Preston Fight Part 35

These windows were strongly grated, but Lord Wintoun derided this obstacle to escape.

Carefully concealed about his person, he had a couple of small files, and setting to work with these implements, he so nearly cut through the bars, that he could immediately remove them when needful.

The main difficulty was now overcome, but the windows were at a considerable height from the ground; and, moreover, there were sentinels both at the back and front, who must be eluded before an escape could be effected.

The Earl of Wintoun, however, was confident in his own ability to manage the matter, and did not doubt he should find an opportunity of getting off.

The opportunity occurred.

During the day a fog had prevailed in the City, and of course extended to the Tower. Indeed, it was thicker there than elsewhere.

Towards night the vapour increased in density. Not only was the White Tower completely hidden, but all the surrounding buildings were obscured. The sentinels could scarcely be distinguished on their posts. Links were lighted, but only served to make the darkness more palpable.

When the fog first came on, the Earl of Wintoun resolved to take advantage of the chance thus offered him, but he waited patiently till night.

No extra precaution seemed to be taken by the jailers, except that the entrance to the Hall Tower from the inner ward was fastened, but this mattered little, since the fugitive proposed to descend from the window looking towards the outer ward.

No sooner had the jailer paid his last visit for the night than the earl removed the bars from the window, tied a couple of sheets together and fastened them, and then listened intently for the sound of the sentinel's footsteps, who was pacing to and fro beneath.

So dark was it that Lord Wintoun could not see the man, but he could hear him, and when he judged by the sound that the sentinel was at the greatest distance, he let himself down as quickly and noiselessly as he could.

A sound reached the man's ear, for he suddenly halted, and called out, "Who goes there?"

But receiving no answer, and hearing no further noise, he did not think it needful to give the alarm.

Meanwhile, the Earl of Wintoun, who had remained perfectly quiet at this critical juncture, now stole to the further side of the ward, and crept along the edge of the wall till he got within a short distance of the Gate Tower.

Here fortune favoured him.

At the very moment of his arrival, a warder who had just come from the guard-room was opening the wicket to let out some half-dozen persons.

Without hesitation, the earl mixed with the party, and though a link was brought, he escaped without attracting the warder's attention.

But another portal had still to be pa.s.sed at the opposite side of the bridge, and as Lord Wintoun was marching towards it with his companions, he felt his arm grasped, while a voice whispered in his ear: "You are one of the rebel lords. Your life is worth a thousand pounds. I must have that sum, or I will prevent your escape."

"You shall have the money," replied the earl, in the same tone.

"Enough," said the man. "I know you will fulfil your promise. Take that letter. It will tell you who I am."

But for this timely aid the earl might have been stopped by the guard at the Middle Tower.

However, he soon got clear of the fortress, and pa.s.sing through the Bulwark Gate, plunged into the fog that enveloped Tower Hill.

V.

General Forster's Escape from Newgate

A VERY jovial time the prisoners in Newgate had of it.

Supplied with plenty of money by their friends, they could obtain whatever they wanted; and better wine and better punch were drunk in Newgate than at any tavern in town.

The prison, indeed, resembled nothing so much as a large inn, where the numerous guests were feasting and carousing from morning till night.

The majority of the prisoners persuaded themselves that in consequence of their surrender they should be very leniently treated, but come what might, they resolved to make the most of the present moment.

Ordinarily a sort of barrack, called the King's Bench Ward, was occupied by debtors, but in consequence of the excessively crowded state of the jail, this large chamber, which was part.i.tioned off for beds, served as a dormitory for a portion of the rebels, while they dined, supped, drank punch, smoked pipes, played cards, dice, and draughts, in the Debtor's Hall.

Driven from their quarters, the luckless debtors took refuge on the felons' side or in the cellar.

Private bed-chambers, and small private apartments, for which enormous fees were demanded by the governor, Mr. Pitts, were provided for some of the insurgent leaders.

The best bedroom in the prison, which had formerly been occupied by Lord Russell and Count Koningsmark, and more recently by Count Guiscard, was let to General Forster. Charles Radclyffe, and Colonel Oxburgh, were each furnished with a good room, but Brigadier Mackintosh did not care how he was accommodated.

The chief officers had their own mess-table, at which they were very well served, and friends constantly dined with them. The prison, indeed, was as full of visitors as inmates, and the prisoners were just as cheerful as their guests.

A great deal of sympathy was felt for the unfortunate Jacobite gentlemen by the fair s.e.x, who flocked to Newgate to express it.

The prisoners were highly gratified by their attention, and exceedingly delighted to see them, and the lodge was so beset by sedan-chairs and coaches, and so thronged by ladies in fine dresses and loo-masks that it looked more like the entrance to a masquerade than the approach to a gloomy dungeon.

Notwithstanding his reverses, and though he was severely censured by his own party, General Forster maintained his cheerfulness.

On Dorothy's arrival in town he was constantly visited by her, and it is probable she suggested a plan of escape to him.

It is certain she brought him a large sum of money. How it was employed can only be conjectured, though we do not think we shall be far wrong in a.s.serting that a considerable portion of it found its way into the pockets of Mr. Pitts.

By whatever means he procured them, and, as we have intimated, suspicion attached to the governor, Forster obtained false keys, and they were successfully employed by him immediately after a bill of high treason had been found against him.

The comedy, it must be owned, was well played. On the night of his evasion, Forster invited Sir Francis Anderton, who was likewise a prisoner in Newgate, to sup with him, and they sat together carousing to a late hour.

They were still enjoying themselves when the governor came in to remind them that it was not far from midnight. Forster begged him to sit down, as he wished him to taste some very fine old brandy, and stepped into the adjoining chamber to fetch the bottle.

Apparently he could not find what he sought, for he did not immediately return, and the governor, feigning to become alarmed, went to look after him.

The prisoner was gone, and had evidently made his exit by the door communicating with the pa.s.sage, which ought to have been locked outside.

Indeed it was locked, as was the door of the other room, for when the governor hurried thither, and tried to get out, he found himself a prisoner.

The consternation into which Mr. Pitts was thrown by this discovery, if not real, was extremely well simulated, and imposed upon Sir Francis Anderton, who, however, laughed very heartily.

The governor knocked against the door, and shouted loudly for a.s.sistance, but some minutes elapsed before the turnkey came, and then it was found that a double-lock had been placed outside.

Search was made for the fugitive, but no traces whatever could be found of him.

Every door through which he had to pa.s.s had been unlocked and re-fastened, and if their statements were to be credited, not one of the turnkeys had seen him pa.s.s out of the prison.

How he got through the lodge-how he pa.s.sed the usually vigilant porter at the gate-has never been satisfactorily explained!

But it is certain he proceeded to Blackfriars, where he found Dorothy waiting for him.

She had hired a boat for Gravesend, whence her brother embarked before dawn for France. Dorothy, however, did not accompany him in his flight.

A reward of one thousand pounds was immediately offered for Forster's apprehension, but he was safe on the other side of the Channel.

Mr. Pitts was tried for his life at the Old Bailey for conniving at Forster's escape, but was acquitted.

VI.

Brigadier Mackintosh's Escape

OWING to his prodigious strength and daring Brigadier Mackintosh was more feared than any other of the rebels confined in Newgate, and it was deemed necessary to place him in irons.

Highly indignant at such treatment, he complained of it in the strongest terms to the governor, but was told it was done by the express order of Lord Townshend.

"His lordship wishes to inflict a disgrace upon me," he said; "but he simply dishonours himself by treating a Highland commander like a common felon. Tell his lordship his contemptible fetters will not prevent my escape."

After Forster's escape, which had caused an extraordinary sensation throughout London, the vigilance of the jailers was doubled, and Brigadier Mackintosh delayed the execution of the daring project he had conceived till the latest moment.

Not till the night before his trial was fixed to take place at Westminster Hall did he make the attempt.

Already he had partly sawn through the hateful fetters, so that he could cast them off in a moment, and they were now rather advantageous to him than otherwise, as they procured him greater freedom.

Colonel Mackintosh, who was likewise a prisoner, Charles Wogan, Robert Hepburn of Keith, with several others, chiefly Scotsmen, were to be partners in the flight, but the entire conduct of the enterprise was left to the brigadier himself.

About eleven o'clock at night, Mackintosh, having freed himself from his irons, cautiously descended the stairs leading from the upper ward to the press-yard, and stationed himself at the door.

His friends remained in the dormitory, but were ready to join him in a moment.

Presently, the door was unlocked as he expected it would be, by the governor's black servant, Caliban, bearing a lantern.

Caliban was a powerful fellow, but no match for the brigadier, who seized him by the throat with a gripe like that of a vice, and hurled him to the ground.

The cries of the half-strangled black brought the governor, and Mr. Ballard, the head turnkey, to the spot.

They were struck with amazement at seeing the brigadier, but did not dare to grapple with him, now that he was free from his irons.

Leaving them to be dealt with by his followers, who were now thronging the press-room, the brigadier hurried on-his object being to disarm the sentinel.

Before the man could raise the musket to his shoulder, Mackintosh sprang upon him like a tiger, and forced the weapon from his grasp, while young Hepburn pinioned the man's arms.

Meantime, Ballard had been deprived of his keys, and he and Mr. Pitts were thrust through the door leading to the staircase from the press-room, and locked out.

The porter in the lodge alone remained-at least, it was thought so by the fugitives-but he chanced to have a watchman with him at the time, and this gossipping guardian of the night, hearing the disturbance, endeavoured to rush out and spring his rattle.

But he was caught and deprived of his coat, lantern, and hat by the brigadier, who thought the disguise might prove serviceable to some of his followers.

In another minute the fugitives were out in the street, which was fortunately quite deserted at the time, and the lodge gate being locked outside, immediate pursuit was impossible.

Bidding each other a hasty farewell, the fugitives then separated, each seeking the asylum which he knew had been provided for him.

Mr. Hepburn was uncertain where to go, when a light in a window at that late hour attracted his attention, and he perceived an antique silver tankard of peculiar shape, which he knew belonged to his family.

Without hesitation he entered the house and found his wife, who had placed the cup in the window, hoping it might catch his eye.

Forster's flight from Newgate was completely eclipsed by that of Brigadier Mackintosh and his companions.

That the first escape had been effected by bribery, very few persons doubted; but this was a bold dashing affair, well calculated to excite public admiration, and nothing else was talked about for a few days.

As previously mentioned, the trial of the rebels was to have taken place in Westminster Hall on the following day. The court and juries met, but-but not till life was extinct, he was drawn and quartered, and his head fixed on the market cross.

Such was the punishment inflicted upon all the rebels of lower rank, who were not transported to the colonies.

END OF BOOK THE TENTH.

BOOK THE ELEVENTH.

THE SCAFFOLD.