CHAPTER XXXII.

A.D. 1715.

BRITISH SOVEREIGN:--George II., 1727-1760.

Charles returns to Holyrood--State of public feeling--Charles resolves to remain at Edinburgh--Measures taken to increase the army--Charles’s proceedings at Edinburgh--Blockade of the Castle--Disorder in the city--Blockade removed--Exertions of Lord President Forbes--Arrival of reinforcements at Edinburgh--Charles issues a second manifesto--Arrival of supplies from France and detachment from the north--Charles resolves to invade England--Preparations--Deportment of Charles at Holyrood--Declaration of the Highland army--Preparations of the government--Riot at Perth on the King’s birth-day.

On the evening of Sunday the 22d of September, the day after the battle of Preston or Gladsmuir, as that affair is named by the Highlanders, Charles returned to Holyrood House, and was received by a large concourse of the inhabitants, who had assembled round the palace, with the loudest acclamations. His return to the capital had been preceded by a large portion of his army, which, it is said, made a considerable display as it marched up the long line of street, leading from the Watergate to the castle, amid the din of a number of bagpipes, and carrying along with it the enemy’s standards, and other trophies of victory which it had taken upon the field.

Apprehensive that the alarm, which Cope’s disaster would excite in the city, might obstruct the public worship on the Sunday, Charles had sent messengers on the evening of the battle, to the dwelling-houses of the different ministers, desiring them to continue their ministrations as usual; but although the church bells were tolled at the customary hour next morning, and the congregations assembled, one only of the city clergymen appeared, all the rest having retired to the country. The minister who thus distinguished himself among his brethren on this occasion was a Mr. Hog, morning lecturer in the Tron church. The two clergymen of the neighbouring parish of St. Cuthbert’s, Messrs. Macvicar and Pitcairn, also continued to preach as usual, and many inhabitants of the city went to hear them. No way dismayed by the presence of the Highland army, they continued to pray as usual for King George; and Mr. Macvicar even went so far in his prayers, as to express a hope that God would take Charles to himself, and that instead of an earthly crown, he would “give him a crown of glory.” Charles is said to have laughed heartily on being informed of Mr. Macvicar’s concern for his spiritual welfare. To induce the ministers to return to their duty, the prince issued a proclamation on Monday, repeating the assurances he had so often given them, that no interruption should be given to public worship; but that, on the contrary, all concerned should be protected. This intimation, however, had no effect upon the fugitive ministers, who, to the great scandal of their flocks, deserted their charges during the whole time the Highlanders occupied the city.

In the first moments of victory, Charles felt a gleam of joy, which for a time excluded reflection; but when, after retiring from the battle-field, he began to ruminate over the events of the day, and to consider that it was British blood that had been spilt, if we can trust his own words, his spirit sunk within him. “If I had obtained this victory,” says he to his father, in the letter already quoted, “over foreigners, my joy would have been complete; but as it is over Englishmen, it has thrown a damp upon it that I little imagined. The men I have defeated were your majesty’s enemies, it is true, but they might have become your friends and dutiful subjects when they had got their eyes opened to see the true interest of their country, which you mean to save, not to destroy.” For these reasons he was unwilling that the victory should be celebrated by any public manifestation, and on being informed that many of the inhabitants of Edinburgh intended to testify their joy on the occasion by some public act, the prince, in the same proclamation which enjoined the clergymen to return to their charges, prohibited “any outward demonstrations of public joy.”

The news of the prince’s victory was received every where, by the Jacobites, with the most unbounded delight. Unable any longer to conceal their real sentiments, they now publicly avowed them, and like their predecessors, the cavaliers, indulged in deep potations to the health of “the king” and the prince. But this enthusiasm was not confined to the Jacobites alone. Many persons whose political creed was formerly doubtful, now declared unequivocally in favour of the cause of the prince; whilst others, whose sentiments were formerly in favour of the government, openly declared themselves converts to an order of things which they now considered inevitable. In short, throughout the whole of Scotland the tide of public opinion was completely changed in favour of the Stuarts. The fair sex, especially, displayed an ardent attachment to the person and cause of the prince, and contributed not a little to bring about the change in public feeling alluded to. Duncan Forbes has well described this strong revolution in public feeling. “All Jacobites, how prudent soever, became mad; all doubtful people became Jacobites; and all bankrupts became heroes, and talked of nothing but hereditary rights and victory; and what was more grievous to men of gallantry, and if you will believe me, much more mischievous to the public, all the fine ladies, if you will except one or two, became passionately fond of the young Adventurer, and used all their arts and industry for him in the most intemperate manner.”[952]

In England the news of the prince’s victory created a panic, causing a run upon the bank, which would have been fatal to that establishment, had not the principal merchants entered into an association to support public credit by receiving the notes of the bank in payment.[953] Scotchmen were everywhere looked upon with distrust by their southern neighbours, and the most severe reflections were indulged in against the Scottish nation. Sir Andrew Mitchell, writing to President Forbes, notices with deep regret this feeling against his countrymen: “The ruin of my country, and the disgrace and shame to which it is, and will continue to be, exposed, have affected me to that degree, that I am hardly master of myself. Already every man of our country is looked on as a traitor, as one secretly inclined to the Pretender, and waiting but an opportunity to declare. The guilty and the innocent are confounded together, and the crimes of a few imputed to the whole nation.”[954] Again, “I need not describe to you the effects the surrender of Edinburgh, and the progress the rebels made, had upon this country. I wish I could say that they were confined to the lower sort of people; but I must fairly own that their betters were as much touched as they. The reflections were national; and it was too publicly said that all Scotland were Jacobites; the numbers of the rebels and their adherents were magnified for this purpose; and he that in the least diminished them was called a _secret Jacobite_.”[955]

Elated by the news of the victory of Preston, a party of armed Highlanders entered Aberdeen on the 25th of September, seized the provost, and carrying him to the cross, held their drawn swords over his head, till they proclaimed the Chevalier de St. George. They then requested him to drink the health of “the king,” but having refused to do so, they threw a glass of wine into his breast. Not wishing to have his loyalty put a second time to such a severe test, the provost left the city, not thinking himself safe, as he observes, “in the way of those who had used him in so unreasonable and odd a manner.”[956]

With the exception of the castles of Edinburgh and Stirling, and a few insignificant forts, the whole of Scotland may be said to have been now in possession of the victor. Having no longer an enemy to combat in North Britain, Charles turned his eyes to England; but against the design which he appears to have contemplated, of an immediate march into that kingdom, several very serious objections occurred. If the prince could have calculated on a general rising in England in his favour, his advance into that kingdom with a victorious army, before the government recovered from the consternation into which it had been thrown by the recent victory, would have been a wise course of policy; but it would have been extremely rash, without an absolute assurance of extensive support from the friends of the cause in England, to have entered that kingdom with the small army which fought at Gladsmuir, and which, instead of increasing, was daily diminishing, by the return of some of the Highlanders to their homes, according to custom, with the spoils they had collected. There were indeed, among the more enthusiastic of the prince’s advisers, some who advocated an immediate incursion into England; but by far the greater part thought the army too small for such an undertaking. These urged that although the success which had attended their arms would certainly engage a number of friends, who either had not hitherto had an opportunity of joining, or had delayed doing so, because they saw little or no appearance of success, yet it was prudent to wait for such aid,--that French succours might now be depended upon, since the prince had given convincing proofs of his having a party in Scotland,--that, at any rate, it was better to remain some little time at Edinburgh, till they saw what prospects there were of success, and that in the mean time the army would be getting stronger by reinforcements which were expected from the north, and would be better modelled and accoutred. The latter opinion prevailed, and Charles resolved to make some stay in Edinburgh.[957]

Alluding to this resolution, Mr. Maxwell observes, “Those who judge of things only by the event, will condemn this measure, and decide positively that if the prince had marched on from the field of battle, he would have carried all before him. As the prince’s affairs were ruined in the end, it is natural to wish he had done any thing else than what he did. Things could hardly have turned out worse, and there was a possibility of succeeding. But to judge fairly of the matter, we must have no regard to what happened, but consider what was the most likely to happen. The prince had but 3,000 men at the battle, where he had 100 at least killed and wounded. He might reckon upon losing some hundreds more, who would go home with the booty they had got, so that he could not reckon upon more than 2,500 men to follow him into England, where he had no intelligence, nor hopes of being joined, nor resource in case of a misfortune. But what would the world have said of such an attempt had it miscarried!”[958]

According to the Chevalier Johnstone,[959] the prince was advised by his friends, that as the whole of the towns of Scotland had been obliged to recognise him as regent of the kingdom, in the absence of his father, his chief object should be to endeavour by every possible means to secure himself in the government of Scotland; and to defend himself against the English armies, which would be sent against him, without attempting for the present to extend his views to England. There were others who strongly advised Charles to annul the union between Scotland and England, as an act made during the usurpation of Queen Anne, by a cabal of a few Scotch peers, and to summon a Scottish parliament, to meet at Edinburgh, to impose taxes in a legal manner, and obtain supplies for his army. This party assured the prince that these steps would give great pleasure to all Scotland, and that the tendency of them would be to renew the ancient discord between the two countries, and that the war would thereby be made national: they informed him, that, so far from being prepared to run an immense risk, for the sake of acquiring England, they wished for nothing more than to see him seated on the throne of Scotland. As the chief object of his ambition, however, was to obtain the crown of England, he rejected the proposal made to him, to confine his views to Scotland.

As soon as it was determined to remain in Scotland till the army should be reinforced, every measure was adopted that could tend to increase it. Letters were despatched to the Highlands, and other parts of Scotland, containing the news of the victory, and urging immediate aid; and messengers were sent to France to represent the state of the prince’s affairs, and to solicit succours from that court. Officers were appointed to beat up for recruits, and every inducement was held out to the prisoners taken at Preston to join the insurgents. Many of these, accordingly, enlisted in the prince’s army, and were of considerable service in drilling recruits, but before the Highland army left Edinburgh, almost the whole of them had deserted, and joined their former companions at Berwick.[960] The principal person selected by Charles to go to the Highlands, on the present occasion, was Mr. Alexander Macleod, a gentleman of the Scottish bar, who carried along with him a paper of instructions, dated the 24th of September, and signed by secretary Murray.[961] By these instructions, Macleod was directed forthwith to proceed to the Isle of Skye, to assure Sir Alexander Macdonald, and the laird of Macleod, and other gentlemen of their names, that the prince did not impute their not having hitherto joined him, to any failure of loyalty or zeal on their part, for his father’s cause; but to the private manner in which he had arrived in Scotland, which was from a desire to restore his royal father without foreign assistance--that he was ready still to receive them with the same affection he would have welcomed them, had they joined him on his landing,--and that as they well knew the dispositions of the Highlanders, and their inclination to return home after a battle, they would be sensible how necessary it was to recruit the army with a strong body of men from their country. After giving them these assurances, Macleod was directed to require of these chiefs to repair with all possible speed with their men to Edinburgh, where they should be furnished with arms. In case they were found refractory, Macleod was directed to use all proper means with the gentlemen of their different families, to bring them to the field with as many followers as possible,--that to encourage them to take up arms, he was to acquaint them that the prince had received undoubted assurances of support from France and Spain,--that the Earl Marischal was expected to land in Scotland with a body of troops,--that the Duke of Ormond was also expected in England, with the Irish brigade, and a large quantity of arms, ammunition, and money,--and that before passing the Forth, he had received letters from the Spanish ministry, and the Duke of Bouillon, containing positive assurances of aid. In conclusion, Macleod was ordered to assure these gentlemen that the encouragement and favour which would be shown them, if they joined the prince’s standard, would be in proportion to their loyalty and the backwardness of their chiefs. He was likewise directed to send for the chief of Mackinnon, and to tell him that the prince was much surprised that one who had given such solemn assurances, as Mackinnon had done, to join him, with all the men he could collect, should have failed in his promise. As Macleod of Swordland, in Glenelg, who had visited the prince in Glenfinnan, had there engaged to seize the fort of Bernera, and to join Charles with a hundred men, whether his chief joined or not, the messenger was instructed to ask him why he had not fulfilled his engagement. The result of this mission will be subsequently noticed.

Seated in the palace of his ancestors, Charles, as Prince Regent, continued to discharge the functions of royalty, by exercising every act of sovereignty, with this difference only between him and his rival in St. James’s, that while King George could only raise troops and levy money by act of parliament, Charles, by his own authority, not only ordered regiments to be raised for his service, and troops of horse-guards to be levied for the defence of his person, but also imposed taxes at pleasure. To give eclat to his proceedings, and to impress upon the minds of the people, by external acts, the appearances of royalty, he held a levee every morning in Holyrood-house, and appointed a council which met every morning at ten o’clock, after the levee was over. This council comprised the Duke of Perth and Lord George Murray, the lieutenant-generals of the army, O’Sullivan, the quarter-master-general, Lord Pitsligo, Lord Elcho, Sir Thomas Sheridan, Secretary Murray, and all the Highland chiefs.[962]

As nothing could injure his cause more in the eyes of the people than acts of oppression on the part of his troops, one of Charles’s first acts after his return to Edinburgh, was to issue an edict granting protection to the inhabitants of the city and the vicinity, in their persons and properties; but farmers, living within five miles of Edinburgh, were required, before being entitled to the protection, to appear at the secretary’s office, in Holyrood-house, and grant bond that they should be ready, on twelve hours’ notice, to furnish the prince with horses for carrying the baggage of his army to Berwick-upon-Tweed, or a similar distance, according to their plowgates. By another proclamation put forth the same day, viz. the 23d of September, he denounced death or such other punishment as a court-martial should order to be inflicted on any soldier or person connected with his army, who should be guilty of forcibly taking from “the good people of Edinburgh,” or of the country, any of their goods without a fair equivalent to the satisfaction of the parties. These orders were in general scrupulously attended to, though, in some instances, irregularities were committed, under the pretence of searching for arms. The greater part, however, were the acts of persons who, though they wore the white cockade, did not belong to the army.

Besides the clergymen of the city, a considerable number of the volunteers had deserted their homes in dread of punishment for having taken up arms. To induce these, as well as the ministers of the city, to return, Charles issued a proclamation on the 24th of September, granting a full pardon to all or such of them, as should, within twenty days after the publication thereof, present themselves to Secretary Murray, or to any other member of the council, at Holyrood-house, or at such other place as the prince might be at the time. A few volunteers only took advantage of this offer.

When the Highland army first approached the city, the directors of the two banks then existing, had removed all their money and notes to the castle, under the apprehension that the prince would appropriate them to his own use. As great inconvenience was felt in the city by the removal of the banks, Charles issued a proclamation on the 25th of September, in which, after disclaiming any intention to seize the funds belonging to the banks, he invited them to resume their business in the city, pledging himself to protect them. He declared that the money lodged in the banks should be free from any exactions on his part; and that he himself would contribute to the re-establishment of public credit, by receiving and issuing the notes of the banks in payment. The banks, however, declined to avail themselves of the prince’s offer; but when applied to for money in exchange for a large quantity of their notes in possession of the Highland army, the directors answered the demand.

As the wants of his army were many, the next object of the prince’s solicitude was to provide against them. Anxious as he was to conciliate all classes of the people, he had no alternative on the present occasion, but to assess the burghs of Scotland, in sums proportionate to the duties of excise drawn from them. He accordingly sent letters, dated the 30th of September, to all the chief magistrates of the burghs, ordering them, under pain of being considered rebel, to repair, upon receipt, to Holyrood-house, to get the contributions to be paid by their respective burghs ascertained, and for payment of which, he promised to assign the duties of excise. For immediate use, he compelled the city of Edinburgh, on pain of military execution, to furnish his army with 1,000 tents, 2,000 targets, 6,000 pair of shoes, and other articles, to the value of upwards of £15,000, to liquidate which, a tax of 2s. 6d. per pound was laid on the city, and in the Canongate and Leith. From the city of Glasgow he demanded £15,000, a sum which was compromised by a prompt payment of £5,500. The prince, at the same time, despatched letters to the collectors of the land-tax, the collectors and comptrollers of the customs and excise, and to the factors upon the estates forfeited in the former insurrection, requiring all of them, upon receipt, to repair to Holyrood-house with their books, and to pay such balances as might appear upon examination to be in their hands,--the first and last classes, under the pain of rebellion and military execution, and the second class, besides the last-mentioned penalty, under the pain of high-treason. Charles, at the same time, seized all the smuggled goods in the custom-houses of Leith and other sea-ports, which being sold, yielded him £7,000. Besides the exactions from public bodies, he compelled several of the nobility and gentry in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh to supply him with considerable quantities of hay and oats. Parties of Highlanders were sent to the seats of the Dukes of Hamilton and Douglas, and the Earl of Hoptoun, to carry off arms and horses. From the last mentioned noblemen they took nearly 100 horses.[963]

For some days after the Highlanders resumed possession of Edinburgh, a sort of tacit understanding existed between the garrison and them, under which the communication between the castle and the city continued open. A guard of Highlanders was posted at the Weigh-house, an old square building, which stood at the head of West Bow, at the distance of a few hundred yards from the fortress. This guard allowed provisions of every description to pass, particularly for the use of the officers; and matters might have remained for some time in this quiescent state, to the great comfort of the inhabitants, had not the garrison one night, most unaccountably fired off some cannon and small arms in the direction of the West Port. In consequence, it is believed, of this breach of the implied armistice, orders were given to the guards, on the 29th of September, to block up all the avenues leading to the castle, and allow no person to pass. On being made acquainted with this order, General Guest sent a letter, in the evening, addressed to the Lord Provost, intimating, that unless the communication between the castle and the city was renewed, and the blockade removed, he would be obliged to dislodge the Highland guards with his cannon, and bombard the city. Nothing could be more unreasonable and absurd than this threat. Though willing, the citizens had it not in their power, either to keep up the communication with the castle, or to take off the blockade, and though they were as unable to remove the Highlanders from the city “as to remove the city itself out of its seat,”[964] or prevent them from acting as they pleased, yet the citizens would be the only sufferers in the event of a bombardment; for the Highlanders, if the city were destroyed, would only be obliged to change their quarters, and neither the destruction of the one, nor the removal of the other, could be of any service to the castle. These views were represented to the governor by a deputation from the city; but Guest remained inflexible, and pleaded in his justification a peremptory order, which he said he had received from the king himself, and which left him no discretion. At the earnest solicitation of the inhabitants, Guest was prevailed upon to grant a respite for one night. Next morning, six deputies waited on the prince, at the palace, with General Guest’s letter, which was in reality intended for him. After perusing the letter, Charles returned an answer immediately to the deputies in writing, in which he expressed surprise at the barbarity of the orders from the castle, at a time when it was admitted, that the garrison had six weeks provisions on hand,--that, in pleading, as Guest had done, the directions of “the Elector of Hanover,” as an excuse, it was evident, that the Elector did not consider the inhabitants of Edinburgh as his subjects, otherwise he would not have made a demand upon them which they could not fulfil,--and that, should he, the prince, out of compassion to the citizens, comply with the extravagant demand now made, he might as well quit the city at once, and abandon all the advantages he had obtained,--that, if any mischief should befall the city, he would take particular care to indemnify the inhabitants for their loss,--and that, in the meantime, if forced by the threatened barbarity, he would make reprisals upon the estates of the officers in the castle, and also upon all who were “known to be open abettors of the German government.”

This letter was laid before a meeting of the inhabitants, who sent deputies with it to General Guest. After some altercation, he agreed to suspend hostilities till the return of an express from London, on condition that the Highland army should, in the mean time, make no attempt upon the castle. This condition was, however, infringed by the Highlanders, who, on the following day, discharged some musket shots with the intention, it is supposed, of frightening some persons who were carrying up provisions to the castle. General Guest, considering that he was no longer restrained from executing his threat, immediately opened a fire upon the guard stationed at the Weigh-house, by which some houses were damaged and two persons wounded. Charles retaliated by issuing a proclamation next day, in which he prohibited all correspondence with the castle, under pain of death. This proclamation was followed by an order to strengthen the blockade, by posting additional guards at several places about the castle. To revenge this step the garrison fired at every Highlander they could discover from the battlements, and, by this reckless proceeding, killed and wounded several of the inhabitants. A daring exploit was performed at the same time by a soldier, who slipped down from the castle, set fire to a house in Livingston’s yards, where a guard was posted, and after shooting one of the guards dead upon the spot, returned safe to the fortress. Shortly after this occurrence a party sallied out from the castle, killed some of the guards stationed at the same place, took an officer and a few prisoners, and put the rest to flight.

Meanwhile General Guest sent a message to the city, intimating that he meant to demolish the houses where the guards were posted, but that care would be taken to do as little damage as possible to the city. Accordingly, on the 4th of October, about two o’clock in the afternoon, a cannonade was opened from the half-moon battery, near the Castle-gate, which was kept up till the evening. When it grew dark the garrison made a sally, and set fire to a foundry and a house on the Castle-hill which had been deserted. They then dug a trench fourteen feet broad, and sixteen feet deep, across the Castle-hill, about half-way between the gate and the houses on the Castle-hill, and along the parapet made by the earth taken from the trench on the side next the castle, they posted 200 men, who discharged some cartridge shot down the street, killing and wounding some of the inhabitants. The bombardment was resumed next day, with more disastrous effect. No person could with safety appear on the High-street, as the shots from the Castle-hill penetrated as far down as the head of the old Flesh-market close, and shattered several houses. At first, some of the better informed among the citizens were disposed to regard the threat of bombardment as a mere device to induce the prince to discontinue the blockade, as they could not bring themselves to believe that the government could have been guilty of issuing the barbarous order alluded to by the governor of the castle; but the inhabitants in general entertained more correct views, and before the cannonade commenced, the streets were crowded with women and children running towards the gates, in great confusion, while many of the citizens were to be seen carrying their most valuable effects out of the city. During the two days that the cannonade lasted, viz., the 4th and 5th of October, the utmost dismay prevailed among the inhabitants, and multitudes of them left the city, without knowing whither to flee or where to look for shelter.

To put an end to this disastrous state of affairs Charles issued a proclamation on the evening of the 5th of October, removing the blockade. In this document he stated that it was with the greatest regret that he was hourly informed of the many murders which were committed upon the innocent inhabitants of the city, by the inhuman commanders and garrison of the castle, a practice contrary, he observed, to all the laws of war, to the truce granted to the city, and even exceeding the orders which the government, it was alleged, had given upon the occasion,--that he might have, as he had threatened, justly chastised those who had been instrumental in the ruin of the capital, by reprisals upon the estates and fortunes of the supporters of the government; but as he thought it noways derogatory to the glory of a prince, to suspend punishment, or alter a resolution, if, by such a course, he could save the lives of innocent men, he had allowed his humanity to yield to the barbarity of the common enemy. This proclamation was followed by a cessation of the cannonade; but the garrison still continued to fire occasionally at the Highlanders whenever they made their appearance in the neighbourhood of the castle.

The object of Guest, according to Mr. Home, in thus annoying the town, and provoking the Highlanders, was not to secure a supply of provisions, of which he had already an abundance, but to prevent them from marching into England, by keeping them occupied in the siege of the castle. To deceive Charles, he wrote in the beginning of the week following the battle of Preston, several letters to the Duke of Newcastle, one of the secretaries of state, acquainting him that there was but a very small stock of provisions in the castle of Edinburgh,--that he would be obliged to surrender, if not immediately relieved, and recommending that any troops sent to his relief, should be forwarded by sea, to Berwick or Newcastle, for the sake of despatch. These letters, which were intended for the perusal of Charles, were sent so that they might fall into his hands; but lest any of them might find their way to London, Guest sent a letter to the Duke of Newcastle, by a sure conveyance, giving him an account of the real state of the garrison, and informing him of the deception he was endeavouring to practise upon the Highlanders.[965]

Whilst the adherents of Charles in the Highlands and the northern Lowlands were exerting all their energies to collect reinforcements, Lord-president Forbes was using all his influence to prevent the chiefs of doubtful loyalty from committing themselves with the government. To induce them to arm in its support after the success which had attended the prince’s arms, was what he could scarcely have expected; but by persuasion, and by pointing out in forcible terms the ruin which would befall them and their families, should the prince fail in his enterprise, he succeeded in making them at first to waver, and finally to abandon any design they may have entertained, of joining the prince. Among others who appear to have vacillated between two opinions, and in their perplexity to have alternately changed their minds, was Macleod of Macleod. This chief, influenced probably by the solicitations of his clansman, who had been sent to him on the mission before alluded to, attended a meeting of gentlemen of the name of Fraser, convened by Lord Lovat at Beaufort, or Castle Downie, as that seat of the chief of the Frasers was sometimes called, on Friday the 4th of October, and was despatched the following day to Skye, having engaged to join the Frasers with his men at Corriearrick on the 15th;[966] but on advising with his friend Sir Alexander Macdonald, he resolved to stay at home.[967]

In neutralizing the efforts of the disaffected clans, and dissuading others of doubtful loyalty from joining the ranks of the insurgents, President Forbes had difficulties to contend with, which few men could have overcome, but which he finally surmounted by that firmness, zeal, and indomitable perseverance, which distinguished him among all his political contemporaries. At its commencement, Forbes treated the insurrection very lightly. Before his departure for the north, he considered the prospect of affairs very flattering, and that the object of his journey had no appearance of difficulty; but the alteration in public feeling, consequent on the battle of Preston, changed the scene. Instead of finding the ready support he anticipated from the professed adherents of the government, he saw himself, to use his own words, “almost alone, without troops, without arms, without money or credit; provided with no means to prevent extreme folly, except pen and ink, a tongue and some reputation; and, if you will except Macleod, whom I sent for from the Isle of Skye, supported by nobody of common sense or courage.”[968] The successes of the insurgents had, he observes, “blown up the spirit of mutiny to such a pitch, that nothing was heard of but caballing, and gathering together of men in the neighbourhood: every petty head of a tribe, who was in any degree tinged with Jacobitism, or desperate in his circumstances, assembled his kindred, and made use of the most mutinous, to drag the most peaceable out of their beds, and to force others to list by threatening destruction to their cattle and other effects; whilst we were unable to give them any assistance or protection.”[969] Exasperated at the president for the exertions he made to obstruct the designs of the disaffected, a plan was formed for seizing him by some of the Frasers, a party of whom, amounting to about 200 men, accordingly made an attack upon the house of Culloden during the night between the 15th and 16th of October; but the president being upon his guard, they were repulsed.[970] The apprehension of such an important personage would have been of greater service to the Jacobite cause than the gaining of a battle.

Confiding in the loyalty and discretion of President Forbes, the ministry had, at the suggestion of the Earl of Stair, sent down to the president, early in September, twenty commissions, for raising as many independent companies in the Highlands for the service of the government. The names of the officers were left blank in the commissions, that the president might distribute them among such of the well-affected clans as he might think proper. The plan which his lordship laid down for himself, in disposing of these commissions, was to distribute them among the clans who adhered to the government in the former insurrection, without neglecting such other clans, who, though then opposed to the government, had, on the present occasion, shown an unwillingness to join the Jacobite standard. To raise the companies, which were fixed at 100 men each, as quickly as possible, the president resolved to leave the nomination of the officers to the chiefs of the clans, out of whom they were to be raised.[971] He accordingly despatched letters to the Earls of Sutherland and Cromarty, Lords Reay and Fortrose, Sir Alexander Macdonald, the lairds of Macleod and Grant, and other chiefs, requesting each of them to raise a company out of their respective clans, most of whom accordingly proceeded to enrol their men; but from the want of money and arms, only two companies were completed before the end of October, and several months expired before the whole were fully formed and drawn together.[972]

If the majority of the people of Scotland had been favourably disposed to the cause of the Stuarts, they had now an opportunity of displaying their attachment to the representative of their ancient monarchs, by declaring for the prince; but Charles soon found that, with the exception of the Highlands, and a few districts north of the Tay, where catholicity and non-juring episcopacy still retained a footing, the rest of Scotland was not disposed to join a contest for legitimacy, which they might imagine would not, if successful, strengthen the liberties of the nation, and might possibly impair them. The regular line of hereditary succession had been departed from, and it did not seem wise after a trial of fifty-seven years, during which period the political frame and texture of society had undergone a complete revolution, to place the succession on its original footing, by restoring the son of James II. The Jacobites, however, imbued with ideas of indefeasible hereditary right, were deaf to every argument founded on expediency or the will of the nation, and contended that every departure from the direct line of succession was a usurpation, and contrary to the divine law. No sovereign was, therefore, held by them as legitimate, while there existed a nearer heir to the crown in the direct line of succession; but they did not reflect that, upon this principle, there was scarcely a legitimate sovereign in Europe.

Among the Lowland Jacobites who displayed the greatest zeal on the present occasion, was Lord Ogilvy, eldest son of the Earl of Airly, who joined the prince at Edinburgh on the 3d of October with a regiment of 600 men, chiefly from the county of Forfar, where his father’s estates were situated. Most of the officers of the regiment were either of the Airly family, or bore the name of Ogilvy. Lord Ogilvy was followed by old Gordon of Glenbucket, an equally zealous supporter of the Stuarts, who arrived at Edinburgh next day with a body of 400 men, which he had collected in Strathdon, Strathaven, Glenlivet, and Auchindoun. Glenbucket had been a major-general in Mar’s army, in 1715; but he now contented himself with the colonelcy of the regiment he had just raised, of which he made his eldest son lieutenant-colonel, and his younger sons captains, while the other commissions were held by his relations or personal friends. On the 9th of October, Lord Pitsligo also joined the prince. He was accompanied by a considerable number of gentlemen from the counties of Aberdeen and Banff, with their servants, all well armed and mounted. These formed an excellent corps of cavalry. He also brought with him a small body of infantry. Lord Pitsligo, though possessed of a moderate fortune, had great influence with the gentlemen of the counties above named, by whom he was beloved and greatly esteemed, and having great reliance on his judgment and discretion, they did not hesitate, when he declared himself in favour of the prince, to put themselves under his command.

Having been informed that there were many persons, who, from infirmity and other causes, were unable to join him, but were disposed to assist him with money, horses, and arms, the Chevalier issued a proclamation on the 8th of October, calling upon all such persons to send such supplies to his secretary; and as an order had been issued, summoning the parliament to meet on the 17th, he, by another proclamation dated the 9th, prohibited all peers and commoners from paying obedience to any order or resolution that might be published in the name of either house, in case they should meet.

On the 10th of October, Charles issued a second rather spirited manifesto, justifying the step he had taken, proclaiming his father’s gracious intention to redress every grievance, including the repeal of the union, endeavouring to show that the government of the Elector of Hanover was a grievous tyranny supported by foreign mercenaries. It concluded thus:--

“Let him send off his foreign hirelings, and put the whole upon the issue of a battle; I will trust only to the king my father’s subjects, who were, or shall be, engaged in mine and their country’s cause. But notwithstanding all the opposition he can make, I still trust in the justice of my cause, the valour of my troops, and the assistance of the Almighty, to bring my enterprise to a glorious issue.

“It is now time to conclude, and I shall do it with this reflection; civil wars are ever attended with rancour and ill-will, which party-rage never fails to produce in the minds of those whom different interests, principles, or views, set in opposition to one another: I therefore earnestly require it of my friends, to give as little loose as possible to such passions: this will prove the most effectual means to prevent the same in the enemies of our royal cause. And this my declaration will vindicate to all posterity the nobleness of my undertaking, and the generosity of my intentions.”

During Charles’s stay in Edinburgh the magisterial authority was in complete abeyance, and thieves and robbers, no longer restrained by the arm of power, stalked about, in open day, following their vocation. Under pretence of searching for arms, predatory bands, wearing white cockades and the Highland dress, perambulated the country, imposing upon and robbing the people. One of the most noted of these was headed by one James Ratcliffe, the same individual who figures so conspicuously in the Heart of Mid-Lothian, and who, having spent all his life in the commission of acts of robbery, had twice received sentence of death, but had contrived to effect his escape from jail.[973] To suppress these and other acts of violence, Charles issued several edicts, and in one or two instances the last penalty of the law was inflicted by his orders upon the culprits.

Early in October a ship from France arrived at Montrose with some arms and ammunition and a small sum of money. On board this vessel was the Marquis Boyer d’Eguille, who arrived at Holyrood house on the 14th of October. The object of his journey was not exactly known, but his arrival was represented as a matter of great importance, and he was passed off as an ambassador from the French court. This vessel was soon followed by two others in succession, one of which brought, in addition to a supply of arms and money, some Irish officers in the service of France. The other had on board six field-pieces and a company of artillerymen. These succours, though small, were opportune, and were considered as an earnest of more substantial ones, of which d’Eguille gave the prince the strongest assurances. To facilitate and shorten the conveyance of arms and cannon, and of the reinforcements still expected from the north, batteries were raised at Alloa and on the immediately opposite side of the Frith of Forth, across which these were transported without any annoyance, although the Fox, a British man-of-war, was stationed in the Frith.

The army of the prince continued to increase by the arrival of several additional detachments from the north, and before the end of October he found that his forces amounted to nearly 6,000 men; but this number was far below what Charles had expected. He had entertained hopes that by the exertions of Lord Lovat and other chiefs, whom he expected to declare in his favour, about triple that number would have been raised; but a messenger who arrived at Edinburgh from his lordship, brought him intelligence which rendered his expectations less sanguine. Lovat had calculated that he would be able to raise by his own influence a force of 4,000 or 5,000 men for the service of Charles; and, the better to conceal his design, he opened a correspondence with President Forbes, in which, with his characteristic duplicity and cunning, he avowed himself a warm supporter of the government, and succeeded for a considerable time in throwing the president off his guard. By degrees, however, his real intentions began to develop themselves, and after the battle of Preston he resolved to assemble his clan for the purpose of joining the prince. To deceive the government he compelled his son, (afterwards known as General Fraser,) a youth of eighteen who had been pursuing his studies at the university of St. Andrews, to put himself at the head of the clan, and afterwards pretended that his son had, by this proceeding, acted in direct opposition to his orders.[974] The only force raised south of the Tay was a regiment of 450 men which Colonel Roy Stewart formed in Edinburgh during the stay of the Highland army; for, although the prince was joined at Edinburgh by the Earls of Kilmarnock and Kellie, Lord Balmerino, Maxwell of Kirkconnel, and other south-country gentlemen, they did not bring as many men along with them as would have formed the staff of a company.

Having now spent nearly six weeks in Edinburgh, the prince considered that he could no longer delay his intended march into England. By postponing that measure a few days longer he might have still farther increased his force by the return of the men who had gone home after the battle, of whom he had received favourable accounts; by the accession of a body of Gordons which Lord Lewis, brother to the Duke of Gordon, was raising among the followers of the family; and by other small corps from the north. But it was judged that this advantage would be more than counterbalanced by other circumstances attendant upon delay. The long stay of the Highland army in Scotland had enabled the government to concentrate a considerable force in the north of England, already far superior, in point of numbers, to the prince’s troops, and this force was about to receive large additions from the south and from the continent. Nothing but a dread of the Highlanders and ignorance of their real strength kept the English army, already concentrated in the north, from entering Scotland; but terrible as was the impression made upon the minds of the English troops, by the reports which had been carried to England of the prowess of the Highlanders, it was not to be supposed, that, after the arrival of large reinforcements, their commanders would remain inactive. Had the government been aware of the weakness of the prince’s army after the battle of Gladsmuir, it would probably not have delayed a single week in sending an army into Scotland; but the exaggerated reports which had been every where spread, of the great strength of the Highland army, were fully credited. Attempts were made by some friends of the government, as well as by others, to ascertain their numbers; but Charles, by perpetually shifting their cantonments, and dividing them into detached bodies, not only contrived to conceal his weakness, but to impress these prying persons with an idea that he was much stronger than he really was.[975]

Another reason for hastening his march south was the danger that the army might be diminished by desertion if kept in a state of inactivity. Desertions were frequent, and it was thought that nothing but an active life would put an end to a practice imputed to idleness and repose, and which allowed the men time to think on their families, and contemplate the hardships and dangers they were likely to undergo in a foreign land. But the chief motive which urged Charles and his council to put the army in motion was an apprehension that their supplies of money would be soon exhausted, in which event it would be quite impossible to keep the army together for a single day. By adhering to a declaration he had made, that he would not enforce the obnoxious malt tax; the public money, which had been collected, and was still in course of being raised, was far from being adequate to support the army which Charles had collected; and the contributions of his friends, which at first were considerable, were now beginning to fail. The supplies which had lately been received from France were therefore very opportune; but without additional and early pecuniary succours, which, though promised, might not speedily arrive or might miscarry, it was considered that unless the exchequer was replenished in England, the abandonment of the enterprise was inevitable. For these reasons, and as the prince informed his council[976] that he had received the strongest assurances of support from numbers of the English Tories and Jacobites, a unanimous resolution was entered into to march forthwith into England.[977]

Upon this resolution being adopted, the prince despatched a messenger to France with intelligence of his intentions, and to solicit the French court to make a descent on England. As this court had all along given as its reason for not seconding the prince’s designs, by sending an army into England, the doubt which it had of his having a considerable party in that country, the messenger was instructed to represent the situation of the prince’s affairs in the most favourable point of view. This person, by name Alexander Gordon, a Jesuit, left Edinburgh accordingly on the 28th of October. On arriving in France he drew up a most flattering report, which he put into the hands of the prince’s brother, Henry, Duke of York, then at Paris, to be laid before the French king. In this report he stated, that while the prince had about 12,000 men with him in Edinburgh and its vicinity, there were 4,000 more expected to arrive--that he had already upwards of 1,000 cavalry, and that a great number more were on their march to join him,--that almost all these troops were well armed, and were amply provided with every necessary,--and that all the inhabitants of the counties and towns where the prince had appeared, and particularly those of Edinburgh and Glasgow, had furnished the army with clothing, arms, and money, and, in short, with every thing in their power. He stated, that besides the Highland chiefs and the noblemen of different counties, who had declared in favour of the prince before the battle of Preston, a great number of persons of distinction had since joined him at Edinburgh, among whom he particularly enumerated Lord Nithsdale and Kenmure, and Maxwell of Kirkconnel,--that besides these there were many others, who, being unable to give their personal services, had sent the prince horses, arms, and money, and that after the prince’s father had been proclaimed in the capital and the most considerable towns in Scotland, those who had formerly shown themselves least disposed to acknowledge him had displayed the most favourable dispositions towards the prince, being either subdued by the charms of his manners, or gained over by his manifestoes and proclamations. In short, that by the astonishing victory he had achieved, many persons, who would otherwise have still been in connexion with the court of London, had submitted themselves to the prince, who might be said to be now absolute master of Scotland. That with regard to England, the people of that kingdom were ready to receive the prince with open arms as soon as he should appear among them with an army supported by France,--that, independently of the general discontent of the nation with the government, the prince was emboldened to enter England by upwards of a hundred invitations which he had received from the nobility of England, and by large sums of money which he had obtained for the payment of his troops,--that the English government, alarmed at this state of things, had, as was reported, hesitated accepting offers, which some counties had made of raising bodies of militia, for fear that this force would be employed against itself. In fine, that such was the disposition of men’s minds throughout the whole of Great Britain, that the fear of the prince not being supported by foreign aid, of which the court of London was in great dread, alone prevented the people from openly declaring themselves, and that every person was persuaded, that for every thousand of foreign troops which the prince could bring into the field, his army would receive an accession, four times as large, from the English people, who only wanted the presence of a foreign force to encourage them to take up arms against the government.[978]

The last days of October were occupied in making the necessary arrangements for the march of the Highland army; preparatory to which, orders were issued, near the end of that month, to call in the different parties which were posted at Newhaven, Leith, and other places in the vicinity of Edinburgh. The army which, for three weeks after the battle of Preston had lain in camp at Duddingston, had, since the middle of October, been quartered in and around the city; but on the 26th of that month the main body left Edinburgh, and encamped on a field a little to the west of Inveresk church, with a battery of seven or eight pieces of cannon pointing to the south-west.[979] Hitherto Charles, to conceal his weakness, had reviewed his army in detached portions; but he now ordered a general review of his whole force on the 28th of October. The place appointed was Leith links; but being warned by a few bombs which were thrown from the castle as the army was approaching the ground, that he might expect some annoyance, Charles abandoned his intention, and reviewed his army on the sands between Leith and Musselburgh.[980]

Of the deportment of Charles, and the mode in which he spent his time during his abode at Holyrood house, it may now be necessary to say a few words. It has been already stated on the authority of an officer in his army, whose memoirs are quoted by Mr. Home, that before the meeting of his council, Charles held a levee. The same writer adds, that after the rising of the council, which generally sat very long, he dined in public with his principal officers, and that while the army lay at Duddingston he rode out there after dinner, accompanied by his life-guards.[981] The object of these visits was to keep the Highlanders together; and to show them that the change of circumstances had not altered his disposition towards them, he frequently supped and slept in the camp.[982]

Another writer, an eye-witness,[983] says that “the prince’s court at Holyrood soon became very brilliant, and that every day from morning to night there was a vast concourse of well-dressed people. Besides the gentlemen that had joined the prince, there was a great number of ladies and gentlemen who came either from affection or curiosity. People flocked from all quarters to see the novelty of a court which had not been held in Scotland for sixty years, and from its splendour, and the air of satisfaction which appeared in every person’s countenance, one would have thought the king was already restored, and in peaceable possession of all the dominions of his ancestors, and that the prince had only made a trip to Scotland to show himself to the people, and receive their homage.” The conduct of Charles corresponded in all respects with the attentions shown him. He professed the warmest attachment to Scotland, and was often heard to say, that should he succeed in his attempt, he would make Scotland his Hanover, and Holyrood house his Herenhausen;[984] an expression by which he not only marked his devotion to the Scotch nation, but conveyed a severe rebuke upon King George, who was justly accused of an undue predilection for his native soil.

To mark his sense of the respect shown him, and to ingratiate himself still more with his new friends, Charles gave a series of balls and entertainments in the palace, which were attended by all the persons of rank and fashion assembled in the capital. On these occasions, the young Chevalier appeared sometimes in an English court-dress with the blue ribbon, star, and other insignia of the order of the garter, and at other times in a Highland dress of fine silk tartan, with crimson velvet breeches, and the cross of St. Andrew.[985] His politeness, affability, and condescension, were the theme of universal conversation. Captivated by the charms of his conversation, the graces of his person, and the unwearied attentions which he bestowed on them, the ladies entered warmly into the prince’s views; and their partizanship became so available to his cause as to attract, as we have seen, the especial attention of President Forbes. Indeed, so strong was the hold which the spirit of Jacobitism had taken of the hearts of the ladies of Edinburgh, that when afterwards overawed by the presence of an English army, they, nevertheless, continued to wear the Jacobite badge, and treated the approaches of the Duke of Cumberland’s officers with supercilious indifference. As Charles was almost wholly destitute of every household requisite, his female friends sent plate, china, linen, and other articles of domestic use to the palace.[986]

At the present stage of this history, it seems proper to record a manifesto which emanated from Charles’s army on the eve of its departure for England, which, as an historical document of considerable interest, shall be given entire. It was titled, “The declaration and admonitory letter of such of the nobility, gentry, and freeborn subjects of his majesty, as, under the auspicious conduct of his royal highness, Charles, prince of Wales, steward of Scotland, &c., have taken up arms in support of the cause of their king and country.” It was addressed “unto those who have not as yet declared their approbation of this enterprise; and to such as have, or may hereafter, appear in arms against it.”

“COUNTRYMEN AND FELLOW-SUBJECTS,--It is with abundance of regret, and not without indignation, that we daily hear and see this our undertaking, which in glory and disinterestedness may vie with any to be met with, either in ancient or modern history, traduced, misrepresented, and reviled in those fulsome addresses and associations made to and in favours of the Elector of Hanover, by those very bishops of the church of England, who, for so many years, have contributed their utmost endeavours to abet and support every measure the most unpopular, pernicious, and hurtful, that the worst of ministers, be he of what party he would, could ever devise for the undoing of these nations.

“Is it from such patterns of virtue and piety that the nation now must take the alarm? Are we by these old bugbears of popery, slavery, and tyranny, for ever to be hindered from pursuing our only true interest? Or, is the groundless fear of an imaginary evil to prevent our shaking off the heavy yoke we daily feel?

“What further security, in the name of God, can a people desire for the enjoyment of their ecclesiastical rights? Have not both the king and prince regent sworn in the most solemn manner to maintain the protestant religion throughout his majesty’s dominions? Nay, more, have they not promised to pass any laws which shall be thought necessary for the further security of it? Are we not protestants who now address you? And is it not by the strength of a protestant army that he must mount the throne? Can any man, or number of men, persuade you, that we, who are your brethren, born in the same island, and who have the same interest, do not love ourselves, our religion, laws and liberties, as well as you do?

“What further security can the nature of the thing admit of? You have your prince’s promises, and here you have laid before you the sentiments of his army; who, having thankfully accepted of them, are determined and resolved to set their country at liberty, by establishing that glorious plan which has been freely offered to us by the only rightful prince of the British nations; and this must be done before we sheath our swords.

“Our enemies have represented us as men of low birth and of desperate fortunes. We, who are now in arms, are, for the greatest part, of the most ancient families of this island, whose forefathers asserted the liberties of their country, long, long before the names of many of our declaimers were ever heard of. Our blood is good, and that our actions shall make appear. If our fortunes be not great, our virtue has kept them low; and desperate we may be truly called, for we are determined to conquer or die.

“The justice, therefore, of the cause we now appear for, the interest of the nation which we support and pursue, and the glorious character of our royal leader, may each by itself, or all together, abundantly convince the nation, that now at last there appears an happy and unforeseen opportunity of acquiring all those blessings which a distrest nation has been so long wishing for in vain.

“This golden opportunity we have laid hold of; and in justice to ourselves and fellow-subjects, are obliged thus to apprize them of the uprightness of our intentions in carrying into execution a scheme calculated and adapted to those principles of liberty which the true lovers of their country have been polishing and refining for these many years past.

“Perhaps you may find fault that you were not apprized of this undertaking. No more were we. God has conducted, the prince of Wales has executed; and we are thereby in possession of Scotland, and victorious over one of the Elector’s armies, which nothing could have saved from total destruction but the authority and mercy of a young conqueror, possest of all the shining virtues which can adorn a throne, and who may challenge the keenest enemy of his royal family to impute to him a vice which can blacken the character of a prince. Compare his clemency towards all the prisoners and wounded at the battle of Gladsmuir, with the executions, imprisonments, and banishments, exercised by the German family after their success at Preston in the year 1715, and your affections will tell you who is the true father of the people.

“We have hitherto only spoke to your interests: when his royal highness comes himself amongst you, let his appearance, his moderation, his affability, his tenderness and affection for those he can truly call his countrymen, speak to your passions; then you who, at the instigation of your enemies, are now arming for the defence, as you imagine, of your respective communities, will be able to judge from whom you will have the best reason to expect protection. Thus far we can take upon us to promise in his highness’s name, that such as shall make no resistance to our troops, though before our arrival they may have been levying war against us, may nevertheless depend upon the most ample security for their persons and estates, provided, by a timely surrender of their arms, they put in our power to protect them against the fury of the army: and how foolish will it be, after this assurance, for any city, corporation, or county, to attempt to make head against the combined force of a whole nation, collected in a numerous army, and flushed with success? If any misfortune, therefore, ensue from a disregard of this admonition, we of his royal highness’s army declare ourselves free of all blame therein.

“It is time for you now, O countrymen! to lay aside all animosities, all distinctions of families or names, and to confine your thoughts only to the interest of these kingdoms, connecting with them as you go along the sentiments you had a few years ago.

“What transport of joy would the bulk of the British nation have felt upon a certain remarkable and never-to-be-forgotten period in our political history, (that great change of ministry which happened not long ago, when the cries of a distressed people, supported by the interest and influence of powerful, though designing men, accomplished the ruin of a mighty minister,) how great would have been your joy had you then had from the Elector of Hanover such a declaration as that emitted the 10th of this month by his royal highness, the heir and representative of our natural and only rightful sovereign?

“Is it possible to conceive the universal satisfaction which such a declaration would have occasioned, unless we judge of it by our fatal disappointment?--We leave it to yourselves to make the application. As it is not our intention here to set forth the domestic grievances of the nation, nor the scandalous preference showed upon all occasions to a pitiful foreign concern; for as we address ourselves chiefly to the friends of liberty and the constitution, we suppose you all abundantly instructed in them: nor would it serve but to lengthen this letter, to enumerate the many promises in the king’s and prince’s declarations and manifestoes to his subjects upon this occasion; we have abundantly explained our own motives for now appearing in arms, and would willingly use a little serious expostulation with you, gentlemen, who intend to oppose us.

“What then, in the name of God, do you propose to yourselves? Is it also the interest of Great Britain and Ireland? Or, is it the support of the Elector of Hanover’s family in the succession to the crown of these realms? If your armaments proceed from the first of these motives, tell us what a prince can do more to make you a free and a happy people? What security can you have more than his word and his army’s guarantee, until the nation shall have time abundantly to secure themselves by parliament?

“If you be satisfied with the promises made you, and the security of the performance, do you disapprove of this method of bringing about the execution by force of arms? If you do, be so good as suggest another equally efficacious.

“That by parliament, indeed, would have been universally the most acceptable; but we cannot be so infatuated as to remain in eternal bondage, unless a parliament, composed of hirelings, should set us at liberty; nor have we any hopes that the Elector will strip himself of that pecuniary influence by which alone he has carried, over the bellies of the nation, every destructive measure.

“On the other hand, if the dispute is to be whether the Stuart or Hanoverian family shall reign over Great Britain, without reference to the interest of the nation, we need use no other argument than the sword with such as shall oppose us upon these principles.

“To conclude, we desire to lay this important question before you in a new light. Suppose, for it is only a supposition, that this dreadful and unnatural rebellion, as you are taught to call it, should be extinguished and quashed, and every man concerned in it executed on a scaffold; your joy, no doubt, would be very great upon so glorious an event; your addresses would then be turned into thanksgivings,--your parliament would then meet and cloath your beloved sovereign with new powers,--your standing army, which has hitherto been looked upon as the bane of the constitution, would then be consecrated as your deliverers; and the reverend bishops of the church of England would be hailed from the most distant corners of the island by the glorious appellation of patriots and protectors of British liberty. O happy, thrice happy nation, who have such an army and such a bench of bishops ready upon this occasion to rescue them from popery, and slavery, tyranny, and arbitrary power!

“When, indeed, the first transport of your joy would be over,--for you are not to expect that these halcyon days are ever to remain,--you might perhaps find, to your fatal experience, that the constitution of your country was not in the least improved; and upon the return of the unavoidable consequences of those evils all along complained of, and which now you have so fair an opportunity of having redressed, you would at last be sensible that we were those who, in truth, deserved the appellation of deliverers, patriots, and protectors of the British liberty. But this last part of our letter is addressed only to such as we expect to meet with in a field of battle, and we are hopeful that those will prove but an inconsiderable part of the nations of Great Britain and Ireland; and that you, our countrymen and fellow-subjects, upon being advised and informed, as you now have been, of the whole plan of this glorious expedition, will cheerfully join issue with us, and share in the glory of restoring our king and in setting our country free, which, by the strength of our arm, the assistance of our allies, and the blessing of Almighty God, we shortly expect to see accomplished.”

Whilst the prince and his partizans were thus spreading the seeds of insurrection, and endeavouring to improve the advantages they had gained, the ministry of Great Britain, aroused to a just sense of the impending danger, took every possible measure to retard the progress of the insurrection. King George had returned to London on the 31st of August. He met with a cordial reception from the nobility and gentry in the capital, and loyal addresses were voted by all the principal cities, and towns and corporations in the kingdom. A demand was made upon the states-general for the 6,000 men stipulated by treaty, part of whom were landed at Berwick the day after Cope’s defeat. Three battalions of guards, and seven regiments of foot, were ordered home from Flanders, and a cabinet council was held at Kensington on the 13th of September, which directed letters to be sent to the lords-lieutenant and _custodes rotulorum_ of the counties of England and Wales to raise the militia. Marshal Wade was despatched to the north of England to take the command of the forces in that quarter, and two regiments, of 1,000 each, were ordered to be transported from Dublin to Chester. A number of blank commissions were, as has been before stated, sent to the north of Scotland to raise independent companies; the Earl of Loudon was despatched to Inverness to take the command, and two ships of war were sent down with arms to the same place.

As popery had been formerly a serviceable bugbear to alarm the people for their religion and liberties, some of the English bishops issued mandates to their clergy, enjoining them to instil into their people “a just abhorrence of popery” and of arbitrary power, both of which they supposed to be inseparably connected; a proceeding which formed a singular contrast with the conduct of their brethren, the Scottish protestant episcopal clergy, who to a man were zealously desirous of restoring the Stuarts. The clergy attended to the injunctions they had received, and their admonitions were not without effect. Associations were speedily formed in every county, city, and town in England, of any consideration, in defence of the religion and liberties of the nation, and all persons, of whatever rank or degree, seemed equally zealous to protect both.

The parliament met on the 17th of October, and was informed by his majesty that he had been obliged to call them together sooner than he intended, in consequence of an unnatural rebellion which had broken out, and was still continued in Scotland, to suppress and extinguish which rebellion he craved the immediate advice and assistance of the parliament. Both houses voted addresses, in which they gave his majesty the strongest assurances of duty and affection to his person and government, and promised to adopt measures commensurate with the danger. The _habeas corpus_ act was suspended for six months, and several persons were apprehended on suspicion. The Duke of Cumberland, the king’s second son, arrived from the Netherlands shortly after the opening of the session, and on the 25th of October a large detachment of cavalry and infantry arrived in the Thames from Flanders. The train-bands of London were reviewed by his majesty on the 28th; the county regiments were completed; and the persons who had associated themselves in different parts of the kingdom as volunteers, were daily engaged in the exercise of arms. Apprehensive of an invasion from France, the government appointed Admiral Vernon to command a squadron in the Downs, to watch the motions of the enemy by sea. Cruisers were stationed along the French coast, particularly off Dunkirk and Boulogne, which captured several ships destined for Scotland with officers, soldiers, and ammunition for the use of the insurgents.

The birth-day of George II., which fell on the 30th of October, was celebrated throughout the whole of England with extraordinary demonstrations of loyalty. Many extravagant scenes were enacted, which, though they may now appear ludicrous and absurd, were deemed by the actors as deeds of the purest and most exalted patriotism. In Scotland, however, with one remarkable exception, the supporters of government did not venture upon any public display. The exception alluded to was the town of Perth, some of whose inhabitants took possession of the church and steeple about mid-day, and rang the bells. Oliphant of Gask, who had been made deputy-governor of the town by the young Chevalier, and had under him a small party, sent to desire those who rang the bells to desist; but they refused to comply, and continued ringing at intervals until midnight, two hours after the ordinary time. Mr. Oliphant, with his small guard and three or four gentlemen, posted themselves in the council-house, in order to secure about 1,400 small arms, some ammunition, &c., belonging to the Highland army, deposited there and in the adjoining jail. At night seven north-country gentlemen, in the Jacobite interest, came to town with their servants, and immediately joined their friends in the council-house: when it grew dark the mob made bonfires in the streets, and ordered the inhabitants to illuminate their windows, an order which was generally obeyed, and the few that refused had their windows broken. About nine o’clock at night a party sallied from the council-house, and marching up the street to disperse the mob, fired upon and wounded three of them. The mob, exasperated by this attack, rushed in upon the party, and disarmed and wounded some of them. After this rencontre the mob placed guards at all the gates of the town, took possession of the main-guard and rung the fire-bell, by which they drew together about 200 people. They thereupon sent a message to Mr. Oliphant, requiring him to withdraw immediately from the town and yield up the arms, ammunition, &c. Mr. Oliphant having refused, they rang the fire-bell a second time, and hostilities commenced about two o’clock in the morning, and continued about three hours. The people fired at the council-house from the heads of lanes, from behind stairs, and from windows, so that the party within could not look out without the greatest hazard. About five o’clock the mob dispersed. An Irish captain in the French service was killed in the council-house, and three or four of Mr. Oliphant’s party were wounded. Of the mob, which was without a leader, four were wounded. To preserve order, about 60 of Lord Nairne’s men were brought into the town next day, and these were soon thereafter joined by about 130 Highlanders.[987]

FOOTNOTES:

[952] _Culloden Papers_, p. 250.

[953] Id., p. 227.

[954] Id., p. 426.

[955] Id., p. 253.

[956] _Culloden Papers_, p. 420.

[957] Kirkconnel MS.

[958] Id.

[959] _Memoirs_, p. 45.

[960] Home, p. 120.

[961] Appendix to Home’s _Rebellion_, No. xxviii.

[962] Home, p. 124.

[963] Marchant’s _History of the Rebellion_, p. 113.--Boyse, p. 91.

[964] Kirkconnel MS.

[965] Home, p. 127.

[966] Home, p. 327.

[967] Lovat’s Trial, p. 138.

[968] _Culloden Papers_, p. 250.

[969] _Culloden Papers_, p. 246.

[970] Idem.

[971] Idem, p. 404.

[972] The following is a list of the officers of eighteen of the independent companies, being the whole number raised, with the dates of the delivery of their commissions on the completion of their companies, and of their arrival at Inverness:--

_Captains._ _Lieutenants._ _Ensigns._ _Dates of completing the companies, and of their arrival at Inverness._

1. George Monro, Adam Gordon, Hugh Monro, 1745, Oct. 23d.

2. Alexander Gun, John Gordon, Kenneth Sutherland, -- -- 25th.

3. Patrick Grant, William Grant, James Grant, -- Nov. 3d.

4. George Mackay, John Mackay, James Mackay, -- -- 4th.

5. Peter Sutherland, William Mackay, John Mackay, -- -- 8th.

6. John Macleod, Alexander John Macaskill, -- -- 15th. Macleod,

7. Normand Macleod of Waterstein, Donald Macleod, John Macleod, -- -- --

8. Normand Macleod of Bernera, John Campbell, John Macleod, -- -- --

9. Donald Macdonald, William Macleod, Donald Macleod, -- -- --

10. William Kenneth Mackintosh, Mathison, William Baillie, -- -- 18th.

11. Hugh Macleod, George Monro, Roderick Macleod, -- -- 28th.

12. Alexander Mackenzie, John Mathison, Simon Murchison, -- Dec. 20th.

13. Colin Mackenzie Alexander of Hilton, Campbell, John Macrae, -- -- --

14. James Macdonald, Allan Macdonald, James Macdonald, -- -- 31st.

15. John Macdonald, Allan Macdonald, Donald Macdonald, -- -- --

16. Hugh Mackay, John Mackay, Angus Mackay, 1746, Jan. 6th.

17. William Ross, Charles Ross, David Ross, -- -- 8th.

18. Colin Donald Mackenzie, Mackaulay, Kenneth Mackenzie, -- Feb. 2d.

_Culloden Papers._

1. The Monros.

2 and 5. The Earl of Sutherland’s men.

3. The Grants.

4 and 16. The Mackays.

6, 7, 8, and 9. The Macleods, under the laird of Macleod.

10. A company raised in the town of Inverness.

11. The Macleods of Assint, raised by Captain Macleod of Geanies.

12 and 13. The Mackenzies of Kintail.

14 and 15. The Macdonalds of Skye.

17. The Rosses.

18. The Mackenzies of Lewis.

[973] _Caledonian Mercury_, 11th October, 1745.

[974] _Culloden Papers_, pp. 231-254.

[975] _Kirkconnel MS._

[976] Maxwell of Kirkconnel had a very sorry opinion of the capabilities of most of the members of the council. After stating, that by degrees all the colonels of the army were admitted into it, he thus proceeds:--“I must acknowledge that very few of the members of this assembly were either able statesmen or experienced officers; but as those who knew least were generally led by the opinions of those they thought wiser than themselves, and they in their turn had private conferences with the ablest of the prince’s secret friends in Edinburgh, things might have been well enough conducted had there been as much harmony and union as the importance of the affair required; but an ill-timed emulation soon crept in, and bred great dissensions and animosities. The council was insensibly divided into factions, and came to be of little use when measures were approved of or condemned, not for themselves, but for the sake of their author. These dissensions, begun at Edinburgh, continued ever after, and their fatal influence was not always confined to the council: by degrees it reached the army; and though the prince’s orders were ever respected and punctually obeyed by the army, there were, nevertheless, a certain discontent and diffidence which appeared on sundry occasions, especially towards the end, and was very detrimental to his affairs.”--_Kirkconnel MS._

[977] Idem.

[978] Vide the report in the _Stuart Papers_, and a letter of 26th November, 1745, from Gordon to the Chevalier de St. George, inclosing a copy of his report.

[979] Marchant, p. 130.

[980] Boyse, p. 95.

[981] Home, p. 139.

[982] _Kirkconnel MS._

[983] Maxwell of Kirkconnel.

[984] Henderson, p. 92.

[985] Boyse, p. 89.

[986] Idem.

[987] Adamson’s _Muses Threnodie_, Perth ed. of 1774. Appendix, No. 2, p. 165.