The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-01-18
The Whit8 COCk0d8.
By JAMES WORKMAN.
Copyright, 1857, by the S. s. NJ Clure Co

. Since, in the opinion Of all reasonable
me-. 40 further attempt IS ever likely
It. he made to place one or the stuart
family n the throne of Great Britain,
- least bv force of arms, l can now,
*vith6ut prejudice to any one, tell the
100 If the strange adventure which
Elrolcnt me face TO face for the first
fand last time with Charles Edward
zStuart. commonly known as the Young
Ipretender.
Late IN the afternoon of September
-o2. 175G. / received the following letter:
Dear Friendly the time this IS
splaced in your hands l shall be at sea
Ion my way to Antwerp. 1t is all over.
Hinder The name Of John Douglas the
@nrince has been in London for nearly a
Feek. ana nothing has come Of it. There
#s no prospect Of a rising. Gentlemen of
and influence, however, devoted
H. the prince. have no mind to risk their
zlives and estates by marching on Lon
Ion unless supported by a strong body Of
Sregular troops. believing that exile, or
moe probably the scaffold would be the
Ssure and certain end of any such rash
undertaking. To speak the PLAIN truth,
nj am much Of that way Of thinking my
Sci. ana. having wife and child, will
30 draw my sword until | perceive
4 ome fair prospect of success.
Il write to warn YOU of that which
concerns YOU nearly. The other day
4 he prince came unexpectedly to a party
xlt LAZY P~rimrose's. greatly to the con-
= ternation of her ladyship and of most
O. her guests. Indeed, he met with but
u coll reception from any but your be
Hrothed. Mss Kate Gordon, and her
#cousin. Andrew M~acintyre, who were
both present.
Miss Gordon went down on her knee
Sfeforp them all and kissed his hand. 1t
svas very brayely done and moved him
4rreatly. but. indeed, it was scarcely
#prudent. Macintyre followed her exam
7ple. and | heard him whisper to the
Trince that if his royal ~highness would
gdeign 10 honor his poor house with a
Visit this evening I'VE 22nd) he would
meet with a very different kind of We'll
Learning that Miss Gordon
would be present the prince consented.
Now. 4 word in your ear. This Macin-
Hyre is not to be trusted. l have IN
FORMATION from a sure source that he IS
"a spy in the pay Of the government. and
that the man with one eye, the odious
creature. Donald Fraser, who follows
him about like a shadow, is, if possible,
AH lliplt iilldiIiDuS N8SlOh liz lIIlS1I
"The house is in a lonely situation,
and | am convinced that these scoun-
dreIs are c0ncocting some plot to betray
the prince. and are making use of Miss
Gordon's grace and beauty and we'll
Known devotion to the Jacobite cause
f. entice him into 4 trap. | tried to
give the prince a hint of this. but he lis
tened 10 me coldly. and indeed, of late
he has become VIGOROUSLY impatient Of
advice from his best and truest friends.
THAT Miss Gordon should be made an
accompIice in this villainous scheme
y i'll, l know. be hateful to you, and [
doubt not YOU Will do what lies in your
Bower to prevent it. Yours most faith
gully. MATTHEW FIELDING"
My blood boiled as I read this letter.
I was no friend to the Stuarts, and, in
deed, cared little whether the pretender
taken or not; but that Kate should
be involved in this infamous plot was in
Essentially painful to me, and | reso-
IItely determined that she never should
BE if word or act of mine could pre-
gent it.
Yet it was 10 very pleasant task for
ne to interfere in the matter. for there
bad already been a sharp quarrel be-
tween Kate and myself with regard to
Us Maciutyre and her passionate de-
notion to the cause of the unhappy
Stuarts. She was an orphan, and Mac
Htyre being her cousin, had undertaken
to act as her guardian. a piece of pre-
sumption which [ bitterly resented, for
z had good reason to believe that he
iated me and meant. by fair means or
fOul, to supplant me in kate's affections,
win her and her small fortune for
limself. But he had been with the
1ii@hlanders in -, and the courage he
n then displayed, and his hypocritical
= Ifessious Of attachment to the prince.
e t a glamour about him in the eyes of
q Koung and romantic girl. Nothing [
gould say would induce her to put an
end to their friendship, and we had
fnally parted with bitter words on both
side.
But Fielding's letter drove my anger
60 the winds. Come Of it what would
] was resolved to go boldly to Macin-
tyre's house, and insist upon her leav-,
m it at once. | would escort her to the
iodgings Of my aunt, Lady Chester, who
-Fould, | knew, receive her gladly.
SO l buckled on my sword, procured a
coach and drove quickly to Macintyre's
hOuse, which lay some distance from the
CITY. Within 200 or 800 yards of the
gate [ alighted, and, leaving the coach
hidden in a lane near the road, walked
Forward by myself.
In spite Of my a~ntipathy to Macintyre,
g confess there had been moments when
i could scarce believe him capable of
II e infamy of which Fielding had ac-,,
cilsed him: but, when in the gathering
dusk l reached the gate in a high stone
y aII which encircled the spacious gar
d.. all my doubts vanished at the sight
p the isolated house, the lighted win
Cow Of which We're barely visible
fhrough the thick foliage of the trees
Plat surrounded it on all sides. No cry
t. help would be heard beyond the
pals. The victim once inside that lone
Is building, and sword or bullet might
o its work and none be the wiser.
My heart beat quickly as I passed
NIrough the gate. Such a man as Mac
1tyre was not unlikely to clutch at any
means Of getting rid of a dangerous
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