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The name Maclean,
abbreviated from Mac Gillean, is derived from the founder of the clan, "Gillean
n'a Tuaidh," Gillean of the Rattle-axe, so called from his carrying with
him as his ordinary weapon, a battle-axe. From this hero are descended
the three principal families who compose the clan Maclean, who was also
designated Gillean of Duart.
It is related of Gillean
that, being one day engaged in a standing on the mountain of Bein't
Sheala, and having wandered away from the rest of his party, the
mountain became suddenly enveloped in a deep mist, and that he lost his
track. For three days he wandered about; and, at length exhausted, threw
himself under the shelter of a cranberry bush, previously fixing the
handle of his battle-axe in the earth. He was discovered by his party,
who had been vainly endeavouring to find him, insensible on the ground,
with his arm round the handle of the battle-axe, whilst the head of the
weapon rose above the bush. Hence, probably, the origin of the crest
used by the clan Maclean, the battle-axe surrounded by a laurel-branch.
To Gillean of the
Battle-axe various origins have been ascribed; truly is it observed,
that "there is little wisdom in attempting to thread the mazes of
fanciful and traditionary genealogies.'45' Like other families of
importance, in feudal times, the Macleans had their seneachie, or
historian; and, by the last of these, Dr. John Beaton, the descent, in
regular order, from Aonaglius Turmi Teanebrach, a powerful monarch of
Ireland, to Fergus the First, of Scotland, is traced.
A tradition had indeed
prevailed, that the founder of the house of Maclean was a son of
Fitzgerald, an Earl of Kildare,—a supposition which is contemptuously
rejected by the historian of this ancient race. "In fact," he remarks,
"from various sources, Gillean can be proved to have been in his grave,
long before such a title as Earl of Kildare was known, and nearly two
hundred years before the name of Fitzgerald existed." It appears,
indeed, undoubted, from ancient records and well-authenticated sources,
that the origin of Gillean was derived from the source which has been
stated.
When the lordship of the
Isles was forfeited, the clan Maclean was divided into four branches,
each of which held of the Lords of the Isles; these branches were the
Macleans of Duart, the Macleans of Loch-bay, the Macleans of Coll, and
the Macleans of Ardgour. Of these, the most important branch was the
family of Duart, founded by Lachlan Maclean, surnamed Lubanich. This
powerful chief obtained such an ascendant at the court of the Lord of
the Isles, as to provoke the enmity of the Chief of Mackinnon, who, on
the occasion of a stag-hunt, formed a plot to cut off Lachlan and his
brother, Hector Maclean. But the conspiracy was discovered by its
objects; Mackinnon suffered death at the hands of the two brothers for
his design ; and the Lord of the Isles, sailing in bis galley towards
his Castle of Ardtorinsh in Morven, was captured, and carried to
Icoluinbkill, where he was obliged, sitting on the famous black rock of
lona, held sacred in those days, to swear that he would bestow in
marriage upon Lachlan Lubanich his daughter Margaret, granddaughter, by
her mother's side, of Robert the Second, King of Scotland : and with
her, as a dowry, to give to the Lord of Duart, Eriska, with all its
isles. The dowry demanded consisted of a towering rock, commanding an
extensive view of the islands by which it is surrounded, and occupying a
central situation among those tributaries. From the bold and aspiring
chief was Sir John Maclean of Duart descended. The marriage of Lachlan
Lubanich with Margaret of the Isles took place in the year 1366.
Between the time of
Lachlan Lubanich and the birth of Sir John Maclean, the house of Duart
encountered various reverses of fortune. It has been shown how the chief
added the rook of Eriska to his possessions; in the course of the
following century, a great part of the Isles of Mull and Tircv, with
detached lands in Isla, Jura, Scarba, and in the districts of Morven,
Lochaber, and Knapdale, were included in the estates of the chiefs of
Duart, who rose, in the time of James the Sixth, to be among the most
powerful of the families of the Hebrides. The principal scats of the
chiefs of the Macleans were Duart and Aros Castles in Mull, Castle
Gillean in Kerrara, on the coast of Lorn, and Ardtornish Castle in
Morven. In 1(532, on occasion of the visit of one of the chiefs,
Lachlan, to the Court of Charles the First, he was created a Baronet of
Xova Scotia, by the title of Sir Lachlan Maclean of Morven. But various
circumstances, and more especially the enmity of the Argyle family, and
the adherence of Maclean to the Stuarts, had contributed to the decline
of their pre-eminence before the young chief, whose destiny it was to
make Ins name known and feared at the court of England, had seen the
light.
The family of Maclean in
all its numerous and complicated branches, had been distinguished for
loyalty and independence during the intervening centuries between the
career of Gillean and the birth of that chieftain whoso devotion to the
Jacobite cause proved eventually the ruin of the house of Duart.
Throughout the period of the Great Rebellion, and of the Protectorate,
the chief of the Macleans had made fin-mense sacrifices to support the
interests of the King, and to bring his clan into the field. In the
disgraceful transactions, by which it was agreed that Scotland should
withdraw her troops from England upon the payment of four hundred
thousand pounds, in full of all demands, the faithful Highland clans of
the north and west, the Grahams, Macleans, Camerons, and many others,
had no participation. One main actor in that bargain, by which a monarch
was bought and sold, was the Marquis of Argyle, the enemy and terror of
his Highland neighbours, the Macleans of Duart. Upon the suppression of
the royal authority, domestic feuds were ripened into hostilities during
the general anarchy; and few of the oppressed and harassed clans
suffered more severely, or more permanently than the Macleans of Duart.
Archibald, the first
Marquis of Argyle, fixed an indelible stain upon his memory by acts of
unbridled licence and aggression, in relation to his Highland
neighbours; the unfortunate Macleans of Duart especially experienced the
effects of his wrath, and suffered from his manoeuvres."*
In the time of Cromwell,
Argyle having procured from the Lords of the Treasury, a grant of the
tithes of Argyleshire, with a commission to collect several arrears of
the feu-duty, cesses, taxation, and supply, and some new contributions
laid on the subject by Parliament, under the names of ammunition and
contribution money, the power which such an authority bestowed, in days
when the standard of right was measured by the amount of force, may
readily be conceived. On the part of Argyle, long-cherished views on the
territories of his neighbour, Maclean of Duart, were now brought into
co-operation with the most remorseless abuse of authority,
Sir Lachlan Maclean of
Duart, the great-grandfather of Sir John Maclean, was then chief of the
clan. The Marquis of Argyle directed that application should be made to
this unfortunate man for his quota of these arrears, and also for some
small sums for which he had himself been security for the chief. Sir
Lachlan was in no condition to comply with this demand ; for he had
suffered more deeply in the royal cause than any of his predecessors.
During the rule of Argyle and Leslie in Scotland, a rule which might
aptly be denominated a reign of terror, the possessions of the chief in
Mull had been ravaged by the parliamentary troops, without any
resistance from the harmless inhabitants, who had been instructed by
their lord to oiler no retaliation that could furnish a plea for future
oppression. The castle of Duart had been besieged, and surrendered to
Argyle and Leslie, upon condition that the defenceless garrison, and
eight Irish gentlemen, inmates of the hospitable Highlander's home,
should be shared. Still more, the infant son of Sir Lachlan had been
kidnapped from his school at Dumbarton by Argyle, and was paraded by the
side of VOL. n. K the Marquis to intimidate the chief, who was made to
understand that any resistance from him would be fatal to his child,—"an
instrument," observes the sencachie, "which the coward well knew might
be used with greater effect upon the noble father of his captive, than
all the Campbell swords the craven lord could muster." Under these
circumstances, Sir Lachlan Maclean was neither in the temper nor the
condition to comply with the exactions of those whom he also regarded as
having usurped the sovereign authority. He refused; and his refusal was
exactly what his enemy desired.
The next step which
Argyle took was to claim the amount due to him from the chief, which, by
buying up all the debts, public and private, of Maclean, he swelled to
thirty thousand pounds, before a court of law. Such was the state of
Scottish judicial proceedings in those days, that the process was ended
before Sir Lachlan had even heard of its commencement. He hastened, when
informed of it, to Edinburgh, in order to make known his case before the
"Committee of Estates," then acting with sovereign authority in
Scotland. But lie was intercepted at Inverary, cast into prison upon a
writ of attachment, issued and signed by Argyle himself, and immured in
Argyle's castle of Car rick, for a debt due to Archibald, Marquis of
Argyle. It was there required of him that he should grant a bond for
fourteen thousand pounds Scots, and sign a doqueted account for sixteen
thousand pounds more, bearing interest.
For a time the unhappy
chief refused to sign the bond thus demanded; for a year he resisted the
oppression of his enemy, and bore his imprisonment, with the aggravation
of declining health. At last his friends, alarmed at his sinking
condition, entreated him, as the only means of release, to comply with
the demand of Argyle. Sir Lachlan signed the document, was set free, and
returned to Duart. where he expired in April, 1649. To his family he
bequeathed a legacy of contention and misfortune.
His successor, Sir Hector
Maclean, the young hostage who had been kidnapped from Dumbarton, was a
youth of a warlike and determined spirit, who resisted the depredations
of the plundering clan of Campbells in Lorn and Ardnamuchan, and, on one
occasion, hung up two of the invaders at his castle of Dunnin Morvern.
Such, in spite of this summary mode of proceeding, were Sir Hector's
ideas of honour, that, notwithstanding his doubts of the validity of the
bond obtained from his father, he conceived that the su perscription of
his father's name to it rendered it his duty to comply with its
conditions as he could. He is declared by one authority to have paid ten
thousand pounds of the demand ; by another that fact is doubted, since,
when Sir .John Maclean's guardians investigated it, no receipts for sum»
alleged to have been paid on account were to be found* But this is again
accounted for by the sencachie or family historian.
Sir Hector Maclean fell
in the battle of Inverkeithing, where, out of eight hundred of his men
who fought against General Lambert, only forty escaped. He was succeeded
by his brother Allan, a child, subject to the management of guardians.
By their good care, a great portion of the debt to Argyle was paid, but
there still remained sufficient to afford the insatiable enemy of his
house a fair pretext of aggression. The case was again brought before
the Scottish Council; it was even referred to Charles the Second ; but,
by the representations of the Duke of Lauderdale, the Argyle influence
prevailed. The famous Marquis of Argyle was, indeed, no longer in
existence; he had perished on the scaffold : but his son still grasped
at the possessions of his neighbour; and, although King Charles desired
that Lauderdale "should see that Maclean had justice," the Duke, who was
then Scottish Lord Commissioner, on his return to Scotland, decided that
the rents of the estates should be made payable to Argyle on account of
the bond, a certain portion of them being reserved for the maintenance
of the chief.
Sir Allan died a little
more than a year after this decision had been made, ignorant of the
decree ; and left, to bear the buffeting of the storm, his son, Sir John
Maclean, a child only four years of age, who succeeded his father in
1677. [According to the Memoirs of Lochiel, it appears that Sir Allan
must have died in 1673 or 1674; since the author speaks, in 1074, of the
"late Sir Allan." of his nearest kinsmen. Lachlan Maclean of Brolas, and
Lachlan Maclean of Torloisk, men of profound judgment and of firm
character, from whose guardianship much was expected by the clan. But
the minor possessed a friend as true as any kinsman could he, and one of
undoubted influence and sagacity, in the celebrated Sir Ewan Cameron of
Lochiel. Against his interest, in despite of Argyle, that brave and
noble man espoused the cause of the weak and of the fatherless,
notwithstanding that he was himself a debtor to Argyle, of whose power
and will to injure he had shortly a proof. Finding that Lochiel was
resolved to protect and assist the young Maclean, the Earl of Argyle
sent to demand from Sir Ewan the payment of the debt he owed, assuring
him that it was his intention to follow only the law with the greatest
rigour. Sir Ewan answered that he had not the money to pay, neither
would he act against his friends. This threat, however, obliged Sir Ewan
to continue in arms, contrary to proclamation, and also to obtain a
protection from the Privy Council in Edinburgh, against the vengeance of
Argyle.
But that which occasioned
the greatest vexation to Sir Ewan, was an opportunity which he conceived
that the tutors or guardians of the young Maclean had lost the power of
emancipating their ward from the clutches of Argyle's power. This, he
thought, might have been effected upon the forfeiture of the Marquis of
Argyle to the Crown, when lie considered that an opportunity might have
been afforded to Maclean's guardians to release their ward from Argyle's
hands, by a transaction with certain creditors of that nobleman, to whom
the sum claimed by Argyle from Maclean had been promised, but never
paid. Thus, by an unaccountable oversight, the power of the Argyle
family over the fortunes of the Macleans was continued.
Under these adverse
circumstances, Sir John Maclean succeeded to his inheritance. His
principal guardian, although bearing a high a reputation among the clan,
was esteemed by Sir Ewan as a person who seems to have been absolutely
unfit for manageing his affairs att such a juncture; and soon proved to
be far too easy and credulous to contest with the crafty Campbells. Full
of compassion for the helpless infant chief, Sir Ewan now resolved never
to abandon the Macleans until matters were adjusted between them. He
passed the winter of the year in Edinburgh, where he was, at one time,
so much incensed against the Earl of Argyle for his cruelty to the
Macleans, and so indignant at his conduct to himself, that the valiant
chief of the Camerons was with difficulty restrained by his servant from
shooting Argyle as he stepped into his coach to attend the councils.
Whilst the counsels of
Sir Ewan Cameron prevailed with the guardians, the Macleans remained
merely on the defensive; but when the insinuations of Lord Macdonald,
who had much influence with one of the young heir's guardians, were
listened to, the Macleans were acted to reprisals and plunder, to which
it was at all times no difficult matter to stimulate Highlanders.
At length the powerful
and mortal foe succeeded to his heart's content .11 his scheme of
oppression. Argyle, in his capacity of Hereditary Justiciary of the
Isles, summoned the clan Maclean to appear and stand their trials for
treasonable convocations, garrisoning their houses and castles, &c.; the
unfortunate clansmen, knowing their enemy to be both judge and evidence,
did not obey. Immediately they were declared rebels and outlaws, and a
commission of fire and sword was issued against them. All communication
between them and the Privy Council, who might have redressed their
wrongs, was cut off': those who happened to fall into the hands of the
Campbells, were cruelly treated ; and those who styled themselves
Maclean were blockaded in the Islands, and almost starved for want of
provisions. Reduced in strength by the battle of Inverkeithing, the clan
was but ill-prepared to resist so formidable a foe as Argyle, whose men,
therefore, landed without opposition, the people flying to their
mountains as the enemy approached. The young chief was sent, for
protection, first to the fortified island of Thernburg, and afterwards
to Kin-tail, under the care of the Earl of Seaforth, who had, not long
previously, acted as a sort of arbitrator in the affairs of the family.
While Sir John Maclean
was thus, probably, unconscious of his wrongs and dangers, secured from
personal injury, the strong old Castle of Duart was taken possession of
by Argyle, who, finding it garrisoned, was obliged to publish an
indemnity, which he had obtained on purpose, remitting all crimes
committed by the Macleans since the eighteenth of September, 1674, on
condition that the castle should be delivered to him,—a demand with
which the islanders were forced to comply. But in vain did Argyle
endeavour to prevail upon the honest and simple clansmen to renounce
their allegiance to their chief, and to become his vassals.* Every
species of indignity and of plunder was inflicted upon these hapless,
but faithful Highlanders in vain ; a " monster," as he is termed, "
bearing the stamp of human appearance, named Sir Neill Campbell," in
vain chased the poor inhabitants to the hills, and there exhibited acts
of cruelty too shocking to be related. A promise, however, of payment of
rents was at last obtained by Argyle, and he left the island, after
garrisoning the castles. But this tribute was never paid. The Macleans
could neither bear to see the halls of Duart and of Aros Castle tenanted
by their foes, nor would they submit to pay to them their rents. A
league of defence was again formed; letters of fire and sword were, in
consequence, issued; but Argyle was bathed by a hurricane in his second
invasion of Duart. Nature conspired with the injured \n their
protection; and, after some time, the guardians of Sir John .Maclean,
accompanied by Lord Macdonald, proceeded to London in order to appeal to
the Privy Council. The appeal thus made was prolonged until the year
1680, when it was at last settled by the Scottish Council ; and the
island of Tyrie was given to the Earl of Argyle, in full payment of his
claim upon the estates of Sir John Maclean.
The character of the
young chief was, meantime, formed under the influence of these events,
of which, when he grew up, whilst yet the storm raged, he could not be
ignorant. One principle he inherited from his ancestors—a determined
fidelity to the Stuart cause. When he was fifteen years of age, the
death of his guardians threw the management of his affairs into his own
hands; this was in the years 1686 and 1687, one of the most critical
periods in English history. Having appointed certain gentlemen his
agents, or factors, the young chief went, according to the fashion of
his times, to travel. He first repaired to the Court of England, at that
time under the sway of James the Second; he then crossed to France, and
returned not to the British dominions until he accompanied James into
Ireland.
The character of Sir John
Maclean, as he attained manhood, and entered into the active business of
life, has been drawn with great felicity by the author of "The Memoirs
of Lochiel."
"He was," says this
writer, "of a person and disposition more turned for the court and the
camp, than for the business of a private life. There was a natural
vivacity and politeness in his manner, which he afterwards much improved
by a courtly education; and, as his person was well-made and gracefull,
so he took care to sett it off by all the ornaments and luxury of dress.
He was of a sweet temper, and good-natured. His with lively and
sparkeling, and his humour pleasant and facetious. He loved books, and
acquired the languages with great facility, whereby he cultivated and
enriched his understanding with all manner of learning, but especially
the belles let-tres; add to this, a natural elegancy of expression, and
ane inexhaustible fancy, which, on all occasions, furnished him with
such a copious variety of matter, as rendered his conversation allways
new and entertaining. But with all these shining quality*, the natural
indolence of his temper, and ane immoderate love of pleasure, made him
unsuiteable to the circumstances of his family. No persons talked of
affairs, private or publick, with a better grace, or more to the
purpose, but he could not prevail with himself to be att the least
trouble in the execution. He seemed to know everything, and from the
smallest hint so penetrated into the circumstances of other people's
buisiness, that he often did great services by his excellent advice ;
and he was of a temper so kind and obligeing, that he was fond of every
occasion of doeing good to his friends, while he neglected many
inviteing opportunities of serveing himself."
The first hostilities
between France and England, after the Revolution, broke out in Ireland,
whence it was the design of James the Second to incite his English and
Scottish subjects to his cause. And there was, apparently, ample grounds
for hope ; England was rent with factions, Lord Dundee was raising a
civil war in Scotland, and half Europe was in contention with the other,
whether the late King of England should be supported.
"I will recover my own
dominions with my own subjects," was the boast of James, "or perish in
the attempt." Unhappily, like his son, his magnanimity ended in
expressions.
Sir John Maclean
accompanied James when he landed, on the twelfth of March, 1689, in
Ireland; after the siege of Derry, the chief returned to Scotland,
accompanied by Sir Alexander Maclean of Otter, and there very soon
showed his determination in favour of the insurrection raised by Dundee.
Sir John Maclean's first
step was to send Maclean of Lochbuy as his lieutenant with three hundred
men to join Dundee. His party encountered a major of General Mackay's
army at Knockbreak in Badenoch; a conflict ensued, and Mackay's men were
put to flight. This was the first blood that was shed for James the
Second in Scotland.
Sir John Maclean soon
afterwards joined Dundee in person, leaving his castle of Duart well
defended. This fort, which had witnessed so many invasions, was besieged
during the absence of the chief by Sir George
Rooke cannonaded it
several days without effect. Its owner, meantime, had joined Dundee, and
was appointed to the command of the right wing of the army.
At the battle of
Killicrankie, Sir John Maclean distinguished himself, as became the
descendant of a brave and loyal race, at the head of his clan; he
probably witnessed the death of Dundee. Few events in Scottish history
could have affected those who followed a General to the field so
severely. Lord Dundee had been foremost on foot during the action; he
was foremost on horseback, when the enemy retreated, in the pursuit. He
pressed on to the mouth of the Pass of Killicrankie to cut off the
escape. In a short time he perceived that he had overrun his men : he
stopped short : he waved his arm in the air to make them hasten their
speed. Conspicuous in his person he was observed; a musket-ball was
aimed at that extended arm; it struck him, and found entrance through an
opening in his armour. The brave General was wounded in the arm-pit. He
rode off the field, desiring that the mischance might not be disclosed,
ami fainting, dropped from his horse. As soon as he was revived, lie
desired to be raised, and looking towards the field of battle asked how
things went. "Well," was the reply. "Then," he said, "I am well," and
expired.
William the Third
understood the merits of his bravo opponent. An express was sent to
Edinburgh with an account of the action. "Dundee," said the King (and
the soldier spoke), "must be dead, or lie would have been at Edinburgh
before the express." When urged to send troops to Scotland, "It is
needless," he answered; "the war ended with Dundee's life." And the
observation was just: a peace was soon afterwards concluded.*
Sir John Maclean,
nevertheless, continued in arms under the command of Colonel Cannon, and
lost several brave officers by the incapacity of this commander. After
the peace was signed, he returned to live upon his estates, until
Argyle, having procured a commission from William to reduce the Macleans
by fin5 or sword, invaded the island of Mull with two thousand five
hundred men. Sir John being unprepared to resist him, after advising his
vassals to accept protection from Argyle, again retired to the island of
Thernburg, whence he captured several of King William's vessels which
were going to supply the army in Ireland.
The massacre of Glencoe
operated in some respects favourably, after the tragedy had been
completed, upon the circumstances of the Jacobites. Terrified at the
odium incurred, a more lenient spirit was henceforth shown to them by
Government. Many persons were exempted from taking the oaths, and were
allowed to remain in their houses. Early in the year 1792, Sir John
Maclean took advantage of this favourable turn of affairs, and, after
obtaining permission through the influence of Argyle, and placing the
castle of Duart under that nobleman's control, he went to England.
He soon became a
favourite at the Court of one who, if we except the massacre of Glencoe,
evinced few dispositions of cruelty to the Scottish Jacobites. King
William is said, nevertheless, to have had a real antipathy to the
Highlanders ; and Queen Mary, whose heart turned to the adherents of her
forefathers, was obliged to conceal her partiality for her Northern
subjects. It had appeared, however, on several occasions, during the
absence of her consort, and was now evinced in her good offices to the
chief of the clan Maclean. That the chief was of a deportment to confirm
the kind sentiments thus shown towards him. the character which has been
given of him amply proves.
Sir John Maclean was, as
the author of Sir Ewan Cameron's life relates, "the only person of his
party that went to Court, which no doubt contributed much to his being
so particularly observed by the Queen, who received him most graciously,
honoured him frequently with her conversation, and said many kind and
obliging things to him. Sir John on his part acquitted himself with so
much politeness and address, that her Majesty soon began to esteem him.
He took the proper occasions to inform her of the misfortunes of his
family, and artfully insinuated that he and his predecessors had drawn
them all upon themselves by the sendees they had rendered to her
grandfather, father, and uncle. She answered, that the antiquity and
merit of his family were no strangers to her ears; and that, though she
had taken a resolution never to interpose betwixt her father's friends
and the King her husband, yet, she would distinguish him so far as to
recommend his services to his Majesty by a letter under her own hand;
and that she doubted not but that it would have some influence, since it
was the first favour of that nature which she had ever demanded."
Sir John is, however,
declared by another authority to have declined the commission thus
offered to him. Although he had received King James's permission to
reconcile himself with the Government, he did not, it appears, choose to
bear arms in its defence. Such is the statement of one historian. By
another it is said that "Sir John was much caressed while he continued
in the army,"—a sentence which certainly seems to imply that he had
assented to King William's offer. At all events, lie managed to engage
the confidence of the King so far, that William - not only honoured him
with his countenance, but told Argyle that he must part with Sir John's
estate, and that he himself would be the purchaser."
The nobleman to whom
William addressed this injunction was of a very different temper from
his father and grandfather, who had both died on the scaffold.
Archibald, afterwards created by William Duke of Argyle, had in 1685
become the head of that powerful family; he was of a frank, noble, and
generous disposition. "He loved," says the same writer, "his pleasures,
affected magnificence, and valued money no further than as it
contributed to support the expence which the gallantry of his temper
daily put him to. He several times offered very easy terms to Sir John$
and particularly he made one overture of quitting all his pretentions to
that estate, on condition of submitting to be the Earl's vassall for the
greatest part of it, and paying him two thousand pounds sterling, which
he had then by him in ready money ; but the expensive gayety of Sir
John's temper made him unwilling to part with the money, and the name of
a vassall suited as ill with his vanity, which occasioned that and
several other proposals to be refused. However, as the generous Earl was
noways uneasy to part with the estate, so he, with his usual frankness,
answered King William that hi« Majesty might always command Lim and his
fortunes ; and that he submitted his claim upon Sir John's estate, as he
did everything else, to his royal pleasure."
A tradition exists in the
family, that when Argyle sent messengers with his proposals to the
Castle of Duart, Sir John pushed away the boat, as it neared the shore,
with his own hands. This was worthy the pride of a Highland chieftain.
To such a height, in
short, did William's favour amount, and so far did he in this instance
carry his usual policy of conciliating lib* enemies by courtesy and aid,
that he ordered Maclean to go as a volunteer in his service, assuring
him that he would see that 110 harm was done to his property in his
absence. Sir
John, previous to his
intended departure from England, went to Scotland to put his affairs in
order. On his return ho was told by Queen Mary that there were reports
to his prejudice; he denied them, and satisfied the Queen that all
suspicions of his fidelity were unfounded. Upon the strength of this
assurance the Queen wrote in Maclean's favour to the King, in Holland,
whither Sir John then proceeded to join his Majesty. But this profession
of fidelity to one monarch soon proved to be hollow. Maclean was truly
one of the politicians of the day, swayed by every turn of fortune, and
cherishing a deep regard for his own interest in his heart. To inspire
dislike and distrust wherever he desired to secure allegiance was the
lot of William, of whom it has been bitterly said, that in return for
having delivered three kingdoms from popery and slavery, he was, before
having been a year on the throne, repaid " with faction in one of them,
with rebellion in the other, and with both in the third." How expressive
was the exclamation wrung from him, "that he wished he had never been
King of Scotland." Sir John Maclean was one of those who added another
proof to the King's conviction. "that the flame of party once raised, it
was in vain to expect that truth, justice, or public interest could
extinguish it.''
On arriving at Bruges,
Maclean heard of the battle of Landau, in which the French army had
proved victorious against the Confederates; and at the same time a
report prevailed that a counter revolution had taken place in England,
and that William was already dethroned. Sir John changed his course upon
this intelligence, and hastened to St. Germains, where he was, as might
lie expected, coldly received. He remained there until the death of
William and then he married the daughter of Sir En teas Macpherson of
Skye.
Upon the accession of
Anne, Sir John took advantage of the general indemnity offered to those
who had gone abroad with James the Second, and resolved to avail himself
of this opportunity of returning home; but, unluckily, he was detained
until a day after the act had specified, by the confinement of his wife,
who was taken in at Paris, and there, in November 1703, gave birth to a
son, who afterwards succeeded to the baronetcy. Although there was some
risk in proceeding, yet Sir John, trusting to the Queen's favourable
disposition to the Jacobites, embarked, and with hi* wife and child
reached London, There lie was Immediately committed to the Tower, but
his imprisonment had a deeper source than the mere delay of a few weeks.
The Queensbury plot at that time agitated the public, and produced
considerable embarrassment in the counsels of state.
It appears that Sir John
Maclean had taken no part in this obscure transaction which could affect
his honour, or impair his chance of favour from Queen Anne; for, so soon
as he was liberated, she bestowed upon him a pension of five hundred
pounds a-year, which he enjoyed during the remainder of his life.
For some years(Sir John
Maclean continued to divide his time between London and the Highlands,
where he frequently visited his firm friend Sir Ewan Cameron of Lochiel,
at his Castle of Achnacarry. His estates had not been materially
benefited by the brief sunshine of King William's favour Upon finding
that Maclean had gone to St. Germains, that monarch had confirmed to the
Duke of Argyle the former grant of the island of Tyrie, which the
successors of the Duke have since uninterruptedly enjoyed until the
present day. Its value was, at the time of its passing into the. hands
of the Campbells, about three hundred pounds sterling per annum.* The
chief of the clan Maclean was certain never to escape the suspicions of
the Government, after the death of Anne, during whose reign the
Highlanders experienced an unwonted degree of tranquillity. Upon her
demise the whole state of affairs was changed ; and none experienced
greater inconveniences from the vigilance of Government than Sir Ewan
Cameron and hie friend Maclean. Lochiel, as his biographer observes,
"drank deeply of this bitter cup."
It was during one of
Maclean's visits to Achnacarry, when in company with his now venerable
friend, that the Governor of Fort William attempted to take him and Sir
Ewan prisoners, but they made their escape. During the night of their
flight, however, Sir John Maclean caught a severe cold, which ended
afterwards fatally.
When the Earl of Mar
raised the standard of the Chevalier in Scotland, Sir John joined him at
Achterarder, some days before the battle of Sherriff Muir. In that
engagement the clan Maclean distinguished themselves, and some of their
brave chieftains were killed .u the battle. After the day was over, Sir
John retired to Keith, where he parted from his followers, never to
rejoin them. A consumption, incurred from the cold caught in his escape,
was then far advanced. He declined an offer made to receive him on board
the Chevalier's ship, bound for France, and went to Gordon Castle,
where, on the twelfth of March, 171G, he expired.
Thus ended a life
characterized by no ordinary share of vicissitude and misfortune. If the
fate of Sir John Maclean be less tragical than that of other
distinguished Jacobites, it was, it must be acknowledged, one replete
with anxiety and disappointment. He may be said to have been peculiarly
" born to trouble." To our modern notions of honour and consistency, his
conduct in becoming a courtier of William the Third, appears to betray
that unsoundness and hollowness of political principle which, more or
less, was the prevalent moral disease of the period, and which was
attributable to some of the most celebrated men of the day. It
undoubtedly forms an unfavourable contrast to the stern independence of
Sir Ewan Cameron of Lochiel, and of other Highland chieftains, and too
greatly resembles the code of politics adopted by the Earl of Mar. But
those who knew Sir John Maclean intimately, considered him a man of
straightforward integrity ; they deemed him above dissimulation, and
have placed his name among those who despised every worldly advantage
for the sake of principle, and who loved the cause which he had espoused
for its own sake. The broken towers of Duart and of Aros, the ruins of
those once proud lords of the soil, attest the sacrifices which they
made, and form a melancholy commentary upon their history.
The castle of Aros, in
the Island of Mull, "is interesting," says Macculloch, "from the
picturesque object which it affords to the artist ; the more so, as the
country is so devoid of scenes on which his pencil can be exerted. Still
more striking, from its greater magnitude and more elevated position, is
Duart Castle, once the stronghold of the Macleans, and till lately
garrisoned by a detachment from Fort William. It is fast falling into
ruin since it was abandoned as a barrack. When a few years shall have
passed, the almost roofless tenant will surrender his spacious
apartments to the bat and the owl, and seek shelter, like his
neighbours, in the thatched hovel which rises near him. But the walls,
of formidable thickness, may long bid defiance even to the storms of
this region ; remaining to mark to future times the barbarous splendour
of the ancient Highland chieftains, and, with the opposite fortress of
Ardtornish, serving to throw a gleain of historical interest over the
passage of the Sound of Mull."
Hitherto Iona had
received the last remains of the Lords of Duart; but Sir John Maclean
was not carried to the resting-place of his forefathers. He was buried
in the church of E attic in Bamffshire, in the family vault of the
Gordons of Buckie. In Iona, that former " light of the western world,"
are the tombs of the brave and unfortunate Macleans Their bones are
interred in the vaults of the cathedral, which, after coasting the
barren rocks of Mull, buffeted by the waves, the traveller beholds
rising out of the sea, "giving," as it is finely expressed, " to this
desolate region an air of civilization, and recalling the consciousness
of that human society which, presenting elsewhere no visible traces,
seems to have abandoned those rocky shores to the cormorant and the
gull." On the tombs of the Highland warriors who repose within St.
Mary's Church in Iona, are sculptured ships, swords, armorial bearings,
appropriate memorials to the island lords, or. as the Chevalier not
inaptly called them, "little kings;" and, undistinguishable from the
graves of the chiefs, are the funereal allotments of the Kings of
Scotland, Iceland, and Norway.
Sir John Maclean left one
son and six daughters. His son Hector was born in France, but brought to
Scotland at the age ol' four, ami placed under the care of bis kinsman,
Maclean of Coll, where he remained until he was eighteen years of age;
when he repaired to Edinburgh, and in the college made considerable
progress in the usual course of studies .n that institution. After
various journeys abroad, chiefly to Paris, Sir Hector Maclean returned
in 1745 to Edinburgh, intending again to lead his clansmen to the,
standard of Prince Charles; but a temporary imprisonment, occasioned by
the treachery of a man in whose house he lodged, prevented his
appearance in the field. He was detained in confinement until released
as a subject of the King of Prance. He died at Rome in the year 1758, in
the forty-seventh year of his age. At his death the title of Baronet
devolved upon Allan of Brolas, great-grandson of Donald, first Mac lean
of Brolas, and younger brother of the first baronet.
Although the chief was
thus prevented from following Prince Charles to the field of Culloden,
many of his clan distinguished themselves there ; Charles Maclean of
Drimnin appeared at the head of five hundred of the clan, and his
regiment, which was under the command of the Duke of Perth, was among
those that broke forward with drawn swords from the lines, and routed
the left wing of the Duke of Cumberland's army. The whole of the front
line of this gallant regiment was swept away as they presented
themselves before their foes. Thej- were afterwards overpowered by
numbers, and obliged to retire. Their leader, as he retreated, inquired
for one of his sons, who was missing. "I fear," said an attendant, to
whom the inquiry was addressed, "that he has fallen." The fate of the
father is well told in these few words, "If he has, it shall not he for
naught," was his reply; and he rushed forward to avenge him.
Many of the clan fell in
the massacre after the battle of Culloden Muir. Hundreds of the
Highlanders who escaped the inhumanity of their conquerors, died of
their wounds or of hunger, in the hills, at twelve or fourteen miles'
distance from the field of battle. "Their misery," says a contemporary
writer, "was inexpressible." While the cannon was sounding, and bells
were pealing in the capital cities of England and Ireland, for the
united events of the Duke of Cumberland's birth and the battle of
Culloden Moor, fires were seen blazing in Morvern, in which numerous
villages were burned by order of the victorious Cumberland! The Macleans
who came from Mull, seem generally to have escaped ; they made off in
one of the long boats for their island, the night after the engagement,
and were fortunate enough to carry with them a cargo of brandy and some
money,
A calmer, though less
interesting career has, since 1745, been the fate of the chiefs of the
clan Maclean.
Sir Allan, respected and
beloved, became a colonel in the British army. He retired eventually to
the sacred Isle of Inch Kenneth, in Mull, where he exercised the
hospitality characteristic, in ancient times, of the Lords of Duart. Dr.
Johnson has handed down the memory of the venerable chief, not only in a
few descriptive pages of a Tour to the Hebrides, but in a Latin poem,
translated by Sir Daniel Sandford. In the lines be refers to Sir Allan
in these terms.
"O'er glassy tides I
thither flew,
The wonders of the spot to view;
In lowly cottage great Maclean
Held there his high ancestral reign."
Sir Allan Maclean died in
1783 : he was succeeded by his nearest male relation, Sir Hector
Maclean, of the family of Brolas. The brother of Sir Hector, Sir Fitzroy
Grafton Maclean, a distinguished officer, and formerly Governor of the
island of St. Thomas, is now chief of the clan Maclean. Two sons
continue the line. Of these, the eldest, Colonel Charles Fitzroy
Maclean, has chosen, like his father, the profession of arms and
commands the eighty-first foot; and has, by his marriage with a daughter
of the Hon. and Rev. Dr. Marsham, an heir to the ancestral honours of
the house. The youngest son of Sir Fitzroy Maclean is Donald Maclean, of
Witton Castle, Durham, the member for Oxford, married to Harriet,
daughter of General Frederick Maitland, a descendant of the Duke of
Lauderdale, whose former injustice to the clan Maclean has been noticed
in this work. It is remarkable, that the same fidelity, the same
loyalty, that sacrificed every possession to the cause of James Stuart,
has been, since the extinction of that cause, worthily employed, with
distinguished talent and success, in the service of Government. Such
instances are not uncommon in the history of the Jacobites. |
