While all this was doing in England, in a quiet corner of Scotland a little cloud was rising, which had increased to goodly proportions by the 6th of September, when Lord Mar unfurled in Braemar the standard of King James the Third. On the 13th of November were fought the battles of Sheriffmuir and Prestonpans; and on the 22nd of December, a little group of seven men landed at Peterhead, one of whom was the royal exile, now generally known as the Chevalier de St. George. On the 7th of January 1716, he reached the ancient Palace of his forefathers at Scone; but by the 30th his cause was lost, and he retreated on Montrose, whence, on the 4th of February, quitting his native land, he returned to France. The vengeance taken was terrible. Head after head fell upon the scaffold, and the throne of the House of Hanover was established only in a sea of blood. On the evening of the 8th of March, the family at Ashcliffe were gathered in the parlor. The Squire was playing draughts with Harry, the ladies working, and Charley and Lucy engaged in the mutual construction of an elaborate work of art. "Sea-coal any cheaper yet, Mother?" asked the Squire. "Not yet," said Madam Passmore. "Monstrous dear, is it not?" inquired Harry. "Nothing to what it was in my young days," answered his father. "Forty or fifty years ago, at the time of the Dutch war, charcoals went up to one hundred and ten shillings the chaldron, and those were lucky who could get them even at that price." "Was not that about the time of the Great Plague?" "Yes--two or three years later." "Then you remember the Plague, Father?" "Remember it!" said the Squire, leaning back in his chair and neglecting his draughts. "Men don't forget such a thing as that in a hurry, my lad. Aye, I remember it." "But there was no plague here, was there?" "Not just in this village; but well-nigh all communication was stopped between Tavistock and Exeter, and in the King's highway the grass was growing. It was awful at Tavistock. The town was shut up and declared in a state of siege, and none allowed to approach nearer than three miles. Watchmen were appointed, the only men permitted to hold communication with the infected town; and when any provisions were needed, they made proclamation, and the neighboring villages brought such things as they asked to the high ground above Merrivale Bridge, where the cordon was drawn." "And how did they pay for their provisions?" "A pitful of vinegar was dug there, in some hole in Dartmoor,[4] and the money dropped into it. None in healthy places were allowed to touch money coming from infected places without that provision." "Surely money could not carry the infection?" "Money! aye, or anything else. You have scarce a notion how little would carry it. Harry, lad, throw another log on the fire; 'tis mightily cold." Harry obeyed orders, resumed his seat, and the game between him and his father proceeded for a few minutes in silence.