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CAMPBELL, ARCHIBALD,
ninth Earl of Argyle, son of the preceding, was an equally unfortunate,
though less distinguished political character, in the unhappiest era of
Scottish history. He was educated under the eye of his father, and, at
an early period of life, was highly distinguished for his personal
accomplishments. After going through the schools, he was sent to travel
on the continent, and, during the years 1647, 1648, and 1649, spent the
greater part of his time in France and Italy. He appears to have
returned to Scotland about the close of 1649, and we find him, in 1650,
after Charles II. had arrived in Scotland, appointed colonel of one of
the regiments of foot-guards, that were embodied on that occasion, which
he held by commission from the king, refusing, from a principle of
loyalty, to act under a commission from the parliament. He was present
at the battle of Dunbar, fought in the month of September, 1650, when he
displayed great bravery; and where his lieutenant-colonel, Wallace, who
afterwards commanded the covenanters at Pentland, was taken prisoner.
After the battle of Worcester, he still continued in arms, and kept up a
party in the Highlands ready to serve his majesty on any favourable
opportunity that might occur. Nor did he hesitate, for this purpose, to
act along with the most deadly enemies of his house. In 1654, he joined
the earl of Glencairn, with a thousand foot, and fifty horse, contrary
to advice of his father, who saw no possibility of any good being done
by that ill-advised armament. After having remained, along with this
assemblage of cavaliers, for a fortnight, finding his situation neither
safe nor comfortable among so many Murrays, Gordons, and Macdonalds, he
withdrew from them, taking the road for the barracks of Ruthven, and was
pursued by Macdonald of Glengary, who would certainly have slain him,
had he not escaped with his horse, leaving his foot to shift for
themselves. Glengary, having missed lord Lorne, would have revenged
himself by killing his people, but was prevented by Glencairn, who took
from them an oath of fidelity, and carried them back to the camp; whence
they, in a short time, found means to escape in small bodies, till there
was not one of them remaining. On this occasion, he carried a commission
of lieutenant-general from Charles II., which rendered him so obnoxious
to Cromwell, that be excepted him from his Act of Grace, published in
the month of April this year. Lord Lorne was soon after this
necessitated to take refuge in one of his remote islands, with only four
or five attendants; and, seeing no prospect of any deliverance,
submitted to the English in despair. In November of the following year,
1655, Monk compelled him to find security for his peaceable behaviour,
to the amount of five thousand pounds sterling. He was, notwithstanding
of all this, constantly watched, particularly by the lord Broghill, who
had the meanness to corrupt even his body servants, and constitute them
spies upon their master’s conduct.
In the spring of 1657,
Monk committed him to prison, and Broghill was earnest to have him
carried to England, for the more effectually preventing his intrigues
among the royalists. Shortly after the Restoration, he waited on his
majesty, Charles II., with a letter from his father, and was received so
graciously, that the marquis was induced to go up to London upon the
same errand as his son, but was sent to the Tower without an audience.
During the time that Middleton was practising against his father the
marquis, lord Lorne exerted himself with great zeal, and though he
failed in rescuing his beloved parent from the toils into which he had
been hunted, he left a favourable impression on the mind of Charles with
regard to himself, and, in place of bestowing the estates of Argyle upon
Middleton, as that profligate fondly expected, he was induced to restore
them, as well as the original title of earl, to the rightful heir. Nor
was this all; when, to the astonishment of all the world, he was, by the
Scottish parliament, condemned to death, under the odious statute
respecting leasing-making, he was again saved by the royal favour, to
the confusion of his enemies. For some considerable time after this,
there is little to be told of the earl of Argyle, and that little no way
creditable to his fame. He had his share of the preferments and of the
dirty work of the period, in which he fouled his hands more than was
meet, as a Highlander would say, for the son of his father. It was on
the 29th of June, 1681, that Argyle gave his vote in the council against
Donald Cargill; and the very next day the parliament sat down, which
framed under the direction of the bigoted James VII., then duke of York,
and commissioner to the Scottish parliament, that bundle of absurdities
known by the name of the Test, which was imposed without mercy upon all,
especially such as lay under any suspicion of presbyterianism. This
absurd oath was refused by many of the episcopal ministers, who
relinquished their places rather than debauch their consciences by
swearing contradictions. Some took it with explanations, among whom was
Argyle, who added the following; that, as the parliament never meant to
impose contradictory oaths, he took it as far as consistent with itself
and the protestant faith, but that he meant not to bind or preclude
himself in his station, in a lawful manner, from wishing or endeavouring
any alteration which he thought of advantage to the church or state, and
not repugnant to the protestant religion and his loyalty; and this he
understood to be a part of his oath. Of the propriety of taking the
test, even with this explanation, in a moral point of view, some doubt
may reasonably be entertained. With such an explanation, why might not
any oath be taken that ever was framed, and what can save such swearing
from the charge of being a taking of God’s name in vain; for an oath
so explained is after all not an oath in the proper sense and meaning of
the word. This explanation he submitted to the duke of York, who seemed
to be perfectly satisfied; but he had no sooner put it in practice than
he was indicted for his explanation, as containing treason, leasing, and
perjury, and, by a jury of his peers, brought in guilty of the two first
charges. This was on the 13th of December, 1681, and on the night of the
20th, fearing, as he had good reason, that his life would be taken, he
made his escape out of the castle, disguised as a page, and bearing up
the train of his step-daughter, lady Sophia Lindsay, sister to the earl
of Balcarras. On the third day after sentence of death was pronounced
upon him, Fountainball says, "There was a great outcry against the
criminal judges and their timorous dishonesty. The marquis of Montrose
was chancellor of this assize. Sir George Lockhart called it lucrative
treason to the advantage of church and state; and admired how a man
could be condemned as a traitor for saying he would endeavour all the
amendment he can to the advantage of church and state." Even these
who thought the words deserved some lesser punishment, called it
diabolical alchemy, to screw them into treason. Lord Halifax told
Charles himself, that he knew not the Scottish law, but the English law
would not have hanged a dog for such a crime. On his escape from the
castle, Argyle, by the direction of Mr John Scott, minister of Hawick,
rode straight to the house of Pringle of Torwoodlee, who sent his
servant along with him to the house of Mr William Veitch, who conducted
him to Clapwell, in Derbyshire; where, becoming afraid from the alarm
that had been everywhere given, Mr Veitch thought it prudent to advise
with Lockyer, an old Cromwellian captain, who generously offered his
services to conduct Argyle safely to London; which he did, bringing him
first to Battersea, four miles above London, to Mr Smith’s, a sugar
baker’s house, whose wife was a very pious and generous gentlewoman.
They were rich, and had no children; of course they were able to do a
great deal in the way of charity, without hurting themselves. They
acquainted the lady with the earl’s secret, but concealed it from her
husband, and his lordship passed for an ordinary Scottish gentleman of
the name of Hope. The lady, however, in a day or two, sent to one of her
agents in the city to provide two chambers at a good distance from one
another, where two friends of her’s might be quiet and retired for a
while; and Argyle and Veitch were sent to town by night to the house of
Mr Holmes, the lady’s agent, to be directed to their lodgings. None of
them knew Holmes; but the moment Holmes came into the room which they
had been shown, he took Argyle in his arms, saying, my dear lord Argyle,
you are most welcome to me. Argyle, in astonishment, and not without
some visible concern, inquired how he knew him. I knew you, said Holmes,
since that day I took you prisoner in the Highlands, and brought you to
the castle of Edinburgh. But now we are on one side, and I will venture
all that is dear to me to save you. So he carried them to their several
lodgings; those of Argyle being known to no one but Mr Veitch and
Holmes. As soon as the noise about his escape was over, Mrs Smith
brought them both out to a new house they had moved to at Brentford;
Argyle passing for a Mr Hope, and Veitch for a captain Fabes. Here there
were frequent meetings of noblemen, gentlemen, and rich merchants, with
a view of devising means for preventing the nation from falling into
slavery; but the whole ended in the discovery of the Rye-house plot,
which occasioned the apprehending of Mr William Carstairs, Mr Spence,
and Baillie of Jerviswood; the two former of whom were put to the
torture, and the latter executed in the most cruel manner. Upon the
appearance of the plot being discovered, Argyle went over to Holland;
and Mrs Smith, who was deep in the plot also, persuaded her husband to
emigrate to that country from general motives, for he was ignorant of
the plot; and they continued to live together, taking up their abode at
Utrecht. Veitch, happily, when the search was made for them in London,
had departed for Scotland; and, after hiding for some time in the best
manner he could, he also stole over to Holland. There he met with
Monmouth, Argyle, the earl of Melville, lord Polwart, Torwoodlee, James
Stuart, and many others similarly situated, who all took a deep interest
in the plan now formed for invading both kingdoms at the same time,
Monmouth to lead the attack upon England, and Argyle that upon Scotland.
"Both of them," says Veitch, who seems to have been quite
familiar with the whole plan, "had great promises sent them of
assistance, but it turned to nothing, and no wonder; for the one part
kept not their promises, and the other followed not the measures
contrived and concerted at Amsterdam, April the 17th, 1685." The
persons present at this meeting were Argyle, and his son Charles
Campbell, Cochrane of Ochiltree, Hume of Polwart, Pringle of Torwoodlee,
Denholm of Westshields, Hume of Bassendean, Cochrane of Waterside, Mr
George Wisheart, William Cleland, James Stuart, and Gilbert Elliot. Mr
Veitch says, he brought old president Stairs to the meeting with much
persuasion; and he gave bond for one thousand pounds to Madam Smith,
whose husband was now dead; she lent out six or seven thousand more to
Argyle and others for carrying on the enterprise. Having made all
necessary arrangements, so far as was in their power, and dispatched.
Messrs Barclay and Veitch, Cleland and Torwoodlee, to different parts of
Scotland to prepare for their reception, Argyle and his company went on
board their fleet of three ships, the Anna, Sophia, and David,
lying off the Vlie, on the 28th of April; and, with a fair wind, set
sail for Scotland, and in three days approached the Orkneys. At Kirkwall,
most unfortunately, Spence, Argyle’s secretary, and Blackadder, his
physician, went on shore, were instantly apprehended by the bishop and
sent up to Edinburgh, which alarmed the government, and gave them time
to prepare for the attack which they had heard of, but of which they
were now certain. Sailing round to Argyle’s country, his son
was landed, who sent through the fiery cross, but with no great effect.
Finding that they were pursued by a frigate, they put into a creek and
landed their arms and stores at the old castle of Allangreg. In the
meantime, the marquis of Athol came against them with a considerable
force, by whom they were drawn away from the castle, leaving only one
hundred and fifty men to defend it in case of an attack. Being
attacked, the small garrison fled, and the whole of their provisions and
stores fell into the hands of the enemy. All this was discouraging
enough; but, what was worse, they were not agreed among themselves, nor
was the country agreed to take part with them. The suffering
presbyterians would have nothing to do with Argyle, with whom they were
highly offended, for the part he had hitherto acted, and the declaration
he emitted did not give them great hopes of that which was yet to come.
In short, it was soon evident that they would be obliged to separate,
and every man shift for himself in the best manner he could.
Disappointed in the Highlands, it was proposed to try the Lowlands; but
they had wandered in the Highlands till the government forces, under
Athol, Gordon, and Dumbarton, had cut off their communication with the
disaffected parts of the country, and even cut them off from the
possibility of escape. It was at last, however, resolved, that they
should march upon Glasgow; and they crossed the water of Leven three
miles above Dumbarton, on the night of the 16th of June. Marching next
morning towards Kilmaronock, in the hope of finding some provisions, of
which they were in absolute want, they discovered a party of horse, and
stood to their arms, but the party they had observed being only a small
body of horsemen not sufficiently strong to attack them, they passed on.
On setting their watch the same night, they were alarmed again by a
party of the king’s forces. Attempting a night-march to Glasgow, they
wandered into a moss, where they were so broken and scattered that; in
the morning, there were not above five hundred of them together.
All hope of success was
now over. Sir John Cochrane and Sir Patrick Hume crossed the Clyde, with
about one hundred and fifty men; and Argyle refusing to follow them,
they marched to Muirdyke, where they were attacked by lord Ross, whom
they repulsed in a very gallant manner, but were under the necessity of
separating shortly after Argyle, thus left to himself, despatched Sir
Duncan Campbell and two Duncansons, father and son, to his own country,
to attempt raising new levies; and repaired himself to the house of an
old servant, where he calculated upon a temporary asylum, but was
peremptorily denied entrance. In consequence of this he crossed the
Clyde, attended only by one companion. At the ford of Inchinnan they
were stopped by a party of militia men. Fullarton, the name of Argyle’s
companion, used every means he could think of to save his general, who
was habited as a plain country man, and whom he passed for his guide.
Seeing them determined to go after his guide, as he called him, he
offered to surrender without a blow, provided they did not hurt the poor
man who was conducting him. These terms they accepted, but did not
adhere to; two of their number going after Argyle, who being on
horseback, grappled with them, till one of them and himself came to the
ground. He then presented his pocket pistol, when the two retired, but
other five coming up, knocked him down with their swords, and seized
him. When they found who it was they had made prisoner, they were
exceedingly sorry, but they durst not let him go. Fullarton, perceiving
the stipulation on which he had surrendered broken, snatched at the
sword of one of them in order to take vengeance upon his perfidious
opponents, but, failing in his attempt, he too was overpowered and made
prisoner. Renfrew was the first place that was honoured with the
presence of this noble captive; whence, on the 20th of June, he was led
in triumph into Edinburgh. The order of the council was particular and
peremptory, that he should be led bareheaded in the midst of Graham’s
guards with their matches cocked, with his hands tied behind his back,
and preceded by the common hangman; and that he might be more exposed to
those insults which the unfeeling vulgar are ever ready to heap upon the
unfortunate, it was specially directed that he should be led to the
castle, which was to be the place of his confinement, by a circuitous
route. All this, however, while it manifested the native baseness of the
Scottish rulers and the engrained malevolence of their hearts, only
served to display more strongly the heroic dignity, the meekness, the
patience, and the unconquerable fortitude which animated the bosom of
their unfortunate victim; and it tended in no small degree to hasten
that catastrophe which all this studied severity was intended to avert.
The Scottish parliament, on the 11th of June, sent an address to the
king; wherein, after commending his majesty in their usual manner for
his immeasurable gifts of prudence, courage, and conduct; and leading
Argyle, whom they style an hereditary traitor, with every species of
abuse, and with every crime, particularly that of ingratitude for the
favours which he had received, as well from his majesty as from his
predecessor; they emplore his majesty to show him no favour; and that
his family, the heritors, the preachers, &c. who have joined him,
may for ever be declared incapable of mercy, or of bearing any honour or
estate in the kingdom; and all subjects discharged, under the pains of
treason, to intercede for them in any manner of way. Accordingly, the
following letter, with the royal signature, and countersigned by lord
Milford, secretary of state for Scotland, was despatched to the council
at Edinburgh, and by them entered and registered on the 29th of June.
"Whereas, the late earl of Argyle is, by the providence of God,
fallen into our power, it is our will and pleasure, that you take all
ways to know from him those things which concern our government
most; as, his assisters with men, arms, and money,—his associates and
correspondents,—his designs, &c. but this must be done so as no
time may be lost in bringing him to condign punishment, by causing him
to be denounced as a traitor within the space of three days, after this
shall come to your hands, an account of which, with what he shall
confess, you shall send immediately to our secretaries, for which this
shall be your warrant." James, who, while he was viceroy in
Scotland, attended the infliction of torture upon the unhappy victims of
his tyranny, and frequently called for an other touch, watching, at the
same time, the unhappy victim with the eager curiosity of a
philosophical experimenter, evidently, by this letter, intended that it
should have been applied to Argyle. "It is our will and pleasure,
that you take all ways to know from him, &c." seems positively
to enjoin it; and when we reflect that torture was at the time in common
use, and that the men to whom this order was addressed were in the habit
of practising it, we might almost say, every day, it is somewhat of a
mystery how he escaped it. Certain it is, however, that he did escape
it, but how will, in all probabiIity, never be known. That he did not
escape it by any undue disclosures, is equally certain. That they had
received such orders he was told, and of their readiness to obey them,
he had too many proofs; yet, when examined in private by Queensberry, he
gave no information with respect to his associates in England; he also
denied that he had concerted his design with any persons in Scotland;
but he avowed boldly, and with the utmost frankness, that his hopes of
success were founded on the cruelty of the administration, and such a
disposition in the people to revolt as he conceived to be the natural
consequence of oppression. He owned, at the same time, that he had laid
too much weight upon this principle. Writing, too, to a friend, just
before his examination, he has these words: "What may have been
discovered from any paper that may have been taken, he knows not.
Otherwise, he has named none to their disadvantage." Perhaps it was
to atone for their neglect with regard to the torture, that the council
ordered his execution on the very next day, although they had three to
choose upon; and, to make the triumph of injustice complete, it was
ordered upon the iniquitous sentence of 1682. The warning was short, but
it must have been, in some degree, anticipated; and he received it with
the most perfect composure. He possessed a faith full of assurance that
triumphed over all his afflictions, and a hope that breathed
immortality.
The morning of his
execution was spent in religious exercises, and in writing short notices
to friends. He had his dinner before he left the castle, at the usual
hour, at which he discoursed with those that were along with Mr
Charteris and others, with cheerful and becoming gravity. After dinner
he retired, as was his custom, to his bedchamber, where it is recorded
he slept quietly for about a quarter of an hour. While he was in bed,
one of the members of the council came, and wished to speak with him.
Being told that the earl was asleep, and had left orders not to be
disturbed, he seemed to think that it was only a shift to avoid further
questionings, and the door being thrown open, he beheld, in a sweet and
tranquil slumber, the man who, by the doom of himself and his fellows,
was to die within the space of two short hours. Struck with the sight,
he left the castle with the utmost precipitation; and entering the house
of a friend that lived near by, threw himself on the first bed that
presented itself. His friend naturally concluding that he was ill,
offered him some wine, which he refused, saying, ‘No, no, that will
not help me—I have been at Argyle, and saw him sleeping as pleasantly
as ever man did, but as for me—." The name of the person to whom
this anecdote relates is not mentioned, but Wodrow says he had it from
the most unquestionable authority. After his short repose, he was
brought to the high council-house, from which is dated the letter to his
wife, and thence to the place of execution. On the scaffold he
discoursed with Mr Annand, a minister appointed by the government to
attend him, and with Mr Charteris, both of whom he desired to pray for
him. He then prayed himself with great fervency. The speech which he
made was every way worthy of his character—full of fortitude,
mildness, and charity. He offered his prayers to God for the three
kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and that an end might be
speedily put to their present trials. Having then asked pardon for his
own failings, both of God and man, he would have concluded, but being
reminded that he had said nothing of the royal family, he prayed that
there never might be wanting one in it to support the protestant
religion; and if any of them had swerved from the true faith, he prayed
that God might turn their hearts, but at any rate to save his people
from their machinations. Turning round he said, Gentlemen, I pray you do
not misconstruct my behaviour this day. I freely forgive all men their
wrongs and injuries done against me, as I desire to be forgiven of God.
Mr Annand said, this gentleman dies a protestant; when he stepped
forward and said, I die not only a protestant, but with a heart-hatred
of popery, prelacy, and all superstition whatsomever. He then embraced
his friends, gave some tokens of remembrance to his son-in-law, lord
Maitland, for his daughter and grand-children, stripped himself of part
of his apparel, of which he likewise made presents, and laying his head
upon the block, repeated thrice, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, when he
gave the signal, and his head was severed from his body. Thus died
Archibald Campbell, earl of Argyle, on the 30th of June,
1685, of whom it has been said, "Let him be weighed never so
scrupulously, and in the nicest scales, he will not be found in a single
instance wanting in the charity of a Christian, the firmness and
benevolence of a patriot, nor the integrity and fidelity of a man of
honour." |
