chief fall, set no bounds to their fury, and falling upon the enemy with renewed vigour, hewed them down without mercy; yet these brave men still showed no disposition to flee, and it was not until the appearance of the reserve under the Master of Napier, which had hitherto been kept out of the view of the enemy at the back of the hill, that their courage began to fail them. But when this body began to descend the hill, accompanied by what appeared to them a fresh reinforcement of cavalry, but which consisted merely of the camp or livery boys, who had mounted the sumpter-horses to make a display for the purpose of alarming the enemy, the entire remaining body of the covenanting foot fled with precipitation. A hot pursuit took place, and so great was the slaughter that very few of them escaped. The covenanting-general and his principal officers were saved by the fleetness of their horses, and the marquis of Argyle, who had accompanied Baillie as a member of the committee, and who was closely pursued by Glengarry and some of his Highlanders, made a narrow escape by repeatedly changing horses.

Thus ended one of the best contested battles which Montrose had yet fought, yet strange as the fact may appear, his loss was, as usual, extremely trifling. Besides Lord Gordon, were killed, Mowat of Balwholly, Ogilvy of Milton, and one Dickson, an Irish captain, and a few privates. A considerable number, however, of Montrose's men were wounded, particularly the Gordons, who, for a long time, sustained the attacks of Balcarras' horse, amongst whom were Sir Nathaniel, and Gordon, younger of Gicht.* The loss on the side of the covenanters was immense; by far the greater part of their foot, and a considerable number of their cavalry having been slain. Some prisoners were taken from them, but their number was small, owing to their obstinacy in refusing quarter. These were sent to Strathbogie under an escort.

The victory, brilliant as it was, was, however, clouded by the death of Lord Gordon, "a very hopeful young gentleman, able of mind and body, about the age of twenty-eight years."† Wishart gives an af. fecting description of the feelings of Montrose's army when this amiable young nobleman was killed. "There was," he says, 66 a general lamentation for the loss of the Lord Gordon, whose death seemed to eclipse all the glory of the victory. As the report spread among the soldiers, every one appeared to be struck dumb with the melancholy news, and a universal silence prevailed for some time through the army. However, their grief soon burst through all restraint, venting itself in the voice of lamentation and sorrow. When the first transports were over, the soldiers exclaimed against heaven and earth for bereav ing the king, the kingdom, and themselves, of such an excellent young nobleman; and, unmindful of the victory or of the plunder, they thronged about the body of their dead captain, some weeping over his wounds and kissing his lifeless limbs; while others praised his comely

appearance even in death, and extolled his noble mind, which was enriched with every valuable qualification that could adorn his high birth or ample fortune: they even cursed the victory bought at so dear a rate. Nothing could have supported the army under this immense sorrow but the presence of Montrose, whose safety gave them joy, and not a little revived their drooping spirits. In the meantime he could not command his grief, but mourned bitterly over the melancholy fate of his only and dearest friend, grievously complaining, that one who was the honour of his nation, the ornament of the Scots nobility, and the boldest assertor of the royal authority in the north, had fallen in the flower of his youth." *

• Memoirs, p. 132.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Retreat of General Baillie and the Committee of Estates to Stirling-March of Montrose to Aberdeen-Interment of Lord Gordon-Buchan laid under assessment by Montrose-The Parliament meets at Perth, and orders a levy-Advance of Montrose to the south-Joined by the Athole Highlanders, the Macdonalds, Macleans, and other Clans-Crosses the Tay, and encamps at Amulree-Removes to the wood of Methven -Retreats to Little Dunkeld, where he is joined by the Earls of Aboyne and AirlyAdvances to Logie Almond-Baillie retires to Kilgraston-March of Montrose towards Stirling-Castle Campbell burnt by the Macleans-Mansions of Menstrie and Airthrie burnt by Argyle-Progress of the hostile armies-Battle of Kilsyth-Entry of Montrose into Glasgow-Encamps on Bothwell Moor-Submission of the Nobility and the western shires-Communications with the King-Montrose appointed Lieutenant Governor of Scotland-Battle of Philiphaugh.

THE successive victories of Montrose, in Scotland, were more than counterbalanced by those of the parliamentary forces in England. Under different circumstances, the success at Alford might have been attended with consequences the most important to the royal cause; but the defeat of the king, on the fourteenth of June, at Naseby, had raised the hopes of the covenanters, and prepared their minds to receive the tidings of Baillie's defeat with coolness and moderation.

Upon the day on which the battle of Alford was fought, the parliament had adjourned to Stirling from Edinburgh, on account of a destructive pestilence which had reached the capital from Newcastle, by way of Kelso. Thither General Baillie, Lord Balcarras, and the committee of estates, which had accompanied the covenanting army, repaired, to lay a statement of the late disaster before the parliament, and to receive instructions as to their future conduct. They arrived just as the parliament was about sitting, and, with the exception of Baillie, were well received. Balcarras, who had particularly distinguished himself in the battle at the head of his horse, received a vote of thanks, and a similar acknowledgment was, after some hesitation, awarded to Baillie, notwithstanding some attempts made to prejudice the parliament against him. But the fact was, they could not dispense in the present emergency with an officer of the military talents of Baillie, who, instead of shrinking from responsibility for the loss of the battle of Alford, offered to stand trial before a court martial, and to justify his conduct on that occasion. To have withheld therefore, the usual token of approbation from him, while bestowing it upon an inferior officer, would have been to affix a stigma upon him which he was not disposed to brook consistently with the retention of the command of the army; and as the parliament resolved to

REMOVAL OF THE PARLIAMENT TO PERTH.

395

renew his commission, by appointing him to the command of the army then concentrating at Perth, they afterwards professed their unqualified satisfaction with him.

After the battle of Alford, the army of Montrose was considerably diminished, in consequence of the Highlanders, according to custom, taking leave of absence, and returning home with the spoil they had taken from the enemy. This singular, though ordinary practice, contributed more to paralyze the exertions of Montrose, and to prevent him from following up his successes, than any event which occurred in the whole course of his campaigns, and it may appear strange that Montrose did not attempt to put an end to it; but the tenure by which he held the services of these hardy mountaineers being that they should be allowed their wonted privileges, any attempt to deviate from their established customs would have been an immediate signal for desertion.

As it would have been imprudent in Montrose, with forces thus impaired, to have followed the fugitives, who would receive fresh succours from the south, he, after allowing his men some time to refresh themselves, marched to Aberdeen, where he celebrated the funeral obsequies of his valued friend, Lord Gordon, with becoming dignity.

The district of Buchan, in Aberdeenshire, which, from its outlying situation, had hitherto escaped assessment for the supply of the hostile armies, was at this time subjected to the surveillance of Montrose, who dispatched a party from Aberdeen into that country to collect all the horses they could find for the use of his army, and also to obtain recruits. About the same time, the marquis of Huntly, who had been living in Strathnaver for some time, having heard of the death of his eldest son, Lord Gordon, meditated a return to his own country, intending to throw the influence of his name and authority into the royal scale. But as he might be exposed to danger in passing through countries which were hostile to the royal cause, it was arranged between Montrose and the Viscount Aboyne, who had just been created an earl, that the latter should proceed to Strathnaver, with a force of two thousand men to escort his father south. This expedition was, however, abandoned, in consequence of intelligence having been brought to Montrose that the covenanters were assembling in great strength at Perth.

The Parliament which, as we have seen, had left Edinburgh, and gone to Stirling on account of the pestilence, had been obliged, in consequence of its appearance in Stirling, to adjourn to Perth, where it was to meet on the twenty-fourth of July; but before leaving Stirling, they ordered a levy of 10,000 foot to be raised in the shires to the south of the Tay, each of which shires was to furnish a proportionate number of men; and to insure due obedience to this mandate, all noblemen, gentlemen, and heritors, were required to attend at Perth on or before that day well mounted, and to bring with them such forces as they could raise, under a heavy penalty. *

Guthrie's Memoirs, p. 150.

On leaving Aberdeen, Montrose took up his quarters at Crabston, situated a few miles from Aberdeen, between the rivers Don and Dee, where he remained for some time in the expectation of being joined by reinforcements from the Highlands under Major-General Macdonald, who had been absent about two months from the army in quest of recruits; but as these expected succours did not arrive within the time expected, Montrose, impatient of delay, crossed the Dee, and marching over the Grampians, descended into the Mearns, and pitched his camp at Fordoun in Kincardineshire, celebrated for being the burial place of St Palladius, and the birth place of Joannes a Fordun, author of the Scoti-Chronicon. From thence he dispatched a message to the earl of Aboyne, who was at the time in Aberdeen, to join him with such forces as he had been able to raise. This order the earl immediately obeyed, but on his arrival at the camp with a very small party, Montrose immediately sent him back to the north with instructions to levy additional troops.

Proceeding on his march through Angus and Blair Gowrie to Dunkeld, Montrose had the good fortune to be successively joined by his cousin, Patrick Graham of Inchbrakie, at the head of the brave Athole Highlanders, and by Macdonald his major-general, who brought with him the chief of the Macleans, and about seven hundred of that clan, all animated by a strong feeling of animosity against Argyle and his partizans. He was also joined by John Muidartach, the celebrated captain of the Clanranald, at the head of five hundred of his men; by the Macgregors and Macnabs, headed by their respective chieftains; by the Clandonald, under the command of the uncles of Glengarry and other officers, Glengarry himself, "who," says Bishop Wishart, "deserves a singular commendation for his bravery and steady loyalty to the king, and his peculiar attachment to Montrose," * having never left Montrose since he joined him at the time of his expedition into Argyle. Besides all these, the Stewarts of Appin, some of the Farquharsons of Braemar, and small parties of inferior clans from Badenoch, rallied round the standard of Montrose.

Having obtained these timeous reinforcements, Montrose now formed the design of marching upon Perth, and breaking up the parliament which had there assembled, and thereafter of proceeding to the south, and dissipating the levies which were raising beyond the Tay. But the want of cavalry, an arm in which he was constantly deficient, formed a bar to this plan, and Montrose was, therefore, obliged to defer his project till he should be joined by the earls of Aboyne and Airly, whom he expected soon with a considerable body of horse. In the meantime, Montrose crossed the Tay at Dunkeld, and encamped at Amulree. The covenanting army, with the exception of the garrison of Perth, was then lying on the south side of the Erne, and a body of

Memoirs, p. 155.