[1746. four in number besides the Prince, and we had four hired men for rowing the barge. Upon the alarm, I advised they should take to the mountains; but the Prince said, 'How long is it, Ned, since you turned cowardly? I shall be sure of the best of them before I am taken, which I hope will never be alive.'"'! At this time, the Prince, O'Sullivan, and O'Neal had only six shirts among them, and, according to Donald Macleod, "frequently, when they stripped to dry those that were upon them, they found those that they were to put on as wet as the ones they had thrown off." Their crew, which had originally consisted of four persons, was now reduced to half that number, in consequence of two of them having fled frightened to the mountains, on perceiving the commotion which the Prince's presence had excited. With this inefficient crew, and in a small boat but little suited to cope with the sudden squalls and tempests so peculiar to the Western Isles, Charles put to sea on the 6th of May, doubtful in what direction to steer his course. His companions in adversity were now reduced to O'Sullivan and O'Neal-Allan Macdonald having taken his leave of him at Stornoway, in order to make the best of his way to South Uist. The provisions which they carried with them consisted of some oatmeal, brandy, and sugar, besides some portions of a cow which they had slaughtered during the time they were the guests of Mrs Mackenzie, and for which that lady had at first refused payment. Charles, however, would not be denied, and positively insisted on her accepting the price of the animal; "for so long," says Donald Macleod, as there was any money among us, was positive that the deil a man or woman should have it to say that the Prince ate their meat for nought." 66 The fugitives had advanced only a short distance from the land, when they came in sight of four vessels of war, which induced them to put into the small desert island of Eiurn, or Iffurt, near the Harris, about twelve miles from Stornoway, and a little to the north of Scalpa. It happened to be the temporary resort of some fishermen, who, mistaking the Prince and his companions for a press-gang despatched from one of the vessels in the offing, fled with the utmost precipitation to the interior of the island, leaving their fish drying 1 Jacobite Memoirs, p. 366. upon the shore in large quantities. "Upon this desert island," says Donald Macleod, "we found plenty of good dry fish, of which we were resolved to make the best fare we could without any butter, not knowing of the junt that Ned had in his wallet. As we had plenty of brandy and sugar along with us, and found very good springs upon the island, we wanted much to have a little warm punch, to cheer our hearts in this cold remote place. We luckily found an earthen pitcher, which the fishers had left upon the island, and this served our purpose very well for heating the punch; but the second night the pitcher, by some accident or other, was broke to pieces, so that we could have no more warm punch.” "When Donald," says Bishop Forbes, "was asked, if ever the Prince used to give any particular toast, when they were taking a cup of cold water, whisky, or the like, he said that the Prince very often drank to the Black Eye, by which,' said Donald, he meant the second daughter of France; and I never heard him name any particular health but that alone. When he spoke of that lady, which he did frequently, he appeared to be more than ordinarily well pleased."""" Of the King of France, Charles, during his wanderings, always spoke in terms of gratitude and affection, expressing his conviction that that monarch had the cause of the exiled family warmly at heart, and was anxious to do all in his power to assist them. "But, gentlemen," he invariably added, "I can assure you that a king and his council are two very different things. Edward Burke usually acted as cook and baker; but whenever the Prince lent a hand to prepare the homely repast, we are told that he was reckoned "the best cook of them all." Perhaps something of the flattery of a court existed even among the desert and inhospitable isles of the Hebrides, in the superiority which was thus awarded to the Prince. Something, indeed, like etiquette was still kept up amongst those whom misfortune had reduced to a common level; and though without knives and forks, or the commonest culinary utensil, and with no other shelter than a ruined hut, with a sail-cloth "When they were parting with Lady Kildare (Mrs Mackenzie), she called Ned aside, and gave him a junt of butter betwixt two fardles of bread, which Ned put into a wallet they had for carrying some little baggage."Jacobite Memoirs, p. 391. ? Jacobite Memoirs, p. 391. for the roof, the Prince, nevertheless, and the gentlemen of his party, invariably partook of their meals apart from their humbler companions. Charles, we are told by one of his companions in adversity, "used to smoke a great deal of tobacco," and would sometimes sing them a song "to keep up their hearts." He On the 10th of May, after a residence of four days upon this desolate spot, they again set sail, carrying with them two dozen of the dried fish which they found upon the rocky beach. Previous to quitting the island, Charles had placed some money upon one of the fish which they left behind, as the price of what they had consumed and taken away. was told, however, that either it would be taken possession of by persons who might accidentally land, and who had no claim to it, or, what was of still more importance, that it might lead to the discovery of their real rank. Charles, accordingly, was induced to forego his honest intentions, though apparently not without much violence to his conscientious scruples. Passing along the shores of the Long Island, Charles insisted on going a short distance out of their way for the purpose of landing once more in Scalpa, in order to thank Donald Campbell for the civilities he had shown them, and also to remunerate him for the use of his boat. The rumour, however, had already gone abroad, that the Prince had been his guest, and the hospitable Highlander had himself become a fugitive. They again therefore put to sea, but the wind had now gone down, and they were compelled to row during the whole night. When the dawn broke they were without food or fresh water, and during the whole day their only sustenance consisted of some meal mixed with sea-water and some brandy. Unpalatable as must have been this fare to the unfortunate Prince, we have the evidence of two of the persons who were with him in the boat, that he called it "no bad food," and even "ate of it very heartily."-"Never," says Donald Macleod, "did any meat or drink come wrong to him; for he could take a share of everything, be it good, bad, or indifferent, and was always cheerful and contented in every condition." The Prince himself observed, that should he ever ascend a throne, he should never forget those "who dined with him that day." But the want of food was not the worst which they had to encounter. As they continued on their melancholy voyage. they found themselves suddenly chased by an English vessel of war, which very nearly succeeded in capturing them; indeed it was only by the greatest efforts of the crew that they contrived to escape, Charles all the time animating them to fresh exertions. "If we escape this danger," he said, “you shall have a handsome reward; if not, I will be sunk rather than taken." Fortunately the wind went down, and the ship becoming becalmed, they were enabled to conceal themselves in one of the small inlets formed by the rocks on the dreary coast of the Isle of Harris. After a short time, they again stole out, and were moving stealthily along the shore, when they were perceived and chased by another vessel. On this occasion, however, they had less difficulty in effecting their escape: the calmness of the weather was in their favour, and after undergoing twenty-four hours of thirst, fatigue, and anxiety, Charles found himself safely landed at Loch-wiskaway, in Benbecula. He expressed himself highly gratified at his numerous escapes; adding, that he was now satisfied that he should never die by water or by the sword. Carrying with them some crabs which they caught among the rocks,-in capturing which the Prince had shown great eagerness, they proceeded inland in hopes of finding the provisions of which they stood so much in need, as well as shelter for the night. After a dreary walk of two miles, they came to a wretched uninhabited hovel,-"a poor grass-keeper's bothy, or hut," as Edward Burke described it to Bishop Forbes, "which had so low a door, that we digged below it, and put heather below the Prince's knees, he being tall, to let him go the easier into the poor hut." Miserable, however, as it must have been to be confined in this wretched spot, it still offered the advantages of security to the persecuted wanderer, and he determined on remaining there for some time. Anxious to ascertain the fate of his friends, and to obtain a supply of money, of which he stood greatly in need, he despatched Donald Macleod to the mainland, with directions to find out Lochiel and Secretary Murray, who were concealed among the Western Highlands, proscribed fugitives like the Prince himself. With the sagacity of a Highlander, Macleod traced them to their hiding-places at the head of Loch Arkaig; but they had no money to send to their Prince, and after an 1 Jacobite Memoirs, p. 368. U absence of eighteen days, Donald returned with some brandy only, which perhaps was sufficiently acceptable, and with two letters from Lochiel and the Secretary, acquainting him with the complete ruin of his affairs. During the absence of Macleod, Charles was cheered by a visit from Clanranald, to whom he had sent a message acquainting him with his hiding-place and his wants. Clanranald, accompanied by his lady, immediately repaired to him in his wretched retreat. "He found the youth," says Chambers, "who had recently agitated Britain in so extraordinary a manner, and whose pretensions to a throne he considered indubitable, reclining in a hovel little larger than an English hog-stye, and perhaps more filthy; his face haggard with disease, hunger, and exposure to the weather; and his shirt, to use the expressive language of Dougal Graham, as dingy as a dish-clout." To the great satisfaction of Charles, Clanranald brought with him some Spanish wines and other provisions, as well as some shoes and stockings, and the acceptable present of half-a-dozen shirts. CHAPTER II. Charles removes to the Island of South Uist.—His various narrow Escapes while resident there.-Accepts the proffered Services of Flora Macdonald.-Plan for his Escape in disguise to the Isle of Skye. AFTER a residence of two or three days in Benbecula, Charles, by the advice of Clanranald, removed to a secluded spot in the centre of the neighbouring island of South Uist, where he was less likely to be hunted out by his pursuers, and which, moreover, from its vicinity both to the mountains and the sea, offered a double chance of escape in the event of his retreat being discovered. Scouts were stationed in all directions to give the earliest notice of the approach of an enemy; a boat was always in readiness for him to put to sea, and guides in the event of his being compelled to fly to the mountains.2 The month which was passed by Charles in South Uist was perhaps the least painful or wearisome of any period of his History of the Rebellion of 1745-6, p. 96. |
