as more
enthusiastic than the men. Throwing down her fan, she scornfully offered
that to her husband as a weapon, and demanded his sword in exchange. The
immediate result was seen on that October morning when Derwentwater and
his little band of followers rode over the bridge at Corbridge with
drawn swords, on their way to Beaufront, which was their first
rendezvous; and from there proceeded to Greenrigg, near the great Wall,
which had been appointed as a general meeting-place.

There they were joined by Mr. Forster, of Bamburgh, with his contingent,
and a few from the surrounding district. Rothbury next saw the little
army, which was joined on Felton Bridge by seventy Scots; and thereafter
Warkworth, Alnwick, and Morpeth heard James Stuart proclaimed King under
the title of James III.

Newcastle was to have been their next objective, but, hearing that the
city had closed its gates, and intended to hold out for King George, the
Jacobite force, after some indecision, returned northward to Rothbury,
where they were joined by a large company of Scottish Jacobites under
Lord Kenmure. Northward again they marched to Kelso, where more than a
thousand Scots joined forces with them.

The little army numbered now almost 2,000, and a council was held to
determine what their next step should be. On its being resolved to enter
England, some hundreds of the Highlanders returned home, leaving an army
of about 1,500 to march southwards to Lancashire. On their way they put
to flight at Penrith a motley force which was raised to oppose them;
and, elated with a first success, moved forward to Preston, grievously
disappointed on the way at the failure of the people of Lancashire to
rise with them, for they had been given to understand that thousands in
that county were only awaiting an opportunity to declare for "King
James."

At Preston they barricaded the principal streets, and repulsed General
Willis; but the arrival of General Carpenter from Newcastle changed the
face of affairs. Young Derwentwater had fought valiantly and worked
arduously at the barricades, but Forster--whose appointment as General
had been made in the hope of attracting other Protestant gentry to the
Jacobite cause--offered to submit to General Carpenter under certain
conditions. Carpenter's reply was a demand for unconditional surrender,
and the hopeless little tragi-comedy was played out. The last scene took
place on Tower Hill three months later, when the gall