CHAPTER LXX.

Motives of the Earl of Mar for Undertaking the Insurrection-Causes which devolved the Command of the Army upon him-Interception of Supplies of Arms and Ammu nition destined for the Jacobite Army—Addresses to the Chevalier de St George and the Duke of Orleans sent from the Army at Perth-Dissatisfaction among some of the Principal Men in Mar's Army-Plans of MarMarch of Mar from Perth and of Argyle from Stirling -the Armies come in sight of each other near Dunblane -Mar's Council of War-Battle of Sheriffmuir.

[1715.]

I HAVE delayed till this point in the Scottish history some attempt to investigate the causes and conduct of the Rebellion, and to explain, if possible, the supineness of the insurgent general and chiefs, who, having engaged in an attempt so desperate, and raised forces so considerable, should yet, after the lapse of two months, have advanced little farther in their enterprise than they had done in the first week after its commencement.

If we review the Earl of Mar's conduct from beginning to end, we are led to the conclusion, that the insurrection of 1715 was as hastily as rashly undertaken. It does not appear that Mar was in

communication on the subject with the court of the Chevalier de St George previous to Queen Anne's death. That event found him at liberty to recommend himself to the favour of King George, and show his influence with the Highland chiefs, by procuring an address of adhesion from them, of a tenor as loyal as his own. These offers of service being rejected, as we have already said, in a harsh and an affronting manner, made the fallen Minister conclude that his ruin was determined on; and his private resentment, which, in other circumstances, would have fallen to the ground ineffectual and harmless, lighted unhappily amongst those combustibles, which the general adherence to the exiled family had prepared in Scotland.

When Mar arrived in Fifeshire from London, it was reported that he was possessed of L.100,000 in money, instructions from the Pretender, under his own hand, and a commission appointing him lieutenant-general, and commander-in-chief of his forces in Scotland. But though these rumours were scattered in the public ear, better accounts allege, that in the commencement of the undertaking, Mar did not pretend to assume any authority over the other noblemen of his own rank, or produce any other token from the Chevalier de St George, than his portrait. A good deal of pains were taken to parade a strong-box, said to enclose a considerable sum of money, belonging to the Earl of Mar; but it was not believed to contain treasure to the amount of more than L.3000, if, indeed, it held so much. As to the important point of a

general to command in chief, the scheme, when originally contemplated at the Court of St Germains, turned upon the Duke of Ormond's landing in England, and the Duke of Berwick in Scotland, whose well-known talents were to direct the whole affair. After commencing his insurrection, there can be little doubt that Mar did the utmost, by his agents in Lorraine, to engage the favourable opinion of the Chevalier; and the unexpected success of his enterprise, so far as it had gone, and the great power he had been able to assemble, were well calculated to recommend him to confidence. In the mean time, it was necessary there should be a general to execute the duties of the office ad interim. Mar offered, as I have told you, the command to the Duke of Athole, who refused to be connected with the affair. Huntly, from his power and rank in possession and expectation, might have claimed the supreme authority, but his religion was an obstacle. Seaforth lay distant, and was late in coming up. The claims of these great nobles being set aside, there was nothing so natural as that Mar himself should assume the command of an insurrection, which would never have existed without his instigation. He was acceptable to the Highlanders, as having been the channel through which the bounty of the late Queen Anne had been transmitted to them; and had also partisans, from his liberality to certain of the Lowland nobles who had joined him, whose estates and revenues were not adequate to their rank, a circumstance which might be no small cause for their rushing into so ruinous

an undertaking. Thus Mar assumed the general's truncheon which chance offered to his hand, because there was no other who could pretend to it.

Like most persons in his situation, he was not inclined to distrust his own capacity for using to advantage the power which he had almost fortuitously become possessed of; or, if he nourished any doubt upon this subject, he might consider his military charge to be but temporary, since, from the whole tenor of his conduct, it appears he expected from France some person whose trade had been war, and to whom he might with honour resign his office. Such an expectation may account for the care with which the Jacobite commander abstained from offensive operations, and for his anxious desire to augment his army to the highest point, rather than to adventure it upon the most promising enterprise.

It is probable Mar was encouraged to persevere in his military authority, in which he must have met with some embarrassment, when he found himself confirmed in it by Ogilvie of Boyne, an especial messenger from the Chevalier de St George, who, greatly flattered by the favourable state of affairs in Scotland, conferred upon the Earl of Mar in form, that command, which he had so long exercised in point of fact, and it was said, brought a patent, raising him to the dignity of Duke of Mar. Of the last honour, little was known, but the commission of Mar as general was read at the head of every corps engaged in the insurrection.

It might be matter of wonder that the vessel

which brought over Mr Ogilvie, the bearer of this commission, had not been freighted with men, money, or provisions. The reason appears to have been, that the Chevalier de St George had previously expended all the funds he could himself command, or which he could borrow from foreign courts favourable to his title, in equipping a considerable` number of vessels designed to sail from Havre-deGrace and Dieppe, with large quantities of arms and ammunition. But the Earl of Stair, having speedily discovered the destination of these supplies, remonstrated with the Court of France upon proceedings so inconsistent with the treaty of Utrecht; and Sir George Byng, with a squadron of men-of-war, blockaded the ports of France, with the purpose of attacking the vessels if they should put to sea. The Regent Duke of Orleans immediately gave orders to the inspectors of naval affairs to prevent the arming and sailing of the vessels intended for the service of the Chevalier de St George. Thus the supplies designed for the insurgents were intercepted, and the whole expense which had been laid out upon the projected expedition was entirely lost. This affords a satisfactory reason why the exiled Prince could send little to his partisans in Scotland, unless in the shape of fair words and commissions.

In the mean time, the Earl of Mar, and the nobles and gentlemen embarked in his enterprise, although disappointed in these sanguine expectations under which it had been undertaken, and in finding that the death of Louis XIV., and the