Stuarts to the throne. You will remember
that after the reign of James II. people said that Prince James was not
his son at all, but a baby which had been adopted by the King, who had
no son of his own; and as this was generally believed, after the King
had been driven into exile, his daughters, the Princesses Mary and Anne,
came to the throne and reigned one after the other. When they died the
English crown was offered to a distant cousin, who was George I. But
many English noblemen and gentlemen said that this was unfair, and that
the son of James II. and his son after him should have been King. We can
never tell now which was right; but all this caused a great deal of
unhappiness and much fighting. Those who took up the cause of the
Stuarts were called Jacobites, and among this number was the Earl of
Nithsdale. He was taken prisoner, and condemned by King George to die
with several others, and he was sent to the Tower, there to wait his
fate.

But he had a beautiful and determined wife, who was resolved to save his
life. It was in the winter time, and, of course, there were then no
trains to carry people swiftly and comfortably through the frosty air.
So she started on her journey from Scotland on horseback, and rode as
far as Newcastle; but she was not a great horse-woman, and being wearied
with her exertions, she there took a coach and proceeded to York, taking
with her her faithful maid Evans. But when they got to York they found
that so much snow had fallen that the coach could not go on to London at
all. Now, all this time the days were passing, and every day that passed
made Lord Nithsdale's execution nearer. His poor wife was in a terrible
state of suspense; but she did not sit down and despair. She said that
if there were no coach then must she ride to London. And so she
did--rode about one hundred and eighty miles through all the snow, which
was often up to her horse's girths, and at times she thought she would
not be able to get through after all. But at last she did, and when she
arrived in London her husband was still alive. Never thinking of herself
or of her own weariness, Lady Nithsdale went to the Court, and used all
the influence she possessed to get King George I. to pardon her husband.
But he was an obstinate, cruel little man, and he refused even to hear
her, though she flung herself before him and caught at his coat.

Then she saw that there was nothing for it but to help her husband to
escape o