“A short history of the Grand Rebellion in Scotland, or a brief account of the rise and progress of Charles Stuart, the young pretender, and his associates; and his seasonable defeat by His Majesty’s Forces under the command of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland.”
This remarkable production is printed on one side of a single sheet of paper, seven by twelve, in verse, three columns. It begins,—
“From Rome the proud Pretender’s come
Flush’d with conceits of Britain’s Crown,
Imagining, poor silly Lad,
Those glorious Kingdoms to have had,
And all the churches of the Lord,
They’ve roll’d in seas of Purple Blood;
His grand commission from the Pope
Was Fire, Faggot, Sword, and Rope,
Or Boots, or Scourges, Cord and Whips,
For all poor vile Hereticks.”
The poet proceeds with the landing in Scotland, where the Popish priest demised to him the land; the joining of the disaffected, the robbing of the people:—
“They range about and seek for prey
Nor spare aught comes in their way;
They murder, steal, rob and destroy,
And many a goodly Town annoy.”
Flushed with victory, they move toward England, “and now to London drive along.”
“Which brave Prince William quickly hears
And without any Dread or Fears,
Pursues the Rebels in full chase,
And lo, they fly before his Grace,
Who still pursues and overtakes,
And many a Highland captive makes.
······
The rest now fly, won’t stand to Fight,
But back to Scotland make their flight.
And there like Beasts who’ve furious grown
They range about from Town to Town.
······
But Heaven beheld these bloody men,
No longer now would bear with them,
Inspires the Duke of Cumberland
To take the work into his hand,
To scourge this cursed barbarous Brood
For all their Rapine, Stealth, and Blood.
Away he goes, post haste he flies,
To face the raging Enemies,
To Scotland, where the wretches fled,
When chas’d from Carlisle, full of dread,
Where being come, his troops combine,
And all in lovely Consort join,
And strong Desires do now express,
To slay these Sons of Wickedness.
Great Joy and Gladness now was shown,
When to the Folk it was made known
That Cumberland, the brave, was come
To save them from expected Ruin.”
The people joining the Duke, the enemy was pursued, when—
“A church in which their stores did lay,
They blow’d up ere they ran away,”
after they had bid the people enter in, and many “precious souls at one sad Blast, into eternity are cast.”