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to whom we are indebted for this account, says, that when his turn came to propose a toast, wishing to distinguish himself, he gave "the king's health" in Gaelic in an audible voice,-" Deoch slaint an Righ." When the prince was informed that his father's health had been drunk, he requested the gentleman who had proposed it to pronounce the words again in Gaelic, that he might repeat them himself. This being done, Charles repeated the words, and understand. ing that the proposer was skilful in Gaelic, the prince intimated to him that he would henceforth take instructions from him in that language. The same individual, afterwards, by desire, gave also the healths of the prince, and his brother "the duke,” in Gaelic.* Such condescension and familiarity on the part of Charles were highly gratifying to the feelings of all present, and were better calculated to secure the affections of the unsophisticated people, into whose arms he had thrown himself, than all the pomp and circumstance of regal splendour.

Though the extreme rashness of young Clanranald, and his friends, in thus exposing themselves to almost inevitable destruction, be quite inexcusable on the score of sober reason, yet it is impossible not to admire the daring intrepidity of the men, who, at the call of a friendless and unprotected youth, could commit themselves in a struggle with the government even before they had ascertained that a single clan, except their own, would join. Their devotedness to the cause of the Stuarts did not blind them, however, to the dangers they were about to expose themselves by declaring for the prince; but having now thrown away the scabbard, they resolved to cling to the cause which a feeling of fidelity prompted them to espouse, reckless of the consequences. "All may judge (says a gentleman of the clan,) how hazardous an enterprise we were now engaged in, being for some time quite alone; but we resolved, notwithstanding, to follow our prince, and risk our fate with his."+

Charles, before landing, had despatched messengers to several of the chiefs who were favourably disposed. From Borodale he again sent off fresh messengers to all the chiefs from whom he expected assistance, requiring their attendance. Some of his friends, aware of his arrival, had, it is said, already held a meeting to consult as to the course they should pursue; at which Macdonald of Keppoch had given his opinion, that as the prince had risked his person, and generously thrown himself into the hands of his friends, they were bound, in duty at least, to raise men instantly for the protection of his person, whatever might be the consequences; but it does not appear that any such resolution was at that time adopted.

The person pitched upon to visit Lochiel on this occasion, was Macdonald, younger of Scothouse, who succeeded in inducing that chief to visit the prince at Borodale, but he went with a determination not to take up arms. On his way to Borodale he called at the house of his

Lockhart Papers, vol. ii. p. 483.

+ Ibid.

Jacobite Memoirs, p. 17.

brother, John Cameron of Fassefern, who, on being told the object of his journey, advised Lochiel not to proceed, as he was afraid that the prince would prevail upon him to forego his resolution. Lochiel, firm in his determination, as he imagined, told his brother that his reasons for declining to join the prince were too strong to be overcome, and pursued his journey.

Donald Cameron of Lochiel, on whose final determination the question of a civil war was now to depend, (for it seems to be universally admitted, that if Lochiel had declined to take up arms the other chiefs would have also refused,) though called young Lochiel by the Highlanders, from his father being still alive, was rather advanced in life. His father, for the share he had taken in the insurrection of seventeen hundred and fifteen, was attainted and in exile. In consequence of the attainder, young Lochiel had succeeded to the family-estates upon the death of his grandfather, Sir Ewen Cameron in seventeen hundred and nineteen. Sir Ewen had served with distinction under Montrose and Dundee, and his son, and grandson, had inherited from the old warrior a devoted attachment to the house of Stuart, which no change of circumstances had been ever able to eradicate. The Chevalier de St George, sensible of the inflexible integrity of the young chief, and of the great influence which he enjoyed among his countrymen on account of the uprightness of his character, and as being at the head of one of the most powerful of the clans; had opened a correspondence with him, and had invested him with full and ample powers to negotiate with his friends in Scotland, on the subject of his restoration :† knowing the confidence which was

"It is no less certain, though not so generally known, that Lochiel left his own house, determined (as he thought) not to take arms. In his way to Borodale he called at the house of his brother, John Cameron of Fassefern who came out immediately, and asked what was the matter that had brought him there at so early an hour? Lochiel told him that the prince was landed at Borodale, and had sent for him. Fassefern asked what troops the prince had brought with him? what money? what arms? Lochiel answered, that he believed that the prince had brought with him neither troops, nor money, nor arms; and, therefore, he was resolved not to be concerned in the affair, and would do his utmost to prevent Charles from making a rash attempt. Fassefern approved his brother's sentiments, and applauded his resolution; advising him, at the same time, not to go any farther on his way to Borodale, but to come into the house, and impart his mind to the prince by letter. No,' said Lochiel, 'I ought at least to wait upon him, and give my reasons for declining to join him, which admit of no reply.' 'Brother,' said Fassefern, I know you better than you know yourself. If this prince once sets his eyes upon you he will make you do whatever he pleases.' Fassefern, in the year 1781, repeated the conversation between him and his brother to the author of this History."-Home's Works, vol. iii. Note, p. 7.

·

The following tribute to the memory of Lochiel, who died in 1748, appeared in the Scots Magazine of that year.

ON THE DEATH OF LOCHIEL.

Dead is LOCHIEL, the terror of whose arms

So lately shook this island with alarms!

Be just, ye Whigs; and tho' the Tories mourn,
Lament a Scotsman in a foreign urn;

Who, born a chieftain, thought the right of birth
The source of all authority on earth.

so deservedly reposed in him, he was consulted on all occasions by the Jacobites in the Highlands, and, as has been elsewhere observed,* was one of the seven who in the year seventeen hundred and forty, signed the bond of association to restore the Chevalier. Upon the failure of the expedition of seventeen hundred and forty-three, young Lochiel had urged the prince to continue his exertions to get another fitted out; but he was averse to any attempts being made without foreign assistance, and cautioned the prince accordingly.†

Among the chiefs who were summoned to Borodale, Lochiel was the first to appear, and immediately a private interview ensued between him and the prince. Charles began the conversation by remarking, that he meant to be quite candid, and to coneal nothing; he then proceeded to reprobate in very severe terms, the conduct of the French ministry, who, he averred, had long amused him with fair promises, and had at last deceived him. He admitted that he had but a small quantity of arms, and very little money; that he had left France without concerting any thing, or even taking leave of the French court,—that he had, however, before leaving France, written letters to the French king and his ministers, acquainting them of the expedition, and soliciting succours, which he was persuaded, notwithstanding their late conduct, they would send as soon as they saw that he really had a party in Scotland,-that he had appointed Earl Marischal his agent at the court of France, and that he depended much upon the zeal and abilities of that nobleman, who would himself superintend the embarkation of the succours he was soliciting.

While Lochiel admitted the engagements which he and other chiefs had come under to support the cause, he observed that they were bindMistaken as he was, the man was just,

Vol. II. p. 404.

Firm to his word, and faithful to his trust:
He bade not others go, himself to stay,
As is the pretty, prudent, modern way;
But, like a warrior, bravely drew the sword,
And rear'd his target for his native lord.
Humane he was, protected countries tell;
So rude an host was never rul'd so well.
Fatal to him, and to the cause he lov'd,
Was the rash tumult which his folly mov'd ;
Compell'd for that to seek a foreign shore,
And ne'er beheld his mother country more!
Compell'd, by hard necessity, to bear,
In Gallia's bands, a mercenary spear!
But heav'n, in pity to his honest heart,
Resolv'd to snatch him from so poor a part.
To cure at once his spirit and his mind,
With exile wretched, and with error blind,
The mighty mandate unto death was given,
And good LOCHIEL is now a Whig in heaven.

Edinburgh, December, 1748.

The

+ See letter from Lochiel under the signature of "Dan," Appendix, No. IV. authorship of this letter has been determined by a comparatio literarum, though from the letter ascribed to Secretary Murray, in Appendix to vol. II. No. XXXV. it would appear as if Lochiel was known by a different name.

ing only in the event of the stipulated aid being furnished; and as his royal highness had come over without such support, they were released from the engagements they had contracted. He therefore reiterated the resolution which he had already intimated, by means of his brother, not to join in the present hopeless attempt, and advised his royal highness to return to France and await a more favourable opportunity. Charles, on the other hand, maintained, that an opportunity more favourable than the present might never occur again,—that, with the exception of a very few newly raised regiments, all the British troops were occupied abroad. He represented, that the regular troops now in the kingdom were insufficient to withstand the body of Highlanders his friends could bring into the field; and he stated his belief, that if in the outset he obtained an advantage over the government forces, the country in general would declare in his favour, and his friends abroad would at once aid him, that every thing, in fact, now depended upon the Highlanders,—and that to accomplish the restoration of his father, it was only necessary that they should instantly declare themselves and begin the war.

These arguments, which, as the result has shown, were more plausible than solid, had no effect upon Lochiel, who continued to resist all the entreaties of Charles to induce him to alter his resolution. Finding the prince utterly averse to the proposal made to him to return to France, Lochiel entreated him to be more moderate in his views. He then suggested, that Charles should send his attendants back to France; that he himself should remain concealed in the country; that a report should be circulated that he also had returned to France, and that the court of France should be made acquainted with the state of matters, and informed that his friends would be ready to take up arms upon the first notice of a landing, but that nothing could be done without foreign support. And in the meantime, Lochiel undertook to guarantee the personal safety of the prince. Charles, however, rejected this proposal also, and told Lochiel, that the court of France would never be convinced that he had a considerable party in Scotland, till there was an actual insurrection, without which he was afraid they would not venture their troops.

As a last shift, Lochiel suggested, that Charles should remain at Boredale till he and other friends should hold a meeting, and concert what was best to be done. With an impatience which spurned delay, Charles would not even listen to the proposal, and declared his firm determination to take the field, how small soever the number of his attendants might be. "In a few days," said he, "with the few friends that I have, I will erect the royal standard, and proclaim to the people of Britain, that Charles Stuart is come over to claim the crown of his ancestors to win it, or to perish in the attempt: Lochiel, whom my father has often told me, was our firmest friend, may stay at home, and from the newspapers, learn the fate of his prince." This appeal was irresistible. "No!" exclamed Lochiel, "I'll share the fate of my prince; and

so shall every man over whom nature or fortune has given me any power."*

Having extorted an acquiescence from Lochiel, who, impelled by a mistaken but chivalrous sense of honour, thus yielded to the prince's entreaties in spite of his own better judgment, Charles resolved to raise his standard at Glenfinnin on the nineteenth of August. In pursuance with this resolution, he despatched letters from Borodale on the sixth, to the different chiefs who were favourably disposed; informing them of his intention, and requiring the presence of them and their followers at Glenfinnin on the day appointed, or as soon thereafter as possible. Lochiel, at the same time, returned to his own house, whence he despatched messengers to the leading gentlemen of his clan to raise their men, and to hold themselves in readiness to march with him to Glenfinnin.t

After sending off his messengers, Charles left Borodale for the house of Kinlochmoidart, about seven miles from Borodale, whither he and his suite had been invited by the proprietor to spend a few days, while the preparations for the appointed meeting were going on. Charles and his party went by sea, and their baggage and some artillery were forwarded by the same conveyance; but the body-guard, which had been provided by Clanranald, proceeded by land along the heads of two intervening bays. While at the hospitable mansion of his friend, Charles expressed his sense of the services of Kinlochmoidart in the warmest terms, offered him a colonel's commission in a regiment of horse-dragoons, and promised him a peerage.‡

During Charles's stay at Kinlochmoidart, the arming of the Highlanders went on with extraordinary alacrity; and several days before the prince's departure for Glenfinnin, detached parties of armed Highlanders were to be seen perambulating the country in different directions. Though three weeks had elapsed since the arrival of the prince, yet so effectually had his arrival been concealed from the officers of the government in the Highlands, that it was not until they received intelligence of these movements, that they began even to suspect his arrival. Alarmed by reports which reached him for the safety of Fort William, around which Lochiel and Keppoch were assembling their men, the governor of Fort Augustus despatched, on the sixteenth of August, two companies of the second battalion of the Scots Royals, under the command of Captain (afterwards General) Scott, to reinforce that garrison; but they did not reach their destination, having been taken prisoners by a

Home's works, vol. iii. p. 4. et seq. Kirkconnel MS.

+ Mr Home is evidently mistaken in saying "that young Clanranald undertook to go to the isle of Skye, and inform Sir Alexander Macdonald and Macleod of the rendezvous, and solicit them to join." Clanranald had returned from Skye before the resolution to meet at Glenfinnin had been adopted, and it does not appear that Clanranald went a second time to Skye.

As an inducement to favour his restoration, the Chevalier de St George promised to ennoble a considerable number of his friends. Patents of nobility were accordingly made out and signed in favour of all the Jacobite chiefs and other leading supporters of the See letter from the Chevalier to the prince, 7th Nov., 1747, in the Appendix.

cause.

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