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Deacons of the Incorporated Trades of Kilmarnock.

WILLIAM MUIR, jun. Skinners and Glovers-Conveener
of the Trades and Commissioner of Police ex officio...
ANDREW ROXBURGH, Weavers.

ANDREW MORRIS, Shoemakers.
GEORGE COULTER, Taylors.
JOHN ARMOUR, Bonnetmakers.

JOHN LAURIE, Clerk.

DEATHS.

At Irvine, Mr. Robert Crichton, in the 73d year of his age.

At Mauchline, Mr. John Mair, in the 105th year of his age. His mental energies, and bodily strength, continued unimpaired till shortly before hi death. He was born in the parish of Galston in the year 1718.

At Stockbridge, near Dunbar, the Rev. George Campbell.

At Edinburgh, Mrs. Lindsay, relict of the Rev. William Lindsay, minister

of Kilmarnock,

In the Ellice transport, lost on the coast of Spain, Lieut. James Wallace, of the Goth regiment of foot, son of the late Capt. Thomas Wallace, Newton. At Edinburgh, Arch. Crawfuird, eldest son of Arch. Crawfuird, Writer to the Signet.

At Dunans, Argyleshire, Arch. Fletcher, third son of John Fletcher, Esq.

of Dunans.

At Dunnikier House, Rich. Oswald, Esq. fourth son of the late Townsend Oswald, Esq. of Dunnikier.

At Bangalore, in India, Lieut. Col. Campbell, younger of Jura,
At Calcutta, James Philip Inglis, Esq.

At Calcutta, Dr. James Campbell.

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THE

COILA REPOSITORY,

AND

Kilmarnock Monthly Magazine.

JANUARY, 1818.

Biography.

ROB ROY.

[CONTINUED.]

The Eagle he was Lord above,
But Rob was Lord below.

WORDSWORth.

THE steady adherence of the Highlanders to the expatriated

house of Stuart, was so well known, and so much dreaded by every Prince who succeeded them on the British throne, that a watchful eye was constantly kept over their motions, and they were constrained to hold all their communings, which related to the affairs of the exiles, in the most secret and clandestine

manner.

Some time subsequent to the unsuccessful attempt of the Highland clans under Dundee, at Killicrankie, a great meeting of chieftains took place in Breadalbine, under pretence of hunting the deer, but in reality for the purpose of ascertaining the sentiments of each other respecting the Stuart cause. Opinions were unanimous; and a bond of faith and mutual support, previously written, was signed. By the negligence of a chieftain, to whom this bond was intrusted, it fell into the hands of Captain Campbell of Glenlyon, then at Fort

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William, who, from his connection with many whose names were impended, did not immediately disclose the contents; but from the deserved odium which was attached to that person, who having commanded the party who perpetrated the infamous massacre of Glencoe, he was justly despised and execrated by his nearest friends; and when it was known that a man of such inhuman feelings held this bond, those who signed it were seriously alarmed, and various plans were suggested for recovering it. Rob Roy Macgregor, who was at this clan meeting, had also affixed his name; but on his own account he was indifferent, as he regarded neither king nor government. He was, however, urged by several chiefs, particularly his patron (Argyle), to exert himself, and if possible recover the bond. With this view he went to Fort William in disguise, not with his usual number of attendants, and ting access to Capt. Campbell, who was a near relation of his own, he discovered that, out of revenge for the contemptuous manner in which the chieftains now treated the captain, he had put the bond into the possession of the governor of the garrison, who was resolved to forward it to the Privy Council; and Rob learning by accident the day on which it was to be sent, took his leave, and went home. The dispatch which contained the bond was made up by Gov. Hill, and went from Fort-William, escorted by an ensign's command, which in those countries always accompanied the messages of governOn the third day's march, Rob, and fifty of his men, met this party in Glendochart, and ordering them to halt, demanded their dispatches. The officer refused; but Rob told him, that he would have their lives and the dispatches together, or the despatches alone. The ferocious looks and appearance of Rob and his men bespoke no irresolution. The packet was given up; and Rob having taken out the bond he wanted, he begged the officer would excuse the delay he had occasioned, and wishing him a good journey, left the military to proceed unmolested. By this manœuvre many chieftains kept on their heads, and the forfeiture of many estates was prevented.

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The most inveterate enemy that Rob Roy had to guard against was the Earl of Athol, who had long harrassed his clan, and whose machinations were even more alarming than the denunciations of the law. Rob had no doubt had given cause for this enmity, for he had frequently ravaged the district of Athol, carried away cattle, and put every man to the sword who attempted resistance and all this, he said, was to reta

liate the cruelties formerly committed upon his ancestors. But he had at once nearly paid for his temerity. The Earl having sent a party of horse, they unexpectly came upon him, and seized him in his own house of Monachaltuarach, situated in Balquhiddar. He was placed on horseback, to be conveyed to Stirling Castle; but in going down a steep defile, he leaped off, ran up a wooded hill, where the horsemen could not follow, and escaped.-Athol, on another occasion, sent twenty men from Glenalmond to lay hold of Macgregor. He saw them approaching, and did not shun them, though he was alone. His uncommon size and strength, the fierceness of his, countenance, and the posture of defence in which he placed himself, intimidated them so much, that they durst not go near him. He told them, that he knew what they wanted, but if they did not quietly depart, none of them should return. He desired them to tell their master, that if he sent any more of his pigmy race to disturb him he would hang them up to feed the eagles.

Although Rob Roy, from his great personal prowess, and the dauntless energy of his mind, which, in the most trying and difficult emergencies, never forsook him, was the dread of every country where his name was known; the urbanity and kindness of his manners to his inferiors, gained him the good-will and services of his whole clan, who were always ready to submit to any privation, or to undergo any hardship to protect him from the multitude of enemies who sought his destruction; and one or two, among many instances of their 'attachment, may here be mentioned :

A debt, to a pretty large amount, which he had long ow ed to a person in the Lowlands, could never be recovered, because no one would undertake to execute diligence against him. At length a messenger at Edinburgh appeared, who pledged himself, that with six men, he would go through the whole Highlands, and would apprehend Rob Roy, or any man of his name. The fellow was stout and resolute. He was offered a handsome sum, if he would bring Rob Roy Macgregor to the jail of Stirling, and was allowed men of his own choice. He accordingly equipped himself and his men with swords, sticks, and every thing fitted for the expedition; and having arrived at the only public-house then in Balquhiddar, he enquired the way to Rob's house. This party were at once known to be strangers, and the landlord coming to learn their business, he sent notice of it to his good friend Rob; and advised them not to go farther, lest they may come to repent of

their folly; but the advice was disregarded, and they went forward. The party waited at some distance from the house, and the messenger himself went to reconnoitre.

Having announced himself as a stranger who had lost his way, he was politely shewn by Rob into a large room; where All around the walls to grace,

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Hung trophies of the fight or chace;

A target there, a bugle here,

A battle axe, a hunting spear,

And broad-swords, bows and arrows store,
With thetusked trophies of the boar :"

which astonished him so much, that he felt as if he had got into a cavern of the infernal of the regions; but when the room door was shut, and he saw hanging behind it a stuffed figure of a man, intentionally placed there, his terror increas sed to such a degree, that he screamed out, and asked if it was a dead man? To which Rob coolly answered, that it was a rascal of a messenger who had come to the house the night before; that he had killed him, and had not got time to have him buried. Fear now wholly overcame the messenger, and he could scarcely articulate a benediction for his soul, when he fainted and fell upon the floor. Four of Rob's men carried him out of the house, and in order to complete the joke, and at the same time to restore the man to life, they took him to the river just by and tossed him in, allowing him to get out the best way he could himself. His companions, in the meantime, seeing all that happened, and supposing he had been killed, took to their heels; but the whole glen having now been alarmed, met the fugitives in every direction, and gave every one of them such a complete ducking, that they had reason all their lives to remember the lake and river of Balquhiddar.

These people were no sooner out of the hands of the Macgregors, than they made a speedy retreat to Stirling, not taking time on the road to dry their clothes, lest a repetition of their treatment should take place; and upon their arrival there they represented the usage they had received, with exaggerated accounts of the assinations and cruelties of the Macgregors, magnifying their own wonderful escape, and prowess, in having killed several of their clan, so that the story was reported to the commander of the Castle, who ordered a company of soldiers to march into the Highlands to lay hold of Rob.A party of Macgregors, who were returning with some booty which they had acquired along the banks of the Forth, descri

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