A Jacobite Exile

A Jacobite Exile, by G. A. Henty

The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Jacobite Exile, by G. A. Henty
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: A Jacobite Exile Being the Adventures of a Young Englishman
in the Service of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden
Author: G. A. Henty

Release Date: May 8, 2006 [eBook #18357]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A
JACOBITE EXILE***
E-text prepared by Martin Robb

A JACOBITE EXILE:
Being the Adventures of a Young Englishman in the Service of Charles

the Twelfth of Sweden
by
G. A. Henty.

Contents
Preface.
Chapter 1
: A Spy in the Household.
Chapter 2
: Denounced.
Chapter 3
: A Rescue.
Chapter 4
: In Sweden.
Chapter 5
: Narva.
Chapter 6
: A Prisoner.
Chapter 7

: Exchanged.
Chapter 8
: The Passage of the Dwina.
Chapter 9
: In Warsaw.
Chapter 10
: In Evil Plight.
Chapter 11
: With Brigands.
Chapter 12
: Treed By Wolves.
Chapter 13
: A Rescued Party.
Chapter 14
: The Battle Of Clissow.
Chapter 15
: An Old Acquaintance.
Chapter 16
: In England Again.

Chapter 17
: The North Coach.
Chapter 18
: A Confession.

Preface.
My Dear Lads,
Had I attempted to write you an account of the whole of the
adventurous career of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden, it would, in itself,
have filled a bulky volume, to the exclusion of all other matter; and a
youth, who fought at Narva, would have been a middle-aged man at the
death of that warlike monarch, before the walls of Frederickshall. I
have, therefore, been obliged to confine myself to the first three years
of his reign, in which he crushed the army of Russia at Narva, and laid
the then powerful republic of Poland prostrate at his feet. In this way,
only, could I obtain space for the private adventures and doings of
Charlie Carstairs, the hero of the story. The details of the wars of
Charles the Twelfth were taken from the military history, written at his
command by his chamberlain, Adlerfeld; from a similar narrative by a
Scotch gentleman in his service; and from Voltaire's history. The latter
is responsible for the statement that the trade of Poland was almost
entirely in the hands of Scotch, French, and Jewish merchants, the
Poles themselves being sharply divided into the two categories of
nobles and peasants.
Yours sincerely,
G. A. Henty.
Chapter 1

: A Spy in the Household.
On the borders of Lancashire and Westmoreland, two centuries since,
stood Lynnwood, a picturesque mansion, still retaining something of
the character of a fortified house. It was ever a matter of regret to its
owner, Sir Marmaduke Carstairs, that his grandfather had so modified
its construction, by levelling one side of the quadrangle, and inserting
large mullion windows in that portion inhabited by the family, that it
was in no condition to stand a siege, in the time of the Civil War.
Sir Marmaduke was, at that time, only a child, but he still remembered
how the Roundhead soldiers had lorded it there, when his father was
away fighting with the army of the king; how they had seated
themselves at the board, and had ordered his mother about as if she had
been a scullion, jeering her with cruel words as to what would have
been the fate of her husband, if they had caught him there, until, though
but eight years old, he had smitten one of the troopers, as he sat, with
all his force. What had happened after that, he did not recollect, for it
was not until a week after the Roundheads had ridden away that he
found himself in his bed, with his mother sitting beside him, and his
head bandaged with cloths dipped in water. He always maintained that,
had the house been fortified, it could have held out until help arrived,
although, in later years, his father assured him that it was well it was
not in a position to offer a defence.
"We were away down south, Marmaduke, and the Roundheads were
masters of this district, at the time. They would have battered the place
around your mother's ears, and, likely as not, have burnt it to the
ground. As it was, I came back here to find it whole and safe, except
that the crop-eared scoundrels had, from pure wantonness, destroyed
the pictures and hacked most of the furniture to pieces. I took no part in
the later risings, seeing that they were