A Legend of Montrose | Page 6

Lieutenant-Colonel Monro, having written a
Military Treatise on the Pike-Exercise, called "Pallas Armata."
Moreover, he was educated at Glasgow College, though he escaped to
become an Ensign in the German wars, instead of taking his degree of
Master of Arts at that learned seminary.
In latter times, he was author of several discourses on historical and
literary subjects, from which the Bannatyne Club have extracted and
printed such passages as concern his Life and Times, under the title of
SIR JAMES TURNER'S MEMOIRS. From this curious book I extract
the following passage, as an example of how Captain Dalgetty might
have recorded such an incident had he kept a journal, or, to give it a
more just character, it is such as the genius of De Foe would have
devised, to give the minute and distinguishing features of truth to a
fictitious narrative:--
"Heere I will set doun ane accident befell me; for thogh it was not a
very strange one, yet it was a very od one in all its parts. My tuo
brigads lay in a village within halfe a mile of Applebie; my own quarter
was in a gentleman's house, ho was a Ritmaster, and at that time with
Sir Marmaduke; his wife keepd her chamber readie to be brought to
bed. The castle being over, and Lambert farre enough, I resolved to goe
to bed everie night, haveing had fatigue enough before. 'The first night
I sleepd well enough; and riseing nixt morning, I misd one linnen
stockine, one halfe silke one, and one boothose, the accoustrement
under a boote for one leg; neither could they be found for any search.
Being provided of more of the same kind, I made myselfe reddie, and
rode to the head-quarters. At my returne, I could heare no news of my
stockins. That night I went to bed, and nixt morning found myselfe just
so used; missing the three stockins for one leg onlie, the other three
being left intire as they were the day before. A narrower search then the
first was made, bot without successe. I had yet in reserve one paire of
whole stockings, and a paire of boothose, greater then the former.
These I put on my legs. The third morning I found the same usage, the
stockins for one leg onlie left me. It was time for me then, and my
servants too, to imagine it must be rats that had shard my stockins so
inequallie with me; and this the mistress of the house knew well
enough, but would not tell it me. The roome, which was a low parlour,

being well searched with candles, the top of my great boothose was
found at a hole, in which they had drawne all the rest. I went abroad
and ordered the boards to be raised, to see how the rats had disposed of
my moveables. The mistress sent a servant of her oune to be present at
this action, which she knew concerned her. One board being bot a litle
opend, a litle boy of mine thrust in his hand, and fetchd with him foure
and tuentie old peeces of gold, and one angell. The servant of the house
affirmed it appertained to his mistres. The boy bringing the gold to me,
I went immediatlie to the gentlewomans chamber, and told her, it was
probable Lambert haveing quarterd in that house, as indeed he had,
some of his servants might have hid that gold; and if so, it was
lawfullie mine; bot if she could make it appeare it belongd to her, I
should immediatlie give it her. The poore gentlewoman told me with
many teares, that her husband being none of the frugallest men (and
indeed he was a spendthrift), she had hid that gold without his,
knowledge, to make use of it as she had occasion, especiallie when she
lay in; and conjured me, as I lovd the King (for whom her husband and
she had suffered much), not to detaine her gold. She said, if there was
either more or lesse then foure and tuentie whole peeces, and two halfe
ones, it sould be none of hers; and that they were put by her in a red
velvet purse. After I had given her assureance of her gold, a new search
is made, the other angell is found, the velvet purse all gnawd in bits, as
my stockins were, and the gold instantlie restord to the gentlewoman. I
have often heard that the eating or gnawing of cloths by rats is ominous,
and portends some mischance to fall on those to whom the cloths
belong. I thank God I was never addicted to such divinations, or heeded
them. It is true, that more misfortunes then one fell on me shortlie after;
bot