armed the loyal clans, doubled the number of his adherents, and made himself absolute.master of all the north of Scotland. But his heart being set on the reduction of Stirling castle, he lost sight of every other object. He therefore returned to the siege of that fortress; and after having in vain attempted to carry it by assault, the mode of attack most agreeable to his followers, and for which they were best adapted, he obstinately persisted in erecting batteries, in opening trenches, and making regular approaches, in the depth of winter, to the great dissatisfaction of the Highlanders, many of whom retired in disgust to their native mountains.

While the pretender was thus wasting his time, and breaking the spirit of his adherents, in these fruitless, impolitic, and ill-conducted operations, the nation recovered from that panic into which it had been thrown by the rout at Falkirk. The royal army in Scotland was reinforced with a body of fresh troops. William, duke of Cumberland, was appointed to command it; and the affairs of government soon began to wear a new face. Though unsuccessful in Flanders, and considered by professional men as no great master in the military art, the duke of Cumberland was adored by the soldiery. And the appearance of a prince of the blood, it was hoped, would at once intimidate the rebels, and encourage the king's troops. Experience proved this conjecture to be well-founded. On the arrival of the duke of Cumberland at Edinburgh, he was received with the warmest expressions of joy, and welcomed as a deliverer by the loyal party. The presbyterian preachers went yet farther: they represented him as a saviour sent of God for the protection of his chosen people, and to take vengeance on his father's enemies. Firmness and confidence every where took place of irresolution and despondency; and such of the jacobites as had not yet taken up arms, foreseeing the ruin of their prince's cause, remained quiet.

As soon as William had collected his army, amounting to about fourteen thousand horse and foot, he advanced towards the enemy. Charles at first seemed disposed to hazard a battle. But the Highlanders being much fatigued and disgusted with the siege of Stirling castle, upon which they could make no impression, and in the different attacks on which they had lost a number of men, the pretender resolved, by the advice of his most experienced officers, to abandon all his posts on this side of the Spey, and proceed northward as a fugitive instead of a conqueror. He was able, however, to make himself master of Inverness, fort George, and fort Augustus; and to oblige the earl of Loudon to take refuge in the isle of Skie. In a word, his present success showed what he might have done, had he taken this rout during his good fortune, when every heart was big with hope. The well-affected clans, as they were called, who now made but a feeble resistance, would then have joined him almost to a man: and many persons of distinction, who still wore the mask of loyalty, would have repaired to his standard. impolitic as Charles had been, he was yet formidable; and a more perfect knowledge of the advantages of his situation was only perhaps necessary, to have enabled him to repel all the efforts of his competitor.

But

In the mean time, the duke of Cumberland, being joined by six thousand Hessians, that had been landed at Leith(1) soon after his departure from Edinburgh, left two battalions in Stirling, four in Perth, and proceeded to Aberdeen with the main body of his army. During his stay there, he was indefatigable in exercising his troops, notwithstanding the rigour of the season, and in providing for the security of the country; and as soon as the weather would permit, he assembled his forces and began his march for Inverness, where the rebels had established their head-quarters. Contrary to all expectation, he was permitted to pass the deep and rapid river Spey without opposition, though about three thousand Highlanders appeared on the northern side, and the banks were steep and difficult of ascent. It was not timidity, however, but the presumption of their leaders that restrained the

(1) These troops were sent over from Flanders to replace the six thousand Dutch auxiliaries, which France insisted should be recalled as part of the reduced garrison of Tournay, and rendered incapable, by the articles of capitulation, of serving against his most Christian majesty or his allies for eighteen months

rebels from disputing the passage of the royal army; a resolution having been taken in a council of war, in spite of many sound arguments to the contrary, to leave the fords of the Spey open; and for this very extraordinary reason, that the greater number of the king's troops that should pass the river, the fewer would escape; as the sanguine adherents of Charles entertained no doubt of being able to cut off the whole.

Romantic, however, as this idea appears, and unwise the maxim on which it was founded, it might possibly have been realized, had the pretender afterward followed the advice of the more cool and experienced Highland chieftains. Had he resolved to act only on the defensive, and continued to retire northward, disputing every defile with his pursuers, until he had led the royal army into mountains, where its cavalry could not subsist, and whither its artillery, ammunition, provision, and baggage-wagons could not be drawn, he might at least have obliged the duke of Cumberland to retire in his turn; especially as the Highlanders, from their knowledge of the country, the friendly disposition of the inhabitants, the number of live cattle, and their own spare diet, could there have found subsistence for a considerable time. And the glory connected with the retreat of the king's troops, independent of every other advantage which might have resulted from such a line of conduct, would have been of infinite service to the pretender's cause.

Pat Charles, who had imbibed, from his hot-headed Irish adherents, false notions of military honour, thought it would be disgraceful to retire any farther before his antagonist. He therefore determined to hazard an engagement; though the royal army was not only, in all respects, better appointed, but superior in numbers, by at least one-third, to that of his undisciplined followers. And having failed in an attempt to surprise the enemy at Nairn during the night, he marched back to his camp on Culloden moor; where, seemingly in a fit of desperation, it was resolved by the rebel chiefs, fatigued as their men were, to wait the approach of the king's forces, in order of battle.(1)

The duke of Cumberland left Nairn early in the morning, and came in sight of the rebels about noon. They were drawn up in thirteen divisions under their respective leaders, with four pieces of cannon before their centre, where was stationed the pretender, and the same number on each wing. The duke of Cumberland drew up his army in three lines, disposed in excellent order for resisting the fierce attack of the rebels; several pieces of cannon being placed between the lines, and every second rank instructed to reserve its fire: so that when the Highlanders, having thrown away their muskets, according to custom, advanced with their broadswords, they were not only received upon the point of the bayonet, but galled by an unexpected fire of musketry, and blown into the air by a concealed artillery. The event was such as William had promised himself. The rebel army, after an ineffectual struggle of thirty minutes, was totally routed, and chased off the field with great slaughter. The king's troops, but especially the dragoons, irritated by their former disgraces, and the fatigues of a winter campaign, gave no quarter. Near two thousand of the rebels were killed in the battle and pursuit, and only three hundred and ten of the royal army.(2)

No victory was ever more complete than that gained by the duke of Cumberland at Culloden, nor any more important in its consequences. All the pretender's hopes, and even his courage, seemed to abandon him with his good fortune. Having too soon left the field of battle, he was advised by

(1) The followers of Charles had Indeed much cause for chagrin. They had hoped to attack the king's troops while buried in sleep and security, after celebrating the duke of Cumberland's birthday Lord George Murray undertook to conduct the enterprise, and every thing seemed to promise success; when, after a march of seven miles, one of the three divisions into which the rebel army was formed, lost its way, through the darkness of the night. The other two divisions advanced two miles farther, and within a mile of the royal army, where lord George Murray suspecting as is said, from the neighing of a horse, that they were discovered, ordered a retreat. (Contin. of Rapin, vol. ix.) On this, the pretender exclaimed that he was betrayed; and the rebels returned to their camp, unperceived, by eight o'clock in the morning; mortified with their disappointment, and stung with the reproach of their prince, whose sanguine spirit would, on that occasion, have been a better guide than the timid caution, if not the treachery, of his general.

(2) London Gazette, April 26, 1746. Contin. Rapin, ubi sup. Smollett, vol. xi.

lord Lovat to return and rally his forces: he promised, but declined compliance. And although two thousand of his faithful Highlanders resolutely assembled at fort Augustus, and a body of the Lowlanders at Ruthven, in order to know his commands; though a ship arrived from France with forty thousand pounds sterling in specie; and near a thousand men, who had not been at the battle of Culloden, were ready to join him, he desired them all to disperse, and wandered himself under various disguises, in woods and wilds, a wretched fugitive, destitute of the common necessaries of life, and in danger every moment of falling into the hands of his enemies. At length, after suffering the most incredible hardships, during five months, in the Highlands and Western islands of Scotland, whither he was chased by his bloodthirsty pursuers, a price of thirty thousand pounds being set upon his head; after having intrusted the secret of his life to above fifty different persons, many of whom were in low condition, and who knew, that by betraying him they should be enabled to live in affluence,(1) he was taken on board a French frigate, and safely landed on the coast of Brittany.

The heroic attachment of a gallant youth, whose name is said to have been Mackenzie, contributed greatly to the escape of the pretender. About the 20th of July, when Charles had fled for safety to the top of the mountain of Mamnyncallum, in Lochaber, the king's troops surprised a party of his followers in a hut, on the side of the mountain, and obliged them to surrender, after an obstinate resistance. One young man, however, made his escape. The prisoners assured the commanding officer that this was the pretender. Animated by the prospect of an immense reward, the soldiers eagerly pursued, and at last overtook the fugitive. They desired him to submit, as resistance would be ineffectual; and intimated that they knew who he was. He seemed to acquiesce in their mistake, but refused quarter, and died with his sword in his hand, exclaiming as he fell, "You have killed your prince !" -Independent of these generous expressions, the person slain resembled so much, in all respects, the description of the pretender given to the army, that an end was immediately put to farther pursuit: and although government pretended to discredit the report, a general belief of the pretender's death prevailed, and little search was thenceforth made after him.(2)

Charles was caressed for a time at the court of France, as there was yet a possibility of his being of farther use; but no sooner was the peace concluded, than he was consigned to the most perfect neglect, and condemned to sufferings more severe than any he had yet experienced. On his refusing to depart the kingdom, he was seized by a party of the guards, pinioned, and conducted to the frontiers in violation of the most solemn engagements :(3) a perfidy for which the articles of peace could be no apology, as France had the power of dictating the stipulations of the treaty. He was ruined and betrayed, like many of his ancestors, by those in whom he confided; and with his fortunes, perished the last hopes of the family of Stuart, and of their adherents in the British dominions.

The pretender's sufferings must have been much aggravated by those of his unhappy adherents, unless we suppose him devoid of all the feelings of humanity, and of all sentiments of generous sympathy. Immediately after the battle of Culloden, the royal army entered the rebel country, which was cruelly laid waste with fire and sword. All the cattle and provisions were carried off. The men, hunted down like wild beasts upon the mountains, were shot on the smallest resistance: and not a hut was left standing to

(1) One poor gentleman, who had no share in the rebellion, but whose humanity had led him to administer to the necessities of Charles, being apprehended and carried before a court of justice, was asked, How he dared to assist the king's greatest enemy; and why, having always appeared to be a loyal subject, he did not deliver up the pretender, and claim the reward offered by government for his person? "I only gave him," replied the prisoner, "what nature seemed to require, a night's lodging, and an humble repast And who among my judges, though poor as I am, would have sought to acquire riches, by violating the rights of hospitality, in order to earn the price of blood?" The court was filled with confusion and amazement at the simple eloquence of this untutored orator: the suit was dismissed, and the prisoner set at liberty. So much stronger an impression does fellow-feeling and the sense of natural equity make on the human breast, than the dictates of political law, though enforced by the greatest rewards or the severest punishments!

(2) Contin. of Rapin, vol. ix.

(3) Voltaire, Siècle, Lewis XV. chap. xxv.

shelter the miserable women and children from the inclemency of the weather. They were left to perish of hunger and cold on the barren heaths. In a few weeks, all appearance of rebellion, and almost of population, being exterminated in the Highlands, the duke of Cumberland returned to London as a conqueror; leaving his victorious army, formed into twenty-seven divisions, or flying camps, to take vengeance on the surviving fugitives.

A new scene of horror was now exhibited. The asperity of justice thr ened with destruction all whom the relentless sword had spared. And although most of the Highland chiefs, and many of their followers, had made their escape beyond sea, the number of rebel prisoners of distinction that suffered death was great beyond example, for some centurics, in this island. Courts being opened in different parts of England for their trial, where they could have procured no evidence in their favour, had they been innocent, and where every accuser was admitted, small possibility remained to them of escaping punishment. Seventeen rebel officers were accordingly condemned, and executed at Kennington common, in the neighbourhood of London; nine at Carlisle, six at Brumpton, seven at Penrith, and eleven at York. They all behaved with the greatest firmness, and seemed to glory in dying for the cause they had espoused. A few received pardons, and the common men were transported to the plantations.(1)

The earls of Kilmarnock and Cromartie, and the lords Balmerino and Lovat, were tried by their peers and found guilty. Cromartie was pardoned, at the intercession of his lady; the other three were beheaded on Tower-hill. Kilmarnock, a nobleman of elegant accomplishments, but desperate fortune, and who had been educated in the principles of the revolution, died with strong marks of penitence, either from sorrow at having acted contrary to conscience, or in hopes of a pardon; it being observed, that he lifted his head from the block, and looked anxiously around, before the fatal blow was struck. Balmerino, who had been bred a soldier, and who had obeyed the dictates of his heart, behaved in a more resolute manner. He seemed even

to exult in his sufferings; but checked his natural boldness, lest it should appear indecent on such an occasion. Lovat, after trying every expedient to save his life, avowed his jacobitism, and died, not only with composure, but dignity; feeling the axe, surveying the crowd, and exclaiming, in seeming triumph,

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori!

""T is great, 't is noble, thrones usurped to shake,
And sweet to die for our dear country's sake."(2)

Thus was extinguished a rebellion, which, from small beginnings, rose to an alarming height; and, at one time, threatened a revolution in the state. In order more effectually to eradicate the seeds of disloyalty, and break the refractory spirit of the Highlanders, the heads of clans were deprived of their exclusive hereditary jurisdiction, which they had abused: and people of all ranks were prohibited, by act of parliament, from wearing the ancient dress of their country.(3)

(1) Smollett, vol. xi. Contin. of Rapin, vol. ix.

(2) A sentiment so sublime, from the mouth of a man who had lived in the habitual violation of every moral duty, and whose sole object was self-interest, forms a severe satire on the common pretensions to patriotism.

(3) This act has been since repealed, from a conviction of its inexpediency. And it is truly extraor dinary it should ever have been supposed, that men would become more loyal or submissive because they were compelled to wear breeches.

LETTER XXX.

A general View of the Affairs of Europe, from the Treaty of Dresden, in December, 1745, to the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748.

THE treaty of Dresden, and the confirmation of that of Breslaw, by finally detaching the king of Prussia from the house of Bourbon, made a great change in the state of the contending powers, but did not dispose them to peace. The king of France, encouraged by his past successes, and by the absence of the British troops, determined to push his conquests in the Low Countries; and the king of Great Britain, enraged at Lewis for supporting a pretender to his throne, resolved upon vengeance, as soon as the rebellion in Scotland should be finally suppressed. Elated with the exaltation of her husband to the imperial throne, and having now no enemy to oppose in Germany, the queen of Hungary hoped to be able to give a favourable turn to the war in Italy. She even flattered herself, that the circles, or the Germanic body, might be induced to take up arms against France; and that, by the co-operation of England and Holland, all Flanders might be recovered, and the victorious house of Bourbon yet completely humbled.

Of all the hostile powers, the king of France was first in readiness to carry his designs into execution. Mareschal Saxe, to the astonishment of Europe, and the terror of the confederates, took Brussels, the capital of Brabant, and the residence of the governors of the Austrian Netherlands, in the beginning of February. Lewis XV. joined his victorious army, consisting of a hundred and twenty thousand men, in the month of April, and obliged the allies under Bathiani, to retire first to Antwerp, and afterward to Breda. Antwerp was invested, and reduced in a few days. Nothing could withstand the French artillery directed by Lowendahl, or the army conducted by Saxe. Mons, reckoned one of the strongest towns in the world, held out only a few weeks St. Guislain and Charleroy were also obliged to submit; and by the 10th of July, Lewis saw himself absolute master of Flanders, Brabant, and Hainault. Before this time, prince Charles of Lorraine had assumed the command of the confederate army; which, being reinforced with ten thousand Hanoverians, six thousand Hessians, three British regiments, and twenty-five thousand Hungarians under count Palfy, now amounted to eighty-seven thousand men, including the Dutch forces commanded by the prince of Waldeck. Concluding that Namur would be the next object of the French monarch, the prince of Lorraine marched towards that place, and occupied an advantageous post in the neighbourhood, within sight of the French army, which was encamped at Gemblours. Mareschal Saxe, who greatly surpassed in abilities all the generals of the allies, not judging it prudent to attack them in so strong a situation, attempted by other means to accomplish the designs of his master. He accordingly reduced Dinant, in the bishoprick of Liege, and thereby acquired the command of the navigation of the Maese above Namur; while Lowendahl, by his direction, took Huy, a town and castle of great importance on the same river, and there seized a large magazine belonging to the confederates.

In consequence of the reduction of these two places, the French became masters of the navigation of the Maese; and by cutting off the communication of the confederates with Maestricht, obliged prince Charles, from scarcity of provisions, to quit his post, and abandon Namur to its fate. This place, rendered famous by many sieges, is situated, as I have formerly had occasion to observe, at the conflux of the Sambre and the Maese. The citadel is built upon a steep rock; and twelve other forts, on the ridges of the neighbouring mountains, seem to render it inaccessible to any attack. The garrison consisted of nine thousand Dutch and Austrians, who defended the works with equal skill and resolution; yet so powerful and well-directed was the fire of the French artillery, that the town was forced to surrender on the sixth, and the citadel on the sixteenth, day of the siege.