This expression, which was repeated, did him great service.
During their stay in Penrith, the insurgents were very well treated, and made many friends. They expected to be joined by several important Roman Catholics-Mr. Howard of Corby Castle, Mr. Warwick of Warwick Hall, Mr. Henry Curwen of Workington, and Sir James Graham of Inchbrachy-but learnt to their dismay that they had all been arrested by the Governor of Carlisle, and secured in the castle. Before quitting Penrith, they collected five hundred pounds.
At the charming town of Appleby, always noted for its loyalty, they were very well received, and took possession of the church and castle.
General Forster immediately caused James the Third to be proclaimed, and so much enthusiasm was manifested that it might have been thought that the inhabitants were all devoted to the Stuarts.
Gratified by their reception, and delighted by the beauty of the town, the insurgents passed their time very pleasantly, and were reluctant to proceed on their march.
At Appleby, Mr. Wyburgh, captain of the train-bands, was taken prisoner, and Lord Nairn, a relation of Sir James Graham, wished to effect an exchange, but the Governor of Carlisle would not listen to the proposal.
Several persons, suspected of being spies, were seized and detained, and an impracticable officer was confined in the Moot Hall till he confessed where the excise money was lodged.
Their next march was to Kendal, where General Forster was quartered at the house of Alderman Simpson, in Strickland Gate. It chanced that his godmother, Mrs. Bellingham, was staying there at the time, and hearing this the general desired to pay his respects to her, but she refused to see him. However, as he was going up-stairs to his room, she rushed forth, and met him on the landing. Alarmed by the furious expression of her countenance, Forster would have turned back, but she commanded him to stay.
Thinking to deprecate her wrath, the general expressed his great pleasure at seeing her, and hoped she was quite well.
“Quite well!” she cried. “How can I be well when I’m driven almost out of my senses by your shameful proceedings. Oh! Tom, Tom! never did I think you would serve the Pretender!”
“I serve King James the Third, madam,” he replied. “And however disagreeable it may be to you to hear it, I must say that I look upon the Elector of Hanover as a usurper, and I shall do my best to drive him from the kingdom.”
“You may try, but you’ll never succeed,” cried Mrs. Bellingham, becoming still more exasperated. “Now, I’ll tell you what you’ve lost by your folly. I meant to leave you all my fortune; but you shan’t have a penny. I’ll leave it all to Dorothy.”
“I’m sorry to have offended you, madam, but it can’t be helped. I scarcely think you can have heard of our great success at Penrith Fells, or you wouldn’t speak so disparagingly of us.”
“I’ve heard that you dispersed an army of peasants,” she rejoined, contemptuously. “But when you face a regular army, the result will be very different.”
“You are mistaken, madam,” he rejoined, beginning to feel angry himself, for he saw Lord Derwentwater, Lord Widdrington, and Colonel Oxburgh at the foot of the stairs, and felt sure they must be laughing at him. “Before a month we shall be in London.”
“Yes,” she replied; “but you will be a prisoner. You and the rebel lords will be safely lodged in the Tower, and if you come out, it will only be to have your heads cut off. And you will richly deserve your fate.”
A good word may be said for the Highlanders. It was reported that the muskets of the militia were concealed in the church, and a party of these brave fellows went in search of them. They discovered no arms, but they found the plate in the vestry, and left it untouched.
Next day, being Sunday, the insurgents marched early to Kirkby-Lonsdale. Service was performed at the church in the afternoon by the Reverend Mr. Patten, and as Lord Derwentwater and Lord Widdrington were standing in the churchyard contemplating the beautiful view it commands of the valley of the Lune, they were surprised by the unexpected appearance of Lord Widdrington’s brother, who had just returned from Lancaster, whither he had been sent to prepare the inhabitants for the approach of the insurgent force.