his sword, and gazing on the fearful scene around him, apparently
overwhelmed with grief. General Hamilton, with a party of officers, was
advancing towards him. I looked again. They were slowly quitting the
field. And I continued my solitary flight."
Mrs. Telford, at the close of her son’s narrative, threw her arms around
his neck, and wept aloud. "My poor Thomas," she exclaimed, "grateful
should I be to the Lord, who hath spared you to return this day to your
home; but, oh! when I think on my noble Willie a captive in the hands of
these cruel, blood-thirsty men, my heart feels like to burst with its
load of sorrow; and, yet, what can I do to save him?"
"Mother," said Jeanie Irving, "for such you have been to me, do not
despair. A voice whispers in my heart that Willie will soon be
free—that he will yet live to bless and comfort us all. Do not give way
to grief, but trust in God, who, I feel assured, will grant the wishes
of our hearts in this matter."
"The widow—for such Mrs. Telford was—soothed and comforted by the
earnest assurances of the kind-hearted and hopeful maiden, embraced her
warmly, and blessed her for her dutiful resignation to the will of
Providence. But a high and noble purpose had filled the loving heart of
the simple Scottish girl; and it was the determination to free her lover
that caused her eye to sparkle, and her cheek to burn, with the sweet
anticipations of hope, as she dwelt on the triumph of obtaining her
lover’s pardon, even should she kneel at the feet of the Duke of
Monmouth to obtain it. Accordingly, at an early hour on the following
morning, when Mrs. Telford and her son were locked in the arms of
slumber, Jeanie Irving, acting on a previously adopted resolution, stole
gently from her couch and dressed herself hastily; then, kissing Mrs.
Telford silently on the forehead, she knelt down and prayed fervently
for guidance and protection during her absence; and, snatching a small
bundle of necessaries prepared over-night for her journey, and placing a
letter—informing Mrs. Telford of the step she was about to take—on the
table, she noiselessly opened the door, stood for one moment, while her
lips moved as if she was engaged in mental prayer, shut it slowly, and
departed. Having been informed by Thomas Telford that the prisoners were
to be taken to Edinburgh, thither Jeanie determined to proceed; but on
arriving at Linlithgow, she heard no tidings of their having passed that
way. Fearful lest some change had been made regarding their
destination, Jeanie Irving stood irresolute, not knowing what to do,
but, on second thoughts, she proceeded to the house of her aunt, a
sister of her mother, who resided in Linlithgow, there to await their
coming, lest something might have occurred to delay their progress.
Mrs. Johnstone—which was the name of her aunt—received her niece very
kindly; but on her expressing her surprise at seeing her enter so
unexpectedly, the long-sustained fortitude of Jeanie Irving gave way,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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