counsel of the king; how did he first make his
way?"

"He first entered the force raised by Sir Andrew Gray, who crossed from
Leith to Holland, and then uniting with a body of English troops under
Sir Horace Vere marched to join the troops of the Elector Palatine. It
was a work of danger and difficulty for so small a body of men to march
through Germany, and Spinola with a powerful force tried to intercept
them. They managed, however, to avoid him, and reached their destination
in safety.

"Vere's force consisted of 2200 men, and when he and Sir Andrew Gray
joined the Margrave of Anspach the latter had but 4000 horse and
4000 foot with him. There was a good deal of fighting, and Hepburn
so distinguished himself that although then but twenty years old he
obtained command of a company of pikemen in Sir Andrew Gray's band, and
this company was specially selected as a bodyguard for the king.

"There was one Scotchman in the band who vied even with Hepburn in the
gallantry of his deeds. He was the son of a burgess of Stirling named
Edmund, and on one occasion, laying aside his armour, he swam the Danube
at night in front of the Austrian lines, and penetrated to the very
heart of the Imperial camp. There he managed to enter the tent of the
Imperialist general, the Count de Bucquoi, gagged and bound him, carried
him to the river, swam across with him and presented him as a prisoner
to the Prince of Orange, under whose command he was then serving.

"It was well for Hepburn that at the battle of Prague he was guarding
the king, or he also might have fallen among the hosts who died on that
disastrous day. When the elector had fled the country Sir Andrew Gray's
bands formed part of Mansfeldt's force, under whom they gained great
glory. When driven out of the Palatinate they still kept up the war
in various parts of Germany and Alsace. With the Scotch companies of
Colonel Henderson they defended Bergen when the Marquis of Spinola
besieged it. Morgan with an English brigade was with them, and right
steadily they fought. Again and again the Spaniards attempted to storm
the place, but after losing 12,000 men they were forced to withdraw on
the approach of Prince Maurice.

"The elector now made peace with the emperor, and Mansfeldt's bands
found themselves without employment. Mansfeldt in vain endeavoured to
obtain employment under one of the powers, but failing, marched into
Lorraine. There, it must be owned, they plundered and