now narrowed to Murray Bay;
no more was there an outside career, such as the young Captain's, to
watch.

When Thomas Nairne was killed the struggle against Napoleon in Europe
had reached a supreme crisis. Occasional letters to Murray Bay give
glimpses of great events. On March 16th, 1814, an Edinburgh friend
writes to Christine: "The Castle was fired to-day in honour of the
successes of our allies in France who have again routed Bonaparte, who
has retreated to Paris. His enemies are within twenty-five miles of that
capital so we must hope that the Tyrant's fate is at the Crisis and that
we shall soon enjoy the blessings of a permanent peace; much has Bony to
answer for." Ker wrote a little later from Edinburgh to say that
Bonaparte "is now a prisoner on board of one of our 74 gun ships," and
to express the hope that by his fall Britons will soon get quit of the
property tax.

On March 17th, 1815, we hear from another correspondent of the renewed
firing of the Castle guns at Edinburgh, this time to announce the
arrival from America of the ratification of Peace with the United
States. "We only regret this had not been settled before the disastrous
affair at New Orleans where we have lost so many brave men and able
generals, but such are the horrors of war." Just as this peace came in
America renewed war broke out in Europe. "That monster Bonaparte a
fortnight since landed and raised the standard of rebellion in the south
of France. The accounts from there are very contradictory." On March
22nd the news seems better. "Troops are assembling in defence of France
and the traitor does not seem to have any adherents, so we would fain
hope all may go well." The writer, a Miss Beck, sends, for the amusement
of Murray Bay, the book "Guy Mannering," which is "in very high
repute ... the author unknown, but very generally thought to be Walter
Scott, the Poet."

The hope that all would go well in regard to Bonaparte was soon
dissipated. Ker wrote on April 10th, 1815, a bitter letter:

We were flattering ourselves with being at Peace with the whole
world when like a thunderbolt, the tremendous news of the monster
Buonaparte's Escape from Elba, his landing and rapid progress
through France, and the second Expulsion of the unhappy Bourbons
burst upon us!... We have the immediate prospect of being involved
in a bloody and interminable war, the consequences of which no man
can foretell. The French a