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Title: Traditions and stories of Scottish castles
Author: A. H. Millar
Release date: September 8, 2026 [eBook #79538]
Language: English
Original publication: Edinburgh: Sands & Co, 1927
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79538
Credits: Alan, Fiona Holmes and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRADITIONS AND STORIES OF SCOTTISH CASTLES ***
TRADITIONS AND STORIES OF
SCOTTISH CASTLES
[Illustration: FERNIEHIRST CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
Traditions and Stories
of
Scottish Castles
BY
A. H. MILLAR, LL.D.
AUTHOR OF
“GREGARACH” “MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS,” ETC.
SANDS & CO.
37 GEORGE STREET, EDINBURGH
AND LONDON
1927
_Made in Great Britain._
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. CROOKSTON CASTLE AND CATHCART CASTLE 9
II. LOCHLEVEN AND BURLEIGH 19
III. DUMBARTON CASTLE 32
IV. NEIDPATH CASTLE 46
V. DUNNOTTAR CASTLE 57
VI. CASTLE CAMPBELL 68
VII. ROTHSAY CASTLE 80
VIII. CASTLE FRAOCH-EILEAN, LOCH AWE 100
IX. MEGGERNIE CASTLE--GLEN LYON 112
X. FERNIEHIRST CASTLE 120
XI. THREAVE CASTLE 134
XII. DUNOON CASTLE 142
XIII. ERCHLESS CASTLE 162
XIV. DUART CASTLE 171
XV. TANTALLON CASTLE 178
XVI. HERMITAGE CASTLE 185
XVII. STIRLING CASTLE 191
XVIII. ST ANDREWS CASTLE 205
XIX. DUNBAR CASTLE 230
XX. INVERARAY CASTLE 257
XXI. FOWLIS CASTLE--CARSE OF GOWRIE 280
XXII. MAINS CASTLE--FORFARSHIRE 295
XXIII. BOTHWELL CASTLE 310
INDEX 329
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FERNIEHIRST CASTLE _Frontispiece_
CATHCART CASTLE _Facing page_ 12
LOCHLEVEN CASTLE ” 20
BURLEIGH CASTLE ” 26
DUMBARTON CASTLE ” 32
NEIDPATH CASTLE ” 48
DUNNOTTAR CASTLE ” 64
CASTLE CAMPBELL ” 72
ROTHESAY CASTLE ” 80
FRAOCH-EILEAN CASTLE ” 104
MEGGERNIE CASTLE ” 112
THREAVE CASTLE ” 136
DUNOON CASTLE ” 144
ERCHLESS CASTLE ” 164
DUART CASTLE ” 172
TANTALLON CASTLE ” 180
HERMITAGE CASTLE ” 188
STIRLING CASTLE ” 200
ST ANDREWS CASTLE ” 208
DUNBAR CASTLE ” 232
INVERARAY CASTLE ” 272
FOWLIS CASTLE ” 288
MAINS CASTLE ” 296
BOTHWELL CASTLE ” 320
Traditions and Stories of Scottish Castles
I
CROOKSTON CASTLE AND CATHCART CASTLE
One of the chief peculiarities of the Celtic nations is their fondness
for local traditions. Every ruined Keep or dismantled Tower throughout
the Highlands has some marvellous tale or romantic incident connected
with it, which is lovingly preserved and handed down from generation to
generation with undoubting faith and pious care, worthy sometimes of a
better cause. The poetical cast of the Celtic mind throws around the
most ordinary events a halo of romance which renders attractive many
localities that would be otherwise uninteresting; and even the shrewdly
practical Lowland mind, when brought under the influence of the spell,
cannot entirely resist the glamour of the times that are gone, or
remain indifferent to the tales of love and war, which are sanctified
by their removal for several centuries.
Yet it needs not that the Lowlander should fly to the fastnesses
of the Highland chieftains to feed upon romance, since there is an
inexhaustible fund of interest to be found in the Castles within his
own territories. Traditions, less mendacious but quite as romantic
as the northern stories, are in existence with reference to all
the Castles of note in the Lowlands, and require but the collector
to rescue them from oblivion in this possibly too practical age. A
romantic tale is not less interesting though its date be not that of a
far-distant past; and it should be some recommendation if the story be
a veritable fact, rather than a notion “all carved from the carver’s
brain.” It is with the purpose of gathering up some of the traditions
still preserved in local narratives of some of the historic Castles in
all parts of Scotland that this work is written, being sure that these
are not without interest to every lover of our country.
There is perhaps no character throughout the whole range of Scottish
history that so completely awakens the enthusiasm of Scotsmen as Mary,
Queen of Scots. The tale of her gay youth, her happy early years,
the heavy clouds of misfortune which encompassed her middle life and
deepened into the darkest misery, until finally completed by the
thrilling horror of her tragic end--all form a life-drama which cannot
fail to move the most stolid hearer to pity. This is not the place to
narrate the oft-told tale; but as marking some of the great epochs in
her eventful life, attention may be directed to some of the Castles
which are inseparably associated with her name. The first of these
is Crookston Castle, where she spent her honeymoon with Henry, Lord
Darnley.
CROOKSTON CASTLE.
Three miles south-east from Paisley, on the Glasgow Road, there stands
the ancient Castle of Crookston, which, though seldom mentioned in
connection with Queen Mary, has still a most pathetic relation to her
history. The green lane, flanked with hawthorn hedges, which strikes
off the main road at Hillington Bar, leads up a gentle ascent for about
half a mile, bringing the traveller, somewhat unexpectedly, at once
upon the Castle. Ere reaching this altitude, however, he must cross
the course of the extinct Glasgow and Ardrossan Canal (now a railway
line), and pass the entrance to Hawkhead, one of the seats of the Earl
of Glasgow. Though thus reached by an easy slope, and quite free from
the appearance of any precipitous elevation, the position of the Castle
is most commanding. Upon three sides--south, east and west--the fertile
fields of Renfrewshire are stretched at the base of the hill; while
towards the north the Bowling Braes stand forth in a bold outline,
their base being laved by the waters of the Clyde. Southwards no
eminence is visible, save the dim figure of Neilston Pad in the hazy
distance; while the intervening space is filled with “gentle slopes
and groves between,” giving evidence of a richly fertile soil, and an
industrious agricultural population. The gleaming silver line which
meanders through the plain marks the course of the White Cart as it
“rins rowin’ to the sea”; and near the spot where the Castle stands it
receives the tributary water of the little rivulet, called the Levern.
Though never of great extent the Castle seems to have been compactly
built, and designed in a lawless age to withstand a powerful enemy.
Its position as a look-out station has been admirably chosen; and
so commanding is the site that a few retainers might have held a
considerable force at bay with comparative ease. The first Castle
was probably built by Robert de Croc, apparently a scion of a Norman
family, who was proprietor of the estate about 1190, and whose name
survives in a corrupted form as “Crookstoun.” In 1330 the estate was
purchased by Sir Alan Stewart, a kinsman of the Stuarts, Seigneurs of
D’Aubigny, famous in the history of France and Scotland. Sir Alan, in
1361, granted the Castle and estate to Sir J. Stewart of Darnley; and
thus they ultimately came into the possession of Henry, Lord Darnley
(1546-67), centuries afterwards, with whom we have to deal.
[Illustration: CATHCART CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
The remains of the present Castle probably belong to the 13th century
(1290-1390), though the exterior arrangements plainly indicate that
there was a Keep of some kind here long before that date, though the
ruthless hand of Time has cleared all the relics away. But in 1488,
when James IV. was fighting for the Crown after his father, James III.,
had been killed at Sauchieburn, he attacked his opponent, the Earl
of Lennox, grandfather of Darnley, at Duchal, and besieged Crookston
Castle, bringing “Mons Meg” from Edinburgh for the purpose. Surely this
shows that even at that time the Castle was of considerable importance.
The main interest in Crookston of the present day, this “grey and
antique tower,” is more nearly connected with love than war. Here it
was, according to tradition, that the youthful Henry Darnley, then its
lord, led his beauteous but unfortunate Queen to spend their honeymoon.
And those battered and time-worn walls, through whose “looped and
windowed raggedness” the mystic moonlight strays, have resounded to the
voice and harp of a Chastelard or a Rizzio, whilst yet the fortunes of
the martyred Queen were unclouded.
Could one gleam of prophetic foresight have been given to bride and
bridegroom to display the future of either, how incredulous and
horror-stricken would they have been at that festal hour! And yet,
within a few years, the gay gallant had descended into the wretched,
brutal, jealous husband, whose insatiable fury was not restrained from
murder, even by the presence of his Queen. And the loved and lovely
bride, whose day-dreams in Crookston Castle were of love, romance and
song, might have shrunk in terror from the fearful doom which awaited
her newly-wedded lord; or quailed before the shadow of the scaffold
upon which she must ultimately meet her own. Yet, as Horace sang of
old:--
“The Deity, prudent and careful,
Encloses the future in night,”
and so Crookston witnessed nothing save dance and song; whilst joy
was unconfined during the few happy days which Mary spent within its
bounds. And when her hard fate was upon her, not without sad regret
must she have thought, amid the gloom of Fotheringay, upon the pageants
and revelries of Crookston, which had formed for her a sunny memory of
other days. After a visit to Crookston Castle the Glasgow poet, William
Motherwell, wrote thus:--
“Beneath yon tree--
Now bare and blasted--so our annals tell
The martyr Queen, ere that her fortunes knew
A darker shade than cast her favourite yew,
Loved Darnley passing well--
Loved him with tender woman’s generous love,
And bade farewell awhile to courtly state
And pageantry for yon o’ershadowing grove--
For the lone river’s banks whose small birds sing,
Their little hearts with summer joys elate--
Where tall broom blossoms, flowers profusely spring;
There he, the most exalted of the land,
Pressed with the grace of youth a Sovereign’s peerless hand.”
CATHCART CASTLE.
It is worthy of note that, whilst Crookston Castle witnessed the
earlier and happier portion of Mary’s variegated life, Cathcart Castle,
which is all but visible from it, was the scene of her final downfall.
The latter stands about seven miles from Crookston, and nearly two
miles south-east of Glasgow, upon the Mearns Road. An inconsiderable
pathway which leaves the main road a short space beyond the bridge over
the Cart, leads past the Castle gate, which is not surrounded now by
any vestige of garden ground. Unlike Crookston, it must have afforded
little advantage to its inmates in the matter of defence. It is easily
approached on all sides, and is more like a pleasure-palace than a
stronghold. There are arrow-slits in the walls, and the appearance of
an attempt at fortification; but the surrounding locality affords too
easy access for this to have been of much avail. Yet the outlook from
one of the windows in the upper chamber, still called Queen Mary’s
Window, is very lovely. The ground upon which the Castle stands slopes
gently down to the river’s brink, whose silver sheen glimmers faintly
here and there amid the overhanging boughs of birch and ash and nodding
beech. Due north from this point of view lies the field of Langside,
where was fought the final and decisive conflict which terminated Queen
Mary’s career in Scotland.
The lands of Cathcart belonged in the 12th century to a family bearing
that name, and so continued till 1546, when the Sempill family acquired
them through marriage. The original Cathcart family was represented in
1740 by the eighth Baron, who repurchased the ancestral property. The
Castle, which had been built in the 15th century, was partly demolished
by this Baron Cathcart, and has not since been occupied. In 1814 the
tenth Baron was created Earl Cathcart, and the members of the family
have long been distinguished in military history. Cathcart House,
which took the place of the old Castle, was built by Mr James Hill,
Solicitor, Glasgow, who acquired part of the estate in 1788, and from
him it passed, in 1801, to Earl Cathcart, when the rest of the estate
was purchased by him.
The undulating lea, now called “Battlefield,” is completely commanded
from “Queen Mary’s Window,” and it was doubtless from here that the
hapless Queen watched with breathless interest the contest upon which
her own future depended. After her daring and romantic escape from
Lochleven, she made her way to the east coast so as to mislead her
pursuers; then doubling back, she sought to reach Dumbarton Castle,
which was then held by her partizans. Taking the road by Hamilton, she
was soon joined by many of the Lowland gentry, with their retainers,
and found herself at the head of a small but well-appointed army.
Fearful of risking a conflict with her half-brother, the Regent Moray,
who then lay with his troops at Glasgow, she took the south bank of
the Clyde, intending to cross to the Dumbarton side when safe from
interruption. But the intelligence which Moray had received of her
movements enabled him to checkmate her plans. Detaching a strong body
of his troops he occupied the field at Langside, which lay directly on
her line of march, thus leaving her no option save either to dare the
battle or fall helplessly into an ambuscade betwixt the two portions
of his army. The confidence of the Queen in her cause decided her to
adopt the former course, and in a fatal hour for her the armies engaged
in deadly conflict. The position of Cathcart Castle, which overlooked
the field of battle, afforded the most favourable spot from which to
observe the course of the strife, although, from its proximity to the
combatants, perhaps not the safest place for so precious a prize.
That she occupied Crookston Castle for this purpose is not a reasonable
supposition, since its distance from Langside and its situation would
effectually prevent her from obtaining early intelligence of the course
of the battle. And her flight to Dundrennan Abbey after the disastrous
issue of the conflict was much more easily accomplished from Cathcart
than from Crookston. Yet one must remember that so weighty an authority
as Sir Walter Scott mentions the latter place as the position which
she held, though perhaps the romantic and poetical contrast between
her earlier and later days at Crookston might influence the poet to
adopt this theory even though not supported by facts. One thing is
certain, that local tradition ascribes this melancholy interest to
Cathcart, and even points out the particular spot where the ill-fated
Queen beheld the overthrow of all her hopes. And thus, by a curious
combination of circumstances, two Castles standing upon the banks
of the same river, Cart, and separated by but a few miles from each
other, serve as landmarks, tear-fraught and sad, recording the joys and
sorrows of Scotland’s fairest Queen--her time of love and her time of
war.
II
LOCHLEVEN AND BURLEIGH
The shores of Lochleven, in Kinross-shire, afford a rich feast to the
lover of the picturesque and romantic. Apart from the interesting
associations which arise from historical events connected with the
locality, there is a peculiar charm to be found in the combination of
mountain, lake, and stream which make up the scenery presented. And
though the grandeur of the hills and the gloom of the passes which are
to be met with in the Highlands are alike awanting, there are more
attractive elements of beauty to be seen in the serenely peaceful
villages which are scattered around the lochside. The quaint old town
of Kinross is itself no uninteresting study. For it can claim a very
respectable antiquity, and has been frequently the scene of stirring
events in the history of the country. Standing upon the main highway to
the north, and affording a convenient resting-place between Queensferry
and Perth, it has been often chosen as a rendezvous for troops on the
march, or as a place of ambuscade for purposes of interception. From
very early times the town has been famous for its cutlery, and its
artificers were held in such high esteem that the name of “Kinrosse”
was borne upon the shield of the Cutlers of Sheffield as being most
worthy of renown.
LOCHLEVEN CASTLE.
But the chief point of interest in the neighbourhood is undoubtedly
the Castle of Lochleven. No situation could be more romantic than
that which it occupies. The loch is dotted here and there with little
islands which rise abruptly from the water, bearing scant foliage and
displaying no rugged or precipitous rocks. Upon one of these stand
the ruins of the Monastery of St Serf or Servanus, whose somewhat
unveracious history was recounted by Andrew Wyntoun in his _Orygynale
Cronickles of Scotland_, written many centuries ago. One of the
largest islands is situated about the centre of the loch, and upon it
is erected the Castle of Lochleven, which name has become familiar to
every Scottish ear from the historical events of which it has been the
witness. Founded in pre-historic times by one of the Scottish chiefs,
of whom we have no record save its name, it has stood the brunt of
many an angry storm through unnumbered ages; and though now somewhat
battered and decayed, there are still unimpeachable tokens remaining of
the strength and durability of masonry erected before the 19th century
estimate-work.
[Illustration: LOCHLEVEN CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
The first appearance of Lochleven Castle in credible history is made
during the period of the Balliol dispute in 1333. Throughout
Scotland only four Castles supported the claims of Bruce against
Balliol and Edward of England, and of these Lochleven was one. To
reduce this stronghold to subjection, a body of English, under Sir
John de Strivelin, was sent to besiege it; but as the position of the
Castle in the centre of the loch prevented any stealthy approach or
surprise, the besiegers had to adopt other measures. Finding that the
main outlet of the loch was by the little stream of the Leven, the
English hit upon the expedient of damming up this outflow with dykes,
so that the accumulating waters of the loch might rise above the level
of the island, drown the inmates of the Castle, and suffocate Scottish
Independence out of existence. But the theory was too correct to be
justified by fact, and finally proved the destruction of the attacking
forces. The loyal Captain of Lochleven, Alan Vipont by name, sent
out at midnight a few of his faithful retainers, who approached the
barricade, erected by Strivelin, in a small boat, and, demolishing a
portion of the embankment, they caused the pent-up waters of the loch
to overwhelm and destroy many of the enemy. Grave doubts have been
entertained of the accuracy of this story; but there are not wanting
many local antiquaries who can yet indicate the remains of the English
dyke, and who cannot tolerate the honest scepticism of any Edie
Ochiltree who may “mind the biggin’ o’t.”
It was fitting that so loyal a stronghold should become a Royal
Castle. Robert III. occupied it for some time as a Court residence,
and the difficulty of access to it in so rude an age may have been
found rather an advantage than otherwise. But as civilization advanced
the regal taste became more fastidious, and Lochleven soon descended
into the position of a state-prison. Whilst in the care of a branch
of the Douglas family, it degenerated from its former greatness, and
was unhallowed by the presence of Royalty, save under compulsion, and
in “durance vile.” Every one knows the melancholy story of Mary’s
incarceration here, and the romantic incident of her escape to still
more relentless imprisonment in England. This episode in the history
of Lochleven it is needless to relate; but it may be interesting to
note that, with a refinement of cruelty, the dominant party, after her
defeat, sent the Earl of Northumberland, who had risen to support her
cause in the north of England, to occupy the chambers which the Royal
fugitive had tenanted, and to leave them only, like her, that he might
die upon the scaffold.
History has not recorded what catastrophe, either in nature or
politics, rendered this ancient Keep unfit for habitation. Now there
remains little save the square tower and a portion of the outer wall
to tell of its former greatness, and to preach to coming generations
the mutability of all things. The great hall has now no carpet save the
greensward, no roof save the blue vault of heaven; and the winds sough
eerily through the tenantless chambers once resonant with song a and
revelry. Yet it would be difficult to imagine a spot more calculated to
revive the memories of the past; and here we might look to find some
“Lady of the Mere
Lone sitting by the shores of old Romance,”
did we live in other times than the present. But time, the devourer of
all things, has laid his destroying hand upon the Castle, and though:--
“Gothic the pile and high the solid walls,
With warlike ramparts, and the strong defence
Of jutting battlements--an age’s toil!
No more its arches echo to the noise
Of joy and festive mirth. No more the glance
Of blazing taper through its windows beams
And quivers on the undulating wave.
But naked stand the melancholy walls
Lashed by the wintry tempests, cold and bleak,
That whistle mournful through the empty halls
And piecemeal crumble down the tow’rs to dust.”
THE NEW HOUSE OF KINROSS.
Directly betwixt the town of Kinross and the shore of Lochleven stands
the mansion-house of the locality, commonly called the New House of
Kinross. Erected as a residence for the Duke of York (afterwards
James II.), it presents all the characteristics of the mansion of the
period, though its chambers were long deserted, and the exquisite
prospect which it commands of hill and lake was unenjoyed for years
by the lawful possessors. A little further around the shores of the
loch is situated the old Kirkyard, which contains not a few headstones
telling of the virtues of “the rude forefathers of the hamlet.” And
here, as a memento of semi-barbarous times, there is the house still
standing in which the watchers kept ward over the dead to preserve
their bodies from the sacrilegious resurrectionists. Close by the
kirkyard is pointed out the spot where Mary landed when she made her
escape from Lochleven Castle, though the reclamations recently made by
drainage of the loch render it difficult to indicate the place with any
degree of accuracy.
THE BURGHER BRIG.
Following the pathway by the shore of the loch one soon arrives at the
Burgher Brig, a relic of more recent times, but of a period rapidly
passing away. Tradition relates that at one time there was no ford over
the river North Queich, which runs into Loch Leven, save the precarious
passage afforded by stepping stones, which in times of spate were quite
impassable. But when the advancing civilization of the district had
erected a Burgher Kirk in the neighbourhood, the Lord of the Manor
graciously became a Pontifex in his own country, and built a wooden
stair-bridge similar to those now seen in Japan, which was ultimately
replaced by a stone structure.
BURLEIGH CASTLE.
A little way from this spot stands the ancient Castle of Burleigh. The
road which leads from Milnathort around the loch to Scotland-Well,
passes this ancient pile, which is placed immediately upon the pathway.
The situation is most picturesque. The gable of the Castle towards
the road is quite covered with ivy, and the rent and broken portions
of the edifice are enlivened and beautified by the subdued tone of
the evergreen leaves. By moonlight the scene is romantic in the
extreme. The heavy sombre shadows which are thrown across the roadway,
and the pale silvery glory which lights up each prominent tower and
battlement, give a weird and old-world aspect to the whole place. From
time immemorial the Castle of Burleigh has been in the family of the
Balfours. Many are the stories related of them, but perhaps none is so
sadly romantic as that which is now to be told. In the unsettled times
betwixt the abdication of Queen Mary and the settlement of her son,
James VI., upon the throne, the young Lord of Burleigh fell under the
power of the arch-conqueror Love. The charms of the daughter of the
gardener at the Castle had overpowered and captivated him, and reckless
of consequences (as lovers ever are) he sought to elevate her to an
equality with himself by honourable marriage. Her beauty was the theme
of every tongue:--
“Who had not heard
Of Rose, the gardener’s daughter? Where was he
So blunt in memory, so old at heart,
At such a distance from his youth in grief,
That having seen forgot? The common mouth
So gross to express delight, in praise of her
Grew oratory. Such a lord is love,
And beauty such a mistress of the world.”
But Balfour’s affection was not reciprocated by the maiden, whose
heart was already engaged to another. Deaf alike to his threats and
entreaties, she remained steadfast to the lover to whom she had
plighted her troth, and refused to be swayed from her resolution to
live for him alone. The Lord of Burleigh, finding all his endeavours
to win her hand fruitless, quitted the paternal roof in the hope
that foreign travel might obliterate her image from his heart, and
hoping that absence, in his case, would prove the bane of love. But
his hopes were doomed to disappointment, and he returned to his home
with intensified love and increased affection for the object of his
devotion. She, however, had profited by his absence and was now married
to the man of her choice, who held the position of schoolmaster at
Inverkeithing.
[Illustration: BURLEIGH CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
And so, one evening, little dreaming of the danger which was near
them, as the husband and wife sat at their own fireside, planning
perchance some elaborate scheme for securing the happiness in
perpetuity which they then enjoyed, their threshold was darkened by the
person of young Balfour of Burleigh. No phantom from the “undiscovered
country” could have exercised more power upon the young wife, or
paralysed her more completely. Reproach was upon his lips, vengeance
was in his eye. The haughty disposition which he had inherited from a
remote ancestry was unsoftened even by the influence of love, and now
jealousy inflamed him. Drawing a pistol from his bosom, he shot his
defenceless rival through the heart, in the presence of his wife, and
within his own house. No more dastardly act than this has been recorded
in the history of the British nobility. It was only to be expected
that so complete a poltroon would seek refuge from the consequence of
his guilt in flight and ignominious self-exile. Yet so powerful was
the feudal influence of the family that the affair was hushed up and
secured from publicity; and its story now only exists in the traditions
of the country, which have been repeated for generations in the field
or by the ingle-side.
POW-MILL.
A short distance from Burleigh Castle stands Pow-mill, whose untiring
water-wheel has revolved for over three centuries. The Pow Burn, which
forms the motive power of the mill, is one of the _eleven_ streams
which flow into Loch Leven, from which tradition states (somewhat
apocryphally) that the name of _Leven_ was derived. The ancient mill,
until lately, was in a wonderful state of preservation. The quaint
old-fashioned gables and open courtyard remind one forcibly of the
mills of Holland and the Low Countries; and the moss-covered dyke and
green-speckled wall still further add to its venerable aspect. As the
mill of the district, and therefore a centre of local intelligence,
many stories are related of it, one of which is as follows:--
The farm of Pittendreich, in the immediate neighbourhood, was for
many generations until lately in possession of a family of the
name of White; and the requirements of their agricultural pursuits
naturally made them intimate with the occupants of the mill. During the
persecuting times it so happened that Crawford, the miller, took the
side of Episcopacy, whilst White, the farmer, was known to be one of
the “hill-folk.” The characters of the two men gave an index to their
religious beliefs; for White was an upright, God-fearing man, whom
even his enemies respected; but Crawford was rude in speech, loose in
morals, and reckless in conduct. In those sad times to be “saintly”
in any degree was to provoke the vengeance of one’s ill-wishers; and
though long preserved from molestation, White’s day of trial at length
arrived. A band of troopers, scouring the countryside in search of
“conventicle-men,” had been directed by some “good-natured friend”
towards Pittendreich; and White had barely time to escape by a backway
and fly for his life ere they entered his dwelling.
Whilst Crawford the miller stood in his doorway dreamily contemplating
the deepening twilight, he beheld a man stealthily creeping along by
the hedge-side, as if fearful of being seen, yet driven, nevertheless,
to compulsory flight. As the figure came nearer he recognized with some
surprise in the excited and anxious face before him, his old neighbour
White, of Pittendreich. Hailing him as he sought to pass, the miller
inquired whither he was bound, and despite their opposition in religion
and the risk he thereby ran, the fugitive declared the cause of his
unwilling journey. Nor was his confidence in the neighbourly feeling
misplaced. Touched by the circumstances of the case, the miller gladly
extended his aid to him. “Come in bye,” said he, “for here ye may be
safe. They’ll never look for a saint in Hell.”
And having seen the farmer safely bestowed, he resumed his position
in the doorway, certain that his reputation with the troopers would
preserve him from molestation. And thus the “touch of nature” had made
even these diverse characters “Kin,” and overcame for the time their
religious animosity. And the record of this neighbourly action survives
to the present day, though both have long mingled with mother earth.
The shore of Lochleven from Pow-mill to Scotland-Well is dotted with
picturesque little villages which cannot fail to interest the wayfarer.
Little Balgedie, Meikle Balgedie, and Kinnesswood form a continuous
link, the last-named being ever memorable as the birthplace of Michael
Bruce, the poet, whose Scripture Paraphrases are known throughout
the world. The last of the Leven villages is Scotland-Well, the name
of which may have been bestowed by the Roman invaders, since Tacitus
refers to _Fons-Scotiæ_ in his “Annals.” The pathway around the eastern
end of the loch leads by the base of Bennarty to Paran-Well.
This ancient locality of Paran-Well (erroneously called “Parrot Well”
by Sir Walter Scott) was selected for an ambuscade at a very stirring
time. The marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to Darnley was distasteful
to many of her powerful subjects. Amongst these the Earl of Moray,
her illegitimate brother, and throughout her life her most implacable
enemy, was principally offended by this union. Apart from the fact
that Darnley and he were sworn foes, there was the old cry of “the
Kirk in danger” to call to his side many wavering vassals. Supported
by the Lords of the Congregation, who resented Mary’s marriage as
endangering the Protestant succession, Moray stationed a body of horse
at Paran-Well, under the shadow of Bennarty, to intercept Darnley and
his bride whilst on their way from Perth. But accurate intelligence and
an early turn out enabled them to defeat the purpose of their enemies,
and to escape for a time from their menaces. And thus it appears
that every portion of Lochleven is consecrated by some memory of the
unfortunate Queen, whose own reminiscences of the locality must have
been of the most mournful description.
III
DUMBARTON CASTLE
Among the natural phenomena in Scotland the peak of Dumbarton Rock
holds no inconsiderable place. Rising abruptly from the banks of the
Clyde, and rearing its rugged front erect in solitary state from a
comparatively level country, its effect is striking and peculiar.
Geologists maintain that they can trace the range of mountains of which
Dumbarton is the termination, far away north, through the Kilpatrick
and Campsie Hills up to the Grampians.
[Illustration: DUMBARTON CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
This uncouth rock is full of memories that carry us far back in the
annals of our country, and it forms a connecting link betwixt the
chivalrous times that have long vanished and our present utilitarian
days. Long before the period of written history Dumbarton existed as
a tower of strength for the primitive natives. The misty period of
Scottish story, in which Fingal and Ossian with their warlike band
appear, is connected with our own times by the hill of Balclutha,
the scene of their exploits, the home of their triumph and victory.
If corroborative proof were required that this Castle steep was the
seat of Fingal, the recent discoveries of canoes and other relics in
the district might readily afford it. But the songs of Ossian are
sufficiently precise to indicate the locality with certainty. And even
in those remote times Balclutha was regarded as having existed from
far-distant ages, and exhibiting the reverses and vicissitudes common
to all earthly things. For thus sings Ossian:--
“I have seen the walls of Balclutha, but they are desolate. The fire
had resounded in the halls, and the voice of the people is heard no
more. The stream of Clutha was removed from its place by the fall of
the walls. The thistle shook there its lonely head; the moss whistled
in the wind. Why dost thou build the wall, son of the winged days?
Thou lookest from thy towers to-day; yet a few years and the blast of
the desert comes. It howls in thy empty courts, and whistles round thy
half-worn shield.”
A long controversy, began in 1762 and still continued in 1926, arose
regarding the authenticity of James Macpherson’s translation of the
Ossian poems; but experts in the language maintain that Macpherson
founded many of his versions upon Gaelic originals, and in some of them
introduced episodes from Irish history. The question will probably
never be decided absolutely either way. It is certain, however, that
the Ossian poems published by Macpherson were translated into all the
European languages, and attained great popularity.
Balclutha formed a stronghold of the aborigines at a very early period,
and came under the notice of the Romans when they invaded Caledonia. A
military nation by profession, such as the Romans were, could not but
perceive its importance as a fortress. Its commanding site from which
the road and the river could be controlled, would at once point it out
as a most desirable outpost from which the invaders might menace the
inhabitants, and the difficulty of access which it presented naturally
rendered it almost impregnable. When Antoninus, therefore, began his
great undertaking of the Roman Wall from the Clyde to the Forth, he
selected Dumbarton as the starting-point, since he there could control
all ingress to Scotland from the Western Sea by the way of the Clyde.
And here was founded the ancient burgh of Dumbarton, at the base of
the rock, which appears in Roman annals under the name of “Theodosia,”
after one of the most eminent generals commanding the invasion.
And thus, with a continuity which is easily traced, we find that the
Balclutha of Ossian becomes the Alcluith of the Britons of Strathclyde,
the Theodosia of the Romans, the Dunbrittain of the Scots, and the
Dunbartane or Dumbarton of more recent times. Yet, though its antiquity
is thus established, one hesitates to accept the statements of Geoffrey
of Monmouth, who gravely records the name of the contemporary of King
David of Israel who ruled in his ancestral halls on the banks of Clyde.
The Roman invasion gave place to the Danish, and still Dumbarton was
esteemed an enviable point of vantage. In 870 A.D. it endured a siege
of four months by the Danes under Olave, and was finally captured
by them. From this time onwards the Castle frequently changed its
masters, and upon its weather-beaten front was traced the passing
history of the country as it alternated betwixt freedom and slavery.
It was not, however, until the Earls of Lennox had risen into power
that the attention of the Scottish Kings was seriously attracted
towards Dumbarton. The title of this ancient house was derived from
Levenax or Lennox, the district through which the Leven river flows on
its way from Loch Lomond to join the Clyde at the base of the Castle
Rock. The Earls of Lennox seemed to have ruled the surrounding country
with a high hand, issuing their almost regal mandates from the Castle
of “Dunbretane.” And so intolerable had the yoke become that in 1238
Alexander II., whilst confirming a charter of land to them, expressly
excluded the Castle from it, and retained it as a royal possession. A
quarter of a century later it again formed the centre of attack during
the Norwegian invasion under Haco. That its importance as a stronghold
was thoroughly appreciated in those warlike times we may learn from the
fact that Edward I. of England, acting in his self-assumed character
of Lord Paramount, directed Nicholas de Segrave, the Castellan, to put
Balliol in possession of it.
A peculiar interest attaches to Dumbarton in connection with Sir
William Wallace. Sir John Menteith, his betrayer, or, at least, his
captor, was Castellan at the time, and carried the unfortunate patriot
to his fortress, under a pledge that he would suffer no harm. But no
sooner had he obtained full possession of his person than he handed
him over to the English soldiers, and defiled his hands by accepting
the bribe of perjury and unfaithfulness. It would be rash to conclude
from this transaction that Menteith was other than a brave man in
battle, for his later exploits at Bannockburn somewhat atoned for
his treachery. But it cannot be denied that the principles of this
execrated man were “unstable as water.” Indeed, he seems to have been
a prototype of the famous American politician, who summed up his creed
shortly: “I believe in _one_ party, and that is _myself_.”
He was untrue to Wallace, faithless to Bruce, treacherous to Edward,
and mistrusted alike by countryman and stranger. A curious story is
related in connection with King Robert. When that illustrious monarch
had made some way in the country south of the Clyde, he crossed to
Dumbarton, and, being joined by Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, he laid siege
to the Castle, then held by Menteith. Meantime, the Governor, deceived
by his past actions, Bruce attempted to bribe; but the ambitious
Castellan would hear of no less a reward than the Earldom of Lennox.
The King could not for a moment endure the thought of dispossessing one
of his most faithful followers even to gain so important a position,
and only the remonstrances of the good Earl Malcolm, who professed
himself ready to resign his honours for so desirable an object, at
length prevailed. A treaty was made, whereby Menteith undertook to
deliver up the Castle to Bruce for the lands and title of Earl of
Lennox. But a carpenter named Rolland, who had gained some knowledge of
Menteith’s designs, warned the King that he would be betrayed unless
most watchful.
Nothing daunted, but thoroughly on the alert, the brave Robert Bruce
pursued his way to the Castle. He was met at the gate by Menteith,
who delivered up the keys with all due pomp and solemnity. But ere
sitting down at meat with him the wary King desired to be shown over
the Castle. Closely followed by his own attendants, he inspected every
corner of the fortress, and noticed with rising doubt that Menteith
carefully avoided opening the door of one cellar in particular. His
suspicions were aroused, and, calling his guard to arms, he forced
the door and found within the chamber a body of English troops, who
were doubtless secreted there so as to take the citadel by surprise.
The unhappy Governor, who had thus over-reached himself, was at once
secured. But those were times in which strict justice might not be
done, and Bruce could ill afford to execute one valiant knight, however
grave his misdemeanour. Menteith was promised a full pardon for his
treason if he would join the Scottish Army on the eve of Bannockburn.
And so mightily did he wield his sword on that memorable occasion that
he was not only restored to liberty, but also loaded with honour.
A romantic story connected with Dumbarton is still preserved in the
traditions of the Castle. When David II. returned from England, there
followed in his train a Welshwoman named Catherine Mortimer, upon whom
he had bestowed tokens of favour. Jealous of her influence with the
King, the ambitious Earl of Angus hired two ruffians to accomplish
her assassination. Apprised by their employer of her movements, they
waylaid her upon a lonely moor near Melrose, and murdered her in cold
blood. A deed so abhorrent, even in that lawless age, called loudly
for vengeance, and as the complicity of Angus was an open secret, the
enraged King ordered him to be confined in Dumbarton Castle, whilst
the remains of his victim were interred with great solemnity at
Dunfermline. But the year 1361, which succeeded his incarceration, was
a fatal one for the Lennox country, as the plague broke out there with
great virulence, destroying nearly one-half of the inhabitants, and
numbering amongst its victims the unhappy Earl of Angus.
It would be tedious to relate all the sieges which this venerable
Castle has endured; but the story of the connection of James IV. with
it must not be omitted. At the Court of this unfortunate monarch no
nobleman was more beloved and respected than Lord Darnley, afterwards
Earl of Lennox. His youth, his talents, and the promise of success
which they afforded, pointed him out as one of the men whom the
King delighteth to honour. And thus, among other munificent gifts,
we find that in 1479 “the Castell of Dunbretane,” with all the
revenues pertaining to it, was bestowed upon him by his too generous
sovereign. For nine years did Darnley bask in the sunshine of the royal
countenance; but
“Vaulting ambition that o’erleaps itself
And fails on t’other side”
at length overcame him. In 1488 his plots against the King were
discovered, and he was degraded from his rank. Fortune played
shuttlecock with him in the following year. In February all the Acts of
Parliament against him were rescinded, and he was restored to favour;
but in July of the same year orders were given to besiege the Castle
of Crookston, Dumbarton and Duchall, which belonged to himself and his
sons, and to execute the extreme penalties for treason against them. So
great was the feeling adverse to Darnley that King James himself took
horse to lead the attack. Assembling his troops at Glasgow, he marched
first against Duchall, which he reduced in seven days. Directing his
army against Crookston, he soon forced a capitulation, and, with the
laurels from these victories fresh upon him, he joined with the Earl
of Argyll against Dumbarton. But here, though ultimately successful,
he found victory not so easy as he had anticipated. Despite the
assistance which the King had of all the Scottish artillery, including
Mons Meg from Edinburgh Castle, it took a considerable time to reduce
the garrison. In despair the King was at last compelled to raise the
siege and confess himself foiled by his powerful subject. Returning,
however, in the month of September, he again opened his battery against
Dumbarton, and succeeded in obtaining possession of it, though only
upon the conditions of a full pardon for Darnley, now Earl of Lennox.
Whether the difficulty of conquering it had endeared the Castle to him
or not it is not possible to tell, but certainly Dumbarton became one
of the most cherished residences of King James IV. after this time.
It is interesting to notice how frequently Dumbarton appears in the
Records of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whose debit and credit
accounts afford much information to the historian. For instance, there
is this curious entry:--
“1494-5, Mars. 19. Item, To the Pyper of Dumbartane, be the King’s
command, xiiij sh’.”
Whether this piper was the famous Rory Murphy, whose name still exists
in local song and story, is not recorded.
After the lamentable death of King James at Flodden the country was
rent by the several factions of the Queen-Mother and the Earl of Arran,
who both strove for the Regency. The latter nobleman, assisted by the
Earls of Lennox and Glencairn, attacked Dumbarton successfully. In the
quaint words of the chronicler of that time:--“In ane mirk, wyndy
nicht, the xij of Januar (1514), they under-myndit the nedder-pole of
the yett of Dunbartane, and enterit thairat, and tuik the Castell, and
put furth the Lord Erskine, then Capitane thereof.” But their triumph
was of short duration, as the arrival of Albany caused the overthrow
of the Earl of Arran, and Lennox was imprisoned in Edinburgh until he
delivered up Dumbarton.
For thirty years after, the possession of this Castle indicated the
supremacy of the one or the other party. The political principles
of the nobility of those days were very slip-shod indeed, and Earl
Lennox was a type of his peers. In 1526 he again took and fortified
the Castle, holding it for the young Queen of Scots. But shortly after
he listened to the charming voice of Henry of England, who sought to
conquer Scotland by marrying Queen Mary to his son Edward. Meanwhile
the Chevalier de Brosse had been despatched from France to Dumbarton
with stores and treasures to assist the cause of the Queen; and,
unaware of the change in the political opinions of Lennox, he was
induced by that wily nobleman to place his precious load in the Castle
for safety. No sooner had this been done than the Earl quietly took
possession of the treasure in the name of Henry VIII., and turned the
duped and bewildered Chevalier out of Dumbarton.
In 1547 the unfortunate young Queen was conveyed to Dumbarton, as
affording the most secure shelter for her from English force and
fraud, and it was here that she suffered from an attack of smallpox,
which was then the scourge of Scotland. And in a melancholy hour did
she embark for France from Dumbarton, taking leave of the Queen-Mother
on the greensward at the base of the Rock, and bidding a gay farewell
to Scotland as her barque floated swiftly down the Clyde. To this regal
residence she returned no more, for her next attempt to reach it was
foiled at Langside, and she never again beheld the rugged rock, and her
hospitable refuge, from which she had first set out in all the bloom of
youth and hope.
For two years after her flight to England Lord Fleming held the Castle
in her name, and defeated the besiegers under the Regent Moray, who
strove for its possession. But it was wrested from him by one of the
boldest assaults recorded in history. In 1571, whilst Lennox lay ill
at Glasgow, having been injured by a fall from his horse, this forlorn
hope was planned, and entrusted for its execution to Captain Crawford
of Jordanhill. It was proposed to attempt the Castle by escalade. One
of the soldiers of the Castle, whose wife had been whipped by the
Governor for some trifling offence, deserted, and joined the proposed
assaulting party, acting as their guide. Late in the evening, while the
mist hung over the hill-top, the band set forth upon their perilous
expedition, marching in single file, the foremost of the party carrying
the ladders, and all keeping together in the darkness by holding a rope
which passed from man to man. Stealthily approaching the base of the
rock, they began to tie their ladders together, and to place them in
position at the most precipitous portion of the mountain. The reason
for thus multiplying the difficulty of the adventure was a sound one,
as the event proved, and Crawford’s own words show that the scheme had
been deeply pondered: “Because thai suspectit nocht the heighest pairt
o’ the craig, thair was not ane watche in that pairt of the wall above,
within sex scoir of futes to the pairt that we entered.”
The ascent began under evil auspices, for the first ladder broke with
the weight of the men ere one had reached a landing-place. When tied
and eked as well as possible it was still two fathoms short of the
point they wished to reach. The leader and one of his men, therefore,
boldly clambered up the face of the rock to an overhanging tree which
grew in a cleft above, and, swinging the ladder by ropes tied thereto,
thus enabled the band to attain another eminence. But here an unlooked
for difficulty arose. One of the men was subject to epilepsy, and the
excitement of the attack had brought on a fit whilst he was in the
act of ascending the ladder. Humanity and prudence alike forbade that
he should be thrown to the ground, and yet their own safety must be
secured by their ascending over him. Fertile in expedients, the Captain
directed that he should be tied to the ladder with ropes, and then,
by turning it the whole of the men were enabled to pass over his body
without injuring him. When they reached the summit two of the band
leaped over the wall and slew the nearest sentinel, so that the entire
troop entered the Castle ere an alarm had been given, and possessed
themselves of it with comparative ease. No one who has examined the
appearance of the rock at the point of assault will doubt the bravery
of Captain Crawford and his gallant followers.
With one other story of bloodless capture this record of Dumbarton
Castle may be concluded. In the troublous times when the dominant
party sought to force Episcopacy upon the Scottish nation, the burgh
of Dumbarton was governed by Provost Sempill, a tried and trusty
Covenanter, whilst the Castellane was Sir William Stewart, as faithful
an Episcopalian. Shortly after the Assembly of Glasgow had abolished
the new form of religion and denounced the Bishops, the Provost and
Council of Dumbarton concluded that it was their duty to take their
venerable fortress out of the keeping of a recusant who differed from
them in religious matters. They therefore met one Sunday in the house
of the Provost, and sent an invitation to Sir William Stewart to dine
there after service in the Chapel. Suspecting no treachery, he came
unattended amongst them, and was at once met with a demand for the
keys of the Castle. In vain he protested that he had them not, and he
was ultimately compelled to send a messenger to procure them. Then,
under threat of instant death in case of betraying them, he was forced
to give the password for the night, and to exchange clothes with one
of his captors. In the twilight the sham Governor easily gained an
entrance to the Castle, and soon placed his party in possession of it,
without the shedding of blood.
The romance of Dumbarton Castle has to a large extent departed since
the transference of the Scottish Court to London. No longer a kingly
residence, it has only been visited once by royalty since Queen Mary
abode there, when in 1847 the late Queen Victoria inspected the
ancient fortress. But its importance as a bulwark against invasion is
greater now than in the time of Hako the Dane, since a foreign foe,
if unopposed there, may enter by the Clyde to the richest portion of
Scotland, and over-run and devastate the very heart of the kingdom.
And any system of shore fortification which does not include Dumbarton
invites invasion by negligence. The wisdom of our fathers in this
respect was greater than ours, and they would not have left so
important a post to be defended by cannons with oxidized touch-holes,
loaded with balls which may have stood exposed to the storm since the
19th century was young. If these are to form our defensive artillery,
let us discard our latest machine-guns, and return to more primitive
weapons, and then
“At the sight of Dumbarton once again,
We’ll cock up our bannets and march amain;
Wi’ braid claymores hangin’ doun to our heel,
To whang at the bannocks o’ barley-meal.”
IV
NEIDPATH CASTLE
The watershed of the southern part of Scotland presents some curious
phenomena to the observer of Nature. The country south of the Forth,
though elevated somewhat above the sea-level, is so uniform in its
altitude that no towering peaks or colossal mountain ranges may be
found sufficiently pronounced to account for the courses which the
mightier rivers of the locality take. It is easy for the geographer to
explain why the Amazon river flows right across the continent of South
America, for the flat pampas to the east of the great western range
could offer no impediment to the foaming torrent which owed its birth
to the cloud-daring Andes. Nor is there much difficulty in framing
theories as to the more notable rivers of Europe in this way, which
have at least probability to recommend them. But the Border Country
is a greater enigma to the physical-geographer than its inhabitants
will readily believe; and the discovery of the minute causes at work
to determine the direction of some of the greater streams demands the
labours of the geologist as well as the topographer. Examine on the map
the wayward careers of the three great southern rivers--Clyde, Tweed
and Annan--and the difficulty will be at once apparent. The Lowther
Hills, situated about midway between the North Sea and the Atlantic
Ocean, and forming almost a central point between the Firths of the
Forth and the Solway, contain the springs from which these rivers
originate, although the one takes its course due south, whilst the
other two debouch upon the east and west coasts respectively. And the
traditional rhyme is not without foundation when it declares that
“Annan, Tweed and Clyde
A’ rise oot o’ ae hillside.”
An impeding rock, a protuberance in the mountain, a gentle slope in the
valley, has determined the final destination of each of these majestic
rivers; and the impetuous waters, dashing with resistless force through
the fertile plains which they have encountered, have now, by their own
augmented energy, scooped out the three great districts of Tweeddale,
Clydesdale and Annandale, each presenting characteristics of scenery
diverse from the others. The Annan, flowing rapidly
“Without stop or stay down the rocky way”
which leads to the Solway, has a briefer career than either of the
other streams, whilst the Clyde wanders undecidedly first northward,
then westerly, and finally due south, to lose itself in the raging
Atlantic Ocean. But the Tweed enjoys a more equable existence than
its compeers, and, gathering to itself the waters of many tributary
streams, it meanders placidly, with many a winding link and crook,
through the rich pastoral country which intervenes betwixt its
well-spring and the sea.
“Bosom’d in woods where mighty rivers run,
Kelso’s fair vale expands before the sun;
Its rising downs in vernal beauty swell,
And, fringed with hazel, winds its flowery dell;
Green spangled plains to dimpled lawns succeed,
And Tempé rises on the banks of Tweed.
Blue o’er the river Kelso’s shadow lies,
And copse-clad isles amid the waters rise.”
Nor is the country upon the banks of Tweed memorable only for its
picturesque scenery. The whole of the valley through which it flows
is haunted by literary memories, and the Yarrow, the Ettrick, and the
Tweed recall irresistibly the hallowed names of Leyden, of Hogg, and of
Scott, whose powers of description in prose and poetry have alike been
expended upon this locality. As the chosen home of Border minstrelsy,
and the abode of the heroes who figure in these ballads, Tweedside
occupies a prominent position in this department of literature; for the
many towers and keeps which overlook its waters, and are reflected in
its crystal stream, have each their tale of other days to him who cares
to listen.
[Illustration: NEIDPATH CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
The human heart, like the Æolian lyre, may be roused to martial ardour
by the fierce blast of the stormy nor’-east wind, and resound
in boldest tones the triumph of war; but it can also be thrilled
responsively by the magic touch of the zephyr, which gently plays upon
its sensitive strings some Lydian measure, until they murmur forth the
praise of love. The noise of the fatal fray may be hushed for a time
to allow of a tale of love, of faith, and of sorrow--the story of the
hapless “Maid of Neidpath.”
The Tweed for a large part of its course is studded with Castle-Towers
or _Peels_, which were used in former times as beacon-lights to warn
the Border clans of invasion, or to call them to rendezvous for a
raid or foray. Every here and there in the line of the Peels might be
found a commodious Castle, the property of the feudal superior and the
rallying point for his vassals, to which they would repair, clad in
their huge jack-boots, buff jerkins, and morions, ready to die at their
lord’s bidding.
There are several noticeable Castles of this description on Tweedside,
and Neidpath was one of these. A few miles west of the town of Peebles
the Tweed takes a south-eastward bend, and here, upon a gentle eminence
whose grassy slope runs down to the river’s brink, stands Neidpath
Castle. Its massive walls and turrets, some of which are over ten
feet in thickness, show that it has been a keep of great strength,
the oldest part apparently dating from the 14th century, and probably
erected by Edmund de Mortimer, who was third Earl of March, and died in
1381, as this would be the western boundary of the March country over
which he ruled. After the death, in 1425, of the fifth Mortimer, Earl
of March, Neidpath came into the possession of the Hays of Yester, and
remained with that family for centuries.
The Hays of Yester were originally Norman Barons, who came to England
in 1066 with William the Conqueror. Some of them seem to have been
intimate with David I. of Scotland when he was at the English Court,
and returned with him when he came back to his own kingdom, and
received many grants of land. The Hay family is now represented by the
present eleventh Marquess of Tweeddale, descended from the Hays of
Yester and the first Marquess of Tweeddale. The Hays, while Earls of
March, had their principal seat at Dunbar Castle, and sometimes retired
to the seclusion of Neidpath.
The most sequestered spot on earth is not secure from the insidious
advances of sorrow and suffering, and the Castle of Neidpath, however
powerful to resist an armed foe, could not withstand the silent canker
of despair, as the story which is linked inseparably with these ruined
walls sufficiently testifies. The Earl of March, who was once Lord of
the Castle, was, like “Jephthah, Judge of Israel,” in this at least,
that
“He had one only daughter, and no mo,
The whitch he loved passing well.”
Born amid wealth and reared in luxury as that time afforded, the lovely
heiress of Dunbar and Neidpath attained to budding womanhood without
having experienced one cloud upon her fortunes, or cherished a desire
that was not speedily gratified. As the only successor of an ancient
lineage, it may be supposed that the Earl looked to her to uphold
the dignity which her birthright thrust upon her, and hoped that his
honoured name would still descend through her offspring to distant
time. Doubtless many ambitious schemes of matrimonial alliance passed
through his mind in her early days.
The scheming father who dotes upon his child, and conjures up airy
castles to delight his imagination, is ever the chosen sport of Cupid.
“O love will venture in
Whaur it daurna weel be seen;
O love will venture in
Whaur wisdom aince had been;”
and the fair Maid of Neidpath fell a victim to his wiles. The young
Laird of Tushielaw, in Ettrick Forest, had met her when upon one of her
visits to her Tweedside retreat, and ere long they had confessed to
each other their mutual flame.
Though the Scotts of Tushielaw were of an ancient and honourable
strain, and had made their name known in Border warfare, the youthful
lover was no match, so far as rank was concerned, for the heiress of
Dunbar and Neidpath. And perhaps the knowledge of this fact made
them endeavour to conceal their passion from the parent whose cooler
judgment was likely to dispel their day-dream of happiness. Their
clandestine meetings, their whispered farewells by the banks of Tweed,
or in the shade of Ettrick Forest, served to knit their hearts closer
together in the bonds of true affection. Heedless of the danger
they dared, and under the glamour of resistless love, they suffered
themselves to drift ecstatically with the stream until the current
carried them far beyond the hope of rescue, and they found themselves
ensnared votaries of Cupid.
The great gift of true and lasting affection was theirs, since they had
discovered of what it consists, so admirably described by the poet in
these lines:--
“It is not Phantasy’s hot fire,
Whose wishes, soon as granted, fly;
It liveth not with fierce Desire,
With dead Desire it doth not die.
It is the secret sympathy,
The silver link, the silken tie,
Which heart to heart and mind to mind
In body and in soul can bind.”
But their dreams, however rapturous, could not last, and they were
destined to endure a rude awakening. Their secret vows and stolen
interviews, though long hidden from profane eyes, at length were
revealed, and the Earl learned with rage and indignation that the son
of a Border Chief had won the heart of his daughter, from whom he had
anticipated accumulated honours for his house. To forbid their meeting
was his first step, and to enforce their separation by threats of dire
and summary vengeance was the method he adopted. The timid and retiring
maiden, unused to violence directed against herself, shrank in terror
from her infuriated parent, and at once informed her lover, not without
tears, that their time of love was over. The fear for his personal
danger prompted her to counsel his withdrawal from his native country
for a time, till changing scenes or altered circumstances should
obliterate her from his memory, or prepare the way for a glad reunion.
And the young Borderer, powerless against fate, bade farewell to the
scenes of his infancy which love had hallowed, and took his mournful
departure, like the hero of the old ballad:--
“For I will into some far countrye,
Where noe man shall me knowe.”
Perhaps the hardest lot is hers who must bide at home, with every
well-known spot before her to recall forgotten pleasures, and unable
to escape by the most frantic effort from inevitable despair. Yet,
unwilling to show the depth of her misery, she assumed a placid
demeanour which belied the tumult within:--
“I’ll bid my heart be still,
And check each rising sigh;
And none e’er shall know
My heart’s long-cherished woe
When the first tears of sorrow are dry.”
The inward grief which finds no outlet is the most wearing and
dangerous of all, and so it proved with the daughter of the Earl of
March. “The course of true love” thus rudely interrupted had wrought a
change in her which could not long be concealed. The pale, ivory-like
brow, the hectic cheek, the attenuated frame all told that the reversal
of the current of her being was wearing out the frail body which her
lofty spirit had once animated. At last her father, no longer blind
to the change which had taken place in her, and terrified lest his
precipitancy might have destroyed his hopes of her, consented that the
exiled lover should be recalled and accepted as her affianced husband.
What was the pride of birth compared with the life of his daughter?
The heiress of so ancient a name as hers might ennoble the man of her
choice by marriage.
The message was soon conveyed to young Scott, and he returned on the
speedy wings of love to his native land and his loving bride. Hastening
from the east coast, on which he had landed, he rode “with loose rein
and bloody spur” on the way to Neidpath Castle. Meanwhile the maid had
thought to plan a glad surprise for him, and removed to the Earl’s
house in Peebles, which lay upon the road which he must take. Worn
and emaciated as she had been, the vigour seemed to have returned to
her frame and the fire to her eyes once more as she sat by the balcony
waiting, waiting to hear the beat of the horse’s hoofs which should
prelude their meeting, with a thousand conflicting emotions surging
through her bosom.
“And hopes, and fears that kindle hope,
An undistinguishable throng.
And cherished wishes, long subdued,
Subdued and cherished long.”
With feelings strung to a pitch of intense excitement, she sat
listening eagerly for every sound which might tell of his proximity.
At length she heard the hasty hoof of a horse impelled by some urgent
rider, which drew nearer and nearer to the spot where she waited.
Straining her eyes to catch the first glance of her lover, she
recognised him a long way off, and felt her heart’s blood pulse more
quickly through her veins. Now had come the long-expected period of his
return, and love and joy should thenceforth be their portion. But the
sound of that rapid hoof ceased not even at her threshold, and the eyes
of the rider, intent upon the way to Neidpath, never once glanced upon
her. Could it be that the dream of her life had been visionary indeed?
Was there no faith in mankind? Were the vows, plighted in Ettrick and
sworn by Tweed, after all but a hollow mockery? The revulsion of her
feelings was too much for her overstrung system, reduced by disease
as it had been, and ere the hollow beat of the foaming steed’s frantic
gallop had been wholly lost upon the air, while bearing her love
onward, as he thought, to meet her, the desire of his heart, the hope
of his life, was no more!
“Oh, lover’s eyes are sharp to see,
And lover’s ears in hearing;
And love in life’s extremity
Can lend an hour in cheering.
Disease had been in Mary’s bower,
And slow decay from mourning,
Though now she sits on Neidpath’s tower
To watch her love’s returning.
· · · · · · · · · ·
He came--he passed--a heedless gaze,
As o’er some stranger glancing;
Her welcome, spoke in faltering phrase,
Lost in his courser’s prancing--
The Castle arch, whose hollow tone
Returns each whisper spoken,
Could scarcely catch the feeble moan
Which told her heart was broken.”
V
DUNNOTTAR CASTLE
In ancient times, when lance and spear, claymore and dirk were the
favourite weapons of war, few Castles could lay claim to greater
strength than Dunnottar, in Kincardineshire, not far from Stonehaven.
The peninsula on which it stands rises to a considerable height above
the sea-level, and the stormy waves of the North Sea break into foam
upon three sides of its base. The deep chasm which intervenes betwixt
the Castle and the mainland, like some Californian _canon_, plainly
exhibits its volcanic origin. And a very tyro in military affairs may
perceive that the only approach to the Castle which is possible from
the land might be defended at close quarters, as Thermopylæ was of
old, by a mere handful of resolute patriots. But against the heavy
ordinance of modern times the most elaborate fortifications which
are on a lower level than the surrounding country are practically
powerless. The long-range guns and rifles of these latter days have
done more to demolish chivalrous bravery and hardihood than may be at
first supposed. And the magnificent game of war, which once gave scope
to the most daring and courageous of heroes, is now reduced to a mere
mathematical problem, founded upon distances, paraboles, expansive
forces, and impenetrability. All these achievements in mechanical
warfare put to flight the great deeds of our ancestors, and thus
earthly glory passeth away. As students of humanity, then, it is to
older times that we must turn if we wish to see the truest examples of
personal prowess and endurance, and Dunnottar Castle has preserved for
us not a few of these.
The Keiths, Earls Marischal of Scotland, the feudal proprietors of
this fortress, have afforded some renowned names to grace the annals
of Scottish history. From a very early date they were entrusted
with the hereditary office of Marischal at the Court, and were thus
the custodians of the regal honours of the kingdom--the Crown, the
Sceptre, and the Sword of State, which once bore sway in Scotland. The
first name among the Keiths which is brought prominently into notice
is immediately connected with Dunnottar. Despite its inaccessible
position, it appears that the site of the Castle was at one time
occupied by the Parish Church of the district. But about 1292 Sir
William Keith, then Earl Marischal, knowing the disturbed state of the
country, and appreciating the importance of the ground on which the
church stood for the purposes of defence, built an edifice more easy
of access near Stonehaven, and persuaded many of the parishioners to
perform their devotions there.
Taking possession of the cliff, he transformed the church into a
private chapel, and surrounded it by those buildings necessary to
render it at once habitable and defensible. Judging from the ruins
which now exist, the erections must have been considerable, for the
appearance of the Castle and outworks, even in their present demolished
condition, is rather that of a ruined hamlet than a single fortress.
The necessity for extensive buildings, even for stores, may be
understood when we remember that the only communication by land could
be easily cut off, and the Castle placed in a state of close siege by a
very small opposing force.
An unlooked for adversary arose to this scheme in the person of the
Bishop of the diocese. This ecclesiastic, jealous of any encroachment
by the temporal on the spiritual power, took action against Sir
William, and solemnly excommunicated him by bell, book and candle for
trespassing upon consecrated ground. The Earl, usually brave enough
in secular matters, was timorous with those who wielded the power
over the soul. Fearful of the doom fulminated against him, he sought
the protection and absolution of Pope Benedict XIII., explaining that
ere he touched the ancient church he had provided for the spiritual
wants of the parish, and insisting that the times demanded that there
should be some such fortress as he had erected in that quarter for
the preservation of the lives of the parishioners. Benedict XIII.,
in the spirit of a wily Italian Pope, made capital out of both the
blunders of Bishop and warrior Earl, for he decreed that the sentence
of excommunication should be taken off the latter, and that upon the
payment of a fine to the Church the Earl should be allowed to enjoy the
Castle unmolested. And thus Sir William’s yearly ransom enabled him to
preserve his body from his foes in this world, and his soul from the
Enemy in the next.
This chapel was the scene of a very tragic occurrence a few years
later. In 1297 the English had gained possession of Dunnottar, and
placed a strong garrison there. But the dauntless Wallace had made
his way even into this strong fortress, and spread dismay among the
southern soldiers. The greater portion of them sought refuge near the
altar, trusting that the superstition of the time would prevent the
Scottish hero from violating the sanctity of that holy place. This
intrepid leader, however, had advanced too far thus to retire, and he
braved the terrors of the spiritual powers by enclosing these fugitives
within the church, and setting fire to it. From their dreadful fate no
escape was possible. The sacred structure overhung the raging waves of
the North Sea, and the only exit by land was guarded by the relentless
Wallace and his followers, and thus, by fire, by water, and by the
sword, perished four thousand of the English invaders. Ere blaming
Wallace too severely for this deed, we should remember the critical
period in which he lived, and the great stake of home and fatherland
for which he played.
Nor should we forget the long arrears of crime and oppression which
the English had incurred, and which only the most stringent measures
could repress. Harshness was not habitual with him, and there are times
when leniency is the worst form of mercy. And we may believe that he
had to steel his heart against compassion and discard all thoughts of
tenderness when he remembered his murdered wife, his slain father and
brethren, and his desolate and bleeding country.
“Not few nor slight his burdens are
Who gives himself to stand
Steadfast and sleepless as a star
Watching his fatherland.
Strong must his will be, and serene,
His spirit pure and bright;
His conscience vigilant and keen,
His arm an arm of might.”
The Castle, though frequently employed as an asylum for the
neighbouring inhabitants during the raids of lawless Highland
chieftains, does not appear conspicuously in history until the time of
the Civil Wars. The rapid changes in political faith which then took
place amongst the nobility rendered their Castles the frequent scenes
of retribution for crimes committed within their walls. And thus the
dungeons of Dunnottar Castle were tenanted alternately by Covenanters
and Episcopalians as either of these parties gained the ascendancy.
The traditional policy of the Keith family was distinctly Tory in its
tendency, and even when the existing holder of the title in 1645
had declared for the Covenant, it was but a half-hearted support
which he gave to the Lords of the Congregation. When, therefore, the
Marquess of Montrose, who had been won over to the King, was on his
way from the North and called upon Dunnottar to surrender in the
name of King Charles, it was with much difficulty that the possessor
of that fortress was prevented from declaring himself the vassal of
His Majesty. The persuasive eloquence of the Presbyterian clergymen,
his companions in the Castle, at length overcame his scruples, and
he fortified the place against the great Marquess, and put him to
defiance. Finding that he had no time to spend upon a formal siege of
Dunnottar, and doubting its importance in the guerilla warfare which he
then pursued, Montrose avenged himself by devastating the surrounding
country, and supplied the necessities of his army from the produce of
the inhabitants.
But “the whirligig of Time brings in his revenges,” and so it happened
shortly after that the Castle changed hands and found a new master, who
was as vigorous a persecutor as its former one had been a saint. Even
yet among the ruins is shown the “Whig’s Vault,” in which, according to
tradition, a number of the hill-folk were confined, and subjected to
extreme trials of fortitude and endurance. Torture was freely resorted
to, and boots, thumbkins, and racks were called into requisition to
provoke an abjuration of Presbyterianism. The rings are yet shown
to which prisoners were chained, and the “Martyrs’ Monument,” in the
ancient churchyard, serves to localise the tradition.
The historical incident, however, which is most distinctly associated
with the name of Dunnottar is the preservation of the regalia during
the invasion of Cromwell. When the Lord Protector had “crossed the
Rubicon” and openly broken with the Presbyterian party in the north,
he found that it was necessary for the establishment of his prestige
to strike a vigorous and decisive blow at the strength of the Scottish
Independents. The English leader was essentially a man of war, so
he buckled on his armour, and ere the Lords of the Congregation had
finished their stormy deliberations he had entered the country with
fire and sword. Here he found himself opposed by both the Tory and Whig
parties; yet, as these two would not coalesce against the common foe,
the strength of the country was divided, and he marched triumphantly
through Scotland, as he did through Ireland, making his name a terror
to the people. To General Monck he entrusted the reduction of the
Castles of Scotland which still held out against the Parliament, and
this victorious leader subdued them, one after the other, meeting
with little resistance from the people. Dunnottar was the last of the
Castles to be attacked, in 1652, and to its siege a particular interest
was attached.
Since the Union of the Crowns in the person of James VI., half a
century before this time, the Scottish nation had watched over the
regalia of the kingdom with peculiar jealousy. They had not succeeded
in retaining the ancient “Stone of Destiny” at Scone Palace, upon
which the Kings of Scots from time immemorial had been crowned, and
the superstition of the age led them to imagine that the luck of the
kingdom would depart if the Crown Jewels and Insignia were removed.
After the disastrous battle of Dunbar the Scottish leaders cast about
for a suitable place of safety for these precious relics, and the
Castle of Dunnottar was selected as the strongest fortress in their
possession. The emblems were conveyed thither in secrecy and dispatch,
and handed over to Lord Keith.
The place of their seclusion, however, was soon discovered, and, as the
cupidity of the English had been excited by extravagant accounts of the
value of the jewels, these became a special object of interest to them.
They laid close siege to the Castle, and prepared for a long campaign.
Sir George Ogilvy of Barras, then Governor, at once put Dunnottar in
a state of defence, and endeavoured to establish communications with
the land by the seaward side of the Castle. In this attempt he was
foiled, and the English Army, trusting to conquer by protracting their
blockade, resolutely encamped before the fortress. Even so extensive
a storehouse as Dunnottar must ultimately fail if sufficient time be
spent upon it, and when the stores at length gave token of reaching
a speedy termination, it became necessary to provide for the safe
keeping of the national honours. A very bold and daring scheme was
conceived and executed by the Governor, with the assistance of the
Rev. Mr. Grainger, minister of Kinneff, and his wife, then confined
to the Castle. For the purpose of putting the besiegers off their
guard, a report was circulated that the regalia had been sent to the
Continent in the charge of Sir John Keith, a brother of the Earl’s. So
industriously was this report spread that the vigour of the siege was
relaxed, and a fuller communication with the land permitted.
[Illustration: DUNNOTTAR CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
In these circumstances the courageous Mrs. Grainger applied to General
Monck for permission to remove some bundles of lint from the Castle, to
which she made claim, and, as he was more noted for gallantry than any
other of the Parliamentary generals, her request was readily granted.
With the sword and the sceptre enclosed in the bundles which her
servant carried, and with the crown secreted about her own person, she
boldly made her way through the English camp, receiving, it is said,
special attention from the general himself, and, taking the road to
Kinneff Church, where her husband awaited her, she finally deposited
her charge there. Mr. Grainger removed some of the flagstones in the
floor of the church, and, wrapping the precious articles in fine linen,
he deposited them there, where they lay unmolested until after the
Restoration of Charles II.
Meanwhile the Castle of Dunnottar, after a brave defence, was
compelled to surrender, and great was the disappointment of the English
when they found themselves checkmated. The unfortunate Governor was
subjected to close examination, and even, it is alleged, to the
torture, but he held his secret unflinchingly. The minister and his
wife were likewise ill-treated, but they steadfastly refused to betray
the hiding-place wherein they had disposed the valuable honours. And
thus the siege of Dunnottar, from which the Parliamentarian Army had
expected to reap such glorious spoils, became nothing but a barren
victory, and the sagacious leaders had to confess themselves outwitted
by a woman.
The end of the history of Dunnottar Castle came in the year 1715, a
date ever memorable in Scottish annals. The tenth Earl Marischal, who
then held sway there, was sufficiently ill-advised to join the rash
noblemen who took the field at that time in support of the Chevalier
de St George (James VIII). Ever noted for their devotion to the House
of Stuart, the Keiths were easily led into the Jacobite Rising, and
George, Earl Marischal, remained faithful to his troth until the
end. After the collapse of that unfortunate expedition the Earl was
attainted of treason, tried, and condemned, and as he was then upon the
Continent, and could not conveniently suffer beheading, it was decided
that Dunnottar Castle should be dismantled. And thus this ancient
fortress, which had for more than four hundred years maintained a bold
front against invasion and rebellion, was taken when defenceless by
the soldiers of the new dynasty, the fortifications razed to the dust,
and its halls left roofless and uninhabitable. The ruthless spirit of
oppression, stimulated by fear, which characterized the government of
that time, could not suffer so venerable a stronghold of the Stuart
family to remain unmolested. And it was the consideration of such
revengeful demolitions of ancient landmarks which prompted the old
Jacobite ballad which runs thus:--
“Our ancient Crown’s fa’en in the dust;
De’il blin’ them in the stour o’t,
An’ write their names in his black book,
Wha ga’e the Whigs the pow’r o’t.
Our sad decay in Kirk and State
Surpasses my descrivin’;
The Whigs cam’ ower us for a curse,
An’ we ha’e dune wi’ thrivin’.”
VI
CASTLE CAMPBELL
The Ochil Hills bear much the same relation to the East Coast of
Scotland as the Kilpatrick Hills do to the West. Though not in
themselves privileged to give rise to an extensive stream, they are
both inseparably associated with the noble rivers, the Forth and the
Clyde, which sweep majestically past their several bases on their way
to the eastern and western seas. But in point of grandeur the Ochils
transcend the western range, even as they are themselves dwarfed into
insignificance by the loftier hills of the north.
Opposed by the Pentland Hills, which limit the southern basin of the
Forth, the Ochils form a lofty barrier between the valleys of the
Forth and the Tay, and send tributary streams to swell the volume of
both of these rivers. Three minor ranges of the Sidlaws, the Ochils,
and the Pentland Hills thus enclose between them the two noblest
rivers on the East Coast of Scotland, and direct their course to the
North Sea. The Ochils, unlike the more northern mountains, are clad
with verdure almost to their summits, and though bold in outline and
varied in colour, they have not the sterile majesty of the peaks of
Aberdeenshire. At their base lie many little hamlets and towns,
whose subsistence is drawn rather from their manufactures than
from agriculture. Tillicoultry and Alva are alike famous for their
productions in the woollen trade, and the extensive factories which
here exist show that the introduction of steam as a motive power has
rather increased than diminished the number of weavers.
Pre-eminent among the Ochil towns stands Dollar, picturesquely situated
upon one of the innumerable “crooks of Devon,” which claims remembrance
from many causes. The educationalist will think of it as the site of
the famous Academy, to which many Scottish men of letters owe their
mental birth; the poet will remember it as the residence of Tennant,
the inimitable author of “Anster Fair,” and the immortalizer of “Maggie
Lauder”; and the Waltonian will never forget that in its neighbourhood
he has bagged the finest trout which the streams of Scotland afford.
For down by the very doors of the inhabitants of Dollar flows the
lovely river Devon, whose name is not unknown among the lyrics of
Scotland, since of it does our National Bard sing in his well-known
lay:--
“How pleasant the banks of the clear winding Devon,
With green spreading bushes and flowers blooming fair.”
It is not easy to find a more purely Scottish stream than this same
Devon river, which calls forth the enthusiasm of the tourist. Taking
its rise in the eastern end of the Ochil range, it wanders by the
natural dip of the land towards Lochleven; but a peculiar geological
formation interposes a barrier and diverts the stream westward, so
that, instead of having a short-lived existence ere it lost itself in
the loch, it “meandering flows” through many miles of varied scenery,
until at length it becomes tributary to the Forth. Nowhere does it
attain considerable size, but everywhere it presents the essential
phenomena of the Scottish stream. From the Crook of Devon, which is
literally the turning-point of its existence, it wanders placidly
between the banks with verdure crowned, until it nears Rumbling Bridge.
Here the rapid descent of the valley of Dollar causes it to assume a
more turbulent character, and, dashing through the “Devil’s Mill,”
where its stream is not seen, but heard as some weird subterranean
“voice of many waters,” it hurries on towards the Cauldron Linn. The
force of the water, continuously rushing for centuries, has hollowed
a vast basin in the sandstone rock, and the stream now pours through
a contracted aperture, with the force of a water-spout, sheer over
the precipice. From this point it descends more gently through the
valley of Dollar, presenting all the characteristics of a Scottish
salmon-stream, and realizing Tennyson’s description of “The Brook”:--
“I wind about, and in and out,
With here a blossom sailing,
And here and there a lusty trout,
And here and there a grayling.”
Passing near the town of Dollar, it takes a south-westerly direction
toward the Forth, merely catching a glimpse of the picturesque Castle
Campbell, which stands amid the green woodland of the hill.
Viewed from a distance, this ancient Keep might readily be mistaken for
some retiring mansion-house, embowered in a miniature forest of larch
and beech, or, by a stretch of the imagination, to the poet’s mind it
might seem
“A palace, lifting in eternal summer
Its marble head from out a glossy bower
Of leaves.”
Yet a nearer acquaintance with its topography will speedily dispel
this illusion. The approach to the Castle soon alters from the mild
riverside way with which it begins, to the rugged and stern mountain
path which terminates at the ruin. The “bower of leaves” becomes
a gloomy forest, and the “marble palace” vanishes into a grim and
solitary ruin, which frowns defiantly from the summit of a precipice,
apparently inaccessible. The road is now narrowed to its minutest
limit, and crosses the fearful chasm which partly surrounds the Castle
by one of those shaky wooden bridges which terrify the soul of the
timorous tourist. But the view to be obtained from this spot is well
worth the trouble thus occasioned. In the valley of the Devon its
glistening stream appears, disappears, and reappears far below the
spectator; and the spires of Dollar and the factories of Tillicoultry,
the scenes of the triumph of head and hand, are at once visible. Over
the rising ground which lies between the Devon and Alloa, the estuary
of the Forth may be seen, now expanded into a noble firth; while
westward the levelling country indicates the proximity of the fertile
Carse of Stirling.
Nearer the point of vision the two streams which flow around the
Castle and fall into the Devon a short way from it have been named by
some romantic native in pre-historic times, the Water of Care and the
Burn of Greif (Gryfe); while the ancient title of the ruin itself was
“the Castle of Gloom,” and the site of the melancholy trio was “the
Valley of Dolour.” This poetical combination, however, like so many
fanciful tales, has collapsed before the searching examination of
this practical age, and a new interpretation must now be given. The
name of Castle Gloom is probably a corruption of the Gaelic _Chleum_
or _Coch Leum_--the Mad Leap, though the origin of that title is lost
in obscurity. The Water of Care was most likely applied to the stream
after the building of the edifice, as it seems an easy transition from
_Caer_, the Celtic prefix for a castle and its surroundings. Dollar is
now supposed to have been originally _Balor_, the high field--a title
which its position justifies; and thus the tender element of romance
evaporates beneath analysis.
[Illustration: CASTLE CAMPBELL _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
The date of the erection of the Castle is now undiscoverable,
nor has the most elaborate investigation thrown much light upon its
origin. There is a tradition still current which declares that it was
a portion of the dowry which King Robert the Bruce bestowed upon his
sister, Lady Mary Bruce, on the occasion of her marriage with Sir Neil
Campbell of Lochow. But if this was the case it must have gone out of
the possession of the family afterwards, for it was certainly held by
Archbishop Schevet, of St Andrews, and was gifted by him to the head of
the Campbells in his time as a bribe to secure his support on a special
occasion. The Archbishop died in 1498 at an advanced age. In 1493 an
Act of Parliament was passed to enable the proprietor (apparently the
second Earl of Argyll) to change its name from “Castle of Gleume” to
“Castle Campbell,” by which designation it is still known. And though
it must have been peculiarly convenient for a powerful western clan to
have a stronghold of such security in the eastern district, whereby
disaffection might be overawed, the isolation of the Castle from the
main body of the Clan Campbell frequently exposed it to danger, and
finally brought about its destruction.
The rivalry between the clans of the east and the west of Scotland
raged with violence for centuries, and the untutored clansmen pursued
their feuds with the same deep spirit of revenge as a Corsican follows
the vendetta of his family. When, therefore, the Covenanters in the
time of Charles I. included two such eminent men as Montrose and
Argyll, the leaders of the Grahams and the Campbells, who had been
sworn foes for a lengthened period, it was soon evident that they could
not long remain devoted to the same cause. Their traditional enmity
effectually prevented them from coalescing, and the crafty spirit of
Argyll led him to attempt
“Ways that are dark,
And tricks that are vain,”
The haughty soul of Montrose recoiled from his leadership and renounced
the Covenanting cause which he had espoused. His overtures to the King
were well received at Court, for his reputation as a warrior had gone
before him, and he was looked upon as a Chevalier Bayard, _sans peur et
sans reproche_.
The exploits of the great Marquess of Montrose in Scotland read
more like a romance of olden times than veritable history; and his
heartfelt devotion to the King in good or ill-fortune elevate him to
the position of a hero. But the sun of the Stewart family was then
under eclipse; and it was not given to Montrose to be the instrument of
their restoration to power, however strenuous his endeavours for that
purpose; though, perhaps his cruel and ignominious death did as much
to forward the Royal Cause as his most brilliant victory on the field
of battle. The history of Montrose, however, is not to concern us at
present, save in its relation to Castle Campbell.
The period of Scottish history which treats of the Civil War during
the time of Charles I. and the Commonwealth, shows distinctly that the
gratification of private revenge and the settlement of family feuds
largely influenced the combatants. The wavering fortunes which inclined
now to the Covenanters and anon to the Royalists soon reduced the land
to the state in which Judæa was placed when “there was no King in
Israel.” Argyll had his own traditional enemies, but so also had every
prominent man in his retinue; and thus vengeance was widely spread, and
never lacked opportunity. The history of the time was a constant record
of murder and rapine, of insult and reprisal, until the condition of
the country became absolutely deplorable. The opposing forces soon
reached that stage at which no sense of honour restrains from excess,
and when the claims of family ties and blood relationships are boldly
set at naught or publicly outraged. And it was during this fearful
time, and as a result of this melancholy and fratricidal position that
Castle Campbell fell a victim to the general fury.
The Campbells, as already mentioned, were at feud with the Grahams, but
they were also sworn foes to the Ogilvies, another powerful eastern
clan, which commanded a large portion of Forfarshire. The Earl of
Airlie, leader of this clan and a devoted adherent of Charles I., had
removed to England early in the struggle of 1640, fearing that the
Covenanters would insist upon his signature. His Castles of Airlie
and Forter were left in charge of his son, Lord Ogilvy, and as they
were well-garrisoned, he thought they might escape the rage of the
enemy. But the Committee of Estates, undaunted by the check which the
young Lord had given them, issued a Commission of Fire and Sword to
Argyll, authorizing him to capture both these strongholds. The task was
a congenial one to the ruthless Argyll; and with fiendish glee he set
about its accomplishment. Directing an overwhelming force against the
Castle of Airlie, he compelled Lord Ogilvy to withdraw, and then, in
pursuance of his instructions from the Committee, he proceeded to raze
the walls and battlements.
A contemporary writer records that “Argyll was seen taking a hammer in
his hand, knocking down the hewed work of the doors and windows till
he did sweat for heat at his task.” And the ancient ballad from which
the following verses are quoted, details, with perhaps some superfluous
exaggerations, the poetical aspect of the grim scene:--
“It fell on a day, and a bonnie simmer day,
When green grew aits an’ barley,
That there fell oot a great dispute
’Tween gleyed Argyll an’ Airlie.
Argyll has raised ane hunder men,
Ane hunder harnessed rarely;
An’ he’s awa’ by the back o’ Dunkeld
To plunder the Castle o’ Airlie.
Lady Ogilvy looks ower her bower window,
An’ O, but she looks wearily;
An’ there she spied the great Argyll,
Come to plunder the bonnie house o’ Airlie.
‘Come down, come down, my Lady Ogilvy,
Come down an’ kiss me fairly.’
‘O, I wadna kiss the fause Argyll
Tho’ he shouldna leave a standin’ stane in Airlie.’
‘O, I ha’e seven braw sons,’ she said--
‘The youngest ne’er saw his daddie;
But tho’ I had ane hunder mae
I’d gi’e them a’ to King Charlie.
‘But gin my gude Lord had been at hame,
As this nicht he is wi’ Charlie,
There durstna a Campbell in a’ Argyll
Ha’e plundered the bonnie house o’ Airlie.
‘Gif my gude Lord was noo at hame,
As he is wi’ King Charlie,
The dearest blude o’ a’ thy kin
Wad slocken the burnin’ o’ Airlie!’”
Thus runs the old song, and though there seems too strong a flavour of
the Trojan dame in this Scottish matron, the strain proved prophetic,
for her Lord had the privilege on the bloody field of Kilsyth of
executing summary vengeance upon the Campbell clan in open battle.
Meanwhile, a partial revenge had been taken upon the unfortunate Castle
Campbell by the followers of Montrose. After the “glorious victory”
at Aulderne, that intrepid leader descended by the east coast to the
Forth, and then, striking across the country by way of Kinross and
Devon Valley, he thought to surprise and capture Stirling with little
effort. In his progress westward he had to pass this stronghold of
Argyll; and as the ruthless conduct of the cross-eyed Earl at Airlie
had been detailed to Montrose, he relaxed discipline to allow the
Ogilvies, who were with him, to indulge their revengeful spirit. These
were joined by the followers of the Earl of Stirling, whose house of
Menstrie, at the base of the Ochils, had been relentlessly destroyed
by the same hand. And as these avengers of blood marched boldly up
the narrow path towards the ancient Castle of Gloom, well might the
Campbells within its walls tremble
“To see the gallant Grahams come hame.
I’ll crown them east, I’ll crown them wast,
The bravest lads that e’er I saw;
They bore the gree in free fechtin’,
An’ ne’er were slack their swords to draw.
They won the day wi’ Wallace wight.
They were the lords o’ the south countrie;
Cheer up your hearts, brave cavaliers,
The gallant Grahams ha’e come ower the sea!”
The resistance offered to the assault must have been slight, since the
position of the Castle might have rendered defence easy. But the name
of Montrose acted as a magic spell upon his enemies; and this token
of western power fell into the hands of the warriors of the east, and
was laid waste by fire and sword. Nor have its lofty battlements since
borne the Banner of Argyll, with the Galley of Lorne, and the proud
motto of the Campbells, _Ne obliviscaris_.
VII
ROTHESAY CASTLE
[Illustration: ROTHESAY CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
As the County of Kinross, one of the smallest in area of the divisions
of Scotland, contains within its limited space variety of scenery and
wealth of historic association unequalled by larger counties, so Bute,
one of the least considerable of the islands of the west, appears to
the intelligent observer as a miracle of loveliness, teeming with facts
and fancies of olden times. The River Clyde, which here debouches into
the Atlantic Ocean, surrounds the islands of Bute, Arran, and the
Cumbraes, each presenting a different type of beauty from the others,
and claiming diverse meads of praise. The scenery of Arran, whose bold
outline of rugged alpine peaks in barren grandeur is thrown against the
sky, contrasts with the commonplace elevation of the Cumbraes, whose
gentle, undulating eminences are too fruitful and well-cultivated to
become the home of romance. To Bute is reserved that combination of
wild, unsophisticated nature and extreme civilization which holds the
greatest charm for the tourist of modern times. From the inconsiderable
heights which this island affords, you may overlook the broad expanse
of water which lies betwixt Bute and the Ayrshire coast, whose
continuous outline becomes reduced shorewards, until it terminates in
the distant point of Port Crawford; or, looking northward, the grim
desolation of the Cowal shore presents a different scene. There the
o’ertopping Argyll mountains fade away into obscurity, filling in the
distant background with some far-remote Ben, which none save an expert
will venture to name. There are not many places in Scotland where, at
one moment, we may find ourselves--
“Far ’lone amang the Hieland hills
’Mid Nature’s wildest grandeur;”
and at the next may turn to view--
“The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples”
of a very advanced civilization. Yet these are points in the island of
Bute from which the beholder may elect either to feast his eyes upon--
“The hills embrowned with brackens’ rusty gold,
And the bell-heather,”
telling of the scanty pasturage and waste lands which produce the men
of war; or to turn his gaze upon the--
“Deep waving fields and pastures green,
With gentle slopes and groves between,”
of a highly-civilized land, which exhibits the blessings of peace.
From a slight elevation the eye may at one glance see the ancient town
of Rothesay, stretching around the shore of its crescent-shaped bay,
and uplifting its multi-form spires and towers above the din and tumult
of constant traffic; and at the same time it may rest upon the placid
waters of Loch Ascog or Loch Fad, embosomed amid the uplands of the
island, and reposing as tranquilly as though they were situated in the
least-frequented hills of the Northern Highlands.
The summit of the heath-clad steep of Barone Hill permits a very wide
expanse of country to be seen; and topographers of an arithmetical
turn may reckon up twelve counties as being thus brought within the
range of vision. The receding coast of Ayrshire allows a broad sheet
of water to extend southwards to the horizon; and the Argyll shore,
suddenly trending westward, and terminating in the elongated peninsula
of Cantyre, leaves Bute standing alone amid the surrounding element--
“A priceless gem, set in a silver sea.”
The very minuteness of the separate portions of the scene gives
a kind of fairy charm to it. For it seems as if one were looking
upon some exquisite model of Scottish landscape, wherein might be
seen, upon a reduced scale, the loch, the hillside, and the river,
with every distinctive characteristic which belongs to “the land
of the mountain and the flood.” And so this lovely islet is but a
microcosm, a toy-model of Scottish scenery. One is not astonished,
therefore, to find that Bute has some pre-historic ruins of a religious
establishment, whose unwritten story must be of a remote date.
The remains of the ancient Chapel of St Blane may still be seen
nestling in a sequestered dell in the southern part of the island;
and here, if tradition may be believed, the holy Blane has peacefully
reposed for these last thirteen centuries. The architecture of the
Chapel certainly belongs to an era of comparative antiquity, though
the dates of some of the earlier chroniclers of the Saints are no
more reliable than the chronology of the Chinese historians. The
story of Saint Blane as now preserved in the traditions of the island
must be taken with “a pinch of salt,” as the Romans used to say. A
certain bishop from Ireland (these Irish people early found the way to
Caledonia), called St Chattan, had selected this part of Bute as his
residence, and here he settled with his sister Erca, resolved to effect
the conversion of the pagans of Scotland to the true and universal
faith. Whatever effect the ministrations of the holy man may have had
upon the natives is now unknown; but it is recorded that whilst he was
powerless to win over the King of Scots to his religion, the beauty
of his sister enticed that sovereign from the path of rectitude. The
unhappy Erca, when her crime could no longer be hid, was visited with
the punishment then deemed the best corrective for errors of judgment.
She was placed in a coracle, or boat of skins, and set adrift upon
the bosom of the Clyde, a living Elaine in search of her faithless
Lancelot. The wind and the tide bore her far away southwards, and cast
her, with her helpless babe, upon the hospitable shore of Ireland.
Here she was rescued by two generous Hibernian monks, who baptized the
little stranger by the name of “Blaan,” and tended and cared for him
for some time. At length he was sent to his uncle, Chattan, in Bute,
who adopted and educated him for the priesthood, and shortly after
his ordination he journeyed to Rome, and was consecrated Bishop by
the occupant of St Peter’s Chair. Returning to Scotland he settled in
Perthshire, founding the sacred house of Dunblane, of which See he was
the first bishop; and after his demise his remains were conveyed to
Kilchattan Bay, in Bute, the scene of his early life, to rest near the
relics of his uncle and benefactor.
Not far from St Blane’s Chapel there stands a vitrified Roman fort,
showing that these ubiquitous conquerors had penetrated even here, and
left the traces of their civilizing influences behind them. Indeed,
the name “Bute” is said by some philologists to be a corruption of the
Latin “budæ,” the name applied by the Roman historians to the western
isles of Scotland. The defective geography of the time probably led
them to imagine that the whole of the west coast was protected by a
continuous chain of islands, extending from Orkney (“Ultima Thule”)
to Arran, inhabited by a savage and irreclaimable people, upon whom
the arts of Italy could exercise no humanizing power. Bute, therefore,
seems to have been the spot chosen by them as the extreme limit of the
civilization of western Scotland, and here they terminated their line
of defence.
All theories upon the origin of the fort of Dunna-Goil, regarding which
no authentic records exist, are but founded upon conjecture, and set
solely upon circumstantial evidence. The antiquity of Rothesay Castle,
though wrapt in some obscurity, is not so far removed from written
history; and as the interest attached to it arises from its connection
with known events in the annals of Scotland, the influence of inventive
romance is not so apparent.
The ancient Castle of Rothesay is peculiarly situated. The bay takes
a gigantic sweep inland from the point of Bogany to that of Ardbeg;
and at the very centre of this hemisphere, only a few yards from the
shore, this venerable pile has been erected. Unlike most of the ancient
Castles, it is built upon low ground, and might be easily commanded
from the heights. Its position, however, has doubtless been chosen
as affording an extensive view of the Firth of Clyde, though the
clustering dwellings which now surround it effectually interrupt the
prospect. The building is considerable in extent, though the various
styles of architecture and the methods of masonry employed show that
the original structure has been very much enlarged. Possibly the
nucleus around which these additions have been made was the circular
tower on the east side, which bears the greatest resemblance to the
antique forts of remote times. And the derivation of the name of
Rothesay, which authorities say is compounded from the Gaelic _Roth_,
a circle, and _Suidh_ a seat, give some countenance to the theory
that the circular donjon was the earliest part of the building. The
crow-stepped Flemish gables and circle-top windows of other portions
belong to a period much nearer our own time.
The Castle has been of sufficient compass to contain within its walls
an extensive court-yard and a private chapel. Though now entirely
roofless, there are many traces left of foundations and razed walls
which sufficiently indicate the importance and extent of the Castle. In
many parts of the buildings the walls are over seven feet in thickness,
and are composed mostly of square-hewn stones with rough rubble-work.
The edifice is surrounded by a moat fifteen feet deep by about nine
feet wide, which is supplied with water from Loch Fad, though probably
in the earlier days of the Castle the waters of the bay have laved its
walls.
The main doorway is the least imposing portion of the structure, though
the sculptured arms above it, and the portcullis groove in the lintels
still challenge the attention of the antiquary. The clustering ivy
which luxuriates in every portion of the Castle, clothing its rugged
front with vesture of perennial green, serves to enhance the romantic
effect of the whole scene, and to awaken those memories of the past
which are ever associated with this “dainty plant that creepeth o’er
ruins old.” And the past of Rothesay Castle is not uneventful.
It is supposed that the original building was erected by Magnus
Barefoot, King of Norway, some time about the end of the 11th century.
This redoubtable sea-king had conquered the Hebridean Isles, and,
descending as far south as Bute, he there established a post from which
he might menace the mainland of Scotland. And if this tradition be
correct, it is curious to note that this Royal Castle of Rothesay was
erected by an alien and an invader, and must have stood for many years
as a sign of the subjection of the natives to a foreign yoke. Yet those
jovial fair-haired Norwegians were no ascetics, but bold, free-handed,
and frank, as befitted the warriors whose “march was o’er the mountain
waves,” whose “home was on the deep.” And these old walls, in their
earliest days, must have witnessed many a scene of “gamyn and glee,”
and resounded upon festive occasions with “mirth and youthful jollity.”
For we know the method of the Norwegian rover’s life from the Saga of
King Olaf--
“The guests were loud, the ale was strong,
King Olaf feasted late and long;
The hoary Scalds together sang,
O’erhead the smoky rafters rang.”
And with some such rites as these was the baptism of Rothesay Castle
accomplished in those distant times.
Some romantic theorists assert that the true meaning of Rothesay in
Gaelic is “Wheel of Fortune,” and state that this name was bestowed
upon it in consequence of the rapid changes which took place in the
possession of this ancient fortalice. The original appellation given
to it by its Norwegian founders is now unknown; but the study of its
history sufficiently justifies this fanciful title, as shall now be
related.
The topographical position of many of our Scottish Castles made them
historical, even though they had no intrinsic claim upon the historian.
The names of many of them are preserved, not so much in consequence
of their importance as because they occupied debatable land, upon
which opposing armies continually met to decide their contests. Such
a position did Rothesay Castle occupy. Situated at the entrance to
the estuary of the Clyde, and possessing a well-sheltered harbour and
good post of observation, it was naturally one of the coveted spots
which attracted the attention of the northern invaders. The Norwegians
and Danes, who successively over-ran the coasts of Scotland, were not
ignorant of the advantages possessed by the hold of this fort, and
thus it happened that many a bloody fray took place beneath its walls.
And so, for a hundred and fifty years after its erection the Castle
changed hands frequently, until it came at length into the power of
the Norwegians after a protracted siege.
The native Scots had not sufficient strength to dislodge them from
this coign of vantage, and when Hako, the Dane, led his great Armada
into the Firth of Clyde, he found in Rothesay a safe harbour for his
fleet, and a strong fortress for his protection. Warily extending his
conquests, he took possession of Arran and the Cumbraes, preparatory
to making a descent upon the mainland; and gathering together the
combined forces of Norway and Denmark, he landed on the Ayrshire coast
immediately opposite Bute. But the young King, Alexander III., had
already aroused the Scottish peoples to resistance, and, marching
himself at the head of his army, he met the invaders at Largs, but a
short distance from their point of landing.
The fortunes of war were not soon decided, as neither party gained
palpable advantage over the other; and so the battle was renewed upon
three successive days. But Neptune and Æolus, the gods of the Sea and
the Wind, came to the aid of Britain, as they did three centuries
later against the Spanish Armada of Philip II. The wild nor’-east wind
sweeping down the Firth, and lashing the troubled waters into fury,
drove the Danish ships from their anchorage, and dashed them helplessly
upon the unfriendly shore. The noble barks, which had withstood the
gales of many years, were powerless in the narrow, unknown channels
in which they were drifting; and the Danes found in their melancholy
experience that neither the winds nor the waves would obey them.
The Scots were active in taking advantage of this occasion; and they
drove the too-confident invaders ignominiously from their coasts. Hako
retired with difficulty, taking the remnant of his army to Orkney; and
there, lamenting the flower of his warriors and his own near kinsmen
slain in this disastrous conflict, he finally expired, the victim of
grief and despair. Thus ended the Battle of Largs, the last contest
betwixt the Scots and Danes upon our native soil. Nearly six centuries
after, the descendants of those warriors met in widely-diverse
circumstances. Then “mighty Nelson” led his fleet through the waters
of the Baltic to the very walls of Copenhagen, and proved to the
successors of the Vikings of old that their rule over the ocean was
at an end. And if Hako mourned in defeat the brave army which he left
shattered and destroyed on the shores of the Clyde, not less, even when
crowned with victory, should we--
“Think of those who sleep
Full many a fathom deep,
By thy wild and stormy steep,
Elsinore.”
After the Battle of Largs, the Castle of Rothesay was garrisoned by
the troops of King Alexander, and the Scots remained in possession of
it until the faint-hearted John Baliol surrendered it to Edward of
England, as an atonement for his heinous crime of independence. But the
valour of King Robert the Bruce freed Scotland from the presence of
the English soldiers for a time, and he regained the Castle. Scottish
politics became confused after his death; and when Randolph, the
Regent, died, affairs reached a crisis. Edward Baliol, collecting a
scratch army in England, took advantage of the prevailing confusion,
and made a rapid descent upon Scotland. His attempts were crowned with
success, however undeserved; and as the young King, David Bruce, had
been hastily conveyed to Dumbarton Castle, as a place of security, the
invader followed him closely, and took the Castle of Rothesay with
ease. His army, however, was not of sufficient strength to enable him
to garrison this stronghold, and it soon submitted to the partizans
of the King. And when, some fifty years later, the troubled state of
Scotland had been somewhat allayed, the beauty of the surrounding
country and the salubrity of the climate, which had not been noticed in
warlike times, then attracted attention. Robert II., the first of the
long line of Stewart Kings, visited the Castle upon several occasions,
and latterly selected it as his residence.
After his death his son John, who ascended the throne under the title
of Robert III., continued to hold Rothesay in favour; so much so that
he conferred the title of Duke of Rothesay upon his eldest son, making
this an hereditary title for the heir-apparent. Hence the Prince of
Wales, who is Duke of Cornwall, and was Earl of Dublin in Ireland,
is Duke of Rothesay and Baron Renfrew in Scotland. The fate of the
first Duke of Rothesay could not be regarded as a good augury by his
contemporaries. The mild King Robert III., unfitted by an accident in
early youth from mingling in the warlike employments of the time, was
possessed of a mind more inclined to religious melancholy and austerity
than chivalrous bravery. It was, therefore, with deep regret and pain
that he heard of the wild and licentious character of his son, the new
Duke of Rothesay. The restraint imposed on this unhappy young man by
the influence of his mother had been withdrawn at her death; and he had
given loose rein to his passions, and would abide no rebuke. The King,
his father, was weak enough to allow his own brother, the wily Duke
of Albany, to poison his mind against Rothesay. So great an influence
did Albany gain over the King that he finally obtained permission to
confine Rothesay in close ward.
The Duke of Albany lost no time in putting this power into practice;
with the assistance of an unprincipled retainer he seized his nephew
and conveyed him to his own Castle of Falkland, where Rothesay was
enclosed in one of the darkest dungeons, and refused the ordinary
necessaries of life. Many strange stories are told regarding this
inhuman treatment. It is said that one of the female servants assisted
to keep him in life by dropping meal into his prison-chamber through
the crevices of the floor above; whilst another bestowed upon him a
portion of the provision which Nature had made for the support of her
own children. Rothesay’s unnatural uncle, having discovered the sources
of this succour, ruthlessly put both of these ministering angels to
death. When life became insupportable, the unhappy youth was relieved
from his misery by welcome death, after enduring the most fearful
torture of which the human frame is capable. His body was quietly
conveyed to Lindores Abbey and buried there, and his ambitious uncle
found himself, by his machinations, one step nearer to the throne. The
title of Duke of Rothesay was transferred to his brother James, who
afterwards ascended the throne as first of that name, and closed an
unhappy life by a violent death.
After the murder of the first Duke of Rothesay, his father, King
Robert, fearful that a similar fate might befall his only remaining
son, resolved to send him to France for safety. But the ship in which
the Duke sailed was captured by an English vessel, and the Prince was
sent into captivity in London. The news of this fresh calamity fell
with crushing weight upon the old King, and brought him, heart-broken,
to his grave; for, like Israel of old, he may have said, “If I am
bereaved of my children, I _am_ bereaved.” And as the night of sorrow
closed around him in his Castle of Rothesay, and he thought of one son
murdered and another in hopeless captivity, whilst the brother, to
whom he had trusted all, had proved faithless and untrue, death must
have seemed a glad release to him from the life-long trouble he had
endured.
It must not be imagined that there are no pleasant episodes connected
with Rothesay Castle. There is a story told of an unwilling visit paid
to it by James V., which is not a little amusing. That merry monarch,
whilst still “the Guidman of Ballengeich,” had often gone in quest of
amorous adventures, but at length he resolved to settle down to serious
matrimony, and set forth, like Cœlebs, in search of a wife. An intimate
connection had ever been maintained betwixt Scotland and France, and as
a union with that country was most desirable, James naturally turned
his thoughts in that direction. But the reformed doctrines had made
many converts in Scotland, and the nobles looked with disfavour upon a
project which might place them at the mercy of the ultra-Roman Court of
France. James was self-willed, however, and would not be diverted from
his purpose. He sailed from Leith, therefore, with the avowed intention
of wedding a French Princess, despite remonstrances of his advisers.
The weather was propitious, and with “youth at the prow and pleasure at
the helm,” his noble bark sailed onwards. But the grim Scottish Barons
performed the journey most unwillingly, and at length laying their
heads together, they resolved to trick the King out of his purpose.
One night whilst he was asleep they persuaded the captain to put about
ship and to run back to Scotland. Whilst their unconscious victim was
peacefully dreaming of love and joy in France, his ship was speeding
fast homewards and placing the rolling sea betwixt him and his hopes.
Judge then of his surprise and indignation when he awoke to find that
the distance between him and love was increasing rather than lessening,
and that the power over his actions had been usurped by his officious
advisers. He raged and stormed, and swore most likely (for at that time
to “swear like a Scot” was a saying on the Continent), and vowed to
punish the whole body of traitors who had dared to coerce him. Against
the captain especially was his wrath turned, for the historian of the
incident relates that “had not beine the earnest solisitatioun of monie
in his favours he had hanged the skipper incontinent.”
To vindicate his power he ordered them again to change their course,
and selecting Bute as his resting-place, he remained for some time in
the Castle of Rothesay, until preparation had been made to convey him
to Stirling. Like all his race, this headstrong Prince became violent
under opposition; and as though influenced irresistibly by the magnet
of love, he rested not until he had set out again to wed a damsel whom
he had never seen. The unhappy Queen Magdalene, daughter of the King of
France, whom he brought back to Scotland, survived her nuptials only
forty days; and shortly afterwards James journeyed again to France
upon a similar errand, returning with Mary of Guise as his bride, the
mother of the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots.
During the disturbed reign of Charles I., the Castle of Rothesay was
garrisoned in the interests of the King by its hereditary custodian,
Sir James Stewart of Bute; but no serious engagement took place there,
and the troops were despatched to aid the royal cause in other parts
of the kingdom. When Cromwell entered Scotland he caused the soldiers
of the Commonwealth to take possession of Rothesay Castle, probably
anticipating that the resistance of the Highland Clans would be
focussed there; and as he did not care to leave a garrison so far from
his main army, he instructed his men to destroy the strongest parts of
the edifice. The command was faithfully obeyed by the Independents, to
whom the demolition of Cathedral or Castle seems to have been alike
palatable. And Rothesay, which had been a tower of strength for nearly
six centuries, never again held its head aloft in proud defiance.
The old saying that “Time tries all,” applies to Rothesay Castle, which
was now drawing to the end of its existence as a royal residence.
The Stewart line, the members of which had been its first patrons,
had fallen upon evil days. Charles I. was beheaded; Charles II. died
without legitimate heir; and the turbulent reign of the Duke of York
(James VII.) had spread dismay amongst the majority of the Scottish
nation. Many of the Covenanting nobles had found refuge at the Court
of William of Orange, and chief among them was the unfortunate Earl
of Argyll, who, by a most iniquitous sentence, had been attainted and
outlawed. The plots of William of Orange against his father-in-law,
then styled “James II. and VII.,” afforded opportunity for the
malcontents. The growing feeling of dissatisfaction encouraged the
expatriated noblemen to attempt a rising against the Government;
and the joint-expeditions of the Duke of Monmouth and the Earl of
Argyll were organised. It was proposed that the former should land
on the southern shores of England while the latter made a diversion
by invading the northern part of the kingdom. In June 1685, Monmouth
landed in Dorset, and speedily drew a formidable following to his
standard; but the rash encounter which he dared at Sedgemoor finally
overthrew him, and awoke the vengeance of a ruthless government.
Argyll’s expedition had no more fortunate issue. The leaders had
disputed as to the proper point of attack; and in the multitude of
counsellors there is danger. Argyll insisted upon landing in his own
country, while some of the Lowland nobles more reasonably proposed
to win over the landed proprietors in the south of Scotland by force
or persuasion. A compromise was finally adopted whereby the first
landing was arranged to take place in Argyll, but the attack to be
directed against the rich counties bordering upon the Clyde. Landing
in Cantyre, the little army was soon increased by the Campbell Clan;
and, taking possession of Rothesay Castle, they fortified it, storing
the ammunition upon one of the small islands in the Kyles of Bute. But
the irresolution of the Earl proved the destruction of the army. Urged
by the confederated leaders to advance and give battle, he at last
consented to move the troops into the Lennox country, but here, when in
the presence of the enemy, his courage forsook him, and he declined to
risk an encounter. There is often as much skill in avoiding a contest
as in daring it; but Argyll could neither lead an assault nor conduct
a retreat, and his army was soon dispersed without having endured an
engagement. He was himself taken as a fugitive, and as he had been
sentenced to death in 1681, he was executed in 1685 without another
trial, though he had again been a rebel--an instance of the vindictive
rigour of the time.
Meanwhile the stores which Argyll had laid up near Rothesay were
taken by the King’s soldiers, and his brother, Lord Niel Campbell,
whom he had left at the Castle, made his escape from the island of
Bute, destroying the fortress ere he fled, and leaving little to the
conquerors save the blackened and charred ruins which now remain. And
thus, after a long and honourable career, this noble pile closed its
history in no memorable conflict, nor amid the din of contending hosts,
but during the tumult of a sham revolt the torch of the incendiary was
applied to the structure in wanton malice by the hand of a Scottish
nobleman. The third Marquess of Bute (1847-1900) did much to restore
the outer portion of the Castle, the changes made by him being shown by
the use of red sand-stone, so that they may be easily distinguished.
VIII
CASTLE FRAOCH-EILEAN, LOCH AWE
The scenery of Loch Awe is deservedly held in remembrance by the
tourist who has once witnessed its beauty. It is not easy to select
from amongst the Scottish lakes that sheet of water which most fully
exhibits the characteristics of Highland landscape; but it will be
found that those travellers whose experience of Scotland’s lochs and
hills is widest are inclined to ascribe a very high position to Loch
Awe in comparison with wilder and more northern scenes. Embosomed
amid “Heaven-kissing hills,” and dotted with many islets crowned with
verdure, this vast inland loch washes a shore-line which presents many
varied aspects to the beholder. The glen in which it lies is formed
by the overhanging hills of Argyllshire which rise precipitously all
around, sometimes attaining so extreme an altitude that the extent
of the loch is dwarfed beside them. Although nearly thirty miles in
length, Loch Awe does not exceed two miles in breadth, and the frequent
storms which come sweeping down from Glen Strae and the Pass of Brander
keep the waters in such constant motion that it seems to be some
gigantic river rather than a peaceful mountain-lake.
The isles which lie cradled in its bosom are rich in foliage, which
contrasts with the bare, brown, heath-clad mountain summits, whose
bold outline stands relieved against the sky, and in the midst of the
overwhelming grandeur of the scene they assume fairy-like proportions
which their actual extent does not justify. Far away north rises
the peak of Ben Cruachan, whose summit is 3611 feet above the level
of the sea. The springs which feed the tributary streams in this
quarter mostly owe their origin to this mountain, and the valley which
stretches from its base forms the bed of Loch Awe. The tradition which
accounts for the origin and present position of the loch may be of
special interest to the reader, and is not well-known.
In the times of remote antiquity, ere wizards, witches, and fairies
had been scared from Scotland, the rich and fertile valley now covered
by the waters of the loch, was in the possession of a brave and
fearless woman, the daughter of a former chief who held the locality.
For years she ruled the land which belonged to her wisely and well;
but by some hidden means the “uncanny folk” gained an ascendency over
her, and wrought their wicked purposes upon her. She was laid under a
spell which doomed her to death unless she performed a certain task
with unfailing regularity. Her duty was a peculiar one. Midway up Ben
Cruachan there was a tiny spring whose limpid waters had often solaced
the chief’s daughter and refreshed her followers upon their return
from the chase; for in those days the toils and dangers of this sport
did not terrify the softer sex. This spring she was enjoined to cover
each night with a cabalistic stone whose potency should avert unheard
of dangers from her. The unknown is always terrible; and in dread of a
peril which she could not understand, she did not fail to perform her
nightly duty, though with fear and trembling.
At last a moment’s weakness accomplished her destruction. Returning
after a weary and fruitless chase one day, she was separated from her
companions, and, footsore and “forfouchten,” disappointed in mind and
exhausted in body, she sank down at the base of Ben Cruachan, unable
to reach her home. There are times when the most vigorous intellect
must succumb to the influence of physical exhaustion, no matter
how important the duties may be which lie before it, and then the
overburdened spirit, weary of resistance, abandons the contest.
“Is it not pitiful
Our souls should be so bound about with flesh,
Even when they leap and smite with wings and feet,
The least pain plucks them back, puts out their eyes,
Turns them to tears and words?”
And so this Highland Diana, this mighty huntress, sank to rest beneath
a beechen tree at the foot of the hill. She knew that the setting sun
had its duty for her, but, reckless of consequences, she fell into a
deep and troubled sleep.
She was destined to endure a rude awakening. Ere long there came
the ceaseless drip-dripping of a running streamlet, which mingled
pleasantly with her dreams, but soon increased to the murmur of the
rill, the rush of the mountain-torrent, the thunder of the cascade; and
the _Cailleach Bhe’ir_ awoke to find herself in the midst of a raging
flood. The insignificant spring which she had despised had now become a
foaming sea, and the fair and fertile vale, once her loved inheritance,
was now the prey of the merciless waters. Regret became despair, and
she plunged into the seething abyss, never more to return. And now Loch
Awe stretches its waters, glistening in silver sheen, over this once
fertile Vale of Tempe; and the gentle undulations which arose upon the
plain appear as crested islets, crowned with foliage, or fringed with
sedge and dwarf willow.
One of the loveliest of these islands is that known as _Fraoch Eilean_,
the Isle of Heather. On the mainland, immediately opposite to it, the
mountain surfaces descend precipitously, forming the deep valley known
as the Pass of Awe. Yet though exposed to the rude Borean blasts which
sweep in fury down the loch from this spot, Fraoch-Eilean has ever
maintained its fertile appearance. The verdant trees which cluster
round the ruins of the ancient Castle effectually screen it from the
view; and few save those who care to explore the recesses of the wood
are conscious of its existence. But the venturous spirit who threads
the weedy maze by which it is encompassed will be repaid for his
labour.
Though now roofless and uninhabitable the Castle, sometimes called
Dunderawe, exhibits traces of its former strength, which plainly show
that it was fitted to become the stronghold of a powerful Argyllshire
Clan. And from the vantage ground afforded by the crumbling walls and
tottering battlements the daring climber may obtain an enchanting
view of the valley of Loch Awe. Northward the Pass appears to follow
the trend of the basin of the loch, and, but for its elevation, would
naturally have been a prolongation of it. The height of the hills which
rise on either side causes this spot to become the scene of some of
the grandest phenomena of storm and tempest. Their lofty crests, by
intercepting the fleecy clouds which float in ether, bring frequent
showers at unexpected moments upon the lowly vale, or, by attracting
the dark-rolling thunder cloud, precipitate the atmospheric tumult, and
draw down the ruddy levin-brand upon their elevated summits.
[Illustration: FRAOCH-EILEAN CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
Southward, through the interlacing boughs, the silvery lake may be seen
extending itself, with many a winding turn and creek, and encircling
the sister isles of Innis-Hail, Eilean-taigert, and Innis-Connel, each
claiming notice for some tale of long ago, inwoven with its history.
To the east and west rise those peaks whose drainage, by stream and
torrent, reaches the loch, and whose position compels the wild north
wind frequently to rush with irresistible force down the channel
thus formed, and to lash the placid waters of the lake into foam and
fury. Fenced from the storm by the trees which rustle in the blast, the
wayfarer may turn his gaze upon the scene which is thus spread around,
and feel that--
“’Tis pleasant from the loopholes of retreat
To peep at such a world.”
Like many other ruins on the shores of the loch, the Castle of
Fraoch-Eilean has an unwritten history. Tradition records that the
island was gifted to Sir Gilchrist Macnaughton by Alexander III., who
caused the first Castle to be built there in 1267, and handed it over
to the chief by making him perpetual Castellan. The only duty imposed
upon him was the seldom-exercised one of providing entertainment
for the King of Scotland should he pass that way. But the journey
to the wilds of Argyllshire was not often attempted by the Scottish
rulers in early days; for the state of the roads and the manners of
the inhabitants made it neither pleasant nor safe for the King’s
Majesty to venture within their bounds. And when Robert Bruce made his
presence known in the locality, it was as an errant knight in search
of a kingdom; and as the sworn foe of Macdougal of Lorn, he could
not receive the homage of the lesser Chief Macnaughton. The keeping
of the Castle, therefore, became somewhat of a sinecure, so far as
kingly visits were concerned. Only once is there record of special
preparations having been made for a royal guest, and these ended in
disappointment and failure.
During “Scotland’s fule-time” in 1745, when the northern clans became
insane upon the subject of government, and madly sought to place their
King-Stork again upon the throne, the Macnaughtons were not exempt
from the national frenzy. Prince Charlie, the gay inheritor alike of
the vices and virtues of his race, was to pass near the shores of
Loch Awe upon a semi-royal progress, and it became necessary that his
Castellan should furnish his royal seat of Fraoch-Eilean, and provide
such entertainment as befitted the heir of a line of kings. Doubtless
the silent woods of the heath-clad isle resounded to the din and tumult
which the unwonted occasion called forth and made necessary, and the
hereditary cobwebs were swept from their places, lest they should
offend the eye of Royalty. Horace describes a similar preparation for a
feast in these terms:--.
“While all the hands were hard at work, and boys and
girls ran here and there;
And brightly glowed the fires, which rolled their murky
smoke to outer air.”
But the ways of the Stewarts were not like the ways of ordinary
mortals, and Prince Charlie suddenly altered his intention and passed
the Castle heedlessly by. Now the boldest Macnaughton in that ancient
and honourable clan would scarcely care to invite the royal presence
to dignify the grey ruin which was once the seat of his chief.
Though there are few stories related of the Castle, the island itself
is not bereft of tradition. By one of those curious coincidences which
startle the student of folk-lore, it will be found that the ancient
Greek fable of the Hesperides has its counterpart in a tale which has
been handed down for many generations amongst the dwellers on the
shores of this remote Highland loch. It may be possible to invent an
explanatory theory to account for this fact; but as the romance alone
make the frivolous tale endurable, the task would be a thankless one.
Once on a time there dwelt on the borders of Loch Awe a certain lovely
“lady, the wonder of her kind,” at whose feet knelt the bravest knights
and the gayest courtiers of whom the locality could boast. To Sir
Fraoch, however, did her heart incline; but with that caprice which
so often works woe to womankind, she refused to bestow her hand upon
him until he had accomplished some stupendous task which would place
him above his rivals in knightly daring. The green isle, against whose
shores the waters of the loch were fretting into foam, had long been
famous as the natural orchard in which grew apples of gold fitted to
charm the life of the possessor, and to confer unimagined blessings.
But this precious fruit was jealously guarded by a huge serpent, the
rival of Behemoth, whose very name carried fear and dread to the
hearts of the natives. With that folly and unreason which is sometimes
found even in the tenderest bosom, the Lady of Loch Awe charged her
knight as a true man and faithful lover to bring her some of these
golden apples of fabled virtue, in defiance of the grisly monster in
whose charge they were held.
Sir Fraoch thought not of the toil or danger, but only of the glorious
reward which should be his, and at once addressed himself to his task.
Entering his skiff he rowed rapidly towards the Isle of Heather, and
daring wind and tide at last beached his tiny vessel. Drawing his
sword from its sheath to be ready for any emergency he boldly leapt
ashore, and looked around in vain for an opponent. The dreaded serpent
seemed to him but a phantom of the imagination, since no trace of it
was visible. Advancing through the wilderness of verdure which covered
the isle, he sought to gain the spot where tradition had placed the
auriferous tree.
“His path was rugged and sore;
Through tangled juniper, beds of reeds,
Through many a fen where the serpent feeds,
And man never trod before.”
But at length he won the coveted prize, and plucking some of the
wished-for fruit he endeavoured to reach his boat. To his dismay he
found his return prevented by the wily monster, who had suffered him
to land upon this Circean isle that his prey might be more secure.
Powerless are the emissaries of evil against the true-hearted knight
(in fable at least), and after a deadly struggle Sir Fraoch escaped to
his skiff, leaving the terror of the island vanquished and overthrown.
Faint from the fury of the fray in which he had been engaged, the
knight rowed more slowly back to his lady’s hall than he had set forth
at early morn; and, tempted by the beauty of the fruit he had won, he
partook of the spoil thus dearly bought. Ere long he felt that sudden
chill which creeps along the veins and paralyses the nerves, thus
giving the first hint of poison; and before he reached his destination
he knew full surely that his hours were numbered. Yet not without a
glow of triumph did he meet her for whom he had endured the extreme
penalty, to lay at her feet the tokens of his victory. But the glazing
eye and the interrupted speech told the tale too readily to her, and
she soon saw that she had thrown from her the love and respect, nay,
the life of her knight, to gratify an idle whim, and to indulge in
wanton sport and wicked jest. The situation offered no escape for her
save one; and, as was the custom with mythological heroines when placed
in similar circumstances, she tasted of the poisonous fruit, and then
expired in her lover’s arms.
Such is the flimsy tale still told by the credulous natives of Loch
Aweside when accounting for the name of the island. A practical age,
which believes only what it can understand, naturally rejects this
imaginative fabrication, and finds a more likely origin of the name in
the physical aspect of the scene. The Isle of Heather still deserves
its title, though the years which have rolled over it have overthrown
the proud dwelling which man had erected, and left the Castle desolate
and ruined. The loch, the hill, the glen, remain as they have been from
pre-historic times; but the men who loved them as the scenes of their
early years now sleep within their shadow, or bear the memory of them
wherever they may wander in distant lands or foreign shores.
“Not by the sunshine, with its golden glow,
Nor the green earth, nor yet the laughing sky,
Nor the fair flower-scents as they come and go,
In the soft air, like music wandering by;
Oh! not by these, the unfailing, are we taught
How time and sorrow on our frames have wrought,
But by the saddened eye, the darkened brow
Of kindred aspect, and the long dim gaze
Which tells us we are changed--how changed from other days!”
The first Castle of Dunderawe, or Fraoch-Eilean, built in 1267,
remained as the principal seat of the chiefs of Macnaughton for over
three centuries; but in 1596, Alexander Macnaughton erected the Castle,
the ruins of which now remain. In early times this clan had large
possessions, and “owned all the country between Loch Fyne and Loch
Awe, parts of which were Glenira, Glen Shira and Glen Fyne.” The chief
had also Dhu Loch in Glen Shira, Macnaughton Castle in Lewis, and
Dunnaghton Castle in Strathspey, so that his clansmen formed a very
powerful clan. Alexander Macnaughton, who was knighted by James IV.,
fell with that monarch on the fatal field of Flodden. The devotion of
the Clan to the Stewarts led to the forfeiture of their possessions in
1691; and the direct line of chieftainship terminated with John early
in the 18th century. The succession then fell to the descendants of
John, younger son of the hero of Flodden, who had settled in County
Antrim, and become a Scoto-Irish Laird. In 1878, at a Meeting of the
clan in Edinburgh, it was decided that the right to the chieftainship
was then due to Sir Francis Edmund MacNaghten of Dunderawe, Bushmills,
Antrim; and the present chief is Sir Francis Alexander MacNaghten,
seventh baronet, who resides at the residence of his late namesake. His
uncle, the late Lord MacNaghten, in 1887, was made a Lord of Appeal,
and officiated on the Committee for Privileges of the House of Lords.
The ruined Castle shows the date “1596,” with the initials of “I.M.”
and “A.N.” over the doorway, with the inscription, “Behold the End;
be not wiser than the Highest,” and the clan motto, “I hope in God.”
The building, though a ruin, could easily be made habitable, and thus
preserve the memory of a once-important clan, now dispersed throughout
the world.
IX
MEGGERNIE CASTLE, GLEN LYON
Meggernie Castle is the principal historic centre of the beautiful
valley of Glen Lyon. This glen is the longest and one of the grandest
in the Western Highlands, extending in a westerly direction from
Fortingall to near Tyndrum, a distance of nearly 35 miles. It derives
its name from the river Lyon, which finds its way from its origin on
the south-east side of Ben-a-Chastle, and is often a placid stream,
but sometimes during a winter spate a raging torrent, expanding
about midway in its course into Loch Lyon, and flowing thence until
it becomes a tributary of the Tay, near Taymouth Castle, its entire
length being nearly 40 miles. The narrow limits of the glen prevent
the river from ever having a broad surface, the distance between the
precipitous banks being only about 8 feet to 10 feet, and here the Lyon
becomes boisterous because of its confined course. But the scenery in
this quarter is of entrancing beauty, and is thoroughly Highland in
character. Where Meggernie Castle stands the surrounding country is in
comparative solitude, and recalls the words of the poet:--
“Here have I found at last a place of rest
To hide me from the world.”
[Illustration: MEGGERNIE CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
It is not easy to reach the Castle from the outside, though the
road up Glen Lyon to the Castle is in fairly good condition, and
is carried through the locality right on to Logierait in the east.
Several of the mountains in the neighbourhood of the glen rise to
an altitude of over 3,500 feet, and are familiar to every devoted
Scottish mountain-climber. The village of Fortingall is about 13 miles
distant from Meggernie Castle, through a pleasant though wild district
peculiarly typical of the Scottish Highlands.
In very early times the land on both sides of Glen Lyon as far south
as Loch Awe, belonged to the MacGregor Clan, and there is every
likelihood that the clansmen had a Keep of some kind on the site
of Meggernie Castle, as this would command the whole district. The
MacGregors claimed to be descended from Alpin, King of Scots, and were
sometimes known by the cognomen of Clan Alpin or Mac Alpin. Their
motto to this day asserts a lofty origin, as the Gaelic _S’rioghal Mo
Dhream_ signifies, “My Race is Royal.” The statement has been made that
a MacGregor chief built the Castle of Coalchuirn (sometimes spelled
Kilchurn) on Loch Awe, but this is not well founded. The clan suffered
misfortune at the hands of their two neighbours, the Campbells of
Argyll and the Stewarts of Cardney. The MacGregors had been vassals of
the Earl of Ross in the time of Alexander II., who reigned from 1214
till 1249, and the Earl bestowed upon them the lands of Glenorchay, at
the head of Loch Awe which they had chosen as a residence, and which
became their headquarters. The clan became a powerful one, and took a
prominent share in the Battle of Bannockburn. But David II., the son of
Robert Bruce, forgot his obligation to the Clan Gregor, and deprived
them of Glenorchay, which he gave to the branch of the Campbells that
had settled at Loch Awe, and the dispossessed clansmen had to retire to
the Muir of Rannoch. The policy of the Campbells had long been one of
lawless acquisition, and they drove the MacGregors out of Glen Lyon and
seized upon their property.
The Stewart Kings were equally unjust to this harassed clan, for Robert
II., who ruled from 1370 to 1390, confiscated the Keep at Meggernie,
which the MacGregors had built and inhabited, and conferred it upon his
illegitimate son, Sir John Stewart of Cardney. Thus, with the Campbells
on the south of the glen and the Stewarts on the north, the poor
clansmen were between two fires, and lost all their possessions in the
district. The clan was dispersed and the clansmen became “broken men,”
dispersed through Perthshire, and long without an acknowledged chief.
It is not necessary to pursue the history of this clan further, since
it is here shown how they were driven out of Meggernie.
Though the exact date of the erection of the oldest existing part of
Meggernie Castle has not been ascertained, there is a Charter in the
“Register of the Great Seal,” dated 4th March 1603, whereby James VI.
confers upon Duncan Campbell of Glen Lyon, certain lands which were
united to make up the Barony of Glen Lyon, the chief house of the baron
being named as “the Tower called Meggernie.” The previous Keep seems to
have been thatched, but Sir Duncan Campbell put slates on his tower,
and it was finished much in the style it now shows. Additions have, of
course, been made as the years went on, and there is now a fine modern
mansion added to the old building and quite in keeping with it. The
walls of the old Castle are five feet in thickness, and have evidently
been erected for defensive purposes. There are four square towers, one
at each corner, bracketed out from the walls, which give a quaint and
ancient appearance to the structure, that is emphasised by the dormer
windows with triangular tympanies. As was customary at the time of its
erection, there are few windows in the walls, and some of these are
only a little larger than old-fashioned arrow-slits. The Castle is five
storeys in height.
Before leaving Sir Duncan Campbell of Glen Lyon, it may be as well
to explain that he was not the first to evict the MacGregors, but he
certainly carried on the heartless policy of his predecessors, and left
it as a legacy to his descendants. So early as October 1488, the then
“Duncane Campbell of Glenurchquha,” entered into a contract with Robert
Menzies, Laird of Weem, near Aberfeldy, by which they mutually bound
themselves to protect and support each other against the MacGregors;
and this arrangement was often renewed. Even so late as 1665, when
Alexander Menzies of Castle Menzies, son of Duncan Menzies of Weem, was
made first baronet, he was married to Margaret, eldest daughter of Sir
John Campbell of Glenorchy; and afterwards there were several marriages
which linked the two families together. With such strong adversaries
against them, it is no wonder that the ancient clan was dispersed and
ruined.
“Glenorchay’s proud mountains, Coalchuirn and her towers,
Glenstrae and Glen Lyon no longer are ours;
We’re landless, landless, landless, Gregarach.”
In 1564, the Earl of Argyll obtained a Commission of Fire and Sword
which was aimed at the extermination of the disbanded clan; and long
after that date the intermarriages of the Campbells of Argyll and
the Menzies family kept alive the vendetta against the MacGregors.
Then Captain Robert Campbell of Glen Lyon in 1695, having coveted the
possession of Glencoe, then in the hands of a sept of the MacDonald
Clan, put in execution that horrible incident known as the Massacre of
Glencoe, which has branded his name with perpetual infamy. No doubt
it was at Meggernie Castle--then called Glen Lyon--that he planned
and carried through this execrable crime. The details of Campbell’s
treachery are well-known--how he was entertained by the Chief of the
MacDonalds for a fortnight, and fell upon the clansmen and slaughtered
them:--
“The hand that mingled in the meal,
At midnight drew the felon steel,
And gave the host’s kind breast to feel
Meed for his hospitality!
The friendly heart which warmed that hand,
At midnight armed it with a brand,
That bade destruction’s flames expand
Their red and fearful blazonry.”
In Thomas Talfourd’s remarkable drama, “Glencoe; or The Fate of the
MacDonalds,” the following lines occur in the speech of Lady MacDonald,
reproaching Glen Lyon for his treachery:--
“Glen Lyon,
I pray you may have life stretched out beyond
The common span of mortals, to endure
The curse of Glencoe cleaving to your soul.”
Glen Lyon survived, and did not expiate the fearful crime he had
committed, for he was defended and even thanked by William III. for his
deed of blackest treachery and ingratitude.
While the historical interest centres in Meggernie Castle, there is
much to engage the attention of the visitor in the policies, and in the
varied trees with which the place is decorated. This feature is almost
entirely due to the devoted labours of James Menzies of Culdares,
one of the most competent arboriculturists of his time. Culdares has
been in the possession of a branch of the Menzies family from 1659;
and it was in 1730-40 that the Laird carried out his great reform of
the district by tree-planting. It is said that he was the first to
make the larch popular. After passing the Bridge of Balgie, the road
leads to the entrance to the policies of Meggernie Castle, which is
approached by a splendid avenue of lime, beech, elm and spruce trees,
the interlacing branches of which form a vernal arch of foliage beside
the river Lyon. This avenue, which is nearly two miles in length,
was entirely planted by Mr. Menzies, and has thriven remarkably. It
circles around the Castle, which stands about 700 feet above sea-level.
Authentic measurement of some of these trees are worth recording. One
of the elm trees, measured in 1883, girths 19 feet 2 inches at one foot
from the ground, and 16 feet 5 inches at five feet up the stem. The
lime trees in the avenue are very picturesque, and have reached a fair
development, one of them girthing 13 feet 3 inches at two feet from
the ground. The beeches also a very satisfactory growth. Other notable
trees are the larches and scots firs, some of these having attained
considerable dimensions. All the country surrounding the Castle has
been transformed since the time of James Menzies by judicious planting,
and presents a scene of woodland splendour, though there are still
portions susceptible of improvement.
The extensive estates of the Campbells of Breadalbane march with the
policies of Meggernie, which have been held and greatly increased
during several centuries. It used to be said that the Earl or Marquess
could ride for a hundred miles over his own patrimonial domains.
Meggernie remained in the Menzies family for centuries, but was
acquired in 1884, by the late Mr. John Bullough, father of the present
Sir George Bullough, 1st Baronet, who succeeded his father in 1891, and
now resides at Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rhum, Inverness-shire. A few
years ago Sir George disposed of Meggernie Castle and estate to Sir
Ernest Salter Wills, 3rd Baronet, who succeeded his brother, the 2nd
Baronet, in 1921, and makes Meggernie Castle, Glen Lyon, his Scottish
residence. The Wills family have had a long and honourable connection
with Bristol.
X
FERNIEHIRST CASTLE
The lovely valley of the Tweed, and the whole stretch of the
border-land through which it meanders, have been the theme of poet
and painter from very remote times. The ever-varying shades of human
character which the fluctuating current of events made dominant in that
region, and the stirring scenes of which it was witness, awake the
harp of the Border Minstrel, and called into existence the national
historical ballads. And the situation of Tweedside, upon the debatable
ground betwixt England and Scotland, has caused each Tower and Keep to
have its story of love or war, of jocund mirth or of unutterable woe.
The hallowing influence of time and the growth of a higher form of
human sympathy have conspired to render the stories of Border warfare
interesting by force of contrast. And there is a flavour of romance
about these bold Border Barons--the Free Lances of our country, who
held the balance betwixt England and Scotland in their own hands,
which links them with the Ritters of Germany or the Knights of France,
rather than with the soldiers of a more prosaic country. Their mixed
origin, which combined the boldness and daring of the Southron with
the “canniness” of the Scot, made them appear as a transitional race
betwixt these two, and yet distant from either. And though their
courage often bordered upon ferocity, and their liberty included an
absence of all reverence for the Eighth Commandment, they are not the
less interesting as studies of human nature.
The country in which they dwelt largely accounts for their
peculiarities. The influence of scenery upon the formation of character
has seldom been philosophically examined, yet there is much to be
discovered in this line of investigation. The mysterious attraction
which the snow-capped peaks of the Fatherland has for the Swiss
emigrant whom Fate has transported to distant climes, has its parallel
in the feeling with which the Borderer mourns his separation from the
loved scenes of his youth, laments the inconstancy of fortune which
has reft him from them, and hears in fancy reproaches of the departed
spirits of his forefathers upbraiding him for his desertion. This forms
the theme of many a Border ballad and song, and often awakens sad
memories in impressionable hearts:--
“Their feeble voices from their stream they raise--
‘Rash youth! unmindful of thy early days,
Why didst thou quit the humble peasant’s lot?
Why didst thou leave the peasant’s turf-built cot,
The ancient graves where all thy fathers lie,
And Teviot’s stream that long has murmured by?’”
The verdant hills, the fertile meads, the whispering streams of his own
native vale seem brighter and fairer when the memory comes back to him
beneath the burning sky of a foreign land; and the peace once enjoyed
in the scenes of his infancy becomes still more dear, as it is less
attainable in the ever-whirling race after riches. With something of
this feeling did John Leyden write, when, from his natal spot, he mused
upon the vagaries into which the pursuit of wealth had led him beneath
the tropical sky:--
“By Cherical’s dark wandering streams,
Where cane-tufts shadow all the wild,
Sweet visions haunt my waking dreams
Of Teviot, loved while still a child;
Of castled rocks, stupendous piled,
By Esk or Eden’s classic wave,
Where loves of youth and friendship smiled,
Uncursed by thee, vile yellow slave!”
The Water of Jed, which rises, as Rowen Burn at an altitude of 1500
feet, on the western slope of Carlin Tooth, one of the Cheviot Hills,
wanders in a varied course of about 22 miles, ere it falls into the
Teviot near Mounteviot House, and then the conjoined rivers become
tributary to the Tweed, and flow towards the North Sea. In its course
the Jed passes through the ancient burgh of Jedburgh, and also is near
to Ferniehirst Castle which is now to form our theme. Teviotdale,
though ostensibly a separate valley, is really parallel with Tweedside,
and has all the characteristics of that famous vale. It has been
chosen as a proper and convenient site for a Castle to accommodate an
important branch of the powerful Ker family, so as to be convenient
when raids over the Border were contemplated.
The original Castle of Ferniehirst was destroyed, as is afterwards
related, by the Earl of Sussex in 1570; but the exact date of the
erection of the previous Castle has not been definitely discovered.
Certainly there was a Castle of some kind here so early as 1445, for
Thomas Ker of Smailholme and Ferniehirst is mentioned in a Charter of
that date. He was the descendant of a branch of the family who settled
near Jedburgh about the year 1330; and the Ferniehirst representatives
claimed to be the lineal descendants of Ralph Ker, who were proprietors
in the district about the middle of the 14th century, though a long
dispute ensued between the children of two brothers as to which
progenitor was the elder of the two. Andrew Ker of Ferniehirst, in
1509-11 acquired the Barony of Oxnam, and from him descended the later
members of the family.
Early in the history of Scotland the town of Jedburgh, and the valley
of the Jed, were a favourite resort of royalty, for the Castle of
Jedburgh, upon whose site has been built the present County Prison,
was the chosen home of David I. Here also his son Malcolm IV. lived
and died; and was succeeded by William the Lion. Alexander II.
resided frequently in Jedburgh Castle. The story of Alexander III.’s
connection with the Castle was a melancholy one.
Alexander III., who had paid frequent visits to Jedburgh Castle, was
married to Joleta, daughter of the lordly De Coucy, Count of Breux, in
the Abbey of Jedburgh, and celebrated his nuptials in the Castle by a
grand ball. The family of De Coucy, thus united to the Scottish throne,
was of Anglo-Norman descent, and held a high position in their native
land for many years.
“The fame of the fearless De Coucy
Was boundless as the sea.”
Indeed, so superior were the claims of this family to renown that their
battle-cry evinced their contempt for ordinary titles, and gloried in
their own name as superior to added rank--
“_Je ne suis Roy, ni Prince aussi,
Je suis le Seigneur de Coucy._”
The wedding of Alexander III. with a daughter of this race was
celebrated with becoming splendour. But the magnificence was marred
by an untoward incident. Whilst the revels were at their highest an
uninvited guest appeared in the shape of a grisly spectre, who mingled
in hateful familiarity with the noble guests then present. So wretched
a sight, so fatal an augury, could not escape remark and foreboding.
The guests beheld with doubt and trembling the aweinspiring vision,
and feared to utter their apprehensive thoughts. As a quaint old writer
has put it:--
“In the mid-revels the first ominous night
Of their espousals, when the moon shone bright,
With lighted tapers--the King and Queen leading
The curious measures--Lords and Ladies treading
The self-same strains--the King looks back by chance,
And spies a strange intruder in the dance,
Namely, a mere anatomy, quite bare,
His naked limbs both without flesh and hair
(As we depicture Death), who stalks about,
Keeping true measure till the dance be out.
The King, with all the rest, affrighted stand;
The spectre vanished, and the strict command
Was given to break up revels; each ’gan fear
The other, and presage disaster near.
If any ask, ‘What did of this succeed?’
The King, soon after falling from his steed,
Unhappily died; after whose death ensuing
Was to the land sedition, wreck, and ruin.”
Apart from the superstition is undoubtedly the fact that Alexander
III., so soon after his wedding, should have met a violent death.
In less than a year from this time the King, riding by night on the
perilous pathway betwixt Kinghorn and Burntisland, was thrown from his
horse over the precipice which towers above the Firth of Forth, and
killed instantaneously. And from this sad event arose the contest for
the Scottish Crown which gave Edward I. of England an excuse for his
fatal interference with the affairs of the nation. Few of the Kings of
Scotland have been more deeply lamented than Alexander III., possibly
because few of them were so upright in character and so morally pure as
he; and it was not without foreboding that the statesmen of the time
looked into the future of their country. A verse from an ancient ballad
of the time expresses this feeling in quaint language:--
“Quhen Alysandre our Kyng wes dede,
That Scotland led in luve and lee,
Away wes sons of Ale and Brede,
Of Wyne and Wax, of Gamyn and Gle;
Oure gold wes changey’d into lede;
Crist, born into virginite,
Succour Scotland and remede
That sted is in perplexite.”
The political dilemma in which Scotland was placed, and the ambitious
designs of Edward, made the Border-land the scene of continued
incursions and retaliations, and the chiefs of the various clans were
compelled to erect strongholds in their own defence. The power which
they thus attained made them less dependent upon either party than
they would otherwise have been; and they came to look upon the Marches
as a separate state, distinct from either Kingdom. A tacit bond of
union existed between the various septs who inhabited the district,
and they thus formed an alliance for mutual defence. The Scotts and
the Armstrongs, the Johnstons and the Kers were the Ishmaelites of
Scotland, ever ready for a foray either north or south of the Tweed.
Amongst these clans the Kers held a high position. For many years
the head of the sept was Warden of the Middle Marches; and as the
ground over which his empire extended formed the natural communication
between England and Scotland, the post was no sinecure. The Castle
of Ferniehirst, near Jedburgh, which was held by Sir Thomas Ker from
1474 till his becoming a priest in 1481, and dying three years after,
naturally occupied a prominent place in this long contest; and for
many years it was a centre around which conflict raged. Often has the
courtyard rang with the warlike sound of spears and jacks, of boot and
saddle, as the gay moss-troopers assembled within its walls, ready
alike for feast or fray.
So important was Ferniehirst considered that, when the English under
Surrey were engaged upon the storming of Jedburgh, it was deemed
necessary to secure the Castle that the conquest of the locality might
be complete. Lord Dacre was detailed for this service and sent with 800
men and several pieces of cannon to reduce the stronghold. He found the
enterprise more difficult than he had imagined, for the walls of the
Castle had been built to withstand a siege, and it was garrisoned by
men who were fighting for life and liberty. Though ultimately captured
by the English, it was not without great loss to the besiegers, and
only the aid of the heavy ordnance made its defence impossible. The
testimony of Surrey (no partial critic), to the courage of the
Borderers shows most clearly their aspect in war. Writing to Cardinal
Wolsey, he says:--“I assure your Grace I found the Scots at this time
the boldest men and the hottest that ever I saw any nation.” Detailing
his battle at Ferniehirst, he writes:--“They found hardy men that went
nae back for theym, though after long skirmyshing and moche difficutie,
gat for the ordynance within the house, and threw down the same.”
But the Borderer, though conquered, never yields. Lord Dacre, after
his fatiguing siege, and, contrary to the express command of Surrey,
encamped beyond the lines of the English army. No longer anticipating
resistance, an easy watch was kept; and whilst the leaders were at
dinner celebrating their victory, some of the Scottish troopers were
hardy enough to approach the spot where the English horses were
quartered, and turned them loose in the camp. The turmoil which the
affrighted animals made terrified their masters, and the deepening
twilight prevented them from ascertaining the true cause. The stampede
which now ensued alarmed even the soldiers of Surrey, who believed that
the horses, whose frantic gallop they heard in the darkness betokened
the approach of a vast army to overthrow and utterly confound them.
Nor was their error discovered before many of their steeds had fallen
into the hands of the Scotsmen and became their lawful prey. The
superstition of the age permitted Surrey’s statement that the Devil
was seen in a visible form six times during this turbulent scene to
pass unchallenged; and the accusation of witchcraft formed an easy
excuse for the tremor of his own army. And though victorious, he had to
confess that he found the inhabitants of the Scottish Border were of
a different character from the mixed army under James IV., which his
father had met and conquered at Flodden Field.
A time of reprisal at length arrived for the Border Chiefs. After the
disastrous Battle of Pinkie in 1547, the English Army had again taken
possession of the country near the Cheviot Hills, and garrisoned the
town of Jedburgh. The French General, Monsieur D’Essé, however, had
led his troops against them, and soon drove them from this stronghold.
Taking advantage of the diversion thus made in favour of Scotland, Ker
of Ferniehirst sought the assistance of the French troops to regain
his ancient homestead. To this D’Essé consented, and despatched a
reconnoitring party under the command of some of his own officers,
whilst Ker followed with his main contingent. The Castle had been kept
in garrison by the English from the time of its previous capture in
1523, and the rumour of disturbances in the surrounding country kept
them on the alert. The advance guard of the French troops, therefore,
found that the narrow pass that leads toward the Castle was defended
by twenty-five arquebusiers, who might serve as an outpost in case of
attack, and might warn the keepers of the Castle of the approach of an
enemy. The Frenchmen charged this picket and drove them in hot haste
towards the fortress, pursuing them closely. They fired as they fled,
endeavouring to keep their pursuers at bay; but ere they reached the
gate ten out of the twenty-five were slain, and not one of them was
without tokens of this bitter and close conflict.
The resistance which they had met only stimulated the attacking
force to greater energy; and when Ker arrived on the scene, with
the remainder of the troops, they at once set about an escalade.
Throwing long poles instead of ladders against the walls, they boldly
clambered up the escarpment; whilst many of them, infuriated by the
blood already shed, made good their entrance by climbing up the
rough-cast wall, heedless of the showers of missiles which the besieged
rained incessantly upon them. Once on the battlements their task was
comparatively light. They soon drove the English soldiers inside the
donjon tower, the citadel of the Castle, and then, leaping from their
elevation into the base-court below, they proceeded to attempt a breach
in the wall of the inner works. Sheltering themselves from the stones
that still poured down on their heads, they were not long in making an
entrance. As the captain of the English forces saw his game played out,
he offered to surrender if the lives of his troops and of himself were
spared. But D’Essé would not listen to such terms of capitulation, and
insisted upon an absolute surrender. Thinking himself safer with D’Essé
than with the Borderers, now all aflame for revenge, the captain
consented; but one of the Borderers, his sworn foe, came up and struck
off his head at one blow.
The pent-up vengeance of the Scotsmen now had full sway, and they
placed no restraint upon their passions. The unfortunate Englishmen
had to endure the punishment due to the sins of their forefathers. It
is even said that the prisoners that D’Essé had taken were brought
forth that the Borderers might wreak their fury upon them, and fearful
barbarities were practised upon their victims. The French General
Beaugé, however, describes these as only fair retaliation for the
conduct of their enemies towards themselves.
The term of the existence of Ferniehirst Castle was reached in 1570.
The death of the Regent Moray had thrown political affairs into
confusion, and Sir Thomas Ker of Ferniehirst and Sir Walter Scott of
Buccleugh entered England with fire and sword, and joined the Earl of
Westmoreland in a foray across the Border. Though successful in this
enterprise they soon suffered retribution. Queen Elizabeth, enraged at
the daring raid, ordered the Earl of Sussex and Lord Scrope to invade
the Scottish territory and lay the Borders in ruins, These two noblemen
at the head of a large army, entered the land of Teviotdale and laid
waste the territory. The Scotts of Buccleugh, the Kers, and the Homes
were the chief objects of their revenge; and it is computed that they
destroyed in this fatal conflict not less than fifty Castles, sacked
and burned 300 villages, and finally took possession of Home Castle,
which had been the centre of disaffection to English rule. The abode
of so well-known a warrior as Ker of Ferniehirst was not likely to be
spared in such a wholesale demolition; and the troops which Sussex led
against it left little save the bare and blackened walls.
The present edifice consists of these ruins, with some modern additions
which render it habitable as a dwelling-house for the tenant of the
farm. But its glory has long passed away; and it stands now as a
monument of that dim and shadowy past which was tenanted by beings
whose boldness and daring are seldom met with in these latter days.
The Age of Iron has given place to the Age of Electroplate, and we
now plume ourselves upon the perfection of our shams, and indulge in
congratulations over the success of our deceptions.
“Now avardlie wisdom is deceit,
And falset haldin policie;
Richt few from guill can now debait,
So great is the hypocrisie.
Some will speak fair and friendfullie,
For profit wald dissaive their brother;
Sae rife is infidelitie,
Ane kinsman skant may trew ane other.”
Sir Thomas Ker of Ferniehirst, who died in 1484, left a daughter,
Margaret, who married her kinsman, Thomas Ker of Smailholm, who thus
came into Ferniehirst by marriage. The eldest son of this union was
Sir Andrew Ker of Ferniehirst, whose death took place about 1545, when
he was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Sir John, who deceased in
1562. The next in succession was that Sir Thomas Ker of Ferniehirst,
the adherent of Queen Mary, to whom reference has been made, and who
died in 1586. His eldest son, Sir Andrew, was created first Lord
Jedburgh in 1622, and there were three successive Barons Jedburgh,
the fourth who bore the title, being Robert Ker of Crailing, the
nephew of his predecessor, and the representative of the male-line of
Ferniehirst. By a special contract it was arranged that failing direct
issue the title and estate should fall to the Earl of Lothian. On the
death of Robert fourth Lord Jedburgh without heirs, the Master of
Newbattle, son of the Earl of Lothian, succeeded, and as ultimately he
became second Marquess of Lothian on the death of his father in 1703,
the present (1926) tenth Marquess includes among his titles that of
Baron of Jedburgh.
XI
THREAVE CASTLE
Threave Castle, Kirkcudbrightshire, is a ruin connected with the famous
Douglas family, and is a lofty stronghold on an island of the river
Dee, less than two miles west of Castle Douglas. There is no landward
approach to the Castle, and it can only be reached by wading through a
ford on the eastern branch of the Dee, which will land the adventurous
visitor at a short distance from the southern point of the island, and
at a few yards from the ruin. On each side of the island the river
is so deep that it can only be traversed by a boat; and a wide ditch
(formerly a march or moat) connected with the Dee, makes the access to
Threave Castle still more difficult. The exact situation has been thus
graphically described:--“The island, which is quite flat, extends about
500 paces northwards from the Castle, and is about half this distance
in width, forming a fine pasture meadow of nearly 20 acres in extent.
The river protects the Castle on the west, and on the other sides a
strong wall with a sloping face and round towers still surrounds it,
forming a courtyard on the south and east sides. The round tower at
the south-east angle is entire, and is 9 feet 2 inches in internal
diameter, and three storeys high, with three loop-holes in each
storey.” Though now in a ruinous condition, the plan of the Castle may
yet be traced, and evidently it has been a structure of considerable
strength, intended for defence.
There are many traditions connected with this interesting ruin, though
some of them are not confirmed by credible history. It is supposed
to have been built by Archibald Douglas, an illegitimate son of “the
good Sir James Douglas,” in the latter half of the 14th century. In
1369, this Archibald was appointed Lord of Galloway, holding large
possessions in that quarter; and in 1385 he became third Earl of
Douglas, and was known by the cognomen of “the Grim,” because of his
relentless nature. Threave Castle was erected by him on the site
of a fortalice that had belonged to Alan, the last native Lord of
Galloway; and in the time of the eighth Earl of Douglas (about 1450)
it is recorded that there was accommodation within Threave Castle
for a thousand men-at-arms. Ultimately, upon the fall of the Douglas
family, it was forfeited to the Crown, and came into the possession
of the Maxwells, Earls of Nithsdale, who were relations of the Earl
of Douglas. Archibald the Grim died at Threave Castle in February
1401, and it was in 1455 that the Castle passed away from the Douglas
family. This was largely because of a sad tragedy that took place there
three years before, though the authenticity of the details have been
seriously questioned.
One of the oldest families in Galloway was said to be the Maclellans of
Bombie, who claimed the title of Lords of Galloway. They were certainly
a powerful race in 1301, and controlled a large portion of the ground
in the district. Pitscottie in his gossipy history tells how one of
the family, known as “the Tutor of Bombie,” had offended the Earl of
Douglas in some undefined manner, and Douglas captured him, imprisoned
him in Threave Castle, and afterwards hanged him on the battlements.
It is stated that Sir Patrick Gray, brother-in-law of the Tutor,
arrived at the gateway of the Castle with an order from the King--James
II.--demanding the release of Maclellan, but the Earl disregarded this
mandate, and proceeded with the murder. Meanwhile William, the eighth
Earl, had been slain by the dagger of the King at Stirling Castle, in
February 1451-2, and the Douglases were declared forfeited traitors,
and their lands devastated by the Royal Army, and several of their
Castles demolished.
[Illustration: THREAVE CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
The last stronghold retained by the ninth Earl of Douglas was Threave
Castle, and James II. determined to lead his forces against it in
person. He, therefore, marched into Galloway at the head of a numerous
army, and made preparations to besiege the Castle. The story is told
that a certain blacksmith, called M’Kim, seeing the weakness of the
King’s artillery, offered to make a special cannon that would destroy
the place. The proposal was accepted, and M’Kim took his assistants
to the Three Thorns at Carlinwark, and there he speedily constructed
the large cannon called “Mons Meg,” which was first used in warfare
against Threave Castle, and is still preserved at Edinburgh Castle.
The story has been doubted, though the tradition yet survives in
Douglasdale, and the place where the cannon was made is pointed out at
Buchan’s Croft. Two of the granite balls from Mons Meg were found in
the wall of Threave Castle.
The Maclellans rose to great power in Kirkcudbright. Long after the
siege of Threave Castle, one of the family, Robert, was created Lord
Kirkcudbright in 1633, by Charles I., for his services to the King in
Ireland; and this title was held till the death of the eighth Lord in
1832, when it became dormant.
When Threave Castle was forfeited by the Earl of Douglas, it was
conferred on the Maxwells, another prominent Border family, who were
afterwards ennobled with the title of Earls of Nithsdale, and were made
Keepers of Threave and Stewards of Kirkcudbright. In the time of the
Civil War the then Earl of Nithsdale, at his own expense, held Threave
Castle for Charles I., and armed, paid, and victualled 80 men-at-arms.
He made a spirited defence as long as he could; but at last the
King, finding he could not assist him with reinforcements, sent him
word to apply for the best terms he could obtain for himself and his
garrison, and to resign the stronghold to the enemy. The Earl had to
submit, and thus the Castle passed temporarily out of his control.
But the office of Keepers of Threave Castle was retained by the Earl
and his successors, and they continued to receive the dues that had
been contributed by every parish in Kirkcudbright for centuries,
consisting of cattle for the sustenance of the Earl and his soldiers.
Even in 1704, when the Earl of that time sold the estate of Threave, he
continued to receive this perquisite, and remained Keeper of Threave
Castle as his ancestors had been. At length the fifth Earl of Nithsdale
took part in the Jacobite Rising of 1715, his chief opponent being the
first Marquess of Annandale.
That nobleman was the head of the Johnstone Clan, one of the most
powerful in the Border district, and an ardent supporter of George I.,
who had succeeded to the throne. As Lord-Lieutenant he had received
intimation that Dumfries was to be attacked and captured by the
Jacobites, so he set forth to defend the burgh. While Annandale was on
his way thither he was surprised by a party of the rebels, numbering
200 horse, commanded by the Earls of Nithsdale, Winton, and Carnwath,
Viscount Kenmure, and other noblemen and gentlemen, who, as he stated
were “providentially prevented” from capturing him, and he reached
Dumfries in safety, where measures were adopted for the defence of the
place, which were successful.
Twice did the Jacobites attack Dumfries, but failed in their efforts
and retired. The Rising was practically terminated by the Battles of
Sheriffmuir and Preston; the leading Border noblemen were captured,
and the fifth Earl of Nithsdale was attainted for treason, deprived
of his title, and also of the office of Keeper of Threave Castle. In
1747, after the next Jacobite Rising, the Hereditary Jurisdictions were
abolished, and thus the connection of the Maxwells with Threave Castle
was definitely terminated. There is a romantic story told of the last
Earl, which is thus narrated in the “Scots Peerage”:--
“William, fifth Earl of Nithsdale and fourteenth Lord Maxwell, born
in 1676, was served heir to his father, ‘Robert, Earl of Nithsdale,
Lord Maxwell, Herries, Eskdale, and Carlyell,’ 26th May 1696, and
heir-male and tailzie to Robert, second Earl of Nithsdale, 19th May
1698. He joined the rising in favour of the Chevalier de St. George,
and being taken prisoner at Preston in November 1715, was sent to the
Tower of London. He pleaded guilty of high treason, 19th January, and
was sentenced to death in Westminster Hall, 9th February 1716, and his
honours were forfeited. His wife left Terregles in December to join
him. Her coach was stopped at Grantham by snow, but she, though of
delicate constitution, pushed on to London on horseback with her maid,
Cecilia Evans, and her groom, their horses at times almost buried in
drifts. On 13th February she gained access to the King and begged for
her husband’s life, in vain as she believed, though according to Lady
Cowper, ‘a reprieve for him was signed the very night of his escape
on 23rd February (the day before that fixed for the execution).’
Taking advantage of the free access to his room allowed to Nithsdale’s
friends, Lady Nithsdale, with her London landlady, Mrs. Mills and a
Mrs. Morgan, was constantly in and out of it that day, and when at
dusk she led him out in female dress, the guards, confused at all this
coming and going of the women, let him pass, taking him for one of
them. Having delivered him into the care of the maid, Evans, who took
him to a friendly house known to Mrs. Mills, Lady Nithsdale returned
to his room in the Tower, and after remaining a short time to disarm
suspicion, she passed out with loud farewells at the door. Nithsdale
was eventually hidden in the Venetian Embassy (without the Ambassador’s
knowledge) by one, Michel, a servant of the house, who, after a day
or two, conveyed him, dressed in the Ambassador’s livery, to Dover.
Hence he crossed to France, and his wife, after a journey to Scotland
to secure important papers, joined him at Lille before 25th September
1716. Henceforth the two lived, often in great poverty, at the
Chevalier’s Court at Rome, where Nithsdale, who was made a Knight of
the Thistle by his prince, 31st December 1725, died on 20th March 1744.
“His wife was Winifred Herbert, daughter of William, third Lord and
first Marquess of Powis, who had followed James II. into exile. The
marriage, according to the contract, dated Paris, 2nd March 1699, was
to be celebrated between that date and the following Easter. Lady
Nithsdale died at Rome in May 1749, ‘very old and in great esteem.’ Her
last years were made more easy by money sent by her son when he got
possession of the family lands.”
XII
DUNOON CASTLE
Scotland is peculiarly favoured by the formation of her river system,
as well as by the configuration of her coasts. So thoroughly is her
coast-line indented, either by lochs or fiords, or by rivers and
estuaries, that no part of the central portion of Scotland is far
distant from the sea. On the eastern shore the Firths of Forth and Tay
provide ready access to the ocean; and though the Clyde is the only
important river on the west coast, the vast fiords of Lochfyne and Loch
Linnhe carry the shores of Scotland into the heart of the country.
The intervention of the island of Ireland has protected the west
coast of England from the encroaching ravages of the Atlantic Ocean;
and the east and west coast-lines of that portion of Great Britain
do not therefore present the same contrast to each other as Scotland
affords. But the north-western shores, exposed to the fury of the
raging sea, and subjected to the denuding influence of the chief tidal
river, have been worn into numerous bays and lochs, into myriad isles
and peninsulas, which bestow a different character entirely upon the
scenery.
Whilst the northern lochs might maintain a rude and migratory people,
whose occupation as fishermen would prevent an indissoluble attachment
to the soil, the true seat of civilization necessarily became fixed
upon the fertile banks of the great western river, the Clyde, whose
broad stream could carry the vessels of the early settlers far into the
centre of Scotland. The very success of these hardy pioneers, and their
increasing wealth, would inevitably bring in their wake the pirates and
sea-rovers of less-favoured lands to live by rapine and pillage upon
the fruits of native labour. The Clyde, as the main highway of ingress
to central Scotland, became the battle-scene upon which all contests
for supremacy between the possessors and the western invaders took
place.
The very names of those adventurous spirits who thus strove to seize
upon the most fertile part of Scotland, with varied fortunes, are both
numerous and diversified. Caledonians, Picts, Scots, Romans, Irish,
Norwegians have all held temporary possession of these shores and have
left upon the land appropriate tokens of their sway. As time has rolled
on these have subsided into the great past, and become but as shadowy
memories:--
“Name follows name
For ever more,
As swift waves shame
Slow waves before.”
The fierce warfare of olden days now attracts a new race of warriors;
and sceptical historians demolish generations with the stroke of a
pen. Yet even the poet--least combative of men--clings, despite the
influence of reason, to what some tell him are the dear delusions of
youth. To him the whole scenery of the Firth of Clyde speaks eloquently
of the Ossianic heroes who fell “in the midst of their renown”:--
“I behold thy towers, O Selma! and the oaks of thy
shaded wall;
Thy streams sound in my ears; thy heroes gather around.
Fingal sits in the midst, and leans on the shield of
Trenmer;
His spear stands against the wall; he listens to the songs
of his Bards,
The deeds of his arm are heard, and the actions of the
King in his youth.”
And as he pauses beneath the shade of Balclutha, or lingers by the
shores of Comgall, he may remember and fulfil the prophecy which
concludes the “War of Caros”:--
“The sons of the feeble hereafter will lift the voice on
Cona,
And looking up to the rocks, say, ‘Here Ossian dwelt.’
They shall admire the chiefs of old, and the race that
is no more,
When we ride on our clouds, Malvina, on the wings of
the roaring winds,
Our voices shall be heard in the desert; and we shall sing
on the winds of the rocks.”
[Illustration: DUNOON CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
Had there been no other attraction, the beauty of the scenery of this
part of Scotland might have drawn these conquering hosts towards
it. The devious way which the Clyde pursues, carries it through
nearly every description of Scottish scenery. From its source in the
distant Lead Hills until it loses itself in the Atlantic the river
takes many a curious turn. Its way lies northward, westward, and then
southward, and it thus encloses a portion of the most fertile Scottish
districts. Leaving the mountainous spot where it originates, it passes
through a pastoral country, which is succeeded by a mineral-bearing
land, giving place to a great commercial centre, from which point its
scenery frequently presents at one view all these characteristics. The
development of trade and manufactures in this quarter has transformed
the Clyde into the main pathway from Scotland to the western and
southern parts of the world. The argosies of “Ormuz and of Ind” float
peacefully upon her waters; and the richly-freighted fleets of foreign
nations sail tranquilly past the castled steeps and ancient fortalices
which once frowned defiance to every foe.
“How pleasing when war’s dread alarms,
The martial shout, the din of arms,
The trumpet’s dread-inspiring blast,
In peaceful slumber sinks at last;
When men from strife enjoy release,
And hail the happy days of peace.”
The life of lawlessness, of terror, and of bloodshed which our
ancestors endured may be fitly studied by examining the Castles and
houses they inhabited, and the towns they built. And though the
ruthless hand of Time has frequently destroyed all save the faintest
traces of these erections, yet there are few so utterly obliterated
as to be silent upon their history. There are merely slight relics
now remaining of the ancient Castle of Dunoon, yet these sufficiently
record its story.
On a promontory upon the Argyllshire side of the Clyde, opposite to the
Cloch Lighthouse, stood Dunoon Castle. As a post of observation the
site has been admirably chosen, since it commands a good view of the
Firth in all directions. The Renfrewshire coast on the southern shore
turns southwards, forming the Bay of Inverkip, with Wemyss Point as
its southmost extremity. Far away down the channel the islands of the
Cumbraes may be seen dividing the waters, and forming, with Bute, which
is barely discernible, the main thoroughfare for deep-sea vessels.
The projection of the peak upon which the Castle stood brings into
view the Cowal Shore, with the village of Innellan and the terminating
height upon Toward Point. In the immediate neighbourhood of the Castle
Hill may be found the sylvan retreat of “Morag’s fairy glen,” and the
classic locality of Balgay (or Baughie) Burn.
Northward from the Castle, until the entrance to Holy Loch is reached,
the shore is lined with a succession of villages and hamlets which
are extended almost continuously. Dunoon, Kirn, Hunter’s Quay, and
Ardenadam are so intimately joined that it is difficult to discover
their boundaries. On the opposite shore of the Holy Loch, quite
invisible from Dunoon though historically associated with it, stands
Kilmun, where for many years was the chief burial-place of the Argyll
family.
The district of Cowal, in which Dunoon Castle stood, figures
prominently in early history. Its position at the entrance to the
narrower portion of the Firth of Clyde naturally attracted the notice
alike of invaders and defenders, and the commanding situation of
the promontory at Dunoon makes it probable that a warlike post was
established here in pre-historic times. It cannot now be ascertained
whence the Scots were originally derived; but it is certain that they
had an established kingdom before the period of the Roman invasion.
From Strathclyde it is supposed that a number of them emigrated,
and, landing on the north-eastern shores of Ireland, founded there
a Scottish colony, bestowing the name of Scotia upon the country of
their adoption. One of the warriors who led them in this campaign was
called _Cairbrea-Riada_, and the portion of land awarded to him for
his bravery was called _Dal-Riada_, the fields of Riada, and nearly
corresponded in position and extent with the modern County Antrim.
In process of time the Scots in Ireland--known as Dalriads from the
name of the founder of the colony, had increased in numbers so much
that they had to extend their borders. The traditional accounts which
their ancestors had left attracted their attention, and a large body
of them returned to their original home on the Clyde, calling this
revived district by the name of their Irish settlement, Dalriada. Thus
there were two Scotias in existence, with a Dalriada in each. The
leader of these wanderers was Fergus, son of Erc, a lineal descendant
of Cairbrea-Riada, and the country which he selected for his new
settlement was the land formerly held by his ancestors, which included
all Argyllshire and far up the Clyde. Fergus was accompanied by his
two brothers, Lorn and Angus, and they divided the land between them,
expelling the Picts, who had over-run it after Riada’s emigration. So
far as can be discovered these brothers form a triumvirate for the
government of the territory during their lives; but their kingdom was
divided by their children after their death.
Separate families selected different districts, although all were
submissive to one central authority. The descendants of Lorn inhabited
the tract of country still named after their founder, who was the
eldest of the three brothers. The grandsons of Fergus--Gabrau and
Comgall--chose respectively the districts of Airgialias (Argyll) and
Comgall (Cowal), while the children of Angus peopled the Islands of
Jura and Islay. The Dalriadic Kings thus ruled over a very extensive
territory, bounded on the south by the Clyde, on the north by Loch
Linnhe, and on the east by the peaks of Drumalbin. Their capital was
at Dunadd, near Crinan, and their coasts were defended by a series of
forts which formed centres of civilization, and convenient rallying
points in time of war. One of the most important of these is supposed
to have been the original Castle of Dunoon.
The ancient name of this spot is said to be derived from _Dun-nain_,
meaning the green hill. That this position would be selected as a point
of defence is almost certain, for there are few places so well adapted
by natural conditions to form a protective fort. And if the Dalriadic
Kings founded a vitrified Castle here, it must have been about the year
503 A.D., although of that erection no trace now remains.
For 340 years these Scoto-Irish Kings ruled this quarter of the island,
frequently encountering their warlike neighbours the Picts in battle,
and maintaining, though not greatly extending, their territories. At
length Kenneth Mich Alpin, the last of the Dalriadic Kings, made good
his claim to the throne of the Picts through right of his grandmother,
Urguisa; and he assumed the Crown and reigned over a united people.
Removing his capital to Forteviot, in Perthshire, he directed defensive
operations on the Clyde, the Forth, and the Tay, and sought to advance
his kingdom south-eastwards to the fertile fields of the Lothians. In
859 A.D. Kenneth fell in battle, near Dundee.
The chief enemies of Scotland at this period were the Sea-Kings from
Scandinavia and Denmark, who assailed the country on both sides.
Finding their access to Scottish territory on the east coast curtailed
by the vigilance and energy of Kenneth, they transferred their
operations to the west, and strove to enter the land by the Firth of
Clyde. Towards this spot, therefore, the defensive power of the Scots
was directed; and in these circumstance the importance of Dunoon as
a post of observation would be great. But the successors of Kenneth
were less skilful or less warlike than he; and the Danes under Olaf,
assembling a fleet at Dublin, sailed up the Clyde unopposed, and
attacked and captured the ancient citadel of Dumbarton, returning past
the helpless fort of Dunoon unopposed and triumphant.
All the Kings of Scotland since his time claim Kenneth I. as their
ancestor, though long years passed before he found a valiant successor.
Somerled, Thane of Argyll, assembled his fleet at the Mull of Kintyre
in 1153, and sailed up to Renfrew in the absence of Malcolm IV.,
taking possession of both Dunoon Castle and Dumbarton Castle; but
when the young King returned from France in 1160 he took measures to
recover Renfrew. Somerled was defeated and slain at Renfrew four years
afterwards.
One hundred years later (1263) a great change took place. During the
reign of Alexander II. (1214-1249) Haco, King of Norway, invaded
Scotland, and captured the most important of the Isles of the Hebrides.
The Scottish King was more of a diplomatist than a soldier, but as he
found that politics were ineffectual with Haco, his ambition tempted
him to lead an army against the invaders; leaving Dunoon as a defensive
fort, he went forth to the conflict. As his fleet sailed through the
Sound of Mull, King Alexander was attacked by a malignant fever, and
death laid an icy hand upon him. He died on 8th July 1249, on the
island of Kerrera, near Oban.
Haco of Norway, having heard of this expedition, hastened to oppose.
Leaving Orkney with his fleet he sailed down through the isles which he
called his own, and, with a kind of poetic irony, he chose Kerrera as
the meeting-place of the Scottish fleet, to which many of the insurgent
Norwegian nobles had joined themselves. The death of Alexander II. had
discouraged the Scots, and deprived them of a leader. They retired from
the contest, and Haco resumed his sway over the Hebrides, and reigned
without interruption for the succeeding thirteen years. Meanwhile the
new King of Scotland, Alexander III., though but a youth, decided to
take up the policy of his father, and to support it by the sword, and
thus win back the Hebrides. He incited the neighbouring lords on the
islands and mainland who were well-affected towards him, to invade the
Norwegian territory, and to sack, burn, and destroy every village whose
inhabitants refused allegiance to him. The commission was faithfully
fulfilled. From Jura to the Lewes these islands were filled with
lamentations, the voice of the western Rachel weeping for her children.
This outrage could not be endured by the proud Norwegian spirit. Haco
at once assembled a magnificent fleet, and set sail from Herlover on
7th July 1263, determined to avenge the blood of his subjects. As he
proceeded his Armada received many augmentations, and when he reached
Sanda Isle, at the south of the Mull of Kintyre, his fleet numbered a
hundred sail, fully manned and equipped. Disposing of this powerful
force he began operations against the coast of Argyll. One portion of
the squadron attacked the Mull of Kintyre, whilst another beset and
captured the Island of Bute, and the King himself entered the Firth of
Clyde and sailed up unopposed to the shores of Arran, anchoring his
fleet in Kilbrannan Sound.
The Scottish leaders, terrified at this prompt and successful invasion,
endeavoured to secure peace by negotiation. They limited their demands,
which had formerly included the whole of the Hebrides, to the cession
of Arran, Bute and the Cumbraes, which barred the entrance to the
Clyde. But Haco doubted their faith, and would have none of their
treaties. Hoisting sail upon sixty of his ships, he penetrated to the
head of Loch Long, throwing off as he proceeded marauding parties to
ravage the coasts. The Cowal shore from Toward Point to Holy Loch was
laid waste; and the Castles of Rothesay and Dunoon were captured by
the bold invaders. The hardy Norse sailors, undeterred by difficulty,
landed at the north-eastern point of Loch Long (where Arrochar now
stands), and making a “portage” they conveyed their boats over the hill
to the waters of Loch Lomond, intending to seize upon Dumbarton Castle,
and carrying fire and sword into these territories.
The Scots, thoroughly alarmed at the magnitude and success of the
expedition, had assembled their forces on the southern and eastern
shores of Renfrewshire and Ayrshire, from Kempoch Point to the Bay
of Largs on the south bank of the Clyde; and the country was closely
patrolled by the Scottish army so as to make a landing ineffectual.
They feared to attack the Norwegian sailors upon the waters. But
the God of the Winds benevolently interposed, and delivered the
invaders into their hands. The portion of the fleet commanded by
Haco was anchored in the channel between the Isle of Cumbrae and the
mainland, but a fierce storm swept down from Loch Goil and drove the
helpless vessels on the shore at Largs. The northern warriors, unable
to maintain a position on the land, were hopelessly defeated. The
discomfitted King, spiritless and heartbroken, recalled the shattered
remnant of his fleet, and retired, downcast and overthrown, from the
scene of his disgrace. And thus the reconquest of the Hebrides from
Norway, which neither fraud nor force could accomplish, was effected
by the adverse October gales which sweep down the Clyde from the
lofty Argyllshire mountains. The unfortunate King of Norway retired
into seclusion, and in 1266, the Battle of Largs, after three years,
brought about the formal cession of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man
to Alexander III., and drove the Norsemen from Scotland. It has been
stated that Haco died on board his vessel, and was carried a corpse
to his kingdom, but this has not been confirmed. The Battle of Largs
is commemorated in a pathetic poem by the late Professor John Stuart
Blackie, in which the following verses occur:--
“And at early burst of spring, Haco,
When the birds sang on the tree,
They took the body of Haco
In a ship across the sea.
Across the sea to Norway,
Where the sires make moan for thee--
That the last of his race was Haco,
Who ruled the Western Sea.
And they laid thee, Haco, Haco,
With thy sires on the Norway shore,
And far from the Isles of the Sea, Haco,
That know thy name no more.”
The peculiar circumstances whereby Dunoon Castle became a royal
residence are worthy of notice. Malcolm III. (called _Ceannmor_, or
Great Head, because he was the “Great Chief,” not from any abnormal
development of his skull), was the eldest son of Duncan I., and began
his reign in 1057-8, on the death of his father. He found the kingdom
in a turbulent and agitated condition. Fortunately he was surrounded
by a trusty band of warriors upon whom he could depend, and Might
in these days was Right. The mixed population upon the shores of the
Firth of Clyde gave him much trouble, especially in the Island of Bute,
which had been the headquarters of invasions by the Norsemen. The
King deputed Walter, son of Fleance, to subjugate this territory, and
rewarded his success by grants of the lands of Bute, and Cowal, and the
baronies of Kyle and Renfrew. Dunoon Castle thus became one of Walter’s
possessions, and its convenient situation made him select it as the
Seat of Government for the district. Alan, the son of Walter, was
created High Steward of Scotland, and from him descended the race of
Stewart Kings who ruled the kingdom for many years. Walter the sixth,
High Steward, was married in 1315 to Marjorie, only daughter and child
of Robert the Bruce by his first marriage, and their son, Robert, the
then High Stewart, succeeded David II. as King of Scotland in 1370, and
was thus the first of the Stewart Kings, with the title of Robert II.
The death of King Robert the Bruce in 1329 plunged the country, for
which he had fought so nobly, into the extremity of despair. His son,
David was only eight years old, and the dynasty of Bruce had no claim
to superiority but the wisdom and bravery of its founder. The power
with which he had repressed the incursions of the English, and the
discretion whereby he had obviated the claims of others to the throne,
were now alike powerless; and dissension and invasion became the order
of the day. Edward Baliol, eldest son of King John Baliol, in 1332,
made a compact with Edward III. of England, promising to render homage
to that monarch for the Kingdom of Scotland in return for assistance
in its conquest. This wretched agreement was fulfilled despite the
patriotic efforts of the supporters of Bruce; and Baliol landed with an
English army at Kinghorn, on 6th August 1332, and six days afterwards
defeated the Scots at the Battle of Dupplin, near Perth. He was crowned
as King of Scotland at Scone on 24th September in this year; but his
heart failed him and he fled in haste about three months afterwards to
England, where he died in 1363. The English army remained in Scotland
after Dupplin, and were again victorious at Halidon Hill, near Berwick,
in July 1333, where the Scottish nobles were dispersed, and had to
flee for their lives. Amongst them was Robert, the young Stewart of
Scotland, who was now nearest heir to the throne, and had to lurk in
hidance in his ancestral Island of Bute.
Determined to extirpate the race of Bruce, Baliol attacked and captured
Stewart’s Castle of Dunoon, intending from it to menace the fortress of
Dumbarton, which completely commanded the Clyde. But Robert Stewart,
finding that the venality and cowardice of Baliol had alienated many
of his adherents, took course with his relative, Sir Colin Campbell
of Lochow, the nephew of Robert Bruce; and making a hasty descent
upon Dunoon Castle, they surprised its defenders, and easily gained
possession. This was the first reverse that Baliol had suffered and
became the signal for a general revolt against him. The Brandanes of
Bute, Robert’s hereditary vassals, performed prodigies of valour in the
assault, overwhelming Lyle, the governor, it is stated, with showers
of stones. For their services on this occasion the Brandanes obtained
perpetual exemption from the payment of multures; whilst Sir Colin
Campbell was made Hereditary Keeper of the Castle--an office which
remained in the Argyll family as long as the Castle existed, and it
became the frequent resort of the Stewart Kings.
Dunoon Castle figured in national history during an incident which need
only here be referred to briefly. After the death of James V. in 1642,
there was a contest between three persons as to the Regency during the
infancy of Queen Mary. The Earl of Arran, as a near relative, became
“Governor,” having been supported by Cardinal Beaton; but Arran was
overthrown by the Queen-Mother, Mary of Guise, and the next opponent
to her was the Earl of Lennox, also a relative. Lennox had spent
some years at the Court of Henry VII. of England, who still longed
to gain possession of Scotland. Accordingly, in August 1544, Henry
sent an invading fleet to the Clyde, who destroyed Arran’s Castle of
Brodick, and ravaged the neighbouring country. The ten English ships,
full-freighted with their panoply of war, reached Dumbarton, then in
charge of Stirling of Glorat, a servitor of Lennox, but to that Earl’s
surprise, Stirling threatened him with the Earl’s own artillery, and
the fleet had to retire discomfitted.
Sir Colin Campbell at Dunoon had word of this defeat, and received
Arran at Dunoon, with a fusilade of guns; but Lennox, landing on the
Cowal shore, with a troop of his followers, attacked Dunoon Castle and
took it at the spear’s point. Unable to leave a party in posession
Lennox was forced to return to the fleet, and sailing down to Kintyre
he ravaged the district of the Campbells, and then went back to England
to tell Henry that their project had failed. Dunoon Castle again fell
to the charge of Sir Colin Campbell and his successors.
A different scene was enacted at Dunoon about twenty years after. In
June 1563, Mary, Queen of Scots, who had sailed from Dumbarton Castle
to France, had been married there, and had become a widow, was now
in her native land, and planned an expedition so that she might make
herself acquainted with her kingdom. Her half-sister (illegitimate
daughter of James V.), was then Countess of Argyll, and she invited the
Queen to visit her at Dunoon Castle, so that she might see life in the
western Highlands. Queen Mary left Edinburgh, visited her birth-place
at Linlithgow Palace, went thence to Glasgow where she remained for
ten days, visiting Hamilton, Paisley, and other notable places in
that neighbourhood. From there she went to Inveraray, where she spent
some time in deer-hunting. As in duty bound, she paid a visit to the
ancient Castle of Dunoon, one of the earliest palaces of her race, and
under the care of her sister she spent the night there in mirth and
banqueting. A ballad of the period thus refers to the Queen’s visit:--
“Now she’s cast off her bonny shoon,
Made o’ the gilded leather;
And she’s put on her Highland brogues
To skip among the heather.
And she’s cast off her bonny gown,
Made of the silk and satin,
And she’s put on a tartan plaid,
To row amang the bracken.”
Leaving Dunoon the Queen crossed the Clyde into Ayrshire, proceeding as
far south as Dumfries before she returned to Edinburgh. And with that
varied journey nearly all the happiness of her life was completed.
There is little to record of the after-history of Dunoon Castle save
the story of an atrocious act of cruelty carried out by the Campbells
of Dunoon. There had long been a feud between the Campbells and the
Lamonts of Lamont and Castle Toward, and in 1646, by direction of the
Marquess of Argyll, the Campbells attacked Castle Toward, which they
plundered and demolished. Among the documents in the custody of the
present (1927) Sir Norman Lamont, Bart., of Knockdow, there is the
complaint against the Marquess lodged by Sir James Lamont, referring
to this incident, in which the following passage occurs:--
“Ten dayes after the capitulations were ended, they carryed the said
Sir James, his friends and vassals to a place called Dunnoone, about
five miles from his principall garison. And there in the Churchyard
they most cruelly murthered (without Assyse or order of law) on one
tree thirty and six at one tyme of the chiefs and speciall gentlemen
of that name, and before they were half-hanged they cut them down and
threw them in by dozens in pitts prepared for the same, and many of
thame striveing to ryse upon their feet were violently holden downe
until that by throwing the earth in great quantity upon them they were
stifled to death. And it is much to be remarked and taken notice of
that the same tree upon which these thirty-six gentlemen were hanged,
being shortly after cutt downe did immediately as it was in cutting
spring forth blood, and notwithstanding the body of the tree was
carryed away, yet did the root thereof continually cast forth blood for
the space it continued in the ground, which was for severall yeares.”
Whether it was the result of the Curse of the Lamonts or from some
other cause, the Castle of Dunoon decayed from this period. It was used
as a residence till 1670, but after that time all record of it ceases.
The village which was growing up round it would doubtless be largely
composed of the stones of the Castle; for when once the cold finger
of Time brings decay upon such an erection its demolition is speedy
and complete. Now there are not so many stones remaining as to give an
adequate idea of either the form or extent of this stronghold; and the
green grass waves luxuriantly over the foundations of Dunoon Castle,
telling silently, but eloquently, its message of mutability to this
generation.
XIII
ERCHLESS CASTLE
The district of Beauly possesses a peculiar charm for the Scottish
tourist whose experience of the scenery of Scotland has been confined
to the Lowlands. The northern portion of the kingdom is so radically
different in character from the southern that one might readily imagine
that the Grampian Mountains formed the boundary of a new State, or were
the natural demarcation coinciding with the artificial dividing line
between two zones. The fertile vales of Tweeddale and Clydesdale, with
their inconsiderable mounts and hills, give place, first of all to the
varied uplands and elevated plains of Perthshire, which are preparatory
for the cloud-daring peaks of west Aberdeenshire, and the rugged and
barren mountains of Caithness and Sutherland. Betwixt these extremes of
verdant slopes and heath-clad hills the district of Beauly lies; and
whilst partaking of the nature of each, it forms the connecting link
between the two dissimilar aspects of nature.
The varied country is here decidedly mountainous, and the waters which
flow down the sides of the hills are so concentrated and diverted
into the gloomy glens which lie between that they assume the dignity
of rivers. The inland lochs which lie embossed among the hills find
their outlet to the sea through the straths formed by the overhanging
mountains; and though it is difficult to trace a consecutive range of
these, the phenomena which they display are similar to those of the
Grampians. The water-shed of the locality is east by north, and many of
the rivers join themselves together ere debouching into the North Sea,
the inward sweep of whose waters has hollowed out the vast bay of the
Moray Firth.
Three inland lochs at different altitudes are driven by the set of
the land to seek the same outlet. Loch Affrick, after gathering the
drainage of Glen Grivie, flows into Loch Benevian through the romantic
Strath Affrick. Issuing from the latter loch, the overflow takes the
name of River Glass, and assumes the proportion of a considerable
stream. Further north Loch Lingard becomes tributary by pouring its
waters through Strath Cannich into the Glass; and beyond Scuir na
Lappish, Loch Morar’s stream, rushing through the depths of Strath
Farrar, hastens also to join the swiftly-flowing Glass, which becomes
known as the Beauly river after receiving this accession. From Struan
Inn, the point of confluence of the Glass and Farrar, the traveller
may wander in any direction with the assurance of meeting with lovely
and picturesque scenery. He may pursue the precarious path which
leads westward to the shores of Loch Morar, following the devious
course of the Farrar, whose waters roll turbulently downwards to
the ocean over rock and fell, forming myriad cascades of silvery
brightness which sparkle in the summer sun, or dash impetuously down
the strath, o’erladen with the spate of winter snows; or, journeying
south-westward, he may retrace the Glass through all its windings until
he reaches the point where Cannich joins its stream. The road to the
right will carry him to the still and silent shores of Loch Lingard,
whose waters lie enclosed by mighty mountains and over-shadowed by
lofty trees. But if he pursue the way which stretches before him he
will ere long reach the hidden recesses where Loch Benevian and Loch
Affrick form natural reservoirs to feed these rapid and overflowing
rivers. Despite the volume of water which flows through the channel
of the Affrick, the inequalities of the rocky way which it follows
break it up into innumerable waterfalls of little altitude, but of
great force and energy. And when Mamsoul and Beinattow, the presiding
mountains which rule the Cannich and the Affrick, are capped with snow,
and the wintry torrents are rushing down their precipitous sides,
the picturesque effect which these rivers present is striking and
impressive.
The fringe of the great Caledonian Forest, which once stretched from
the Firth of Forth to the Banks o’ Dee, here still retains a portion of
its primeval grandeur, and gigantic birch trees and towering, pyramidal
firs cast their sombre shadows over the restless stream which brawls
below.
[Illustration: ERCHLESS CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
“From the sources which well
In the tarn or the fell,
From its fountains
In the mountains,
Its rills and its gills,
Through moss and through brake
It runs and it creeps
For a while till it sleeps
In its own little lake.
· · · · ·
Here it comes sparkling,
And there it lies darkling,
Now smoking and frothing
Its tumult and wrath in,
Till in this rapid race on which it is bent
It reaches the place of its steep descent.”
Amid such scenery thus imperfectly described stands the old Castle
of Erchless, the seat of the head of the old Clan Chisholm. A short
distance from Struy Bridge, on the banks of the Beauly formed by the
conjoined rivers of Farrar and Glass, and pleasantly situated upon a
wooded eminence overlooking the stream, this Castle adds that element
of human interest to the scene without which it would be incomplete.
The many-gabled structure, with its quaint turrets and hidden turnpike
stairs, might well afford to the student of architecture a compendious
history of his art. The original Castle, judging from its plan,
was erected early in the 14th century, though there have been many
alterations on the structure since that time.
The oriel windows, elegant as they may be, formed no portion of the
original building; nor can one believe that the chief who laid the
foundation stone in remote times ever crossed the threshold of his
dwelling beneath a pillared portico. But these adjuncts, since they are
so plainly _additions_ and not _restorations_, add to the piquancy of
the general effect. In any case it would be difficult to find another
site for a Scottish Castle at once so picturesque and so commanding.
The Chisholms belonged originally to the Border Counties, the earliest
noted in history being John de Chisholme, who is named in a Bull of
1254 by Pope Alexander IV. John’s grandson, Sir John de Chisholme of
Berwick, fought at Bannockburn in 1314, on the side of Robert the
Bruce. About 1403, Alexander de Chisholme, of Chisholme, Roxburghshire,
who was the son of Sir Robert, Constable of Urquhart Castle and Sheriff
of Inverness, was married to Margaret, who is described as “the Lady of
Erchless,” and this seems to have been the earliest of the Chisholms of
Erchless Castle. The lands in the possession of the family at this date
were Strathglass and Ard, and later they came into the estate of Comar,
which made them proprietors of a large part of Ross-shire.
In 1685, when the Duke of York became James II. and VII., many of the
Highland Clans adhered to his cause, as they were chiefly adherents
of the Romish Church, and expected the restoration of the ancient
faith. The fatal conflict at the Pass of Killiecrankie, where Viscount
Dundee fell in the hour of victory, forced the Northern Clans to
retire, pursued by the Scottish Whigs and English Army. John Chisholm
garrisoned Erchless Castle to resist the pursuers, but he had at length
to surrender it to General Livingstone (afterwards Viscount Teviot) who
was Commander-in-chief of the Scottish forces of William of Orange.
With that blind devotion to the Stewart Cause which is one of the
problems of Scottish history at the time, Roderick Chisholm, son of
John, took part in the Jacobite Rising of 1715, in support of the
Chevalier de St. George (James VIII.) after his services had been
foolishly refused by George I. The estates of Roderick were forfeited,
but he was afterwards pardoned in 1735, and the lands restored to him.
This did not prevent him from joining Prince Charles Edward in 1745,
and leading eighty of the Chisholms through the campaign till Culloden,
where thirty of them were killed and his son of the same name also
fell. The lands were not alienated at this time, and have remained with
his descendants ever since in undisturbed possession.
Erchless Castle, though thus intimately associated with war, has also a
traditional romance of love, the story of which is still current in the
locality, though dates are lacking. About six miles from the Castle,
on the other side of the Beauly River, stands the Castle of Beaufort,
the ancient seat of the Clan Fraser. It so happened at one time that
Fraser, the Lord of Lovat, had an only daughter whose welfare was
his chief concern. Reared beneath the shelter of Beaufort Castle and
encircled by the unremitting care of her father and brethren, she grew
up to womanhood. The young Chief of the Chisholms had seen the maid and
had fallen captive to her charms; but the two families were then at
feud, and though the lady reciprocated his affection no marriage seemed
possible. At length Chisholm decided to win his bride at the point of
the sword; and one moonlit night, accompanied by a few of his faithful
followers, he waylaid her near some well-known trysting-place and bore
her away to his own territory. With commendable caution he refrained
from carrying her to Erchless Castle, where she would be first sought
for, but rather took her to a lonely isle in Loch Bruirach where he
deemed her safe from discovery.
Meanwhile the Frasers had found out the loss of their young lady, and
the baron rose up in wrath and ordered a speedy pursuit:--
“O fy! gar ride, an’ fy! gar rin,
An’ hasteye, bring these faitours again,
For she’s be brent an’ he’s be slain.”
The artifice of Chisholm in conveying his love to the retreat he had
chosen was of no avail. The Frasers had mustered in force and the
Chisholms could not withstand them.
“From Beauly’s wild and woodland glen
How proudly Lovat’s banners soar;
How fierce the plaided Highland clan
Rush onward with the braid claymore.”
They soon discovered the spot which the youthful lover had chosen.
What will not man endure when love and beauty is his reward? But the
odds against The Chisholm were fearful; and when his lady clung to his
arm and implored him to resign her again to her kindred rather than
risk his life, her very entreaties impeded his swordsmanship. With his
left arm supporting her whom he valued as dearer than life, he strove
to beat back the weapons of his enemies; and though his defence was
a gallant one, of what avail was his prowess against so many? Had he
remained on the mainland some fleet horse might have borne him into the
wilds of Glen Elchaig or the barren shelter of Mealfourvounie; but the
dark waters of the loch encircled him. Bearing up his precious charge
he again essayed the combat, even though overborne by his assailants,
but the moon was overcast by a flying scud which swept across the sky,
and in the temporary darkness which was thus produced the fatal thrust
which was aimed at his heart by one of her brethren was received by
herself! Sinking breathless, lifeless to the ground, the fair cause of
this deadly tumult yielded up her breath, and lay before the speechless
and agonized combatants in the chill embrace of Death! Who shall dare
intrude with officious description on such a scene as this, or strive
with laboured words to explain the depth of such heart-misery? Only the
simple language of the ballad which describes a similar situation can
express the profound emotions of such an incident:--
“I wish I were where Helen lies!
Night and day on me she cries,
And I am weary of the skies
For her sake that died for me!”
XIV
DUART CASTLE
The tourist who takes shipping at Oban with the intention of passing
through the Sound of Mull cannot fail to observe the picturesque ruins
of Castle Duart, which stand on a promontory of the island of Mull,
immediately opposite Lismore. The situation occupied by these remains
exhibits the chief characteristics of Highland maritime scenery, and
would be worthy of attention even were there no historical memories
connected with it. The Point of Duart has been formed by the wash of
the Atlantic Ocean rushing through the Sound of Mull, and the rugged
peak which it exposes to the confined course of this current diverts
its energy northwards to the indented shores of Loch Linnhe, to the
coast of Morven, and to the islets around Lismore. The channel between
this point and the nearest land is about four miles wide; and as the
Castle is exposed to all the fury of the northern gales which swoop
down upon it from Loch Linnhe, the wildness of the surrounding scenery
may be easily imagined. The hundred peaks of Argyllshire stand out
boldly against the horizon, while the shore on either side of the Sound
of Mull is dotted with the remains of ancient Keeps and Castles, the
relics of the stern feudal system which once obtained in the district,
the deserted strongholds of some of the Highland Clans that are now
scattered throughout the wide world. And as the rude rocks which line
the shores tell the story to him who can read aright of volcanic
upheavals and commotions which have altered the face of Nature in
pre-historic times, so these silent ruins speak eloquently of fierce
revolutions in the history of man, and, like enduring monuments,
indicate the progress and development of civilization. They tell of
times:--
“When sullen Ignorance her flag displayed,
And Rapine and Revenge her voice obeyed.”
But they also show by the very helplessness of their condition that the
days of their years are fled, and their former glory has departed. The
races which have compelled a subsistence from these barren hills, or
wrested their means of support from the raging sea, have vanished from
this scene, and left little behind them save the names which may be
preserved in history, and the desolate ruins which become the wonder of
succeeding generations:--
“All ruined and wild is their roofless abode,
And lonely the dark raven’s sheltering tree;
And travelled by few is the grass-covered road
Where the hunter of deer and the warrior trode
To his hills that encircle the sea.”
[Illustration: DUART CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
Amongst the Clans which formerly inhabited this quarter none was more
famous than that of the Macleans, whose feudal stronghold was Castle
Duart. By personal prowess they had extended their possessions, and by
judicious intermarriages they had increased their power, until there
were few amongst the western chiefs that could compete with them. And
as every Highlander inherits the notion that _his_ Clan was designed by
Providence to lead all others, it was natural that the Macleans should
be at feud with those who were not their vassals and inferiors. The
situation of their Castle was peculiarly favourable for the development
of their ambitions hopes, and they soon found that there were no
“foemen worthy of their steel” in the whole island of Mull.
These marriage connections, however skilfully devised, sometimes
brought the Macleans into serious difficulties. Their relations with
the Clan Campbell, for instance, were at once put upon a war-looting
by the brutal conduct of Lachlan Maclean towards his wife, a daughter
of the Earl of Argyll, which true story is narrated further on in this
notice as connected with the Lady’s Rock, which stands about midway in
the channel between Duart Point and Lismore.
It is impossible to give an accurate date for the erection of the
oldest part of Duart Castle. There probably was an original Keep on the
site of the present Castle, a portion of which, still in existence,
has been adopted in the later erection. This part has high and massive
walls, varying from 10 to 15 feet thick, which enclose what is now
the courtyard. The Castle was probably founded by Lauchlan Maclean,
surnamed Lubanach, about the year 1366, in which year he married
Margaret, daughter of MacDonald, first Lord of the Isles. As Maclean
of Duart, he and his successors for a long time were heritable Keepers
of many Castles in the district, and had many possessions both on the
mainland and in the Western Isles. The first reference to the Castle in
documents is dated 1392, but the building was not completely finished
till the time of Hector Mor Maclean, about 1560, and this Chief also
married Mary, daughter of Alexander MacDonald, then Lord of the Isles,
whose seat was at Isla. From a comparison of the architecture of
different parts of the Castle, it appears that the Great Tower was
erected by this Hector Mor Maclean.
The MacDonalds had made common cause with the Macleans against the
rising power of the Campbells of Argyll, but their alliance was
short-lived. The Chief of the MacDonalds had formed an expedition
along with Maclean of Duart, and they had ravaged some of the richest
territories belonging to the Campbells. But the son of the Chief of the
MacDonalds afterwards married a daughter of the second Earl of Argyll,
and he thus became the enemy of Maclean. A curious complication arose
later, when Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean sought to end the contest with the
Campbells by wedding Lady Elizabeth Campbell, another of the daughters
of the second Earl of Argyll, and sister of the third Earl.
The ambition of Maclean was unbounded, and though his alliance with
the House of Argyll ensured to him the peaceable possession of his
heritage, he was not content with it. When Sir Donald MacDonald of
Lochalsh sought to have himself proclaimed as Lord of the Isles,
Maclean threw up his connection with his brother-in-law Argyll, and
against the latter’s advice, he stirred up an insurrection in the
Hebrides. The powerful influence of Colin, third Earl of Argyll, whose
first duty after his accession was to take up arms against his relative
Maclean, at length quelled the turmoil. Maclean, however, seems never
to have forgiven Argyll for his share in the affair, and determined to
wreak his vengeance upon his own wife. History is not very clear as
to the character of Lady Elizabeth; for whilst one account makes her
to appear almost in the light of a martyred saint, the other asserts
that she had twice attempted to take away her husband’s life. On thing
is certain--that the misfortune of barrenness was magnified into a
crime by the lawless Highland Chief, and he determined to effect her
destruction.
The method which he adopted exhibited the refinement of savage cruelty.
Off the coast of Mull, as already explained, there is still shown
the bare and solitary rock which her lord determined should make her
pathway to heaven. Fringed with sea-weed, and ever moist with the
lapping waters which cover the surface entirely at flood-tide, this
lone rock might well scare the high-born lady, whose brutal husband led
her here to endure the agonies of a slow and torturing death. One may
imagine the fearful forebodings of the Lady Elizabeth as the advancing
waters by their resistless march bore her nearer and nearer to her
doom. At length, when despair had all but seized her, she noticed a
little boat upon the waters, whose occupants replied to her frantic
signals of distress. They drew near, and to her infinite joy she beheld
the faces of some of her own clansmen, whom Providence had sent to her
rescue when in extremity. They bore her swiftly away to her brother’s
house, and restored her, weeping, to the shade of the paternal
roof-tree.
The Campbells arose in a body to demand retribution, but the politic
Earl did not care to press his brother-in-law too severely. The task
of revenge fell therefore upon Sir John Campbell of Cawdor, whose
courage kept pace with his impetuosity. Not long after, having heard
that Maclean was in Edinburgh, Campbell hastened there, entered his
lodgings, and slew him as he lay in bed, scorning to give him even
the privilege of defence, since his intended murder of his wife had
disgraced him as a Knight. As might have been foreseen, this rash deed
at once drove the two clans to arms, and only the interposition of the
Government prevented much useless bloodshed. Upon this strange story
Thomas Campbell, the poet, founded his poem of “Glenara.” which,
though sacrificing facts for the sake of the poetry, is substantially
correct:--
“‘I dreamed of my lady, I dreamed of her grief,
I dreamed that her lord was a barbarous Chief;
On a rock of the ocean fair Ellen did seem--
Glenara! Glenara! now read me my dream!’
In dust low the traitor has knelt on the ground;
And the desert revealed where the lady was found;
From a rock of the ocean that beauty is borne;
Now joy to the house of fair Ellen of Lorn!”
Joanna Bailie made this story the subject of one of her “Plays of
Passion,” under the title of “A Family Legend,” but used some poetic
licence as to the details. The facts as recorded above are beyond
dispute.
XV
TANTALLON CASTLE
The ruins of the famous Castle of Tantallon stand on the east coast of
Haddingtonshire, about three miles from the town of North Berwick. The
Castle occupied a noticeable promontory at the mouth of the Firth of
Forth, and has been adequately protected on three sides by its position
on an elevated peninsula formed by precipitous rocks which rise from
the water. Only the landward portion needed to be fortified, as the
approach from the sea was quite impracticable for an invader. On the
inner or westward side there was a deep rock-cut ditch, as well as
lofty walls nearly 50 feet high and 12 feet in thickness, surmounted
by battlements forming a straight line, without the machicolations for
artillery of a later date. Within these walls is the large courtyard,
which is about 500 feet long by 220 feet wide, outside of which there
is a deep ditch and an elevated mound. On the westward side there is
another ditch and mound, so that the Castle was perfectly protected
on every side. Indeed, it would be difficult to find a Castle in
all Scotland so completely secured by natural formations against an
invading force. Even the entrance to the Castle was by a draw-bridge
over the ditch, and a winding road which exposed intruders to the
arms and artillery of those defenders within the Castle. No doubt the
occupants in early times were entitled to consider Tantallon Castle
as impregnable, being defended both by nature and the devices of man.
The fine description of the Castle in its best days, given by Scott in
“Marmion,” Canto V., is both poetical in form and accurate in details,
so far as one can judge from the existing ruins:--
“Tantallon vast;
Broad, massive, high, and stretching far,
And held impregnable in war,
On a projecting rock they rose,
And round three sides the ocean flows,
The fourth did battled walls enclose
And double mound and fosse.
By narrow draw-bridge, outworks strong
Through studded gates, an entrance long,
To the main court they cross.
It was a wide and stately square;
Around were lodgings fit and fair,
And towers of various form,
Which on the court projected far,
And broke its lines quadrangular.
Here was square keep, there turret high,
Or pinnacle that sought the sky,
Whence oft the Warder could descry
The gathering ocean-storm.”
The exact date and the name of the builder of Tantallon Castle are
alike unknown, but it probably was erected about 1400, and possibly
by Robert, Duke of Albany, third son of Robert II., and Governor of
Scotland while James I. was a captive in England. It is certain that it
was in the possession of the Duke’s eldest son, Murdoch, second Duke of
Albany, who succeeded his father as Governor in 1420, and acted in 1424
at the Coronation of James. Albany’s Castles of Tantallon and Doune
were forfeited to the Crown after the conviction of himself and his
two sons of treason, and all three were beheaded in 1425 by the order
of James I. These Castles remained in the possession of successive
Kings till 1479, when Tantallon was granted by James III. to Archibald
Douglas, fifth Earl of Angus, known in history by the sobriquet of
“Bell-the-Cat.”
An interesting historical event in connection with Tantallon Castle
occurred in 1528, which involved Archibald, sixth Earl of Angus, in
serious trouble. Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII., and widow of
James IV., was married in 1514 to the Earl of Angus; but the young
King, James V., resented being under the control of his step-father,
and escaped in 1528 from Falkland where he had been confined against
his will. Margaret had obtained a divorce from Angus in 1526, but two
years afterwards he was forfeited for treason along with his brother
and uncle, and he retired to Tantallon Castle, which he fortified
against the royal Army.
[Illustration: TANTALLON CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd_]
The King went in person to superintend the siege of Tantallon, bringing
against it all the artillery he could obtain from Dunbar Castle. But
the stout walls of the Castle withstood all the efforts of the
King, and he had to raise the siege. The Castle, however, was rendered
up to the Royalists by the Castellan, as Angus had made his escape
to England. James V. at once set about improving the defences of
Tantallon, causing masons to strengthen the walls and build up many of
the windows. The work then done may still be traced in the ruins.
After the death of the King in 1542, the Earl of Angus was permitted to
return from exile, and regained his former Castle, which he proceeded
still further to fortify, until it became recognized as one of the
strongest Castles in Scotland. Here the Earl remained till his death
in 1556 at an advanced age, and was succeeded by his cousin, David
Douglas, seventh Earl of Angus. The Castle remained in possession of
this family for many years. The eleventh Earl was created Marquess
of Douglas in 1633 by Charles I., and the third Marquess in 1703 was
raised in the Peerage to the rank of Duke of Douglas. He died in
1761 without issue, when the ducal honours became extinct, and the
Marquessate devolved on the Duke of Hamilton.
Long before the last-named date, however, Tantallon Castle had to
pass many tribulations. The Covenanters had become a strong force in
Scotland, and when the famous Assembly at Glasgow in 1638 passed a
resolution abolishing Episcopacy, this was regarded as the signal for
an armed revolt. At that time many of the leading Covenanters had been
imprisoned as rebels in the dungeons on the Bass Rock, which rises
abruptly from the sea at no great distance from Tantallon. In the
following year, 1639, the conflict between the opposing forces became
serious. General Leslie with a select company of a thousand musketeers
attacked and captured Edinburgh Castle, and on the same day a bloodless
victory gave them possession of Dumbarton Castle. Dalkeith was won
by Monro with five hundred men, and they soon spread their conquests
further. Strathaven Castle, belonging to the Marquess of Hamilton, also
fell into their hands, as well as Brodick Castle, which was one of the
seats of this nobleman.
A special attack was organized upon Tantallon Castle, the property of
the Marquess of Douglas. The slogan by which the men were encouraged
was designed to awaken their animosity. It ran thus:--
“Ding doun Tantallon,
Mak’ a brig to the Bass,”
the purpose being to release the unfortunate Covenanters imprisoned
there. The first part of the task was accomplished, but the second was
impossible. Yet these intrepid soldiers, inflamed with religious zeal,
carried out the demolition of Tantallon Castle which James V. had not
done with the aid of his artillery. The strong walls were thrown down,
and the remaining portions were garrisoned against the Royalist Army.
This was the beginning of the destruction of the Castle. Then in 1651,
when Cromwell invaded Scotland and gained a victory at Dunbar, he sent
General Monck (afterwards Lord Albemarle) to complete the overthrow
of the ancient structure, and this he did most effectively. The ruins
have been so long exposed without any attempt at repairs that they have
become now irreparable.
The after-history of the Castle may be soon told. The place in all
its disrepair still belonged to the Douglas family, but from them it
was to pass away. In 1700, or thereby, the Duke of Douglas sold the
ruined structure to Sir Hew Dalrymple, Bart., President of the Court of
Session, with the title of Lord North Berwick. He was the third son of
the first Earl of Stair, and was regarded as one of the best lawyers of
his time. At his death in 1737 he was succeeded by a series of heirs to
the baronetcy, and the title has been continued till the present day.
Tantallon now (1927) belongs to Sir Hew Clifford Hamilton-Dalrymple,
who is the ninth Baronet.
The story of Tantallon Castle shows that it has long been a prominent
land-mark in the history of Scotland. Built by Murdoch, Duke of Albany,
the grandson of Robert II., it was forfeited by his treason, and came
into the possession of James I., thus becoming a Royal Castle. For
centuries it was the residence of the Douglasses, Earls of Angus and
Dukes of Douglas, and resisted a siege conducted by James V. against
his stepfather. Then the Covenanters reduced it partly to ruins, and
Cromwell and Monck completed the work of destruction. The Castle has
stood in its present site for five centuries and a quarter, and is
still attractive from its historical associations. And musing over this
ruinous pile these lines seem appropriate:--
“‘Why sitt’st thou by that ruined hall,
Thou aged carle so stern and grey?
Dost thou its former pride recall,
Or ponder how it passed away?
‘Know’st thou not me?’ the deep voice cried,
‘So long enjoyed, so oft misused?
Alternate, in thy fickle pride,
Desired, neglected, and accused!
‘Before my breath, like blazing flax,
Man and his marvels pass away;
And chasing empires wane and wax,
Are founded, flourish, and decay.
‘Redeem mine hours--the space is brief--
While in my glass the sand-grains shiver;
And measureless for joy or grief
When Time and thou shalt part for ever!’”
XVI
HERMITAGE CASTLE
The Castle of Hermitage, now a ruined structure, stands in the southern
part of Roxburghshire, a few miles from Riccarton Junction, near
Hermitage Water, which is formed by Twistlehope Burn and Braidley Burn,
and becomes a tributary of Liddel River. It flows, therefore, through
Liddesdale, and is not far from the Border between Scotland and England
in the olden time. It seems probable that the site of the Castle was
chosen because it lies between the two streams named, and these would
not only form a protection from attack, but also furnish an ample
supply of water for the ditches by which the Castle was surrounded. The
whole district of Liddesdale was, in early times, in the possession
of the De Soulis family; and it is said that Randolph de Soulis built
a Castle in this district, but not on the site of the later Hermitage
Castle, about the time of David I., who reigned from 1124 till 1153,
and was the ninth and youngest son of Malcolm Caenmor and St Margaret,
daughter of Eadward Atheling. It is possible that King David had met
one of the De Soulis family at the Court of Henry I. of England,
and may have brought him to Scotland when he succeeded his brother
Alexander I. as ruler of that Kingdom. There is little doubt that the
most of the Liddesdale country was in the possession of the De Soulis
family about the 13th century.
The Castle of Hermitage was built on its present site by Nicholas de
Soulis, about 1240, and was made the excuse by Henry III. of England
for an invasion of Scotland, on the plea that this stronghold was
too near the Scottish Boundary, which was then formed by the Liddel
River. So late as 1300, the Castle of Hermitage was regarded as one
of the principal fortresses in the south-eastern part of Scotland.
Very soon it came into the possession of William de Douglas, Knight
of Liddesdale, who also held Roxburgh Castle, and was Keeper of
Lochmaben Castle, and in 1332 was Warden of the Marches. Ten years
afterwards (1342) he was specially favoured by David II., who sent him
on an embassy to France. In 1346 he was taken prisoner by the English
at Durham, and only released on the condition of becoming a vassal
of Edward III. of England. But in 1353 the Lord of Hermitage Castle
was murdered by his kinsman, and godson, William, Lord of Douglas,
afterwards Earl. It has been stated, but without documentary proof,
that the Castle of Hermitage was erected by Walter Comyn, fourth Earl
of Menteith; but there is little doubt that this was the main seat of
the De Soulis family at a much earlier period.
Sir William de Douglas, the Knight of Liddesdale, was born about
1300, and was so brave and successful in war that he was styled by
his contemporaries “the Flower of Chivalry.” He was present at the
disastrous battle of Halidon Hill, in 1333, and was taken prisoner
by the English, and remained captive for two years. He became, after
his liberation, one of the most strenuous supporters of the Scottish
national party, and was active at the Siege of Perth in 1339, where
he was wounded. His purpose was then to win back Teviotdale from the
English, which he accomplished in 1342, when King David II. granted
to him the Earldom of Atholl, which had been forfeited, and bestowed
upon him many lands near Hermitage Castle, by which he became known
as “the Knight of Liddesdale.” He resigned the title of Earl of
Atholl to the High Steward of Scotland in exchange for some of the
lands in Liddesdale. He was then the largest proprietor of lands in
the district; but his ambition and jealousy led to his downfall, and
brought on the tragedy of Hermitage Castle.
At this time he was Custodian of Roxburgh Castle, though it was then
in the possession of the English. Sir Alexander de Ramsay of Dalwolsy,
ancestor of the present Earl of Dalhousie, was one of the most valorous
Knights in the brilliant galaxy of warriors at the Court of David II.
He had distinguished himself by bringing about the raising of the Siege
of Dunbar; and in 1338 he captured the Castle of Roxburgh, and expelled
the enemy. So pleased was the King with this exploit that he conferred
at once upon Ramsay the office of Sheriff of Teviotdale, forgetting
that the office was already held by the Knight of Liddesdale, and was
thus deprived of it that it might be given to his rival. So he captured
Ramsay while that unsuspecting Sheriff was presiding at a Court at
Hawick; carried him off to Hermitage Castle, and imprisoned him in one
of the deepest dungeons. There he was confined without sustenance until
he died of starvation; his life having been prolonged by some grains
of corn that fell from an upper chamber in the place where he was
incarcerated. It is certain that Ramsay died at Hermitage Castle, and
Andrew Wynton, the Chronicler, carefully remarks:--“Of his dethe wes
grete pete. To tell you thare-off the manere it is bot sorow to tell
here.”
The Earl of Angus in 1470 appointed David Scott of Buccleuch to the
office of Custodian of Hermitage Castle, and for many years the Scotts
fulfilled this duty. In 1492, Archibald Douglas, fifth Earl of Angus,
exchanged Liddesdale and Hermitage with Patrick Hepburn, third Lord
Hales, who was created first Earl of Bothwell, for Bothwell Castle
on the Clyde. Angus had married Mary Hepburn, daughter of the Earl
of Bothwell, who thus became a son-in-law to Bothwell. The second
Earl of Bothwell fell on the Field of Flodden, and the third Earl,
his successor, died in 1556, leaving a son, afterwards the notorious
James Hepburn, fourth Earl of Bothwell, whose marriage to Mary, Queen
of Scots, led to his downfall. The sister of this Earl was married
to John Stewart, Prior of Coldingham, a natural son of James V., and
became the mother of Francis Stewart, another turbulent nobleman, who
was created by James VI. the Earl of Bothwell of a new creation, but
retaining the designation of fifth Earl though he retained his mother’s
name of Hepburn.
[Illustration: HERMITAGE CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
The story of the fourth Earl of Bothwell forms a prominent feature
in the history of the reign of Queen Mary. While he lay wounded at
Hermitage Castle in 1566, the Queen went from Jedburgh to see him, a
distance of about 40 miles, and returned the same day, thus bringing
on a severe attack of fever. This indiscreet action upon her part
told against her when her marriage to Bothwell took place in May
1567, as it was supposed that she had consented to this unfortunate
wedding. Bothwell escaped the vengeance of the Scottish nobles, fled
to Kirkwall, and became a pirate. He landed in Norway, was sent to
Denmark, and the King refused to surrender, but kept him in close
confinement, first at Copenhagen, and afterwards at Malmö, and thence
to Drangholm, where he died insane in 1578, having been imprisoned for
over ten years.
The story of Francis Stewart or Hepburn, fifth and last Earl of
Bothwell, was hardly less eventful and exciting than that of his
predecessor. He has been described as “one of the most treacherous men
of his time,” always plotting and counterplotting against his relative
James VI. After a very stormy career he went to France, was pursued
thither, and forced to fly to Spain and Italy. He died at Naples in
poverty and disgrace, in 1624, his title and possessions having been
forfeited in 1592, after a daring attempt to carry off the King from
Falkland Palace. His possessions in Liddesdale, including Hermitage
Castle, were conferred upon Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch, who was
created, in 1606, as first Lord Scott of Buccleuch, from whom descended
the Dukes of Buccleuch, holders of the title. The present Duke is the
proprietor of Hermitage Castle.
XVII
STIRLING CASTLE
There are some Castles in Scotland which have become famous rather in
consequence of their beauty than their strength; but it will be found
that those of them which are most memorable in history are noteworthy
for both these elements. Edinburgh Castle, for instance, whilst long
celebrated as the Maiden Fort which defied the invader, commands a
prospect that alone would have made it worthy of remembrance. In
like manner the Castle of Stirling would have been noticeable for
its picturesque situation, even had there been no important events
connected with it. The beauty of its site attracted the notice of
the Kings and Princes of early times as forming the position for a
Royal residence, while its strength formed no mean recommendation as
a protection for the Court in a lawless age. Hence Dumbarton Castle,
Stirling Castle and Edinburgh Castle have at different times been the
seats of Kingly power. Dumbarton was replaced by Stirling, then Perth,
before the centre of government was settled at Edinburgh.
There are many derivations of the name of Stirling given by students
of Place-names, though these are mostly variations of one idea. Its
old name of “Strila” is evidently compounded of the Celtic words
_strigh_ (strife) and _laigh_ (the bending of the bow), and it has been
alleged that the name arose from the fact that the archery butts were
set up here at an early date. Its second name was “Stryvelin,” usually
interpreted as “strife,” and is poetically applied to the meeting of
the three waters--Forth, Allan and Teith--near the town. The most
reasonable notion seems to be that which derives its origin from _Ster_
(a mountain) and _lin_ (a river), since this exactly describes the
position of the town and the Castle. And the fact that its alternative
title of “Snawdun,” signifying “the fortified hill on the river” gives
additional weight to this conjecture, and finds corroboration in the
couplet by old Sir David Lyndsay:--
“Adew! fair Snawdun, with thy towris hie,
Thy Chapell Royal, Park, and Tabyll Round.”
No one can wonder that a Castle so beautifully situated became a
favourite residence with the monarchs of Scotland.
The hill upon which the Castle is built, though not in itself of any
great height, towers so precipitously over the Carse of Stirling that
it gains an advantage, so far as stretch of vision is concerned over
more lofty mountains. The stream of the Forth, which is here a goodly
river, flows around the base of the eminence, and meanders through the
level country betwixt Stirling and the sea, with many a graceful curve
and winding sweep. As seen from the Castle the view is exquisite. To
the north-eastward stands the solitary peak of Abbey Craig, now crowned
by the Wallace Monument, and overlooking the ever-memorable field of
Bannockburn. Here, too, may be seen the ruins of Cambuskenneth Abbey,
once a royal sepulchre; while the dark purple of the Ochil Hills
forms a dim receding background. Westward the wide carse of Stirling
stretches far as the eye can reach, presenting an unbroken surface
of fertile and variegated country, dotted with towns and villages in
rich profusion. The majestic river winds with serpent-like and sinuous
writhings through the green plain, casting abroad its gigantic folds,
like some stupendous chain, whose argent gleaming reflects the rays
of the sun with greater intensity because mellowed by the tint of the
verdant and fruitful banks through which it pursues its course.
There are few prospects in “braid Scotland” more charming than this,
and whilst the Castle was deemed important enough to be set aside as
the dowry of the Scottish Queens, the lovely scene which lies before
it did not escape the notice of the ancient ballad-singers. The river
Forth here takes so many tortuous windings that in the space of six
miles the stream measures twenty-four miles; and these wimpling links
are often celebrated in early Scottish song:--
“Are these the Links o’ Forth, she said,
Or are they Crooks o’ Dee,
Or the bonnie wood o’ Warroch-head
That I sae fain wad see?”
In very distant times Stirling formed the boundary of the great Nemus
Caledoniæ, or Caledonian Forest, which was an insuperable barrier
against Roman invasion. And at this day the ancient Seal of the Burgh
of Stirling shows a Forest, supposed to be this Scottish Wood, together
with a Cross, explained as signifying the great Cross set up at the
Castle, and a Bridge emblematical of the Bridge of Forth, both of which
erections were due to the Northumbrian invasion in 855, at which time
the Castle changed hands. Tradition asserts that from the Castle the
intelligent observer may descry thirteen battle-fields, among which may
be mentioned Bannockburn, Sauchie Burn, Falkirk (twice), Sheriffmuir,
and Stirling Bridge. It is evident that a locality such as this must be
rich in historic lore; and the Castle of Stirling has been the scene
of many deeds of crime, of many revelries and pageants, only equalled
by Edinburgh, the Capital of Scotland. Some of these incidents may be
related, even though they are not placed in chronological order.
The Castle of Stirling had been conferred by James I. upon his English
bride, Lady Joanna de Beaufort--the heroine of “The King’s Quhair”--as
her dowry, and it was here that her son, afterwards James II., was born
in 1430, being the younger twin-son of the King, the elder of whom,
Alexander, died in infancy. Some of the chroniclers state that the
birth of the twins took place at Holyrood; but possibly this may be an
error caused by the anointing and crowning there of James II. in 1437,
a year after his father’s assassination at Perth. This may be doubtful;
but it is certain that the King (James II.), in February 1451-52,
perpetrated at Stirling one of the blackest deeds of treachery which is
recorded against the whole Stewart race to which he belonged.
From the time of King Robert the Bruce the family of Douglas, whose
founder was the fellow-warrior of that King, had been rising into
increased power. Honours were showered upon them by successive
Monarchs--at first in gratitude but latterly in fear. For the dominion
of the Douglases spread so widely, and drew within its scope so many
warlike nobles that the Lanarkshire Earl might soon out-number the
Crown in wealth, as in forces. As it was impossible, therefore, for
the King to quarrel with so powerful a subject, he endeavoured to win
the Earl over by making him Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom. But
the possession of so important a post seems rather to have inflamed
the ambition of the Earl than bound him to the King. So overbearing,
indeed, had he become that the Monarch, whose favourite Douglas had
been, was compelled to withdraw the Royal patronage, and to deprive the
Earl of his post. The disappointed nobleman retired in chagrin to his
Castle of Douglas and meditated schemes of revenge against the King
and the Court party.
Nor was he long without opportunity of gratifying his vindictive
spirit. One after another of the King’s followers were attacked upon
some pretext, sufficient in those times to justify sudden reprisal;
and the Monarch soon found that he had made a dangerous enemy in the
Earl of Douglas. But it was not until he had openly disregarded the
King’s mandate that he was finally abandoned. The Earl had summoned
his vassals to meet him upon a special occasion. Amongst those whom
he had thus summoned was M’Lellan, known as the Tutor of Bomby, in
Kirkcudbrightshire. This unfortunate man had provoked the Earl by
refusing to join with him against the King; and Douglas had kidnapped
this daring vassal, and carried him off to the Castle of Thrieve. The
uncle of M’Lellan, Sir Patrick Gray, Captain of the King’s Guard--then
a favourite with the King--obtained a Royal mandate ordering Douglas to
release M’Lellan.
Sir Patrick set forth with this missive, but was met by the Earl with
every demonstration of amity, inviting him to dinner, and protracting
the meal till his own evil purpose had been accomplished. Then he led
Gray into the courtyard; he pointed to a dead body lying there, and
said:
“Sir Patrick, the letter which you bear comes too late. There lies your
sister’s son, without his head. To his body thou art welcome, an’ it
please thee to mell with it.”
“Nay,” said Sir Patrick, “sen thou hast ta’en the head, make what
thou wilt of the body; for thou shalt answer shortly to the King for
both.” And mounting in hot haste, Gray sped to Edinburgh to report this
outrage, pursued by the myrmidons of Douglas.
The recital of this new attack upon his kingly prerogative decided the
King to adopt severe measures against the Earl of Douglas; but he took
a crafty method of doing so.
Having discovered that Douglas, who ruled in the south, had agreed with
the Earl of Ross, who was all-powerful in the north, and the Earl of
Crawford, whose influence spread throughout the east coast, to maintain
each others quarrels, even against the King himself, his Majesty,
fearful of the conspiracy, summoned his Parliament to Stirling to
advise upon it. After deliberation, it was decided to bring Douglas to
this conference, and to endeavour by argument to break this alliance.
A safe conduct, under the hand and Seal of the King, was sent to him
requesting his attendance. Trusting to the honour of his liege-lord,
Douglas approached with but a few adherents, and even those were
excluded from the precincts of the royal palace.
Alone, therefore, the Black Earl entered that portal through which he
never more should pass. The King met him with accustomed cordiality,
and, after supper, retired with him and a few of his counsellors to an
inner apartment to discuss the affairs of State. Here James thought
to persuade Douglas to abandon his league with the Earls Ross and
Crawford; but threat and persuasion were alike powerless upon him.
Irritated beyond measure by this continued obstinacy, and well aware of
the result of too great leniency towards him, the King at last drew his
dagger, and exclaiming “By Heaven, if you will not break this league, I
will,” he stabbed the unfortunate Earl to the heart. The old enemy of
Douglas, Sir Patrick Gray, with all the bitterness of his last grudge
against him, was not slow to aid the King in his felon intent, and
the body of the murdered nobleman was thrown from the window of that
apartment in the Castle which is still called “the Douglas Room.”
However disreputable the means employed, it is certain that the step
which the King had taken ultimately compelled him to adopt repressive
measures against the Scottish nobility, and finally to overcome and
destroy the long-established feudal system. And, as a curious instance
of historical retribution, it may be mentioned that the murder of James
III. (son of James II.) at Sauchie Burn, was popularly attributed to
the son of this same Sir Patrick Gray, the King’s accomplice in his
attack upon the Earl of Douglas.
Many additions were made to the Castle during the turbulent reign of
James III., who made it his favourite residence. He built the large
hall, now called the Parliament House, and erected the Chapel Royal,
celebrated in song by the poets of the period, which was afterwards
demolished by James VI. to make way for a more pretentious structure.
There is little doubt that the violent death of James III. was
immediately caused by the treachery of the Castellane whom he had put
in charge of Stirling, and who refused to open the gate to the King
while in retreat.
During the reign of James V., Stirling was the scene of a very
ludicrous scientific fiasco. The reputation which the King had gained
on the Continent as a lover of literature and art had attracted many
foreign adventurers to the Scottish shore. Poets, musicians, and
alchemists flocked to the Court whose Monarch laid claim to a wide
sympathy with the art of each professor; and as the craze of the search
after the “philosopher’s stone” was not yet exploded, King James fell
an easy prey to charlatanry and imposture. Chief among the alchemists
that had gained an ascendancy over the King was an Italian monk, who
so dazzled his dupe by unlimited promises that nothing was withheld
from him. He was made Abbot of Tungland, and assigned apartments in the
Castle that he might pursue his Rosicrucian studies unmolested.
That this monk was neither a Dowsterswivel nor a Subtle, may be
surmised from the fact that he so far believed in his power as to
experiment on himself. Having made aerial flight his study for a
considerable time, he at last announced that he had solved the problem
which had perplexed mankind till his day. He invited a large company
to witness his triumph over gravitation; and having mounted the
battlements of the Castle he boldly flung himself from the parapet. But
he had miscalculated the attractive influence of our planet upon him.
And so the astonished multitude, who expected to see him cleaving with
mighty wings the blue empyreum, were shocked and dismayed to behold him
falling like some ordinary mortal earthward, unable, even with the aid
of all his familiar spirits, to escape the broken limb which the most
illiterate lord might have as easily gained, without bravado.
One cannot but admire the pluck which led the Abbot to make this rash
experiment, and the ingenuity with which he explained his failure.
“Many of the feathers,” he wrote, “whereof my wings were composed had
been unwittingly taken from barnyard and dunghill fowls. Hence the
earth had more influence upon them since they were unused to upward
flight. Had they been eagles’ feathers then the attraction of the
heavens would have been as great as the attraction of the earth was in
other conditions.” There is no record of his ever having tried aviation
afterwards.
For a considerable time the Castle of Stirling was selected as the
place of Coronation for the Scottish rulers, and the fact of its
being a favourite residence for royalty brought it into notice as the
birth-place of a succession of monarchs, and it was also the scene of
several tragedies connected with the royal family. Some of the latter
incidents may be briefly noticed here.
[Illustration: STIRLING CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
Alexander I., who reigned from 1106 till 1124 is the first
Scottish King who is recorded as having died at Stirling. William the
Lion--1165-1214--died at Stirling in his 71st year. David, second son
of Alexander III., born in 1273, died in Stirling Castle in 1281,
aged 8 years, and as his elder brother Alexander died in his father’s
life-time, the succession fell to Margaret, “the Maid of Norway,”
whose death in 1290 brought about the trouble with the claimants, in
which Edward I. of England interfered. While James I. was a prisoner
in England, his uncle Robert, Duke of Albany, was Governor from
1388 till 1420, in which year he died at Stirling Castle. His son,
Murdoch, became Governor, but when James I. returned to his kingdom
in 1424, he accused Murdoch of treason, and caused him to be beheaded
at Stirling Castle in the following year, together with his son, his
nephew, and his father-in-law. James IV., in 1488, when he was only
16 years of age, was brought from Stirling Castle by the Lords, who
had rebelled against his father, James III., and was present at the
Battle of Sauchie Burn, near Stirling, where the King was assassinated.
Alexander, Duke of Ross, sixth child of James IV., was born in Stirling
Castle, and died there in 1515 in his second year. Prince James and
Prince Arthur, sons of James V., both died in infancy at Stirling
Castle, in 1541, thus leaving the succession to the Throne open to
Mary, Queen of Scots, who was born in 1542, the year of her father’s
death. She was crowned in the Chapel at Stirling Castle in September
1543. The year 1571 witnessed a series of tragic incidents. John
Hamilton, Archbishop of St Andrews, was accused as concerned in the
murders of Henry Darnley and also the Regent Moray, and was hanged at
Stirling Castle. The Regent Lennox, father of Darnley, was shot in a
skirmish at Stirling; his successor, the Regent Mar, died at Stirling
Castle in 1572. James VI. was baptized in the Chapel of Stirling Castle
in 1566; and his beloved eldest son, Prince Henry, was born in the
Castle in 1593, but died in 1612 in his 19th year, and thus the King
was succeeded by his second son and fourth child, afterwards Charles I.
These are all facts relating to the connection of the Royal Family with
Stirling Castle.
The Union of the Crown in 1603, when the King and Court removed
to London, had an important effect upon the whole of Scotland,
and especially on Stirling Castle. The place fell out of notice
for a considerable time, and until the great Marquess of Montrose
restored the renown of Scottish chivalry its existence was placid and
uneventful. The brilliant exploits of this famous commander brought
renown to Scotland; and during the century which followed, the position
of Stirling Castle as the key to the north by the east coast made it a
scene of continued turmoil and strife. Stirling Castle was captured and
held for a short time by the Covenanters. In 1651, after the defeat of
General Leslie and the Covenanters at Dunbar by Cromwell, the fugitive
Scots made Stirling Castle their rallying-place. This led General Monck
to besiege and reduce the Castle, and to carry off many of the national
documents that had been brought from Edinburgh as less secure than
Stirling. It was from the Castle in the same year that Charles II. set
out upon his invasion of England, which was terminated by the fatal
Battle of Worcester.
At the time of the Union of the Parliaments in 1707 Stirling was one of
the four Castles that were specially described as the most important in
Scotland. The first trial of its strength occurred in 1715, when Argyll
on his way to Sheriffmuir was well-supported from the Castle. The
next attempt on the Castle was in 1745-46, when the army under Prince
Charles Edward was retreating northward. The leaders of the Highland
forces promised the Stirling people would not be molested; but this
pledge was not respected by the Jacobites, and general plunder was the
result. Preparations were made to besiege the Castle; but the conflict
at Falkirk, where the Prince was victorious, led to the prolongation of
the siege (against the will of Prince Charlie) until the advance of the
Duke of Cumberland’s army compelled a retreat northward, which ended at
Culloden. Since that time Stirling Castle has remained unassailed.
James VI. was the last Scottish Sovereign to live in residence at
Stirling Castle. The Duke of of York (afterwards James VII. and II.)
was here with his family for a short time in 1685, amongst them being
the daughter who became Queen Anne. In September 1842, Queen Victoria
and Prince Albert visited the place; and in 1859, the Prince of Wales
(afterwards Edward VII.) examined the historic Castle, so closely
connected with the lives of his remote ancestors.
XVIII
ST ANDREWS CASTLE
The situation of St Andrews Castle is exceedingly picturesque. The
shore on each side of the ruins trends inwards, leaving a projecting
headland, upon whose rocky summit stand the ruins of the Archiepiscopal
Palace. The ceaseless beat of the wild North Sea has swept away the
ancient landmarks upon either side, gradually leaving the foundation of
the Castle to form an apex between two bays:--
“The peak on an aerial promontory,
Whose caverned base with the vexed surge is hoary.”
If this spot be really the site of the original Castle of St Andrews,
built by Bishop Roger in 1200 as there is little reason to doubt, it
savours more of romance than of practical utility. For even though the
encroachments of the sea have been great in this locality they cannot
have so seriously altered the position of the Castle in little over
seven centuries as to transform an inland fortress into a sea-washed
ruin. And, however conducive to reflection in a recluse, it could not
be altogether pleasant for men of the world, as many of the Prelates
were, to hear the “hollow-sounding and mysterious main” dashing against
the rock-bound coast, or watch it flinging its wintry spray defiantly
upon the topmost battlement.
Whether for resistance by sea or land, no more commanding site could
have been found along the coast than that on which the Castle stands.
Its peninsular position would enable its possessor to sweep both the
north and south coasts with ease; while the approach from the land
would be rendered difficult by the narrowness of the passage. Local
tradition tells of subterranean caves hollowed beneath the foundations
of the Castle, and represents the rock as honey-combed by the action of
the waves; and certainly there have been mysterious passages recently
discovered which may have been formed by extending such caves, though
their utility has not been satisfactorily explained.
But the ruin which now crowns the rugged steep has not been reduced to
its present state solely by the ravages of time or of the elements.
The resistless surge of human passion and the fierce whirlwind of
civil war have done more to render the Castle of St Andrews roofless
and uninhabitable than have the relentless storms of many centuries.
And though first erected a dwelling for the men of peace, it was not
long ere the warriors of Scotland discovered that the position which
it occupied was too valuable to be sacrificed as a Parsonage; even as
they found that the site of Dunnottar Castle was too important for a
Parish Kirk. And thus it soon happened that the peaceful abode of the
Bishops of St Andrews became the residence of the fierce soldiery
both of England and France, whose lawless presence drew down upon its
innocent head the vengeance of their enemies. And the Castle, which
might have existed as long as the Vatican at Rome, had it been left
to its original possessors, did not continue for a century and a half
without suffering almost total demolition. Arising again from its
ashes under the benign influence of another Bishop, it re-asserted the
proud position which it had formerly held, and remained intact for
another hundred and fifty years. But the cloud of the Reformation had
over-shadowed the dignity of the priesthood, and “their gilded domes
and their princely halls” were now the abode of the leading spirits of
the new birth.
Yet again was the ruined Castle rebuilt and made habitable, but it was
now shorn of all its former greatness, and “Ichabod” was written on
its ruins. And now, as if “unwilling to outlive the good that did it,”
or wilfully refusing shelter to the renegades from the faith of its
founders, it stands bare and desolate, a barren relic of the glory that
passeth away. Only a few yards from these ruins may be seen the burying
ground where rest many of the Lords Spiritual, who once held sway
within its halls, mingling their dust with that of the vassals whose
toil supported them, and by whose labour they were maintained. And as
we pass from these tombs by the ever-sounding sea to the melancholy
ruin of former grandeur which the Castle presents, we feel:--
“The sway
Of the vast stream of ages bear away
Our floating thoughts.”
Here in the very birthplace of Scottish Christianity we find the cradle
of the Reformation, and this grim ruin was the scene of many of the
deeds of violence and of injustice and lawlessness that called aloud
for a new upheaval of Society--the avatar of a Protestant Reformation.
And now, as the moonlight breaks through the unglazed window apertures,
or falls shimmering, clear and cold, upon the grass-grown courtyard,
unroofed and open to the assaults of heaven, we cannot escape from the
romance of the situation--
“I wandered through the wreck of days departed,
Far by the desolated shore, when even
O’er the still sea and jagged islets darted
The light of moonrise; in the northern heaven,
Among the clouds near the horizon driven,
The mountains lay, beneath one planet pale;
Around me broken tombs and columns riven
Looked vast in twilight, and the sorrowing gale
Waked in these ruins grey their everlasting wail!”
[Illustration: ST ANDREWS CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
The action of the water upon the free stone and shale forming the
base of the Castle is apparent, though the extent of this influence
is much exaggerated. Some local historians would have us believe
that the angry surge has swept away towers and turrets, walls and
battlements, but there is more fancy than fact in their statements.
Yet there are many alterations in the formation of the Castle
grounds plainly discernible. At some remote period the whole of the
landward structure has been surrounded by a deep moat, presumably
supplied with tidal water and furnished with lock-gates communicating
with the sea. The _débris_ of many years had accumulated within this
fosse to such an extent that it was level with the ground. But some
years ago excavations were made in the locality whereby the trench was
quite cleaned out, and a more correct view of the fortifications thus
obtained. Amongst other discoveries made, not the least interesting was
that of the ancient Well in the courtyard, which has been cut out of
the solid rock, and is more than twenty feet deep to the water surface.
In the North Sea Tower on the north-west part of the courtyard, may
be seen the Bottle Dungeon, a cavity quarried in the freestone,
twenty-five feet deep, with an aperture forming the neck, seven feet in
diameter and eight feet deep. Below this point the dungeon expands to
nearly seventeen feet in diameter; and as there are no visible means of
entrance, it is supposed that the prisoners were incarcerated here by
using rope and windlass to lower them into its loathsome depths. The
imaginative inhabitants of this neighbourhood have peopled this fearful
prison with many of the men familiar in history; but the traditions
connected with it are not very trustworthy. It is not likely that the
place was used except for purposes of temporary confinement, and as
an alternative to the rack or other form of torture. The whole plan
of the Castle is now clearly visible, and as steps have been taken
to preserve the ruins the ravages of time will no longer prevail to
overthrow it. The vicissitudes through which it has passed, and which
link it prominently with many notable events in Scottish story, entitle
the Castle of St Andrews to the tender regard and veneration of the
students alike of Church and of State History.
The exact date of the foundation of the Bishopric of St Andrews is not
now discoverable, but it is known to have had a firmly established
existence in the middle of the ninth century. For a considerable
period the history of the Bishopric is but a succession of names and
dates which, like the catalogue of the Pictish Kings, is now of little
interest to us. Early in the twelfth century (about 1107) Bishop
Turgot founded the Parish Kirk, and about fifty years after, Bishop
Arnold, the possessor alike of larger views and increased revenue,
began the erection of the splendid pile of St Andrews Cathedral, whose
ruins still testify to its former magnificence. Having thus provided
for the spiritual wants of their parishioners, it became advisable
that the Bishops should look after their own temporal welfare; and
so Bishop Roger laid the foundation of the Castle somewhere about
the year 1200. Hitherto the holders of the Episcopal See had resided
either in the ancient Monastery of the Culdees (now Kirkhill, where the
foundations may be seen) or in the house of the Prior, which adjoined
the Cathedral buildings. It no longer consorted with the dignity of
so important a See that the Bishops should have nowhere to lay their
heads, and as the Royal, as well as the Papal, favour had been bestowed
upon them, they could well afford to indulge in a habitation for
themselves.
Old Andro Wyntoun, Prior of St Serf’s on Loch Leven, in his “Cronykil,”
records that Bishop Roger was son of the Earl of Leicester; but to
this statement exception may be taken, as it is not supported by other
evidence. There certainly was a Roger de Bellomont who fought at the
Battle of Hastings in 1066, and whose descendant was Earl of Leicester
in 1128, but that Earl had no son called Roger. This is Wyntoun’s
account:--
“This Rogere
The Erle’s son was of Laycestere.
The Castell in his dayis he
Founded and gart biggit be
In Sanct Andrewys in that place
Where now that Castel biggit was.”
The undertaking, though considerable in those days, was but a trifle
compared to the erection of the Cathedral which was then proceeding;
and it is extremely likely that the builders of the latter edifice were
employed upon Bishop Roger’s residence. The name of the architect of
these two buildings has not been discovered. At that time Antwerp was
the great school of masonry, and a travelling Guild of Masons may have
begun the structure which took many years to complete.
By whomsoever devised and executed, the Castle was at length completed,
and the Bishop would, no doubt, prepare with devout gratitude for
his “house-warming.” One may picture the venerable Bishop looking
forward with hopeful eyes to a glorious future for the bield he had
now “biggit,” and prophesying of the halcyon days of universal peace
which his firmly-founded Castle should never behold. Hope still looks
forward, in defiance of history and human experience, for the brighter
days that never come, and we delude ourselves by a faith in the future
for which our past gives no warrant. And thus runs the world away!--
“Golden days, where are you?
Pilgrims east and west
Cry, if we could find you
We would pause and rest.
We would pause and rest a little
From our dark and dreary ways,
Golden days, where are you?
Golden days!”
Peace and prosperity were not long the heritage of the Castle of St
Andrews, for in those stirring times the dignitaries of the Church
were compelled to take an active part in the affairs of State. As St
Andrews was the foremost See in Scotland, both because of its antiquity
and extent, it was natural that the Bishop of so important a diocese
should be frequently brought to the front. And as Glasgow bore the same
relation to the west of Scotland as St Andrews did to the east, the
Bishops of these places were the leaders during the most turbulent
times. Foremost among these patriots was Robert Wiseheart (Wishart),
Bishop of Glasgow, in 1270, who was appointed one of the six Guardians
of Scotland on the death of Alexander III. in 1286, though he supported
Edward I. in 1290, but took up the cause of Robert Bruce in 1299, for
which Edward imprisoned him. Afterwards he joined Wallace with the
Scottish patriots, and officiated at the Coronation of Robert Bruce in
1306. His faithful ally was William Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews in
1297, who supported Wallace, though he had sworn fealty to Edward. He
was also present at the crowning of Bruce and was captured and put in
prison by Edward.
It was during Bishop Lamberton’s time that the building of the
Cathedral was completed, and he also repaired the breaches in the walls
of the Castle which Edward I. had caused after Wallace had escaped from
it. Having had it put in repair for his occupancy, Edward I. and his
Queen occupied the Castle from 14th March to 5th April 1303-4, together
with the Prince of Wales (afterwards Edward II.), and to the Prince was
committed by the King the stripping of the lead from the roof of the
Cathedral to make ammunition for the siege of Stirling Castle. While
Edward was in St Andrews Castle he received the homage of the leading
Scottish nobles and clergy.
The Castle was held by the English till 1305, when it was captured
and held by the Scots for a short period, but was regained from them
in 1306, and remained an English fortress till 1314, the year of the
Battle of Bannockburn. These frequent attacks must have seriously
weakened the structure, for Bishop Lamberton, who died in 1328, found
it necessary to spend his last years in the Priory instead of the
Castle.
Hardly had Lamberton been gathered to his fathers ere the minions
of Edward Balliol, son of King John Balliol, and a dependant on the
bounty of the King of England, Edward III., seized upon the Castle, and
forced the new Bishop, James de Bane, to fly for refuge to Holland,
where he died in 1332, leaving the See unoccupied. Edward Balliol
had invaded Scotland in this year, and won a victory at the Battle
of Dupplin, and he placed a garrison in St Andrews Castle. The chief
Scottish opponent of Balliol was Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell, son of
the companion-in-arms of Wallace, who was proclaimed Regent. Finding
English soldiers in the Castle he attacked it and forced them away;
but finding that he had not men to spare for garrisoning it he threw
down some of the fortifications, and proceeded southward to expel the
invaders from Scottish soil. This incident is thus recorded by Andro
Wyntoun:--
“Sir Andro Murray cast it doun,
For there he fand a garrisoun
Of English men intill that place,
For the See than vacand was.”
Ere another fifty years had gone the Bishopric came into the hands of
Walter Trail (1385-1401) a Prelate whose influence in the affairs of
the kingdom entitled him to rank as a true patriot. During his term
as Bishop the Castle was rebuilt and again made fit for an episcopal
residence. Yet, by a curious fatality, the princely towers which he
built became the prison-house of one of his dearest friends, shortly
after his decease. In the story of Rothesay Castle in this volume,
the sad tale of the murder of David, first Duke of Rothesay, son
of Robert III., by his unscrupulous uncle, the Regent Albany, was
narrated. Whilst this unfortunate Prince was supported by the counsel
of his mother, Queen Annabella, of his father-in-law, Earl Douglas,
and of his tutor, Bishop Trail, he withstood the insidious advances
of his ambitious uncle; but when death had removed all three of these
counsellors, the craft of the statesman proved too much for the
unsuspecting Prince. Rothesay was persuaded that after the death of
the Bishop it was his duty to occupy the Castle till a successor was
appointed. The young Duke made his way to Fife with a few followers,
and was waylaid by the emissaries of Albany near Strathtyrum and thrown
into prison at St Andrews Castle to await the instructions from his
uncle. Ultimately he was taken to Falkland Palace, where he met the sad
fate prepared for him. Thus the lordly dwelling which his old friend
the Bishop had erected, and where he would have been an honoured guest,
became the scene of his first imprisonment.
“What man that sees the ever-whirling wheels
Of change the which all mortal things doth sway;
But that thereby doth find, and plainly feels
How mutability in them doth play
Her cruel sports to many men’s decay?”
The Castle of St Andrews increased in importance as time rolled on, and
soon had greatness thrust upon it. Bishop Wardlaw had spent his forty
years within its walls; and had done much service to the world at large
by founding the University, building the Guard Bridge, and burning a
few pestilent heretics “for the greater glory of God.” Bishop Kennedy
had enjoyed his quarter-of-a-century there, and signalized his reign by
erecting the College and Chapel of St Salvator, founding the Greyfriars
Monastery, and endeavouring to introduce commerce to the city by
building a large vessel suitable for export trade. But the vernal
period of the Bishops had arrived, and they were about to blossom into
Archbishops. Bishop Kennedy died in 1465, and his half-brother, Patrick
Graham, Bishop of Brechin, succeeded him in the following year. Bishop
Wardlaw, in 1440, had appointed John de Wemyss of Kilmany as Constable
of St Andrews Castle, so it had been kept in order during the time of
Bishop Kennedy. To his successor, Patrick Graham, belongs the honour of
being the first Archbishop of St Andrews, but he did not take up his
residence at the Castle in 1466, going to Rome for another purpose.
In 1472 he returned with Bulls from Pope Sixtus IV., constituting St
Andrews the Metropolitan See of Scotland.
Despite the honour that Archbishop Graham had brought to this country
his life was a miserable one. He had been impoverished by the bribes
he had presented to the officials at Rome, who had assisted him, and
in 1478 William Schevez, then Archdeacon, brought charges of heresy
and simony against him, and he was deposed and imprisoned, first in
the Monastery of Inchcolm, and afterwards in Loch Leven Castle, where
he died, and was buried at St Serf’s Isle. The ambitious Schevez
succeeded as second Archbishop, and apparently resided at the Castle.
Hardly had he been appointed than he dashed into a controversy with
Robert Blacader, Archbishop of Glasgow, on a point of etiquette as to
precedence. The dispute became so violent that it had to be submitted
to His Holiness Pope Innocent VIII., who evidently gave the preference
to St Andrews as the seat of the Primate. An ancient Chartulary, still
in existence, throws a sinister light on this transaction. It shows
that Schevez gave over the lands and Castle of Gloom, on the Devon,
and the Bishopshire on the Lomond Hills to the then Earl of Argyll to
bribe his support in the dispute with Glasgow. He thus proves himself
as the mediæval ecclesiastic--solemn, precise, exacting--anything but
profound, whose interest lay more in vestments and ceremonies than the
welfare of the precious souls committed to his charge.
The Castle of St Andrews had now gained additional importance as the
seat of the Primate, and the Archbishops took a prominent part in
political affairs, and were recognized as statesmen. So far back as the
time of William the Lion, the claim had been made, and since continued,
that the King had the right of presentation to this Archbishopric.
Hence, when the See of St Andrews became vacant through the death
of James Stewart, second son of James III. (1497-1503), James IV.,
who bore the same name as his younger brother, exercised his right
under peculiar circumstances. The King had then an illegitimate
son, Alexander Stewart, born in 1493, but not of age to be made
an Archbishop, so the See was left vacant till 1505, when he was
nominated. In that year Stewart went abroad; studied under Erasmus at
Padua, 1508; returned to Scotland in 1509 for his installation; was
appointed Chancellor of Scotland, 1510; accompanied his father the King
in 1513 to Flodden, and fell on the battlefield, in his twentieth year.
A very curious complication arose at Archbishop Stewart’s death.
The Queen-Regent (Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII., and widow
of James IV.), claimed the right of the Crown to appoint the new
Archbishop, and was prepared to select the famous Bishop Elphinstone
of Aberdeen, founder of Aberdeen (King’s College) University, for the
See of St Andrews; but he died at Edinburgh in October 1514, before
he could be installed. Meanwhile, in August 1514, Queen Margaret had
married Archibald Douglas, sixth Earl of Angus; and to please her new
husband she nominated the celebrated poet, Gawain Douglas, her uncle
by marriage, to the Archbishopric. But the Chapter of St Andrews
elected in preference John Hepburn, Prior of St Andrew, while the Pope
recommended Andrew Forman, Bishop of Moray for the position. There
were thus three claimants, proposed respectively by the Queen-Regent,
the Chapter, and the Pope, representing the Crown, the Church, and the
Papal power.
Gawain Douglas, the translator of Virgil, and one of the most learned
and accomplished men of his time, made the first move by taking
violent possession of St Andrews Castle, having the troops of Angus
and the Queen-Regent to support him. The forces he had at his disposal
were lulled into a false security by the ease of their conquest.
Doubtless the new Archbishop, looking upon himself as the man in
possession prepared to enjoy his “lordly pleasure-house” with as little
apprehension of approaching danger as ever troubled the hero of his own
exquisite poem:--
“King Hart into his comely Castel strang,
Closed about with craft and meikle ure,
So seemly was he set his folk amang
That he no doubt had of misadventure,
So proudly was he polished plain and pure,
With Youth heid and his lusty levis greeve,
So fair, so fresh, so likely to endure,
And also blyth as bird in summer schene.”
But the dark-visaged Prior Hepburn meanwhile was not idle. Silently
assembling the fierce Border Clans of the Hepburns and Homes, to
whom he was related, he took the Castle by storm, and turned out its
occupants in disgrace. Chagrined by his defeat, the Queen-Regent urged
her husband, Angus, to besiege the Castle; but the bold Prior, like
a true Churchman Militant, set the forces of the Crown at defiance.
The combined efforts of the Royal troops and the Men of the Mearns
were unavailing to conquer the hardy Borderers, and the unscrupulous
Archbishop-elect for whom they fought.
Matters had thus reached a crisis, and it seemed as though Scotland
were to be blessed with three Primates. The wily Bishop Forman,
however, meddled less with arms than with men, and he soon gained over
the Earl of Home to his cause by the old-fashioned method of bribery
and corruption. Hepburn had no choice but to succumb to circumstances.
He withdrew his soldiers from the Castle and resigned all claim to the
Primacy on condition of receiving the Bishopric of Moray, from which
See his opponent Forman had been promoted, together with a pension of
three thousand crowns from the funds of the Archbishop of St Andrews,
stipulating that no questions should be asked as to the revenues
which he had uplifted whilst in possession of the See. And thus the
presentees alike of the Queen-Regent and the Church were conquered by
the favourite of the Pope.
The ambition of the Queen-Regent brought evil days upon her. When
the Duke of Albany, grandson of James II., and heir-presumptive to
the Throne, was appointed Governor of Scotland in 1515, he soon took
vengeance upon those friends whom Margaret Tudor had favoured.
The relatives of the Earl of Angus, who were suspected, fell under
Albany’s displeasure, and first among them was Gawain Douglas. He was
seized upon the pretext of some informality in his presentation to the
post of Bishop of Dunkeld, was carried to St Andrews Castle and thrown
into the Bottle Dungeon there in 1521, where the vagaries of Fortune
would give him food for regretful reflection, in the darkness, upon the
brief period when he was master in the Castle:--
“But yesterday I did declare
How that the time was soft and fair,
Come in as fresh as peacock’s feddar--
This day it stangis like ane eddar,
Concluding all in my contrair.
Yesterday fair upsprang the flowers--
This day they are all slain with showers;
And fowlis in forest that sang clear,
Now weepis with ane dreary chere,
Full cauld are baith their beds and bowers.
So next to Summer Winter bein;
Next after comfort caris keen;
Next to dark night the mirthful morrow;
Next after joy aye comis sorrow;
So is this warld and aye has been!”
By some obscure means Gawain Douglas escaped from St Andrews in 1521,
and fled to England, where Henry VIII. was his patron; but he died
there in the following year, of the plague, aged forty-eight years.
Archbishop Forman died in 1522, and was succeeded by James Beaton, then
Archbishop of Glasgow. Beaton was the son of John Beaton of Balfour,
in Fife. He took his M.A. degree at St Andrews University in 1492; was
Abbot of Dunfermline in 1504; Lord Treasurer, 1505-6; Chancellor, 1513
to 1526; one of the Regents during the minority of James V.; Bishop of
Galloway and Archbishop of Glasgow, 1509; and Archbishop of St Andrews,
1523, continuing in that office till his death in 1539. He kept
lordly state within the Castle, and was renowned for his hospitality,
especially to French visitors to Scotland. Beaton assisted James V.
to throw off the yoke of his step-father, the Earl of Angus, and in
revenge Angus laid waste the Archbishop’s Castle of St Andrews. Beaton,
however, was a “building Prelate” even when in Glasgow, and he soon
restored his Castle to its former magnificence. James V. was frequently
entertained there, and it is possible that the King would have made
the Castle the residence of his first Queen, Magdalen de Valois, in
1539, had he not built a special house in the Priory grounds for her
reception. It was during the rule of Archbishop James Beaton that the
persecution of the Scottish Protestants began, and in this work he
was especially active, utilizing the dungeons in the Castle for the
confinement of heretics. The Archbishop died in 1539, and was buried
before the High Altar in the Cathedral of St Andrews.
The successor to James Beaton was his nephew, David Beaton, who
was Archbishop from 1539 till 1546, when his death was violently
accomplished. He was the third son of John Beaton, eldest brother of
James Beaton, Archbishop of St Andrews, and was born in 1494; educated
at St Andrews, Glasgow and Paris; Abbot of Arbroath, 1523; Bishop of
Mirepoix, in Languedoc, 1537; Cardinal of St Stephen in Monte Coelio,
by Pope Paul III., 1538; Co-Adjutor of St Andrews, 1538-39; Archbishop
of St Andrews, 1539.
The character of Cardinal Beaton has puzzled many Scottish historians,
their estimates being largely influenced by religious prejudices on one
side or the other. To imagine that he was an empty and illiterate bigot
is an open mistake. He was more of the time-server who could perceive
where the necessity had arrived for him to bend to the blast, but who
would strenuously hold fast that which he had until a better appeared.
Yet, however opportunist his actions might be, he stoutly resisted
the plans of Henry VIII. to conquer Scotland by capturing the infant
Queen Mary. When the game lay between the wily Cardinal and bluff King
Hal, it required skilful playing to come off victorious as Beaton did.
He was sent by James V. to arrange the King’s marriage with Mary of
Guise, which he accomplished successfully.
His uncle and predecessor, James Beaton, as already mentioned, had
taken up a violent attitude against the Protestants, and the same
policy was adopted and intensified by the Cardinal, and it ultimately
led to his destruction. The methods adopted by him had made many
enemies, but he pursued the persecution of the heretics, as he
accounted them, as if it were a pious duty. The tragic incident of the
Cardinal’s assassination has been so often narrated that it need not
here be detailed. The dastardly deed took place on Saturday, 29th May
1546, when Kirkcaldy of Grange gave admittance by the drawbridge to
the Castle to Norman Leslie, Master of Rothes, John Leslie, his uncle,
Peter Carmichael, James Melvil, and others to the number of sixteen,
who sought out the Cardinal in his room, set upon him with swords and
daggers, and violently bereft him of life. They then, it is said,
showed the dead body at a window to the populace. The window usually
shown to visitors was certainly not the spot of this exposure, as it
was erected by Archbishop Hamilton, the Cardinal’s successor.
Assassination is one of the most dangerous weapons that a struggling
cause can adopt; and the deed, however convenient for themselves,
was loudly blamed by the Protestant party. So far from rising into
favour with their partizans, as the conspirators had hoped, they found
themselves almost universally execrated. Thus Sir David Lyndsay, no
friend to the Cardinal, and a most undoubted and faithful Protestant,
expresses his feelings:--
“As for the Cardinal--I grant
He was the man we weel could want,
And we’ll forget him soon!
And yet I think, the sooth to say,
Although the loon is well away,
The deed was foully done.”
The assassins had taken possession of the Castle, which was
well-provisioned, and expected that their sympathisers would have
flocked to support them, and that they would hold this fort till
Henry VIII. had sent troops to capture Scotland and end the Roman
Catholic Church. In both expectations they were disappointed. Henry
VIII., the indomitable champion of Protestantism, died on 28th January
1546-47, and on 30th March following, Francis I. of France, the hero
of Romanism, “also died,” so that both parties were deprived of their
leaders. The Castilians, as they called themselves, found that even
the Governor Arran had been the friend of the Cardinal, and they even
sent an humble petition to him that he would apply to the Court at Rome
for a Bull of Absolution to clear them of their crime. Well they knew
that the message to Rome would occupy some time, and meanwhile the
English troops might arrive to aid them. This was duplicity, but it
was not worse than that of the Governor, who certainly sent a message
to Rome, as requested, but took up the interval before the answer was
returned in frantic appeals to Francis I. to send skilful bombardiers
to besiege St Andrews Castle. Evidently both parties were insincere.
The Castilians, meanwhile, had received no inconsiderable additions to
their numbers, amongst them the indomitable John Knox, who had written
that he recorded the murder of the Cardinal “merrily,” and who was
yet to become a ruthless leader in the demolition of the Churches of
Scotland.
The Governor Arran, who had returned to the Ancient Faith, found that
his animated entreaties to the Court of France had been effectual. He
had besieged the Castle for four months without victory; but at length
the French soldiers and the artillery of Leon Strozzi reduced the
Castle to such a ruinous condition that the Castilians capitulated in
August 1547. And it is recorded by Lindsay of Pitscottie that, “the
French captain entered and spoiled the Castle very vigorously; wherein
they found great store of vivers, clothes, armour, silver, and plate,
which, with the captives, they carried away in their galleys. The
Governor, by the advice of the Council, demolished the Castle, lest it
should be a receptacle of rebels.” In the “Diurnal of Occurrents,” it
is stated that the captors “tuke the auld and young Lairds of Grange,
Normand Leslie, the Laird of Pitmilly (Monypenny), Wm. Henry Balnevis,
and John Knox, with mony utheris, to the number of sex score persones,
and carryit thame all away to France; and tuke the spulzie of the said
Castell, quhilk was worth 100,000 pundis and tuke doun the hous.” It
was this incident which called forth the current verse of the time:--
“Priests, content ye noo;
Priests, content ye noo;
For Norman and his companie
Ha’e filled the galleys fou!”
The French Commander, Leon Strozzi, had instructions to convey his
Scottish prisoners to Paris, and the King there decided that many
of the Castilians should be incarcerated in prisons at the north of
France, the ringleaders, including John Knox, should be sent to the
galleys and chained to the oars. The bold spirits who had put the
Army of the Regent to defiance, were now treated as malefactors,
whose crimes were only short of receiving the extreme penalty of
the law. John Knox was imprisoned at Paris in 1548, and released in
the following year. He went to Dieppe, Geneva, where he met Calvin,
and Frankfort-on-Maine, reaching Scotland in 1556, and resuming his
position as a leader of the Scottish Reformation. His death took place
at Edinburgh in 1571, when in his sixty-sixth year.
The successor of Cardinal Beaton as Archbishop of St Andrews was
John Hamilton, an illegitimate son of James Douglas, first Earl of
Arran, and was born in 1511, was Abbot of Paisley, and afterwards
Bishop of Dunkeld in 1546, and was translated to St Andrews in 1547
as Archbishop. The first work which he undertook was the repairing
of the ruinous Castle, and in this reconstruction he was probably
assisted by the masons whom he had employed to complete the building
of St Mary’s College. When the Reformers had gained power in Scotland
in 1559, Hamilton had to abandon the Castle, and from that time he was
a fugitive until he was captured at Stirling in April 1571, accused of
complicity in Darnley’s murder, and hanged ignominiously.
The Castle came into the possession of the Protestants under the Regent
Moray, and was used as a political prison by him and his successors
as Regents, becoming, indeed, “the Bastile of Scotland.” Though thus
used as a secular prison, it was still a portion of the ecclesiastical
property, and James VI. did not feel justified in annexing it without
some process of law. This was not accomplished for many years, and the
place had become partly ruinous from the repeated attacks made upon it
by successive factions of the Scottish nobles. At length the King made
a bargain with George Gledstanes, Episcopal Archbishop of St Andrews,
as the representative of the ancient Prelates, and in July 1600 a
charter gave the Castle to George, Earl of Dunbar, one of the King’s
favourites. This arrangement, however, did not last long, for when
Episcopacy was fully established in 1612, the Castle was given back
to Gledstanes, and the Earl compensated. The new Archbishops did not
inhabit the Castle, but used it as an occasional prison, and the place
soon became ruinous.
About 1650 the Castle passed into the hands of the Town Council, who
shortly afterwards laid violent hands upon the masonry, and used it
for repairing the Pier. There is thus little left even of Hamilton’s
restorations. One may fancy the shade of good old Bishop Roger
addressing his successor, the Cardinal, in such lines as these of the
old Scottish poet Robert Henryson:--
“Thy kingdom and thy great empire,
Thy royalty nor rich array,
Shall not endure at thy desire,
But as the wind will wend away.
Thy gold and all thy goodis gay
When Fortune list, will from thee fall:
Sen thou sic sampills seest each day,
Obey and thank thy God for all!”
XIX
DUNBAR CASTLE
The situation of Edinburgh at but a short distance from the Firth
of Forth, and therefore liable to invasion from the sea, has caused
the whole length of the east coast of Scotland, from Berwick around
to Leith, to be studded with Castle-towers and Keeps, at once the
residences of the Court and the defence of the capital. The whole
of the country from Edinburgh to the borderland betwixt England and
Scotland had thus been erected into a cordon of forts, fitted to repel
invasion and to preserve the capital inviolable from assault either
from sea or land. And in former times, ere the Crown had attained the
supremacy which it now possesses, the Castles soon became the means of
overawing the independent Borderers, or were themselves the centres of
revolt against the Throne, and the rallying points of the vassals of
the rebellious Lords.
While the Castles on the line of the Border were intended to check
the invasions of the English by land, the strong towers of Berwick,
Fast, Dunbar, and Tantallon formed a chain of defence on the seaboard
which might well discourage invasion from that quarter. The magnitude
as well as the strength of these Keeps enabled their possessors to
garrison an army of very respectable dimensions, and their proximity
to one another rendered a junction of their forces comparatively easy.
And thus the Lowlanders were prepared to resist their foreign foes. Nor
were their preparations uncalled for, since their enemies were diverse
and ubiquitous. Now it might be:——
“The Percy out of Northumberland,
And a vow to God made he,
That he would hunt in the mountains
At Cheviot within days three,
In the maugre of doughty Douglas,
And all that ever with him be.”
Anon the defence had to be made against the sea-rovers, when in that
more dangerous time:--
“Hither came from eastern shores
The Jutes and Angles over the broad sea;
Fierce battle-smiths, and Britain sought,
O’ercame the Welsh and gained the land.”
In many cases the territorial defences proved efficient, and the
sacredness of the capital was preserved. To the Castle of Dunbar
some prominence must be given, as the one post in the country which
effectually repelled the English invader. Besides exhibiting the force
of the Scottish arms against the chosen warriors of England, it has
also a history intimately associated with the internecine turmoils in
Scotland.
The position of Dunbar Castle topographically merits a word of
description. The town of Berwick is exactly in meridian with Newburgh
in Aberdeenshire, and between these two places the east coast of
Scotland is hollowed out into a vast bay, extending at Kirkcaldy to
about 45 miles inland from these two points. The influence of the wash
of the waters of Forth and Tay must be allowed for when estimating the
denuding force of the North Sea; but the contour of the east coast will
present peculiar appearances even to the least-skilled observer. One
glance at the map of Scotland will satisfy anyone that the power of
the North Sea over that country is not to be compared to the influence
which the Atlantic has had upon the west coast. For while the North Sea
has only transformed the coast-line between Peterhead and Berwick into
one great bay, the 2000 miles of raging Atlantic Ocean betwixt Skye and
Labrador have hollowed the west coast into myriad outlandish forms,
where only the stern endurance of the rocks has withstood the perpetual
tempest which assails them.
[Illustration: DUNBAR CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd_]
The coast of Haddingtonshire has been doubly attacked--by the North
Sea on one side, and by the rapid stream of the Forth on the other--so
that it presents the appearance of an irregular triangle. About
midway on the shore-line stands the ruined Castle of Dunbar, upon a
rocky promontory around which the stormy North Sea breaks in foam.
The influence of the strong Arctic current is visible here, as it is
in the Bay of St Andrews; for the projection of Fifeness bears
the same relation to St Andrews as St Abb’s Head does to Dunbar. The
resistless surge of the North Sea, dashing for centuries upon the
slenderly-protected east coast, has thus gradually eaten its way
inwards towards the heart of Scotland; whilst the furious Atlantic
Ocean, fiercely assaulting the barren and rocky coast-line on the
west coast has won from the mainland many a green-crested islet, many
a solitary peak, fitted alone to become the eyrie of the eagle or
dauntless sea-birds.
The very position of Dunbar Castle shows that the encroachments of the
sea in that quarter should not be disregarded. Its ruins now stand
upon a rocky eminence, exposed to the fury of the wintry blast; and
the stormy sea, which has caverned and honeycombed the rock upon which
it is raised, has left many chasms and tunnels in the cliff, regarding
which a thousand wild legends are told. Though the exact date of the
Castle, the ruins of which now remain, is not known, it must occupy the
site of a much earlier Peel which would be in existence early in the
11th century. The first traces of this early structure are found in
the records relating to William the Conqueror. In 1067, that monarch
conferred the Earldom of Northumberland upon Robert Comyn, but he was
so unpopular with his vassals that he and all his retainers were put
to death in 1068 by the inhabitants of the district. Then Cospatrick
(sometimes called “Gospatrick”) grandson of Malcolm II., King of
Scotland, claimed the Earldom through his mother, who was a daughter
of Uchtred, the Saxon Earl of Northumberland, but had ultimately to pay
“a great sum of money” for it in 1067 to William the Conqueror. Soon
afterwards Cospatrick quarrelled with William, and fled into Scotland
with other northern leaders, finding refuge in 1072 with Malcolm III.
(Ceanmor), whose wife, St Margaret, was a Saxon Princess. Malcolm
conferred upon him “Dunbar with the adjacent lands in Lothian,” and he
thus became the first Earl of Dunbar. His death took place about 1089,
and he was succeeded by his son, Cospatrick, second Earl of Dunbar, who
was a benefactor to the Abbey of Kelso. Before his death in 1139, he
had probably begun the erection of Dunbar Castle, as the oldest part
of the ruins belong to about that period. This Earl was present at the
foundation of Scone Abbey in 1115, and Holyrood Abbey in 1128, the
former by Alexander I., and the latter by his brother and successor,
David I., sons of Malcolm III. (Ceanmor).
The tourist who visits Dunbar expecting to find there the romantic
ruins of some palatial structure will be grievously disappointed.
The relics of its former greatness betray the fact that it has been
constructed with an eye rather to strength than beauty; and its
position on the verge of the “many-sounding sea,” whose billows lash
its foundations, would seem to imply that its builders thought more of
the preservation of their lives than the cultivation of the elegant
arts. The peculiar redstone of which the latest Castle has been
built is found still in the neighbourhood; and there are few traces
now to be seen of Continental mason craft about it. So that all the
appearances favour the supposition that it was called into existence
by the necessities of the time. Yet these bare walls when draped with
antique tapestries and illuminated by cresset-torches would afford in
a rude age an illustration of how life may be made endurable through
the agency of judicious luxury. And when beauty and valour combined to
grace the Castle in former days the lack of mural decoration would not
cause one pang to the inmates:--
“Schinand was the painted hall,
Wi’ gladsome torches bricht;
For twenty gowden dames sat there,
An’ ilk ane by a Knicht!
Wi’ music cheer
To please the ear
Whom bewty pleased the sicht.”
The ever-whirling wheels of Time have dealt somewhat roughly with
the building, and beams and rafters, walls and battlements, have at
length experienced the doom of all things earthly. The wild east wind
now whistles desolately around the roofless hall, and echoes down the
untenanted courtyard, sounding in the ear of the romantic visitor as
the whispering of elfin voices, or the mystic murmuring of spirit
tones, borne on the balmy breezes of memory. The task now is to
translate these incoherent sounds into intelligible language, in fact:
“To give to airy nothings
A local habitation and a name.”
Like many more of the Scottish Castles the date of the original Dunbar
Castle is unknown, and many outrageous theories have been invented to
account for its existence. The tradition of the locality ascribed its
origin to the Picts, who at some remote period left the fertile hills
and meads of their native Allemayne, and extravasated themselves upon
the east coast of Scotland. Originally agriculturists, the necessities
of their position forced them to learn to wield the sword as well as
guide the ploughshare, for the savage aborigines did not resign their
land without a fierce and protracted struggle. And if these eastern
strangers did really build an early Keep on the site of the Castle
(which may be reasonably doubted) they must have adopted the method
of Nehemiah, “For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his
side; and so builded,” thus carrying both the sword and trowel.
The mission of the Alemanni was essentially agricultural, and when
they had established their colony in East Lothian they soon set about
clearing the forest land and transforming the waste places into fertile
fields. The Caledonians, like the Indians of North America, were
content to leave their rude agriculture to their women and children,
whilst they devoted their energies to the chase; but the Picts had
already learned all the humanising influence of agricultural pursuits,
and knew something of the benefits derived from living in Society.
Under their influence, therefore, the fringe of the great Caledonian
Forest was reclaimed from its barren luxuriance; and the desolate
haunts of the wild boar and giant elk of Scotland were forced to yield
subsistence to these pioneers of civilization. And now the traces of
this influence may be seen in the agriculture of the district, whose
fertility is unlimited even by the saline breezes which blow over two
sides of East Lothian.
Although there is no proof that any part of the Castle of Dunbar was
built by these hardy colonists, it is not unlikely that a Keep of some
kind was erected by them near the coast, so as at once to protect their
fields and to afford them means of escape by sea should Fortune frown
upon them. And there could be no site chosen more fitted for this
purpose upon the whole of the neighbouring coast. No competent Admiral
would counsel an attack by sea; and the subsequent history of Dunbar
Castle showed that it could successfully resist an overwhelmingly land
force, even under daring and skilled leaders.
When the union of the Picts and Scots took place under Kenneth I.
(Macalpin) about 846 A.D., the lands and Castle of Lodonia (Lothian)
fell into his hands. The title which the fort now received was
“Dunbar,” to account for which two theories are propounded. It is
said that amongst the chieftains that followed Kenneth, one of the
bravest was Bar, whose courageous bearing and ready sword had won the
notice of the King. In acknowledgment of his services the Pictish fort
was conferred upon him, and it was thenceforth known as “Dun-Bar,”
the Castle of Bar. Another theory holds that the title is purely
topographical and descriptive, and, being interpreted, signifies “the
fort on the height,” which name it undoubtedly deserves. The debate,
however, is a barren one, and hardly worthy of the labour that has
been spent upon it. Indeed, authorities have not yet decided who the
Picts were, and where they came from. Some theorists maintain that the
Picts were Saxon invaders; others declare that they were a sept of the
ancient Caledonians who devoted themselves to agriculture. One thing
at least is certain, that the two nations were united under one King
in the person of Kenneth I. about 846 A.D., and it is at this period
that the name of Dunbar first appears. It must be understood that the
Pictish origin of Dunbar Castle is entirely traditional, though it
seems not incredible. From Kenneth I. the whole long succession of
Kings of Scotland and of Great Britain are descended.
That there was really a Castle on this spot over a thousand years ago
is certainly true, however strange it may sound. And though it has
long been in a ruinous state, the story of its chequered career is
inwoven with the web of Scottish history, and its name is inseparably
associated with some of the greater events which are now deemed
memorable. The mist and obscurity which surround the record of its
early days become cleared as we advance within the historic period; and
from the time at which Dunbar was erected into an Earldom it is not so
difficult to follow its story. Yet the darker portion of that story
should be known, since it makes much of the general history of Scotland
intelligible.
The true Kingdom of Scotland was not really founded upon a secure
basis before the time of Malcolm III. (Caenmor) about 200 years after
Kenneth I. The union of Malcolm with St Margaret of England brought
about a revolution in the manners and customs of the Scottish nation
which more nearly assimilated them to their southern neighbours. The
relics of Druidical religion had now disappeared, and the humanizing
wave of Christianity, which had reached the remote shores of Norway,
had also brought its influence to bear upon “Ultima Thule,” the
fabled last island on the verge of the world, over which Malcolm was
King. And so, as the light dawned upon these “rude forefathers” of
ours they began to see that man is neither absolutely self-existent,
nor existent solely for self. Around the Castles and Towers of their
leaders they congregated into little townships and petty estates,
espousing the cause of their Lord without question, and laying the
foundation of the feudal system which it took centuries to overthrow.
The mere association thus together, with one distinct aim, served to
consolidate the Kingdom and make its independence more secure.
It is important to remember that the borders of England then extended
much further north than they did in later times. The Forth was
really the boundary of England instead of the Tweed; and the Wall of
Antoninus, which extended from the Forth to the Clyde, was more nearly
the margin of the Southern Kingdom than the Cheviots. Indeed, the whole
land betwixt the Forth and the Humber was continually changing masters,
and the insecurity of the conquests of either party made it doubtful as
to where the boundaries of the two kingdoms should be set. Thus, when
David I. reigned, though then possessed of Lothian, the Scottish Crown
had but an insecure hold upon Northumberland and York. The reign of his
grandson, William the Lion, however, sufficiently settled the matter,
for after his foolish escapade at Alnwick and Carlisle in 1174, when he
was taken prisoner and carried to England and France, he was compelled
to do homage to Henry II., not only for the territories betwixt the
Humber and Tweed, but also for the whole Kingdom of Scotland; thus
establishing the unpatriotic usage of which Edward I. availed himself
afterwards in his disputes with the Claimants to the Scottish Crown.
It will thus be seen that for a considerable time Dunbar was as much
an English as a Scottish stronghold. And the indefiniteness of its
nationality made it an object of envy to both parties. So around this
ancient Keep, which stood defiantly upon the brink of the Eastern Sea,
there clustered many memories of former times, and many hopes for the
future of Scotland which could never be fulfilled. The strength of
the Castle, which rendered it almost impregnable, and the extent of
the accommodation which it afforded, ever made it a coveted point in
protracted warfare; and its possessor might easily sway the balance
of fortune and decide the fate of either Kingdom. It was, therefore,
important for the welfare of Scotland that the Castle of Dunbar should
be in the hands of a true patriot. Unfortunately this was not always
the case, and the history of the Castle alternates between treason and
fidelity to the Scottish cause.
The incident by which Cospatrick, Earl of Dunbar, came to Lothian and
was possessor of a Castle and a title has been already explained. When
King John of England, in reprisal of a Scottish Border raid, marched
into the land at the head of his army, and laid siege to the Castle
of Dunbar, he was compelled to abandon his purpose, and leave the
stronghold in the hands of its owner, Patrick, sixth Earl of Dunbar.
Unfortunately for Scotland’s welfare some of the earls were not always
faithful to Scotland. Patrick, eighth Earl, who liberated Alexander
III. by surprising Edinburgh Castle, when held by the Comyns, became
one of the Regents of Scotland after Alexander’s death. His son,
Patrick, ninth Earl, surnamed “Black Beard,” was the first to be
styled “Earl of March.” Unlike his father he swore fealty to Edward
I., and was a faithful adherent of the English interest. His wife,
Marjory Comyn, daughter of the Earl of Buchan, took up the cause of
the other party, and held the Castle of Dunbar for King John Balliol
until forced to surrender it to Edward I. in 1296, who made the Earl
two years afterwards, “King’s Lieutenant in Scotland.” Both he and his
heir were present at the Battle of Caerlaverock in 1300, when Edward’s
party won the Castle. The tenth Earl of Dunbar and March, Patrick, like
his father, was devoted to the King of England, and when Edward II. was
escaping after losing the Battle of Bannockburn, in 1314, he sheltered
the fugitive at Dunbar Castle, and procured a fishing-boat to take him
to England.
This tenth Earl was a “trimmer,” and made his peace with Robert Bruce
when he saw that Bruce was to be in the ascendant, and he was made
Scottish Governor of Berwick Castle, a post which he held till the
defeat of the Scots at Halidon Hill in 1333 forced him to surrender.
While he was away, Dunbar was brought into notice through the
persistent bravery of his wife, Agnes Randolph, daughter of the famous
Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, the comrade of Robert Bruce, and also
a grand-niece of Bruce, known in history as “Black Agnes.” The story
has been often told alike in prose histories and ballads, but will bear
repetition in connection with the Castle of Dunbar.
After the death of Robert the Bruce in 1329, Scotland fell again into
political difficulties which seemed even more dangerous than those from
which that monarch had rescued her. His son and successor, afterwards
David II., was a child of six years old, and a long minority was to
be expected. For several years the country had suffered from military
disquiet, first caused by Edward Balliol, and afterwards by Edward
III., though the latter was a brother-in-law of King David. The English
King had over-run Scotland, partly with the aid of Patrick, tenth Earl
of Dunbar, who afterwards abandoned the support of the English in 1333.
Before he returned to Dunbar Castle, the Countess, who had been left
in charge of the place, had bravely defended the Castle against the
English Army, and held it for upwards of five months, the date being
13th January 1337-8, till on 16th June 1338 the besiegers had to raise
the Siege of Dunbar. The contemporary chronicler narrates the story
thus:--
“The Castle of Dunbar, notwithstanding a heavy siege, held out
manfully, and because the Countess of Dunbar, who was the principal
guardian of the Castle, was sister of the Earl of Moray, then a
prisoner at Nottingham, the English brought him down to Dunbar in April
1338, threatening that if the Countess did not surrender the Castle,
they would put her brother to death; to which she answered, ‘If you do
this I shall be heir to the Earldom of Moray,’ for her brother had no
children. The English, however, did not wish to put the Earl to death,
and sent him back to England to be detained in custody as before.”
There is a curious incident in this siege which is not widely known.
The English attacking party was under the command of William de
Montacute, Earl of Salisbury. Finding that the methods of attack
adopted by him were not proving successful, he descended to a little
silent treachery. He had gained the ear of some of the servants in the
Castle, who, with the knowledge of the Countess, had planned to give
the Earl and a few followers admission at the great gate. Attended
by some of his most daring knights, Salisbury approached the main
entrance at midnight. As arranged, he found the drawbridge down and
the portcullis raised, so that the entrance to the place was open to
him. But one of his followers, more forward than the rest and eager
to be noticed by the leader, pressed forward even before the Earl,
and was the first to enter within the precincts. No sooner had he
passed the sacred line than the portcullis descended between him and
his companions, and the Earl with the remainder of his party had to
beat a hasty retreat ere the rising drawbridge should entrap them and
prevent their escape. Thus by one moment’s precipitation the chance
of capturing the English leader was lost, much to the chagrin of the
Countess.
The protracted siege had naturally discouraged the soldiers within
the Castle, and the provisions were growing scant when relief came
to them from an unexpected quarter. The brave Sir Alexander Ramsay
of Dalwolsey (Dalhousie), one of the foremost knights of the time
(whose sad fate is related in the notice of “Hermitage Castle” in this
volume), succeeded in breaking the blockade and carrying relief to the
well-nigh exhausted garrison. Braving the restless surge and the still
more merciless enemy, Ramsay found means of communication with the
Castle by the sea-washed caverns beneath the rock of its foundation.
Encouraged by this accession of strength, and relieved by the welcome
stores which these adventurers had brought, the Scots determined upon
breaking the siege by a vigorous sally. Selecting both the time and the
men with the profound instinct that constitutes the successful general,
Sir Alexander made a most daring raid upon the English forces, and so
discouraged them that the valiant Earl of Salisbury, a man of vast
experience in war, had at length to raise the siege, and beat a retreat
within the English Border. And thus the prophecy of Black Agnes was
fulfilled:--
“‘And do they come?’ Black Agnes cried,
‘Nor storm nor midnight stops our foes.
Well, then, the battle’s chance be tried,
The Thistle shall out-thorn the Rose!’”
Thus ended the Siege of Dunbar, and thus the hand of a feeble woman,
when nerved by patriotism and armed with chosen Scottish valour, was
sufficient to checkmate the plots and schemes which the English
politicians had laid for the overthrow of Scotland.
It is sufficiently evident from the literature of the time that the
English army expected that Dunbar would fall an easy prey into their
hands. More as a jest than as a serious engagement did they begin the
siege. There was, therefore, a little lugubrious humour in the songs
which their minstrels sang in the camp before Dunbar; and the laugh was
latterly quite against them. One of these lays, preserved by Wyntoun,
gives a glimpse of their elephantine humour:--
“Of this assiege in their hethyng
The English oysid to make karping.
‘I vow to God she makes great steer
The Scottish wenchie ploddiere.
Come I aire or I come I late,
I found Annot at the gate!’”
But when they returned to their own land, discomfitted, overthrown,
and disgraced by the power and endurance of a weak woman, and the grim
“heroes of a hundred fights,” had to confess that they had found a
superior in the Scottish heroine, well might they ponder on the text
thus tendered by a modern poet:--
“He has put down the mighty from their seat,
And has exalted them of low degree.”
During the War of Independence in Scotland, no friends had been truer
to each other in weal and woe, than Randolph, Earl of Moray, and the
valiant Sir James Douglas. As companions-in-arms they had shared
the toils of many a battlefield side by side, and though rivals for
renown, each beheld the other’s advancement without one pang of envy.
But in the course of time an estrangement arose betwixt these two
families after the demise of the leaders, and ere a hundred years had
flown the descendants of Douglas and Randolph were deadly enemies.
Doubtless this was largely owing to the rapid increase of power which
the Douglases had gained on the Border, and which the Earl of Dunbar
and March--descendants of Randolph on the female side--resented as an
encroachment on their own territory. The middle marches of the Border
were now under the control of the Douglas faction; and the Earls of
Dunbar and March were restricted to the eastern division of this part
of the country by their neighbouring compatriots as rigidly as though
they had been foreigners in the land.
The cause of the ultimate rupture betwixt these two powerful noblemen
was peculiar. The unhappy King, Robert III., whose mind lay rather
towards legislative reform than battlefields, was not competent to use
the mailed hand that the times demanded; and his brother, afterwards
Regent, Duke of Albany, made the King his unwilling supporter. In
the fulness of parental pride the King had made his son, the Duke of
Rothesay, Governor of the Kingdom, but the levity of his conduct and
the partial methods of his judgments soon estranged the nobility from
him. The deep-laid schemes of his uncle, the Duke of Albany, who
coveted the Throne, were not unknown to him, but he affected to disdain
duplicity.
The vacillating and weak-minded Robert III., wishful to obtain peace
at any price, allowed his brother, the politic Duke of Albany, to
carry out his ambitious plans. He made it known among the Scottish
nobility that the Duke of Rothesay, the heir-apparent to the Crown,
would require to be married, to maintain the succession, and the hand
of the Duke would be assigned to the highest bidder. Foremost among the
match-making nobles was George, eleventh Earl of Dunbar and March, who
had a daughter Elizabeth of marriageable age; and it was intimated to
him that if he could produce an adequate dowry his daughter might be
prospective Queen. By some means the Earl fulfilled the conditions, and
the Lady Elizabeth of Dunbar was declared to be the betrothed bride of
the Duke of Rothesay.
The Earl of Douglas, however, had also a daughter of a suitable age
for wedlock, and as his revenues vastly exceeded those of Dunbar, he
saw a brilliant opportunity before him of ennobling his family by a
connection with the Throne, and by the same stroke discomfitting his
rival. The Duke of Albany astutely saw that whichever bride was chosen
the result would be misfortune to his nephew, from the raising of one
of two powerful enemies against him. Rothesay himself seems to have
been indifferent, as he did not mean to be faithful to either bride,
so he languidly acquiesced to whatever his uncle Albany proposed, and
received the daughter of Douglas with as little regard as he would
have bestowed upon the heiress of Dunbar. But the Earl of Dunbar and
March could not bear the insult and contumely thus heaped upon him.
Retiring from the Court to his Castle of Dunbar, he summoned his
retainers around him, and prepared to open negotiations with the Court
of England. Leaving Dunbar strongly garrisoned in the care of one of
his near kinsmen, he journeyed himself to England expecting to receive
the command of a contingent to invade Scotland.
No sooner had the Earl of Douglas heard of the preparations which
the Earl of Dunbar and March had made than he assembled his own
overwhelming band of followers and, marching straight to Dunbar
Castle, invested it closely. This display of power so terrified the
faint-hearted Governor that he surrendered without striking a single
blow. This completed the power of Douglas, since he had Dunbar,
Bothwell, and Douglas Castles in his possession, which controlled
all entrance to the south of Scotland. The succession of the Earls
of Dunbar and March, thus rudely broken, was never thoroughly
re-established.
For a considerable period the Castle changed hands frequently, as one
or other of the Border Clans gained supremacy in the neighbourhood; but
its power of menacing the Capital was never forgotten. As a coveted
stand-point for any ambitious Lord or successful Laird its history was
a stormy one, though but imperfectly learned from authentic records.
Now it was in possession of the Homes; anon the Scotts won it; and
each of the more important Border Clans had this stronghold under
their control and dared their rivals. Many strange scenes were enacted
beneath the roof-tree of Dunbar, and many a deed of nameless violence,
of clamant wrong, did the now dilapidated chambers witness:--
“Beneath those battlements, within those walls
Power dwelt amid her passions; in proud state
Each robber chief upheld his armed halls,
Doing his evil will, nor less elate
Than mightier heroes of a longer date.
What want these outlaws; conquerors should have
But History’s purchased page to call them great?
A wider space, an ornamented grave?
Their hopes were not less warm; their works were full as brave.”
The most interesting episodes in the history of Dunbar Castle are those
which relate to the connection of Mary, Queen of Scots, with this
desolate ruin. After the ruthless murderers had perpetrated the outrage
which they had long meditated, the very success of their plot found
them unprepared for the results which followed. Their suspicion of the
weak and vacillating Darnley on the one hand, and their well-grounded
doubts of the faithfulness of the arch-traitor and hypocrite, Moray,
perplexed the leaders of the assassination. The high-spirited manner in
which the Queen denounced their brutality led some of them to think
that the safest way for them would be to fulfil the threat with which
Ruthven quieted her, and “cut her into collops and throw her over the
wall”; the difficulty in which they were placed was a serious one.
With Darnley at their head, and in the presence of the Queen, they had
committed “murder most foul and most unnatural” by the assassination
of Rizzio; and the question arose as to what should be done with the
Sovereign who was now in their hands.
The escape of the Queen with Darnley from Holyrood has been often
narrated. The fugitives directed their way to Dunbar Castle. Her
residence there, though short, was sufficient to strike terror into the
hearts of the conspirators against the Throne; and when she returned a
few days afterwards to Musselburgh, it was to resume the power of which
she had been so nearly deprived. Very different was her next visit to
this sea-beaten tower.
However unworthy an object Darnley may have been, it is absolutely
certain that Queen Mary loved him faithfully. His reckless conduct
during the scene of the murder of Rizzio was easily pardoned by his
affectionate wife upon the first intimation which she received of his
penitence and contrition; and thus the few days they spent at Dunbar
Castle formed a brief but pleasant interlude in her chequered life. But
soon afterwards the murder of Darnley changed the prospect of her whole
future career, and all the years she had yet to survive were shrouded
in darkness and despair:--
“White as a white sail on a dusky sea
When half the horizon’s crowded, and half free,
Fluttering between the dun wave and the sky
Is hope’s last gleam in man’s extremity.
Her anchor parts! but still her snowy sail
Attracts our eye amidst the rudest gale;
Though every wave she climbs divides us more,
The heart still follows from the loneliest shore.”
A new actor now appears on the scene. The Earl of Bothwell, Lord High
Admiral of Scotland, Sheriff of Haddington, and Captain of Dunbar
Castle, had made himself extremely busy in political affairs. His
bold appearance and invincible conduct quailed all his opponents, and
carried terror to the hearts of the conspirators, who, with him, had
brought about the murder of Darnley, and whom he swayed as he wished.
Queen Mary had visited her infant son at Stirling Castle, and on the
morning of 24th April 1567 she left Linlithgow Palace for Holyrood,
with a small retinue; and Bothwell, as High Sheriff of East Lothian,
had put himself at the head of a thousand armed followers, and
intercepted the Queen at Foulbriggs (now Fountainbridge), and carried
her off forcibly to his Castle of Dunbar, and, clasping the arm of
the fair Queen of Scots with his own rude mailed gauntlet, he led his
dejected captive within its walls. Picture the misery of the poor Queen
at this juncture: her husband murdered by the agency of her captor,
her son secluded from her in a distant fortress, and her own person in
the power of a reckless and unprincipled wretch, whose lawless passions
impelled him to unrestrained iniquity. The dark story of her sojourn
at Dunbar if fully known would throw an entirely new light upon a very
dubious episode, which has been interpreted to her discredit, without
proof, by her antagonists.
As the Queen in her melancholy turret-chamber at Dunbar gazed
anxiously, hopelessly, over the foam-besprent waters of the North Sea,
the memory of her own lovely canzonet might come into her mind, and
recall the pleasures of by-past times, the milder woes of her early
life:--
“The voice of my sad song
With mournful sweetness guides
My piercing eye along
The tract that death divides;
’Mid sharp and bitter sighs
My youth’s bright morning dies.
Can greater woes employ
The scourge of ruthless Fate?
Can any hope, when joy
Forsakes my high estate?
My age and heart behold
The shroud their love enfold.
O’er my life’s early spring,
And o’er its opening bloom,
My deadly sorrows fling
The darkness of the tomb;
My star of hope is set
In yearning and regret.”
And as she heard the step of her hateful captor approaching her chamber
would not her mind dwell upon those gentle and loving words which her
murdered spouse had addressed to her in the full hey-day of youth and
love?
“The turtle for her mate
More dule may not endure
Than I do for her sake
Who has mine heart in cure,
My heart, which shall be sure
With service to the deed
Unto that lady pure,
The wale of woman heid.
Yet no mirth till we meet
Shall cause me be content!
But still my heart lament
In sorrowful silence sore
Till that time she’s present,
Farewell, I say no more!”
Quod _King Henry Stuart_.
The gay King Henry’s farewell had been realised, and the Queen had
to endure the insolence and the lawlessness of his cruel murderer.
The Bride of France, the Queen of Scotland, was now the leman of an
unprincipled Border Chief, whose meed was the gallows, had each man his
due.
Ten days after her solitary confinement in Dunbar Castle, the Queen
was bidden to accompany her captor (now raised to the rank of Duke of
Orkney) to Edinburgh. She expected to be taken to Holyrood, but instead
she was conveyed to Edinburgh Castle. Bothwell still thought that
he was acting as a freeman, but he was really playing into the hands
of the Associate Lords. He stealthily carried the Queen to Borthwick
Castle, but he was soon followed by the Regent Moray’s troops, who
invested the place, but had not artillery to besiege it. He escaped
by a secret passage, leaving the Queen to the mercy of the soldiers.
She donned the costume of a cavalier, mounted a horse, and was making
her way towards Edinburgh Castle, when her captor appeared, seized her
reins, and led her once more to Dunbar Castle.
Queen Mary’s association with this stronghold has been fully explained.
It only now remains to say that it was at Dunbar where Bothwell
devised the Battle of Carberry Hill which proved so fatal to the
hapless Queen. The Regent’s troops overcame Bothwell’s scanty force,
and Mary was captured, conveyed a prisoner to Edinburgh, and thence
to incarceration in Loch Leven Castle. The Regent Moray, in December
1567, obtained an Act of Parliament directing the demolition of Dunbar
Castle and the Fort on Inchkeith, which, however, was not immediately
put in execution. Not until the army of Moray returned victoriously
from Langside, in May 1568, did he set himself deliberately to destroy
Dunbar Castle, as being a fitting emblem of his triumph over the Queen.
And now the site of this ancient fortress is left desolate and
unlovely. The few stones which mark the spot where once it reared
its head proudly are moss-covered and time-worn, and but for the
interest that clings about them because of their eventful history,
they might readily be passed unnoticed by the traveller. Yet memory
and imagination alike conspire to recall and vivify the departed forms
which once lived in joy and sorrow, in hope and despair, within these
ruined walls:--
“Nae licht is schinand in the lodge, and nae porter keeps the door;
Nae warder strides, wi’ lustie spear, that dreirie lodge before;
Nae harp is heard inurth the ha’, and nae sang frae lady brave;
But all is quiet as Eremit’s howff, and stilliche as the grave.”
The ruins of Dunbar Castle belong by heritage to the Earl of Home, as
representing the Douglas family, to whom the structure belonged in
early days.
XX
INVERARAY CASTLE
The Highland Clans whose territories bordered upon the Lowlands
occupied a position much more favourable for the spread of civilization
amongst themselves than did the more northern septs. For, apart from
the fact that the country wherein their lot was cast afforded more
opportunity for the advance of progress by means of agriculture, the
very proximity of a race at once so peaceful and industrious as the
Lowland Scottish race would exercise a powerful influence upon them.
Among the Clans thus brought within the reach of civilization the
Campbells have ever been eminent. Though their origin is wrapped in
obscurity, there are few spots whose history may be more readily
followed within the limits of historic time. Leaving out of notice the
apocryphal tales which many of their bards relate, which would carry
back their origin to a period anterior to the Deluge, it may be found
that in the first half of the 12th century (November 1153), Somerled,
the Thane of Argyll, who is supposed to have been of Norwegian origin,
invaded Scotia in the reign of Malcolm IV., “the Maiden,” and made
his name terrible in the west of Scotland. By dint of energy and
fearless daring, he over-ran the whole tract of country, now known as
Argyllshire, and put to flight the savage aborigines. At length fate
overtook him at Renfrew in 1165, and as he died unmarried he was not
the direct progenitor of the Campbell Clan. He had been associated,
however, with his two nephews, David and John MacHeth, great grandsons
of Malcolm I. (died 1040), and they seem to have carried on the family.
Whether Somerled was really the direct ancestor of the Campbells of
Argyll is a dubious question, and one over which historians still
wrangle. For with that national pride for which the Highlanders are
proverbial, many disputants indignantly disclaim aught save a purely
native origin. And their tale is not an improbable one.
A certain western warrior, whose deeds live now only in his name of
Diarmid O’Duibhne, was in possession of the lands around Loch Awe early
in the 11th century. And from him in the female line, so far as can be
known, this ancient race has sprung--an idea somewhat corroborated by
the fact that the family is still denominated in song _Siol Diarmid_,
the race of Diarmid. The name Campbell was first introduced to the
Clan by the marriage of Eva, daughter of Paul O’Duibhne, surnamed
_Insporran_ because he bore the King’s bag, with Archibald Gillespie
Campbell, the descendant possibly (like the Lyons of Glamis) of some
Roman settler in Britain, whose proud title of Campo-Bello, though
suited for the yellow Tiber, suffered contraction when he came within
the sphere of the Clyde. The lands of Loch Awe were thus transferred to
him, and he became the direct founder of an unfailing race, great alike
in the Council and the Field. And even now Argyllshire is the spot:--
“Where Campbells, sprung of old O’Diubhne’s race,
Old as their hills, still rule their native place.
No ancient chief could like the O’Duibhne wield
The weighty war, or range the embattled field.
Unmoving bear the shock of charging foes,
Pierce throng’d battalions, or their ranks inclose.”
The shadowy shapes of these early characters fade into darkness before
the fame of Sir Colin Campbell of Loch Awe, who was knighted by
Alexander III. in 1280, one year before the King’s daughter, Margaret
of Norway, was married to King Eric of that country. This Sir Colin had
largely increased the possessions of his Clan in Loch Awe district,
as well as gaining a great reputation as a warrior, and so he came
to be distinguished as _Cailean Mor_, Colin the Great (not MacCallum
Mor, which means son of _Malcolm_ the Great, quite a different name).
From this great Chief the numerous Campbell descendants are styled
MacCailean Mor till this day. It was the fate of Colin the Great to be
slain in a conflict with his powerful neighbour MacDougall, Lord of
Lorn, which took place at the String of Cowal in Argyllshire. This Lord
of Lorn was descended from Somerled, Thane of Argyll, to whom reference
has been made as ancestor also of Campbell of Loch Awe (originally
spelled “Lochow ”), and thus a feud was begun between the two families
which lasted for many years.
Sir Niel Campbell, eldest son of Colin the Great, was knighted by
Alexander III. in 1286, and was afterwards concerned in the appointment
of a successor to the Scottish Throne, after the death of Margaret,
the Maid of Norway, in 1290, which left a vacancy. When Edward I. of
England came as Over-lord to Scotland in 1296, he persuaded Sir Niel
to swear fealty to him, and also induced Sir Niel’s three brothers,
Sir Dugald, Arthur and Duncan to join the English ruler. But these
four Campbells did not adhere to their oath to Edward I., for as
the star of Robert Bruce rose in the ascendant they all joined the
Scottish claimant, and remained his faithful supporters during all the
King’s varied career. So highly did King Robert appreciate Sir Niel
that he gave him his sister, Lady Mary Bruce, as his wife, who thus
became ancestress of the Argyll family connected with Royalty. The
King also bestowed upon him and his son, Sir John of Moulin, all the
lands which had been forfeited for treason by David de Strathbogie. As
Sir John fell at the Battle of Halidon Hill, without heirs, the title
and estates reverted back to the Crown. Sir Niel died in 1316 and was
succeeded by his eldest son, Colin.
Sir Colin Campbell of Lochow, received the Governorship of Dunoon
Castle as a reward for his prowess in aiding the Steward of Scotland
in regaining it from the English, and this post remained in the family
until the edifice had fallen into ruins. He died in 1340, and was
succeeded by his son Sir Archibald of Lochow, and afterwards by his
grandson, Sir Duncan of Lochow. The honour of having built the first
Inveraray Castle and completed it is shared by Sir Duncan and his son,
Sir Colin.
By the middle of the 15th century the Campbells had been noted as
munificent Castle-builders. The various heads of branches of the
families sprung from Lochow vied with each other in erecting each one
a more beautiful structure than his near relative. Thus Sir Colin
Campbell built Inveraray Castle about 1450, as well as his own Castle
of Kilchurn on Loch Awe, the Tower of Strathfillan, and the enclosing
walls of the Isle of Tay. The Chapel at Finlarig was also erected by
him, while Colin, the Laird of Balloch, built the Castle there which
was afterwards known as Taymouth Castle. Sir Duncan, known as “Black
Duncan,” erected the Castle of Finlarig and Lochdochart (now a ruin),
as well as the “great house of Barcaldine.” The Campbells by this
time had been making acquaintance with Continental civilization, and
cultivated Latin, French and Italian poetry and literature, as well
as painting and architecture. Meanwhile they had not neglected their
patriotic devotion to the land of their birth, but still remained true
and loyal Scotsmen.
When Prince James of Scotland was despatched by his alarmed father,
Robert III., to France for safety, after the murder of his elder
brother, the Duke of Rothesay, the emissaries of Henry IV. of England
captured him off Flamborough Head, and bore their prize joyfully to the
Court at London. Here he was detained for eighteen years-1406-1424--and
was only liberated on the bond of some of the leading nobles and gentry
of Scotland promising to pay the ransom of their King, which was set
down at forty thousand pounds.
Amongst the list of noblemen there appears the name of Sir Duncan
Campbell, under the title of Lord of Argyll; and as a proof of the
rapid advance of the Clan we may notice that the income at which he is
rated (1500 marks) was not excelled by any of the Scottish nobility,
and only equalled by the Lord of Dalkeith. This proves as conclusively
as possible that the heads of the Clan Campbell had not frittered away
their substance in futile and harmful war, but had devoted much of
their attention to the culture of their lands, since those wild hills,
once barren and unproductive, could at that time rival the fertile
fields of Lothian and Tweeddale.
Nor did the Prince, when he ascended the throne as James I. of
Scotland, forget the Highland Chief who had thus pledged himself to
procure the liberation of his native Prince. Sir Duncan was raised
by James II. to the dignity of a Lord of Parliament, and assumed the
title of Lord Campbell of Argyll. In the Privy Council he held a
prominent place, and was nominated Justiciar of the County in which
his possessions were situated. The connection with the Crown which
the Campbells enjoyed already was rendered still more intimate by his
espousal, first of Mariota Stewart, daughter of the Regent Albany,
and afterwards of Margaret Stewart, daughter of an illegitimate son
of Robert III. It will thus be seen that Lord Campbell was a man of
mark in his generation, and one well-fitted to hand down his name
to posterity. But perhaps the crowning effort of his life was the
transference of the seat of his Clan, which had been located at Loch
Awe for centuries, from their hereditary rendezvous to the shores of
Loch Fyne.
It is no easy task to persuade an ignorant and unreasoning race to
leave the homestead about which all their associations of memory
linger, to abandon the glories which cluster around the ancestral pile,
renowned alike in song and story, and to transfer their affections,
with their Lares and Penates, to new and unfamiliar scenes. But the
Lord of Argyll proved himself equal to the difficulty, and as the new
abode of the head of the Clan gradually rose in all its magnificence
before the astonished Campbells their regret for the past became hope
for the future. Of the mansion of Lochow there are no remains which
could afford data for a comparison, but it may be safely concluded that
it could not compare with the Castle of Inveraray, either in size,
position, or grandeur. And though the chances and changes of time have
laid the latter structure low, and supplied its place by a more modern
erection, the relics which even yet remain indicate somewhat of its
former greatness. An imaginative Scottish historian thus compares the
first and the present Castles of Inveraray:--
“If we may believe a curious old print, the present unsightly pile,
with its clumsy bulk and tawdry decorations, must have displaced a
predecessor which, in the beautiful variety of turrets and decorated
chimneys crowning the massive cluster of square and round towers built
into each other at different ages below, probably excelled Glamis, and
the finest specimens of this peculiar architecture in the north.”
The reasons which would influence Lord Campbell in deciding upon a
removal from Loch Awe to Loch Fyne may be readily understood. Situated
upon an inland Loch, and hemmed in by hills, whose towering peaks
defied the advance of an army, the ancient house of Loch Awe was
secure from attack. But a clan whose strength is ever increasing soon
finds that the bulwarks which were convenient for purposes of defence
become absolute barriers to their own progress. The inland loch is
soon explored, and its shores speedily subjugated; and the resistless
conquerors are athirst for new worlds to encounter. The politic leader
who can “discern the signs of the times,” will look around for an
outlet for the enthusiasm of his followers, lest it grow too much for
him to command. And as Lord Campbell seems to have been a shrewd
student of mankind, he judged wisely in carrying his clansmen to the
shores of an open firth which communicated directly with the Atlantic
Ocean, and thus laid a whole world under tribute to the daring and
adventurous soul who cared to try his fortunes on the great waters.
Nor would the picturesque situation of the new Castle be wholly
without its effect. The existing Castle, which is built but a short
distance from the site of the original structure, sufficiently shows
the prospect as it would appear to the denizens of the older edifice.
And the glorious scene that spreads itself before the view from
this standpoint is not seriously altered by the fact that you look
upon it now through the apertures of a pseudo-Gothic window-frame,
whose affected uncouthness may become a disturbing element to the
sensitive soul; whilst Lord Campbell viewed the same scene from his
Scottish-Baronial tower-light with greater joy than yours. For to him
the panorama thus disclosed must have seemed almost a discovery, a new
Eden brought within the reach of his kinsfolk.
Yonder before you lies Loch Fyne, which, by the peculiar bend it takes
might deceive you into the idea that it was a peaceful inland lake, but
that the rising and falling tides, with their loads of saline weeds,
sufficiently show that it is but a minute portion of the illimitable
ocean. The river Aray, which bestows its name upon the Castle and
township, flows down from the heights above Loch Awe close beside the
building, whilst the Shiray, taking its rise in the mountains farther
north, sweeps down more rapidly towards the Loch, thus forming a kind
of peninsula between the rivers. From the town of Inveraray the shore
circles inwards as a crescent-like bay, at the southern horn of which
stands the little county town, whose importance is more derived than
personal. The houses are few and not particularly elegant, and thus
they add to the imposing effect of the Castle, which is essentially
the point in the scene. The structure is of comparatively recent date,
having been erected during the latter half of the 18th century near the
spot whereon the original Castle stood.
The wooded hill of Duniquoich stands forth in solitary grandeur from
the lesser eminences around, and brings the Castle, which lies at its
base, into bold relief against the dark background thus provided. Had
the stone used been either the white granite of the North of Scotland,
or the marble of Italy, the effect would have been too dazzling by
contrast; but the dull colour of the greenish slate of which it is
built harmonizes exquisitely with the foliage that surrounds it.
The building is quadrangular, with massive towers rising from the
foundations at the corners, and a square pavilion with rectangular
flanking-towers over-topping the whole. Though somewhat pretensious in
its style, the desired effect is produced, for you cannot escape from
the Castle if your eyes once turn in its direction. The design has been
attributed to the famous William Adam, the father of the two famous
architects, Robert and John Adam, who enjoyed a European reputation.
The Castle of Inveraray was begun by the third Duke of Argyll (born
1682, died 1761) in 1744, and William Adam died in 1748, the work of
completing the design having been committed to Robert Morris, a famous
English architect, and finished about the time of the Duke’s death.
The feud which had existed between the Campbells of Loch Awe and the
Lords of Lorne since the time when the “Great Colin” was slain, was
finally tranquillized by the all-powerful influence of Love; and the
sovereignty of the Campbells over Lorne was obtained by the no less
potency of gold. Colin Campbell, grandson of Sir Duncan, first Lord
Campbell, had won the heart of the eldest daughter of John Stewart,
third Lord of Lorne and Innermeath, for the ancient possessors of
this district, the MacDougalls, had failed to provide male heirs to
inherit their dignities, and these had passed into the hands of the
Stewarts. In 1465, the marriage of Colin, Lord Campbell took place, and
the title of Lord Lorne was added to his other dignities, and Castle
Gloom--afterwards named Castle Campbell--near Dollar, became his by
right. He was created first Earl of Argyll in 1457, and filled many
important positions at the Court, as Ambassador frequently, and Lord
High Chancellor of Scotland in 1482. His death took place in 1493,
when he was succeeded by his eldest son, Archibald, the second Earl,
who fell in command of the vanguard at the Battle of Flodden.
This second Earl worked more faithfully for the advancement of his
family than for the welfare of the kingdom. He had taken part with
his father in the struggle betwixt James III. and Prince James
(afterwards James IV.) which ended in the violent death of the former
at Sauchieburn; and was duly rewarded by the new King. The Governorship
of the Castle of Tarbert, and command of the King’s lands in Knapdale
and Kintyre, gave him control of the Campbell lands in that district
of Ayrshire. As disputes had arisen as to the division of the spoil
among the conspirators who had fought for James IV., the Earl of Argyll
and the Earl of Lennox fell to quarrelling together. Ultimately this
dispute was settled by the marriage of Argyll to Elizabeth, daughter of
Lennox. It is possible that the very efforts of the parents to prevent
this union only served to intensify the passion of the enamoured pair,
for, as the old song says:--
“There is no striving
To cross his intent,
There is no contriving
His plots to prevent;
But if once the message greet him
That his true love doth stay,
If Death should come and greet him,
Love will find out the way.”
Their love was finally crowned with success, and the union of the two
powerful families of Argyll and Lennox, whose lands were contiguous,
placed the shores of the Clyde from Glasgow to the sea, and the
mountains, fields, and valleys of the Levenax and Loch Awe beneath the
rule of two competent and friendly leaders. The storm between Scotland
and England, which had been gathering for many years, at length burst
on the fatal field of Flodden, and brought woe and tribulation over the
whole land.
Few Scotsmen care to dwell even now on the story of Flodden, for it
requires all the lustre of Bannockburn to counterbalance its disgrace.
The absolute incompetence of the King for the post of leader, which
he would not resign, despite their entreaties, to more experienced
hands, brought about the climax of the disaster. It must have been
with feelings of amazement and dread that veteran warriors like Angus
and Huntly saw the troops of England dashing unopposed over the narrow
bridge at Twisel, and ranging themselves without hindrance immediately
opposite their own army on the field of Flodden. The obstinacy and
self-confidence of the Stewart race was again to bring calamity on the
Scottish nation.
The order of battle may be briefly explained. The troops on either
side were divided into four companies. Surrey opposed the King, and
was supported by Lord Thomas Howard and his brother, Sir Edmund, on
the right, and Lord Stanley on the left, while Lord Dacre commanded
a reserve of horse. The King had two companies on his left, led by
Crawford and Montrose, and Huntly and Home, whilst his right was
composed of the West Highlanders under Argyll and Lennox, and the
reserve was under the charge of Bothwell. The left wing under Huntly
and Home was the first to encounter the English troops, and their
victory was easy; but when the rude Highlanders under Argyll mingled
in the fray, their ignorance of civilized warfare proved their
ruin. Unused to depend upon aught save personal prowess, the bold
mountaineers rushed precipitately forward upon the steady and immovable
spearmen under Stanley. With unquenchable ardour the clansmen fought,
each man a hero; but their independent valour was misspent:--
“For on the left, unseen the while,
Stanley broke Lennox and Argyll;
Though there the western mountaineer,
Rushed with bare bosom on the spear,
And flung the feeble targe aside
And with both hands the broadsword plied,
’Twas vain.”
The prodigies of valour then performed shall never be adequately
recited. In such a case mere personal valour is often of no avail
against firm discipline and brute force. And this was the fortune of
the right wing at Flodden. As the smoke of the battle rolled away
from the field, and the English spearmen looked round for their foes,
behold! they were not:
“Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,
That host with its banners at sunset was seen;
Like the leaves of the forest when autumn has blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strewn.”
The brave leaders, fellow-champions and companions-in-arms, had not
spared themselves amid the general carnage, but the time was gone.
From that dread onslaught the Earls of Argyll and Lennox returned no
more, and such glory as gilds the soldier’s tomb is theirs by right of
conquest. The romantic mind cannot refrain from turning to that woeful
scene by the banks of the Till, when:--
“Mony were the mudie men
Lay gasping on the green;
And mony were the fair ladies
Lay lemanless at hame.”
The death of the Second Earl of Argyll at Flodden, however mournful as
an incident of war, had the happy effect of bringing the claims of the
family more prominently into notice. The Earl had a family of four sons
and seven daughters; and it was the lot of one of these sons to become
the ancestor of another line of Campbells now represented by the Earl
Cawdor. The story is a romantic one.
Sir John Campbell of Lorne, third son of the second Earl of Argyll,
whilst wandering with a band of his clansmen in the vicinity of
Cawdor Castle, Nairnshire, had the good fortune to encounter the
heiress of Sir John Calder, Thane of that Ilk, then a young girl,
with no protector near save her nurse. There was no feud betwixt the
Campbells and the Calders at this time, so it may be supposed that the
opportunity of “reiving” a wealthy heiress was too great a temptation
for Sir John Campbell to resist. The youthful Muriella was seized and
borne away with speed from her ancestral domain by one portion of the
band, whilst another party lingered behind to form a rearguard in case
of pursuit. By an inexcusable neglect they had overlooked the capture
of the nurse, and she managed to escape to Calder Castle and to raise
an alarm. Then there was hurry and turmoil over the loss of the young
maiden:--
“It’s fy gar ride, and fy gar rin,
And haste ye bring these traitors again,”
and soon a powerful party started in pursuit of the kidnappers who had
stolen away the Chieftain’s daughter.
[Illustration: INVERARAY CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
Ere they had gone far they overtook the Campbells, and startled them
while halting around their camp-fire, flattering themselves upon the
ease with which they had gained their prize. The sudden descent of the
Calders at once put an end to their self-gratulation, and they found
it necessary to defend at once their captive and their lives. They had
determined in any case to secure the heiress of Calder (now spelled
“Cawdor”), and the ruse by which they accomplished this feat has
been seldom paralleled for bravery. Campbell of Lorne, mounted on his
steed, and bearing the young Muriella in his arms before him, retreated
rapidly, with a few chosen followers, on the road to Inveraray. His
uncle, Campbell of Inverliver, seeing the swift approach of the
Calders, ordered his seven sons to throw over a large camp-kettle which
had been in use, and to gather around it in battle-array so as to
deceive the Calders into the belief that their young lady-heiress was
beneath it. Impelled by their duty both to father and chief the brave
clansmen did as required, and the stratagem succeeded. Never doubting
for a moment that Muriella was below the utensil thus strangely
transformed into a citadel, the pursuers dismounted and attacked the
small body of Campbells on all sides. Undismayed by the onslaught, even
though hopeless of relief, the brave Campbell clansmen made a gallant
defence, and though they knew that certain death awaited them they
resolved to sell their lives dearly. Their opponents, however, were too
powerful for them, and one after the other fell, never to rise more.
With a shout of victory the Calders rushed forward to release their
imprisoned lady; but their exultation was changed into chagrin and
disappointment when they found that their wished-for prize was fled,
and saw that the strategy of the Campbells had duped them into a fatal
and irretrievable blunder. Now they discovered that whilst engaged in
this fierce struggle, and, as they thought, on the point of obtaining
a victory, their young heiress was being borne away swiftly in the arms
of her captors, through the wilds of Inverness-shire and Ross-shire,
and was speeding away in frantic haste to the distant Castle of
Inveraray. Pursuit was hopeless, and they were forced to leave her to
her fate.
And that fate was a peculiar one. Sir John Campbell, who had thus
taken her as a spoil in war, carefully tended her through girlhood
to budding prime, and at length married her, thus bringing the rich
heritage of Cawdor into the Campbell family. A curious story is told
regarding this Muriella, which exhibits some of the queer morality of
the time. When the nurse was set upon at Cawdor she well knew what
the result of the attack would be. To prevent the substitution of a
changeling for the true heiress, she determined to put an indelible
mark upon her. Seizing the child’s hand, she bit off one of the joints
of her little finger, thus brutally maiming for life her foster-child.
And though when Muriella became heiress there was no doubt of her
identity ever suggested, it may readily be supposed that had she died
in infancy the Campbells would have stretched their morality so as to
secure the inheritancy to which she was entitled. Nor was the nurse’s
work altogether a piece of wanton cruelty, for, to judge from their
own words, the Campbells would not have hesitated to serve a stranger
as heiress had aught befallen Muriella in her early years. The only
mark which Nature had bestowed upon her was her auburn hair; and when
some one suggested to Campbell of Auchinbreck that their toil would be
mis-spent should she die in infancy, his reply was:--
“She can never die so long as a red-haired lassie can be found on
either side of Loch Awe.”
But fate spared the clan from this imposition, and Sir John of Lorne
married the golden-haired beauty, whom he had reft, as if she had been
a Sabine maid, from her home; and he forgave the missing joint in view
of her fortune. Another of the romantic incidents in the life of this
Sir John Campbell is narrated in the article on Castle Duart, within
this volume.
The system of family feuds was then in full force, and the absolute
obedience with which the clansmen executed the commands of their Chiefs
perpetuated these hereditary quarrels. There were not those wanting who
whispered that the Argyll family secretly encouraged the disaffection
of the Isles that they might increase their own possessions through the
folly of their dupes. The position which the Earl occupied as Sheriff
of Argyll and Justice-General of Scotland gave him a powerful hold
over the ignorant and lawless tribes in his own neighbourhood. The
third Earl died in March 1529, having married a daughter of the Earl of
Huntly, the leader of the Catholics in the north; but Argyll’s son, the
fourth Earl, was the first prominent Scottish nobleman who supported
the Protestant religion. Two of his sons succeeded to the Earldom.
Archibald became fifth Earl, and was an ardent supporter of Mary, Queen
of Scots, and even commanded a section of her army at Langside. Though
twice married, he left no issue, and was succeeded by his half-brother,
Colin, sixth Earl, who had not a very distinguished career.
It is not possible within reasonable space to give details of the
nobles of Argyll up till the present day; so a brief notice is all
that is necessary, as their lives may be read in the national history
of Scotland. Archibald, the seventh Earl, served as an officer in the
Spanish Army of Philip III. when the States of Holland were captured.
Archibald, eighth Earl, was a very notable figure in Scottish affairs
during the seventeenth century. He was Commander-in-Chief of the
Covenanters. In 1641 he had been raised in the Peerage by Charles I.
to the rank of Marquess of Argyll; but in 1645 he was defeated by
his valiant rival, the great Marquess of Montrose, at the battles of
Inverlochy and Kilsyth. His insincerity was shown when at Charles II.’s
Coronation in January 1650-51 at Scone, he placed the Crown on the
King’s head, and shortly afterwards he assisted at the Proclamation of
Cromwell as Protector in Scotland. When Charles II. was restored to the
throne in 1660 Argyll went to London thinking to ingratiate himself
with the King; but he was sternly repulsed, accused of treason, tried,
and executed at Edinburgh in May 1661.
Archibald, ninth Earl of Argyll, son of the foregoing nobleman, had a
similar fate. The original title and estates had been restored to him,
but he was of a turbulent nature, and, having resisted the Test Act,
he was tried for treason, and condemned to death in 1681, the date
being left to the King’s discretion. Argyll was imprisoned in Edinburgh
Castle, from which place he escaped. Returning to this country, he
endeavoured to organize a rebellion in favour of the Duke of Monmouth,
but failed in the project, was captured and executed without another
trial upon the decision of 1681 at Edinburgh in 1685, his title and
estates being forfeited. His eldest son, Archibald, succeeded, and had
his father’s forfeited estates and titles restored, thus becoming tenth
Earl of Argyll.
With this Archibald the fortunes of the Campbell family revived. He
joined the Convention of Estates and took part in the movement in
favour of William of Orange and Mary, joining that Prince at the Hague,
and bringing him to England as William III. For his numerous services
he was created first Duke of Argyll in 1701, and thus introduced the
ducal title. His son and successor, John, second Duke of Argyll, was
the famous statesman and military leader whom Pope thus eulogized:--
“Argyll, the State’s whole thunder born to wield,
And shake alike the Senate and the Field.”
It was the second Duke who arrested the Jacobite Rising of 1715
by his famous victory at Sheriffmuir, after which he was appointed
Field-Marshal of all His Majesty’s Forces. He died in 1743, and as
he had no male issue he was succeeded by his brother, Archibald,
who became third Duke of Argyll, and was Lord Justice-General, Lord
Clerk Register, and Keeper of the Great Seal. He also died without
male succession, and the fourth Duke of Argyll was the cousin of his
predecessor. It is not necessary to trace the family further in detail,
save in this condensed manner:--
John, fourth Duke, cousin of third Duke, died 1722.
John, fifth Duke, son, 1723-1806.
George William, sixth Duke, son, 1766-1839, no issue.
John Douglas, seventh Duke, brother, 1777-1847.
George Douglas, eighth Duke, son, 1823-1900.
John Douglas Sutherland, ninth Duke, son, 1845-1914, known for many
years as Marquess of Lorne before he succeeded his father in 1900; was
married in 1871 to H.R.H. Princess Louise-Caroline-Alberta, daughter
of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, who survived the Duke of Argyll. As
there was no family, he was succeeded by his nephew, Sir Niall Diarmid
Campbell, tenth Duke of Argyll, born 1872, son of Lord Archibald
Campbell, second son of the eighth Duke, whose death in 1913 made Sir
Niall in 1914 nearest in succession to the title.
The varied story of the Campbells of Argyll and of their connection
with Inveraray Castle is here completed, and it will be seen that
nearly all of them were high-souled Scottish patriots. And the song of
Argyll has ever been like this:--
“’Tis not for the land of my sires to give birth
Unto bosoms that shrink when their trial is nigh;
Away! we will bear over ocean and earth
A name and a spirit that never will die.
My course to the winds, to the stars I resign;
But my soul’s quenchless fire, O my country, is thine.”
XXI
FOWLIS CASTLE--CARSE OF GOWRIE
Each of the great rivers of Scotland--Clyde, Tweed, Forth, Tay, Dee and
Spey--has special characteristics and attractions. The Clyde takes its
rise in an agricultural district, but completes its course by passing
through a dense population. The Tweed is a placid river, flowing
gently amid a pastoral country, and past castles full of historical
associations. It seems ever to be murmuring:--
“With many a curve my banks I fret,
By many a field and fallow,
And many a fairy foreland set
With willow-weed and mallow.”
The Forth, with numerous curves and windings, though never a turbulent
stream, is replete with fragments of Scottish history, from Stirling
even to Edinburgh and Leith. The Dee, rising in the distant Grampians,
may thus be appropriately described:--
“I come from haunts of coot and hern,
I make a sudden sally,
And sparkle out among the fern
To bicker down a valley.
By thirty hills I hurry down,
Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty thorps, a little town,
And half a hundred bridges.”
It begins near the Royal Castle of Balmoral, and terminates in the
Royal City of Aberdeen. The Spey is reckoned the most rapid river in
Scotland, and passes through typical Highland scenery:--
“I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.”
The valley of the Tay, from the source of that river in the west to its
debouchment at Dundee, in peculiarly rich in historic memoirs. Taking
its rise in the remote borderland between Perthshire and Argyllshire,
the Tay flows through a country which exhibits many of the varieties of
Scottish river-scenery, from the wild and wooded glen to the fair and
fertile Carse, and displays within its course the mountain torrent, the
silent tarn, the tugged cascade, and the broad-bosomed, silvery loch.
As its pathway lies through the very heart of Scotland, and amid some
of its grandest scenes, the multitudinous contrasts which it thus shows
are not inexplicable.
The rising hill-lands of Perthshire rapidly encroach upon the magnitude
of the Grampians; and though the country is so broken up by plateaus
that it does not seem extremely elevated, still the peaks which are
thrown up here and there to a respectable altitude indicate with
sufficient clearness that the locality is in the immediate vicinity
of a vast mountain range. The volcanic forces whose energy formed the
Grampians years ago are visible here also; and the scattered bens of
Perthshire, thus heaved up by Titanic skill, have exercised a powerful
influence in the development of Scottish landscape.
The hills have drawn towards them the thunderous clouds, whose
intercepted showers have become the sources of countless
mountain-streams. The valleys have collected these into vast lochs,
themselves the reservoirs of mighty rivers, which dash impetuously
through their rocky beds to join the fathomless sea. And thus, by
Strath and Carse, by Clachan and City, the Tay pursues its majestic
course towards the ocean. Stretching over half the breadth of Scotland,
the stream leaves the uplands and moors of Western Perthshire, and,
winding its devious way through gloomy shades and by sunny leas,
finally becomes a navigable river, flowing through a pastoral country
on its way to the North Sea. The lower reaches of the Tay being not
only richer but also more accessible than the remoter portions of the
valley, are therefore intimately connected with the history of the
country, and even now exhibit traces of the fierce contests which
took place in the locality betwixt the myriad invaders of the soil
and the aborigines. Betwixt the City of Perth and the sea-coast the
whole stretch of country on each side of the Tay is dotted with Towers
and Keeps, with ancient fortresses and modern mansions, which show
unmistakably the progress of civilization in Scotland.
No Tayside family has been longer or more honourably connected with
the Gowrie district than that of the Grays of Gray. The lands they
possessed were in themselves fertile, and by their proximity to the
town of Dundee a ready market was found for their agricultural produce.
Hence their importance to the locality may be understood. Three seats
are now associated with their name--Fowlis Castle, Gray House, and
Kinfauns Castle, the first of these being the most ancient.
The Castle of Fowlis occupies a commanding position upon an elevated
table-land at some distance to the north of the river bank, and is
skilfully placed so as to resist an attack. The approach from the
roadway near which it is situated might easily be defended, and the
steep ascents of the Den of Fowlis on the one side, and the brae on the
other, would render assault from these quarters extremely difficult.
With such recommendations in times of war, it was not without its
attractions in “piping times of peace.” The view from the upper windows
is very lovely. Looking southward the spectator has presented to his
vision a succession of fertile fields, which descend from the altitude
on which the Castle is erected by easy gradations until they reach the
brink of the river. Far beyond the silvery stream, which extends its
broad expanse at this point to the greatest width (nearly three miles)
of all its course, the dim outline of the Fifeshire coast may be seen,
from the ancient spires of St Andrews to the still more ancient Tower
of Abernethy, with all the intermediate monuments of progress, the
ruins of Lindores Abbey, and the palatial mansions of Newport-on-Tay.
Westward on the north side of the river lies the famous Carse
of Gowrie, extending its green and fruitful glade far as the
eye can reach, and dotted with innumerable points of historic
interest--Invergowrie, Errol, Kinfauns, and many others--which awaken
recollections of Scotland’s days of chivalry. And through the verdant
slopes which line each bank the path of the Tay may be traced by the
gleaming streak of reflected light which glistens in the sunshine
and marks its meanderings. Eastward the towers and spires of the
ancient City of Dundee may be seen, now pleasantly situated upon the
eminences that in former days shut her in from the world, but which the
irresistible tide of progress has brought within her boundaries. The
towering mount which overhangs the burgh, and which Dundonians proudly
denominate “the Law,” stands forth in stern majesty, closing the view
in that direction. Further northward the Sidlaw Hills show their
summits above the rising ground, and around towards the margin of the
Carse the sharply defined range of mountains, of which King’s Seat and
Dunsinnan are the most noticeable peaks, serve to limit the view.
It will be seen that from the spot occupied by Fowlis Castle the deep
valley lying between the spur of the Sidlaw Hills on which it is built,
and the “blue Lomonds” in Fife, which show their faint outlines in the
hazy distance, is quite commanded, and lies like a panorama at the
feet of the beholder. And there are not many spots in Scotland which
exhibit so much richly varied landscape at one glance of the eye. The
woods of Camperdown and the orchards of Errol, the green waving fields
of Gowrie, and the cultivated mounds of Newburgh and Balmerino, the
glistening river, and the mystic and far-distant ocean--
“All form a scene
Where rousing Solitude might love to lift
Her soul above the sphere of earthliness,
Where Silence undisturbed might watch alone.”
Nor need the glamour of the scene be limited only to those portions
of it which are at one view perceptible. By ascending the beautiful
acclivity to the north of the Castle the lovely vale of Strathmartine
may be seen stretching to the very base of the Sidlaws. Beyond the
Lomonds on the south lies the peaceful Loch Leven, the lake of Romance
and Chivalry; and hidden by the range which terminates with the Hill of
Kinnoul, on the western side, the ancient City of Perth sits queen-like
by the rapid-flowing Tay.
Here, in the centre of this scene of surpassing loveliness, fraught
with the memory of noble deeds of daring, the ancient Castle of Fowlis
once reared its turrets. The portion of the Castle still remaining
gives but a very imperfect notion of its former extent. Probably this
only formed one wing, and in an old plan, made in 1696, “the Lady’s
Tower” encloses an internal staircase which runs from basement to
top-rafters, and was on one side of a quadrangular building, the other
erections being designed for the accommodation of the servants. A
carved stone from the Castle was found built into a modern house, and
bearing the date “1640,” which suggests that this portion, at least,
was erected by Andrew, eighth Lord Gray, who succeeded to the title and
estate in 1612, and 1663 was the date of his death. The earlier Castle,
of which nothing now remains, belonged to a much earlier period.
The origin of the name of Fowlis is much disputed. One theory is
that it is derived from the title of a Norman-French knight who had
settled in Kent some time previous to the Conquest in 1066, and who
stoutly resisted the invasion of England by William of Normandy.
Having aroused the vengeance of the Conqueror, he was compelled to
flee to the north; and throwing himself upon the generosity of Malcolm
Ceanmòr, he found his confidence in that monarch was not misplaced. The
Knight of Feuilles (leaves) was welcomed by the King in his Palace of
Hurley-Hawkin, near Fowlis Castle, and Malcolm bestowed upon him the
lands adjoining his own dwelling, which have since borne the name of
the stranger knight. It is more probable that the name is a corruption
of the Gaelic _Foil-es_, signifying a deep valley, such as the Den of
Fowlis.
The fanciful tradition as to King Malcolm’s generosity is directly
contradicted by the genealogy of the Gray family prepared by Sir
Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms. He claims that the family is
descended from a common progenitor of the ducal houses of Suffolk
and Kent, the baronial houses of Gray and Warwick, and the houses of
Dorset, Tankerville, and Stamford. This ancestor, Anschetit de Croy,
one of the companions-in-arms of William the Conqueror, who gave him
large grants of land in the County of Oxford and elsewhere. From this
person there descended Sir Andrew Gray of Chillingham, Northumberland
County, and who had so faithfully aided Robert the Bruce in his claim
for the Crown of Scotland that in 1306 the King conferred upon him the
Manor of Longforgan, Perth County, other lands in Forfarshire, and the
lands of Browfield and Broxmouth, Haddingtonshire. The lands of Fowlis
did not come into the Gray family till the end of the fifteenth century.
The following statements are founded upon veritable documents. In
1180 the church and lands of Fowlis belonged to William of Maule, who
is said to have received them from King David I. as a reward for his
bravery at the Battle of the Standard in 1138. He purposed founding
a family of Maules of Fowlis, but he had no son, and as one of his
daughters married Roger of Mortimer, Sheriff of Perthshire, the estate
and Castle fell to their share. Though so intimately connected with
the history of Gowrie, there are few records found of the family, save
that they were known as Lords of Aberdour, and that the possession of
the Castle of Fowlis descended in direct line for several generations.
It seems probable that the Mortimers were descended from Roger, second
Baron of Wigmore, who aided Edward II. in his flight after Bannockburn,
and received from Edward III. the empty title of Earl of March, which
became extinct with the fifth earl in 1424. The Mortimers of Fowlis
continued till the death of another Roger, who left only one daughter,
Janet, who married Sir Andrew Gray of Broxmouth in 1397, thus bringing
the Grays of Fowlis into existence.
The first of the new race was directly descended from the
companion-in-arms of Robert Bruce already mentioned. He was created a
Lord of Parliament, with the title of Lord Gray of Gray and Fowlis,
1437; by his wife, Janet Mortimer, he had one son and six daughters;
and by his second wife, Elizabeth Buchanan, he had four sons and one
daughter. At his death in 1449-50 he was succeeded by his eldest
son, Andrew, second Lord Gray. This nobleman became a man of mark in
history, as Scotland was then in a perturbed state through the death of
Robert III. in 1406, and the capture of his son James I. in that year,
and his long imprisonment for 18 years in England. While still Master
of Gray during his father’s life-time the second Lord Gray was
chosen as one of the noblemen who were sent as pledges for the ransom
of King James. For three years--1424-1427--he was kept a prisoner in
England. After his return he rose rapidly in the favour of James I.
[Illustration: FOWLIS CASTLE _Valentine & Sons Ltd._]
When Charles VII. of France, whose kingdom had been ravaged by the
English army, sought to form a matrimonial alliance with Scotland for
defensive purposes, he suggested the marriage of the Dauphin with the
Princess Margaret, eldest daughter of James I., the Master of Gray
was sent as one of the Commissioners to effect this union, which took
place in June 1436; and after the death of Charles VII. in 1461 he was
succeeded by the son of this marriage as Louis XI. After his father’s
death in 1449-50 the Master of Gray became Lord Gray, was appointed
Ambassador to England, and in 1452 made a pilgrimage to Canterbury.
After his return to Scotland he was received into the Royal Household,
and obtained a license from James II. on any part of the estate which
he might select. The Castle of Fowlis by this time had become too
small for the accommodation of the numerous Gray family; and Lord Gray
selected a site on the plateau near the river, a little south-west
of the Foulis Castle. The second Lord Gray died in 1469, and it is
likely that he had begun the new Castle before that, but it was not
completed in his time. The successor was his grandson, Alexander, third
Lord Gray, who increased his influence by two judicious marriages,
connecting him with the Keiths, Earls Marischal, and the Earl of
Atholl, and was appointed Justice-General of Scotland. At his death in
1514 he left a numerous family. His eldest son, Patrick, became fourth
Lord Gray, after he had reached the age of manhood.
It was the lot of this Lord Gray to see the completion of the Castle,
probably during his father’s life-time. He had been married to Lady
Jane Gordon, daughter of the Earl of Huntly; and as the Castle had not
then been named, he devised the designation of “Castle Huntly,” which
it still bears. This Castle was sold in 1614 by Andrew Gray, eighth
Lord Gray, to the first Earl of Kinghorne, when the name was changed to
“Castle-Lyon” after that Earl’s family. It remained in the possession
of the Lyons, Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne until 1776, when it
was sold to Mr George Paterson. He was married to the Hon. Anne Gray,
and he resumed the old name of Castle Huntly, bestowed on it by her
ancestors. This splendid baronial pile still (1927) belongs to the
Patersons.
The new Castle Huntly became, of course, the principal residence of
the Lords Gray for a long period, and it is not necessary to deal
with each of them. It is interesting, however, that the desertion
of Fowlis Castle, according to a local current superstition, was
followed by a total change in the policy of successive Lords Gray. It
has been pointed out that loyalty to the reigning monarchy had been
habitual with them, but that was changed shortly before they left the
ancestral Castle. The Lord Gray of the time introduced a system of
double-dealing in public affairs. Though an intimate friend of James
III., he conspired to remove him from the throne; and he took part
with the Prince (afterwards James IV.) at Sauchie Burn, where the King
was assassinated. One of his successors, though a Reformer, sought to
promote the appointment of Cardinal Beaton as Regent after the death of
James V.; but he was not even true to him, for he signed a bond, which
was found in St Andrews Castle, by which Lord Gray bound himself to
hand over certain Scottish Castles to the English invaders under the
Protector Somerset.
The acme of treachery was reached by the Master of Gray, who was
known by that designation till 1609, when he became sixth Baron Gray.
His early years were spent in France during the young Queen Mary’s
residence there, and he was in close touch with the Guises and other
French friends of the Queen. He betrayed Mary’s secrets to the Scottish
Privy Council and the Governor Arran; concluded an agreement with
Elizabeth and James to the exclusion of Mary from the throne, while
acting as Ambassador to England; and formally protested against the
condemnation of Mary, but secretly advised her assassination. He was
exiled from Scotland for impeding the marriage of the King with Anne
of Denmark in 1587, but returned shortly after, and joined with the
traitor Francis Stewart Hepburn, who attempted in 1592 to capture the
King at Falkland. Gray ultimately escaped the punishment of death for
treason, but was exiled to France, where in 1612 he died.
Through the marriage in 1763 of the Hon. Jane Gray to Francis, Earl
of Moray, the proprietorship of Fowlis Castle would have passed to
that family; but after Cromwell’s invasion the fines he levied on the
Royalists told so heavily upon the Gray family that the Castle and
grounds had to be sold in 1669 to Sir William Murray of Ochtertyre,
Baronet. The family of the Murrays of Ochtertyre could claim a very
respectable antiquity. The first of the name died in 1476, and the
third holder of the title is enumerated amongst the slain on Flodden
Field. It will thus be seen that the new inhabitants of Fowlis were
not mere “new rich” people, elevated to unwonted dignity by successful
speculation, but had been connected with Perthshire for a considerable
period. Originally the family name had been “Moray,” and they claimed
descent from Sir David Moray of Tullibardine, one of the ancestors of
the Atholl family; but that Sir William who purchased Fowlis Castle
changed the spelling of the surname to “Murray.” He was created a
Baronet of Nova Scotia, and was succeeded by his son, Sir Patrick, who
largely added to the family possessions. By prudence and economy he had
amassed a considerable fortune, which he expended in acquiring land.
There were not wanting those who whispered that his employment by King
William III. to subsidise the Highland Chieftains had been one of his
most profitable speculations. Though in possession of several seats, he
selected Fowlis Castle as his residence, and beneath its roof-tree his
eleven children were born. He reached the patriarchal age of 80 years,
and was succeeded in 1735 by his eldest son, William.
This nobleman had made an unfortunate matrimonial alliance with a
daughter of Hugh, eleventh Lord Lovat, which involved him in the
troubles of the 1715 Jacobite Rising; and though he escaped immediate
punishment, his prospects of success under the Hanoverian Government
were completely blighted. The parsimony of his father, who had at least
the sense to choose the successful party, had plunged Sir William into
debt; and though he only survived his parent four years, that could
not be a happy period. His widow died at Fowlis Castle in 1771, having
reached the age of 81 years, during which she had been intimately
connected with the two great Jacobite Risings of 1715 and 1745, and
had buried her husband and her son, had witnessed the marriage of
her grandson, and the birth of her great-grandson, each of whom held
the title of “Murray of Ochtertyre.” She had herself borne nineteen
children, several of whom now sleep with her in the old Kirk of Fowlis
beside the Castle.
With her death a considerable alteration took place in the dignity
of Fowlis Castle. Her grandson, Sir William, had married one of the
daughters of the unfortunate Earl of Cromartie, who endured sentence
of death for his concern in the Jacobite Risings. The matrimonial
alliances which the family had lately made had developed an increase
of the thirsted-for position which often accompanies wealth; and Sir
William, no longer content with Fowlis Castle, set about building the
House of Ochtertyre, which soon eclipsed by its magnificence the older
structure. The Castle was thus abandoned, and the seat of the family
was transferred to its territorial locality near Crieff. His son, Sir
Patrick, afterwards sixth Baronet, was born at Ochtertyre, and the
Murrays have resided there since about 1770. The present (1927) holder
of the title is Captain Sir William Keith Murray of Ochtertyre, who, on
the death of his father in 1921, became ninth Baronet.
And so the Castle of Fowlis, with all its honourable memories and
dishonourable recollections, falls out of the regard of existing
dilletantism.
“’Tis thus the mighty falls.
There is the moral of all human tales;
’Tis but the same rehearsal of the past,
First freedom, and then glory--when that fails,
Wealth, vice, corruption--barbarism at last,
And History, with all her volumes vast,
Hath but one page.”
XXII
MAINS CASTLE--FORFARSHIRE
Though the great events in Scottish history have usually occurred in
connection with the principal rivers, because, as a rule, the largest
cities were constructed upon the chief water-ways, yet many memorable
incidents took place upon inconsiderable streams. Bannockburn is a mere
rivulet; Sauchie Burn, where James III. was assassinated, is even less
important; and the Till near Flodden Field is an unimportant tributary
of the Tweed. There were, nevertheless, historical characters and
events connected with all these streamlets; and that is particularly
striking with reference to Mains Castle, Forfarshire, which is near
Dundee, and was recently acquired, with the lands, by a wealthy
citizen, and presented to the city as the site of a public park.
Fintry, or (as it is more generally called) Mains Castle occupies
a pleasant situation upon the south side of the tributary stream
known as Gelly Burn, which flows into the Dichty River through
the Den of Mains. The Dichty rises in the Sidlaw Hills, and flows
through the Howe of Strathmartine to join the sea at Monifieth. Its
course is more fantastic than imposing, and nowhere does it attain
dimensions entitling it to a higher dignity than that of a rivulet.
Though it receives the drainage of the Strath, the burns which are
its tributaries are so much the creation of the rainy season that
frequently its rugged bed is nearly dry, and Dichty, like
“Kedron at our feet its scanty waters
Distils from atone to stone with gentle motion.”
The many reservoirs which the commercial enterprise of the locality has
formed upon its banks assist greatly in bringing about this result; and
the stream which in remote times may have run red with the gore of our
heroic forefathers, now combines with chloride of lime and soda-ash to
aid the progress of civilization by peacefully bleaching yarns upon its
verdant banks.
Yet though thus in itself so inconsiderable, this little Dichty river
flows through a historic country. The Lairds of Auchterhouse, of
Strathmartine, of Claverhouse, and of Fintry have figured prominently
in general as well as county history. And if the Dichty cannot boast of
any of the glorious battle-fields of Scotland, it has not been without
its influence in the development of the varied fortunes of the Scottish
nation. The land through which it meanders is now highly cultivated;
the people who inhabit its valley study the arts which “make for
peace”; and only those who examine the occult causes at work to produce
history can have any idea of the power exercised upon the outer world
by the quiescent attractions of its streamlet. The Castles which
have been built near its course have been erected rather as rural
retreats than as strongholds, and thus exhibit the home-life of those
who have passed their time amid busier scenes. But this aspect of
existence is not without instruction to the student of humanity.
[Illustration: MAINS CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
The Gelly Burn, which flows past the Castle, is never of any great
volume, and is unworthy of attention until it reaches the site of that
building; but here the ground suddenly alters. The level banks rise
upon each side of the stream with precipitate abruptness to a height
of about 50 feet above the water, and the pastoral verdure which to
this point had fringed its surface is intermingled with oak, beech, and
elm trees for the remainder of its course. This marked topographical
contrast is chiefly noticeable from the bridge which leads across Gelly
Burn to the Castle. Westward the scene presents little to attract the
eye of the beholder, showing merely an uninteresting burn wandering
between its grassy banks; but eastward the sudden declivity, the
darksome foliage, and the half-concealed thread of rippling water far
below, give to the spot the salient characteristics of a miniature
glen or deep defile. The left bank is crowned by the ancient graveyard
of Mains, and was formerly the site of the old kirk of the district;
whilst immediately opposite to it stand the picturesque ruins of Mains
or Fintry Castle.
Originally this building has been of considerable extent, and the
style of the masonry and the elegance of the design show that it
has been erected in a civilized period, and by a wealthy proprietor.
The large square tower, with dressed corner-stones, which forms the
distinctive feature in castle-architecture of the sixteenth century,
is of unusually spacious dimensions, and is still (1927) in good
preservation. The outer west wall, enclosing the courtyard, and
having the main entrance gateway, has suffered severely by the hand
of Time, and gives evidence by the misplaced lintels of some of the
window embrasures of an injudicious attempt at restoration. A very
elegant ornamented window may be seen near the door. Above the gateway
a circular turret has risen, the lower portion of which is visible,
and in the projecting base may be seen the orifice through which
the keepers of the Castle could defend the doorway without exposing
themselves to attack. Turrets have probably been erected also at the
corners of the north wall; and it is likely that the courtyard had an
entry from the south as well as from the west side.
It is not now possible to tell with accuracy how high this outer
wall rose, for the finished mason-work of the tower does not afford
any absolute indication of this. Doubtless the northern and eastern
portions of the Castle were reserved for the apartments of the
residents, whilst the southern part of the building was devoted to the
accommodation of the menials and retainers, and the western served for
purposes of defence. The most striking view of the Castle is to be
obtained from the western side, although the height of the tower and
the low elevation of the remains of the outer wall give the building
rather “a lean and hungry look.”
Strange tales are told by the credulous natives as to the age of
these ruins, and even some grave historians have been sufficiently
deceived by their pertinacity to assert that the Castle was built in
1311. It is almost needless to say that the style of the architecture
conclusively proves that the Castle belongs to a much later date; and
though there _may_ have been a Fort of some kind on the site at that
time, it certainly was not that one whose ruins now remain. And even
the indirect evidence thus afforded is supplemented by the dates still
to be found on the building. The keystone of the western gateway bears
the date “1562,” and the lintel of a door in the east portion which
opens into the courtyard has a carved Latin motto with the further date
of “1582,” so that it may be concluded that the Castle was begun and
finished between these years. With this clue it is easy to trace the
history of the building. Before examining details it might be advisable
to narrate the earlier history of the locality.
It is supposed that the Earls of Angus in olden times had a residence
somewhere in the Strath of Dichty, although its exact site has never
been determined. This notion is founded upon the fact that in all
ancient documents which refer to the lands these are described in Latin
as “Strath-Dichty Comitis,” and in Scottish as “Earl’s Stradichty.” It
is well to remember that the County of Angus, or Forfarshire, formed
one of the ancient kingdoms into which Pictish Scotland--north of
Forth and Clyde--and extended from the Tay on the south, the Isla on
the west, the North Esk on the north, and the North Sea on the east.
When the kingdom was consolidated under the Celtic Kings, about 1005
A.D., in the time of Malcolm II., the various divisions were ruled by
Mormaers, and that name was maintained till the reign of Alexander
I., 1106 till 1124 being the date of his occupancy of the throne. The
Mormaers, however, began to be superseded by Earls, a dignity borrowed
from England.
The first Earl of Angus recorded was Gillebride or Gilchrist, whose
father, of the same name and title, fought under David I. in 1138 at
the Battle of the Standard. The fifth Earl in succession was Malcolm,
who died in 1242, leaving no son, but an only daughter, who was
Matilda, Countess of Angus in her own right. Her first husband was
John Comyn, titular Earl of Angus, who died in 1242 in France; in the
following year the Countess married Sir Gilbert Umfraville, a powerful
Northumberland Baron, who became a prominent figure in Scotland as
Earl of Angus until his death in 1245, while the Countess died in
the succeeding year. The Earls that bore the name Umfraville may be
briefly noticed, especially as they were anti-patriotic to Scotland,
one of them being appointed Governor of Dundee during the War of
Independence. The third Earl of this line died in 1325, and was a
marked man because of his support of Edward II. after Bannockburn.
In 1329 Robert the Bruce conferred the Earldom upon Sir John Stewart
of Boncle, who was descended from his own original--the High Steward
of Scotland. This was the first Stewart, Earl of Angus, and these
continued in succession from 1329 until 1402, the date of the
death of the second Earl. His widow, the Countess Margaret, had a
son by William, Earl of Douglas, while she stayed with him (her
brother-in-law) at Tantallon Castle, about 1376, and this son, George
Douglas, became the first Douglas, Earl of Angus. From this line the
titles of “Earl of Angus and Marquess of Angus,” as well as Duke of
Douglas, were continued till the death in 1761 of the first Duke of
Douglas.
During all this long period the Earls of Angus seem to have controlled
the whole district of Strath-Dichty; and occasionally there are records
of donations from the property to the Monastery of Arbroath, and other
numerous philanthropic objects, from the lands of Strath-Dichty.
Whether there was a Keep or Castle for the successive Earls at or
near the site of Mains Castle cannot be absolutely asserted, though
it is extremely probable. In any case, these researches show that
Strath-Dichty as a title stretches far back into remote times. Even
the present (1927) Earl of Strathmore is described in his Patent of
Nobility as “Baron Glamis, Tannadyce, Sidlaw, and Stradichtie,” and
that was when the new mills were opened. Besides, it is extremely
likely that Earls of Douglas should have a castle near “Lumbtithen,
which was a jointure house of the Scottish Queens at the place near
Dundee, now known as Linlathen, of which one part belonged to the
Earl of Angus.” No trace of a very early Castle has been found in the
vicinity. Fortunately the history of the existing ruins can be settled
historically.
In proof of the proprietary interest of the Earl of Angus in
Strathdichty, the following documents are authentic and valuable. By
a Sasine dated “14 April 1425, proceeding upon a Precept of William
Douglas, Earl of Angus, the lands of Kirktoun of Strathdighty, in the
Regality of Kirrymuir,” are apportioned to “Thomas Clerk, Burgess
of Dundee.” A Bond by the Earl of Angus, signed 20th January 1444,
obliges that nobleman to receive “James Scrimzeour, his cousin, to be
the tenant in the said lands.” On the 6th of March 1450, “Thomas Clerk
executed an assignation to John Scrimzeour, son of James Scrimzeour of
Dudhope, of the foresaid lands,” and they remained in the family for
a considerable time. Matilda, the sister of this John Scrimzeour, was
married to John Graham of Balargus, and thus indirectly brought the
latter family to the locality.
The son of this marriage obtained a Charter under the Great Seal of an
Annual Rent out of the lands of Kirktoun of Strathdichty, dated 14th
March 1529-30. He purchased the estate of Claverhouse in the immediate
neighbourhood, which afterwards gave his heirs their territorial title,
one of them being the famous John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount
Dundee. The marriage of John Graham of Balargus with a daughter of
the house of Beaton of Balfour, and his connection with the family of
Graham, afterwards Dukes of Montrose, gave him some importance in the
county. He derived his descent from that branch of the Grahams which
had settled at Fintry in Stirlingshire; and when Sir David Graham, the
head of that sept, had converted the “Annual Rent” of Kirktoun and
the lands of Lumlethan (now Linlathen) into a safe proprietary, it is
probable that he began to build the edifice, the ruins of which remain,
and called it by the name of “Fintry Castle” in remembrance of the
estate from which his family had come.
The acquisition of the lands of Claverhouse had the effect of bringing
two families of the name of Graham into Strathdichty--the branch which
retained the designation of Graham of Fintry and resided in the Castle
of Mains, and the heirs of John Graham of Balargus, who adopted the
title of Claverhouse from their new estate. It is likely that the first
John Graham of Claverhouse built a residential Castle upon his estate,
which lies a little to the west of Mains Castle, on the other side of
the Dichty, although there is now no trace of it remaining; and nothing
marks the supposed site which it may have occupied save a quasi-Gothic
structure in form of a dove-cot, erected from the ruins of the original
Castle in 1850, near the ancient village of Trottick, and visible from
the main road to Baldovan. But the inhabitants of the Castle of Mains
or Fintry still retained their territorial title, and thus the latter
erection became associated with the elder portion of the family. The
double connection of this branch of the Grahams is not generally known.
Genealogical writing is not always attractive to the reader, though
this will serve to show how closely the Grahams have been associated
with Forfarshire for a very long period.
William, Lord Graham of Kincardine, had as his second wife the Lady
Mary Stewart, second daughter of Robert III., who was a much married
lady. In 1397 she married George Douglas, first Earl of Angus of
that family. Her second husband was Sir James Kennedy of Dunure, in
Ayrshire. Sir William Graham was her third husband, and after his
decease she wedded Sir William Edmonston of Duntreath. There were
several things to attract her to Strathdichty. The jointure-house
of her mother, Queen Annabella Drummond, was there. Her first
husband, Earl of Angus, was the superior of all the property, and
so she persuaded her third husband, William, Lord Graham, to take
up a residence in that district. Lady Mary’s eldest son was Sir
Robert Graham of Strathcarron and Fintry. Sir Robert’s second wife
was a daughter of the Earl of Angus, thus forming another tie with
Strathdichty. By her he became ancestor of the Grahams of Claverhouse.
His great-grandson first assumed the latter territorial title, and was
contemporary with that Sir David Graham who built Mains Castle.
Although there are no very notable acts recorded of Sir David Graham,
there is ample evidence that his interests had been largely transferred
from Stirlingshire and Dumbartonshire to the district of Angus. The
fate of Sir David Graham, the builder of Mains Castle, was a strange
one. Throughout the alternations of the religious professions of the
Scottish nobility during the reign of Mary, the Grahams of Fintry
remained steadfastly attached to the Romish Church. They thus retained
the friendship of many of the northern nobles who still adhered to the
old religion, and were frequently engaged in the conspiracies which
foreign ecclesiastics encouraged for its establishment in Scotland. But
after the Reformation faith had gained a footing in Scotland--largely
because of bribes of the confiscated Church lands--this tampering
with superior forces brought retribution upon them. The story of the
conspiracy known to history as “the Spanish Blanks” gives a melancholy
interest to Mains Castle.
Had King James VI. been suffered to decide for himself in religious
matters his conduct makes it probable that he would have chosen rather
the Romish than the Protestant form of worship. But his early years
were directed by those who had risen into power entirely because
of their opposition to Romanism, and whilst his mother, Queen Mary,
lived, he dared not disobey them. During her long confinement in
England, however, his support of the new religion had rendered it
almost impossible for him to retract; and as the great body of the
people had by this time been incited to oppose the old Church, he found
it impossible to withstand them. Some of the more powerful nobles in
the north had still maintained their respect for the Church of their
fathers, and nursed a spirit of discontent amongst themselves secretly.
Tn 1592 these secret communings had at last developed into a definite
plot. The Earls of Huntly, Errol, and Angus, with the Lairds of
Auchindoun and Fintry, had organized a distinct plan of procedure,
and a prominent Roman Catholic, Dr. George Kerr, brother of the Abbot
of Newbattle, was employed as their agent. It was their intention to
summon His Most Catholic Majesty of Spain to aid them in reconverting
Scotland; and these nobles had signed a number of blank sheets of
paper, which Kerr was to carry with him to Spain, and to have completed
by writing the terms of their treaty over the signatures. From this
peculiarity in the method adopted the plot was afterwards known as “the
Spanish Blanks.” The vigilance of one of the Protestant clergymen,
however, defeated this project, and Kerr was apprehended on board the
vessel that was to convey him to Spain, with the Spanish Blanks in his
possession. Having been put to the torture, Kerr confessed the whole
conspiracy, implicating some of the most powerful noblemen in Scotland.
The plan was a very bold one. The King of Spain was to land an army of
thirty thousand men upon the west coast of Scotland, and, when joined
by the insurgent Lords, purposed to divide his army, sending fifteen
thousand of his soldiers over the Border, and subjugating Scotland with
the remainder.
The action taken by King James makes it probable that he sympathised
with this project. It was with extreme unwillingness that he proceeded
against the nobles; and though the Council had imprisoned the Earl of
Angus, who had fallen into their hands, he contrived to escape from
Edinburgh Castle--a feat which would have been impossible but for the
connivance of his custodians. Compelled to take measures against the
rebels, James led his army victoriously to the north, and skilfully
succeeded in evading an engagement. Before setting out on this
expedition, however, he deemed it necessary to vindicate himself from
the charge of sympathy with the rebels, and he did so by apprehending
Graham of Fintry, bringing him to trial, and procuring his execution at
the Cross of Edinburgh. The Lord of Mains Castle was beheaded in 1593,
and thus made the scapegoat for the sins of nobler traitors whom the
King could not dismiss from his Court.
From this period the Grahams of Fintry seldom appear in history, and
the minor branch of the family which had settled at Claverhouse soon
overtopped them. John Graham of Fintry married a daughter of James
Scrymgeoure, second Viscount of Dudhope, and probably took part in
the Parliamentarian Wars with Charles I. But the fame of John Graham
of Claverhouse, Viscount of Dundee, in the following reign has quite
overshadowed any distinction which he may have gained.
The family of the Grahams of Fintry retained the lands until early
in the nineteenth century. The last holder of them was that Robert
Graham of Fintry who was the friend of Robert Burns, and to whom the
poet addressed two of his poetical epistles. Having fallen upon evil
days, Robert Graham sold the lands of Fintry to David Erskine, W.S.,
Edinburgh, indirectly the ancestor of the last recently deceased
Erskine of Linlathen. But Graham made the curious stipulation that his
descendants should retain the territorial title of “Graham of Fintry,”
and that the older name of Lumlathen (now Linlathen) should be resumed
for the estate. That condition has since been faithfully followed. The
Grahams went to the Cape of Good Hope in a military capacity during the
Kaffir Wars, and they founded the settlement of “Grahamstown,” near
Port Alfred, in South Africa, and married into some of the wealthy Boer
families, and the name is thus preserved.
The estate of Linlathen, at least that part including the ruins of
Mains Castle, were sold by the last Erskine of Linlathen to a wealthy
Dundee citizen, Sir James Caird, Bart., LL.D., in 1913, and the whole
of the purchase was handed over by Sir James to the Town Council, to
be used as a public recreation ground to be called “Caird Park.” The
grounds have been laid out as a golf course, an artificial pond with
cascades, and other appropriate purposes. It was opened to the public
when completed in November 1923 by Mrs Marryat, half-sister of the late
Sir James Caird, Bart, the generous donor.
XXIII
BOTHWELL CASTLE
The ancient Castle of Bothwell occupies a position more picturesque in
its surroundings than the majority of strongholds of early times. In
the days when men had to fight for the defence of their possessions
it was usual for the lord of the land to select a point difficult of
access--some lonely peak, some sea-beaten rock, or loch-encircled
isle--as the spot most suitable for the erection of his fastness,
so that it might afford him a secure retreat from his foes should
Fortune turn against him. Hence, the most powerful in appearance of the
Castles of Scotland are those which frown from the bleak summits of the
barren hills of the north, or face the rude blasts which assail the
storm-lashed coasts of Ayrshire or East Lothian; which overlook from
their precipitous cliffs the profound depths of Loch Ness, like Castle
Urquhart, or rest on some tiny islet in the midst of a billowy lake--
“A priceless gem, set in a silver sea.”
like Lochleven Castle. But Bothwell Castle presents none of these
characteristics. The scenery which surrounds it is essentially woodland
and pastoral, and the quiet which reigns in the vicinity seems
somewhat out of keeping with the massive towers and buttresses, which
speak of inharmonious war in the midst of peaceful repose.
The Clyde, flowing around the domain of Bothwell, forms here a winding
link, and wanders placidly betwixt verdant banks crowned with varied
foliage. From one point of view the source and exit of the water are
alike invisible, and the overhanging boughs of the trees on either
side of the river, as they seem to meet, delude the spectator into the
notion that he sees before him a still, inland loch forming a natural
moat for the Castle rather than a mighty river pouring its resistless
flood onwards to the ocean. From the margin of the river the banks rise
in gentle slopes on either side, showing patches of greenest verdure
through the over-arching leaves of beech, of birch, and of elm which
fringe the water-edge and crown the grassy summits of the confronting
eminences. On the left bank of the river the ruins of Blantyre Priory
may be seen rising from the grey rock on which it was founded about
the beginning of the fourteenth century; while the grassy mound on
the right bank is surmounted by the remains of Bothwell Castle, whose
ivy-mantled walls have looked forth upon many changing epochs of
Scottish history, and whose halls have been trodden by both the friends
and foes of Scotland.
The ruins of Bothwell Castle have been regarded by antiquaries as
affording one of the finest examples of its style of architecture
in the kingdom. The date of its erection is not accurately known,
although it was certainly in existence early in the thirteenth century.
The plan of the Castle, as well as the method of masonry employed,
distinctly show that it was not the work of native artizans; for in
those times Scottish architecture was of the rudest description.
Possibly some enterprising Southern knight had penetrated into the
remote recesses of Clydesdale, and, enamoured of the locality, had
annexed it to his property, and built the Norman Castle thereon.
The size of the building itself would forbid the idea of its having
originated with any of the Scottish nobles of that distant time; for
there were few indeed among them wealthy enough to have undertaken this
task, even had they been civilized enough to conceive it. But as no
authentic record exists of the original builders, all is but conjecture.
The social position of its first occupant may be imagined from the
idea of its magnificence which the ruins still convey. It has been
constructed as an oblong quadrangle, with inner court enclosed by
vaulted buildings, probably with circular towers at the corners, of
which the greater part of two remain, although but slight traces of
the others now appear. An examination of the existing ruins will show
that the Castle covered an area of about 240 feet in length, by 100
feet in breadth. The lateral extensions between the towers are pierced
irregularly with windows, but there are not sufficient examples left to
enable us to decide as to the nature and extent of the chambers these
walls contained. That it was devised as a stronghold is evidenced by
the strength of the outer wall, which is about 15 feet in thickness,
and stands nearly 60 feet high. Despite the almost defenceless position
which it occupies topographically, it is evident that no light force
would be necessary to win the Castle from resolute defenders.
Yet there are few Castles on Scottish ground which have more frequently
changed masters, and though we cannot tell whose brain devised or
whose hands upreared its towers, the stories which are known of its
chequered career link its history with that of Scotland; and the Barons
of Bothwell in chivalrous times for a long period exercised vast power
both in the Council and the camp of the nation. Most of the structures
of a similar kind, even if they have not their beginning recorded, have
at least accurate details of their destruction; but the date of the
erection of Bothwell Castle is unknown, and the name of its destroyer
can only be conjectured.
The first name associated with a Castle of some kind at Bothwell is
that of Olyfard, and the connection of the family with Scotland may be
traced. The family were of long Norman descent, and the name appears
in “Scalacronica” amongst the Norman knights who fought on the side of
William I. at the battle of Hastings in 1066, and received grants of
land in Northamptonshire from the Conqueror. In 1113, when David I. of
Scotland, sixth son of Malcolm Caenmòr, when Prince, became Earl of
Northampton by marriage, he came much in contact with the Olyfards,
and was godfather to the heir, David Olyfard. This fortunate youth,
though on the English side, was able to assist David’s escape after
the Battle of Winchester in 1141, and he accompanied the fugitive King
to Scotland, and became a prominent member of the Scottish Court, and
received many grants of lands from his godfather, the King, becoming
a generous benefactor to the Church. Though Bothwell is not specially
mentioned, it is evident that he had a seat there, as he gave a
contribution from Bothwell towards Blantyre Priory, the ruins of which
are close beside the ruined Castle. David Olyfard was made Justiciary
of Laudonio, which included the lands south of the Forth and on to the
Tweed. He was one of the first to establish feudalism in Scotland.
Walter Olyfard, the third Justiciary by heredity, died in 1242, and
though there is no known clue as to the style and extent of Bothwell
Castle in his time, it must have been a place of importance as the
regular seat of the Justiciary of the South of Scotland. The statement
has been made, and not disputed, that the daughter of Walter Olyfard
was married to Walter de Moravia, who was ancestor of the Randolphs,
Earls of Moray, and thus a new race came into possession of Bothwell
Castle and the surrounding district.
In the time of Alexander II. the influence of England in the government
of the northern part of the kingdom had been experienced, and the
unfortunate imprisonment of William the Lion, the King’s father, had
suffered the English to have some claim to feudal superiority. The
boldness of Alexander had prompted him to oppose their efforts, and to
seek to undermine the power of the throne of England by joining with
the Barons against King John. That monarch, enraged at this presumption
upon the part of his vassal, gathered together an army of freebooters
and desperadoes, invaded Scotland, crossing the Humber, and laying
waste the provinces between that river and the Forth. The Scottish
King was unable to oppose his march, and presently retired until an
accession of forces should join him. Then, ordering the Castles of
the knights who had joined him to be left in a defensive position, he
pursued King John by way of Berwick and chased him ignominiously to
his own country. At this time Bothwell Castle was in the possession of
Walter Olyfard, and would doubtless be considered a post of importance,
as it lay in the midst of a fruitful country, and was sufficiently
apart from the highway of England to escape the destruction with which
the invading armies usually overwhelmed their adversaries’ dwellings.
It was not to be expected that a position of such strength as Bothwell
must have been would long escape the notice of the English. The armies
which overran this portion of the kingdom ere long discovered that
the district of Clydesdale could remain unsubdued whilst Bothwell
and Dumbarton were in the hands of the natives. Against the former of
these, therefore, they directed their endeavours, and with too fatal
success. The delusive hopes which the Scottish statesmen had built
upon the apparent amity that existed for some years betwixt Henry
III. of England and his son-in-law, Alexander III., had been rudely
shattered by the attitude which the former assumed upon the question
of the independence of Scotland. But Henry was too polite to risk an
open rupture with Alexander, and proceeded therefore by underhand means
to secure the division of the kingdom through fomenting discord while
professing friendship. His schemes were interrupted by the hand of
Death; but he bequeathed his policy to an able successor in the person
of his son and successor, Edward I.
How faithfully that monarch fulfilled the desires of his much-lamented
father need not here be told except incidentally. Every one knows that
Edward endeavoured to entrap his brother-in-law, Alexander III., into
rendering homage for the kingdom of Scotland; that he took advantage
of every pretext for interfering in Scottish affairs during his life;
that he expired in the very act of leading an overwhelming army against
the defenders of her liberty; and that he directed that his tombstone
should bear as its proudest motto the self-assumed title of “Malleus
Scottorum”--“The Hammer of the Scots.” It is not, therefore, necessary
to dwell on all the details of this King’s venturous career. When he
visited Bothwell Castle in 1301 it was a very different place from
that which the Olyfards had left about fifty years before. Sir Walter
de Moravia had vast means at his command, and had determined to erect
a Castle worthy of the superb position. His wife, the last of the
Olyfards in Lanarkshire--the family were afterwards located at Newtyle,
Kinpurnie, and Gask in Perthshire--was at the Scottish Court, and had
met the second wife of Alexander II., the famous Marie de Coucy of
Picardy, who was married to the King in May, 1239, at Roxburgh. Now,
in 1230, the Queen’s father, Enguerand III., Baron de Coucy, had just
completed the splendid Chateau de Coucy, in Picardy, which evidently
has been the model for the Bothwell Castle, possibly planned by Walter
Olyfard, but certainly completed by Walter de Moravia, no doubt with
the prompting of his wife, who may have sought to rival the Queen.
It has been shrewdly suggested that Queen Marie may have brought to
Scotland some of the Mason Lodges that had been engaged on the Chateau
de Coucy, and that these may have been employed on the building
of Blantyre Priory and Bothwell Castle. The theory is by no means
incredible, and accounts for the similarity of the plans of Chateau
and Castle. In any case it seems to be fairly confirmed that Bothwell
Castle was finished in a splendid fashion in 1278 or thereby.
The second Walter de Moravia was married to a sister of John Comyn,
one of the competitors for the Scottish Crown; and he had two sons,
William, who swore fealty to Edward I. in 1291, and Andrew, the famous
patriot, who supported Wallace, and fell in September 1297 at the
Battle of Stirling. His son, Thomas Randolph, whose mother, Isabella,
was a sister of King Robert the Bruce, was also such a conspicuous
hero in the War of Independence that Robert I. conferred upon him
the Earldom of Moray, and after the King’s death he was Guardian of
Scotland. Bothwell Castle was still the seat of the Earl, though in
1299 it had been captured by the English. The place was visited in
1301 by Edward I., who resided there for three days, and then placed
Bothwell in the charge of the English warrior, Aymer de Valence, Earl
of Pembroke, who was appointed Governor; and there is a consistent
tradition that the plan for the capture of Wallace was devised at
Bothwell.
The career of De Valence was varied, for though Edward I. trusted him
with a large command, he fell under the suspicions of Edward II., who
deprived him of many of his honours. Bothwell was regarded as a safe
retreat for fugitives from Scotland, especially after Bannockburn. The
Earl of Hereford, who had commanded a wing of the English army at that
conflict, sought to save his soldiers by falling back on the Castle for
shelter. Barbour relates the incident thus:--
“The Erle of Herford frae the melle
Departed with a great menyie,
And straucht to Bothwell took the way,
That in the Inglis mennis fay
Was holden as a place of wer.”
Their attempt to withstand the victorious Scottish army, however,
was hopeless, and they were forced to abandon the Castle. At a later
date the first Earl of Moray had the strange task allotted to him to
dismantle his own Bothwell Castle and also the Castles of Leuchars and
St Andrews, to prevent them from being again occupied by the English.
The demolition was afterwards repaired by the next noble family that
came into possession of Bothwell Castle, though traces may still be
found of this incident.
Similarity of patriotic feelings as well as pursuits had long held the
families of Bothwell and Douglas together. They claimed a common origin
from some of the Flemish families which had settled in Scotland at an
early period, and their determined resistance to the encroachments of
England had saved the country from conquest on several occasions. When,
therefore, the race of the first Randolph, Earl of Moray, terminated
by the death of John, his grandson, third Earl, who was killed at the
Battle of Durham in 1346, leaving no male issue, his brother, Thomas,
who does not seem to have assumed the title, died, leaving a daughter,
it was not unnatural that a union of these two families should be
brought about by marriage. And thus it happened that by the wedding
of Archibald “the Grim,” Earl of Douglas (though an illegitimate
son), with the heiress of Bothwell in 1381, the Castle came into the
possession of this powerful family.
Marjorie, the daughter of this marriage, was united in wedlock to
the unfortunate Duke of Rothesay, son of Robert III., at the Parish
Kirk of Bothwell in 1398, and though no record exists to warrant the
conclusion, there is every probability that the marriage festivities
took place at the Castle. For nearly a hundred years the Douglas Earls
held the Castle, and the strange manner in which they came to lose it
is worthy of notice.
Without accepting wholly the fanciful tales which Hume of Godscroft
relates as to the origin of the Douglas family, it must be admitted
that they can claim a very respectable antiquity. Their historian
maintains that they were almost the only family of note that could
trace back their ancestry to a purely Scottish source, but his theory
will hardly bear critical investigation; and the notion that their
progenitor was a man of mark “in the days of Solvathius, about the year
767,” will scarcely receive credence in these days. Hector Boetius--not
the most credible of historians--relates that Malcolm Ceanmòr held a
Parliament at Forfar in 1061, at which he restored the estates that
had been reft from the Thanes by Macbeth, and empowered them to adopt
surnames from the localities where their lands lay. Amongst them was
a certain “Gulielmus à Douglas,” who was created first Lord of
Douglas, and from him are derived the many and honourable men who have
bore a similar title. Their influence throughout the struggles for
Scottish Independence is very visible, and their growing power upon the
Border ultimately induced a rivalry with the reigning family.
[Illustration: BOTHWELL CASTLE _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._]
Latterly the Douglases held the position of make-weight in all
contests between England and Scotland; for the series of Forts and
Castles which they held throughout Lanarkshire and Dumfriesshire could
oppose a formidable barrier to either party, as the Lord of Douglas
willed. Perhaps the most romantic portion of their history is that
which relates to the “Good Sir James,” the trusty fellow-warrior of
Bruce, and the chosen custodian of that monarch’s heart when on its
_post-mortem_ journey to the Holy Land. Of him the old rhyme still
declares:--
“Good Sir James Douglas,
Who wise, and wight, and worthy was,
Was never over-glad for winning,
Nor yet over-sad for timing,
Good fortune and evil chance
He weighed both in one balance.”
But the story of the early adventures of the Douglas family belongs
rather to the traditions of Douglas Castle than to Bothwell Castle,
which is our present theme.
The fortunes of the Douglases culminated in the person of Archibald,
fourteenth Lord and fifth Earl, and with him they began to waver and
decline. Through his active service in France he had won glory and
wealth, and added several titles to those which he had inherited. His
full style was--Earl of Douglas, Earl of Wigton, Lord of Bothwell,
Galloway and Annandale, Duke of Touraine (in France), Lord of
Longueville, and Marshal of France. But when James I. returned from his
long imprisonment in England to assume the Crown of Scotland, he found
some of the more prominent nobles too powerful to be tolerated, and
suddenly cast many of them into prison, and the Earl of Douglas among
them. So far as can be judged, the chief offence of that nobleman,
besides his power, was a certain freedom of speech which he used in
advising the King, which that monarch could not endure. Disappointed
by this treatment, the Earl retired to France, and did not return till
after the assassination of the King.
He found Scotland in a most pitiable condition. The policy of James I.
had taught him to elevate men of parts and understanding to places of
trust in the kingdom despite their inferior birth; and for the slight
thus passed on their nobility the upper grades of the Scottish nobles
did not readily forgive him. When, therefore, the Earl of Douglas found
that the government of his native land had been committed to Crichton
and Livingstone of Callander--men of good family, but of low degree
in the peerage--whilst he had been excluded from all share in the
Councils of Scotland, he was not unnaturally moved with resentment. It
was shrewdly suspected by the nobles that these men had been elevated
to this high position as much for the purpose of curtailing the power
of the nobility as for any special faculties they possessed; and the
appointment of the Earl of Douglas to the post of Lieutenant-General of
the Kingdom was too evidently an extorted concession to pacify them.
The Earl by this time was too far advanced in years to meddle with
paltry matters of dispute. He retired in 1438 to Restalrig, and died in
that year.
William, sixth Earl of Douglas, was only fourteen years old when he
succeeded his father. He had inherited all the late Earl’s courage and
daring, and as the oppressions of the Douglas family by the Stewart
Kings was a frequent topic in Bothwell Castle, the young Earl was
somewhat unguarded in his speech about them. Livingstone and Crichton
became alarmed, and determined to have him removed. Crichton wrote to
him a hypocritical letter regretting the discord betwixt the Earl and
his kinsman, the King, and inviting him to meet James II. at Edinburgh
Castle, and aid him with advice. The young Earl fell readily into the
trap, and set out with his retainers for Edinburgh. Crichton met him
on the way, and lured him to his Castle of Crichton, which he had just
erected. For two days was the feasting and revelry maintained there,
and then the followers of Douglas, with David, his younger brother, and
his friend, Malcolm Fleming of Biggar, joined Crichton’s band, and all
set forth for Edinburgh. Arrived at the Castle, Douglas was introduced
to the King by Livingstone, and James felt, or affected, strong
attachment to the two brothers, sole heirs of an ancient line. Several
days were spent in entertaining them, and every mark of attention was
bestowed upon them.
At length the time arrived for the consummation of the plot. One day,
while at dinner in the presence of the King, Crichton and Livingstone,
with many of their followers, suddenly rose upon the Douglases, and, as
their attendants had been carefully disposed of beforehand, they seized
the unfortunate noblemen, carried them out to the western courtyard of
the Castle, and beheaded them, without even the pretence of a trial.
To give an air of legality to the foul deed, Fleming was kept for four
days, then beheaded on a plea of treason. The traditional rhyme made
upon the occasion is thus preserved:--
“Edinburgh Castle, Town and Tower,
God grant thou sink for sin,
And that even for the black dinner
Earl Douglas gat therein.”
By this double murder the direct line of the Douglases was terminated,
and the title went to the grand-uncle, mentioned by the historian of
the family as “James the Gross.” His tenure of the title only lasted
three years, when he was succeeded by his eldest son, William, whose
character more resembled that of his uncle and cousin than of his weak
and imbecile father. The plot of Crichton and Livingstone had been
devised astutely so as to terminate the male direct line of successors,
on the notion that the possessions of the Douglases would probably be
distributed amongst heiresses, and thus wipe out the family. But their
scheming was overturned to some extent by Earl William, who reunited
the dissevered portions of the vast estates of his family by his
marriage with Beatrix of Galloway, his first cousin, and chief heiress
of the alienated lands of Douglas. By this union the Earl found himself
in the position of the first subject of the realm. The intention of
the Stewart Kings had been to centralize all power in their hands,
and hitherto they had not scrupled to reduce the independence of the
greater nobles by flagrant acts of injustice. Fate had selected James
II. to be the chief instrument for the overthrow of the ancient house
of Douglas. The story of the King’s consenting to the murder of the two
young Douglases in November, 1448, has just been narrated; but the more
disgraceful murder by the King’s own hand in February, 1451-2, when
William, eighth Earl of Douglas, “was stabbed by King James II., and
was despatched by some of his courtiers in Stirling Castle.” The story
is told in the account of “Stirling Castle” in this volume.
With James, ninth Earl of Douglas, brother of the murdered Earl, the
proud name of Douglas of Douglas was brought nearly to extinction. Earl
James, wishing to avenge the murder of his brother, called out his
retainers and also his three younger brothers, and made a demonstration
against the King; but some of his allies deserted him, and when the
King’s forces came out under George Douglas, Earl of Angus, in May
1455, James, the ninth Earl, was defeated at Arkinholme, and two of his
brothers slain, and one made prisoner. In June of this year Parliament
passed sentence of forfeiture on James, ninth Earl, and other members
of the family.
For a long period after 1455 Earl James remained in England, and took
no action against the Scottish King. In 1483 he joined with Alexander,
Duke of Albany, brother of the new King, James III., in an expedition
aimed at the deposition of the King. But the times were sadly altered
when Douglas found that Annandale, Nithsdale and Clydesdale alike
refused to rise at his bidding. The Englishmen whom he had brought
to invade the land of his birth were no match for the hardy Border
warriors, and fled at their approach. The Earl, weary of the exile
which he had been enduring, and ashamed of the disgrace which had
fallen upon him, yielded himself prisoner to one of his old servants
that a friend might have the advantage of the price put upon his head.
With a refinement of cruelty James III. condemned him to be confined in
the Abbey of Lindores during the remainder of his existence. He felt
most acutely that his life had been wasted when he heard the dread
words pronounced:--
“Go thou and join the living dead!
The Living Dead whose sober brow
Oft shrouds such thoughts as thou hast now,
Whose hearts within are seldom cured
Of passions by their vows abjured;
Where under sad and solemn show
Vain hopes are nursed, wild wishes glow.
Seek the Convent’s vaulted room,
Prayer and vigil be thy doom;
Doff the green and don the grey,
To the Cloister hence away!”
Perhaps not the least bitter of his reflections in his enforced
solitude would be that his defeat had been brought about through the
treachery of his kinsman, the Earl of Angus, who had joined with the
King against him. The members of the Angus branch were notable for the
fairness of their complexions, whilst the Clydesdale Douglases were
swarthy and dark in colour. Hence the saying came into use after the
fall of Earl James that “the Red Douglas had put down the Black.” The
family historian endeavours to turn a graceful compliment out of this
fact, with which the account of the Douglases in Bothwell Castle may be
terminated:--
“Pompey by Caesar only was o’ercome;
None but a Roman soldier conquered Rome;
A Douglas could not have been brought so low
Had not a Douglas wrought his overthrow.”
The estates that had belonged to the Earl of Douglas, and were
forfeited in 1455, at the time of his departure for England, fell to
the Crown, and King James had taken the opportunity of partitioning
these so as to secure some doubtful adherents. Crichton, the son of the
Chancellor who had compassed the murders of the two Earls, received
Bothwell Castle as the tardy reward of his father’s treachery; and Sir
James Hamilton of Cadzow, who abandoned the cause of Douglas at this
time, exchanged the lands of Kingswell for those of Bothwell Forest,
whilst the lands of Galloway were annexed to the Crown.
PRINTED BY J. AND J. GRAY, EDINBURGH.
INDEX
(_Numbers indicate pages._)
Airlie, Earl of, 75
Albany, Duke of, 92, 179, 248
Angus, Earl of, 38, 180, 327
Arran, Earl of, 40, 157
Argyll, Earl of, 97, 116
Argyll, Marquess of, 159
Balfour of Burleigh, 25
Ballengeich, Gudeman of, 94
Balliol, Edward, 156, 214
Balliol, John, 21, 35, 90
Barefoot, Magnus, 87
Beaton, Archbishop David, 223, 224
Beaton, Archbishop James, 222
“Black Agnes,” 242, 245
Blackie, Professor, 154
Bothwell, Earl of, 188, 255
Bruce, King David, 91
Bruce, Michael, 30
Bruce, King Robert, 73, 91, 155
Bute, Marquess of, 99
Caird, Sir James, 309
Calder, Abduction of Muriella, 272
Campbell, Sir Neil, 73
Campbell Clan, 73, 258
Cawdor Castle, 271
Charles I., 73
Chisholm Clan, 165
Crawford, Captain, 43
Dacre, Lord, 127
Darnley, Henry, 10, 38, 250
David II., 38
D’Essé, General, 129
Douglas, Earl of, 135, 195, 320
Douglas, Gawain, 219, 221
Dundee, Viscount, 167, 303
Edward I., 21, 35, 125
Erca, Lady, 83
Fleming, Lord, 42
Flying Attempt, 199
Geoffrey, of Monmouth, 34
Graham Clan, 78
Graham of Fintry, 308
Grainger, Mrs, 65
Gray, Master of, 291
Hako, of Norway, 89, 150
Hays of Yester, 50
James I., 194
James III., 13, 198
James IV., 13
James V., 94, 199
James VI., 25, 64
Keiths, Earls Marischal, 58, 61, 65
Ker of Fernieherst, 127, 131
Knox, John, 227
Lamberton, Bishop, 212
Lamont Clan, 159
Lennox, Earl, 35, 36
Lyndsay, Sir David, 225
MacGregor Clan, 113
Maclean Clan, 173
Macnaughton Clan, 105
Macpherson, James, 33
Malcolm Ceanmor, 234
Mary of Guise, 96
Mary Queen of Scots, 10, 30, 158, 250
Menteith, Sir John, 35
Monck, General, 63, 183, 203
Mons Meg, 137
Montrose, Marquess of, 62
Mortimer, Catherine, 38
Motherwell, William, 14
Nithsdale, Lord, 139
Ogilvy, Lord, 76
Ogilvy, Sir George, 64
Ossian, 32, 144
Piper of Dumbarton, 40
Pittendreich Farm, 28
Prince Charlie, 106, 203
Ramsay, Sir Alex., 187, 245
Rizzio, 13
Rothesay, Duke of, 92, 215, 247, 320
St Blane’s Chapel, 84
St Chattan, 83
Salisbury, Earl of, 244
Scott, Sir Walter, 17
Scott of Tushielaw, 54
Stewart, Mary, _see_ Mary
Stewart, Sir William, 44
Strivelin, John de, 21
Victoria, Queen, 45, 204
Vipont, Alan, 21
Wallace, Sir William, 35, 60
Wyntoun, Andrew, 20, 211
York, Duke of, 23, 96, 166, 203
PRINTED BY J. AND J. GRAY, EDINBURGH.
Transcriber's Notes:
Italics are shown thus: _sloping_.
Variations in spelling and hyphenation are retained.
Perceived typographical errors have been changed.
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