Part 7 (1/2)

Macaulay's paraphrase is as follows ”Dundee seeenuous He eotiation with Saint Ja to acquiesce in the new order of things, obtained from William a promise of protection, and proiven to his professions, that he was suffered to travel down to Scotland under the escort of a troop of cavalry” ”History of England,” iv 281 I do not think the text quite bears out the commentary; and indeed elsewhere in the chapter Macaulay seems inclined to allow more credit to these professions The ”escort” under which Dundee was ”suffered to travel”

consisted of his own troopers, who had followed him from Watford to London, and stayed with him to the end

CHAPTER IX

All eyes were now turned to Scotland England had practically accepted Williah the terms of acceptance were still in soer fear that the final ansould have to be given by the sword In Scotland the case was different Many of the great nobles and other dignitaries had indeed professed themselves in favour of William, but political idly observed, may be said to have been honoured by Scottish stateshbour, and his neighbour was perfectly aware of the fact It was i forth; and in this flux of things no s of to-day would not be the Jacobites of to-s, Athole of the Jacobites Both were great and powerful noblemen The influence of Hamilton was supreme in the Western Lowlands: only Mac Callu than the lord of Blair, and the glory of Mac Callum More was now in eclipse Yet Hamilton had been one of James' Privy Councillors, and had not declared for Williauards were at Whitehall His son Arran and his brother Dumbarton were both on the other side: Arran had accompanied James to Rochester, and Dumbarton had refused to hold his coe Athole had s, and his present Jacobitism was shrewdly suspected to be due to the coolness hich his advances had been received: his son Lord Murray, who had hter of Hareat noble that, however the die ht fall, their titles and estates were at least secured But the wisdoements did not increase their reputation with their parties The Duke of Gordon held the castle of Edinburgh for Jah the Duke was a weak creature, his position was strong The bulk of the coy generally, were, if not exactly Jacobites, undoubtedly Tories

There were religious troubles of course to swell the political ones

When the news of Jah, Perth had been imprudently induced to disband the e of the ihout all the western shi+res Their houses were sacked, and themselves and their families insulted and sometimes beaten: the churches were locked, and the keys carried off in triuow the Cathedral was attacked, and the congregation pelted through the streets In Edinburgh Holyrood Palace was carried by storm: the Catholic chapel, which Jautted, and the printing-press, eion, was broken up Perth fled for his life, but was overtaken at sea, carried back and lodged in Stirling Castle, followed by the threats and curses of the mob Such was the temper of the Scottish nation when the Convention of Estates, suh on March 14th, 1689

The Act depriving the Presbyterians of the franchise had been annulled, and the elections had gone strongly in favour of the Whigs Hamilton had been chosen President by a majority of forty votes over Athole, whereupon twenty ardent Jacobites went straightway over to the other side The next thing to be done was to get rid of Gordon It was impossible, they said, for a free Parliauns Two of his friends, the Earls of Lothian and Tweeddale, were accordingly sent to the Duke with ahiht for consideration; but during the night he was also visited by Dundee and Balcarres They showed him the commissions entrusted to theo better for their party they had resolved to exercise their power of su At his request Dundee also gave hi the castle asday, when the earls returned, Gordon told them he had decided not to surrender his trust except upon terant to be seriously considered He was accordingly suuards were posted round the castle, and all communications between it and the town declared treasonable The Duke replied by a largess ofthe's coats they wore on their backs before they ca's subjects traitors

Meanwhile a er had arrived with a sealed despatch for the Estates froe both to Dundee and Balcarres that the e had not been to the them of its purport; but they had no suspicion of its contents, and willingly agreed to the ters consented to hear it read These ter, and would accept no order to dissolve until it had secured the liberty and religion of Scotland The vote was passed, and the letter was read, to the consternation of the Jacobites and the delight of the Whigs Of all the foolish acts committed by James the despatch of this letter was, in the circumstances, the most foolish Not a word did it contain of any intention to respect the religion or the liberty of men whom it still professed to address as subjects Pardon was proiance within a fortnight: to all others punishment was threatened in this world, and dahten the i of Melfort, as equally odious to both parties; and it had been preceded by one from William expressed in ter and foolish But the feeling of the more temperate Jacobites will best be shown in the account Balcarres hiave to his master of the effect produced by this fatal epistle

”When thewas joyful to us, expecting a letter from your Majesty to the Convention, in terland, and as had been advised by your friends before we left London; and so assured were they of their advices being followed, that they had encouraged all the loyal party, and engaged many to come to the Convention, in hopes such full satisfaction would be given in ion and liberty, that even ainst you would return to their duty But, as in place of such a letter as was expected, or letters to particular persons, as was advised, came a letter from your Majesty to the Convention, without any copy to show your friends, in terreed upon, and sent to your Majesty by Mr Lindsay froht have passed, if there had been power to have backed it, or force to land had refused to read a letter fro it [and considering] that England had , and that it was known you had none to sustain your cause but those who advised letters of another strain, it was a fault of your advisers hardly to be pardoned

Crane was brought in and the letter read, with the sas; but no sooner was it twice read and known to be Earl Melfort's hand and style, but the house was in a tumult--your enemies in joy and your friends in confusion

Glad were your ene so much as promised of e had asserted should be done for their satisfaction, [they] having much feared many of their party would have forsaken them if your Majesty's letter had been written in the terive no account why the advice of your friends was not followed, but Mr Lindsay made no secret of it after he came back from St Germain's, but informed us that, after he had delivered to [the] Earl of Melfort the letters and advices of your friends at London to your Majesty, his Lordshi+p kept hi that what he had written to your Majesty relating to his Lordshi+pto Ireland with you We had observed at London the great aversionemployed, and we kneas in no better esteem in his own country, which made us entreat your Majesty to leave him in France, and so the danger he ht be in; but his Lordshi+p either suppressed our letters or gave our advices another turn than was intended, by which all our hopes of succeeding in the Convention vanished, nor was ever seen so great an alteration as was observed at the nextafter your letter was read, which h and to call a Convention of Estates at Stirling, as your Majesty had given the Archbishop of St Andrews, the Viscount of Dundee, and myself the power to do this by a warrant sent by Mr Brown froone He saw that the game was up in the Convention, and there were other reasons Forar into Edinburgh These were the men of the hill-sides and s, who feared and hated the na on earth

Their leader was Willia and Bothwell, a brave and able young ood education and humane above his fellows, but who, it ell knoas burning to have vengeance upon Dundee Some of these men had been heard to mutter that the tables were turned now, and ”bloodly Clavers” should play the persecutor no ht to Dundee that a plot was on foot to assassinate hie Mackenzie, the most hated of all James's lawyers Whether the rumour were true or not, it was at least too probable to be disregarded Dundee laid the matter before Hamilton, offered to produce his witnesses, and deers be ordered to leave the town Hamilton (as, in fact, responsible for their presence) answered that the Convention had more important matters to think of, that the city could not be left defenceless to Gordon and his rebellious garrison, and, it is said, twitted Dundee with i of the Jacobites was held It was decided to call a fresh Convention at Stirling Mar, who held the castle there, professed hihlanders in readiness This was on Saturday, March 16th: it was deter Monday

When Monday came Athole proposed to wait another day As his co-operation was of the greatest importance, his proposal was accepted

But Dundee would wait no longer In vain Balcarres told him that his haste would ruin all their plans He answered that he would take no action without the agreeer He had made an appointment for that day with some friends outside the walls, and he could not break it His troopers had been in readiness since an early hour, and Dundee returning to his lodgings gave signal tofaces, but they shrank to right and left as those stern riders caate A friend called from the crowd to knohither they went

Dundee raised his hat from his head and answered: ”Wherever the spirit of Montrose shall direct me” When clear of the walls he led histhe bank of the North Loch, the ground now occupied by the busy and handso winds beneath the Castle rock, and as the cavalcade canals to him for an interview Dundee dismounted, and scrambled up the steep face of the rock What passed between them is not clearly known Balcarres says Dundee told the Duke of the design for Stirling, and once more prayed him to stand firm But it seems clear that Dundee had by that time abandoned all hopes of a fresh Convention, and it is doubtful whether he had any definite plan in his mind Dalrymple's report of the conversation see to hi the castle to the charge of the Lieutenant-Governor, Winram, a man who had made himself too odious to the people to leave room for any doubt of his fidelity to James But these bold ventures were not to the Duke's taste: his courage was of that sort which shows best behind stone walls: and his ansas ingeniously framed to conceal his timidity under a show of discipline ”A soldier,” he said, ”cannot in honour quit the post that is assigned to him”

Meanwhile the city was in an uproar A nuathered round the foot of the rock to stare at the strange sight The watchers fronified this idle crowd into a hostile force A er came in haste to the Convention with the news that Dundee was at the gates with an ar to fire on the town

Hamilton, hile affairs were still in the balance, had behaved with unexpected ave loose to his teood friends of order to see to their safety when ene arer within as well as without The traitorsto fear, for thousands were ready to start up in their defence at the stamp of his foot He then ordered the room to be locked, and the keys to be laid on the table The druuard, and such force of arrets and cellars the Westlandinto the streets, eapons in their hands, and in their faces fury and fear of their terrible enemy After a time, as the news came that Dundee had ridden off northward and that all seemed quiet in the castle, the tumult subsided The doors of the Parliament House were opened, and the reeted with loud cheers: threats and execrations no less loud assailed the few and downcast Jacobites Fro more to fear in the capital of Scotland For a while, indeed, some show of opposition was still maintained, faintly stimulated by the arrival of Queensberry froer what it had been; nor were his professions of loyalty regarded by men like Balcarres as above all suspicion For Queensberry had been ith the wisdolas was prudently divided against itself, and coreat show of bravery urging Gordon to fire on the town, had grown so Castle, put an end for ever to any thoughts of a fresh Convention in that city by boldly declaring for Williaone northith Dundee; and in truth there was not at this moment a brave co He galloped through the town, across the bridge, and on by Dunblane, where he stayed the night, to his own ho her confinement

The only h was George Livingstone, Lord Linlithgow's son, whose troop of Life Guards had been taken froiments that had followed the fiasco of Salisbury; and he had left his companion on the road to make for Lord Strathmore's house at Glamis

For a week of unwonted quiet, the last he was to know on earth, Dundee rested at Dudhope Then his eneers appeared before his gates, su him to lay down his ar proclaimed traitor and outlaw Dundee replied by a letter which, as it has been styled both disrespectful and disingenuous, it is worth while to print in full

”Dudhope, March 27th, 1689

”May it please your Grace:--The co of an herald and tru in peace at ho, and, I suppose, will do so to all that hear of it While I attended the Convention at Edinburgh I co in arms without authority, which was notoriously known to be true; even the wild hill-men; and no suiven the them And because a few of my friends did me the favour to convey me out of the reach of these stone and several other officers took occasion to co in ar of Estates My Lord Livingstone and I ht have had each of us ten; and four or five officers that were in coht have had a certain nu, it will be found we exceeded not I am sure it is far short of the nuone aith sons ofme was made appear?