much respect to Government as not to appear in public, it would be cruel to make any search after me; upon which it was decided, that if I remained concealed no further search should be made, but that if I appeared either in England or Scotland I should be secured.'

This scanty portion of kindness was of no benefit whatever to the countess. 'It was not,' says she, 'sufficient for me, unless I would submit to expose my son to beggary.' With her wonted spirit, she determined that, having already risked her life for the safety of the father, she would once more hazard it for the fortune of the child. On first hearing of her husband's apprehension, she had thought it prudent to conceal many important family papers and other valuables; and having no person at hand with whom they could be safely entrusted, had hid them under-ground, in a place known only to the gardener, in whom she could entirely confide. It had proved a happy precaution; for after her departure the house had been searched, and as she expressed it, 'God only knows what might have transpired from those papers.' In addition to the danger of their being discovered, there was the imminent risk of their being destroyed by damp, so that no time must be lost in regaining them before too late. She therefore determined on another journey to the north, and, for greater secrecy, on

horseback, though this mode of travelling, which was new to her, was extremely fatiguing. She, however, with her maid Mrs. Evans, and a servant that could be depended on, set out from London, and reached Traquair in safety, and without any one being aware of her intentions. Here she ventured to rest two days, in the society of her sister-in-law and Lord Traquair, feeling security in the conviction, that as the lordlieutenant of the county was an old friend of her husband's, he would not allow any search to be made after her without first giving her warning to abscond. From thence she proceeded to Terregles, whither it was supposed she came with the permission of Government; and to keep up that opinion, she invited her neighbours to visit her. That same night she dug up the papers from their hidingplace, where happily they had sustained no injury, and sent them at once by safe hands to Traquair. This was accomplished just in time, for the magistrates of Dumfries began to entertain suspicions of her right to be there, and desired to see her leave from Government. On hearing this, 'I expressed,' she says, 'my surprise that they had been so backward in paying their respects; "but," said I, "better late than never be sure to tell them that they shall be welcome whenever they choose to come." This was after dinner; but I lost

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readiness, yet with all possible secrecy; and the next morning, before daybreak, I set off again for London, with the same attendants, and, as before, I put up at the smallest inns, and arrived safe once more.'

George I could not forgive Lady Nithsdale for the heroic part she had acted. This was manifested in various ways. When he was petitioned for dower by the widows of the peers who had been found guilty of treason, he granted the request, with only one exception; that exception was the Countess of Nithsdale, whom he declared not to be entitled to the same privilege. He is even said to have forbidden her name to be uttered in his presence. Her visit to Scotland only served to increase his wrath. 'A lady informed me,' says Lady Nithsdale, 'that the king was extremely incensed at the news; that he had issued orders to have me arrested; adding, that

despite of all his designs, and that I had given him more trouble than any woman in Europe. For which reasons I kept myself as closely concealed as possible, till the heat of these rumours had abated. In the meanwhile, I took the opinion of a very famous lawyer, who was a man of the strictest probity; he advised me to go off as soon as they had ceased searching for me. I followed his advice, and about a fortnight after I escaped, without any accident whatever.'

She met her husband and children at Paris, whither they had come from Bruges to meet her. They soon afterwards joined the Pretender's Court at Avignon; but, finding the mode of life there little to their taste, shortly after returned to Italy, where they lived in great privacy. Lord Nithsdale died at Rome in 1744; his wife survived him five years.

at the age of thirteen, and in 1743, when not quite eighteen, found himself a cornet in the body-guards of the Prussian sovereign, and high in favour with that monarch, Frederick the Great. But when, some time after, it came to Frederick's ears that Trenck had secret re

lations with a member of the royal family that cast a stain upon his kingly honour, he was treated with great harshness; and his enemies, of whom he had many, concocted a plan to effect his ruin.

In the Austrian service there was a first cousin and namesake of Trenck, Baron Francis Trenck, who commanded the Pandours, a heartless, godless man, and stained with innumerable vices. In the campaigns of 1744 and 1745 he had incessantly harassed the Prussian army, inflicting on it many severe blows, and on one occasion he narrowly missed making Frederick a prisoner. An intercourse between this obnoxious personage and one of the officers of the body-guards, was consequently not pleasing to the monarch. Francis had openly declared his intention to bequeath all his vast property to his cousin, and had sent back to him, with a friendly billet, two of his cousin's horses, which had been captured by the Pandours.

In an evil hour Trenck was induced by his secret enemies to write a letter to his cousin, thanking him for his kindness, and asking for some of his fine Hungarian horses. The man who prompted him to ask for the horses, and offered to forward the letter, was his own captain. This officer was a favourite and spy of the king, and cherished an old grudge against Trenck, and was likewise considerably in his debt.

It is doubtful whether the letter was sent; but four months afterwards, an answer, purporting to be from the Austrian baron, was delivered to Trenck by the camp postman. The answer, which the receiver believes was a forgery, contained expressions on which a suspicious mind might put sinister constructions.

On the day after the receipt of this fatal letter, Trenck was arrested, deprived of his commission, and sent off from the army under an escort of fifty hussars, to be imprisoned in the fortress of Glatz. It was the intention of the king to limit to a year the period of confinement; but of this intention Trenck was unfortunately left in ignorance. Captivity for life was the dreary prospect which was ever before him. He petitioned for a trial by courtmartial, desiring no favour if he were found guilty. The petition remained unnoticed, and this confirmed him in his idea that he had nothing to hope. At the commencement of his imprisonment, his situation was as bearable as imprisonment can be to a young and high-spirited man, who knows that he is unjustly punished. He was placed in an apartment belonging to an officer of the guard, had his servants to wait on him, could obtain whatever books he wanted, and was allowed the privilege of walking on the ramparts. In one instance, still more indulgence underhand was

bate took place on the question of whether the petitions should be read. The permitting them to be read was vehemently opposed by the ministers and their friends; nevertheless it was carried in the affirmative by a small majority. Foiled in this point, the opponents of the petitions next contended, that the sovereign had no power to pardon or reprieve persons who had been sentenced under an impeachment. But here again they failed, it being decided that the disputed power was possessed by the king. Having thus far succeeded, the advocates of the condemned peers moved that an address should be presented to his majesty, entreating him to grant a respite to the convicted lords. The opposite party, however, moved - as an amendment, that his majesty should be requested to reprieve such of the guilty peers as should deserve his mercy. The amendment was carried, as was also another-that the time of the respite should be left to his majesty's discretion. The address was presented on the same evening; and the king replied, that, on this and other occasions, he would do as he thought most consistent with the dignity of his crown and the safety of his people.

The meaning of the king's words did not long remain ambiguous. On the evening of the next day, the 23d of February, a council was held to decide upon, or rather to announce, the

fate of the prisoners. A respite was granted to the Earl of Carnwath and the Lords Widdington and Nairn, but orders were given to execute the Earls of Derwentwater, Nithsdale, and Viscount Kenmure, on the following morning.

From the very first, the Countess of Nithsdale had placed but little reliance upon the royal clemency, and had busied herself in devising the means for the earl's escape. But as soon as she heard the turn which the debate had taken in the House of Peers, she saw clearly that her husband must expect no favour from the Government. There remained, therefore, no other resource than to carry into effect, without delay, the scheme which she had formed to save him. She had less than twenty-four hours in which to accomplish her purpose. If within that short time she could not rescue her husband, his death was inevitable. With what admirable skill and presence of mind she achieved her arduous task, must be told in her own words :—

'As the motion had passed generally, I thought I could draw some advantage in favour of my design. Accordingly, I immediately left the House of Lords, and hastened to the Tower, where, after affecting an air of joy and satisfaction, I told all the guards I passed that I came to bring joyful tidings to the prisoner. I desired them to lay aside their fears, for the