Volume III Part 19 (1/2)
[269] In 1816, another appeal, and a fresh claim to the Druht forward by the descendant of John Drureat-uncle of James, Duke of Perth
The said John Drue in 1685, by James the Second, by the title of Viscount Melfort; in 1686 he was raised to the dignity of Earl of Melfort; and afterwards, following the monarch to St Gerrandson of the Duke of Melfort was a Roman Catholic priest, who officiated so in 1831 in France, at a very advanced age
The pamphlet in which, in 1816, he asserted his claim, and which was laid before the House of Lords, was professedly written ”by an unfortunate nobleman;” with the appeal of Charles Edward (Drummond), Duke of Melfort, heir male, and chief representative of the House of Drudom of Great Britain, &c, 8vo, London, 1816
[270] Lord Elcho's MS
[271] For the copies of these epitaphs I aentleman's account of the inscriptions:--
”The within is a correct copy of the inscription, as entered in Bishop Forbes's MS, vol 9, dated on title page, 1761 The entry of inscriptions is immediately subsequent to a copied letter or memorandum of May, 1764, and antecedent to one of November, 1765
”Fama perennis, lauru porrecta, vetat nos
Hoc Elogiuraven, all in capitals, on the tomb at Antwerp, with the coat armorial of the fa is the English translation of the originals in Latin, copied from the papers of Bishop Forbes:--
Sacred to the Memory of the most illustrious brothers, James and John, Dukes of Perth, Chiefs of the House of Drummond, a very ancient and noble family in Scotland
James, the more disposed of the two to the study of Belles Lettres, excelled in Literature; was eminent as a favourer of the Fine and Liberal arts
Providing for the coood, he was always a most worthy citizen in peace
Characterized by the sweetness of his th of his mind, He ever shone with unstained faith as a friend of reater in war, For when Prince Charles landed in Scotland, He drew his sword in the cause of the House of Stuart, Put all other cares aside, And uniforazed with a cheerful countenance on the toils of war: He was utterly regardless of all danger, Without want of energy in battle, he was th when the forces of Charles asted away, His native land, his friends, and a very ahed in estiht, Bravely deserted: Turning his steps towards France, he fled his Native country
Oppressed by the troubles of his lot, and the Heavy reat ocean, On the 13th of May, in the thirty-third year of his age; And his reround by adverse winds, Were given to the deep
John, Imbued with a happy turn of mind for military affairs, From early youth applied himself to the military art
Brave, intrepid, and firentleness, and softened the asperity of the soldier by the ease of his ion, Enlisted by hi, Louis XV
Whilst the Civil War was raging in Britain He led the French Auxiliary Forces, And after the unfortunate battle of Culloden, Was a fugitive in the same shi+p as his brother
In Flanders, under the General Count Saxe, He served a long time, Ever a defence to those under his command, A remarkable comforter (Learn, O Britons!) in the calanities of war, And seeking to attain the goal of noble glory, He was carried away by sudden death in the ed 33
[272] Edited by W Jerdan, Esq, MRSL, 1845
[273] Maxwell, p 166
FLORA MACDONALD
The character of this celebrated woentle, was forhland seclusion She was born in the island of South Uist, in 1720: she was the daughter of Macdonald of Milton The Clan of her family was that of Macdonald of Clanranald; the Chief of which is called in Gaelic, Mack-ire-Allein, and in English, the captain of Clan Ranald The estate of this Chief, which is held principally fro on the continent of Scotland, and in the islands of Uist, Benbecula, and Rum
His vassals, capable of military service, amounted in 1745 to five hundred[274]
The Hebrides were at that tiarded in the ht as the Arctic regions are now considered by the inhabitants of England, and other polished nations: ”When I was at Ferney in 1764,” Boswell relates, ”Ito the Hebrides) to Voltaire He looked atto the North Pole, and said, 'You do not insist onyou should go'”
In this reion, Flora Macdonald was born and educated
The death of her father, Macdonald of Milton, when she was only a year old, hland girl Her ain, and became the wife of Macdonald of Armadale in Skye Flora was, therefore, removed from the island of South Uist to an island which was nearer to theinformation than her native place
It was a popular error of the tiard the Highlanders of every grade, as an ignorant, barbarous race So far as the lowest classes were concerned, this ih certainly not so well as it has land Previously to the reign of George the Third many of the peasantry could not read, and lish There were few books in Gaelic, and the defect was only partially supplied by the instruction of bards and seneachies But, aenerally diffused The excellent grammar-schools in Inverness, Fortrose, and Dunkeld sent out men well-infor that order which in England is the ave thees When the Hessian troops were quartered in Atholl, the coentlemen, found a ready communication in Latin at every inn Upon the Colonel of the Hessian cavalry halting at Dunkeld, he was addressed by the innkeeper in Latin This class of innkeepers has wholly, unhappily, disappeared in the Highlands[275]