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In a history of the House
of Drummond, compiled in the year 1681, by Lord Strathallan, the author
thus addresses his relative, James, Earl of Perth, on the subject of
their common ancestry:
"Take heire a view of
youre noble and renowned ancestors, of whose blood you are descended in
a right and uninterrupted male line; as also of so many of the
consanguinities and ancient affinities of youre family in the infancy
thereof, as the penury of our oldest records and the credit of our best
traditions has happily preserved from the grave of oblivion. The
splendor of your fame," he adds, " needs no commendation, more than the
sune does to a candle ; and even a little of the truth from me may be
obnoxious to the slander of flattery, or partiality, by reason of my
interest in it. Therefore I '11 say the less; only this is generally
known for a truth, that justice, loyaltie, and prudence, which have been
but incident virtues and qualities in others, are all three as inherent
ornaments, and hereditary in yours."
Such praise far exceeds
in value the mere homage to ancient lineage. "With these noble
qualities, the race of Drummond combined the courage to defend their
rights, and the magnanimity to protect the feeble.
This last characteristic
is beautifully described in the following words"
"For justice, as a poor
stranger, often thrust out of doors from great houses, where grandeur
and utility are commonly the idolls that's worshipped,—quid non mortalia
pectora cogis? —has always found sanctuary in yours, which has ever been
ane encouragement to the good, a terror to the bad, and free from the
oppression of either."
To this magnanimous
spirit were added loyalty to the sovereign, and prudence in the
management of private affairs; a virtue of no small price, for it
rendered the House of Drummond independent of Court favour, and gave to
its prosperity a solid basis. "The chiefs of this family lived," says
their historian, "handsomely, like themselves; and still improved or
preserved their fortunes since the first founder."
The origin of this race
is, perhaps, as interesting as that of any of the Scottish nobility, and
has the additional merit of being well ascertained.
After the death of Edward
the Confessor, the next claimant to the Crown, Edgar Atheling, alarmed
for his safety after the Norman Conquest, took shipping with his mother
Agatha, and with his two sisters, Margaret and Christiana, intended to
escape to Hungary; but owing to a violent storm, or, as the noble
historian of the Drummonds well expresses it, "through Divine
Providence," he was driven upon the Scottish coast, and forced to land
upon the north side of the Firth of Forth. He took shelter in a little
harbour west of the Queen's Ferry, ever since called St. Margaret's
Hook, from Edgar'? sister Margaret, who, for the "rare perfectiones of her
body and mind," was afterwards chosen by Malcolm Canmore, to the great
satisfaction of the nation, for his Queen. Margaret was therefore
married to the Scottish monarch at Dunfermline in the year 1066.
This alliance was not the
only advantage derived by the young and exiled English King from his
accidental landing in Scotland. Penetrated with gratitude for former
services conferred upon himself by Edward the Confessor, Malcolm
supported the cause of Edgar, and received and bestowed upon his
adherents lands and offices, in token of kindness to his royal guest.
Hence some of the most potent families n the kingdom had their origin.
Amongst the train of
Edgar Atheling at Dunfermline was an Hungarian, eminent for his faithful
services, but especially for his skilful and successful conduct of the
vessel in which the fugitives had sailed from England. He was highly
esteemed by the grateful Queen Margaret, who recommended him to the
King; and, for his reward, lands, offices, and a coat of arms suitable
to his quality, were conferred on him, together with the name of
Drummond.
It was about this period
that surnames were first introduced, and that patronymicks were found
insufficient to designate heroes. Since the new designations were often
derived from some office, as well as the possession of lands and
peculiar attributes, the Hungarian obtained his name in consequence of
his nautical skill; Dromont, or Dromond, being, in different nations,
the name of a ship, whence the commander was called Dromount, or
Dromoner.
The first lands bestowed
upon the Hungarian were situated in Dumbartonshire, and in the
jurisdiction of the Lennox; a county full of rivers, lochs, and
mountains, "emblematically expressed," says Lord Strathallan, "in
the coats of arms then given to him, wherein hunting, waters, hounds,
inhabitants wild and naked, are represented." To these gifts was added
the office of Thane, Seneschal, or Stuart Heritable of Lennox,—names all
meaning the same thing, but altering with the times.
The Hungarian, whose
Christian name is conjectured to have been Maurice, was then naturalized
a Scot; and all the parts of his coat-armour were contrived to indicate
his adventures, his name, office, and nation. He died in an encounter
near Alnwick Castle, fighting valiantly, in order to avenge the surprise
of that place by William Rufus, in 1093.
The records of the family
of Drummond were for several generations defective after the death of
Maurice; but there exists no doubt but that he was the founder of a
family once so prosperous, and afterwards so unfortunate. The name of
Maurice was preserved, according to the Scottish custom of naming the
eldest son after his father, for many succeeding generations.
The family continued to
increase in importance, and to enjoy the favour of royalty; and the
marriage of the beautiful Annabella Drummond to Robert the Third, King
of Scotland, produced an alliance between the House of Drummond and the
royal families of Austria and Burgundy. In 1487 James the Third ennobled
the race by making John Drummond, the twelfth chief in succession, a
Lord of Parliament. As the annals of the race are reviewed, many
instances of valour, wisdom, and unchangeable probity arise; whilst
some events, which have the features of romance, diversify the
chronicle. Among these is the story of the fair Margaret Drummond, who
has been celebrated by several of our best historians.
Between Margaret and
James the Fourth of Scotland an attachment existed. They were cousins;
and a pretext was made by the nobles and council, on that account, to
prevent a marriage which they alleged to be within the degrees of
consanguinity permitted by the Canon law: nevertheless, under promise
of a marriage, Margaret consented to live with her royal lover, and the
result of that connexion was a daughter. This happened when James was
only in his sixteenth year, and whilst he was Duke of Rothsay; yet the
monarch was so much touched in conscience by the engagement, or
betrothal, between him and the young lady, that he remained unmarried
until the age of thirty, about a year after the death of Margaret
Drummond.
That event, it was
surmised, was caused by poison; the common tradition being that a
potion was provided for Margaret at breakfast, in order to tree the King from his bonds, that
he might "match with England." "But it so happened," says the
narrative, "that she called two of her sisters, then with her in
Drummond, to accompany her that morning, to wit, Lilias, Lady Fleming,
and a younger, Sybilla, a maid; whereby it fell out all the three were
destroyed with the force of the poyson They were burried in a curious
vault covered with three faire blue marble stones, joined close
together, about the middle of the queir of the cathedral church of
Dumblane; for about this time the burial-place for the familie of
Drummond at lnnerpeffrie was not yet built. The monument which containes
the ashes of these three ladyes stands entire to this day, and confirms
the credit of this sad storie."
The daughter of Margaret
Drummond, Lady Margaret Stuart, was well provided fur by the King; and
was married, in the year 1497, to Lord Gordon, the eldest son of the
Earl of Huntley, "a gallant and handsome youth." From this union four
noble families are descended; the Gordons, Earls of Huntley; the
Countess of Sutherland; the Countess of Atholl, who was the mother of
Lady Lovat; and Lady Saltoun. James the Fourth testified his regret for
the death of his beloved Margaret, and his solicitude for her soul's
benefit, in a manner characteristic of his age and character. In the
Treasurer's accounts for February 1502-3, there occurs this entry, "Item, to the priests that sing in Dumblane for Margaret Drummond, their
quarter fee, five pounds and this item, occurring regularly during the
reign of James the Fourth. "Paid to two priests who were appointed to
sing masses for Margaret in the cathedral of Dumblane, where she was
buried," marks his remembrance of his betrothed wife.
One of the greatest
ornaments of the ancient House of Drummond was William Drummond, a
descendant of the Drummonds of Carnock, son of Sir John Drummond of
Hawthornden, and author of the "History of the Five James's," Kings of
Scotland The friend of Drayton, and of Ben
Jonson, this man of rare virtues presents one of the brightest examples
of that class to which he belonged, the Scottish country-gentleman.
True-hearted, like the rest of his race, Drummond was never called forth
from a retirement over which virtue and letters cast their charms,
except by the commotions of his country. His grief at the death of
Charles the First, whom he survived only one year, is said to have
shortened his days.
In 1605, the title of
Earl of Perth was added to the other honours of the family of Drummond,
who derived a still further accession of honour and repute by the
probity and firmness of its members in the great Rebellion. Like most of
the other Scottish families of rank, they suffered great losses, and
fell into embarrassed circumstances on account of heavy fines exacted by
Oliver Cromwell. The house,
Castle Drummond, was garrisoned by the Protector's troops, and the
estates were ravaged and ruined. Yet the valiant and true-hearted
descendants of those who had been thus punished for their allegiance,
were ready again to adopt the same cause, and to adhere to the same
principles that had guided their forefathers.
In the person of James
Drummond, fourth Earl of Perth, who succeeded his father the third Earl,
in 1675, several high honours were centred. He was made, by Charles the
Second, Justice-General, and afterwards Lord High Chancellor of
Scotland. He continued to be a favourite with James the Second and in
1688, when James fled from England, the Earl of Perth, endeavouring to
follow him, was thrown into prison, first at Kirkaldy, and afterwards at
Stirling, until the privy council, upon his giving security for five
thousand pounds, permitted him to follow his royal master. From James,
the Earl received the title of Duke, which his successors adopted, and
which was given to them by the Jacobite party, of which we find repeated
instances in the letters of Lord Mar. His son, Lord Drummond, succeeded
to all the inconveniences which attend the partisans of the unfortunate.
Returning from France, in 1695, he was obliged to give security for his
good conduct, in a large sum. In consequence of the assassination plot,
the vigilance of Government was increased, and, in 1696, he was
committed to Edinburgh Castle. During the reign of William, a system of
exaction was carried on with respect to this family.
"In a word," says the
author of Lochiell's Memoirs, himself a Drummond, speaking of James Lord
Drummond, "that noble lord was miserably harassed all this reign. He
represented a family which had always been a blessing to the country
where it resided; and he himself was possessed of so many amiable
qualities, that he was too generally beloved not to be suspected by such
zealous ministers. He was humble, magnificent, and generous; and had a
certain elevation and greatness of soul that gave an air of dignity and
grandeur to all his words and actions, he had a person well turned,
graceful and genteel, and was besides the most polite and best bred lord
of his age. His affability, humanity, and goodness gained upon all with
whom he conversed; and as he had many friends, so it was not known that
he had any personal enemies. He had too much sincerity and honour for
the times. The crafty and designing are always apt to cover their vices
under the mask of the most noble and sublime virtues; and it is natural
enough for great souls to believe that every person of figure truly is
what he ought to be, and that a person of true honour thinks it even
criminal to suspect that any he is conversing with is capable of
debasing the dignity of his nature so low as
to be guilty of such -vile and ignoble practices. None could be freer of
these, or indeed of all other vices, than the noble person I speak of.
The fixed and unalterable principles of justice and integrity, which
always made the rules of his conduct, were transmitted to him with his
blood, and are virtues inherent and hereditary in the constitution of
that noble family."
Lord Drummond was
afterwards engaged in the insurrection of 1715: he was attainted, but
escaped to France, and, dying in 1730, left the inheritance of estates
which he had saved by a timely precaution, and the empty title of "Duke
of Perth," to his son James Drummond, the unfortunate subject of this
memoir.
Such was the character
borne by the father of James, Duke of Perth. This ill-fated adherent of
the Stuarts was born on the eleventh of May 1713; and three months
afterwards, on the twenty-eighth of August, his father deemed it
expedient to execute a deed conveying the family estates to him, by
which means the property, at that time, escaped forfeiture. Like many
other young men under similar circumstances, this young nobleman was
educated at the Scottish College of Douay, consistently with the
principles of his family, who were at that time Roman Catholics.
In his twenty-first year,
the young Duke of Perth came over to Scotland, and devoted himself, in
the absence of his father, to the management of his estate. It is
probable that his own inclinations might, have led him to prefer the
occupations of an elegant leisure to the turmoils of contention, but,
be that as it may, it was not reserved for the head of the House of
Drummond to rest contentedly in his own halls.
The nearest kinsmen of
the young nobleman were active partisans of the Chevalier St. George.
His brother, Lord John Drummond who had been confirmed in all his
devotion to the cause by his education at Douay, had entered the service
of the King of France, and had raised a regiment called the Royal
Scots, of winch he was the Colonel. lie was destined to take an active
share in the events to which all were at this time looking forward, some
with dread, others with impatience. But his influence was less likely to
be permanent over his brother, than that of the Duke's mother, whose
wishes were all deeply engaged in behalf of James Stuart.
This lady, styled Duchess
of Perth, was the daughter of George first Duke of Gordon, and of Lady
Elizabeth Howard, Duchess of Gordon, who, in 1711, had astonished the
Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh by sending them a silver medal with
the head of the Chevalier engraved upon it. The Duchess of Perth
inherited her mother's determined character and political principles;
for her adherence to which she eventually suffered, together with other
ladies of rank, by imprisonment.
These ties were strong
inducements to the young Duke of Perth to take an active part In the
affair of 1745, and it is said to have been chiefly on his mother's
persuasions that he took his first step. But there was another
individual, whose good-faith to the cause had been proved by exertion
and suffering ; this was the brave William, Viscount Strathallan. who
possessed higher qualities than those of personal valour and loyalty. "His character as a good Christian".writes Bishop Forbes, "setting
aside his other personal qualities and rank in the world, as it did
endear him to all his acquaintances, so didn"t make his death
universally regretted."
Lord Strathallan was the
eldest surviving son of Sir John Drummond of Macheany, whom he had
succeeded in his estates; and, ui 1711, became Viscount Strathallan,
Lord Madertie, and Lord Drummond of Cromlix. in consequence of the death
of his cousin. He had engaged in the rebellion of 1715, and had been
taken prisoner, as w ell as his brother, Mr. Thomas Drummond, at the
battle of Sheriff Muir , but no proceedings had been instituted against
him. His escape on that occasion, as well as the part which his kinsman,
the Earl of Perth, took on that eventful day, are thus alluded to in an
old ballad entitled the Battle of the Sheriff Muir.
"To the tune of the '
Horseman's Sport.'
"Lord Perth stood the
storm; Seaforth, and lukewarm
Kilsyth, and Strathallan, not sla', man,
And Hamilton fled—the man was not bred,
For he had no fancy to fa', man.
So we ran, and they ran; and they ran, and we ran;
And we ran, and
they ran awa', man."
Lord Strathallan joined
the standard of Prince Charles in 1745, and afterwards acted an
important part in the events of that period. lie was not only himself a
zealous supporter of the Stuarts, but was aided in no common degree by his
wife, the eldest daughter of the Baroness Nairn and of Lord William
Murray,—in his schemes and exertions. Lady Strathallan inherited from
her mother, a woman of undoubted spirit and energy, the determination to
act, and the fortitude to sustain the consequences of her exertions. But
there was still another individual, not to specify various members of
the same family, whose aid was most important to the cause of the
Jacobites.
This was Andrew Drummond,
one of the family of Macheany, and uncle of Lord Strathallan. He was the
founder of the banking-house of Drummond at Charing Cross, which was
formed, as it has been surmised, for the express purpose of facilitating
supplies to the partisans of the Chevalier This spirited member of the
family remained unchanged in his principles during the course of a life
protracted until the age of eighty-one. His part in the great events of
the day was well known, and meanly avenged by Sir Robert Walpole, who,
in the course of the insurrection, caused a run upon the bank. The
concern, backed by its powerful connections, stood its ground ; but the
banker forgave not the minister. When the tumults of 1745 were at an
end, Mr. Drummond so far yielded to the dictates of prudence as to go to
court: he was received by George the Second, to whom he paid his
obeisance. But when the minister, anxious to conciliate his stern and
formidable foe, advanced to offer him his hand, Mr. Drummond turned
round, folded his hands behind his back, and walked away. " It was my
duty," he said afterwards, " to pay my respects to his Majesty, but I am
not obliged to shake hands with his minister!"
On the young James
Drummond Duke of Perth, as chief of the House of Drummond. the eyes of
the Jacobites were turned, with expectations which were, to the utmost
of the young nobleman's power, fulfilled. It was by his mother's desire
that he had been educated in France, where he was confirmed in the
principles of the Romish faith. He possessed, indeed, some acquirements,
and displayed certain qualities calculated to inspire hope in those who
depended upon his exertions that he would prove a valuable adherent to
the cause. Naturally courageous, his military turn had been improved by
a knowledge of the theory of war; his disposition united great vivacity
to the endearing qualities of benevolence and liberality; he had the
every-day virtues of good-nature, mildness, and courtesy. His pursuits
were creditable to a nobleman, He was skilled in mathematics, an elegant
draughtsman, a scholar in various languages, a general lover of
literature, and a patron of the liberal arts. Nor was a fondness for
horse-racing, in which he indulged, and in which his horses frequently
bore away the prize, likely to render him unpopular in the eyes of his
countrymen, But there were some serious drawbacks to the utility of the
young nobleman as a public man.
His health, in the first
place, was precarious. When a child, a barrel had been rolled over him,
and a bruise was received in his lungs, to the effects of which his
friends attributed a weakness and oppression from which he usually
suffered at bed-time; when "he usually," as a contemporary relates,
"took a little boiled bread and milk, or some such gentle food."
This was an inauspicious
commencement of an active and anxious career. It was afterwards
discovered, that with all his acquirements and accomplishments, and with
his natural gallantly, the Duke was no practical soldier.
In obtaining an influence
over the minds of his countrymen, the young Duke possessed one great
advantage. He was descended from a House noted for the highest
principles of honour.
"To give the reader an
undeniable proof of the generous maxims of that House," says the author
of Lochiell's memoirs, "it will be proper to notice, that, by the laws of
Scotland, no person succeeding to an estate is, in a legal sense, vested
in the property until he serves himself heir to the person from whom he
derives his title. The heir often took the advantage of this when the
creditors were negligent, and passing by his father, arid perhaps his
grandfather, served heir to him who was last infefted; for unless they
were actually seised of the estate according to the forms of law, they
were no more than simple possessors, and could not encumber the land
with any deed or debts, whereby the heir got clear of all that
intervened betwixt himself and the person whom he represented by his
service. This was an unjustifiable practice, which the diligence of
creditors might always have prevented; and which is now wholly prevented
by an act of parliament obliging every one possessing an estate to pay
the debts of his predecessors, as well as his own, whether representing
them by a service or not.
The young Duke of Perth
fully maintained this high character of honour and liberal dealings, and
as a landholder and a chief, he would, had he been spared, have proved
himself a valuable member of society. He was, relates an historian, a
father to the poor;—and the interval of ten years between his return to
Scotland and the Rebellion was engaged in establishing manufactures for
the employment of his tenantry, and in acts of beneficence. Unhappily,
it was not long before political combinations diverted the attention
which was so well bestowed in the improvement of his country.
In the beginning of the
year 1740, seven persons of distinction signed the association, engaging
themselves to take arms, and to venture their lives and fortunes for the
Stuarts. Among these was the Duke of Perth This association was
committed to Drummond of Bochaldy, who, besides, carried with him a list of those chiefs and
chieftains who, the subscribers thought, were willing to join them,
should a body of troops land from France. This list contained so great a
number of names, that Murray of Broughton, in his evidence at the trial
of Lord Lovat, said he considered it to be "a general list of the
Highlands;" a palpable refutation of the reasoning of those who have
represented the Jacobite insurrection as a partial and factious
movement.
The Duke of Perth had now
irrevocably pledged himself to engage in the cause, which required a
very different character of mind to that which he seems to have
possessed. Like the unfortunate Lord Derwentwater, he was calculated to
adorn a smooth and prosperous course; but not to contend with fiery
spirits, nor to act in concert with overbearing tempers. Averse to
interference, and retiring in his disposition, the Duke was conceived,
by those who mistook arrogance for talent, to have been possessed of
only limited abilities. The friend or relative who composed the epitaph
to his memory inscribed on the Duke's tomb at Antwerp, has borne
testimony to the strength of his understanding. All have coincided in
commending the honour and faith which procured him the respect of all
parties, and the chivalric bravery which won him the affection of the
soldiery.
It is a melancholy task
to trace the career of one so high-minded, so gentle, and so formed to
adorn the peaceful tenour of a country life, through scenes of turmoil,
disaster, and dismay; and, during the continuance of arduous exertions,
to recall the slow and certain progress of a fatal disease, which progressed during hardships
too severe for the delicate frame of this amiable young man to sustain
without danger.
The younger brother of
the Duke, Lord John Drummond. was constituted of different materials.
Courteous, honourable, and high-minded, like his brother, he added to
those attributes of the gentleman a strong capacity for military
affairs, to which he had applied himself from his earliest youth.
Intrepid and resolute, the roughness of the soldier was softened in this
fine martial character by an elegance and ease of manner which sprang
from a kind and gentle temper. The energy of Lord John Drummond's mind
was shown by the enlistment of the Scottish Legion, under the protection
of Louis the Fifteenth. In him the soldiers always knew that they had a
sure, and firm friend: Like his brother, when on the conquering side,
clemency and humanity were never, even in the heat of victory, forgotten
by the young general. Individuals like these lamented and unfortunate
brothers give a mournful interest to the history of the Jacobites.
The Duke of Perth was one
of the most sanguine of those who desired to see Charles Edward land on
the coast of Scotland. Of the representations which induced the Prince
to take that step, and especially of the part taken in the affair by the
well-known Murray of Broughton, various accounts have been given. From
Mr. Home we learn, that Mr. Murray used every argument in his power to
deter the Prince from invading Scotland without a regular force to
support him. This account was doubtless the version which the Secretary
himself gave of his part in the business.
"Mr. Murray," says Lord
Elcho, "in the beginning of the year 1745, sent one young Glengarry to
the Prince with a state of his affairs in Scotland, in which it is
believed he represented everybody that had ever spoke warmly of the
Stuart family, as people that would join him if he came." After Mr.
Murray's own visit to France, he had an interview with all the members
of the Association, and there detailed to them the conference he had had
with the Prince. The Duke of Perth was the only person who did not, in
that council, expressly declare against the. Prince's coming to Scotland
without assistance from France.
The battle of Fontenoy,
on the eleventh of May 1745, in which the British army was cut to
pieces, encouraged, nevertheless, the ardent spirit of Charles to
proceed in his enterprise. The number of regular troops in Scotland he
well knew, was at that time inconsiderable; and he had, as he
conceived, from the representations of Murray, no other opponents than
the British army. He was, probably, wholly ignorant of the powerful
enemies who afterwards co-operated against him in the south-western
parts of Scotland.
The Duke of Perth had
already, in the beginning of the year, received, as well as others, his
commission. He was appointed General of the forces in the north of
Scotland, and was therefore one of the most important personages for
Government to seize. The Duke was at that time at Drummond Castle, a
place only exceeded in beauty and splendour, in the Highlands, by
Dunkeld and Blair. The aspect of this commanding edifice is one which
recalls the association of ancient power and princely wealth. Beneath
its walls is an expanse of a magnificent and varied country, combining
all those features which characterize lands long held in peace by
opulent and liberal possessors. "Noble avenues, profuse woods," thus
speaks one of unerring accuracy, "a waste of lawn and pasture, an
unrestrained scope, everything bespeaks the carelessness of liberality
and extensive possessions; while the ancient castle, its earliest part
belonging to the year 1500, stamps on it that air of high and distant
opulence which adds so deep a moral interest to the rural features of
baronial Britain."
From the castle it was
now attempted to make the Duke of Perth a prisoner; but since it would
have been impossible to detain a Chief, prisoner in his own halls, and
among his own retainers, a stratagem, peculiarly revolting to the
Highland code of honour, was adopted to ensnare the young nobleman.
Two Highland officers,
Sir Patrick Murray and Mr. Campbell of Inverary. were employed in this
transaction, and a warrant was given to them to apprehend the Duke of
Perth This they knew to be impossible without a large force ; they
therefore condescended to lower the character of Scotchmen, by violating
the first principles which regulate the intercourse of gentlemen. They
were base enough to abuse the hospitality of the kind and
ready host who had often welcomed them to Drummond Castle.
One day, these gentlemen
sent the Duke word that they should dine with him. He returned, in
answer, that he should be proud to see them. On the twenty-sixth of
July, 1745, they went, and were entertained at dinner with the liberal
courtesy which always shone forth under that roof. One of the Duke's
footmen, meantime, having espied an armed force about the house, called
his Grace to the door of the room, and begged him to take care of
himself. This caution was even repeated more than once; but the Duke,
trusting that others were like himself, only smiled, and said he did not
think that any gentleman "could be guilty of so dirty an action." But
he found that he was mistaken. After dinner, when the officers had drunk
a little, they took courage to inform the Duke of their errand; and, to confirm their statement, one of them drew the warrant out of his pocket.
The Duke behaved with great presence of mind; he received their summons
calmly, but begged permission to retire to a closet in the room where
they were sitting, to get himself ready. This was assented to: the Duke
went into the closet, in which, however, there was a door; he opened it
and, slipping down a flight of stairs, escaped to a wood adjacent to his
Castle. This wood was already surrounded by an armed force, and he was
obliged to crawl on his hands and feet to avoid being observed by the
sentinels. In such a situation he was hindered and wounded by briers and
thorns, and at last was obliged to hide himself in a dry ditch from his
pursuers. They were, indeed, misled by the servants at the Castle, who,
upon their inquiring for the fugitive, declared that he had gone away on
horseback. The officers however on their return to Crieff, where they
were quartered, passed so near the place where he lay, that he heard
what they were saying. "When all the soldiers were out of sight, he
sprang up; and seeing a countryman with a pony, having no bridle, but
only a halter about its neck, he begged to have the use of it, and his
request was granted. After this, he first rode to the house of Mr.
Murray of Abercairney, and afterwards to that of Mr. Drummond of Logie.
Here he was saved by one of those presentiments of evil which one can
neither explain nor deny. In the dead of night he was awakened by his
host, who begged the Duke to take refuge elsewhere; for fears, which he
could not account for, haunted his mind. The fugitive arose from his
bed, and set off elsewhere. Shortly afterwards the house was invaded by
a party of armed men, who came to search for him, but retired
disappointed. His next meeting with his faithless guest. Sir Patrick
Murray, was on the field of Gladsmuir, when the treacherous officer was
made prisoner. The Duke then took his revenge with characteristic
good-humour; for, after saluting the captured officer, he said
smilingly, "Sir Patie, I am to dine with you to-day."
After his escape from
Logie, the Duke of Perth crossed over to Angus, incognito, and, attended
only by one servant, rode through the north country without molestation,
and arrived at the camp of Prince Charles. Here he met the afterwards
celebrated Roy Stuart, then a captain of Grenadiers in Lord John
Drummond's regiment. That officer had
embarked at Helvoetsluys for Harwich, where he had scarcely arrived
before the ship in which he had sailed was searched by authority of a
Government warrant.
Charles Edward was at
this time at Castle Mingry. whence accounts had travelled to the capital
of his arrival and projected hostilities. It was long before his
intentions were even believed; and, when believed, they were treated at
first with contempt. The Duke of Argyll, who was then at Roseneath, had
an intercepted letter of the Prince's put into his hands, addressed to
Sir Alexander Macdonald, together with a copy of one to the Laird of
Macleod. The Duke hastened to Edinburgh, and laid these papers before
Mr. Craigie the advocate. "What a strange chimera," said Craigie,
laughing, "is it to suppose a young man with seven persons capable of
overturning a throne!" "His landing with seven persons only," replied
Argyll gravely, " is a circumstance the more to be feared."
Sir John Cope,
nevertheless, long delayed obeying the orders of Government to march
northwards, although great pains were taken by some of the Whig party to
magnify the danger, and to add to the terrors of the foe. Reports were
even stated, in the presence of the magistrates, of a camp in
Ardnamirchan, which was a large Scots mile in circumference,—of several
ships of war hovering near the coast,—of cannon of an enormous size;
whilst the young Chevalier was described as one of the strongest men in
Christendom. All agreed that the invader had chosen the period of his
enterprise judiciously. Scotland contained but few forces, and those
were newly levied men, sufficient in number
merely to garrison the forts and to overawe smugglers.
Never was a country less
prepared to receive an invasion, and General Cope's blunders soon
encouraged the hopes of the Jacobites, until they were elated beyond
measure. The sanguine Charles Edward pledged the General's health in a
glass of brandy: "Here's a health to Mr. Cope!" he cried, in the
presence of his forces; "and, if all the Usurper's generals follow
his
example, I shall soon be at St. James's." The toast was given by the
private soldiers, to whom whiskey was distributed to drink it. Well
furnished with artillery, of which the insurgents were destitute,
General Cope might have obtained an easy victory, or at any rate have
dispersed the Jacobite army. Happy would it have been for Scotland, had
the rebellion thus been extinguished, before the brave had sunk in civil
strife, or loyal hearts been broken in the silent agony of imprisonment!
Many acts of heroism, numberless traits of fortitude, would indeed have
been lost to the mournful admiration of posterity; but the vigorous
hand, which crushes a hopeless struggle in its outset, is ever, in
effect, the hand of mercy.
From this time the Duke
of Perth shared m the short-lived triumph of his Prince. He marched with the army to Dunkeld, where, supping in the house of James, Duke of
Atholl, who retired at their approach, the unfortunate. Charles Edward
forced a gaiety which he was said, at that time, not to feel; asked for
Scottish dishes; and, having picked up a few words of Gaelic, pledged
the Highland officers in that tongue. The Duke of Perth attended in the
triumphant entrance into Perth on the fourth
of September. This was the first town of consequence that Charles Edward
had visited ; and his appearance, mounted on a fine horse presented to
him by Major Macdonell, and dressed in a superb suit of tartan trimmed
with gold, produced a great impression upon the assembled multitude, who
greeted him with loud acclamations. He was conducted in triumph to the
house of Viscount Stormont, the eldest brother of the celebrated Earl of
Mansfield. Lord Stormont, though friendly to the cause, was not disposed
to risk his life and property for the Stuarts. He withdrew from the
dangerous honour of entertaining the Prince, yet left his family to
receive him with all loyalty, and the Chevalier took up his abode at
Lord Stormont's. It was an antique house with a wooden front, which
stood on the spot now occupied by the Perth Union Bank, near the bottom
of the High-street. The evening was closed by
a ball given by the Prince to the ladies of the town. The Prince,
probably wearied by the day's proceedings, danced only one dance, and
then withdrew to His bed, it is said, was prepared by the fair hands of
Lord Stormont's sister.
On the following day a
different scene took place, for all was not compliment that Charles
encountered in the loyal town of Perth. Mass having been celebrated
publicly, Charles was as publicly rebuked by a minister of the Kirk, who
reminded him of his father's failure in the last Rebellion, which he
attributed to his adherence to Popery, to "which he had sacrificed his crown" "I prefer,"
replied the young Chevalier boldly, "a heavenly crown to an earthly
one!"
The Duke of Perth had
summoned many of his tenants to meet him at Blair, where he required
them to bring all the rent due, under pain of punishment; and he now
ordered them also to carry arms to the extent of their power. He is said
to have insisted upon his privilege as Chief with a degree of rigour
which, when his power was exerted to force his tenants into a course of
certain peril, cannot be justified. Unhappily, the practice was of too
frequent occurrence among some of the chieftains to permit us entirely
to dismiss it as a calumny. The amiable Lord Derwentwater, the brave
Lord Southesk, as has been remarked elsewhere, and proved by letters and
contemporary statements, were not free from a similar charge. The
following anecdote is so little in accordance with the forbearance
assigned to the Duke of Perth both by enemies and friends, that it must,
however, be read with distrust. It is related by James Macpherson:
speaking of the compulsory measures
adopted, he says, "To this oppression of the Duke of Perth's likewise
several submitted (such are the terrors of arbitrary power). Three
however resisted, declaring that besides the inconvenience which the
neglect of their affairs would subject them to, and the danger of the
undertaking. it was against their conscience to assist the cause of
Popery against the true religion of their country; to which one of them
had the boldness to add, he was sorry to see his Grace embarked in such
a cause. Upon this, the Duke, living into a rage, snatched up a pistol
which lay in his tent, and immediately shot the poor man through the
head. After which the other two made their escape from him, and one from
the camp, the other being pursued and killed by one of the rebels, who
was witness to the whole transaction,"
Whilst the army remained
at Perth, a singular incident occurred, which seems to prove that the
subsequent surrender of Edinburgh was by no means unexpected by Prince
Charles.
One evening. when
Macpherson was on duty as one of the Prince's guards, a person came to
the camp, and was by his desire conducted to the presence of the
Chevalier. A long conference ensued, at which the Duke of Perth and the
Marquis of Tullibardine were present. Soon after the departure: of this
stranger, it was rumoured that Edinburgh was to be betrayed to the
Jacobites, and that they were to take possession in a few days. There
must, therefore, have been some secret communication.
In the memorable events
which followed this rumour, the Duke of Perth continually shared. He
rode by the side of Charles Edward when the gallant adventurer, leaving
Perth on the eleventh of September, crossed the Firth at the Frew, and
passed so near the walls of Stirling, that the balls fired upon him and
his forces from the castle fell within twenty yards of the Prince. He
proceeded on the march, commenced by the Chevalier with the sum of only
one guinea in his pocket, until they arrayed at Gray's Hill, a place two
miles west of Edinburgh. Here deputies from the town arrived to treat
with Charles. "I do not treat with subjects," was the Chevalier's
reply; whilst the Duke of Perth added, "The King's declaration, and the
Prince's manifesto, are such as every subject ought to accept with joy."
Meantime, a company of
volunteers under the command of Captain Drummond, a gentleman of very
different political sentiments to those of the majority of this name,
had assembled in the College yard, when, after being addressed by their
gallant leader, they proffered their services to aid the dragoons
stationed in the city, under the command of General Guest, in repelling
the Jacobites. On Sunday, the fire-bell sounding in the time of Divine
service, emptied all the churches, and the people, rushing into the
streets, beheld the volunteers drawn up in the Lawn Market, awaiting
the arrival of the dragoons, with whom they were prepared to march out
of the town to repel the rebels. But this gallant resolution was not put
into execution; and a force of two thousand strong, none of the
soldiery having fire-locks, was suffered to force their way into a town
garrisoned by two thousand seven hundred soldiers, all well supplied
with arms and ammunition.
That Edinburgh was
surrendered by the treachery of its Provost, seems beyond ail doubt.
Archibald Stewart, who held that office at this critical moment, gave
many indications of perfidy or cowardice, which have been duly related,
although with little comment, by historians. Notwithstanding that the
approach of the insurgents had been by measured paces, and that they had
advanced so leisurely as to spend some hours lying on the bank of a
rivulet near Linlithgow, no preparations for defence had been made,
although it was the wish of many of the inhabitants to resist the
Jacobite army. It had been found that all the calms, or moulds for
bullets, had been bought up; ladies having gone to the shops where they
were made, to purchase them. When the danger became proximate, the
Provost merely remarked, that, if the enemy wished to enter, he did not
know how they could be prevented. He viewed the fortifications, it is
true, and rummaged up some grenades that had lain in a chest since 1715.
But the most suspicious incident occurred during a meeting of the Town
Council, when a Highland spy, having a letter in his hand, was
apprehended, and brought before the assembly. The letter was given to
the Provost, who hurried it into his pocket, and in great haste broke up
the assembly.'" In all the deliberations for the defence of the city, it
was perceived that Mr. Provost Stewart was a dead-weight upon any
measures of vigour; and nothing could have been done to preserve
Edinburgh from surrendering, unless he had been also lately bound in
chains. Yet this unworthy magistrate, so faithless to his trust, so
discreditable an instrument of the Jacobite cause, was afterwards
acquitted, after a trial of four days, by the Lords Justiciary.
The progress of that
cause now appeared such as to promise success to the future exertions of
its partisans. On the seventeenth of September, the Prince received the
news that Edinburgh was taken, and a stand of one thousand arms seized;
a circumstance which added greatly to the joy of the insurgents, who
stood in need of arms. "When the army came near town," writes Lord
Elcho, "it was met by vast multitudes of people, who by their repeated shouts and huzzas expressed a great deal of joy to see the Prince. When
they came into the suburbs, the crowd was prodigious, and all wishing
the Prince prosperity; in short, nobody doubted but that he would be
joined by ten thousand men at Edinburgh, if he could arm them. The army
took the road to Duddingston: Lord Strathallan marching first, at the
head of the horse; the Prince next, on horseback, with the Puke of Perth
on his right, and Lord Elcho on his left; then Lord George Murray, on
foot, at the head of the column of infantry. From Duddingston, the army
entered the King's Park, by a breach made in the wall. Lord George
halted some time in the park, but afterwards marched the foot to
Duddingston; and the Prince continued on horseback, always followed by
the crowd, who were happy if they could touch his boots, or his horse
furniture. In the steepest part of the road going down to the Abbey, he
was obliged to alight and walk ; hut the mob, out of curiosity, and some
out of fondness, to touch him or kiss Ids hand, were like to throw him
down : so, as soon as he was down the hill, he mounted his horse and
rode through St. Anne's Yard into Holyrood House, amidst the cries of
six thousand people, who tilled the air with their acclamations of joy.
He dismounted in the inner court, and went up stairs into the gallery;
and from thence into the Duke of Hamilton's apartments, which he
occupied all the time he was at Edinburgh. The crowd continued all night
m the outer court of the Abbey, and huzzaed every time the Pnnce
appeared at the window. He was joined, upon his entering the Abbey, by
the Earl of Kelly, Lord Balmerino, Mr. Hepburn of Keith, Mr. Lockhart
younger of Carnwath, Mr. Graham younger of Airth, Mr. Rollo younger of
Powhouse, Mr. Stirling of Craigbarnet, Mr. Hamilton of Bangor, Sir David
Murray, and several other gentlemen of distinction : but not one of the
mob, who were so fond of seeing him, were asked to enlist .in his
service; and, when he marched to fight Cope, he had not one of them in
his army."
The Prince, who was thus
received with acclamations into the home of his forefathers, was at
tin's time in the bloom of youth, being in the twenty-fifth year of his
age. Neither the agitation produced by the events of that critical day
on his sensitive temper, nor the fatigue of the previous march to a
young soldier, could diminish the grace of his deportment, nor hide the
natural majesty of his carriage. "The figure and presence of Charles
Stuart," even Home remarks, "were not ill-suited to his
lofty pretensions." he was in height about five feet ten inches, of a
slender form, his features were aquiline; his complexion, though ruddy
from the Highland air, was naturally fair. He had the pointed chin, and
small mouth in proportion to his other features, of Charles the First.
The colour of his eyes has been variously described; being, according
to some, "large rolling brown eyes," whilst in many of his portraits
he is depicted as having full blue eyes. The hair of Charles Stuart was
concealed under a "pale peruke;" but, is said to have been red, or,
according to most of his portraits, of a sandy hue. As he rode, with
extreme grace, upon a fine bay gelding presented to him by the. Duke of
Forth, the bystanders remarked that an "irregular smile," as one of
them has expressed it, lighted up, by fits, a countenance which told but
too plainly every emotion of the heart. An anxious, watchful look was,
at times, directed to those around and near him; and, in particular,
rested on the face of Lord Elcho, who, though a gallant officer, the
Prince may perhaps have too well conjectured, was not, even at that
early period, a sincere and firm adherent. To the Duke of Perth, on the
contrary, the ill-fated young Chevalier showed a marked respect, and sat
for some moments on horseback in St. Anne's Yard, whilst the Duke, like
"an intelligent farmer, Informed him of the different nature and produce
of the different parcels of ground." Dressed, as he was, in the
Highland garb, —a blue sash
wrought with gold coming over his shoulder, a green velvet bonnet with a
gold lace round it on his head, a white cockade,—the cross of St.
Andrew on his breast, his hand resting on a silver hilted sword, and a
pair of pistols on his saddle;—associated in the minds of all around him
with the remembrance of Scotland m her independence, and of Scottish
monarch* in their greatness, the enthusiasm which was inspired in a
slow, but ardent people cannot be a matter of surprise. Long did the
remembrance of that day continue to be cherished, in mingled pride and
sorrow! It is true, the opinions of men differed according to their
secret bias. The Jacobites, who looked on the young Prince, compared him
to Robert the Bruce, to whom he bore, they fancied, a resemblance. The
Whigs beheld in him the gentleman of fashion, but not the hero and the
conqueror. All parties seem to have remarked the dejection and languor
of his manner as he prepared to enter the palace of Holyrood.
It was, indeed,
impossible, from the deportment of Charles on his first introduction
into Scotland, or from his conduct whilst his affairs prospered, to
comprehend the strength of his determination, or to calculate upon his
power of endurance. In prosperity he was, it is true, brave, courteous,
often amiable, often generous, but sometimes betraying the petulance and
obstinacy which historians have been fond of considering as hereditary
propensities in the heroic young man, but which are the common
attributes of the inexperienced and the spoiled. In adversity he was
meek, grateful, magnanimous; capable of forgetting his own unparalleled
sufferings, in considering those of others, never breathing an accent
of revenge ; rising above fortune. He resembled Charles the Second more
in his hatred of shedding blood, than in his vices, which were in the
young Chevalier the effect of circumstances, rather than of a depraved
nature. He had the fortitude of Charles the First: and truth, and right mention he exceeded both of these his ancestors; and in this, as in
other respects, he showed more of the Scottish character, more of the
true sense of Highland honour, than any of his immediate predecessors in
the Stuart line. Naturally gay, though variable; quick and shrewd,
rather than deep or strong in intellect; easily to be flattered, too
easily led by some, too wilful in resisting the counsels of others,—as a
Prince, as the head of a Court, he soon won upon the affections of the
people who beheld him , but there were vital defects mingled with his
great and good qualities, which well verified the saying of the Whigs, "that he would prove neither a hero nor a conqueror."
As the Prince walked
along the piazza close to the apartment of the Duke of Hamilton, a
gentleman stepped out of the crowd, and, drawing his sword, raised his
arm aloft, and walked up stairs before Charles Edward. The remarkable
person who thus signalized his loyalty was James Hepburn of Keith, a
gentleman of learning and intelligence, whose Jacobitism was of a more
enlightened description than that of the party with whom he thus
identified himself. Since the insurrection of 1715, in which, when a
very young man. he had been engaged, Mr. Hepburn had become a professed
Jacobite. Yet lie disclaimed the hereditary, indefeasible right of
Kings, and condemned the measures of James the Second. Cherishing even
these opinions, he had nevertheless kept himself during twenty years
ready to take up arms for Charles Edward, from a hatred to the Union
between England and Scotland, a measure which he deemed injurious and
humiliating to his country. Idolized by the Jacobites, beloved by some
of the Whigs, a "model of ancient simplicity, manliness and honour,"
the accession of Hepburn to the Jacobite cause was lamented by those who
esteemed him, and who saw in his notions of the independence of Scotland only a visionary speculation.
The entrance of Prince
Charles had taken place early in the day: soon after noon he was
proclaimed Regent at the ancient Cross of Edinburgh, and his father's
manifesto was read in the same place. Six heralds in their robes, with a
trumpet, came to the Cross, which was surrounded by the brave Camerons
in three ranks. The streets and windows were crowded to excess; whilst
David Beaton, a writing-master in Edinburgh, read the papers to the
heralds. The beautiful Mrs. Murray of Broughton sat on horseback with a
drawn sword in her hand beside the Cross, her dress decorated with the
white ribbon which was the token of adherence to the House of Stuart.
Whilst these events took place, a spectator in the crowd, viewing
clearly that all was the show of power, without the substantial capacity
to perpetuate it, resolved to write the history of what, he foresaw,
would be a short-lived though perhaps fierce
contest. He was not mistaken. This individual was Alexander Henderson.
The following account is
given by Lord Elcho of the Chevalier's court during the short time that
he inhabited Holyrood House.*
"The Prince lived in
Edinburgh, from the twenty-second of September to the thirty-first of
October, with great splendour and magnificence;—had every morning a
numerous court of his officers. After he hail held a council, he dined
with his principal officers in public, where there was always a crowd of
all sorts of people to see him dine. After dinner he rode out. attended
by his life-guards, and reviewed his amy; where there were always a
great number of spectators, in coaches and on horseback. After the
review he came to the Abbey, where he received the ladies of fashion
that came to his drawing-room Then he supped in public; and generally
there was music at supper, and a ball afterwards. Before he left
Edinburgh, he despatched Sir James Stewart to manage his affairs in the
country and solicit succours."
This remarkable scene was
soon followed by the battle of Preston Pans. The memorable words of
Charles Edward before the victory, "I have flung away the scabbard !"
were followed by a total rout of the King's troops. The Duke of Perth
was appointed Lieutenant-general of the forces. After the engagement
which ensued, when the heat of the contest was over, he distinguished
himself in a manner in which every brave and loyal man would wish to
imitate his example,—by saving the lives of the combatants. His tenantry, commanded by
Lord Nairn, were among the most eager of the combatants on that day.
When the defeat of the King's troops was manifest, a terrible carnage
ensued. Rome of the conquered threw down their arms, and begged for
quarter, which was refused them; others, who fled into the enclosures,
were murdered; and all who were overtaken were cut in the most cruel
manner by broad-swords and Lochaber axes.
The kind-hearted Duke of
Perth, seeing this slaughter, made a signal to Cameron of Lochiel to
stop the impetuosity of his men; and sent his aid-de-camp, or, as he
was then called, his gentleman, for that purpose. No sooner had the Duke
done this, than he sprang himself upon a fleet bay mare, a racer, which
had won the King's plate at Leith some years before; and, taking a Major
of the King's troops along with him, " shot like an arrow through the
field," and saved numbers: as also did his gentleman, Mr. Stuart.
But these efforts were
insufficient to prevent a cruel and terrible destruction of some of the
bravest and best of the British officers. In the battle of Preston Pans
fell the famous Colonel Gardiner. His fate was, it is said, envied by
General Cope, who, witnessing the destruction of his army, wished to
have died on the field
While the Highlanders
were carried away to the house of Colonel Gardiner, close by, the young
Chevalier stood by the road side, having sent to Edinburgh by the advice
of the Duke of Perth for surgeons. At this moment. Henderson, that
spectator of the proclamation who had resolved
to write a history of the war, having slept at Musselburgh, only at two
miles' distance, the night before, stepped forward to take a survey of
the field. "It was one scene of horror, capable," writes this
historian, "of softening the hardest heart, being strewed not so much
with the dead as with the wounded : the broken guns, halberts, pikes,
and canteens showing the work of the day. In the midst of this
distressing spectacle, an act of mercy shone forth, like a light from
Heaven. "Major Bowles," continues Henderson, "on Hamilton's Dragoons,
being dismounted, the enemy fell upon and wounded him in eleven
different places; and just as some inhuman wretch was fetching a stroke,
winch perhaps would have proved mortal. Mr. Stuart threw up his sword
and awarded the blow."
From Preston Pans Charles
Edward rode to Pinkie House, a seat of the Marquis of Tweedale. In the
elation of victory, a consideration which can alone excuse the disregard
of the sufferings of others which the foregoing narrative states, the
Prince is said to have left the bulk of the wounded upon the field until
the. next day, when they were brought in carts to the infirmary of
Edinburgh. The neighbourhood was afterwards scattered over with the
wounded who recovered, and who begged throughout the country, where they
met with kindness and humanity from all, except from the Adventurers, as
they were called. Such is the testimony of one who has not failed to
bear witness to acts of humanity where they really existed; and it
would be unfair to suppress the statements of contemporaries on either side of the
question. At the same time, this account is wholly at variance with the
deep sorrow-afterwards betrayed by Charles when he spoke of the
sufferings of the Scottish, people on his account; nor is it consistent
with the sensibility and humanity evinced, as the same historian avows,
by the Duke of Perth.
Upon the return of Prince
Charles to Edinburgh, in order to carry on affairs with every appearance
of royalty, he appointed a council, who met every day at Holyrood House
at ten o'clock for the despatch of business. The members of this
council were the two Lieutenants-general, the Puke of Perth, and Lord
George Murray, who had been appointed in conjunction with the former;
Secretary Murray; Sullivanvan, Quarter-master-general ; Lord Pitsligo,
Lord Elcho, Sir Thomas Sheridan, and all the Highland chiefs.
The fine characteristics,
and powerful mind of Lord George Murray, and the prominent part which he
took in the insurrection, demand a long and separate account. Among the
rest of this ill-starred council, the principal members in point of
rank, if not of influence, were Alexander, Lord Forbes of Pitsligo, who,
after the battle of Preston, joined the Prince's standard with a troop
of a hundred horse. The character of this nobleman gave his example a
great influence among all who knew him, and which respected the ardent
piety, bordering upon fanaticism, which characterized his religious sentiments, and
the heartfelt earnestness of his political opinions. Early in life this
venerable man had sworn allegiance to William the Third, and taken his
seat in Parliament; he became, however, an opponent to the Union, and,
from the period of that measure, his course was a decided system of calm
and steady adherence to Jacobite principles. He engaged m the rebellion
of 1715, yet by the forbearance of Government was permitted to retain
his title and estate. He now again embarked in the same adventurous
cause, leaving the study of moral philosophy, on which he had written
several essays, and the security of a private career, for the sake of
conscience. No hope of gain, no inducement of ambition, lured this
adherent of Charles Edward to the standard of the Stuarts Aged, and so
infirm that he was compelled by his bodily weakness to accept the
generous proposal of Charles Edward to travel on all the marches ii the
Prince's carriage, whilst the Chevalier walked at the head of his army,
Lord Pitsligo again came forward at what he conceived to be the dictates
of duty. His example drew many others into the undertaking. Of course,
his subsequent history closed in the usual melancholy manner: his life
was, it is true, spared; but his estates were forfeited, and his title
extinguished, He died at Auchiries, ia Aberdeenshire.
David, Lord Elcho, who
held also a place in the council, and who was colonel of the first troop
of Horseguards, was the son of James, fourth Earl of Wemyss, and of
Janet the daughter of Colonel Francis Charteris of Amisfield, whose
immense property was afterwards vested in the Wemvss family Lord Elcho
was at this time only twenty-four years of age, and therefore his
appointment to the colonelcy of the horse was a signal compliment to his
abilities. Of his personal character much may be gleaned from his
unpublished narrative, written in a dry, caustic, and uninspiring style; and penned by one who seems to have desired to do justice, but whose
personal dislike to the young Chevalier over-masters his inclination to
the cause. Notwithstanding a plain disapproval of many measures, and a
marked conviction of the wilfulness of his young leader, Lord Elcho was
true to the cause which he had adopted. Ilis account of the manner in
which the council of the Regent, as he was styled, was conducted, is so
characteristic, not only of those to whom he refers, but of his own
mind, that I shall give it m the unvarnished phraseology in which he
composed it.
"The Prince in his
council used always first to declare what he was for, and then he asked
every -body's opinion in their turn. There was one-third of the council
whose principles were, that Kings and Princes can never either act, or
think wrong; so, in consequence, they always confirmed whatever the
Prince said. The other two-thirds, who thought that Kings and Princes
thought sometimes like other men, and were not altogether infallible,
and that this Prince was no more so than others, begged leave to differ
from him, when they could give sufficient reasons for their difference
of opinion, which very often was no hard matter to do; for as the Prince
and his old governor, Sir Thomas Sheridan, were altogether ignorant of
the ways and customs in Great
Britain, and both much for the doctrine of absolute monarchy, they
would very often, had they not been prevented, have fallen into blunders
which might have hurt the cause. The Prince could not bear to hear
anybody differ in sentiment from him, and took a dislike to everybody
that did; for he had a notion of commanding this army, as any general
does a body of mercenaries, and so let them know only what he pleased,
and they obey without inquiring further about the matter. This might
have done better had Ms favourites been people of the country; but they
were Irish, and had nothing at stake. The Scotch, who ought to be
supposed to give the best advice they were capable of giving, thought
they had a little right to know, and be consulted in what was for the
good of the cause in which they had so much concern; and, if it had not
been for their insisting strongly upon it, the Prince, when he found
that his sentiments were not always approved of, would have abolished lii> council long ere
he did. There was a very good paper sent one day
by a gentleman in Edinburgh, to be perused by this council. The Prince,
when he heard it read, said that it was below his dignity to enter into
such a reasoning with subjects, and ordered the paper to be laid aside.
The paper afterwards was printed under the title of the Prince's
Declaration to the People of England, and is esteemed the best manifesto
published in those times; for the ones that were printed at Rome and
Paris were reckoned not well calculated for the present age."
Before the Prince had
left Edinburgh, intrigues had begun to distract his councils. "An
ill-timed emulation," remarks an eye-witness of the rebellion, "soon
crept in, and bred great dissension and animosities: the council was
insensibly divided into factions, and came to be of little use, when
measures were approved of. or condemned, not for themselves, but for the
sake of their author.'' Unhappily, the Duke of Perth, amiable, but
inexperienced and unsuspecting, confided in one whose machinations,
guided by an unbounded love of rule, eventually accelerated the ruin of
the cause.
The very name of Murray
of Broughton recalls with a shudder the remembrance of selfish ambition
and treachery. This unprincipled man, private secretary to Charles
Edward, had a remarkable influence over the young Chevalier's mind; an
influence acquired during a long and intimate acquaintance abroad. "He
was," observes Mr. Maxwell, "the only personal acquaintance the Prince
found in Scotland." To a desire of having the sole government of the
Prince's council he "sacrificed what chance there was of a restoration,
although upon that all his hopes were built." The expedition to Scotland
and England was, according to the same authority, the entire suggestion
of Murray ; and the credit of that success which had hitherto attended
the attempt, was now solely attributed to the secretary's advice. "The
Duke of Perth," adds the same writer, "judging of Murray's heart by
his
own, entertained the highest opinion of his integrity, went readily into
all his schemes, and confirmed the Prince in the esteem he had already
conceived for Murray."
The man whom Murray most
dreaded as a rival was Lord George Murray, the coadjutor with the Duke
of Perth in the command of the army ; and it soon became no difficult
task, not only to persuade Prince Charles, who knew but little
personally of Lord George, that that impetuous but honest man was a
traitor, but also to inspire the amiable Duke of Perth with suspicions
foreign to his generous nature. Few of the calm spectators of the
struggle were very sanguine as to its result; but the moderate hopes
which they dared to entertain were all dashed to the ground by the
unbridled love of sway which the secretary indulged, and which filled
him with a base and bitter enmity towards men of talent and influence.
Too truly is the effect of his representations told in these few and
simple words, written by one who was devotedly attached to the misled,
confiding Charles, upon whose ignorance of the world Murray condescended
to practise."
"All those gentlemen that
joined the Prince after Murray, were made known under the character he
thought fit to give them; and all employments about the Prince's person,
and many in the army, were of his nomination. These he filled with such
as he had reason to think would never thwart his measures, but be
content to be his tools and creatures without aspiring higher. Thus,
some places of the greatest trust were given to little insignificant
fellows while there were abundance of gentlemen of figure and merit that
had no employment at all, and who might have been of great use, had they
been
properly employed. Those that Murray had thus placed, seconded his little
dirty views: it was their interest, too, to keep their betters at a
distance from the Prince's person and acquaintance. These were some of
the disadvantages the Prince laboured under during this whole
expedition."
As soon as the expedition
into England was decided, a gentleman was dispatched to France to hasten
the assistance expected from that quarter. The first intention of the
insurgents was to march to Newcastle, and give battle to General "Wade;
then to proceed, if the Prince proved victorious, by the eastern coast
to England, in order to favour the expected landing of the French upon
that side. This scheme was overruled by Lord George Murray, with what
success history has declared. It was natural, when all was lost, for
those who wished well to the cause, to retrace their steps, and to
desire that any measures had been adopted, rather than those which had
proved so disastrous: but this is the common feeling of regret, and
cannot be relied on as the sober dictate of judgment.
On his departure from
Edinburgh, the young Chevalier was followed by the good will of many who
had viewed his arrival with regret. The people, says Maxwell of
Kirkconnel, were affected with the dangers they apprehended he might be
exposed to, and doubtful whether they ever should see him again. "Everybody was mightily taken," adds the same writer, "with the Prince's
figure and personal behaviour. There was but one voice about them." What
was still more important, the short duration
of military rule exercised by Charles Edward had been so conducted as to
create no disgust. The guard of the city had been entrusted to Cameron
of Lochiel, the younger; and under his firm and judicious control. the
persons and effects of the citizens, had been as secure as in time of
peace. "The people had the pleasure of seeing the whole apparatus of
war, without feeling the effects of it." Bay after day some new end
graceful instance of the humanity and kindness of the young Chevalier's
disposition had transpired. At this period of his life there was a
degree of magnanimity in the sentiments of one, of whose principles
despair, and the desertion of his friends afterwards made such a wreck.
The following trait of this ill-fated young man is too beautiful —it
reflects too much credit, through him, upon the party of whom he was the
head—to be omitted; more especially as the narrative from which it is
taken is not in the hands of general readers.
"But what gave people
the highest idea of him was, the negative he gave to a thing that very
nearly concerned his interest, and upon which the success of his
enterprise perhaps depended. It was proposed to send one of the
prisoners to London, to demand of that court a cartel for the exchange
of prisoners taken and to be taken during this war, and to intimate that
a refusal would be looked upon as a resolution on their part to give no
quarter. It was visible a cartel would be of great advantage to the
Prince's affairs: his friends would be more ready to declare for him, if
they had nothing to fear hut the chance of war m the field; and, if the
Court of London refused to settle a cartel the Prince was authorised
to treat his prisoners in the same manner that the Elector of
Hanover was determined to treat such of the Prince's friends as might
fall into his hands. It was urged, a few examples would compel the Court
of London to comply. It was to be presumed that the officers of the
English army would make a point of it. They had never engaged in the
service, but upon such terms as arc in use among all civilized nations,
and it would be no stain on their honour to lay down their commissions
if these terms were not observed; and, that, owing to the obstinacy of
their own Prince. Though this scheme was plausible, and represented as
very important, the Prince could never lie brought into it; It was
below him to make empty threats, and he would never put such as those
into execution; he would never, in cold blood, take away lives which he
had saved in heat of action at peril of his own."
On the thirty-first of
October, the Prince set out from Holyrood House in the evening, amid a
crowd of people assembled to bid him farewell. On the following day he
joined one column of his army at Dalkeith. The army marched in two
columns, by different roads, to Carlisle : that which the Prince
commanded, and which was conducted by Lord George Murray, was composed
of the Guards, and the Clans; Charles Edward marched on foot at the head
of the Highlanders, and the Guards led the van. The other column went by
Peebles and Moffat, having with them the artillery and heavy baggage. It
was composed of the Atholl brigade. the Duke of Perth's regiment. Lord
Ogilvie, of Glenbucket, and Roy Stuart s regiment. The greater part of
the horse was commanded by the Puke of Perth A week afterwards these two
columns were re-united, and the troops were quartered in villages to the
west of Carlisle.
On the thirteenth of
October the town of Carlisle was invested by the Puke of Perth and Lord
George Murray, with the horse and Lowland regiments. The conduct of the
Puke of Perth, during the siege of five days which ensued, has been a
subject of eulogy for every writer who has undertaken to relate the
affairs of the period. The siege was attempted in the face of many
difficulties, the Truce having no battering cannon ; so that, if the
town had been well defended, it would have been found impossible to
reduce it: still, being a place of great strength, and the key to
England, he resolved to make the attempt.
It was in this
undertaking that the Duke of Perth reaped the benefit of his scientific
knowledge of the art of war, and that he showed a degree of skill as
well as of military ardour, which would, had his life been spared, have
rendered him an excellent general. The castle of Carlisle, built upon
the east angle of the fortifications, was of course the object of his
attack. On Tuesday, the thirteenth of October, after his return from
Brampton, where the Prince remained with the Clans to cover the siege,
the Duke began his operations. His officers had forced four carpenters
to go along with them in order to assist m erecting the batteries. In
short, all able bodied men were seized on by the insurgents, and those who had
horses and ladders were constrained to carry them to the siege of
Carlisle.
The Duke then "broke
ground," to use a military expression, about three hundred yards from
the citadel, at the Spring Garden; and encountered the fire of the
cannon from the town, approaching so near that the garrison even threw grenades at them. On Wednesday, the trenches were opened, and were
conducted by Mr. Grant, chief engineer, whose skill was greatly
commended. On Friday morning, batteries were erected within forty
fathoms of the walls. During all this time the cannon and small arms
from the castle played furiously, but with so little destruction to the
besiegers, that only two men were killed.
The weather was so
intensely cold, that even the Highlanders could scarcely sustain its
inclemency ; yet the Duke of Perth and the Marquis of Tullibardine, the
one delicate m constitution, the other broken and in advancing age,
worked at the trenches like any common labourer, in their shirts. On the
Friday, when the cannon began to play, and the scaling-ladders were
brought out for an assault, a white flag was hung out, and the city
offered to surrender. An express was sent to the Chevalier at Brampton;
whose answer was. "that he would not do things by halves," and that the
city had no reason to expect terms, unless the castle surrendered also.
That event took place, in consequence, immediately; and the capitulation
was signed by the Duke of Perth, and by Colonel Durand, who had been
sent from London to defend Carlisle. In the afternoon of the same day,
the Duke of Perth entered the town, and took possession in the name of
James the Third, whose
manifesto was read; the mayor and aldermen attending the Duke, the sword
and mace being carried before them.
The Duke of Perth won
many of those who were enemies to Charles Edward, over to his cause, by
the humanity and civility with which he treated the conquered citizens,
over whom he had the chief command until Charles arrived. But even the
important advantage thus gained could not still the animosities which
had been kindled in the breasts of those who ought to have laid aside
all private considerations for the good of their common undertaking.
Hitherto Lord George Murray and the Duke of Perth had had separate
commands, and had not interfered with each other until the siege of
Carlisle. Here the Duke had acted as the chief in command; he had
directed the attack, signed the capitulation, and given orders m the
town until the Prince arrived. This was a precedent for the whole
campaign, and it ill-suited the fiery temper of Lord George Murray to
brook it tamely. There was, indeed, much to be said in favour of Lord
George's alleged wrongs, in this preference of one so young and
inexperienced as the Duke of Perth. In the first place, Lord George was
an older Lieutenant-General than his rival; nor could it be agreeable to
his Lordship to serve under a man so much his inferior in age and
experience. "Lord George." observes Mr. Maxwell, "thought himself the
fittest man to be at the head of the army; nor was he the only person
that thought so. Had it been left to the gentlemen of the army to choose
a general. Lord George would have carried it by vast odds against the Duke of Perth." But there
was still another pretext, which was insisted upon as a reason less
offensive to the Duke of Perth, whose gentle and noble qualities had
much endeared him even to those who did not wish to see him chief in
command; this was his religious persuasion. It was argued that, at that
time in England, Roman Catholics were excluded from all employments,
civil and military, by laws anterior to the Revolution; it was
contended that these laws, whether just or not, ought to be complied
with until they were repealed ; and that a defiance of these laws would
confirm all that had been heard of old from the press and from the
pulpit, of the Prince's designs to subvert both Church and State :
neither could it be alleged in excuse for the young Prince, that a
superiority of genius or of experience had won this distinction, in
opposition to custom, for the Duke of Perth.
"Whilst these murmurs
distracted the camp, immediately after the surrender of Carlisle, Lord
George Murray resigned his commission of Lieutenant-General, and
informed the Prince that thenceforth he would serve as a volunteer. Upon
this step, Mr. Maxwell, who seems to have known intimately the merits of
the case, makes the following temperate and beautiful reflection. "It
would be rash in me to pretend to determine whether ambition, or zeal
for the Prince's service, determined Lord George to take this step; or,
if both had a share in, which was predominant: it belongs to the
Searcher of hearts to judge of an action which might have proceeded from
very different motives."
Under these
circumstances, violent discussions took place in the army; and the
result was. the wise resolution on the part of a certain officer, not
improbably Mr. Maxwell himself, to represent the consequences of these
altercations to the Duke of Perth. The undertaking was one of delicacy
and difficulty, but the individual who undertook it had not
miscalculated the true gentlemanly humility, the real dignity and
disinterestedness, of the gallant man to whom he addressed himself. The
narrative goes on as follows :
"A gentleman who had
been witness to such conversation, and dreaded nothing so much as
dissension in a cause which could never succeed but by unanimity,
resolved to speak to the Duke of Perth upon this ungrateful subject. He
had observed that those that were loudest in their complaints were least
inclined to give themselves any trouble in finding out a remedy."
"The Duke, who at this
time was happy, but not elevated, upon his success, reasoned very coolly
on the matter. He could never be convinced that it was unreasonable that
he should have the principal command; but when it was represented to
him, that since that opinion prevailed, whether well or ill founded, the
Prince's affairs might equally suffer, he took his resolution in a
moment; said he never had anything in view but the Prince's interest,
and would cheerfully sacrifice everything to it. And he was as good as
his word; for he took the first opportunity of acquainting the Prince
with the complaints that were against him, insisted upon being allowed
to give up his command, and to serve henceforth at the head of his
regiment."
After his resignation,
the Duke of Perth sank gracefully into the duties of the post assigned
to him But his ardour in the cause was unsubdued, and he was frequently
known, during the march from Carlisle to Derby, to ride down three
horses a day when information of the enemy was to be procured.
The short sojourn of the
Prince at Derby, and the inglorious retreat, have been detailed by the
various biographers and historians of that period; but, amongst the
various accounts which have been given, that which is contained is a
letter from Derby has not hitherto been presented to the reader, except
in a collection rarely to be met with, and now but little known.
On Wednesday, the 4th of
December (1745), two of the insurgents entered the town, inquired for
the magistrates, and demanded billets for nine thousand men, and more. A
short time afterwards the vanguard broke into the town, consisting of
about thirty men. clothed in blue faced with gold, and scarlet
waistcoats with gold lace, and. being "likely men," they made a good
appearance. They were drawn up in the market-place, and remained there
two hours; at the same time the bells were rung, and bonfires were
lighted, in order to do away with the impression that the Chevalier's
vanguard had been received disrespectfully. About three o'clock Lord
Elcho, on horseback, arrived at the head of the Life-guards, about one
hundred and fifty men, the flower of the army, who rode gallantly into
the town, dressed like the vanguard, making a very fine display. The
Guards were followed by the main
body of the army, who marched in tolerable order, two or three abreast,
with eight standards, mostly haying white flags and a red cross; the
bag-pipers playing as they entered. Whilst they were in the
market-place, they caused the Chevalier to be proclaimed King, and then
asked for the magistrates. These functionaries appeared without their
gowns of office, having cautiously sent them out of the town; a
circumstance which was with some difficulty excused by the insurgents.
In the dusk of the
evening Charles Edward arrived : he walked on foot, attended by many of
his men, who followed him to Exeter House, where the Prince remained
until his retreat northwards. Here he had guards placed all round the
house, and here he maintained the semblance of a Court, In the very
heart of that country which he so longed to enter.
The temporary abode of
Charles Edward still remains in perfect repair, and much in the same
state, with the exception of change of furniture, as when he held levees
there. Exeter House at that time belonged to Brownlow, Earl of Exeter,
whose connexion with the town of Derby was owing to his marriage with a
lady of that, city. The house stands back from Full Street, and is
situated within a small triangular court. An air of repose,
notwithstanding the noise of a busy and important town, characterizes
this interesting dwelling. It is devoid of pretension ; its gables and
chimneys proclaim the Elizabethan period. A wide staircase, rising from
a small hall, leads to a square, oak-panelled drawing-room, the
presence-chamber in the days of the ill-fated Charles. On either side are chambers,
retaining, as far as the walls are concerned, much of the character of
former days, but furnished recently. One of these served the Prince as a
sleeping-room ; the rest were occupied by his officers of state, and by
such of his retinue as could be accommodated in a house of moderate
size. The tenement contains many small rooms and closets, well adapted,
had there been need, for concealment and escape.
The back of Exeter House
is picturesque in the extreme. The character of the building is here
more distinctly ancient; and its architecture is uniform, though simple.
Beyond the steps by which you descend from a spacious dining-room, is a
long lawn, enclosed between high walls, and extending to the brink of
the river Derwent. A tradition prevails in Derby, that, alter the
retreat, one of the Highland officers who had been left behind, hearing
of the approach of the Duke of Cumberland's army, escaped through this
garden, and, plunging into the river, swam down its quiet waters for a
considerable distance, until he gained a part of the opposite shore
where he thought he might land without detection. Another more
interesting association connects the spot with the poet Dr. Darwin, who
is said to have planted some willows which grow on the opposite side of
the river to Exeter House.
Here Charles remained for
some days. The Dukes of Atholl and Perth, and the other noblemen who
commanded regiments, together with Lady Ogilvie and Mrs. Murray of
Broughton, were lodged in the best gentlemen's houses Every house was
tolerably well filled; but the
Highlanders continued pouring in till ten or eleven o'clock, until the
burgesses of Derby began to think they "should never have seen the last
of them.'' "At their coming in." says the wrier of the letter referred
to, "they were generally treated with bread, cheese, beer and ale,
while all hands were aloft getting supper ready. After supper, being
weary with their long march, they went to rest, most upon straw-beds,
some in beds." On Friday morning, only two days after the minds of the
inhabitants had been agitated by the arrival of the Jacobites, they
heard the drums beat to arms, and the bag-pipers playing about the town.
It was supposed that this was a summons to a march to Loughborough, on
the way to London; but a very different resolution had been adopted.
The Prince's council had,
the very morning before, met to advise their inexperienced leader as to
the steps which he might deem it advisable to take. The memorable
decision to return to the north was not arrived at without a painful
scene, such as those who felt deeply the situation of the Chevalier
could never forget. The sentiments with which the ardent young man
listened to the proposal are thus detailed by Mr. Maxwell. The statement
at once exonerates the Prince of two faults with which his memory has
been taxed, those of cowardice and obstinacy. To a coward the great risk
of advancing would have appeared m strong colours. An obstinate man
would never have yielded to the arguments which were proffered. The
description which Maxwell gives of the Prince's flatterers is such as
too fatally applies to the generality of those who have not the courage
to be sincere.
"The Prince, naturally
bold and enterprising, and hitherto successful in everything, was
shocked with the mention of a retreat. Since he set out from Edinburgh,
he had never a thought but of going on, and fighting everything he found
in his way to London, lie had the highest idea of the bravery of his own
men, and a despicable opinion of his enemies: he had hitherto had
reason for both, and was confirmed in these notions by some of those who
were nearest his person. These sycophants, more intent upon securing his
favour than promoting his interest, were eternally saying whatever they
thought would please, and never hazarded a disagreeable truth."
The Duke of Perth
coincided, on this occasion, with Charles in wishing to advance; or, to
use the words of Lord George Murray, "the Duke of Perth was for it,
since his Royal Highness was." It now seems to be admitted that the
judgment of the strong mind of Lord George Murray was less sound in this
instance than the opinion of those who were more guided by feeling than
by reflection, less cautious than the sagacious General, less willing
and less able to balance the arguments on either side.
"There are not a few,"
remarks Mr. Maxwell, "who still think the Prince would have carried his
point had he gone on from Derby. They built, much upon the confusion
there was at London, and the panic which prevailed among the Elector's
troops at this juncture. It is impossible to decide with any degree of
certainty whether he would or would
not have succeeded; that depended upon the disposition of the Army, and
of the City of London, ready to declare for the Prince.
Never had the soldiery
been in greater spirits than during their stay at Derby; but the deepest
dejection prevailed, when, in spite of some manoeuvres to deceive them,
they found themselves on the road to Ashbourn. The despair and disgust
of the Prince were as painful to behold, as they were natural. He had
played for the highest stake, and lost it. Yet one there was who could
look on the dropping figure of the disconsolate young man as he followed
the van of the army, and attribute to ill-humour the dejection of that
ardent and generous mind. The following is an extract from Lord Elcho's
narrative.
"Doncaster.—The Prince,
who had marched all the way to Derby on foot at the head of a column of
infantry, now mounted on horseback, and rode generally after the van of
the army, and appeared to be out of humour. Upon the army marching out
of Derby, Mr Morgan, an English gentleman, came up to Mr. Vaughan, who
was riding in the Life-guards, and after saluting him said, ' Dear me, Vaughan, they are going to Scotland!' Mr.
Vaughan
replied, 'Wherever they go, I am determined, now I have joined them, to
go along with them.' Upon which Mr. Morgan said with an oath, ' I had
rather be hanged than go to Scotland to starve.' Mr. Morgan was hanged
in 1746 ; and Mr. Vaughan is an officer in Spain."
In six days afterwards
the Jacobite army arrived at Preston, and from this place, where the
Prince halted.
He sent the Duke of
Perth to Scotland to summon his friends from Perth to join him, in order
to renew the attack upon England. The Prince was resolved to retire only
until he met that reinforcement, and then to march to London, be the
consequence what it would. But this scheme, so dearly cherished by
Charles, was impracticable. The Duke of Perth, taking with him an escort
of seventy or eighty horse, set out for Kendal. He was assailed as he
passed through that place by a mob, which he dispersed by firing on
them, and resumed his march; but near Penrith he was attacked by a far
more formidable force in a band of militia both horse and foot, greatly
superior in numbers to his troops, and was obliged to retire to Kendal.
On the fifteenth he rejoined the Prince's army, after this fruitless
attempt. The retreat of the Prince's army, managed as it was with
consummate skill by Lord George Murray, continued without any division
of the forces until they had passed the river Esk. There the army
separated ; and the Duke of Perth commanding one column of the army took
the eastern line to Scotland, while Charles marched to Annan in Dumfrieshire.
The siege of Stirling is
the next event of note in which we find the Duke of Perth engaged. He
here acted again as Lieutenant-General, and commanded the siege. Here,
too, the valour and fidelity of two other members of his family were
again proved. Lord John Drummond, who had landed In Scotland while the
Jacobites were at Derby, with the French brigade, was slightly wounded
in the battle of Falkirk. He had the honour of being near the Prince in
the centre of the battle with
his grenadiers; and it was on his artillery and engineers that the
Chevalier chiefly depended for success in reducing Stirling. Lord
Strathallan had also assembled his men, and joined the army.
While the Prince's army
were flushed with the victory of Falkirk, the alternative of again
marching to London, or of continuing the siege of Stirling, was
discussed. The last-mentioned plan was unhappily adopted; and the Duke
of Perth called upon General Blakeney to surrender. The answer was, that
the General had always hitherto been regarded as a man of honour, and
that he would always behave himself as such, and would hold out the
place as long as it was tenable. Upon this, fresh works were erected;
and Monsieur Mirabel, the chief engineer, gave it as his opinion that
the castle would be reduced in a few days. The unfortunate result of
that ill-advised siege, and the consequent retreat of the Prince from
Stirling, have been, with every appearance of reason, as much blamed as
the retreat from Derby. It was a fatal resolution, and one which was not
adopted by the Prince without sincere reluctance, and not until after a
strong representation, signed at Falkirk by Lord George Murray and by
all the Clans, begging that his Royal Highness would consent to retreat,
had been presented to him. The great desertion that had taken place
since, the battle was adduced as a reason for this movement; and the
siege of Stirling, it was also urged, must necessarily be raised, on
account of the inclemency of the weather, which the soldiers could
hardly bear in their trenches, and the impaired state of the artillery.
The winter was passed in
a plan of operations, for which the generalship of Prince Charles, or
rather the able judgment of Lord George Murray, has been eulogized.
Making the neighbourhood of Inverness the centre, from which he could
direct all the operations of his various generals, the Prince employed
his army of eight thousand men extensively and usefully. The siege of
Fort "William was carried on by Brigadier Stapleton; Lord George Murray
had invested Blair Castle; Lord John Drummond was making head against
General Bland; the Duke of Perth was in pursuit of Lord Loudon. This
portion of the operations was attended with so much difficulty and
danger, that Charles must have entertained a high opinion of him to whom
it was entrusted.
Lord Cromartie had been
already sent to disperse, if possible, Lord Loudon's little army; but
that skilful and estimable nobleman had successfully eluded his
adversary, who found it impossible either to entice him into an action,
or to force him out of the country. Lord Loudon had taken up his
quarters at Dornoch, on the frith which divides Rosshire from
Sutherland. Here he was secure, as Lord Cromartie had no boats. It was
therefore deemed necessary to have two detachments; one to guard the
passage of the frith, the other to go by the head of it. This was a
matter of some difficulty, for the Prince had at that time hardly as
many men at Inverness as were necessary to guard his person. It was,
however, essential to attack Lord Loudon, whose army cut off all
communication with Caithness, whence the Prince expected provisions and
men. In this dilemma an expedient had been thought of some time
previously, and preparations had been made for it; but the execution was
extremely dangerous. Mr. Maxwell gives the following account of it:
"All the fishing-boats
that could be got on the coast of Moray had been brought to Findhorn;
the difficulty was, to cross the frith of Moray unperceived by the
English ships that were continually cruizing there: if the design was
suspected, it could not succeed. Two or three North-country gentlemen,
that were employed in this affair, had conducted it with great secrecy
and expedition. All was ready at Findhorn when the orders came from
Inverness to make the attempt, and the enemy had no suspicion. Moir of
Stoneywood set out with this little fleet in the beginning of the night,
got safe across the frith of Moray, and arrived in the morning at Tain,
where the Duke of Perth, whom the Prince had sent to command this
expedition, was ready. The men were embarked with great despatch, and by
means of a thick fog, which happened very opportunely, got over to
Sutherland without being perceived. "The Duke of Perth marched directly
to the enemies' quarters, and, after some disappointments, owing to his
being the dupe of his good nature and politeness, succeeded in
dispersing Lord Loudon's army: and this era, in the opinion of Mr.
Maxwell, is the finest part of the Prince's expedition." Henceforth, all
was dismay and disaster.
The affairs of Charles
Edward had now begun visibly to decline, for money, the sinews of the
war, was not to be had; and the military chest, plundered, as it has
been stated, by villains who
robbed the Prince by false musters, was exhausted. The hopes of the
Chevalier were in the lowest state, when the intelligence reached
Inverness that the Duke of Cumberland was advancing from Aberdeen to
attack his forces. Upon receiving these tidings, the Prince sent
messengers far and wide to call in his scattered troops, expecting that
he should be strong enough to venture a battle.
The Duke of Perth, who at
that time commanded all the troops that were to the eastward of
Inverness, was planted near the river Spey. When the enemy approached,
he retired to Elgin. On the same day, the twelfth of April 1746, the
Duke of Cumberland passed the Spey, and encamped within three or four
miles of Elgin.
This retreat of the Duke
of Perth has been severely condemned. It appears, however, that he, and
Lord John Drummond who was with him, could not muster two thousand five
hundred men. The river, which was very low, was fordable in many places;
so much so, that the enemy might march a battalion in front. The Duke
had no artillery, whilst the enemy had a very good train. There was no
possibility of sending reinforcements from Inverness; above all, says
Mr. Maxwell, "nothing was to be asked that might dishearten the common
soldiers on the eve of a general and decisive action."
But the same candid and
experienced soldier acknowledges that the Duke of Perth remained too
long at Nairn, whither he retired, and where the Duke of Cumberland
advanced within a mile of the town, and followed the retiring army of
Perth for a mile or two, though to no purpose, the
foot-soldiers being protected by Fitzjames's Horse. The delay at Nairn
has, it is true, been excused, on the grounds of a command from Prince
Charles to the Duke of Perth and his brother not to retire too hastily
before Cumberland, but to keep as near to him as was consistent with
their safety. This message "put them on their mettle, and well-nigh
occasioned their destruction." The Duke of Perth continued to retreat,
until he halted somewhat short of Culloden, where the Prince arrived
that evening, and took up his quarters at Culloden House.
The following day was the
fifteenth of April, the anniversary of that on which the Duke of
Cumberland, the disgrace of his family, the hard-hearted conqueror of a
brave and humane foe, first saw the light. It was expected that lie
would choose his birth-day for the combat, but the fatal engagement of
Culloden was deferred until the following morning.
The battle of Culloden
was prefaced by a general sentiment of despair among those who shared
its perils.
"This," says Mr.
Maxwell, referring to the morning of the engagement, "was the first
time the Prince ever thought his affairs desperate. He saw his little
army much reduced, and half-dead with hunger and fatigue, and found
himself under a necessity of fighting in that miserable condition, for
he would not think of a retreat; which he had never yielded to but with
the greatest reluctance, ami which, on this occasion, he imagined would
disperse the few men he had, and put an inglorious end to his
expedition. He resolved to wait for the
enemy, be the event what it would; and he did not wait long, for he had
been but a few hours at Culloden, when his scouts brought him word that
the enemy was within two miles, advancing towards the moor, where the
Prince had drawn up his army the day before. The men were scattered
among the woods of Culloden, the greatest part fast asleep. As soon as
the alarm was given, the officers ran about on all sides to rouse them,
if I may use the expression, among the bushes ; and some went to
Inverness, to bring back such of the men as hunger had driven there.
Notwithstanding the pains taken by the officers to assemble the men,
there were several hundreds absent from the battle, though within a mile
of it: some were quite exhausted, and not able to crawl; and others
asleep in coverts that had not been beat up. However, in less time than
one could have imagined, the best part of the army was assembled, and
formed on the moor, where it had been drawn up the day before. Every
corps knew its post, and went straight without waiting for fresh orders;
the order of battle was as follows: the army was drawn up in two lines;
the first was composed of the Atholl brigade, which had the right; the Camerons, Stuarts of Appin, Frazers, Macintoshes, Farquharsons,
Chisholms, Perths, Roy Stuart's regiment, and the Macdonalds, who had
the left."
The Highlanders, though
faint with fatigue and want of sleep, forgot all their hardships at the
approach of an enemy; and, as a shout was sent up from the Duke of
Cumberland's army, they returned it with the spirit of a valiant and
undaunted people.
The order of battle was
as follows: the right wing was commanded by Lord George Murray, and the
left by the Duke of Perth; the centre of the first line by Lord John
Drummond, and the centre of the second by Brigadier Stapleton. There
were five cannon on the right, and four on the left of the army.
The Duke of Perth had
therefore, from his important command, the privilege of spending the
short period of existence, which, as the event proved, Providence
allotted to him, in the service of a Prince whom he loved; whilst he
had the good fortune to escape that responsibility which fell to the lot
of his rival, Lord George Murray. The influence which that nobleman had
acquired over the council of war had enabled him far to eclipse the Duke
of Perth in importance ; but it was the fate of Lord George Murray to
pay a heavy penalty for that distinction.
But not only did the
amiable and high-minded Duke of Perth calmly surrender to one, who was
esteemed a better leader than himself, the post of honour; but he
endeavoured to reconcile to the indignity put upon them the fierce
spirit of the Macdonalds, who were obliged to cede their accustomed
place on the right to the Atholl men. "If," said the Duke, "you fight
with your usual bravery, you will make the left wing a right wing; in
which case I shall ever afterwards assume the honourable surname of Macdonald." The Duke's standard was borne, on this occasion, by the
Laird of Cowrie, whose descendant still shows the claymore which his
ancestors brandished, whilst the Duke exclaimed aloud, "Claymore!"
Happy would it have been for Charles, had a similar spirit purified the
motives of all those on whom he was fated to depend.
The battle was soon
ended! Half-an-hour of slaughter and despair terminated the final
struggle of the Stuarts for the throne of Britain! During that fearful
though brief space, one thousand of the Jacobites were killed; no
quarter being given on either side. Exhausted by fatigue and want of
food, the brave Highlanders fell thick as autumn leaves upon the
blood-stained moor, near Culloden House. About two hundred only on the
King's side perished in the encounter. During the whole battle, taking
into account the previous cannonading, the Jacobites lost, as the
prisoners afterwards stated, four thousand men But it was not until
after the fury of the fight ceased, that the true horrors of war really
began. These may be said to consist, not in the ardour of a strife in
which the passions, madly engaged, have no check, nor stay; but in the
cold, vindictive, brutal, and remorseless after-deeds, which stamp for
ever the miseries of a conflict upon the broken hearts of the survivors.
"Exceeding few," says
Mr. Maxwell, "were made prisoners in the field of battle, which was
such a scene of horror and inhumanity as is rarely to be met with among civilized nations.
Every circumstance concurs to heighten the enormity of the cruelties
exercised on this occasion; the shortness of the action, the cheapness
of the victory, and, above all, the moderation the Prince had shown
during his prosperity,—the leniency, and even tenderness, with which he
had always treated his enemies But that which was done on the field of
Culloden was but a prelude to a long series of massacres committed in
cold blood, which 1 shall have occasion to mention afterwards."
The Chevalier, leaving
that part of the field upon which bodies In layers of three or four deep
were lying, rode along the moor in the direction of Fort Augustus,
where he passed the river of Nairn. He halted, and held a conference
with Sir Thomas Sheridan, Sullivan, and Hay; and, having taken his
resolution, he sent young Sullivan to the gentlemen who had followed
him, and who were now pretty numerous. Sheridan at first pretended to
conduct them to the place where the Prince was to re-assemble his army; but, having ridden half a mile towards
Ruthven, he there stopped, and
dismissed them all in the Prince's name, telling thorn it was the
Prince's "pleasure that they should shift for themselves."
This abrupt and
impolitic, not to say ungracious and unsoldier-like proceeding, has been
justified by the necessity of the moment. There were no magazines in the
Highlands, in which an unusual scarcity prevailed. The Lowlanders, more
especially, must have starved in a country that had not the means of
supporting its own inhabitants, and of which they knew neither the roads
nor the language. It is, however, but too probable, that
various suspicions, which were afterwards dispelled, of the fidelity of
the Scots, induced Charles to throw himself into the hands of his Irish
attendants at this critical juncture.
The Duke of Perth, with
his brother Lord John Drummond. and Lord George Murray, with the Atholl
men. and almost all the Low-country men who had been in the Jacobite
army, retired to Ruthven, where they remained a short time with two or
three thousand men, but without a day's subsistence. The leaders of this
band finding it impossible to keep the men together, and receiving no
orders from the Prince, came to a resolution of separating. They took a
melancholy farewell of each other, brothers and companions in arms, and
many of them united by ties of relationship. The chieftains dispersed to
seek places of shelter, to escape the pursuit of Cumberland's "bloodhounds:" the men went to their homes.
Such is the statement of
Maxwell of Kirkconnel, relative to the Duke of Perth: according to
another account, the course which the Duke pursued was the. following.—
He is said to have been
wounded in the back and hands in the battle, and to have fled with great
precipitancy from the field of battle. He obtained, it is supposed, that
shelter which, even under the most dangerous and disastrous
circumstances, was rarely refused to the poor Jacobites. The exact spot
of his retreat has never been ascertained; yet persons living have been
heard to say, that in the houses of their grandfathers or ancestors, the
Duke of Perth took refuge, until the vigilance of pursuit had abated.
The obscurity into which this and other subjects connected with 1745
have fallen, may be accounted for by the apathy which, at the beginning
of the present century existed concerning all subjects connected with
the ill-starred enterprise of the Stuarts; and the loss of much
interesting information, which the curiosity of modern times would
endeavour in vain to resuscitate, has been the result.
Tradition, however, often
a sure guide, and seldom, at all events, wholly erroneous, has preserved
some trace of the unfortunate wanderer's adventures after all was at an
end. As it might be expected, and as common report in the neighbourhood
of Drummond Castle states, the Duke returned to the protection of his
own people. To them, and to his stately home, he was fondly attached,
notwithstanding his foreign education On first going from Perth to join
the insurrection, as he lost sight of his Castle, he turned round, and
as if anticipating all the consequences of that step, exclaimed, 'O! my
bonny Drummond Castle, and my bonny lands!'
The personal appearance
of the Duke was well known over all the country, for he was universally
beloved, and was in the practice of riding at the head of his tenantry
and friends, called in that neighbourhood 'his guards,' to Michaelmas
Market at Crieff, the greatest fair in those parts; where thousands
assembled to buy and sell cattle and horses. He was therefore afterwards
easily recognised, although in disguise.
"Sometime after the
battle of Culloden,' as the same authority relates, "the Duke
returned to Drummond Castle, where his mother usually resided; and lived
there very privately, skulking about the woods and in disguise; he was
repeatedly seen in a female dress, barefooted, and bare-headed. Once a
party came to search the castle unexpectedly; he instantly got into a
wall press or closet, or recess of some sort, where a woman shut him in,
and standing before it, remained motionless till they left that room, to
carry on the search, when he got out at a window and gained the
retreats in the woods. After he had withdrawn from Scotland, and settled
in the north of England, he occasionally visited Strathearn."
In one of these visits he
called, disguised as an old travelling soldier, at Drummond Castle, and
desired the housekeeper to show him the rooms of the mansion. She was
humming the song of "the Duke of Perth's Lament," and having learnt the
name of the song he desired her to sing it no more. When he got into his
own apartment he cried out, "This is the Duke's own room;" when,
lifting his arm to lay hold of one of the pictures, she observed he was
in tears, and perceived better dress under his disguise, which convinced
her he was the Duke himself.
For some time the Duke
continued these wanderings, stopping now and then to gaze upon his
Castle, the sight of which affected him to tears. "It was now," says the writer of the
case of Thomas Drummond, "that for obvious reasons, to elude discovery,
the report of his death on shipboard or otherwise, would be propagated
by his friends and encouraged by himself." It is stated upon the same
evidence, that instead of sailing to France, as it has been generally
believed, the Duke fled to England; that he was conveyed on board a ship
and landed at South Shields, a few miles only distant from Biddick. a
small sequestered village, chiefly inhabited at that time by banditti,
who set all authority at defiance. Biddick is situated near the river
Wear, a few miles from Sunderland; it was, at that time, both from
situation and from the character of its inhabitants, a likely place for
one flying from the power of the law to find a shelter; it was, indeed,
a common retreat for the unfortunate and the criminal. That the Duke of
Perth actually took refuge there for some time, is an assertion which
has gained credence from the following reasons:—
In the first place: "In
the History, Directory, and Gazette of the counties of Northumberland
and Durham, and the town and counties of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, by William
Parson and William White, two volumes, 1827-28, the following passage
occurs relating to Biddick, in the parish of Houghton-le-Spring:— It
was here that the unfortunate James Drummond, commonly called Duke of
Perth, took sanctuary after the rebellion of 1745-6, under the
protection of Nicholas Lambton, Esq., of South Biddick, where he died,
and was buried at Pain-Shaw."
In the case of Thomas
Drummond, (on whom I shall hereafter make some comments,) letters stated
to be from Lord John Drummond are referred to, and quoted in part. These
are said to have been addressed by Lord John Drummond from Boulogne, to
the Duke at Houghton-le-Spring. The passage quoted runs thus: "I think
you had better come to France, and you would be out of danger; as I find
you are living in obscurity at Houghton-le-Spring. I doubt that it is a
dangerous place; you say it is reported that you died on your passage. I
hope and trust you will still live in obscurity." These expressions,
which it must be owned have very much the air of being coined for the
purpose. would certainly, were the supposed letters authenticated,
establish the fact of the Duke's retreat to Houghton-le-Spring.
Upon the doubtful nature
of the intelligence, which was alone gleaned by the friends and
relatives of the Duke of Perth, a superstructure of romance, as it
certainly appears to be, was reared. The Duke was never, as it was
believed, married; and in 1784 the estates were restored to his kinsman,
the Honourable John Drummond, who was created Baron Perth, and who died
in 1800, leaving the estates, with the honour of chieftainship, to his
daughter Clementina Sarah, now Lady Willoughby D'Eresby.
In 1831, a claimant to
the honours and estates appeared in Thomas Drummond, who declared
himself to be the grandson of James Duke of Perth; according to his
account, the Duke of Perth on reaching Biddick, took up his abode with a
man named John Armstrong, a collier or pitman. The occupation of this
man was, it was stated, an inducement for this choice on the part of the
Duke, as in case of pursuit, the abyss at a coalpit might afford a
secure retreat; since no one would dare to enter a coal-pit without the
permission of the owners.
The Duke, it is stated in
the case of Thomas Drummond, commenced soon after his arrival at Biddick, the employment of a shoemaker, in order to lull suspicion; he
lost money by his endeavours, and soon relinquished his new trade. He
is said to have become, in the course of time, much attached to the
daughter of his host, John Armstrong, and to have married her at the
parish church of Houghton-le-Spring, in 1749. He resided with his
wife's family until his first child was born, when he removed to the
boat house, a dwelling with the use and privilege of a ferry-boat
attached to it, and belonging to Nicholas Lambton, Esq. of Biddick;
who, knowing the rank and misfortunes of the Duke, bestowed it on him
from compassion. Here he lived, and with the aid of a small huckster's
shop on the premises, supported a family, which in process of time,
amounted to six or seven children; two of whom, Mrs. Atkinson and Mrs,
Peters, aged women, but still in full possession of their intellect,
have given their testimony to the identity of this shoemaker and
huckster to the Duke of Perth.
The papers, letters,
documents and writings, a favourite diamond ring, and a ducal patent of
nobility, were, however, "all lost in the great flood of the river Wear
in 1771 and the Duke is said to have deeply lamented this misfortune. It
is not, however, very likely that he would have carried his ducal patent
with him in his flight; and had he afterwards sent for it from Drummond Castle, some of
his family must have been apprised of his existence.
It is stated, however,
but only on hearsay, that thirteen years after the year 1745, the Duke
visited his forfeited Castle of Drummond, disguised as an old beggar,
and dressed up in a light coloured wig. This rumour rests chiefly upon
the evidence of the Rev. Dr. Malcolm, LLD., who, in 1808, published a
Genealogical Memoir of the ancient and noble House of Drummond; and who
declared, on being applied to by the family of Thomas Drummond, that he
had been told by Mrs. Sommers, the daughter-in-law of Patrick Drummond,
Esq., of Drummondernock, the intimate friend of the Duke of Perth, that
the Duke survived the events of the battle of Culloden a long time, and
years afterwards, visited his estates, and was recognised by many of his
trusty tenants. A similar report was, at the same time, very
prevalent at Strathearn; and it has been positively affirmed, that a
visit was received by Mr. Graeme, at Garnock, from the Duke of Perth,
long after he was believed to be dead. At this time, it is indeed wholly
impossible to verify, or even satisfactorily to refute such statements;
but the existence of a report in Scotland, that the Duke did not perish
at sea, may be received as an undoubted fact. In 1831, when the case of
Thomas Drummond was first agitated, Mrs. Atkinson and Mrs. Elizabeth
Peters, the supposed daughters of James Duke of Perth, were both alive, and on their
evidence much of the stability of the case depended. The claimant,
Thomas Drummond, who is stated to have been the eldest son of James, son
of James Duke of Perth, was born in 1792, and was living in 1831 at
Houghton-le-Spring, in the occupation of a pitman. Much doubt is thrown
upon the whole of the case, which was not followed up, by the length of
time which elapsed before any claim was made on the part of this
supposed descendant of the Duke of Perth. The act for the restoration of
the forfeited estates was not passed, indeed, until two years after the
death (as it is stated) of the Duke of Perth, that is, in 1784; yet one
would suppose that he would have carefully instructed his son in the
proper manner to assert his rights in case of such an event. That son
lived to a mature age, married and died, yet made no effort to recover
what were said to be his just rights.
Such is the statement of
those who seek to establish the belief that the Duke of Perth lived to a
good old age, married, had children, and left heirs to his title and
estates. On the other hand, it is certain that it was generally
considered certain, at the time of the insurrection, that the "Duke died
on his voyage to France; and it was even alluded to by one of the
counsel at the trials of Lord Kilmarnock and Lord Balmerino in August
1746, when the name of the Duke of Perth being mentioned, "who," said
the Speaker, "I see by the papers, is dead." But it is certainly
remarkable, that neither Maxwell of Kirkconnel, nor Lord Elcho, the one
in his narrative which has been printed, the other in his manuscript
memoir, mention the death of the Duke of Perth on the voyage, which, as
they both state, they shared with him. So important and interesting a
circumstance would not, one may suppose, have occurred without their
alluding to it. "All the gentlemen," Lord Elcho relates, "who crossed
to Nantes, proceeded to Paris after their disembarkation but he enters
into no further particulars of their destination. His silence, and that
of Maxwell of Kirkconnel, regarding the Duke of Perth's death, seems, if
it really took place, to have been inexplicable.
All doubt, but that the
story of the unfortunate Duke's death was really true, appears however
to be set at rest by the epitaph which some friendly or kindred hand has
inscribed on a tomb in the chapel of the English Nuns at Antwerp,
commemorating the virtues and the fate of the Duke, and of his brother
Lord John Drummond. This monumental tribute would hardly have been
inscribed without some degree of certainty that the remains of the Duke
were indeed interred there.
The preceding narrative
is given to the reader without any further comment, except upon the
general improbability of the story.
It might not appear impossible that the Duke may have taken refuge in
the then wild county of Durham for a time, but that two credible
historians, Maxwell of Kirkconnel, and Lord Elcho, assert positively
that he sailed for Nantes in a vessel which went by the north-west coast
of Ireland ; Lord Elcho and Maxwell being themselves on board, seems
decisive of the entire failure of the case before quoted. It seems also
wholly incredible, that the Duke of Perth, whose rank was still
acknowledged in France, and whose early education in that country must
have familiarised him with its habits, should have remained contentedly
during the whole of his life, associating with persons of the lowest
grade, in an obscure village in Durham.
At the time of the Duke
of Perth's death in 1747, one brother, Lord John Drummond, was living.
This brave man, whose virtues and whose fate are recorded in the
epitaph, survived his amiable and accomplished brother only one year,
and died suddenly of a fever, after serving under Marshal Saxe at the
siege of Bergen-op-Zoom. His services in the insurrection of 1745 were
considerable; like his brother, he escaped to France after the contest
was concluded. He died unmarried; and two sisters, the Lady Mary, and
the Lady Henrietta Drummond, died also unmarried. The mother of James
Duke of Perth long survived him, living until 1773. It is said in the
case of Thomas Drummond, that she never forgave her son for what she
considered his lukewarmness in the cause of the Stuarts, and refused to
have any intercourse with him after the failure of the rebellion; but
those who thus write, must have formed a very erroneous conception of the Duke's conduct:
if he might not escape such a charge, who could deserve the praise of
zeal, sincerity, and disinterestedness.
The duchess was one of
the most strenuous supporters of the Stuarts, and suffered for her
loyalty to them by an imprisonment in Edinburgh Castle. She was
committed to prison on the eleventh of February, 1746, and liberated on
bail on the seventeenth.
On the forfeiture of the
Drummond estates she retired to Stobhall, where she remained until her
death, at the advanced age of ninety. She was considered a woman of
great spirit, energy, and ability, and is supposed to have influenced
her son in his political opinions and actions.
Some idea may be formed
of the painful circumstances which follow the forfeiture of estates from
the following passage, extracted from the introduction to the letters of
James Earl of Perth, Chancellor of Scotland in the time of James the
Second, and lately printed for the Camden Society.
"When a considerable
portion of the Drummond estates were restored to the heir (no poor boon,
though dilapidated, lopped, and impoverished,) he found upon them four
settlements of cottages, in which the soldiery had been located after
the battle of Culloden, to keep down the rebels. There were thirty near
Drummond Castle, another division at Callander, a third at Balibeg, and
a fourth at Stobhall. Demolition might satisfy the abhorrence of the
latter three, but what could reconcile him to the outrage under his
very eyes, as he looked from his chamber or castle terrace was intolerable, and that
every trace might be obliterated, he caused an embankment to be made,
and carried a lake-like sheet of water over the very chimney tops of the
military dwellings. There is now the beautiful lake, gleaming with fish,
and haunted by the wild birds of the Highlands and we believe the
deepest diver of them all, could not observe one stone upon another of the cabins which held the ruthless military oppressors left by the
Duke
of Cumberland a century ago."
The usual accounts of the
Duke's movements after the battle of Culloden, state, however, that
about a month subsequent to that event, when the fugitive Charles
Stuart, in the commencement of his wanderings, landed by accident upon
the little isle of Emfort, on the east side of Lewis, he saw, from the
summit of a hill which he had climbed, two frigates sailing northwards.
The Chevalier in vain endeavoured to persuade the boatmen who had
brought him from Lewis, to go out and reconnoitre these ships. His
companions judged these vessels to be English ; the Prince alone guessed
them to be French. He was right. They were two frigates from Nantes,
which had been sent with money, arms, and ammunition to succour Charles,
and were now returning to France. On board one of them was the Duke of
Perth, Lord Elcho, Lord .John Drummond, old Lochiel, Sir Thomas Sheridan
and his nephew Mr Hay, Maxwell of Kirkconnel, and Mr. Lockhart of
Carnwath, and several Low-country gentlemen, who had been wandering
about in these remote parts when the frigates were setting out on their
return, and finding that the Prince was gone, and that nothing was to be done
for his service, had determined to escape. On the tenth of June these
frigates reached Nantes: Lord Elcho affirms that "all arrived safe at
Nantes;" one only is said never to have gained that shore. Worn out by
fatigues too severe, and, perhaps, the progress of disease being aided
by sorrow, the Duke of Perth is generally stated to have died on
ship-board on his passage. His malady is understood to have been
consumption.
Another celebrated member
of this distinguished family, Lord Strathallan, was not spared to
witness the total ruin of all his hopes. He fell at the battle of
Culloden. The impression among his descendants is, that, seeing the
defeat certain, he rushed into the thick of the battle, determined to
perish. In 1746 Lord Struthallan's name was included in the Bill of
Attainder then passed; but, in 1824, one of the most graceful acts of
George the Fourth, whose sentiments of compassion for the Stuarts and
their adherents do credit to his memory, was the restoration of the
present Viscount Strathallan to the peerage by the title of the sixth
Viscount.
It is with regret that we
take leave, amid the discordant scenes of an historical narrative, of
one whose high purposes and blameless career are the best tribute to
virtue, the noblest ornament of the party which he espoused. Modest, yet
courageous; moderate, though in the ardour of youth; devout, without
bigotry; and capable of every self-sacrifice for the good of others, on
the memory of the young Duke of Perth not a shadow rests to attract the
attention of the harsh to defects of intention, unjustly attributed to
the leader of the Jacobite insurrection. |
