“Well for the king, my lord––the battle is won; but ill for thee, my dear maister.”
“If it be well for the king, it’s well for me, Jock, but I wish to God my wound had been in front. That fair-haired fellow, I take it, did the deed. Ye killed him, did ye, Jock? Well, he deserved it, but I fain would know who was behind him before I die. If it were he whom I suspect, Jock, I could not rest in my grave.”
“Rest easy, Maister John, I wrung the 325 truth frae his deein’ lips. It was Lord Nottingham, the English minister, wha feed him, the black-hearted devil. Livingstone had naethin’ to do wi’ the maitter, far less onybody––ye luved.”
“Thank God, and you too, Jock, my faithful friend.... Tell Lady Dundee that my last thoughts were with her, and my last breath repeated her name.... For the rest, I have done what I could, according to my conscience.... May the Lord have mercy on my sins.... God save the King!”
So, after much strife and many sorrows, Claverhouse fell in the moment of victory, and passed to his account.
THE END
Other Works by Ian Maclaren
THE POTTER’S WHEEL