The Baron, your father in law, told me a story y' makes Glengary y greatest knave on earth to ye Duke of Argyll. I was likewise surprised y' Col' Ross told the Baron before me, yt Baillie Robertson told him, y' you did diminish y Baron's services. I could not but turn passionat before the Baron himself, to vindicat my d' General. I told Col' Ross, yt whoever told that, they were lyars, & y' my General was incapable of y'; he was full of honor & valeur, & had no need to diminish any man to rise himself. I am to examin y' Busines to-day, for I will loose my life rather than suffer my General to be reflected on. I beg you may send ye inclosd to my L Ilay. Ye Baron talks of going to London I canot be ready to go before Saturday. wt me. I intreat you, acquaint y Brother & Brig. Grant of my going off for London, & yt I hope they will stop all y' is endeavoured to be done for Fraserdale till I come. I intreat you take care of ye inclosd: their is one for my L Townshend, to let him know y' I am going conform to his order for London. I beg you may tell the Postmaster to stop my Letters at Eď. My d' Colloden, No. LXIII. Lord Lovat to Mr. John Forbes. IF I could be angry w' you, I would for [not] writing to me since you went to London, having promised you would not be too days ther when I would here from you, to let me know if I should go for London. But my L' Ilay having writ to me that my Ld Townshend allowed me to go, & M' Cadogan having told me y' he had no more service for me, or for my men, I am this far on my journey wt y old Baron of Killräck; & we go off this Evening, but can't be at London before ye first week of May, none of us being fit for posting. I was glad to find my General in good health, & I must own ther are not many in the world I love so much; he has given me my instructions at large, & I am resolved to walk by them, & make you my rule. I long extreamly, my d' John, to imbrace you, and assure you, de vive voix, y' I am, wt a tender affection and regard, Ed' y 9th of Apryle 1716. My d' Colloden, Your affectionat Friend, & most Obedient and Most Sir, I intreat you order y' Servant to give the inclosed to y' Cusing Sandie Fraser. No. LXIV. Mr Hossack to M' Duncan Forbes. I SAW Yours by yesterday's post to M' Baillie. This goes under Covert by the Aberdeen's post: if it is at Edin' before Glengarrie, it will inform you that he came here last night, waited of Gen" Cadogan, & gave him his Sword. This morning he's gone off for Edin'; it's said upon his parole, without a guard. We hear nothing of Seafort, but that Cadogan has allow'd his people till Saturday the 14th to bring in their Arms. Our little Army is to decamp, the horse tomorrow, and the rest speedily, towards the South. Cadogan goes off tomorrow for Inverlochy, and returns hither. There was a detachment sent to the house of Innergerry some dayes agoe. S', when you settle the runners to Aberdeen w' the Gen" Postm', please to mind the Post M' of Fochabers; for my brother-in-law, that's Minister of the Parish, & the most steadfast friend of the Government in it, is maltreated by the present Postmaster, as well as others; and that part of the Country is otherwise neglected yet, and the Rebells there continue their little insults. Last Night bro' a Letter from Colloden: the Lady yo mother & all friends are in health; and I am, with the same inclinations, Invernes, 10 April 1716. Sir, Your most humble serv', Yesterday & this day Glengarrie's people were to give up their Arms to the adjacent garrisons. I hear, Gen" Cadogan has made Lovat a present of his half of Frazerdale's plate, & that he has compounded for the other half w' Wightman; but there's only a small part of it come to hand yet. No. LXV. M' Duncan Forbes to his Brother M' John Forbes. Dated from Edinburgh, the 16th April 1716. Dear Brother, THE bearer hereof, my Lady Revelrigg, will inform you of the circumstances of her son; who, by the rashness of youth, and the force of bad example, was led into that misfortune with many of his countrymen, for which he is now a prisoner at London. I need not employ many words in recommending to you the case of the unfortunate : I will only acquaint you, that in doing what service is in your power to this young Gentleman, you will do a very obligeing thing to me, and a very kind thing to his Mother, for whom I have most justly a very great respect. To say more to you would look like doubting of the interest I have with you; and less I cannot say, in respect to the earnestness with which I recommend this Lady to your services and assistance. I hope Sir David Dalrymple, to whom I have written, will do what he can. Yours, DUN. FORBES. No. LXVI. GENERAL Cadogan returned from Fort William upon the 15th. He sailed down the Loch in about 3 hours, having a brisk fair wind. There are good Garrisons in Glengarry and Lochiel's houses. A detachment also is sent to the Isle of Sky of about 600 Men; and now we hear that Sir Donald's brethren have surrendered, but cannot tell what is become of himself: it is judged, that the Ship which arriv'd in some of the Creeks of that Island with Arms and Money, as was talked, hath carried off the Noblemen and Gentlemen that were there, and amongst the rest Sir Donald is carried off. The Detachment to Brahan is not returned, I heard on Fryday they were to pierce a little further into the Country. A great many Highland but no good guns are delivered to the Garrison; so that, after all, the giving up of Arms seems to be against the grain, and but sham work: it is hoped the parliament will do its pairt. General Cadogan went to Culloden on Wednesday last, which place he commends very much. Our Magistrates used all means with Wightman to engage the General to accept of an entertainment; to which, after much importunity, he consented. Upon Thursday last it was given in Baillie Scot's, or John Stuart's rather. At Night there was Musick and some dancing, w' sweet-meats in Wightman's. Mistris Barber invited the Young Lasses, but some with me were so stubborn as not to go. General Wightman is much displeased w' Colonel Dunbar, and told me that he had been Ill Imployed in aspersing him unjustly, as if he favoured Jacobites and oppressed the King's friends, and desired me to intimate so much to him. The Colonel would give him no satisfaction about that matter, unless he knew his grounds; but alledged, that he never spoke or wrote any thing of him but truth. Our Camp at Borlum is now broken up, & the Troops are all marched. Upon Tuesday the General sets out for Forres, and the Swiss and Dutch shortly after are all to march from this Garrison toward the South. 3 Ingeniers, Night and Day allmost, are at Work in measuring the Castle and Ground about it, the Sconce and Ground about it, the Town on both sides the water, and all the Streets, and they are very busy with their draughts: they talk of a Canal to Fort William; but that is no easy matter *. Our Squad meets on Tuesday at Forres, where I must attend. I apprehend it will be the 30th of April before I go from this place. If I am now in such a haste lest the Post go off, that I fear I cannot write to London. you please, this may be forwarded to Culloden. I am Inv. 21 Ap. 1716. Your most obsequious and obliged Servant, RO. BAILLIE. *Here we have, probably, the first idea of this Canal; which was again seriously revived in 1771 ; and was at last begun in 1803, with the name of the Caledonian Canal. D' Sir, No. LXVII. Lord Lovat to Mr. Rob' Baillie. I HOPE y' this Letter will find you at My General's Lodgings in a day or two, & in perfect health after your journey. My General will be as glad to see you, as I was sory to part w' him. I wish you could convince him to go to London. I am sure it would be for the interest of all those whom you wish well. M' Primrose promises me to endeavour to soften y cruel disposition of Justice Clark towards me. I do not desire nor court any favour from him; but I would wish y' he would not indeavour by new calumnyes or foolish inventions to hinder the King's favour to me; but I hope its above his power & contrivance; & at the bottom I laugh as much at my Enemys as my d' General does at his being called a Jacobite; their storys of me being as fals as y of him. I intreat I may hear from you under Culoden's cover. When it is tyme, I will intreat of you & my General to put y transactions of y North in a truer light than y Pamphelet did y' was published Monday last. I give my most humble service to your worthy Lady, & I am w' all ye gratitude imaginable, & with great respect, Inglekirk, ye 25th of Apryle 1716. Sir, D' Sir, Your most obedient & most humble Servant, No. LXVIII. Mr. Hossack to Mr. Duncan Forbes. LOVAT. I ACKNOWLEDGE the receipt of your favors of the 19th; they will be at all times equally acceptable, even tho', Sir, its s' here you are reckoned a Jacobite at Court; but I hope it's by none but those Whiggs who are Enemys to the D- of Argyle; and that the Jacobites shall find it otherwayes. Tho' you have discorded w the Justice Clerk upon the trifling Lybell in the Porteous Rolls agst our Magistrates, I believe you're not intirely in their interest. It would be an iniquity not to tell you that La L-t, by some of his zealous friends here, is reckon❜d a Papist; that they have made discoveries of it or he went away; that he sent a Priest to this town to administer the Sacrament to his Brother on his sick Bed; and that, since, he has got extream unction. I cannot assert these, neither will you, S', make a bad use of what I write; but I hope, S', you'l take some caution by it. Coll' Dunbar is affronted that he has not seen his Regiment's address in print. The Dutch & Swisse, its s, go from hence on Munday & Tuesday. I hope, S', you'l reckon that Mr. Baillie is gone before you can write him: he goes off Munday. I AM glad to find that oỹrs are as lasie as I. All the news I have to trouble you with is (1), that Brigadier McIntosh and six more made th' escape out of Newgate last last night. 2°. That att the Prince's desyre Brigadier Grant gave him, at my sight, this day the two Memorials you wrote of what was done in the North. I believe the Prince desyres to compaire them with the accoumpt printed by Coll' Grant, which makes so great a noyse here that E. Sutherland, as I am told, is making a reply to it. I wonder much you doe not send me the accoumpts of the Money was raised for, and laid out on, the publick accoumpt by us at Inverness. I wish also that you would think of the proper way of steating my particular expenses, from the first tyme my Wyffe was besidged, till the forces came to Inverness. I give my humble duty to Mr. M Pharline and his Lady: you may assure them I shall keep M' Drummond in mynd, nor shall any thing be wanting on my pairt to serve them. London, 5th May 1716. My dear Duncan, No. LXX. The Duke of Argyll to Mr. Duncan Forbes. JO. FORBES. London, May the 24th, 1716. I HAVE from so many hands learnt the new Obligations I have to you, that I must not, in justice to my self, delay confessing them to you. They are the greater & more generous, that I never deserved them of you; and I hope the same good opinion of me that promted you to them will perswade you that I shall never omitt any occasion of making you the returns that an honest man should doe. How fate will dispose of me I know not; but I believe my enemys have very little reason to believe that they are to get the better. I have been betrayed before now by the same knaves that have done me the favor now; but they may, if they please, call to mind that they did not goe unpunished; & what has been may be. One thing my friends may depend on, That fate itself cannot make me like my Enemys; by which 'tis plain I shall ever be Your faithfull Servant, No. LXXI. ARGYLL. M' John Forbes to his Brother Mr. Duncan Forbes, dated London, 31 May 1716. Dear. Brother, M' Dalrimple came here last night, and told me he had a Packett for me; but I have not yet gott it. By my last you'll find that there's nothing to be gott at this tyme, on any accompt whatsoever. Divisions run high att Court; and all our people who make any opposition to the Bill of Forfaulters are ill lookt on by the Court; of which number your humble Serv1 is one. This day it [was] carried that the Commissioners to execute the powers in the said Bill should be Members of the House. The Justice Clerk, as I am told, declares himself Lovat's enemie. The Duke of Marlbrough was two days agoe suddenly taken very ill with a palsie, but is now said to be in a fair way of recovery. No news; all friends are well. B. Grant mynds you most kindly. By this you may see that I write for writing's sake. J. FORBES. No. LXXII |