M. de Lamartine having made a mistake in his _History of the
Restoration_, in describing Marshal Macdonald as of Irish extraction,
it may be worth while to state what really was the parentage of that
highly respectable man.
When Prince Charles Stuart had to voyage in an open boat from the isle
of South Uist in the Hebrides to Skye, he was guided and protected, as
is well known, by Miss Flora Macdonald. On that occasion, Flora had
for her attendant a man called Neil Macdonald, but more familiarly
Neil Macechan, who is described in the _History of the Rebellion_ as a
'sort of preceptor in the Clanranald family.' This was the father of
Marshal Macdonald. He remained more or less attached to the fugitive
prince during the remainder of his wanderings in the Highlands, and
afterwards joined him in France, under the influence of an
unconquerable affection for his person. It was thus that his son came
to be born abroad.
Neil Macdonald, though a man of humble rank, had received the
education proper for a priest at the Scots College in Paris. His
acquaintance with the French language had enabled him to be of
considerable service to Prince Charles, when he wished to converse
about matters of importance without taking the other people about him
into his confidence. There is some reason to believe, that he wrote,
or at least gave the information required for, a small novel
descriptive of the poor Chevalier's wanderings, entitled _Ascanius, or
the Young Adventurer_. (Cooper, London, 1746.)
When Marshal Macdonald visited Scotland in 1825, he made his way to
the farm of Howbeg, in South Uist, where his father had been born, and
where his ancestors had lived for many generations. He found here an
old lady and her brother, his cousins at one remove, to whom he shewed
great kindness, settling a pension at the same time upon a more
distant relation whom he found in poverty. When about to leave the
spot, he took up some of the soil, and also a few pebbles, which he
got packed up in separate parcels, and carried back with him to
France.
The facts respecting Marshal Macdonald's parentage were lately
communicated to M. de Lamartine, who promptly sent the following
answer: 'J'ai reçu, avec reconnaissance, monsieur, vos intéressantes
communications sur le Maréchal Macdonald, homme qui honore deux pays.
J'en ferai usage l'année prochaine à l'époque des nouvelles éditions.'