Page:Tale of the Rebellion of 1745, or, The broken heart (1).pdf/6

                     6 army might be saved. The brave Townly, and the. young and gallant Dawson were not ignorant of the desperateness and hopelessness of their situa- tion; but they strove to impart their own heroism to the garrison, and to defend the town to the last. On the morning of the 21st, the entire army of the Duke of Cumberland arrived before Carlisle, and took possession of the fortifications that commanded it. He commanded the garrison to surrender, and they answered him by a discharge of musquetry. They had withstood a siege of ten days, during which time, Cumberland had erected batteries, and got cannon from Whitehaven; before their fire the decaying and neglected walls of the city gave way: to hold out another day was impossible, and there was no resource left for the devoted band but to surrender or perish. On the 30th, a white flag was hoisted on the ramparts. On its being per- ceived, the cannon ceased to play upon the town, and a message was sent to the Duke to enquire what terms he would grant to the garrison. “Tell them,” he replied haughtily, “I offer no terms but these, that they will not be put to the sword, but shall be reserved for his Majesty to deal with them as he may think proper.” There was no alternative, and these doubtful and evasive terms were accepted. The garrison were disarmed, and under a heavy guard placed in the cathedral. James Dawson and seventeen others were con- veyed to London, and cast into prison, to wait the will of his Majesty. Till now his parents were ignorant of the fate of their son, though they had heard of his being forced to flee from the university, and feared that he had joined the Prince. Too soon their worst fears were realised, and the truth revealed to them. But there was another who, trembled for him, whose heart felt keenly as a