas- 
sion, "and I will trouble you to teU him that I said so; and, 
moreover, that I mean to run him through the body if he will 
afford me a proper opportunity." 

Ian left me laughing, and for some hours I sauntered dreamily 
on the gim platform of the tower, watching the gaudily painted 
and peculiarly built ships of the Liibeckers, the Hamburgers, and 
others who frequented the port, and were pouring in grain, beef, 
powder, and stores of every kind, for the use of that strong army 
which King Christian hoped to lead into central Germany. 
Among the foreign shipping were several bearing the blue 
Scottish ensign of St. Andrew, and others which displayed the 
white flag of England. 

VOL. I. F 



66 pmup HOLLO ; 

This guard being my first, I was of course extremely zealotrs^ 
I posted all the sentinels, and in person heard them deliver 
over their orders to each other, being resolved that, so far 
as I was concerned, no suspicious or unauthorised person 
should leave the gates of Gluckstadt. As none of my sentinels 
could speak any language but their native Gaelic, and persona 
requesting ingress and egress were brought before m6 every 
five minutes, the time was not permitted to hang heavily on my 
hands. 

A tall figure in the mountain garb, with a feather in his 
bonnet, and his belted plaid waving behind, with the tassels of 
his sporran and the hilt of his claymore sparkling in the sun- 
shine, came along the ramparts, under the trees which over- 
shadowed them, and cast also a comparative gloom on the 
yellow bosom of the turgid and barge-encumbered canal which 
lay below. Long before the Highlander had reached the steps 
of the wooden tower, and sprung up the platform, I recognised 
my handsome cousin, the chief and most stately gentleman of 
the great Clanchattan. 

** So you have seen her again ?" said he. 

"Who told you so, Ian ?" I asked. 

" Red Angus M'Alpine, who was with us at the tragedy last 
night." 

" I never told Angus that I recognised my unknown in the 
fair Spanish dancer." 

" Angus, the best huntsman between Strathalladale and 
Stratheam, is not so blind as a bat ; and, like many smart per- 
sons in this world, can see things without being told of them. 
He said, that you seemed to see nothing but her figure, and to 
hear nothing but her voice; to be all ear and eye — ^to devour 
every motion, and that you were a lost man. ' A lost man ! 
Angus Roy,' said I j * tuts ! think you my cousin, RoUo of the 
Craig, will forget that he is a gentleman of birth and coat^ 
armour, and that she is but a Spanish posture-maker, who 
exhibits her painted limbs at so much per night to all the boors 
of Gllickstadt. A pretty wife she would make to take home to 
Cromartie Firth, and to the old tower of OraigroUo 1 I wonder 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 6? 

if the old spoon of Sir Kingan would suit her dainty mouth !' 
And so you see, Philip, I quite laughed Angus out of the notion." 

I felt tha^t Ian was laughing a little at me, too j and the quick 
blood which had suffused my face while he was rallying me, 
announced that his suspicions were well founded, and that, if I was 
not fairly in love with the beautiful danzador, I was very near it. 

** Take care, Philip," said Ian, whose keen Highland eyes had 
been regarding me with a half smile under his bonnet ; " and 
beware, for there must be something shameful about her." 

" Shameful !" I reiterated, shocked at a word so disrespectful; 
" shameful, Ian ! " 

" Immoral, then — ^which you will," continued Ian Dhu a little 
doggedly, " or why the d — 1 does your damsel conceal herself so 
closely? I do not half like that beetle-browed tellow, Roskilde, 
either." 

" I dislike him wholly, and distrust him, too." 

" He has some bad reason for concealing her, depend upon it; 
but then, cousin Philip, you know 'tis no business of ours" 

" No — no — of coui"se not," said I, coughing, to conceal the 
annoyance I felt at the idea of their being a liaison between my 
beautiful Spaniard, and that hideous Holsteiner in the bombasted 
breeches and calfskin boots. 

"Ah, my faith!" I added, grasping my dirk, as my chagrin 
and perplexity broke forth — " to be supplanted by such a rival!" 

" Ay, a handsome cavalier like you, Philip, by a great bom- 
barde such as Herr Otto!" continued Ian, laughing. 

" I swear to you, by my existence, that I will cut his life ishort 
suddenly; for the fellow has laughed at me, and played the fool 
with me, too." 

" Let the poor man alone! What right have you to molest 
him, or search out his secrets with a sword-blade; besides, we 
march for the camp in a few days, and then, Philip, come battles 
and sieges, the leaguer and storm!" 

" But he has given me the lie." 

"Dioul! that is true," said Ian, gravely; "I had forgotten 
that. He insisted so sturdily that you were mistaken, and that 
she was a Trold, and so forth. You must exchange a few passes 



68 PHIUP BOLLO j 

with him, and rip up a yard of his great breeches, were it only 
to let a few pounds of bran out of them; or we might order 
Phadrig Mhor to fling him into the canal — ^but we will see about 
it to-morrow, when you come off guard." 

Ian had soon to leave me for the place of arms, where the 
regiment was exercised according to the rules prescribed by the 
Scottish officers in Denmark and Sweden ; for the king's orders, 
that we should be trained with the utmost expedition, were 
stringent, as his entire forces were soon to take the field against 
Count Tilly. 

The day passed on. 

I longed for the morrow, which was to jfree me from my duty, 
and leave me at liberty to unravel the mystery which surround- 
ed my beauty, and to punish the insolence of Roskilde, who had 
so openly trifled with my simplicity, and against whom I had 
conceived a most unmitigated aversion. Night, as it drew on, 
brought with it the sensations of irksome annoyance; for by the 
crowds which were passing into the Platz, I conjectured that 
my pretty actress was again upon that brilliant platform, with 
a thousand eyes bent in admiration on her graceful figure, her 
flowing dress and floating hair, her pure brow, and the star of 
light that beamed upon it; but, restrained by the strict ord^ 
about spies in the city, I could not visit the theatre to behold 
her again, or hear that soft voice, which memory brought ever 
and anon so palpably to my ear. 

The sun had set, and the storks retired to their nests on 
gable-nook and chimney-top; the canals turned from pale 
yellow to a muddy brown, and then became white, as the moon, 
partly obscured by a thin veil of gauzy mist, rose behind the 
square tower of the great church, and threw its bhick shadow 
far across the waters of the Elbe. That broad river seemed then, 
by the moonlight reflected fi:om fleecy clouds, white and spotless 
as milk; but the shadows of its shores were black and opaque, 
for its depths gave back the strong and clear, but' inverted, 
outline of every chimney-head and pointed roof — of every tree^ 
and boat, and barge— just as one may see them in the picture9 ot 
the Low Country masters. 



OBy THE SCOTTIBH MXTSKETEEBS. 69 

A vault of the fortifications was appropriated for the guard- 
room of the officer on duty at the wooden tower (or the 
Tower of Bats, as it should have been named), and there I sat 
ruminating, and watching the figures of the chahging embers, 
which burned on the stone hearth, and endeavouring to decipher 
(by the light of a candle, which stood in an iron holder on the 
fir table) the innumerable caricatures of the Emperor Ferdinand, 
of Count Tilly, of Count Carlstein, and the Duke of Friedland, 
with which my predecessors had disfigured the plastered walls, 
frequently representing the whole four hanging on one gallows, 
held up by the devil, from whose mouth proceeded scrolls full 
of Danish invectives and low German ribaldry. 

I then betook me to reading Captain Jean de Beaugue's 
Histoire de la Guerre D'^Ecosse, with his campaigns there in 
1548 and 1549, and had become deeply interested in the assault 
made by M. de la Mothe Eonge with his arquebussiers, and the 
chief of the Kerrs with his clan, upon the Tower of Phemiherst, 
and its garrison of English archers, whom they cruelly cut to 
pieces, making literally and savagely a foot-ball of their com- 
mander's head, when I was interrupted by my sergeant, Diarmed 
M'Gillvray, a cadet of the femily of Drumnaglas, who came to 
inform me that Gillian M'Bane (a short and thickset clansman 
from the braes of Bannoch), who was sentinel at the tower-gate^ 
had captured a very suspicious-looking pei'sonage; and that, as 
Gillian was sorely puzzled to know whether he had taken a 
man, woman, or goblin, Diarmed begged I would come with him 
to the post. 

On arriving at the archway, the strong gate of which was 
closed all save the klinket, or wicket of three palisades, we 
foimd Gillian M'Bane swelling with importance, and standing on 
his guard, with his musket charged breast high, and ever and 
anon he blew the match, the lurid light of which glowed 
on his dark tartans, his steel cap, red beard, and brick-red face, 
shedding a crimson glow over them all; and he was uttering 
hoarse threats in Craelic, for the dress and &Lce of the prisoner 
he had made, were fully calculated at least to startle and perplex 
his unsophisticated mind' 



f PHILIP SOLLO; 

I immediately perceived the captured person to be a woman^ 
who wore a mask of purple velvet, which, though a common 
enough article of apparel in the cities of the Lowlands, had 
never been seen so far north as the Blaok Mountain, or the 
shores of the Uisc Dhu. Hence the alarm of Gillian, on 
beholding a purple face with two eyes that shone through it like 
stars. The female, who was rather undersized, woi'e an enormous 
French hood, a plain buffin gown, and green silk apron, like the 
smart little wife of a citizen of Holstein. 

" You have a pass I presimie, from the governor, Sir David 
DrummondT' 

" I have left it at home," replied the little mask, in German 
nearly as bad as my own, but in a tone that made me start. 

" Your are of Sleswig, I think 1" 

"Si, amor — that — that is — Mein Herr," she added with 
evyient consternation. My heart seemed to rise to my lips ! 

" You have betrayed yourself," I replied, trembling in turn, 
for I knew my actress in a moment. Oh, how could I fail to 
recognise that charming voice ! 

" I swear to you, Mein Herr, that you mistake me for some 
one else. I am the poor little wife of a citizen, Juliane Eichhorn — 
who sells groceries in the Biirger-platz. My husband has been 
maltreated by the boors, and is lying in deadly peril at a farm- 
house, some ten miles distant. A hundred yards from the gate 
1 am to meet a messenger, who will tell of his health. Oh, Mein 
Herr! excuse me — excuse the order; for I swear that I have lost 
it, and am dying with anxiety to hear how my husband — my 
dear husband — my Reichardt, is." 

All this was said with such an air of candour and sincerity, 
and accompanied by so many sobs and tears, that I was greatly 
moved and perplexed. Duty on one hand urged me to send her 
back to the city or guard-house, from whence, if her story was 
false, she might be sent to the Rasp-haus;. curiosity, love, and 
jealousy, all prompted me to fathom the story, and send her on 
her mission. 

"I will follow her for a hundred yards or so — ^'tis only a 
lalcon shot from the gate," said t; "but, lest there should be 



OR, THE gOOTTISa MUSKETEERS. 71 

treachery, lend me your pistols, Diarmed, and if you hear me fird 
send out a few files to my assistance. You may pass, lady," said 
I in Spanish, " but pray excuse my accompanying you." 

I led her through the klinket, stuck Diarmed's pistols — a 
handsome pair of Highland pops, mounted with silver and 
bushed with gold — ^in my belt, and, with a mixed feeling of 
curiosity and apprehension, followed my mysterious little dancer; 
with curiosity and eagerness to make her acquaintance, and appre- 
hension lest I might be led into some, wicked ambush, or be found 
absent from my guard when the governor went his rounds, 
which he did every night at a certain hour. And what think 
you decided me in perpetrating this rashness? only a glimpse of 
a pretty foot and ancle, as my dancer was about to step through 
the klinket! 

- Avoiding the road which led to Crempen, she struck into a 
solitary pathway that led between low hedgerows, along the 
jojorth bank of the Elbe. 

" Senora," said I, in Spanish, " you walk very fast." 

" ^enor— I walk as I please," she replied in the same language. 

" Oho ! then you acknowledge that you are not of Sleswig, but 



" I acknowledge nothing," she replied, with some asperity. 

"And that Jrou are not the little wife of a citizen who sells 
groceries, but the charming Prudentia?" 

" I acknowledge nothing," she repeated, but with a smile that 
shewed her fine teeth under the dark mask. 

" But I have every reason to suppose " • 

^ Cavalier, yoii may suppose just what you please. I am outside 
4;he barrier now; ha, ha!" aad she laughed. 

" But I may take you prisoner yet." 
.. ** Scarcely," said she, with another of her ringing" laughs, as her 
small jewelled hand held before me the blade of a short but 
sharp stiletto of polished steeL > 

•* The devil! — ^bright eyes and a dagger!— 'tis quite a tragedy 
this!" 
; ** It may end as a comedy, if you are kind to me." ' ' 

" WeU," said I, " the hour i^ late| here is midnight filing 4h 



72 PHILIP BOLLO; 

the steeple of the great church — allow me to act properly as your 
cavalier, and I shall be delighted." 

^'Many thanks, senor/' she replied, and took my profilmed 
hand. My heart beat like lightning; my head became giddy. 
Was it possible that I could be alone — at midnight, too — ^with 
that beautiful being, half woman, half fairy ? I knew not what 
to say, and the light pressure of her little hand on mine, sent 
every moment a thrill to my heart, but then the other lay on 
the hafb of a dagger! 

We seem to love very truly at twenty — ^then it is quite an 
enthusiasm, a second nature that can feed itself on smiles and 
sighs; but, with all this, I could not help reflecting that Pru- 
dentia was leading me a devil of a distance. I thought of my 
guard, and trembled lest Sir David should discover my absence — a 
catastrophe which would lead to inevitable degradation, and real- 
ise all the prophecies of my father. My companion addressed me — 

" Senor, you have become very silent — cannot you speak, to 
enliven this dreary road?" 

" I was thinking, senora, how charming you looked last night 
— and how adorably you sang." 

" A great many have told me that fifty times." 

" Then you must have a great many lovers?" 

" Do you think that all who see me, love mel" 

" If I judge from my own heart, I would say ^ 

"What '' 

" Yes — ^that they must be compelled to do so," I added, with 
a tremulous voice. 

^Oh, that is delightful! but recollect, senor, that though I 
shall be most happy to have you for my friend, my lover you 
cannot be." 

" Come— that is not bad," said I, assuming somewhat of her 
tone of raillery, while her frankness charmed me. '* I must^ of 
course, be your Mend Jirst, sefiora." 

" And then ** she added archly. 

" Ah ! there is no saying what I may be." 

" Oh I 'tis quite a compact — we shall be friends ! " she added, 
laughing and clapping her hands. 



OB, THE SOOmSH MUSKETEERS. 7$ 

*' I trust 70a have not much further to go/* said I, as we ap- 
proached the muddy margin of the Elbe ; " for I fear me greatly, 
I am already liable to be tried by a court-martial" 

" Conaejo de guerra?" she repeated, turning on me her bright 
eyes, which shone like stars through the holes in her mask. 
^ I should be miserable if I occasioned that ; but you need come 
no &rther. My husband's messenger is standing under yonder 
tree, and, as I have no wish that you should hear all the tender 
messages my Eeichardt sends me, I beg you will stand here 
until I return." 

" By that wicked smile I see you have no husband." 

^' You shall see that I have; but on your honour, as a soldier 
and cavalier, do not follow me, and permit none to approach ns." 

" Whoever does so, must pass over my body," said I, unsheath- 
ing my claymore. 

With a light step she hurried to the water-side, where, from 
under the shadow of a group of wUlows, I saw a tall male figure 
st«p out of a boat, which lay concealed among the thick long 
reeds. To Prudentia he made a bow, the brevity, or rather 
hauteur of which, was indicated by the lofty nod of his feathers, 
and then they entered into conversation, and I saw her deliver 
into his band a packet, which he placed in his breast. 



74 PHILIP BOLLO; 



CHAPTER XIL 

WHO PKm)ENTIA'S SPOtTSE PROVED TO BE. 

The moon shone palely througb a thin if hite Imze that floated 
over the Elbe; the level shore lay all sunk in dark shadow, and 
its reflection in the water was darker still. The riyer bad still 
the same white appearance, and, where edged by the moon- 
beams, the drooping foliage of the group of willows seemed 
turned to bright crystal. 

" Zounds!" thought I; " if it should really prove a husband, 
afber all !" and I could not repress a sensation of bitterness and 
jealousy, when I saw Prudentia in dose oonversation with a tal]^ 
swinging fellow. 

\ A. brighter gleam of the moon revealed this person to me; 
he was a richly accoutred cavalier, and, being partly armed, his 
polished corslet glittered, and his white plumes were nodding in 
the breeze. 

" Oho !" said I ; " this is neither a citizen who keeps a booth 
in the Burger-platz, nor a citizen's messenger; but a stout fellow 
who, like myself, feeds him with the blade of his good bilbo." 
Then, all at once, a horrible suspicion came over me. " Heavens! 
if Prudentia is the spy Sir David Drummond referred to I It 
must be so — else, whence all this mystery and contradic- 
tion? 

I cocked one of M^Gillvray's pistols, blew the match, and, con- 
sidering that my suspicions .warranted a closer examination, 
advanced boldly with my sword drawn, and discovered that a 
low flat boat, with six armed men, was concealed close by among 
the sedges of the bank. 

" Now, sir, what seek you here?" I asked the tall cavalier, 



OB, THE aCOTTISQ MUSKETEERS. 75 

who wore a broad hat with white feathers, and over whoFje 
shoulder I recognised the crimson and gold scarf of our enemies, 
the Imperialists. 

The stranger, who was an eminently handsome man, though 
advanced in years, passed a hand hurriedly across his brow, but 
left the senora to reply, which she did by laying a hand upon 
her poniard, and demanding of me, with considerable asperity, 
if it was thus I kept my word? 

" Senora," said I, "my good-nature has been imposed upon; 
while I was told that you were, what I could not believe you to 
be — the wife of a citizen; or rather, while I believed you to be 
but an actress^ I kept my post without advancing one step; 
but when I had every reason to believe that you were betraying 
xme, by conversing with an^Jmperialist officer, I considered it my 
duty to come hither and arrest him." 

"In time of truce!" said the cavalier, hastily. 
,, " Truce, or no truce — yield, or I will shoot you through the 
head." 
.. The Imperialist uttered a loud laugh. 

" Stay, my young callant," said he, unsheathing his long 
toledo, and speaking with a strong Scottish accent; "I hope 
my convenience is to be consulted a little^ both in the matter of 
shooting and taking." 

.' "A Scotl" said I ; "and under the banner of the Emperor 
Ferdinand 1" 

, " When you see the Scottish musfketeers of Leslie, Gordon, and 
•Carlstien in order of battle, you will find that Scots are no rarity 
in Austria. Yes, young gentleman," said he emphatically, lower- 
ing the point of his rapier; " a brother Scot, but, like yourself 
perhaps, a poor soldier of fortune. Come, let us be friends. Y our 
hand, for I love your spirit ; and my heart warms at the sight of 
^he tartan, as at the face of an old friend whom one bias not 
seen for many a year. You serve the Chief of the Protestant 
Jj^gae — I the Catholic , Emperor; but we have come from the 
same land, and in boyhood may have climbed the same hill, and 
4rod on the samej^eather.. "Kie fortune of war which places me 
in thy power to-day, ttuiy,p]ftC^>tbQe imnine to-morrow ; so lef 



76 PHILIP BOLLO; 

118 never forget that we are kindly Scots, and that off the battle- 
field all soldiers are brothers. Seek not to know my errand^ 
but return to your guard, which the senora tells me you have so 
foolishly left (under old Tilly, or the Count of Carlstien, that would 
involve the penalty of death) ; but return before you are di^ 
covered, and return with the conviction that you have had a nar- 
row escape, for in my boat are six desperate fellows, who at a word 
from me would have blown you to pieces with their calivers. 
Excuse me, sir, if, instead of my name, and as a small gift to a 
countryman, I bestow on you this gold chain;" and, as he con- 
cluded, he threw around my neck a heavy chain, which adorned 
his own, bowed to the sefiora, sprang on board of his boat, and 
in another moment I saw the blades of the muffled oars plashing* 
as six rowers pulled hastily away towards the Bremen side of the 
Elbe. 

I again offered my hand to the dancer, and led her back to- 
wards the town. After we had proceeded a little way in silence, 
which I suppose she found somewhat tiresome — 

" Ah, senor!" said she, "you no longer talk with me. I per* 
ceive you are displeased." 

" Nay, sefiora; but I am grieved." 

" At whati That I am not a citizen's wife?" 

" No; but at your capability, pardon me — ^for deceit." 

" Ah sefior, there is no deceit in serving one's country, or one's 
religion ; and, in serving the Emperor, I aid the cause of both." 

" But to be a spy — a spy ! oh it is an occupation so base, so 
horrible, that the person proved to be one, is deemed worthy of 
instant hanging, without judge or jury, mercy or remorse." 

" You tell me this," said she, pausing suddenly; ** and yet I 
am going back among you." 

As she spoke, the winning softness of the woman disappeared 
from her blue — almost black — eyes, and a red dusky fire, such aa 
might have filled the orbs of a fiillen angel, sparkled in them ; 
and she placed her hand in her bosom, where the dagger waa 
concealed. 

" Trust to me, sefiora," said I, " rather than to that holiday 
poniard, which, to say the least of it——" 



OBy THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 77 

^ I trusted at yonder willows^ and was deceived. You gave 

xae your word " 

" Not to interrupt your t^te-a-t^te, with Keichardt, who sells 

groceries in the Bnrger-pktz, or his messenger; but I knew not 

ihat the latter would come in the shape of an Imperialist officer." 

The fire of her eyes passed away, and they assumed a pensive 

and caressing expression. 

" Senor, you task my temper too much," she said, in a broken 
voice; ** I take Heaven — el Altissimo Dios — witness, that I am 
a poor but honest girl — a poor actress, and the victim of cir- 
cumstances. I appear richly dressed, with jewels on my brow 
and smiles on my &ce; the bright lights are before me, and the 
gay scenery behind. I see a thousand admiring eyes ; I sing — 
I seem happy; but oh, sefior, this is often with an aching heart, 
and withal my life is miserable." 

" And yet,*' said I, moved to hear a sob from this creature of 
so many impulses — " and yet I have heard you singing so merrily 
at times." 

" Every heart will have at least a placid moment among its 
many sad hours, and I have mine. One day you may know all 
my secrets ; but not now — not now — here is the gate." 

" Ah, senora ! after our adventure of to-night, surely you do not 
mean to preserve your incognito towards me? What is the 
. aecret of that confounded door, which has so puzzled me, and 
made me the laughing-stock of my friends?" 

" If I should decline, in revenge you will perhaps discover me 
to the burgomaster, who would pull yonder house down to 
reach me." 

" Oh, horror I betray you! can you harbour such a thought? 

Then do not tell me — ferewell — I have no wish to know " 

" I love your frankness, and wiU tell you. On reaching the 
.. first landing-place of the stair, remember to pursue the passage 
to the left — look behind the first door on the right, and press a 
black spot which you will perceive on the wall. To-morrow I 
will expect you; a million of thanks for your kind escort, and 
far to-night, my dear senor — ^adieu!" 

She kissed her hand to me gracefully, sprang through the 



78 PHILIP KOLLO; 

kliuket of the barrier, and had disappeared before Gillian 
M^Bane, could challenge her approach. - • 

" Quick to your post, Craigrollo,** cried he; " for the governor 
is going his rounds — he is approaching." 

I heard the piper of the guard plajdng the salute, and in the 
moonlight saw Diarmed M*Gillvray drawing up the ranks under 
arms. I hurried to my place in front, just as the governor, Sit 
David Drummond, a grey old soldier, wearing a broad beaver 
hat garnished with a white feather, and having a white sheep- 
skin . doublet over his buff coat, rode up, attended by two of 
Rittmaster Hume's regiment of horse. 

" Young cavalier," said he, " I pray you keep sure watch and 
ward; see that all ingress and egress is prevented, for there are 
spies in the city, and the very route of our troops to join the 
army is known the moment it is written. Believe me, sir, mf 
most secret orders are revealed. I dare scarcely think of them, 
and much less write them, for some demon seems to inhaUt 
Gliickstadt." 

My heart tingled, and my cheek reddened with shame, as he 
rode off. My soldiers, especially M'Gillvi-ay and M'Bane, had 
seen the little actress, and, if they betrayed us, both she and I 
were lost. But, happily, they were all related to that great 
federal tribe to which my mother belonged — the brave Clan- 
chattan; and thus, in security, I rolled my plaid around me, and 
lay down on the hard bench in the guard-room, to dream bf 
Pmdentia, and the pleasures of the coming day. 



OR, THE SCOTTISH aiUSKETEERS. 



CHAPTER XIIL 

TWO HISSES FOR TEN DOUBLOONS. 

f Kext iQomiiig, the moment my guard was relieved by M*Coll 
of that Ilk and a new party, I hurried to my quarters, and found 
that both Ian and M'Alpine were at exercise in the Place of 
Arms. My heart beat lightly with pleasure and expectation ; 
for there was a charm in the beauty of the senora, and the 
4tmosphere of mystery surrounding her, that enhanced her value 
to an admirer so young as I ; and I was further encouraged, by 
having heard the Baron Karl of Klosterfiord, and other cavaliers 
of the urmy, say that, in their loves and amours, the women of 
Spain and Italy always preferred strangers to their own country- 
men, who were apt to place too great restraint upon them. 

With peculiar care I dressed my locks, which were then very 
iong, parting them feirly on the top of my head, in the fashion 
just then introduced by that true saint and martyr, his majesty 
King Charles I. of sacred memory,* and having a love -lock 
hanging &r down on one side. I sighed for some more mus- 
tache, for at twenty one has such a scanty appendage of that 
kind« I put on my best buff coat, laced with silver, and 
listened my kilt with a diamond buckle, where the end came 
over my left shoulder, forming the true hreacom fheile of the 
Celtic soldier. I had a ruff of point lace, and a falling band, 
over which I hung the magnificent gold chain of the Imperialist ; 
a white satin scarf sustained my claymore on one side, and my dirk 
studded with Scottish topazes and gold-coloured stones from 
Cairngorm. After the most careful arrangement of all this 

* Thougii OUT soldier served in Germany, his oayalier principles are evident. 



80 PHIUP BOLLO; 

militaiy foppery, I descended the stair with a beating hear^ io 
seek the secret entrance to the bower of la seiiora Bandolo. 

^ Ah, if she shonld have deceived me ! " thought 1, with a pang^ 
^ but here is the landing-place, and there is the passage to the 
left." 

The first door to the right stood open, and close against ibe 
wall I looked behind it, discovered the important Uack spot 
indicated hj the sefiora^ and pressed it with a tnmbling hand, 
A spring clicked, and a door suddenly opened ri^fit throng the 
paneled wall of this passage, the wainscoting of which had 
hitherto completely concealed it. At the other end, I saw the 
chamber of Prudentia, whose retreat this close-fitting panel and 
double passage had always protected, when she chose conceal- 
ment. The moment I entered, the charming actress arose from 
her little sofiE^ and hastened to receive me. 

" So you have discovered my secret at last, sefior ; how dioll 
that you should never have found it till now! I am so happy 
you have come, that I may thank you for your exceeding kind* 
ness last night. Our walk was very pleasant — and, hola ! it has 
quite given you a complexion!*' she added with a laugh, as a 
flush crossed my cheek. 

While Prudentia ran on in this way, and while I seated my- 
self near her on the little sofiE^ I know not what answers I 
returned, being wholly dazzled by her presence, and the per&ct 
ease of manner she exhibited. I cannot analyse what attract- 
ed me towards her; the idea of marriage had never occurred to 
me; at the outset of a campaign, that would be very like run- 
ning full tilt against a cannon's mouth. I thought it was merely 
for the pleasure of enjoying the society of a girl more charming 
and beautiful than I had ever met; and yet it must have been 
more than that ; for my mind was full of passion and passionate 
words, which an excessive timidity repressed. I have no doubt 
that this timidity and admiration were expressed in my face; for 
when the senora looked at me from under her long silky lashes, her 
eyes glittered with the most beautifrd smiles. She was invincibly 
seducing; but there were times when her^ expression became 
BJi^g^iUr and inexplicable. 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEKS. 81 

If she had appeared magnificent in her stage costume, the 
simplicity of her morning dress made her more handsome than 
ever. She wore a plain black satin fardingale, a long stomacher 
with an open bosom, and a high close rufi*j her arms were bare 
to the elbow. She had a comb, and a square of black lace, 
which from the back of her head fell gracefully over her neck 
and shoulders ; and nothing in this world could be more pretty 
than the little foot and embroidered cordovan slipper, which 
rested on a footstool, and was made rather more than visible 
as she reclined back among the soft downy cushions of the sofa. 
The carved hilt of her little poniard appeared at times through 
a slash in her boddice ; all her dress was plain and black, and 
nothing remained of the dazzling danzador but the roguish 
smile, the brilliant teeth, and those beautiful Spanish eyes, with 
their alternate animation and subdued fire. Young, and long 
a stranger to female society (by the seclusion of my college life), 
I was timid ; she saw I was so, and, with the kindest good- 
nature, proceeded by her prattle to relieve me from my dilemma. 
" I trust, senor, your absence was not discovered last night?" 
" Fortunately it was not." 
"If so, what would have been the penalty]" 
" Degradation, by sentence of a military court." 
" And for me you ran that risk?" 
" For you, senora, I would risk any thing — ^my life!" 
** Senor — ^you quite overpower me." 

** Ah, senora Prudentia,"said I, with true and honest concern for 
her; " I tremble for your safety! do not, I beseech you — do not 
venture on such errands again. Had another cavalier been on 
guard at the gate of the Elbe, and had you been taken 

prisoner " 

" I would have smiled, and gained my liberty. I have been 
wrong, I knowj but ah! surely," she added, casting down her* 
fine eyes, " you cannot blame me for serving my religion, my 
country and king — for Spain leagues with Austria in this war 
against Christian of Denmark and Gustavus of Sweden. Besides, 
as a woman, I am alike ignorant of the laws of war, and the high 
punctilio of military honour." 

VOL. I. Q 



82 PHILIP HOLLO ; 

" But 70U know the fiite of— of — ^a secret informer," said I; 
for in such a presence the hateful word spy £dtered on my 
tongue. 

" No " she replied, pouting. 

" They are hanged on the first tree." 

" Madre de Dios! and would you be so barbarous to a lady?" 

" Senora,*' I continued, with the most sincere feeling; " from 
this gulf I would gladly save you. Tremble for us both, if the 
escapade of last night is discovered — for I would not survive 

you. 

(Here was a, good shot!) She laughed when I became so 
serious; then pouted her ruby lips, shook back her black tresses^ 
and, reclining on the so&, looked at me with a droll and languish- 
ing expression in her half-closed eyes, saying — 

" What, sefior, are you in love with me?" 

" Oh yes ! senora," I replied, quite overwhelmed by this naivete ; 
" indeed — indeed, you do not know how much I love you !** 

At forty I could not have said more. She still continued to 
smile, and murmured — 

" Ah, my heavens, he loves me ! but, o mal hayas tu^ she added, 
" there is no such love on earth as that of which the poets sing 
and romances tell us." 

" It will ever be where you are, Prudentia," I continued, ven- 
turing to take her hand in mine, and feeling how feist a wliirl of 
thoughts was coming over me. At that moment I heard a 
sound. 

It was like a cough behind the wainscot. 

I turned, but saw nothing. Had I looked more closely, a grey 
eye would perhaps have been discovered, glistening through a 
hole in the wood, from which a knot had &llen. 

"Oh no!" continued the senora, hurriedly; "Lopez de Rueda 
of Seville, Juan Timoneda, and Alonzo de la Yega^ have all sung 
of love, and portrayed their lovers, but none such exist. Now 
hear me, senor," said she, gazing fully at me with her large dark 
eyes ; " I would not, for the whole kingdom of Castile, be troubled 
with a regular fit of love, and all its accompaniments of hope, fear, 
and anxiety. Oh no I the whole ambition of my life has been to 



OB^ THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 83 

please and receive adulation — ^to dazzle and be adored — ^but at a 
distance. Now," she continued, withdrawing her hand and cast- 
ing down her eyes, only to raise them more seducingly than ever ; 
" oh ! I love so to be surrounded by admirers ; to hear the plaudits 
of the crowd — the shouts that ring from pit to ceiling; to see the 
lights, with the music, the scenery, the joyous dance ; and could 
I give up all these to sit and mope beside a man — and that man 
my husband? — oh horror, never!" 

I might have been confounded by this morality, but for the 
tragi-comic tone in which she spoke, and the playful manner in 
which she had continued to draw off and on her tiny glove, to 
show the whiteness and beauty of her hand. 

** And do you think," said I, in the same manner, "that I can 
give up my hopes of glory and renown, the joyous society of my 
comrades, the pride of their achievements, the roll of the drum 
and the blare of the trumpet, to mope beside a woman, and that 
woman my wifel Remember the words of your countryman, 
Matias de los Bheyes. * One would imagine, after considering how 
Adam lost his innocence, Samson his power, Asher his constancy, 
David his holiness, and Solomon his wisdom, by having a wife, that 
a man would examine what measure he possessed of all these good 
qualities, before he committed himself to the marriage state.' But 
is it really possible that one so beautiful cares not to be loved 1" 

" I have not said so." 

^' Ah, senoral I think that life would be valueless without the 
pleasures love strews on its way." My voice actually became 
tremulous. "Tut!" thought I; "'tis only a little actress." 
But she had the eyes of a queen ! 

" And you love me — how droll it is !" 

^' Dearest Prudentia," said I, becoming quite giddy with 
pleasure, as I timidly placed a hand on each side of her slender 
waist; " dearest Prudentia, with my heart — with my soul I do I" 

"O los ojos negros!" she exclaimed playfully, as with her 
pretty hands she patted my eyebrows. The blood rushed to my 
temples — -I ventured to kiss her cheek, and then drew back, 
abashed at my own temerity; but the graceful girl merely 
iaughed, and sai^l--* 



8i PHILIP BOLLO; 

" I assure you, Senor Don Philip, that if any other person but 
you had ventured to do that, I should have been exceedingly 
angry." With a being so playful and artificial as Prudentia, I 
did not reflect how much good and sincere feeling I was perhaps 
lavishing before the shrine of a goddess who might yield me no 
reward ; but, as I kissed her, my whole soul seemed to ti-emble 
on my lips, for I was but a boy — an ardent and impassioned boy. 
In Prudentia nothing charmed me more, next to her winning 
manner, than the luxuriance, the gloss, and the lustre of her 
magnificent hair. It was her most glorious ornament ; &stened 
by two pearl pins, which contrasted so well with its blackness, it 
towered behind in rich braids, and fell over her neck in a shower 
of ringlets. I have heard it remarked that women of good 
hearts and happy dispositions, have ever the most luxuriant 
hair and the finest teeth. 

" 'Tis all very well to get pretty presents from lovers," said she; 
" to have them applauding my songs and dances, to have them 
for laughing with and talking to; but as for marrying — ^pho! I 
can never many!" 

"Never!" I repeated, not knowing very well what to say; for 
much as I loved her, and I did so with all the heedless ardour of 
twenty — I had not considered the chances of a climax so awfuL 

" No — never! look, at these two couples on the benches under 
those trees on the rampart. There is a gentleman with a scarlet 
cloak and white feather; see how earnestly he talks to the young 
lady in the hoop fardingale; he looks into her eyes, as if he 
would there read what passes in her heart, but her eyes are cast 
down, and timidly she plays with her fan, and now with the fringe 
of her stomacher; she is pleased and confused — he earnest and im- 
passioned ; 'tis the Baron Karl, of the pistoliers, and the burgo- 
master's daughter — they are lovers ! Nearer, look at that cavalier 
in the barrelled doublet and calfskin boots, who sits beside a lady in 
a coif and veil. He looks superbly vacant at the still waters of the 
canal, while the lady gazes quite as listlessly down the vista of the 
opposite street. Ay de mi ! they are married 1 'Tis a conjugal 
t^te-^t^te — a married pair seriously employed 1 Dost think that 
I could ever come to that, and live? Santos, no I Qive m^- 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 85 

plenty of admirers, but never a husband, until I am as old as 
dame KrumpeL See yonder dames — one in a red and the 
other in an orange fardingale. They are an old baroness and a 
countess — ^yet they are the most miserable women in the world. 
One has had two husbands without any children — the other has 
two children and no husband." 

« How " 

" He was killed at LiLtter," said the senora, with a burst of 
laughter. 

I was somewhat silenced. I knew not whether to be per- 
plexed or pleased by her curious morality and strange flow of 
spirits ; but the warnings of Ian came to my memory. 

"Believe me, senor, I am very happy as I am; marriage is 
only a traffic in which two people try to cheat each other, as 
sharpers would with cogged dice. 

I saw that nothing would be made of this little one by gra- 
vity, and resolved to encounter her with some of that banter 
which one picks up so readily at camp and college, when she 
resumed — 

" And you would have me to go with you to the camp — ha ! ha ! 
where I shotdd be scared by the aspect of your bareknee'd Scots." 

" Nay, senora, I had no such intention. The camp is not the 
place for one so fair — so tender. "Women should never be thera 
Old Anacreon, who describes female beauty as being more 
powerful than fire or steel, was convinced of the impropriety of 
women going to war, as they were meant only for a soft and 
luxurious life." 

"How!" exclaimed my actress, after the manner of Medea, 
in the tragedy of Euripides; "dost thou not know that I would 
rather stand thrice in the ranks of war, than once endure the 
pains of childbirth?" 

Then, blushing with the most charming modesty at the 
vehemence she had betrayed, she said — 

" Did you not hear some one laughing 1" 

** I heard something behind the wainscot, again." 

** Tis a rat scratching — the place is full of those animals; but 
now, ai^k>T^ joh must go, for I expect another visitor. 



86 PHILIP ROLLO j 

" A visitor," said I, as my old jealousy of the Hausmeister 
returned; " I vow to you I will not go ; for if this visitor is a 
man I will run him through the brisket." 

" Now, senor, do retire if you please; why linger?" 

" Because I am so fond of speaking to pretty women." 

" Doubtless you think to conquer in the field of Cupid, as 
Tilly and Wallenstein do in the field of Mars." 

" Your friends the Imperialists will have another tale to tell 
at Vienna, when Lord Nithsdale's nine thousand Scots unfurl 
their banners against them." 

" Senor — ^go — for now you annoy me." 

" I am incapable of doing so." 

" You tire me, then," she said, sharply. 

" I am deeply sorry for that." 

Pinidentia saw that I was not to be beaten. A sudden gleam 
shot over her eyes ; but she laughed, and half turning her back 
to me, began to read the comedy of " Florinea." 

" How very iinkind of you — to be displeased, because I still 
wish to talk with you!" said I, still bent on banter. 

"Of what?" 

"The admiration with which you inspire me." 

" 'Tis all very fine," she replied, keeping her back to me ; " but 
none will love me as I would wish to be." 

" In what way would you be loved, senora." 

" To desperation." Then she burst into another fit of laughter, 
and I caught the rogue looking at me over her snow-white shoul- 
der. " Senor Don Philip," said she, suddenly closing her comedy; 
" could you lend me six doubloons — it would be such a fevour — 
and then, as there is no play to-night, if you will dine with me^ 
they shall be returned then with a thousand thanks." 

" I have just ten doubloons in the world seilora, but they are 
at your service," said I, and, opening the mouth of my sporran, 
which was a gift from Ian, and secured by a remarkable spring, I 
handed over the whole money I had received firom the regimental 
scrivener to maintain me on our march towards the Weser. 
Prudentia laughed excessively at the fashion of my Highland 
purse, and put both her hands into it. To resist kissing her 



OE, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 87 

again was impossible; and for that I would have given ten times 
ten doubloons. 

" A*dios ! senor Caballero, at three I will see you again ; then 
we shall have such a nice little dinner, and a game at chess, or 
something else. Do not forget." 

" Forget 1" I exclaimed, kissing her hand ; " how could I live 
and forget f 1 hurried away, and the mysterious door closed 
behind me. 

My heart was brimming with delight; I paused a moment in 
the passage, and heard a sound like the voice of the Hausmeister. 
He seemed to be laughing somewhere, but it might be my own 
fancy. 

In addition to my own pay, I had lent Prudentia five doub- 
loons of poor lan's ; so I did not wish to see him until after 
dinner, which was yet two hours distant, and, leaving the city, 
I took a quiet stroll along the sunny bank of the Elbe. 



88 PHILIP BOLLO: 



CHAPTER XIY. 

I PREVAIL ON PBUDBKTIA TO ACCEPT OF A BING. 

I WANDERED long among the fields and green hedges by the 
margin of the river, musing on the sudden success of my love 
affair, marvelling how or where it was all to end, and unable to 
determine, whether I was a fortunate youth or a prodigious 
fool. I was very much in love with Prudentia ; yet on reflection 
could not but acknowledge to myself, that to marry her, at the 
outset of my career as a soldier of fortune, would be very like 
tying a cannon-shot to my heels ; and would inevitably curb 
my pursuit of that honour and fortune, which I had hoped to 
win by my sword in the Grerman war. But Prudentia was so 
beautiful, so winning and attractive — she possessed such a 
piquant manner and mode of expression — that I was completely 
blinded to the fature, aud felt myself falling helplessly into 
the snare which the little god had laid for me. 

At the shop of a Jew in the Burger-platz I procured a 
handsome ring for Prudentia. For this I was to pay on the 
morrow, when she returned me the doubloons ; and lest by any 
chance, I should require money in the interim, the friendly 
Israelite lent me ten dollars, on condition that I should repay 
him fifteen on the third day, making in all, with the price of 
the ring, twenty five-dollars to be paid him. I placed the ring, 
which contained a fine Oriental amethyst and two pearls, on my 
smaUest finger, and punctually presented myself at the habitation 
of my actress, not without fears that her door might again 
vanish, but happily the passage was open. As I entered, 
Prudentia, who was singing to the notes of her mandolin, came 
forward to welcome me, and motioned towards a seat with her 
hand, snatching it away the moment I attempted to kiss it. 



on, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. 89 

"Now, senor," said she, pouting; " though I have invited you 
to dine with me, you must be respectful, or I shall be angry. I 
would expire with vexation, if you deemed this little return 
for your attention an equivocal advance on my part." 

" How can you imagine such things ]'* said I, quite charmed 
by her firankness; "but ah, senora ! why will you still repulse 
me]" 

" Because," she replied with one of her brightest smiles; " that 
is the very way to attract you." 

" True — I remember that Ovid makes Daphne fly from her 
lover, and as she flew his ardour increased." 

" Ah ! Ovid, knew human nature very well." 

" Then you wish me to be distant and diffident 1" 

"Diffident at least; for diffidence is the best sign of a lover's 
sincerity." 

" Senora! then you do permit me to be your lover 1" said I, 
more and more enchanted, and approaching her despite her 
injunctions. 

" Senor Don Philip, you will be my lover, whether I permit 
it or not." 

"Oh yes!" I replied, while my heart beat like lightning and 
my voice sank; " for to see you, to know you, and to love you, 
Prudentia, are the same." 

I slipped the amethyst ring upon her finger, and was just 
touching her downcast brow with my lips, when the door opened, 
and, if a look would have slain, the intruder had assuredly per- 
ished on the instant ! The wrinkled dame Krumpel, who acted 
as sevant or housekeeper to Otto Roskilde, appeared with a tray. 

I now perceived for the first time that the table was covered 
for dinner, by a white damask cloth, edged with red silk fiinge ; 
upon it stood a trencher-salt and mustard-queme of silver, and 
several flasks of Malmsey, Orleans, and Spanish wine, cooling in a 
jar among ice. Covers were laid for two, with a knife Bud/ork 
on each side of them. The latter, being a new invention in Italy 
and Germany, was wholly unknown among us in Scotland; and 
though I had read of it in "Coryat's Crudities, or Travels in High 
Germany," printed in 161 1, being quite ignorant of how this steel 



90 PHILIP ROLLO ; 

instrument was to be used, I resolved to observe and imitate tbe 
fair seiiora, my hostess. 

It may be supposed that I had but little appetite, for a true 
love fit always deprives one of that ; but the dinner, which was 
both sumptuous and extravagant, by the number of dainties pre- 
sented, must — ^as I reflected — have cost at least two of the ten 
doubloons I had lent to Prudentia — ^and would fain have given 
her; for it seemed altogether ungallant and intolerable to accept 
of them when offered back; but how was I to march without 
money, especially in an army like the Danish, where one had to 
pay for every thing, and where all plunderers were tied to a post 
and shot without mercy 1 

We dined. T remarked that Prudentia had a very good ap- 
petite, which I considered unromantic, and unfavourable to my- 
self; the cloth was removed, and we liugered over the vino tinJto 
de Alicante, and some of the luscious fruits of her own sunny 
olime. Reclined on the soft down cushions of the sofa, with her 
loDg veil spread over her shoulders, the senora lay half at length 
like a Moorish queen, taking from time to time a grape or a sip 
of her sweet wine, and looking at me with roguish eyes, through 
lids half closed with fun and merriment ; for as the fumes of the 
wine mounted into my brain, I gathered new courage, and spoke 
only of love — love — but in broken sentences; for between two 
circumstanced as we were — a youiig cavalier and a dark-eyed 
coquette, a soldier and a gay actress — ^it may easily be conceived 
that darling theme was paramount. 

I know not now all the tender and all the foolish things I 
said; but I remember that^ at many of them, my pretty droll 
laughed immoderately. 

I sat by her side. In the last gleams of the sunset her glossy 
hair and radiant complexion were glancing with that glow of 
lighb that made her like a beautiful picture. We were convers- 
ing hand in hand, at least mine rested on hers — but quite by 
chance — when she suddenly proposed that, to pass the time, we 
should have a nice little game, when she would afford me aa 
opportunity of getting back my doubloons with interest. 

The old slipshod dame Elrumpel, who attended us, having 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 91 

been summoned, a pair of playing tables which stood in a comer 
— inlaid as for playing chess — were arranged beside the sofa, and 
I sat opposite Prudentia, who reclined among her cushions. 
Producing a pack of Spanish cards, she offered to teach the old 
Castilian game of orribre, I say Spanish cards, for they were 
essentially different from those used among us in Scotland (and 
against which King James VI. passed a law in the year 1621), 
haying but forty-eight in the pack, being without a ten, and 
having the king represented by a crowned figure. As there is 
no queeen, the next in rank is a knight, armed on all points, and 
designated d cabaMero. 

She taught me ombre certainly — ^but whether after a fashion 
of her own, or that of the Castilians, I know not; but I rapidly 
lost my dollars, which she arrayed in line on her own side of the 
table, with the most pretty and provoking air. 

Lights were brought, and then more red tent and macaroon bis- 
cuits, for the hour was growing late; still the protracted game 
went on, and if I regained a dollar I always lost it again ; for 
between the attention I bestowed on the bright smiles and 
jewelled fingers of Prudentia, and my own intense desire to 
please, I was a very bad pupil and worse gambler. The moments 
glided away, and so did my dollars. At last Prudentia clapped 
her hands, and laughed loudly as she threw down all her cards. 
She had made me bankrupt 1 

" Oh foolish senor! O bravo! Que fortuna!" she exclaimed; 
" how ill you have played ! You must beware of sharpers and 
knights of the post. Ay de mi ! You are much too guileless 
for this bad world. Ah ! if I had the making of it, how much 
better it should have done." 

" Better r* said I, thinking of my dollars and doubloons. 

" Yes, senor, for I would have left all the evil out of it.*' 

" How innocent this creature is ! " thought I ; " and how sad it 
is, that she is committed to a career of such perils as the stage !" 

" Now, to punish you," said she, sweeping all my cash into the 
pocket of her Spanish gua/rdain fante, " I shall keep your purse 
till to-morrow, for really I do not think you know how to take 
ixare of your money." 



92 PHILIP BOLLO; 

" Wliile playing, in my desire to please I did but confuse my- 
self; yet I am sure Prudentia will pardon me — a first love will 
make the boldest heart timid." 

" This is all very pretty,*' she replied, smoothing back her jetty 
hair, and displaying the exquisite contour of her white arms; 
" but lovers are so faithless ! ^" 

*' A real passion has no end but death. While one is a lover 
one will be true, for love retires where felsehood enters." Her 
free manner had infected me. 

" ReaUy," replied Prudentia, with one of her droll expressions 
of eye, " for a young student and soldier, you are wonderful I 
begin to be quite charmed with you." 

"Nay, I fear you but jest," said I, taking her right hand 
in mine, and passing the other over her rieh dark hair ; " 'tis 
I who am charmed. Oh, Prudentia, you are indeed beau- 
tiful!" 

" Stuff, senor]" She gave another of her merry ringing laughs. 
I sighed; but, while she continued to smile, ray heart beat 
quicker, and my head became giddy with wine, and the thoughts 
that whirled through it. T sat with one arm clasping her 
waist. 

We were both silent, but a deep crimson began to steal over 
the peach-like cheek of Prudentia. 

" Que hora es f ' said she suddenly, as a clock struck. 

"Eleven!" said I. 

" Eleven ! oh senor Don Philip, you must go. What would 
be thought of me, if you were known to be in my room at 
eleven in the night?" 

" The time has flown so quick," said I, rising with reluctance. 

*' But, senor, you must go — it is so late." 

" And we have been so happy — ^but there is no remedy." 

I could have slept very well in my plaid on the little 
sofa, or even on the mat at her door (for I was bewitched), but 
I dared not hint that, and took up my sword and bonnet to 
retire. 

" And when may I renew my visit, dearest Prudential" 

" To-morrow at noon — exactly at noon," she replied, tendering 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 93 

her cheek, and in another moment I found the secret door closed 
upon me. I was on the dark landing-place of the stair, and 
groped my way to that dreary apartment, where Ian Dhu, 
M*Alpine Roy, and strong Phadrig Mhor, were sleeping on the 
floor, side by side in their plaids, with their basket-hilted clay- 
mores for pillows. 



94 PHILIP BOLLO: 



CHAPTER XV. 

IIT GODDESS DECEITES ME — I QUABBEL WITH THE HAU8MEISTES, AND 
BUN HIM THBOUGH THE BODT. 

After breakfasting on toast and tankard, like the English, 
and being rallied by Ian on my abstraction and silence ; after 
the morning exercise with pike and musket was past, when the 
first note of the clock indicated the hour of noon, I presented 
myself at Prudentia*s, and was admitted; but I knocked thrice 
on her chamber-door without hearing her musical voice saying, 
" Senor, enter." 

"She is asleep — it will be a theatrical habit," said I, gently 
opening the door and venturing in. 

The chamber was silent ! The bed had not been slept on, 
and was stripped of its curtains; the furniture was in confusion; 
the mantelpiece and tables were deprived of their ornaments; 
every thing indicated a hurried departure; and a note ad- 
dressed to me lay on the little playing table, which still remained 
near the sofa, where T had left it twelve hours before. The note 
was addressed — 

" To'ihe Ensign, Senor Don Philip^ these, 

" Senor — I have been discovered, and forced to fly ! My safety 
demands it, and thus, before you read these lines, I shall be, 
Heaven knows how far, on the road to Vienna. I could stay 
no longer in GlUckstadt, for the truce is at an end, and your 
troops march in a day or two. When you imagine the grief I 
feel, in being thus separated from you, dearest senor, you will 
pardon this sudden flight, and excuse me returning you those 
doubloons and dollars, in place of which I have left you a lock 



OR, THE 9C0TTISH MUSKETEERS. 95 

of my beautiful hair — ^a lock which I will redeem ; for if ever 
you should have the ill-fortune to be taken prisoner, and see 
Vienna^ fail not to seek the Senora Bandolo, at the theatre, near 
the Scottish convent, and so, with a deluge of tears, you are 
committed to the protection of God by your best friend, 

" Prudentia." 

. So ended my first love affair, on which I had wasted ten 
doubloons and twenty-five dollars; and now waste four chapters. 
My first emotions were those of grief and mortification; my 
second were rage and spite, as I thought of my loss, my debts, 
and the amethyst ring of the Jew. The latter was but the 
gleam of the moment; it was the falsehood and duplicity of 
Frudentia which cut me to the soul. The most noble of 
passions had been made subservient to the most base — ^love to 
lucre. 

"Dupe that I have been !" I exclaimed, tearing the letter to 
shreds ; " but if he is within the walls of Gluckstadt, that vil- 
lanbus Hausmeister shall smart for it. He must have been in 
league with her!" 

- I remembered having more than once reason to believe, that 
I had heard him laughing in her room after I had left it; and, 
no way grateful for the good lesson taught me by the senora, 
sallied forth intent on vengeance. 

There was a certain tavern just without the Crempen-gate, 
Vhidi bore on its signboard the three golden helmets of the 
duchy. This, I knew. Otto fi:equented, and there I resolved to 
•eek and slay him, or be slain; but having every wish to defer 
the latter part of tKe catastrophe as long as possible, I hurried 
to my room, put on my gorget, and stuck my pistols, loaded, in 
iny belt. So much was I occupied by my own thoughts, that 
while charging these weapons I had never observed the sergeant, 
Phadrig Mhor, who was busy polishing lan's armour, and who 
followed me, like a brave and faithful fellow as he was. 
. Half blinded by anger — ^for the idea of being so jewed and 
laughed at was intolerable — I hurried through the crowded 
Hati^ heat on righting my quarrels a la mode cT^dimiourg (as 



96 PHILIP EOLLO; 

the Scots Archers used to say in Paris), that is, with bare blade 
in the open street; and I had not gone fifty yards when I 
observed my man, walking slowly towards me in his great ruff 
and calf-skin boots ; his broad hat overshadowing his round face, 
which was fringed by a thick beard; his great espadone clatter- 
ing on the pavement, a Dutch pipe in his mouth, and his right 
hand thrust into the pocket of his bombasted trunk breeches. 
There was such an appearance of fat contentment about him, 
that I was somewhat confounded when he walked straight up 
to me, and, with the most perfect composure, said — 
" So you have discovered the secret, Herr Ensign V 
" Despite your falsehoods — yes !" 

** I have to congratulate you," said he, with a manner undis- 
guisedly sarcastic, "on being the favoured cavalier of the 
beautiful dancer." 

"I thank you, Herr," said I, in the same tone; "but will 
thank you more not to puff the smoke of that devilish pipe 
under my nose." 

" Ah ! she is an adorable creature. I always thought her 

refined taste " 

" Would have preferred youT I exclaimed, giving vent to my 
passion, as I snatched the pipe from his mouth and broke it 
over his nose. 

His grey eyes turned white, and glist-ened with rage. 
"Were we elsewhere than in the street," said he hoarsely, 
"I would teach thee better than to insult me, thou pitiful 
dandiprat 1" 

" What recks it whether it be in the street or on mountain 
that a man rights his wrongs]" I replied, unsheathing my sword. 
" Guard, guard ! thou beer-bloated Teuton, or I am through you 
in a twinkling. I tell thee, fellow, thou art a scurvy varlet and 
shabby rascal ! " 

He swore a round oath in Spanish, and then another in Ger- 
man. His rage had a frightful efiect on his visage; it was pale 
as marble, but convulsed ; his eyes glistened like those of a cat,! 
and every hair of his beard seemed to bristle with fury. 

"Ha! hal how savage this Paris is for the loss of his Helen ]**| 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 97 

said he, as he thrust his steeple-crowned hat upon his head, drew 
his long espadone, and attacked me with equal fury and address. 

In the duels and quarrels between the students of the King's 
Collie and those of old Marischal, at Aberdeen, I had more 
tiian once drawn my sword in bitter earnest, but never against 
an adversary so formidable ; and yet after three passes, observing 
that he did not guard well, and barely covered himself on the 
side I was opposed to, I resolved to force his sword. Springing 
forward, I furiously struck the fort of my blade on his, which 
my basket hilt arrested ; and thus without risk was enabled to 
deliver a thrust which penetrated his collar-bone, and almost 
deprived him of the use of his sword-arm. Just at that mo- 
ment we were separated by the people, who had gathered from 
all quarters, and many of whom, with that kindness and 
discrimination which distinguishes all mobs, seemed disposed to 
handle me pretty roughly, being a stranger and foreigner, but the 
brandished halbert of Phadrig Mhor overawed them ; and on Ian, 
M'Alpine, Major Fritz, and Baron Elarl of the pistoliers ap- 
pearing, the Holsteiners retired, bearing away with them the 
stout paunchy Hausmeister, who kicked and resisted, storming 
and swearing in Spanish and German alternately. 

" Dioul ! are you mad, my cousin ] " exclaimed Ian ; " to be 
fighting in this way, and with our host — the master of our 
billet?" 

" A man who is to accompany the army as a guide ! " added 
the Baron Karl ; " for he knows the country on both sides of 
the Weser as well as if it were his own property." 

"I am sure of that," I replied, wiping my sword in my scarf 
before sheathing it ; " for I believe him to be a spy of the 
Imperialists." 

"Ah! how 1 — ^what reason have you to think so 1 He is said 
to be a respectable citizen — a Lubecker, who has been in 
Gliickstadt for nearly a year, I believe — at least ever since that 
hickless battle at LUtter." 

" I have my suspicions," I replied, unwilling, and indeed 
unable (without involving myself) to relate the evening adven- 
ture by the Elbe. , 

VOL. I. H 



98 PHILIP BOLLO; 

" TheD, what have you quairelled about 1 " said Ian ; '^not 
that painted dancer — ^your mysterious countess i " 

^* Painted 1 — ^the girl was beautiful as a honri ! " 

" Perhaps so ; — ^but I never saw a houri, and so do not know ; 
but be frank, and tell us, Philip Hollo." 

** This way, then,*' said I, leading the four towards a retired 
part of the fortifications, where, without reserve, I related how 
foolishly I had entangled myself with Prudentia : how she had 
borrowed my doubloons, accepted my ring, and won my dollars 
unblushingly, and with smiles : and how I had every reason to 
believe that she and the Hausmeister were very good Meudk 
Ian heard me with astonishment ; for he was an unsophisticated 
Highland gmtleman, and did not believe that such duplicity 
existed in the world. 

" By my faith I*' said he; " I think the predictions of the old 
people at Craigrollo are likely to prove true, and that, after all, 
the spoon of Sir Kingan ^ 

A gesture of impatience from me arrested him. 

** Young gentleman,*' said the captain of the pistoliera^ '* yon 
have been^ I suspect, the dupe of two sharpers ; but may the 
lesson teach you to beware of those pit£sdls which beset the 
path of a soldier ! This actress, the Senora Bandolo, is just what 
all Spanish actresses are, and never cared a rush about you; 
besides, without doubt, she must have been the spy who, from 
Gliickstadt, Hambuig, and Altona, communicated all our move- 
ments to the Imperialists." 

'* And this varlet of a Hausmeister,'* said I — 

" Is doubtless her two^, her cavalier, or bully," replied the 
Baron; ''for the fellow's whole aspect, his cold pomposity, and 
dogged eye, announce him one. Every Spanish dancer has a 
majoy' he continued, as we adjourned to the Tltree Golden HdmeU, 
and ordered a flask or two of Orleans. 

''We should know something of them, Har Baron," said 
Fritz; "you remember when we served in the fipattwh 
guards ^ 

" Many things better now forgotten, Fritz. They are such 
rufians that not even the Holy Brotherhood dare to attack 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HT7SRETEERS. 99 

them; and they intimidate even the actresses who employ them 
as protectors, and have to study all their caprices. When a lady 
is on the stage, her Trhajo is in the pit, with his hrown sombrero 
drawn over his brow, and on the least gesture of impatience, or 
sound of dissatis&ction among the people, he throws back his 
mantle, uncovering the hilts of his poniard and toledo. Now," 
' continued Karl, sipping his wine, " on the last night Prudentia 
danced, I saw this man. Otto, in the pit, and thought he had all 
the aspect '* 

" Of that Spanish irwjo we had such a desperate brawl with- 
in the Consistorio at Madrid,'* said Fritz. " The Imperial camp 
swarms with Spanish and Italian posture-girls and their 
attendants; but is this suspicious fellow to be really our military 
guidel" 

"He has been well accredited," replied the baron, smoothing 
his short thick mustache ; " so let us not, by vague suspicion, 
wrong any man in the public service." 

" I will always consider him a villain," said Ian, who had 
struggled to understand what we were saying. " PhiKp Hollo," 
he added in Gaelic, as he turned to me with a sombre aspect on 
his swarthy face, " you have dishonoured the sword of a High- 
land gentleman by notching it on the blade of such a wretch." 

" Ian, has he not leagued with this girl to rob and ridicule 
me? "What would you have had me to dol" 

" Do!" reiterated the fierce M'Alpine, with his red eyes 
flashing; " by the grey stone of McGregor, I would have shot 
him through the head like a fox or a wolf, and as an enemy to 
mankind." 

The captain of pistoliers smiled at this, whicih he did not 
understand, being sputtered out in Eed Angus's fiercest Gaelic; 
but he said — 

"When we advance into central Germany, you will find 
yourself among a race very different from the brave cmdfaibhjvl 
Holsteiners; so I would pray you all to beware, gentlemen." 

" Some devil must have led me to her room at first," I 
muttered, thinking of my losses and debts. 

" Nay, she had seen you looking about for our room, and, 



100 PHILIP EOLLOj 

leaving the door of her own open, had thrown herself down on 
the sofa in a graceful attitude, pretending to be asleep; that you 
might enter, see and admire her, for the cunning ^sdiy knows her 
own power." 

" Ah — just so!*' said Major Fritz; " and did she not propose 
to take care of your money after she had won it; give you a 
quotation fix)m Euripides, and rail at matrimony in the most 
charming manner, saying she was only formed for love, for lights 
for music — to be a bird, a butterfly, and all that?** 

" Never mind, Eollo," said M'Alpine ; " thou seest that the 
same pretended innocence which bewitched thee hath beguiled 
others." 

*' But this escapade has left me penniless, and I am indebted 
the sum of twenty-five doUara to a Jew in the Platz; and the 
knowledge that I cannot pay it — even by this gold chain — 
stings me to the soul." 

" It shall never be said that a brother soldier lacked money 
while Karl of Klosterfiord has a skilling to spare," replied the 
pistolier, placing his purse in my hand; " here are four doubloons, 
more than the sum required. If ever you can pay me, it will 
be well; if not, 'tis no matter. Money among gentlemen and 
soldiers, should be as a common stock. If my comrade is an 
extravagant dog — like Fritz here — I assist him to day, and he 
assists me to-morrow. 'Tis the rule of the camp," he added 
laughing, as he filled up all our glasses. 

« Oh, Herr Baron!" I began 

" No thanks," said he, nursing his short brown mustache; " no 
thanks, or positively I shall be angry. Among merchants a 
man always loses a friend when money is lent; among soldiers, 
he always gains one. But I am astonished that you could have 
been so duped by a dancer — a damsel who exhibits herself in 
such a captivating undress to any rascal who pays a slet^dollar 
at the door; and more especially by this senora Prudentia, 
whose brother is known to be the greatest ruffian in continental 
Europe; and who is as famous for his villanies, as the sefiora is 
for her conquests. You all know who I mean — ^Bandolo, the 
Bravo." 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEfeliS. 101 , 

We all — except Fritz — said tliat we had not the pleasure of 
his acquaintance. 

"'Tis our dancer's brother — Bandolo, the most finished rascal 
of past or present times. He was the terror of Madrid and 
Naples, where he practised his villanies for a season; and in these 
cities he is said to have despatched eighty persons to a better 
world, and Heaven knows how many more may fall by his hand 
before some man has the hardihood to cut him off! He handles 
the caliver, the rapier, and stiletto, but declines to use poison, 
alleging that there is something unmanly in it ; that it is the 
revenge of women; and that it is as much beneath the regularly 
trained bravo to turn poisoner, as it is beneath the physician to 
turn quack doctor." 

" And is this person known to gain his bread by a practice so 
horrible ?" I asked. 

" Certainly ! " replied the pistolier. "When Fritz and I were in 
the Spanish guards, we have passed him in the streets of Madrid 
a thousand times ; and knew him by his long lock, his long sword, 
his dogged visage and ferocious eye, to be Bandolo the bravo, 
who resided in the Plaza Mayor, and who, for ten pistoles, would 
strike him or me, or any man dead, on the first secret opportunity." 

Having just come from our native land, where assassination was 
unknown, and where brave men settled all their disputes fairly 
by their swords, and always sheathed them on the first blood 
being drawn, we were as much astonished by this dark recital as 
two peaceful Holsteiners who were sipping skeidam and water 
in a comer of the tavern, and who set down their green crystal 
cups to listen. 

" And Prudentia is sister of this ruffian 1" 

" The great Bandolo,'* said Fritz laughing. " I daresay the 
little dancer thinks it is quite an honour to be the sister of so 
£Eunoas a man ; for there are some who deem it better to be famed 
for bad deeds than not have fame at all" 

" I'll tell you a story," said the baron. " Two gentlemen of 
Naples — a cavalier and a knight of Malta — quarrelled; and, 
according to the detestable practice of Italy, each sent privately, 
offering a hundred pistoles, to Bandolo, and requesting him to dis- 



102 PHILIP BOLLOj 

pose of ihe other. The messenger of the cavalier came first ; the 
second was the knight of Malta, whom Bandolo poniarded just 
as he was paying down the hundredth pistole, and he feU dead 
over the table. 

"The bravo wiped his poniard, swept the money into his 
purse, and hurried away to the cavalier, his first employer, to 
relate that his enemy was dead. 

" * I greatly commend your dexterity, my worthy Mend, Ban- 
dolo,' said the cavalier, untying his purse from his girdle; 
' you are quite master of your noble profession !' 

"*Si, sefior,' replied the Spaniard; ^all who do me the 
fevour to employ me, find me punctual; for I am an old Casti- 
lian, and a man of honour, whom my father — a prince of bravoes 
before me — trained up in the way I should go ; and to convince 
you, senor cavalier, that I will not forfeit that transmitted 
honour, I must mention that the knight of Malta, whom I have 
just sent to the company of the saints, gave me a himdred pistoles 
to make an end of you,^ 

" ' But he is dead, and cannot call you to account for not ful- 
filling your pledge,' replied the cavalier, overcome with 
terror. 

"* True, sefior,' said Bandolo, with a profoxmd bow; *but I 
am too honourable a bravo to break my promise. Excuse me^ 
illustrissimo, but you must — die!* and with these words he 
buried his poniard in the other's breast. 

" The cavalier lived only to relate this story, and in less than 
ten minutes expired; but by that time Bandolo was beyond the 
walls of Naples." 

"He was hanged afterwards, of xwjursel" 

"Hanged? Oh! not at all He is now said to be with the 
Imperialists, attached to tiie suite of a Spanish general of Fer* 
dinand, and no doubt his sister has gone to join him ; for it 
would be a thousand pities that a pair so worthy should be 
separated." 

Much, or nearly all, that the baron said, was totally incom- 
prehensible to Ian; but I translated the anecdote as we walked 
back to the Flatz, and I also imparted to him, in seoreBy, my 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. 103 

night adventure witli Prudentia, showed him the chain of the 
Scoto-Imperialist, and hinted my suspicions that she, and per- 
haps the Hausmeister, were the spies referred to by the governor 
in his orders to the guards. 

** You know," I concluded, " that we have more than once 
heard this seeming (merman swear in very good Spanish." 

"Stay — a thought strikes me. Dioul! if it should be the 
case?" 

" What?" A fierce gleam shot over lan's dark eyes. 

" That this Otto may be the brother of Prudentia — ^the bravo 
to whom the baron referred." 

My heart leaped at the idea of having an enemy so subtle, so 
ferocious, so blood-stained, and terrible. 

"Impossible!" said I; "how — that fiend Bandolo residing 
in GlUckstadt, a sleek, fat, and well-fed burgher, with wide 
breeches and a pipe, a thorough Holsteiner to all appearance ; 
a man trusted by the governor — a man who is to guide the 
troops of King Christian against some of the German castles and 
barrier towns? Oh ! it is impossible, Ian — besides, whoever saw 
a bravo with so prodigious a paunch?" 

" Perhaps so," said Ian, doubtfully; for a paunch is considered 
a curse inflicted for evil among the clansmen. " But, thank God ! 
we leave GlUckstadt to-morrow; and then wo shall have other 
work than idling here, marching and coimtermarchiug as a 
spectacle for fat burghers and market wenches, drinking skeidam 
and Dantzic beer, and breathing the thick air of these frowsy 
swamps; and when we do meet the Imperialists, Philip RoUo— 
thtfse boasting Spaniards and victorious Austrians," continued 
my enthusiastic cousin, throwing up his bonnet, " let us not 
forget to shout — 'Hoighl Clanna nan Gael, an guillan a 
chiele!'"* . 

* Clans of the Ga^ shoulder to shoulder I 



104 PHILIP SOLLO: 



%uk iljt ^Ijirlt. 



CHAPTER XVL 

THE SCOTTISH STAITDABD. 

The pale dawn was glimmering on the misty waters of the 
Elbe, and the storks were flapping their dewy wings on the 
steep gables and fantastic chimney-tops, when our pipers in 
the Biirger-platz blew loud and shrill the pibroch of Mackay. 
Hoarse and fierce, and wild and wailing, by turns it rang in the 
echoing streets " The white homner of Clem Aiodh,'' that martial 
air which so ofbeh has summoned the tribes of Strathnaver to 
battle and victory; and, fix>m erery street and alley, our mea 
came forth in marching order to the place of arms. There the 
colours were unfurled, and Sir Donadd, sheathed in his bright 
armour, sat on horseback with his sword drawn. 

The fifteen companies of Highlanders fell quickly into their 
ranks; the musketeers in the centre with the colours, the p&es 
on the flanks, the drums, fifes, and pipes on the right of the line. 
Nothing military could surpass the splendid and imposing aspect 
of the regiment of Strathnaver, as it appeared under arms that 
morning in the Biirger-platz of Gliickstadt; for, to the martial 
bearing and peculiar garb of the Scottish clansmen, our soldiers 
now united that steadiness, and strict unity of movement^ which 
disciplined troops alone possess. On that morning I carried 
the banner of the chief; my post was in the centre, and with 
pride I glanced towards the flanks of that long and stately line. 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 105 

The bright miisket-barrels, the keen pike-heads furnished by the 
armourers of Glasgow, and the polished headpieces, were glittering 
in the morning sun, but motionless as the rough hairy sporrans, 
the bare knees, and gartered hose; the banners, plumes, and 
tartans, alone rustled in the morning wind — ^those dark green 
tartans which my brave comrades were soon to dye in the best 
blood of the Imperialists. 

On horseback, and muffled in a mantle, Otto Eoskilde passed 
down the line towards the gate of the town; he had pistols at 
the front of his saddle, and a portmanteau behind it, for travel- 
ling; as in his quality of guide, or general informer, he was to 
repair with us to King Christian's headquarters. Whatever my 
secret suspicions might be, I. had as yet no reasons to divulge 
them, or to defame the accredited guide of the king; and indeed 
I could not do so, without the acknowledgment of having in 
person somewhat contravened the orders of the governor. Sir 
David Drummond. 

" Herr Otto, your servant," said I, politely, as he passed me ; 
"I trust you have suffered but little annoyance from your 
wound." 

" Until you spoke — none," said he, a deep smile on his tiger- 
like mouth. Offended by his brevity, I gazed sternly at him, 
for there was something striking, if not terrible, in the fierce 
smile with which he honoured me. It was as deceitful and 
Satanic as such grey eyes as his, could assume. "But have 
Spaniards ever grey eyes?" thought I; " can this indeed be that 
frightful Bandolo, of whom the baron spoke? his sister's eyes 
were so beautiful " 

The orde?: to march cut short my reflections. Ten shrill fifes 
and ten drums struck up merrily the femous "Scottish march;" 
pikes, banners, and muskets were sloped in the sun, and in broad 
sections we poured through the streets and fortifications of 
Gllickstadt, the houses, bridges, and casemated ramparts of 
which gave back the tread of our marching feet, the rat-tat-tat 
of the drums, and the sharp note of the fifes, with a thousand 
reverberations, as we marched towards the Stor. This was not 
in the direction of the Imperialists; but there King Christian 



106 PHILIP SOLLO j 

had planted his royal standard, and appointed the rendezvous of 
his troops. 

It was but !an easy day's march distant from Gluckstadt, over 
a flat country ; for the little duchy of Holstein, which unites the 
mainland of Denmark to the great continent of Qermany, is 
almost leyel. The land seemed nowhere to possess what we 
Scots call a military aspect; there were few or no positions 
whereon the inhabitants might meet or repel inyaders, yet the 
Holsteiners are brave men. The flatness of the country wearied 
us; we would have given the world for a glimpse of a mountain; 
and I frequently heard our hill-climbing clansmen marvelling 
how, when the country was made, the mountains were forgotten. 
Ths road lay straight before us, bounded either by heath, or 
cultivated fields, or by meadows, where enormously fat cattle 
were browsing; and from whence the pretty dairymaids, clad 
in short petticoats of broad-striped red and yellow stufl*, with 
braided hair and hats of plaited straw, shading their blooming 
faces, ran off as we approached, being scared either by a rustic 
terror of soldiers, or the foreign aspect of our tartan garb. 
Thatched farms, shaded by pale green weeping wiQows, close- 
clipped hedgerows, or low stone dykes, succeeded each other in 
monotonous succession ; here and there rose grassy hillocks, with 
reedy tarns of green and turgid water between them, or ocoa> 
sional thickets of beech, where the summer birds were singing ; 
but though there was little wood generally, there were abundance 
of wild-roses, which flourished by the wayside, and scented the 
balmy air. 

There were no tremendous rocks like the Sutors of Oromartie, 
hurling the waves of ocean back upon themselves ; no deep or 
savage glens, like Sulbhein in Assynt; no sheets of foam rolling 
in thimder over a precipice, like the torrent of Foyers; no vast 
forests like those of the Grants; no fierce streams like the Spey 
and the Fiddich; and no vast lakes like those inland seas that 
lie in the great Glen of Albyn ; but every thing was like the fat 
burghers of Biamburg and LUbeck, or the twenty-breeched boom 
of the Low Countries — flat and sleepy, quiet and insipid. 

About mid-day we crossed the Stor, and entered Itzhoe, * 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 107 

small trading town, which lies at the foot of a gentle eminence, 
defended by a small castle, on which we saw the royal standard 
with the hearts and lions of Denmark flying, announcing that 
King Christian resided there. 

We found the little town crowded by his troops, the streets 
encumbered by artillery, powder and baggage waggons; the 
churches and houses were filled with troops; others were bivou- 
acked in the fields along the bank of the river, and on our ap- 
proach great numbers of our countrymen, who served under the 
Danish banner, came forth to meet ua; for in the army, which 
mustered about twenty-five thousand, there were not less than 
twelve thousand Scots, including officers; Lord Nithsdale's three 
regiments consisted each of three thousand men; Sir James 
Leslie's and ours, made two thousand more; and there were 
more than one thousand Scottish cavaliers, all officers, who led 
or served in the regiments of German Reitres, Danish Pikes, 
and the Count de Montgomerie's French Musketeers, many of 
whom I shall have occasion to mention in the course of my 
adventures. 

On the very day after our joining the main army, we were 
nearly involved in a quarrel with the king, which, by disgusting 
his Scottish auxiliaries, might have ended all his projects of con- 
quest, and caused his forces to melt away. 

Christian IV., the hero of Denmark, the brother-in-law of 
our late King James VL, and uncle of King Charles I., was a 
gallant soldier, then esteemed no way inferior in personal quali- 
ties or reputation to hia rival, the great star of the north, Gus- 
tavus Adolphus; but far his superior in military pride and keen 
desire for fame. Under his active government, Denmark had 
risen in importance, and, after her separation from Sweden, had 
acquired a powerful navy, a brave and well-disciplined army, a 
well-ordered exchequer, and, such prosperity as she never could 
have possessed in the days of her imion; for an ancient kingdom, 
which possesses national institutions, should never surrender 
them while the sword can. maintain them, and never place itself 
at the mercy of another; and right glad was I to see that my 
awn native Scotland remembered this, when, in 1606, King 



108 PHILIP ROLLOj 

James insidiously projected his incorporating union, wliicli was 
happily baffled by the true patriots of the time, as I hope aggres- 
sion will always be baffled and repelled by their posterity, lest 
we become a province of the southern kingdom. 

Enfeebled by its unnatural union, Denmark, when once free 
of Sweden, b^an to assume a high place in the scale of Euro- 
pean nations; and though the proud and haughty Christian 
could not surrender his claim to the Swedish crown, and while 
the Swedes gloried in their freedom, so recently acquired under 
Gustavus Vasa, both Christian and Gustavus Adolphus saw that 
the clouds of battle were gathering on the German frontier, that 
the day was at hand when they would be compelled to abandon 
their national quarrel and petty jealousies, and for common 
safety to unite their arms against the skill of Tilly, the courage 
of Wallenstein, and the vast power of the empire. A treaty of 
peace between Christian and Gustavus had been completed at 
Copenhagen on the 20th January, 1613, principally by the 
mediation of our king, James VI. ; but the approach of external 
danger had only smothered for a time the dispute of the 
northern kings. 

To return : On the day after our reaching the headquarters 
at Itzhoe, we were reviewed by the king, who ordered Sir Donald 
"to draw up the regiment in battaglia," on the plain before 
the gates of the town. The day was beautiful ; thin as gauze, a 
pale haze curled up from the banks of the Stor, and the sun 
shone brightly on the quaint old town and older castle of Itzhoe» 

Dunbar, our sergeant-major, a brave old cavalier who had served 
in the Scottish Horse Guards under Sir Andrew Kerr of Phemi- 
herst, drew up the regiment in line, with colours and pikes in 
the centre ; five hundred musketeers, with the drums, being on 
the left flank; and ^ve hundred more, with the pipes, being on 
the right; — the ranks were three deep. 

Accompanied by the Earl of Nithsdale, the Lord Spynie, the 
Laird of Murkle, the Baron of Klosterflord, and various nobles 
and colonels, all bravely mounted and richly accoutred, King 
Christian approached, and we received him with the highest 
honours ; our pipes playing a salute, our drums beating the point 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEAS. 109 

of war, the colours drooping, the officers in fix>nt; while 
the whole line presented their pikes and muskets, according to 
the forms which have come down to us from the chivalry of the 
olden time. 

Leaving, at some distance behind, the brilliant cavalcade which 
accompanied him, the King — a brave monarch, who had been 
almost riddled by bullets, and had more sword-cuts in his body 
than slashes in his doublet — rode slowly forward, and saluted 
the whole regiment by uncovering his head. He wore a suit of 
the richest blue Utrecht velvet laced with gold, a crimson cloak 
of Danish silk, and long Swedish leather gloves. Every thing 
about him was magnificent. (In 1621, Christian was rich enougli 
to be able to lend King James YI. a hundred thousand thalers.) 
Around his neck hxmg a gold chain, like the cateUa of the 
Komans, and he wore a magnificent gold scarf His counte- 
nance was open, manly, frank, and ruddy ; having a thick red 
mustache, and a clear blue eye. His horse was richly capari- 
soned in the Danish colours, having the leopard passant in the 
comers of the saddlecloth, and a chamfrain made of thick 
leather, boiled and prepared to encase the charger's head, under 
the bridle, which was thickly covered with gold-headed studs. 

Our good regiment of Strathnaver, afterwards known as*" the 
Scottish Invincibles," being a Highland battalion, was viewed by 
his majesty with marked attention. He rode slowly down the 
front, and up the rear to the right flank, where he acquainted 
Sir Donald with his wish, that we should march past him in 
review order. The whole line then fell back by companies,* 
and marched past with pipes playing and drums beating, colours 
flying, pikes advanced and matches lighted. A burst of applause 
came from our Lowland countrymen, who, as well as the Danes, 
crowded from their cantonments to behold us. Now came the 
quarrel already referred to. 

The review being over, our colonel. Sir Donald Mackay, his 
two majors, sergeant-major Dunbar, and all the officers, were 
summoned to the front, that they might kiss the hand of his 

* He means, broke into open column. 



110 PHILIP BOLLO; 

majesty, who expressed surprise at the fashion of our coloun^ 
and required that we should place the Danish cross above that 
of St. Andrew ! 

" May it please your majesty to excuse our compliance with 
this order/* replied Sir Donald, concealing his indignation under 
a calm exterior; ''for we cannot impose the Danish cross on 
Scottish colours without fidling in our duty and allegiance to 
his majesty Charles I. as king of Scotland ; and sure I am that 
all these cavaliers, my officers, will agree with me. What u 
your opinion, Dunbar 1*' 

'' Swords and pikes!'' grumbled the old fellow under his thick 
mustache; ''we cannot carry the Danish cross without 
dishonour." 

" Dishonour!*' reiterated the king, flushing with passion and 
raising his baton, but immediately lowering it on perceiving 
that the gauntleted hand of Dunbar sought the hilt of his 
claymore. 

" I mean, dishonour to ourselves as Scotsman," continued 
Dunbar, willing to palliate his bluntness ; " for a superiority of 
Denmark over our native country would thereby be implied." 

'^But you serve Denmark, not Scotland; and Denmark has 
given both kings and laws to England,'* replied the king, who 
wished that the Soots, like all his other auxiliaries, French aad 
Germans, should carry the Danish colours, that all their valour 
and achievments might accrue to the glory of Denmark; bat it 
was somewhat unfortunate for his project that he commenced 
with our regiment. The officers looked at each other darkly 
imder the peaks of their helmets ; bit their gloves, and whispered 
together. "Gentlemen,'* resumed the king, with increasing 
anger; "excuse me if I do not perceive the justice of your 
objections.** 

" I trust your majesty will understand," replied Sir Donald, 
with the utmost firmness and respect, " that it would ill become 
us, as subjects of the Scottish crown, to put foreign badges on 
these our native colours, which for ages our fore£ithers have 
borne without stain and without dishonour; since that day 
when the Scottish host, arrayed in battle against the Saxon 



OB, THE SCOTTISH 1EU8KETEEBS. Ill 

kings of the Heptarchy, saw the cross of the blessed St. Andrew 
span the noonday sky above their lines. We cannot here 
acknowledge a superiority, which, since the beginning of record, 
no country ever possessed over ours; for even so early as the siege 
of Jerusalem, Hegisippus introduceth Josephus as saying, when 
endeavouring to dissuade the Jews from a war with the Romans, 
^ Sootiof quos tenia nihil debet,^ (fee, which meaneth, that ^ even 
Scotland, which is independent of the whole eaaih,' was afraid of 
Rome." 

" But therein I hold Hegisippus to be a foul liar, and 
Josephus another," grumbled our stout sergeant-major; ''for 
our auld mother Scotland was never afraid as long as she had 
daws to scratch wi', as I will maintain body for body, on foot 
or on horseback, against any man in all Denmark.*' 

A murmur of applause rose from our officers. 

^'ilir Muiarel it is well said, thou brave Dunbar," said Ian, 
clapping the old officer* on the shoulder, and shaking the lofty 
eagle's plumo that adorned his own helmet; ^^Dimil it would 
be altogether an intolerable thing if we, the descendants of those 
brave Scots whom the Danes could never conquei*, and by whom 
they were overthrown at Luncarty, and in twenty other battles, 
ahould condescend to cany their red cross on our blue banners." 

Finding that he had such intractable spirits to deal with, the 
king concealed his anger, and relinquished hia project for the 
present. We carried our blue national flag with its white cross 
against the Imperialists, without imposition or alteration; and, 
hj my soull they so<hi learned under which cross it was — ^the 
Scottish or Danish — ^that most heads were broken; but the king 
did not readily forget the affix)nt we had given him. 

* Sergeant-nu^or fai those days meant Adjutant. See note concerning the 
coloiin. 



112 PHILPBOLLO. 



CHAPTER XVIL 



THE SCONCE OF BOITZENBCBG. 



Ok the day immediately after the review, Sir Donald, with 
seven companies of the regiment, was ordered to cross the Elbe, 
leave two companies at Stade, and march towards the Weser, 
where he joined the troops of that vaHant Welsh veteran, old 
General Morgan, who with four strong battalions lay above Bre- 
men, watching the Imperialists. "King Christian was determined 
we should suffer in detail, and suffer sorely, for our stubborn pride 
in the afl&ir of the colours ; thus, while the main body of the 
Danish army occupied Stade, the second city in the duchy of 
Bremen, our company of M'Farquhars, with the wing of the 
regiment under the major, marched to Lauenburg, the capital of 
a duke who there levies a toll upon the Elbe. There the colondi 
joined us with one company firom the Weser, leaving the other 
four to defend Boitzenburg, for which place Ian was ordered to 
march the M'Farquhars with aU speed, as sergeant-major Dunbar 
was to be assailed by the Imperialists under the &mous Count of 
Carlstein, who, with Tilly and the main army, was pressing foi> 
ward, to drive back all the outposts of the Protestant king, to 
penetrate into Holstein and the Danish isles. On these marches 
our soldiers behaved with admirable order; there was no ma- 
rauding, for, though their pay was small, our poor Highlanders 
were moderate in their desires. Each carried a small havresack 
filled with Hamburg meal, and a little of that mixed in water, 
morning and evening, contented them. The ability with which 
they could endure long abstinence and hard marching, is remark- 
able ; for in the olden time the Celtic huntsman took but one 
meal in the day— his diot mhar. But there was a Lowland pike- 



OR, THE BOOmSH MUSKETEERS. 113 

man, Dandy Dregliom^ who, being unable to practise such absti- . 
nence, found himself impelled to swallow a whole bowl of cream, 
in a certain dorpe through which we passed; for this he was 
ordered to run the gauntlet, and that no taint of degradatioi^ 
frotn the stripes might remain, I was required (according to the 
custom of war) to wave thrice the ensign of St. Andrew above 
his head. 

It was about the sunset of an evening in the middle of July, 
1627, when we approached Boitzenburg, which is a small town 
of Mecklenburg-shwerin, pleasantly situated at the junction of 
the Boitze with the Elbe, the passage of which we were to 
defend against the Imperialists, imtil the last man of us had 
kissed the sod, for so were our orders worded. 

A vast force under Tilly was approaching Denmark .fix)m 
the centre of Germany, and one of those columns, destined 
to pass the Elbe and Weser, under the great Count of Carlstein, 
was marching directly upon the point we were to bar. As the 
count was determined at all risks to paas the stream, our some- 
what forlorn duty was destined to be hard and hazardous ; but 
the affair of the colours still rankled in the mind of King 
Christian, and he had resolved, and even said to Lord Nithsdale, 
that " the regiment of Strathnaver should pay dearly for its 
Scottish pride 1" 

As we approached the town, which was surrounded by a wall, 
the gates were shut, and although our comrades who occupied 
. the place knew us right well by our tartans, and the soxmd of 
our pipe, which was playing BeaUach na Broigie, according to 
the custom of war, observed in all forts on the approach of armed 
parties, they closed their barriers, turned out their guards, and 
on our halting at a hundred paces distant, sent forward an 
officer. This cavalier, who proved to be John Learmpnth of 
Balcomie, the senior captain of our pikes, asked, sword in hand — 

" What troops are these?" 

" M*Farquhar's company of the regiment of Strathnaver, in 
the service of his Danish majesty," said Ian. 

" You may enter, gentlemen," replied Learmonth. 

Then we shook hands; the gates were opened^ the piper again 

VOL. I, I 



114 PHILIP BOLLO J 

struck up, and we maax;hed into BoitzeDburg, where four htlindted 
of our comrades receiyed us with a true Highland welcome. 

Old Dunbar, our sergeant-major, had every qualification for a 
commander. Well versed in all the theories, sa well as the 
sterner practice of war, he had left nothing undone that would 
enable him to defend his post like a man of honour : a soldier bj 
race and name (for he was one of the Dunbars of Dyke^ in the 
lordship of Spynie), to his natural and aoquii^ talents he 
added a sound judgment, a strong mind, and the bravery of a 
lion, with the form and the heroism of a Wallace; and withal 
his disposition was mild and gentle. He issued few orders, but 
these were always marked by brevity, and obeyed with alacrity; 
and, as these orders wei'e never unnecessary, they were fulfilled 
witk the most peifect reliance upon his sagacity and courage 

Passing through the town, we crossed the river by a bridge^ 
and took up our quarters in a strong sconce, which Dunbar had 
erected on the Luneburg side^ and which, with the assistance ai 
Captain Learmonth (who acted as his trench-master or engineer), 
had been fianked out in such a manner that, with twenty pieces 
of cannon, it swept the river above and below the bridge, the 
centre of which he had carefully imdermined to cover our reti^eat^ 
in case we should have to retire. 

The bastions of this redoubt were of earth, faced Up with 
smooth tur^ the embrasures being well splayed out to afford a 
range for our culverins ; the front was high and based with stone^ 
as a pretty deep graff was dug round them, and filled by water 
from the Elbe. Within these defences were several substantial 
stone houses, which by good fortune stood there before the war, 
so that we were very comfortably quartered; and as all the 
coimtry to the southward had been laid under contribution, we 
had a good store of bread, beer, bacon, cattle, with fodder for 
them, not forgetting several kegs of skeidam, and low country 
wine. 

The town of Boitzenburg had been long before abandoned 
by its inhabitants, who fled with their most valuable effects 
at the approach of the Imperialists; thus while doors, win- 
dows, and floors were to be had for the mere trouble of car- 



OR, THB SOOmSH HUSKETEEBS. 105 

lying them away, we had no lack of fuel, and laid up a great 
store, for the double purpose of supplying oursdves and burning 
the place, if compelled to abandon it The evening of the third 
day was just closing, and the broad, yellow, and lurid sun was 
shedding his fiirewell rays along the waveless bosom of the Elbe, 
on ooe side throwing into deep shadow the walk of the town, 
the arches of the bridge, and the ramparts of our redoubt, while 
the other side was all bathed, as in a deluge of warm light, when 
one of our sentinels (Gillian M'Bane) £red his musket, and 
announced the approach of the Imperialists. 

The report of th^t musket made every heart leap. The drum 
beat hoarse and rapidly ! From the desolate town our stragglers 
hurried into the redoubt; the sluice which fed the wet ditch was 
opened; the klinket of the palisades was closed and barricaded; 
the cannon were run back and double shotted; we stood to our 
arms, hoisted the Danish colours, but placed our own Scottish 
ensign on the highest parapet, and with the last gleam of sunset 
saw the enemy debouching heavily in column, among clouds 
of dust from the Reinsdorf road, and from the green woods and 
undulations of the fertile country. 

With his helmet open, and a grim expression on his bearded 
iBuob, old Dunbar was observing them dosely through his Galileo 
glass as they poured along — ^the musketeers, in buff coats and 
steel caps, marching with matches lighted and their rests slung 
to their sword-belts, the pikemen well armed in back, breast, 
and head-pieces, with tassettes to cover their thighs, and the 
horsemen in complete mail, with swords, calivers and demi- 
kmces; six pieces of cannon, and a howitzer for throwing shells 
— a new invention of that great warrior^ Ernest Count of Mansr- 
feldt, that prince of soldiers of fortune, and champion of tho 
^ueen of Bohemia, for in many a bloody field he bore her glove 
upon his helmet. 

" Swords and pikes!" said Dunbar, closing his glass sharply; 
" there are ten thousand men under yonder blue banner, not a 
helmet less, and we have here but five hundred true Scottish 
hearts to make good the sconce against them !" 

They halted, but beyond cannon-shot, their infantry rem^ain- 



116 PHiup hollo; 

ing in dense colamn, with the horse on their flanks and the 
' artillery in front; and in a few minutes after we saw an officer, 
with a white flag displayed from his demi-lance, ride forward, 
accompanied by a trumpeter, who sounded a parley. 

" Ensign Rollo," said Dunbar to me ; " you know something 
of scholar-craft, and speak other tongues than our auld mither 
Scots, take a stout fellow with you — go forth, and learn what 
yonder gay galliard requires of us." 

Pleased with this opportunity, and proud of the selection 
among so many men of good birth and acknowledged valour, I 
summoned Fhadrig and Gillian, gave a last look to the clasps of 
my harness and the locks of my pistols, drew my sword, and 
leaving the sconce by a private klinket, deliberately approached 
the Imperialist, who remained on horseback motionless as an 
iron statue, observing me narrowly between the ears of his 
horse; for I have little doubt that one part of my garb — 
the kilt — must have impressed him as being somewhat 
remarkable. 

His own attire was singularly magnificent, even for the 
service to which he belonged; for there were many of the general 
officers, such as Count Oarlstein, who afiected the grandeur of 
princes, and had firequently a troop of cuirassiers as theu: 
guard; while the colonels of the raggamuffin Walloon infantry 
kept their gilded coaches in camp, and ate and drank out of 
vessels of silver, some of them having even a secretary, who (as 
few of them could write) was generally the most usefal of their 
vast train of servants. 

His helmet, cuirass, and the tassettes which covered his thighs, 
were of the brightest steel; the open sleeves of his doublet were 
cloth of gold, the inner were of crimson velvet ; his gloves were 
of steel, and reached to his elbows; his boots were of black 
leather, furnished with enormous jinglespurs, having metal balls 
in lieu of rowels; his long toledo hung in a scarf of qrimson and 
gold interwoven, and from its hilt dangled a sword-knot of gold 
and black silk.* 

His figure is yet impressed upon my memory. 
* Still worn by the AnBtrians to commemorate the loss of Jenuctlem, 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 117 

. Tall, handsome, and about forty years of age, his features were 
sitem, grave, and sometimes sad; though, when his eyes became 
animated, they filled with fire. A deep scar on his forehead 
shewed that before this he had met death face to face; and there 
was a frank bluntness in his manner which showed a long fami- 
liarity with danger, and with every phase of life. 

" Your servant, my young finend," said he, in a strong Scot- 
tish accent, and smiling, as we saluted each other with our 
swords ; " if you have forgotten our meeting by the Elbe near 
Gluckstadt, and the pretty actress Prudentia, I have not." 

" Pardon me, sir, but I did not recognise you in your helmet. 
Yet see — in memory of that meeting, I have still worn your 
gold chain." 

"Ah ! you must prize it more when I tell you, that it is formed 
from the gold of that identical cup with which Knox and Calvin 
so often administered the sacrament to the English refugees at 
Frankfort. Old Spurrledter, one of my troopers, picked it up 
on the march through there, and so I had it made into a 
chain." ^ 

" It were a thousand pities to deprive " 

"Tush! I shall soon find another; if you offer it back, I shall 
fling it into the Elbe." 

" You wished to parley with us, sir?" 

" The fact is, we are anxious te cross the river, and you have 
most annoyingly cast up a sconce right in our way; and, aa 
this sconce is garrisoned by five companies of Highlanders, wq 
count upon a desperate resistance." 

"You reckon rightly, sir," I replied proudly; "there is a 
high spirit among my comrades in yonder place. This will be 
the scene of our first encounter with your Austrians; and I will 
^swer for it, that as Scottish soldiers, with the high memory of 
a great and glorious past urging us to win new honour for our 
flEtl^erland, many a heart must pour forth its best blood before 
either the Counts of Tilly or Carlstein shall cross the Elbe." 

At that moment a roll was beaten on a drum within the 
^»doubt. 
. "Thou art a fine fellow!" said the cavalier of fortune, "and. 



118 PHILIP ROLLO; 

I hope to spend an evening with yon over a can of wine, after 
yon are taken prisoner; bnt your comrades are waxing impa- 
tient — ^tell the sergeant-major, Dunbar ^" 

**Hah — ^yon know that we are commanded by Dunbar !" 

" The bravest man under the Danish flag ! I know more ; 
for I am aware that he has but Ave hundred Highlandmen in 
the sconce, under the captains M'Farquhar, MKIJoll of that Ilk, 
Learmonth of Balcomie, Munro of Oulcraigie, and M'Kenzie 
of Kildon; for you cannot sneeze on the Danish side of the 
Elbe but straightway we Imperialists hear of it at Vienna." 
• " I believe there are spies among us," said I, thinking of the 
Hausmeister. 

" Tell Dunbar that the famous Count of Carlstein — (ah ! he i» 
a devil of a fellow, that Count !) — with ten thousand old iron- 
feces, the flower of Tilly's Austrians and Spaniards, is about to 
force the passage of the Elbe; that he would gladly, for the 
sake of Eliaabeth Stuart, the Bohemian queen, spare the lives 
of her coxmtrymen ; and that, if they will leave the bridge of 
Boitzenburg free, they shall have leave to march wherever they 
please, with all the honours of war." 

** Cavalier," I replied, "you may tell the great Count of 
Carlstein that we could never accept of such terms with honour. 
Our orders are to defend the banks of the Elbe to the last gasp, 
and so will we defend it, or die by its shore !" 

"Well," said he, as he reined back his horse and sheathed his 
sword, ''on your own heads be the blood that is shed, and yon 
will have but Dimbar to blame for the extermination that 
awaits you — ^farewell ! " 

He galloped off, accompanied by his trumpeter, and I 
returned to the sconce to make my report to Dunbar. 

" Ye hae dune weel, my young birkie,** said he; "ah, pikes 
and pistols! Let them com^ and we will show Count Carlstein 
that we care as little for Austrians as our fbre&thers did for 
Rome, despite that lying loon, Hegisippus. Hallo, provant 
master I serve the lads round wi a quaigh fu' o' brandy; and let 
us all drink * Tir nan heanuy ncm glean, a' nan ffnaisgeach /* (the 
country of mountains, of vialleyft, and heroes,) for it may be the 



OB, THE eCOTTIBH MUSKETEEBS. 119 

last drop many among us will taste in this world, and my 
mind misgives me that we'll no get muckle in the next. Let 
the pipers blow fire into onr hearts, while Balcomie's company 
pile their pikes, and stand by the bastions to work the 
cannon J** 



120 PHILIP BOLLO: 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

HOW OUB OLD SCOTTISH BLADES POMMELED THE IMPEBIALISTg. 

As we had secured, sunk, or destroyed, all the boats and other 
craft on the Elbe, the Imperialists had no other means of cross- 
ing but passing, at push of pike, the long stone bridge which 
spanned the river by its strong and stately arches ; and as the 
whole line of it, and the approaches thereto, were liable to be 
raked by the cannon and musketry of the sconce, they made 
immediate preparations to gain the latter by assault. 

There were not less than ten thousand men approaching to 
force this passage, which our five hundred Highlanders were 
left to defend. They were led by the great Count of Carlstein, 
whose name was only less familier to us than that of Coimt 
Tilly. He was said to be a distinguished soldier of fortune, on 
whom the ambitious but generous Emperor had freely bestowed 
(that which did not belong to him) a Bohemian coronet, together 
with a free gift of that magnificent Castle of Carlstein, built by 
Charles lY., eight miles from Prague, and where the regalia of 
the conquered palatinate were kept. 

At length, then, we saw them, and were invested and sur- 
rounded by those haughty, proud, and ferocious soldiers of the 
Empire, to whom battle was a pastime, and human blood as 
water ; the terror of the Protestants and scourge of Bohemia ; 
those sons of rapine and outrage, steeped to the lips in the darkest 
crimes, yet flushed by the memory of a hundred victories. 
Numerous though they were, our little band of kilted clansmen 
stood to their arms undauntedly, feeling an honest confidence in 
their own valour, with a hatred of their enemies ; for in the name 
of religion, with the cross of God on their standards and on 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 121 

their breasts, those Imperialists, wherever they had been vic- 
torious, at Fleura, at Bergen-op-Zoom, and after every field from 
Prague to that of Liitter, had committed such atrocities as 
vould have made even the heart of a Nero recoil. 

Full orbed, and round as the shield of Fingal, the imclouded 
moon rose brightly above the Elbe ; its glassy waters rolled in 
light, and the woods and thickets which fringed the southern 
bank, together with the old fantastic houses of Boitzenburg on 
the norths were all bathed in that silver sheen, which in bright- 
ness contrasted so strongly with the deep black shadows. 

Under the central arch of the bridge three red lights were 
reflected in the current of the river. These were the lanterns of 
our miners, who, under the direction of the Laird of Balcomie, 
were sinking a chamber in one of the piers, and charging it with 
powder. So bright was the lustre of the July moon that we 
could discern every movement of the enemy as clearly as if it 
were noonday. 

A regiment of musketeers, clad in white buff coats and st-eel 
caps, and having two large banners with the Austrian Eagle 
and Burgundian Cross, poured along the road, and, under a 
discharge of their cannon (which took possession of an eminence 
about ^YQ hundr^ yards distant), advanced to storm and destroy 
the palisades which protected the outer side of our wet-graff ; two 
other regiments endeavoured to outflank the redoubt, and force, 
by the river side, a passage to the tete-du-pont, but a heavy fire 
met them at every angle; their cannon-shot began to knock 
splinters of stone and clouds of earth about us, or crashed into 
our parapets, and now began in earnest the whole uproar of war^ 
which now I heard for the first time. 

Our company of M'Farquhars had to defend that face of th^ 
sconce which swept the roadway; and over our earthen parapets 
we poured a close and deadly fire, to which the Imperialists re- 
plied with equal rapidity, but not with equal effect; for while 
our men levelled over a rampart, which protected them breast 
high, the assailants were wholly exposed, and levelled their long 
matchlOck-muskets over iron forks; but the front rank came on 
with arms slung, and using only hatchets attacked the palisades^ 



122 PHILIP ROLLO; 

hewing them down frantically in their efforts to force a passage 
to the ditch. 

" Shoulder to shoulder, my men I fire close, and fire low 1 " cried 
Ian, whose eyes flashed brighter as the conflict increased ; aiid 
though it was his first, he was as cool as old Dunbar, who had 
serv^ with the Scottish bands under Hepburn in Bohemia* 
His example strung my heart, and recalled my somewhat scatte]> 
ed energies, which had become a little confused; for every instant 
a heavy cannon-shot boomed over our heads, to crash among the 
roofs of the town, or with a dull heavy sound, sank deep into the 
turf breastwork of the sconce; while the hiss of the musket-balls, 
which flew past us like a leaden storm, was ceaseless as the splash 
of rain upon the casement. The whole fort was enveloped in 
smoke, for as our mousquetade mingled with theirs, we could 
no loiter see the enemy ; but we heard the crash of the axes among 
the falling palisades, the cries of the wounded, and the yells of 
the fierce and eager; their incessant war-cry of "Sancta Maria! 
Sancta Maria!" and the din of their drums beating the charge; 
but into the dark and opaque cloud, from the bosom of which all 
these dire sounds proceeded, our brave clansmen shot fast and 
sure, at the practised level ; and Balcomie*s lieutenant, a brave 
old soldier, David Martin of that Ilk, inspired his pikemen 
to handle our brass culverins in such wise, that every bullet 
must have made a frightful lane through the dense column o{ 
attack. * 

A triumphant shout — the true wild aeraigh of the Scottish 
Highlandmen — mingled with the shrill notes of the pibroch ring* 
ing from the four angles of our fort, announced that, baffled in 
their efforts to reach the bridge, the Imperialists had fallen 
back, and we redoubled our efforts. 

Many of our finest men lay dead or bleeding profhsely around 
us. Ian and I took the muskets of two, turned over their bodies, 
and emptying their cases of bandoliers, fell into the front ran)^ 
and fired like private men; but in silence, for our gallant High^ 
landers required neither voice nor action to urge them to the 
performance of their duty as soldiers; for they were all stanch 
men and true, of that old race which, as our bards say, spran^^ 



OB, THE SOOmSH HX76KETEERS. 1 23 

from the soil, and which in other years had tamed " the eaglet 
of the kings of the world.** 

The assailants were now so close to ns that the mnsket-balls 
pierced breastplates and buff coats like silken Tests; and as 
tA&ny of our poor fellows who were unable to c(rawl away, bled to 
death just where they fell, the planks of the platforms soon 
became plastered with a horrid and slippery mire of blood and 
earth, for every moment the cannon-balls of the Austrians tore 
the latter from the faces of the embrasures, and cast it in showers 
about us. There were some firightful wounds received by our 
oomrades that night. 

Konald Gorm, a sergeant of pikes (in other times a rich gen- 
tkman-drover from the braes of Lochaber), had his face shot 
away by a ball from a basilisk ; another had his lower-jaw torn 
off by the ball of a ^sdconet; and a piper, Red Fergus of the 
Clan Vurich, was shot through the nose and eyes, but lived for 
three days in blindness, and such agony that it would have been 
a mercy imder God to have pistoled him outright. 

This was my first bout with an enemy, and that these horrors 
impressed me I am not ashamed to own. More than once my 
heart shrank within me on seeing a strong and stately fellow 
doubled up like a tartan plaid, and hurled out of the ranks, with 
a cannon-ball fairly through his body. The cries of the woimded 
were piteous, but there was no time to heed them ; though every 
instant we had to drag away the fallen men, whose bodies en- 
cambered the wheels of the cannon and parapets, through the 
embrasures of which we suffered severely from the fire of the 
assailants. 

At last, seeing probably the futility of attempting to storm 
a work so resolutely defended, until he had prepared means to 
^[ect the passage of the ditch which encircled it, and which was 
both deep and broad, the baffled Count of Carlstein, about mid- 
night, and just when the moon was waning, made his trumpets 
sound a retreat. The fire of the artillery ceased on the emi- 
nence; the infisintry retired under cover of some rising grounds 
beyond it, where they bivouacked, lighted their fires, and set 
aboat cookings acting true to the soldier's proverb — '^ The dead 



124 PHILIP BOLLO; 

to their graves, and the quick to their suppers;*' the smok^ 
cleared away, aud we saw the shattered stockades; the Ileiii&- 
dorf road heaped with bodies piled over each other, swords, pikes, 
drums, helmets and muskets; and by the light of the sinking 
moon, we could see the miserable maimed, crawling on their 
hands and knees towards the Elbe, seeking water to quench 
that fiery thirst, which the exhaustion of the assault and the 
agony of their wounds made more poignant. 

I was gazing dreamily at this sudden change in the prospect 
from the redoubt, and still seeming to hear the imited roar of 
the attack in my ears, when the loud clear voice of Dunbar 
aroused me. 

" Piper — ^blow the gathering 1 M*Farquhar, KUdon, brave gen- 
tlemen, muster your companies, call the roll^ and number the 
deadr 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. 125 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

THE CBOWN OP FiBfi* 

For US, a mere "handful,*' opposed to a column so powerful, 
there could be no rest; thus, while oue half of our slender force 
remained under arms, the others worked hard at the repair and 
further strengthening of the works, by means of cannon-baakets 
filled with earth, sandbags, beds and mattresses, taken from the 
houses, and chandeliers made of roo& and flooring sawn into 
billets, trussed up in bundles, and banked over with turf. We 
made the utmost exertion, because, though immolested, we 
augured, by the constant report of fire-arms in the Imperial 
bivouac, that the troops were busy discharging, cleaning, and 
preparing their fire-arms for a second attack. 

In one deep grave, within the sconce, we buried our dead, 
placing more than forty of them side by side, and so covered 
them up. The last we put in was the sergeant, Ronald Gorm. 

" Poor Ronald !" said Phadrig Mhor ; " 'tis thou must perform 
the fcdre-chloidh;^^ for it is a Bighland superstition that the 
soul of the last person buried in any place, must keep watch 
there nntil another corpse is brought, whose spirit relieves the 
former. 

" Ronald's ghost will not be long on guard," said Ian ; " for 
I am much mistaken if more heads will not be broken before 
to-morrow." The piper played a sweet and sad lament at this 
unseemly funeral; in the old Highland fashion, we placed four 
large stones above that ghastly tomb, and, in the language of 
the bards, bade them speak to other years, and to the men of 
other times. 

The wounded we sent off to GlUckstadt in rough country carts, 



125 PHILIP BOLLO; 

through the open joints of which their blood ran di-ipping on 
the dusty road. As a protection, a small guard of pikes accom- 
panied them; for our stragglers and sick were frequently 
murdered by the boors, whose cupidity their silver buttons and 
ornaments served to excite. 

A ration of skeidam was served round to us all; and about 
sunrise, after doubling the guards and seeing that the Imperial- 
ists, though within cannon-shot, were not intending to molest 
us, Dunbar ordered our men to "pile arms," and take some 
repose. Poor fellows 1 they lay down to sleep in their armour, 
and with their bare legs on the gory platforms or cold efllth ; 
and there, amid the scattered shot, the exploded shells, the 
blood gouts, and the broken weapons, I enjoyed the sound sleep 
of a wearied soldier, and undisturbed by the reflection that it 
might be the last I should ever enjoy; and you, good reader, 
would have slept sound also, after the toil, the carnage, and ex- 
citement of such a night as that at Boitzenburg. 

Anxious to defend his post with honour, Dunbar — that brave 
old cavalier — never slept, but remained watching every move- 
ment of the enemy, whom we permitted, without molestation, 
to bear away their wounded from under the very muzzles of our 
cannon; but the moment this was over, the pipes soimded, the 
drums beat, and we were again roused to man the ramparts, for 
again they were coming on, and with renewed vigour, for three 
battalions of Spanish Imperialists had joined the CouzLt in the 
night. 

"Pikes and pistols — here they are again !'* cried our veteran 
major, or sergeant-major, for according to the Danish etiquette 
we called him both ; " but fear not, my brave hearts, for God is 
with us, and His hand is over us. Believe me, gentlemen, our 
cannon are noway inferior to theirs for not having Latin 
mumbled, and holy water sprinkled, over them by the superior 
of the Jesuits. So to your guns, my wight cannoniers — ^to them 
again with handspike and linstock — with rammer and quoin!" 

About the closing in of the evening, a dense column of Spanish 
infantry, with pikes and musketeers intermingled, suddenly 
debouched upon the roadway from behind the little eminence 



OB, THE- SCOTTISH MUSEETEEBS. 127 

wMch had sheltered them, and poured impetuously forward, to 
assail again the stookades of the graff ; while a brigade of Aus> 
•tdans rushed towards the sluice which admitted into it the water 
of, the Elbe; and though thrice, bj sheer dint of cannon and 
musketry, we drofve them back, they forced a passage to the 
angle of the ditch, and climbing literally over piles of their own 
dead and dying, cut the chains by their axes, and, closing the 
sluice by sledge-hammers, retired with a loud hurrah ; for im- 
mediately the water in the ditch began to subside. On this 
the furious Spaniards redoubled their efforts to carry the palisades ; 
but as these projected at the angle of forty-five degrees from 
a steep bank, and were swept by our fire, it was a task of the 
greatest danger and difSiculty ; yet these yaliant hearts accom- 
plished it, and reached the inner edge of the ditch, but as fast 
sa they mounted they were shot down, and w£en struck we 
could see the blood spouting from their buff coats and corslets 
as if ejected from a syringe. 

"Fire on the sluice!" cried Dunbar to Captain Learmonth, 
whose pikemen still worked our cannon; "break through the 
planks — ^admit the Mbe, and fill the graff again." 

" It is impossible!" replied that cavalier; " for our guns can- 
Hot be depressed so low." 

" Then Heaven help us ! for they will soon gain this poor sconce 
by storm. 

"We can stiQ retire by the bridge," said Learmonth. 

" Without ordera?" exclaimed Dunbar, the umbriere of whose 
helmet was, at that moment, torn away by a shot ; " nay, I will 
die first!" 

Learmonth, who was levelling a cannon, was about to make 
some devil-may-care reply, when two musket-balls struck him ; 
one pierced his cuirass, and wounded him in the breast; the 
other tore away three fingers of his left hand, and he fell with- 
out a cry, but with a heavy groan, while his lieutenant, old 
Martin of that Ilk, assumed his place. 

" This, to avenge thee, Balcomie," said he, discharging the 
<3aniion, and unhorsing a cavalier, whose bright armour and 
•waving plumage made him dangerously conspicuous above the 



128 PHILIP ROLLO; 

dense mass of Spaniards who were swarming over the stockades^ 
and lowering their ladders into the now almost empty fosse. 

"Well done, stout Martin!" said Dunbar, brandishing his 
sword ; " to thy cannon again, and give me another good shot — 
another like that for the Queen of Bohemia ! Down with that 
tall fellow in the gilt armour! Cocksnails, man! — ^he may be 
Carlsteiu himself! Down with the black eagle, and down with 
the cross of Burgundy ! Load with cartridge shot my cannoniers, 
and sweep the stockade; sweep, my comrades, and be stanch 
as your swords of steeL Ah ! pikes and pistols — ^my poor Martin 
— and thou, too?" he added, as a ball from a fidconet passed 
through the head of the old lieutenant, and killed him on the 
spot : he was the last of the Martins of that Ilk, a good old 
family ruined in the affair of the Spanish Blanks, since when 
he had fed himself with the blade of his sword among the Scot- 
tish bands in Bohemia, or elsewhere. 

It was frightful ! Poor Martin's brains flew over me, andj 
half blinded, I wiped them off my face with my scarf; while, 
enraged by the loss of two favourite officers (though Low- 
landers), our clansmen redoubled their energies, and thus the 
din increased as the smoke and slaughter deepened around us. 

Brightly the evening sun wa& shining on -the blue water and 
green banks of the Elbe; but enveloped in the white cloud of 
war, inspired with ferocity, and bent on carnage and destruction, 
we saw nothing but the enemy and our dying comrades, who 
every moment feU heavily down in their accoutrements, bleeding 
and in agony, or stone dead, as the fitted shot might strike them ; 
but closing up, shoulder to shoulder, the little band of survivors 
stood firm on the parapet ready to repel the assault; for still 
the Danish flag was flying on the colour-staff, and still the 
Scottish cross was streaming on the rampart. We — the officers — 
fought side by side with our musketeers, till our mustaches were 
all matted by the wet powder of bitten cartridges, and our 
shoulders ached with the exertion of incessant firing, while the 
barrels of our muskets became so hot that there was eminent 
danger in recharging them ; yet still we toiled on. And'now 
came the crisis; for thgugh three successive storming parties 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 129 

Wad been swept away, our ammtmition began to fail, and, as the 
bandoliers emptied, our fire slackened, and then the Spaniards 
&nd Austrians — ^pikemen, halberdiers, and musketeers, all mingled 
J»ell-mell — ^led by officers having pistols in their belts, and swords, 
da^ers, and demi-lances, poured into the ditch ; rushing down 
their ladders, and planting them against the wall, they swarmed 
tip its &ce in hundreds. 

Sheathed in brilliant armour, magnificently inlaid with gold, 
iiaving his visor closed, a sword in his right hand and a poniard 
in his left, which also grasped a light rondelle or buckler, the tall 
itnd stately Count of Carlstein, wearing above his gorget the 
Golden Fleece and the White Eagle, led the forlorn hope. 
■ <* Victoria ! Victoria !" we heard him crying. "Forward, for- 
ward ! swords and pikemen !" 

'^Sancta Maria !" replied his soldiers, in a thousand varying 
tones uniting in one roar; "Sancta Maria ! Vivat — vivat !" and 
ihat wild cry of the Austrians was echoed by the wilder hurrah 
of a ttegiment of Croats, who had leaped from their white horses, 
and were levelling their long carbines at us, point-blank over 
their saddles, with deadly precision. As the foe approached I 
looked at Iain. With his eyes flashing under the peak of his 
helmet, and both hands clenched on the hilt of his claymore, he 
was^ surveying the scene below with stem calmness. Phadrig 
Mhor, with a Lochaber axe, stood by his side, and the M*Far- 
qnars, with their empty muskets clubbec(, stood grimly in their 
ranks. They were a dark, a savage, and picturesque group. 

" You see, my cousin," said Ian, in that grim jesting tone 
which he could assume at times; *^that King Christian has re- 
solved we shall pay dearly for declining the Danish cross. We 
shall all find our graves by the shore of the Elbe." 

" Ye say truth, M'Farquhar," said Dunbar, as he pressed to 
the front with a partisan in his hand, and a pair of pistols in 
his belt; "but if ever we have a Hegisippus to relate our story, 
he shall never, like a lying loon, have it to say that we feared the 
face of man. But that king, whose life was saved by the Scot- 
tish Rittmaster Hume, on the day he fled from the battle of 
Latter, should have rcEEiembered that trifling circumstance; and 

▼OL. I. K 



130 PHILIP BOLLOj 

also that his sister had the honour to be queen of fair Scotlaii<l4 
But bide ye— hark!" 

Above the uproar in the trench below us, the fire of the 
Croatian caUvers, and the shouts of the stormers, we heard the 
clang of a horse's hoofe on a paved street^ and saw a cavalier 
lightly armed, galloping in mad haste across the bridge of the 
Elbe, and in three seconds he dashed into the heart of the sconce 
amongst us. 

'^ The Baron Karl of Klosterfiord, aide-de-camp to the king!** 
exclaimed Ian and others. 

" Herr Dunbar," said he, breathlessly; "you are to abandon 
the sconce, spike the cannon if you cannot bring them ofl^ blow 
up the bridge of the Elbe, and retire to Lauenburg or Gliick- 
stadt." 

<'-Tis too late, baron — ^these orders have come too late to 
save lis," replied Dunbar, as hand to hand we met the Impe* 
rialists, hewing them from their ladders with swords and hal- 
berts, thrusting them down at push of pike into the fosse, where 
many of them, by falling head foremost, perished miserably among 
the mud and sap below. 

Right in the gorge of our embrasure stood the Count of 
Carlstein, fighting with sword and buckler against Ian, whose 
powerful form overtopped the foe, though he could not stand 
erect while swaying his two-handed sword. Their soldiers press- 
ed on behind thera, amd deadly was strife at that point; for 
against it the enemy were pouring all their strength and fury- 
Save an occasional pistol shot, the din was occasioned alone by 
the cries of the combatants, and the clash of their weapons, 
steel sparkling on steel; and nothing could surpass the bravery 
of Count Carlstein and his Spaniards, but that of Ian Dhu and 
his company. 

Hurled over each other in whole sections by our levelled 
pikes, we rolled them into the ditch; but other sections came 
up in their places, and their cries rent the air. 

"Viva Ferdinand! A Dios ! a Crisfco y al Espiritu Santo, 
gloria y gracias ! Victoria! Victoria !" For lack of powder 
our men hurled sand, earth, and stones, right into their &ces, and 



O&j THE BOOmSH HTTSKETEERS. 131 

Phadrig Mhor hewed away with his pol&-axe like a mower in 
a ripe clover field. 

Amid this dense mass in the embrasure, while pikes were 
crashing, swords ringing, and colours flying, swaying to and fro— 
now on this side, and now on that— many frightftd wounds were 
given and received. lan^s right knee, being bare and unprotected, 
was drenched in blood from a stab, which raised his Highland 
blood to the boiling pitch, and, by one headlong stroke, he hurled 
the count, as if he had been a mere puppet, into the heart of the 
ditch ; but his place was immediately supplied by another cava- 
lier wearing the Imperial soar^ and carrying in one hand a 
demi-pike, in the other a banner with the black eagle. 

With one foot on a culverin, and the other on the cope of the 
parapet, during this mele^ I was handling my half-pike so pro* 
minently that I was the mark of many a bullet, but escaped 
them all, though receiving innumerable bruises. While he 
feught with others, the sword of my noble cousin shred off many 
a pike^head, and broke down many a sword, which menaced me; 
for, like wight Wallace of old, it was no uncommon event for 
Ian Dhu to encounter four men at once, and knock them all on 
the head in succession, aiding his friends the while by many a 
Casual thrust and blow. 

In this desperate and destructive struggle their native 
strength and skill in the use of their weapons, together with 
their lofty position, gave our bare-kneed warriors an immense 
superiority over the Spanish or Austrian stormersj but it was 
evident that, step by step, by main force of numbers, they would 
drive us into the heart of the place, where we would infallibly 
be all cut to pieces or taken. Major Wilson, Sir Patrick Mackay, 
Gulcraigie, Kildon, M'Coll of that Ilk, and others, all fought 
valiantly in their own ranks ; and it was a glorious sight to see 
so many brave Scottish cavaliers, all handling sword and pike 
86 if they had come into the world with harness on their backs. 

But, meanwhile, where was old Dunbar ? for he, who usually 
was in the thickest of every fray, was not now in the front with 
his two-handed cliobh. Our soldiers, who soon missed him, 
were beginning to lose heart, and cried repeatedly — 



I9i PHILIfBOLLa; 

"ADttnbat! aDttnbarl** 

'^ I am here, my comrades ! Ah, pikes and pistohh- Kslear the 
way!" replied the sturdy Veteraii, as he sprang into the embra- 
sure, and hurled among the aBsailftDts something whkh. seemed 
to me like an imm^rae hoop. 

It was enveloped in light smoke, and became ooTcired with 
flames ^ it fell among the dense masses of armed men in the graff 
below; a sudden yell arose from thence^ and an immediate panic 
followed. 

This wajry old veteran^ who had served with Oamp-Marshal 
Hepburn and Sir Andrew Gray in Boh^oia, and with Count 
Mansfeldt in Flanders, in expectation of an assault, had prepared 
a cotmmne foudroytmiei, which was composed of four iron hoaj^ 
bound together with wire,, and studded by loaded pist<d barrels^ 
cprackers, pointed pieces of iron, gla«s bottles filled with powder^ 
and bunches of grenades (those notable inventions oi 1574)^ tlia 
whole being covered with tarred and oiled flax, which wreathed 
the hoops with Are as they rolled, a bla2iing and exploding masa. 
among the stormers. The barrels of the pistols, whidi weret 
loaded to the muzzle, as they became redhot vomited theic 
leaden ccmtents everywhere; the bottles of powder bursty and 
the grenades exploded, scattering death and mutilation as their: 
showers of splintered iron, stones, and nails, were driven among 
the shrinking storming party^ which fled in every direction up 
Hxe ladders, over the stockades, and to the £urthest ends of thft 
ditdi. For Ave minutes the panic was general ; but those Ave 
minutes saved the soldiers oi Dunbar, who cut and destroyed 
the scaling-ladders. 

A hoarse shout for vengeanee burst from the £oe. Led on again 
by the Count and the cavalier with the black eagle, the Impe- 
rialists poured in thousands into the ditch; but before fresh 
ladders were planted upon those corpse-strewn heaps which filled 
it, and before the infuriated pikemen had gained the summit of 
the parapet, we had drawn back our twenty brass culverins, 
traced the horses to th^n^ and retired in double-quiok time by 
the bridge. 

In close ranks,, with pikes sloped,' and musketa traildc^ the, 



OB, THE 8C0TTI&H MUSKETEERS. l3S 

three hiindred Highlanders who survived crossed the Elbe; and 
ihB horses galloping at full speed, drew the heavy culverins ovet 
the broad arches with the sound of thunder. Holding his 
startled charger by the bridle, Dunbar stood near the klinket of 
the sconce to spring the mine the moment the last of us were 
passed. The M^Farquhars were the last who retired. 

"The colours — ^the standard! Ensign Rollo, you have left 
your colours behind !'* cried the old man in a fiirious tone; " they 
are still flying on the parapet, within arm's length of the 
enemy." 

Thunderstruck by his words, I paused irresolutely. 
♦ " God's death !" he cried passionately; " the Imperialists have 
never yet gained one from our Scottish bands, and shall the first 
be taken from the regiment of Strathnaver? Pikes and pistols! 
— at the risk of your life, youngster, bring off that standard, or 
die under it." 

He levelled a pistol at me ; but at that time I scarcely heard 
all he said, as I rushed back to the bastion, where in the hurry 
of bringing off the cannon we had left St. Andrew's cross flying. 
The Austrians were indeed within arm's-length ; a storm of 
bullets swept around me, as I tore it down and sprang after my 
comrades, followed by a swarm of Imperialists, who now poured 
over the undefended rampart like a living flood. 

Closely pursued by a volley of oaths and bullets, I ran towards 
the bridge of the Elbe, and had almost reached the tete^Vr-porU 
when, lo ! the arches rocked beneath my feet, there was a 
tremendous explosion, with a broad blaze of lurid light, and then 
a cloud of darkness, dust and stones arose before me, and I knew 
not whether I was in the clouds or on the earth, as the mine was 
sprung, and the great centre arch blown into the air. Like the 
shower of a volcano, the debris descended upon the crystal 
current of the Elbe. Before me, a deep chasm yawned between 
the ruined piers; behind me, were the fierce Imperialists! On 
the opposite ruin stood Dunbar, still grasping his restive horse 
by the bridle. 

"I could not help it, Kollo," he cried; "better that one 
should be lost, than all!" 



134 fHILIPBOLLO; 

I thonght my heart would burst tinder its band of sted ; but 
tearing the silken colour from its staff, and placing a stone with- 
in it, I flung it across to Dunbar. He snatched it up, sprung 
into his saddle, and galloped after the retiring Highlanders^ who 
had now disappeared in the silent streets of Boitzenburg. 

Though encumbered by my back, breast, and headpieces, my 
heavy tartan kilt and accoutrements, my first thought was to 
spring into the river and swim it, as I had often swam the Dee 
and Don ; but a bullet, almost spent, struck my head. The 
good steel cap prevented it from piercing my brain, but I sank 
on the spot, and felt the ruin crumbling under me, as, with one 
arm overhanging the water^ I lay upon the fragment of the 
bridge. 

I remember no more. 



OB, THE SOOmSH HX78KETEEBS. 135 



CHAPTER XX. 



aUPEBT-WITH-THE-BED-PLUME. 



I LAY long insensible, concealed by a mound of rubbish which 
the explosion of the bridge had thrown up between me and the 
sconce, where the fierce Croats and savage Spaniards had bar- 
barously slain all our poor wounded men, and thrown them into 
the river; for the first objects which appeared when sense re- 
turned, were several corpses in dark green tartan floating on the 
surface of the Elbe almost below me, and in the yellow flush 
with which the setting sun tinged the broad river. Many of 
these bodies were half-stripped by those infamous women who 
followed the Imperialists in such numbers, and who found an 
unwonted prize in the silver brooches and jewelled biodags of 
the Highland soldiery. 

" Oh cursed bigotry, and accursed ambition !" thought I, when 
reflecting on these horrors; for ambition had produced the war 
of aggression, and religious bigotry had inflamed the minds of 
the enemy, and urged them to that atrocious pitch of cruelty, 
of which the sack of Magdeburg was an example so terrible ! I 
was about to stagger up to seek a draught of water — for the 
agony I endured from thirst cannot be written — ^when a heavy 
hand was laid upon me, and a somewhat &miliar voice^ said — 

** If you would escape death, lie still as if you were dead." 

I looked up, and in the splendidly armed cavalier who ad- 
dressed me, recognised by his military orders the great Count of 
Carlstein, and by his voice that Imperialist who had bestowed 
on me the golden chain, and from whom I had received the flag 
of truce. 

*' Lie still," he continued hurriedly, '* till night£sdl, at least, 



136 PHILIP BOLLO; N 

and then I will have you conveyed away. I had an order from 
Tilly to put all to the sword in forcing a passage here, and his 
orders must be obeyed by all who receive them. Feign death if 
you would escape." 

Unable to reply, I sank again, and how long I remained so, I 
have not the least idea ; but, when aroused fully, I found myself on 
horseback, and supported on the saddle on one side by a gentleman 
in bright armour ; on the other, by a man in the Celtic garb of my 
own regiment. The whole landscape swam around me, but I per- 
ceived that there was a brilliant moon shining ; that the Elbe with 
its ruined bridge lay on my right, and yellow fields, witii rustUng 
trees and green hedges, extended to the left. A mouthi^ 6i 
brandy and water revived me, and I said to the soldier — 

"Who are you?" 

" Dandy Dreghom, sir, of puir Captain Learmonth's company," 
he replied, and then I recognised him as one of the Low Country 
pikemen, of whom we had a few in the regiment, from the couu-r 
ties pn the Highland border. 

" And how did you escape?" 

" By feigning mysel stane deid, sir, sae they just dookit nje u^ 
the Elbe; but I could swim like a cork, and hid myself among 
the green rashes till this gentleman saved me. Oh, sir, it was 
an awesome butchery! mair than forty gallant fellows, who 
were sairly wounded, shot deid, or hacked to pieces by knive^ 
and whingers, and flung into the river. If ever I spare ai) 
Imperialist after this night o' bluid, my name is no Dandy 
Dreghom!" 

^'And where are we going — why in this direction 1" 

" To a house that I wot of, not £a.r from this," replied the 
gentleman, who had a large red plume in his hiehnet; " there^ 
ordera have been given to convey you.'' 

The country became more woody as we proceeded, and the 
moonlit road wound past various lonely tarns, overgrown by 
broad-leaved plants and water lilies; the deep wat^r on whicli 
they floated, being rendered yet darker by the shade of many ^ 
aged oak. After a pause, I said — 

" E;rQm whom have you orders oo^vc^rping nie|" 



OB, THE^ SQOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 137 

r " The Oouat of Carktein,'* replied the stranger. 

" That ferocious butcher! Then I am hopelessly a prisoner." 

" That depends upon the count," he replied, laughing ; " but I 
am sorry you should have such a bad opinion of him." 

" Pardon me, sir" — said I, checking the bridle of the horse; 
" what have I permitted myself to say? I now perceive that you 
are the count himself 1" 

Dandy started on hearing this; but the count— for it was in- 
deed he — smiled, and said — 

" I thought you would soon recognise me." 

" Good Heaven! you are a Scotsman, and yet can butcher 
your own countrymen thus ! " 

" I do not butcher them," he replied in a broken voice; " they 
defended that bridge affcer a fair warning of what they might 
expect if the fort was stormed, and bravely have they fought, 
leaving it without one cannon lost or colour taken. Besides, 
pir, please to remember that I am not the only Scotsman who 
fierve the Emperor. We have more than one regiment of our 
countrymen, and many a Scottish commander, in the army of the 
Empire." t 

" And why is this?" 

" Because, like myself, they are all true Catholics, and serve the 
Catholic League, whose princes are pledged to exterminate 
Protestantism. And yet, sir, I was not always a CathoHc. I 
remember well when I toddled at my poor mother's apron to 
fmr village kirk at home ; I remember its time-worn arches, the 
pointed windows, and the gloomy pews ; I can remember the ven- 
iwable minister, with his thin haffets and lyarfc pow, his benignant 
face, and smooth Geneva bands; I remember the deep religious 
ftwe with which I lent my little voice to swell the choral psalm, 
9Lnd heard him expound who in his youth had heard Knox 
preach and Spottiswoode declaim 1 I can remember the grave, 
(ittentive faces of the congregation, the laced lairds and plaided 
ihepherds, the young girls who have now become grandmothers^ 
gnd the old people who are now in their graves — ^rest them^ 
Crodl — ay, graved in Scottish earth, where I may never He. 
yes — ye^r-1 om remember the day when I waa a stanch 



13d PHILIP BOLLO; 

Presby teriali, and would have looked — like yon — ^with horror on 
the cross and eagle of the Empire. But if you knew all that I 
owe to the Church of Home, you might pardon me for having 
rushed into its arms. Early in life, my misfortunes — it matters 
not what they were, or how they came about — ^made me, with 
others — a slave in Barbary. There I remained for five long years. 
Oh ! what years these were, of hardship and repining; of toil and 
stripes; of hunger and mortification; of pain of body and agony 
of mind. Yet no effort was made by our countrymen in 
Scotland to relieve us, though we were numerous — gentlemen, 
seamen, and merchants— chained together like felons or wild 

beasts As Christian men — though Scots, heretics, and 

Presbyterians — ten of us were redeemed from slavery by the 
poor monks of the blessed Order of Bedemption. Those true 
servants of Qod brought us to the Italian shore, and thero upon 
the sands of Porto Fino, just where the Levanter landed us, on 
our knees we vowed to fight for that religion which had saved 
us from a life that was worse than a thousand deaths. We 
joined the army of the Emperor Ferdinand II. — ^ten of us — all 
privates in a troop of Lindesay's Scottish Beitres. We fought 
against the Elector Frederick, against Mansfeldt, old Sir Andrew 
Gray, and the Margravine of Anspach; hewing our way 
through Lusatia, Upper Austria, and the Palatinate of Bohemia. 
The storming of Frankenthal saw the ninth of my comrades 
slain, and me a captain ; the siege of Bergen-op*zoom saw me a 
colonel of pikes. I was sergeant-major di battaglia, under 
Don Ck>nzalez de Cordova in Hainault, and am now Camp 
Master-general and Count of Carlstein, Lord of Gteizer and 
Koningratz, under the Black Eagle. I believe, young gentle- 
man, you will acknowledge that I owe these old monks of 
Redemption much; for I should have waited long enough, if I 
had tarried until some of our Scottish ministers came to Barbary 
to release me, to heal my scars and break my fetters. But 
enough of these prosy explanations," he added loftily, haughtily — 
almost fiercely; **I have saved your lives, when I might hav» 
left you both to your fate. Taunt me not with the loss of those 
poor fellows at Boitzenburg — ^for they had a fidr warning to 



OR, THE SCOTTISH UVSKETEESa 1 39 

marcli off without firing a shot, or being fired on — ^to withstand 
an assault and risk extermination." 

" May I ask to what family you belong, and what is your 
Scottish name. Sir Count 1" 

"I belong to a family that never regretted my loss, so I 
disown it," he replied bitterly. "The Imperialists call me 
Eupert-with-the-Eed-FliMne; but what is your name, and who 
are your femilyl," 

" Like your own, count, my family were not much distressed 
by my departure ; so their name matters little — their memory 
less; but our Highlandmen call me Philip M'Combich, which 
means Philip, the son o£ my JHend,^^ 

The Count laughed at this mode of retorting upon his reserve, 
saying— 

" "Well, well, let us each keep our little secrets ; but here we 
are arrived at last. This is my temporary chateau, and a very 
oomfortable one you will find it." 

With their copper vanes glittering in the moonlight, the high- 
pointed and old-fashioned gables of a hall now appealed above 
some thick copsewood. Entering an avenue of old beech-trees, 
we were alternately in light and shadow as we passed their ivied 
stems; we came to a broad fosse fiill of long reeds and wild 
water-plants, chiefly floating lilies, and over this we passed by 
an old and moss-green bridge of stone, at the end of which was 
an archway surmounted by armorial bearings which proved after- 
wards to be those of my Mend, the Baron Karl of Kllosterfiord, 
<me of whose mansions on the Luneburg side of the Elbe had 
been appropriated by the Imperialists as the quarters of the 
Count of Carlstein and a troop of Reitres, whose horses 
were stabled in all the lower apartments where the doors would 
admit theuL 

The vast and irregular fsi^ade of the old chateau, with its 
broad balconies, its steeple-like turrets and indented gables, was 
b&thed in white moonlight, a number of noisy and half-armed 
aoldiers thronged the courts, or played at dice and shovelboard, 
over cans of German beer in the stone chambers on the ground 
floor, where they burned large fires on the tesselated pavement, 



HO PHILIP EOLLOj 

and recklessly were never in want of fael, while doors, windows; 
and furniture lasted. 

As we entered the courts two young ladies in light-colomed 
dresses appeared at the upper balcony, and wared their handker* 
chiefe to the Count, whom I immediately concluded to be as gay as 
other generals of Ferdinand II. I was surprised, however, at not 
seeing more of the fair sex, for a vast number followed the 
soldiers of the Catholic League; and there are several iDstanoes 
of their garrisons, which, on obtaining permission to march out 
with the honours of war, brought away more women than 
men-*-death>hunters and ammunition-wive& In morality the 
Imperialists formed a strong contrast to the armies of the Pro- 
testant champions, Christian of Denmark and Gustavus of 
Sweden, who would not permit camp-followers of any descrip- 
tion to hang upon the skirts of their foroe& 

Under their black iron helmets, the tipsy Beitres of Carist^ 
savagely eyed poor Dandy Dreghom, who kept dose by my side 
as we crossed the quadrangle to the door of the vestibule, where 
the count kindly assisted me to dismount, and gave me his arm 
to lean upon when ascending the stair. Dandy was following 
us closely, when the count desired a greyhaired lanoe-spesade ai 
the troop, whom he called Gustaf Spiirrledter, to " take him 
among the soldiers; and be answerable for his safety and com* 
fort, limb for limb — and body for body." 

We entered a brilliantly lighted room, where a magnificent 
supper was laid, with covers for three; it was waiting for the 
count, towards whom the young ladies sprang with a cry of joy, 
and embraced him — 

" My daughters,*' said he; " Ensign Mao — ^upon my word, I 
forget your name!" 

I bowed, and tottered to a seat, for the effect of my contusion, 
and the ride on horseback over a villanous road, were telling 
severely upon me now. 

I could only perceive that one lady was very dark, that the 
other was fair, and that both looked kindly and pityingly 
upon me. 



OB, THE SCOTTISH KtJSEETEERS. 141 

" Off with his helmet, girls!" said the coiiiit, " and bring him 
a cup of wine." 

I felt my steel cap removed, then a deluge of warm blood 
^read over my eyes, and blinded me. A cry burst from the 
young ladies. 

"Poor boy!" I heard the count saying; "poor boy!' Ho, 
Gustaf Spiirrledter — away with him to bed — quick there below ! " 



Hi tmur BOLLo; 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE FAIR HAIB AlTD THE DABK HAIS. 

The sun, as it shone upon my eyes next morning, awoke ma 
I started, gazed aroimd, and sunk again, for I struggled with a 
dreamy sense of pain and oppression. I was not in a biyotia<s^ 
lying on the hard earth with a sword for a pillow and a 
plaid for my covering, but on a bed of the softest down; and 
the glance I had given revealed to me a tapestried room, the 
hangings of which were old and dark, representing huntsmen in 
the antique German costume of the fourteenth century, antlered 
de«r peeping from among the leaves, and large Danish hounds 
in the foreground. The warmth of the sunshine was playing on 
my cheek, and the fragrance of a thousand flowers, with the 
merry notes of the birds as they sang their summer songs, came 
through an open wkidow, wafted on the breeze together — ^musio 
and perfume. I heard the murmur of a distant cascade, and 
the foliage rustling on the old oaks^ the yellow linden-trees, and 
copper beeches. 

The furniture of the apartment was rich and luxurious; but^ 
as all was confusion in my mind, for a time I forgot how it came 
40 pass that I was there, and still imagined myself at the fort 
of Boitzenburg. I saw the stately forms of Ian Dhu and 
Phadrig Mhor, of Learmonth and Dunbar, as they hewed down 
the Imperial escalade. I still heard the din of the conflict^ the 
war-cry of the Spaniards, the wild slogan of the Highlanders, 
and the wilder yells of the Croatian horsemen; and then I gave 
a convulsive start to find myself in a comfortable bed, which 
suggested ideas of Craigrollo, and the college of James IV, 
Thus, when again I dosed, the old fsimiliar features of my home 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. U3 

passed befoi'e me — ^those scenes whose solemn grandeur makes. 
On the mind of the young mountaineer, that lively and peculiar 
impression which the denizen of a flat country cannot conceive; 
and thuS; on that feverish couch^ many a face and many a dream 
of other days floated before me. 

Near my father's house there flowed a linn — a deep, dark linn, 
where the loee burnie poured over a ledge of rock; it was crossed 
by a large stone, and I remember the time when that brigstane 
was quite a bridge to me. I seemed to hear the murmur of the 
linn and the rustle of my paternal woods, and saw the white 
blossoms of the sweet-scented hawthorn birks that grew beneath 
the old tower walL I heard the bleat of the sheep that browsed 
upon my father's hills; the rich perfume of the purple heather, 
and of the bells of that beautiful broom, from which the sweetest 
honey is gathered by the mountain bee, were wafted towards 
me. I heard my mother s gentle voice, but it seemed to come 
fix)m a vast distance on the drowsy hum of summer, and all my 
soul was stirred within me. I was a child again, and I wept in 
my sleep like the lonely boy I was. I wept, but I knew not why, 
unless it were that through these tender visions there came an 
oppressive sense of their unreality. The past conflicted with 
the present, and I felt that I was far away from those dear hills 
of Cromartie, fi'om the shores of their blue Firth, and the dusky 
peaks of the Black Isle — sick, weaiy, and wounded — a stranger 
in the land of the stranger and foe. Oh 1 I may be pardoned in 
thinking, that no heart like the heart of the Scot and the 
Switzer feel that dire loneliness when so ikr from home; and 
none like they are haunted by the strange sad fear, of being 
buried fex from the graves of their kindred. Yet how many of 
our brave Scottish hearts have mouldered into dust on the plains 
of Flanders and Germany; by the shores of the Elbe and the 
Oder, the Bhine and the Danube, the Zoom and the Zuiderzee ! 

When again I unclosed my eyes and gazed between the 
parted hangings of the bed, I perceived two young ladies at the 
foot of the apartment. They were conversing in a low tone, 
and placing flowers in a large vase. They were the daughters 
of the count; but as ladies have the privilege of giving the flrst 



recogtiition among tis in Scotland, and as tbeir presence in my 
apartment might be a mistake, I if^ted tintil ihej should 
address me. 

I observed that one was a fair girl, clad in that pale bliie silk' 
which so well b^omes persons of her complexion; but the eMe^ 
and the taller of the two, a beantifal girl witili jetty hair, was 
dressed in orange-coloured satin, a tint which so well constated 
witib her dark hair and fine complexion. You would have lovecf 
the yoimgest had you seen her &ce, there was such a sweet ex* 
pression in its pretty mouth and dove-like eyes; but the eldest — ^ 
her form was beautiftil, h^ features irreproachable^ her profik 
was noble, and the freshness and delicacy of her oomplexioti 
were remarkable. Her &ishion of dress, her air, her mode of 
holding up her head, had something more of gentle blood ib 
them than her sister; and though it would have been difficult to 
find two more lovely girls, each afber her own style— the eldest 
seemed to be the proudest pet of nature. 

^He seems to be still asleep, Crabrielle,'' said the dark beanly ;> 
"but uneasily — for I have heard him moan." 

"Hush — you will wake him — how loud you do taU^* 
Bmestine!" 

So, one is called Gabriell^ and the elder is Emeetind^ 
thought I. Such pretty names these are-^and they speak* 
C^erman, too ! I would have sworn Ernestine was a Spaniaro^ 
but her black hair has come with her Scottish blood. 

Having completed their arrangement of the vase, they ap^ 
preached, placed it on a little tripod table near me, and so^y 
drew back one of the rich curtains of the bed. I felt veiy m«dr 
inclined to laugh. 

"Poor young man i^' said Ernestine; "he is wniling in h]S> 
sleep." 

I endeavoured to assume a look of the most ekstiradnjg 
candour. 
. " His hair is dark and curly," said Gabrielle^ 

" He reminds me somewhat of poor Lerm% who was slaioi at 
Liitter." 
: I heard GabrieUe sigh^ 



OB, THB BOOTTISH MUSEETEERa 14^ 

■ •* She has lost a lover at that unlucky battle," thought 1, and 
was in some degree correct; for these fair girls had many lovers, 
but they had never distinguished any, save one, the gallant 
young Conde de Lerma, son of the Spanish duke of that name, 
to whom Crabrielle had been betrothed at an age which was 
too tender to possess any other love than such as a brother 
inight- have for a sister ; and like a brother the boy count had 
loved his little wife ; but a cannon-ball had decapitated him at 
Lutter in the moment of victory, and there was an end of it. 
Grabrielle had wept for the loss of her yqung friend-rr-Lerma ha4 
been nothing more — and she still retained his betrothal rii)g on 
the fourth finger of her right hand. 

" Oh yes I " said she ; " he is just like Lerma." 

" "With the same amount of mustache," added Ernestine. 

*' Lerma had less — but he was so young." 

My hand lay upon the coverlet, and, with her soft warm hand, 
Em£»stine touched it gently by chance. 

"He is hot and feverish — ^we must be very kind to him, 
CJabrielle. Poor boy 1 " 

The touch of Ernestine's hand made my heart vibrate; but I 
remembered Prudentia, and resolved to steal my heart against 
all soft impressions and nonsense for the future. 

She is very beautiful and charming, of course, thought I; 
but let me beware how I fall lightly into that troublesome 
trap again. 

Now, reflecting that it was unfair, by a seeming sleep, 
to impose upon them thus, I made preparations to awaksy on 
which they let the hangings drop, and glided noiselessly to some 
distance. 

On my drawing back the curtain, they both approached me 
again^ and Gabrielle, who possessed either less pride or mora 
fhinkness than Ernestine, asked me, with the most winning 
Idndness, " How I was," and bade me " good-morning." 

I replied that the pain of my bruise was gone, that a little 
giddiness remained ; but that I suffered greatly from thirst. 

On hearing this they hurried to a side table, and in a minute 
jretomed with a silver salver, bea^g some wai?n ^fredm^^t, 

VOL, I. L 



146 PHILIP ROLLO; 

of which I partook because it was offered by the white ^welled 
hand of GabrieUe, though I would hare given the world for a 
cup of pure cold watei*. 

" I am too much honoured by such attendance — I beseedi yoa 
to retire, and send to me the soldier, my fellow prisoner. I 
recognise in you the daughters of the count, who so kindly saved 
me, when our wounded — poor souls! — were so merdlessly 
slaughtered at Boitzenburg yesterday." 

" Our fdther has desired us alone to attend you, and, as his 
coimtiyman, we quite love you already," said the frank Gabrielle, 
with one of her delightful smiles; "you can have no other 
attendants save us, or Corporal Spiirrledter, and perhaps the 
soldier who accompanies you." 

"Honest Dandy Dreghomi" 

"But both you and he," added the graver and statdiier 
Ernestine, "must remain concealed closely; for, as Count Tilly 
will be here in the course of to-morrow, to explain reasons for 
our request were a needless task." 

" Tilly!" I reiterated, giving a convulsive start, and giandng 
about for my claymore and biodag, on hearing the name of that 
terrible leader of the great crusade against the Protestants of 
Germany and the liberties of Northern Europe. " If Tilly is to 
pass this way, then Dandy and I have been too long here, for 
to the Protestant soldiers of Christian IV. he shews such mercy 
as a cat shews to mice. Ah! he is a merciless old savage, and will 
shoot us as a mere matter of course." 

" John of Tsercla, the Count Tilly, is general of all the armies of 
the Empire!" said Ernestine proudly, and with an air of piqua 

" Ah ! sister, but he is very cruel," urged GabrieUe, gently. 

"Yet fear nothing, sir; my father's influence will protect, 
and our care conceal you. Simply, he thinks it better or safer, 
that Tilly should not know you are here." 

" But take the nice little breakfast we have prepared for you," 
said the childlike GabrieUe; "to-morrow you will be stronger, 
and we shall all talk more together." 

Ernestine stood, for she seemed all unused to stoop; but 
GabrieUe knelt down by the side of the low bed, and, holding 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEB8. 147 

.bijfore me the silver salver,^ gave me a green crystal cup containing 
a certain alimentary infusion named coffee, which was to be 
taken warm and sweetened with Canary sugar, which, like 
the beverage itself was then a luxury imknown among us in 
Scotland. I have since been told, by those cavaliers of our 
army who were taken prisoners at Worcester, that this coffee 
has been introduced into England by a person named Pasqua, 
a Greek, who came to London in 1650, with a Turkish merchant 
named Edwardes, and who sold it at his shop in Lombard-street, 
as a medicated restorative for the sick. Never having tasted 
any thing of this kind before, I felt so wonderfully refreshed and 
invigorated by one cup, that I was easily prevailed on to take a 
second, with a little biscuit of honey and flour. 

I thanked these two beautiful girls politely and sincerely, and, 
after the hardships endured by us since leaving Itzhoe, could not 
help expressing my sense of the luxuries with which they had 
surrounded me. 

** You owe us no thanks for that, sir," said the proud Ernestine f 
'* this house is as much yours as ours, being so by the right 
which the chance of war gives us over every thing that comes in 
pur way. We accompany our father's column of the Imperial 
army, and, as he Jalways selects a pretty house for us, I hope you 
approve of his taste. This mansion belongs to the Baron of 
Klosterfiord, an officer of Danish pistoliers." 

" He is my good fidend, and a brave soldier!" 

" But a Protestant," said GabrieUe, quietly. 

" And consequently a foe of ours," said the other beautiful 
Imperialist, shaking back her dark curls. 

" Never mind, sister," added Gabrielle, laughing ; " a month 
hence our dear father may select apartments for us in the castle 
of Copenhagen." 

" Your father never will, lady," said I, piqued at her words ; 
" for there are too many of our tough Scottish blades to keep 
the passes of the Elbe against both the pride and the power of 
the Empire." 

" Here our father comes, and he will best tell you the chances 
of that," replied Ernestine. 



148 rmuF BoiLo; 

At that moment I heard a horse ridden rapidly into the 
quadrangle; then the clank of spurs and the jarring of a long 
sword, as a cavalier dismounted, entered the vestibule, and ap- 
proached the room where I lay, and from whence the two young 
ladies hurried to meet him. 



OS, THE SCOTTISH MX7SKBTEEBS. 149 



%uk tire /Diittlr^ 



CHAPTEE XXIL 

DANDT DRE6R0SN. 

Aftes a few minuW delay, the count entered alona He 
was armed just as I had seen him yesterday, and appeared some- 
what jaded and fatigued. 

** Ah, my Mend and countryman ! I have again the honour to 
salute you," said he, seating himself by my bedside.* A thousand 
cannonades] how well you are looking this morning; you will 
be with your regiment in a week. Ah, that fine regiment ! — King 
Christian's InvincibleSy we call them now. But say, have these 
lasses, my daughters, been kind to your' 

^ Kind as sisters." 

^Bight 1 for eveiy soldier — ^more especially a Scottish soldier — 
should be their brother, as he is mine, when off the battle-field. 
The girls are warm-hearted, for they have been reared, not in 
courts and cities, among the parasites of kings and slaves of 
fEUthion; but in camps and gairisons, among Mmk soldiers and 
generous hearts — ^the gallant Austrians and daring Croats; and 
all they inherit of old Scotland comes ^m me. I have been 
twice married, my dear boy. The mother of Ernestine was a 
Spanish lady of Flanders ; the moth^ of Gabrielle, as you may 
see by her blooming cheek and fidr hair, was of Hainault-^ 
'Hainault the Valiant!' hence the name of Gabriella They 
are two pretty pets; I love my dear girls, but think, at times, I 
would rather they had been boys, that they might have fought 
lor the Catiiolic faxth, and transmitted my hard-wcm title to pos* 



150 PHILIP BOLLO; 

terity. At other times," continued the count, who seemed in 
high spirits and in a talking hiunour; ^'I am seized with sore 
longings to see old Scotland again — to see my fiither^s tower, the 
blue waters, the purple mountains, and the pine-woods of my 
native place. But I was a younger son. I have made me a 
new name, a new fame, and patrimony of my own ; I have hewn 
them out by my sword, and fenced them roimd by gallant deeds. 
I will never again have to enact the somer or the trencherman 
at the hall-table of a kinsman, or stoop to eat a vassal's bread, 
though given by an elder brother, when here I am lord of 
three manors, Carlstein, Geizar, and Kceningratz, and camp- 
master of horse, under the Emperor. Yet my heart bled yes- 
terday at the slaughter of my poor countrymen ! Would to God 
they came crowding to the banners of Ferdinand, as they now 
crowd in tens of thousands to those of Gustavus Adolphus and* 
his rival. King Christian ; of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and that 
prince of cowards, Frederick Guelph, the Elector-Palatine. 
Then, indeed, the northern war would end without a blow." 

" Yet all your sympathy did not save our poor wounded mea 
from massacre at Boitzenburg." 

" Tilly's orders were most stringent — to put all to the sword 
who resisted, that a terror might be stricken into others, and 
the Elbe abandoned. You do not know Tilly; his orders never 
bear but one construction. We knew quite well that Dunbar had 
but five hundred Highlanders in yonder sconce. We will nevar 
lack for infbrmation while that sharp fellow Bandolo lives." 

" Bandolo ? " I repeated, thinking of Prudentia, the danc^, 
and endeavouring to recollect something else ; "I have surely 
heard that name before." 

" Thus I was ordered at all risks to force the bridge of Boit-. 
zeuburg, because it was your weakest point, and siarengthened 
only by your sconce, mounted by twenty guns, which Bandolo 
imdertook to have spiked the night before.'* 

" That sconce was an effort of poor LearmontVs skill ; but 
has there been any fighting elsewhere ? " 

"I have not heard; but this I know, that Christian IV; 
struggles in vain to keep us on this side of the Elbe ; for we . 



* OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 151 

frill soon build boats, or by storming the bridges force a passage, 
and every wbei^ enter Holstein," 

"Since you are so well informed, count, perhaps you can 
acquaint me where my comrades have marched to 1 '* 

" I cannot ; — to-morrow our prince of spies will return from 
tlie Danish side of the river, and Tilly will meet him here ; we 
shall then know more about them. But I implore you to keep 
out of the way of the generalissimo, for otherwise I could 
neither be answerable for your liberty or safety." 

" Ah ! then you do not mean to keep me a prisoner 1 " said I, 
with sudden joy. 

"A prisoner ! — how could you think so ? No, no ; only till you 
are well, when we must find some means of transmitting you to 
the Danish army, which by that time will be in full retreat." 

" Then, count, I mean to be quite well to-morrow; and surely 
King Christian will not retreat by that time 1 " 

" You shall not leave us so soon. When I was taken prisoner 
at the battle of Duneberg, Colonel Sir John Hepburn, of Athel- 
staneford, kept me for three weeks in his own tent before he 
would let me return. But now, you must excuse me ; to see 
you I have just stolen a few minutes, and am compelled to re- 
turn to where my headquarter force is cantoned, for the whole 
army is closing up towards the Elbe. Meantime, I leave you to 
the care of old Spiirrledter and my daughters." 

" Will they not be alarmed by your departure 1 " 

" Nay, nay ; they have been used to see me go and come in my 
armour for many a year. They have more than once seen me 
brought home shoulder-high upon a door, with a bullet through 
my body ; and more than twice have seen my horse Bello- 
chio come home, with no trace of his rider but the blood on his 
saddle-laps. Poor girls, — they are so affectionate I Gabrielle is 
quite a child, but Ernestine is more of a woman, and has con- 
sidered herself one ever since she was three years old ; yet, with 
all her pride and reserve, she can at times be as gentle, as frank, 
and as playful as Gabrielle. Tilly will be here to-morrow, or 
next day at the farthest, and then we shall have warm work ; 
so, my young friend, until I see you again — ^fexewell ! " 



152 PHILIP ROLLO; 

The ootint retired, with his lofty red plume dancing above his 
embossed helmet, and his sword EUenliauer (or Ironhewer), a3 it 
could cat both helmets and blades of steel, under his arm ; then 
I was left, for a time, to my reflections. About an hour affeexv 
wards, I heard stealthy footsteps approaching; the door of my 
chamber opened, and the broad, good-humoui-ed Lowland face of 
Dandy Dreghom — the same soldier whom we had gauntleted 
for his gluttony on the march — appeared, looking cautiously 
round the room. He had a large Dutch leather flask in one 
hand, a brown-ware pot in the other, and a loaf of bread under 
his arm. My helmet and cuirass, kilt, plaid, and other trappings^ 
were lying upon a sofa; and the moment he espied these items, 
which were indicative of my presence, he advanced more boldly, 
and overwhelmed me with questions about my wound, and noisy 
exclamations of joy at having discovered me. 

" 'Od, sir, I'm glad I've fund ye oot, for I had a sair job seek* 
ing ye through this muckle ark, from roof to grund stane, Kke 
a pair coo in an unco loan. Eh ! sir, that was an aw^' business 
at the Brig o' Boitzenburg; what a sicht puir Fergus M*Vurich 
was, wi' the shot through his nose ! He was a grand piper tha^ 
and could blaw wi' his mooth fu' o' meal ! " 

'* And how fares it with thee, honest Dandy?** said I, givitig 
him my right hand. 

" 111 eneuch, sir, Gudekensl" sighed Dandy, squatting himself 
upon the floor, placing the jar, the loaf, and the bottle, betw^n 
his legs, and unclasping an immense jockteleg knife; '' 111 eneuch ! 
for between that dour deevil, Corporal SpUrrledteT, and an anH 
besom o' a housekeeper, that maks. a' alike unwelcome, I am 
weel nigh starved ; for they gied me naething for supper last 
nicht, and for breakfast this morning, but chappit cabbages." 

"Cabbages]" 

"Ay, sir, as Fm a leevin' man— chaj^it wi' pepper and 
vinegar, sic as at hame we Wadna gie to a grumphie soa 
'What the deils this?' said I to auld Spurrledter; ^ Soot 
Craute,' said he. ' Soor what?' said I. * Soor Craute,' he roared 
out, with an oath like twa sneezes and a raiortk * The Lord hae 
a care o' me! is this the kind o' draff and dreg you German 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 153 

bodies eat)' Tau)/ said he, as he ladled a bowlfu' into his 
stamach like a kail-eating Grant o* Strathspey; 'and ver gooty 
too.' * Does your billy o' an emperor eat kail-blades that wayl* 
He nodded his grey pow, for he was owre fu' to speak. ' Pre- 
serve lis a' — ^what a beast he maun be !' said I, The auld beggar 
lookit very like as if he wad hae stickit me, but I gloomed as if 
I didna care a brass bodle for him.' 

" So, then, you have neither had supper last night> nor break- 
hst this morning?" said I, seeing that Dandy was cutting his 
third slice from the loaf, and was eating and speaking with equal 
tapidity. 

** This will never do, I thocht; * keep your ain fish-guts for 
your ain seamaws, corporal,' said I ; * for before I will live on green 
kail-blades, or castocks either, I'll see you and your emperor baith 

-** .' I didna say damned, but I thocht it. I then gaed awa 

on, the forage, and in a slee comer fand this braw pat o' honey, 
that bottle o' skeidam, and a loaf; then I came in search o' you, 
sir, for I feared ye might be during on kail-blades too; and I 
ken they gang sair against the stamach, unless weel boiled with 
bee^ and mustard conform thereto." 

" Many thanks, good Dandy," said I, amused by this brave 
fellow's garrulity; "I have already breakfasted, and have done 
so well" 

" Then, sir, you'll let me mak mine beside ye, for the soond o* 
a Scots tongue is just like music to me, and gies me an appetite 
mairowre; for it gars me think o'the halesome breezes thai 
blaw owre the green braes, the sweet smelling heather, and the 
yellow corn-rigs at hama My hail heart and my een fill when 
I think on hamel" and, flourishing his fiask, Dandy began to 
sing,— 

•' Comin* thro' the Craigs o* Kyle, 

AmbDg the bohnie bloomin* heathei*. 
There I met a blae-^yed lassie, 
Keepin* a* her flock thegither. 
Owre the moir amang the heather! 
Owre the miur amang the heather ! 
There 1 1 



154 PHILIP BOLLO; 

" For Heaven's sake, Dreghom, make less noise." 

"Fule that I was!" continued Dandy, continuing his repast 
and his reflections together; ''fule that I was ever to leave mj 
plew, to follow the deil and the drum in the Danish wars — ay, 
a damned fule," he added emphatically, with moistened eyes, as 
he sliced away at the loaf, and with his jockteleg spread on the 
honey an inch thick, and took alternately a large circular mouth- 
ful, and a draught from the leathern flask. He then drew an 
oak quaigh from his sporran, and, mixing the honey with the 
skeidam, said, "Will ye no tak a sup, sir] this is just like Athole 
brose. Here's to ye, sir, and may we baith be safe wi' Sir 
Donald in a day or twa; 'od, there's a gude Stirling pint left yet 
in the flask, and I'll just pouch it." 

"Have you seen the count's daughters. Dandy 1" 

"Ay, have I, Maister RoUo — ^twa saucy Hmmers, that laugh- 
at me to my very face ! " 

" They are very handsome." 

" Handsome — sune ripe, sune rotten ! They couldna haud a . 
candle to muirland Maggie at the Bumfit o' Drumlie." 

" Animated by no love of glory, or desire for military fame, 
I cannot conceive, Dandy, what tempted you to leave your 
plough, and become a soldier." 

" It's a lang story, sir," replied Dreghom, with his mouth full ; 
" but I can mak it short enough, if you'll promise never to tell 
ony o' our chields at the regiment ; for then I wad hae to quit, 
that, as I quat the parochin o' Drumlie." 

" I pledge you my word. Dandy." 

"Weel, ye maun ken, sir," continued the hungry Andrew,- 
sighing as he spread the last of the honey on the last of the 
loaf; "I was a puir plew-lad, and bided wi' an unmarried 
aunty, an auld whaislin, wallydraigel deevil, that, because she 
had never gotten a gudeman, took it into her wise heid to turn 
witch. Noo, sir, whether she was a witch, or wasna a witch, I 
canna say; but she was auld enough, and ugly enough, for ane; 
for her hook neb and hairy chin met when she girned, and her 
twa een were sunk a finger length into her heid; but, my certie ! 
they could look oot wickedly eneuch when I suppit owre muckle 



Oa, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEES. 155 

brose, stole her cream, or let her peas bannocks scouther on the 
girdle. I say again, sir, that, whether she had any dealings wi' 
the Auld Gentleman or no, I ken nocht, and noo I care nocht; 
bnt this I ken, that, as she never gsued to kirk or mercat, she 
sune got the wyte o' a' that gaed wrang in the country side." 

" Well, Dandy, such as "" 

" Enchanting millwheels, that stood stock-still one hour, and 
whirled the next as if the deil drave them ; 6* making toom^ 
yill -barrels dance in the browster's yard ; o' croaking on lumheids 
like a corbie, and yowling on the sclaits like a cat ; o' gieing the 
Dominie the palsy, and the Precentor the pest, and causing ilka 
other ill that happened in the parish ; o' putting the hail pains 
o' child-birth upon Jock Tamson the ruling elder, whose gude- 
wife was safely delivered o' three bairns, while he, gudeman, was 
dancing and raving about his kailyard, thinking himself be- 
witched, as he was. She was accused, o' raising up whirlwinds ; 
o' dancing wi the diel at the Nine-stane-rig, where he cam 
dressed like a Hielandman (as I am), with kilt and hose, and 
the Lord kens a' what mair, for she was like the colley wi' the 
ill name; until at last our minister, Maister Kittletext, when 
riding hame to the Manse on a munelicht nicht, frae a meeting 
o' the kii'k-session, saw twa brigs at the bum o* Drumlie, and 
was weel nigh dooked to death by riding owre the wrang ane. 
Next morning, he swore before the sheriff, that frae the moment 
he passed our cottage he saw every tiling double, whilk was 
naething wonderfu' in him, when pricking his auld mear hame 
in the gloamin' ; sae the session hauled my aunty before them, 
screwed her with the caspie claws, pricked her wi' pins, declared 
she was a witch, and bmnied her in the loan at the end o' the 
toun; and, aye cankered as she was to me, I grat like a wean 
when I saw the bleeze, as I sat about a mile off on the hill o' 
Drumlie, for in that bleeze the last o' a' my kith and kin was 
passing away. After this, the hail parochin misca'ed me as a 
witch's kinsman, nane wad employ me; sae a mouthfii' o' meat, 
a sup o' kail, or a bite frae a bannock, wasna to be had. The 
men gloomed — ^the women gied me the gae-bye — the baima 
pu ed my plaid-neuk and cast stanes after me, till my life was 



156 PHUJPBOLLO; 

weary. I grat wi* Bpite, and said, ^Deil tak the parish o' 
Drumlie, and a' that are in't ! I'll turn sodjier, and march to Low 
Germanie' — and sae, sir, I am here." 

Finding that he was wearying me, and that I was somewhat 
inclined to sleep, Dandy left me for the purpose of foraging for 
more vivres against the time of dinner, as he had a mortal aver- 
fllon to having recourse to Coi-poral Spurrledter*s basins of 
growte. 



OS, THE SOOmSB UVSKETEEBS. 157 



CHAPTEE XXIII 

£SKESTlirB AND OABBlELLE. 

Two days' nursing at the hands of these charming girls made 
me almost well, and fit for service. The contusion on my head 
no longer gave me any pain; the scar closed, and grew hourly 
less tinder the soothing application of some essence or lotion 
which they applied to it j and they were both so kind aa to bring 
their work — ^for they were very industrious — ^into my room, 
where they sat, one on each side of my bed, and sewed, embroider- 
ed, read, or chatted with me. There was something sufficiently 
pleasing, and perplexing too, in being thus placed between two 
such beautiful young women— one with dark hair and large orient 
eyes} the other, with mild blue orbs and soft bright curls j both 
animated, laughing, brilliant, and fall of wit and vivacity. To 
say the least of it, my position w:as very enviable. 

Ernestine was dark, and tall and stately. 

Gkibrielle was less so, but feiir and blooming; ever smiling save 
when some recollection floated through her mind. Then she cast 
down her timid blue eyes and sighed. 

Ernestine wore her long black hair, parted smoothly over her 
open brow, in broad and heavy braids. 

Gabrielle permitted hers to float in loose ringlets, which dis- 
played to the utmost advantage their bright golden colour. 

Ernestine's deep dark eyes had usually a quiet and thoughts 
expression; her sister's, though less attractive, possessed more 
vivacity. Ernestine had more pride, Gabrielle more fi^nkness ; 
and I know of no picture more beautiftd than was presented by 
these two motherless sisters, whose home was the camp, when 
Grabrielle rested her Mr head, with its shower of golden curls, upon 



158 PHILIP BOLLO; 

the budding bosom and snowy shoulder of her more thoughtful, 
more contemplative, and more matron-like sister; their attitudes 
were so fiill of grace and affection. 

Ernestine had the fire, the step, the glance, the dark eyes, and 
the dignity of Spain. 

Grabrielle had the rich bloom and bright hair of her mother, 
the Hainaulter ; but Ernestine, though she addressed me least, 
interested me most. In form she was finer than the most beauti- 
ful statue ; her hands and arms were of the most pure and per- 
fect form that a sculptor of the highest class could conceive ; and 
yet, if I could make any distinction in their Samaritan attention 
to me, little Gabrielle was the kindest of the two. When com- 
paring the calm, even, reserved, and well-bred style of their con- 
versation, with the bold and forward manners of Prudentia, I 
felt nothing but anger and disgust at myself for having yielded 
so completely to her spells and her snares; and yet the beauty 
of that Spanish dancer was worthy of a higher sphere and better 
fate. 

During these two days we became quite intimate, for under 
such circumstances friendship ripens rapidly ; and hearing them 
addressing each other by their Christian names, I soon learned 
to do so likewise; but the regimental sobriquet (M*Combich), 
by which I had introduced myself to the count, puzzled them 
sorely, and they styled me Herr Komheek, The youngest 
requested that I should simply call her Gabrielle ; but when I 
addressed the eldest so unceremoniously, she gave me at times 
one of her proud but quiet smiles. Her reserve piqued me a 
little, too. 

" Lady Ernestine," said I, "why is Grabrielle so much more 
kind to me than you ]" 

" I am sorry you should think there is any difference," she 
replied, bending her dark eyes mildly, but inquiringly, upon me; 
" yet, perhaps, it may be so — she has a reason for being kind to 
a soldier, but I have none." 

" And why does she never wear ornaments or gay colours— 
and is one moment so merry and the next so sad?" 
r " For the same reason." 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 159 

** What may this reason be T' 

" You are very inquisitive, Herr Kombeek," said Gabiielle, 
bending her blushing face over her embroidering frame. 

" Twice I have observed her countenance fall when I spoke of 
the defeat at Lutter." 

"Her betrothed fell in that mctxyry,''^ replied Ernestine; *'she 
is quite a little widow. Hence the gravity that occasionally 
clonds her merry heart, and hence, perhaps, her kindness to 
you — a wounded soldier — for the sake of our lost friend ; for the 
poor Conde de Lerma was scarcely ever on the footing of a lover. 
He considered his marriage as a thing that must take place, 
quite as a matter of course." 

" And you, Ernestine, have you no lover in yonder camp to 
make you anxious for the chance of war 1" 

" Ah, yes ! Herr Kombeek," said Gabrielle, clapping her 
hands; " question ker a little now." 

Ernestine replied only by one of her proud smiles, and ad- 
justed her ruC She was offended. 

" Yoil must, you must have many," said I, sighing upon my 
lace pillow; "for men will love you, whether you permit them 
or not.'* 

There was something in the manner and bearing of Ernestine 
that impressed me with respect, and interested me extremely ; 
and yet I conversed less with her than with Gabrielle, perhaps 
for the simple reason that the latter conversed more with me. 
I could jest and laugh at trifles with such a chatty little fairy as 
Gabrielle ; but not so with her sister. I could make doggerel 
rhymes, say gallant speeches, and all those pretty nothings 
which come so readily to one's tongue when conversing with a 
pretty girl ; but I dared not attempt the same strain with 
Ernestine. They seemed altogether unsuited to her queen-like 
air, and high bred reserve of manner, which were sometimes a 
little provoking. 

On the morning of the third day I arose from bed. Dandy 
Dreghom assisted me to dress ; and, save a little swimming of 
the head, I found myself almost welL My cuirass shone like 
jdlver ; I placed my claymor6 and biodag in my belt, tied my 



160 PRILIP BOWiO; 

scarf over my right shoulder, gave a finishing touch to my l«ig 
locks, and that short mustache, the sprouting of which I colti- 
yated with the utmost assiduity, and descended to break&at, 
with the young ladies, in a lofty apartment, the windows of 
which opened upon the terrace of a garden, dothed in all the 
freshness, the brilliant flowers, and the beauty of midsummer. 
The doors, windows, and cornices, were beautifully proportioned; 
the ceilings and panels were covered by paintings, of the school 
of Beubena. Hand in hand with satyrs^ a long string of im- 
modest looking nymphs ran round the walls below the fiiez^ 
and in some places, a bearded ancestor of the Baron Earl looked 
grimly out of his oak frame, and under his square hdmet of the 
fourteenth century. In this room there was the hum of the 
summer flies, as they floated on the warm and p^iumed atmo- 
sphere. We were just sitting down to a hreakSBist composed of 
every delicacy which the fertile provinces of Bremen and 
Loneberg could afford, when the count, with his nodding red 
plimie, suddenly appeared before the window, dismounting from 
BeUoM) on the terrace, and we saw his tall figure between the 
embroidered curtains of Indian muslin and German hangings^ 
like some vivid portrait of an ancient knight — ^for the fashion of 
his arms was somewhat old. His daughters sprang from the 
table to embrace and lead him in. 

'' In three hours," said he, '' Count Tilly will be here, and onr 
friend must be concealed forthwith." 

** Within the house ] " asked Emeslane^ her eyes filling with 
an expression of alarm. 

** Of course, girl ; nowhere would he be safe out of it. The 
whole country is full of our troops, and the Croats and Himga- 
rian heyducs are swarming like locusts in every village. Tilly^s 
advanced guard (Tzertzski's regiment of musketeers, under 
Colonel Gordon) passed Eeinsdorf this morning about daybreak 
— so my scouts inform me." 

Through the great chateau this intelligence spread like wild- 
fire. Corporal Spurrledter, who, with other old troopers, dad 
in their cal&kin boots and yellow doublets, with red sashes and 
i:ed worsted fringes, had been dosing in the warm sunshine^ 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 161 

almost asleep over tric-trac, with pipe in mouth, and pots of 
Dantzic beer beside them, started when the trumpets blew 600^ 
and saddle, and hurried to accoutre themselves and their horses. 
The old German housekeeper (who, protected by her age and 
ugliness, had remained when others fled) was now in greater 
tribulation than ever ; and Dandy Dreghorn, who was busy in the 
kitchen manufacturing some Hamburg meal, which he had dis- 
<H)vered, into excellent Scottish porridge, made the greatest 
imaginable haste to get the whole (though scalding hot) under 
his belt, before Tilly came up with his troopers. 

" Now, my young friend," said the count to me during break- 
fest; "I believe, that I need not inform you of the necessity of 
your avoiding old Tilly." 

" Believe me, count, I have not the slightest wish to throw 
myself unnecessarily in his way, but assuredly I will not con- 
descend to avoid him." 

"You must do so! your safety imperatively demands it. 
Why, the old Tartar would think no more of having you hang- 
ed or shot, than I do of slicing the top of this egg;" and if 
diance should make him acquainted with your vicinity, and if I 
should say you are come to join the Emperor, as many of our 
Catholic Scots, the Grordons of the Garioch, the Lindsays and 
the Leslies, have done, you will not gainsay me." 

" Coimt, I will never stoop to this subterftige. Pardon me," 
I added, on perceiving that his haughty brow clouded; "at the 
worst I am but a prisoner of war, and as such, have a right to 
expect that honourable treatment which our brave defence at 
yonder bridge deserves." 

" The devil! you are like a redhot cannon-ball; one does not 
know on what side to take hold of you. By this time you should 
know, that in the cause of the Empire and of Catholicism, TiUy 
unites the enthusiasm of Peter the Hermit to the ferocity of a 
tiger and the cunning of a fox. Such is the general of the 
armies of the League. I implore you to beware of him, for the 
mercy he may grant, not to one, but to a thousand prisoners of 
war, depends but upon the miserable caprice of a moment. This 
is a religious war; &ith fights against faith, and men's hearts are 

VOL. I. M 



162 PHILIP BOLXiO; 

hardened and inflamed hj the ferocity their preachers incolcate. 
We are just about to assail another party of Christian's Scottish 
troops, who keep that important post, the castle of Lauenburg.'' 
" Ah!'* said 1, pushing away my cup of coffee.; "and I, who 
would give the world to be there, am here J ^^ 

" The whole world!" said Ernestine; " you are a large pro- 
prietor I" I thought there was a tone of pique in her quiet 
remark — pique at my ungrateful wish to be gone. I gazed upon 
her, and her beauty seemed as perfect as female loYeliness could 
be — as perfect as any that ever smiled on Baf&^llo da Urbino in 
the midst of his happiest reyeries. 

" Ernestine," said the count, raising his eyebrows, " you know 
who is coming with Tilly 1" 

" No," replied the daughter, over whose fair face there flitted 
a perceptible shadow, which belied her negative. 

** His aide-de-camp, the Count Albert Kceningheim — ^Halbert 
Cunninghame, a cadet of the house of Glencaim," he added to me, 
" who has been a successful soldier in the wars of the Empire." 
" Ah — ^indeed !" I murmured, walking to the window. 
" Keceive him well, Ernestine." I heard the count sayingin a low 
voice, as he smoothed the beautiful braids of her hair ; " receive him 
as one who deserves your utmost esteem, and ha« my best r^ard." 

" Oh, father ^" 

" My countryman— rich, young, handsome, powerful, high in 
favour with the Emperor, with Tilly and the army; covered 
with orders and honours, you will soon learn to love him, 
Ernestine — will you not?" 

" I will try." I thought I heard a sigh. 
"Thou art a good girl — I love thee dearly," said the frank 
noble, as he kissed his daughter's brow; " and I will send for 
that magnificent set of diamonds you fancied at Vienna, I gave 
my word to Koeningheim, when he saved my life at Liitter, that 
I would make him my kinsman if I could. Ah ! for my sake 
he ran a deadly peril there, and gave me his own horse when 
mine was torn almost asunder beneath me, by a cannon-shot." 

Not a word of this had escaped me, and I felt something rising 
in my heart. 



on, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 163 

" Pshaw!" said I ; " what is Ernestine to me 1 1 shall never see 
her again. Yet she has been so kind, that I hope this Scoto- 
German count will make a good hnsband to her." 

I think there is a sentiment — shall we call it pique or jealousy 
— ^in the minds of most young men, when they behold a beautiful 
young woman placed, or about to be placed, beyond their reach. 

" Yes — yes !'* thought I ; "it is just this jealousy that animates 
me at present." 

" You are admiring my mansion," said the count, approaching 
me. 

** It is magnificent," said I, turning from the beautiftil garden 
to the equally beautiful apartment, through the painted windows 
of which a deluge of warm morning light was shed upon the 
floor of polished oak, and the gilded carving of the wainscoting. 

" I shall build a pretty summer-house at the end of that walk, 
I have received the whole pla<3e as a free gift from the Emperor. 

" My poor friend, the baron Karl, has not been consulted on 
this transfer," said I; "but by what right does Ferdinand II. 
gift away these lands in Luneburgl" 

" The right of conquest," replied the coimt, laughing. "Ah ! 
you will never gain a fair heritage by fighting under the godly 
Christian IV. This will make a nice little chateau for my 
daughters, while we follow Christian through the Danish isles. 
I'll make old Spiirrledter governor of it. • Dost think you are 
well enough to ride 1 for, without being inhospitable, my dear 
friend, I would gladly have you altogether clear of this neigh- 
bourhood before Tilly arrives — and now, by heaven and earth ! 
yonder he comes !" added the count, as the sharp note of a 
cavalry trumpet, followed by the rapid clank of horses hoofs, 
was heard in the court of the mansion. "Away with our guest, 
Ernestine," said the count, starting from the table; "to your 
care I entrust him !" 

" Come with me — quick, Herr Kombeek !" said she, holding 
out her hand. 

" Kombeek — what a devil of a name ! " thought I, as she 
hurried me away towards a wing of the mansion which was appro- 
priated to themselves. 



164 PHILIP ROLLO; 

"If the soldier who is with me Mk into Tilly's hands, I 
shall never forgive myself for not saving him ; and see, madame," 
I added as we passed a window, " yonder he stands — oh, the 
incorrigible ass ! — eating apples on the terrace, and gazing open- 
mouthed at the approaching cavalcade." 

I summoned him angrily from the window. He lingered for 
a moment to conceal his fruit in the neuk of his plaid, and then 
hurried to join me. 

We were both consigned to a retired apartment, where we 
were to remain, as Ernestine said, until Tilly quitted the house 
to join the headquarters of his army. 



OE, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 165 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

PROBABILITT OF ESCAPING AND LEAVING MY HEAKT BEHIND ME. 

Though this retreat was necessary for our safety, and plenty 
of provisions were sent to ns, to the great contentment of Dandy 
Dreghom, and though we had the full liberty of traversing 
certain apartments which overlooked the spacious garden of the 
mansion, (to me) there was something rather irritating in the 
conviction of being compelled to lurk like a thief, even from the 
terrible Tilly; the more so, as at a distance we heard the 
twang of trumpets and horns, and the din of cymbals and kettle- 
drums, as his columns of horse and foot poured on towards the 
fated Elbe. 

The apartments and their famiture were alike elegant and 
luxurious; the high-backed chairs were of ebonlike oak, covered 
by crimson velvet and stuffed with down; the floors, of hard 
red Memel wood, were polished and varnished till they shone 
like glass ; the tapestries of crimson and gold were set in broad 
carved frames of oak and gilded wood ; the lozenged windows 
were tinted by innumerable coats-of-arms; some of the compart- 
ments stood open, admitting into these old chambers, which 
were coeval with the days of Magnus Torquatus, Duke of Lune- 
burg, the warmth of the July sim, together with the rich 
perfume of the ripe strawberry-beds, the fragrant honeysuckle, 
the jasmine and the rose, which mingled with the bright red 
and blue convolvuli, that clambered up the carved mullions of 
the antique casements. 

Within the mansion, but at a distance, I heard the sound 
of voices and of laughter — ^the loud hearty laughter of heedless 
soldiers; for the count was entertaining Tilly and some of the 
officers and cavaliers of his staff 



166 PHILIP BOLLO; 

During the somewhat monotonous day I spent in these 
stately apartments, Ernestine and Gabrielle came separately to 
converse with me for a few minutes — to bring me books and 
refreshments— evincing so much kindness and sisterly solicitude 
in these little visits, that my heart swelled with gratitude and 
pleasure; and I looked forward with regret to the time that 
must separate me from hostesses so ladylike and so winning. 

About sunset, when I had given up the expectation of seeing 
them any more, I heard' the rustle of a silk dress in the long 
corridor, and saw Ernestine standing irresolutely at the fSorthest 
end of it, with the embarrassed air of one who thought she was 
coming too often ! She stood and smiled, her timid expression 
contrasting strongly with the noble beauty of her face and 
figure. I sprang forward — I was so happy to see her; for there 
are so many ways in which one can be interested in a beautiful 
woman — ^but Ernestine was yet quite a girL All I had seen 
of her, during those three days which we had spent constantly 
together under such peculiar circumstances, with her fiither's 
remarks about Tilly's aide-de-camp, increased rather than 
diminished this interest, for she evidently did not care a jot 
about her destined husband. 

" I come for the last time to see you again," said she, with 
one of her sweet and quiet smiles ; " at midnight Corporal 
Spiirrledter will meet you at the end of this corridor, and con- 
duct you to a secret place on the bank of the Elbe — a place that 
is un watched, and to which (on burning a blue light) a boat will 
come off fi:x)m the Saxe-Lauenburg side, and convey you away." 

" I will never forget this kindness, Ernestine," I replied 
timidly, touching her hand with my lip; "never! You and 
Gabrielle have been to me as sisters. I go — and you will 
remember me no more; but believe me the memory of these 
last three days will never be effaced from my mind." 

She smiled. 

" And you tell me all this as if I did not know soldiers, 
who say the same thing to every pretty firaiilein who binds 
up a scar, or is compelled to act hostess by a burgomaster s 
order. While Tilly and my father march on their troops to the 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 167 

conquest of Denmark, Gabrielle and I will reside here ; and the 
count has desired me to say, that if ever you should find your- 
s^ a prisoner or a fugitive, fi-iendless and in want of military 
employment, to communicate with him through the officer 
commanding any Austiian garrison, and he will not fail to 
succour and protect you. Here, at our new appanage, Grabrielle 
and I will remain until the war with Christian is over, and we 
return to Carlstein, or our new hotel near the Scots Gate at 
Vienna. At all events," she added, as she gave me her hand 
with that charming frankness which she inherited from her 
Scottish rather than her Spanish blood, " whatever the fortune 
of war may be, and though we may never meet again, you will 
ever be our fiiend." 

" Your friend, Ernestine ! oh, I shall ever be more than that ! " 
" Of course, are you not my enemy, and fighting against the 
great Catholic Empire? You must content you with being, if 
you can, my simple fiiend.*' 

^ Ernestine,'* I began, taking her hand again 

" Nay, nay," she replied quickly, in a way that somewhat 
reminded me of my friend the actress ; " do not look lacrymose 
and attempt to act the lover, for lovers quarrel many times, but 
friends seldom more than once. Besides, rumour says that 
C^brielle and I have quite too many admirers already." 

There was more of Grabrielle's pla3rftilness in this, than the 
queeulike manner usual to Ernestine. We gazed at each other 
timidly, and then smiled 

" My old confessor, Father d'Eydel, of the order of Jesus, 
wrote a charming little book on love and friendship," said 
Ernestine; "and, moreover, he dedicated it to Gabrielle and 
me— 

" I should like to know the Jesuit's ideas of love." 
'* He said that one Mend was worth an army of lovers ; that 
love is like wine — ^bright, beautiful, and intoxicating; but friend- 
ship is like the inexhaustible water of a pure fountain— clear, 
eooL and refreshing; he said that love was all hot and heedless 
impulse, whereas friendship embraced the finest emotions of 
the heart and head." 



1G8 PHILIP HOLLO j 

" You are qtdte a philosopher; and yet — ah ! Ernestine— there 
is a merry twinkle in your beautiful eyes belying all you say." 

" Moreover, Father d'Eydel told me, at the Scots convent, I 
should have nothing to do with lovers " 

" Father d'Eydel *" I began impatiently. 

Ernestine held up her pretty white hand. 

" He told me, love was like a two-edged sword " 

" Did he not tell you it was like wine, but with water too?" 

" That it ennerved the hearts of the young, and failed to inspire 
the hearts of the old. To women, he recommended religion and 
the cloister ^" 

" This devil of a d'Eydel would soon bring the world to an 
end ! And to men ** 

" A jovial cup of wine ; for it never failed alike to fire the 
hearts of the old and the young, the brave and the timid. But 
now, sir, I must leave you. Tilly is to sup with my father, who 
at nightfall is to make a movement up the Elbe with his own 
regiments, the Reitres of Giezar and Koeningratz, so that I 
cannot absent myself longer. Adieu ! — believe me, you have all 
our best and kindest wishes " 

" Ernestine ! " I urged, endeavouring to detain her. 

" Our Lady bless you I do not forget that, at midnight, Spiirr- 
ledter will be awaiting you at the end of that passage." 

She retired by the door, which she had been gradually ap- 
proaching, and, as it closed, my heart felt a pang at the idea 
that we should never meet again. But a soldier's life is full of 
merry meetings and sad partings. In time, I fear me, we get 
used to them. 

Honest Dandy's loquacity, when I announced the enterprise 
on which we were to set forth at midnight, considerably disturbed 
the current of my reflections. I would rather have been alone. 
I longed for one more glimpse of Ernestine, and to have one 
word more with her. Fifty things I had left unsaid now oc- 
curred to me, and many that seemed as if they had been better 
left unsaid. Then came the usual fears, that I might have 
offended her by saying too much — " but, what matter all these 
thoughts 1 " I said ; " to-morrow the Elbe will be between us, and 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 1C9 

next day we shall forget all about it." But T still seemed to see 
that sofb feminine face, and those beautiful dark eyes, and the 
voice of Emastine lingered in my ear, till, as I reclined on one 
of the cushioned window-seats, and gazed upon the dying twilight, 
night stole on; and Dandy (who had been examining with grim 
accuracy the edges of our swords and dirks, and had charged my 
pistols), finding that I was averse to conversation, wiled away 
the time by making a last investigation of the panelled chambers, 
in the hope of finding a stray edible or drinkable in some for- 
gotten nook. Then he drew to my side as the darkness deepened ; 
for the grotesque features, and old German architecture of the 
place, began to have, as he said, '* ana unco mirk and eerie look 
aboot them.'* 



170 PHILIP EOLLO: 



CHAPTER XXY. 

A SEBIOUS MISTAKE, AND A LEABNED DISCUSSION ON WOMEN. 

The hours stole slowly on, and as they wore away, and the 
hour of escape drew nigh, my anxiety increased, jnare perhaps 
than the whole occasion merited ; but the wound on my head 
rendered me feverish and fretful, as poor Dandy Dreghorn soon 
found; for, growing weary of his incessant chatter, I abruptly 
told hiTTi to hold his tongue, and we sat moping like two owls 
in the dark, listening to the hours and half-hours, as they were 
struck slowly and sonorously by the clock over the ancient gate- 
way of the house. The voices in distant apartments died away; 
the oak chamber became so black that we could not see each 
other's faces. 

Midnight was at hand. 

" Ernestine will now be in bed," thought I ; "but will she be 
asleep, or watching for my escape?" Imagination conjured up 
a picture of this girl, with all her dark hair gathered in a silken 
caul, lying sleepless on her laced pillows, with the pretty 
Gabrielle nestling beside her, listening for every sound, and 
watching for the time which would assure them that we were 
free of the mansion, and safe from the dangerous vicinity of the 
terrible John of Tsercla. 

" See, sir," said Dandy, " a licht begins to glint at the end o* 
yon ambulatory I" 

" 'Tis the corporal — and there is the first stroke of twelve ! 
The old trooper is punctual." 

From the window seat, where for hours I had been ruminating 
and gazing on the darkened landscape, I arose with a beating 
heart ; loosened my claymore in its sheath, to be prepared for 
any emergency, and saying to Dreghom — 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 171 

" Polio w, but follow me softly, and for Heaven's sake silently I' 
approached the light which glimmered, at the end of the long 
corridor, and seemed to be flashing upward from the bottom of 
a staircase. On gaining the landing which overlooked it, we saw 
— not the old corporal whom we expected — but an older and de- 
crepit cavalier, who leant with his right hand on a gold-headed cane, 
and with his left on the arm of a tall officer, who was biilliantly 
attired in a doublet of cloth of gold with hanging sleeves, with 
a mantle of scarlet velvet, a long rapier and plume. They 
were preceded by two servants bearing candles, but slowly, as 
the old man paused frequently to draw breath or make an 
observation. 

Dubious whether to advance or retreat, I stood for a moment 
irresolute; but fearing that to be seen by any one save the feimily 
of the count might betray him and them, and compromise our 
own safety, I resolved on immediate concealment ; but Dreghorn, 
in his eagerness and confusion, mistook the way back to our 
former lurking-place, and by advancing too far along the pas- 
sage, led me into a larger and more magnificent room. This I 
could perceive by the moonlight, which fell in large broad flakes 
through the mullioned windows. 

"Harkee, Dreghorn," said I, "this way — not that. Dost 
hear? — devil take thee, fellow, and send thee back to thy 
plough-stilts!" 

My loud whispers were unheeded or unheard; thus I was 
obliged to follow, lest by some clownish blunder he might 
compromise us all. 

"Quick—<x)nceal yourself!" said I; "for, whoever these are, 
they come this way; and, if they discover us, we are both as 
dead men." 

Perceiving that the room was hung with arras, I raised it at 
the foot and let it drop over my person, while standing flat 
against the wall, in a position which, to say the least of it^ was 
very constrained, unpleasant, and dusty. 

" Lord preserve us, and keep us ! I'll be catched noo, like a 
rat in a gimel!" cried Dandy in great tribiilation, as he ran 
three or four times round the room in search of a similar nook, 



172 PHILIP ROLLO; 

overturning a chair or two in the dark ; and, becoming more 
bewildered as he heard the approaching footsteps, he made a 
sudden dive below a large and stately bed which stood close to 
the wall, on one side of the chamber ; and there he was barely 
ensconced, when all the gildings of its canopy, and of the 
corniced ceiling and furniture, glittered, as the two servants 
entered with their lights, and, placing them on the table, with- 
drew, retiring backwards before the little old man with a 
reverence which, together with his whole peculiar bearing (for I 
could overlook and overhear all through a hole in the decayed 
hangings), told me he was Tilly — ^the great, the ferocious, the 
terrible Tilly — the soldier-Jesuit — ^the demon-general of the 
Emperor Ferdinand ! 

" Yon may go," said he, to the servants, and they retired. 

Leaning on the arm of the tail cavalier, and on his gold-headed 
cane, he crossed the waxed floor with a step rendered somewhat 
unsteady by age, and reached a large stuffed chair, then, seating 
himself, he drew several long breaths, during which the officer 
remained respectfully silent, with his plumed beaver in his right 
hand, and his left resting in the polished bowl-hilt of his long 
toledo. 

Figure to yourself a little, lean old man, past his seventieth year, 
and made more aged in aspect by the asceticism of a youth 
passed in a Jesuit college, and by the wounds and toils of war; 
a thin face and high narrow forehead, alternately clouded by 
thought, and knit by irritability; fierce, deep eyes, like those of 
a rattlesnake, the hooked nose of his Spanish mother, the 
tiger-like mouth of his Walloon fiither, with a lanky cat-like 
mustache to show that he was a soldier, and the small remains 
of a tonsure to declare that he was yet a priest. A lean, bent 
body, encased in a leather doublet rusted over by the constant 
use of ill-conditioned armour; meagre thighs and crooked knees, 
cased in wide calfskin boots, having enormous jinglespnrs; a 
long sword, a little mantle, a high ruff, a broad-brimmed hat of 
brown felt with a steeple crown, garnished by a red feather 
stuck into the gold image of Madonna, which, with his magnifi- 
cent diamond ring, he afterwards bequeathed to our Lady of 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 173 

Oetingen. Such was John de Tsercla^ the Count de Till}'-, 
generalissimo of Ferdinand II. and of the troops of the Catholic 
League, so celebrated for his valour and cunning, his generosity 
to Catholics, his ferocity to Pi^otestants — his aversion to women, 
to wine, and to all human weaknesses — save the fear of ghosts ! 

Early in life he became a follower of St. Ignatius Loyola. 
In the seclusion of his cloister this fierce enthusiast had a vision. 
The mother of God appeared before him, surrounded by the rays 
of glory; thirteen stars sparkled about her brow, and the lilies 
of purity sprang from under her feet; clouds rolled around her, 
and little angels bore up her long flowing garments. She urged 
him to take arms for the Church of Rome^for the extermination 
of Protestanism, and the total subjugation of Northern Europe. 
He became a soldier, and fought bravely ; and in an incredibly 
short space of time attained, solely by incontestable merit, a 
marshal's baton and the sole command of the Imperial troops; 
but the camp fed rather than cured his wild and visionary 
schemes of a universal £siith, and the conquest of the Protestant 
nations. Hence that mad ferocity, of which we had so many 
terrible examples, during the long struggle for the freedom of 
religion and the liberty of Germany. He was a believer in 
dreams, and was supposed by the Danes and Swedes to possess a 
charmed life, which our musketeers often put sorely to the test; 
hence Tilly's abhorrence of the Scottish brigades in Germany. 
An astrologer, he was intensely superstitious, and relied devoutly 
on omens; hence we find them preceding all his greatest under- 
takings. When he held the famous coimcil of war at Hamelin, 
a hurricane blew up the powder-magazine, and, reaching devoted 
Madgeburg, extinguished the lamps of the wise virgins in the 
great cathedral The night before the great battle of Leipzig, 
he quartered himself in a house which proved to be an wnder- 
taker's; hence, though brave as a lion, he fought the action next 
day with a wavering heart, and with the certainty of meeting 
disaster and death. 

" Count Koeningheim," said he, drawing a long breath, and 
pausing. I applied my eye to a hole in the tapestry, and sur- 
veyed with cariosity the personage addressed. This was his 



174 PHILIP ROLLO; 

aide-de-camp, the intended husband of Ernestine, and in all 
things the reverse of his leader. Tall, handsome, and sun- 
burned, with a bushy mustache and devil-may-care eye, which 
announced him a jovial Beitre — ^a stanch comrade, a thorough 
bo'nrvivcmi'--one of those merry fellows who wink at landladies, 
kiss pretty waitresses, and make themselves at home every 
where. I saw at a glance that he would never suit Ernestine. 

" Count Albert, is Carlstein feirly away to join his column?" - 

** Yes, generalissimo. I heard him ride out of the quad- 
rangle, with his aides and two Beitres, about ten minutes 
ago." 

" Good !" muttered Tilly, laying his broad beaver on the table; 
" he is a tiresome fellow — too proper a man for me, and would 
make war after a gentle feshion of his own. He is your country- 
man — ^but you must excuse me. His column marches on the 
Lauenburg road — and the horse regiments of Goetz, Wallaoe the 
Scot, and Wingarti, are moving on the same point. Ah ! our 
pontoons will soon make us a passage across the Elbe !" 

" Wingarti's dragoons are all puppies, and think more of their 
mustaches than their muskets." 

" And this Count of Carlstein has two women in his train — 
ha! ha!" said Tilly, with a sardonic laugh, as he unbuckled his 
waist-belt and laid his long rapier on the table; " two women, 
Koeningheim — the man is mad!" 

"He introduced them as his daughters," replied the other, 
colouring a little with vexation. 

"A mere trick — daughters, cousins, and sisters have been 
introduced to me thus before ! You cunning fellows b^in to 
think me stupid." 

" On my honour, Count Tilly, I swear to you they are his 
daughters." 

"What faith you have in their mother! Daughters? wdl, 
well, so much the worse — ^a wise man truly to lead a colunm of 
infantry — one who has daughters ! I do not love to have women 
following our army, Koeningheim. I have known many a brave 
fellow lost to Austria and God's service by the £siscinations of 
that subtle sex, whose sole object is to create passiom^ and 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 175 

rivalry among gallant men, without feeling in their own hearts 
one spark of this so-called love, of wWch idlers rave and poets 
sing." 

" Your excellency is speaking like the Jesuit you were, and 
not like the brave soldier you are,'* replied Count Albert, with 
a cold smile. 

" I am speaking like a man of common sense, Kceningheim," 
retorted Tilly, grasping the knobs of his arm-chair, and turning 
his snakelike eyes upon the broad honest face of the colonel of 
Keitres. " Beware you of their snares, count ; and recollect that 
the first object of an Imperialist cavalier is the cause of God and 
of the Emperor — the Cross and the Eagle; that all private sym- 
pathies must yield to the public good. By the wiles of a woman, 
Adam lost his innocence, Samson liis strength, and Mark An- 
tony the fruit of all his victories. Ah! beware of them, 
Kceningheim, beware of theml" added Tilly, drawing his lean 
legs out of his enormous boots. " No man," saith Saint Jerome, 
^' can serve God with a whole heart, if he hath any tHlmsactions 
with a woman.** 

" Corpo di Baccho ! but one may very well lead a regiment of 
horse, serve the emperor, and love a pretty woman occasionally," 
said the aide-de-camp, twirling his mustaches; "the fact is, 
count, that what suited Saint Jerome well enough, will not suit 
me, or Merod6, or Wingarti, or any of us but yourself, who are 
quite a model of a man 1 Women are called the pious sex, and 
I have no doubt Saint Jerome had a high opinion of them in 
his time." 

"So had Cornelius Agrippa," sneered Tilly; "he wrote a 
notable treatise on female excellence, and yet withal divorced 
his third wife. Hal hal What make up the sum of this love 
thou pratest about? Bich gauds, billets-doux, sighs, and 
treachery ! I have seen many a gallant roan, who had hewn a 
passage through a forest of pikes, become a woman's plaything 
— then fiang aside and forgotten, as a toy is forgotten by a 
chUd." 

" By my soul, Count Tilly, you are a million times too severe," 
laughed Kosningheim ; " I know of no satis&ction equalling that 



176 PHILIP BOLLO; 

with which a stout fellow, who had done his service in battle 
duly, basks in the smiles of some kind beauty." 

"'Tis the mere fanfaronade of Don Quixote, this — ^but, hark! 
do you not hear something?" 

'^I do; what the devil can it be?" said Count Koeningheim, 
as a v^ry palpable sound of mastication came from below the 
vast tester-bed where Dandy Dreghom had ensconced him- 
self and where, I had no doubt, he was satisfying his never- 
ending appetite with some of the provision saved over our 
dinner. 

"Devil take thee after, glutton!" thought I; "for if taken 
nowy the cord will be thy doom." 

"This old house must be full of rats," said Tilly. « County 
I will thank you to turn that portrait to the wall. I hate to 
sleep among portraits of the dead, they have such a ghostly 
look in their staring eyes, and that old dame in her coif is like 
a corpse in a winding-sheet — ah, thank you !" 

So this old Tartar, who fought afterwards at Leipzig, 
who stormed Feldberg, exterminated the Scottish garrison 
at Brandenburg, ravaged the margraviate of Anspach and 
the banks of the Danube — ^trembled at the sight of an old 
picture ! 

"Ay, ay!" he resumed with a yawn, as the portrait was 
turned; "women are strange and capricious animals. I have 
known one love to death a man, whom every other woman — 
yea, and every other man, too— detested. Now, how do you 
account for that, Count Albert 1 Obstinacy — I tell you, rank 
obstinacy !" 

" Nay, general," yawned the aide, behind his hat, with the 
air of a man who was excessively tired; "there is always a 
cause for love." 

"A cause, but not a reason. Women and wine make fools 
of our finest men." 

" Surely it is better to be fooled by a pretty woman than a 
paltry wine-pot." 

" But I will have my soldiers fooled by neither," said Tilly, 
striking his withered hand upon the tabla "I am a priest, and. 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 177 

though a soldier, know of such matters only by name. But 
henoe with tfiis rubbish. What is the strength of your regi* 
ment, count f 

"Eight hundred under baton, your excellency.'* 

" Any married men 1 " 

"Not one." 

" Good 1 , when Reitres marry they should be struck off the 
muster roll. Yet I could have sworn I saw some of your 
fellows on the march yesterday, with women en croupe behind 
them." 

" Only ammunition- wives, your excellency." 

" Ah ! I have heard that there are some thorough-bred rascals 
in the regiment." 

" The feet is, general, that Stalhofen's troop is composed, like 
the honourable regiment of Merod^, .entirely of thieves from 
Vienna." 

"Diavolo! dost thou say so? Then the sacking of the Danish 
towns will suit their humour to a hair, without fear of the 
gallows. Ah! wait till we reach Kiobenhafen!" 

The coimt uttered a shout of laughter; Tilly added one of his 
frightful grins, and rubbing his lean brown hands, said — 
. " I blush that such rascals as the regiment of Merod6 march 
beneath our consecrated colours ; yet the end will sanctify the 
means. If there was one rogue among the twelve apostles, there 
may easily be one regiment of rogues among the thousands of 
the Imperial host. War is the pastime of kings, but it manu- 
&ctures many a thief and beggar." 

'' Hah !" said Kceningheim, as a horseman rode into the court; 
" that will be our scout returned from Saxe-Lauenburg." 

" Send him up then, Kceningheim, and thereafter you may 
retire to bed, for we must all be in our saddles at cock-crow; but 
I have two hours' work before me yet, having all my office to say 
over, for I have never forgotten in the camp the duties I took 
upon me in the cloister." 

The handsome aide-de-camp gladly hurried away. Tilly drew 
from his breast a small and well-used volume, containing pro- 
bably the "office," or prayers he referred to — placed a mark 

VOL, I. N 



178 PHILIP BOLLO; 

between tlie leaves, and devoutly crossed himself Then he 
paused; a heavy step approached, the door was opened, and a 
personage wearing a broad felt hat and large Spanish doak 
towered between me and the light, as he advaiK^ towards 
Tilly, who, shading his sharp eyes, gazed with a keen rat-like 
expression at this stranger, who, immediately upon entering, 
had carefully closed the door, as if he had that to communicate, 
which none must overhear. 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 179 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 

TRB SCOUT; AKD THB EFFECT OF A SNEEEE. 

" Welcome, thou prince of spies, and my scoutmaster-general !*' 
said Tillj in Spanish; ^' be seated, sefior." 

The scout removed his broad hat, let the folds of his cloak £all, 
and seated himself opposite the count with an air of £sitigue. 

" Have you collected much intelligence of the enemy's move- 
ments?'* asked Tilly, drawing a large and well-filled purse from 
his girdle — a moticHi which made the eyes of the scout flask 

" I have, senor generalissimo," replied the stranger, in a voice 
which I recognised, and which made me start, for it was either 
that of the Hausmeister or the devil (a personage of equal merit). 
Then I heard the purise clink, as it was thrown by the count like 
a bone to a dog — and caught by the adroit hand of the spy. 

*^ Then you can tell me of those Scots auxiliaries who were at 
Boitzenburg — quick, sefior Bandolo!" 

"Bandolol" A new light broke upon me, and, applying my 
eye to the tapestry, I recognised the broad ruffian ^Gkce;, the cold 
fierce eyes and square mouth of my old acquaintance. Otto 
Koskilde — ^the Hausmeister of Gliickstadt — whom I now dis- 
covered to be one and the same with that terrible Bandolo, of 
whom the Baron Karl had given us an account — the brother of 
Prudentia! His dress was somewhat different ; but his Mse 
paxmch and rotundity (assumed for disguise) were gone, and he 
stood revealed — a strong, wiry, and athletic ruffian — a bravo, with 
his long sable locks, and long daggers ia his belt. 

" The troops who were at Boitzenburg have retired down the 
Elbe. I tracked them to Lauenbuig, in the castle of which their 
commander " 



180 PHILIP ROLLO; 

" The commandante, cT Umbwt'^ " 

"Si, senor conde — ^left two companies, and marched with the 
remainder to Gliickstadt, from whence he moved immediately to 
take possession of Bantzau's castle of Bredenburg." 

"Who commands the two companies in the castle of Lauenl" 

" A certain Major Wilson." 

"Wilson — Wilson!" muttered TiQy, turning over the leaves of 
a memorandum book; " oh — ^hei*e he is ! a brave and determined 
cavalier — commanded ^y^ hundred of the Scottish auxiliary 
musketeers at the battle of Lutter, and captured a standard of 
Merod6's regiment. He will give us trouble, but we shall pay 
him a visit to-morrow. God's curse on these heretic Scots ! for 
they meet us every where now, by the Rhine, the Elbe and the 
Oder. They lead all the troops in Northern Europe. What 
more hast thou heard 1" 

" That Major-general Slammersdorff is concentrating near 
Bapin a large force, which King Christian means to march into 
Silesia." 

" Dost thou say soT" 

" Por vida del demonio — I do ! " 

" I should like to see this force in Silesia," said Tilly, with a 
quiet smile. 

"Bittmaster Hume de Carrolside, with a troop of Scottish 
pistoliers, has arrived to reinforce Otto Louis, the rhine- 
grave." 

" Scots again !" said Tilly, with a terrible smile, as he scratched 
'his leg, which a Scottish musketeer had pierced by a buUet in 
the Hartz forest; "Maladetta! it is too much! — Ere-longwe 
^hall not have room to move between the Black Sea and the 
Baltic for this Protestant scum." 

A mysterious sound was heard below the bed again; it 
sounded like the grunt of a pig, and Tilly raised his head to 
listen. 

"Heaven keep Dreghom awake!" thought I; "for if he 
sleeps and snores we are lost!" 

" This old house is wonderfully full of rats," said Tilly; " well^ 
have you heard any thing morel" ^ 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 18l 

''Nothing, seuor generalissimo, save that King Christian, by the 
erection of redoubts and turf sconces, is leaving nothing undone 
to secure every where the banks and the passage of the Elbe." 

"The fool! when too late he will learn the power of the 
Empire." 

" Your excellency is the greatest general under heaven ; vaya 
usted a las infemoar he added in a low voice, as he counted the 
gold pieces under the shade of the table. " Away to the infernal 
regions, for a beggarly old skinflint!" 

" Go, my priceless Bandolo," said Tilly ; " recross this muddy 
Elbe; become once more a Dane, a Dutchman, or a Holsteiner, 
for I know thou art a very Proteus, and spread every where the 
rumour that I am about to retire towards the Weser. I know 
that thou art faithful to the empire, Bandolo; though I have 
heard it said, that he who betrayeth one cause will betray an- 
other. The Count of Carlstein hath said to me more than once, 
that he considered the principle of secret intelligence as dis- 
honourable. A chivalric fool ! If a battle is gained, or a city 
won, what mattera it whether or not the victors owe their suc- 
cess to force or fraud? No man is qualified to lead an army, un- 
less he is inclined to obtain tidings of the foe by every possible 
means that do not include open assassination or public dis- 
honour." 

Bandolo smiled. 

" I have foimd thee invaluable, my good Bandolo, and would 
gladly yield thee some nobler recompense than that base gold, 
for which thou perillest life and soul every hour thou art beyond 
the Austrian lines." 

" Sefiior generalissino, I will freely give back all the gold you 
have given me for three years past ^" 

** A goodly sum, Senor Bandolo!" 

'* Yea — I will do more; I will undertake to secure to you the 
oftheElbeif ^" 



" If what " said Tilly, whose eyes glared with impatience. 

" You will procure for me a wife, and this wife must be 
"Ernestine, the Lady of Giezar, daughter of Count Rupert-with- 
the-red-plume." 



183 PHILIP BOLLO j 

This was said with the utmost confidence and deliberation ; 
but the daring speech made the pulses of my heart to flutter. 

" Devil take thee, blockhead," said Tilly, " for elating my heart 
so high, and then sinking it so low ! For aught that old John 
de Tsercla cares, you may have all the women in the empire; 
but, friend, be assured you might as well look at the moon (what 
the deuce is shaking that tapestry so?) as this count's dark-eyed 
daughter. I have seen the dainty dama Why, Bandolo^ she 
would shrink from thy touch as from a toad. But I am 
neither her guardian nor her father, (thank Heaven 1) and believe 
me, my poor presumptuous ragamuffin, you might as well raise 
your eyes to a princess of the House of Hapsburg, as a daughter 
of this proud soldier of Fortune. Maladetto ! but you rate your 
services high." 

" Because I rate them mysel£" 

" The vilest rogue will always bring a goodly sum if sold at 
his own valuation," muttered Tilly, with one of his hideous smiles. 
I believe sincerely, that nothing would have afforded his cynical 
heart greater delight than to see the high-bred and accomplished 
Ernestine mated to the ruffian (if such a catastrophe were 
possible), from the very incongruity of such a union, and to 
humble the high military pride and boasted spotlessness oi 
character possessed by the count, her father. " Bandolo," said 
he, gravely, "no more of this wild fantasy, which may hang 
thee, my prince of spies. Lady Ernestine is, I believei, to be the 
wife of my aide-de-camp, Count Koeningheim, poor man!*' 

"Hah!" muttered Bandolo, as his hand was covertly and 
almost involimtarily raised to the hilt of his murderous 
poniard. 

" But there is no saying what we may achieve if your scheme 
for the passage of the Elbe is a good one," said Tilly, with a 
smile in his ferret eyes, as he rubbed his lean legs^ whidi were 
cased in fustian breeches. 

" I have learned {how, matters not, senor conde) that Rupert- 
with-the-red-plume has in his hands two Danish prisoners- 
Scots " 

" Mai hayas tu ! Scots again ! — hah — he told me not of thai/" 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 183 

** They were saved from the sconce at Boitzenburg." 
^ Tet I said that all there should die ; and, had this order been 
obeyed, we should not now have to storm either the castle of 
Laoenburg orthatof Bredenburg. Ah, thosePresbyterians ! " added 
Tilly, grinding his fangless jaws; ''if I had but a few of them 
enveloped in pitch and sulphur, they would light our bivouac, 
even as the early Christians were made into candles to light the 
Roman circus. But quick — ^your scheme!" continued Tilly, 
while the supposed scmping of rats was again heard beneath the 
bed. 

'' Obtain these two Scots, and march them with the troops 
against Lauenberg. Approach in the night, and make one be- 
tray his comrades." 

'' How betray] thou laughest at me again, Bandolo, knowing 
well that these Scottish heretics are stubborn as their native 
roeka.'* 

. ''Lead them within earshot of their sentinels, and then place 
a loaded pistol to the head of eacL" 

" Grood — m see to it r grinned Tilly, with one of his horrible 
smiles, which might have frightened even the dead; "but where, 
in the name of good and evil, are the two Scots you speak of?" 
At that moment, as the devil would have it, a tremendous 
sneeze was heard under the bed. 

" Madre de Diosi there is some one concealed here!" ex- 
claimed little Tilly, starting up with fire glaring in his eyes, as 
he unsheathed his long rapier. " Look under that bed, Bandolo, 
while I prick the tapestry." 

Drawing his poniard, Bandolo raised the little curtain which 
surrounded the rails of the bed, on looking below which he was 
instantly grasped and dragged down by the strong hands of 
Dandy Dreghom, who (rendered desperate by finding discovery 
inevitable, and knowing that we had but two assailants) encircled 
the bull-aeck of the powerful Spanish ruffian with a tiger-like 
dwtefa, and rolled him on the floor, shouting — 

" Strike in, Maister Hollo — strike in, for gudesake ! Gie that 
sold wallydraigel in the breeks a jagg wi your dirk, while I pu* 
this ane through the heckle-pins!" 



184 PHILIP ROLLO; 

Taken completely by surprise, Bandolo was almost smoiheited 
by the dust tinder the bed, where he was so suddenly and igno- 
miniously rolled. He struck furiously and at random with his- 
poniaixl till the blade broke a^inst the oak planks of the floor, 
down upon which Dandy pressed his throat until he was nearly 
strangled, vociferating all the time — 

" I'll cheat the wuddy o' ye, that 1 will ! Hech, ye damned tyke, 
think ye I'll ever lippen to a bodach that wore breeks!" Then 
he came forth panting and breathless. 

Seeing that without one desperate venture all was over with 
us, I had rushed from my hiding-place, thrown down the table, 
extinguished the lights, closed with the frail, old Tilly, and 
escaping a pistol-shot, which he fired within a yard of my nose, 
wrested and tore away from his hand the long rapier with which 
he menaced me. Had I chosen, I could there have run it through his 
heart, and saved Denmark, yea, and Germany, from the Thirty 
Years' War ; but he was an aged man, and I was not an assassin. 

" Awa, sir — ^awa! Ride or rin, flee or soom — ^let us awa, or 
we'll tyne our lives!" cried Dr^hom, and we rushed from the 
dark apartment, to find the corridor and staircase crowded by 
Beitres and pikemen, with drawn swords, lighted torches, and 
stable lanterns; for the uproar and the pistol-shot had alarmed 
Tilly's guard of honour, and brought all the soldiers, like a swarm 
of hornets, to his rescue. 

" Dreghorn — farewell to life," said I; "it is all over with us ^• 

" We've owre niony maisters noo," he groaned ; " as the pud-*- 
dock said, whan ilka tuith o' the harrow gied him a tid." 

Before this flood of armed men we retired backward into the 
darkened room, where Tilly was reclining breathlessly against 
a post of the bed, from, beneath which Bandolo, with a savage 
and lacrymose visage, blackened and distorted by rage and 
strangulation, was already crawling forth. 

We were about to be cut down without farther parley, when 
Tilly, remembering that I had spared his life, and Count Koening-* 
heim, who hurried forward in his breeches and boots^ minus 
vest and doublet, threw themselves between us and death, and 
saved us for a time. 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 185 

" Withhold your hand, Bandolo — count, secure these villains ! " 
said Tilly; "away with them to the quarter-guard, I will deal 
with them in the morning. Search this, and all the other 
apartments ; double all the sentinels, for I fear me much there 
has been treachery." 

We were immediately hurried away to a lower apartment, 
and handcuffed together. 

On the way we passed old SpUrrledter, who had been alarmed 
by the uproar, and appeared in his shirt, blowing the match of 
his carbine. On beholding us, he gaped with well-feigned 
astonishment, which we understood quite well, and thus neither 
compromised the count nor the old corporal, who, with horses 
for our flight, had been waiting in an adjacent thicket for three 
hours, as he afterwards told me; and further, that the moment 
Tilly was fairly in his own apartment, that he — the corporal — 
had come in search of us, and, being totally unable to account 
for our mysterious disappearance at a time so critical, had 
retired to bed in the stables, supposing that we had escapecl 
without him, 4. 



ISG PHILIP BOLLO; 



3Jnnk tjif /iftlj. 



CHAPTER XXVIL 

THE MABCH TOWABDS LAUENBUBO. 

It may be easily supposed that neither Dandy Dreghom nor 
1 slept much for the short remainder of that eventful morning. 
Poor Dandy's lamentations for the plight into which his sneeze 
had brought me, were incessant. The honest fellow never tittered 
a complaint for himself; but, having lost his appetite, resisted all 
the gruff invitations of our guard, who offered to share us their 
miserable ration of black bread and Danish beer. It required 
all my efforts to pacify my comrade, and convince him that he 
had no more power over an irrepressible desire to sneeze, than 
over the wind. 

With the grey dawn Tilly came forth, accompanied by several 
oflficers muffled in their mantles, with their helmets ^closed or 
their plumed hats slouched well over their £su^ for the morning 
air was chilly. The sharp notes of the trumpet summoned a 
troop of Koeningheim's Reitres to horse, and with these Tilly 
trotted away, leaving four dismounted men, with their carbines 
loaded, and orders to conduct Dreghom and myself to a certain 
place which he named. As we were marched off^ I gave a 
parting glance at the gothic lattices of the old mansion, and two 
female figures caught my eye. They were those of Ernestine 
and the kind-hearted trabrielle. I perceived that the latter was 
weeping, but the former only waved her hand in adieu. I gave 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 187 

a profotiiid bow, for which the surly corporal of our escort gave 
me a punch with his carbine, and we were compelled to move on. 

While I was reflecting that Ernestine might have displayed 
some more emotion, for the worst of perils encompassed ns, Spiirr- 
ledter came running after the soldiers to give them a glass of 
brandy; and, while their minds were intent upon the flask, he 
approached me, and slyly, with his hand behind him, thrust 
into mine a purse, with a brief whisper : — 

" My young lady sends you this, Herr Kombeek — it is a long 
march to Vienna." 

The purse was of blue velvet, embroidered with silver thread, 
and the generous girl seemed to have filled it well. To have 
declined the gift in my desperate circumstances, would have been 
uncourteous to her, folly to myself and false modesty; I con- 
cealed it at once in my sporran, and a glow of gratitude kindled 
in my heart, 

" I shall end by loving Ernestine, but I shall see her no more,** 
thought I; "the interest we take in each other is pure and 
sincere. I could not have loved Prudentia at all. Oh, no! I 
grow sick when I reflect on my folly. 'Twas the dream of a 
day, and she is the sister of Bandolo!" 

I saw little of the country during the march, for my whole 
attention was excited by the vast bodies of Imperialists then pour- 
ing along the left bank of the Elbe — horse, foot, and artillery — in 
tens of thousands, towards the ducal capital of Saxe-Lauenburg ; 
and on that day's march I observed and learned more of their 
internal economy, than a hundred battles with them could have 
taught me. 

Though rusty armour and patched doublets, plumeless helmets 
and battered morions, were very common in the Imperial ranks, 
nothing military could surpass the magnificence of many of the 
officers. Their mantles and trunk hose were of the richest 
velvets Florence and Genoa could produce; their armour of the 
most gorgeous gilded plate from Venice and Milan, covered with 
sacred mottoes, figures, and charms, either religious or necroman- 
tic, to render them invulnerable— for they all believed implicitly in 
fijtiied bullets and enchanted mail; their pistols and daggers were 



188 PHILIP BOLLOj 

from Parma; their swords from Bilboa and Toledo. On their 
breasts spai-kled the stars of St. George of Austria, of the 
Golden Fleece, and other knightly orders peculiar to the Empire. 
Here I saw Tilly's weatherbeaten Walloon infantry, and that 
savage Croatian force which had slaughtered out wounded 
Highlanders in cold blood at Boitzenburg; among these were 
one regiment of horse, the Krabats of Castanovitz, lightly armed 
with steel helmets and fur pelisses; another of infantry or 
Uskokes, famous for their agility in all rapid movements. But 
Tilly's best troops were the fine old Imperial Reitres in their 
black armour; the pikemen of Pappenheim, the cavalier of a 
hundred wounds; the musketeers of Wrangel, of Gordon, and 
Camargo; the Italian bands of Savelli, and the glittering 
Spanish infantry, so easily distinguished by their fine loffcy 
bearing, their brilliant arms, and short quick step on the march. 

His regiments usually consisted of men armed in five different 
ways; thus, in each 'company of a hundred soldiers, fifty were 
musketeers, thirty were pikemen, ten were halberdiers, and ten 
arquebussiers, armed also with swords and daggers; but these 
numbers varied so much, that I have seen companies of three 
hundred files, and regiments of three thousand. Every company 
carried a standard, and their order of battle was eight ranks 
deep. 

Hard drinking, gaming, and licentiousness prevailed to the 
utmost extent, and thus (unlike the orderly armies of Christian 
and Gustavus) the Imperial camp swarmed with jugglers, 
dancers, posture-makers, and women of every description, firom 
the luxurious ladies of the rich and powerful nobles, down to 
the cruel and dastardly death-hunter, who acted the lascivious 
wanton in the soldiers tent, and who murdered him when 
wounded, that she might plunder him with impunity when 
dead. Discipline was relaxed; yet desertion, punishment, grum- 
bling, the saying of prayers and masses were incessant. The corps 
were destitute of surgeons and chaplains; but (attracted by the 
presence of Tilly, a brother of their order) a swarm of long- 
robed and severe-visaged Jesuits hovered on the skirts of the 
army. Tilly's cavalry gave all their horses romantic names 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 189 

after great warriors renowned in song or antiquity. Thus, 
Count MerodI rode Amadis of Gmd; Count Koeningheim had 
the Old Bodrigo; a third rode Palmerin of England; a fourth, 
Tirante the White, and so on. Prisoners were never exchanged, 
all being shot who oould neither pay ransom or stoop to serve 
under the eagle. A colonel's ransom was £1000 ; a subaltern's, 
as much as he could scrape together. 

The Scottish and Irish soldiers of fortune frequently passed 
from one service to the other ; for, being passionate rogues, it 
sometimes happened that in quarrels they shot their senior 
officers, or ran them through the body; for, though we took 
their pay and fought their battles for glory and pleasure, we 
despised all these foreigners in our hearts, and made it a rule 
never to submit to the slightest encroachment or annoyance 
even from the best of them. Hence our quarrel with the king. 

There were several regiments of Scottish and Irish musketeers 
in the Imperial service, and the best and bravest officers of the 
empire were Scots and Irishmen. Among the former, I may 
mention Field-marshal Count Leslie, who became governor of 
Sclavonia; the Gordons, one of whom became Colonel-general of 
infantry, and High-chamberlain of the empire, and who slew the 
great Duke of Friedland ; the M'Dougals, one of whom became 
a general of horse, and the Lindesays of Crauford, and others. 
Of the gallant Irish nation, were Colonels Macarthy, Grace, 
O'Neill, and Walter Butler, all brave men as ever looked face 
to face on Death; but save the old Welshman, Colonel Morgan, 
there was no Englishman of note in these wars — but Morgan 
was in himself a host. 

About mid-day our surly corporal halted at a little farm- 
house. The proprietor, proving to be a good Catholic, escaped 
shooting, and his house escaped the flames. Being an honest 
fellow, he made us — though prisoners — quite as welcome as the 
military ragamuffins who guarded us, and we all dined jovially 
together on fided bacon and Danish beer. Dandy Dreghom at0 
voraciously to make up for the loss of his breakfast ; and his 
applications to the " gudeman for anither slice o' the grumphie," 
and to the corporal for " anither cogue o' the yill," were incessalnt. 



190 PHILIP BOLLO; 

A fair-haired and blue-eyed little girl (the daughter of our 
host) gazed at me with terror^ &om time to time, firom behind 
her father's chair. 

'' Come liither, Wilhelmina," said he, with a broad laugh ; 
'' thou seest these Scottish soldiers have but one head, like our- 
selves — ^not two, as Father d'Ejdel told thea" 

I soon made a friend of this little lady, and hastened to 
assure her that I never had more than one head; I placed her 
on my knee, where she laughed and pulled my mustaches ; while 
her little brother was peeping fearMly towards the end of my 
kilt, to see that forked tail which he understood all Protestants 



Contrasted with the horrors of war, I envied the contentment 
that pervaded this good man's hearth; but the sentiments of 
repugnance to rapine and strife, became fiainter the more often 
we are impressed; till at last they are worn out, like the rough 
thistles on our Scottish pennies, which obliterate as they are 
used. I can remember all the horror, the breathless shrinking, 
I felt on first seeing a poor fellow near me torn in two by a 
cannon-shot at Boitzenburg; but a time came when I ooald 
gaze without emotion at the sack of a city and the E^ughter of 
a multitude. Curiosity and horror were then alike effiaoed ; they 
had passed away, and callousness alone remained behind, till 
peace again restored the feelings to their proper tone. However, 
I sighed as I left the house of the German j&imer, and resumed 
that weary march, the end of which I could not foresee. 

On the road I was frequently accosted by Scots Imperialistef, 
who spoke to me kindly, and expressed indignation to see me 
marched thus on foot, and fettered to a private soldier. In shorty 
a general excitement on the subject soon prevailed among them; 
and, after Gordon's musketeers had passed me, Tilly's aide-de> 
camp. Count Kosningheim, came up with an order to relieve me 
from the ignominy I endured, and the fetter was transferred to 
poor Dandy's other hand. He stared meanwhile in blank 
astonishment at the county who had addressed me in our pure 
native dialect. 

" So you are a Soot, sir?" said I. 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 191 

" Had I not been that," said he, " I had left yon to wear yonr 
bracelet; bnt dinna think o' escape; for Tilly's a donr anld carle, 
and never tholes muckle." 

" You have become so foreign in aspect and manner, that I 
never coidd have recognised in you a kindly Scot." 

" But I am a kindly Scot!" he retorted with a sparkling eye. 
" At hame, in auld Glencaim and on the banks of the Urr, I am 
kent as Hab Cunningham o' the Boortree-haugh ; but here I 
am Albert Count Koeningheim, your friend and countryman. 
You must sup wi' me to-night; I'll hae three or four mair — a' 
Scottish gentlemen, to join us in a glass, for puir auld Scotland's 
sake. But excuse me, sir — ^for I see Count Tilly requires me. 
He hates the Scots like death or the deil, but he canna do with- 
out me;" and, with his long plume streaming behind, this gay 
soldier galloped towards the head of the column of in&ntry. 



192 PUILIP BOLLO: 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

COUNT TILLT's opinion of the FBESBtTEBIANS. 

Passing through Bleckede, a small town which is overlooked 
by a baronial castle, and through Radegast, both of which were 
plundered by the advanced guard of Croatian oskokes, we fol- 
lowed the course of the Elbe towards Lauenburg. As we passed 
an ancient tower in the dusk, I remember hearing the notes of 
the watchman's horn, when (in the old German fashion) he pro- 
claimed the first hour of the night. By three long halts, Tilly 
delayed his march in such a manner, that though the distance 
was short, night had descended on the Elbe and its shores be- 
fore we saw the lights twinkling in the old castle, which was 
occupied by two companies of my own regiment, under Major 
Wilson. The little town was deserted, for the inhabitants had 
all fled into Holstein by the bridge, which the castle defended 
by its cannon. 

The town is situated at the confluence of a stream named the 
Stecknitz with the Elbe; its castle, which is said to have been 
built by Heinrich the Lion, Duke of Saxony, was strong, and 
crowned an eminence which Bernard, Prince of Anhalt, the 
successor of Heinrich, had left nothing undone to strengthen; 
but their old towers of the twelfth century, though black, and 
strong, and grim, were never meant to withstand the dint of 
cannon-shot. 

At the foot of the steep eminence, and about a pistol-shot 
from the walls, was an ancient gate, surmounted by the demi- 
eagle of Anhalt carved on stone ; and there Major Wilson had 
posted a picquet or outguard of my brave comrades, as Bandolo, 
who had crept forward to reconnoitre and espy, informed Tilly, 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 193 

who, acting upon his suggestion, and in revenge for the trick 
Dreghorn and I had played him during the preceding night, 
now i*esolved to turn our presence and services to account. 

The advanced guard halted at the distance of two musket- 
shots from the bridge of Saxe-Lauenburg, in fi'ont of which 
stood a solitary sentinel of Wilson's picquet, in the very centre 
of the roadway. The bridge was ancient and narrow, with high 
parapets; but as the cannon and musketry of the castle could 
rake it with deadly effect, it was of the utmost advantage to 
Tilly that the bridge should be crossed, and the gateway pas««ed 
without an alarm ; thus he had cruelly resolved on destroying 
the sentinel, a project which the circumstance of our being 
his prisoners, and the dense darkness of the night, greatly fiu-- 
thered. 

The whole country around us was deserted; the Croatians 
had captured or shot all the wayfarers and straggling peasantry : 
thus, neither my comrades under Major Wilson in the castle, nor 
their guard at the bridge, had the most remote idea that Tilly's 
troops, more than thirty thousand strong, were in their imme- 
diate vicinity. The major had been desired to rely on Herr 
Otto Roskilde for information as to the enemy's movements, 
and that worthy, whom we now know under another name, had 
completely deceived him by tidings that the Imperialists had 
fallen back towards the Weser. 

Still, dark and unbroken by a ripple, the broad and starless 
current of the Elbe poured through the arches of the bridge; 
the opposite bank was veiled in obscurity, all save the upper 
ramparts of the castle, which we saw standing forth in dark out- 
line against the gloomy sky, and towering high above the level 
landscape. Not a sound was heard; the most deathlike stillness 
prevailed, and the whole current of life seemed as still and turgid 
as the waters of the Elbe. 

Tilly's leading column had halted for more than an hour, and 
we knew not till afterwards that this great general delayed the 
attack until he had consulted an augur as to his hopes of suc- 
cess, and his confessor as to his prospects elsewhere, in case of 
being shot; thus he poured into the ear of Father Ignatius 

VOL. I. o 



194- PHILIP ROLLO; 

d'Eydel that confession which he always made, if possible, before 
engaging. Apart from his host, at the foot of a blasted oak by 
the wayside, the terrible John de Tsercla was on his kneea^ 
bareheaded and in the dust, before a brother of his order. 

Escorted by the same soldiers, who now guarded some Wal- 
loons in addition, Dandy Dreghom and I were seated near the 
wall of a mined cottage; around us were our guards, leaning in 
sUence on their arms. Dandy was occupied at supper on some 
meal, which (during our march) he had contrived to secure and 
prepare. He offered me a portion, but I declined ; so he supped 
alone, talking all the while, that no time might be lost, for he 
made every meal with the air of a man who expected never to 
make another. 

"Thou incorrigible glutton !" said T, "can you eat thus, when 
these overwhelming forces are about to assail our poor comrades 
in yonder small castle 1" 

" *0d, sir, I dinna see that it will mak meikle odds to them, 
whether I tyne my supper or no !" 

" Upon my honour. Dandy, eating is quite a ^ience with you, 
I perceive, and abstinence would be mere want of taste." 

" I aye eat whan I can, for I kenna whan or whar the neist 
cogue may come frae. I took some groats frae an auld trooper's 
saddlebags at the ]ast halt, and made thae braw sawans o' them 
before he keat they were tint ; and sae I squatted mysel' doon 
here to sup withouten fear o' a hecklin. I daursay there's some 
braw soorocks in the burn yonder, if we could only find them. 
^ Stolen waters are sweet, and breid eaten in secret is pleasant^' 
saith Solomon, and he was a wise auld buckie, for a' that 
he had as mony wives as an Imperialist; but this water," he 
added, producing a leather bottle from his plaid-neuk, " is baith 
stronger and sweeter than Solomon's. It's the real stuff! hae 
a drap yoursel, sir." 

I took a few mouthfiils, and then returned the leather bottle 
to Dandy, who, after pouring the remainder down his throat, 
with much mock politeness handed the flask to the corporal of 
escort. That sulky commander finding it empty, kicked it away 
with great contempt, and was drawing the ramrod of his carbine 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 195 

to chastise my companion, thongli fettered, when an armed 
cavalier appeared beside us on horseback. It was Albert Count 
Koeningheim. 

" You must follow me," said he, " the generalissimo requires 
your presence." 

" In this dusty dress ]" said I, jestingly. 

"Tush !" he replied, " a soldier is a companion for a king in 
any dress, I fear, sir, when you see Tilly, you will not jest. 
Corporal, bring these prisoners this way." 

These prisoners ; it was a very unpleasant sound, besides this 
lover (or intended lover) of Ernestine's spoke so gravely, that T 
had immediately some unpleasant anticipations. Nor was I de- 
ceived. Stumbling forward in the dark, over prostrate hedges 
and ruined garden walls, among neglected furrows and unsown 
fields, we reached the right flank of the advanced guards wliere, 
sheltered from the view of those in the castle by a thick group 
of trees, Tilly stood in the centre of a number of steel-clad 
cavaliers and officers, whose bronzed visages and long mustaches 
were revealed by their open helmets, and the dim light of a 
stable lantern, which hung upon a demi-lance stuck in the 
earth. With his meagre figure cased in half-armour and buff 
with tassettes descending almost to his withered knees, half prop- 
ping himself against his long sword with one hand, and grasping 
with the other a baton and the bridle of his horse. Count Ti]ly 
stood a little in front of his picturesque staff. There was a 
diabolical smile playing upon the lines of his thin wan mouth, 
though none was twinkling in his deep and fiery eyes, which 
searched the hearts of all. 

"Welcome, thou jackfeather gallant!" said he in German, 
making me an ironical bow, to which I replied by another, 
haughtily enough; while Dandy, who kept close to me, saluted 
him as well as the fetter which chained his hands together would 
permit. 

At that moment a tall red plmne towered abore the crowd of 
helmets; the group near Tilly pwrted on each side like the waves 
of the sea, and the stately Couat of Qarlstein approached with a 
fiery gleam in his full clear eyes — a cold and freezing expres- 



196 PHILIP ROLLO; 

sion of anger on his Grecian brow and finely formed upper 
lip. 

"Ah — my camp-master general," said Tilly, with another 
ironical bow ; " in searching for rats at yonr new castle in Lime- 
burg, we found other vermin, as you may see." 

The count bit his nether lip, but did not reply; and it was 
perhaps fortunate for him, that I (remembering Tilly's observa- 
tions about treachery) had contrived, during the march, to 
explain to the aide-de-camp how we happened to be concealed 
in that apartment last night. 

« Senor Bandolo," said Tilly. 

That meritorious individual immediately appeared among us, 
in his large cloak and brown Dutch hat, with a cockade which 
was Danish on one side and Austiian on the other. Undisguised 
scorn was expressed by every feice present, save that of the 
unscrupulous Count of Merod6, of whom more anon. 

" Bandolo," said the general, " describe what you have seen." 

" An officer, who wears an eagle's vying in his helmet, with a 
sergeant and fourteen musketeers, guard the gate which doses 
the other end of the bridge, and is, in fact, the outer barrier 
of the castle." (I listened with eagerness ; this officer was 
evidently Ian.) " A single sentinel is posted at this end of the 
bridge." 

" It is narrow, you perceive, gentlemen," said Tilly. 

"And troops will be long in defiling across it," added the 
Count of Carlstein; "and will moreover be exposed to great 
danger, as ten heavy culverins and a bombarde £rom the castle 
can sweep its whole length." 

"Senor — ^you have seen the advanced sentinel?" 

" I could have pistoled him, but feared to alarm the guard," 
growled Bandolo. 

" There is no sconce at this end of the bridge, as at Boitzenburg," 
said Tilly ; " it is fortunate ! But it is of the utmost importance, 
in case the arches should be undermined, that we capture the 
guard without alarming the garrison in the castle. This can 
only be done by deceiving the sentinel; and if one of tbe^ 
prisoners will lead an armed party to the gorge of the bridge; and 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 197 

reply to the challenge, in his own barbarous language ; on one 
hand I offer hiin a thousand pistoles, with free leave to enter any 
regiment in the Imperial service; and on the other, instant death, 
and such a burial as the wolf and raven give. Sir — officer! 
translate this to your fellow-prisoner," he added to me, with a 
terrible frown. 

" Dreghom," said I, after translating the request, " what an- 
swer shall we give him?" 

" Tell the auld tyke, that we'll baith see him hanged first — 
yea, high as Haman, and that tlien we wadna do it!'* 

"Count Tilly!" I exclaimed; "is this the honour — ^this the 
£sdth of an Imperial soldier?" 

"Faith!" he retorted, "and dost thou speak to me of feith? 
Did not a council of our church, more than two hundred years 
ago, declare that no faith should he kept vyith hei'etics?" 

A cloud came over the faces of the Coimts of Carlstein and 
Koeningheim. 

" Generalissimo," said the former, "what is this you would do? 
Assassinate a poor soldier because he will not betray his com- 
rades? What ! is the cause of the Empire and of Catholicism 
fallen so low, that we must become bravoes and murderers?" 

"Darest thou to dictate?" cried the little man grasping his 
baton tighter, while a dark gleam shot from his fiery eyes; " dost 
think that I who have never shown mercy to the Flemish and 
(German followers of Luther and Calvin, will mince matters with 
this Presbyterian spawn of their worthy colleague, Knox? No — 
nor will I now, so help me God; and, by my part of paradise! 
may the boom of our cannon sound every where as the funeral 
knell of those accursed Protestants — this unshriven spawn of 
Scotland, of Denmark, and the devil. They are your countrymen, 
count — ^true, but remember that on the brows and on the banner 
of your nation are written the curse of heresy, and the crime of 
sacred blood — the blood of a cardinal-priest, and that blood is 
yet unrevenged !" 

" Lord hae a care o' us 1 what a deevil o' a body — ^what a 
bull o' Bashan!" muttered Dandy, as Tilly spurted out his fiiry 
in crackjaw German, though he usually swore in Spanish. 



198 PHILIP ROLLO; 

" Will tliis fellow obey my orders, it' you will not?" he asked, 
with increasing wrath. 

" He treats your offer with the scorn that it merits," said I. 

"Maldicion de Dios! then stab him to the heart, Bandolol" 
cried the mei-ciless Tilly. 

The unfortunate Dreghom seemed to comprehend this terrible 
order; for, as the unscrupulous rascal raised his poniard. Dandy 
wrung my hand, and then in the old Scottish fashion mantled 
his head in his plaid, even as Caesar veiled his in his toga, to 
hide the death-stroke and its agony. 

At that moment poor Dandy Dreghom, the humble plough- 
man — the private soldier — was sublime ! He was the grandest 
figure amid that stately group; but I caught the descending 
arm of Bandolo with one hand, and dashed him to the earth 
with the other. 

"Do yer warst, ye dour auld walydraigel ! " cried Dandy, 
shaking his fettered hands in Tilly's startled face; " I maun een 
dree my weird, syne ye gxv me thole't!" 

" Lead them both forward to the bridge," said Tilly, who was 
literally choking with passion. " To thee, Bandolo, I entrust 
them; six Croats will follow you; blow out their brains, if they 
refuse to reply thaX friends are approaching. The report of your 
pistols will be the signal for crossing and making a general 
assault. The regiments of Camargo and MerodI will lead the 
van ; for, as Wallenstein says, God always helps the strongest 
brigade — ^forwanl ! " 

We were dragged away by Bandolo and the six dismounted 
Croats, all of whom were men of that amiable docility to orders^ 
that they would have shot their own fathers without the slightest 
scruple, had such been the pleasure of Count Tilly or their 
piince, the Ban, 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 199 



CHAPTER XXIX, 

CAfKN NA CUIMHNE ! 

I SECRETLY resolved that, whether I was shot or whether I 
escaped, a pretty loud alarm should be given ; Dandy Dreghoru 
was o£ the same opinion, for, notwithstanding his strong pre- 
delictions for porridge and good feeding, he was a brave fellow, 
and vowed to stand by me to the last. Being aware that 
Bandolo knew neither our Scottish language nor the Gaelic, we 
were resolving how we could bring both him and Tilly into a 
trap of their own constructing as we approached the end of the 
bridge, almost groping among the dark and smoke-like vapour, 
which was now beginning to spread along the river, and over the 
deserted town and the castle which commanded it. 

At the gorge of the bridge I could perceive a Highland soldier 
standing perfectly motionless, resting on his musket, and ap- 
parently gazing straight before him, into the obscurity which 
veiled the army of Tilly. His powerful form had the aspect of 
a dusky statue. I could perceive his plaid waving at times ; he 
was whistling a monotonous pibroch as we crept softly towards 
him; then he chanted a song; and doubtless the thoughts of 
home it raised within him, turned his eyes and heart back — as it 
were, back upon himself — and prevented him from observing the 
group of Croats, who approached him so stealthily, with their 
carbines cocked, under the shadow of the Dutch willows that 
fringed the narrow pathway. I have said the whole place was 
still as death ; thus the clear, manly voice of the clansman as he 
sung " Failirin, ilirin, iulirin O," was distinctly heard. That old 
Highland air is so sad and slow, that it moved my heart within 
me, even amid the fierce impulses of that most critical hour. 



200. PHILIP BOLLO; 

** Not the swan on the lake, or the foam on its shore, 
Can compare with the charms of the maid I adore ; 
Not so white is the snow on the mountain or dale. 
Or the wild-rose that blooms on the bongh in the vale. 
As the clouds* golden wreath, on Ben Lomond*8 high brow. 
The locks of my loved one luxuriantly flow ; 
And her cheek has the tint our wild-roses display. 
When they blush in the bloom of a morning in May." 

" Dreghom," I whispered, " that is Gillian M'Bane, one of my 
own company — a Strathdee man! My God ! what shall I dol" 

** Let lis baith set up a yowl, sir." 

We still crept forward, and after a pause Gillian sang another 
verse of that tender old love- song ; while my heart beat quicker, 
and my breath became more and more contracted. 

"Like thy star oh, Ul-lochlinI that beams o'er the grove. 
Are the slow-rolling eyes of the maid that I love; 
High bosom'd, her girdle diffuses the light 
Of the moon, when she beams on the ocean at night. 
The lark and the linnet, they welcome the mom. 
In a chorus of joy from yon time-gnarled thorn; 
But the linnet and lark pour their chorus in vain. 
When the maid that I love sings her sweet Highland stnun." * 

Suddenly he perceived something, and, pausing again in his 
song, blew the match of his musket, and cried in his native 
Gaelic — 

" Stand! — ^who comes here?" 

Bandolo raised his pistols and blew the matches ; then a sound 
followed, as the Croats, who crept like snakes along the ground, 
imitated his example. 

" Speak !" said he in a fierce whisper to Dreghom and to me. He 
spoke in broken German, with a word or two of Spanish, and placed 
a pistol to each of our heads. I felt the cold muzzle against my 
left temple. My heart stopped — then there was a terrible 
conflict within it ; but I knew the narrow path that honour 
required me to pursue. Again the sentinel challenged, and 
cocked his piece. 

" Maldetto! will you speak — or you?** growled Bandolo. 

" No — never ! " said Dreghom ; " not to be made king o' a' braid 
Scotland — Heevin bless every inch o't!" 

* Translation from the original Gaelic, by Dominie Daidle. 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 201 

. ** Maldicion!" howled tlie bravo, gnashing his teeth. 

"Treachery, M^Bane!" I shouted in Graelic; "treachery, 
treachery! The Imperialists are upon you! Cairn na cuimknel 
Claymore and biodag!" 

There was a red flash as he flred his musket, and a Croat fell be- 
side me, kicking up his heels in the dark ; two pistol-shots fol- 
lowed, and, shot through the brain, poor Dandy Dreghom sank 
dead at my feet. I thought myself also slain — for an instant all 
was chaos ! I fell across his body, yet fortunately my cheek was 
-only scorched by powder, while the ball had grazed my helmet, 
but with sufficient force to knock me down. My escape was mira- 
culous, and Bandolo deemed me shot when I fell on the roadway, 
and, luckily for myself close to a small recess in an abutment of 
the bridge, where I lay unobserved; for to advance would be to 
fall a sacrifice to the fire of my comrades, who with Ian guarded 
the gate of the bridge ; to retire, would be to perish among the 
ferocious Imperialists. 

Firing a volley through the loopholes of the archway, the 
Highland guard closed the klinket of the well-barricaded gate, 
and retired double quick into the castle; and now began one of the 
grandest scenes of war I ever had the fortune to witness ! From 
the high ramparts of the gothic fortress, there burst upon the 
midnight gloom and on the narrow bridge a flood of light, with 
a storm of cannon-shot and musketry. 

" To the assault 1 to the assault ! and death be the doom of 
the first who turns his back !" cried Tilly, rushing on foot across 
the bridge at the head of his pikemen, with a standard in his 
lefb hand, and a horse-pistol in the right; for the old Jesuit, 
though he trembled last night before an antique picture, and 
had implicit £a.ith in quacks and astrologers, was brave as a 
lion. " Forward, my hardy rogues ! there are a hundred hogs- 
heads of good wine in yonder castle — all the spoil of the heretical 
Bishop of Hildesheim. On, on brave cavaliers and valiant 
pikemen ! Bemember that every blow of your swords, and thrust 
of your pikes, is beheld with joy by the mother of God! Strike 
for the good cause! thrust for the blessed cause! Strike and 
thrust for the Cross and the Empire!'* 



202 PHILIP EOLLOj 

The hoarse hurrah of the German infantry, the yells of the 
Croats, and the chivalric war-cry of the Spaniards, replied to 
his urgent address. 

" Santiago ! Santiago ! and close, Spain ! Viva el Conde Tilly I 
Viva Juan de Tsercla ! Viva el Espiritu Santo !" 

A flood of armed men — the regiments of Merod6 and 
Camargo — poured along the bridge against that gate, which 
formed the only barrier between them and the fertile and nn- 
ravaged provinces of Saxe-Lauenburg, Holstein, and Denmark, 
and they rushed impetuously against it, their pioneers being in 
front, with axes and sledge-hammers, petards and levers. Other 
corps followed, column after column, with all their bright points 
and uplifted pikes gleaming in the blaze of a ligkt^aU, which 
(by Major Wilson's orders) was now burned on the summit of 
the castle, and which poured a torrent of dazzling radiance on 
every object. This engine (so useful for revealing the position 
and number of a foe at night) is usually a large bomb, filled and 
covered with powder, saltpetre, turpentine and rosin, well 
rammed with birchwood charcoal, and covered by innumerable 
coats of paper steeped in melted pitch. 

On the grey battlements of Lauenburg this blazed like a 
comet, and enabled the Highlanders to direct their fire of mus* 
ketry from the parapets above, and the Barbette batteries below 
— so named because, in their passage, the shots from them shave 
the cope of the rampart. The shower of missiles that swept the 
bridge was terrible ! Two great basilisks, or 48-pounders, loaded 
with musket-balls, did frightful execution, while the enormous 
bombarde vomited stang-balls, or shot with double heads, having 
fourteen inch bars to connect them; these shred away whole 
ranks of men, who, as they crowded upon the bridge in their 
eagerness, impeded the operations of those who assailed the gate. 

" Cairn na cuimhne ! *' rang at times above the uproar from 
the castle walL I thought I could detect the voice of Ian ; for 
it was the war-cry of the M*Farquhars — their Cairn o/Bemem- 
brance on the hills of Strathdee. 

The yells, cries, and tumult upon the narrow bridge were 
a2)palling, and almost equalled the din of the fire-arms and 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 203 

artillery in Lauenburg. What a contrast now was there ! ten 
minutes before the stillness had been like that of a desert, un- 
broken save when the solitary sentinel sang, or when the wind 
shook the rushes of the Elbe, and swept along its darkened waters 
with a moaning sound. 

A thick mist arose from its bosom, and on that mist fell the 
ghastly and sulphurous glare, amid which — ^yet half in obscurity — 
were seen the columns moving to the attack, like troops of spirits, 
with their armour and weapons gleaming as if tipped with blue 
fire, among that cold white vapour. 

Down from the lofty rampart, lighting up its grim architecture 
of the twelfth century, poured that torrent of flame, revealing 
every object, even to the checks in the tartan plaids of the 
Highlanders ; larger it grew, broader and brighter, until every 
ornament and stud upon the coats-of-mail were visible. The 
whole fortress was illuminated; the spire of Saxe-Lauenburg, 
the houses and their windows, the rolling mist, the broad river, 
and its«clumps of pale green weeping willows and dusky copper 
beeches ; the advancing columns with their umbered arms and 
rustling banners; the stormers on the bridge, swarming and 
swearing, jostling and crushing forward over the dead and dying, 
and uttering yells of rage and defiance, whenever a cannon-shot 
made a lane of carnage through their living mass, were fully and 
fearfully visible. 

Surmounted by the demi-eagle of Anhalt rising from its dncal 
crown, before them lay the old archway with its deep dark mouth, 
having a false portcullis jagged with iron teeth, flanked by the 
Barbette batteries, and swept from innumerable loopholes of the 
casemates, from the recesses of which red streaks of fire and 
wreaths of pale blue smoke — blue even amid that pallid glare — 
burst forth incessantly, as the radiance of the blazing fireball 
enabled the Scottish musketeers to direct their deadly aim with 
precision and security. 

At last this light from the castle began to subside and die 
away; but just then the Austrian petardiers blew up the An- 
halt gate, and half their number with it ; the din of hammers and 
axes followed; then another wild shout of triumph, and the 



204 PHILIP BOLLO; 

mnsketeera of Merod6, the pikemcn of Camargo, and the Croats of 
Castanovitz, with the whole of Tilly's column, began to pour along 
the bridge, through the shattered archway, and entered the 
duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg. 

The Scottish major had undermined the bridge; but the powder 
found a vent somewhere, and the chamber was fired without 
effect ; then a triumphant shout of fear, derision, and defiance 
arose from the soldiers of the Empire ! The Rubicon was passed ; 
the passage of the Elbe achieved, but with great loss ; and the 
castle was immediately outflanked and environed on every 
side. 

Column after column — ^horse foot and artillery — defiled along 
the bridge, until the whole main body of the Imperialists had pass- 
ed, but not without severe loss ; for my brave comrades fired inces- 
santly until their bandoliers were empty, and their cannon had 
become so hot, that to cool them they were compelled to cease 
for a time; and then, on day breaking, the gallant Lowland 
cavalier who led them, finding the castle invested on every point, 
craved a parley by beat of drum, and, through the intervention 
of Tilly's aide-de-camp, and of his confessor. Father Ignatius 
d'Eydel, an influential Jesuit, obtained permission to march out 
with all the honours of war, and to retire without molestation 
down the right bank of the Elbe, to the fortress of GlUckstadt. 

While these arrangements were being made, I again became 
a prisoner, having been discovered by some Croatian women, 
who, in the twilight of the morning, had been stripping the killed 
and wounded on the bridge, and using their knives freely on the 
latter, if they resisted. Some of those wretches were on the point 
of assassinating me for the lace and jewels of my Highland garb, 
when a corporal of Reitres knocked two of them down with the 
but-end of his carbine, and committed me to the care of Tilly's 
quarter guard. Escape was now impossible, and I feared to 
offer bribes, least these unscrupulous soldiers might deprive me 
of Ernestine's purse, as well as its contents. 

Exactly at sunrise Major Wilson came forth with his little 
garrison, and two regiments of horse, with standards displayed 
and kettle-drums beating, were drawn up to salute the passing 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 205 

Highlanders. With one pipe playing, two drums beating the 
Scots march, and the major's own standard bearing the Lion 
Kampant displayed, they marched down from the castle, not 
quite two hundred strong, but a grin and determined little band 
as ever waved their tartans in the face of an enemy. Their faces 
were blackened by dust and powder, and most of them had band- 
ages about their heads, their arms, or sturdy bare legs ; but they 
all marched past, like brave fellows as they were, looking at the iron 
line of Tilly's Reitres as if they cared not a pinch of snuff for them. 
With a heart that swelled within me, I stood among my escoi-t 
by the wayside, and recognised many a face as my comrades 
passed. The first company was Captain Mackenzie of Kildon's; 
the next was lan's — the stately men of Strathdee ; and I saw 
him, with his arm in a sling, marching at their head, and those 
colossal sergeants, Phadrig Mhor, and Diarmed M'Gillvray, 
each with his enormous Lochaber axe, keeping close by his 
side — and Red Angus M'Alpine too, with the crape on his arm 
in memory of his secret sorrow. Had uncounted gold been mine, 
I would have given it for the power to rush into their ranks 
and claim their friendship and protection ; but I was an unran- 
somed prisoner of war, and they dared not receive me. I caught 
the eye of Ian as he passed. He grew pale with astonishment ; 
then he reddened with joy and indignation ; the M*Farquhars 
uttered a shout, but were compelled to march on ; yet Ian sprang 
from their ranks and wrung my hand. 

" Grod bless you, cousin Philip ! " said he, " we thought you were 
gone with poor Learmonth and Martin to render Heaven an 
account of our good service in Germany." 

" Eollo," added M'Alpine, hurriedly, " we cannot tarry a mo- 
ment! We march by the way of Hamburg; a wood lies some 
twenty miles distant, near Bergedorf ; escape, if you can, and 
some of us may meet you thereabout on this side of Gliick- 
stadt — farewell ! " 

They sprang back to their places, and marched on ; but many 
a face was turned backward, and many a hand was waved to me 
in kindly recognition, till I lost sight of them, as the Reitres 
wheeled into broad squadrons to follow and cover their retreat. 



206 PHILIP BOLLO: 



CHAPTER XXX. 



THE JESUIT. 



'Retaining ten thousand men under his own command, Count 
Tilly immediately despatched the Counts of Carlstein and Me- 
rode, with the remainder of his force, along the banks of the 
Elbe, with orders to turn the flank of all King Christian's out- 
posts ; after which they were all to reunite, and advance again 
to the conquest of the Danish isles. 

Devereaux*s Irish regiment occupied Lauenburg, where the 
German pioneer? buried the dead in great trenches, and many 
were quite warm, with the blood still oozing from their wounds 
when flung in. The vast depth to which they dug these pits 
excited my surprise, and I waa informed by Count Koeningheim 
that it was " to prevent any vampires who might be among the 
slain ascending to upper earth;" for I found that, from the 
frightful atrocities of the Imperial troops, they had the most im- 
plicit belief in these imaginary monsters, and supposed that 
many were in their ranks. 

Several prisoners, who had incurred Tilly's displeasure for 
various reasons, were now selected by the sergeant of the quarter- 
guard, and put aside for hanging at sunset. To my horror, 
I found myself -plsiced among these doomed men ! I remonstrated 
with the sergeant with all the earnestness of one whose life de- 
pended upon his own exertions, assuring him that I had done 
nothing worthy of a death so detestable. 

" Very well," said he coolly ; ** make some interest with an 
officer, and we may shoot you instead — forward, escort!" and we 
were marched to a small open shed, which stood under some 
lurge trees that grew near the river. Against one of these trees 



OE, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 207 

stood a ladder, and Bandolo, who on this occasion had constituted 
himself assistant to the provost-marshal, superintended the 
arrangement of certain cords, having ugly loops thereon, 
from the branches of the trees. My fellow prisoners were six 
Croats and two Grermans. They were all tied with cords; the 
Croats sat on the ground in sullen silence, glaring at their 
guards from under their fur caps and savage elf-locks ; the two 
Germans had smoked themselves into a state of dreamy indif- 
ference, and sat with their lack-lustre eyes fixed on the flowing 
river. Around us, the soldiers of the escort were quietly cleaning 
their arms, rubbing down their horses, and cooking their rations 
on a large fire (composed of tables, chairs, &c., taken from a 
neighbouring house), previous to marching. 

Though I could face death in any form when encountering 
him in the ranks, with the colours above and my comrades 
beside me, to die thus was a very different thing. To be left 
hanging like a dog or a thief from the branch of a tree (though 
the sergeant assured me "it was a most respectable gibbet") — I, 
a gentleman and soldier, in the manly garb of my native country 
— to die thus — and to die without a crime ! The reflection was 
intolerable ! 

But there was not one to whom I could apply for mercy or 
for succour. Count Carlstein had marched, and Kceningheim, 
had gone, no one knew whither. 

Devereux's Irishmen cared nothing for me. I was not their 
countryman ; besides, I had not the means of communicating 
with them. 

As the day wore on, with an agony which cannot now be 
written, I watched the summer sun verging to the westward, 
and shedding along the whole bosom of the Elbe its bright 
evening beams, throwing far across the river and its bordering 
meadows the lengthening shadows of every spire, and house, and 
tree; for as still, as glassy, and waveless as ever, the stream 
flowed on towards the German Sea — the same sea that washed 
the Scottish shore. The sun sank lower and lower; the days 
were then long, and the landscape was flat; yet it was within 
an hour of setting. 



208 PHILIP BOLLOj 

Only an hour ! 

I sprang up, and walked to and fro with an air of perturba- 
tion which I could not conceal; but which my phlegmatic 
German guard, viewed with the most perfect indifference. A 
torrent of bitter thoughts poured through my heart; I had 
quitted a home where none regretted me, with the hope that aH 
I left behind should one day be proud of my actions, and might 
boast of my glorious death if I fell in battle or siege — ^but now 
the noose was waving over my head ! I felt that it was im- 
possible for me to meet such a death, and so unmerited, with 
resolution or with resignation, and without a struggle — a des- 
perate struggle — ^if not for liberty at least for revenge. It was 
better, a thousand times better, to die sword in hand, and be 
hewed to pieces, than to be hung like a pitiful marauder. 

A weapon ! I saw none save in the hands of the strong guard 
which surrounded us, laughing and jesting through their bushy 
mustaches just as if nothing unusual was to happen, and nine 
poor devils were not to be hanged at all. 

While ftill of these bitter thoughts, I perceived a man whom 
I knew by his attire to be a priest of the order of Jesus — one of 
the many who followed the army of Tilly — walking slowly towards 
the trees whereon the fatal nooses were dangling, and at the foot of 
which the Croats and Grermans were seated in sidlen and listless 
apathy. 

He stooped down and addressed them all in succession; but 
they cursed, and bade him begone "to the devil." Then he 
paused, with the air of one who conferred with himself whether 
it were worth while to continue so ungrateful a task ; and, after 
some hesitation, he approached and gazed at me from head to 
foot. 

His thin, tall figure is yet before me. Worn evidently by as- 
ceticism and conventual severity, he stooped a little forward ; 
his forehead was broad and impending ; his features were harsh, 
while a prominence of mouth and chin indicated more firmness 
of purpose than mildness and benignity — ^yet, in many respects, 
his face belied the good man's disposition. His eyes — keen, p«ie- 
trating and hard in expression — ^insjnred awe, and commanded 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 209 

respect from aJl on whom lie bent tbem; btit their decided 
expression belied the humility with which he crossed his bony- 
hands upon his bosom, and humbly bowed his head even unto the 
most humble. 

Educated a Presbyterian, and being the soldier of a Protestant 
king, I gazed with some distrust at this brother of that order 
whose name excites so many jealous feelings, and which has been 
so obnoxious to the princes of Europe generally ; for in my own 
time I have seen the Jesuits, as the result of their intrigues, exy 
polled forcibly from Venice and Prague, from Naples and 
Flanders. 

He halted before me, crossed his hands upon his breast, and 
slightly bent his loffcy figure. 

'* Your servant, reverend sir," said I, in my own language. 

" God be with you, my son," he answered in the same, I had 
used it inadvertently, but now my attention was excited, and I 
gazed at him inquiringly. " I am sorry," he continued, " to 
see a Scottish gentleman in this sad predicament." 

" I fear me, good sir, your regrets will not mend the matter 
much," I replied sourly, for the most intense hatred of the Im* 
perialists was swelling in my breast ; "you cannot do any thing 
for me, I presume." 

" Perhaps not — I am only poor father Ignatius." 

" The confessor of Count Tilly ! " I exclaimed, thunderstruck ; 
" pardon me, sir — I have often heard of you." 

<^ For little that is good — if in the Danish camp." 

" Nay, sir — even there I have heard you spoken of with re- 
spect, as the possessor of a thousand virtues." 

" Though a Jesuit — ^'tis wonderful ! Though I am known as 
Ignatius in the Order of Jesus, at home, in poor old Scotland, I 
was kent but as David Daidle, the neer-do-weel o' the parish 
schule, and son o* auld Davie o' the Daidleysheugh, at the Hollo's 
Craig. Ye see, gude sir, I've no forgotten our auld Scottish 
whilk my puir mither taucht me." 

"How!" I exclaimed, clasping both his hands in mine; "are 
you the brother of my old Dominie Daidle, at home in dear 
Cromartiel" 

VOL. I, P 



210 PHILIP BOLLO; 

'* The same — the same ! " he sighed, with a flushing cheek and a 
Ifindling eye; "my brother did become a dominie; but I, with 
James of Jerusalem, and Father Leslie, now superior of the 
Scottish college at Douay, became followers of Ignatius Loyola. 
But my puir brother — ^when saw ye him last?" 

"But a few months ago; the poor dominie plays the fiddle as 
well as ever, and still leads the choir of our parish kirk. I 
promised to bring him from Germany the object of his greatest 
ambition — a metal horologue, which he is not likely to receive, 
however," I added, glancing at the setting sun, and the noose which 
dangled over my head. 

" Young gentleman, it seems to me as if your fece was familiar 
to me, and your voice, too; yet I must have left old Scotland, 
yeai-s before you were bom. You are a son of our jGstther's laird 
and patron, RoUo of Craigrollo ?" 

" Compelled to become a soldier of fortune, because of a certain 
unlucky heirloom " 

" The Rollo spoon," replied the Jesuit, a broad smile spreading 
over his usually grave features; "I remember well that quaint 
heirloom of old Sir Bingan; I remember too, with gratitude, the 
many fe-vours your femily have for ages bestowed on mine, the 
hereditary vassals of your house. Oh ! I would gladly repay but 
one of these, if in my power " 

" You can more than repay them all, sir, for indeed you owe 
us nothing. If we did service to the dominie's family, they did 
good service to ours. Whose sword hewed a farther passage into 
Huntly's pikemen at Glenlivat, than old Davie Daidle's? I am 
to be hanged in ten minutes — hanged like a dpg, because I have 
done my devoir as a soldier against these rascally Imperialists, 
and would not betray to them my kinsmen, the MCFarquhiors. 
If you can save me ^" 

" Save you ! — I can and will " 

"There is but little time, then; for, by my soul, yonder come 
Bandolo the bravo, and the provost-marshal with his guard and 
assistants, carrying the fetal ladder, by which they mean to 
accommodate us in mounting the branches of these high 
trees." 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. '211 

'• 1m .How me, Mr. Rollo, and let me see who will dare to inter- 
i::.|)l' you." 

The soldiers fell back and presented arms to this well-known 
and formidable priest, who was as familiar to the armies of Tilly 
as the terrible Father du Tremblay was then known in those of 
France, but in a very different way — for every good, and not for 
every evil. Like his master s, the will and command of Ignatius 
d'Eydel (for so had they rendered his homely name) were as 
much law to the soldiers as if the cruel thin lips of Tilly had 
expressed them. 

As we passed the provost, he respectftiUy saluted the priest 
who stood by my side, in his long flowing garments. Bandolo 
scowled at me with rage and disappointment, but was compelled 
to pass on, leaving me untouched. I remembered the cruel 
murder of poor Dandy Dreghorn, and could scarcely keep my hands 
from his throat; but hoped that an hour of retribution was 
coming. 

After walking in silence along the road for some hundred 
yards, on looking back I saw the convulsed bodies of my eight 
recent companions dangling from the trees, while the provost and 
-his guard retired leisurely towards their quarters in the town of 
Lauenburg. 



210 



PHILIP bollD; 



"The same — the same!" he sighed^ with 
]ritidliDg eye; "my brother did become j 
James of Jerusalem, and Father Le^U^ 
Scottish college at Douay, became foDoi^ 
But my i>uir brother — ^when mw ye him I 

"But a few months ago; the poor don 
well as ever, and still leads the choir 
])romised to bring him from Germany the 1 
ambition — a metal horologue, which he ] 
however," I added, glancing at the setting sui 
dangleil over my head. 

" Young gentleman, it seems to me as if 
to mo, and your voice, too; yet I miii^t Ij 
yoai-a l)ofore you were bom. You are a si. 
and i>atron, Hollo of CraigroUo?" 

" Compelleil to become a soldier of fortni 
unlucky heu*loom " 

** The Rollo spoon," replied the J^uit^ a 
over his usually gi-ave features; "I reme 
lioirUwm of old Sir Kingan; I remember 
many favours your £unily have for ages 1 
horetlitar}' vassals of your hou^. Oh ! I v 
imo of those, if in my power—" 

** You can more than repay them all, a 
us nothing. If we did service to the dom 
giKxl service to ours. Whose sword hewed 
Iluntly's pikomen at Glenlivat, than old 
to 1)0 hanged in ten minutes — hanged like 
done my devoir as a soldier a^nst thefte 
uiul wouUi not betray to them my kinsm 
If you can save me " 

** Save you ! — I can and will " 

" Thon^ is but little time, then ; for, by t 
l^uidolo tho bnivo, and the provost-marsha 
assistants, carrying the fisital ladder, by wj 
niH»onunoilat6 us in mounting the brancf 
trees." 



rm** 







OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 211 

" Follow me, Mr. RoUo, and let me see who will dare to inter- 
rupt you." 

The soldiers fell back and presented arms to this well-known 
and formidable priest, who was as familiar to the armies of Tilly 
as the terrible Father du Tremblay was then known in those of 
France, but in a very different way — for every good, and not for 
every evil Like his master's, the will and command of Ignatius 
d'Eydel (for so had they rendered his homely name) were as 
much law to the soldiers as if the cruel thin lips of Tilly had 
expressed them. 

As we passed the provost, he respectfully saluted the priest 
who stood by my side, in his long flowing garments. Bandolo 
scowled at me with rage and disappointment, but was compelled 
to pass on, leaving me untouched. I remembered the cruel 
murder of poor Dandy Dreghorn, and could scarcely keep my hands 
from his throat; but hoped that an hour of retribution was 
coming. 

After walking in silence along the road for some hundred 
yards, on looking back I saw the convulsed bodies of my eight 
recent companions dangling from the trees, while the provost and 
his guard retired leisurely towards their quarters in the town of 
Lauenburg. 



212 PHILIP ROLLO; 



CHAPTER XXXL 

or THE GOOD DEEDd OUB MUSKETEEBS WEBE UKDOIWO. 

My heart sickened at the thought of all I had so providentially 
escaped, by the casual intervention of a passing priest. 

" Come, master Rollo," thought I, as gayer ideas suggested 
themselves; " you must not deem these Jesuits such bad fellows 
after all! Indeed this one seems remarkably amiable. Reve- 
rend sir," said I, as we passed the extreme outposts of Tilly's 
troops, and proceeded along the margin of the Elbe, " I hope 
you will not incur the count's displeasure by setting me 
free." 

" Displeasure — oh no ! My brother, John of Tserclli — ^for I 
presume you are aware that he is a priest of our order — cannot 
quarrel with me for a trifling act of mercy like this." 

" This trifling act has saved my life, but you value existence 
lightly on the Imperial side of the Elbe. I am full of joy and 
gratitude for the service you have rendered me; but why, good 
sir, do you seem so much dejected?" 

" I am indeed dejected, and sorrowftil — exceedingly sorrowful !" 
he replied, folding his hands heavily upon his breast, and bend- 
ing his eyes upon the ground. 

** For what, good sirl" 

" To see my own countrymen arrayed in tens of thousands 
against the good cause. Ye are come to upix)ot and destroy 
that tree of knowledge whose leaves were faith, and whose fruit 
was life everlasting ; that stately tree which, in other times, our 
pious countrymen, from the holy Isle of lona, in the far wesl^ 
transplanted among the barbarous Goths of Grermany. For 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 213 

hither in those dark ages of the world, from our old Caledonian 
shore, came Boniface, who, after converting all the savages of 
Thuringia and Saxony, became first Archbishop of Mentz, as we 
may find in the writings of Trithemius. While his Scottish 
disciples foimded the noble abbey of Fnlda, Patto (also a Scot) 
converted Westphalia, and was made Bishop of Verden. In 
the 8th century, St. Robert, the son of a Scottish king, converted 
Theodo lord of Bavaria, with all his people, and is now the 
apostle of their descendants; while Galium Bane and Gallus 
of Argyle rescued Swabia from the darkness of paganrie; and 
the latter ceased not from his blessed labours imtil he perished 
among the Switzers, who yet preserve his reliques in the convent 
of St. Gall; and all these things ye are come to undo! Nor need 
I tell you how John the Scot became Bishop of Mecklenburg, 
and died a martyr, being slain by the Wendish apostles, who, in 
1066, cut off his hands and feet, leaving this man of godliness to 
perish miserably by the wayside; or how, in the year 1000, 
Callamanus, the son of a Scottish prince, converted all Austria^ 
where he was martyred, and where his reliques are yet preserved 
in the convent of our countrymen, near the Scottish Gate at 
Vienna. Argobastus," continued my companion, warming with 
enthusiasm and reckoning on his fingers — '^ Argobastus, the 
converter of Strasburg, and William who founded a Scottish 
monastery at Cologne, another at Kuremburg, another at Aix-la- 
chapelle, two at Batisbon, and another at Wiirtsburg, were also 
Scots, as we may read in the writings of Baronius and Trithe* 
mius ; and all these blessed works ye are come from the same land, 
with your muskets and bandoliers, to undo ! Virgilius the Scot, 
was jmdB perpetual legate of Germany by His Holiness Gre- 
gory VII.; nor need I expatiate on the piety, the virtues, and 
the suffering of KiHan, the Culdee of lona, who converted all 
Franoonia; and that ye are come to subvert and undo! Oht 
why seek to convert these lands to heresy and heathendom by 
the sword? with drums beating and banners displayed? Why 
not try it, like the Scots of other times, with no other weapons 
than the staff and the sandals — prayer and exhortation?*' 
. ^' By my fsdth, reverend sir, a salvo of good cannon-shot is the 



214^ PHILIP ROLLO; 

best exhortation for such a congregation as Tilly and his Croats," 
said I, half stunned by the vehemence of the Jesuit, and the 
fiicility with which he enumerated so many barbarous names. 
"My good father and countryman," I added; "w© came hither 
neither to convert like the Scots of old, nor to persecute like 
Count Tilly. But we are come to fight the battles of those who 
cannot fight for themselves; to win honour and fame like true 
cavaliers, to clip the wings of the Austrian eagle, and to d^nd 
the civil and religious liberties of Northern Europe — a high and 
a glorious mission ! *' 

" To overturn the faith of God ! — ^the church which is founded 
on the rock of ages, and is cemented by the blood of many a 
martyr. Oh ! were you to see, as I have seen at Mel(^, the body 
of our countryman St. Colman, undecayed, uncorrupted, pure and 
fiiir, as on that day in the year 1012, when, after returning there 
barefooted fi:om Jerusalem, the barbarians hanged him on a- tire^ 
where he swung untainted by the weather, and untouched by 
the ravens, until the good Bishop of Aichstadt conveyed his r^ 
liques to Alba Regulis, upon a mountain in Hungary, where they 
have converted many by the miracles they work daily; but all 
these good and wondrous things ye are come with your pikemen 
and musketeers to subvert and undo ! " 

"By Jove ! Father Daidle, I do not think the corbies would 
have respected me as they did this good man ; but sure I am, that 
so far as toil and fasting go, our poor Scottish soldiers ^idure now* 
as much as ever your Scottish saints did in the olden time, though 
not so patiently perhaps; as we can relieve ourminds> now and 
then, by a good round oath." 

The Jesuit paused, and said gTaVely, as if displeased, *Here we 
]()art, sir. I free you as a countryman, though as a heretic, and 
the soldier of a heretic king, I should have left you to the mercy 
6f the provost-marshal." 

"Do not be chafed by my heedless Way, good sir," said I, glad 
to pei-ceive that the close of this long harangue had brought me tcfi 
the verge of a small wood. "I owe you more than I can ever 
repay — more than I caA ever eipress — my life— my honour!" * 

"I would gkdly give you a; horse (though your kilt is scarcely 



OK, THE SCOTTISH MUS^TEEBS. 2 IS 

suited for the saddle), but I possess only a poor ass for the 
march." 

"Why not mount yourself better? I saw nags enough and to 
spare, among the Imperialists." 

"It would ill become us to ride chargers, when our Master, 
who is in heaven, contented himself with the humbler animal, 
and in memory thereof marked it with his cross. If you escape 
all the dangers of this disastrous war, and return to our com- 
mon home by the shore of Cromartie, bear my blessing to my 
poor brother, the dominie — for, alas ! it is all the poorer Jesuit 
has to send him. Keep the path that is before you ; by it your 
comrades marched this morning — ^it leads straight to Hamburg, 
and to Gliiekstadt — ferewelL" 

We separated — 

He to return to Tilly's disorderly cantonment, and I to pursue 
Wj solitary way. 



S16 PHIUP BOLLOj 



3Jnnk tjii liitlr- 



CHAPTER XXXIL 

THE MEBOBEUR8. 

From the place where I parted with Father Ignatius, Lauen- 
burg, was about three miles distant, and the Elbe about one. 
The dusky evening was giving place to duskier night. At a 
little distance from the road lay a German village, with two or 
tliree large, old, and crumbling houses overhanging the narrow 
thoroughfare, and a number of picturesque little cottages, built 
of dark and intricate wood-work, carved and plastered. The 
coppice or wood near me was composed of lofty beeches, which 
fringed a small and quiet lake ; a large misshapen block carved 
with ancient Runes stood among the long grass, and between 
the stems of the distant trees, I saw the moon rising a^ o£l^ 
and shedding a sofb pale light upon the hazy landscape. 

One or two small stags flitted past me, and a solitary stork 
flapped its large wings on the branch of a hawthornrtree. 
Every thing was silent, and the place was so lonely that I sat 
down on the Runic-carved stone of other times, to reflect on my 
position. 

I was seventy miles at least &om Gluckstadt; my comrades 
were a full day's march — ^thirty miles — in front of me; and 
though they, by force of numbers, could make their way in 
safety, I knew the case was different with an individual; for 
the officers and soldiers of our i-egiment, who straggled fax from 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 217 

<2amp or quarters, were frequently maltreated, and even mur- 
dered hj the savage boors, for the sake of their military finery. 

Though permitted to retain my back, breast, and head-pieces, 
I had been deprived of my sword and dirk, yet fortunately my 
skene-dhu, which was of course stuck in the garter of my right 
leg, had escaped unseen, and my sporran or purse had a curi- 
ously constn^cted mouthpiece or clasp, containing four small 
pistol barrels, which were cocked by the pressure of one spring, 
and discharged by the pressure of another. This remarkable 
piece of Highland mechanism had been a gifb from Ian, and 
was the work of Thomas Caddel» whose manufactory of pistols at 
the Doune of Meuteith, was soon after to become so celebrated. 
To this clasp and its deadly secret, I more than once owed my 
life. I kissed the velvet purse of poor Ernestine, and sighed to 
think I should never behold her again; I examined my skene- 
dhu, and was about to commence my journey, when several 
soldiers suddenly appeared at a short distance off. 

Sinking softly down among the long grass, and enveloping 
myself in my green plaid, I lay still and scarcely breathed, as 
they passed close by me, hewing at the bushes with their bran- 
dished swords, drunk, swearing, and intent on outrage. By the 
colour of their doublets I could perceive they were musketeers 
of the Count de Merod^'s regiment — a band so infamous for 
cruelty, that in its members first originated the now &,miliar 
term marauders — fi*om Merodeurs. Their colonel, a brutal and 
licentious noble, was afterwards slain by John de Wart, a colonel 
of irregular horse; but from his outrages, and those of his 
soldiers, in the capture of provinces and sack of towns, the name 
of MerodI will ever be remembered with abhorrence by the 
maids and mothers of Germany. 

Expecting nothing but instant death for the value of my 
accoutrements if discovered, I was happy to find that the ruf- 
fians passed me without observation, and bent their steps towards 
the adjacent village, between two green hedge-rows which con-» 
cealed me from them ; I then sprang up, threw my plaid across 
me, grasped my black-knife, and commenced my long and solitary 
journey towards Gliickstadt. 



218 PHIUP BOLLO; 

As I walked quickly away, the noise of pistol-shots and 
screams announced that the Merodeurs were committing some 
outrage upon the quiet and unoffending villagers; and by a 
blaze of light, that shot up between the trees, it was evident 
that several of the cottages had been set on fire. 

I was now in the territory of Saxe-Lauenburg ; and, being 
aware that its duke, Rodolph Maximilian, served under Tilly 
as colonel of horse, and was one of the six brothers of that 
gallant House, all of whom fought in this war of aggresidon, I 
felt somewhat dubious as to my chances of escaping all the 
boors and peasants, his vassals, whom I was certain to meet 
before reaching the territory of Hamburg, over which I 
knew that King Christian claimed sovereignty as Count of Hol- 
stein. 

I suflfered excessively from hunger and thirst; the excitement 
80 recently undergone conduced greatly to increase the latter, 
and being aware that, if refreshment 'was not soon procured at 
all risks, the whole night would assuredly be passed without 
it, I resolved to put a bold &ce upon the matt^, and, entering 
the first village I came to, knocked boldly at the door of a IkousCj 
on the front of which swung a sign, bearing an eagle of a colour 
so undecided that it could not fail to jdease all the troops who-, 
by chance or misfortune, might happen to march that way. 

The host was somewhat surprised to behokl me; but, bustlingouf 
my plaid, I swa^ered in with an air of UBConcem,and ordered sup« 
per to be laid for myself before my comrades came in. As this inde- 
finite term might have referred to the whole Danish army, the host 
bowed to the very rosettes at hi» knees, and summoned' Karo- 
line, the jungfer or waitress, to attend me. Such was the whole- 
some terror impai*ted by the announcement of approaching troops, 
that in their anxiety to please I had host and hostess, jungfer and 
estler, all attending me at once. Candles were ln:ought; a joint 
of cold meat, with a piece of clean white paper twisted about the 
end, by which it was to be grasped for carving; eggs, cheese^ 
snow-white bread, strong waters, and Danish beer, were all 
brought with edifying celerity, and I supped sumptuously. 
Dismissing all my attendants, I retained only the waitress^ a 



OB, THE SCOTTISH; MUSKETEERS. 219 

pretty girl of Holstein, the bright expression of whose merry 
blue eyes announced a decided disposition for coquetry. 

" Come, jungfer," said I, my spirits rising as I began to feel 
comfortable; "you will take a little glass of wine?" 

" I would rather be excused — the Herr looks so wickedly," 
said she, hesitating. 

" My pretty Karoline — that is your name, I believe — what 
you call wickedness is mere admiration. Jt is a way we soldiers 
have — that is all." 

I kissed the pretty waitress in a soldierlike way, and she 
seemed no way displeased; I was giving myself all the airs 
which I had seen the Baron Karl, Major Fritz, and others, play 
off with such ease in similar places, when the host put in his 
round stupid face to say, that he " heard the drums of my com- 
rades approaching ! " I had no small trouble in concealing my 
discomposure at this strange intelligence, the source of which 
was hi the good man's brain alone ; for his fear of soldiers had 
conjured up the distant sound of drums, though drums are 
seldom beaten at night, and never by marching troops. But I 
immediately rose to depart. 

" 'Tis my friends," said I, putting on my headpiece. 
A dollar for supper, four more for an old rapier which I 
bought from the host, were paid, and I walked anxiously to the 
door. The night was calm, and no sound broke the stillness of 
its starry sky or of the landscape, which slept in the pale 
splendour of the August moon. 
. " I am going to meet my comrades," said I.. 
" What may tiieir force be, Mein Herr 1" 
" About two thousand." 

"Two thousand!" reiterated the host; '^Mein Gott! they 
will eat us up." 

" Eat you up, rogue 1 I think not, if they pay you as I have 
done, with rix instead of slet dollars."' 

. " you have paid like a prince," said he bowing. " Two com- 
panies wearing the same garV as Mein Herr passed through 
the village about noon — but they behaved like honest gentlemen, 
tad paid for every thing." 



220 PHIUP BOLLO; 

" That is the way to Korslack, is it not ]" 

" That is the way 70U have just come, Meia Herr," said the 
host with surprise. 

" Ah ! true — how stupid of me to forget ! " 

** As the Herr has been so kind," said he again ; " perhaps he will 
escort Karoline past these troops, so far as the pathway which 
leads to the little chapel of St. Patto ; she has to adorn the altar 
with flowers for service to-morrow; and, perhaps, she will be 
safer there, too——'* 

" Than in a village among soldiers — you think right. But 
you put great trust in me. May I not run off with her ?" 

" I know that the soldiers of King Christian are not like our 
Imperialists. Ah ! Mein Herr, do you imagine I would make such 
a request of one of them? It would be setting the wolf to guard 
the lamb. Besides, the Herr has an expression of so much candour.** 

I bowed ; for the confidence this stranger placed in me was 
tlie highest compliment I ever received. In a little hood and 
cloak, with a large basket of beautiful flowers oa her arm, the 
jungfer accompanied me through the village, pausing every two 
or three paces to hearken for the rat-tat of the drums, which, she 
said, " had ceased." I walked on by her side, well satisfied with 
myself; for being well supped, having a good sword in my belt, 
and a purse in my pocket, I felt that I could have faced the 
devil; and strutted on, chatting as gaily to my pretty com- 
panion as if I had been lord of all Lauenburg. 

At the door of his inn, the host stood watching us until we 
reached the end of the street, where a little wicket gave admit- 
tance to the narrow lane that led to the chapel of St. Patto. 
There I bade my little devotee adieu, with proper gallantry; and, 
glad that my brief halt had terminated so pleasantly, walked on 
quickly by the highway that led to Korslack, a town whicll 
lay something less than eighteen of our Scottish miles distant. 
I resolved to pass beyond it, and not halt again until I reached 
Bergedorf, in the territory of the quiet and industrious Ham* 
burgers, where I expected to find comparative safety. 
. After the keen and varied excitement of the last day or two, 
ihere was something soothing and pleasing in this solitary nightr 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEKS. 221 

march through a strange and foreign country; and, like a 
kaleidoscope, inj mind was full of ever-changing thoughts and 
figures, as I journeyed on. 

Midnight came. 

I had passed through several little villages of grotesque old 
houses, but they were buried in silence, as their quiet inmates 
were asleep. Not a sound was heard in them but the occasional 
bay of a watch-dog, the boom of a stork's wing overhead, or the 
solemn chime from the ivy-clad spire of an old gothic church ; 
and I reflected with a sigh, on how soon — to-morrow, perhaps — 
fierce Tilly's lawless Croats and Merod6's musketeers would 
carry rapine, murder, and a thousand crimes through these 
rural and sequestered districts. 

A white gauzy mist overspread the sailing moon; a light 
shower fell — just sufficient to lay the dust; and then a rich 
fragrance arose from the teeming earth, from the dewy flowers, 
and from the tossing leaves. Again the moon came forth un- 
clouded, and the shadows of the fleecy vapour were seen chasing 
each other across the fields of ripening com. 

I had walked about ten miles, when far behind I heard the 
hoofs of horses ringing on the hard beaten road; and the fear of 
being pursued, or overtaken by some patrol, made me l«ok for a 
place of concealment ; for by the light of the moon I could discern 
two horsemen, diminished to mere black specks on the far 
stretching roadway. Close by me was a large beech-tree covered 
with dense foHage; no better place of concealment ofiered; and, 
clambering in, I hid myself among the branches. 

In less than two minutes the riders came near, and, slackening 
their pace as they approached, reined up tbeir blown and foam- 
covered horses immediately below my lurking-place. They were 
bareheaded — one had a sword in his hand; the other grasped a 
pistol. 

" It is useless, Gustaf," said the last, in whom I recognised my 

late host of the Eagle ; ** quite useless, my poor boy ! The vagabond 

Scot cannot have had time to accomplish this dreadful deed, 

and thereafter proceed this length on foot. We must long ere 

^ this have overtaken him." 



222 PHILIP hollo; 

** Karoline — my poor little Elaroline ! " sobbed tbe yoiing man ; 
" to perish thus ! — Heaven — Heaven — crael Heaven I There were 
two wounds in her bosom — here — ^here— just herel poniard 
wounds " 

" Had the villain but murdered her alone, Gustaf — " 

** My Karoline ! " said Gustaf letting his reins fall as his hands 
sank by his side, and the tears ran over his cheeks; "so pure — 
so happy — so merry!** 

'* The Scot carried a poniard." 

*' The assassin 1 " 

" All these Scots of King Christian carry poniards," continued 
the host. "Oh, Gustaf! I was indeed mad to trust him; but he 
had such an honest look. There must have been a fearful 
struggle, Gustaf; for in her hands there were fragments of a man's 
lace collar, and I think the Scot wore one.'* 

This was true. I had one over my gorget, or rather part of it ; 
the rest having been rent away in some of my recent scuffleg. 

" There was a figure before us, on the road. Now, where has 
it vanished to?" 

"Ah! if it should be the Scot," said Gustaf, "and concealed 
not far from us!" 

" In jbhat tree, perhaps." 

" Fire your pistol into it." 

" Come down, murderer!" cried the host of the Eagle. 

" Come down, thou vile Merodeur ! " added the young man, as 
they each cocked a pistol. My heart beat like lightning. It 
was evident that they spoke at random; but both levelled their 
pistols, and fired right among the foliage. The balls whitened 
the branches as they crashed through the leaves, without touch- 
ing me ; I sat still as death, waiting for the next act of this 
desperate dmma, and feeling a violent inclination to let four 
bullets fly afc them in return, from the pistol-barrels concealed 
in the lock of my sporran. 

There was a pause as they reloaded, durii^ which the young 
man Gustaf wept bitterly. 

Some frightful crime was undoubtedly imputed to me I The 
poor girl whom I had left a few hours before, had been moft 



OB, THE JSCOmSH MUSKETEERS. 223 

barbarously murdered, and thase men, her lover and her master, 
had come in pursuit of me; but I felt assured, that to come forth 
and attempt any explanation with men so excited, and so preju- 
diced against me, would be recklessly throwing away my life. 
Her hands held the fragments of a man's ruff, and mine was torn 
— but by the hands of Tilly's soldiers. Honour then required 
that, at all risks, I should no longer lurk wifchin earshot of 
those who imputed to me a crime so terrible, and I was just 
about to descend when the lover exclaimed furiously — 

" I can never return the way we have come ! Qn — yet on — for 
my heart is on fire!" and, spurring their horses, they galloped 
away at headlong speed, and were quickly out of sight. 

The next moment I dropped from the tree, and paused with 
irresolution. My first impulse was to return to the village, 
•though ten miles distant, and confront my accusers; my second 
reflection urged me to continue my flight, as the chances of 
mercy from the exasperated peasantry on one hand, and the 
Imperialists on the other, were very slender. Striking across 
the fields, I made a detour to the right for the purpose of avoid- 
ing the high-road; about that time the waning moon became 
enveloped in clouds, and I found myself on the borders of a 
wood. 



22i PHILIP ROLLO; 



CHAPTER XXXIIL 

THE at7NTEB*8 COT. 

I HAD lost the path, and knew not which way to turn ; jet 
the necessity for action made me walk hastily forward in the line 
which seemed parallel with the road I wished to pursue; but on 
becoming confused among the trees and thickets of large bushes, 
I lost the way irretrievably, and stumbled on through the wood, 
deprived of the waning moonlight, and even that of the stars, 
while having, moreover, to fear the wild animals^ and other deni- 
zens of a more dangerous character, who usually haunt the Ger- 
man forests. 

After pursuing a narrow path for nearly half an hour, I came 
to an open space where the trees had been cleared away, and in 
the centre of which stood a hut of the most rustic description. 

Four trees, yet rooted, formed its four comers; the walls were 
of spars with the bark on; the roof was composed of planks 
covered by bark and moss, with large stones placed at intervals 
to keep down the eaves, and make the whole erection steady; 
while above the little doorway, which was almost buried under 
a mountain of sweet honeysuckle and wild-roses^ a deer's skull 
and antlers were elevated on a large pole, and served to inform 
me that it was the dwelling of a huntsman. 

After some hesitation I knocked, and though the hour was 
unusually late, or rather early, the door was opened almost at 
the first summons, for a huntsman is as easily roused as a soldier. 
Before me stood a man half dressed, blowing the match of his 
carbine, and viewing me narrowly from head to foot. 

** Your business, Mein Herr?" he asked, with surprise. 

" I have lost my way, and will reward ^*' 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. 225 

« Handsomely r' 

" Ay, handsomely, any one who will be so kind as be my 
guide," I added, surprised at bis parenthetical remark; "will 
you do soT' 

" That depends upon which way yours may be," replied the 
fellow gruffly, lowering his carbine. 

** My way is the road to Bergedorf." 

" Are you sure it is not Bredenburg? there were some of your 
countrymen in garrison there yesterday." 

"Nay, Bergedor^ I tell you!" said I, becoming impatient at 
the fellow's incivility. 

" You are nearly four miles from the direct road, and could 
never £uad it alone ; but if you would choose to pass the night, 
or rather I should say the remainder of the morning, with me, I 
will gladly set you on the right road for a draught of beer at 
the first tavern." 

" That would not be a very handsome reward," said I, entering ; 
" so, you are not an Imperialist, then 1 " 

** I am nothing but the humble servant of Mein Herr, and, 
being under the authority of Duke Rodolph Maximillian, care 
not a jot either for the King of Denmark or the Emperor 
Ferdinand." 

"But your lord serves under the banner of Austria." 

" I have no lord," replied the hunter gruffly, as he shut the 
door with a bang that shook the cottage ; " I am an enemy to 
all lords — I am a free forester, and own no master. Der teufel ! 
what between the taxes of the Duke, the knights of Ertemberg, 
who would hang us for shooting the deer, and the bishops of 
Anhalt and Bremen, who would bum us because we will not 
go to mass, life is not worth having save in the woods, where one 
is free." 

The interior of the hut was as rude as its exterior had pro- 
mised. In a small chimney built of rough stones a fire was 
smouldering ; on the plain wooden table, something like a cold 
supper of meat and bread, with beer, in one of those large glazed 
bowls which come from Muscovy, was standing, as if awaiting a 
belated visitor ; and by the smoky oil lamp that hung from a 

VOL. L Q 



226 PHILIP ROLLO; 

rafter of the roof, and shed a light over the rudely constructed 
and humble edifice, I could perceive that, under his bushy eye- 
brows, my host scanned me frequently in a scrutinizing manner, 
which, to say the least of it, was very unpleasant. 

His bearing and expression were by turns full of oily civility 
and sullenness ; his figure was strong and athletic — short, and 
somewhat bow-legged ; his head and face were large, and the 
latter had a very unprepossessing cast of features ; the nose of a 
hawk, wide cracked lips of a livid colour, teeth like fangs, but 
coated with tartar ; a low brow overshadowed by a forest of 
hair, and ears partly shorn ofi" — in their mutilation announcing 
most satisfactorily the reason of his aversion to the bishops, 
knights, and lords of the district. In short, he was hideous. 

" I fear I have disturbed you, my friend," said I. 

" Not in the least — make no apologies, I pray you. All night 
I have been waiting for a friend who is journeying fix>m Breden- 
burg to the castle of Lauenburg. Here is his supper, of which 
you may partake if you choose, and then pass the remainder of 
the morning on these deer- skins, or in that poor bed in the little 
room within." 

" Many thanks, woodman," said I ; ** though not much used 
to luxuries of late, I shall be but too happy to accept of your 
little bed." 

" The Herr may please himself," he muttered gruffly. 

" At what hour of the morning do you usually set forth ? " 

" In these woods all hours are alike, Mein Herr — say, six." 

" But, I have not a horologue, and how shall we know 1" 

" When the sun shines between the forked branches of a tree 
opposite, I know at this season the hour of six." 

" I have five hours to sleep, then — ^fail not to waken me, and 
when we pass the boundary of the Hamburg territory, I will 
give you all I can afibrd at present — ten rixdollars !" 

" 'Tis a bargain — I will not fail," he replied, as a deep gleam 
shot over his sullen eyes, and he ushered me into a little room, 
where, setting down the light, he left me. The bed was little 
better than a palliase, filled with dry rushes or straw, spread 
upon a sparred frame ; but to me, who had slept so often on the 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 227 

bare ground in my belted plaid, and when hunting had slum- 
bered on the winter moora till my locks were frozen to the 
whitened heather, even that palliase was a luxury; and after 
laying against the door a few large billets of wood, to prevent 
ingress without my knowledge, I was about to extinguish the 
light, when several stains of blood upon the floor — blood recently 
spilt, arrested me; but the quarters of a deer which hung in a 
comer seemed sufficiently to account for them. 

I blew out the lamp, and threw myself upon the truckle-bed 
to sleep. 

Familiarity with danger certainly deadens at times the keener 
sense of it ; and now, when reflecting upon the adventures of 
that morning, I can perceive th^ my position was full of perils, 
which sufficiently indicated themselves. Far from my comrades, 
close to the Imperialists, solitary and alone, I had entrusted 
myself to a foreign outlaw, a man of whom I knew nothing, 
save that his ears had been shorn off by a common execu- 
tioner — the half savage denizen of a German forest, who in my 
sleep might slay me for the value of my jewelled brooch or 
gilded corslet. 

The small aperture, which in the daytime lighted the inner 
room of this little log-hut, overlooked the dense obscurity of the 
forest, and was securely fastened by a crossbar of oak. Retreat 
that way was impossible, even had I thought of looking for it ; 
but that idea never occurred to me, for suspicions scarcely sug- 
gested themselves. Thus, I lay placidly down to sleep, and the 
monotonous rustle of the forest leaves, and creaking of the 
laden branches, soon nursed me into the land of dreams. 

I had slept about two hours, when one of those convulsive 
starts, which come so unaccountably in one's sleep, awoke me to 
all my energies. I heard a noise in the outer apartment, and 
through the roughly boarded partition saw a light shining 
into the darkness around me. The sound of hoofs were heard, 
and several men dismounted at the door of the hut. 

I sprang up, and, placing my eye to the partition, beheld 
through the apertm^e Bandolo, the spy, enter, accompanied by 
three soldiers of the regiment of Merod^, who immediately at- 



228 PHILIP ROLLO; 

tacked the platter of victxials, and drained bj alternate draughts 
the wooden bowl of beer. 

I gave myself up for lost ! 

" Well, Bemhard, my jovial achwindler, here we are at last!** 
said Bandolo, adding with a mighty oath, '' and a rough ride I 
have had of it from Bredenburg. (Give me a glass of strong 
water.) I have just left Dunbar, the Scottish major, thera He 
will not surrender, he sweai-s, while he has breath to draw; and 
begs King Christian to relieve or reinforce him, as the post must 
fall (some beef, Bemhard), and as the respectable Hausmeistei^ 
Otto Koskilde, I bear his urgent letter to ^" 

" To the Danish king?" 

'•No, to Coimt Tilly!" said Bandolo, with a loud oath, and a 
hoarse laugh ; " the old Scot may wait long enough for succour. 
If I could respect any quality but wealth, I should certainly 
respect his valour. He gave me six doubloons to carry this 
letter to King Christian !" 

"Six doubloons!" muttered the Merodeurs, whose eyes 
sparkled at the idea of such a sum being in the pockets of a man 
who was within arm's length of them. 

" When I give it to Tilly," said Bandolo, speaking with his 
mouth full, " he will pay me six doubloons more— happy dog I 
Maldicion de Dios ! I shall retire from business some of these 
days, and buy me acoimt's patent in the Electorate of Hanover. 
The avenues will all be blocked up to-morrow night, and the 
poor old fool of a Scot, who trusts to me as the king's messenger, 
will be deceived by me, as Count Tilly's friend." 

" Friend !" reiterated the Merodeurs with a roar of laughter. 

" Then the Scot will be taken," said Bemhard. 

"Nay," said a soldier of Merod6; "he may be taken dead, 
but never alive. I am one of Tilly's old grumblers, and have 
met with this ironheaded Scot before. He will never surrender 
— ^but I remember me, Bandolo, he was too free in giving thee 
wine at Bredenburg." 

" Ah ! when I said that Tilly was retreating towards the 
Weser — Hollo, Bemhard, another cup of the strong water!" 
Bandolo swore in German and Spanish alternately, though he 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 229 

was disguised again in a brown hat, a black cloak, and false 
pannch, like the well-fed Holsteiner, our old Hansmeister at 
Gliickstadt. ** Drink, Bembard, drink! — to the amiable and 
generous Count Tilly, who hath the face of a rat, with the heart 
of a tiger! Drink to the eternal perdition of all Protestants, my 
merry Merodeurs, and to the continuance of this glorious war, 
which pours the doubloons into the pockets of Bandolo, who will 
erelong give you all a right welcome to his county in Hanover ! 
Drink, drink — or, maldetto ! I will dash my glass in the i&ce of 
the first who refuses!" 

"Hush!" said the forester, with a prolonged whisper, laying 
a hand upon his mouth, and pointing towards the little chamber 
I occupied. 

" Hush — ^why? is there any one there who knows mef ' 

"No." 

" I am glad of it — for I am becoming such a well-known 
rascal; but have you women, there? if so, you must lend me 
another ruff, for mine was torn to rags overnight." 

(My heart beat quicker! I remembered the story of the village 
girl's death, and that her clenched hand retained the fragment 
of a man's ruff or collar — and now I saw that Bandolo's broad 
lace one, of point d'Espagne, was nearly all torn away. This 
ruffian — this bravo — ^the assassin of poor Dreghom — ^this man 
ci a hundred murders — had just added another item to his fright- 
ftd list of ati-ocities !) 

I was pondering whether or not his false paunch was pistol 
proof, while my host whispered something rapidly in his 
ear. The wretch set down his glass, and grew red and white 
by ttims. 

" 'Tis he— -'tis my man 1" said he in a low thick voice, as he 
arose and flung aside his cloak. 

" Who— who?" asked the Merodeurs. 

" A prisoner who has escaped from Tilly's quarter-guard — a 
scurvy Scottish musketeer. He knows me, Bemhard, and has 
recognised me frequently. Thus, if once he reaches the Danish 
lines or garrisons, I can never act the spy and befriend the Count 
Tilly again; for I tell you all he has discovered me — and must 



230 PHILIP KOLLO; 

die! Por Vida del Demonio! I have killed many a better 
man before this^ and shall J" he added, with a satanic smile on 
his fierce Spanish mouth, " shall I leave in my j>ath this adder, 
whom I can crush with so little danger — here in Bemhard's hut 
— far from help or succour? Has he pistols?" 

" No— nor dagger ; for of course I looked well," replied the 
forester in the same low voice. 

" We have pistols and daggers," said Bandolo, as he and the 
three Merodeurs unsheathed their long poniards^ and examined 
the edges and points of the keen broad blades, which gleamed in 
the lurid light of the smoky lamp. Its rays fell on the dogged 
visage of the forester, on the bloated and ferocious features of the 
Merodeurs, browned by exposure, fringed by black beards, and 
seamed with the scars of battle and brawl; and on the face of 
Baudolo, whose eyes gleamed with cruelty, and whose lips were 
compressed with determination. 

It is impossible for me to describe my emotions during this 
conversation, every word of which I had heard with a painful 
distinctness, which has impressed it upon my memory. I was 
single-handed against &ve ! Resistance, though it might revenge, 
could never save me. The window was a fixture ; the door I 
had not the means of barricading ; and the roof of bark and 
planks, against which I thrust with all my strength, was too 
solid for a single hand to move. My goatskin Highland purse^ 
the gift of Ian, with its four concealed pLstol-bari-els (though 
each of them was not bigger than a man's middle finger), could 
alone save me— aud the ruffians thought I was without pistols. 

I seized the clasp of this priceless sporran. I pulled the 
spring, cocked the secret locks, and placed my skene-dhu between 
my teeth. Then, while these &Ye men, intent on wanton murder, 
were in the very act of examining their weapons, I softly opened 
the door, and, by a single turn of my hand, fired the contents of 
four baiTels right amongst them, and then with sword and skene 
in hand, dashed through in the smoke, and gained the outer door» 

It was all the work of a moment ! 

Two Merodeurs had fallen wounded, and so completely were 
the third, Bandolo and the forester, taken by surprise, that I 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 231 

had time to give the spy a back-handed blow, which broke his 
right arm, and thereafter reach their horses, which the 
Merodenrs had stolen, and which were fortunately standing 
close by, with their bridles thrown over the broken branch of a 
tree. 

Though kilted, and in no way prepared for riding, I sprang 
across the saddle of the first nag that came to my hand, and, 
dashing at random along the forest road, was soon far from the 
hunter s cot — that almost fatal trap in which I had so witlessly 
enclosed myself. 

Thus, between the sunset and sunrise, I had thrice narrowly 
escaped death. 

Avoiding by something like a miracle the vast forces of Tilly, 
who were then moving on to capture Bredenburg, I reached Ham- 
burg in safety. Long before this I had let loose the Merodeur's 
horse ; for, being aware that it was stolen, I feared suspicion or 
discovery if found with it in my possession. 

Thus, I could not overtake Major Wilson's party, as they 
were a full day's march before me on the Gliickstadt road. 

Though anxious to reinforce the gallant Dunbar of Dyke at 
Bredenburg, their honour was pledged to refrain from hostilities 
until they had reached the place mentioned in their capitulation, 
and thus the poor sergeant-major was left with only four hundred 
of our Highlanders to contend with a column of the Imperialists, 
ten thousand strong. 

This column was led by Tilly in person, and it invested on 
all sides the town and castle of Bredenburg, the principal 
stronghold of the Counts of Rantzau, a noble and warlike family 
of Holstein. I heard the cannonading on my right hand, while 
proceeding on my solitary way ; but I only learned the frightful 
slaughter when I rejoined the regiment. 

Whether owing to Bandolo's treachery, or that King Christian 
remembered our quarrel about the Scottish and Danish crosses, 
and omitted wilfully to send succour, I knew not; but succour 
never came, and Dunbar refused all terms, vowing that " the 
Scots, who never feared the E-omans — nathless what that liar 
H^isippus said — would never surrender to Grermans or SpMi- 



232 PHILIP BOLLO; 

iards, wliile they had breath to draw!" and this answer will 
be found in the Amsterdam Courcmt, 

The place was stormed on all sides; and old Dunbar, who 
maintained the breach for nearly an hour with his two-handed 
sword, was killed by a musket-shot, and every one of his brave 
Scots was put to the sword, save Ensign William Lumsdaine, 
who escaped by swimming the wet graff. 

Before Captains Carmichael and Duncan Forbes, with the 
last of the four himdred, were slain, nearly a thousand of the 
Imperial dead were piled up within the slimy fosse. 

Our Highlanders all died like good soldiers and true; for, of 
the four companies who perished there, three were composed 
of the very flower of the great Clan Chattan.* 

* The ImperialisU on this oocasion shamefully mntilated the body of Dan- 
bar. ** They ripped up his breast/* according to Colonel Munro; " tooke out 
his heart, sundered his gummes, and stuck his heart in his mouth; they also 
killed our preacher, who, being on his knees begging life, was denied mercy." 



OB, THE SCOTTISH UUSKETEEBS. 233 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

I OBTAIN ▲ COMPANY OF MUSRETEEBS. 

The Imperialists were rapidly penetrating into Hoktein, and 
every where the troops of King Christian were falling back before 
them; the Lords Nithsdale and Spynie with their Scottish 
battalions, the Count de Montgomerie with his regiments of 
French Protestants, were all retiring, and the advance of 
Wallenstein, who was marching out of Hungary with his power- 
ful army to i-einforce Tilly, promised to lay prostrate for ever 
the pride and power of Denmark. Yet the heart of the gallant 
Christian IV. never failed him; and in that ferocious and desul- 
tory war, his little army of thirty thousand Danes, Scots, and 
Germans, disputed hand to hand every inch of the ground over 
which they were compelled to retreat. 

When beaten from one castle or town, they garrisoned the 
next; and thus the Imperialists, whose natural brutality was 
inflamed by fanaticism and exasperated by resistance, committed 
the most atrocious cruelties upon the poor inhabitants — carrying 
fire and sword, death and devastation, wherever their drums beat, 
or their banners waved. 

At Hamburg I met with Major Fritz, of the Sleswig musketeers, 
with whom I travelled to Gluckstadt in his coach, a comfort- 
able vehicle, covered with carving and gilding, and made by 
Heinrich Andersen of Stralsund, in Pomerania, the same person 
who obtained a royal patent from James VI. to run a stage 
coach between Edinburgh and Leith. Andersen was then the 
most famous coach-manufacturer in Europe. 

Gluckstadt was almost the last fortress in the German states 
possessed by Christian IV. There my comrades received me 



234 PHILIP BOLLO; 

with a true Highland welcome, and the warm-hearted Ian 
embraced me like a brother — as one recovered from among the 
dead. Some changes had taken place since we were last in that 
city. 

The large house of the spy in the Platz, was now converted 
into a barrack for the Laird of Craigie's pikemen, and old dame 
Kiiimpel had been turned adrift, to resume her former occupation 
of fish -fag. The theatre had been turned into a cavalry stable 
for the Baron Karl's pistoliers, to the great satisfaction of old 
Diibbelstiern, the burgomaster, who was a strict Calvinist^ and 
professedly hostile to all such amusements. 

All the troops were marched to church, to join in solemn 
prayer for the success of their arms against the foe, who was 
now almost at Hamburg. 

" We pray earnestly to Heaven for success," said the Baron 
Karl to me in a low voice, as he leant with a lounging air 
against one of the shafted pillars of the great church ; " Tilly, 
and his Jesuits, are probably saying solemn mass for the success 
of tlieir arms also.*' 

" How is Heaven to judge between us?" asked Major Fritz, 
whose mother was one of the principal ladies at the Imperial 
court. 

" Come now, Fritz," said the baron ; " do not be staring at 
that lady in a way so peculiar.'* 

" Excuse me, gentlemen," said Fritz, slipping from among us; 
" 'tis a little beauty I met at Hamburg." 

On seeing the major approach, the lady, who was elegantly 
dressed, but, according to a dangerous custom then fashionable, 
wore a black velvet mask, retired from the church, and Fritz, 
who in such affairs was undaunted, followed her. After having 
been in camp for some time, he had a great desire to make some 
important conquest among the fair sex. His inamorata, who 
looked round at him slyly from time to time with two bright 
eyes, seemed to be the little wife of a citizen, and, to a half worn- 
out rake like the major, there was something excessively 
attractive in the pretty white stocking, drawn smoothly over 
the handsome leg and ankle, which she shewed from time to 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 235 

time, when holding up her silk dress. The major followed, 
stroking his short mustache, and saying a hundred fine things, to 
which she responded briefly, and by bursts of laughter — for so 
he afterwards told us; but she led him a devil of a dance 
through all Gliickstadt, and to the barrier of the Hamburg 
road. 

" I did not think Gliickstadt contained a neck and ankles 
half so pretty," lisped the major; " but upon my soul, little one, 
I don't think I am very wise in following you so far." 

" It is better to be happy than wise," replied the lady, in her 
soft low voice. 

The musketeer was enchanted. 

" Ah — if I could only see its pretty face!" said he. 

" Come with me to Pinneberg, and you may." 

" That is only twelve miles — I will go with you to the end of 
the earth." 

" A long way. Major Fritz," laughed the lady. 

" The deuce, my pretty one, you know my name ! — ^we are ac- 
quainted, it seems." Again the little mask laughed immoderately, 
and the major thought her the merriest conquest he had ever 
made. He handed her into one of Heimlich Andersen's hackney 
coaches, and, just as the gates were closiug, they drove off for 
Pinneberg. 

The major was confounded by all the charming mask told 
him of his most secret affairs ; the amount of his income — his 
expectations from his uncle the Baron of Uberg, and his cousin 
the Count of Flensborg; his love adventures, too, were all known 
to her — it was very perplexing! Pinneberg was reached — the 
major proposed they should alight at the door of a celebrated 
restaurant, but the lady declined peremptorily, and he was com- 
pelled to let her please herself. They stopped at the door of a 
charming little house; the servants were richly liveried, the 
vestibule lighted and carpeted. She led him up-stairs into a 
magnificentapartmentjwherea cold collation — wine, fruit, crystal 
and plate — lay on a spotless table-cloth, under the perfumed light 
of wax candles placed in beautiful girandoles. 

"I am dying with curiosity," said the major; "do tell me 



236 PHILIP ROLLOj 

your name, or at least shew me the charming £ioe I hare come 
so far to see !" 

The ladj took off her mask, and he beheld his own mother — 
the Baroness Fritz of Vibiirg, who he thought was at 
Vienna. 

The old lady laughed heartily at the trick she had played, 
and repeated all her son's soft speeches over again. At first he 
was ready to sink with mortification — then he uttered a shout 
of laughter; but the most serious part was to follow. The old 
lady — for, notwithstanding her youthful figure and grace, she 
was very old — told him, that she had come all the way fixim 
Vienna to Gluckstadt, for the purpose of entrapping him, and 
bringing him over from the allegiance to the paltry Count of 
Holstein (Chiistian IV.), that he might enter the Imperial 
service, where higher honours and greater rewards awaited him 
than could ever be obtained by adherence to falling Denmark. 

" I am extremely sorry, madam, that it is quite out of my 
power to gratify you," replied the major, as he walked towards the 
door. " Ah — treacherous old devil ! " he muttered, on finding him- 
self confronted by six or eight of Camargo's stoutest pikemen. 

By this trick, and his own folly, he was made a prisoner, and 
carried away to Vienna; after which, for a long time we heard 
no more of him. 

After a four days' halt, the companies of Major Wilson were 
commanded to march with all speed to the Upper Elbe, with 
orders to cross into Silesia, and join Major-general Slammers- 
dorf, who, on that side of the river, was maintaining a desperate 
and desultory struggle with the Imperialists. 

"Dioul!" said Ian, as, with our pipes playing, we marched 
from GlUckstadt on a dark foggy morning about the end of 
August; "Heaven be praised we are again out of this dull 
solemn town, with its high bastions and deep ditches, where the 
slime floats and the frogs squatter in the mud — its dull canals and 
duller streets — ^its fat burghers and close- clipped trees. I wotdd 
give a bonnet full of silver for one glimpse of a dark pine forest 
or a steep heather mountain; for there is nothing about ua but 
what is flat and stale as Bostock beer." 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. , 237 

" M*Faxquliar, are the pretty market maidens — those blooming 
Holsteiners, with their red petticoats and handsome legs, their 
bright eyes and rosy cheeks — ^all as nothing]" asked M' Alpine. 

" Yea, as less than nothing to me," replied Ian, as he fsistened 
his graceful plaid with the brooch of Moina, and began to hum his 
favourite song, " The bonnie brown-eyed maid," and shook the 
great eagle's wing which adorned the cone of his helmet; "I 
should be sorry if they made me the more pleased with GlUck- 
stadt. Believe me, cousin Angus, I shall never — if I can avoid 
it — do aught that will cause me regret 1 " 

" Or remorse — ^you are right," muttered M' Alpine, as a cloud 
passed over his face, and he adjusted that broad scarf of crape, 
which he had made a vow to wear to the last of his days. 

We had no idea of how we were to reach Silesia, as Tilly's 
troops lay partly between us and that country (of which the 
Emperor is duke, as King of Bohemia) ; and Wallenstein, against 
whom we were advancing, had just succeeded in driving into 
Hungary Count Mansfeldt, that great leader and champion of 
the Bohemian queen, who was compelled to sell his baggage and 
artillery, and disband his soldiers, after which he retired to Zara, 
where he died of a broken heart. Christian, Duke of Bruns- 
wick, died about the same time, and the unfortunate King of 
Denmark was left single-handed to cope with the two greatest 
generals of the German empire. 

On came Wallenstein, and he poured his army, one hundred 
thousand strong, like an irresistible torrent into Mechlenburg, 
Brandenburg, and Silesia; General Slammersdorf was there irre- 
trievably beaten and outflanked. The Danes and their auxilia- 
ries, Scots and Germans, now retired from all their outposts 
along the Havel, the Elbe, and the Weser; and Wallen- 
stein prepared at once to carry the war into the heart of 
Denmark. 

We received these startling tidings from the Baron of Klos- 
terfibrd, who overtook us at Horst, with a despatch from the 
king, ordering Major Wilson to change his route, and with all 
f»peed join the remnant of SlammersdorTs defeated army, which 
was intrenching itself at the Isle of Poel, being almost cut off 



238 PHILIP KOLLOj 

from the king, who was then retiring out of Holstein into Den- 
mark with his main body, abandoned by his former allies, the 
Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, and the electoral Duke of Branden- 
burg. 

The remainder of our valiant regiment were with Sir Donald 
Mackay, under Slammersdorf, and our hearts yeame<l to be with 
them, that together we might stand or fall in the good cause of 
Denmark; for, remembering the glorious struggles of our own 
native country for that freedom which we transmit to our pos- 
terity, unfettered as we received it fix)m our Celtic fathers, we 
had a sincere interest in seeking by our valour to defend the 
Danes from the mighty masses of the aggressive empire. 

If these Danes proved stanch to their fatherland, we had no 
fears for Denmark or its king. Our own history has shown us 
how, against greater powers than those of the Imperialists, 
Scotland has preserved her name, her nationality, and her liberty, 
amid the wars of long successive ages, since that remote time 
when her frontier formed the boundaries of the Boman empire 
on the west, and all who dwelt beyond were free. 

One sword drawn for freedom on the slope of the Grampians, 
has ever been worth a thousand in the ranks of the invader; 
for God will ever aid a people fighting for their liberties, and 
the land he has given them. 

We were sixty miles distant from the Baltic, and Tilly had 
actually pushed forward his advanced posts between us and its 
shore; yet we pressed on, and passed the whole distance in an 
incredibly short time; for we could usually march thirty miles 
a day, though our soldiers carried snapsacks or clothes-bags, like 
the Swedes. 

We saw nothing of the Imperialists but the smoke of burning 
villages, which rose at the verge of the flat horizon, and served 
frequently to indicate where their ravagers were at work; but 
they were so far off, that our men never once unstrapped the 
hammerstalls from their locks and matches. 

Two unpleasant affairs happened to me on this march. 

During a halt at Segeberg, where, for a few hours, we occupied 
the old castle which the Emperor Lothaire built to keep the 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 239 

Sclavonians in check, I remember having a serious quarrel with 
Mr. Amias Paulet, an English cavalier who had come to seek 
his fortune in these wars. While taking a glass of Wurzburger 
together in a tavern, his name unfortunately led me to ask if he 
"was any relation to that Sir Amias Paulet, the infamous 
abettor of Elizabeth in her treachery to Mary, queen of Scots ?" 
He bluntly told me that he was the younger son of the said 
Sir Amias, though a man well up in years; and thereafter spoke 
of our queen's memory in a manner which I, as a Scottish gen- 
tleman, considered insulting to myself. I threw my glove in 
his face, drew my sword, and required him *•' to retract ; " but 
Gaffer Englishman, being a stout and brave fellow, declared that 
he " would see me in a warmer climate than Holstein before he 
would do so J'* Upon this, I invited him to the parade before 
the castle gate, where the Danish guard came forth to see the 
sport, and enforce fair play. There, at the second pass, I i*an 
him foirly through the lungs, and, wfth my sword at his throat, 
compelled him to retract, as a lesson in future to speak mercifully 
of the dead, and of injured women. I left him in charge of the 
castellan, without having time to see to his wound, for our piper 
blew the gathering for the march in ten minutes after the 
rencontre ; but he recovered, to die long afterwards, a prisoner — 
poor fellow I — in the hands of the Imperialists, at the castle of 
DiUingen, on the Danube. 

My next little affair was nothing less than burning the house 
of a contumacious boor about his ears. 

Marching by a road, each side of which was richly bordered 
hj laden firait-trees, or fields skirted by wild hops wound over 
hedges, where the mint and the red barberry grew in the ditches, 
we passed a farm-house, a picturesque little place, two stories 
high, painted brown, surrounded by a gallery to which a flight 
of steps gave access, and having a broad-eaved roof, covered with 
turf of emerald green. 

I commanded the rearguard, which consisted of twenty mus- 
keteers, all M'Phersons. Hot and dusty with our march, I 
halted, and civilly requested a draught of water for each man. 
IThis modest request — the host, a sulky boor, who appeared at the 



2i0 PHILIP BOLLO; 

door with four servants armed with crossbows and carbines, and 
dressed in white coats and peaked hats — acceded to most unwill- 
ingly ; for, like a true German, he looked coldly on the soldiers of 
Christian, because the tide of war was setting in hard against them. 

Perceiving this, I demanded, instead of water, a glass of Ros- 
tock beer for every man, and, accompanied by Sei^geani Phadrig 
Mhor, entered the kitchen of the house, where the first objects 
I observed were two of those many pasquils or caricatures of 
his, majesty James VI., which were then circulated through 
all Germany, in ridicule of the poor and tardy assistance he sent 
to his son-in-law, the timid Elector of Bohemia. One represented 
the king in a Scots bonnet and plaid, with a number of men 
striving in vain to draw his sword from its scabbard ; the other 
depicted three armies marching into Bohemia — King James VL 
of Scotland at the head of a himdred thousand ambassadors, Chris- 
tian IV. at the head of a hundred thousand herring-barrels, and 
the States-general leading the same number of butter-firkins. 

I endeavoured to de&.ce or tear down these pasquils, upon 
which the fisirmer dealt me a blow with the boU of his carbine, 
that would assuredly have ended aU my campaigns but for the 
interposition of Phadrig's axe; after which, to punish the fellow, 
we cleared the house, threw the grate with its burning coals into 
the middle of the floor, heaped the furniture thereon, and leaving 
the whole place in flames, hurried after our main body. It made 
little difference to the farmer, as the Croats would undoubtedly 
have burned his premises next night. 

Without snapping a musket we reached the western shore of 
the Baltic, and, seizing such vessels as we could find (being on 
the king's service), sailed through the Gulf of LUbeck, and 
reached the Isle of Poel, where Slammersdorf lay with the 
wreck of his Silesian army, only ten thousand strong, including 
horse and artillery, but all resolute and well-appointed men. 
Our arrival there caused the utmost astonishment, for the major- 
general considered himself as completely cut off from all com- 
munication with Holstein; and, indeed, one day after, even we 
could not have reached the Baltic by the same route. 

At Poel our BQghlandera were mustered under baton by Sir 



OR, THE 800TTISH MUSkETEEBS. iit 

Douald, and were found to be about eight bundi^ed, for so 
bad the defence of Bredenburg, Lauenburg, and the Boitze 
reduced them; no less than seven hundred men had fallen in 
these paltry affairs since our first landing at Gluckstadt. 

By this sad slaughter I found myself a captain, and Ian suc- 
ceeded to poor Dunbur's commission; our old patents or com- 
missions being assigned to other cavaliers, who were. on their 
way fix)n^ Scotland with six himdred new recruits from the 
Highlands. On the day after our landing at Poel I carried my 
half pike as captaiii, and went through the pleasant ceremony of 
preserUcUion to the regiment — a custom which we Scots have 
copied into our army from our ancient allies, the French. 

The whole battalion being drawn up in line, and in review 
order, ihe colours, pikes, and drums in the centre, musketeers 
and pipers on the flanks, the officers in front with their half 
pikes advanced, the colonel, Sir Donald, bearing my new com- 
mission in one hand, led me* forward with the other, fully 
accoutred with back, breast, and head pieces, sword, pistol, steel 
gloves and dagger, and said in Gaelio — 

" Grentlemen and soldiers, by the will of the king, you will 
receive and acknowledge Philip RoUo of the Craig, to be captain of 
the company latdy commanded by M^Farquhar of that Ilk ; and 
you will obey in that capacity for the good of the Danish service." 

Immediately upon this, the regiment presented arms, the 
drums beat the Point of WoTj the pipes struck up " Mackay's 
Salute" — ^the officers crowded round and drew off their gloves 
to congratulate me; after which we all spent a merry night in 
my quarters over a few dozen of right Wurzburger, while my 
company regaled themselves on Rostock beer. 

M*Alpine also became a captain, and Ensign Lumsdaine, the 
only surviv<Hr oi Bredenburg, a gallant cadet of the family of 
Invergellie in Angus, became my lieutenant. 

The most pleasant feature in this promotion was, that my in- 
creased exchequer enabled me to repay to the Baron Karl the 
money he had so generously advanced to me in the days of my 
first folly at Gluckstadt; for I had been sorely afraid I might be 
shot in action, aiid leave that debt unpaid. 

VOL. L B 



343 naur soixo; 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

# 

MAJcm-aEKKBAL ShkuvaussDonv had ODoe been one of tli^ 
happiest old fellow» in the Danish serriee; but having had the 
misfortune to distingfush himself at Cardia^ in the Swedish 
war, and never having that good service reqtiited a» he thot^t 
it deserved, he forthwith became a gnunbler ; and ^ the affair at 
€arelia** was the pet grievance of his life. Every old soldier haa 
one« This martial Augment of the Danish wan» had lost a 1^ 
at the siege of Elfsburg, an arm at Marstrandt, and had left hia 
best eye with the Imperialists at Liitter^ having altogether 
received eight wounds, three of which he was in the habit of 
averring were inortal. 

While he employed our most skilful trenchmasters and sturdy 
soldiers in fortifying the Isle of Poel with ravelins and redoubtsy 
stockades and graffs, we heard that King Christian attributed 
his successive defeats, and lastly, the desertion of his allies — the 
Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, and the Duke of Brandenburg — ^to 
the secret intelligence derived by the Emperor from behind the 
Danish lines, and to the endless intrigues of Tilly, maintained 
by the medium of his able scoutmaster, Bandob, whom I had 
so frequently encountered; and for whom, in consequence of 
my information and description, a strict watch was maintained 
throughout the whole Danish frontiers j and orders had been 
issued to kill him, without mercy, wherever he should be found. 

" To discover this fellow will be no easy taak,*' said our friend, 
the Baron Karl, as he sat with me on a gun-carriage, overlook- 
ing our soldiers who were at work in the trenches; "for he is 
master of several languages, and possesses a great power of visage^ 
with a mind which, to the cunning of the foz, unites the ferocily 



OR, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. 243 

of tbe tiger ; he is a very Proteus, and may, for aught we 
know, be among us at this very moment, and in this little Isle 
ofPoeL" 

" I could almost rejoice at that idea," said I ; " for believe 
me, Herr Baron, I have a heavy account to settle with him." 

"You are, indeed, peurticularly his enemy, and have most 
cause to dread him, having been the means of rendering his 
character first known to us, and making the king aware that 
Otto Roskilde, the stout and respectable burgher ot Gliickstadt, 
who resided there in time of truce, was the bravo Bandolo, the 
tool, the paid spy of Count Tilly. We know the man now, and 
that he is a source of terror even to that terrible Tilly, to Wal- 
lenstein, to Oarlstein, and Merode — to the very men he serves; and 
who pay him like a prince ; for, though suspected of a hundred 
araassinations at Naples and Vienna, this subtle Spaniard has 
oontinued to elude every inquiry." 

** If the Count of Carlstein was aware, as I am, of the man's 
presumption," said I, remembering bitterly the daring proposal 
he had made to Tilly concerning Ernestine, " he would assuredly 
have him hanged." 

•* Hanged! what — the right hand of the venerable Jesuit!" 
reiterated the bantering baron; " why, this amiable individual 
is as necessary to the leader of the Imperialists as his sooth- 
sayers and stargazers ; for we know that old John of Tsercla 
never fights a battle without having an omen of victory, or a 
long consultation with the stars. But, come — let us have a 
flagon of wine; and harkee, my Fourrier, broach this beer 
cask for our thirsty pioneers." 

The Danish baron was the beau-ideal of a soldier ; his figure 
was tall and strong; his hair was just becoming grizzled; but his 
healthy brown cheek and white teeth declared his happy temper; 
while his broad brow and bold bright eye betrayed an open 
heart and fearless soul. He was a man whose fine intellects 
neither war nor time could destroy. 

" If Bandolo," said I, " were but once covered by my pistol, 
he should have such mercy as he gave my poor companion at 
Bredenburg." 



244 PHILIP ROLLO; 

" Cousin Philip," said Ian, " a -wretoh so vile deserres not io 
die by the hand of a gentleman. And yet, good sooth ! it is not 
meet that the blood of the humblest of our companions^ should 
dye this foreign earth unavenged." 

" There spoke the true Celt!" said the baron, laughing; "but 
I fear me, Major M*Farquhar, you shall have many to avenge 
before we see King Christian's camp again ; for cut off, as we 
are here in Poel, by the thousands of the enemy, if the king's 
ships do not afford us timely relief in flight, we shall have but 
two alternatives — to die by our cannon, or die of starvation." 

To prevent all possibility of the latter catastrophe we laid the 
whole country under contribution, as far as Grevismiihlen in 
Mecklenburg; still, as the Imperial troops were pouring into 
Holstein, and a strong body of them under the Scottish colonel, 
Graham, had seized the free town of Wismar in our immediate 
vicinity, the chances of our ever rejoining the main army under 
the king, or reaching him through the duchies of Sleswig and 
Holstein became extremely slender. 

After remaining at Poel more than a month, working con- 
stantly to strengthen the isle, and only laying aside the shovel 
and pickaxe to take up the sword and musket, disproving the 
assertion of Gustavus-Adolphus, " that, with all their bravery in 
the field, the Scots were too proud to work as pioneers,*' eight 
ships of Leith, * in the Danish service, came from Copenhagen to 
transport us to a point of Holstein where we were to land, 
and, at all risks, cut a passage to the king, whose circumstances 
were now more desperate than ever. 

These orders were a source of sincere satisfaction to my com- 
rades, but I must own to feeling a singular indifference on the 
matter; for it seemed that, by this removal towards Denmark, 
I was conveyed further from that pretty chateau in Luneburg, 
and from Ernestine, to whom I owed so much ; and whose me^ 
mory came ever and anon to me, with mingled sensations of 
gratitude, pleasure and jealousy, for I knew not how high the 
Count of Kceningheim might stand in her favour; at all events, 

* Gastavus had at this time seventeen Scottish ships of war in his seirice. 
— See Hepburn's Memoirs. 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 245 

Ke was her father s choice, and handsome enough to be a dan- 
gerous rival to me. Returning from the daily turmoil of the 
trenches to indulge in reverie, I frequently asked myself, "What 
am I to Ernestine, or what is Ernestine to me, that I should 
think so much about her? nothing — of course." But her image 
was ever before me, and I pondered fi^quently on the distance 
that lay between us from Peel to the shore, and from thence to 
Luneburg — a bird's flight of seventy miles — and the chances of 
our ever — or rather never meeting more, were all considered again 
and again. I knew that I could never see her more but at the 
price of my liberty, and perhaps my life. This probably enhanced 
her value, for we are strange and perverse mortals; ever prizing 
that which is beyond our reach. It seemed odd to me, that I should 
think so much of this dark-haired girl — that the interests of my 
heart should wander so far beyond the Imperial outposts; and 
that there should now be a being who excited imaginary fears 
and pleasures in my breast — a being of whose existence I was 
perfectly ignorant three months ago. Let me fling these fe-ncies 
from me, thought I; they are absurd! 

Leaving Major-general Slammersdorf to defend the Isle of 
Poel with two thousand men, Bernard, Duke of Saxe- Weimar, 
embarked with eight thousand horse and foot, including our 
regiment of Strathnaver, and sailed for Heilinghafen, a town in 
the province of Wagria (an appendage of Holstein), which forms 
a peninsula in the Baltic; and there without loss or accident, 
on a beautiful day of September, that gallant prince landed his 
whole force, with their horses, arms, and cannon. 

Notwithstanding the vast number of Tilly's forces, we had few 
doubts of our ability to force a passage through them, when led 
by the immortal Duke of Saxe-Weimar, the bravest of eleven 
brave brothers, all of whom had bled for German liberty. His 
valour at the great siege of Brissac^ before the gates of which he 
was victorious in four pitdied battles, where he captured four 
generals, and where he had no less than six horses killed under 
bim, together with his long and desperate combat with Colonel 
John de Wert, have embalmed his memory in the annals of 
Clerman chivaliy; even a& his generosity, which bequeathed his- 



2iQ PHILIP BOLLO; 

whole fortune to the wounded offcers and soldiers who followed 
his banner, was long the theme of the yeterans of Christian and 
GnstavTis. Duke Bernard was all that a soldier should be— «- 
handsome, gallant, frank, and lavish of his means; for no soldier of 
any nation ever lacked money while the conqueror of Sayelli, and 
the preceptor of Turenne, had a guilder to spare or a jewel to selL 

We cayaliers of foi-tune adored him, and it was with the 
utmost exultation that^ on a beautiful evening of September, a» 
I have said, when the last rays of the sun were shining on the 
broad blue Baltic, on the flat green isle of Fdbmam and the 
narrow Sound, that we put off in boats, pulled by ihe blue* 
bonneted mariners of our eight native ships, and with tiiree 
hearty cheers drew up under our colours in the streets of Heil- 
inghafen. 

War and rapine have changed the town since those days; but 
I remember that its houses w&ce old and irregular — ^that their 
upper stories projected far over the lower, and had steep gablesy: 
with galleried fronts that rested on gaudily painted wooden 
columns. Inscriptions in Latin or German were carved upon 
the door-lintels to keep away evil spirits, as in our Scottish towns 
at home ; and the drowsy storks, with drooping wii^s, nestled 
under the lee of the chimneys. We saw these birds every where 
perched ui)on trees, steeples, and house-tops ; for they are con- 
sidered saci'ed and useful, as they kill the little snakes and adders 
that are bred among the slime and corruption of the marshes 

The setting sun gilded the rent edges of the ruddy clouds p 
dotted with white sails, the sound of Fehmam and the blue 
Baltic stretched far away to the dim horizon; but lew persons 
were abroad in the streets of Heilingha:fen, though several gawd 
with fear and apprehension firom the upper windows, as the troops 
passed through the town, accompanied by all the sounds of a 
mardiing army, the ti^mp of feet, the shrill fifes and brattling 
drums, the trumpets of the cavalry, and the shaip clang of hoo&> 
with the hoarse lumbering roll of the artiUery over the hard and 
stony streets. 

Sheathed in bright steel, with the colours of Weimar on his 
housings, and his mother's crest, the demi-eagle of Anhalt« on his 



OB, THE 'SOTTISH MUSkETEERS. 247 

lielmet, Duke Bernard, accompanied by Sir Donald Mackay, rode 
at our head, mounted on Raven, that fieimous black horse which 
he had so often ridden in battle, which the Imperialists believed 
to be enchanted, and which, at his death, he solemnly bequeathed 
to the Count of Nassau. 

His first dispositions were to order the Baron of Klosterfiord, 
with his troop of pistoliers, to ride at full speed towards Olden- 
burg, for the purpose of reconnoitring; while I, with my company 
of Highland musketeers, followed double quick to support him, 
with instructions to lie en perdue in a wood, which I would find 
some miles in front of the town. 

**Now, gentlemen," said Sir Donald jestingly as we filed 
forth, " I hope you have put your worst doublets under 
your armour, for there will be many a helmet on the grass to- 
morrow." 

" By my faith, colonel,*' replied Ian; " I hare but one — ^my best 
and worst; so, if ever it comes to the drum-head, remember, 
gentlemen, that Tilly's Croats abstracted my wardrobe on the 
Elbe." 

" Yes, but will it not be rather extravagant, M^arquhar, to 
be killed with diamond buckles on your brogues?'* asked Phadrig 
Mhor, his henchman and fosterer. 

" What," retorted my cousin ; " would you have Ian Dhu to 
lie on the field without other badge than his eagle's feather to 
shew that he deserves a deeper grave or a higher cairn than a 
gillie or trencherman!" 

" Farewell, Sir Donald, and farewell Ian," said I; "forward, 
gentlemen and soldiers!" and with our muskets trailed, at a 
double quick march, we took the road towai*ds the pass of 
Oldenbui^ — the last road which many among us were ever to 
tread again. 

By the time we were clear of the town, we could see the pisto- 
liers &r in advance of us, with their forked pennon of red silk 
fluttering on the wind, and their bright helmets flashing as they 
galloped to the front along the level roadway, frt)m which 
the polished hoofs of their horses rolled up the smoke-like 
dust. 



248 PHILIP ROLLO; 

Our hearts beat bigb with excitement^ for we expected every 
moment to see tbem rein up and halt, as a signal that the. 
enemy's outposts were insight; but they continued galloping 
on, and at last disappeared beyond that wood which had been 
indicated to me by the duke, and we scanned the horizon in 
vain for those columns of smoke, which, from burning villages 
and ravaged farms^ invariably announced the scene of Tilly'^ 
operations^ and the movements of his troops. 

The ripe com waved in the unshorn fields on each side of us ; 
but with the moon a thick mist rose as usual from the meadows 
and pasture-lands, which gleamed like silver lakes through a 
veil of gauze. We passed a few wayside cottages^ roofed with 
red tiles or bright yellow thatch; their owners had fled, and no 
places were occupied but the wooden dovecot — a perforated box, 
or old beer-barrel, elevated on the summit of a painted post, or 
on some scathed and leafless trea Shortly affcer the rising of the 
moon,^ a man rode past us. He was dressed like a pea.sant of 
Holstein, in wide breeches having rows of metal buttons at the 
sides ; a low broad hat and canvass doublet, belted with a rough 
baldric; coarse grey stockings, red garters, and woodeu-soled 
shoes. He rode a strong and active horse. 

" Softly, sir," said I, " a word with you.** 

He still rode on without attending to me. 

"Harkee, fellow — dost hear?" I added, as Gillian M'Bane 
blew the match of his musket. Upon this the peasant turned 
back his horse, and touched his hat. 

"Are you deaf, fellow ] " 

"A little, sir," said he, pointing to a bandage which encircled 
his head ; " a Croatian sabre has laid bare my head from ear to 
eye." 

" Are you a Dane V 

" I am of Schonburg." 

" Have you travelled far to d^y ? " 

"About three pipes," said he, taking his pipe from his mouth* 

" Where did you come from last ? " I asked, impatiently. 

" Oldenburg, Mein Herr." 

" Have you seen any thing of the Imperialists V* , 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 249 

• ** Heaven be blessed, no ! They would have made but a 
mouthful of me. I am a poor, inoffensive man — a dealer in 
cattle, Mein Herr — I am going to Heilinghafen." 

" You will find customers enough and to spare, my Schon- 
burger; for Duke Bernard is there in quarters with eight 
thousand hungry men." 

The trader appeared somewhat startled by this intelligence, 
but politely begged me to be assured that the Imperialists had 
not yet passed the Stoer ; and then asked if I required his ser- 
vices in any way— on which I thanked him, and we parted. 
He galloped off. 

His last observations had been less brief than others ; they 
caused something of a familiar voice and manner to flash upon 
my memory. I paused and looked back; he had turned aside 
from the Heilinghafen road, and was riding "headlong through the 
ripe corn-field in an opposite direction, but far beyond our reach. 

" Oh no ! — it cannot be — and yet, his voice ! Fool that I am 
— was I blind ? " I exclaimed. 

" What — what is it ? " asked Lieutenant Lumsdaine and 
Phadrig Mhor together. 

" But for his white eyebrows and beardless face, I could have 
sworn that was Bandolo." 

" Oh — impossible ! " said Lumsdaine ; " Bandolo wandering 
here, in that way ; besides, like a true German or Dutchman, 
he measured the distance by the smoking of his pipe. Cunning 
as he is, I do not think a Spaniard would ever have thought of 
that. It was so natural." 

" True — but this man is a spy by profession, and practises all 
these little thiugs." 

" Dioul ! " muttered Phadrig Mhor, shaking his halbert ; 
*' why did you not think of that before, captain 1 " 

'•' There was a glamoiu: before his eyes," said Gillian M'Bane 
in a whisper. 

" No," replied Phadrig, gravely, as he shouldered his enor- 
mous axe ; "but the spy's time is not yet come ; it may come 
with our next meeting, if the captain looks better, for the 
oldest man that ever lived had to die at last." 



250 PHILIP BOLLO; 

I was both ashamed and exasperated at being so outwitted by 
a rascal like this Spaniard. 

*'May my tongue be blistered!*' thought I; "for, if that was 
really Bandolo, between his cunning and my folly Duke Bernard 
will never reach the main army." I remembered the accurate 
numerical information I had afforded, and had no doubt he was 
riding as fast as his horse's heels could carry him to communi- 
cate with Tilly, who as yet was ignorant of our landing. 

We halted at the wood — the remnant of a venerable fir forest, 
covering about a square mile. I placed a sentinel in front of it, 
and towards the road ; then we penetrated to the centre, and 
there in an open space piled arms, lighted a fire, and after care- 
fully fencing it round with stones to prevent it reaching the 
roots of the trees, prepared to cook the provisions our havreaacks 
contained. 



OH, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 251 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

A FOBEST ON FIRe! 

The poultry gleaned up by our foragers from the houses we 
had passed {deserted houses, remember), and the beef provided by 
our Fimrrier de Ganvpemerd before leaving the good ship, 
Scottish Crown of Leith, were boiled together in camp-kettles ; 
and while I, with Lieutenant Lumsdaine and my ensign, Hugh 
Bose (of the Kilravock femily), and Phadrig, with Gillian 
M^Bane, and three other gentlemen-musketeers of my company, 
formed one little mess, the rest of oiur comrades formed another, 
and were squatted on the grass, rending the tough ])eef with 
their teeth, and cutting the fowls with their dirks and skenes, 
and each was as merry as a man may be whose life is so 
uncertain as a soldier's, and who tries to make the most of it 
while it lasts. 

Phadrig and Gillian were both duinewassals, and when at 
home in Strathdee both wore the wing of the lolar in their 
bonnets. Honest Phadrig had lately declined a commission in 
another Scottish regiment, preferring his sergeant's halbert to the 
certainty of rank and being separated from Ian Dhu, whom his 
mother had nursed, and to whom he was hereditary henchman, 
loving him with that strong and reverential love which none 
but a Scottish Celt or an Irish peasant can understand. 

Supper over, we rolled our plaids about us, and, after posting 
fresh sentinels at the verge of the wood, lay down to sleep on the 
soft dry moss and grass which grew under the thick trees of this 
old primeval wood — the last fragment of an ancient forest that 
once had spread from sea to sea. 

At the same hour last night we had been breasting the waves 
of the Baltic. 



252 PHILIP BOLLO; > 

Watching the changing features of the wood as the last 
embers shed their fitful light upon the tossing branches, I 
endeavoured to court sleep — ^but in vain, for the anxiety 
necessarily felt by every officer — especially a young one — ^when 
in charge of that most important of all duties, an outpost, kept 
me restlessly wakeful. I knew that the Baron of Klosterfiord 
was far in advance of me with his pistoliers ; but then T expected 
momently to hear the sharp report of pistols and clang of hoofs 
upon the distant roadway, announcing that his reconnoitring 
troop was driven in by Tilly's Reitres. 

As the few brands that crackled on our watch-fire brightened 
and reddened up to die away again, I lay watching the varying 
and fiiutastic shadows of the midnight wood, the gnarled trunks 
of whose red pines shone ruddily in the casual glow, then 
wavered indistinctly, and became black even as their wiry foliage, 
or the deeper black beyond, where the thick vista stretched 
away into obscurity. Above, not a star was visible; for the 
thick, broad branches were densely interwoven, and formed a 
roof, beyond which the tall black spires of the firs rose against 
the sky ; and as the passing wind, when penetrating to the place 
where we lay, fanned the dying brands into a scarlet glow again, 
the passing gleam revealed the old knotty stems and branches 
twisted into a thousand fantastic shapes, red and black, or silver 
grey, like the freakish demons and stinted gnomes of Danish 
story, or jbhe rude carvings in some grotesque cathedral aisle. 

In the middle and dark ages, that peninsula had been covered 
by dark forests, in whose depths the pagan Wends, when spread- 
ing along the shores of the Baltic, worshipped their four-headed 
god of light; even in his own time (the 11th century), Adam of 
Bremen tells us, that only the shores of Denmark were inhabit^ 
ed, the interior being all a dark and impenetrable forest. I 
remembered the wild Holstein legend of the Pale Horse, which 
yearly bore the assassin of St. Erik the king, sweeping over hill 
and hollow, accompanied by shadowy hounds and the distant 
echoes of infernal horns, from that morass near the Eyder,' 
where, embarrassed by the weight of' his armoiur, he sunk and 
died; to the river where, in the preceding year, he had throwiv 



OK, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 253 

the body of his murdered prince, and from thence to the royal 
Tault at Ringsted, where the canonized victim lay. Once in 
each returning year, since that fatal night in 1252, the Hoi- 
steiners see the shadowy assassin making his terrible pilgrimage 
to the scenes of his sorrow, his crime, and his grave, where horse 
and man go down with a shriek that startles the Eyder in its 
oozy bed. 

I thought of this and many another tale, while to my drowsy 
eyes all was becoming indistinct : my bare-kneed comrades slept 
beside me soundly and in close ranks; officers and men lay side 
by side, for, like friendship and misfortune, campaigning levels 
many petty distinctions. The lingering light of the fire fell 
upon their piled muskets with one last gleam, and then expired. 

The almost palpable darkness of the forest banished my 
drowsiness, and I began to reflect on the strange tide of circum- 
stances which had brought me so far from my secluded home, 
that old tower among the woods and rocks of Cromartie, and 
from my quiet and gloomy little chamber at the King's College, 
in the granite city, to the land of these wild scenes and bloody 
conflicts; and all because — but you will laugh when I say it — 
an antique silver spoon would not suit my poor little mouth 
when a child. 

I smiled at my father's ridiculous prejudices, and, blessing the 
poor old man, uttered a fervent wish that in this protracted 
war I might yet win me a name, which would make him hail 
with pride the return of the son he had banished. Already I 
was a captain of musketeers, and I made a mental resolution 
that the fame of many a great feat should precede my return to 
my home, or that, like too many perhaps of my gallant com- 
rades, I would lay my bones on the foreign battle-field for ever. 

And Ernestine ! I thought then of Ernestine — of her good- 
ness and her beauty; of her father's wishes concerning that 
rough Reitre, Count Kceningheim ; I writhed in my plaid at the 
thought of them, and grasped my dirk on recalling the con- 
versation between Tilly and his ruffian follower. 

By separation from Ernestine, the tender impression she had 
made upon me was increased — ^for such is the strength of ima- 



254 PHILIP BOLLO; 

gination. This £a,Jicy or attachment I might doubtless h&ve 
vanquished by an effort; but I had no reason to exert this effort, 
and so the fancy lingered in my breast^ and strengthened there. 

Something startled me. 

Raising myself on an elbow, I looked round. Near me a hun* 
dred men were sleeping in the darkness; but beyond, at the 
skirts of the wood, a strange glow appeared between the trees. 
Some distant town was perhaps in flames; but no, it grew 
redder, deeper, broader, and then came a crackling sound, with a 
strong smell of smoke and burning wood. On turning round, 
the same appearance met my eye on two opposite points; and 
the lights brightened so fast, that I could see the helmets of the 
sleepers close beside me shining in the yet distant gleam. 

Our sentinels fired their musketa A pang of horror and 
dismay shot through my heart. 

"Up, up! gentlemen and comrades!" I exclaimed, starting 
to my feet; " to your arms — to your arms 1 In three places the 
wood 18 on fire !^^ 

At this appalling cry, the whole company sprang to their feet 
and unpiled their arms. 

"The Imperialists are upon us !" cried Lumsdaine. 

" The four comers of the wood are on fire," added Hugh Rose, 
drawing his claymore. 

" losa — losa !'* shouted the soldiers; "here come the flames !" 

" What matters it, Captain RoUo," said Fhadrig Mhor, brand* 
ishing his Lochaber axe, and belting his plaid about his giant 
figure; "the cowards would smoke brave men like rats, but we 
will break through, and do as Conan did with the devil. If 
bad they give, they will get no better. Into your ranks, my 
brave lads — close in, close in !" 

" Put your plaids above your bandoleers, or they will explode ! " 
I exclaimed; "hammer-stall your locks and matches — ^follow 
me — ^forward !" 

"Quick, Donald M'Vurich!" cried Phadrig, administering a 
cuff with his gauntlet to a Highlander who lingered to poke his 
dirk into an abandoned camp-kettle, in the faint hope of fishing 
out something that might be lef^j "into your ranks! Is faide^ 



OB) THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 255 

l/kacail na tfhhmg! By the Holy Iron I your teeth are 
longer than your beard I '* 

Ho"^ shall I describe the scene of horror that immediately 
^isued i 

Around us the whole wood was in flames I 

Many of the pines were aged, dry, and decayed, and they stood 
in a bed of parched moss, thickly strewn with the old leaves 
and the withered branches of past summers. Running like 
wildfire along this inflammable stratum, the spreading flame 
caught the pines by their hollow trunks, and, narrowing on all 
sides to the centre, its frightful circle rapidly enclosed us. The 
glare, as the flame shot from pine to pine, from root to root, 
and branch to branch, though almost shrouded in the suflbcat- 
ing smoke of the green wood, was blinding; and the heat, blaze, 
and smoke increased — approaching nearer and more near. 

My company became bewildered as the fiery circle narrowed 
round them ; they were uncertain whether to advance or retreat 
—-to keep together or to break and scatter. Volumes of 
smoke and columns of fire surrounded us; every knot and 
gnarl on the trunks of the trees, every leaf and blade of grass, 
every check in our tartans, became visible, as the red, Hvid, 
glow that hemmed us in became closer and closer. From the 
broad yellow blase which sheeted all the background, the 
solemn pines came forward in black outline— gloomy, tall, and 
towering, like conical spires. My soldiers were appalled ; for the 
same brave hearts that would have stormed a breach or charged 
a brigade with all the heedless valour of their race, now quailed 
at the prospect of being roasted alive; and I cursed my own 
folly in bivouacking so £5ur in the centre of the wood, instead of 
lying on its skirts ; but who could have foreseen such a horrible 
catastrophe? Was it the result of chance, or the diabolical 
spirit of Bandolo I 

" Dioull" snorted Phadrig Mhor, half choked and half 
blinded; " we wander here like hornless cattle in a strange fold. 
Oichl we'll all be birselled in our iron, like partans in their 
lOiells!" 
. Surrounded on all sides by falling and flamiug treea^ and 



256 PHiuPROLLo; 

a terrific glare which brightened and reddened as the fork^ 
flames waved in every puff of wind; while the roar of the 
conflagration, the hiss of the green branches, and the crackling 
of the knots and fissures as the old fir trunks were torn asunder, 
increased, till at last we felt the frightful glow upon our fitces ; and 
the burning moss, as the spreading Are consumed it almost 
under our feet, raised a smoke that had already suffocated more 
than one of my poor comrades. 

Driven from their nests in the branches above, and their lairs 
in the roots and brambles below, the birds and other wild 
tenants of the wood flitted about us, blinded by terror. 

Bewildered as we were, another minute had perhaps destroyed 
us; for the crash of every tapering pine, as it fell prostrate 
across our devious path, shot a million of sparkles and burning 
brands in every direction. Suddenly I perceived one dark spot! 

There a rivulet trickled through the moss, in a broad and 
swampy channel, which the flame could not pass, and thus as 
yet the trees that overhung it were untouched. 

" This way, comrades ! " I exclaimed ; " follow me — quick ! Let 
us pursue the track of the bum; on — on! we have not an 
instant to lose." 

This saved us ; but still we had many perils to encounter, and 
by the way lost several men, who were suffocated by the 
smouldering moss, and the smoke it emitted, or were mutilated 
by the explosion of their bandoliers, or by the falling trees; for 
every moment, as I have said, some tall pine sheeted with flame 
came thundering down across our tortuous path, hissing in the 
little stream, scorching our bare legs, and blinding us still more 
with sparks and smoke. In a few minutes we were free, though 
fifteen men were left behind us ; and next day we found them 
roasted in their corslets like tortoises in their shells. 

On getting clear of this frightful place, the smoke of which 
enveloped all the country, and rolled across the waters of the 
Sound, we found ourselves upon the highway, where three of 
our sentinels, who had been posted in front of the wood, joined 
us. The fourth we found lying dead, with a poniard buried in 
his neck, and his musket gone, together with all the silver but- 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 257 

tons which had adorned his doublet. To the poniard was at- 
tached a slip of paper. On this one word was written — Bandolo ! 
" And this act of horror has been his I " I exclaimed, looking 
back to the yet blazing wood; "truly. Count Tilly fights with 
worthy weapons." 

"Tush!" said Lieutenant Lumsdaine, shaking from his plaid 
and hair the sparks that yet retained there ; " I heard Tilly order 
poor Dunbar's heart to be torn from his gallant breast, and then 
to be forced between his teeth ! He saw this done by the hands 
of Bandolo, and then he turned deliberately to pray to an old 
pewter Madonna that adorns the band of his steeple-crowned 
hat. Ah ! — ^you don't quite know Tilly yet." 

And his ruffian had escaped me but a few hours before, though 
I had determined to have shot him like a wild beast, if there 
was not time for hanging him. In imagination, I often had 
him within my grasp as plosely as once upon a time he was; 
and now I had seen him, conversed with him, and been again 
baffled by his confidence and matchless cunning! When I 
thought of that, and the sixteen brave men we had lost, I clenched 
my hands and ground my teeth with grief and anger. 

"Gentlemen and soldiers!" I exclaimed, unsheathing my 
sword ; " like true Highlandmen, swear with me to avenge the 
deed of this night. By wayside or hillside, by field or by forest, 
in haU or in homestead, swear that, if you cannot give him up to 
graver justice, you will slay this man Bandolo without mercy, 
even as the king has commanded; for, had he a thousand lives, 
his crimes require them all." 

The whole company unsheathed their claymores, took one 
step forward, and, raising their eyes to heaven with their blades 
raised aloft, exclaimed in Gaelic, and with an energy excited by 
the hot smart •f many a scorch and scar — 

" By M^Farquhar's soul, and by our fathers' graves, we swear 
it!" 

Then in the Highland fashion, when swearing thus upon the 
Holy Iron, they kissed the bare blades, and, thrusting the points 
into the turf at their feet, stood for a moment in solemn silence. 

" Now, my brave hearts," said I, " Mi into your ranks — take 

VOL. I. s 



25S FHIUP BOLLO; 

off your hammerstalls and prepare for service ! Hark, I hear the 
cUnkofhoofel" 

*' And the drone of the Piob Mhor,** added Phadrig, pricking 
up his ears; " hark you, my captain — ^if that is not BeuUach na 
Broigey call me a Lowland bodach." 

And as he spoke, the morning wind^^for it was then about 
the hour of threes-brought towards us distinctly the notes of 
the bagpipe. 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSICETEEBa 25^ 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

THE PBISONEBS OF THE FISTOLIEBS. 

The horsemen came np rapidly. We challenged, and they 
proved to be the baron's troop of pistoliers retiring from the 
front with a dozen of prisoners, whom they had taken somewhat 
by mistake, when falling suddenly among the cantonments of 
the enemy^ having been misled, as their leader informed us, by 
the statements of a Schbnburg cattlo-dealer as to the locality 
of Tilly's outposts. 

So dense was the smoke which had rolled from the burned 
wood across the country, that we could scarcely discern each 
other, and the baron's inquiries about the conflagration which 
had so greatly alarmed him were soon satisfied; and now, 
like a true man of the sword, perceiving that among the pri- 
soners there were two ladies on horseback, I approached to dis- 
cover whether they were young or old, pretty or plain, and pre- 
pared to sympathize with them. Both were clad in dark riding 
habits, and broad hats with graceftdly drooping feathers; and 
both wore masks of black velvet. 

" We have given the enemy's outguards an alerte," said the 
baron, " and, in revenge for it, some of the restless Croats will 
assuredly come this way. Allow me to direct that you should 
halt your musketeers here, until I report unto the Duke of Saxe- 
Wiemar the utter impracticability of attempting to make any 
junction with the king's troops by the way of Holstein; besides, 
I have just learned that he has fallen back on Flensburg, and 
that the whole duchy is in the possession of Tilly's troops, while' 
those of Wallenstein are daily pouring in from Silesia." 

" Then we must again seek flight by our ships." 



260. PHILIP ROLLO; 

"Such would be our wisest course; but no donbt Duke Ber- 
nard, who is brave as a lion, will endeavour to fall down into 
Holstein, if the sword can cut a passage for him. He will I'e- 
member how Mansfeldt's Scots and Germans hewed their passage 
through the Spaniards at Fleura." 

"And your feir prisoners — who are theyl" 

" Ladies of rank I believe, or," he added with one of his impu- 
dent winks, " ladies attached to the staff of one of Tilly's generals. 
By her voice, and her hands when ungloved, I could swear that 
the tallest one — she who sits in her saddle so erectly — is the most 
beautiful woman in Germany. Ton my soul I am quite en- 
chanted, and shall become ensnared at last, like Mark Antony. 
As for that little one, with her nose somewhat retrousse, she is, 
also, enchanting." 

"Where did you pick them up?" I asked, a little piqued at 
hearing any woman so praised — but one. 

" We fell suddenly upon them near a village — shot four of the 
escort — scattered the rest— dismoimted the officer (a dainty 
cavalier wearing a black velvet hat and white feather), and car- 
ried them off, with three other prisoners and ten horsemen, as 
you may perceive. 

" Sir," said one of the ladies in a low voice, urging her horse 
sidelong towards me; "I beseech you to protect me from insult, 
if you have not forgotten that old chateau of Luneburg." 

" Ernestine 1" said I, as my blood rushed back upon my heart. 

The Count of Carlstein had obtained the baron's castle and 
estate ; and now the baron had unwittingly made reprisals by 
seizing the count's two daughters. Here was a catastrophe the 
end of which it was impossible to foresee. 

" Ah, madame ! " said I, timidly touching the hand which grasp- 
ed her riding whip," " I owe you my life, and with that life I will 
protect you. And this is ^" 

" My sister Gabrielle ! " 

" Ah, Herr Kombeek ! — I knew it was the Herr Kombeek," 
cried Gubrielle, almost riding me over, as she pushed her horse 
towards me; "ah, speak to me — I have not had one good laugh 
since you left us. How merry we used to be I" 



OE, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 261 

" You are safe among us, ladies," said T, kissing the little hand 
of the childlike Grabrielle ; ** for we have no regiments of Croats or 
Merodeurs under the banner of Christian IV." 

" His soldiers have indeed the reputation of being good and 
gentle, as they are valiant and strong," replied the haughty 
Ernestine; " but we are now prisoners, and at the mercy of these 
uncourteous pistoliers " 

"Mention my name to any one who would insult you; and 
believe me, madame, it will be a sufficient protection in the 
Danish camp." 

" Oh yes!" said Grabrielle, bustling up in her saddle, " I will 
just say our friend is Herr Kombeek — or M*Combeek, is it?" 

"The Highlanders call me M'Combich, because I am the 
friend of their chief; but my proper name ^" 

Here the baron uttered an impatient cough. 

" Klosterfiord," said I; "you will protect these ladies, and 
see them conveyed to a place of safety." 

" Undoubtedly — I have commanded a baggage guard before 
this." 

" In both I have discovered friends " 

" What! is one the senora Prud " 

" Pshaw ! " I exclaimed, placing my glove before his mouth ; 
"treat them with every respect; to-morrow we shall have a 
cartel for their release. They are the daughters of the great 
Count of Carlstein, camp-master and colonel-general of the 
Imperial horse." 

" Der teufel! the holder of my fief in Luneburg!" 

"The same." 

" By Jove ! my boy, I shall take most particular care of them," 
replied the baron, twirling his mustaches; "they are my pri- 
soners, and the price of ransom lies with me. This is a fortunate 
stroke of the goddess — that blind jade with the wheel. Hal 
ha! Sir Count — ^thou hast my domain, with its parks and 
woods; my house, with its library, its wine-cellar, and other ap- 
pendages — 1 have thy daughters. Let us see which we value 
most. Ton my soul, as things go I would rather have the 
women than the old house." 



20i PHILIP BOLLO; 

Knowing the baron ib be somewhat of a gay man, and a Foa^, 
I felt my anger rise at his remarks ; while he, probably piqned 
at the £3,miliar terms on which I stood with his £ur captiyes, 
said suddenly — 

'^ You will halt hei*e, my friend, xmtil orders are sent to you 
to withdraw, and fear not for the ladies. I have had the care 
of all the women of an army before this ^*' 

" Now, Karl, I must protest against this appropriation." 

''Der teufell appropriiition — are they not my prison^»? ha J 
ha! ha! Do you want both, my unconscionable Scot? Wait 
till to-morrow, and we may share the spoil in £iir camaraderie, 
but not till then. Pistoliers — ^forward — ^trotl'* 

The troop moved off towards Heilinghafen; I received a wave 
of the hand from Ernestine; Grabrielle brandished her whip, 
and then the whole group disappeared into the smoke which 
still rested on the &ce of the peninsula, for we occupied but a 
narrow headland which jutted out into the Baltic. 

Any pleasure which I felt at the prospect of being able again 
to enjoy the society of Ernestine and her sister, and of having it 
perhaps in my power to return them the kindness with which 
they had treated me at Luneburg, was considerably clouded by 
the knowledge that they were the prisoners of this gay and 
provoking baron, whose gallantry and intrigues had gained him 
i-ather an evil reputation in our camp, and at the quiet court of 
Copenhagen. Besides, though both of us were captains, he was 
doubly my senior officer, for the Danish pistoliers ranked next 
to the king^s regiment of guards. I knew not how he mi^t be 
disposed to treat them; for the appropriation of his German 
property by the count, would naturally make the baron a little 
vindictive. One reflection consoled me; while they were 
Danish prisoners, I knew that Ernestine would be safe from the 
addresses of Count Koeningheim on one hand, and the daring 
stratagems of his worthy rival. Count Tilly's friend, on the other; 
but then they might be exposed to tiie insults of drunken 
soldiers or hostile boors, to the hardship and danger of that 
wandering and desultory warfare we were about to maintain 



OB, THS SCOTTISH MUBEETEEBS. 2^ 

among the Danish Isles; and, if I was shot or taken prisoner, 
they might be utterly unblended. 

My speeolations had just reached this point, and I was aboiit 
to become pathetic at the double prospect of my own demise 
and their unprotected condition, when day began to dawn ; a 
riBing wind rolled away the vapour, and, amidst the beautiful 
green of the landscape, we saw the scathed site of the burned 
wood, and the black^ied trunk of many a pine, standing 
scorched and branchless among the mass of ashes and charcoal. 
In some places, a slight puff of smoke arose, to show where the 
embers yet were smouldering. 

On that dark spot lay the bodies of sixteen of our comrades 
»<--men who yesterday morning were in the full enjoyment of life . 
and all their faculties; but we had no time to bury them, so 
their poor remains were left to the wild animals, the " devouring 
dogs and hungry vultuxes," or to the polecats and weasels that 
lurked among the adjacent marshes. 

While the morning was yet grey, the right wing of our 
regiment under the colonel. Sir Donald, came up with pipes play- 
ing; we joined, and together advanced towards the enemy. 

* I have heard of all that has happened overnight, Captain 
JEtoUo," said the colonel; **and this day, before sundown, you 
shall perhaps have ample room to revenge your danger and loss. 
Duke Bernard has ordered us to seize the pass of 01denbm*g and 
maintain it against Tilly until he has reimbarked his troops for 
Flensburg, as we have not the slightest chance of successfully 
reaching it by the way of Holstein* Our Scottish ships, and 
three others of the Danish fleet, are now close in shore at 
Heilinghafen." 

" But can we undertake this desperate service with honour to 
ourselves?" 

•* With honour to ourselves we can undertake any thing," said 
Ian proudly; "and with honour to ourselves we hope to fulfil 
whatever we undertake. Look on the blade of my sword, Philip, 
and see what my anoest<H>, Gillespoc M'Farquhar, wrote there 
before he drew it against the Danes at the glorious battle of 
Luncarty, where we fought under !E!Jng Kenneth IIL'' 



264 PHILIP ROLLO; 

Ian lield the blade, then brown with age, before my eyes, and 
I read upon it the noble sentiment, in the old Gaelic letter, 
"iVa ta/rruig mi gv/n ohhaJwy ^ana cui/r cm ais mi gtm onair"* 

"K ever I £all in battle, Philip, this sword is yours, but you 
must convey it to my fiither's house in Strathdee; for while they 
possess this sword, the Clan Farquhar will flourish, at least unto 
the tenth generation." 

The sun rose brightly from the azure Baltic, the flowers put 
forth their perfume, and with our war-pipes pouring an old High- 
land march on the breeze — the cool fresh breeze of the autumn 
morning that floated over the fields — we advanced, with the fate 
of Duke Bernard's army in our hands (for we had to cover their 
retreat or perish), and entered the narrow pass of Oldenburg, four 
hundred strong; all stout fellows of the best clans in Scotland — 
resolute hearts as ever met death front to front, by flood or field. 

In an hour we reached Oldenburg, a venerable town where 
Otho the Great founded a bishopric in the eighth century. It 
once had a noble harbour; but in the wars of Margaret of Den- 
mark, whose chemise was carried on a lance against the armies 
of the Count of Holstein, the port and town were alike destroyed, 
since when it has been a poor place, and of little consideration 
But it is of great antiquity; for I remember reading in an old MS. 
history, that on Harold Klack, King of Sleswig in 826, turning 
Christian, and being defeated in battle by his subjects near Mens- 
burg, he took shelter in Oldenburg, and had himself, with his 
favourite wife and charger, built up in a stone wine tun, where 
the lady is heard to sing, the charger to neigh, and the king to 
wind his war-horn, until this day. We made the MS. up into 
ball cartridges ; thus the reader may be assured, this account of 
Harold Klack's exit would be found in no other book extant 
than these memoirs. 

We took possession of the pass, and proceeded at once to cut a 
trench across the road, to throw up a breastwork, and get under 
cover, on being ftirther reinforced by the baron's pistoliers and a 
few Danish field culverins of brass, upon travelling carriages. 

* It is cnrions, that many old Persian sabres are similarly inscribed. — Vrem 
me not without taute—aKeaihe me not without honour. 



OB, THE BCOTTISB UOSEETIXBS. 265 



9gnnk till IfDBlltjl. 



CHAPTER XXXVIIL 

THE PASS OT OLDENBURG. 

Hebe again, as at Boitzenburg and elsewhere, the desperate 
duty of keeping Tilly in check until Duke Bernard's Danish 
forces were re-embarked, was reserved for the Highlanders of the 
regiment of Strathnaver. Well did the duke know, that if they 
failed, no other troops could perform this all but hopeless and 
most arduous duty. Bent on cutting off the retreat of our able 
and valiant leader, Tilly was marching all his force against that 
little peninstda^ the neck of which is occupied by the venerable 
Oldenburg. 

In the pass or hollow way through which the high-road 
woimd, we threw up a strong barricade or redoubt of earth 
and turf, embrasured for six pieces of cannon, with the talus 
sloped for musketry; a ditch lay in front, and in the angle a 
small sallyport, by which our troop of pistoliers could pass out 
and retire again. We had this small troop of horse to assist us 
if compelled to retire; for it was then becoming customary 
to post squadrons of cavalry between platoons of infantry — a 
tactique first adopted by the Swedes after their great defeat 
in 1614. 

We made the place very strong, flanked it out to give a cross 
fire, and availed ourselves of some ruinous walls, the fragments 
of an ancient fort — old perhaps as the days of Dan, the supposed 



266 PHILIP BOLLO; 

founder of the Danish monarchy. The whole day we toiled, and 
with evening saw our barricade completed, then we rested for a 
time fix)m our labours, which included the demolition of several 
houses for materials to construct the work, and the usual appro- 
priation of their furniture for fuel to make Ourselves comfort- 
able. 

On this evening — ^the last which many were doomed to see- 
the sun set gloriously. Sinking behind crimson bars, like an 
orb of burning gold, it lingered long in the shining west, for the 
scenery was level, or gently undulated, and interspersed by 
clumps of pale green birch and darker beech, and little marshy 
lakes, where the wild-goose and the snow-white swan were 
floating as yet undisturbed. Towards the pass where we were 
posted, the sunlight stole along the verdant hollows, tinging 
with a deep purple flush the little stream which last night had 
■saved us, and was now gliding on without obstruction, and steal- 
ing imperceptibly towards the Baltic. The horizon was all of a 
violet hue ; the spire of Oldenburg seemed a cone of flame, and the 
ocean a mirror of blue and gold. The com was waving in yellow 
ear; the heather moss was in purple flower, just as we might 
see it in our own dear mountain home; the honey-bee was floating 
over the wild-flowers that grew by the wayside; while the wood- 
lark and goldflnch sang in the scattered coppice, and the brown 
sparrow and the robin redbreast twittered on the green hedges. 
I remember that Ernestine told me a beautiful old German 
legend about that honest bird the robin, and how its breast 
first became reddened by fljring against the side of our wounded 
Saviour, when bleeding upon the cross. It is an ancient and 
pretty legend, and, like others, will soon be forgotten. 

In the warm sunshine, I lay on the grassy sward reflecting 
on the deadly struggle which was about to ensue, and had inevi- 
tably to be encountered before I could have the least chance of 
again seeing Ernestine. 

I might be carried on board, woimded perhaps, to be again 
under her tender care; or I might perhaps be placed on board 
another vessel; or, more likely than either, I might be left be- 
hind, shot in the pass^ to lie there — ^left unburied by the Im- 



OB, THE SCOTTISH UUSKETEEBS. 267 

p^ialista; left, like too many of our brave men, to gorge the 
maws of the wolf and the ravenu 

Amid this gloomy reverie, I heard the drums beat and the 
pipes sound the gathering; all my dark thoughts were forgotten 
in a moment; I fastened my plaid, drew my sword, and sprang 
up to lead my company to its duty. 

The Imperialists were coming on, and now were less than 
half a mile distant; the head of the first colunm was marching 
straight towards us, as we could distinctly perceive by the cloud 
of dust which rolled along the roadway, and the brightness of 
their arms, which, as they were advancing, reflected the sun's 
rays steadily and perpendicularly, for it is necessary to march 
with arms shouldered when the matches are lighted. If the 
glitter of arms is varied and uncertain, outposts may always be 
assured that the enemy are retiring. 

Gralled by our six pieces of cannon, which every moment 
ploughed frightful lanes through their deep formation, thrfee 
heavy columns came on, leaving a long train of killed and 
wounded behind them. The din of this cannonade brought 
out the other wing of our regiment from Heilinghafen to sup- 
port us. 

Loud and long blew Torquil Gorm, our piper-major and his 
companions; and, as the wild pibroch of Mackay floated over 
the level coimtry, we heard the drums of the Imperialists beat- 
ing in defiance and reply. By the aid of his Galileo glass, Sir 
Donald, oar colonel, discovered that the attacking column was 
the ferocious raiment of Merode, with the red cross and black 
eagle on its colours. 

Their cannon slew many of our men ; the first struck was my 
ensign, Hugh Bose of Kilravock, whose leg was torn off im- 
mediately below the kilt, by the ball of a spirole, or serpentine 
gun, and he was carried to the rear ac^'oss the Lochaber axes of 
Phadrig Mhor and Sergeant M*Gillvray ; but the brave boy's 
spirit never quailed, and he frequently cried, 

" Stand by the white banner — the Irattach bane/ Stand by 
the Scottish cross, my brave comrades 1 I shall march with you 
.on a wooden stump yet." 



2G8 PHILIP BOLLOj 

" Children of the Gael," cried our colonel in Gaelic; "keej) 
shoulder to shoulder; here is the White banner of Clan Aoidh — 
blow your matches — ^guard your pans — give fire!" 

Like a stream of red light, the rapid musketry poured death 
over the summit of the. dark earthen bank, and we saw the 
Imperialists falling over each other, like fish shaken out of a net ; 
while the thirsty soil literalJy smoked with their Austrian 
blood. There was a momentary pause 1 But the ranks were 
closed up ; the colours were bent forward, and their officers with 
brandished pikes and rapid's led them on. A lurid streak of 
fire ran along their ranks ; closely and simultaneously it flashed 
from all the levelled muzzles, and a hail-storm of bullets was 
poured against us, but they generally sank thick and fast into 
the breastwork, or swept harmlessly over our heads. A few 
i-attled among our helmets, and I heard a heavy clattering on 
my right and left, as a few of our soldiers fell prone with all 
their accoutrements on the ground. 

On pressed the undaunted foe with tumultuous shouts ; with 
standards waving and hoarse drums beating rapidly, they spread 
before us like a glittering mass, and our men fired point-blank 
into it, being sure, as the colonel said, that " every bullet would 
kill more than its man." 

" To your duty ! to your duty ! my brave hearts of Strath- 
naver ! level low, and level surely I " exclaimed our colonel, 
waving his sword over the parapet, his scarlet plaid and rich 
Spanish doublet making him the aim of a hundred muskets. 
" They break, but they do not recoil ; they are a^n advancing. 
Well done, men of Lochnaver-side— my father's people ! To 
your duty, clan Aoidh, clan Vurich, and clan Chattan ! " he add- 
ed, to compliment and encourage the men of the various tribes 
who composed the regiment. 

Ian, M^Coll of that Ilk, Munro of Culcraigie, M'Kenzie of 
Kildon, and others, imitated his example ; and a wild Highland 
cheer responded to the bold chieftain of Mackay, the hero of a 
hundred feudal conflicts and daring creaghs ; while the rattle of 
brass buts and ramrods, the casting about of muskets, with the 
incessant and rapid fire volleyed over the breastwork, evinced 



OR, THE SCOTTISH liUSK£TEERS. 269 

how arduously our soldiers fought ; and every time the smoke 
cleared away, we saw the brave pikemen of Camargo, and the 
hardy musketeers of Merod6 writhing on the ground, and rolling 
over each other in their agony. In many places there were 
others who lay still enough indeed. 

Led by officers of the most heroic courage and devoted zeal, — 
among whom I recognised the Count of Carlstein, conspicuous 
by his brilliant armour, red plume, and beautiful horse, brand- 
ishing /rowAeioer— again the first column flung themselves like a 
living sea against the redoubt, and leaped into the rough trench, 
officers and musketeers, pikemen and halberdiers, pell-mell, with 
standards, scaling-ladders, axes, and sledge-hammers. 

« Pikes against stormers," cried Sir Donald ; " pikemen to 

the fix)nt — shoulder to shoulder, my children ! Fire, musketeers ! 

fire low, and push with your pikes, my gallant jiikemen ! The 
bullet misses, but the pike never. To your duty, my brave 
duinewassals — ^my true Scottish cavaliers ! Claymore — claymore 
and biodag !" 

Loaded to their muzzles with musket-shot and grape, our can- 
non swept the ditch, and cleared it of all but the dead and the 
dying, who lay there in frightful heaps, with their maimed 
bodies and torn armour drenched in that red current which the 
thirsty soil imbibed. Again and again they came on, and again 
and again we repelled them — ^maintaining the pass against them 
for two hours with the most desperate valour. 

Thrice I saw the count — ^the brave father of Ernestine — fall, 
when, struck by successive shots, his horse sank under him ; but 
he seemed to have a charmed life, and thrice his noble horse 
was again dragged to its feet by the assistance of Count Koening- 
heim, his aide^e-camp, whose sword-arm was tied up by a blood- 
stained scarf. Thus was the contest continued until our men 
became exhausted by casting about their muskets, and their 
bandoleers were emptied. 

We then fell back and gave place to our left wing under Ian ; 
again the fury of the Imperialists was severely curbed, and again 
the deadly strife was renewed with them, till the encumbered 
ditch waa almost piled breast-high with dead. For every High- 



270 PHILIP BOLLO; 

landman who lay killed or wounded behind the i^donbt, al; 
least ten Austrians lay before it ; for in showers our cannon 
shot tore through their dense ranks, which were eight and twelve 
deep, an ancient order of battle which Tilly obstinately retained, 
and wliich is coeval with the wars of Jidius OsBsar. 

To me this carnage was nothing then; my blood was fidrly roused, 
and the poor shattered fragments of humanity that lay in the 
trench, were of little more moment than the fEdlen leaves of a 
forest. Yet I could recall the time when I had shuddered at 
the puncture of a doctor's lancet; but none save an old soldier 
can know how (for a time) such scenes will harden the human 
heart. 

We formed in rear of the left wing, and almost beyond mus- 
ket-shot; but our hearts were still on fire, and again we longed 
to join in that fierce stnfe before us. Tlie sun had set; but the 
moon was rising £rom the Baltic to aid the long lingering twi- 
light of the north, and above the clouds of snow-white smoke 
which enveloped the sconce, the pass, and the assailing columns, 
we saw the black ravens floating in mid-air; for these dire birds 
had learned to know the sound that usually preceded their 
ghastly banquets. 

Our dead and wounded lay around us thickly; and among 
the former^ I found my poor young ensign, Hugh Eose. He 
lay within three feet of a bright brooklet, which gurgled among 
the long grass and the wild-flowers. Left to bleed to death, the 
unhappy sufferer had evidently expired in a futile attempt to 
reach the water, and many others who had crawled so far lay 
dead within it; thus, crimsoned with their blood, that flower* 
bordered rivulet soon became a hideous puddle; yet therein our 
wounded and weary would still continue to slake their thirst, 
crowding and jostling each other as they drank out of theur 
helmets and hands. 

As I viewed this painful scene by the cold glare of the moon, 
I thought of the old Danish ballad of the great battle at Chalons, 
where the vassal kings of Attila, the scourge of God, fought 
against the warriors of JStius; for it is related that there a aimi-* 
IskT incident occurred. , 



OB^ THE SOOmSH MUSKETEERS. 271 

Meanwhile, the roar of musketry continued in £ront, and the 
brave men of our left wing, imder my valiant kinsman the major, 
kept the foe in check until the night was &irly set in, when 
Kittmaster Hume of Garrolside, colonel of the Scottish pis* 
toHers, arrived £rom Duke Bernard with an order for us to 
retire, as his troops, horses, and cannon were all re-embarked, 
but this was afterwards proved to be a mistake. Immediately 
upon this our cannon were spiked to render them useless — a 
fashion first introduced by Craspar Yimercalus of Bremen; the 
redoubt was abandoned; our lefb wing fell back double quick, 
and formed with the right into one solid square, with the pikes 
without, the musketeers and colours withim 

We retired as fast as we could, aware that if the Imperial 
cavalry and artillery got through the barricade at the pass, aU 
woidd be over with us; as the former would inevitably cut us 
to pieces if we formed line, and the other might slaughter us by 
whole companies if we retreated in square. 

With yells of fierce triumph, like a pack of unkennelled 
blood-hounds, we could perceive the regiments of Merod6 and 
Camargo swarming over the deserted breastwork, where their 
helmets and weapons flashed and glittered in the moonlight as 
they formed in some order and pursued us double quick. 

At that decisive moment they received a sudden check; for 
the gallant Baron of Klosfcerfiord, taking advantage of their 
partial formation, advanced against them with his troop, which 
was principally composed of sturdy Holsteiners. 

"Holstein, Holstein !" cried the baron, rising in his stirrups 
and brandishing his sword. 

"Holstein Glaube! Holstein Glaube!" cried the pistoliers, 
and with plumes of white horse-hair waving on their steel 
helmets, and the blue blades of their rapiers flashing in the 
moonlight, they swept forward; and their heavy horses — the 
large, dark, glossy bays of Holstein and Jutland — ^burst head- 
long into the Austrian ranks, and rode right through them. 
There was a tremendous crash — a yell — a horrible confusion, 
and a flashing of swords; then a discharge of fire-arms was fol- 
lowed by the sound of a trumpet, and the brave pistoliers 



272 PHILIP BOLLO; 

rejoined us at a hand gallop, leaving only a few of their number 
behind them. It was, indeed, a brilliant charge ! 

Captains M*Kenzie of Kildon, the Red M'Alpine, Sir Patrick 
Mackay, and the laird of Tulloch, with Lieutenant Stuart, and 
five ensigns, were severely wounded in this affair; so many 
officers had been killed that we had scarcely enough left to 
command our pikes; and the colonel's own company, which was 
almost entirely composed of young duinewassals, or Highland 
cavaliers of good family, was literally reduced to a skeleton. 

Between us and the enemy it was now a race for who should 
first reach Heilinghafen ; but in rapidity of movement they 
were no match for the barekneed men of the Scottish moun- 
tains. 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 273 



CHAPTER XXXIX, 

THB NIGHT OF HOBBOBS AT fiEILINGHAFEN, 

"Without firing another shot, we reached Heiliughafen, and 
found the town in a state of unparalleled uproar. Terrified by 
the noise of the cannon and musketry at Oldenburg, and still 
more by the rapid advance of the enemy, the mariners of the 
Danish and Scottish ships, with their masters and mates, would 
not leave their anchorage to haul inshore and embark the troops, 
who were all crowded on the beach and mole— -officers and sol- 
diers, horse and foot, women, baggage, and pioneers, pikemen 
and musketeers, without formation or discipline^ and struck 
with a panic by the vicinity of the foe — a panic which our 
appearance, as we advanced in dense column towards the beach 
or pier, with arms sloped and matches lighted, increased. 

I thought of Ernestine and Gabrielle; where were they amid 
all that fiightful commotion? 

The enemy were close at our heels ; there was not a moment 
to be lost between deciding upon instant embarkation, or a 
surrender of the whole eight thousand men to Count Tilly. 
Duke Bernard and his bravest and most distinguished officers, 
even the Baron Karl and Bittmaster Hume, had lost all autho< 
rity, for a terror of the victorious Imperialists bore all before it; 
and there, as if to tantalize us, was our fleet lying in the road- 
stead, with the loosened sails glimmering in the broad moon- 
light^ which shed a blaze of splendour on the wide blue Baltic. 

A mole, or broad pier of stone, which jutted out into the sea, 
was densely crowded by a column of cavalry, nearly a thousand 
German Beitres and Danish lancers, who were waiting the ap- 
proach of two large vessels, the Scottish Crown of Leith, and a 
Dane, whose crews, more courageous than others^ were fiist warpr 

VOL. L T 



9H pmup BOLLo ; 

ing inwards, and had approached within ^ftj yards of the shore. 
A shout of rage burst from our ranks, when we found ourselves 
compelled to halt before this hopelessly disorganized mass. 

"Duke of Saxe-Weimar," said our colonel to the general, 
after "holding the pass of Oldenburg for the whole evening 
against ten thousand men, are my brave soldiers — the children 
of my tribe — ^to fall into the hands of the foe, because these 
Danish cowards will neither fight nor flee?" 

" Taunt me not, Sir Donald Mackay," replied the brave Ber- 
nard, lifting the umbriere of his helmet by one hand, and reining 
in Raven, his fiery war-horse, by the other; " for they have sealed 
their own doom — not 1. But they have covered with disgrace 
the name I have won me on two-and-twenty battle-fields." 

" Seven hundred brave hearts yet remain to you," replied the 
stately chie^ who was an old comrade of the duke, " and these 
will embark your excellency, or perish on the shore." 

" By the grey stone of McGregor, we will!" added M'Alpine, 
who led the first company. 

" Dioul! it was well said, stout colonel," said Ian; " shall we 
be the victims of these hen-hearted cowards? Are these figures 
in iron, women or slaves 1" 

" Let us clear the pier of the horsemen ! Let us attack and cut 
to pieces this band of cowards who bar the way ! " cried M'Alpine. 

" Let us form square and fire on them," said M*Ken2ie of 
Kildon. 

" But they will charge us," added another officer. 

" Dioul !" said Ian ; " let us charge them, and then their blood 
be on their own heads. Hark — by the Holy Iron ! there are 
the cannoniers of the enemy." 

" Pikemen to the front — to the front against horsemen 1" cried 
Sir Donald in a voice of thunder, while high in his stirrups he 
raised his towering form ; " heed not the wolves behind — but 
bear away those sheep in front ! Shoulder to shoulder, High- 
Ian dmen — forward, charge ! " 

At this terrible moment the yell of our pibroch, and the dis- 
tant boom of the Imperial cannon, were but additional spurs to 
us. Formed in line, eight ranks deep, the whole breadth of the 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 275 

mole, our pikemen raslied like a hedge of steel upon the mass of 
inailed horsemen, whose officers strove, but vainly, to put them 
in some order to resist an attack so unexpected. 

** Draw swords — ^unsling carbines! blow matches — goad 
flanks! Denmark! Denmark! Vivat Christian IV!" we heard 
them exclaiming, and endeavouring by the unsparing use of 
their swords to enforce obedience, but in vain. The horses in 
front recoiled madly upon those in rear, and in two minutes 
the unwieldy crowd was driven over the shelving edge of the open 
pier, headlong into the water, where they fell in piles over each 
either surging heavily down, horses and riders, for our charge was 
so fetally victorious that the old Count of Bantzau alone escaped. 

The fiery temperament of the Highland soldier admirably 
calculates him for the assault and charge; thus, in every battle 
since the field of Luncarty, a charge of clans has been irresistible. 
In the onset, the fierce enthusiasm spreads along the line from 
heart to heart, like wild-fire or lightning; for if the impetuous 
rush and shock of falling headlong, and weapon in hand, among 
the ranks of a shrinking foe, will kindle a blaze of chivalry even 
in the dullest heart, how much must it inspirit and inspire a 
race of hereditary soldiers, like the clans of the Scottish Gael ! 

Along the side of the pier, on both hands, the scene was 
literally awful ! 

Heilinghafen was now in flames ; for the Duke, like a wise 
general, to prevent the foe from finding shelter, had fired the old 
wooden town in six places, and thus six columns or sheets of 
fire shed a livid blaze of light upon the harbour, where in a 
seething mass of foam^ — the result of their frantic efibrts — a 
thousand armed horses and their mailed riders were drowning or 
struggling for Jife. Among the froth and sur^ the men clung 
wildly to each other, and to their horses, sinking in groups, and 
rising singly to disappear again. The cries of the despairing and 
the drowning, the splashing of their futile struggles for life, as 
they swam or sank among a mass of maddened chargers, terrified 
by the blood-red blaze shed fr'om the burning town upon the 
water, were piteous in the extreme. The commotion made by 
them in the eur^ actually rolled it in billows on the shore— 



27(5 PHILIP BOLLO; 

billows which soon became tinged with blood; for the Imperial 
cavaliy, which now came up with a few light Moonets, cruellj 
opened a fire upon this frightful chaos, and thus the few of the 
Danish horsemen who might have escaped the waves and a 
watery grave, perished under the shower of iron poured upon 
them from the shore. 

Our soldiers made a halt, and a half-smothered cry of pity 
rose frt)m their ranks; for these drowning troopers had been our 
comrades in more than one encounter. 

At that moment a man appeared at the edge of the mole, to 
which he had scrambled up — Heaven alone knows how — and with 
a light hatchet he hewed with farious zeal to sever the warps by 
which the ships were approaching to save us. 

" Bandolo, the spy!" I exclaimed, recognising my Schonbei^ 
trader in the canvass doublet. " By Heaven, it is Bandolo !" 

Gillian M*Bane, Donald M'Vurich, and another soldier, leve- 
led their muskets ; all fired at once, and with a yell Bandolo tum- 
bled headlong into the water, to swell the list of the drowning. 

" Ah — spy and assassin — thou art gone at last!" thought L 

" Captain RoUo, the enemy's horse are dose upon us. Cover 
our rear with your company until Duke Bernard is on board,** 
said Sir Donald, as he passed me on foot, dragging by the bridle 
his snorting charger. 

Aided by a temporary gangway, our soldiers crowded on 
board the first ship that reached the mole; and, in token that she 
"was ours. Sir Donald planted the Scottish ensign on her poop. 

Though they were fired at by the panic-stricken Danes, who 
crowded the beach in thousands, two regiments of Austrian 
horsemen swept along the pier to cut us off; but with my com- 
pany of musketeers I boldly confronted them. Ian, M'Alpine, 
Phadrig Mhor, and stout sergeant M*Gillvray were close by my 
side, and we all fell on with pike and musket, like true Scottish 
hearts. M'Alister of Lairgie, a poor young ensign, who had lost 
Kildon's company in the conftision and joined mine, was shot 
dead; but I snatched from him the Brattach Bane^ the white 
banner of Mackay, as he fell into the water, and, throwing myself 
forward with it in my left hand, and a cocked pistol in my right — 



OB, THE SCX>TTISH MUSKETEERR. 277 

' *' Gentlemen and comrades !" I exclaimed, "if you would not 
lose your honour, defend this standard, for thus £u* shall the 
enemy come — ^but no £a.rther." I placed the staff between two 
stones of the pier, and a fresh conflict began around it. I was 
the aim of a hundred pistols; but, though horsemen seldom or 
never hit their mark, the bullets tore the standard to pieces. 

Conspicuous among the black-mailed Reitres, I recognised the 
Count of Carlstein in his polished steel, with his scarlet plume, 
the golden fleece at his breast, and his beautiful charger Bel- 
lochio streaming with blood. 

«0n — on, Koeningheim!" we heard this splendid soldier ex- 
claiming as he brandished his sword — ^the famous Ironhewer (so 
often mentioned in the Svedish InieUigencer,) "Charge with 
your lancers and Reitres ! To the left — ^to the left; upon the 
Danes and down with them, but spare the poor lads in tartan 1 
Close up — close up ! forward Koeningheim, for my daughters are 
on board one of those very vessels !" 

How my heart beat at these words, which I heard distinctly 
amid the hellish uproar around me and below. 

On came the Reitres and lancers mingled, their armour dimmed 
by blood and dew; on — on, seeming like men and horses of 
black marble, when seen between us and the red blaze of the 
town, now sheeted with flame, in their rear. There was a shock, 
as with levelled weapons and bare knees on the ground, our 
pikemen met them like a wall; then sharp swords rang on 
polished helmets; bright lances reeking with blood flashed in 
the air, cus they were thrust, withdrawn, and thrust again; ban- 
ners rustled and bullets whistled ; musketry rattled and cannon 
boomed along the echoing beach ; while the dull roar of the con- 
flagration, and the last cries of the still drowning horsemen, 
made up a medley of horrors which no mortal pen could ever 
relate, or pencil portray. 

- From the poop and forecastle our musketeers, imder Kildon and 
Culcraigie, now opened a fire upon the Austrian horsemen, level- 
ling right over our heads, while our drums were beating for us 
to retreat on board, that the warp might be cut or cast ofi 
, **0n— on, Koeningheim) On, Halbert Cunningham of th^ 



378 PHIUPBOLLO; 

Boortree-haugh !** I heard the count again crying, but in his own 
mother tongue ; for in the excitement of the moment, his Ger- 
man passed away. "Let us spare, if we can, our kindly Scots; 
but press on — thou to recover thine affianced wife — I my 
daughters. To your pistols, my Eeitres, and fire on the Danish 
mariners; to your pistols !" 

All my company were now on board save myself and a few 
more. All at once I found myself beneath this brave soldier of 
fortune, who, in his rage and anxiety to recover his daughten^ 
had forced a passage to the very gunnel of the ship. By one 
downward blow his sword broke mine; his next would have 
been through me ; but I sprang upon him and grasped Ironhewest 
by the blade, which almost cut my gloves and hands to boot* 
To the very edge of the pier he spurred his plunging horse, and» 
in striving to shake me &om his sword, kicked me repeatedly 
with his heavy jackboots, which were strongly ribbed with iron; 
for, in his blind efforts to thrust me into the water, it was 
evident that he never recognised ma 

" Count, count!" I exclaimed, hanging wildly on his sword; 
but in a moment I was free, for by one blow of his ponderous 
Highland blade, Ian almost clove asunder the head of his already 
wounded horse. Then, with its rider, the dying Bellochio fell 
heavily into the water, while Phadrig Mhor Hkea giant grasped me 
by the plaid, and half dragged, half threw me on board of the ship. 
" Save him, Ian ! " I exch^med ; " let us save him at least — ^he 
is the father of Ernestine!" 

" The father of— who do you say ?" asked Ian and Phadrig. 

« Ernestine " 

" Who is she? — ^but it is too late — too late — he is swept away I 
If he were Father Adam, or Father Time InmseL^ we could not 
save him; away with the warp — out sweeps — ^hurrah!" cried 
twenty voices. 

At that moment a horseman in full armour galloped madly 
along the mole; burst through the Austrians like a thunderbolt; 
and dealing a deadly blow at Koeningheim, who tried to intercept 
him, then urged his horse to a frantic leap, and bounded on 
board of the ship, which was already in motion, and receding 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEKBS 279 

from the pier! It was one of the most daring feats of horseman* 
ship ever performed I 

" It is the duke — Bernard of Saxe-Weimar!" cried a hundred 
voices, all expressive of astonishment. 

What a scene did the water around us exhibit ! Here and 
there a drowned or dying horse drifted past, with the rider's 
purred boots still in the saddle, though perhaps his whole body 
iras reversed and below water; a few kettle-drums were floating 
about like anchor-buoys; here and there rose and sank a 
gauntleted hand or a helmeted head; and, thick as rushes on a 
mountain lake, the demi-pikes and cavalry standards were float- 
ing on the sui^. 

Swimming near a dead horse, we saw one solitary trooper, 
who cried to us to save him. 

His horse was white, and the drenched plume in his helmet 
was red. It was the count, and Ian recognised him ; this was 
fortunate, for a severe bruise, obtained I know not how, incapa- 
dtated me from rendering the least assistance at that time. 

** For your sake, Philip, I will save him," said my gallant 
cousin; "a bi-ave soldier is ever grateful; but now, while I souse 
me overboard, make our master-mariner lay his foreyard to the 
wind." 

Ian threw off his helmet and cuirass, tied a cord to his waist, 
sprang over and swam to the sinking veteran, whom he saved 
from a miserable death. The coimt had Eisenhauer grasped 
firmly in his hand; but poor Bellochio had gone to feed the 
fishes of the Sound. 

The moment the cotint and his rescuer were both on board, 
we bore away; and, by the dying blaze of Heilinghafen, could 
perceive the wreck of Duke Bernard's army surrender their 
horses, their cannon,' colours, drums, and themselves to the Im- 
perialists — in all thirty-six troops of horse, and Jive, strong 
regiments of Danish and German Infiuitry. Rittmaster Hume's 
Scottish pistoliers, who had preserved their discipline, cut a 
passage towards Flensburg in triumph; but of the foot, the 
regiment of Strathnaver had alone escaped ! 



280 PHILIP BOLLO; 



CHAPTER XL. 

WB SAIL FOB THE ISLES OF DENMARK. 

By this stroke of misfortune, forty stand of Danish colour^ 
even those of KarVs pistoliers (gides with the nettle-leaf of Hoi- 
stein), became the trophies of Count Tilly; and the fertile pro- 
vinces of Holstein, with north and south Juteland, were lost by 
King Christian, whose opei'ations from that day until the great 
siege of Stralsund, were but a series of flights. The wreck of 
his own army retired across the Little Belt, while another column 
of infantry, which had escaped to the northern promontory of 
Juteland, and passed the Liimfiord into Yendsyssel, were there 
forced to lay down their arms; and, for a time, the Austrian 
eagle spread his wings from the banks of the Elbe to the shores 
of the Skager Back. 

The ship on board of which we — ^with the general — ^^had se 
fortunately escaped, was the Anna Cathomna, so named after 
the queen of Denmark, and built by Sinclair, a Scottish ship'^ 
builder, who was then master of the Danish dockyards^ She 
was a large ship with two flush decks, a forecastle, and poop 
adorned with three gigantic lanterns ; she had thirty ports for 
demi-culverins, and elsewhere carried twenty felconets; with 
these, Ian and some of our cavaliers sent an occasional shot at 
the shore as the yards were squared, and before a western breeze 
we bore away from Holstein for the Danish Isles, with our 
pr6w turned towards the Little Belt. 

Cleaning their arms, stanching wounds, cooking, laughing, 
and making light of the past danger, our soldiers crowded the 
fore-decks; but in the great cabin, full of deep and bitttf 
thoughts, Bernard of Saze- Weimar sat writing to the king « 
sad detail of the loss of his troops and territories. 



OB, THE SCOTTXSH HUSKETEEUS. 2S1 

Around him, on couches, on lockers, on gun-cd,rriages, and on 
the floor, were a nutober of Highland officers, many of them 
severely wounded, resting after the toils of the late contests at 
Oldenburg and Heilinghafen ; and on their bronzed faces, their 
dark tartans, and battered armour, the Hght of an iron lamp fell 
fitfully, as it flickered and swung from a beam of the deck above. 
Near the duke sat the master, a short, thickset man, red-bearded 
$md sunburned, wearing a flat fur cap, and enormous pair of crim- 
son breeches. He had a keg of schnaps under his arm, and from 
it he was liberally filling the quaighs of those around him. 
. " Thy name ?" said the duke abruptly, laying down his pen. 
; "Nickelas Valdemar, your excellency," replied the skipper, 
humbly removing his fiir cap, beiug somewhat startled by the 
libruptness of the duke's manner. 

" Kneel down, sir," said Bernard, unsheathing his sword. 
• " I beseech your excellency to spare me — to pardon me, if — 

if ^" faltered the poor man, tottering down on his knees, and 

eyeing the bright blade askance with startled eyes; *' if — if," he 
paused again. 

" If what, sir — dost think I am going to kill thee 1" 

" If I was too long of hauling inshore ; but I assure your 
<»cellency that the wind was right ahead " 

"Nay, my good man, better late than never. Of all my 
coward fleet, thou and yonder gallant Scot didst alone warp 
shoreward, and saved me with the help of this brave regiment; 
for that good deed I dub thee knight — arise. Sir Nickelas 
Valdemar!" • 

"Knight Valdemar !" reiterated the honest skipper, drawing 
up his punchy figure to the full extent of its short height, and 
.taking a complacent view of himself from his red beard to his 
•brass shoe-buckles. " Knight Valdemar I — oh, your excellency ! 
-what news this will be for my poor old mother, who sells tallow 
and pitch at Helsingor. I shall now carry my pennant through 
the Sound at the mainmast-head, like the king himself or any 
other knight of the Dannebrog — and who shall say me nay ? 
not the admiral of Zeeland himself. Knight Valdemar ! — oh, 
jrour excellency " 



2S2 PHILIP BOLLO; ' 

" Your ship is named " 

" The Anna CcUharinaf your excellency." 

"Oh — did you receive on board the prisoners I sent you 
yesterday morning?" 

** Four in number — yes, your excellency." 

** The Count of Carlstein would pay his respects to the Buko 
of Saxe- Weimar/' said Ian, entering unhelmeted, and leading 
in the brave Imperialist, who had now somewhat recovered from 
the effect of his dangerous immersion. 

" The Count of Carlstein, now colonel-general of the Imperial 
horse ! I knew not that a soldier so renowned in arms was our 
prisoner," replied the duke, rising; and then they saluted each 
other with the utmost politeness. 

" "We meet imder different circumstances now than when last 
we met, Saxe- Weimar," said the count, with a smile. 

" Yes, at LUtter, just below the castle walL I was at the head 
of my German cavalry, and you ^" 

" At the head of Cronenborg's invincibles." 

" We had a tough two hours of it with pistol and spada," said 
the duke, laughing; " but remember that now, saved as you have 
been from drowning. Count of Carlstein, you are not to be consi- 
dered as our prisoner. Go — I free you ; retain that sword which 
you have ever drawn with honour against us, and uniansomed 
rejoin your victorious soldiers on the first opportunity ; for xm, 
they are too fetally victorious. To-day I have lost my dukedom, 
and to-morrow Denmark may lose her crown." 

" A thousand thanks, gallant Bernard 1 This is so like the 
modem mirror of chivalry we consider you ; like that gallant 
warrior who defended himself amid the flight and carnage at 
LUtter with the strength and valour of Achilles. But I will not 
hold my freedom so cheap, and from this hour you must consider 
my castle and town of Geizar in Bohemia your own. It may 
repay you ; but how can I repay the debt of eternal gratitude I 
owe unto this gallant Scottish gentleman — my countryman — ^my 
friend;" said the count, taking the hands of Ian in his own; 
" for in a moment of imparalleled peril, at the risk of his own 
life, he saved mine from amid that mass of drowning Danes and 



OB, THR SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. 283 

plunging chargers. Ha — I have here another friend ! " he added, 
in our own Scottish tongue, as he turned to me; for, dubious of 
how he might greet me, I stood a little back from the gi'oup, 
and leaned upon a handsome sword M' Alpine had given me. 
" By my soul, yoimg sir! you nearly ruined me with Count Tilly, 
by that escapado at Luneburg. What the deuce were you doing 
under the auld carle's bed? He vowed by all the saints of Kome 
that I had a design to assassinate him." 

" I entered the chamber of Tilly by mistake," said I ; " and 
my blundering follower, in his fear and confrision, crept under the 
bed." 

** And now, sirs," said the count, as he suddenly changed coun- 
tenance ; " may I ask if you know aught of two ladies who, 
with their servants, were yesterday taken prisoners by a patrol 
of Klosterfiord's pistoliers?" 

" They were delivered to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar," replied 
Sir Donald Mackay." 

'* Duke, duke ! these ladies are my daughter^" said the count — 
with a faltering accent. 

" They have been treated as such," replied the duke, " and I 
rejoice, count, in being able by one graceful act of kindness to 
draw a veil over the hor^rs of to-night." 

The duke suddenly drew back a double door, revealing 
another cabin beyond, where we saw two ladies seated together, 
half embraced, and near a table lighted by a lamp. 

"Ernestine — Gabrielle!" cried the count. He sprang for- 
ward, and, with a mingled cry of surprise and joy, his daughters 
threw their arms around him. 

The keen blue eyes of the gallant Bernard glistened, and with 
nmch good feeling he softly closed the door upon this tender 
scene. 




/ I . 



'I'lill 



n . 



/.. 



'm- ....... 

• '• n-/, .'■... 

• .'' Ml/.; * 
I hi 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. 285 

coals or other fuel was blazing on the summit of a 
ancient tower, and shedding a long and tremulous line 
on the heaving water. 

•assed the mouth of the Kielerfiord, we saw afar off the 

Holstein, with its spires ; for the pure blue of the north- 

:uade all beneath it, distinct to us, as at noonday, and 

change of scene was that quiet shore, with its gentle 

s thatched &rm-houses and green islets, its clumps of 

trees and glassy water, all steeped in the silver splendour 

^^ antomnal moon, when compared to the carnage and the 

' I had witnessed a few hours before 1 

pride of my profession sank in my breast, and a disgust 

•■" aimost arose within me. For a moment I wondered not 

^ old Danish story of Adolphus IV., the conquering Count of 

^oin, who, in the thirteenth century, exchanged in old age his 

'nrforthe cassock of a mendicant friar, and, surrendering all he 

'^^aed to God and the poor, begged his bread from door to door 

^ngh the streets of yonder town, his capital of Kiel; and I sor- 

faXkj reflected that in another day the victorious legions of 

V would spread over these feiir districts like a desolating flood. 

• i§ce a courteous noble and gallant soldier, Duke Bernard re- 

. - ned the great cabin to the count and his daughters; and he 

. ^rvped with us that night on salted Hamburgh beef and Eos- 

ck beer. "We drank deep bickers to the health of Christian 

^-*/.; to our countrywoman the fair Queen of Bohemia; and to 

.^ ;e oonfusion of those Imperialists, against whom the little power 

.,^^'< Denmark was stmggHng so fruitlessly; and the lights of 

^. iiikovhje were shining on the waters of the Lesser Belt before 

„jjiro rolled ourselves in our plaids, aud lay down to sleep on the 

^vr.aard planks of the lower deck; for there — ^as in the field — the 

0t, officer could £ire no better than the private musketeer. 

^ Next morning the wind blew fi^eshly from the shore; the 

^/'^ater was rough, and the Anna Catliarina lurched heavily. 

ff A message from the count and his daughters, invited Ian and 

#' pie to join them at break^stst in the great cabin ; and we put 

/ ourselves in the best attire that circumstances would permit. 

f "We were still in our fighting doublets. Phadrig Mhor, with a 

j»ece of buff belt, polished our corslets and gorgets till they 



284: PHILIP BOLLO; 



CHAPTER XLL 

ON BOABD THE GOOD SHIP AnNA CaTHABINA. 

As I ascended to the upper deck my heart waa full of joy, ft 
the thought that Ernestine, whom 1 had considered all but lost 
to me for ever, was so suddenly restored; that her &ther wb9 
with us, and that we were now all together sailing quietly on^ 
the Danish waters, and far from the rival he had proposed — ^that 
Count KoBningheim, whom — ^though he was a brave and honest 
fellow — I cordially wished at the bottom of the Red Sea. 

The first sentiment that Ernestine had awakened within ma 
returned with renewed force; the sound of her Toioe — one 
glimpse of that well-remembered form — had recalled it all, as it 
were, from the depth of my heart, and I felt that I loved her as 
she deserved to be loved. But the count, her father ! — the 
thought of him gave me an unpleasant twinga What would 
he, a Catholic, an Imperialist, a noble and high military officer 
under that ambitious Emperor who had bestowed upon him so 
many princely gifts, think of me loving his daughter; for I was 
but a poor soldier of fortune — a captain of musketeers, under th^ 
unfortunate King of Denmark. 

My heart sank at the comparison ; but I reflected that the 
count was brave, generous, and not indisposed to love me : that 
he, too, had probably left our Scottish hills, a poor cavalier with 
no other inheritance than his sword : and that my birth and 
blood were perhaps as good as his own. My heart rose again at 
these thoughts, and now I looked towards the shore. 

The wind had changed. We were lying a westward course, and 
had run about fifteen Danish miles ; the lights of the burning 
town had disappeared upon our larboard quarter, and we were 
now off the mouth of the bay of Kiel; the glassy sea and the 
level shores within it, lay sleeping in the moonlight, in the cold 
white lustre of which our sails shone like new-&dlen snow. 
Here and there, to mark a promontory or a shoal, a great 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSEETEEBS. 285 

beacon of coals or other fuel was blazing on the summit of a 
cairn or an ancient tower, and shedding a long stnd tremulous line 
of light upon the heaving water. 

As we passed the mouth of the Elielerfiord, we saw afar off the 
capital of Holstein, with its spires ; for the pure blue of the north- 
em sky made all beneath it, distinct to us, as at noonday, and 
what a change of scene was that quiet shore, with its gentle 
ftlopes, its thatched farm-houses and green islets, its clumps of 
waving trees and glassy water, all steeped in the silver splendour 
of a full autumnal moon, when compared to the carnage and the 
horrors I had witnessed a few hours before ! 

The pride of my profession sank in my breast, and a disgust 
at war almost arose within me. For a moment I wondered not 
at the old Danish story of Adolphus IV., the conquering Count of 
Holstein, who, in the thirteenth century, exchanged in old age his 
armourforthe cassock of a mendicant friar, and, surrendering all he 
possessed to God and the poor, begged his bread from door to door 
through the streets of yonder town, his capital of Kiel; and I sor- 
rowfully reflected that in another day the victorious legions of 
Tilly would spread over these fair districts like a desolating flood. 

Like a courteous noble and gallant soldier, Duke Bernard re- 
signed the great cabin to the count and his daughters; and he 
supped with us that night on salted Hamburgh beef and Bos- 
tock beer. We drank deep bickers to the health of Christian 
IV.; to our countrywoman the fair Queen of Bohemia; and to 
the confusion of those Imperialists, against whom the little power 
of Denmark was straggling so fruitlessly; and the lights of 
Skovbye were shining on the waters of the Leaser Belt befoi:e 
we rolled ourselves in our plaids, and lay down to sleep on the 
hard planks of the lower deck; for there — ^as in the field — the 
o£icer could fisire no better than the private musketeer. 

Next morning the wind blew freshly from the shore; the 
water was rough, and the Anna CatliaHna lurched heavily. 

A message from the count and his daughters, invited Ian and 

• me to join them at breakfast in the great cabin ; and we put 

ourselves in the best attire that circumstances would permit. 

We were still in our fighting doublets. Phadrig Mhor, with a 

pieoe of buff belt, polished our corslets and gorgets till they 



286 PHiuPBOLLo; i 

shone like mirrors ; we adyusted our plaids and garters, curled 
our long love-locks, gave our mustaches a trim, and presented 
ourselves at the cabin door. I heard my heart beating. 

" The brave gentleman who saved me from a frightful death," 
said the count, presenting Ian to his daughters, who hastened 
towards him with their eyes full of tears, and their young hearts 
brimming with gratitude. , 

Ernestine, at all times self-possessed, presented her pretty hand 
with the air of a princess ; but the more impulsive or less 
guarded Gabrielle clasped lan's hands in her own, and kissed 
them before he coidd prevent her. 

" Tis well that a certain Moina is not here," thought I ; ** for 
the young lady might have good reason to be jealous." 

<^ And here is that other brave soldier who was the means of 
nearly drowning me," continued the laughing count ; " our old 
friend, Herr Kombeek, as Gabrielle calls him." 

" I am lost," thought I. " They will never forgive me for 
that, count," I said ; " on my honour I did all that man could do 
to avoid you. I grasped your sword at the risk of having my 
hands cut off, and cried aloud to you. I knew not that you ren 
cognised me," I added, at the reccollection of how he had striven 
to throw me into the water. 

" Nor did I, my brave friend, until the moment when my 
poor horse Bellochio was cloven through the head by your 
major's broadsword, and then I fell over the .pier. My dear 
fellow, I do but jest. We met there, not like friends as we 
do now, but as enemies in our harness — enemies under banner 
and baton ; and what would it have mattered then if you had 
shot me, instead of wounding Merode's captain-lieutenant, for 
I saw your pistol bring him down?" 

" Shot you — you, count ! " I reiterated with a shudder, 
as I glanced at Ernestine. " Oh ! I should never have forgiven 
myself for so unfortunate an act — ^not even until my dying hour.** 

" Tush — ^heed it not, captain ; let us to break^t, and dismiss 

all memory of the last night's camisado, with its contingent horrors. 

Let us converse about poor old Scotland, and tell me whether 

our unwise king and valiant kirk are likely to be embroiled." 

. On such a topic, I alone could afford any in&rmation. lan^ 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 287 

as a HigMand gentleman, disliking, or perhaps disdaining, the 
Lowlanders, neither oared for nor knew of any thing that passed 
beyond the ECighland frontier ; — the fishing and hunting expe- 
ditions of his clan, and the endless feuds and intrigues of his 
neighbours the Grants, and Erazers, their creaghs, battles, and 
lawsuits, had sufficiently occupied his attention to prevent him 
(Dntering into politics ; though to please our kinsman, M'Coll of 
that Ilk, he had once marched five hundred claymores as far as 
the Garioch to fight the Gordons of Huntly. 

Eminently handsome and noble in aspect and be;iring, he was 
the beatdrddecd of a Scottish chief; and, had his heart not been 
left in his own beloved glen, I might have foimd him a formid- 
able though unintentional rival; for the fair sisters chatted with 
him without cessation, and as their conversation was maintained 
in a strange compound of German and Spanish, mingled with 
our own language, the medley and its mistakes excited frequent 
and immoderate bursts of merriment. 

The breakfast passed, and my breast expanded with delight, 
for I found myself firmly established as the friend of the count 
and his two charming daughters, and every hour we were on 
board increased this intimacy; for in a ship there are innumer- 
able little attentions which gentlemen may, and must, bestow 
upon a lady, thus affording a thousand opportunities for kind 
and graceful services, which cannot be offered upon the land. 
On board of ship, ladies are naturally restless ; thus, if Ernestine 
wished to enjoy the fresh air on deck, my arm was immediately 
proffered, and we clambered .to the weather quarter. There she 
got her dress wetted, and her pretty mouth filled by the salt spray. 

Then we slid to leeward, where the water came in through 
the gun-ports and scupper-holes, causing her infinite alarm. 

Then she wished to be below again, and we descended once 
more to the cabin; but no sooner was my fair charge safely 
deposited on the sofa, than the rolling of the vessel, the creaking 
of the timbers, the scraping of the gun-slides, and the noise on 
deck, made her sick, and she longed to reach the poop again. 
At last, as the strait narrowed, the wind blew right ahead, and 
the high-pooped vessel laboured heavily, shipping many a tremen- 
dous wave; the fair prisoners became too ill to remain on deck; 



288 PHILIP KOLLO; 

we sat chatting in the cabin, playing chess and ombre at inter* 
vals, or watching from the little windows of the stem the snn-r 
light &ding on the Isle of Alsen. The rolling of the ship 
increased; but even then, under all these disadvantageous cir- 
cumstances, I could not help being struck hy the different 
appearance of the sisters. 

Gabrielle, being fair and blue-eyed, appeared pale and languid; 
the brightness of her expression had faded, and the rosy tinge 
of her cheek had died. 

The dark orbs of Ernestine— -those magnificent eyes, which 
she inherited from her mother, a lady of Spanish Flanders — 
still presented their wonted fire and brilliance. Gabrielle's 
gentle spirit sank; she became fearful, docile, and child-like; but 
when the ship lurched, the wind freshened, when chairs and 
tables went crashing all to leeward, when the loose cannon-shot 
rolled from side to side, and the weather-guns strained their 
lashings imtil the ringbolts almost started from the stancheon% 
the proud Ernestine — wilful, and perhaps unmanageable at other 
times — laughed at her sister's terror. 

Then the count praised her firmness, calling her his brave girl, 
and Gabrielle his poor little baby. 

Every moment increased the respect and tenderness, the vague 
sensation of mingled joy and sadness, with which the merit and 
beauty of Ernestine had first inspired me; and I felt, that if 
she had not already divined my important secret, I could not 
conceal it very long. A hundred times I was on the point of 
recalling to her memory— or rather, seeking to resume— our last 
conversation, and my farewell to her at Luneburg. I was 
certain she could not have forgotten it ; but now an imconquer- 
able timidity repressed me. 

Being young, and but a plain soldier, I was naturally back- 
ward. One moment I resolved to let events develop themselves, 
and the next to declare my passion to the count and to her; but 
there was a polished dignity — a terrible air of self-possession 
about them both — that put all my resolutions completely to 
rout ; for the fear of her refusal, the memoiy of his preference 
for Count Koeningheim, and his promise to him, damped my 
rising courage, and I felt that I would rather, a thousand timee^ 



OB, THE SCOTTISH HUSEETEEBS. 289 

have &,ced a brigade even of Lowland pikes, than ventured on a 
subject which seemed so distant from their thoughts, though it 
involved my whole future happiness and fiite. 

*' The count might ask," I reflected, " where are your estates?" 
I could but lay a hand on my sword, and " Here — ^with this 
blade I clothe and feed myself." " And your home. Master 
Philip?" — " Wherever the colours of my regiment happen to be." 
These soldier-like answers would assuredly do very well for a 
baggage-wife, but were scarcely suited to the present purpose;" 
and so I cogitated, until I — poor devil! — ^made myself as 
miserable as it was possible to be. 

Without any deternunation being come to on my part, four 
days passed, and the Anna Catharina came to anchor close by 
the wooden pier of Assens, in the isle of Funen. We had lost 
much time in touching at various ports inquiring for the 
residence of the king, of whose exact locality we had some 
doubts. The whole regiment prepared at once for disem- 
barkation, while Duke Bernard sent an officer (Red Angus 
M'Alpine) to the king, who was then residing in an old castle 
near the small town of Assens, with a hastily prepared despatch, 
announcing the loss of his division, and his arrival with the 
wreck or remnant thereof — ^the Scottish invincibles of Sir Donald 
Mackay. 

His letter (which I afterwards transcribed from the Svedish 
IrUeUigencer) was in that style of military brevity which so 
delighted the brave spirits of that sanguinary war. 

" To the most excdlmt Prince, Christian I K, King of Denmark, 
of the Goths and Vandals; Duke of Sleswig, Holstein, Stormar, 
amd Ditmiarsch; Ea/rlof Oldenburg and Ddmsnhorst; Knight of 
the Garter, the Da/nnebrog, and ElephaM — these, 

" Comrade and Confederate, — Ruined by their own cowardice, 
the soldiers of my division have surrendered to the Emperor, 
and taken service under his standard. All are lost save the 
Scottish regiment of Strathnaver. 

" Bernard of Weimar." 

VOL. u u 



290 PHILIP ROLLO; 



CHAPTER XLII. 

THE BITTEBSAAL. 

It was autumn now. 

The day was dark and stormy; a grey sky spread its cold 
background beyond the picturesque gables and wooden fronts of 
the old houses of Assens. The solemn storks had all disappeared 
to warmer latitudes; rain, and even sleet, poured down into the 
narrow and muddy streets; a variety of tints were spreading 
over the woods; the beeches were becoming yellow, but the 
hardy pine of the north yet wore unchanged its dark and wiiy 
foliage. All betokened gloom and the misfortunes that threat^ 
ened Denmark, as we landed in the boats of Sir Nickelas Yal- 
demar, and marched into the town with drums beating and 
colours flying. 

It was a dilapidated place, very little of it having survived 
the warlike operations of old John of Kantzau, who, ninety 
years before, had routed there the army of Christopher, Duke 
of Oldenbiirg, slain Giistaf Troll, archbishop of Upsala, and 
levelled nearly all Assens to the ground. In the houses that 
remained, our soldiers were billeted by the burgomaster; while 
Duke Bernard, with all the officers, the count and his daughters, 
repaired to the adjacent castle, to be presented to the king and 
court. 

The Scottish musketeers of the Lord Spynie, and the Danish 
guards, with their kettle-drummer beating oi^ his famous silver 
drum, received us with all honour at the castle gate; and many 
a hand was held out from the ranks of Spynie, to grasp ours in 
warm welcome as we passed them. The brass culverins boomed 
from a cavalier before the gate, as a salute to our colonel and the 
Duke of Saxe-Weimar. 



OR^ THE SCOTTISH MT7SKETEEBS. 291 

"Ah! my old trooper, dost thou smell powder again 1" said 
he, stroking Jlaven, his curveting horse, which was led by a 
page, for, in compliment to the ladies, this gallant prince accom- 
panied us on foot. 

He gave his arm to the Count of Carlstein; ungloved I led^*^ 
Ernestine by the hand; Ian led Gabrielle; Sir Donald and our 
brother officers followed in a group behind us; and the whole 
were marshalled forward to the Rittersaal, or saloon of the 
knights, where the king awaited us. 

Through folding-doors of carved • oak, ushers in the royal 
livery admitted us to this magnificent old hall, at the upper end 
of which, under a canopy and upon a dais, stood King Christian, 
with a glittering group of courtiers. 

Grotesquely carved in stone, many a column and corbel pro- 
jected from the wall; from thence sprung the arched roof; 
between were hangings of leather embossed with gold arabesques, 
which had assumed a sombrd brown by age. The arched fire- 
place, within whose vast recess a company might have dined, 
had around it stone benches on three sides, as in our ancient 
towers at home; in the centre, a pile of pine roots and Memel 
logs were crackling and blazing in an enormous basket of iron. 

Above the king's crimson canopy hung the moth-eaten rem- 
nant of the miraculous Dannebrog, the far-famed banner of 
Denmark, which waa said to have been sent by the pope, for 
Waldemar 11. to unftirl against the Pagans of Livonia; but 
which was taken by the warlike Ditmarsches in the war of 
1580, and retaken from them by thejvaliant Frederick II. 

A flood of crimson and yellow light fell from the painted 
windows on the king and his group, which, from the length of 
our interview, I had every means of observing. Christian was 
plainly attired in a military undress of buff, with gold trim- 
mings, and buff gloves edged with gold ; over one shoidder was 
his scarf of silk ; over the other was the broad blue riband; 
under his left arm was a broad beaver hat edged with rich gal- ^ 
loon ; his neck was encircled by a chain of gold, at which hung the 
order of the Elephant, bearing on its back a silver tower studded 
with diamonds^ and full of armed men. A black silk patch con- 



292 PHILIP BOLLO; 

oealed the loss of his left eye, which had been destroyed by a 
splinter in one of those naval battles which have rendered his 
memory so dear to Denmark. Near him stood his queen, Anna 
Catharina, of the House of Brandenburg, a fair and somewhat 
florid-looking German, and another lady whom he had wedded 
with the lefi hcmd, according to the usage of the times — a feiirer 
and more beautiful Dane, whose peculiar position imparted a 
gentle and retiring expression to her soft features; though that 
position was deemed so far from equivocal, that he created her 
Countess of Fehmam (the Samos of the north), and one of her 
daughters was espoused by the grand-master, Corfltz Ulfeld. 

The venerable queen-mother was also present; she was a grave 
and stately old dame, attired in a long ^Eirdingale of scarlet taffeta, 
with a stomacher studded with diamonds, and her grey hair 
highly frizzled. Near the king were the Counts of Kantzau and 
Aschefeld; the Barons of Nybourg, Alsen, Foeyce, and others 
(for there are but two titles of nobility in Denmark) ; all of 
these were grim-looking riders, clad in armour of a fashion con- 
siderably older than I had ever seen worn in Scotland. Hantzau 
was Lord of Elmeshome and Bredenburg, that castle which old 
Dunbar had defended so valiantly. The grand chancellor, the 
mareschal of the court, and the Liveknecht, with several other 
gentlemen, wore the large medal of the Knights of the Armed 
Hand, an order of twelve created by Christian ten years before 
in the castle of Kolding, on his being chosen general of the drde 
of Lower Saxony. 

The ladies remained near the queen, and, like the Danish 
gentlewomen in general, they were graceful, fair-haired, blue-eyed, 
softly-featured, and exquisitely feminine; but there were neither 
fire, loftiness, nor dignity about them. They seemed gentle and 
languishing; and in truth, tall Ian with his giant plume, red 
M* Alpine with his crape scarf. Sir Donald with his swarthy 
visage, and all our bare-kneed Scottish officers, occupied much 
' more of their attention than the splendid cavaliers of the court. 

" Such an engaging air — what a beautiful dark girl I" I heard 
King Chiistian say as Ernestine appeared. He spoke to old 
Bantzau, his Liveknecht, or sqtiire of the body, who as such 



OB, tTHE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 293 

could never be without his sword, or far from the royal person; 
"her eyes sparkle like lance-heads — ^yet they are soft as a 
summer-moon." 

" Though war hath left yotar majesty but one eye, it is a sharp 
one for beauty," replied his grim old comrade; " but I would 
prefer her fe-ir sister, with those mild and sweet blue eyes, and 
the rich Madonna hair." 

At these somewhat too audible remarks, the sisters coloured 
deeply, and the ladies near Anna Catharina whispered together, 
and tittered behind their fans. 

Though her attire was plain (for Karl's pistoliers had made 
somewhat jfree with her baggage at Oldenburg), there was some- 
thing striking and triumphant in the beauty of Ernestine. On 
finding herself the object of so many eyes, that gazed with curio- 
sity and scrutiny, she assumed a proud bearing, which I can 
liken only to that of a stately Arab horse; while ^ poor little 
Oa,brielle quailed, coloured, and drooped her long eyelashes in 
the most charming confusion ; for with much that was noble 
and graceful, she had in her nature more that was timid and 
in&ntile. 

The gallant Duke Bernard of Saxe- Weimar, wearing in his 
helmet the glove of his fdture bride, a German princess of 
Dourlach, led forward the Count of Carlstein, saying — 

" Allow me to present to your majesty one of the bravest of 
the Imperial officers — the colonel-general of the German 
cavalry." 

" A brave soldier is always welcome here— even though an 
enemy," replied Christian, with a haughty bow, to which the 
count replied by another quite as haughty. "Duke, I have 
received your fetal despatch, and M* Alpine the Scottish <»ptain 
has told me all — all — and more than I could have wished to hear. 
And these ladies, count, are your daughters 1" 

" In my ardour to rescue whom, I this day stand before your 
majesty a prisoner," replied the count. 

"Nay," said Christian; "Duke Bernard, I understand, has 
but anticipated me. Saved from that mass of drowning cowards 
at Heilinghafen, you are not a prisoner, but a freeman, and 



294 PHILIP BOLLO; 

must retain the sword my general returned to you — Ironhewer, 
the theme of so many camp songs. But enough of this — lead 
forward these fair girls. By the Dannebrog ! John of Hantzau, 
they are beautiful as summer flowers!" 

On being presented, Ernestine and Gabrielle were about to 
kneel, when the brave king anticipated them, by kneeling and 
kissing their hands. 

Anna Catharina smiled disdainfully, and threw a furtive glance 
at the drooping Countess of Fehmam, her rival of the left-hand. 
A gleam of pleasure passed over the features of Oarlstein, and 

he said, while his eyes moistened 

" Your majesty does my poor girls infinite honour." 
"Nay, co\mt, I stand as a soldier before them; but as a 
king before you. We cannot pay too much homage to beauty. 
I have said, count, that you are free, and you may, when you 
please, rejoin the Imperialists.'* 

" I owe your majesty a thousand thanks; but, with these two 
girls, how can I now, unattended, pursue a journey so long and 
so difficult — ^through hostile Juteland?" 

" Ah — that is true!" grumbled old Rantzau, rubbing his thick 
beard; " der teufels braden!" 

" Count of Carlstein," said the old queen-dowager, in high 
Dutch, "alone you may rejoin your comrades, but these poor 
maidens could never survive the toil and danger of such a 
journey." 

" True — madam — ^true!" said the count. 
"Where you go, father, Ernestine will go, too," said his 
eldest daughter, with a proud smile, as she clasped her hands upon 
his arm. 

" And I, too," said Gabrielle, clinging to him on the other side. 
" I thank you, my brave girls; but I see that now we must 
indeed part — and I thank your majesties for your sympathy," 
said the count, with a sad smile. " Would to Heaven that I 
had listened to the advice of the good empress when at Vienna, 
and left in her charge, my motherless girls 1 But we have never 
been separated; they would accompany me, even beyond the 
Elbe, for such is the dear wilfulness of one, and such the affection of 



OB, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 295 

•both. I am a soldier of fortune, royal lady. In these and 
other wars I have fed myself with my sword. In the camps 
and cities of strangers, far from my own home, I felt that- 1 had 
one wherever my daughters were; my whole soul is bound 
up in these two girls, and through a thousand dangers God has 
spared me for theiir sakes — spared me to protect and love them 
—as I feel assured that he will spare me from a thousand more." 

The count paused, and his voice trembled. It was a fine 
«oene. Old John of Rantzau rubbed his beard again ; the queen 
gazed immoved, with a stolid expression on her Gorman face ; 
but she whom the king loved best, the Countess of Fehmam, 
was visibly afiected, and drew nearer to her these two little girls, 
who were all but princesses, and, who alone of all that glittering 
group remained by her side — ^for she was their mother. 

"After the freedom so gi-aciously bestowed by this kingly 
duke, and ratified by a princely king," said Carlstein, "my 
honour requires that I should immediately rejoin my troops, 
who are now without any other leader than the Count of 
Merod6; but my daughters — my daughters " ' 

" Count," said the aged queen-mother again, as Carlstein 
paused, " I am about to retire to my own castle of Nyekiobing 
in the isle of Laaland; permit your daughters to go with me, 
and I will protect them as if they were my own until this hap- 
less war is ended, or until you can again receive them." 

" Madam, it is a gracious offer, and worthy of her who is the 
mother of a gallant monarch — one whom ftiture times shall tell 
oi^" replied the count. " Kneeling, madam, I thank you from 
my soul — nay, Ernestine, look neither sad nor proud," he added 
in a whisper, " for it must be so ;" and from some protest she 
was about to make, she was awed to silence by her father's 
firmness and the presence in which she stood. 

" My fairest one," said the brave king, " you have heard what 
her majesty, our august mother, proposes. You are at liberty 
to go, and your gallant father may accompany you. From Laa- 
land he can more easily rejoin his victorious comrades ; and, if 
our poor Denmark is conquered, he may still more easily rejoin 
you at Nyekiobing." 



296 PHILIP BOLU); 

The king smiled as he said this; but old John of Kantzati^ 
and those fierce Danes who felt their scars of LUtter smarts 
twirled their red mustaches, and eyed the count with hostility 
and hatred. 

And now, by the invitation of the queen-dowager, Ernestine, 
her father, and sister were led away to another part of the castle. 
Queen Anna Catharina, the Countess of Fehmam, with all their 
ladies, followed, and I felt sadly that Ernestine was about to be 
secluded from me ; but she gave me a kind fiirewell glance on 
retiring through the folding-doors of the Bittersaal — a glance 
that sank deep in my heart, and made it leap with joy. 

The moment they were all gone, a cloud descended upon the 
brow of Christian IV; he turned towards the duke and us, and, 
striking together his gauntleted hands, exclaimed bitterly — 

" Bernard ! Bernard ! oh what a disastrous week this has been. 
I concealed my grief before that proud Imperialist and his 
daughters — but my heart bleeds for Denmark; and now I see 
nothing but flight from isle to isle-— defeat, disgrace, and death I 
Oh! after all I have endured for Denmark, the battles I have 
fought by sea and land, the friends I have lost, the blood I have 
shed, the treasure I have spent, and the territories I have lost, 
has it come to this?" 

" It seems to be the will of Heaven," replied the duke, gloomily, 
"that those savage Imperialists should triumph over us, and 
subvert the Protestant religion of northern Europe. I have lost 
my dukedom, and am now an outcast; eleven of my brothers 
have bled in this war, for we are the herditary and irreconcilable 
enemies of the House of Hapsburg. Tilly's troops are invin- 
cible; but I say unto your majesty, that had your Danes and my 
Germans behaved as these Scottish troops have done, the old 
Jesuit had told another story at Vienna."^ 

"I thank you, gentleman," said the king, bowing to us. "Ad- 
versity is the school for soldiers and for kings; but if I suffer, 
Herr Donald," he added, taking our colonel by the hand, «*it is 
in the cause of your countrywoman, my fair niece, the queen of 
Bohemia, who, unfortunately for herself and Protestant Europe, 
is the wife of a coward — the chief of a race of cowards and 



OR, THE SCOTTISH HUSKETEEBS. 297 

gluttons — ^who can neither fight for her, nor his electoral hat. 
The main column of my army is retreating fast through Jute- 
land, and will be taken ; I still have GlUckstadt, where Sir David 
Drummond, with the Laird of Craigie's pikemen and two of Niths- 
dale's regiments keep the foe in check, — but that too may fall. 
My God ! I feel the crown my brave father left me totter on my 
brow; but let me hope that my soul is still too soldierly to 
mourn departed state or empty greatness. I have now but 
twenty thousand men ; Tilly with thirty thousand has overspread 
the duchies, and Wallenstein with a hundred thousand has march- 
ed against us from Hungary. Every ally has abandoned me — all 
on whose aid I relied when I engaged in this imequal war; and 
Gustavus of Sweden yet lingers in his capital, I know not why. 
The God we fight for, gives and takes away — and I bless his 
name not the less. I have still my sword, Duke Bernard ; and 
if I cannot win me a name like my brave forefathers, Thierri 
the Fortunate, or Gerhard the Warlike, my fleet still remains, 
and after every inch of Danish ground is drenched in Danish 
blood and lost, I will commit myself to the ocean, like those 
Vikingr from whom I am descended. Better are the wild waves 
they loved so well, and the pure air of the wide Baltic, or the 
stormier Northern Sea, than the Austrian prisons of Ferdi- 
nand of Hapsburg!" 

" It is said like a gallant king," replied the proud chief who 
led us ; " the cause of the Scottish princess caused Denmark these 
disasters, and we, as Scottish soldiers, ought cheerfully to die for 
your majesty." 

" Well, gentlemen and comrades, as the proverb has it. Enough 
for the day is the evil thereof; between us and Juteland there 
yet rolls the same sea wherein the Emperor Otto I. flung his lance, 
as the limits of his invasion against King Harald Blaatand. 
The Imperialists are yet fe.r distant from our gates; so let us to 
dinner, comrades, and drink in German wine and Juteland beer 
to the hope of better times, and to the memory of those brave 
men who have fallen so unavailingly at Liitter, at Bredenburg, 
and the Boitze." 



298 PHiup BOLLO: 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

MABCH FOB THE CASTLE OF inTEKIOBlNG. 

On the following day it was announced that Sir Donald was 
to leave us for Scotland, where he meant to recruit for the 
battalion among his own clan, and others that were friendly to 
him ; that Ian, as lieutenant-colonel, was to command the regi- 
ment, which was to be broken into detachments ; two companies 
were to remain at Assens, three companies in other parts of 
Funen, and four, under Ian, were to march for, and occupy the 
Isle of Laaland, which was the dowery of the queen-mother, and 
was now endangered by the capture of Fehmam by the Imperi- 
alists, who always considered it the key of Denmark. 

On the morning parade our colonel informed us of this sepa- 
ration, at which our soldiers grieved sorely, for every man loved 
and revered him as a father; and the regiment was like a band 
of brethren as every regiment should be — a clan, or one great 
family; one half of its members were kinsmen, being Mac- 
kays, and reared in the same strath where the Naver flows. 
This arrangement touched me deeply too, fearing that I would 
now be separated from Emestin^ that I might never see her 
again; and that thus all my hopes would be crushed in the bud. 
I gazed eagerly after her, as, with the ladies of the court — for 
the king and queen were present — she passed along our line 
while arms were presented, the colours lowered, and the pipes 
played Mackay's salute. After being joined by Duke Bernard, 
whom the king embraced and kissed in the old German £sishion 
(as I had often seen a couple of bearded cuirassiers do, to the 
astonishment of our Highlandmen), Christian and the colonel 
went down the ranks, addressing some words of compliment or 
congratulation to every officer; for all had done their devoir 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 299 

like gallant men. He paused before me, observing that I was 
very yoimg, and was posted three paces in front of the line as 
commanding a company. 

" Cavalier," said he — for, like Gustavus Adolphus, that was his 
fevourite phrase when not speaking Danish — "your compauy 
shall be marched to Laaland, to quarter at Nyekiobing, and 
guard our royal mother." 

In profound salute I lowered the point of my claymore, and 
felt my heart dance with joy j for it was to Laaland that Ernes- 
tine and her sister were to accompany the old queen-dowager. 

" I thank your majesty for this choice," said Sir Donald ; 
" the youth is my own peculiar care, assigned to me by his 
fether, an old knight of Cromartie, who sent him to the German 

wars, because " I trembled with anger, lest Sir Donald had 

caught the story of that rascally spo<p; " because he was the 
only lad of spirit in the family." 

" Well, he shall march to Nyekiobing," said the frank mon- 
arch, with a wink of Ids solitary eye, and a dry and peculiar 
cough, a sure sign that some deep idea was fermenting in his 
honest brain. He then whispered something to Sir Donald, 
gave his steel tassettes a slap, and laughed heartily. A sly smile 
twinkled in the dark eyes of the Highland chief, and the blood 
mounted to my temples. 

What cojald this by-play mean? 

I trembled lest the proud Ernestine should discover or observe 
it, for she was quite near us, and I afterwards learned that it 
had direct reference to herself; for these good souls — though one 
was a haughty Highland chief, and the other an ambitious 
king — in openness of heart, in honesty of purpose, and goodness 
of intent, were pure soldiers. 

** Captain Eollo," said the king with a smile, " it is agreed 
that you shall guard the castle of Nyekiobing," and he passed on 
to Captain M'Kenzie (Ealdon), who commanded the next com- 
pany. 

Attended by her ladies, Queen Anna Catharina next went 
down the line on foot, and suspended with her own white hands, 
at every officer's neck, a silver medal attached to a blue riband. 



300 PHILIP BOLLO; 

These had been lately struck at Gliickstadt by the king's order, 
to commemorate his undertaking the defence of the Protestant 
religion. One side bore a man in armour, grasping a naked 
sword in one hand, in the other a Bible, and inscribed for 
Religion and Liberty. On the other was a lighted candle, half 
burned, encircled by the legend, 

Christianus lY, Dan, Now. Vand, Goth. Rex. 

To every soldier a rixdollar was given to drink his majesty's 
healtL 

That evening a ship — ^the Scottish Crown of Leith — was lying 
off Assens, about to sail for poor old Schottland (as they name her 
in that part of the world.) The colonel was to sail next day; 
and all who could write were busy inditing letters to their Mends, 
parents, and lovers at home — all but myself who had none that 
cared much to hear from me. That was a sad and bitter 
reflection. Even the scrivener of the regiment was busy 
transferring to paper the regards, remembrances, promises, and 
prize-money of those who coidd handle their swords better than 
their pens. Ian wrote a letter to his Moina, and thereafter 
appe^ided to it remembrances from half the soldiers of my 
company to their Mends in Strathdee, condolences to the parents 
of the brave who had fallen, with a request that the names of 
Phadrig Mhor, Diarmid M^Gillvray, and other gallant men 
whom he mentioned, should be inscribed on the kirk-doors for 
three successive Sundays — ^the greatest ambition and glory of 
the poor Highland soldier when far from his native glen. 

Next morning Sir Donald sailed for Scotland, to bring succour 
to the king, and urge his desperate state upon the government 
at Edinburgh. We saw his vessel as she bore northwards down 
the Belt, while the four companies under Ian paraded by sunrise 
and prepared to march across the Isle of Funen with sealed 
orders, which he was to open at Rodbye. Attended by the count's 
daughters and many other ladies on horseback, with pages and 
riders in the royal livery, the queen-mother rode forth from the 
archway of the castle, and we all received her with presented 
arms. 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 301 

Ernestine and Gabrielle were gracefully attired in light blue 
riding-habits laced with silver, with hats and feathers suitable 
to their age; but the old queen wore the dress of Christian III. 'a 
time, and was cased in a long straight stomacher, all fenced about 
with bars of whalebone, and thick enough to have turned a sword- 
thrust. On each side her fardingdale jutted out, and over all 
she had an enormous riding-skirt of crimson cloth, with a pair 
of those voluminous sleeves which Stubbs the Englishman con- 
demned in the AncUomy of Abuses (written in the days of his 
queen, Elizabeth). Like her coif and ruff, these were all stiffened, 
as the quaint Stubbs saith when reprehending the attire of 
women, " in that liquid matter called starch, wherein the devil 
hath learned them to wash and dive their ruffs, which, on being 
dry, will then stand stiff and inflexible about their necks;" and, 
like Master Stubbs, in truth I have known more than one gay 
cavalier who got his nose scratched by coming too close to those 
same ruffs, which hedge round a pretty face as sweyne's feathers 
do a square of infantry. 

By the queen's bridle rode the Count of Carlstein; his daughters 
on their Danish nags came curveting behind, and waved their 
whips to us as they passed. Ernestine, all blooming and smiling, 
was in high spirits, and her drooping black feather shaded her 
beautiful fiice. She let a rose drop from her hand. I hurried 
from my place to restore it; then a sudden thought made me 
crave permission to retain it. 

" No great boon, Herr," said she, " as it is all over dust now, 
and has lost half its leaves; nevertheless, if its poor remains will 
be such a source of gratification to you, I make you welcome to 
them,'* and, whipping up her horse, she darted after the group of 
equestrians, who were now fast leaving us behind. 

" Keep at the head of your company, cousin Philip," said Ian 
drily, " and do not spoil your tartans by picking old flowers out 
(rf the dust." 

** I would have picked it up under a shower of musketry, Ian," 
said I. 

"Dioul!" he replied, laughing; "'tis more than I would do, 
even for Moina : there are bounds to love, but none to folly. A 



302 PHILIP BOLLO; 

shower of musketry ! Zounds, I do not think I would leave my 
ranks imder that, to pick up the crown of Scotland if it lay at 
my feet!" 

It was a beautiful autumn morning, and every thing around 
me seemed in unison with the lightness of my 'own heart. A 
warm summer had brought on an early harvest, and every where 
the grain had been hastily reaped and gathered by the husband- 
man, who trembled at the rapid approach of an irresistible foe. 
A strong fragrance arose from the fresh morning earth; the 
punshine was warm, yet tempered by the cool breeze that came 
from the azure waters of the Lesser Belt, that stretch^ away 
into dim and far obscurity on our right. In our rear lay Assens 
with its castle, and on our left the landscape spread out in long 
and verdant vistas, tinted by dun autumnal hues; its faded 
green being interspersed by newly ploughed fields of rich brown 
land, the furrows of which glistened in the sun, while the water 
left in them by the recent rains, glittered in long and silvery 
lines. 

From these the sun exhaled a hazy vapour, making somewhat 
obscure the more distant objects, and even those which were 
nearer at hand. Thus, at times, we saw in opaque outline the 
sturdy figure of a well-fed Danish boor, who was turning up the 
glistening soil with a plough of ancient fashion, drawn by two 
fat brindled kine, with curving horns and switching tails, around 
which the clouds of gnats were dancing; and there, between the 
stilts of his plough, the clod-pated boor would pause, and gaze 
at us with lack-lustre eyes as we marched past, four hundred 
strong, with our tartans waving, our arms and appointments glit- 
tering in the sun, while the hoarse drums rattled, and the wild 
war-pipes poured a Highland quick-step to the morning wind ; 
for four hundred bare-kneed clansmen was a sight for a boor 
of Funen to remember, and describe to his grandchildren in after 
years to come. 

" You are still looking after that blue skirt and black feather," 
said Ian, just as the queen and her group of attendants disap- 
peared among the vapour far in front; " I pray you, kiyiBman, 
keep such vagaries as love out of your head." 



OR, THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 303 

' " Love is an affair of the heart, Ian, and the head has nothing 
whatever to do with it." 

"The greater is the pity, Philip; but allow me to ad- 

" You consider me a lover, and yet think I will take advice. 
Whoever heard of a lover that did so?" 

"It is too true; but I hope you are not yet come to that. 
Love and its sentimentality are all nonsense in a true man of 
the sword." 

" Ian!" I exclaimed; "and Moina '* 

He coloured, and haughtily shook his eagle's plume. 

" Moina is at home in Glen Mhor na' Albyn. Here, she 
would interfere with the performance of my duty to my colonel 
and the king. As it is, she rather aids them ; for she is my 
guiding star in the hour of danger, and the wish that I may 
return worthy of the daughter of a brave chief, fires me to 
emulate the heroes of other times. On the long weary march, 
and in the dull lonely hours of the night ; by the guard fire and 
the bivouac, or in the comfortless cantonment, with my plaid for 
a mantle, my sword for a pillow, I think of my brown-eyed 
Highland bride — I think of Moina Rose with sorrow and joy — 
sorrow that I am so far, far away from her, and joy that she 
loves me. Moina is a single-hearted and guileless mountain 
girl; to love her, is very different from the fancies now floating 
through your giddy brain, kinsman of mine. I am too true a 
son of the Gael to regard strangers otherwise than with jealousy; 
and court ladies at best are slippery as eels. Remember how 
many dark-eyed maids at home are all looking for husbands, and 
ought to have the preference before all these foreign trumpery. 
There is the tall daughter of old Ferintosh, with her lint-white 
locks and a Mr slice of land, with a good strong tower that, 
with six brass culverins, guards the highway to Milnbuy, and 
can levy a pretty good toll thereon; and there is little Oina 
Urquhart, the daughter of old Sir Thomas of Cromartie, whose 
dowery I know to be five hundred black cattle, which her 
spouse is to levy (if he can) among the clans in Ross; and 
Mary M*Alpine (R«d Angus's cousin) whose tocher is still better; 



30^ PHILIP BOLLO; 

a castle in the Black Isle, with five hundred good claymores to 
defend it." 

Without interruption, I permitted Ian to run on and 
enumerate all the heiresses in Nairn, Boss, and Cromartiey 
whose tochers consisted of short-legged cattle and long clay- 
mores, whinstones and fair purple heather; but the i-esult was, 
that he put me into a very bad humour, which did not find yent 
until we entered Faaborg, after a march of about thirty Danish 
miles — a cannon-shot more or less. 

The evening was closing as we marched in, and the church 
bells were ringing, as they are always rung about sunset in the 
Danish villages and towns. 

We — ^the officers — were billeted by the Herredsfoged (or 
magistrate) on a tavern or hostelry named the Dannebrog, as it 
bore the Danish banner on its signboard. The roof of this place 
was (I remember) considerably depressed, as the host informed 
us with the utmost good faith and in a whisper, by the passage 
of King Waldemar, the wild huntsman, whose spectral train 
had swept over it on St. John's night, last year. He had just 
concluded his story when Will Lumsdaine, my lieutenant, came to 
inform me, that the ration of beer served out by the Herredsfoged 
to our company was only fit for swine. 

" Have you told him so ?" I asked. 

"Idid." 

" And what was his reply?" 

" That it was good enough for Scots." 

" Air MuireT cried Ian, buckling on his sword; "where is this 
fellow to be met with V 

" At his own house," replied Lumsdaine. I would have 
punished him there ; but I love not to draw on a man under his 
own roof-tree." 

Now ensued a Mendly contest about who should punish the 
Herredsfoged; Lumsdaine claimed the duty as the insult had 
been given to him ; I claimed it as his senior, and Ian as mine. 
We tossed up a dollar, and the lot fell to me. I snatched up my 
sword, hurried away, and found my man smoking a pipe in his 
back garden. 



OB, THE SOOTTISH MUSKETEEBS. 305 

'* You are the Herredafoged?" said I, drawing my claymore. 

*' I am," said he, with the utmost composure, for he was a 
strong fellow — a miller, and nearly a head taller than me. Re- 
questing him to walk with me into a little plot which was 
screened by a privet hedge, I sternly commanded him to retract 
and apologise for his remarks anent the ration beer; but the 
Herredsfoged was a brave fellow, and swore by all the devils in 
Denmark, he would " never retract while there was a drop of 
blood in his heart !" 

We then measured our swords, and fell on like a couple 
(tf wild Tartars; I received a scar on one of my bare knees, by 
an ill-parried thrust ; and the second, by piercing my left arm, 
disabled me for a time jfrom using my dirk j but at the third 
pass I ran him through the left side, close by the ribs, and flung 
him prostrate, with his weapon hand below him. Then with 
my sword at his throat, while he lay grovelling among his own 
tujips and broken flowerpots, I compelled him to retract, and 
repeating after me word for word, acknowledge "that the 
said beer was only fit for dogs or Danes." I then helped him 
into the house, and had his wound looked to. We marched next 
day, and all kept the story of the duel as secret as possible; for 
such encounters had been expressly forbidden by an edict of 
Christian IV. in 1618. 

At Faaborg we found that the queen and her train had em- 
barked for Laaland, and that nothing remained for us but to 
follow by the first shipping we could procure. For one night 
we occupied the little town, which has the waters of the Lesser 
Belt on one side, and those of deep marshes on the other. It 
had been burned in former wars by the army of Christian III., 
and now the greater portion of it consisted of ruins, encircling 
a shallow and unsheltered port. 

About noon on the following day we disembarked on the isle 
of Longeland, in one of the towns of which we had a quarrel 
with the peoplQ. A merchant of the place having accused two 
of my company of pilfering a quantity of kirschwasser from his 
store in the market street, the Herredsfoged instituted a search, 
and with Sergeant Phadrig Mhor I went round the billets in 

VOL. I. X 



306 PHILIP BOLLO; 

person, but without discovering the wine, though in the quarters 
of Torquil Gorm, our piper-major, and Donald M*Vurich, a 
musketeer (our shoemaker), I saw a very suspicious-like liquid 
in a large tub, with some Highland brogues swimming on the 
surface thereof and that liquid, the rogues told us next day, 
when on the march, was the very wine we were in search of, 
and that a good draught of it was still at our service ; but as 
neither Phadrig nor I had any relish for wine flavoured by 
brogue leather, we declined their offer, with the threat of a good 
battooning if such tricks were ever discovered again. 

Marching across that long and narrow isle, we took shipping 
in small sloops for Rodbye in Laaland, for whence (to my great 
disappointment) we found that the active old queen and her 
train had again departed before us; and we were a whole week 
travelling by land and water among these flat and sandy islands, 
before we drew up under our colours on the beach of Rodbye. 
There Ian opened his sealed orders, by which the king, fearing 
that the Imperialists might seize upon those isles, directed him 
to leave Kildons company at Rodbye; those of Angus Roy, 
M*Alpine, Munro of Culcraigie, and Sir Patrick Mackay, were 
marched to the town of Mariboe, where they occupied an edifice 
that, in former times, had been a spacious convent, the walls of 
which were bordered by a beautiful lake; but we continued our 
route to the pleasant little isle of Falster, to guard the queen- 
mother ia her own castle or jointure-house. There we arrived 
on Michaelmas-day, about stmset, wearied by our sea and land 
journey, and the long nighty we had spent in open boats, exposed 
to the cold air of the Baltic. 

Her majesty came forth with her train, in person, to welcome 
us to her castle of Nyekiobing, and ordered a can of German 
wine to be served to every soldier; while the officers, i. e., Ian, 
Lumsdaine, and myself (for we had not yet an ensign), were 
invited to sup at the royal table. 

Her castle was a strong and stately edifice, overlooking a 
regular and well-built town on the Guldborg-soimd, a narrow 
passage usually studded with ships, as it is the way from the 
shores of Zealand to those of Germany. Every foot's-pace of 



OR; THE SCOTTISH MUSKETEERS. 307 

this beautiful island, which teemed with fertility, was under 
cultivation, or covered with the richest copsewoodj and from 
the castle windows we saw the stately beeches, brown with 
autumnal leaves, casting the evening shadows along the cabn 
blue waters of the narrow sound. The only troops in the place 
were a few of the vassals or ser&, singularly clad in mail shirts 
Hke modem Tartars, or like the effigies on an antique tomb, and 
armed with the battle-axe, which, like the halbert, was of old 
the national weapon of the Danish islesmen. The good queen- 
mother had more of the frankness of an old German baroness 
about her than the frigid and empty dignity of courtly state. 
She sat at the head of her own table in the old castle hall; her 
steward, the Baron Foeyoe, a knight of the Armed Hand, a 
short, stout, and irritable old Dane, sat at the foot, and we en- 
joyed a merry and a sumptuous meal. 

To my joy I foimd myself seated beside Ernestine, her fether 
the count was opposite. 

She perceived my arm in a sling, and immediately inquired 
the cause. 

" It is a wound !" said I. 

"A wound ! — where and when did you receive it ?" she asked, 
while I imagined with exultation that there was an ill-concealed 
expression of alarm depicted in her charming eyes. 

" It is a secret !" said I, and knowing how a rencontre sets oft 
a cavalier in the estimation of a pretty woman, I now resolved 
to make the most of mine. 

" In what manner is it a secret, Herr ?" 

" Because, if divulged to King Christian, he would remember 
the law of 1618, and send. me prisoner to Cronenborg." 

"You have, then, fought a duel I" 

" Hush — it was only a clean thrust with a rapier." 

'* And what did you fight about ?" 

"A lady !" I replied, laughing, and observing her narrowly. 

"A lady !" she reiterated, xmmoved as a rock, to my great 
disappointment. 

" Nay, nay, Ernestine l" said I, "it was about nothing more 
than a can of beer." 



308 PHILIP BOLLO. 

^A reputable reason^ oertamlj — a valaable oemmodity to 
peril one's life for ! " 

** Every other day I peril my life for the price of it, howoTer ; 
but a point of some importance was involved — a national 
instdt." I then related my quarrel at Faaborg, and she 
declared that my indignation had been justly roused, but very 
improperly satisfied. 

" But you must not speak of it, Ernestine — nor tell Gabrielle." 

** Oh, fear not — ^your secret shall be kept !" said she. 

I found that this story raised me higher in her favour, and I 
had the felicity of being helped by her to several things, while, 
to save all exertion of my poor wounded arm (of which I was 
very much inclined on this occasion to make the most), a ser- 
vant in the red livery of Denmark cut my food for me, after 
which I could feed myself by one of those German forks with 
which the table was furnished. 

The moment supper was over, we all shook hands and sepa- 
rated. As we parted, I raised my plaid and shewed (Jabrielle 
where (in the breast of my doublet) I had preserved the 
withered rose, which had dropped from her sister's hand on the 
morning we had marched out of the east gate of Assens. I was 
too timid to make Ernestine aware that I had preserved this 
trivial gift; but hoped that Ga-brielle would tell her to the 
letter, who was so gay and childlike, I could say more than I 
dared to Ernestine; for on her good or bad opinion hung the 
balance of my fate. My heart was too much interested in the 
stake to act boldly. 



wstD or VOL. i. 



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