John Cheap, the Chapman's Library. Vol. 2: Religious and Scriptural: The Scottish Chap Literature of Last Century, ClassifiedGraham, Dougal
Religion
John Cheap, the Chapman's Library. Vol. 2: Religious and Scriptural: The Scottish Chap Literature of Last Century, Classified
Graham, Dougal
Chapbooks, Scottish; English literature -- 18th century; Popular literature -- Scotland
I seized the opportunity this moment offered to me of making a
movement to the left of the enemy to save my friend King and the
other prisoners.--We came in time to save them. Our sword speedily
severed the ropes which tyranny had bound on the arms of the men.
The weapons of the fallen foe supplied what was lacking of arms;
and with great vigour we moved forward to charge the enemy on
the left flank. Claverhouse formed a hollow square--himself in
the centre; his men fought gallantly; they did all that soldiers
could do in their situation. Wherever a gap was made, Clavers
thrust the men forward, and speedily filled it up. Three times he
rolled headlong on the heath as he hastened from rank to rank,
and as often he remounted. My little band thinned his ranks. He
paid us a visit. Here I distinctly saw the features and shape
of this far-famed man. He was small of stature, and not well
formed. His arms were long in proportion to his legs; he had a
complexion unusually dark; his features were not lighted up with
sprightliness, as some fabulously reported; they seemed gloomy as
hell: his cheeks were lank and deeply furrowed; his eye-brows were
drawn down and gathered into a kind of knot at their junctions,
and thrown up at their extremeties; they had, in short, the strong
expression given by our painters to those on the face of Judas
Iscariot, his eyes were hollow, they had not the lustre of genius
nor the fire of vivacity; they were lighted up by that dark fire
of wrath which is kindled and fanned by an internal anxiety, and
conciousness of criminal deeds; his irregular and large teeth
were presented through a smile, which was very unnatural on his
set of features; his mouth seemed to be unusually large from
the extremeties being drawn backward and downward--as if in the
intense application to something cruel and disgusting; in short,
his upper teeth projected over his under lip, and on the whole,
presented to my view the mouth on the image of the Emperor Julian
the Apostate.--In one of his rapid courses past us, my sword could
only shear off his white plumb and a fragment of his buff coat.
In a moment he was at the other side of the square. Our officers
eagerly sought a meeting with him. ‘He has the proof of lead,’
cried some of our men.--‘Take the cold steel or a piece of silver.’
‘No,’ cried Burley, ‘It is his rapid movement on that fine charger
that bids defiance to any thing like an aim in the tumult of the
bloody fray. I could sooner shoot ten heather cocks on the wing,
than one flying Clavers.’ At that moment Burley, whose eye watched
his antagonist, pushed into the hollow square. But Burley was too
impatient. His blow was levelled at him before he came within its
reach. His heavy sword descended on the head of Clavers’ horse
and felled him to the ground.--Burley’s men rushed pell-mell on
the fallen Clavers, but his faithful dragoons threw themselves
upon them, and by their overpowering force drove Burley back,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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