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I saw lus plume and bonnet drop,
When hurrying from the mountain top;
A lovely brow, dark locks that wave,
To his bright eyes new lustre gave,
A step as light upon the green,

As if his pinions waved unseen!"

"Spoke he with none?"-" With none-one word
Burst when he saw the Island Lord,'
Returning from the battle-field."-

"What answer made the Chief?"-" He kneel'd,
Durst not look up, but mutter'd low,
Some mingled sounds that none might know,2
And greeted him 'twixt joy and fear,
As being of superior sphere."

XXXVII.

Even upon Bannock's bloody plain,
Heap'd then with thousands of the slain,
'Mid victor monarch's musings high,
Mirth laugh'd in good King Robert's eye.
"And bore he such angelic air,
Such noble front, such waving hair?
Hath Ronald kneel'd to him?" he said,
"Then must we call the church to aid-
Our will be to the Abbot known,
Ere these strange news are wider blown,
To Cambuskenneth straight ye pass,
And deck the church for solemn mass,3
To pay for high deliverance given,

A nation's thanks to gracious Heaven.

Go forth, my Song, upon thy venturous way; Go boldly forth; nor yet thy n:aster blame, Who chose no patron for his humble lay, And graced thy numbers with no friendly nanie, Whose partial zeal might smooth thy path to fame. There was-and O! how many sorrows crowd Into these two brief words!-there was a claim By generous friendship given--had fate allow'd, It well had bid thee rank the proudest of the proud!

All angel now-yet little less than all, While still a pilgrim in our world below! What 'vails it us that patience to recall, Which hid its own to soothe all other woe: What 'vails to tell, how Virtue's purest glow Shone yet more lovely in a form so fair:" And, least of all, what 'vails the world should know, That one poor garland, twined to deck thy hair, Is hung upon thy hearse, to droop and wither there!"

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4 "Bruce issues orders for the celebration of the nuptials; whether they were ever solemnized, it is impossible to say. As critics, we should certainly have forbidden the banns; because, although it is conceivable that the mere lapse of time might not have eradicated the passion of Edith, yet how such a circumstance alone, without even the assistance of an interview, could have created one in the bosom of Ronald, is altogether inconceivable. He must have proposed to marry ber merely from compassion, or for the sake of her lands; and, upon either supposition, it would have comported with the delicacy of Edith to refuse his proffered hand."-Quarterly

Review.

"To Mr. James Ballantyne.-Dear Sir,-You have now the whole affair, excepting two or three concluding stanzas. As your taste for bride's-cake may induce you to desire to know more of the wedding, I will save you some criticism by saying, I have settled to stop short as above.-Witness my hand,

"W. S."

The reader is referred to Mr. Hogg's "Pilgrims of the Sun" for some beautiful lines, and a highly interesting note, on the death of the Duchess of Buccleuch. See ante, p. 407.

6 The Edinburgh Reviewer (Mr. Jeffrey) says, "The story of the Lord of the Isles, in so far as it is fictitious, is palpably deficient both in interest and probability; and, in so far as it is founded on historical truth, seems to us to be objectionable, both for want of incident, and want of variety and connexion

in the incidents that occur. There is a romantic grandeur, however, in the scenery, and a sort of savage greatness and rude antiquity in many of the characters and events, which relieves the insipidity of the narrative, and atones for many defects in the execution."

After giving copious citations from what he considers as "the better parts of the poem," ," the critic says, "to give a complete and impartial idea of it, we ought to subjoin some from its more faulty passages. But this is but an irksome task at all times, and, with such an author as Mr. Scott, is both invidious and unnecessary. His faults are nearly as notorious as his beauties; and we have announced in the outset, that they are equally conspicuous in this as in his other productions. There are innumerable harsh lines and uncouth expressions,-passages of a coarse and heavy diction,-and details of uninteresting minuteness and oppressive explanation. It is needless, after this, to quote such couplets as

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"Tis a kind youth, but fanciful,
Unfit against the tide to pull;'-

or to recite the many weary pages which contain the colloquies of Isabel and Edith, and set forth the unintelligible reasons of their unreasonable conduct. The concerns of these two young ladies, indeed, form the heaviest part of the poem The mawkish generosity of the one, and the piteous fidelity of the other, are equally oppressive to the reader, and do not tend at all to put him in good humour with Lord Ronald,who, though the beloved of both, and the nominal hero of the work, is certainly as far as possible from an interesting per son. The lovers of poetry have a particular aversion to the

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inconstancy of other lovers,—and especially to that sort of in- description; and, as to the language and versification, the
constancy which is liable to the suspicion of being partly in- | poem is in its general course as inferior to Rokeby' (by much
spired by worldly ambition, and partly abjured from conside- the most correct and the least justly appreciated of the au
rations of a still meaner selfishness. We suspect, therefore, thor's works) as it is in the construction and conduct of its
that they will have but little indulgence for the fickleness of fable. It supplies whole pages of the most prosaic narrative;
the Lord of the Isles, who breaks the troth he had pledged but, as we conclude by recollecting, it displays also whole
to the heiress of Lorn, as soon as he sees a chance of succeed-pages of the noblest poetry."
ing with the King's sister, and comes back to the slighted
bride, when his royal mistress takes the vows in a convent,
and the heiress gets into possession of her lands, by the for-
feiture of her brother. These characters, and this story, form
the great blemish of the poem ; but it has rather less fire and
flow and facility, we think, on the whole, than some of the
author's other performances.'

"

The British Critic says: "No poem of Mr. Scott has yet appeared with fairer claims to the public attention. If it have less pathos than the Lady of the Lake, or less display of character than Marmion, it surpasses them both in grandeur of conception, and dignity of versification. It is in every respect decidedly superior to Rokeby; and though it may not reach the Lay of the Last Minstrel in a few splendid passages, it is far more perfect as a whole. The fame of Mr. Scott, among those who are capable of distinguishing the rich ore of poetry from the dross which surrounds it, will receive no small advancement by this last effort of his genius. We discover in it a brilliancy in detached expressions, and a power of language in the combination of images, which has never yet ap.

The Monthly Reviewer thus assails the title of the poem :-
"The Lord of the Isles himself, sclon les règles of Mr. Scott's
compositions, being the hero, is not the first person in the
poem. The attendant here is always in white muslin, and
Tilburina herself in white linen. Still, among the Deutero-
protoi (or second best) of the author, Lord Ronald holds a re-peared in any of his previous publications.
spectable rank. He is not so mere a magic-lantern figure, once
seen in bower and once in field, as Lord Cranstoun; he far ex-
ceeds that tame rabbit boiled to rags without onion or other
sauce, De Wilton; and although he certainly falls infinitely
short of that accomplished swimmer Malcolm Græme, yet he
rises proportionably above the red-haired Redmond. Lord Ro-
nald, indeed, bating his intended marriage with one woman
while he loves another, is a very noble fellow; and, were he not
so totally eclipsed by 'The Bruce,' he would have served very
well to give a title to any octosyllabic epic, were it even as
vigorous and poetical as the present. Nevertheless, it would
have been just as proper to call Virgil's divine poem The
Anchiseid,' as it is to call this The Lord of the Isles. To all
intents and purposes the aforesaid quarto is, and ought to be,
'The Bruce.'

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The Monthly Reviewer thus concludes his article: "In some detached passages, the present poem may challenge any of Mr. Scott's compositions; and perhaps in the Abbot's involuntary blessing it excels any single part of any one of them. The battle, too, and many dispersed lines besides, have transcendant merit. In point of fable, however, it has not the grace and elegance of The Lady of the Lake,' nor the general clearness and vivacity of its narrative; nor the unexpected happiness of its catastrophe; and still less does it aspire to the praise of the complicated, but very proper and well-managed story of 'Rokeby.' It has nothing so pathetic as "The Cypress Wreath;' nothing so sweetly touching as the last evening scene at Rokeby, before it is broken by Bertram; nothing (with the exception of the Abbot) so awfully melancholy as much of Mortham's history, or so powerful as Bertram's farewell to Edmund. It vies, as we have already said, with Marmion,' in the generally favourite part of that poem; but what has it (with the exception before stated) equal to the immurement of Constance? On the whole, however, we prefer it to Marmion;' which, in spite of much merit, always had a sort of noiav royal-circus air with it; a clap-trappery, if we may venture on such a word. 'Marmion,' in short, has become quite identified with Mr. Braham in our minds; and we are therefore not perhaps unbiassed judges of its perfections. Finally, we do not hesitate to place The Lord of the Isles' below both of Mr. Scott's remaining longer works; and as to The Lay of the Last Minstrel,' for numerous commonplaces and separate beauties, that poem, we believe, still constitutes one of the highest steps, if not the very highest, in the ladder of the author's reputation. The characters of the present tale (with the exception of The Bruce,' who is vividly painted from history-and of some minor sketches) are certainly, in point of tuvention, of the most novel, that is, of the most Minerva-press

"We would also believe that as his strength has increased, BO his glaring errors have been diminished. But so embedded and engrained are these in the gems of his excellence, that no blindness can overlook, no art can divide or destroy their connexion. They must be tried together at the ordeal of time, and descend unseparated to posterity. Could Mr. Scott but ' endow his purposes with words'-could he but decorate the justice and the splendour of his conceptions with more unal. loyed aptness of expression, and more uniform strength and harmony of numbers, he would claim a place in the highest rank among the poets of natural feeling and natural imagery. Even as it is, with all his faults, we love him still; and when he shall cease to write, we shall find it difficult to supply his place with a better."

The Quarterly Reviewer, after giving his outline of the story of The Lord of the Isles, thus proceeds: "In whatever point of view it be regarded, whether with reference to the incidents it contains, or the agents by whom it is carried on, we think that one less calculated to keep alive the interest and curiosity of the reader could not easily have been conceived. Of the characters, we cannot say much; they are not conceived with any great degree of originality, nor delineated with any particular spirit. Neither are we disposed to criticise with minuteness the incidents of the story; but we conceive that the whole poem, considering it as a narrative poem, is projected upon wrong principles.

"The story is obviously composed of two independent plots, connected with each other merely by the accidental circum. stances of time and place. The liberation of Scotland by Bruce has not naturally any more connexion with the loves of Ronald and the Maid of Lorn, than with those of Dido and Æneas; nor are we able to conceive any possible motive which should have induced Mr. Scott to weave them as he has done into the same narrative, except the desire of combining the advantages of a heroical, with what we may call, for want of an appropriate word, an ethical subject; an attempt which we feel assured he never would have made, had he duly weighed the very different principles upon which these dissimilar sorts of poetry are founded. Thus, had Mr. Scott introduced the loves of Ronald and the Maid of Lorn as an episode of an epic poem upon the subject of the battle of Bannockburn, its want of connexion with the main action might have been excused, in favour of its intrinsic merit; but, by a great singularity of judgment, he has introduced the battle of Bannockburn as an episode, in the loves of Konald and the

Maid of Lorn. To say nothing of the obvious preposterousness of such a design, abstractedly considered, the effect of it has, we think, decidedly been to destroy that interest which either of them might separately have created; or, if any interest remain respecting the fate of the ill-requited Edith, it is because at no moment of the poem do we feel the slightest degree of it, respecting the enterprise of Bruce.

"These passages [referring to the preceding extract from the Quarterly, and that from the Edinburgh Review, at the commencement of the poem] appear to me to condense the result of deliberate and candid reflection, and I have there fore quoted them. The most important remarks of either Essayist on the details of the plot and execution are annexed to the last edition of the poem; and show such an exact coincidence of judgment in two masters of their calling, as had not hitherto been exemplified in the professional criticism of his metrical romances. The defects which both point out, are, I presume, but too completely explained by the preced

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great performances, had been thrown off;-[see Life, vol. v. pp. 13-15]-nor do I see that either Reviewer has failed to do sufficient justice to the beauties which redeem the imperfections of the Lord of the Isles-except as regards the whole character of Bruce, its real hero, and the picture of the Battle of Bannockburn, which, now that one can compare these works from something like the same point of view, does not appear to me in the slightest particular inferior to the Flodden of Marmion.

"The many beautiful passages which we have extracted from the poem, combined with the brief remarks subjoined to each canto, will sufficiently show, that although the Lord of the Isles is not likely to add very much to the reputation of Mr. Scott, yet this must be imputed rather to the great-ing statement of the rapidity with which this, the last of those ness of his previous reputation, than to the absolute inferiority of the poem itself. Unfortunately, its merits are merely incidental, while its defects are mixed up with the very elements of the poem. But it is not in the power of Mr. Scott to write with tameness; be the subject what it will, (and he could not easily have chosen one more impracticable,) he impresses upon whatever scenes he describes, so much movement and activity,-he infuses into his narrative such a flow of life, and, if we may so express ourselves, of animal spirits, that without satisfying the judgment, or moving the feelings, or elevating the mind, or even very greatly interesting the curiosity, he is able to seize upon, and, as it were, exhilarate the imagination of his readers, in a manner which is often truly unaccountable. This quality Mr. Scott possesses in an admirable degree; and supposing that he had no other object in view than to convince the world of the great poetical powers with which he is gifted, the poem before us would be quite sufficient for his purpose. But this is of very inferior importance to the public; what they want is a good poem, and, as experience has shown, this can only be constructed upon a solid foundation of taste and judgment and medita

tion.'

"This poem is now, I believe, about as popular as Rokeby; but it has never reached the same station in general favour with the Lay, Marmion, or the Lady of the Lake. The first edition of 1800 copies in quarto, was, however, rapidly disposed of, and the separate editions in 8vo, which ensued before his poetical works were collected, amounted together to 15,250 copies. This, in the case of almost any other author, would have been splendid success; but, as compared with what he had previously experienced, even in his Rokeby, and still more so as compared with the enormous circulation at once attained by Lord Byron's early tales, which were then following each other in almost breathless succession, the fall ing off was decided."-LOCKHART, vol. v. p. 27.

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APPENDIX.

NOTE A.

Thy rugged halls, Artornish! rung.-P. 410.

THE ruins of the Castle of Artornish are situated upon a promontory, on the Morven, or mainland side of the Sound of Mull, a name given to the deep arm of the sea, which divides that island from the continent. The situation is wild and romantic in the highest degree, having on the one hand a high and precipitous chain of rocks overhanging the sea, and on the other the narrow entrance to the beautiful saltwater lake, called Loch Alline, which is in many places finely fringed with copsewood. The ruins of Artornish are not now very considerable, and consist chiefly of the remains of an old keep, or tower, with fragments of outward defences. But, in former days, it was a place of great consequence, being one of the principal strongholds, which the Lords of the Isles, during the period of their stormy independence, possessed upon the mainland of Argyleshire. Here they assembled what popular tradition calls their parliaments, meaning, I suppose, their cour plenière, or assembly of feudal and patriarchal vassals and dependents. From this Castle of Artornish, upon the 19th day of October, 1461, John de Yle, designing himself Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles, granted, in the style of an independent sovereign, a commission to his trusty and wellbeloved cousins, Ronald of the Isles, and Duncan, Arch-Dean of the Isles, for empowering them to enter into a treaty with the most excellent Prince Edward, by the grace of God, King of France and England, and Lord of Ireland. Edward IV., on his part, named Laurence, Bishop of Durham, the Earl of Worcester, the Prior of St. John's, Lord Wenlock, and Mr. Robert Stillington, keeper of the privy seal, his deputies and commissioners, to confer with those named by the Lord of the Isles. The conference terminated in a treaty, by which the Lord of the Isles agreed to become a vassal to the crown of England, and to assist Edward IV. and James Earl of Douglas, then in banishment, in subduing the realm of Scotland.

The first article provides, that John de Isle, Earl of Ross, with his son Donald Balloch, and his grandson John de Isle, with all their subjects, men, people, and inhabitants, become vassals and liegemen to Edward IV. of England, and assist him in his wars in Scotland or Ireland; and then follow the allowances to be made to the Lord of the Isles, in recompense of his military service, and the provisions for dividing such conquests as their united arms should make upon the mainland of Scotland among the confederates. These appear such curious illustrations of the period, that they are here subJoined:

"Item, The scid John Erle of Rosse shall, from the seid fest of Whittesontyde next comyng, yerely, duryng his lyf, have and take, for fees and wages in tyme of peas, of the seid most high and Christien prince c. marc sterlyng of Englysh money; and in tyme of werre, as long as he shall entende with his myght and power in the said werres, in manner and

fourme abovesaid, he shall have wages of cc. lb. sterlyng of English money yearly; and after the rate of the tyme that he shall be occupied in the seid werres.

"Item, The seid Donald shall, from the seid feste of Whittesontyde, have and take, during his lyf, yerly, in tyme of peas, for his fees and wages, xx 1. sterlyng of Englysh money; and, when he shall be occupied and intend to the werre, with his myght and power, and in manner and fourme abovescid, he shall have and take, for his wages yearly, xl 1. sterlynge of Englysh money; or for the rate of the tyme of werre

"Item, The seid John, sonn and heire apparant of the said Donald, shall have and take, yerely, from the seid fest, for his fees and wages, in the tyme of peas, x 1. sterlynge of Englysh money; and fortyme of werre, and his intendyng thereto, in manner and fourme aboveseid, he shall have, for his fees and wages, yearly xx 1. sterlynge of Englysh money; or after the rate of the tyme that he shall be occupied in the werre. And the seid John, th' Erle Donald and John, and eche of them, shall have good and sufficiaunt paiment of the seid fees and wages, as wel for tyme of peas as of werre, accordyng to thees articules and appoyntements. Item, It is appointed, accorded, concluded, and finally determined, that, if it so be that hereafter the said reaume of Scotlande, or the more part thereof, be conquered, subdued, and brought to the obeissance of the seid most high and Christien prince, and his heires, or successoures, of the seid Lionell, in fourme abovescid descendyng, be the assistance, helpe, and aide of the said John Erle of Rosse, and Donald, and of James Erle of Douglas, then, the said fees and wages for the tyme of peas cessying, the same erles and Donald shall have, by the graunte of the same most Christien prince, all the possessions of the said reaume beyonde Scottishe see, they to be departed equally betwix them: eche of them, his heires and successours, to holde his parte of the seid most Christien prince, his heires and successours, for evermore, in right of his croune of England, by ho mage and feaute to be done therefore.

"Item, If so be that, by th' aide and assistence of the seid James Erle of Douglas, the said reaume of Scotlande be conquered and subdued as above, then he shall have, enjoie, and inherite all his own possessions, landes, and inheritance, on this syde the Scottishe see; that is to saye, betwixt the seid Scottishe see and Englande, such he hath rejoiced and be possessed of before this; there to holde them of the said most high and Christien prince, his heires, and successours, as is abovesaid, for evermore, in right of the coroune of Englonde. as weel the said Erle of Douglas, as his heires and succes sours, by homage and feaute to be done therefore."-RyMER's Fadera Conventiones Literæ et cujuscunque generis Acta Publica, fol. vol. v., 1741.

Such was the treaty of Artornish; but it does not appear that the allies ever made any very active effort to realize their ambitious designs. It will serve to show both the power of these reguli, and their independence upon the crown of Scot land.

It is only farther necessary to say of the Castle of Artoruit!

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that it is almost opposite to the Bay of Aros, in the Island of Mull, where there was another castle, the occasional residence of the Lords of the Isles.

NOTE B.

Rude Heiskar's seal through surges dark,
Will long pursue the minstrel's bark.-P. 410.

The seal displays a taste for music, which could scarcely be expected from his habits and local predilections. They will long follow a boat in which any musical instrument is played, and even a tune simply whistled has attractions for them.

The Dean of the Isles says of Heiskar, a small Jumhabited

rock, about twelve (Scottish) miles from the isle or Tist, that an infinite slaughter of scals takes place there.

NOTE C.

a turret's airy head,

Slender and steep, and battled round,
O'erlook'd, dark Mull! thy mighty Sound.-P. 411.

The Sound of Mull, which divides that island from the continent of Scotland, is one of the most striking scenes which the Hebrides afford to the traveller. Sailing from Oban to Aros, or Tobermory, through a narrow channel, yet deep enough to bear vessels of the largest burden, he has on his left the bold and mountainous shores of Mull; on the right those of that district of Argyleshire, called Morven, or Morvern, successively indented by deep salt-water lochs, running up many miles inland. To the south-eastward arise a prodi gious range of mountains, among which Cruachan-Ben is preeminent. And to the north-east is the no less huge and picturesque range of the Ardnamurchan hills. Many ruinous castles, situated generally upon cliffs overhanging the ocean, add interest to the scene. Those of Donolly and Dunstaffnage are first passed, then that of Duart, formerly belonging to the chief of the warlike and powerful sept of Macleans, and the scene of Miss Baillie's beautiful tragedy, entitled the Family Legend. Still passing on to the northward, Artornish and Aros become visible upon the opposite shores; and, lastly, Mingurry, and other ruins of less distinguished note. In fine weather, a grander and more impressive scene, both from its natural beauties, and associations with ancient history and tradition, can hardly be imagined. When the weather is rough, the passage is both difficult and dangerous, from the narrowness of the channel, and in part from the number of inland lakes, out of which sally forth a number of conflicting and thwarting tides, making the navigation perilous to open boats. The sudden flaws and gusts of wind which issue without a moment's warning from the mountain glens, are equally formidable. So that in unsettled weather, a stranger, if not much accustomed to the sea, may sometimes add to the other sublime sensations excited by the scene, that feeling of dignity which arises from a sense of danger.

NOTE D.

"these seas behold,
Round twice a hundred islands roll',
From Hirt, that hears their northern roar,
To the green Ilay's fertile shore."-P. 412.

The number of the western isles of Scotland exceeds two hundred, of which St. Kilda is the most northerly, anciently

called Hirth, or Hirt, probably from "earth," being in fact the whole globe to its inhabitants. Ilay, which now belongs almost entirely to Walter Campbell, Esq. of Shawfield, is by far the most fertile of the Hebrides, and has been greatly improved under the spirited and sagacious management of the present proprietor. This was in ancient times the princ'pa abode of the Lords of the Isles, being, if not the largest, the most important island of their archipelago. In Martin's time, some relics of their grandeur were yet extant. "Loch-Filagan, about three miles in circumference, affords salmon, trouts, and cels: this lake lies in the centre of the isle. The famous for being once the court in which the great Mac-DoIsle Finlagan, from which this lake hath its name, is in it. It's uald, King of the Isles, had his residence; his houses, chapel, tach, kept guard on the lake side nearest to the isle ; the wals &c. are now ruinous. His guards de corps, calied Lucht

of their houses are still to be seen there. The high court of judicature, consisting of fourteen, sat always here; and there was an appeal to them from all the courts in the isles: the eleventh share of the sum in debate was due to the principal judge. There was a big stone of seven foot square, in which there was a deep impression made to receive the feet of MacDonald; for he was crowned King of the Isles standing in this stone, and swore that he would continue his vassals in the possession of their lands, and do exact justice to all his subjects and then his father's sword was put into his hand. The Bishop of Argyle and seven priests anointed him king, in presence of all the heads of the tribes in the isles and continent, and were his vassals; at which time the orator rehearsed a catalogue of his ancestors," &c.-MARTIN'S Account of the Western Isles, 8vo, London, 1716, p. 240, 1.

NOTE E.

Mingarry sternly placed,

O'erawes the woodland and the waste.-P. 412.

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The Castle of Mingarry is situated on the sea-coast of the district of Ardnamurchan. The ruins, which are tolerably entire, are surrounded by a very high wall, forming a kind of polygon, for the purpose of adapting itself to the projecting angles of a precipice overhanging the sea, on which the castle stands. It was anciently the residence of the Mac-lans, a clan of Mao-Donalds, descended from Ian, or John, a grandson of Angus Og, Lord of the Isles. The last time that Min garry was of military importance, occurs in the celebrated Leabhar dearg, or Red-book of Clanronald, a MS. renowned in the Ossianic controversy. Allaster Mac-Donald, commonly called Colquitto, who commanded the Irish auxiliaries, sent over by the Earl of Antrim during the great civil war to the assistance of Montrose, began his enterprise in 1644, by taking the castles of Kinloch-Alline, and Mingarry, the last of which made considerable resistance, as might, from the strength of the situation, be expected. In the meanwhile, Allaster Mac Donald's ships, which had brought him over, were attacked in Loch Eisord, in Skye, by an armament sent round by the covenanting parliament, and his own vessel was taken. circumstance is said chiefly to have induced him to continue in Scotland, where there seemed little prospect of raising un army in behalf of the King. He had no sooner moved eastward to join Montrose, a junction which he effected in the braes of Athole, than the Marquis of Argyle besieged the castle of Mingarry, but without success. Among other warriors and chiefs whom Argyle summoned to his camp to assist upon this occasion, was John of Moidart, the Captain of Clanronald. Clanronald appeared; but, far from yielding effectual assistance to Argyle, he took the opportunity of being in arms to lay waste the district of Sunart, then belonging to the adherents of Argyle, and sent part of the opoil to relieve the

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