764895 A HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS AND OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS; WITH AN EXTENSIVE SELECTION FROM THE HITHERTO INEDITED STUART PAPERS; BY JAMES BROWNE. LL.D., ADVOCATE. A NEW EDITION, With Sixty-six Ellustrative Engravings and numerous Woodcuts. VOL. I. A. FULLARTON & CO., FULLARTON, MACNAB & CO., NEW YORK. THE STUART PAPERS. THE STUART PAPERS in the possession of the Crown, to which his late Majesty was graciously pleased to allow access for the use of the present Work, and which reach as far back as the Revolution of 1688, consist of a large mass of important documents illustrative of the efforts of James the Second, and of his son and grandson, to recover the crown which the first had lost by his own obstinacy, or the treachery of his advisers; but as the events of the Rebellion of 1745 formed the only subject of inquiry, the commencement of the investigation was limited to the year 1740, and was carried down to the close of the year 1755, in which period the principal events preceding the Rebellion, those of the Rebellion itself, and the occurrences which followed, are embraced. It is believed that the documents examined, amounting to about 15,000 unedited pieces, convey all the information required to complete the history of one of the most remarkable epochs in the British annals. Copious selections have been made from these papers for the present Work, and many entire docu. ments have been copied, ali of which have been either partly incorporated with the Work itself, or given in an Appendix. From the information which these Papers afford, the Publishers have no hesitation in stating, that this Work contains the most complete and authentic history yet published of the events of 1745. To give some idea of the historical importance of these documents, which, for the first time, meet the public eye, or are referred to in the present Work, the following general enumeration may suffice: 1. Eighty-one letters and memorandums written by Charles Edward. 3. Two of Cardinal York. 4. Six of Lochiel. 5. Eleven of old and young Glengary. 6. Three of Lochgary. 7. Eight of Lord Marischal. 8. Three of Robertson of Strowan. 9. Eight of Drummond of Bochaldy. 10. Six of Lord George Murray. 11. Two of Lord John Drummond. 12. Three of Lord Strathallan. 13. Three of Dr. Cameron, Lochiel's brother. 14. Three of Mr. John Graham. In the selection which has been made are also letters of Lord and Lady Balmerino, the Duchess of Perth; Lords Clancarty, Ogilvy, Nairne, and Elcho; Macdonald of Clanranald; Gordon of Glenbucket; Sir Hector Maclean; Sir John Wedderburn; Oliphant of Gask; and James Drummond, or Macgregor, the son of Rob Roy, &c. &c. The correspondence throws considerable light on several matters hitherto little understood or imperfectly known. The embezzlement of the money left by the Prince under the charge of Macpherson of Cluny is referred to, and the conduct of the persons who appear to have appropriated it to their own use is freely animadverted on. The correspondence likewise embraces two most interesting letters from the Chevalier to the Prince on the subject of his marriage, and on the promotion of Prince Henry to the dignity of Cardinal. Besides the correspondence, the selection comprehends a report of Gordon the Jesuit, on the state of affairs in Scotland in 1745; A treaty entered into at Fountainebleau between the King of France and the Chevalier after the battle of Prestonpans; Instructions from the King of France to Lord John Drummond on the conduct of the expedition intrusted to him; Note from Lord George Murray to the Prince, resigning his command after the battle of Culloden, with his reasons for that step; Notice from the Prince to the Chiefs of the Clans after said battle; List of Charges drawn up by the Prince against Macdonald of Barisdale; State of allowances granted by the French Government to the Highland officers; Memoir presented by the Prince to the King of France on his return from Scotland; Commission by Charles to treat for a marriage with the Princess of Hesse Darmstadt; Charles's accounts with Waters, his banker at Paris; Account of the Moidart family, presented to the Chevalier de St. George; A curious and interesting Memoir presented to the Prince in 1755 by a deputation of gentlemen, in relation to his conduct during the extraordinary incognito he preserved for several years, with the Prince's answer; Address by the Chevalier de St. George to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; Memorandum by the Prince, in which he refers to his visit to England in 1750, &c. &c. This partial enumeration will serve to convey some idea of the extent of the researches which have been made into this great repository of materials for history, and also of the value of the acquisitions which have been made for the present Work; but it is only from the documents themselves, and the new light which they shed on one of the most interesting and memorable episodes in British history, that their real importance can be fully estimated |