however, at last to abide by tbe army as long as it remained in Scotland, and
the march was continued. Next day they marched to Midholm, whence at
midnight they pushed forward four hundred men to Ecclefechan for the purpose
of blocking up Dumfries, till the main body could come up to attack it On
this day's march, five hundred refractory Highlanders departed for the heads of
the Forth. Next morning, learning that the town of Dumfries was prepared to
give them a warm reception, and that Carpenter was come to Jedburgh in pursuit of them, the detachment was recalled from Ecclefechan, and the whole
marched for Longtown. Having rested a night at Longtown, they proceeded,
November the 1st, to Brampton, where Forster opened his commission from the
earl of 3Iarr, as commander-in-chief. On the second they marched for Penrith,
the posse comitatus of Cumberland, to the number of fourteen thousand, being
drawn out to stop their progress. Of the whole number, however, only lord Lonsdale and about twenty domestics waited to see them, the rest having thrown
down their arms, and fled as soon as they heard the rebels were approaching,
who gathered up the arms that had been thrown away in great quantities, and
collected a number of horses. On the 3rd they proceeded to Appleby; and, on
the 5th, to Kendal, carrying along with them several persons whom they had
apprehended as spies. On the 6th, they arrived at Kirby Lonsdale, the last
market town of Westmoreland, and, though they had now traversed two populous
counties, they had been joined by only two individuals. Now, however, the papists from Lancashire began to join them in great numbers. On the 7th,
they occupied Lancaster, where they found in the custom house a quantity of
arms, some claret and brandy, which, to encourage and keep up their spirits, was all bestowed upon the Highlandmen, who, with sixpence each a day and tho good cheer they were enjoying, had now become in some degree reconciled to the service. Here they had a large accession to their number, but they were all catholics: and here, if they had been guided by any thing like judgment, they would have, for a time at least, fixed their head quarters. With the view of securing Warrington bridge and Manchester, they set forward for Preston on the 9th, where they arrived on the 11th; and, as they had done at all the towns they passed, proclaimed the pretender, seized all the public money, and as many horses as they could lay their hands on. At this place, however, their progress ended. With fatal temerity they had pushed forward, taking no pains to ascertain the movements of his majesty's forces, and they had commenced their march on Saturday the 12th, for the bridge of Warrington, when their advance guard under Farquharson of Invercauld, was astonished to meet, at the bridge of Kibble, general Wills at the head of one full regiment of foot, and six regiments of horse. Since they were to be surprised, however, no place could be more favourable for them to be so; Farquharson being fully able to defend the passage of the Kibble, till they had withdrawn their troops from the town into the open field, when they could have fought or retreated according to circumstances; but with that sheer infatuation which marked all their measures, they withdrew their advanced columns, leaving Wills a free passage over the Kibble, and suffered themselves to be cooped up in a town, which afforded few
facilities for defence, and where, at all events, they could easily be reduced by famine. Wills, perfectly aware of the advantage he had gained, lost not a moment in following it up; and though the rebels made a brave and desperate resistance, general Carpenter, who was following upon their rear, coming up next morning, Sabbath, the 13th, reduced them to despair, and they made an unconditional surrender to the number of one thousand seven hundred and thirty-eight men.
In the meantime Marr continued to bustle, but to lose his time at Perth,
