Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-21

his own. to strike down Claverhouse and
avenge the sufferings of Gods people.
Satan had protected his own. but now the
man of blood was given into their hands.
Surely it was the doing of the Lord that
Dundee should have left Dudhope, where
he was in stronghold, and come up to Edin-
burgh. where his friends were few. That
he should go at large upon the streets and
take his seat in the convention. that he
should dare to plot against William and
lift hand for James in this day OF tri-
umph, was his last stroke of insolence-
the drop which filled his cup to overflow
ing. He had come to Edinburgh, to which
he had sent many martyr of the cove
nant and where he had seen Henry Pol
lock die for Christ's crown and the Scots
kirk. Behold! was it not a sign, and was
it not the will Of the Lord that in this high
place. where godly men had been murdered
by him. his blood should be spilled
Offering unto the Lord?
This was what the hillmen were saying
among themselves as they gathered in their
meetings and communed together in their
lodgings. They were not given to public
vaporing. and were much reader to strike
than to speak, but when there are so many
and their hearts are so hot, secret can
not be easily kept. And Grimond, whe
concealed much shrewdness behind stolid
face-which is the way with Scots peasants
caught some suspicious words as two
unmstakable Covenanters passed him IN
the high street. If mischief was brewing
for his master. it was his business to find
lowed the pair If he were a countryman
gaping at the sights of the town and the
stir of those days, when armed men passed
on every side and the air was thick with
rumors. When the Covenanters, after glanc
ing round plunged down dark entry and
into obscure tavern. Grimond, after a
pause, followed cautiously assuming as
best he could-and not unSucceSsfully-the
manner Of a man from the west The outer
room was empty when he entered, and he
was careful when he got his measure of
ale to bend his head over it for at least
five minutes by way of grace. The woman,
who had glanced sharply at him on entry.
was satisfied by this sign of goodness, and
left him in a dark corner, from which he
saw one after another of the saints pass
into an inner chamber. Between the two
rooms there was wooden partition, and
through a crack in the boarding Grimond
was able to see and hear what was going
on. 1t was characteristic of the men that
they opened their conference of assassina-
ton with prayer, In which the sorrows of
the past were mentioned with certain
pathos, and thanks given for the great de-
nverance which had been wrought Then
they asked wisdom and strength to finish
the Lords work. and to rid the land of the
chief of the Amalekites, after which they
made their plan. Although Grimond could
not catch everything that was said, he
gathered clearly that when Claverhouse
left his lodging to attend the convention
on the morning of the 18th of March they
would be waiting in the narrow way, as
the prosecutor before he could summon
help. When 1T was agreed who should be
present, and what each one should do, they
closed their meeting, as they had opened
it. with prayer. One of them glanced sus-
piciously round the kitchen as he passed
through. but saw no man. for Grimond had
quietly departed He knew his masters
obstinate temper and reckless courage, and
was afraid if he told him of the plot that
he would give no heed, trust to his own
sword. well run no risks said Girl
mOnd to himself. and next morning a dozen
troopers of ClaverhouSe' regiment guard
ed the entry to his lodging and dozen
more We're scattered handiIy about the
street. They followed him to the conven-
ton and waited till he returned. That was
how Claverhouse lived to fight the bat
tie Of Killiecrankie, but till that day came
he had never been so near death as in that
narrow way of Edinburgh
Dundee was not a prudent man, and he
was very fearless. but for once he con-
suited common-sense and made ready to
leave Edinburgh. 1t plain that the
convention would elect William to the
throne of Scotland, and as the days passed
it was also very bitter to him that the
Jacobites were not very keen about the
rising. When he learned that his trusted
friends We're going to attend the conven-
ton, and did not propose with undue haste
to raise the standard for the king, Dundee
concluded that if anything should be done
it would not be by such cautious spirits.
AS he seemed to be the sole hope of his
the better. When he was seen upon the
street with fifty of his troopers, mounted
and armed. there was a wild idea of ar
resting him, but 1t came to nothing. There
was not time to gather the hillhen to-
gether, and there was no heart In the
others to face this desperate man and his
bodyguard. With his men behind him, he
rode down Leith Wynd unmolested and
when some one cried, Where art thou go
ing Lord Dundee?" he turned him round
in the saddle and answered, whittier the
lno6
night later. in front of his house at Dud-
hope, he raised the standard for King
James, and Jean Cochrane, mother now,
holding their infant son in her arms, stood
by his side before he rode north. AS he
had left her on their marriage day with
his troopers, so now he left her and their
child to see her only once again-a cruel
meeting before he fell. Verify. life of
storm and STRESS of bitter conflicts and
many partings. Verify, man whom. right
or wrong. the fates were treating as vic
tim and pursuing to his doom.