Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745 | Page 5

battle of La Hogue, when he beheld the
English sailors scrambling up the sides of the French ships from their
boats--"None but my brave English could do this!" was one trait of a
character neither devoid of sensibility, nor destitute of certain emotions
which appear incompatible with the royal patron of Judge Jeffries, and
with the enemy of Monmouth.
During his residence, when Duke of York, at Holyrood, accompanied
by Anne Hyde, when Duchess of York, James became extremely
popular in Edinburgh; in the Highlands his hold of the affections of the
chieftains had a deeper origin. The oppressor of the English had
endeavoured to become the emancipator of the chieftains. The rigour of
the feudal system, which was carried to its utmost extent in the
Highlands, although softened by the patriarchal character of the chiefs,
was revolting to the chieftains or landholders under the yoke of some
feudal nobleman or chief; and they became ambitious of becoming
direct holders from the Crown. It was a scheme of James the Second to
abolish this system of infeudation, by buying up the superiorities,--a
plan, the completion of which was attempted by William the Third, but
defeated by the avarice and dishonesty of those who managed the

transaction. The chieftains, however, never forgot the obligation which
they owed to James:[3] they refused all offers of emolument or
promotion from his successor; and they adhered to the exiled King with
a loyalty which was never shaken, and which broke forth conspicuously
in the Insurrection of 1715. "The Highlanders," says Dalrymple,
"carried in their bosoms the high point of honour without its follies."
Without entering into the various reasons which strengthened this
sentiment of gratitude and allegiance; without commenting upon the
partly patriarchal nature of the clan system, and the firm compact
which was cemented between every member of that family by a
common relationship of blood; it is sufficient to remark, that to a
people so retired, in many parts insulated, in all, apart from daily
intelligence, far away from communication with any whose free
disquisitions might possibly stake their opinions, it was not surprising
that the loyalty to James should continue unalloyed during two
successive reigns. It burned, indeed, with a steady though covered
flame. The Insurrection of 1715, which seems, in the pages of history,
to break forth unexpectedly, was long in being organized. From Anne's
first Session of Parliament until the completion of the Union, Scotland
was in a state of ferment, and violent party divisions racked civil
society. In 1707, the famous Colonel Hooke was sent to the northern
parts of Scotland from France, to sound the nobility and chieftains with
respect to their sentiments, to ascertain the amount of their forces, and
to inquire what quantity of ammunition and other warlike stores should
be necessary to be sent from France. A full account of affairs was
compiled, and was signed by fifteen noblemen and gentlemen, amongst
whom the Duke of Athole, who aspired, according to Lockhart, to be
another General Monk, was foremost in promoting the restoration of
the youthful son of James the Second. This mission was followed by
the unsuccessful attempt at invasion on the part of James, in 1708;
when, according to some representations, there was a far more
reasonable prospect of success than at any later period. The nobility
and gentry were, at that time, well prepared to receive the royal
adventurer; the regular army was wholly unfit, either in numbers or
ammunition, to oppose the forces which they would have raised. The
very Guards, it is supposed, would have done duty on the person of

James Stuart the night that he landed. The equivalent money sent to
Scotland to reward the promoters of the Union, was still in the country,
and a considerable part of it was in the Castle of Edinburgh; and a
Dutch fleet had recently run aground on the coast of Angus, and had
left there a vast quantity of powder, shot, and cannon, and a large sum
of money, which might have been secured. England was, at this time,
distracted with jealousies and factions; and although the great
Marlborough was then in the vigour of his youth, ready to defend his
country, as well as to extend her dominions, there were suspicions that
the General was not wholly adverse to the claims of James Stuart.[4]
How far these expectations might have been realised, it is difficult to
say. The French newspapers had proclaimed the preparations for
invasion, and Louis the Fourteenth had taken leave of James, wishing
him a prosperous voyage, and expressing, as the highest compliment,
"the hope that he should never see him again," when a slight, accidental
indisposition disturbed the whole arrangement. The royal youth was
taken ill with the measles; upon which the French troops which had