CHAPTER XXXII

SHOWS SOMETHING OF THE TRIALS AND PERPLEXITIES OF OUR GOOD SIR JOHN OVER THE BUSINESS

In the meantime Sir John himself had been passing through various anxieties of his own, though I can only give you a very brief account of his doings from the notes in my little diary, and the remembrance of his own conversation. It was not till long afterwards that I realised how much greater cause we should have had to tremble had we known more of the brave knight’s movements during these months of summer. I have told you how my lady’s heart was lightened by learning that he had at last taken his departure from Avignon. No doubt, dear soul, she regarded it as the tardy result of her wifely prayers and counsels. But had she known of the packet he bore with him, which, if discovered by the agents of King George, would have put an end to all hope of pardon for ever, what terrors she would have suffered, what anguish of anxiety she would have endured; and with good reason--for the King had entrusted to Sir John a letter to the King of Sweden, begging for his help in a new endeavour to recover his birthright.

The news of the Forfeited Estates Bill, which had been passed, was a great blow to Sir John, for the thought that others should suffer through him was intolerable to his kind and honest heart, and he fully agreed with my lady’s dictum, that anything she could save out of the estate must go to the paying of private debts even to the last sixpence. When the news of the treacherous discovery of his Mine reached him, he was further distressed, realising all that it meant for him. As Mr. Campbell, in writing of this, had warned him that it might be necessary for some of his friends to go and consult with him as to a method of procedure, he, after confiding his troubles to his friend, the Earl of Mar, and receiving kind permission from the King, decided to go to Hamburg where he should be within easy reach of the Hague, and also in the way of meeting his brother, the doctor, who with his master, the Czar, was expected shortly in these parts.

He accordingly set out from Avignon about the middle of July, going first to Brussels and then to Amsterdam, but upon finding there letters from home of the greatest importance, he hurried to Lubeck, where, after waiting some days, he was rejoiced to welcome his nephew, Sir Harry Stirling, who laid before him my Lord Townshend’s proposals, and explained the situation of things at home. Thinking that having got such lenient conditions there was no great press in making up his mind on the matter, Sir John, having written an account of it to my Lord Mar, proceeded on his errand to Hamburg, where he found that General Hamilton, with whom he was ordered to consult on the King’s affairs, was not in that place, and indeed was at too great a distance to communicate with him. He met instead the agent of the Swedish King, Colonel Sparre, and accepting his offer to bring him to Sweden under cover of his own passport, he went with him to Travemunde, only to find it in possession of a small Russian garrison, which was nevertheless strong enough to bar the way to suspected travellers, Russia and Sweden being at enmity at that time. He was for some days weather-bound in a small town on the Elbe about forty miles from Hamburg, which he described as a “miserable nasty hole, where the inhabitants did nothing but drink bad beer, smoke bad tobacco, and chatter in a tongue which he could not understand.” Cut off from all letters, and chafing at the delay, he fell into a fit of depression, he told us after, that bordered on despair. But the weather clearing at last, he made his way back to Hamburg, where he found a letter from my Lord Mar, bidding him give up the notion of going to Sweden at this time.

As he had learned from Colonel Sparre that though the King of Sweden was favourable to King James, many of his statesmen were not, and that according to Sparre’s opinion it was not a good time to approach him on the subject, Sir John felt less regret in giving up the mission than he otherwise might have done. He remained some days longer at Hamburg, in hopes of hearing from Mar in reply to his letter about his private business, and when it reached him he was pleased to find it contained a very kind and gracious message from the King, to the effect that his Majesty was glad to hear of the probability of Sir John’s success in his own affairs, and said that now he could do nothing in what was intrusted to him, that was to be his chief concern. These generous words, as you will imagine, warmed the heart of Sir John, for he was in a strait between two strong desires, namely: the furtherance of the King’s success, and the welfare of his own family; or to put it in my Lord Mar’s words, he was “in a nice situation ’twixt honour on the one side and interest on the other.”

He went on to say, “The world is malicious enough always to put the worst construction on things, so a man who values his reputation ought to think well in such a case, and do what he really thinks right.”

It cost Sir John no little pain to give up, here and now, all thought of helping in the Cause to which he was so much devoted; for he knew very well that once returned to Scotland he would be carefully watched, and only in covert and secret ways could his assistance again be given. It was a trial also to his pride to think how he might be pointed at as a turn-coat and a renegade, who took the King’s favours and rejoiced in his confidence, only to throw him over and desert him in the end. To a man of honour the situation was indeed extremely difficult, and when it is remembered that Sir John had besides a warm and affectionate heart towards the King, it is easy to imagine how he was torn in two, at the thought of thus parting from his friends.

However, his calmer judgment told him there was but one thing to be done, and that the happiness of those depending on him must be his first care. To make up in some degree for his desertion from active service on the King’s behalf, he had written to his brother, the doctor, hoping to enlist him in the Cause, and begging him to do his utmost to gain the Czar’s help and interest in the same. Through Sir Harry Stirling he received full confirmation of his hopes, for Dr. Robin wrote that he and his master heartily wished King George at the Devil, and the latter regretted that he was too far away to be able to send him there. The Czar was also anxious and willing to assist Sir John in his own affairs, if Mr. Campbell’s proposals were likely to fail, a promise which accorded well with Sir John’s inclinations, for he felt it would be easier to accept a ton of assistance from the Czar of Russia, than one ounce of favour from the Elector of Hanover.

He had by this time made his way, after being much delayed by storms, to Amsterdam, which he reached on the 29th of September, and here, a few days later, Mr. Erskine found him. Sir John’s delight at meeting with his brother was much dashed by the latter’s assurance that his departure for England, with scarce a day’s delay, was the only course open to him if he wished to benefit by the efforts of his friends on his behalf. It was in vain he pleaded his master’s needs, his own desire to meet with Doctor Erskine, and the necessity of at least waiting for returns to his letters from my Lord Mar. He had not heard from Avignon now for five weeks, and he was at heart somewhat uneasy as to the reason of the silence. The Earl might have some cause for displeasure, thinking that after all Sir John should not prefer his own advantage to the King’s, or his letters anent the business with the Czar might have miscarried, and all his work would go for naught.

To none of this would Mr. Erskine listen. He informed Sir John that it would be now almost a race between himself and the Commissioners who were on their way to Alva, if indeed not already there. Should they reach the mine before Sir John had secured his pardon, they might decide to put such conditions on the latter that it would never be accepted. Mr. Erskine offered to stay for a time in Holland, and as far as in him lay, to take his brother’s place. He would see or correspond with Sir Harry and the doctor, and all communications with Avignon might be carried on through him as if he were Sir John himself. In another way he reminded him, he might really be benefiting the King’s cause by his immediate departure. If he refused, after receiving the offer of such easy terms, to return home at once, my Lord Townshend might suspect that there was something stirring in the King’s affairs to keep him on the Continent, and would cause his agents to be more vigilant among them, which at the present juncture would not be convenient. But if so trusted a friend of the Earl of Mar were permitted to leave the party, it would seem to suggest that matters were not in a good way, and their hopes of present success very low.

In fact the “golden tongue” did its work, and so eloquently did it speak that at length Sir John was convinced of his brother’s wisdom, and agreed to all that he proposed. Immediately upon this he wrote two letters to the Earl of Mar with full explanations of his plans and his difficulties, his hopes and fears, but unfortunately these letters were delayed in the transit, as the earl’s to himself had been, and there followed some weeks of pain and distrust between the friends. On the 8th of October, Sir John, “with a very heavy heart,” set sail for England, and the news being carried to Avignon, without the true explanation of his departure, the company there were plunged in wrath and dismay, and even for a few days entertained doubts of their late companion’s honesty. A letter from Mr. Erskine to my Lord Mar a little later cleared up the mystery and restored tranquillity to their minds, but the stories followed Sir John to England, and it grieved him not a little to have suspicion thrown upon his loyalty, by those who should have known him better.

It was, to be sure, a surprising thing for friends and foes alike to see Sir John Erskine, whom all supposed to be in exile, and in high danger of being attainted, walking openly in the streets of London, in company with this or that member of the Government. Courteous, genial and debonnaire as ever, he did not look like a proscribed outlaw, still less like a deserter turned spy, and many were the stories invented and circulated before the real truth of the matter leaked out. When it became known, I think there were few who did not rejoice and wonder, for the story of the Silver Glen was like a fairy-tale, and I suppose that Sir John was the only man in Britain who had been bribed to accept his Remission from King George.

The interview with my Lord Townshend was entirely satisfactory. No oaths were exacted, no questions asked. The pardon was duly signed, sealed, and delivered on the 22nd day of October, and on the 27th Sir John set out post for Scotland, with relief in his heart, and “a broad seal in his pocket.”