XVII. ever, though somewhat fufpicious of his fincerity, LETTER did not flight the advances of the lord-lieutenant: he dispatched general Hamilton, his countryman and A. D. 1689. friend, to treat with him. Hamilton betrayed his truft 7: Tyrconnel, in conformity with his real views, levied a great body of troops, which having no regular pay, were left to live upon the plunder of the Proteftants; and thefe unhappy people, roufed by oppreffion, and fearing a general maffacre, flew to arms, and throwing themselves into Londonderry, Innifkilling, and other places of strength, hoped to be able to hold out till they should obtain relief from England 8 In the mean time James, who had been received with marks of the moft cordial affection by Lewis XIV. either from a fympathy of religious fentiments, dence. At any rate, these abortive intrigues, and infidious anecdotes, which have been brought as a charge against so many otherwise unfullied reputations, are fitter for the chronicle of fcandal, or the memoirs of individuals, than the page of general hiftory, which they can ferve only to contaminate and perplex. Little farther attention fhall, therefore, be paid to them in the body of this work; which has chiefly for its object important events, with their caufes and confequences. To throw a fhade over the brighteft characters, cannot surely be a defirable employment for a liberal mind; yet have fome men of talents undertaken this invidious task, and profecuted it with unwearied induftry. They who love to contemplate human nature on the dark fide, will find fufficient food for their paffion in Dalrymple's Appendix, and Macpherson's Original Papers. Happily, however, these papers, contrary to the apparent purpose of the compilers, furnish arguments for the advocates of freedom, as well as the abettors of defpotism. I have acccordingly used them as a counter-poison. 7. This treachery was attended with a very striking circumstance. Sir William Temple's fon, who was fecretary at war to king William, having engaged himfelf for the fidelity of Hamilton, was fo much mortified at his defection, that he put an end to his own life, by leap. ing out of a boat into the Thames. Clarendon's Diary. 8. Burnet. King. or PART II. A. D. 1689. March 12. or with a view of making him fubfervient to his am bition, was preparing to make a defcent in Ireland. Preffed by the folicitions, and encouraged by the favourable reprefentations of Tyrconnel, he accordingly embarked at Breft, early in the spring, and landed fafely at Kinfale, with only twelve hundred men, all his native fubjects, one hundred French officers and fome gentlemen of diftinction 8. Seven battalions of French troops were afterwards fent over 9. But these, and all his Irish forces, were by no means fufficient to oppose the veteran army of William, JAMES and his adherents, however, had other ideas of the matter. Elated at the prefence of a prince, who had loft two kingdoms from his predilection for their religion, the Irish catholics every where received him with the highest demonstrations of joy. But this rage of loyalty, by involving him in measures fubverfive not only of the Proteftant intereft, but of all the laws of juftice and humanity, has difgraced his character, and proved highly injurious to his caufe. Having assembled a parliament, consisting chiefly of Catholics, a bill was paffed for repealing the Act of Settlement, by which the Proteftants were secured in the poffeffion of their eftates; and, in order to complete the ruin of the whole fect, an act of attainder was afterward paffed against all Proteftants, male and female, who were abfent from the kingdom; who did not acknowledge the authority of king James, or who had been any way connected with rebels from the first day of Auguft in the preceding year 10. The number of Proteftants attainted by name in this act amounted to about three thoufand. Another violent 8. James II. 1689. 9. Duke of Berwick's Mem. vol. i. 10. Burnet. Ralph. King. a& XVII. act was paffed, declaring Ireland independent of the LETTER English parliament "'. WHILE James was thus attempting to establish his authority in Ireland, by flattering the prejudices of the natives, William was engaged in managing the English parliament, and in conducting that great fyftem of continental policy, of which he had been fo long the centre. To both these ends the violence of the Irish Catholics, their influence with the dethroned monarch, and his throwing himself into their hands, contributed not a little; and William, [in order ftill farther to quiet and unite the minds of men, as well as to promote his own views, recommended to the parliament an act of general indemnity, and procured an address for a declaration of war against France. Both proposals were readily embraced. Inflamed with ancient and hereditary hate, and roused by recent jealoufy, the English nation had long been defirous of turning its arms against Lewis XIV. and the fuppofed attachment of James to the French intereft, his bigotry not excepted, had been the principal caufe of his ruin. Had he acceded to the league of Augsburg, he would never have loft his crown. Threatned by that league, and willing to ftrike the first blow, Lewis had fent an army into Alface, and made himself mafter of Philipsburg in 1688. This violence, which was immediately fucceeded by others, alarmed the emperor, Spain, Holland, and all the confederate powers on the continent. They faw the neceffity of having immediate recourfe to arms; and the interpofition of France in the affairs of Ireland, furnished William with a good pretence for throwing II. Ibid. A. D. 1689. the PART II. the whole weight of England into the hoftile scale. The confederacy was now complete. A. D. 1689. BUT the critical state of his new dominions called off the attention of William, for a time, from the continential fyftem. The duke of Gordon ftill held out the caftle of Edinburgh for James; and the vifcount Dundee, the foul of the Jacobite party in Scotland, having collected a small but gallant army of Highlanders, threatened with fubjection the whole northern part of the kingdom. Dundee, who had publicly disavowed the authority of the Scottish con vention, had been declared an out-law by that af fembly; and general Mackay was fent against him with a body of regular troops. Lord Murray, fon to the marquis of Athol, had laid fiege to the caftle of Blair, which was held by fome of the adherents of James. Sir Alexander Maclean, by Dundee's order, marched against Murray, and forced him to raise the fiege. But this event did not decide the conteft. Mackay, who had hitherto contented himself with obstructing the progrefs, or watching the motions of the Highlanders, refolved to reduce the dif puted caftle, and put himself in motion for that purpofe. APPRISED of the defign of his antagonist, Dundee fummoned up all his enterprifing fpirit, and by forced marches arrived in Athol before him. Next morning July 17. he was informed that Mackay's vanguard, confifting of four hundred men, had cleared the pafs of Killicranky; a narrow defile, formed by the steep fide of the Grampian-hills, and a dark, rapid, and deep river. Though chagrined at this intelligence, Dundee was not difconccerted. He immediately dispatched Sir Alexander 207 LETTER XVII. Alexander Maclean to attack the enemy's advanced party, with an equal number of his clan, while he himself fhould approach with the main body of the A. D. 1689. Highlanders. But before Maclean had proceeded a mile, Dundee received information that Mackay had marched through the pass with his whole army. He commanded Maclean to halt, and, boldly advanced with his faithful band, determined to give battle to the enemy. MACKAY's army, confifting of four thousand five hundred foot, and two troops of horse, was formed in eight battalions, and ready for action, when Dundee came in view. His own brave, but undifciplined followers, of all ranks and conditions, did not exceed three thousand three hundred men. Thefe he inftantly ranged in hoftile array. They stood inactive for feveral hours in fight of the enemy, on the fteep fide of a hill, which faced the narrow plain where Mackay had formed his line, neither party chufing to change their ground. But the signal for battle was no fooner given, than the Highlanders rushed down the hill in deep columns; and having difcharged their muskets with effect, they had recourfe to the broad fword, their proper weapon, with which they furiously attacked the enemy. Mackay's left wing was inftantly broken, and driven from the field with great flaughter by the Macleans, who formed the right of Dundee's army. The Macdonalds, who compofed his left, were not equally fuccefsful: colonel Haftings's regiment of English foot repelled their moft vigorous efforts, and obliged them to retreat. But Sir Alexander Maclean and Sir Evan Cameron, at the head of part of their refpective clans, fuddenly affailed this gallant regiment in flank, and forced it to give way, or cut it in pieces. THE |