British navy, he was for some time on the coast of the North American
colonies, then in a state of revolution, and passed the winter of 1782
in the city of New York. He is still borne in lively recollection by
many of the elder inhabitants of that city, as a fine bluff boy of
sixteen: frank, cheery, and affable; and there are anecdotes still told
of his frolicsome pranks on shipboard. Among these, is the story of a
rough, though favourite, nautical joke, which he played off upon a
sailor boy, in cutting down his hammock while asleep. The sturdy sea
urchin resented this invasion of his repose; and, not knowing the
quality of his invader, a regular set-to of fisty-cuffs ensued in the
dark. In this, it is said, the Prince showed great bottom; and equal
generosity on the following morning, when he made the boy a handsome
present of money. His conduct in this boyish affair is said to have
gained him the hearts of all his shipmates.
The Prince manifested, when on shore, a decided fondness for manly
pastimes. One of his favourite resorts was a small fresh-water lake in
the vicinity of the city, which presented a frozen sheet of many acres;
and was thronged by the younger part of the population for the amusement
of skating. As the Prince was unskilled in that exercise, he would sit
in a chair fixed on runners, which was pushed forward with great
velocity by a skating attendant, while a crowd of officers environed
him, and the youthful multitude made the air ring with their shouts for
Prince William Henry. It was an animating scene, in the bright sunny
winter-days, so common in that climate, and probably still retains a
place in his Majesty's memory.
While the Prince was thus enjoying himself in the city of New York, a
daring plan was formed, by some adventurous partisans of the
revolutionary army, to pounce upon him and carry him off from the very
midst of his friends and guards. The deviser of this plan was Colonel
Ogden, a gallant officer, who had served with great bravery in the
revolutionary army from the very commencement of the war, and whose
regiment at that time was stationed in the province (now state) of New
Jersey.
The present statement is drawn up from documents still preserved by the
family of Col. Ogden, a copy of which has been obtained from one of his
sons. The Prince at the time was living on shore, with Admiral Digby, in
quarters slightly guarded, more for form than security, no particular
danger being apprehended. The project of Colonel Ogden was to land
secretly on a stormy night, with a small but resolute force, to surprise
and carry off the Prince and the Admiral to the boats, and to make for
the Jersey shore. The plan was submitted to General Washington, who
sanctioned it, under the idea that the possession of the person of the
Prince would facilitate an adjustment of affairs with the mother
country, and a recognition of the United States as an independent
nation.
The following is a copy of the letter of General Washington to Col.
Ogden on the occasion. The whole of the original is in the handwriting
of the General:--
_To Col. Ogden of the 1st Jersey Regiment_.
"Sir,--The spirit of enterprise so conspicuous in your plan for
surprising in their quarters, and bringing off, the Prince
William Henry and Admiral Digby, merits applause; and you have
my authority to make the attempt in any manner and at such a
time as your judgment shall direct.
"I am fully persuaded, that it is unnecessary to caution you
against offering insult or indignity to the persons of the
Prince or Admiral, should you be so fortunate as to capture
them; but it may not be amiss to press the propriety of a proper
line of conduct upon the party you command.
"In case of success, you will, as soon as you get them to a
place of safety, treat them with all possible respect; but you
are to delay no time in conveying them to Congress, and report
your proceedings, with a copy of these orders.
"Given at Morris Town, this 28th day of March, 1782.
"G. WASHINGTON.
"_Note_.--Take care not to touch upon the ground which is agreed
to be neutral--viz., from Raway to Newark, and four miles back."
Before relating the particulars of this plan, it may be expedient to
state, that the city of New York is situated on the point of an island
which advances into the centre of a capacious bay. A narrow arm of the
sea, vulgarly called the East River, separates it on the left from Long
or Nassau Island; and the Hudson, commonly called the North River,
separates it from the state of New Jersey. The British army was in
possession of the city, and was strengthened by a fleet; but the
opposite bank of the Hudson, which is about two miles wide, was under
the power of Congress, and the revolutionary army was stationed at no
great distance in New Jersey, in a winter encampment of wooden huts.
The party that should undertake this enterprise would have to embark in
boats from the Jersey shore: and it was essential that the whole affair
should be accomplished between sun and sun.
The following is the plan intended to be observed, copied literally from
the original, in the handwriting of Col. Ogden:--
"It will be necessary to have four whale-boats (which can be
procured without cause for suspicion); they must be well manned
by their respective crews, including guides, etc.; beside these,
one captain, one subaltern, three sergeants, and thirty-six
men, with whom the boats can row with ease.--N.B. It is known
where the boats are, and that they can be collected without
suspicion, with their oars-men; and it is taken for granted, the
owners will not object, though, for fear of giving the least
cause of alarm, nothing has as yet been said to them.
"The time of embarkation must be the first wet night after we
are prepared. The place is not yet agreed on, as it will be
necessary to consult those skilled in the tides previous to
determining, which must be put off until we are as nearly
prepared as possible, for fear of inferences being drawn from
our inquiries. We must, however, set off from such part of the
Jersey shore, as will give us time to be in the city by half
past nine. The men must be embarked in the order of debarkation.
"The Prince quarters in Hanover Square, and has two sentinels
from the 40th British regiment, that are quartered in Lord
Stirling's old quarters in Broad Street, 200 yards from the
scene of action. The main guard, consisting of a captain and
forty men, is posted at the City Hall--a sergeant and twelve, at
the head of the old slip--a sergeant and twelve, opposite the
coffee-house--these are the troops we may be in danger from, and
must be guarded against. The place of landing at Coenties
Market, between the two sergeants' guards, at the head of the
old slip and opposite the coffee-house.
"The order of debarkation to agree with the mode of attack, as
follows:--
"First--Two men with a guide, seconded by two others, for the
purpose of seizing the sentinels--these men to be armed with
naked bayonets and dressed in sailors' habits--they are not to
wait for anything, but immediately execute their orders.
"Second--Eight men including guides with myself, preceded by two
men with each a crow-bar, and two with each an axe, these for
the purpose of forcing the doors should they be fast, and
followed by four men, entering the house and seizing the young
Prince, the Admiral, the young noblemen, aides, &c.
"Third--A captain and eighteen to follow briskly, form, and
defend the house until the business is finished, and retreat a
half gun-shot in our rear.
"Fourth--A subaltern and fourteen, with half of the remaining
boats' crew, and form on the right and left of the boats, and
defend them until we return--the remainder of the crews to hold
the boats in the best possible position for embarking.
"Necessary--Two crow-bars, two axes, four dark-lanterns, and
four large oil-cloths.
"The manner of returning as follows:--
"Six men with guns and bayonets, with those unemployed in
carrying off the prisoners, to precede those engaged in that
business, followed by the captain (joined by the four men from
the sentry) at a half gun-shot distance, who is to halt and give
a front to the enemy, until the whole are embarked in the
following order--
"First--The prisoners, with those preceding them.
"Second--The guides and boatmen.
"Third--The subalterns and fourteen.
"Fourth--The rear."
Such was the daring plan laid for the capture of the Prince, and which,
even if not fully successful, might have placed his Royal Highness in a
most perilous predicament. It appears, however, from a fragment of a
letter addressed by General Washington to Col. Ogden, and apparently
written almost immediately after the preceding one, that some inkling of
the design had reached Sir Henry Clinton, then in New York, and
Commander-in-chief of the British forces. General Washington
communicates, in his letter, the following paragraph from a secret
despatch, dated March 23rd, which he had just received from some
emissary in New York:--
"Great seem to be their apprehensions here. About a fortnight
ago a great number of flat boats were discovered by a sentinel
from the bank of the river (Hudson's), which are said to have
been intended to fire the suburbs, and in the height of the
conflagration to make a descent on the lower part of the city
and wrest from our embraces His Excellency Sir H. Clinton,
Prince William Henry, and several other illustrious personages,
since which great precautions have been taken for the security
of those gentlemen, by augmenting the guards, and to render
their persons as little exposed as possible."
In another letter, dated Newburgh, April 2nd, 1782, General Washington
observes, "After I wrote to you from Morris Town, I received information
that the sentries at the door of Sir Henry Clinton were doubled at eight
o'clock every night, from an apprehension of an attempt to surprise him
in them. If this be true, it is more than probable the same precaution
extends to _other_ personages in the city of New York, a circumstance I
thought it proper for you to be advertised of."
This intelligence of the awakened vigilance and precautionary measures
of the British commander, effectually disconcerted the plans of Colonel
Ogden, and His Royal Highness remained unmolested in his quarters until
the sailing of the squadron.
* * * * *
THE SELECTOR
AND
LITERARY NOTICES OF _NEW WORKS_.
* * * * *
MICHAEL SCOTT, THE WIZARD.
No. 22 of the _Family Library_ is another volume of pleasant biography;
for, to speak the truth, the biographies, or _biographetts_ of this
series are the most agreeable reading of the day. The Lives are not of
undue length, and anecdote and judicious remark are abundantly scattered
along each of them. There are no dry details of "birth, parentage, and
education;" but these particulars are given with more attractions. In
short, the Lives are just suited for parlour and drawing-room libraries,
and many a reader who could not be persuaded to turn to Dr. Chalmers's
lengthy two-and-thirty tomes of Biography, would be tempted to sit down
and read a volume of the _Family_ Lives outright.
The volume before us is the first of "the Lives of Scottish Worthies,"
by Mr. Patrick Fraser Tytler, author of an excellent History of
Scotland. It comprises Alexander III., Michael Scott, Sir William
Wallace, and Robert Bruce. We quote from Scott, who, though a wizard,
deserves rank among "Worthies," and the philosophers and scholars of his
time. Thus, Mr. Tytler says "he was certainly the first who gave
Aristotle in a Latin translation to the learned world of the West. He
was eminent as a mathematician and an astronomer, learned in the
languages of modern Europe--deeply skilled in Arabic, and in the
sciences of the East; he had risen to high celebrity as a physician--and
his knowledge of courts and kings, had recommended him to be employed in
a diplomatic capacity by his own government." The following passage is,
however, from "his more popular and wider honour"--his superstitious
character,--whilst, as Mr. Tytler prettily observes, "his miracles and
incantations are yet recorded beside the cottage fire, by many a
grey-headed crone, and his fearful name still banishes the roses from
the cheeks of the little audience that surround her."
In the brief but interesting accounts of this singular man, which we
meet with in the ancient Chronicles of Italy, it is mentioned that he
was the inventer of a new species of casque or steel basnet, denominated
a cervilerium,[6] which he commonly wore under the furred or velvet cap,
used by the learned of those times. The origin of this invention is
curious. In those dark periods, when the belief of magic was universal,
not only amongst the lower ranks, but with the learned and educated
classes of the community, it was reported that the Wizard, having cast
his own horoscope, had discovered that his death was to be occasioned by
a stone falling upon his bare skull. With that anxiety which clings to
life, he endeavoured to defeat the demon whom he served, and by repeated
incantations constructed this magic casque, which he vainly deemed
invulnerable. But his fate, according to the tradition of Italy, was not
to be avoided. In passing a cathedral, when the bell was ringing for
vespers, Michael entered to pay his devotions, and forgetful of his
cervilerium, which was fixed inside his cap, uncovered as he
reverentially knelt upon the stone floor. The moment of his fate was
arrived. The rope of the belfry had loosened one of the carved corbels
which ornamented the interior of the roof beneath which the Magician
knelt; before he could remove, the sharp and heavy mass descended on his
forehead, and whilst it confirmed the infallibility of his prescience,
in an instant deprived him of life. Michael, however, according to the
account of Benvenuto da Imola, had strength enough to lift up the stone,
and ascertain its weight, after which he declared it was of the exact
size he expected; and that nothing was left him but to die, which he did
accordingly,[7] after very properly making his will. It is needless to
remark that this fable is confuted by the return of Michael to his
native country; but it appears to have been the origin of a tradition
still current amongst the peasantry of Scotland, and which ascribes a
miraculous power to the bonnet of the Wizard. It is curious to find the
tale of the invulnerable cervilerium of the Italians, travelling on the
breath of credulity and superstition into the "far north countrie" of
which the Magician was a native, and only changed by tradition from the
blue steel worked and welded by magic art, into the blue bonnet which
was waited on by Scottish demons, who were heard wailing in mid air when
it was waved by its dreaded master.
[6] Riocobaldi Ferrariensis Historia Imperatorum--in Muratori,
vol. ix. p. 128.
[7] Benvenuto da Imola. Comment on Dante book xx. c. 115.
It is well known to the student of Italian literature, that the
Magician has obtained a niche in the Inferno of Dante.
"Quel altro che ne fianchi e cosi poco
Michele Scoto fu, che veramente
Delle magiche frode seppe il gioco."
Another poet of Italy, but of infinitely inferior note, Theophilo
Folengi, who published a collection of Latin Macaronic verses, under the
fictitious name of Merlinus Coccaius, has given, in strange and almost
unintelligible language, a singular picture of his incantations.
"Behold renown'd Scotus take his stand
Beneath a tree's deep shadow, and there draw
His magic circle--in its orb describe
Signs, cycles, characters of uncouth shapes;
And with imperious voice his demons call.
Four devils come--one from the golden west,
Another from the east; another still
Sails onwards from the south--and last of all
Arrives the northern devil; by their aid
He forms a wondrous bridle, which he fits
Upon a jet black steed, whose back, nor clothes,
Nor saddle, e'er encumber'd--Up he mounts,
Cleaves the thin air like shaft from Turkish bow,
Eyes with contemptuous gaze the fading earth,
And caprioles amongst the painted clouds.
Oft, too, with rites unhallow'd, from the neck
Of his dark courser he will pluck the locks,
And burn them as a sacrifice to Him
Who gives him power o'er Nature: next he limns
With silver wand upon the smooth firm beach
A mimic ship--look out, where ocean's verge
Meets the blue sky, a whitening speck is seen,
That nears and nears--her canvass spreads to heav'n;
Fair blows the wind, and roaring through the waves,
On comes the Demon ship, in which he sails
To farthest Ind--but this adventure needs
A sacrifice more potent--human marrow
Scoop'd from the spine, and burnt to the dark power
Whom he must serve. 'Tis said that he who wears
His magic cap, invisible may walk,
And none so lynx-eyed as detect his presence,
In the most peopled city--yet beware,
Let him not, trusting to the demon's power,
Cross the white splendour of the sun, for there,
Although no palpable substance is discern'd,
His shadow will betray him."
Such is a somewhat free translation of the verses of the pretended
Merlinus Coccaius.[8] It is well known that many traditions are still
prevalent in Scotland concerning the extraordinary powers of the Wizard;
and if we consider the thick cloud of ignorance which overspread the
country at the period of his return from the continent, and the very
small materials which are required by superstition as a groundwork for
her dark and mysterious stories, we shall not wonder at the result. The
Arabic books which he brought along with him, the apparatus of his
laboratory, his mathematical and astronomical instruments, the Oriental
costume generally worn by the astrologers of the times, and the
appearance of the white-haired and venerable sage, as he sat on the roof
of his tower of Balwearie, observing the face of the heavens, and
conversing with the stars, were all amply sufficient to impress the
minds of the vulgar with awe and terror. "Accordingly," says Sir Walter
Scott, in his Notes on the Lay of the Last Minstrel, "the memory of Sir
Michael Scott survives in many a legend, and in the south of Scotland
any work of great labour and antiquity is ascribed either to the agency
of Auld Michael, of Sir William Wallace, or of the devil." Some of the
most current of these traditions are so happily described by the
above-mentioned writer, that we cannot refrain from quoting the passage.
"Michael was chosen," it is said, "to go upon an embassy to obtain from
the King of France satisfaction for certain piracies committed by his
subjects upon those of Scotland. Instead of preparing a new equipage and
splendid retinue, the ambassador retreated to his study, and evoked a
fiend, in the shape of a huge black horse, mounted upon his back, and
forced him to fly through the air towards France. As they crossed the
sea, the devil insidiously asked his rider what it was that the old
women of Scotland muttered at bedtime. A less experienced wizard might
have answered, that it was the Pater Noster, which would have licensed
the devil to precipitate him from his back. But Michael sternly replied,
'What is that to thee? Mount, Diabolus, and fly!' When he arrived at
Paris, he tied his horse to the gate of the palace, entered, and boldly
delivered his message. An ambassador with so little of the pomp and
circumstance of diplomacy, was not received with much respect, and the
king was about to return a contemptuous refusal to his demand, when
Michael besought him to suspend his resolution till he had seen his
horse stamp three times. The first stamp shook every steeple in Paris,
and caused all the bells to ring, the second threw down three towers of
the palace, and the infernal steed had lifted his foot to give the third
stamp, when the king rather chose to dismiss Michael with the most ample
concessions, than to stand the probable consequences. Another time, it
is said, when residing at the tower of Oakwood, upon the Ettrick, about
three miles above Selkirk, he heard of the fame of a sorceress, called
the witch of Falsehope, on the opposite side of the river. Michael went
one morning to put her skill to the test, but was disappointed, by her
denying positively any knowledge of the necromantic art. In his
discourse with her, he laid his wand inadvertently on the table, which
the hag observing, suddenly snatched it up, and struck him with it.
Feeling the force of the charm, he rushed out of the house; but as it
had conferred on him the external appearance of a hare, his servant, who
waited without, halloo'd upon the discomfited Wizard his own hounds, and
pursued him so close, that in order to obtain a moment's breathing to
reverse the charm, Michael, after a very fatiguing course, was fain to
take refuge in his own jaw-hole, Anglice, common sewer. In order to
revenge himself of the witch of Falsehope, Michael, one morning in the
ensuing harvest, went to the hill above the house with his dogs, and
sent down his servant to ask a bit of bread from the goodwife for his
greyhounds, with instructions what to do if he met with a denial.
Accordingly, when the witch had refused the boon with contumely, the
servant, as his master had directed, laid above the door a paper which
he had given him, containing, amongst many cabalistical words, the
well-known rhyme,
"Maister Michael Scott's man
Sought meat, and gat nane."
[8] Merlini Coccaii Macaronica, xviii, p. 273.
Immediately the good old woman, instead of pursuing her domestic
occupation, which was baking bread for the reapers, began to dance round
the fire, repeating the rhyme, and continued this exercise, till her
husband sent the reapers to the house, one after another, to see what
had delayed their provision, but the charm caught each as they entered,
and, losing all idea of returning, they joined in the dance and the
chorus. At length the old man himself went to the house, but as his
wife's frolic with Mr. Michael, whom he had seen on the hill, made him a
little cautious, he contented himself with looking in at the window, and
saw the reapers at their involuntary exercise, dragging his wife, now
completely exhausted, sometimes round, and sometimes through the fire,
which was, as usual, in the midst of the house. Instead of entering, he
saddled a horse, and rode up the hill, to humble himself before Michael,
and beg a cessation of the spell, which the good-natured warlock
immediately granted, directing him to enter the house backwards, and
with his left hand take the spell from above the door, which accordingly
ended the supernatural dance. * * * Michael Scott," continues the same
author, "once upon a time was much embarrassed by a spirit, for whom he
was under the necessity of finding constant employment. He commanded him
to build a cauld, or dam-head, across the Tweed at Kelso; it was
accomplished in one night, and still does honour to the infernal
architect. Michael next ordered that Eildon Hill, which was then a
uniform cone, should be divided into three. Another night was sufficient
to part its summit into the three picturesque peaks which it now bears.
At length the enchanter conquered this indefatigable demon, by employing
him in the hopeless and endless task of making ropes out of the
sea-sand."[9]
[9] Notes to the lay of the Last Minstrel, p. 255.
The embellishments, six in number, are engraved in a pleasing style by
W.H. Lizars. Two of them,--a Norwegian Barrow, and Turnberry Castle, are
very effective.
* * * * *
THE GATHERER.
A snapper up of unconsidered trifles.
SHAKSPEARE.
* * * * *
An Irish knight was married to the daughter of a noble lord, a connexion
of which the knight was somewhat proud. Boasting of this union once to a
friend, he observed that his lordship had paid him the highest
compliment in his power. "He had seven daughters," said he, "and he gave
me the _ouldest_, and he told me, too, that if he had an _oulder_ I
should have her."
* * * * *
A SHIRT WITHOUT A SEAM.
At Dumferline, in the corporation chest is preserved a man's shirt,
wrought in the loom about a century ago, by a weaver of the name of
Inglis. The shirt was formed without a seam, and finished without any
assistance from the needle; the only necessary parts he could not
accomplish were the neck and sleeve buttons.
C.D.
* * * * *
In the days of King Henry VII. when the king demanded the tenth penny
for carrying on the war in Britanny, and some of the courtiers in the
House of Commons spoke of the king's want in a very high tone, Sir John
Fineux, an eminent lawyer at that time, made use of this expression,
"Mr. Speaker, before we pay anything, let us see whether we have
anything we can call our own to pay with;" for which saying, the king
immediately made him a judge; in which office he acted with as much
integrity as in that of a representative in the Commons.
G.K.
* * * * *