INTRODUCTION.—I first heard this legend of my own country from that
friend of men of letters, Mr. Alfred Nutt, “there in roaring London’s
central stream,” and since the ballad first saw the light of day in
_Scribner’s Magazine_, Mr. Nutt and Lord Archibald Campbell have been in
public controversy on the facts. Two clans, the Camerons and the
Campbells, lay claim to this bracing story; and they do well: the man who
preferred his plighted troth to the commands and menaces of the dead is
an ancestor worth disputing. But the Campbells must rest content: they
have the broad lands and the broad page of history; this appanage must be
denied them; for between the name of _Cameron_ and that of _Campbell_,
the muse will never hesitate.
{103} Note 1, page 103. Mr. Nutt reminds me it was “by my sword and Ben
Cruachan” the Cameron swore.
{109} Note 2, page 109. “_A periwig’d lord of London_.” The first
Pitt.
{111} Note 3, page 111. “_Cathay_.” There must be some omission in
General Stewart’s charming _History of the Highland Regiments_, a book
that might well be republished and continued; or it scarce appears how
our friend could have got to China.
HEATHER ALE
A GALLOWAY LEGEND