True Stories of Wonderful Deeds | Page 2

to sign a paper, solemnly promising to rule the country as they wished;
then they crowned him king. As soon as the Parliament heard of this
they sent Cromwell and his Ironsides against the newly-crowned king
and his followers, and after several battles the Scottish army was at last
broken up and scattered at Worcester.
Charles fled and hid in a wood, where some poor wood-cutters took
care of him and helped him. He put on some of their clothes, cut his
hair short, and stained his face and hands brown so that he might
appear to be a sunburnt workman like them. But it was some time
before he could escape from the wood, for Cromwell's soldiers were
searching it in the hope of finding some of the king's men. One day,
Charles and two of his friends had to climb into the tall oak to avoid
being caught. They had with them some food, which proved very
useful, for they were obliged to stay in their strange hiding-place for a
whole day. The top of the oak-tree had been cut off some few years
before this time, and this had made the lower branches grow thick and
bushy, so that people walking below could not easily see through them.
It was a fortunate thing for Charles, for while he was in the tree, he

heard the soldiers beating the boughs and bushes in the wood as they
searched here and there, and even caught glimpses of them through the
leaves as they rode about below.
When they had gone, without even glancing up into the tall oak-tree, he
came down, and rode away from the wood on an old mill-horse, with
his friends the wood-cutters walking beside him to take care of him as
best they could. The saddle was a poor one, and the horse's pace jolted
Charles so much, that at last he cried out that he had never seen so bad
a steed. At this the owner of the horse jestingly told him that he should
not find fault with the poor animal, which had never before carried the
weight of three kingdoms upon its back. He meant, of course, that
Charles was king of the three kingdoms of England, and Scotland, and
Ireland.
Carried by the old horse, and helped by the poor wood-cutters, Charles
at last reached the house of a friend. Here he hid for a time, and then
went on to try and escape from the country. This time, so that he might
not be discovered, he was dressed as a servant, and rode on horseback,
with a lady sitting on a cushion behind him, as was then the fashion.
After several more dangers he managed to get on board a ship and
sailed away to France.
[Illustration: KING CHARLES IN THE OAK]

=Bonnie Prince Charlie=
Prince Charlie was the grandson of King James II, who was driven
away from the throne of England because he was a selfish man and a
bad ruler. The young prince tried to win the crown back again. He came
over to Scotland from France, with only seven followers; but soon a
great many of the Scots joined him, for he was so gay, and handsome,
and friendly, that all who saw him loved him. They called him "Bonnie
Prince Charlie". But though the prince and his followers were very
brave, they had no chance against the well-trained soldiers of King
George of England. They won a few victories; then they were

thoroughly beaten in the battle of Culloden. Thousands of brave Scots
were slain, and the prince had to fly for his life.
After this, for many weeks, he hid among the moors and mountains
from the English soldiers who were trying to find him. He lived in
small huts, or in caves, and many times had nothing but the wild berries
from the woods to eat. Once he stayed for three weeks with a band of
robbers, who were very kind to him; and though the king offered a
large sum of money to anyone who would give him up, not one of his
poor friends was false to him.
At last, a young and beautiful Scottish lady, named Flora MacDonald,
helped him to escape. She gave him woman's clothes, and pretended
that he was her servant, called Betty Burke. Then she took him with her
away from the place where the soldiers were searching, and after a time
he reached the sea, and got safely away to France.
[Illustration: PRINCE CHARLIE AT THE BATTLE OF CULLODEN]

=Nelson and Hardy=
Lord Nelson was one of the greatest seamen that ever lived. He
commanded the British fleet at the battle of Trafalgar, when the navies
of France and Spain were beaten, and England was