Memorials and letters illustrative of the life and times of John Graham of Claverhouse, viscount Dundee

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LIFE AND TIMES OF

JOHN GRAHAM OF CLAVERHOUSE,

YISCOUNT DUNDEE.

\

\

LATELT PUBLISHED.

I.

THE OVLT AUTHENTIC LIFE OF THE VALIANT
XAEQinS OF MONTBOSE.

In Two Handsome Volumesy 8vo, price 86a.
Embelliflhed with fine Portraits and Woodcuts.

MEMOIES OF JAMES GRAHAM,
FIRST MARQUIS OF MONTROSE,
From 1612 to 1650; illustrating, from Domestic Papers of the
Montrose Family recently discovered, and other latent and original
Documents, his Life, Actions, and Death.

By MARK NAPIER, Advocate.

«
«

,* To this NEW and VERY COMPLETE Biography of the illnstrions
and much-maligned Montrose, there is appended a large collection of Illus-
trative Papers of great importance and interest, and which are NOW FOR
THE FIRST TIME PRINTED : including his Poems— Notices of the ya-
rious original Portraits of himself and some of his family circle — Defence
written in the interval between his Last Victory and First Defeat — Story of
Montrose's Heart — Ceremony of Collecting his Remains, and the Ti*ue Fune-
rals thereof, Ac. &c.

** Mr NApiia Ib a gentleman of very great literary acquirements, and has employed
great and aniduoiu labour in his inquiries into the history of that great hero and patriot, which
had been preriously in a great measure summarily or carelessly misrepresented. Indeed, Mr
Napier's nkw and RBcaNTLV Published Edition Of thb ' Mbmoim or Moktrosb ' is ths

ONLT OKM upon WHICH AMY RaLIAMCR CAN BB PJUACBD, AKD OP ANT TALUB A8 AN AUTBO-

arrr or aaPBaaxcB to thb HiaroarAN, ANnqcARY, or btbn thb Gbkbral Rbadbr."

II.

CHABLE8 THE SECOHD IN SOOTLAKD.

In Svo, Cloth Boards, price 10s. 6d.

Illustrated with a fine Map.

PERSONAL HISTORY OP KING CHARLES
THE SECOND, from his landing in Scotland, on June 23.
1650, till his escape out of England, Octoher 15. 1651 ; with an
Outline of his Life immediately before and after these dates.

By the Rev. C. J. LYON, M. A., Cantab.,

IMCUMBElfT OF ST. ANDREW'S EPISCOPAL CHAPEL, ST. ANDREWS.

*«* <* The period to which our attention is now directed, is one which excites a pafaifnl
interest. It is pregnant with lessons of infinite value. It presents the most humiliating views
of human nature ; and while the hallowed name, and rites, and spirit of religion, were dese-
crated by its pretended votaries,— by the clergy of the age in particular, without distinction of
parties,— these memorials present to view an taicaraation of all the worst passions by whidi
human beings are agitated, and Is a useful and interesting contribution to our civil and eccle-
iiasacal histofy."

10- Only Two Hundred and Fifty Copies of this interesting work

WERE printed.

MEMORIALS AND LETTERS

I

I

MEMORIALS AND LETTERS

LIFE AND TIMES OF

JOHN GRAHAM OF CLAVERHOUSE,

VISCOUNT DUNDEE.

EDINBUKOU:

THOMAS G. STEVENSON, 22 FREDERICK STREET.

LONDON; HAMILTON. ADAMS. & CO.

M.DCCC.LIX.

fidttth in jSlatumers' JIall*

TIIR AFTHOR OF THIS WORK REflERVBS TO HIMSELF
THE RIGHT OF TRANSLATION.

BDINBUAGH : PRTNTED BY MACPHKBMIf & 8YMB, 8T DAVID STREET.

TO H18 GRACE

THE DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH AND QUEENSBERRY, ICG.,

WHOSE LIBERALITY IN AFFORDING UNLIMITED ACCESS TO
THE WELL PRESERVED ARCHIVES OF QUEENSBERRY,

HAS IMPARTED TO THESE VOLUMES
THE INTEREST OF ORIGINALITY,

AND
THE VALL^ OF TRUTH,

THIS DEFENCE OF

GREAT DUNDEE,

AGAINST THE CALUMNIES OF HISTORY,

IS
GRATEFULLY INSCRIBKH.

»

1^^ coun

The truth and justice of History called for this com-
pilation of Memorials and original Letters relating to the
Viscount of Dundee and hia troubled times. The under-
tttl^ot gi^atly provoked by the domineering anathemas
of Lord Macaulay against the champion of James the
Seventh, has been chiefly encouraged by the frank libe-
rahty of His Grace of Buccleuch, in aflbrding unhmited
access to that voluminous and valuable, but hitherto
unexplored repertory of latent history, the Queensberry
Papern. The principal object of these Memorials is to
redeem the history of iScotland from the vulgar calumny
implied in the general recognition of that mythical bete
noir, " Bloody Clavers." By the light of these lamily
papers may be read a chamcter of Graham of Claver-
house very different from what has hitherto obtained,
even with those who, however incredulous as to its dia-
bolical phase, have contented themselves witli striving
to bespeak admiration for the heroism of his euterprize,
and the devotion of his loyalty. Pre-eminent among
such stands Sm Waltee Scott, To him the Queensberry
Papent, with which he appears to have been unacquainted,
notwithstanding his intimacy with the House of Buc-
cleuch and Queensberry, would have opened up new
views of a subject he delighted to handle, and which his
genius rendered so attractive. Is the absence of that
information to be regretted ? Would even the truth, as
regards a few historical characters long gone to their ac-
count, have compensated present or succeeding genera-

^

INTEODUCrORV.

tioDS for the loss of any of those life-like personifications
which animate the best of Scott's historical romancea ?
And if, ae regards any individual character, we discover
the plain truth at la^t, so that fanatical calumny shall
not for ever triumph, is it not well that the fancies of
the bard of Scotland came first ? For, most assuredly,
had our great historical poet been previously cognizant
of all which those family archives contain relating to
Graham of Claverhouse, the hero of " Old Mortality," as
we find him in that vivid portraiture, would never have
seen the light of day, whatever kind of character might
have been substituted, Scott would not have conceded
so much as he has done to the sworn enemies of his hero.
But neither could he, in the pages of romance, have de-
picted him as he really was ; at least without having
instituted a controversial exposition to clear his way.
" Out damned spot !" will not suffice to cleanse the his-
tory of Scotland, as relates to Claverhouse. In short,
we know what we have in Sir Walter's hero, but know
not what might have been, as regards the piquant inte-
rest of that historical fiction, had the current of his ideas
been altered.

So early, however, as the commencement of the pre-
sent century. Sir Walter's friend, Charles Kibkpatrick
Sharpe of Hoddam, then a student at Oxford, who had
already fathomed Wodrow, and detected Laing, — a feat
to which Charles Fox proved unequal, — conceived the
bold design of redeeming Dundee, and exposing the
Covenant. His habits of research, and powers of com-
position, were well suited to the task. How earnestly
he had entered upon it, and how far he had proceed-
ed, will be seen from those remnants of his lucubra-
tions which compose the Second Part of this volume.
We have there sufficiently explained how they come to

I

INTRODDCTORr.

I

I

be now submitted to the public, imperfect and fragmen-
tary OS they are. Little more on that subject need be
added liere. With an amateur in letters so fastidious
and luxurious as Charles Sharpe, the publication in 1816
of Old Mortality, the author of which he could hardly
feil at once to recognise, must have operated as a wet
blanket upon his own design. Or, to use a loftier simile,
it must have seemed to him as a comet blazing in the
heavens, and warning him to withhold a presumptuous
hand from the heroic mortal thus adopted in the world's
eye by a Deus majorum gentium. Hia own researches
were only beginning to assume the consistency of histo-
rical biography, when that unexpected prodigy rushed
into the field of view ; and it can scarcely be doubted
that his perhaps wavering intentions on the subject, —
an adventurous one in Scotland, — had received the coup
de p-ace from the brilliant phenomenon to which all eyes
were turned in 1816.

Mr Sharpe, however, did not altogether abandon his
literary labours in that direction ; and he never lost sight
of the historic truth, in his own just appreciation of the
comparative merits of Clavorhouse and his calumniators.
So he lapsed into a very ingenious mode of having out
bis own say in spite of " Old Mortality." The great
value of bis original design, as exemplified in that early
rough cast of it we have now printed, was, the authen-
ticity and originality of the sources from which he drew
his information, and bis illustrations. At that time the
system of literary and antiquarian Clubs, afterwards
greatly promoted by Mr Sharpe himself, did not prevail
in Scotland. He had laboriously gathered the most part
of his curious historical lore from various contemporary
diaries and chronicles in manuscript, which of late years
have been printed under the liberal auspices of such a^o-

I

I

INTRODUCTORT.

ciatioDS, but which were tbeii all but inaccessible'even
to those most anxious to prosecute researches of the
kind. But this literary amateur, a gentleman, the very
antipodes of that theftuous animal a cheap bookseller's
hack, and one whose social position gave him at once
the open sesame to many an old cabinet, iron chest, and
vaulted charter-room, — uniting, moreover, in a rare de-
gree, the varied antiquarian lore of a Horace \\'alpole,'
with the pink-eyed industry of Pope's " Wormius hight,"
— was neither to be daunted by the venom of intolerant
fanaticism, nor deterred by the dust of mouldering ho-
nour. There was no well so deep or dark that truth
could escape hira ; and, sootJi to say, he shrank not from
producing her without a fig-leaf.

Two Scotch dominies, of the high covenanting straio,
who would be pronounced crazy in these days, yclept
respectively James Kirkton and Robert Law, had each
left in manuscript certain rude chronicles, or annals, of
wild fanaticism and wondrous superstition, which they
intended to pass for history. These Clarendons of the
Covenant, however, were in some respects far more ho-
nest, and, as regards Law at least, more right-minded
than the rack of their sect. The manuscript by Kirkton
was entitled, " The Secret and True Hi.?tory of the
Church of Scotland, from the Kestoration to the year
1678." That by Law, " Memorials of the memorable
things that fell out within this Island of Great Britain,
from 1638 to 1684." Upon these amusing records, not
altogether useles-a, but too grotesque to be otherwise than
humiliating to history, — and certainly not a little da-
maging to their own Kirk, — the antiquary of Hoddam
laid his exploring hand, with a determination to do

' Sir Wulwr SiMitt, iu hit corrcsponder
Wslpole ofStotlnnd.

;, cttlla Charles Sbarpe tbe Horacs

INTBODCCrORy.

Mr

^^ ne

Ibem ample editorial justice. He handled them, indeed,
as if he loved them ; turned them into goodly printed
quartos ; illustrated them with his own graphic pencil as
well as pen ; anointed them with the very fatness of
fimaticism ; surrounded them with a halo of covenanting
■eal, curiously culled from the most unctuous sources ;

ptized them history in the name of the Solemn League
and Covenant, — and then left them very much in the
condition of Punch's offspring after the parental embrace.
Mr Sharpe's notes, illustrations, and additions to Kirk-
ton'a History, edited in 1817 (the year after the appear-
ance of " Old Mortality"), and to Law's Memorials,
edited in 1818, enriched with recondite reading, authen-
ticated with provoking accuracy, and spiced with the
most racy wit and humour, under admirable discipline,
inflicted a blow upon the pretensions of Wodrow'a " Suf-
fering Remnant," which the saiutdom of Scotland can
never recover, and which its modem subjects will never

trgive.

Nor in this cau it truly be said that injustice was done
to those Scribes and Pharisees, or any disservice to reli-
gion. When we consider the fiilse and turbulent pre-
tensions of that sect to perfection in church discipline,
and purity in Christian conduct, their ferocious intole-
rance of ail that elevates humanity, whenever such hap-
pened to oppose their doctrines, or frustrate their de-
signs, it seems a positive duty to disabuse the public
mind, which they systematically laboured to poison with
recklefls assertion and unmitigated invective. A coarse,
but intensely pn)Voked exposure, in their own times, of
the conventicle eloquence of the apostles of the Cove-
[luint, proving out of their own mouths the low standard
^oT their int«llect«, and the debased quality of their minds,
IMiulfi like the exoggeration of a malevolent opponent,

I

XU INTUODUCTORT.

and has by some been condemned as a too naked display,
even if true, of that lamentable desecration of the holy
office. But the more closely the matter is examined,
the truth of this retributive attack becomes the more
apparent, and the publication of it the less objectionable.
" The pamphlet," says Mr Sharpe in his notes, " which
seems to have enraged Kirkton so much, is written on
the plan of ' L'Estrange's Dissenters' Sayings," and was
published under this title, — ' The Scotch Presbyterian'
Eloquence ; or the foolishness of their teaching discovered
from their books, sermons, and pmyers,' &c. Kirkton's
own flowers of eloquence, preserved there, are generally
too indecent for transcription : he, moreover, is termed
the everlasting comedian of the party, and accused of
extreme covetousness. The pamphlet itself, which has
gone through a number of editions, is blameworthy, aa
preserving a multitude of profane expressions uttered by
foolish or ignorant Presbyterian clergymen, to the scan-
dal of any church ; but that these expressions have been
exaggerated, as the Covenanters pretend, there is no
reason to believe : nay, extracts could be made, from
sermons still extant, both in print and in MS., almost
equally gross and abomuiable with those which disgrace
the pages of the Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence."'

But if, in that title, instead of the national term
" Presbyterian,"— a term, as now understood, to be
treated with every respect, — the word " Conventicle," or
" Covenanting," be substituted, (words unhallowed in the
vocabulary of Christianity), what is there blameworthy
in the exposure of rampant falsehood by outraged truth ?

' The tcnn " Preabvlciian," wiis tlien iinJcrsIoud in u very different »ensi-
rroro whnC it U now.

' Kirkton's Hutor>', i.. 194.— Kariewed by Sir Walter Srott, in the l^iiar-
l«rly Review for Jiniinry 1818, Vol, xviii. No. 36.

INTRODUCrOKT. XUl

f Nor, whatever may be acted at " Heaven's gate," by

' Sterne's sentimental seraphs, can any sufficient reason

be given, wby the craziaess, the calumnies, and the

crimes, of those rebellious zealots of the Scotch Cove-

^^ nant, should be treated on earth with the tenderness

^^b Uiat, as we are afsured, dispoeed for ever of Uncle Toby's

^Boath.

Sir Walter Scott immediately reviewed his friend's
publication of Kirkton's History, over which he had
chuckled with an inward delight scarcely concealed in
his clever but as usual somewhat temporising critique.
" Mr Kirkpatrick Sharpe," be says, " though residing in

I the land of Presbytery, is an Episcopalian and a tory, or
rather an old cavalier, with much of the respect for high
femily, contempt of the Covenanters, and disUke of de-
mocratlcal principles, proper to that designation. Of
coui^e he has not escaped the censure of those industri-
ous literary gentlemen of opposite principles, who have
suffered a work always reUed upon as one of their chief
authorities, to lie dormant for a hundred and forty years,
and are now mortified that it should be published by a
person of opposite opinions in politics and church govern-
ment, as if he bad usurped an office to which they had
an exclusive title. We cannot listen to these querulous
outcries, unless they allege, which would be most ffroimd-
Uss, that the work had suffered through the infidelity of
the editor. In every point of view, wo conceive that
Kirkton's History has received, from the liveliness of
Mr Sliarpe's illustrations, upon a subject which is some-
times uncommonly dull,' from the art with which he

' Ur M'Crie ounot be so complimented, for bii attempts to enliTen

B dpgnintic^ higutrj with which be lUMilcd Sir Wnltor. Affecting to

ere Scotch antiquary, ho eiprcnes lurpriau that his novels

nld ba " popular in En^and, where we are pennaded Dot one word io

is underMood liy the generality of ruaders." By way of extracting flin

I

i

JQV INTRODOCrORT.

has contrasted the same facts as told by different people,
and illustrated heavy details by interesting examples or
comments, a value which, edited by some great admirer
and worshipper of his own system, it would never have
attained."

Mr Sharpe it was, who, delighted with the success of
our own researches illustrative of the great Montrose,
chiefly impelled us to the labour of ministering in Uke
manner to the offended manes of Dundee. But the ar-
dour with which we entertained a proposition so flatter-
ing, from such a quarter, was sadly damped by his un-
timely death soon thereafter. He also first suggested
the probability, that, in the archives of the dukedom of
Queensberry, might be discovered valuable illustrations
of that period of history in which Dundee is so promi-
nent a figure, and perhaps letters from the bete noir him-
self. Accordingly, an application in the proper quarter
was met by that frankness of acquiescence, and that in-
telligent sympathy in all worthy objects, which so emi-
nently characterise the present inheritor of those ducal
archives. The discovery of thiiiij-sescn important let-
ters, all in the handwriting of Graham of Claverhouse,
and addressed to the first Duke of Queensberry, through-
out of Ihia idea, when quoting " Old Morlnlity,'' he givea the referencca in
mock Scotch, thuB : " Cuddy Hcndrigg, too, very wittily observes that this
in big opinion formed the only diflerence between the Epiacopaliin service
and that of their opponents : Saame volume, aeiainl chapter, bander aiC Ji/iy-
aaxtpagt." So delighted a the Doctor with tbia bis owd elephantine frolic,
that he actually repeats it three times in the course of a page ! '' He always
read on the anme prayer-liooi with her," &o. " See the taorae neeund volame,
tiral/ chapter, and there Ihe three huitder-third and three hiindcr-JoKrlh pages."
And once more : " A circumstance which so enraged hia murderers," &c.
" Volume Ike /ourl}i,auchti/-ihird and auehis-foarlh pages." In thus attempt-
ing to make a fbol of Sir Walter Scott, it may be fairly doubted whether the
Doctor was not rather making a fool of some one else. Upon the truth of
Wodrow'B rubbish hia attack entirely depends.

INTRODCCTORT.

out a series of years immediately preceding the Revolu-
tion of 1GS8, — the existence of which was hitherto ab-
solutely unknown to history and the public, — was the
immediate result of the search so liberally permitted.
^^ It must be stated, however, that this most valuable re-
^H pertory of the best kind of materials for domestic history,
^^H amounting to several thousands of documents, had some
years before been carefully inspected hy the present
Duke himself. Under his Grace's own direction, these
had been most accurately arranged, and beautifully pre-
served, in a series of many folio volumes, bound and
lettered, — a praiseworthy care which has saved the
documents, and greatly lightened the labour of cousult-
ing them.

Besides theee letters from Claverhouse, the no lees
voluminous correspondence of all his great compatriots,
the leading statesmen of the day, had in like manner

■ been placed in hi.<» private repositories by the first Duke
<rf Queensberry, who appears to have systematically, and
■▼my properly, disobeyed the oft-repeated instructions of
hia distinguished correspondents, — " be sure to bum this
letter."

tSuch are the principal materials which have so fortu-
nately become available for the present undertaking, at
the instigation chiefly of Mr Sharpe, the result of which
it was fated he should not survive to see. And hence it
ia that this work has assumed the form of illustrative
Memorials and Letters, requiring the extended limits of
two volumes, — even that by no means sullieing to lay
before the public all that could be produced, from the
Queensberry collection, to amuse and to inform the
readers of history. It is particularly redolent of that
species of domestic as well as pubUc history in which the

1^

1

INTRODUCTORY.

Providence to spare him, probably these volume would
have been enriched by the clever and caustic quaintness
of his pencil, as well as of his pen. In his use of the
former, indeed, he more especially displayed the man of
" infinite jest and most excellent fancy ; " and no work
of the kind could be more attractive, than a complete
and properly illustrated collection and reprint, of the
many witty conceits, quaint devices, and happy fancies,
which flowed so easily from his pencil, in decorating any
work that he considered worthy of such aid. Lockhart
tells us, that " Scott's acquaintance with Mr Sharpe be-
gan when the latter was very young. He supplied Scott,
when compiling the Minstrelsy, with the ballad of the
' Tower of Repentance.' " Nor has Sir Walter's bio-
grapher failed to record that gem of Mr Sharpe's histori-
cal pencil, " a drawing of Queen Elizabeth, as seen
' dancing high and disposedly,' in her private chamber,
by the Scotch ambassador Sir James Melville, whose de-
scription of the exhibition is one of the most amusing
things in his Memoirs. This production of Mr Sharpe's
pencil, and the delight with which Scott used to expati-
ate on its merits, must be well remembered by every one
that ever visited the poet at Abbotsford."*

' Life, by Lockhart. Sir Walter conveyed hia tlianks ia a letter n
tbuB comnipnces : — " My deur Sharpe : The immilabU pirago came safe, and
was nelcomed by the iaextinguisbable laughter of all nho looked upon her
caprioles. I waa mifortunately out of town for a few days, which preTonted
me from acknowledging instantly what gave me so muth pleasure, both oi
account of its iDtriusic value, and as a mark of your kind remembrance."
An admirable subject for Sharpe's humorous powers in thia graphic walk,
would have been a scene of which he himself was the hero. Sir Walter
mentions in bis Diary (March 1829), that be and his daughter, accompanied
by Charles Sharpe, " went about one o'clock to the Caatlc, where saw
auld murdress Moai Meg, brought up in solemn procession to rc-occupy her
ancient place on the Argyle battery," &c. " My daughter had what might
have proved a frightful accident. Some rockets were let olT, one of which
lighted upon her head, and set her bonnet on fire. She neither screamed

I

INTRODUCTORV. XVll

That friends so iutiiuate, and so congenial in their
Kterary taefes and habits, as Sir Walter Scott and Mr
Sharpe, should between them have still left the chai-acter
of great Dundee a prey to Dr M'Crie and the Covenant,
is much to be regretted. But so it was. The " Great
Unknown" had entered a field of fame which he coul<l
not afford to sacrifice, by hunting facts in the jungles of
history ; and so, whatever he might suspect, he never
got at the real character of Claverhouse. Mr Sharpe, on
the other hand, damled like the rest of the world by the
fascinating romance, gave up the subject in despair, not
of the character of Dundee, but of the attention or sym-
pathy of the public. This is the more to be regretted,
that his researches were all in the right direction, and
banning to be crowned with great success. I'rior to
1826, ten years after the publication of Old Mortality,
not a letter from the pen of Claverhouse himself v.'&s
known to exist, or at least had appeared. Sir Walter

W^Bf f^t^ but quietly permitlod Charles Sharpe to cxtinguiah llio 6r», vrhit^U

Vae did with great coolneaa ami clexterity."

Upon Sir Walter's quilting liaine in 1831, Lockhnrt uciilionB, that
" He does not seem to have written many fnrewcU letters ; but there is one
to * very old friend, Mr Kirkpatrick Sharpe." The letter thus patheticnlly
concludes : — " My dear Charles," &c., " 1 should like to have shaken handu
with you, as there are few I regret so much to part with. But it may nut
be. I will keep my nyea dry if possible, and ihercfore content myself with
bidding you a long, — )ierhaps an otemal, — farewell. But I may dnd my way
home again, improved aa a Dutch skipper from a whale fbhhig. I am \&ry
happy that I am like to see Malta. Always yours, well or ill, Walteii
SctiTT."

Sir Wtdtcr also thu« ileftcribes hlni in his diary, Nov. 182&: — " Charles
Kirkjiatrick Sharpe," he saj-s, " is another very remarkable tOBU. He was
bred a durgyinan, but never took orders. He has infinite wtt, and a great
turn for atitiijuarian lore, as the publications of Kirlcton, &t-. benr witneM.
His drawings are the most fanciful and droll imaginable — a mixture botweuii
Uogarth and some of those foreign moBters who painted temptations of St,
Anthony, and such grotcMjue mbjects," Etc. " My idea is, that Charlea Kirk-
Sharpe, with hu oddities, tastes, satjre, and high aristocmtic leelings,
ibles Horace Wolpok' ; jierhaps in his person alw, in a general wny."

Hfitnck

XVin INTEODUCTOKV.

wrote of him in total ignorance of his epistolary powers
and habits ; and little knowing thatj from tlie family
archives of Scotland, could be cnlled enough to constitute
what may be called the Despatches of Dundee. Un-
heard of, in garrets and charter -chests, lay hidden the
true characteristics of the warrior and the statesman,
whom romance and polemical religion, fancy and fanati-
cism, had divided between them. Some of these scattered
letters, indeed, had been recovered by Mr Sharpe, but so
late OS not even to have entered those fragments of his
Memoirs of the hero which we have given in this volume.
The Claverhouse of Old Mortality being in the ascen-
dant, those precious documents were transferred by Mr
Sharpe, doubtless mnllum gemens, to his friend Mr George
Sraythe of Methven, as an antiquarian offering to the
Bannatyne Club. That contribution, forming a thin
quarto volume, beautifully printed, appropriately deco-
rated by the pencil of Mr Sharpe himself, and accu-
rately illustrated with explanatory notes by Mr Smythe,
was presented to the Club in 1826, under the title,—
" Letters of John Grahame of Claverhouse, Viscount of
Dundee, with illustrative documents." But Mr Smythe
did not attempt to redeem the character of Dundee, or
to connect those letters with his biography, or his public
career. Inscribed as they were to an antiquarian so-
ciety, the original orthography (at that period very
loose) wafl preserved throughout ; a fact not to be criti-
cised under the circumstances, but which renders the
letters so repulsive to the modem eye, and so confound-
ing to the sense, that to study the man therein, is like
looking for the face of Yorick in his skull. Hence, little
or no use, either biographical or historical, has ever been
made of this collection, which will be found in readable
orthography, along with his other despatches, in our

INTRODUCTTOKY.

I

L

Second Volume. And as for Sir Walter, having ex-
hausted, after his kind, the subject of Claverhouse before
they appeared, he has manifested little inclination even
to recognise the existence of such original materials.
Now, however, that to the set of letters edited by Mr
Smythe, most of which are addressed to the Earl of Lin-
lithgow, as Commander-in-chief of the forces in Scot-
land, we are enabled to add thirty-seven written by
Claverhouse to the Prime Minister for Scotland, we have
ample materials for judging the man by a truer test than
the fanaticism of a Wodrow, the fancy of a Scott, or the
ferocity of a Macaulay.

This result of our researches in defence of Claverhouse,
and illustrative of his Life and Times, we have divided
into four parts. The volume at present issued consists
of two parts. The first is intended to clear the way, by
the removal of that superincumbent load of mistaken
history, and vulgar error, which had really placed
Graham of Claverhouse under the category of historical
myths. Public opinion on the subject required a regu-
lar siege, and we have laid our approaches accordingly.
In this review, we have bestowed upon previous histo-
rians a measure of respect, as regards the subject of
" Bloody Clavers," in proportion to the justice which
they have bestowed upon him. The second part is
composed of the fragmentary manuscripts of Mr Sharpe,
supplemented by our own acquisitions chiefly from the
Queensberry Papers. As this volume contains proofs
and illustrations of the real character of great Dundee,
BufiBcient to destroy that mythical representation of him
which has hitherto kept the field, we have not hesitated
to submit it at once, to the judgment of the candid
reader, the correction of the occompli-shed critic, and the

INTRODUCTORY.

plunder of the literary hack. To this last, however, we
recommend forbearance, until the labours of our second
volume be also within his reach. That volume will in
like manner consist of two parts. The first (third of the
work) will comprehend the correspondence of Claver-
house so far as discovered ; and which already amounts
to what may be termed his despatches. In this, the
hero shall chiefly speak for himself. In the last part,
we shall view him isolated and doomed, like his great
prototype Montrose ; separated from bis former corres-
pondents and compatriots ; firm of purpose, lofty in
spirit, high in heart a.s ever ; and, finally, under the
most desperate circumstances, consistent in his principles,
devoted in bis loyalty, and glorious in his death.

The whole work is intended to form a pendant or
sequel to our Memoirs of Montrose;' and its graphic
decorations are of the same character and amount. As
in the former work, each volume of the present will con-
tain two different portraits of our hero, all well authen-
ticated, but somewhat varying in style and expression.
To clear the character of Dundee was a natural and
necessary sequel to having cleared the character of
Montrose. Their calumniated characters are founded
upon the same great lie of two centuries ; and our work
would have been but half finished, had we suffered it to
rest upon the redemption, from such slanders, of the
head of the house of Graham.

As regards Montrose, since the publication of our
voluminous discoveries of original matter, blograjihical
and historical, at different times, and from various latent
sources, illustrative of his whole career from his cradle
to his grave, the tide even of popular opinion has turned

' Memoirs of iho Marquis of Montrose, I61S-1
G. Stevenson, Edinburgh, 185G.

iO, 2 Tols. 8to ; Tbomas

INTRODUCTORY. XXI

trongly in his favour. We hear no more, and never
hear agaiu, such flaming historical fiats launched
against him, as this by Malcolm Laing, — that, " Mon-
trose was destitute of humanity ;" that, " Montrose was
ignorant of what was due to civilized society;" that,
" the awa45iHn;/o« of Argyle and Hamilton was charac-
ieristical of Montrose ;" or those yet more excited de-
nunciations, even by the Historiographer Roj-al for
[ Scotland, — that, " Detected in his wickedness, and utterly
' cast off by the whole body (of Covenanters) as hloated
with iniqtiitij, there was no scheme so desperate that he
(Montrose) hesitated to recommend, none so wicked
that he declined to execute." Before our researches
I commenced, no one ventured to contradict these anathe-
t^mas, and covenanting calumny kept the field. Now,
men who once pinned even their religioux faith to them,
are ashamed to remember such passages in history.
And what is more, so vastly has he risen, under our
I auspices, in public estimation, that the merchants of
f letters begin to think him marketable in England. Those
[ great promoters of the growing art of authorship made
I eai*y, the Messrs Routledge and Co. of London, have
1 very recently honoured Montrose with their especial
[ patronage, to the utter exclusion of his proper bio-
I grapher, and latest publisher. Finding the character of
I the Scotch hero redeemed to their baud, and liis com-
I plicated story thoroughly evolved, through most interest-
L ing and original materials, — the family papers of various
I noblemen and gentlemen, only accessible to them, or to
I tbcir hocks, through our own publications, — they sud-
I denly announce themselves in 1858, (in the face of Mr
I' Stevenson's publication of 1856 still in the market, and
I without a word of communication with the author of
I fmtr fditiims of the biography of Montrose, l)etweeu 1838

INTRODUCTORY.

and 1856, each productive of newly discovered materials
from private sources,} ' as the vendors of the only true

' Fhil: In 1838, was published in l-ondon and Edinburgh,—
" MoDtrose and ihe Covenanters, their Churaoters and Conduct, illastrat«d
from prirate letters and other original douumenU hitherto unpubliihed, em-
bncing the Times of Charles the Firat, frotu the riae of the Troubles in
Scotland, to the death of Montrose. By Mark Napier, Esq., Advocate.
LiOndoD : James Duncan, 37 Paternoster Row, 1838." Two colames octavo:
Secnnd: In 1840, was published, in Edinburgh and London, —
" The Life and Times of Alontrose, Illustrated trom Original Monuseripts,
including family papers now first published, from the Montrose Charter-
chest, and other private Repositories. By Mark Napier, Esq., Advocate.
With Portruts and Autographs. Edinborgh : Oliver and Boyd, and Simpkin,
Marshall, and Co., London, 1810." One volume, small aciavti :

Third: Lord Mahon having revjeweii these works in the Quarterly
Beview for December 1846, John Murray of London republished that com-
plete and elegant extraii of our volumes, in the collected edition of " His-
torical Essays by Lord Mohon," in 1849, containing this imprimatur by that
accomplished nobleman, —

" With s. just admiration for Montrose and the Scottish loyalists, Mr
Napier has carefully and diligently sought out whatever could bear upon
tbdr history. The appearance of his first work, ' Montrose and the Cove-
nanters,' 163S, incited the deacendonts of the hero to a search, which they
had strangely, during two centuries, postponed, into their own family charter-
chest, — a search which has brought to light, for the first time, several im-
portant original letters to Montrose, especially from Kings Charles the First
and Second. Under these circumstances, which tniglit have mortiSed an
ordinary scribbler, Mr Napier was f:ir from echoing the reply of the French
Abb^ and would-be historian, who, when offered some curious MS. notes of
the Governor of a fortress, answered drily, ' Mnn tie'ge etl fuitP Mr Napier,
on the contrary, in an excellent spirit, and with most commendable teal, aat
down to re-write hia book by the aid of his fresh mateinals. The new work
was published in 1840, with the title, ' The Life and Times of Montrose,' but
compressed into o single volume, and omitting not a few of the documents
and extracts to be found in the former. Both works are therefore necessary
to a full understanding of the subject, and it is from both ("not neglecting
olher helps), that we propose tci draw what we hope may not prove unwel-
come to our readers, — a sketch of the career and character of Tns Great
MAR<jt;m OF MoNTitose, ne to this day in Scotland the hero continues t« be

Fourth: Subsequently lo Lard Mahon's historical essay, appeared, —
" Memorials of Montrose and hia Times ; Edinburgh : Printed for the
Maitland Club r In ticn rolumes qnario, — which volumes were issued, succes-
sively, in 1848, and 1860; and contained Inng and elaboratelg compoted

I

I

TNTRODUCTOHY. XXIU

article, hanging out this alluring bush to bring custom
to smuggled spirits and adulterated wine : —

" The object of tlie following work," Bay Messrs Routledge,
" is to illtistrate the Mihtary History of Scotland during the
desjwrat© struggle between the King and the Covenanters ;
I thus, in Bome degree, it may bo deemed a compromise between
' history and biograpliy, as well as a tribute to Scottish valour
in days now happily jiassed away. The story of a soldier's
life is always one of excitement, and the biography of a hero
seldom fails to instruct. Between the jmblicatiou of Bish&p
Wisharl's tvork and the ample quartos of l/te Maitland Club,"
[1848-50]' " many memoirs of Montrose have appeared, but
none that were much known, especially in England, or were
within the reach of the million ; and the Puhlishei's believe
Wiat, /or the first time, they are enabled to bring forward a
jOqpular and complete military history of lite great Cavalier, and
^ the wars of his time. Around him are grouped the principal
Scottish statesmen and soldiers who were his cotemporaries ;
thus the narrative is made the means of depicting something
of the inner life, the manners, and habits of thought, which
characterised the Scots of the seventeenth century ; while
nothing that Bcoma a fault on either side, in Covenanter or
Cav&lior, bas been concealed, in the detail of that civil strife to
which the savage precepts of adverse preachers imparted a
horror so sanguinary."
" GmiiBusoH, Fdi. IBSB."'

biogr&phii^i and historical Introdactions and Appendices, HigntMl by Ibe

snthor and editor ■ Makk NAPiBKj'Had tbc eo;j^-ri>7Af of which remain hi^

tindi(put43il property. From Iheso eompatition*. Grant bos lurxely plundered.

F^/lh: In 1850, was publiiUud, in EiJiobur(;h and London, —

" Memoirs of the Afanjuis of Munlroio. By Mark Napier. Edinburgh ;

Tbotna* G. Stevunsou, 87 rrincos Slnwt. London: tlamilton, Adaioi, and

[ Co., 186U." Tu-o volume* oelaeo.

> Hut, Napier's Montro«e of 1856, the moat coiupUle LiPj of Mcmlroae, is
bere excluded entirely, in this Grout- RoiUltdge profaco dati-d in 1868!
Cauta palel. Affoin, all alluiion to tho author of four b!ogri>)>l>ii» of Mou-
Iroao between 1S38 and 1866, is brrc avoided. Causa paUt. From the
"forefront of Grant's preface" (a« Vice'Cbancullor Wood phrased it) to the
iM betk of tb« volume, thi' finimut furandi \t manifest, ns me shfltl dvinoii-
MnU ebewhi-re.

XXIV INTRODDCTORT.

We have here quoted the entire preface to the volume
in question. The anomaly of the London pubUshers'
preface heing dated in Edmburgh, is explained by the
fact, that it was composed there, for thera, by Grant,
but expressly adopted by those publishers, and put forth
in their oicn name. We would be too happy to think
it possible that that publishing firm was entirely ignorant
of the true character of their mercantile acquisition, —
a mongrel manuscript, namely, creeping out of Scot-
land ; and, without leave asked or given, — disingenuously
made up of the unacknowledged labours, and discoveries,
of the prior biographer of Montrose, curtailed by the
blundering scissors of an Edinburgh celt (with a nimble
pen for claymore), wlio never made a discovery about
Montrose in his life ; never obtained admittance to a
noblemen's charter-room on the subject ; who has
"grouped" no contemporary statesmen and soldiers
around the hero that we hod not groupeil before him ;
who has "depicted" nothing "of the inner life, the
manners, and habits of thought which characterised the
Scota of the seventeenth century" that he did not find
in our volumes more fully illustrated and depicted to hia
hand ; and who, even in those piratical, and parrotieal,
wares, purchased and pubhshed by the Messrs Routledge,
has shown himself so ignorant of the illustrious subject he
therein desecrates with a borrowed and bastard enthu-
Biasm, as to adopt the occasional blunders of the real bio-
grapher, (along with what he must have deemed beanlies-
gince he appropriated them) ; a-s not to know the latin
title-page of Dr Wishart's AA'^ars of Montrose when he sees
it ; and aa to imagine, when he happens to meet with the
name of General Kiiuf in the volumes he violates, that
this must mean Kiiii) Charles ! A work moreover, which,
stamped with such general characteristics as these, has,

INTRODUCTOHr.

notwithstanding its pretentions nd capfandnm preface, not
added to our own labours one microscopic grain of infor-
mation, or of interest, touching Montrose !^

Had we, Hke Mr Smythe of Methven, simply edited
a fragmentary collection of historical letters, or other
private documents, with a few illustrative notes, whether
presented to an antiquarian club or to the public, those
materials, for hit-lory or biography, might have been open
to the trashy adaptation of a Grant, or the trading
activity of a Routledge. But surely the laborious literary
compoBitions, not to apeak of discoveries, of the mere
amateur in authorship ia entitled to the same moral pro-
tection (rarely indeed so grossly outraged), of gentle-
manly feeling, and generous dealing, in letters, — and to
the same legal protection of the law of copy-right in
equity, — as the compositions of any professional author
who may happen to be dependent upon that species of
work for his bread ? And the long series of our own
notorious publicatioiis, so absolutely exhaustive of the
previously unknown biography of Montrose, — natal,
educational, matrimonial, domestic, historical, political,
military, and obituary, — from his cradle to his grave, —
published successively between 1838 and 1856, surely
places the O'ranf-Itoittledi/e preface, of 1858, and the
whole of Grant's performance, in a light so little favour-
able, as to make it diHicult to conceive, — if a profes-
sional author be a gentleman, or a publishing firm an
entity, — how either autbor or pubUsher could bear to
look upon their bantling twice. To wait till the fruit
was exuberant and ripe, and then to rob the orchard,
was a Celtic feat, scarcely to be rendered famous by

ir particular DKampliw ol'tlieac choractcriellci of ihu Motnoire ofSIon-
I troto bj Jkiqm Granl, publiilivil hy llie Mcmh lioutlcdge of London, 1858,
e lit the pnil "fthif j.refilf...

INTRODUCTORY.

the fact, that the plunder Ibund a dealer in London not
afraid to retail it. '

■ The hislory of our unsuccessful uttcmpt to arreet this speculation in tlio
lianda of the London publishers, by obtaining an injimotion from Chnncety
(a auit inetitutod chiefl)' for the sake of our oivn publisher, who liod taken upon
himself llie whole risk of an expensive work, thus attempted to be uaderaold
ID London,) and the precite value, to Jav, equity, and letters, of Vice-
chancellor Page Wood's judgment In Re, Napier v. Roulledge and Co.,
must be the subject of full illustration in another form. Here, however,
we may give the Messrs RouUcdf^e the benefit of repcatbg one of their own
adfertisementa of " Grant's Life of Montrose :" —

" Mr Marie Napier baving decided not to proceed with his motion to re-
strain the publication of this work, the public is informed that it la now on
sale, and maj be had through any bookseller, Mr Napier's anxiety to pre-
vent its publication, U gufficieiit evidence of its high literary merit" !

Wo feel the less difficulty in commentbg ai we have done upon Mr Grant's
work, seeing that his publishers consider our hostility as " suOicieiit evidence
of its high literary merit." They also parade, in another of their advertise-
mentfl, the following puff, from " Bell's Messenger ;" —

" We congratulate Mr Grant upon this volume, which is, certainly, the
most successful of his many sui-ccssful publications, and irill enhance hit
lileran/ reputation far and wide" !

We are doing our best to realize, for the Messrs Routledge, this brilliant
antidpation of their sanguine " Messenger." Meanwhile, their author ie
scarcely yet entitled to say to Montrose, " I've made thee glorious by my
pen." So far as Chancery is concerned, the Routledges may now indeed
hollo, having got so well out of the wood ; but the page of Grant's honours
is rather a grinning one. Vico- Chancellor Wood, (whose judgment shall
be elsewhere critically analysed), at the conclusion of his judgment refusing
the injunction with costs, observed, — " He should have been glad to see
fiilt and AattdMme acknowledgment of the plaintiff's labours ; but though d<
put in the fore front of Grant's preface," — [nay, Sir Page, such acknowledge-
ment is utterly ezcUided, and with an obvious animus, from Grant's ]
face; — and, moreover, that preface is adopted by the Routledges as (
oicn,] — " or svfficiently ample, tome acknowledgment there was" I Where,
and of what kind? There is not a notice in Grant's whole volume, of Iha prior
author from whom lie was eonreyiny trholesale, that does not in itself afford
distinct evidence of the ani'nius_/uran(/i. *' Then," continued the Vice-Chan-
cellor, " upon the question of costs, if Mr Grant bad been the only defend-
ant, ht might have paused." — Times Nea-spaper Report, 19th Jan. 1859.
Grant's name was necessarily introduced in the case ; but he was not a de-
fendant at all, being without the jurisdiction.

It is amusing to contrast with all this, the rritirat judgment, of one uf the

INTRODUCTORY. XXVU

Gentle reader, this is an episode. But the cause of
the geoeroua professioQ of letters, and the patrimonial
interests of an honest, and perhaps too enterprizing,
Edinburgh publisher, seemed to call for it at our hands.
Never having made, or striven to make, or expecting to
make, a single pound Scots by our labours of love in the
cause of Montrose,' but content to leave all to our seve-
ral publishersj^including the risk, — we certainly felt as

most indep«iKleiit and tmbiassed of all the orgnns of literary and critical
jndgmeQt in LcdiIod. Tbo Athehmuk at once, and spontaaeooBly, faBleaed
npoD Grant with a close and most damagiitg det«ction. We cannot liere go
into all its details, but may quote the following : —

" We wish (amimiiig that such a book as Mr Grant's was inevitable), that
when he iroi helping himself to Mr Napier'i) material, bo bad done it wisely.
He proves conclusively that he bos no research, by adopting errors from the
evber books of Mr Napier which that gentleman has corrected from further
discoveries in hia latest editions of the ' Memoirs.' When an author is
pillaging another author's book, he may as well do it lagaciousty. An Irish
landlord, in one of Lever's novels, shears bis sheep in Ibo winter time — a more
pnident man waits till their fleeces are full grown. We can scarcely imagine
vhat excuie will be made for the kind of proceedings which it has been our
duty to expose. Mr Grant's book is not to cheap after all ; for we very
much ^r that few of tbe ' million' can afford six shillings for a Onrd-rale
biography. It is Dot better written iban the work which it ignores and
afftctt to tupertede. It is not more popular in its views ; for Mr Grant is an
ool-and-out * Cavalier,' and his pages overflow with a ruaudlin Gaelic
patriolitm, which we can only liken to txcetdiagln weal: and tmoky tchitky-
and'tDdtrr. We do not feel called upon to discuss Montrose's career ft pro-
ptM of sncb a publication ; and, indeed, should scarcely have noticed it at all,
if it did not involve considcratious of the right and wrong, of the moraU and
eourletiei, of the literary profession, and the publishing trade.'" — The
ATHC!(£t;u, March 20, 1658.

' It is hardly an exception (as regorils tbc profits of authorship) to this
&ct, that the Muitlond Club very liberally, but pcr/eellg gratuitously, pre-
•ented to the author of " Memorials of Montrose and his Times," a hand-
•oine acknowledgment (of their sense of the service done to their system, by
those historical and biographical memoirs), in tbo shape of an honorarivm,
intended, doubtless, to be expended, as tbe Antiquary would have said, in
ptrptluam memoriam, upon a Petronian wine-goblet, — '• camellam vini."
having purchased the gobUl; but we did not fail to expend

., , " ■ DUUIOB I

b^^H it upon the u

d

INTRODUCTORY.

iiidigaant as Montrose himself would have doue, tbat the
golden nuggets should in this covert manner be coined out
of om- Idfourx and our discoveries, by the Grants and the
Routledges of letters. Nor are we at all deterred from
these views of our own case, by what we shall elsewhere
endeavour to prove a somewhat questloniible judgment,
from a high quarter, the tendency of which, we think, is
to render copyright property as nneasi/ by Chancery law,
as historical biography has been made caxi/ by Scotch
conveyancing- And, gentle author, trust the law of copy-
right, as you would trust a Will o' the wisp. Rather put
your faith in Princes, than your reliance upon any pro-
tection to be obtained, either as concerns copyright or
Chancery costs (no joke, let me wani ye), even from this
dictttm, — reported to have been delivered by Vice-
Chancellor Sir Page Wood, himself, in the case of an
alleged piracy of a Dictionary of Words! —

" Copyright was considered, for the highest purposes
of society, in every country, as necessary to be secured
to those who contributed to the civilization, refinement,
or instruction of mankind, and extended in this country,
if not elsewhere, to ccerj/ descriptiim of work, however
humble it might be, even to the mere collection of the
abodes of persons, and to streets and places ; and labour
hfiping been employed, upon subjects even of that class, no
one had a right to avail himself of if "^

I

Ere we pass on to Dundee, however, we must venti-
late Montrose himself once more, (so as to redeem him
from the contact of Messrs Grant and Koutledge), by the
notice of some new illustrations, so recentl}' discovered
as not to have fallen into marauding bands.

' Seo \'icc-ChHnpcllor Sir Page Wood's jiiiigrapnt in Spins v. Brown, i
fiortcd in the " Times" nowspnper, Fdi, 2G, EH58,

^^1 a mere

INTHODUCTORY. XXIS

Wodrow tells ua, that the Marquis once tortured a
covenanting minister, who refused the oath of allegiance,
by attaching him to the stem of a boat, at the end of a
rope, and dragging hini alternately under water, and to
the surface, until the soul of the martyr was about to
take its flight. This abominable falsehood we happened
not to discover (festering as it is in the A}ialec(a of Wod-
row) until after the publication of our latest edition of
the Memoirs of Montrose, in 1850. It will be found
thoroughly refuted In the historical review (p. 99,) which
composas Part First of the present volume. But even
BO recently as since the most of these pages had passed
through the press, a new and very interesting testimony,
to the heroic spirit, and truly Christian chaiTicter of
Montrose, has emerged from its hybernation of two cen-
turies, to stand in judgment against all his traduoers, —
his pocket hilk; namely, bearing his autograph. At this
moment we have before us the volume itself; the very
bible, in all probabiHty, upon which be used to invoke the
God of Battles, to strengthen his arm in the day of battle,
and to temper it with mercy in the hour of victory. Had
he been the monster recorded by those historians we have
quoted before, Montrose would not have cherished the
Book of Life, as his companion in the stormy path of his
death-dealing career. But cherish it he did, as the little
volume itself bears witness on more than one of its now
stained and tattered leaves. The " Bible and the Broad-
sword" ! Such is the desecrated insignia, so fantastically
usurped by the Covenant, from the pages of a Wodrow
to the panel of a Harvey. The Covenant ! which never
reaped victory with the one, or read mercy in the other.
It ia the proper insignia of Montrose, who never uttered
a fanatical phrase, and never prompted or committed
merciless act ; whose sword was the type of victory,

XXS INTRODFCTORT.

loyalty, and honour ; whose bible, the companion of his ,
6olitarv moments, was the book upon which he was wont '
to record the heroic and holy sentiments of a true and
faithful champion of the Cross. The one now before us
is a French bible in duodecimo, printed at Sedan, near
Paris, in 1633, the year when Charles the First was i
croivned in Scotland. It is quite suited for the pocket ; I
and the print is very clear and small. In later days it
had fallen into careless keeping. The New Testament, and
the concluding portion of the volume, have been gnawed
to pieces by rats or mice. The features of Montrose's
illustrious chaplain, Dr \A''ishart, were in like manner
disfigured by fanatical rats in " Haddo's Hole." The Old
Testament, however, and the commencement of the
volume, including the title page, and the fly-leaf before
it, have escaped destruction. On either side of tliat
leaf, and also on the title-page, appears the handwrit-
ing of Montrose.

1. On the first side of the leaf he had written the
following couplet in Italian, —

La vitd patsa, la morte viene,
Bealo colvi clii haurafatto bene, —

that is, — Life passes, death comes ; blessed is he who
shall have done well. Immediately under this religious
eentiment, he had traced the heroic one in Latin, —
Honor jiiihi vita potior, — expressing that his honour was
dearer to hira than his life- To this he adds bis signa-
ture, written in a large bold hand as usual. Two other
lines of his writing follow on the same page, to which his
signature is again attached. The lines have been scored
out, (seemingly by himself) but can he read as follows,
the first being in Italian, the other in Latin : — Ardiio e
Presto, — Courageous and Prompt ; and, — Aut solvam aut

LA BIBLE,

<IVI ilT

TOVTB LA SAINCTE

BSORITTKB DT TIBIL BT

ITOTTKAT rftAMMUT.

L'ANCIBNNE BT LA.

HOVTlLtB AILIAVCI.
C« mt nmm &^ inflrtfir Im Tmm

■:

INTRODUCTOBT. XXXI

Urttam, — probably meaning, — If 1 can't untie the knot,

I'll cut it.

2, On the other side of the same lenf, at the top of
it, the former Italian couplet is repeated in Montrose's
handwriting, but scarcely visible, owing to the Ink hav-
ing failed. Then follows an ingenious monogram of the
initial of his title, sketched by himself, surrounded with
a rude representation of roses, resting on what appears
to be a shght indication of an eminence. All this is
typical of the illustrious name, — in Latin, Mons rosarum.
or Comes Moidisrosanim ; in English, Kosemount, or
Montrose. This line, written immediately under the
monogram, explains the design, — Non crescunt sine
spilth, — refering to the roses, which do not grow with-
out thorns ; and that which follows, — Pro jucundis
aplissima fjueque [quieque] Deus dat, — may be read along
with the former, to this effect : — Roses do not grow
without thorns ; God gives whatever things are con-
Tenient for us, instead of those things which delight us
Beneath this moral and religious sentiment
Appears another fine specimen of his noble signature.

In the centre of the title-page is wiitten a well
known line from Horace, — Si totus illabatur orUs, — a mis-
quotation, by the way, indicating that he quoted from
memorj', the word toim neither occurring in, nor fully
expressing the original. The accurate quotation is, —
Sifractus illabatur orbii,
Impatidum ferient ruince.

The pervading sentiment of that grandest of the odes of
Horace is familiar to all : — The man whose constancy
of resolution is based on virtue, will bear him fearlessly,
even amid the descending ruin of the orb above. Then
follows another sentiment in Latin, which has been scored
oat, but may still be read, — Virhis omnia donal — which

^K out, but

INTROUL'CTORY.

we would freely translate, — Virtue is ite own best re-'
ward. To this also, Montrose has added his signature,
divided by the woodcut in the ceatre of the page ; and
beneath it, he iiad repeated, and again scored out, the
words Aiit foirniii ant diruaiti.

Of the three pages, the scribbUngs on which we have
thus endeavoured to decypher, our readers are here pre-
sented with most accurate facsimiles. There is nothing
by which the date, or dates, of these characteristic notes
can be precisely ascertained. The feeling seems too
emphatic to be referred to the mere idleness of the most
intelligent boyhood ; but in some of the monograms the
combination with the letter E indicates that he waa
only Earl at the time ; and, couecquently, that the writ-
ing is'of some date prior to the battle of Tippermuir, his
first great victory for the Crown, in the autumn of 1044.
This, too, is remarkable, that that intense expression, of
determined and devoted integrity, which he clothed in
the well known quotation from Horace, reappears, in
his handwriting, upon the title-page of another book,
also at this moment before us. The following exact
facsimile, will serve to show that this autograph, if not
written at a riper age, was more carefully penned ;
although the word lotuj is still substituted for Jrncfus.

Zz- i-^^^^^,

r/^

I

i

This fine and emphatic specimen of an illustrious
autograph is displayed on the top margin of the engraved

INTRODUCTORY. SXXlll

' title-page of Camden's Britannia, the English folio
edition of 1637, by Philemon Holland ; a volume as
complete and stainless in its condition, as if it had been
petted in the private lihrarj of a Thomas Thomson, or
a Thomas Maitland. Tet, ecce signum, it had belonged,
some two centuries ago, to that " bloody butcher" who
overran Scotland with the emblems most fatal to
libraries and letters, — fire and sword ; and its subsequent
place of hiding (for the discovery of it is very recent),
is the same wherein the mice had been suffered to make
such havoc on the little bible. Tt is time to inform our
readers where that b.

David Drummond, Master of Maderty, who became

I third Lord, was one of the earliest and of the most loyal

I adherents of Montrose, in his great career of victory.
At the battle of Tippermuir, being sent with a flag of
truce to summon Perth in the name of Montrose and
King Charles, he was instantly seized by the rebel Cove-
nanters, and would have been put to death had they
gained the battle. He hved, however, to be married to
Lady Beatrix Graham, Montrose's youngest sister.'
One of the possessions of this family was the barony of
Innerpeflray, a female inheritance coming to these
Drummonds through the Chisbolms of Cromlix. This

I David, third Lord Maderty, survived hia friend and
brother-in-law, Montrose, for more than thirty years,
dying about the close of the reign of Charles the Second,
He appears to have had a turn for letters, another bond
of union between him and bis heroic relative ; and
accordingly, he founded a library and school at Inner-
peffray (near Crietf, and hard by Montrose's favourite
haunt, Inchbrakie), a slender but very interesting en-

> Sm our Mcmoiri of Montrote, 1856 ; vol. i. p. 90; and vul. ii. pp. 430,

L

INTEODDCrORT.

dowment existing to this day. Here Montrcwe's little
bible, and other books once belonging to him, had found
a shrine, if such that can be called, where mice and moths
were, at one time at least, permitted to pasture on its
treasures.

All this connects, in a remarkably interesting manner,
with our previous discoveries relating to the youth and
education of Montrose, published in our latrat editions
of his Memoirs, from which we may here quote : —

"Some interesting particulars of Montrose's studies at
Glasgow, may be gathered from a note of certain books be-
longing to the young nobleman, which his tutor (Master
William Forrett) had borrowed from him, before the removal
to St Andrew's College took place. These were delivered to
one of Montrose's curators, Patrick Graham of Inchbrakie, on
the 9th of August, 1627 ; of which same date, says Inchbrakie
(in a note under his own band), ' These books were put in my
Lord's chamber by me, and thereafter put in my Lord hia
liordship's cabinet by me, his Lordship then being present.'
There is something even in this scrap which indicates that
the proprietor of these books was not heedless of their safety ;
and the list which Inchbrakie has noted is somewhat charac-
teristic: — ' Two volumes of Sabellicus' Universal History, in
latin ; Camerarins, his Living Library ; A Treatise of the
Order of Knighthood ; The Life and Death of Queen Mary ;
Godfrey de Bidloigne, his History ; The History of Xenophon,
in latin ; The Works of Seneca witii Lipsius' Commentary.'
One other book had been anxiously inquired for, and that
was, — ' specially. Sir Walter Eahigh's History ;' with regard
to which, Master WilHam Forrett (the young Earl's dominie),
rephes, — ' As for the History written by Sir WaUer Raleigh,
my Lord hitnself conveyed it to St Andretcs at kts Lordship's
first thither going.' Thus we now know the very names of
some of the books that were placed in the cabinet of Mon-
trose's college-room, and the one upon which his youthful
mind was most intent when he made bis first appearance
there. That time-honoured volume, the wonder of its age,

I

^H tM til

^H Oralta

INTRODUCTORT.

and written under circumstances of diatresa and oppression
that might well have paralysed the stoutest pen, was, it seeme,
the favourite study of our 3'oiing hero when in his fourteenth
year, and the book which he had selected (no light burden) to
take mth himself when be first joined the University. The
arrival there of the distinguished youth, with his goodly and
cherished folio, must have created no small sensation."'

When we wrote all this in 1848, it was not known
that any of the books enumerated above were yet in
existence. No volume that had belonged to Montrose
could we ever succeed in tracing, either in the library
of his family, or anywhere else. The schoolmaster of
the Innerpeffray establishment, who is also librarian,
happened to possess a copy of our Life of Montrose,
1840 ; and to the fact, that the autograph of the hero
and martyr himself, appeared upon that dilapidated little
bible, at Innerpeffray, and also upon the folio Camden,
his attention was only first directed by observing, in our
work, the facsimile of Montrose's autograph.* This in-
duced a comparalio Uierarum, and led to the interesting
discovery ; and this again, of course, led us ere long to
the library. We could fii.d no other volume there upon
which Montrose had written ; but the visit was not
in vain. Our search was rewarded by the discovery
of three works, all bearing the autograph of his brother-
in-law, "Madertie," but which are among those enume-
rated by Patrick Graham of Inchbmkie, in the list

> Meiaoriali of Mantrose, 1848-50, See alio our Mcmoin of MoDtrow,
1666.

■ So we were inronned. when verj recently' TJsiling thB library, bj thn
intelligeot ccboolmuter himseif, Mr Gbriiitie, to whom our best thanks are
due Ibr (be obliging and cealous aid he afTorded ub in searching the library,
■nd manmcript calalognet. We obtained a half-boliday to the *cboot, in
of that " btoody butcher, knd excommunicated traitor, Jamn
OrtAam."

INTRODUCTORT.

of 1627. These are, — Camerarius, his Living Library ;
1621, Fol. : Godfrey of Boulogne, or the recovery
of Jerusalem: 1024, I''ol.: and Sir Walter Raleigh's
History of the World, 1G14, Fol.^ Considering where
they are found, and their dates, it can scarcely be
doubted, that these are the identical volumes mentioned
by Patrick Graham of Inchbrakie, in his list of 1627.
The same library contains sacred and touching memorials
of his sister, the Lady Beatrix Graham, Lady Madertie ;
her state bible, namely, in the original crimson velvet
binding, sadly dilapidated, but still folded in the tattered
remnants of the crimson velvet and gold-laced bag, in
which it was wont, probably, to be carried before her to
the kirk of InnerpefiVay. Sic transit qlwia mtmdi.
The yew tree of Inchbrakie, called Montrose's Yew,
could tell us all about it, would it condescend to speak.

' The antique and apparently origiDnl binding of these Tolamcs, beingmncli
decajed, has been replaced, even within these fen months, b; modem faalf-
binding ; it not being known to the librarian that they had most probably
belonged to Montrose. This unfortunate renovation was uccompliahed be-
fore we knew of it, or had an opportunity of examining the old boardB, and
flf-leaves, for autographs, and other accidental authentications. The little
mouse-eaten bible, however, bad undergone no sacrilegious repair ; and i*
henceforth to be preserved as a precious relic, in a box made from " Mon-
^^— trose's Yew," which funereal pile of nature's architecture, yet prodominatea

^^L over the park of Inchbrakie, vrith tindiminished, and unrivalled aolemnity.

^^H The present tenant of that ancient scat of a distinguished branch of the

^^^B Grahams, is Captain the Honourable Arthur Hay Drummond, R.N., a

^^H younger son of the House of Einnoul, upon whom has devolved the female

^^H inheritance of the bnruny of Innerpeffmy, along with its intercstiug accessory,

^^H the school and library founded by Duvid Drutnmond, 3rd Lord Maderty.

^^V Captain Druinmond's kindness enabled us to examine the library very deli-

^^B berately, and more than once, under the best and most hospitable of auspices.

^^1 Our own knowledge of the existence of this curious and interesting library ia

^^B very recent. The Rev. Henry Molcolni of Dunblane, first called

^^H tion to the fact, that the autograph of Montrose appeared upon some of thi

^^^^ volumes ; and, subsequently, the Right Rev. the Bi.ahop of Brechin most

^^^f kindly obtuned permission to send us Montrose's bible lor inspection, before

^^V we had visited the library ilt^elf.

I

INTRODDCrOHT.

I

This interesting and latest discovery on the subject of
Montrose, aflfords the crowniog instance of that remark-
able trait in his character which our previous researches
had enabled us to illustrate in his memoirs. It appears
to have been a habit of his mind, from his youth upwards,
to give vent to the deep feelings of the moment, heroic,
moral, indignant, or sad, in some enthusiastic vei«e,
pointed couplet, or epigrammatic antithesis. The fly-
leaf of a favourite volume was his usual tablet for these
ebullitions of an ardent genius. Doubtless, during his
meteor career, writing paper was with him somewhat of
a luxury, and the appliances of a study rather scarce.
We have shown, in our life of him, that, on his copies
of Caesar's Commentaries, Quintus Curtius, and Lucan's
Pbarsalia, he had recorded, in verses of his own compo-
sition, his ambitious aspirations to emuliite the heroic
and lettered Roman, and that yet more unapproachable
prototype, the Macedonian king. As might be expected,
on his classics are discovered ambitious and heroic senti-
ments, — on his bible, chiefly moral and Christian apho-
risms. Even on the latter, however, we find him noting
heroics from Horace. Notwithstanding the devotion of
his life, — fated to " write epitaphs in blood, and wounds,"
— he had certainly contrived to become familiar with
the classics, and accomplished in Fi'ench and Italian.
The following couplet occurs in one of his saddest effu-
sions, hastily written (hke his famous metrical vow), upon
the occasion of the murder of his beloved Sovereign :-

" Seeing, that but from tmall woet words do come,
Bat ffreal ona, — they are always dumb."

Now this isjusta paraphrase of the line in the Hippolytus
of Seneca, — " Cin-a letex loquuntur, iiigcntes stupent."
And writing to the Chancellor Hyde when the news of

INTRODDCrORT.

the fete of the King reached him, he puts the very same
in proae, thus : — " The griefs that astonish, speak more
with their silence tlian those that can complain." To
this elegant and epigrammatic turn, and culture of mind,
we owe the characteristic verse, —

" Ho either feura his fate too much,
Or hia deBerts are small,
Who putH it not unto the toncb.
To gain or lose it all,"

(a sentiment he writes in prose to Prince Rupert), and
the no less memorable couplet, —

" I '11 make thee glorious by my pen,
Aad famous by my sword."

Again, when indignantly answering the virulent and dis-
honest prosecution of him by the Covenanting govern-
ment in 16il, he classically characterises the foul-
mouthed libel, drawn by the ruffian Warriston, as " Qui
quilia volantes et teiiti spoUa" instead of saying, riffraff,
rtibbish, and dust; and with his own boldest hand he in-
dited, even upon the formal paper given in as his legal
defence, this verse from the Tristia of Ovid, —
" Hoc pretium vitee, vic/ilatortimque labonim
Cepimus ; ingcnto est pxna reperta meo:"

which may be translated, —

For life's best labours lavislied on tbe State,
A patriot's genius Ends a felon's fate :

And how curious is it to trace the very same habit of
mind, and mode of expressing intense feeling, illustrat-
ing the last scene of his life, and mingling with his final
prayer for salvation, amid the horrors of his death, —

n bestow o
pen alt my

every air I a limb,
reins, that I may e

I

INTRODUCTORY, XXxix

In the Preface to our Memoirs of Montrose (1856),

we thufl ventured to challenge the most distinguished

and dangerous of the historical defamers of his great
' Bcion, Dundee : —

" In reileeming, as we hope to have done, the character of
Montrose from the calumnies of two centuries, by the closest
of biographical scmtiniee, and the most unquestionable of
evidonce, we claim to have laboured so far successfully in the
'cause of justice and truth. But something more remains to
be achieved in the same stormy period of the Scotish troubles.
The latest and moat brilhant historian of England, too dis-
dainful of minute enquiry, where party feeling predominates,
speaks of the ' seared conscience and adamantine heart,' of
the great Dundee, and tells us, that ' James Graham of Claver-
house,' — thus betraying ignorance, or carelessness, of the very
Dame he ia consigning to unmerited obloquy, — ' rapacious
and profane, of violent temper, and obdurate heart, has left a
same which, wherever the Scottish race is settled on the face
of the globe, is mentioned with a pecuhar energy of hatred.'
No historical character, we verily believe, was ever more reck-
lessly portrayed, or in colours more false than these. In due
time, Deo volente, Dundee, too, must be redeemed from a vul-
gar error of history, thus glorified by the golden pen that de-
lights the present age."

This pledge we hope to have now redeemed, even in
the present volume. But neither shall it be lost sight of in
that which is to come. It is no small encouragement, to
the present undertaking, that we find ourselves univer-
sally justified in what once seemed so desperate an ad-
venture, as the rescuing that " bloody murderer and ex-
communicated traitor," Montrose, not only from the
fiery furnace of fanaticism, but from the political enmity
of the most distinguished whig historians of Scotland in
modern times. We have, indeed, been crowned with
compliments of very different qualitieo, and from very

^H compli

xl

[NTBODOCTORY.

opposite quarters. The success of our labours, as the
champion of the champion of Charles the First, has been
honourably acknowledged at one end of society, and
meanly appropriated at the other. Wliile gratified by
an elegant abridgement, of our more elaborate and con-
troversial volumes, from the pen of a nobleman whose
comments, criticisms, and curtailments, conferred honour
upon the original, we were disgusted in no less a degree
by that vapouring and blundered adaptation (already
commented upon), pretending to laborious originality, of
the cream of our own discoveries and labours, emanating
from the cheap-and-nasty system of second-hand author-
ship. Or, to couch it in what Lord Macaulay terms
Johnsonese, — Enthusiastically reviewed by the lettered
genius of a senatorial Stanhope ; disingenuously extracted
by the venal industry of a trading pen ; at once deco-
rated by the hand of honour, and soiled by the feelers of
suction, — we may boast of having inspired a peer, and
attracted a parasite.

I
I

The frontispiece to this volume is engraved from a
contemporary print of Viscount Dundee, so rare that
only two copies of it are known to exist. One is in the
Bodleian Library. The fortunate possessor of the other
is Mr Stirling of Keir, who acquired it from the sale at
Strawberry Hill. Having been engraved by WilUams,
an artist contemporary with bis subject, considerable
reliance may be placed upon the resemblance ; but the
painting is not known from whence the engraving is
derived ; if, indeed, there was any painted portrait of
the kind. It is a mezzotint, in folio, and of no mean
pretensions as a work of art. But that mode of engrav-
ing was very apt to impart thickness, if not coarseness,

INTRODUCTOKr. xU

lo the features of a portrait, a defect which may be per-
ceived in many of the otherwise beautiful mezzotints of
the works of Sir Joshua Reynolds ; and most probably, in
this instance, the features of Claverhouse have lost some-
what of their characteristic fineness, and expression. In
the present line engraving, however, from the able and
accurate bui-in of Mr Bell, that artist has adhered as
closely as possible to the contemporary priut. To Mr
Stirling of Keir our best thanks are due, for the use of
his rare treasure.

The second portrait of our hero which gi-aces this
volume, is most accurately engraved, by Mr Banks jun.,
from a kit-cat oil painting, deemed an original, in
possession of the family of Graham of Airth, to whom
also our thanks are due for the permission to engrave it.

I Other portraits of Dundee, no less authentic, %vill appear
\a our second volume.
To Charles K. Sharpe, these Memorials are further
indebted for three engraved plates ; natnely, the armorial
(llate for the title-page ; and two plates of autographs,
which will also find their place in the next volume.
These Mr Sharpe himself presented to us, along with the
fragmentary manuscript we have printed ; and, being
very earnest and zealous in the promotion of this work,
he promised at the same time to search in his reposi-
tories for more fragments of manuscript, and further
decorative illustrations of the subject. But, — ricthna
nil miierantis Oiri, — that promise was not destined to be
fuUilled. A box-full of his papers, now in possession of
his sister Mrs Bedford, was, at our request, obhgingly
ransacked for us by that lady, who assured us, — " I have
examined all the MS. in ray possession, and now for-
ward to you all that I think may be useful to you ; I
mtieo enclose a drawing of the ring." These stray frag-

^Huw end

xlll INTRODUOTOar.

ments, which only came to hand after we had piinU
the more orderly manuscripts given us by Mr Sbarpel
himself, were fortunately in time to be added in ;
supplementary form.

Our publisher Mr Stevenson, between whom and IVbrl
Sharpe the bond of antiquarianism had long subsisted,!
haa illustrated these manuscripts with a characteristiol
sketch, taken from a photograph portrait presented to
him by his friendly patron himself. He is therein re-
presented at an advanced period of his life, and as he is
best remembered now. The resemblance was approved
by himself; for he distributed copies of the photograph
among bis friends, including his antiquarian publisher.
Several of the quaint productions of his pencil were
executed for works published by Mr Stevenson ; who,
not very long since, parted with the copperplates to add
to a collection made by Mrs Bedford, which that lady
told us she hoped one day to publish, as a memorial of
her brother's pecuUar accomplishments. This mortj
acceptable idea, we sincerely trust, will not prove one c^m
those luxurious schemes of letters, that are more apt to |
be propounded than fulfilled. One amusing specimen,
however, we have taken to illustrate, and enliven, this J
our too imperfect record of its accompUshed author, — I
Sir Walter Scott's " inimitable virago." It haa been I
already twice published, * and thrice engraved in different I

■ Finti na an illustration of Keiiilworlb, io the Abbotsford edilioo, when ^
there is a spirited woodcut, in minialure, of this gem of Mr Sharpe'a
and graphic powers. It wm subsequently engraved in a leas reJuced form, '
ai the fronliapiecc to Mr TurnbuU's work, entitled,— " Lkttebs of Mart I
SrcART, QuF.EM OK Scotland, Selected from the ' Recueil des l^ettru
de Marie Stuart,' together with ihe Chronological Summary of Eventl
during her Reign, by Frince Alexander Labanoff. Translated, with Note*
and an Introduction, by Williara B. Turnbull. 8vo. /ne frontispiece of
Queen Eiizabelh dancing, hy Chnrlet Kirkpalrkk Sharpe, I^ondon, Charles
Dolman, 18*5." Ai Mr Dolman, with Mr Turnbull'a pcrmiision, wai lo good

IKTfiODCOrOKr.

xUii

rizea. The copperplate of the octavo size is the property
of Mr Dolman, the London publisher, to whose liberality
Mr Stevenson waa indebted for the loan of it, to illustrate
these notices of C. K. Sharpe,' — whose name, erst a
household word in "Auld Reekie," be himself was wont
thus wittily to express, in the following musical mono-
gram, which he occasionally used as a visiting card.

M to lend the plale to oar publiBber for the purpoac, U Uaa been repe&ted
h«re. Mr TumbuU also engraTed the eame, of the aize of the original, for
dittribution Kinong hb frieods.

' An Edinburgh celcbrlly ia his daj, and himwtf fur descended, CborJea

L Sharps was a habilue of some of the most ariatocrolic families of Scotland.

B such circlee, his fund of dry humour and causlic wil never failed to
_ nder him a welcome guest. Tlie charaeteriatic treble, something between
the humourous and the querulous, in which he uttered urnot, greatly heightened
(he effect. A lady who prided herself, perhaps too much, upon the delicadei
of her table, having quarrelled with Sbarpe, was so rash as to attempt to
rectum him before comiMny by a reproachful speech, which never got beyond
ihid commencement : — " Oh I Mr Sharpe, ajter the many good dinners," —
" And the many bad,''' struck in the incorrigible delinquent, with a sudden
■nap whiirh most effectually silenced the well known imperious lady. He
chiefly aflccted select circlet, where bia conversation was moat likely to
tcU. The curious melange of mmisters and military, black spirits and red,
lawyers and " lobsters," that crowded the ievecs of the Lord High Com-
nuMDoner, he could not abide. Once, however, the Lady of his Gmco wiled
bim to her tea-table, to aid her to entertain the Scotch clergy by whom
■he expected to be surrounded. Charles was coaxed to go, niu/dini gemeat.
But the General Assembly sat late, and our humourist, a little out of
humour, had to encounter, in a very hot tea-room, a bevy of reU-coats, his
own being ibe only black one in the circle. " I see," he said, tSter a
cbaracteriatic survey with his never failing eye-ghus, " your Lady«hip has

^HiiW the

xliv

INTKODDCrORT.

Even since the foregoing pages were sent to press,
another testimony has come to light, like one from the
dead, to bear witness against the Covenant. At page
286 of this volume will be found Mr Sharpe's account of
the battle of Bothwell Bridge, and of the preparations
which the Covenanters had there made, to put to death on
the spot all the prisoners who might fall into their hands.
But Mr Sharpe was not aware of tlie existence of the
standard which they carried upon that memorable oc-
casiou. This very recent discovery has been most
obligingly communicated to us by Mr James Drura-
mond, R.S.A., a distinguished artist, whose great work,
the procession of Montrose as a prisoner, from the Water-
gate of Edinburgh to the Tolbooth, formed one of the
most attractive features in the Exhibition of the
Scottish Academy for this season. As the discovery of
this brimstone banner is entirely due to that gentleman,
who has just favoured us with the communication, we
shall give the story in his own words : —

" In reference to the conversation we had the other
day, concerning the ' Bluidy Banner' which I saw at
Dunbar, I may mention, that, some months ago, being
informed by a friend from Dunbar, that he knew the
people who had the said flag or banner, I accompanied
him, while on a visit in that neighbourhood, a few
weeks since, to the house of the old couple, who, with
some difficulty, were prevailed upon to show it, and allow
me to make a drawing of the interesting relic. It is
of blue silli, here and there a little faded, but having
been treasured as a precious hetr-loom, is in very good
preservation. On it there is inscribed, in Hebrew
characters, gilded, 'Jefaova nissi,' (the Lord is mv
banner). The silk has given way where some of these

INTRODDCTORT. xlv

letters are painted, and what lettere remain are bo
tender that they will hardly bear touching. The next
line is painted in white, — ' For Christ and His Truths ;'
and then comes the line from which the banner derives
its name, —

*No Quarters To Y^ Active Enimies of Y^ Co\'enant.'

Lis seems to have been painted in some light colour
ret, and afterwards repainted in a dull faded looking
in fact, quite a ' bluidy colour.' The banner is
\ feet 5^ inclies, by 3 feet 5^ inches. Had this been
fown to me as a mere relic, without any history, 1
lever for a moment would have doubted its genuineness.
[ shall give its history as told by the proprietors. It
wlonged to Hall of Haughhead, who wa-s a zealous cove-
"nanter and a leader at Drumclog, and Bothwell Brig.
From the latter, he escaped and fled to Holland, but
shortly returned, and while lurking near Queensferry,

Bere was an attempt made to seize him by the governor
Blackness Castle. Hall being mortally wounded in
e struggle, died on his way to Edinburgh, a prisoner.
1 him was found an unsubscribed document, afterwards
lied the 'Queensferry Paper.'' Hall's son, while on
b'la deathbed, gave the banner to an enthusiastic cove-
nanting friend, of the name of Cochrane ; his own son,
having turned ' conformist' clergyman, was not thought
worthy to be custodier of such a precious relic. This
Cochrane, after wandering about from place to place, set-
tled in Coldstream. His son again bequeathed the banner
to his youngest daughter, Mary Cochrane, who married
Mr Raeburn in Dunbar, the father of Mr and Miss Rae-
Imm, who now possess it. Along with the banner there

See Ibe dentb of Hall of Hsughhexl recorded in this volnnie, p. 3IK>i
Shtrpc's fragment.

^^Blr Shtrpc't

xlvi INTEODUCrrORT.

was also bequeathed to Cochrane a chest of arms. These
have been gradually given away, excepting two swords.
I give it the name of the ' Bluidy Banner,' simply be-
cause Miss Kaeburn so designated it herself."

Besides this curious information, we are much in-
debted to Mr Drummond for the use of his artistic fac-
simile, on a reduced scale, of the relic in question, to be
lithographed for this volume. It will be found in its
proper place, forming a very apt illustration to Mr
Sharpe's account of the battle of " Bothwell Brig."

And thus, by a happy turn of fortune, even after some
pages of this Introduction had been sent to press, we
have been enabled to add to our discoveries two impor-
tant illustrations, aflbrding a very striking conti-ast be-
tween the calumniated and the calumniators, namely,
the pocket bible of Montrose, and the battle bible of the
Covenanters,

6 AiNsi.iK Placb,
Mag 1859.

« Memoirs of Montrose b

Roulkdge, 1858. Se

■ James Grant, published by Messrs

p. XXV. of this Introduction.

Our own discoveries relative to the literary accomplislimentB
and habits of Montrose, — his propensity to quote the classics,
— to indite couplets, and quotations, on the blank leaves of hia
copies of the classics, nay, on liis very bible, — would have been
all entirely eclipsed by the following discovery, — were it true.
It is the only pretension to a new discovery relating to the hero
that is to he met with in the Grant-Boutledge rifacimenio of
Napier's Memoirs of Montrose : —

" During his exile, Montrose seems to have turned his atten-
n again to those literary pursuits, which the stormy events
of late years had so completely interrupted ; and a small xuork
tvritten by him in Latin, entitled — ' De Rebus Auspiciis Sere-
nissiuii et Potentissiini Caroli, Dei Gratia Magna Britannia

■Begis,' &c., was published /w Aim at Paris in 1648," (p. 346).
What ? Montrose, in exile, the avowed publishing author,
M a relaxation after liis great career of victory, of " a amaU
work in Latin" about Charles the First, by way of a renewal
of his prerioua " literary pursuits"? The fact, if it be a fact,
is most interesting, and never heard of before. But the for-
tunate author who made the discovery, seems in this sentence
to have expended his ability to explain the work ; for he ex-
plains it no further. Intelligent reader, what he quotes is just
the title-page of Dr Wishart'a Latin History of the Wars of
Montrose, the second edition of which was published in Paris
in 1648! A very crude acquaintance with Montrose, and the
Latin language, can alone account for this curious notice.
But in his hand-to-mouth scramble for materials and illustra-
tions, when hastily concocting this cheap literary speculation,
carved out of the real labour of another, the author of the

BoutJedge publication of course very soon discovered that that

^^^^hich he had imagined to be" a^mallworkin Latin" writt«n by

iJ

xlviii NOTE ox grant's MONTROSE,

Montrose himself, because he had leimre m his exile to resume
hie " literary pursuits," was in fact the Latin of that notorioua
work by Dr Wishart ; and so, in a subsequent page, he thrusts
into a note (most unnecessarily, as regards either historical or
biographical information,) the Bishop's Latin title-page more
fully given. This is done without any allusion to the pre-
ceding blunder, which had in fact necessitated the qtiietly cor-
rective repetition. A literary forager, who has to maintain
the independence of his research, and the originality of his
own knowledge of the subject in hand, cannot afford to confess
to such blunders as these. Accordingly, when, as one illus-
tration against the veri/ high pretensions put forth in Chan-
cery in support of the Routledge publication, this blot was hit
by the plaintiff, the author James Grant's Affidavit was re-
quired in defence ; and the intelligent reader will judge whe-
ther his explanation suffices to extricate this enthusiastic bio-
grapher of Montrose, — who depones, that that biography cost
him " immense labour" f!) — out of the scrape of apparent ig-

" As to the thirty-fourth paragraph of the said plaintiff's
affidavit, / «ny, that the book there referred to is stated, 6y mis-
take, to have been written by Montrose, instead of /or Mon-
trose. In page 386 of my work I give the full title and pur-
pose of this book, which / well know, and is a small volume
of 248 pages, labelled on the back ' Monlisros.'"

Let us do full justice to this laborious biographer, by here re-
peating the erring passage with that very simple emendation: —

" During his exile Montrose seeim to have turned his atten-
tion again, to those literary pursnifs, which the stormy events
of late years had so complet-ely interrupted, and a small work
written /or Mm in Latin, entitled — ' De Eebus Auspiciis Sere-
nissimi et Potentissimi Caroli Dei Gratia MagnjB Britannise
Regis," Ac, was published ,/(W him at Paris in 1648."

Whether this emendation bo successful, will be judged of
by the structure of the sentence. Was it possible to infer from
sneh a sentence, that the writer really understood this to be
the famous and notorioua history of Montrose's wars, com-
posed by his chaplain Dr Wishart? Was that great work
written "for Montrose," and published " /or Montrose;" and

PUBLISHED BY MESSRS ROUTLEDGE, xUx

hecmtse Montrose had leisure in his exile to " turn his attention
again to literary pursuits"? Chancery ia easily blinded, or ver^'
willing to bo so, in such matters, if this explanation suffice
to rebut the imputation nf mere scrambling, and sustain the
pretension of laborious research, in a. question of literary piracy.
But let U8 now, in further justification of the remarks in
the preceding Introdm^tion, aflford a sample or two of the
piratical dealing complained of.

We discovered, and completely authenticated, a portrait of
Montrose, taken when he was only seventceu years of age.
This portrait, preserved in the family gallery of Kinnaird
Caetle ever since the date of its being painted, had been lost
sight of, under a wrong name, and was unknown oven to the
posBesfiora, the Carriegies of Southesk, as a portrait of Mon-

Mroee. This fortunate discovery led to the portrait's being

gjgraved for our Memorials of Montroso and his Times,

; and, in the same work, we wrote the history of its dis-

"oovery, and a minute description of the portrait itself. James
Grant, taking the whole of the three first chapters of his Me-
moirs of Montrose, published by Eoutledge iu 1858, relating
to the boyhood, education, and youthful marriage of Montrose,
in design, materials, ornaments, and sentiments, not from
documents merely, but from our text, — composed from our own
bcoveries for the first time in 1848, and republished by ug
jtim in our latest edition, 1856, — seizes, inter alia, the
reiy popular subject of the youthful portrait, wherewith to
adorn his own text. He suppresses the/act that wo had made
that interesting discovery, and published an account of it.
He suppresses the /act tliat we had procured the portrait to be
engraved. Hi:- suppresses the fact that we had minutely de-
scribed the portrait. He warn** us not ; but merely says, " Mon-
trose was now in his sixteenth yoar, and of his api)earauce a
ffcrfeci description can be furnished from the portrait pre-
terved at Kinnaird by the family of Carnegie." And then he
forthwith proceeds to "fumiBli,"'a«At«0K7i,a"perfect descrip-
tion" of a portrait which he never saw, which he only knows
thioagh the mediimi of our engraving, and to which engraving

CB not even venture to allude I Why this extraordinary
ce as to the history of a portrait which he proceeds to

^HtFoee.
^^BHigrav

aacamet
^^Uiscovei
^^^erbatin
^^erypo;

I

MOTE ON GRANTS MONrROSE,

describe with entkusiamn f Surely, because of that which, in
questions of ht«rary piracy, lawyers call the " animttsfura'udi."
Did he not know, that the " perfect description," published as
his, was essentially ours, — and ours the discovery ^

Jamts Granfs Detcriplion, 1S58.

" A fair camplexioned yoiilh, with

Our Daeription, 1848 and 1856.

" A boy of /air and toniewhat deli-

jpteiion, WM smiling

the

eate

ipectator, witli an aaptect ihat epok(
not of ' the Troubles.' But tie port
erect and lordly, the exuberant auburn
Aair, of a direr hue than the later
portraits, the penetrating grey eye,
the finely moulded nose, tcitli its sen-
silive nostril, and the eharacterialic
txpreuion of the enmprcned lips, as
yet devoid of the shadow at a mous-
tache, at once suggested the jouog
Montrose. Then the sumptuous dress
— o rich otiee veleet doublet, profusely
iliuied uiith while salin, every team
and edge trimmed with gold, and over
the collar a lace ruff' of the most deli-
eate texture — seemed to announce the
boy Benedict in his wedding bravery.
A. closer inspection discovered these
dates painted by the original artist on
Oie upptr car/icr, lo the right of the
head,—' anno 1629, atalU 37 ;' and
in the background, near the left shoul-
der, this autograph — ' Jamemn,fecil.'
" There it stitl exists, in high pre-
tervation; nor has this portrait been
known to have quitted iJie Castle
of Kinnaird during the (loo centuries
u>hich have elapsed since it was paint-
ed."

And this portrait, — " yet hanging unfaded and unchanged
in the hall of Kinnaird," — our copyist had never set eyes upon I
The enthusiasm of such a discovery miglit well induce (he
discoverer to an enthusiastic description. But what induced
the extraordinary coincidence of the very same enthusiastic de-
scription from the pen of James Grant ? His defence, in reply
to this item of the charge of piracy, made against him in
Chancery, is extremely reckless. He had not ventured, indeed.

aud dark gref) tya, i
what aquiline, and a proudly cut lip.
T!ie thick auburn hair is parted over
the left eye, and curls in heavy locks
below his ears. He is represented Id
a rich doublet of olive coloured taffeta,
buttoned close up to his thick falling
ruff of point lace, and having three
lung slaihei of while salin on each side
of the buttons. Folds of cloth like
the modern military wing, encircle
the shoulders ; the sleeves are loose,
and itaehed with white satin ; and the
edges are ail bound with slender gold
cord, for it was a time when, as Sir
Philip Warwick says, ' we courtiers
valued ourselves much upon our good
clothes.' The right upper comer of
the picture is inscribed ' anno 1629,
atatis 17 ;' and in the left lower cor-
ner are the words, ' Jamesone, Feet.'

" More than two centuries ham
passed away, since the orti^'s pencil
traced the ft-iiturcs of that handsome
and high-spirited boy ; but, unfaded
and unchanged, the portrait yet hangs
in the hall of Kinnaird."

of

1^^ mi

'' we

wh ... .

^^— pterin

PUBLISHED Br MESSRS ROUTLEDGE. il

to put it into his Affidavit; but in certain manuscript notes,
written upon the margins of a copy of his own work, and pro-
duced in C/taTiceri/, he repudiates the idea of having derived
this description from any of our works, and simply noLes,
"Described from the published portrait, or engraving t But
how could he derive his minute description of colours from an
engraving, — the " dark grey eyes," — the " auburn hair," — the
" olive-coloured doublet," — the " white satin," — the " slender
gold cord?" How could our engraving (to which, moreover, he
never alludes in his work,) have suggested to him the very
phraaeology of description, which the discovery of the painting
iteelf had suggested to tlie author who discovered it ?

Now, this is not merely an appropriation oi historical /acts,
at of the contents of family documents, discovered and pre-
vionsly published by another. It is, in addition to that, a
transference of the literary composition, the uej-y icords, of the
prior author, who had made such researches and discoveries.
Kor is the above a solitary instance of that same species of
direct piracy, both of /acta and composition., to be found in the
Soutledge publication. It is a fjiir sample of the general
(diaracter, and staple of that derivative publication, from be-
ginning to end ; and the Athen^um (March 20. 1858) never
characterised a literary performance more accurately, or ad-
ministered a caatigation more just, than the following, in the
publication of which wo had no hand whatever : —

" It is time that some inquiry were made into the ethics of
cheap publishing. As far as such a movement furnishes
(without the infringement of private rights) good literature
at a moderate price to the public, every sensible person will
pve it approbation and encouragement. But is the pretence
of cheapness, and the free use of that favourite term, ' the
million,' to jnstiiy practices which are condemned in all trades,
imd in literature are pevtiUarly ungenerous f Is a dear book,

whatever merit, to be looked on simply as raw material, for
the manufacture of cheap books ? These are questions which,
we fancy, the British public can only answer in one way, and
which they may answer, on this occasion, in a manner not very
Riming io Mr James Grant. The plain fact is, that Ur
it has borrowed from his predecessor aU thai A« dared, and

I

I

4

fii

NOTE ON GRANTS MONTROSE,

ignored his existence as much as he could. Tiiere are whoh
po^es which he could no more have written without his assist-
ance than one could build a house without bricks," &c.

But it is not simply the " raw material" that this writer has
appropriated. He helps himself throughout to the mami/oc^MJ^
article, without ceremony or the slightest acknowledgment.

We, for the first time discovered, and thus described, the
domestic hahita of Montrose's father: —

Our Narralive, 1648 and 1856.

" Tha Eari lived the retired U/e of
a country genllemav, nnd Bcems to
hare been very dameatic in nil bis
habit*. Somotbing of these ma; be
gathered from tlie family accounU,
of which the fen extracts given below
iodiiale tliat he amused hinaelf with
archery and gulfing, aad indulged
■omewiiat in lobaeeo," &c.

" For half ane ptind tobacco sent
to the Weit countrio to my Lord,
8 lib. . . 8s. 4d.

" For an unce of tobacco cod to
hie Lordship in October 162S, 9s. 4d."

" Montrose's father wos much ad-
dicted to the uie ef tobacco and pipes ;
but there is a tradition that MontroBe
himself could not abide tht smell of
tobacco."

James Grand, 1858.

" The old Earl had kd the life of a
quiet countn/ gentleman, bis sole amtue-
menls being smohing, golfing, and shoot-
ing Kith the iow. His household book-
ia full of entries such ns the following:
— For golf-balls, bow-strings, tobac-
co-pipes," &c.

" For one puniJ of tobacco sent
from the West countrie to mj- Loi-d,
3 lib., . 8s. W.

'* For an nnee of tobacco coft to
his Lordship,, in October 1623,

9s. 4d. Scots."

" Though the Earl Mems to bare
been an inveterate gmoter, the }^ung
Lord, his SOD, like James YI., bad
imbibed a horror of lobaeeo."

I

The only difference here is, that the copyist, in his piratical
haste, blunders the items of the domestic accounts, which be
had copied from our accurate page. Eg takes the very same
liberty with our interesting illustrations of Montrose's infancy
and education, which had never been discovered or described
before : —

Our Narrative, 1848 and 1866.
" Montrose ipns early in the saddle.
How early, is now only known for
the first timci and to the humble re-
cords of the anril is due all the merit
of affordioE authentic indications oi'
his infant chivalry : —

James Grant's, 1858.
" The little Lord James was earli/
jiractised in horsemanship, and every
other accomplishment necessary I
complete the education of ftwell-bred
cavalier ; when only eight years of age,
• twa naigs' seem tu have been kept

PUBLISHED BY MESSRS KOPTLEDGE.

Our Narrative, 1848 and 1856.
" Compts of my Lordia Iloree-
! Khooae,furnifhit, and pavitboUarie
[ BUckwood, in Adu. 1620, SI, and
f SS jeiria.' "

" Item on 29 of September 1620,

I forJyvegangofsehoocietomj- Lord's

se before bia Lordship nide to

I Bo«edo, V. lb.

" Item, for twa gangof achoone to

I Ziord Jama' taa naiga, xxiilj. sh.

" At tbe dale of mis item in the

blaclumicb's nccount, Montrose had

either Bcarcely, or bad onli/jiut com-

pkltd hii tighth year; jet he was al-

Madjin poweaaionofaperjonaf jfnJ."

Jamti Grant'), 1859.
for his etpecial tiie ; and among man)-
items of fiirriery, in hia pricate ac-
couHtM, paid by Harie Bluukwood,
and recently prinled /or the Maitland
Club, we find, on 29th September
163!), for 5 gang of scboone to my
Lord's horse before his Lordship radu
to Rossdhu, 6 lb. Scots."

^^^^^lifl wi

And mark his cunning introduction of the words, " and
recently printed for the Maiiland Club"\ They are intended to
convey the impression that he is not borrowing any biographi-
cal composition of ours, or even biographical iUmtrations used
by UB, but that this uao, of new and interesting matter relative
to the early training of Montrose, is a biographical idea, and
eomposition, of his mvn, resulting from what, in hia Affidavit
in Chancery, he calls, " my collecting some of the facts relating
to the early life of Montrose, with great labour! from the two
•to volumes in which the documents containing such facts
[We printed." Now the fact is, that those particular accounts,
:»r8 documents not printed anywhere. Having the entire com-
land of these family papers, we judged that it was unnecessary
to print all the domestic accounts ; and so in this instance we
erely used a very few extracts to illustrate and add interest
vU> our biographical chapter. There alone could our parasitv
ind tliem ; and his " collecting with great labour," (which he
twliere calls " immense labour"), simply amounts to this,
lat lie transfers from our pages to his own pagen, not only
the biographical illustrations, wliicli our selerled extracts fur-
nish, but also the biographical design, sentiment, and pkraseo-
lot^y which constitute our own literary cojh^xjsiViow ,■ and all
Wfl without any rocngnition of ns I

Uv

NOTE ON GRANTS MONTROSE,

Again, compare these other passages, relating to Montrose's
youth and education, published by ua/or the first time: —

Our Narrative, 1648 and 1856.

" Monlrose'i parent had wisely
judged that a life of riding and feno-
Ing at hoDie was not sufficient train-
ing for a young nobleman of so
forward a spirit as tliit tole hope of
the Graham ; and accordingly we find,
irom the Southcsk Papers, that he
haA placed him, ivhen ta-dce years of
age, at Glasgow, willi an establish-
ment consisting of a private tutor,
two pages, and a valet." " Among
the papers in ibis purt will be found
a reodpt granted by Dame Agnes
Boyd, the lady of Sir George Eljihin-
tlone of BIylkswood, acting during the
absence of her busbaad, for the rent
' of lie parte of our greale lodging,
with the pertinents situnl at the wyno
heade, in Glasgow."

>> The namo of the tutor or pcda-
gog, as he is termed in the household
accounts, was Master William For-
ret ; thetitleJfiufcr, which he always
silpemdds to his signature, indicating
that he had taken a degree. The two
pages were called William and Mungo
Graham."

" We ham a notice of what pro-
bably was his frst iitord of any
value; and it is interesting to learn
that it was presented to him by his
frierid and councillor. Lord Napier.
' I grant me,' says Mr Wiliiam, ' to
have in keeping a gilded sword, which
which my Lord got from my Lord
Napier; with a silk and nli-rr scarf
which my Lord got from hia umtjuill
(late) noble father, with a belt and
hangers ; and a crose-ticir set taiih
tHOlher-of-pearl. Ai for the braun
hagb'il, it was sent to his Lordship,
o St Andrews."

James Grant's, 1858.
" His father seems to have spared
nothing to make his eldest son, the
hope of his honse and clan, perfect in
everything reriuislto for a soldier and
noble, and to fit him for the serrice
of Scotland, either in the cabinet or
the field. In 1634 he sent him, at
the age of twelve, to Glasgow, for the
benefit of his studies ; and there, for
more than a year, ho occupied part
of the great lodging of Sir George
Elphinsloae of BbjtktiMud, utuated
near the townhead, for which a rent
was paid to the family factor, to Dame
Agues Boyd."

" His pedagogue was WiUiam For-
ret. Master of Arti, and two pages of
his own name, William and Mungo
Grahame, attended him."

' ' His first gilded saord,

which, about the same period, was

presented to him bghis brother-in-law.
Lord Napier ; his scarf of silk and
tisi'it, probably the work of his fair
sisters ; his brazen hackbut and cross-
bow set with nolhcr-of-pearh, all of
which his tutor states he had in his
keeping," &c.

PUBLISHED BT MESSRS ROUTLEDGE.

Jatnee Graufi, 1858.

" Tomn drummers and piperi h«
especittlly lavoured, and they seem to
have irelcomed and preceded him
wlierever lie icent. He never (mik
iorje, but at the ' oiilou/iiiig or lichl-
ing,' (i. e. mounting and dUmounting)
ho acatterud a handful of Bilver among
the crowd," &c.

" The cavalier noble appears to
have patronjacil and scattered his
money freely among all jugglers, poa-
ture-makera, da ndng- girls, wander-
ing pipers, and dicar/a, but still more
freely among tlie poor and needy.
It U impoaalble to enumerate the
entries of money bestowed by his
orders upon the medicants, when
tbey loitered everywhere at tbe tirk
stiles, bridge ends, and town gates ;
and it is lemarlcable that, notwilh-
stunding the Acts of the Scottish
Purti anient concerning the restriction
of triih emigration, they teem to have
been then nearly as n
clamorous for alms u

Our space only admits of a few more extracts. For example,
'|lw interview between Montrose auJ Qiioon Ilenriotta Maria:

Oar Narrative, 1848 and 1856.
" Belli, trampeU, pipes, drumt, and
Ilea, Kea to have been put in re-
fwui'Itnn by him tcherever he went," &e.
*' Hia purse wai alwayi open to ttie
netdg. He never ' lake) harse,^ or

»' Imipa on,' or dismounts, or ' goes to
llie fields,' or passes through a gate,
or visits a town, without bestowing
•ometbing on tbe poor. An bonest
man by the way, a poor pooC or
' rymer,' tbe rabble looking on at bis
archery, a dumb woman, a dirarf at
the door, and, not tbe least interest-
ing occasion when we consider the
aut>*eqaenC lie between them, ' some
poor Jrith inomeii at the gate of
Bimeo,' and *anc Iriuli man begging
M the gate of Glamis,' are all suc-
OCBsful appeals lo hia charity."

" Beaides the luwii musitian* whom
he *eems to have kept in pay through-
out the districts of Scotland whiub be
frequented, we find bim paying min-

Iatrals, morrice dancers, and jug-
glers," 8:c.

Our Ifarralive, 1838 and 1840. I
" At York, when the Queen had I
recovered from tbo faliguca and agi-
tations of hi>r voyage, she sent for
UoMrute lo continue tbo confereace.
There, however, Hamilton also joined
ber, and the high-minded impetaoui
Montront, who had never been suffer-
ed by the fiivourite to enter tbe court
circle, was no match far a practised
^|>Iomatut, and plausible double-
dealer," Ac

" Uonlrotte was diteomfittd and
HitniMed, hit proud heart tvelling ii\l,ii

CisneM of truth and loyalty
Bd," k<:

Jama Grant's, ie&8.

" Henrietta, having deferred all
deliberations until she reached that
place, [York] immediately upon her
arrival lent fur Montrose, who, on
entering her presence-chamber, found
by her side bis old rival the Duke of
Hamilton," &c.

" In court intrigue and studied rfn-
plicity, the open, frank, and solditr-
likc Montrose was no match for Ha-
tniltun," &c.

" Montrose was romptUed again to
retire, and wilix his proud luarliipolltn
by sorrow and disdain, lie left York,"
Sic.

In

NUTE ON GRANT S MONTROSK,

Grant's footr-note to these passages, is simply " Wishart"!
But neither in the Latin, nor in any translation of Wishart,
do the phrases, or the sentiments, we have put in italics occur.
The phrases, " no match for," anil " his proud heart swelling,"
are only to bo found in Napier's " Montrose and the Cove-
nanters," 1838, and Napier's " Life and Times of Montrose,"
1840 ; which works are not alluded to.

Again, Montrose's first interview with Charles 1. : —

Out Narrative, 1838 oiirf 1840.

" The monarch may indeed have
particular!}' desired to reclaim Mon-
trote. Struck by hisslattlg and heeok
bearing, contrasted with the irraxrent
letitg e/Rirtha, and tlic repuUiM de-
mocracy of Archibald Johniton, and,
perhaps, favourably imprcucd by ihc
humane forbearance whicli, contrary
to the wish of the Covenfltiting olergy,
bad charucterised Montnwe even in re-
bellion, it is not nnlikely that Charles,
■n the words of bia favourite poet,
may ha*e inwardly exclaitncd at tbo
BightofhiiUj'Ofor a fill eoner'a voice,'"

" Wc believe, then, that MontroHC
Lad/e/( his heart yearn loieardi Charles
tlie Firtl, and that he departed from

James GranCi, 1858.
" The King was compelled for the
time tfl conceal his reecotment, and
endeavoured to sootbc and ici'n the
gallant Jlfonlroie, whose uccomplish-
monta of mind and peraon made bim
BO immensely superior to lus compa-
triots, among whom were the blunt
Rothes, the false and haughty Argyle,
the immoral Loudon, and the base-
minded Johnstone of Warriston, the
most active agent of the Presbyte-
rians," &c. '' Charles bad heard, too,
how the Earl had spared, from wok
and destruction, his city of Aberdeen,
in direct vii/latioa of the orders of the
Estates, whoso anger that act of mercy
bud exdted. Thus he was most &-
Toumbly disposed towards bim. They
bad frequent friendly intervieirs at
Berwick, and the Earl bade adieu to
Charles, with a heart that yearned at
last toumrds him," &c.

It la ainuatng to find that, when Montrose's " proud heart"
stifelts in our pa^, it swells in our parasite's also ; when it
yearns in our page, it yearns in his. For the above passages
he has no reference at all. No such passages occur in Wishart,
The contrast between Montrosf, and Rothes and Warrialon,
is directly transferred from our page. But he feared to risk
the conspicuous quotation, " I'or a falconer's voice," Ac.
Again, in describing the efi'ect u\mn Montrose ol' the sudden
jutelligenco of the King's death. Grant transfers directly from

PUBUSHED BY MESSRS ROUTLEDGE.

Eonr narrative, ■with scarcely a difference. The paiv.llel ea>
f pressiojw, printeil in italics, do not occur in the tra-mlafio-ns of
1 Witharl, but only in our works, as below : —

Ovr Narratiue, 1S40 and 1856.

" Tie »C«oe is nwiattly daeribed by

\ Dr Wisharl (wlio ioa» teith him nt Ihe

1 time) in the secoiid part of bis Coni-

I iienfariUivhichUaaneverbeenprint-

[ «di nor even accurately translated."

" The shock suddenly imparled to

Kb high-strung heart bad nell nigh

IdUed Montrose oa the spot. His

ekaplaia, Dr Wiihart, who had joined

kirn in that city, and was at his side

when be received the dreadful nevB,

fttala that be fainted, and fell down

in the midst of bis attendants, all his

{I'mfti hteoming riyid, aa if life bad Icfl

tiin. When restored to bin senses, he

tirokt out into ihe most paaionate ei-

prtuiotis of grief. "

»Now, let it be
ui Grant, occurs
mysteriously que
work written by :
n/erence to Wit
and sometimes t

James Grant's, 1868.

" Dr Wisharl, who was then a
chaplain to a regiment of the Scots bri-
gade, and was with Ihe Marquis nhen
Charles's death was announced to him,
has minutely described his emotions.

" Stunned and overwbehncd by a
catastrophe so slarlHng, the blood
rushed back upon his heart; his limbs
became rigid, and be sank upon the
floor of the chamber, completely sense-
less, OS one who waa dead. When
restored by the exertions of hb terri-
6ed attendants, he burst into incoherent
expressions of grief aad rage."

Now, let it be observed, the above reference to Dr Wiflhart,
lUi Grant, occurs in the ven/ same page (346), wherein he so
lysteriously quotes Dr Wishart's Latin title-page, as a " small
'Work written by him (Montrose) in Latin," without the slightest
■re/erence to Wiakarl t Sometimes he blumlers our history,
and sometimes turns blunders of ours (wliich we had subse-
quently corrected), into history. For example, — the battle of
Bowden-h ills, where the Marquis of Newcastle, and Licutenant-
Oeneral King, wore opposed to the Scots under Leven, is
noticed in history. But we happened to discover an
Qfti document in the Montrose charter-room, proving (a
unknown before), that Montrose himself chanced to be
I present {without a command), and that he had pro-
louuccd belli Newcastle and General King to be " slow."
slobbering haste (having four of our works to
;le with), our parasite actually makes Montrose pronounce
of hifl idol King Charles, who was not there at all ! —

NOTE ON GRANT S MONTROSE,

Our Narrative, 1850 and 1856.
" We now know, that, at the battle
0/ BowdenhiUi, near Sunderland, upou
Sunday S4IA March \Ui, Montrose
WM attending that illustrious but ua-
lucceaaful commander, William Ca-
Teadiali, first Manjuis of Newcastle,
and inciting him la an initanC and
degperate rnaet. Upon that occasion
it vBi that he pronounced both New-
castle, and his Lieutenant- General,
King, to be ' alow.'" [Tbia we gave
aa a fact " new to history."]

But our literary conveyancer more frequently adopts a blun-
der, than makes one. For instance, after the victory of Kil-
syth : —

James Grant'i, 1858.
•' On the 24(A March he [Mon-
trose] was at the battle or encounter
of Sowden-hitU, near Sunderland,
when attending the Marquis of New-
cantle. TTiere he frequently urged him
to charge; and indignantly declared,
that he, and even the King, were too
ihio in their manteuvrea." fThia
reads in Grant aa if n discovery of hit
own ; and so it is in one ret!pcct.J

i

Oar Narrative, 1840.

"At Botlneell coraplimentary ad-
dresses poured in from all quarters of
Scotland, and were presented to him
by special commissioner*. Moreover,
there came in person to declare their
loyalty and ofier their services, the
Marquis of Douglas," &c. " Thus
was he now publicly acknowledged as
the King's representative, and suddenly
found himself the centre of a court"

" The SOD of Lord Nnpier was sent
Dpon a yet more imporlonl mission ;
namely, to take possession of Linlith-
gow and Edinburgh, according to
written orders, of which Ihc original is
still preserved by hia represenintive.
The instructions are addressed to (he
Master 0/ Napier and Colonel Na-
thaniel Gordon," &c. " These olE-
ccrs are commanded to take along
with them ' 500 horsemen and 600
dragoons,' and to proceed, " &c.
" They are next desired to send a
trumpet or drum with a summons to
the Magistralea of Edinburgh," kc.

James Grant

: 1858.

"i4(Bortu'ri/,he/DunrfAi>n»e//' in-
deed the Lieutenant of the King, and
the centre of a tittle court, which was
daily increasing. Many men of the
highest rank in Scotland were honrly
joining him. The chief of these were
William, elevcnlb Earl of Angus, and
first Marquis of Douglas," &c.

" From thence he sent 600 horse
and 500 dragoons, under Lieutenant-
Colonel Sir Niithaiiiel Gordon and
the Afaslcr of Napier, to ' take id '
the city of Edinburnh, obtain a sab-
sidy, and demand the surrender or
exchange of prisoners. Sumnumed
by a kettle-drummer, the Covenant-
ing garrison in the caatle and dty im-
mediately released Lndorick, Earl of
Crawford," &c.

PUBUSHED BY MESSES EODTLEDGE.

Oar /farralive ISiO.
" Thii was B happy miasion for
foaug Nnpier. From the prison of
linlitbgow he released his vlfe, to
whom be was devotedly attached, his
Tenerable father, his two sisteis, and
hia brother- in -lav, Sir George Stir-
ling. The }'outh, for whose escape
they had been thus immured, now
rtCunud to them, after the lapse of
three mon ths, df 1A« A«<i</ 0/ a (AdUMitc/
Cavaliert."

Jamet Oram's, 18S8.
" At Linlithgow, the Master of
Napier relie»ed bis father, the aged
Lord of Alerchiston ; his wife, the
Mistress of Napier ; bia sisters, and
bis brother-JD-kw, with others, mak-
ing In all ]30 restored captives, with
whom he and Colonel Gordon (juard-
ed hy thtir 1000 horte) rttarntd tier-
rily to the camp of Montrose," Sc

I

I

That MoiitroBe bad fumiahed liia nephew, and Colonel
Nathaniel Giordon, with precise written instructions upon thia
intereBtiug occasion, was uiiknoicn. Wisbart does not record
the fact. We found the original document, signed by Mon-
trose, in the Napier charter-chest, and published a /ir-wmiVfi of
It. All these important particulars Grant finds it convenient
to auppresa. Now, mark 1 We had misread the old writing.
" Ane hundred," we had misread "Jive hundred." Hence a
blunder in our " Life and Times of Montrose," 1840. But when,
miheequetitly, we came to publish the document itself, in 1850,
ftod again in 1856, we corrected our blimder, and gave it ac-
curately, — " one hundred horse, and one hundred dragoons,"
Such A luxury as one l/iousand mounted soldiers, Montrose
never possessed in all bis campaigns, Tlie adoption of this
blunder proves, that Grant does not merely avail himself of
the family documents, discovered and first published by us, but
that he is the slavish parasite ofonr text ; for, in this instance,
onr text was blundered, but the document was published ac-
curately. Now, what is Gram's foot-note of authority for
this? As usual, the siugle cabalistic word " Wishart," — who
doea not record llt^/act at all! Nor has Wishart any such expres-
Bions, as " found himself the centre of a little court," These
are directly transferred from our page. This is not the only
mi«take occurring in our " Life and Times of Montrose," 1840,
the adoption of which by Grant (notwithstanding our correc-
tion of the error in gubsequent editions), proves how oblivious
that statement of his, in his Affidavit to Chancery (19th

NOTE ON GBANTS MONTROSE.

paragraph), " I deny that I made any use of the ' Life aud
Times of Montrose,' 184IJ," ■whicb work, indeed, he never names
throughout the whole of his volume, At one time we had
not discovered the period when the Countess of Montrose
died : —

Our Narralive, 1840.
" Montrose's tivo tena, the youngest
of whom was bom about the begin-
ning of 1633, constitulcd liU n-hole
family. Of their mother it ia re-
markable that ni) notice is to be met
Kitli, so fiir as I have been able to
diicoTer, either during hi« public
career or after his death. Slie is not
mentioned by Wishart, Guthry, or
Spalding ; and in the Diary of the
Lord Lyon, Sir James Balfour, which
contains a copious obituary of the
nobility during the period of Mon-
trose's history, the name of the Coun-
len iJ nel to be discovered. Nor is
sha noticed by Sir Thomas Hope in
hii ' Diary,' Sec. Probnbly this lady
died toon after yiVrnp hirth to her
gecond child. It can be ascertained,
with tolerable certainty, that her
husband Cret left, homo to travel on the
Continent in the year 1633: and pcr-
hapi this WAS immediotelt/ ajler he had
been deprived of kis coitaori, who cer-
I.ainly did not accompany him abroad,"

The exact coincidence between the jihraseohgy and senti-
ment of these sentences, alone would suffice to detect the source
from which Grant had horrowed. But he lias turned into a
positive etatement of fact, — for the sake of concocting a whole
sentimental chapter, entitled " Lady Magdalene's death," —
that which we, in 18i0, had only conjectured. Now, unfor-
tunately for Grant, the mistake had been corrected by our
subsequent discovery of a document proving that the Countess
did not die until the year 104fi. And when that awkward
fact is point'f'd to, in our .-t^ffan'/ to Clmncery, we are met

s Granfa, 1858,
" The most bitter ecclesiastieal
chroniclers of the suSurings and
trimuphs of Presbytery — those who
in after life never failed to pour a
torrent of venom and scurrility on the
memory of Montrose — have tolall;/
omitted to mention, even once, lit name
of hit Counteai. For this, perhapt,
her early death may in some measure
account. After having three children
— Lord GrBbam, nftorwurda Earl of
Kincardine, who died in the campaign
of 1645 ; James, who became second
Marquis of Montrose ; aniLurd Ro-
bert Graham, — die died at Kinnaird.
This event occurred soon after the
birth of the last ; and had no doubt a
great effect in forming the Aiture
career of her husband, then only in
his twenty-first year. Grief for her
Inn induced him to leave Scotland."

I

PUBLISHED BY MESSRS ROUTl.EDGE.

Ixi

in the 21st paragraph of Grant's Affidavit, with this non mi
ricordo answer, viz. " / do not now recollect my authority far
the fact [the Countess's early death] stated in paragraph 27 of
the said Plaintiff's affidavit ; but I could not have taken it from
the said " Life and Times;" as in my work I state, in the
passage referred to, that the Countess had three children,
whilst in the Plaintiff's work, in the passage referred to, he
states that she had bnt two." The " authority," for the adop-
tion of a mistaken fact, could hardly be any other than that
of the author who alone had committed the mistake : and as for
I Grant's triumphant appeal to that other fact, of his having
recorded three instead of two children, that may chance to
satisfy a Vice-Chanceilor, but not the public. A perusal of
the very work he professes to have made no use of, our " Life
and Times of Montrose," 1840, could also provide him with the
fact of the tki-ee children; for, at p. 409, of that same work
of ours, will be found this corrective note: — " I h&d fonnerly
\ stated that Montrose had only two sons, the eldest, who died
, at Grordon Castle in 1645, and the one now named. This was
the general understanding, and is so stated in tlie Peerages.
I have since discovered, from the ' Caledonian Mercury,' of
date 1661, that, at the second funeral of Montrose in that year,
the chiel mourners were the then Marquis, and kia brother Lord
, Bobert."

Another amusing specimen of Grant's " immense labonr," in

L writing an original hfe of Montrose, from his cradle to his

|, grave, " principally" from a mde translation of Wishart's wars,

B the following : — We had discovered in the Montrose charter-

kroom the original commission from Charles II. to Montrose,

1 1649. This document we did not print, but only illustrated

or text with extracts from it. In our " Life and Times of

L Montrose," 1840, and in that work alone, we had erroneously

L conjectured that the commission was all in the hand-writinjf

J of Charles II. himself. A closer inspection satisfied us that

I this was a mistake, and we did not repeat it in our subse-

Iqnent editions. Grant, without the slightest reference to our

■discovery of the document, or to our work, gives the substance

tof the commission from our tejct, and turns our haalt/ coryec-

into positive history ofhin o%tm ! —

'I

Uii

NOTE ON U RANTS MONTROSE,

James Granl's, 1858.
" Nevertheless, we nre conatrained
to admit that on reflection Charles II.,
«»hii»e idea* of integrity were never
ver; strict, was not unwilling to treat
with both parties at the iaiae time ;
and thus, on tlie ilk day of Afarck
1649, he mruU out, entirely with ftu
otiti hand, an apipU eaviniiuian for a
Caplaio-general and Licvlmanl-go-
rernor of the kingdom of Scotland,
conferring all the [powers of levying
trpopt at hame and abroad, enfordng
the ciiiil law, besloiL-ing kniyhlhood,
and other rights; and ihis renewed
patent of militar; rank ho delivered
to the Marquis of Montrose."

Our Narrative, 1840.
" In the charter-cheat of the Mon-
trose family, there is yet preserved
an original commission Irom him
{Charles II.)" &c., (in which) " We
do by these presents Dame, constitute,
ordain, and authorise you, the said
James Marquis of Montrose, to be
otir Lieatenant-govemor and Captain'
general of all our forces raised or to
be raised in ourkingdora ofScotland.,'
His Miijesty then proceeds to confer
tho most ample powert for the Uvy-
iay o/forcen, both abroad and at home,
and for making laws, ordinances, and
proclamations, in prosecuting the war
■gainst his rebellious subjects, with
the entire command and governorship
of all Scotland, and the power of be-
llowing kni^lilhood upon ivhomsoever
he tnigbt think worthy of the hononr.
The deed is eertilied in the usual
manner, ' asgivennnderoursign-ma-
nual and privy signet, at the Hague,
Ae fourth day of 3f arch, in the first
year ofourreign.' This commission,
which occupies a folio sheet of parch-
ment, has very miirh the appearance
of being all written by the hand of
Charlu 21. himself."

Here, then, are three blundera, transferred by Grant to hiB
own pages, from separate pages of our " Life and Times of
Montrose," 1840, a work to which he nevor refers, and his obli-
gations to which he indignantly repudiates I The fact is, how-
ever, that he bad long been acquainted with that work, and had
disingenuoUBly used it for other purposes than the concoction
of his Memoirs of Montrose. In the 27th paragraph of his
Affidavit, he most irrelevantly parades a voluminous catalogue
of his own literary comijositions, as to the originality of which
it is not our present object to inquire. Among the works of
fiction enumerated, we find " The Scottish Cavalier," a his-
torical romance, published some years ago, but subaequenl to

PDBLISHED BY MESSRS HOUTLEDGE. IxUI

OUT publication of the " Life and Times," 1840. The motto
attached to one of the chapters of this romance is the follow-
ing Terse : —

Heard je not ! heard ye not 1 how that whirlwind, the Gael,
Through Lochabcr swept down from Lochneas to Loch Eil, —
And the Canipbellg, to ue«t them in battle -arruy,
Like the billow tamo on, — and were broke like its apray I
LoDg, long shall our war-song exult in that day.

laa Lom,

I As the bard of Keppoch, Ian Lom, only wrote t» Gaelic,
is Terse, as thus given, without marks of quotation, at the
head of a chapter in Grant's romance, necessarily passes for
a tranahlion by himself. It is, however, the firet verse of a
short poem written by ourselves, in illustration of the battle
of Inverlochy. It is a very free version of a translation which
had been sent us by a friend, of a svppoaed effusion, in Gaelic
verse, of the traditional Highland bard. Grant had extracted

•k {without the slightest acknowledgment) from p. 298 of our
j* Life and Times of Montrose," 1840, inhere alone it ivaa then
printed. But tliis was scarcely stealing, it was only picking ;
and of course is now noticed merely by way of illustration.

In the Grant-Ronthdge preface of 1858, Grant's work is osten-
tatiously proclaimed to be, besides its other excellencies, the
only military biography of Montrose. But in the whole liis-
torj, and performance of this literary speculation, between a
professional author and the cheap London publishers, there is
not a symptom to be discovered, either of the spirit, attributes,
or knowledge of a soldier, unless, indeed, it be the practice of
looting. This military author cannot fairly be said to have
looked at Montrose except through us, or to have fought one
of bis battles except from behind our back. In our narrative
of the battle of Kilsyth, wc happened to use the appropriate
simile, " The Highlanders," &c,, " up the glen like a herd of
vwuntain cats." The ruthless Eoutledger bags our cats, but
iuses them for the skirmishing at Fyvie, where they are not
I the least appropriate, thus, — " The ftry BighlanderB," Ac.
wnahed like a herdoftvildcats," Ac. Curious coincidences these.
, mark how he follows in our wake, " like a shark." (as

ixiv

NOTE ON GliANT S MONTROSE,

a London journal truly described Grant's modus operandi,) at
the battle of Inverlochy. Wc- have only space for short extracts.
The parallel expressions, indicated by italics, are not in any
translations of Wishart, but are transferred from our " Life
and Times of Montrose," 1840, with what barely amounts to a
colourable difference : —

Out Narralive. 1840.
" ArgjOo had taken refuge in Dum-
birton and Hnseiiealh, where General
BailUe joined him nbout the end of
December. Here it was concerted to
mrroiind and dctlroy tlie loyalist)" &c.
" To make sure of thdr object, Baillic
marched through Angus for Perth,"
&c.

" He appears to have had somt
idea of attacking the Corenantiog
forces at IiKernesa," &c. " but the
intelligence broaght by the bard of
Keppoch altered Monlroat'ii plan,"
Sec. " A great proportion of the
northern body were inexperienced
recruits, end their commander, Sea-
forth, WHS Q iraaerer," &c.

" The mountains were covered leilh
snoiii," &c. They sought their way
up the rugged bed of the Zbr^, across
the tteep ridges of the airful Corry-
arich, now plunging into the valley of
the rising Spey, now crossing the wild
mountains from Glen Roy to the
Spean, and slaid not until from the
■kirts of Ben Nevis, they saic before
them, under a clear frosty sky, the
get itoodleas shores of Loch Eil, and
the/rorcnitig towers of Inverlochy."

James Grant's, 1858.
" The forces of iwii(imon(-Geii«roI
Baillie were approaching by a rout*
through Angiu, accenting to a schema
laid by that ot&cer and Argyle daring
a meeting at Roseneath, to surround
Montrose and hisfiUowers."

" Montrose now altered his Jirat
plans, which aimed at the storming of
Inverness,'' &c.

" In front of Montrose, George
Mackenzie, Earl oiSeaJorth, a Kaver-
ing noble," &e. " occupied Inverness,"
&c.

" Marching along the banks of the
Thrf, Montrose ascended ihe moun-
tMOS of Lairie-Theirard, and wheel-
ing off by the stupendous Corryarrick
in Laggan, where the whole country
from that mountain's glistening sum-
mit down to the bed of the fur\
Speij, was a while desert of snow,
crossed the long winding valley where
the Buaigb rushee through a cbi
of rocks to the Spean," 8ic. " From
thence, at the head ofhis clans, jeilh-
oul a vwmenfs halt for food or rest,
he swejit round the base of Ben-
rinnes | and at twelve o'clock on the
nij;ht of the Ibt February, sow inhere,
by the shores of Locheil, far down in
the valley below, the red watch-fires

PUBIJSHED BT HESSRS ROUTLEDGE.

Ixv

Omr Narrahve, 1840.

"TTie march by which Montrose
OTcrUok Ihem, was one of the most
•xtnordinar; he ever achieved."

I " The minttrtl depsrted to Uke hia

' atation on the neif;hbouriiig heigbu

«f Inrerlochy, from whence he watcA-

«f the event he was (o immortalize in

long.

Jama Granl'a, 1858.
of the Cumpbells were glimmering,
by the uld grey wall* of lite cattU of
Invertochy," &c. '" The red winter
sun of the morning of the 2d Febru-
ary (CandlemBA day) 1G46, as he rose
above the shonlderlof BenevJs, and
ahone upon the mhile shores of tJie Eil.
and the dark romparfjof Inverlochy,
saK tlie tnov", yet btoodUsa," &c.

" Montrose and his foUowers had
accomplished a militarj' movement
which" &c. "has no parallel in the
annali of Scotland, or any other
country."

" Harp in hand, the bard awaited
tht itsrie of that conflict he was yet (u
rmialni in long."

The very particular incident of the bard is not alluded to by
iWishart. Then, the identity of tho phraseology and aenti-
rtaient (not in Wiahart), proves that this also ia all derived
■'from our narrative of 1840, to which there is not the filighteet
|[Xeference in the whole of Grant's volume.

Under our generalship, too, he fights the battle of Al/ord.
IBut we can here only atfurd to quote the concluding para-

r.ph:-

Our Narratttie, 1840.
" The battle of Al/ord uwu gained,
but dtarly wu that victory purchased
hj Montroae," &e. " The knightly
pIuM, of llie too forward heir of
Hantly. fell in the duil. to rise no

Jamet Grant'a, 1868.
'^ Al/ord was won ; bntwilhaA^auj
lo>i to Montrose ; for there /ell the
brave Lord Gordon, the second cava-
her in Scotland," &c. And the pride
o/the cavaHere/M under the hoo/s of
his charger, a brealhiess corpse," Etc.

tin his Affidavit, Grant depones, — " I commenced the writing
of my work towards the end of June 18fi2 and finished it on
the 20tb of January 1853 [aeven montlia f] ; except the revuMf
of the same herein after mentioned [1857], and except |

on

3

Ixvi

NOTE ON GRANT S MONTEOSE,

preface, which was written in 1858." " The principal work
which I used in writing my said work, [a minute biography of
Montrose from his cradle to his grave, including hia life at col-
lege, early marriage, (&c, I] waa tJte History of the Wars in Scot-
land, printed in 1720, being in fact the best translation of
Wiehart" I In fact, it is about the worst ; and, moreover, the
wars it records, — the popular narrative of which ware, too.
Grant derives from our text, and not from that translation, —
no more furnishes a domestic life of Montrose, than the Lon-
don Gazette does that of Wellington. Wishart, no doubt,
records his victories with minute accuracy ; and him of course
we followed, in his original ; and not merely through the old
translations, some gross blunders occurring in which we were
at critical pains to correct ; of which correction Grant takes the
benefit, without any notice of the fact. But while looking to
Wishart., (the substance of whose work, indeed, is to be found
in all the histories of Scotland,) we neither confined ourselves
to his incidents, nor tied ourselves to his narrative. For in-
stance, in the rude translation of 1720 (Grant's "principal"
authority I) the fall of Lord Gordon is thus drily recorded : —
" The Lord Gordon, after the battle was won, rushing fiercely
into the thickest of them, received a shot through his body-
by the conquered and flying enemy, and feU down dead."
Grant's emphatic and romantic notice of the same incident, is
no more taken from this than from the Book of Lamentations,
It is one, of many more instances in the Eoutledge volume
than we can afibrd to extract here, which remindi one rather
of a cateran's ingenuity, in disguising the cow he has lifted,
than of the generous and gentlemanly spirit that belongs to the
profession of letters, and marka the independence of genius.
And is it such original ideas, and " immense labour" as this,

I that can justify the announcement, written by Grant last year,
and published by the Messrs Routledgo, that, — " The Pub-
lishers believe, that, for the first time, they are enabled to bring
forward a popular and complete military history, of the great
Cavalier, and of the wars of his times," — as if nothing popular,
complete, or military, had been published on the subject, be-
tween the epochs of Dr Wishart, 1647, and James Grant,
zzzz

PUBLISHED BY MESSBS KOUTLEDGE.

Ixvii

are to " congrahilale Mr Grant upon this volume, which is,
certainly, the most successful of his many successful publica-
tione, and will euhance his literary reputation far and wide" ?
Oh t Boutledge. Why, had you only asked our sanction, or
our publisher's permission (whose pecuniary interests tbia in-
iraded), for your trading speculation, we might have granted
you fair and honourable terms, and even have wTitten a puff
for you in poetry besides, to the tune of " Bonnie Dundee. "

'Tiras MontrOflC to his Mistress, in loyalty's nsme,

From bis svord aad his pen, promis'il glory and fomo ;

But glory more famous our country may vaunt,

In the sword otJame» Graham, SJid the pen ofJamel Grant.

Come fill up my cup, come lill up my can.

The sword is llie Grnbtim's, — but Grant's is tho pen ;

Eftb-sliakelia may rant, onil of Covenant cant,

Here's the sirord of James Graham, and the pen ol'James (iraul.

' My mint is " the million," — a penny per line.

So, dig and bo dingy, Montrose shall be mine ;

You may rummage Creation, and write by the rood.
But all pages are mine, from page One to — Page Wood.'
Come fill up my cup, come fill up my can.
The sword is the Grohara's, — but Grant's is the pen ;
Brother Rolt he may rant, nnd of Copyright cant.
Here's the aword of James Graham, and the pen of James Grant.

In our separate review of Sir Page Wood's judgment, a
much fuller exemplification will be found. For, indeed, wo
are not aware, that another instance could be pointed to, in
modern authorship, where tho unauthorised transference, from
tho pages of one author to the pages of another, of all the es-
sential component parts of an original liistorical biography (in
» case where the idea of actual abridgment is altogether ex-
oluded and disclaimed), namely, biographical design, arrange-
ment, sentiments, collateral incidents of minor importance,
new materials from original family papers, the general webof tho
text, and occasional peculiar phrases, is so complete and whole-
sale, and so flimsily disguised, as in Memoirs of Montrose by

Ixviii

NOTE ON GRANTS MONTROSE.

James Grant. What if tbis liberty, even to tho amount above
exemplified, and no more, had been taken with Scott's Life of
Napoleon ? "VVbat would the " Black Hussar of Letters" have
said and done ? The copyright of Lockliart's Life of Scott is
now veBted in the most honourable of publishers, and sturdiest
of legislators. What if this decanting trick, precisely in the
same measure, and no more, had been perpetrated upon that?
We verily believe, tho Black magnum, — mleriore notd Falemi
— ^would have risen in its place in Parliament, and " named"
the sly absorbent phial I If, indeed, that highly prized species
of property called Ct^right, can be, in this manner, lost to
one, and constituted in another, it is little better, after all the
toil of a Talfourd, and tho law of a Story, and a Wood,' than
a kind of dinner tenure known among schoolboys, and termed
OobblerigM, which the bad boy may achieve, by spitting into
the good boy's platter.

' Id a question of literary pincy, Telalive to an elementary worb, entitled " The
Guide to Science," Vice-ClmDcellar Wood laid down rtTUia prineiplea at Ibe law
uf copyriglil, wliicli we liero quote from the rubric of tlie rppDiied case : —

I. He first laid it down, tlial, ereu aa rej^nU a work liaviug no pretenmaas to
originalUj/ in tkc tuhjtet, or materiali, — " The reduclion of questions ao collected,
with ioeh answers, vitder certain iatdi, and in a leientiHc form, is mjicirnl to eon-
rtitvtl on ei-iyiKol fcork, of wliicili tlie eopi/riyhl trilt be iiroliel/d."

3. " But another person may orii}i«aU auather work in the same general form,
promdid he does so Trom his ova Toourea, and makes the work he so originales, a
iBorJ: of kiM Bieii, by jlii o«n labour md ind^ulry bestowed upon it."

9. " In determining whether an injunction should be ordered, the ijnestiaD, where
the matter of tbe Plaintiff's work is not orir^naf, i», how far an un/air or undue «h
hai been made u/thc icoik."

4. ■■ If, iuitcad of searching into the ooinmon Bourcra, and obtaining your aubjcot-
malter from Otenee, you acail t/onnel/ of tlie laliotirt of gour prtdteeiaor, tdoft, tat
arrangenent, and questions, or adopt tliem with ■ coloaralle varuilian, it is an
UUgilirMite au,"

5. " FalBely to deti^ tliat you have copied, or taken ciajr idea, or language, from
another work, — itronj iii(/iaitioa of aHimui farandL"

(See JanvMv.i/cH/ifun, decided by Vice-Chanccllor Wood, July 9th, 1S57;Kay
and Johnson's Casea in Clianetrry, vol. iii. p, 703,)

CONTENTS

THE FIRST VOLUME.

I

Dedication, ...... Pttge t

ISTRODUCTOBY Matter, .... vii-xlvi

Nore ON Grast's Montrose, , ■ . xlrii-bcriii

Iftf/iminory Btinew of False History, and Vulgar Errort re-
latin ff to Dundee.

1. Lord Macaulay and John Brown, . . 3-16

S, Mr Jolin Hill Burton's Characteristics of Dundee, . 16-37

8. Bishop Bumel'e Characteri9tic8 of Dundee — Lord Mai^aulay's
CharacteristicH of Bishop Burnet — Tbe Bishop's Charac-
teristics of himself, .... 40-50

4. Wodrow and his Army of Martyrs, . 51-120

5. Real Characteriatica of Claverhouae — True History of tho

Death of John Brown, .... 120-146

6. Patrick Walker the Pedlar's version of the Death of John

Brown, ...... 146-158

7. Sir Walter Scott's Characteriatica of Claverhouae — Conclu-
^m eion of Rcvienr, 158-173

^1 PAKT

^^^1 Tki: Houdam Manuscript.

^^^Bvliminary Afcount qfi't, .... 173-4

^^^fcirth and

t

SKrTtON I.

lirth and Parentage of .lohn Graham of Clavnrhoune — Kin
lomf nnd Ahrrvad — ilia AdveiHurp irilh thn

JXI CONTENTS.

PriDce of OraDge at the Battle of Seoeflv — Hia Return lo
Scotland — His Appointment to CommaDd a Troop io the
Royal Horae Guards, . . . Page 175-186

Section II.
Review of the Slate of the Cbnrch in Scotland, and of the lead-
ing characters connected theren'ith, from the Reformation
to the ReBtoratioD, .... 186-226

Section III.
Administration of Lauderdale and liothes in Scotland, from the
first Tumults on tbe placing of Curates in the Churches of
the Expelled Ministers, to the Murder of Archbishop
Sharp, ...... 226-258

StCTlON IV.
The Murder of Archbishop Sharp,

258-267

Section V.
Insurrection following the Murder of the Primate — Mass John
King — The Defeat of Claverbouae at Druraclog — Countew
of Loudon — The Fanatics Defeated at Glasgoir — MasB
David Williameon — Measures to Suppress the Rebellious
• — The Fanatical Rebellion in Scotland encouraged by
Shaftesbury and tbe English Whigs — Fragments of Mr
Charles K. Sharpe's Manuscripts communicated by Mrs
Bedford — His own Statement of his intention to Write
the Life of John Graham, Viscount of Dundee — Hia
Character of Dundee — Calumnious Exaggerations and
Superstitions of the Fanatical Whigs, . . 267-'28'l

Section VL
Defeat of tbe Fanatics at Bothwell Bridge, and immediate con-
sequents thereof to the Army of Martyrs — The " Bluidy
Banner" of the Covenant — Executions of Kid and King,
Cameron and Cargill, Isabel Alison and Marion Harvie —
Outrages justifying these severities, , . 284-313

Section VII.
Notes of Afiairs in Scotland — Traits of the Times, and Sketches

of Character from the passing of the Teat Act in 1681 lo

CONTENTS. Ixxi

the Death of Charles the Second in 1685 — End of the
Fragments by Mr Sharpe. — Supplementary addition, from
the Queensberry Papers, to Mr Sharpens notice of the
Death and Character of Charles the Second — Letters from
Rothes to Queensberry, illustrative of the leading States-
men, and Political Factions, towards the close of the Reign
of Charles the Second, from the Queensberry Papers — " A
pleasant Story about Duke Hamilton," from Rothes to
Queensberry, .... Page 313-388

ERRATA.

Page 6.% line 17 from bottom, /or wen read was
... 167, ... 8 from bottom, /or antitypes reeuf antipodes
... 171, ... 4 from bottom,/or inculcate read inculcated
... 172, ... 13 from top,ybr/orer rftui/ora

... 176, ... 7 of note 1,/or Miss Grahame Grahame of Duntroon rtad
Miss Stirling Grahame of Dnntroon

ILLUSTRATIONS

IN VOLUME FIRST.

1. Portrait of Dundee from the contemporary Engraving

BY Williams, .... FronUspieee

2. The Armorial Shield of Dundee, . . Title-page

3. " The Inimitable Virago," by C. K. Suarpe — Introduc-

tion^ ..... Page xvi

4. Facsimile of the Title-page, and Fly-leaf, op Mon-

trose's Pocket Bible, with his Handwriting there-
on, — Introduction^ . • • . • xxx

5. Facsimile of Montrose's Autograph on the Title-page

of Camden's Britannia — Introduction^ . . xxxii

6. Portrait of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharps — Introduction^ xlii

7. Mr Sharpens Musical Monogram — Introduction^ . xliii

8. Portrait of Dundee in possession of Graham of Airth, 175

9. Facsimile of the Autograph of Charles Kirkpatrick

Sharpe, ...... 280

10. Facsimile of the Banner carried by the Covenanters

at Bothwell Bridge, .... 288

M E M (I li I A I. S

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

PAllT I.

I'RELIMIMARy REVIEW OF FALSE HI8TORV AND VULGAR ERIIORS,
RELATING TO DUNDEE,

Is little more than twenty yeara after the death of
Hontrose, another Graham, head of an ancient brancli of
the noble houBC, entered ujKjn the stage of the Scottish
Troubles, and became, for a brief space, conspicuous iu the
rapidly shifting scenes that ensued. Him, too, the bitterness
of polemical enmity, and the mendacity of covenanting re-
cords, have been even more successful iu excluding from his
I proper place in the anuals of his country, and the affections
[ of his couutrymon. Belonging to the same illustrious house,
\ devoted to the same cause, struggling against the same wild,
I unj^inary faction of clerical agitators, and by nature im-
pressed with some of tlie lofty charactoristics of his heroic
I prototyiw, it was inevitable that Graham of Claverhouse should
I inherit the storm of fanatical invective and calumny, which
I

2 MEMORIALS OF THE

had pursued the glorious career, and howled around the mur-
derous scaffold of the greatest of the Grahams.

But the career of Claverhouse contracts to a point, when
compared with that of the head of his house. Indeed, it can
scarcely be supposed to afford sufficient materials for a sepa-
rate biography. Some \vorthies are proper subjects for a re-
cord apart, because, while the fountains of their fame serve
to enliven the dense mazes of the world's annals, the full
current of their individual renown necessarily seeks an inde-
pendent channel. Such, for instance, are the lives of great
literary men, of philosophers, historians, and bards, who had
acquired social celebrity, and world-wide fame. Could History
have paused to pick up all those precious crumbs \vhich fell
from the table of the master of Boswell ? Again, there be
men belonging especially to histor}^ who are yet proper sub-
jects for a separate biography. When the public life of a great
character has been chequered by many instructive vicissitudes,
varied by many and seemingly inconsistent positions, and in-
volved in a long labyrinth of political events, his biography
composes a chapter of history which requires to be studied
apart. Montrose affords a prominent example of the kind.
Had the breath of calumny never touched him, had public
records done him ample justice, still the many phases of his
eventful life, in which the limit between history and romance
becomes confounded and lost, would have demanded a special
record. But Dundee, who glared, crashed, and became extin-
guished like the levin bolt, may not History herself, in a
single page, suffice to tell who he was, and what he did, — " to
whom related, and by whom begot," — ^how lived, how fought,
how died he ?

Unfortimately, with regard to Dundee, History has proved
an incorrigible calumniator. In his case has been reversed
the ordinary rule in the search for truth. The unprejudiced
mind, the Christian judgment, the spirit of justice, must here
eschew the most brilliant and pretentious pages of history,
and turn, for something like the truth, to a romance or a
ballad. From Eobert Wodrow, the Scottish martyrologist, to
Lord Macaulay, the ennobled party historian, who may be
taken to represent the alpha and omega of the calumnious

VISCUUNT OF DUNDEK. 3

f HTJ, Jinked together by a long cLaiu compiiscd of tlie careless
and the credulous, the virulent and the vulgar, has the me-
mory of John Graham of C'lavcrhouse been grossly maligned.
It Becms very neecBsary, therefore, Iwforo proceeding with the
historical memorials ol' liis Life Jiod Times, to clear away that
cumbrous accumulation of vulgar errm\ too rashly Banctioned
hy some greatly Jistiiiguished historians, under which the
true character of tliis Scottish worthy still lies buried. This
will best l)e done by a close and nncompromising scrutiny of
tJie characteristics recorded of him in the most important
historical compositions published since his time. We say, an
uncompromising scrutiny. " Bloixly Clavors" owes History
little respect. He asks a clear stage, and no favimr.

1. Lord Macaulai/ and John Brown.

Lord Macauluy, in a very popular history of England, has
recently presented to the world the most diabolical portrait of
Dundee that has ever been traced by the pen of genius. From
the platform of his too attractive page, we shall commence
this historical survey. He sings of " Jamvs (iraham of Claver-
honsc ;" but the man's name was John.^

ft

' T\ia reader nrod wnrKly be reminded of PiiifaBsor Ayloun's very kbh
■■ EuniinklioD of tlte aUleinenla in Mr Maoiulny's Hitior)' of EagUnd, regarding
John GnhiTD of Claverliuiue, Viaeoiint of DuDileo," >ii|icRded lo the Bcoond
edition of " Lnjs .if Ilie Soottish Cavulierg," 1B4!). The close detection, the scute
■rgDQieal, the lellinf( wii, tni] the fine temper of Mr Ayloun'i " Eumituilioti,"
BtiutI aver ronuiia ■ laarel on ilie PiofcHor's brow, and » iliorn in the aide ef the
hidorian. But when tlie bard of the " EnDcutioo of Monttose," and ilw « Burial
Hanh uf Dundee," vent foHli to battle with the DiMI popular writer in England
of tile present lime, his materials ware imperfect, and his researches iucomplele, —
defecia inevitable, from the narrow limits of liia incidental examination, and tlie
impiJ gallantry with whicb he auailed his furmidable foe. The few migulM henoe
■rising, however, affbrd no defence for the hiiitorian, and ofTer no available ebibll
In the emKnir ,.( the Scotbsli eaTalier.

" .■item woi the dint the Lwnlerer lent.
The bulrdlj naron backward bent.
Itphl baekwani to Ula hone'" tall,
And bin |>1ani« went •ralt^rlnK on the Rale,"

I " Of Sir Mm-Buiaj'M Jantf Graham (mya Mr Aytoiin), *e know nothing ; nei-
! llier ha" tlui tminc, iw apiilird to Clavtrlionie, n |)lBce in any arcrrdiled hislorji

4 MEMORIALS OF TttE

" The fiery persecution which had raged when he (tlw
thike of York) ruled Scotland as rice-regent, waxed hotter
fJian efer from the day on which he l>ecamo Sovereign. Thoso
shires in which the Covenanters were most niuneroue, were
given tip to the license of the army. With the army was
mingled a militia, composed of the most riolent and profli-
gate of those who called themeolvcs Episcopalians. Pre-
eminent among the bands which oppressed and wasted these
unhappy districts, were the dragoons commanded by James
Graham of Claverhouse. ' The stort/ ran,' that these wicked
men need in their revels to play at the torments of Hell, and
to call each other by the names of dex-ils and damned souls.

■ave hi* own." The blundpr, howeTcr.ii In be found in IVodnv, It.e rouiitiinhodnr
mlgveiTDroDlbe«ul>j«t. " Jamn Gnhun oT GaverhouH," icrite« ihal Rtperfi-
«ial fanatic, id the 71b aeclian uf the I »th chaplcr of bis 2d boolf,— " Jama Gnbam
of CSaverfaonse, with a Dumemun part;/ of tcldicrs," &c Ac. As Lord MicunUv,
in the paiKage in qnntion, rvlen to no other authority llian Wodrov, we may pi¥.
nime Eliat be had tnnsfeiTpd Ibe blunder to hi« okd pt^. Under the ProTcoor'a
eorredioD, hehasaeconiplidied the easy task of ralentljEubslilaungJolla for Juau*,
ID ■ Bubuquent editioD. Tlic monl hoiteTer remaina. lie canDol delete the mt,
which hiaori^nal hlnnder afforJi of the iui»er»ble amount of liia own researehaato
tt great public cbancter, whom he deliberately seta himself to malign. Sir Walter
Scott fell into the nme mistake, id bis hiatorical note to " The ballad of the battle
of LwdoD Hill," iu the Minstroldv of ihe Scottish Border ; bat he had detected
the misnomer bcfurc writing his history, aad hiitorical iwvela. In nuics to a cul-
lection of ballads, it is pardonable to bane oomuiitted an incojueqacotial cnor of
ll» kind. But when the ohject is to hold np, hisloricallx and dabmlel;, to Ihe
abborrence of all poiilerity, a great public character, the exuminatiaa into the
historj' of the man ought to have been at lean close enough to har* rendered ■
niisiKimer ia/niuitJt. One reviewer has helped Lord Uscuitay lo the IToe nam*.
Paifapa he ma; 6ad himtelf indebted to another for the true fBCla. Close detec-
tion on the one hand, and perfect docility of correction on the oilier, may gradually
render this historian's cbronicles u accurate as they are brilliiut.

> Bow Duenlly, pleaanlly, and confidently, does all tliin flow from the praetiard
pen of the accomplished historic^ essayist 1 Vet there is not a word of true
history in all these paragraphs. Lord Micaalay nvB of Dr Johnson, " tlial as
soon aa he took his pen in hU hand to write for the pnblic, his style became >
matieally ricioiu : when he wrote for publication, be did hiasenlenees out of Eng-
lish into Joini«iiMK."^Rfritm of Cniiti't Bonrdl. Our culling critic uke* more
liberties witli history than ever Johnson did with language. How often does he
give n3 SlatatUtt for histoiy t

' The stories which run, are not the truths which those who run may read.
When such like eKpreasioDi occur in this history, — and they occur very freqoently,
they indicate the absence of all legilinule authority.

I

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. h

The chief of this Tojilict on enrth,' a solilier of diBtinguished
cciurage, and professional skill, but rapacious and profane, of
violent temper and obdurate heart, has left a name which,
wherever the Scottish race is settled on tlie face of the globe,
is mentioned with a peciilior energy of hatred. To recapitu-
late all the crimeH hy wliicb this man, and men like him,
goaded tlic peHsant.ry of the Western Lowlands into madness,
would be an endless task. A few instances must sufBce ; and
all these instances shall be taken from the history of a single
fortnight, — tliat very fortnight in which tlie Scottish Parlia-
ment, at the urgent request of James, enacted a now law of
unprecedented severity against dissenters,"

Ere we juiss on ti.i our historian's leading instance (the only
one which affects Claverliouse),' a word or two of this " pecu-
liar energy of hatred."

Violent abuse, increasing in virulence of expression precisely
in proportion to the vagueness of the accusation, the absence
of authentic facts, and the lurking consciousness of calumny,
was always the marked characteristic of those ill-conditioned
annals of fanaticism which this noble author has honoured too
liiglily by condescending to follow. The prickly plant of
covenanting slander, indeed, seems to flourish and flower un-
der the richness of liis modem culture. But the fountain-
head of such vulgar viala of wrath, is " the pulpit dmm eccle-
siaatic." How the verbal " energy of hatred" was jKnired out
upon the devoted head of Montrose 1 Of course our historian
in like manner believes, that, " wherever the Scottish race is
settled on the face of tlie globe," the champion of Charles the
First is honoured with the same energetic mention that, as
he assures us, always accompanies the name of the champion

■ H Tuphet DD oulh," it may be necomsry to explain, in«uia Hell b/hih tarlh.
Clanrtioiuo is tLiu nki»d to the dignity of SbUid. Out liiMoruiii iiu orefiitly
m«iMd tliia Mriking [iiuHge in hla Jalett mliliiiii, wlieru il ctaUilB siiii|ily ■■ tlii>>
Tophat,"— « inaniroH improTeineot. It wiu> MiiwrHuoiw di tdd " nn tmnli ;- Uit
liit To/ikrI e.>iinot of c<>urw bs uodarabxHl lii iiiouii lVA«r Tu/'litl.

* Lnrd Miiwuliiy Icbts* il to be infecTpd, from hi* own tmrrtlive, llul all tlie
erwl iiorin vliich ho liere deriroe from Wodrow, implicate GlaTerhouw ; Ihs Un
bdn^>. himcvci', that e'cn K'uJiv* only impule* one of Ihcwr iniWnwii In nur lnrri>.
of Joliii llrown, niunoly ; juid nclimlly ih'iw*, nith regard tii uiioiiicr, liiat

6 - MEMORIALS OF THE

of James the Seventh. The beautiful, witty, and sensible
Queen of Bohemia, \vriting to Montrose in the year 1649, thus
indicates her lively contempt for that King Cambyses' vein of
reprobation : — " I doubt not," she says, " but you have seen,
ere this, the proclamation against Morton and Einnoul, and
all the adherents of ' that detestable bloody murderer and
excommunicated traitor, James Grceme !' The Turks never
called tlic Christians so."*

But to proceed T^ith Lord Macaulay s leading instance in
support of that terrible portrait of Dundee.

" John Brown, a iKX)r carrier of Lanarkshire, was, for his
singular piety, called * The Christian Carrier.' Many years
later, when Scotland enjoyed rest, prosperity, and religious
freedom,' old men who remembered the evil days, described
him as one well versed in di^dne things, and so peaceable,^
that the tyrants could find no otience in him, except that he
had absented himself from the public worship of the Episco-
j)aliana. On the Ist of May (1685) he was cutting turf,* when
he was seized by Claverhouse's dragoons, rapidly examined,
convicted of nonconformity,^ and sentenced to death. It is
said, that even among the soldiers it was not easy to find an
executioner. For the Anfe of the poor man was present. She

* See the Queen of Bohemia's correspondence with Montroec, printed in the
Memoirs of Montrose, toI. ii. p. 720 ; Edinburgh, Tliomas G. Stevenson, 1856.

Bishop Russell, in his excellent and most temperate « History of the Church in
ScotUnd," (1834), justly observes: — «* In the conduct of the rigid Covenanten>,
there is nothing more remarkable than their disposition to dander, and the reck-
less intrepidity with which they scattered around them the most atrocious calum-
nies." — Vol. ii. p. 264.

s From King William's Massacre of Glencoe, and warrants under his own hand to
apply the torture of the boot, in the severest degree, to compel suspected State
delinquents to speak out. We shall prove this.

* He figures in the Portcous Roll of criminals, and in the list of rebels /ir<;(ta^
for not appearing to stand their trial.

^ He was cutting across the mosses to escape from the military.

* No such thing. He was convicted of obstinately refusing to take the oath
abjurin;; a recent proclamation of war against the Government, and incitement
to assaflMuation ; and of violently renouncing his allegiance to the reigning Kin^,
in the face of the Kind's troopi: aleo bullet* were found in his house, and trea$on-
able f*ai>en; all this before his execution. Immediately o/iTtfr his execution, his
cave of vonceiilinent under ground was discovered, containing swords and pistols.

^^^^^^P VlSa^UNT UK DUNUILE. 7

^^V led one little etiild by iJie Land : it was eaay to sue' tliat she

^^H was about to give birth to anotlier ; and even those wild and

^^H hard-hearted men who iiitknamed one another Beelzebub and

^^H Apollyou,* shrank from the great wickednees of butchering

^^1 her husband before her face. The |>risoDer, incanwliile, raised

^^H above Imneelf hy the near approach of eternity, prayed loud

^^H and fervently, as one inspired, till Claverbouse in a I'ury »hot

^^H bim dead. It was reported by credible witnesses, that Ibo

^^H widow cried out in her agony, — ' Well, Sir, well, the day oJ'

^^H reckoning will conio;' and that the mun:fem' replied. ' To man

^^H I can answer for what I have done, and, as for God, I will

^^H take liim into mint! own hand.' Yet it was rumoured, that,

^^H even on his scared conscience and adamantine heart, tbe dy-

^^H iiig ejaculations of his victim made an impression which was

^^H never ctTaced."'

^^H Wodrow is the sole authority to wliich Lord Macuulay re-

^^H fers, for his own implicit reliance upon the truth of a story as

^^H improlMible, on the very face of it, as any calumny that ever

^^^H ■ Niit *a fay to Bre ; f<ir tlie fuialical accouiiu AiSTer as lo tliesc dcUlla ; it wu

^^^H riKy tn uj', however.

^^^H • Professor AjInuD Iim nWile greii' fu" of this : — " Mr MicuuUy, lin«ever, gopa

^^^H bsyond Wndrcw p*>n, in iitinuleneaB ; fur, in ■ subeeqnant pkngrapli, lie parlicu-
^^^1 iBraes the very namea which were u*«d, na those u! liedidiub vid Ayullg-m ! He
^^^H might with equal proprict]- linve adopted the phnwology of inrieiit I'intol, ind
^^^1 t,nie\} infonned lu, that llie Scottiih inmle of military acrost wiu,— • How uav,
^^^^ MrykiilopiiUiitV^—Ai/loMH'i KraniKation of Maeaalag.

^^^H ■ " MiBtory nf EoglauJ, frini tUe accewion of Jatnea II. : by Thoma* BabiDgluii

^^^H Maeaolay, to], i. p. 491 "—Sfcemd Bditum. Ciiluiiel Graham'* actual conduct Dpon

^^^H tha mclandioly neciuiun in quention, as wo aliull provu in tlio Bcquel by production

^^^^P of lii« uwn official report, the ayatemntrc, legal, aiid merciful manner in «hicli lie

^^^ porformeil hi> unploMOt official duty, — the pnx en lialiin and anlecvdenta of thai

moBl dangeroiu rebel, who wan UlCD necenarily aubjeeled In militnry exeeutinu,

inflicteJ in due form of tnartial law.— and Uib whole lenor of (irnliam'a eorreupm-

dence al the IJme, completely give the lie, aa we sVlI find, lo Wodmw'H egregroiia

Inoliernw, — ■■ 1 am wrll infunned, that CtaverhuuK \iniaiB\t fetiptriifl g admowMytd
kflerwardii, that John Bniwn's prayer left euch imprcnioDB upon his «pirit, that he
wuld naner get allngellier worn otT, rktn ke jtaf kimtdf liheHf to IkiKk v/ U."
Yel, M " il« atory mu," (and falaely), Claverhou« .vaa rfal/y and hmttg occnpicil
with niel] ■cenea I But why doea Lonl Macaulay merely aay ■ it wan rnwuamf T"
Do» not Wadru» lell him, - / in xM if/ormid." Iluwcver, the cxpreM.ui*
■ aoiivd cnneeianee and ndaniantine heart," enllgtilen Ilia iornrmBiiiui with meli »
Kaali -if genin* ilml we mual furgive llie nuiiMnw fur Uie take of tliu aljla.

ME3I0R1A1£ OF THE

shook tlie credit, aiid debased the oliject of historical annale.
But we must protest agaiiiHt a modem rtjhcimento, of the fana-
tical fahle, wherein the pen that most delights the present
age is employed to delete, to a certain extent, the gross im-
probabilitiea which afford sometliing like an antidote to tho
original slander. If Wodrow have said, that this saintly vic-
tim waa only " with some difficulty" permitted to pray, by im-
patient dragoons thirsting for bis blood, and yet that his gift
and grace of prayer bad surh free allowance, upon the very occa-
sion, and was so divinely exercieeil, that those cruel cut-throats
instantly mutinied to a man, and became like good centurions
on the spot, — we protest against an edition of the miracle,
however pleasantly turned, which keeps that palpable contra-
diction altogether out of sight. If the famtiical historian have
distinctly told us, that, by reason of this instantaneous conver-
sion, " not one of them would shoot liim, or obey Claverhouse's
commands, so that he was forced to (urn executioner hijjMelf,
and in a fret shot him with his own hand," — we protest against
ihs political liistorian masking the gross absurdity, and ren-
dering it tJius, — " It is said that even among the soldiers it
was not easy to find an executioner," — and tJien leaving it to
be inferred, from the rest of the reconstructed narrative, that
Claverhouse had put his own hand to the bloody work, not be-
cause forced to do so by (he mutiny of his troops, hut from a
sudden impulse of bis own passionate temper, anticipating
their reluctant obedience even while his victim was yet in the
act of praying. Wodrow, then, must be allowed to tell his
own story.

That famous champion of the Solemn League, in the first
place, thus characterises the militia who were employed by
Gtovemment against the covenanting insujTection, and the
murderous fanatics chielly predominating in the south-western
districts of Scotland,

" Dreadful were the acts of wickedness done by the soldiers
at this time, and Lagg was as deep as any. They used to
take to themselves, in their cabals, the names of de^rils and
personB they supposed to be in Hell, and with whips to lash
one another, as a jest iipon Hell. But / ahali draw a veil over

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 9

laTiy of tlieir dreadful impieties I meet with in papers writ-
ten at this time."'

A little further on, wo have his masterpiocc, the tragedy of
John Brown.

" The month of May (1685) opens to us yet a more dismal
Mene of wnofcowntaife blixMlshed ; and I may well begin with
itiie horrid murder of that excellent person, John Brown of
Priest-field, in the parish of Muirkirk, by Claverhouse, the
flrat of tliis month. Scarcely ever have I met with greater
encomiums of a country man than I have of this person, from
people of sense and credit, yet alive, who knew him.* He had
a small bit of land in that parish, and was a carrier to his em-
ployment, and was ordinarily called the Christian Carrier.
He had been a loni/ time upon his hiding in theJieMs, and was
of great use to, and took much pains ujion the instructing of,
several youths, who were well meaning in the main, but being
BOW neglected in their education, and wanting the advantage of

•.mermom, needed instnictions when they came and joined them-
selves to the sufferers? He was of shining piety, and had
great measures of solid, digested knowledge and experience ;
and had a singular talent of a most plain and afi'ccting way
of communicating his knowletlgo to others. He waa 7to way
obnoxious to (lie Govemmenl, except for not hearing the Epis-
copal ministers.* This good man had come liome, and was at

■Ide work, near his own house in Priest-field, casting peats.

For thcK ridipuloui facU, ot a nntiire bo KVdy la be grouly nil*iwpreiisDlei1,
there in no proof uflered wlmtcver. How loldieri, of t,uy period, may cIidohc ti>
DUN themselreH " in Itieirubali," il n«re hard losiy. Sailnnliavii beva kiiairn
enact Ihe part of heatlion gnda, anil demean thcmnelvca on sach ocpusioni witli
•boat a* Dincti prepricty. But ■tlien ve eipect WndroH'a aulhoritj' fur Iiih twldur-
daah, — which gkvo birtli, liovever, la Lard Micaulajr'* BrfJsibiU and Apoltgon, —
)■• ■■ dnvB a veil" I It wu WihIriw'b Mylfl (u state ten liineit man tlian he could
pruvn, and to dn» a reil whsn Ihem wkm unlliing la ilirolow.

Lnrd MacaiiU)' has magniloqucnll; tranotated lliis int", — "Old nica who re-
'Mcniberfd the evil days." Out ho Iiba no conceptiaD of the snrt of old voineii
'edraw dealt with, atid what an tAi woman ho waa lilmnolf.

By " HilTci'ert" Wottrow mvAna ilio rebcla under Hu(i.-uce of fngitotiun, and
munUren of ArrhLinlinp Sharp, and llieir alieltora. Drown «aa mulsr of ■
in the nioniv, aoppiied willi arms ; and dnubllesa he iuMroctod Ihtwe
Ul«, wham Wodniw charaeleHtBB with micIi «i»[riciniia oirmimlooulJon, in ilw
of llioae anna, and in all llir niurdenms pracliuea of Ihal akulking rebellion.
Then huw vamii he to figure in ihc l><iii«aui> Itoll af eriniinalt for trial : am
jte the U*t of the rii;;ilalK<l ; and U> Ih- " « \-ng time u|Kin hi> hiding in llie Hvlda"

10 MEMOHIALS or THE

CkverliuuBe was iroiuiug frgui l^smahago with tliree truops of
dragoons. Wliether he had got any information of Jolm's
jjiety, and nonconformity, I cannot tell ; but he caused bring
him up to his own door, from the place where he wae.' I do
not find* they were at much trouble with him in interroga-
tories and questions. We see /Acjn^ now almost wearied of
that leisurely way of doing busiuess. Neither do any of my
injxn-inati<m8 bear that the abjuration oath was ofi'ered to liim.*
With some difficulty he was allowed to pray ; which he did
with the greatest liberty and melting ; and, withal, in such
suitable and scriptural expreBsions, and in a peculiar ^WtctoiM
style, — he ha\-tug great measures of the gift as well as grace of
prayer, — that the soldiers were affected and astonished. Yea, —
which is yet more singular, — such convictions were left in their
liosome, that, ae my informations bear, not one of them woidd
shoot him, or obey Claverhouse's commonda ,* so that he was
forced to turn executioner himself, and in a fret shot him
^vith his own hand, before his own door, his wife with a young
infant standing by, and she very near the time of lier delivery
of another child. When tears and entreaties could not pre-
vail, and Claverhouse had shot him dead, I am credibly in-
formed the widow said to liim, — ' Well, Sir, you must give an
account of what you have done.' Claverhouse answered, — ' To
men I can be answerable, and as for God, I'll take him into
mine own hand.' I am icell informed that Claverhouse himself
frequently acknowledged afterwards, that John Brown's prayer
left such impressions upon his spirit, that he could never get al-
together worn off, when he gave himself liberty to think of it."*

' Jolin Brown, and kii aepkta aloag w'lLli him, lo whiirli lost Wiiilruw makes no
ullusiui), n-ere cDileavuuriiig lo osuipe rrom the dragoons, who " puiitiied llieni &
great way through the moBBea, and in the end seized them ;" (uffli^ial report by
Uaverliouw, lo be afterwarda quoted nt length.}
' For " do not find," rewl " would not find."

I

■ Whoi

* He wag [ireEBed to abaolve liimself, by taking tlie presrribed oalli, fnim Iho moat
nim|iitiit Mt» of bigli treuwn, whicli he oliBtinatcl)' and violent!}' refum'J tn dn.
But of course " mj infomntions" would not bear th>(.

• It will bceliown in Ihonequi-I, that WodrowHHBactukllyin pwiMiition i>r wril-
toti iiifumwilinn, wliich he uies in otiicr reHiwct*, bearing tho rrry rtrrrtr 0/ Ihr
HiiteauMt that LlavsrhuuH executed tlie rebel with his own hand !

' Wadniw'BlliHtory of the Siiffennga of llic Chiiirli of Seolhind, w.l. iv, ]■. L'4 4.
• Icl-m RlitliiH, See piwiuiis noir, p 7.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

11

I

That a man of Lord Macaulay's «xperieuce, in letters, in

kistory, and in human nature, should uot have detected the

ip of invention and falaeliood throughout this absurd story,

certainly not a little remarkabltr. The manner, however, in

'hich he lias pnined and dresseii, while adopting it, — abating
the coutnulii'tious and inflating the language, — hetraya some-
thing like a conficiouBneBS, that the anecdote was scarcely
presentable in WoUrow'e own words. If true, well might that
Btory be made the text for the severest denunciations of his-
tory against a Government owning siifh an executive. For
liQrahain of Claverhouse was not only the greatest captain of
llie day, but a privy councillor of the highest repute, and the
'observed of all observers, not merely us a military leader, but
among those distinguished statesmen who were then simulta-
neously struggling to uphold the Tlirono against the outrageous
anarchy of the Conventicles. Lord Mat'aulay has presented
ns with the portrait of an interesting, harmless, domestic
peasant ; peaceable, and divine even " as one inapinid ;' yet
franticly " murdered," without an intelligible cause, by the
hand of the bravest commander, and one of the most distin-
guished and proudest gentlemen who graced the highest society
in those days ; one who was constantly welcome to, and fami-
liar with, Charles the Second at Court. But could our English
historian not gather from Wodrow's narrative, that he was de-
scribing a martjT of the very schtx*! of Keuwick, Shields, and
Cameron ? Of course Wudrow arrayed him, as he arrayed every
covenanting fanatic, in gannents white as suow. But he never
meant it to lie doubted that John Brown was a labourer in
the same vineyard with those who had [leaned and promulga-
ted, a few months before, the declaration of war, and iucite-
aieDt to assassination, posted on church-doors, and market
crosses throughout Scotland. That which was taught, enjoin-
ed, and sanctitied, by such institutes of murder, as " A Hind
let loose," was just what John Brown had long learnt, and was
.teacliing to others. Why ditl ho go to death on the spot,

laviug failed to save his life by flight), rather than abjure the
laimcd rt-Kdlion, and instnictions to assassinate, which
80 greatly alarmed the fJovtirnment inimediaU-ly before ?

mt brciiuKf III' wii." 11 di'lermincd ilisriple ■.!' lliiit verv hi-luKil.

12 MEUGKIALS OF THE

Lord Mai-aulay cannot possibly place liiin under any other
category. And how doee he himself, in another and a truer
page, characterise the whoU; vrmyoi those Scottish saints and
martyrs, — one individual of whom, this John Brown, he haa
described to us in those greatly uiistakeu and maudlin terms ?
Manifestly the mista of " passion and ijrejudice," (to use a
phrase of his own) passed off at times, from tlie intellectual
vision of the great landscape gardener of England's history.
In vain had he tried, by desultory phmgee into the filthy wells
of Magus-Muir Christianity, to find materials in support of
his political theories, and etTervescing vituperation. He had
actually taken, not sweet, Init sour counsel together witli the
" Hind let loose," and " Faithful Contendings." And with
what result ? To his shocked and disenchanted eye, the white
lamb, John Brown, anon presents itself as black as Tophct !
" There was, indeed," he nays, " a class of adhuniaats who were
little in the habit of calculating chances, and whom oppres-
sion had not tamed Imt maddened." But why were they
opp}-esaed, and how maddened f Philip sober shall tell ns. And
let it be rememl>ered that John Brown himaclf would have
felt that he was grievously wTonged, were he not distinctly
admitted to have been n Muster in the Israel here dcscrilied,

" They wanted not only freedom of conscience for them-
selves, but absolute dominion over the consciences of others ; not
only the Presbyterian doctrine, i^ility, and worship, but the
Covenant in its utmost rigour. Nothing would content them,
but that every end for which civil society exists, should bo
aacrificed to the ascendancy of a theological system. One who
believed no form of church government to be worth a l)reach
of Christian charity, and who recommended comprehension
and toleration, wa.s, in their phrase, halting between Jehovah
and Baal. One who co7idemncd such acts as the murder of
Curdhud Bcafoun and Archbishop S/tarp, foil into the same
sin for whitrh Siml had been rejected from being King over
Israel. All the rules by which, among civilized and Christian
men, tlie horrors of war are mitigated, were abominations in
tlie sight of the Lord. Quarter vxis to lie neitlier taken nor
ijiven, A Malay running a rauck, a nunl dog pursued by a
cniwd, wen- Ihe models tube imitated by ('Iirisliiiii men fi.irhl-

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 13

ing in just eelf defence. To ri>as(iti8 eucli as guide the con-
duct of BtatcBincn and generals, the minds of these zealots
were absolutely imjx^-vwwa. That a raaii should venture to

*nTge such reasons, was sufficient evidence tliat lie waa not one
of the faithful."
" If any person is inclined to suspect that I have exagge-
rated the absurdity and /eroctty of these men, I would advise
him to read two books which will convince him that I have
^^ rather so/teTifd than overcharged the portrait ; Shields' ' Hind
^Hiiet loose.' and ' Faithful Contondings displayed.'"'
^^V Does Lord Macaulay imagine that he can persuade any in-
^^■lelUgent reader, that such horrible dispositions as these,
^^Kcharacterising a multitudinous sect in Scotland, were simply,
^^^md suddenly, created by what he vaguely terms religious pcr-
^^Ktecation ? Did hie own acumen never lead him to suspect,
^^Kthat he had mistaken the effert for the cause ? That persecu-
^^Vtion, if persecution there was, arose out of the same necessity
^" that impels a crowd to pursue a mad dog, and did not create
the madiiosB. Else where he says, — " There were, particularly
in the western lowlands, many Jierce and resolute men, who
r held that the obligation Ui observe tho Covenant, was para-
t-mount to the obUgation to obey (he magistrate." Was this
■ profane and desulating doctrine engendered hy persecution ?
" These people," he adds, " in defiance of the law, persisted in
■meeting to worship God after tlieir own fashion."* But what
Iras their own fashion ? To urge and howl forth, at armed
wnventicles, such " paramount obligations," such canine mad-
Ibcbs, aa that which this eloquent historian justly imputes
Bto the whole sect. When Saint Mitchell in 1 6(!8 levelled his
Keowardly pistol at the Archbishop of St Andrews, and destroyed
l^e Bishop of Orkney, he was " worshipping God after their
Fioini fashion." He was doing what the conventicle divines had
directed him to do. When in 1679, those unmitigated scoun-
drels hacked to pieces the venerable Archbishop in the arms
of his daughter, they were not, forsooth, committing a brutal
murder imiwUed by that spirit of Tophet which, for centurteg,
had imjM>lled to such deeds that self same sect, — they were
worshipping God aft«r their own fashion 1 liord Macaulay, in

k

IIW. I. 5SS, ASn, and .V..r.

14 MKMORIAL'^ OK THE

a scrambling way, had fiufficieiitly iiiformed liimself of all tni
and the civTlized mind cif the modem historiftn could not re-
press its infinite disgust. Neither, howi-ver, could he aflbrd
to part with all his nonsense about Dundee, and it is rathor
amusing to observe what a strange compound he makes of the
aiitagoaistic ideas. " Dundee," he tells us, " had been inform-
ed that the Western Covenanters, who filled the cellarfl of the
city, had vowed vengeance on him ; and, in truth, when we
coDsider that their temper was singuUirly ravage, and implac-
able; that they had been taught to regard the slaying of a per-
secutor as a duty; that no examples furnished by Holy Writ
had been more frequently held up to their admiration than
Ehud stabbing Eglon, and Samuel hewing Agag limb from
limb ; that they had never heard any achievement in the his-
tory of their own country more warmly praised, by their
favourite teachers, than the butchery of Cardiual Beatoun, and
Archbishop yiiarj), — we may well wonder that a man who had
shed the blood of the saints like waf^r, should have been able to
walk the High Street in safety for a day,"'

1 Hist. iii. 2r5, 276. Such being Lurd Macaulay'B opiiiiua of tlio iDBanc srct
■gainat whom atoni tha prafeBtional, loynt, and miial Me energiat or ClaTorhouw
were direcled, lie will surelj' »pprovc of tlio fullowing ■«, pnami in t!ie iliird I'ai'-
liamcnt of King Ciiarlcs tlie Second, 13th Sepleniber J6al. Tlie rernis or it, in
fut, fully con-oborate the above qnolations from his liistary, igainst the fiDiliFS.

•■ Tlie King's moal excolleot MajeBty coDBidering, llutt, nalwithalBndiDg aaaui-
tntint bo k crime of a liigli n&lure, InconriMenl with, and wUall]' deKtruetire td,
all liuDiita society, — yet mch are tlie pemicioiu principles, and nicked praetiwa
of aeveml persuuB, thai tliey de assert and maintain tlicso villanous, impioiu, ■.nd
horrid doctriues and pi-inciplea : Therfforr, bia Mnjusty, with tlie advice and
consent of the Estaten of Parliament, dalli Hatuti and ordaiit, tliat not only
all such persons who shall OHsasBinate, but thai all vbo shall maiiUaia or auerl that
it ie fan^ul (o tiK any man upon difftrtnct of opinioii, or becaose they have been
tmptoj/td in Iht lertici of lit Kiiij, or nf the Ckareh aa it is presently establisbed
by law, shall incur the pain of treaion, and be punished by tliuel of life, lands, and
goods: And, remembering with horror the execrable murderof that moat reverand
and worthy Prelate, Jamea, late Arclibisliop of St Andrews, l.ard Primate of Soot-
Und (*ho deaerved so well of tills Church and Monarchy, for bis eminent services
to both), do ordain the Sheriff of Fife,and his deputes, to make weekly ■earches in
tliose places, where it is, or may be, BUBpeoled these assaaeins do reside, that they
may be brought to justice, and exemplarily puniahed ; and likewise ordaioa all
other Sherilfs and Mugistrates, upon infonnation lliat those assaEsins are wiUiiu
their bounds, to make seardi for and apprehend them, that they may be brought
In justice : And do hereby ratify Che former acts of Council against such as shall
rcwl those Munleiirs."

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

16

^_ liin

^Kgen

But, to tho deeply cutting fact that they had been tavght
to regard tlie slaying of a persecutor as a duty, the historiau
iiraght to have added another fact, no leas incontcstilily true,
jthat they had heen taught to regard every necessary exercise
>.»f the executive power, against such deadly doctrines and
jpractices, ae persecufion : and every conscientious and ener-
getic niiniHter of tliat executive, as a persecutor. If the

Western Covenanters" were murderous savagea, aa he dis-
tinctly cliaracteriees them, even in what he calls a ao/tenett
Jriew of their character, they could not be " saints." And if
4hey were murderous savages, and not saints, all those viru-
lent and mendacious fanatical records, which alone have given
rise to the ridiculous falsehood that C'laverhouse " shed the
blood of the saints lite wat^r," must go for nolhiug, and ought
equally to have excited the contemptuous disgust of this dis-
tinguished author.

Lord Maeaulay, wlien tlius constrained by his own witnesses

to Tophefise the " persecuted" Covenanters, displays liie aux-

ity to meet the anticipated imputation of being liitnself a

srsecutor in print, by appealing to those two works (we could

Id a score), proving the ease against them by their own
writings, and that his severe description was a softened state-
ment. But when he places the crown of Tophet on the head
■.of Claverhouse, he pretends not to prove any thing against
iiim under the hero's own hand, and supports the unsoftened
[ittatemeut by no reference to proof that deserves the name.
He quotes Wodrow alone. Kow Wodrow happens to be the
only historiau. Whig or Tory, fanatical or monarchical, who
tells the story of the death of Jolm Brown as we have it from
liim. Alexander Shields.the conventicle di%Tne,and anonymous

thor of the work (" A Hind let loose") that seems to have
'ued Lord Macaulay's eyes a little to the tnith, and Patrick
Walker the pedlar (himself a murderer), have recorded tho
death of John Brown in very dilFerent terms fn>m each other ;
and both of these fanatical records atford a [wsitive contradic-
tion of the most calumnious statement in Wodrow's, Bishop
Burnet, who loved Uie historical lie, has not fathereil this one.
Malcolm Laing, the Whig TacitiiB of Scotland, has affectedly
generalised the rnhimnv. in^atead of venturing Ul«>n the details.

16 -'' IfEMORIAI^ OF THE

The luxuriouB amateur Whig historian, Charles Fox, languithy
copied the sententious Laing. Sir Walter Scott, his fancy
caught by the rude pathos of a ridiculous martyrology, adopts
verbatim the half-crazy Walker, and tacitly rejects the dreary,
disingenuous Wwlrow.* Mr Hill Burton, our most recent his-
torian of the Revolution, has treated largely and elalwrately
of Viscount Dundee, and sketched a character of him, Vt-ith
infinite pains, that falls at once to the grouud if the legend
of the " Christian Carrier," to which he makes no allusion, be
true, Hu does not, indeed, profess to trace the particulars of
Dundee's early career. But he has laboured t-o fix an accurate
and full-length portrait of him in his plausible pages ; and,
had he attached any credit whatever to Wodrow's butchering
story of the death of John Brown, instead of assigning to his
" murderer" those high heroic attributes with which he has
relieved the deeper shadows of the picture, his pencil must
have lapsed into the same frightful effigies presented to us by
his immediate precursor, Lord Macaulay.

Having meutioned Mr Ilill Burton, the latest, and let us
hope the last minstrel of onr glorious Revolulion of 1688,
we may pause for a moment ujwn his pleasant lucubrations,
and contemplate the most recent historical characteristics of
Viscount Dundee.

2. Mr John Hill Burton's character Utice o/Dutulee.

Tliat learned author has put forth his whole powers of pen,
and they are not mean, to record his life, character, and
death. The declared object is to separate mere romance from
legitimate history, and to give us the man. In fulfilling this
task he entirely ignores the illustrious historian who had so

> Thia Ehall be aliown aflerwardi. Il is a remarkable circumstauce, in rc-
fercnec to the weight of Lurd MacaiiUy'l nutlianty on the subject of the dntb of
John Bmwn, that lie takes not the Blighlest notice of the fact (if he had erer ob-
Berved it), that Sir Walter Scvlt, iu hia History of Scotland, gives a totally diflurent
veraioD, in the moat easentinl iocidcut of the caluinoy. Sir Walter hjinaelf, while
adopting a, fanatical teraiun of (lie ator}', is in like iDanner entirely ulenl aa to llic
fact that Wodrme has recorded i I with a moat easentiaJ difTerenoe. Thna each
historian haa hia own pet version of (lie nouKeaaical calumny, and ignorea all

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

17

_ onliusi

ntly preceded him in portraying Claveriiouse ; no groat
»mi>liiiient from a historical author of the same school of
politics. But Mr Burton himself had over-rated his materials,
and was making hricks without straw. The suhject was by do
means sufficiently ripe in his hands to sustain the broad and
unhesitating conclusions of his judgment. Moreover, his own
ches, regarding the worthy whose character, education,
id capacities, he so confidently handles, appear to have been
nnpardonahly lazy. That Claverhonse was an alumnus of tho
Ahtui Mater of Scotland, is a certain fact, which he treats aa
doubtful and inconsei^nential, even while he is dealing par-
ticularly, and very erroneously, with the queatiou of his educa-
tion. Then he coolly describes him as " the second son of a
Scotch laird," whose father would have made an Edinburgh
Lawn-market trader of him, had it not been for " a common
usage in a country which could not exercise its energies near
at hand without aronsing the trading jealousies of its affluent
and powerful neighbour." Therefore, his theory is, Jock the
lairdg hrotlter was turned adrift to carve his own fiirtunes in
mercenary fields of fight, and "rub out," — as Mr Burton de-
claree he must have done, — that college education he yet con-
siders it doubtful that be had ever rubbed in. The result is,
that our fluent historian, fmrn whose acntenesa and industry
more might Imve been expected, blunders the hero's genealogy
and domestic history, and, after indulging in some fanciful
paragraphs of hero-worship, concludes, oddly enough, but like
■U the rest, with historical calumny.

It wtis not, however, within tho purview of Mr Burton's
Lertaking, to clear the character of this great Scottish
^hy from all tho fanatical trash, which, we presume, has
him to refer to Claverhonse as the " hero-fiend.'' It is
tther, as we understand him, in disparagement of the cham-
pion of King James, that he says, — " Many of the attributes
of this hero-Jiend are fabulous ; but his era was so much later
thau tliat of the semi-mjlhic heroes wHth wbrnu he has been
often associated, that we know a/ew wlffar Irut/is about him,
affording a correction of tho jictidotia gtorica." Yet our his-
torian did not know tho vulgar truth that he was his father's
lest son. and chief of that ancient and well providol branek J
2 Ij

of the hoase of Gralmni, from bis notorious chieftainsUp of
which he derived the vulgar title of Clavers.* Nor does he
seem to have known that the hero's name, along with that of
his younger brother David, stands recorded, 13th February
1665, in the matriculation books of St Leonard's College of
St Andrews, so plain that those wlio golf may read.

Tlie name and fame of Graham of Claverhouse, have chiefly
associated him with the great Marquis of Montrose, who, al-
though a mythic murderer, was surely no semi-mythic hero.
Neither have we been able to discover any fictitious glories
whatever, recorded of Montrose's noble cadet, in any account of
him that is at all worthy of historical correction. Heis nowhere,
seriously at least, so recorded even by Sir Walter Scott. That
he rode the Evil One in the shape of a coal-black steed, breath-
ing sulphureous flames, and able to keep its feet on the face
of a precipice, and that this satanic alliance rendered it neces-
sary to load with a silver button in order to lay the t«mble
rider's plume in the dust, are " fictitious glories" which scarcely
require the correction of " vulgar truths." They belong to
that species of rapid, dazzling, and dramatic history, which so
often delights us in Lord Macaulay, and the Christmas panto-
mimes. On the other hand, Romance herself need claim no
higher attributes for Dundee, than Mr Burton has bestowed in
the following somewhat enthusiastic estimate : —

" A war, of peculiar and strangely incidental character, liad
been for some time kept alive in the north by the active
energy of one of the most original men of his day. The ac-
tual career of Dundee, without decoration, is an affluent foun-
tain of romance. His handsomeness, his early historical
career, his name associating him with the great Marquis of
Montrose, his military capacity, so great within its little
sphere, the sad sympathy offered to those who throw their lot
mto a desperate cause, and the heroic glory of his death. aU
together make a true history of brighter colours than many a
romance "

onhflgrapliy of ihmt utij ot

" friend tlio Lord Adroate

»tic,' 1
ingii

VISCODNT OF DUNDEE. 1 9

Thia cliarming character must be understood as perfectly
conaistent witli the few " vulgar trutlis" previously promiBcd,
For our historian declares that all tliia composes the " true
history" of Claverhouse. But we are not done with Mr Bur-
ton's characteristics.

" He was a man of much more far seeing ambition than the

generality of Ms Order. He felt within himself capacities of

a higher stamp, and aspirations also. For though he belonged

, to the herd of mercenaries. Ids ambition, with all his defects,

r iras of a higlier order than that of the Dugald Dalgeties who

I «onteQted themselves with the conscioueiiess that they had

L much hotter pay, booty, liquor, and arms, than the pikc-trail-

era under their command. lie became a fanatic of the order

he found himself in, — the order of the cavalier who is devoted

to hie Monarch, and bis Monarch's aUtee, aristocratic and

hierarchicah His fanaticism was that of the gentlenuin. It is

m, perhaps, to associate the reproaclifid term ' fana-

j tic,' with a word so expressive of estimable social qualities as

kAib word ' gentleman ;' but as there is no liesitation in apply-

5 it to religious opinions carried to excess, surely there can

1)6 no desecration in applying it to social qualities when they

become offensively prurient."

This pet scnt«nce is too fanciful to be of practical value in
clearing the character of Claverhouse. We suspect, moreover,
a lurking fallacy. Mr Burton seems to confound the ideas of
too much of a good thing, and too much of a bad thing. Let
OB suppose a female countenance presented for our admiration,
every feature of which possessos those qualities of outUne, colour,
position, and mobility, which arc felt to constitute tlie perfec-
tion of female beauty. The eye, in particular, is the eye of
the gazelle, so rich in softness and lustre, which " wins where
it wanders, dazzles where it dwells." But alaa ! it exceeds in
■ize the eye of the patient ox (beautiful in its own head),
while all the other features are in the due proportions of hu-
manity. We turn from such a countenance, not, indeed, vritli
disgust, but with diHappoiutment and distress. It is too muck
qfa good thing. Let us now suppose a son of Adain, boastful
of possessing the human perfection of lus maker's image.
^B The erect, stat^-ly, draped figure H«^ms to justify the pretence.

so MKMORIAI^ OK THE

He particularly insists that you sliall adiuire hia leg, ae the
perfection of the human limb, which he puts forward from be-
neath his robe, like the King of Sjjades. Lo I hairy and hir-
sute, crooked, horn-shod, and cloven-footed, — the hind leg, in
short, of a bull of Bashan, — you regard it with disgust and
terror. Still your admiration and worship is demanded, under
the alternative of being kicked and trampled to death by the
tyrannical hoof. Nay, under the same penalty, he insieta that
you submit one of your own cleaner pedestals, to some horrible
assimilating process. This, again, is too much of a bad thing.
It is not beauty rendered disagreeable by excessive dispropor-
tion. It is brutality rendered dangerous and Tophetical by
excessive bumptuousness, And this we rather take to be the
difference between that excess of the " estimable social quali-
ties," for which Mr Burton has discovered the phrase, — " fana^
ticism of a gentleman," — and the religious fanaticism of the
Scotch League and Covenant.

Mr Burton's proposition seems to be this. The fanaticism
of the Scotch Covenanters stands in the same relation to reli-
gious opinions " not carried to excess," that loyalty " become
offensively prurient" does to those more estimable social quali-
ties expressed by the word gentleman. We do not feel much
interested, after all, on the part of " Bloody Clavers," captious-
ly to quarrel with the terms of that equation. Right or wrong,
it really seems to come to this, that a Scotch fanatic is exceed-
ingly leiligioua; and a prurient loyalist exceedingly a gentleman.
But are we not entitled to extract, from all this pleasant play
of words, that Dundee, if not emphatically, was at least _/?«wi-
ticaSy a gentleman ; of superior capacities and aspirations to
the generality of liis Order ; and that, however offensively
prurient (to some tastes that is to say) such attributes had be-
come in him, he was nevertheless to a certain extent endowed
with some t)-pe or other of those estimable social qualities of
which the word gentleman is so significant ? Come, here is
ft new niche in history for the " hero-fiend,"

But can it be true, that a being endowed with the " hand-
someness" of a hero of romance, and the " fanaticism of a
gentleman ;" one of the " most original men of his day ;" of
" military rapacity so great ;" whose ambition, capacities, and

VISCOUNT OF DDSDEE.

21

aspiratiuns, were "' more far-seeing, and of a higher quality
than the generality of his Order ;" to whom " sad sympathy"
belongs by right of the disinterested devotion of his Hfe, and
" the heroic glory of his death," — is it, we ask Mr Burton,
among those vulgar truths about Dundee to which he so know-
ingly refers, that this hero of a true romance, did put to death,
and with his own hand, an innocent, inoffensive peasant, who,
forhis very piety, was called the " Christian Carrier;" and that
he perpetrated this enormity under all the circumstances of
heartless, useless, isolated barbarity, ascribed to hira by Wod-
row and Lord Jtacaulay ? Is that a \iilgar truth, or a vulgar
error?

Mr Burton is silent ; and we would have been content to
assume his tacit rejection of the calumnious fable, were it not,
that, after thus cbaunting the glories of theGraham, ho changes
his hand and checks his pride, and pusses on to what he calls
the oxe thing cerUiin.

" One thing is certain, his utter disregard of human life, his
vTuelty to his enemies, and his rechlesaneas of the safety of hia
followers, would have prevented him from being a great Bri-
fieh General, however largely he might have operated in the
service of countries where there is less responsibility, and
human life is of no account beside the military object to be
obtained."

If this sententious and somewhat bewildering deliverance,
be subscribing, after all, to the viilgar cant about " Bloody
Claverg," — if it mean, that, savage disregard of human life from
the innate spirit of inhumanity, reckless and insane expendi-
ture of the essential means of success in war from the mere
love of cruelty and blood, characterised Dundee, the outrageous
imputation has no foundation in truth, and is utterly incom-
patible with any rational understanding whatever of such a
I phrase as " the fanaticism of a gentleman." But, if it be
taken in any other sense than that worst, how strange is the
dogma, from an histjirian in the nuicti^enth century, that es-
pecial regard for human life in battle, humanity in the licld
towards a foe in anns, and carefulness in the din of conflict
for the personal safely of armed followers, are the marked ch^
rarteristirH, rho iriiif ij'/n mm, of tin- croiilness of nil

MUIOKIALS or THE

U«neralB, aa distiuguisbed from that of foreign Geoenls,
" largely operatiDg in countries where there is less responei-
bility, and hajDan life is of no ci:>n»^aenee Weide the mili-
tary object t« be attained." Generals, even great Gen^alB,
liare varied somewhat in that respect, according to their di»-
poeitioDs and teuperameut, in all times and nnder all climes.
The whole eanguiuary system of embattled hosts, bvvrever, as
we learn from the ciimuicles of Scripture down to the chro-
nicles of iSir William Napier, involves, and to no small extent,
disregard of htuoan life, cruelty inflicted by the species upon
the species, and recklessness in the field, of the safety of
" food for powder," How did Marlborough in this matter dif-
fer from Gustavus ? How did Dundee at Killiecrankie differ
from Wellington at Waterloo ? There, where the imperial
eagle " tore with bloody talon the rent plain," the lives of
thousands and thousands, even of his own followers, weighed
with Wellington not a feather in the scale " beside the mili-
tary object to be attained ;" and that greatest of British Gene-
rals gained the greatest of modem combats by feeling, and
fearing, no other responsibility. The devoted Dundee never
commanded but in one great battle ; and there " his reckless-
ness of the safety of hia followers" was chiefly evinced by his
charging in person, and dying in the arms of victory. His
christian regard for human life ; his soldierly consideration
for his soldiers ; and the entire freedom of his lofty and en-
lightened nature, from that cruelty which is here so oracularly
pronounced to have disqualified him from ever becoming a
great British General, shall, in the progress of these Memorials,
be exemplified by facts which do not happen to fall under
Mr Burton's special knowledge of " a few Mdgar truths about
Dundee."

But our historian's school of politics did not greatly incline
him, however competent, to institute the minute inquiries re-
quisite to correct the vulgar error of " Bloody Clavers." He
bestows upon him, as we have shown, with more of the aff'ec-
tation than the reality of impartial history, a somewhat enig-
matical character of heroism, that is useless for his defence,
and worthless to his fame. And having thus paid his character
off, on the credit side, he proccoils, with ratlier more alacrily

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE,

23

I

^^m Apen,

to debit it to the full with all the Jftraimtioii, — we beg parJoii,
Tophetlsm, — bestowed upon it Ity Shields, Wodrow, Walker,
M'Crie, and Iiord Macaiiiay. Moreover, lest it Bhould be BUp-
jMJsed that he was a literary genius, that he was educated, that
he could read and write, — our historian has not failed to touch
upon that phase of Dundee's character also, and with no
friendly hand.

" Tradition," he says, " attributes to him many brilliantly
epigrammatic speerfies, to which hia authentic writings give
the lie, hy shoeing that he had not sufficient command of
grammar to have put his thoughts in the clear emphatic shape
in which they are preserved, if he had ever formed them iu
his mind. It is said that he studied at Bt Andrews, and knew
something of mathematics ; but any smatteritig nf educa-
tioR he may have received was early rubbed out in the camp
of the mercenary soldier. He was a younger son of a Scottish
laird ; and, according to a common usage in a country which
could not exercise its energies near at hand without arousing
the trading jealousies of its affluent and powerful neighbour,
he was sent to serve abroad." " Graham's abilities, evidently,
did not step beyond warfare." And speaking of his tradi-
tionary reputation for Celtic letters, our historian adds, with
the strong desire of reducing poor Claverhouse to the lowest
place of the lowest form, — " It is not likely that Dundee knew
their language, for he was not very toell instructed in his own."
Nay, he quotes a meagre fragment, of one of the very few let^
ters which had ever come under his eye, WTitteu hy the hero, a
mere scrap containing a hasty report, from a flying camp, of
a few military circumstances, and a numlier of Highland namen,
upon which slender premises he has the singular temerity to
found the remark, — " This fragment, printed literatim, may
stand as &fair specimen of tlio great warrior's epistolary capa-
cities;^ an interesting subject, since Sir Walter Scott has dc-

< The mdcr will pluw obeerva whtt Mr Burtap notea u " a fair apTcimfn uf
tba great warrior'i e|Hstolarj' eapatUia,"

" Dundn writs rnKDMoy,Juno33, (lUeS):— "Captninof Glcnrmniul4iam'ar

nw th«H taventll dajea. Tli« laird of Baro is there with hU iii«i. I am pri'-

aiiadaJ Sir Donaid la thsre b}' Ihii. H'licau lauda In MarTan lo-mnri'OH earlaiiil.i .

Apen,til«iico, Lnhall, Olangaire, K«p|>iiek, arc all T»i4y. Sir AlanandFr and Lai'Ko,

lilh thrir mrn all ihia while wiili mt, M thai I hnpc «« mill pi nut

2i

UtLUUBIALS UF TU£

nounced hie spelliug as that of h chatDbcr-maid. It certainly
exceeds the average spelling of the day in circuitous variabi-
lity ; but it would be easy to find worse specimens in his class
and rank."

It is rather hard upon the hero of Killiccrankie, that tradi-
tion should be accepted as infallible, in proving him a mon-
ster, and be of no account in the matter of his "brilliantly
epigrammatic speeches." To what " authentic -writings" of
his our historian can possibly refer, as " giving the lie" to
his traditional reputation for good talk, we caimot imagine.
When Sir Walter Scott wrote his tale of Old Mortality, there
was scarcely even the fragment of a letter from Dundee in
print. And three-fourths at least of such authentic writings
of his as we can now produce, are still unknown to Mr Burton
at this present time of our writing, We have shown before,
how very hard he was put to it, in support of his anxious
theoiy of illiterate Clavors. Yet this appears to have been
especially the department, in the systematic depreciation of
the hero, assigned to Mr Burton ; as if there had been a divi-
sion of labour, in the anxious undertaking, and Lord Macaolay
had said to Lim, " 111 rub in the cruelty, if you'll rub out the
learning."' Aud yet they were totally ignorant on the sub-

uT Lachsher aboul Ihreo thauMind. Yuu nuj' jud(;e wliat wo will gett in Stn.th-
hurig, BifJenoch, Athal, Morr, anil the Duke of Uurdon'a lands, besides the Inj'ail
shires of BnTif, Aberdeen, Mems, Angus, P.ortli, and Stirling. 1 hope we will be
be master* uf nortli as the King's army will be of the south. 1 had sltDost fut^t
to (ell you of nif Lord Broad Albin who I suppose will come to tlie Relds. DuDi-
belh with two hundred hon and eight hundred foot, mid [is t] said to be endea-
vouring (a join UB. Uy L. Seaforth will be in a few dayes from Irlaod lo ntis his
men for the King's ■ervicc."

See Mr Buiton's " History nf Scotland from llie lUvulution In the Extinction of
the tsBt JacohiCe Insum-etion, 16) 9^1 7411."

For Mr Burton's various cliuraeleristics and nuUei^ of ClnTerhnuw consult bis
index, nice Dundee.

' Mr BurtonV ingenious mind is fond of starting theories, aud bending facts to
suit Ihem. Thus he saysr-" The Smltisli Lowlanders, with all (heir capacity for
tlie serious biuiness of life, and their performance of its duties, are an imsgtnslive
raee.'' And, as one of the illustrations, he refers to " Dundee, one of the most eor-
tliailg hated am that eier exiittd, yet one rhuM name and jmim, a Irvt Scot, even
nf the iti-ongftt Prali^ltriaii I'HKeiiJep, would not willingly see excluded from tlie
Hources of the biographieal commemorutiun of fuiinnt bub," Hist. ii. il7. What
»orbi»(^ is this T Did our sulhor eter hai'pen (for itistntice) I" B»k Dr M'Crie '.
am jwrhnps he couHiders llial reverend crilic's " ecitmncniomlion' of D.mder, in

I

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEli:. 25

ject of Lis actual conduct, dispositions, educatiou, and acquire-
ments. Even tbc great novelist, when he so vividly depicted
the disastrous affair of Drumclog, was not aware uf a letter
being extant, in which Clavcrhonse himself reports his defeat
to bead quarters, in the very qiuetest tenne of a lofty and un-
rufi9ed spirit. When, subsequently, that letter with a few
others came to be printed for the Bannatyne Club, Sir Walter
■IriirrieJly crammed it into the Illustrative notes of his new
edition of the Tales. Perhaps by this time it was de Uvp.
For it did not exactly tally with the historical romance.
Moreover, it seemed directly to contradict an incident which
had added no small degree of interest to the brilliant fiction,
and which still stands therein recurded as a real historical
&ct, in the face i>f Clavorhouse's own letter.' It is a trifle ;
Ibut ser\'es to mark the state of knowledge as to his " authen-
tic writings," and the degree of attention hitherto paid to
that subject.

Mr Burton, however, lias, we think, dealt somewhat unfairly
Trith Sir Walter's opinion, when he quotes liim as having, gene-
Tally, " denounced Dundee's spelling as that of a chamber-
maid." The letter itself will bo found in its proper place in
these Memorials. Here we may ((uote the very hasty remark
with which the illustrious author of Old Mortality noted the
'newly discovered missive ; a comment which surely was never
intended to indicate Sir Walter's general estimate of Dundee's
educational acquirements : —

As the skirmish of Drumclog has been of late the subject
of some enquirj', the reader may be curious to sec Claver-
^honae's own account of the affair, in a letter to the Earl of

■ithgow, written immediately after the actiou. This ga-
iKette, as it may be called, occurs in the volume called Dundee's

Ml nviev of Sir WkIMt Scntt, and ■]« Lord Munulny'R, U fulHItinif llul dcu'ra
gf " ■ Ini« Scot" an the auliJECt to wbich liB rcUrx, ni Uio snlci'/VNltlio iJm in Uia
"eordi*! hklnd." The hcl is, Huluurdiml lulred o( UuiiiIm, m t nolianal fitting,
to > Tulgu- mjtii ; tiid it 1hu> Ihwu eiigcmlpred by the itry fact tlikt " tlie tVenag
Fn^jlarian priuciptis" of ■ ctrUuo c1u> uf aullion, hu been, to urerwlielm bia
una with ibuxs uiU ulumnf , and BbaoluLel} tu eiutude bim from the otalogiw
•f amiDotil and wnrth; Suilcbnu-n.

Tho Hinxiw-d di-aib if (".)<■«.( (:rnk,>m al Druiu.-l.<p. Till. «ill he t'laKiiiirJ
•fumards.

30 MEMORIALS OF THE

letters, printed by Mr Smytli© of Methven, as u contribution to
the Bannatyue Club. The originul is in the library oi" the
Duke of Buckinghame. Claverhouse, it may be observed,
Hpella like a chamber-maid,"

There is no idea more puerile, than that the loose, variable,
and, to the modem eye, very painlul and grotesque ortho-
graphy which characterises the epistolary correspondence of
men of education, and of the highest rank and station, during
the latter half of the seventeenth century, has anything what-
ever to do with the amount of their education, or their literary
attainments and powers.' We entirely acquit Sir Walter of

« Weci

juch r

Jipose tl

aRbrd >

few iriuBtrationB, Belectei] at

We ijuole from •* Letten to tile Eiirl of Aberdeen," printed fur the Spalding

Clulj, IS51.

I. " Wliflhal], June 31. 1GS3."— » Tliere ia od Veal, a Uweler Iieu-, uho bra
bene od the plote ; and a gunBinitlie declared that, about tliat tj in, he benpok of
him 30 or 40 pacr of pist/A*, uliich uesr not deJyverd lo him (ill uithin tliia forl-
night or thre weeka. Aa furder discovers ar nude in this nutter, yotir Lordabip
Bhalt be acqueutEd bv, my Lord, jronr moat humble and fathcfall ecrvant, MoMuT."
—{page 13U), Why, here w an Earl spelling like a laundry -inaid, and who can't
Bpell his D»D name I Tbu same nobleman writes, March 24. 1683, — "Sins my
cuminge from Newmarkit, Iher hapntid on Thursday at nyne a ctok al night a
dredbll fyre ther, nliirh, in a flow hours consumed the wholl ayd of Ilie tanne op-
posit to the Ring's lodgings, bnt nothinge tutchat on tbat eyde tliey are" (p. 103).
Goorge eighth Earl Marischal certainly epelle like a bar-mnid. Take tliie speci-
men, 19lh February, 1GS3,— " My Lord, the experienc and confldence I haue of
yonr huor miks me gins yoar Lordnhip this truhle. Being informed ther ii ane
conniderable soume taken np off such as wold not giue obcdieDce to the law, 1 bop
by your Lordship's faaor and rwommeudatian J nay kaatani KSmr, fc, (p. 99.)
I'hen wo have a Duko spelling like a dsiry-miiid : " Hamilton, 12Ui January,
1683 ;'■ — " Being under a course of phisik, it is not, uilliout danger, in my pouer
lo come in so soon ; therfur, I make it my earnist ante to your Lordship to delay
tlut pruces untill 1 bare the honor lo imite on yon, that iff 1 be not instrumentsil
to agrie the matter, I may at least iudevore," Ac. " My Lord, your Lordship's
moat humble scrvaut, Hamil^jn."— (p. 90.) ^a» let us see how ClaTerfaouse
spelt when he was under iiit/iie ; for the Oevil it seema had not beeu able lo save
him from the Apothecary. He is writing to Quceoeberry, ISlh October, 1083. —
" The Bishop of Edinbourg did me the faveur to com and see me yesterday ;
being under fisik ; when he took occaaion to tell me all had passed betwixt your
Lordship and him aa to the business of the loun of Edinbourg, and made ehou oT
great grief that he had had the misforlun to incur your Lordship's displeascnr,'' Ac.
QiUtmbtrTS Fapert, orij. MS, And think of the learned and acrompliahcd Lord
Advocate, Sir George Mackensie, spelling like a byre-maid, in a letter to Aberdeen
<p. 88.) "QatrOM hanbrok ■ c^batl that was designing in Galloway, to undertak
for the peace of the eiiuntrry as Clidsdalc did. The countrey is most peacable

I
J

VISCOrNT OF DUNDEE. 27

Eul intention, in the above crude remark, so to teat the literary
P'^alitteB of Dundee, Hia letters are under the very same
predicament, in regard to orthography, as all the letters of the
noblemen and gentlemen with whom he was in constant cor-
respondence for years. And, as regards composition, more
I ftcute, pointed, and spirited productions, of the rapid episto-
r lary kind, emanating, too, from a flying camp, and rarely from
~ the retirement of his closet, were never penned. But Sir Wal-
ter Scott has been made the scape-goat, for pronouncing him
uneducated and illiterate, because of " spelling like a chamber-
maid ;" a fanciful idea which, we venture to say, never could
eccur to any one of Dundee's own distinguished uorrespon-
[ dents.

It is amusing, however, to observe the use which lias been
I made of that careless expression. " We Imve hia letters,"
[ Bays an ingenious North British reviewer, " printed from the
I ©riginala, exhibiting a state of editcation and a tvltivation of
I mind, that, — as Mr Macaulay said, — would have disgraced a
I Waahenvoman." And this same clever off-hand whig critic,
I OT his editor, has indulged in the very peculiar critical severity,
I of heading that page of his caustic review, — "Letters a h
] Woskertvoman"!*

and the ahjr of Air is lyfi to b« ua peacable u Angns, oad keep llie Kirk u well."
The B«rl of Linlidiguw we laniil voK) n kilcben-nisid. " Edta. lOlb Sept. I6S2,
Maj li pleaiB your Lordship. Ackurding to jour comnmnda fuui of llioa Lords
mpmnWd Ui meil, did meit upou Tliurid>y Lut, bat ree had litcll (o doc, aud 1 boop
•lull not. ]r tliair liad anelhing aeomnl vourthie of your Lord^ip'i cogaioance
I nlioald not haue fouled lo liaue atqiuuitit yuu thalrvilli. Vee h*UB apoinled to
ueit ageain vpon Thnniday niit."-~(P. 67.) Wo have room Fur no maro.

' NorUi Briliah Review, (of Profeamr Ayloun'a Lays of the Scultivli CaTaliera,)
May IS50. We cumot diacaver tiliere Lord MocBulay Bays Ihal Clavcrhouiie'a
ImIus " would have diagraced s washer woman." Uodoubtedly ho uaos thul
■ImililDde with regard to the orthography of the period ; and hia romark would
•qoaUy apply to the case of Gaverbuuse. He ■> not, bowever, apoaking of hia
Tnpbat friend *t the time, but of Roman Catbolic cbiunpioDa of the Church, of
wbon he Mya,^ — " Tliey had paued the greater part of their lires on the CoulineDt,
■ad had almost uulouncd Iboir inollier tongue. Whtii they proaehed, th«ir oul-
hndiab accent moved (he derision of tlii' audieuco. Thig t/rtll tile Haiimeomtm."
Hltt.*al. ii. p. Ill, Srcund Edition. We nra not qiiilu ceiiain whether Lor-I
MactnUy means Eagliab waabiu'women, or Scotch woKhcrwoawn. The waahcr-
who waab with Ibuir arroa, or tliti waalierwnineu who waali with their leg*.
We did not know, howuter, tliat eillii:r claaii ►[■sit liku furrvjHin. Il ia rather u

I

^H We did
^^fe napyai

28 MEHORIAI^ OF THE

We have not been able to find, in any of Lord Macanlay's
works, a passage where he applies that silly comparison
directly to a letter written by Claverhouse. If the North Bri-
tish reviewer have quoted him accurately, the historian pro-
bably had under his eye Sir Walter Scott's illustration ; and
the ambition of originality may have induced him to dismiss
the chamber-maid, and take in a washerwoman of his own.

A story is told of the expertness of a clever English barris-
ter in breaking down evidence, when cross-examining on the
trial of Lord Greorge Gordon. A witness was so rash as to
attempt to identify a rioter, who had been seen carrying a
fl^g» by describing him as, — " like a bretver^s servant in his
best clothes" But when unsparingly pressed to come to par-
ticulars, he could never get further, than, — " I think a brewer's
servant s breeches, clothes, and stockings, have something very
distinguishing ;" and so he was told to go down, amid the de-
rision of the Court. We suspect that even the two illustrious
men, who have characterised the epistolary orthography of
gentlemen of the seventeenth century, as above, would have
cut no better figure, under a like fire of clever cross-examina-
tion, as to their distingushing marks, for the epistolary styles,
respectively and distinctively, of the chamber-maid and the
washerwoman. Assuming however, the accuracy of the whig
reviewer, in saying, that Lord Macaulay has somewhere pro-
noimced of Dundee's epistolary remains that they " would
have disgraced u washerwoman," it were unfair to place Sir
Walter's thoughtless remark under the same category of poli-
tical passion and prejudice. ^

To those who desire to believe in, and support the credit of
WodroVs legend of Saint Brown, it may seem necessary to
establish the impression, that the mind of Dundee was as little

* It was not faskionaUe in those days to spell with precision, or by any consis-
tent mle, in private epistolary correspondence. No more than it was, or is now,
to write like a writing master's copy. It was spelling like a pritiUr to do so.
Authors very soon found out the value of not printing redundances or more letters
than enough ; and the convenience, and relief, of an invariable rule of spelling in
printed works, very soon recommended it to the reader's eye. But aristocratio
correspondents, both in French and English, continued their careless and lavish
abuse of the letters of the alphabet, long after the press had drilled those significant
symbols into steady marching order. Never was there a weaker sneer, than thai
comparison with ** chamber-maids," and ** washerwomen."

VISCOUNT OF DONDEE.

29

opened by education, as it was sternly closed by nature to
•very feeling of humanity. Fatu did not suffer him to be a
man of letters ; nor is there any evidence, yet obtained, that
the lava of poetic genius lurked beneath the volcanic features
of his destiny, occasionally bursting forth with those startling
eruptions which ever and anon illumined the career of Mon-
trose. It is not the object of these Memorials to establish for
Dundee a literary reputation, or, even to defend his spelling.

^But when crude ideas, flimsy speculations, and false assump-
tions, are grasped at with avidity, by literary critics of a cer-
tain school, in order to give the finishing touch to their por-
txait of Claverhouse, as a being endowed little above the beasts
that perish, it is time the ridiculous injustice were corrected.
Lord Macaulay, indeed, — upon whom new retrospective views,
of the men and things he has been handling, must be apt to
[open, as his delightful historj' sparkles on through its golden
' ahifting sands, — seems to have discovered, just as he is dis-
missing Dmidee with liis cars eropt, and a brand of infamy on
his brow, that he possessed some great qualities after all. He
honors him with this lofty eong^, — accompanied, however,
j with a parting kick bestowed upon the disgraced hern, and all
^irho dare to admire him : " During the last three montlis of
s life, he had ajiproved himself a great warrior, and politician,
tnd his name is there/ore mentioned with respect," — not, in-
kI, by the inspired minstrel of heroic Rome, — but, " by that
! clas8 of ptTsotis who think that there is tio excess of
irickedness for which courage and ability do not atoue" !'
Dundee's own official correspondence, to be aftorwar^Is pro-
pAiced, will afford testimony of his abilities infinitely more
valuable than any estimate by a modem historian, who was
very ignorant of the true history and character of the hero,
and who writes as if he really would prefer remaining so.
But whatever Lord Macaulay and Mr Hill Burton may have
decreed to stand for history on the subject, some of the most
enlightened and liberal minded of l)undee'B own contera|>o-
ries, have left, fortunately, a fc-w passing but unequivocal
lications of their opinion of the man.

1 after his death at Killicrrankie, which established the

' Hi-I. iii. p. fl67.

so MEMORIALS OF THE

throne of King William, a Parliamentary commission ira»
iagued, 4th July 1690, for the vieitation of Universities, Col-
leges, and Schools in Scotland. How this instrument of pree-
byterial tyranny was worked, is sufficiently indicated by one
of the charges libelled against Dr Monro, Principal of the
College of Edinburgh, namely, " His rejoicing the day that
the news of Claverliouse his victory came to the town." The
able and energetic object of tliis inquisitorial meaDiiess, met
the absurdity with a withering reply.

" The next article is, that I rejoiced upon the news of my
Lord Dundee his victory 1 This is pleasant enough ; for he
(the libeller) could name no outward sign or expression of it.
He thinks I rejoice, and therefore sets it down as a ground of
accusation I So, my Lords, it was impossible for me to shun
this, unlcBH I liad been dead some time before the victory.
For this libeller names his conjectures, dark consequences,
and remote probabilities, for sufficient evidence I For any
thing he knew, this joy appeared nowhere but on the inward
theatre of my mind. But, to make tho story pass, why did
he not name the usual and extravagant frolics that attend
such mirth ? Where was it ? and with what company ? Was
he invited to this merry meeting himself ? But this is no
part of his business, to circumstantiate things, a* common
sense and justice would require in accusations. This brings
to my mind the legend of Mother Juliana, who was said to
amell souls, and at a good distance to discern whether they
were in a state of grace, or under the power of sin. I have
answered once already, that it was an impudent and impious
thing to pretend to omniscience; and that I bad some relations
in Mackay's army, for whom I was extraordinary solicitous.
The libeller does not think that I rejoiced at the /aS of my Lord
Dundee ? / assure kim of the contrary. For no ffenthtnan,
soldier, scholar, or civilised citizen, will find fault with me for
this. I had an extraordinary value for him ; and such of his
8 as retain any generosity, will acknoivledge he deserved

' " Preslivterian Inqui"iliun, an IL wu praclUcd by tho V
Edinburgli, in tbeir proceeding* Bgaiiwt »ime of the MiniaU

September 1630,"

lilors iif Ibe Cnllege ■!
■ Uiei-e in Augmt Blld

VISCODNT or DUNDEE.

31

Thia bold and enthusiastic challenge, upon such a critical
occa8ion,from the learned Principal of the Collegeof Edinburgh,
intimately acquainted with Dundee, and addressing many who
must have been familiar witli his general character, at once
brings to shame all the pointed ))hilippics, and indignant elo-
quence which appear iu Lord Macaulay's pages on the sub-
. ject. It is evidence of the very highest class, iu support of
] the heroic Viscount ha^Tug possesBed, in some degree at least,
[ those distinguishing attributes which the Principal, upou that
L public occasion, asserted for him with the emphatic confidence
i friend, who neither would nor could be denied. It was
f presented in less than a twelvemonth after the deatli of the
I hero, and at a crisis when those addressed were all the less
f likely to deal tenderly with his memory, or fairly by his attri-
I bntes. The challenge was not taken up, and that burning
I eulogy remains unquenched. Of what weight in the scale
[ a^inst such e\'idence, is the virulence of a low-minded weaver
[ of martyroliigies like Wodrow ? Or the ipse dixit of certain
f historical penmen, however accomplished, flourishing in the
[■ middle of the nineteenth century, (authors, be it also observed,
I entirely ignorant even of what letters Dimdee had written,
f Itod of what sentiments, moral and political, he had tlierein
[ expressed,) that he was fanaticaJJtf a gentleman, heroically a
I fiend, and literally a fool ?

There is another record in favour of the maligned hero, which
I Iiord Macaulay surely will admit to partake stronglyof the cha^
I ncter of contemfxirary eridence. In his tliird volume, we find
I many references to a chronicle which he thus pointedly and just-
1 ij eulogizes : " The singularly interesting memoirs of Sir Ewan
I Cameron of Locheil, printed at Edinburgh for the Abbotsford
[■Club, in 1842; the MS. must have been at least a century
Folder," Our historian, however, avoids referring to the testi-
mony which these memoirs contain, entirely contradictory of
his own character of Dundee. We are there informed, and
no doubt truly, that tho vict<)r of Killiecrankie " had made a
considerable progress in iho mathematics, especially in those

* Artida* of lDqai*ilioD igminit Dr Monro, la whieli he wm ni*Je In ■■■■•rr
%ttora the Comniillee upon Ihs S7th of Aii)(uat ICDD."
OaoAtt Ua at Killinnnkli-, ?Tlh July USn.

32

MEM0B1A15 OF THE

parte of it that related to his military capacity; ai
was no part of the belles letlres which he hail not studied with
great care and exattness. He was mueh mast<?r in the epis-
tolary way of writing ; lor he not only expressed himself with
great ease and plainness, but argued well, and had a great art
in giving his thoughts in few words. To Bum up his character
in two words, — ho was a good Christian and indulgent huB-
band, an accomjdished gentleman, an honest statesman, and
a brave soldier ; and, as he had few equals among his country-
men in these first qualities, so he had no superior in the
last."

Does this admirer of Dundee fall under the category of
that " large class of persons who think that there is no ex-
cess of wickedness for which courage and ability do not atone ?"
Notwithstanding such dictatorial and presumptuous verbiage,
we suspect from the above that there must have been another
class of persons who, right or wrong, admired Dundee upon a
less disreputable principle. Among the many other terms
of historical hectoring which Lord Macaiday bestows upon
our hero, occurs the epithet " profane," But the antique
chronicler whom, for other facta, he is so fond of quoting, had
learnt the contrary : " Besides family worship," he says, " per-
formed regularly eveuing and morning at his house, he retired
to his closet at certain hours, and employed himself in that
duty. This I afiirm upon the testimony of aeverala that lived
in Aw neighbourhood in Edinburgh, where his office of Privy
Councillor often obliged him to be ; and, particularly, from a
Presbyterian lady who lived long in the storey or house im-
mediately below his Lordship's, and was otherwise so rigid in
her opinions, that she could not believe a good thing of any
person of his persuasion, till his conduct rectified her mis-
take."

We have no inclination to adopt the too successful Wodrow
trick, of founding history, and historical characters, upon
vague references to hearsay gossip, derived from unnamed
" persons of credit yet alive," Evidence of that nature, when
continually and systematically offered in its most tmsatisfac-
tory, loose, and suspicious form, by one writing with the
animus of the fanatical minister of Eastwood, is of little more

J

I

1

pott
^H ooni

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 33

lue than the paper on which it is printed. Such au anec-
dote, however, as tho abqve, derived from a chronicler so
nearly contemporary, of a fact so simiily told, and bo probable
in itself, cannot well be rejected as a pure invention. If the
Presbyterian lady quoted, and the other observing uoighboura
©f Claverhouse in Edinburgh, never said anytliing of the kind to
tho compiler of the Memoirs of Sir Ewan Cameron, then a
very intelligent, unassuming, and unsuspected chronicler,
stands convicted of a most gratuitous falsehood ! But if the
chronicle be true, — and upon the interest and authenticity
of his record Lord Macaulay himself lays the greatest stress,
— what becomes of tlie Whig historian's own elaborate and
violent Topketising of Dundee ?'

And surely it is better evidence than that upon which
Wodrow has canonized King William, — a specimen of Wod-
rdwana, by the way, bo delectable, that we cannot forbear
affording our readers the amusement of comparing it with
the Prebyterian lady's testimony in favour of the " hero-fiend."
Wodrow refers to a time when his Majesty was campaign-
There was a barn near by the Sing's tent, to which he was
irequently observed to retire, every moruiug almost. A sol-
:dier, who noticed it, was very earnest to know what the King
iras a-doing; and found means to get into the barn next
morning before the King, and hide himself beneath some
pottles of straw, and lie very close. He observed the Euig
oome in, and shut the door behind him ; and take out of hia

licet a little bible, and read upon it, standing, for near half

hofir; and several times took his eyes off it, and looked up
rto heaven, This he closeJ, and kneek-J down and prayed

" Althoagh llie mamiHrB cannat exictly be lemiucl conteniponuieou*, yet they
••re oompilsd bo very recently itter the dste of the tmiwuliuiu recordis], and
fnm HMb uncuvptioaable aourccs, as to BfTord the most ubiificlory goarantee for
their Milheoticity ; while the general caudoiir uud iiiipartialitj' M llie nari'atiTp,
and the additloiial liglit thrown apon tho uumDera and state of eocielj iliirin); tlie
a«TMlle«ti(li century, niuM reader them an >ccFplab)e aildilioD to aDtiijuarlan Ute-
ralure. There is do reaaoa to doubt that the author was John Dnimmoud, one ol
tlia family of Dnimmoud of Balhaldy, in Stirlingshire ; but whether he iraa tho
ETMidaoii ur great-grandson of Sir Ewan Cameron, or whether he was tlie pro-
prietor of Balhaldy, or only a yonnger brother, does not stem perfectly ™rt«iD." —
BdUcr-t pTffiMtt fo iffluin of Sir Kuan CrMrr,,,,.

34 MEMORIALS OF THE

moet fervetttly, and weeped very much. Then he aroee, uiil

took another book out of his pocket, which he said was
FlavelVs piece on the heart. Aud after he had read upon that
for about a quarter of an hour, he put it up, aud prayed Tory
shortly, staudiiig on his feet, but most fervently, with many
tears. And, after all, wiped his eyes and his face, aud opened
the door and went out. This was a gi-eat conviction to tlie
fellow, who did not think that kings hud prayed any."^

• Kow much has Lord MacaulayH historj' suffered, by his not
studying a Httle more cloBoly the authors upon whom he re-
lies I " Of the sociahleuess of Charles the Second," he tella
us, " Wilham was entirely destitute. He seldom came forth
from his closet ; and when he appeared m the public rooms,
he stood among the crowd of courtiers and ladies stern and
abstracted, making no jest, and stniUng ai none.* His freezing
look, his silence, the dry and concise answers which he uttered
when he could keep silence no longer, disgusted noblemen
and gentlemen who had been accustomed to lie slapped on the
back by their royal masters, called Jack or Harry, congratu-
lated about race-cnps, or rallied about actresses. The women
missed the homage due to their sex. They obwrved that the
King spoke in a somewhat imperious tone even to the wife to
whom he owed so much, and whom he sincerely loved and
esteemed.* They were amused aud shocked to see him when
the Princess Anne diueJ with him, and when the first green
peas of the year were put on the table, devour the whole dish

■ Wudrow (hue slates his anlliority :— " Mr Andrew Fullerton tells me he bad
thia scnonnt of King Williani rroin Mr Varttair; whg owl with the King in tlw
cwnp M llio liait."—AHnltcl'i, vol. i. p. Efi4.

' WoJrow given UB this very different portr»it of King WiiliBm : —
" About tlic 1G95, Sir William Cunningham of Cunninglinnilicad was standing in
the King's ronm, the King and Qacen present, Portland, and some otliera. Tbs
King cast his eye on Sir Willtsm.iDd said, ■ 1 know Sir William iaa Scotsmno, but
pray what part uf Scotland is heV Portland ■nsu'ered, ' Sir, he is a west country
gentleman.' The King looking Xo him, louektd hit tiott viA kii fingtr, and imiling,
said, < Sir William, I warrant yon a great Whig ! ' and went tii hia coiich. Port-
land, in going out, suid, ■ Sir William, jon was as much on if the King \a<l called
yon BWODlheBrt."'^^na/cF(a, vol. i. p. 304.

* Aud to whom he was most unfaitlirul,— a notorious fact, which Lord Mncaulay
is pleased lo treat most lender!)' as regards King William, however necessary he
mighl (teem it lo expose and execmlP the infidelities of llie two last Sluai't*.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 36

without offering a Hpoonful to her Royal Highness ; aud thoy
prououDced that this soldier and politician waa no better than
a Low Dutch hear."*

The good but curious centurion in the straw had greatly
the advantage of " the crowd of courtiers and ladies" in the
presence chamber. They ought to have seen the royal glut>
ton of green peas, whom thoy so griovoUBly misunderstood,
Butfering, " every moniiug almost," under the agonizing in-
fluence, not of the peas, hut uf his own solitary and seraphic
exercises. They should have witnessed his tears, and inward
strife, l>eside the pottles of straw. They should have gazed
npon him , with reverential affection, as he " wiped his eyes,
and his face,' and opened the door, and went out." Then
would they, and Lord Macaulay, have bettor known how to
value the gem of 1688, — the thrice blessed Protestant King
of Qlencoe, and Presbyterian worshipywr in a bam.

Two great historical works passing through the press at the
same time, by authors of the same school of polities, recog-
nizing each other in those stately comjiliments which Lord

' HiU. vol. iii. p. 51 ; niiil B •crj' anund juilginent il wu, by Lord lifac.ialay'ii
own sliuwing. Wodmw, linweTcr. |irp»ciila uf wilh Ihis pirlui-e of liia tact Knd
DWDnere : — " Mr Audrew FullcrtuD lulJ iiic, likewiw, he bnti i( froia giiod hiudt,
tlutt ona momtiig vlivn llic King wu in his clonet, •nine Sciitnaeii fall a-gpe>kiiig
to Uw King uient hlr Caretiira, and Iboy told him it wu tEie mind of hi< bust
fiicnd* be (liotild be removed frvra ibout him ; and the English BiBho|s w«n>
ttkiDg ombn^e tliat he Bhouid have w much nf. iiin ear. The King g«va thero
M awwer. Williin a while tlie King came rorlli la the Cliamber nf Presence,
and the un-wiilora, nDbility and otiier*, made a lane for lilni to go tliruugli Ihem.
At tho entry uf the iaiia Mr Carsluira Mood. Tlie King bowed bi all as he came
Ihrougb them ; and wlivu he came near to Mr Curatain, he put out hia tiand to
blm, and aaid in the hearing of all, ' Honest William Cumlair*, how it all with Uiee
Ihl* iDOraing I' Tliiawai aniwer enougli la his acciuen."— ^najfcfx, vol. i. p. 264.
Thia, we prcMime, waa the mode iu which King William " slapped on the back" hia
bvuUT«<l cnurtirrs.

> According to Uie following anecdote of Wodro«'% King William eliould also
have wiped the |>1kce wIiok he had ticen standing : —

•• Mr Kaslie lelh ine, thai when King William was in llallnnd, ha had giiod nu.
■ from some of his serTant*. tliat, either bnfiire be eunc to England or wax
10 the war, he was observed long in privale doMt at praj-er ; and when tlin
the plaoe wliera lia leaned, it mm aii *«< mlA lian.'" — Amtlrtta,

36 MEMOItlAIi OF THE

Macaulay and Mr John Hill Burton have iuterchanged,' ana

yet showing at totally oppoait-e points of the compass with
regard to the characteristics of such a figure in history as
Viscount Dundee, certainly causes the historic muse to look
extremely foolish. Hand in hajjd with Mr Burton, she il-
lustrates in lofty language the " fanaticism of a gentleman."
Uahered by Lord Macaulay, she forgets her dignity, and foams
at the mouth, in her excit€d proclamation of the styles and
titles of the " chief of this Tophet." It will be instructive to
cull from the latter all that terrific Macaiilese about the Vis-
count of Dundee.

1. He was " the murderer," by right of having put to death
with tiia own hand, and " in a fury," the " Christian Carrier,"
every man of bis three troops of dragoons, composed of " Apol-
lyon and Beelzebub," having refused to commit that crime.
2. He was " rapacious and profane, of violent temper, and
obdurate of heart." 3. He " has left a name which, wherever
the Scottish race is settled on the face of the globe, is men-
tioned with a i>eculiar energy of hatred." 4. " To recapitu-
late all the crimes, by which this man, and men like him,
goaded the peasantry of the western shires into madness,^

> Mr Burton, in liii woU written llislor; of the Revoliilion (Vol. ii. |i. 507, nott),
deMgnntCB Lord Mncaul*y " the Rrat historian uf our da}." This was soon After
the publication of tho two first volumea of his Ilistury of Elagland. Lard Macaulay
relurna the coniplimeut in his third volume (p. 355), by refurring to " Mr Borten's
Taluahle Histsry of Scotlanil." Wb presume tbey are Loth Scotelimen.

* Into what sort of madm-Bs I The madiiiaH, for inatauoe, of murdenDg Atch-
bishop Sharp I Lord Macaulay seems to say so ; for he has faToured us wiiti thia
apologttie record of that horrible crinie : — " In Scotland, some of ttie iicrtcculal
VomuiT-lfrt, dnven mad by njiprcsBion, had lately murdered llic Primate, iiad
taken arms against the GovemmcDt, had obtained tfome advantagifs against the
King'a forces, and liad not been put down, till Monmouth, at the bead of some
troops from England, had ruuled them at Bolhwell Bridge. These ztalvU were
most numerous among tho rueties of tlie Western Lowlands, who were vulgarly
called WjSi^."_(ilist. vol. i. p. 257.) Now, were these " lealots" originally an
ianocent, i>caceable " peasantry," until " goaded into maduess" by Colonel Graham
of ClaverhoQBO I Or, were they not the very « clan of nfiuiiaOt" whom he else-
where describes as those who *■ wanted not onlif freedom of conscionce for them-
selves, but abiolMti dominion oter Ihe conicitncit of othtn" J The very men of
whom he says, " to reasons such as guide the conduct of statesmen and generals,
ihe minds of these aaloli were abioiultly imptrviiiut" ? (See h//ore, pp. 12, 13 )
Was his mud character a cretition of Claverhoase'Sj—carvgd by him, with a butcher's

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

37

I

^^m ii|»<

would Iw an eudlese task." 5. He carried witbiu his breast a
" seared conscience, and an adamantine heart," 6. He was
" the man of blood, whose name was never mentioned but
with a shudder at tlie hearth of any Presbyterian family."

7. He was " haunted by that consciousness o£ inexpiable guiU,
and by that dread of a terrible retribution, which the ancient
polytheists personifled under the awful name of the Furiea."^

8. " His old troopers, the Solans and Beehebuba who had
shared his crimes, were ready to be the companions of his
flight.' 9. " The Covcnantfcrs of the west hated Dunilec with
deadly hatred.' In their part of the coimtry, the memory of
his cruelty was fitill fresh. Every village had its own tale
of blood. The grey-headed father was missed in one dwelling,
— the hopeful stripling in another.' It was remembered but
too well how the dragoons had stalked into the peasant's cot-
tage, cursing, and damning Aim, themselves, and each other, at
every second word ; pushing from the ingle-nook his grand-
mother of eighty ; and thrusting their hands into the bosom
of his daughter of sixteen ; how the abjuration Iiad been l-cn-
dered to him ; how he had folded liis arms, and said, ' Ooil's
will Ije done ;'^ how the CoUmd had called for a file with loadud

knife, out of an inicrcsiing, iDOoeent, vroitem p«uunt 1 Etcd Lord MiciuUy
eannM write noDKnw wit)i impunity.

> Hist. vol. iii. pp. 270, S«0. Il ii almoit ii««11du to nole, thM lliia ii > pure in-
roDliou or the poetical hiatoriui's own ImiginaUon. Ai also !■ tliat aboul s " ihiid-
icfMt the hearth oSanfPrt^-t/ttriait/afUy!" It iBBciircel)' Turin Lord MacsaU;
Id wield against poor ClaTerliuuse botli the ChriEtiau denionology and the heatlMn
mythology. Such r»lundanl imngcry is wliat Mr Hill Burtoii would call " uBon-
avely pruneiil."

> Theec are the " xealols" again. Did Ilieeo " alniird and ferocious men" boMow
their " deadly hatred" upon nobody but Dundra I

■ But, may we aik, whellier this " grey-headed aire," and " liopoFul scrip-
HoK," wera innocent peasants, or Ibe murderous zealota ■* of tlie west T" Was M
tbia a acene in a peiLsant's cottage berore tHilng " goaded into rtuidnAte,'^ tjr aftrr t
Before, or afKr, the full of tlie wratcin peasanlry from thoir «tat« of pmcc'rul
ionooenca into that of tlie " absurdity and femcity" of marderera and assuitii* t
In oitlicr ease, however, no one can approve of the ciiiduct of tlio diii)!iH>n « li<i
" pushed" tliD very old woman from the flnwido.and disturbed, widi iiutialloHed
hauda, the fahit of the Tery young one. We must doubt ouy liiiiig uf iliu kind
having eccurred in tlie presence of CUtcrhouM, whow " fanaticism was llial "f liic

IiiAiliiun of IliE limiM " had bcUer,
i»-j, and taken tlia oatli absolfioft

88 MEMORIALS OF TUE

inuaketfl ; and huw, iu three uiiuutes, the gowlman of the
house had been wallowing in a pool of blood at his own door.
The seat of (Ae martyr was etill vacant at the fire-side ; and
every child could point out hie grave, still green amid the
heath. When the peitple of this region called their oppressor
a servant of the Devil, they were not speaking figuratively.
They believed that between the bad man and the bad artgel
there was a close alliance on definite tenns ; that Dundee had
hound himself to do the work of Hell on earth, and that, for
high purposeB, hell was permitted to protect its slave till the
measure of his guilt should be full."'

If this he History, then is History a seneeless and a savage
ntt. Fantastical in the delineation, disagreeable in style, and
manifestly fictitious in fact, — that last paragraph, especially,
would discredit any page of history, however accomplished
the genius that directed the pen. The idealized Tt^hetism of
a trooper's " damning," divided into three sections to heighten
the effect t The octogenarian grandmother in the ingle-nook,
— the grey-headed father, — the hopefid atripHng, — the invaded
bosom of the daughter of sixteen, — and then, " the Colonel" I
crowning tliese infernal orgies with Ms celebrated word of
command, — Death-file to the front — abjure — make ready

present — fire ! The pool of blood ; — scene, a peaceful pea-
sant's cottage ; — time, just three minutes by the devil's deatli-
tickt

bimseir rrom proclamHlions of war BgsiDSl the Tlirone, *nd poblUbed incsniives la
murder all aitliereaU of tlie munarclij'. No reully good and iuDncent dud, or
woman eitlior, poucued of tlicir senses, ever refused io takti that oatll of nbjara-
^un in Suullnud.

> t^onBult llie indices to Lord Mscaulsy's volumee, for all hia ruiciful and friglil-
ful cliaracterislics of ClaveilioDSC, rute Dundee. He seems to consider, that anl;t
to the ImuU KobUsK of loiters does the privilege belong of heaping aliufte upon the
great personHges of history. In tlie year 1 S^!, an entbusiastie but trulliful ehro-
Dicler of fsmily history, who is liumble enungh nut to give IiU name, published a
Totume, which ha entitled, " Account of the Clsn M'Lesn, by a Seneacliie." The
noble author of the latest liislory of England, who will bear no brother near
the throne of historic vitupemlion, cundescends to be down upon Ihe unfortunate
Senrachie's (orero charncteriaties of the Marqnis of Argyle ; and after quoting
all hia JDdigTiant but wcll-meiited expresuons of obloquy, he thus extirguishea tlie
tamilj bard of St'Lcun : — " II is a happy thing, tlut jinwioRf u ri-Jii-l can now
Tent themsehe'! u"(y in HuMin^."— (Hiat. vol, iil p. 3in, note ) Hiil I>ird Mnmu-
lay heat* the Scnenrliie altogether iu the same line.

VlS«)DfiT OF DUNDEE. 3?

We venture to say tliat such a eceue never occurred at all,
under any Colonel's command of the period. We shall prove
to demonstration, that, in so far as regards Colonel Graham
of Ciaverhouse, it is a foul calumny. But these modem Dous
of political letters, supreme judges presiding in the grand
tribunals of history, are apt to take liberties with her Land-
maidens, truth and justice. Some gross exaggeration, some
baseless violence, some glaring inconsistency, ever and anon
startles us into the suspicion that they are but conceited cou-
stitutiouolists after all, and not very fair historians. A de-
termined searcher for the fact, in reference to some detail
on which they have fancied it safe to run riot, soon learns to
estimate at his own price their higliflown exaggerations, and
to disregard their loudest thunder. There is somothing de-
moralizing in all this. It is apt b) engender an undue distrust
of all history, such as is said to have haunted Lord North, and
an irreverent and unl>ecoming disdain for all those high attri-
butes of the great historian, eloquence and fervour, point and
polish, which render history no less attractive than instructivi^.
Tlie tcmjier it provokes, doubtless undidy, reminds us of a good
Btory which actually happened not a himdred years ago. A
distinguished leader of the Bar of Scotland was in anxious
uuusultalion, upon an appeal from the Court of Session, with
a member of the English Bar, no less distinguished as a leader
there. The long-headed logical .Scot proiKised to forbear ar-
guing a particular point in the cause. " Why so ?" said his
Bouthom colleague". " Because," replied the other, " the point

is untemtble." " Mr ," rejoined the pink of Westminster

Hall, mth a lisp and languid sigh which remlered the unduli-
ful apophthegm doubly piquant, — " never flinch from a point

becauRc of Bench or Woolsack, — Judges are such d il

' fiwU."

40

MEMORIALS OF THE

3. Binhop Bumet'is charwleristu-s uf Dundee. Lord Macaulay'ii
cltamcteristics of Bishop Burnet. TTie Bishop's charac-
ieristice ofhitmelf.

TJiis Right Reverend historical libertine lias not given ua
much about Dundee, of the details of whose military service,
in the disturbed districts of Scotland, he was doubtless alto-
gether ignorant. The little he has said is strangely ill in-
formed, and essentially malicious. Burnet was a sycophant
of the House of Hamilton ; and therefore most inimical to the
name and lame of the House of Montrose. The one clear-
minded prophet, of that duplicity in the conduct of the first
Duke of Hamilton which jiroved fatal to his benefactor Charles
the First, was the great Marquis, Therefore the unscrupulous
apologist of Dnke Hamilton and his brother Lanerick, thns
writes of their triumphant denouncer. " The Marquis of Mon-
trose's success was very mischievous, and proved the ruin of the
King's affairs ;" and after amusing the reader with some of his
pleasant gossip, he adds, — " His (the King's) affairs declined
totally in England that summer ; and Lord Hollis said to me,
aU was owing to Lord Montrose's unhappy successes" 1 This
paradox is the fiuishing touch to a sketch composed of various
sly and malicious noticesof Montrose, in which theclerical artist
would persuade us, that the predominant features of that hero's
mind were, a mischievons spirit of ridiculous enterprise arising
from a weak superstition, and a vain affectation of heroism
checked and paralyzed by his personal timidity in the Jield I
Well might filial piety, more tender of the Bishop's reputation
than he was of that of others, suppress such a sentence as the
following ; " Montrose, in his defeat, took too much care of
himself ; for he was never jvilltng to expose himself too miich."^

From the pen of such a chronicler, no fair or trutliful re-
cord of Graham of Claverhouse could possibly lie expected.
He professes not only to have known him personally, but to

' In tbo origiiinl edition of Ihc Bi»ihap'i " Own Time,'' this diigraceTuI puiago
n-aa BUpprcseed hy the editor, tliu Bisliop's KtD. Bui it lias bven rcilared in the
cdilian of IKS?, jiiihlisheil Ml Oxfori), with llio vulutblo ntargiDBl note* from tlie
MSS. uf Lnrvl KurlTiioutli, Dcul Suifl, mil others. See vol. i. p. 71.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 4 1

have posseseed his coiifideuce at the critical period of tlio
advent of King William. " Tbe Episcopal party in Scotland
(1688)," lie says, " saw themselves under a great cloud. So
they resolved all to adhere to the Enrl of Dnudoe, who had
served some years iu Holland, and was both an able officer,
I and a man of good parts, and of some very valuable virtusH.
Sut, as he was proud and ambitious, so bo had taken up a
most violent hab-ed of the tohoJe Presbyterian parti/; and liad
I executed all the severest orders against them with gmat
rigour;^ oven to the shooting many on the high-way that
I refused the oath required of them," Such intentionally vague,
and malicious slip-slop it is that engenders liistory like this, —
" Those shires iu which the Covenanters were most numerous
were given, up to the licence of the army." Wo are further in-
formed by the Bishop, that, — " The Earl of Dundee had been
at London, and Iiad fixed a correspondence both with England
and France ; though he had employed me to carry messages
from him to the King, to know what security he might ex-
pect if be should go and live in Scotland, witbout owning bis
Government. The King said, if he would live peaceably, and
at home, he would protect liim. To this he answered, that,
unless lie wore forced to it, he woidd live quietly. But he
went down with oth^ resolutions, and all tbe party resolved
to submit to his command. Upon bie coming to Edinburgh
h.6 pretended he was in danger from those armed multitudes.
And BO he left the Conventicm, and went up and down tbe
Higldands, and sent his agents about to bring together what
force he could gather. This set on tbe conclnaion of tbe de-
bates of the Convention.""

If Burnet really was on any terms of intimacy with Dundee,

be must have known well how meanly, how falsely, he was

recording the noblest and most interesting public character of

the period. Yet so little does he appear to have known aiiout

him, that be invariably names tbe Viscount " Earl nf Dundee."

' The fai^t is, tho Bishop cherished in secret a [let scandalous

[ ehronicle of bis own, intended to be published after bis dcatlt,

I wherein bo took, from time to time, a hasty and safe revenge

■ Tha T«7 contmry is tb* tnilli, m «n shall ■bow.

* Biuiuil'i Own Tloif, rnL iii. p. .tn.'i ; ind, vol. ir, ji. .in.

43 UEMORIALS OF TlIK ^^H

upon all who happened to cross las humour, Lord Dartmouth
notes, — " Mr Secretary Juhnston, who was his (Burnet's) inti-
mate frieud and near relation, told me, that, after a debate in
tlie House of Lords, he usually went Iiome, and altered every
iTod/s character as they harl pleased or diaplcased him that
day." We happen to possess the means of strongly corrobora-
ting, even under the Bishop's own band, this severe Bentence,
Let U8 premise, however, I^ord Macaulay's extraordinary
characteristics of Burnet.

In vain has that historian provided him with a character,
for truth, disinterestedness, generosity, and manly courage,
such as was never bestowed upon him by any one else, save
by the Bishop himself. " Though often misled by prejudice
and passion he was emphatically an honest man."* We deal
with the historian and care not for the man. " Prejudice and
Passion," fine conventional terms, include in this case a host
of petty iniquities, composing the historian Burnet, which it
would scarcely have squared witJi that emphatic eulogium ta
particularize. Even as stated, the plausible admission is
utterly inconsistent with the idea of an honest historian. The
man ofien misled by prejudice and passion, sacrifices truth to
his prejudice, and honesty to his passion. But, proceeds
Lord Macaulay, " though he was not secure from the seduc-
tions of vanity, his spirit was raised high above the influence
either of cupidity or fear." About as true this, as the same
noble dispenser of characters' fiat against Ihindee. In his two
wealthy marriages we can discover no symptoms of this prelate
being raised any higher above the influence of cupidity than
he was above the influence of Cupid ; and as for the rest, we
shall prove in the sequel that he was at heart an arrant coward.
What further ? " His nature was kind, generous, grateful, for-
giving." Was this demonstrated by the characters he left (not
to mention others of less note) of Charles the First, Charles
the Second, and James the Seventh, to be published after his
own death ? Lord Macaulay, in a note, adds this astounding
testimony. " No person has contradicted Burnet more fre-
quently, or with more asi»erity, than Dartmouth ; yet Dorl-
tnoiitk eay«, — ' I do not think he ilcsigncdlv published any-

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

43

I ^hing he believed to be false.' " The wrong witness called into
I court by a blunder I We liave beard mucb of the noble his-
torian's extensive reading and unbounded historical knowledge.
Upon this occasion, however, he hod read Lord Dartmouth
conveniently short. True, that critical nobleman, after per-
using the portion of Burnet's history first publiahsd, noted on
the margin, — " He was estreuiely partial, and readily took
every thing for granted that be heard to the prejudice of those
that he did not like ; which made him pass for a man of less
I truth than be really was : I do not think he designedly pub-
I lisbed anything he believed to be false." But ^\hen bis Lord-
[ ship had perused the rest, he notes that more decided opinion
< which bad escaped Lord Macaulay's reading : " I wrote in the
I first volume of this book, that I did not believe the Bishop
gnedly published any thing be bebevcd to be false ; thcre-
L fore think myself obliged to write in this, that I tLm/ully aatis-
|l jEm2 that he published many things that he knew to be so." And,
7 vpou the concluding prayer of this celebrated performance,
I the same critic remarks, — " Thus piously ends the most par-
rtial, malicious, heap of scandal and misrepresentation, that
[ was ever collected for the laudable design of giving a false
I impression of persons and things to all fnture ages." The
I Bishop himself would mthcr have dispensed with that witness
\ to character. '

Lord Dartmouth knew Burnet better than Lord Macaiday

' Lord Macoula)' only diacorered his eivn gmai blunder nfter two editiona of Iha
two firat ToEumes of his Biitory were in (he huode of the public!. For In Ibe Mrd
•ditiun thv note abnvo caminenlcd up<i[i appean in this uMrndal ftmn ; " No per-
Ho has contnidictod Burntil more frequenlly, of tritli mare uperity, (lisn Diul'
Bwa^, Yel Du-ttnoQib taya ' I do not Uiiuk be deaignedly publisbed uiy (hiog
b* belH»*d to be false.' Al a laler period, Dartmaulh. provoked by >ome remarka
OD binutelf, in the Kcond voluma at the Biflinp'i biatnry, relracted k'u praite ; but
IB luch retnetioa tUUi impoiiatet on be attached" I This ia not a very moceu-
IW or ingDDUouB oobbla. Wliat pra'iH did Lord Dartmouth relract t His justly
■■Ten! notes on Burnet contain not a particle of prai«e. The noble auihiir, who aiiubs
Ihrtmouthin order In cover a blunder of bin own, doiw not ocnfeis thai blunder, which
■ppetu* in two edition* of hii work, and ■■ careful not to give the words of Lord
Oartmoultra rrfmsfioa, but thiDka lo redoem his own fake portion by an uuworlliy.
Mid tTBDsparBnt attack upou the truth of tlie noble author whom he had mi abaunlly
anaqnoted. tjinipare Lord Maciiiilay's lllat-iry, vol, ii. p. 177. n-ruH'/ mliiiini, with
■Dm UlaM •dilicin, *nl. ii.

I

44 HEUOBtALS OF TDK

docs. Bat the latter continuea multiplying his characteristiua
as if none but he had really fathomed the Bisliop.

" Hia faults had made liim many enemies, and his virtuea
many more." What a world we live in 1 But no matter ; in
another page we have the reverse of that medal. " Burnet
was a man warmly loved, as well as warmly hated. The great
majority of the Whigs stood firmly hy Iiim ; and his ffood
nature, and generoaity, had made him friends even among the
Tories." What between vice and virtue, friends and foes,
whiga and tories, the Bishop must have fared well after all.
" He was not naturally a man <ji fine feelings ; and the life
which he had led, had not tended to make tlit-m finer." He
was afflicted then, we presume, ■nith an " obdurate, adman-
tine heart," and " scared conscience" ? No such thing. Turn
the medal, or the page, agam. Tillotsoii died. " Burnet
preached tlie funeral sermon. His kind and howst Jieart was
overcome by so many tender recollections, that, in tlie midst
of hia discourse, he paused, and burst info tears, while a
loud moan of sorrow rose from the whole auditory." But
neither are we to suppose that this interesting divine, so ob-
tuse of feeling, yet so tender hearted, so warmly loved, and
at the same time so warmly hated, had not, fully earned the
latter estimate also. " Burnet was allowed, even by friends
and admirers, to be the most officious and mdiscreet of man-
kind." He was " a pushing, talkative divine, who was always
blabbing secrets, asking impertinent questions, obtruding un-
asked advice," — and, as Lord Dartmouth, who knew him bet-
tor still, would have added, secretly recording lies. Moreover,
continues Lord Macaulay, " he had that character which
satirists, novelists, and dramatists, have agreed to ascribe to
Irish adventurers. His high animal spirits, his boastfulnesa,
hia undissembled vauity, his propensity to blunder, his un-
abashed audacitj', alforded inexhaustible subjects of ridicule
to the Tories. Nor did hia enemies omit to compliment him,
sometimes with more pleasantry than delicacy, on the breadtli
of his shoulders, tlie thickness of his calves, and his success
in matrimonial projects ou amorous, and opulent widows."

What a monster 1 Surely Ihcse last named fortuuate ac-
cpssurics ahmr pniffctcd Iiiin from !i .'^imiilliuicoup rising of

I

I
I

I

■

I

k

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 46

frienda and foes to thrust liim out of society ? Mot at all.
He had been admitted to familiar conversation both with
Charles and James ; had Kved on terras of close intimacy with
several distinguished statesmen, particularly with Halifax ;
and had been the spiritual director of some persons of the
highest note." And that " sagacious Priuce," King Willinm,
though fully sensible of the Pandora's boxful of vicious quali-
ties which Lord Macaulay has so cruelly let loose to the
Bishop's shame, " perceived that he was nevertheless an up-
right, couragfous, and able man, well acquainted with tho
temper and the views of British sects and faction." Neither
will his friendly but most damaging eulogist, who had pro-
Dounced him " emplwHccdli/ an honest man," but " full of
passion and prejudice," leave his posthumous chronicles with-
out a severe correction also. Lord Macaulay assumes King
William to have been guiltless of the massacre of Glencoe,
but adroitly admits against him " a great fault, — a fault
amounting to a crime," — lo-wit, that he did not immolate the
Uastor of Stair to the manes of that glen-full of murdered
Bcotchmen I " Burnet," he adds, " tried to frame, not a de-
fence, but an excuse. He would /laoe na believe, that the
King, alarmed by finding how many persons had home a pait
in the slaughter of Glencoe, thought it better to grant a gene-
ral amnesty than to punish one massacre by another. But
this representation is the, very reverse o/tlie truth." But what
matters it. Lord Dartmouth may note what he pleases of the
Bishop debauching the historic muse according to hia own
variable humour after a debate in the Lords ; still, Lonl
Macaulay triiuupliantly records, tliat, " Burnet had been ex-
horted, in the name of the Commons of Kngland, to con-
I tinae his historical researches."^ We must now continue our

■ Wodrow, la Ilia Analtela, i. 374, thiu indinteB the grnenl reputation which
Bomel euJD;e<l u a Tiiilhfu] chronicler: "April, I7IU. I un told that Kaliop
BuniDl bslh uvenl large cDlleclions rrlativu la tile Church History in Scullaiiil,
■ad tho BuntinuBtion of the HisUirj at tlie Rerumuition ill England, ten or twelve
foUo* in print ready for tlio pren, which be will order to bo publisliud rttn ^/ dirt,
but mver lill llien, and therein he ri/f km thr jr<aUit vf/ntdom in mailer of f net.
A euriotu reputatiou for a man to have acqnjnd who, acmrding lo Lord Macaulay,

nplinl

46 MEMOKIALS OF THE

The following very curious " Memorandum," which hu I
never yet entered History, was written by this notorious pre-
late of mendacioua memory. It refers to the fearful crigis occa-
sioned by the Rye-House plot. The date is immediately after
the suicide of Essex, and on the eve of the execution of Lord
Bussell, It is addressed to John Brisbane, Esq., Secretary of \
the Admiralty, a very distinguished public servant, who was
the husband of Margaret, Baroness Napier in her own right.
Hence it is that tlie curious and instructive document we are
about to quote, has been preserved in the Napier archives,
where it yet remains. It is the oru/inal, and all in the hand-
writing of Buniet. The Memorandum is incloBed within tha^
following note i

" Dear Sir,

" I have writ the inclosed paper with as much order as
the confusion I am under can allow. 1 leave it to you to shew
it to my Lord HaHfax, or the King, as you think fit, only I
beg you will do it as soon as may 1)6, that, in case my Lord
Russell sends for me, the King may not be provoked against me
by that. So, Dear Sir, adieu.

" Memorandum for Mr Brisbane.
" To let my Lord Privy Seal know that out of respect to '
him, I do not come to him,' That I look on it as a great
favour, that when so many houses were searched mine waa
not, in which though nothing could have been found, yet it
would have marked me as a suspected person. That I never
was in my whole life under so terrible a surprise and so deep
a melancholy as the dismal things these last two or three days
has brought forth spreads over my mind ; for God knows I
neveraomMAas^iMpecferf any such thing; all I feared was only
some rising if the King should happen to die ; and ihfit I only

' Ixird HBlifiix. IF Bumet, aa he lelli lu in Iiis History, «u iu [he hKbit, be-
fore and aftpr the date of Ihia letter, of beardiug in their Jena both the King uid
the heir-presumptive, why bo eeretnoniotis willi the Privy Seal ! Besides, Lord
Macaulny inrormig as, " Halifax and Bui-net had lotig been on terms of friend-
ship ;" and " Halifax often incurred Burnet's indignant cenaare." Burnet himself
n-nuld have us believe so ; and }'et, in tlie above letter, lie is crawling to the feet
.if llaiifna.und lUc Kin<;, tiirough tlie intervciitlfHi of u IhirJ party !

VISCOIIM OF DUNDEE.

47

i out of the obvious things that every body sees as well aa
I do,^ and to prevent that took more pains than perhaps any
man in England did, in particular with my unfortunate friends,
to let them see that nothing brought in Popery so fast in
' Queen Mar/a days as the business of Lady Jane Grey, which
! gave it a greater advance in the first month of that reign than
I otherwise it is likely it would have made during her whole
I life. So that I had not the least suspicion of this matter; yet
I if my Lord Russell calls for my attendance now, / canttot de-
cline iV,' hut shall do my duty with that fidelity as if any Privy-
CouiiBellor were to overliear all that shall pass betwon us.

" I am upon this occasion positively resolved never to have
any thing to da more with men of business, particularly with
any in opposition to the Court, but will divide the rest of my
life between my function and a very few friends, and my
laboratory ; and upon this / pass my word and faith to you,
and that being given under my hand to you, I do not doubt but
j/ou wiU make the like engagements in my name to the KtTig;
and I hope my Lord Privy Seal will take occasion to do the
! like, for I think he will believe me. I ask nor expect nothing
but only to stand clear in the Kin^s thoughts. For preferment ,
1 am resolved against it, tko' I could obtain it ;' but I beg not
to be more under hard thoughts ; especially since in all this
discovery there has not been so much occasion to name me as
to give a rise for a search ; and the friendship I had with these
two,* and their confidence in me in all other things, may show

' It !■ itMy curiou* (a ccmpire this •olemn dcclarttion, of hia porfect ignonuico
of die ezUteDceof K coospincy, vith Ihe IliMorj of his Own Time, mu)y pa»age«
oT which prove tluil lie (»> particulHrlj- cogni7Anl ot a dark rcvolatioaarj' schenie,
Uwagb to wlut EXietil ia UDccrUin. Indeed, Lin nioBt iDtimate rricDds vere tlie
leading cotupiratora.

« Yet by hi» ItiMory we ai-e led (o believe that BarnefB atlendanee on Lonl
Itnwtll ID hU Ual tnomenta was a daring act of RiBgDapimouB friendship.
Speaking of Ilia coiuin BaillJe of Jervisvood, who waa impriwoied at Uio aame time,
ha my», — " 1 aim, at hia deaire, sent him book* fur liia eDterlaintneDl, for whicli I
«M threatened willi a priaon, I nid I wsa Ilia ncareal kinsman in Ihe plaeo, and

Ilhia wa* only to do aa 1 would be dnne by. From what I found among the Scou,
1 qaieWd Ihe (ean of Lord Ruaaell'i frienda." The Bishop had enough to du, it
would aeem, lo i»ul kit otmfeart.
• ■■ When the Dovil fell lick, Uie Devil a monk would be,
When the Devil got well, Ihe Drvil a monk wn- he."
• EM-t tXlJ Ituwll.

48 MKMURIALS OF THE ^^^|

that they knew I was not to be spoke to in any thing again^ i
mi/ duty to the King. ^ I do beg of you that no discourse may
be made of tliis, for it would look like a sneaking for some-
what ; and you in particular know how far that it is from my
heart ; therefore I need not heg of you, nor of my Lord Hali-
fax, to judge aright of this message ; hut if you con rnake t/ie
King think well of it, and say nothing of it,^ it will be the
greatest kindncfis you cau possibly do me. I would have done
this sooner, but it might have looked tike fear or guilt ; so I
forbore hitherto, but now I thouglit it tit to do it. I choose
rather to writ* it than say it, both that you might have it
under my hand, that you may see how sincere I am in it, as
also because I am now bo overcharged with melancholy that
I can scarce endure any company, and for two nights have
not been able to sleep an hour. One thing you may, as you
think fit, tell the King, that tho' I am too inconsiderable to
think I can ever serve him while I am ulive, yet I hope I shall
be able to do it to some purpose after I am dead; this you
understand^ and I will do it with zcal.^ So, my dear friend,

' But »ee the History of his own Time ! " LorJ Enex, baing in tho aountrir, I
want to him to warn bim of tho danger I feared Lord RubwII might be brought
into b; Mb conrcrsaUuu witli my countrymen. He divertod me from all my ippre-
bensiouB, and tuld me 1 might depend on it Lord Rutisol would be in nothing with-
out lequiiiuliug bini, and he seemed to agree enUrely icitk m thai a riling in tit
itale in rticA Ihingi ittre thtn iroaltl bt fatal, I alw&yB Baid that whan the root
of the constituiiou was struck at to be overturned, tlien I thought subjects might
defend lliemselves ; but I tliuuglit jealoDsiea and feara, and particular acta of in-
juatice could not warrant this. He did agree with me in (Ilia ; bo tliougbt the ob-
ligation between pi-iuee and iiuhject was to equally mutual, that, upon a breach on
tho one side, the other wiu free ; but though he thought (Le Ule injustice in Lon-
don, and the end that was driven at by it, did set them at liberty to look to them-
selves, yet be coufesned Ihini/t iterc not ripe (»ok;A yit, and that an ill-IaJd, and ill-
managed, Haing aauld be our ruin. 1 was then newly come from writing my His-
tory of the RefurmatioD, and did so evidently see that the Hiruggle for Ijidy Jane
Gray, and Wyat'a riuug, was that which threw the na^on bo quickly into Popery
after King Edward'a days, that 1 was now rcry apprekniiiw aflhii; besides that I
thought it mu i/et anlaK/ul." — Vol. ii. p. 15(i. It appoara from this and other paa-
lages of his History that Burnet ini> consulted.

■ This shows ineipnssibly mean in Burnet, ospccially compared with hia treat-
ment of the King in his poilJiimoai History.

• This and the concludiug paragraph of tho letter alludes to tiie History of his
Own Time, which he waa then weaving. When, however, tiiat poetliumoua work
■aw the hght, there appeared the moat villanons charactor of Charles II. it was
possible to draw. And the character of Cliarles L, given in that work, is most dis-
graceful to Bnruot ; Swift notes upon it, " not one good qoality named '."

I

viscoutrr of ddndee. 49

fpity your poor melancholy friend, who was never in hia whole

life under so deep an affliction ; for I tliitik 1 shall never en-

I joy myself after it ; and God knows death would be now very

] welcome to me.' Do not come near me for some time, for I

I cannot bear any company ; only I go oft to my Lady Essex

and weep with lier ; and, indeed, the King's carriage to her lias

been 80 great and worthy, that it can never be loo much ad'

mired; and lam sure, if ever I live tofnish what you know I

am about, it, and all (he other good things I can think o/, shall not

want all the light I can give them. Adieu, my dear friend, and

keep this as a witness against me if I ever fail in the per-

fofmaivct of it. I am, you know, with all the zeal and fidelity

possible, your most faithful and most humble Ser\'ant,"

-BoKdag Monixg, "Q. BURNET."

17(1 Jalj ICS3.'-

Burnet'e abject letter did not succeed. He was disgraced,
and obliged to go abroad. He became the most active agent
of the Hevolution, and obtained a mitre from King William.
' la his Life, prefixed to the History of his Own Time, it is
■aid, " His behaip-iour at the trial of the Lord Russell, bis atleu-
dance on him in prison, and afterwards upon the scaffold, the
examination he underwent before the Council, in relation t-o
that Lord's dying speech, and the boldness with which he
there undertook to vindicate hia memory, as also the indig-
nation the court expressed against him upon that occasion,
are all fidiy set forth in t/ie hielory." But it is impossible t«
credit that history, in such matters, after reading the above
letter ; which, be it observed, was to be made known to the
< King. Wlicre had Burnet miraculously found the courage
I which, as the danger thickened around him, made him so col-
I lected and daring, before that very King and his Council, as
to enrage them all ? " Lord HaJifax (be says) sent me word
that the Duke looked on my reading the journal (before the
Council) as a studied thing, to make a panegyric on Lord
^^^ Bussell's memi:>ry." Lord Halifax, for whom the letter had
^^L been written from our " poor melancholy friend" ! Credat
^^H JudcBW.

I

1
I

L

a

I

DfljMiclioljr rrioud I"

1 wnltby «

■ biahoprle, )«t In Marc fbr ««r

62 MEMOniAIS OF THE

his manuscripts in the Advocates' Library. TIio world was
not destined to be enlightened with the unique history which
that collection could have so amply famished. It is indeed a
voluminous and amusing medley of odd facts, characteriBtio
anecdotes, more or less ajHwrj'plial, the vilest of superstitions,
and the grossest of calumnies, all seemingly of equal impor-
tance in the estimation of this vulgar glutton of coarse and
canting gossip.

Hia published work appeared in the shape of two lumber-
ing folios, the first volume in 1721, and the second in 1722.
For a long time this clamorous and assuming publication was
unhonoured in the republic of letters ; indeed, of no account
whatever save with a sect who were willing to believe that
the dead made a sign, or a cow spoke, if Wodrow said it. It
was disregarded in England until Fox's jjosthumous fragment,
professing to be a history of the early part of the reign of
James the Second, was published in 1808. Sir Walter Scott,
in 1818, speaks of " the historian Wodrow, whom Mr Fox in-
troduced to the knowledge of the English, raising the price of
his two ponderous volumes from ten shil]ing,s to two or three
guineas." And verily there never was a certificate of charac-
ter less valuable than Fox's imprimatur on Wodrow's history.
Malcolm Laing, with whom the great statesman corresponded
while glowing with the ephemeral fancy of becoming a great
historian, probably had introduced him to the work of the
Martyrologist, upon whose authority Laing himself fondly
■leant. The political bias of Fox's elegant hut feeble frag-
ment, becomes manifest to any one who takes the trouble to
investigate, a little more closely than he did, the most authen-
tic contemporary sources of history, In recording the affairs
of Scotland anno 1685, of course, Charles Fox must devote
some pages to the " cruelty of Glovermnent." To a whig poli-
tician undertaking such a theme, Wodrow was invaluable.
Accordingly, that portion of Fox's narrative betrays a puerile
dependence upon Wodrow's records of the Sufferings of his
Kirk, — every page of which exhibits the marked charac-
teristics of apocryphal and calumnious history.

One of Wodrow's ingenious devices was, ever and anon to
interject a remark, in the long catalogue of his unvouched

VISCOUNT or DUNDEE.

5S

libels, to the effect, that he had left many tales uf cruelty uu-
told, because the full narrative would be interminable : " It
would swell this section t«o much," he says, " should I even in-
sert all the instances I have met with :" — " By those hints we
may some way guess at the ravages committed upon the neigh-
bouring parishes ; and indeed particular instances would be
endkss" : — " It would be endless almost to enter upon the
ravages and spulzies committed by the King's forces after the
engagement at Bothwell :" — " Midlitudes of instances, once
flagrant, are now at this distance lost. Not a few of them
were never distinctly known, Iteing committed in such circum-
Btancea as upon the matter buried them :" — " Many other bard-
RhipB wore they under, too long here to lie narrated:" — " No
doubt, in tfiis multitude of murders at this time, there are seve-
ral of them not come to my knowledge, and the reader hath
but short account of some of them ; but from the particular
and attested narrative of others, he may forin nn idea of the
rest:" — " I liave omitted many particulars and circumstances
of the severities of Clavcrhouse in the south country at this
time:* — " ShoulJ I run through all the particulars I have by
me, of the hardships and suverilies up and down ditferent
parishes these three or four months, this accoimt would run a
great length," &c. '

Now it is somewhat amusing to find this most convenient
mode, of renderiug calumny at once interminable and invul-
nerable, adopted by such giants as C'liarles Fox and Lord
Hacaulay. To recapitulate all the crimes," says the latter,
" by which this man (Dundee) and men like him, goaded the
peasantry of the Western Lciwlands into madness, would be
an endless task, and a few instances must suffice." Fox had
previously helped himself to the very same device. In his
celebrated testimony for Wodrow, whom ho slavishly follows,
he says, — " To recite all the instances of cruelty which occur-
red leoiibl be rndless; but it may he necessary to remark that
no historical facts are better ascertained than the Hccounta of
them that are to Iw found in Wodrow, In evei-y instance
where there has been nn opportunity of comparing those ac-
I coQQts with reconh', and other nnthenttc monuments, they

' Sh Wodron't Hiilorv ("uailn.

64 MEHOKULS OF THE

appear to be quite correct."' Did the accomplished Fox, be-
tween the Liberties of his Country and seven's the main, his
thundering in St Stephen's, rattling of the dice, and thumbing
of the Classics, ever find any sucli opportunity ? His theory,
of history, compared with bis actual practice, provokes a
smile. While picking lazily at that which certainly failed to
constitute his fame, he thus writes : " History goes ou, —
but it goes on very slowly. The fact is, I am a very slow
writer, but I promise I will persevere. I believe I am loo
ecrujmJous both about language and facU ; though with re-
spect to the latter it is hardly possible. It is astonishing, how
many facts one finds related for which there is no authority
whatsoever" I' Yet Fox swallowed Wodrow whole, as readily
as he would have swallowed an oyster. The covenanting mar-
tyrologist, himself gifted with a power of swallowing that
would bolt a whale, — whom we shall discover raising the Devil
in one page, and the dead in another, as plain matters of fact not
to be controverted, — even the wonder-mongeriug Wodrow, in
correspondence with congenial spirits, assumes to himself the
severe accuracy of a Hailes, and the right to chide a Clarendon !
" Names" he says, writing to his friend Dr James Fraser ia
1730, " have :io great weight with me ; and I am such an un-
believer in historical facts, that I would still have them vouched
with original papers ; which I desiderate in Clarendon, and
others also."^ And yet so meanly authenticated are his own
gross improbabilities, that when Lord Macaulay labours to
polish, and fix them in the many coloured mosaic of his own
history of England, he is fain to seek the protection, in every
paragraph, of such miserable vouching as this, — " The story
ran:" — "It is said:" — "It was reported by credible wit-
nesses ;" — " It was nimoured :" — Till, finally, the immortal
minstrel of antient Rome, is constrained to sitig rather than
say, — " Old men who remembered the evil days," — like Fal-
staff coming rollicking in with the snatch of a ballad.

■ Fox'b Hintory, p. 140. Except tliroDgh Wodrow, Vox knew nothing oulhly
■bent the matter of these " cruelties."

• See Introductinn to Fn;i'a Itiatory, p. rii,

' Letter from Wodrow to Ur Fmscr, dated Eistwood, 30tli March, 1730. See
jliuUteta Smiica, edited by Mr Moidmeat, and published hy Tbomas G. Stereoson,
ISSl ; /rrt wtiVj, p. 325.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

5o

Charles Fox found it " ueceHsarj to remark," ui terms ol"
that wrWoffe about tlie authenticity of Wodrow already quoted,
because lUs own historical essay was gone if the Scotch mar-
tyrologist was not to bo trusted. He Becms to have imagined,
that, seeing the author quotes, and prints, certain official docu-
ments, and ia not to be contradicted in certain facts which he
derives from such sources, that therefore hia history is
thorouglily authenticated throughout. Wodrow's work, in-
deed, is garnished and puffed out with a vast parade of public
documents, printed entire. But under this historical disguise
lurk the real merits of the martyrologist, aa a historian, like
the person of Goose Gibbie half smothered under the borrowed
panoply of war. Doubtless he states many facts which public
records will confirm ; and for the simple reason that from
those records they are derived. But what records authenti-
cate hia martyrologies ? Wliat " authentic monuments" con-
firm those conveniently curt and slippery slanders, which form
the staple of his work ? By what record is that more circum-
stantial story of the " Christian Currier" verified ? Do
" authentic monuments' support Wodrow iu his disengcnuous
adoption of that monstrous assertion titat Archbishop Shar^i
murdered an illegitimate infant to conceal tlio fact of its birth,
and buried it beneath the hearth-etone ? Nay, if Fox had
even taken the trouble to compare the official published re-
cord, of the brutal murder of tliat veuerahlo prelate, with
Wodrow's disgusting apology for it, he would have found that
the latter wa» just as jesuitically false, as, in the face of facts
too notorious, it could possibly be.

Of course the great Whig stateman had never found an
" opportunity" of testing that strange story of the death of
John Brown, by any records or inonumenta whatever. Nor
had any one else, Wo<lrnw had it all liis own way. Yet
Fox, — who, we verily l>olieve, had no more faith in the exist-
ence of such suiutty purity, such academic powers, such diviiir
gifts, BUch high and holy attributes, all concentrated in tlio
jterson of a Scotch carrier, of the troubled year of Ginl lliSO,
than if the same had been assorted of a Siotcli tnrrior, —
would not undertake to face the ih-imlx of that martyrological
romance. Indeed, Ik- makes such vn-ij \i\\\<x\ work of A/* version

66 HEHORUXS OF TBE

<( tilmj wliiili Lord BTacanlaj has popalarised bo elaborately,
tiutmblTe eome diffirulty in recogaizing it at all under the
foOoinng loft; alliisioD, after the maimer of Ualcolm Laing,
and Tacitus: — " Graham, afterward Lord Dundee, having
intercepted the fliglit of one of these victims, he had him
shown to his /amity, dad then murdered in the anns of bia ici/e:
The example of persons of such high rank, and who must be
presumed to have an education in some degree correspondent
to their station in society, could not fail of operating upon
men of a lower order in society."' It was not without reason
that Lonl Nortli declared he disliked to read liistory, as he
never could trust it. And well may we exclaim with Fox
himself, " It is astonishing how many facts one finds related
for which there ia no authority whatever." In this memor-
able instance, the whig star of 8t Stephens, turning from the
dangerous garrulity of Wodrow, had condescended to borrow
exactly, and without quotation, the phraseology of the con-
ceited Laing : " On another occasion, a husband, whose flight
he (Claverliouse) had arrested, was produced to his family, to
be pat to death in the arms of his wife."*

The historian of the Sufferings of the Kirk, was imbued
with a strong hereditary bias in favour of rebellious fanaticism.
His modem editor, Dr Bums, gives the following account of
an incident occurring at the time of Wodrow's birth, which
sufficiently indicates the relations subsisting between that
worthy's father and the Grovemment; althougli this version,
derived from the ex parte statement of the martyrologist
himself, is not conclusive of the merits of the case: " At the
time of the birth of her son, Mrs Wodrow was in the fifty-first
year of her age ; and her death, though it did not happen for
several years after, was then fully expected. Her excellent
hnshand, obnoxious to a tyrannical Government, narrowly es-
caped imprisonment, or something worse, in attempting to

' Fox's Hiilorf , p. 1 30.

• Hilt. vol. ii. p. 137 ; fint tditiop, IBOO. MuiiTeBllj, Lung hod ted Fox Inki
this utter nonneUM ; and lery lazy it wan in the latter to copy Lung t<r6iilin.
Tlie connequfDce it, ttut Fax's hiatorj ia left in the lurch,— saddled with the kb-
anrd flgares of Lains, olio, in liis trcaitd edition, (1804), uliitmed of liis ronner fine
writing, makes bii Rtlein|i( to etcapc from bimaelT, h; thus anuHding his verraoD :
" On aaotbar occanoD, h liosbuid, wlime fliglil he bad arrested, was brvvgil back
V> his family, to be put tii deslli in (ht prft/ncc of his wife." — Vol. i», p. HR.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 67

obtftin a last iuterview with her. As be passed the town-
guard house, he was watched, and soon followed by the sol-
diers into his own house, and even into liis wife's bed-cham-
ber where he was concealed. The officer in command checked
this violence, sent the men out of the room, and left the houso
himself ; placing, however, sentinels both within and without
till the critical event should be over. In half an hour after,
Mr Wodrow, at his wife's suggestion, assumed the bonnet and
great coat of the servant of the physician then in attendance,
and carrying the lantern before him, made an easy escape
through the midst of the guard. They aoou renewed their
search with marks of irritation, tlinisting their swords into
the very bed where the lady lay ; who pleasantly desired them
to desist, ' for the bird,' she said, ' is now flown.'"

Moreover, this enthusiastic editor informs us, that, " In
common witli all true-hearted Scottish Presbyterians, Wod-
- row stood forward as one of the warmest defenders of the
Hanoverian interest," Ac. ;' and then he favours us with this

' Wodruw dedicnted his Mirtjrologj' lo George tUa Firsl ; and the »ii»iely Le
dispUji far Toy.\ pnlronige and Approbation ia lery characteriatic. In a letter to
hi* friend Dr Fraaer, wriltea in tlie month of February 1 1 2S, three yean after the
pablication of hin niifnuM afMt, he ia Blill in the agony of doubt wlielbsr Die King,
ur any nF the royal family, had eror loolted into hia lumbering toioes. Moat pro.
bahly they ecarcely did ; and the idea of George the First studying the dreary ca-
lainnie* la loo ludicruuB, " I Uu own," lie writes, " I am /barf tu know, if etar tin
King haa liad aa much leisure ika lo looi oh my took. I think you iiTole lo roe tbs
Prlncen had read aoRie of the Iti'il volume ; and, it may bo, liia Royal Highuen
Ihe Prinm may have glanced at it ; and I can «y, bmide Ihe hoitoar and filtawiin
1 had in my bournl duty to aend tlicm a book that concel'na tlila part of his Majee-
'• domicioni, it will be a great aatiafaction to knoie that Itiey had any infonnalion
ftixn it, of the TtilaKirr nt t ;>n-weiriN^ poyitk i^iril, tlial raged inthia poor country
during the limes I deat'ribc." In a previous letter to the same, written in 1733,
the year in wliich his second volume was published, he saya : ■■ ll 'a a vast pleasure
to uw to Bud that her Hoyal Higbneiw, the Princeaa, has eondcecended lo look into
Ibe copy I did myself the honour lo Mind hrr, and that, in any measure, she ia
Mtiafied with it ; as aoon aa the •eeoiid volume is finished, it shall be carefully
I Usnamitled." In the same letter, he adds : ** I did regret in the preface, that I

look over my history, and that it's printed very mnch aa it flm
drupl from my |>en ; and there luay be mime paiaagca iu it dial are nut so well

all Hiifli I am moat willing; tfl retract." — jlimlreta Seutiea, First

8eri*a> pp. 3IIK. 310. Wnlrow's modern editor. Dr Dnmi, ityt inooeeully enough,

* The life and cormpun Irticvof Robert Wodrow, ,jiirf inio ■•Jjr Ufnio^, and aceoin.

paoiod with luitable eupl'leiueiiutry illustrations, would form a muel valaabtt firi-

[ M*l (0 tki npnUie of l.llrn. Wg sliould like tii see it. The value aould uol con-

S8 MEHOUIALS OF TUF

emphatic opinion, to whicli all will subscribe who are still
inclined to bow to the Solemn League and Covenant as a pure
emanation of the Christian miud, and a divine iuepiration for
human government: — " To a man thus admirably qualified, by
principle, by extensive information, by a habit of pereevering
and accurate research, and by a native candour of soul which
bade defiance to all the arts of chicanery, no literary nnder-
taJcing could be more appropriate tlian that of the * History
of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland,' during the days
of prclatic persecution,"' There he here mighty fine words.
tVe are not inclined to dispute that WodroVs literary under-
taking was very appropriate to his accompUshmeuts. But as
for his native candour of soid, we shall show cause for main-
taining, that his honesty can only be defended at the expense
of his intellect.

With such antecedents and predilections, this clergyman's
object, avowedly, was to compose that most apocryphal of
chronicles, a grand Marli/rology, in support of a " persecuted
Kirk and a broken Covenant." Raking together for that pur-

■ist in Ntablistiing the aathnritj of Wodmw. His fishing in that letter at the Sd uf
Febmsry 1 725, for royal fuTour, wu so tax responded lo, thkl, on Ibe 26tli of April
1 72G, appears a royal order upon tbe Exchequer in Scotland, signed by Walpole, to
pay to Wodrow the sum of £105 Sterliog, bennse he " did tuait timi (inM dedi-
cate and prMort nnto ua his History of the Pereepution in Sciitland, from the Re-
Bloralion to the Revolution, consisting of two large Tolumes in folio." It is amuung
to nee how much Ur Bums makes of this tardy act of gratjlndo,— an hononr some-
Kliat equivocally extorted : " Thus," be saya, " while the bigotted adherents of a
penecuting dynasty were crying out most lustily against the humble Scottish pi«8-
byter and his book, the highest personage in the empire was publicly nmferring
on the said presbyter a moat BubstaDtisl mark of his regard, jvit beeatiK he had
written a book which at once exposed the horrors of former reigns, and displayed
by reflection and by contrsst, the blessing connected with the Hanoverian suecei-
ison." — Memoir uf the Author, p. xii. Walpole should have made him a Peer.
Dr Bums, by tlie way, is more cnthusinatic as a biographical illustrator than pro-
found. He thus speaks of Bishop Burnet's notoriously jiaicAimutt) history : " The
veradty of Wodrow has been farther established by (he testimony of liislorians at
tiM time, and other published sources of evidence. BiAop Bunut fHtUiiStd his
History of His Own Times immediately after onr author had given to tlie world
his History of the SulTeringa of the Church of Sootland ; and these two works,
however different and even opposite were the sentimenla of their autbotB, confirm
each other in all the material transactions of the period." These authors some-
times lied in nnison ; but they also differed esBentially, and Wodrow is welcome to
all the contimiation be can obtun from the T^oililunioiu work of Burnet.
' Memoir of the Author, prefixed to Dr Bums' edition of Wodrow.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE, 69

rpose, from any quarter, however suspicious, a most Leteroge-
[ UeouB magazine of materials, — accuracy, precision, truth, jus-
tice, and common sense, the most valuable characteristics oi'
History, apjiear as if absolutely excluded from the premedi-
I tated design of this imgainly performance. Of a narrow mind
I and very limited intellect, prone to the most senseless and illite-
[ rate superstitions, and somewhat deficient in the quality of con-
|. scientiousness, the fanatical author's bustling and laborious ac-
f tivity became indeed most availing for the apology and eloge
I of Scottish fanaticism. But it was by reason of the effrontery
[ with which he proceeded to gloss iniquity, and confound truth,
f to malign the high-minded, and sanctify the murderer. His
Buccese was great, however, in the private acquisition of ma-
I for illustrating that gloomy period of the iiistory of
Scotland. He was a mighty hunter of wild documents, the
outlying deer of history. His collection of manuscripts is
valuable, and very voluminous. But, along with many wither-
' ed leaves, dried branches, and prolific seeds, which the winter
I <rf our discont«nt had scattered, he raked together a vast pro-
f portion of mud and impure mattar, in the shape of what he
called " Infonnations from credible witnesses," — unnamed and
unknown, — and of this last it suited his purpose to make
the greatest use. Hence his so-called history is absolutely
rank with calumny. In compiling it, he piously proceeded
upon a principle suggested to him by his friend and confi-
dential correspondent, Mr Gleorge Redpath, a Hanoverian
I Covenanter of hia own stump. This last, in reference to the
rWork in progress, " humbly proposes," in a letter of instruc-
IlionB to the historian, '■ that what is merely circumstantial
night he left out, excepting where it is necessary for illus-
litratiug the matter, or aggravating the crimes of our enemies."^
KKow, whatever this congenial counsellor may really have
Bjneant by such advice, as the chief matter that Wodnjw in-
mdcd to illuBtrftt« was " the crimes of our enemies," he prac-
4ly interjireted the instruction thus, — SnpfM^ss every cir-
lifiumstance, however well establiHhod, that may tend to con-
I demn our friends, or to exonerate uur enemies, and record
fworyt-ircumst-urice, hnwover illvoiiohetl, that maybe " neocR-

60

MEMORIALS OF THE

eary for aggravating the crimes uf our eueiuies.' In fsimestt
to his correspondent, however, it must be also noted, that, in
the Bame letter, he says, " Where matters of fact are not weU
attested, they should be entirely left out, or but slightly touched
as common report*, and not even noticed hut where the case
is extraordinary." The first instruction Wodrow interpreted
to suit him, and the second he t-otally disregarded.

Tlit'rc was another instniction, however, of a very different
character, with which this Mr Itedpath favoured his friend ;
but it was quite unnecessary. He referred him to the most pol-
luted printed sources, for illustrating the merits of the case be-
tween tlie Monarchy and the Scottish Covenant. The learned
editor of Kirkton's history passes this just remark upon a classof
publications which he had thoroughly sifted : " The principles
of assassination being so strongly recommended in Napkthali,
Jvs Populum vindicatum, and afterwards in the Hind let loose,
which books were in almost as much esteem as their bibles,
it is wonderful enough that mote assassinations were not com-
mitted during those intemperate times." They produced a
tolerable crop, however, as we shall presently find ; and no-
thing but the energy of tlie executive, which brought each &
storm of calumnious invective against Claverhouse, and (as
Lord Macaulay has it) " men like him," prevented that deadly
fruit of conventicle oratory, and clerical bidlying, from being
multiplied fourfold. '■ I need not hint," writes Kedpath to
Wodrow, " that there are very great helps to be liad in the
Apohgetical Relation ; Naphthali ; the True Nonconformiste ;
supposed to be the late Sir James Stewart's ; Jua Populi; the
Bind let loose,; and other accounts of those named Cameron-
tans; though the latter should be touched with great caution,
as I find you have done the unhappy controversy about the In-
dulgence, wherein I applaud your moderation and judgment."
One of the chief prophets of the Cameronian school latterly,
was Alexander Shields, a violent conventicle preacher, but
somewhat of a coward, whose addled brain admitted no other
idea of civU government than the Solemn League and Cove-
nant. He was the anonymous author of that vile work, al-
ready mentioned, " A Hind let loose." This man's history is
somewhat odii^ving, and deservct; to be noted in reference

I
I

J

VISCODNT OF DUNDEE. 61

the unmeasured abuse which he vomited forth against the
murdered Primate, because of his so-called apoatacy. From
Wodrow LimsL-li". liis great admirer, we quote the following,
which occurred in 1685, the memorable year of the death of
the " Christian Carrier."

" March 6th, Mr Alexander Shields, being examined before

■ the Lords of Justiciary, ' did abitor, renounce, and disotim, in
the presence of Almighty God, the late pretended declaration
of war, in so far as it declares war against his Majesty, and
asserts it lawful to kill such as servo his Majesty iu Church or
State, Army or Countiy ^ and, August 6th, Mr Alexander
.Shields, having signed the abjuration, owned the King's
authority, but not upon oath, is remitted hack to the Council :
And by their register I find {adds Wodrow) August 7th he is
Bent under a guard to the Bass." Having thus saved his neck,
this back-slider contrived to break his bonds, and join that
murderous crew who rejoiced in the name of " Society People,'"
and in the leadership of such saints as Renwick, Cargill, and
Cameron. In 1686, Wodrow tells us, — " That excellent person
Mr Alexander Shields was received by the Societies ; he had
found means to escape out of his confinement, and made au
acknowledgment to the general meeting of what he thought
he had tforee vrrong before the Justiciary : He was extremely

I welcome to Mr Renwick, and the more judicious people among
them ; he was mighty useful to them, and much against some

' of the lengths they ran to ; and came in heartily at the Re-
Tolution, as I doubt not Mr Benwick would have done, had he
been alive."'

" The lengths they ran" muat have heen far indeed, if the
" Hind let loose" was outstripped by them, in the deadly
schemes and principles of covenanting anarchy. This Hind,
or rather hound, would not indeed follow them unto martyr-
dom ; but that work of liis, anonymously printed in 1G87, two
years after his loyal and solemn abjuration, may he called the
great Institute of the Kirk's Lj-nch-Iaw ; and therein assured-
ly he makes ample and aa/e amends for what " he had done
wrong before the Justiciary." He denounces the reigning So-
vereign, and all that royal race from the time of Queen Mary,

I

^^^^L Con

Cooanll Ihe index to Dr Bum*' •dilion nf Wodrow,

62 MEMORIALS OF THE

a« adulterers, miscreants, bastards, murderers, and parricides.
The murdered Primate he execrates as a villain, a sorcerer, a
murderer, and a beast of prey. He loudly proclaims the
people's right of li/nch-faio in the teeth of an cBtablished exe-
cutive ; and quoting John Enox as a practical approver of
such frightful doctrines, breaks out into this scornful climax,^
" Yet now such a fact, committed upon such another bloody
and treacheroufl beast, (as Beaton) the Cardinal prelate of
Scotland, eight years agone, is generally condemned as horrid
mwdei'' I Moreover, that there might be no mistake as to
his own approval of the deed, he thus records it : —

" That truculent traitor, James Sharp, the Arch-prelate, Ac,
received the just demerit of his perfidy, apostacy, sorceries,
villanies, and murders, — sharp arrows of the mighty, and coals
of juniper. For, upon the 3J of May 1679, several tvorthy
genilcTnen, with some other men of courage and zeal for the
Cause of Grod, and the good of the Country, executed righteous
Judgment upon him, in Magus Muir, near St Andrew's."^ I

This railing Eabshakeh of the Covenant, who had taken
precious care tliat " righteoiis judgment" should not be exe- I
cuted upon him, had been well studied by Mr Wodrow, with
whom he is an especnal favourite ; and they only who will
undergo the penance of reading the Cameronian's insane pro-
ductions, can sufficiently appreciate the absurdity of the
following eloge of him, by the fanatical minister of East-
wood: —

" Mr Shield's was a minister of extraordinary talents and
usefulness ; he was well seen in most branches of valuable
learning ; of a most quick and piercing wit, and full of zeal
and a public spirit ; and of shining and solid piety." He
further characterises him as " a successful, serious, and solid
preacher, and useful minister in this Church ; moved with
love to souls, and somewhat of the old apostolic spirit."'

> A Hind let looM, or an hiaUirinl reprnentation of tlie TeBtiraoniH uf tho
CImrch of SiH'tliLDd for the interet of CAruf, with Iho true state Ihereor jn all ilH
periods,-' *c. " Bj H Irae lover of Liberty" I

This cowardi)' luiacrcaat meant kit arn libortf. See before. Lord MuiSuU^'b
opinion of bim, p. 13.

" Wodrow, HUt. Tol. It. p. 933. Wodrow appe»r» tu liOTt liuJ llicse sort of
-s stereotyped /sr lAs nonet ; knd rie^ rtna.

I

VTSCOONT OF DUNDEE. 63

That be Bbould tlms praise his own prototype in the walk
of history is not surprising. For Wodrow never hesitated to
give the best of characters to the worst of criminals, if it
suited tlie scheme of his grand Martyrology. We have a pro-
minent example in liis treatment of the romance of John
Brown, to which we must presently reciir. Meanwhile wo
present our readers with another instance, the too notorious
facts of which did not enable Wodrow to mislead history quite
80 far.

If ever there was a scoundrel on earth, it was James Mit-
chell, the assassin, who cansed the death of Bishop Honeyman,
in the first attempt, which failed, upon the life of Archbishop
Sharp. Originally excluded from the Presbyterian ministry
as incapable, turned out of the house of Dundaa, where he was
dominie of the lowest degree, for dissolute conduct, he subse-
quently attached himself to the vilest companionship, that of
the infamous Major Weir, and having passed through some
hypocritical ordeal in the service of a she saint, ho joined
the rebels in arms at Fentland, and, after the defeat of
that miserable insurgency, had to skulk for his life. But
the meastire of his iniquities were not full. He had now
sufliciently qualified for saintship and martyrdom, although
he had missed the Presbyterian ministry. So, taking his cue
from the conventicle orators, and flying at the highest game,
that which was most hkely to secure their patronage, lie
directed his cowardly pistol agaiuBt the Primate. That ■wild
fanatical preacher, and chronicler of the Kirk, Mr James
Eirkton, was certainly not indisposed to bestow a far better
character upon zealots than they deserved, and to cast corres-
ponding approbrium upon the objects of their violence. Mani-
festly, however, even that fond and foolish historian of Kirk
troubles, neither felt, nor cared to express, any respect or
igrmpathy whatever for Saint Mitchell.

" One Mr James Mitchell," he says, " a weak acltolar,* who
bad been in arms with the Whigs, resolves he will kill Bishop
Sharp ; and for this provides himself with a case of loadeu
[HfltoU. One day, after dinner, he waits for the Bishop as ho

* Olmaoily raferriDg lo hit roJccUon u iaeapkbl* for tba miniatr]'. Tbe hiMtoTj
of this ■■ mi n will be furthsr illaatnted in k lubMiiiKiit port of thne Mriaiiri>l>.

MEMORIALS OF THE

»

I

L

64

was to come from his lodging into his coach. At length down i

comes Sharp, with Honeyman, Bishop of Orkney, at his back.
Sharp enters the coach first, and takes his place ; then Mit-
chell draws near and presents his pistol, while in the instant
Honeyman steps into the coach-boot, and lifting up his hand
that he might enter, receives upon his wrist the ball that was
designed for the Bishop. So Sharp escaped at that time.
After the shot, Mitchell crosses the street quietly, till he came
near Niddrie's wynd head, and there a man ofl'ered to stop
him ; upon which he presents the other loaden pistol,' and so
the pursuer leaves him ; there he stept down the ^vynd, and
ttiming up Steven Law's close, entered a house, and ehifting
his clothes passed confidently to the street. Tlie cry arose, a |
man was killed. The people's answer was, — ' It's but a
Bishop' ; and so there was no more noise. The council con-
vened presently to deliberate how to find the assassin ; but
because that they could not do, thoy emit a proclamation
offering two thousand marks to any that shall discover, and
three thousand marks to any that shall apprehend, the assassi-
nate ; and more they did not this day. This happened in
June 1668."

And subsequently, when Kirkton comes to record the
assassin's death on the scaffold, which took place ten years
afterwards, he tells us, — " Mitchell died avowing the act, and
bXso jtistijying it; and, there was an end of his tragedy."*

Now what does Wodrow make of this miscreant, who having
passed through his various phases of low debauchery, diaboli-
cal companionship, hypocritical sanctity, armed rebellion, and '
cowardly assassination, died avowing and justifying the crime ■

■ Tliia desperate rufHin, it seems, was prepared tn commit a secand attempt at
tnurdDr, upou ihU ikccasion, had he been arrested. Thii Is not the spirit of a Saint
and MartjT.

• KirUloQ's Hislory of the Clioreh of Scotland, edited by Charles Kirkpatnek
Shitrpe, pp.377, 384.

Sir James Turner, also, liad furmerly seen Mitchell, and duly tppreciated his
character. He atatea in his Memoir*,^" At Douglas 1 was accosted b; one
Mitchell, whom I had never seen Iwfore, a prrachrr, but ho actaat mtaiitcr, who
spared not to raU lyJicUnlli/ againit all a«thoritg, both Bupreme, and BUballora." —
TNrur'f JUanoirt, p. IRS. The miscreant's declared iDcapacil^ for the ministry
appears to have been Terjr notorious. Will Lord Macaulay reckon him among those
irriftra piatanli who Here " driven mad by peraecntinn" t

VISCOCtJT OF DUNDEE. 05

F that gained him his Scoteli crown of martyrdom ? Wodroto
[ justifies it too ! The eveiitmit murder of the Primate is the
pot incideiit of WoJrow's martyrologics, and all connectt-'d
therewith are of necessity exalted in hie ragamuffin army of
martyrs, In narrating tho attom]itod agsassinatiou, whidt
proved fatal in the end to the Bishop of Orkney, he takes the

I facts from Kirkton ; but the godly character he bestows upon

I the assassin rests upon his own ipse dixit ; which he is fain
to fortify, however, \vith tho alleged testimony of a brother

! zealot. His own testimony is truly characteristic : —

" Mr James Mitchell was a preacher of the gospel, and a
youth of much zeal and piety ; but perhaps had not these
opportunities for learning and conversation which would liavc
been use/id to him.^ I dnd Mr Trail, minister at Edinburgh,
in the year 1661, recommending him to some miniatera in
Galloway, as a good youth, that had not much to subsist upon,
Uid as fit for a school, or teaching gentlemen's children* He
was at PenlloMd; and is excepted from the indemnity, in all
the three Usta we have seen. From what vwtives I say not,
he takes on a resolution to kill the Archbishop of St An-
drews,"" Ac.

When Mitcliell came to pay the penalty of his enormities,
the Dean of Edinburgh humanely wrote him a lett«r of exLor-
tation, especially inculcating that his attempt to assassinate
the Primate could not come from God, like the impulse of
Phineaa as the hypocrite had protended, seeing that he Mitchell
had failed in the attempt. The miserable culprit, in an in-
aolent and canting response, attempts no reply to this home

I thruat against hia blasphemous assumption of a divine mia-

sion.* But the ingenious author of the history of the Kirk'a

Bufferinga supplies the defect, and has thus answered the Dean.

" People," he says, " could not but observe the rightoouancsa

of Providence, in disabling Bishop Honeyman'a hand; whicli

■ A diuDgonuouB ■lluniou to Ilia jilaiu Csct tli*l tliis aBnnTii had Iwen jodgvd, lij'
pra^rtB"^ >ulhDrilf,iii«i)ahl<! of being ■ minister.— ilist. ii. 115.

* Wodrow ii nreFul lo u; nothing of tlie reiiuU of S*inl MitclivH'* •< taushins
(Mlllaiinn'a eliildren ;" or of liis di«gnircriil diimlsnal fmin tlip family of Duiidna.

* The mntirea, maoifnitl}', worp ihrwi of a low and murdoroua miaerMlit. Bill
It woald not liave niitcd the plan of Wodniw'a grand Martynlog]- to lay u.

* See klilrhell'i leller, printed in Haiillac H/Jieim; f. IH.

66 MEMORIALS OF THE

was noway designed by Mr MituLell." "People could not
but remark that that poraon who wrote against the truth he
once 80 vehemently espoused, had a mark set upon kirn instead
of his debaucher, and without nny design in the actor'' I ^

In plain language : The Almighty directly prompted Mit-i
chell's attempt to assassinate the Archbishop, decreeing, how-
ever, that he should fail therein, in order that he might unex--
peetedly hit the Bishop, whereby that equally sinning Prelate-
should die a lingering death, the Archbishop, meanwhile,
being reserved for a yet more horrible but no less provideiiti^-'<
retribution, eleven years afterwards 1

Wodrow, most disingenuously, would evade any fact how-
ever unquestionable the evidence, and within his own reach,
that tended to turn the tables, as regards the character of
savage ferocity, against the privileged sect with whom alone
Claverhouae had to deal in arms. Robert Hamilton, one of
the fanatic leaders at the affair of Dnimclog, is understood to
have been by birth a gentleman, but most undoubtedly he waa
a ruffian by nature. Wodrow, who is constrained, however,
in various pages of his history to pronounce him a coward,
thus tenderly and evasively treats the truculency of his dis-
positions. " Mr Hamilton in this action (Drumclog) discovered
abundance of bravery and valour ; and, from this day's suc-
cess, ho reckoned himself entitled to command afterwards
wherever ho was, Uiough ho had no experience in military
affairs ; and some reckoned him of a passionate and positive
temj>er, I find some papers hlame him for one of the soldier's
being killed after quarters given ; but how far this ia true /
cannot determine; and tliey add, that, after this, his conduct,
counsel, and courage evidently failed him."'

Did Wodrow not know, or was the fact beyond the reach of
his industrious research, that Hamilton himself owned the
soft impeaohraent, and gloried in that renown ? Sir Walter
Scott has collected an ample record of the circumstances : —

" The commander of the Presbyterian, or rather covenanting
party (at Drumclog), was Mr Robert Hamilton of the ho-
nourable house of Preston, brother to Sir William Hamilton,
to wliose title and estate he afterwards succeeded ; but, ac-
cording to his biographer, Howie of Lochgoin, he never took

I

ok ^M

TISCOCNT OF DUNDEE. 67

rpossession of either, as lie could not do so ■witliout acfcnow-
' lodging the right of King William, (an Jincovenanfed Monarch,)
to the Crown. Hamilton had hcen bred by Bishop Burnet,
I while the latter lived in Gtasgow ; his brother Sir Thomas
, having married a fiister of that historian. ' He was then,' says
the Bishop, ' a lively, hopefid, young man ; but getting into
that company, and into their notione, he became a craclc-
hrained enthusiasi.' Several well meaning persons have been
I much scandalized at the manner in which the victora are said
to have conducted themselves towards the prisoners at Drum-
clog. But the principle of these poor fanatics, I mean the
high-flying or Cameronian party, was to obtain not merely
toleration for their Church, but the same supremacy wliiclt
Presbytery had acquired in Scotland, after the treaty of Rjp-
pon betwixt Charles I. and his Scottish servants in 1640, The
I fact is, that they conceived themselves a clioeen people, sent
' forth to extirpate the heathen, like the Jews of old, and under
a similar charge to akoio no quarter. The historian of the in-
surrection of Bothwell makes the following explicit avowal of
the principles on which their General acted : —

"' Mr Hamilton discovered a great deal of bravoryand valour,
I both in the conflict with, and pursuit of, tho enemy ; but
' when he and some other were pursuing the enemy, others
flew too greedily upon the spoil, small as it was, instead of
pursuing the victory ; and some, without Mr Hamilton's know-
ledge, and directly contrary to Ms express command, gave five
of those bloody enemies quarter and let them go. This greatly
grieved Mr Hamilton, when he saw some of Babel's brata
Bparer), after that the Lord had delivered them into their
i bands that they might dash tliera against the stones. \n his
I mon account of this, be reckons the sparing of these enemies.
[ »nd letting them go, to be among their first steppings aside,
for which he feared that the Lord would not honour them
to do much more for him ; and says, that he was neither for
taking favours from, nor giving favours to, the Lord's ene-
mies.''

* Sir Walter Scott qnoMi, — " A true and impartial Account of the perwcutti
PNubjrteriani in ScolUnd, their being in unia, and der«at at Botlitttll Brigg, ii
te7>, b; WiUisn Wilaoo, late •cboDltnaBMr in the pariah of Donglaaa." Sir Wnl

68

MEMORIAIJ; OF THE

" Sir Robert Hamilton himself felt neither remorse not
Bhame for having put to death one of tlie priuonera, afixr l/it
battle, with his own hand, which appears to have been a charge
against him by some whose fanaticism was less exalted than
Ilia own : —

" ' As for that accusation, fket/ bring against me, of killing
that poor man (as they call him) at Dramclog, I may easily
guess that my accuser's can be no other but some of the houso
of Saul or Shimei, or some euch, risou again to espouse that
poor gentleman (Saul) his quarrel against honest Samuel, for
his oiFering to kill that poor man Agag, after the King's giv-
ing him quarter. But I, being to command that day, gave out
the word, that jw quarter should be given ; and returning from
pursuing Claverhouse, one or two of these fellows were stand-
ing in the midst of a company of our friends ; and some were
debating fur quarter, others against it. None could blame me
to decide the controversy ; and I bUxs the Lord for it t« this
day. There were five more that, without my knowledge, got
quarter, who were brought to me after we were a mile from
the place, as baring got quarter, which I reckoned among the

I&st ste^ittgs aside; and seeing that spirit amongst us at that
time, I then told it to some that were with me (to my best
remembrance it was honest old John Nisbet) that I feared the
Lord would not honour us to do much more for him. I shall
only say this, — I desire to bless his holy name, that, since
ever he helped me to set my face to his work, I never had, nor
would take, a favour from enemies, either on right or left
hand, and desired to give as few,'"'
dia
dre
bjt.
Hu
.

r iddn, verj' signifioDtlv, — *■ The reader who would aMllieiUie<iti tlie quolstion,
)t consult auj other edition than lliftt of 1697 i for, tomrhoie or Mker, the
■.r of llie Uat eJitloti has oniUtd this remarkable part of the narratire."
Waller Scott addn,— " The preceding passage U extrBCled from a long Tin-
dicatinn of his own oanduct, aitnt by Sir Rabert Hamilton, 7th December 1686, ad-
dresBod to the anti-Popish, anti-Prelatic, anli-EraBlian, an ti -Sectarian, true Prea-
b^'teriau remnant of the Charch of ScotUuid ; and Ihe BubBtance to be found id the
collection, called ' Paitliful Contendlngs Displayed, collected and tnui-
aeribed by John Howie ■ " Sm noIe lu Old Mortality, diajittr 1 7.

Lord Macaulay had time eaay *cceea to authentic facts regarding this ruffian,
Hunilton ; and he has judged faim, in hia hiBlory, accordingly, wilhant aharing any
if the doubt expraMcd on Un mbjecl by Wodrow. *■ In a paper," he mys,
" drawn up by Sir Elnbert HamitMn, tlic oracle of the eiircnic Cuvenanters, and a

VISCOUNT OF DDNDEE, 99

Thua we have determined, by Hamilton himself, the queation
>f the cruelty of his acta and the truculency of hie nature, — a
queatiou which the cautious and forbearing martyrologist would
fain bequc-ath to the doubts of History, — declaring, " how far
this is true, I cannot determine" I

With Mr Wodrow, and indeed with every writer of his
etamj), evea the most moderate impoaition of fines, under the
published orders of Government, upon the seditious promoters
of a " blood-thirsty," armed rebelliou, was lawless oppression:
all killing even of *' ruffian" rebels, by the constituted autho-
rities, whether with arms in their hands in the fields, or after
trial on the scaffold, and even for crimes more atrocious than
armed rebellion, were murders^ and assassinations, committed
by the enemies of the Lord. On the other hand, the foulest
murder or assassination, perpetrated in tlio most savage or
cowardly manner, upon a member or adherent of the lawful
Government, by any one pretending to the sanctity of the
8ei:t, was the most venial of offences, a violence not only ex-
cused but hallowed by the visibly directing finger of God ! It
is not the morbid misdirected fervor of religion, (so called,) —
the sordid bigotry, or the redundant use, and grotesque abuse,
of scriptural phraseology, that will suffice to characterise the
•ect called /inoiic,« in Scotland ; and who, at the period of the
fearful struggle we have undertaken to illustrate, were usually
I indicated by the now more flexible, and thoroughly respectable
term JVhi(/a. The climax and key-stono of the character is
their sanguinary violence, not merely in defence of their own
'■ tenets and discipline, but in forcing the same upon others ft el
Its ; their tendency to outrage, in their ever aggressive ob-
stinacy, all laws human and divine ; their disregard even of^
' the semblance of truth in their deadly vitujierations ; and that
L vile 8y8t<>m, arising out of such disorganization of legitimate
[ government, whereby every man may claim a divine i

^^L Dm. 7

Uood-ikintg rujtaii, ClelancI » mentioned m haring been once tDogued wiili ilio*
b)wti«a, but afurwarda a great oppoMr of th«ir Ici^nion;, Clalaiid |irolubly Jii
Kot agTM with Hamilton in thinking it ■ Mcied dulj- (o cut tlie Uinnta of |iriM>iwr
who haii bMii received to qiurti>r. See llaiuilton'i tetter In (he SerUrin
7. 168Ji."— //«(, vol. iii [>. 377. »<.(*.

70 MEUOKtAL^ OF THE

to judge, and to execute juJgnieut ui>oii, liia ueighbtmr.
Alas I the crimBon veiB, of the Kirk's Ijuch-law, cau he too
distinctly traced, niuuing oii, through all the various forma-
tions and strata of the Church as reformed in 8ootIaJid ; and
the instances are but too many and coiisx'icuous, in whieh the
worst of murderers, assuming fur their ywu savage ends the
most sanctified garb of the sect, have been by them received
as brothers, and their services acknowledged with scarcely
disguised satisfaction and gratitude.

With just that spirit of truth and ChriBtianity that might
be expected from the admirer and copyist of the " apostolic"
Shields, does Wodrow himself record Archbishop Sharp, Af-
fecting the most perfect candour, pretending to the greatest
forbearance, professing only to disclose some of the least fright-
ful features of a character he feigns too villanoua to be fully
unveiled, Wodiow artfully proceeds to lay a foundation for the
constant ebullitions of hia venom against the murdered Pri-
mate. That a zealot sliould be violent on the subject of a
presbyterian minister having turned fmm the ways of the
CJovenant to Episcopacy, and for ha\'ing obtained the highest
episcopal prize in Scotland, — that he should put the worst
constructions upon his motives in doing so, and grossly ex-
aggerate the guilt of such apostacy, would bo nothing. All
this is perfectly natural to the contention of rival sects, in
politics, sacred and profane. But WodroVs slauder goes far
beyond the limits of any such controversy. The Frimate was
foully murdered. The most prominent clergymen, of tbat
sect which it was Wodrow's object to sanctify, had first
prompted, and then justified the deed. While the raging
tempest of covenanting anarchy v,-as at its height, it sufficed,
for the self-justification at least of those rampant zealots, that
high above the storm the name of God should bo incessantly
howled by those whose hearts were black with hate, and their
hands red with murder. But Wodrow had a different and
more difficult part to uit. The storm had subsided. The
trick was stale, the cry was obsolete, which used to proclaim
every vigorous «uppf>rter, nf a recently restored Monarchy
(Struggling for its very cxiKt^'ncc, as a (ruculent villain, a

VISCOUNT OF DCNOEE. 71

bloody murderer, ao atheistical sorcerer; and every victim,
however criminal, of his owu insaoe attempt to subvert that
government, and all law and order, a martyr and a saint.
That blatant outrage upon Christian truth, and common
aense, had begun to lose credit oven with the least rational
minds ; and there whs actually some danger of the intelligent
coimnunity appreciating the calm autheotic narrative, and
plain sense, of Sir George Mackenzie's " Vbidication." The
mythical tyranny, and duplicity, of Charles the First, and even
the sad reality of the intensely provoked severities of his im-
mediate successors, or t)ieir advisers, in their desperate efforta
to save the rudely assaulted throne, had paled before that
grand inauguration of tlie zealot's millenium imder the House
of Orange, — the Massacre of Gleucoe. Wodrow, himself a
fanatic, undertook to vfrite up the old cause again, for the
benefit of the Hanoverian auccesuion, and to give its meanest
caliimiiies a permanent place, and credibility in History.

But the murder on Magus Muir was no myth. It had to be
faced by the diflciple of the " apostolic" Shields' as a terrible
fact. There was no veiling a crime that ie yet burning like
a coal on the foreiiead of unhappy Scotland. The chance re-
mained, however, of infecting history with such a character
of the venerable victim, that from him all human sympathy
would be withheld, as from a wolf slain in the sheep-fold, or
t % scorpion crushed in an infant's cradle. This was an adven-
L ture not to l>e achieved by truth.

' His hfe," says this mean and audacious writer, " until his
[ arriving at tlie top of his ambition, I have read, written by
t one of the after mfferera, a worthy gentleman : and should 1
, give an abstract of it, the portrait wuuM W very Muc-k ami

1 It ia uniuing lo contrut Lord Muuilajr'B <«dnut« of Alex*ni)er Shielda, witb
Wodrair's, vhoM anlliDrit/ Ihe noblo hiBloriui, however, adopU, where it sniU him,
■■ Dot lo be i|UO«tioDcd : " It in Sol ouy to oonceive tbkt fuuttidsm on bo liestcd
to a higher toiD[>enituTe than that whioli i> inilieated hy the writiaga of Shielda.
Aecording to him, it Bhoutd eeeni to be the fint duty of a Christian ruler to /wrx-
CKl« Ui lie dcati eytry heterodox lubjeci, and tlio Bnt dutj of every Chriatian nib
Jael to poniard a iietcrodax ruler. Yft there waa then in Scotland an entliuaium
«gaipared with whieb the oathu^araa of tliia man waa Jiubnram" l—HiM. vol. iii.
p. Its. Prcit; BiroDg this. And, pra;-, Bftainal wliom waa it, that the " petseeu-
ting"" spirit of Clnrerlmiiw wrji dirrrlprl r

^^H Ung"«I>i

72 MEMORIALS OF THE

Burprising." Thus jcsuitically professing to abstain, in mercy,
even from an abstract, Wodrow forthwith proceeds to extract
from the work to which he so vaguely refers, all the worst
portions of the vilest scandal, and the lowest writing, ever
penned, or that ever usurped the title of biography. It was
written, he says, by an " after sufferer," a " worthy gentle-
man," from which phrases, we may not be far wrong in con-
cluding that his author belonged to that class of worthy gentle-
men whom Alexander Shields lauds, and in those very terms,
for murdering the Primate ; and that his " after suffering''
consisted, cither in skulking to escape the scaffold, or in cant-
ing upon it, at his well-merited death. And from this worth-
less source it is, that Wodrow derives all the most villanous
features of the following cunningly constructed character : —

" His dream when at the University : His taking the ten-
der: His proposal to Oliver Cromwell, which made the Usurper
to assert liim, very publicly, to be an atheist : His betraying
Presbyterian ministers when at Court, and afterwards pursu-
ing them for his charges : His baseness with Isobel Lindsay,
as she declared in his face, openly enough ; and share in the
murder of the poor infant: His perjury in Mr James Mitchell's
case : His cruel life, and strange death, — ^would make a very
black history: and as they were commonly talked of, so I find
tliey were commonly believed by those who lived with and
had access to know him. But this is not a place to insist on
them. His great talents wore, caution, cunning, and dissimu-
lation, with unwearied diligence ; these very much qualified
him for his terrible undertakings. He got himself into the
Archbishopric of St Andrews, as a reward for betraying his
Church."!

Hinc ilke lacrynue. The very fact of his being murdered,
is here pressed into the service of overwhelming him with
this concentration of venom. Besides being guilty of suffer-
ing his " strange death," he is accused, as if it were a noto-
rious fact, of the seduction of a female, the murder of their
infant, and the desertion of the mother, upon no better au-

1 HUt. i. 236. The foul source of this outrageously calumnious character, which
pone but the most prejudiced mind would have palmed upon history, will be ex-
posed in a subsequent Part of these Memorials.

^

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

78

tliority than the mere rarings, in a kirk, of a jjoor mad woman,
perfectly uiidersttiod at tlie time so to be ; excidpatory details,
however, into which Wodrow dared not L'nter, Oliver Crom-
1 well " the Usurper's" assertion, is the evidence for the Pri-
I toate being an aiheisi, at a time when he was honoured and
trusted by tlio spotless Kirk 1

But what, then, were the other features of this veiled i>ro-
phet, which our merciful martyrologist was unwilling to dis-
close ? Horresco refereiis. There is another famous collec-
tion of Wodrow's, which bears the same relation to hia histo-
ries, published and projected, tliat a monster midden does to
I the fat acres it foments, — his AtuUecIa, namely, — from which
wo now quote. '

" Upon a time when Archbishop Sharp was at Edinburgh,
R member of the Privy Coimcil, and active in prosecuting cri-
minally some men who had been at Pontland, he wanted a
paper, which tended to a further clearing of the hbcil, which
was in his cabinet at ^t Andrews ; and so dispatched his foot-
man in haste to bring it, gi\-ing him both the key of his closet
and cabinet, directing him distinctly to the shuttle whero it
■ lay. The footman came off about ten o'cliick in a summer
day, and was in St Andrews about four o'clock in the after-
noon, having run very fast. When he opened the closet door,
be saw the Bishop sitliug at a table near the window, as if he
had been reading and writing, with his black gowu and tippet
and his broad hat, just as he had left him at Edinburgh ;
' which did suiTirise the fellow at first, tlmugh he was not
ntuch terrified : For, being of a hardy frolic temper, or a little
L hollowed, as we call it, ho spoke to him merrily, thus : ' Ho I
j my Lord I well ridden indeed, I am sure I left you at Edin-
I burgh at ten o'clock, and yet you are here Itefore met I
1 wonder that I saw you not pass by me.' The Bishop looked
I over his shoidder to him, with a sour and frowniing counte-
nance, but siKhko not a word ; so that the footman runs down
etairs, and tells the secretary or ihamberlniu that the Bishop
[ was cume homo, He wculd not believe him. He (the foot-

I Wodrow'a Anaiffla, t» almilj' atatml, »r« in ni anikll roluroec, in his own
I iMtndvriting, unong th* MSS. in ih« Adnxata*' Library. The; ware printod for
I < th* H»llUnd Club in IB!?, in four vnlumoi-. v> whicli our reference* -wh-

74 MEUORtALS OF TUG

man) averred that he aaw him ia bis closet, and tliat he was
very angry ; and desires the chamberlain to come up 8tairn
and be would sec bim likewise. So they came both up utaire ;
but before they were fully up, they both saw tho Bishop stand-
ing upon the stair-bc-ad, staring upon them with an angry
look, which affrighted them in earnest. Witbin a little, the
footman came up to the closet, and there was nobody there.
So be opens tbe cabinet, and takes out the paper, and comea
away in all dispatch to Edinburgh, and was there tlie next
morning, where bo meets tbe Bishop, and delivered to him
tbe paper, and told him the former story. Upon which the
Bishop, by threats and pivrntsea, enjoins bim to secrecy."

It might he supposed that Wodrow, who obviously records
tills story for truth, and as bearing essentially upon the Bi-
shop's character, and tbe propriety of bis being murdered, had
obtained his valuable information from the two eye-witnesses
of whom be speaks, — ]>erbaps some of Lord Macaulays " old
men who remembered tbe evil days ?" No sucb thing. " My
author," he says, " is the foresaid Mr J. G. ;' an informant,
however, whom he nowhere names save by those initials, but
whom he had pre\'ion8ly designed " a miuist«r who lives nigh
to Montrose."

Having afforded this nnansweralile corroboration of his apos-
tolic friend Alexander Shields, who had formerly denounced
the murdered prelate as being, among other accomplishments,
" a sorcerer," Wodrow immediately proceeds to disclose him
actually cheek-by-jowl with the Devil in propria persona.

" At another time, Archbishop Sliarp presiding in the Privy
Council, was earnest to have Janet Douglas brought before
that Board, accusing her of sorcery and witchcraft. When
slie was brought, she vindicated herself of that alleged crime ;
declaring, though she knew very well who were witches, yet
she was not one herself; ibr she was endeavouring to discover
these secret hellish plots, and to countermine that kingdom
of darkness. The Archbishop insisted she might be sent
away to the King's plantations in the West Indies. She only
fl}-opt one word to tbe Bishop. ' My Lord,' says she, ' who
was y(m vnih yon in your closet, on Saturday night last, lie-
Iwixl twelve htkI ore o'clock?' l']m" which the Bishop

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

75

I changed hia coiiiiteiiance, und turned black and palo, and
' tlion no more was said. When the Council ro80 up, the Duke
of Kothes called Janet into a room, and inquired at her, pri-
vately, wlio that person was with the Bishop ? She refused
at first ; hnt he promieing upon his word of honour to warrant
her at all hands, and that she should not be sent to America,
she says, ' My Lord, it was ike meekle black Devil,' My au-
thor is Mr P. Tulhdeph."'

We are not given to understand that the above scene passed
as a joke. Indeed, it was no joking matter to be accused be-
fore the Privy Council of Scotland in those days of the crime
of witchcraft. The accusation thus privately obtained from
their prisoner of a like offence against the Primate himseli',
vaa of the most serious nature ; and withal so delicat'e to deal
with, that, it seems, the delater (as such accusers were then
called) was by that enabled to keep her formidable inquisitors
mutely at bay. We may presume it to have been Wodrow's
Bago view of the affair, that, from this moment, the Duke of
Rothes was sufiBciently convinced of his clerical coadjutor's
diabolical cliaractor; and that, without any figure of speech,
he did, in his own closet in Edinburgh, hold personal inter-
views with the Prince of liars. This conclusion, however, is
somewhat interfered with by the tone and terms of a letter
written by the Duke of Rothes himself to tlie Earl (afterwards
Duke) of Queensberry, at the moment when the former was
first made aware of the murder of the Archbishop, and which
lottcr contains tlie following sincere tribute to the memory of
that unfortunate prelate. " As it is talked, those base unwor-
tliy people in Fife, that have committed this assassination,
tlireaten tlioy will follow the same example with sevt-rul per-
sons in public trust, not sparing your humble servant. But I
I am not afraid in the least for them. They are certainly but
t very few Fife peopilo among thein ; but I am afraid some there
were ; and I am very confident that moat execrable murder i\-ill
I be discovered. Let the unjust world say what they will, he
I was not only Lord Primate of this kingdom, but a faithful
I subject, and a wuk and just person, and a mast emineiif pUhir of
I (A« Chunk; and, I am sure, my friend at that rnto, that 1 do

■ ^ii<i(ri;«>i, i. 104, 105.

76 MEMORIALS OF TilE

not know what to do since he is gone, but to revenge myself i
upon all tfiat murdering sect" " I ^"ill hasten to Fife, that I
may add my endeavours, with all the faculties of my eoul, for
the discovery of tiiis late horrid murder."'

The most revolting chapter of history (so caUed) ever
penned, ia that which constitutes the third section, of the first
chapter, of the third book of WodroVs " History of the Suffer-
ings of the Church of Scotland." Was this murder one of
their sufferings? He entitles it, " Of the violent death of
the Archbishop of St Andrews, Saturday, May 3. 1679." At
tlie very outset our martyrologist displays his colours, by cir-
cuitonsly avoiding the appellation of murder; and the first
sentence involves a justification of tlie deed. " The violent
taking away of the life of that bitter persecutor, Mr James
Sharp, at this time Archbishop of St Andrews, is a subject not
a little misrepresented by Tory writers, and what was the
occasion of much reproach to, and persecution of, the Pree-
bytorians," Jesnitical and untrue in the glossing details, san-
guinary in the spirit of it, no intelligent and humane reader,
even without other versions than this author's to inform him
of all the details, can peruse that narrative without a feeling of
disgust at the narrator. How " Tory writers" could be guilty
of " misrepresentation," simply by recording, with " energy of
hatred," the too notorious facta of that foul murder, perpe-
trated by nine miEana on the high-road, at noon-day, it is
difficult to conceive. Nor, if we consider the conventicle
hallelujahs that seemed to ascend from hill, or rather from
Iiell, to heaven, when that whig triumph, long meditated, and
twice before attempted, was at length accomiilislied, with
every concomitant of baseness and horror, is it at all to be '
wondered at, that tho frightful subject of their exultation
" was the occasion of much reproach to, and persecution (so
called) of Presbyterians."

Wodrow was credulous. Wodrow was superstitious. Wod-
row believed in witches. What then ? So did all the world
in those days. It was a law of the Cliurch to believe in
witches; and it was the law of the Church and of the land '

It will appesr in » cabMquenl PkK uT

VISCOUNT OF DDNDEE. 77

pto torture them, Doubtlesa the insane belief was wofuUy
I promoted and prolonged by Wodrow'a own sect. The pru-
f rient investigatioD of same liorrilile liaison between the Devil
I uid a Scotch wench, was a 6eld day, or an upera uight, for
[■ some of the coarser and more zealous spirits of the Covenant.
1 No tabbies over tea ever enjoyed their scandal more intensely.
I That ain of the Solemn League it is which gives such exquisite
I' point to the climax in Bums' famous epic, so familiar to all, —

" Evan Satan glower'd and fidg'd fu' fnin,
And hotuh'd and blew ni' migbt und inun ;
Till 6rat ne caper, syne nnitber,
Tam tint hia reason a'thegithor.
And roora out, — * Weel done Cutty-iarkI'"

We may refer to the Presbytery registers paaaim. The first
tnd most guilty party to that abomination of Scottish history
was the zealous clergy ; the next, the zealous lawyers. The
epoch is too horrible, too humiliating to contemplate. We
can only now say, Grod forgive them all. Yet we must accept
of our History, of our Law and Gospel, from such learned
progenitors.

But Wodrow's superstitious credulity as far exceeded that
of the clouded intelligence of his times, and of the times be-
fore him, as the falseness of his fanatical records surpasses the
tmfairuesB of party libels. Bishop Burnet believed in witches,
and revelled in hearsay slander, He was the old-clothes man
of History. But he would have shrunk abashed from siime of
WodroVa dull and dreary fables ; and have laughed to scorn
his infinite gullibility. The notorious Lauderdale believed in
goblins and witches. When constrained, by the ascendant
,Btar of Argj'le, to rusticate in Holland for a time, he amused
imself, in some of the Catholic establishments, scrutinizing
the ceremony of driving the Devil out of possessed Nuns, and
doubtless ogling the Nuns themselves. But this child of the
Scotch Covenant and Solemn Leagtie, never lost sight of
worldly cunning and common sense. He frankly declares,
that, upon the occasion referred to, he " saw only some great
Holland wenches hear exorcism patiently, and belch most
abominably ; so if those were devils, they were windy de^'ils ;
but I thought they were only [losseBdcd with a morning's

^H but I

78

MEMORIAI^ OF THE

draught of too new ale,"' But ae for Wodrow, poor creature,
though belonging to a century lat-er, there waa no evidence
too wortlilese, no fact however improbable, or impossible, that
he would not receive, and set down for truth, if it only served
to illustrate his " remarkable Providencee relating to Scotch
ministers," or to " aggravate the crimes of our enemies." Is
the man to be trusted, to be quoted as a reliable historian, who
believed, and seriously recorded for truth, and as precious
materials for Church History, such dtigrading trash as the ex-
tracts we have already given from his Analecta, and as these
other specimens wliich here follow : —

" 1706 : Mr A. Simson tells me, that about thirty years ago,
he had this account from the minister of Penpont and his wife,
and from many others. The thing was notorious and hiovm.
In the parish of Penpont there was a child found buried in a
yard. The child was discovered when it was fresh, and the
minister told of it ; who ordered the child to be raised, and
brought to the church ; and caused convene all the inhabitants
about, to see if they knew any thing about the child. After
many had come, a man came near to the child, and the child
l^ up its hand and poitUed at him ; which so struck his cou-
science, that immediately he confessed to the minister, and
all that were present, that be was the father of the chOd, that
it was begotten in incest on his wife's sister, and, / think,
that he was privy to its murder. He was secured and deli-
vered to the Sheriff, and I think, the sentence of death was
passed on him ; but, having means, he bribed the Sheriff, and
got off."

" 1707. In the year 1693 there was a gentlewoman who
died at Edinburgh ; and, some hours after her death, the body
being laid upon a bed, and dressed up in dead-linens, and
there being a considerable number of gentlewomen in the
same room, the corpse rose np, and sat upon the bed, in tlie
sight of the whole company, and called upon a woman by her
name, three times, who was sitting at the foot of the bed, and
Bpoke, in the bearing of them all, these words, — ' For lying,
backbiting, and slandering, of my neighbours, which the

' Liudi^rdalB eiIibII be mors fully recorded in b Bubscquout Piirl nf these Memo-

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

79

world thinks little of, I am, by tlie right«ous judgment of God,
condemned eternally to tlio flames of Hell,' — and tlien pre-
sently fell back, and spake no more. Mistress Hamilton, tlio
laird of Househill's sister, who is my author, had this from a
poraou who was present when tliis liapj>ened, — if I rightly re-
member who is own cousin-germati, — viz., Mistreaa Grabame,
married to Harry Grahame, merchant in Edinburgh."'

Were such things permitted, we could not imagine a more
instructive " remarkable providence relating to Scotch minis-
ters," tlian the corpse of Bishop Burnet, in the presence of
Wodrow and a seance of " old women who remembered the
evil days," — in presenlia Dominarum, — rising from the dead,
and calling upon the living Wodrow to list the fearful fato
reserved for that " Ijing, backbiting, and slandering, which
the world thinks but little of."

Nor, it seems, had these miracles ceased at tho time of
Wodrow's writing. According to his own exquisite narrative,
the following demonstration, not only of the Devil's walking
with Bishops by day, but couching with honest women o'
nights, even on this sublunary scene of his machinations
against mankind, was still in the progress of continuous mani-
festation while Wodrow wrote.

" A woman had her husband, who went abroad, and she
heard no account of him for a year, or some years. There
were some accounts came at length of his death. She fell into
B very great concern, and frequently had that expression, —
' Oh I that I might once see him' I After some time, one night,
one comes to the door, and she opens, and, as she thought, it
was her husband. Ho tells her a story of his great hazard
and danger, and what liad kept him away so long. To bed
ihey go. And within a little she felt him grow cold like lead,
and began to be in a dreadful terror, and to sain (bless) her-
self. Whereupon her pretended husband gave her a nip, and
vanished. She fell in dreadful terror ; and the Devil, in tho
Bhnpo of her husband, Jrequently appears to her; and when
he does so, she has an intolerable pain t» the place where she
was nipped; and it's that excessive, and her terror so great,
that she is in hazard of making some concessions to the Devil

80 MEMORIALS OF TMB

when he appears, from the force of the torture. The minister
of the phce, and others, are much concermed abomt har'^

These, and a hundred others such like, are anecdotes Toach-
ed for, and folly credited by Wodrow ! Is the historical
tongoe of such a chronicler any scandal ? Are we to accept
from the literary work-shop of snch an artist as this, the cha-
racters, fashioned upon any Tnlgar slander that suited him,
of such men as Archbishop Sharp and Viscount Dundee?
These stories of themselTes suffice to prove how mean was the
intellect of the fanatical minister of Eastwood, and how worth-
less his testimony, where he labours to destroy the characters
of those public men whom to malign fell within the punriew
of his undertaking.

Tlie tragedy on Magus Muir is not that which furnishes the
only instance of WodroVs historical system, of excusing, if
not sanctifying the murderer, and, as a means to that end,
calumniating the murdered. He had another case to deal
with,— of a murder by some of his own sect of one of his own
cloth, — ^in which we find his Jesuitical powers taxed to the ut-
most, and his characteristics as a historian strongly brought
out.

The established clergyman of the parish of Carsphaim in
Gklloway, Mr Peter Peirson, a brave and energetic man,
anxious and not afraid to do his duty in those evil times, was
on til at accoimt, murdered at midnight, in the month of De-
cember 1684. Since the murder of the Primate, the country,
especially the west of Scotland, had been in a fearful state.
The curates were flying from their sacred offices, in terror for
their lives. The Lord Advocate declares, and he is abundantly
borne out by facts, " that no man who served the King could
know whether or not his murderer was at his elbow, and they
had reason to look upon every place as their scajffold, consi-
dering the violent and cruel temper of their enemies." The
market-crosses, and more especially the church-doors, were
secretly placarded by the broken and fugitated rebels, with a
declaration of war against the Grovemment ; proclaiming at
the same time, as a moral obligation, that the King's authority

* AnaUcta, i. 356.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 81

should be disowned, and those who supported it, put to death.
It is not Burpriaing that this pubhc proclamation, by the
secret emissaries of fanaticism, should have occasioned the
most lively apprehensions in the minds of the well disposed,
and the most vigorous measureB of a monarchy in great peril.
For their desperate audacity had been immediately followed
by repeated midnight murders.

None but those evil spirits among the fanatical preachers,
who prom|»ted such deeds, attempted to justify them at the
time. The distinguished whig lawyer, Sir John Lauder of
Fountainhall, with all his bias against the Groverument, never
dreamt of doing so. He recorded the successive murders, of
the soldiers of the Royal Guard, of the Curate of Carsphairn,
and of Captain Urquhart, as became an enlighloned gt-ntle-
man, and a Cliristian chroiiiclev.

" 20th November 1684 : The news came this morning to
Edinburgh, that some of the desperate /anatics had, last night,
fallen in upon two of the King's Life Guards, viz., Thomas
Kennoway and Duncan Stewart, who were lying at the Srtine
Abbey, beyond Blackburn in Lithgowshire, and murdered them
moat btirbaromly : Whereupon the Privy Council ordained
them to be searched for and pursued, if it were possible to
ftpprehend them ; and called for Carmichael, landlord of the

I house, and examined liim and otiiers. This was to execute
what they (the rebels) had threatened in their declaration of
war."
"12th l>cember 1684: News came to the I'rivy Council,
that the wild fanatics had fallen in upon one Pcirson, minister
at Carsphairn in Galloway, a great delater (accuser) of them
in his sermons, and killed him. They ridiculously keep mock
courts of justice, and cite any they judge their inveterate ene-
mies, to tbem, and lead probation, and condemn them, and
thereafter murder them. And thus they proceeded against
Nory, minister of Dunfermline ; but he kept himself out of
their way."
" January 1085 : The few handful of fanatic rebels left in the
west turning ver// insolent, the High Treasurer (Queeusbcrry)
to put a rub on Ctaverho'ise, who had been lately there in
Derpraber la.«t, »nd rould not wholly siipprppn tbem, rauses

82 HEHORIALS OF THE

]iis brother Colonel James Douglas seleel out of his whola
regiment two hundred of his prettiest men, and by order of
the Privy Council sends them againet these rogues, that the
glory of defeating them might fall to his share. And, accord-
ingly, Douglas being one day in the fields in Galloway, with a
Bmall party of eight or ten, he meets with &s many of the re-
bels at a house, who kill two of his men, and Captain
Urquhart, Meldrum's brother ; and had very nearly shot
Douglas himself dead, had not the wing's carabine misgiven ;
whereupon, Douglas pistolled him presently. Urquhart is the
only staff officer this desperate crew have yet had the honour
to kill. He was brought into Edinburgli, and buried with
much respect. They came a company of them to Kirkcud-
bright, and kUled two men; and caused a minister called
Mr Sliaw to swear lie should never preach again in Scotland."

About three months after the last of these successive mur-
ders, there occurred the military execution, in due form of
law, of a most incorrigible relwl of this very class, Lord Mac-
aulay's hero, John Brovm. Were it really the case (an alle-
gation to be presently brought to the test) that Colonel
Graham of Claverhouse did, in that very same locality, use
his own pistol against some rampant rebel, we may rest as-
sured, that ho was not a moment too quick with liis weapon,
any more than was Colonel Douglas. But no such event
occurred.

Now, mark WodroVs historical record of the atrocitieB
which we have quoted- above, from those contemporary and
most authentic sources. And first of the murder of Captain
Urquhart.

" January 28th (1685). The Coimcil direct a letter to those
they had commissioned for Wigtoii and Kirkcudbright, about
their processing such who had killed Captain Urquhart, and
some with him. / know no more about it, than what is in the
underwritten letter. It seems to have been some engagement
Bome of the WandererM had with the Captain and liis party,
wherein, it seems, the soldiers liave been worsted."

This was an instance where the details would not suit " for
aggravating the crimes of onr enemies." The incident hap-
pened to lie on the blind side of Wndrow's powers of research.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

83

But the more atrotioua murders of the gentlemen of tlie Life
Guatde, and the Curate of Caraphaim, he felt compelled to face
more elaborately. Our martyrologiat'a record of those sad
events, is most discreditable to him, as'a historian, a clergyman,
and a Christian. Deliberate and cowardly assaesinatione ought,
in the eyes of such, to find no palliation whatever, from any thing
that can be said agaiust the general character of the victims.
But to indulge in the spirit of calumny against the murdered,
with the object of extenuating the murder, is indeed deserving
of the severest reprehension. All Wodrow's attacks upon
personal character, are ex parte statements, of the most
rambling and ill-vouched kind, generally gathered in the
loosest manner from the most tainted sources, and utterly un-
worthy of credit. He knew perfectly well that in this noto-
rious ease of the murder of the Life-guard's men, tliere never
was a pretext of self-defence, nor a doubt as to the cowardly
nature of the crime, which he Ihus disposes of in the Jesuitical
style ho usually adopts when conscious of the extreme diffi-
culty of his apology.

" The incident of the killing of Kennoway and Stuart put
the managers upon new and yet more barbarous methods. 1
have not so distinct an account of fhc murder of these two as
I wish I bad ; neither can I say whether it was in self-defence
or not ; but it is generally said it was premeditated by some
persons in the neighbourhood, or Society i)eople lurking among
them, they having lieen eeoerdy oppressed by Kennoway for
many years ; and if this was an assassination, nobody ought
to defend it."

Having thus, as he supposes, sufhciently saved himself from
the imputation of bestowing his own approval upon such foul
deeds, Wodrow goes on to cover his victims with calumny, as
if to hide the stains of that midnight murder.

" They were both gentlemen, as the style was, of the Life-
guard, and killed, as is said, coming out of the door of the
house of Swine Abbey,' in the parish of Llxingstou ; and after
the most narrow search that was made, none of the acton
could ever be found ; but 1 am assured, the Society people
refused to admit some persons to their fellowsbipB whom they

> Thpy vrre murdereJ "

Ir W.."-SirG. Mirken

84 KtMOBIALS OF THK

suspected to I>e concerned in this murder. I have no account
of Stuart ; but Kennoway's oppresBions in Livingston, "West
Calder, and that neighbourhood, from Pentland to this year,
have been in part noticed ; and I ehall add a few other well
vouched instances of his former carriage."

Our martyrologist then proceeds, Tnore euo, to enumerate,
and to exaggerate into crimes of the deepest die, this gallant
and loyal soldier's successful activity at the battle of Pentland,
and on various other occasions when rampant or lurking rebel-
lion demanded his energies in defence of King and Constitution.
To this rubbish of calumny he adds his usual seasoning of
abuse in these terms, — " Indeed, he was notoriously wicked
and profane, a known adulterer, and a fearful drinker, and
blasphemous cursor and swearer ;" and then he winds up with
this precious specimen of Wodroivana : —

" This is all the account I can give of tliis matter ; and I
do not set down these things to vindicate the actors, but to
show how righteous the providence loas, that this wicked man
is cut off in the midst of his days and projects, however blame-
able the persons might be in their manner of doing it. Before
I leave those two persons, I only insert the Council's act,
December 9th, 1684, anent their widows, to show the concern
they showed for the relatives of such as had been active in the
peraectdion : — ' The Council having considered the petition of
Janet Stuart, relict to Thomas Kennoway, one of the gentle-
men of his Majesty's guard, and Jean Jaffray, relict to Duncan
Stuart, another of them, lately inhumanly murdered and
butchered by some desperate rebels and fugitives, at the house
of Swine Abbey, in the night time, do recommend them to
the Treasury for charity.'"'

We pass on to a yet more flagrant instance of Wodrow's
historical system, of maligning the murdered, in order to ex-
cuse the murderer, — the case already referred to of Mr Peir-
Bon, the cnrate of Carspbairn in Galloway.

This reverend gentleman, being of a fearless nature, refused
to be driven from his manse, and his sacred duties, either by

1 Wodrow-. HiBt. iT. 152,
[hU rNommeodatinn, not k i
}frttciiti»g tjiirir.

VISCOUNT UF DUNDEE. 8&

the tLrenta or the deeds of these assassins. Agaiust the hor-
rible system of Conventicle lynch-law, he set his face, and
dared to raise his voice. The hill preacher might suggest and
sanctify such doings, but he denounced them in the face of
man and in the name of God. Their threatened advent against
his own life, he declared he dreaded less than the noise of rats
and mice in his own solitary dwelling ; and, yet more daring
announcement, he ventured to tell these lawless and sangui-
nary fanatics, that the very papists were better subjects than
they were, and might afford them an example of Christian
charity and conduct. From hia pulpit he rebuked and de-
nounced all such characters, as the murderers of Archbishop
Sharp and of many other victims since that catastrophe ; and
he rendered the Government such assistance as a clergyman
might in bringing to light and justice those murderous ruffians
whom Wodrow so fondly calls " Wanderers," and the " suffer-
ing remuant." The unflinching front which Mr Peirson thus
presented to all this villany, was liis doom. He appears to
have been somewhat rash in braving the danger. He lived
alone in his manse, without other prot-ection than the arms
with which he had provided himself. " Mr Peirson," says
Wodrow, " was an unmarried man, very blustering and bold,
and used openly to provoke the poor people by saying in public
companies, — ' He feared none of the whigs ; nor, anything
elao but rats and mice.' He lived at the manse alone, without
so much as a servant with him, and kept still a number of
fire-arms in his chamber." Surely a very necessary precaution
under the circumstances. Alas ! it proved unavailing for this
courageous man.

In the month of January 1G85 " The Council orders the
Advocate to pursue the parishioners of Anworth for affronta
done to their minister ; and the parish of Carsphaim for the
murder of their minister by some skulking rebels." Wodrow
does not like to hear his friends called names. The Govent-
ment, and the intelligent and sane portion of the community

I gave the deed its right name, — a foul, cowardly, and sacrile-
gious murder, perpetrated by a band of skulking rebels. There
B no rational doubt al>out the matter. Wodrow, however,

t «et* down tin' scand'il (not tc he hidden) to the score nf

eb MEMORIAia OF TDE

grievances of tbe Sainte agaiust the Tory defamers 1 " I know
nothing.' says that innocent, " anent the affront done to the
minister of Anworth, and eay no further about it." Had the
affront been to Saint Mitt;lieil, or Saint Shields, or Saint Wil-
liamson, or Saint WcIbIi, or Saint King, or Saint Cargill, or
Saint Henwick, or Saint Cameron, — being the Saints who pro-
moted ench " affronts," tlieir faithful martyrologist would have
Jbund facts somewhere, rather than have said " no further about
it." Murder -wiH out, however, and he must face that of the
uninipeached Curate of Carsphaira, as he best can : —

" But the murder of Mr Peter Peirson of Carsphaim," he
says, " at the manse there, ia a fact whereof no j'vst accoimt, so
far as I know, hath been yet given to the public ; and this,
with the murder of Bishop Sharp, are generally charged upon
Presbyterians, as proofs of their practising the hellish and
Jesuitical principle of assassination," The public were in 8
full possession of the notorious facts of the brutal murder of
this clergyman, as of that of the Archbishop. They needed
not to be enlightened by any Jesuitical version of either, from
the minister of Eastwood, in the century after the events.
Nor is it the case, that the whole lieges of the Presbyterian
persuasion, though too apt to be hoodwinked and misled in
such matters, were pri\-y to, accused of, or made responsible
for, such enormities. The guilty parties were, the Conventicle
preachers and pamphleteers, who violently promoted, and
quoted Scripture for the divine origin of, these diabolical
crimes ; some debased rutfians, such as Saints Mitchell, Ra-
thillet, and Russell, hanging loose upon society, and ready to
take their murderous cue from such prompters ; and other
hot-headed, weak-minded zealots, of the stamp of Wodrow
himself, who excused, softened, and too manifestly favoured
the foul deed wlien done.

And what is Wodrow's " just account" of this murder ?
Four or five scoundrels, whom he names, combined to invade
the dwelling of this solitary clergyman, with loaded fire-anns
in their hands, in the dead of night and ol' winter, " to force
him," says Wodrow, " to give a written declaration that he
woiild forbear instigating their enemies, and other violent
coiivscp, and deter him from them in time tofonie, still expressly

VISCODNT or tPOKDEE.

87

declaring they would do him no bodily harm." According to
the martyrologist's own account, this armed bands of niffianB
forced their way at night into the dwelling of this lonely curate,
who, suddenly arming himself, makes a feeble show of defend-
ing his door and his life. Without a single act of aggression on
bis part, or a condition of mercy offered to liim, the intrepid
clorgjtiian, who had disdained to follow the example of Mr
Nory, and others, by deserting his post, and had only erred in
fearlessly doing his duty, is shot dead on his own threshold.
These facte are gathered even from WodroVs carefully con-
cocted relation ; and not all the disingenuous glossing with
which he attempts to justify it, by alleging a previous det«r-
minatiou of this armed band " to do him no bodily harm," and
that some of these conspirators thereafter " expressed their
detestation of the fact," can leave any other impression upon
tlje rational mind, than that these are flimsy pretexts super-
induced upon the plain fact-s of this premeditated murder, in
which the actors themselves gloried at the time.

Neither does their friendly chronicler trust entirely to that
species of extenuation, — that they did not tnean to do il. It
must also be impressed upon the Christian reader that the
murdered clergyman deserved that they shovld do it. " He
was," says Wodrow significantly, " a surly, ill-natured man,
and horridly severe; he was openly a favourer of popery, and
gave shrewd enough signs of his being poptshly inclined,^ by
defending not a few of their peculiar tenets; he was a notorious
in/ormer, and instigator to all the violences in that country."*
Having thus put in a plea for the murderers, at once calum-

■ " What IB 1 P»pUl t Tha word !■ not a word of definite ■ignjficition, eithor
Id Uw or in Iheology. It is marely a popaUr niclinune, uid meuiB very different
IhingB in different moBtha." — Lord Maeaalai/, Hist. vol. III. p. 199. Yet tlie
whale pretenuon of the CnvenaDtera, to being pnr attUiaci the ddenderH uT Uir
hitb, And ttutt wUicli su uaaj uliuil as h ituificient apology for all tlicir vialeiit
uid traculent proooedingn, U based upon their cimBtant lue and ahuae of that " po-
paUr niekDune."

> Thii ipiriled clcrgjuun did his bent lo reprcra the mon outrageous viul<.'iic<.-!i
of tliu western fanatiea, b; endcavoaring to bring the aotiul |ierpetraton (o juatiL-r.
Tliereforo Wodrow brands him with the vagnelj' abuiuve term, " a nolorioua iii.
furmor ;" and the actiTs meaaurea adopted by Government la save Kiciely, and b>
proleet tlic state, he lamis " violences.*' Doubllesa ihero are Bome who will call
the de<«piMlinn of "rsini > " vwlcnno," snit llie deopilalfd a martyr.

88 MEM0R1AI5 OF' THE

uious and irrelevant, the martjrtilogist tliiiika it iieceBsar^ to '
wash his hands in the v^ry puddle he has made. " Those
things I do not at all notice to vindicafe the fact I am going
to relate, for I abhor and detest it ; hiit that the reader may
know the true state of this mfttter, and what unwarrantoble
provocation this iU man gave."'

Such is Wodrow's stereotyped style for defending liis murder-
ous martyrs. The murder of the Archbishop of St Andrews,
of the two gentlemen of the Lifeguard, and of the Curate of
Carsphairn, are treated by liim precisely ui>on the same plan.
There is a transparent attempt to justify all these murders,
by calumniating the victims; and with no better authority
for the calumny than the raunlcrers themselves, or their
aiders and abettors. Had this historian, as he parenthetically
pretends, really abhorred and detested these crimes, it is im-
possible that he would have recorded them as he has done, or
have so anxiously seized the very opportunity for emitting
his rancour against Christian pastors, and brave soldiers, who
fell under the cowardly bauds of banded assassins.

We know no labour more oppressively disgusting, than, to
search through Wodrow's voluminous and intricate collection,
of scarcely decipherable manuscripts, in order to discover, if
possible, the private autlioritiea upon which ho professes to
rely. His own pretensions to great accuracy, founded upon
the vaguest references to " my informations," and " credible
witnesses," must of course pass for truth with a world of
readers, te whom his alleged proofs are practically inaccessible.
We have a striking example in this very version of the mur-
der of Mr Peirson. " I shall give," he says, " a plain account
of the matter of fact at Carsphairn, which I have from a
gentleman of undovhted credit, who had the details of this
matter from the persons ooncemed in (his wickedness; and
another concurring testimony from John Mathison, a very ju-
dicious and worthy elder in the parish of Glencaim, lately

' The eoneluaiDn of tbe Beulciiw is msnircHtly intended *■ lo viudioKle Ibe bet."
It would bo tin vindication were it inie. But it U not true ; for tlie clergyman of
C«npililini had neither given " univarruitabie pruTeeation," nor wa« lie an" ill
mull,"— ■ tei'iTi UBeil hy (ho rnlilni Ilium Wodrow In r'gnify every tiling tint ii b«<t,
an<l n.,i'lliv nrdi'Slii.

VISCOUNT or DUNDEE.

89

*■ dead, who had his information likewise from the prraona pre-
tenl." The credit of witnesses who kept such company can

' scarcely he " undoubted." But having been so fortunate aa
to discover the " gentleman of undoulited credit's" letter

I among Wodrow's manuscripts, we shall allow him to speak for

1 himself, by here giving the precious missive precisely as we
find it written ; —

" Rev. & Dh. Cirss.

' T have been under gi'aveish pains since I sau you ; every

I day but two ; or then you might have hard from me sooner.

I give you the account from tho best informatione its possible

to be got, viz. from Robert Dun in Woodhoade of Corsphaimo,

and John Glark, tlien in that parish, miw in Glenmont, in the

parish of Strathone, — anent the curat's death of Corsphaime,

which tkeyh&d from the actorii own mouth, — James M'Michaell,

formerly fouler to the luird of Maxweltoune ; Robert Mitchell,

in the new parish of Cumnock, nephew to Mr James Mitchell

ipAo suffered; William Ilerron in the parochin of Glencaime

H in Nithsdalc; Rodgert Pedzen, in parochin of Sauquair. I

■ pairted from the above Johno Clark in Muirbrock, three miles

from Corspliairno kirk. Upon a night neare the middle of

I November 1684, being certainly informed that Mr Peter Pear-

eone, said curat, kcept fyre armcs in his house, and was hard

I any he fcard non of the whigs, nor any thing else bot rate and

' mice ; he lived alone in the manse of Corsphaime, shewing

\ there ahreiod signs of his being a favourer of poperie ; ami said

I to Nicolas Fergusone, spouso to James M'Turk in holme of

I Daliitihaime, several exprenstmis in favour of purgatory and

I papists ; and told, that papists were better subjects than they.

j The above named 4 personee went to the manso of Cors-

\ phaimc ; Robert Mitchell going befor the other 3, rapped at

the door, and hard nothing; hut, in a littlo time thereafter.

tlie door was a little opened by Mr Pearsono ; on which James

I H'Hiclmel fyrod ane pJHtoll at some distance, least Mr Pcar-

1 fone should have Jyred Jirat; with which sliot the curat was

I lulled deado; and in all tj'me thereafter that aotione was so

[■ detested by the wbigs, they nevor allowed any of tlie said 4

I t» kiT'p .'bi-isliaii cnniniiinioii uilii tlinii ; ami il w;>s rviniirk-

90

UEMORIALS OF THE

able that 3 were all killed by tlie King's forces befwre the next
yeare; and Rodgert Pedyeu, became a dragoon in Captain
Strachan's troup, who was thought to have l>een a rogue the
wholl tyme of his being with the whigs ; and informed the
forces of the refuging places, and prompted up that other 3 to
fall on that unhappy actione. I have been quite out of con-
dition to doo any thing farther anent the Sufferings since 1
saw you, on accoimt of my gravel, which will in all proba-
bility shorten my days,"'

This mean document, of the very lowest stamp a.s proof in
support of those parts of Wodrow's version which are in-
tended to extenuate a crime too notorious to be concealed, is
dated 16th June 1715, and signed only with the initials J. C.
It is a perfectly fair specimen of those written " informations,"
and " attestatioTie' unseen by, and anonymous to the public,
by means of liis vague references to which, Wodrow not only
succeeded in placing himself in the worm-eaten throne of
Scotch fanaticism, but has even obtained the homage of
suclt illustrious historical essayists as Mr Fox and Lord
Macaulay. His correspondent in this instance appears to
have been a relation of his own ; but Wodrow is not so frank
as to name him. Neither does he venture to disclose the date
of a document of which he adopts tlie general details, and
some of the very phraseology, in his own narrative. The date
would have called attention too distinctly to the fact, that his
"just account" was derived from information obtained thirty
yeara after the events. Moreover, he suppresses the signifi-
cant fact, contained in the letter of his informant, that the
leader of the ruffian band, Robert Mitchell, whom he names,
was a nephew of the ruffian who attempted to murder Arch-
bishop Sharp.

It would be most instructive, were it possible, to place each
of Wodrow's scandals, which he strings together m his weary
chronicles as a boy threads eggs, in immediate juxtaposition
with the relative scraps of documentary evidence upon which
he so artfully founds. Any circumstance, be it a date, or

' Wodrnw MSS. in Advocate'* Library. TJi«re i«

A

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

91

ame, or an expression, likely to mar the desired effect of
I the testimony, is sure to be omitted. The foUowing absurdity
ftg;ainst Graham of Claverbouee, is intanded to swell the cata^
logiie of his " cruelties."

" James Brown, in the parish of Coulter, was very barba-
rously treated about the middle of June this year (1685), of
which I have before me an attested account. When fishing,
he was diacovered by Clavcrhouse when ranging up and down
the country, and apprehended. A powder-horn was found
upon him, and tluxt was /ault enough. Claverhouse declared
he was a knave, and must die. Accordingly, six of the dra-
goons dismounted, and he is set down before them to be shot.
By the intercessiou of the laird of Coulterallers, providentially
|»resent with Claverhouse, his execution was delayed till next
day, and James curried away by the soldiers to the English
border, aud from thence to the tolbooth of Selkirk, being all
the while bound with cords. After some time's imprisonment,
he happily escaped."'

It Beems, then, that " Bloody Clavere,'' even in the very

moment of his murderous impulses, was accessible to the voice

of humanity, if it happened that some douoo west country

laird was " providentially present" %vith him at the time.

But how came the inexorable " murderer" of John Brown in

the month of May, to part bo easily wtth his prey Jam^s

. Brown, in the month of June thereafter ? And what means

the story, that the execution was only " delayed till next day,"

and yet that he was immediately carried to the tolbooth of

Selkirk, and was therein confined for some time, until he broke

hia prison ? Of all tins, Wodrow tells us, " I liave be/ore me

I an attested account." Docs the account bear that no one but

I Claverhouse exerciseil jurisdiction in this aflfair? Who attests

the account ? Upon what authority ? With what details,

aud of what dale ?

Bound intu a little old mouldy volume of Wodrow's collec-
tiouB, we find an isolated scrap of closely written manuscript,
I its dimensions about three inches by two, which is there left
I to tell its own stciry, as foUoWH : —

iv.|..Kn-

92 UEMOIUALS OF TME

"James Brown, weaver in the parish of Culter, as he was
fishing upon the 18th day of June in the year 1685. Clavers
with three troops of horse apprehended him ; and there being a
powder-horn found upon him, Clavers said that he wbb a knave,
and therefore must die ; and accordingly six eoldiera were
commanded to light from their horses to shoot him ; but the
laird of Cultcrallers being providentially present -with Clavers,
intreated him to delay the execution of his sentence for tha
space of twenty-four hours, which was granted. But the said
James Brown was carried alongst with the soldiers to the
English border, and from thence to the tolbooth of Selkirk,
all the time being tied with cords, where he remained a pri-
soner for the space of (a) month, during which time the
Magistrates mani/ times urged him to take the test, which he
refusing, the Magtstrafes said that he was a knave, and there-
fore should be put to death ; but that, within some Jew days
Ifiereafter, he made his escape out of prison. This declaration
is made before me James Forrester, minister of the Gospel at
Culter, the eighteenth day of April 1712 years, and subscribed
by the said," —

"Ja. Forrester."'

A declaration, not said by whom emitted, only subscribed by
the attestor, and that too in the year 1712, of events said to
have occurred in the year 1685, — such is the evidence in sup-
port of this ijoiut of dittay against Colonel Graham ! But
why did Wodrow suppress so much ? Why did he suppress
the very important fact, contained in the manuscript before
him, which in other respects he copies verbatim, that the
Magistrates of Selkirk had become the responsible parties for
this alleged barbarous treatment ; that they had " many times
urged him to take the test," and that his obstinate refusal to
do 80 it was that put this delinquent's life in jeopardy ? Be-
cause the facts go to justify Claverhouse, and lead to the
rational conclusion, that the prisoner had refused to abjure
tlie published, but anonymous incentives to murder, doubtless
put to bim by the military commander also, and had in reality

■« MSS., Adro.-.u.,-' Lib,

d

VISCOUNT or DUNDEE. 93

r"beeii merci^Ui/ dealt with. The details were suppressed, be-
I cause they happen to he the very reverse of " necessary for
L aggravating the crimes of our enemies."

To disproye absolutely, and in detail, the long catalogue of

I calumnies, of which Wodrow's vicious history is composed, — a

1 history so much relied upon and bo rarely tested, so often quoted

I and BO little read, — would indeed be a difficult undertaking.

It involves the task of proving an interminable aeries of nega-

[ tives, in refutation of Wodrowana, which that zealoua partizan

records for the most part with an assumed bre^nty that forme

I their best protection. Happily, however, the means of precise

, and complete refutation ia not altogether awanting ; and no

> one witness, of all the pestilent " Cloud of Witnesses," that

bave poisoned History on the subject of Scotland's troubles

with her Kirk, has better earned a contemptuous dismissal,

under the legal brand, FalsKm in unoftdsum }n omnihus, than

the minister of Eastwood himself. Let us examine his record

of the martyrdom of Saint Steel : —

" In December this year (1686) David Steel, in the parish

I of Lesmahago, was surprised in the fields by Lieutenant Crich-

ton ; and, after his surrender of kimeel/ on quarters, ho was,

in a very little time, Tnost barbarously shot, and lies buried in

I the church-yard there."'

In thus curtly recording this " instance," Wotlrow had nut
[ anticipated the possibility of the accused himself publishing
I bis own detailed accoimt of the very incident ; and, obviously,
I without any reference whatever to Wodrow's false version of it.
[ Nor can we refrain from expressing surjirise, that the martyro-
i logisfs modern editor, however lavish of his illustrative notes,
\ hae omitted all notice of the story as we have it in those well
Imown Memoirs of Captain Creichton, compiled for him, from
\ bis own narration, by Dean Swift, and latterly edited by Sir
' "Walter Scott.

It is manifest from the context, that neither the hero of

I those Memoirs, nor his patron the Dean, were cognizant of

Wodrow's version of the incident ; his great marlyrology being

at that time in very little repute. Nor, tbronghont Captain

u

UEMOKIAI^ OF THE

Creichton'a Memoirs, is there the slightest attempt to conceal
or extenuate liis own uncompromising liostility in pursuit of
the muirland martyrs, or any of tho harsh and reckless fea-
tures of his professional activity in that deplorable service.
Had he shot David Steel with his own hand tlie moment he
caught him, no one who peruses those unreserved and graphic
revelations can doubt for a moment that he would have so
reported the matter to hoad-quarters, at tJie time, and have so
narrated it to Dean Swift in after years. Now, the truth ap-
pears to be, that, although slain in the fray, and with arms in
his hand, David Steel was not shot at all ; Creichton was not
present at the moment of his death ; there was no question
of quarter ; and the only shot fired upon the occasion was by
Bteel himself I Captain Creichton thus described this martyr
to Deau Swift ; and his account is of the more importance,
that Wodrow did not consider the case to be one in which the
detaih would serve " for aggravating the crimes of our

" Tliis man was head of the rebels since Airs moss, having
succeeded to Hackston, who had been there taken and after-
wards banged, as the reader has alreiwly heard,' Steel, and
his father before him, held a farm in the estate of Hamilton,
within two or three miles of that town. When he betook him-
self to arms the farm lay woste, and the Duke could find no
other person who would venture to take it. Whereupon, his
Grace, at whose table I had always the honoiu' to be a welcome
guest, desired I would use ray endeavours to destroy that
rogue, and I would oblige him for ever."

According to this rough dragoon's own account, a fortunate
concatenation of drinking and dreaming at length directed
him to the prize.

" Having dmnk hard one night, I dreamed tliat I had found
Captain David 8t«el, a notorious rebel, in one of tlie five far-
mers' houses on a mountain, in the shire of Clydesdale, and
parish of Lesmahago, within eight miles of Hamilton, a place
that I was well acquainted with. When I waked out of my
dream, I presently rose, and ordered thirty-six dragoons to be
at the place appointed, by break of day. When we arrived

' ILukslon of Itmhillet, one of Llie miirJerers of Arclibislinp Sliurp.

I

I

i

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

95

^
^
^

^^^■«ffatT

iher, I sent a party to each of the five farmer'a houses.
This villain Steel had murdered above forty of the King's sub-
jects in cold blood ; and, as I was informed, had often laid
mares to entrap me. But it happened, tiiat, although he
usually kept a gang to attend him, yet at this time he had
none when he stood in the greatest need. One of my party
found him in one of the farmer's houses, just as I happened
to dream. The dragoons first searched all the rooms below
without success, till two of them, hearing somebody stirring
over their heads, went up a pair of turnpike stairs. Steel had
put on his clothes while the search was making below. The
chamber where he lay was called the cJtaviber of dais; which
is the name given to a room where the laird lies when he
comes to a tenant's house. Steel suddenly opened the door,
fired a blunderbuss down at the two dragoons as they were
coming up the stairs ; but the bullets, grazing against the
the side of the turnpike only wounded, and did not kill them.
Then Steel violently threw himself down the stairs among
them, and made towards the door to save his life, but lost it
upon the spot ; for the dragoons who guarded the house dis-
patched him with their broadswords, I was not %oUh the party
vhen he was killed, being at that time employed in searching
at one of the other four houses ; but I soon found what hud
happened, by hearing the noise of the shot ma<lc with the
blunderbuss. From hence I returned straight to Lanark, and
immediately sent one of the dragoons express to Greneral
Drommond at Kdinburgh."

Deserving as he was of the gallows, Steel died stoutly ;
and if the question were whether he " had murdered above
forty of the King's subjects in cold blood," we would not hold
that fact absolutely proven, merely by the above narrative.
But as for the manner of Steel's death, and the general charac-
ter of the culprit, Creichton's most circumstantial and unre-
•erved account of an exercise of his professional duty, which
he had imvwdiatdy reported to liead quarters, is not to bo disbe-
lieved. WodroVs meagre record cannot stand for a moment
against it.

But where did the martjTologist obtain his version of the
«ffatTi' He refers to no authoritv- Noilher have wo been

96

UEMORIAI^ OF THE

able to discover any written " information" on the subject {
among all his manuscriptB.

Doubtless, uiKin tliis ocoaeion, Wodrow had helped himself 1
out of an obscure and now extremely rare print of the year '
1690, anonjTDOus, and fathered by uo publisher, which indeed,
appears to bo tbe prototype of his own grander scheme of
martyrology. To this veuomous, and utterly unvouched re- |
cord of fanaticism, we shall have to recur more particularly ■
in the sequel. At page 37, of the pamphlet in question, and
under the head, — " A short hint of those that have been
murdered since the year 1682," — the 31st item of the account
runs thus : —

" Lieutenant Crichton, now prisoner in Edinburgh, did,
most barbarously, after quarter, shoot David Steel, in the parish
of Lesmahago, Dt'cember 1686."' Here, manifestly, is Wod-
row's " information" on tbe subject. He adds, however, that
Steel lies buried in the church-yard of Lesmahago ; where
sure enough there is a monument to tbe martyr, with a suit-
able inscription. Captain Creichton is there of course immor-
talized as a murderer, since he commanded the party that
attempted to seize Steel, when the desperate outlaw met lua
death, blunderbuss in hand. But beyond the usual vitupera-
tion to be found in all of those fanatical obituaries, the inscrip-
tion upon Saint Steel's affords no corroboration whatever of
Wodrow, or of his anonymous authority. It does not say that
Steel was sliot; and Creichton himself, while mentioning the
epitaph, appears to have been totally unconscious of any such
false version existing, as that so oliscurely printed in 1690,

I Shields h>J not obtainej, nor cired to seek for, the psrtjeulars of Steel's de><h.
It sufficed for bis purpose to know that he was one of tlic " aufTereni." He took it
far granted, seeing that ihiH rebel outlaw had been dinpoeeJ ef by the tnilitar)', that
be was that ; and in recording such mart/rdomB, it una the stereotyped style of
these mendfiuious fanaticg, to assert mundl}' thai it was *■ aJUr quarttr." Shields
does Dot say [bul so pots it that the inrerence may be adopted if yeu please) that
Creichton shot David Steel leiti kit okh hand. That ofiii^er did not even witosM
the death at the outtan, as be happened (o be leurchiug for him etsewbere at the
momenL Shields himself tells us thai he only means to aflurd " a short hiut,"
of those who were " murdered ;" a v<-ry convenient form for his brulAl calumnies.
We shall fiad bis ikorl hint of the martjnloni nf the " Christian Carrier" (to effec-
Ii*ely elongated by Wodrow and Lord Macaulny), to be prrciwly of the nme eha-
rai-ler .is this of David Slcel.

VISCOUNT OP DUNDEE.

97

and slavishly repeated by Wodrow in 1721, " Steel," says
Creichton, " was buried in the church-yard of Lesmahago by
Bome of his friends ; who, after the Revolulion, erected a fair
'monument on piUare, over his grave, and caused an epitaph to
be engraved on the stone, in words to this effect : ' Here lietb
the body of Captain David Steel, a Saint, who was murdered
by John Creichton.' Some of my friends burlesqued this
epitaph in the following manner : —

' Here lieCh the body of Saint Sled,
Miinlerei] by John Creichton, that driV" '

But it might have been parodied so as to afford a true cha-
racteristic of all those coarse and crumbling calumnies, upon
which BO much mistaken sentimentality has been lavished : —

Here lid tbs body of Saint Steel,

And h<>re bif tomb-stone lUa at iceil.

The author of the anonymous print, from which Wodrow
had borrowed his version of this martjTdom, is none other, as

le wurda

, nad iiaperfrrlly of i
a hunourcil. S« Si

wing note occur* : —

was ubliKliiuljr

lied for

> wu murJmd by Crmghtan for
in, and becauM lie dartt mi awn
wbodied Ilia 20tli of Dec. ^aai.

■ Crsichlon only narrated from Qieini:
el th« epitapli willi wliich tbii martyr
•Lilian of Swift, x. IGl ; whei

•• Steclr'g epitaph ii atill l<
by the reverend Ur Hall, minister of tlie pnriel:

■ Ben Ilea the txidy uf David Steel, morlvr, i
Ilia tutimony la the covcnanled work of rerii-in

HUurilj u/tht tlk'n Igrant Jatroyiiiff tif bimi
I iWiai 1H06, an<l uf bU ago 33.

David, tt Hliepherd fimt, and iheii
AdTanced to hv King of nwu,
Had of hia gmwa in bj* quarter, («*(
And hero Ihiv wanderer, iioiv a marl
Who, for hia omiUnuy anil te»\,
Steele to the back, did pnive true dtt
Wbo for Cliriiit'a royal trnlha and In
And of the cu*enaDlcd caiiae,
Smlbiiid'a famoDH reforniai ■■'■>,
I>i»imuiDg tyraiila' usurpulifiii,
By cruel Ci«i|ihlon murdered Ilea,
Whoae bbod to H«v'n for vangaanr
" Wbaiever honuur tliia punning dogral may do eiilwr to the memory of the
BBrlyr.orof Craidilon, the reader aill pnibaUy agree that the poet will bav*

will be obwrved, tlmt there ia nutliing in th* abova obituary rvconl, to c<ir-
I roburata Aleaander SbielUa' aaacrtion tliat Dairid Steel wa* ikai.

98 MEM0RIAI3 OF THE

we shall presently prove, than his apostolw friend, Alexander
Shields, the author of " A Hind let loose." And it is in this
same worthless pamphlet that we discover the earliest record
of the martyrdom of Saint Brown, the " Christian Carrier."
But ere we pass on to that now celebrated and classic instance,
— of the savage nature of Claverhouse, and the cruelty of the
British Government so happily superseded by the merciful era
of the massacre of Glencoe, — let us pause upon the record with
which Wodrow has honoured the greatest of the Grahams.

Fortunately the history of the Marquis of Montrose, from
his cradle to his grave, has of late years been so thoroughly
elucidated, by every species of authentic and contemporary
document, that all he ever did, or ever said, bearing upon the
question of his conduct and character, has been made patent
to the world. No other historical character, indeed, has ever
been submitted to a more sean^liing ordeal ; and the result,
incontrovertibly proved, is, that he was a gentle and accom-
plished nobleman in social life ; a humane General, even in
the moment of sanguinary victory, and amid the broils and
bloodshed of a fearful civil war ; a high-minded and disin-
terested statesman and patriot, even during the chaos of the
Constitution, and the wreck of public and private integrity.
The whole of Montrose's career, thus minutely illustrated,
emphatically gives the lie to the following low and ignorant
libel, which we find set down, by Wodrow alone, in his
Analecta, and without the expression of a doubt, in the
year 1710:—

" He (Mr Andrew Fullarton) tells me, that in Montrose's
time, there was one Mr William Smith, minister somewhere in
Caithness. When Montrose came there with his army for the
King, he called the ministers in that bounds, and obliged them
all to take the oath of allegiance to King Charles. They all
yielded, except Mr Smith. Montrose called him, and threatened
him. Mr Smith told him, he resolved to live peaceably under
the King's government, or any government that would pre-
serv^e liberty and property, but would not take an oath of al-
legiance. After all fair and /b?^Z means would not prevail,* he

1 This is characteristic of Wodrow. Most libellers would have been contented
with saying, " after all fair means would not prevail, he ordered," Ac.

VISCODKT OF DUNDEE. 99

ordered him to be bound with a cord about the middle, and

cauBcd him to be dragged this way after tlie lioat, a mile of Kay

in the sea ; aud aye when the boatman flow htia exptritig, to

pail him in, and press him with the oath. He underwent this,

out and in again. He was brought into a room half dead ;

and, after ho was recuvcred a little, Montrose told bJTn ho

I woald yet offer liim his life once ; if not, he would order him

presently to be killed. He answered, — he was in his hands,

aod he might do in that as he pleased ; but he was resolved in

that matter, and would not do it ; hut, since he behoved to

1 die, he had a message to him from the Lord, which he entreated

I him to hear and consider : ' You have dragged me,' says he,

' this day, and made me n gazing-sfock to hundreds, but know,

eays he, ' tliat witliin nine (or six, / have forgot ) months, you

I sball be taken and dragged,' snya he, ' as dishonourably as I

1 am, and a thousand shall gaze on you for every hundred that

^'lias looked on me, and you shall die in the evil cause yon have

I hand.' This damped Montrose very much, He left Mr

Smith in prison, and wont south, and was heat entirely at Old

I Bam, — if I be not fwgot, — and taken into Edinburgh, and
execute at Edinburgh,"'
Here is a true brick of Wodrow's Baliel. Torturing t jTaunj
fexercised over the Lord's saints : Heroic unflinching martyr-
dom endured by the elect ; Condign retributive punishment
Cfvertaking the godless tyrant ; Beatified prophecy issuing out
of the inspired mouth of the martyr, speedily followed by
exact and awful fulfilment !
But the battle of Old Earn, or Auldearn, was one of Mon-
troae's greatest victories I Beaten in the south, at Philip-
haugh, certainly he was, not very long afterwards. But instead
of buing " taken into Edinburgh and exeeut^^d,' some " nine
or six months" either after the battle of Aiddeam or the sur-
prise at Philiphaugh, it was more than five years thereafter
that Montrose met his fate. So much for covenanting

\ prophecy, ajid Wodrow's knowledge of the history of the recent

Ltimcs he was professing to illustrate. We must now dispose
ySpr ever of this illiterate falstdiood

i. sea. When writing the Life of UontroH, the ■ntbor had nai
JImowwJ llii* Binieitnu mlitmnj' of WodrnvN, ar It would tiari bMn rpfal«4 tl>ar«.

100 MEMORIALS OF THE

1. When Montrose was, for a brief space, a soldier of the
Covenant, he greatly displeased the dominant clergy, by his
humanity contrary to orders. The Reverend Robert Baillie
repeatedly refers with regret to that contumacious lenity.
He bitterly complains of Montrose's " too great lenity ;" of his
not " using some severity for example ;" and he adds, — " the
discretion of that generous and noble youth was but too great!'
Commanding for the King, Montrose, in the moment of his
first desperate victory at the gates of Perth, refused to allow
the captured cannon to be turned against the masses of the
flying foe. When he entered the captured city he took instant
measures to protect the whole community. There is not a
case on record, of Montrose having put a prisoner to death.
From Inverlochy, the officers at his mercy, even of the Clan
Campbell, were dismissed on their parole. With his latest
breath on tlie scaffold, he anxiously and emphatically repelled
the vague fanatical cahimny of cruelty, hurled at him because
of the blood that flowed on the fields of his victories. " Dis-
orders," he said, ** in an army cannot be prevented; but they
were no sooner known than punished ; never was any man's
blood spilt but in battle ; and even then, many thousand lives
have I preserved!*

2. At the very time of the useless, impolitic, and horrible
cruelty, alleged to have been exercised upon the person of this
covenanting clergyman, every act and movement of the
dreaded Montrose was closely watched, and minutely chronicled^
by the zealots themselves. There is not a hint of such an in-
cident in any chronicle of the period. Nor in any other page,
or under any other hand, than Wodrow^'s own. Yet the facts,
as he records them, are so flagrant, as to render it absolutely
impossible that all the fanatical chroniclers of the day could
have missed them, or have failed most clamorously to hold
them up to public execration. The sufferer is said to have
tald Montrose, — " you have dragged me this day, and made
me a gazing-stock to hundreds" ! Was there not one of that
*■ cloud of witnesses" to report this most public act of indefen-
sible cruelty, perpetrated upon a clergyman, and one of the
iQOst heroic of his sect, even to the reverend Robert Baillie,
the Clarendon of the Covenant, whose pen was in his hand ?

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

101

Or to llie Argyle Parliament ? Or to the General Assembly
of tbe Kirk ?

3. There also exists, in Wodrow's owu handwriting, aud of a
date jyrior to that of his record of the cruelty in question, a
minute report which lie liad obtained from one of those cleri-
cal Kealots who tormented Montrose in prison, with their in-
vectives and denunciation a, on the eve of his executiim. Thus
safely in immediate contact with the dreaded hero himself,
and while loading him with every accusation they could think
of, these death-ravens of the Covenant never hinted at sucJi a
crime I

4. Lauderdale, Montrose's bitterest enemy, and ji>*'me aintser,
■when categorically questioned, as to the violent but ever
vague accusation of cruelty, was constrained categorically to
exonerate Montrose : " Tlie Earl confessed that he did not
know that he was guilty of any, btit what was done in the

I >W."t

6. The period of Montrose's last descent in arms upon
covenanting Scotland, was about the middle of April 1650.
On the 9th of April he is discovered dictating orders " from
shipboard, near the island of Flotta," of that date. A few
days thereafter he had lauded in Caithness. For the follow-
ing missive, addressed to " to the gentlemen and heritors of
the Sheriffdom of Caithness," is dated " Thurso, 1-lth of April
1650;"—

" Gentlemen ; Your not appearing to us, after our arrival in
this place, so timely as we expected, hath necessitated us (the
conveniency of his Majesty's affairs requiring our removal
from this part) to leave behind us some certain persons be-
longing to us, by whom we have thought good t<i commnni-

; cate unto you such things as wo judge most necessary to he
done by you at this time, in order to the establisliing and
carrying on of his Majesty's just service in these parts, and the
peace and happiness of every one of yourselves. For which
end we have particularly commanded them to offer unto you,

L in our name, an oath of fidelity and aUeginnce, to he subscribed

I by all and every one of you, to his sacred Majesty ; as it hath

102 MEMORIAI^ OF THE

been already cordiaUy done by those of the gentry and minis-
ters of Orkney, As we expect your cheerful performance
hereof, and ready concurrence with us in the prosecution of
that trust his Majesty has again reposed in us, so we shall
make it evidently appear imto you, that they could not have
pitched upon any who should more firmly and constantly pro-
tect and defend you, in all your just rights and concernments,
than your very affectionate friend,"

" Montrose."*

We arc asked to believe that the anxious writer of this
most temperate, courteous, humane, and dignified manifesto,
had, at this very time, been exhibiting the most diabolical
dispositions, before hundreds of spectators, in torturing a
Caithness-shire clergyman because he refused to take that
oath of allegiance ; and further, that Montrose himself having
fallen into the merciless hands of that same clergyman's sect,
in the month of May immediately foUotving, he was not then
accused of an act of atrocity, the proclamation of which,
through the length and breadth of the land, would have been
of far greater importance to the cause of those railing zealots,
than the life even of so devoted a brother as the reverend
William Smith.

Thus Wodrow has the merit of being the only chronicler, of
any period, who ever recorded even a hint of this frightful
accusation. He stands in the very same relation to the hero
of Killiecrankie. Of Claverhouse, too, he has recorded a foul
calumny, the most atrocious feature of which is to be met
with in no history prior to his own, published in the eighteenth
century, and in none since, until it finds its apotheosis in
those golden chronicles of England which have so greatly
amused the nineteenth century. The inquiry then becomes

> Memoirs of Montroee, Vol. ii. p. 743. The historian of the E^rls of Sntber-
land, very inimical to Montrose, thus records the simple fact : — *^ James Graham
eompels the inhabitants of Caithness to subscribe certain new papers, swearing
•bedience to his Excellency, as to the King's Generalissimo, which he presents also
to the minisUn there. They do all subscribe these papers exempt one Mr Smith,
whom, upon his refusal, he sent to his ships, to be put in irons ; but this minister
was afterwards released." — (P. 552.) An unruly firebrand, doubtless as leniently
treated as possible under the circumstances.

VISCOUNT OF DDNDEE. lOS

utJCBBsary, as to tbe authority uikhi wbich Scotlaml's mnrtyr-
ologtst had constructed tliat unique legend of the martyrdom
of John Brown, the " Christiftn Carrier."

By way of verification, ho as usual refers to " my informa-
tions," but leaves us to find tliem where we can. With liia
Damcless and unknown i>rat informations, — if any he had, —
very old women, perhaps, " who romemhcred the evil days," —
we cannot grapple. But amid the duaty and dreary maze of
his manuscripts, wo have succeeded id discovering what,
manifestly, was his vn-iUcn informations on the suhject, Tho
document is undated, and unsigned. But it is docqueted, in
Wodrow'a own hand, " Sufl'miigs of the parish of Miiirkirk."
Valuable to our martjTologist was the word " sufferings," and
he worked it well, as did all his zealous correspondents. His
liberal use of it seemed to settle the question, without the
necessity of other proof. The information itself, to which we
now refer, written in another hand, bears this title: "The
Sufferings of the parishioners of Muirkirk, in the late fimes,
under the reign of Charles the Second, and of his brother
King James." The internal evidence proves it to have been
compiled sometime after the Revolution. In this manuscript
Claverbouse is only once mentioned, towards the conclusion
of it, and under this imposing head : " A list of persona in
this parisli of Muirkirk, drowued, murdered, killed, and sent
over the seaa, situ:e Ptnthtjui." Tbe accusation again&t our
hero rana thus: —

" Also, Claverhouse, in the year 1685, coming out of Les-
mahago, apprehended John Brown i» Priostshield, at his work,
his wife standing in the door, and a child in her arms; he
caused shoot him; and wo are crevlihlij informed that his wife
said to Clavethouse, ' Yon will give an account of what you
have done.' Claverhouse answert-d, that, " to men I can be
answerable, and for God I can tako liiiu in my own hand.'"
Kot another word about ('laverhousc does this manuscript
contain. Nor can we discover among the Wodrow collections
any other " Informations" on (he subject. That it was infor-
mation obtained by the marlyrologist in aid of his chronicle
of the '■ SulTi'ring!." of his Kirk, is proveil by his possession
of it ; find also by this, that ho Adopts the very phrn-ir.ili.gy

104 MEMORIAI^ OF THE

of his hearsay evidence. In reference to the vulgar bandying
of words, and blasphemous bravado with which the lofty cava-
lier is said to have concluded the scene, it will be observed
that Wodrow, in his history, adopts the words of the manu-
script, — " I am credibly informed," &c. Now, the revelation
is startling, and anything but creditable to Wodrow, that he
was in possession of, using, and foimding his own historical
credit upon latent written information, which, after that in-
spection which Wodrow did not anticipate it would be sub-
mitted to, is found absolutely to contradict the worsf feature
in the story against Colonel Graham that WodroVs published
version of it contains. It is not merely that the imscrupulous
martyrologist had raked out of some other gutter a more trucu-
lent fact than his written information had happened to supply.
But it is, that he liad secretly before him a manuscript of
what he calls ** my informations," and the contents and very
phraseology of which he adopts, so far as they suit his pur-
pose, which nevertheless contains a positive contradiction, —
kept latent by the martyrologist, — of the most telling fact
against Graham of Claverhouse that is recorded in WodroVs
own historical version of the death of John Brown ! That
history tells us, that the " Christian Carrier," " having great
measure of the gift, as well as the grace, of prayer, the sol-
diers were affected and astonished ; yea, which is yet more
singular, such convictions were left in their bosoms, that, as
my infonnationa bear^ not one of them would shoot him, or
obey Claverhouse's commands ; so that he was forced to turn
executioner himself, and, in a fret, shot him with his own hand,
before his own door, his wife with a young infant standing
by, and she very near the time of her delivery of another child."
While recording for history so gross a falsehood (as in the
sequel we shall prove it to be), derived from what other source
it were needless to inquire, Wodrow was secretly in possession
of ^* my informations" of the " Suflferings of the parish of
Muirkirk," wherein it is expressly stated that Claverhouse
" caused shoot him;" a mode of expression distinctly imply-
ing that the execution was in military form, and not by
the hand of Claverhouse himself. And this most important
variation in the story Wodrow withholds from history and the

VISCOUNT OF DDNDEE.

105

public, in order that the vile calumny he was anxious to eBta-
bliah might fall under no doubt or discredit I

I But we discover another, and a printed record of the death
of John Brown, — a record also known to Wodrow, and of date
only five years after tho event. It exists in that rare pamph-
let compiled by Alexander Shields, from which, as we have
Elready shown, Wodrow had culled his false version of the
death of Saint Steel. As formerly promised, we now recur to
a more particular exposition of this fanatical performance.
It is entitled, " A short Memorial of the Sufferings and
Grievances, past and present, of the Presbyterians in Scot-
land, particularly of those of them called by nickname Came-
ronians: Printed in the year 1690." That Alexander Shields,
the author of that infamous production, " A Hind let loose,"
was also the author of this pamphlet, there can be no doubt.
For Patrick Walker, the fanatical pedlar (a contemporary of
whom more anon), uses these expressions in his " Life and
death of Mr Alexander Peden:" —
■' Let all who desire to be truly informed of the beginning,

I rise, height, and length, of the tyranny of that twenty-eight
years' persecution, read the ' Sufferings aud Grievances of
Presbyterians, especially those of them nicknamed Cameron-
ians,' written hj /amovs Mr Shirlds."
But, independently of tho half-crazy pedlar's exulting an-
nouncement of tlie (act, the authorship can be easily gathered
from the context. It had originally been framed for presen-
tation to King William, as a help and directory to the new
Government, upon the fond but consistent fanatical idea, that
•the advent of the Orange dj-nasty would prove the inaugnra-
I tion of a triimiphant Millenium of tlie Covenant in Scotland,

established upon the religious views aud Christian sentimentB

of Buch men as " famous Mr Shields." But the Cameronian

_ clique, to which he had given in liis adhesion, were no less
I disappointed, as regarded their own positiou in the State with
r King William, than the Argyle clique had heou with Charles
I Uie Hccond. No sooner had the death of Dundee, in 1689,
t steadied tho rocking throne of the Dutchman, (ban these
I Cameronian wolvc-s came fawning to his footstool. But, when
' approarhing with a too tiiinnphant lerr, their assuming gri-

106 MEMORIALS OF THE

maces and ridiculous anathemas against any govermennt save
the useless and impracticable directory of the Conventicle,
were unceremoniously thrust back. A preface to the reader,
in Saint Shields' " Short Memorial," contains this long groan
over the ignominious discomfiture : —

" Now, for adhering to this complex testimony, what have
been the sufferings and grievances of Presbyterians in gene-
ral, and ours in particular, since anno 1660, from the popish,
prelatic, and malignant party, is more fully demonstrated,
with the principles and testimony contended for by us vindi-
cated, in Naphtoli, Jus Populi, the Hind let loosCy our In/or-
matory Vindication ^ and the Testimony against the Toleration
given in by that faithful and zealous minister of Christ, Mr
James Ren wick, and here summarily remonstrated. We had
once a resolution,- at the first appearance of the Prince of
Orange, who, under God, was the honoured instrument of our
begun enlargement from them, to have addressed his High-
ness with this same memorial. But that failing, after this
long suspense in expectation of some redress of grievances, —
whereof we and many others have l)ecn in a great measure
disappointed, — we have been induced to publish it in this
jtmcture, with an appendix of our present complaints of some-
thing that we understand to be wrong in the Church, State,
Army, and Country, at the time of the writing thereof ; which
was in the time and upon occasion of the many adjournments
of Parliament ; wherein something will occur which may seem
obliquely to reflect upon the Gk)vernment, when we complain
of the ill administration of many malignants in power. But
as they are sad truths which cannot be denied, and though we
may be charged with imprudence in speaking so freely what
many thousands, and those of the surest friends the Govern-
ment hath, do think, so, however we be neither politicians
nor flatterers, we think conscience and loyalty both doth
oblige us to speak what concerns the King and Country both
to hear," &c. &c.

But neither the Court, the Elirk, nor the Parliament, of
Presbyterian King William, would have anything whatever
to do with the " conscience and loyalty," of the sect whom
Saint Shields was now leading ; nor would they condescend

VISCOUNT or DUNDEE.

107

lio pRtronize, or venture to list«ii to, " the surest friends the
pGovemmcut hath." This Dutch ingratitude, and Orange ob-
stinacy, roused at least the indignation of that godly pedlar,
Patrick Walker, Referring to King William's General
Assembly, convened in October 1690, he bitterly complains of
" The hard and bad treatment Master Shields, Linning, and
I.Boyd met with ; their paper containing the Grievances only
iTead in a Committee ; not one speaking in favours of it, —
I.«xcept an old minister from the north, who said, ' That is a
I jell sort of a paper ; it deals the btxtte among the haima, and
Igives me a cuff in the by-going,' — and condemned in open
T Assembly, though few of them knew what was in it. Old Sir
|, James Stewart, Advocate, said several times, this was a stain
I to that Assembly ; And let the unbiassed world judge, if that
I paper deserved these epithets they gave it, inserted in their
1,-public Acts, viz., that it contains several peremptor gross mis-
f takes, unseasonable and impracticable proposals, viKharitable
I uid i^juriwie reflections."

Patrick the i)edlar must have had strange notions of " the
I unbiassed world," to suppose that it could do any thing else
I than coincide with an Assembly of the Kirk in condemning
I this alarming and untoward resurrection of their own revola-
f.tionary principles. Nor can it well be doubted, that when the
I Tenom foimd a safer vent, for all concerned, in the shape of a
I pamphlet anonyviouxly printed, that production would be yet
I more redolent of fanatical trash, treason, and calumny. As it
I contains the earliest record we can discover of the death of
1 the " Christian Carrier," and really seems to be the fountain
at which the Shields-inspired Wodrow drank of the Suffer-
ings and Grievances of his Kirk, wo must pause a little upon
the long forgollon record.

It commences with an address to the reader of several pages
of zealot bombast, assuming to be a " deduction" of " Keligious
and Civil Liberties." But all intention is disavowed of oppos-

Iing King William, whom it bespatters with praise, laying the
entire blame upon " Ma3itpuint« ut Court, Council, and Parlia-
ment, who aro seeking to betray him and vs Imth." This ad-
vanced guard, of his array of mart)Ts, is followed by the main
body of " Grievances," — tbirty-tbreo in numiier, systemnlinilly

108 MEMORIALS OF THE

martialled. The curious in that interminable subject " Scot-
tish Grievances," would do well to hunt out this very rare
specimen of them, and study the subject under the light of
such a genius as " famous Master Shields." After the
" Grievances," march a rear guard of " SuflFerings," showing
somewhat like FalstaflTs recruits, — " ragged old-faced ancients;
nay, and the villains march wide betwixt the legs as if they
had gyves on ; there's but a shirt and a half irr all their com-
pany." There is not the slightest attempt to authenticate this
libellous section of the performance. The naked assertion by
the anonymous pamphleteer, of the most violent accusations
against men of the highest position, must be accepted of, as
the fact. If we are to believe this record, among all the rebels
of the west of Scotland, from before the murder of Archbishop
Sharp until after the death of Dimdec, there was not one
single criminal. On the other hand, every member of the royal
family, every statesman, every nobleman, every military com-
mander, every laird in any degree connected ^vith upholding
the uncovenanting throne in Scotland, against a lurking rebel-
lion of armed assassins, were men without piety or principle ;
without a spark of Christian feeling or natural humanity in
their bosoms ; and daily occupied, as a pleasant pastime, with
slaughtering some harmless and saintly peasant, at his cottage
door, or by the wayside, or (according to Malcolm Laing and
Charles Fox) " in the arms of his wife." No single fine was
ever exacted that comes not under Saint Shields' category of
cruel extortion. No tax to sustain the executive was ever
imposed, that does not enter his black list of lawless oppres-
sion. No rehel^ however rampant, was ever deprived of his
life, in battle, or imder martial law, or by judicial sentence,
that was not murdered, — that had not lived a saint and died
a martyr. What a picture of Scotland ! During the latter
half of the seventeenth century, all the lowest in the land re-
presented Heaven, all the most noble and exalted represented
Hell ! How came this to be ? Let us learn from famous
Master Shields, who inspired a Wodrow, who instructed a
Macaulay.

" Tlie immediate authors, actors, and instruments, of these
oppressions, were principally the Curates, instigating the

VIriCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

loy

^^ itoci

ivy Council, which empowered the/orces, aud noblemen and
:ffentlemen of the country, to prey upon the poor people. All
'Canuot be here expressed ; but some of the moat noted in the
iireBtern shires shall he named, who were the greatest persecu-
tora and oppressors, by finings, and other exactions."

And first this recording angel names " Officers of the

lyorces," commencing with the prime minister's brother :

" Colonel Douglas, now Lieutenant-General Douglas, brother

to the Duke of Queensberry : Lieutenant-General Drummond :

Earl of Lithgow ; Earl of Airlie : Lord Balcarrcs ; Graham of

ClaverhouBe, afterwards Viscount of Dundee: Colonel Bucban :"

uid eo on through all ranks of the infernal host, Majors, Cap-

^taine, and Lieutenants, till we come to, — " Bonahaw, a bor-

irer, a hitjkwayttian, afterwards an officer of dragoons, robbed

inch from poor people in Clydesdale i Duncan Grant, a cripple

mnth a tree leg, a vcrj' outrageous persecutor, exacted in Clydes-

le, from poor people, above fifteen hundred pounds"!

Next in this Pandomonean panorama arc paraded the noble-

iaien and gentlemen, great statesmen and infiuential lauded

prietors. Hide your heads Christian descendants of the

Upholders of Antichrist. They are catalogued under their

respective shires, — nailed to the locality of their iniquities like

kites and beasts of prey on a bam door. Clydesdale, Ren-

&ew, Ayrshire, Galloway, Nithsdale, Annandale I How a

lOhristian gentleman, or a righteous judge, should ever have

fhed us, as wo know thoy have, from the loins of such a

Itock, is matter of marvel. In AjTshire, — " Crawford of Ard-

miUan, a wicked persecutor and spoiler; the laird of Craigie, a

ffreat persecutor and oppressor." In Nithsdale, — " The Duke

-of Queensberry and his sons oppressed much: John Alison,

iberlain to the Duke of Queensberry, when dying said, ho

damned his soul for the Duke his master." Twero long

tell all the tyrannical iniquities of the great heritors enume-

Xed under this head ; nor can we enter hero into the savage

which the author curtly and nakedly catalogues, under

following sanguinary rubric, —

The list of those who were killed in cold blood, without
lal, conviction, or any colour of law, hy the persons under-

110 MEMORIALS OF THE

written ; a short hint of those that have been murdered since
the year 1682 wiU mffee" (suffice ?)

And this is the vial of wrath, out of which the giant Wod-
row issues, in vaporous and vapouring expansion, monatrum
horrendum ingena ! He had possessed himself of a great deal
of the calumnious rubbish which formed the staple of the older
martyrologist's anathemas ; and his own " History of the
Sufferings of the Church of Scotland," exhibits throughout
the impress of his fanatical master. And in this anonymous
print of 1690 it is, that the earliest record occurs (so far as
discovered), of the death of John Brown. But Alexander
Shields does not therein dignify Colonel Graham of Claver-
house according to the figurative denimciations of Lord
Macaulay, as " chief of this Tophet on earth.'i He sets down
against him, indeed, every necessary exercise of the executive
power entrusted to him, as a murder or a savage act. But he
tells us, " The chief contrivers and authors of all these
slaughters and mischiefs, were they that enacted and sub-
scribed the edicts for them in Council ; principally the Earl
of Perth, Chancellor : Duke of Queensberry : Marquis of
Athole ; and particularly the Viscount of Tarbat, who invented
the murderous device, wherein yet he carried so cimningly
that he procured the despatch of the act to the King with
such suddenness, that he found a way to shift his own sub-
scribing it." The terrible guardsman, however, is not left
unscathed by this famous chronicler. Among less conspicuous
instances of his professional activity, the following is recorded :
" Item^ the said Claverhouse, in May 1685, apprehended John
Brown in Priesthill, in the parish of Muirkirk, in the shire of
Ayr, being at his work, about his own house, and shot him
dead before his own door, in presence of his wife."

Thus curtly, and just five years after the event, is the death
of the " Christian Carrier" recorded against Claverhouse, by
the most unscrupulous pen that was ever dipt in brimstone,
— a pen that, as the fanatic pedlar so dolefully admits, was
scorned and rejected by the Presbyterian Grovemment of King
William, and fonnally condemned by the Assembly of the
Kirk " for its gross mistakes, unseasonable and impracticable

V[SCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

Ill

wsals, uncharitable and injurious reflections."' Had there
xiHt«d, at that time, such a slory, however false, as that
folonel Graham had shot ^-ith his own hand an innocent
lant, hecause the dragoons under hia command had refused
obey the cruel order, that version would have l»en no less
raluable, for the object of Alexander Shields, tlian it was to
iie design of Wodrow's martyrologies, and would have been
jcorded con amore in the venemous pamphlet of 1690. But,
8 we ascend to the source, tlie hideous legend of Saint Brown
Momes " fine by degrees, and beautifully less." Nay, when
wenty-four years thereafter the concentrated essence of fana-
!cal and reckless calumny was raked together into that fecu-
ot heap, the Scotch Newgate Calendar of Saints, entitled,
" A C'loiid of Witnesses for the royal prerogative of Jesus
jist," the testimony of this delinquent, John Brown, waa
[aiu presented to the public, but simply in the form of a
trbatim reprint of what had Wen recorded on the subject by
ijllexander Shields in 1G90.'

B Report from Ibe ComroitWe of Oterturos lo the Gcncnl Aiaemblj, con-
I t^io; the wnleuce cjiinled by Walker in ha Life of Pedra, kdds tliese words,
which the pcdlir had omitled, — ** Tending rellwr to kindle conleution, llun to
eompDH diviaionB." Seo oeil Hole.

• Tlie Retarend Aieiuinder SliicljB, author of " A Hind let loniw,'' i>su in fact
one of llic most oulni^i-uua, mid at (he ume time oawardly, finshnada of [lie age.
Hbd; were the poor deliuquenta whose ignorant minds he inHaiiied, a»d drove on
to their deetruetiou. Vet so little was he himeelf inclinsd lo ilford in hi« own per-
•00 the " leMiinony" of a niartyr, that he never fjuied to succumb and cranoh to
p'AUhoHl; when arraigned for his olfencos. We lutve teen (p. 61.) how to save his
b he took the oath of allegiance, and solemnly abjured the truculent treasons of
it the time when so mercifully dealt witli in being only sont ■ priiuner lo
But tlio Kirk Government of King William, which might have been
Bipecled to bo grateful lo the firebrands that lighted the advent of the Orange
dynaily, regarded Alexander Shields, and his coadjutors, as dangemus lo all esta-
blished gavemment, and treated tliem after a fashion whieb entirely jualified the
fallen dynasty in having placed their leader in limbo. Nor is Ifast true which
Wodmw records, thut this fanatic '■ came in htartUn at the ReTolutian."-~(Se«
iMfore, p. 61.) The vpry reverse ie the truth. The follawiog is from the oldest
printed volume of Ihe Acts of the General Assembly of the Churcli of Scotland,
pabliabed in IG91 :~

" Edinbnrgh, 3£lh October 1690.— Tlie General Assembly having received a
Report from tlie Committee of Overtures, anent rwo payrrt given into the said
Committee, and subscribed by Mr Tlioiua* Lining, Mr Alexander Scbields, and Mr
William Boyd,— who had followeil umo coiirBV mnlrarf to tU ori*n o/liU Ck%nk,
— whMTeby, ' The said Committee, out of their ardent dmirv of union In the Church,

112 MEMORIAI^ OF TUE

Having thus traced the genealogy of Lord Macaulay'a ■
rivative calumny against Dundee, we must now discIoBe, from
more authentic sources, the actual circumstances under which i
this John Brown forfeited his life to the laws of his country.

The idPane but alarming attempt, by a wild faction of the I
community of Scotland, chieHy inspirc'd by those Tillajious I
Bpirite who had just escaped from the scene of their enormity, I
— murdering an aged prelate literally in the arms of hia
daughter, — the audacious scheme of such characters to de-
throne Charles the Second, was finally crushed, as an open i
rebellion in arms at Bothwell Bridge, But the fanatical dis-
tricts of the west of Scotland, among whose all but inacces-
sible moors and mosses armed conventicles were more active ,

Koomaiend to the Anemblr the reading of tjU ikartsr of iXeu tm paprn, in whidi
the fore-named persona oblige themnelTea, after the exhibiting of the lar^ ff^i
(which they offer, as they profoan, far the ftoHerattun of tiitir tORKitiieri,} Mid
laying it down at tlie Assembly's feet, to be disposed apon as the Aucmblv should
think lit : Tliat thev shall in all required enbrnisMon subject themsclvea, their live*
and doctrine, t^j the cognizance of the respectire Juilicatonea of this Ctinrch,
and equally to oppose schism and ileftction in any capacity that they slranld be
capitbte of. But tlio said Committee judgeth the reading of 0<e larger af At taUi
(wo papen iu full Asiembly to be \neonKn\nt, in reheard, though there be uttral
good thing* in it, yet the sune doth also euntain utxral pirrmptorj aitd jrom mn-
tattt, tuiieatatiabU ami impraetieaUe propotalt,aad unaluiritabUatid injuriottra- '
fitetioia, Itnd'iitf rathtr U kimllt sontrelioM ttaa lo iompMe diHtienn NoTerlhateai,
the said Committee give it as their opinion, that the foresaid o^fcr of the above
named persono, llieir tulijection and obrditnet lo the authority of this Chorch, in
her respective Judicatories, contained in tliu aaid tkarUr paper, should be eiitei^
(ained and seccpled of by the Assembly, and the/ received into conimuaion with
this Cliurch, according to their several capnoities.'"

" Likeas the above-named persona having compeared In prcscDce of the Assem-
bly, and judicially owned and adhered nnto tlieir eaid ihorttr ]iaptr; and the Assem-
bly having hoard the above written Report of the Committee of Overtores, regnrd-
ing both the said inpcis, as also tlie said iktrter paper read in tlieir preseuce, tlie
Cienentl Assemhly, after mature deliberation, did HanniHiuiiify, and wicAmt a aim-
trari/ roice, approve the above written report and opinion of the Committee of
Overtures, in the whole heads thereof. Which being intimated lo the fore-named
persona, they aeifuiaetd Iherela. Upon all which the following act was made."

Then fallows tlie act of subjection of these backaiiding saints, whom the now
Bomowhat sobered, and tolerably saliafled. Assembly of tlie Kirk," gravely admo-
nished by the Modoralor to walk orderly in time coming, in opposition tn all schism
and division," in terms of (heir " submission and Bubjeetion."

So much for Wodrow's " sucaeaaful, serious, and solid preacher, and useful mi-
aister in Ihia Cliurch, moved with love lo souls, and aomewbat of the uid apoitelie
i/iirK."— (See before, p, 62.)

I

VISCOUNT OF liUXDEE. 113

than ever, harboured various wandering bands of the muet
truculent of these rebels. Having fled from justice, they
were for the most part under senttnce of fugitation ; and
therefore ready and anxioua to combine into a new army
against the reigning dj'nastj whenever tho opportunity oc-
curred. Meanwhile, tho most desperate of these lurking cri-
minals, — being the very flower of Wodrow's army of martyrs,
— were ever on the alert to indulge their vengeful feelings, by
murdering any of the loyal lieges whom their conventicle
orators, or their own private eiunitiea, might point out for
- destruction. The state of matters in the west of Scotland at
that time, was worse than the worst condition of Ireland, in-
fested by assassins, under the domination of unprincipled
priests. The peace and security of the country was utterly
destroyed, and the Groverament kept in a constant state of
agitation and alarm, by their treasonable proclamations to
excite the people, and their repeated acts of insane violence
to terrify tho peaceable and loyal. No government on earth
could tolerate such a system, and exist. Acts of executive
Beverity were not tho cai/se of this fanatical fury, but the
effect.^ Unlesfi these fanatics were put down at once by the
moet energetic and rapid exercise of the executive power, it
was manifest that anarchy must desolate the land.

The most alarming crisis was towards the close of 1684,
and throughout the year 1685, in which last the " Christian
Currier" at length paid the penalty of hia folly and his crimes.
The Duke of Queensberry, holding the offices of Lord High
Treasurer and Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament,
was now prime minister for Scotland. He was in constant
correspondence with the Conrt ; and every incident of public
importance was reported by him to tho Duke of York, whom
the King bad entrusted with the command of the affairs of
Bcotland, civil and military. The office was

■ Laodlr u \jitA M«»uUf tirliim* agftinil *h>t h* uMimn bi h»Tr> hrrii iln
•Mcnble emeltj' ot the (rinrarnmpDt of Chart** tuA itmf, ho ■oim'tiin'-K flndi ■
■naienient to ngtrd cnHlly aa tha eiciuabiB conConiiUlit of in rrregriie gvilipv
Henwntioiu Iww •• lli*t Brurl \iM mott eumtilttt a»d eKtrg^ic intlim l.j- wliifli (i(rpn
propoMi] la make Inkiid thoroagh Engliib, wu tbmduncd," after the l!Mir]iiitlti(i

Hilt. 1. 167.

114

MEMORIALS OF THE

to that nnfortunate Prince, and one of extreme difficulty.
We may here afford, from the Queenslierry papers, already re-
ferred to, a few Bpecimens of this anxious correspondence,
which has never hitherto entered history, or appeared in
print.'

Upon the 20th of November 1684, his KoyaJ Highness writ«s
to Qtieenaberry on the subject of the fugitated rebels' decla-
ration of war, and threats of murder, which bad just been
reported to him : —

" I see by yours of the 9(h that another declaration has
been put up by some of the rebels, upon some churcb-doora,
one of which has been sent me by the Chancellor. 'Tis well
they can do nothing else but Ifiat, and rob poor mtnieters'
fiowses. One Roswell, a Presbyterian minister, was this day at
the King's Bench found guilty of treason by the petty Jury,
for preaching seditiously at one of their meetings."

The Ixird Register, Sir George Mackenzie of Tarbal (soon
afterwards created Viscotiiit Tarbat), thus reports to Queena-
berry, then in Dumfriesshire, by letter dated 10th November
1684 :—

" This day the Secret Committee have met on occasion of
a paper affixt on the cross of Litbgow, declaring war with
the Government, and promising to kill ua all.

" Since we find there is a party declaring a war, who lurk
within us, wc think on a strict enquiry, for all in the nation
who will not /aiswear those opinions; and especially in Edin-
burgh ; and at any rate to free the kingdom of all of them.
For (hunting ?) and hawking are judged absolutely insecure.
The justice court are just now denouncing Earl Loudon, Mel-
ville, Ac. fugitives. We aro ordering an enquiry on oath in
Linlithgow and Borrowstounness concerning this paper."

The protective measure adopted by the Privy Council of
Scotland, after consulting the Judges, was, the application of
a special test, to which all were to he liable, of an oath, ab-
juring the having been accessory to, or approving of, those
treasonable and sanguinary proclamations, secretly afhxed to
the ofittrcA doors and market-crosses; threats which these fugi-
tated rebels immediately commenced to fulfil. Further, it

J

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 115

was detennined that the fact of obstinately refusing, in pre-
sence of two witnesaes, to take that easy and rational test of
innocence and peaceful intentionB, should subject the guilty ,
party to the penalty of death, under martial law, whenever
apprehended by the military authorities sent in pursuit of
Buch lawless and dangerous fugitives.

Upon the 27th of November 1684, the Duke of York again
writes to Queensberrj as follows, on the subject of the mid-
night murder of tho two Lifeguardsmen : —

" By the letters which came from Edinburgh of the 20th
•nd 2'2d, yesterday I was informed of the murder was com-
mitted by some of the fugitive rebels upon two of the gentle-
men of the guard, near Blackburn, in pursuance of their late
declaration. It shows of what abominablo principles they are,
and what all loyal men are to expect from them. For now
that they are not in a condition of doing the Government any
harm, they will vent their malico upon private persons. So
that all you, who have so great a share of the affairs there,
ought more particularly to have a care of yourselves. You
will see by his Majesty's letter, which is to go by this post,
that he approves of the method proposed for the finding
and punishing such desperate vilUins. I have not time to
say more."

It was upon the 12th of December thereafter, less than a
month, that the intrepid and conscientious curate of Garft-
phaim was shot at midnight within his own manse. That
base deed being also immediately reported to his Majesty and
the Duke of York, the latter again writes as IbUows, from St
James's, to the prime minister in Scotland, upon the 22d of
December 1684 :—

" I have last week yours of the 13th, but not in time to
answer it by the last Saturday post ; by which I find that
Bome of the fugitive rebels had murdered a minister in Gal-
loway ; by which one sees that those desperate villains will
lose no opportunity of doing what mischief they can ; and
would spare nobody, and do more were it in their power ; and
I am sure you of the Secret Committee will continue their
care and vigilance to secure the Qovemment from such bloody
principled villains."

116 KEMORIALS OF THE

Immediately thereafter, in January 1685, as we hare al-
ready Been, the gallant Captain Urquhart, a staflF-oflBcer, the
laird of Meldnim's brother, fell by the hand of an outlawed
rebel ; and Colonel Douglas, the prime minister s brother, nar-
rowly escaped the same fate.

Nor was this all. At this time, for his Majesty's troops to
traverse the disaflFected districts, although imder the highest
command, and the strictest discipline, was a duty of the
greatest peril, more esi)ecially if they happened to have rebels
in custody. The dragoons were shot from ambuscades ; and
even when their prisoners had been lodged in some place of
security, the rebels would force the doors to release them,
whereby some of these insane outlaws, in eflFecting their cri-
minal ends, obtained their crown of martyrdom on the spot.
We again quote from the too friendly Fountainhall, but a
Christian gentleman, who never attempted to palliate these
villanies ; and who, to his immortal honour be it remembered,
declined, from his own party, in 1692; the office of Lord Ad-
vocate, because he could not justify the Orange Government
in regard to the massacre of Glencoe.

" In August 1684, some of Claverhouse s troop, bringing
sixteen prisoners from Dumfries, they were assaulted by some
Whigs at a strait pass of Enterkin hill, and two or three of
the King's forces were killed."

" 20tli December 1684 : Letters came from Colonel Graham
of Claverhouse, then in Galloway, that he had met with a
party of these rogues, who had skulked in the mountains (if
their retiring holes could be got, they are so cowardly they
may be easily routed,) he had followed them, killed five, and
taken three prisoners, some of which were of the murderers
of the minister of Carsphairn ; and that he was to judge and
execute the three prisoners by his justiciary power ; and if his
garrisons were once placed, he hoped to secure and quiet the
country."

This fearful state of affairs is confirmed, and more instances
afforded, by another chronicler, nearly contemporary, who
published in 1714 a short memoir of Dundee, designing him-
self " an officer in the army." There is no reason to doubt
the facts he so circumstantially records, and in several of

VISCOUNT OF DUNDKE. 117

which he is corroborated by Fountainball, and others. Refer-
ring to the year 1685, be says, —

" About this time the Whigs began to renew their rebel-
lions in Gialloway, where they murdered the minister of Ore-
font} in his bed ; and coming afterwards to Kirkcudbright,
killed a poor man there, who was one of the sentries on the
tolbooth, only for challenging Wlio comes there? About six
miles from Kircudbright, Clavers, with some horse and dra-
goons, attacked that party of rebels that murdered the minister,
chased tliem iuto a bog, killed seven or eight of them,* and took
some prisoners, who told him the murderer of the minister lay
dead on the spot.

" This is all I can observe transacted between Clavers and
the rebels in King Charles II.'s time, except some barbarous
murders committed by the rebels on Clavers' soldiers, whereof
there are now living many eye-witnesses, both in England
and Scotland.

" William Cunningham and Andrew Cleveland, two dra-
goons, going out of Cumlock in the ahire of Ayr, were set
upon by seven country fellows out of a wood ; Cunningham ■
waa murdered, and at the intercession of some countrywomen,
Cleveland was saved,

" Oliphant and his comrade, two dragoons quartered in the
parish of Newmills, in the shire of Ayr, wore both murdered
by the Wliigs on a Sunday morning as they went to their
conventicle: a glorious work before prayers 1

" Irvine, a dragoon, was killed between Douglas and Lanark,
by a man and a woman who went along the road with him,
until they came to a pass ; the man threw him olT bis horse,
and the woman killed bim with his own sword.

" Flesher, a trooper coming homo to bis troop in Clydes-
dale, was murdered by six Whigs, thrown in a river, and
found six weeka afterwards.

" Two troopers, who went out of the garrison of Blabau, in

■ ■ CraToni" U obvinualy « iiiiii)irlni
M, «M ninnlervd st mi'luiglii, but

tor Canphnirn. Tlw nibiiilar, w we Iwra
on JiU own thnmholil, hkvUu b«cn rouHj

MEMORIALS OF TBE

the shire of Ayr, iu the evening to walk, were both shot from
the wood by tho Whigs.

" A single dragoon coming into a pubhc-house to ask the
way to Blahan, a woman spinning on her distaff told him she
would show him ; and instead thereof, she immediately called
six or seven men, and murdored the dragoon,

" At Entricken hill, some whigs, hid in hushes, shot two of
a party of Dundee's horse, as they passed that way.'

" At Swine Abbey, in Linlithgowshire, James Carmichael,
laird of little Blackburn, with a party of about fifty whigs,
murdered Captain Duncan Stewart, and Captain Kennoway,
both gentlemen of the King's horse-guarda," &cJ

" At Bella-path near Cumnock, in the shire of Ayr, the
whigs took one Houston a prisoner from a small party of
horse, commanded by Mr James Affleck, and killed three of
his party.

" And to foment our rebellions in Scotland, much about the
time these murders were committed, Argjle sailed from Ulye
in Holland, on the 2d of May 1G85,' with three ships, one of
thirty, one of twelve, and one of six guns, and twenty
boats."*

It was while murder thus stalked the land ; while no loyal
person's life was safe from these skulking outlaws, and con-
venticle fire-brands — delicately called, " Wanderers,' " Society
People," and " the Suffering Bemnant ;" while state prisoners
were being continually rescued from the custodyof the King's
troops, and generally with the sacrifice of the lives of some of
those greatly provoked, and grossly maligned soldiers ; all
this, too, at the very time when the descent upon the west of
Scotland, at the head of a rebel army, by that hereditary rebel
Argyle was momentarily expected, that a most harassing,

' Tbe ume alTur is more partieulnrr^ reoorded hy FouDtiiiiliall.
' Tbe DoloHoDS murder recsrdud by FounUlnlull *1irl others. Th« ibove
clironicler imputes llie murder to Ihe kndlord Carniicluiel, Khom he ■ccuKs of

■ Ttie dny oftor the inlUtsrT i

> Memoin of Ehc Lord Vise

Lnndon : printed Tor Jonas Bn

itianorjahti Brown.

. Dundee, it, bj in OBkcr nf the Army,

at Iha BliEk Swao, 1714. Reprinled in llie

J

VISCOUNT OF DDNDEE. 119

dnngerous, undigaitied, but indispensable duty, was imposed
U[)on the two moat difitinguisbod officers in Scotland, Ci^Ionel
Graham of Claverhouse, and Colonel Douglas, brother to the
Duke of Queensberry , immediately before they were botii raised
to the rank of Bngndierti, upon the liiiidiug of Argyle. Holding
distinct and co-equal comniandB, they hud been commissioned,
in the first instance, to scour the disafTected diatricts with
their dragoons — Beelzebub and ApoUyon, as Lord Mncaulay
has antichristened them — to track these d/iiigerous outlaws
to their aeveral caves and fastnesses, in order to apprehend
them, or at least to prevent their combination in arms. They
were also particularly instructed to scatter the armed field con-
venticles, justly characterised as being " to the scandal of re-
ligion, and contempt of the Govorument," and which were the
most pyoUBu nurseries for Argyle's rebellion ; to seize kU rebel-
lious persons ; to fulfil the latest orders of the Privy Council,
by putting the oath of abjuration (applicable to the must re-
cently issued rebolhous proclamations and incentives to
murder) ; and, in the event of such iiersons refusing, in the
presence of witness, so to absolve themselves from being par-
ties to these treasonable and sanguinary mauifestus, anony-
mously affixed to the church-doors and market-crosses through-
out the country, to execute them on the spot iu military
form.

These terrible duties were imposed, imperatively, upon
Colonels Douglas and Graham in particiUar. Hence the pro-
minence of their names, an<l the great abuse bestowed upon
them, in fanatical histories. Their instructions were publicly
announced, and strictly defiued. Nor can we diitcover, save
in the mendacious and calumnious chronicler uf the Wodrow
school, a single instance, iu which either of these high-minded
and distinguished couunaudcr», cxci^cded their orders, acted
Hjion the impulse of mere personal feeling, or passion, or took
the law iuto their own hands. Indeed, as reganl« Colonel
Graham of Clavcrhouso, we say, dospight all the trash tliat has
been written against bim, that the rare combination of rpiali-
ticK most ni-cessary for such a service. — onergetic action, clear
and discriminating views of public policy and private rights,
the firm purpose nf nn inrlomitable spiril, mni tb''

120 HEMOBIAI^ OF THB

8 of a cultivated mind, — were eminently to be found in
him. Ho was well tried, under most difficult circumstaiiceB,
in all these requisitea, and never found wanting. The maligned
GoTcrmnent under which he acted, had good reason to know,
that the desire to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, were among
the high attributes of their greatest Captain. The recent
discovery, among the Queensberry Papers, of thirty-Beven
letters in the handwriting of " that mau rapacious and pro-
fape, of violent temper, seared conscience, and adamantine
heart," addressed to the prime minister for Scotland, will of
themselves suffice to prove, in the course of these Memorials,
that he never acted either as a statesman, a military comioan-
der, or a man, except upon the highest principle of duty. Ik
will be seen, that, in every exercise of the executive power
entrusted to him, he failed not to report the most minute cir-
cumstancee, both to the General commanding in chief, and to
the head of the Government, that it might be known he did
his duty, his whole duty, and notliing but his duty.

Accordingly, he reports as usual to head-quarters, the then
comparatively unimportant circumstance of the military exe-
cution of John Brown. But ere wo lay before our readers the
recently discovered record, under his own band, of that tragic
incident, we must premise, from the same authentic sources,
some illustrations to justify the character which we have
given above of " Bloody Clavers."

5. Real chamcteriatics of Claverhouse. True story of the
death of John Brown.

We have it on the authority of Lord Macaulay (instructed
by Wodrow, the value of whose records has now been suffi-
ciently tested), that for such deeds as the murder of Archbishop
Sharp, and of the clergyman of Carsphaim, Graham of Claver-
house was responsible, because he had " goaded the peasantry
of the Western Lowlands into madness," He has told ub,
that, " pre-eminent among the bands which oppressed and
wasted these unhappy districts, were the dragoons commanded
by James Graham of Claverhouse." They were not, indeed,
the ordinary dragoons of military history, and human warfare.

I

I

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VISCODNT OF DUNDEE.

121

tut devils incarnate. " These wicked men," be says, " used
in their revels to play at the torments of Hell, and to call each
other by the name of devils and damned souls." But " the
chief of this Topbet on earth" excelled them in wickedneas
OS Satan his myrmidons. Discipline, of course, was out of
the queetioQ. The devils only obeyed their chief, when his
orders happened to chime in with their own diabolical fancies.
Sometimes, indeed, he would give the sign, and, " in three
minutes the goodman of the house was wallowing in a pool of

I blood at his own door." For, " Dundee had bound himself to

I do the work of Hell on earth." But there were times when

1 those wild and bard-hearted men, who nicknamed one

another Beelzebub and Apollyon, shrank from the great

wickedness of butchering ;" as in the case of John Brown,

whom Satan slew with his own hand, dissentient, diabolis.

Graham of Claverhouso commanded soldiers of the highest
class. But, along with their illustrious chief, they were tied
to a service the most harassing and trying to which the
temper and the spirit of brave soldiers were ever doomed to
submit. Hence the first duty of their leader was to preserve
the strictest discipline ; and to inculcate the necessity of the
otmost forbearauce towards the peaceful peasant, and Jualice
to the poor man. And all this Claverhouse never failed to do.
A few months before the murder of Archbishop Sharp, we
find him with his dragoons at Dumfries. Is he goading the
peasants of the Western Lowlands into madness ? By the
act of a reckless dragoon, a poor man is injured. The act is

' not one of atrocity, or even violence, but rather of the nature
of a careless accident, incidental to military liabits, and sol-
diers' quarters, in all ages. Let ns see how " Bloody Clavers"
did justice between the poor man, and the proud dragoon.

■ He is reporting the circumstance in a letter to the commander-

I in-chief, dated, Dumfries, January 6, 1679.'
" On Saturday night when I came back here, the sergeant
who commands the dragoons in the castle came to see me ;
and while he was here, they came and told me there won a
:

i
I

I oC Cl»T«rtto»»B »ni| tlia
IM i>f Joan Ihrrraftnr.

I of M.y f .llaoilig , ,
iijtiu kl Druinclog, a

122

MEMORIALS OF THE

horse killed juat by, upon the street, by a shot from the castle.
I went immediately and examined the guard, who denied
point blank that there had been any shot from thence. I
went and hoard the Bailie take depositions of men that were
looking on, who declared upon oath that they eaw the shot from
the guard hall, and the horse immediately fall I caused also
search for the bullet in the horse's head, which was found to
be of their calibre. Al"ter that I found it so clear, I caused seizd
upon him who was ordered by the sergeant in hia absence to
command the guard, and keep him prisoner till he find out
the man ; which I suppose will be foimd htmself. His name
is James Ramsay, an Angus-man, who has formerly been ft
lieutenant of horse, as I am informed. It is an ugly buai-
ness ; for, besides the torong the poor man has got in losing Mb
horse, it ifl extremely against military discipline to fire out of
a guard. I have appointed the poor man to be here to-mor-
row, and bring with him some neighbours to declare the worth
of the horse ; and have assured hini to satisfy him, if the Cap-
tain, who is to he here also to-morrow, refuse to do it.

" I am sorry to hear of another accident has befallen the
dragoons, which I beUeve your Lordship knows better than I,
seeing they say, there is a complaint made of it to your Lord-
ship, or the Council ; which is, that they have shot a man in
the arm with snutU shot, and disabled bim of it, who had come
this length ■^^-ith a horse to carry baggage for some of my
officers. But this being before I came to Mofi'at does not
concern me. The St«wart-depute, before good company, told
me that several people about Moffat were resolved to make a
complaint to the Council against the dragoons for taking free
quarter ; that if they would but pay their horse-corn and their
ale, they should have all the rest free ; that there were some
of the ofBcers that had at their own hand appointed them-
selves locahty above three miles from their quarter. I begged
them to forbear, till the Captain and I should come there,
when they should be redressed in everything. Your Lordship
will be pleased not to take any notice of this till I have in-
formed myself upon the place."*

' LiulilhgoH Pjfwii.

I

I

I

^H thi

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 123

Thus did Satan controul Beelzebub and ApoUyon, and ad-
miniBter justice between man and devil. Let us now see how
he did so on a larger scale, and under more difficult circum-
stances. While the " chief of this Tophet" was restraining
his legion, the saints of the conventicle were inHaming their
devotees to the " worship of God after their own fashion."
The Primat« was slain, — by no accidental shot from a watch-
man on the hili of Zion. The assassins Hed to the moors,
clung to the horns of the conventicle altar, and added new
fuel to its sacred fires, Claverhouse, somewhat unprcpari;d for
the crisis, suddenly encountered " tho army of God" at Drum-
clog, and after a brief straggle, fled from the inglorious field,
tiie entrails of his noble steed trailing on the ground.

The received historical theory is, that our hero, after
this untoward event, deemed by some the result of hia own
"goading," became exasperated to desperation, and for the
test of his career was actively occupied in revenging his de-
feat, by hunting to the death martyr ministers, peaceful
peasants, and Christian carriers. The truth is, that a cooler
and more humanely discriminating judgment was never added
to high spirit, hasty speech, and determined will. Hia disaster
at Drumclog never for a moment affected hia policy towards the
deluded people, or rankled in his bosom. The fanatics, how-
ever elated, were rendered desperate by their own dangerous
victory, and still more so by their bloody triumph on Magns
Uoor. The army of martyrs, tho " suffering remnant," had
to prosecute a skulking campaign, with ropes about their
seeks. Throughout the years 16S0, and 1681, the tide of
ftnarchy kept rising in the south-western districts of Scotland,
•nd Qovernmcnt soon found it necessary to arm Colonel
Graham with powers that would have enabled him to gratify
to the full the most vindictive feelings of a revengeful dis-
position. The principle of his actions, his mode of conducting
this most distressing and difficult service, the rule of conduct
which he systematically laid down when first entering upon
it, evinced dispositions the very reverse. The influential in-
stigator was the avowed object of his pursuit, and not the
poor misguided vulgar. With reg&nl to all, his system was to
threaten with the terrors of the Uw, rather than to put thoee

124 MEMOllIArS OF TBK

laws in force ; and he courted subniission to the established

Government, allegiance to the Sovereign, and a return to peace
and good order, by every device of an arbitrary power that
was still unwilling to create distress, or cause blood to flow.
Let bye-gonea be lii/e-gones, was a phrase frequently in his
mouth. Hia maxim, and advice to Government was, — pnniah
ringleaders, spare the multitude ; be uncompromising -with i
the disaffected rich, but lenient to the misguided poor ; and
be careful not to swell the ranks of tliose inimical to the 1
Throne, by a too severe and too general application of the |
paina and penalties enacted against fanatical rebels. To I
allow them to worship God after their own fashion in con-
venticles, was totally out of the question. The most scurri-
lous abuse of eveiy member of the reigning family, the most
frightful incentives to lynch-law, the most blasphemous i
sumption of divine inspiration, the most violent contempt for 1
the law of the land, characterised the pulpit eloquence of I
those armed mobs. Claverhonse was not sent simply for the
purpose of enforcing one particular form of religious worship
in preference to another, nor was he influenced by any bigotry
of the kind. His real mission, and desire, was to destroy
the sway of those evil spirits who presided at the truculent
gatheriugs where he liiniself had been so nearly sacrificed in
1679, and to restore the Christian peace and order of society.
So, the first exercise of his supreme authority, for suppressing
the western insurrection, was to insist upon the presence of
all the natives, who dared show face at all, in their parish
church, as members of a Christian community. At the com-
mencemeut of the year 1682, he was invested with a royal
commission of Sheriffdom, and Justiciary, in which his powers
and duties are thus defined : —

" Considering that several persons of disaffected and sedi-
tious principles, in the shires of Wigton and Dumfries, and
the stewartries of Kirkcudbright and Annandale, have, for
disquiet and disturbance of the peace, for divers years past,
not only deserted the pOblic ordinances in their parish
churches, haunted and frequented rebellious field conventicles,
and committed divers other disorders of that nature, to the
great scandal of religion, and cont-eropt of our Government,

I

I

DISCOUNT Of UC.VDEE.

Iu2

rlrat lately did break forth inUi, and .joioed in au open and most
treasonable rebellion ; and, notwithstanding the many reite-
rated offers of our gracious indemnity to them, they continue
i in their former wicked and rebellious practices, being en-
couraged therein by the not due execution of our lawn, and
hopes of impunity, by their skiilking from one place to another,
when they are cited before our judicatories, and pursued and
•ought for by our forces ; and wo being fully resolved that
our laws shall be put to due and vigorous execution against
these delinquents, and these rebels brought to public punish-
ment and example, in places where they have been guilty
thereof, do, with advice of our Privy Council, require and
command the said John Graham of Claverhouse, to call before
him, his deputes and substitutes, the persons frequenting and
residing in the said shire of Wigton guilty of withdrawing
from the public ordinances in their parish churches since our
late act of indemnity, as also the persons guilty of conventicles,
disorderly baptisms and marriages, harbouring and resetting
I of rebels during the said s]>ace, ami to impose and exact the
fines conform to the Acts of Parliament, and to do and per-
form every thing requisite and necessary for putting the same
to due and vigorous execution : And considering that the jier-
■ons guilty of these disorders do remove from one jurisdiction
to another when they are called in question and pursued, and
I that we find it necessary for our 8er%-ice, in this exigency, that
' the persons guilty of these disorders in the places adjacent
within the said shire of Dumfries, and stewarties of Kirkcud-
bright and Annandale, be brought to justice, in order to the
reducing that country to the due obedience of our laws, and
securing the peace of our government, we, with advice fore-
■sid, do hereby nominate and appoint the said John Graham
of Claverhouse to be our Depute within the said jurisdictions,
[ for putting in execution our laws against transgressors and
I delinquents, in the cases foresaid, and to uplift and exact the
t penalties incurred by them thereby. It is hereby declared,
I that this commission is no ways to be prejudicial to the right
[ of jurisdiction belonging to the Sheriff of Dumfries, and
[ Stewards of the stewarties of Kirkcudbright and Aunand&le.
and that the said John Graham is only to proceed and do

126 MKMORIALS OF THE

joHtice in the cases foresaid, when he is the first aitacher.

And further, we, with advice foresaid, have thought fit to give
and grant, and do hereby give aud grant to the said John
Crraham of Claverhouse, our full power, authority, and com-
miBsion, as Justice in that part, to call before him any person,
not being heritor, who shall be apprehended for being in the
late rebellion, and have not in due time taken the benefit of
our gracious act of indemnity ; and for that efi'ect to fence and
hold courts, create clerks, sergeants, dempsters, and other
members of court needful, and to call assizes and ■witnesses as
often as need Le, absents to amerciate, unlaws and amercia-
ments to uplift and exact, and, in the said courts to put the
BBid persons to knowledge and trial of an assize, and accord-
ing as they shall be found innocent or guilty, that he shall
cause justice to be administrate on them, according to the
laws and acts of Parliament of this realm ; promising to hold
firm and stable whatsoever things he shall lawfully do in the
premises. Given under our signet at Edinburgh the last
day of Jannary 1682, and of our reign the thirty-fourth
year."

Armed with these tremendous powers, of the sword and of
the mace, confronted with the perpetrators, instigators, and
abettors of the moat frightful results of fanatical rebellion and
lynch-law, " that man, rapacious and profane, of seared con-
science and adamantine lieart — chief of a Tophet on earth,"- —
surely, on returning from such a crusade, must have left be-
hind him the abomination of desolation ? Let us see how he
went to work, and what he did. His patron at this time was
William Earl of Queensberry, on the eve of rising to the
highest grade of the peerage, and the supreme rule in Scot-
land. His great possessions in those disturbed districts in-
volved his patrimonial interest deeply in tho question of
restoring peace and order, and at the same time rendered the
support of so able and energetic a statesman of vital conse-
quence to Government, and the Throne. He it was that
pressed the measure of sending Claverhouse, at the head of
his troops, into those districts, commissioned with powers
which no Colonel of dragoons had ever wielded before, and

I

I

I

J

VISCOCNT OF DUNDEE. 127

F*ith "which few indeed could have been safely entmated. '
T That he was so instructed and empowered by tlie monarchical
l^vernnient because known to be tt cruel man, one who would
3 the sword without sparing, and never temper justice with
J'aiercy, is a covenanting calumny, and historical myth. We
■ jball here afford a few illustrative extracts, from his constant
icorrespondenco T,rith head-quarters, wliich commenced the
tmomeut he entered the disturbed districts under his new com-
' mission. About a fortnight after the date of it, he is in
Galloway, and reporting progress both to the Commander-in-
chief, and to Queensberry, who at this time was Lord Justice-
General. On the 16th of February 1682, the " cliief of
Tophet' thus writes to the " Deil o' Dnunlanrig," from the
Newton of Galloway : —

I" My Lord : I hope you will pardon me that you have not
heard from me till now. I send your Lordship here inclosed
a copy of what I have written to the General ; which is the
ilrst account I have given to any body of my concern in this
country. I shall not need say any thing of the general (atat«)
of affairs here, having, maybe, given but too long an account
already. Howc-ver, I thought better say more than enough
dian omit an^'thing should be said."
Aft«r entering into various particulars, which will he found
in that Part of these Memorials where the correspondence is
given entire, he proceeds to say, —

" The country hereabouts is in great dread. Upon our march
yesterday most men were fled, not knowing against whom we
designed.
" For securing the rents of the donators and the Crown, it

■ < Od iha 3d of JuQki? ) SH2, QuMotbeiry, Jantico-GcDtnl, ihi» •rriiM frani
U* laitiB or SaDquluu- in DnmrriEHihirr, lo Cardan of Hwldn, Ihon LarJ TmidcDt
" My deu- Lurd i I liad tivvn jm Uiw Iraable miuer, linl that nolbing ocean hara
worth i il all being prmwable, nre onl; ibal in llie t>»di> nf GiIId*b;> unie af tlw
retda nMWt ; lul thfir iiumbtr is not runBidtrable, not Bxi!««ding twelve or iiiiitwii,
■nd Ihrir buxitHn i> anly to drink and qnaml ; ao tlul uaither Church nor Slato,
in mj judgment, np»d tetr llieni. However, I'm illll of opinion the anoner gani-
MMu bo plaaed, and a oompeleal partj" wnl willi CUvera liir iconring tiiat part
of tbo country, Iho better. Boaldea, I'm told fM mnnalielti continna in Annan-
Ma aad Gkllowa;, but all will certainl; evaniah apon CIa**ni' arrival, aa 1 have
jlUr^ttn Paftn.

[

128

MEMOBIALS OP TUE

i« abiKilately aeceaaarj there be a fixed ganisoD io B^enn
uiateiid of Dumfries. For vithoot it, I am now follj i
rinced we can aever Becare ibe peace of this coanbj,
fannt UuMe rogoea &om their banntfl. * It is a mighty
place, and proper ahove all ever I saw for tliia use. I sfaall
glTe this adrice to Dohody hat yourself ; and I do it the mora
freely, that my Lady told me, if the King wonld bestow two
or three hundred pooods to repair the house, she n-oold bo
very well pleased bis sohliers came to live in it. Do in it as
you think St ; but if it could be done with their Kxiisfadion,
it would be great service to the King. For having that poat
sure, I might, with the party I have, answer for the rest.*

A little further on in the aame letter, he thns announces his
general plan.

" The first thing I mind to do, is to fall to work with all
that have been in the rebellion, or accessory thereto bygirag
men, money, or arms ; and next, resetters ; and after that,
field conventicles. For what remains of the laws against
the fanatics, f will threaieH much, but forbear severe execution
for a while ; for fear people should grow desperate, and increase
too much the number of oar enemies.

" If there be any thing you would have me to do, or any
thing I do amiss, you will do me great kindness to tell me.
I shall write often and much."

This promise he most amply fulfils. He had not been left
to his own devices in hunting out the fugitated, or the fire-
brands. The Justice-General had furnished him -with a list
of those whom he was to apprehend in particular ; and instead
of, as has been supposed, insulting or assaulting at random
every pious peasant he happened to encounter on the highway,
he appears to have been unwilling to exercise his own ludimited
justiciary powers under his commisRion without first ascertain-
ing Quccnsherry'a mind on the subject. In a letter dated
from Dumfries, February 22, 1G82, he thus writes : —

" I caused seize one in your Lordship's list, at the Thomhill
hill-fair, called Williamson of Overcaitloch. He is a tenant

> The fugil&Ud oiiUawB, luch u tlie murrlerera o( Archbishop Sharp, lurking in
arms »niong the rooora, and designed bj Wodrow, the " Wanderers," and ** Suffer-

I

I

TISCODNT OF DUNDEE. 129

of Craigdarrocb's, who has wTitten to set him al liberty, upon
bifi promise to produce him ; which I begged \i\a pardon for,
till I should heur from your LorJaLip, You desire, by your
memoraDdum, that I should send to Edinburgh any of those
persous I take. I can do anything with them your Lordship
pleases, here, by virtue of my commission ; but lot me know ;
if you desigu to have them there, it shall be done,' I have
spoke with most part of the forfeit^id heritors' wives at their
own houBea ; but see little inclination in them to compound
with the donatoFB, or make their peace with the King. I have
so far preferred the public concern to my own, that I have
not so much as called at French, though 1 passed in sight of it.
I can catch nobody, they are all so alarmed. My Lord Duke
Hamilton waa pleased to tell me, befort I parted, timt I would
do well to lie close in houaeg ; for he would make it so uneasy
for the whigs to live in the west, that he would send them all
in to me. But, by what I see yet, I send more in ou him than
he does on mc.'

To garrison the disturbed districts at proper points, so as to
protect the well affected, and secure the peace of the country
against the ceaseless agitations of conventicle orators, was the
measure which he most earnestly recommcuded, and to which
be again alludes in the following postscript to the same
letter : —

" Since the writing of my letter, the Provost of Wigton
came to me and complained of my Lord Kenmure's deforcing
a meBBcnger, first ; and then, the second time, his factor
robbed the messenger, and would force him to swear he should
not reveal that he had taken the letters from him. This is a
higb misdemeanour; and it is fit your Lordship make bim
sensible. Fur this, and other things, might help to ruin a
man who had nofriewln. Your Lordship may see by this how
necessary a constant force is here, for the execution of the
laws in ordinary cases betwixt man and man, let be in the
cuucems of the Goveniiiient."*

' Qjinetubrrrt' nl I

Hu l^unt Ju«ii»-GeDent H< ifemitlad the dIIIf*

laj' rallowiD^, when be bcoainc Lunl High Tr«iuur«r.

Tha KeamuTfi u( wWni Clavarliutue Iiara writes, ii AlexanJiir Gonloo, tUit
Viwoaat,Mi<l FaUier of him wlm HU bsbadMl To 1718. He appaan lo hkTa bean
MMog Ihs diuffwlcd al thin Udio ; far is kU pitriooa Isttar ClaTerhauna wHim, —

1 30 ME3fORIALS OF THE

In a letter, dated Newton ui Gralloway, March 1, 1682,
again he writos on the subject of permanent garrisons, as
follows : —

" Tlie proposal I wrote to your Lordship of, for securing the
peace, I am sure will please in all things but one, — that it
will be somewhat out of the King s pocket. The way that I
see taken in other places, is, to put laws severely against great
and small in execution ; which is yery Just ; but what effects
does that produce but to exasperate and alienate the hearts of
the whole i>eople ? For it renders three desperate where it gains
one ; and your Lordship knows that, in the greatest crimes, it
is thought wisest to pardon the multitude, and punish the ring-
leaders, where the number of the guilty is great ; as in this
case of whole countries.^ Wherefore, I have taken another
course here. I have called two or three parishes together at
one church, and, after intimating to them the power I have,
I read them a libel narrating all the acts of Parliament against
the fanatics ; whereby I made them sensible how much they
were ih the King's reverence ; and assured them he was re-
lenting nothing of his former severity against dissenters, nor
care of maintaining the established government ; as they
might see by his doubling the fines in the late act of Parlia-
ment ; and, in the end, told them that the King had no design
to ruin any of his subjects he could reclaim ; nor to enrich
myself by their crimes ; and therefore, any who would resolve
to conform, and live regularly, might expect favour,— except-
ing only resetters and ringleaders. Upon this, on Sunday last,
there was about three hundred people at Kirkcudbright
church ; some that for seven years before had never been there.
So that I do expect that within a short time I could bring two
parts of three to the church.

*' I wfts last night to wait on my Lady Kenmure, my Lord being from home, who,
nhe naid, knew nothing of my coming. I told her what pains your Lordship had
been at to keep her house from being a garrison, and she seemed very sensible of
it. I am Horry that I must acquaint you, but I shall do it to nobody else, that I
am certainly informed my Lord Kenmure has conversed frequently with rebels,
particularly Barscob."

* Hero is the very doctrine, from " Bloody Clavers,** in the year 1 G82, which
the wisont and most humane statesmen of our own enlightened age are now incul-
cating in reference to the Sepoy revolt.

I

VISCODNT OF DUNDEE. 131

I have done, that is all to no purpose. For we
ir gone, but in cornea their ministers, and all
It and fill back to their old ways. So that it ig vain to
think of any settlement here without a constant force placed
in garrison ; and this is tho opinion of all the honest men
here, and their desire ; for there are some of them, do what
they like, they cannot keep tho preacher from their houaeB in
their absence, — «o mad arc some of (heir wivea."

So much for a specimen of tho mingled wisdom, humanity,
and firmness, with which this maligned statesman adminis-
tered tlie penal laws rendered necessary by the vicious in-
fluence of fanatical preachers, and conventicle bullies. The
same admirable letter affords an example of hie practical
powers of organizing the schemes which his fertile genius
suggested : —

" So, tlie thing I would propose for remedy of all this, is,
that there be a hundred dragoons raised for this countty.
The King may give maintenance to the men, and the country
to the horses ; which I shall answer for they shall do, because
they are all in our reverence. And is it reasonable that this
country should be at less expense than other well affected
parts of the kingdom P Do not we pay the supply fur their
follies ? Have wo not more than they the expence of the
Militia ? Their disaffection is a good reason why they should
bavo less trust; but their trouble and expense should be
equal to ours. 80, when the Stewartry and shire of Galloway
give maintenance to a hundred horses, which is the one-half
of the whole expense of the troop, they arc but equal with
others, considering their wont of militia, and their disorders ;
and if the Kiug will do his part, I shall undertake for the
country as a Gialloway laird. The ways I will propose will
lessen the expense extremely.

'■ 1. First, if the Duke (of York) pleases, I oflTer myself to
take tho superintendence of them wilhmtt any pay ;^ and for
the next olBcor, who is to lie the drudge, he may have six
pounds a-day by taking two men olf every one of our troops
of bono. We were sixty, and there is one taken off for the
Artillery. So thoro now remains fifty-nine, which does not well.

' " lUpurloiu mi proAuie," he.— Lord Maeamtaji.

1S2 MEMOIIIAI^ OF THE

But if these two were taken off, we would jusl be the establish-
meat of Holland, which is tifty-seven ; and, with the corpo-
rals in rank, as they ought to be, makes just twenty in each
rank, which is right for the Cornet."

" 2. (SecoTuJ), 1 must be excused if I propose to destroy a
government was made for the Governor's cause. I think the
pay would be as well bestowed this way ; seeing he has no-
body to guard but solan-geese and ministers. The first will
not flee away, and the others would he as well in Blackness
or Dnrabarfon.i Now, for the hundred men at sixpence a-day,
I would first make use of the four-and-twenty are in the
Bass ; remains seventy-six ; wliich would amount to about
seven hundred pounds a year ; and for that your Lordships of
the Treasury might find a way to cut off some idle pension ;
and I hear my Lord Newark is dead, which is four of it ; and,
if it could be got nowhere else, it were better sell that rock, and
the money of it would serve both here and in the West ; for I
could undertake the same thing might be done there.

" I will assure you there has been no more feasible project,
though I say it myself. For, first, it would secure this
country. Then, if those of the West were frustrate of this
retreat, they would he easier found. Then this might, on
all occasions, be a brave troop of fusileers, or granadiers, when-
ever the King had occasion, For I should breed them to
either, or both, as the Duke had a mind. And I would desire
leave to draw out of the two regiments a hundred of the best
musketeers had served abroad ; and I should take horses
here, amongst the suffering sinners. And, I will take the
liberty to say, that, whatever may be taken to do it, we need
more horse and dragoons.

1 Laurtardale, while in the aBceiident, hnd been made Covcrntir of the Bm«.
Wodmw'B •poetolic frieiij, •• famous Miialer ShLelds," bus imprisoned Iht-re (as we
liHve »eeu, p. 111.} but prnvtd nol bo ■dheeivo to it bb the solan geese. Wodro*
tells u> : " tu Outuber, Itl7l, LaudenUle is made Csptun uf the rock oF Ihe Bosi,
which in bought bj' the King, ind turned into n prison. Eighteen soldieni, besides
nffieers, nre placed in it ; and hb shall arterwards meet with many gond ptcj'li
erammed up iJicre. It was tlie Earl who prevailed with Iho King hia master to
baj l)iat rock from Sir Andrew RumMi.v, at Ihe rate of four thmiwnd ponnda ater-
und then gol the reuLi and profile, tnnre than a hundred pounds a jear,
beiUiHad upon himself."— Witt. *ol. ii. p. ISO.

riSCODNT OF DUNDEE.

133

" If thia do Lut, I may break my head to uo purpose. For
I know, after that, no other way but to lio as others, and get
as much money as t can (which I have not thought on yet) by
putting the laws io execution. I desire, if your Lordship like
it, you may let the Duke hear it as I propose it ; and speak
the General, and the Advocate, and my Lurd President, and
the iiegister, about it,"

So far from evincing the slightest disposition to molest the
innocent, attack the weak, or oppress the poor, he is continu-
ally urging the policy of selecting the higher classes of the
disaffected, on whom to impose the penalties of the law. On
the 5th of March, four days after the despatch from which we
have last extracted, writing from Wigton, he says : —

" You need not expect great things from me on haste, as
to the seizing any considerable rebels ; for I never make so
much as the least search for them, knowing how much they
are npon their guard, if they be not out of the countrj*. And
by this I design not to harass (he troops till I have made them
secure.

" Here in the shire I find the lairds all following thfl
example of a late great man, and still a considerable heritor
here among them ;' wliich is, to live regularly themselves,
but have their houses constant haunts of rebels and intercom-
muned persons, and have their children baptized liy the same ;
and then lay all the blame on their wives, condemning them,
and swearing they cannot help what ia done in their absence.
But I am resolved this jest shall pass no longer here ; for it
is laughing, and fooling the Govemraent ; and it will be of
more consequence to punish one considerable laird than a
hundred little bodies. Besides, it is jttsfer; because these
only sin by the examplo of those."

Proceeding with caution, firmness, and great tact, and upon
principles so temiwrate and just, Claverhouse apjwar-s to have
succeeded beyond his expectations in conciliating the disafTccl-
ed, and driving the real oppressors away from thifi disturbed
and disorganizpii community : —

■' I am very happy,' — he writes from Kirkcudbright.
April 1. IR82. — " in Ihid business of this country, and I hope

' rriiUbl}' aw Joliu Dull, mj.l.', unrroanU 3il Vixc^iml, anH Ul fjii'l nf SUiIr.

134 MEMORIALS OF THE

the Duke will have no reason to blame your Lordship for ad-
vising him to send the forces hither. For this country now
is in perfect peace. All who were in the rebellion are either
seized, gone out of the country, or treating for their peace ;
and they have already so conformed, as to going to the church,
that it is beyond my expectation. In Dumfries not only almost
all the men are come, but the women have given obedience ;
and Irongray, Welsh's own parish, * have for the most part
conformed. And so it is over all the country ; so that, if I be
suffered to stay any time here, I do expect to see this the best
settled part of the kingdom on this side Tay. And if those
dragoons were fixed I wrote your Lordship about, I might
promise for the continuance of it. Your Lordship's friends
here are very assisting to me in all this work ; and it does not
contribute a little to the progress of it, that the world knows
I have your Lordship's countenance in what I do. AU this is
done without having received a farthing money, either in Niths-
dale, Annandale, or Kirkcudbright ; or imprisoned any body.
But in end there will be need to make examples of the stvb-
bom, that wiU not comply. Nor will there be any danger in
this, after we have gained the great body of the people ; to
whom I have become acceptable enough, having passed aU
byegones upon bonds of regular carriage hereafter. Your De-
putes were like to have taken measures that were not so secure,
nor acceptable; but I have diverted them, and they are to take
the course I do, and I have prevented all other jurisdictions
by attaching first."

** Since the writing of this, I have been at church, where
there was not ten men, and not above thirty women, wanting*
of all the town. Where there used to be ten, I saw six or
seven hundred ; and amongst others there was one Gordon of
Barharon, — to whom, being a rebel heritor, I had given safe
conduct to come and treat his peace, — appeared in testimony
of his sincere conversion."

About a fortnight afterwards, dating from Moffat, Claver-
house again reports to Queensberry : —

** All things are here as I could wish, in perfect peace, and

> Welsh uas one of the greatest of the fire-brands, among the fanatical
preachers.

* i. e. Absent.

I

VISCOUNT OF DD.NUKE. 135

very regular. Barbaroti lius assurance of his peace from the
Council. Bar. lias given me a declaration under his hand ad
full as I could desire it. I have spoke with a brother of Sir
Robert MaznoH's, who was out; and Littlepark, and Glencairu,
are in terms with me, and several others of less note. 1 muat
sajr I never saw people go from one extremity to another more
cavalierly tlian this ])eople does. We are now come to read
lists every Sunday alter sermon, of men aud women, find we
find few alisent. Mr Alexander does very well at Dumfries ;'
but I have heard that the shiro does not conform so well;
and I have heard the ministers complain of the Bailies of your
Lordship's regality. What ground there is fur it I cannot tell.
I told Stonhouse, and offered troops to bring the people in
awe. I have examined every man in the shire; and almost all
the Sleteartrij of Galloway; and fixed Bueh a guilt upon them,
that they are absolutely in the King's reverence ; and I shall
give them no discharge, would they yive nie millions, till I
have bond from them for their regular carriage, and mainte-
nance for those dragoons if the King think lit to raise them.
And if I do this, I think it ia not ill me of that commissiun.

" Did the King aud the Duke know what those rebellious
villains they call ministers put in the heads of the people,
they would think it necessary to keep them out. The poor
people about Minnigaff confess, upon oath, that they were made
reuew the Covenant, aud believe the King was a papist, and
that he designed to force it on them, But I shall tell your
Lordship more of this when the Dnke cornea down."'

' Mr Jatang Alcisiider, Slioriff-dcpute of Dumfries.

' Ihindec'B gml prototype, Montrooe, had judged ihoo evil ■piribt of tlic Covc-
rratil, •rhoae rkioiu agilaliona deluged Scotland nitli blood, precisalj' in (lio wms
"•J. Id lii» eUbomle lotler on Sovereign power, •rilwn in 16*0, Im Uiua Bpm-
iivpliUcH tlioni ; —

» And Ihou tedilMMt jirtacitr, who dudie* Lo pu( Uie Boven-iuiilj into the jwoplo'ii
lianda, for ikf iwb ambilitrmt ciufi,— u being ablo, by rliy wicked clni|aenM uid
li>porriiir U) iiifune iiilo llwlu wlul ttiou ploueBt,— know thi*, that lliia pooplo ia
ninra iompabln of MVorvisiii]' iliin any odwr. Thou ut Bbuaed like ■ p*<kiii
1>> th* niiubl*-will»d nebletnan. Cu, go klong with them to ihaks Hie premnt go-

yUyr lela the ball ||a to l1i« waII, wheru it ciiaaDt ilaf, Uu>l bn nuy talia il at thi>
<re c*H."— Iwe Ihe aiilhor** Uomolr* of Moalrnaa: Kdiobutsh,
T. G. SUTcnun, IHAfi, Vul. i. p, 2S«.

Qovenun
mJ goai
»»» Blfl]
Lat „
Dwuth.

the disaffet
be carelhl
Throne, by
PWns and
•"ow tkam
denticles, i
Joiw ttbuae ,

"unplioa of

^^o law o(

j tliMo amoii

I PUIpOBO

I in preft

fef tl.

k*" '^,

WtharingB
W7S, uii t
*. ""» Sm

the western i
^ »» uativ,
<'''"'c)], as m,.
mftacement
Mrmnisaion m
•"d dotics am
" Consider!!
"m" rrincipl
MO slewartri,
di«iiuiet Md
oot onlj ,l„
vhtirchee, lia.
*nd coimnjit,
great iicanrlal

VISLOLNT OF DUNDKK. 135

vcrv rcicular. Barhanm has a<"?urain;c* •■!' lii< iM-atx- t'i«.»iii the
Council. Bar. has privon nn:- a JL-claniti''ii iiuler liis hainl as
full as I coukl flcsiiv it. I liaw- >\">kr with a lin-thor of Sir
Robert Maxwell's, win* was -.iit ; -iii 1 Lifl-j-.-irk. aii«l rr!oiii;:iini.
are in trriii.s with iii'.-. aii«l viv- :\.\ • :!.• - -i' l'-- :; .:«.-. I must
say I never saw i.lmij-I- l^, fr..i:i ■ :.. ..x": n.i'v : . aip/iLvr innp-

cavalierly tliau this jit-v'i'hj •]■•>. V/- -:- v^v. . rii..- t.^ iv;^J
lists everv SuiiJav alt»-r >«nii. :i. : i;.- :. .:. 1 v.vUi- :.. '..','1 \\*-
find few ahseut. Mr Ahxa!::-r ' -r v- rv v...;; ^ I; ,;:.:Vi' - ;*
but I have beard ihat tl-e s].i:- • - :. • .:.:' r.n -■. v.oll :
and I have hoar«l tliO ijii:.i>:- :- :..:'. :■ ■ il :.:>■- .: V'/;r
Lordships re;jralily. Wlmt ^: :. '. ■.. ■ - - .' I ... . / ••.ll.

I told Steuhuusi' and t«tlciv«l i: ■ - ■ •..'.■: . :!, ',:.
awe. I have cxomhic*/ vwrtf mon .'. -v .^ ^ !;.;..-* '■//
the Siewnrin/ <»/(r'tfl'»fro If : \yMs\ {\\,\ ^ .. . j * ■ -. \'. ..:j.
that thej' an* absnlutrly in ihv Kin- - : ■. - . .,:•<.

give thein no di>«liarj^«', wonhl thuj -j-,'. . . I

have bond from them f«>r ihoir n-^uhir . u:- ^•
nance for those drap'uns if tin- Kin;; il,; .• ■ • - .-. - . ■

And if I do this, I think it is nni /// ,ur ,.i ......

" Did the Kin'-c and tlie Dako know wlj:.* •■

I ■ ■ ■ ^

villains they «-all mhn'sf* rs pnt in tin: Ij*-.; ;.

they would think it nri«;s<aiy tn k»;.p ili. i;. ...

l»eoi>le about ^linniualf f'^iilL--, '//•'/« onfl,, ili^t ,;.

renew the ('nvi'n:int. an«l ln.lirvi- tlii- Kiii;.r ....,;, ;^ , . ...

that he (K'si.Lcn«Ml tn I'TiM' if nn t!i»ni. liiit ] ,;. ,,

Lordship more of lhi> \\h«n th«- lJiik«- <'.iii. - .!■/.■.,. *

» Mi- James AlrxamUi', Shcnil-acimtc <if I>i.u;in. ^.

' Diuitloc'H yiv.it proiotviH*, M«nitroM«-, liinl ju-l/i-.J rln v <:mI -;, ru */ e,^ /^,,
i.uut, whoHO vk-ii us asitatioiiH ailiigiMl .S-ntUml uiili Iil.^,.|, |ir»«aMf/ ^ v^ ^.^
w.»v. In bit* rlal"irate ItMUr on .Sixcivi^ii \n,\Mi; wiliti-i, ,„ .*^ ^ ,^
I i-ophihcri tlu'in : -

•* And t!nUl WJ/''MJt/'/V.|.-/|.T, wllOstllilHs|i||.H| ll.i .,r,v«l* /-.^ «#A J.^ ^ .

1 ;in'lH, f«)r //«.«/ «'Wii iij«''iVj""* •♦■«'*, »•* ^" i":,' »»•!', I.;. •».. .^.unf <r^,^- . .
l.\|MKTi^v to infiiH' into tiirni \Oi.it llion |.l..;i«M, ii^.u^:^i^ U:^ .
. iniv iniMi.aliI«* of H)vi ri ii;ni\ than any fillnr. 'I i «/a ^r Mwwf ;;,,.
1 y tlic niniMtvwittiil nuMiin.in. lin, p» aliin;; with *ji^^ » ^-- j^
wninii-nt ; not for ^'. y .•ll./^ t«. ; '■i'/''/'^ /A^ ;.«.yV, wm r. tm. ^ , ^
l.la\ei' leth tlu' ball i:- t.. iIm" will. hIh-ii. it r.,„«< my, lw » »» y

iH.MiHl ^%iili ii»«'>'' .M-i-. -Sr til.- anilior'H McMn / Aai^. , » ^^

T. «J. Sifvi-nMin. i:'>'. V..I. i. \'. -'»'•»:.

/

I

186 MEMORIALS Or THE

Towards the end of the year 1682, " Bloody Clavers" having
thus (aa lie imagined), restored to pea^-e and order the agitated
districts, which, ho himself tells us, — " Before I went thither,
the Government had looked on, for many months, as almost
in a state of war, and it was thought unsafe for any thing less
than an army to venture into it ; the churches were quite de-
serted, no honest man, no minister in safety," — returned to
give an account of his stewardship to the Privy Council. The
details of his very fiill and interesting report, which will be
found in a suhsequent Part of these Memorials, are precisely
in terms of his correspondence with Queensberry. His com-
mission of Justiciary, he says, was not brought into play at
all, — " For of all the prisoners I made, I found none that was
ambitious of the honour of martyrdom ; but all renounced
their principles before they would give t^slimony; save only
one, upon whom was found Gray's letter, and is now coming
hither by order of Council ; and even he acknowledged the
King's authority in civil matters; so that I had no occasion to
make use of the commission of Justiciary, but set them al-
ways at liberty, upon sufficient caution to appear when called;
and that by advice from my Lord Advocate."' And he con-
cludes his report in this pardonable tone of triumph, a true
index, doubtless, to the dispositions of the man : —

" And it may be now safely said, that Galloway is not only
as peaceable, hut as regular, as any part of the country on this
side Tay. And the rebels are reduced toiikout bhod; and the
country brought to obedience, and conformity to the Church
government, icithout severity or extortion; few heritors being
fined, and that but gently ; and, under that, none is or are to
be fined but two or three in a parish ; and the authority of the
Church is restored in that country, and the ministers in safety.
If there were bonds once taken of them for regularity hereafter,
and some few men put in garrison, which may all be done in
a few months, that country may be secure for a long time
both to King and Church."

Such was the policy of this distinguished statesman when
invested with estraordinaiy powers, and the highest military

irge Msplieniie of R-i-Mslniigh, upon
10 rpithcl of " Bioody M.cteoiie. '

nlin, vu);pr luluma}' hat

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 137

^■and judicial functions. TIius were displayed the revengeful
diBpositions of this great captain, who, two years before, bad
to fly for his life, at the head of his broken guards, from the
bloody field of Dmmclog, defeated hy that very spirit of sense-
less fanaticism which he now so mercifully controlled.' But
Omham of Claverhouse would have hecn totally unfit for his

I most responsible and perilous mission, had he not been capable
of diBcriminating the occasions when justice aud humanity
equally required that the law should take its course. The only

I instance, indeed, we have discovered, in his despatches to head-
quarters at this crisis, of his intentions to visit a notorious rebel
with the highest penalty of tlio law, would seem after all not
to have been carried into effect; since, in his report to the
Privy Council, he declares that he found no occasion to exer-
cise his functions under his commission of Justiciary. " I
sent out a party," — he writes from Stranraer, on the 18th of
March 1682, — " three nights ago. The first night they took
Drumbui and one M'Clellan ; and that groat villain M'Clorg,
the smith at Minnigaff, that made all the cliki/s' and after
whom the forces have trotted so often. It cost mc both pains
ftnd money to know how to find him. I am resolved to hang
him ; for it is necessary to make some example of severity,

' Peontge vHlen, in tlifir ■bettliex of fainilj' hiitniy, generally err in Ilia op|H>
■ita •xlniue trom oluniay . But llic- anweiiriwl nlumai» anil ruling of tlia fana-
lical (chnol. cvcnlually eoDctntnitnl and sirBlemaUsail in WudniH'ii enornjoan and
e H) inrectcd oil niujem liiator)' on Ilie aubject of Viacimnl

Dondao'a conduct and cliareclcr, that in Wood's edition of Duuglrui'
l»Ta the foUuwing, tliun which a atatcment more falw never polluted (lie page vl
i^orj, given un Ihe autliorit; of MbIchIid Laing, ■■ nn unqUMlionnbla hietorical
fact :— " Ho (Clavt'rl>.>uiH.-) atUcked a conveiilicle on Louden hiJI, in Aynliiiv, lat
Jane |liTtl,w)wn hin ilmgooni weredufutod with Iota, ly a detachment of undia-
eiplined peaMnta : He w»m itrmiUeil to attiigt hla defeat bj- the mtM Hrtailfol emrl-
lira, which pnwiuml him the apprl'*''"" "' Blood> aavera,"

• Probably tUth, or a cniuked knife annliiied «i(b iho apike of tlie .[Mr for
entliiig Itiinugh tlie briJIea of the dragnon*. Not long before llir aflkir ■! Onini-
dog, Lord Hobs hoUliiig a command in the (iuarda, and ciupl")ed on the aanii'
awrice aa CtarerhoiHe, thtu raporla to the Omimamlar-in-cliicr:— " My Lorct, upon
infonaation Uiat a tenant of Clegborn'a had aonio of thaae HW-/u*Jaa(rf arm.
HalliburtuD, "itii »ia of tiirl Honic'a troop, were ordered U> aeiM the man ami
man they gut, hul n<i ariu> but a halbcil only."— Linfitijor J'a/^t.
" villain M'tloru" i* net aflrrwania mcnlioned by nararliouic, •od ia not
Wsdr"*! martyri, probably bn had canUrived W e»cape.

138 MEMORIAI^ OF THE

lest rebellion be thought cheap here. There caimot be alive
a more wicked fellow. The party is not yet come back, which
makes me in hopes there is more taken. I am to meet to-
morrow with all the heritors of this shire, to see how they are
inclined as to bringing their ]>eople to church, and securing
the peace of the country^ that 1 may he favourable to thein!*

Some time afterwards, however, \mting at a more critical
period, and in a more solemn tone, he delivers his judgment
upon the awi*ul question of life or death, in terms whereby he
himself, — as if anticipating the fanatical calumnies that were
to beset his memory, — intended to convey the truth to all pos-
terity, that principle^ and not passion, ruled his conduct upon
such trying occa-sions.

" I am as soiTy," — he \mtes to the Lord Chancellor on the
9th of June 1683, — " I am as sorrt/ to see a nian die, even a
whig, as any of themselves. But when one Aie^ justly, for his
own faults, and may save a hundred to fall in the like, I have
no scruple"^

But it was not merely by thus pointing a moral that he has
aflforded evidence against those calumnies. There is a fact
wherewith to adorn the true tale of his hiunane disi)osition8,
and enlightened mind, which goes to prove, that even amid
the storm of those " Troubles," wherein it was his fate to
wield the flaming sword, this *' man of blood" was so far in
advance of his age, as to have conceived the design, and to
have accomplished the lirst step, of ameliorating tlie criminal
code; and this, too, in a kingdom where, aftor Dimdee had
bit the dust in battle. King William peremptorily ordered the
application of torture, as the law of the land, and the very
soul of evidence.

We have already aflforded a striking illustration of the dis-
position of " Bloody Clavers" to care for the suflTering poor.
Irrespective of his determination to enforce the strictest dis-
pline among the Beehehuhs and Apollyons of the King's
(luards, he sympathised (under a feeling less fictitious than

» Aberdeen Papei-s. The vord IT'A»«/, at tliat time, was never u»ed iu the Lonl-
.J<)]m-Ru8tM,'ll sense, hut as indirutinji; the nrnied and murderous outlaws of the hill
conventicles, and their abettors. Coloiud (irahani could nut have moit) stroDgly or
(Mnjiiiaticali^ stated the principle of his judgment.

VISCOUNT OF DDXDEE.

139

nave

^^— one

^^Hliave
^^" Shan

P?

8t«rnfl'H) with the poor mau for the lose of his horse ; aud he
applied the quickness of his wit to ascertaiit the fact, in order
that his judgment might be Just. And this sympathy,
■))eing the natural impulse of his disposition, he extended to
■ery rebel prisoner under his charge, " even a whig," whose
case seemed to require it. On the 21st April 1679, he
thus writes to the Commander-in-Chief: — " I was going to
have sent in the other prisoners, hut amongst them there is
CHie Mr Fraucis Irwin, an old in&'m man, who is extremely
ibled with the gravel ; so that I will be forced to delay for
or six days." One really deserving such a title in the
of history, as chief of a Hel! upon earth, would scarcely
ive displayed any such humane consideration. So long snb-
[uentiy as May 6th (the day after the murder of Archbishop
Sharp), Claverhouse again ^vritca: — " My Lord, I hope your
Lordship will pardon me that I have not sent in the prisoners
that I have here ; there is one of them that has been so tortured
with the gravel it was impossible to transport him."' Will any
lational man doubt tliat we have here good evidence of a dispo-
sition neither savage nor inconsiderate ? Yet this Mr Francis
Irwin was a uolorious conventicle preacher, who had been out-
lawed in 1676 I'or rcl'using to ap|>ear when summoned, and who
was flcnt to tlio Boss by the Privy Council on the 27th of May
1679, after that humane treatment of him by bis captor. So
iWodrow himself reports ; but in his chronicles we look in vain
ir the trait of humimity recorded above. The letters of Cla-
rerhouse, indeed, were not before him ; but Wodrow would
have looked askance at any collection of documents at all likely
to interfere with the plan of his calimaiitous miirtyrologies.

" May 22. 1663, I find," says this cUrouicler, " tho laird of

Claverhouso is matle a Privy Councillor. We have heard of

Iiu particular diligence in the persecution, and wc ehall bavo

•fterwards more instances of his severity; and, as a prcniiuiu

his uawoaricd elforts to hoar down tho Presbylerians, he

taken into tlie management of the affairs, being made a

•ivy Councillor.'

It did not suit Wodrow t') make any discoveries, however
Lthentic. or lying in the direct path of his researches, that

' t.lnlUliRow Pipcn.

140 ' MEMORIAI^ OF THE

luight teud to establish a totally oppositi: character in favoi
of the maligned Claverhouse. His object wan to '" aggravate
the crimes of our enemies." Colonel Graham, as a reward for
his able, dangerous, and most harassing services in support of
the estabhshed government and the Throne, was gifted with
the jurisdiction and residence of the Constabulary of Dundee,
about the same time that Lo was made a Pri\-y Councillor.
His very first act, when lie found leisure to reside there for a
short time, and to examine into the state of his jurisdiction,
was to reform its criminal code, by relaxing the severe penal
laws against petty thefts. How came the Reverend Bobert
Wodrow, while searching the Privy Council records, entirely
to overlook the following, which relates to the very period
when, according to the martyrologist, the ferocious and inhe-
rently cruel dispositions of Claverhouse were at their culmi-
nating point?

" Edinburgh, lOtb September lfi84: Whereas, it being re-
presented to the Lords of his Majesty's Privy Council, bg
Colonel Graham of Claverhouse, C-onslable of Dundee, that
there are several prisoners in the tolbooth of that burgh, for
petty or small thefts, or picking, which will be fitter to be
punished arhilrnrlly than l>y death, — The said Lords do there-
fore give full powers and commission to tlie said Colonel
Graham of Claverhouse, Constable of Dundee, to restrict tha
punishment appointed by law, against such persons within bia
jurisdiction already made prisoners, or that shall hereafter ba
made prisoners, upon account of the foresaid petty and small
thefts, or picking, to an arbitrary punishment, such as whip-
ping, or banishment, as /te shall find catise."'

I

A few months after this remarkable trait of a humane I
and enlightened mind, the services of Colonel Graham of i
Claverhouse were again required in" his military capacity.
Again, and with a sterner hand, be had to controul the inaur-
gency of the west of Scotland, at the crisis of the expected
advent of Arpyle, whose very name was the orifiammo of '
fanatical rebellion. How the lynch-law of the Kirk was pre-
vailing at this very crisis, we h&xe already shown. The epi-

' tttyiil. Srcrfti Cvncilii ; D^crtta Orig. MS. Gpneml Rcgisler llmin*.

VISCOU-NT OF DUNDEE.

141

I
I

[

Faode of Jobu Browii, who, Wodrow says, was colled the
' Cbiistian Carrier," occurred in this campaign. Recently
exaggerated into historical importance, it was disregarded at
the time, as being uo more than a miserable little boil, of the
Troubles, that burst under the finger of Claverhonae. Ou the
3d of May 1685, he thus reports, as usual, to the head of the
Government, now placed in the hands of his patron, and con-
stant correspondent, William Douglas, Duke of Queensberry,

} and High Treasurer of Scotland.

f " May it please your Grace,

" On Friday last, amongst the hills betwixt Douglas and
the Ploughlands, ' we pursued two fellows a great way through
the mosses, and iu end seized them. They had no arms about
them, and denied they had any. But, being asked if they
would take the abjanUion, the eldest of the two, called John
Brown, refused it; nor would he swear not to rise in arms
■gainst the King, but said lie knew no King.* Upon which,
and there being found bullets and match in his house, and
treasonable papers, I caused shoot him dead; which he suffered
■very unconcernedly, The other, a young fellow and his ne-
phew, called John Brownen, offered to take the oath;* but
would not swear that he had not been at Kewmills in arms,
at rescuing of the prinoncfB. So I did not know what to do
with him, I was convinced that he was guilty, but saw not
how to proceed against him. Wherefore, aft«r he had said

■ On tlie b«rJora of Laiiarksliirc unl Ajreliiro.
- ■ All Ihlt, ba il rvroemlior^, in the face of Ihe King's tranpa, uniler umii.

* Tb* oath of khjiinition which th««e dangerauii relwts wrra rei|uire<) to UJu.
Wd Dulhiiig to Jo with their roligiou* tenets : il waa msra]; lo abniilve tbanurlvea
ttrnn maaonable deiugn*, and mardcroua niaehiDatic>n«. SujhI SkitUn touk Ihe
•Mh which Hainl Brum nifiuicd. See before, p. CI. But tlio latter, who *aa ihol,
dace be prefHrred it, by the mililarj' under the orden of tlie Privy Cnuouil, doabt-
U<m knew, tliat, bad be ao demeaned himaelf aa li> have euabled the ailllary coa-
nander to diapenHi with h» execution on the epnt, be wiiulil lure bern referred to
the Juxlieiiu-y D.url, and bangrd. His name ia in tlie liat iif fugitated outlaws i ba
had [uugbt against tlie Cn>wu al Bothnell Uridjje ; had been aliulkiag in armed
rabellinn erer since i and liarboured in bia outhw care aa many young recraila aa
ba oniitd sednea into the aame path of arimliial outrage agonal aMBblUhed l*w uid
Ihe Throne.

MKMOBIALS OF TUE

his prayers, and carabiuea presented to shoot him,' I offered n
to bim that, if he would make an iugt'iiiious confession, and
make a discovery that might be of any importance for the
King's service, I should delay putting liim to death, and plead f
for him. Upon wliieh lie corifosaed that he was at that attack
of Nc'wmills, and that he hod come straight to this houee of
his uncle's on Sunday morning,* In the time he was making

■ Tliis is dsciflivo of the fact lltiil llie Boldiere bail not mutinied, or reTiued to
iiliey ilie order for military execution.

• Wo liave been unable to diswivpr in WodroH',orany of llio oilier inartyrolo|icii
of the Kirk, no account of this affair at Newmilla, or of iliia J'Jtn Brottim, tlie
" Cbriatian Carrier's" nephew and tisociaie. Tbe absence of any notice of him.
in tlie TariouH fanatical aeconntn of bin nncle's execution, iiiilicatea twiv ignonnt
and apncryphal all thow aceounla are. Brtmniii, or Bnieaing, ia merely a varielj
of tbe name Brown ; and probably in [hi« iDBlance was adapted in order to iliatin-
giiit-b the nephew fnnn the uncle. It would mini that Colonel Gnihum'a fulfilntent
of his promise, to slate extenualing cirrumtitanceB to heid-quBrters in bebatf of the
nephew, had naved hia life ; for we can iliworer n" record ot lii« martyrdam.
With regard to tbe iflair of NevnillB, the only notice we have found, ia a fanatical
and UDVouchcd tradition, anything but IruMwortiiy in tbe details, wliicb Is thoB
given in tlie New Statistical Account, r. 83H :—

" The Old Torer in iVnTHKV/*.— Tills old tower, itself without any Iilstory, wm
the Bcene of more than one tranBaction ohHrocterietie ■ of tbe troublaui tiiDM.'
Tliia was Captain Inglia'a head -quarter* when in the dietriet. In one of the expe-
dition* of Inglia*s troops in the scai'cli of conventiales, eight meu who were rfjMw-
rered pragma in Iltc Black Wood, near Kiinumock, were taliBn prisonen. One of
them, il it laid, was iiNTnerfiiik'^ tttcvtcd, and (he soldieiii, in mockery, kicked his
head for foot-ball along the Newmills pnhlic pveu. In^iis was aioni to lAool tbe
others, wheo it tea* ngfnlrd to him that it woold be pnidtM to get a writtm order
from Edinburgh for the cxecu^oD. TheHHH u(*,in the mean time, were confined
ID the old tower. But while the troop was absent on oni of ilt blaudy i
tbe oxccplion of a small guard, a man named BnncMug, from Laufine, wilb otberm
who had been with him tXAirdi jtf oh, got large sledge hammerafrom the old unitliy,
still in eiiBtoncB, with which iJiey broke open the prison doors, and parmitled
CoTenanters lo escape. John Law, brotbei^iu-law to Captain Nisbet, was shol
this exploit, and is buried close to tlie wall of tbe old tower. The dragoons ■
went in pursuit of the prisoners, but they had reached the hnlher, and tliere
caralry could pursue them. The soldiers, however, having ascertained that Jobn
Smith of Cronnan had given the mnaways food, went to Smith's house, ai
ing bim at his own door, >hot him dead ! Within a short period his grai
be seen in Ihc garden of the old farm-huuae."

The last ulaled fact of the grave, is. of course, (o be taken aH proof of all
No other proof is offered in this sympathizing version, the apocryphal fealnres of
whicbmust strike any impartial reader. They would seem, however, lo retote to the
affair men^oned in Colonel Graham's report of John Brown's eKeeulion ; and. It
will be observed, the above tradition has il, tliul ■' u man named Bron

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

143

I

t

I

lliia confession, tlie soldiers found out a house in the hill, un-
der ground, that could hold a dozen of men, and there were
.awords and pistols in it; and tliis fellow declared that they
,1>elonged to his uncle, and that he had lurki^d in that place
euor since Botliwell, where he was in arms. He confessed
that he had a halbert, and told who gave it him about a month
Hgo, and we have the fellow prisoner. He gave an account of
the names of the most port of those that were there, They
were not above sixty, and they were all Galston and NewmilU
men, save a few out of Streven parish. He gave also account
of a conventicle kept by Eenwick at the back of Camtable,
where there were thirteen score of men in arras, mustered
and exercised, of which number he was with his halbert. He
tells us of another conventicle about three months ago, kept
near Loudon-hill ; and gives account of the persons were at
both, and what children were baptized; particularly that at
Camtable, which was about the time that Lieutenants Murray
ftnd Crichton should have let them escape.* He also gives
account of those who gave any assistance to his uncle ; and
ire have seized thereupon the goodman of the upmost Plough-
lands ; and another tenant, about a mile below that, is fled
upon it.' I doubt not, if we had time to stay, good use might
be made of his confession.

I have aeiuitted myself when I have told your Grace the
case. He has hccn but a month or two vntli his halbert ; and
if your Grace thinks he deserves no mercy, justice will pass
uu him; for 1, having no commission of Justiciary myself,
have delivered htm up to the Lieutenant-Greneral, to be dis-
posed of as he pleases.^

" I am, my Lord, your Grace's most humble servant,

'■ J. GRAaAMK."

ftctiutllr tlie rinsleader id the rewuf, anil l»<l been »l Ilia riMng »l Ait,U M^h.
«hcn Sftint Caoieroo obuitied his crown of nurljTclom,

■ " Shoald linvc," for " liad," ■ mmmnn tdium llien.
Muilfearij' John Druurn was ■ ringlfailFr, and dpcpcmv chanelcr.

> Ovlng lA wans jialuutjr od tlie (Art of hia pairou aad Mrraapondpni (lu«n>-
barr^, tlia PMneot Colunel (iraliam had racentlf been umittsd fniDlboliai at Pri*y
Couiidllara, and lir wus nicrrlv ictinf: in Ilia DiiUlvj i-ii|iii<-i tj «l llii-i iinio.

144 MEMORIALS OF THE

In reading this authentic record, brought to light for the
first time nearly two centuries after the event, — ^History mean-
while polluted with the most violent and contradictory
nonsense on the subject, — ^we must bear in mind the version
(!oncocted by Wodrow. The " Christian Carrier," he says,
" was no way obnoxious to the Government, except for not
hearing the Episcopal ministers." He was not pursued and
taken in the act of endeavouring to escape from the military
authorities ; but, under no imputation of crime, and suspecting
no evil himself, he was wantonly seized in the vicinity of bis
own peaceful cottage, while placidly occupied with his rural
labour, unaccompanied save by his wife and child, — ^in short,
simply in an attitude of muirland peace, and pastoral inno-
cence. Moreover, as regards both his demeanour and his
gifts, he is likened to the inspired apostolic saints. He had,
indeed, Wodrow somewhat inconsistently adds, " been a long
time upon his hiding in the fields." But why ? Not because,
as we now learn from his own nephew and pupil, he had
fought against his Sovereign at Bothwell Bridge, and had there-
after continued to skulk in arms among the hills, labouring
as he best could to revive the crushed rebellion and civil war, —
but, as Wodrow has made so many believe, because a blame-
less life and shining piety were qualities which, in the year
1685, suflBced to render their saintly possessors amenable to
the cruelty of an uncovenanted Grovemment, and its merciless
officials, who systematically outraged the laws both of GU)d and
man. Under these circumstances, we are told, it was, that
Colonel Graham of Claverhouse, directed solely by the impulse
of his own fiendish nature, abhorrent of the unobtrusive piety
of an innocent peasant, — without putting the ordained oath
of abjuration to his victim, without connecting him by a single
circumstance with sedition, treason, or rebellion, and vouch-
safing no interrogatories, but mere ribald words of contumely
and abuse,^-decreed the instant death of one of the most
innocent and least dangerous of the peasantry of Scotland I
And more than this, that his diabolical dragoons, devoted, as
they are described, to the accursed Clavers and his cruelties,
but converted on the spot by the irresistible efiect of the poor
man's gift of prayer, mutinied to a man, and positively refused

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 145

r to obey ttie inliumtiii commaBd. Aud so, " the chief of thie
I Tophet" was " forced" to put liia own hand to the niurderouB
work, which lie performed con amore, quitting the scene of
blood with a heartless insult directed against the bereaved
wife of the martyr, and a blasphemous cltallengc addressed to
the God of mercy.'

Those who value it, arc welcome to the desperitte plea for

I Wodrow, that against hia evidence, that of Claverhouae him-

I Mlf can be of no avail. The above IcttM was written under no

[ idea of defending himself from calumny, or of any other ver-

f iion of tlie story having arisen. It is a plain official report

I rendered to head-quarters, by an officer of the highest position,

and whose word was as good as his oath. Had a mutiny of the

I dragoons under hia commaad really oompelleJ him to use his

I own pistol, ttie circumstance must have been prominent in his

1 leport. And how high in the estimation of those who knew

I him stood his character for foarleea truth, we may here iUus-

I trate from a letter addressed hy the Duke of York to the jealous

L Queensberry, who hail expressed some suspicion of Claverhouae

Inving injnred him at court. Writing from London, June 26,

1683, hia Royal Higlinesa says : — " I have had no complaint

from Clavers, nor any else, about the delay there has been of

adding some ofBcers to the horse and dragoons ; nor have 1

had so much as one letter from Clavers of any kind ; and I

> " 'Riero >re, however, oilier nionaniemts ef a later and niMl unhappy period

I ff Seotlub hiatory, whieh lell hul loo amguiraeailii (1) of the suETerings and death

K af our bran pro^ilm. Tho moM rcmarbnlite of tlieae monumenta ia the gniTe-

le of DK JoKn Brtn, erected on the farm of Crie«thill. The death of ttai> mo*

I W^ perpelraled with such euld'blouded eraelty, naar bii utin habitation, and iu

« of bis wife and Family, that to visit hia graie ia cenaidered a lort of

age by tbe j^ioia of all pintaimnt ( ') The alone beam thai be was shot

I illlnMJjh tlie head by a fiarly (ommnudtd ty Graham of ClaTorhouac, while upon

kneea, andintlieact of pnjer Jt i$ laid Lliat ClareilioDiie, or one oT bit party,

4 n/i kit Htad bo-1), and varrird il la hia wife, aakioit her, ' what aha thonght

L W Jicr huabaod I' ■ Malr,' aaid ahe, ■ than CTer 1 did, but the Lord will arenfn

hia anotbor day.' A new moDament hai lately barn ereoted on the nitp of the old

M, niitaUa to the ta>U> and lilwrallly of lh<- prewnl linim."^iV'ir Statinlcat

itaimml ^Se-Hand, vol. v. p. 1A3.

Evas lhi> traidi oC rulgar tradition, calum'iioua aa it in, p'lailltely euumuliela
J IVodrow'a veraioD, and alwi dilTan materially from Ihal given by Walker Ilia
[. pdlar. Wbftt ia mllad the " O'il Hiatotr," sot np too haMlIy for ilinta Slai.-tiriq
I Accuuiila ef Scotland, are of liltte aarvice to lUalory jnvper.

10

I
I

I

146 MEMO[il\I£ OF Tirr

iiin confident they (lo him much wrong who report he should
coy 1 am (hspleasod with you ; since I assure you there iB no
such thing, and that he is not a man to say thirtge which are not."

6. Patrick Walker /he Pedlar^s version of the death of

John Brown.
Wodrow waa not permitted to reign without rivalry over
the fanatical calumnies and history of Scotland. A pedlar, or
packman, of the name of Patrick Walker, beat him in
blasphemous f^uperstition, and outliid him in %-ulgar popularity.
Though low-minded, and all unlettered, he wrote nonBenae
with more vigour, was less tedious in his calumnies, and falsi-
fied with a epice of poetical genius. But the genius was of the
rankest material, and altogether devoid of real talent. WalkeF
published his fanatical pamphlets and martyrologies a few
years after WodroVs folios appeared, and it is somewhat
amusing to find these apostles of the Covenant immediately
at loggerheads on the subject of their common adoration.
The pedlar, indeed, is very unreasonably dissatisfied with the
amount of homage paid by the minister of Eastwood to the
suffering remnant. He cannot abide that the followers of
Haint Cameron, the martyr of Airds Moss, should be dubbed
Cameronians, even by a covenanting chronicler. But surely
it was a compliment to that arch-rebel. He objects, more-
over, that they who hail organized themselves into a Society
for the promotion of armed rtbeilion, and a murderous bigotry,
should be designated, in no insulting mood, and by a congenial
spirit, Society^ople. " It may be," he says, " and will be,
sorprising, stumbling, and oifenBivc, to all thorovgJi-paced
Presbyterians, in principle and practice, who are well versed
in the faithful contendings through the periods of this Church,
especially in our last period of persecution upon which Mr
Wodrow vmlea, to find him, a toping leading Scots Pres-
byterian, in such gross mistakes, misrepresentations, and
groundless, slanderous reflections upon the faithful followers
of the Lamb : giving them so many nicknames as Cameronians,
Society-people, the warm party, the warmer sort, warm, hot
persons, the violent party, highflyers," &c. " But this," ha

VISCOUNT OF DDNDra. 147

adds, " is the fulsome, unwholesome air he has lived in, being
overrun and over-driven with the backsliding spirit of the
day." So much for the clerical authority implicitly relied
upon, in such matters, by Fox and Lord Macaulay. Tlie
minor martyrologist contradicts the major even in the thread-
bare asBUmplion that is so valuable to whig historians, " Mr
Wodrow Bays, — ' It was tlie violence of the persecution that
drove some people to extremes and wildness.' He might have
laid the saddle upon the right horse. It was the defections,
silence, and unfaithfulness of ministers and professors that
much prevailed with Johu Gib, and others with him, to run
in these extremes, as some of them yet alive cau witness."
Who shall decide when Doctors disagree ?

To adopt both of these worthies, as authority for traditional
facts, was out of the question. In their most important illus-
tration, of the aainily character of such champions of " faith-
ful eontendings," as they who murdered Archbishop Sharp,
and of the satanic character of the great statesmen who
•truggled to uphold the government of Scotland, against such
deeds, with all the terrors of the unreformed criminal code of
Scotland, Wodrow and Walker essentially differ. Wodrow
tells us, circumstantially, that the dragoons under the com-
mand of Colonel Qraham mutinied to a man, against hia order
for the execution of John Brown, and that he was tlins com-
pelled to perform the office of executioner with his own hand.
- Walker, without deigning to notice the version of his rival at
•U, tells us, no less ciTcumstantially, that Julm Brown was
executed in mihtary form ; that, by order of their command-
ing officer, six dragoons dismounted for that purpose ; and
that " the most part of the bullets, came upon his head, which
scattered his brains upon the ground," — the natural result of
■ military execution mercifully performed. Humiliating to
history, and to genius, is the fact, that both of tliese versions
have been separately and arbitrarily adopted to form a clap-
trap page of popular history, and that by historians of the
highest credit and ronown. Sir WaltiT Scott, doubtless under
the influence of a poetical feeling, adopted the wild but
dramatic fable of the pedlar, without the slighteet reference
to Wodrow. Lord Macaulay, by reason of the political strain

148 MEMUUIALS OF TUE

(ircdominating in liis history, prefers tb« more outrageoiw
calumiiy of Woiirow, ami, in like manner, on the other haiid,
luia utterly ignored both the pedlar and Sir Walter I SoHie
hold it for an axiom that a tradition cannot have been in-
vented. A close inspection, however, of the annals of the
CovenaQt, must lead any candid enquiier to the conclnsion, '
that a pure, or rather an impure invention, may pass into
tradition and even become matter of history. But if there be
two traditions, of tlie same event, diametrically opposed to each
other, surely one of them at least must haw been invented ?
In the case of John Brown, our great^^t modem authors,
pandering to vulgar error, and popular excitement, instead of
anxiously and strictly ministering to historic truth and justice.
l»ave jMiircd off, as it were, upon the contradictory versions, '
and left the students of history to discover the truth. " It is
astonishing," said Charles Fox. philosophising with a wet towel
round his laurelled brow, — " how many facts one finds related
for which there is no authority whatever."

Patrick the Scotch pedlar's life of Peden, the Scotch saint,
is a burlc5i]ue upon biography, and an outrage against truth
and common sense. The drifl of it is to prove that this in-,
aaue conventicle preacher, was fully endowed with miraculous
powers. There is no end to the blasphemons absurdities which
form tlio staple of the pedlar's biography of Peden. We can
only afford U> present our reatlers with a few examples, in
order to characterise the record from which history has de- ,
rived version the secotid of the martyrdom of John Brown.

In the year 1685, the epoch of the Christian Carrier, the
Reverend Master Alexander Peden, then vomiting liis fana^
tical rapsixlies in Ireland, was. as the pedlar assures as,
miracvlouslif informed of the death of Charles II., — " the newa '
of which came not to Ireland for twenty-four hours there-
after," Peden and his disciples were singing a psalm at the
side of a wood, and making a terrible noise. Their apostle
had commanded, " that none of them open their mouth to
sing, but those who could do it knowingly and believingly ;"
the result of which was, not to render the choir more select,
but to cause, that " the greater part could not contain and for-

VISCOUNT UK DUNDEE.

149

bear aingiiig, but brake out with their hearts aiid whole
Htreiigth, 90 that they were uever witness to such loud sing-
ing, through tho whole psalm." Towering above this inarty-
rological melody, was hearil the voice of Pdlen, (who maunged
al'ter all to die in his bed), — " Pack, aud let us go to Scotland ;
pack, and let us go to Scotland ; let us flee from one do-
vouriiig sword aud go to another ;" to which slartliug uu-
uouncement he added this inspiration : " I'll tell you good
news; keep in mind this year, month, and day ; and remember
that I told you, — that tho enemies have got a shot beneath
the right wing, and they may rise and fly like a shot bird, but
ere this day seven years the strongest of them shall fall." Not
only was he thus miraculously premonished of the death of
Charles II., hut the fact that tho King had been murdered by
liiii own brother and successor, had been vouchsafed uuto this
propliet. For, on the following night, Pcdcn emerges from a
wood wJiere he had been all day, and stalking into the house
of one Mr Vurnor " where several of our Scots BulTerers were,"
comforts and enlightens them with these words ; " Why are
you so discouraged ? I know you've got ill news of the
dreadful murder of our Ineude in Scotland ; but I'll tell you
good news. That unhappy, treacherous, Iccherons mau, who
has made the Lord's people iu Scotland tremble these years
bygone, has got his last glut, in a fortfly disk, from kia brother,
and he's lying vrith his tongue cold in his mouth."

Every thing that I'edcn said or did at this time was mira-
culous. The bark which was to convey him aud his disciples
Hc'cretly to Scotland, was obtained under his miraculous direc-
tion, He never opened his mouth that he did not prophecy,
or aETurd miraculous information. His whole demeanour was
blasphemously imitiitive of the inspired Apostles, " He, and
twenty-six of our Scuts suU'erers," says the pedlar, "came
aboard ; he stood ui)on the deck and prayed, — there not being
tlm least wind, — where he made a rehearsal uf limes aud
places, when and whore the Lord had licaril and answtirtd
llieni in the day of their distress ; and now they were in a
great straight.. Waving his hand to the west, from whence
ho desired tho wind, he said, ' Lord give us a loof-fuU of
wind ; till the suils, Lord, aud give in: a frci-h gale, mid lei u.«

150

UKMOUIALS OF THE

have a awift aud Bafe passage over to the blood; land, cM>m« I
of ue wliat will.' John Muirhead, Robert Wark, and others
who were prescut, told me, that when be began to pray, the
sails were all hanging straight down ; but ere he ended, they
were all like blown bladders."

Hia many miracles, performed in community with the
" suffering romnnnt," are all minutely and undoubtingly re-
corded by Patrick Walker. None of these elect needed to
dread the proximity of Clavers and his bloody crew, if " old
Sandy," — the name with which Peden petted himself, — was
near them, and condescended to exert his powers to save. A
boy who had been sent for provisione, was pursued by the
military on hia return. " The lad ran," says Walker, " and
six of them pursued half a mile, and fired hard upon him ;
the bull went close by hie bead ; all that time Mr Peden con-
tinued in prayer for him, his alone, and with the rest, being
twelve men ; when praying with them he said, ' Lord, shall
the poor lad that's gone our errand, seeking bread to support
our lives, lose hia ? Direct the bullets by (past) his head ;
however near, lot them not touch him ; Good Ixtrd spare the
lap of thy cloak, and cover the poor lad : And in this he wa» i
heard aud answered, in that there waa a dark cloud of mist
parted him and them." I

Upon another occasion the prophet was in some jeopardy
hinisolf, along with several of his disciples, aft«r whom
'■ BiiclKobub and ApoUyon" were in full cry among the hills.
Old Handy, sadly blown in the chase, — which it eeema odd
that ho should bave submitted to at all, — suddenly called a
halt, and botoi>k himself to his usual familiarity with (?od.
" Tliou he began and said : ' Lord, it is thy enemies' day, hour,
and power ; they may not be idle ; but, hast thou no other
work for them but to send them a/ler vs f Send them aft«r
thorn to whom thou wilt give strength to flee, — for our
Hlrengtli's gone. Twine them about the hiU, Lord, and cast
the lap of thy cloak over old Sondy, and his poor things, and
save U3 this one time, and we'll keep it in remembrance, and
tell it to the commendntion, of thy goodness, pity, and <
passion, what thou didst for us at such a time. In the mean
time there was n dark chitd o/mi'at cavu^ betwixt them."

I

VISCOO'T OF OCNDEE. 151

Afl for the Devil, he had no chance with old Sandj. Hiding
one day in a care in Galloway, with a fanatical familiar, who
went by the name of Little-John, he sent the latter io for^e
for him, " John said, — ' Sir, I am not i\'illing to leave you in
this place, your alone, for some have been frighted by the devil
in this cave.' ' \o, no, John, you need nut fear that. I will
take my venture of him for a time.'" Peden, of course, im-
proved the occasion. "John went, and the people willingly
gave bim aome meat. When he came back, he (Tedonj said, —
' John, it is very bard living in this world ; incarnate devils
above the earth, and devils bauxiih the earth ! The Devil has
been here since ye went away ; I have sent him off in haste ;
well be no more troubled with him this night.'"

Sometimes, however, old Sandy, iiu^tead of saving from mar-
tyrdom by a miracle, would rather hurry on a ripe disciple to
his crown of glory. The fullovring anecdote will serve as an
illustration of the truth of Claverhouse's complaint to Queena-
berry, — " Did the King and the Duke know what those rebel-
lious villains they call minisfers, put in the heads of the people,
they would think it necessary to keep them out." Upon one
occasion Pe<len was lecturing in the house of some fanatic,
apon the Tth chapter of Amos. " He repeated these words in
the 9th verae three tttneg : ' And I wUl rise against the house
of Jeroboam with the sword/" In case this broad hint might
Dot he understood, he suddenly became more explicit. One
John Wilson, a knight of the clt/kies, being of this select con-
gregation, Peden " kid his hands on the said John, and said, —
' John, have at the unhappy race of the name of Stewart : Off
the throne of Britain ihey shall go, if all the world would set
dde and shouller to hold them on.'" The biographical pedlar
gravely adds (what would seem to be sufficiently accounted
for), that " John Wilson suffered martjTdom in the Grass-
market of Edinburgh the next year. May 1683."

It was, as we have seen, in the month of May 1685, that
that other more famous knight of the tiykiea, John Brown,
" suffered martyrdom," in military form. Upon this occasion
Peden's powers were only evinced by a miraculous foreknow-
ledge of the event. " This murder," says Patrick Walker,
wa« commitl«ri betwixt six and seven in the morning. Mr

■
I

I

Pedes VM ■boot Im a-demi mfle* <fia«ai, ha tuift 1
dw SMa wO va^kl. Be came to the knK* betvixt
lad M^it. and desimi to call in the famij, that he
ptaj aaoa^ tbem. He (aid, — Lord, wben vih tboa ani^B
Bnmm'9 tloodf Oh ! let Browm't Hood be pCKaow in th;
s^t; and bastes the dajwbeB then It aTepge it. with OiiiiO'
ne'ii, CargflTK, and many otbos of onr martciB' mmci And
oh I for thU da; when tbe Lord wonld areage all tbeir Uooda.
Wbm ended, John Mnufaead' enqnicd vbat be meant bj
Bnt^a iloodf He said, twice orer,— Wbat do I mean?
CSaTerbotue bae been at the PreriiiU this momiog, and haa
cmellT' nmiderad 36ba Brown. His oorpee are Ijing at the end
of bis boose, and bis poor wife sitting weeping b; bis coipee.
and not a sool to speak comfortaU^ to her.* Tbis morning,
after the son-rifing, I saw a strange apparitim) ia the firma-
ment ; the appearance of a t^it bright cl«ar-ebining star, lall
Trom heaTeo to the eailb ; and indeed there is a cleat-ehining
light fallen this da; ; the greatest Christian that eTer I oon-
vereed with.*

Thns, at ten or eleven mike distanoe &om the spot, the
prophet Peden was miracnloosly cognisant of the conditioa
of poor John Brown's corpse, jnst one boor after the shots were
Bred vhich closed his career of tieasou and rebeUion. But it
seems that old Sendy bad be«t a timely retreat himself Irom
the Tenr place. He had been sojonniing with the martjr and
bis wifo inimediatelT before, and bad bolted betimes, uttering
a mysterious fee-fa-fom, as if smelling the blood of the Chris-
tian carrier about to flow. A]l this we gather from Patrick
Walker's version of the tragedy, which suggests the question
why this cloud-compelling apoetle of the Covenant had not
rather iuterposcd his miraculous powers to save ?

'■ lu the beginning of May 1685, Pedeo came to the boose
of John Bronii and Isabel Weir (whom he married before he
went last to Ireland), where he stayed all night ; and in the
morning, wb^n he took bis farewell, be came out at the door,

' Mraniiig nane heuM ten or ricvcii miles dintaiH Itiki: Ihr place »h«« Jnlin
(tmnn oki cxecakid.
> Tliis John MDirhai4 "as hinged at Kyr, 37tii [>ewn>ber 10S6.
' Hue ranic thv [iiiij>Ih'I not I>i knnw, nr to lell, thai Jolm Hraii as npphew

»iri. k.

f Itt^n carried 'jff to suffer

roiin ^m

and ^M

VISCXJUNT UF DUSD>X.

153

saying to himself,--' Poor notuan, a. fearful moming,' twice
over, ' a dark misty morning.' The next morning,' between
five and six hours, the said John Brown, having performed
the worahiji of God in hia family, was going, with a apade in
hia hand, to make ready some peat-ground;' the mist heing
very dark, (he) knew not until bloody, cruel ChiVfrhovet com-
passed him with lliree troops of Iiorse, brought him to bis
hoUEie, and there examined him ; who, though be waa a man
of a stammering speech, yet answered him distinctly and
solidly ; which made Claverhouee to examine those whom be
bad taken to be his guides through the moors if ever they
heard him preach ? They answered, — ' No, no, he waa never
a preacher,' He said, — ' If he has never preached, meikle
has he prayed in his time.' He said to John, — ' Go to your
prayers, for you shall immediately die.'' When he was pray-
ing, Gtaverhouse interrupted him three times.* One time
that he stopt him, he was pleading tliat tho Lord would
epare a remnant, and not make a full end in the day of
his anger. Claverhonse said, — ' I gave you time to pray, and
ye're begun to preach,' He turned about upon his knees, and
said, — ' Sir, you know neither the nature of preaching nor
praying tlmt calls this preaching,' — tlien continued without
confusion. When ended, Claverhouae said, — ' Take good night
of your wife and children." His wife standing by, with her
child in her arms that she had brought forth, to him, and an-
other child uf his first wife's, he came to her, and said, —
' Now, Isabel, the day is come that I told you would come,
when I spake first to you of marrying me.' She said, — ' In-
- deed, John, I can willingly part with you,' Tlien ho said, —
' That's all I desire ; I have no more to do but die, I have been
in case to meet death for so many years.' He kissed his wife

' Bat Jnhn Brawn wui exeouced on ilia Hrn of May. It vera n
hovrcTar, ti> expect perfect urcuney of datot from audi ■ cliiMuicIrr u tlila.

• Nn DoliM of bi> rippheo, /i^K Hrotntn.

■ We now kuow, fniui Colopcl Grsham's own report to lifml quMten, tlint
till* uvuuni uf hi* niada t,t prowcding, upOD Uie mrlmielinly uci'a-iuD, U an >)»<
iialile falKhiKxI. The wimder ia, however, lliat i( ever impoM^J upon a niia
reader, tt boani falwhwHl atampad on the faee of it.

• If inlrm>p>»'l al all, dnul>IleH it nuiild ■» when the fanatic waa vliilunlly

154 MCfouALS or tbs

mikd bftixiu. ami wished parckAdeii anul pmnind UeflngB to
he mnltrplied upon th*;nu azui his Mfwring GftTezhonse or-
cferai MX mMuir% to J^mA kirn. Tbe most put of ibt bullets
esm« upon lus Iieail wfaich scmttered his brains upon the
groond. ClaTerhoiue «auf to A w vi/!r« — ' What thinkest tboa
of thj husband AO«r, woman ?' Sie said. — ^* I thooght ever
mnch good of him, and as much now as eTer/ He said, — '- It
were bnt justice to lay thee beside him.' She said, — ^ If ts
were permitted, I doubt not bot yoor cmeltj would go that
length ; bnt how will re make answer for this mornings wock?'
He said, — ' To man I can be answerable, and for God I will
take him in mj own hand'^ Claverhoose moonted his Intse
and marched, and left her with the corpse d her dead kosband
Ijing there. She set the bairn upon the groond, and gathered
his brain^ai, and tied np his head, and straighted his body, and
coTered him with her plaid, and sat down and wept over him ;
it being a very desert place, where neTer lictnal grew, and
far from neighbonrs. It was some time before any friends
came to her. The first that came was a very fit hand, that
singular Christian woman in the Cmnmerhead, named Jeam
Brown, three miles distant ; who had been tried with the Tio-
lent death of her husband at Pentland ; afterwards of two
worthy sous, Thomas Weir, who was killed at Drumdog, and
David Steily who was suddenly shot afterwards, when taken.'
The said Isat>el Weir, sitting upon her husband's graye^«tone,
ioUl me, that before that, she could see no blood but she was
in dangf;r to faint, and yet was helped to be a witness to all
this without either fainting or confusion ; except when the
shots were let off, her eyes dazzled His corps was buried at
the end of his house where he was slain, with this inscription
on his grave-stone, —

** In earth's cold bed, the dustj* part here lies,
Of one who did the earth a.H dust despise.
Here in that place from earth he took departure,
Now he has got the garland of the martjT."'

* Tho reader will judge of the trauenManee of this vulgar scolding match, be-
tween the liereaved (^liriMtisn peasant, and the aristocratic Colonel of the Guardi*
in prefM^nce of liin own soMicrH.

' But we have Mliewn that fJnri4 Steel wan not nhot ; he wa8 not even taken alive.

• I*iitrick Walker's I.ifs and Death of Mr Alexander Peden, Bioqrapkia Pres-

VISOOUNT OF DDNDEE.

155

I

Prok pudor t Sir Walter Scott lias twice incorporated this
apocryphal rubbiBh of fanatical pathos, concocted by one of
the " suffering remnant," with tho history of Scotland. But
he has accompanied the double record with a singular incon-
eistency of sentiment. In the historical notes to the ballad
of Bothwell Bridge, he adds this aalvo to bis own verbatim
reprint of the pedlar's romance : —

" While we read this dismal story, we must remember
Brown's situation was that of an avowed and determined rebel,
liable as euch to military execution ; so that the atrocity was
more that of the times than of Claverhouse. That General's
gallant adherence to his master, the misguided James VII.,
Bnd bis glorious death on the field of victory at KiUiecrankie,
have tended to preoerve and gild his memory"

But in what times, it may be asked, was the fact of an
avowed and determined rebel being liable to military execu-
tion, or being made to suffer military execution, considered
an atrocity by the rational mind ? In his History of Scotland,
however, the same illustrious chronicler, again repeating
Walker, passes this unqualified sentence npon the distin-
guished officer and statesman who bad the misfortune to
command at tho scene of John Brown's execution : —

bfltriitiui, Tol, i. page 72. Why did bnlh Dr H'Cri« and Lord Macnulnj' pirrar
WodTDH's Tei7 differenl version nf thla nlumniouB hblc to Walker'af Wen
Iboe wkrehing histariBDi nol anra of Walker's Tenioa I But Sir Waller Sent!
h«d npridted it nriatlm, to nri}' aa 1802, in liia liintorinl noles on the ballid of
Botbweli Bridge, in Ihe Minstreley of the Scottish Border. Lord Macaulay, ton,
bad sarely peniw-d Sir Walter Scotfa Uitlory of Scotland (Talcs of a Grandfiilhar),
where Walker'a rersion is again repritiled b;' him u a page of authentic lil«tory ;
and which page of biilnrj' i^nora Wadrav't ttnioti enlirtty, Pnifenar Af Inun
■br(»diy retoarii* : ■■ Of tlio two biilorics, that of Wallior a nn questionably roort
likely to resemble tho truth. He profeaeo to have lieard Hme of the details from
the nife of Brown, whereu Wodrow gives no manner of authority at all. There
are, bowcrer, ntf ieiou eireumMauat, even in Walker'i narrative, which miglit b«
noticed. For example, in the original editioD of hie pamphlet, he etatea, (hat the
Rnl peraoD ivlio came tu Un Brown, vhile ahe waa watching by her buaband'a
body, waa, ■ that old aiogular Clirialinn woman in the Cammorbead, namrd Elitabrtk
Mmiei, three milea distant ;' bnt, in the third edition, thin matron, retaining her
raaidenev and encominiu, is transmuted intn ^Mia An>in."— (£!saMiMlioa of
MuanUf, p. 339.) But we now know a more «n>picioui cireumalance. Tbiaal-
Isged eye-ttitneaa is not reported lo liav* aaid one ward aboat her huabaod'a
aepbev and companion. Join Rroint'i, ii whom " i-arahities bad been priw^ntad,
and who wsa carried off, as if to drnih.

k

\r,Q

JTEMOHIALS OK TOE

" A Bceue of this kind is told with great simplicity ui<f
effect, by one of the writers of the period, and I am truly eorry
that ClaverhotiBe, whom, at the time of the Revolution, we
find acting a heroic part, was a principal agent in this act of
criteltj/. Nor, coneidering the nukhhlooded, and savage 6or-
barity of the deed, can we admit tlie excuse, either of the
orders under which he acted, or of i\ie party prejudices of the
time, or of the condition of the suiferer, as a rebel and outlato,
to diminish our unqualijkd detestation of it."

Sir "Walter Scott's authority, whom he declines naming, waa
the pedlar Walker, in whose favour he had arbitrarily dis-
missed the greater Wodrow. From his youth upwards,
Walker had been a rampant and truculent rebel. Escaping
the fate due to his crimes against social order, but not alto-
gether escaping severe punishment, he became an outlawed
rebel, a member of the " suffering remnant," and subsequently
one of those blue-lights of the Revolution with which the
Orange Government cautiously and contemptuously refused
to burn their fingers. While a young man he distinguished
himBelf, and attracted the notice of Government, by the
slaughter of Francis Garden, a loyal volunteer, serving iu Lord
Airly's troop of horse. This soldier, who, if Walker's own
story be at all truthful, seems to have been a sort of kuight-
errant in pursuit of Magua-moor saints, — was at some mi]e»
distance from his quarters in Lanark, and very incautiously
on the look-out alone, armed only with liis sword. Early in
the morning, in the beginning of March 1682, he encountered,
under suspicious circumstances, Patrick Walker, James Wil-
son, and Thomas Voung, to whom he gave chase. The ped-
lar himself, who tells the story, jnore euo, in his life of Peden,
interlarded with the usual calumnious abuse of the character
and demeanour of the poor soldier, — admits that they " had
been in a meeting all night." The nature of the meeting i»
indicated by the fact that they were armed ; two of them at
least with fire-arms. Moreover, they had fled, not from a dis-
inclination to use such deadly weapons, but because, says
Walker, " We were alarmed, thinking there were many more
than owe." The bravo trooper, having overtaken these armed
rebels, challenged, and endcavouicd to lake them, dead

J

VISCOUNT OF DONDEE.

157

vlive. As they stood violently on the defensive agaiu»t Ihuir

single opponeut, he made a thrust at WUboq, but only ran him

I through the coat. Wilson fired, and missed his antagonist;

I opon which Patrick WaUter shot the trooper through the

r head with a pocket-pistol. " He got a shot," says Walker, in

bis Jesuitical account of the matter, — " in the head, out of a

pocket-pistol, rather fit for diverting a boy, than killing such

ft furious, mad, brisk man ; which, notwithstanding, killed him

dead. We searched him for papers ; and found a long scroll

[ of sufferers' names, either to kill or take, I tore it all in pieces.

I Ee had also some popish books, and bonds of money, with one

I dollar, which a poor man took off the ground, all which we

' put in his pocket again. Thus he was four miles from Lanark,

I and near a mile from his comrade, seeking his men death, and

I got it"'-

Prom tliis we may gather, that the poor trooper was acting
I «nder instructions, in the prosecution of his duty, and had his
I icredentials and his prayer-book in his pocket. Walker's eva-
I sion of any direct statement that he did the deed, indicates a
, tremor of his heart or conscience, even under the protection
' of King William. But the context of his own narrative
I proves, beyond doubt, that ho himself was the hero of the ad-
I Tenture. Of course he pleads self-defence, as every desperate
criminal may do who kills the officer of justice. But who
I oould road, without indignation, what followw from this " writer
of the period," as Sir Walter Scott so leniently designs him,
and without a shudder at the Christianity of the Covenant I
" For my own part," — says tlie pathetic narrator of the death
of John Brown, speaking of the occasion when he himself was
the scatterer of brains, — " for my own part, my heart never
smote me for this. When I saw his blood run, I wished that
all the blood of the Lord's stated and avowed enemies in Scot-
land had been in his veins ; having such a clear rail and oj>-
poTiunity, I would have rejoiced to have seen it all gone out
with a gush' That famous illustration of gluttony in amours,
which the poet Byron proclaimed of himself, had been antici-

■ Life nf P«ilnn, p. 30*.

1 5s Ml.MORrAI-S OF TBE

pated by the poetical pedlar, in the expreasion of his ghittony
of blood.*

7. 5'iV Walter Scott's characteristics o/Claverhouse.

Among literary curiosities or puzzles, may be reckoned Sir
Walter Scott's historical treatment of the principles of the
Argyle or fanatical rebellion, and the conduct and character
of its great opponent, Viscount Dundee. One while, the
severity of bis judgment upon the measures of Grovemment,
and upon Colonel Graham's fulfilment of such military duties
as fell to his individual share to perform, would afford a com-
plete justification of the most outrageous acts of the lawless
covenanters. On the other hand, the yet greater severity (at
other times) of his denunciation of the covenanting character,
and the covenanting rebellion, eeema to justify the most
severe measures of the Government, adopted of necessity for
ite own protection, and that of the Throne. Moreover Scotfs
loyalist view of the subject, would utterly destroy the credit
of all those covenanting records, chronicles, and traditions,
upon the general admission of which, — as being the truth of
the case and not the calumnious fables of an unscrupulous
sect of clerical agitators, — bis opposite verdict of condemnation
is entirely dependent. Doubtless in submitting his genius to
that uncongenial subject, he had taxed it with a difficult
theme. The mythical nationabty of the covenanting cause, —
for truly it is not national, — its pretension to patboa, — a
pathos falsely purchased and grossly misapplied, — had at-
tracted his nascent powers. He had somewhat rashly com-
mitted himself, at an early period, to those compromising
views which really involved (as Dr M'Crie was not slow to
detect) an apology for the most truculent acts perpetrated
by the enemies of good order, and of the monarchical govern-
ment in Scotland.* But while hia imaginative powers were

I

Toee W»lker.

> Scott, mis
Claverhuuse, a

s subject of tliis criminal'a life, i
o liiographia Freibgl/riaHa, »ol.

31

iaia*B<<an>ap_<<tf<

■tbl'^L

- ' -J - - _ ■ . ^ J ■ ^^- = r-

I

~ . - - J. ' 1 - -I - — "— 1^ — I '~ P '■' ^

ICO

UEMOHIALS OF THE

of course, the promiuent figure ; and romance uot being (he
medium for transmitting the literal truth of history, the lovers
of historical justice, under the fascination of that great genius,
are apt to overlook, or dieregard, the darker trait* of his por-
traiture of Dundee. After a romantic deRcription of hia ex-
terior, based upon the characteristic painting by Sir Peter
Lely, the novelist proceeds thus to describe the morale of
" great Dundee' as he elsewhere calls him.

" But under this soft exterior was hidden a spirit unbounded
in daring and in aspiring, yet cautious and prudent as
Machiavel himself. Profound in politics, and imbued, of
course, with that disregard for indi\'idual rights' which its
intrigues ueuallj generate, this leader was cool and collected
in danger, fierce and ardent in pursuing success, careless ot
facing death himself, and ruthless in inflicting it upon others.
Such are the characters formed in times of civil discord, when
the highest qualities, perverted by party spirit, and inflamed
by habitual opposition, are too often combined with vices and
excesses which deprive them at once of their merit and of
their lustre."

In Sir Walter Scott's history of Scotland, again, the alleged
" cruelty" of the heroic Viscount is more distinctly conceded
to his enemies : " Viscount Dundee," he says, " was devotedly
attached to the cause of King James, and redeemed some of
his /ercer, and more ci-Jiel propmmtiee, by the ViVh/e of attach-
ing himself to his benefactor when he was forsaken by all the
world beside."*

The fierce and cruel propensities onoe conceded, when we
consider the nature of the accusations upon which those attri-

1 We hnvf heen tutable to diicoTer ■ liingh aiitlimlic insMliee of Grkluun at
Ckverlinuse having been " imbnr^d wllli disregard fnr iniUtiilunI ritihts." On the
noMrmTy, Lia private correBpondcncE Jiscloaei mMi}' indicatiuns uf the very re-
verse. Keithcr lh therv a uiigle uithenlic iDBtaoce ud record id liia luviag pn^ved
iiiniBelf « rulhleea in inflicting death,'" Had Sir Walter beeu aakcd fir bU |jruof,
he could onl; have appealed tu tlie fable at the Christian Carrier. It must be re-
membered, ton, that when lie piiiiied tlic ehnracler quoted in nur um, he waa DM
eognisanl of a single eriatiog letter written bv Claveriiouae, or a aiogle document
id eapabie of (li rowing any ligbt u|ii>n hi* eonduet, senti-

ig rrom himself, a

• HIsI

VISCOrNT OF DUNDEE.

161

t

iwtes are founded, the " \-irtue'' uf aelf-interesteJ ami pcrsoniU
kttaohment, to a Sovereign eaid to Lave prompted such fero-
l-eioua aud cruel conduct, can scarcely be regarded as possessing
Einy efficacy of redemption whatever.' But it is yet more dis-
tressing to find that Sir Walter Scott is most severe upon his
favourite hero, when n-riting anonymously as a historical
E'Critic. Justly delighted with Ids own triumphant romance,
[and not easy under the attack of an able clerical wTifer, — who
stood deeply pledged to uphold the sanctity, and veil the
vices, of the fanatical character in Scotland,' — the Great Un-
known took it upon himself to review his own immortal Old
I Mortality. "We do not presume to impugn his right to mystify
the public by reviewing his own romance. He was bent upon
the grandest scheme of mystification ; and his genius gloried in
being shrined in clouds, like the sovereignly of those etherial
realms, —

" Where Andtv, giant of the wratcro star.
With meteor aUtiidard to Ihe drecie unfurled,
Looks from his throne of clouils o'er half the world."

1 ~

[

a ■ note U the end nf llie ileTODtii chapter of Old Mortalilj', Sir Walter
delinaalei his hero, in Uieae lennB ; " This remarkable pereon united tba
M t mingly ineonHMent qualities of eooraige and enuCti/, a disinlereated and deToted
lofalt/ to bis pnnce. Kith a disregard of the rigbtii of his fallow subjecta. He wai
Iba muerKpulom agent of the Seottiih Privj' Couueil in executing the imnUttt
(Mfrilia of the Covcmmetit in Scfltland during the reigna of ChaHee II. and
Jama II. ; but he rrJernud hii ckaractrr by the leal with which he asaerlrd llie
CMwe of the Uller monarch after the lieviilutiDO, the mililarj' gkill wilb which be
wpporled il at the bailie of Killiecrankie, and by bis own denlh in ttie arms of
tictory." Ho* is a mBii'a chancier pedeeined by being shot !

' " The late cKoelleiil biographer of John Knox, Dr Thomas M'Crie, had eon-
lidered the repmentatioDs of I)ie CoTCDanlers, in llie itory of Old Mortolily, as u
■afair as to demand at hia baoda a very seriDna rebuke. The Doctor forlliwith
pabliahed, in ■ magaiine called the Ediuburgb Chrisliau luslrurtur, a wt of pupera,
in which the historical roundations of lliat lale wereallacksd with indignimtwamilh ;
asd though Scott, when bs HrPl beard of lhe« invecliies, cxprsMod lib resolulion
Be*er eren to read thorn, he found the imprHtion they wore praduc^ing ■» strong,
IbU ho soon changed hi* purpoao, and Dually dovotcd ■ very Urge part of hi*
arOole for the Quarterly Review to an ekborale dcfenoe of bis own picture of Ihe
CoveDaoton."— LoeUort, tol. It. p. 34.

Dr U'Crie'a abuse of Dundee is, of conrae, uiimcaaured ; but founded enllrolf
upon Wodruir. tlo givra the atory of ibe Cbriatiau Carrier trriatiat from Wod-
row ; kod wiiliuat uking (he iilighleel uolice of tlie telling fad, tlutt the ooDlenipo-
my biographer of r*deii niiiiulel}' recorded ■ veraion differing cnKniiallf from
Wudruw's, in the very circu in i lance mnat inimical Ui the fame of Ituntlee.

!1

162 MEMORIALS OF'THF: ^^^H

But our business is witli the cliaraeter »f Dundee in th»t |
giant's hands.

Scoll in the first place revitwa the portrait, which he him- '
self had drawn, of Graham of CUverhouse, adding, however, ,
as if from a fresh hand, certain comments and iUustrations, by
way of softening the cliamcteristicB bestoTred upon t, worthy
who, he says, was " nol uniformly so ruthless as he ia painted
in the Tales." In tlie same hreath, however, he pronounces
upon his character and dispositions in a strain that may cause
the reader to exclaim, " save me from my friends 1'

" The most prominent portrait," says the reviewer, " histori-
cally considered, is that of John Graham of Claverhouse, after-
wards Viscount of Dundee ; and its accurate resemblance can
hardly he disjmted, thongii those wJio only look at his cruelty
to the Presbyterians will consider his courage, talents, high
spirit, and loyal devotion to an nnfortnuate master, as ill
associated with such evil attributes. They who study his life'
will have some reason to think that a mistaken opinion of the
absolute obedience due by an officer to his superiors, joined to
vtiscmpulous ambition, was the ruling principle of many of his
worst actions."

Nay, ClaverhouHe was either " uniformly nithless," or the
covenanting case against him is gone. If what his clerical
calumniators said of him, that his nature was incapable of
yielding to a feeling of humanity, lie disproved in a single
substantial instance, their credit is altogether destroyed.
Accordingly, when an incident occurred which Wodrow had
considered too notorious to be concealed, of his pleading for
the life of a rebel, the inconsistent benevolence is not ad-
mitted to form a break in the " uniformity" of his ruthless-
nesa, but is accounted for, by supposing, that his horrible
murder of Saint Brown, perpetrated with his own hand very
shortly before, had left such a nervous quaking in the heart
of the " man of blood," as somewhat to unsettle his mind I
" Claverhouse," says the martyrologist, recording an event
alleged to have occurred just nine days after the death of
John Brown, — " falls upon Andrew Hislop in the fields,

• Bol IhciT were nn infllMmU fi-r slnilyinp lli^. life. Sir WaKer Ui

J

VISCODNT OF DUNDEK.

103

I
I

May 10, 1685, and seized Lim, without any design, iia appeared ,
to murder him, bringing him prisoner with him to Eiikdale
unto Westerraw that night. 1 said somewhat before with re-
lation to this bitter persecutor, Sir James Johnston of Wester-
raw ; and the writers of the Cloud of Witnesses observe, from
Mr Alexander Shields' account I suppose, that he was once a
covenanter, a great professor, and zealot for the Presbyterian
establishment ; and even when the teat began to be talked of,
he pretended a regard for Presbytery, and that he would not
take the test ; but as soon as the trial came to his door he
took it, and turned a violent persecutor of Presbyterians, as
all apostates generally are.' He died about the Kevolution,
under dreadful torture in body from the gravel, and in no
email agonies of mind for his past ways. Andrew being taken
upon his ground, he would needs gignallse his loyalty in hav-
ing him despatched in the fields ; and, as one empowered by
the Council, he passed a sentence of death upon him. Ciaver-
^ house, in this instance, was very backward, perhaps not icanl-
ing hia own reflections upon John Brown's murder the first of
tliis month, as we have heard, and pressed the delay of ^
execution ; hut Westerraw urged till the other yielded, saying,
* the blood of this poor man bo upon you, Westerraw, I am free
of it.'"' This anecdote might have awakened in Lord Macau-
lay's experienced mind some scepticism as to the truth of
Wodrow's anecdote of the 1st of May immediately preceding.
On the contrary, he improves the occasion ailorded by Wod-
row, and puts it thus : " Claverhouse was just then strangely
lenienl. Some thought,' that ho bad not been quite himself
since the death of the Christian Carrier ten days before. But
Westerhall was eager to signcdixc Ms hyaUy, and extort«d a
gtdtcn consent."*

To return to Sir Walter's review of Old Mortality ; notwith-
standing his deprecation of that character of uniform ruthless-

whpn III* trial a

< So did .S^nt S
fore, p. «t. 111.

• HbL vol. It. p. Wn.

• Who tboughi to, vht*, knil when t
l.i.p.AOI. — II vuwuroclyt»ir ill Lord Mi«>>1ai
Wodrao'ii wiwWirB,— « the Uood of (hi* poni

Wntamw, I am free lA It," — atid KaWltuu tlw Kurd*. " ■ wil

164 MEMORIAI^ OF THE:

ness with wliich he says, Claverhoase " is painted in the
Tales," he proceeds, in the review, to paint him worse than
ever. Indeed, his concluding cut, the unkindest of all, leaves
the pet character of his romance utterly demolished and
worthless, reminding us of nothing so much as the Knight of
La Mancha's too severe test of the quality of that graceful
casf^ue which he had constructed with such infinite pains and
ingenuity. Who cares fur Claverhouse if this, the reviewer's
final judgment, be just ?

** Enough will, however, remain, after every possible deduc-
tion, to stigmatize Claverhouse, during this early part of his
military career, as a fierce mid savage officer ; the ready exe-
cutioner of the worst commands of his superiors ; forgetting
that no oflicer is morally justifiable in the execution of cruelty
and oppression, however the commands of his superiors may
be his warrant in an earthly court of Justice ;* for the alter-
native of surrendering his commission being at all times in his
power, he who voluntarily continues in a service where such
things are exacted at his hands, cannot be judged otherwise
than as one who prefers professional advancement and private
interest, to good faith, justice, and honour.' But there are
circumstances in Graham's subsequent conduct which have
gilded over cruelties, that, we shall presently show, belonged
as much to the age as to the man ; and they have been glossed
vver^ if not extenuated, by the closing scenes of his life."*

Was savage, unauthori7.ed, and unjustifiable cruelty, in the
conduct of a military commander of Colonel Graham s family,
education, and position, really so much a matter of course in
•• the age" as to excuse it in *' the man" ? And, the cruelties
being admitted, what are the " circumstances in Graham's

* All this morulizing is to the winds ; nor wonld it, if founded on faet, affoTd for
ClaverhoiMe oven the equivocal defence implied. It could not be shewn that the
acts of cruelty, faJHcly and vaguely alleged against Claverhouse by such writers a»
Wodrow, were autlierised by any commisftion, or commands issued to him what-
ever.

* Could Sir Walter have oondesccnded upon the precise period, or the partioalar
ocoaalon, when, as a matter of ** good faith, justice, and honour," Colonel Graham
of ClaverhouHO ought to haVe " surrendered his commission'* t

* Sir Walter Scott's review, in the Quarterly, of his own tale of Old Mortality,
was subsequently reprinted in his Miscellaneous Prose Works, vol. xix. p. 85.

I

VISCOU.VT OF DDNDEE. 166

pubsequenl cooduct" that either did or could "gild over cruel-
ties' which he had previouBly perpetrated ? Fidelity to the
master in whose cause he had exercised unjustifiable cruelties,
death in the arms of victory, while promoting such a cause
with the sword, could no more "gild over," or "gloea over"
such criminal antecedents, than suicide can electrotype mur-
der. If, indeed, Sir Walter be well founded in " stigma-
tizing" Claverhouse as a " fierce and savage officer," the ready
executioner of the iMrst commands of his sinful euperiors,
and as having so acted, — in choosing to retain his command, —
Ihat he " cannot be judged otherwise than as one who prefers
professional advancement, and private interest, to good faith,
justice, and honour^ — then, say we, the author of Old Mortality,
the inspired minstrel of that spirit-etirring note, —

" The Gordon haa asked of him whither he goef, —
' Wheresoever shall guide me the soul of Alontroue ;
Your Gi-Hue ia abort npaoe shall have lidioga of me,
Or lhs.t low !iea the bonnol of bonnie Dundee,'" —

might have abandoned entirely the character of Claverhouse
to the tender mercies of a M'Crie, and fast the carcase of his
hero to the hounds of Magus Monr.

That Sir Walter Scott's predilections were all in favour of
the hero of Killiecrankie, there cannot be a doubt. But he
had neither time nor iucUnation to investigate very minutely
vexed and intricate questions, nor to set himself to refute
vulgar errors which had become ingrained on thepnbhc mind
ia Scotland. Uuiversal pupularity was his bank, and he
feared to break it. No doubt his shrewd and comprehensive
mind caught more than ghmpses of the truth. In the course
of his curious historical researches, he had learnt to abominate
the covenanting zealots, and their merciless ways ; while his
atrong sense, and intuitive knowledge of himian nature, ren-
dered him not a little sceptical lui to the mylJis of history,
whether in the shapt^ of a [toliticul dagon, a monstor monarch,
a moorland martyr, or a " chief of Tophot on earth." But be
was toil cautious and loo wise lo attempt to controvert where
he wa* not prepared to refute; and he declined to grapple,
publicly at least, willi the popular calumny of " Bloody
Clavers. ' It wme* to be rather hard, however, nnr.ri a n-itl

166 MKSIOHIALS OF THE

personage of history, whose virtues have been obecured by th»
grossest slanders, ^'heu so great & maetar of fiction seizes upon
him for the hero of a romance, and, instead of clearing him
from calumny, only stirs the myre. And surely there is some-
thing wrong, when romance is professedly adopting history,
in the coolness witli which the anonymous reviewer of hi»
own historical novel thus criticises it, — " Yet he was not uni-
formly so ruthless as he is painted in the Tales" I

The best proof that Sir Walter had not metliodically sift«d
the secret history of the period, so aa to form a just or even a
decided estimate of the character of Claverhonse, is, that he
displays, throughout all his works, so inconsistent a mind on
the subject. In the most touching stanzas ever permed by
the matchless bard, when comparing sweet Teviot's silver tide
with the tide of human life, the last minstrel is made to
sing,—

" I^w us that tide tuu ebbed villi nic.
It «ti1] reQects to niemorv's eyv,
The hour my brave, ray only boy.
Fell by the side of i7r«il Dundee.
Why, when the ToUejiug musket pUy'il
AK«itiit the bloody Highlnnd blade,
Why was not I beside him laid 1
Euough, he died the death offanKi.
Enough, he died with conquering Giitiae,"

But Charles Fox, it seems, who, as we have seen, had pre-
viously passed a very loose fiat of his own in favour of Wad-
row's authenticity, thought fit to except the great poet's
compliment to Dundee, from his, the groat whig stateman's
general admiration of the Lay of the Last Minstrel. Sir Walter,
writing to Ellis in the year 1805, eays ; —

" I hope you continue to like the Lay ? I have had a flat-
tering assurance of Mr Fox's approbation, mixed with a
censure of my eulogy on the Viscount of Dundee. Although
my Tory principles prevent my coinciding with his pohtical
opinions, I am very proud of hie approbation in a literary
sense.*'

The fanatical myth of Dundee's atrocities had taken strong

VISCOU.NT OF DUNDEE.

167

hold of the public mind, and even Soutboy l)ecaiQe Jnlected
with that old cant of political and polemical calumny. Lock-
hart tells us, that Southey, — " in speaking of hia friend
Wordsworth's last work, expresses his regret, that the poet,
in hia magnificeut sonnet on KiUiecrankie, should have intro-
duced the Viscount of Dundee without apparent censure of his
character ;" and that Scott had written in reply : —

" As for my good friend Dundee, I cannot admit his culpa-
bility in the extent you allege ; aud it is scandalous in the
Sunday bard to join in your condemnation, 'and yet come of
a noble Grreme.* I admit he was iant eoit pen savage ; but he
was a noble savage ; and the beaally Covenanters, against
whom he acted, hardly bad any claim to be called men, unless
what was founded on their walking upon their liiud feet. You
can hardly contreive the perfidy, cruelti/, and stupidity of these
people, according to the accounts they have themselves pre-
served. But I admit I had many cavalier prejudices instilled
into me, as my ancestor was a KiUiecrankie man."

Bbades of Shields, Wodvow, Walker, and M'Crie I " Jesu
Maria, shield us well" t But it was not because hia ancestor
was a KiUiecrankie man, that Sir Walter Scott so blasphemed.
That inconsequential circumstuuce might, indeed, have told so
far as to prevent him from calling Dundee a savage, — and yet
it did not. But neither his head nor his heart would have suf-
fered him to characterise the Covenanters as beasts on their
hind legs, had not historical investigation forced some such
truth upon liis mind. Those excited expressions, from such a
quarter, are not to be accounted for by mere hereditary predi-
lections. And as for that passing sacrifice, upon the altar of
the Covenant, with which Scott was wont cautiously to qualify
any expression of his inward disgust at the conduct, and calum-
nies, of the zealots, and bis affection for their antitypes, (as
if casting n sop to Corburus), there is no authority whatever
for calling Dundee a savage, unless we arc to rely upon, and
bow to, " the perfidy, cruelty, aud stupidity," of the '* beastly
Covenanters" tbemKelvcs. This t^^mporisiug caution ut length
drove the bard of " Bonnie Dundee" to miJco a plum-pudding
of virtue and vice, and call it the character of tlialiam of
Claverhousc, Plnrin;,' him.icif, a^ if wire, between the Throne

1 68 MEMORIALS OF THE

and the Corenant, he thus bowed altematelj to either shrine,
on the «ubject of " Bloody Clavers," presenting ns with a type
of humanity as fabulous as the Mermaid or the Centaur.

" Grahame of Clavf-rhou.se, better known as Viscount of
Dundee, was one of the most prominent characters of his age.
He was brave, skilful, and indefatigable as a commander ;
cruel even to atrocity in military execution ;'} and generous even
to a foible ujion every other occasion. He disgraced the virtues
of a hero by the sanguinary persecution which he exercised
against the miserable fanatics ; but lived to exhibit these
qualities in their primitive lustre, during the misfortunes of a
Monarch whom he had too strictly obeyed in prosperity. His
death, in the battle of Killiecrankie, served to gild his former
exploits with all but the descendants of those enthusiasts
whom lie persecuted; among whom the name oi Bloody Clavera
is held in equal abhorrence, and rather more terror, than that
of Satan himself."*

But surely Wordswortli, at least, may be pardoned, if, when
writing " a sonnet in the Pass of Killiecranlde, an invasion
being expected," he forbore, in those fourteen lines, from
abusing tlie " noble savage," while naming him thus : —

** O, for a single hoar of that Dundee,
Who, on that day, the word of onset gaye !
Like conquest would the men of England see,
And her foes find a like mglorious grave," —

more especially seeing that the same gifted bard has else-
where recorded his high poetical sense of the " persecution of
the Scottish Covenanters," — Sir Walter's rampant quadru-
peds, — ^by writing another sonnet, under that title, and well
worthy of the subject, being as doleful and dreary as a Gal-
loway kirk-bell with a crack in it : —

** When Alpine vales threw forth a suppliant cr^r,
'rhe majesty of England interposed,
And the sword stopped ; the bleeding wounds were closed,
And Faith preserved her antient purity.

' Tlio Chrintian Carrier again !

» Swifi'ji Works, by Scott, vol. x. p. 1 86, ttntr.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

How littie boots that precedent of good ;

Scorned or forgotten, tLou const testify.

For England's shame, O tister Bealm I from wood,

Mountnin, and moor, and crowded street, where lie

The faeadlets marCjra of the CoTeoant,

Slain by compatriot prot«stan(8, that draw,

From coundls senseless as intolerant.

Their warrant. Bodies fall b^ wild swonl-law,

But who would force Iho soul, lilts with a straw

Against a champion cased tn adamant."

Mighty fine. But shall there be neither shame, sympathy,
nor sonnet for the cruelties committed by the " beastly Cove-
nanters" ? Could no sonnet be conceived as touching, and
more true, upon the murder of Archbishop Sharp, in the arms
of his daughter, on Magus Moor ? The muse of Wordsworth
himself shall aid us : —

Wben Magus ]yfoor sent forth a suppliant cry,

A daughter's writhing fonn was interposed ;

But the sword stay'd not ; the full caitifli dosed,

And the Kirb kept her ancient cruelty.

How lillle boots ibut fair girl's fortitudo.

Wounded nnil trod on, thou canst testify ;

For Scotland's sbame, O Megus Moor ! where hlood.

And scattered brains, invoke the venguful ikr

To launch its lighliiin^ on the Covenant.

Foul murder I done by those wLo clare to draw,

Even froui the Book of Life, intolerant

Ueath- warrant! ! Bishops bleed by Hell's lynch-Uw,

But who would slay the Churcb, tilta with a straw

Agunst a champion cased io adamant.

We conclude as we commenc«<]. With regard Io Duudoe,
History has proved an incorrigible calumniator. The moro
closely wc test her authorities, for the truculent changeling
she has reared under his name, the more will common acnso
reject the counterfeit. Were the most confident accuser of
Clavorhouse to be asked his autbonty for the atrocities im-
puted to him, he must refer to WodrouK Were he then asked
to instsnco the best vouched story of hi» cruellies, be must

I

170 MEMORIAIS OF THE

point to the legem! of the " CLristimi Carrier." The whole
artillery of Dr M'Crie'a famous pamphlet against " Old Mor-
tality," reBolvGs into that, All the rest is leather and prunella.
Deprive the able and amiable believer in John Knox of his
beau ideal of Wodrow, — of his trust iu the perfect integrity
of Wodrow's version of the death of John Brown, — and the
guns of Scotch fanaticism, as regards Dundee, are carried and
spiked. We have disproved the legend of Saint Brown. We
may safely ask a verdict to that effect from all candid and
healthy intelligence. That hitherto invincible instance is
now no more worthy of credence, and no more likely to
obtain it, in the rational mind, than that the earth rests on
the back of a tortoise. " My Informations," which Wodrow
deired not print, " credible wilnesaess, some of them yet alive,"
which he would not or could not name, constitute the alpha
aud omega of his proof, for all that rubbish of low-bom
calumny with which the martyrologist manured the Revo-
lution of 1688, until the history of Scotland stank in the nos-
trils of men. If it be asked how we have proved that Claver-
house was not guilty of the other manifold cruelties more
vaguely imputed to him hy the Wodrow school of history, —
it were sufficient to reply, that liis character requires no de-
fence against accusations not attempted to be verified, mani-
festly dictated by vulgar spleen, and bearing on the face of
them not a vestige of vraiscmblancc. But more. The leading
and most circumstantial instance being absolutely disproved,
Wodrow's whole army of martyrs becomes disorganized and
destroyed, like the Highland Host when Dundee fell. Nor is
this all. We have now produced evidence of the highest class,
even to prove the negative in defence of the maligned hero.
No man, they say, was ever a hero to his valet. Truer is it,
that no ruthless ruffian ever showed himself refined and
humane to his comrades in cruelty. We have tried Claver-
house by an unexpected and severe teat, — a test never apphed
to his character until now. \Vhat would the bolievers in
Wodrow have predicated, from the discovery of the daily deft-
patches of " Bloody Clavers," written to the " Deit of Drum-
lanrig," — written from the very fields of his damiung fame,
from those fanciful scenes of pitiless and petty butchery, whicli

I

^^^^ V1SC0U^T OF DCNDEE. 171

the genius of a Macaulay has delighted to dramatize ? Why,
that tho martyrologist would be justified, and the whig hia-
torian triumphant. What diBclosures might have been antici-
pated from such discoveries relative to the " murderer," who,
as he left " the good man of the house wallowing in a pool of
blood at his own door," had turned to the wailing widow vrith
BUch ribald ruthlessness as this, — " What thinkest thou of
thy husband now, woman ? it were but justice to lay thee be-
side him." Why, that every line of his familiar correspon-
dence would betray the cruelty of his heart, the meanness of
his intellect, and the vulgarity of liis soul. But what do we
find ? In letter after letter some unpremeditated but striking
illustration of the well ordered humanity of an enlightened
mind, — from his sympathy with " the poor man" for the loss of
his horse, to his inauguration of the great work of ameliorating
the frightful Criminal Code of Scotland ! Tho great captain,
invested with all the powers and torrors of the military and
civil law amid the troubles of Scotland, who yet anxiously in-
culcate the doctrine, upon an exasperated Government, —
" pursue the powerful, punish the ringleaders, hut spare the
weak, and the misguided masses," — never terrified the little
" child into a betrayal of its parent.' The military avenger of

' We luTc no hetilalioD in prODcnmciug tLc fnllowiag pungnipti in Wodrow'a
hiaUiry, to bo Iho foulest falwboocl «iUi which biatorj- wu ev«r disgricnl. 1l ia
uttorly untouclieJ, luUllj' iui'aiiBiiiU-iit willi llie wliole Moor of Colanel Gnliama's
TolumiiiaUB corrospoDdeOGC of the period, and nuiiiifuatlj' uulruo : —

** I tUTe omitteil tuaay (wrticulan and circuiUBtiDM* of (he nevcritiM of Clarer-
boUM in the Boalli eountr)' rt( ibis time ; (\i95,en(l<U JmdiTui] bat there is ODo
rmieifit ioiMiiee I uuiuut pua, which will my/iort IAom )i»eraU, nad ahow, that
Ibeir uut of the waj' metiiods were net wiliioul Mina laoceiu. lu tlie pariah of
Cloaeburn, Clattrkoaa riA a parly came to a couii Iranian 'a huuac, upon name io-
fonnatioii given him igainat the man. It waa litlle waDder ptu/-lf fri al lliia lime
wben by any meana ttaej could. Thua the <r\iAi /amilg, {getting wme notice that
theaoldien were n»r by, fled, I<uriiH; a Utile <UU of tijkl or ninf jifan of agt la
tit Itnm. GaTcrlioiiiw, finding lie itai the mnn'a aou, and tliat by fair meana ha
Hoiiiil anawer no queaUona, abot one of hia pialala al aomc dialalioo from him. Tlie
child iloodftrm, and would anawer nii qneatlona Then ha aliol aiioliier |>litol vary
Dear bia bead wlilch Urril-lji frigkud hiin ; and at lei.glli lie Ml>i ll<em all lie linww
■iwnt hia/ulArr, llu fa^Un and nti^livnr: Aeeiiniin; in Ui« infonnatiuna tliua
piKeD, b* Mul hia parties up and down tha nmntry in igueat of auch aa eMapad
Thnii lr« nintiniiifd uulil Argyls'a defeat, eiereiaing alt manter of trttrititt,
l[l)iuii>aiiil<inrl.inr niiil ilivrp Irani RMkdn1n,and the adjacent eountry. After

I

172 MEMORIALS OF TIIE

a murdered Prelate, who yet possessed a heart that would not
permit him to hurry to his jrison a hoary rebel suffering from
disease, never taunted the woman he had widowed, with vul-
gar words of blasphemy and scorn. The High Constable of
Dundee, despotic over a whole community, who caused the
Privy Council of Scotland, even in the bloody year 1685, to
sanction his own exercise of a more merciful code, never said
to a peaceful, unoffending, and Christian peasant, and without
offering a chance for life, — " Go to your prayers, /or you shaU
immediately die," Not more surely does the fossil in the rock
redeem creation from the calumny of barrenness, than is
Claverhouse redeemed from the charge of stony-heartedness
by the Jlorce of those long forgotten and buried letters. And
all consistent with the humanity of his heart, was that noble
utterance of his lofty and enlightened spirit, — " I am as sorry
to see a man die, even a whig, as any of themselves. But when
one dies justly, for his own faults, and may save a himdred
to fall in the like, I have no scruple."

the Earl was taken, he went into Edinburgh to the Council, and boasted of the
mighty feati he had done in the south." — Hist, vol. iv. p 256.

If ever there was a story which bore the stamp of malicious and ridiculous false-
hood on every line of it we have it here. And, out of such perilous stuff it is, that
the vulgar error of ^ Bloody Clavers,*' has grown, to the disgrace of history. The
idea of a peasant and his <' whole family" flying for their lives at the approach of
Claverhouse, with the single exception of a little sturdy fellow of eight or nine years
of age left behind in the cottage, seemingly for no other purpose than to afford pistol-
practice to Clavcrs I The Colonel was not in the habit of heading in person any
such roving parties in search of individual criminals. He was thoroughly occupied,
at his own head-quarters for the time, directing his subordinates, organizing his
commissariat, and corresponding with Government. Wodrow takes good care not
even to attach a date to the above ^ vouched instance."

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

PART II.

THK H ODD AH MAII08CRIPT.

The late Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe of Koddam, as might
be expected from the beut of his ot\ti studies and opinioDB,
took great interest in our former researches to vindicate the
character of the Marquis of Montrose. At a much earlier
period, he himself had turned his attention to a suhjoct no
less attractive for him, the vindication, namely, of the charac-
ter of Viscount Dundee. A life of that other greatly maligned
G-raham, from the very original pen which so curiously edited
those historical manuscripts, Law's Memorials, and Kirkton's
History of the Kirk, must have proved a literary treat for all
but those who Would rather cleave to a popular calumny than
become cognizant of the actual trutli. The early ardour,
however, of Mr Sharpe's particular investigation, gradually
subsided into a conflrmed and more luxurious idleaae of intel-
lect, — a eonstant search, for his own amusement, after the
original, the curious, the picturesque, the terrible, and even
the scandalous ; but generally illustrative of the domestic
history of Scotland. It was this habit, combined with hia
qUEiint powers of socially communicating the results, and hia
general accomplishment s in lettern, that caused Sir Walter
Scott," — himself frequently indebted lo that redundant source
of secret and diaractx-ristic history, — to call his friend the
Horace Walpole of Scotland. But the Memoirs uf Dundee
were not destined to appear from the \>^n of Charles Kirk-
patrick Shariw. A considerable portion, however, of his early
researches on the subject, had been cast into a form approxi-
mating, at least, to his original design. This manuscript he
presented, not lone before his death, to the iiiithor of theite

174 MEMORIAI^ OF THE

pages, with the full permission, indeed the express desire,
that its contents might be used in any way that should be
deemed most conducive to the present purpose.

But the luxurious and fastidious literateur who had com-
piled this manuscript, only regarded the fragment as a rough
digest of certain original materials and illustrations, to ai^^
the eventual completion of historical memoirs mo^^' lully
illustrative of the subject. It had remained for jarany years
beside him in its present inchoate conditiop^" and appears
to have furnished some of the notea to thps^ curious clerical
records w^hich he afterwards so canyillv/^ted.

On perusing Mr Sharpe's mj/Ll^^i, with the view of
benefiting by his researches, aimJadi^ting the substance, it
seemed obvious, that, to do so^^hout continual acknowledg-
ment would scarcely be faij^although in strict conformity
with the expressed wish of the donor ; and moreover, that
the interest in this quaint and curious chronicle, so charac-
teristic of its well known author, would be marred by a dis-
jointed use of it, and altogether destroyed by disguise.

Accordingly, the entire manuscript, imperfect as it is, we
have taken to compose the Second Part of these Memorials,
trusting that the publication will be acceptable to all who do
not disdain, or dread, to cast an eye upon any record which
would redeem the memory of Great Dundee from the base-
less vituperation of his polemical and political enemies.

As new materials, or closer research, enable us occasionally
to supplement Mr Sharpe's fragment, we have adopted the
plan of incorporating such additions with his text, marking
the interpolations by placing them between brackets : — [ ].
The notes appertaining to the original manuscript are distin-
guished from our own in like manner. Where we find any
portion of the manuscript to have been used by Mr Sharpe
in his notes to Law's Memorials or Kirkton's History, we have
here adopted whatever modification may have occurred to the
author himself in printing from his own manuscript.

ViSCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

FRAGMENT OF MEMOIRS

DUNDEE AND HIS TIMES.

LEFT IN MANUaCKIPT BY THE LATE CHARLES KIRKPATRICK
3. OF BOD DAM.

I [Section I. — Birih and Parentage of John GraJiame of Claver-
hoiise — /?M educatttm at home and abroad — His adventure
with the Prince of Orange at llie batth of Scneffe — Hia
return to Scotland — His appointment to command a troop
in the Royal Horse Guards.]

The antiquity and heroism of the Family of Grahame are

I BO fuliy authenticated, that they require no fanciful additions

['from a legend refipecting the wall of Antoninus, now called

I Orahaine's dyke, which is said to have received its newer

F denomination from the first hero of the family, who made a

breach in its rampants. Such histories may mightly become

the latter page^ of a modem peerage-writer, where the Enighta

of the Round Table, and Guy Earl of Warwick, are registered

as good men and true, the progenitors of many e pains-taking

tradesman who hath achieved a coronet. But they rather cast

a shade of disrepute on such families as that of Grahame,

which can be traced to the year 11 28 in a series of undoubted

proofs ; and, besides, may justly vaunt of a Sir John Grahame,

the brave friend of Wallace, of a James Marquis of Montrose,

and of a John Viscount of Dundee.

Torftous informs us, that, in the earliest times, every inde-
pendent leader was called Gram, and hia soldiers Grams.
The name became groat in the north, and waa that of the
third King of Denmark. " If," says Mr Chalmers in Ids Cale-
donia, " Grahame be the proper orthography of this distin-
guished surname, if may be compounded of Gray-kam, the
dwelling of Gray. But if the proper spelling were Grame or
Grsemo we might regard the name as a genuine Saxon word,
•ignifying angry, fierce, grim, austere, savage."

176

MEM0RIAI5 OF THE

Sir William Graliame of Kincardine, who lived during the
reigns of King Kohert III., and King James I., by his second
wife, the Princess Marie, daughter uf the former Monarch,
had one son. Sir Robert Grahame of Strathcarron. His
joungest son, John, was the first of the family of Claverhouse
in Angus, commonly pronounced Clovers. This John married
Marjory daughter of Sir James Scrjmgeour, ancestor to the
Earls of Uundee. Has successor, again, was also John, who
took to wife Margaret Betlnme, of that family in Fifeshire,
once BO productive of distinguished talents, and of gi-eat men.
[A third John, son and heir of the- last named, succeeded. He
married Anne, daughter of Robert Luudin of Balgony, in Fife,
and died about 1580. His eldest son was] Sir William
Graham of [Cla}-pot3 and] Claverhouse, Knight, who married
Marion, daughter of Thomas Fotheringham of Powrie, in
the county of Forfar, and by her had two sons, George, his
heir, and Walter, ancestor of the Grahams of Duntroon ; and
also a daughter, Marion, Vflio became the wife of Alexander
Guthrie of Kinkalilrum.' Tliis Sir William Graham of [Clay-
pots and] Claverhouse [greats-grandfather of Dundee] was one
of the representatives of the county of Forfar in the Parlia-
ment of the year 1633, being joint commissioner with Sir Harry
Wood of Bonnytown. [He died in 1642.] He was honoured
by the friendship of his heroic cousin the Marquis of Montrose,
who intrusted him with the care of his own private affairs,
together with John, Earl of Wigton, David, Lord Carnegie,
[Archibald, first] Lord Napier, Sir James Rollock of Dimcmb,
afterwards Lord Rollo, David Grahame of Fintrie, Grahame
of Morphie, John Grahame of Orchill, and John Grahame of
Balgowau." The overthrow of the Marijuis of Montrose struck

' ' Discharge, David Gulhrie uF Kiolccaldruni to Sir Willioni Grab&mc of Clkveis
honM, Knight, of the sum of 7000 merks Scots, being llie tocher of Mkrioti hi*
daughter, now spouse to Alexander Guthrip, fiar of Kinkcaldruni, m^ «>nc, due by
Tirtue of a contract of matrimonial made betwixt me, Catherine Blair my sponae,
and the said Alexander my wnc, wilh consent of William Blair of Balgillo, and Sir
John Blair his sone," &c.,at Dund<^e, A,D. 16ie. Dundeo PHpcri'. in the ponea-
(ion of KliBB Grahame Gnhamc of Duntroon.— A'' >/« frjf Mr iShai-jit.

> [These ware the rclaliTes and near conno»ionB of Montmse, who were named
a* his lutors or curaloni, and who acted moat fsithfull}', as euch nn the death of Ilia
father, in 162G. Mr Sharpc'a list ia very imperfect. Sea and rompan
moirs of Montrose,— Edinburgh : T. G. StevcDSon, 1856, vol. i, p. 25.]

VISCOUNT OK DU.NDKE. 177

i wliole clan Graham with consternation. Yet pride was
■ingled with sorrow, when they considered the fortitude with
K^rbich the chief of their name encountered the bitterness of
s final calamities. Montrose sustained the insults of Argyle,
ftlriio glutted bimaelf with the view of his fullen enemy, in the
lanner that such indignities ought to be borne. He pro-
vided a gay and costly suit of clothes to wear upon the occa-
liHon, when the then Cbancellor of Scotland, the son of Camp-
»U of Lawers, — a rude ruffian and a confirmed rebel, who had
rested the earldom of Loudon from the King's most urgent
lecesiiitiea, — trailed ag«inst his prisoner with all the fury of
ibanness. Intoxicated by unwonted power, he declaimed
rom bis base pre-emtueuce in the strains of a Bradshaw,
While the Marqius endured the abuse ia a manner worthy of
his family and of himself, treating the scurriUties of this out-
rageous judge with philosophical contempt.'

8ir William Graham of Claverhouse [the friend and cura-

»tor of Montrose'] was succeeded by bis son [Gleorge, who died
in 1645, when his eldest son, another ^r William, reigned in

> lE U amiuing CDongh to observe vitfa vhikl conlempl Mr Laing traals the little
I>o«n compcwed by the ftlariiuis iiricr FondeiiuiatiDn. lie could not have been
more ennged had MontrcHie atlsmptod to pau it nlT as a traDBlalinn from the
Gaelic : but Hume, a man of delicate taate, co>ni»nda the •orra^aad Voltaire,
whose judgmeat in such nflaira i> atiU more to be relied upon, aays, — " Le brave
bomme (MoDCrase) dil 1 see jugea, ^a'jl n'^tait tichi que de n'svoir paa aoei ds
tnembree pour lue attaches k toulea lee (wrles dcs tDIcs de TEurope, wtntne dsi
BMMiantetu ds aa lid^it^ poor eon Roi. 11 mit miiQe cetle penata va aaei beaux
Ten en allant au suppllOB." Voltaira comiuuea— C'^lait un do* plua agrtabJc*
•■prila ^ui caltivaswDt alora lee letlrea, ct I'iine la pluB heroique qui fijt daiia le*
tloU Rojaumen." Kaaa; Eur I'lliBtoire g^n^rate, iLC—NoU by Mr SKarft.

■ IThe Sdelity and anaioty with vliioh the mnitors of tho great Marquia of Moil-
traae attended to hia affun during hi> mlnoritj', may be itiuatnled by tlio follow-
iog letter, preeerved among the Sonthmk Papen, written by Archibald fi™t Lord
NafHer, to MonlrDne's factor for the barony of Mugdok, and in which meritioa ia
made of Sir William Grahani of Claverhouae, great-grandfather of Dundee :—

" Aaaured friend : TbeK are to entreat you { becaose the Kiug'a afftiin urges my
WAyS^^S) *° *>" '"'^ precisely upon the ajilcenth day of thia instant. 1 hare ap-
pointvd CUTerhouae to meet you lior« thai same day ; bo<»iise thora am tnaujr
iMap to 4o, I woald have yuar mooting sooner llian was appwuletl when yon were
bank Ctaniiiooea deeire* me slill, is bis leUere, In desire you lu bring with yvn
tba Warn rental ; and therefore I enlrait yoa to brlug it wlili you, tlial we may

I know what etery limaiii in panieiilar |iava (a« la in<«t ri-qumiUi ncn wl»<ii thrv

ii^

1 78 KBKOUAU or TBS

bis stead. Tliu Ust raised hi^»er the Cortunea of hia funSj,
and] named tbe Lsdj Jeaa Csmegie, daa^ter of John Earl
iif Ethie, afterwards Xonhesk. a race era celebrated for iu
aoshaken loyalty, in the worst of times ; whose nkost anlieat
bononrg fell to the grotnid together with the tinhappir family
that conferred them. By this lady he had two daughters ;
Margaret, married to Sir Robert Grabam of Horphie ; Anne,
to Robert Young of Auldbar ; and iwo sons [John and David],
of whom the eldest is tbe subject of these Uemoirs.

John Graham of Claverhouse was bom in the year 1&43 ;
aad may be supposed to hare inherited from hia ancestors a
large portion of that loyalty and courage which he afterwards
displayed. I do not find that the whigs ever pretended hia
infancy to have been marked with those prodigies which in
general polluted the very cradle of their foes. He neither
■creamed, bit, and made vrry faces, like King Charles the
First, nor devoured a live toad, which denoted the propensities
of that cannibal of tlie Puritans, Montrose.' But he is said to

■re to lake fma,) the ignoruice whereof nu; hinder all Uis boBUM* at this tinm.
So, not donbtiag of jronr Rpairiag hither at Ibe iBii] day, I rest jaar Ter7 toiing
friend,

" Edinboi^b, 1 Sth April, 1G2B."]

■ [Ur Sharps wai miataken io lapposing thai the weli-vora anecdote of tbe toad
waa neTer to be prened into the aerriee of the clerical tnditiona aguiut Dnndea,
Mr Robert Chamben, referring to some " tenenble autboril)'," not otherwin
named than as " Highland tradition," telli thia atorir : " CU*era, aaja the vene-
rable authority I am quoting, bad bc«n told by his none of Mme water or rirer,
taking it> name from tbe word gvou or jfmh, that wotild chance to prove fatal to
him. He had aleo, when a child, ^ helii of a toad, nticil lu ati taJ/ up U/iiriit
nu diteortrtd. When hia nurae heard what he had done, and that the naoaeona
ereatnre had been taken from him and thrown away, she remarked, ' Then yaa
hare marred mj' diild in the midst ot his glory.'"— iV«M is tit liiitarj oj'llu Rt-
ttllioiu in l^eoOand, ^0., p. ?HS. It ia remarkable that one «o well read in Scotch
traditions as Mr Ciiambera, slionld have here overlooked the fact, that ScolilanU
had hjng preTionsiy recorded the eelf BsiRe tradition of tbe Jfarfau of Montrou,
Hut " ha is mid Io have atten a toad when ho waa a Baching child ;" being that to
whieh Mr Sharpe allndea, in his MS. Nor did Mr Shajpe himseir seem to be aware,
tliat the identical story is elsewhere recorded of the Rtgept ^crfoa, a century before,
when it is said his father was provoked to exclaim, — " The Devil chew thee, and
bunt thee, there will never come good of thee." Perhaps it was the French con-

I

nexion whieh introdoced thia long-con
w many of the Scottish aratoeracy.]

d habit of K

■o the cradles of

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 179

have very early resembled hia cousin tbe Marquis, in his in-
cUnations towards polite literature, as well as in his enter-
prizing disposition. Having exceeded his twentieth year, his
father sent him to the University of St Andrews ; where he,
together with his brother Daiid, was matriculated in St Leo-
nard's College, 13th February 1665.* He is said to have made
a considerable progress in the languages, and in mathematics,
at the same time ingratiating himself, by his talents and good
conduct, so much T\'ith the Archbishop, Dr James Sharp, that
hia Grace retained a very sincere affection for him during the
remainder of his life.

[A contemporary, aheady quoted, and one who had no in
ducement to record a character of Dundee the truth of which
[ he had not ascertained from those who know him best, thus
Bpeaks of his youthful accomplishments, and subsequent cha-
racter : " He had made a considerable progress in the mathe-
matics, especially in those parts of it that related to his mili-
tary capacity ; and there was no part of tlie Belles Letttes
which he had not studied with great care and exactness. He
was much master in the epistolary way of writing, for he not
only expressed himself with great ease and plainness, but
aigued well, and had a great art in giving his thoughts in few
words."' " To sum up his character in two words, he was a
good Christian, an indulgent husband, an accomplished gentle-
man, an honest statesman, and a brave soldier ; and, as he had
few equals among his countrymen in these first qualities, so
he had no superior in the last." " His Lordship was so nice
in point of honour, and so truo to his word, that he never was
known for once to break it,"]'

It is highly probable that young Claverhouse continued at
College till May 1668, the end of tbe fourth session from the
date of his matriculation, as that is tlie time generally allowed
to a course of philosophy. Having finished his studies at St

> ColUga Regiitcr.

■ (The nuo)' letlera, on vkriDui
for ttw flnt time nubled to bring

• [Melnoin of SLr Ewiui C»inrn
u k ebantctuialio of Cl*<rrrl>ouie

hk word, la eorioiuly CODfiimad hy > puMigs la > laltar froi
<tB«»ii»b«rry, Klrawlj' qantH. S» b>t<m, p. \tS.]

nibjocta, written bf Dundoe, uid wbloh we u«
) light, >II]pi]r prova llio kbovs ■•Hiiinn.]
I. Sm bctan:, p. S3. Tlio trail here recorded,
I puDolilioui in poioln of hnnoor, and

n thike .

i.

r UEM0RIA15 OF TOE

Andrews he repaired to Frnnue, and spent some time in tJie
military service of that country as a volunteer, in imitation of
his great model Montrose,' anri many of his countrymen, whom
the ancient alliance between the kingdoms, and narrow pater-
nal fortunes, hut most of all the brilliant reputation of the
French anns, collected around the standard of a foreign mo-
narch. In Sir David Lindsay's " Ratyre of the Three EstaJtis,"
the parson, after his degradation, saj-s : —

" The Uevill mak eaxr for this unhappic cht.D'X,
For I nm young, nnd tbinkisi lill pnx till France ;
Ami ttik wjigiM, umaag ihe iiii'ii of weir,
And win my living with my aword and speir."

After acquiring some military reputation in France, he
passed into Holland, in the year 1672, where, finding favour
in the eyes of the Prince of Orange, he was made a comet in
one of William's own troops of horse guards, of which Count
Solmeswas the colonel Besides young Graham, the Prince's
company contained six British volunteers. Of these, David
Collier, afterwards Earl of Portmore, and husband to the witty
Countess of Dorchester, was a native of Scotland ; and Mr
Rooke, afterwards Major-Genera!, Mr Hales, who was long
Governor of Chelsea Hospital, Mr Venner, son of Vcnner the
fifth monarchy man, Mr Boyce, and Captain Carleton, were
Englishmen.

It was in this situation that he had the misfortune to render
the Prince of Orange a very signal piece of service, which the
other requited much after the bent of bis own phlegmatic
disposition, and the notorious ingratitude of the Dutch cha-
racter.

William commanded the united armies of the empire, Spain,
and Holland, which amounted to about sixty thousand men.
He was now bent upon the conquest of Picardy and Cham-
pagne, and had declared that in the latter he was resolved to
drink wine, — an indulgence he liberally allowed himself at
certain seasons, — before the conclusion of the year. But, first

■ [HontnxM travelled for three ^eai
studied the art military abroad ; bnt he

of the qunmimi that he shinild, u he ha<j

is (err ymithful i

irad foreign nrriee. It wM nn

ng wife and family at home.]

it

^^H coi

VISCOUNT OF DDNDEE. 181

'he must subdue the Prince of Conde, whose army was very
eonaiderablo, being chiefly composed from the gavriaoiis drawu
out of the conquered towns which Conde had commanded to
be demolished. On the lllh of August 1674, William at-
tempted to pass a defile at Scnelfe, near Mens, Ho was at-
tacked on the rear guard, consisting of Spaniards, by the
Prince of Condo, at the head of about forty-five thousand men.
At first victory inclined towards the French, and William
eeems to have tieen Justly blamed for the injudicious disposi-
tion of hia troops. But this imprudence he quickly retrieved ;
and, on the other hand, it was esteemed rashness in Conde to
recommence the conflict with an enemy so skillfully en-
trenched. During the retreat of the allies, the horse which
l>ore the Prince of Orange foundered in the marshes, and its
royal rider would have been surrounded by the French had
not Cornet Craham dismounted, and, at the hazard of his life,
brought him oR' upon his own charger. This brave action
was peHVinued in an evil hour for himself and his native mo-
narchs. Had it not been for his luckless aid, the persecutor of
his family, the evil genius of the unfortunate James, the fiend
«f Qlencoe, might have sunk innocuous, aud comparatively
unknown, in the depths of a Batavian marsh.

Three times was this conflict renewed, and it appears im-
possible to decide which of the Generals behaved with the
greater bravery. William, besides the jeopardy from which
Graham rescued him, escaped another very imminent danger.
Mistaking a body of French for his own men, he rode towards
them, ordering them to charge. Their answer, that they had
no more powder, undeceived him, and he possessed presence
of mind sufficient to get rid of them immediately, and bring
up a part of his own army, which put them to flight. The
Prince of Conde had three horses shot under hiin ; yet, at the
end of these bloody onsets, this French hero of tlie genuine
spirit was eager to commence a fourth. In the evening, both
armies retreated, leaving about fourteen thou&and men dead
on the field of battle, and the victory altogether dubious. So
from this prodigal shower of blood, the lauads of hotli com-
manderfl shot up more luxuriant Uian ever, Their chiviilric
courHgp, tbeir nmsnnimale presenre of minr], were ii-Ielutii'd

182

UEMORIAI^ OF THB

throughout Europe ; and each returned public and
thanks to God for the conquest over his antagonist.

The Prince of Orange could not, in common decent^, allov
the brave services of Graham of Claverhouse to remain entirely
unrequited. Accordingly, he made him a captain in one of his
regiments of guards, very soon after the battle of Seneffe.
" This," says the author of his MemoirB, " together with bis
other distinguished merits, recommended liim to the favour
of King Charles the Second and the Duke of York ;' though
one is at a loss to guess how. that was possible. In all prol
bility, neither his promotion nor his merits were at tliat
riod known to the royal brothers.'

A short lime afterwards, the command of one of the Scottish
regiments in Holland became vacant; and Graham, presnming
on the obligation under which he had laid the Prince of Orange,
put in his claim. But William, alleging a former promise, de-
nied his request in euch a manner tliat Claverhouse could not
brook the affront. He quitted the Dutch service, asserting,
what I fear is not always the case, that the soldier who pos-
sesses not the feelings of gratitude cannot possibly be brave.
Although his resignation could not be pleasing to the Prince,
it is alleged that, on Graham's departure from Holland, Wil-
liam gave him letters of strong recommendation to King
Charles and his brother.

[Claverhouse appears to have returned to his own country
from his foreign travels and military education, towards the
close of the year 1676, or the commencement of the following
year. The important, but very imperfect Memoir of him by
" an officer of the army," already quoted, states that he re-
turned to Scotland in 1677. At that time he must have been

■ [Mr Shirpe here refeni lo a alight but nekrly contemporary memair of
Dundee, entiUcd, " Memain of the Lard Viacount of Dundee, the HighUod Okiu,
and the Husacre of Glenco : with an accouDl of Oundeo'a Officer* after (hey went
(0 France. By an Officer of the Army : London, printed for Jonos Brown, at the
Black Swan, I7U." It wai reprinted in Glasgow, t8IS, in the 3d rolume of the
MuaUaiita ticofica. We do not see r/hy Mr Sliarpe should linve doubled that llie
military (alente of young Grahnm or Claierhouso should liave reached (he ear* of
royalty, either shortly herore, or at the time of bia rotura to his nalire country.
Indeed, the tettera quo[cd in our text, from bis uniahle young chier, the 3d Marquis
of MoDtmse, sufBciently prove the fact. Most probably he brouglit with him the
highoit recommend at ioiia from the Piiiico of Orange himsetf.]

agn

I

J

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

183

I

sVout thirty-four years of age. We have discovered no
register of his birth, but in the Decisions of the Court
of Session, collected by his contemporary Fouutainhall, it is
mentioned, — " July 24. 1687 : Fotheringham of Powry's ca*e
against Northesk, Panmure, and Clavers, wa.'s reported by Ed-
moruitoQ ; and the Lords find his charter cumpiscibue gives him
a sufficient right and title to prescribe the assize-duty of nine
fishes out of every boat that passes by Brughty Castle, Ac, if
■0 be he had possoased forty years by virtue of that title.' It
is added, however, — " As for Clavers, he was seventeen years
at iiieiejbrty a minor, and so they must prove forty years be-
fore that," 4c. Forty years prior to 1687 leads hack to 1647.
The statement, then, seemingly admitted in Jbro contentioeo,
amounts to this, that Claverhouse was not twenty-one years
of age until seventeen years after 1647 ; in other words, that
he was of age about the year 1664. Therefore he must have
been at least in his thirty-fifth year when he entered the
King's service in Scotland, in the year 1677-8. Montrose
was only in his thirty-eighth year when he closed his great
career on the scaffold.] After his arrival in Scotland, Claver-
house seems to have applied to his cousin, the third Marquis
of Montrose, for some military employment, as the following
totter, which testifies the high sense entertained of his superior
qualifications, must have been written in answer to his request.

'8lH,

' For the Laird of Claverhouse.

" You cannot imagine how overjoyed I should be,
to have any employment at my disposal that were worthy of
yoor acceptance ; nor how much I am ashamed to offer you
any thing so far below your merit as that of being my Lieu-
tenant; though I be fully persuaded that it will bo a step to
h more considerable employment, and will give you oc-
casion to confirm the Duke in the just and good opinion which
1 do aseure you he has of you ; he lieing a person that judges
o[ people's worth by the rank they are in. I do not know,
all this, in what terms, nor with what confidence, I can
my desire to have you accept this mean and inconsi-
dersble offer; wlipthcr by endenvnuring lo magnify i( itll I cnn.

1 84 MEMORIALS OF THE

and telling you, that it is the first troop of the Duke of York's
regiment ; that I am to raise it in Scotland ; and that I pre-
tend that none but gentlemen should ride in it ; or, by telling
you that I am promised to be very quickly advanced, and that
you shall either succeed to me^ or share with me in my ad-
vancement. I can say no more, but that you will oblige me
in it beyond expression. I do not expect any answer to this
while I am here ; for I do resolve to be in Edinburgh against
the first or second day of the next month ; where, if you be not
already, I earnestly entreat you would be pleased to meet me.

" Sir,
** Your most affectionate cousin and servant,

" Montrose."
" London, February IS/A" [1677-^].*

[It was not hitherto known that Graham of Claverhouse
was first persuaded to attach himself to the service of the
royal family by his own chief, the young Marquis of Montrose,
grandson to the great Marquis. The fact is yet more interest-
ing, that this was at the earnest desire of the Duke of York
himself, who appears from the first to have appreciated the
military genius of Claverhouse. The following letter from
the Marquis to his kinsman Graham of Monorgan, written at
the commencement of the year 1678 (that immediately pre-
ceding the murder of Archbishop Sharp), affords distinct evi-
dence of the fact : —

" For the Laird of Monorgan.
" Sir,

" I hope now to be able, within a week or ten days,
to give you an account, by word of mouth, of my resolutions,
and the reasons I have for accepting a troop in the Duke of
York's regiment of horse ; so I shall forbear troubling you
with a long letter ; only I must tell you that I have all along
met with a great deal of favour from his Royal Highness, and
that he has assured me that this shall be but a step to a more

^ From the original, in possession of Miss Graham of Dnntroon. — NoU 6jf Mr
t>harpe.

I

VISCOUNT OF DONDKE. 185

' considerable employment. He has a very good opinion of
Claverhoose, and he bid tne endeavour by all means to get him
far my Ltetifenanl. ' Therefore, I most earnestly beg that you
would be pleased to reprcEcnt to him the advantages be may
have by being near tbe Duke, and by making himself better
known to him. And withal aesurc him from me, that, if he
will embrace this offer, lie shall also share with me in my ad-
Tancemoiit and bttter fortune. 1 need not use many words
to show you the dieparity that is betwixt serving under me
Mid any body else, though of greater family, he being of my
house, and descended of my family. Vou may say more to
this purpose than is fit for me to do. 1 shall say no more but
tliat by this you will infinitely oblige,
" Sia,
" Your most affectionate cousin and servant,

" Montrose."
" London, Feb. 19. 1677-8."'

Such a letter, so earnestly yet so modestly expressed, from
the most amiable of noblemen, speaks volumes in favour of
the character which Claverhouse by this time had acquired.
Of the very same daf«, the writer of it addressed the letter to
Claverhouse himself which has been already quoted.]

Soon afterwards, when the religious perturbations demanded
a larger military force in Scotland to quell them, and it was
deemed expedient to raise three independent troops of horse,
and as many of dragoons, Ring Charles himself named Graham
of Claverhouse as commander of one cavalry troop, allowing
Lord Lauderdale to dispose of the other commisBions as he
thought good. This was a very remarkable proof of the King's
favour, Graham's commission being the only one excepted on
that occasion. Lauderdale gave the remaining troops of horse
to the Earls of Home and Airly. And now it was that Claver-
house began to act that conspicuous part in Scotland, which
has procured him so much abuse, and so much admiration. It

■ [Tbia i» Ainctiuiva kgiinat IIm conjerlun uf Mr ShKrjw (mlm Iikd not omh thi*
latlcr), Ihal CLiTGrhaiuo Iu4 airplied for tlii* Mrrioo. If tim pro*** llul tha royal
family bbd beiwme cugiuMDl of hia bigli repuuUoii sbniul. |

' t Prnm llio urigiiisl, in ihn paaHuioii <>t Miu lh»i|;li» of llrijtl«n [

130 MEUOKIALS OF TBB

Via at this period, that, according to the phrase of & late ttifr-
torian,* whose accuracy of expressioa is far from laudable, he
chose to " Jbr/eif, in the blood of his innocent, defencelcBs
countrymen, that heroism so gratuit<yusly ascribed to the Vis-
count of Dundee ;" as if it were possible to forfeit the honoura
of fame before they are merited, like the dignities of heredi-
tary rank before they are enjoyed. But ere we proceed with
the life of the Viscount, it may not be improper very shortly
to trace the progress of fanaticism, and to give a brief account
of the Presbyterian commotions in Scotland, prior to bis
time.

[Sbction II. — Review of the State of the Church in Scotland,
andofthe hading characters connected therewith, Jrom the
Sejbrmation to the Bestoratum.]

It is well known that the Scottish Reformation, which
Anthony & Wood with great propriety might term alteration,
commenced shortly after Luther's preachments against the
papal indulgences. The clergy had become rich, and conse-
quently dissolute. The former fact excited the envy of the
nobility, and both the animosity of the people. Truth gene-
rally makes its way, but aided by interest it flies, In vain the
priests attempted, by burning several miserable beings alive,
to scare the wild beasts from their prey. Instead of terrifying
the vulgar, whom such spectacles never subdue, the faggots
that consumed Patrick Hamilton at Glasgow, composed the
beacon of universal uproar and resistance.

The falhng away of many noblemen from the old persuasion,
was a fatal omen to the Clergy. They beheld the Earl of
Argyle, the Earl of Eothes, the Earl of Glencairne — " a prims
reformer," and demolisher of everything sacred, — the Lords
Boyd, Ochiltree, and sundry others, eager to destroy an order
almost overtopping their own ; and anxious to mend broken
fortunes, or increase tliose already overgrown by the Estates
and Revenues of the Clinrch, — with lands which their original

I [Mkleolm L^ng. Thia afTected >i
or hi* Hiatorf of ScolUnd ahonl (he y

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 187

poeseseoTB hod dedicated to God and His mioiBters, tiot to
kings and their miniona, — and M-ith revenues, which, fre-
quently ill applied by priests singly und in communities, were
Btill more shamefully lavished upouj and abused by, a junto
of hypocritical rebels, and courtly sycophants, the disgrace, or
the refuse of the kingdom. The Reforming Lorde drove on
the Reformation with the most virulent activity, and in a
short time the vulgar, ever influenced in outrage by their
superiors, could no longer be awed even into a feigned exhibi-
tion of respect towards the priests of Baal, as the popish clergy
were called, or their abominable idols. Though upon one
occasion four men were hanged at Perth, for affronting a friar
during sermon by nailing two rams horns on the bead of
8t Francis, and putting a cow's tail to his rump, the rabble,
conversant with the poetical ribaldry of Sir David Lindsay of
the Mount, and of Lord Glencairn, continued their scurrility
uid riolence. They compared the establialied clergy to all
manner of unclean animals. They alleged that holy water
was no better than wash, or tvorse. They termed the Queen
Regent Jezabel, Herodias' daughter, and the woman that rode
upon the beast. " She was made Regent," says Enox in his
history, " in the year of God 1554, and a crown put upon her
head ; as seemly a sight, if men had eyes, as to put a saddle
upon the back of an unruly cow." Daily increasing in strength
and courage, they by degrees continued to pour forth a bar-
barous destruction upon the most beautiful of our sacred
buildings, and the most venerable of our ecclesiastical laws.

It is now but too evident, that the chiefs of the Reformation,
both clergy and lajiuen, were under the influence of the Eng-
lish Court, and that nothiug of moment was acl«d in Scotland
without the instigation or concurrence of her southern neigh-
bours. Master John Knox, of stem and pitiless memory, and
a pensioner of England, was a very powerful and prosperous
agent in these villanics. Of considerable personal courage,'

[■ This miut b« qoalifled. Kdot km ui Mb lad vlgoroiu el<-r>c*I bally, uf lb*
Seoleh Mamp of hii lime. Bat he wu never ferocloiulj iiuolont where bo «u
not mte ; kud look vary good care la be out of the w»j when in diuiger of martyr-
dom for marder. His uge motto mM, — " dook *nd Ut the jiw ft* bye ;" which
may be inlorpreled, aloop and let the ilorm paM. If ha did not uie tlie eaiirrMioci,
be •clad op lt> Ihe phUowphy. He ha* foDod a mcnl able and teilou* bingnphn-

188 MLMORIiLS OF THE

of a haugbty yet pliant spirit, lie was endowed with taleoM
which, though neither brilliant nor profound, were admirably
adapted to forward the aims of his ambition. He taught his
disciples that doctrine so captivating to tlie vulgar, that God
is more properly worshipped in a cow-house than in a
cathedral. He persuaded them to demolish the polluted
temples, shouting out, like Cant in later times, — " pull down,
pull down antichrist's nest." He insinuated that the most
bloody vengeance upon Prelates was meritorious ; esteeming
the lawless murder of the Cardinal Archbishop of St Andrews
Bd excellent a jest, that he could not refrain from being
facetious upon it in his history : " Now," says this humane
historiau, "because the weather was hot, for it was in May-
as ye have heard, and his funeral could not suddenly be pre-
pared, it was thought best (to keep him from stinking), to
give him salt enough, a cope of lead, and a nook in the bottom
of the sea tower, a place where many of God's children had
been imprisoned before, to await what exequies his brethren
the Bishops would prepare for him. These things we writ©
merrily ; but we would that the reader should obseire God's
just judgments," &c,, &c. And he taught, both by precept
and example, that all respect of temporal dignities is unbe-
coming the superiority of a Calvinistic reformer. This man
had the supreme satisfaction of beholding, long previous to his
death, his elTorts crowned witii the most complete euccess ; and
of being empowered to treat those whom birth, and every natu-
ral advantage, had formed his superiors, with that brutal rude-
ness which low minds, in all stations, are so forward to assume.
Before his insolence, Queen Mary forgot her dignity in a
shower of tears, and her husband. Lord Daruly, seated in the

I

I, whs did hlB beat

, tliough a U»k«,

truculent feUow it the blood of.

ID enemy w»th*

iquestiaD.hadmuu

.»™i.Ue,u«lilie»

(DBTer Buffered b; hica to in

terfere wilh his

. public unbitiou]

an, and Mtaining

;l>ieotjwU. Scotch clerical potilio

bavti nised him to & sort of oorminteD thro

□e in that eountrj'.

to diBpnte, luid only a. »ct «n

] iDcliacd to »oi

rshi]]. itinremai

'kablu that one of

poel of tier peoph

1, and of hor fonn

of ChriMiwiity, diouid h.v« ™

enrclud John Km

nx with Bupreme r

OQtcmpl :-

" OrtliodoJ!,

VISCODNT OF DUNDEE.

189

^^ fat

I

royal chair within the High Church of Edinburgh, was com-
pellod to endure from the pulpit this strange address : — " Have
you, for the pleasuro of that dainty dame (the Queen) cast
the psahn hook in the fire ? The Lord shall strike both head
and tttiL" And so, at a more recent period, following that
bright example, one Mr Murray, a minister of Knox's per-
suasion, when fastening a couple together in maniage, termed
the man the head, and the woman the tail : " In the name of
God, then," says he, " I join bead and tail together ; Sirs, let
no man ever separate thera."

It appears that John Knox added to tlie energy of hie dic-
tion an uncommon vehemence of voice and gesture. " Mr
Knox," says the Rev. James Melville in his MS, diary, " being
in St Andrews, was very weak : I saw him every day of his
doctrine go hooHe and fair, with a furring of martickg about
his neck, a staff in one hand, and good godly Richard Ballan-
den. his servant, holding up the oxter, from tJie Abbey to the
parish kirk, and by the said Richard and another servant
lifted up to the pulpit, where he bihoved to lean at his first
entry ; but, ere he had done with his sermon, he was so active
and vigorous that he was like to ding the pulpit in hlada, and
flee out of it."

John greatly exercised his vigour and activity in invectives
against courtly dancing, skipping, and dallying with dames.
Yet he could wink at and overlook " the rest that thereof fol-
lows," to use his own expression, in a good hater of the Baby-
lonish courtezan. The Earl of Morton contrived to retain at
the same time his leman Janet Sharp, and his friend John
Knox. Janet meddled not in kirk matters, nor got drunk
with the blood of the saints ; therefore John would not disturb
her calling, nor, perhaps, restrain her from the refreshment of
a little " waik ale." Although, in his writings and dincourees,
he would have had the world believe that he despisfd heredi-
tary rank, noble alliances, and all the glittering paraplicmalia
incident to that same, yet, in this, he as much played the
hypocrite as in bis pretj?nces to disinterested piety.

This venerable patriarch may very properly be termed the
father of Presbyterianism in Scotland, and his discipIoB trod,
with the most Bcrtipnl'iiis fidelity, in his footsteps; so thai

^

190 MEMORIALS OF THE

King James could not prevail with them to petition Hearren '
even for the safety of his mother's houI, when the body of that
unfortunate princess was about to endure the last extreme of
a rivai's fury. Having appointed a day of solemn fasting and
prayer, the King commanded Mr Patrick Adamson, Arch-
bishop of St Andrews, to officiate in St Giles's ; but the minis-
ters perched up iTi the pulpit a young fellow, one John Couper,
who, when the King exclaimed, " Master John, that place
was designed for another, yet, since you are there, do your
duty, and obey the charge to pray for my mother," replied.
" that he would speak no otherwise than as the Spirit should
direct him;" and, beginning to pray in his own manner, with
abundance of bitter epithets and scriptural nicknames upon
the poor Queen, the King's Majesty commanded him to stop ;
whereupon he gave a knock upon the pulpit, using an ex-
clamation in these terms, " This day shall bear witness against
you in the day of the Lord, woe he to thee, Edinburgh t for
the last of thy plagues shall be the worst ;" after having uttered
these words, he passed down from the pulpit, and, together
with the whole wives in the kirk, removed from the same.
Immediately the Bishop of St Andrews went up to the pulpit,
and preached a sermon concerning praying for princes, whereby
he convinced the whole people who remained in tlie kirk, that
the desire of the King's Majesty to pray for his mother was
most honourable and reasonable.

But the priests went yet further in their insolence, if pos-
sible. They not only ransacked both Old and New Testaments
for the names of the most flagitious persona, which they libe-
rally bestowed from their pulpits upon the King, and to his
very face, but when James had desired the Magistrates of
Edinburgh to feast the French Ambassadors previous to their
departure from Scotland, the ministers proclaimed a fast to be
observed on the same day. His favourites, however inoffen-
sive, were sure to incur the deepest detestation of the clergy,
who would not suffer even the mild and peaceful Duke of
Lennox to remain near his doting master, but drove him,
broken-hearted, into exile. The holy sceptics pretended not
to believe in the existence of Cowrie's foolish conspiracy, or
the possibility of a like danger from any other quarter; and.

nSCOUNT OP DDNDEE.

I

191

in fine, took every measure which the most fertile spirit of
implacnhility could suggest, to render hia crown irksome, and
his sceptre useless.

Amid all his affronts and disturbances, the King contrived
to preserve a few of these nominal bishops from the hatred of
the Preshyterians, who panted after the annihilation of their
very titles. On the overthrow of the Catholic religion, Knox
had fallen upon the device of electing a few church rulers,
termed Superintenden/s, who should in some measure possess
the authority of the Popish bishops, — their temporal dignities
8tiU being suffered to remain ^Tth them ; and the Regent Mor-
ton, and other rulers, had thought fit to bestow these Episco-
pal titles and privileges on their retainers, aa they became
vacant, though not without many murmurs from the Calvinistg.
Now, amid a world of intrigue and troubles, James so far con-
qaered his opponents as to procure an act, authorizing Epis-
copal government in the Church, from the General Assembly,
which met at Glasgow on the 8th of June 1610, and this was
afterwards ratified by the Parliament of the year 1612. Still
it was but the confirmation of the shadow of Episcopacy ; for,
by the act, it was expressly provided, that the bishops, in all
things concerning their life, conversation, office, and hcneEce,
should be entirely subject to the censure aud mandates of the
all potent General Assembly.

James having effected this change in the government, also
contrived to alter and reform the discipline of the Church-
In the same year he erected the High Commission Court, the
members of which were the whole body of prelates, all the
commissaries in Scotland, with many peers, gentlemen, and
BOodry of the ministers. These were enabled to decide in
k11 causes touching religion or morals, both in clergy and
laics, with the power of suspension, deprivation, imprison-
ment, fining, banishment, and the infliction of sundry other
pains and penalties, without any form or process of common
law. This court, it may easily be supposed, was much cried
out against by the fanatics, as putting the civil sword into the
hands of clergymen, and the spiritual crosier into those of the
laity, while it increased the power of the Bishops, and gave
inordinate strength to the King's supremacy.

192 UIJHORIALS OF THE

111 spito of these murmurs, not long afterwards an alteration
in the form of divine worship also took place. By the As-
sembly convened at Perth in the year 1618, the celehratcd
Five Articles, commonly called the Articles of Perth, were en-
joined. These were, private communion to the sick, private
haptiBm, kneeling at the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, con-
firmation by the hands of Bishops, and the observation of the
principal holidays. Though at last ratified by act of Parlia-
ment, 1621, they met with extreme opposition. For the
fanatical spirit was daily gaining ground, while the fear of
sustaining loss by annexations agitated and excited snch
noblemen, and others, as had been enriched through church
possessions, with a wonderful access of devotion. Nay, so
unnatural, and horrible, according to such, were these inno-
vations, that the very elemeTits testified an abhorrence of
them. In this black£ari*sment, as it was termed, the vote
which confir_nietKfiirde8ign of (he Assembly, was accom^aaififl""^

darkness, thunder, lightning, and all ojber terrors h
of the most tremendous tempest. ^M

Charles the First, attempting to complete the plans of his ^^^
father, in an ill-advised moment imposed the Service Book '
upon the Scottish Church. For these were times of deep
speculation in both countries, when not only the higher order
but persons deemed the very refuse of society " would tfd
upon them the mystery of things, as if they were God's spj
Butler tells, that, a little afterwards, —

" The oyster women lock'd their fish op,
And Irudg'd away to cry ' no Bbhop ;'
The mouse-trap man Inid eave-alls by.
And 'gauiBt ill coupxcllora did cry :
BotcberB left old clotbes in tbe lurch.
And fell to turn and patch the Church
Some cried the Covuimnl, instead
Of puddings, pies, and gingerbreiid :
And lome, for brooms, old boots, and shoes.
Bawl'd out, to purge the Commo
Instead of kitchen stuff, some cry
A gospel preaching ministry •

And some, for old suits, coats, ani

' No surplices, nor Service Book."

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 193

On Sunday the 23(1 of July 1CS7, the Ueaii of Edinburgli
Iiad Bcarcely begun to read the jirescribed form of prayer to
ihe congregation a^sonibleil in tlie Clmrcli of St Giles, when
Margaret Geddes, replete with holy zeal, which her preceding
Ralibatb'a rebuke for fornication had doubtless much indatned,
exclairaing, " Out fauee \ovrn, wilt thou say the Mass at my
lug ?"— discharged the stool on which she was sitting, at his
head. This pious woman is<sometimes named Janet, as iu a
rude ballad, apparently composed to celebrate lier achieve-
ment, beginuing, " Put the gown upon the Bishop," — and
published in Johnson's Musical Museum. From the continua-
tion of Baker's Chronicle we learn that she survived the
> Restoration.' The tumult began in what is called the Mid
Kirk of St Giles, the East Kirk being then pivparing for au
altar, and other things which the Lutheran worship requires.
From this impetuous TruUa Ihe mob took the signal of uitroar,
and, aided by the liigher malecontents, proceeded from one
gradation of outrage to another, till they brought their King
to the block, tlieir country to the verge of destruction, and
their national character under stigmas Jrofn which it will
never perfectly rrrnrrr — ~~ ~ " -^^^^^ -^

It is needless here to enlarge upon all thpe shifting st'eites
uf complicated treachery and violence, thpse shameful bur-
guins for human and royal blood. What^er the character uf
Charles ihe First may really liave been, Ac Scots at least can

■ [Pmm ■ VFi morr unqiicniioniible coum mo ba<e »n« u«>rtaia«J IhM thu \
celebntrd moilier nf (ho Sooleli CotpQknt not only nirviTed Ihe RastorktlflD. but
klM her oaTcnanMnic prindplpi, haring.on the tdnnt of Owrlea II. publicly kbili-
filled lior apustolic itiwl, uid bunit il, wan pitHito. A (kllln; alf from lh« Core-
nont of iu ai'igiiul nipportcr* wxs no! m uncomnion u the lialcnt dcnum^utioni
of Montrau'a " trraeberj" and " IreMon," would «»m to imply. In * tery mre
pamphlet, printed in Edinborgh lG6l,HitlttDd, ■• Edinburgh'* Joy for hi« MijeMie'a
ConHution in Englsud," which minutely reeorda llie dntalU of the popuUr rejoic-
ing, Saint (iedda* i> thai gnphleally reoorded : — ' Uut aniangsl all our hamtadott,
and fa/rien, that nf the immartkl Jaiiil Otddit, PHdmh nf tlie Tronf AJmlmnrt,
WW moit pli:«aanl : Pnr kb« wna not (inly content to inrmhte alt Imt fnv/i, LttttU,
cnr/ria, ftrvu, and •ithcr iu);redienlii that rompmied the abap of her mlladi,
raditka, furni/'), carrali, ipiiiaaft, atbioft, witli all othsr aert of pot mtrdiaiuU**
that belong! to Ihe gKTdaii, bnt avon her dutir of tUU, where ihc used lo dl^ienaa
juilica Id Ihe reat of her UfgtaU MMrUt, wen all rcry orderly burnt, alie lirrtelf
eounlenaneins tlw actiim with ■ l>t|li Hewn eLtnl a,

i.

1:1

194 MEMOIUALS Of THE

derive no advantage from ils depravity. Tnickiug for the
life of a woll' or of a lamb, in the mariQer these villains did,
muBt be equally infamous aiid detestaWe. But we may here
be permitted to obGer\'e, how widely of late times it hath be-
come fashionable, to rank King Charles among tyrants, and
wicked men, and his destroyers with the meritoriouB and the
pure. Modern historiane have proceeded all lengths to prove
his ambition of arbitrary sway, his faithless system of poli-
tics, — and if they cannot contrive to fix actual vice upon his
private character, w'ould fain represent bim as a man of man-
ners so extremely forbidding, that, in this age of urbanity, his
deportment amounts almost to a crime. It would be ridlcu-
ioUB to desire such persons to appeal to their own hearts,
whether, in a ease like his, when prerogative extended beyond
definition, and bad been stretched to all extremes by his pre-
decessors, the Kings and Queens of England, they themselves
could, with perfect tt-mper, have endured sudden and violent
curtailments, seemingly arising from quarters entitled to no
rational consideration or respect. Though Pryune and hie
disciples, who atoned for their libels with their cars, might
perhaps in one sense have boon made to feel, the modem
authors of these boundless calumnies against the character of
Charles, secure in the honours of their skuU, with no heredi-
tary prerogatives, measurable or immeasurable, to lose, are
not competent judges of his patrician agonies. But let them
seriously consider, what cometh near to themselves, his ex-
ceeding temptations to equivocate and juggle, environed as he
was with a crew of the falsest hypocrites that ever existed.
Not, however, that it does by any means plainly appear, after
all the fine writing and evil argument on the subject, that
Charles did actually condescend to parry the stillettos of his
foes with a pyne doublet. And as for his cold repulsive
demeanour, for a person of that alleged unhappy address, he
certainly could boast of the warmest and most constant friends
that ever man possessed.

[How false is History on the subject of this Monarch's
character and conduct I A faultless Sovereign, a perfect
King, he was not. Was such ever found on earth ? When
mankind is perfect so ^-ill be kings. But wan CharlcN the

I

VISCODNT OF DUNDEE.

195

First reall; a wilful oppressor, amid religiously and patrioti-
cally disposed chiefs of Stotlaud ? Must we indeed concede
to the crazy chroniclers of the Covenant, or to modem whig
historians, no less violent and unreasonable, that he waa
worthy of the death he died, and that England should proudly
cherish the memory of his self-seeking murderer ? And can
we discover, in the miserable mists of faction that aurrounded
his throne from the first moment of his reign, and the aban-
doned treachery and deceit, in the highest of his subjects, that
dogged his person through life, no explanation of, no excuse
for, the worst steps of his policy in the government of his
realms ? Let us turn from modern histories to the private
unpublished thoughts of an honest nobleman, and upright
counsellor, who had been intimate with Charles the First,
from tliat Monarch's childhood,

" King James being dead, and his eon King Charles suc-
ceeding to him in his kingdom, and to his virtues too, —
although with some want of experience, which is only got
with time, — all the turbulent and discontented humours of the
former time were up, as is usual in these great transitionB,
and plied his Majesty incessantly uith aecuBations, personal
assertions, new projects, and informations of abuses. And
truly there wanted not matter, and their endeavours had de-
8er\'cd praise, if spleen to the persona of men, and their own
private interest, had not given life and motion to tlieir pro-
ceedings, rather than the serviire of the King and tlie good of
the State. Then was there nothing hat /actions, and factious
consultations, of the one, to hold tliat place and power they
possessed before, — of the other, to wrest it out of their hands,
and to invest themselves ; and no dreara or phantasy of inno-
vation came in any body's heoiJ, but presently he durst vent
it to the King ; aod still the most ignorant were boldest.
Ncitlier wanted there some honest and nise men who gave
their advice out of mere affection to his Majesty and the
public ; but wanting that bold forwardness, and factioua assis-
tance, which the other ha*! in prosecuting of their private
ends, no great hold waa taken of thom."'

Charles, not yet crowned King of Scotland, received sundry

' (M.S. of AfHiiLnIJ flrti I,nH N«pier.-.Vi| r*< ck.,rUr-d,M]

Idfl JieMOm.MS OF THE

mysterious hints, that, if he ilid not conduct himself in a man-
ner that seemed fully to recognize the Independency of bis
ancient kingdom, the crown might be bestowed somewhere
else ; and most anxious he was to avoid the imputation of in-
tending to " reduce Scotland to a province." Thus the affairs
of that country became to him a separate burden of a difficult
and irksome nature. For his privy-council of England were
not suffered to be cognisant of the affaire of the other kingdom,
which the King mnnaged, through the reports of his privy-
council there, with the aid (if aid it could be called) of bin
Scotch favourites, or such of the council as he mimmoned from
Scotland for special consiTltation. Indeed, at this time there
appeared to be no connexion or sympathy between the king-
doms. The English nation, we are informed by Clarendon,
knew and cared less about Scotland than they did about
Poland or Germany ; — " no man ever inquired what was doing
in Scotland, nor had that kingdom a place or mention in one
page of any Gazetto," But it was not the privilege of Charles
to be able to forget his ancient independent kingdom ; and
certainly his attention to the affairs of Scotland was kept alive
in a manner most disagreeable to himself, and most discredi-
table to his native country. Lord Napier, a Privy-councillor,
and Treasurer-Depute, (under the Earl of Mar, who held tlie
white staff,) also mentions, in those valuable reflections on the
times which he left in manuscript, that Mar, was not free from
that storm of faction, the great object of which was to wrest
place and power from each other, " but was charged home by
his enemies with some abuses, in the King's presence, which
they were not well able U\ make appear ; therefore, there was
a gentleman directed to me, desiring me to give them intelli-
gence upon what points my Lord might be charged ; with
assurance from them that it should never be known ; and before
I should declare any thing in that kind, I should have assur-
ance, from the King's own mouth, and my Lord of Bucking-
ham, of the white slaff ! This I flatly refused, as an office
unworthy of a gentleman, and told him that I disdained any
honour that should he acquired by so dishonourable means
against a man that was in terms of outward friendship with me,
although I knew he bad no friendly intentions towards me."

VISCOL'NT OF DUNDEE. 197

Aud Uiia iiublemau's sumining up, of the uncunquerahle diffi-
culties which beset the path of the King in the hopeless at-
teiopt to rule Scotland well and wisely, might inJeed cause even
& whig historian to revise his presuming auathcma&. " ThiH
preceding Relation," Lord Napier says, " being written la
haste, and imperfect, many passages being omitted, for bre-
rity's sake, which might have shown the iniquity of these
times,' is nevertlieless most true. And thereby the judicious
may perceive the former settled manner of govfirnment shaken
by frequent innovations entertained and [iractised ; factions in
Court and state a-foot ; accusations, calumnies, and aspersions
ordinary ; and, which was worse, combinatioTis, and hi^ies
given thereby of great service to the King, without any per-
formance, but, by the contrary, his Majesty's just and graciouB
inclination abused by misinformations, his ears blocked up and
60 straightly beleagured that truth could not approach them, —
and alt for their own profit, and prejudice of the King and
State, — the presence of honest men, who could rot comply
with them in their oblique courses, so hateful that they could
not endure it ; and so bolJ, in consideration of the strength of
their leagues, that they do not stick to/aiat/tf the King's hand,
BUrreptitiously to steal his Maj'txti/e sfipvrscriptiowi, and to
frame letters contrary to his meuntTUf, and many oUurr things
of this kind."' " Anil truly, if over any King, our Sovereign,
in BO far as concerneth Scottish businoss, may justly make
Dioclestau'e complaint, — CoUiffunt at qaatuor out quinque circa
ImperaloreTn, atque aibi afilia, sub prrtcxtu boni pubUci et
principis, propoaunt, — bonoa, ei virtute pneditos, ab Imperaiore
amovenl. — inahti. fnclioaos et aibi tiltmeos adsciHcnnt, — verila-

' [Thne omlHiona ara much Is be rrgnlei. Had ihp Rclktion of Lord Naplar
eoidprahcndwl all the hUtflrj' of ** tba iDlijuilj' of thMa limN," and had he aluo ex-
pxwd the iniquity at (be Mnie* immedlalcl}' >u«veding tlie period of hU ReUtioo,
(m, indwd, we are inronned by Wiaharl, Ihal he had ■nuallj' inlended, ins** moat
clabontc ditoouno of ihe ortglu ol the turmultii in (!i'»( Dritalu,") such » hiator^
wDuld tu>** been a moM talualjle aibliliun to lliat uf CUi'rndiiii, wha wu but ill in-
funned io KcMcb alEura.]

■ [Sir Pliilip Warwicii (p. 1 46,) ■!» alludva to Ihiit nwlhod iit deceirinB lb*
Kiof. daring tha (■urrMpondcDoa balwiit hia llajwlj' and tlw Marqoi* of Hamil-
■un, wlieii Willi hia fle«t in ih* rrith of Forth, in IrtSB.)

198 UKMOKIALS OF THE ^^H

tern ad auTfs prirtviput appdlcre non sinvnt, — Sit bostjS,

SAPIEKS, CAUT03, DECIPITUR IMPERATOR."']

A modem historian [Malcolm Laing], whose virulence
against the House of Stewart is bu personal oud fresh, that we
could almost suppose him to be one of Charles's murderers
condemned to the fate of the wandering Jew, talks of the
King's " insolence," hocausc, while in Scotland in the year 1633,
he avoided on hia way to Falkland a rabble of Fife Lairds
whom Lord Bothes, a well known puritan, had collected to
wait upon him ; and refused permission to a magistrate to
kiss his hand because he was a presbyterian. Surely insolence
is a very Iiarsh term when applied to such conduct in a
monarch ? To act in that manner might have been insolence
ill Mr Malcolm Luing, or even in Mr Charles Fox ; but un-
prejudiced people might esteem it a proper sense of dignity in
King Charles Stewart.' This expression, indeed, is very con-

■ [These lut words kk written emphatically large ia tfae maDascript. ll ia a
ipeech put iu the muuth of the Emperar Dioclelian, after liis roluntary abdicaiicm
of the {liroDB, when declaiming on hi> favourite topic, the difficulty of being a good
prince. Gibbon thus paraphraBcs the passage. " Hon often is it the interat of
Tour or five minislefi (o combine rogeibor to d«c^ve ihoir Sovereign 1 Sectnded
^ni Diankind by his exalted dignil/, the truth ia conpeoled from Lis knovrledge,—
he con see only with their eyes, he heitrs nothing but their misrcpresentatioOB. M«
UDufers (he most imporlont oBicDB upon vice and weakneaa, and diagrocea tbe moil
rirtuoua and deserving among hia eubjecta. By such inrunoui aria the beat and
wiaeat princes are sold to the venal corrupliDnB o! their courtiers." The quatation
in Lord Nspier'a roanuacript ia from Vopitcut, a learned Sjracusan, reckoned tb«
Corypliieus among the sis authora, called liiitoria jJujuiftB iSfTi;>I<.ri!i.]

< [Ckrcodon kuevi mure of (his matter than the pretentJaua Lung. The great
conlcmporary histarian infomia uc, that in his coronation progreaa lo Scotland in
1633, Giarles bad it forced upon hia obacrvaliou, tliat at thia time Rothes and bi>
clique endeavoured " lo make theineelvcs popular hy speaking in Parliament agiinat
Ihoae thinga which were most grateful to hia Majesty, and which still paeaed not-
vfilhatonding their contradiction, and he thought a little discounteuaiice upon Iboae
persons would either suppreaa that spirit within Ihemsclvco, or make the piHson of
it leas operative upon othere." Clarendon adds, that, of the Eurl of Rulhes, and
others, tho King had the wont opinion, and purposely withheld from tl

grace by m

' apeaking to them, u

» of them

le Court. Yet such

leiy, and dclermiDation to attain their enda, that " when the King

was abroad in the fields, or passing tAruu^A vUla^, when tho greatest crowds of
people flocked lo see him, Ihott mtn icould ttill be not Aim, and entertain him witli
some diaooarae and plea<nnt relations, which the King's gentle disposition could not
avoid, and which mode tliosa peraoua lo be genenilly behoved to be moat acceptable

^^^^H^^B VISCOUNT UF DUNDEE. 199 ^H

^^V vuuaiit witti iLe pliraseolugy of tlie wliule work, during a peni- ^^M

^^H eaJ of whicL one is tempted every minute to oxclaim mth ^^|

^^H miiie boetesa, " b; my troth Captain Pistol, these be very bit- ^^M

^^^M ter worda." But we may use towards Mr Laing the words of ^^|

^^H the " Likdie Abbasse," in Sir David Lindsay's play of the Three ^^M

^^H Estates — ^^H

^^^1 " FaU humon carle, Ihou urt ovir MTOganI, ^^^|

^^^1 To juge ihc doidU of sio «iie holie aBQCt." ^^^|

^^^1 Bul, after all, the cavils of liis foes signify little. The siftinga ^^H

^^^B and sophistications of whiggism cauuot overturn the esta- ^^H

^^H tlishcd records of truth. As long as moderation and good ^^M

^^^M sense are prized, or literature and a turn for the floe arts ad- ^^H

^^H mired, while constancy under the most bitter and unmerited ^^M

^^^M misfortunes is respected, or piety enduring to the very last ^^H

^^H esteemed a virtue, this good prince must continue to bo re- ^^M

^^1 vered, in spite of those hii^torians who disguise the Stewarts in ^^M

^^B the imperial purple of Home, that like Brutus they may boast ^^M

^^H of having assassinated tyrants ; and through the bosom of ^^H

^^H King Charles the Martyr, and his descendants, aim a blow at ^^M

^^B the heart of royalty, and all hereditary honour. ^^|

^^H Sir Philip Warwick pronounces a very affectionate and ^^M

^^M touching culogium on King Charles at the conclusion of his ^^M

^^H contemporary memoirs. " I shall conclude," he snys, " with ^^M

^^^M Id hia Utjimty," — ■ chwscterutic demoiuioir uf ambitioiu dtmoency, upon which ^^^|

^^^1 (ha hiatoriaa ptnea tliia slirowd roflecCioD, ihkl, " let (he )iroo<l«iit or noal fomul ^^^|

^^^1 nun resolve to beep wh>t duluiee lio will la*ai-d> o^cn, a I/U4 and conJuUnt ndit ^^^|

^^^1 insluitly demilltlMS tbil wWo mikchine, knd gets nilliin him, an J even obligea hiiD ^^^|

^^H The Muae uteaa nuduily, in qiurtcn where it might have been kaat fipKted, ^^^|

I we And comnHoted upon in Lord Napier's manmeripta, an one of itw eourcc* of ^^^|

Ihcne BiTon uf tUe unliappj' King which have been siaggernlcd into orlmeii. ^^^|

Napier adda thi< quaint illuatratiun : ■■ Much like thai gcnllenuiD who nxk uul, la ^^^|

the oompaaj' of ethera, la bring in (he I'epe to % city in Italy. The f opa aakng ^^^
man; qoaetiaoa, uid eaqairinK (he namea of eitiea, riTcra, and placea, (bat cama
withia hia view aa be went along, llila gcaitlenun made aii<i«rcni lu alt, and gave
name* to every thing, but acnr a Irut uiu, being himiwlf Ignuraiil <J thn Mitie.
AnA ao he conUaacd in dinenune with ilin Pupe till lie Mine to bia hidging ; and
whan a friend of hia rebuked him for abualng hia HelinMS with aaCnHAa,— ' if,
(uid hr) I had ateurd ifpiorant of whnt waa aaked, the Tope would have «>lled

I another l i-i, almuhl 1 forego the honour I had, to ba aeen » ■«»■ the Pupa, and In ^^

^^B apHoU Hith hitn I An>l he re«t« aa wall aatiaflad aa if the truth had bpcn eaactlj ^^H

L J

i MKMURIAI,S OF THE

this, if it be lawful to compare small tliiugB with great, — faia
pasaion, or manner of death, most resembleB that of hb great
Master ; for. Hko him he was a King, and a King of that
people that persecuted him to Iur death : he was a King that
resembled Seneca's refined rational man ; one that forfeited
with the vulgar, or the many miataken and deceived narrow
minds, the repute of l>eing a good man, that he might not
lose to himself the conscience of being truly such an one ;
For his principles answered to true and solid reason, and
suited with di^^ne ordinances ; and' therefore he was, as in
his history appears, owned by the persons of the best quality,
and of most knowledge, in his kingdom, even when he was so
far from being able to reward, that he was not able to protect
either himself or them : and, indeed, his condition was often
GO low and despicable, that, as Codomannus said unto his loyal
adherents, so he might have said to his, — ' Yon that never for-
sook me, though I have been twice overcome, and twice forced
to fly, have been the best evidence to my mind that I remained
King, and that misfortune could not dethrone me ; so aa God,
not myself reward you.' Providence made him glorious :
Great and good minds will honour hira : Ignorant, not discern
him: Politick, who think a kingdom should never be lost
upon scruples, not value him : But God, I am assured, hath
pardoned his failures, and crowned him for his piety and his
Bufferings,"

The Marquis of Montrose, too, at the close of his own mia-
fortuues, thus from the scaSold spoke of his royal master : —
" For the late King he lived a saint, and died a martyr : I
pray (3od tbat'I may so end as he did : If ever I should wish
my soul in another man's stead, it should be in his,"

After the Presbyterian zealots had disposed of Charles the
First, Cromwell very soon became their detestation, because
he was auwilhug to establisli their Ecclesiastical Code in
England, and entertained no great respect for their Solemn
League and Covenant.' But they had gone tt\o far to be

> [It exoilod liiB most supreme coDlempt, aod wu Tiuled with hia aeverett taata.
Cnmwell wu the Rnt Id huig > PmbyterUn clei'gfnua ; and he actuKllj' drum-
med the Geoeral AsHmbly in a body, from their own tmll, snd with Iheir Modera-
tor M their ho«d, ool of Edinburgh.]

L

VISCOUNT OF D0NDEE. 201

capable of making any effectual resistance against the real
tyrant, and therefore resolved to summon King Charles the
Second from Flanders, and crown him King of Scotland, aa the
least of two evils ; hoping, through the craft of tho Marquis of
Argyle, their own strength, and the Prince's weakness, to
possess, for some time at least, that supremacy over their
Sovereign which was so dear to their hearts. The Prince
arrived, was crowned at Scone, and regaled with the same or
even worse treatment than his predecessor had endured at
their hands. The subscription of the Solemn League, indeed,
might appear but a trifle to a person of his disposition, and
perhaps the public abuse lavished upon his parents gave him
very little mieasiness. But the continual fastings and prayers ;
the tedious sermons twice and sometimes thrice a-day ; the
unceremonious dismissions of all the friends who had con-
tinued faithful to his father and himself ; the disgusting man-
ners of the clergy, and of the Presbyterians in general, joined
with the constant society of his family's very worst enemies,
were intolerable. How could such a situation be endured P
Besides, this merry and amorous Monarch was precluded from
laughter on the Sabbath, and from love every day of the
week.

Not, in truth, that the ruling elder, Argyle, was at all aver8«
to the King's inflammability, would the blaze have irradiated
his own mansion, and refined the mass of his posterity. He
had laid a plan for placing a crown upon the head of his eldest
daughter, the Lady Anne Campbell, and for some time Charles
found it convenient to humour his presumption. But the good
fortune of the Marquis was then upon the decline, nothing but
disappointment ensued ; and the [Kmr young Lady, who ap-
pears to have had a tang of her father's nmhition, supplied the
want of a regal diadem with a garland of straw. Unable to
bear the frustration of her hopes, she died in a state of di»-
traction.'

' [Kirkloa, Mirel}' nut inimical to Argyll, lalls th* uluuitetcruilie dory in tann*
Dot irpr)' ooinpliiueiiOry to his hero. ■ Tlir MBr4iUB of Argvla being ktl that time
■Iraoel dicUlor of ScnUuiil, to nuke all nire/ur AitM*!/', being in greit duigfr from
dtt nry o/ kimifmUi, liioughi good to>trik« up ■ matrh between (be King and hti
daughter L«dy Aon ; to wbidi the King conaenlad with all aHonuoe ; though all
that poor famUy had by the bargain waa a diaappointawDt eo gritvoua to the r

Laos

MEMORIALS OF THE

The King's slavery, from his very first appearance iu Scot-
land, was almost incredible. No " Malignante," nor " Enga-
gers" of quality, were suffered to approach him. Great offence
was given to the godly by his lodging one night at Dunotter
Castle, belonging to the Marischal family, though with per-
mission of Arthur Erskinc, brother 1o the Earl of Mar, and uncle
to the young Earl of Marischal, an " Engager," whom he would
not suffer to receive or wait upon the King, farther than the
(iastle gate. The Duke of Hamilton, tlie Earls of Lauderdale
and Camwath, with many more of his real or supposed friends,
were driven from his presence, while Lord Dunfermline, and
Lord Crawford, were compelled to perform public penance,
for their loyal hackslidings, in the face of the kirk. The for-
mer, being Argyle's creature, was allowed his own pew at
Dunfermline, but the latter, Duke Hamilton's brother-in-law,
clothed in sackcloth, occupied the stool of repentance in the
High Church of Edinburgh. The only one of Charles's fol-
lowers allowed to remain near him, was the Duke of Bucking-
ham, who, by betrajdng the King's secrets, aud exerting those
wonderful talents which afterwards gained the rich heiress of
Fairfax from her puritanical old father, ingratiated himself so
much with Argyle and the clergy that he maintained his

young LKdy, tlml, of & galtaat }'oaog gentlenromMi, the lost her Bpirit luil turned
sbsolutel]' ditlnwied : to uufartiuutcl^ da Uie back ttktda of pritaU dtttgrt work
ia Ihe puppet pt>y> of tl>e public revolutions in tlie warld." One piliei the Lady,
but the Marquii wu most deeervedlj' sold. It hoj Dot the first matcb -nuking
trick of the kind that he had nttcmpted. When Hamilton wu in Sootlnnd, in 1U4S,
expresaly eonunlnioned bvthe King to crush the rebellion, and the am bitiooi deaigna
of Argyle, the latter Beduccd the weak and double-faced favourite even into domeetia
eoeiality, and liad nearly eflecled a marriage betweea liU son Lord Lorn, and
Hamilton's eldest dnugliter. Lady Ann. Tliie pregnant fact has only been disclosed
of late yean by the pnblication of a catalogue mrionnu of the Tiinily papers of tlie

IhooBu of Hamilton. No. 191 of the catalogue is thus described : " Gwtraet ot
marriage betwixt the Marquis of Hamilton, on the part of ]iis eldest daughter Lady
Ann, and llie Marquis of Argyle, on the part of liis eldest son the Lord Lorn, irken
cAcy thoald ba of aye : The narrisge portion is an hundred thousand marks ; ths
yearly jointure lifteen thousand marks ; and tlie penalty to him who re<iled, thirty-
six tliDDSand marks, all remeid of law eadudcd ; \&\\-\Si%"-~MatlXa»d Clui
MiKfllavg. A very awkward disoloaure for the character of Haraillon, consider-
ing the state of public aflairs at that dais. Tbe marriage never look place ; but
*B cannot give Hnmillon credit for having sold Argyle, as Charles the Second did
■flcrwards-J

I
I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 208

grouud, although his course of life was dissolute and acandalous.
His master's licentious conduct at this period, though much
insiBled upoD l>y the rigid of all sects, and by the Wliigs in
particular, appears to have been exa^erated- A passage in one
of the letters written by Mr Sharp, afterwards Archbishop of
St. Andrews, to the Reverend Mr Douglas, proves that his behu-
viour in all points was not so notorious as is generally believed.
Sharp says, that while in London, finding many posseBsed
with the belief that the King, when in Scotland, broke all
terms and engagomenta he was under by treaty, " and was
vicious and unclean, and a Bcoruer of ordiaanrcs, and a dis-
countenancer of ministers, ho had detected those great lies,
and malicious forgeries, and declared he could not say the King
broke them, and that the honest party were well satisfied
with him," Now this was written by a eoi-ditimU Whig, to a
very strenuous one, who was well acquainted with ail the
King's actions while in Scotland, and with whom Sharp would
have entirely lost credit (a matter of great consequence to him
then) had he ventured to affirm that which the other knew to
be untrue.

The Presbyterian impositions and restrictions at length be-
came so intolerable, that Charles effected an escape to his old
I friends the Cavaliers ; but finding their numbers much too
small to assist him, he reluctantly returned to his cage under
the conduct of Colonel Montgomery and Arthur Erskine, who
had been sent in pursuit of him by the Committee. The
battle of Worcester finally delivered him from the claws of hia
spiritual tormentors. But the remembrance of their cruelty
was indelibly fixed in hifi bosom. Though too easily forget-
ting the crown of thorns they had woveu for hia father's
temples, he ever recollected witli detestation the throne of like
materiala on which these merciless Whigs had seated iiiraself
at Scone,
ba
thi
pr.

The conduct of the Corjioration of Edinburgli, after the
battle of Worcester, deserves particular notice, as it exhibits
the adherents of the Solemn League and Covenant in a very
disracteriBtic light. This honourable Ixidy bad been so far
prevailed upon hy their almminalion of Cromwell, and the im-

^

204

HEMORIALS OF THE

portunities of the loyalists, as to join the Natiouat Eug&ge-
ment in favour of Kiiig Charles, and to advance nearly three
tbousand three hundred pounds, instead of twelve hundred
men they had pledged themselves to furnish. To this end
they borrowed a sum of money, the town funds not then being
able to advance it. But after the unfortunate battle of Wor-
cester, they totally disclaimed the " Engagement," for which
the money had been raised ; neither would they repay one
farthing to those who Lad lent it. But to have their coneciences
set entirely at ease respecting the honest ff of this measure, they
consulted the Committee of the General Assembly, " whether
the Engagement lieing unlawful, they were bound m COTWOwncc
to pay the money borrowed in support of it?" And the up-
right Committee of the Reverend Assembly declared, — " It is
the judgment of the Commission, Ibat the Provost, Bailies,
and Council of Edinburgh, who state the case, should not, in
conscience, pay any part of the foresaid sum, not interpODd
their authority for paying of the same."

" The Rnbbina write, when anj" Jew
Did make lo GoJ, or tnnn, a vow,
Which afterwurdii he found untoward,
Or stubborn to be kept, and too hard,
Any three other Jewii o' the nation
Might free him from the obligation."

But Oliver's Parliament afterwards ordained satisfaction to
be made to the creditors, who bad much reason to be thankful
t"hat nice casuistry, in cases of conscience, did not so strongly
pervade that Assembly, as tbe Jesuitical congregations of their
own divines,'

' [In a note of the 1a*t century, by the Rev. Jimca Scott, to hia IranBcripla from
the Presbjlerj Regiiter of Perth (MS. Advocate'R Library), we find the follow-
ing : — " When Charlc* II. waa crowned at Scone, Andrew Reid advanced, towarda
defraying Uie DXpeDsea ot ^e CoronatiDD, forty thousand mcrbB, for wliicli the
King gave bond. After Oliver Cromwell had taken puBaeaaian of Perth, Andrew
Raid presented lo him the King'a bund.and craved payment. Cromwell replied :—
' I am neither hfir nor etecMvr to Cluu'lee Stewart.' Mr Reid pmently auewered :
—■ Then you are a eicieaa ialroniUcr.' Cromuell, turning lo one of hia ofRcem,
■aid, ' thai aueh a buld speech had never been made lo him before,' " It may be
neceeaary to explain, that * vicioui intromitHion,' is the legal term for amuming the
iiiBiiagenient of properly beloncing lo anolher lillioul anlhority : xnd it render*

VISCOUNT or DUNDEE. 205

On his restoration Charles resolved to re-eatablish Episcij-
pacy in Scotland, and that in opposition to the advice of one
of bis principal counsellors In Scottish afTairs, the Earl of Lau-
derdale, who WHS ever a Presbyterian in his heart,' and mortally
hated King Charles the First and his party, to the conclusion
of his life, Charles II., who said that Presbyteriauism was
not the religion of a gentleman,* chiefly entrusted its overthrow
to the care of two personages, who both afterwards made a
great figure in Scottish affairs, the Earl of Middleton, and Mr
James Sharp.

Middleton, the son of John Middleton of Cadham who was
slain sitting in his chair by some of Montrose's soldiers, was
at first but a pikeman in Colonel Hepburn's regiment in
France, but raised himself by his gallantry to high military
commands. In the year IC60, he was created Earl of Middle-
ton, Lord Clermont and Fettercairn. Though at first a proscr
lyte to the doctrine of the Puritans, in whose service he ob-
tained the renown of a good soldier, he had come over to the
King's party, been taken prisoner at the battle of Worcester,
and confined in the Tower, from whence he made hia escape
in his wife's clothes. While in confinement, Aubrey pretends
that he had a strange visit from a ghost, which shall be re-
lated in that author's own words : —

" This Lord Middleton had a groat friendship with the Laird
of Bocconi, and they had made an agreement that the first of
them that died should appear to the other in extremity. The
Lord Middleton was taken prisoner at Worcester fight, and
was prisoner in the Tower of London under three locks. Lying
in his bed pensive, Bocconi appeared to him : My Lord Mid-
dleton asked him if he were dead or alivo ; he said, dead ; and
t/iat he ivas a ghost, and told him, that within three days ho

Ih* iDtrDmiltar likbl« for debts. Old Noll was > ramonclen, ruSlkB, but irJtb M
little of nwKnnm tboiil kiln H Milton's S*Un, Doublteu he paid the bond,— out
of Chu-lea Slewan'a purw.]

■ [L*ad«rd>le wai nerer nnj' thing " in hi> lirart" but in nD|iriuci|ilei) hypncriM.
Kod di>gii>ting TohipiuBrj'.]

* (llmd Cbtrlta the Second eaid, which perliBps hs did, and in all probabitilx
nMj mmat, thai the ooiviiaiUiii; dinclpline of PrHb^MirianiHu wa* not ihe thria-
lian rriigioD, and thai the unirping ellqu* into whan banda he had fallen were not
|rnllMnen, Ihe ramarli «DUld neither be eenaurpd uor cunlnitartxi. ]

^

206 MEMORIALS OF THE

ebouH escape ; and he did so in his wife's clothes. When he
had done his message, he gave a frisk and said, —

GiovanDi, Giovanni 'lis very strange,

In the world to see so sudden a cbange, —

and then gathered up and vanished. Tliis account Sir Wil-
liam Dugdale had from the Bishop of Edinburgh ; and this
and the former account he has writ in a book of miscellaniea,
which I have seen, and is now deposited with other hooka of
his in the Museum at Oxford.'

The course of Middleton's life was marked with many won-
ders. In his jouth a certain palmister assured him that he
should rise to great honourB, and even to the supreme com-
mand of hia country. But when Middleton related the story
he never would reveal the end of the prediction, " which (says
Kirkton) made his companions suspect it was tragical, as af-
terwards it did indeed prove." When in the Highlands of
Scotland, attempting to raise a party for King Charles the
First, a second-sighted old gentleman told him that his en-
deavours would be fruitless, that the King was Jaied to a
violent death, that several other vain attempts in the royal
cause would be made, hut that finally Charles the Second
would be restored. The Whigs affirm, that when Middleton
took the Covenant, he raised his rigljt arm, saying, that if he
should ever do any thing against that blessed day's work, he
wished that arm might be his death. When Governor of Tan-
giers, he fell down stairs and broke the- bone of hia right arm,
which pierced his side, and occasioned his death ; and they
add, " this was the end of one of those who had brought the
Church of Scotland on her knees to Prelacy." He was cer-
tainly a man of considerable talents, and not destitute of litera-
ture ; but his military manners, and the odious situation in
which he was placed, made the Whigs regard him with pecu-
liar bitterness of detestation,

Mr James Sharp was the son of Mr William Sharp, Sheriff-
Clerk of Banffshire, and certainly not the grandson of a piper,
as the Presbyterians assert ; who add, that his musical proge-
nitor was celebrated for playing a spring (i. p. time) called

H^H VISCOUNT 01'' DUKDEF. 207

Trot Cosie. James was born in the Castle of Banff, in tha
year 1613, ami gave early proof of a superior geuins. Being
deatineii for the Church, he was sent to the University of
Aberdeen, where he made a rapid progress in literature, There,
if we may believe memoir writers, a wonderful dream befell
him, in which all the leading events of hia future life were
plainly eignifiod, saving the barbarous scene which concluded
it. His first step towards preferment, was a Professorship of
Philosophy in St. Leonard's College, in the University of St.
Andrews, obtained through the interest of Lord Eothes, to
whom he was related by his mother, a gentlewoman of tlio
name of Lesley. Kirkton says it was observed of her, " that all
the time this her goodly son was in her belly, she would never
taste liquor except only wine, — herein he was not a deliverer
like Sampson." He also states, that Sharp was a poor scholar
in St. Andrews at the time Spottiewoode was Archbishop, and
before the leaguer at Dunse Law, which is not true, Aberdeen
being the university in which he was educated. Kirkton re-
lates his dream thus : —

" There goes a story of him, which I have many times heard
before his miserable death, that while he was a scholar in the
college, lying in one bod with his comrade, one night in hit
sleep and dream ho fell into a loud laughter, and therein con-
tinued a pretty time, til! his bedfellow thought 6t to wake
him, and ask him what the matter was, and why he was so
merry ; he answered, he had been dreaming the Earl of Craw-
ford bad made him parson of Crail, which was a great matter
in his eyes at that time. Another night in bed nnth the same
bedfellow, he fell asleep, and in his sleep a laughing, which
made his comrade wonder what the matter was, for he laughed
a great deal louder than at tlie Brst ; so his comrade thought
fit to wake him again, with which he was verj- much offended ;
for. paid he to his beilfcllow. I thought I was in Paradise, be-
cause the King bad made me Archbishop of 8t. Andrews: then,
said his comrade, I hope you will remember old friends, Af-
t«r^^'a^ds he foil a dreaming once more, and in his dream a
weeping, and wept most lamentably for a long time ; his com-
rade thought ho should not be blamed any inort- for interrap-
tions. and m sutfi-rod him to rontiniic for a long time; nt

8 MKMOKIAI£ OF HIE

length he awoke, and when his comraile told him he hiA
ch&nged his tune, and asked wlial the matter was, he an-
swered, he had been dreaming a very ead dream, and that
wae, that he had been driving a coach to hell, and that very
fast. What way he drove I shall not say ; hut all the country
knew he drove most fiercely to his death that day he was
killed ; though he chose hypatha, because of some warnings
he had that morning where he had lodged."

It is a sad thing to destroy the credit of Mr Kirkton's rela-
tion ; yet one must remark, that the circumstuncee of Ilia
dream belong peculiarly to Fife, whereas the Archhisliop cer-
tainly studied and took his degree of master at Aberdeen. Dur-
ing his regency there, he struck Mr Sinclair, a fellow regent
(afterwards minister of Ormistou) a box on the ear, for giving
him the lie in a dispute respecting cliurch government, which
had like to have knocked his own preferment on the head ; but
he recovered from the bad impression which that violence oc-
casioned. About this time he had, as was afterwards pretend-
ed, an amour with a beautiful Marifot-nes, a female hostler,
one Isabel Lindsay, the produce of which was a child, whom
Mr Sharp strangled with a handkerchief, and buried beneath
a hearth-stone. This legend was invented after he became a
Primate; and received some colour from the conduct of the
woman, who was crazed. While the Archbishop was celebrat-
ing divine service at St. Andrews, and the 7th verse of the
63d Psalm, — " In God my glory placed is," — came to be read,
the woman cries — " Your glory, your glory 1 My glory's placed
in God !" — but kept quiet till the commeiicemi.-ut of the ser-
mon, when she started up, calling the Primate Judas, or some
auc.h name, when she was quickly removed to prison. These
ravings of hers were metamorphosed into a public and solemn
accnsation of fornication and murder, Isabel was continually
haunted witli grief for the sad increase of witchcraft, and de-
clared that hIig once saw Archbishop Sharp, Dr Pitullo, and
Mr Robert Rait, minister of Dundee, all dancing in the air.

The Primato enduied another calumny of a like nature, the
confutation of which, in a letter to the publisher of his Me-
moirs, may not be unamusing to the reader : — " As to that
story in the preface (to the Prexhylerinn Tjifc of Sharp) of the

Viscount of dUjvdee.

209

Primate's sister-in-law boing sent to the north with child, 1
reckon it necessary to give you tlie following account of that
silly, simple, scnselesB woman Kathcrine Moncxieff, daughter
to WiUiam MoncrielT of Eanderston. A few years after the
Resloratiou, Mr John Cunningham, the Earl of Gleucairn's bod,
afterwards Earl of Glencaini, while a student here, took a
fever ; and that he might be better taken care of, the Arch-
bishop brought him to his own Iiouse. During his sickness,
this poor unhappy woman sometimes went to his room; and
after he recovered, and had left the place, she told some of
the eer%'aDts that she was in that way (which she seemed very
fond of) to Mr Cimniugham. This coming to her sister's ears
she presently told lier husband of it, who immediately ordered
a man and a horse to he got r«ady, and carry her to Cowper,
where two of her sisters were living ; and never in all his life
saw her again. After that she went to live at Crail alone,
with a servant, and proved not to bo in that way," Subsequent-
ly, however, she proved to be so to a miller, and satisfied for
the offence in the church of Crail. Continuing to cohabit with
the miller, her friends sent her to the north.

Sharp was next constituted minister at Crail, and when the
Scottish zciilots, making a division in Argylo's kingdom, sepa-
rated themselves into Besoluti'oners and lieinonstrators, as they
were called, the Resulutioners, or more moderate party, chose
Mr Sharp as ambassador to represent their grievaoceB before
the judgment-seat of Cromwell. He performed this mission
so sagaciously, that Oliver, who must be esteemed a profound
critic in matters of that kind, remarked, that he ought to be
styled, after the Scotch fashion, Sharp of that ilk. On the
ovo of the Restoration, 16()0, he was sent to Breda by the Ro-
solutioncrs (then the leading Presbyterians), and General
Monk, to learn the King's intentions towards them; and in
London he had the management of their concerns entirely in
his own hands; but, become weary of their ways, and ambi-
tious of advancement, he was prevailed wiUi to forward the re-
esttthlishmcDt of Episcopacy. During his absence from Scot-
land, ho had been clioscn Professor of Divinity in St. Mary's
(Toliegc, St Andrews, and now the King made him his cliaplain
for Scotland, with a [lension of i'200. Up afterwards obtained
14

210

MEMORIAIS OF THB

the ArchbisLoprick of St. Anilrewu ; and, Laving the nomiiia-
tiou of Ihe otlicr Prelates, conducted himself, even according
to Ihe confession of Burnet, with great moderatiou. It is as-
serted that, when accused by some of his old friends, of having
betrayed their cause, he alleged that he was comvusnioned to avp-
press the protesiing party ; and, if he bad not effectually per-
formed that, he was contented to incur the reproach with
which his own party loaded liini, lu truth, had Sharp acted
ever so treacherously,' it would have been ridiculous to im-
pute the restoration of Episcopacy to him, as the King's usual
indifference certainly did not extend to Presbyterianism.
After the Scottish Prelacy had been fixed, and Sharp norai-
uated Primate in the Council at Whitehall, Earl Lauderdale,
coming forth in a fury, met him and said : " Mr Sharp, Bishops
you are to have in Scotland ; you are to be Archbishop of St
Andrews ; but whoever shall be the man, by God, I will smite
him and his order below the fifth rib,"

The Earl of Middleton established himself in Scotland, as
the King's Commissioner, wilh au unwonted pomp. As the re-
presentative of Majesty, at the banquet given by him to abnost
all the nobility on the meeting of Parliament, he sat at a table
apart, where the Earl of Athole, hereditary cupbearer, pre-
sented the wine, with the usual ceremonies of tasting, and the
knee* Lord Middleton found the nation in general willing to

' (There Bre no BabstHDlial gronnds whstevcr for tlie id™ llinl Slurp had npu-j
iraaoherouBly by [he modenilc kirl party, *ho»e orgsn he »a», »s ne ahnlJ illii«-
tmlc in iho sequel. Mr Charles Kirkpntrick Sliarpe had oql nifled this question,
nu to enable bim to do jiulicetoihe groat))' maligned Archbishop af St Andrews.
There ra juit an much truth in Ihe RccDeatinni againitt hi« character, la there »■«
rhristianity in the final act of malignity agaiasl his person.]

< [A high farce, truly. This Middleton, rsited lo snch an elevab'Dn b; Cliarirs
tlie SecaniJ, woH second in cotntnand to David Lesley {whom Charles II, also created
a peer), when they rurpriBed Uontrose it Philiphaugh, (after the paltry and falal
deeertlon of Ibnt Uiumphaul loyilUt by the Highlanders, and tbe Gordon eBTolry
under Ahnyne) exlingaiflid llie royal cauce, and brutally murdered men, women
uid childien, of the poor Irish remnaut, to the disgrace of Scotland and humauity.
Ilie eieellent historiaii of tbe Church of Scotlnnd, Dr Cook, under a clause of hie
hiHlory which lie entitles, " cruelty of the Covenanters, particularly of Ihe minla-
ten," candidly admits that " they dinplayed a sarage violence which justly de-
serves the reprobation of posterity ; not only nere those who Hed from the battle
iuhanianly manacred, but, after all danger was past, many of the prinnen were
put to dCDth.'l

ViSfiOUNT OF DUNDKK.

211

submit to any laws which his master might wish to impose,
and on sundry occasiotia conducted himself with more zeal
than moderation ; while every action was misrepresented to
the King hy the Earl of Lauderdale, who already longed to
supplant Middleton, and continue his own reign in Scotland.
At the sanetirae the Prosbyteriana ceased not to exclaim
against the Commissioner, &a e. drunkard, an atheist, and a
person of such hrutal manners, that when the Countess of
Caithness, daughter to the Marquis of Argyle, knelt down be-
fore him to request the interment of her father's head, he
threatened to spurn her with his foot.

The executions of Argyle and Guthrie, two most wicked
and irreclaimable rebels, were to these people ample subjects
of outcry and falsehood. On the trial of Argyle, Lord Middle-
ton undertook the debate himself, and spoke, Burnet acknow-
ledges, with great ability. The Marquis, on the other hand,
made a most excellent defence. But the abominable cruelties
committed by him during liis wars with Montrose were enough
of themselves to render liim worthy of death.

[We are enabled here to add, from an uuprinted and contem-
porary source, the following curious particulars of Argyle'a
demeanour on bis trial, by far the most creditable phase of
his unhappy career ; —

" At this lime, Archibald Campbell, the Marquis of Argyle,
came to London, and lurked awhile until bo might steal an
occasion to see the King ; and had the confidence and hope
to have inveigled and obtained pardon for all those base trea-
sons he had acted so covertly in Scotland since bis Majeaty'a
departure, and that the King would pass by those many irre-
verent sayes (speeches) of him, by him and the Kirk while he
was there among them. But such was the general hatred and
detestation of that people, especially of the nobility, against
him, that tlie King gave order for bis commitment- It was
generally reported, that Argyle hid got a response, imi>orting,
that if ho got but a sight of the King's face there was do
fear.* But while he was waiting at Court, and pleaded to

2 1 :i MEMORIAI^ or TUE

speak to the King, and fair for it, yet could not be admitted.
Sir Oliver Fleming. Knight of the Black Rod, is sent to usher
him to gaol. He desired to speak to Mr Calamy in his way to
the Tower, but was refused that courtesy. At length he is
secured prisoner in the Tower, from whence by sea the next
month he was conveyed to Edinburgh, where his process was
making, — the Earl of Middleton, the King^s great Commis-
sioner, following him thither at the heels."

" Ftrbniary 13, 1661, ArchibaM Campbell, Marquis of Ar-
gjle, is brought before the Parliament, and his trial begun.
He chose his advocate. Sir George Mackenzie of Bosehaugh,
his chief advocate, who pleaded \-igorously for him. But the
King s Advocate, Sir John Flesher, was too hard against him,
bringing in several points of treason in his contrare (against
him), which he offered to prove, and at last did so. Argyle
i^'as very bold and confident in his own defence, with some
reflections upon several,' especially the Kings Advocate, who
told him openly, — * Archibald, it is not now with you as when
you set up the fleshstoclcs betwixt the Cross and the Tron.'
All that Argyle replied was, * A flesher dog bites sore.'*

** Argyle 8 trial continued all March and April ; and, after
hot and vigorous pleading, to the wonder and admiration of
all lawyers, matters were clearly, and justly, carried in his
contrare ; and Chancellor Cuninghame, Earl of Glencaim,
pronounced the sentence of death against him, — that Archi-
bald Campbell, the Marques of Argyle, for many treasonable
acts proven in his contrare, should be hanged upon a gibbet at
the Cross of Edinburgh, and his head cut ofi*, and set up upon
the same iron prin upon which the said Marques of Montrose
his head was set, 1650, now to he taken doicn.^

> [The fallen King of the Covenant could not fail to have store enoogh of reeri-
minalioD agaioBt hifl prenent judges.]

s [And the fox will tai*n at bay. It was a good retort ; the best, probabljr^
Argyle ever made. The vile system of conducting a state prosecution in a taunt-
ing m(K>d, which happily would not now be tolerated for a moment, was by no
means uncommon in those days. The surpassing dignity and eloquence of Mon-
trose's reply to the Cliancellor Loudon, when reviling him ** from his base pre-
eminence in the strains of a Bradshaw," affords a cliaracteristic contrast to Ar-
gy lc*s retort to Sir John Fletcher.]

' [ft addn greatly to the authenticity of the above record, that the writer of it
was an eye-witncsK, and attentive observer, of all that passed on the melancholy

YISCOL'NT OF DUNDKE,

213

" This aeutence being pronounced, — it ia obsorvftble, that, —
in that very individual chamber and lodging in which Ajgyle
lived in 1650, when the Marques of Huntiy was sentenced,
his daughter, the Lady Roxburgh, came in to plead with him
for a prorogation, or mitigation of the sentence against her
father, the Marquis of Huutly, and was peremptorily denied
by Argyle in his grandeur, — in this very chamber lodged
Glencairn the Chancellor, when the Lady Caithness, and her
sister, came in to him and the Gouunissioner together, to plead
with them for the same favour at their hand, to their father
Argyle, now under sentence and in a fever, and the aamo was
point blank denied them. So that, what he denied to another
in his straight, another denies now to him. Thus, Argyle
might have said, — ' as I have done, so God hath requited me,' —
and that, too, within the compaes of ten years ! There are
changes in the right hand of the Almighty, to put in execu-
tion when he will."']

This noble Marquis had a failing which is generally esteemed

"I

I

occaiioD. " I WW," ba lay*," MoDlrose'itrm apon llw Jiuliee Port of Aberdasn ;
UDther Dpon die South Port aF Dundee ; his head upon ibe Tallbooth of Edin-
bnrgh : Jin / «eiv il tatn dgcn, axd AiyyU'i head jml aj> i» tlu jj^iei o/it,"]

' [Tbs iUmvo iccoanl uf Ihs lut daf ■ of Argf Is in fra.ii a taanuMript ohronlcis
cuiupUed by ibe Reieraod Junea Fruer, a clorgyman attached In Ihe Umilf uf
LuvaL Us tella uahiin«lf, tliatfor thirty yean III* grandfather was ' major^onia'
In SimDD eighth Lord LoTAt, who died in IG.tS. Thiu tlie gnuidsun became ehap'
Iniii tu that Dubleman'B nioOFUor. Efenlually ho beounie epii>eD[«l clergynun at
WanUaw, iu Inreruuea ahirr, and u coiidnucd until 17 IA, wiien he must hntra at-
tained ■ grout age. The period of hia life embraces Ihe careers both of Montroae
and Dundee, uil with a tnoal aympathiling lieart be accompaniod the ranner put
of the way, dnrinic *■>■ nnlaneboly progrea* fnini the plaee of bis capture in the
nirrtb to the •cafTold of tfae Covenant. The UlMory left in manunei-ipt by Ibii
clergyman oounpin a large folio volume Tery eloKly writtsn. It profnHa to be a
clinraialg of Ihe Imuw oF lila chief and (Wtron. But the writer i* on* of Ihoee ar-
ilKtil dnmntie hiatorian* who Ibink that llieir aubjcct may aualaiD the graft uf a
bifli'iry oT tlie world. In tDaoy rmpeeta iliia MS. chronide is curioua and valuable.
1( Kaa eold eome yeare ago In liivcnieM, along wHh other eflecta of the late Mr
TraHr uf Torhreck, a daoendiuK uf the elei-gynun who cumpitwl il. Some yeam
Bgri, the purrluuwr, Mr Jobn Tluwiaon uf Liverpool, mnal obllglQgly, uiil liberally,
Iniifiiiitied the precloiu ndnme to the author at llieae page*, when be waa writing
hia Uai edlliiiu uf tb* Lifevf H'vlraM', whieli fuKuDUely tliiu ubiained the adrui.
tag* of a moat miniile and aulbeutle account of (he laller day* of ibe bars. The

liired u> ii> forlnnile purebaur ;

i. WI'll w

IV nf Ih

214 MUMUIUAI-S OF TOE

the concomitant of cruelty, and of which neither his descen-
danls, nor iudced any other of liia name, have been guilty.
Kirkton confesseB that he was conunonly reckoued tivioroua ;
and Baillie mentions the " slanders of cowardice and cuUionry"
with which his enemies oppressed him. It is certain tliat he
frequently found a boat very convenient ; as at luverlochie,
and ftftcrwanls on two different occasions. And that he waa
no hloody duellist appears from the following passage in the
contemporary memoirs of the Heverend Henry Guthrie, after-
wards Bishop of Dunkeld. " The jealousies wliich royalists
had always entertained of the Duke of Hamilton and his
brother Lanerick, waa much increased, that they and the
Marquis of Argyle were not so opposite in their designs aa
they professed. For remedy whereof, and that it might ap-
pear to the world that there was a real division amongst them,
nothing less must serve the turn than a combat betwixt the
Marquis of Axgyle and the Earl of Crawford-Lindsay, to be
fought on Monday, March 21, (1648) at five of the clock in
the morning, in the Links of Stony-hill, Major Innes being
Argyle's second, and Lanerick, Crawford's. They kept the
appointment, and were an hour upon the place before any
rcddera^ came ; so that they had leisure enough to have fought,
if they had been willing. However, the intention of it gave
such offence to the Commission of the Church, that the Mar-
quis ofArgyle was obliged to make his repentance before them,
because he had such an hostile mind. And Crawford was de-
sired to do the like, but would not. This combat furnished
sport for a time."

Of Argyle it may further be not«d, that his own father
warned King Charles the First against him, as a treacherous
ungrateful ynutb ; and to him in a great measure was it ow-
ing that the aged Man^uis of Huntly, a venerable loyalist of
eighty, lost his head upon the scaffold. 8eized by a rascal,
one Menzies, Lieutenant-Colonel to Argyle, he was transferred
to that glory of the Covenant, who, though his brother-in-law,
not only delivered him over to the Puritans, hut made his life
be demanded by the Kirk Commission, and afterwards pro-
cured a grant of one-half of his estate t Argyle's sister, the

I

' ['"■

■".)

I

VISCOUNT OF DDiNDEK. 215

"Viscountesfl of Eeumure. who pretended to a high strain of
devotioQ, is eaid to liave predicated bis death, and that ha
would end in blood. He retained hia hypocrisy to the last,
enveighing severely from the scaffold against tlio debaucheries
of the times, and observed, " that religion mnst not be made
»he cock^lxxil, but the a/iip." He was as deformed in body as in
mind, and to this day is distinguished among the Highlanders
by the appellation of the glied Marquis.

[The celebrated Sir George Mackenzie of Eosehaugh, whu
did his duty so well as Argyle's leadiug counsel, left in manu-
script a long account of the trial and death of his client, in
which he says, — " I remember, that I having told him, a little
before his deitth, that the peopk believed he was a coward, and
expected he wooM die timorously, be said to mo ho would not
die as a Roman braving death, but he would die as a Christian
without being affrighted. Yet some concluded that he died
without conrage because he shifted to lay down his head, and
protracted time hy speaking at all the cornera of the scaffold,
which was not usual, and buttoning his doublet twice or thrice
after he was ready to throw it off." 8uch speculation was
there about the state of Argyle's nerves iu this trying scene
(through which he seems to have passed with as much courage
as is necessary in any man), that his own medical attendant
insulted liim ou the scaffold, by feeling his pulse, in order to
be able to assure the people that fright had not forestalled the
headsman. The sincerity of his religion, and the certainty of
his salvation, were proved, before his death, by a aupernatural
vision, iho evirlence for which was his own declaration of the
fact ; and hia physical courage was demoustralcd, after his
death, by the appearance of his digestive organs upon disscc-
tiuu. He had rapidly digested a partridge. Justly coademned
to die the death of Moulrose, but under a more humane regime
lliau his owu inexorable tiats, the indignity of suspenetou was
oomnuiicd to decapitation.]

Argyle's fellow sufferer, Jnmcs Guthrie, was a fanatical
preacher, better bom than the generality of hiii brethren, being
a »on of the laird of Guthrie, He had written sundry sedi-
tious lract« ; affronted the King lo his very face ; excommuni-
cated the Earl of Middleton ; and wa» esteemed n shining

216 )IL.MutilJM.S OF TDK

I^bt unoog the godly. Hb bead being fised upon tlie
Nflt)ietlx>W Port of Edinburgh, bedewed the top of Lord Mid-
dlebm's coach, paesing nnder, with moDy dropR of blood ;
which, say the whigs, uo waehing with water could efface.
The Earl consulted medical gentlemeu on the subject, who to
a man declared the continuance of the stain most strange and
unnatural. Ue had better, mcthinks, have examined into the
religious opinions of his coachman. The Earl was compelled
to procure a new leathern cover for his carriage ; and this
tesHmmiy of Guthrie's blood hath ever since been regarded by
the whigs as a very convincing miracle.

[One of the moat horrible petitions ever presented in the
blasphemed name of God, bears the dominant signature of this
man of blood. Noble loyalists, of the highest public and
Christian character, and of the gentlest and most humane
carriage, had fallen into the hands of the covenanting Grovem-
ment, It pleased Argyle, Johnston of Warriston, Jamea
Guthrie, and their crew, who usurped to represent " the Aft-
semblies of the Lord's servants," that these their antipodes
should die the death. Parliament, even the Argyle Parlia-
ment, winced and demurred. Synod after Synod, under the
leading of such Moderators as James Guthrie, demanded their
blood ; and that rotten core of the Parliament of Scotland
was compelled to yield. We have one of these petitions for
blood before us. It is signed " Mr James Guthrie, Moderator,
at the command of the Sj-nod," and dated, " ."ith December,
1645 ; read in audience of the Parliament." It prays, or rather
commands, as follows : —

" We need not lay before your Honors what the Lord calls
for at your hands in the point of justice, nor what you owe
unto the many thousand of his people, whose blood is as water
spilt upon the ground.' Your own light reaches unto the
discerning of duty, and your piety and prudence, w"e trust,
will make you faithful and zealous in the discharge of the
same. Our intention is, not to convince your undrirstandinga,
nor to fasten any imputation upon your affections, but to
strengthen your hands in purging the land from blood-guilti-
ness, whilst you do behold that the desires of justice j

I

i

' [Meaniii; tlicrcK.v tlip rcln-l

• i

VISCOUNT OF DUKDEE. 217

delinquents are not the scattered and inconsiderate wisbes of
one or -two blinded witb prejudice, or transported with pa^ion,
but the commoD and deliberate motions of tlte Assemblies of
tfie Lord's servanls, after they have supplicated himself for
direction, and searched for tmlh in his own Word, wkichpress-
elh the administration o/ Justice with mvch veltemence and per-
spicuity. We are therefore confident that your hearts wiU not
faint, nor your hands fail, until you have cut off the horns of
the wickrd, and made enemies bear the just reward of their
violence and cruelty."'

Against such men as the good President Spottiawoode, and
that " tassel gentle" Lord Ogilvy, did this cry for blood go
forth. And so this James Guthrie was most deservedly banged,
as an incorrigible and truculent traitor, at the Restoration.
Wodrow, of course, records him as a martjT. Malcolm Laiug,
with a flourish of his historical stilts, tries to dignify his exit.
But let none grudge the man who signs the above petition, a
gallows to himself.]

To the account of these worthies may here be subjoined
some mention of Bir Archibald Johnstone, commonly called
Lord WarriBton, the only other man of any eminence in Scot^
land who suffered for his accession to the late rebellion. But
he contrived to avoid his fate for some time after the execution
of Argyle and Guthrie, and was not seized till after Middle-
ton's administrations had ceased. He was a person of good
abilities, which he had perverted to the very worst purposes.
After having had a hand in all the atrocities which conduced
to the King's murder, he accepted of a peerage from Oliver
Cromwell.' At the Restoration, he iled in disguise of a mer-
chant to Ilumhurgh, where he remained about two years ; but
afterwards paasiag into France, he was seized by Alexander
Murray, and brought to Scotland, whore ha had sentence of
death pronomicod upon him. Bishop Burnet asserts that be
wua then iu a sort of doting state, disordered both in body and
mind, so that it was disgraceful in any government to proceed
against him. But the Bishop was Am ntphe^v. Lord Miildleton
thought that his imbecility was feigned, which his subsnqueut

> [From lliconslnil M!<. iti
• [And an did \Tsy\f 1

"I

218 UELMORIAl^ or TUK

behaviour on the scafTolJ makes probable, aod writes thus cod-
ceming him to Sir Archibald Primrose. " Mr Secretary Ben-
net, my Lord Dumfries, and myself, were laken up this whole
day with examination of Waniaton, and some othera. He
pretends to have lost his memory, and bo will give no account
of anything. He is the most limorous pa-eon that I ever did
ate in my life; and pretends that he can do the King great
service, if he will give him his life, in putting the registers in
good order, and settling the King's prerogative from old re-
cords." Ou his cowardice, or cunning, the whigs raised a re-
port that the King's physician, Bates, QvBt poisoned, and then
took aixti/ ounces of blood from him at Hamburgh. But it can
scarcely be credited that King Charles II., a merciful Prince,
would authorize such a cruel piece of treachery, especially to a
foe of Warriston's insignificance ; and Bishop Burnet, as partial
to his relative as prejudiced against the Stewart family, takes
not the smallest notice of the affair.* Kirkton alleges that

> [Neither nonld /wiiofiinj, and excenive bleeding, change, by suuli artiflflikl
mPKiiB, ■ ourugeoiu Climtian oonatitntiun, s»d of bd aged moji, iaUi BDcb an
energy of debased terror an nid Wnrriaton djsplayi^d when pleading for hi* own
lile. Sir Goorge Haekeuzic thua describes it : " The CUancfllor and alben waited
to examine liim ; he fell upiin bia tace, roaring, aud with tears entreated they
would pity > poor crenture wliD had fsryot all that was in hia Bible. This mond
all the spectators with a deep melancholy, and the ChsHGellor, reflecting upon
the mao'a great parts, former esteem, and tho great share he had in all tiia late
revolution.', could not deny sotiie tears to tho frailty of silly mankind. At his
euminaiiun, ho prelciidid ihal ho had lost so much hlu^, by ihe unskilfuhieaa
of his ehirurgeoDS, ttiat he lust bis ni-mory with hi* blood ; and 1 renlly beKeve
thai his tonragt bad indeed been drawn out with it. Within a few days he ww
brought before the Parliament, where he (UscoTci'ed nothing but much wenkneas,
raHHiHj «p ami duKB ufiOK hit knu) btyg\»n mercy. But the rarliament ordained
hia farmer seuleuue to be put to execution si the Croea of Edinburgh. At iiis eie-
cation he showed more i-omposure than formerly, which his friends asorilwd to
Uod's miraculous kindness for him. But otheiv tlioughl thai he liad only formerly
s disguise of niadneas is escape death in it, and that, findiog Ihe mask

X had n

lohUw

is<l lost.

i> his

•thich

Phiiiphaiigh, would m
hands from tlie innnc
beat of Scotland, wh
Ballbor, " had a ioHt)

.ho, evcu afior the glut of cnld-bloodcd
■ Iha uiisenible aiui shrinking l>ariiamenl to Way their
id of Sir Robert Spottis«-oode, and many othera uf llic
]irisoners of war. "Sir Archibald JoIinstou,"|^jB
e House, entreating them tu unity among them-

scItcb, to lay all private respei'ts and into resia aside, and loiinJuMiM on diliHijiittiri,
and malii^naiili (loyalisla), showing tlmt their i/rlniiing/vria'f/ii had.'provolert GihI's

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

210

the King's dislike of Warriston was not occasioned by his
public actings, but by the many reproofs lie had bestowed
upon his Majesty, because of bis debauchery, and more espe-
t.cially for hia committing a rape upon a young gentlewoman
I t>I quality. But this gentlewoman is like the other goni
I women of like misfortune in these histories, — she
[ D&me. Eirkton also says that Warriston " was a,gfeat obser-
I ver of providences," and, according to the rule^^et with very
[ many remarkable providences himself. ^^^len Kirkton paid
a visit to him while in confinement, W^iriaton affirmed that
he could never doubt of his own sM^^Woy, he^aiLjA often
Been God's face in the house of p^yer^j-;:::^rt|t]jietJfer\veening
confidence seems latterly to haj*«^^ej;^dlijin ; for when he
came to the scaflolJ, be fcefi^fitjy^^eaiil to thej people — " your
prayers, your prayers.'^^.J^Ji'^cending it^o added, " I en-
treat you, quiet your<&rt^ htlle, till tWSdying man deliver
hia last speech among you." He,y*iren proceeded to read a
very coherent declaration of hij>i6aily and spiritual infirmities,
his unshaken adherence to^Ke Covenant, his innocence of the
King's murder, and on minting tl

" Your prayers, your pia^era^^WMr-prayers I desire i
name of the Lord." He was a rapacious, artful, time-eervin,
statesman ; an indefatigable prayor ; a merciless poJ>
After the execution, his bead was separated from thojj
exalted beside that of his dear friend Guthrie. Bu(fT.ieutenant-
General Druminond, afterwards Viscount o^/fil^^ttiylan, his
son-in-law, had influence enough to g
terred with his body in the Greyfriarv
burgh.

In the meantime, the Covenant had beai
treated as the muster-roll of rebellion, yiiho,
settled in their dioceses, and the infcriory
But the vulgar, inflamed by the loiniatoitfwbo were expelled
from the churches for nonconformily7 a measure effected by
Fairfowl. Arcbbisbop of Glasgow, contrary to the inclination

C. gmt M.r

vinti ftgainil tliriii, I)hi nwn

It wu WuTifton.

Um, who rwtJ

CDS axon Mou

0* tu hiiit, b,fon- 111.

> P.ili.n.rn( ;

ohm

lie miglit hnt

e iHrni, bj llii

B Iniglitett of

ohm

hi> a»a larn

MtUB. Am.iujt

II.B Wwlruo

MS.S.i-.R.,BL(,„

i«ij:..»d) fi^fi. 1

L-.i,ni

»v)l, ISil, Id

taOOIl Merliiie

;!J

ii^

J

220

MtMOItlAlS OF TriE

of Sharp who faTOured moderate coimsels, and enraged by
the exaction of fines for their own resistance to Episcopacy,
were ripening fast into rebellion. The same spirit which pro-
duced the disorders of the former reign, still existed, nay, daily
became stronger, and military force was absolutely necessary
to place the curates in their pulpits. These unfortunate pas-
tors found themselves entrusted, not with a flock of innocent
sheep, but a body of ravenous wolves, ready to tear them to
pieces. If a whig had got drunk at an alehouse, or made free
with a female enthusiast over night, he esteemed an affront^
given to thf curate next morning, a testimony of his repentance,
and a propitiation for his sin. The women of piety, on publioi
occasions ever forward to prove their zeal by the most shame-]
ful excesses, not only abused the clergy themselves, but hunt*
ed them with their numerous brats, who were instructed to
yell forth whenever the curate appeared, and to pelt him with
dirt ; while the inhabitants of whole parishes wandered every
Sunday into the wilds, after the doctrine of their former
ministers, leaving the churches desolate, and the clergyman
in despair of being able to effect their conversion.

I

That the reader may form some idea of the fascination at- 1

tached to the field preachers, a few extracts from such of their \
sermons as have been printed, are subjoined. In the dift- I
courses preserved there are many more ridiculous passages j I
but for eschewing the sin of blasphemy, they are suffered to I
rest in oblivion. As the style of oratory continued ever tho I
same, from the dawn of Knox to the sunset of Renwick, it \ti%
unnecessary to attend to chronology in the excerpts.

The minister generally began by a tender encomium on the |
Solemn League and Covenant, which properly led to the most j
virulent abuse of its violators, the King, the Bishops, and the |
Statesmen, vented in a strain of grossuess and malevolence 1
now shocking to almost every mind. But addressing (Jod ]
Almighty himself in so familiar a way as they practised, it is
not wonderful that they shewed little respect to earthly digni-
ties. The following passage, from a sermon preached by
Richard Cameron, a great saint, and founder of a sect which

VISCOUM UF DDXDf.E.

221

pttill retains his name, gives tlie loyalty, compressed, of all his
I predecessors : —

' How comeB it, tliat there is so little knowledge of God io

this land ? Because of swearing, lying, stealing, and com-

[ mitting adultery. I wonder if there be any such sinners here

this day ? I will tell you, that there are more of you in the

west country that scruple not to swear by faith and truth.

We have but little to do with such professors. It is a very

Bad thing, that though we reprove you, we cannot get you to

I leave off your minced oaths, haith and faith, Ac. You know

I what it is to commit adultery. The enemy of God, that tww

I ntaupon the throne, ts one of the moat vile adulterers that lives.

] And from him it descends to noblea, gentlemen, and burgesses,

I and commons of all sorts ; so that everj' one is, as it were,

i neighing aft^r his neighbour's wife. dreadful ! What think

[ ye of these things ? What is the King, and what is the Council,

and what are all our persecutors, but fools and fanatics. But

I I eay they are nothing different from these horses,' if not

I madder. For we make the horses ride through moss and

muir, and sometimes we ride them so deep that we cannot get

I them out again. The DevH rides and drives King Charles

I the Second, and his Council, through moss and muir, and over

1 craigs and rocks."*

Alpxander Poden, another preacher, and a prophet to boot,
I holding forth in the parish of Glenluce, said : — " Now ye in
I this country-side, ere it be long, will all bo charged to go and
[ hear these cursed curates. And when yo are charged to go
I there, look the 5th of the Galations, 19, 20. I nay, look to
I that Scripture well, and think with yourselves that day, lads
J and lasses in this country-side, that such a fool as I have told
I you it, that going to hear these profane hirelings, would lake
I yoK to Hell as soon as idolatry, adulteries, teilvhcm/t, or any
L of these sins which are named in that plai:o I have citc-tl unto
t-you."

^K ut<

> [Tb* liorata of lh« bJiiKDtIc1« confregUlnaii UMmblei) in the moon
DMulIf [Mckstsd betide tliom.]

* [ Wklkrr Uw pmlUr, Peden'i biognphar, tpeaVi of ■• the Uiikf of York. ■
iehriit, tit lUrili LinUmttI, at Mr SiitUt wnf to oill Hm U r
Lit* of CRnieron. BioR. Pm. i, l«T. Edlnbuq;!), T. C, RUTFiiK.n, ie37.|

222 HEMORlAt^ OP THE ^^H

Peden's Bermons alone furnish a cnrious testimony oT Hie
respect these demagogues entertained for those of the higher
ranks of society who encour^ed not their doctrines, as well
as for the unhappy curates. AuldSaTuiie, as he usually styled
himself, said at a conventicle ; — " 111 tell you what oar great
folk in Scotland are like. They are like so many ladies goiog
to sea in a boat in a calm day for their pleasure ; bnt afl long
as the sea is calm, and they see the ground, and no fear of
hazard, they bid the boatman row out ; but whenever the wind
blows a little, and the waves begin a Utile to rise and swell^
and they begin to lose sight of the ground, then they cry out,
— ' fie, in to the shore again.' the base dang the Kirk iS'
getting from many of the ministers of Scotland in our days.
About thirty-six years ago, our Lord had a great thick bacl
train of ministers and professors in Scotland. But one blast
blew six hundred of our ministers from him at once, and they
never came back to him again. Yea, many lords, and lairds,
and ladies followed him then. But the wind of the storm
blew the ladies' gaUantries in their ej'cs, and their ears both,
which put them both blind and deaf 1 The lords, lairds, and
ladies, were all blown over the brae. Alas, for the apostacy
of nobles, gentles, ministers, and professors in Scotland."

WTienever the fanatic preachers mentioned our Savionr,
they represented him, in the language of the Canticles, as
a brisk gallant, or impatient bridegroom, which might be a
chief reason for the wonderful increase of female conversion ;
even more potent tlian the Geneva translation of Genesis,
which informed them that Eve wore fig-leaf breeches. Per-
haps the native spirit of contradiction added double energy to
other impulses. Whatever was the cause, the effects were
prodigious, for the weaker vessels clung with the utmost jrer-
scverance to their darling declaimers, through all the asperities
of situation, the inclemencies of the weather, the destruction
of their famihes, and the dangers of horse-ponds, or even the
gallows.

Yet the godly ladies, and handmaids of Heaven, suffered
many particular reproaches from their beloved pastors ; and
insinuations, against the whole sex, one would suppose very
hard of digestion. Richard Cameron, preaching at Kirkmahoe.

of

.d _

'J

VISCOUNT UF DUNDEE.

223

^^^pnear Dumfries, bad the rudeuess to tell his female followers, —
^^^B " Those who come out to see a man only, ot to he seen of men
^^H here to-day, will probably go away as filthy an tbey came."
^^^1 And Mas John Livingston bad long before preacbed a sermon
^^H concerning Lot's wife, wbich must have fundamentally atfront-
^^H «d the fairer part of bis congregation. His text was from St
^^H Luke xrii. 32, " Aemember Lot's wife," and be went on
^^H thus: —

^^H " But ye will perhaps say, what should we here remember
^^^B concerning her? First, remembcrthatshewasLot's wife; agood
^^H man's wife, and a professor too; and brought up and educated in
^^B good company. It may be, that she was of good education
^^B also ; but alas, that did not her turn ; she is set up between
^^H heaven and earth for a memorandum ; and we havo no more
^^H certainty of her descent than that she was Lot's wife. There-
^^H fore, though your good parentage and education be a mercy,
^^H yet boast not of it. And though you have dwelt long in a
^^H good house, what of that? May not Satan tempt you there, if
^^H ye have not the root of the matter within you ? Carefully ro-
^^H cord these things that ye may forget none of them. For there
^^* are many careless professors, eapectaUy woToen, similar to Lot's
wife ; and many others among you are but bad instruments in
a country side, and ringleaders to wicked coursea. Therefore,

■ pray that ye be not a grief, and as plagues unto your hus-
bands, nor a vexation unto your parents and relations. Jte-
member Lofs wife. But, ye may say, what did she ? She was
neither •*••• nor thief, — as we commonly say, — but she look-
ed back, and could not go straight on in the way with her hus-
band. Hence you may take this lesson, that all do not ac-
1 count of things as we do. Who could have thought that there
should have been so much business for so small a fault 1 Be-
fneraber Lot's wi/f. But ye will say, what moved her to do
BO, — to look back contrary to express command? It was a
piece of Apr own curioaity. She thought she might, in this
matter, take some of her own will, when she was nigh half
way at Zoar. And you know that Jacob's daughter, in going
out to see the daughters of the land, was defiled ; therefore
return in again ; for this was an evil sight to her, and to all
that belonged to her, and Id all the Shechcmites also. Old

i

221

MKMORIAI^ OF THE

Sodom comeB into her miud again, as in the cftse of tlie
Israelites in the wilderness, when lusting after the onions and
garlick which they had while in Egypt, Truly that was
Btrange. For you know garlick bath no agreeable taste. But
what shall we say ? Anything of Egj-pt or Sodom is good when
we are out of them. Yea, many only tliink, — ' what meant I,
when I was in the acts of my wickedness, that I took not my
pennyworth of it' (as we sometimes say). It was even so with
her, looking back to her old but bad companions. Lastly,
Remember Lots wife. But, after all, ye may perhaps say, what
ehould we remember of her ? No good, I warrant you ; and
therefore more sad is tho subject to speak of. Betnember Lot's
wife ; a backslider indeed ; which is Scotland's sin this day,
therefore, pray that this may never be your case. Moreover I
may say unto you, who are profane professors, again Remem-
ber Lofs wi/e, and let it be your memento always."

This abridgment exhibits pretty fairly the spirit of the
conventicle discourses, in which the reproof of the most grie-
vous sins was calculated to produce nothing but laughter, Mr
Donald Cargill told hia congregation that " a life of prosperity,
with a weddcdness to one's own ways, and a broken wall to
lean upon, are very dangerous things. We say, prosperity in
sin is both dangerous and dreadful. And yet you would be at
it, at any rate. We would take pleasures were they never so
dreadful, Rome have taken them as foul as they could have
them. I say, prosperity in sin is a very dangerous thing.
There are few that ever love it more than when it was some-
what warm and dangerous. But ye will get it warm yet.
Tea, ye will get it as hot as Hell."

These exhortations and rebukes were uttored with great
gesticulation, and a wonderful power of lungs, producing ex-
traordinary effects upon the audience, who sighed, groaned,
and shed tears abundantly. No fanatic could hear old John
Welsh utter a single sentence without weeping; his convey-
ance, as they called it, was so affecting. And when the minis-
ters set themselves to pray, the old women would destroy their
head dresses, by tearing off their bt'gonela and mutches. For
their favourite preachers they had nicknames of endearment.
Andrew M'Cormack, a pains-taking Irishman, was called TTie

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

226

Goodman; while the Irish whigs styled Mr Josias Welsh.
" because of his mighty, rousing, wakening, preaching gift,"'
the Cock of the North ; or, as the author of the Worthies will
have it, the Cock of the Conscience.

When the Preahyteriaii ck-rgy committed their lucubrations
to writing, they were not at all more refined in their expres-
sion. Samuel Rutherford, in his " Peaceable Plea for Paula
Preebyicry in Scotland," descanting on ecclesiastical schisms,
says; — " The essential ingredients and reasons of a lawful
divorce are here ; we could not lye in one bed with that some-
time sister-Church of Rome, hut our skin behoved to rub on
her botch-boil ; and therefore we did separate from nothing
but corruption," His Kpistles, long relished by his sect, are
fraught with the most blasphemous obscenity.

The poor ladies got littlequarter from the reforming preachers
ever since the days of Sir David Lyndsay, who penned a bitter
satire on the side tails, and muzzlet faces, of the Scottish ladies.
There is a passage in John Knox's History, of which I must
here give a sample. Speaking of the ParUameut of 1563, he
says : — " Sick stinking pride of women as was seen at that Par-
liament, was never before in Scotland. Three Sunday days, the
Queen rode to the Tolbooth. The first day she made a painted
oration ; and there might be heard among her flatterers, ' Vox
Pianoe,' the voice of a goddess (for it could not be Dei), and
not of a woman I ' God save that sweet face, was there ever
orator spoke so properly, and so sweetly," &c,

Tljat high and potent Princess, Margaret Duchess of New-
castle, felt 80 much iudigation against the preachers of her
time for like reproofs, that she wrote a satire on the subject
in a strain of no common poetry. She complains that : —

" Preochon in tbeir piilpiti do declaim

'GuiMt ilrcwing nru, ■nd nII our sex do bUmo
For [ilMt«d braid*, pcndanli, and cnrlcd iMir,
And all o«r wvcriil gannenU thai wB irear. '
A ft'allior'd fan, tbough it cuola the nillry lieal.
With terrible thnrnta, Uey in our vara da brat ;
Black patcbca on our facp. |iiiu[ilei In hide,
Thvj rail aptimt. and call ibciu marki ufpridaj
Aod evFry lliiog iiiiloed irhii^h we ilo wear
'rbt7 fti'laim Hjjainul, a* ifibi-ir ibruuts ibcy'd Inu-.
15

226 MEMORIALS OF THE

Sure they would have us Adamites^ yet know
Against * bare necks^ tbey thundering words outtbrow !
This last, I do conclude without all doubt,
Tis that we are not naked quite throughout/*

Mr James Kirkton, after the Eevolution, preaching against
a female covering for the head, called a Cock-up, in his chiirch
in Edinburgh, said, — " I have been this year of Grod preiwjh-
ing against this vanity of women ; yet I see my ovra daughter
in the kirk even now have as high a cock-vp as any of you
aU."!

Another, declaiming against the vanity and gaudiness of
women, spoke thus : — " Behold the vanity of women ! Look
to them I Youll see first a satin petticoat, Kft that, there is
a tabby petticoat ; lift that, there is a Holland smock ; lift that,*'
Ac. " Eve was not so vain ; she sought no covering but fig
leaves*"

[Section III. — Administration of Lauderdale and Bothes in
Scotland, from the first Tumults on the Placing of Curates in
the Churches of the Expelled Ministers, to the Murder of
Archbishop Sharp.]

On the disgrace of Middleton, Lord Lauderdale found him-
self in possession of that power he had so long desired.

> [Patrick Walker, in his Life of Peden, tells us : — ** Sumo years ago also our
women deformed their heads with cock-ujjt ; aud now they defonn their bodies with
boopa, or fardingales, nine yards about ; some of them in three stories ; yery nn-
becoroing in women professing godliness, more fit for liarlotfl : If they had now
distinguising attires, and places where they resorted, as it seems they had of old,
they would be easeful to men orer-ruu and over>driven with the fury of unbridled
luits, as Judah was when he went to sheer his slieep. I remember about thirty
yean ago, when cock-upt were in fashion, some of them half a yard high, set up with
wires, a tclid, teriouB^ Christian gentlefcoman told me, she was going to a friend's
w«ddtng ; her comrades constrained her to put herself in that dress ; she was un-
CHMiy in her mind, and thought she was not herself through the day ; when she came
homo, before she changed herself, she went to her closet to bethink herself how alie
had ii|)«nt that loose time, aa weddings and fairs are to the most part, and few that
ktHip a bridle* hand to their spirits at such times ; after some thoughts she went to
|ifMi)oi' 1 h^r conscience challenged her so sharply, that she rose hastily, plucked it
%ftt MHt) ihi*i»w U from her, saying, — < Thou or no such thing shall ever come on my
\m^ <»!■ body that I dare not pray with.' **—Biog, Pret, i. 138.]

I

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEi:. Sli

Kothes, indeed, waa appointed Commiesioiier to Parliament,
but he waa governed by the other, whose favour ■with the
King, udded to a vast fund of address, left him witliout a rival
ijo his Scottish commaud. Ho was a man of great knowledge,
both natural and acquired. During his imprisonment, after
the battle of Worcester, he had applied his mind to hterature.
He studied divinity, history, both ancient and modem, and
languages, including Hebrew, with great success. From his
letter to Richard Baxter, who published it in bis " Certainty
of the World of Spirits," 1G91, — a letter well written, as waa
every thing that fell from his pen, — it is manifest that he at
one time believed in ■nit<;licraft.' The Duke relates a story
laepecling a woman, near Dunse, possessed by the devil, who
oorrected a clergj'man's false Latin; of a house near Edin-
burgh, " haunted these fifty or sixty years," He adds, — " But
,1 must leave room for my Loudun Nuns, and not write a book.
In the year 1637, being at Paris in the spring, the city was
so full of the poasessioH of a whole cloyster of nuns, and some
Iftick wenches at Loudun, books printed, and strange stories
told, tliat few doubted it; and I, who was persuaded such a
thing might be, and that it was not impossible the Devil could
possess a nun as well as another, doubted it aa little as any
body. So, coming into that country, I went a day's journey
out of my way to satisfy my curiosity. Into the chapel I came
in tho morning of a holy day, and with as little prejudice m
»ny could have, for I believed verily to have seen some strange
Bights. But when I had seen exorcising enough of three or
of them in the chapel, and could hear nothing hut wanton

inches singing loose songs in French, I began to suspect a

rbr." " One more journey 1 mu<lc to see possessed women
ixorcised near Antwerp, anno 1649 ; but saw only some great

illand wenches hear exorcism patiently, and belch moat
labomiiiably. So, if those were devils, they wr-re wiijdy devils ;
tbut I thought they were only poBsosscd with a morning
draught of too new beer."

But his orthodoxy, and indeed all notions savouring of reli-

' [UmlenUIr <rv ollllns MoueIi to cnail, or abow

^r>i>l> nf lh> C.,vri.>i>(, *l>;r1i IIK.V be («m>»( Uldifii

mlr>cl» ) but hf dcHdrd,

•B>1 !*l<viM niih •CTiri>, 111* lylmituli mmlat <>f ilir Tat]

iiolic mliMlro ]

228

.VEHORIALS OF THE

gioii, quicklj vanished, if we may trust Burnet, who seems, in
the true spirit of ingratitude, to bave regarded the Peer with
a most perfect hatred. lAuderdale was certainly a politician
of the Machiaveli persuasion, and of a temper so yioUnt, that i
bis fits of passion resembled the paroxisms of insanity. When |
the Scottish gentry of the west refused to enter into the Bond,
as it was termed, he bared his arm to the elbow at the Council
Board, and swore they should be compelled to do it ; an anec-
dote perhaps as authentic as that given by Knox of M. IfOsele,
the Queen Regent's French General, who, on reading a letter
from the Congregation, did ri/ve (tear) his own beard for rage.
But tliough the Earl was imprudent in his choler, he well
knew how to preserve his place in the King's favour; going
80 far as to attire himself in a petticoat, and dance before
Charles, when the disaster of his fleet at Chatham had occa-
sioned him to be melancholy ; and this exhibition, were the I
Earl as hideous and awkward as the Bishop of Salisbury aa- I
eerts {though Sir Peter Lely's portraits would persuade us to
the contrary), must have been beyond measure diverting.
Burnot asserts that he made a very ill figure ; he was very big,
his hair red, and hanging oddly about him ; and his tongue,
like that of King James the Sixth, too large for his mouth, so
that he bedewed those to whom he addressed his conversation.
But though his manners and appearance were uncouth, though
the Iluke of Buckingham pronounced him a man of a blun-
dering understanding, Butler sings —

" Although bis blubber face ia sacb
A pbii as does not promise much,
Ytt be ha5 cunniii<t to unravd
The very mvrteries of ibe Devil." |

He certainly long retained his influence over a very fastidious
and volatile monarch, only losing it with his own intellects,
which sank into a miserable decay sometime previous to hia

death.

John, Earl (afterwards Duke) of Rothes, was the aon of i
puritanic sire (styled the reforming Earl), hy the Lady Anne
Erdrine. daughter to John, Earl of Mar. In the craft and

V

^nSCXHINT OF DDNDEE.

22!)

I

villany of hia time none exceeded the father, who was the very
kej-stone of the Covenant, and cunning enough to persuade
the Marquis of Montrose, naturally loyal, to embrace the cause
of the Covenanters, Though with pretences to thorough sano-
tification, he was a man of inordinate gallantry. Archbishop
Laud, in the history of his own troubles and trial, gives this
curious account of him ; — " On Tuesday, August 10. 1641, his
Hajesty rode away post into Scotland, the Parliaments sitting
ID both kingdoms, and the armies not yet dissolved. Thero
was great scaiming about this journey ; and the House of
Commons sent some Commissioners thither, as the Scots had
Bome here. Among the Scotch CommisBionera the prime man
waa the Earl of Rothes, who was also one of the greatest and
most zealous leaders of the Scottish rebellion, under the pre-
tence of religion, and a deadly enemy to the Earl of Strafford,
and was heard to say more than once tliey would have his
head, — and tbey had it. But much about this time (Rothes)
bis zeal was so great among the women, and the citizens
wives, that he fell into disease ; and divers of his friends going
to visit him, wore not admitted to see him ; and at last he
was conveyed from London to Richmond, by hia aunt the
Lady Roxburgh, where he died. But this base and dishonour-
able end of his they concealed as much as they could,"

His BOQ, to manners the most gentle and insinuating, added
a great Sow of wit. He possessed the art of prepossessing
every one in his favour, and was much caressed by the King,
whom he resembled in his demeanour and vivacity. His litera-
ture was scanty, but that defect he compensated by his natural
quickness. He had a very handsome face and figure, and in
his gallantry took after his father. The Reverend Robert
Baillie, in one of bis letters, thus relates aome circumstances
of a very serious fracas, which occurred during the Usuqiation.
owing to his intimacy with a lady, who afterwards became
Countess of Carlisle: — " The Earl of Rothes is put into the
Castle (of Edinburgh) on a most shameful occasion. My Lord
Howard's tiistcr married with my Lord Balgony, Rothes's sis-
ter's son, General Leslie's grandson. This Howard's wife, a
very light woman, tame to make a risit to Fife, where her
carriage every where was exceeding wnntin R'-tli*-!* "|ienly

230 MEMORIALS OF THE

bore her too much companT, to the offence of many. How*
ever, about that time she is got with child, which she bears
to Loudon. Her hngband falls in an outrageous jealousy with
lier, suspects my Lord Belasis, whom his brother fightd in that
quarrel, but suspects Bothes more, and in a rage posts towards
Scotland to fight Bothes. The Protector hearing of it, causes
follow and apprehend Howard, and sends an order in haste to
secure Rothes in the Castle of Edinburgh, where yet he lies
in great infamy."

He was afterwards accused of neglecting his own wife, a
very godly Presbyterian woman, daughter of the Earl of Craw-
ford, and of living in too much friendship with the Lady Anne
Gordon. But what scandalized the whigs more than all the
rest, was his intimacy with the Primate of Scotland. In this
case Judas obscured Jesabd, though he frequently shewed
much lenity to the rebels, and actually prevented the torture
of the boot being applied to one of their women, alleging
that it was not seemly for gentlewomen to wear boots ; yea,
albeit he winked at the practices of his wife's confessors, with
good store of whom she was well provided, yet these ingrates
denounced him as nothing better than his colleagues, a child
of the devil and perdition.

The Chancellor Loudon, so celebrated for his zeal in the
work of reformation, was also notorious for his incontinence.
The wife of one Major Johnstone bore him several children.
His gallantry is confirmed by Clarendon, who says, that " he
was so obnoxious for his loose and \4cious life, which was
notorious, that he durst not provoke Argyle or the clergy by
dissenting from them." Neither, on the very same account,
dared he to exasperate his wife, who seems to have had a
spirit like my Lady Monson's. From Burnet we learn that
Loudon, when in England, made very solemn promises both
to the King and the Hamiltons ; but, on his return to Scot-
land, Lady Loudon, who was an heiress, and had brought to
him almost all he possessed, threatened, that if ho went on in
that way she would raise against him a process of adultery ;
of which she would have had very copious proofs. The poor
caitiff was therefore obliged to turn again to the other side,

V^

^^^B VISCOUNT OF DUXDEE. 231

making public professions of rapentanca for his fit of honour
and loyalty, in the High Church of Edinburgh, with many
villanous tears and grimaoeb.

[It will not be foreign to the object of these historical re-
searches and ilhistrations, if we here proceed to redeem the
character of Charles the First from a calumnious story, of
which this Earl of Loudon has been made the hero, although
he never beard of it himself. It forms an imposing page of
the groat work of Hallam, while, with coartser hands, Laing
and Brodie have rubbed it into the history of Scotland. And
yet the source of it is utterly worthless. It is said to ftavt
been said by Bishop Burnet ! The tradition is, that the
Bishop narrated the calumny in question, to a company in-
cluding " several English Peers," that be said he had found
a record of it in tbe Hamilton chart«t-chest, — where no ona
has ever found it since, — and that, in tilling the story, he ex-
cused himself for not having published it in bis Memoirs of
the Hamiltoiis, by reason, as he is said to have said, " I could
not put down every thing I found in tbc papers committed to
me, because some things would not bear telling." Burnet, if
this report of his conversation he true, must have meant, that
some falsehoods might pass current in talk, and enter history
in due time, that were too gross to escape detection if pub-
lished in his " Own Time."

Loudon, one of the Scots Commiasioncrs, had been sent to
Uio Tower for his participation in the letter of the coveuant-

Iing nobles to the French King. While thus in custody,
during the short inter\-al between the lllh of April, and
27th of June 1640, " King Charles I.," as Burnet is reported
to have told, " in his passionato reseutment against htm, sent
a warrant 1o Sir William Bitlfonr, Lieutenant of the Tower,
to execute the prisoner for high treason, the next morning.''
This order, as the story goes, the Lieutenant oouimnnicated to
his noble prisoner, who having neither been libi^Ucd nor tried,
grievously complained of the barbarity, and urged his jailor lo
go for the Marquis of Uamilt^in, which accordingly he did.
These two instantly repaired to the King, but had some diffi-
culty in obtaining audience, hia Majenly l>cing in bed. First,
Sir William Balfour " fpll on his knees a( the bedside," and

I

^^

1iS2 UKMOKIALS OF ThX

prayed for a recall of the warrant ; but the King was inex-
orable. Then entered the Marquis of Hamilton, " and fell
lifcewiae on his knees at the bedside, and begged that he wonM
not insist upon such an extraordinary rescilution," The King
Btill held out, but was at lengtli moved by the Marquis's part-
ing threat, — " 111 go, and get ready to ride post for Scotland
to-morrow morning ; for I am sure before night the whole
city will be in an uproar, and they'll come and pull your
Majesty out of your Palace ; I'll get as far as I can, and de-
clare to my countrymen that 1 had no hand in it." Upon
which, the King said, " give me the warrant ; and taking it,
tore it in pieces."'

This fiction, the most impudent and ridiculous that waa
ever palmed by party malevolence upon political history,
attracted little or no attention, until Dr Birch gave it cur-
rency in 1756. It was most jesuitically adopted by Malcolm
Laing, who at the same time had not failed to perceive that the
anecdote was utterly at variance with the habits and temper
of the King. Recording it as an historical fact, he adds this
confused and contradictory quali6cation, — " The fact appears
to be more conformable to the precipitate counseh, than to the
character of Charles, who was arbitrary, but averse to the
execution of a sanguinary measure." Our historian had forgot-
ten, that the Marquis of Hamilton, the main source of the
King's " precipitate counsels," is figured to have been counsel on
the other side, and that the truth of the sSory is entirely depen-
dent upon the fact of the King himself having suddenly con-
ceived the iniquity, to the surprise and horror of his worst
counsellors.

The Earl of Loudon, whose commitment to the Tower was
notorious, lived to the year 1663, and not a whisper of his
having incurred any such jeopardy, ever reached the ear of
any one of " the Brethren," from that rampant rebel himself,
who certainly entertained no such feelings towards Charles

in his " Inqiiirv into the share which Ch>rt«s I. hul in (he TniiiB-
^rl of GlunorgBD,'* &c., givH lor history thi* moat absurd itorj',
nn the authority of " ■ moiioraHdiiM wriltcn by Dr W]ut« Kcnnet, then Bishop of
Peterborough, in the hljink leaf of his copy of Burnel'» Memoirs, now in poaiswon
of tb* Honourable Mr Oisrlw Vnrkc, r,f Lincoln'- Inn."

VISCOUNT or DUNDEE.

233

t

I

(
a

li

li

the First, as would have induced hiin to preserve silence on
the flubject. The time when he is said to have made so nar-
row an escape, was immediately prior to the meeting of the
, English Parliatnent in 1640. He was liberated upon the
27th of June thereafter, and instantly returned to Scotland,
[ carrying despatches from Me King himself, to his covenanting
I compatriots there. Not a hint then transpired, as the corres-
I pondence of his most intimate friends, the Reverend Robert
BaiUie, and Johnston of Warriston, alone suffices to demon-
etrate, that their favourite leader had just escaped from being
secretly put to death, in prison, without a liltel and without a

! trial, by the Sovereign from whom he brought those des-
patches, and to whom they were so virulently opposed.
Moreover, in the month of June, as tlie immediate prelimi-
nary to Loudon's liberation, he wrote with his own hand a
memorandum for Hamilton (yet preserved in the Hamilton
archives, among which no record of the alleged tvananl is to
be found) in terms most respectful and complimentary to the
King. It refers to various petitions previously presented to
his Majesty, in behalf of him, Loudon, now in the Tower, by
reason of the French letter. It excuses that letter upon seve-
ral grounds ; and in contrite and affectionate terms of loyalty,
begs the intercession of Hamilton with the King, for " such a
speedy delivery as may give demonstration to the world of his
Majesty's j«»(tcc and goodness." Surely there could have been
no warrant known to Ijoudon, to decapitate him in prison,
bejifre he had thus memorialized the favourite ; and Burnet
himself, in his Memoire of the Hamiltons, thus tells us what
instantly followed : " Upon this the Marquis pressed the King
much for my Lord Loudon's enlargement, since the Covenan-
ters made great noise with it in all their complaints, and
pretended that they durst send up no more commissioners,
and, therefore, they sent their Acts in the packet. Ho did
also show his Majesty, that he did know, by the Lieutenant
of the Tower, that Ijoudou was very fearful ; wherefore he
desired permission from the King to try what this /ear could
draw from him ; and to see if his enlargement, with the hopes
of ft noble reward, could eng^e him to the King's service ;

I which, if obtained, might prove of great advnntage, since the

^^

234 MKMUHlAIi> OF TlIK

irritations he bad received would make his advice less sus-
pected in Scotland : His Majesty approving of this, he treated
with Loudon, and found him abundantly pliant ; and so, on
the 26th of June, he agreed with him on these terms, which
he got under Loudon's hand, in two papers yet extant.*
These papers are also printed by Burnet, and not a little dis-
reputable they are to Loudon. He promises his earnest and
loyal exertions in favour of the King against his own com-
patriots, and to prevent the Scotch army from convening, or
crossing the border, — promises which Loudon did not, and
never could have meant to perform, as his whole conduct
evinces. " Upon this," proceeds the Bishop, " Loudon was en-
larged next day (27th June, 1640) and permitted to go down to
Scotland." Burnet has also printed the reply of the Committee
of Estates to the King's letter, \sTitten by the Secretary Lane-
rick, and brought by Loudon himself. The Committee's answer
is dated 7th July, 1640, and the first sentence of it runs thus :
" We received your Lordship's letter of the 27th of June from
the Lord Loudon, whose relief out of prison gives us occasion,
before we answer your Lordship's letter, to acknowledge the
same as an act of his Majesty's royal justice and goodness^ al-
though the pretended cause of his imprisonment was but a
malicious calumny of the enemies of the King's honour and
our peace, forged to engage both his Majesty's kingdoms in a
national war."

But what of that insane warrant to take Loudon's life in
prison ? Had he kept his thumb on that fact ? Could such
a fact have been for ever concealed from " the Brethren,^ and
left for the histories of the nineteenth century, in the hands
of Laing, Brodie, and Hallam ? Was the incident not an
" irritation" to the covenanting Earl which would have caused
the Covenanters to^make "great noise with it in all their
complaints" ? Baillie and Warriston were fellow labourers in
the vineyard with this notorious peer. They, too, were Com-
missioners from Scotland, on the part of the covenanting
government. To the enormity in question, not an allusion is
to be found throughout their volumnious correspondence. No
trace of it, indeed, has entered contemporary history. Sir
James Balfour, Bishop Guthry, Spalding, Sir Thomas Hope

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

230

1 his diary), ClureuJou, Whitelock, Saundersou, RuBhwortb,
I fir Tbomas Warwick, May, HeylJD, Nalson, — are all as aitent
I en the subject as Baillie and Warriston t The story is
'Use.']

Eccleeiastical affairs in Scotland daily wore a more alarm-
ing aspect. The people deserting the churches almost entirely
I'fD many districts, threatened the established clergy with all
I'Snaaner of violence, so that it was found expedient to put the
laws against the field preachers and their followers into execu-
tion. The western counties were particularly turbulent, which
may be accounted for iu the hereditary disaffection and preaby-
terianiam of sundry of the principal families who were then
b Iwpolar and powerful. Of theae, the Dalrymples of Stair were
I'VTer prominent m the anarchies of refono. As far back as the
I fifteenth century, Isabel Chalmers, goodwife of Stair, was ar-
I laigned for heresy ; and duriug the first efforts of Knox, he
I found the laird of Stair his follower and champion. In later
I limes, Gralloway had been greatly cornipted by the edifying en-
Ideavours of Samuel Rutherford, constituted Minister of An-
I worth by the Lord Kenmure, through the instigattous of his
llfidy, a violent devotee, and sistor to the Marquis of Argyle.
I She appears to have been wonderfully smitten with Samuel's
|i|P^!^, as his rapsodical talents were called, and carried on a
■«opions correspondence by letter with liim, during his imprison-
T Blent at Aberdeen, and long after. When the Viscount lay upon
\his deathbed, this witch of Eudor so terrified liim with the
fiparitions of Samuel, and his brother divines, that be seems
Lto have suffered the torments of damnation white yet upon
' earth. Lord Kenmure then considered his desertions from the
Parliament of the year 1G33, wliich he left to ingratiate him-
self with the King, as one of his greatest sins, saying, — " God
knoweth, I did it with fearful wrestUug of conscience, my
light paying me home within, when I seemed to be glad and
joyful before men." The dotard bad forgot that the King was
weak enough to make him a peer, wonJrously " glad and Joy-

' ISn this infoinnun oiilunin}', widi wliWb Ur llallniii, irry Grudeljr iiifonned,

• pollaod hit gnwt work, ilioroughlj' >ift«d, and complrtFl)' ivrui*il, in our

* MFinoriil* of Mrniimw mil him Timp-," printed for llii- M>ii1»iiil Oiib, vul. ii.

-tiii., ind RA-lOl. Liing'i tolIiorKiea nrr II i en brought lo IhaUM.)

230 UMORIAIJS OF THE

fdl,* that very year. For all Ute otii%r nonaenae whidk ka
flpoke, and had spoken to him, the reader ia referred to ^ Tha
last and heavenly speech of John, Viscount of Kenmnre,* and
the cnrions account of hia sickness and death published in the
Scotch Worthies.

The first tumults, on the placing of the Curates in tha
churches of the expelled ministers, were at Irongray, near
Dumfries, and at Kirkcudbright ; and though women weia
the prirvcipal ringleaders, it was well known that the oiker
sex, had they dared, would have been fully as insolent ; and
that Lord Kirkcudbright himself was at the bottom of the
latter riot, though from his rank and connections he escaped
punishment.

As it was now thought expedient to send forces into the
west to ov^erawe the insolence of the rabble and the machina-
tions of the gentry, the Lords of Privy Council pitched upon
Sir James Turner to command the troops, a gentleman of
English extraction, who, during the reign of King Charles the
First, had been employed to quell the puritanic ddsturbance of
these very regions. Though the more obstinate whigs were
severely fined, and soMiers quartered upon them in consider-
able numbers, nothing could eradicate their prejudices,, or im-
pede their machinations. The dreadful fire of London, which
occasioned an universal panic and confusion among all patriots
and good men, only warmed those wretches, and made the
froth of their wickedness boil over. Esteeming that juncture
of dismay most fit for insurrections, they hurried to arms,
pretending that Turner's barbarity, and more especially the
binding of an old rogue who refused to discharge Lis fine, was
the cause of their revolt. Bumety on the best authority, con-
tradicts the tale of the old man ; and all the dreadful narra«
tives, respecting lighted matches, whips and flames, are poorly
authenticated, for we have only the word of whigs for the
truth of them. Again, though in general mighty particular
ae to the names of their martyrs, not one fanatic historian I
have met with, gives the name of this injured old man ; and,
alas I the women who are said to have been violated by the
fting^e troops, during the commotions of those times, are in

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

237

the very eame predicament ; so that perb&pa it may not be
esteemed too sceptical should we rank the ancient gentleman
in the same degree of reullty with Sinbad the Sailor's rider,
ftod the outraged damsels with St Ursula and her nine
thousand virgins.

»It is certain, however, that a body of eothusiaste, led on by
U'Lelland of Barscob, Keilson of Corsack, and others, after
lianng seized sevexal of the military, and murdered one
soldier who offered to make resistence, poured down upon
Dumfries, where Sir James Turner then was, and laid hold
upon him before he entertained the smallest suspicion of their
approach. They searched also for the clergyman, but he had
fled. They secured Turner's papers of every kind, and a con-
siderable sum of money which bad been transmitted from
Edinburgh to pay the troops, and collected from persons fined
for nonconformity. But this treasure they entnisted to the
onstody of a weak brother, who fled away with the whole of
it ; such good faith was among the covenanted godly ! Carry-
ing off Sir James Turner in triumph, they marched to Lanark,
and there renewed their beloved Sokmn League. Their num-
bers had now increased to fifteen hundred hor^ and foot,
commanded by the lairds already mentioned, together with ft
Colonel Wallace, a Colonel Grey, Major Ijcarmont (originally
a Tailor, which Wodrow will not allow), and some othem.
Hearing that General Thomas Dalyell approached with troops,
they resolved to continue at Lanark, supposing that the Gene*
ral would find it almost impracticable to paM the Clyde
swelled with the rains, and hoping for reinforcements from
different quarters. But a letter from Hir James Stewart
altered their plans ; and through mire and snow they proceeded
to CoUington. Ready to cut each others throat«, and half
dead with cold and fatigue they approached Edinburgh. By
desertion their number waa now roduce'l to eight hundred
men, with nothing to resist hunger and despair but fury and
the Covenant. The gat*s of Edinburgh were so utriclly
guarded that none of their friends could issae oat to comfort
them. In this dilemma, attempting to retreat thnragh the
Pentland hills, they were awailed by their evil senins Oeoeral

238

SlF.MORlAl^ 0¥ THK

reached them iii the evening of 8 clear and sunny day. The
whigs encouraged themselves by singing the 74th and 78th
Psalms, while drawn up in battle array. One of tlieir troops,
commanded by M'CIelLind of Bannaghew, and Crobkshanks,
at first repulsed a party of the Royal Army, commanded by i
Brummond ; and lu this skirmish Duke Unmilton was nearly
slain by a blow from a cudgel of the Covenant. But the whole |
body of the rebels was quickly put to the rout, aud greatly. ■
indebted to the shades of night, but more to the commiser&- J
tion of the King's troops, that not above fifty were destroyed, f
A hundred and thirty were taken in the pursuit ; and several I
were despatched by the inhabitauts of the vicinity, untainteci,
as it would appear, by the prevailing systems of disloyalty.
But what is still more wonderful, all the misery which those
deluded wretches endured, appeared but nugatory in the eyes
of their nefarious pastors. Sometime after this disaster, Maa
Richard Cameron, one of their preachers, exclaimed at i
western conventicle; — "0 sad to think upon the west of
Scotland 1 I know no place wherein more \vill go to hell than
in the west of Scotland. The wild Highlands have not sitten
so many calls as thou hast done. I would not have the
accoinpts on my head, that you professors in Clydesdale, Ayr,
Galloway, and Tweedale, have, for all the world." The Arch-
bishop, in the absence of Rotbes aud Lauderdale, the latter of
whom, if he did not actually foment the insurrection, heartily
rejoiced at it as a meaus of getting Scotland still more into
his power, gave all the necessary orders respecting the motions
of the troops ; and it is worthy of remark, that this wise pre^
late returned no answer to an offer made to the Council by
the Earl of Argyle, who had raised fifteen hundred men, — •
of his services during the rebellion. The Archbishop was
convinced that were Argyle to descend from the Highlands
with his troops, either the leader, or the men, or both, would
most certainly join the rebels.

General Dalyell, the son of Thomas Dalycll of Biuns, was

bom about 1599. At an early period of life he adopted the
militarj' profession , and adhered to the cause of Charles I, Ha '
commanded at Carrickfergus in Ireland, and was there taken

iteft

VISCODN'T or DUNDEE.

(ttieoDer. 1650. Again, 1651, he was taken prisoner rI the
bftttle of Worcester, ami carried to the Tower, from whence
he escaped ; after which his estates were forfeited, and himself
exempted from the general act of indemnity. Charles the
Second recommended Uulyell, for his eminent courage and
fidelity, t« Prince Radzivil, the King of Poland, and other
foreign dignitaries, in the years 1G55 and 1650. The Czar of
Muscovy, Alexis Michaelovitch, under whose banner he fought
courageously against the Turks and Tartars, for his great
ravery and military conduct promoted him to the rank of
■General, and on his return to Scotland, ordered a testimony of
, in the most honourable terms, to pass the Great
' He was bred up very hardy from his youth," says
/ftptain Creichton, " both in diet and clothing : He never wore
►ots, nor above one coat, which was close to his body, with
■Cloee sleeves, like those we call jockey-coals : He never wore
mH peruke, nor did he shave hia beard since the murder of King
' Charles I. In my time his head was bald, which he covered
only with a beaver hat, the brim of which was not above three
inches broad ; His beard was white and bushy, and yet reach-
ed down almost to his girdle : He usually went to London once
or twice a-year, and then only to kiss the King's hand, who
hftd a great esteem for his worth and valour. His unusual
dress and figure, when ho was in London, never failed to draw
after him a great crowd of boys, and other young people, who
constantly attended at his lodgings, and followed him with
hvaas as he went to Court, or returned from it. As he was a
man of humour,lie would always thank them for their civilities,
vhen he left them at the door U) go into the King, and would
let them know emctttf at what hotir he intended to come out
again, and return to his lodgings. Whiu the King walked in
the Park, attended by some of hia courtiers, and Dulyell in
his company, the same crowds would always be al'ter him,
showing their admiration of his beard and dress, so that the
King could hardly pa«iB on for the crowd ; npon which hia
Hajesty bid the devil take Dal^eU, for bringing such a rabble
of boys to have their <jtita squeezed out. while ihey gaped at his
long heard and antic habit, rrjqueeting him at tlie same time
(an Dalyell used to exprena it) to shave, and ilreas like other

240

UEUORIAI^ OF THK

Christiana, to keep the poor baima out of danger : All Uiis
could never prevail on him to part vHh his beard ; hut yet, in
compliance to bis Majesty, he went once to Coiirt in the very
height of the /aahion; but as soon as the King, and tho&e
about him, had laughed Bufiiciently at the Btrange figure h»
made, he re-assumed his usual habit, to the great Joy 0/ the
hoys, who had not discovered him in his fashionable dress."
The accusation of being a wizard, Dalyell shared with almost
all the active loyalists of his time ; whom, however, if we can
trust the author of " Grod's Judgments," ho so far exceeded in
" devilish sophistry, that he sometimes beguiled the Devil, or
rather his master suffered himself to bo outwitted by him,"
He has also been denounced as a person of manners singularly
rude and brutal, chiefiy because, at an examination of whiga
before the Privy Council, b© struck one Gamock — who had
railed against him as " a Muacovie beast tliat roasted men" —
with the pommel of bis sword, till the blood sprang. But it
should be remembered that soldiers are not wont to bear such
epithets tamely. " By my troth, captain, these are very
bitter words!" And, moreover, at that period, a liberality in
bestowing of blows was practised by the liigher ranks towards
their inferiors, now scarcely credible. In almost every comedy
of that age, the fine gentleman, as he is called, beatti his valet-
de-chambre, and generally his whole household, whenever a
fit of ill-humour incites him to exercise his cane ; and this
brutality must have commonly prevailed, else it would not
have been suffered on the stage.'

The day after the battle of Pentland, the prisoners wero
escorted into Edinburgh by Dalyell's troops, with banners dis-
played, and shouts of victory, to the rage and sorrow of the
whigs. Nay, as they passed through the suburbs, where one
Mr Arthur Murray, an ejected minister, dwelt, he looked from
his window upon (he procession, and going immediately in a
pet to bed, actually yielded up his indignant ghost. The re-
bels were secured in that part of St Giles's Church called

I
I

' (We ihill find Bome very cliaracwrislio ti
irded hy ClKverhouse (who RufTered itiucli vex
hii oorreqwodeaee, eonUitnd is ■ Bulmque

k

VISCODNT OF DDNDEK.

241

i

Haddo'a Hole, from Sir John Gordon of Haddo (father of the
first Earl of Aberdeen), who, for his loyalty, was there confined
by the C'ovenaut«r6, previous to his cruel execution. They
were treated with much lenity, the Bishop of Edinburgh
(Wishart) daily sending tliem liberal supplies at his own ex-
pense, as aware, from experience, of the miseries attending in-
carceration. The Covenanters (when in the ascendant) hating
this good man as the chaplain of Montrose, and an enemy to
their principles, confined him for seven months in a dark
noisome dungeon, and in that time allowed him a change of
linen only once, so that he was almost devoured by vermin ;
and also by rats, which attaclccd liis face so voraciously, that
he bore the marks of them to his death.

Several of the whigs were tried and executed, who might
have preserved their lives by rcnounciug the Solemn League.
Of these, Hugh M'Kail, a young preacher, and a very comely
graceful person (according to Wodrow), excited much com-
miseration, especially among the fair sex, whose natural ten-
derness of heart is greatly increased by the influence of mas-
culine beauty. He was suspected of knowing secrets regard-
ing the share which the whig party in England had in the late
motions of their Scottish friends, and was put into the boots
to extort a confession. But a man who will not renounce the
Covenant to save his life, will hardly reveal a secret to protect
his leg,' and M'Kail remained obstinate. Ncilson of Corsock
was tortured at the same time. They were examined by
Rothes. Kirkton says, " the executioner favoured Mr M'Kail,
but Corsock was cruelly tormented, and acreiijht fur puin, (w
as to have moved a heart of stone." But, by his account, it
did not move that of Uothes, who called frc'iuently for " tlie
other touch," that is, another blow on the wedge.* Corsock
was an old rogue, M'Kail a young I'ool, and Hotlies know

' [Mr Murp* wiK li<>n? moTv iotenc upon hi* antitlieiis, than thn ■oundoea oThU
pnpoaltliiii. The ditud uf tnrtare is grolcr than tiio fc^r of de«lh, or that tilo
nminUcnnoa at our criminal Juriiiinidoniv, pnilaDgHl by King WltlUni blmwir
into the rra of tha Revolution, •nuM ncvor havg difgraccil iJin cuuolry.]

* [ Bui it mui ever l» licpt in mltid, that lb* tBuatical venlnn u( mr\\ iMnM,
roeorded b; Kirkton, and chranif lori of that wunp, ar* Urn Iw*! to be tnuted of
■II vrltten eridcDce. Ituthe* wm humane, — not aatage lilia Laud«rdale. E*od
Wodrow wa* uttcrij' rreanlln* cf faimeai arul tnilb in hta nwrtjrolngio*.]

Hi

i

242 mi:mokiai.s of the

well how to distinguish persons. After some other severities,
which had very little effect, the army was withdrawn from
the western shires, and affairs wore a milder aspect, till an
attempt upon the life of the Primate once more gave the
alarm, and convinced all unprejudiced persons, that every
species of conciliation was completely wasted on the fanatics.
This crime was meditated by James Mitchell, a wretch who
had studied divinity, or rather devilry^ under Mr James Dick-
son, but, on attempting to take orders in the Presbyterian
fashion, was rejected by the Presl)ytery of Dalkeith for igno-
rance. This " weak scholar," as even Kirkton confesses him to
have been, then got into the household of the Laird of Dun-
das, w^here he held the office of pedagogue to the children (a
pretty pedagogTie), and chaplain to their parents. But falling
in love with a young woman, wife to the ancient gardener of
Dundas, he contrived to gain her good graces so thoroughly
that she paid him a nightly visit in his bed-chamber, a kind of
summer-house, built upon the garden wall. The other ser-
vants of the house, observing this little intrigue, one night
turned the key upon the lovers, and then informed their
master of the whole affair. Meanwhile, after a convenient
space, Dulcinea must begone. But lo I the door is fast. Mr
James having considered on the most proper course, whips off
his shirt, and, the lady holding the end of it, lowers her down
to the ground. But his master, seeing him " like a filthy
garden-god upon the wall," without a rag to conceal his sins,
turns him out of the house in all the disgrace imaginable.
Mitchell then repaired to Edinburgh, and for some years re-
sided in the Cowgate, in the house of one Grissel Whiteford, —
the whig historians for the more grace style her Mistress, —
where he enjoyed the edifying company of the celebrated
Major Weir, his fellow-lodger, of whom more by-and-bye.
Having joined the Pentland insurrection, he fled to Flanders ;
but returning sometime after to Scotland, resolved to realize
what had already had been predicted by sundry Presbyterian
oracles, and assassinate the Archbishop of St. Andrews. On
Saturday, the 11th of July 1668, while the Primate was seat-
ed in his coacli at the head of Blackfriars Wynd in Edinburgh,
blessing the people passing by (according to the fashion of the

VISfOtINT OF DLNnKi;.

243

I*

times), Milchcll discharged at him a pistol IfiadoJ with three
balls. But Honeymau, Bishop of Orkney, at that motnent
entering the carriage, received the shot in his arm, which was
so dreadfully mangled, that, after languishing for some years,
he died, iji consequence of the wound. In the confusion in-
cident to an attempt of this nature, James Mitchell made off
and escaped ; but was taken a long time after, and brought to
trial He was a lean hollow cheeked man, says Dr Hicks;'
and, though on a promise of his life, be hud confessed his guilt
to the Lords of Privy Council, yet, through a fear of having
his hands cut oW, oa is alleged, he thought fit to deny all
again liefore the Lords of Justiciary, Upon this, the Privy
Council retracted their promise, chiefly granted for the sake
of discovering liis accomplices, as his own part of the crime
could easily he proven, and linally had him hanged. This has
been termed a base action in the Council ; but the FuritEins
had taught people of all persuasions to be subtle casuists, and,
no doubt, the Lords reconciled their conduct to their con-
sciences. This villain appeared at the bar with a powdered
periwig, and a brazen face ; for it is quite wonderful to consi-
der with what assurance he latterly persisted in his denial,
and with what insolence he Iwhaved to the Council. Mr
Charles Iklaitland of Hatton, Lord Treasurer Depute, told him
that be was one of the most arrogant cheats, liars, and rogues
that he had ever bebeld. In a letter written after his sen-
tence, he left his ttstiiwmy against, and abhorrence of, " Balls,
bordoUes, mountebanks, acts of comedies, festival days, viz.
at Yule and Pent«co8t, which are all the product of a profane
and perfidious clergy, all of them being instigated by8utan, as

^^_ lion

' [Tb< account of Ihi* vill*iu, wbn »■■ eluvaifij \iy Hi* nnlul* U) tli
bccAiua bis Tillutj' took tliu Uim uf tniirderliig Hitliupii, ww pubilaJxil *o cu-ljr m
l<i7B, in " RavilUe Rwliviviu," MiJ In be hj Ur llick» ; ■ nuuw. pi'rfarmancr
(having Tcry Fiwr« matter tu cl«al witli], but iliu Inilli uf *lircli there ia no rtaaoii
tu iluubt. Tho roinuM ilnlmilii h* r«n>rd>>, in tl>v vpry veur of Mitnhell'i eiwmtion,
war* BDt of ft nature to )•■ in*ufit*il by ■ c(Mitnn|>urar}', (wiin cmld Iwve bera tanl}
dotHtlnl,) anil moat liara bwo nnUirioaaal tlie \\iar. Thi-)- ar« CTmbrmiMl in ninir
nefwota by the ailniiMuua of tlin ranatiml wrili-n lln^mwlven, wlin» onl; drfmM
of Hilahrti cunidatB in blaLinl Hboae of hi* juitgi'^ Bad ibcir blarptiemoti* uantnf-
lion that hr *tr\ti unitrr a diiinr iapolt*, or mU, to prfunn " ttir wnrk of nwl,"

•>rin

'l

2 U MUMORI ALS or THE

fitte«l instruments for erecting and stirring up of lust to thia
apostati3 and rebellious generation against God, his truth.
Covenant, and people, and cause."

Jarnes, after\vards Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees, in a Tery
tedious and treasonable book which he called Jus Populi Vin-
dicafum, printed in 1669, talking of Fhineas's exploit, lavishes
a quantity of ill-written abuse on Bishop Honeyman, alleging
that he became captious " from his green w^ound," which he
got " per acctJens, because of ill-company," — and so had written
an answer to Napthali, another such edifying Christian tract
as this of Jxc8 Populi. They were both long the text-books of
the zealots. Indeed Sir James Stewart himself wrote part of
Napthali.

James Mitchell, a man such as I have described, who would
make no mean figure in the Newgate Kalendar, was placed by
the Covenanters in their list of Martyrs ; and about two years
after his attempt, tlicy might have added another, who seems
only to have missed that distinction by never attempting to
commit violence on an established clergyman.

I allude to Mitchell's friend, the noted Major Weir. He
had been a vehement reformer of the meaner sort during the
Civil Wars, and having for some time commanded the Town
Guard of Edinburgh, was dignified with the title of Major,
On the Marquis of Montrose's imprisonment, previous to his
murder. Weir was shut up with him in his cell, as a sort of
keeper, and employed to smoke tobacco without cessation, the
effluvia of which was very offensive to the noble captive. But
not contented with that indignity, he loaded him with the
bitterest reproaches that malice could devise, or a tongue of
wonderful nimbleness utter. His fluency in exhortation and
prayer was prodigious ; which, together with his constancy
to the Covenant, made him be in great request among the
enthusiasts, after the Restoration. The pious burghers of
Edinburgh wooed him from house to house, to ejaculate his
edifying effusions, and their wives could get little comfort in
prayer without the assistance of Major Weir. At the age of
8eventy,bowed down with years andpenury,did this old monster
repair to the Magistrates of Edinburgh, and make a confession
of crimes that cannot be particularized. In his relations, false-

4

TISCOl'NT OF DUNDEE.

24 ■>

1

I

Iiood was miugied with truth. Amid many favours obtained
from corporeal demons, Le boasted those of the Devil tmder
the shape of & fair young lady, and nurraled a prodi^poufl
series of sorcery in which his sister Jean, who resided in the
same house, and was nearly as aged as Iiimself, l>ore a di»-
tinguisliod part. Tliey were both executed for tlieir crimoa.
The Major, with his conjuring staff, burnt on Leith Walk ;
and Jean hanged in the Grassmarket of Edinburgh. At her
execution, amid all the horrors of a troubled conscience, and
a violent death, her fond remembrance of the Solemn League
and Covenant is extremely remarkable, and recorded by Mr
Sinclair,' ■ft-ith a simplicity very suitable to the circumstance,
" In the morning before her execution," says this Professor
of Natural Philosophy, " she told the minister she resolved to
die with all the aflame she could, to expiate under mercy her
shameful life: Ascending the ladder, she spoke somewhat
confusedly of her sins, of her brother and his enchanting staff,
and with a ghastly countenance, beholding a multitude of
spectators all wondering, and some weeping, she sjwke aloud, —
• there are many here this day wondering and greeting for me,
but, alas 1 few mourn for a broken Covenant ;' at which words
many seemed angry ; some called to her to mind higher con-
cerns ; and, I have heard it said, that the preacher declared
he bad much ado to keep a com^>oeed countenance. The exe-
cutioner falling about liis duty, she prepared to die stark
nuked! Then, and not before, wore her words relating to
«Jta7ne understood. The hangman struggled with her to keep
oQ her clothes, and she struggled with him to have them off.
At liifit ho was forced U\ throw hor over open-factd, which af-
terwards he covered with a cloth."* This happened in the
month of April 1670.

It was at length deemed expedient, in the year IfiG!), that
an indulgence should be granted to the whigs ; that several
of their preachers should Ito placed in as many churches as

[Mr ncorsa Slnrlnlr, Prar«r«i>r at rhiliMophy in tlie Cnllpge of Glugn«, in lii*
» Sktsno laviollito Wnrid Uiwarvd.")

[The lul dTurl ut th<> wrrtdu^ orealan wu In lliniat I»t hnd botorvn iiro
«l*)M of tb* gallowt ladiliT, rn4n whJcli Ketch luil wiiiio iliffionlii in eitrimine i' )

240 MEMUKIAI-S OF TUE

were vacant, and twenty pounds sterling a-year settled on the
rest, till opportunities of providing for them occurred. Of the
sons of Belial who were ottered the pension, not a soul accepted
it, esteeming it a bril»o to be silent on topics which alone ren-
dered their conventicles much more lucrative. But forty
ejected ministers had the condescension to occupy churches,
after being expressly prohibited from preaching out of doors,
or meddling, in their discourses, with civil att^airs and eccle-
siastical government. This was certainly a cruel restriction,
seeing that these y)ersons had been accustomed to consider,
and declaim upon, such subjects alone, and were wretchedly
ignorant in respect of morality and the principles of religion.
But the learned whigs quickly found themselves in the same
predicament with the curates. The people preferred treason
in the open air to tnith under cover ; and more than ever fre-
quented the field conventicles, at which resistance to every
human poicer, but that of the Kirk, and the most bloody ven-
geance, against all its persecutors, were inculcated as meri-
torious in the sight of God, if not absolutely necessary to-
wards salvation.

The reader is referred to Bishop Burnet for a more particu-
lar account of the further concessions made, and the wonderful
eflronterj' with which they were rejected. Lauderdale, who
for a while was smoothed down to gentle courses, partly
through the persuasion of his friends, and partly to mortify
the Archbishop of St Andrews, whom he supposed such nego-
tiations and indulgencies would gall, at length lost all patience.
He procured severe acts against conventicles to be passed,
which not only rendered the landlords, on whose grounds they
were held, liable to large fines, but authorised heavy punish-
ments on those who attended tliem, and on the ministers them-
selves. This, as he had long retained the leaven of the Cove-
nant in his own bosom, was also in a great measure attributed
to tlie influence of liis wife, a woman every w^ay extraordinary
and matchless.*

' [TIiu idea tiiat to tliiii or that iniliviUual Btatesinan, or to the *' influence of his
wife," in to be attributed what has been called *< severe aets against conyenticles,*'
we believe to be a fanciful modern Kpeculation. The beau ideal of a Scotch con-
Vifiiticlo is something wry different from the coai*8e and dangerous I'ealif^ with

/

VISWUNT OF DUNDEE.

247

She was the dauglitcr of William Murniy, stm yf the neodj
miatater of Dysart, aad uephew of Charles the First's peda-
gogue, who got bis relative placed ahoiit his piii>il in the
station of page, and whipping boy, a creature to he beaten
wheDever tho Prince was uaughty, in order to scare him with
the sight of puiiiBhment. As the King is said to have heen
a veryj'rowaid child, young Murray would suilVr lu propor-
tion i and it is to be presumed, that his flagellations obtained
the gratitude of his master, whose favour he oujoyed during a
long train of treachery, in which ho extorted forty tbousand
inerks from Parliament for betraying hia benefactor's secrets.
At last be procured the patent of au Earldom, which was
really signed at Newcastle, though he prevailed with the King
to antedate it, that he might enjoy precedence over some ptT-
sona whom be bated, being beyoud measure luiilicious and re-
vengeful. But this pateut did not pass under the Great Sea!
till after Cbiirles'a death, bo that in reality it was good for
nothing. This egregious knave was he who sent advertise-
ment to the Governor of Hull, advisiug him as a friend not to
admit the King, as he was resolved, if master of the town, to
secure biin, and cut off his bcail. He married Elizahctb Bruce,
of the Clackmannan family, and by her bad two daughters, of
whom, the eldesi, aftorwardft Duchess of Lauderdale, was
wedded to Sir Ijiouel Talmash of Rnfi'olk, and, at her Xather's
death, assumed the title of Uysart,

"^^-iilieftas a woman of beauty, and vast abilities. Her quick-
iieBs orappwUiensiou, and her vivacity of wit, wore prothgious ;
and Xo these gifftof nature, eho added a fund of literature,
which, even in this ago of le^imedladiea, wonhl l>e esteemed
imcommon ; for she not only understood dignity, history, and
philosophy, but oven mathematics. With all these advantages
she wast totally devoid of principle, and so outrageously covel-
nua, that lior hunger of ricbe-8 couUl never Ite satiated. During
th<! life of her first husband she was intimate with Laurlerdale,

«lilch tbr gnvsninwiilof Charlw tlw SmooiI hid to dnl. How, at this iky, would
iliK Miaur«li)r iiT Kagtand dni aiih Inland under ■imllar ciminuUDco^ If a iimt*
diqiw of aniliidiiua primia, vvn- ilninuiiuilf ^rainininii iwuluiiaii In Qtui'di and
Sblta UinniRluiul llie Ktiipiip, bj iiimii* of Hidi iii>iitii>«-»t> ao K>u»li>% priimd
I coiiirnllrii'* fur tlmt paTfiaf l|

248 MEMORIALS OF THE

and subsequently persuaded liim that she had saved his life,
after Worcester fight, through her influence with Cromwell ;
who also was her admirer, and, if report erred not, had little
reason to complain of her cruelty. But Oliver broke oflf his
own intrigue, when the scandal of it found circulation, through
the same principle which made him always visit General
Lambert's ^vife with the Bible under his arm. It is probable
enough that he made Lady Dysart a present of Lauderdale's
life, for it was no uncommon thing with him to dispose of his
captives to ladies. Walker tells us, that after the battle of
Dunbar a thousand of the wounded men were, " in a gallantry,"
sent by Cromwell to Elizabeth, Countess of Winton, daughter
of John Lord Ilerris. Voltaire asserts, that Lambert's wife
loved Lord Holland (the reputed favourite of Henrietta Maria),
" qui servait dans I'armee du Roi : Cromwell le prend prison-
nier dans une battaille, et juoit du plaisir de faire trancher la
t^te a son rival." After the Restoration, Lady Dysart imagined
that Lauderdale did not appear sufficiently grateful for past
favours, and a suspension of all intercourse took place during
some years. But her husband's death reconciled the lovers,
whose intimacy became so scandalous, that Lauderdale's wife,
a daughter of Lord Home, could no longer endure the indig-
nity, but retired to Paris, where she died, leaving one daughter,
afterwapds married to the Earl of Tweeddale, then Lord
Tester ; — " a spcndid glorious marriage at Court," says Kirk-
ton, " the King himself leading the bride uncovered to the
church." Lady Dysart in process of time persuaded her para-
mour to make her an honest woman, and gained so complete
an ascendancy, that she contrived to incite him to quarrel with
all his oldest and best friends, among the rest, with Sir Robert
Murray (whom her father had fixed upon as a husband for
her), by pretending that he everj^vhere gave himself the credit
of governing Lauderdale. \Vhen the Earl achieved the su-
preme command of Scotland, she came down to that astonish-
ed country in great pomp, and conducted herself with such
overweening insolence, that she might have been mistaken for
hereditary Princess of the three kingdoms, instead of grand-
daugliter to the low-born minister of Dysart. She talked with
unbounded licence of every body; set up all places in the

\

VISCOUNT UF DUNDEE. 249

Scottinli governtueiit to sale, with as little shame as cheapness ',
and levied contributions wherever she went. She, " in great
wrath," even publicly threatened tho Magistrates of Edinburgh
for not giving her a present, notwithstundiug of all the good
she said that she hud done to them ; though her favours were
not very obvious, and the Town Council had digposod of ahout
seventeen thousand pounds sterling between her husband and
his creatures. Of two daughters, whom she had by her first
spotise, Kirkton says, — " she thought she might make a better
market in Scotland than in England ; otic of them she thought
to have matched to the Lord Murray, the heir to the Marquis
of Athole, my Lady's chief, whom she had so much engaged ;
but the proposal was rejected, which made her turn her friend-
ship into hatred and threatenings ; however, one daughter
she married ta Argyle's heir (which was a most unhappy mar-
riage), and another to the Earl of Murray, and so she got her
businosB done in her noble manner." The whole tenor of her
conduct has no parallel in Scottish history.

The standing forces in Scotland had been dispersed at the
Restoration ; and, in the year 1674, the military power con-
sisted only of one troop of horse-giiards, commanded by the
Marquis of Athole, and one regiment of foot-guards, under the
Earl of Linlithgow. The Presbyterian disturbances demand-
ing a greater force, the King was induced to make the addi-
tions mentioned before, and, about the same time, it was
thought expedient that a body of Highlanders, under the com-
mand of the Lords Athole, Murray, Caithness, Perth, Strath-
more, and Airly, together with Linlithgow's troop, should be
showered upon the western shires, to improve their sterile
loyalty. Tho Hi(i;hlandnien, after l>eing led through Clydes-
dale, Itenfrewshiro, Cunningham, Kyle, and Carrick, were
withdrun-it, exhibiting in a wonderful degrL-o the more humane
characteristics of those simple mountuincers. Neither the
honour of the lowland women, nor tho hvos of the men, were
destroyed in a single instance, ovi-n iift*r one of the band had
been murdered by a Presbyterian, in defence of his house,
which his principles had made liable to he plundered.

<'aptHin rirnhain nC riiiviTlmiiMi', shortly uftcr his promo-

250 MKMORIAIJS OF TUE

tion, was ordered with his troop into Galloway, whither
" the Highland Host" had not extended, to suppress the inso-
lency of the inhahitants. Convinced that severity was the
only caustic proper for such boils, he quartered his men upon
the refractory, and, by fining, attempted to reduce them to
obedience. But his efforts at that time were crowned with
slender success. The plirenzy of covenants, conspiracies, and
commotion, again inflated tlie vulgar. Disguising themselves,
and, in the night, thoy entered by force the houses of the
Episcopal clergy, to boat and abuse their wives and themselves.
Tht y rofiisod to pay the Cess, or tax levied by Government for
supiK>rt of the army. The lowest strumpets and vagabonds
Kwuno skilful in iK»lomical controversy. The shepherds dis-
cussed tvolosiasiical abuses, like those of Spencer in the Sep-
i^'UiIht of his Kt'K>guos ; and to such a pitch was enthusiasm
oxaliod, that the very hangman grew metaphysical, and re-
lus<\l to oxoouto rebels. For this obstinacy, William Suther-
land, the Kitch of Irvine, was seated by Kothes in the stocks,
when' ho do scant ovl, to the ailmiration of his hearers, on the
jfi\^- tyu'cs [XsMv^ trains'^ of the bishops, saying, — " How know
vo but t!io l.v^rvl hath revealed more to me than to your
I'-.slio^'S with ihoir side tails?"

riu' sv\oriry of Olavorhouso in the west, is prodigiously
o\.-C:^\v;»tovl by tho pious AWnirow, whose huge chronicle,
,v»vi\\M\l of narraiions furnished by the Presbyterians them-
M'I\xx. I-.ko our nu^K ru pooracos, is a mass of tiresome false-
li.vxl iliouiih iho founiainhoad from which succeeding whig
\\nioi-^ha\o iuiMlvd thoir waters of bitt^rness.^ Yet, with
M I ho tvxoivuvl gvssip's disingonuity, after a declamation re-
sjvoitui; Kubannis oruolty, and 1 know not what, we aresome-
\\b„a i^^l^M\lshovl iv* tind tho philippic founded on such a cir-
,'uu\^t;u\oo as this: *' dauios," — it should be John, — " Graham
of rlaxors. with a uuniorous party of soldiers, came andquar-
toivd ujsMi iJillvrt MMoikon, in New Glenluce parish, for a
^'vsni many days, without paying any tiling; and when they

StwinH* ^*^^ form**** * |H?rfoctly just estimate of Wwlrow, as we have illus-
^ lS»ri I of ihoiK* MviMorialR. It is curious to ww the blunder, is to tho
li,»hsl »« f iiau^rh- u^o, whioh Mr Sharpo had obMJivcd in Wodrow, cro|>-

1 Uvimwu '^1*^/' ^^^^^^ j^^.|, ^nU pn»lifi*- «»i*t»«i«- «w»l «•« I-<"d MacaulavV]

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

2D1

I

'went off, though they had cousumed leu times the value of
the cesB (tax), they carried with them three horses worth teu
pounds sterling" ! I ! John iVrroU, who eommauded the party,
contiuues the reverend author with triumph, " was killed next
year at Dnimclog, and had Lis bowels trod out by a horse," a
Judgment upon him for carrying away Gilbert's three foundered
jades, we may all be very certain.

In the month of March 1679, the Privy Council, finding
the fanatic disorders rather increase than diminish, resolved
.' to nominate Sheriffs Depute for sundry of the shires, and re-
hired writs of deputation from the Sheriffs principal to con-
firm them in their posts. Captain Graliam, and Captain An-
drew Bruce of Earlsball, were constituted Sheriffs Depute of
Dumfries, Wigton, and the Stewartrics of Annandale and
Kirkcudbright ; by no means to the satisfaction of William,
Earl (afterwiirds Duke) of Queeusberry, the Sheriff of Dum-
friesshire, who seems to have disliked Qraham exceedingly ;>
in all probability because his reputation was becoming bril-
liant, and Queenshorry could endure no active partner in the
government of that portion of Scotland.

Queensberry was a man of great genius, unimproved, as it
would appear, by literature. A favourite at Court, the mea-
sures of which he strenuously promoted, yet he at last shrunk
buck from the fatal folhes of King James.^ He attained signal
bonoiu-s, and a prodigious estate. His violent and dictatorial
temper made him obnoxious to many persons of his own rank,
uid hated by the vulgar, who, after his exertions in repressing
oonvcnticles, and apprehending whigs, gave him the nick-
name of " The Deil o' Drumlanrig," similar to that bestowed
upon Philip II, of Spain, who was termed " Uvmon Meri-
dianua" the Ueil of the South. With all his immense riches,
Queensberry was attentive to the shghtest articles of expen-
diture in hia houseliold, and constantly canting about being

' [QuHntborr; vm *xtr«niel;f jwlous of tlic ritiDg Cl>»rhaiiiw, bui ytt hnld
bim In IiikIi MWem. KnawiiigtlM vsluauf lii* ibili lit* anil eiici^j' lo ihe royml oiur,
be greatly promolcil liia advuMcnienL Had Mr 8lur]ia teun Ihc onrnMiHiiiiUec*
wa arenuw eiMblnl to priHluea, ho would Imvamndilicd ihn cxprmaioii llmt UiiM-nn-
hurry '• ilmtlkiHl Uraluiu emmilinKl^.'']

• [(tu»<»l»ri-. .l.-wrv,. ur<Mi nvM hr (lii- ■- oliriiikii'K b.ick." ..■• or olull

li...l ]

252 MEMORIALS OF THE

cheated, while lie himself was attempting to overreach all his
neighbours. His wife, a daughter of the Marquis of Douglas,
lived on the worst terms imaginable with him. He would
neither allow her command of the servants, pin-money, or
wine, of which last article her Grace appears to have been
somewhat fond. In a piteous letter to the Laird of Dornock,
she says, — " And now, I declare to you, that I have not at this
time one farthing ; neither do I know how to get it, seeing I
find nothing in the instructions for it. I have lately got from
Mr John Richardson six dollars, but have bestowed it all upon
things for my daughter, and some small things for myself ;
and you know that I cannot want [do without] some money
to do any little business with, — if it were to send for the
doctor, or any other little account. So pray let me know what
I shall do during the time I am to stay here. Let me have your
advice, with the first, or else some money, for it is not possible
I can want The wine is very ill here [Edinburgh], and is
prejudicial for my health ; and, therefore, it is very hard that
my Lord will not send me in some of his. Pray speak to hin>
in this, for this wine does me a great deal of hurt."

In another epistle to the same gentleman, she says, — " Tell
my Lord I must buy linen for a gown, which will cost about
three or four pounds sterling, and see if he will send it. I
have changed one of my gowns into a night manteau, and am
necessitat to make up another. I keep not my health well ;
which I impute to the ill wine that is here ; the wine that
William Douglas gave me is turned sourish, that I can hardly
drink it ; pray, see if my Lord will let me have any of his for
my health." Queensberry had also many quarrels with his son,
Lord Drumlanrig ; while, on the other hand, Lady Drumlanrig
and her sister. Lady Anno, were at deadly feud. But the whole
family seemed most attentive to economy ; and the Duke's
sister. Lady Margaret Jardine, carried love of money to a
pitch scarcely credible. Though married to an opulent Baro-
net, she would, for a halfpenny, bear people on her shoulders
across the river Annan, which flows near the wall of her
spouse's mansion ; and when there was a fair, or a field preach-
ing in the neighbourhood, would sit on the banks of the
stream the whole day in expectation of cu8tt»mer8. She gene-

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNUEE. 253

rally wore raga ; but carried, when visiting, articles of finery
in a napkin, which she would slip on before she entered the
house. Her head gear of ceremony sLe called her Cachipe.^

Queenaberry, however unwilling, was compelled to grant
Captain Graham of Claverhouse his deputation ; which is sub-
joined from a draught in my possession that has neither been
filled up nor signed.* The first occasion of offence given by
Graham to the Earl seems to have been respecting locality, or
the proportion of provender which was to be furuished to his
troops of horse and dragoons from certain parishes in Dum-
friesshire. On this subject, he thus writes to one of his con-
fidential managers, Mr Sliarpe, then in Dumfries : — " Sanquhar,
22d April 1679. — Loving friend. 1 got not hero till Sun-
day night, else ye liad heard from me before this. All I am
now to say is, that since I came home, I have seen some
very peremptory, and, as I conceive, illegitl orders from
Claverhouse anent his locality ; in wJiich I have very freely

' Qumuborry'a alaicr, LmIj Intwlla, married Sir Willi»m LockhBrt of Cur-
•laln. Their lUugliler ImbclU wu the wife of Sir Tlii.mwi Kirkpatricli, my
gnadfilher'a fatlicr. llenee titrte imdilinnp, &.c.-~Natr hf Mr Sliarpe,

• " We, E*rl of Qnocti'.Urrio, SherilT PrineipBl of the Shim "f Duuifrim, pnn-
fiimis to > neotDinendktion of Iiib Mnjeaty'a Prity Council, •ignifled to as li;r thair
letter of Uie date the I Itli day uf Marcii \679, founded upon ane exprcta wurand
froni Ills Kiog'a Majnly, dated at Wliileliall the IHth day of January laal, da
hereby make and eoiitliluta the Lairds of Qaterhuuan and Kartnluil] to bo our
Shrrifla Depute within tho aaid ahirv,— In Ihc effect uU'lHrwritlin only, with full
power and commiHiDn to tliem or an; one of Ihem, to alBa and hold SlwrifT Coum al
the ordinar place* aecuaiumed, iaeae forth prreepta of autrnnondinj; penmna wilhln
the aaid ahiiT, gtiiliy, or tliat eliall be guilty, of contrateming itia lawa mad*
against Kpantlion, being prewnt at Conventicle*, peraons guilty of diaordcrly bap-
tiama and marriage*, reactling and ronmaning with fufjiiiira and Inlarrommuned
peraons and vagrant preachers, and to pmtiouDoa ■ent''nce againal the permn*
gailly, eonfonn* la tho lawa and pruliee of thia Kiiigdnm | and to dirHt prvoepta
and other eueulur'jila fur pulling Ih* annie Vo due •xecution ; and, |c*nprally, all
and anndry other tJiinga necotaar In tho prvmin to do, u**, and «irn;« al* t^lli*
and hvello as any olhar SliarlfT- Depute haa dine or may do, pmmillcn. do rato.
Pro>iding that tliir preaanu la to b* wlihnul prejudice lo any cither of my depute*
alrMdy named bi jiulgn Jointly and aepantsly with Uia aaid Sheriff- Depute, and
that the grwiling Ihenx'f ahall no way* derogate to our right of juriadictlaa *■
prinpipal SlivrifF, *a accunbt nf llio law ; and thai thia oaminioliin omtluna during
Ihe pleaaura of hit Majesty's friry Ouneil. In wiUiH* wheranf Ihir Pnaonla ar*
aubaeryved with our hand at Uie day of IBIU yoar*.

before U>lr wito«**."— A'o** V ^' •"*"'I*

yoan. ^_

254 MEMORIAI^ OF TUE

written to him, and if he resolve to delay further troubling
the country till the Commissioners meet, I shall labour to get
a quorum of them together sometime next week. What he
resolves in this, try, and acquaint me, which the bearer will
get conveyed, and before meeting the shire ye shall hear from
me at more length. As also, let me know if the troops
brought in any prisoners lately, and what else has occurred
there worth my knowledge."

" Sanquhar, 26th April, 1679. — Desire Claverhouse to bring,
or send, his order for locality to the meeting of Commissioners
of Supply to be held at Thornhill, Ist of May, at 9 o'clock of
the morning ; as also, that the several quarter-masters bring
or send notes of what hay and straw has been furnished them
from their whole locality ; and a note of such persons, if any
be, who have exacted more for it than what is contained in
the Council's orders. Acquaint Claverhouse with this meeting,
80 that he, or any he trusts, may be there with the order, and
accounts of locality foresaid ; else nothing will be done.
Present my service to him, and tell him, that as it seems I
have mistaken his orders as to the matter of quartering, so I
am sure he has mistaken my letter, in several particulars ; in
which I had writ to him before this, but that ye told me he
was in Galloway, and the meeting of the shire is to be so
soon. There are some alarms here from the west, but I hope
without ground. What occurs about Dumfries, or the
Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, acquaint me timeously ; with all
else worth your trouble ; and if Claverhouse get orders to
march."

The meeting mentioned in these letters took place at New
Dalgarnock ; but Captain Graham not thinking proper to
attend it in person, sent his Lieutenant, Captain Bruce of
Earlshall, to transact with the Commissioners.

** The Laird of Earlshall, as Lieutenant to Claverhouse, pre-
sented an act of Privy Council, of the date 17th day of January
last, Commissionating the Earls of Nithsdale and Queensberry,
Sir Robert Dalyell, Corehead younger, Westerhall, Craigdar-
roch, Carnsalloch, and Eccles, or any three of them, to meet
with the chief officer, and impose localities for furnishing the
the horse and dragoons quartered within the shire, at the rate

■j^^H VISCOUNT UF DUNDKE. 2u<^

of two shillings per intone of straw, and two sliiliings and six-
pence per stono uf hay, with certification, that letters of hom-
ing upon forty eight hours will be directeil therefor ; and
likewise produced another act of Council, dat«d 18th February
last, mentioning that several troops of horse and companies of
dragoons were not provided to their localities ; therefore,
orderiug these empowered in the former Commission to pro-
vide the forces with as much hay and straw as they should
have had from the beginning of their entry to their quarters,
for supplying of those who have already furnished ; with
certification, that this Commissionate will be cited before the
Council under the pain of rebellion."

" The Commissioners having treated with Earlshall, he,
upon their offer of fourteen days provision to a hundred and
fifty-eight horse, of hay and straw at the Council's rates, com-
mencing this day, has promised, that, in case the Privy
Council shall only allow a hundred horse to be furnished out
of this shire, that the troop shall accept the fifteen days pro-
vision to be given to the other fifty out of the fore-end of tho
next locality ; and ordains the Clerk to receive a declaration
from the Captain and Lieutenant thereof. The Commissioners
allow two stone of straw, and six stone of hay to ilk horse for
every week during the said space, with power, to those liable,
to give seven stoiio of hay for all, if they please ; and ordain
the Clerk to get from the commanding officer the double of
the accompt of hay already received ; and ordain him and tha
Collector to cast ilk man's proportion, conform to tlio valuation
hook. The Commissioners recommend to Lag, Closebnm.
Camsalloch, Capenoch, John Alisono, or any three of Ihem, to

I treat with the officers of horse, and to adjust all other matt«r8
relating to the locality, and to report to the next meeting;
and appoint the 9th day of May instant, to the said Committee
to treat with thu said offioena ; and ordnin the Collector and
Clerk to Bubscribc the cast under their hands, and the Collec-
tor to give timeous intimation to ilk parish upon Sunday next,
to 1m> brought in betwixt and Thursday following, under the
pain of Cess, conform to the act of Convention."
But it appoarK (hat Claverhouse on lonmin^ the particulars
of his [.icnk>nanl"8 negociution, refusid to wiiirlinu it, greatly

256 MEMORIALS OF THE

to the rage of Queensberry, who also had another cause of in-
dignation, from Captain Graham's refusal to co-operate with
a new Sheriff-Depute, nominated by the Earl. On the 3d of
May 1679, he writes thus from Sanquhar Castle to his friend
in Dumfries : —

" I am much surprised that Claverhouse should decline
Earlshalls transaction with the Commissioners, which, as we
have no reason to value, so I think Earlshall should not take
very well, being a thing so solemnly done. However, I have
ordered my proportion of locality, from the several parishes
where my interest lies, to be brought to Dumfries at the time
appointed ; and, in regard of the great distance, if you can
get me hay near Dumfries, at reasonable rates, you'll oblige
me extremely. I think you did well in ordering the parishes
about Dumfries to bring in what locality they can, and so soon
as possible ; for I shall be sorry the King s forces suflFer the
least inconvenience the country can prevent ; but, upon the
other hand, impossibilities are not to be expected ; nor, I am
confident, will the Council press anything of that nature upon
a country both loyal and regular every way. If Claverhouse
act warrantably and legally, there is no ground of complaint ;
otherwise, he may assure himself, we who have interest in
this shire will do what we can for redress. This you may
freely show him ; and, with all, that I shall be very sorry the
country and he have the least difi'erence, which I am sure we
shall labour to prevent by all just and reasonable offers m our
power ; and as nothing more should be asked, so nothing more
will be given. I am likewise surprised to find Claverhouse
and Earlshall will not concur as Sherifi's Depute, with Mr
James Alexander, though, by the Council's command I have
commissioned him jointly with them. What's the occasion
of this I cannot imagine ; and Earlshall spoke in far other
terms to me at Thornhill. Upon the whole matter, it's cer-
tainly hard that when I would most willingly concur in the
Council's method to serve the King, all must be obstructed
by caprice of strangers, who, I fear, do not efi'ectuate
what's expected, and the nature of the thing requires. How-
ever, I have ordered Mr Alexander to do what's fit for pre-
serving my privilege, and serving the King in the way

{.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

257

prescribed by the Council, and doing justice tu tbc Country ;
and whoever obslructs bim in hie duty may possibly answer
for it. I doubt not your readiness in all may concern tbo
country and me, and do duBue to hoar frequently from you
anent the premises, and what else occurs where you are. Iq
order to all this, I have to-day wrote to Edinburgh, and will
have answers next week, wherewith you shall be acquainted ;
but am very indifTerent what they prove ; for, as to the
tocality, all the couutry is able to do is offered ; and, if more
Ims ordered, I'm content Claverbouse take it where he can find
it ; and for the affair of the fanatics, it's an employment I'm
not very ambitious of ; and when Claverbouse and Earlshall
cxoner me of it, I shall acknowledge the favour, and do wish
them sucesB in that and thuir other trusts, Acquaint mc, by
the first, if Claverbouse be goue to Edinburgh."

Captain Graham, however, seems in some measure to have
made bis point good respecting the locality ;' at least, to have
effected an alteration of tbe first arrangement. For, — " Con-
form to the former sodcnmt, the Earl of Nitbsdale, Craigdar-
roch, and Capeuocb ha>nng communed with Claverbouse, thoy
think reasonable that tbe hundred and fifty horse, mentioned
iu the former sedenint, should be ]irovidcd with another fort-
night's provision of hay and straw, until grass ho grown, with
tbe quality specified in the foresaid sederunt ; and recommend
to tbe Earl of Queensberry to convene the whole Commiseio-
ners, in order to the settling with Claverbouse anent any other
matters relating to the rests of locality, or what else shall
happen to occur betwixt the Commissioners and Claverbouse ;
and think fit that every week's provision bo brought into
Dumfries upon the Wednesday of the said week," Ac, Ac. —
" Dumfries, ytli May 1679."

But Graham of Cloverhouse was speedily called away frooi
these petty contentions, to display his conduct and courage in
the field. Tbe whigs, who hud been concerting measures for
some time, now collected in a body, and unfurling the banner

■ [CbTBrhouM wu lighl, and Mied as Wpllmgctoa woald hftvo ■kUhI aodsr
■ImiUir eircunutuicM. IIU cormpondenca nhowa lliat ho andpntDod the Uominl*-
■arial dcpwlmeDt of hi* Irluome dulM^ fu better thto thtj who iculioud,!'
oppOM'l him. QiicenriieiT)' wu jmIciu about li'u o*ii jniHadiplJon]

• 17

258 MEMORI.VrS OF THE

of the Covenant, with a stout heart and n weak lirain, badej
OeRance to all the enemies of the Lord.

[Section IV.— The Murder of Archbishop Sharpe,]

Tin' Western insurrection was preceded hy a very memo- "I
ruble fxjiloit, the murder of the Archbishop of St Andrews, f
Tho Primate, labouring under the hatred of so furions a sect, |
who already had nearly sacrificed him, generally took saffi-
cient precautions to frustrate all their plans of revenge. But I
at lust, on the unlucky 3d of May 1679, travelling towards ]
St Audrews from EdinljurgL, he had the indiscretion to eend
his beet armed attendants to the house of Lord Crawford,
with a message of compliment, and remained with his
daughter unprotected but by the coachman, the postilion, and
two other attendants on horseback. Nine villains, whereof
Balfour of Kinloch, tho Bishop's debtor, and Ilackston of
Itathillet, brother-in-law to tho former, who had been inc
cerated by tho Bishop for debt, were the leaders, had for bos
time anxiously awaited such an opportunity. Upon Magus J
Muir, a wild and lonely cominuu near St Andrews, the coach-
man ])erceiving horsemen as he thought pursuing the carriage, I
drove cjuicker, which occasioned the Primate to look out, and j
iie aware of his danger. He said to his daughter, — " God help I
me, my poor child, for I am gone." The servants, however,
drove furiously ; but tho speed of six good horses was vain.
The pursuers still gained ground, and at last got near enough
to lire upon the coach, but without eflect. Balfour of Kinloch,
being better mounted than the rest, first overtook the coach-
man, who kept his horse off with his whip. He then attacked
the postilion, wounded him in the face, shot in the back and
hamstrung one of tho horses ho guided, and so stopping the
carriage gave time to his friends to come up. Heedless of the
young lady's danger, who was shrieking and weeping most
bitterly, another volley was fired into the coach, and one
pistol discharged so close to the Primate that his daughter
rubbed olf the burning wadding from his gown. Wounded
by a ball between the second and third ribs, the Archbishop

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

259

I

vne immediately aft«r etabbed with a Bmall sword, tliu ruffians

all Uic while exclaiming, — " Come out Judas, come out cruel

blooily traitor." At length the Bisliop bimBelf opened the

coach-door, and went forth to die. His moving eulrcatics,

his venerable grey hairs, could obtain no mercy. Wliile he

was imploring compassion towards bis daughter, he extended

his hand to one of the party wiiom he is supposed to have

knoiiTi, when the villain started back, and with a stroke of hia

sword cut him more than half way through the wrist. The

Primate tlien sank upon hia knees in prayer, covering his

i'head with bis hands (which they still continued to mangle),

ijuiil protected by hia daughter, who, repressing female weak-

.^.noss, with a pious courage as rare as admirable, strove to iu-

jterpose and j»reserve him. But, wounded in the hand and in

the thigh, she at length fell into a swoon, and the villaius

y ceased not from their violence, till they left the old man

Viurdered with many wounds, having the whole back part of

tilnLHlriill JimlfflD tfi T'lPi^fn, ft'ifl his lirai ^ sca ttered upon the

ground. ^"~--_--'''^ s— — -^

Francis Ravaillac stole the knife with which he destroy^td
Henry. Before the pious assassins of Sharp left their prejv
they pillaged the corpse, the young lady, tlie coach, and even
the Ber\'ants. From the Archbishop's pockets they took seve-
ral articles which wore affirmed to bo charms against gun-
shot ; and bo strong was the fanatical rumour of their effi-
ciency, that several ])hysicians liad to give it under their hands
that the victim was pierced by a bullet, ere many of the godly
would believe it. The Prelate's courage, during the tedious
and dreadful oatastropho, is attributed by the whigs to confi-
dence in Buch charms. They say that whenever he saw cold
iron his courage fell. This caunot bo true, because he waa
pierced with a sword before he left the coach, and his presence
of mind, ttiey themselves acknowledge, had not even then fyr
saken him. He behaved with great fortitude. Some nif
whig accounts state (and with manifest satisfaction), that,
near the conclusion of his sufferings, one of the party struck
him on tlio face with a ahahblct or faidchion, upon which " bis
jaw foil, and he uttered one loud and horrible cry." In the
ach thuy al«i discovered a very notable proof of the Bishop's

2G0 MEMORIAI^ OF THE

inclination to popery, a bible adorned with cuts in taille douce.
Ilaxton, as before mentioned, had suffered imprisonment
through the Prelate's means, which seems to have exasperated
him. As to Balfour, he was a desperado equal to the most
daring atrocities. Both in the first Presbyterian account of
the crime, and in all the depositions, Hackstou is positively
affirmed to have murdered the Prelate. The ser\^ant of a
house near the fatal spot, deponed that Haxton and Balfour
left their coats in that house before the murder, and came
back for them after it ; that Haxton was mounted on a tohite .
horse, and Balfour on a hay. The Bishop's servants deponed ^
that the man on the bay horse stopt the coach, and that the •
man on the white murdered their master. Therefore, I am^^
tempted to believe that the improbable tale of Haxton s /or- Ip
bearance is not true. * In the retreat, the assassins met anotlier
servant of the Primate's w^hom at first they proposed to kill as
a servant of Judas Iscariot. But, on second thoughts, they
only robbed liim, and bade him begone, " for his master was
gone home before him."

Though it is generally asserted that the assassins were lying
in wait for one Carmichael, an agent of the bishop's, when
they chanced to encounter more exalted prey, that could not
really be the case, if the informations sent from St Andrews to
the Privy Council are to be credited. They were compiled
from the depositions of John Millar, tenant in Magask, and
his family ; from those of Kobert Black, tenant in Baldinny,
his family and servants ; William Ding^vall, father to one of
the murderers, and several other persons. These w^itnesses
deponed, that, ** His Grace was waylaid by diverse parties, so
that whether he had gone straight to St Andrews, or repaired
to his house of Scotscraig, he could not escape them ; that the
nine men who committed the murder, w^ere the night before
at a country place, within a mile of Craighall, called Hurles-
wind ; and that one of them, with Andrew TurnbuU, tenant

' [Even according to that fanatical version, which waA concocted by one of the
marderers (Russell), Haxton's <' forbearance" consisted in tuptrintending the mur-
der a little apart, and lending a deaf ear to tlie intrcaties of their venerable victim.
This might prove him a coward, but could not redeem him from the stigma of the
vilest of murders.]

VISCOUNT OF DUNDHK.

201

to Broomliall (w}io liad crossed the wator the same tide witb
bis'Grace), came to Eeauuway ubnut iniduight., ami enqitirvd
if mj Lord St Androwa was lodged at Captain Selon's, and
l<eing told that be was, lie presently returned to the rest ; that
on the morning of the 3d of May, they weie seen on Tace's
muir, and intended to have attacked the coach on the heath
to the south of Ceres, whore it seems they were in some con-
fusion, for Rathillet's horse run from him, and was taken, and
givt-n back to him, by the gardener of Struthers; and John
Balfour, with one more, entered so far into the town of Ceres,
in pursuit of tlie coach, that by mistake be roile tu the minis-
ter's gate, and quickly retired; thereafter, having still the
coach in view, they kept half a milu to the south thereof, till
they came to Kiuuiiimonth, the ooach being then about Blobo-
bole, and they quickly camo down from iho height, and gal-
lopped through a little valley at Ladnddie limekilns, having the
top of the coach still in view, witli design to have conimitt«d
the murder at the double dykes of Magask ; that three dRyu
before the murder, some of the assassins had a meeting at
Millar's house in Magask, where they concerted the business ;
that the next night they lodged at Kobert Black's house in
Baldiiiny, whose wife was a great instigator of the fact ; and
that, at parting, when one of them kissed her, she prayed that
God might bless and prosper them, and added these words, —
' If long Leslie (Mr Alexander Leslie, minister of Ceres) bo
with him, lay him on the green aUo.' To which the niflRan
answered, — ' There is the band that shall do it ;' tti&t the said
Androw Tumbnll (who was ouo of the two that camo to Ken-
noway the night before), at his return lo the olher assassins,
cncouragLd them to the fact, by telling them that all the west
wiM in arms already."

Thoflo particulars may appear impertinent to readers who
itro unacipiainled with the party sophistications until which
the narratives of this terrific murder have been i>oUuted, and
that those have generally be«n derived from the falsehoods of
the murderers Uiemselvcs. after they had time to fasliion cir-
ciimslancoB according to the most convenient order, ll only
remains to add, that the whigs, among whom Wmlrow at least
plioiild have kiinwii lirttcr, makf a utraTu-'' itrnfiijiiiiri iHttwi-cii

262 MEXORIAI^ OF TUE

the last scene of this Prelate, and that of his predecessor Car-
dinal Beaton. They put the Cardinal's very words into the
mouth of Archbishop Sharp, and the pious exhortations of
Norman Lesly and his accomplices are adapts to Hackston
and Balfour / Great, indeed, was the triumph of the Presby-
terians on the Arch-Prelate's deserved downfall, as they
termed it. Though they possessed not a poet like Sir David
Lindsay, to trample upon his ashes, and raise up the shadow
of—

** Ane woundit man, aboandantlie bleeding,

With visage paHl, and with ane deadlie cheir,*^ —

yet, in their sermons, they talked of his murder as an action
glorious and Just, holding up the perpetrators of it to the re-
verence and imitation of their hearers. Alexander Shields,
in his villanous book called " A Hind let Loose," styles the
murderers " worthy gentlemen, men of courage and zeal for
the cause of God ;" and affirms, that they executed " righteous
judgment" upon this " truculent traitor." And Wodrow re-
cords the whole story with the most fraternal cunning, and
apologetic tenderness.

Such was the end of James Sharp, Archbishop of St An-
drews, a man very considerable in many points of view.* That
his abilities were great, cannot be doubted ; and that his de-
portment, both as a public and private character, hath found
many encomiasts and defenders is certain, in spite of Mr
Laing's rash negation, the more surprising as the memoirs of
Sharp by Simpson must have been well known to him. Kirk-
ton confesses him a man of parts, and a scholar ; but, envied
and hated by Burnet, his memory in later times has greatly
suffered through the fashion of implicitly relying on the in-
vective of that spiteful and disingenuous author. The ob-
scurer whig railers tell us, that, " sometimes when at table,
he would whisper in his wife's ear, ' the Devil take her,' when
things were not ordered tohis contentment ;" but for all that,
and the other crimes so lavishly imputed to him, he was a
man of humanity, and bestowed large sums in secret charity

1 [Archbishop Sharp is ore of those great persoDages of history whose real
cliaracter has been buried beneath the ondrageous calninnies of Scotch fanaticism.]

\

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

2G3

to the widows and orphans of the Jiinatics, tlirough the hands
of Lord Warriston's daughter, who still adhered to her fanatical
father's persuasion. He w»« murdered at the age of sixty-one,
after having been Primate of Scotland for eighteen years.

[Thifl long meditated murder can be traced distinctly to
the ruthles.'i agitation of the Hemonslralora, or suppressed
savages of the Covenanting Kirk. Glorified, without diBguise,
by their famous apostle Shields, and others of his kiduey, that
fiuccesa of Satan was the signal for the most virulent and
vulgar fictions against the character of the venerable victim.
While thosfl words of resigned agony, and deepest pathos, —
" God help me, my poor child, for I am gone," — were bearing
witness in Heaven against them, his murderers, and their no lesH
guilty abettors, were busy on earth with blasphemous att«mpt8
to cloak their crime under the jthraseology of fanaticism, and
to excuse it by the miserable expedient of outrageous calumny.
In their wake soon followed such writers as Burnet and Wod-
row, giving plausible currency to the worst falsehoods of pri-
vate or party malevolence, a pollution of history most unfor-
tunately pandered to by the genius of a Macaulay. If this
solemn league and covenant of political writers, a^nst the
integrity of history, is to obtain credit, the monstrous conclu-
sion becomes inevitable, that, at the period when Graham of
CInverhouse commenced his public career, the aristocracy of
Scotland, of the highcKt grade, were, in every act and deed, in
temper, sentiments, and morals, the most savage scr^'ant8 of
Satan ; while the democracy, of the lowest and least educated
classes, were sainte in their lives, and, in their actions, the in-
spired prophets aud ministers of God 1 Pre-eminent among
these last, tlie miinleroUH pedlar thus hastened to cast his
atone upon the cairn of the murdered Prelate, " Some time
ago I wrote a short account of the unheard of wicked Kteps of
his life, particularly his strangling liis own child, begot in
fornication, with hia napkin, and burying it below the hearth-
i^tonc, and his cniul treacherous treatment of tlie mother
thereof; but hi.i life and death being now published by a morrt
large and mir hand* has prevented m.', wliiih 1 am giftd of.

' I A la* &d1 (mnymoiu llbcllpv ]

26 1 MEMORIALS OF THE

Great Mr Rutherford, of whom apostate Sharp was a malicious
persecutor, said, — when ministers and others were admiring
him /or goodness f — that he would trample upon all theirnecks.
I have often wondered if ever the sun shined upon a man
guilty of so many dreadful unheard-of acts of wickedness, at-
tended with all aggravating circumstances to make them
prodigiously heinous, except his dear brother Judas, who mur-
dered the young prince of Iscariot, and his own father, mar-
ried his mother, and betrayed his Lord. All knows what end
he made. And so much noise o/ his death ! making it their
ensnaring criminal questions of that time, for which fiveybtVA-
ful martyrs were executed, and hung in chains in that spot of
ground. Magus Muir, the 25th of November 1679, who were
actually free of his death, having never been in the shire of
Fife, — as is to 6e seen in NaphtaliJ' *

Let us turn from all this brutality of invective, to a letter,
hitherto unprinted, written by the Chancellor Eothes to his
friend the Earl (afterwards Duke) of Queensberry, before
whose rapid elevation the flaming star of Lauderdale was
about to pale. We shall find it a relief to regard these aristo-
cratic demons of political history, through the medium of their
own familiar letters, instead of regarding them for ever in the
false chronicles of the scandal-mongering Burnet, and the
martyrology-weaving Wodrow.

The Chancellor Rotlies to the Earl of Queensberry,

" My DEAR Lord, — I received yours at nine o'clock this
morning, and being just going to Council, I could not answer
it sooner. I am very sure mine came to your hands some time
yesterday, being given your man before twelve on Saturday,
and which was very full as affairs stood then. Saturday I
went to dine at Hatton, at Mr Maitland's son's christening,*

[Patrick Walker'n Life and Death of Mr John Welwood, iJioj^. Prerit. ii. 184.
This rubbish of calamnv is actually adopted by Wodrow, and palmed by him upon
history for truth, but with such Jesuitical cunning as to conceal the absurdity, while
recording the atrocity. See before, p. 72 ; aud Note in the Appendix, for a full
exposure of Wodrow 's calumnious treatment of the diaracter of Archbishop Sharp.]
■ [The Mr Maitlaiid here mentioned, was Richard Maitland (afterwards Earl of
Lauderdale), eldest son of Charles Maitland of Hatton, called Lord Hattun by his

4

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 266

and afterwards resolved to cross the water at the Ferry, where
I was met with the unhappy newa of my Lord St Andrews'
murder, which was committed on Saturday last, at twelve
o'clock a-day, near two miles of St Andrews, by ten or eleven
armed men, which veiy much altera the face of affairs her©.
I immediately returned to Edinburgh, at ten at night, and
culled a committee of the Council, which sat till one in the
morning. A fuller Council was called at eight yesterday
morning, and eat till ten in my lodgings, and afterwards met
again at four in the Council-house, aud staid tilt eight at night.
We have sent an express already to the King, and this day
pubhshcB a proclamation against any such persons, and aneot
their apprehending. The particulars were too long to insert
here, but you shall have it by the nt-xt. Ab I said in my last,
if my Lord St Andrews bad missed this urthappy accident, bo
had been gone for London ere this could come to your bands,
and now my Lord Hatton and his son will. It came to my
knowledge, but at a great distance, that the Council was de-
signing to commission me to go up ; but I crushed it in the
bud, by telling I neither could nor would accept any such
offer, unless I had a call from my master. It is like the King
may call, or the Council send some ; but no sooner shall 1 get
any, but as soon you, — from whom I can keep nothing in my
heart, — shall got notice. As it is talked, those hose unworthy
people in Fife, threaten they will follow the same example
with several persons in public trust, not sparing your humble
servant ; but I am not afraid in the least for them. There
are certainly but very few Fife people amongst them ; but, I
am afraid, some there were, and I am very confident that most
execrable murder will be discovered. Let the unjust world
say what they will, ho was not only Lord Primate of this
kingdom, but a faithful subject, and a wise and just person,
and a most eminent pillar of the Church ; and, I am sure, my
friend at that rate that 1 do not know what to do since he ta
gone, hut to revenge myself upon all that murdering sect.
" I have just now, since the writing of this mucli, ri'ceived

wba aflerWMdi ■umeEjul Li* broUin-, tlie
B Earidoni at tlut Uvii]). TliD liouw n{ KaUon »

'le Furlli, rir.1 («r Timiii Mi.l.CaMor, in Uid-LoUluui.)

DDtorlaaa Duke a\

266 ]|£MO£lALS or TUE

intelligence ihat my Lord Treaj-nrer-Depnttr* and his son, are
to go for London u»-morrc'V in ilje aft-emoon ; which is more
than nc'C'^e^sarv for LinL fiT iLe Duchesss malice as to his
birthri^rhi is still increasing : and. no doubt, if his brother
shall noi prc-ve Aerv steadj as K* Lis interest, the Duchess will
ruin Lim : and the ^pf^^ of malice of our countirmen, that is
now gone nj». is cLieflj against him, excepting only his brother.*
Several others here will certainly go ; mx Lord Murray, Lord
Advocate. Jusiice-Geni-ral. and. it mav be, one or two more ;
but that is still dep»ending till an express return from the
Dukv of Lauderdale, which will he on Thursday night. Now
all is aloft. God knows what the erent will be ; the Parlia-
ment of England having fallen violently upon the Duke of
York : and. I suppose, t<^-morrow's post will bring much more
of the paniculars. It is talked as if they were to fall next
upon the Queen ; and where then [all] will end, God only
knows, for the kingdoms, by all appearance, are inflamed, and
nothing but the immediate hand of GvhI can prevent trouble
and commotion^ The unftaralleled condition that I am in,
puts me to think of a thousand things which pierhaps are irra-
tional. Amongst the rest, with a total submission to yourself,
what if vou should take a sudden, and unknown resolution to
any, and make a step to Court, where I am sure all hands
would Ix? ready to court you, and make vou welcome ;' where
you might pick and choose, and take your measures according
to the true rules of honour and honesty ? For when you part-
ed with the King last, it did apj^ear he was not well satisfied
with you ; for, before you came home, you was none of his
Council, which was the single trust and employment you en-
joyed under him. So that, I cannot but think, it were well
becoming you to give his Majesty assurance of your readiness
to serve him ; that if any alteration come, as it is very pro-

1 [I^rd Ilatton wav at feud with his nstcr-iD-law, the termagant Dochess of
Lauderdale.]

* [The political cabal against the Lauderdale govemment, which eventually suc-
ceeded iu ruining the family, was ali'eady working to that end.]

> [Queensbcrry, though of a very jealous temper, and not a little violent, was
highly Ctttiniated by all his cctuteniporaries, and also by the royal brothers. He
w^ now about to rine ]

1

(

I

riSCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 267

balile will, you may bo considered as willing, as you arc moet
able, to do him service.

" As to what you say in yours, in relation to Ctavefhoii«e,
and of the jjetition from the gentlemen of the country con-
ceniiug their localily,^ certainly when the King's govemmeut,
and bis most eminent servants, are so evidently struck at, it
is no proper time to mention husincss of that nature ; so that,
if any body come from your shire, I will approve myself so
much tlieir friends as to desire them to desist. If it l)0 poa-
sihle that I may hear from you against Thursday's night, 1
will hasten to Fife, tliat I may add my endeavours, with all
the faculties of my soul, for the discovery of this lat« horrid
murder. So, my dear Lord, till then, adieu. R,"']

[Section V. — Insurrectioa/oUmcing the Murder of the Pn'vuiie.
Mas John King. The Bcftai of C'hverliome at Drtimcloij.
CouhItm of Loudon. The Fanatics Defeat^ at Glasgow.
Mas David Williamson. Measures to Suppress the Jtcbd-
lious. The Fanatical JtekrUion m Scotland encouraged by
Shaftesbury and the Evijlish Wltigs.^

The Archbishop's murder caused a universal alarm among
the Boyalists, who had even more reason for terror than they
imf^ined. A little while before tbe murder, largo sums of
money were contributed at conventicles, on pretence of main-
taining their hill-preachers (as they were called), and the
poor of the Presbyterian persuasion, but, in fact, to purchase
arms and ammunition for a general rebellion. Immediately
after the murder, several parties in the west of Scotland took
up arms under the command of Robert Hamilton, second son
of Sir William Hamilton of Preston, the unworthy son, says

■ [Th» ptrmmnwoX UK for autaialng tbe troopi omployod >g>llwt tlie iainntvnu,

CUvcrhtruw ■■■ dning hi* iliily ■dinlnbly iti tliii m*IMr, u wb iluU lluil tnim liU

iwn Mtmnpondaocg ; ind QuHnnben-/ «u JmIoui of biro, uul oiirauoiuililv on

Iha HibjvcL RoUm u* that, and doc* ai>t liuiUM lo ulicck Mm fur il. Stv bv-

■.P.2A7.1

[Ordinal. QiwcBsbiirr> rupcn. Must u( tlin Ctwno«11or'> Idlcn to Qim-ns-
bsrrjr u« nnMl)' tlpicil Hitli !)•■' Inliial l<.\

268 MEMORIAI^ OF THE

Creighton, of a most worthy father, but, wo may add, the
worthy pupil of the meritorious Bishop Burnet. At Evandale,
in Lanarkshire, they were joined by David Hackston, together
with the other Fife bloodhounds. On the 29th of May (1679),
tlio anniversary of the King's birth, they repaired to Rutherglen,
and there published a protest against the abomination of cele-
brating such a day, — " kept every year for the setting up an
usurped power ^ destroying the interest of Cliristin the land," —
and protesting " against all sinful and unlawful acts, emitted
and executed, published and prosecuted, against our (Cove-
nanted Iteformation." They then proceeded publicly to burn
several acts of Parliament lately made, by way of retaliation
for tlie treatment of their Covenant.

Captain Graham was now summoned by Government to
clieck the eflforts of rebellion at Evandale, and ordered to march
with a detachment of a hundred and twenty dragoons, and a
Lieutenant, with his own troop, to attack the rebels. Shortly
before this, Graham had surprised a conventicle in the parish
of Galashiels, where several pious ladies were apprehended,
together with the preacher himself, and a fellow-labourer in
the muirlands of Satan. These gentlewomen were the wives
of the Lairds of Torwoodlee, Galashiels, Newton younger,
Ashiestiel, and Femylie. Mrs Jane Hunter, spouse to Mr
Pringle, and his daughter, the Laird of Ashiestiel, together
with several meaner persons, were also taken. Thomas Wilkie
was the preacher. A citation to appear before the Council
was given to the women and their husbands. The Laird of
Meldrum was ordered to proceed against the rest, and the
preacher was sent to the Bass.

Claverhouse on his march caught Mas John King, one of
the most celebrated of the fanatic preachers, in his bed, near
Hamilton, and carried him, together with fourteen others, into
the town of Hamilton, which he reached on Saturday the 31st
of May. This King was a worthy of esi)ecial note. During
nine years he had given trouble to Government, being chap-
lain to Henry Lord Cardross (himself very fanatical), and hold-
ing conventicles near Stirling, with great cunning and perse-
verance. His ministry, indeed, proved fruitful not only in
spiritual but in carnal produce, as my Lady Cardross's favourite

/

VtSCOU.Vr OF DUNDEE.

2(59

' Waiting ■woman became a mother by him. On tlus iiccount,

when, in the year 1C74, he was seized and imprisoned in Ediu-

I burgh, the pious hiily bailed him, — she promising to the

I Council that be should hold no more conventicles, and he to

fher, that he would marry her handmaid, whose name was

[ Creighton. He certainly did make Miss Creighton an liuncst

[ woman ; but ruiuud the credit of hia mistress; continuing to

I cant and preach so zealously, that the Privy Council once

I more issued orders to apprehend him. It is not wonderful

that he found favour in the eyes of the fair se-i, for he is de-

Bcril>ed as being, — " a braw muckle carle, wi' a wliite hat, and

a great bob o' ribbons on the cock o't." Ho was again actually

flcijied, but rescued by the mob ; and when, for the third limo,

he fell into the hands of justice, and ClaTerhousc, it was his

fortune still to elude for a space the punishment due to his

crimee.

Graham had intelligence that the rebela were drawn up at
a place called Drumclog, in considerable numbers, and well
armed, being resolved to hold a conventicle there on Sunday,
the 1 St of June. Some of his friends would fain have dissuad-
ed liim from attacking a force so superior as theirs was now
eapposed to be ; but his bravery would not allow him to give
* ear to such salutary counsel. Early on the Sunday morning,
he marched from Ilainilton to Strathaven town, which is about
five miles from Hamilton, and throe from Drumclog. Mr
Douglas had already commenced public prayer, when the
whigB wore warned of the approach of the tnxips, by a watch
tliey had placed on Txiudon Hill, about a mile from Drumclog,
' who discerned the King's forces very soon after they had passed
Btrathftven. Upon this the unarmed retired, and the saints,
who were digbt in warlike weed, resolved to encounter the
foe.

Claverhouse marching onwards, soon came within sight of
these rebels, whereby he became empowered to open bis com-
mission from the Privy Council, which, by a strange freak that
Bocms to have been entirely needless, he had boon ordered not
to do until then.' To his no small surprise he now discovered

■ [TIiIk facT Is aol eonfinnDd bj- QavorhouM'* own diipBlohoi, detailing nil lii*
[inaiii dliiga Hi llil* rrinia. Mr Sharps, whrn writing hi* aceouul at the affair of

270 MEMORIALS OF THE

that he was commanded to attack the whigs let their numbers
be over so great. The Council empowered him to kill all he
found in arms at any field meeting, to treat them as traitors,
and to discover, seize, and upon resistance, kill all who had
any share in the insolence at Rutherglen.

The rebel force amount^jd to six hundred men, commanded
by Robert Hamilton, Haxton, and Balfour; while Graham's
troop of horse, and other forces, did not exceed a hundred and
eighty. They were strongly posted in a boggy straight, al-
most unapproachable by cavalry, with a wide ditch in front.
Graham's dragoons discharged their carabines, but the whigs
fell flat upon their faces the instant they presented, so that
the fire made no impression upon them. The Royalists then
attempting to charge, were cast into complete disorder by the
nature of the ground. Balfour, one of the Bishop's murderers,
commanded the Presbyterian horse, which he immediately led
against the enemy ; and, at the same time, Captain William
Cleland, — a furious whig, and a terrible poet^ — together with
Hackston, incited the foot to make a vigorous attack. During
the engagement, one of the parishioners, concealing himself
behind a hillock, fired eight shots at Claverhouse, in hopes of
destrojdng so great an adversary to the congregations of the
righteous, but none of the balls took eficct. The retreat, how-
ever, now became general, and Graham himself ran the utmost
hazard of being taken. A coimtrj'^ fellow cut open his horse's
belly with a scythe,* and the animal's bowels were trailed along
the ground for more than a mile. But by dismounting one of
his trumpeters, he at last reached Glasgow in safety.

And lucky was it for him that he did so, as the whigs would
have shown him no mercy. Ilis bravery and determined con-
duct, added to the name they abhorred, had already rendered
him hateful to the whole party, who imagined that in Claver-
house they beheld a new Marquis of Montrose, sprung from
the ashes of his relative, and anxious to avenge his murder.

Dnimclog, had not obtained the benefit of Claverhoase's letters. His own account
of all these events, and of his proceedings, both prior and subsequent to his defeat
at Drumclog, will be found in his official and private correspondence, which we
have reserved to compose a subsequent Part of these Memorials.]

^ [Claverhouse himself says, — <' with a pitchfork,** — but othen^'ise confirms the
above account]

^

TlSroUST ur DUXDliK.

271

At Drumclog was elain Robert Graham, cousin and cornet to
the Captain,' by a musket sliot from one John Alstoun, a mil-
ler'fl sou, and tenant to the aftenviirds celcliratoii Woir of
Blackwood. The Presbyterians, perceiving the name of Graham
on the neck of his shirt, mistook him for Claverhouse, and
proceeded to vent their fury on the dead body w-ith a thouaand
iudi^ities, Btabltiug it in many places, cutting off the hands
and no&f, picking out the eyes, and beating the head to a

jelly.

At the battle of Tippermnir, gained by Montrose in the year
1644, the word of the Covenanters was, — " Jesus, and no
quarter." The whig word at Drumclog also was, " no quar-
ter," and Hamilton, a profligate wretch, there caused a soldier
to be murdered after quarter wag given.* About twenty of the
King's soldiers were killed ; of the rebels only two or three
fell, among whom was Dingwall, one of the murderers of
Archbishop Sharp. After the Jlevolution, a grave stone, and
epitaph were conferred upon him by his friends.

Before tho onset, Claverhouse had placed his prisoner, Mas
John King, in a small cabin on Loudon hill, with a dragoon
sentry to prevent liim from making hia escape. The soldier,
seeing his companions Ry, betook himself to flight also, and
left Mas John to pursue his own di^'vices. In the hurry of the
retreat, Graham passed the prisoner, who was bound, and
could not even run to meet his victorious brethren. But the

> [Tbi* U Dill confirmnl b; ClBTorhouBe'a dopalrh, oliieh uya, that the lint en-
with the advuieing rebelii, ** brought dowa the rvmtl Mr Crar/nrJ, and
\bt Stftk." IIxl liin relative and eluitnun fiiDeii, of cuurH lie would hft
MM«.r.ed.)

IM berurc, )i. 66, art to tbui rufHui, who appean to liarc been n mward tn
boot. Wudnxv liimKir, in hin jnoilical bI^Id, ndverta (o the fact, aud Diiiliop Bur-
net, wlm waa llamillon'R Dear eonneaion, and liad bveo bia tutor, aiaerto Iho Tact
nt b» wwardica a» violent];, that the paaaafie watt aup|ir«iHd by tlie Driginal adi-
tiin (UiB Ilii>hi>|i'a owo aoni) of bia malidoua maauaeript, but hna boen naturvd in
tiM nveot Uarnrd adltlon. " The penon that led tliein" (at Dnitncing, mjf Ibf
Hi«liiip)," had baan brvd by me, while I lived at (>la>i[aw, being the j^aunger aofi of
Sir Tboniaa llaTniltDO tint had inarried mj aiatn-, hat bji a foriDrr wife, lie wae
then a lively, luipeful faung man : but gettin); into Ikat eomi-ang, and into titrir
iiutiiinn, he beeaine a crark-brainod eiilliiuiaat." Then follows Uiii lentuiae, which
hia piou* rdllura hail ttwugbl Itl to auppr ii — ,— " and. under the allow of a liero, »aa
an ignumlBloni ooward."— //M, o/ Hit Om» Tiau. *el. ii. p. 333. Otftrd rdll.
18U.]

272 MEMORIALS OP THE

holy man was replete with triumph, and shouted after the
fugitive commander, to carry his prisoner with him ; or, as
others say, to stop and take the afternoon's preaching, Hax-
ton, Balfour, and the other chiefs of the victorious party, re-
paired that evening to the house of Lord Loudon, where the
Earl himself, though well approving of their murderous
extravagances, was crafty enough to keep out of sight. But
his Lady publicly did the honours to the whole company. It
was a supper of distinguished saints ; and among so many.
Moseses, Ehuds, and Phineases, no doubt but that this ill
conditioned jade esteemed herself little less than a Jael or a
Judith^

On the news of the defeat at Drumclog reaching Glasgow,
it was supposed that the rebels would advance to assault the
town, and the King's troops stood to their arms all night.
To impede the attacks of the Presbyterian cavalry. Captain
Graham, knowing that Glasgow was so open that it could not
be properly barricaded, contrived to erect near the cross a sort
of protection for his men, composed of deals, and other lum-
ber. He then ordered Captain Creighton, with six dragoons,
to sally forth at sunrise, and attempt to discover by which way
the whigs intended to enter the town. These heroes had en-
camped within a mile of Glasgow the preceding night, and

^ In this age of love, and love letters, it may not be unacceptable to enliven the
narrative with a couple of amatory billets that passed between this Lord Loudon
and his wife, while yet unmarried. The laconic style of the Lady is much to be
recommended to those fair letter writers who pique themselves in the talent of
powdering red>haircd sentiments with rounded periods : —

" For my Lady Margaret Montg^ynurie,

** Madam, — The continuance of my misfortune, in not being yet able to wait
upon your Ladyship, is beyond expi*ession vexing ; and the more I ponder my
unspeakable loss, my anxiety is the greater, and cannot but continue so, till this
sad and dark cloud be over ; and then the beams of your presence and favour will
elevate the now perplexed heart of, Madam, your Ladyship's most affectionate and
most humble servant, — Loudon.**

** Loudon, SepUmber 5, 1G66."

" For the Earl of Loudon.
** Mt Lord, — To give a return suitable to yours is above what I am capable of,
they so far exceed both the capacity and desert of, my Lord, your Lordship's
humble servant, — Marqaebt Montoomerib.*'

" Canongate, Nottmber 25, 1666."— iVo<<f hy Mr.Sharpe,

/

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

273

^

I

were now speedily descried hy Creiglitoii, who had ascended
a Bmall eminence, where (joined afterwards by Captain
Graham) he was commanded to remain at a little cabin
eituated near the epot where the road divided, that be might
diecem clearly the choice of the rebels, which road they would
take, or whether they would separate. Creighton jicrcoived
that they took two different patha While one party moved
to the Qallowgato bridge, the other proceeded by the High
Church and College, which was a very strange manoeuvre, the
latter route being twice as long aa the other, and thus the
King's troops had an opportunity of defeating one body before
the other could join it. Accordingly, about ten in the morn-
ing, the Gallowgate party quickly swarmed into the High
Street at the heels of Creighton and hia six dragoons, and
advancing towards the barricade, fired without any effect.
But Claverhouse, Lord Ross, Major White, and their troops,
returning their fire, and jumping over the barricades at the
same time, rout^^d them instaataucousiy, and chaRcd them out
of the town. Meanwhile the other half of the Solemn League
and Covenant " came whigging down the hill" on the other
side ; but perceiving their friends discomfited, and being hotly
cliargcd by the returning Boyalists, they also discreetly took
to flight. In a field behind the High Church, however, as
many of the rebels as were not concealed lu the houses of the
Town's people, drew up in a knot, and there remained till
about five o'clock in the aftemocm, when it was thought
adviuablc to retire to a spot which they had occujjied the pre-
ceding night, about a mile from the toi.vn of Glasgow, Cap-
tain Graham, who had expected another attack on tlie town,
discovering by his upica whither they hail gone, tunrchcd out
after them. But the Presbyterians retreating with a strong
rear guard of horse to Hamilton, he returned back wthout
having cume to blows. After this skirmish it was reported,
that somi; of his Majesty's officers philomphi<'allj/ betook them-
Holvoa to the protection of the Tolbooth stair-case ; while, on
the other hand, it was affirmed that Hamilton, the leader of
the rebels, stopt very quietly into a house at the Gallowgatd
bridge, and their remained iDRCtive till the retroat of hit

18

a74 MEMORIALS OF THE

The whiga left the bodies of their slain companioBB,
araounting to seven, behind them, extended on the streets of
Glasgow. There they lay from eleven o'clock in the morning
till nightfall, as Captain Graham and the other ojkert are
said to have given orders that they aliould not be buried, but
that the butchers' dogs should be suffered to devour them.'
At last they were smuggled into houses, and attired for sepul-

' [Had uiy mch brutal order been eirea, CapUin Creigbton, who certunl; did
not teek (o soften hi* nnmttiTe, would liBve mentioned the fscl. Indeed, it rnkf
tie gilbercd from Wodruw'a own accoDDt, tliat, in this imtance, ho vis TeeordiDg
H ralgohDod. When th*t nnUiiRl.v historian rcfen to " pnpera" in liia paaBoaion,
b; «>} uf Terifj'ing his calumniea, as lie so conatantl)' does vithont rurlliar di»-
cloBoni of hi* worllilcxa authorities, lliero in every chance (as ve have already
proTed) ttiat the production of thoeo papers would ddi liaie afforded the pretended
verification. Bat when Wodrow reeorda BOne maniren caluinnir, nnder his niiul
reference to " papers," fn pttle, at the mime lime aBecting a eaudid donbl in lus
own mind whollicr euch things could poasihlj he true, we may rest asenred, that
the nature of his bidden inronnation »aa such as to satisfy liimsvlf that it waa not
(»<. The pamoge (o wliicli Mr Sharpc alludea (with a scep^ciem llial might bave
been muoh more decidedly eicpretscd], ia as followa : —

■■ Groat woi the iiihimaiiily of the soldiers lo llis drad bodia left in the (treela.
/ fiitd KBu paptn asserting tliat Clarerhoun, and icmf of the oScen, gave order*
llut none should bury them, but that tbe butchers' dogs should be suffered lo cm
them, / can icarctly praaH icilA aytt!/ to Ibink there wore any etich ordcis
given ; but it is eertain that tlie seven dead bodies Uy upon (he street rnnn devai
of the dock till uight came on, and tbe common soldiers would not permit them lo
be carried into hoUBe8,"^and so on with the rest of his nibbisli. — Hill. iii. 71.
Wodrow seems to think that three ruthless rebels, who hud kilted so many of the
King's troops at Drumdog, and had pursued them to Glasgow for the same pur-
pose, afaould. In tbs very crisis iiud heat of their overthrow, bave been tmttad U
tenderly as if they had been friends and allies ; and that, too, by tlic very soWera
in whose henrt's-blood they were lliirsting lo imbrue their hands. Yet Wodrow
himself fondly records these ruffiims as [egilimate " soldiers," who, only by a little
mismanagement (which he greatly regrets), had failed upon tliis occasion to beeonM
the supreme Government of Scotland t At Dramcloj;, he says, " Claverbouse ao4
hia men were totally routed ; and it was tlie opinion of not a few, that if the coun-
trymen hod padied Oieir mxfU, followed tlieir clinse, and gone straight lo Ghu-
gow that day, they might easily, with such as might have joined them by the roul,
upon the notice of their suecego, have dislodged (he soldieis, and very amn made >
gnat ap}>aarajia." And, in reference lo their subsequent defeat, he says, " Thii
discomfiture very much disheartened the raw and inexperienced toldltri."

With regard lo tlie interferenrc with their funeral prooanoHi, in Die very crids
of Iheir defeat, il must be kept in mind how, iu the hands of the Covenanters, such
scenic displays were calculated to inflame the minds of the volgar, and render no-
g»b>i7 the eiampto of their discomfiture.]

!

VISCOU-NT OF DUNDEE. 275

ture; but the soldiers »tript them of their dead clotbe8, and so
prodigious was thoir " uaughty barbarity," os Wodrow phrases
it, that when some of the pious sisterhood (for the Presby-
terian brethren dared not to peep forth) were carrying these
inartyrs to their graves, the Royalists attacked the funeral
procession, cut the pall with their swords, and took away the
poles from the bier.

On their return to Hamilton, tlie Presbyterians formed a
sort of camp, and quickly behold their force increased by n
great ooncourae of their persuasion from all quarters. Cap-
tain Qraham, and Lord Boss, imagining that Glasgow would
speedily receive from them a moro numerous ^nsit, resolved to
repair to Stirling, where they might safely await the drawing
together of the King's forces. On the 3(1 of June, therefore,
they marched to Kilsyth, carrying several of the wounded
prisoners with them in carts. But the day after, an order of the
Privy Council reached them near Falkirk, by which they were
commanded to halt until the Earl of Linlithgow's regiment,
and other reinforcements from different quarters, should join
them, when they were to march back again towards the whiga.
On the 6th of June they were joined by Lord Linlithgow at
LarWrt Muir. But while proceeding farther west, accounts of
the surprising strength of the rebel army, said to amount to
eight thousand men, arrived, and a council of war being held,
it was fijially agreed to retire to Stirling, not only for the re-
freshment of the wearied soldiers, — who, by the way, do not
seem to have undergone any great fatigue, — but to attend the
coming up of the foot militia, and the landholders of several
shires, whom the Privy Council had ordered to join them in
place of the horse militia.

To this cautions plan, however. Captain Orahftm was ex-
uoedingly averse, as it in no rOHpect suited either the courage
or impetuosity of bin genius ;' and he offered with only a
thousand borso and foot to march forward and dispose of the

■ [Tlie poraial of CUverhoadi'* nwu lellera, roerntl}- Tvoorenxl, wonlil ha*« lad
Mr Sharjv, anil will IcaJ ui; ouidid oDijulrvr, to the concliulou that he wu not
UIidI; to Ml, an •erlous oecuiau, ii|wD the more impulw iif uiim*l courege, or the
trnprtaotity nl bi* gcaiiu. Itlgfat or wmng,— and he waa mueli more freqqently
HijUt Iliku H nniK,— li" tad dellbcnle rauona tor all Iw ever Jlil, ur advind lo b*

276

MEMORIALS OF THE

relwls, or never to return alive. But his proposftls were not
listened to, and tluH retreat eerved to inspire the whigB, to-
gotlier with their former euccesscs, ■with a wonderful degree of
confidence for a seaflon.

Captain Creighton, in his memoirs, positively asserts that
Graham was ordered by the Privy Council to evacuate Glas-
gow ; and the author of tlie Memoirs of Dundee alleges that
Lord Linhtbgow, when at Inchbclly bridge near Kilsyth,
received a command from the Council not to proceed towards
the insurgents. But I am inclined to adopt the above state-
ment from what a]>pears to be better authority. Lord Lin-
lithgow's force is said to have been a thousand foot, two hun-
dred horse, and two hundred dragoons ; which, joined to the
forces brought by Graham and Lord Ross from Glasgow,
might easily have discomfited the numerous but ill armed
Presbyterians. Yet the number of the rebels wero so greatly
magnified by reports, and tlio King's officers, with the single
exception of Claverhouse, were such household soldiers, so
unaccustomed to the doubts, and all the duties of war, that
the retreat to Stirling is by no means surprising, LiiUithgow,
however, was much cried out against for the measure. While
some alleged that it proceeded from cowardice, others attri-
buted it to the craft of his party, who wished to vindicate the
severities of Lauderdale by the success of the rebellion, and
reap a ricli harvest of forfeitures after the heat of the war
should decline.^

The body of the rebels now consisted of about eight thon-
eand horse and foot. They drilled regularly, displayed all the
insignia of war, and yielded implicit faith to their preachers ;
who affirmed that God bad at length heard tlieir prayers, and
delivered their enemies into their hands. Now, beautiful
prospects of the new Jerusalem began to expand before their
eyes. A gotlly reformation, watered with the blood of the
Bishops, and their wicked followers, was ripening apace ;
while, in every drum, in every banner, they heard or saw the

■ [MuBl probaUf ■ liiBtorictI or politieai niylli, of whidi so
tlic BUrfani uf histiir)', reUllve to the autira prunipling Uie o
iiiun oF iliv liny. J

iiany are SoMing on

ailuDt uf the leading

VISCOPNT OF DUNDEE.

277

I
i

Tcncrable parcliment of tlie League, exliortiug and waving
them to strive nealouely for the gooii cause.

Among tlie preacbers who were caplaius and chiefs of this
rabble, appears Mas David Williamson, a person not a little
celebrated in his generation, and on whom the well known
Bcottish ballad of Dainty Davie iesaid to have been composed.
The history of one of his escapes from the royal soldiers is
very remarkable, and the occasion of that song. When Mas
David was abiding at the house of one Murray of Cherrytrees,
about ten miles from Edinburgh, a party of the King's guards
under the command of Captain (then Lieutenant) Creighton,
besot the place early in the morning, before any of the party
had got notice of their approach. Mrs Murray, a good pious
Boul, instantly got out of bed from her daughter, a girl about
eighteen years of age, and attiring Davie's head in her own
niglit-gear, made him take her place by the side of the young
lady, while she went down to soften the hearts of the soldiery
with liquor. The troopers proceeded to search the house ;
but Miss Murray, pretending indisposition, merely raised her-
self a httle in bed, so as to be seen, and conceal Wilhamsoii.

It grieves mo to relate the issue of all this heroism. Alas !
tlio chosen vessel chanced to prove frail, and Mas David, to
avoid greater scandal, was induced to marry her.' She was

I [Tbis Biury is mucli inoro circunuUnliiUy lolJ in tlie couicmpanr;' [uiii|>hlet,
ootitlod, "Tlio Svalcli Prmbflvrian EJoi^uence UixpUjed ; uT tlie Foullahusu uf
tlieir TcHcbing dltcovered from tlieir Uouk*, Suruiouii, aud Prk^fcra ;'' lint iirililnl
ia LondoD, in tlie yekr IGn2. Sue lite first weUoD, " Tlie True Chuvclcr of tlM
Pniab} Icriun Pmslon and Pmiile in Sculluiil," (p. 5,] fur lliii nd scaudkl agunit
tlu DrnviiJ WUluuDSDii. Tbe autlwr adda, — " Tliim whalo slur; ia u well kuown ilk
tHMtluDd aa tlutl tlie Coreiuuit waa beguD aud carried oo by rvbollian andoppmHon."
Sn HKb'rant and circumatantial a auandal Mai not likeljr tu be publi*bo<l,ai> aooa aftor
thu event, anil daring tba tint yeaxa oT King William's ruign, liad it Dot been ITiw.
Captain Civighloo alan mnrda the alary u a nolorioiu fact, and aJdi,— " TUii
WUIianuon married five or nix oitca (UCEenively, and waa ajiie in tlw nrfga uf
Qucsn Anne, at mliioh lime 1 «<• lutn preaching in ouuuf tbe kirk* uf K-liuhurgli."
Tlie Scolcli aong of ■■ Oaini; Davio,"— Uie wurda uf nhlch, aaya Sir Walter Soott,
" are nther more faccllcoa than dolIcal«,"— U finuided va tha laeident. The tcaa-
dal was naior oanltvdlclod. In Wodruw'a AitaUvIa, vol. 1. p. 13, (he fulluwing
■unvna occnni ■' ITCi, Febniary 27.— Thi* night GUiidriiten told metliai it oaa
ivjiurted far a truth at Dorruwatuwuuea* thai about aii wvolia alnee Mr Itevid WU-
liaiUBUii wat proacblng in Itl* uwn chunh in KdUibar)[li, aud in tiie iiiiildlo of the aer-
niun a ndtoa (rat) raliiv i>ii>l ut d<'Wu >ui liia bible. Tbia iiiad* hlui atu]', aud after a

278 MEMORIALS OF THE

the first of four or five wives whom this Abraham successively
took to his bosom. King Charles is reported to have expressed
his surprise at Williamson's disregard of danger, and to have
affirmed, that while sheltered in the Boyal Oak, he would not
have cared to kiss the bonniest lass in Christendom.

To return to our history. The Privy Council of Scotland
exerted great energy throughout in the measures they adopted
to suppress the rebellion. Besides calling out the militia of
the loyal counties, and commanding the attendance of the
landed gentlemen on horseback, with as many followers as
they could muster, the train-bands of the City of Edinburgh
were sent to the army, and an express dispatched to London,
requiring a body of English troops to be sent down to Scot-
land immediately. The passages of the river Forth were
secured, military stores seized in the name of Government,
and the fortification and supply of Edinburgh and Stirling
Castles diligently attended to. In all these measures the
Duke of Lauderdale certainly co-operated sincerely with the
Privy Council, and he is supposed greatly to have rejoiced in
the insurrection. Wilmot, Earl of Eochester, in a letter to
his friend Henry Saville, says, — " Now the war in Scotland
takes up all the discourse of politick persons. His Grace of
Lauderdale values himself upon the rebellion, and tells the
King it is very auspicious and advantageous to the drift of the
present Councils." Eochester adds, — " The rest of the Scots,
and epecially Duke Hamilton, are very inquisitive after the
news from Scotland, and really make a handsome Jigure in
this conjuncture at London/* It was suspected, and by many
affirmed, that the Earl of Shaftesbury, and the English whigs,
had a great concern in the breaking forth of the Scottish re-
bellion. Shaftesbur/s celebrated speech concerning Scotland,
was certainly much circulated in that country. On a perusal
of it now, one cannot perceive those touches of oratory that
were once esteemed so convincing ; but it is amusing to ob-

little pause ho told the congregation that this leof a mesBoge of €hd to kim ; and
broke ofT his sermon, and took a formal farewell of his people, and went home, and
continues sick." This is one of Wodrow's << remarkable providences about Scotch
clergj'men." A rat, however, is rather a singular messenger from Heaven.]

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 271)

seiTfl how ilexterously tlie wily statesman caught tbe spirit of
Scots whig fleclamation, anil cliimed in to the Presbyters in
their own key, with & quotation from their beloved 8ong of
Solomon. Talking of the Scottish, Irish, anil French Pro-
t«8tant Churches, he repeatc^d, — " We have a little sister, and
ehe hath no breasts," &c. ; and said, that these were l/ieir sisters.
Now. the Calviniets, and Scottish whlga, were ever remarkably
fond of Solomon's amatory effusion. In the Geneva Bible of
1576, it is termed a most sweet and comfortable allegory. Sir
Thomas Hope of Craighall rendered it into latin verse, which
he dedicated, in a poetical address, to Charles the First, while
Prince of Wales ; and in all the prayers, sermons, and exhor-
tations of the whigs, during tliat and the succeeding reign,
we meet with luscious quotations from the Canticles in almost
every sentiment,'

' See Ratherford** LcHcri pauim ; and more GspeoUlly .Mr Julm Welsh's Lotter
fruiD BUckneM to Duno Liliu FlemiDg, Countew of Wigton.

In ■ ridicuruuB book called Rarleigk lUdirim, or tbe Life kdd Dnlli of the
Right Honaunble Aathonjr Ule Earl of ShaTteBbary (ICDS), humbly ileilloated lo
Uw pntatiMi/ L/irds (at the lickd of wham ipiHiBrB the Duke of Monmauth), we
hite toine euriotu iegenda reapeoting this P(«r. We ara told tbat Lailjr Abrr-
gavennj, and the Countea* of Powia (oflerwarda Ducliess, and mnther to tlia eele-
bntcd CouuleiB of Nithadali-,) eoDtrived way* to have SliaflMbury ■nn»in»lTil.
and act Duigerfielil, tha UMal-tub-mBn, about it. But hia heart twice failing him
00 tbe very eoo ef porforoiance, Mra Gillier, the Popiah midvifo, rosolvod to strike
the blow, — <■ hoping," aaya the biographer, ■■ tu give liiiu n wound aoniewhat more
(ktal tbao that which ehu had fonoerly given to aonio othera of our sex." Bnt
after gaining aduiitlance to the Eari, and begioning to fumble in ber pocket for the
dagger, hia Iiordnhlp dratlod eo pleaaantly on the bnainees she pretended to come
about, and twice laid hia band upon hen so apropoi, tbat aho waa very luncb
Ironbled, dashed, and put out of counlenanoe, and retired without having executed
ber purpoau. Tbe alory of tkt Tay, which fumiahed such food fur Tory utin.', ia
thero monlioiied, from which Collin*, ftrlKUim, tranecribed it ; and we loaru from
the CDDcluiuon of the lioak, that after Sbafteabury'a dontb, liia body wai wrappiHl
in Cfra-olotb, and (ben in lead, — " all but his head and faop, whereon he had nothing
aave one of the poriwiga he luod ID wear in bis lifetime ; and in that nuuiDer he
waa laid in a rioh caBIn, in the head whereof, just over the Furl's face, waa placed
a eryatal gUta, wlicreby every one that pleaaed might view hii faai ; irhieh, to the
admiration of all tliat aaw it, appeared aa froah and bcautifiil aa when ho waa living,
nor wa* there any oonuderable alteration to be diaecriiod therein."

Sliafteebury had the follv to affirm that Cromwell would have made him King of
EncUnd, a draiinalanco which, even if triK, he ihuuld not liavo told, ae he might
have bocn aura that nobody would boUcvc the fact. It waa prutcnded tlial bo at
to be cIfcIaI King of Puland ; and thu Tunea dubbing lilin with

280 MEMORIALS OF THE

On the 10th of June (1679) the Master of Ross encoun-
tered, near Selkirk, a party of rebels from Fife, of about a
hundred and fifty men, going to join the main body. These
he defeated by the Water of Grala, killing nearly sixty, and
taking ten prisoners, who were sent into Edinburgh on the
11th. This was called the skirmish of Bewly Bog ; and the
author of Lord Dundee's memoirs^ ascribes the command of
the royal party to him; asserting that the number of the rebels
was three hundred and fifty, well armed, while that of the
King's forces was but forty horse, and as many dragoons.
But Lord Ross's letter, read to the Privy Council on the 11th
June, proves this statement to be erroneous.

Uld: ^|jfttttctiW|li

the title of King Tapiki, composed many puquihi on the future sovereign. In a
witty account of his election, it is declared that the Diet ** sent Polish deputies
incognito, with the imperial crown and sceptre in a cloak-bag to him. Old Blood
smelt it from Bishopsgate Street, when they alighted at his lodgings, and had it not
been for an old acquaintance and ancient friendship between King Anthony the
elect (for now I must call him so) and himself, I am credibly informed be had laid
an ambush for it at the G>ck alehouse by Temple Bar, where some thirty indigent
bullies were eating stuft beef helter-skelter at his charge, on purpose to stand by,
and assist him in carrying off the booty." — Note by Mr Sharpe,

» [Mr Sharpe here refers to those nearly contemporary, but very slight and im-
perfect Memoirs of Dundee, •« by an Officer of the Army,** mentioned before, p. 1 1 8,
note.}

^^^^H^H VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 281

^^V [Thus abmptly conclude^) Mr Sharpe'a Memoriala of Dundee,

^^M his times and his coutem[)oraries, in so for as be had written

^^H them fairlj out, transferred from a confused mass of loose

^^M sheets, and slireds of manuscript, into a paper book, bearing

^^H no title, and no date. The remaining papers, which we are

^^* also 80 fortunate as to have acquired recently, consist for the

most part of notes, extracts, and isolated passages, jotted in

a desultory but industrious manner upon whatever camo to

hand ; such as hacks of letters, and old receipts, — as if in those

days literary men laboured under a dearth of paper. As one

of these scraps exhibits, upon the reverse side, not only a date,

but a morsel of our accomplisliod author's own biography, by

indicating his education at Oxford, we may give it here : —

" Chablbs Sharpk, Etq. To Kicuard Grbbn.

" For Michaelmas and Cliriitmas QiiarUsra, 1607, Uiiivcraitv

Duel, &f., iO U 3

"for Ladj-dav Qunrtors. 1607, BuUcIs nn(l DacrcmvDD, tj 6 8

£7 Oil
" May 25. 1807.

" Received the Conlentt,

" BlCUAKU GUKEN."

It is, doubtless, a cliaracteristic of genius to secure, at the
moment, a happy thought, or a suddouly remembered fact, hy
noting it on tlie material nearest the hand, though it were tho
thumb-nail at kirk or market, The school-room of a gentle-
man's bouse in the north of Scotland was at one time decorated,
I or perhaps, as then considered, disfigured, by an appendage to
the wall, of a crooked wire upon which a young domestic
tutor waH wont hastily to impale, from time to time, sundry
odd pieces of paj>er, of various shapes and si/os, all patiently
waiting t« be " written out." Tho pupil of that school-room,
(an esteemed friend and relativo of the author of these pages),
into whom a reading turn had certainly not been instilled, con-
Kidered himself excused, in aft«r life, from any obligation to
read the Plviuura of Hope, since he had watched tho growing
bulk of it, haiigiii;: on Mint crtxjked wire in the ncluwl-ro-jMi,

282 MEMORIALS OF THB

until his eyes grew sick at the sight of Hope deferred. His
then tutor was Thomas Campbell.

That the loyal and cavalieresque lucubrations of Mr Sharpe
had commenced very early in the century, is proved by other
separate scraps of manuscript, which fortunately bear a date.
The following passages very distinctly indicate the young
Oxonian's ultimate object, in these researches : —

" July, 1808. — The conviction that a character which we
admire or reverence labours under misrepresentation and
obloquy, is a very painful feeling to most men, more especially
if their favourite principles, civil and religious, suffer at the
same time. This, more than the vast avidity with which
memoirs, and indeed biography of every description, are
now sought aftur, emboldened the author of the following
sheets to submit them to the judgment of the public. From
the life of John Graham, Viscoimt of Dundee, however im-
perfectly composed, much may be learnt ; for in his success
we may perceive what prodigies can be effected by manly
perseverance and unshaken courage, — and, in his ill fortune,
how slight the greatest human efforts prove against the
decrees of that wise providence, which, for its own good ends,
disposes of conquerors and of crowns contrary to all the short-
sighted presumptions of frail mortality.

" The prejudices of party would very lately have rendered
any attempt towards a life of Viscount Dundee an invidious
luidertaking. At present these prejudices have declined with
the unhappy race of men that gave birth to them ; and a
biographer may bestow all due i)raise on the talents, fidelity,
and valour of a Jacobite, without incurring the stigma of par-
tiality, or tlie suspicion of extravagant notions of regal prero-
gative. From his earliest infancy Dundee was taught the
high notions of loyalty that flamed in those days, but which
the freezing streams of philosopliy have now so entirely ex-
tinguished. The fate of his gallant cousin the Marquis of
Montrose was held up to him, to instill a detesta-tion of the
puritan principles, and his example served to nourish all the
seeds of fidelity and courage in his bosom. In him, he saw
the elegant scholar identified with the hardy warrior, and he
I)anted to emulate his brilliant acquirements. In the person

^H|H^^^H VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 283

of Dundee great beauty was joined to streugth and agilitj, he
was an experienced horseman, and excelled in all other manly
exercises. But the whigs drew the ijorlraits of tliesc " bloody
persecutors," as they called them, in the most terrific colours,
beiglitening their pretended cruelty with all the horrors of the
national superstition. Their saliva burnt where it fell ! The
wine raised to their lips became clotted gore I' Their feet
caused to boil the watar in which they were immersed I They
rode over rocks, and through pools, on infernal coursers, wear-
ing shirts of proof, and other spells to resist gim-shot I And
they ferreted out the miserable fugitives by the aid and in-
spiration of Salan, to whom they had delivered up their souls
for success in these murderous operations 1 The Biahopa had
no shadows ! ! On the other hand, the ministfrs possessed the
gift of propliecy, and an infallible power of curses, or of bene-
dictions."

From Mr Sharpe's Sibylline leaves we may cull two other

' In 1685, ao cxemliou *m comviUlitl n-hieli prodnnrd one of lliose miraclm tu
whieli man;' of the whig« (prompted bj' the convoatlcic prvtcliera) ^ve implicil
belief. A fellow uf the rinme of Willutu Smith, ia llic parish of Gleaaum in
Niihsdalc, had been Hiied by Ilic officer of llie gairiBon ■! Kailloch, and bohavcd so
obatinateijr aa his examJiutlau, that Sir Robert Lawrio at Maiwelloii, ■ rery la.val
gcDllonuu), pToaounced, ■■ a CommiMioner, the ncDtence of death upon him.' It
HaaoD Ux day of Itia own daughter CbUu^iid'i mnrriage to Mr Cordoa of Shirroen ;
and ll>e father of IIm criminal, a tenant of Haxwelloa's, applied lu the yonng
lady, begeeching her la reqamt the life of hia ion, >■ a marriage bono from Sir
Robert. It waa Uionglit that ber intereeHion wonld prevail ; but *Iib reaolnlely
refuned to maLo aaj, and William waa ahot on the rarc-niuir, by a party of sol-
diere, that eTening. Sit Robert lat at table ; he called fur a Cup of uiiie, and
putting it to hia lipa, korretco rtfmiit, foand llie liquor meiaroarphoaed into d-ttltd
htood I " Fiuaque in obicenum m vertore rina cniorem." The kiwc U-jcnd la
adapted to eondry of the perMcntori, and doubllua witb tlie game truth ; but (heae
beroragea of horror are remarkable, inaamuoh aa tlioy exhibit to »hat extreniea
cnlbuaiaalie emdulity eauld be maile lu soar, oven at eo Lalu a periml ae llie reign uf
King Jama the ScTODth. — ^olif bf Mr Stuirji:

[It mnal alao be remarLed that tlieae wipentitione, inth which tlie covenanting
aonala abfinnd, were nai ilie mnre Ignorant guMip of ibe vulgar, but wnrn deli-
beraloly recorded by the AirttrriaM of lb« Covenant, incloding Wodrow hiniaelf,
u if aOunling yntft uf their groMi (•Inmnie*, while in bet such illuetralioua
lendeJ to expow the falxity. And heneo it wa* that Sir Waller Scolt wan in-
daml to oxeUim, — " Yon can hardly coneoive tlie perfidy, cruelty, and tsfiditj
uf tlioae people, according bi iIip a«M>aate tbey have UwmHlvoa preserved." See
^^^ b«fi>re, p. IC7.t

284 MEMORIALS OF THE

Sections of his contemplated Memoirs of Dundee: The next
prominent event that falls to be narrated by him, is the de-
feat of the insurgent fanatics at Bothwell Bridge, in which he
follows closely the minute and very graphic details furnished
to Dean Swift by old Captain Creighton, one of Claverhouse's
most efficient officers upon that memorable occasion. From
that source, too, we must supply an unfortunate hiatus in the
manuscript of Mr Sharpe, occurring between his account of
the skirmish at Glasgow, after the affair of Drumclog, and
where we again take up the thread of his narrative, in medias
res of tlie battle at the bridge.]

[Section VI. — Defeat of the Fanatics at Bothwell Bridge^ and
the immediate consequents thereof to the Army of Mar-
tyrs, — Executions of Kid and King, Cameron and Cargill,
Isabel Alison and Marion Harvie. — Outrages justifying
these severities.]

[" The Council, finding the rebels daily increasing in their
numbers, gave information thereof to the King ; whereupon his
Majesty sent down the Duke of Monmouth with a commission
to be Commander-in-Chief, and to take with him four troops
of English dragoons, which were quartered on the borders.
But these, with the forces in Scotland, amounted not to above
three thousand. Upon the Duke's being made Commander-
in-Chief, Greneral Dalziel refused to serve under liim, and re-
mained at his lodgings in Edinburgh till his Grace was super-
seded, which happened about a fortnight after. The army
was about four miles forward, on the road towards Hamilton,
when the Duke of Monmouth came up with his English dra-
goons, on Saturday the 21st of June (1679). From thence the
whole forces marched to the Kirk of Shots, within four miles
of the rebels, where they lay that night. The next morning he
marched the army up an eminence, opposite to the main body
of the enemy, wlio were encamped on the moor. The Gene-
ral officers, the Earl of Linlithgow, Colonel of the Foot-Guards,
the Earl of Mar, Colonel of a regiment of foot, Clavers, the

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

285

I
I

Earl nf Ilumo, and the Earl of Airly, all captains of horse, the
Marquis of Montrose,' Colonel of the Horse-Guards, Atbole
having been discarded. Dalhousie, with many other noble-
men and gentlemen volunteers attending the Duke together,
desired his Grace to let them know which way be designed
to take to corao at the enemy ? The Duke answered, it must
be by Bothwoll Bridge. Now the bridge lay a short mile to
the right of the King's army, was narrow, and guarded with
three thousand of the rebels, and strongly barricaded with
great stones ; but, although the officers were desirous to have
passed the river by easy fords, directly between them and the
rebels, and to march to their main body on the moor, before
those three thousand who guarded the bridge couhl come to
assist Ihem, yet the Duke was obstinat*, and would pass no
other way than that of the bridge.

" Pursuant to this preposterou.t and absurd resolution, he
commanded Captain Stewart (whoso Lieutenant I was), with
his troop of dragoons, and eighty musqueteers, together with
four small field-pieces, under cover of the dragoons, to beat
off the party at tlie bridge. The Duke himself, with David
Lesly and Melvil, accomjianied us, and ordered the field-pieces
to ho Itft at the village of Bothwell, within a musket sliot of
the bridge. When the Duke and his men came near the
bridge, the rebels beat a parley, and sent over n laird, accom-
panied viith a kirk preacher.' The Duke asking what they
came for, was answered — ' That they would have the Kirk
establisbcd in the same manner as it stood at the King's re-
storation, and that everj/ subject should bo oblirfcd to take the
Solemn League and Covenant.' The Duke told them their
command could not bo granted ; but sent them back to tell
their party, that if they would lay down their arms, and sub

' [ The letter ip which lh« ynang Marquis of ModItdh hi gimccfullj urgm his
distingiuKhMl owlet lo Rcwpl of the coainiiiuian oT Lieutenant iinilnr liim, m Cap.
tain of > ltw>|i iir myal giwrdii, lo bf> niiwil in SentlanJ, in dalod 3J Fcbruarj' of
tliat iM.n\t yr, I<1TS The hopo of promotion which that Ipttpr held out had Iwen
>{>rvdily fulfiltvd. In the following j'ear, wc And Montrnac in pgtnmanJ ut
(he IUipv-GuardiaaColonrl,aDd ClivorhooK a leading and nwai prooiiueul cii|>-

inofhort*. See before, p ISS,]

• [TheH weTe Pergnaon of Caitlodi.and Ma* Uarld lliime |

zoo UEJUORIALS OF TDK

mit to the King's mercy, he wonld iutcrc&le for their par-
don,*]'

On the return of their missionaries from the Duke, the re-
bels continued their altercations with redoubled violence;
during which the fleld-pieccB of the Royalists were planted on
the eastern side of the river, to cover tlie attack of the Foot-
Guards, who assaulted the bridge under the command of Lord
Livingston, eldest sou to the Earl of Linlithgow. Hackston,
the murderer, maintained his post with sufficient obetinacj
for nearly an hour;* but all his ammunition being expended,
and no Buccoiir afforded by Oeiieral Hamilton, he unwillingly
relinquished the bridge, and retreated to the main body, now
wisely engaged in cashiering their officers, and appointing
fresher fools in their ])lace8. The Duke's army, with their
cannon in front, crossed the bridge, and drew up in line of
battle, Monmouth commanding the foot, and Captain Orabam
the horse. The cannon now began to play, and its discharge
completely discomfited the cavalry of the (Covenanters ; who,
wheeling round in prodigious confusion, overthrew and tramp-
led upon their pedestrian companions. The Duke, from a de-
sire for popularity, and perhaps a tenderness of disposition
not very well suited to the emergency of the times, prevented
much slaughter of the insurgents, though four hundred fell in
the pursuit. Captain Graham esteemed this, itl-timed cle-
mency; and General Dalyell, who arrived in the camp the
day after, with a commission to supersede the Duke as Com-
mander-in-Chief, publicly chid his Grace for his compassion,
telling him that he had betrayed the King, and declared that
if his own commission had come but one day sooner, these
rogues should never more have troubled his Majesty, or the
country.

In the rebel camp was found a high gallows, with a cart
full of new ropes at the foot of it, the destination of which
was but too well imderstood; and it is remarkable enough,
that these instnunents of edification were not turned against
the whigs by the other party, although they had secured

' [Captain CreighMn's kcconnt.]

* [Tho scoundrel wu fightiog witb a ropa round his nock, lie CBurcd tliu iraxU
a( taaay a deludEd mui, besides mordaring the Prininle.)

I

VISCOUNT OF DUKDEF. 287

among the prisoners sundry persona long before (yullawed for
rebellion.' Among the rest was Mas John Eidtl, a celebrated
preacher, afterwards hanged in Edinburgh, whither he waa
carried in great triumph, and made a gazing stock (fiaya the
author of the Scots Worthies), in the places through which he
passed, particularly at Corstorphine, from which, all the way to
Edinburgh, both sides of the road were lined with people who
were most " bitter and maiicioue" against them. The circum-
fitanco'of the gallows is also mentioned by Guild, in his Bd-
Inm BothueUianum ; and by the anonymous author of an
Englinh (or rather Scottish) poem, composed on the eome,
entitled, " A Short Compend or Description of the Rebels in
Scotland, in anno 1679, by a well-wisher of his Majesty, pub-
lished by Authority : Edinburgh, printed in tlie year 1681."

■' Dut wliCQ thuir foot iliil take the flight,
To niHko escape witU ull their might,
Some mn to holes, lonie to the height.

With Dinny a walkway.
The HighlsndcTs did i|iiickly follow.
In victory them up to bwhIIow,
Cniued many id their b1oo<I to wallow.

Crying, alace ! that day.

They wcro eommitted to the guard,

Expeeting but a bad reward.

That gallowi which Ihaiaetva }rrtpareit

Their captives oa to hbg ; —
To that same pallowo were they brought.
Where all of them crpccUd nought
But, Ilntnan-likc, up to be caught,

A punishmcDt coudign."

MoreoTer, in the Memoirs of the Rev. Mr Blackadder, the
prisoners are said to have been " all gathered together about

■ [* The cruelty and prceninptlan of that wicked and perrersc generation, will
a[^)aar evident from a tingle iaMance. These rebeli had set up a very lai^ gal-
lova in the middle of llidr camp, and prepared a carl full of new ropoi at the Tout
of il, in order to iiaug up the KinR'a »ldier*, whom iliey already looked opon aa
tanqolalieUi and at laeroy ; and It happened that the pamien in the royal army,
reluming back with their priaonere, eboae tha place where the gallowi alood, to
^ard them at, without oScriog to hang one of them, wbieh they juaUy deaervad,
and had K> mudi reaaon to expeof— Cni^l»n.\

288 UEHOIUALS OF THE

a gallows which stood there." This, if not erected by thi
whigs, must have been the gibbet of an esjiosed malefactors
which is not probable. Wodrow takes no notice of the i
ports concerning the gallows and ropea, though they must
have come within hia knowledge, but says, that the prisonera
after Bothwell, were treated on their way to Kdinbnrgh in an-'
inhuman manner: — " When they wore come to Corstorphine,
within two miles of Edinburgh, great multitudes came out of
the town to stare and gaze upon them. Both side^of thfts
road were lined with peojjle, and some of them were most b
ter and maliciova in their jesting, and reproaching the pri
soiiers as tijey went by. Too many of that profane mob fol^
lowed the pattern of the old mockers literally, and said,-
' Where ia now your God ? Take him up now ; and Mr Welcl
who said, you should win the day ?' — that good man had I
such expression."* Mr Welch was accused of having affitmec
that the very tvindU-straws would fight for the good cauM
and in all probability he did say so, though Wodrow deniec
it, He also thinks fit to disbelieve tlie word " No quarter,^
given by. Hamilton at Druraclog, which HamiUon him
acknowledged ; and he terms the murder of a butcher i
Glasgow, a mahcious untruth, though Bussell (one of thoj

■ [But that " good msn," Ma* Wodron' bimtieH', had be been tlicre lo *ee (and
pilv lio WBH nol), would have propliosied victorj beforehand, gnaahed his leetfa
over the defeat thereafter, and most probably have testilied in the Grawmarket aa
the coDc1u«ou. His judgment on the raault full/ juUitica the impulalioa : —
" Never wiih a good eaiut and poKiiiit armg, generally apeaking, hearty and boldi I
wonm mana^d,' ftc— i/i»t. iii. 107. Then, ae for the " people," — " bitter and hi
licioua," — " that profaoB moh," — were not these the people of Scotland 1 WbU ]
then becomes of the aationaliti/ of the " good cause I" Mr Sliai-po gives, and fn
Uiaalory oflhupaWuiTf, iuanole to bis publicatioa of the usaasHD Jnmes Ruaaeir*'!
Account ol the Murder of Archbishop Sharp, printed at the eud of Kirkton'a Uia> J
tory, p. 170. The modem editar of WoiItiiw sets rid of the ugly clrcumstsnee wiUi T
all Ihe boldnoss of Wodrow himself. In the face of Creighloii's narrative, aodths J
ballad written immediately after tlie event, wbieb expreaaly Mates Ihe fact, he aay*^ 1
that Wodrow omitted it, because " he pnibibiy held it in such contempt as ti
unworthy nf notice : the report is nbsolulely wilhout fimndatinii," Ac. ; and sa |
Wodrow'B editor prefen and recommends " Dr M'Crit't Wrti" on Iho mibjecl !-
Nut, iii. 107. Wodrow was not the chronicler lo hold any saeb iacideiil in coi
lerapt. He was more apt to hold truth in eoutcrapt, or it least in defiance. N<
it was one of those dctaiis, wiiich wonld not serve for " »ggi»T»ting Ihe erfmes (
our enemies."— See before, p. 59.]

3

I

VISCODMT OF DrSDEE. 28'J

Arcbbisliop's murilerers), expressly miiiil ions that circumstauce
ill his narrative.

About this time also, the gallaut ftlas John King was
apprehended by Captain Crcighton, These preachers pre-
sented a joint petition to the Conncil for mercy, Hie terms of
which prove that they thought it quite lawful to deny both
their principles and their practice, on particular occasions.
King declares, " that his being in company with the robcla did
proceed from no rebellious principle ; but being taken prisoner
by ClaverhoQse and his party, he ordered him to be bound in
cords ; and, after that Clavcrhouso and liis party had retired
from Loudon Hill, he was found by the rebeb in that posture,
and detained almost still a prisoner by them until the defeat,
and not suffered to go from them ; so that in effect he was
always in the quality of a prisoner; that during the time he
was with them, he not only refused to preach, but was so far
from encouraging them to rebellion, that he made it his work
to persuade them to return to their former loyalty and obedi-
ence; and de facto persuaded aeverale to go from and desert
them ; that, albeit he had sometimes a sivord about him, yet
he never offered to make use of the same, directly or indirectly,
or to make any resistance to authority ; and that be only car-
ried a sword to disguise himself, that be might not be taken
for a preacher ; and he did make his escape be/ore the engage-
ment.'

Kid alleged, " that he did not only retire from them (the
rebels) how soon ho hoard of his Majesty's proclamation, but
wht-n some of them came to hie house, to persuade him to re-
turn, he absolutely refused ; that he continued at his own
house, and always exhorted such of the rebels as came to him,
to lay down their arms and supplicate fur purdon ; that At the
desire of them that were most peaceable, he went, in ike *int-
plicity of his heart, to Hamilton, to persuade thom to obedience,
and for no other end or account whntsomever ; that, when
Robert Hamilton, and some other of the ringleaders, became
onragi'd wilh the iHititioniT's prmenble advire, he came on hi»
joorney homeward, and was purftuod by a party of the rebels,
who threatened to kill him if he would not retom ; neither
hail liL' auv armn, tmt a short sword to di«ga!ae Xi'nnsAi from
19

290 1IEMORIAL5 or THS

being known as a prea^rber ; that both the pHBoneTS. with
others, had go far prevailed with the moEt part of the vebek.
that if his Majesty's foroes had forborne to assault for two
bonrs longer, they had alL or most part of them^ eubmitled
and 3rield€^''

This petition, which greatly vexes the npn^t spirit of
Wodrow, was of no avaiL They were tried, condemned, and
erentnally ordered for execution, after the most ample time
had been allowed them to petition for their lives, a petition his
Majesty refused. Mr Kid had still a conceit left him in his
misery, — a miserable conceit ; for, walking hand in hand with
King towards the scaffold, he said, — *' 1 have often heard and
read of a kid sacrificed, but I seldom or never heard of a hing
made a sacrifice." It is said that great wits have short
memories. This gallows punster had forgotten King Charles
^he First.*

Wodrow, with great impudence, asserts that, till the spring
of the year 1679, no unsafe doctrine could be charged upon
the field-preachers ! This foolish fellow believed in Dr Gates,
when he said that shoals of papists were daily sent to Scotland.
And yet Fox says his credit is unimpeachable ! He is one
continued lie, respecting the peaceable doctrines preached by
the whigs, as their own printed sermons and declarations

> [The Rer. Master Robert Law, sorely not Ukely to do injustioe to his fellow
kbourer, Master Kid, gives a yery different accoant of him, from his petitioii.
^ Mr Welsh, and some ministers with him, were for decbuing for the Kimg*» in-
terest, according to ike Cotcnant, Robert Hamilton, their governor, with Mr Kid^
Mr Dongas, two probationers, and others that followed their way, were for <ftf-
daiming the King and his interetU, All could not avail with Mr CargiU, Kid^
Douglas, and other itiUeu men among them, to hearken to any propotaU of peace.** —
LatB^i Memoriali, p. 150. This was the dissension to which Wodrow, mnlium
gementt attributes the defeat of those demented and doomed criminals at Bothwell.
Creighton's account of his capture of the fugitive King is extremely graphic. He
was guided in the pursuit by a peasant's description of him as '^ a braw, muckle
carle, wiUi a white hat on him, and a great bob of ribands on the cock o't" He
offered a plea ad mitcricordiam to that bold dragoon, which was as little likely to
h% successful in that quarter, as his petition founded un his false plea of innocence.
lit had seduced Lady Cardross's waiting-woman of the name of Creighton, and sib
to the dragoon ; who hinisclf informs us, that King ** entreated me to show him some
favour, beoauMO he had married a woman of my name : I answered, — * That is true,
but flmt you got hor with bairn, and shall now pay for difpi-aeing one of mv
nnme.' ^^—Memoirt, p. 140. Sec before, p. 269.]

/

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 291

prove. And furtlicr, for miiny uf Woilrow's " aiithorities,"
they were hut narratives drawn up by the criminal wbigs
theraselvoa, or their descendanta. lie often calls lUose who
were killed, choice and ptofu yoatlis I He " wonders" they
went not far greater lengths ! I'

It was in the year 1G79, before the murder of Archbishop
Sbarpe, and the battle of Bothwell Bridge, that some whigs
enveigled one Major Johnstone, a man who had bcou active
in apprehending delinquents of their sect, into a house of a
woman of the persuasion, and beat and abused him most
cnieliy; dischargiug guns at him, and wounding liim with
BWords very dangerously. Wodrow says that he is well as-
sured that the whole was but a, jest, John Knox, however,
convinces ua, that the jokes of that party had something very
serious at bottom. Cardinal Beaton, and this Mt^or, and many
others, found it "jesting that was not convenient." Theirs
was a strain of merriment somewhat like that of the Emperor
Commodus, who cut off noses in his merry vein, Sborlly after
this, there was another piece of mirth executed of the same kind.
A conventicle at Cumberhead, in the parish of Xicuhmahago,
having routed the party of soldiers sent to dissipate them, the
whigs became still more insolent than before, and resolved to
make short work with their enemies. Three foot soldiers of
Captain Maitland's company being ijuartercd on a man near
Ijoudon Hill, who would not pay the cees, or tax to Govern-
ment, behaved themselves quietly for ten days, having com-
passion on the man, who was in an ill stato of health. Yet
his wife, or woman servant, threatened them with evil should
they not remove ; and were answered that they remained there
by order, and could not remove until they were commanded
so to do, or the man would jiay his cess. On Saturday, April
19, one of the soldiers went to Neu'mills, and luckily for him-

Iself remained there all night; for on Sunday morning about
two o'clock, ten fanatics, choosing the Lord's day, doubtless for
BO pious a work, boaot the bam where the soldiers lay, and
fu
U,
So<

' (Sbo Vfndrow, iii. 504. How much f»nlior would lie h«<re had Uicw miienblp
fuMlioi go, than tnunlcHnft tlio Arehtnahup, unci all lojalUu upoa *b>'m (Iw? rrnild
lay their eumrdly haod*, and tb«ir atiempl, in arrni, lo poaoi thcmaclm ot liir
Sovenipi pawn- In SeolUnil I ChirUa Shaqx had raJly itiidicd W»dm«, and
farmed • Jinter eMuuM at him tluui Charlo* Vux liad Juna."]

292 MEMOBULS OF THE

kuocked loudly at the door. One of tlic men, thinking it
hiB comrade from NenTnills, arose in his shirt, and openii
the door, started back at sight of the villains without ; who,
exclaiming " come out you damned rogues," shot him dead
upon the spot. The other soldier now got up, and rusliing to
the door, received a wound from a bullet in the tliigh. One
of the murderers dismounted from his horse, and while they
struggled together, another whig came up and knocked the
soldier down. They then carried away the soldiers' arms and,
clothes, and went off thinking they harl killed them both.
effect the wounded man died a few days aftorwards.
principal executor of this atrocious deed was one Scarlett,
tinker, who is proved to have heen a follower of Mas Jol
Welsh,^ and Richard Cameron, being one of their body-gui
which was ever well armed in case of an assault froin the
King's troops. Scarlett had seven wives, which was exorbi-
tant. He certainly led on bis friends to this action for the
sake of avenging the blood of the saints; not for the paltry spoil
of a few clothes, and some arms, as the justifiers of his set
would insinuate, in hopes to shelter this assassination uudei
the vizard of a common ixibbery, and a ctisual murder,

the
and^^

Th^H
tt, a^H

larcC^H

Tlie Duke of Monmouth lingered some timo after hia super^a
sednre,* with the army, and then went by Stirling into Fifc^l
where ho paid a visit to the Duke of Rotliea. He afterwards (
repaired to Court, and met vrith a very cordial reception from ^
the King, though his Majesty was much of Captain Graham's
mind respecting the treatment proper for such delinquents as
his Grace had lately been dealing with, and knew too much of j

> [Even in 1 GGG, thero wbb an orilor from Uia Chancellor Rnthcs la I^rd Dnun-
laiirig (aFtprnBrds Eurl iiu<i Duke of QoBcnabeiT;}, In da all iu liU power, aa SberiF
of Dumfriesshire, to apprehend and bring to jtui^ca Mas Jolin WeWi, who hmd
beeD oxctting Ihc people to rebellion at conventicles, and had been outlawed fbp r*.-
fiuing to appear when summoned by Iho Privy Coandli—Qiittiiiierry Paper*.']

■ [Sir Wallsr Scott has the foltowing note to Crei^jhton's Memoirs :— ■■ The OMu-
misaiou to General Dalyell wna dclirered to him, June S3, 1G79 ; hut it did not
Bupetsedc tJie Duke of Monmoulli, who i« alj led Lord General bj llie Privy Couodl,
June 24, and wrote in that characlar to Iheir Lordships the aamo day. Hia eom-
misaioD, however, was rovoked the first of November follawing." Prom a letter
nnn^ the Qiieenabcrry Papeiv, it is apparent that Dalycll's cnaimlxaion was sub-

ordiii:

a Man

Diilh'^.

ITSCOCNT OF DUNDEE.

293

I

huDiau nature to imputQ his forbearance entirely to the dic-
tates of humanity. This was the laat insurrection of the kind
iu Scotlauil, and bitterly did the whigs deplore their calamity
in the miscarriage. The more violent party, the Cameronians,
charged the cooler Preabyterians with the misfortune ; and
they were not slow to reciprocate the accusation. But both
sects agreed in reprobating the conduct of their own leaders,
and admiring the clemency of Monmouth, concerning whom
they ever afterwards spoke and wrote with wonderful regard
and tenderness.

Captain Graham, together with the other offlcere who had
experienced the disaffection of Glasgow, and thought that the
western shires required some severe correction, pro]>osod that
the soldiers should be allowed two or three hours to plunder
the houses of the whigs in that town, and that these shires
should be put under a regimen of fire and sword.' But mil-

■ [Hr Sharpe here followi the nMTntive of Wodraw, who giroB it thus : " Tba
officers of the trmy who IumI been at Gliugow, Mijor While, CUTerbonae, uid
otlien of their emrl ttrnptr, >alicit«l iho Goaerml In ruin Iht trot of Hf-otiahd Biid
burn (Hatgo*, Hamilton, t,aA Slnlkaee*, to kill lit ^Tuoiun, *t leut cotuiderkble
nnmbcrm of ibein, uid to permit the anuy to (JaDiler the wcslem »hlro>, who, thej
(Jleged, hw) countenuieed the rebrts. The Geaemi kbhorred to urutanl ■ pro-
poBKl, uid rejected it with ditalation." — Uitl. tol. S. p. I IS. Thi« i* pun Wad-
nmana. It is iinponible lo pemw CUTerhonAe'a own iettcn, and not be aalia^
ficd tint the &bove acciuatioD ■■ an eiliKragBitt f&bcbood. In all probability had
Mr Shurpc come In publish hii Memoirs of Dundee, he would hsTe discovend lliis.
Even Biahnp Burnet only states it tliua : - The Dulie of MunuiouUi stopped lh«
execution ihst his men were making, u itoon •■ be could, and UTed the prisoners ;
for MRU moved, that they should be all killed oo tlie spot." — Ov* Tiew, rol. li,
p. IK, (111133). Law, in hia Hem-irials, tells no such story. Malootm Laing, ft
fai«torian by no means scrupalnus in seizing upon calunrnioui nmours agnin'>t Iba
royalists merely tBys, — • Mounoutli, rejecting llie advice of kit aficrrt to raragi
llu Msstry. diimissed the militia," Ac. Sir Walter ScutI dns* not adopt the story,
■llh'iugli huncnlably wrunR (ntn I), both an regards tlio hIsloHeal facts, and tba
dispoelliiHi uT (inlum of Uavorhouoe. Who but inu*t ileaply rvgrvl this I " Who
would not weep if .^IliiMi* wen lie I" Leaning too murti u|>ia Wodruw, on Ilia un:i
hand, bowing li>o courteoufily to tlie Maiurt uf SctiUand on Uio oIIht, Sir Walirr
tlius htstnrillB* tbe ealumny : ■' Considersl'le slaui-hler, it u tulH, look pbloe, nol-
witlintanding liia ( Monmoutli's) orders, pnrtif awinfi to llie ssnifaBtUjr Itm/^r uT
(lavsrhouse, wliu was bsming to ii/iMJs ftHftauM far tXt dtftat e/ JVawc/o.), and
the dmtk of hit hinmrm, wlio was slain there."— ^/W. of St^nmd, vol. II. p. II.
We aak the proof for all tlils I aanrhDUBe*B own iMteni <hi jirov*,— 1st, that hie
waa not an unrelenting, but • huotane tamper ; 3.t, Ihal ha eulerlsined no fi«liag of
rrmfratM whatevtr fur lila .lefeal st Drumriog, bal rxereispd, and brulralad, llin

294 MEMORIALS OF THE

der measures were the order of the day. Glasgow got off by
giving up a debt owing to it by the town of Edinburgh ; and
the rebels of the west had reason to thank the Duke of Mon-
mouth, and his faction, for suffering very little after the over-
throw of their friends at Bothwell. Forces, however, were
sent into these parts, and Claverhouse made a progress through
the shires of Ayr, Galloway, Nithsdale, and Dumfries, search-
ing for those who had been at Bothwell, who were severely
fined, and had their houses plundered by the soldiers. Wod-
Tow particularises one M^Leweyand, in the parish of Bar, whose
mansion Captain Graham rifled, carrying away all the clothes
in it, and two horses worth six pounds ! Another fellow was
forced to pay thirty pounds Scots ! But in Galloway, cries
he, things were yet worse. There Graham earned with him
same English dragoons, several troops of horse, and companies
of foot. The soldiers, he says, plundered unmercifully. Their
leader carried away abundance of horses from the parish of
Carsphairn. From one man in Craigengillan were taken
three, worth eleven nobles a piece. A widow was compelled
to pay fifty pounds because her servant had been at Bothwell ;
and a wife (horresco referens) was obliged to accept of a hus-
band for the nonce (in presence of her husband proper), in the
person of one of the rude soldiers, who afterwards plundered
the house of every thing portable.^

Let us believe these stories cautiously. This Lucretia has
no name, — like the old man who occasioned the insurrection
of Pentland. Two boys, who are alleged to have been bar-
barously used by Captain Graham's nien, in the parish of Glen-
cairn, are in the same predicament. One, on refusing to name
those of his neighbours who were at Bothwell, had a small cord

utmost forbearance, eren when sent to deal strictly with the same excited popula-
tion, after the tide of rebellion had risen still higher ; 3d, that he had no kingman
tlain at Drwnclog,}

I [Wodrow, certainly, is not to be trusted in the details of any story that he
tells. <* Papers before me," is his usual mode of proving. But there could not fail
to be much individual suffering, and many instances of military oppression, through-
out the progress of quelling the i-ebellion instigated by the preachers. Did these
people imagine, contrary to all human experience, that their rampant rebellion,
murdering right and left, bishopn, curates, and soldiers, and struggling with all their
power to overturn the throne, was to intniduce no suffering, even of the innncmt
mong themRelves ?J

VLSCODNT OF DUNDEE. 295

twisted round the upper part of his head, and tightened by
means of the butt-ond of a pistol, till the cord reached the
skull, and his cries were heard at a great distance. The other,
A shepherd, declining to discover the retreat of his master,
who was a rebel, was suspended from the joist of the cottage
hy two small cords attached to his thumbs ; but his pniu did
not conquer hia obstinacy, as Wodrow declares that the sol-
diers " got nothing out of him." The first youth, he says,
" died within a little after he came out of their hands."'

The Duke of Monmonth'a representations were supposed to
have procured the indulgence mentioned above to the whigs ;
and the cabals against the Duke of Lauderdale daily gaining
strength, several notorious rebels, such as Patrick Hume of
Polwarth, afterwards Earl of Marchmont, and the Lord Card-
ro88, were set at liberty ; which so much alarmed the loyal
party in Scotland, tliat, on the 25th July 1679, they sent
Captain Graham, and Lord Linlithgow, to London, to repre-
sent the true state of affairs to hia Majesty. Great changes
both in Church and State were expected, but very few or none
really took place. On the 2'tth of November, the Duko
of York arrived in Edinburgh, as Commissioner from hia
brother to the Parliament ; and in the same luuiith Gene-
ral Dalycll is declared Gommandcr-in-chief of his Majesty's
forces there, with a power of acting without orders from any
person, in the King's absence, except in emergencies of State,
Tchen the Council wore allowed to give him directions. Old
Dalyell, indeed, would not accept of the command on any
other terms.

■(Soe Wmlrow.vul, iii. p. 122. Haw dam tbenurtj'n'bgiot Touch IheKiloriral
He proTa Ihcm Ihua ; " Tko puwtgiM of their barbsril)-, / kan wtll ti/»ei*d," — ud
idiiog he TDuobulak H« doe* not veature tu uwirt that Ctavei^
boune wu preMDt at Itaeaa atrocioiM prnMsdiDgn ; but, !n liiit usual jontiticwJ maa-
ncr. In cadcaToun lu ereale the impniiBion tlitl he wm, *■ In the pariah of Olon-
«airti, (he toUirrt amier Ctnrtr^oui Daitc Icrritile havoc," ftc. If bo maanl la
I igainit Graham, ths alary ia do leu* falH thaa bis venloD of iha doalh of
John Browu, aa the tenor of all tho Ictlcn of this calumoiaUnl aoldier anJ alatounaii
e bej'ODd a quaation. It ha maani to aay t)iat Uinw liapruvisml tortarra, wnra
iiifllelad in tliu alitcnet of their eonunandar, by tlie aoliUcni, Uid alury atill bears tho
■Ump of falaahooil on Ibe facr of il. Qavarhuuae waa nul tho man to hate hia dra-
>r hi* auhurdinale sAnera, au ill lu baud, Uiat thej' wouli) dare to play aocb
praoha In bia afaaanoe. They had mi anlburily from Ih* I'livi Cminail Ui in-
flict lortura. See befon, p. 123.]

296 MEMORIALS OF THS

[We may here supplement Mr Sharpe's narrative with an
original letter found among the Queensberry Papers, and
written by the Chancellor Rothes to his potent friend the
*• Deil o' Drumlanrig/ wherein mention is made of the doom
of those two unfortunate " cocks of the conscience,* Kid and
Kin:;. We cannot trace in that letter, nor in any state corres-
pondence we have «liscovered, the signs of those merciless dis-
positions with which Wodrow iRc/ik^i'miiia/e/y invests all the
leading statesmen of the day, and upon whom he rarely be-
stows any other title than ** the Managers." After a long
series of riots, assassinations, midnight murders, and treason-
able proclamations, culminating at Dnimclog into open and
triumphant rebellion, the yet more audacious attempt to seize
the Government of Scotland, and dethrone the King, had just
been crushed at Bothwell Bridge. That such a state of
matters would of necessity be followed by a plentiful harvest
for the hangman, might have been predicated from the whole
history of mankind in a gregarious state. But never, surely,
did Ketch reap a poorer profit, in any age or country, under
similar circimistances. Burnet shortly states it thus : " Two
of their preachers were hanged ; but the other prisoners were
let go upon their signing a bond for keeping the peace ; two
hundred of them were sent to Virginia, but they were all cast
away at sea." Excited Ireland, not half so sinning, has, with-
in these few years, been far more severely dealt with. The
battle of Bothwell Bridge occurred on Sunday 22d of June
1679. An indemnity to all whom it was possible to pardon,
and be a Government, was " given at our Court at Windsor
Castle, the 27th day of July 1679, and of our reign the thirty-
first year : by his Majesty's command, (signed) Lauderdale.'*
The very day previous to tliis, however, happened to be the
date of a letter from the King to his Council in Scotland, a
most necessary exercise of justice tempered with mercy, in
which is set forth, his Majesty's " detestation of the murder
of the late Archbishop of St. Andrews ; and being desirous to
vindicate that innocent blood, and show his detestation of the
murder, lie commands them to cause process criminally nine of
those wlio wore in the late rebellion, with this additional con-
Hideration, of having owned these murderers ; who are heriby

riSCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 297

excepted from any indemnity ; and that besides the persons
who are to be excepted therein; those nine being to bo exe-
cuted merely upon i/tat account : Thej, being con^'icted, are
to be hanged in chains upon the place where the horrid mur-
der was committed." The close proximity of the dates of
those state papers raised, it seems, a doubt, and a debate in the
Privy Council of Scotland, which certainly cannot be attri-
buted to a thirst for blood.

" For the Earl of Queembern/, Thene : —

"HlkAugiut, 1679.

" Mt Dear Lord : — According to yoar coramand, I made your ex-
cuse in Council ; wliicb, in my opinion was very well taken. At our
meeting yesterday, whera we tat late, there was many debates fell in,
ftnd long and learned speeches mode ; especially by the Lords tliRt
oame down. But the Adrocale, and Craigie, is not yet come ; which
is ill taken. When the indemnih/ came in among u»>, all men spoke ;
being generally (as yoii know Ter; well) able men, mid escellent
orators. But there was a letter produced, trom his Mnjesty to tbu
Council, showing it was his pleasure nine should bu hangiid notwitb-
Btaoding of the Indemnity ; whiuh loiter was dated the very day hrfurc
tliu Indemnity. Upon wblcb, tbero arose mauy debates ; nn<l, afW
a long time spent, we resolved that, ibia day, bis Majesty's Indemtiity
should be solemnly proclaimed ; and it is wy opinion those nine the
King's letter relates to may yet bo freed ; and so none die but the (iro
miniaUrt,^ (that are to be esecated this day), in regard the date of the
King's letter is of a prior date, although only by one dny.

" This day in Conncil it is resolved, that a Jutdce Air should be sent
through the Southern sbires, and Fife. It will be in October; and
one of their diets is to be kept at Dumfries ; whicfa I suppose will put
you to some charge and trouble ; as that at Cupar will do to dig. The
general proclamations are not yet printed, but one of them will this
night, and the othur to-morrow. If they bad, I would have sent them
to you ; but I doubt not Hugh Wallace will send them. I am joat

I now going over the water to the Earl of Wemyss's funeral, which !« to
be to-morrow ; and am to go for Tyninghamc to see my I>ird lloilding-

I

MKidund King.

208 MEMORIALS OF THE

lMi'« loii.' I have a tbonsand psMagcs to write, whidi I intend to do
■t moiv leuurv, but tliuy bave kept me m long ia tLe Coancul that 1
bave almost lost ihe tide; so will u; no wore but, tn; de«r l<onl
•dieu.

"&.■■']

The Council, January 6th, 16S0, grant full power and com-
mission to tho Earl of QueeoBbeny, Sir Robert Dalzell of '
Olonao, and CIttverliouse, or any two of tliem, and such as
Ibojr shoulti appoint for tbe shires of Dumfries and Wigton,
ftnd Bt«wartry of Kirkcudbright, to procure exact lists of all
tho lieritors within those twunds who were in the rebellion,
and of witiiussDS wliu can prove the same against them ; with

' ITIm ChUKellor'i awn un-in-Uw, of whom aAerords.]

■ [tMyiaal, liftevntborry Papen. Wodrov, in hia dbiuI jssaitiea] manner, haa
till* rlclioiiliHW tkwit upon tiM proceedinga which the abore letter illuatratea : " Tb«
linHiUnulluii ut Uw Slilh June," — agaiDBt the rebels at Bolhwell Brulge,—'' alood
III Tull tiirw, till il <ru, i/ 1 nrijr ff to, a liltle sofiened bv Ihe IiuUmnUg llie King
waa plcwwcl to grant aoiuc time after this. It bears date at Windsor, July &7tli.
What w«> iha rraaoD of tho dcU^ing tbe publinhingaf it, ut Angust 14th, t ahaU
not ilobmnlna. That, aa wo ahall hear, waa tlie day of the public eaecutiM) of
Monni Kiof and Kid. ll may be reckoned inridioui to nippoae that methods
warn laksii to delay il at London for some weeks, and ita publicslioii, «b«n
agnied tu (lierv, wm drfrrred eo long, Ikai lit leldUri tnijiAl iart lit lautftr lima
Iv iiinu* and t/MiU li* e<iiintrf."~Hii*. toI. iii. Tbe cause of tlie delay waa
aliii|ily llila. A few atam euiiijilaa, at least, were abaolutely necessary ; and be-
aldea anob ' oiDlileilt riiigleadem" as Kid and King, nine of auob oF the rebda
who, hfUtt having beeii at Uothwell Bridge, cboea to ideotify themseltea with tbe
uiirdarere uf Arelibialiup liharp by obatiiiately refuajni; to dJauwD Uiat crime, or
adniil Itial it waa a orime, weni urderci) to be tried ou those chargoa ; and, al^r
ounviotion, to be oxeeiilod, and hntigcd in chaina on Majrua Mtwr. At liead-quar-
lara, tlio Qniuoll Id Suolland ware mtialdered loo dilatory in tills retributive justice,
nliloh tho boat palloy required sUould follow us speedily as possible (he crushing of
tlio rabellion. The order against the nine waa dated GCth July. The general In-
dHliliilly waa dalud llip day after. l)u[ manifestly this loal could not be promul-
galad till tha former was, and at least in the conise of fulfilmeiiC. Nun, so far from
tliu Iiideinulty being dulayed in London for the ridiculous reason so malicioualy aii-
alguedby Woilrow, Luudei'dale.iaaletter to the Couucil of that same date, 36th July,
idgiilflea,—" Tliat the King wondera he hath no account of tbe trial of the priaonen
who were tmlntHlly rinyliadtrt, and active in the rebellion ; and 'ti
pleasure thut the Justice Court proceed immodialcly lo the trial of them." The
(.\iHnoll anawer,—" Thai tho Justiciary halh already senlonoed Messrs King and
Kid, and thry liuve appolntod a committee lo conuder Ilie moat proper m ~

prDoeedlng against otiicrs wlio have Uien rivi/lniden in the rebellion. Bnt thia
oumnilllH did not report lo tlie Council until the Gth of August. Rothes's letter
ctplsins «hslfiillnweit.]

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 299

proofs tliat they arc heritors; and to send in lists to the
couucil, or Lord Advocate ; with power to call btfore them
the Sheriffs, Stewarts, Bailies of Regalities, or their Deputies,
Magistrates of Burghs, Ministers of Parishes, or any persons,
whoever they shall be informed can best make discovery of
the said rebels, or witnesses; with power to examine them
upon oath, or not, as they shall see cause ; also with power to
them, if the witnesses refuse to compear, or, compearing, to
declare, to imprison their persons, and put Ihctn under caution
U) compear before the Council, under reasonable penalties ; and
all Magistrates, &. are ordained to concur.

These powers were also given to other noblemen and gentle-
men in the disafl'ected shires, where conventicles were once
more becoming numerous and freiiuent. The affair at Both-
well had at first depressed the spirit of the fanatics ; but his
Majesty's indulgence again raised it, and it was deemed neces-
sary to recall that measure of leniency. The meeting-houses
which had arisen with amazing quickness, were ordered to In:
demolished, and garrisons were placed in Galloway. Ayrshire,
and Lanarkshire, to repress the disorders of the rabble.

About this time, Richard Cameron, who hath left his name
to a sect of Presbyterians, and Donald Cargill, two fanatic
preachers, began to out-soar all ihe others in eulhusiosm, trame
of whom they reprobat<.-il for their a<u^eptauce of the late in-
dulgence, and others for being too lukewarm in the good old
cause. A very treasonable and silly tract, intended for a sort
of public declaration of their principles, was discovered in the
pocket of one Hnll of Haughead, who got his skull fractured
at the Queensferry, and died soon after. Cargill (who nar-
rowly escaped when Kail was taken), together with Cameron,
1 thought proper publicly to affix, to the market cross of Sau-
Lquhar, a declaration renouncing the King's authority, indued
V every other but their own, and replete with the most alwmi-
L cable falsehoods. Sir James Turner, mentioned before, wrote
Bomc ludicrous papers on tliose declarations, and Cameron at-
tempted to defend that published at Sampihar. While the
Prev^bytorians agreed in general as l^i the fundamental points
of their manifestoes, thny were worrying ea<h other respecting

I»xprc9sionn and asHertionB of comparatively very fritling im-
IWrtance,

a)

300 MEMORIALS OF THE

Cameron was not long permitted to continue in his impudent
rebellion. In July 1680, he was killed in a skirmish with the
rebels at Airs-moss, in the parish of Auchinleck, in Kyle.
The rebel force consisted of about twenty-three horse, and
forty foot, which had in a manner been collected by Cameron
after Bothwell, and attended him wherever he went. The
royal party, of thirty horse, and fifty dragoons, were com-
manded by Bruce of Earlshall, (Lieutenant to Claverhouse),
who got notice of the position of the rebels from Sir John
Cochran of Ochiltree. At this affair was taken David Hackston
of Rathillet (who commanded the rebel horse), the Primate's
murderer, whose wounds at Airs-moss had nearly rescued him
from the public execution he so richly merited. He was brought
into Edinburgh, and conveyed along the streets to the Tolbooth
mounted on a bare-backed horse, with his face to the animal's
tail, and his feet tied under its belly, the ghastly head of
Cameron fixed upon a pike, and that of one James Fowler,
(who had commanded the rebel foot) in a sack, being carried
before him. It was thought fit that the sentence of the ex-
isting law (upon the murderer of a privy councillor, and a
traitor rebel taken in arms,) should in this case be rigorously
executed. He w^as the only one of the principals in the Bi-
shop s murder put to death for that crime. ^ The others fled to
the Prince of Orange ; and several of them again returned to
their native country along w4th him, to sanctify the pious Re-
volution. But Cargill still continued to haunt the muirs and
mountains, poisoning all the healthful virtues of these remote
places with his noxious preachments. He was now looked up
to as the father of the Presbyterian Kirk, and in that capacity
exercised the Pope's darling perogative of anathemas and
curses. With great boldness he resolved to excommunicate
the King,* and all whom they deemed oppressors of tlie godly ^
not even sparing the Duke of Monmouth ; and accordingly, in
the Torwood in Stirlingshire, amid a crowd of his followers,

^ [This murderous fanatic could hardly complain of being treated in the like man-
ner his own sect had treated the wounded and captive Montrose, a humane and
illustrious noble, who never shed a drop of blood except in battle.]

' [Considering how long the Covenanters had worked with their tremendous
lever, the exwmmuniocUwn of malignanUyXhsy had little reason to complain of the
established government's inUreammuning ofmurderen and rtbeU.}

^^^^^^H VISCOUNT OF DDNDEE. 301

^^Pin the month of September 1680, he gravoly sot liimself about
^H this important work ; first by lecturing on these verses from
^B Ezekiei, chapter xxi. — " And thou, profane wicked Prince of
Israel, whoae day is cojoe, wlien iniquity shall have an end, —
thus Bayeth the Lord God ; Remove tfie diadem, and take off the
croum ; this shall not be the same : exalt liim that is low, and
abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it ;
and it shall be no moro until he come whose rif^bt it ie ; and
I will give it him." Ho then preached on the IStli of the 5th
of 1st Corinthians : " But them that are without, Gwl juJgeth,
Therefore put atcayfrom among yoursdven that wicked person ;"
and so Mas Donald Cargill proceeded in all due form, to eaxom-
municate the Sovereign. This Saint, as might be expected,
shortly after also followed the tract of some of his own dis-
ciples. Six thousand merks had been set upon his head, and
the Laird of Bonaliaw contrived, after a long pursuit, to lay
hold on him. He was first conveyed to Glasgow, near to
which his conductors turned him upon his horse, and led bim
backwards into the town. Ho was from thence conveyed to
Edinburgh, where be behaved before the Council iu the as-
sured manner of his sect (when their cose was hopeless) and is
said to have predicted the death of Duke Botbes, the Chan-
cellor, who (according to Cargill's biographer Patrick Walker),
raged against him, threatening him with torture, and a violent
death. Donald saiil, — " My Lord Rothes, forbear to threaten
me ; for die what death I will, yowr eye» mil not sw. it f — and,
on the morning of the day destined for Cargill's execution, the
Duke expired.
While a preacher at Glasgow, Cargill hod been little es-

I teemed, but his wanderings, and high flights, got bim reputa-
tion nnd many followers. During his ministry, a oect madder
■till, arose in Scotland, which, as a climax and caricature of
Presbyterianism, enraged the very souls of Donald and bis
tUsciplos. The new enthugioHts were at first called Sioevt
Bingera, from singing psalms 74, 70, 80, 83. and 137, at their
meetings. Their ruling elder was John Gibb, originally a
tailor in Borrowstounneas, and a rigid presbyterian. By de-
grees, hia lieiid appears tu have turned ; nnd, Ijoing a pro-
digious stout fellow, he quickly c(>iivcrt<-d hvonty-Mx women ;

^

302 IfEHORIALS OP THE

onlj three meu ut first following Im Land ; which is like I
proportion of Falstaff's bread to his sack. They repaired I
mooTs and waste pkces. denouncing and corsing all who did n
come np to their extravagancies. Tbcy haunted the Pentland
Hills, lingering to behold the doom of lire they prophesied was
to consume the city of Edinburgh. Cargill attempted to preach
them into the right path again ; but his oratory was not ve^^
convincing ; and nothing but a confinement in the tolbootl
of Edinbui^h. which afterwards took place, brought them toM
their seo$e«. But even there, they commited a thousani
follies, publishing a strange blag^'hemous declaration; aiid4
casting dirt from their prison windows on the coach of ih% .
Duke of York, who laboured, however, very successfully, to
bring thorn to « due sense of their distraction.

It is much the fashion with historians of a certain perfiuasioo, ,
to assert, that it was oikly al>out this time (1680),a fewhotr-headed^
whigs began to throw off all allegiance to the King, and adopi]
the principles of assassination and universal vengeance. From '
a perusal of their writings, however, and the very fundamental
principles of the sect, it will be seen that there are no jtist
grounds for this hypothesis. If it were only now that their
preachers really began to consider the King as a UBurping
tyrant, and his laws as a code of illegal oppression, they bad
long before deluded their followers by pretending a false be-
lief ; and if the sweets of revenge but newly began to be |
relished, how came the blood of the Archbisliop to be scented ■
by them witli such peculiar rapture, anil his murderers styled
pious youths, and universally cherished and magnified by the
Covenanters ? The truth is, tliat the principles of these meu
were ever much the same, though their own prudence some-
times smothered, as provocation at present exasperated them ;
and it requires very little historical knowledge to be aware of
this.'

It is certain, however, that about this time the preachers
began to jn-ophevy, pretending to foretell not only their own
fate, which required no great foresight to divine, but also that '
of their " persecutors," and this " perjured, covenant-breaking

> [The protoealion Mr Slurpe illuiles to, is whsl those oiiled, and oiitiftwcd win-
ventiols orstora, tenneJ ptrucitioii, and ooDsiMcd in the mitslrfWUiDg of ilie ni-m
or the Uw lo »n««t treamd, ivbetlion, and murdrr.]

VISCOUNT OF DONDEE. 303

' kmgdom." Mr PedenB printed etForta iu tliat way gaiiiod
much celebrity ; and to tJiis hour they astonisli and terrify
great numbers of the lower class of old women in Scotland.
In England, not only the puritan preachers, but their wives,
pretended to revelations. In January 1681, it was thought
fit to bring two women to public punishment; as the fanatics
of that sex, added to their natural acti^-ity and zeal, had on
some occasions openly resisted the King's troops when seizing
prinoners, and comported themselves like amazonian viragoes.
Isabel Alison, and Marion Harvie, wore the women fixed upon ;
botli amply gifted with godliness, and the grace of unshaken
obstinacy. Marion was cauglit while going from Edinburgh
to a field sermon, by a party despatched to seize Cargill, and
brought before the Council. Being questioned concerning the
Queensferry paper, and the Sanquhar declaration, she declared
she knew nothing about them ; but when they were read to
her, she said she owned them, because they were agreeable to
the Scriptures. Some of the Council told her, a rock, and cod
and bobbins, would suit her better than these debates ; which
was a truth she could not so readily acknowledge. Indeed, it
is quite wonderful to observe the pride and presumption of
these illiterate creatures. In her dying testimony, as she calls
it, she says, — " I leave my blood upon the traitor that sits
upon the throne : Then on James, Duke of York, who waa
sitting in the Council when I was examined the first day :
And I leave my blood on the bloody crew, that call themselves
nilera: And I leave it on James Henderson in the North-
ferry, who was the Judas that sold Archibald Stewart and
Mr Skeen, and me, to the bloody soldiers for so much money :
I leave my blood on Sergeant Warrock, who took me, and

[ brought me to prison : I leave my blood on tho criminal
Lordg as they call themsidves ; and especially on that excom-
municated tyrant, George Mackenzie, tho Advocate, and the
fifteen assizors : And on Andrew Cunningham that gave mo
my doom : And on that excommunicated traitor Thomas Dal-
ycll, who was porter that day that 1 was first before them, and
tlireat«ned me with the boots," TJiia amiable person had de-

I' [■ Tha during TMlimoD; knit kil words of M«T
Oond >if WitnOMM for Uic Itnyal Pren>;;uilvEa of Joa

ThtwIiQlcDflhl.

304

MEMORIALS OF THE

dared, before the Lords of Justiciary, that it -was h/tvj
the Archbishop, yet pntertained a dislike of murder, aa she
deemed her own execiilitm. On mounting tlie ladder to be
hanged, she said, — " my fair one, ray lovely one, come away
and sitting down on the ladder she aaid, " I am not come bi
for murder, for thoy have no matter of fact to charge
but oidy my judgment. I am about twenty years of age
fourteen or fiftoeu I was a hearer of the curate, and indi
[ministers], and while I was a hearer of these, I was a bl
mer and Sabbalh-breaker ; and a chapter of the Bible was
burden to me ; but since I heard this peraemled gospel, I di
not blaspheme, nor break the Sabbath, and the Bible becai
my delight." She would have said more, but the hangman
short the thread of her discourse by hanging her.i

For the outrages on the establislied clergy, called " Curateft,
it is only necessary to consult Wodrow. In September 1669,
Mr John Row, minister at Balmaclellan in Galloway, was torn
out of his bed by a set of whigs, and beaten, liis trunks, Ac,
broken open, and what they pleased taken away. Mr John
liyon. Curate at Orr in Galloway, complains, that in Novem-
her IGfiS, three persons in disguise came to his house, dragged,
his wife out of doors, and searched for, but missed him ;;
■\vithal thoy plundered his house. Mr John Ir%'ine, minister
of Kilmacomh, was affrighted from his pulpit (tho same year)

Mirinn Kkrvio'* Tialent
Lonta I'f JunUulir;'. Mid i

I, pTUVH, bllltl ili*t >
■llm, wlio did Imaiei

r before the Privy Cnuacil, nod alao before
the anffbld, all given in naaseoua and blasphemDUS
I WM unfit to live, imd unprepared lo die. The feiuAl* |
) mischief, wore f»r more JeoieDtly dealt wLth by ti
ii»nt,iuid gresloreifortB of judicial indoxecutivo humanity exerU<d, to uva .
m fnim Ihalr aun fniitic leal, and fanatic paaaiona, than thoy bad the alighteaf J
rl|ht lo oupwt. This Marion llarvie, in iier dying TcBtimony, nilli tlio eiecn
ot llapliittin of Halliillel (the cowardly leader lu tho murder of the Primate), '
Inliiiiiuin murder of vortAy Dand llaeluloini." She bud harboured tbeoa '
H«>iiiidret>.]

> [Her toatlinoDy U to ahuMve of the eurala, and the outed minislers nho had
M<vpt«d of tliH ittdulgenet, anil at the same time so complimeatary lo tho " rouring,
wnkoiiiiig Rift*,*' of tlio ODtlawed cooTenlicles, that very probably some of these laat
IHHimiolvd It for her. It is impoiuible to know wbat ia true, and wliat ia false, in
Uiat illiciwling furagD of Donsenae and Llanphemy, entitled " A Ooud •>( Wit-
nMW*, ■' No ([ovemment, uni!tr the circumBtanooB, could buve ejiaifd tlieso
•HtllWI.]

vnscunNT uf dusdee. 305

ftnd Hbused till ho luok elicltor iii bis maiisu. In May tlmt
year, soiiio whigs, about twelve at iiiglit, attacked tlie lioueo
of Mr Alexander Kioncar, minister at Ncil&ton, beat liiin
and his wife unmercifully, and plumlered liia house ; and
in iho parish of Qlasgow in Lanarksbirc, the houBC of Mr
James Finlay was plundered, himself hcitig searched for.
There was a riot also committed on the miuister of Dunacorc.
Mr Lawson was wounded. The year 1684 commenced with a
iiotahk< whig exploit ; a band of wretches murdered Mr Peter
PeirsoD, clergyman or curate of Carsphaim, who had become
very obunxious to the whigs, not only on account of his in-
fonnations against them, lint bei^uso he had braved the ter-
rors of Renwiclt's Declaration, which had compelled sundry of
hie brethren to a temporary retirement from their livings,
wearied out as they were by the previous nidcneus and bru-
tality of their seditiously excited parisliioners, and now dread-
ing the extremities of their revengeful hatred. But Mr Peir-
«on, a hold man, used greatly to provoke these fanatics, by
publicly declaring that " ho feared none of the whigs. nor any
thing else but rats and mice."' In 1GS8, Mr Buchon, tlte
minister of Spott, was taken out of his bed, by fanatics armed
with swords and guns, and led down to the church half naked ;
in his presence they took away the church bible and keys, and
discharged him on his peril to officiate any longer in that
parish as minister.* There are many more recorded instances
of tbo kind, but those must suffice for examples. It is very
remarkable, that (in the face of all this), Wodruw should fur-
nish 80 many stories of " wanderers" seized by the soldiers
without a Hhadeno of excuae for their so doing ! This compels
one to doubt of every thing he records ; the more especially
that he professes to follow the accounts of the " sulfcrers"
them»elvcB. How can a writer, expecting to bo in any sort
credited, tell as of miraLtilous punishment so ofton overtaking
the " iwrsecutors," or those who gave up the culprits to their
pursuers ? Of women going distracted, and men dying witli
tongues swollen, or under other horrible symptunis of thi- ven-
geance of Heaven ?

V

{S» before, far ilie dotklb of thia nnr^er, p. nD.]
ItHonU of the Kirk SoBlon of the ptrbb ot 9ifa\\.~

306 SJEMORIALS OF THE

[Sir George Mackenzie, the Lord Ailvocato, in his admiraUe
aijd most tomi>erate " Viudieation," the truth and tnistworthi-
iiess of which is infinitely and beyond all comparison above
that of Wodrow'e history, most justly exclaims : " The reader
vn\l be astonished when we iuform him, that the way of wor-
ship in our Church differed nothing from what the Presby-
terians themselves practised, — except only that we use tho
Doxology, tho Lord's Prayer, and, in baptism, tho Creed ; all
which they rejected. We had no ceremonies, surplice, altara,
cross in baptisms, nor tho meanest of those things which would
be allowed in England by tJie Dissenters, in way of accommoda-
tion ; that the most able and pious of their ministers did hear
the episcopal clergy preach ; many of Ihem communicated in
the churches ; and almost all the people communicated also :
80 that it cannot be said that they were persecuted, and forced «
to join with an unsound, much less heretical Church, as t
French Protestants are : From all which it follows cleai^
that the complaiuers were the aggressors ; that the Goven
ment proceeded by ehw atepe to punish even those who 1
forced if into a resentment; and that all pains were taken t
reclaim rather that punish." The more closely we OXM
the latent and most authentic sources of that clouded hiato
the more truthful will this appear. The clamorous case, fd|
the Conventicles against the Government, has been elaborate
composed, by such partizans as Wodrow and Laiog, (o(
casionally aided by the malicious slip-slop of Burnet), upon •
system, — neither pleasant nor easy, lo grapple with, — of t
most violent and nnscniptilous exaggeration, as to what 1
Government actually did, and the most disingenuous resen
in regard to what it had to do, and to deal with. There seem
indeed, to have been a great disposition, amid all their privsM
feuds, jealousies, and struggles for place and power, on 1
part of the leading statesmen of the jieriod, who were also mu
of great estates in the country, to proceed, as the Lord-I
Advocate states, slowly, cautiously, and with duo discriminafi
tion, in the practical use of those vigorous measures which tly
avowed object of these outrageous conventicles rendered i
necessary to enact. Ever and anon, however, some frightfnil
result of the old covenanting spirit, alanned and excited tin

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 307

verament, and occasionally, it may be, frightened them out
of their propriety, not as regarded the exiating constitutional
law, or retributive justice, but in reference to what may now,
from our present vantage ground, be retrospectively con-
siderod, as not the soundest or the safest policy wherewith to
have met tlie evil At the same time it ought to be remem-
bered, how fallacious and unjust such retrospective views, of
the policy of past centuries, are apt to be, and that even now
no man can say what else really ought or could at that time
hare been done, to save the Throne from the Covenant, short
of conceding all to rabid fanaticism. But, that a reckless
malevolence, an insane " goading of the people," a delight in
destroying their cottage peace, witnessing their mortal agonies,
and shedding their innocent blood like water, animated all the
rulers in the land, from the Kin^ to the Captain of dragoons,
in the reign of Charles the Second, and his immediate succes-
sor, is a frightful myth of history, systematically engendered
by the real culprits, and, to the discredit of the historians of
Scotland, rashly adopted by them. In the sad times we are
attempting to illustrate, the great heritors had a most difflcnit
part to play, as regards that root of all the evil, the field con-
venticles. If they applied the rigour of the law within their
bounds, a duty for which that law had justly rt-udered even
the highest in the laud amenable, they were " persecutors."
If they acted cantioui^ly and temperately, towards a lawless
agitation, which never flaggod for a moment because pressure
was withdrawn, or if they regarded these armed congregations
with more contempt than fear, on the one linnd, they wore
suspected of sympathieiiig, on the other, of hiring on the
" fugitives" to their ruin. In a letter to Qneensbcrry, dated
ISOth May, 1678, exactly a twelvemonth boforo the murder of
Archbishop Sharp, Itothos, the Lord High Chancellor of 8i;ot-
Und, thus writes : " Our woeful conventicles in Fife I am
keavily loaded with. They are a pUguy beggarly people, but
■erves their own turn to make a noise agninet m*."' In

■ [By tbiavumcuil, tlul Rathe* was teeiueit, b; lili riial* In UiuGoi
of prumoting tlieM ennvenUcln. His bolai nmowlikl in npponlion to LauilcnUlF,
bat mora «a|icciall]' Ihn hut nf lil* CounlaM being an cicilvd MliTiiDllder, rendered

808 MEMORIALS OF THE

another lottor, dated 3rd December, 1679 (at which time the
Duke of York had arrived in Scotland), not many months
after the murder of the Primate, and the battle of Bothwell
Bridge, Rothes writes, — " Yesterday we had an express from
tile liieutenant-General, who has intelligence of an intended
rising in the west, and the day prefixed, which is the 16th of
the next month. Betwixt you and I, — I do not believe it ;
though I am not such a fool as to say so to the Duke ; nor
will I in any meeting, lest it may fall out otherwise ; for these
fanatic fools* do not act regularly, according to the strict rules
of reason, however good fortune they have had. But I be-
seech you to use all the interest you have to discover what is
in it ; and to be upon your guard, not only for your own
security, whicli is as dear to me as my ovm, but that, if any
such thing should be, you may appear significant, like your-
self/'

W« may here introduce another letter, from this precious
ston^ of unjmblished documents, in which Queensberry is
addressed on the same subject by the prime minister's brother,
a few inontlis later than the last of Eothess quoted above,
(^luirles Maitland of Hatton (or Haltoim), already mentioned,
WiiM at tills time high in court favour, and in office. He was
lieir-presumptive to his brother Lauderdale, General of the
Mint, a Privy Counsellor, an Ordinary Lord of Session, and
a most important Oflicer of State as Treasurer-Depute, or
(Chancellor of the Exchequer for Scotland. He has been de-
scribed, by his rival compatriots at least, as an overbearing
official ; so much so, indeed, as to constitute one of the alleged
" grievances of Scotland," a political card played most unsuc-
cessfully, and deservedly so, by his bitter enemy Duke Hamil-
ton, of whom more in the sequel. By the Wodrow school of
historians, Lord Hatton, certainly made of sterner and less
sterling stufl* than the lively and kindly Kothes, has of course
been chronicled as one of those aristocratic demons, who
danced about the fire of " Tophet" in Scotland, while the
master fiend, he of the " seared conscience and adamantine
heart," stirred it with his sceptre.

' [No great compliment to his Countess.]
' [Queensberry Papers.]

VISCOUNT or DUSDKK,

" For the Earl of Q,ueen»berry."

" H.TtoDN, IBt* Apra, [IBBO.)
" My Lord. — I am very glad by yours, 8tL instant, to learn of the
Cbancellor's so good health. Long be it ho. By last, I told you,
your BJgnature stopt not long.' I have declared for you, till ye come

"This coUQtry !a not idlu, no way, neither in nstur&l nor politic
body. Spotted fevers are universal ;' and I have lost niy youngest
datie, and the pockshakings. This might have been prevented by

' [RefertiDg to the rajii sigiuiiure, or warrant, leiiulred it
roy&l gntnt which was Vo pom the seal in favoar of QMii>nRberry, tliu ofBcial for
which aporatiun was the Treasurer-Depute. Queetwberry had been very angry
abuut tlie dulay of tbia warraot, aa we learn ky ■ previous letter of Riithea'H, dated
3tBl Auj^al, 1G7I>, iu which lie tclla Quoeuaberry, — *■ I rocoiTed llio houoor uf
yaarvaT ihe 19th, where 1 find yua in a groat pawion, in relatiun tit yuur ti-/iial»re,
I bate oflon told yau/rrUing and kajliif hnru one's self oiore tlum the pemoD whu
olIendB them. Thii hi general I can aaaure you, my Lord TreaBurer-Dopule, ap«D
all occulono, dues lay aa kind things of you as ever man did of another ; and 1 am
teld by several hands tlint his brolhei' docs au loii. But, nomon as I conie to B^in-
burgh, I Bhall obey yon in giving you a full aceouni of all relating Iu your
ngnalurc."

Willi all his lore and respect fur Queeneticrry, whoao riae ho greatly promaiud,

Kothus uccuionatly usea Liui witli mueh frveUom. Iu tho cUanKler uf Hmen*-

berry drawn by Mr Sharpo (nuo befon), p. 2il ), is noticed hia enlrumc parnmuuy.

Wu find another noto of Mr Shan">'*> <" wliioh he aays,— '■ WilJiam, Dule of

QumUHberry, wae a man of great parts, and no very lender eonaoixoce. He made

himerlf maslcr of much domain in Uumfriuwhire, by waya and meouii perhaps not

^^^ Mricily legal. A saying of bia la reeordod, ua the Jeatli of ouc oT hia men of buai'

^^^Laata at Lochniaben, — ' Gude ml John Aliaon, and hia while pony ; if be had lived

^^^Ptfuvo yearajuuger, 1 would liata liad a* Dumrrianhire iQ my aiu hand.' " Ho tills

^^^P(OmI stnry aa it may, Uie fact uf hi* Utww'a auenUon lo the pence oolumu iwonia lo

^^^ ba pluaaantly alludod lo by Ihe Cliancullor Hollies, in tlie puslacri|>l uf a letter Iu

liiiu datad frum Lealie, 'TM August, lUKO : *< I am very much iibllgod lo uiy good

Lord MlddlctiiD for hia fine tigi ; and as for tliat imtit/ni/Utaml Jrlmle-miriug, yiiu aay

yuu pive his aervanl, it will be repaid you, wIidd yon give me the m ilMurt ymi

owe, and lbs tit diilLm and o-kal/ytHi were due Will Aniul, whusu txtcKlar I sball

lie in au far aa (Au) euuios," — ^*ttiab<rr) fayrn.}

■ C October, 1040 i la una week'a time dind, first, tlie Lady KiltnirnlB, daoghlor
Iu the lata laird of it, un the IStli et thai inatant ; and lier husband the loinl,
•ceond a«n uf the Earl of Lindaay, whu got thai estaia by marrying ihla lainl'a
daughter, dies also npun the ISth of llial instuit, hill o/ a /mrr. Tb« aabbath bc-
fure, they wen at the cdebntiifU of the Lord'a Supper, ai the birli of Bveth. The

E'l of lime iipuDBi-e was much Umcnted by all anrls of puuple. Tbcy h>fl soviai
ren behUi.l lb.rm (Vllhin a few .l»j* after, Ihn L«ly Ul.okliall, her sialer,
-

3 1 (t MEMORIALS OF THE

letting blood. To prevent the politic fever, in that body, I wish Bome

•uitable coume were taken. Last week I gave his Royal Highness,

[and] the Duke of Lauderdale, account of the growing disorders here,

as I did to the Chancellor. If this be not timely prevented, see we

have not, or long, another Bridge^ — I know not if BoUiweU Bridge.

There is something proposed of small garrisons, five or six. I refer

you to the Chancellor for this. ^ This may do something to prevent ;

but the law roust go with the tword^ or it will not. Neither will

govern alone. I am not for arbitrary government. I am against it.

But I say this, as the only way to prevent the Phanaticks* arbitrary

government, — from which, good Lord deliver you and me. I have

given the Duke of Lauderdale account of what ye commanded me.

Clavers' commission, as to rebels' goods, is recalled by the ConnciL

So your man will have room for his payment : that ye need not fear.

Yo are much concerned to have your country right. Earl Linlithgow,

who lays there, told mo they are quiet at present ' ■ Their fault was

never their religion before now. This I doubt not you will prevent.

Pardon this freedom from, my Lord, your most fidthfnl and most

humble servant,

''Charles Maitland."

The Reverend Robert Law, who seems to have come to his
souses on the subject of conventicle principles and practice,
(though not of superstition)^ about the time of Bothwell
Bridge, which rising he did not join, fully justifies Lord
Ilatton's hint, jn the above letter, that the state of the body
politic required some judicious blood-letting, — the proper
physician going tlierein hand in hand with the man of the
lancet. About eight months after the date of the above
lett^^r, Law records : " December 1st, 1680 : One Skene, bro-
ther to the laird of Skene, and related to the Earl of Mar and
other noblemen, and one Stewart, a skipper's son, of Borrow-
stonness, and one Potter, all three being formerly apprehended,
did, before the King's Council at Edinburgh, adhere to the

being infected with the same disease, (for it was a pestilentious fever), and coming
to Kilbumie to wait on the funerals, she also dies there." — X.atp'« Memorials^
p. 165. These tragedies occurred about six months after the date of Hatton's
letter to Qucensberry.]

* [Tiiis was a measure earnestly pressed on the GoTemment by ClaTerhouse, as
wo shall afterwards find from his own letters.]

■ [Queensberry at this time appears to have been from home.]

\

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 311

lato covenant, and Sanqiibar (toclonttion ; and being questioned
, whether they would kiU the King and his amnseUora, if it were
' in their power? anawored, affirmatively, tJtey vxmld. They
Buffered death the said day at Edinburgh ; the two last hav-
ing their heads cut off after they were hanged ; the friends of
the first having pled that his head miglil not be cut off, and
fixed with the rest. One poor man, present at his execution,
declared his adherence to their opinion, and was seized and
made prisoner.' Another of tJiat gang set upon the Earl of
Mar's servant, carrying home some things to his Lady. He
was a Webster, and meeting with the laird of Grange, sets
upon him also in the way, and told him he would kill him,
becuiiee lie was an entmy to God and kis people; and struck at
him witli his sword. The gentleman shoots a pistol at him,
U) fright him from him ; but the more eager ho grew upon
him. At length the gentleman rode him duwn, and appre-
hended him. AU these deeda they jaatijy and affucl murlyr-
dom, as did tlie DonaUsts of old," ^c. " Jiloody opinions, and
fraclicm, have for their event bloody ends, to them that enter-
tain and practise them ; and, indeed, tliuy art' nothing else but
the doctrines of Antichrinl,"* Most true, Mas Robert Law.
Let us now cull an example from Mas Robert Wodrow, a
Presbyterian chronicler by no means impressed, like the
former, with any idea of a natural stiquence between " bloody
opinions and practices," and " bloody ends." Here ia his own
version, without a word of condemnation, of the crime, and

■ [TliMB MUmpH on the p«rt cf tho ruulica. Is bi
of thoir brotliren, wore nol uncomrooa ; and vei^ d

IdOWD.]
• [tji<r'i Momarisls, p. 108, la which Hr Slutpe wlcU in a not* llto (ollowing
fooUtion fnmi FouoUiuluill, whuta nuQuieripU were not tlicn prinWd : " Jamo*,
bmllwr to Ilie Uird of Skene, ArcliitwIJ Slewut, ikippcc in Bamm'MonDW,
HkmiltiHi In Braiburn, aud SptDwell, ■potliocary in GlHgaw, ue apprabeiidod.
Bkcno giiTo in ■ pctiiion to tho Council for a reprieve, wtilcb wu gmntod, to
1m December, bnt having rtjuHUd Ihrrto/, he, I'otter, and Slelnrt, w*re all three
banged at KJinbargh Crom, llie IM Uoecmber, UmO, Skene being all dodied In
WbiM llneu, to hia rarj abooa aud BI■lckilIg1^ in afituilim of innucvDCv. Mr John
lAuder, younger of FuunUirihall, wrnl and oonvencd llieni in priiion befun) their
laatb, but tlivf were no bigotnl, that he oniild not get them oan>riaiMd of thair
IbUrea, bM vrn all fvt oitlitg ef llu Kiuf." — Loan Fount* iiiii*u.'e Diarf,
MS.}

312 MEMORIAI^ OF THE

tho demeanour, of one of his " suflcring remnant," and sancti-
fied " wanderers," in the year of Grod 1681.

" Patrick Foreman is indicted for disowning the King.
The prohation, is his declaration before the Council, October 1.
(1G81); where he confesses, that a knife was found on him
with this inscription. For cutting tyrcmtJ throats. Being asked
if that was to kill the King f Answers, * If the King be a
tyrant, why not cut his throat; and if the Council were true
judges, they would have that posie ojx their sw^ords/ Being
asked by his Royal Highness^ if he owned the King^s autho-
rity ? lie answered * not* Being asked if he knew that was
treason ? He asked, * Against whom ?* And it being an-
swered, against his Sovereign the King, — he said he disowned
the King for his King and Sovereign. All this he adheres to
before the Justiciar}^ and repeats his disoivning of the Ktng."^

And this was the fruit of those Conventicles, and the prac-
tical application of the doctrines there preached, which have
been so absurdly regarded as the national religion of Scotland,
wliile Graham of Claverhouse has been denounced, and held
up to execration in history, for daring to suppress them, in
terms of his royal commission, with the energetic arm of the
outraged executive. And here again the Presbyterian preacher
Law, himself repeatedly and justly under the ban of the Gro-
vernment, refers to the above case in a tone of sturdy and
lioncst reprobation, which Wodrow (who, on that account,
declines quoting this inconvenient chronicler,) would have
done well to have followed : —

** One of them, when rt/ped (searched), was found to have
a knife with this inscription engraven on it, — A knife to cut
the throats of tyrants. This man's hand, to whom this knife
belonged, was first cut oft* before he was hanged. These
odious opinions they possessed w-ere grounded upon two wicked
principles, that severals in the land held, as they w^ere taught
by con'upf ieachei's : \fit. That a king, not doing his office, or
doing any thing contrary to religion, ipso facto is denuded of
his royal power: 2(/, That a tyrannous kmg may, I )yjtWyaYf?

1 [The Duke of York, who was tliin ptWiding ill the Council as High OminuB-
Hioner.J
« [Wodn)w'B Uistiuv, iii. ifliJ.J

^

VISCOUNT OF DrSDEE. 313

pfrmmt. he killed. Wliicli priiKiplna arc very dmigerous, For,
by tho first, chiMron may riibol against tlieir parents, etTvants
against their masters, tenants ayuinst their landlords, upon
Auy stijiposed injury done them by their superiors: By tho
Bocoiid, any private person may kill bis Priuep, upon any sup-
posed mal-ad mini strati on, though it be not true."' Right
again, Mas Robert Law. But who were the- " corrupt teachers"
whom ho thus condemns ? The whole, without exception, of
the conventicle preachers. The Messrs Shields, Cameron,
Cargill, Kid, King, Pedeu, Rcnwiuk, and a host besides (all
deriviug their charters from John Knox), who compose tlio
army of Saints and Martyrs, whom Wodrow arrays in the
robos of tlie Lamb !

Is it Ihen surprising, or does it atford any manifestatiou of
a lawless and oppressive government, that, in the year 1681,
an oath should have been framed, applicable to high and
low, for the purpose of testing the principles of every public
servant iu the uation? Is it sujirising, that, in framing such
a test, at such a crisis, terms could not be found to 8uit the
t«uipur of every shifting faction, or tlic twinge of every
ricketty conscience ?]

[Suction Vll.— Notes of AJfairs in Scoilarul—Trails of the
' Times, and Skffches of Character, from Ike. paimifty of Ifie
Test Act in 1081 to the Death of Charles the Si'ixmJ in

loss.]

l()8l.

I In August of this year was passed the form of oath, to bo
taken by all persons in public trust, called The Teel, which
afterwards furnished the discontented parties in the kingdom
with notable Imndlos. It was said to be an oath contradic-
tory in itself, those clauses being fuixted into it by Sir James
Dalryuple, President of tlic Court of Hcssion, a fox now
trimming with the fanatics, now siding with the Court, de-
void of all conscience, and one J^*bo, fr-ira tho very beginning,
•ecins to have made it hi» study as much to exalt hta boily in

"I

314 MEMORIALS OF THE

this world, as to debase his soul in the next* The £arl of
Argyle, who was either of a more scrupulous conscience^ or
of a weaker head than his father, would not take this test but
with an explication ; which gloss was, by the quirking of
lawyers, found to be treason. The Earl, who was possessed
of heritable jurisdictions towards which the Crown had an eye,*
was formally tried and condemned. But he contrived to make
his escape from the Castle of Edinburgh in the disguise of a
page, holding up the train of Lady Sophia Lindsay, who was
his daughter-in-law, being married to Mr Charles Campbell,
his second sun. She got access to the Castle by way of pay-
ing him a visit. The Earl escaped verj^ narrowly ; for, says
Wodrow, " one of the guard suspected him, and took him by
the arm rudely enough ; but through the good hand of Provi-
dence he got olT undiscovered."

[liefore this escapade of Argyle's, followed ere long by his au-
dacious but feeble peck at the throne in Scotland, and miserable
attempt to assume the fanatical throne of his father (for which
he so justly forfeited the life Providence no longer interposed
to save), he was not held in great account by his compatriots.
The Chancellor Rothes, in a letter to Queensberry, dated 25th
March 1678, at which time Lauderdale and his Duchess were
playing the magnilicent in Scotland, enters into a speculation
as to which of the Scotch nobility was most likely to be com-
missioned by his Grace to w^atch his interest at Court. " To

1 [« Lord Stair (Sir James Dalrymple, the President), in the draft of the clanae,
slyly expressed the Protestant religion to be that which was contained in an old
Scottish Confession of Faith, which not only was adverse to prelacy, but admitted
the lawfulness of resistance. The clause passed witliout attention, from tbe im-
plicit confidence of all in the abilities of the person who drew it Tkui modelled,
the Test was a bundle of ineonsisteiteUs ; for it inferred an obligation on those who
took it to conform to any religion the King pleased, and yet to adhere to the Pres-
byterian religion ; to oppose prelacy, and yet to maintain the present constitution
of the Church, which was prelacy ; and to renounce, and yet affirm, the doctrine
of non-resistance." — Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland, by Sir John Dalrymi>U,
Bart.f 1 771. This Sir John, into whose line the Earldom of Stair has come, repre-
sented the President's second son. He was a Baron of Exchequer, and father of
the present Earl. His Memoirs are iustructiTe and amusing, and illustrated with
origimU materials.]

• [But the Crown required to have a very sharp eye upon himself (as the event
proved), and to meet the quirks of treason with the quirks of the law.]

\

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

315

' havo nobody there," says Rothes, " to inform for him, and
counteract tlioso considerable persons who will be informing
against him, I judge will be very unbecoming a, wise man ;
and who he aliall send is the question. Argyle ? His father's
memory stinks there, as here ; neither does either his per-
Bon, or way of converse, recommend him,"' &c. But if, as
Hothcs here asserts, the memory of the Earl's father was so
nnploasaut in the uncovonauted nostrils of lioth countries,
tJicrc is reason to believe, that the person at least of tlie sou
gave out the very odour of sanctity. After making his escape
from the Castle, he came to tuke refuge iu the- house of one
Mr Bittlestone at Nowcastle, disguised in coarse clothes, and
conducted by the notorious Veitch, a minister of the most
treasonable stamp : " After they had got a drink, Mrs Bittle-
Btone conveyed them to dilTereut rooms ; and after some time
she went to Argyle's room, being the greatest stranger. He
had laid down a fine watch and nightcap upon the table,
which did not answer hie clothes : he had opened up himself,
which perfumed the room. She came quickly hack to her
husband, and said, ' I am persuaded this is i^jgyle.'"]

Though these extremes were gone into with the Earl, it is
cortftiu there were no serious intentions to deprive him of life.
King James asserts this in his diary, and his behaviour pre-
vious to the trial strongly proves his veracity. \Vlieu told by
some about him that it was a hard thing, for such a trifle, to
threaten a man with forfeiture of life and fortune, hu ex-
claimed, — " Life and fortune I God forbid;"' nor would he
sutler Lady Sophia Lindsay to be whipt through the town of
Edinburgh, though that was olTen-d by the Lords of Council

I and Session, who quoted the cruelties exc-rcisod by Argyle
and hia sect on the Lady Helen Ogilvy ; she, by a similar
fltratagem, having rescued her brother Lord Ogilvy from the
claws of these puritanical furies.* The King had sent down
;

(QuMDnbarTj Paper*.]

U Is U be mDcmbnred IhM Ibe Harquw of Ai^lo pot John Sicwatt of Liulr-
vrall to dMth (kllliough pcrfccti; innoocnt), for Iradag makiag igainM liim, Ar-
lyk J KDd now hli own wni wu coadomnod undvr Uic auue oLiaolote and •twiieful

ute Uiw.—Sitt tf Mr Skarjt,

[See I^v Sophia'* adTFiiturca full)' iUualnlod iu I^inl LtnilM^'n c'urniing
Lives iiflhe Llndw)*, \\\. U4-U,)

I 316 MEMORlAt^ OF TltE

I onlors tliftt no soiitouco should bo put in execution till it hsd
I obtAinctl his upprobaliou ; and tliougli lie knew his lurkiiig-
[ place iu London, would not suffur him to be suizod. The
I DucliGSB of Latidorilalo was said to havo doHGrted her nsaal
I jimdfuce on this occasion, to shelter the fathoi-iu-h»w of her
I dttughtor. He at length escaped into Holland ; leaving bo-

liiud him a manifestation, according to the rigid whigs, of
I God's judgment upon those who bad ever lent a hand to the
[ work of persecution ; but, according to the milder, on euuh as
I were barbarous to the creditors and vassalG of their fathers,
' and of thozneelves ; as, by the Earl's cruelty, many of that

description were, according to Fountaluhal], actually etair-

Argyle had sought and obtained from the Ijaiiderdale Go-
vernment miUtary aid, to assist him in some of his fends with
his ilighland neighbours. In a letter from Eothes to Queens-
< berry, of date 28th May 1679, shortly after tho murder of tho
Archbishop, tho Chancellor says : — " I was earnestly desired
by the Committee of the Council, al my Lord Argyle's request,
to call u Council against the 27th instant, which I did, and
kept. Tlie aifair we had in hand was, — Argyle's party being
too BtroTUj for him, he wnuld have had some of our standing
forces sent to hiti asBistance. But, downright, 1 have carried
in Council, that we can spare none of them al this juncture.
It is certain he is in an ill condition ; but if he has brewn wett,
let bim drink ike better. For we arc assured that thoeo hun-
dred of the King's forces that are there already, liavc mutinied
and absolutely denied him assistance, being clearly starved,
having scarce bread and water to live upon ; and wluch I
would havo done niysc-Il'. il' in that condition."'

All natural sympathy for the Eurl of Argyle, upon the me-
lancholy occasion of his execution, is deadened, and rendered
ulmost unjust, by the notorious fact, that he was jjrosont at,
and conspicuously enjoying, along vrith his young bride, the
last indignities heaped upon the murdered Montrose in IU50,
Argyle's original aeulcuce may have proceeded upon too nar-
row grounds ; but the eventual execution of it, was eutiroly
llif cimpoiiiiencc of liis siibticiiuent invasion of (be kingdom

' ] yuti'iislwrii I'npiTS.J

L

VISCOUNT or DDNDEK. 317

and throno, — a deadly crime, requiring no now trial in jirovc
it. No bead ever fell on the scaffold more worthy of tlmt
dctttli. No sTiviablo memorial of his fame iii this praise of him,
— " Thus diod this excellent and truly good and groat man,"—
written by Wodrow, who, in recording the public characters of
thoae limes, never failed to Bpeak evil of the good, and good
of the evil. An instance of Wodrow'e disingenfiousness rela-
tive to tliis great state criminal must here be noted : — He
weaves a fanatical romance, with vcrl>oBe sentimentality, of a
placid slumber of the Earl's, after bis last meal, and imnie-
diat«ly before his execution, which slumbiT, be adds, " affords
a charming view of the power of religion, and a peace/id con-
6oiencet in the greatest of shocks." Now, when dressing up an
apocryphal story of " one of the principal managers" having
nearly lost his senses, conscience stricken at the unexiiected
sight of this saint-like repose, Wodrow himself was aware of
apkj/sical cause, which would have entirely marred bis story,
had he l>oen so honest as to add it. In bis unpublished Col-
lections, ho bad noted the following information: " In some
of the sciiMes of these times, a bullet lighted upon a wall, of
a castle be (the Earl of Argylc) was in, and rebounding,
struck him on the head, and cracked his skull; and it wax
trepanned, and the piece tnken out. This made the Earl that
be befiovett atill (i. e. always) to sleep after meat an hour or
more ; and that day he was execute, he behaved to have bis
eleep after dinner."' The sleep was conia.]

The squeamishncBs of the Earl, liowever, made a great im-
pression uiKin the whole body of the whigs, who stonily with-
stood the t«et. Several persons of rank absolutely refused tt>
awear it ; and, among others, ae we learn from Wodrow, the
godly Duchess of Rotbes, who thereby <leprivod herself of her
power to bold Sheriff courts, or to capacitate others so to do.
The good woman could swallow no such novelties ; in Booth
she vftis a teiidcr-cotiscienccd vessel, and would haw choked
as heartily on this oath, as a sister puritan once did on an
apple tart bottomed with a fragment of the A|»ocrypha, Tlio
test in a short time became the touchstone of loyalty, and
enforced on all susjiected pcisons. The whigs com]>08ed

[Spo Wodrw'x J fa

,il compan: uilb hiK Itiilory, W. .103.)

318 MEMORIALS OF THS

ttnotlu^r IVrlunition, agtiiiist the IHike of York, the Parlia-
luont, ami tho IVst. This is termed the Lanark DeclaratioD,
whirh viTv shortly aftorwanls served to augment the fire in
wliiih tho SoU'iim Loa^ie and Covenant, the Rutherglen and
Stiuquhar IKh laratious^aud tho liM called Cargill's Covenant,
\vrr\» a>usumi'd by oixlcr of the Privy Council of Scotland.

\\\' have very juirtioular ri»asi>n to know that Claverhorise,
on tho *jr»ili v>f NovomWr 1681, was nearly drowned in his
pissii^o fl^Mu I »ruut island to Loith ; for the storm is celebrated
hv ono Aloxaiulor Tylor* the clergyman of Einnettles, in
An>;:uss|iiiv, iu a vory curious strain of poetry, entitled, —
** Tho Touipost, Ikmu*: an account of a dangerous passage from
Uiirnt Island to Loitlu in a boat called the Blessing, in coni-
|vtiny ol* Clrtvorhouso, several gimtlowomen, ministers, and a
wlhUo thr\»n)j of wmmon i^issengers; upon the 26th of No-
votnlHM\ U»SK Uoprintod 16S5.''

** No jKHmor «iOt wo Mil on board tho 6Iessin<|:,
Whoii Kohi5 >ot a Fowler's ca|M' on Fi^hin*; :
Aiul whilo wv'n' scarce put forth without the Heads,
Nopnino «tpits oVr our mast his water}* beads.
S^Hinor than you can wink« tho fiirious jsrale
I.iko 5hot miMon till tolt, doth us assail ;
And what on shor\^ sotnns but a g'ist to them,
Im to us a storm mi^ht U>ar a tempest *s name.
We climb straight hills of seas, as if we meant
To invade the Heavens and scale the firmament ;
And when we're on the steep wave's further breast,
We seem to seek the centre for our rest ;
We skip on Si'as proud toi>s, as if we tlew,
Anon plung'd down, as if Hell's mouth we plow.
A water}' dust the foaming billows raise,
Puiling rain upwards, mingling clouds with seas ;
Each monstrous mountain wave still upward hies,
With waten' mouth to kits and wet the skies ;
And underneath so deep a rolling pit.
That HelPs a shallowness compared to it.*'

[After much in tho same strain, descriptive of a dreadful
storm, tho poet toutihos on the effect of all this upon the
nerves of the skipper Douglas and his sailors, the ministers

laSCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

319

' (described as more apt to preach contempt, of death than

evince it practically), ClaverhoUBe, the gentlewomen, and the

Ihoraus. The lines bestowed on Claverhouse, to whom ho ia
more complimentary, are as follows,]

" Courage is still the aame, on land, at sea ;
He wLo can boUly kill darei bravely die.
Yet ho nhoM ire hath smiled on seua of blood,'
Looks pule on water, id hii coolest mood;
Sonldien slern fire abhors the dcatb ot slaves ;
It can't ret-isl, nor vengeance wreck on wuves.
Mars crops Lis fame on oampa. Gelds, cities hie,
Bat what's ten thousnnd nworda against a sea?

The sea bears ui
Of Buui]- tuns, ti
We shako our en
We creep on ahi
That we 'scap'd

and we bear up a sea

Leiib'i port, custom free.

■9, hats, clothes, and in a trice

-e, like water-ducked flics.

maws, and our last fishing.

God, by good Douglat, gave us't with a Bttuing."*

I

King Charles the Second observed, that there never was a
Tttbellion in Scotland without & Campbell or a Dalryniple at
tlie bottom of it.

" To Stair allow, as he deserves, much space,
And round about hlni ibe Dalr]rui|i1o rac« ;
Describe bow the}' their Sovereign did betray,
And sold their nation's liberty away."'

The exertions of Clavprhouso to repress whiggery, were
mncJi opposed by Sir John DalrjTnplo of Stair. From the re-
mission granted in 1086 to the exiled President, 8ir Jamee
Dalrymple, (through the interest of his eon, Sir John, who at

< [This must rvfer to the rasown arqaiml by ClavsrhooH uDclar tlie Prince of
Orangn ; for hs bad aoiuirtd no fame in Sootfauid as " Bloixly CUvan," so early
as lUOI.I

■ This poem is (iriDted at the (tid uf odd mach longer, called " Hemirin (rf th*
Life and Aclians of the moat invinciblv uiil triimi|>hBiit Prlneo John the Groat,
third of Ibat name, prtscnl King of Poland,*' A.C. " lUiaborgb, prinlod by tb*
heir of Andraw AndDrsan."~JV'i>U iy Mr Sharpt.

' Slruan Kobertton*! ailtjce In a paiiitur.- — XoU lif Mr Skarju.

320 MEMORIALS OF THE

tliat time contrived to be made Lord Advocate,) it appears,
that tlio c»td man had not only favoured the meaner TebeL>,
hut fost4}red tlic prophet Peden, and other vagrant preachers,
in his house, where he had them preaching, and baptizing
children. [Wodrow himself gives us the terms of the remis-
sion : " In February, 1686, Sir James Dalrymple of Stair's son
irt made King's Advocate, and it had not been decent for the
son to manage a criminal process against so good a man, and
father ; and therefore, that day when he is admitted, the father's
l)r(.)ces8 is delayed till March 28th, when a remission is pro-
duced, read and recorded, to Sir James Dalrymple of Stair, for
his resetting, harbouring, and receiving mail and duty from
rel)ols and traitors, upon his ground, in the years 1679, 80,
81, 82, 83 ; John Dick in Banban, Quintin Dick in Dalmel-
lington, and many others ; and for resetting and harbouring
Mr Alexander Lennox, Mr Alexander Boss, Mr Alexander
Pi^den, and Mr Alexander Hamilton, vagrant preachers, and
suffering them to preach, and baptize children in his house,
and for his drawing a petition for, and advising some of the
rebels."* We may judge of the principles, and the com-
panionship, which had driven so able a President from the
Bench, and from his country, when it is remembered, that
Mr Alexander Peden is the man who laid his hand publicly
and solemnly upon the head of a sturdy disciple, and said, —
" John, have at the unhappy race of the name of Stewart :
Olf the throne of Britain they shall go, if all the world would
set side and shoulder to keep them on."' And this, too, ex-
plains the meaning of a passage we have elsewhere quoted,
from one of Claverhouse's letters to Queensbcrry, where he
says, writing on the 5th of March 1682, from Wigtonshire, —
** Here in the shire I find the lairds all following the example
of a late great man, and still a considerable heritor here among
them ; which is, to live regularly themselves, but have their
houses constant haunts of rebels and intercommuned persons,

» [Wodrow, Ilirt. iv. p. 355.

« October ] 6U2. Sir James Dalrymple of Stairs, late President of the SessioD,
feariDg to bo apprehended and impeached, fled to Holland, and afterwards was
summoned at the pier of Leitli for compearance." — Late** Memoriah, p. 236.]

a [See before, p. 151.]

^^HJ^^B VISCOONT OF DUNDEE. 321

and have their childreu baptized by the same ; and then lay
all the l)lame on their wives, condemning them, and ewearing
they cannot help what is done in their absence. But I am
resolved this jeat shall pass no longer hero ; for it is laughing
and fooling the Government ; and it will be of more conse-
quence to punish one considcrahle laird, than a hundred little
bodies, Besides, it is Juater ; because these only sin by the
example of those."']

Sir John Dalrymplo's principles, though well known, had
ever oscai>ed punishment through his consummate cunning.
To save his own and his father's tenants from the imposition
of fines (imposed by Claverhouac in terms of his commission),
he pretended to fine them himself, as heritable Bailie of th«
Regality of Glenluce. He stirred up sedition in Galloway by
every method in his power ; and resisted, by virtue of his own
heritable office, the powers conferred upon Claverhouse by the
Privy Council. Ho put rebellious persons as deputes in his
office, and refrained from administering the test to them long
after the time prescribed by act of Parliament. He, together
with his father, offered £150 it> Captain Graham to connive at
the irregularities of his mother the Lady Stairs, hie sisters,
and others ; and when Graham had proclaimed a Court to be
held, did insolently laugh at it, and forbid hia vassak to at-
tend. At a head Court, he liimself produced an instrument
agitiuet that officer, alleging that he had exacted free quar-
ters for his men ; and he afterwards pretended that the people
were not bound to furnish hay and straw lo the troops. Their
commander laid hold of some of his tenants, and elapt them up

' [See before, p. 13lt ; vid tioti, where Clnvorlinune's klliuiaD to ' a Ule gi«sl
nuui," wa had ernmeoiuly refemd U> Sir John Dklrj'mplo. Unitaubtvdlj', liia
bthcr Sir Jaco«, tho cx-Prendent, i« meul ; whiwe rullpg-rldM' Of ■ wife, Duue
Margwpl Bau, bH twrD h po<r«rfuJly cmboilrod bjrSir Wklur Scoii.iaUutt dnad-

IAil pomnage Iho mothrr of " huey AihMti." Thn kboro quoin) iDnouniWDMnl
17 ClarerhoUK Hiffii-wnUj ucounls for U» tiralenMi wilh which Sir John Dal-
■jtnpl* [nimcdialDif MulJed liitn in ■ prtwoea of cumpUJnt kddnwDd U> the Vny<j
ObumcII. The womlt wu » ■ndden »Dd cunning, BOd m llUlo dispaailioii wm
IbtTB unuDg the great mon to Ikvour the riaing GnUiatn, lluti the euc, impurfeell.t
IBilinl 1. al llrM aeomed to go agaiail hioi. But Clarerliouiw, who well knrw
MHt all the truth wb« villi htmMlf, aa wall aa erary prindpl* of jiwlioe, and Hnnd
foHc}', iaii>t«d span ■ mora «oinpl«l« invattigallon, ai>d anooMdad in aapoajng Ih*
Ifalnrv hero uf Olnneoe.l
1 ^

322 MEMORIAI^ OF TUS

ill jail till tlioy should pay the fines he thought fit to impofie.
Sir John, in high dudgeon, applied to the Privy Council,
alleging that ho himself had hefore fined these fellows ; whom,
accordingly, the Council liberated. But Graham, unable to
brook this, some time afterwards gave in a bill of complaint
against Sir John, stating his misconduct, and complaining
that he had defamed him to the Privy Councillors, by affirm*
ing, that he exacted free quarters, and fines which were never,
or at least falsely, accounted for to the Exchequer ; that he
had usurped the King's privilege, hj pardoning Hay of Park,
and others guilty of fanaticism ; and that all this falsehood
was contained in a libel against him, which Sir John had m-
tenihd to i)roscnt to the Council, and which ought to be
proved ; or the author of such infamous scandal pimished.

Sir John's answers were read, and the Chancellor reproved
him for his tart reflections on Captain Graham's " ingenuity.*
He offered probation of some points, but that was disallowed.
Fimntainhall, who was one of Sir John's advocates, says that
there was much " transport, flame, and hiunour" on the occa-
sion. Sir John alleging that the people in Galloway were
orderly and irgular, Graham answered, that there were as
many vicphants and crocodiles, in Gklloway, as loyal or regular
persons.^ Finally, and after mature consideration, the Council
found that Olaverhouse had done nothing but what was en-
tin^ly legal, and agreeable to the tenor of his commission
nutl instructions ; the Chancellor, Aberdeen, telling him, that
ho and his oolloaguos were surprised by the wariness with
which ho. not l>oing a lawyer, hatl conducted himself, in so
irn\^nhu* a part of Scotland ; and giving him the Council's
tl^anks I (ov it apjKM^rs, the AVest had been brought into con-
formity and n^lornnUion through his means. But Sir John,
though a hnvyor. and Ikilie of the Regality of Glenluce, was
found to havo oxooodcd his bounds, weakened the hands of his
M*\ioi*ty*H authority and Councils, and their commissions, and
lo ha\o intorl\Mvd with them; and therefore, they declared

^ \\\v \\*%\ ih0 UmiI rk|ioH<»iir<> of this. The outburst about elephants and croco-
Utki* aututi«(«Ni « \t*\\\ \4 »ii««rgrlic humour which ClaTerhouse frequently displayed.
U u 4U^iMU|i hi rtuti Ihtf wliig l«w}««r, Fountainhall, chiding the figuratiye expres-
»ivU| v^ilh itu^Al gi'avil;! • an a Mil tkim^ to tajf itfa whole dUiriei.^

VISOOUNT OP DDNDEE.

323

the said Sir John to lose his heritable hailiery during liie life-
time : and to piiy A'500 nterlimf of fine ; and to enter that night
(I'ith Feliruary 1683) into prison in the castle of Edinburgh,
to lie there not only till he paid it. bat during the Council's
pleasure. 8ome wore for £1000 sterling fine. On tlio 20th
ho was liberated, after having paid his fine, acknowledged Iiia
rashness, and requested pardon of the Council'

Thia Sir John was son of Sir James Dalrymple Presi-
dent of the Court of Session, who Lad been turned out of his
office for his behaviour resijectiug the test, which he first in
part framed, and then would not subscribe ; and having a very
nest in his estatcfl towards which the whigs flew, lie thought
fit at this time to retire to Holland, lest he should be more
severely handled for bis misdeeds. He wiis restored to his
office, and created a Viscouut, by the Prince of Orangi:, after
the Revolution. Sir John, his son before mentioned, the first
Earl of Stair, was a fl.igitious wTclch, a very disgrace to human
nature. After ttiis castigation, bestowed ujion him by Claver-
bouso, ho was again seized, and confined for thrco months in
the Tolbootb of Edinburgh, from whence it would have been
iuclcy for his reputation had bo boon conducted to conclude
his Ufe in the Grrassmarket. But he contrived to preserve
himself, and acted the hypocrite so artfully, that King James,
in the year 1687, actually made him Lord Advocate in the
place of Sir (Jeorgo Mackenzie, who opposed the repeal of the
penal laws against popery. In this station the naughty varlet
ran into all the measures of the Court, and as violently sided
with the promoters of the Revolution. But this is saintly in-
nocence to what ensued; for ho was the principal contriver
«nd abettor of the massacre of Qloncoc, a piece of villaiiy
wliich reflects an everlasting reproach upon our annal8,^-A
scene of blood that should bo buried in otemal oblivion.
Lockhart, in his history of the Union, assL-rts, that he was the
origin, and principal instrument, of all the misfortunes which
befel the King and kingdom. That be bragged of having ad-
vised James to repeal the penal laws in order to ruin bini.
That he, underhand, carried on the Revolution in Scotland in
the same manner as Lord Sunderland mauagud it in l-higland.

■ FooiiUlnhnH.Vp. 191,»l,*»,-JVuf*tj, JfrSlorjw.

i%i MEMORIALS OF THE

That he was the contriver of Glencoel; and had a prindpal
hand in the plot trumped up to destroy the Cavaliers and
country parties in Scotland, by means of that scoundrel Simon
Lord Lovat. Mr Laing, giving an account of Dalrymple's
nefarious conduct respecting the affair of Glencoe, observeB,
that he had imbibed the bloody spirit of Lauderdale's adminis-
tration. In the first place, he had Httle or nothing to do with
Lauderdale's administration. Secondly, it is needless to suji-
pose adventitioua causes, for the sake of party, when there is
such apparent original wickednees. But this is a true sample
of the science ofreflectton (in liistorical composition), and Mr
Laing'e work can furnish a great many more. Sir John him-
self might have instructed and matured the worst administra-
tion in the world. If ho caught anything from Duke Lauder-
dale's, 'twas in the manner tliat Falstaff did from Doll Tear-
sheet :

" Fal. We cjitch of you, Doll, wo catch of ;ou ; grant that, m; poor
virtue, grant that.
DoU. Ly, marry ; oar chaira, and our jeietU."

No punishment pursued liis crimes in this world ; for William
and Anne supported and ennobled him ; and the jMDpular de-_
testation under which he existed, could in no manner affect
a creature of his base dispositions. In after times, when
ui^ng the union of the kingdoms, Fletcher of Saltoun plainly
told him, in the face of the Parliament, that had he obtained
hie due reward, he would have been hanged long before that
time. He died of an apoplexy, before the completion of the
union.'

[The admirable tact and tem])er \\'ith which Claverhouse,
in 1682, effected a reformation in Galloway, the whole influ-

■ [It U reiDArksble tb&t Claverhouse, Charlra Shurpe, and Lord Macaulaj, are
all agreed aa to tlie charoctoT of the Blateaman of Glencoe. la a tett«r (o Qjieens-
berry, of date 19th May I6e<, ClaverhoUBc pawionalfilj eiclairos,— "Tho Duta {of
York) IE jnslor than lo charge my Lord Diindonalil with Sip John's (Dairymple)
Crimea ; he is a mad nun, aiid let him [>prisli ; they deserve lo be damned would
own him." Lord Macaulay has diBoovered two blots in the chiirBiiler of King Wil-
liam : Tst, He "devoured the whole dinli of the first grnen peas of the year, without
offarine a gpoonfal to the Prineoas Auue ;** 2d, Ho commilted " a great fault, a
fault amouflfinj (o o .jn'nie,"~in not having kangid Sir John Dotryufdr!^

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

325

ence of tlio house of Stair working against liim, shaU presently
be illustrated from his own correepondence. The quiet, in-
deed, was very tt-mijorary, and he had no great faith in it him-
self, uulcss Government would estahlish sufficient garrisone
throughout that inflamed district. He obtained, however,
much credit for what he had done, and in certain quarters
excited no little jealousy. His success is particularly pointed
at in a commendatory poem of the period, entitled, — " The
Muse's Now Year's Gift, and Hansell, to the right honoured
Captain John Gniliam of Claverbouse : January IG83." These
inharmonious numbers are only worthy of being quoted for
ii.o ^bfl of a Taw {hcXh thev contain :

Sutini euUjiu.—P. 324.
In a quoMition from one of CI«vephoiu»> letters to the Duke of
Queensbeiry (given in a noW to p. 324 of thi« Tolume), wherein he pr...
nounces of « certain " Sir JwA«," that,—" he i> a roadman, and let him
periih ; the), dewrve to be dstoned would own hira,"— we bad lw*tih-
assjnied this to bo meant of Sip John Dalrymple of Stair. On recon-
luderaiion, we believe it to applj- lo Sir John Cochrane of Ochiltree, u
will be ibown more particularly in our neat volume, conl*ioing the
whole letter.

ITio bravo rt/ormtr o/ijreai Ualluway-antrt,

I hojw hu will to ColanrCi ]>lHce ajplru :

His niartiaJ troops dooa scour around the liutjn.

So that no hole a iholtor rel>ets yields ;

On Uali-yuii win^-a, Soula' glory iloea reitons,

Bejoad the ocean, to Columbua' aborc."*

By his contest with Sir John Dalrymplo, Claverhouso uot
only obtaiued the opportunity of triumphantly proving that
his whole proceedings were entirely cousistont with nii iiiiini-

> ( rrinl^ from Iho MS. in tlio " Fugitiv* Scull
edited by David Laing, E*|, laSA.]

' of the 17lh tVntnrj ;

8S0 MEMORIALS OF TUB

peachabte exercise of hia commisaiiin, and a most judicions '
fulfilmout of his duty, but the confidonec in his abilities and
energy thus inspired, led to immediate and high promotion.
In ft letter from the Uuke of York to Queensberry, dated
2d December 1682, his Royal Highness says, — " I am abso-
lutely of your mind as to Claverhouse ; and think his presence
more necessary in Galloway than any where elae ; for he need
not fear any thing Stairs can say of him, his Majesty being so
well satisfied with hiiu."' Accordingly, not many days there-
after, he receives the following new commission, dated White-
hall, 25th December 1682, superscribed by Charles the Second,
countersigned by the Secretary Middleton, and addieeaed to
" John Graham of Clavprhouse, greeting" : —

" Having now for the good of our service, thought fit to
form into a regiment, those three standing troops of horse
(excluding our troop of guard) in our ancient kingdom of
Scotland, and to order the raising of a fourth to be added
thereunto, We, being very well informed, and having had fre-
quent proofs of your loyalty, courage, and good conduct, have
nominated, constituted, and appointed, and by these presents
do nominate, conatitut-e, and appoint you to be Colonel of our
said regiment of horse, as also Captain of a troop therein.
You are therefore carufully and diUgcutly to discharge the
duty of a Colonel and Captain respectively, by exercising the
same in arms, both officers and soldiers, and keeping them in
good order and discipline. And we do hereby command them
to obey you as their Colonel and Captain respectively ; and
yourself likewise exactly to observe and follow all such orders,
directions, and commands, as you shall from time to time re-
ceive from Us, our most dear and most entirely beloved bro-
ther James Duke of Albany and York, our High Commis-
sioner, or our Privy Council of tliat our kingdom, our Lieu-
tenant-Goneral and Commander-in-chief of our forces there,
now or for the time being, or any other your superior officer,
according to the rules and discipline of war, in pursuance of
the tnist reposed in you."]'

. [Duiit

■ri-y P-i«™.]

(■ Kins writea lo hi* Caunoil io Suul-
.vi> tliuuglit lit, far tlie good of inir kot-

VISCOUNT or DUNDEE. 327

On the 24th of August, 1682, died, near Tiinhridge Wells,
John Duke uf Lauderdale, who during a great part of hia sway
over Scotland, was ahuoat an absolute monarch there. His
declining credit at Court, and hia prodigious bulk, were thought
to have hastened his death. He was Earl of Lauderdale,
Marquis of March, and Duke of Lauderdale in Scotland ; Baron
Petersham and Earl of Guildford in England. He preserved
hia credit with the King longer than any other statesman, and
time alone, which dulled his extraordinary faculties, withdrew
the confidence of his master.' Though he had acquired im-
mense sums of money at various periods, yet bis extravagance
equalled his rapacity, and the Duchess took care to secure so
much of his estate, and other property, to herself, that his
brother (Charles Maitland, Lord Hatton), who was his male
heir, hod little to boast of in the richness of his succession.
Hatt«n went to law with her Grace concerning her legacies;
and for a long time the heads of the law lords were distracted
witli their litigation.'

When the Duchess of Lauderdale came down to Scotland,
she took euch state upon her, and proved so rapacious, that
she speedily incurred the hatred of the whole nation, which
vented itself iu a variety of lamjioous, still preserved in MS.,
more remarkable for their ill-nature than delicacy. A parody
was made on Lord Dorset's aoug, beginning, — " Methiiiks tlu3
poor tomi has been troubled too long,' — which gives a list of
the Duchess's lovers :

I'mr, to rrdnco a
guanti of Uml oi

hundred •oldiera out uf tbe Il'ii oompkoie* of our nglnimt of
■ uidmt fciDgduro, being Uo oul uf every eoni))«iij', uiil u lOKay
ikDded bjt llio Earl iif Mtr ; u also, aiiio lianKioeti out
nf nach uf our lliroc (late inilc!|ieii>leDl) Iniop* oT lionw lien, in urder to Uio niisjiig
(ir* new tniii)> uf hiime, tn be added tu the othsr tlireu,aiida]l tlio tour to befonaed
lulu a regiiDent of liorM, wlierear we hate aiipainted our right trualjr and well-be-
luvod John Qrahim of ClaTSrlioiiiie tu be Colonel," — ihcrerom the Council ar« in-
quired to iaaue (lie nee ewa ry order* tu Ibu Licatenaot'GtDeTml eommandtng in
chief. — I'riry CoatieU HtyitUr.^
^^^^ ' {Tbo oorreapoiuteDce lo b« produMid in a lubeFqapnt jiart of thMa Hemoriala,

^^^L will pruce the aeeuracy uf llii* alateincDt b/ Ur Sliarpe )

^^H [* The Duke of Yurb, in a letter bi (luKnabcrry.datedJune 3d, I UII2, raferring
^^^K to Lauderdalr, tLjit,—'' I bollav* \m will not hold mil much longer, being ao very
^^^B brokeu both ill uiideralatiding aud ho>\y."- (fmrmtl-trry /'<i/wrT ]

338 U!^M<)R!AI.S OF THE

" M«liiiiika this poor land hatli bveii troubled loo lonp.
Wilb Hatton, uid Dvsart, wiJ old Lidington,—
While justice provokes me in rliynie to exprcM
The truth whieh I know of mj- bo:inie old Beas.
She la Ueu of my heart ; she wn9 Besa of Old Noll ;
8ho was once Fleetwcud'a Bcm, and she's row of AUioleil|
iShe's Bessie of Church, and Bussie of State, &c. &c.

After she had contrived to make the Duke settle every thing
he could upon herself and her son by Sir Lionell Tolmache,
she was accused of using liiui most cruelly during a disorder
brought on by old age, chagrin, and extreme corpulence.' She
died June 1696, and was buried at Petersham. Her son,
Lionell, Lord Dysart, was as covetous as his mother, if we can
rely upon the authority of Mrs Mauley, who styles him an
"old curmudgeon," and says he kept a house like the temple
of famine ; well nigh starving his son, Lord Huntingtower,
who married, contrary to bis inclination, a natural daughter of
the Duke of Devousbire.

1R83.
Claverhouse, in tbe south, severely searched for delinquents,
causing much terror to the wlitgs, who retired to the moun-
tainous parts of Galloway and Nithsdale, where tbey were
joined by many persons of their persuasion from other parts
of Scotland. The soldiers (commanded parties) came upon the
houses of the suspected in the night. According to Wodrow,
Graham made great use of one Jolm Gib in these affairs, who
went through the parish of Carsphaim, and the neighbour-
hood, with little hooks and sermons to sell, pretending to be a
whig, by which meaus he got into the confidence of the party,
hut was at length discovered by them. He also records
how he seized upou one David M'Millau, who had been at
Bothwell, and sent liim into Edinburgh to be tried, where be
stood stoutly to his principles, and was hanged in the Grass-
markfet, 16th May, 1683. [And, however stoutly he deler-

' [Sir George HacksDiie of Tai'bet, writimf to Qucensbcrrj, from Wiudsor,
?6Ul AusuBl I'iKS, n^H,— " TLie UuuhiMi of Lauderdale halfa crowned her kindiMa
lu lier lale lord, by urging bim to drink Die waters, which all foretold would kill
1 land so it lintti fallen out tvvoTiiaglf.'—QiucnilKFTg Popm.}

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

329

^^V mined to die, RUrely do one more deservedly, and as & measure
^^H of Justice and necessity, was ever consigned into the liands of
^^H the hangman. From hia apologist Wodrow himself we learn,
that, when before the committee of Council, — " Being asked
who took him, and for what ? He answered, Claverhouse, for
heing at Bothwoll.' Then he was questioned. Do you not
count Bothwell rebellion ? No, answered be, it waa in defence
of the truth. Next ho waa asked, do you acknowledge law-
ful authority P He answered, he is not a Christian that does
not BO. But, add they, do you acknowledge the present
authority ? Answer, — ' In so far as he /talk kept his engage-
ment, according to the word of God,' Then he was asked,
' will you take on to be a soldier, and go over the sea ? for if
you abide here you will bo hanged ? He answered, — ' being
under your power now, I will not cut out mine own lot.'"
Such, under the teaching, and denunciations, of tboir dastardly
preachers, who were ever more anxious lo press tlio crown of
martyrdom upon their disciples, thiiu to wear it themselves, is
as we have seen, tlie common ty]io of all those sainted
sufferers whom Wodrow canonizes, and uijon whose martyr-
doms, mingled with many vile falst^boods, he founds that
satanic character of Claverhouao, and other statesmen, which
Lord Maoaulay has coudescondiid to olectroty|ie. Tliis man
Da\'id M'Millan, besides what we have quoteil, obstinately re-
fused lo admit that the death of the Primate was a murder.
He repeated refused the t«st olTored Iq him to save his life.
" Ho was t<>ld," says Wodrow, " there was yet room to re-
nounce his ill principles that took liim to Bothwell, by taking
tlio t^st." He refused. " The Assize brought him in guilty
of being at Bothwell in arms, and judicially owning the law-
fulness of joining with those who were there ; and the Lords
adjudged htm to bo hanged at ihe Gtrassmarket, May 16th,

I'twixt two and four in the afternoon. When the dompster
was reading his sentence, he was stopt in the middle, and
Ditvid was t«ld. if the sentence was read out, he could not get
it recalled, and ttie test vras ofTered hiia. His answer was, —
On on; and when it was read out, one of them said, ' What
think you of it now?' David answered, il was very wel-
I [Siuwlj n vcr) giw'J r\ni-iii for lii» Iwiiig 4i'r>ielii>iiar.l.)

330 MEMORIALS OF THE

come."* There are moiles of obtaining the crown of maitytwV
dom through the gallows, for those who have boon excited to |
their ruin by some toad at their ear, which not the utmost
forl>earance, and ingenuity, of the most Immane tribunal on
eartli, could by any possibility prevent.] The farewells of the
whigs should have been couched more in the words of Col-
ledge, the Protestant Joiner : —

" A long farewell to all that's great.

Daring and bold in mortal wight,
FarcwoU my burning zeal and bent,

1 now must bid you all good night
The fatnl rope,
Buie of my hope.
Has ruin'd k11 the mighty feat,

" Adieu my horie, my blunderbuss.

My bulf, my case of pistols ake,
Which should have brought nil under us,

And made the popish Tories sneak ;
Adieu ya whiga,
Poor protoataut pigs,
The Tories now will thunder ua."

On the 22d of May, (1683), Graham of Claverhouse was
made a Privy Counsellor for his unwearied diligence in the
service of the Goverment. About the same time, the Scottish
Council resolving that Circuit Courts would have a salutary
effect in the fanatical shires, obtained the King's approbation
of their plan, and published a proclamation appointing them
to be held in three following mouths. The test was to be ad-
ministered freely to those delinquents who were willing there-
by to escape from punishment. On June the fourth, just
before the judges went upon the circuit, the Covmcil appointed
Gralmm of Claverhouse, Urquhart of Meldmm, Riddell of
Haiiiing, Kor of Graden, Major Wliite, Sir John Whiteford of
Milton, nnd John Skene of Halyards, — who had received com-
mission from the Council, or Treasurer, concerning the dis-
covery of rebels or their resetters, and for securing and
sequestrating their goods, — with their depiites, and clerks, to
attend the Justices with their books, papers, depositions, and

■[Wm

i. J56.J

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 331

any informations thuy could give, and that tliey ebuuld bo in
readiness to depone on oath concerning any person guilty of
treason, or reset of rebels, or wbatevor should be enijuired of
them by the Justices.

lu these circuits the fanatics met with deserved measure
of correction. In June the Court sat io Dumfries. In the
account of the tonn's expenses on tliat occasion, the foUoniug
items occur : " June 26th (1683), Item, from the said day to
the second day of July, being six days, for a pound of caudle
ilk uigbt to Claverhouse's troop when they kept guard the
time the Judges were here, — ^£1, lOa., Scots. Ilnn, for deals
and nails for taisiog a seat to my Lord Justice-Clerk, —
£2, 10s., 5cote,"Ac., Ac.»

[This important Justiciary Circait, which commenced at
Stirling on the 5th of Juno, 1683, was inaugurated by an
event which Wodrow well knew afforded the strongest justi-
fication for that activity on tlie part of the Goveniment he is
pleased to record as persecution, and therefore ho narrates the
eveut in bis accustomed Jesuitical manucr. " Towards the
beginning of June," he says, " a party of soldiers, who had
seized one Alexander Smith, an outlawed countryman, and
and were carrying him, / think, to Edinburgh,' were attacked
by some few country people, friends to the said Alexander, in
arms at Inchbelly Bridge, six miles from Glasgow, in the road
to Edinburgh, and Ibo prisoner w&s by force taken from them.
In the rencounter some were wounded on hoth aUtca, and ono
of the soldiers was killed. The country people retired with
their friend tn good order, and went off." In short, Wodrow
here indicates his owu liistoric pride and pleasure, in that
brilliant success in arms of his friends " the suflering rem-
nant," But mortals would call this a violent and treasonable
deforcement, by armed rebels, rescuing a state prisoner from
the custody of the niilitury, one of whom they slaughter in
that desperate act Our chronicler then proceeds to record
the unreasonably violent conduct of the military — Lord

^^^^ I (A fultcr llliulnljoii of ihs ptocndlop of Hid Cowt, Mid ol CbrariuuH-'a

^^^^E ptft tbtfUKj *■!! to rounil III Uw furt of (Imw UcnioriKb ennUinicg lii* ounaa-

332

MEVOBIALS or THE

Mftcaulav's A]kiU}-uu aud Beelzebub — after Ibeir defeat. " The
eoldiere rallied in a little time, and in tpfol rage and /urg
fell a searching the places near by, though by tlua time ihe
\)&Tty who liad attacked them were n>tLrod a good way from
(iiem ; and in a wood, not far from the place of action, they
found John M'Wbany, aud Jume^ Smith, sitting without
any anns, bailing two only walking staves in tbeir hauda."
These cunning delinquents, it seems, eventaally suffered the
last penalty of the law applicable to such mnrderons treason,
and BO became duly canonized and rrowneii, in the " Cloud
■Witnesses," after the glorious Eevolution of 1688. But Wi
row maintains ihat they were not of the party who deforced
tlie military. " Some papers say " — ^his usual mode of proof,— "^
" that tlie soldiers suborned two of their number to depone they
saw them kill the soldier at Incbbelly Bridge, when tbe pri-
soner was relieved ;" and forthwith the martyrologist proceeds
stoutly to argue that these were innocent men, consigned by
a lawless government to the horrible fate of felons and mur-
derers.' Wodrow gave his own version when he said, tlmt
this was a " rencounter," in which " some were wounded ou
both sides" It was an ambuscade, as cowardly as it was
deadly ; and ere long a like bloody scene, equally disastrous
to the military, was enacted at Enterkin Path. The lurking
felons at Incbbelly Bridge carried off the rescued prisoner,
eecaj-iing in perfect safety themselves. On the 8th of June,
(1683), Duke Hamilton (the leader of the opposition cabal
against the measures of the Court), thus writes to the Prime
Minister, Queensberry : —

Uie
bey^H

" Tbe occasion of ibis letter is to (ell you, th&l this day the Marquii
of Montrose, being at dinnor wltli rae, an express followed bim from
Glasgow Ui let him know, that, at Inclibelly Bridge, a party of five of j
tbe Guards bringing a prisoner from Edinburgh that Uiey call Smith, i
was Bet on by twelve of the rebels, who rescued the prisoner, and killed I
two of the Guards on the place. 1 am afraid this shall not be the last I
of these disorders, if we have many declared fugitive. I have given
direclionp, to all my concerns hareabouts, lo iuform themselves of any
rebels that is seen, and give me notice ; and we shall have a great

'[W

i. ].. m.)

vrSCOCNT OF DUNDKE.

333

nambor here on Monday (if the heritors of thitt ahirc, to go to meet the
JusUeea at Glusgow, where your comm&ndB, if you have any for me,
will find me for some days, I have ordered my Sheriff-depute to send
ftn express to you with this."

On the following <laj, his Grace again writes to the Lord
Treasurer, dating from " Hamilton, 9th June, nine in the
morning :" —

" The alann the Marquis of Montrose got here, of a party of his
troop being beat, and a prisoner relieved, put ub in some confusion ;
then supposing the party of rebels had been greater than they were
that had done it ; but as I wrote to you, having sent ont sevcrals to
try about it, I find they were but seven footmen of the rebels, who had
darned tbeniselvcs in a bouse, on a strait pass on the high way, and
when the live of the guard came by witb the prisoner, they surprised
them, and shot one dead, hurt atiothor, and relieved the prisoner.
This you will think pretty bold, for seven foot to attack five of the
Guards, and come lafi off] without any loss. They dissipate at a moss,
a little on the side of the place, and three of them came to the south,
and four went westward. Of the three that came this way, some of my
people had the good fortune to catcb two,' who was brought here last
night, and the imaUnUtt rogues tbat ever I spoke to. When I
examined them, they would scarce give roe civil answers, let he to
confess a word. I sent immediately to Glasgow for a party to carry
them away, which came Ibis morning by five, and dispatching them is
the reason I have been so long in doing so to your footman."*]

[So these two were nut ■ppnihciiHleO, ■• Wodrow liaa it, b> tlie wMien, " ia
gnat rage luid fury," batbj' Iho Duksof Hamilton'* pmplo, and brought batoni
li GntM, berilabJe SherilT of tbo diririol, for cKamiaatinii.J
< [Qwruhrrry Paptrt. The wrttor is WiUUm DouglB', DuIlb of Hamiltoti, of
whom aflorainU, The Marqala of Montroac mentioned, i* tho third Marquis, wlio
wrote to atxnettij ■bool ClBrerhooic joining the Guards. Sec b<ifi>n>, p. INS,
Tbia tiKut protnlaing j'oung nobleman died, hj ftu untjinel)' file, in Ihe mouth of
April following, much braonted. Tho Duke cif York than writcn to Qnccaitlwrr)',
In B letter dated Loudon, lit Hay, 1 UG4 i — ** I harr had HEvgral of youn to anawor,
the but of which ia of Ihe SAlh, and ■lull ool;' lell you now, that I v*a very much
troubled to bnr by il tlut my Lord Hoatniao wna dead. The Kint; bu bad a
grsal km of bim. A> In bl* Irm^, bia Majaaly luu been plaaurd lu nnifar it iijun
Ijori liviDgMon, that la tbe Lieutenant. Tlie Comet Mumy will b« advauoed i
and 1 inmd id deain bia Hajraty to gtrn tba Curnrt'e plaoe tu Captain IIddw,
that ooniouuida the greaailin* ; aad h<« company to Mvldnini'a bmlfaer, that la
r in Uumbuion'a reginMnt.")

%u

T>;'; ^>/r.riCi\ thryn^x fir thas L^isfcanife ^hiTnIii be Iiabfe ia

with TC4A Ik r/n^>ir o^Miiuiie ccLVrr.^i'iJtr. ihi* Li:ris sent: tip
r^;*»^/T** ty, thf: KiLg. ^lA, saj* W>ir :w. -^ in. ia:*w"^=r Src^a the
Ki/ijr ^^r/jf; 'lowTi. Fef>TTL4rT 12, il»?>4>. bearfns:. ' TIias hi*
Maj^*! V af.proT*^ fau«rj(&ri*ia beinz £zi^i for di^ir wiris^ : fc^n
hnthhri'A/r^ th^ CffTincil u> diap^xii^ with iLe fin»E* oa Lcjal hizs-
}fAUf]^, who do not coTiniv*: at their ocistiiiaze wires' w;iy». and
hff'. KriUiu'tf to d^;liver them priaoners."'*

Otj the rvl of JarjQarv a Dew commiseioa is snnted to
I>avi/1 Graham, brother to ClaTerhooae : Bnice of Esirlshall ;
Captain Stra/;harj ; Jame-^ Alexander, SheriJf-drpole of Diuxft-
frie^ ;' the elde^iit Bailie for the time there : James JohnsSon
of Weitt/.'rraw, SlierifT-^lepnte of Annandale ; Thomas lidder-
dale of liile, Stewart<lepateof Eirkcndbright ; William Grahamu
Comet to ClaverhoTwe ;' and on the 4tli, the Lords join in
coTniuiAffion with these, Sir Patrick MaxweD of ^yringkell ;
Rolxirt Lanric of Maxweltonn ; Thomas Eirkpatrick of Close-
bnni ; JameH Johngtoun of Corehead ; James Fergosson of
Craigdarrrx^h ; and M*Gie of Balmagie. This Court sat in the
TollK^^tli of Dumfriea. Any three of these were entitled to
rit for judging deHj>erate rebels in Dumfries, Eirkcndbright,
Wigton, and Annandale ; and for other districts, commissions
of a like nature were issued. About that time the jafl of
DiinifricH was Hf> crowded with prisoners, that vaults in the
castle were eniijloyod to confine them. Courts were held for
several months, and many people tried, among whom the
most remarkable was Alexander (Jordon of Eilstures in Gral-
loway. lie was proved to have been seen near BothweU,

' [Sec before, Colonel Graham's opinion of the neoeaai^ of this meMnre,p. 133.
The long paper of detailed Reaaona for proposing such a Dieaanre, oommenoea with
thU very sufficient one, ** That except husbands be liable for the fines, the fine was
no punishment, because women, who were the great transgressors in this point,
hare no estate out of which thej can pay the fines." The Reasons are printed in
Wodrow.]

' [James Alexander was a depute appointed by the Earl of Qoeensberryy as he-
Htsble SiioriflT, and not by Government]
' I Who therefore certainly was not killed at Dmmelog in 1679.]

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 335

" mountod apoa a grey horse, witli pistols and sword, and a
cap upon his head lined with grey, which was proved to be r
slcol cap." He made great concessions to his judges, but was
sent into Edinburgh with three others.

25th Juno 1684. — Gabriel Hamilton, bauiBhed to America;
John M'Chesnae, ditto; John Hunter, guilty, but made sub-
mission, and vi&a banished to America; William Wilson,
banished to America,

The Commissioners recommend to Closeburn to take Helen
Pagano (prisoner) her bond for living regularly, and tliat she
shall not reset or converso with rebels, under such penalty as
he 8hall think fit; and the said Helen being present, enacted
herself, tliat hereafter she shall not be seen within the sheriff-
dom of Nitbsdale, and that she shall not reset, or converse
with rebels, under the penalty of five hundred merks.

John Coupland, found guilty; the Commissioners, notwith-
standing of the sentence of banishment, recommend to the
laird of Earlshall to represent his case as favourably as pos-
sible, and of his willingness to obey tlje King's laws and au-
thority in time coming, and to take the oath of allegiance if
required; and that to the Lord Treasurer (Queensberry), and
Lord Drumlanrig; and in the mean time ordains tlie irons to
be taken otl'him,'

The shires of Ayr and Dumfries still continuing headstrong,
ujmn the 22d of April 1G84, Colonel Buchaii, with five com-
pauies of foot, and the Lord Ross's troop, with half of the
troop of Guards, were ordered to Ayr ; and Colonel Graham
was ordered U> post his own troop at Dumfries, or wherever
he should think most convenient in that (luartcr, and to jiOBt

I the two troops of dragoons in the garrisons of Kaitloch, Bal-
lagau, Kenmure, Machrimoro, or Moniguff ; and that he should
command all the forces in Ayrshire wliile there, and have
power to quarter them in the sliire of Ayr or Renfrew, or any-
where thereabouts, more convenient for the King's service.
These garrisons were soon very instrumental in hunting the
wild hitl-meu.who assembled at conventicles, and marched to
:

■ Wodrow Mw not theie iouT0»3K—Xolt tf Ur SliaTpi.

\ Woitrow vnuld not w* an;- jaunutt*, or *nj tiling in t, junmal, thit did not

336 MtaiORIALS OF THE

and fro in arms, setting all Inw at defiance, and led by o
Renwick, who bad lately become their chief. They lived in \
cavcB and lone houses, amid bogs and heaths, subsisting on
the supplies afforded them by tlieir friends, and on the sbeep
which they stole from the ungodly, Hucb was their insolence,
that they set upon the King's troops, rescued prisoners, and I
killed soldiera. In June or July, nine prisoners were ordered \
to he carried from Dumfries to Edinburgh by a party of 1
twenty-eight soldiers. Their friends getting notice of it, r
solved to rescue them, and for Ihat purpose chose a narrow I
pass on the rood to Edinburgh, called Euterkin, wbere they i
posted themselves. On the coming up of the party, who had ,
the prisoners tied upon horses, they attacked tbc Boliliers with
a volley of shot, rescued seven of the prisoners, wounded se-
veral of the soldiers, and killed one. Tlic soldiers going on
to Edinburgh with the remaining prisoners, carried the f
count of this insolence, and immediately orders were sent oat I
to Nitbsdale, commanding all there above fifteen years of age
to arm, and meet the gentlemen aud soldiers in their appointed
places, that they might search the whole shire for the rescuerB
of the prisoners. Some days after the rescue. Colonel Graham
and a party of his men seized four whigs in a field, in the
parish of Closeburn in Nithsdale, aud carried them first to
Lanark, and then to Edinburgh. So apprehensive was Ciaver-
house of a rescue, that he commanded his men to kill the
prisoners should any such outrage be attempted. But they
reached the city without molestation, and three of the fanatics
were tried before the Court of Justiciary in Eilinburgh, and
condemned to die. They denied Enterkin ; yet three of the
soldiers positively swore that they had seen them there ; and
these poor wretches were so obstinate tliat they would not call
the Bothwell bridge insurrection a rebellion, nor make any
concessions to save their lives.' They rather seemed to glory

1 [The namoa of the three men who were of tlie party that fired from the «in-
huacscle at Entertin upon the soldiers, killed one, wounded Beveral, and rcKnod
eeveu prinonera, were, Thomaa Harkneas, Andrew Clark, and Samuel M'Eiv«n.
In the dying ** Toalimonj," diahed np for them in the " Cloud of Witncssee," they
do not pretend to deny Ihat tliey were at Enterkin. •* They wero all indicted,"
tuiYB llieir biographer in nuliiliir, " of the crimes of treason und rebellion, for being
at the rcACiia of their dear bretliriin at EDlerkinc ; fnr i-cftiEinir (o own the King'H

^^^^^^^H VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 337

in the lioom Uioy wt-re abuut to suffer, and be cuiifiiletit of the
miirtyr's crowii tbe moment their aonteuco was executed,
Hauiiiol M'Kwou, one of them, was a very young man, and
lifter EentencG, wrote a letter to a frieuil, which, from « sim-
fjlicity of onthusiftsm, is exceedingly characteristic and affect-
ing.

At the execution of those three men, one John Nicol, a
whig, lost all patience, and, by his exclamations, betrayed
himev;lf. Having been present at their condemnation in the
morning, and then going to see them hanged, after all was
over he shouts out, — " A cow of Bashan lias pushed tliree men
to deuth at one push," — and was immediately laid hold on.
Before the Privy Council he behaved in the same strain ; nor
would he there allow Ok kinc which pushed the Archbishop to
death to be faulty. His own account of his examination is
very curious.

[According to his sanctifier in the Cloud of Witnesses, he him-
»ell' thuit narrated the cause of his being apprehended : — " He
having seen three of his dear Christian brethren condemned
before the Justiciary, at ten in the forenoon, and going to the
West Port to lake horse, was obliged to stay till his saddle
was mended : Wtien he was ready to mount his horse, ho hears
that the three men wore bronght to the place of exoention:
At two afternoon he went thither, and seeing the barbarity of
the enemies in murdering hie dear brethren, moved with a
strong zeal against these murderers, cried out, in the style of
the prophet Amos, ' A cow of Bashan has pushed threu men
to death at one push, contrary to thoir own base laws, in an
inhuman way."' But it was not for this seditions attempt to
create a riot at a public execution, that tbe amhitiuus imitator
of the prophet AmoH paid the forfeit of his life. Upon the

aaih«rll7M Uw iMni) uru caublUml by the Uws,in ngard ha had unrj-^d CkriM'i

Ittfrvyalitt, luiil broken ihe CoTBtuuil : and for not praying for him to tha leroia

prweribad by tin GniDdl ; tor tbair maintkinlng tbe lawftilima of rltfiniin armt ;

■nil, flaail)', Tor aithariii|i ui ihe eoviiutnlod work of rcfurtnalinn againil (li Kimg't

^^m Ian." Tlia mliitUnu iMUiT aUribuKnl t« M-Eweii in Ihs ■■ ClnuJ .if WitnnwM,"

I^H dtmir* oolliiai: n( kII tliw, but na;*,— " ll *u lej diHin>, llintigli niml uiiwurlliy,

^^^K 10 dia K niartjT, and I Uch tliu Lurd itho iiu gnuiM ma my ilwrv." ll ia not

^^^1 MBlcd wlut Ilia ago wu ; tiul lie na aid DOoagh la ltr« Iitmt Out bick 'if N dike

^^H npoii ■ dnKuon on duly, and to oblalii llie dnlb b* dediod.)

338 KEMOHIAUS OF THE

i8th of August (1684) before the Privy Council, " I i
Bays the i>robationpr saiut, " interrogated by two in a i
privately thus: ' Was you at Botliwell bridge?' "I am i
liound to lie my own accuser.' ' I am not (said one of them
to desire you ; but onli/ aay ujxm your honest word that j
were not there.' ' I am not bound to satiefy you ; but pro
^hat you have to say against me, and especially you, till I
come before my accusers." ' Well, said he, I am one of the]
Then, I answered, ' I ivas there.' ' How come you to rise in a
against the King ?' ' Because he has brokea the Covenant 9
the Lord my God.' ' Was the Prelate's death murder?' ' NaJ
it was not murder,' ' Was Hackatoun'e death murder ?'
ft was, indeed.' ' How dare you own the Covenant, seeing t
King gave orders to buni it by the hand of the hangman ?
' Yes, I dare own it ; for although ye shall escape the hand of
men for eo doing, yet ye shall all pay for it, ere all be done,
and to purpose,'" &c. And eo on through a very wildemeBS
of the same insane discoursing, — the religion and polemics l
of the Grassmarket gallows.'

It was now neceseary for the Government to adopt 1
most vigorous measurus for the safety of the country and t
standing of the throne ; and the nature of tlie fearful cria
with which they had to deal, may be gathered from th«j
acts of the Privy Council at this time. On the 17th 1
July 1684, ■' The Council being informed that the reb«
have been seen passing through some parts of the shire of I
Ayr, and that the heritors and inhabitants have not given ad- \

' [Let thoM wboae stomaclia are Btrong cnoagh for it, atady the whole of Ihto
" Tostimony" in the Clond of WitnoBBes, p, 275-2B3. WoUrow himeelf furnialie»
the following iDformatioD ss Co the principles and temper of such testiflerB. ■* Mr
Andrew Tste," be Bsys, " minisler of C>rmuiii]ock, telU mc, tbat he was fully in.
fanned and assured, that, in the Utc times, there was a deaiga formed aniong BOoie
of the rigid and ii</i/fyjfij| Catturtmiaiit, la anaithali the indulged minislert in
the abire of Ayr, at their honscEi, in one night, by diHerent parties ; tliat this de-
sign was HO for gone into, that it was agreed lo in a meeting of these leiU peopU,
wljere (one) Nidbet, father to Mrs Furiy, wife to Mr Ralph Fairly in Glasgow, wu
present. He used to meet with Ihcm formerly ; but when he heard that proponl.
Ail etry hair Mood, and he never more went to their mectingti."^ — AnaUela, ii. SS7.
But who are those whom Wodrow bo i™nvoniontly disIinguisbeB as " wild peopli
and Iho " rigid and bighflyiog CBnieroninns" I Why, liis own saints and inarlyrs

1

VISCOUNT or DUNDEE.

339

I

vertiaemeiit, grant commission to the Sheriff-depute, ami Cai>-
taiii John Iiiglis, or any of thera, to call before tlicm, and
examine upon oath, all such pcrBons as can best give infor-
mation of the heritors through whose lands the said rebels
were seen to pas3, and send in an account to the Council."
And, upon the Ist of August thereafter, they pass " An act
anent the army," diepoging of tho protective forces as follows,
npon a narrative the truth of which is incontrovertible : —

" The Lords of his Majest/s Privy Council, considering that
several des]>erato rebels do daily break out in arms, in multi-
tudes, at their seditious field-conventicles,' and lay ambuscades
for his Majesty's forces, and kill some of them, and rescue
prisonerB in their custody, to the high contempt of the laws,
and affront of liis Majcaty's government, — to prevent and sup-

■ [Biihop Burnet, in his poilkunof libel, has tlie effroDtet^ la calJ the cxpm-
■ioD " rendeivoua of rebellion ."—usod in Ihe rojal proclsmatianti, anil actn .J'
Coundl, (o designate the uined Gcld-eiinvonlicle&, uid thai by Du figure of ipevch
Iwl u ■ plain alMcOienl at tho actual bcl, — a "jUmriik " I A acvere eipoaun of
Burnet'a tvty ductile ■enliments, aa to tlio uiflicieucj' of the cauae for Ijif Gavern-
■Dcnl'i aUno and rigour, will be found in Dr ituwcll'i admirable " Hialory of the
Chureh in Scotland," ii. pp. 335-327. " Tha Biihop of Salisbury," he «>/■, ■■ who
eoDipoaed llio < Kinai7 of his Ow Tims' after the Rovohition, wan, il ia obnoOB,
influenced by tho dcaira to justifj, in the ej'sa of liia roval palroaa, the o*eiibraw
of the Episcopal Qmrcli in ScotlamI (o which ihcj bad been induced to conaent.
With this view ke alttnd hia looe Data little, oa well in rererenoe to tlio character of
the pralalei who had directed llie aRkin of that eMalliBlinient, m iclth ncpoel to tha
Condiurtand nUToringaof the Preabyterianv" Dr ftouelliheB qaotM aa followa from
Bunot'a " Vindicstloo of tlie Auilurii}', Conatitution, and Lawa at the Church aixl
State of SooUand," priuled in 1(173. " How many of Uio miuiaten (Episcopal) haTa
Iwen invadud ia their liouaea, their bauMn rifled, their good* carried away, then-
MlTca cniellf beaten and wounded, and often made to swear lo abai
tdiurclica, and Ilutl tliejr alHHild tint au mud) aa DutnplaiD of audi bad Duage to llioaa
in aulliority. Their »i*ea al*o eicaped not llw furf of thoaa lueHrtJ ttalatt, bnt
were beateu and wounded, •taae of them being acaroe nworered out of their labour
in Ebild-birth. Believe me, tkut barbaniu imtrafa imf bm mek, lial m
««( ionr bten apjirAtmdtd from htatiunt.'' Bumel alao Mverclj romiiKnita, In that
work, upon " Ihe aatiibitU (VMvuIJajf of UcM murdmn, whom no aeanh whleli
thoae in anthorilj b>*e cauaed make, ooold diaoorar, though Ilie robben carried
with tham often afrwot dmt t//iirail«ri and eUnr y»odt, which uual hare been
Morejed to aome adjaeent hoiiaea, but Could never be (cMwd out, aflir ao manjr re.
ptBlnd facta of lliat iiatBre, fureelh apon llie charitable a MU^iciva which I t»rt ur*
(• namt. What ma; not be expnited of tliin naturn from him who heaitatea lo call
dw invading of Ihe Biahop [Sharp, mmrdrrtii by tlirm after this waa publiabed,)
•ilh a plaiol, an atfmd itel, and will nut candomn It aa mah, pneipitani, and <rf
evil cumple."— yiarart Waa all ttda" a flouriab" of Bamrl'i t]

1

340 MKMORUUS OF THE

priitta all sucli rBbellions courses for tho future, and to redoc©
tho country to tbeir duo obedipnce, and not to suffer any
Hkullciug Vfigrant rogues to go up and down the country, to
the disturbance of the pence thereof, and disquiet of the '
dom, have thought fit to dispose of his Majesty's forces bo
they may be raost fit for service ; and thDrefore recommend
General Dalyell to continue the foot wliere they are,
furtljer, that he dispose the other forces us follows.
his Majesty's squadron of guards, in and about Edinbur^i
the second squad to go to Fife, and quarter as the Barl
Balcarres shall order ; that Sir James Turner and his
of dragoons attend near Glasgow ; that Meldmm and his tri
of horse, and the Lord Charles Murray's troop of dragoons,
to Tevioldale ; that the General's trooji of dragoons, and Caj
tain Strachan'e, lie at garrisons in (Jallowaj and Nittisdale
the Lord Dmmlanrig'B* at Dumfries; that two squadrons of
the guards, Claverhousc's troop, the Lord Rose's troop, Captain
Inglis' and Captain Cleland's troop of dragoons, be for Ay^
shire, or anj-Tslicre else tho coinmandiug officer shall thini

' {QuoeBBberry'B clJest son. His father had opposed the joolli's own dcsira
join the arroj', but the Dakc uf York intsrferei), and wmna to haTe carrieil tlwi
point, by ibe followiDg lettor of remoDBtraDcc, which is written in a very kii)d|;^J
gpirit, "London.April 10," (16831. " Had it not been for s letter I received
daj, when 1 came from Windsor, from your son tho Lord Dmrnlanrig, I ahi
not hare writlea to ;uu hy thU post ; for, imjeeil, whnt he Mys to ibc, of deairing
to go into (he army, is bo reaaonable tliat I could not iiindcr mjiaclf from wriliDg to
yoa in his fniour, that you would give him leave to gu, and tliut ho may not far*
the worse for Iwing an elder brother ; nnd let DM the care you have of him be ■
prejudice to him. I hope I need use no oilier argauienta to second so reasonable
a request as his is, for redlj' you ought lo let him go."

Id another letter, dated November 10th, 1683, hia Royal IlighneSB thtts agai*
mentions Queeniberry's sons, with freat kindnesa : ■> I luul, yesterday, yoon^
tho 2d, by which, and other lettcra 1 have had, I find there baa been some SeU-
convcoticles, and other meetings, of late, amongst the disorderly people, and am of
your mind, that, if everybody would beWir themselves, and be an (filigent as you. It
would not be easy for thetn to meet. But 1 hope when you all arc at Edinboisb,
vou »ill do your parls lo binder them. All Ihinga are very qniet here, and the
bill is found against Algernon Sidney, and on the SIst of this month lie is lo be
tried. As to Lord Mar's affair, by next I shall let you linnw what bis Majesty's
pleasure is. They have done me right to you, that have let you know 1 am kind
to your sons. I oasnre you they dtfservo lo bo onnlenanced, being both aa ftna
young men as I have axa.-—Qaeriuberrg Payen. These were, prcbaUf^ t)i«
second Duke of Queunsberry, and llio first Earl of Mareh.]

i

I

J

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 341

best for the good ol' the Govoniinent; that Claverhoiiso, and
Lioutoiiant-Colonel Buchan, comTnanders of the five truops iu
Ayrshire, coiitinuo, with power to them, or siny oi' them iii
others' absence, to command and give necessary orders to
them, and the whole forces, foot and horse, and dragoons, in
the shires of Ayr and Clydesdale. Ami, tu the effect discovery
may he made of the rebels in arms, and snch as have been
present at field-conventicles, and upon whose lauds these con-
venticles have been kept, or were seen and did aiijiear, may
be known, the said Lords empower and commission Colonel
Qraham of Claverhouse, and Lieutenant-Colonel Buchan, or
any one of them, or in their absence such as they shall think
fit to appoint (for whom thoy are to be answerable), to call
for, and examine upon oath, all such persons as can give any
information in the premises ; and for that effect t« use all
legal diligence ; and ordain them to report an account of their
procedure as boou ae possible."^'

On the 6th September (1684), a new commission for hold-
ing ofJusticiary Courts was emitted, in which Colonel Graham
18 named as one of the Justiciars for Dumfries and Wigton,
and the Stewartries of Annandale and Kirkcudbright, together

■ [Wodrow'i oamineDt upon the above moat oecenary act, whieb ho priuls, n
rery chaisderUtie : " I pee<l," he m}*, " mtko iu> ebtcrra upon thit acl. I sup-
pono ibe umbuscadr epoken of bcro, and nlsewhere, wis tho atlnnj4 nwdo ■( Kntol^
kin Path, upon ■ pirl; of iim aoldiera eurjing io eomo prisoiiors to Edinburgh."
Wo bare aeon what urt of an aUempt thai wu. He alao b}'b,— ■■ I nwd Kvricc
aotico that tbcae rebeJa w mwii tpvlUr u uade about, were llr Kanwick'i followon,
<rho wen obliged kl tiut canttiiUelti, and, I puy ita}', alateit at all titan, (or Ibcir
own deToncs to earrf nmu ; and tuch at Ibom whoac wa/ homewanl fnm eonrvn-
^lei lay together, are Ibe rebels now marching up and do*u Ihe country'," This
doetriae, of the innocencj' of (Cuiog armed agiinU Iha Ooreniincnl, wu <niry con-
•enieiit. Hr Sharpe baa the fallawiDit note, on the lubjocl or Ma* John Welcira
aoaventiele imnailini : ** Welch 'a eacapu [rom ClaTcrhouas, and hi* other pumuero,
vara very eitnuirdiiur)', though he n>do is bia conTcalictea aoeompanied b;' ■
nnmber of armed men, called Jfr W'tlak'i body-jaard, and liad all the fanatic
eaunlr]'-wonio&, who unally acted aa aoouta In fire warning of the enemy's ap-
proach, nuat alDCaraJj at bia dcTDtion. Ladioa, loo, of a better raalikm, wore sludi-
«HU of his penoBal safety, while thoj' Ircquentod bia fli>ld>nit«tingii, and aomollniea
maile their bnahanda pay dcariy for ■ a baarty raiaek of the ni-celneaa of the goapel
(MeordlDg Io Peter Walkn-), which ihay |U in thoae daya.'"— iTirttoa'i VyiHorjr,
FMOJ

342 MEMOBIAI^ OF THE

with ihe Marquis of Queensberry, Treasurer, aud Lord Dmn
lacrig. On tlie 2d of October, tlie three latter eat down arf
Dumfries, and remained thereabouts for nearly a montlvl
They enforced the taking of the test with great success, ei-J^
cept in the case of Hugh Maxwell, laird of Dalswinton, win
was Bent to the Tolbooth of Edinburgh to think better of it. 1
After some days at Dumfriee, tho Judges went to Kirkcud-
bright, and from thence to Wigtou, where they pursued the
same methods. The test was offered to the men, and other ,
oaths to the women, and refusers were sent to tho jaUa afa
Dumfries, there to await the return of the Judges. Aboutr]
twenty-«ight were secured there. The people of Kithsc
and Galloway, terrified by these severities, made an offer tol
the Marquis of Queensberry, Colonel Graham, and Lord Dnitn-I
lanrig, of twenty months' Cess, to be paid to the King in tho '
course of four years, stating in their addresses (October 9tb)
their sense of the former rebellious conduct of that part of the
country. The efforts of the Judges were productive of th» ■
most salutary consequences.

On tho 28th of October, the whigs published what they calledJ
their "Apologeticall Declaration or ^e(ai(on°dra^*n up by Ren- ^
wick,* breathing vengeance against their p^secutors, — " Such I
as bloody Counsellors, the members of the Justiciary Couite^l
Generals of forces, Adjutants, Captains, Lieutenants, all civil f
or military powers who make it their work to imbrue theirj
hands in our blood, or by obeying such commands, such a
bloody militia men, malicious troopers, soldiers, and dragoons
likewise, such gentlemen and commons, who, through wicked- I
ness and ill-will, ride and run with the foresaid persons, to lay [
search _/W ns, or who deliver any of us into their hands, to the j
spilling of our blood, hy enticing morally, or stirring up J
enemies to the taking away of our lives, such as designedly
and purposcdiy advise, counsel, and encourage them to pro-
ceed against us, wickedly, wittingly, and willingly, such as
viperous and malicious bishops, and curates, and all such sort
of intelligeucera, who lay out themselves to the effusion of our
blood, together with all such as, in obedience to the enemies
their commands, at Ihe sight of us raise ihe hue aud cry aft^r

> [The IflBt Scotch saint who was liangcd,)

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

343

us; yea, and all such as compeariufi; betWe tlie a*lvi
their courts, upon their demands delate us, and any who be-
friend U9, to their and our extreme hazard and suffering. We
say, all aud every one of such shall be reputed by us enemies
o/Ctod, and the covenanted work of reformation, and punished
aa suck, (u-cording to aar pojoer, and the degree of their offence ;
chiedy, if they shall continue, after the puldication of this our
Declaration, obstinately and habitually, with malice to pro-
ceed against us, any of the foresaid ways; not at all exonering
from preaeiU punishment, such as formerly have been chief
ringleaders and obstinate oiTenders," Jko.

" Now, let not any think, that (our God assisting ue) we
will he 30 slack handed in time coming, to^M( matters in exe-
cution, as heretofore we have been, seeing we are bound faith-
fully and valiautly to maintain our covenants, and the cause
of Christ," Ac'

This Christian denunciation of vengeance thus royally con-
cludes, — " Lot King Jesus roign, and all his enemies be scat-
tered." And to shew that they could act as well as declare,
they immediately proceed to murder two of the King's soldiers
at Swine Abbey, in Linlithgowshire. Their names were Ken-
noway and Stewart, and they were murdered on coming out
of the house at Swine Abbey, iu the night.' Konnoway, we

' IDeftUi. in tha tana at llio Imngmui, muat (utb boon jninning over Saint Red-
wieli'ii Bhoulder, tn, in aome nnng hiding-lialo, li« penned this briuwIoDe chuicr.]

* [Unqnntionjibly thext two gcnUemon of Ifae Tt>j»i guard were murdered iu the
night tiioe, and tlwre im no muon wbaterer lo wppoM that tbcf ocr* coming out
of the hoiueat the lliue. In » stating il Mr Sharpo had ru1ia*ed the iliaingcnunua
narntiTe in Wodrow, and had not obMrrcd that Sir George Maelceniie, in hr*
* Vindiulion," eiproaal]' atale* that II117 were murdered U lluir Mt. The Duke
of llamiltan himaeir, b/ no tnoaoa ao lofal H ho ought (>> bare been, iboa aolicea
ibe murder of thoai ^^oardiinicn, in a letter to QueciiBberr}', dated, Hamilton, IMth
NaicRiber, lOHt ; ~ Poople hcrcahouts are mucli alarmed, aince the hearing uf that
larrid munlfr ri( .Velar jfArf ; and they aay the fogltlvm [i>u(U<*a under anatenoi
ofhgilatluD) have been acea mora publiel)', fn the remote placcHorthieahitv, ainea
(he forces went out id it, than before, Wherever I heard of any, 1 aBut and made
aearch for tha reaetlant, and lun several pHioners. Aa 1 wrolo to Genontl
Dalyell, and now to tlie Qiancollor, without pUelug cavoraj garrlaona in llie moor-
fah plaoea of the eonntry, it will be hard to ealeb or baolib theao rnguaa, or flnil
<«t thnr naetlera I and for ny botam of Crawfurd, \t there Ui not otlwr houava In
that partab more Ht, now that the one half of il la unTBuKeil, 1 am Isuoli tuialakwi.
However, it, and all 1 have, ahall be ready at the King'a aarvioe."-- (/oomrffrry
Hamilton loyalty had alwaya an 1/ In it. See before, )• Rl.]

Ui

MEMORIALS OF THE

may be siiro, was a " most violeut persecntor ;" but \
hath iin account of Stewart. Tlieso outrages occasioned 1
Lords of tlie Ptivy Council to pass au act, by which thoy
dained any person who owneJ, or woidd not disotmt the trel
sonable Ueclaratidn, upon oath, whether they had arms (
not, immediately to bo put to death ; this being alwayB dofti
in the presence of two ufUnesscs, and the person or pere
havhig commission from the Coimcil for that effect.

1686.
Charles the Second died on the 6tli of Fehruary 1685.
a quarrel with Queensberry,' Claverhouse had ridden to Edio
burgh, and from thence to Loudon, where ho was at the tin
of the King's death. But he was in Edinburgh, at the Priv
Council, when James was proclaimed, on the 10th of Fehruarj3

This Monarch has been variously represented, as to cham
ter, according to the passions of private men and tlie proj*
dices of party. While the whigs, at the head of whom i
Bishop Burnet, leave him not one single virtue to compeni
for a world of vice, and even doscend to reprobate his personi
appearance, by comparisons with the imperial goat of Caprce^
Tiberius, — the tories, led on by Sheffield Duke of Buckinghu
attribute to hira several good qualities, which he certainly
possessed, praise him in the social qualities of life, and, aide^fl
by the antliority of Drydcn, Vandyke, and Lely, extol ihpM
majesty of his face and mien. Burnet, who was a groat tatler m
himself, wearied of his stories, and afBrmed his own case gene- 1
ral. Buckingham, a patient listener, and, one should think, a
much better judge of colloquial vivacity than the Bishop, i
serts the very reverse. Burnet himself wTitea as he might have J
spoken, — Sheffield as authors should write ; Burnet like the {
companion of Duke Lauderdale, — Buckingham as the associ-
ate of King Charles. In fact, it must have been through
Lauderdale, Villiers Duke of Buckingham, and the Earl of
Rochester, that Burnet had the domestic touches of his revolt-
ing caricature, which reminds us of the pencil of " HelUdfa
Breughel," while Sheflield painted from real life, witli all the
sweetness of Lely, The King's tenderness of disposition is, in
' [This qimn-i'l vtill be f<ian<l illimtnilcd in n aubscijiiciit P&rt.]

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEK.

345

some rpBpccts, well autheuti(;atcd. Ho tihed almndance of
tears on the deaDi of hia brotlier, and tho Karl of Falmouth,
when, in neither case, was tliere any occasion to dlHsemble ;
aud his hchaviour towards the Duke of York, whom he loved
hilt did not respect, wa8 uniformly fraternal and affectionate.
With regard to the affair of Lord Stafford's trial, it ought al-
ways to be remembered, that the unfortunate peer had caballed
with Lord Shafteabury, whom Charles hated of all mankind ;
and though he carried his conjugal infidelity great lengths,
yet be treated his Queen with an outward sliow of reBj)ect.
Neither would he hear of any steps to get rid of her, though
monarchs affected by a matrimonial nausea arc apt to lay
hold of very stale pretences for separation. His tenderness
towards his concubines hath been commended by a late whig
writer, otherwise far from favourable to him, with some sort
of justice. Nell Gwyne, though a common woman before he
adopted her, afforded him many hours of mirth by hor prodi-
gious humour and vivacity. The Duchess of Portsmouth he
might suppose he had debauched ; and she was worthy of his
gratitude. From Barillon's account of the King's death, it
api)car3 that she really felt an extreme tcndemcBs for her
lover, about the well-being of whose soul she still continnod
anxious when the body could be of no further service to hor.
The whig historians of former times, who pursued Charles
with their phillipics from the time he shewed (according to
Kirhton) a dislike to tlie Lord's prayer, which methiiiks shouhl
have pleased them, till he lent a dying ear to Fatlier Huddle-
stone's, — triumph proudly, and give strange legends concern-
ing his death. I pass by tho vague assertions, the poison, the
common sewer, aud the lumps of fat, of Bishop Burnet. But
the reader may consult, if he please, for a curious account of
his decease, the " Scottish Worthies," a work now coudemnetl
for the most [mrt to the perusal of Scotch dissenters, and the
poring of old women.'

King Charles the Second dii-d in the arms of the Duchesii
of Portsmouth. King William expired pressing the hand of
a Duti-h minion to his heart, — that cold and hard heart which

< [A work in wliich ihr prapurtimi uf Irutli lo rKlsrhcmil in Iom Uiui Itinl tX Kul-
■urf'* liratd to hii Hcli.)

346

MEMORIALS OF THE

uo alfectiyus of relationslip or love could warm, and wbiol
even on the bed of death, appeared unmoved by the horrors 41
the valley of Glenooe.

[End of the Fragment hy Mr Siiat-pe.]

Hebe, with regret, we part from Mr Sharpe, the remaiudt
of whose manuscripts on the subject, in our possessioQ,
sist chiefly of extracts from Wodrow. How imperfect wt
his materials, at this time, for a complete defence of Grahi
of Clavorhouse, against the deeply engrained calmnnies
that falsest of all false historians, is manifest i'rom the fact,
that throughout the whole fragment wo have now submitted
to our readers, he does not give us, or refer to, a single letl
written by Claverhouse himself. That deficiency will be foui
amply supplied in the next Part of these Memorials. Meat
while, we may add the following supplement to Mr Sharpe'l
notice of the death and character of Charles the Second, which
will also cast some new lights upon the state of public affairs,
about the time when Graham of Clavorhouse first emerges
the scene.

Although a king dies much after the fashion of other folk,
except that it is his prerogative to have been poisoned, the
curiosity is natural that leads one to look as closely as may
be into a royal chamber of death. During the worst crisis
that state of internal commotion to which the unenviable mi
riment of this King was continually subjected, in the midst
framing Indemnities and discussing Indulgences, in a whirl
of hanging and hawking, hunting harts, herons, and heretics,
foxes and fanatics, striving to sustain the Throne in England,
and to swell the calendar of Saints in Scotland, it pli
Providence to relieve the Monarch, who was more persecul
than any of his subjects, by a stroke of apoplexy, on Mom
the 2d of February, 1685, On the following day, AJexand(
fourth Ear! of Murray, who had succeeded Laudenlale as
cretary of State, thus writes to Qneensberry, now a Duke, aqj
at the helm of Scottish affairs.

m

toh

:■

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 347

" Whitehall, Ftbrvary 3, 1685.

" My Dear Lord : — From ihe time Ihe fl_ving packet was dispatched
jestcrd&jr, till eight o'clock this inoming, I never left the King, and
ihftll give jonr Grace a short account, both of the applIcatioDS, and his
condition all that limo. YeBtcrday about twelve o'clock he began lo
recover his upeech a little, and from that time continued still on Iho
mending hand, thoagh slowly. Every four hours he had a purge
given him of Ut/crapikra, which had all the good effects luokcd for.
He vomited four or Ave times ; but about one o'clock this morning,
he hod three or four large ••••••, that so much relieved his

head, and refreshed his spirits, that from that time he spoke well, and
as sensible as ever. There was blistering plasters put to each of his
legs and thighs, to every arm, his shoulders, and head. About five this
mornitig tliey were taken off, and had done their operation extremely
well, but put his Majesty to a great deal of pain in taking off the
skin ; which rejoiced o« all extremely, that he found the pain so seu-
sibly. Ho slept about two hours togellior, before that, very soundly
and quietly; and about seven o'clock this morning he began to talk of
the way he took his disease, very cheerfully, to the unspeakable joy of
all present. The Doctors then declared he was past all hazard ; and
this morning, about ten o'clock, they drew some blood off him, at the
jugular veins. Blessed be God he recovers hourly, and is in a very
good condition. God Almighty niake all his good subjects thankful
for so great a deliverance. I confess 1 am not able to write more,
being ill myself, and overworked, which I little minded in the tim''.
This will oertaiuly alter measures ; hot I can say nothing yet of it.
You may have your own thoughts, and communicate what you think
fit to, my dear Lord, your Grace's most humble and most faithful
■ervant,

" MoRRAY."

" Since writing this letter, the King has been again bled in the
jugular veins, and with as good eJTeet as could be wishccl ; and, liesides,
the blisters on bis bead and neck have run through his nightcap, and
bis very pillow; so that the physicians declared lo ns this day in Coun-
cil, that bis Majesty wni post all danger. There will be* a day of
public thanksgiving for the King's rncorery here, but the day is not
yet resolved upon. Ho soon ai* it i» your Grace shall be anjunintol,
that the like may be in Scotland. We have not only reiuun In givu
God thanks up-JU lliin day, but all the day* of our IIvuh. I was with

348 MEMOBIALS OF THE

the King after Council, anj »aw him very much better than Iw m
the morning, itnil heard him a{>eak cheerfully."

Tliifi too sangniuo expectation of a bappj result from mich
de8i»crate dosing, bleeding, and blistering, was very soou ilie-
appoinlcil, as the next letter fmm Lonl Murray to Qucensltorrr
will show : — ^M

" Whitehall, Fdii-uary C, 1685.^|
" Mt Dk4R Lord: — I wrote nothing laat night by the ordinsry
)ioHt, fearing, but with too gre«t cause, I shouUl have occasion tbis
night by a flying packet, bis MajcBty atill growing worse and worse.
My nfBiction overwhclnis me. I staid with blm from three in the after-
noon yesterilny, till within a quarter of twelve o'clock th\s <lay that it
pleased (iod to call him, and change his earthly diadem for a crown of
eternal glory, to the unspeakable grief and aatonishmenl of all his good
BubjoctB, and to none moro than my Borrowtul self. But let us rejoice
that God has blessed us with so excellent a Prince as our gracious So-
vereign ibat now is ; who was this aflcmoon proclaimed through the
City of London, and at Whitehall gate, with the accustomed solemoities.
You will have such commands as his Majesty thought fit on this occasion,
trom Lord Lundin (whn is in waiting], by this packet,
to write more to your Grace, what with grief, toil, and overworKng.'^

Just eighteen months before this sudden event, namely, )
Sunday morning, 17th July 1683, at the fearful crisis wli
Essex had destroyed himaolf in prison, and Hussell was waiti
to make Ms exit in a more dignified and constitutional n
Bishop Burnet, let it never be forgotten, penned, under l
influence of abject fear, the follow'ing sentences, to 1
mitted by a friend to the Lord Privy Seal, and also to Charh
the Second: —

" One thing you may, as you think fit, tell the Kin;;, that, though |
am too inconsiderable to think I can ever serve him while I a
yet I hope I shall be able to do it to some purpoar after I an
This i/ou undtrstand, and I will do it wilk zeal."

" Do not come near me for some time, tbr I cannot bear any c
pany ; only I go oft to my Laily Essex, itnd weep with her; and i

' QuPciiBberr)' Pspcra.

VISCOUNT OF DDNDEK.

34E)

dnral itie King's CAtriage to licr has been so grrat and u-orthi/, tbat it
i^n never be too much admired ; and, I am sure, if ever I live to finiiih
wbat you know I am about, it, and all the otber good thingt 1 oan tb'mk
of, shall not want aU the Ughla I can give them. Adieu, mj friend,
and keep this fa a witness agaiial me, if ever I fail in the performanre

ofitr^

In disgraceful contrast to this emphatic promise, so mean
tivcn Iiad it been fulfilled, stands what Burnet aotuall; wrott!
of the lion dead, but dared not to publish in his own life-
time: —

" De had great vices, but Bcarce an^ virtues to cytrreet thera : ho
had in him some vicee that were less hurtfol, which corrected his morti
hurtful onee."

" When he saw youn^ men of quaUty, who bad aometbiug more
than ordinary in them, he dreiv them about him, and tet hiriuelf to
corrupt them both in religion and morality."

" He delivered himself up to a most enormous course of vic<\ with-
out any restraint even from the consideration of the nearest relaliom."

" His person and temper, his vices, as well as his fortunes, resembla
the charai'ler that we hare given us of Tiberius so much, that it weru
easy to draw the oompaHson between them. At Rome I saw one of
the last Btatues mode for Tiberius, after he had lost his teeth. Itut,
bating the alteration which that had made, it was so like King Charles,
that Prince Uorghcse, and Signior Dominico, to whom it belonged, did
agree with me in thinking that it looked like a statue made for him."

" The King's body was indecently neglected. Some parts of his
inwards, and some pica»s of the fat, were loft in the water in which
they were washed, all of which were so carelessly looked after, that the
watur being poured out at a scullery-hole that went to a drain, in the
mouth of which a grat« lay, these nrere aeon lying on tlio grate
nrnny days after."

This diabolical di«h of heartless scandal, whcroof we have
liere only afforded a few specimens, is garnished with moral

' Dr RuwBll.in the iKunga qaotod fram hi* HiMorj', ip ■ prtvioiM Dote (p. SS9),
■poaks of Burnet hkiing " compawil ilio Hiiiory of hi* Own Urn* aftar iba Roto-
luliuD." But thai lellsr of bU prove* thai bo bad b«oa raacoetlog ll btfont lb*
ilaatb of Cbariea iho Soomd ; and (urtbar, llial It wia hi* Inuallon it nhould Dot
IK hi* ova lire. 8m Un whole laner, p. t«. <J tlii* vulumo.

MEMORIALS OF THE

>

350

reflections, including an expression of the BishoiVB amazement
" to see witli what impudent strains of flattory addresses were
penned during his life," — and his own high and holy sense of
what " becomes an impartial writer of hislon/, and one who
believes that he must give an account to God of what he
writes, as well as of what he says and does." And all this is
written by the man who, just eighteen months before the
death of tlic monarch ho so savagely insults and rcWles, had
crawled to liok his feet, and promised, with all the emphi
of a cowardly spirit. t<i canonize his virtues t Now, do we
despight the lordly fiat of his latest eulogist, who tells us
Burnet was " emphatically an honest man," — that he was em-
phatically a scandalous and mendacious chronicler ; and that,
being now tried by the test he himself invoked, in the crucible,
namely, of his own letter, he can never hold up his head as ■
historian again.' jM

The character of Charles the Second, indefensible as tM
some of the policy whereby he struggled to regain and keep
bis throne, and also as regards the morals with which he
fenced it against the impracticable and insupportable regimen
of the Covenant, cannot afford to be unfairly deteriorated by
historical calumny. It is Burnet, also, who has put a senti-
ment in hia mouth which Charles never uttered, but which
the most illustrious and loyal of modem historians, misled by
the Bishop, has justly exclaimed against as being unworthy
of a king.* The Duke of Hamilton, in his various foolish
efforts to supplant the Lauderdale government, was suffered,
upon severed occasions during the years 1678 and 1679, to
plead what in reality was the cause of his own private inte-
rests, and that of the cabal he led, in the presence of the King
himself, upon the imposing basis of that ever lively subject,
Scottish grievances. From this long continued and fitful
storm, the star of Lauderdale finally emerged more fiery than

' See, and comparo with tint iBtter, H'uOory of liis Owa Time, vol. ii, pp. -106-87.
> Hume, not eaBity impofled upon, hftd allowed himself to be gulled by Burne^
in a calumny against Ihc King. Quoting the Bishop, he uys :—" II is rgi«r(arf,-.4
(hat Charles, utter a fnll hearing of tlie debatm concerning Scotlish aflaira, add,-, fl
' I perceive thai LauderdulB has been ^ilty of many bad things agaiiut titptojibJM
of Seotland, but I cannot find tliat he haa acted any tiling ODntrary to my inTrrn>l 'jf
-» sentiment unworthy of a sovereign ."^//(rtciry uf Engtanrl, v"'

^1 n

VISOOUKT UK DUNDEE. 351

over, and well nigh coiisumed tlie patriot Duko with the
fiercoDCSd of its flare-up, just t>cfore it flared out. Bunict is
by way of afl'ording an authentic account of the last of these
debates which tlie King endured iii his own presence, wherein
the Duko of Hamilton arraigned the government of Lauder-
dale, including the conduct and jiolicy of all men in Scotland
holding high and lucrative offices: —

" Duke Hamilton," saya Buraot, " and many others, were encou-
raged to come np and accuse Duke Laudenlnle, The trutli was, the
King found his fflcmory was failing him, and ao he resolved to tct him
fall gCDtly, and bring all Scottish afTaira into the Duke of Monmouth's
hands. ' The Scottish Lords were desired, not only by the King, but
by the new ministers, to put the heads of their charge against Duko
Laaderdalc in writing; and the King promiacd to hear lawyers on
both sides, and that the Earia of liaBex and Halifax should bo present
at the hearing. &Iackenzie waa sent for, being the King's Advocate,
to defend the adminiatration ; and Lockhart and Cunningbam were to
argue against it. The last of these had not indeed Lockbart's quickness,
nor bis talent in speaking ; but he was a learned and judicious man, and
bad the most universal and indued the most deserved reputation for inte-
grity and i-irtne of any man, not only of his own profession, but of the
whole nation. The lietuing came on as was promised ; and it was made
out, beyond tlie pouil/ilUi/ of an anMwcr, that the granting commissions to
any anny to live on free ijuartcrs in a quirt timf., was against the whole
constitution, as well as the espresB laws of the kingdom, and that it was
never done but in an enemy's country, or to tuppress a rebellion : they
•bowed likewise how unjust and illegal all the other parte of bis admini-
itratioD were. The Earls of Essex and Halifax tuld me,* every thing
was made out fully ; Mackenzie having nothing to shelter himself in, bot
that flourish in the act against field conventicles, in which they were
called the rendezvous of rebellion ;^ from which be inferred that the
country whcnj these luul Ixsen frcquont was in a state of rebellioD. *

■ Tliii wu luA (ho truth ot it, u *e «h>ll preacntl; finil. Landerddo wm neTcr
In highor fsToir with the King than dariog hi* wiowful cootcaia with UamiltoD
ID KiTaud l«79.

' Our " poar meUachal]! friend '* I

• Ai>a xrre lli«; not K> I

' Tbc lut haariag boron tlio Kiug, in wliich tbii Lord Advocala trlumpbuiUy
derendod tho Vntj Council and Judga of SootUad, ocearrtd on the Hlh July Ml^.
Tlia rhniiM wu murdDred on SUunUy Ills id of Msf preiiuui, tlio Mnu net

SOZ MEMORIALS OF TUV.

Kings naturally love to hear prerogative magnified ; yet on tkia ooes-
aion tlie King had nothing to say in defence of ihf administralinn. But
when May, the Master of the Privy Furw, a!<ked him, in his familiar
way, what ho thought now of hie Lauderdale, he answered, lu May
himself told me, that they had objected many damned things that ihey
had done ogainat tkem, but there was nothing objected that was against
Am nervicc. 8uch are the notions tliat many kings drink in, by which
they set up an interest for thcmselvfit, in opposition to tlie interest ((fOie
people.'"

Now tlie truth ie, as we shall piesciitly prove, that these
grand debates concluded, in 1G79, very much aft«r the fashion
of the famous mulodrame of Timour the Tartar. There was
a violent exploeion at the eud, anil the whole dramatis per-
eofKt, of the Hamilton clique, were scattered amid a general
conflagration. The King thoroughly understood the real ob-
ject of this cabal, and estimated their patriotism at its fuU
value. It does not follow, because Burnet says so, that
Charles ever uttered any epigrammatic sentence on the sub-
ject. But if he did, there cannot he a doubt, from the manner
in which the affair ended, tliat he only uttered what was the
true state of the case, vk., ' They have shown many things, in
the govt-rnmcut of Scotland, that ran counter to their own
objects, but they have shown nothing against the cfliciency
and fidelity, of that administration, in the service of their

having been attempled nuiny yean before. — [See Rothes's tetter on the subject
tupra, p. Ses. The date of that lettor, ■• fidinburgh, 5lb May 1679," is cJiere
■ccidentill}' Dtnitted.) CUverhonse was dcfealed at Dnimclog on Sundaj' ihe 1st
of June 1679. The rebels attactied Glasgow next day, and wore defeated by Lord
Roes and CteTerhousB. Even in reference to the atTair of Drumclog, Lord Row
very sensibly ivrilcB to the CommanJer-in-cliief, " My Lord, if this be not m le-
bellion, 1 know not what ia rebellion,"

' Burnet's Oim Time, n. 229. Robert Law, more honcet and righl-minded than
either Bufnet or Wodrow, thns truly chronicles the incident, which will be found
fully illustrated in our text :— " July Iflifl ; The Duke of Ljiuderdale and Duke
Hamilton luiving bsd several heiirin)^ at tlie Council-board of X.andon, Lauder-
dale prerailed in all debates, and cleared himself in all the particulars he woa
ehorged with ; and tliere tho King declared, that, upon full hearing of what canld
be said agunst tho Duko of lAuderdale, it appears, that in nil tilings he lias be-
haved himself a» becomes him ; and the report goes, that nomelhing lo that effect
will be printed at his Majesty's command."— ,Unnari<i^, p. I S3, Matculm Laing'a
Inagnitoquent nnnecnse on the subject is all founded on Wodrow and Burnet.

^^^^^^^M VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. S53

^^Sovereign. This was perfectly trae. Nor was Clmrlce bo
^H great a fool, as either to have eiitGrtaiiied, or proclaimed
1^^ against himself, and to such bahblers as May and Burnet, the
indefensible and ridiculuns sentiment, that he r<>garded his
own personal interest as distinct from, and piiranioimt lo, the
interests of his people. But wo must now Inrn to sorue very
amusing and instructive letters, hitherto unpublished, from
the Chancellor Kothcs to his dear fiieud Queensberry, which
afford a graphic view behind the curtain uf the Htale, during
the last years of tbe Lauderdale adjninistraliun.

The Earl (afterwards Dnko) of Rothes, had si^t-n a deal of
life. lie auil Lauderdale were fellow captives at tlie battle of
Worcester ; and thus became state prisoners to Cromwell,
whilo those great Dons of the Covenant, Argyle and Warris-
ton, actually sat os peers in the Usurper's Parliament. Lau-
derdale, who some how esoapeil that foni disgrace, was cooked
into such a loyalist as suited the Restoration, by eleven years
of duranc« in tbe Tower, which made him a wiser if it did not
make him a better man. But Rothes ba<l the good fortune to
obtain his liberty, after four years of confinement, through the
interest with Cromwell, of that extraordinary lady, the Coun-
tess of Dysart, who was al^erwards married to the other
prisoner, Lauderdale, under the circnmstancos narrated by
Ur Hliarpe. So fiothes rose first. He fliled all the great
othces in Scotland from the date of the Restoration. lie was
President of the Council, an Extraordinary Lord of Session,
Lord High Comnjissinticr, Lord High Treasurer, General of
the Forces, aud Lord High Chancellor. Of all these offices,
except tbe last, be was deprived, when Lauderdale outbid
hini in I6I37. The seals of Scotland, however, ho retuinod
until his death in 1681 ; and ho had so far n'covcred his iu-
ftaenr« as to l>e raised to the Dukedom in 16H0, al>out a twelve-
month before his death. While somewhat obscured under the
shadow cast U{>ou him by the fortunes of Laudurdale, Kothea

I attached himself U) the Karl of Queeiis)>en7 (whom all seemed
to regard as the coming man) with a degree of roufidcucc
and affection, so earnestly displayed in his cnrreKpondencv,
that one can hnrdlv doidit liiH siriceritv, althou^nh the attach-
■

354 MEMORIALS OF THE

inent may have been instigated in Bome measure by the dis-
like he bore to Lauderdale, aud his disinclination to follow in
the train of that domineering minister. The correspondence,
however, between Rothes and Queensberry, was of long stand-
ing. Before the rise of Lauderdale, or the death of Queens-
berry's father, and in the zenith of his own power, the
Chancellor writes as follows : —

*' For my Lord Drumlanrig^ These : —

** HoLTRooriHovsE, Octcher 26/A, 1665.

*' My Lord : — Having this opportunity put in my hand, I will not
omit presenting of my service to you ; and as I ever professed, so shall
I be always ready to serve you. I have sent your Lordship an order
enclosed, which I doubt not your care in, and shall add no more to your
trouble, but that I am, my Lord, your bumble servant,''

" R0THE8."

Drumlanrig had recently been appointed, in the lifetime of
his father, heritable Sheriflf of Dumfriesshire, and the order
enclosed affords very good evidence that the cancer of conven-
ticles, afflicting the land and threatening the throne, had pro-
voked and alarmed thc'government of Rothes no less than it
did that of Lauderdale : — -

" Whereas I am informed that Mr John Welch has been preaching,
and keeping conventicles, contrary to the established laws of this king-
dom, in the shires of Galloway, Roxburgh, and other places, and has
rexjeived citations, from the Council and Commission, to come under
trial, refuses to appear, but is lurking in some private place in the
country ; these are therefore to desire you to make diligent search and
enquiry in the places of your jurisdiction, and cause apprehend that
seditious person or his resetters, which will be acceptable service to bis
Majesty, and contribute much for the peace of this country ; and for
your so doing this shall be your warrant. Given under my hand at
Holyroodhouse, this twenty-fifth of October, 1665.

" Rothes."

Twelve years afterwards (Lauderdale in the ascendant),
Itothes, still Chancellor, thus writes to the same, who by this
time was Earl of Quoonsberry : —

VISTiniNT OF DUNDEE.

" For the Earl of Quefiuberrif, These : —

ITik Auj/Mit, I67C.

" Mt Lord : — I went to Edinburgh on Friday lost, of purpose to
meet Sir Groorge Lockh&rt, * bnt he being oat of town, iiecosBitatcd my
et&;? till Mondiiy ; at which tiino he and I did talk of all buaiiieia at
great length, and with great freedom j but ho was unc^irtain as to his
(vHolutloii for London, till he Bliould hear again from ihence, at which
time lie waa to advertiiie me, and 1 Km to meet liim again at Edin-
burgh. He in kind to me beyond evpression, and I peretiadc myself 1
owe A share of it to the good eharacler you gate him of me on all ocea-
HiouH ; for he told me very eerinuBly, with a grent deal of gravity, that
he did asBure me you were very much my friend. Jndgc if I did not
laugh within myaelf when he said to ; I having had, bo frrqiirntly, and
so long, continual experience of yimr favour and kindncMs. But of thiD
no more ; for we are over all Bach expressions. I bear nothing new,
neither from above nor here. When I do, yon shall immediately have
an account. My daughter is happily brought to bed upon Wednesday,
(being long in pain but no h.iKard) of a brave lass ; so that now 1 am
an old grandfathrr ; and now 1 am resolved to he mighli/ grave."*

" [ humbly thank you for your kind letter, which you loft at Edin-
burgh, but I am mightily troubled you are fallen from your resolution
of doing me the honour of coming to Lesly ; and, if it may yet conaist
with your own convcniency, I would gladly hare you do it ; and, upon
my honour, you shall not meet with any disturbance, uiilcsa it be
hawking; and excn that belooed recreation I shall forsake to oblige

" I hod almost forgot to tell you, that my Lord Kincardine is ex-
tremely troubled at his being turned out of the Coum-il of England ;
and mncli more than be had lost both his place in Session and Treasury.
He is nt a stand whether to go up or not. I hat'e sufficiently troubled
you ; NO 1 shall say no more, but that 1 am, my dear Lord, your most

mblc

* Sr George Lochtiart of Csrawstli, the cclrtrBted Uw>cr, saJ aeniBwIial f*r-
tiouB l>ein of Faealljp. Ha stood In oppuwtlon 10 Luutonlalo, and beouno frmi-
iIfdi of III* CuuR of Sesrina id IGHA. Ha was b»tiAj aiMMinsteJ, on Sands; Urn
31*1 of Muroli, ICHB, wlwii returning fmin llio furonono mftIeo, l)>e year at Ihe
battle of Kinkoruikl*, b> (list murdaroiu M:oundnl t^hlHtj' nf Dairy.

■ TtM Clisncollnr'a dsiighh-r wm mirried in Ifli 4, loClwt1fai,(>Mn>i •nnnf Jnha
fourth Karl of Haddin|:liin, which lUridoin, coniwquitnily, detnlvnl by s tutMy
■mn)t*inent, upon llir SMnnil tin at F,Mr\ Disries, lh« rlrlntl wa ■upon^ing thmngh

356

MEMORIAI-S OF THE

In the montli of July 1677, Lauderdale and his redoubtable '
Duchess, and her two Talmash daughters, came to Scot-
land. Her principal object was to marry those daughters to
Scotch peers, a speculation in vhich she eveutuallj sncceeded.
The bloated, blustering Duke, came to crush the oppiieitkm
which, under the scrambling leadership of Duke Hamilton,
was endeavouring to effect his downfall. How the Duchess
demeaned herself upon that occasion, we have abeady seen
from Mr Sharpc's lively sketch of her character and conduct.
But the following letter from the Chancellor Rothes to
Quecnsbcrry, affords details, very graphically given, of the
regal progress of this rampant couple, which are not to be mei
with elsewhere. Eotbcs was by no means violently opiwsed,
like Hamilton, to Lauderdale's admini-stration ; but he was
jealous of his power, and justly suspicious of his policy.
Neither does he appear to have retained any strong feeling of
gratitude towards her Grace, who obtains the credit of having,
in former years, released his handsome person from the claws
of Cromwell, by virtue of her own caterwauling with the
hypocritical Independent. Sketches from nature, and the pen
of Eothes, of such a charactijr as the Duchess of Lauderdale,
must interest all who take any pleasure iu the perusal of his-
torical memoirs,

" for Ike Earl of Queenabeny, Tltete r —

" My Dgar Lord : — I am now almost perfectly recovered from iBe
most desperate colic thnt ever I had in oil my life, it haviug continued
four days witli me, and I detained this bcnrer of purjKwe to give you an
account of what passed yesterday ; wliich I shall do only in general,
except aa to myself.

" Argyle, Balcnrrea, and several otheni, met bim' lialf-way betwixt
ibis and Loodon. My Lord Athole,^ Marshall, Aboyne, Sir John

his tngthcr, to the moru andent Barldom of Bothm. Tlic hnppy event he recorda,
certiualy did not cause the Chsncelkr to become " migbtj' gnve," but probably
induced him to get mighty tipsy.

' Mpaning LiiuderdaJe.

•To whose elilest son, Iho Dnehesa deoired to iiuury her youngefl daughter,

I I Iiady Cnthorine TiilnutBh. Tliia foil through, hut eventually tlie young lady was

tnarriedto Loril Doune, Karl Murray's ehloflt aOQ i and after Ills death iu lG?fi, she

married the Earl of Sulhorlnnd.

J

I

i

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 357

Ke!tb, in a hackney-coocli, tvitli a great many horsemen witb them,
met liim tlireo or four fltngoB short. When Argylu cnnie, the Duke
anil Duchess and her two ilapghters being in one coach, the; put out
the youngt'Bt daughter, and took in my Lord Argyle. But wben my
Lord Atbole came up, tboy did not remove the other, but suffered bim
to remain in his hackney. Mark l/iat, eterki My Lord Hatton, with
aevorul othcra, alaid at Alnwick till be came ; anil, tltey say, was re-
ceived tiy the Duke with great civility, and a vast deal of kindneBft,
and uo less from the DucheoB.' All the rest came straggling on ; but
few or none were wanting, except Duke Hamilton, yourself, Roxburgh,
Haddington, and Tweudale, and Cochrane, and DumfrJe.*, who in to
flee hira this nfternoon ; and 1 suppose so uill my Lord Itoxburgb.
Haddington came iu with bim from Lidingtouii.* All the gentry on
this Bide the water met him otic where or other ; and all the Lords
of Session, and whole Advocated •,* and bucIi as came io lo town on
Saturday or Sunday, returned back to Lidingtoun, or met bim hy the
way on Monday. And certainly they were the greatest number that
has been seen together in this kingdom, upon such an occasion, for a
v«ry long time. I did really, after a long debate with myself, resolve
to have gone to Lidingtoun, but my sickness weakened me so extreme-
ly, that, although I was upon the recovering band, yet I durst not
adventure it. So I sent Major Bountinc, upon the .Monday morning, to
tell the Duke, that if it had not been that I was so very ill, I wouhl
bave waited oa him tlmt morning. His answer waa, — twice over, —
* God forbid that the Chancellor of Scotland should bavn given lamsoK'
the trouble of coming so far to a person that comes in private characUr,
and not as the King's Commissioner.' This, I am very confident, was
iu deriaiun ; fur 1 believe he understood that it was the common de-
bates, in all cumpanieH, whclber I should or nut 7 So, upon his arrival
here, I put ou my clothes, which bad not been an for several days be-
toTv, and resolved, ao soon as be went up stairs, to follow htm, and
give bim a short visit, aud bis Duchess onotber; but he prevented
Be ; for so soon as over he came out of his coacli, be came straight (o
my lodging ; which I apprehending, liad one waiting ; and no ran
down, but tnot him rery near my gate, where 1 entreated him to give

■ Tba Ducbco* and Ilatlon (LMidDnJale'a brother anil Iwir-pTauiinpiiTe), «
at feud, and balml eacb other.

■ LaudenUlc** own place of Lathinf^n in Eut Lolhikn, now liclonglag lo
Uluil] rn rami))!, uniler the fnoclfiil nsmo of " Lennox Ixivo to BlsnljTc."

Yel u|)an &t\t oocwliiii, Liudnrdaln 4i<l nal come down u mjal
but mrrct}-u Duke uf Laiidi'nUli'. Prliw Miii>>l«rfur :^>llB(id.

358 MEMORIAI^ OF THE

himself no further trouble, but to return, but could not prevail ; so
he, with the rest of the Lords came up. I desired him to walk, being
near my gate ; but he said, he would not be guilty of the rudeness to
take place of the Chancellor of Scotland. So when he came to my
door he went up, but staid not a minute. I returned with him back,
and waited upon his Duchess. So, after my compliment, which was
wonderfully short, I told her I was sorry she had got so warm a day to
come in. She answered it was the best day that ever she saw in all
her life, since she had seen her Lord have so many friends to welcome
him. I told her, she had seen that for many days together.^ And
after a little discourse I took leave, and she would needs go with me to
the outer door. So I stopt so soon as I came out of her own chamber,
and begged her to go back. She said she would not. I told her it
was not my due to expect it, nor I did not. She said, she thought it
was. I said, that, though X believed she knew better than I, she be-
hoved to excuse me to be very stubborn upon that head. So she went
back, and the scene ended.

'* There is no possibility of taking measures yet. For all parties are
but contriving their several interests. Athole, Argyle, Hatton, are
the favourites ; and the President' waiting till he see who is the
greatest. The Advocate,^ take what course he will, must certainly
off. I apprehend the Justice-Clerk will be Advocate, Collington
Justice- Clerk, and Sir George Mackenzie advanced to the Bench.
What occurs that I know, you shall ; but, I expect from your justice
and undoubted friendship, nobody else^^-exen the little stories I write ;
for it may do hurt, but can do no good. I will not end with the for-
mality of a compliment, for I am, without all possibility of change,
your servant,

" R."

** I pray you thank this bearer for staying."*

^ The Duchess had made a very good hit. At this time there was by the way of
a patriotic cabal, professing to be based upon the national feeling in Scotland, to
destroy the credit of Lauderdale at Court, because of his alleged misgovemment of
that country. The Duke came down to face the storm ; and lo ! what happens f
Lords and Commons, Chancellor, Judges, College of Justice, and mob, go out to
meet and worship him whom tlie King delighteth to honour !

* Sir James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount Stair.

* Sir John Nisbet.

* (^ueemberry Pa/>tfr8.-— Rothes had omitted to date this letter ; but the context
pi-oves that it must have been wintten in the month of July, 1677.

VISCOUNT 0¥ DUNDEE.

359

I

A few ilays afterwarils, tLo CliimccHor ugaiu writes tu hi«i
I illnstriouti friend, slightly noticiug mntters all lieariiig upon
I the history of tLe great puliticul strugglo at tliat time rcuding
■ tlio kiiigilrims ; —

"20lhJul>/ I67J.

" Mv DEAR Loud : — Since my last, little or nothing Las occurred,

but every thing runs in tlie same channel, except that llie Duke o(

Lauderdale has taken upon him to hear and to endeavour to adjant the

[ ^fferences betwixt the Earl of Argyle and the Madeans; nod it in itp-

[ prebended iny Lord of Argyle will have the belter of it, which yoa

may be sure will not aatinfy my Lord of Athole," &c

His next letter is more full of history ; and gives a better
character of himself than it pleased Bishop Itiniiot to bestow
upon him.'

" ltJ(A Auguil 1G77.
" Mif Di:*K Lord : — I iiiu now going to Fife, and nut knowing of a
Bure oceaaion, I cun only any, thHt tberu i^ no alteration since niy last ;
Quly the mutch Imtwixt Uie DucbeBa's daughter and my Lord Atholo'a
•on is now concluded, which occasione several alleraliona.* Just now
[ received yours, and am very [mnid that you approve of my carriage
to this ticklish and unpnraUoled lime. Uut it put« mo mad to think
that every body should not have exi>ccted that I would have undoubt-
edly carried myself like an honest man. 1 follow the same metboda I
laid down, and told you of; and I shall never alter, so much as in my
thoughts, without acquainting you. It is a miracle to behold the
■trange nlteratioas that every day produces ; but, in short, at one
meeting Atlioli: carries it, and at the next Argyle. Since the mat«h
was declared, the Duchess, and Athult^ owns their intentions to ruin
HatloQ ; who carries with a great deal of calmnes-, but fixes his inte-

p tsel ihkt ihs

> Durnot'* clianurlor of Rotlm is brnUl. FoundiDK apon t
QuuiKllor indnlgod too fmly at labia, (in wlikli lie «u bf d
amoDg thu ilatismcii of his oun lU}', nr u compared wltli great >t
bur ila^s,) KDi) hurt hi* hoaJlh tlicrvby. the Iliolinp JuiHBmi of hln, tlut Iw was
■■*l*ayagllb«rdcli or drtinli)" and baviog thiu «»i)tganl«d lii>Tic«n,orpdil>lilm
with not a slagU good qaallly. Tbv ohanotoriMio of Bum*!'* nialor)' u,~mali-
oious calunui} fouadMl on a fow tsotttthato/ Wodniw'mtliitorjF,— fiDatlnlcalum-

^^ sy fboDdod 00 maU7 lie*. Pur nehiU fntrnnt.

^^L ■ Tlwrc ns much, hiiwrtri', u *t< iliall fliiil, bulKFcn llic ru|i nri-l ilic llji.

360 MEMORIALS OF THE

rest with all those of the nobility of his hrother's interest ; except the
Marquis of DouglaH, Marshall, and Aboyne. I do undoubtedly be-
lieve, that he is mightily in his brother's fisTonr, and has reason to
conclude that he will stand by bun. Bat (as to the fullest extent of
my shallow capacity) looking on for a tchile is the most rational me-
thod to be followed. For when people are of so aguish a temper, it is
fit to let thetn settU upon their drag, before they be meddled with.
Whatever be the danger for myself, I find them taking all the direct
and indirect ways to out me of my place. And truly I do not in the
least doubt of their success. But if I should sacrifice my life, and my
fortune, I will not alter my method in the least ; and if I perish, I
perish ; but I shall fall in the high and plain wa}' of an honest man.
Ilatton, I know, would do me all the kindness within the furthest ex-
iowi of hiM ]K)wcr ; but should he in the least own it, it would signify
ItttK' to mo, and would give the Duchess an infallible ground to render
hiM bnithcr joalous of him. So that there might be an allowance of
lltno (0 Moe what ho can work. But she infallibly intends to state her-
$e\( u|)on litM ruin. Yet there is no question but, at the very same
mlnulo Aw |)orcotvos her Ijord to stand for him, she will turn his friend,
und almndon all others. So happy are those who engage with her !

** As to y«)ur ctmitng hero, I did conclude it not advisable ; for it
^%\s\\\\ \\t^yp rendennl other people jealous ; and have proved no way
•iM«HH*iip(l\\l U\ your interest. For any who pays them but common
otviUlv, \\^n many sovoral constructions put upon it. Yet I would
\^\\f^ MHV i\\\\\^ in tho world to speak with you but one hour; but know
\\\\\ \\\\\\ to iHMitrivo it. What occurs from time to time you shall have
il l\\ llt^w WalUw; but if you write anything particular, certainly
HM t)\|MVM in tho Itest method. Company now crowds me; so my
\\\^v Loi\)| mliou/*

" R."
** / iixmhl m»l jyoH uhU burn Mm, as I do tfours,''^

Tho ^lmlUH^llor» with nil his magnanimous asseverations, in
thti lot tor ht> wishoil iHUumitted to the flames, was playing an
ttuxiousi, rHiitii^iH gtuiu\ and keeping a steady eye upon his
owu iutv^^tiritli, Notwithstanding the fanatical vagaries of his
(\»mitosii, ho hiiusolf was certainly not a conventicler in dis-
guiso, liko IVoiiivlt'Ut Dalrymple and his son ; and, indeed, as

^ Uu(hi'« iiiU uol autici|k»tt», uot only that this injunction would be disregarded,
but (U4( Uio IvUui' >^ould Ih> (^reserved ao long as to be printed, and for the first
tuuo, ucHii.\ (wo huudivd .vc^rs aflor it was written.

I

N

VISCOUNT OP DUNDEE. 361

we ehall find, he booh became well eatiefied, that the Lauder-
dale policy, atrouuously counselled by the Primate (ere long
to pay the penalty with bia Wood), to BUppreBs the seditious
and armed conventicles with the strongest hand of the law,
and to grant no more indulgences to outed ministers (whom
no indulgence could reclaim), was daily justified by the vio-
lent and murderouB conduct of the fanatics in Scotland, At
first, however, Bothcs seemed to stand in opposition to Lau-
derdale ; hut so iuuocent was he, in reality, of opposiog him
in his measures, that he became bia very good friend, in no
long time, and contrived, eventually, to pick up a Dukedom in
the scramble. Lauderdale's bitter opponent was Hamilton.
How little of true patriotism there was in that opposition, will
presently appear. From some of the squibs of the period, it
would seem, that neither of these great statesmen obtained
much credit with the vulgar, for disinterested motives, or
high-minded principles, in their virulent contest. A doggerel
of the day feigns a dialogue, in which Lauderdale is supposed
thus to buUy Hamilton ; who returns him a Bolaud for his
OUver : —

" Lnuilcrdalt. Are you tho man thai dare withiUnd
&Iy pleMiire, with n petty band
Uf tipplcri that aurrouDd you ?
Ill Ivt you know.
That with onu blow,
I'm able to conf^inDd you.

" Haniilton. Your bliutcring cannot do tit wrong,

Should you wuar out your huffUng tongue,
So pray pruciwd nu Turther ;

But Ict'l I'XpiCM

The practirei

By which we cheat each oAtr"'

To return to the corroepondenco of Rothes with the " Deil
of Drunilanrig," (who kept himself very snug the while in his
old castle of Sanquhar, biding his lime,) again the Chancellor
writes, as follows : —

Laing;. Hut, Si

ScrtlM, PwlT) »f Uw XVII. Cenlury ; id lienai. lUitwl by Mr

362 MEMORIALS OF THE

" JLe»/i<?, ith October, 1677.

** Neither in my Lord Diik6» or Lady Duchessi talking of going
awav ; nor am I turned qff^my place ycL

^^ They have been very angry. The Marquis of Athole was noi to
bK» hoix> this week ; and [they] sent an express for him ; and now they
«my he will be here to-morrow. It is loodly talked" that be would
briNik olf iliis match with his son ; and it is evident he puts off time,
a* miH>h as he can, upon any frivolous pretence ; and all his friends
rail a< i< ; ^ but 1 am confident he dare not ; for that minute he does,
sh«^ will ettdi^avour to break him, and he has nothing else to stand by
bul ht>r favoar* There has been a great talk of a further Indulgence to
%mttHl ittinislens and no doubt there is a treaty entertained concerning
il. Hut my l^^onl St Andrews' has spoken such free language to the
t>akt\ and ;hi«J kim so home^ as neither you nor I could imagine he
durst ; aud has wrought his end by it ; so as, yesterday, the Duke in
th^ Coiumittee did publicly declare, upon his great oath, be would
uover be for an Indulgence, and said he never had been. - But my
Lord St Andrews did still so hector it, as (that) the President^ was
put to make a spoev'h, and swore that he knew nothing of it, — whicb
is a b<As^ Iky* i^c.

Agrtiu^ im the 12th of October 1677, Rothes thus reports to
Uui ousWrrv :

^* At Council we did almost nothing : But the Duke of Lauderdale
declaroil iM>sitively against the Indulgence, — that he never was, nor
would bo for it,

** I am not capable of questioning yoiur kindness ; nor you shall
never have reason to doubt of mine : And, for all the Duke of Lauder-
dale's height, and the threatenings I meet with, I am as fixed in my
principles as ever. It is now criminal for any of the Lords, that uses
to wait upon them, to eat with me, or visit me ; and they are publicly
charged with it. But the other day, first my Lord Ross, and then my

> That 18 to my, at the match which the Dachess was trying to effect, and had
almost settled, between her youngest daughter and Athole's eldest son.

' Archbishop Sliarpe.

* Sir James Dalrymple of Suir, the first Viscount The venerable Primate was
acting with conscientious firmness and spirit. He was thoroughly master of the
merits of the case ; and knew well the extreme danger to the State, and the lives
of statesmen, arising from such men as President Dalrymple harbouring and
petting conventicle ruffians like prophet Peden, and otlie**'

\

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. ob3

Ijord Wemyas, talked very pUiiily to the DucbesB, &ai told her, they
would pay their ruapect nnJ duty to me, take it us alie pleased I And
ever bidcc, ahc ia very calm as to that head."

The astute Lauderdale liaviiig tuudc himself master of the
situation in Scotland, by bis jtrosence in 1677, xmts on all his
thunder in the following year, as Lord High ComniisBiouer to ■
tile Convention of E§tat«8, summoned to assemble in Edin-
burgh ou the 26tli of June 1678. Meanwhile Hamilton and
his tail of opposition nobles hurry to Court, unbidden and im-
welcome, with their paper of grievances and accusations,
■which uone of them would ever aign. It was diamond cut
diamond ; and Landerdulo proved the hardest, Wliile thet/
wore pleading nonsense' before the King, he. wan packing the
Convention in Scotland ; and at the same time keeping un eye
nimn his absent enemy. The uld horse, Rotlies, was waiting
in the race, along with the rising favourite Queeiisberry, both
hanging back, while tbe pace seemed likely to break down
Hamilton, and hurst Landcrdale. Claverbousc, at this time,
was unentered. It is vastly amusing to find how Rothee,
whose own great day bad been, epeculatos upon the clianccs,
and waitfl and watches, in order, as ho phrases it, " to let ihcni
settle upon their drag, before lliey be meddled with." Of date
25th March 1678, ho thus writes to Queensberry, in reference
to the rush of the opposition peers to mob the King io Ijou-
don, in the absence of the royal bull-dog : —

I
I

" To liave nobody ihi-re lo inform for hiiu, and counloract thoso con-
siderablu [H^mons who will be informing againKt him, I judg<i will be
very nnbocoming a wise mnn : And who hu shnll M'nd ia Ihu i|U(.-9lion?
Argylo? Ilis father's mumury stinkK there lu hero; iieithcT dues
tnther his [wnion, or wny of convune, recommend h!m. My Lord
Murray is not fit for il ;' I need aay no more either of him, Liulith-
gow, or Rota. Ilalton, I bvlicve, is not sucli n foul ; and if ho doea,

■ Socli DODtRiM Ml, Itikl e>«T]' thbg wu qai«i siid mfa in SoolUnd ;
wM Du approxiniMiaii lu ■ mbvllion ; ftoil that Landardat* was pramoting oDo, la
wr*f< bis own lam.

• Lord Uumf , liowovcr, «■■ Ilw one whom Laudwdale cnplojrd ) and be tut.
cecdcd Uw Ullcr u SccroUrj dt SiMc ill 10)11 g and allMUlod the Kkg titl.bil dntli-
iva loan bcfurv.

364 MEMORIALS OF THE

it will be easj U> treat him [as ?] one ridiculous. Now, my hsacy ia, thmt
he will employ the Bishops ; by which means he lays all the stress npon
them of what has been done : And if he shall move them to cry aloud
to the King and Churchmen, — that, if what has been done be not conn-
tenanced and prosecuted, they shall be ruined, — and then turn the
cannon upon those who goes up, and allege this opportunity is only
laid hold on to misrepresent and destroy the Duke of Lauderdale, and
with the same breath to ruin the Church, — I warrant you, they -wiU
not want argument, if any of them shall adventure upon so ticklish
a head. For my part, as I have a soul to be saved, I know nothing of
it ; and all this letter is an effect of a walk on the terraces,^

*'*' Tweeddale's taking the bond, I never doubted of. But what is his
intention of leaving Scotland, I cannot imagine. To go to Court ? He
will be as soon damned as venture upon it ;' and to stay at home I be-
lieve he may without any body's being jealous. For as, few fears him
as loves him,'' &c.

Lauderdale's purpose, in this Convention, was to obtain a
grant of money, necessary to enable Grovermnent to keep down,
by force of arms, the frightful turbulence of the conventicles.
The object was indeed dictated by the direst necessity ; and,
in the hands of an honest statesman, could not have been
gainsaid. But the disreputable and dissolute character, both
of Lauderdale (a son of the Covenant) and his Duchess (a
daughter of Satan), gave no little plausibility to the argument
that the public money was about to pass into bad hands, and
to serve the private purposes of tyrannical passion, and avari-
cious dishonesty. Great excitement prevailed during the
elections for Lauderdale's Convention, which of course that
stormy petrel did his best to pack. Rothes shall tell the
story: —

" For the Earl of Queensberrt/j These : —

« HoLTBOOD House, 8th June^ 1678.

" My Dear Lord : — I received the honour of yours upon Thursday,
wherein there was three inclosed in one cover ; and I am very glad

1 After a hard drink, perhaps.

* To Court he did venture, however ; and caught it from the King, as we shall
presently find.

I

I VISCOnNT OP DUNDEE. 305

that mine have come safe to yonr harnlB. By ntiat I observe every
day, I find it evident, that those who bave been of late up at London, '
or are there, or were advisers of them to go, are jealous both of you and
roe. 1 Buy DO more, but God knows if they have reason. I bare
never spoke bat of public business, and that in general, lo my Lord
Commissioner, nor any of them ; and that ju«t at the aamc rate ne
have done ever since he came to Scotland ; except that, upon the 29th
of Kfay, after dinner, he took me aside and told me he knew very well
the great interest I hod in the abire of Fife, and therefore he behoved
to use freedom with me at the old rate ; and bo desired that I would
not suffer Sir William Bruce to be chosen one of the commiaiiiouerH for
that shire ; for, if he were, it would be hurtful to Sir William, and ill
taken from me ; for he assured mo the King knew very well, that Sir
William had stood in opposilion to hia service, and that he was so sen-
sible of it, that he wa.s resolved to take course with him ; and then he
fell a railing at him. Whereupon, I gave advertisctnent to Sir Wil-
liam ; and did advise him not lo endeavour his buing a commissioner ;
whcreuj>on lie staid away, and did not so much as go there. At the
Council table, before I went over the water, I was euquirvd at, aa
others were, what day the election of Fife would bo. I told him, —
when they pleased ; so they left it to myself, and I named the 13th.
But when I went home, ray Sheriff- depute,* having got the letter, and
the postscript requiring haste, ho officiously, without ever aci|Utunting
me, appoints Tuesday last, being the 4th, to l>e the day ; an ncconot of
which being sent to my Lord Commissioner, he, and the whole Council,
presently began and reflected, how I had named the 13th, and had
anticipated the time so long. There was such a noise and bustle, as
those who was witnesses tells me they never saw the like, — that the
King's Chancellor should abuse both his Commissioner and his Council 1
One circumstance 1 must tell you, that, upon the S^tli of May, late in
the evening, the laird of Lundy^ came to mo, aud told me, he wa4

I Duke HninilloD wad III* hction.

> Tho Duko of Rotbn 'u herilmblD ShorifT of Kifs. Thr inuDcdiale nubordinsl*,
■(ilwlntcd bj- IbcH higli oftl(?i>]*, tru designci] 5licHir-ilr|,utp. TtipH bcritabi*
juritdictioUB bfing nnw mct^rd in (ho Crnwn, Uh SotiTeign •lour mi itptfU
SfaoriB^ to ut for bim, In tlis ruioui iliirca ; bihI thcup, Wftm, Km cmpospred, by
the royal emiuulHlun, tn Rppoinl Ihoir own inunciUale Kibordiiutes, or rpprpiiiiila-
Aim, who sre tarrned Uirir SthmUvS**. The Sheriff* (hoouclTm are t>i/vltt to
tba Smtnign.

' Sdba DniRimaiiil nt I.iini)>, wu tlie •eeonil (on nl Juidh, tlilnl Earl ut Parth,
•od bamiov Earl of Melfon, k tills rwsnil]' nriml. IKi wifu, wlin *w ih*
hrirta of Lnti'ly, or LaiKiin, In Fit*. *u ont* to lh« Dulia ot Undardah.

3G6

MUMORIAIS OF THE

N

commaniled to eodwTOur being elected to be
shire of Fife, but civilly told me, that if he bad not ray alloirwiee be
wotild rather choose to excuse himaelf, and begged my assisUDce. A«
lo the firet, 1 told hiin, his quality and condition did very well aJknt
biin, an well sa any in the shire, to endeavour bis being choira ; bat
as to the Huronil, 1 Raid nothing. But when I found that my tibcriff-
deput« had innocently brought me into a snare, which I knew wouki
be presently represented lo the King, and that I bad several letters
from London, SRSuring me that the King loads mc heavily with tbe
conventicles in Fife, I judged it fit for me, to stop any fanher miarv-
presentations of me, lo jpvo way, and cause choose Lundy one o( the
commiHsiancrs with Sir Philip Anslruther. This I know will be very
much gnimbied at, and reflected npon ; but I am now come not lo re-
gard (bat much. And 1 must tell yon another passage which you tnay
think strange. Tbe luird of Broomhall did endeavour that he himself,
and a neighbour of his, might be chosen, without so much na ever
telling me a word, or coming near me ; which I think I might justly
have challenged from him as Earl of Rothes, though [ bad not been
Chancellor. But 1 shall not judge it strange when I reflect on wluil
tricks ho did first when all this bustle began in tbe last Senioo of
Parlinment.

" Now, ray dear Lord, I kuow you expect freedom from me ; and
you are but just in so doing, for you shali have the very thoughts of
my heart withoot reserve. It is more than evident the CommisNioner
will carry in the Convention bis design of raising money ; and yoa
know, nothing of any other afl'uir can be meddled with, but singly
business for which it was culled. It was told tbe King, he would
with opposition from my Lord Duke of Ilamillon and purty ; where-
upon he, in a great passion, swore a great oath he sliould take snch a
course with bin, as should make bim smart for it all the days of faia
life. Now, conBidering this, I know not whether lo wish bim down,
or that he may stay.' But I am resolved to advise neither. My own
thoughts of the afi'air, after serious rejlecUon, is, that there is a neetsnty
for raising of money, to maintain some force for eome time. For not
only are we shamed and affronted by nuraerons and frequent conven-
ticlea,' bat I really find there is a great disturbance, and disquiet, In

you ^

m«e*M
here- ^H

' This part of the letter is ambigiuiusly worded, but rrom the conteiit il

mllior eeem (nnd is certainly more likel>) that it was Lauderdale, ai

Charles II., wlio sworo the gr^al oath, and tlireatentfd IlamilloD. Tliat Du

at the lime in London, atruggling to undermine LnuJerdalo with the Kiug.

I Of which his own Connlcss a-as a Rreat promoter.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 367

tlie hamaurs of the people ; and they are paaaessed witti soiIi^dub
principles against the King sml hia Government, which in jnost de-
UsIabU to ail honest mp.n ; nnit I jtidge it most rationnl, to give of
our money, although those receive the benefit, and tiisle the sweet of
it, who ore not our friends, mlher than have the rebet/ioua '49 re-acted
over again,' and we and our posterity to live in slavery. 1 am very
glad you intend to haste here. I beseech you do, for I will undoobted-
ly expect you either on Friday or Saturday next. My Lord St. An-
drewH tallc« of you with all the kindness and tenderness iuinginable,
and I am very confident ix real, and has friendship to yon. )''or my
pnrt, 1 shall separate jrom my life sooner than do any thing unworthy
of the great testimonies of friendship I have received from you ; for I
am, with all the zeal imaginable, nnaltcrable in my IneadHhip to
you.

" Yesterday, in Exchequer, there was a paper read, signed by the
King, discharging Sir William Druce* to be Surveyor. So, there is
£300 be year gone. I wish they may hold there as to him. I am very
sure the Commissioner, being in great privacy with one be trusts very
much [said?] that now the King had made him hisCommias)oner,itHboDld
be seen that he should endeavour to carry with cahnness and modera-
tion ; and that no person should do him the favour to visit him but they
should meet with a kiud and civil reception. And, speaking of you,
he said, twice over,—' God, O God ! I hftvo a family friendship for
his ; and 1 hojio my Lord will visit me uow, although he would not do
so much when I was only Duke uf Lauderdnlc.'' The DucheRs ap[)eBrs
mightily to follow the same method, and snya, it is not huj^ing and
ranting that does business ; and crirt when she bpeaks of my Lonl's infir-
mity of falling into passion, — when, God knows, she is as guilty her-
self. She said to me, on the '29th of May, at table, quietly in my ear ;
' Lord 1 my Lord Chancellor, is it not possible that wo may all live
in quiel, and be free of all this trouble?' I answered her immediKlely
in thu same method : ' Madam, noon alive can du it so well as you ;
and I am very sure it is yuur interest, and you will never repent it.'
Whereupon she said, ' God knows it had not been her fault, nor never
should be,' — and then gave two or three tore $igha, and then s[M)ko not
K word for n ({uarter of an hour.

■ TliB ymr in which Chartn tlio Pint *aa mnrdered b; CnNnwcll.
• Sir Wlliliiai Bruce of Kinniai.

■ Ths ' funily frirailabip" •■* prubcblj' thii, that Landerdslo, ■ political hjpo-
oriU^ of til* 0>T«n*nl oT 1GS7, «u, si tlukl iSine, in clow eonredmcv vltb llie
ChoDOEllur'i fatlnir, simtlior hjpncriti- of Ilis miiib hUiiiji. Diitli (iruTcil lliciiiHlvn

368 MEMORIAI^S OF THE

" Now, my Lord, I knowl need not desire you to keep what I writ«
to you, to yourself; for I do not doubt it, and therefore shall add no
more but that I am yours,

Lauderdale's convention assembled accordingly, on the 26th
of June 1678, wherein, as Eothes anticipated, he carried all
before him. Had his measures for suppressing murderous
sedition, and actual rebellion, perpetrated under the blasphe-
mous assumption of a divine mission, been all that could be
said against the domineering Duke's government of Scotland
at this crisis, his name would have been no blot upon the
annals of his country. But in his person was exhibited the
rankest specimen of that noxious but not unnatural growth,
the most zealous and intolerant of covenanters developed into
the most bloated and tyrannical of royalists. The Covenant
alone could have furnished such an example as Lauderdale ;
and true to its own nature, it furnished others of the same
kind, though not equally successful. But the purpose of this
Convention, as declared in the royal proclamation, was founded
upon facts unquestionable, and the most obvious principles of
common sense : " The great kindness," it said, " we bear to
that our ancient kingdom, hath at all times inclined us to be
very watchful over all its concerns : and considering^that all
Kings and States, do, at present, carefully secure themselves
and their people, by providing against all such foreign inva-
sions, and intestine commotions, as may make them a prey to
their enemies, and that it is not fit that our kingdom should
only, of all others, remain \Ndthout defence, especially at a
time wherein the execrable Jield-convenf teles, — so justly termed
in our laws ' the rendezvouses of rebellion,' — do still grow in
their numbers and insolence, — against all which our present
forces cannot in reason be thought a suitable security, — There-
fore, and that we may be the better enabled to raise some
more forces, for securing that our kingdom against all foreign
invasions and intestine commotions, and to maintain them in
the most equal and regular way, and let the world see the

* Queensberry Papers.

4

\

I

VISCODNT OF DDNDEE. 369

unanimous affections of our people to us, We have tliought
fit to call a Convention of the Estates of that our ancient
kingdom, to meet at Edinhurgh upon tho 26th da; of June
next to come," Ac'

In thia OonvGutiou Lauderdale was deservedly sucoeesful.
Besides making a convert of his rival the Chancellor, in Edin-
burgh, ho was hailed ut head quarters aa the true panacea for
the troubles and the turbulence of Scotland. It is amusing
to see how completely he had gained over Kothea, whose re-
pugnance to him, and suspicion of his measures, appear to
fasTG been as fluctuating as the colics with which he was so
often tonneutcd. Upon the 27ih of July 1678, he writes to
Queeusberry as follows ; —

" My Dear Lord ; — The very same ilay you went from this
plarai, I waa restored to my perfect health, my colic having luft me ;
so now I am very well, if not better than I have beua (bis great while,
at your service. Tbe CommiaBioner being to come from Lethington
on Tuesday, I went there in the morning, auil returned to this placv
with hira at night. On Monilay nlglu be had received an express
paeket from Mr Secretary Williainiion, in his Majesty's name, with a
particular lott«r frvm the King, all witli his own bund, approving all
bis procadnro at a very high rate, and returning btin thanks nuitable ;
and raost pnrlieulorly telling him, tbat he liaa been inrormed, and is
convinced, of bis cnim and efiiial carriage, notwitUHtanding of tbe great
and insupportable temptations be had to tbe contrary, and desires him
not in tbe least to doubt his slcadinoss and fixed friendship to biro,
nor to fear his cnemien ; and gives him a kind invitation up. * So much
as to bis letter from the King.

" In his otberi, from my Lord Maynard and Laiidy, all which I
road, they are mttcb higher to bis commeiidatinn, and enlarge very
mtich upon tbe goneral applause be baa ihere from all persons the King
has any value br ; particularly the Duke, Cbaaodlor, and TrtMsurer ;

■ Rajal pTDclamadaD, dated at WhiloluUI, 33d Hay IflTS.

■ Tht* coinpl'toly malnulInK Humcl. See twfore, p. Ul. and noit. U ilu-
LiaderdalB (iunUy (■■(>«» hata been aa wall prHerred m tbe QaBeiuban7, tUi
aategtaph tdHr oT a[^>ti>batkn and coapHmmt, frani Cbarin the Sf mad M the
Dalle of I^adardalf, ooitbt U be diieevervil Id iha arebivea of thai aoUe houae.
tl wnald ba of ■am* impoflaiM* to the obanoWr ciT Ilu gnU million at the Reela>
ralion, and very intorcntint in a hiitoriati point of rtvw,

■24

370 ICEMORIAI^ OF THE

from all which I believe he has letters of compliment, with kind invi-
tation up, which he receives with a great deal of joy ; and no doubt he
has reason, and does intend for the Court very suddenly, although the
day is not as yet prefixed. He enquired at me, in Lethington, very
kindly for you ; and, when I told him you had staid two days in town
(after you was sent for by your Lady) to see if my health would have
allowed you to have waited on them, and he would have gone along,
but you was now out of town, but would wait upon him before he went,
ho said, you should have been very welcome alone. Then my Lady
Duchess said to me before him, — * Fie upon you, that you should have
occasioned our losing the favour of a visit from my Lord Queensberry.'
Then my Lord begun and said a great deal of the intimacy had been
betwixt your families. His tongue never ceases, when I am with him
alone, reflecting uj>on Duke Hamilton's prudentials in the management
of his affairs ; and now he says, that he knows he intends for London,
and ^ by his faith he shall give him one bout there, for he shall be with
him, and tell the truth ; and he is very confident the King will believe
him as well as Duke Hamilton, or the Earl of Perth,' — who he says
is to follow the Duke.

" This new match, betwixt Mr Maitland and my Lord Argyle'a
daughter, fixes all interest of state, as is supposed. But J can assure
you the Churchmen are not pleased with it. I have spoke with mv
Lord Saint Andrews concerning you and your little affair, but your
writer not having brought me the heads of what was to be in ^-our
signature, I could not speak to my Lord Hat ton ; and he is just now
going to his son's marriage, * and does not return till Wednesday, at
which time I suppose the Commissioner will be just a-going. I have
gone on purpose this morning to my Lord St. Andrews concerning [it],
who entreats you earnestly to haste into this town (and I must also
beg it), and does undoubtedly expect you on Wednesday night at
farthest ; for my Lord Commissioner is positively resolved to go on
Friday. The bearer will tell you in what haste I am, the Commis-
sioner being to dine here ; so that I shall say no more, but that I am,
without all possibility of change, yours,

" R."

* Mr Maitiand was the eldest son of Lord Hatton, and eventually became fourth
Earl of Lauderdale. He married Lady Anne Campbell, daughter of Archibald,
ninth Earl of Argylo. According to the Peerage, there was no issue of this mar-
riage. There had been a son, however, who was christened on Saturday, 3d of
May 1679, the day of Archbishop Sharp's murder ; for Rothes was returning from
that christening to Fife when he heard of the murder. See before, p. 261, his

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

371

I

I

About a mouth after the Commissioner's departure from
the scene of hie triumph, the communicative Chancellor again
addresses the coming man, in a letter replete with curious
information: —

"8eptemher2. 1678.
" Mv Dgab Lord: — If I bad any thing worthy ytiur tronble 1
had written long ere now, but I knew nothing worthy of iin expri^as ;
and DOW I have ho much to say I know not wberc to begin ; but I
shall with answering yours I received this day ; only first give tou an
account of what came by the last packet.

" And you nrnst observe an a great change, forsootb, that all letters
are drst directed to me, as Chancellor, and the rest of the Lords of
Privy Council after; which was always the old style till niy Lord
TweedJalo and Sir Roliert Murray came in |)lay. ' There is one letter
to the Treasury, and another to the l^xahequer, commanding the Earl
of Murray to be adtnilted a member of liotb ; but there being no quo-
rum of the Treasury here, I am forced to »und for the Earls of Argyle
and Dundonald to haste in, whieh I nuppoac will be about the 24th or
&6tli instant, at which time I believe we shall have another Council
day ; at whicb time I do expect we shall have down the commissions
for all the officers.

■' There is also an order come for the reduciDg of threescore of the
Marquis of Athole's troop, so that now it will consist only of a hun-
dred. It is to be done on Monday next ; and atthough there be no
Curaraiflsioner of the Treasury here. Sir William Sharp and I have
made a shift for money to i>ay (hem off, that no time may be lost. The
King has appointcil two companies of Hlgblaudcrs, each consinting of
a hundn>l and fifty, to be commanded by Lawers and Colonel Innes,
as captains, with a hundred commanded men, out of the Karl of Lin-
lithgow's regiment, tJi keep garrison chiefly in Inverlocltie, and in other
places in the Highlands, Fur the (leace, settlement, and ijuieting of
them. Vou may be sure my Lord Argylu's affair concerni[ig Mull is
the great cause of this. The Bishop of (iulloway is to be sworn a
member of the Privy Council so soon an he comes from the north, nod
he is expected to-morrow. Tlit^se are public news. Now to yourself
all the rest.

kiter to (jDCpnaberT)' on Um oocaskm. But on ua* of Ihst marrisge had (urvivcd ,
u Rlchin) MutUad, borth Eari of I^ndordals, ms ■aeoaoded b> hi* brother.

Tin admiBlitmtioB of Sootluid wm >n ihoir hkodi for ■ feir jcars. until
Tw**ddale (|aiimlled with LandinUlc in }e'i.

372 MEMORIALS OF THE

" You know the Earl of Tweeddalo met my Lord CommisBioner at
Nothcrby, and there pressed, with violence, that he might accompany
the Dake of Lauderdale to Court, but had the honour of a positive re-
fusal, being told by the Duke himself that he should willingly hear
what he had to say at London, but that he was so much crowded al-
ready on the road, as that ho desired him to go by himself, which ac-.
cordingly he did.^ And after he was some days at Windsor, my Lord
Chamberlain being sick, and not able to come abroad, he prevailed
with him to appoint the Usher to give him the Sword to carry before
the King ; at which his Majesty appeared surprised, and sent and chid
ray Lord Chamberlain immediately after. Yet within a day or two
my Lord Twceddale desired to speak with the King ; and being ad-
mitted in a morning, after a long preface he told the King, that he was
convinced his Majesty was angry with him, and used great vows and
oaths to convince him that he had been, and would be ready to serve
him in his own way, as he should command, in all things whatsoever,
and had the positive expression^ that he should give an absolute and
entire obedience to the Duke of Lauderdale in all things ; and cried,
and then clapt down on his knees, and begged mercy for all that he
had done which had given his Majesty any cause of offence. The
King said, * Rise my Lord : I have received fair promises, many times,
from your Lordship in particular, and from others joined with you of
this party ; but, by God, I will be used so no more, but will always
use you according as I find your endeavours to serve me.' Then he
magnified himself, and his behaviour in the Convention ; but the King
interrupted him, and with great derision told him, — * I know you did
not, but the contrary;' so, twice or thrice after pleading pity, the King
left him.' So immediately Tweeddalo coming away, encountered the
Duke of Lauderdale, and began to expostulate, and tell him that he

* Tweeddalo'8 eldest son was married to Duke Lauderdale's only daughter in
lCr>G, under the King's especial patronage. See before, p. 248. But be bad quar-
relled with tbo minion, and displeased the King, although now cringing for favour.
See before, p. 864, and note, Tweeddalo was a verj loose fish in politics, but emi-
nently successful in the end.

' Wbcn James Gutlirie, tbo covenanting minister, was condemned to death for
his numerous and most insolent treasons, Twecddale, taking a factious position,
stood alone in opposing the execution of one of tbe most truculent rebels and blood-
tbirsty fanatics that ever met with Uie fate he was so fond of decreeing for others.
See before, p. 21(y. Twccnldale was put under restraint in tbe Castle of Edinburgh
at the time, not for bis minority of one, but because he had accompanied bis oppo-
sition with some insinuations as to the King's personal motives in leaving Guthrie
to the fate ho so well deserved. The Earl, however, was soon enlarged, and very
leniently dealt with.

VISCOUNT OK DUNDEE. 373

tvM minrepniBented tu tlie King ; to wlilcli he answered, that he bad
told tlie King every man's trac carriage, and if lie lind not done so, ha
had been unworthy the tnmt he bore; but-he had done it justly, with-
out rcspLTt of pcnona.

" My dear Lord, you may ruraorober when ne parted, I told you
that I would write a letter to the Duke of Lauderdale, declaring my
readiness ta serve the King, and in his own way ; but Ixiing troubled
with the leiatick for noriie days, did delay it. So I reojiwed a letter
from the Duke of Lauderdale, the double of which ie heru innertcd ns
follows, with my answer tbiireto. lly mine, I sup])08e you will per-
ceive I am very full ns to my duty to thu King, and I thitjk I need
need not care though it were printed.' ISut as to the letters, as ful-

[Lauderdcde to JlolAet, eHc/ooeJ.]

" //<ii«, 'J8M A<iffutt Iti78.

" Mv Lonn: — 1 caina lo Whitehall on Saturday, three houm
nfler hia Majusly went hack to Windsor, wliere I think he will slay
till he return tu the I'arliameut. Sunday morning I waited on him at
Windsor, Iwfore ho came from the chapel. And after I had hwn with
him at the committee fur foreign affairs, I gave him a short account of his
atfairs in Scotland, especially of the late Convention ; aud according to
my duty to truth, and to what I did proraiae your Lordship, I told liim
how well j'uu had served in the Convention, and in your eminent stniion
bad contributed as much to the happy succens of the Convention as
man could do. lie was very well pleased with it, and commanded mc
to tell you so. Then I lold him how confident I was of your reality
in aorring him thoronghly, and in his own way, not only against the
nbellious field convcntides, and for porging the Church of schism, but
ftlso against all factions and parlies.* This I hod warrant from your

■ It (TM doUiaoil to In [inDtod in (hi* rolumc, fur (tie fin>t lim*, aftor (ho lapis
of aBU\j Iwo twiitariua.

■ It ia amaiiiig ta cniitrapt this witli th<> H«v. Itubsri Ualllie'* nxvird of Luutar-
dale, sa a CoTciiantcr. Vrilinj; to Warrulou from L<in>lnn,in 1613, dorlag llu
agitaUoa of Iho Sulamn Lsaipis antl Covi-uaiil, Bsillia wj's i — " Tliprv cauDof br
Ihre« Dioru giadoiu >di1 abia man tiiau Mr Hrodt-rvun, Hr Gillaqritt, and Mr Ru-
tbarfunl ; aui] 1 prafsM Ilia imj gnat nifHciMii!; and happincn uf ifuoJ MaiUnmJ
[UodcnUlv]. I ihinkUrMaiiuabk, and ■wnwarj', thai, {winavba will, UaiOanil
shcnitii b* adjoiRMl to thoin. Forgot not Ibla ; for, if thii b« Doiilcdod, it ouaid be
■Q injury, and a dbigtvc*, to afoatli lliat briuga, bj Ilia nublo «rriagp, cl1^d■l1o
iHir nation, noil hrJ/- ti -vr fauu.-—1.1lm and J-^Hrn-ih. Writing to Uiiilcrdnl-

374 ME.V0K1ALS OF THE

LonJeliip lo say in j'our name, and I hope you will write na inncb to ms,
wbich I shall show the Kin^;, and give joa a good nccount of it. Last
night I came hither, with the King'e leave, and am to return to Wind-
sor on Saturday for good and all, till the King's retnni. Tbie is my
first letter to any body. We are yet anoertain whether we shall have
peace or war. Su, I shall say no more at tliis time, but that t am
meet sincerely, my Lord, your Lordship's nioet humble and moM obe-
dient servant,

" {Sic mbicribitvrj, Laudekuale."

[Ruthes's Ajuwtr, aUo enehrfti.'j

"May it please your Grace: — 1 was resolved to do myself
honour last council day ; but lest it might prove troublesome
diately after your arrival, I rather chose to defer it, knowing yonr'
Orace would receive an account of what pasaed from other hands, who
can do it better, and very truly. But when any thing cceura io rela-
tion to his Majesty's service, 1 shall not be wauiiug to acquaint your
Grace. For so long as I have life, I shall never fail in my daty to

liimwlf, from Lnndan, 17tb June I64S, BaillieBaj-s :— " Alf Lord, make hiete hilber,
(or I lell Jon UicreT« great need of you hero. Wo must rreUle a /all witbaoMf kiitd
a/ erfalum before our Cotenant be abuliahed. You may »», my Lord, I am
old nun. Uy lerviw to your kind Lady [bia fint wife] ; and Io jourwir, u
a« you Temaia honeBt,bnt not an hour longer." Again, '2Dtb February IGIG, Bi
writes : — ■■ My Lord Lauderdale apoke some few wordN, intimalJDg the moll
nt the Kiogdnm of Scotland to be (wnKaiit lo their CoHaaat, notwithstandiDg all ths
cattaiiiia which maligtuuils [loyalists] have ioTented against Uiem, and othera for
their own ba» ends do spread." When Episcopacy vaa condemned by Ibc Aateok-
bly of the Covenant in 16-13, Lauderdale, then Lord Maillaud, mads hinuelf ver^
oonapimous, and ru9« imioediately into the mnb of a " prime GiveuaDter," — whioli
means every thiog hypocritical in a churchniBn, and base in a statesman. Tho
Rev. H«nry Guthry, who was present, tfaus records the aoecdolo -.—

" It was not tbo custom in Assemblies for any man, while the roll was ■ calling,
to intempt voicing by discuorHes ; every one was l4i answer the ijueatioa, y«a or
nay, and no more. Yet the Lord Matttand was so talien with a lAoii^t o/ hit Mpa,
that he muet needs vent it. So that, when bis voice came t>i be naked, he rooe np,
iwd spoke to this sense,' How, upon the 17lh of August, four yean ago, sn aot
passed in the Assembly for thrusting Episoopacy oat of this Qiurdi, and now, npgo
this 17lh of August (1U43), also sn act wss pasdng for the MlirpifioB of it mt of
tki Clmreh o/ Eivjlaail, and tlial Providence having ordered it so that both happened
Io be iu one day, there was nusA ia ■'(, and tbut men might wamuitably thereupoa
expect ^oiiaiu MawrfurnoH io fuUoif, even farther olf than England, ere il^
ilone.' This observation was nppbiudcd by tlio most, as having MNcik quiotnem
tbangli olbtr* Ihuught it nrry ridic^lv»t."~Gvtkry'i Htmoin.

I

kind

itioB^^H

I

I

VISCOUNT Of DUNDEE. 376

))im, mi m my readiness to serve liim in liis own way as Le Bhall
jiiilge fittest ; and I hope I have nut been bu miserably iniafortanate as
tliHt Itia Majesty evnr <]ueBtioned my readiness in hia service ; and if I
(lid not, I were tlie nioi't unworthy and ungrateful of all who ever bad
the honour to serve hini ; for 1 always coucluded, hiii MajuBty'a cntruat-
tng me in so eminent a Btation, proceeded IVoin his being assured of my
fidelity, which wag lo counterbalance my untitneBs and inability ; for
no sooner is his Majcaty's pleasure knun-n tome, hut I am determined.
The honour your Grace lins done ine, by your favourable represeutalion

•' of me, is the greatest obligation could be put upon your Urace's most
humble aud most faithful eurvant,
■' fSic nibtci-ibitur)^ Kothes."

[Rothe» in coiiliaualiuH In Qiircnsierry,]

" Now, my dear Lord, thjii is all ns yet that 1 ever have said to my
Lord Lauderdale; aud I am informed certainly that I um apokeof very
ill at London by some of our 8cots people, who say thai 1 have I'uined
them ; and the thing they load mc with i« my carriage in the Conven-
tion. Hut aincc you know na well aa I that I have done nothing bnt
that which is rigbl, just, and honourable, and in obedience to hiH
Majesty's commands, and for bis interest, I Ju not value what all
(he world can aay against me ; for 1 am iiurc 1 shall walk in all cir-
camMtanOM according to what 1 think just and right. Pray let me
know what yon think of this full and large account of buniness 1 have
given you, as soon as ]>usBiblu you can. There arti a great many other
particular circumsIiincCH, but should I act them nil down, it would turn
the letter lo au enlire volume' So 1 shall end with this, that I am
Mo stranger to their endeavour of an aocommodaliuu with the Duko of
Lauderdale,* without inentiooiug your concern or mine ; but 1 can tell
you with the same breath, and asHun^ you, that he liu< refused, and

I declared that he would never meddle with five or nix only; and after
his ac^uainliug of tbe King with this, his Majevty baa approven hira in
wit
reo
;

1 1 consider bow much I have said in thia lelt<^, 1 am very
much troubled to find that it is uuly an ordinary bearer, utid nut one
r own footmen ; and i entreat you, hiulo me back word uf your
receipt of ibis. Imuiedialoly after I wejit over iho wnter, I wrolo to

It »"UlJ luve twen .if inoni viJuii lliui > Tiildinu of Uiimul, Wudmw.or UiD);.
Mluilin|[ to tlin tisniiltim ractloii, «<irkiii|; in LoDilon ii(;itm>l Laudiidnliii of

376 KEUORULS OF THE

in; Lord Uatton conc«niing your aignatare, but bsve had
ooncenting it. But I <lo oot in the least doubt the succ«bs of it. Since
I believe we shall have a Council here before long, pray tie in readi-
ness, that, Dpon a short &dvertisemetit from me, you may give youTHelf
the traublu of a journey in, although it were but for a nigbt or two.
I will not injure myself so much as in the least to doubt your Lordship
believes nod knotrs that I am uualterubly your most faithful servant,

'■ R."'

And 60 Bothes established bimself with Luuderdale and
the King, retaining firm bold the while of his powerful and
rising friend Qiieensberry, keeping aloof from the weak facHoD
of Baniiltou, and clear of the conventicles, which his Coun-
tesB really believed to be a divine institntioii. Manifestly the
Chancellor had come to be conscientiously of opinion, that
agaiiuit the asscmblingof these dangerous field meetings mea-
sures too strong could not be adopted ; and he labour&d zea-
lously with his friend and coadjutor, the calumniated and
doomed Primate, to eradicate that cancer from the land.
Meanwhile, amid hia ceaseless labours and endless occups^
tioDS, he led a hard life, hawking and hunting, feasting and
drinking, subjected ever and anon to a lecture from the Arch-
bishop relating to his morals, and cautions from Queensbeny
uu the score .of his health. Uo thus uxites to the latter on
the 17th November 1678 :—

i

" As to what you say concerning my health, I am very mnch obtiged
to you for your care, and I were very unjust to myself if I questioned
your kindness : but those makes so great a noise of it, does it upon
another account than to oblige me, but on the contrary j for they lay
it for an infallible foundation, that if my finger but ache, it is an eflect
of debauching ; for at that time when they made that noise, I never kept
my chamber an hour, nor the house, but was still abroad, but bad a loose-
neea, and that absolutely without pain, which went away without physic
or glyster. Now, I thank God I never was better. I do not much
care what they say of me, for I am pretty well used to be lashed with
the tongues of two several parties ; but possibly 1 may live to remem-
ber it. Out indeed I am very niuoh troubled that t/ou should be joilged
|h(^ cause, which it! indeed new In nie; and etrtainly you know your-

' Qiifensljeny Pa|iers.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 377

self Innocent of it ; for you may remember tbiil there mas notUing
cxtrtLonltDary bolwixt us, except ihrre morning drinha; one at Morton's,
one at jonr bouae, and anotber at mine; at all which we were never
the lengtli of bottles the man. Bnt this is a subject not wortliy laking
up so much time, either for me to write, or yon to read."

In less than a week after the daU; of tliia letter he informs
Queenflberry, —

" I bave been IVequcntly at onr meetings in my Lord St Andrews
lodgings, where we are busied taking care how to dispose of the forces
through thi! country, for suppressing field conventicles, and others, for
securing of the peace in this conjuncture ; which I hope we shall in a
short time effectuate, or at least discover the inipoieibilily of it ; which
I am very far from believing, if there were a course taken to oblige
and engage noblemen and gentlemen that have interest in the country.
But without thai, wq will give ourselves a great deal of unnecessary
trouble."

The year 1679 brought double double toil and trouble to all
concerned, hotb in England and Scotland. On th« 5th of
January of that year, the Chancellor thus sounds a note of it,
— Laudi-rdftle still ruling the roast, while the Hamilton clique
are faehly, but pertinaciously, bating and baying at him in
London : —

" Tdy Lord Lothian and General DalycU came home yesterday, but
were long by the way, and know nut so much as we do by the packets.
1 have spoke with them both, and they positively assert the Ouke of
Lauderdale never was so well in Court; nor this ten years past «u
vigorous and so well in bis health. But they say, to my gn-at regret,
tliero was never nation in so great disorder and dislnrbance aa tliti
|>eople of England arc ; and that particularly against bis Royal High*
ness, who, they say, carries very fiiir. Though be judges very well
of his own condition, 1 shall only say, and wish, that God may direct
and preserve the King and him. My dear LunI, if any thing occur,
either private or public, very significant, yon shall not fail to have an
account of it, from yours,

" K."

3TS WFwwiirjg or thx

Az Ieii;nii Lftiiiieriale appears t»j be rail in g Tke c«Hii2ih>
tians in F,ng?Anti ir-^^ meafi and -inzLk to th^^ rknAri^MK in
Scodanii. Tint Tnag^:lt>pieic Laiiur iniGmi:* us. tnaf. as tkb
dme. — '* The w»w»rr:ra *aii southern 3iizr«s w^t& fiUed witli
garri^^iLi in prrncir hi:a:«e:s. or wirk trcow penmtiHed c«> Fm^
^ ftur^ ra. Y^>ist :f 'iccviiauicLe*. aii«i iMdemmi/kfi tor -fc^nry
minkrif 'XTmniftTjad in -iiic ieariK cr p^rrsnh. AiflitioiiAl judges
wi^rr 'icTyiTm'qffioiLefi in eaeK -loccirT. wii ulc mo€t vigorovia in-
scrnctiiins to enforce the law?.^ and the uhyst nnlizniced and
iesffjXicsl powers in. ecclesiastical affairs:' and tbeir dili-
gence, anii im/9Ufiice. were e*jTiaIIj ftiinalated br permisaon to
appropriate a moietj of the fines to themselres.' The worst
tyrannj is a despotism im<ier the disgmse of the laws.^ On
the digkiest erpr^mifm^ or 9H9picirm^ of discontent, the oppo-
nents of LentdtrdaU were accnseil of propagating sedition,
imprisonai and fined bj the Priry Conncil ; and under the
accnmnlated oppressions of 6<jTemnient men began to grow
weary of their conntry, and even of their lires. In the f orioos
administration of Lauderdale, it is In vain to search for the
remote and latent caoses of public events, or to reduce them
imder any common arrangement or description of crimes.
Every new severity was pro^luotive of aJ«litional discontent,
which fresh severities were employe*! to exasperate and re-
press : nor is a different principle to be 'liscovered in the
government of Scotland, daring the reigns of Charles and his

1 RjgoTooii iostmetioos to enforce the Uvs against nwawinatioDg^ and mur-
derons rebellion, aeems no great crune in a GoTemment. Tbe comniiasioners
had the OAual anthoritjr of judges under sncfa circnmstanees.

* Najr, it was tbcMe who mordered Axchbiabop Sharpe who exexvised aaefa
powers.

* A mlgar ftctJon. Sedition and insorrection, of tbe most dangeroos character,
and in tbe most eritieal of tames, was properly and nccessanljr made to pay the ex-
pennes of its own sappresMon ; and thoa« emplo^red in tbe dangeroos and dis-
C^tin;; 'luty, were, ander stnct regulations of Government, rewarded accordingly.
Wodrow's dreary rolumes arc by way of being rendered awfully imposing, by his
endless, snd doubtless very ill vouched lists of fines, every individual item of which
goes, in bis history, for a Government extortion and cruelty. We verily believe
that no man was ever fined during those troubles, that did not more or less deserve
it. Inde«<l, in many of his instances Wodrow fails ridiculously.

* Tlio worst anarchy is a rebellion under the disguise of religion. How easy is
it to frame such apothegms.

I

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE. 379

brother James.' As the vindictive rigour aud resentment of
goverument were at onco the cauae and effect of the public
disconteiit* each year, aud, with a single trausieut exception,"
every administration was worse than the preceding. Persecvr
Uon and fanaticism continued mutually to exasperate and
augment each other ; but it is the nature of persecution to
vitiate the human heart, and to debase and contaminate the
national charact«r, wherever it prevails.* The unhappy vic-
tims whom it reduces to despair, become vindictive, cniel, and
unrelenting as their persecutors ; and if inferior in open force,
more insidious in their reveuge. The Covenanters had already
begun to retaliate on the military, of whom some were mur-
dered at night in their quarters,* when an event, which
threatened to revive the practico» of Ihe ancient Scots, im-
pelled each party to the most desperate extremes.""

" There goes Higgius," — cried the Colonel's wife, as that
inspecting otEcer galloped past, — " every second word an oath,
bo sure, and the other a growl." And there, we may say,
goes magniloquent Malcolm, every second sentence an histori-
cal calumny, and all the rest exaggeration. Such is his Jesuiti-
cal introduction to that pet performance, that cherished and
sacred incident, (hut difficult to defend withal), the murder of
Archbishop Sharp ! Not to speat of Lauderdale, — who, as
thorough covenanting-bred, we admit to be out of the pale of
humanity in the question, — how Kothes, and Hamilton, aud
Queensberry, and Twoeddale, and Monmouth, and Russell, and
Kincardine, and Lothian, and Haddington, and Roxburgh, and

■ There i* matumHU euggsnlian, indeed wonc, in nil Ilii*.
' CoaocDJCDt pbrun, for ft vliig hiiloriui of UhiH' tnublM.

' Same trifling and partial aBteiiiliuie}' oT a weak faetiua, which Malcolm I^ing
siDiidcRd bimaolf bound to camplimonL

■ Ail Ibi* !■ mucb tho Hune m Hying, tliat tlio cHtnlnat and the law, iha uaa«-
^n and tfae hnngnuu, iha miUtT and the headinuui, tlio rebel riotor and Iha jail,
*■ continued mutually lo viwpcnlc and augmcait oub athiiT ;" but that It la Iba
nature tit the (lunlnliincDt uf cnmc, aed of tbo auplireMion tt lioo, ■■ lo riliata lb*
buDian heart and In Uebaie and ooDUminals lb* nalittnal ehwaclBr." SiyVi tba

^^■^ 'iincraiiwiil muniared Archbithap Sharp.

^^^R * Anil nKirv wvn thot froai boliind dj'km ; and tbrae cowardly murden uf tha

^^^1 poor toldiera, fulfilling tlieir mililarjr onlen, our whig bbriorian, tmdar and trm to
^^^1 tile parpeUvton, plaroo under llie bialorical utegorj of a natural * reUtliation" I
^^^1 * Waa the murdor of the I'rimate nol a " doapoinlc eilrcmo" h> begin wilh f

380 MEMORIALS OF THE

Perth, and Aberdeen, and Cassilis, and Loudon, and Coclirane,
and, indeed, every contemporary nobleman and gentleman in
the two kingdoms, — ^unless it were Shaftesbury and Burnet, —
with a spark of gentlemanly feeling and humanity in their
hearts, or a grain of common sense in their heads, — ^knowing as
they did, by what a scum of cowardly scoundrelism the s^ed
Primate was in reality beset and murdered, — ^would have stared,
and cried, " No, no I* could they have heard the act, and the
actors, historically recorded and described in such sympathi^
ing Lainese as the following, — " Nine of those unhappy Jugi-
tives, who toandered in small parties^ intercommuned and in-
terdicted from society, determined to intercept and chastise
his person, if not to avenge their torongs on his life :" or in
such imitative Macaulese as this, — " In Scotland, some of the
persecuted Covenanters, driven mad by oppression, had lately
murdered the Primate."*

Two days before that foul deed, Bothes thus writes : —

" For the Earl of Queensberry, These : "

** Edinburoh, Zrd Matf, 1 679.

** My Dear Lord : — I know Hugh Wallace carried to you the news
of the great change above, which was surprising there as well as here.
There is not as yet much of consequence followed upon it, though any
rational body must conclude there will. But that is but guessing, let
people say what they please. There was very few in England knew
of it before it was done ; and no mortal here. This new Council has
made some proposals to the King, which are no sooner desired than
granted ; and most people concludes it will continue so ; and it is
rational to believe it, it having pleased his Majesty to go the length he
has, which I pray God may prove to his honour and advantage, and
the interest of his family, the peace, quiet, and tranquility of his king-
dom. Although, I suppose, you be not acquainted with many of the
persons, yet I doubt not, when you read the names of the Council, yon
will remember what you have heard of them formerly, and so conse-
quently know their principles.

" Now, to come to our affairs at home. The Duchess of Hamilton

' History of England, vol. i. p. 2d7, — obviously purrotising Laing.

/

MSCODNT OF DUNDEK.

381

went anny ycBterdajr, and the Duke this inoming, for l^ndon. The
Enrl of Kincardine and hie Lady went yesterday, and Broomball last
night post. You may be sure their expectations arc great, of my Lord
Lauderdale's fall ; which is moat rational if an address, or impeachment,
be made agiunal him ; and really, for myself, I do not doubt there will ;
and I aa little question in my own opinion, that if there be, the King will
give way. For who can imagine, since he ban parted with his own bro-
ther, nnil his groat favourite the Treasurer, that he will stick at him ; al-
though ray Lord Lauderdale, by his letters to his friends, is still moBi con-
fident, and desires them not to fear hira. If the King bo reconciling him
snd Shaftesbury I do not know, but a very few days will try it. Since
my Lord Duke of Hamilton came to town he has been very often liere,
and, in appearance, extraordinary civil. Bnl ho and I was not alone ; but
in all comjinny who were with us wc talked of public business. But
yesterday morning my Lord Cochrane came to me, who yoii know is a
very worthy and ingenuous person, and ri^grctted very much that then*
was not that trust and confidence betwixt thu Duke and me that there
used to bo. I lolil him I was very much the Duke's servant, and
wiabcd him well, and knew no cause for it ; but that there was excep-
tions taken at my carriage in the last Convention ; and I told him, that
having the King's command for it, and being convinced of the fitness
of the thing were it yet to do I would re-act what I had done ; and
if I did not, I were not worthy the station I am in. Then it was pro-
posed that I should join in counsels, what was lit to be done. I said,
they would know much better upon the place than I could do at thai
distance ; and, for advice and counsel to the Ring, he knew Tcry well
I hod always shunned anything of that nature, although very oflen
pressed by him ; anil that I would never do it, IJII the King was pleased
to command it ; and then I should, with that trccdom that became a
bithful servant. So, when Cochrane gave my return, ho said it wns
I very true, and that he was very Korry I was sliU so wnry.

" Cochrane is gone homo, and so wo ore all parted. Tiierv i«
mother Coutieil-day to be upon Wednesday ; at which time 1 am to
be here, and shall iiilrcat you may have such a tnisty person, that I
may spenk to with freodoro, here against that time ; for there is no
writing lest letters miscarry. I think 1 have at hut prevailed with
the Bishop of St Andrews to go up, and am going to Fifo on purpou
to bring him back. There ia no time now for sitting still. Many talk
now a« if I were (o be called up ; but it is but a story ; and you may
Hsure youroelf, that very minute I imagine my such thing you nhiill

382 MEMORIALS OF THE

know it ; with whom I shall never have any reserve ; nor cease to be
your most humble servant,

'* / doubt not your immediate burning qfthis,^*^

Grod had 'billed otherwise, than that the Bishop of St An-
drews should at this time meet his Sovereign in London.
The above letter is dated on Saturday, the 3rd of May, 1679,
and was delivered to Queensberry's messenger before twelve
o'clock noon of that day. About the very same hour of that
same day, the vilest of Satan's emissaries caused the good and
venerable Prelate to pass through the mortal agonies that
were to conduct him to the Throne of Grace. If ever the
dying cry of helpless humanity ascended to that Throne, to
bear witness against, and bring judgment upon, the descen-
dants of Cain, it was when that Christian pastor said to his
darling daughter, — " Gk)d help me, my poor child, for I am
gone." If ever the articulate voice of the Prince of Liars was
heard out of Hell, it was on Magus Moor, when in the face of
day, and under the eye of God, those wretches cried aloud, —
" Come out Judas, come out cruel bloody traitor." On the
evening of that day, the Chancellor was travelling from Hat-
ton House, where he had been at the christening of an heir to
the Earldom of Lauderdale, and was about to cross at the
Queensferry on his return to his beloved hawking and hunt-
ing at Leslie. The stunning news met him there, and at ten
at night he returned to Edinburgh and summoned the Coun-
cil. The particulars of this awful sign of the times have been
given in a former page of these Memorials ; and also the agi-
tated letter which the Chancellor wrote to his friend Queens-
berry, dated from Edinburgh on Monday, 6th May, 1679.'
The particulars need not be repeated here. This climax of
covenanting iniquity did indeed, as Rothes -vvTitcs, " very much
alter the face of affairs here." It was a comment upon the
Covenant of Scotland, and its blasphemous assumption of a
divine mission of peace on earth* and good will to men, written

* Queensberry Papers. i Sec before, p. 264.

VISCOUNT OF DUNDEE.

383

I

L

in charactore of blood as indelible as tbo sigu ou the forehead
of Caiu. Loose and rcckloBs liver as Eothes was, in early
yoiilh devoted to diasoluto ladies, and in his rijior years to
hawking, hunting, and wine, his heart was in the right place,
and his intellect3 unclouded by the madness of fanaticism.
With all hia faults, and they were many and Berious, one can-
not help admiring the great energy of his mind, which in a
moment could shake off the effects of his dissipated habits, and
at the head of such tiirbnlont councils as he had to direct in
Scotland, and upon such trying occasions, set himself night and
day to the labours of a foundering State, with his courageous
heart as sound as a roach, and bis head clear as a licll. All
his revels and his sports are for the time cast aaide and disre-
garded. " I will hasten to Fife," he says, " that I may add
my endeavours, with all the faculties of my soul, for the dia-
covery of this late horrid murder." Yet, at such a crisis, hp
was in no slight danger himself; although, iudeed, the cove-
nanting cowards found it more safe to attack an old prelate in
the arms of his daughter, than the high-couraged Rothes, with
his hawks and his hounds. " As it is talked," he also tells us,
" those base unworthy people in Fife, threaten they will fol-
low the same example with several persons in public trust,
not sparing your humble servant ; but I am not afraid in the
least for them."' And there is something noblo in that heart-
felt tribute to the maligned martyr, who had so often coun-
selled and lectured him on tlie ungodly habits of his life, — a
tribute which none can read without feeling how infinitely it
outweighs the trash of a Wodrow, or the fiash of a M»caulay,
— " Let the unjust world say what they will, ho was not only
Lord Primate of thJis luugdum, but a faithful subject, and a
IPtm: antl jmit pertttm, and a inosl eminent pillar of the Church;
and, I am sure, my friend at that rate that I do not know what

■ Aooordingl}', on Uia 0th of SaptrmlMt- Ottntlttr, Um Mosnilnla twTlng r«-
Mited llieir due at Oothiroll Brid)^, anil ihv Onwmiarhtt (but mttnlan uid ii ■■
Hnationa Mill rife), mr find Ibr Cliannllar tfaiu writing to QoMnibcrr; » If bin
oIBm were > brd of rowa, and fife a millcniuin i " 1 am liTing lictv anilvr my own
fig<trM, Iiawkiog and hunting oTDr7 day ; and 1 aamira you, yoa aie rery ofieii and
v*ry iiindly renwiBiberHl by all (hr tompiiiy with iM,bat pwticuUrly byyoan, R."

■(fwttHilirrTf Fa/tn.

MEMORIALS OF TITE

to do since be in gone, bm to revenge myself npon that It
tleriTUf sect."

This fearful crisis cast the feehle faction of Haniilton, — thel
patriotic-party, if that interested cabal against Laudeniale de-l
serve so to Ix; called, — entirely on their backs, and left the mora I
energetic minion once more triumphant. Such events as thtl
murder of the Primate, at noonday on the high-road, and 1
consequent rieing in arms, wore not to be trifled vrith. In-j
deed, not long afterwards, Hamilton finds himself constraint
to become a " persecutor ;" and it is instructive to discover t
leader of that opposition to Lauderdale expressing his alarm a
" that horrid murder at Swine Abbey ,"• of tho two gentlemen I
of iherojalguard, and also describing the murderers of the sol- 1
rliora at InchbcUy Bridge, whom his own people had i
hended, as " the iusolentest rogues that ever I spoke to." Onci
again, however, tlio King's good nature is prevailed upon 1
hear this cabal in full debate before himself, even after 1
battle of Bolbwell Bridge, and when the faction imagine*
that Monmouth himsell' would now be their leader, if not th
King. The graphic details, and melodramic conclusion, i
written by Kothes in bis best manner to Queensberty, and are
quite new to history.

" for thf Earl of Queenaberty, Tliest '

" Mr Dear Lord :-
you, if you had come Ii
been news to you, and
I am glad you did not

" Ttnmhobibk, 21M Awjutt, l&T.l.
-I had a great many long storiea Ui have told
Edinburgh, which then, I am sure, would have
which it is probable you have now heard ; but
wme BiDce it would have been a tronblu to yog.

and especially since I could not have stwd with you ; for juat as the
Council rose my Lord Murray and I went to Fife, and upon ray return
to Edinburgh, I came to thja place, where I find great joy, and very
good cause for it, uiy daughter being recovering much better than
ordinary, and my grandchild an extreme fine boy.^ I have now spare

• Soc boroK, pp. 233, 343.

' rrobitbl]' tliia was the trnond »ii of tho nurriago between Rothes's daaghler
■nil livirw, Lulf Margu«t Leslie, wicli ChkrleB, fifth Earl of Iloddinglon. It <ru
kM'«ii){nl 'liat no \\\f elJcisI urn at IhM mnrriflgc hodIcI h»ve right to hia mother's

VTSCOUNT OF DUNDEE. dOO

time, and I am eure I cannot employ it more gratefully to my own in-
clinntioii t1ian by conversing «-ilh you in this way, fiinco wo are not
now, I think, like to meet in liasto,

" There is no consideraiilo news to be expected from Englttnd, un-
less some new and unexpected emerge, — which is iho opinion of all
who came down, and of those who are correMpondont with them, —
till the Parliament f^il ; at Icaat the Council, whiuh you know was od-
jonmcd by tho King till after Mieliaolmaa ; which he did of hinmelf,
and aomo of them were pleased with it, and others much the con-
trary.

" You mnst understand, the Council of England ia now considered
unJoubtt'dly to lie dirided into three several partieit, each of them al-
most ei]nnl in number. The Earl of Shaftesbury the head of one ; tbo
Lord Kobarts of another, — who, you know no doubt, is lately made an
Earl but I have forgot his title ; ' and my Lord Flalifax tlic third ; and
it is said debates arise very oft (o a great ]iilch among tliem. My
Lord Russell ia believed to be turning on to Halifax ; but they say
Cavendish as yet holds fist to Shaftesbury. But what to make of Ibe
resolution the King has taken I know not ; for my Lard Robarts is to
go as Embassador to S[)ain, and my Lord of Ormond is recalled from
Ireland, and my Lord llulifox goes there uuder tho character of Lord
Lieutenant. This ia not only in all our private letters, hut in the
public newsletter. Now, if the head of their jiarties be sent away, I
conclude those that have joined wilh them will crumble into pieces.
But it is simply impossible to judge of things and their causes at this
distance ; but no doubt a little time will clear up all.

" The groat talk and news at Court is concerning the elections, in
the several counties and incorporations, for the ensuing Parliament.
Most of persons of interest over the whole kingdom are gone to the
oouatry concerning it; and some eay the elections will be olherwayi
thftn they were last. Others believe that there will be but a very few

Earidom of ItolbM, tlia janiar Earldoni of Haddington •boulil deinlvo upon Uivir
Mcoad son ; wliieii TIkiuim, eixth Earl of Krtdditiicloii wru. Tliis I'nr has lift ■
enrioui mi intemting accmint at iiow lie eiioio to cloltw hii originally bink pliM
of Tjuningluiiic wiUi tboas nugniHcvot wooils, ud fomt invo, which now so
great]; adorn llul ImuliruJ rMldrnw, and, indml, the coaiity of £aat I^otUan.
Tha lata Lord Haddington, not long twfore hi> liincnicd dialli, erected In a coa-
•picQoui vista of of lluMO woods, a liandnnniE obolisk lo eommcmonte tliiilr liiiitor7,
■ad in boiiour oF tlio onlerpriiung aDcetlor In oliom Lotli llio iifrlL-ullurB and
the amenitj' of that part of tlie cmmtrjr is >u niucli iiidEbleil.— 5e« bcforv, p. 3£i,

^L Bou*

a bccomo catinct. It la ni

sob HEHOBIAl^ OF THE

changed. Jast u I c&me this length, I receiTed the honour of juurs '
of the ISlh, where I God you in a gre«t passion in relation to your
signature. I have often told you, freUinQ oaA huffing hnrta one's aelf
more than the person who offends thera. This in genera) I can assure
yoa, toy Lord Treaaurer-Depule' upon all occasions does say aa kind
things of you as ever man did of another ; and I am told by several
hands that hia brother does to too ; but so aooo as I come to Edinburgh,
I shall obey you, in giring you a full account of all relating to your
signature. I am to be in Edinburgh on Monday, and my wife and
family and I goes for Fife on Wednesday ; bo [ am afraid I sbKlt ,
be BO unhappy as not to see you at this time ; but if you do not coma, i
f beseech you let a footman be with me on Tuesday night. |

" Now, to return, as I iras g<oing on before I received yours : I atiail
l«ll you a very pleasant story anent the debate that tras at Londoa
before the King, among our countrymen. No doubt ye heard of the
great bearing they had at Windsor, where my Lord Duke of Hamilton,
the Earl of Caasillis, Perth, Atbole, Kincardine, and all the gentle-
men, even to Sir John Cochrane, were present with their lawyers ;
and, on the other aide, none but my Lord Advocate.' Sir Gooi^
Lockhart, and Sir John Cimninghome, spoke both. Sir John, ihey
lay, spoke very well, but Sir George was admired by the King and all
that heard him.^ And in earnest they say the Advocate spoke be-
yond himself. Whereupon, the King called his Advocate, and said,
he would ever thereafter call him Tom Duff, which is a name they give
n bare, in boar-garden at Southwark, that tights and beats all the rest
alone.' But they say the King prompted the Advocate very often,
having been so frequently informed by the five lords ho called up.
the Advocate came to the King, and swore a great oath, that ' your-

' Lord Hilton, Laudi.>vJale> brother. See befui-e, p. 309, as (o tbe royal signa-
lurc, or wnrrant, about wliidi Qucenaberr)' appeure lo liave been vo anidaus.

I Sir Geoi^ Mnckcnzic, rccciittj' appointed lo that office in room of Sir John

'I Sir Georgu Loclibiirt became Preddeol of tbe Court of ScBuian, and fell by Uie
band of llie uaaBain Cbiealy of Dair;, a wortb; adherent of tbo fanatic^ Beet in
Scotland, and ouu who foUovBd their owd peeuliar docIriDes, in Batisfjiog ■ nuJe-
voleot enmity bj a cowardly raurdpr.

■ " Bore," and " Boar-garden" are dislinelly bo n-rillen in the letter. Probably,
however, " Tom Duff" wna a boar, and Bear-garden meant. ThiB royaJ and
ancient amphitheatre was still the great nrona of savage Bporta in the reign of
Oiarlea II. ; aa we learn especially fram Pepya. Perhaps " Tom Duff" ww a do-
aoeodant of " Sackorsou," tbe favourite bear in the rclgu of E^iiabelb, and immor-
taliacit by ShaUospeare.

VISCODNT OF DUNDEi:. 387

lie^tttg is Tom Duff; for you have said more conTincing tbis, than 1
am able to say, or can be answered.' So, yon know, afler that, the
King declared bimaelf aatisfied with his CouDcil and Judgea, and ap-
proved of alL But at last up cornea the Duko of Mounionth ; aod then
the Duke of HarnilUia and the reat addrcasod to him, and begged a
.lecoad hearing, which the King had refused. He undertook it ; and,
after a great deal of paina, he prevailed. So the day was appointed,
and all concerned made ready to apeak, the King having vowed it
■hoiild bo the laet hearing, which was to be in the afternoon ; and ou
a sudden, about ten o'clock, breaks out a report, that the Earl of Mid-
dleton and my Lord Tarbat were made by the King conjunct Secre-
taries, bad kissed the King's hand upon it, and their commissions
sigued. This was so peremptorily asserted, and so positively believed,
that no creature doubted it. Whereupon, the Duke of Hamilton
being there, and all the reat, they retired to the gallery to talk, and all
struck with amaze.' And at last Duke Hamilton swore a great oath,
' my Lord Atholc, and Perth, or some of them, knew of it, and had
gone along and Ictl him.' Whereupon, they full all in great heat and
disorder, and broke into pieces, and seuvMit. Duko Hamilton and Sir
George Lockhart, they joined : my Lords Athole, Perth, and Cassillis,
they joined : my Lord Kincardine, and Uroomhall, they joined : So at
lost my Lord Duke swore a great oath, that he would fall on his kneew
to the King that Lauderdale migkl be cuntinued I ' But I will go to
tbe King,' — and did ; and begged his pardon for the trouble be bad
given Iiiro ; and entreated that the roectiog hia Majcaty had appointed
might desert ; which was accordingly done ; and when these Lords
partod they were exceeding ill ono with another ; but if they be recon-
ciled since I do not know. But the Duke of Monmouth was mad
to be so used ; and said to the King, — ' God damn him if ever hf
meddled more wUh them!' Tbe King was extraordinarily pleased
with this. But when he heard the report concerning the Secretaries,
he Bwore by godawounda it was n lie, and tlicy were rogues had in-
vented it.

1 Al Ibb titDD Sir Gcorgp Mu-krniio of Tirbit nai I^urd JuBtiiv-Gimnl uf
Scotland ; bul bo did not gel hii pwniKo ""til 1 U^S. He sod Chsrlca, Mcood Eiirl
uf Middlotoii, liad pravioudy been tumcU out of otHrr, for tlioir ditorminiid o|i|>u«-
tioo U l.«aderdftle ; so thai lhi> rupon of Ihoir becoming joint Secrctarlvo of State
uotltr tlin Lut4irrdal» aUiniiiwlrkllan ou poculurl/ galllog to llarolltnn, M tlw *cr>
lima be and iiU fKliun were utriiggling to bring tin favourite under iinpeaeliinent.
Tliore *■«, bowevor, do truth in the rvpott al that time. :tlidi]|cion beeamc Mivrr-
tar; of State luwarda Iha etoM of the year \Q»2, la we sliall aflerwanls flud.

r ^

• »

MEMORIALS OF THE TKOOtFNT OF DUKDEE.

" This Ions
charge _i

tpdimis story I liave from Hoveral handK; bat 4

'ulca of strict friendsbip, not lo say a word t4

V my lelter, but l;urn it.* Now, if ibis be

id you sball have a longer next, from joq

obej'ed this order, by writing apon ihe back of the letter,—
ml Dukr Hamilton" {e.,— and curefalty preeerriug it ai
Ari^Iiivcs. Ab its private uid confidential conlcntB are onlv now d
made knonn, a Imndrod and eiglil)' yean after its date, Itotfaes pmbkh^ *3lfl
longer object. It is amaBing lo compare Woilrow'B account of Duke Hilg
patriotie debates, with the foregoing letter : — « Monmouth,'' bo says, •■ e
Windsor on the IDlli (July 1li79), and, it may be, tbo second eonfen-neQ, oi
13th, took its rise from him," &C. " I find one letter, writ at this
upon Saturday Duke Hnmilton got notice thai, as soon aa the King's alFun «
allow it, the Earl of Middleton and Lnrd Tarbat were to bo made joini
in tha Dulie'a rooui, upon which he declined insisting aay further," &c. 8tt IT3
ror'f Hittory, tdI. iii. p. 169. The real story proves, that both the King and
HonmouUi's estimate of Hamilton's patriotism was very juU. He ni>c onlv " de-
clined insisting Tixiy further," but went lo the King m a passion of disappointed selt-
inlerest, entreating him lo hear Ihe patriotic psrty no further against Lauderdale,
■nd begged pardgn for his pix'vious attacks on the Goremment of Scotland. No
wonder that Monmouth, nlioin Ihi'y bad coaxed and inveigled into being their go-
between with tbitKing, banned tbem as bores and humbugs.

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DATE DUE

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SPRING 1983

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STANFORD UNIVERSITY UBRARIES

STANFORD, CAUFORNIA

94305

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