THE MATTER IS STILL FURTHER DELAYED, BUT OUR ANXIETIES CONTINUE
“How often did I say to you in the old days, Barbara, that I had dark
misgivings about the Silver Mine?” said my lady one day, resting her
head upon her hand and looking weary and discouraged. “I knew not what
it meant, but ever have I had the presentiment that it would be the
cause of great misfortune, and behold it is come true!”
It was now the middle of August, and the negotiations in London had
advanced considerably, but in no very satisfactory manner for Sir
John. The post had just arrived, and I had found my Lady Erskine deep
in her letters, from which she very obligingly read me some extracts.
The situation certainly gave rise to much anxiety. In spite of Sir
David Dalrymple’s verdict, the Ministers had been advised by their own
lawyers to ignore the Scottish law of mines as to confiscature, so that
our hopes in that direction were undermined; and as each party, King,
Ministers, and Commons worked secretly in the matter, it seemed that
much time would be lost before any decision could be come to.
“Dear madam,” cried I, in response to my lady’s remarks, “does not Mr.
Campbell still have hope that it may turn to Sir John’s benefit? He has
not lost heart, and why should we? He is determined to fight for it,
and with the help of Mr. Erskine and Doctor Robin, may we not hope that
something will be done?”
“My heart is very heavy,” she sighed, “and oh, the time is long--long!
If I had but the assurance, Barbara, that my dear life would be
restored to me safe and sound, I would almost consent to give them the
information they desire, and let them do their worst. The absence of
Sir John is still the bitterest part of all.”
“Courage, dear cousin!” I whispered, kneeling down beside her and
encircling her with my arms, for the look in her eyes smote my heart,
and I knew that I had no real comfort to give her. “Be patient a little
longer and brave, madam, I pray.”
“The many difficulties that lie in our path keep recurring to my mind,”
she said, rousing herself a little, “and I go over them to myself
again and again. We know now that, in spite of all Mr. Campbell’s
care, the Scots law of mines is to go for naught. The Government is
eagerly anxious to make Sir John an outlaw, and lay hands on all his
belongings. They are determined to send down the commission to see
what is in the matter, and thereby we incur great danger; ‘for,’ says
Patrick Campbell, ‘if they find nothing where they imagine mountains
of silver, they will be very angry, and say there is no reason why Sir
John should get his pardon, seeing he has nothing to give in return;
if, on the other hand, they stumble on something of value, scruples
will at once be raised--why should it not all be seized and made use
of in payment of the public debts? The ministers fear the clamour of
the House of Commons in these days, and there are signs that my Lord
Townshend is not so secure as he thinks.’ You see, Barbara, Sir John is
‘between the devil and the deep sea,’ as the saying is, and nothing is
less certain now than his pardon.”
I held my peace, depressed beyond measure by what I had heard.
“On the other hand,” she went on, “there are other difficulties which
arise in my mind, knowing my dear husband as I do. Suppose the Prince
of Wales prevails with his father to grant the remission, and the
latter makes conditions too hard for Sir John to accept, what then? We
are in a worse hole than before. Were they to insist upon his taking
the oath of allegiance to King George, and renouncing all interest in
his rightful King; or worse still, were they to question him in the
hope of his turning spy, I am perfectly certain that Sir John would
refuse to accept anything at their hands, and prefer rather to live and
die an exile.”
“And _you_ would rather that he did so, madam,” cried I.
“Oh, without doubt, my dear, I would. I could not ask him to stain his
honour, however much I should benefit. But can you wonder, child, that
my heart is sore, thinking of all that may lie before us? Sir John is
not a very young man, and my boys are ever in my thoughts.”
And with that she left me, going upstairs as I suspected to her
praying-closet, where she was wont to seek comfort and help in all her
troubles.
* * * * *
I will now tell you briefly of what took place at London, without
waiting to describe the way in which each item of news reached us. The
summer was nearly over, and it was fully a year since the beginning of
that unlucky affair, which had brought nothing but loss and woe to so
many. The unfortunate prisoners still lay in their dungeons, and from
time to time we heard sorrowful tales of sickness and deaths among
them. It had been decided, in a quite illegal way, that the Scots
prisoners were to be tried at Carlisle in the autumn, chiefly, as we
all knew, because no Scots jury could be trusted to condemn them;
and this action greatly increased the rage and discontent against
the Government, for all parties throughout the country acknowledged
its injustice. Many blameless people were suffering privation, and
bereavement, and bitter loss, and the state of our poor country was
truly to be deplored. One piece of comfort my lady had, for old Colonel
Erskine and his son, though still in the Fleet were, owing to the
kindness of their friends, in good heart and fair health. Great hopes
were held out of their final delivery (which indeed took place a couple
of months later), seeing that nothing could be found against them.
We were made anxious about this time by hearing that our little
favourite, Lordy Erskine, was laid down with the small-pox, from which
both his stepmother and her little daughter were suffering. He was
indeed a most attractive child, and it was with great relief that
we heard in good time of his complete recovery. And here I think I
must tell you of Tommy’s spirited reply to General Stanhope, which,
though you may have forgotten it, was much quoted at the time among
his friends. When the Secretary one day, some weeks before the Earl of
Mar left Scotland, was visiting Westminster School, his eye lighted
on my young lord, and, being struck by his charming appearance, he
inquired whose son he was. On being told, he went up to the boy, and
asked him some questions as to how his studies were progressing. Tommy
replied modestly, “Indifferently well.” Whereupon Mr. Stanhope, with
what I must confess was very questionable taste, hoped that whatever my
Lord Erskine learned at school, he would learn not to be a Rebel like
his father. At that Tommy put his hands on his sides, and looking the
General steadily in the face, said boldly, “Let me remind you, sir,
that it is not yet decided _who_ are the Rebels!”
As his aunt, Lady Jean, remarked when telling us the story, the
Government might deprive him of his estates, but they could not rob him
of his good sense and ready wit.
* * * * *
The “Process of Outlawry” against Sir John was suddenly checked by
the consideration that, although the Commissioners were sent to Alva,
they might easily fail in their quest without the assistance of the
owner. Mr. Campbell had taken care to enlarge upon Sir John’s wide and
intimate knowledge of mining affairs, and indeed at that time he was
one of the few gentlemen in Britain who had made the subject a matter
of study. Having worked the coal upon his estate, and discovered the
Silver Mine for himself, it was given out that he knew more of the
geological conditions of the Ochil Range than any man living, and it
occurred to Lord Townshend that to quarrel with the man that possessed
such valuable knowledge was not the wisest policy; in fact, it might
be compared to the folly of killing the goose that laid the golden
eggs. He therefore, after consulting with the Prince of Wales--the
King himself having gone over to Hanover on a holiday--sent for Mr.
Campbell, and after some preliminaries, suggested that the best thing
for all concerned was to persuade Sir John to return to Scotland to
conduct the business himself. Mr. Campbell, always anxious to gain
time, and to make things sure before committing his friends, said he
would be obliged to lay the matter before Mr. Erskine, whom he was
expecting immediately to visit him at London. My lord thereupon begged
that Mr. Erskine be persuaded to call upon him on his arrival, to which
proposition Mr. Campbell, nothing loth, agreed.
My lady, in the midst of her anxiety, was amused to learn that when Mr.
Erskine was introduced to the Secretary that gentleman asked him point
blank what information he could give about his brother’s Mine. But the
future Lord Justice Clerk was too good a lawyer to fall into so simple
a trap. He answered very firmly that, as he understood the disclosure
of that affair was to be made the condition of some favour shown to Sir
John, until he was assured of the extent and certainty of the benefit,
he must beg to be excused from giving them any information. This reply,
which was only what might have been expected, threw the Minister back
to where he had been; so after much consultation and discussion, it
was at last agreed that the Prince of Wales should grant a protection
to Sir John for his return to Britain, at the same time writing to the
King in Hanover for a warrant for his pardon, which would be delivered
to him, signed and sealed, upon his presenting himself to Lord
Townshend. Mr. Erskine and Mr. Campbell were at great pains to have
the conditions made as plain as possible, for, they affirmed, it would
be useless to expect Sir John to take oaths, or to give information
against his inclination. A promise was then made that full discovery of
the Mine was all that would be required of him, and my Lord Townshend
suggested that a letter to this effect be intrusted to Sir Harry
Stirling, and that he should set out forthwith to find his uncle and
lay the matter before him.
We were all now able to breathe a little more freely, though our
anxieties were by no means at an end. For close upon this came the
news, that in spite of the promises of the Prince and the Minister,
the Commissioners were still to be sent to spy out the land, and by no
means would they be delayed until Sir John could send a reply. This
excess of zeal was attributed to Haldane of Gleneagles, and as you can
imagine, it did not tend to increase my lady’s love for that gentleman.
However, backed by his friends in the House of Commons, Gleneagles was
like to win his way, which prospect filled us with fear and trouble, as
there was no saying what the result would be, should the Commissioners
reach Alva before Sir John landed at London, and had his pardon in his
hand.
Sir Isaac Newton was now approached, it being suggested that he should
himself head the party of inquiry, and make investigation of the mines.
But fortunately as it turned out, this wise and learned man raised
objections to this scheme, affirming that as he was not skilled in such
matters he would be of little use, and suggesting rather that someone
bred up to that kind of work be sent instead of him. He spoke of the
King’s Silver Mines in Hanover, and gave it as his opinion that an
expert from that country should be chosen. This meeting with general
approval, an express was despatched abroad to summon one, Dr. Justus
Brandshagen, who was said to be a skilled engineer of mines.
This news enraged my Lady Erskine to such a degree that she could not
contain her wrath, and as I was equally angry, we stormed together for
several minutes till our feelings were somewhat relieved.
“And who,” she cried with fine scorn, pointing to Mr. Campbell’s
letter, “who do you suppose is appointed guide and assistant to this
German miner? Who, but our good friend and late trusty servant, Mr.
James Hamilton!”
“Oh, madam,” cried I aghast, “’tis little short of an outrage! How will
that man ever be able to look at you again? How dare he show his face
within twenty miles of Alva? This indeed might be called adding insult
to injury. I, for one, will never speak to him again.”
“Alas! Barbara,” said my lady, with tears of anger in her eyes, “’tis
but the fulfilment of all his hopes, the clear result of all his
scheming. For money he betrayed us, for money he will return, and I
doubt not he will be able to brazen it out, and even to justify his
conduct in the eyes of some people.”
An urgent letter was that day despatched to Mr. Erskine, begging him as
he valued my lady’s friendship and his brother’s welfare, to lose no
time in setting out for Holland, and having found Sir John (for we had
not yet heard of his meeting with Sir Harry Stirling) to urge him with
all the fervour and eloquence in his power to make no delay, but return
at once to England, and secure the favour promised to him. How short
a time lay before him none could tell, but it would be a monstrous
wrong, now that the longed-for boon lay so near his grasp, to let it
fail them through any lack of care. Should Sir John refuse to listen to
reason, there was still the help of Doctor Robin and his master to fall
back upon. “But oh,” she wrote, “do all you can to persuade him (and
it’s _you_ that have the golden tongue) to listen to our wishes in the
matter.”
A speedy reply was returned to her, saying that Mr. Erskine was on the
eve of starting for the Hague, and assuring her that she might have
full confidence in his endeavours, seeing that in this, his wishes
jumped with her own. It showed the more devotion to his brother’s case,
that Mr. Erskine had left his young wife at Tinwald in a delicate
condition, and indeed she was brought to bed of her eldest son, while
her husband was still abroad.
* * * * *
Nothing now was to be done but to await results, and all our minds were
occupied by the question as to which should arrive first: Sir John in
London to claim his pardon, or the Commissioners at Alva to make their
investigations.
In this matter I have always believed that Providence interfered in
our behalf, and my lady, I know, agreed with me, for as we learned
afterwards, when Dr. Brandshagen (how we hated the poor man’s name,
though no blame attached to him,) was at last ready to set out
for Scotland, having been delayed at London waiting for money and
instructions, at first it took him five days to find a ship that would
carry him and his effects to Leith, and when he sailed on the 20th of
September, he encountered such tempestuous weather, that he was three
weeks and two days on the way. Twice were they overtaken by storms,
in which they lost a mast each time, and thrice were they driven upon
sand-banks, so that it was not till the 15th of October that he arrived
in Edinburgh, where he had a conference with the Earl of Lauderdale,
John Haldane of Gleneagles, and a friend of the latter, Mr. Drummond.
But by that time, I am glad to say, it was too late for the mischief
they were meditating, as I shall show you in the next chapter.
My lady wrote frequently to her husband during those trying weeks,
but most if not all of her letters miscarried, for the last remaining
one in the packet is a hasty fragment which I give you here. Short
as it is, it serves to show you the state of the poor lady’s mind at
this time, her one thought being the consent of Sir John to the terms
proposed, and her fear that it would not be given in time.
LETTER XIX
Dr. Sr.
Amond bids me tell you she had yours of the 25th of August, but
she regretes Ashton has not yet met with Sr. Harry S--g. He is yet
in quest of him, and she hops you will both accept of the proffers
that’s made, and soon let your friends know that you doe so. There
is people soon to be sent down in quest, and if it were possible you
could be here, it’s more in your power to manage with respect to the
Garden than any other mortall.... I shall writ all to Duncan and Key,
who will be more fit to advise you, for they seem not to be out of
hope of getting the pardon expected as soon as your answer comes. The
friends here say otherwise, and think H--y is gone to diswade you.
There must be no delay in the case as you regard your interest, but
be directed in the way and manner by Key and Duncan. God preserve and
direct you.
Our friends in the Fleet, I have good reason to think, will be safe,
but those here seem to have bitter things before them.... I am sorry
you have not got all my letters, but Ashton’s is a great consolation
in the midst of different troubles. Your children are well.
Dearest Creatur, let us have your answer soon, for these creatures
will be down in eight or ten days, and what I shall doe, God knows! I
am in great hast at present, but shall be more full next post.
So Dear, Adieu.