iillllllllllnHIHIiillllllllllH I ii liillliliiiiUlUHiUi iliiifilllilllJIIiiUiliiiitiiiillit! W.M.Cazalet. I mVBm OF CALIFORWIA Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN :.!fJ]5)''l.IR<1f(P)@C W,W' MEMOIRS THE PRETENDERS AND THEIR ADHERENTS. By JOHN HENEAGE JESSE, AUTHOR OF MEMOIRS OF THE COURT OF ENGLAND ;" " GEORGE SELWYN AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES," ETC. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, ^tihh'jsj^cr in (©rtJinarn to $?fr iWajcjJti). 1845. LONDON : Printed by S. «r J. Bentlet, Wilson, and Fley, Bangor House, Shoe Lane. t CONTENTS FIRST VOLUME. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. PAGE Chapter I. — Birth of the Prince. — How viewed by the two op- posite Parties. — Arguments for and against his being a surreptitious Offspring. — Conduct of the French Court. — Commpnceraent of the Revolution. — Distressing Situation of the King and Queen. — In- justice of Depriving the Prince of his natural Rights . . 1 Chapter II. — Death of James II. and William III. — Hoj^es of the Pretender from the Accession of Queen Anne. — Project of Louis XIV. for his Restoration. — Failure of the Expedition. — The Che- valier's Letter to his Sister. — Death of the Queen, and accession of George I. — Unpopularity of the Hanoverians. — Projected Rising of the Pretender's Friends . . . . .19 Chapter III. — The Earl of jVIar and other Nobles swear Fealty to James the Third. — Publicly proclaimed King in Scotland. — Inactivity of the Earl of Mar. — Battle of Sheriffmuir. — Retreat of the Chevalier's Forces. — Arrests of his Adherents in England. — Defeat and Surrender of his Army at Preston. — Arrival of the Che- valier from France. — His Journey to Scoon . . .40 Chapter IV. — Advance of the Duke of Argyll. — Dejection of tlic Chevalier. — His Retreat to Montrose, and Flight to the Continent. — His Arrival in France, and Dismissal of Lord Bolingbroke. — Proceeds to Rome. — His Marriage with the Princess Sobieski. — Project of Charles XII. for his Restoration. — His Visit to Madrid. — Project of Alberoni for the Invasion of England. — Its Failure. — His Character towards the Close of Life. — His Death, and Funeral Obseq^uies . . . . . . . .57 iv CONTENTS. THE PRINCESS CLEMENTINA MARIA SOBIESKI. PAGE Birth and early Character of the Princess. — Selected for the Wife of the Pretender. — Wogan's Account of his Romantic Adventures to carry the Proposal to her. — Arrested, and confined in a Convent at Innspruck. — Stratagem for her Release. — Arrival at Bologna. — Her Reception hy the Chevalier. — Medal struck in Commemoration of her Escape. — Disagreement with her Husband, and Separation. — Keysler's Character of her in her Fifty-fifth Year. — Her Death . 79 JAMES RADCLIFFE, EARL OF DERWENTWATER. His Birth and early Connexions, — How related to the Stuarts. — Joins the Insurgents. — His Arrest, Trial, and Defence. — His Sen- tence and Death. — Question as to his Place of Burial determined . 90 WILLIAM MAXWELL, EARL OF NITHISDALE. His Connexion with the Insurgents. — His Committal to the Tower. — Escapes in Female Disguise. — Lady Nithisdale's Account of his Escape . . . . . . .102 SIMON LORD LOYAT. His early Attachment to the House of Stuart. — Assumes the Title, and claims the Estates, of the deceased Lord Lovat. — His Daughter institutes legal Proceedings against her Relative. — Lord Lovat's Stratagem to make her his Wife frustrated. — His atrocious Marriage with her Mother. — Warrant issued for his Arrest. — Sets the Government at defiance. — His Flight to the Court of the Pre- tender. — Returns to Scotland as the accredited Agent of the Stuarts. — Arrested by the French King for Treachery. — Enters into Holy Orders to effect his Release. — Joins the Society of Jesuits. — Returns to Scotland, and joins the Adherents of the House of Hanover. — Obtains undisputed Possession of his Titles for his Reward. — Joins the Insurgents after the Battle of Preston. — His Arrest after the Battle of Culloden. — His Trial and Execution . . .114 WILLIAM GORDON, YISCOUNT KENMURE. Account of the Family of Gordon, Yiscount Kenmure. — Lord Kenmurc's disinterested Conduct in espousing tlie Cause of the Stuarts. — Taken Prisoner at Preston. — His Trial and Executiori . 135 CONTENTS. PAGE 138 139 140 142 143 The Duke of Ormond The Earl of Mar George Keith, Earl Marischal Robert Dalziel, Earl of Carnwath George Seton, Earl of Wintoun William Widdrington, Loud Widdrington . . . 144 William Murray, Lord Nairn ..... 145 Thomas Forster, Esq. ...... 146 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Chapter L — Birth and youtliful History of the Prince. — Serves under Noailles at Dettingen. — Hopes and Expectations of the Ja- cobites from his Character. — Joins the Expedition under Marshal Saxe. — Dispersion of the French Fleet, and Disappointment of the Prince's Hopes. — His Letter to his Father on the eve of his De- parture for Scotland ...... 150 Chapter IL — Arrival of the young Prince in Scotland. — His In- terview with Macdonald of Boisdale. — Its Influence upon him. — Assembly of Chieftains on board the Doutelle. — Landing of the Prince. — Anecdotes of his Landing by Bishop Forbes. — Holds his Court at Borrodaile. — Interview between the Prince and Cameron of Lochiel ........ 171 Chapter III. — Skirmishes between Captain Scott's Detachment and the Rebels. — Surrender of the King's Troops. — Locliiel's Treat- ment of Captain Scott. — The Pretender's Reception. — Character of his Troops. — Site chosen for " Raising the Standard." — The Pre- tender's Behaviour to his Prisoners .... 192 Chapter IV. — March of Sir John Cope into the Highlands. — Difficulties of his Situation. — The Pretender's March for the Low- lands. — His ingratiating Manners. — Their Effects on the Scottish Chiefs. — Duncan Cameron. — Arrival at Perth. — Charles visits the Palace of Scoon . . . . . • .211 vi CONTENTS. PAGE Chapter V . — March of the Pretender from Perth to Dumblane. — March continued. — Arrival in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. — Cowardly Retreat of Colonel Gardiner's Troops. — Consternation of tiie Authorities. — Charles's Letter to the Town Council — Their Conduct upon the receipt of it . . . . . 231 Chapter VI. — Occupation of Edinburgh by the Rebels. — En- thusiastic Behaviour of Mrs. Murray of Broughton. — Arrival of Charles in the Capital of his Ancestors. — Gives a Ball at Holy- rood. — Marches to give Battle to Sir John Cope. — Preparations for Battle. . . . . . . . .247 Chapter VII. — Relative Strength of the opposing Armies.— Order of Battle. — Gallant Chai-ge of the Rebels. — Heroic Conduct and Death of Colonel Gardiner. — Total Defeat of the English Forces at Preston Pans. — Conduct of Charles after the Battle. . . 2G5 Chapter VIII. — Pusillanimous Conduct of the Clergy. — Pro- clamation of Charles inviting them to return to their Duties. — Daily Courts at Holyrood. — Balls. — Charles's Desire to march into Eng- land counteracted by his Chiefs. — Their reluctant Consent to ac- company him. ....... 285 Chapter IX. — The Pretender's March into England. — Strength of his Army. — Arrival at Carlisle. — Courageous Conduct of Ser- geant Dickson. — Arrival at Manchester. — Mrs. Skyring presents her Purse to the Chevalier. — His Arrival at Derby. — The Duke of Cum- berland's Army only Nine Miles distant from the Rebels. . . 303 Chapter X. — Charles desirous of marching upon London. — Rea- sons of his Commanders for a Retreat towards the North. — His reluctant Consent. — Conduct of his Army on its Retreat. — Lord George Murray gives a Check to the Duke of Cumberland's ad- vanced Guard. — George the Fourth and Mrs. Pennycuick. — Sur- render of Carlisle to the Duke of Cumberland. — The Pretender con- tinues his Retreat. — His Arrival at Glasgow. . . . 322 Chapter XI. — The Pretender's Retreat to Stirling. — The Duke succeeded in the Command by Lieutenant-general Hawley — his Cliaracter. — Surprised by the Reappearance of the Pretender's Forces.— Battle of Falkirk. . . . . .349 CONTENTS. VI 1 PAGE Chapter XII. — Charles continues his Retreat northward. — Duke of Cumberland resumes the Command of the Army of the North. — His Arrival at Stirling. — Charles's Escape from Lord Loudon's Snare to take his Person. — Retaliates by attacking Lord Loudon at Inverness. — Chivalrous Adventure of Lord G. Murray. — Incidents showing the Attachment of the Scottish Ladies to the Cause of the Chevalier. — Commences his March for Culloden. . . 3G7 Chapter XIII. — Charles's Determination to attack the English Army. — Night March. — His Displeasure at Lord George Murray for ordering a Retreat. — Arrival at Culloden Moor. — Disposition of the contending Armies in Sight of each other. — Battle of Cul- loden. — Total Defeat of the Pretender's Troops. — His Flight. — Barbarities of the Duke of Cumberland's Soldiers. . . 300 MEMOIRS PRETENDERS AND THEIR ADHERENTS. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. CHAPTER I. Birth of the Prince. — How viewed by the two opposite Parties. — Argu- ments for and against his being a surreptitious Offspring. — Con- duct of the French Court. — Commencement of the Revolution. — Distressing situation of the King and Queen. — Injustice of Depriving the Prince of his natural Rights. James Frederick Edward Stuart, the only son of James the Second by his second wife, Mary of Modena, was born at St. James's Palace on the 10th of June, 1688. The event, in proportion as it was hailed by James, and by the Roman Catholic portion of his subjects, as a peculiar boon from Heaven, excited the terror and suspicion of the majority of the English nation : it took place, moreover, in the midst of those oppressive and unconstitutional acts, which, only a few months afterwards, lost him the sovereignty of three kingdoms. Already the arbitrary conduct of the misguided monarch, — the revival of the eccle- VOL. I. B 2 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. siastical commission, tlie suspension of the penal statutes against the Roman Catholics, the attempt on Magdalen College, and the arrest of the seven bishops, — had excited a formidable spirit of opposi- tion on the part of the English nation: indeed, at the time when the Jesuits and courtiers who sur- rounded the throne were celebrating the birth of the infant Prince, their rejoicings might almost be heard to intermingle with the revilings heaped by the ex- cited populace against the Court, and with the prayers and benedictions which they offered up for the seven bishops, as they followed and encouraged them in their triumphant passage to the Tower. At such a crisis, therefore, — when the country was in a general state of ferment from the domineering spirit of aggression displayed by the Roman Catho- lics on the one hand, and, on the other, by the de- voted resolution on the part of the rest of the nation to sacrifice their lives and fortunes in defence of their civil and religious liberties, — we can scarcely wonder, however we may regret the fact, that every expedient should have been adopted by the enemies of James to heap odium on his name, or that party zeal should have invented even the most improbable falsehoods for the purpose of injuring his cause. Among these unworthy expedients was one which, at any other period of our history, would have been treated with the contempt it deserved, but which, in the existing state of extraordinary excitement, was swallowed with greedy delight. From the time when the young Queen had been first declared to be preg- nant, a report had been sedulously spread by the JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 6 enemies of the Court, that tlie King, in order to transmit his dominions and his bigotry to a Roman Catholic heir, had determined to impose a surrep- titious offspring on his Protestant subjects. As early as the month of January, five months before the Queen's delivery, we find Lord Clarendon inserting the following curious passage in his Diary: — "Jan. 15th. In the morning I went to St. James's church; this is the thanksgiving-day appointed for the Queen's being with child ; there were not above two or three in the church who brought the form of prayer with them.* It is strange to see how the Queen's being with child is everywhere ridiculed, as if scarce any body believed it to be true; good God help us!" Neither was the disbelief in the Queen's pregnancy confined to the vulgar and misinformed. Men of the first rank and intelligence either believed, or aflected to believe, that an imposture was contemplated; and even the two great historians of the period, the Bishops * Among other circumstances which gave rise to some disagreeable comment at the period, was the fact, that the form of thanksgiving was drawn up, not by the proper person, the Archbishop of Canterbury, but by three bishops, who were in favour at Court, and who were conse- quently selected for the task. These persons were Thomas Spratt, Bishop of Rochester ; Thomas White, Bishop of Peterborough ; and Nathaniel Crew, Bishop of Durham. Two Toms and a Nat In Council sat, To rig out a thanksgiving And made a prayer For a thing in the air, That 's neither dead nor living, &c. This ballad, Avhich appears to have been highly popular at the period, affords additional proof how early suspicions were entertained as to the Queen's being really with child. K 2 4 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. of Peterborough and Salis])ury, unequivocally give utterance to their suspicions on the subject. " It had been for some months uncertain," says Bishop Ken- nett, " whether Windsor, Hampton Court, or Wliite- hall, was to be the place where the Queen designed to lie in. But on the sudden, her Majesty had this week given orders for the fitting up of an apartment for that purpose in St. James's House, and sent many repeated commands that it must be finished by Satur- day night. Accordingly, her Majesty, on Saturday June 9, was carried in a chair to St. James's, after she had played at cards at Whitehall till eleven o'clock at night ; and the next morning, between the hours of nine and ten, people were not a little sur- prised to hear that she was brought to bed of a Prince ; nay, the nervs was told with as much confidence before the delivery as after it* as if it were a secret committed to some people who could not keep it."f Bishop Burnet, also, among other specious arguments in support of a supposititious birth, observes: — " The Queen, for six or seven years, had been in such a ^vretched state of health, that her death had been constantly anticipated; she had buried all her chil- dren shortly after they had been born, and her affairs were managed with a mysterious secrecy, to which * As I went by St. James's I heard a bird sing, That the Queen had for certain a boy for the King ; But one of the sokliers did laugh and did say, It was born over niglit, and brought forth the next day. This bantling was heard at St. James's to squall, Which made the Queen make so much haste from Whitehall. Song, sung by two gentlemen at the Maypole, in the Strmid. t Bishop Kennett's Complete History, vol. iii. p. 512. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. O none had access but a few Papists." And the Bishop afterwards adds, — " What truth soever there may be in these reports, this is certain, that the method in which this matter was conducted, from first to last, was very unaccountable. If an imposture had been intended, it could not have been otherwise managed." The following may be briefly mentioned as the principal arguments adduced at the period in sup- port of the accusation brought against the royal family, of having imposed a surreptitious Prince of Wales on the nation. It was alleged, that in con- sequence of his early irregularities, and from other private reasons, the King had become incapable of having children ; — that the Queen was not only in a very delicate state of health, but had been more than six years without bearing a child ; — that her sudden removal from Whitehall to St. James's, on the eve of her delivery, was equally mysterious and unaccount- able; — that the event took place on a Sunday, during divine service, when most of the Protestant ladies of the Court were at chapel; — that neither the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, the Princess of Denmark, nor the Dutch ambassador, (the latter the representative of the Princess of Orange, the nearest Protestant heir to the throne,) were in attendance at the birth; — that, previous to her delivery, the Queen permitted neither the Princess of Denmark, nor any of the Pro- testant ladies of her Court, to satisfy themselves of her pregnancy ; — that, during the labour, the curtains of the bed were drawn more closely than was usual on such occasions ; and lastly, in order to account for the manner in which the child was imposed on those 6 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. who were in attendance at the birth, it was insisted, that an apartment had been purposely selected for the Queen's accommodation, in which there was a door near the head of the bed which opened on a back staircase ; — that though the weather was hot, and the room heated by the crowd of persons who were pre- sent, a warming-pan had been introduced into the bed ; — and, finally, that the pan contained a new-born child, which immediately afterwards was presented to the by-standers as the offspring of the Queen. Such were the principal features of the celebrated " warming-pan story," which, however improbable and even ridiculous it may appear to the sober judgment of a succeeding generation, continued to obtain cred- ence for more than half a century ; — a story which fii'st entailed on the son and grandson of James the Second the famous and invidious title of " Pretenders;" and which, in a word, had the effect of undermining, far more than any other circumstance whatever, the cause of the ill-fated Stuarts. In regard to the ar- guments which have been brought forward to refute this remarkable fiction, there can be no necessity to dwell on them at length. It is sufficient to observe, that at the time of the Queen's delivery there were present in the royal apartment, besides the nurses and medical attendants, forty-two persons of rank, — consisting of eighteen members of the Privy Council, four other noblemen, and twenty ladies, including the Queen Dowager, all of whom, as far as circumstances would allow, were witnesses of the birth of the Prince of Wales. By the desire of James, the solemn depo- sitions of these persons, twenty-four of whom were J MAiti!ayU^.rifn«/umalia»jflfa/rJ/,lhjit^AmrjUtZ-''^ J:rkifi)c& C?^ ^X^f^/ 1 /l,.iim,^„„/^ D JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 7 Protestants, were taken down on oath before the Privy Council, and may still be seen among the ar- chives of the Council Office.* The evidence of the ladies, who were of coui'se permitted a nearer approach to the royal bed, though of a nature too delicate to be recapitulated, is sufficiently decisive. The officers of state, moreover, and other male persons who were present, (and among these were the Lord Chancellor, the Lord President of the Council, the Lord Cham- berlain, the Lord Privy Seal, and the Secretary of State,) deposed, that they had seen the royal infant immediately after the Queen's delivery ; that they perceived it to be a Prince, and that it had all the signs of having been just born. No individual, indeed, who was introduced in after years to the exiled repre- sentative of the Stuarts, — supposing him to have been previously acquainted with the features and person of his misguided father, — ever for a moment questioned that he was the legitimate offi^pring of King James. f Notwithstanding the gloomy aspect of affiiirs, and the general suspicion which prevailed that the King's bigotry had induced him to impose a spurious off- * So anxious was James to clear away the doubts which hung over the birth of his heir, that he condescended to order the pubhcation of the several declarations made before the Council, with all their indelicate details. They M'ere printed in the shape of a small pamphlet, which I have now before me, entitled, " Depositions made in Council, on Monday the 22nd of October, 1688, concerning the Birth of the Prince of Wales," and is stated to be published, " By his Majesty's Special Command." + It is a remarkable fact, that as early as 1682, when the Queen, then Duchess of York, was declared to be pregnant, the same rumours were propagated as on the present occasion, that an imposture was intended to be obtruded on the nation. Fortunately on that occasion the infant proved to be a female, or doubtless some improbable fiction would have been invented similar to that which obtained credit in 1688. In the 8 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. spring on his people, the Court thought proper to celebrate the birth and baptism of the young Prince with the usual splendour and rejoicings. The King knighted the royal accoucheur, Sir William Walde- grave, by the Queen's bedside; he distributed mag- nificent presents among his ministers ; and gave large sums of money to different charities. With his usual imprudence, James had obtained the consent of the Pope to become one of the sponsors of the child ; the ceremony of baptism being performed according to the rites of the Romish Church. The customary con- gratulations were received from foreign powers, who despatched ambassadors on the occasion; and among these came, from the Court of France, the celebrated Count de Grammont, who, a quarter of a century be- fore, had carried off la helle Hamilton from the gay Court of Charles the Second. "' The tidings of the birth of a Prince of Wales was natm^ally received with unequivocal satisfaction by the French Court, who not only trusted to see the throne of Great Britain transmitted to a Roman Ca- tholic Prince, but were elated at seeing the Princess Obse7-vator, No. 194, printed August 23rd, 1G82, is the following curious passage : • — " If it had pleased God to give his Royal Highness the blessing of a son, as it proved a daughter, you were prepared to make a Perkin of him. To what end did you take so much pains else, by your instruments and intelligences, to hammer it into the people's heads that the Duchess of York was not with child 1 And so, in case of a son, to represent him as an impostor ; M'hereas, you have now taken off the mask in confessing the daughter. I would have the impression of this cheat sink so far into the heads and hearts of all honest men, as never to be effaced or forgotten. For we must expect, that the some flam shall, at any time hereafter, be Irumpt up again upon the like occasion." * Ellis's Correspondence, vol. ii. p. o. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 9 Mary, and, with her, their arch-enemy, the Prince of Orange, thrust aside from tlie prospect of succession. On the 16th of June, Sir Bevil Skelton, Envoy Ex- traordinary at the Court of France, ivrites from Paris to the Earl of Sunderland, —" On Thursday morning, about six o' the clock, the courier which canie to the Cardinal Nuncio brought me the happy news of the birth of a Prince; for which greatest of blessings Heaven be praised ! I immediately therefore went to Versailles, where M. de Barillon's courier had brought the news, at twelve the night before. I found so general a joy in all people there, as I never yet saw upon any occasion. His most Christian Majesty, at coming from Council to go to mass, called me to him, and, with a satisfaction in his face not to be expressed, told me that, next to the King, my master, no man had a greater joy than he for the news of a Prince being born ; ' and,' says he, ' I am the more pleased, that Barillon writes 'tis a strong and healthful child.' And the Dukes de la Tremouille, and Rochefoucault, with Monsieur de Croissy, who were at his waking, at which time the news was brought him by the latter, told me they never saw any man so joyful. Madame la Dauphine is indisposed, and in bed; yet she sent for me, and said, though she saw no man, yet she could not forbear rejoicing with me upon account of the great news, — and expressed great joy. And the little Duke of Burgundy, whilst I was talking to Madame la Mardchale de la Motte, of his own accord, told me, that he would that night, for joy, order three- score fusees to be fired. Madame la Marechale in- tends, in October next, to give me something to send 10 JAMES FREUERICK EDWARD STUART.- to the Queen, to be hung about the Prince's neck, which prevents the inconveniences that commonly attend the breeding of teeth. The same has been used to these three young Princes, with good suc- cess."* The birth of an heir to his throne was not des- tined to be long a subject of congratulation to the unfortunate James. Six months had not elapsed from the period of the Queen's delivery, when the increasing disaffection among his subjects, the landing of the Prince of Orange, and the near ap- proach of the invading army to the metropolis, deter- mined the King to secure, by any means that might oifer themselves, the escape of the Queen and her young offspring to a foreign and more hospitable shore. Fortune for once favoured the unhappy mon- arch. There happened to be lying off Gravesend a yacht, that had been appointed to convey to France the gay and gallant Count de Lauzun, the especial favourite of Louis the Fourteenth. Accordingly, without betraying his intentions to the Queen, the King sent a messenger for Lauzun, who, entering enthusiastically into his views, guaranteed, within a short time, to provide every requisite for ensuring the object they had in view. The King, harassed and distressed, then retired to bed, but had slept only a short time when he was awakened by the Count de Lauzun and Monsieiu' de St. Victor, who acquainted him that every prepara- tion had been made for her Majesty's flight. James instantly rose from bed, and repaired to the apart- * Macpherson's Original Papers, vol. i. pp. 263 and 264. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 11 ment of the Queen, who no sooner was made to under- stand the part which she was so unexpectedly called upon to take, than she threw herself at the King's feet, and, in a passion of grief, implored him to allow her to remain with him, and share his dangers or his flight. But James turned a deaf ear to her entreaties, and almost coldly gave directions that the Marchioness of Powis, the Prince's governess, as well as his two nurses, should be instantly awakened. His sensations, perhaps, at this particular moment, — occasioned by the wonderful reverse which had taken place in his fortunes, and the prospect of parting, perhaps for the last time, with a wife and child whom he so tendei'ly loved, — were such as were little to be envied. Nevertheless, he preserved his usual coldness of manner till the moment when the infant was brought into the room, when his feelings sud- denly got the mastership of him, and, affectionately embracing his child, he enjoined the Count de Lau- zun, with a tremulous voice, to watch carefully over his invaluable charge.* It would be difficult to imagine a position more distressing, than that in which the young and beau- tiful Queen found herself suddenly placed in this ex- traordinary crisis. At three o'clock on a December morning, bearing her infant son in her arms, and accompanied by her trembling attendants, she stole * On the day of the Queen's flight, (the 10th of December,) the_King writes to the Earl of Dartmouth, — " Things having so very bad an as- pect, I would no longer defer securing the Queen and my son, which I hope I have done ; and that by to-morrow by noon they will be out of the reach of my enemies. I am at ease now I have sent tliem away." — Macpherson's Orig. Papers, vol. i. p. 297. 12 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. in a close disguise down the privy stairs at White- hall to the water's edge, dreading every moment lest a cry from her beloved charge should attract the attention of the guards. The weather, too, was peculiarly inclement, even for the month of De- cember; the night was extremely dark; there was a high and piercing wind ; the rain fell inces- santly, and the river which she had to cross was unusually swollen. On such a night, the Queen of Great Britain crossed the Thames in an open boat to Lambeth, where a hired coach had been appointed to meet her, but the arrival of which had by some acci- dent been delayed. " During the time," says Dal- rymple, " that she was kept waiting, she took shelter under the walls of an old church at Lambeth ; turning her eyes, streaming with tears, sometimes on the Prince, unconscious of the miseries which attend upon royalty, and who, upon that account, raised the greater compassion in her breast, — and sometimes to the innumerable lights of the city, amidst the glim- merings of which, she in vain explored the palace in which her husband was left, and started at every sound she heard from thence."* While the unfortunate Queen remained in this dis- tressing situation, an incident occurred which very nearly led to her falling into the hands of her enemies. " The Queen," says Father Orleans, " was waiting in the rain, under the church wall, for a coach that was being got ready, when the curiosity of a man, who happened to come out of a neighbouring inn with a light, gave considerable cause of alarm. lie was making * Dalrymple't> Memoirs of Great BriLaiu and Ireland, vol. i. p. 238. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 13 towards the spot where she was standing, when Riva, one of her attendants, suddenly rushed forward and jostled him, so that they both fell into the mire. It was a happy diversion, as the stranger believing it to be the result of accident, they both apologized, and so the matter ended." From Lambeth the Queen jour- neyed by land to Gravesend, where, in the character of an Italian lady returning to her own country, she embarked with her infant charge on board the yacht which was waiting for her. The precaution, it seems, had been taken of securing the services of three Irish officers, who remained near the captain during the voyage, ready to perform any desperate action, in the event of their interference being required. The Queen, hoAvever, was allowed to remain unmolested in her cabin, and, after an expeditious voyage, arrived safely at Calais, from whence she was conducted to St. Germains with all the honours befitting her rank. Within a few weeks from this period occurred those memorable events in England which terminated in the expulsion of James the Second, and in his infant son being thrust aside from the succession. That the unhappy King, by the violation of those funda- mental laws which he had sworn to uphold, and l)y his endeavours to subvert the constitution of the country, had deservedly forfeited the power which he had so grossly abused, there are few who will be inclined to call in question. But, in deposing the guilty father, we cannot but be struck by the injus- tice of that act of arbitrary power on the part of the legislature, which at the same time took upon itself to punish the innocent son ; — an act which, for more 14 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. than sixty years, continued to embarrass and distract the three kingdoms; which poured forth the blood which flowed in Ireland during the following year; and from which resulted those massacres, proscrip- tions, and executions, which followed the suppression of the insurrections of 1715 and 1745. In order to give a colouring of justice to the pro- ceedings of the legislature, and perhaps to advance the views of the Prince of Orange to the throne, the old story of the Prince's supposititious birth was con- fidently insisted upon. The result was, that a mere party lie had, in the end, a far greater effect in chang- ing an ancient dynasty than even the errors and the bigotry of the deposed monarch, or the advance of the Stadtholder at the head of his victorious troops. The Ee volution of 1688 should have stood on higher grounds. All sense of justice, however, had been lost in the exultation of the moment ; and while the nation hastened to worship the rising sun, and to follow the Prince of Orange in his ti'iuraphant progress to the palace of the Stuarts, it was natural that the claims of an exiled and powerless infant should be com- pletely forgotten by the majority, and advocated only by the few. It was not till the English people found themselves encumbered by a race of foreign sovereigns, ignorant alike of their language and their customs, — it was not till they discovered themselves to be perpetually involved in continental wars on account of a petty German Electorate, nor till the horrors of repeated civil insurrections discovered to them the inconveni- ence of a disputed succession, — that they began to JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 15 reflect on the misfortunes which had been inflicted upon them by the over-zeal of their predecessors, and on the injustice of making the child responsible for the misconduct of the father. Wliat oifence, indeed, had the young Prince been guilty of, that he should have been deprived in so summary a manner of his legitimate rights ; or what policy was there in transferring the succession to his sisters, in whose veins the blood of the ill-fated Stuarts ran as plentifully as in his own ? Exiled from his country, and deprived of his splendid birth- right, even before he was acquainted with the meaning of the term, as yet his infantine mind could have received no dangerous impressions from the precepts or example of his misguided parent. Amiable and tractable, indeed, as he afterwards proved, there can be little doubt, that had he been educated under the eye of a careful regency, he would at least have proved as respectable a sovereign as either of the German Electors who subsequently filled his place. It may be argued, and certainly Avitli sufficient reason, that had an offer been made to the deposed monarch of educating his son in England, the same bigotry, (which, in the words of a dignitary of his own Church, had caused him " to lose three kingdoms for an old mass,""'') would equally have induced him to sur- render on the part of his heir, all claim to the * " The King's intemperate zeal was ridiculed even by the Court of Rome. And how must he have been mortified, if, upon his first appear- ance at Versailles, after his abdication, he had heard Cardinal say to the person who stood next to him, — ' See the man who lost three king- doms for an old mass !'" — Dr. King's Anccdotis of his ojon Time, p. 127, note. IG JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. throne. Nevertheless, the proposition ought unques- tionably to have been made; or, at least, some pre- cautions might have been taken for preventing the removal to a foreign land, of the heir to the throne, who was thus certain to be impregnated with the most pernicious doctrines. It is remarkable, that William the Third should apparently have been the first to feel alarm at the dangerous precedent which had been created in his favour, and to anticipate those convulsions and dis- asters which subsequently resulted from the succession becoming a disputed one. It is a fact, indeed, of which our ancestors appear to have been ignorant, that, after the death of his Queen, William actually took upon himself the responsibility of signifying his assent to the exiled Court at St. Germains, that if the young Prince were sent to England to be edu- cated in the Protestant faith, he would give his per- sonal consent to his succeeding him on the throne.''' James, however, as might have been anticipated, turned a deaf ear to the unpalatable proposition. Of the early history of the young Prince, no par- ticulars of any interest have been handed down to us. He continued to reside with his parents at St. Ger- mains, till the death of his father on the 16th of September, 1701, at which period he had attained to his thirteenth year. According to the Stuart Papers, the dying monarch, in his last moments, " sent for the Prince, his son, who, at his first entrance, seeing the King with a pale and dying countenance, the bed * See King James's Memoirs of Himself. Dalrymplc's Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 87. Maepherson's Orig. Papers, vol. i. pp. 552, 553. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 17 all covered with blood, burst out, as well as all about him, into the most violent expressions of grief. As soon as he came to the bed-side, the King, with a sort of contentedness in his look, stretched forth his arms to embrace him ; and then, speaking with a force and vehemence that better suited with his zeal than the weak condition he was in, conjiu'ed him to adhere firmly to the Catholic faith, let what might be the consequence of it, and be faithful in the service of God; to be obedient and respectful to the Queen, the best of mothers ; and to be ever grateful to the King of France, to whom he had so many obligations. Those who were present, apprehending that the con- cern and fervour with which he spoke might do him prejudice, desired the Prince might withdi*aw : which the King being troubled at, said, — ' Do not take away my son till I have given him my blessing, at least;' which when he had done, the Prince returned to his apartment, and the little Princess was brought to his bedside, to whom he spoke to the same effect, while she, with the abundance of her innocent tears, showed how sensibly she was touched with the lan- guishing condition the King, her father, was in." Shortly afterwards, the French King, Louis the Fourteenth, was admitted to the presence of the dying monarch, when an affecting interview took place be- tween the two sovereigns. When Louis entered the apartment, James, who was engaged in inward prayer, was lying on his back, with his eyes shut, while his servants were performing religious services on their knees around him. When the French King ap- proached the bed, James, who was now unable to VOL. I. C 18 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. articulate, pressed his hand tenderly, and dropped over it a tear or two of grateful affection. Louis, on his part, is said to have been deeply touched by so affecting a sight of humbled greatness, and even to have burst into tears. He did his utmost, however, to cheer and console the dying Prince, and having given him his solemn promise to protect, and hereafter acknowledge his heir, he retired weeping from the me- lancholy scene. As he passed to his coach, he called for the officer of the guard, to whom he gave orders to proclaim the young Prince immediately after his father should have expired. Accordingly, as soon as James was known to be no more, his son was pro- claimed King of Great Britain, by the title of James the Third, amidst the flourish of trumpets, the pomp of pursuivants and heralds, and all the ceremonies usual on such occasions. In due time, his rights were also acknowledged by the Pope, the King of Spain, and the Duke of Savoy.* * Charles Lyttelton WTites to his father, Sir Charles Lyttelton : — " Paris, 27th of September, 1701. The next day the young King went to Versailles to return the King of France's visit, who treated him with the same ceremony and respect that he was used to treat his father, but with a great deal more tenderness, as considering he is very young. WTien he met him a-top of the stairs, he took him in his arms, and embraced him with as much kindness and tenderness as if he had been his o-wn son. He conducted him into a room where there were two arm-chairs for the two Kings : the King of France always gave him the right hand. When the visit was ended, the King of France conducted him back to the top of the stairs. They have given him the same guards that the late King had." — Ellis's Orig. Letters, vol. iv. p. 219, 2nd series. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 19 CHAPTER II. Death of James II. and William III. — Hopes of the Pretender from the Accession of Queen Anne. — Project of Louis XIV. for his Restoration. — Failm-e of the ExjJedition. — The Chevalier's Letter to his Sister. — Death of the Queen, and accession of George I. — Unpopularity of the Hanoverians. — Projected Rising of the Pretender's Friends. After the death of his father, the young Prince, (or, as he was henceforward commonly styled, the Chevalier de St. George,) fixed his court in the an- cient Chateau of St. Germaiil-en-laye,* where he as- sumed the empty title of King, and surrounded himself with the usual but hollow pageantry of a court. He is described, at this period, as tall in stature; of a handsome and even noble expression of countenance ; courteous in his manners, and of a kind, tractable, and amiable disposition. With these qual- ities, — had his fortunes and his education been dif- ferent from what they were, — we have a right to presume that he would have figured in as respectable a light, and have proved as popular a monarch, as the majority of his predecessors. But, on the other hand, his natural abilities could scarcely be said to have kept pace with his exterior accomplishments; and, * A century and a half before, the Chateau of St. Germain had afforded an asylum to the Chevalier's great -great-grandmother, the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots, previous to her marriage to Francis the Second of France. The room in the Chateau in which James the Second died, is still shown. c 2 20 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. moreover, when we take into consideration the unfor- tunate precepts whicli had been instilled into him by his father, and the bigotry which had conducted his education, we must certainly pronounce him to have been disqualified to struggle successfully for the re- covery of a crown, or to act with any great credit the difficult part which he was called upon to play. On the 8th of March, 1702, only six months after the death of King James, died his son-in-law and op- pressor, William the Third, In the course of the year which had preceded these events, the English Legislature had passed the celebrated Act of Settle- ment, by the provisions of which the male line of the Stuarts were excluded from the succession, and the crown entailed on the Protestant heirs of Sophia, Electress Dowager of Hanover, daughter of the Queen of Bohemia, and granddaughter of James the First. This act Avas followed, after the death of James the Second, by another, which formally abjured and de- nounced the Chevalier de St. George, and to which William gave the royal assent only a few hours be- fore he breathed his last. If these important events had the effect of damping for a time the sanguine hopes of the Stuarts, those hopes were shortly afterwards revived by the acces- sion of the Chevalier's half-sister. Queen Anne, who, (as in all human probability she would die without issue) it was confidently hoped would be induced, from feelings of natural affection, to alter the succes- sion in favour of her brother. But whatever may have been the intentions of that Princess at the close of her life, it is certain that, in the early period of JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 21 her reign, she gave not the slightest hope of being prevailed upon to take such a step. Four years had already elapsed since the hopes of the Jacobites had been raised by the accession of Queen Anne, and as their accomplishment still appeared to be as far off as ever, Louis the Fourteenth at length yielded to the earnest solicitations of the exiled court, and entered into a serious project for restoring the Stuarts by force of arms. The project was the less displeasing to him, inasmuch as by sending an armament to England he would compel Queen Anne to withdraw some of her troops from the Netherlands in order to defend her own shores, and would thus arrest the victorious pro- gress of the Duke of Marlborough's arms in the Low Countries. Accordingly, in 1706, Lieutenant-Colonel Hooke, — an Englishman of good family, who had been a faithful follower of James the Second in exile, — was despatched by the French King with proper creden- tials to Scotland, with instructions to ascertain the disposition of the people of that country towards the Chevalier, and the means which they possessed of suc- cessfully resisting the arms of Queen Anne. As many as eighteen years had passed away since the expulsion of James, and with them had departed much of that bitter and indignant feeling which he had justly pro- voked by his bigotry and his errors. Among a people so essentially aristocratic in their prejudices and feel- ings as the English, there could not fail to be many who took a deep and chivalrous interest in the misfor- tunes of an ancient dynasty, who for so many cen- turies had given sovereigns either to England or 22 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. Scotland, and who were now about to be put aside for a race of German sovereigns, whose names were un- associated with their annals, and to whom there attached neither that charm nor veneration which antiquity alone can impress. Many there were who forgot the misconduct of James the Second in their compassion for his unoffending son ; many who con- scientiously believed that the Church was in danger under a Whig rule ; and many who, though they had concurred in the act which had deposed King James, were yet averse to permit so extraordinary an inno- vation on the constitution of the country, as to sweep away entirely the legitimate line, in order to make room for a foreign intruder. Such, at this period, were the frequent, if not the general opinions of the landed gentry and of the High Church party in Eng- land ; and to these we must add the powerful body of the Eoman Catholics, as well as the original Jacobites, — the remains of the old Cavaliers, — who had con- tinued true to their principles through every change. Neither was it alone from these and similar well- wishers, that the exiled Prince looked for that aid and succour by means of which he hoped to regain possession of the throne of his ancestors. There were also many persons of high rank and influence, who, imagining that their services had been ill-requited, and looking for- ward to a counter revolution as the means of personal aggrandisement, had secretly tendered their services and allegiance to the Court of St. G-ermains. Among these discontented individuals were many of the lead- ing statesmen of the day; and when we find such men as the Dukes of Shrewsbury and Marlbo- JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 23 rough, Lord Danby, Admiral Russell, and the Lord Treasurer Godolphin, holding a treasonable corre- spondence with the exiled Court, can we wonder that the Chevalier and his friends should have been toler- ably confident of triumph and success ? Such were the pleasing prospects on which the Jacobites rested their hopes of success in England; while in Scotland the reviving attachment of the peo- ple to the representative of their ancient kings had taken a far wider and a deeper root. In the High- lands, the great majority of the chieftains were quite as eager to throw away the scabbard in the cause of the Stuarts, as they had formerly been in the days of Montrose or Dundee; while in the Lowlands, the dis- gust felt by the recent passing of the Act of Union had led to the secession of thousands from their allegiance to the Government. So obnoxious, indeed, was this celebrated measure to the Scottish people — so detrimental was it considered to their interests, and so dishonourable to them as a nation, that all distinc- tions of religion and party were laid aside, and not only the Presbyterians, but even the morose and big- oted Cameronians forgot the persecution to which they had been subjected under the rule of the Stuarts, and forgiving the Chevalier even the crime of being a Papist, expressed their readiness to receive him back as their King. " God," they said, " may convert him, or he may have Protestant children, but the Union can never be good."* At this period, Jacobit- ism was openly professed in the principal toAvns of Scotland, and his birthday celebrated with the * Lockhart Papers, vol. i. p. 224. 24 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. same rejoicings as if he had been the reigning mon- arch.'" * The abhorrence of the Scotcli people to tlie Act of Union is dis- played in many of the Jacobite songs, which were enthusiastically sung at the period. The following has considerable merit : — 1. It was in old times, when trees composed rhymes. And flowers did with elegy flow ; It was in a field, that various did yield, A rose and a thistle did grow. In a sunshiny day, the rose chanced to say, " Friend Thistle, I'll with you be plain ; " And if you would be but united with me, " You would ne'er be a Thistle again." 2. Says the Thistle, — " My spears shield mortals from fears, " Whilst thou dost unguarded remain ; " And I do suppose, though I were a Rose^ " I'd wisb to turn Thistle again." " O my friend," says the Rose, " you falsely suppose ; " Bear witness, ye flowers of the plain ! " You would take so much pleasure, in beauty's vast treasure, " You would ne'er be a Thistle again." 3. The Thistle at length, preferring the Rose To all the gay flowers of the plain ; Throws off all her points, herself she anoints. And now are united the twain. But one cold stormy day, while helpless she lay. Nor longer could sorrow refrain. She fetched a deep groan, with many Ohon ! •' O were I a Thistle again ! " 4. " For then I did stand on yon heath-covered land, " Admired by each nymph and each swain ; " And free as the air, I flourished there, " The terror and pride of the plain. " But now I'm the mock of Flora's fair flock, " Nor dare I presume to complain ; " Then remember that I do ruefully cry, " O were I a Thistle again !" JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 25 Under these circumstances, it may be readily con- ceived that the report made by Colonel Hooke, on his return to France, of the number and zeal of the Chevalier's friends in Scotland, was such as to induce the French King to lend his powerful aid to carry tlie threatened invasion into effect. Accordingly, early in 1707, a squadron was assembled at Dunkirk, under the command of the Comte de Forbin, on board of which were embarked between five and six thousand men, commanded by the Comte de Gasse, afterwards better known by the title of Marechal de Matignon. Supported by these auxiliary troops, it was deter- mined that the Chevalier de St. George, now in his twentieth year, should proceed in person to his ancient kingdom. He was furnished by the French King with magnificent services of gold and silver, with splendid liveries for his servants, with rich clothes for his life-guards, and all the glittering appurtenances of a court. At parting, Louis presented him with a sword, the hilt of which was studded with diamonds ; at the same time making use of the same words which he had addressed to the Chevalier's father previous to the battle of La Ilogue, — " Adieu ! the best wish I can make you is, that I may never see your face again." The result of the expedition, which sailed in the month of March, 1707, is well known. After repeated delays in quitting Dunkirk, the French squadron at length put to sea, and having proceeded several miles up the Frith of Forth, were engaged in making the signals whicli had been agreed upon to acquaint their friends of their approach, Avhen the sound of cannon. 26 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. in the direction of the mouth of the Frith, gave notice that the English fleet, wliich had followed them from Dunkirk, were advancing to attack them. As the French squadron was far inferior to that of the Eng- lish, the Comte de Forbin had no choice but to re- linquish the enterprise and to put to sea. Accord- ingly, taking advantage of a land breeze, he bore away with all the sail his ships could carry, followed in close chase by tlie English Admiral, Sir George Byng. Night shortly afterwards set in, when De Forbin altered his course, and was soon out of reach of the English fleet; one of his ships only, "the Salis- bury," a slow-sailing vessel, being boarded and taken. The failure of the expedition, and the consequent disappointment of his fondest hopes, seem to have been deeply felt by the young Chevalier. Unwilling to return to France without having struck a single blow, it was no sooner intimated to him by De Forbin that the fleet had received orders to put to sea, than he resolutely demanded that he might be put with his at- tendants on board a smaller vessel ; expressing his de- termination to land on the coast of Fifeshire, where the ancient castle of Wemyss (belonging to a devoted partizan of his family, the Earl of Fife,) would afford him, he said, a place of refuge and the means of assembling his devoted adherents. To this proposal De Forbin could by no means be induced to listen. " Sir," he said, "by the orders of my royal master, I am directed to take the same precautions for the safety of your august person, as for his Majesty's OAvn. This must be my chief care. You are at present in safety, and I will never consent to your being exposed JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 27 in a ruinous chateau, in an open country, where a few hom's might put you in the hands of youi' enemies. I am intrusted with your person, and am answerable for your safety with my head." The Chevalier then expressed a wish that the squadron might proceed northward, and that he might be landed at Inverness. This second request De Forbin seemed at first inclined to comply with ; but the winds shortly afterwards veering round, and blowing directly in their teeth, he declared the project to be an im- possible one, and gave orders for his ships to make the best of their way to Dunkirk. By these untoward means, the Chevalier missed a more favoui'able opportunity of regaining the throne of his ancestors than was ever likely to occiu' again. We have already seen that the reaction which had taken place in England in favour of the exiled family, and the disaifection caused by the Union in Scotland, were circumstances greatly in favour of the success of his enterprise. Moreover, the war in Flanders had drained the country of troops. In England tliere were not above 3000 men under arms, and in Scot- land scarcely more than 2000 ; while the castle of Edinburgh, in its present undefended state, must have surrendered at the first summons, as well as its stores, ammunition, and artillery, and the pub- lic money which was kept there for the purposes of the Government. Tliroughout the kingdom, but par- ticularly in London, a consternation prevailed which would scarcely be credited. It was imagined that the Chevalier would never have ventured on a landing, 28 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. unless he had received promises of support from indi- viduals of the first rank and influence ; tlie nation in general believed that they were on the eve of a se- cond, and perhaps a bloody revolution ; and, among other evidences of the panic which prevailed at the time, it may be mentioned that such was the demand made on the Bank of England, that it was only by the most extraordinary efforts that the public credit was maintained. Disappointed in his hopes of being permitted to draw his maiden sword in defence of his rights, the young Chevalier joined the French forces in Flanders, where he subsequently served with credit at the battles of Oudenarde and Malplaquet. On the latter occasion he charged twelve times with the household troops of the King of France, and in the last onset was wounded by a sword in the arm. Hitherto, Louis the Fourteenth had conscientiously adhered to the promise he had made to King James on his death-bed, of affording protection to his orphan son; but the time had now arrived when, in conse- quence of the repeated defeats which his armies had experienced in the Low Countries, he found himself no longer in a condition to assist the son of his old friend. Doubtless, it was one of the bitterest mo- ments in the life of that ambitious, and once all- powerful monarch, when, agreeably with the con- ditions which had been forced upon him by the treaty of Utrecht, he found himself compelled to in- timate to the Chevalier that he could no longer afford him an asylum in his dominions. The latter accord- JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 29 ingly broke up his court at St. Germains, and fixed his quarters for a time in the dominions of the Duke of Lorraine. Deprived of all present prospect of regaining the throne of his forefathers by force of arms, the Chevalier determined to make a last appeal to the better feel- ings of his half-sister, Queen Anne. Sick in mind and body, harassed by the constant dissensions which divided her ministers and personal friends, the un- happy Queen, had seen the grave close over the remains of her numerous progeny; and, in addition to the dislike which she was known to have con- ceived for the Electoral family, it was confidently believed that she had been overtaken by feelings of remorse for her filial disobedience; and, commiserat- ing the condition of the Chevalier de St. George, the last male descendant of her ancient line, it was thought that she would gladly seize any safe oppor- tunity of making amends to the son for the wrongs which their father had experienced at her hands. Satisfied, apparently, of his sister's favourable in- tentions towards him, we find the Chevalier address- ing to her an afiecting and admirably written letter,* in which he implores her to bear in mind the ties of blood which united them, and to assist him to the succession after her death. "The natural affection," he writes, " which I bear you, and that which the King, our father, had for you, till his last breath ; the consi- deration of our mutual interest, honour, and safety ; and * " The Pretender," says Macpherson, " was a better, more easy, and perhaps more elegant writer, than any one of his servants." — Orig. Papers, vol. ii. p. 225. 30 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. the duty I owe to God and my country, are the true motives that persuade me to write to you, and to do all that is possible for me to come to a perfect union with you. And you may be assured, Madam, that though I can never abandon, but with my life, my own just right, which you know is unalterably settled by the most fundamental laws of the land, yet I am most desirous rather to owe to you than to any living, the recovery of it. It is for you that a work so just and glorious is reserved. The voice of God and na- ture calls you to it; the promises you made to the King, our father, enjoin it; the preservation of our family — the preventing of unnatural wars require it; and the public good and welfare of our country recom- mend it to you, to rescue it from present and future evils ; which must, to the latest posterity, involve the nation in blood and confusion till the succession be again settled in the right line. I am satisfied. Madam, that if you will be guided by your own inclinations, you will readily comply with so just and fair a pro- posal as to prefer your own brother, the last male of our name, to the Duke of Hanover, the remotest re- lation we have ; whose friendship you have no reason to rely on, or be fond of; who will leave the Govern- ment to foreigners of another language, of another interest; and who, by the general naturalization, may bring over crowds of his countrymen to supply the defect of his right, and enslave the nation."'"' The reasons which induce a belief that the Queen was secretly disposed to nominate the Chevalier as her successor, the author has elsewhere detailed at * Macpheison's Oiig, Papers, vol. ii. pp. 223, 224. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 31 some length.'" If sucli, however, were her intentions, her unlooked for and almost sudden demise pre- vented her carrying them into execution ; and, more- over, such were the prudent and skilful precautions of the Duke of Shrewsbury, and the friends of the Han- overian succession, that, on the death of the Queen, George the First succeeded to the throne in the same quiet and undisputed manner as if it had de- scended to him by hereditary right. Of the numerous persons, — including men of the highest rank and au- thority, — who had been previously engaged in in- trigues in favour of the Chevalier, Bishop Atterbury was the only individual of exalted station who had the boldness to advocate his cause, and to propose a rising in his favour. Among others whom he urged to take this dangerous step, was the Lord Chancellor, Simon Lord Harcourt. According to the statement of the Chancellor himself, as related in Birch's Papers, Atterbury paid him a visit shortly after the Queen's death, and gave it as his solemn advice and opinion, that the Chevalier should be immediately proclaimed as King James the Third, Atterbury further added, that they had only to give him a guard, and he woidd put on his lawn sleeves and head the procession. " Never," he afterwards exclaimed to a friend, " was a better cause lost for want of spirit." Although the tacit approbation shown by the people of England to the accession of George the First, had greatly damped the hopes of the Jacobites, they soon discovered fresh incentives to intrigue and exertion in the increasing unpopularity of the new King and * Houses of Nassau and Hanover, jip. 270 — 276. 32 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. his ministerial advisers. The dislike with which the Whigs were regarded at this period by the landed gentry, and by the High Church party, — a dislike which was greatly increased by the undue and ex- traordinary favours shown tliem by the King, — the virulent animosity with Avhicli they persecuted the ministers of the late Queen, and the revival of the cry that the Church was in danger under their rule, had gradually fomented a spirit of discontent and disaffec- tion, which continued daily to gain strength through- out the kingdom. Already Scotland was ripe for revolt, and in England the alarming riots which were constantly taking place, showed how disgusted the people were with their new rulers. In London, those who celebrated the King's birthday were insulted by the populace, while on the anniversary of the Cheva- lier's birth, the mob paraded the streets, breaking the windows of those who refused to illuminate, and burn- ing William the Third in effigy at Smithfield, in the midst of shouts of " High Church, and the Duke of Or- mond for ever !"* In Whitechapel Church, the populace violently assaulted the Rev. Joseph Acres for preach- ing a sermon in favour of the House of Hanover. In several of the largest towns of England, the popular cries were "Down with the Roundheads!" — "No Hanover !" — " No foreign Government !" At an elec- tion at Leicester, the mob spoke openly and contemp- tuously of the King as " the gentleman who keeps the * One Bournois, a schoolmaster, who was committed to Newgate for shouting through the streets that King George had no right to the tlirone, was afterwards whipped through the City with such severity, that he died a few days afterwards in the greatest torture. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 33 two Turks,"'" and very nearly murdered the High Sheriff for refusing to return the Jacobite candidate. At Oxford, the gownsmen, uniting with the towns-people, made a furious attack on a party of noblemen and gentlemen who were met to celebrate the King's birth-day; for a time the town was in their hands, — windows were broken, the houses of the Whigs were pillaged, a Presbyterian meeting-house was pulled down, and a bonfire made of the pulpit and pews ; the mob all the time shouting " No Hanover !" — "No Roundheads!" — "No Constitutionists !" The sprig of oak was again publicly displayed on the 29th of May, and the white rose worn on the Chevalier's birth-day. At Philips-Norton, Marlborough, War- * These were two Tiuks, named Mahomet and Mustapha, who had been taken prisoners at the time when George the First, then Electoral Prince, was serving in the Imperial army. It is to one of them that Pope alludes in his " Essay on Women." " From peer or bishop, 'tis no easy thirig To draw the man who loves his God or King ; Alas ! I copy, or my drauglit would fail, From honest Mahomet or plain Parson Hale." They are also referred to, though with little honour, in " Geordie Whelp's Testament," a Jacobite lampoon of the period : — Wi' my twa Turks I winna sinder, For that wad my last turney hinder ; For baith can speer the nearest gate, And lead me in, though it be late ; Where Oliver and Willie Buck Sit o'er the lugs in smeeky muck ; Wi hips sae het, and beins sae bare, They'll e'en be blythe when Geordie's there. On the accession of the King to the throne of England, the two Turks received the appointments of Pages of the Back Stairs ; and, as appears by a letter from Count Broglio to the King of France, obtained con- siderable influence over their royal master. VOL. I. D 34 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. rington, Leeds, and other places, tlie Chevalier's birth- day was ushered in with ringing of bells, and his health publicly drunk as King James the Third. At Manchester, the mob triumphed for two whole days, destroying a Presbyterian meeting-house, and pulling down several houses belonging to the Whigs. In Lancashire it was found necessary to raise the militia ; while at Newcastle-under-Line, Wolverhampton, Bir- mingham, Dudley, Stourbridge, and other places in Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Shropshire, the po- pulace, encouraged by many of the magistrates and country gentlemen attached to the cause of the Stu- arts, perpetrated the most daring acts of violence and outrage. Neither was it in the general disaffection alone, which prevailed at the period, that the Chevalier rested his hopes of succeeding in the new attempt which he was determined to make for the recovery of the throne. The Tories, oppressed by the Whigs, whom they both hated and despised, and deprived of all prospect of obtaining any share in the administra- tion, and in the patronage of the Crown, had begun earnestly to wish for a revolution, and responded heartily to the overtures which were made to them by the Jacobites. The impolitic severity of the Wliigs had driven to despair and desperation more than one of the most influential and gifted noblemen in the realm. The Earl of Mar, disgusted by the contemp- tuous reception of his offers of allegiance by the new monarch, liurried indignantly to Scotland to use his powerful influence to incite his countrymen to revolt; Bolingbroke — the gifted and brilliant Bolinsfbroke — JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 35 " with the smart of a bill of attainder," to use his own words, " tingling in every vein," had flown to Commercy and accepted the Seals under the Cheva- lier; while the Duke of Ormond, one of the most I powerful, and certainly the most popular nobleman in England, impeached of high treason, and with little expectation of having a fair trial, had also Avithdrawn himself from the kingdom, and entered the service of the Chevalier. In addition to these inducements to make a fresh effort to regain the Crown, earnest entreaties and arguments were used by the friends of the Cheva- lier in Great Britain to induce him to place him- self at their head. Colouring their statements ac- cording to their own eager feelings and sanguine hopes, they implored him not to lose a moment in coming over. The flame of enthusiasm, they said, had been raised in his favour, which, if once damped, might never be rekindled ; they assured him that defeat was impossible ; they insisted that the To- ries would join him on his first landing, and that his presence alone was wanting to ensure a successful revolution. Nevertheless, promising as was the aspect of the Chevalier's affairs at this juncture, it was evident to more dispassionate observers, that unless the rising in England and Scotland were simultaneous, and, moreover, unless they received powerful assistance from France, success was, to say the least, very far from being reduced to a certainty. Accordingly, the Chevalier again applied himself to the French King, who secretly supplied him with money, and even paid 36 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. the expenses of fitting out the vessel which was to trans- port the Chevalier to the shores of Britain. It is possible that a willingness to fulfil the promise which he had made to King James in his last moments, and an ambitious desire to give a sovereign to England, might have induced Louis the Fourteenth to extend still more valuable assistance to the son of his old friend. Unfortunately, however, at the very crisis when his aid and countenance were most required by the Chevalier, that haughty and magnificent monarch breathed his last. " If the late King," writes Lord Bolingbroke, " had lived six months longer, I verily believe there had been war again between England and France. This was the only point of time when these affairs had, to my apprehension, the least reason- able appearance even of possibility : all that preceded was wild and uncertain; all that followed was mad and desperate '' " When I arrived at Paris," adds Bolingbroke, " the King was already gone to Marly, where the indispo- sition which he had begun to feel at Versailles in- creased upon him. He was the best friend the Che- valier had ; and when I engaged in this business, my principal dependence was upon his personal character ; this failed me in a great degree — he was not in a con- dition to exert the same vigour as formerly. The ministers, who saw so great an event as his death to be probably at hand, — a certain minority, an un- certain regency, perhaps confusion at best, a new face of government, and a new system of aiFairs, — would not for their own sakes, as well as for the sake of the public, venture to engage far in any new measures. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 37 All I had to negotiate — by myself first, and in con- junction with the Duke of Ormond soon afterwards, — languished with the King. My hopes sunk as he de- clined, and died when he expired.""^'* Although Lord Bolingbroke's famous letter to Sir William Wyndham was written after his quarrel with the Chevalier, and when his feelings towards his old master had become those of bitterness and indignation, yet the account which he gives in that letter of the state of the Prince's affairs, and of the persons who formed his court, must always be regarded as a valu- able and interesting one. " The very first convers- ation I had with the Chevalier," he says, " answered in no degree my expectations. He talked to me like a man who expected every moment to set out for England or Scotland, but did not very well know for which. '"" ''' "^'^ '''" I found a multitude of people at work, and every one doing Avhat seemed good in his own eyes, — no subordination, no order, no concert. Persons concerned in the management of these affairs upon former occasions, have assured me this is always the case ; it might be so in some degree, but I believe never so much as noAv. The Jacobites had wrought one another up to look upon the success of the present designs as infallible : every meeting-house which the populace demolished, every drunken riot which hap- pened, served to confirm them in these sanguine ex- pectations; and there was hardly one amongst them who would lose the air of contributing by his intrigues to the restoration, which he took for granted would be brought about without him in a very few weeks. * I>cttcr to Sir William Wviidhnm. 38 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. Care and hope sat on every busy Irisli face. Those who could write and read, had letters to show; and those who had not, arrived to this pitch of erudition, — they had their secrets to whisper. Fanny Ogle- thorpe, whom you must have seen in England, kept her corner in it; and Olive Trant* was the great wheel of our machine, "f Disappointed in their hopes of being carried in triumph to the shores of England by a French fleet, and of being supported by French armies and foreign gold, the only question which was now discussed in the court of the Chevalier was, as to the practicability of bringing about a revolution by their own energies and resources, and those of their friends. By those who took a gloomier view of the aspect of the Che- valier's affairs, it was insisted that the favourable moment for action had been allowed to slip by ; — that, by the indiscretion of some of their own friends, their plans and intentions had been whispered about at half the tea-tables and coffee-houses in Paris, and had consequently been reported to the English Govern- ment ; — that, instead of surprising their enemies, which was the true policy, they had sounded the alarm in their ears; — that, whereas only a short time since, England had no fleet at sea, and only eight thousand troops in the whole island, but that now she was prepared and defended on all points ; — and lastly, it was urged that Scotland could effect nothing, un- less the Enerlish Tories and Jacobites rose at the same o * Mistress of tlie Regent Duke of Orleans. She afterwards married a brother of the Due de Bouillon. t Letter to Sir William Wyndham. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 39 moment; and that, without foreign succours, it was unlikely that the latter would take so hazardous a step. But if such were the arguments adduced by the few sensible men among the Chevalier's advisers, there were others which were far more likely to have their influence at his little court, composed, generally speaking, as it was, of men of confined un- derstandings, whom a distance from the scene of action rendered but incompetent judges; and who, wearied with poverty and exile, were biassed far more by their own ardent wishes than by conviction, when they promised themselves success. By these persons it was argued, that so favourable a conjuncture would probably never occur again ; — that the Chevalier's honour and his interests equally called upon him to make the attempt ; — that his gallant partisans in Great Britain had already proceeded too far to retreat with safety ; — and, lastly, they laid the greatest stress on the constant advices received from their friends at home, who, seemingly becoming more confident and energetic as their affairs wore a darker aspect, per- sisted in urging the Chevalier to take his immediate departure for England, in which case they unequivo- cally promised to place the crown on his head. 40 JAMES TREDERICK EDWARD STUART. CHAPTER III. The Eiirl of Mar and otlier Nobles swear Fealty to James the Third. — Publicly proclaimed King in Scotland.— Inactivity of the Earl of Mar. — Battle of Sheriffmuir. — Retreat of tlic Chevalier's Forces. — Arrests of his Adherents in England. — Defeat and Surrender of his Army at Preston. — Arrival of the Chevalier from France. — His Journey to Scoon. While the Chevalier and his council were still engaged in deliberating on the important question of peace and war, the tidings suddenly reached them that the irrevocable step had already been taken, and that the Earl of Mar was actually in arms in the Highlands at the head of tlie Jacobite clans. Eepulsed in the overtures of service and allegiance which he had made to George the First; believing that his enemies were resolved on his ruin, and thirst- ing for revenge, Mar had flown in disguise to the Highlands, where, on the pretext of a grand hunting- party, he invited the principal Jacobite noblemen in Scotland to meet him at his castle of Braemar, in Aberdeenshire. " The lords," says Sir Walter Scott, " attended at the head of their vassals, all, even Low- land guests, attired in the Highland garb, and the sport was carried on upon a scale of rude magnificence. A circuit of many miles was formed around the wild desolate forests and Aviklernesses, which are inhabited by the red-deer, and is called the tinchel. Upon a JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 41 signal given, the hunters who compose the tinchel begin to move inwards, closing the circle and driving the terrified deer before them, with whatever else the forest contains of wild animals, who cannot elude the surrounding sportsmen. Being in this manner concen- trated and crowded together, they are driven down a defile, where the principal hunters lie in wait for them, and show their dexterity by marking out and shooting those bucks which are in season. As it required many men to form the tinchel^ the attend- ance of vassals on these occasions was strictly insisted upon. Indeed, it was one of the feudal services re- quired by the law; attendance on the superior at Jiunting being as regularly required as at hosting^ — that is, joining his banner in war ; or watcliing and loarding^ — garrisoning, namely, — his castle in times of danger.''"'" Among the noblemen and chieftains who swore fealty at Braemar to the exiled heir of the Stuarts, were the Marquis of Huntly, eldest son of the Duke of Gordon; the Marquis of Tullibardine, eldest son of the Duke of Atholl; the Earls of Nithsdale, Marischal, Traquair, Errol, Southesk, Carnwath, Seaforth, and Linlithgow ; the Viscounts of Kilsythe, Kenmuir, Kingston, and Stormount; the Lords Rollo, Dufius, Drummond, Strathallan, Ogilvy, and Nairne; and, among the chiefs of clans, the powerful Glengarry, and Campbell of Glendarule. Animated by an elo- quent and elaborate speech addressed to them by the Earl of Mar, they all took the oath of allegiance to James the Third, and swore to be faithful to each * Tales of a GrandfatliL'r, vol. iii. p. 32. 42 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. other. At tlie conclusion of their sport, they dis- persed to their several estates for the purpose of as- sembling and arming their vassals.'"" The celebrated " hunting-match of Braemar" took place about the 26th of August, and on the 6th of September the noblemen and chiefs of clans again assembled with their retainers at Aboyne. The same * The liunting-match of Braemar is celebrated in one of the most spirited of the Jacobite songs of the jieriod : — The auld Stuarts back again, The auld Stuarts back again, Let howlet Whigs do wliat they can, The auld Stuarts back again. Wha cares for a' their creeshy duds, And a' Kilmarnock sowen suds 1 We'll wauk their hides, and fyle their fuds. And bring the Stuarts back again. There's Ayr and Irvine, wi' the rest. And a' the cronies i' the west. Lord ! sic scawed and scabbit nest. How they'll set up their crack again ! But wad they come, or dare they come. Afore the bagpipe and the drum. We'll either gar them a' sing dumb. Or " auld Stuarts back again." Give ear unto my loyal sang, A' ye that ken the right frae wrang, And a' that look and think it lang For auld Stuarts back again. Were ye w'l me to chase the rae, Out-oure the hills and far away, And saw the lords were there that day. To brino; the Stuarts back asfain. Then what are a' their westland crews We'll gar the tailors back again : Can they forestand the tartan trews, And auld Stuarts back again ? JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 43 day the ceremony of raising the standard was performed by the Earl of Mar, and the Chevalier was solemnly pro- claimed, in the midst of the assembled clans, as King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The standard, which was said to have been worked by the Countess of Mar, was of blue silk ; having on one side the arms of Scotland wrought in gold, and on the other side the Scottish thistle, with the ancient motto, " Nemo me impune lacessity It had also two pendants of white ribbon, on one of which were the words, " For our Avronged King and oppressed Country," and on the other, " For our Lives and Liberties." The standard had scarcely been erected, when the ornamental ball at the top of it fell off, — an incident which is said to have depressed for the moment the spirits of the super- stitious Highlanders, who considered it as foreboding misfortune to the cause in which they had embarked.* Within a few days after the raising of the standard, the Chevalier was solemnly proclaimed at many of the principal towns in Scotland; — at Aberdeen, by the Earl Marischal ; at Inverness, by the Laird of Borlum, * But when our standard was set up, So fierce the wind did blaw, Willie, Tiie golden knop down from the top Unto the ground did fa', Willie. Then second-sighted Sandy said. We'll do nae gude at a', Willie ; While pipers played frae right to left, Fy, furich Whigs awa, Willie, Up and waur them a', Willie, Up and waur them a', Willie ! Up and sell your sour niiliv, And dance, and ding them a', Willie, Jacobite Song. 44 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. better known as Brigudier Mac Intosh ; at Dunkekl, by the Marquis of Tullibardine; at Brechin, by the Earl of Panmuir; at Castle Gordon, by the Marquis ofHuntly; at Montrose, by the Earl of Southesk ; and at Dundee, by Graham of Duntroon. The flame of rebellion flew from fastness to fastness: the white cockade was adopted by clan after clan; and within an incredibly short space of time. Lord Mar found himself at the head of an army of nearly ten thousand men. To enter into the various details of the insurrection of 1715, further than as they throw light on the fortunes and personal history of the Chevalier, would be foreign to the character of the present w^ork. It is sufficient to observe, that an enterprise so spiritedly commenced was allowed to languish in consequence of the inefficiency of those who directed it. At the very outset of the insurrection, a well-concerted plan for seizing Edinburgh Castle — which, had it succeeded, would probably have given to the insurgents the at least temporary mastership of Scotland, — failed in con- sequence of the reckless imprudence of those selected to carry it into execution. The Earl of Mar, more- over, though he had displayed extraordinary spirit and address in raising the Highland Clans, was en- tirely deficient in military experience, and, indeed, was possessed of few of the qualities required to con- duct an enterprise of so hazardous and peculiar a nature. Damping the spirit of the impetuous High- landers by his ill-judged delays, and giving time for dissensions and jealousies to take root among their chieftains, he allowed the crisis for action to slip by JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 45 him, and instead of sweeping down on the Duke of Argyll and the royal forces, and driving them head- long over the Tweed, he allowed the Duke time to be joined by repeated reinforcements. In the meantime, he himself remained for weeks inactive at Perth, wait- ing for an event which was never destined to occur, — the general rising of the Jacobite party in England. " With far less force," says Sir Walter Scott, " than Mar had at his disposal, Montrose gained eight victories and overran Scotland; with few^er numbers of High- landers, Dundee gained the battle of Killiecrankie ; and with almost half the troops assembled at Perth, Charles Edward, in 1745, marched as far as Derby, and gained two victories over regular troops. But in 1715, by one of those misfortunes which dogged the House of Stuart since the days of Eobert the Second, they wanted a man of military talent just at the time when they possessed an unusual quantity of military means." It was not till the 10th of November, more than two months after the raising of the standard, that Mar marched his impatient army from Perth. Three days afterwards was fought the celebrated battle of Sheriffmuir or Dumblaine, in which both generals claimed the victory : "' as Mar, however, retired from * There's some say that we wan, Some say that they wan, Some say that nane wan at a', man ; But ae thing I'm sure, That at SherifFuiuir, A battle there was, wliich I saw, man ; And we ran, and they ran. And they ran and we ran. And we ran, and tliey ran awa, man. So 46 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. the neighbourhood of the scene of action, while Argyll, on the contrary, retained his position, — thus securing the passage of the Forth, and arresting the progress of the insurgents into the Lowlands, — the latter had certainly the greater reason to boast of success. The result, indeed, of the battle was in every respect un- favourable to the insurgents. The Highlanders, as was their invariable custom after an engagement, retired in great numbers to visit their friends, and to deposit with them any booty of which they might have possessed themselves ; while more than one of the chieftains, — including Lords Huntly and Seaforth, — despairing of a rising among the English Jacobites, and disheartened by the dilatory conduct and evident incompetence of the Earl of Mar, — took their depart- ure with their numerous retainers, on the pretext of being summoned to the protection of their own country. Thus the insurgent army, which on the morning of the battle had numbered ten thousand men, was reduced the following day to less than half that number. For Mar to have attempted to force a passage into the Lowdands at the head of five thou- sand men, — a measure which he had found himself unable to accomplish with an army double in number, — would have amounted to little less than an act of madness. He withdrew accordingly to his old quar- ters at Perth, where he continued to pursue the same So there such a race was, As ne'er in that place was, And as little chase was at a', man ; Frae ither they ran, ^Vitliout toiik o' drum. They did not make use o' a paw, man. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 47 inactive policy which had already proved so fatal to the interests of his master. In the meantime, the Chevalier's affairs in England wore even a worse aspect than in Scotland. The Government, anticipating the designs of the English Jacobites, adopted prompt measures for frustrating them. The titular Duke of Powis was sent to the Tower ; Lords Lansdown and Dupplin were taken into custody ; a warrant was issued for apprehend- ing the Earl of Jersey ; Lieutenant- Colonel Paul, an officer of the Guards, was imprisoned in the Gate- house for enlisting men for the service of the Che- valier; and, with the consent of the Lower House, warrants were issued for seizing the persons of Sir William Wyndham, Sir John Packington, and other members of Parliament. Li Cornwall, Sir Richard Vyvian, the most influential Jacobite in the county, was sent to London in custody of a messenger; and in the North of England, Mr. Howard, of Corby, and Mr. Curwen of Workington, two of the most powerful partisans of the Stuarts, were arrested and confined in Carlisle Castle. h\ addition to these precautions, the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended by the Parliament; liberal sup- plies were voted for the service of the Crown; six thousand auxiliary troops were sent for from Holland ; and a reward of 100,000/., was offered for seizing the Chevalier, either dead or alive. A large body of troops was sent to overaAve the University of Oxford, Avhicli was then the hot-bed of Jacobitism ; and, about the same time, the Government was so fortunate as to discover a plan which had been concerted for sur- 48 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. prising the city of Bristol ; the arms and artillery of the conspirators, — of which they had formed a dep6t at Bath, — were seized by the officers of the Crown, and all the principal persons supposed to be engaged in the enterprise were taken into custody. In the West of England, the Government had been no less successful in defeating the plans of the Jacobites. At the outset of the insurrection, the Duke of Ormond, with about forty officers and men, had sailed from the coast of Normandy for Devonshire, where he con- fidently expected to find the landed gentry and their tenants in arms to support him. On his landing, however, he had the misfortune to find that he had been betrayed by his own agent, Maclean : not a single individual came to welcome him ; many of his friends, he found, had been arrested, and the remain- der were dispersed ; consequently he had no choice but to abandon the enterprise, and to effect, if pos- sible, a safe retreat to France. It was only in the North of England, that the English Jacobites presented in any degree a formid- able appearance. Proscribed by the Government, the young Earl of Derwentwater and Mr. Forster, the member for Northumberland, had taken the field with a body of only sixty horse, — " a handful of Northum- berland fox-hunters," as they are styled by Sir Walter Scott ; — and having been joined by Lord Widdrington, and by other gentlemen near the borders, proclaimed the Chevalier at Warkworth, Morpeth, and Alnwick, From hence they proceeded northward to Rothbury, where they were met by the Earls of Carnwarth, Wintoun, and Nithsdale, and Viscount Kenmure, who JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 49 had recently proclaimed the Chevalier at Moffat, and who were now advancing southward in order to unite their forces (amounting to about two hundi^ed horse- men) with those of Mr. Forster and Lord Derwent- water. Thus reinforced, the insurgents withdrew to Kelso, where they awaited the arrival of Brigadier Mac-Intosh. This officer had recently performed a gallant and hazardous service in forcing his way across the Forth in the midst of the royal cruizers, and now formed a junction with the English Jacobites at the head of fourteen hundred Highlanders. After a lengthened discussion among the leaders of the party, it was at length decided that they should push forward into England by the western border, by which means they hoped to unite themselves with the powerful body of Jacobites in England, who it was confidently expected would rise in a body at the ap- proach of their friends. But there existed an import- ant obstacle to the adoption of this measure, in the superstitious aversion entertained by the Highlanders to marching out of their own country : if they were to be made a sacrifice, they said, they were determined that at least it should be on their own soil. At length, however, though with great difficulty, a large body of tlieni were prevailed upon to advance ; while the remainder, turning a deaf ear to the entreaties of their general, returned to their friends in the High- lands. The insurgents entered England on the 1st of November, and passed the night at the small town of Brampton, where they proclaimed the Chevalier with the usual ceremonies. Here also IMr. Forster opened VOL. I. E 50 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. his commission as their general, which had been sent him by the Earl of Mar. The force under Mr. Forster at this period con- sisted only of nine hundred Highlanders, and about six hundi-ed Northumbrian and Dumfriesshire horse- men. The fate of this gallant, but ill-fated, body of men is well known. They advanced without inter- ruption to Penrith, where the posse comitatus of Cumberland — headed by Lord Lonsdale and the Bishop of Carlisle, and amounting to ten or twelve thousand men, — were drawn out to arrest their fur- ther progress. These peaceful men, however, had conceived such terrible notions of the character of the insurgents, that they dispersed themselves in the ut- most confusion at their approach. Mr. Forster, ac- cordingly, pushed forward through Appleby and Kendal to Kirby Lonsdale, in all which places he pro- claimed the Chevalier, and levied the public money. It was not till he entered Lancashire, that he received any important additions to his ranks. At Lancaster he released several of the partisans of the Stuarts who were confined in the county gaol, and from thence advanced to Preston, where a regiment of dragoons, commanded by Colonel Stanhope, and another of militia, Avithdrew at his approach. Here he was joined by several Roman Catholic gentlemen, who brought with them their servants and tenantry to the number of twelve hundred men. In the mean time. General Wills had collected the royal forces which were quartered at Manchester and Wigan, and advanced to Preston to give the insur- gents battle. For some reason, which it is impossible JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 51 to reconcile not only with military experience but with common sense, Forster had neglected to defend a most important post, — the bridge over the Kibble, by which road alone the enemy could have reached him, — and drawing his men into the centre of the town, contented himself with causing barricades to be formed in the principal streets. Expressing much astonish- ment at finding the bridge of the Kibble undefended, General Wills pushed forward, and attacked the in- surgents at two different points of their temporary defences. The attack is described as a highly spirited one : but they were received with at least equal gal- lantry, and night shortly afterwards setting in, the royalists were compelled to withdraw, after having suffered considerable loss. The slight success, how- ever, obtained by the insurgents, proved but of little service to them. Early the following morning General Carpenter, who had followed them by forced marches from the south of Scotland, made his appearance with a reinforcement of three regiments of dragoons : im- mediately the town was invested on all sides ; and it became evident to the besieged, that further oppo- sition was out of the question. The Highlanders, indeed, expressed their determination to sally out sword in hand, and cut their way through the King's troops : but with some difficulty they were prevailed upon to listen to the arguments of their leaders; and, accordingly, the whole of the insurgent force laid down their arms, and siu'rendered themselves at dis- cretion. Among the persons of note who fell into the hands of the Government, in consequence of the surrender E 2 52 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. at Preston, were Lords Der went water, Widdrington, Nithsdale, Wintoun, Carnwath, Kenmure and Nairn, besides several members of the first families in the north of England. The noblemen and principal leaders of the insurrection were sent prisoners to London, and after having been led through the streets, pinioned as malefactors, were committed either to the Tower or to Newgate. The common men were imprisoned chiefly in the gaols of Liverpool or Manchester. Major Nairn, Captain Lockhart, Captain Sliafto, and Ensign Ers- kine, were tried by court martial, and executed as deserters ; and Lord Charles Murray was also sen- tenced to death for the same offence, but reprieved. It is remarkable, that the surrender at Preston took place on the same day on which was fought the doubt- ful battle of Sheriffmuir. It was in this gloomy crisis of his affairs, — when there scarcely remained the faintest hope of another rising in England, and when Mar was remaining in- active at Perth, overawed by the superior army of Argyll, — that the last of the Stuarts landed, a pro- scribed adventurer, in the ancient kingdom of his forefathers. Having made several vain attempts to obtain a passage from St. Malo, and having lurked for several days in the dress of a mariner along the coast of Brittany, he at length made good his way to Dunkirk, where he embarked on board a small pri- vateer, ostensibly laden with brandy, but well armed and manned. After a voyage of seven days, he landed at Peterhead on the 22nd of December, 1715, at- tended by the Marquis of Tynemouth, son of the Duke of Berwick, Lieutenant Cameron, and four JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 53 other persons ; the whole party being disguised us naval officers. The Chevalier passed the first night at Peterhead. The next day he came to Newburgh, a seat of the Earl Marischal; and on the following one, passing through Aberdeen, proceeded to Fetteresso, the prin- cipal seat of that nobleman. In the mean time, Lord Mar, having received intimation of the Chevalier's arrival, hastened with the Earl Marischal, and a train of about thirty gentlemen, to pay their respects to him at Fetteresso. James was in his bedchamber at the moment of their arrival : but he immediately dressed himself, and on entering the apartment they kissed his hand, and paid him the homage usually awarded to royalty. The Chevalier subsequently proceeded to name a privy council, by whose advice he issued six proclamations, in the name of King James the Eighth of Scotland and Third of England, in which he ap- pointed a day of general thanksgiving for his safe ar- rival ; commanded prayers to be offered up for him in the several churches ; called upon all loyal men to join his standard; and named the 23rd of the following month for performing the ceremony of his coronation. He assumed to himself all the authority and attributes of a sovereign prince; conferring titles of nobility, knighthood, and ecclesiastical honours. Among others, he advanced Lord Mar to a dukedom, and knighted Bannerman, the Provost of Aberdeen. The episcopal clergy of Aberdeen presented him with an address; and shortly afterwards he received another address from the magistrates, town council, and citizens of that ancient burgh. It is necessary, however, to 54 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. observe, that the magistrates and council "svere of the appointment of the Earl of Mar. The arrival of the Chevalier in Scotland had the effect, for a time, of raising the hopes and rekindling the enthusiasm of his zealous, but unreflecting, par- tisans. " At the &st news of his landing," says one of his followers, "it is impossible to express the joy and vigour of our men. Now we hoped the day was come when we should live more like soldiers, and should be led on to face our enemies, and not be mouldering away into nothing, attending the idle determination of a disconcerted council."* But the feelings of the Chevalier himself seem to have been very different from those of elation, or even of hope. From the moment of his first interview with the Earl of Mar, — when he learned from the lips of that noble- man, that at the advance of the Duke of Argyll he must abandon Perth, and either disperse his forces or content himself with carrying on a fruitless and de- sultory warfare in the Highlands, — from that moment he seems to have relinquished the idea that his career would be one of triumph, or his recompense a crown. Though he endeavoiu'ed to assume a confident air in his intercourse with others, yet in the first speech which he addressed to his council, his words are evi- dently dictated 'rather by despondency than by hope. " He had come among them," he said, " merely that those who were backward in discharging their own duty, might find no pretext for their conduct in his own absence." " For myself," he added, " it is no new * " True Account uf tlic Proceedings at Pertli," by a Rebel. Lon- don, 1716. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 55 thing for me to be unfortunate : since my whole life, from my cradle, has been a constant series of misfor- tune ; and I am prepared, if it so pleases God, to suifer the extent of the threats which my enemies throw out against me." In consequence of a severe attack of the ague, the Chevalier was detained at Fetteresso till the 2nd of January. On that day he proceeded to Brechin, where he remained till the 4th, when he advanced to Glammis, where he passed the night;"' and on the following morning made a kind of regal entry into Dundee, attended by a retinue of three hundred mounted gentlemen — the Earl of Mar riding on his right hand, and the Earl Marischal on his left. At the request of those about him, he remained about an hour in the market-place, during which time the populace thronged round him, and kissed his hand. This night he passed at the neighbouring residence of Stuart of Garntully. The next day, the 6th, he dined at Castle Lion, a seat of the Earl of Strath- more; and at night took up his quarters at Sir Da- vid Threipland's. * On the 5th of January, we find Lord Mar writing from Glammis Castle : — " The King, without any compliment to him, and to do him nothing but justice, setting aside his being a prince, is really the finest gentleman I ever knew. He has a very good presence, and resembles Charles the Second a great deal. His presence, however, is not the best of him ; he has fine parts, and despatches all his business himself with the greatest exactness. I never saw anybody write so finely. He is affable to a great degree, without losing the majesty he ought to have, and has the sweetest temper in the world. In a word, he is every way fitted to make us a happy people, were his subjects worthy of him." The letter, from which this extract is taken, was printed by order of Lord Mar, and circulated over Scotland, with a view of giving the i)eoi)le a favourable impression of the Chevalier. 56 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. On the 8tli, the Chevalier arrived at Scoon, and his feelings may be more readily imagined than de- scribed, when he was conducted through the apart- ments of that ancient palace, which was associated with so many of the most interesting events in the annals of his native country, and which for centuries had been the residence of his forefathers, and the scene of their triumphs, their misfortunes, or their joys. The next day he made his public entry into Perth. He had previously expressed his strong curiosity to see " those little kings with their armies," as he styled the Highland chieftains and their mountain followers. To have indulged him, however, with the pageant of a review, would have had the disheartening effect of exposing the extreme weakness of the insurgent army, and consequently he was obliged to content himself with inspecting a few of the troops quartered in the town, which were drawn out for the purpose. He expressed himself much pleased at their romantic cos- tume and gallant appearance, but when privately in- formed of the scantiness of their numbers, he was un- able to conceal his disappointment and concern. JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 57 CHAPTER IV. Advance of the Duke of Argyll. — Dejection of the Chevalier — His Re- treat to Montrose, and P^light to the Continent. — His Arrival in France, and Dismissal of Lord Bolingbroke. — Proceeds to Rome. — His Mar- riage with the Princess Sobieski. — Project of Charles XII. for his Restoration. — His Visit to Madrid. — Project of Alberoni for the Inva- sion of England. — Its Failure. — His Character towards the Close of Life. — His Death, and Funeral Obsequies. The Chevalier remained at Scoon till tlie 28th of January, when the unwelcome news reached the in- surgent camp that the Duke of Argyll was on full march to give them battle. For Mar to have awaited the approach of his formidable adversary with the small and undisciplined force under his command, would very nearly have amounted to an act of mad- ness. The gallant Highlanders, however, thought far differently. Their desire to be led to battle seems to have increased with the fearfulness of the odds which were against them ; the chiefs are said to have em- braced, drank to each other, and congratulated them- selves that the long-wished-for day had at lengtli arrived ; while the men called upon the pipers of their clans to strike up the inspiriting tunes to which they were accustomed to march to battle, and displayed by their words and actions, how ardently they longed to be led against the foe. The Chevalier, tlioiigh certainly not delicicnt in 58 JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. personal courage, was far from imbibing the enthusi- asm of his Highland followers, while, in the breasts of any other men less loyal and less devoted, the impres- sion left by his habits and personal demeanour must inevitably have damped the ardour felt for his cause. " His person," says one of his followers, " was tall and thin, seeming to incline to be lean rather than to fill as he groAvs in years. His countenance was pale, yet he seems to be sanguine in his constitution, and has something of a vivacity in his eye that perhaps would have been more visible if he had not been under dejected circumstances ; which, it must be ac- knowledged, were sufficient to alter the complexion even of his soul as well as his body. His speech was grave, and not very clearly expressing his thoughts, nor overmuch to the purpose; but his words were few, and his behaviour and temper seemed always composed. What he was in his diversions, we know not : here was no room for such things. It was no time for mirth. Neither can I say I ever saw him smile. I must not conceal, that when we saw the man whom they called our King, we found ourselves not at all animated by his presence, and if he was dis- appointed in us, we were tenfold more so in him. We saw nothing in him that looked like spirit. He never appeared with cheerfulness and vigour to ani- mate us. Our men began to despise him ; some asked if he could speak. His countenance looked extremely heavy. He cared not to come abroad amongst us soldiers, or to see us handle our arms or do our exer- cise. Some said, the circumstances he found us in dejected him ; I am sure the figure he made dejected JAMES FREDERICK EDWARD STUART. 59 US ; and had he sent us but 5000 men of good troops, and never himself come amongst us, we had done other things than we have now." "' When the news of the Duke of Argyll's approach was first communi- cated to the Chevalier, he is said to have shed tears ; observing that, instead of bringing him a crown, they had led him to his grave. When this incident was afterwards related to Prince Eugene, — " Weeping," he said, significantly, "is not the way to conquer kingdoms." After a protracted and angry debate among the leaders of the insurgent army, it was at length de- termined to retreat to the Highlands, — a measure which gave them the option either of protracting the war, or, in the event of the worst happening, pre- sented many and more favourable opportunities for dispersion and escape. This resolution was taken in council, on the 29th of January; and on the follow- ing day, — the anniversary of the execution of the Chevalier's grandfather, Charles the First, — the High- landers, sullen, dejected, and indignant, took a me- lancholy leave of their friends in Perth, and crossing over the frozen waters of the Tay, defiled along the Carse of Gowrie to Dundee, and from thence con- tinued their march to Montrose. On his arrival at this sea-port town, the Chevalier was earnestly entreated by his secret advisers to seize the opportunity of there being a French vessel in the harbour, and to seek safety in flight. At first he indignantly refused to listen to the proposition; and when at length he gave a reluctant consent, Lord ]\Iar * " True Account of tlic rioccc. 36. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 237 at the time, in regard to the wild and ruthless charac- ter of the Highland clans. In the course, however, of this day, an incident occurred which spread among them fresh terror and dismay. A body, amounting to about three hundred and sixty men, and consisting chiefly of the peaceful town-guard of Edinburgh, and of civilians who had volunteered their services in support of the Government, had been sent forward by the autho- rities of the city to a place called Colt Bridge, about two miles west of the capital, for the purpose of op- posing the further progress of the Highlanders. These individuals had quitted their homes in the morning amidst many disheartening circumstances. Not only were they totally unused to the circumstances and terror of war, but, moreover, in the course of their march through the streets of Edinburgh on their way to Colt Bridge, they had been still further discou- raged, and their spirits depressed, in consequence of the number of their terrified fellow-townsmen, who, — taking advantage of the many narrow alleys and closes which intersect their ancient city, — had gladly seized the opportunity of slipping away from the main body of their companions, and returning to their own homes. In addition to these circumstances, those who had still the courage to proceed in the direction of the dreaded Highlanders, had been ex- posed, in their march through the streets of their native city, not only to the tears and entreaties of their wives and female relatives, who vehemently be- sought them to consult only their own safety and to return to their quiet homes, but also to the entreaties and arguments of their fellow-citizens, who conjured 238 TRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. thcni to remain behind, and reserve tliomselves for tlie defence of the city. Their campaign was destined to be as brief as it was inglorious. On taking up their position at Colt Bridge, they are grapliically described, by one who was present, as drawn up in the form of a crescent in an open field to the east of the bridge, and betraying looks which spoke elo- quently of doubt and dismay. At their head was the brave and unfortunate Colonel Gardiner, who, on account of his age and the infirm state of his health, was wrapped up in a capacious blue surcoat, with a handkerchief drawn over his hat and tied under his chin. In addition to the volunteers and town-guard of Edinliurgh, Colonel Gardiner had under his command the only two regiments of dragoons which at this pe- riod were stationed in Scotland. His military dis- positions Avere already made. At the village of Corstorphine, about two miles in advance of Colt Bridge, he had posted a small party of dragoons, with the view, apparently, of bringing him the ear- liest intelligence of the approach of the insurgent army. These men were at their post when the High- landers appeared in view; and immediately that the Prince perceived them, he gave orders to some of the Highland gentlemen who constituted his staff to ride up and reconnoitre them. " These young gentlemen," says Home, " riding up to the dragoons, fired their pistols at them, who, without returning one shot, wheeled about and rode off, carrying their fears into the main body."* * Home, p. 88. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 239 The example of these craven dragoons decided the fate of Gardiner's small army, in which consisted the last remaining hope of the people of Edinburgh. The dragoons and volunteers at Colt Bridge no sooner beheld their fugitive comrades riding terrified and furious towards them, than they were seized with the same overwhelming and unaccountable panic. Ut- terly regardless of the threats and entreaties of their officers, they commenced a shameful and precipitate flight, and passing, in full view of the people of Edinburgh, over the ground at the north side of the city, where the New Town now stands, they never slackened their speed till they reached the grounds of their own gallant and afflicted leader. Co- lonel Gardiner. This disgraceful flight w^as afterwards familiarly designated and spoken of as the " canter of Colt Brigg." — " Instantly," says Home, " the clamour rose, and crowds of people ran about the streets, cry- ing out that it was madness to think of resistance, since the dragoons had fled." The scene w^as wit- nessed with very opposite feelings by the people of Edinburgh; — by the Jacobites wdth a secret satisfac- tion which they were scarcely able to conceal: but by the great majority of the inhabitants wdth feelings of unequivocal consternation and distress.* * Lord Milton wiites to the Marquis of Twecddalc on the 16th of September, 1745 : — " Alas, my lord ! I have grief and not glory that my fears have been more than fulfilled ; for more than I feared is come to pass. Yesterday, the two regiments of dragoons fled from the rebel army in the sight of Edinburgh, where many loyal gentlemen stood armed to defend tlie city, which was so dispirited and struck with con- sternation, that they resolved to open their gates to the rebels, despair- ing of speedy relief, and unable to make a long defence." — Home, p. 306. 240 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Edinburgli, wliich at no period could have been regarded as a fortified city, was certainly in a mi- serable condition to maintain a siege. The walls, which scarcely at any time had served any better purpose than preventing the admission of smuggled goods, were in a most ruinous state, — occasionally, indeed, strengthened with bastions, and provided with embrasures; but, generally speaking, they presented no better defence against the attack of an enemy than might have been supplied by a common park wall. In many places, rows of dwelling-houses had been built from time to time against the city walls; and these again were commanded by other and loftier houses, such as at present constitute the row of tene- ments between the Cowgate Port and the NetherboAv Port. Under the superintendence, indeed, of the celebrated mathematician, Maclaurin, some ingenious but fruitless attempts had been made, on the first tidings of the approach of the dreaded Highlanders, to place the city in a state of defence. The walls were casually repaired ; some pieces of old and almost unserviceable cannon were collected from Leith and other stores ; attempts were made to barricade the an- cient gates, and a guard was appointed for the defence of each port; but still, to every eye that could boast of any military experience, the possibility of defend- ing the city appeared almost as hopeless as it had been before. The guard wliich was appointed for the defence of the Northern capital, appears to have been even more inefficient than the works which they were called upon to protect. It consisted of sixteen companies PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 241 of the ancient train bands of the city, — each company comprising a hundred men, — who were officered from among the peaceful merchants and burghers of Edinburgh, and who, with the excep- tion of an annual field-day on the King's birthday, had not appeared in arms since the Revolution of 1688. Moreover, when the hour of danger arrived, not above a third of these individuals appear to have been forthcoming for the defence of their native city. Indeed, — including the few volunteers who came forward in support of the Government, as well as the Duke of Buccleugh's tenants, who had been despatched by that nobleman to assist in the defence of Edinburgh, — the number of individuals who were available for the protection of the city and of their civil and religious rights, amounted to less than seven hundred men. How lukewarm and indifferent ap- pears the support extended, at this period, to the existing Government and to the foreign House of Brunswick, contrasted with the devoted and affec- tionate loyalty which arrayed, as if by magic, tlie enthusiastic children of the mountain and the mist, in the cause of the exiled and unfortunate Stuarts ! The determination of the authorities of Edinburgh to defend the city to the last, was for many reasons an extremely unpopular measure w^ith the great ma- jority of the inhabitants. Somewhat previous, it may be mentioned, to the unfortunate affair at Colt Bridge, — when the great question of to •' defend or not defend" the city was one of paramount interest and of general discussion, — an incident occurred whicli increased still more the general impression VOL. L R 242 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. which prevailed against the policy of exposing the city, either to the hazardous and uncertain issue of a protracted siege, or to the horrors which would probably attend a successful assault. While the Provost and magistrates were engaged in discussing the merits of this important question, a Mr. Alves suddenly made his appearance, and, on the plea of having important tidings to communicate, obtained permission to present himself before them. He had by accident, he declared, found himself in the midst of the rebel army, where he had held a conversation with the Duke of Perth, with whom he had formerly been personally acquainted. " The Duke," he said, " desired me to inform the citizens of Edinburgh, that if they opened their gates, their town should be favourably treated; but that, if they attempted re- sistance, they must expect military execution; and his Grace ended by addressing a young man near him with the title of Eoyal Highness, and desiring to know if such were not his pleasure, to which the other assented." For his imprudence, or, it may be, treason, in so publicly communicating his message instead of confiding it to the private ear of the first magistrate, Mr. Alves was immediately committed to prison. The nature, however, of his mission soon became known to the people of Edinburgh, and the efiect which it produced on the public mind was such as had been eagerly anticipated by the Jacobites. The inhabitants, whose minds were already strongly excited on the subject, were now heard redoubling their outcry against the adoption of this unpopular measure. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 243 At this crisis, the Provost of Edinburgli came to the determination of calling a meeting, which it was proposed should consist of the magistracy of the city and of the Crown officers. The meeting, such as it was, was convened forthwith ; but it was found, when the assembly met, that the officers of the Crown had already secured their safety by a prudent retreat. The meeting, moreover, was attended by a number of unauthorized persons, who not only vehemently in- sisted that the insurgent army sliould be admitted within the city walls, but also, by their clamorous and senseless vociferations, entirely drowned the voices of those who argued in flivour of the adoption of a different policy. It was in the midst of this din, that a letter was handed in at the door, addressed to the Lord Provost, Magistrates, and Town Council of Edinburgh. It was immediately opened by one of the Council, who at once proclaimed the important fact that it con- tained the superscription, — " Charles, P. R." The Provost instantly rose to address the meeting, and after strongly but vainly protesting against so trea- sonable a document being received or read in the presence of the King's officers, took his departure, accompanied by several members of the Town Coun- cil, to the Goldsmith's Hall. The letter, however, in spite of the objections raised by the principal magis- trate, was eventually read to the meeting, and proved to be as follows ; — "From our Camp, 16th September, 1745. " Being now in a condition to make our way into the capital of His Majesty's ancient kingdom of R 2 244 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Scotland, we hereby summon you to receive us, as you are in duty bound to do; and in order to it, we hereby require you, upon receipt of this, to summon the Town Council, and take proper measures for se- curing the peace and quiet of the city, which we are very desirous to protect. But if you suffer any of the Usurper's troops to enter the town, or any of the cannon, arms, or ammunition now in it, (whether be- longing to the public, or private persons, ) to be car- ried off, we shall take it as a breach of your duty, and a heinous offence against the King and us, and shall resent it accordingly. We promise to preserve all the rights and liberties of the city, and the par- ticular property of every one of His Majesty's sub- jects. But if any opposition be made to us, we cannot answer for the consequences, being fii-mly re- solved at any rate to enter the city ; and, in that case, if any of the inhabitants are found in arms against us, they must not expect to be treated as prisoners of war. Charles, P. R.""^^ In consequence of the receipt of this communica- tion, it was decided that a deputation should forth- with wait upon the Prince, in order to negotiate the terms of a capitulation; but with instructions to delay as long as possible the final ratification of the treaty, with the view of gaining time till Cope should have disembarked his troops at Dunbar, and be on his march to the rescue of the capital. Accordingly the deputation, consisting of Baillie Hamilton and other members of the Council, set out * Home, p. 92. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 245 on their mission to wait on the Prince at Gray's Mill. Charles received them with his usual courtesy, but, evidently aware of the motives which induced them to seek delay, he returned them the kind of answer which they ought to have anticipated. He appealed, he said, to his own and his father's declarations, as a sufficient guarantee both for the safeguard of the rights and liberties, as well as the individual pro- perty, of the people of Edinburgh : — his present de- mands, he added, were, to be received into the city, and there to be obeyed as the son and representative of the King, his father; and lastly, he peremptorily demanded to be informed of their final resolution before two o'clock in the morning.'^ It was ten o'clock at night when the deputation, wearied and dispirited, rejoined their friends at Edin- burgh. The frightened magistrates were again sum- moned to the Council. The time allowed them for deliberation was sufficiently short, and as no new or more feasible line of policy was suggested by any one present, it was decided, as a last but vain resource, that the deputation should again wait upon the Prince, and once more use their endeavours to pro- cure delay. Their object at this particular moment, according to Home, was *' to beg a suspension of hostilities till nine o'clock in the morning, that the magistrates might have an opportunity of convers- ing with the citizens, most of whom were gone to bed."f Another of their instructions was, to obtain from Charles an explanation of what was meant by requiring them to receive him as " Prince Regent." * Hume, p. 9u. t Ibul. 246 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Even to the most obtuse, the object and intention of such a requisition must have appeared sufficiently clear ; but even had it been otherwise, it was ex- tremely unlikely that, at such a moment, the Prince would have condescended to enter into the desired explanation. At two o'clock in the morning, the civil functionaries again set out for Gray's Mill. The result of their second negotiation was even less satisfactory than their first. They were formally reminded of the Prince's former assurance to them that he had given them his final answer ; and they were further informed that they could on no account be again admitted to his presence. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 247 CHAPTER VI. Occupation of Edinburgh by the Rebels. — Enthusiastic Behaviour of Mrs. Murray of Broughton. — Arrival of Charles in the Capital of his Ancestors. — Gives a Ball at Holyrood. — Marches to give Battle to Sir John Cope. — Preparations for Battle, This eventful night — the eve of the triumphal entry of Charles into the capital of the ancient kingdom of his forefathers — was passed by the young adventurer on the ground, and Avith a respite of only two hours' repose. Fully aware, as we have already mentioned, of the object of the magistrates of Edinburgh in negotiating for delay, he had al- ready sent forward a body of eight hundred High- landers, under the command of the celebrated Lochiel, who were furnished with a sufficient quantity of gunpowder to blow up the gates of the city if ne- cessary, and wliose orders were to make themselves masters of Edinburgh before daybreak, eitlier liy storm or surprise, according as their leader might deem fit. This party was confided to the guidance of Murray of Broughton, who had been selected for the duty on account of his intimate knowledge of the localities. They lay iu ambush for some time in the vicinity of the Netherbow Port, — their leaders being engaged in 248 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. discussing a variety of projects for making themselves masters of the city, — when, about five o'clock in the morning, the gates were suddenly opened, in order to give egress to the hackney-coach which had conveyed the second deputation to Gray's Mill, and which, having carried the deputies to their homes, was now peacefully returning to its owner's quarters without the walls. Not a moment was lost in taking advantage of this favourable occurrence. In an instant, eight hundred Highlanders, headed by Lochiel, rushed through the gateway, and made themselves masters of the city. " It was about five o'clock in the morning," says Home, " when the rebels entered Edinburgh. They immediately sent parties to all the other gates, and to the town guard, who, making the soldiers upon duty prisoners, occupied their posts as quietly as one guard relieves another. When the inhabitants of Edinburgh awaked in the morning, they found that the Highlanders were masters of the city.""^'" The first person, it may be mentioned, who entered the city was a Captain Evan Macgregor, grandson of Sir Evan Murray Macgregor, a Scottish baronet. Charles was so delighted with the daring gallantry of the young man, that the same night, at Holyrood House, he promoted him to the rank of Major.f The day had only just dawned, when, to the astonishment of the inhabitants, Lochiel and his gal- lant Camerons were seen drawn up in military array, in the open space which surrounded the famous Cross of Edinburgh. Alas! that venerable and interesting * Home, jL 96. t Cluunbeib, p. 27, note. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 249 relic of the past — associated with so many memorable and romantic scenes in Scottish history — has since been removed by the sacrilegious orders of the civic authorities of Edinburgh! Opposite the Cross, — sur- rounded by the armed and picturesque-looking High- landers, — stood the heralds and pursuivants in their splendid and courtly dresses, who solemnly proclaimed " King James the Eighth," and concluded the cere- mony by reading the royal declarations, and the com- mission which conferred the Regency on the Prince. Perhaps the most remarkable figure in this striking scene was that of a beautiful and enthusiastic Avoman, Mrs. Murray of Broughton, who, seated on horseback and with a drawn sword in her hand, was seen dis- tributing to the bystanders the white ribbon — the famous emblem of devotion to the cause of the Stuarts. The scene altogether was one of heart-stirring and extraordinary interest. No sooner had the heralds concluded their task, than the bystanders are said to have rent the air with their acclama- tions, which, uniting with the wild and exhilarating notes of the bagpipe, completed the enthusiasm of the moment. " In the windows," says one who seems to have been a witness of the scene, " a number of ladies strained their voices with acclamations, and their arms with waving white handkerchiefs, in honour of the day."'"" In the surrounding crowd, in- deed, there were to be seen many countenances who " showed their dislike by a stubborn silence ;"f but these constituted by far the minority, and could only have served to add to the picturesque effect of a * Home, p. 102. t Ibiil. 250 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. memorable scene, which the painter might well take delight in committing to the canvas. While these events were passing in Edinburgh, Charles, having learned the success of his manoeuvre, was on his way, at the head of his army, to take possession of the seat of Government. It may be mentioned, that at the very time when he was em- ployed in breaking up his camp at Gray's Mill, Sir John Cope was actively engaged in landing his troops at Dunbar, with the view of marching to the relief of the capital. In order to avoid the fire of the guns from the castle of Edinburgh, Charles advanced towards Holy- rood by a southerly and circuitous route. Leaving his army encamped in a spot known as the Hun- ter's Bog, — a hollow site between Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags, — he rode forward, attended by the Duke of Perth on one side, and by Lord Elcho on the other, till he reached an eminence below St. Anthony's Well, where, for the fii'st time, he saw extended before him in full view the ancient palace of his forefathers, with all its surrounding scenery, every foot of which was intimately connected with the pastimes, the sor- rows, and the triumphs of his ill-fated race. Of the Prince's feelings at this moment, no par- ticular account has been handed down to us, but they must have been of such a nature as to be much more easily imagined than described. The simple fact has been recorded, that on reaching this spot, he alighted from his horse, and, for a short space of time, continued silently gazing on the interesting scene. Let us pause, indeed, for a moment, to con- PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 251 sider liow extraordinary was the change which had taken place, within a few short weeks, in the des- tinies of the young and daring adventurer. lie had parted from liis father at Rome animated by high hopes and gallant resolves; but he had then re- ceived an invitation from the first Power in Europe to enlist himself beneath its banners : he had hoped to be the companion-in-arms of the great Saxe, to fight by the side of that celebrated man, and to be borne by the mighty legions of France in triumph to White- hall. These hopes had been signally and miserably disappointed. Instead of the triumph which he had anticipated, he found, on reaching France, that a dif- erent and adverse policy influenced the counsels of Louis the Fifteenth ; he was doomed to encounter, at every step, the cold looks of the courtiers of Versailles, and discovered, but too late, that he was the mere dupe of the Machiavelian policy of the French ministers. It was then that the young and the gallant Prince came to the determination of trusting to the re- sources of his own genius, and of playing that great game of which the stakes were a cofiin or a crown. Without pecuniary resources, without military stores, and almost without friends, we have seen him land- ing among the desolate rocks of the Western Islands; we have seen him, by his own native powers of elo- quence and persuasion, overcoming the scruples of a proverbially cautious race; rendering liimself almost an idol, not only with the enthusiastic and the young, but with the wary and the old; arraying himself with a band as gallant and as devoted as had ever fought in the cause of his family beneath the glor- 252 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. ious banners of Montrose or Dundee; and now, in less than the short space of two months, we find him taking quiet possession of the ancient capital of Scotland, and of the venerable palace of his fore- fathers. And jet Charles was at this period only in his twenty-fifth year ! The Prince entered the King's Park, near Priest- field, where a breach had been made in the wall * to admit of a free ingress for him and his suite. At this spot he was met by a vast concourse of people, by whom he was received with loud and continued acclamations. Unquestionably many of these persons were confirmed Jacobites ; but by far the majority seem to have consisted of the fickle and senseless multitude, who, captivated by the novelty of the scene, by the charm which usually attaches itself to the sight of royalty, by the gallantry of the exploit, and perhaps by the graceful horsemanship and the fine bearing of the young and handsome Prince, con- tributed loudly to the rapturous welcome which in- vited Charles to take possession of the palace of his ancestors. According to a contemporary journalist, — " he came to the royal palace at the Abbey of Ho- lyrood House, amidst a vast crowd of spectators, who, from town and country, flocked together to see this uncommon sight, expressing their joy and surprise together by long and loud huzzas. Indeed, the whole scene, as I have been told by many, was rather like a dream, so quick and amazing seemed the change ; though, no doubt, wise people saw well enough we had much to do still. "f * LockliHit Papei>:, vol. ii. p. 446. t Ibid. ]i. 488. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 253 According to another contemporary writer, — the celebrated John Home, the author of " Douglas," who was himself a spectator of the scene, — " The park Avas full of people, — amongst whom was the author of this history, — all of them impatient to see this extraordinary person. The figure and presence of Charles Stuart were not ill-suited to his lofty pre- tensions. He was in the prime of youth, tall and handsome, of a fair complexion; he had a light-co- loured periwig, with his own hair combed over the front ; he wore the Highland dress, — that is, a tartan short coat without the plaid, a blue bonnet on his head, and on his breast the star of the Order of St. Andrew. Charles stood some time in the park, to show himself to the people; and then, though he was very near the palace, mounted his horse, either to render himself more conspicuous, or because he rode well and looked graceful on horseback. The Jaco- bites were charmed with his appearance; they com- pared him to Robert Bruce, whom he resembled, they said, in his figure as in his fortune. The Whigs looked upon him with other eyes. They acknow- ledged that he was a goodly person; but they ob- served that, even in that triumphant hour, when he was about to enter the palace of his fathers, the air of his countenance was languid and melancholy : that he looked like a gentleman and a man of fashion, but not like a hero or a conqueror."'" Such, in describing the triumphant progress of Charles Edward towards Holyrood, is the language of one of the staunchest partisans of the House of Brunswick; one, however, * Home, p. 99. 254 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. who, notwithstanding liis Whig principles, it is evi- dent was in no slight degree infected with the pre- vailing enthusiasm of the moment. Charles proceeded through the park to Holyrood by way of the Duke's Walk — so called from having been the favourite retreat of his grandfather, James the Second, during his residence in Scotland. The mob followed him during his progress with repeated acclamations, — pressing forward to kiss his hands, and " dimming his boots with their kisses and tears;" — while numbers were compelled to retire satisfied with having been able to touch his clothes. Never, since the accession of the House of Hanover in 1714, had any scion of that foreign family, — even in their pride of power and pomp of place and circumstance, — been received with a tithe of that rapturous enthusiasm which now welcomed the young and proscribed representative of the House of Stuart to the desolate halls of his family. " When Charles," says Home, " came to the palace, he dismounted, and walked along the piazza towards the apartment of the Duke of Hamilton. When he was near the door, which stood open to receive him, a gentleman stepped out of the crowd, drew his sword, and raising his arm aloft, walked up stairs before Charles."* The person who rendered himself thus conspicuous, was James Hepburn, of Keith, a gentle- man of high accomplishment, who had been out during the rebellion of 1715, and who had ever since con- tinued a staunch adherent of the House of Stuart. Though opposed to the government of James the * Home, p. 100. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 255 Second, and to the principles which had lost that monarch his crown ; — moreover, though by no means an advocate of the indefeasible and divine right of kings ; — yet so great was his abhorrence of the Act of Union between England and Scotland, and his repugnance to the German sovereigns who had usurped the place of the Stuarts, that he determined on adopting the cause of the adventurer, and chose this singular mode of displaying his dislike of, and opposition to, the existing Government. " He was idolized," says Home, " by the Jacobites, and be- loved by some of the best \Vliigs, who regretted that this accomplished gentleman, the model of ancient simplicity, manliness, and honour, should sacrifice himself to a visionary idea of the independence of Scotland."^- At the moment when Charles made his appearance in front of Holyrood Palace, a cannon shot was fired at him from the guns of the castle. It struck a por- tion of the building known as James the Fifth's Tower, and fell into the court-yard below, occasioning no more mischief than scattering a quantity of rub- bish, which fell with it in its descent. The incident altered not for a moment the countenance of Charles, who, apparently perfectly unconcerned, passed into the palace without taking any notice of it whatever. At night, Charles gave that celebrated ball in the gallery of Holyrood, which has derived immortality from the pen of the great modern master of romance, and which perhaps was the first that had enlivened its deserted saloons, since the days of Queen Mary * Home, p. 101. 25 G PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. and David Rizzio. That gay and memorable scene was never forgotten hj those who were present. The ladies of the North were loud in their applause of the Prince's handsome person, and of the grace with which he moved in the dance. By far the majority of the Avomen of Scotland Avere already but too well disposed to his cause; nor did it require any ocular demonstration of his personal graces and ac- complishments to add, either to the romantic enthu- siasm which they conceived for him in the days of his greatness, or to the sympathy which his sufferings awakened in them when the star of his splendour was set, and when he was skulking a proscribed and hunted fugitive among the Avild fastnesses of the Highlands. Previous to his arrival at Holyrood, Charles had derived a considerable accession of strength, in con- sequence of having been joined by several persons of influence and note. Among these were the Earl of Kellie, Lord Balmerino, Sir Stuart Threipland, Sir David IVIurray, and the younger Lockhart of Carn- wath. The day also after his arrival at Edinburgh, his standard was joined by Lord Nairn, with about five hundred men of the clan Mac Lauchlan, and on the following day by a party of the Grants of Glen- moriston. It may be mentioned also, that from the military magazine of Edinburgh he obtained a thou- sand stand of arms, which proved of the greatest service to him in the present emergency. Having spent an entire day at Holyrood, Charles, on the night of the 19th of September, retraced his steps to the village of Duddingstone, in the imme- PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 257 diate neighbourhood of which place his small army was bivouacking. It having been by this time ascer- tained that Sir John Cope was on his march from the North to give him battle, the Prince on the same night summoned a council of the Highland chief- tains, when he proposed that they should break up their encampment the next morning, and march in the direction of the enemy, with the object of forcing Cope to an immediate engagement. This proposition having met with the unanimous approbation of the Highland chieftains, Charles next inquired significantly of them in what manner they conceived their retainers would behave when brought into action with regular troops. The chiefs, having consulted together for a short time, requested permis- sion to name Macdonald of Keppoch as their spokes- man ; that gentleman, they said, being the best qualified to deliver an opinion on the subject, not only from his having served in the French army, but also from his knowledge of the Highland charac- ter, which rendered him peculiarly competent to judge of what was likely to be the issue of an en- counter between the undisciplined mountaineers and a regular force. On this, Keppoch addressed himself to the Prince. As the country, he said, had l)een long at peace, few, if any, of the private men had ever been in action, and therefore it was not easy to con- jecture in what manner they would conduct them- selves. He added, however, that he could venture to assure his Eoyal Highness, that the Highland gentle- men, at least, would be found in the thickest of the combat ; and, inasmuch as the private men loved the VOL. I. s 258 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. cause in which they had embarked, and were warmly devoted to their several chieftains, it was certain they would stand by their leaders to the last. This opinion having been deemed sufficiently satis- factory, the Prince next expressed his determination of charging at the head of his army. It was then that, for the first time, the chieftains opposed them- selves to his wishes. Should any accident, they said, befal him, they were ruined and undone; inasmuch as, to them at least, victory and defeat would lead to the same result, and would alike expose them to the tender mercies of the Grovernment. Charles still con- tinuing to persist in his original resolution, the chief- tains even went so far as firmly, though respectfully, to express their determination to return to their own homes, and there make the best terms they could for themselves with the Government. The Prince, it is needless to add, was eventually compelled to yield to their united threats and entreaties. He still, how- ever, insisted on a compromise, and expressed his fixed determination of leading the second line. At an early hour on the following morning, the 20th of September, the Highland army, full of high hope and elated by the promise of adventure, com- menced its march in a column of very narrow front, having only three men in each rank. Charles, placing himself at their head, drew his sword amidst their enthusiastic shouts, and exclaimed, — " Gentlemen, I have flung away the scabbard." The army, emerg- ing from Duddingstone Park, crossed the river Esk at the bridge of Musselburgh ; the same bridge which two centuries before had been traversed by the Scot- PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 259 tisli army on their way to the field of Pinkie. They then proceeded along the post-road till they came to Edge Bucklin Brae. As they defiled along, — " A lady," says a modern writer, " who in early youth had seen them pass, was able, in 1827, to describe the memorable pageant. The Highlanders strode on with their squalid clothes and various arms, their rough limbs and uncombed hair, looking around them with an air of fierce resolution. The Prince rode amidst his ofiicers, at a little distance from the flank of the column, preferring to amble over the dry stub- ble-fields beside the road. My informant remem- bered as yesterday, his graceful carriage and comely looks, his long light hair straggling below his neck, and the flap of his tartan coat thrown back by the wind, so as to make the star dangle for a moment clear in the air by its silken ribbon. He was viewed with admiration by the simple villagers; and even those who were ignorant of his claims, or who re- jected them, could not help wishing him good fortune, and at least no calamity."* Leaving the town of Musselburgh to the left, the insurgent army proceeded by way of the old Kirk road to Inveresk, and crossing the street of Newbig- ging again entered the post-road to the south of the Pinkie Gardens. It was at this place, that Lord George Murray, who commanded the van, ascertained that Sir John Cope was encamped with his army a few miles in advance, in the neighbourhood of Pres- ton. Desirous of securing for the Highlanders tlie * ChaniViers, p. 32. The lady was tlic late Mrs. Handasydc, of Fishcrrow. s 2 260 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. advantage of fighting on rising ground, where they were secure from the attacks of cavalry, and might pour down with greater force on their opponents, he advanced for some distance up Fawside Hill, and then, diverging to the left, led his forces down hill in the direction of Tranent, where he halted them by the side of the post-road, a little to the west of that place. It may be mentioned, that the last two miles of the march were performed in full view of the enemy. The latter, on the fii'st appearance of the Highland- ers, raised a loud shout, which was responded to with vehement alacrity by the other party. When the Highland army halted at Tranent, the two opposing forces were separated by scarcely more than half a mile from each other. It now becomes necessary to trace the steps of Sir John Cope, in his short progress from Dunbar to Preston, a distance only of about twenty miles. Having completed the disembarkation of his troops on the 1 8th, he commenced his march on the follow- ing day in the direction of Edinburgh. " His little army," says Home " made a great show, the cavalry, the infantry, the cannon, with a long train of bag- gage-carts, extended for several miles along the road. The people of the country, long unaccustomed to war and arms, flocked from all quarters, to see an army going to fight a battle in East Lothian; and, with infinite concern and anxiety for the event, beheld this uncommon spectacle." '''' At Inverness, Cope had been reinforced by two hundred of Lord Loudon's men, and at Dunbar he was rejoined by the two regiments of * Home, p. 105. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 261 dragoons who had fled before the insurgent army at Colt Bridge. At Dunbar, also, Cope had been met on his landing by the judges and other civil officers of the Crown, who had quitted Edinburgh on the evening before the capture of the capital. A few Lowland gentlemen — the most considerable of whom was the Earl of Home, who held a commission in the Guards,— had hastened to join the General on his landing ; but they were attended only by a very few followers, and, except that their example might possibly influence others, were likely to prove of little service to the cause of the Government. It was curious, indeed, to observe the extraordinary change which had taken place within a few years, as regarded the feudal system in the Lowlands. Scarcely a century since, the ancestor of Lord Home had been enabled to greet Charles the First at the head of six hundred retainers; and yet now, when his descendant would fain have exhibited a similar display of zeal in the cause of the House of Brunswick, he was compelled to make his way to Cope at Dunbar attended by only two servants ! During the night of the 19th, Cope lay encamped with his army in a field to the west of Haddington, about sixteen miles east of Edinburo;h. As there existed the possibility of the Highlanders eifect- ing one of their rapid marclies and surprising the royal army in the night, the General selected six- teen young men, cliiefly from among the Edinburgh volunteers, who willingly promised their services to patrol the different roads which led to the Highland camp, and whose instructions were to return alter- 262 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. nately, two by two, and make their reports to the officer who commanded the piquet. Among these individuals was Home, the author of " Douglas," of whose valuable narrative of the Rebellion we have so often availed ourselves. That writer informs us, somewhat ominously, that two of his companions " never came back to Haddington." These persons were, in after-life, sufficiently well known as Lord Gardenstone and General Cunninghame, the former having risen to distinction in a civil, and the latter in a military capacity. As the story of their disap- pearance on the eve of the battle of Preston Pans is somewhat curious, and as we are enabled to narrate it in the language of Sir Walter Scott, we may per- haps be pardoned for the passing digression. " On approaching Musselburgh," says Sir Walter, " they avoided the bridge to escape observation, and crossed the Esk, it being then low water, at a place nigh its conjunction with the sea. Unluckily there was, at the opposite side, a snug thatched tavern, kept by a cleanly old woman called Luckie F , who was eminent for the excellence of her oysters and sherry. The patrol were both hon vivants; one of them, whom we remember in the situation of a senator, was un- usually so, and a gay, witty, agreeable companion besides. Luckie's sign, and the heap of oyster-shells deposited near her door, proved as great a temptation to this vigilant forlorn-hope, as the wine-house to the Abbess of Andouillet's muleteer. They had scarcely got settled at some right pandores^ with a bottle of sherry as an accompaniment, when, as some Jacobite devil would have it, an unlucky north-30untry lad, a PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 263 writer's (that is, attorney's) apprentice, who had given his indentures the slip and taken the white cockade, chanced to pass by on his errand to join Prince Charlie. He saw the two volunteers through the window, knew them, and guessed their business ; he saw the tide would make it impossible for them to return along the sands as they had come. He there- fore placed himself in ambush upon the steep, narrow, impracticable bridge, which was then, and for many years afterwards, the only place of crossing the Esk : and how he contrived it I could never learn, but the courage and assurance of his province are proverbial, and the Norland whipper-snapper surrounded and made prisoners of the two unfortunate volunteers before they could draw a trigger."* They were car- ried, it seems, to the Highland camp at Duddingstone, and handed over to the custody of the officer in com- mand of the Prince's body-guard, who instantly de- nounced them as spies, and proposed to hang them accordingly. Fortunately they were recognised by an old acquaintance, a Mr. Colquhoun Grant, afterwards a respectable writer to the signet in Edinburgh, who vouched for their innocence, and subsequently con- trived the means by which they effected their escape. On the morning of the 20th, Cope resumed his march towards Edinburgh, proceeding along the post- road till he reached Huntington, when he turned off and took the low road by St. Germains and Seaton. " In this march," says Home, " the officers assured the spectators, of whom no small number attended them, that there Avould be no battle, for, as the * Quarterly Review, vol. xxxvi. p. 177. 264 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. cavalry and infantry were joined, tlic Highlanders would not venture to wait the attack of so complete an army."^' As the van of the royal army was entering the flat piece of land which lies between Seaton and Preston, Cope learned for the first time that the insurgents were in full march to meet him. The plain before him appeared to be well suited to serve as the scene of an engagement, and accordingly, after advancing a short distance further, he gave the order for his army to halt, and not long after he had taken his ground the insurgent forces appeared in view. Cope had anticipated that the Highlanders would march to meet him from the west, and accordingly had arranged his front towards that quarter. The reader, however, will remember that the Highland army had adopted a circuitous route, and accordingly, when they suddenly made their appearance to the southward, this unexpected movement entirely dis- concerted the plans of the English general. He immediately changed the order of battle, and, moving round his front to the south so as to face the enemy, placed his foot in the centre of the line. Each wing was flanked by a regiment of dragoons and by three pieces of artillery. His right was covered by Colonel Gardiner's park wall, and by the village of Preston ; on his left, though at some distance, stood the village of Seaton and the sea; in his rear were the villages of Preston Pans and Cockenzie, and in his front the town of Tranent and the Highland army. * Houie^ p. 106. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 265 CHAPTER VII. Relative Strength of the opposing Armies. — Order of Battle. — Gallant Charge of the Rebels. — Heroic Conduct and Death of Colonel Gar- diner. — Total Defeat of the English Forces at Preston Pans. — Con- duct of Charles after the Battle. In point of numbers tlie two opposing armies were pretty equally matched; that of Charles numbering about two thousand five hundred men; and the force under Cope amounting to about two thousand three hundred. In every other respect, however, the Eng- lish general had greatly the advantage. Not only was he at the head of regular and well-disciplined troops, but he was also supported by cavalry and artillery, of which the latter, at this period, was held in unusual awe by the rude Highlanders. On the other hand, few if any of the insurgent army had ever been under fire; their cavalry, if such it could be termed, consisted of fifty mounted gentle- men and their retainers; and their artillery com- prised a single iron gun, which was of no other service than to be fired as the signal of march, and which one who saw it describes as " a small gun without a carriage, drawn by a little Highland horse." * Charles, when he commenced his march from * Home, p. 104. 266 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Duddiiigstone, had proposed leaving this useless piece of lumber behind him. To his surprise, however, the chieftains interposed in its behalf. Their men, they said, attached so extraordinary a degree of im- portance to the possession of the " musket's mother," (as cannon was then denominated by them,) that it would probably dispirit them not a little were it left behind, and accordingly it was allowed to encumber them on their march. In addition to these inefficient means for carrying on a successful warfare, it may be mentioned that many of the Highlanders were without fire-arms; that some had only a broadsword, others only a dirk or pistol ; and that the only weapon of numbers, — formidable as it afterwards proved, — was the blade of a scythe affixed to the handle of a pitchfork. It has already been mentioned, that when Charles halted with his forces at Tranent, a distance of scarcely more than half a mile separated the two armies from each other. The ground which divided them consisted of a deep morass, over which it was doubtful whether the Highlanders could be con- ducted with safety. As the latter expressed the utmost eagerness to be led immediately against the enemy, and as Charles was naturally willing to gratify their impatience, and to take advantage of the fiery enthusiasm of the moment, the question became one which it was of the greatest importance to solve without delay. In this emergency, a gallant officer. Colonel Ker of Gradon, volunteered his services to decide the doubtful point. Mounted on a little white pony, he rode with the utmost coolness over the PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 267 ground which separated the two armies, and, appa- rently utterly regardless of the shots which were fired at hiro, he carefully and deliberately examined the nature of the ground. Encountering a stone dyke in his way, he quietly dismounted, and hav- ing removed a stone or two, he led his horse over it, and calmly continued his sui'vey, to the admira- tion of his Highland friends. On his return, having pronounced the passage of the morass to be in the highest degree hazardous, if not impracticable, Charles and his friends came to the unpalatable determination of deferring the attack till the following day, and, in the mean time, it was decided that the Highland army should pass the night on the ground. The night was a cold and frosty one. By Sir John Cope it was passed in cheerful quarters at Cockenzie, but by the unfortunate descendant of Robert Bruce on a bed of peas-straw, and in the open field, sur- rounded by his humble but devoted retainers. It may be mentioned, that in the course of this day, Charles had dined with the Duke of Perth, and another of his ofiicers, at a small inn in the village of Tranent. Their food consisted only of the coarse kail, or common broth of the country. Two wooden spoons were compelled to sufiice for the three; and only a butcher's knife was produced for them to cut their meat, which they were forced to eat Avith their fingers. The landlady, it is said, being ignorant of their rank, had carefully concealed her pewter, from the fear in which she stood of the predatory habits of the Highlanders. At night Charles summoned a council of war. 268 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. wliich sat in deliberation till a late hour. It was tlien unanimously agreed, that notwithstanding the difficulties of their position, an attack should be made at break of day, by passing the morass where it presented the fewest dangers. There was present at this council a gentleman, Mr. Anderson of Whitburgh, who, from the unro- mantic circumstance of his having been accustomed to shoot snipes over the surrounding country, was intimately acquainted with its dangers and local pe- culiarities. Modesty had kept him silent during the debate; but the council had no sooner broken up, than he waited, in the first instance, on Hepburn of Keith, and subsequently on Lord George Murray, whom he found asleep in his quarters, — and com- municated to them the important fact, that not only could he enable the Highland army to pass the morass without being exposed to the fire of the enemy, but also without even being seen by them. To the intelligence afforded by Anderson may per- haps be attributed the successful result of the battle of Preston Pans. He was immediately conducted by Lord George Murray to the presence of Charles, who sat up in his bed of peas-straw, and listened eagerly to the grateful intelligence. The night was now far advanced, but Lochiel and the other chieftains were instantly sent for, and after a short deliberation, it was unanimously agreed that, with Anderson for their guide, an attack should immediately be made on the royal forces. The Highlanders, who were sleep- ing in clusters around, wrapped in their plaids, were easily aroused, and, unencumbered with baggage or PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 269 artillery, commenced their rapid and stealthy march. The night was extremely dark; not a whisper was heard among the mountaineers during their advance; and when the morning at length dawned, they had the satisfaction of finding themselves still concealed from the enemy by a frosty mist. The morass was nearly passed, when their approach was at length discovered by a party of dragoons. The latter, how- ever, contented themselves with firing off their pistols, almost at random, and then galloped off rapidly to communicate the alarm to the main body of the royalists. It required but a short space of time to array the Highlanders in order of battle, and only a few words to urge them to their accustomed and furious onset. Some delay, indeed, took place, in consequence of the great clan of Macdonald insisting on preferring their claim to form the right of the line. This claim (which was founded principally on a tradi- tion that Robert Bruce had conferred that honour on them at the battle of Bannockburn) was violently contested by the Camerons and Stuart; and it was not till some time had elapsed, that the two latter clans yielded to the personal entreaties of Charles, and reluctantly consented to withdraw their claims. The prince placed himself gallantly at the head of the second line. " Follow me, gentlemen," he said, " and, by the blessing of God, I will this day make you a free and happy people." Sir John Cope no sooner learned that the High- landers were on their way to attack him, than he exerted all his energies to prepare for their reception. 270 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. He has been accused of having suffered liis men to be- come disheartened by keeping them on the defensive, but with the single exception of this oversight, if so it may be termed, there is no reason for questioning, in a military point of view, either the propriety of the position which he took up, or of the measures which he adopted to ensure success. The two armies had approached within a short dis- tance of each other, when the morning mist gradually passed away, and revealed to them their respective strength and positions. It was a sight which was calculated to inspirit the one, as much as it was to intimidate the other. Cope, indeed, and his disciplined forces, might well have surveyed with contempt the rude mass which had the audacity to confront him; while the Highlanders had every reason to feel dismay at the sight of the firm front of the British infantry, so proverbially fa- mous in the military annals of England, and at the prospect of encountering the sweeping blast of the dreaded artillery, of which they stood in such extra- ordinary awe. " Some of the rebel officers," says Home, " have since acknowledged, that when they first saw the King's army, which made a most gallant appearance, both horse and foot, with the sun shining on their arms, and then looked at their own line, which was broken into clumps and clusters, they ex- pected that the Highland army would be defeated in a moment, and swept from the field."'^" So rapid had been the advance of the Highlanders, that Sir John Cope had only time to ride once * Home, p. 18, note. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 271 along the front of his lines, and to address a few words of exhortation to his followers, when, on the mist clearing away, he beheld the clans preparing for the charge. Lord George Murray, — determined that the royalists should have no time to recover from their surprise, — instantly issued the welcome order to his followers to engage. Taking their bonnets from their heads, the Highlanders paused for a moment to utter a brief prayer, and then, once more di'aw- ing their bonnets over their brows, they rushed impetuously forward, uniting their famous war- cry with the clamour of the wild and heart-stirring pibroch. The Camerons were the first who reached the enemy's lines. Kushing forward with headlong ra- pidity, they fii'ed their pieces as soon as they came within musket-length of their opponents, and then, throwing away their &e-arms, they drew their long swords, and, grasping in their left hands the national dirk and target, they darted forward through the smoke in which they had enveloped themselves. In this manner, many of the Camerons and Stuarts rushed directly against the muzzles of the cannon; and with such effect, that almost instantaneously the whole of the frightened artillery-men were seen flying before them. The dragoons were immediately ordered to advance to their support, but it was only to share the same fate. The Highlanders, previous to the engagement, had been strictly enjoined to aim at the noses of the horses with their swords, it being rightly conjectured that a horse so wounded would immediately wheel about, and thus, it was 272 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. hoped, the whole army might be thrown into con- fusion. These injunctions were implicitly obeyed by the Highlanders. The cavalry made but one charge, and such was the steady and galling fire with which they were received by their opponents, that the for- mer reeled round, and after wavering for a few se- conds, were seen galloping in all directions from the field. No longer supported by artillery, and disheartened by the sight of the flying dragoons, the English in- fantry showed but little inclination to prolong the conflict. For a moment, indeed, they seemed reso- lute in maintaining their ancient character for steadi- ness and endurance, and poured a well-directed fire into the centre of the Highland forces. No sooner, however, did they perceive the large masses of wild Highlanders pouring forward to grapple with them in close combat, than they were overtaken- by the same panic which had seized their companions; and, throwing down their arms lest they should im- pede them in their flight, they fled in the utmost confusion from the field. " Thus," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, who was present in the battle, " in less than five minutes we obtained a complete victory, with a terrible carnage on the part of the enemy. It was gained with such rapidity, that in the second line, where I was by the side of the Prince, not hav- ing been able to find Lord George, we saw no other enemy on the field of battle than those who were lying on the ground killed and wounded, though we were not more than fifty paces behind our first line, running always as fast as we could to overtake them, PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 273 and near enough never to lose sight of them. The Highlanders made a terrible slaughter of the enemy, particularly at the spot where the road begins to run between the two inclosures, as it was soon stopped up by the fugitives; as also along the walls of the in- closures, wliere they killed without trouble those who attempted to climb them."* During the engagement, one good and gallant man, the long-lamented Colonel Gardiner, upheld almost alone the tarnished character of his country- men. Although he had been twice severely wounded in his attempts to lead his dragoons against the enemy, he still persisted in remaining on the field, and, not- withstanding the pain which he suffered, and his weakness from loss of blood, was seen to lay more than one of the insurgents dead at his feet. The feelings of this high-minded man, on witnessing the disgraceful flight of his companions, may be rea- dily imagined. Deserted by his followers, and left almost alone on the field, he was pausing to consider in what manner his duty to his sovereign required him to act, when he chanced to perceive a small party of the royal infantry, without any officer to command them, fighting gallantly within a few paces of him. " Those brave fellows," he exclaimed, " will be cut to pieces for want of a commander." " Immediately," says his biographer. Dr. Doddridge, " he rode up to them, and cried out aloud, — 'Fire on, my lads, and fear nothing!' but just as the words were out of his mouth, a Highlander advanced towards him with a scythe fastened to a long pole, with which he gave * Chevalier de .Tohnstone's Memoirs, p. 36. VOL. I. T 274 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. him such a deep wound on his right arm, that his sword dropped out of his hand ; and at the same time several others coming about liim, while he was thus dreadfully entangled with that cruel weapon, he was dragged off from his horse. " The moment he fell, another Highlander, whose name was M'Naught, and who was executed about a year after, gave him a stroke, either with a broad- sword or a Lochaber axe, on the hinder part of his head, which was the mortal blow. All that his faith- ful attendant saw further at that time was, that his hat was fallen off; he took it in his left hand, and waved it as a signal to him to retreat, and added, — (which were the last words he ever heard him speak) — ''Take care of yourself:' upon which the servant retired, and immediately fled to a mill, at the dis- tance of about two miles from the spot of ground on which the Colonel fell, where he changed his dress, and, disguised like a miller's servant, returned with a cart as soon as possible, which was not till near two hours after the engagement. " The hurry of the action was then pretty well over, and he found his much-honoured master, not only plundered of his watch and other things of value, but also stripped of his upper garments and boots, yet still breathing ; and though not capable of speech, yet, on taking him up, he opened his eyes, which makes it something questionable whether he were altogether insensible. In this condition, and in this manner, he conveyed him to the church of Tranent, from whence he was immediately taken into the minister's house, and laid in bed, where he continued breathing and PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 275 frequently groaning till about eleven in the forenoon, when he took his final leave of pain and sorrow, and undoubtedly rose to those distinguished glories which are reserved for those who have been so eminently and remarkably faithful unto death. " The remains of this Christian hero were interred the Tuesday following, September 24, at the parish church of Tranent, where he had usually attended divine service, with great solemnity. His obsequies were honoured with the presence of some persons of distinction, who were not afraid of paying that last piece of respect to his memory, though the country was then in the hands of the enemy."* Nothing could be more complete than the victory obtained by Charles at Preston Pans. Not only did the greater number of the enemy's standards, and the whole of their artillery, fall into the hands of the insur- gents, but they obtained possession also of the military chest, containing about 2500/. Their loss, also, on the field of battle was inconsiderable; the slain num- bering only three ofiicers and thirty common men, and not more than seventy or eighty being wounded. The greater number of the wounded of both armies were conveyed to the neighbouring residence of the ill- fated Colonel Gardiner, where, it is said, the dark * Doddridge's Life of Colonel Gardiner. " A large tliorn-trce, in the centre of the battle-ground, marks the spot where Gardiner fell. He was buried in the north-west corner of the church of Tranent, where eight of his children had been previously interred. Some years ago, on tlic memorable mould being incidentally disturbed, his head was found marked by the stroke of the scythe which dispatched him, and still adhered to by his military club, which, bound firmly with silk, and dressed with powder and pomatum, seemed as fresh as it could have been on the day he died." — Chambers, p. 37. T 2 276 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. outlines of the forms of the tartaned warriors, caused by their bloody garments, may still be traced on the oaken floors of that interesting mansion.* Of the royal army, only one hundred and seventy of the in- fantry escaped ; about four hundi'ed fell in the field of battle or in the subsequent pursuit, and the remain- der were taken prisoners. The dragoons, whose cowardice may perhaps be considered as the primary cause of the loss of the battle of Preston by the royalists, met — owing to the insurgents having no cavalry with which to pursue them — with a far better fate than they de- served. Flying in all directions, the majority eventu- ally took the road to Coldstream, near which town they were with difficulty rallied by Sir John Cope, with the assistance of the Earls of Loudon and Home. So excessive were their fears, that when once or twice they were induced to halt during their flight, their ears no sooner caught the shouts of the dreaded Highlanders or the distant sound of an oc- casional musket-shot, than they again galloped ofi" in the utmost terror and confusion. Only a small party of the craven dragoons took the road to Edinburgh, and, passing in full gallop up the High Street, never paused for a moment till they found themselves at the gates of the Castle. Here they met with the recep- tion which they deserved : the Governor not only refused to admit them, but added, that if they did not immediately take their departure, he would open the guns upon them as cowards who had deserted their colours. • Chambers, p. .37. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 277 No words, indeed, could exaggerate the over- whelming and unaccountable panic which seized the royal army. " They threw down their arms," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " that they might run with more speed; thus depriving themselves by their fears of the only means of arresting the ven- geance of the Highlanders. Of so many men, in a condition, from their numbers, to preserve order in their retreat, not one thought of defending himself. Terror had taken entire possession of their minds. I saAv a young Highlander, about fourteen years of age, scarcely formed, who was presented to the Prince as a prodigy, having killed, it was said, fourteen of the enemy. The Prince asked him if this was true ? ' I do not know,' replied he, ' if I killed them; but I brought fourteen soldiers to the ground with my sword.' Another Highlander brought ten soldiers to the Prince, whom he had made prisoners, driving them before him like a flock of sheep. This High- lander, from a rashness without example, having pur- sued a party to some distance from the field of battle, along the road between the two inclosures, struck down the hindermost with a blow of his sword, calling at the same time, ' Down with your arms !' The sol- diers, terror-struck, threw down their arms without looking behind them ; and the Highlander, with a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other, made them do exactly as he pleased. The rage and despair of these men, on seeing themselves made prisoners by a single individual, may be easily imagined. These were, however, the same English soldiers who had dis- tinguished themselves at Dettingen and Fontenoy, and 278 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. who might justly be ranked amongst tlie bravest troops of Europe."''^ It may be mentioned that Sir John Cope, in consequence of his adopting the expe- dient of wearing the white cockade,f passed unharmed and unquestioned through the midst of the Highland clans, and was the fii'st to carry to England the news of his own defeat. The moderation and humanity displayed by Charles (not only after the battle of Preston Pans, but also on every subsequent occasion on which he found himself a victor) have not only been freely admitted even by his enemies, but, moreover, present a pleasing and redeeming contrast to the frightful barbarities which, at a later period, were so wantonly exercised by the " butcher" Duke of Cumberland after the battle of Culloden. After the battle of Preston Pans, — when one of the Prince's followers congratulated him on the victory which he had obtained, and, pointing to the field of battle, exclaimed, " Sir, there are your enemies at your feet!" — Charles is said not only to have re- frained from joining in the exultation of the moment, but to have warmly expressed the sincerest compas- sion for those whom he termed " his father's deluded subjects." Previous to the battle, he had strongly exhorted his followers to adopt the side of mer- cy ; and when the victory was gained, his first thoughts were for the unhappy suiferers, and his first hours employed in providing for the comfort of his wounded adversaries as well as his friends. His exhortations and example produced the happiest effects. In the words of one of his gallant fol- • Chevalier de Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 39. f Ibid. ]>. .38. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 279 lowers, — "Not only did I often hear our common clansmen ask the soldiers if they wanted quarter, and not only did we, the officers, exert our utmost pains to save those who were stubborn or who could not make themselves understood, but I saw some of our private men, after the battle, run to Port Seton for ale and other liquors to support the wounded. As one proof'for all, of my own particular observation, I saw a Highlander, carefully and with patient kind- ness, carry a poor wounded soldier on his back into a house, where he left him with a sixpence to pay his charges. In all this we followed not only the dictates of humanity, but also the orders of our Prince, who acted in everything as the true father of his country."* Of the conduct of Charles immediately after his victory at Preston Pans, some other and interesting traits have been recorded. After the pursuit was at an end, finding himself accidentally at the head of the clan Macgregor, — " The Prince," says Duncan Macpharig, — " came up, and successively took Glen- cairnaig and Major Evan in his arms, congratulating them upon the result of the fight. He then com- manded the whole of the clan Gregor to be collected in the middle of the field ; and, a table being covered, he sat down with Glencairnaig and Major Evan to refresh himself, all the rest standing round as a guard, and each receiving a glass of wine and a little bread." Andrew Henderson also observes, — " I saw the Chevalier, after the battle, standing by his horse, dressed like an ordinary captain, in a coarse plaid and large blue bonnet, with a narrow plain * Lockhart Papers. 280 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. gold lace about it, his boots and knees much dirtied, the effects of his having fallen in a ditch. He was exceedingly meny, and twice cried out with a hearty- laugh, — ' My Highlanders have lost their plaids!' After this, he refreshed himself upon the field, and with the greatest composure eat a slice of cold beef, and drank a glass of wine." Having concluded the labours and duties of the day, Charles proceeded on horseback to Pinkie House, the seat of the Marquis of Tweeddale, where he passed the night. The victory of Preston Pans, or, as it was de- signated by the Highlanders, of Gladsmuir, rendered the young adventurer for a season almost the un- disputed master of Scotland. It produced, more- over, the desired effect of raising the reputation of his arms, and of inducing many among his Avavering and cautious partisans to declare themselves openly in his favour. By the Jacobites, the tidings of this decisive victory were everywhere received with the most extravagant outbreakings of triumph and joy. Blessings, even from the pulpit, were publicly invoked on the head of the young hero; and the Jacobite gentlemen, no longer giving utterance to their treason- able toasts in language of safe and doubtful import, quaffed deeply and enthusiastically to the health of their young and beloved Prince, who, in the words of one of their own convivial sentiments, " could eat a dry crust, sleep on peas-straw, take his dinner in four minutes, and win a battle in five." It was only three hours after the victory, that the Camerons re-entered Edinburgh to the exhilarat- ing sound of their own bagpipes, and bearing with PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 281 them in proud triumph the standards which they had wrested from the recreant di-agoons. The re- mainder of the clans delayed their return till the following day, when they marched into the northern capital in long military array, parading through the principal streets to the ftivourite Jacobite air, — " The King shall enjoy his own again." Their wild appearance, their picturesque di'esses, the number of their prisoners, and the quantity of captured ar- tillery and baggage which brought up the rear, added to the variety of standards which floated in the air, — comprising the colours of their re- spective chieftains as well as those which had been captured from the royal army, — rendered it a sight so remarkable and imposing, as not easily to be forgotten either by the adherents of the Govern- ment, or by the delighted partisans of the House of Stuart. As the Highlanders passed through the streets of Edinburgh, some of them, in the excess of their triumphant feelings, amused themselves with firing their muskets in the air. It liap- pened that one of them had incautiously loaded his piece with ball, which, passing over the heads of the crowd, grazed the forehead of a Miss Nairn, a devoted Jacobite, who was at the moment waving her handkerchief from one of the adjacent balconies. The young lady was stunned for a few moments, but on recovering her senses, her first words were those of thankfulness, not so much for her life hav- ing been preserved, but that the darling cause of her adoption stood no risk of being injured by the circumstance. " Thank God," she said, " that 282 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD the accident has happened to me, whose principles are known ! had it befallen a Whig, they would have said it was done on purpose." In the course of the evening of this day, Charles returned to Holy rood House, in his progress to which place he was followed, according to the Caledonian Mercury, " by the loudest acclamations of the people." This fact is corroborated by the testimony of the Chevalier de Johnstone. " The Prince," he says, " returned to Edinburgh, where he was received with the loudest acclamations of the populace, who are always," adds the Chevalier significantly, " equally inconstant in every country of the world." The return of Charles to Edinbiu'gh was followed by the issue of several important proclamations. In one of these, qualified by certain provisos, he grant- ed a general amnesty for all treasons, rebellions, or offences whatever, which had been commit- ted against him or his predecessors, since the ab- dication of his grandfather, James the Second, in 1688. In another, he issued a promise of protection, both to the inhabitants of Edinburgh and to the country people, " from all insults, seiziu'es, injuries, and abuses," on the part of his followers; and in a third proclamation, — alluding to a strong wish that had been expressed by many of his friends, that he should celebrate his recent victory by public re- joicings, — he strongly deprecated a show of triumph, which, he said, had been purchased at the expense of the blood of his father's subjects. How much is it to be regretted, that this generous and noble example of forbearance was not followed by George the Se- PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 283 coiid, or rather bis butclier son, the Duke of Cum- berland, when the latter found himself a victor on the field of Culloden! " In so far," proceeds the manifesto of Charles, " as the late victory- has been obtained by the effusion of the blood of his Majesty's subjects, and has involved many un- fortunate people in great calamity, we hereby forbid any outward demonstrations of public joy ; admonish- ing all true friends to their King and country, to return thanks to God for his goodness towards them, as we hereby do for ourselves." The fact is an indisputable one, that, during his brief career of triumph, Charles never missed the opportunity of taking the side of mercy, and on all occasions showed the strongest disposition to make allowances for his adversaries, and to com- miserate and forgive. Considering the rancour which has ever proverbially been the character- istic of civil contests, there is, perhaps, in the page of history, no instance in which a young Prince, flushed with success and victory, has displayed more praiseworthy forbearance and humanity. Those even who Avere most violently opposed to his principles and to his cause, did justice to the excellent qualities of his heart, uniting gracefully as they did with his gallantry on the field of battle, and with the charm of his personal demeanour and adtkess. " Every body," says Maxwell of Kirkconnel, in his memoir of the campaign, " was mightily taken with the Prince's figure and personal behaviour. There was but one voice about them. Those whom interest or prejudice made a runaway to his cause, could not help acknow- 284 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. ledgiiig that tbey wished him well in all other re- spects, and could hardly blame him for his present undertaking. Sundry things had concurred to raise his character to the highest pitch, besides the great- ness of the enterprise, and the conduct that had hitherto appeared in the execution of it. There were several instances of good nature and humanity, that made a great impression on people's minds." PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 285 CHAPTEE VIII. Piisillanimons Conduct of the Clergy. — Proclamation of Charles inviting- them to return to their Duties. — Daily Courts at Holyrood. — Balls. — Charles's desire to march into England counteracted hy his Chiefs. — Their reluctant Consent to accompany him. The conduct of the Scottish clergy, when they found themselves subjected for a time to the temporal rule of Charles and his Highland chieftains, has been strongly and deservedly reprehended. With a pusil- lanimity for which they were afterwards severely cen- sured even by their own friends, they persisted in ab- senting themselves altogether from the performance of their religious duties, — a circumstance which, though it seems to have been the result merely of individual timidity, yet had very nearly the effect of being as detrimental to the cause of the adventurer, as if it had resulted from a deliberate policy. On the part of the adherents of the Stuarts, there was certainly no slight ground for fearing that the example set by the Presbyterian clergy in Edinburgh might produce a disagreeable effect on the minds of their respective congregations. No one, indeed, knew better than Charles himself, that the battle which he had to fight, both in Scotland and England, was not so much against the military legions of the House of Hanover, as against the prejudices which attached 286 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. to liis cfiuse from tlie recollection of the overweening bigotry of his grandfather, James the Second, to whom, when compared with his object of enslaving the religious principles of his subjects, the loss of three crowns had appeared light in the scale. In Scotland, more especially, the name of James the Second, ever since the Revolution of 1688, had in- variably been denounced from the pulpit as the bug- bear of Protestantism; and therefore it is not to be wondered at, that his descendants, who unfortunately inherited from him the same religious principles, should have shared the stigma which had so long attached itself to the dreaded bigotry of their prede- cessor. Whether Charles Edward, had he succeeded in establishing himself on the throne of his ancestors, would have proved himself sincere in his professions of securing to his subjects that religious toleration which (in the halcyon days when he was a candi- date for their suffrages and support) he had so freely promised them, may perhaps be doubted, but of course can never be proved. During the brief annals of the reign of James the Second, England had learned a lesson, which it might still be fatal for her to forget; neither can it be doubted, — so long, at least, as the Roman Catholic clergy continues se- dulously to insinuate its wily and ambitious policy alike into the closets of Kings and the cottages of the poor, — ^that it would be dangerous to entrust the liberties of a free and great people to a monarch who, under the domineering influence of an intriguing priesthood, might be induced to renew the insane PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 287 and tyrannical line of policy which was enacted by the second James. That such was the opinion of the great majority of the people of England, no one was more fully aware than the Prince himself, nor how important it was that the public mind should be disabused of the idea that he was treading in the steps of his grandfather. As a first step, therefore, towards accomplishing this object, it was deemed of the utmost consequence that the Presby- terian clergy should be induced to return to the dis- charge of their religious duties, lest their absence from their respective pulpits might be ingeniously construed into an act of oppression and intolerance on the part of the Prince. Charles, therefore, issued a solemn proclamation, in which he invited the Presbyterian clergy to resume the performance of public worship in their respective churches; promising them that they should receive no interruption in the fulfilment of their duties, but, on the contrary, that they should be upheld by his protection and support. The proclamation con- cluded ; — " If, notwithstanding hereof, any shall be found neglecting their duty in that particular, let the blame lie entirely at their own door, as we are resolved to inflict no penalty that may possibly look like persecution." Again, in another proclamation of a similar character, the Prince affirms it to be the solemn intention of the King, his father, to reinstate all his subjects in the full enjoyment of their religion, laws, and liberties. " Our present attempt," he says, " is not undertaken in order to enslave a free people, but to address and remove the encroachments made 288 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. upon them ; not to impose upon any a religion wliich they dislike, but to secure them all in the enjoyment of those wliich are respectively at present established amongst them, either in England, Scotland, or Ire- land." Notwithstanding, however, these repeated exhort- ations, the clergy still persisted in absenting them- selves from their religious duties; and only one of their body, by name Macvicar, — notwithstanding many of the Highlanders were in the habit of forming a part of his congregation, — continued, not only to preach as usual, but even was bold enough to pray openly for King George. His loyalty, however, was usually clothed in language of dubious, though significant import. " Bless the King," was one of his prayers, — "thou knowest what King I mean; and may the crown sit long easy on his head : and for the man that is come among us to seek an earthly crown, we beseech thee in mercy take him to thyself, and give him a crown of glory." Of the habits of Charles during the brief period that he held his court in the ancient palace of Holy- rood, some interesting particulars have been handed down to us. " In order," says Home, " to carry on business with the appearance of royalty, he appointed a council to meet in Holyrood House every day at ten o'clock." This council consisted of the two lieu- tenant-generals, the Duke of Perth, and Lord George Murray; the quarter-master-general, O'SuUivan; Lord Elcho, colonel of the Prince's horseguards; Secretary Murray, Lords Ogilvie, Pitsligo, Nairn, and Lewis Gordon, brother of the Duke of Gordon, Sir Thomas PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 289 Sheridan, and all the Highland chiefs. " When the council rose," says Home, " which often sat very long, — for his councillors frequently differed in opinion with one another, and sometimes with him, — Charles dined in public with his principal officers. After dinner he rode out with his lifeguards, and usually went to Duddingstone, where his army lay. In the evening he retui'ned to Holyrood House, and received the ladies who came to his drawing-room; he then supped in public, and generally there was music at supper, and a ball afterwards.""" An Englishman, who was sent about this period from York to Edinburgh, to be a spy upon the Prince's actions, has left us some additional parti- culars relating to the habits of Charles during the time he held his court at Holyrood. " I was intro- duced to him," he says, " on the 17th, [October,] when he asked me several questions as to the number of the troops, and the affections of the people of Eng- land. The audience lasted for a quarter of an hour, and took place in the presence of two other persons. The young Chevalier is about five feet eleven inches high, very proportionably made, wears his own hair, has a full forehead, a small but lively eye, a round brown-complexioned face ; nose and mouth pretty small; full under the chin; not a long neck; under his jaw a pretty many pimples. He is always in a Highland habit, as are all about him. When I saw him, he had a short Highland plaid {tartan) waist- coat; breeches of the same; a blue garter on, and a St. Andrew's cross hanging by a green ribbon at his * Home, p. 139. VOL. L U 290 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. button-hole; but no star. He had his boots on, as he always has. He dines every day in public. All sorts of people are permitted to see him then. He constantly practises all the arts of condescension and popularity; talks familiarly to the meanest High- landers, and makes them very fair promises."* At his balls, which were held in the long gallery at Holyrood, Charles, we are told, was usually dressed with great care and elegance, " in a habit of fine silk tartan, with crimson velvet breeches, and at other times in an English court dress, with the ribbon, star, and order of the garter." The balls given by Charles at Holyrood, are described as having been unusually gay and splendid : of the ladies of rank, however, who attended them, if we except the Duchess of Perth and Lady Pitsligo, there is no particular record. Mention has already been made, that by far the majority of the women of Scotland were enthusiasti- cally devoted to the cause of the young and gallant Prince. Dazzled by the romance of the enterprise which he had so boldly undertaken, and so bravely conducted; captivated by his polished manners, his insinuating address aiad handsome person, his high birth, and that grace and propriety for which he was so eminently distinguished, the women of Scotland gave him their suffi-ages and their prayers; and on many occasions, by inducing their lovers, and some- times their husbands and brothers, to declare them- selves in his favour, appear to have done essential service to his cause. * Chambers, p. 41. From a MS. in the possession of the late George Chalmers, Esq., given in his Caledonia, vol. ii. p. 717. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 291 As an instance corroborative of this fact, may be mentioned the case of a Miss Lumsden, who prevailed upon her lover, Robert Strange, afterwards the ce- lebrated line-engraver, to join the standard of the Prince, on condition that he might hereafter claim her hand. Yielding to the entreaties of his mistress, he fortunately survived the dangers of the enter- prise, and was subsequently made happy by receiving the promised rcAvard. In the best families in Scot- land, the ladies were seen decorated with white rib- bons, and with the celebrated white cockade, in ho- nour of the young and handsome hero. Thousands, who were possessed of jewels and other female orna- ments, willingly sold or pledged them to relieve him in his pecuniary difficulties ; while those to whom for- tune had behaved more niggardly, yielded to him at least their warmest wishes in the days of his pros- perity, and their tears in the hour of his distress. Even the pensive and melancholy look — which, as in the case of his great-grandfather Charles the First, is said to have been the characteristic expression of his countenance even among the gayest scenes, — in- creased, if possible, the deep interest with which he was regarded by the fair ladies of the North. There was another class of persons to whose in- fluence and attachment to his cause Charles was scarcely less indebted than to that of the fair sex. We allude to the national poets of Scotland, if so they may be styled, who, — by those pathetic and heart- stirring melodies which, when listened to even at the present day, still bring a tear to the eye, and awake romance in the heart, — threw a magic charm over u 2 292 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. the cause of the unfortunate Stuarts, and assisted, in a considerable degree, in inflaming the spirit of po- pular enthusiasm which akeady prevailed on their behalf. Charles, on his part, actuated partly perhaps by motives of deep policy, and partly by a feeling of gratitude to those who had risked everything in his cause, missed no opportunity of flattering the preju- dices of the Scottish people, and rendering himself the object of their love. He was either delighted, or pretended to be, with everything national in, or peculiar to, Scotland. At the balls at Holyrood, he was careful to call alternately for Highland and Low- land tunes, taking care to give no particular prefe- rence to either. He accommodated himself indifie- rently to all ages and to all ranks. He could be gallant with the fair, lively with the young, and grave with the old. At one hour of the day he was seen conversing familiarly with the humblest of his Highland followers at his camp at Duddingstone ; at another he was engaged in deliberating in solemn council with his principal officers; and at night he was seen leading the dance, and dallying with the fair dames of Edinburgh in the old halls at Holy- rood. Such was the " bonnie Prince Charlie" of Scottish song ; and when we remember the circumstances of his romantic expedition, and his own personal graces and accomplishments, can we wonder that a nation,— so prudent, it may be, as the Scotch, but still so pro- verbially affectionate to their kindred, — sliould have forgotten for a season their allegiance to their Ger- PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 293 man masters, who ruled them with feelings of equal indiflference from their palace at St. James's, or from their still more distant and more favourite retreat at Herenhausen? Can we wonder that the greater por- tion of the Scottish nation should have hailed with affectionate pleasure the appearance of the represen- tative of their ancient kings ? — that they should have been flattered and gratified by his identifying himself with their prejudices, and sedulously courting their esteem? — that they should have been pleased at seeing their palaces, so long deserted by royalty, again becoming the scenes of the splendid and courtly hospitality of former days ? — and, in a word, — animated as they were by the most generous feelings of admiration, compassion, and national pride, — can we be surprised that they should have yielded up their homage and love, almost unconditionally as it were, to the lineal and gallant descendant of Kobert Bruce ? Another circumstance which tended to swell the ranks of Charles, and to render his cause a popular one, was the proclamation issued by him on the 10th of October. The credit of having drawn up this remarkable document has been given to Sir Thomas Sheridan and Sir James Stewart : * there seems, " Evidence of Murray, of Broughton, in his secret examination, August 13, 1746. Sir James Stewart, of Goostrees, was the author of the celehratcd " Inquiry into the Principles of Political Economy," the result of the labour and research of eighteen years. He had formed an intimacy with Charles on the continent, and joined the Prince's standard shortly after his arrival at Edinburgh, After the battle of Cullodcn, lie was fortunate enough to effect his escape to France ; taking up his resi- dence in the first instance at Sedan, and afterwards in Flanders. In 294 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. however, to be little doubt, from the resemblance which the language bears to ^ the style of Charles's private letters, that it received several important touches from his pen, if it was not entirely his own composition. After dwelling on the misfortunes which had befallen the country, and Scotland in par- ticular, in consequence of the misrule of the House of Hanover, and after explaining his own and his father's views as to the manner in which existing religious and political grievances ought to be re- medied, Charles thus forcibly concludes his spirited exhortation : — " Is not my royal father," he says, " represented as a bloodthirsty tyrant, breathing out nothing but destruction to all those who will not immediately embrace an odious religion? Or have I myself been better used? But listen only to the naked truth. I with my own money hired a vessel, ill-provided with money, arms, or friends; I arrived in Scotland attended by seven persons ; I publish the King my father's declaration, and proclaim his title with pardon in one hand and in the other liberty of conscience, and the most solemn promises to grant whatever a free Parliament shall propose for the hap- piness of the people. I have, I confess, the greatest reason to adore the goodness of Almighty God, who has in so remarkable a manner protected me and my small army through the many dangers to which we were at first exposed, and who has led me in the way to victory, and to the capital of this ancient king- 1763, having received an assurance that he should not he molested by the Government, he returned to Scotland, where he died in November 1780, at the age of sixty-seven. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 295 dom, amidst the acclamations of the King my father's subjects. As to the outcries formerly raised against the royal family, whatever miscarriages might have given occasion for them have been more than atoned for since, and the nation has now an opportunity of being secured against the like for the future. That our family has suffered exile during these fifty-seven years everybody knows. Has the nation during that period of time been the more happy and flourishing? Have you found reason to love and cherish your go- vernors as the fathers of the people of Great Britain and Ireland? Has a family, upon whom a faction unlawfully bestowed the diadem of a rightful Prince, retained a due sense of so great a trust and favour? Have you found more humanity and condescension in those who were not born to a crown, than in my royal forefathers? Have they, or do they, consider only the interest of these nations? Have you reaped any other benefit from them than an immense load of debts? If I am answered in the affirmative, why has their Government been so often railed at in all your public assemblies? why has the nation been so long crying out for redress? " The fears of the nation from the powers of France and Spain appear still more vain and groundless. My expedition was undertaken unsupported by either. But, indeed, Avhen I see a foreign force brought by my enemies against me; and when I hear of Dutch, Danes, Hessians, and Swiss, the Elector of Hanover's allies, being called over to protect his government against the King's subjects, is it not high time for the King my father to accept also of assistance? 296 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Who has the better chance to be independent of fo- reign powers, — he who, with the aid of liis own sub- jects, can wrest the government out of the hands of an intruder — or he who cannot, without assistance from abroad, support his government, though es- tablished by all the civil power, and secured by a strong military force, against the undisciplined part of those he has ruled over for so many years? Let him, if he j)leases, try the experiment : let him send oif his foreign hirelings, and put all upon the issue of a battle, and I will trust only to the King my father's subjects." During his stay at Edinburgh, several of the Low- land gentlemen joined the standard of the Prince. Among these were Lord Ogilvie, eldest son of the Earl of Airly, at the head of four hundred followers, and Lord Pitsligo with about one hundred and twenty. The accession of the latter nobleman was of great im- portance to Charles. Lord Pitsligo was, indeed, far advanced in years ; but not only, from his high sense of honour, and the charm of his personal character, had he won for himself as much love and influence in the Lowlands as Lochiel had obtained in the High- lands, but also, from his almost proverbial reputation for wariness, prudence, and strong sense, he Avas the occasion of his example being followed by many of his Lowland neighbours who had taught them- selves to believe that any act of Lord Pitsligo's must infallibly be right. " This peer," says Home, " who di^ew after him such a number of gentlemen, had only a moderate fortune; but he was much beloved and greatly esteemed by his neighbours, who looked upon " PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 297 liim as a man of excellent judgment, and of a wary and cautious temper; so that when he, who was deemed so wise and prudent, declared his purpose of joining Charles, most of the gentlemen in that part of the country where he lived, who favoured the Pre- tender's cause, put themselves under his command, thinking they could not follow a better or a safer guide than Lord Pitsligo."* Dr. King, also, who was well acquainted with Lord Pitsligo, observes, — "I always observed him ready to defend any other person who was ill-spoken of in his company. If the person accused were of his acquaintance, my Lord Pitsligo would always find something good to say of him as a counterpoise. If he were a stranger, and quite un- known to him, my lord would urge in his defence the general corruption of manners, and the frailties and infirmities of human nature." f While at Edinburgh, also, Charles was joined by General Gordon of Glenbucket with four hundred followers from the highlands of Aberdeenshire, and by Macpherson of Cluny with three hundred of his clan. Every efibrt and exertion was made by Charles and the leading chieftains to organize ai^d discipline the insurgent army. Two troops of cavalry were enrolled with the utmost expedition ; one of which was placed under the command of Lord Elcho, and the other entrusted to Lord Balmerino. A troop of horse-grenadiers was also enrolled, which was placed under the command of the unfortunate Lord Kil- marnock. The Prince paid a visit to his camp at * Home's History of the Rebellion, p. 129, t Anecdotes of his own Time, p. 145. 298 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Duddingstone nearly every day, for the purpose of reviewing or exercising his troops, and not unfre- quently slept in the camp without taking off his clothes.'"' It had been the darling wish of Charles, after ob- taining his victory at Freston Pans, to march at once into England, where he hoped to be immediately joined by many of the most influential among the English Jacobites, and by their means be enabled to follow up his recent success by a still more decisive blow. To have adopted this measure, however, under existing circumstances, and with his present ineffi- cient means, would have amounted pretty nearly to an act of insanity. Already the royal forces, under the command of Field-marshal Wade, were making head at Doncaster ; and, moreover, many of the Frince's own followers had returned to their native mountains, in order, as was their custom, to deposit their booty with their families. Charles, also, had yet to be joined by many of the most powerful of the Highland chieftains, whose arrival at the head of their respective vassals he was anxiously expect- ing; and, moreover, had he marched at once into England, he must have abandoned all hope of receiv- ing some important supplies of money and ammu- nition, which he trusted would be sent to him in a short time by the French Government, and which could only be landed with safety at Montrose, Dun- * " The Prince's tent has been erected in the camp near Duddingstone, where his Royal Highness lies every night, wrapped up in his Highland plaid. He takes the utmost jilcasure in reviewing his people, and is highly beloved by them. There was yesterday a general review." — Edinburgh Mercury, Monday, September 30. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 299 dee, or some other of the north-eastern ports of Scotland. At length, however, the hour arrived when Charles rightly judged that to remain any longer in supine- ness in Edinburgh, — while Marshal Wade was rapidly concentrating a superior and perhaps overwhelming force, — must inevitably lead to fatal results. We have seen that, since the battle of Preston Pans, the Prince had been joined by fresh and considerable accessions of strength both from the Higlilands and Lowlands. Already the powerful clan of the Erasers was taking the field under the Master of Lovat, and in Aberdeenshire the Gordons were being raised by Lord Lewis Gordon, brother of the Duke.* In point of supplies also, both of ammunition and money, the Prince's resources had been greatly augmented. From the city of Glasgow he had exacted the sum of 5000/., and from Edinburgh he had obtained one thousand tents, and six thousand pair of shoes, besides various other useful articles for the service of his army. The public revenues and the King's rents had been levied in every part of Scotland where it was practicable ; — * " Yesternight, the Right Honourable Lord Lewis Gordon, third son of the deceased Alexander Duke of Gordon, came and kissed the Prince's hand, and joined his Royal Highness's standard. His lordship was some time an officer in the Navy, The court, which was very numerous and splendid, seemed in great joy on this occasion, as several gentlemen, not only of the name of Gordon, hut many others in the shires of Aberdeen, Banff, and Murray, who had declined joining the Prince's standard, unless some one or other of the sons of the illustrious house of Gordon was to head them, will now readily come up and join the army." — Edinburgh Mercury, October 16, 1745. Lord Lewis Gordon was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, 1st of August, 1744, and his name ap])ears on the List of the Navy till the mouth of June, 174G. He was attainted for his share in the Rebellion, and died unmarried in 1754. 300 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. the goods were seized in the custom-houses at Leith and at other ports, and immediately converted into money ; — by a French ship, which arrived at Montrose, he received 5000/., and more recently three more ships had appeared off the north-eastern coast, which brought him the additional sum of 1000/. ; besides five thousand stand of arms, a train of six field-pieces, and several French and Irish officers. Notwithstanding the improved condition of the Prince's affairs, the Highland chieftains displayed a singular and obstinate reluctance to be led into Eng- land. In vain did Charles argue on the absolute ne- cessity of giving battle to Marshal Wade, before the latter could concentrate a still superior force ; in vain did he insist that they had thrown away the scabbard ; that all their hopes depended upon immediate action; that passiveness would be construed into pusillanimity ; and that, though they might at present boast of being masters of Scotland, yet that the tenure even of that country, which contained all that they held dear in life, depended upon their also making themselves masters of England. Three several councils were summoned by Charles for the purpose of deliberating on this important question, and on each occasion he found himself vehemently opposed by the Highland chieftains. It ought to be the Prince's chief object, they said, to endeavour, by every possible means, to secure himself in the government of his ancient king- dom, and to defend himself against the armies of England, without attempting for the present to ex- tend his views to that country. " This," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " was the advice which every PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 301 one gave the Prince, and, if he had followed it, he might still perhaps have been in possession of that kingdom. By thus fomenting," adds the Chevalier, *' the natural hatred and animosity whicli the Scots have in all times manifested against the English, the war would have become national, and this would have been a most fortunate circumstance for the Prince." * Such were the vain and absurd arguments insisted upon by the Highland chieftains; — as if it were pos- sible that Scotland, — with almost all her civil and military officers in favour of the House of Hanover; with a great portion of her Lowland population pre- judiced on behalf of that family; and with the armies of England and her allies arrayed against her, — could have held out beyond one or two unprofitable cam- paigns among the rugged fastnesses of the Highlands. Disgusted with this repeated opposition to his dearest wishes, Charles at length betrayed himself into a per- emptoriness of language and manner, which, accord- ing to Lord Elcho, he gave vent to on more occasions than one, when violently opposed by his council, f • Chevalier de Johnstone's Memoirs, pp. 45, 46. + " The Prince," says Lord Elcho, " used, in council, always first to declare what he himself was for, and then he asked everybody's opinion in their turn. There was one-third of the council, whose principles were that kings and princes can never cither act or think wrong ; so in consequence, they always confirmed what the Prince said. The other two-thirds, (who thought that kings and princes were 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 tlicy could give sufficient reasons for their difference of opinion. This very often was no difficult matter to do ; for as the Prince and his old governor Sir Thomas Sheridan, were altogether ignorant of the ways and customs of Great Britain, and both much for the doctrine of absolute monarchy they would very often, had they not been prevented, have fallen into 302 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. " I see, gentlemen," he exclaimed, " that you are determined to stay in Scotland, and defend your country; but I am not the less resolved to try my fate in England, though I should go alone P Charles, young as he was, had obtained a deep insight into human nature ; and this speech, more than any other circumstance, is said to have shamed the chiefs into a reluctant concession, and accordingly a march across the border was at length definitively agreed upon. 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 the army as any general does a body of mercenaries, and so let them know only what he pleased, and expected them to obey Avithout inquiring farther about the matter." It is but fair to remind the reader, that the above was written by Lord Elcho after he had had a violent quarrel with the Prmce, and when his feelings were probably coloured by his dislike. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 303 CHAPTER IX. The Pretender's March into England. — Strength of his Army. — Arrival at Carlisle. — Courageous Conduct of Sergeant Dickson. — Arrival at Manchester. — Mrs. Skyring presents her Purse to the Chevalier. — His Arrival at Derhy. — The Duke of Cumberland's Army only Nine Miles distant from the Rebels. On the 31st of October, at six o'clock in the evening, Charles bade farewell to the ancient capital of Scotland, and the palace of his ancestors, and de- parted on his memorable expedition into England. At the head of his guards, and of Lord Pitsligo's regiment of horse, he proceeded to Pinkie House, where he passed the night. The next day, at noon, he rode to Dalkeith, where he was joined by the great body of his troops, which, at this period, are com- puted by Home and the best authorities to have amounted to about five thousand six hundred men.'" * The following statement of the numbers of the Highland army is given in " The Life of the Duke of Cumberland," 8vo. London, 17G7. CLAN REGIMENTS AND THEIR COMMANDERS. Lochicl Cameron of Lochicl 700 Appin Stuart of Ardshiel 200 Clanranald Macdonald of Clanranald 300 Keppoch Macdonald of Keppoch 200 Kinloch Moidart... Macdonald of Kinloch Moidart 100 Glencoe Macdonald of Glcncoe 120 Macinnon Macinnon of Macinnon 120 304 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Tliey were, generally speaking, well clothed, and well furnished with arms. Proper precautions had been taken for the transfer of their baggage, by means of waggons and sumpter horses, and they carried with them provisions for foiu' days. On the 1st of November, a large detachment of the Highland army commenced its march, by way of Peebles and MoiFat, to Carlisle. Charles himself remained behind till the 3rd of the month; passing the two intervening nights at the palace Dalkeith. On the morning of that day, he commenced his march at the head of the remainder of his troops. Passing by Prestonhall Gate he was informed that the Duchess of Gordon, who resided in the imme- diate neighbourhood, had ordered a breakfast to be prepared for him and his suite, — a pleasing compli- ment, but for which act of hospitality she is said to Macpherson Macpherson of Cluny 120 Glengary Macdonell of Glengary 300 Glenbucket Gordon of Glenbucket 300 Maclauchlan Maclauchlan of that ilk 200 Struan Robertson of Struan 200 Glenmoriston Grant of Glenmoriston 100 2960 LOWLAND REGIMENTS. Athol Lord George Murray 600 Ogilvie Lord Ogilvie, Angus men 900 Perth Duke of Perth 700 Nairn Lord Nairn 200 Edinburgh Roy Stuart 450 HORSE. Lord Elcho and Lord Bahnerino 120 Lord Pitsligo 80 Earl of Kilmarnock 60 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 305 have lost a pension of 1000/. a-year, which had been conferred upon her in consideration of her hav- ing brought up her children in the principles of the Protestant religion.* A compliment of a similar character was paid to him on passing Fala Dams, where the ladies of Whitborough, sisters of one of his most valued adherents, Kobert Anderson, had pre- pared a banquet for him and his suite in the open air. Previous to his departure, a touching request was made to him by the ladies for some trilling bequest, which they might hereafter exhibit as having been presented to them by the gallant hero of 1745. Accordingly Charles cut for them a piece of velvet from the hilt of his sword; a relic which is said to be still preserved at Whitborough with religious care.f On the 5th of November the Highland army ar- rived at Kelso, where they halted tAvo days, and from thence proceeded in a direct route to Jedburgh. As Charles marched along at the head of his troops, he is said to have been received hj marks of the most gratifying devotion by the Lowland inhabitants, but more especially by the women, who frequently ran out of their houses to snatch a kiss of his hand.| * Chambers, p. 49. f Ibid, p. 50. X " An old man, who died lately at Jcdburgii, remembered having witnessed the departure of the insurgents from his native town. After the Prince had crossed the bridge, and was clear of the town, he rode back to see that none of his men had remained behind ; and, on ascer- taining that fact, galloped after the column, which he overtook at a little distance from the town. When the author was at Jedburgli, in Novem- ber 1826, he saw an ancient lady, who had been seven years of age when the Highlanders passed her native town, and who distinctly remembered all the circumstances of the memorable pageant. According to her VOL. I. X 306 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Marching from Jedburgh, by way of Hawick and Hagiehaugh, Charles, on the 8th of November, for the first time set his foot in England at the small town of Brampton. The Highlanders, on finding themselves on the English side of the Border, raised a loud shout of exultation, at the same time draw- ing their swords and flourishing them in the air. Lochiel, however, while in the act of drawing his weapon, had the misfortune to cut his hand, and the sight of their chieftain's blood is said to have thrown a sudden damp over the spirits of the High- landers, by whom the circumstance was universally regarded as an evil omen.'"' If the march into England was distasteful to the Highland chieftains, it was still more unpopular with the humbler clansmen, who had a superstitious dread of being led across the Border, and had conceived an idea that some fatal disaster must infallibly result from the measure. So great, indeed, was their aver- sion to it, that Charles is said to have passed an hour and a half before he could prevail on the great body of his followers to march forward; indeed, be- report, they had a great number of horses, which it was said they had taken from the dragoons at Preston. She saw some of them dressing these animals in a stable, and could mimic the strange uncouth jabber which they used in performing the duties of hostlers. In particular, she remembers hearing them call to the beasts, — ' Stand about, Cope !' &c., the name of that unfortunate general having apparently been applied to all the horses taken from his army, by the way of testifying tlie contempt in Avhich they held him. As at many other places, Charles was here saluted with marks of devout homage by many of the people as he passed ; all the women running out to get a kiss of his hand." — Cham- bers, p. 50. * Lockhart Papers, vol. ii. p. 45. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 307 fore they had advanced many miles into Enghmd, it was computed that they had lost a thousand men by desertion. In the mean time, a division of the Highland army, under the Duke of Perth, had made good its advance to Carlisle. The town and citadel made, in the first instance, some show of resistance; but on a battery being constructed, and a breach opened on the east side of the town, they surren- dered upon certain easy conditions, and under an engagement not to serve against the Prince for the space of twelve months. The keys were delivered to Charles at Brampton by the mayor and aldermen on their knees. On the 17th, Charles himself entered the town of Carlisle in triumph. He was received with coldness by the inhabitants, for they had little reason to be favourably disposed to his cause. " The rebels, while here," says Henderson, " made excessive demands. The cess, excise, and land-tax were exacted under the severest penalties; a contribution from the in- habitants, upon pain of military execution, was ex- torted; and the private men among them committed many outrages, which their chiefs could not prevent."* At Carlisle, as at other places, Charles caused his father to be proclaimed King, and himself Regent, with the usual formalities. Here also a considerable quantity of arms fell into his possession, which proved of great service to him.f Between Charles and the south was stationed Field- * Henderson's History of the Rebellion, p. 57. t Sec Chevalier do Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 55. X 2 308 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. marshal Wacle with six tliousand men. That ge- neral had made a demonstration, with the view of raising the siege of Carlisle, by marching across the country from Newcastle to Hexham. However, either from the irresolution which had increased with the advance of years, or, as he himself alleged, from his army being impeded by the heavy snow-storms and intense cold, he marched back, on learning the news of the capitulation of Carlisle, to his former quarters, leaving the roads to the South open to the Highland army. On the 21st of November, Charles, leaving a garrison of about three hundred men at Carlisle, took his departure from that city at the head of a force which was now reduced to four thousand four hundred men only, and of which Lord George Murray, much to the dissatisfaction of the Duke of Perth, was appointed general in command under the Prince. The same evening they arrived at Pen- rith, where they halted for a single day. During his march towards the south, Charles en- forced the strictest discipline and good order in his army. Every article was promptly paid for in the towns through which he passed, and it may be seen, on reference to his curious household book printed in the " Jacobite Memoirs," that he himself set the first example by the most punctual payment of all his personal expenses. So rigidly, indeed, were his orders enforced among his followers, that the High- landers, far from indulging in their proverbial habits of pilfering and plunder, were seen at the doors of the houses and cottages which they passed by in their PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 309 march, expressing the humblest gratitude for any slight refreshment that was given them. The uncouth appearance, however, of the wild mountaineers, their strange dress and language, and their peculiar habits, led to their being regarded, in many places, with the greatest terror and aver- sion by the English inhabitants. Nothing surprised the English more than when they saw the High- landers act like ordinary beings ; the commonest show of gratitude or civility on their part was re- garded with looks of astonishment: and to such an extent was this feeling of prejudice carried, that in a letter written at the period, the writer ex- presses his amusement and surprise at seeing them, before meat, taking off their bonnets, assuming a reverential air, and saying grace, " as if they had been Christians." * The most wonderful stories, in- deed, were related of their ferocity and blood-thirsti- ness; among other instances of which, it may be mentioned that the women in the midland counties were in the habit of concealing their children at the approach of the Highlanders, from a belief that the flesh of infants constituted their favourite food. A curious instance of this prejudice occurred to the celebrated Lochiel. " The terror of the English," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " was truly incon- ceivable, and in many cases they seemed bereft of their senses. One evening, as Mr. Cameron of Lochiel entered the lodgings assigned to him, his landlady, an old woman, threw herself at his feet, and with uplifted hands, and tears in her eyes, sup- * Chambers's History of the Rebellion, p. 52, note. 310 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. plicated him to take her life, but to spare her two little children. He asked her if she was in her senses, and told her to explain herself ; when she answered, that everybody said the Highlanders ate children, and made them their common food. Mr. Cameron having assured her that they would not injure her or her little children, or any person whatever, she looked at him for some moments with an air of surprise, and then opened a press, calling out with a loud voice, ' Come out, children, the gentlemen will not eat you.' The children immediately left the press, where she had concealed them, and threw themselves at his feet." '" On the 23rd, the Highland army marched out of Penrith in two divisions; the one, consisting entirely of the Highland clans, being commanded by the Prince in person, and the other, comprising the dif- ferent regiments which had been raised in the Low- lands, being headed by Lord George Murray. In the different towns through which they passed, they levied the public revenue; scrupulously, however, exacting no more than what was actually due to the Govern- ment. In cases where money had already been sub- scribed for the service of the Government, they were in the habit of levying a sum of equal value from the unlucky subscriber. The appearance of the army, as it defiled along, is described as peculiarly pictu- resque and striking; the Highland garb being worn indiscriminately by every infantry regiment which composed the insurgent force. At the head of his ow^n division marched the young * Chevalier dc Johnstone's Memoirs^ p. lUl. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 311 and gallant Prince, clad in the Highland costume, and with his target slung across his shoulder. In- sisting that Lord Pitsligo, on account of his age and infii'mities, should take possession of the carriage which had been reserved for himself, he shared, in common with the humblest Highlander, the fatigues and privations of the march. Of dinner he was never known to partake; his principal meal being his supper, and as soon as it was over, he was in the habit of throwing himself upon his bed about eleven o'clock, without undressing, and usually rose the next morning at four. He did not even carry with him a change of shoes; and it is said that, when in Lancashire, having worn a hole in one of those which he was in the habit of wearing, he stopped at a blacksmith's shop in the nearest village in order to have a thin plate of iron fastened to the bottom of the sole. The blacksmith having been paid for his job, — " You are the fii'st person, I believe," said Charles, " who was ever paid for having shod the son of a king." Among other incidents recorded of him during his march, it is mentioned that on his reaching the river Mersey, the bridges over which were all broken down, he forded the stream at the head of his division, though the water rose to his middle.^ Only on one occasion, when passing over the dreary district between Penrith and Sliap, is Charles said to have discovered any symptoms of fatigue. In this instance, he is related to have walked for several miles, half asleep, leaning on the * Smollett, Book ii. chap. 8. 312 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. shoulder of one of the clan Ogilvie, in order to pre- vent himself from falling.'"" Passing by Shap and Kendal, the insurgent army advanced to Lancaster, and from thence miirchcd by way of Garstang to Preston, where the two divisions met on the 27th. At the latter place, the High- landers were again overtaken by a superstitious panic, such as had occasioned so much desertion in their ranks when they first found themselves on the Eng- lish side of the border. Bearing in mind the famous defeat of their countrymen under the Duke of Hamil- ton during the great rebellion, and the more recent disaster which had befallen Brigadier Mac Intosh at Preston in 1715, the Highlanders had conceived a notion that this was the fatal boundary beyond which a Scottish army was never destined to pass. " To counteract this superstition," says Sir Walter Scott, " Lord George led a part of his troops across the Eibble-bridge, a mile beyond Preston, at which town the Chevalier arrived in the evening. The spell which arrested the progress of the Scottish troops was thus supposed to be broken, and their road to London was considered as laid open."f At Preston, and in many places throughout the road to Wigan, Charles was received with loud accla- mations by the populace, who forgot their terrors of the wild-looking mountaineers, in their desire to catch a view of the gallant young Chevalier, and of so re- markable a sight as a Highland army passing by their quiet homes. Neither promises nor threats, however, could induce them to enlist beneath the Prince's * Chambers, p. 52. f Talcs of a Grandfather, vol. iii. p. 236. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 313 standard; and wlien arms were pressed upon tliem, their usual answer was, that they did not understand fighting. " One of my sergeants," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " named Dickson, whom I had enlisted from among the prisoners of war at Gladsmuir, a young Scotsman, as brave and intrepid as a lion, and very much attached to my interest, informed me, on the 27th, at Preston, that he had been beating up for recruits all day without getting one ; and that he was the more chagrined at this, as the other sergeants had had better success. He had quitted Preston in the evening, luith his mistress and my drummer; and having marched all night, he arrived next morning at Manchester, which is about twenty miles distant from Preston, and immediately began to beat up for re- cruits for ' the yellow haired laddie.' The populace at first did not interrupt him, conceiving our army to be near the town ; but as soon as they knew that it would not arrive till the evening, they surrounded him in a tumultuous manner, with the intention of taking him prisoner, alive or dead. Dickson pre- sented his blunderbuss, which was charged with slugs, threatening to blow out the brains of those who first dared to lay hands on himself or the two who accom- panied him ; and by turning round continually, facing in all directions, and behaving like a lion, he soon enlarged the circle which a crowd of people had formed round them. Having continued for some time to manoeuvre in this way, those of the inhabit- ants of Manchester Avho were attached to the House of Stuart, took arms, and Hew to the assistance of Dickson, to rescue him from the fury of the mob ; so 314 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. that he soon got five or six hundred men to aid him, who dispersed the crowd in a very short time. Dick- son now triumphed in his turn ; and putting himself at the head of his followers, he proudly paraded un- disturbed the whole day, with his drummer, enlisting for my company all who offered themselves. On pre- senting me with a list of one hundred and eighty recruits, I was agreeably surprised to find that the whole amount of his expenses did not exceed three guineas. This adventure of Dickson gave rise to many a joke at the expense of the town of Manches- ter, from the singular circumstance of its having been taken by a sergeant, a drummer, and a girl. The circumstance may serve to show the enthusiastic courage of our army, and the alarm and terror with which the English were seized."* The incident here related, is corroborated in a letter from Manchester, dated the 28th of November, which was forwarded by the Duke of Cumberland to the Government. " Just now," says the writer, " are come in two of the Pretender's men, a sergeant, a di'ummer, and a woman with them. I have seen them. The sergeant is a Scotchman, the drummer is a Halifax man, and th'ey are now going to beat up. These two men and the woman, without any others, came into the town amidst thousands of spectators. I doubt not but Ave shall have more to-night. They say we are to have the Pretender to-morrow. They are dressed in plaids and bonnets. The sergeant has a target."! * Chevalier de Johnstone's Memoirs, pp. 63 — 66. The Chevalier afterwards complains that these recruits were taken from him, and drafted into what was called the " IManchester Regiment." t Lord Mahon's History of England, vol. iii. p. 400. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 315 Ou the 29tli, tlie insurgent army marched into Manchester, in which town Charles had the gratifica- tion of finding his presence hailed with greater marks of good will, and with a more open display of popular enthusiasm for his cause, than he had hitherto expe- rienced since crossing the Border. The populace re- ceived him with loud acclamations; the bells were rung in the dilferent churches; bonfii^es were lighted at night in the streets; thousands of individuals openly wore tlie white cockade, and numbers thronged to kiss his hand, and to make him offers of service. The Prince himself entered the town on foot, about two o'clock in the afternoon, in the midst of a gallant band of Highland chieftains and gentlemen. His dress was a light tartan plaid, with a blue sash for a belt, and a blue velvet bonnet, ornamented with a knot of white ribbons in the form of a rose. He took up his quarters in a large house in Market Street, which for many years afterwards continued to be de- signated as " The Palace." It was subsequently con- verted into an inn, and has recently been pulled down and replaced by another building.'"" The writer of the letter from which we have just quoted thus addresses himself to the Duke of Cum- berland on the day following: — " The two Higli- landers who came in yesterday, and beat up for volunteers for him they call his Royal Highness, Charles, Prince of Wales, offered five guineas ad- vance; many took on; each received one shilling, to have the rest when the Prince came ! They do not appear to be such terrible fellows as has been re- * Chambers, p. 53. 316 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. presented. Many of the foot are diminutive crea- tures, but many clever men among them. The guards and officers are all in a Highland dress— a long sword, and stuck Avith pistols; their horses all sizes and colours. The bellman went to order all persons charged with excise, and innkeepers, forth- with to appear, and bring their last acquittance, and as much ready cash as that contains, on pain of military execution. It is my opinion they will make all haste through Derbyshire, to avoid fighting Ligo- nier. I do not see that we have any person in town to give intelligence to the King's forces, as all our men of fashion are fled, and all officers under the Government. A party came in at ten this morning, and have been examining the best houses, and fixed upon Mr. Dicconson's for the Prince's quarters. Se- veral thousands came in at two o'clock : they ordered the bells to ring ; and the bellman has been ordering us to illuminate our houses to-night, which must be done. The Chevalier marched by my door in a Highland dress, on foot, at three o'clock, surrounded by a Highland guard; no music but a pair of bag- pipes. Those that came in last night demanded quar- ters for ten thousand to-day."* Notwithstanding the apparent popularity of Charles and his cause, the inhabitants of Manchester, like those of Preston and other places, showed the strongest disinclination to take up arms on his behalf ; and though a body of two hundred men, styled magnilo- quently '' the Manchester Regiment," were subse- quently enrolled, they consisted almost entirely of * Lord Malion's History of England, vol. ill. p. 400. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 817 the meanest of tlie rabble. Their officers, indeed, comprised some respectable merchants and tradesmen of the place; and Mr. Townley, who was appointed their colonel, was a Roman Catholic gentleman of ancient family, and, moreover, of considerable lite- rary attainments. On the 1st of December the army quitted Man- chester, in two divisions ; Charles, at the head of one division, fording the river Mersey at Stockport (all the bridges having been broken down by order of the Government), and the other crossing the river lower down at Cheadle. The same night the two divisions re-united at Macclesfield. On his crossing the river Mersey, an affecting incident is said to have occurred to Charles, which is thus related by Lord Mahon, on the authority of the late Lord Keith : — " On the opposite bank of the Mersey, Charles found a few of the Cheshire gentry drawn up ready to welcome him, and amongst them Mrs. Skyring, a lady in extreme old age. As a child, she had been lifted up in her mother's arms to view the happy landing at Dover of Charles the Second. Her father, an old cavalier, had afterwards to undergo not merely neglect, but op- pression, from that thankless monarch ; still, how- ever, he and his wife continued devoted to the royal cause, and their daughter grew up as devoted as they. After the expulsion of the Stuarts, all her thoughts, her hopes, her prayers, were directed to another restoration. Ever afterwards she had, with rigid punctuality, laid aside one half of her yearly in- come, to remit for the exiled family abroad — con- cealing only the name of the giver, which, she said, 318 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. was of no importance to them, and might give them pain if they remembered the unkind treatment she had formerly received. She had now parted with her jewels, her plate, and every little article of value she possessed, the price of which, in a purse, she laid at the feet of Prince Charles, while, straining her dim eyes to gaze on his features, and pressing his hand to her shrivelled lips, she exclaimed with affectionate rapture, in the words of Simeon, ' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace!' It is added, that she did not survive the shock when, a few days after- wards, she was told of the retreat. Such, even when misdirected in its object, or exaggerated in its force, was the old spirit of loyalty in England ! — such were the characters which history is proud to record, and fiction loves to imitate!"* Marching through Congleton, Leek, and Ashbourn, the Highland army, early on the 4th of December, entered the town of Derby, situated only one hundred and twenty-seven miles from the capital of England. At Congleton Charles had received the important, and unexpected intelligence, that the King's army (headed by the Duke of Cumberland, and amount- ing to twelve thousand seven hundred men, com- prised chiefly of veteran regiments) was at New- castle-under-Lyne, only nine miles to the south-west of him. Nearly at the same time, one Weir, a spy of the Duke of Cumberland, was taken prisoner, and carried to the Prince. Many of the Highland chief- tains insisted that he should be ordered for immediate execution; but he was rescued from the gallows by * History of England, p. 403. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 319 Lord George Murray, who, in return for this good office, obtained from him much important and useful information, relative to the numbers and movements of the Duke of Cumberland's army. It may be men- tioned that, as the Highland army advanced more southerly, they were received by the English with very equivocal signs of sympathy and good-will, and indeed in many places with marks of positive aver- sion. The entry into Derby was made with much state. The first person who entered the town was Lord Elcho, who rode in on horseback, at the head of the lifeguards, attended by a small band of Highland and Lowland gentlemen, " making a very respectable appearance." Li the course of the day the main body of the army marched in, in different detach- ments, their colours flying and bagpipes playing. Charles himself entered on foot, and took up his quarters in the house of the Earl of Exeter. The bells were rung in the different churches, and at night there were bonfires and an illumination. Charles, as usual, caused his father to be proclaimed King, and himself Regent. It was intended that the cere- mony should be performed in the presence of the magistrates, who were ordered to attend in their offi- cial robes. It was found, however, that they had taken the precaution of sending them out of the town, and consequently their attendance was dis- pensed with, and the proclamations were made by the common crier. There can be little question that the feeling wliich pervaded the majority of the people of England at 820 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. this period was indiiference. If they exhibited no extraordinary regard for the cause of the Stuarts, they at least showed an equal unconcern for the interests of the reigning family; and as there ap- peared no immediate likelihood of their lives or fortunes being affected by a change of dynasty, they seemed to have been perfectly indifferent whether George the Second or the Chevalier should hereafter fill the throne. Gray, the poet, writes to Horace Walpole from Cambridge, 3rd of February 1746, — " Here we had no more sense of danger than if it were the battle of Cannte. I heard three sensible middle-aged men, when the Scotch were said to be at Stamford, and actually were at Derby, talking of hiring a chaise to go to Caxton (a place on the high-road) to see the Pretender and Highlanders as they passed." ^'' " London," says another con- temporary, " lies open as a prize to the first comers, whether Scotch or Dutch." In London, however, where the rebels were ex- pected shortly to arrive, the case was widely different, and for a season the most extraordinary panic pre- vailed. "There never," writes Horace Walpole to Sir Horace Mann, "was so melancholy a town; no kind of public place open but the playhouses, and they look as if the rebels had just driven away the com- pany. Nobody but has some fear for themselves, for their money, or for their friends in the army; of this number am L" f " When the Higlilanders," says Fielding, " by a most incredible march, got be- • Lord Orford's Works, vol. v. p. 383. J Walpole's Correspondence, vol. ii. p. 87. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 321 tween the Duke's army and the metropolis, they struck a terror into it scarce to be credited;"* and the Chevalier de Johnstone also observes in his Me- moirs, — " Oui' arrival at Derby was known at Lon- don on the 5th of December ; and the following day (called by the English Black Monday^ the intel- ligence was known throughout the whole city, which was filled with terror and consternation. Many of the inhabitants fled to the country, with their most precious effects, and all the shops were shut. People thronged to the Bank to obtain payment of its notes, and it only escaped bankruptcy by a stratagem. Payment was not indeed refused; but as those who came first were entitled to priority of payment, the Bank took care to be continually surrounded by agents with notes, who were paid in sixpences in order to gain time. These agents went out at one door with the specie they had received, and brought it back by another ; so that the hond fide holders of notes could never get near enough to present them; and the Bank, by this artifice, preserved its credit and literally faced its creditors. It being known at Lon- don that our army was within a few miles of that of the Duke of Cumberland, the news of a battle, for the result of which they were in the greatest alarm, was expected every moment ; and they dreaded to see our army enter London in triumph in two or three days. King George ordered his yachts, in which he had embarked all his most precious effects^ to remain at the Tower quay; in readiness to sail at a moment's warning." f * " True Patriot." + Johnstone's Mennoirs, p. 74. VOL. L Y 322 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. CHAPTER X. Charles desirous of inarching upon London. — Reasons of his Comnitan- ders for a Retreat towards the North. — His reluctant Consent. — Conduct of his Army on its Retreat. — Lord George Murray gives a Check to the Duke of Cumberland's advanced Guard. — George the Fourth and Mrs. Pennycuik. — Surrender of Carlisle to the Duke of Cumberland. — The Pretender continues his Retreat. — His Arrival at Glasgow. Notwithstanding the apparently promising state of the Prince's affairs, nothing could be more pre- carious than his actual condition. Within a few miles of him lay the Duke of Cumberland, with an army that more than doubled his own in numbers; another force, consisting of six thousand men, under the command of Marshal Wade, was skirting along the western side of Yorkshire ; while, for the defence of the metropolis, a camp was being formed on Finchley Common, which it was intended should con- sist of the Guards, who had been marched out of London for this purpose, and of several other regi- ments which had seen foreign service, and which were expected to arrive immediately from abroad. At the head of this force George the Second had expressed his intention ^f taking the field in person. Notwithstanding this threatening aspect of his affairs, the spirits of Charles appeared unbroken, PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 323 and he continued to be supported by the same san- guine hopes of ultimate success, which he had never failed to entertain since the commencement of his enterprise. Satisfied, in his own mind, that heaven had declared itself in his favour; — thoroughly con- vinced that the great majority of the people of Eng- land looked upon George the Second in the odious light of an usurper, and that they would too gladly transfer their allegiance from him to the rightful line; — fully confiding, also, in the resources of his own genius, and in the gallantry and efficiency of his followers, the sanguine and high-spirited young adventurer, up to this period, never for a moment appears to have entertained the remotest anticipation of disaster or defeat. The plan which he had laid down in his own mind, was to give the Duke of Cumberland the slip, and, by stealing a day's march on the enemy, give battle to George the Second be- neath the walls of London, when he doubted not to obtain a victory over the usurper, and by this means make himself master of the capital. So confident, indeed, was he of success and triumph, that his common conversation after dinner at Derby, was as to the manner in which he should make his public entry into London ; whether on foot or on horseback, or whether in the Highland or Lowland dress. Whether fortunately or unfortunately for Charles, his council differed widely from him as to the good policy of marching farther towards the South. Ac- cordingly, on the morning of the 5th of December, all the commanders of battalions and squadrons, headed by Lord George Murray, made their ap- y2 324 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. pearance before the Prince, and earnestly, though respectfully, remonstrated with him on the absolute necessity of an immediate retreat to Scotland. They had been principally induced, they said, to march so far, — farther than any Scottish army had as yet advanced into England, — from the assurance which had been held out to them that they would speedily be supported by a rising among the English and a descent from France, but hitherto there had ap- peared not the slightest likelihood of either of these events taking place. Was it not well known, they asked, that the counties through which they had just passed were those which were most favourably inclined to the cause of the Stuarts? and when it was remembered that in those very counties only the most insignificant number had been induced to join them, what could they expect in districts which per- haps were hostile to them to a man? What was their own force, they said, of five thousand men, when opposed to an army of thirty thousand, which, though at present uncombined, the Elector had al- ready in the field, and which was daily being re- inforced by fresh battalions? " I am told," says Lord Pitsligo, who was the oracle of the Lowland gentry, " that the Elector is to raise his standard at Finchley Common, and the advantage of being in possession of London is known from the case of Edward the Fourth. Should we fight the Duke of Cumberland, the fortune of war is doubtful ; should we pass him, which may be done, yet we have another army to encounter before we arrive at St. James's; and in case of a defeat we shall be exposed to the rage of PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 325 the country people. Let us not then bring certain destruction on ourselves, and an indelible stain upon the Scottish people, who, when unanimous, never marched so far as we have done. We will conduct you back," he added, (turning to the Chevalier) "and by an honourable retreat secure that safety and that character, of both which the rash adventuring for- ward bids fair to deprive us." * In addition to these arguments, it was urged by Lord George Murray that even victory must prove of no service to them ; for, even should they be enabled to give the Duke of Cumberland the slip, and be so fortunate as to overcome the forces of the Elector at Finchley, still they must necessarily suifer such a loss as would prevent them from taking advantage of their success. Supposing, on the other hand, the possibility of a defeat, not a man in the army coidd reasonably hope to escape to Scotland, and the Prince himself, should he escape being killed in battle, must inevitably fall into the hands of the enemy. Lastly, it was insisted, that should the Prince find himself master of London, even without incurring the hazard and consequences of a battle, still it was utterly impossible that he should be able to retain possession of so vast a city, unless the popu- lace declared themselves strongly in his favour, — an event on which — as far as their present experience and means of intelligence could be depended upon — they had not the slightest grounds to calculate. Tlie Duke of Perth, says the Chevalier de Johnstone, alone took no part at first in these debates between " Henderson's Life of the Duke of Cumberland, p. 178. 326 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. the Prince and tlie chiefs of the clans. Resting his liead against the fire-place, he listened to the dispute without uttering a single word ; but at last he declared himself loudly of the opinion of the other chiefs.* The young Prince listened to these arguments with the most manifest impatience ; indeed, so great was his vexation at this threatened destruction of all his darling hopes and romantic projects, at the very crisis, too, as he believed it to be, of his chivalrous enterprise, that he is said with difficulty to have pre- vented himself from shedding tears. " Rather than go back," he cried vehemently, " I would wish to be twenty feet under ground I"*!" In vain he argued and entreated; till at length, finding all remonstrance useless, he broke up the council in silent indignation, and with marks of unequivocal disgust. The remain- der of this eventful day was passed by Charles in remonstrating singly with the different members of the council. Finding them inflexible, however, he again summoned the council in the evening, and in language which too evidently told the tale of ruined hopes and blighted ambition, he coldly communicated to the council that he consented to accede to their wishes, and that he was prepared to return with them immediately to Scotland. To this he added impe- riously, in the bitterness of the moment, that this was the last council which he should ever summon, and that hereafter he should hold himself responsible for his actions only to God and his father. Thus terminated the last reasonable hope of the * Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 71. + MS. Memoirs of Captain Daniel. Lord Mahon's Hist. vol. iii. p. 410. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 327 Stuarts regaining the sovereignty of these realms. Disappointed in the expectations which had been so constantly held out to them, both of an English rising and a French descent, the leaders of the insiu'gent army unquestionably argued wisely when they pressed upon the Prince the necessity of a retreat; nor could they but perceive that the assurances of immediate relief which he had so long continued to liold out to them, and which alone had induced them to march to so great a distance from their own country, were founded rather on his own sanguine hopes and ardent feelings, than on any more certain or satisfactory basis. Nevertheless, it is curious to speculate how dif- ferent might have been the result had Charles been permitted to put his favourite plan of marching to London into execution. Little did he know, when he consented to quit Derby, that already ten thousand French troops, with his brother Henry at their head, had received orders to effect a landing on the southern coast of England ! Little did he know that the premier peer of Great Britain, the Duke of Norfolk — whose example would probably have been followed by most of the influential Roman Catholics — was on the very point of declaring himself in his favour ; and not less was he aware that many of the Welsh gentlemen had already quitted their homes to join him,""" and that a messenger was actually on his road from Lord Barrymore and Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, not only giving him assurances of their fidelity, but also pledging themselves to join him at whatever spot and in any manner he might please ! Had Charles been • Chambers, p. 56. 328 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. aware of these facts, and had he consequently pursued his march to London, it is far from impossible that the dynasty of Great Britain might have been changed, and that the Stuarts might once more have held their court at Whitehall ! As it was, the retreat from Derby sealed the fate of Charles and his gallant followers. No sooner did the fact become known, than the embarkation of the French troops was coun- termanded, and the English Jacobites remained in their quiet homes, congratulating themselves, perhaps, that their cautious policy had preserved for them their fortunes, and not improbably their lives.* On the 6th of December, before the day dawned, the Highland army commenced its retrograde and mournful march from Derby. Hitherto the devoted mountaineers had imagined themselves on the eve of an engagement with the royal forces, and, notwith- standing the vast superiority of their opponents both in numbers and discipline, the chivalrous ardour • Since writing the above, the author finds that he is not singular in presuming that, had Charles marched to London, it was not improbable that he would have made himself master of the throne of Great Britain. " I believe," says Lord Mahon, " that had Charles marched onward from Derby he would have gained the British throne ; but I am far from thinking that he would long have held it. Bred up in arbitrary princi- ples, and professing the Romanist religion, he might soon have been tempted to assail — at the very least, he would have alarmed — a people jealous of their freedom, and a church tenacious of her rights. His own violent, though generous temper, and his deficiency in liberal knowledge, would have widened the breach ; some rivalries between his court and his father's might probably have rent his own party asunder ; and the honours and rewards well earned by his faithful followers might have nevertheless disgusted the rest of the nation. In short, the English would have been led to expect a much better government than King George's, and they would have had a much worse." — Lord Mahon s History of England, vol. iii. p. 416. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 329 which they displayed at the prospect of an approach- ing struggle partook almost of the character of ro- mance. " There was a great disproportion," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " between the numbers of the two armies; but the inequality was balanced by the heroic ardour of the Highlanders, animated on that occasion to the highest pitch of enthusiasm, and breathing nothing but a desire for the combat. They were to be seen during the whole day in crowds be- fore the shops of the cutlers, quarrelling about who should be the first to sharpen and give a proper edge to their swords.* It was not till the day had dawned, and had dis- played to them many a familiar object which they had recently passed by in their hour of triumph, that the Highlanders perceived in what direction their chieftains were leading them, and then their vexation almost exceeded that of their broken-hearted Prince. " As soon," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " as the day allowed them to see the objects around them, and they found that we were retracing our steps, nothing was to be heard throughout the whole army but expressions of rage and lamentation. If we had been beaten, the grief could not have been greater."f It has already been mentioned, that the conduct of the Highlanders, in the course of their triimi- phant march to Derby, had been distinguished by a forbearance and good conduct which would have done credit to a more civilized people and more dis- ciplined troops ; but now, irritated by disappoint- ment, their progress was marked by repeated acts * Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 67. ■)■ Ibid., p. 73. 380 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. of violence and rapine. The conduct of Charles, moreover, tended to increase the feelings of vexation and discontent which pervaded the army in general. Vestigia nulla retrorsum had hitherto been his fa- vourite and adopted motto ; but now that this motto appeared to him as a reproach, his former high hopes and elation of spirits had yielded to the most melan- choly depression of mind. In the march to Derby, it had been his custom to rise with the dawn of day, and with his target slung over his back, and with a kind word to the humblest Highlander, he was in the habit of marching gaily at the head of his division. But now he appeared sullen and dejected, and instead of delighting to share the fatigues of his men on foot, and proving himself their equal even in their boasted powers of enduring the most harassing march, he was in the habit of lingering gloomily behind till the whole army was in advance of him, and then, riding forward on horseback, took his place at the head of the column. The English Jacobites, who had volunteered to serve in the Prince's army, were the persons whose position was the most critical at this particular pe- riod. They knew not, indeed, which was the best step to take ; whether to retreat with the Highlanders into the fastnesses of their native mountains, or to remain behind and trust themselves to the tender mercies of the Government. One of these persons, of the name of Morgan, addressing himself to one Vaughan, another English gentleman in the Prince's service, observed with every mark of astonishment, that " the army was retreating to Scotland." — " Be it PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 331 SO," was Vaughan's reply, " I am determined to go with them, wherever their coiu'se lies." Morgan, on the contrary, remarked with an oath, that " it were better to be hanged in England than starved in Scot- land." He adhered to his determination, and died on the gallows ; while Vaughan had the good fortune to escape, and died an officer in the service of the King of Spain.* The conduct of the Highlanders, during their march, provoked the anger and revengeful feelings of the country people in the districts through which they passed; while the latter naturally seized every opportunity of retaliating on their oppressors. In consequence of some wanton act, either of violence or pillage, which was committed by the Highlanders at a village near Stockport, the inhabitants fired on the patrols of the insurgent army, who retorted by setting fire to the village. The people of the country had by this time provided themselves with arms, and the consequence was, that they more than once fii'ed on the rear of the insurgent army, and killed the enemy's stragglers whenever they fell into their hands. Even the sick, who were necessarily left behind by the Highlanders during their rapid march, were treated with unjustifiable violence. On reaching Manchester, on the 9th, the inhabitants, who had received them on their onward march with every manifestation of welcome and joy, now appeared hostile to them almost to a man, and, on their quitting the town, a large mob followed in their rear, and annoyed them con- siderably by a desultory fire. * " Tales of a Grandfather," vol. iii. \\ 241. 332 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Even the Prince's own life was on one occasion in imminent danger. Some zealous royalist had con- ceived the idea of assassinating him, but mistaking the person of Mr. 0' Sullivan for that of the Prince, he fired his piece at the former. " Search was made for him," says one of the Jacobite officers, " but in vain: and no great matter for anything he would have suffered from us ; for many exercised their ma- lice merely on account of the known clemency of the Prince, which, however, they would not have dared to do if he had permitted a little more severity in punishing them. The army, irritated by such fre- quent instances of the enemy's malice, began to behave with less forbearance, and now few there were who would go on foot if they could ride ; and mighty taking, stealing, and pressing of horses there was amongst us. Diverting it was to see the Highlanders mounted, without either breeches, saddle, or anything else but the bare back of the horses to ride on — and for their bridle only a straw-rope! In this manner did we march out of England."* On the 17th, the main body of the Highland army reached Penrith, with Charles at their head; but the rear guard, under the command of Lord George Murray, having been detained for a considerable time by the breaking down of some baggage-waggons, had been compelled to pass the night at Sliap. Early on the following morning. Lord George resumed his march, but the delay which had taken place on the previous day, had enabled the Duke of Cumberland to push forward his light cavalry, and, just as the * MS. Memoirs of Captain Daniel. Lord Mahon, vol. iii. p. 418. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 333 Highlanders were entering the enclosures around Clif- ton Hall, they were surprised to see the light horse of the enemy commanding the adjoining heights. Immediately, Lord George Murray gave an order to the Glengary clan to ascend the nearest hill and attack them. " They ran so fast," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " that they reached the summit of the hill almost as soon as those who were at the head of the column. We were agreeably surprised when we reached the top, to find, instead of the English army, only three hundred light horse and chasseurs, who immediately fled in disorder, and of whom we were only able to come up with one man, who had been thrown from his horse, and whom we wished to make prisoner to obtain some intelligence from him ; but it was impossible to save him from the fury of the Highlanders, who cut him to pieces in an instant."'"' The rear-guard continued its march. Lord George Murray, sensibly alive to the importance of the trust confided to him, being the last man to bring np the rear. The sun had now set, and twilight had almost merged into darkness, when Lord George Murray for the first time perceived in his rear a large body of the enemy's cavalry — which now amounted, it is said, to four thousand men — advancing upon him in two lines on Clifton Moor, about half a mile from the vil- lage of that name. On one side of the road, through which the enemy must necessarily reach him, were the vast enclosures of Lord Lonsdale's estate, and on the other side were the Clifton enclosures, of less extent. Lord George Murray, perceiving the ini- * Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 87. 834 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. portance of giving the enemy a check before tliey could be supported by a hxrger force, determined on an immediate attack.'" The night was extremely dark, but the moon occasionally broke through the dark clouds; and in one of these intervals of light Lord George perceived a large body of dismounted dragoons gliding forward along the stone dykes, or defences, with the evident intention of surprising him. Placing himself at the head of the Macpher- sons, and taking his station by the side of his friend Cluny, the chief of that branch of the clan, he in- quired hurriedly of him what he considered ought to be done. " I will attack the enemy sword in hand," was the reply of the chieftain, " provided you order me." Almost at the same moment they received a sharp fire of musketry from the dragoons on the other side of the dyke. " There is no time to be lost," said Lord George, "we must instantly charge!" At the same time he drew his broadsword, and shouting out the famous war-cry of the Highlanders, " Clay- more!" he was the first to dash into the midst of the enemy. " The Highlanders," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " immediately ran to the inclosures where the English were, fell down on their knees, and began to cut down the thorn-hedges with their dirks — a * " The officers who were with me," says Lord George Murray, in his Letter to Hamilton of Bangour, " agreed in my opinion, that to retreat when the enemy were within less than musket-shot would be very dan- gerous, and we would probably be destroyed before we came up with the rest of our anny. We had nothing for it but a brisk attack ; and there- fore, after receiving the enemy's fire, we went in sword in hand and dis- lodged them ; after which we made our retreat in good order. I own I disobeyed orders ; but what I did was the only safe and honourable mea- sure I could take, and it succeeded." — Homt's Appendix, No. 42. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 335 necessary precaution, as tliey wore no breeches, but only a sort of petticoat, which reached to their knees. During this operation, they received the fire of the English with the most admirable firmness and con- stancy; and, as soon as the hedge was cut down, they jumped into the enclosures sword in hand, and, with an inconceivable intrepidity, broke the English battalions, who suffered so much the more as they did not turn their backs, as at the battle of Gladsmuir, but allowed themselves to be cut to pieces without quitting their ground. Platoons of forty and fifty men might be seen falling all at once under the swords of the Highlanders; yet they still remained firm, and closed up their ranks as soon as an opening was made through them by the sword. At length, however, the Highlanders forced them to give way, and pursued them across three enclosures to a heath which lay behind them. The only prisoner they took was the Duke of Cumberland's footman, who declared that his master would have been killed, if the pistol with which a Highlander took aim at his head had not missed fii-e. The Prince had the politeness to send him back instantly to his master." '" In the onset, while dashing through the hedge. Lord George lost his bonnet and wig (the latter being commonly worn at the period), and fought bare- headed the foremost in the assault. Nothing could be more complete than the victory gained by the Highlanders. The royalists, who fled in all di- rections, sufiered severely in the conflict ; and Colonel Honeywood, who commanded tlie dragoons, was left * .Tohnstone's Memoirs, p. 91. 336 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. severely wounded on the spot. " Cumberland and his cavalry," it is said, " fled Avith precipitation, and in such great confusion, that if the Prince had been provided with a sufficient number of cavalry to have taken advantage of the disorder, it is beyond ques- tion that the Duke of Cumberland and the bulk of his cavalry had been taken prisoners."* The de- feated dragoons took up a position on a distant part of the moor, but without again venturing to attack the rear of the insurgents. The Highlanders were with great difficulty withheld from pursuing their opponents, exclaiming that it was a disgrace to see so many of the Prince's enemies " standing fast" upon the moor, without being permitted to attack them. It is somewhat difficult to ascertain the exact loss of the royal forces at the skirmish at Clifton. The English, in their accounts of the affi'ay, estimate the loss at forty private men killed and wounded, and four officers wounded. On the other hand, Clunie of M'Pherson asserts that there were one hundred and fifty men killed; and the Chevalier de Johnstone says that the loss was estimated by some as high as six hundred men. The Duke of Cumberland, on the contrary, in his unworthy fabrications and prejudiced statement of the affair, which were published in the London Gazette "by authority," reduces the total loss to only a dozen men, which small number are stated to have pushed too far forward on the moor, and in all probability to have been taken prisoners. Such is the too frequent difficulty in establishing the * M'^Pherson's MS. Memoirs, quoted in Notes to Waverley. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 337 simpest historical fact! According to all accounts, the Highlanders lost no more than twelve in the conflict.""'' On the 19th the insurgents entered Carlisle, where they passed the night. On the following morning, the Prince's birthday, they resumed their march, leaving behind them a garrison of three hundred men, consisting of the Manchester regiment, a few Low- landers, and some French and Irish. The two latter, being engaged in the French service, had little to fear from falling into the hands of the Duke of Cumber- land ; but it was different with the others, who could scarcely fail to anticipate the dreadful fate which awaited them, and yet resigned themselves to their lot with a cheerfulness and devotion which did them the highest honour. " Mr. Townley, colonel of the English," says an officer who was present, " peti- tioned the Prince, not only in his own name, but in the name of all the officers of the Manchester regi- ment, to be left, though the latter never assented to or desired it, many of them wishing to undergo the same fate as their royal master. However, on Colonel Townley's coming back, and telling them that it was the Prince's pleasure that they should remain at Car- * Clifton Moor is the scene where tlie chieftain of Glenaquoich is represented in Waverley to have been made a prisoner. " Mingling with the dismounted dragoons, they forced them, at the sword point, to fly to the open moor, wliere a considerable number were cut to pieces. But the moon, which suddenly shone out, showed to the English the small number of assailants, disordered by their own success. Two squa- drons of horse moving to the support of their companions, the Highland- ers endeavoured to recover the enclosures ; but several of them, amongst others their brave chieftain, were cut off and surrounded before they could effect their purpose." VOL. L Z 338 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. lisle, they all, taking it as coming from the Prince, most willingly acquiesced."'" While Charles was passing through Carlisle at the head of his troops, a stranger forced his way up to him, and, accosting him in a tone of great earnest- ness, entreated him to order the bagpipes to leave off playing. The Prince inquired his reason for making the demand, when he was informed that a lady of the name of Dacre had just been brought to bed, and that the Highland army would presently pass by her residence. Charles instantly gave orders for the bag- pipes to cease playing, and on reaching the house he alighted from his horse and went in. By his own desire the new-born infant was brought to him, when, with his usual grace, he took the white cockade from his Highland bonnet and fixed it to the bosom of the child. This little creature became afterwards the wife of Sir James Clerk of Pennycuik, and during the last century was for many years the leader of fashion in Edinburgh. When George the Fourth visited Scotland she was in her seventy-seventh year, and was treated by that monarch with marked attention. He insisted on hearing the anecdote of her infancy from her own lips; and one evening, when at his desire she produced the identical cockade which had been presented her by Charles, he took it from her and wore it during the rest of the day. Previous to taking his departure from Carlisle, Charles publicly returned his thanks to these brave and devoted persons, who were drawn up to receive his parting address. There can be no doubt that he * MS. Memoirs of Captain Daniel, Lord Mahon, voL iii. ji. 420. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 339 would never liave consented to leave them behind him, in an isolated citadel and in hostile land, had he not been firmly convinced that the Duke of Cum- berland was unprovided with battering artillery. The Duke, however, arrived the following day, and in- vested Carlisle with his whole army. The little garrison defended itself to the best of its abilities; but on the 29th, some cannon, which had been brought from Whitehaven, began to play against the crazy walls, and the besieged, finding that further resistance could avail nothing, hoisted a white flag upon the walls, and expressed a desire to capitulate. The reply of the Duke was, that " they should not be put to the sword, but reserved for his Majesty's plea- sure." Of the eighteen officers who served in the Manchester regiment, seventeen were condemned to death on the 19th of July following. Of these, nine perished on the scaffold at Kennington Common, under the most aggravated circumstances of cruelty and horror, bearing their dreadful fate with piety and resignation, and true to their principles to the last. On the afternoon of the 20th of December, the Highlanders crossed the Esk, and had the satisfaction of finding themselves once more on their native soil. Their manner of fording the rapid current was inge- niously contrived. The Highlanders formed them- selves into ranks of ten or twelve abreast, with their arms locked so as to support each other against the rapidity of the stream, leaving a sufficient space be- tween their ranks for the passage of the water. Ca- valry also were stationed in the river below the ford, z 2 340 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. to save any of those who might be carried away by the violence of the current. While the Highlanders were engaged in fording the Esk, one of those trifling incidents occurred which had so often endeared Charles to his humble followers. He was fording the river on horseback, a short distance below the spot where the rest of his army was crossing, when one or two men, who had been drifted from the hold of their companions, were carried near him by the stream. With great dexterity and presence of mind, he caught hold of one of them by the hair of his head, and exclaiming in Gaelic, " Cohear, cohearV that is, " Help, help !" supported the man in safety till further assistance arrived. In crossing the Esk not a single man was lost. Only a few unhappy girls, who had chosen to share the fortunes of their lovers, were carried away by the rapidity of the current. The Highlanders displayed excessive joy on finding them- selves once more in their own country. " Fires," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " were kindled to dry our people as soon as they quitted the water; and the bagpipers having commenced playing, the Highlanders began all to dance, expressing the utmost joy on seeing their country again ; and forgetting the chagrin which had incessantly devoured them, and which they had continually nourished ever since their departure from Derby." "^^^ Thus was accomplished the memorable march of the Highland army from Derby to Scotland, which has been designated by one writer as " one of the most surprising retreats that has ever been per- * Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 75. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 341 formed;"* and by another, as " entitled to rank with the most celebrated in either ancient or modern times."! When we consider, indeed, that this famous retreat was made in the heart of a hostile country ; — that it was performed, in spite of two armies of over- whelming superiority, with the greatest coolness and deliberation ; — that, notAvithstanding they were closely pursued by cavalry, and suffered intensely from fatigue and hunger, the retreating army lost only forty men, whether by sickness or the sword; — when we consider all these circumstances, we cannot fail to be struck with astonishment and admiration at a retreat so skilfully conducted and so successfully performed. From the banks of the Esk, Charles marched with the main body of his army to Dumfries, a town which had long been distinguished for its attachment to the reigning family and to the Protestant successioii^ Their excess of zeal, indeed, had induced the inhabit- ants to celebrate the retreat of the -insurgents with illuminations and bonfires ; and when Charles entered " the town, the candles were still in the windows, and the bonfires remained unextinguished in the streets. For this unpalatable display of hostility to his cause, Charles levied a heavy tax on the inhabitants. He imposed a fine of 2000/. on the town, and when, at his departure, only 1100/. was forthcoming, he car- ried off with him the unfortunate Provost J and an- * Smollett, vol. iii. p. 221. t Chambers, p. 58. X The Provost of Dumfries was a gentleman of the name of Corsan. He had shown himself a staunch friend of the Government, and was con- sequently threatened with the destruction of his house and property by the enraged insurgents. " It is not very long since," says Sir Walter Scott, " that the late Mrs. M«Culloch of Ardwell, daughter of Provost 342 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. other magistrate, as securities for the payment of the remaining sum. At Dumfries, Charles took up his quarters in the Market Place, in what was then the most consider- able house in the town, and which is now the Com- mercial Inn. " Within the last three years," (1840) says Mr. Chambers, " an aged female lived in Edin- burgh, who recollected the occupation of Dumfries by the Highland army, being then seventeen years of age/"' She lived opposite to the Prince's lodging, and frequently saw him. In her father's house several of the men were quartered, and it was in her recollection that they greatly lamented the course which they had taken, and feared the issue of the expedition. The proprietor of the house occupied by the Prince was a Mr. Richard Lowthian, a non-juror, and proprietor of Staflford Hall in Cumberland. Though well aifected to the Prince's cause, he judged it prudent not to ap- pear in his company, and yet neither did he wish to offend him by the appearance of deliberately going out of his way. The expedient he adopted in this di- lemma was one highly characteristic of the time. He got himself so extremely drunk, that his being kept Corsan, told me that she remembered well, when a child of six years old, being taken out of her father's house, as if it was to be instantly burnt. Too young to be sensible of tlie danger, she asked the Highland officer, who held her in his arms, to show her the Pretender, which the good- natured Gael did, under the condition that little Miss Corsan was in future to call him the Prince. Neither did they carry their tlireats into execution against the Provost or his mansion." — Tales of a Grundfatha', vol. iii. p. 249, note. * " Widow Blake," says Mr. Chambers, " was the name of this re- markable person, who died fully at the age of 108. She had been the wife of a dragoon in the reign of George the Second," PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 343 back from the company of liis guest was only a mat- ter of decency. His wife, who could not well be taxed with treason, did the honours of the house without scruple; and some other Jacobite ladies, par- ticularly those of the attainted House of Carnwath,^"' came forward to grace his court." Mr. Chambers observes in his History of the Rebel- lion of 1745, — " When the writer was at Dumfries in 1838, he saw, in the possession of a private family, one of a set of table napkins, of the most beautiful damask, resembling the finest satin, which the ladies Dalzell had taken to grace the table of the Prince, and which they had kept ever after Avith the care due to the most precious relics. The drawing-room, in which Charles received company, is a very handsome one, panelled all round with Corinthian pilasters, the capi- tals of which are touched with dim gold. He was sitting here at supper with his officers and other friends, when he was told that a messenger had ar- rived with intelligence respecting the enemy. One M'Ghie, a painter in Dumfries, and a friend of the insurgents, had been imposed upon at Annan with the false news that the Duke of Cumberland had already taken Carlisle, and was advancing to Dum- fries. Charles received this intelligence in another room, and soon after returned to his friends with a countenance manifestly dejected. The consequence was, that he hurriedly left the town the next day. * The daughters of Robert Dalzell, sixth Earl of Carnwath, who was condemned to death for the share which he took in the Rebellion of 1715. His life was spared, but his titles were forfeited by attainder. In 1826, these honours were restored in the person of Robert Ale.xander Dalzell, by courtesy, the tenth Earl. 344 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Mrs. Lowthian received from liim, as token of regard, a pair of leather gloves, so extremely fine that they could be drawn through her ring. These, as well as the bed he had slept on, were carefully preserved by the family, and are still in existence."'" The night of the 23rd, the day on which Charles quitted Dumfries, was passed by him at Drumlanrig, the seat of the Duke of Queensberry. He himself slept in the state bed, while a number of his men lay upon straw in the great gallery. During their short stay at Drumlanrig, the Highlanders seized an unfor- tunate opportunity of displaying their zeal in the cause of the Stuarts, by hacking with their swords the portraits of King William, Queen Mary, and Queen Anne; presents from the last of these sove- reigns to James Duke of Queensberry, in considera- tion of his services in promoting the union between the two kingdoms.! From Drumlanrig, Charles marched with his army through the romantic Pass of Dalveen into Clydes- dale, and at night took up his quarters in Douglas Castle, the seat of the Duke of Douglas. Generally speaking, as may be seen in the Prince's curious household book, he scrupulously defrayed the ex- penses of his entertainment wherever he stopped ; but both at Drumlanrig and at Douglas, the masters of Avhich mansions were hostile to his cause, he is said to have made no remuneration whatever. From Douglas Castle Charles led his troops by way of Hamilton to Glasgow. At Hamilton he al- lowed his troops a day's rest; he himself taking up * History of the Rebellion, p. 59. t Chambers, p. 59. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 345 his residence at the palace of the Duke of Hamilton, where he amused himself by shooting in the park. The result of the day's sport speaks but little perhaps in favour of his skill as a sportsman — the only game which he brought down being two pheasants, two partridges and a deer. On the 26th Charles entered Glasgow, the wealthiest and the most populous town in Scotland, and the most violently opposed to the cause of the Stuarts. The inliabitants had recently raised a regiment for the service of the Government, which was commanded by the Earl of Home, and numbered nine hundred men. Charles consequently retaliated upon them, by forcing them to pay the expenses of refitting his gallant Highlanders, whose dress, in conse- quence of their long and continuous march of two months, is described as having been in the most dilapidated condition. The refit of the Highland army is said to have cost the corporation of Glasgow 10,000/. ; at least, such is the amount of the sura which they subsequently received as a remuneration from the Government.* During the time he re- mained in this city, the quarters of Charles were in the best house which it contained, at the west end of the Trongate. Modern improvements have since caused it to be rased to the ground. In consequence of the numerous desertions of the Highlanders, who were unable to resist the temp- tation of visiting their wives and families after so long an absence, the insurgent army was now re- duced to three thousand six hundred foot and five * Home, chap. vii. 346 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. hundred horse. In so populous a city as Glasgow, Charles had hoped to compensate himself for these desertions by the numl)er of recruits which he ex- pected to enlist; but, during the whole week that he remained there, only sixty individuals joined his standard. Neither did his gallant appearance, nor the fascination of his personal address, produce any effect on the calculating minds of the inhabitants of this commercial city. On one occasion he was shot at by a fanatic in the streets, whose pistol fortunately missed fire; and he himself was heard to complain, with great bitterness, that nowhere had he made so few friends. Nevertheless, even in the Whig and fanatic city of Glasgow, Charles had the satisfaction of finding that, as in all other parts of Scotland, the romance of his enterprise, and the charm of his personal ap- pearance, had won for him the kind interest and best wishes of the fair sex. " The ladies," says Captain Daniel, " though formerly much against us, were now charmed by the sight of the Prince into the most enthusiastic loyalty." He held a kind of small court in the Trongate, where he was to be seen in public twice a-day surrounded by his prin- cipal officers, and where the ladies of Glasgow and the neighbourhood, in spite of the remonstrances of their husbands and lovers, constantly flocked to be presented to him. Charles appears to have been particularly gratified by the attentions paid him by the ladies of Glasgow, for, during his residence in the Trongate, he is said to have paid greater atten- PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 347 tioii to bis dress and personal appearance, than he had done at any former period. Previous to quitting Glasgow, Charles held a grand review of his troops upon " tlie Gi'eeny "We marched out," says Captain Daniel, " with drums beating, colours flying, bagpipes playing, and all the marks of a triumphant army, to the appointed ground; attended by multitudes of people, who had come from all parts to see us, and especially the ladies, who, though formerly much against us, were now charmed by the sight of the Prince into the most enthusiastic loyalty. I am somewhat at a loss to give a description of the Prince, as he appeared at the review. No object could be more charming, no personage more captivating, no deportment more agreeable, than his at this time was; for, being well- mounted and princely attired, having all the best endowments of both body and mind, he appeared to bear a sway, above any comparison with the heroes of the last age; and the majesty and grandeur he displayed were truly noble and divine." * Another portrait of the Prince, drawn at this period by a grave citizen of Glasgow, may not be uninteresting to the reader. It is curious to find the writer dwelling on that peculiar expression of melancholy, which was the characteristic of the countenance of Charles, and which had already been commented upon by the inhabitants of Edinburgh in his happier and moi-e prosperous days. " I ma- naged," says the writer, " to get so near him, as * Cliainbers, p. 61. 348 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. lie passed homewards to his lodgings, that 1 could have touched him with my hand ; and the impression which he made upon my mind will never fade as long as I live. He had a princely aspect, and its interest was much heightened by the dejection which appeared in his pale fair countenance and downcast eye. He evidently wanted confidence in his cause, and seemed to have a melancholy foreboding of that disaster which soon after ruined the hopes of his family for ever." * • Attic Stories (Glasgow, 1818), p. 290. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 349 CHAPTER XL The Pretender's Retreat to Stirling. — The Duke succeeded in the Com- mand by Lieutenant-general Hawley — his Character. — Surprised by the Reappearance of the Pretender's Forces. — Battle of Falkirk. On the 3rd of January, 1746, Charles evacuated Glasgow, with the intention of laying siege to Stirling Castle. The march occupied three days. The first night was passed by him at Kilsyth House, the re- sidence of Campbell of Shawfield; the next day he led his troops to the famous field of Bannockburn, passing the night himself at Bannockburn House, the seat of Sir Hugh Paterson, who has already been mentioned as one of his most devoted adherents. Shortly after his arrival at Stirling, Charles had the satisfaction of finding his army strengthened by a large accession of force, amounting in all to about four thousand men. This force consisted of the Frasers, the Mac Kenzies, the Mac Intoshes, and the Farquarsons, as well as of a considerable body of men which had been raised by Lord Lewis Gordon, and the regiments of Scots Royal and French piquets. Charles now found himself in command of an army of nine thousand men. With this addition of strength — supported, moreover, by a quantity of battery guns and engineers, which Lord John Drummond had recently succeeded in transporting from France — he 350 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. felt himself in a condition to lay siege to Stirling Castle, and accordingly, on the 10th of January, he opened the trenches against that important fortress. In the meantime, the Duke of Cumberland, having forced the citadel of Carlisle to surrender, was ad- vancing in pursuit of the Highland army, when he was suddenly recalled to London, in order to assume the command against the threatened invasion from France. The person named as his successor was Lieutenant-general Henry Hawley, of whom, consi- dering the important part which he played in the subsequent period of the rebellion, it may be expe- dient to say a few words. This brutal and self-sufficient individual was a per- son of ordinary capacity, and appears to have been indebted for his advancement to the high post which he now filled, partly to his being a personal favourite of the Duke of Cumberland, and partly to his having served in the royal army in Scotland, during the rebellion of 1715, which it was presumed had given him due experience in the Highland mode of warfare. He, and his unfeeling patron, the Duke of Cumber- land, present remarkable exceptions to the general rule — that a brave man is never cruel. His barba- rities had already rendered him famous. " General Hawley," writes Horace Walpole, "is marched from Edinburgh to put the rebellion quite out. I must give you some idea of this man, who will give a mortal blow to the pride of the Scotch nobility. He is called Lord Chief Justice; frequent and sudden executions are his passion. Last winter he had in- telligence of a spy to come from the French army : PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 351 the first notice our army had of his arrival was by seeing him dangle on a gallows in his muflf and boots. One of the surgeons of the army begged the body of a soldier, who was hanged for desertion, to dissect: ' Well,' said Hawley, ' but then you shall give me the skeleton, to hang up in the guard-room!' He is very brave and able, with no small bias to the brutal. Two years ago, when he arrived at Ghent, the magis- trates, according to custom, sent a gentleman, with the offer of a sum of money, to engage his favour; he told the gentleman, in great wrath, that the King his master paid him, and that he should go and tell the magistrates so — at the same time dragging him to the head of the stairs, and kicking him down. He then went to the Town Hall : on their refusing him entrance, he burst open the door with his foot, and seated himself abruptly — told them he had been af- fronted, was persuaded they had no hand in it, and demanded to have the gentleman given up to him, who never dared to appear in the town while he stayed in it.""^'" Such was the individual who was deputed by the English Government to fill the post of Commander, or, as it seems rather to have been intended, of Executioner in Chief in Scotland. He caused seve- ral executioners to attend his army during its march ; and one of his first steps, on arriving at Edinburgh, was to cause two gibbets to be erected, as an indi- cation of the fate of the rebels who might fall into his hands. Sucli was the military Jeffreys of his age ! * Letter to Sir Horace Maim, 17tli January, 1746. Walpole's Cor- respondence, vol. ii. p. 9C. 352 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Perhaps enough has ah'eady been said of this fero- cious savage, whose brutalities only exceeded those of his royal patron, the Duke of Cumberland ; but as a j)icture, even of the dark side of human nature, is always curious, we will allow him to give the finish- ing touch to the portrait with his own pen. After dwelling, in his last will and testament, on the parti- cular manner in which he desired to be buried, " The priest," he says, "I conclude, will have his fee: let the puppy take it. Pay the carpenter for the carcass- ho.%\ I give to my sister 5,000/. As to my other relations, I have none who want; and, as I never was married, I have no heirs. I have written all this," he adds, " with my own hand; and this I did, because I hate all priests, of all professions, and have the worst opinion of all members of the law."'" On the 13th of January, Hawley led his troops from Edinburgh, with the intention of marching to the relief of Stirling Castle. He arrived at Falkirk on the 16th, and, at the invitation of the Countess of Kilmarnock, whose husband was serving under the Prince's standard, he took up his quarters at Cal- lander House, the seat of the Countess. This lady is said to have lavished the charms of her gaiety and wit on the English general, with the insidious inten- tion of keeping him from the performance of his mili- tary duties, and perhaps with the hope (and, if so, the plot of the wily lady proved an eminently suc- cessful one) that his army might be surprised in the absence of their chief. * General Hawley died, possessed of considerable property, about the year 1759. His will is dated 29th March, 1749. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 356 The infatuation of this military ruffian on all points connected with his critical position, almost exceeds belief. Notwithstanding the lessons which the Highlanders had taught the King's troops, both at Preston Pans and Clifton, he persisted in retaining the most contemptible opinion of his hardy and gal- lant opponents. In opposition to past experience, he always expressed it as his fixed opinion, that the Highlanders were incapable of withstanding a charge of cavalry, if the latter were ably and properly con- ducted. This notion he seems to have formed from the success which had attended a spirited charge of the English cavalry at Sheriffmuir, on which occasion he had been engaged in the right wing of the Duke of Argyll's army. The insurgent army he affected to designate as "the Highland rabble;" and he neg- lected even the commonest precautions to ensure success to his arras. Vaunting, confident, and self- sufficient, he affected to attribute the loss of the battle of Preston Pans to General Cope's cowardice and in- efficiency; and even on the very eve of the day on which the battle of Falkirk was fought, he pertina- ciously insisted that the Highlanders would never dare to encounter him, but would disperse themselves on the first tidings of his approach. In the meantime, Charles, having ascertained that General Hawley was pushing forward to give him battle, advanced his army to Bannockburn on the 17th, where they were drawn up on the plain to the east of the village, about seven miles from the Eng- lish camp at Falkirk. Expecting momentarily to see VOL. L A A 354 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. the English columns advancing towards him, he drew up his men in order of battle, and awaited the attack. Hawley was at this time enjoying the hospitalities of Callander House and the fascination of Lady Kilmar- nock's society ; and as he showed but little inclination to advance, Charles (who, to use the language of one of his followers, had " acquired a strong relish for battles"*) summoned a council of war, when it was determined to anticipate the advance of the royal forces by an immediate attack. The Highland army had forded the water of Car- den, within three miles of Hawley's camp, before the royalists received the least notice of their intention. It was about one o'clock, and the English soldiers were on the point of sitting down to dinner, when a countryman rushed into the camp, exclaiming, " Gen- tlemen, what are you about ? the Highlanders will be immediately upon you ! " Some of the officers cried out, " Seize that rascal ; he is spreading a false alarm." Two of the bystanders, however, climbed a neighbouring tree, and, by means of a telescope, having discovered the advancing lines of the High- landers, they announced the startling fact to their companions. A messenger was immediately dispatched to General Hawley at Callander House, who shortly afterwards galloped up in breathless haste. He was without his hat, ^nd had all the appearance of having recently risen from Lady Kilmarnock's hospitable board. In the words of one of the Jacobite ballads of the period : * Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 84. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 355 " Gae dight your face, and turn the chase, For fierce the wind does blaw, Hawley, And Highland Geordie's at your tail, Wi' Drummond, Perth, and a', Hawley. Had ye but staid wi' lady's maid An hour, or may be twa, Hawley, Your bacon bouk, and bastard snout, Ye might have saved them a', Hawley. Up and rin awa, Hawley, Up and rin awa, Hawley ; The philabegs are coming doon, To gie your lugs a claw, Hawley." Hawley's first step was to order his three regiments of dragoons to gallop with all speed to the top of Falkirk Muir. They pushed forward, followed by a large body of infantry, who marched up the hill Avith their bayonets fixed; but the day had now become overcast, and a violent storm of wind and rain beat- ing directly in the faces of the soldiers, almost blinded them. The cavalry had gained a considerable dis- tance in advance of the infantry, and for some time it seemed a kind of race between the Highlanders and the dragoons, who should first arrive at the summit of the hill. Hawley — who, whatever were his faults, was no craven — presented a conspicuous object, urging forward at the head of his dragoons, his head uncovered, and his white hairs streaming in the wind, and by his words and gestures exhorting his men to increased energy and speed. The Highlanders, however, were the first to attain the summit of the hill, thus obtaining the advantage of having their backs turned to the high wind and heavy rain, which pelted directly against the faces of the English. The latter had to contend against other A A 2 35G PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. disadvantages. They were annoyed by the smoke caused by their own fire; many of their pieces were rendered unserviceable by the rain; and, moreover, their artillery stuck fast in a morass, from whence no efforts could extricate it. As the Highlanders had been compelled to leave their artillery behind them, neither army, in this respect, could boast of any ad- vantasre over the other. Their relative force also was very nearly equal, each army numbering about eight thousand men. Foiled in his first attempt to obtain an advantage over the Highlanders, Hawley drew up his army in order of battle on the lower ground. " The Eng- lish," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " began the attack with a body of about eleven hundred cavalry, who advanced very slowly against the right of our army, and did not halt till they were within twenty paces of our first line, to induce us to fire. The Highlanders, who had been particularly enjoined not to fii'e till the army was within musket-length of them, the moment the cavalry halted, discharged their muskets and killed about eighty men, each of them having aimed at a rider. The commander of this body of cavalry, who had advanced some paces before his men, was of the number. The cavalry closing their ranks, which were opened by our discharge, put spurs to their horses, and rushed upon the High- landers at a hard trot, breaking their ranks, throw- ing down everything before them, and trampling the Highlanders under the feet of their horses. The most singular and extraordinary combat immediately followed. The Highlanders, stretched on the ground. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 357 thrust their dirks into the bellies of the horses. Some seized the riders by their clothes, dragged them down, and stabbed them with their dirks; several again used their pistols ; but few of them had suffi- cient space to handle their swords. Macdonald of Clanranald, chief of one of the clans of the Mac- donalds, assured me that whilst he was lying upon the ground under a dead horse which had fallen upon him, without the power of extricating himself, he saw a dismounted horseman struggling with a Highlander ; fortunately for him, the Highlander, being the strongest, threw his antagonist, and having killed him with his dirk, he came to his assistance and drew him with difficulty from under his horse. The re- sistance of the Highlanders was so incredibly obsti- nate, that the English, after having been for some time engaged pell-mell with them in their ranks, were at length repulsed, and forced to retire. The High- landers did not neglect the advantage they had obtained, but pursued them keenly with their swords, running as fast as their horses, and not allowing them a moment's time to recover from their fright ; so that the English cavalry, falling back on their own in- fantry, drawn up in order of battle behind them, threw them immediately into disorder, and carried the right wing of their army with them in their llight."-"- Subsequently some of the dragoons rallied, and, supported by a body of infantry which had not been hitherto engaged, they advanced to the charge. At this crisis, Charles marched up at the head of his * Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 121. 358 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. reserved corps, consisting of Lord John Drummond's regiment and the Irish piquets, and turned the scale in favour of the Highlanders. The dragoons again gave way, and again disordered the infantry in their flight. There can be little doubt but that few, if any, of the royalists would have escaped, had not General Huske, the second in command, and Brigadier Chol- mondeley, made a gallant stand with the forces which they could collect together, and thus enabled the main body of the army to make good their re- treat to the town of Falkirk. Ligonier's and Ha- milton's dragoons, who had behaved so shamefully at Colt Bridge and Preston Pans, were the first who also gave way at the battle of Falkirk. As they were borne back through the disordered ranks of their own infantry, they w^ere heard to exclaim in terrified voices, — " Dear brethren, we shall all be mas- sacred this day ! " Cobham's dragoons were the last who fled, and as they galloped down a ravine which led them to the town of Falkirk, received a sharp volley from the Highland line. The whole of these events occupied less than a quarter of an hour. " Some individuals," says Cham- bers, " who beheld the battle from the steeple at Falkirk, used to describe its main events as occupy- ing a surprisingly brief space of time. They first saw the English army enter the misty and storm- covered moor at the top of the hill; then saw the dull atmosphere thickened by a fast-rolling smoke, and heard the pealing sounds of the discharge; im- mediately after, they saw the discomfited troops burst wildly from the cloud in which they had been PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 359 involved, and rush in far-spread disorder over the face of the hill. From the commencement till what they styled ' the break of the battle,' there did not intervene more than ten minutes — so soon may an efficient body of men become, by one tran- sient emotion of cowardice, a feeble and contemptible rabble." * It was twilight when the battle of Falkirk was fought, and in consequence of the increasing dark- ness, and the violence of the wind and rain. Lord George Murray, after doing his utmost to ascertain the movements and intentions of the enemy, deemed it imprudent to follow up his success by pursuing them into the town of Falkirk, lest some stratagem or ambuscade might have been prepared for him. So sudden, indeed, had been the issue of the conflict, and such was the confusion occasioned by the dark- ness of the night, which had now set in, and by the inclemency of the elements, that the greater portion of the Highland army were ignorant of their own success, and remained on the field of battle, scat- tered, disordered, and irresolute. Many of them are said to have actually sought safety in flight, under the impression that the English had gained the victory. Apprehensive of some sudden attack, the majority knew not which way to turn. Observing no enemy near them, they were heard inquiring of each other in Gaelic, — " What is become of them, — where are they?" — And when Lord John Drum- mond, who had been a general officer in the French service, beheld the flight of the Scots Royal, he could * History of the Kebcllioii, p. 66. 360 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. scarcely believe his own senses. " These men," he suid, " behaved admirably at Fontenoy, — surely this is a feint!'' Charles, previous to the charge which led to the final discomfiture of the English army, had taken up his position in the second line on a rising ground, which is still known by the name of Charlie's Hill, and Avliich is now covered with wood. Sir Thomas Sheridan, in his narrative of the action which he drew up and transmitted to the Kings ^of France and Spain, observes, — " After an easy victory, gained by eight thousand over twelve thousand,* we re- mained masters of the field of battle; but as it was near five o'clock before it ended, and as it required time for the Highlanders to recover their muskets, rejoin their coloui's, and form again in order, it was quite night before we could follow the fugitives. The Prince, who at the beginning of the action had been conjured, for the love of his troops, not to expose himself, was in the second line of the piquets; but as soon as the left wing was thrown into some disorder, he flew to their relief with an ardour that was not to be restrained. In the disposition of his troops, he followed the advice of Lord George Mur- ray, who commanded the right wing, and fought on foot during the whole action at the head of his High- landers. Lord John Drummond commanded the left, and distinguished himself extremely. He took two prisoners with his own hand, had his horse shot * This is an exaggeration. It has ah-eady been mentioned that the numbers of the two armies were very nearly equal, both amounting to about eight thousand men. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 361 under him, and was wounded in the left arm with a musket-ball." At the battle of Falkirk, — according to the ac- counts published " by authority," — the English lost in all only two hundred and eighty in killed, wounded, and missing; but, according to all other accounts, their loss must have amounted to about twenty officers, and about four or five hundred privates. Sir Harry Monro of Fowlis, in a pathetic letter ad- dressed to the Lord President, observes, — " This bat- tle proves to me a series of woe. There both my dear father and uncle, Obsdale, were slain. The last, your Lordship knows, had no particular bu- siness to go to the action; but out of a most tender love and concern for his brother, could not be dis- suaded from attending him, to give assistance if need required. My father, after being deserted, was at- tacked by six of Lochiel's regiment, and for some time defended himself with his half-pike. Two of the six, I am informed, he killed. A seventh, com- ing up, fired a pistol into my father's groin; upon which, falling, the Highlander with his sword gave him two strokes in the face, one over the eyes and another on the mouth, which instantly ended a brave man. The same Highlander fired another pistol into my uncle's breast, and with his sword terribly slashed him; whom when killed, he then dispatched a ser- vant of my father's. That thus my dearest father and uncle perished, I am informed; and this infor- mation I can depend on, as it comes from some who were eye-witnesses to it. ]\Iy father's corpse Avas honourably interred in the churchyard of Falkirk, 362 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. by direction of the Earl of Cromartie ; and the Mac- donalds, and all the chiefs attended his funeral. Sir Kobert's was the only body on the field on our side that was taken care of." "^^ Several prisoners were made, the greater number of which were sent to the romantic castle of Doune. Among these was John Home, the celebrated author of " Douglas." " In 1746," says Sir Walter Scott, " a garrison, on the part of the Chevalier, was put into the castle, then less ruinous than at present. It was commanded by Mr. Stewart of Balloch, as go- vernor for Prince Charles. He was a man of pro- perty near Callander. The castle became at that time the actual scene of a romantic escape made by John Home, the author of ' Douglas,' and some other prisoners, who, having been taken at the battle of Falkirk, were confined there by the insurgents. The poet, who had in his own mind a large stock of that romantic and enthusiastic spirit of adventure, which he has described as animating the youthful hero of his drama, devised and undertook the peril- ous enterprise of escaping from his prison. He in- spired his companions with his sentiments, and when every attempt at open force was deemed hopeless, they resolved to twist their bed-clothes into ropes, and thus to descend. Four persons, with Home him- self, reached the ground in safety; but the rope broke with the fifth, who was a tall lusty man. The sixth was Thomas Barrow, a brave young English- man, a particular friend of Home's. Determined to take the risk, even in such unfavourable circum- * Cullodeii Papers, p. 267. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 363 stances, Barrow committed himself to the broken rope; slid down on it as far as it could assist him, and then let himself drop. His friends beneath suc- ceeded in breaking his fall. Nevertheless, he dis- located his ankle, and had several of his ribs broken. His companions, however, were able to bear him off in safety. The Highlanders, next morning, sought for their prisoners with great activity. An old gen- tleman told the author, he remembered seeing the commander Stewart, — ' Bloody with spurring, fiery red with haste,' riding furiously through the country in quest of the fugitives."* The loss of the Highlanders at the battle of Falkirk is usually computed as only thirty-two officers and men killed in action, and one hundi-ed and twenty wounded. The royalists made only one prisoner, and the circumstances of his capture were somewhat singular. The unfortunate person in question was a gentleman of the Macdonald clan, a brother of Mac- donald of Keppoch, who, having dismounted an Eng- lish officer, took possession of his horse, a very valuable animal, and immediately mounted it. Al- most at the same moment, the English dragoons, routed in their contest with the Highlanders, galloped off in full fliglit. The animal, either desirous of re- turning to his old quarters, or carried forward by excitement into the midst of his flying companions, hurried his unlucky rider into the English ranks, not- withstanding all his efforts to restrain him. " The * Note to Waverley, chap, xxxviii. 364 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. melancholy, and, at the same time, ludicrous figure," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " Avhich poor Mac- donald cut, may be easily conceived." The Duke of Cumberland, however, had no taste for the ludicrous, and " poor Macdonald" perished shortly afterwards on the scaffold. Setting fire to their tents, and abandoning Falkirk with their baggage and train, the English army passed the night of the battle in the ancient and once sj)len- did palace of Linlithgow and in its vicinity. Half perishing from the cold and rain, they lighted such large fires on the hearths as to cause considerable alarm in the minds of the inhabitants lest the edifice should catch fire. One of these persons — a lady of the Livingstone family, who had apartments in the palace — remonstrated with General Hawleyon the reckless conduct of his men. Finding that her en- treaties met only with contempt, " General," was the retort of the high-spirited lady, " I can run away from fire as fast as you can;" and having given vent to this sarcastic speech, she took horse for Edinburgh. Within an hour or two, her fears were actually realized. The venerable palace — the birth-place of Mary, Queen of Scots — caught fire, and was almost entirely destroyed.'" General Hawley, who had boasted that with two * " Of all the palaces so fair. Built for the royal dwelling, In Scotland, far beyond compare LinlithgoAv is excelling ; And in its park in jovial June, How sweet the merry linnets tune, How blithe the blackbird's lay ! PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 3G5 regiments of dragoons he would drive the insurgents from one end of the kingdom to the other, was cen- sured in all quarters for his conduct both before and after the battle. He appears to have felt his own disgrace most severely; and the more so, perhaps, from the remembrance of his previous boastings, and the taunts which he had formerly heaped on Sir John Cope. General Wightman writes to President Forbes on the 22nd of January, — " General Hawley is in much the same situation as General Cope. He was never seen in the field during the battle, and every- thing would have gone to wreck in a worse manner than at Preston, if General Huske had not acted with judgment and courage, and appeared everywhere. Hawley seems to be sensible of his misconduct; for, when I was with him on Saturday morning at Lin- lithgow, he looked most wretchedly ; even worse than Cope did a few hours after his scuffle, when I saw him at Fala."* " In the drawing-room," says Sir Walter Scott, " which took place at St. James's on the day the news arrived, all countenances were marked with doubt and apprehension excepting those of George the Second, the Earl of Stair, and Sir John Cope, wlio was radiant with joy at Hawley 's discomfiture. In- The wilcl-bu(fk-l)ells from ferny brake, The coot dives merry on the lake, The saddest heart might pleasure take To see all nature gay." Marmion. It has been said that the English soldiers deliberately set the palace of Linlithgow on fire, by raking the live embers from the hearths into the straw pallets, but there is much reason to doubt the foct. * Culloden Papers, p. 2G7. 366 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. deed, the idea of the two generals was so closely connected, that a noble peer of Scotland, upon the same day, addressed Sir John Cope by the title of General Hawley, to the no small amusement of those who heard the quid pro quo.'"'^' Many weeks pre- vious, Cope had been heard to offer bets, to the amount of ten thousand guineas, that the first general sent to command an army against the Highlanders would be beaten. He is even said to have realised a considerable sum by the success of his wagers ;f and, what was of more importance to him, to a certain degree he recovered his honour. On the authority of , a pamphlet, which has been attributed to Hume the historian, he is said, during the whole winter which succeeded his defeat at Preston Pans, to have been carried about London in a sedan-chair to conceal him- self from the derision of the mob. When the news, however, arrived of Hawley's discomfiture at Fal- kirk, he is stated to have pulled back the curtains of his chair, and to have displayed " his face and red ribbon to all the world." • Prose Works, vol. xix. p. 303. -j- Johnstone's Alemoirs, p. 106. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 367 CHAPTER XIL Charles continues his Retreat northward. — Duke of Cumberland re- sumes the Command of the Army of the North. — His Arrival at Stirling. — Charles's Escape from Lord Loudon's Snare to take his person. — Retaliates by attacking Lord Loudon at Inverness. — Chivalrous Adventure of Lord G. Murray. — Incidents sliowing the Attachment of the Scottish Ladies to the Cause of the Chevalier. — Commences his March for Culloden. On the night on which the battle of Falkirk was fought, Charles, who had been exposed for five hours to the inclemency of the weather and the pelting of the storm, was conducted by torchlight to the house of a Jacobite lady of the name of Graham, the widow of a physician. Though the house in question was con- sidered the best in the town of Falkirk, Charles was compelled to hold his small court and eat his meals in the same apartment in which he slept, his bed being concealed from view by folding doors. The house, which still remains, is opposite the steeple, and is now used as the Post-office.''^ Charles passed only one night at Falkirk, and on the 18 th returned to Ban- nockburn, leaving Lord George Murray behind with a portion of his army. From the success which had attended his arms at Falkirk, Charles derived but little advantage besides glory. Instead of pursuing and annihilating Ilawley's army before they could make good their retreat to * Cliambers, p. 67. 368 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Edinburgh, he insisted that it would be a disgrace to liis arms were he to raise the siege of Stirling; and accordingly the operations were renewed with in- creased vigour. But the fortunes of Charles were now evidently on the decline. The chiefs had be- come disgusted at being no longer summoned to consult with him in regard to the movements of the army; while the common men, as was customary with them after a victory, deserted daily in great numbers, with the view of depositing their plunder in safety with their wives and families. Charles was still engaged in carrying on the siege of Stirling, when, to his great grief and surprise, he received a paper signed by Lord George Murray, Lochiel, Keppoch, Clanranald, and all the leading chieftains, urging upon him the absolute necessity of elFecting an immediate retreat to the North. So great, they said, had been the desertion in their ranks, that not only must they expect to be defeated in the event of an engagement, but at the present moment they were not even in a fit condition to carry on the siege of Stirling. Their only hopes, they added, of insuring ultimate success, lay in an imme- diate march to Inverness, where they would be en- abled to annihilate the forces under Lord Loudon, and, by capturing the different Highland fortresses, make themselves the undisputed masters of the North. They concluded by assuring the Prince, that they would continue cheerfully in this case to serve beneath his banner, and, with an army of eight or ten thousand men, which they doubted not they would be able to raise, would follow his fortunes wherever he pleased. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 369 It is scarcely necessary to remark, that this abrupt communication from the Highland chieftains amounted rather to a command than a remonstrance. Such was the light in which it was viewed by the young Prince, whose manner betrayed the most violent emotion while perusing the terms of the unpalatable propo- sition. Dashing his hand with such violence against the wall as to cause him to stagger back, — "Good God!" he exclaimed, "have I lived to see this?" Some attempt was made by him, through the medium of Sir Thomas Sheridan, to induce the refractory chiefs to alter their resolution; but finding it inef- fectual, he sullenly and reluctantly assented to the terms of his domineering followers.* Notwithstanding that General Hawley had the good fortune to retain the favour of his sovereign, it was deemed expedient to send a general to Scotland in whom the soldiers had greater confidence, and accord- ingly the Duke of Cumberland was selected for the purpose. Not only was he at this period a great fa- vourite with the army, but it was also hoped that the circumstance of his being a prince of the blood might produce a beneficial efiect on the minds of the Scot- tish people. He was nearly of the same age as Charles — namely, twenty -five, — the Chevalier being the older by only four months. Quitting London on the 26th of January, the Duke arrived at Edinburgh on the 30th, having performed the journey in what was then considered tlie very short space of four days. He took up his quarters at * John Hay's account of the retreat from Falkirk. Home's Appendix, p. 355. VOL. I. B B 370 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Holyrood, where he slept in the same bed that had been occupied by his unfortunate cousin during the period he remained at Edinburgh. After resting him- self for two hours, he rose and proceeded to the des- patch of business with Generals Hawley and Huske. Later in the day, he held a levee in the same gal- lery, in which Charles had previously held his gay court, and had given his balls to the ladies of Edin- burgh. The principal citizens had the honour of kissing his hand, and his levee was also attended by several Whig ladies of distinction. The Duke kissed the latter all round, expressing, at the same time, his satisfaction at their loyalty and zeal.* On the 31st, the Duke took his leave of Holyrood, having remained in Edinburgh only thirty hours. At night he slept at Linlithgow, and the next day walked to Falkirk on foot at the head of the Scots Royal. On his arrival at the latter town, he is said to have enquired for the house which " his cousin had occu- pied," being sure, he said, that it would be the most comfortable and best-provisioned in the place. Here he passed the night, in the same bed in which Charles had slept on the evening of the battle of Falkirk. The following morning he marched to Stirling, with the intention of giving the insurgents battle ; but, on his arrival there, he learned that they had evacuated the place on the preceding day. Quitting Stirling on the 1st of February, the Highland army marched to Dumblane, at which place they encamped for the night, Charles himself sleep- ing at Drummond Castle, the seat of the Duke of * Chambers, p. 73. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 371 Perth. The following night they arrived at Crieflf, near which place Charles took up his quarters at Fairnton, the residence of Lord John Drummond. The march of the insurgent army was conducted with so much haste and confusion, as to resemble a flight rather than a retreat. Their young leader seemed almost broken-hearted, and, to all appear- ance, took but little interest in the movements or discipline of his army. At Crieff, a separation was decided upon; one division of the insurgent forces, headed by Charles, and consisting chiefly of the High- land clans, marching towards Inverness by the High- land road, and the other, commanded by Lord George Murray, taking the coast-road by Montrose and Aber- deen. During their progress, the two divisions seve- verally carried off" their garrisons from the towns through which they passed. On approaching Inverness, Charles found it in the possession of Lord Loudon, who had to a certain de- gree fortified it by throwing round it a ditch and palisade. Here he had cooped himself up, with a small army of two thousand men, consisting chiefly of the Grants, Monros, Rosses, Macdonalds of Skye, and the Macleods. Taking with him a small guard of three hundred Highlanders, Charles took up his quar- ters in the Castle of Moy, situated about sixteen miles from Edinbui'gh. This place was the principal residence of the Laird of Macintosh, who, though supposed to be secretly attached to the cause of the Stuarts, was now holding a commission in Lord Lou- don's army. His lady, however, a daughter of Far- quharson of Invercauld, remained at Moy, too happy B B 2 372 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. to perform the rites of hospitality for her ilhistrious guest. " Of all the fine ladies," says General Stewart, " few were more accomplished, more beautiful, or more enthusiastic." Devoted, like the majority of her countrywomen, to the cause of the exiled family, she had distinguished herself by raising the fighting-men of her husband's ancient clan to the number of three hundred; and though the command of them in the field was entrusted by her to Mac Gillivray of Drum- naglass, yet she herself had ridden more than once at their head, clad in a tartan riding-habit richly laced, with a Highland bonnet on her head, and pistols at her saddle-bow. * Her husband at a later period being taken prisoner by the insurgents, Charles delivered him to his wife, saying, " he could not be in better security, or more honourably treated." Charles was quietly enjoying the hospitalities of Moy, waiting till the arrival of his forces should enable him to attack Lord Loudon in his entrench- ments, when he very nearly fell into a snare which had been laid for him by that nobleman, who, by gain- ing possession of the Chevalier's person, hoped to put an end at once to the war. With this object, on the night of the 16th of February, he ordered out fifteen hundred of his followers, with instructions to march as stealthily as possible to Moy, and to seize the Prince's person at all hazards. Fortunately for Charles, he received timely intimation of the plot which was laid for him. " Whilst some English officers," says the Chevalier de Johnstone, " were drinking in the house of Mrs. Bailly, an innkeeper * Tales of a Grandfather, vol. iii. p. 270. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 373 in Inverness, and passing the time till the hour of their departure, her daughter, a girl of thirteen or fourteen years of age, who happened to wait on them, paid great attention to their conversation, and, from certain expressions dropped by them, she discovered their designs. As soon as this generous girl was certain as to their intentions, she immediately left the house, escaped from the town, notwithstanding the vigilance of the sentinels, and immediately took the road to Moy, running as fast as she was able, without shoes or stockings — which, to accelerate her progress, she had taken off — in order to inform the Prince of the danger that menaced him. She reached Moy, quite out of breath, before Lord Loudon; and the Prince with difficulty escaped in his robe-de- chambre, night-cap, and slippers, to the neighbouring mountains, where he passed the night in concealment. This dear girl, to whom the Prince owed his life, was in great danger of losing her own, from her excessive fatigue on this occasion; but the care and attentions she experienced restored her to life. The Prince, having no suspicion of such a daring attempt, had very few people with him in the Castle of Moy."* According to other accounts, the Lady of Moy re- ceived the first intimation of Lord Loudon's inten- tions by two letters from Liverness ; the one from Era- ser of Gortuleg, and the other from her own mother. In whatever manner, however, the plot may have tran- spired, the circumstances under which it is said to have been subsequently defeated were not a little curious. Lady Macintosh, it seems, had employed * Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 145. 374 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. five or six persons, headed by the blacksmith of the clan, to act as patrols on the road between Moy and Inverness. In the course of the night, their ears caught the distant sound of Lord Loudon's advancing force, on which the blacksmith, with great prompti- tude, placed his men in ambush at different points by the side of the road, giving them orders not to fire till they should hear the report of his own musket, and then, not to fire altogether, but one after another. As soon as the enemy came within musket-shot, the blacksmith fired his piece at the advancing column, by which the piper of the Laird of Macleod, consi- dered the best in the Highlands, was killed. The remainder then fired off their muskets as they had been directed, at the same time shouting out the well-known war-cries of Lochiel, Keppoch, and other clans — thus impressing their adversaries with the idea that a snare had been laid for them, and that the whole of the Highland army was advancing upon them. Fully convinced that such was the fact, and confused by the darkness of the night, they fled in the utmost precipitation, throwing down and tram- pling upon their terrified companions in the rear, and never desisting from their rapid flight till they found themselves in safety at Inverness. So great was their terror and confusion, that a brave officer, the Master of Ross, who afterwards passed through a long life as a soldier, and was exposed to many perils, was heard to declare in his old age, that never had he been in so piteous a condition as at the Rout of Moy. The following day Charles determined to retaliate PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 375 on Lord Loudon, by attacking him in his quarters. Inverness, however, was in no condition to stand a siege ; nor had Lord Loudon a sufficient force under his command to enable him to cope with the High- landers; and accordingly, when the insurgents ap- peared before the town, they found that the Earl had evacuated it, and had transported his troops into Rosshire. Two days afterwards the citadel, or fort, also surrendered, and about the same time Lord George Murray arrived, at the head of his division, having suffered many privations during a long march through a country covered with snow. During the stay of Charles at Inverness, he resided in the house of Lady Drummuir, the mother of Lady Macintosh, being, it is said, the only house in the town which boasted of an apartment in which there was no bed.* After the battle of Culloden, the Duke of Cumber- land, much to the annoyance of Lady Drummuir, occupied the same apartment and the same bed in which Charles had previously slept. " I have had two King's bairns living with me in my time," said the lady, " and, to tell you the truth, I wish I may never hae another." The military operations which were carried on duinng the eight weeks which intervened between the arrival of Charles at Inverness and the fatal battle of Culloden, present but few incidents of any great im- portance, and may be detailed in a short space. On the 20th of February Fort George fell into the hands of the insurgents, and on the 5th of Marcli, Fort Augustus was also taken and destroyed. In the at- * Cluuabciy, i>. 77. 376 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. tack on Fort William, the insurgents were less suc- cessful, for the place was so ably and vigorously defended by Captain Scott, and was so well supplied by sea with provisions, and other military supplies, that, in the beginning of April, they found them- selves compelled to abandon the enterprise. About the same time, an inroad was made by the Earl of Cromarty into Kosshire, whither he followed Lord Loudon, compelling him to disband his forces, and forcing him to take refuge in the Isle of Skye. But another adventurous, and even chivalrous ex- pedition, which was conducted by Lord George Mur- ray, about the middle of March, into his own country, Athol, deserves a more lengthened notice. Several military posts, consisting chiefly of the houses of pri- vate gentlemen — such as Kinnachin, Blairfettie, Lude, Faskallie, and others — had been established in that country by the Duke of Cumberland. They were, generally speaking, buildings of some antiquity, and of a castellated form, and having been partially forti- fied by order of the Duke, were severally garrisoned by small detachments from the regular army. Deem- ing it of considerable importance to make himself master of these scattered fortresses — about thirty in number — Lord George Murray placed himself at the head of seven hundred Highlanders, and commenced his march in the twilight from Dahvhinnie. As he was entering into the heart of an enemy's country, where a force much larger than his own might, on the slightest alarm, be easily concentred against him, he decided on making an attack on each of the small forts at one and the same time He divided his PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 377 force, therefore, into different parties, and assigned to each a particular point of attack — directing them, after having accomplished the duty confided to them, to ref)air to him at the Bridge of Bruar, if possible before the break of day. In the meantime, some intimation of the High- landers being abroad had reached the ears of Sir Andrew Agnew, who had been appointed governor of the Castle of Blair, with a large garrison under his command. Anxious to ascertain the intentions and numerical force of the enemy, he sallied forth from Blair Castle late in the night, with five hundred armed men, and proceeded in the direction of the bridge of Bruar, only two miles distant from his own post. Lord George Murray was already at the place of rendezvous, anxiously awaiting the return of his followers, when he received the news of Sir Andrew Agnew's approach. The force which he had under him amounted only to twenty-five men. Kesistance, therefore, was out of the question, and it was strongly urged that the little party should make good their retreat to the neighbouring mountains. To this advice Lord George Murray turned a deaf ear, and his reply was worthy of the man. " No," he said, " if we leave the place of rendezvous, our parties, as they return in detail from discharging the duty in- trusted to them, will be liable to be surprised by the enemy. This must not be. I will rather try what can be done to impose upon Sir Andrew Agnew's caution by a fictitious display of strength." His plan was rapidly devised and executed. He drew up his small company, within a certain dis- 378 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. tance from each other, in a continuous line, along a stone dyke, so as to give them as much as possible the appearance of an extended and formidable front. Fortunately he had with him all the pipers of the force, and these he ordered to strike up, and the colours to be elevated, as soon as the royalists should appear in view. The stratagem fully answered his expectations. On the approach of Sir Andrew Agnew and his followers, tlie pipers sounded their thrilling pibroch, while the Highlanders, who had all the ap- pearance of officers at the head of men preparing to charge, brandished their broadswords as they had previously been directed. Sir Andrew was completely deceived. Believing that he was on the point of being attacked by a force far superior to his own, and apprehensive that another party of Highlanders might have been dispatched in the meantime to make themselves masters of Blair Castle, he deemed it more safe and prudent to march his garrison back to that place. Lord George Murray remained at the Bridge of Bruar till he was joined by his several detachments, all of which had completely succeeded in performing the duties confided to them. Lord George Murray now determined to lay siege to Blair Castle, a strong old fortress belonging to his brother, the Duke of Athol, and which had long been the residence of his ancestors. He was, indeed, but indifferently provided with artillery and with the requisites for effectually carrying on a siege; but he still hoped to reduce the place by famine before succour could arrive from the Duke of Cumberland. With this view he established a close blockade, direct- PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 379 ing his men to keep a sharp look-out, and to lire on any person who might shew himself either on the battlements or at any of the windows. The governor of Blair Castle was a person of con- siderable importance and notoriety in his day. " Sir Andrew Agnew," says Sir Walter Scott, " famous in Scottish tradition, was a soldier of the old military school, severe in discipline, stiff and formal in man- ners, brave to the last degree, but somewhat of an humourist, upon whom his young officers were oc- casionally tempted to play tricks not entirely con- sistent with the respect due to their commandant. At the siege of Blair, some of the young wags had obtained an old uniform coat of the excellent Sir Andrew, which, having stuffed with straw, they placed in a small window of a turret, with a spy -glass in the hand, as if in the act of reconnoitering the be- siegers. This apparition did not escape the haAvk's eyes of the Highlanders, who continued to pour their lire upon the turret window without producing any adequate effect. The best deer-stalkers of Athol and Badenoch persevered, nevertheless, and wasted, as will easily be believed, their ammunition in vain on this impassible commander. At length Sir Andrew himself became curious to know what could possibly induce so constant a fire upon that particular point of the castle. He made some inquiry, and discovered the trick which had been played. His own head being as insensible to a jest of any kind as his peruke had proved to the balls of the Highlanders, he placed the contumacious wags under arrest, and threatened to proceed against them still more seriously; and 380 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. would certainly have done so, but, by good fortune for them, the blockade was raised after the garrison had suffered the extremity of famine."'" Another rather amusing anecdote is related in con- nection with Sir Andrew Agnew and the siege of Blair Castle. Ensign, afterwards General Melville, ob- serves in his " Genuine Narrative" of the Blockade, — " Lord George here played off a jocular experiment upon the well-known choleric temper of Sir Andrew Agnew. He sent down a summons, written on a very shabby piece of paper, requiring the Baronet forth- with to surrender the castle, garrison, stores, &c. No Highlander could be prevailed upon to carry that summons; but the errand was undertaken by a hand- some Highland girl, the maid of M'Glashan's inn at Blair, the rendezvous of Sir Andrew's officers. She conceived herself on so good a footing with some of the young officers that she need not be afraid of being shot, taking care, however, as she approached the castle to wave the paper containing the summons over her head, in token of her embassy. She de- livered her message with much earnestness, and strongly advised a compliance, as the Highlanders were a thousand strong, and would batter the castle about their ears. The young officers relished the joke, desired Molly to return and tell those gentlemen they would soon be driven away, when the garrison would become visitors at M'Glashan's as before ; but she insisted that the summons should be delivered to the governor, and a timid Lieutenant, with a consti- tution impaired by drinking, was prevailed upon to * Tales of a Oiandfatlicr, vol. iii. p. 278. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 381 carry it. No sooner, however, did the peerless knight hear something of it read, than he furiously drove the Lieutenant from his presence to return the paper, vociferating after him a volley of epithets against Lord George Murray, and threatening to shoot through the head any other messenger he should send; which Molly overhearing, was glad to retreat in safety with her summons to her employer, who, with Lord Nairn, Cluny, and some other chiefs, were waiting in the churchyard of Blair to receive her, and appeared highly diverted with her report."* The blockade of Blair Castle lasted till the 31st of March. By this time the garrison were reduced to extre- mities from want of food, and they seem to have been on the point of surrendering, when the timely approach of the Earl of Crawford with a large body of Hessian troops compelled Lord George Murray to raise the siege, and make good his retreat to In- verness. In the meantime, the Duke of Cumberland had pursued the insurgents as far as Perth, where he ar- rived on the 6th of February. The rapidity, how- ever, with which the movements of the Highland army were conducted, had already enabled them to obtain three days' march in advance of him; and when the Duke reached Perth, — owing to the incle- mency of the weather, and the roads which led to Invernesshire being almost impassable, — he deter- mined on quartering his troops there till the weather should prove more propitious. • " Genuine Narrative of the Blockade of Blair Castle, by a Subaltern Officer employed in the Defence." — Scot's Magazine, 1808, p. 332. 382 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Quitting Perth, he followed the same route which had been pursued by Lord George Murray, passing through Angus and Aberdeenshire, in which counties he found the inhabitants opposed to the claims of the House of Hanover, almost to a man. Horace Walpole writes to Sir Horace Mann on the 21st of March, — " The Duke complains extremely of the loyal Scotch: he says he can get no intelli- gence, and reckons himself more in an enemy's country than when he was warring with the French in Flanders." At Forfar, he very nearly captured a party who were publicly beating up for recruits for the service of the Chevalier; and on the morning on which he quitted Glammis Castle, the seat of the Earl of Strathmore, not only was it discovered that the girths of all his horses had been cut during the night in order to retard his march, but on his taking his leave, the family ordered the bed in which he had slept to be taken down, in order that their ancient residence might retain as few mementos as possible, of its having been the resting-place of so offensive a guest. In passing through the town of Brechin, where his progress was rendered difficult by the im- mense crowd, the face of a young and beautiful girl, who was standing on a " stair-head," caught the eye of the young Duke. He paid a particular tribute to her beauty by raising his hat to her; but in- stead of his gallantry meeting with the return which might naturally have been expected by a young Prince at the head of a gallant army, the fair girl not only received the compliment with signs of the most thorough contempt, but is even said to have PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 383 returned it " with a gesture which does not admit of description."* The Duke of Cumberland remained at Aberdeen from the 25th of February till the 8th of April, on which latter day he recommenced his march towards Inverness with the last division of his army. On the 10th he reached Banff, where he seized and hung two spies, who were found employed in notching the num- bers of his army upon sticks. On the 11th he reached Cullen, and on the 12th found himself on the banks of the Spey. It has frequently excited aston- ishment that the passage of the royal troops over this deep and rapid mountain stream was not disputed by the Highlanders. Had Charles adopted this step, there can be little doubt that either the Duke of Cumberland must have been compelled to turn back, or, had he succeeded in forcing the passage of the river, it could only have been effected with consider- able loss. This unfortunate error can be accounted for only on the supposition, that the Duke's advance at so early a period of the year was unexpected by his opponents. On the afternoon of the 12th, the Spey was forded by the royal army in three divisions, their bands playing the tune, — " Will you play mc fair play, Bonnie laddie, Highland laddie ?" which seems to have been intended as an insult to the Highlanders. " His Royal Highness," says Hender- son, " was the first to enter the water at the head of * Chambers, p. 76. 384 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. the horse, who forded it, while the Highlanders and grenadiers passed a little higher : the foot waded over as fast as they arrived, and though the water came up to their middles, they went on with great cheer- fulness, and got over with no other loss but that of one dragoon and four women, who were carried down by the stream. Thus was one of the strongest passes in Scotland given up ; a pass where two hundred men might easily have kept back an army of twenty thousand; a sure prelude of the destruction of the rebels."* On the 13th of April, the Duke of Cumberland marched through Elgin to the Muir of Alves, and on the following day advanced to Nairn, only sixteen miles from the Highland camp. The 1 5th, being the Duke's birthday, was set apart as a day of relaxation and festivity for the whole army. It was difficult for two armies to be more unequally matched, than those which were so soon about to be opposed to each other on the memorable field of Cul- loden. The force under the Duke of Cumberland amounted to about nine thousand men ; that of Charles to only five thousand. Moreover, not only did there exist this great disparity of numbers, but it must be remembered also that the army under the Duke was comprised of highly disciplined troops, and, moreover, was regularly supplied by a fleet, which moved along the coast, with provisions and every other requisite for efiectually carrying on the war. On the other hand, dissensions had crept into the ranks of Charles ; he himself was on indifierent terms * Henderson, p. 112. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 385 with Lord George Murray; his army — owing to the difficulty of keeping the Highlanders together — was widely scattered over the surrounding country; the want of food was hourly occasioning fresh desertions ; his troops were disorganized from want of pay; and, indeed, so reduced was the Prince's treasury, that for some time he had been compelled to pay his fol- lowers in meal, which had given rise to great dis- content.^^' Charles, however, notwithstanding the threatening aspect of his affairs, continued to display the same elation of spirits and confidence in his own resources, which had characterized him in the hour of his great- est prosperity. During a visit which he paid to Elgin in the middle of March, he had been attacked by a fever, and for two days his life was in some dan- ger; but, as Captain Warren writes to the old Cheva- lier, "a timely bleeding hindered the cold turning into a fluxion de poitrine, and caused a joy in every heart not to be expressed." However, on his return to Inverness, all traces of indisposition had disap- peared, and notwithstanding the near approach of the Duke of Cumberland's army, he usually employed his forenoons in hunting, and his evenings in giving balls, concerts, and parties of pleasure. It may be mentioned that the ladies of Invernesshire betrayed the same enthusiasm in the cause of the young * " Our army had got no pay in money for some time past, but meal only, which the men being obliged to sell out and convert into money, it went but a short way for their other needs, at which the poor creatures grumbled exceedingly, and were suspicious that we officers had detained it from them." — Macdonald's Jouimul, Lockhurt Papers, vol. ii. p. 508, VOL. L C C 386 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Prince, which had already been displayed by their fair countrywomen in almost every part of Scotland which he had hitherto visited. President Forbes writes to Sir Andrew Mitchell, — " What was more grievous to men of gallantry, — and, if you believe me, more mischievous to the public, — all the fine ladies, if you except one or two, became passionately fond of the young adventurer, and used all their arts and industry for him in the most intemperate man- ner." — " One of the ladies noticed by the President," says General Stewart, " finding she could not prevail upon her husband to join the rebels, though his men were ready, and perceiving one morning that he in- tended to set oiF for Culloden with the offers of his service as a loyal subject, contrived, while making tea for breakfast, to pour, as if by accident, a quan- tity of scalding hot water on his knees and legs, and thus effectually put an end to all active movements on his part for that season, while she dispatched his men to join the rebels, under a commander more obedient to her wishes." On the 14th of April, Charles received the intelli- gence of the approach of the royal army to Nairn. He immediately ordered the drums ,to be beat and the bagpipes to be played through the town of Inverness, for the purpose of collecting his followers ; and shortly afterwards, the young Prince appeared himself in the streets, marshalling his men, walking backwards and forwards through their lines, and exhorting them to display the same ardour and undaunted courage which had distinguished them at Preston and Falkirk. He was received and listened to with the most enthu- PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 387 siastic acclamations, and voices were heard exclaim- ing in the crowd, " We'll give Cumberland another Fontenoy!" The Prince then mounted his horse, and, with the colours flying and the bagpipes playing, he marched his troops to Culloden Moor, about four miles from Inverness, and passed the night with his chief officers at Culloden House, the residence of one of the staunchest and ablest partisans of the Govern- ment, President Forbes. The night was passed by the remainder of the army under arms on the ground, — " the heath," says a subaltern officer who was pre- sent, " serving us both for bedding and fuel, the cold being very severe."* Early on the following morn- ing, Charles drew up his forces in order of battle, under the impression that the Duke of Cumber- land was on his march to attack him. In the course of the day, however. Lord Elcho, who had been dispatched to Nairn to watch the movements of the royal army, returned to the camp with the tidings that, being the Duke's birthday, the soldiers were spending it in joviality and mirth, and that there was no appearance of their advancing on that day. At this eventful period, such was the miserable state of the Prince's commissariat that during the whole of the 15th, a small loaf, and that of the worst description, was all the food which was doled out to the unfortunate Highlanders. " Strange as the averment may appear," says a modern writer, " I have beheld and tasted a piece of the bread served out on this occasion — being the remains of a loaf, or bannock^ which had been carefully preserved for * MS. Memoirs of Captain Daniel, Lord Mahon, vol, iii. p. 448. c c 2 388 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. eighty-one years by the successive members of a Jaco- bite family. It is impossible to imagine a compo- sition of greater coarseness, or less likely either to please or satisfy the appetite ; and perhaps no recital, however eloquent, of the miseries to which Charles's army was reduced, could have impressed the reader with so strong an idea of the real extent of that misery, as the sight of this singular relic. Its ingre- dients appeared to be merely the husks of oats, and a coarse unclean species of dust, similar to what is found upon the floors of a mill." '"' Satisfied that the Duke of Cumberland had no in- tention to resume his march till the following day, Charles called a council of war — the first which he had summoned since he commenced his retreat from Derby — for the purpose of deliberating on the steps which it was most advisable for him to take. Lord George Murray, who was the last to speak except the Prince, argued strongly in favour of a night- march, insisting that, inasmuch as the scarcity of their provisions rendered it imperative on them to hazard an engagement, their prospects of success were likely to be increased in a tenfold degree by attack- ing the Duke of Cumberland's camp in the dark, and taking his soldiers by surprise, than were they to await the onset of regular troops by daylight in the open field. Charles had been heard to declare, two days before, that he was willing to attack the enemy, had he but a thousand men ;f and so entirely, as he » Chambers, p. 81. t Letter of Lord George Murray, August 5, 1749. Home, Appendix. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 389 himself informs us, did Lord George's* sentiments co- incide with his own, that he rose up and affectionately embraced him. Some objections, indeed, were made to Lord George Murray's proposition, but the debate terminated by a night attack being definitively agreed upon. * MS. Account of the Transaction, Lord Mahon, vol. iii. p. 449, note. 390 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. CHAPTER XIII. Charles's determination to attack the English Army. — Night March. — His Displeasure at Lord George Murray for ordering a Retreat. — Arrival at Culloden Moor. — Disposition of the contending Armies in sight of each other. — Battle of Culloden. — Total Defeat of the Pretender's Troops — His flight. — Barbarities of the Duke of Cum- berland's Soldiers. Having again embraced Lord George Murray, and assigned as the watchword " King James the Eighth," Charles placed himself at the head of his men, and gave the order to march. By the Prince's directions, the heath was set on fire, in order to deceive the enemy into the belief that his troops were occupying the same position. The men were strictly enjoined to march in profound silence, and on no account to speak above their breath. They were also ordered not to make use of their fire-arms in their attack on the enemy's camp, but with their broadswords and Lochaber axes to cut the ropes and poles of the tents, and to stab with their utmost force wherever they perceived any swelling or bulge in the fallen canvas. As the distance from Culloden Moor to the enemy's camp at Nairn was only nine miles, it was computed that they might easily reach their destination shortly after midnight. Unfortunately, however, there were PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 391 many circumstances which tended to retard and em- barrass the Highlanders in their march : not only were they greatly impeded by the darkness of the night, but numbers straggled from the ranks in search of food, and when expostulated with by their com- manders, they declared that they might shoot them if they pleased, for they would rather die at once than starve any longer. By the time they reached the wood of Kilravock, still greater numbers, overcome by faintness and hunger, declared their utter in- ability to advance further, and throwing themselves down among the trees, were soon overcome by the sleep of which they stood so greatly in need. The hour which had been named for the attack was two o'clock in the morning ; but when that hour arrived, it was found that the advanced column, under Lord George Murray, was still four miles dis- tant from the English army. At this moment, the distant roll of drums was heard from the enemy's camp. It was evident, therefore, that they could escape observation only a short time longer, and that the object, for which the night-march had been de- cided upon, had signally failed. The ranks of the Highlanders, moreover, had become frightfully thinned, and of the remainder, so many were exhausted and dispirited from the want of food, that it would have amounted almost to an act of madness to have ad- vanced. Under these circumstances. Lord George Murray, notwithstanding the vehement remonstrances of Hepburn of Keith and others, took upon himself the responsibility of ordering a retreat. He would willingly, perhaps, have consulted with the Prince on 392 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. the occasion; but Charles being a considerable dis- tance in the rear, in command of the second column, he had not the opportunity of communicating with him. When the Prince was informed of the orders which had been given by Lord George Murray, he at &st expressed the utmost indignation, though he after- wards exclaimed in a calmer tone, " 'Tis no matter; we shall meet them still, and behave like brave fel- lows.""" For having taken the step which he did, a most unfounded charge of treachery was afterwards brought against Lord George Murray. His character, however, has long since been completely cleared, and by no one was he more fully exonerated than by Charles himself. Had he yielded, indeed, to the entreaties of Hepburn of Keith, and adhered to the original project of attacking the enemy's camp, there can be little doubt that defeat and disaster would have been the results. " The Duke," says Home, " had certain information of the night march; and spies, who spoke the Gaelic language and wore the Highland dress, mixed with the rebels as they marched; but none of these spies knew anything of the intended attack, and it is believed the Duke sup- posed that the rebels intended only to approach his camp, take their ground in the night, and attack him in the morning, for the soldiers were ordered to lie down to rest with their arms by them." T\Tiatever may have been the amount of the information which was conveyed to the Duke by his spies, it is certain that, with an army treble in number to that of his * Jacobite Memoirs, p. 290. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 393 opponents, and renovated, moreover, by sleep and their morning repast, he would have defeated the unfortunate Highlanders with even still greater ease than he subsequently did at Culloden. About five o'clock in the morning, the Highlanders again found themselves on Culloden Moor, where they had the satisfaction of seeing themselves joined by Macdonald of Keppoch and the Frasers, an accession of strength which occasioned universal joy in the army. Charles repaired to his old quarters at Cul- loden House, where with much difficulty some bread and whiskey were procured for him. Fa- tigued by his night's march, he had lain him- self down to rest, when between seven and eight o'clock — less than three hours after his return to Culloden — he was roused from his slumbers, and in- formed that the enemy's cavalry was not more than two miles distant, and the main body of their army not above four miles. The Prince, accompanied by the Duke of Perth, Lord George Murray, and Lord John Drummond, immediately mounted his horse and rode to the field. A cannon was fired to assemble the sleeping or scat- tered Highlanders; the drums were ordered to beat, and the pipes to play the gatherings of their respec- tive clans. Unfortunately, both officers and men were found to be scattered in all directions. " Through their great want of sleep, meat, and drink," says Macdonald, " many had slipped off to take some refreshment in Inverness, Culloden, and tlie neigh- bourhood, and others to three or four miles distance, where they had friends and acquaintances ; and the 394 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. said refreshment so lulled them asleep, that, designing to take one hour's rest or two, they were afterwards surprised and killed in their beds. By this means we wanted in the action at least one-third of our best men, and of those who did engage many had hurried back from Inverness, and^ upon the alarm of the enemy's approach, both gentlemen and others, as I did myself, having taken only one drink of ale to sup- ply all my need."'" Notwithstanding the vast superiority on the part of the Duke of Cumberland's army, and the disadvan- tages under which the Highlanders laboured from the want of sleep and food, they exhibited no signs of de- spondency ; but, on the contrary, as the lines of their opponents neared them, they raised repeated huzzas, which were responded to no less exultingly by the royalists. The Prince, on his part, appeared in ex- cellent spirits, and spoke confidently of gaining the victory. Previous to the battle, he rode along the lines of his army, exhorting the Highlanders, by his words and gestures, to exceed even the valour which they had displayed at Falkirk and Preston. He was answered by the most enthusiastic cheers, and by the most eloquent professions of devotion and love. The insurgent army was composed of two lines. The first consisted of the Athol brigade, the Camerons, the Stuarts, and some other clans, and was headed by Lord George Murray ; the second line was formed principally of the Low Country and foreign regiments and the Irish piquets, and was commanded by General Stapleton. On the right of the first line, and some- * Lockhait Papers, vol. ii. p. 509. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 395 what behind it, was stationed the first troop of horse- guards, and, on the left of the second line, a troop of Fitzjames's horse. The reserve consisted of Lord Kil- marnock's regiment of foot-guards, and the remains of Lord Pitsligo's and Lord Strathallen's horse. Charles placed himself on a small eminence behind the right of the second line, with Lord Balmerino's troop of horse-guards and a troop of Fitzjames's horse. On perceiving the disposition of the insurgent troops, the Duke of Cumberland formed his own army into three lines ; each wing being supported by- cavalry, and two pieces of cannon being placed be- tween every two regiments which composed the first line. In all former engagements with the royal forces, the Highlanders had obtained a great advan- tage from the skilful manner in which they had con- trived to receive the points of their enemy's bayonets on their targets, and then, forcing the bayonet on one side, thrusting their dirks or broadswords into the exposed and defenceless bodies of their adver- saries. In order to obviate the effect of this successful manoeuvre, the Duke had carefully instructed his sol- diers, instead of directing their thrust at the man immediately opposite to them, to aim at the one who fronted their right-hand comrade, by which means the Highlander would be wounded under the sword-arm before he could ward off the thrust. Having completed the disposition of his army, which was done with great skill, the Duke addressed his followers in a short speech. He implored them to be cool and collected ; to remember the great stake for which they were about to fight, and to dismiss the 396 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. remembrance of all former disasters from their minds. He was unwilling, he said, to believe that there could be any man in the British army who had a disincli- nation to fight; but should there be any, he added, who, from being averse to the cause or from having relations in the rebel army, would prefer to retire, he begged them in God's name to do so, as he would far sooner face the Highlanders with a thousand deter- mined men to support him, than be backed by an army of ten thousand if a tithe of them should be lukewarm. This appeal was responded to by the most enthusiastic shouts, and by loud cries of " Flan- ders! Flanders!" It being now one o'clock, it was submitted to the Duke that the soldiers should be allowed to dine before they went into action. But to this he decidedly objected. " The men," he said, " will fight better and more actively with empty bellies ; and, moreover, it would be a bad omen. You remember what a dessert they got to their dinner at Falkirk!" The battle commenced by the artillery of the two ar- mies opening their fire at each other ; that of the High- landers was ill-pointed and ill-served, their balls pass- ing over the heads of their adversaries, and doing but little execution ; while the royal cannon, being served with great precision, made dreadful havoc in the ranks of the insurgents. Two pieces of artillery were pointed, and several discharges were made, at the spot where Charles was stationed with his small body of cavalry. Several of his troopers were shot, and he himself had a narrow escape, his face being bespat- tered with the dirt thrown up by one of the balls, PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 397 and a servant who was holding a led horse being killed by his side. The cannonading had continued for some time, when the Highlanders, rendered furious by the gall- ing fire which was thinning them, and thirsting to revenge their fallen comrades, could no longer be re- strained from dashing against the enemy. The Mac- intoshes, who had never before been in action, were the first to rush forward, when Lord George Murray, perceiving that the rest of the clans who formed the right line could be kept back no longer, gave the order for the attack. Immediately raising one loud shout, and brandishing their broadswords, the High- landers, — heedless alike of the smoke and hail which poured full in their faces, and of the galling grape- shot which swept through their ranks, — rushed fu- riously against the firm ranks and fixed bayonets of their opponents.^'' So impetuous was this first onset, that they broke through Monro's and Burrel's re- giments, and made themselves masters of two pieces of cannon. Having broken through the fii'st line, they were dashing madly forward, when they encoun- * " It was the emphatic custom of the Highlanders, before an onset, to scrug their bonnets, — that is, to pull their little blue caps down over their brows, so as to ensure them against falling off in the ensuing melee. Never, perhaps, was this motion performed with so much emphasis as on the present occasion, when every man's forehead burned Avith the desire to revenge some dear friend who had fallen a victim to the murderous artillery. A Lowland gentleman, who was in the line, and who survived till a late period, used always, in relating the events of Cullodcn, to com- ment, with a feeling of something like awe, upon the terrific and more than natural expression of rage which gloweil on every face and gleamed on every eye, as he surveyed the extended line at this moment. It was an exhibition of terrible passion, never to be forgotten by the beholder." Chambers, p. 85. 398 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. tered the second, which the Duke, — foreseeing the probability of what actually occurred, — had purposely strengthened and stationed so as to support the first line, in the event of its being broken by the onset of the clans. Drawn up three deep, — the front rank kneeling, the second bending forward, and the third standing upright, — they reserved their fire till the Highlanders had come within a yard of the point of their bayonets, when they poured in so well-directed and destructive a fire as to throw them into utter confusion. Mingling together in the greatest dis- order, and with little distinction of regiments or clans, these brave men had no choice but to retreat. Some few, indeed, continued to dash furiously against the enemy, but not one of them returned to tell the tale of his valour. So dreadful was the slaughter at this particular part of the field, that after the action the bodies of the unfortunate Highlanders are said to have been found in layers of three and four deep. Thus an entire rout took place of the whole right and of the centre of the insurgent army. They had performed all that could be expected from the most romantic valour, and, opposed as they were to over- powering numbers, it was no disgrace to them that they fled. Many of their chieftains were either killed or trampled down. Among the latter was the gal- lant Lochiel, who fell from the effects of his wounds, but, fortunately, his two henchmen succeeded in car- rying him from the field. Had the Macdonalds, who were stationed on the left, charged simultaneously with the other clans, it is far from improbable that victory would have been de- PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 899 cided in favour of Charles. They were disgusted, however, at having been removed from the post of honour, and in vain did their chieftain endeavour to lead them to the charge. " We of the clan Mac- donald," says one of their officers, " thought it omi- nous that we had not this day the right hand in battle, as formerly at Gladsmuir and at Falkirk, and which our clan maintains we had enjoyed in all our battles and struggles since the battle of Bannock- burn."* Stubborn in their displeasure, they resisted every entreaty which was made to induce them to advance. In vain did the Duke of Perth shout the well-known "Claymore!" and in vain did he tell them that it lay in their power to make the left wing a right, in which case he would hereafter be proud to adopt the surname of Macdonald. In vain did the gallant Keppoch urge them to follow him, — " My God!" exclaimed the chieftain in the agony of the moment, " have the children of my tribe forsaken me?" Uttering these words, with a drawn sword in one hand, and a pistol in the other, he rushed for- ward at the head of a few of his own kinsmen. He had proceeded, however, only a few paces, when a musket-shot brought him to the ground, and he had only time to entreat his favourite nephew to consult his own safety, before the breath deserted his body.f But not even did this romantic act of self-devotion produce any effect on the enraged clansmen. Un- flinchingly enduring the galling fire of the English infantry, they are described, in the height of their * Macdonald's Journal, Lockhart Papers, vol. ii. p. 510. t Sec Jacobite Memoirs, p. 425. 400 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. exasperated feelings, as hewing up the heath with their swords, and calmly gazing on the last agonies of their dying chieftain. It was not till they beheld the other clans give way that they fell back and joined them ; but, at this moment, Hawley's regiment of dragoons and the Argyleshire Highlanders pulled down a park wall that covered their right flank, and the cavalry, falling in among them, threw them into the utmost confusion. Thus was completed the entire discomfiture of the Highland clans, and had it not been that the French and Irish piquets covered them by a close and spirited fire, their retreat must have been converted into a most disastrous rout. Exhibiting every symptom of the bitterest agony, and with tears rolling down his face, Charles beheld, from the eminence on which he stood, the flight of his followers, and the annihilation of his fondest hopes. There still remained the Lowland troops, and the French and Irish piquets: and at the moment when the Highlanders were retreating before the overpower- ing force of the English infantry. Lord Elcho is said to have ridden up to the ill-fated Prince, and to have implored him by all that was sacred to place himself at the head of the reserve, and to make a last effort to change the fortune of the day. His entreaties proving of no avail. Lord Elcho, — who had risked fortune, life, and everything that the heart holds most dear in the cause of the Stuarts, — is stated to have turned from him with a bitter curse, declaring that he would never see his face again: it is added, moreover, that he kept his word, and when they were both exiles in a foreign country, that he invariably PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 401 quitted Paris whenever Charles entered that city.* Such is the story which has often been related, but which, in fact, appears to be little worthy of credit. On the contrary, several of the Prince's officers de- clared, in the most solemn manner, that they had seen their unfortunate master forced from the field by Sir Thomas Sheridan, and others of his Irish officers ; and we have more particularly the evidence of the cornet who carried the standard of the second troop of horse guards, who left a dying attestation that he himself saw the Prince earnestly urging his officers to make a fresh charge at the head of the reserve, and that he would have done so had not 0' Sullivan seized the bridle of his horse, and, as- sisted by Sheridan, forced him from the field. " When Charles," says Home, " saw the High- landers repulsed and flying, which he had never seen before, he advanced, it is said, to go down and rally them ; but the earnest entreaties of his tutor. Sir Thomas Sheridan, and others, who as- sured him that it was impossible, prevailed upon him to leave the field, "f * " Some suspicion," Scays Lord Malion, " should attach to the whole of this Story, because the latter part is certainly unfounded. The official account now lies before me of Charles's first public audience at the Court of France after his return, and amongst the foremost of his train on that occasion appears Lord Elcho. I must further observe that Lord Elcho was a man of most violent temper, and no very constant fidelity. Within two months from the date of this battle, he made overtures for pardon to the British Court, ' but,' says Horace Walpole, ' as he has distinguished himself beyond all the Jacobite conmianders by brutality, and insults, and cruelty to our prisoners, I think he is likely to remain where he is ;' and so he did !" — History of Evglancf, vol. iii p. 458. t History of the Rebellion, p. 239. VOL. L U D 402 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Being closely pressed by the royal forces, the re- mainder of Charles's little army which still remained unbroken had no choice but to seek safety in flight. A part of the second line, indeed, quitted the field with tolerable regularity, their pipes playing and colours flying; and the French auxiliaries marched in good order to Inverness; the rest, however, fled in the utmost confusion, and many of the Highlanders never paused for a moment till they found themselves in their own homes in the distant Highlands. The royalists computed their loss at the battle of Culloden at three hundred and ten men ; that of the insurgents is stated to have been a thousand. After quitting the fatal field, the Highland army divided themselves into two bodies, one of which took the road to Inverness, while the latter made the best of their way to the Higldands. The for- mer — in consequence of their route lying along an open moor, where they were easily overtaken by the enemy's light horse — sufiered dreadfully in the pursuit. The five miles, indeed, which lay be- tween the field of battle and Inverness, presented one frightful scene of dead bodies, carnage, and blood. Many who, from motives of curiosity, had approached to witness the battle, fell victims to the indiscri- minate vengeance of the victors. The latter, by their disgraces and discomfitures, had been provoked to the most savage thirst for revenge. The writer of a con- temporary letter observes, " By this time our horse and dragoons had closed in upon them from both wings, and then followed a general carnage. The moor was covered with blood; and our men, what PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 403 with killing the enemy, dabbling their feet in the blood, and splashing it about one another, looked like so many butchers f'' ^ It is remarkable, that the troops who seemed to take the greatest pleasure in butchering the flying and defenceless Highlanders, were the craven dragoons who had behaved in so dastardly a manner at Colt Bridge, Preston, and Falkirk. Their conduct at Culloden presented a curious exemplification of the old Latin proverb, that when a coward finds himself a conqueror he is always the most cruel. The scenes which were acted on the field of battle were even more frightful than those which were per- petrated on the main road. " Not contented," says Smollett, " with the blood which was so profusely shed in the heat of action, they traversed the field after the battle, and massacred those miserable wretches who lay maimed and expiring: nay, some officers acted a part in this cruel scene of assassi- nation — the triumph of low illiberal minds, unin- spired by sentiment, untinctured by humanity." f " The road from Culloden to Inverness," says the * Scot's Magazine, April, 1746. t History of England, vol. iii. p. 229. In still more powerful lan- guage, Smollett, in his " Tears of Scotland," has described the frightful horrors which disgraced the victory of Culloden : — " Yet, when the rage of battle ceased, The victor's soul was not appeased ; The naked and forlorn must feel Devouring flames, and murdering steel ! The pious mother, doomed to death, Forsaken wanders o'er the heath ; The bleak wind whistles round her head. Her helpless orphans cry for bread ; D D 2 404 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. Clievalier de Johnstone, " was everywhere strewed with dead bodies. The Duke of Cumberland had the cruelty to allow our wounded to remain amongst the dead on the field of battle, stripped of their clothes, from Wednesday, the day of our unfortunate engage- ment, till three o'clock on the afternoon of Friday, when he sent detachments to kill all those who were still in life ; and a great many, who had resisted the effects of the continual rains, were then dispatched."* The almost unparalleled barbarities which were permitted by the Duke of Cumberland after the battle of Culloden (barbarities which he speaks of with brutal jocularity, in one of his letters to the Duke of Newcastle, as "a little blood-letting ")f ought rather to have stamped him as a monster of iniquity, than to have assisted to procure for him those honours and rewards which were showered upon him for his easy victory over an army so inferior in numbers to his own, and who, moreover, were labom*- ing under every possible disadvantage. The ferocity and vindictiveness which he displayed towards his un- fortunate opponents, who, — mistaken though we may admit them to have been, had committed no crime Bereft of shelter, food, and friend, She views the shades of night descend ; And stretched beneath th' inclement skies, Weeps o'er her tender babes and dies. While the warm blood bedews my veins, And unimpaired remembrance reigns, Resentment of my country's fate, Within ray filial breast shall beat." * Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 197. t Coxe's Pelhani Administration, vol. i. p. 303. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 405 but that of bravely defending their principles, and chi- valrously supporting the cause of a Prince whom they conscientiously believed to be their rightful master, — will ever deservedly continue to be a blot on his name. It is impossible, indeed, to reflect on the pro- miscuous slaughter of the flying and unresisting High- landers after the battle of Culloden, on the numerous murders which were subsequently committed in cold blood, and on the numbers which were sacrificed on the gallows, without execrating the authors of these detestable barbarities. There were unquestionably persons in the ranks of the insurgent army — men of influence and family — who adopted the cause of their unfortunate master as much from motives of self-interest as from any prin- ciples of duty, and who, as the instigators of others, and as the more active and prominent disturbers of peace and good order, might with propriety have been made severe examples of by the Government. But there could be neither justice nor policy in hanging up, in almost countless numbers, the brave and de- voted clansmen, who were not competent, either by education or any other means, to form a proper esti- mate of what might be the consequences of their embarking in a rash but gallant cause, or of the true merits of the quarrel in which they were unhappily engaged. They knew little more than what they had heard from their fathers — that the Stuarts were their hereditary and rightful sovereigns; while both duty and inclination told them to follow the orders of their chieftains, whose principles almost invariably regu- 406 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. lated their own.* The strange and almost ridicu- lous stories which at this period were generally current, of the wild habits and ferocious character of the Highland clansmen, had unquestionably the efiect of turning aside much of that generous com- miseration which would otherwise have been excited by the illegal massacres of the Duke of Cumberland and his executioner-in-chief, General Hawley. When the world, however, came to reflect more dispassion- ately on the frightful effusion of blood of which these persons were the principal authors, they naturally viewed the conduct, as well as the military abilities, of the Duke in their proper light, and grew to exe- crate that man under the name of " the Butcher," whom, only a few months before, they had nearly exalted into an idol. It has already been mentioned, that for as long as two days after the battle of Culloden, many of the wounded were inhumanly allowed to remain mingled with the dead, and endui'ing, as they must have done, all the horrors of bodily pain, of intoler- able thirst, and the agonies of hope deferred. The greater number of the wounded, indeed, were dis- patched by parties of the victors who traversed the * " The idea of patriarchal obedience," says Sir Walter Scott, " was so absolute, that when some Lowland gentlemen were extolling with wonder the devotion of a clansman, who had sacrificed his own life to preserve that of his chief, a Highlander who was present coldly observed, that he saw nothing wonderful in the matter — he only did his duty ; had he acted otherwise, he would have been a poltroon and a traitor. To punish men who were bred in such principles, for following their chiefs into war, seems as unjust as it would be to hang a dog for the crime of following his master." — Tales of a Grandfather, vol. iii. p. 300, note. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 407 field after the battle, stabbing some with their bayo- nets, and cutting down others with their swords ; and through this frightful scene, the Duke of Cumberland not only calmly passed Avith his staff, but even took his share in the painful tragedy. As he rode along among the dying and the dead, he perceived a young man — Charles Fraser, the younger, of Inverallachy, who held a commission as Lieutenant -colonel in Fraser of Lovat's regiment — who was lying wounded on the ground, but who raised himself up on his elbow, as the Duke and his followers passed. The Duke inquired of him to whom he belonged. " To the Prince!" was the undaunted reply. The Duke instantly turned to Major Wolfe, who was near him, and desired him to shoot " that insolent scoundrel." " My commission," said Wolfe, " is at the disposal of your Royal Highness, but I cannot consent to become an executioner." After one or two other ineffectual attempts to induce some officers who were near him to pistol the unfortunate Highlander, the Duke, per- ceiving a common soldier, inquired of him if his piece was loaded? The man replying in the affirm- ative, he commanded him to perform the required duty, which was instantly done.* How widely dif- ferent was the conduct of the Duke of Cumberland and the English after the battle of Culloden, to the humanity and consideration which Charles and his gallant Highlanders displayed towards their wounded enemies, when they found themselves victors at Falkirk ! * Cliarabcr.^, p. 87. From a critique upon Home's History of the Re- bellion, in the Antijacobin Review, vol. xiii. by the late Sir Henry Steuart, of Allanton, Bart. 408 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. As some palliation for the frightful scenes which were enacted after the battle, it was alleged that the order for massacring the wounded originated in the humane purpose of putting them out of pain! It was insisted also, as a further justification of the indiscriminate slaughter which took place on the road to Inverness, that a regimental order was found on the person of one of the insurgents, signed by Lord George Murray, in which the High- landers were enjoined, in the event of their gain- ing the victory, to give no quarter to the King's troops. No such order, however, was ever seen or heard of by any of the insurgents, nor is there the slightest reason to believe that it, in fact, ever existed. It might have been advanced by the Duke of Cumberland and his admirers, with some appearance of reason, that the excesses which disgraced the victory of Culloden were the result of a stern but necessary policy ; a policy which was called for in order to strike terror into the surviving followers of Charles, who, though defeated, were still formid- able, and were capable of being re-assembled and arrayed against the King's troops. It might also have been argued, with the same show of reason, that the carnage which took place was partly the result of the exasperated feelings and brute-like propensi- ties of the common soldiers, who, inflamed by the victory which they had obtained over a foe who had lately been their conquerors, were not unlikely to wreak their vengeance in too summary and merciless a manner. PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 409 But none of these arguments hold good, as regards the terrible catalogue of ravages, slaughters, and executions, which were subsequently perpetrated in cold blood. The victors carried havoc and blood- shed, and all the frightful extremities of war, into the castle of the chieftain and the cabin of the peasant; they spread ruin and desolation among a free, a gallant, and warm-hearted people, whose only crime was their loyalty to their legitimate Prince; women and children, whose husbands and brothers had been murdered, and whose homes had been burned to the ground, were seen shivering in the clefts of the rocks, dying of cold and hunger; and it is a fact, that at Fort Augustus women were stripped of their clothes, and made to run races naked on horseback for the amusement of the brutal garrison. " When the men were slain," says Sir Walter Scott, " the houses burnt, and the herds and flocks driven off, the women and children perished from famine in many instances, or followed the track of the plun- derers, begging for the blood and offal of their own cattle, slain for the soldiers' use, as the miserable means of supporting a wretched life." '" One of the first acts of severity committed by the Duke of Cumberland, was to hang thirty-six deserters from the royal army who had joined the standard of the adventurer. f Nineteen wounded officers be- * Tales of a Grandfather, vol. iii. p. 302. t Among these was a relation of Lord Forbes, For a curious anec- dote connected with his execution, see Chevalier de Johnstone's Me- moirs, \). 203. 410 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. longing to the Highland army, were dragged from a wood in which they had sought refuge, and carried into the court-yard of Culloden House, where the greater number were shot, and the rest, who showed any symptoms of life, had their brains knocked out by the soldiery. In one instance, a hut, which con- tained a number of wounded Highlanders, was set fire to by the soldiers, when not only was every indivi- dual who attempted to escape immediately bayoneted, but when the building was burnt to the ground, as many as thirty corpses were found blackened by the flames. The fate of such of the survivors of the battle of Culloden, who were dragged to prison, was scarcely less terrible. Great numbers were confined in the church and tolbooth of Inverness, wliere, deprived of clothes, and allowed only so small a quantity of meal daily as was scarcely sufficient to support life, they passed a miserable existence, till they were carried on board ship, in order to be sent to London and placed at the disposal of the Government. Their condition at sea was even worse than on land. They were thrust half naked into the holds of the different vessels, where they slept on the stones which formed the ballast; their sole allowance of drink being a bottle of cold water, and their amount of daily food being no more than about ten ounces of an inferior kind of oatmeal to each man. Even at this distance of time the heart almost sickens with the details of the horrors and privations to which these faithful and gallant people were subjected. Of a large number PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 411 of human beings who were shipped to Barbadoes, many died on ship-board; and of eighty-one who reached their pestilential destination, three years afterwards only eighteen were left to point out the graves of their companions, and to bewail their own fate. Human nature revolts at such sickening de- tails. On board of one vessel, in which one hundred and fifty-seven of these brave but unfortunate men had been embarked, so great was the mortality oc- casioned by the cruel deprivations which they had to endure, that after the lapse of eight months, — during the whole of which time they were kept huddled together on board ship, — only forty-nine individuals survived to tell the tale of the miseries to which they had been exposed.* In regard to the terrible policy adopted by the Duke of Cumberland, and carried out by his brutal agents, the following account, extracted from the dying de- claration of one of the unfortunate victims on the scaffold, may be taken as a specimen.f " I was put," says the unhappy sufferer, " into one of the Scotch kirks, together with a great number of wounded prisoners, who were stripped naked, and then left to die of their wounds without the least assistance; and though we had a surgeon of our own, a pri- soner in the same place, yet he was not permitted * See Donald Macleod's Narrative, Jacobite Memoirs, p. 40G, &c. t The principal agents in carrying out the Duke's brutal policy, were his " executioner-in-chief," General Hawlcy, Lieutenant-colonel How- ard, Captain Caroline Scott, and Major Lockhart. It is natural, perhaps, as an Englishman, to feel some satisfaction in recording that two out of the number were Scotchmen. 412 PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. to dress their wounds, but his instruments were taken from him on purpose to prevent it; and in conse- quence of this many expired in the utmost agonies. Several of tlie wounded were put on board the "Jean" of Leith, and there died in lingering tor- tures. Our general allowance, while we were pri- soners there, was half a pound of meal a-day, which was sometimes increased to a pound, but never ex- ceeded it; and I myself was an eye-witness, that great numbers were starved to death. Their bar- barity extended so far as not to suffer the men who were put on board the " Jean," to lie down even on planks, but they were obliged to sit on large stones, by which means their legs swelled as big almost as their bodies. These are some few of the cruelties exercised, which being almost incredible in a Christian country, I am obliged to add an as- servation to the truth of them; and I do assure you, upon the word of a dying man, as I hope for mercy at the day of judgment, I assert nothing but what I know to be true." * These merciless inhumanities, it must be remem- bered, were independent of the numerous legal ex- ecutions which were permitted by the Government, and to which we shall not at present refer. The details, indeed, of the almost demoniac retribution exacted by the Duke of Cumberland and his myr- midons, would appear almost too dreadful to be cre- * " Paper read by Mr. James Bradshaw, and delivered by him to the Sheriff of Surrey, just before his execution, on Friday, November 28, 1746." PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD. 413 dited, were they not fully substantiated on the most undoubted authority. Their truth, indeed, is built, not on the partial exaggerations of the defeated Ja- cobites, but by persons of high integrity, station, and honour, and, in many instances, by the partizans of the Government, and by the victors themselves. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. LONDON : Printed by S & J. Bentlev, WilsOjN, and Fley, Rangor House, Shoe Lane. DATE DUE Mjul AUG 1 3 1 1978 1978 9 W- fi \m PRINTEOIN USA UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 001 380 430 7 iilHmmUtiiiiJiiiiit llil Hiiiiiiiiimii 1