Page 150 - A Jacobite Exile

From the day when Charlie's suggestion, of burning damp straw to conceal
the passage of the river, had been attended with such success, the king had

held him in high favour. There was but a few years' difference between
their ages, and the suggestion, so promptly made, seemed to show the king

that the young Englishman was a kindred spirit, and he frequently
requested him to accompany him in his rides, and chatted familiarly with
him.

"I hate this inactive life," he said one day, "and would, a thousand times,

rather be fighting the Russians than setting the Poles by the ears; but I dare
not move against them, for, were Augustus of Saxony left alone, he would
ere long set all Poland against me. At present, the Poles refuse to allow him

to bring in reinforcements from his own country; but if he cannot get men
he can get gold, and with gold he can buy over his chief opponents, and

regain his power. If it costs me a year's delay, I must wait until he is forced
to fly the kingdom, and I can place on the throne someone who will owe his
election entirely to me, and in whose good faith I can be secure.

"That done, I can turn my attention to Russia, which, by all accounts, daily

becomes more formidable. Narva is besieged by them, and will ere long
fall; but I can retake Narva when once I can depend upon the neutrality of
the Poles. Would I were king of Poland as well as of Sweden. With eighty

thousand Polish horse, and my own Swedish infantry, I could conquer
Europe if I wished to do so.

"I know that you are as fond of adventure as I am, and I am thinking of
sending you with an envoy I am despatching to Warsaw.

"You know that the Poles are adverse to business of all kinds. The poorest

noble, who can scarcely pay for the cloak he wears, and who is ready
enough to sell his vote and his sword to the highest bidder, will turn up his
nose at honest trade; and the consequence is, as there is no class between

the noble and the peasant, the trade of the country is wholly in the hands of
Jews and foreigners, among the latter being, I hear, many Scotchmen, who,

while they make excellent soldiers, are also keen traders. This class must
have considerable power, in fact, although it be exercised quietly. The Jews