“There is but one,” said Allan M’Aulay;
“and here,” he said, laying his hand upon
the shoulder of Anderson, who stood behind Lord Menteith,
“here he stands!”
The general surprise of the meeting was expressed
by an impatient murmur; when Anderson, throwing back
the cloak in which his face was muffled, and stepping
forward, spoke thus:—“I did not long
intend to be a silent spectator of this interesting
scene, although my hasty friend has obliged me to
disclose myself somewhat sooner than was my intention.
Whether I deserve the honour reposed in me by this
parchment will best appear from what I shall be able
to do for the King’s service. It is a commission
under the great seal, to James Graham, Earl of Montrose,
to command those forces which are to be assembled
for the service of his Majesty in this kingdom.”
A loud shout of approbation burst from the assembly.
There was, in fact, no other person to whom, in point
of rank, these proud mountaineers would have been
disposed to submit. His inveterate and hereditary
hostility to the Marquis of Argyle insured his engaging
in the war with sufficient energy, while his well-known
military talents, and his tried valour, afforded every
hope of his bringing it to a favourable conclusion.
Our plot is a good plot
as ever was laid; our friends true and
constant: a good
plot, good friends, and full of expectation:
an excellent plot, very
good friends.—Henry IV Part I.
No sooner had the general acclamation of joyful surprise
subsided, than silence was eagerly demanded for reading
the royal commission; and the bonnets, which hitherto
each Chief had worn, probably because unwilling to
be the first to uncover, were now at once vailed in
honour of the royal warrant. It was couched in
the most full and ample terms, authorizing the Earl
of Montrose to assemble the subjects in arms, for
the putting down the present rebellion, which divers
traitors and seditious persons had levied against
the King, to the manifest forfaulture, as it stated,
of their allegiance, and to the breach of the pacification
between the two kingdoms. It enjoined all subordinate
authorities to be obedient and assisting to Montrose
in his enterprise; gave him the power of making ordinances
and proclamations, punishing misdemeanours, pardoning
criminals, placing and displacing governors and commanders.
In fine, it was as large and full a commission as any
with which a prince could intrust a subject.
As soon as it was finished, a shout burst from the
assembled Chiefs, in testimony of their ready submission
to the will of their sovereign. Not contented
with generally thanking them for a reception so favourable,
Montrose hastened to address himself to individuals,
The most important Chiefs had already been long personally
known to him, but even to those of inferior consequence
he now introduced himself and by the acquaintance he
displayed with their peculiar designations, and the
circumstances and history of their clans, he showed
how long he must have studied the character of the
mountaineers, and prepared himself for such a situation
as he now held.
