defeat, and was sweeping down at full charge upon his still disordered ranks. Grasping the danger in an instant, MontMontrose's rose gave orders to his whole force to seek shelter amongst the birches on the hill side. It was all too late. In spite of the inequalities and roughness of the ground Strachan's horse broke in upon his array before the manoeuvre was accomplished. The forty horsemen were soon broken. Down went the Royal standard with its avenging arms, and down went the gallant men who guarded it. The Orkney levies, unused to war, fled at the first sign of danger, whilst the Danes and Germans, old soldiers as they were, retreated into the fringe of the wood, where the trees did not grow thickly enough to protect them. At the first assault 2 they, too, broke and fled. The superiority of cavalry over infantry had vindicated itself in face of unusual obstacles. In the pur suit which followed, all of Montrose's following, with the exception of about a hundred scattered men, were slain or taken. Eighty of the Rosses, who had taken no part in the fight, were in time to share in 'the execution.' Montrose himself succeeded in effecting his escape. Young Lord Frendraught, it is said," persuaded him to accept his and flight. horse. Once at a safe distance Montrose dismounted, and stripping off his belt and sword, his coat and the jewel of the Garter which scarcely more than a month before he had received from Charles, he donned a peasant's garb. As the way by which he had come was blocked by Sutherland, his only chance of escape lay in his being able to reach the western sea, where some fisherman's bark might take him back to Kirkwall to raise anew the standard of his King. In company with the The two movements-first, the ordering of the army, and secondly, the retreat to a wood and craggy mountain which was not far distant’— are both placed by Gordon after the intelligence of the approach of some horse,' this being shown by words in the preceding paragraph to refer to intelligence brought by the reconnoitring party. 2 In the despatch given by Balfour it is called a charge, but, at least in the usual sense of the word, it would be impossible for cavalry to charge on such ground. 3 See the Deeds of Montrose, 308, 309. 1650 FLIGHT OF MONTROSE 219 new Earl of Kinnoul1 and a few others whom he had gathered round him, he made his way up Strath Oykell, doubtless keeping high up on the hillside to avoid the peril which lurked in human habitations. Progress under these conditions would be laborious even for a well-equipped traveller. To wanderers without guides and without the means of procuring food it threatened to be fatal. One by one the members of the little Kinnoul, worn out by toil and famine, band dropped behind. lay down to die on the mountain side. Montrose himself, accompanied by Major Sinclair alone, staggered on, having lighted on a cottage where bread and milk was given them. After three days the pair descended into Assynt, on the western slope of the hills.2 Here Montrose might at least expect to be among friends. When he was last in Scotland, the Macleods of Assynt had Macleod been dependants of Seaforth, and their chief, of Assynt. Neil Macleod, had, as a boy, served for a short time under Montrose himself on one of those rare occasions when Seaforth attempted to redeem by act his professions of loyalty to the King. Montrose was unaware that since that time Macleod had quarrelled with Seaforth, had transferred his allegiance to Sutherland, and had been by him appointed sheriff depute of Assynt. That in this change of front Macleod was inspired by any wide political principles is extremely unlikely. The clan-feeling was predominant in the Highlands, and by accepting the protection of Sutherland he bound himself, especially now that a civil office had been given him, to serve that Covenanting party to which Sutherland gave his support. Macleod was also attached to the Covenanters by marriage. His wife was a daughter of Andrew Monro, who had scouted for Strachan at Carbisdale, and whose first thought after the A brother of the one who died in the Orkneys (see p. 208). The existence of this carl has been questioned on very insufficient grounds. I have stated my view of the case in a letter to the Athenæum of Nov. 11, 1893. 2 Gordon's Cont. of the Hist. of the Earldom of Sutherland, 555. Macleod receives a message. victory had been to send a message to his son-in-law, bidding him to arrest Montrose if he came in his way. Accordingly, either Macleod himself, or, according to some accounts, his young wife in his absence, sent out search parties to arrest the wanderer. One of these parties fell in with Montrose, and bore him to their master's castle of Ardvreck. It is of little importance whether the deed was done by the master or the mistress of that abode. If Macleod himself was absent at the time, he returned whilst Montrose was still in custody, and must, therefore, be held. responsible for his detention. Capture of Montrose pleads for liberty. Montrose himself found it difficult to realise that all chance of deliverance was at an end. He pleaded hard with Macleod to accompany him to the Orkneys, where he probably believed that the reinforcements which he expected to accompany Eythin had already landed. Macleod was obdurate, and when Major-General Holborn, a Scot who, before the days of the New Model, had been in the service of the English Parliament, arrived with orders to fetch away the prisoner, he delivered him up without compunction. May 4 Montrose given up to Holborn. Character 1 That Macleod's conduct should lend itself to hostile comment was natural enough. Though there is not a shadow of evidence that he had acted treacherously, or had done of Macleod's anything more than his duty to the Government of action. which he was a servant, the plain fact that he had delivered up a hero who believed him to be a friend militated against him, and the ill-opinion entertained of him was strengthened when, a few weeks later, he appeared in Edinburgh to claim the blood-money which he had earned." Macleod would have won fame if he had ruined himself by protecting the fugitive who had taken refuge with him under a mistaken belief, but he was not the man to risk his own fortunes by such an heroic disregard of consequences. It is unlikely that he ever conceived the idea that it was possible for him to act otherwise than he did. 1 See Great Civil War, ii. 94, 98, 183. 2 Gordon, 555. 1650 captor. Montrose's military career at an end. MONTROSE AND HIS CAUSE 221 The thoughts of posterity are with the captive, not with the Montrose's sword had at last been shattered in his hand. The cause of the ideal monarchy for which he had stepped into the lists had been too heavily weighted by the very unideal monarch who was seeking to re-establish himself in power and comfort by sacrificing every principle for which Montrose was exposing his life. The hero's work, as an active restorer of a system of government which the progress of events had rendered for ever im His career as a martyr beginning. possible, was now at an end. His work as a sufferer was beginning. The simplicity of aim which marred his career as a factor in the complex web of political life gave inspiration to his martyrdom, and appealed to hearts which beat, not for wise arrangement of the affairs of the world, but for nobility of character coupled with absolute forgetfulness of self. Behind the successful warrior, behind the utterer of crude political opinions, stood revealed the man. Montrose delivered to Leslie. He is carried south. On or about May 8 Holborn handed Montrose over to Leslie at Tain. The prisoner was at once despatched southMay 8 (?) ward, together with other captives taken at Carbisdale. An onlooker, who saw him on his way through Lovat, described him as mounted on a Shetland pony with a quilt of rags and straw' by way of a saddle and pieces of rope for stirrups. His feet were 'fastened under the horse's belly with a tether.' His upper garment was a ragged old dark reddish plaid,' probably the same as that in which he had disguised himself after his defeat. On either side of him marched a musketeer, and behind him followed the train of his fellow-prisoners, trudging along the road. He was at that time suffering from a burning fever, but his look was calm and high. May 9. His appearance at Lovat. May 10. He passes 6 "Montrose," cried an old woman as he crossed the bridge at Inverness, "look above; view those ruinous houses of mine which you occasioned to be burnt down when you besieged Inverness ! " 1 It is ever so. through Inverness, The editors of the Deeds of Montrose, 315–321, have collected all available information on Montrose's progress, and have given references to What to the captain is a necessary operation of war is ruin to the peasant. The magistrates of Inverness showed kindness to the unhappy prisoners, offering wine as they passed. The others. drank heartily of it, but Montrose would not taste it till he had mingled it with water. "My lord," said an aged citizen, himself a prop of the Covenanting cause in the north, as he watched the captive passing out of the gate, “I am sorry for your circumstances." "I am sorry," replied Montrose, "for being the object of your pity." During the next and receives few days he received visits from the Royalist gentry, who came to condole with him in his misfortune; amongst them Mackenzie of Pluscardine, whose failure to appear in Strath Oykell had been the main cause of that misfortune. Pluscardine would hardly have appeared unless he had been personally free from blame. May 10. visits from his friends. May 12. Agag. Harsher voices were soon heard. At Keith on Sunday, May 12, a minister chosen to preach before Montrose chose for his text the words spoken by Samuel to Agag: A sermon on "As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women." The invective which followed disgusted even the Covenanters present. Montrose listened patiently for a time, and then with the words "Rail on, Rabshakeh," turned his back to the preacher. It is said that further on, at Grange House, the lady of the mansion made the guard drunk, in hope attempts to that Montrose might escape disguised in her clothes, but that he was detected by a soldier and Montrose escape. brought back in custody. At last, on May 18, the sad and wearisome pilgrimage reached its end at Edinburgh. As Montrose had already been declared a traitor by Parliament, no formal judicial proceedings were required to condemn him, nor was any consideration for the master whom he May 18. His arrival at Edin burgh. the sources from which it has been drawn. Of course the old woman did not give vent to her feelings in this literary form. |