Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1842-02-05

possessed ofa well-ri,anaged paltrey, on whose
speed and other good qualities she ilad beeh ac-
customed 10 depend On the morning after
she had bid her father farewell, long ere the in
Inhabitants OF Edinburg were astir, she found
herself many niles on the road to the borders.
She had taken care to attire herself in a man.
ner which corresponded with the design Of pas.
sing herself off fol- young serving-woman
journeying on a borrowed horse'to the house of
her mother in a distant part Of the country
and by only resting et solitary cottages, where
she generally found the family out at work,
save perhaps an old woman or some children,
she had the good fortune on the second day
after leaving Elinburg, to reach in safety the
abode OF her old nurse, who lived on the Eng
llsh side Of the Tweed. four miles beyond the
town Of Berwick In this woinah she knew
she could place implicit confidence, and to her,
therefore, revealed her secret. She had resol
we'd she said, to make an attempt TO save her
fathers life, by stopping the posman, an
equestrian like herself and forcing to deliver
up h,s bags, in which she expected to fluid the
ton may appear in delicate young woman,
especially five consider tha, she was aware
of the arms always carried by the man to whose
charge the mail was committed, it is neverthe-
less an rndoub,ed fact that such was her re-
solve In pursuance of this design she had
brought with her brace OF pistols, together
with horscmans CLOAK, ted up in bundle,
ard hung on the crutch Of her saddle; ard now
borrowed from hcr ncrse Tie attire ofhe foster.
brother, which, as he was Il slight made lad,
ened her reasonably well.
At that period, ali those appliances which at
this DAY accelerate the progress Of the traveller
were unknown, ami the mail from London,
which now arrives in forty-two hours, took
eight days in reaching the Scottish capitol.
Miss Cochrane thus calculated on delay Of
sixteen or seventeen days in the execution Of
her fathers sentence-a space oftime which
she deemed amply sufficient to give fair trial
to the treaty set on foot for his liberation. She
had by means which it is unnecessary here to
detail, possessed herself Of the most minute
information with regard to the places at which
the postmen rested on their journey, one of
which was small public house, kept by a wi
dow woman on the outskirts Of The little town
of Bedford. There the man who received the
bag at Durham was accustomed TO arrive about
SIX o'clock in the morning, and take few hours
repose before proceeding on his Journey. In
pursuance of the plan laid down by Miss Coch-
ranc, she arrived at this inn about an hour af-
ter the man had composed himself TO sleep, in
the hope of being able, by the exercise of her
Wit and drxerIty, to ease him of his charge.
Having put her horse into tho stable, which
was duty that devolved on the guests at this
little change house, from its mistress having
no ostler, she entered the cnlv apartment which
the house afforded, and demanded some refresh.
ment. sit Down at the end Of the table said
the old woman for the best hsve 10 give you
is there already; and be pleased my bony man
to make as little noise as We can, for there's
one asleep in tha, bed that Ike i'll TO disturb.
Miss CochraEe promises iairly and after at
tempting to cat some Z, the viands. which wprC
the remains Of the sleeping mans meal, sh,
asked FOX eume cold water. 'Whet, saia ihc
old dame, as she handed it TO her, 'yc are
water-drinker, are yel It's but an i'll custom
for change-house. Il am aware Of that re
piled her guest, and, therefore, when in pub
lie honse, always pay for il the price Of tn,
stronger potaton, which ] cannot take In
deed-weil that is but just, Responded the dame
and think lhe more ofyoc FIR such reasonabl,
conduct rs the well where you get this wa
ter nea. AZ hand = said the young lady for
you will take the trouble to bring me SOM
from it, az this is rather warm il shall be consi
D dered in the lawlng.' II IS good bit of,
5 SAID the woman but cannot refuse 70 fetcl
: some for such ciyil discreet lad, and vii, b
| as quick as l can But for any sake, take car
and don't meddle with these pistols she con
c tinned, pointing to apair Of pistu.s on the ia
: bic, for they are loaded and am always terri
fed 70, them Saying this, slre disappeared
i and Miss Cochfanc, who would have con
trived some other errand For her had the vel
been near, no sooner saw the door shut, thai
b she passed, with trembling eegernesa, and
t cautions but rapid step across the floor, to ,h
!, place where the man lay soundly sleeping il
a one Of thcsc rlose wooden Setsteads common
r in the houses oithe poor, the ddoe Of which wa
y lett half open 10 admit the air, and which sh
g opened still wider, in the hope Of seeing III
J, mailbag, and being sble to seize upon II. Bu