chosen was of no avail. The Frasers had mustered in force and the
Chisholms could not withstand them.
“From Beauly’s wild and woodland glen
How proudly Lovat’s banners soar;
How fierce the plaided Highland clan
Rush onward with the braid claymore.”
They soon discovered the spot which the youthful lover had chosen.
What will not man endure when love and beauty is his reward? But the
odds against The Chisholm were fearful; and when his lady clung to his
arm and implored him to resign her again to her kindred rather than
risk his life, her very entreaties impeded his swordsmanship. With his
left arm supporting her whom he valued as dearer than life, he strove
to beat back the weapons of his enemies; and though his defence was
a gallant one, of what avail was his prowess against so many? Had he
remained on the mainland some fleet horse might have borne him into the
wilds of Glen Elchaig or the barren shelter of Mealfourvounie; but the
dark waters of the loch encircled him. Bearing up his precious charge
he again essayed the combat, even though overborne by his assailants,
but the moon was overcast by a flying scud which swept across the sky,
and in the temporary darkness which was thus produced the fatal thrust
which was aimed at his heart by one of her brethren was received by
herself! Sinking breathless, lifeless to the ground, the fair cause of
this deadly tumult yielded up her breath, and lay before the speechless
and agonized combatants in the chill embrace of Death! Who shall dare
intrude with officious description on such a scene as this, or strive
with laboured words to explain the depth of such heart-misery? Only the
simple language of the ballad which describes a similar situation can
express the profound emotions of such an incident:--
“I wish I were where Helen lies!
Night and day on me she cries,
And I am weary of the skies
For her sake that died for me!”
XIV
DUART CASTLE
The tourist who takes shipping at Oban with the intention of passing
through the Sound of Mull cannot fail to observe the picturesque ruins
of Castle Duart, which stand on a promontory of the island of Mull,
immediately opposite Lismore. The situation occupied by these remains
exhibits the chief characteristics of Highland maritime scenery, and
would be worthy of attention even were there no historical memories
connected with it. The Point of Duart has been formed by the wash of
the Atlantic Ocean rushing through the Sound of Mull, and the rugged
peak which it exposes to the confined course of this current diverts
its energy northwards to the indented shores of Loch Linnhe, to the
coast of Morven, and to the islets around Lismore. The channel between
this point and the nearest land is about four miles wide; and as the
Castle is exposed to all the fury of the northern gales which swoop
down upon it from Loch Linnhe, the wildness of the surrounding scenery
may be easily imagined. The hundred peaks of Argyllshire stand out
boldly against the horizon, while the shore on either side of the Sound
of Mull is dotted with the remains of ancient Keeps and Castles, the
relics of the stern feudal system which once obtained in the district,
the deserted strongholds of some of the Highland Clans that are now
scattered throughout the wide world. And as the rude rocks which line
the shores tell the story to him who can read aright of volcanic
upheavals and commotions which have altered the face of Nature in
pre-historic times, so these silent ruins speak eloquently of fierce
revolutions in the history of man, and, like enduring monuments,
indicate the progress and development of civilization. They tell of
times:--
“When sullen Ignorance her flag displayed,
And Rapine and Revenge her voice obeyed.”
But they also show by the very helplessness of their condition that the
days of their years are fled, and their former glory has departed. The
races which have compelled a subsistence from these barren hills, or
wrested their means of support from the raging sea, have vanished from
this scene, and left little behind them save the names which may be
preserved in history, and the desolate ruins which become the wonder of
succeeding generations:--
“All ruined and wild is their roofless abode,
And lonely the dark raven’s sheltering tree;
And travelled by few is the grass-covered road
Where the hunter of deer and the warrior trode
To his hills that encircle the sea.”
[Illustration: DUART CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
Amongst the Clans which formerly inhabited this quarter none was more
famous than that of the Macleans, whose feudal stronghold was Castle
Duart. By personal prowess they had extended their possessions, and by
judicious intermarriages they had increased their power, until there
were few amongst the western chiefs that could compete with them. And
as every Highlander inherits the notion that _his_ Clan was designed by
Providence to lead all others, it was natural that the Macleans should
be at feud with those who were not their vassals and inferiors. The
situation of their Castle was peculiarly favourable for the development
of their ambitions hopes, and they soon found that there were no
“foemen worthy of their steel” in the whole island of Mull.
These marriage connections, however skilfully devised, sometimes
brought the Macleans into serious difficulties. Their relations with
the Clan Campbell, for instance, were at once put upon a war-looting
by the brutal conduct of Lachlan Maclean towards his wife, a daughter
of the Earl of Argyll, which true story is narrated further on in this
notice as connected with the Lady’s Rock, which stands about midway in
the channel between Duart Point and Lismore.
It is impossible to give an accurate date for the erection of the
oldest part of Duart Castle. There probably was an original Keep on the
site of the present Castle, a portion of which, still in existence,
has been adopted in the later erection. This part has high and massive
walls, varying from 10 to 15 feet thick, which enclose what is now
the courtyard. The Castle was probably founded by Lauchlan Maclean,
surnamed Lubanach, about the year 1366, in which year he married
Margaret, daughter of MacDonald, first Lord of the Isles. As Maclean
of Duart, he and his successors for a long time were heritable Keepers
of many Castles in the district, and had many possessions both on the
mainland and in the Western Isles. The first reference to the Castle in
documents is dated 1392, but the building was not completely finished
till the time of Hector Mor Maclean, about 1560, and this Chief also
married Mary, daughter of Alexander MacDonald, then Lord of the Isles,
whose seat was at Isla. From a comparison of the architecture of
different parts of the Castle, it appears that the Great Tower was
erected by this Hector Mor Maclean.
The MacDonalds had made common cause with the Macleans against the
rising power of the Campbells of Argyll, but their alliance was
short-lived. The Chief of the MacDonalds had formed an expedition
along with Maclean of Duart, and they had ravaged some of the richest
territories belonging to the Campbells. But the son of the Chief of the
MacDonalds afterwards married a daughter of the second Earl of Argyll,
and he thus became the enemy of Maclean. A curious complication arose
later, when Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean sought to end the contest with the
Campbells by wedding Lady Elizabeth Campbell, another of the daughters
of the second Earl of Argyll, and sister of the third Earl.
The ambition of Maclean was unbounded, and though his alliance with
the House of Argyll ensured to him the peaceable possession of his
heritage, he was not content with it. When Sir Donald MacDonald of
Lochalsh sought to have himself proclaimed as Lord of the Isles,
Maclean threw up his connection with his brother-in-law Argyll, and
against the latter’s advice, he stirred up an insurrection in the
Hebrides. The powerful influence of Colin, third Earl of Argyll, whose
first duty after his accession was to take up arms against his relative
Maclean, at length quelled the turmoil. Maclean, however, seems never
to have forgiven Argyll for his share in the affair, and determined to
wreak his vengeance upon his own wife. History is not very clear as
to the character of Lady Elizabeth; for whilst one account makes her
to appear almost in the light of a martyred saint, the other asserts
that she had twice attempted to take away her husband’s life. On thing
is certain--that the misfortune of barrenness was magnified into a
crime by the lawless Highland Chief, and he determined to effect her
destruction.
The method which he adopted exhibited the refinement of savage cruelty.
Off the coast of Mull, as already explained, there is still shown
the bare and solitary rock which her lord determined should make her
pathway to heaven. Fringed with sea-weed, and ever moist with the
lapping waters which cover the surface entirely at flood-tide, this
lone rock might well scare the high-born lady, whose brutal husband led
her here to endure the agonies of a slow and torturing death. One may
imagine the fearful forebodings of the Lady Elizabeth as the advancing
waters by their resistless march bore her nearer and nearer to her
doom. At length, when despair had all but seized her, she noticed a
little boat upon the waters, whose occupants replied to her frantic
signals of distress. They drew near, and to her infinite joy she beheld
the faces of some of her own clansmen, whom Providence had sent to her
rescue when in extremity. They bore her swiftly away to her brother’s
house, and restored her, weeping, to the shade of the paternal
roof-tree.
The Campbells arose in a body to demand retribution, but the politic
Earl did not care to press his brother-in-law too severely. The task
of revenge fell therefore upon Sir John Campbell of Cawdor, whose
courage kept pace with his impetuosity. Not long after, having heard
that Maclean was in Edinburgh, Campbell hastened there, entered his
lodgings, and slew him as he lay in bed, scorning to give him even
the privilege of defence, since his intended murder of his wife had
disgraced him as a Knight. As might have been foreseen, this rash deed
at once drove the two clans to arms, and only the interposition of the
Government prevented much useless bloodshed. Upon this strange story
Thomas Campbell, the poet, founded his poem of “Glenara.” which,
though sacrificing facts for the sake of the poetry, is substantially
correct:--
“‘I dreamed of my lady, I dreamed of her grief,
I dreamed that her lord was a barbarous Chief;
On a rock of the ocean fair Ellen did seem--
Glenara! Glenara! now read me my dream!’
In dust low the traitor has knelt on the ground;
And the desert revealed where the lady was found;
From a rock of the ocean that beauty is borne;
Now joy to the house of fair Ellen of Lorn!”
Joanna Bailie made this story the subject of one of her “Plays of
Passion,” under the title of “A Family Legend,” but used some poetic
licence as to the details. The facts as recorded above are beyond
dispute.
XV
TANTALLON CASTLE
The ruins of the famous Castle of Tantallon stand on the east coast of
Haddingtonshire, about three miles from the town of North Berwick. The
Castle occupied a noticeable promontory at the mouth of the Firth of
Forth, and has been adequately protected on three sides by its position
on an elevated peninsula formed by precipitous rocks which rise from
the water. Only the landward portion needed to be fortified, as the
approach from the sea was quite impracticable for an invader. On the
inner or westward side there was a deep rock-cut ditch, as well as
lofty walls nearly 50 feet high and 12 feet in thickness, surmounted
by battlements forming a straight line, without the machicolations for
artillery of a later date. Within these walls is the large courtyard,
which is about 500 feet long by 220 feet wide, outside of which there
is a deep ditch and an elevated mound. On the westward side there is
another ditch and mound, so that the Castle was perfectly protected
on every side. Indeed, it would be difficult to find a Castle in
all Scotland so completely secured by natural formations against an
invading force. Even the entrance to the Castle was by a draw-bridge
over the ditch, and a winding road which exposed intruders to the
arms and artillery of those defenders within the Castle. No doubt the
occupants in early times were entitled to consider Tantallon Castle
as impregnable, being defended both by nature and the devices of man.
The fine description of the Castle in its best days, given by Scott in
“Marmion,” Canto V., is both poetical in form and accurate in details,
so far as one can judge from the existing ruins:--
“Tantallon vast;
Broad, massive, high, and stretching far,
And held impregnable in war,
On a projecting rock they rose,
And round three sides the ocean flows,
The fourth did battled walls enclose
And double mound and fosse.
By narrow draw-bridge, outworks strong
Through studded gates, an entrance long,
To the main court they cross.
It was a wide and stately square;
Around were lodgings fit and fair,
And towers of various form,
Which on the court projected far,
And broke its lines quadrangular.
Here was square keep, there turret high,
Or pinnacle that sought the sky,
Whence oft the Warder could descry
The gathering ocean-storm.”
The exact date and the name of the builder of Tantallon Castle are
alike unknown, but it probably was erected about 1400, and possibly
by Robert, Duke of Albany, third son of Robert II., and Governor of
Scotland while James I. was a captive in England. It is certain that it
was in the possession of the Duke’s eldest son, Murdoch, second Duke of
Albany, who succeeded his father as Governor in 1420, and acted in 1424
at the Coronation of James. Albany’s Castles of Tantallon and Doune
were forfeited to the Crown after the conviction of himself and his
two sons of treason, and all three were beheaded in 1425 by the order
of James I. These Castles remained in the possession of successive
Kings till 1479, when Tantallon was granted by James III. to Archibald
Douglas, fifth Earl of Angus, known in history by the sobriquet of
“Bell-the-Cat.”
An interesting historical event in connection with Tantallon Castle
occurred in 1528, which involved Archibald, sixth Earl of Angus, in
serious trouble. Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII., and widow of
James IV., was married in 1514 to the Earl of Angus; but the young
King, James V., resented being under the control of his step-father,
and escaped in 1528 from Falkland where he had been confined against
his will. Margaret had obtained a divorce from Angus in 1526, but two
years afterwards he was forfeited for treason along with his brother
and uncle, and he retired to Tantallon Castle, which he fortified
against the royal Army.
[Illustration: TANTALLON CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd_]
The King went in person to superintend the siege of Tantallon, bringing
against it all the artillery he could obtain from Dunbar Castle. But
the stout walls of the Castle withstood all the efforts of the
King, and he had to raise the siege. The Castle, however, was rendered
up to the Royalists by the Castellan, as Angus had made his escape
to England. James V. at once set about improving the defences of
Tantallon, causing masons to strengthen the walls and build up many of
the windows. The work then done may still be traced in the ruins.
After the death of the King in 1542, the Earl of Angus was permitted to
return from exile, and regained his former Castle, which he proceeded
still further to fortify, until it became recognized as one of the
strongest Castles in Scotland. Here the Earl remained till his death
in 1556 at an advanced age, and was succeeded by his cousin, David
Douglas, seventh Earl of Angus. The Castle remained in possession of
this family for many years. The eleventh Earl was created Marquess
of Douglas in 1633 by Charles I., and the third Marquess in 1703 was
raised in the Peerage to the rank of Duke of Douglas. He died in
1761 without issue, when the ducal honours became extinct, and the
Marquessate devolved on the Duke of Hamilton.
Long before the last-named date, however, Tantallon Castle had to
pass many tribulations. The Covenanters had become a strong force in
Scotland, and when the famous Assembly at Glasgow in 1638 passed a
resolution abolishing Episcopacy, this was regarded as the signal for
an armed revolt. At that time many of the leading Covenanters had been
imprisoned as rebels in the dungeons on the Bass Rock, which rises
abruptly from the sea at no great distance from Tantallon. In the
following year, 1639, the conflict between the opposing forces became
serious. General Leslie with a select company of a thousand musketeers
attacked and captured Edinburgh Castle, and on the same day a bloodless
victory gave them possession of Dumbarton Castle. Dalkeith was won
by Monro with five hundred men, and they soon spread their conquests
further. Strathaven Castle, belonging to the Marquess of Hamilton, also
fell into their hands, as well as Brodick Castle, which was one of the
seats of this nobleman.
A special attack was organized upon Tantallon Castle, the property of
the Marquess of Douglas. The slogan by which the men were encouraged
was designed to awaken their animosity. It ran thus:--
“Ding doun Tantallon,
Mak’ a brig to the Bass,”
the purpose being to release the unfortunate Covenanters imprisoned
there. The first part of the task was accomplished, but the second was
impossible. Yet these intrepid soldiers, inflamed with religious zeal,
carried out the demolition of Tantallon Castle which James V. had not
done with the aid of his artillery. The strong walls were thrown down,
and the remaining portions were garrisoned against the Royalist Army.
This was the beginning of the destruction of the Castle. Then in 1651,
when Cromwell invaded Scotland and gained a victory at Dunbar, he sent
General Monck (afterwards Lord Albemarle) to complete the overthrow
of the ancient structure, and this he did most effectively. The ruins
have been so long exposed without any attempt at repairs that they have
become now irreparable.
The after-history of the Castle may be soon told. The place in all
its disrepair still belonged to the Douglas family, but from them it
was to pass away. In 1700, or thereby, the Duke of Douglas sold the
ruined structure to Sir Hew Dalrymple, Bart., President of the Court of
Session, with the title of Lord North Berwick. He was the third son of
the first Earl of Stair, and was regarded as one of the best lawyers of
his time. At his death in 1737 he was succeeded by a series of heirs to
the baronetcy, and the title has been continued till the present day.
Tantallon now (1927) belongs to Sir Hew Clifford Hamilton-Dalrymple,
who is the ninth Baronet.
The story of Tantallon Castle shows that it has long been a prominent
land-mark in the history of Scotland. Built by Murdoch, Duke of Albany,
the grandson of Robert II., it was forfeited by his treason, and came
into the possession of James I., thus becoming a Royal Castle. For
centuries it was the residence of the Douglasses, Earls of Angus and
Dukes of Douglas, and resisted a siege conducted by James V. against
his stepfather. Then the Covenanters reduced it partly to ruins, and
Cromwell and Monck completed the work of destruction. The Castle has
stood in its present site for five centuries and a quarter, and is
still attractive from its historical associations. And musing over this
ruinous pile these lines seem appropriate:--
“‘Why sitt’st thou by that ruined hall,
Thou aged carle so stern and grey?
Dost thou its former pride recall,
Or ponder how it passed away?
‘Know’st thou not me?’ the deep voice cried,
‘So long enjoyed, so oft misused?
Alternate, in thy fickle pride,
Desired, neglected, and accused!
‘Before my breath, like blazing flax,
Man and his marvels pass away;
And chasing empires wane and wax,
Are founded, flourish, and decay.
‘Redeem mine hours--the space is brief--
While in my glass the sand-grains shiver;
And measureless for joy or grief
When Time and thou shalt part for ever!’”
XVI
HERMITAGE CASTLE
The Castle of Hermitage, now a ruined structure, stands in the southern
part of Roxburghshire, a few miles from Riccarton Junction, near
Hermitage Water, which is formed by Twistlehope Burn and Braidley Burn,
and becomes a tributary of Liddel River. It flows, therefore, through
Liddesdale, and is not far from the Border between Scotland and England
in the olden time. It seems probable that the site of the Castle was
chosen because it lies between the two streams named, and these would
not only form a protection from attack, but also furnish an ample
supply of water for the ditches by which the Castle was surrounded. The
whole district of Liddesdale was, in early times, in the possession
of the De Soulis family; and it is said that Randolph de Soulis built
a Castle in this district, but not on the site of the later Hermitage
Castle, about the time of David I., who reigned from 1124 till 1153,
and was the ninth and youngest son of Malcolm Caenmor and St Margaret,
daughter of Eadward Atheling. It is possible that King David had met
one of the De Soulis family at the Court of Henry I. of England,
and may have brought him to Scotland when he succeeded his brother
Alexander I. as ruler of that Kingdom. There is little doubt that the
most of the Liddesdale country was in the possession of the De Soulis
family about the 13th century.
The Castle of Hermitage was built on its present site by Nicholas de
Soulis, about 1240, and was made the excuse by Henry III. of England
for an invasion of Scotland, on the plea that this stronghold was
too near the Scottish Boundary, which was then formed by the Liddel
River. So late as 1300, the Castle of Hermitage was regarded as one
of the principal fortresses in the south-eastern part of Scotland.
Very soon it came into the possession of William de Douglas, Knight
of Liddesdale, who also held Roxburgh Castle, and was Keeper of
Lochmaben Castle, and in 1332 was Warden of the Marches. Ten years
afterwards (1342) he was specially favoured by David II., who sent him
on an embassy to France. In 1346 he was taken prisoner by the English
at Durham, and only released on the condition of becoming a vassal
of Edward III. of England. But in 1353 the Lord of Hermitage Castle
was murdered by his kinsman, and godson, William, Lord of Douglas,
afterwards Earl. It has been stated, but without documentary proof,
that the Castle of Hermitage was erected by Walter Comyn, fourth Earl
of Menteith; but there is little doubt that this was the main seat of
the De Soulis family at a much earlier period.
Sir William de Douglas, the Knight of Liddesdale, was born about
1300, and was so brave and successful in war that he was styled by
his contemporaries “the Flower of Chivalry.” He was present at the
disastrous battle of Halidon Hill, in 1333, and was taken prisoner
by the English, and remained captive for two years. He became, after
his liberation, one of the most strenuous supporters of the Scottish
national party, and was active at the Siege of Perth in 1339, where
he was wounded. His purpose was then to win back Teviotdale from the
English, which he accomplished in 1342, when King David II. granted
to him the Earldom of Atholl, which had been forfeited, and bestowed
upon him many lands near Hermitage Castle, by which he became known
as “the Knight of Liddesdale.” He resigned the title of Earl of
Atholl to the High Steward of Scotland in exchange for some of the
lands in Liddesdale. He was then the largest proprietor of lands in
the district; but his ambition and jealousy led to his downfall, and
brought on the tragedy of Hermitage Castle.