"It was in the year 1445--that's not far short o' four hundred years
ago--ah! _tempus fugit_, which is a Latin quotation, my girl, from
Horace Walpole, I believe, an' signifies time and tide waits for no man;
that's what they calls a free translation, you must know; well, it was
in the winter o' 1445 that a certain Alexander Ogilvy of Inverquharity,
was chosen to act as Chief Justiciar in these parts--I suppose that
means a kind of upper bailiff, a sort o' bo's'n's mate, to compare great
things with small. He was set up in place of one o' the Lindsay family,
who, it seems, was rather extravagant, though whether his extravagance
lay in wearin' a beard (for he was called Earl Beardie), or in spendin'
too much cash, I can't take upon me for to say. Anyhow, Beardie refused
to haul down his colours, so the Ogilvys mustered their men and friends,
and the Lindsays did the same, and they went at it, hammer and tongs,
and fowt what ye may call the Battle of Arbroath, for it was close to
the old town where they fell to.
"It was a most bloody affair. The two families were connected with many
o' the richest and greatest people in the land, and these went to lend a
hand when they beat to quarters, and there was no end o' barbed horses,
as they call them--which means critters with steel spikes in their
noses, I'm told--and lots of embroidered banners and flags, though I
never heard that anyone hoisted the Union Jack; but, however that may
be, they fowt like bluejackets, for five hundred men were left dead on
the field, an' among them a lot o' the great folk.
"But I'm sorry to say that the Ogilvys were licked, though I say it that
shouldn't," continued the captain, with a sigh, as he relighted his
pipe. "Howsever,--
"`Never ventur', never win,
Blaze away an' don't give in,'
"As Milton remarks in his preface to the _Pilgrim's Progress_."
"True, captain," said the lieutenant, "and you know that he who fights
and runs away, shall live to fight another day."
"Leftenant," said the captain gravely, "your quotation, besides bein' a
kind o' desecration, is not applicable; 'cause the Ogilvys did _not_ run
away. They fowt on that occasion like born imps, an' they would ha'
certainly won the day, if they hadn't been, every man jack of 'em, cut
to pieces before the battle was finished."
"Well said, uncle," exclaimed Ruby, with a laugh. "No doubt the Ogilvys
would lick the Lindsays _now_ if they had a chance."
"I believe they would," said the lieutenant, "for they have become a
race of heroes since the great day of the Battle of Arbroath. No doubt,
Miss Gray," continued the lieutenant, turning to Minnie with an arch
smile, "no doubt you have heard of that more recent event, the
threatened attack on Arbroath by the French fire-eater, Captain Fall,
and the heroic part played on that occasion by an Ogilvy--an uncle, I am
told, of my good friend here?"
"I have heard of Captain Fall, of course," replied Minnie, "for it was
not many years before I was born that his visit took place, and Mrs
Brand has often told me of the consternation into which the town was
thrown by his doings; but I never heard of the deeds of the Ogilvy to
whom you refer."
"No? Now, that _is_ surprising! How comes it, captain, that you have
kept so silent on this subject?"
"'Cause it ain't true," replied the captain stoutly, yet with a peculiar
curl about the corners of his mouth, that implied something in the mind
beyond what he expressed with the lips.
"Ah! I see--modesty," said Lindsay. "Your uncle is innately modest,
Miss Gray, and never speaks of anything that bears the slightest
resemblance to boasting. See, the grave solemnity with which he smokes
while I say this proves the truth of my assertion. Well, since he has
never told you, I will tell yell myself. You have no objection,
captain?"
The captain sent a volume of smoke from his lips, and followed it up
with--"Fire away, shipmet."
The lieutenant, having drawn a few whiffs in order to ensure the
continued combustion of his pipe, related the following anecdote, which
is now matter of history, as anyone may find by consulting the archives
of Arbroath.
"In the year 1781, on a fine evening of the month of May, the seamen of
Arbroath who chanced to be loitering about the harbour observed a
strange vessel manoeuvring in the offing. They watched and commented on
the motions of the stranger with considerable interest, for the wary
skill displayed by her commander proved that he was unacquainted with
the navigation of the coast, and from the cut of her jib they knew that
the craft was a foreigner. After a time she took up a position, and
cast anchor in the bay, directly opposite the town.
"At that time we were, as we still are, and as it really appears likely
to me we ever shall be, at war with France; but as the scene of the war
was far removed from Arbroath, it never occurred to the good people that
the smell of powder could reach their peaceful town. That idea was
somewhat rudely forced upon them when the French flag was run up to the
mizzentop, and a white puff of smoke burst from the vessel, which was
followed by a shot, that went hissing over their heads, and plumped
right into the middle of the town!
"That shot knocked over fifteen chimney-pots and two weathercocks in
Market-gate, went slap through a house in the suburbs, and finally stuck
in the carcass of an old horse belonging to the Provost of the town,
which didn't survive the shock--the horse, I mean, not the Provost.
"It is said that there was an old gentleman lying in bed in a room of
the house that the shot went through. He was a sort of `hipped'
character, and believed that he could not walk, if he were to try ever
so much. He was looking quietly at the face of a great Dutch clock when
the shot entered and knocked the clock inside out, sending its contents
in a shower over the old gentleman, who jumped up and rushed out of the
house like a maniac! He was cured completely from that hour. At least,
so it's said, but I don't vouch for the truth of the story.
"However, certain it is that the shot was fired, and was followed up by
two or three more; after which the Frenchman ceased firing, and a boat
was seen to quit the side of the craft, bearing a flag of truce.
"The consternation into which the town was thrown is said to have been
tremendous."
"That's false," interrupted the captain, removing his pipe while he
spoke. "The word ain't appropriate. The men of Arbroath doesn't know
nothin' about no such word as `consternation.' They was _surprised_, if
ye choose, an' powerfully enraged mayhap, but they wasn't consternated
by no means."
"Well, I don't insist on the point," said the lieutenant, "but
chroniclers write so--
"Chroniclers write lies sometimes," interrupted the captain curtly.
"Perhaps they do; but you will admit, I dare say, that the women and
children were thrown into a great state of alarm."
"I'm not so sure of that," interposed Ruby. "In a town where the men
were so bold, the women and children would be apt to feel very much at
their ease. At all events, I am acquainted with _some_ women who are
not easily frightened."
"Really, I think it is not fair to interrupt the story in this way,"
said Minnie, with a laugh.
"Right, lass, right," said the captain. "Come, leftenant, spin away at
yer yarn, and don't ventur' too much commentary thereon, 'cause it's apt
to lead to error, an' ye know, as the poet says--
"`Errors in the heart breed errors in the brain,
An' these are apt to twist ye wrong again.'
"I'm not 'xactly sure o' the precise words in this case, but that's the
sentiment, and everybody knows that sentiment is everything in poetry,
whether ye understand it or not. Fire away, leftenant, an' don't be
long-winded if ye can help it."
"Well, to return to the point," resumed Lindsay. "The town was
certainly thrown into a tremendous state of _some_ sort, for the people
had no arms of any kind wherewith to defend themselves. There were no
regular soldiers, no militia, and no volunteers. Everybody ran wildly
about in every direction, not knowing what to do. There was no leader,
and, in short, the town was very like a shoal of small fish in a pool
when a boy wades in and makes a dash amongst them.
"At last a little order was restored by the Provost, who was a sensible
old man, and an old soldier to boot, but too infirm to take as active a
part in such an emergency as he would have done had he been a dozen
years younger. He, with several of the principal men of the town, went
down to the beach to receive the bearers of the flag of truce.
"The boat was manned by a crew of five or six seamen, armed with
cutlasses and arquebusses. As soon as its keel grated on the sand a
smart little officer leaped ashore, and presented to the Provost a
letter from Captain Fall, which ran somewhat in this fashion:--
"`At Sea, _May twenty-third_.
"`Gentlemen,--I send these two words to inform you, that I will have you
to bring-to the French colour in less than a quarter of an hour, or I
set the town on fire directly. Such is the order of my master, the King
of France, I am sent by. Send directly the Mair and chiefs of the town
to make some agreement with me, or I'll make my duty. It is the will of
yours,--G. FALL.
"`To Monsieur Mair of the town called Arbrought, or in his absence to
the chief man after him in Scotland.'
"On reading this the Provost bowed respectfully to the officer, and
begged of him to wait a few minutes while he should consult with his
chief men. This was agreed to, and the Provost said to his friends, as
he walked to a neighbouring house--
"`Ye see, freens, this whipper-snapper o' a tade-eater has gotten the
whup hand o' us; but we'll be upsides wi' him. The main thing is to get
delay, so cut away, Tam Cargill, and tak' horse to Montrose for the
sodgers. Spare na the spur, lad, an' gar them to understan' that the
case is urgent.'
"While Tam Cargill started away on his mission, the Provost, whose chief
aim was to gain time and cause delay, penned an epistle to the
Frenchman, in which he stated that he had neglected to name the terms on
which he would consent to spare the town, and that he would consider it
extremely obliging if he would, as speedily as possible, return an
answer, stating them, in order that they might be laid before the chief
men of the place."
"When the Provost, who was a grave, dignified old man, with a strong
dash of humour in him, handed this note to the French officer, he did so
with a humble obeisance that appeared to afford much gratification to
the little man. As the latter jumped into the boat and ordered the men
to push off, the Provost turned slowly to his brother magistrates with a
wink and a quiet smile that convulsed them with suppressed laughter, and
did more to encourage any of the wavering or timid inhabitants than if
he had harangued them heroically for an hour.
"Some time after the boat returned with a reply, which ran thus:--
"`At Sea, _eight o'clock in the Afternoon_.'
"`Gentlemen,--I received just now your answer, by which you say I ask no
terms. I thought it was useless, since I asked you to come aboard for
agreement. But here are my terms:--I will have 30,000 pounds sterling
at least, and six of the chiefs men of the town for otage. Be speedy,
or I shot your town away directly, and I set fire to it. I am,
gentlemen, your servant,--G. FALL.
"`I sent some of my crew to you, but if some harm happens to them,
you'll be sure we'll hang up the mainyard all the prisoners we have
aboard.
"`To Monsieurs the chiefs men of Arbrought in Scotland.'
"I'm not quite certain," continued the lieutenant, "what were the exact
words of the Provost's reply to this letter, but they conveyed a
distinct and contemptuous refusal to accede to any terms, and, I
believe, invited Fall to come ashore, where, if he did not get precisely
what he had asked, he would be certain to receive a great deal more than
he wanted.
"The enraged and disappointed Frenchman at once began a heavy fire upon
the town, and continued it for a long time, but fortunately it did
little or no harm, as the town lay in a somewhat low position, and
Fall's guns being too much elevated, the shot passed over it.
"Next day another letter was sent to the Provost by some fishermen, who
were captured while fishing off the Bell Rock. This letter was as
tremendous as the two former. I can give it to you, word for word, from
memory.
"`At Sea, _May_ 24th.'
"`Gentlemen,--See whether you will come to some terms with me, or I come
in presently with my cutter into the arbour, and I will cast down the
town all over. Make haste, because I have no time to spare. I give you
a quarter of an hour to your decision, and after I'll make my duty. I
think it would be better for you, gentlemen, to come some of you aboard
presently, to settle the affairs of your town. You'll sure no to be
hurt. I give you my parole of honour. I am your, G. FALL.'
"When the Provost received this he looked round and said, `Now,
gentlemen all, we'll hae to fight. Send me Ogilvy.'
"`Here I am, Provost,' cried a stout, active young fellow; something
like what the captain must have been when he was young, I should think!"
"Ahem!" coughed the captain.
"Well," continued Lindsay, "the Provost said, `Now, Ogilvy, you're a
smart cheel, an' ken aboot war and strategy and the like: I charge ye to
organise the men o' the toon without delay, and tak' what steps ye think
adveesable. Meanwhile, I'll away and ripe oot a' the airms and guns I
can find. Haste ye, lad, an' mak' as muckle noise aboot it as ye can.'
"`Trust me,' said Ogilvy, who appeared to have been one of those men who
regard a fight as a piece of good fun.
"Turning to the multitude, who had heard the commission given, and were
ready for anything, he shouted, `Now, boys, ye heard the Provost. I
need not ask if you are all ready to fight--'
"A deafening cheer interrupted the speaker, who, when it ceased,
proceeded--
"`Well, then, I've but one piece of advice to give ye: _Obey orders at
once_. When I tell ye to halt, stop dead like lampposts; when I say,
"Charge!" go at them like wild cats, and drive the Frenchmen into the
sea!' `Hurrah!' yelled the crowd, for they were wild with excitement
and rage, and only wanted a leader to organise them and make them
formidable. When the cheer ceased, Ogilvy cried, `Now, then, every man
who knows how to beat a kettledrum and blow a trumpet come here.'
"About twenty men answered to the summons, and to these Ogilvy said
aloud, in order that all might hear, `Go, get you all the trumpets,
drums, horns, bugles, and trombones in the town; beat the drums till
they split, and blow the bugles till they burst, and don't give in till
ye can't go on. The rest of you,' he added, turning to the crowd, `go,
get arms, guns, swords, pistols, scythes, pitchforks, pokers--any thing,
everything--and meet me at the head of Market-gate--away!'
"No king of necromancers ever dispersed his legions more rapidly than
did Ogilvy on that occasion. They gave one final cheer, and scattered
like chaff before the wind, leaving their commander alone, with a select
few, whom he kept by him as a sort of staff to consult with and despatch
with orders.
"The noise that instantly ensued in the town was something
pandemoniacal. Only three drums were found, but tin kettles and pans
were not wanting, and these, superintended by Hugh Barr, the town
drummer, did great execution. Three key-bugles, an old French horn, and
a tin trumpet of a mail-coach guard, were sounded at intervals in every
quarter of the town, while the men were marshalled, and made to march
hither and thither in detached bodies, as if all were busily engaged in
making preparations for a formidable defence.
"In one somewhat elevated position a number of men were set to work with
spades, picks, and shovels, to throw up an earthwork. When it had
assumed sufficiently large dimensions to attract the attention of the
French, a body of men, with blue jackets, and caps with bits of red
flannel hanging down the sides, were marched up behind it at the double,
and posted there.
"Meanwhile Ogilvy had prepared a dummy field piece, by dismounting a
cart from its wheels and fixing on the axle a great old wooden pump, not
unlike a big gun in shape; another cart was attached to this to
represent a limber; four horses were harnessed to the affair; two men
mounted these, and, amid a tremendous flourish of trumpets and beating
of drums, the artillery went crashing along the streets and up the
eminence crowned by the earthwork, where they wheeled the gun into
position.
"The artillerymen sprang at the old pump like true Britons, and began to
sponge it out as if they had been bred to gunnery from childhood, while
the limber was detached and galloped to the rear. In this operation the
cart was smashed to pieces, and the two hindmost horses were thrown; but
this mattered little, as they had got round a corner, and the French did
not see it.
"Fall and his brave men seem to have been upset altogether by these
warlike demonstrations, for the moment the big gun made its appearance
the sails were shaken loose, and the French privateer sheered off;
capturing as he left the bay, however, several small vessels, which he
carried off as prizes to France. And so," concluded the lieutenant,
"Captain Fall sailed away, and never was heard of more."
"Well told; well told, leftenant," cried the captain, whose eyes
sparkled at the concluding account of the defensive operations, "and
true every word of it."
"That's good testimony to my truthfulness, then," said Lindsay,
laughing, "for you were there yourself!"
"There yourself, uncle?" repeated Minnie, with a glance of surprise that
quickly changed into a look of intelligence, as she exclaimed, with a
merry laugh, "Ah! I see. It was _you_, uncle, who did it all; who
commanded on that occasion--"
"My child," said the captain, resuming his pipe with an expression of
mild reproof on his countenance, "don't go for to pry too deep into
things o' the past. I _may_ have been a fire-eater once--I _may_ have
been a gay young feller as could--; but no matter. Avast musin'! As
Lord Bacon says--
"`The light of other days is faded,
An' all their glory's past;
My boots no longer look as they did,
But, like my coat, are goin' fast.'
"But I say, leftenant, how long do you mean to keep pullin' about here,
without an enemy, or, as far as I can see, an object in view? Don't you
think we might land, and let Minnie see some of the caves?"
"With all my heart, captain, and here is a convenient bay to run the
boat ashore."
As he spoke the boat shot past one of those bold promontories of red
sandstone which project along that coast in wild picturesque forms,
terminating in some instances in detached headlands, elsewhere in
natural arches. The cliffs were so close to the boat that they could
have been touched by the oars, while the rocks, rising to a considerable
height, almost overhung them. Just beyond this a beautiful bay opened
up to view, with a narrow strip of yellow shingle round the base of the
cliffs, which here lost for a short distance their rugged character,
though not their height, and were covered with herbage. A zigzag path
led to the top, and the whole neighbourhood was full of ocean-worn coves
and gullies, some of them dry, and many filled with water, while others
were filled at high tide, and left empty when the tides fell.
"O how beautiful! and what a place for smugglers!" was Minnie's
enthusiastic exclamation on first catching sight of the bay.
"The smugglers and you would appear to be of one mind," said Ruby, "for
they are particularly fond of this place."
"So fond of it," said the lieutenant, "that I mean to wait for them here
in anticipation of a moonlight visit this night, if my fair passenger
will consent to wander in such wild places at such late hours, guarded
from the night air by my boat-cloak, and assured of the protection of my
stout boatmen in case of any danger, although there is little prospect
of our meeting with any greater danger than a breeze or a shower of
rain."
Minnie said that she would like nothing better; that she did not mind
the night air; and, as to danger from men, she felt that she should be
well cared for in present circumstances.
As she uttered the last words she naturally glanced at Ruby, for Minnie
was of a dependent and trusting nature; but as Ruby happened to be
regarding her intently, though quite accidentally, at the moment, she
dropped her eyes and blushed.
It is wonderful the power of a little glance at times. The glance
referred to made Ruby perfectly happy. It conveyed to him the assurance
that Minnie regarded the protection of the entire boat's crew, including
the lieutenant, as quite unnecessary, and that she deemed his single arm
all that she required or wanted.
The sun was just dipping behind the tall cliffs, and his parting rays
were kissing the top of Minnie's head as if they positively could not
help it, and had recklessly made up their mind to do it, come what
might!