THE JACOBITE BOND.
Roy Roy and those who adhered to him found themselves tolerably safe
in the land of the Campbells--the more so as his mother was a
daughter of that powerful clan which had been at enmity with the
house of Montrose since the wars of the Covenant, since the slaughter
of the Campbells at Inverlochy by the Great Marquis, and since the
invasion of Lorn by his cavaliers. Fortunately for Rob Roy, the
mutual hate between the Dukes of Argyll and Montrose was still as hot
as ever.
The death of Queen Anne and the accession of George I. soon brought
political matters to a crisis in Scotland, where the Jacobites had
remained quiet enough under the rule of a sovereign who was a Stuart,
and under none else could the union of the two kingdoms ever have
been achieved.
But now, a rising for her brother to succeed as James VIII. of
Scotland and III. of England was resolved on, and a great meeting of
Jacobite leaders took place in Breadalbane. The better to mask their
intentions from Government, it was entitled a hunting match, though
among the secluded hills of the Scottish Highlands such a precaution
seemed somewhat unnecessary.
The chiefs and chieftains--among the latter was Rob Roy--who
assembled on the occasion, soon ascertained each other's sentiments
and the number of men they could bring into the field; and ulterior
plans were soon resolved upon, while a previously prepared bond, for
their mutual faith to each other and to the exiled king, was
produced, and thereunto each man appended his signature.
By some inexcusable neglect on the part of a gentleman who became its
custodian, this important paper fell into the hands of Captain
Campbell of Glenlyon (an officer whose name was unfortunately
involved deeply in the Massacre of Glencoe), who was then stationed
in the garrison of Fort William, near Lochiel.
Glenlyon retained the bond, and finding that among the names appended
thereto were those of many who were his own immediate friends and
relations, he did not, for a time, mention its tenor or even its
existence; but the horror with which he was regarded in Scotland, as
the tool of King William in the midnight slaughter of the Macdonalds,
had spread even among his own kinsmen; and thus, when the Jacobite
chiefs became aware that a man of a character so unscrupulous held a
document that might give all their heads to the block and their
estates to fire and sword, they became naturally anxious and alarmed,
and a hundred futile plans were formed for its recovery or
destruction.
The Earl of Mar, the chief of the Jacobite leaders, turned to Rob
Roy, who, although he had affixed his name to the bond as "Robert
MacGregor of Inversnaid and Craigrostan," cared not a rush personally
about the matter, as he despised alike the new king and his
government; but on being urged by others, whose fortunes were less
desperate, he resolved to undertake its recovery or perish in the
attempt.
To this he was urged by Sir James Livingstone, who had been
despatched to him by the Earl of Mar, and who was the same gentleman
he had wounded after the devastation of Kippen.
Disguising himself, he relinquished the picturesque garb of the
mountains for a rocquelaure, boots, and breeches, and rode to Fort
William, which is a strongly-built and regular fortress, situated
near the base of Ben Nevis, and at the extremity of Lochiel.
Notwithstanding the peril in which he placed himself, for the
advertisements of the "Courant" still, from time to time, offered a
reward for him dead or alive, Rob contrived to pass the gates and
sentinels unnoticed or unquestioned, and obtained an interview with
Captain Campbell of Glenlyon, who recognized him immediately, but
dared neither to discover nor detain him, as Rob was a near relation
of his own.
His visitor inquired about the bond which had been signed at the
pretended hunting-match, and, to his rage and indignation, he
discovered, after long evasion, that Glenlyon, in revenge for the
contemptuous manner in which he was spoken of by the Jacobites, had
placed the document in the hands of the governor of the garrison!
The latter was Sir John Hill, a brave and resolute old Whig officer,
who had been placed there so far back as the days of Charles II., and
had retained his command during all the changes of the long and
stormy period that intervened--in fact, strange as it may appear, he
was one of the last soldiers of Oliver Cromwell.
"And so this bond, which binds so many of us in life and death to
King James, is in possession of Colonel Hill?" said Rob, with visible
uneasiness.
"Yes," replied Glenlyon, with a malignant expression in his light
grey eyes; "and it shall be forwarded in due time to the Secretary of
State for the information of His Majesty and the Privy Council."
"Humph--His Majesty!" repeated Rob, with, scorn in his eye and tone;
"will it be sent soon?"
"Why do _you_ ask, my friend?" inquired the captain.
"Because," replied Rob, with a smile, "as my name is appended to it,
I should like, with your leave, kinsman, to get a little further into
the hills, as I know that the Lords of the Privy Council take some
interest in my movements."
"Kinsman Rob, situated as you and the MacGregors are, it will not
make much difference now. But in three days the bond will be sent
from this to the Governor of Dumbarton in charge of Captain Huske."
"Does he belong to Argyle's regiment?"
"No; the South British Fusiliers."
"He will require a pretty strong party to march with through the
glens."
"He will have the usual escort," replied Glenlyon, carelessly; for he
did not remark the red flash of triumph that sparkled in the eyes of
Rob Roy, as he took his leave, and lost no time in travelling over
the mountains, and reaching his now humble home.
Knowing that Captain Huske and his party must pass through the
last-named valley, Rob summoned MacAleister, Greumoch, Alaster Roy,
his oldest son Coll--who could now shoulder a musket, and was a
strong and active boy--with fifty other MacGregors, all men on whom
he could depend, who had been his comrades in every expedition of
importance, and whom he knew would stand by him truly "to the last of
their blood and their breath;" accompanied by these he took up a
position in a place which commanded a view of the whole glen, and
remained there night and day waiting for his prey.
The grey smoke of the clachan of Killin was visible in the distance
from Rob's bivouac; and on the other hand lay Loch Dochart, amid
whose lonely waters the scaup-duck, the water-rail, and the
ring-ouzel float, and where the long-legged heron wades in search of
the spotted trout.
Moated by these waters is an isle containing the ruins of a castle,
the ancient residence of the knights of Lochawe. Masses of trees
almost shroud it now; but once, in the days of its strength and
pride, it was stormed by the MacGregors during a moonlight night, in
a keen and frosty winter, when the loch was sheeted with ice.
Constructing large fascines of timber to shield them from arrows and
other missiles, they pushed those screens before them, and on
reaching the outer wall, soon became masters of the place.
There, too, is a floating isle, formed by the intertwisting of roots
and water-plants. Often it is seen to float like a ship before the
wind, with the bewildered cattle which have ventured on it from the
shore, for its grass is rich and verdant.
With tales of past achievements and songs, passing the whisky-bottle
round the while, Rob and his followers saw the third day drawing to a
close, before Alaster Roy, who had been scouting down the glen, came
in haste to announce that a red English soldier was in sight! This
proved to be the advanced file of Captain Huske's party.