The Enemy, finding that they could not come up with us, resolved, though very ungenerously to their own party, to endeavour to raise the inhabitants of the towns through which we had to pass against us, by spreading false reports, that the Prince’s Army had been entirely defeated, and that nothing remained for them but to exert themselves like good subjects, and to suffer none of the fugitives to escape. This report was believed in many of the towns: great rejoicings were made, and every man thought himself capable of knocking out a Rebel’s brains with a club or a staff. Then you might see heroic valour displayed among cocks that never crowed but among hens upon their own dunghill. But the malicious expectations of our enemies were disappointed; and what they had contrived for our ruin redounded much to our profit. Notwithstanding the mildness of the Prince during the march of his army through England, and though he had suffered no one to be oppressed, we heard betwixt Derby and Manchester, that the latter town had made great rejoicing, and had raised some men to stop us: but we soon made these mighty heroes tremble, and the town pay for their rash determination for entering regularly and triumphantly, we shewed them we were not the people they took us for, and convinced them, that our situation was not so bad as had been falsely reported. Every one therefore, vexed to the very heart at being so deceived, began to lay upon the mob the fault of what had happened, and the Mob on the Heads of the Place, so that discord and confusion arose among them. The Piper, however was well paid for their dancing; for it cost them five thousand pounds Sterling--scarcely a sufficient atonement for their malice.[402] Here I cannot pass by mentioning a barbarous deed perpetrated before we came to Manchester which shewed the innate cruelty of our enemies on the one hand, and our clemency on the other. A young English lad, who had joined the Prince, being somewhat before the army, had through weariness laid himself down to rest under a hedge, and fallen fast asleep. He was soon perceived by a woman and her boy: and this cruel fiend immediately determined to murder him as he lay sleeping like a lamb, conscious of no harm; she accordingly with the assistance of her son cut the poor young man’s throat. The army coming up soon after, we espied the mangled body in that shocking condition; and on searching the next house adjacent, we found a young boy in bed much besmeared with blood, and trembling, who confessed the fact, and said that his mother was the chief author of it. They were both taken into custody, and a report of the whole made to the Prince: but he was against their being put to death, so that by a wonderful clemency they escaped the just reward of their crime.