Page images
PDF
EPUB

ride two boats, furnished with young men, || swiftly; others make themselves seats on the who recover him that falleth as soon as they ice, as great as nilstones. One sits down, may. Upon the bridge, wharfs, and houses by many (hand in hand) do draw him, aud one the river side stand great numbers to see and slipping on a sudden, all fall together. Some laugh thereat. tye bones to their feet, and under their heels, shoving themselves by a little picked staff, do slide as swiftly as a bird flicth in the air, or au arrow out of cross-bow. Sometimes two run together with poles, and hitting one another, either one or other do fall not without hurt: some break their arms, some their legs, but youth (desirous of glory in this sort) exerciseth itself against the time of war. Many of the citizens do delight themselves in hawks and bounds, for they have liberty of hunting in Middlesex, Hartfordshire, all Chiltron, and in Kent to the water of Crag."

"In the holidays in summer, the youths are exercised in leaping, dancing, shooting, wrestling, casting the stone, and practising their shields: the maidens trip with their tim. brels, and dance as long as they can well see. In winter, every holiday before dinner, the boars prepared for brawn, are set to fight, or else bulls and bears are baited.

"When the great fenn or moor which watereth the walls of the city on the north side is frozen, many young meu play upon the ice, some striding as wide as they may, do slide

CALEDONIAN SKETCHES;

OR

A TOUR THROUGH SCOTLAND IN 1807.
EY SIR JOHN CARR.

WE make the following extract from this recent tour in Scotland, which is a sample from the best part, and will, we trust, entertain our readers. Sir John Carr seems to have gleaned, with much industry, some expiring embers of historical anecdote upon the field of Culloden. What he relates is not altogether new, but he has compared report with the tradition of the country, he has collated rumours, and confirmed anecdote by the test of oral inquiry. Sir John thus commences his tour over the plain of Culloden :

"The road to Inverness (says Sir John Carr) winds along the shores of the Murray Frith, which, bounded by mountaius in almost every direction, resembles a vast lake. I quitted my chaise, and visited the celebrated moor of Culloden; there is nothing worth this trouble. unless it be more forcibly to recollect the memorabie incidents of the 16th of April, 1740, which decided the hopes of the expatriated family of the Stuarts. The battle of that day, so distinguished in the history of the times, would, in the present era of military carnage, be considered as little more than au affair of posts. On the evening preceding the engage ment, the young Prince Charles Edward slept at Culloden-house, adjoining the field of battle, the residence of the ancient family of Forbes. Distraction and insubordination had made great inroads in the rebel army. On the day before mentioned, the royal army, commanded

by the Duke of Cumberland, commenced their march from Nairn, in five lines, of three battalions cach, led by Major General Huske on the left, Lord Sempell on the right, and Brigadier Mordaunt in the centre, flanked by the cavalry, commanded by Generals Hawley and Bland, who at the same time covered the cannon on the right and left. In this order they marched about eight miles, when a detachment of Kingston's horse, and of the Highlanders, having advanced before the rest of the army, discovered the van of the rebels, commanded by the young Pretender; both armies formed in order of battle: the royal army amounted to eight thousand eight hundred and eleven men, the rebel to eight thousand three hundred and fifty, so that there was little disparity. About two in the afternoon the rebels began to cannonade the King's army, but their artillery, consisting only of a few four pounders, being ill served, did little execution, whilst the fire from their enemics was very effective, and produced great disor der. Severely annoyed by this fire, the front line of the rebels, amounting to about five hundred of the clans, charged the right of the royal army with their accustomed impetuosity in order to draw the troops forward. One regiment was disordered by the weight of this columu, but two battalions advancing from the second line arrested their career, upon which they turned their whole force upon the

left when they attempted to flank the front
line;
this movement was however defeated
by. the advancing of Wolfe's regiment, sup-
ported by cannon, which opened upon them
with cartridge-shot. General Hawley, with
some Highlanders, had opened a passage
through some stone walls to the right for the
horse, which advanced on that side, whilst the
borse on the King's right wheeled off on their
right, dispersed their body of reserve, and met
in the centre of their front line in their rear,
when, being repulsed in the front, and great
numbers cut off, the rebels fell into the great-
est confusion. A dreadful carnage was made
by the cavalry on their backs; however, some
part of the foot still preserved their order;
but the Kingston horse from the reserve gal-
lopped up briskly, and did terrible execution
amongst the fugitives. A total defeat instantly
followed, with the loss of two thousand five
hundred killed, wounded, and taken prisoners
on the part of the rebels, and of two hundred
only on the side of the royal army. The young
Pretender had his horse shot under him during
the engagement, and after the battle retired to
the house of a factor of Lord Lovat, about
ten miles from Inverness, where he rested that
night: the scene of desolation which followed
was horrible, and can be justified only by the
severe policy of every where impressing the
disaffected with terror and dismay.

"The Highlanders were buried by their friends the next day, who dug holes for them on the moor, where several green elevated spots are still to be seen, which, upon being opened, are found to contain human bones, and the country-people often find small cannon and musket-balls. The genius of the place seems to whisper- Grey stones and heaped up earth shall mark me to future times. When the hunter shall sit by the mound, and produce his food at noon,--Some warrior rests here, be will say.'

"An extraordinary instance of incorruptible fidelity occurred in the course of his miserable rambles. A poor cottager, of the name of M'Jan, who was upon principle hostile to his cause, and who, on account of a severe season, was, with his family, in a state of starvation, received the wretched wanderer, and at the hazard of his life committed depredations to procure him sustenance, when au immense reward lay within his reach, and with powerful temptation invited him to surrender up his guest.

[ocr errors]

"The fate of this generous being was as singular as his conduct to the Prince. In a season of great scarcity he stole a cow to save his family from dying of hunger, for which he was tried, convicted, and executed. A little before his execution he took off his bonnet, and thanked God he had never betrayed a trust, never injured the poor, and never refused a share of what he had to the stranger and to the needy. The King, when he heard of the fate of this poor but noble fellow, is said magnanimously to have declared, that had be known his circumstances in proper time, he would have raised him above the cruel necessity of stealing a cow for his subsistence.

·

"Another instance of the integrity of the Highland character is related. One day, after the hapless wanderer had walked from morning till night without having tasted food, he ventered to enter a house, the owner of which he knew was, like the last man, hostile to his views. As he entered be addressed the master of the house in the following manner: The son of your King comes to beg a little bread and a few clothes. I know your present attachment to my adversaries; but I believe you have sufficient honour not to abuse my confidence, or take advantage of my distressed situation Take these rags, that have for some time been my only covering; you may probably restore them to me one day, when I shall be seated on the throne of my ancestors." This affecting appeal awak ned pity in the breast of the owner of the house, who afforded

"All the perilous adventures of Charles II. after the battle of Worcester were renewed in the fugitive history of the young Pretender after the battle of Culloden. For some days, him all the assistance in his power, and never he wandered in the country; sometimes, with, divulged his secret. out food or attendant, he sought refuge in caves and cottages; sometimes he lay in a forest, with one or two companions of his distress, continually pursued by the troops of the conqueror, who offered a reward of thirty thousand pounds for taking him, dead or alive. In the course of his wanderings he had occasion to trust his life to the fidelity of above fifty individuals, who, to their eternal honour, refused to enrich themselves by a violation of the rights of hospitality.

"A few other anecdotes, connected with the fate of the unhappy adventurer, not generally known, and which reflect unfading honour upon the incorruptible integrity of the parties concerned, may not be uninteresting. After this battle the gallant young Captain Mackenzie wandered with a few other adherents of the Prince, whom he remarkably resembled in face and person. In every part of this country, parties of royalists were distributed for the purpose of seizing upon the

Pretender: one day the Captain and his little band were discovered and pursued, some of whom fled, and others threw down their arms and implored for mercy; but upon observing that his pursuers seemed very anxious to take him, he concluded that they mistook him for || the Prince; he accordingly, to confirm them in their mistake, defended himself with all the fury of desperation, upon which, to secure the enormous reward offered for the head of the Pretender, they shot him; when he exclaimed, as he expired, Villains ye have shot your Prince! thinking by this gallant stratagem to abate the ardour of their pursuit after the royal fugitive. His head was immediately severed from his shoulders, and brought into the camp by those who slew him with great exultation, when they were mortified by being informed by a soldier, who knew the gallant, Captain, that it was the head of Mackenzie instead of the Pretender.

seen by the Laird or his brother, who warned them from the landing-place to depart, as Rasay, as well as Sky, was occupied by the royal forces, and brought them some bread, wine, and brandy. Compelled to put out again to sea, they were the next morning chased by one of the King's cutters into South Uist, an island belonging to the Clanronald family : in this dire dilemma the Prince escaped by ordering the boatmen to turn a point of projccting roek, upon which he leaped, and concealed himself in a cave amongst the rocks: the boatmen escaped by pretending not to understand the English language, and one of them contrived to inform the lady of the place of the Pretender's landing, who, on account of the absence of her husband, at first felt extremely embarrassed, in a contest between sympathy and duty, what to do.

"From this painful situation she was relieved by Miss Flora Macdonald, who happened to be her guest, and undertook the protection of the wanderer. Sh accordingly, the better to escape the vigilant observation of the soldiers, upon the ebbing of the tide wandered to the beach with her maid, apparently in search of shells; and as the attention of her || maid was engaged at some distance from her, she stole into the cave of the Prince with some wine and food, and returned without having been observed. She afterwards conveyed a female dress to him, and requested a pass from the commanding officer for herself and an Irish maid, called Betty Bourke, whom she said she had brought over for her mother. As this

"The Pretender at this time found an asylum with three robbers, who were brothers, and who felt no disgrace in living by rapine, but would have thought it an indelible stain to have betrayed the being who, in the hour of misery and desertion, songht shelter under their protection. One of these brothers used to venture every day into the English camp, disguised as a fisherman, where he procured wheaten, bread, and had even address to get the Newspapers from the officers' servants; and also abundance of gingerbread, of which the unhappy Prince was very fond. In these perilous visits he used constantly to hear proclaimed at the drum-head, in Erse and Eng- || great strapping Irish servant, the Prince got ish, a reward of £30,000 for the head of the adventurer.

[ocr errors]

off with his fair and youthful protectress to the island of Sky, where they arrived on a Sunday afternoon.

"At length the Prince was safely conducted on board of a boat, and endeavoured to make "They were met by Flora Macdonald's for the Western Isles. When they left the stepfather, Macdonald of Kingsburgh, a man main land they were afraid of steering direct of great integrity, who, when informed of for Sky; and in consequence of having heard the secret by his daughter, resolved to renthat there was a ship of war at anchor, and der her distinguished charge every assistance that armed boats were stationed at every land-in his power. The particulars that followed, ing place, they were obliged to keep at sea all that day, during which they were overtaken by a storm.. When the rowers became exhausted the Prince relieved them by turus, and, when the storm subsided, sung and amused them by endeavouring to learn Gaelic songs; on this, as on all other occasions, displaying a cheerful philosophy, except when he heard an unhappy story of any of his unfortunate adherents. In this melancholy condition their httle sea-store was destroyed by the sea-water which they shipped. On the following night they approached the shores of Rasay; and it being a fine moon-light evening, they were

till the Prince quitted Sky, are given in Mr. Boswell's very entertaining Journal of a Tout to the Hebrides, to which I refer my reader. Upon quitting Sky, Prince Charles entered Loch Nevish, to the westward of Loch Ackeig. Whilst he was secreting himself in the glens of this district, four hundred men, under the command of General Campbell, arrived on one side of him, and five hundred more, under Captain Scott, on the other, and began to form a circle round him. In this desperate situation the Prince sent to Donald Cameron, of Glenpean, who, under favour of a dark night, safely conducted him through a pass strongly

guarded by soldiers, during which they were obliged to creep upou their hands and knees, so close to their enemies that they distinctly heard them talk, and saw them walking between them and their fires; after this their dangers thickened, for they had to pass through a chain of little camps, twenty-seven in number, through which, at night, Donald Cameron, by way of experiment, passed alone, and returned in safety to the Prince, whom he conducted through the line without interruption. Before they set out, Donald said to the young fugitive, 'Oh! Sir, my nose is yuicking,' that is, itching, which is a sign to me that we have great risks and dangers to go through.' When they had accomplished this perilous enterprise, the Prince said to his faithful guide, 'Well, my brave Donald, how does your nose now?'—' It is better now,' replied he, but it still yuicks a little.-The share which Flora Macdonald and her father had in the escape of the Prince led to their apprehension, and they were conveyed as prisoners to London. Her heroic and noble conduct during her examination excited the surprise and admiration even of the Sovereign, and led to her own enlargement and that of others. During her stay in London, after her discharge, she became an object of great public attention, and persons of the highest distinction loaded her with kindnesses and civilities, which she received with a becoming grace and diffidence.

of the Comtesse d'Albany, widow of the unfortunate Charles Stuart, grandson of King James the Second, who has been dead some years. She is a Princess of the house of Hol. berg, and lived at Brussels, where she was || married; she is allied to many noble families in this country. This lady had a dower assigned to her out of the old French funds, which were destroyed in the Revolution, and she was entirely supported by her brother-inlaw, the Cardinal of York, upon whose death she became absolutely destitute. It is well known that his Majesty also allowed an annuity of 46,000 to the Cardinal, who was left unprovided for by the French Revolution, which annuity he enjoyed to the day of his death.

"I know of no Caledonian lady who has obtained more celebrity than Flora Macdonald. She was the daughter of Macdonald of Milton, in Uist, a cadet of the family of Macdonald of Clauronald; she married Major Macdonald, of Kingsburgh. A report has gone abroad that this romantic friend of the young Pretender is still alive, and that she enjoys a pension upon the Irish establishment; this.report is unfounded, as I am favoured by the assurance of my much-respected friend, Mr. Hector Macdonald Buchannan, who is well acquainted with the family, that she died in the year 1700 in the isle of Sky, and that he inserted her death in the Annual Register, by the desire of "The unfortunate Charles, after the most her son, Major Macdonald, since also dead. marvellous escapes, often bemmed round by She has another son, still living, Major or his pursuers, but still rescued by some provi- Colonel John Macdonald, of the Honourable dential and marvellous interposition, at last East-India Company's service, who married received intelligence that a privateer of St. Miss Chambers, daughter of Sir Robert ChainMaloes, hired by his adherents, was arrived in bers, a brave and active officer, and who was Lochranach, in which he embarked in the Lieutenant Colonel in the regiment of volunmost wretched attire, consisting of a short teers raised and commanded by the late Right threadbare coat of black frieze, over which was Honourable William Pitt. The person misa common Highland plaid, girt round him by taken in Ireland for Flora Macdonald is Floa belt, from which hung a pistol and a dagger. rence Macdonnell, whose name stands in the He had not changed his linen for many weeks; pension-list of officers' widows in Ireland, and his eyes were hollow, his visage wan, and his who resides at Ratagan, in the parish of Glomconstitution greatly impaired by famine and shiel, in the county of Ross. Boswell defatigue. To the honour of Ireland, two faith-scribes the celebrated Flora to have been ful natives of that country, Sullivan and Sheridan, who had participated with him in his calamities, Cameron of Locheil, his brother, and a few other adherents to his cause, accompanied him on board, when they set sail for France, and reached Roseau, near Morlaix, in Bretagne, after having been chased by two English ships of war. I have been informed from good authority that his present Majesty, with characteristic magnanimity, allows from his private purse a pension of £2,000 per acuum to the personage known by the uame No XLIII. Vol. VI.

a

little woman, of a genteel appearance, and uncommonly mild and well-bred.'

"After a very agreeable ride, I reached Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, and the seat of Highland elegance and refinement, and soon experienced all the comforts of an hotel which would be respected in the most fashionable parts of London; and there are other good inns. This town is a port, with twenty creeks dependent upon it, part on the Murray Frith, to the east, and part on the north of the town, extending as far as the south border of the

M

90

The Salmon fisheries county of Caithness here and at Fort George are let to London fishmongers. The town, which consists of two principal streets, crossing each other, stands upon the eastern side of the heautiful | river Ness, having considerable suburbs on the other side, which are united by an ancient bridge of seven arches.

escape, I was answered in the negative; and
there was another prisoner (but he was a rich
rogue), committed for more serious charges,
The gaoler in-
who was not fettered at all.
formed me that the former had been thus
severely ironed for some months. This was
the only prisoner I saw in irons in Scotland.
The room for the debtors is airy, and the
prison allowance liberal. The court-room, to
which there is a passage from the grated

some.

"The view of the town from the suburbs over this bridge, looking a little to the north ward, is said much to resemble Basle, in Switz-galiery of the prison, is spacious and handerland. Both Gaelic and English are promis. "I ascended the hill where the Castle of cuously spoken here, but the ear of a stranger is almost immediately sensible of the pleasing Macbeth stood, the walls of which were standsoftness with which the English language is ing when Dr. Johnson visited luverness, but here pronounced; it has neither the accent of which, to my disappointment, there were of the Highland nor the Lowland English lannow no traces; I was rewarded, however, for guage, but possesses a sweetness and purity my trouble, by a beautiful prospect of the peculiarly its own; it has been well compared town, rich corn-fields, the Frith, and many a to very pure English spoken with a soft foreign || cloud-capp'd mountain. In this castle it is tone. The reasons assigned for the purity believed that Macbeth murdered Duncan : with which English is here spoken, both with the bed on which this foul deed was perperespect to pronunciation and grammar, are, trated is, I was informed, to be seen at Calderthat not being the mother tongue it is learnt castle. more by book, as Greek and Latin are learnt, than by conversation; that there have been garrisons of English soldiers in the neighbourhood ever since the time of Cromwell; and that, in consequence of there being little comparative communication between these counties and the Lowlands, the corrupt phrases and pronunciation of the latter are but little heard. It is very whimsical to find, in this as well as other Highland towns on the western coast, that frequently the inhabitants speak Gaelic || on one side of the street and English on the other. There is a great appearance of industry and opulence, urbanity and refinement, The females are amongst the inhabitants. remarked for their beauty. There is an clegaut suite of assembly-rooms; and in the winter, I am informed, the town is extremely gay.

more

"The academy established here in 1790 may be considered as partaking very much of the character and consequence of an university, and is much and justly celebrated. The building containing the schools is extensive than ornamental. Latin, Greek, French, mathematics, writing, and geography are taught here with great success, under the tuition of nine masters, who have smali salaries, and chiefly depend on the fees of their different classes, by which, as before, upou a somewhat similar occasion, has been observed, their interest is placed on the side of their duty. The number of youths at this academy was two hundred. The academy spring ses sions, or terms, commence the 2d of January, and close the 28th of May. The autumnal sessions commence the 15th of July, and close the 20th of December. Besides this school "The houses are lofty, and the streets are for boys, there is a seminary, as I was inform. tolerably clean. One of the principal build-ed, for young ladies, who are sent to it from ings is the court-house; and the tolbooth, which is a very handsome modern building, surmounted by an elegant spire. The prison, which I inspected, is airy and strong, but destitute of a court-yard. I was surprised to see one prisoner, and only one, whose legs were fastened close together with irons, such as are used to bolt the hands of a deserter, so that he could not move without great difficulty: upon inquiring of the gaole if he had attempted to

remote parts of the Highlands.

"Misfortune has always strong claims upon the feelings of a Highlander, and I could not help being highly gratified by a little rebuke which I received in this town from one whose loyalty and devotion to the august family now upon the throne are examplary: upon designating the royal exile by the usual name of the Pretender Do not call him the Pretender,' said he, he was the Prince Charles."

« PreviousContinue »