With Frederick the Great | Page 2

the battles
of ancient Greece, not one in a hundred has any knowledge whatever of
the momentous struggle in Germany, or has ever as much as heard the
names of the memorable battles of Rossbach, Leuthen, Prague,
Zorndorf, Hochkirch, and Torgau. Carlyle's great work has done much
to familiarize older readers with the story; but its bulk, its fullness of
detail, and still more the peculiarity of Carlyle's diction and style, place
it altogether out of the category of books that can be read and enjoyed

by boys.
I have therefore endeavoured to give the outlines of the struggle, for
their benefit; but regret that, in a story so full of great events, I have
necessarily been obliged to devote a smaller share than usual to the
doings of my hero.
G. A. Henty.
Chapter 1
: King and Marshal.
It was early in 1756 that a Scottish trader, from Edinburgh, entered the
port of Stettin. Among the few passengers was a tall young Scotch lad,
Fergus Drummond by name. Though scarcely sixteen, he stood five
feet ten in height; and it was evident, from his broad shoulders and
sinewy appearance, that his strength was in full proportion to his height.
His father had fallen at Culloden, ten years before. The glens had been
harried by Cumberland's soldiers, and the estates confiscated. His
mother had fled with him to the hills; and had lived there, for some
years, in the cottage of a faithful clansman, whose wife had been her
nurse. Fortunately, they were sufficiently well off to be able to
maintain their guests in comfort; and indeed the presents of game, fish,
and other matters, frequently sent in by other members of the clan, had
enabled her to feel that her maintenance was no great burden on her
faithful friends.
For some years, she devoted herself to her son's education; and then,
through the influence of friends at court, she obtained the grant of a
small portion of her late husband's estates; and was able to live in
comfort, in a position more suited to her former rank.
Fergus' life had been passed almost entirely in the open air.
Accompanied by one or two companions, sons of the clansmen, he
would start soon after daybreak and not return until sunset, when they
would often bring back a deer from the forests, or a heavy creel of
salmon or trout from the streams. His mother encouraged him in these

excursions, and also in the practice of arms. She confined her lessons to
the evening, and even after she settled on her recovered farm of
Kilgowrie, and obtained the services of a tutor for him, she arranged
that he should still be permitted to pass the greater part of the day
according to his own devices.
She herself was a cousin of the two brothers Keith; the one of whom,
then Lord Marischal, had proclaimed the Old Pretender king at
Edinburgh; and both of whom had attained very high rank abroad, the
younger Keith having served with great distinction in the Spanish and
Russian armies, and had then taken service under Frederick the Great,
from whom he had received the rank of field marshal, and was the
king's greatest counsellor and friend. His brother had joined him there,
and stood equally high in the king's favour. Although both were
devoted Jacobites, and had risked all, at the first rising in favour of the
Old Pretender, neither had taken part in that of Charles Edward, seeing
that it was doomed to failure. After Culloden, James Keith, the field
marshal, had written to his cousin, Mrs. Drummond, as follows:
"Dear Cousin,
"I have heard with grief from Alexander Grahame, who has come over
here to escape the troubles, of the grievous loss that has befallen you.
He tells me that, when in hiding among the mountains, he learned that
you had, with your boy, taken refuge with Ian the forester, whom I well
remember when I was last staying with your good husband, Sir John.
He also said that your estates had been confiscated, but that he was sure
you would be well cared for by your clansmen. Grahame told me that
he stayed with you for a few hours, while he was flying from
Cumberland's bloodhounds; and that you told him you intended to
remain there, and to devote yourself to the boy's education, until better
times came.
"I doubt not that ere long, when the hot blood that has been stirred up
by this rising has cooled down somewhat, milder measures will be used,
and some mercy be shown; but it may be long, for the Hanoverian has
been badly frightened, and the Whigs throughout the country greatly
scared, and this for the second time. I am no lover of the usurper, but