in the north of England, and deeply dipped in treason. Conscious of their guilt, and afraid that it would be impossible to elude the vigilance of the messengers sent in quest of them, these gentlemen determined that now was the time to show their loyalty to him whom they called their lawful king, James, and that it was much better to take arms and run all hazards, rather than that of being seized, carried off to London, subjected to a long imprisonment, a rigorous examination, and perhaps, brought inadvertently to betray one another.

In consequence of this determination, notice was sent to all their friends that were within reach, to meet in arms, October the sixth, at a place called Greenrig, in Northumberland, which was done accordingly, Mr. Thomas Forster, younger of Etherston, member of parliament for the county, being first upon the ground with about twenty followers. They made no stay at Greenrig, thinking it inconvenient, but proceeded immediately to the top of a hill, called the Waterfalls, whence they could descry at a considerable distance, any that might appear, either to join or to oppose them. They had scarcely ascended the hill, when they perceived the earl of Derwentwater, who had come that morning from his own house at Dilston, "with some friends, and all his servants well mounted, some upon coach, and others upon good country horses." He had called, as he came along, at the seat of Mr. Errington, where several gentlemen had appointed to meet him, which they did accordingly, and all went on together. They were now sixty in number, mostly gentlemen, and it was agreed that they should march to the river Coquett, to a place called Plain

Here they received a considerable accession of numbers, after which they proceeded to Rothbury, a small market town, where they took up their quarters for the night. Next morning, October the seventh, their number still increasing, they went on to Warkworth, a market town upon the sea coast, where, next day, Saturday the eighth, they were joined by lord Widdrington, with about thirty horse.

On Sabbath, Mr. Forster, who had now taken the title of general, sent Mr. Buxton, the Derbyshire clergyman, who had been one of the emissaries of the faction for bringing the rebels together and now acted as their chaplain, to the

clergyman of the place, Mr. Ion, with orders to omit in his prayers the usual names of "king George, the prince, and princess," and to substitute "the chevalier, James VIII., Mary, the queen mother, and all the dutiful branches of the royal family." Mr. Ion declining the honour intended for him, Mr. Buxton took possession of his pulpit, read the prayers according to his own mind, and preached to the no small encouragement of his hearers; "his sermon," says Patten, who was doubtless one of his auditors, "being full of exhortations, flourishing arguments, and cunning insinuations to be hearty and zealous in the cause; for he was a man of a comely personage, and could humour his discourse to induce his hearers to believe what he preached, having very good natural parts, and being pretty well read."* Mr. Ion, the regular clergyman of the place, in the meantime fled to Newcastle, where he gave information to the government of all that had taken place.

Monday, the tenth, they marched to Morpeth, and were joined, as they passed Felton bridge, by upwards of seventy Scotish horse; they had also before, been considerably increased at different places, so that when they entered Morpeth they were "three hundred strong, all cavalry, for they would receive no foot, else their numbers would have been very great."+ Before leaving Warkworth, Forster, in disguise, proclaimed the pretender king of these realms, by the name of James III., with all the formalities that place and circumstance would admit. The same thing was done at Morpeth, on the fifteenth, by Mr. Buxton, who acted as herald on the occasion, with the additional circumstance of inviting all sorts of persons, presbyterians excepted, to enter into his service with the promise of twelvepence per day.‡

Forster, upon taking up arms, had engaged Lancelot Errington, the master of a vessel at Newcastle, to surprise the small garrison upon the Holy Isle, which he designed to hold as a place for making signals to the friends of the cause from abroad, who were expected to be upon the coast im

* Patten's History of the Rebellion, p. 19. Bennet's Memorial, p. 408.

† Ibid. p. 30.

mediately, bringing along with them arms, officers, and ammunition. Here he learned that Errington had actually succeeded in his enterprise; but it was to no purpose, for the governor of Berwick having an immediate account of the circumstance, despatched a part of his garrison, who, crossing the sands at low water, retook the castle, taking prisoner Errington himself and several others, whom they carried to Berwick; whence, not long after, they made their escape.' Forster and his friends, unacquainted with Errington's reverse, were in high spirits, and promised themselves great things at Newcastle, which they now expected would open her gates to receive them. Meeting with no invitation, however, from their party there, the whole body turned a little to the westward and marched to Hexham, where they hoped to have a demonstration made in their favour by their friends in Newcastle. Here they were joined by some more troopers from Scotland, and marched to a muir adjoining to Dilston, the seat of lord Derwentwater, where they again halted, having still an eye upon Newcastle.

. The magistrates of that town having intelligence of their design, took such measures as effectually prevented them. They began by imprisoning all papists and suspected persons, and arming and encouraging the loyal inhabitants for their own defence; they also built up all the gates with stone and lime, excepting the bridge, and Brampton gate, in each of which they planted two pieces of cannon. Other pieces, they placed in convenient places, and the militia having mustered not far from the town, they got them in for their better defence. At the same time lord Scarborough, lord lieutenant of Northumberland, came in to aid and oversee their preparations, and the loyal gentlemen of these parts, emulating his example, mounted their tenants and neighbours on horseback, and repaired to his assistance, so that, in a short time, the town was full of horse and foot. Hotham's regiment of foot coming up on the ninth, and lord Cobham's dragoons on the twelfth, Forster abandoned his design, returned to Hexham, where he seized all the horses, arms, and

* Bennet's Memorial, p. 409.

ammunition he could find, and thence he despatched a messenger to the earl of Marr for assistance.*

But this insurrection had yet another fountain head, to which, it will be necessary also to attend. The viscount of Kenmure, having received a commission from the earl of Marr to marshal the friends of the pretender in the southern counties of Scotland, several of the disaffected nobility and gentry were drawn together upon the borders, and began to assemble in large parties at the houses of their friends, about the same time that the rising took place in Northumberland. These parties, in prosecution of their designs, kept moving about from place to place with great secrecy and circumspection. Their motions, however, excited suspicion, and on Saturday, October the eighth, when the people of Dumfries were assembled in the church, it being the preparation before the sacrament, Mr. Gilchrist, one of the magistrates, received a letter advising him of a plot laid by the Jacobites to surprise and take possession of the town next day in time of the sacrament. The magistrates, however, made no further use of this information than to double their guards, and all things remained peaceable. On Monday, the tenth, the inhabitants of the parishes of Tortherwald and Tinwald, having further intelligence of the enemy's design, put themselves in arms, and marched to Locherbridge Hill, whence they sent an express to Dumfries to acquaint the magistrates and Mr. Robison, the minister of Tinwald, who was there at the time, with an offer of their services to the town that night. This offer was declined, but they were requested to hold themselves in readiness whenever they should be called. Next day, a letter arrived from the lord justice clerk, which left no longer any room for doubt upon the subject. It was dated at Edinburgh, October the eighth, 1715, and of the following tenor:-" Sir, having good information that there is a design framed of rising in rebellion in the southern parts against his majesty and the government, I send this express to advise you thereof that you may be on your guard, for by what I can rely upon, their first attempt is to be suddenly upon your town. I heartily

Rae's History of the Rebellion, p. 243.

wish you may escape their intended visit, and am, &c. &c. Adam Cockburn."*

A consultation was immediately held by the magistrates and principal inhabitants on what was proper to be done; and the most prompt and vigorous measures were adopted for the safety of a place of so much importance to the government, as well as to the surrounding country. There being that day, a rendezvous at Leathsmuir of the fencible men of Kirkcudbright, it was resolved that a deputation should be sent to them requesting them to come into the town without loss of time. This deputation came too late to obtain the object in view, many of the men having gone off the ground before their arrival; but expresses were sent after them to all quarters, and the synod of Dumfries being met that day, the ministers belonging to the neighbourhood went out after sermon, and returned that same night with numbers of their parishioners in arms. Expresses were also sent to the loyal gentlemen in the neighbourhood, and the town was next day provided with a considerable body of armed men, all volunteers, from the several parishes of Nithsdale and Galloway, and many more were willing to come, had they only been provided with arms. The best spirit was indeed, every where apparent; the provost of Kirkcudbright set out from that place, with a company of foot, on the twelfth, in the morning, and arrived at Dumfries the same night, and even those who lived in the most remote parts of the country, and were latest in hearing the alarm, were in Dumfries within two days.

This rapid assembling of troops for the defence of Dumfries, was the more remarkable, that the Jacobites had sent their secret emissaries through the country in all directions, stating, in name of the public authorities, that there was to be no rendezvous of the men in arms, till the thirteenth. On the twelfth, the rebels intended to have been masters of the town, and so to have rendered the rendezvous of the loyal inhabitants on the following day unavailing.+ In pursuance of this plan, the lords Kenmure and Carnwath, on the night of Tuesday the eleventh, being informed of some arms that were

Rae's History of the Rebellion, p. 247.

† Ibid.

p. 249.