But there was still real danger in the North, for Mar had an overwhelming superiority of forces, and before the end of October he had the complete command of Scotland as far as the Forth. Argyle, desirous of confining the rebellion as much as possible to the north and east, attempted to hold the line of that river. Mar, to whom immediate success was everything, and who overrated the strength of his party in England, was desirous of crossing the Border as soon as possible, in order to rally the disaffected round him. He had now about 12,000 men with him, but these were poorly armed, and even this poor equipment was due to no care of Mar's, but to a gallant dash by the Master of Sinclair upon an English ship lying in the Forth. With these troops he would probably have been unable to have passed Argyle at Stirling, even if he had not been prevented from moving by the expected arrival of the Pretender. It was therefore determined that a detachment under Brigadier Mackintosh should be thrown across the Firth, and marched direct for England, while the main body should threaten and retain Argyle upon the upper river. The movement was well executed, and 1500 men passed over at a broad part of the estuary near North Berwick. They thence, after an ineffectual march upon Edinburgh, proceeded unopposed directly south to Kelso, as Argyle was kept from following them by Mar's movements. They were here joined by some horse under Lord Kenmure, and by a few English horsemen under Mr. Forster, with whom was Lord Derwentwater. One cause at least of the insurrection is clearly pointed out by a proclamation which was here issued, in which the chief stress was laid upon the foreign domination imposed upon the nation by the late Union. Some difficulty was found in persuading the Highlanders to cross the Border, and the march was directed therefore in a more westerly direction, following along the back of the Cheviots, and crossing into England near Longtown in the direction of Carlisle. Even in spite of this concession to their feelings, several hundreds of the Highlanders deserted, and the rest had to be tempted forward by a promise of pay. From Carlisle they marched up the valley of the Eden to Penrith, crossed the hills to Lancaster, where they were well received by the many Catholic families in the neighbourhood, and, foolishly leaving this strong place behind them, pushed on for Preston on the Ribble. Since entering England, the command-in-chief had devolved on Mr. Forster, and the insurgents knew that they were being followed by General Carpenter with between 2,000 and 3,000 men. Forster--a very inefficient commander--directed his attention only to the pursuing army, and discipline was much relaxed. On the 11th of November, General Wills was marching upon Preston northward from Wigan. To reach Preston he had to cross the Ribble by a bridge, and then pass upward along a lane which is described by Cromwell, in 1648,