|
 DALYELL, THOMAS, an eminent
cavalier officer, was the son of Thomas Dalyell, of Binns, in west
Lothian, whom he succeeded in that property. The lairds of Binns are
understood to have been descended from the family afterwards ennobled
under the title of earl of Carnwath. The mother of the subject of this
memoir, was the honourable Janet Bruce, daughter of the first lord Bruce
of Kinloss, a distinguished minister of James VI., and who, with the earl
of Marr, was chiefly instrumental in securing the succession of that
monarch to the English crown. Thomas Dalyell, who is said to have been
born about the year 1599, entered the service of Charles I., and had at
one time the command of the town and garrison of Carrickfergus, where he
was taken prisoner by the rebels. He was so much attached to his master,
that, to testify his grief for his death, he never afterwards shaved his
beard. In the army which Charles II. led from Scotland, in 1651, he had
the rank of major-general, in which capacity he fought at the battle of
Worcester. Being there taken prisoner, he was committed to the Tower, had
his estates forfeited, and was himself exempted from the general act of
indemnity. However, he made his escape, and seems to have gone abroad,
whence he returned, and landed with some royalists in the north of
Scotland, in March, 1654. Supported by a small party, he took possession
of the castle of Skelko, and assisted in the exertions then made for the
restoration of Charles, who soon afterwards transmitted the following
testimony of his approbation:—
"TOM DALYELL,
"Though I need say
nothing to you by this honest bearer, captain Mewes, who can well tell you
all I would have said, yett I am willing to give it you under my own hand,
that I am very much pleased to hear how constant you are in your affection
to me, and in your endeavours to advance my service. We have all a harde
work to do: yett I doubt not God will carry us through it: and you can
never doubt (fear) that I will forgett the good part you have acted;
which, trust me, shall be rewarded, whenever it shall be in the power of
your affectionat frind,
"Colen, 30th Dec.
1654. CHARLES R."
All hope of an immediate
restoration being soon after abandoned, Dalyell obtained recommendations
from his majesty for eminent courage and fidelity, and proceeded to
Russia, then an almost barbarous country, where he offered his services to
the reigning czar, Alexis Michaelowitch. He seems to have entered the
Muscovite service as a lieutenant-general, but soon was elevated to the
rank of general. In these high commands, he fought bravely against the
Turks and Tartars. After active employment for several years, general
Dalyell requested permission to return to Scotland, whereupon the czar
ordered a strong testimony of his services to pass under the great seal of
Russia. Part of this document was conceived in the following terms:
"That he formerly came
hither to serve our great czarian majesty: whilst he was with us, he stood
against our enemies, and fought valiantly. The military men that were
under his command he regulated and disciplined, and himself led them to
battle; and he did and performed every thing faithfully, as a noble
commander. And for his trusty services we were pleased to order the said
lieutenant-general to be a general. And now having petitioned us to give
him leave to return to his own country, we, the great sovereign and
czarian majesty, were pleased to order, that the said noble general, who
is worthy of all honour, Thomas, the son of Thomas Dalyell, should have
leave to go into his own country. And by this patent of our czarian
majesty, we do testify of him, that he is a man of virtue and honour, and
of great experience in military affairs. And in case he should be willing
again to serve our czarian majesty, he is to let us know of it beforehand,
and he shall come into the dominions of our czarian majesty with our safe
passports, &c. Given at our court, in the metropolitan city of Muscow,
in the year from the creation of the world, 7173, January 6."
On his return to Scotland,
Charles II. manifested a better sense of his promises towards him than was
customary with that monarch. "Tom Dalyell" was appointed
commander-in-chief of the forces, and a privy councillor, in 1666;
subsequently, he represented the county of Linlithgow in parliament, his
estates being now restored. In the year just mentioned, general Dalyell
suppressed the ill-starred insurrection of the covenanters. By a bold
march across the Pentland hills, he came upon the insurgents by surprise,
and, on the evening of the 28th of November, gained a complete victory
over them. In this year, also, he raised a regiment of foot; but its place
in the military lists is not now known. It is known, however, with
historic certainty, that some years afterwards, he raised the
distinguished horse regiment called the Scots Greys, which was at first
composed exclusively of the sons of the cavalier gentry, and was intended
to keep down the sturdy children of the covenant. The letters of service
for raising the Greys are dated the 25th of November, 1681. The commission
of general Dalyell was intermitted for a fortnight in June, 1679, when the
duke of Monmouth was entrusted with his office, in order to put down the
Bothwell Bridge insurrection. It was generally believed, that, if he had
commanded at Bothwell instead of Monmouth, there would have been sharper
execution upon the insurgents. Being offended at the promotion of
Monmouth, the old man resigned all his employments, but was quickly
restored to them, and an ample pension besides. Some years before this
period, he had received a gift of the forfeited estate of Muir of
Caldwell, who was concerned in the insurrection suppressed by him in 1666;
but his family complain that they were deprived of this by the reversal of
Muir’s attainder after the Revolution, and that they never received any
other compensation for an immense sum expended by their ancestor in the
public service.
An individual who rode in
Dalyell’s army, has left the following graphic account of him:—
"He was bred up very
hardy from his youth, both in diet and clothing. He never wore boots, nor
above one coat, which was close to his body, with close sleeves, like
those we call jocky coats. He never wore a peruke, nor did he shave his
beard since the murder of king Charles the first. In my time his head was
bald, which he covered only with a beaver hat, the brim of which was not
above three inches broad. His beard was white and bushy, and yet reached
down almost to his girdle. [The comb with which he used to dress this
ornament of his person is still preserved at Binns. It gives a vast idea
of the extent of the beard, and of the majestic character of Dalyell in
general – being no less than twelve inches broad, while the teeth are at
least six inches deep.] He usually went to London once or twice in a year,
and then only to kiss the king’s hand, who had a great esteem for
his worth and valour. His unusual dress and figure when he was in London,
never failed to draw after him a great crowd of boys and other young
people, who constantly attended at his lodgings, and followed him with
huzzas as he went to court or returned from it. As he was a man of humour,
he would always thank them for their civilities, when he left them at the
door to go into the king; and would let them know exactly at what hour he
intended to come out again and return to his lodgings. When the king
walked in the park, attended by some of his courtiers, and Dalyell in his
company, the same crowds would always be after him, showing their
admiration at his beard and dress, so that the king could hardly pass on
for the crowd; upon which his majesty bid the devil take Dalyell, for
bringing such a rabble of boys together, to have their guts squeezed out,
whilst they gaped at his long beard and antic habit; requesting him at the
same time (as Dalyell used to express it) to shave and dress like other
christians, to keep the poor bairns out of danger. All this could never
prevail upon him to part with his beard; but yet, in compliance to his
majesty, he went once to court in the very height of fashion; but as soon
as the king and those about him had laughed sufficiently at the strange
figure he made, he reassumed his usual habit, to the great joy of the
boys, who had not discovered him in his fashionable dress." Memoirs
of Captain Creichton, by Swift.
On the accession of James
VII, in 1685, Dalyell received a new and enlarged commission to be
commander-in-chief; but the tendency of the court to popery offended his
conscience so grievously, that it is not probable he could have long
retained the situation. Death, however, stepped in, and "rescued
him," to use Creichton’s language, "from the difficulties he
was likely to be under, between the notions he had of duty to his prince
on one side, and true zeal for his religion on the other." He died
about Michaelmas, 1685. A contemporary historian informs us, that
"after he had procured himself a lasting name in the wars, he fixed
his old age at Binns, his paternal inheritance, adorned by his excellence
with avenues, large parks, and fine gardens, and pleased himself with the
culture of curious flowers and plants." His estate was inherited by a
son of the same name, who was created a baronet of Nova Scotia, and was
succeeded by a daughter Magdalene, who marrying James Menteith of
Auldcathy, transmitted the property and title to her son, Sir James
Menteith Dalyell, great-grandfather to the present representative. Through
this alliance, the family now claims to represent the old line of the
earls of Menteith.
General Dalyell, as might
be expected, is represented by the presbyterian historians as "a man
naturally rude and fierce, who had this heightened by his breeding and
service in Muscovy, where he had seen little but the utmost tyranny and
slavery." There are two ways, however, of contemplating the character
of even so blood-stained a persecutor as Dalyell. He had, it must be
remarked, served royalty upon principle in its worst days; had seen a
monarch beheaded by a small party of his rebellious subjects, and a great
part of the community, including himself, deprived of their property and
obliged to fly for their lives to foreign lands; and all this was on
account of one particular way of viewing politics and religion. When the
usual authorities of the land regained their ascendancy, Dalyell must
naturally have been disposed to justify and support very severe measures,
in order to prevent the recurrence of such a period as the civil war and
usurpation. Thus all his cruelties are resolved into an abstract6
principle, to the relief of his personal character, which otherwise, we do
not doubt, might be very good. How often do we see, even in modern times,
actions justified upon general views, which would be shuddered as if they
stood upon their naked merits, and were to be performed upon the sole
responsibility of the individual!
The
Binns
Charter granted on 9th November 1944 to the National Trust for Scotland
by Eleanor Dalyell of the Binns, The first House in Scotland presented
to The National Trust for Scotland under their Country House Scheme.
(pdf) |
