ugh not of great extent, was impracticable in its character, being
not only marshy, but intersected with walls of dry-stone, and traversed
in its whole length by a very broad and deep ditch, circumstances which
must have given the musketry of the regulars dreadful advantages, before
the mountaineers could have used their swords, on which they were taught
to rely. The authority of the commanders was therefore interposed to
curb the impetuosity of the Highlanders, and only a few marksmen were
sent down the descent to skirmish with the enemy's advanced posts, and
to reconnoitre the ground.

Here, then, was a military spectacle of no ordinary interest, or usual
occurrence. The two armies, so different in aspect and discipline,
yet each admirably trained in its own peculiar mode of war, upon whose
conflict the temporary fate at least of Scotland appeared to depend, now
faced each other like two gladiators in the arena, each meditating
upon the mode of attacking their enemy. The leading officers, and the
general's staff of each army, could be distinguished in front of their
lines, busied with spy-glasses to watch each other's motions, and
occupied in dispatching the orders and receiving the intelligence
conveyed, by the aides-de-camp and orderly men, who gave life to the
scene by galloping along in different directions as if the fate of
the day depended upon the speed of their horses. The space between the
armies was at times occupied by the partial and irregular contests of
individual sharpshooters, and a hat or bonnet was occasionally seen to
fall, as a wounded man was borne off by his comrades. These, however,
were but trifling skirmishes, for it suited the views of neither
party to advance in that direction. From the neighbouring hamlets, the
peasantry cautiously showed themselves, as if watching the issue of
the expected engagement; and at no great distance in the bay were two
square-rigged vessels, bearing the English flag, whose tops and yards
were crowded with less timid spectators.

When this awful pause had lasted for a short time, Fergus, with another
chieftain, received orders to detach their clans towards the village of
Preston, in order to threaten the right flank of Cope's army, and compel
him to a change of position. To enable him to execute these orders, the
Chief of Glennaquoich occupied the churchyard of Tranent, a commanding
situation, and a convenient place, as Evan Dhu remarked, 'for any
gentleman who m