.V. 1715. rising ground. From thence he soon beheld the CHAP. harassed forces of Argyle on their return, slowly toiling along the road at the bottom of the hill. So scanty was their number, and so exhausted their strength, that a single charge down-hill must have, in all probability, destroyed them. Argyle himself fully expecting an attack, ranged his men behind some inclosures and mud walls, placed two cannon in his front, and steadily awaited the danger. In this position both armies remained for some time, gazing at each other; but the energy of Mar utterly failed him at this decisive crisis. Instead of crying Forwards! he gave orders for a retreat in the opposite direction; and the Duke, hearing the sound of the receding bagpipes, quietly pursued his march to Dumblane, where he quartered for the night. It was on this occasion that Gordon of Glenbacket, one of the insurgent Highlanders, his heart swelling at the torpor of his general, made the celebrated exclamation, "Oh, "for an hour of Dundee!"* Thus ended the desultory and half-fought battle of Sheriffmuir. Both parties eagerly claimed the honour of a victory in their despatches, thanks Scott's Note to Sinclair's MS. P. 843. "If they had but "thrown down stones," says Sir Walter, " they might have dis"ordered Argyle's troops." General Wightman himself owns in his official despatch (Nov. 14. 1715), "If they had had either "courage or conduct, they might have entirely destroyed my "body of foot; but it pleased God to the contrary." 1715. CHAP. givings, and sermons*; but the Duke showed V. the better right to it, by reappearing on the field of battle the next morning with his guard, while Mar never came again within several miles of it. Argyle might also boast of the usual trophies of success- - having captured four pieces of cannon, thirteen stand of colours, and three standards, including the royal one, called "the Restoration." The loss of men sustained by the two armies bore a more equal proportion. The insurgents are supposed to have had 700 killed, including the young Earl of Strathmore ‡, and other persons of note; nearly 200, amongst them Lord Strathallan, were sent prisoners to Stirling; and many more had been taken, but were rescued in the course of the engagement; as was the case, for instance, with the Earl of Panmure, and Mr. Robertson of Strowan. The Duke's army had nearly 200 killed, as many wounded, and scarcely fewer taken; the most It may be observed that a controversial war of sermons was waged at this period between both camps. The party of the established Government were particularly pleased with a text which they thought happily reflected on the titles of James the Seventh, and of the Pretender as James the Eighth, of Scotland: "And the beast that was and is not, even he is the Eighth, "and is of the Seven, and goeth into perdition." Revel. ch. xvii. ver. 11. + Woodrow Letters, MS., as quoted in Chambers's History. "He was taken and murdered by a dragoon; and it may be "said of his fate, that a mill-stone crushed a brilliant." Sinclair's MS. p. 859. eminent among the last being the Earl of Forfar CHAP. and Colonel Lawrence. It must also be observed, that several of the chiefs and soldiers in Mar's army were, at best, but lukewarm in the cause, and inefficient in the conflict. According to the Master of Sinclair's own avowal, it appears that he, Lord Huntly, and several others, were desirous, even before the battle, of treating with Argyle and laying down their arms. * From such men, even though personally brave, no great exertions could be expected. Sinclair, as I have already mentioned, refused to charge. The Marquis of Huntly made what historians, when speaking of great men, usually call a prudent retreat." Of Lord Seaforth's common Highlanders, we are told, without circumlocution, that they "ran off." "ran off." Robert Mac Gregor, afterwards so well known under his nick-name of Rob Roy, showed hardly more spirit: when he received orders to advance, he merely said to the messenger, "If they cannot do it without me, they shall not "do it with me." The Stuarts of Appin and the Camerons of Lochiel, two of the bravest clans of the Highlands, retired without striking a blow. The latter were commanded by the son† of Sir Evan Sinclair's MS. p. 790. Soon afterwards Sinclair and Lord Rollo secretly offered to go over with the whole Fife squadron ! a fact which Sinclair takes care to suppress in his Memoirs, but which appears from Lord Townshend's despatch of Jan. 10. 1716. See Appendix. + This son, John Cameron, was father of Donald, of whom Sir Walter Scott says that "he united all the accomplishments V. 1715. V. 1715. CHAP. Dhu, the renowned chieftain who had fought against Cromwell, and who was still alive in 1715, but incapable, from his great age, of taking the field; and it is said that, on returning home, the clan contrived to keep the event of the battle a secret from their aged chieftain- ashamed to make him feel that the Camerons had declined from the spirit of their fathers. "of a gentleman and scholar with the courage and high spirit " of a Highland chief." Notes to Sinclair, p. 292. Donald was the hero of Mr. Campbell's poem, "Lochiel." CHAPTER VI. VI. 1715. AFTER the battle of Sheriffmuir, the Duke of CHAP. Argyle returned to his former camp at Stirling, satisfied at having arrested the progress of the insurgents, and maintained the passage of the Forth. It was still in the power of Lord Mar to have renewed the conflict, and such was the wish of many of his officers. "If we have not yet gained "a victory," said General Hamilton, "we ought "to fight Argyle once a week till we make it "one." But more timid counsels prevailed, and Mar, leading back his troops to Perth, relapsed into his former inactivity. The time when he might have acted with effect was, indeed, already flown. It was observed at the time, by even the detractors of Argyle's military reputation, that whether or not Sheriffmuir were a victory for the Duke, it was at least a victory for the King. The clans speedily began to forsake the standards of Mar, and to go home; some in order to secure their plunder, others from shame at their late misconduct; some from having quarrelled with their Lowland allies, others because |