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MEMOIRS

OF

SIP

13

THE PRETENDERS

AND THEIR ADHERENTS.

PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD.

CHAPTER I.

Charles continues his retreat northward-Duke of Cumberland resumes the command of the army of the North-His arrival at Stirling-Charles's escape from Lord Loudon's snare to take his person-Retaliates by attacking Lord Loudon at Inverness-Chivalrous adventure of Lord G. Murray-Incidents showing the attachment of the Scottish ladies to the cause of the Chevalier-Commences his march for Culloden. On the night on which the battle of Falkirk was fought, Charles, who had been exposed for five hours to the inclemency of the weather and the pelting of the storm, was conducted by torchlight to the house of a Jacobite lady of the name of Graham, the widow of a physician. Though the house in question was considered the best in the town of Falkirk, Charles was compelled to hold his small court

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and eat his meals in the same apartment in which he slept, his bed being concealed from view by folding doors. The house, which still remains, is opposite the steeple, and is now used as the Post-office. Charles passed only one night at Falkirk, and on the 18th returned to Bannockburn, leaving Lord George Murray behind with a portion of his army.

From the success which had attended his arms at Falkirk, Charles derived but little advantage besides glory. Instead of pursuing and annihilating Hawley's army before they could make good their retreat to Edinburgh, he insisted that it would be a disgrace to his arms were he to raise the siege of Stirling; and accordingly the operations were renewed with increased vigour. But the fortunes of Charles were now evidently on the decline. The chiefs had become disgusted at being no longer summoned to consult with him in regard to the movements of the army; while the common men, as was customary with them after a victory, deserted daily in great numbers, with the view of depositing their plunder in safety with their wives and families.

Charles was still engaged in carrying on the siege of Stirling, when, to his great grief and surprise, he received a paper signed by Lord George Murray, Lochiel, Keppoch, Clanranald, and all the leading chieftains, urging upon him the absolute necessity of effecting an immediate retreat to the North. So great, they said, had been the desertion in their ranks, that not only must they expect to be defeated in the event of an engagement, but at the present moment they were not even in a fit condition to carry on the siege of Stirling. Their only hopes, they added, of insuring ultimate success, lay in an immediate march to Inverness, where they would be enabled to anni

hilate the forces under Lord Loudon, and, by capturing the different Highland fortresses, make themselves the undisputed masters of the North. They concluded by assuring the Prince, that they would continue cheerfully in this case to serve beneath his banner, and, with an army of eight or ten thousand men, which they doubted not they would be able to raise, would follow his fortunes wherever he pleased.

It is scarcely necessary to remark, that this abrupt communication from the Highland chieftains amounted rather to a command than a remonstrance. Such was the light in which it was viewed by the young Prince, whose manner betrayed the most violent emotion while perusing the terms of the unpalatable proposition. Dashing his hand with such violence against the wall as to cause him to stagger back,-" Good God!" he exclaimed, "have I lived to see this?" Some attempt was made by him, through the medium of Sir Thomas Sheridan, to induce the refractory chiefs to alter their resolution; but finding it ineffectual, he sullenly and reluctantly assented to the terms of his domineering followers.*

Notwithstanding that General Hawley had the good fortune to retain the favour of his sovereign, it was deemed expedient to send a general to Scotland in whom the soldiers had greater confidence, and accordingly the Duke of Cumberland was selected for the purpose. Not only was he at this period a great favourite with the army, but it was also hoped that the circumstance of his being a prince of the blood might produce a beneficial effect on the minds of the Scottish people. He was nearly of the

* John Hay's account of the retreat from Falkirk. Home's Appendix, p. 355.

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