arms against the Prince now in possession of the throne, when you
did me the honour of a visit three days since in my prison here; I
shall therefore wave that point, and lament my unhappiness for
joining in the rest of the lords in pleading guilty, in the hopes of
that mercy, which the Generals Wills and Carpenter will do us the
justice to say was promised us by both of them. Mr. Piggot and Mr.
Eyres, the two lawyers employed by us, advised us to this plea, the
avoiding of which might have given us further time for looking after
the concerns of another life, though it had ended in the same
sentence of losing this which we now lie under. Thanks be to the
Divine Majesty, to whose infinite mercy as King of Kings, I
recommend myself in hopes of forgiveness, tho' it shall be my fate
to fail of it here on earth. Had the House of Commons thought fit to
have received our petition with the same candour as yours has done,
and recommended us to the Prince, we might have entertained some
hopes of life; but the answer from St. James's is such as to make us
have little or no thoughts of it.
"Under these dismal apprehensions, then, of approaching dissolution,
which, I thank my God for his holy guidance, I have made due
preparation for, give me leave to tell you, that howsoever I have
been censured on account of the family of the Gordons, which I am an
unhappy branch of, that I have ever lived and will die in the
profession of the Protestant religion, and that I abhor all
king-killing doctrines that are taught by the church of Rome as
dangerous and absurd. And though I have joined with some that have
taken arms, of that persuasion, no other motive but that of
exercising to the person called the Pretender, whom I firmly believe
to be the son of the late King James the Second, and in defence of
whose title I am now going to be a sacrifice, has induced me to it.
Your Lordship will remember the papers I have left with you, and
deliver them to my son. They may be of use to his future conduct in
life, when these eyes of mine are closed in death, which I could
have wished might have stolen upon me in the ordinary course of
nature, and not by the hand of the executioner. But as my blessed
Saviour and Redeemer suffered an ignominious and cruel death, and
the Son of God, made flesh, did not disdain to have his feet nailed
to the Cross for the sins of the world; so may I, poor miserable
sinner, as far as human nature will allow, patiently bear with the
hands of violence, that I expect suddenly to be stretched out
against me.
"Your Lordship will also, provided there is no hopes of a reprieve
this night, make me acquainted with it as soon as possible, that I
may meet that fate with readiness which, in a state of uncertainty,
I expect with uneasiness. I must also be pressing with your Lordship
that if, in case of death, any paper under my name should come out
as pretended to have been written by me, in the manner or form of a
speech, you will not believe it to be genuine; for I, that am
heartily sorry for disowning my principles in one spoken before your
Lordship and the rest of my peers, will never add to that act of
indiscretion by saying anything on the scaffold but my prayers for
the forgiveness of my poor self and those that have brought me to be
a spectacle to men and angels, especially since I must speak in my
last moments according to the dictates of my conscience, and not
prevaricate as I did before the Lords, for which I take shame to
myself. And such a method of proceeding might do injury to my
brother Carnwath, who, I am told, is in a much fairer way than I am
of not being excluded from grace. I have nothing farther than to
implore your Lordships to charge your memory with the
recommendations I gave you to my wife and children, beseeching God
that he will so sanctify their afflictions, that after the pains and
terrors of this mortal life they may with me be translated to the
regions of everlasting joy and happiness, to which blessed state of
immortality your Lordship shall also, while I am living, be
recommended in the prayers of, my very good Lord, your most
affectionate kinsman,
Kenmure."
"From my prison, in the Tower of London, Feb. 23, 1715."
The following paper, the original of which is still in the hands of his
descendants, was written by Lord Kenmure the night before his
execution:--
"It having pleased the Almighty God to call me now to suffer a
violent death, I adore the Divine Majesty, and cheerfully resign my
soul and body to His hands, whose mercy is over all His works. It is
my very great comfort that He has enabled me to hope, through the
merits and by the blood of Jesus Christ, He will so purifie me how
that I perish not eternally. I die a Protestant of the Church of
England, and do from my heart forgive all my enemies. I thank God I
cannot accuse my selfe of the sin of rebellion, however some people
may by a mistaken notion think me guilty of it for all I did upon a
laite occasione; and my only desire ever was to contribute my small
endeavour towards the re-establishing my rightfull Sovereigne and
the constitutione of my countrie to ther divine rights and loyall
setlment; and by pleading guilty I meant no more then ane
acknowledgment of my having been in armes, and (not being bred to
the law) had no notion of my therby giving my assent to any other
thing contained in that charge. I take God to wittnes, before whom I
am very soon to apear, that I never had any desire to favour or to
introduce Popery, and I have been all along fully satisfied that the
King has given all the morall security for the Church of England
that is possible for him in his circumstances. I owne I submitted
myselfe to the Duck of Brunswick, justly expecting that humantity
would have induced him to give me my life, which if he had done I
was resolved for the future to have lived peaceably, and to have
still reteaned a greatfull remembrance of so greatt a favour, and I
am satisfied the King would never have desired me to have been in
action for him after; but the caice is otherways. I pray God forgive
those who thirst after blood. Had we been all putt to the sword
immediatly upon our surrender, that might have born the construction
of being don in the heatt and fury of passion; but now I am to die
in cold blood, I pray God it be not imputed to them. May Almighty
God restore injured right, and peace, and truth, and may He in mercy
receave my soull.
Kenmure."[40]
It was decreed that the Earl of Derwentwater and the Viscount Kenmure
should suffer on the same day. On the morning of the twenty-fourth of
February, at ten o'clock, these noblemen were conducted to the Transport
Office on Tower Hill, where they had separate rooms for their private
devotions, and where such friends as desired to be admitted to them
could take a last farewell. It had been settled that the Earl of
Nithisdale should also suffer at the same time, but during the previous
night he had escaped. Whether the condemned lords, who were so soon to
exchange life for immortality, were made aware of that event or not, has
not transpired. What must have been their emotions, supposing that they
were conscious that one who had shared their prison, was likely to be
restored to his liberty and to his family!
Lord Kenmure conducted himself with a manly composure and courage during
this last trial of his submission and fortitude. His reserve, however,
on the scaffold was remarkable. It proceeded from a fear, incidental to
a conscientious mind, of saying anything inconsistent with his loyalty
and principles; and from an apprehension, natural in the dying husband
and father, of injuring the welfare of those whom he was to leave at the
mercy of Government.
Lord Derwentwater suffered first: his last ejaculation, "Sweet Jesus be
merciful unto me!" was cut short by the executioner severing his head
from his body. Then, after the body and the head had been carried away,
the scaffold was decently cleared, and fresh baize laid upon the block,
and saw-dust strewed, that none of the blood might appear to shock the
unhappy man who was to succeed the young and gallant Derwentwater in
that tragic scene.
Lord Kenmure then advanced. He was formally delivered from the hands of
one sheriff to those of the other, who had continued on the stage on
which the scaffold was erected all the time, and who then addressed the
condemned man. The first question related to the presence of clergy, and
of other friends; and Lord Kenmure stated, in reply, that he had the
assistance of two clergymen, and desired the presence of some friends
who were below. These persons were then called up, and Lord Kenmure
retired with his friends and the two clergymen to the south side of the
stage, where they joined in penitential prayers, some of them written
for the occasion, and others out of a printed book, not improbably the
Book of Common Prayer, since Lord Kenmure was a Protestant and an
Episcopalian. Lord Kenmure employed himself for some time in private
supplications; and afterwards a clergyman, in a prayer, recommended the
dying man to the mercy of God. A requiem completed the devotions of the
unfortunate Kenmure.
Sir John Fryer, one of the sheriffs, then inquired if his Lordship had
had sufficient time; and expressed his willingness to wait as long as
Lord Kenmure wished. He also requested to know if Lord Kenmure had
anything to say in private; to these questions a negative was returned.
The executioner now came forward. Lord Kenmure was accompanied by an
undertaker, to whom the care of his body was to be entrusted; he was
also attended by a surgeon, who directed the executioner how to perform
his office, by drawing his finger over that part of the neck where the
blow was to be given. Lord Kenmure then kissed the officers and
gentlemen on the scaffold, some of them twice and thrice; and being
again asked if he had anything to say, answered, "No." He had specified
the Chevalier St. George in his prayers, and he now repeated his
repentance for having pleaded guilty at his trial. He turned to the
executioner, who, according to the usual form, asked forgiveness. "My
Lord," said the man, "what I do, is to serve the nation; do you forgive
me?" "I do," replied Lord Kenmure; and he placed the sum of eight
guineas in the hands of the headsman. The final preparations were
instantly made. Lord Kenmure pulled off, unassisted, his coat and
waistcoat: one of his friends put a white linen cap on his head; and the
executioner turned down the collar of his shirt, in order to avoid all
obstacles to the fatal stroke. Then the executioner said, "My Lord, will
you be pleased to try the block?" Lord Kenmure, in reply, laid down his
head on the block, and spread forth his hands. The headsman instantly
performed his office. The usual words, "This is the head of a traitor!"
were heard as the executioner displayed the streaming and ghastly sight
to the multitude.
The body of Lord Kenmure, after being first deposited at an undertaker's
in Fleet Street, was carried to Scotland, and there buried among his
ancestors. A letter was found in his pocket addressed to the Chevalier,
recommending to him the care of his children; but it was suppressed.[41]
Thus died one of those men, whose honour, had his life been spared,
might have been trusted never again to enter into any scheme injurious
to the reigning Government; and whose death inspires, perhaps, more
unmitigated regret than that of any of the Jacobite lords. Lord
Kenmure's short-lived authority was sullied by no act of cruelty; and
his last hours were those of a pious, resigned, courageous Christian. He
was thrust into a situation as commander in the South, peculiarly
unfitted for his mild, reserved, and modest disposition: and he was thus
carried away from that private sphere which he was calculated to
adorn.[42]
After her husband's death, the energies of Lady Kenmure were directed to
secure the estates of Kenmure to her eldest son. She instantly posted
down to Scotland, and reached Kenmure Castle in time to secure the most
valuable papers. When the estates were put up for sale, she contrived,
with the assistance of her friends, to raise money enough to purchase
them; and lived so carefully as to be able to deliver them over to her
son, clear of all debt, when he came of age. Four children were left
dependent upon her exertions and maternal protection. Of these Robert,
the eldest, died in 1741 unmarried, in his twenty-eighth year. James
also died unmarried. Harriet, the only daughter, was married to her
mother's cousin-german, Captain James Dalzell, uncle of Robert Earl of
Carnwath. John Gordon, the second and only surviving son of Lord
Kenmure, married, in 1744, the Lady Frances Mackenzie, daughter of the
Earl of Seaforth; and from this marriage is descended the present
Viscount Kenmure, to whom the estate was restored in 1824.
Lady Kenmure survived her husband sixty-one years. In 1747, she appears
to have resided in Paris, where, after the commotions of 1745, she
probably took refuge. Here, aged as she must have been, the spirit of
justice, and the love of consistency were shewn in an anecdote related
of her by Drummond of Bochaldy, who was mingled up in the cabals of the
melancholy Court of St. Germains. It had become the fashion among Prince
Charles's sycophants and favourites, to declare that it was not for the
interest of the party that there should be any restoration while King
James lived; this idea was diligently circulated by Kelly, a man
described by Drummond as full of trick, falsehood, deceit, and
imposition; and joined to these, having qualities that make up a
thorough sycophant.
It was Kelly's fashion to toast the Prince in all companies first, and
declare that the King could not last long. At one of the entertainments,
which he daily frequented, at the house of Lady Redmond, the dinner,
which usually took place at noon, being later than usual, Lady Kenmure,
in making an afternoon's visit, came in before dinner was over. She was
soon surprised and shocked to hear the company drinking the Prince's
health without mentioning the King's. "Lady Kenmure," adds Drummond,
"could not bear it, and said it was new to her to see people forget the
duty due to the King." Kelly immediately answered, "Madam, you are old
fashioned; these fashions are out of date." She said that she really was
old fashioned, and hoped God would preserve her always sense and duty
enough to continue so; on which she took a glass and said "God preserve
our King, and grant him long life, and a happy reign over us!"[43]
Lady Kenmure died on the 16th of August, 1776, at Terregles, in
Dumfriesshire, the seat of the Nithisdale family.
FOOTNOTES:
[37] Patten, p. 52
[38] Patten. Reay.
[39] "Secret History of the Rebels in Newgate;" a scarce Sixpenny Tract,
in the British Museum. Third Edition.
[40] For this interesting paper I am indebted to the Hon. Mrs. Bellamy,
sister of the present and niece of the late Viscount Kenmure.
[41] Faithful Register of the late Rebellion, p. 93; also State Trials.
[42] The impression on the minds of Lord Kenmure's descendants is, that
he was by no means a man of feeble character, but one of great fortitude
and resolution.
[43] Memoirs of Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, p. 284. Presented to the
Abbotsford Club.
WILLIAM MURRAY, MARQUIS OF TULLIBARDINE.
Among the nobility who hastened to the hunting-field of Braemar, was
William Marquis of Tullibardine and eldest son of the first Duke of
Athole.
The origin of the powerful family of Murray commences with Sir William
De Moraira, who was Sheriff in Perth in 1222, in the beginning of the
reign of King Alexander the Second. The lands of Tullibardine were
obtained by the Knight in 1282, by his marriage with Adda, the daughter
of Malise, Seneschal of Stratherio. After the death of William De
Moraira, the name of this famous house merged into that of Murray, and
its chieftains were for several centuries known by the appellation of
Murray of Tullibardine. It was not until the seventeenth century that
the family of Murray was ennobled, when James the Sixth created Sir John
Murray Earl of Tullibardine.
The unfortunate subject of this memoir was the son of one of the most
zealous promoters of the Revolution of 1688. His father, nearly
connected in blood with William the Third, was appointed to the command
of a regiment by that Monarch, and entrusted with several posts of
great importance, which he retained in the time of Queen Anne, until a
plot was formed to ruin him by Lord Lovat, who endeavoured to implicate
the Duke in the affair commonly known by the name of the Queensbury
plot. The Duke of Athole courted inquiry upon that occasion; but the
business having been dropped without investigation, he resigned the
office of Privy Seal, which he then held, and became a warm opponent of
the Act of Union which was introduced into Parliament in 1705.
After this event the Duke of Athole retired to Perthshire, and there
lived in great magnificence until, upon the Tories coming into power, he
was chosen one of the representatives of the Scottish peerage in 1710,
and afterwards a second time constituted Lord Privy Seal.
It is singular that, beholding his father thus cherished by Government,
the Marquis of Tullibardine should have adopted the cause of the
Chevalier: and not, as it appears, from a momentary caprice, but, if we
take into consideration the conduct of his whole life, from a fixed and
unalienable conviction. At the time of the first Rebellion, the Marquis
was twenty-seven years of age; he may therefore be presumed to have been
mature in judgment, and to have passed over the age of wild enthusiasm.
The impulses of fanaticism had no influence in promoting the adoption of
a party to which an Episcopalian as well as a Roman Catholic might
probably be peculiarly disposed. Lord Tullibardine had been brought up a
Presbyterian; his father was so firm and zealous in that faith, as to
excite the doubts of the Tory party, to whom he latterly attached
himself, of his sincerity in their cause. According to Lord Lovat, the
arch-enemy of the Athole family, the Duke had not any considerable
portion of that quality in his character, which Lord Lovat represents as
one compound of meanness, treachery, and revenge, and attributes the
hatred with which Athole persecuted the brave and unfortunate Duke of
Argyle, to the circumstance of his having received a blow from that
nobleman before the whole Court at Edinburgh, without having the spirit
to return the insult.[44]
It appears, from the same authority, that the loyalty which the Duke of
Athole professed towards King William was of a very questionable
description. It becomes, indeed, very difficult to ascertain what were
really the Duke of Athole's political tenets. Under these conflicting
and unsettled opinions the young Marquis of Tullibardine was reared.
There seems little reason to doubt that his father, the Duke of Athole,
continued to act a double part in the troublous days which followed the
accession of George the First. It was, of course, of infinite importance
to Government to secure the allegiance of so powerful a family as that
of Murray, the head of whom was able to bring a body of six thousand men
into the field. It nevertheless soon appeared that the young heir of the
house of Athole had imbibed very different sentiments to those with
which it was naturally supposed a nobleman, actually in office at that
time, would suffer in his eldest son. The first act of the Marquis was
to join the Earl of Mar with two thousand men, clansmen from the
Highlands, and with fourteen hundred of the Duke of Athole's
tenants;[45] his next, to proclaim the Chevalier King. Almost
simultaneously, and whilst his tenantry were following their young
leader to the field, the Duke of Athole was proclaiming King George at
Perth.[46] The Duke was ordered, meantime, by the authorities, to remain
at his Castle of Blair to secure the peace of the county, of which he
was Lord-Lieutenant.
The Marquis of Tullibardine's name appears henceforth in most of the
events of the Rebellion. There exists little to shew how he acquitted
himself in the engagement of Sherriff Muir, where he led several
battalions to the field; but he shewed his firmness and valour by
remaining for some time at the head of his vassals, after the unhappy
contest of 1715 was closed by the ignominious flight of the Chevalier.
All hope of reviving the Jacobite party being then extinct for a time,
the Marquis escaped to France, where he remained in tranquillity for a
few years; but his persevering endeavours to aid the Stuart cause were
only laid aside, and not abandoned.
During his absence, the fortunes of the house of Athole sustained no
important change. The office of Privy Seal was, it is true, taken from
the Duke and given to the Marquis of Annandale; but by the favour of
Government the estates escaped forfeiture, and during the very year in
which the Rebellion occurred, the honours and lands which belonged to
the unfortunate Tullibardine were vested, by the intercession of his
father, in a younger son, Lord James Murray. The effect of this may have
been to render the Marquis still more determined in his adherence to the
Stuart line. He was not, however, the only member of the house of Murray
who participated in the Jacobite cause.
No less consistent in his opinions than the Marquis of Tullibardine,
William, the second Lord Nairn, came forward to espouse the cause of the
Stuarts. This nobleman was the uncle of Lord Tullibardine, and bore,
before his marriage with Margaret, only daughter of the first Lord
Nairn, the appellation of Lord William Murray. The title was, however,
settled by patent upon him and his heirs; and this obligation, conferred
by Charles the Second, was bestowed upon one whose gratitude and
devotion to the line of Stuart ceased only with his life. Lord Nairn had
been educated to the naval service, and had distinguished himself for
bravery. He refused the oaths at the Revolution, and consequently did
not take his seat in Parliament. His wife, Margaret, appears to have
shared in her husband's enthusiasm, and to have resembled him in
courage. In the Earl of Mar's correspondence frequent allusion is made
to her under the name of Mrs. Mellor. "I wish," says the Earl on one
occasion, "our men had her spirit." And the remembrances which he sends
her, and his recurrence to her, show how important a personage Lady
Nairn must have been. Aided by these two influential relations, the
Marquis of Tullibardine had engaged in the dangerous game which cost
Scotland so dear. Upon the close of the Rebellion, Lord Nairn was not so
fortunate as to escape to France with his relation. He was taken
prisoner, tried, and condemned to be executed. At his trial he pleaded
guilty; but he was respited, and afterwards pardoned. His wife and
children were eventually provided for out of the forfeited estate; but
neither punishment nor favour prevented his sons from sharing in the
Rebellion of 1745.
Another individual who participated in the Rebellion of 1715 was Lord
Charles Murray, the fourth surviving son of the Duke of Athole, and one
of those gallant, fine-tempered soldiers, whose graceful bearing and
good qualities win upon the esteem even of their enemies. At the
beginning of the Rebellion, Lord Charles was an officer on half-pay in
the British service; he quickly joined the insurgent army, and obtained
the command of a regiment. Such was his determination to share all
dangers and difficulties with his troops, that he never could be
prevailed upon to ride at the head of his regiment, but went in his
Highland dress, on foot, throughout the marches. This young officer
crossed the Forth with General Mackintosh, and joined the Northumbrian
insurgents in the march to Preston. At the siege of that town Lord
Charles defended one of the barriers, and repelled Colonel Dormer's
brigade from the attack. He was afterwards made prisoner at the
surrender, tried by a court-martial, and sentenced to be shot as a
deserter from the British army. He was, however, subsequently reprieved,
but died only five years afterwards.[47]