And in a burst of angry fervour he kissed a consecrated medal, which had been suspended round his neck when a child by his mother, and which had never since been for a moment from his person. It was one of those said to have been struck at Rome, to commemorate the massacre of St. Bartholomew; but with what truth I pretend not to say.
Shot could not reach the seaward side of the city, therefore we were comparatively safe.
The evening sun was shining on its towers and spires, and on the blue water that reflected them; and by my side stood Ernestine, pale and agitated, between the expectation of meeting her father—of weeping on his breast, and pouring out her tale of sorrow there; and at the necessity for leaving me when about to engage in all the dangers of a desperate siege. She placed her arm through mine, and we stood in silence. I occasionally pressed her hand as if to reassure and remind her that I was still by her side; and divined her thoughts, which wandered to the faint white line that gleamed afar off in the sunset, and indicated the Imperial tents, visible between some of the openings of that stately city, where so many of our Scottish soldiers fought so nobly, and where, alas! so many found their last home; for the siege of Stralsund was one of the most determined and desperate events of the great German war—the sack of Magdeburg excepted.
In the still evening air the boom of the cannon was incessant on the landward or opposite side of the city; and as the shadows deepened we could distinguish the lurid flashes reddening behind the outline of the spires and houses. Above them, in the blue sky, there hung the mingled smoke of the daily contest, deepening and darkening over the city as a pall—and a veritable pall it was; for under it many a brave fellow found a soldier's death, and a soldier's coffinless grave.
"You still gaze at the Imperial tents, dear Ernestine," said I. Her eyes were full of tears.
"Yes, Philip; for now we must part, and the sooner it is over the better—for the sooner you will see me again. The king is approaching, ask him concerning my transmission—now—now! there is not a moment to be lost!"
I took off my bonnet and approached Christian IV., but paused on seeing our colonel, Sir Donald, in the act of presenting a greyhaired cavalier, who had just come on board. He was plainly accoutred in an unlaced buff-coat and black iron cuirass, over which hung the Swedish order of the Tower and Sword.
"Stay, Philip," said Ian; "that is the great Sir Alexander Leslie, the conqueror of the Poles at Dantzig."
I looked with interest at this remarkable man, whose talent, bravery, and adventurous genius had won him a European reputation, and were yet to make him the founder of a noble Scottish family. He was short in stature, and somewhat decrepit in figure; but had a round and pleasant face, a short beard and mustaches, well pointed up; grey hair shorn short, à la soldatesque, and a visage embrowned by constant exposure to the weather.
I heard him acquaint the king of the number of his regiments and their colonels, among whom I remember the Lord Spynie, Colonel Alexander Seaton, and Sir Patrick Ruthven, of loyal and gallant memory.