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ship, commanded by Captain Brett, afterwards Lord Percy. The Elizabeth immediately ranged up with her, and opened a destructive fire. For several hours a heavy cannonade was kept up on both sides, during which both captains were wounded, and each vessel suffered severely. At the sound of the first gun, Charles Edward, forgetting his assumed character, hurried to the deck, calling loudly for a sword, and insisting that the Doutelle should come in for her part of the honors of the combat. "Monsieur l'Abbé," said Walsh, taking him hastily by the arm, "this is not your place; have the goodness to withdraw to your cabin." The combat lasted till nightfall, when both ships, being too much. disabled to keep the sea, sought the nearest ports, as best they could. The Doutelle held on her course, but this casual encounter deprived the young prince of his arms and stores, which had been embarked on board the Elizabeth.

Once again they were menaced with the same danger, from three ships of war which they fell in with, towards the south of Long island, and only escaped by keeping close under the western coast of Barra, and anchoring between South Uist and Eriska. As they approached the land, an eagle was seen hovering over the ship. "It is the king of birds," said the Marquis of Tullibardine, "come to welcome your Royal Highness to Scotland." It was the 1st of July, and with a joyful heart Charles Edward set foot, for the first time, on the soil of that kingdom towards which, from earliest childhood, his hopes and his wishes had been directed.

His first care was to despatch a messenger to Boisdale of Clanranald, by whose influence over the mind of the elder brother he hoped to obtain an immediate declaration of the clan. Boisdale obeyed the summons, but with a manner which showed there was little to be hoped from the interview. "I can count upon MacDonald of Sleat, and the laird of MacLeod," said the prince. "Undeceive yourself," was the inauspicious reply; "they have both resolved not to raise a single man, unless your Royal Highness comes attended with regular forces."

This was a bad outset, and some of the party, it is said, began already to wish themselves safely back in France. Charles Edward was not so easily discouraged, but, setting sail, held on his way among the islands, to Loch Nanuagh, between Moidart and Arisaig, where he again cast anchor.

The next morning Clanranald the younger, with MacDonald of Kinloch, and the lairds of Glenaladale and Dalily, came to wait upon him. But it was evident that they, too, had adopted Boisdale's opinion, and were unwilling to risk their fortunes upon so hazardous a cast. Charles Edward put forth all his eloquence, in order to move them; and, finding arguments fruitless, addressed himself to their feelings. "I am your prince, your countryman, your friend," said he; "do not abandon the son of your king!" In the group on the deck was a younger brother of MacDonald of Kinloch Moidart, who, without knowing the full purport of the conversation, had caught enough of its meaning to understand how nearly it touched the loyalty of his clan. His eyes lighted up, his color went and came, and in the warmth of his emotions, he grasped the hilt of his claymore with an energy that drew the attention of the prince. "And you," said he, turning to the only one who appeared to feel for his situation, "will you not fight for me?" "Yes," replied the gallant youth, "if I were the only one in all Scotland to draw my sword, I would be ready to die for you." "I have at last found a defender," cried the prince, bursting into tears; "give me but a few more such Scotchmen as this, and I am sure of the throne of my fathers." The impulse was irresistible, and the chiefs, giving way to their enthusiasm, swore, with one accord, to lay down their lives in his cause.

Charles Edward now landed, sending back the Doutelle to France, with letters to his father and the king. A guard of a hundred men immediately gathered round him, and from every quarter came young and old, men, women, and children, flocking to look upon the face of their prince.

Meanwhile, measures were taking for raising the clans. Clanranald went in person to Sir Alexander MacDonald, and the laird of MacLeod, two chiefs of great influence, who held three thousand men at their disposal. But they persisted in their refusal to rise, without the support of regular troops. Lochiel, chief of the Camerons, had come to the same decision, but resolved, out of respect to the prince, to be himself the bearer of these unwelcome tidings. "Do not risk it," said his brother; "I know you better than you know yourself. If the prince once sets his eyes upon you, he will do whatever he pleases with you." Lochiel persisted,

and, repairing to Charles's head-quarters, frankly declared his disapprobation of the enterprise. ""T is true," said the prince, "I am come alone, when you looked to see me with an army. Evasive answers, and hopes which perhaps are false, are all that I have been able to get from the ministers of Louis, and I thank Heaven for it. Let the Elector of Hanover surround himself with foreign guards; it is to the nation itself that I look for support. The first victory will, perhaps, hasten the arrival of the French, who will then come as allies, not as protectors." "Give me a few days for deliberation," said Lochiel, already moved by the prince's energy and fire. "No, no," replied he, with increasing animation, "I have already a few friends with me. With these I shall raise the royal standard, and announce to Great Britain that Charles Stuart is come to reclaim the crown of his ancestors, or perish in the attempt. Lochiel, whose faith and friendship my father has so often vaunted, may remain at home; the newspapers will announce to him the fate of his prince." This bitter reproach was too much for the gallant-spirited chieftain. "Be it what it may, I will share it with you, and so shall all those over whom nature or fortune has given me control."

Without loss of time he returned home to gather his clan. This was all that Clanranald was waiting for in order to call out his own; and small parties were soon afoot under the MacDonalds of Keppoch and Tierndreich. The rendezvous was fixed at Glenfinnin, a long, narrow valley, watered by the little torrent of Finnin, and opening on Loch Shiel, with a mound in the centre, on which the royal standard was to be raised.

Hither Charles Edward repaired on the morning of the 19th of August; but not a plaid was to be seen, and the solemn silence of a mountain solitude overhung the glen. The only trace of living thing that he could descry was a sombre little hut, and towards this he directed his steps. The occupants received him with respect, but could give him no relief from his perplexity. It was eleven in the morning, and two hours had passed anxiously away, when the notes of a distant pibroch were heard among the hills. As the sound became more distinct, it was recognized as that of the Camerons; and shortly after, eight hundred clansmen were seen winding their way through the pass to the place

of rendezvous. They marched in two columns, and brought with them, as the first fruits of their rising, two companies of English, whom they had made prisoners. All now gathered around the mound, where the Marquis of Tullibardine, the royal standard-bearer, unfolded the royal banner, a tissue of red silk, with a white space in the centre. As its broad

folds opened upon the wind, the mountaineers threw up their caps into the air with a shout which scared the young eagles from their nests among the crags, while the pibrochs breathed forth the shrill strain of their songs of triumph, so deep and so spirit-stirring, among the echoes of the hills. And then was read the manifesto of James the Eighth, proclaiming Charles Edward regent during his absence, and the prince himself, taking the word, " told his faithful adherents how he had chosen this part of Scotland to land in, because he knew that it was here he should find the truest-hearted subjects of his father, and that he had come to conquer or to die with them." When the ceremony was completed, a guard of fifty men escorted the banner to the prince's tent, and the little army encamped in the valley for the night.

Small as his army was, Charles Edward resolved to lose no time in commencing active operations, for he knew that every thing depended upon the beginning, and that one successful blow would go farther than a thousand declarations. The alarm had been given, and Sir John Cope was already advancing against him at the head of a strong body of regular forces, with the hope of securing the passes and cooping him up among the mountains; nor could the Jacobites of the south be expected to declare themselves, until they saw some means of efficient protection at hand. He advanced, therefore, directly towards his adversary, holding his way through those wild mountain-passes and rugged glens, where every now and then some little band came to swell his forces, as the streams that flowed by him were swollen by the torrents from the hills. Upon reaching Corryarrack, the first news that he received was that Cope had suddenly renounced his plan of invasion, and was in full retreat. Fill me a cup of whiskey," cried he, on hearing these unexpected tidings, and turning to his men; "I give you the health of this good Mr. Cope, and may every general of the usurper prove as much our friend as he has been.”

A pursuit was instantly commenced, and pushed on with

Highland impetuosity as far as Garvymore, where he paused awhile to give his army a short breathing-space. But why lose more time in following an enemy who already gives himself up for conquered, when, by pressing forward, he might seize upon the capital, gathering in his adherents all along the important districts through which he would pass, and striking terror into his adversaries by a blow so daring and so unexpected?"To Edinburgh, to Edinburgh!" then, was the universal cry, and thither he directed his course, marching cheerfully at the head of his men, with his Highland bonnet and plaid, and the brogues which he had sworn never to change until he had beaten his enemy.*

At Blair, the seat of the Duke of Athol, the clan gathered promptly around the Marquis of Tullibardine, who, by all the Jacobites, was looked upon as the real duke. As he continued his advance, the flame spread wider and wider. Sir George Murray and Lord Nairne came to offer him their swords, and the laird of Gask came with his tenantry, and the laird of Aldie with his, and as he approached Perth, he was joined by the duke, at the head of two hundred men. He was now in the midst of the cherished associations of his race, for Perth had been the favorite residence of the three Roberts and the first and second James, and at a short league's distance was the venerable abbey of Scone, where the Scottish kings were wont to receive their crown, in the days of Scotland's freedom. No wonder, then, that the inhabitants. should flock out to meet him, welcoming him with feasts and acclamations, and the blushing dames plead for the honor of a kiss from his royal lips!

Here he staid a week, in order to introduce a little more system into his army, and exercise his men to some general evolutions, and raise a small contribution among the inhabitants; for a single guinea was all that remained of the money

* This is alluded to in a song of the times:

"O, better loved he canna be,

Yet when we see him wearing
Our Highland garb sae gracefully,
"T is aye the mair endearing.
Though a' that now adorns his brow
Be but a simple bonnet,

Ere lang we'll see of kingdoms three
The royal crown upon it."

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