Chapter M: S.271 (6)

Lord Balmerino then showed the Executioner where to strike the blow; he examined the edge of the axe, and bade the man to strike with resolution; "for in _that_, friend," he said, as he replaced the axe in the hand of the man, "will consist your mercy." He asked how many strokes had been given to Lord Kilmarnock. Two clergymen coming up at that moment, he said, "no, gentlemen, I believe you have already done me all the service you can." He called loudly to the warder, and gave him his perriwig; and instantly laid down his head upon the block, but being told that he was on the wrong side, he vaulted round, and extending his arms uttered this short prayer: "O Lord, reward my friends, forgive my enemies:"--he uttered, it has been stated, another ejaculation for king James; but that petition was suppressed in the printed accounts of his death: then, pronouncing these words, "receive my soul," he gave the signal by throwing up his arm, as if he were giving the signal for battle. His intrepidity, and the suddenness of that last sign terrified the executioner, whose arm became almost powerless; the affrighted man struck the blow on the part directed, but though, it is hoped, it destroyed all sensation, the head was not severed, but fell back on the shoulders, exhibiting a ghastly sight. Two more strokes of the axe were requisite to complete the work. Then, the head having been received in a piece of scarlet cloth, the lifeless remains of the true, and noble hearted soldier were deposited in a coffin, and delivered to his friends.

A vast multitude viewed this spectacle, so execrable in its cruelty, so great in the deportment of the sufferers. Even on the masts of ships, in the calm river, were the spectators piled; all classes of society were interested in this memorable scene; and, for a few short weeks, the fashionable circles were diverted by the humours of Lady Townshend, and the witticisms of George Selwyn. During the imprisonment of Kilmarnock, it had been the fancy of the former to station herself under the window of his chamber in one of the dismal towers in which he was detained; to send messages to him, and to obtain his dog and snuff-box. But even this show of affected feeling failed to make compassion fashionable in the regions of St. James's. Calumny was busy at the grave of the beheaded Jacobites; and the accounts of those who attended them in their last hours were attacked by anonymous pamphleteers. It was said, among other things, that Balmerino uttered no prayer at the last moment; and his behaviour was contrasted with that of Kilmarnock. On this allegation, Mr. Ford, the Under-Sheriff, who was on the scaffold, observes, "the authors of these attacks being concealed are unworthy of other notice, since nothing is easier to an ingenious and unprejudiced mind, than to distinguish between the subject and the man: my Lord Kilmarnock was happily educated in right principles, which he deviated from, and repented; whereas, the great, though unhappy Balmerino, was unfortunate in his,--but, as he lived, he died."[394]

The characters of these two noblemen, who, in life, held a very dissimilar course, until they coöperated in arms, are strongly contrasted. To Kilmarnock belonged the gentle qualities which enhance the pleasures of society, but often, too, increase its perils: the susceptible, affectionate nature, not fortified by self-controul; the compassionate disposition, acting rather from impulse than principle. Infirm in principle, his rash alliance with a party who were opposed to all that he had learned to respect in childhood; and whom he joined, from the stimulus of a misdirected ambition, cannot be justified. To this, it was generally believed, he was greatly incited by the persuasions of his mother-in-law, the Countess of Errol.

Whilst we bestow our cordial approbation on those who engaged in civil strife from a sense of duty, and from notions of allegiance, which had never been exterminated from their moral code, we condemn such as, attaching themselves to the Jacobite party, outraged their secret convictions, betrayed the trusts of Government, and violated the promise of their youth. Such a course must spring either from selfishness, or weakness, or from a melancholy union of both. In Lord Kilmarnock it was far more the result of weakness than of self-interest: his fortunes were desperate, and his mind was embittered towards the ruling government: his admiration was attracted by the gallantry and resolution of those who adhered to the Chevalier: his sense of what was due to his rank, and the consciousness of high descent, coupled with empty honours and real poverty, stimulated him to take that course which seemed the most likely to regain a position, without ever enjoying which a man may be happy, but which few can bear to lose. This was his original error; he joined the standard of Charles Edward,--but he was no Jacobite. He fought against his own convictions, the hereditary and ineffaceable prepossessions implanted in the heart by a parent.

From henceforth, until immured in the Tower, all in the career of Lord Kilmarnock was turbulence; and, it must be acknowledged, crime. For nothing can justify a resistance of sovereign power, save a belief in its illegality. "I engaged in the rebellion," was Lord Kilmarnock's confession, "in opposition to my own principles, and to those of my family; in contradiction to the whole tenor of my conduct." Such were his expressions at that hour when no earthly considerations had power to seduce him into falsehood.

By those historians who espouse the Jacobite cause, this avowal has been severely censured; and Lord Kilmarnock has been regarded as deserting the party which he had espoused. But, with his conviction, such a line of conduct as that which he pursued in prison, could alone be honest, and therefore alone consistent with his religious hopes, before he quitted life. Such censure has been well answered in Lord Kilmarnock's own words, "I am in little pain for the reflections which the inconsiderate or prejudiced part of my countrymen, (if there are any such whom my suffering the just sentence of the law has not mollified,) may cast upon me for this confession. The wiser or more ingenious will, I hope, approve my conduct, and allow with me, that next to doing right is to have the courage and integrity to avow that I have done wrong." These sentiments were not, be it observed, made public until after his death.

If, in early life, the career of Lord Kilmarnock were tainted by dissolute conduct, his deep contrition, his sincere confession of his errors, his endeavours to amend them, redeem those very errors in the eyes of human judgment, as they will probably plead for him, with One who is more merciful than man. In his prison, his patience in suspense, his forbearance to those who had urged on his death, his generous sentiments towards his companions in misfortune,--his care for others, his trust in the mercy of his Saviour, present as instructive a lesson as mortals can glean from the errors and the penitence of others.

Contrasted with the gentle, unfortunate Kilmarnock, the gallant bearing of Balmerino rises to heroism. One cannot, for the sake of his party, help regretting that he had not taken a more prominent part in the councils of the young Chevalier, or held a more distinguished position in the field. His integrity, his strong sense, and moral courage might have had an advantageous influence over the wavering, and confirmed the indecisive. In the field, his would have been the desperate valour which suits a desperate cause; but his resources were few, and his influence proportionately small.

The soldier of fortune, driven at an early age from home, sent from country to country, serving, with little hope of advancement, under various generals, Balmerino had learned to view life almost as a matter of indifference, compared with the honest satisfaction of preserving consistency. His existence had been one of trial, and of banishment from all domestic pleasures, and in the perils of his youthful days, he had learned to view it as so precarious, that his final doom came not to him as a surprise, but seemed merely a natural conclusion of a career of danger and adventure. His heroism may excite less admiration even than the resignation of those who had more to lose; but his intrepidity, his courageous sincerity, his contempt of all display, his carelessness of himself, and the tender concern which he evinced for others, are qualities which we should not be _English_ not to appreciate and venerate. His were the finest attributes of the soldier and the Jacobite: the firm, unflinching adherence; the enthusiastic loyalty; the utter repugnance to all compromising; and the lofty disregard of opinion, which extorted, even from those who endeavoured to ridicule, a reluctant respect.

For the relentless pretext of what was called justice, which sent this brave man to his doom, there is no possibility of accounting, except in the deep party hatred of the Government. Lord Kilmarnock is believed to have owed his death to the false report industriously spread of his having treated the English prisoners with cruelty; but no such plea could injure Balmerino. One dark influence, at that time all powerful at court, all powerful among the people, denied them mercy;--and the crowds which witnessed the death of Kilmarnock and of Balmerino, hastened to do homage to the Duke of Cumberland. Nothing can, in fact, more plainly show the effect of frequent executions upon the character of a people than the details of the year 1746. With the inhabitants of London, like the French at the time of the Revolution, the value of life was lowered; the indifference to scenes of horror formed a shocking feature in their conduct. In the great world, jests, and witticisms delighted the Satellites of power. It was the barbarous fashion to visit Temple Bar for the purpose of viewing the heads exhibited there; spying glasses being let out for the ghastly spectacle. And the coarse, unfeeling invectives of the press prove the general state of the public mind, in those days, more effectually than any other fact could do:--in the present times, the cruelty which pursues its victim to the grave would not be tolerated.

In his latest hours, the chief concern of Lord Kilmarnock seems to have been for his eldest son, to whom he addressed the following beautiful letter.

EXTRACT OF THE LATE EARL OF KILMARNOCK'S LETTER TO HIS SON LORD BOYD.

"Dated, Tower, 17th of August, 1746.

"Dear Boyd,

"I must take this way to bid you farewell, and I pray God may ever
bless you and guide you in this world, and bring you to a happy
immortality in the world to come. I must, likewise, give you my last
advice. Seek God in your youth, and when you are old He will not
depart from you. Be at pains to acquire good habits now, that they
may grow up, and become strong in you. Love mankind, and do justice
to all men. Do good to as many as you can, and neither shut your
ears nor your purse to those in distress, whom it is in your power
to relieve. Believe me, you will find more joy in one beneficent
action; and in your cool moments you will be more happy with the
reflection of having made any person so, who without your assistance
would have been miserable, than in the enjoyment of all the
pleasures of sense (which pall in the using), and of all the pomps
and gaudy show of the world. Live within your circumstances, by
which means you will have it in your power to do good to others.
Above all things, continue in your loyalty to his present Majesty,
and the succession to the crown as by law established. Look on that
as the basis of the civil and religious liberty and property of
every individual in the nation. Prefer the public interests to your
own, wherever they interfere. Love your family and your children,
when you have any; but never let your regard to them drive you on
the rock I split upon; when, on that account, I departed from my
principles, and brought the guilt of rebellion, and civil and
particular desolation on my head, for which I am now under the
sentence justly due to my Prince. Use all your interest to get your
brother pardoned and brought home as soon as possible, that his
circumstances, and bad influence of those he is among, may not
induce him to accept of foreign service, and lose him both to his
country and his family. If money can be found to support him, I wish
you would advise him to go to Geneva, where his principles of
religion and liberty will be confirmed, and where he may stay till
you see if a pardon can be procured him. As soon as Commodore Burnet
comes home, inquire for your brother Billie, and take care of him on
my account. I must again recommend your unhappy mother to you.
Comfort her, and take all the care you can of your brothers: and may
God of His infinite mercy, preserve, guide, and comfort you and them
through all the vicissitudes of this life, and after it bring you to
the habitations of the just, and make you happy in the enjoyment of
Himself to all eternity!"

PAPER DELIVERED BY THE LATE EARL OF KILMARNOCK TO MR. FOSTER.

"Sunday, 17th of August, 1746.

"As it would be a vain attempt in me to speak distinctly to that
great concourse of people, who will probably be present at my
execution, I chose to leave this behind me, as my last solemn
declaration, appealing for my integrity to God, who knows my heart.

"I bless God I have little fear of temporal death, though attended
with many outward circumstances of terror; the greatest sting I feel
in death is that I have deserved it.

"Lord Balmerino, my fellow-sufferer, to do justice, dies in a
professed adherence to the mistaken principles he had imbibed from
his cradle. But I engaged in the Rebellion in opposition to my own
principles, and to those of my family; in contradiction to the whole
tenour of my conduct, till within these few months that I was
wickedly induced to renounce my allegiance, which ever before I had
preserved and held inviolable. I am in little pain for the
reflection which the inconsiderate or prejudiced part of my
countrymen (if there are any such, whom my suffering the just
sentence of the law has not mollified,) may cast upon me for this
confession.

"The wiser, or more ingenious, will, I hope, approve my conduct, and
allow with me that, next to doing right, is to have the courage and
integrity to own that I have done wrong.

"Groundless accusations of cruelty have been raised and propagated
concerning me; and charges spread among the people of my having
solicited for, nay, even actually signed orders of general savage
destruction, seldom issued among the most barbarous nations, and
which my soul abhors. And that the general temper of my mind was
ever averse from, and shocked at gross instances of inhumanity, I
appeal to all my friends and acquaintance who have known me most
intimately, and even to those prisoners of the King's troops to whom
I had access, and whom I ever had it in my power to relieve; I
appeal, in particular, for my justification as to this justly
detested and horrid crime of cruelty, to Captain Master, of Ross,
Captain-Lieutenant Luon, and Lieutenant George Cuming of Alter.

"These gentlemen will, I am persuaded, as far as relates to
themselves, and as far as has fallen within their knowledge as
credible information, do me justice; and then, surely my countrymen
will not load a person, already too guilty and unfortunate, with
undeserved infamy, which may not only fix itself on his own
character, but reflect dishonour on his family.

"I have no more to say, but that I am persuaded, if reasons of
state, and the demands of public justice had permitted his Majesty
to follow the dictates of his own royal heart, my sentence might
have been mitigated. Had it pleased God to prolong my life, the
remainder of it should have been faithfully employed in the service
of my justly offended sovereign, and in constant endeavours to wipe
away the very remembrance of my crime.

"I now, with my dying breath, beseech Almighty God to bless my
rightful sovereign, King George, and preserve him from the attacks
of public and private enemies.

"May his Majesty, and his illustrious descendants, be so guided by
the Divine Providence as ever to govern with that wisdom, and that
care for the public good, as will preserve to them the love of their
subjects, and secure their right to reign over a free and happy
people to the latest posterity."

That Lord Boyd reciprocated the affection of his father appears from the following letter, which he addressed, a few days after the execution of Lord Kilmarnock, to Colonel Walkinshaw Craufurd, who was then at Scarborough.

"My Dear John,

"I had yours last post, and I don't know in what words to express
how much I am obliged to you for doing the last duties to my
unfortunate father; you can be a judge what a loss I have suffered;
you knew him perfectly well, that he was the best of friends, the
most affectionate husband, and the tenderest parent. Poor Lady
Kilmarnock bears her loss much better than I could have imagined;
but it was entirely owing to her being prepared several days before
she got the melancholy accounts of it. I shall be here for some
time, as I have a good deal of business to do in this country; so I
shall be extremely glad to see you as soon as possible. I am, my
dear John, your most sincere friend and obedient humble servant,

BOYD."

"Kilmarnock (House) August 27th, 1746."

Yet the young nobleman did not, it appears, entirely satisfy the expectations of those who were interested in his fate, and attached to his father's memory, as the following extract from a letter written by Mr. George Rosse, to Colonel Craufurd, shows.[395]

"Dear Sir,

"I am favoured with yours of the thirteenth from Scarborough, and
had the honour of one letter from Lord Boyd since his father's
execution, and sorry to tell you, it was not wrote in such terms as
I could show or make any use of. If you had seen him, I dare say it
would have been otherwise. However, I took the liberty of writing
with plainness to him, in hopes of drawing from him, what may be
shown to his honour and to his own immediate advantage.

* * * * *

"I put him in mind of writing to his cousin, Duke of Hamilton, and
Mr. Home; an omission, which, with submission, is unpardonable, as
he was apprised of their goodness to his father; and I gave him some
hints with relation to himself, by authority of the ministry, which,
if he continue in the army, may be improved upon. Those things I
think proper to mention to you, as I know your friendship for Boyd,
that you may take an opportunity of mentioning them to him, when you
are with him, which I hope will be soon. He is appointed deputy
Captain-Lieutenant; but that I look upon as a step to higher
preferment. I should like to hear from you; direct to (Crawfurdland)
Kilmarnock, and I am, dear sir, your most obedient, humble servant.

"GEO. ROSSE."

Leicesterfield,
September 8th, 1746.

Notwithstanding these seeming acts of negligence, which may possibly have been explained, Lord Boyd became, in every way, worthy of being the representative of an ancient race. He was an improved resemblance of his amiable, unhappy father. Possessing his father's personal attributes, he added, to the courtesy and kindliness of his father's character, strength of principle, a perfect consistency of conduct, and sincere religious connections, both in the early and latter period of his life. His deportment is said to have combined both the sublime and the graceful; his form, six feet four inches in height, to have been the most elegant; his manners the most polished and popular of his time. In his domestic relations he was exemplary, systematic, yet with the due liberality of a nobleman, in his affairs; sagacious and conscientious as a magistrate; generous to his friends. "He puts me in mind," said one who knew him, "of an ancient hero; and I remember Dr. Johnson was positive that he resembled Homer's character of Jaspedon."[396] "His agreeable look and address," observes that adorer of rank, Boswell, "prevented that restraint, which the idea of his being Lord High Constable of Scotland might otherwise have occasioned."[397]

At the time of his father's execution, Lord Boyd was only twenty years of age. He claimed and obtained the maternal estate, and obtained it in 1751. In 1758 he succeeded Mary, Countess of Errol in her own right, his mother's aunt, as Earl of Errol, and left the army in which he had continued to serve. He retired to Slains Castle, where he passed his days in the exercise of those virtues which become a man who is conscious, by rank and fortune, of a deep responsibility, and who regards those rather as trusts, than possessions. He died at Calendar-house, in 1778, universally lamented, and honoured.

The Countess of Kilmarnock survived her husband only one year; and died at Kilmarnock in 1747. Two sons were, however, left, in addition to Lord Boyd, to encounter, for some years, considerable difficulties. Of these, the second, Charles, who was in the insurrection of 1745, escaped to the Isle of Arran, where he lay concealed, in that, the ancient territory of the Boyds, for a year. He amused himself, having found an old chest of medical books, with the study of medicine and surgery, which he afterwards practised with some degree of skill among the poor. He then escaped to France, and married there a French lady; but eventually he found a home at Slains Castle, where he was residing when Dr. Johnson and Boswell visited Scotland. He was a man of considerable accomplishment; but, as Boswell observed, "with a pompousness or formal plenitude in his conversation," or as Dr. Johnson expressively remarked, "with too much elaboration in his talk." "It gave me pleasure," adds Boswell, "to see him, a steady branch of the family, setting forth all its advantages with much zeal."

William Boyd, the fourth son of Lord Kilmarnock, was in the Royal Navy, and on board Commodore Burnet's ship at the time of his father's execution. He was eventually promoted to a company of the 14th foot, in 1761.

Lord Balmerino left no descendants to recall the remembrance of his honest, manly character. His wife, Margaret Chalmers, survived him nearly twenty years, and died at Restalrig, on the 24th of August, 1765, aged fifty-six.

The remains of these two unfortunate noblemen were deposited under the gallery, at the west end of the chapel in the Tower. Beside them repose those of Simon, Lord Lovat. "As they were associates in crime, so they were companions in sepulchre," observes a modern writer, "being buried in the same grave."[398] But the more discriminative judge of the human heart will spurn so rash, and undiscerning a remark; and marvel that, in the course of one contest, characters so differing in principle, so unlike in every attribute of the heart, and viewed, even by their enemies, with sentiments so totally opposite, should thus be mingled together in their last home.

FOOTNOTES:

[316] Wood's Peerage.

[317] Who, adds the same authority, carried azure, a fess chequé, argent and gules: and for their crest, a hand issuing out of a wreath, pointing with the thumb and two fingers: motto, _confido_; supporters, two squirrels collared or.

[318] Reay, 203.

[319] Reay, 203.

[320] Wood's Peerage. The defect of the title is the failure of issue male. The title of Livingstone was considered by the same authority as untouched.

[321] Ibid.

[322] Lockhart Papers, i. 138. Note. Calendar.

[323] Memoirs of Lord Kilmarnock. London, 1746, p. 19.

[324] Memoirs of the Earl of Kilmarnock, p. 20.

[325] MS. Letter presented to me by Mrs. Howison Craufurd, of Craufurdland Castle, Ayrshire.

[326] Memoirs of Lord Kilmarnock, p. 21.

[327] Horace Walpole's Letters, ii. p. 113.

[328] Foster's Account, p. 11.

[329] Grose, 214.

[330] Memoirs of Lord Kilmarnock, p. 23.

[331] Life of Colonel Gardiner, by Dr. Doddridge, _passim_.

[332] Doddridge. Life of Colonel Gardiner, p. 155.

[333] Henderson, p. 130.

[334] State Trials of George II.

[335] Maxwell, p. 60.

[336] Forbes's Account, p. 20.

[337] Maxwell, p. 50. This Nobleman was at the battle of Culloden.

[338] Henderson, p. 332.

[339] Henderson, p. 130.

[340] Note in Chambers, p. 89.

[341] History of the Rebellion, from the Scots' Magazine, p. 198.

[342] Chambers, p. 89. Henderson, p. 334.

[343] Observations on the Account of the Behaviour of Lords Kilmarnock and Balmerino, 1746.

[344] Ibid.

[345] Nesbitt, Heraldry, vol. i. p. 154.

[346] "Elphingstone, in the shire of Hadington, and in the parish of Tranent, a village at the distance of three miles S.S.W. from Tranent."--Edinburgh Gazetteer.

[347] Nesbitt, p. 154.

[348] Memoirs of Lord Balmerino. London, 1764.

[349] Wood's Peerage.

[350] Life of Lord Balmerino, p. 51. Buchan's Account of the Earls of Keith, p. 149.

[351] Scots' Magazine for 1746.

[352] Scots' Magazine for 1746.

[353] Georgian Era.

[354] Wood's Peerage.

[355] Maxwell, p. 59.

[356] Georgian Era.

[357] State Trials, vol. xviii.

[358] Edinburgh Gazetteer. Art. "South Leith."

[359] History of the Rebellion from the Scots' Magazine, p. 302.

[360] Horace Walpole's Letters to Sir Horace Mann, vol. ii. p. 160.

[361] Georgian Era.

[362] Ibid.

[363] State Trials, vol. xviii. p. 466.

[364] Observations on the Account, &c., p. 23.

[365] Horace Walpole, vol. ii. p. 163

[366] Ibid. vol. ii. p. 115.

[367] Horace Walpole.

[368] See Scots' Magazine for 1746.

[369] State Trials.

[370] State Trials.

[371] Note. The plea was couched in these words: "July 29th, 1746. It is conceived that the late Act of Parliament, empowering his Majesty to transport such as are taken in arms from one county to another, where they may be tried by the course of the common law, did not take place till after that time, that the facts implying treason, were actually committed by the accused prisoners, and if so, the Grand Jury of Surrey, or of any other county whatsoever, where these acts of treason are not alleged to have been committed, could not, agreeable to law, find bills against such prisoners; and it may, on that score, be prayed, That the indictment be quashed, or that an arrest of judgment be thereupon granted." What a bitter, though unavailing feeling of regret accompanies the reflection that this benevolent attempt to save the lives of these brave men, was fruitless.

[372] Letters to Sir H. Mann, vol. ii. p. 167.

[373] State Trials 18, p. 502.

[374] H. Walpole, p. 31. Letters to G. Montagu.

[375] Walpole's Letters to Montagu, p. 29. Folio.

[376] Letters to Sir H. Mann, vol. ii. p. 167.

[377] State Trials, by Hargreaves, pp. 18, 502.

[378] Memoirs of the Earl of Kilmarnock and Cromartie, and of Lord Balmerino, 1746.

[379] Life of Lord Cromartie, 1746.

[380] Buchan's Memoirs of the House of Keith, p. 143.

[381] Walpole's Letters to Sir H. Mann, vol. ii. p. 171.

[382] Foster's Account, p. 87.

[383] For a copy of this letter I am indebted to the kindness of Mrs. Craufurd of Craufurdland Castle, Kilmarnock. The original is in the possession of Martin Paterson, Esq. of Kilmarnock, and is endorsed "Copy of the last Instructions of Lord Kilmarnock to his factor, Mr. Robert Paterson."

[384] Statement.

[385] Statement.

[386] Mrs. Howison Craufurd, the lady of William Howison Craufurd, Esq., of Craufurdland Castle, Ayrshire. To this Lady I am indebted for much of the information (afforded by her admirable letters) which has been introduced into this Memoir of Lord Kilmarnock. To this lady I addressed an inquiry respecting an original portrait of Lord Kilmarnock. Her efforts to obtain any intelligence of one have been wholly unavailing; and we have been led to the conclusion that, in the fire at Dean Castle, all the portraits of Lord Kilmarnock must have been destroyed; his resemblance, his name, his honour, and his Castle thus becoming extinct at once. At Craufurdland Castle there is a fine portrait of Lord Kilmarnock's brother, his widow and daughter, painted in oils, after a singular fashion, black and white; giving it a ghastly hue. This perhaps accounts for the local tradition near Kilmarnock, "that on hearing of his brother's death, Mr. Boyd's colour fled, and never returned; nor was he ever seen to smile again." A tradition not difficult of belief.

The present Mr. Craufurd, of Craufurdland Castle, represents also the family of Howison of Bræ-head. In Mrs. Howison Craufurd's family an amusing circumstance relative to Lord Lovat occurred. He was one evening in a ball-room, and was paying court to the great-grandmother of that lady. As he was playfully examining, and holding in his hand her diamond solitaire, a voice whispered in his ear, "that Government officers were in pursuit of him; and that he must decamp." Decamp he did, taking with him, _perhaps_ by accident, the costly jewel. The young lady was in the greatest trepidation, and her family were resolved to recover the ornament. Many years after, on his return from France, Lovat, whose character, in _no_ respect, rose above suspicion, was taxed with the robbery, and refunded a sum which gave twenty pounds to each of a host of granddaughters, then in their girlhood.

[387] In a letter from Mrs. Craufurd of Craufurdland to the author, this fact is stated. It is mentioned as traditionary elsewhere, but is attested by the family.

[388] H. Walpole, vol. ii. p. 167.

[389] H. Walpole's Letters to Mr. Montagu.

[390] Foster's Account, p. 31.

[391] Walpole.

[392] Ford's Account in State Trials, p. 18, 522.

[393] For the original of Lord Balmerino's real speech, which is highly characteristic of its author, I am indebted to Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, Esq.

"I was brought up in true, loyal, and anti-revolution principles and
I hope the world is convinced that they stuck to me. I must
acknowledge I did a very inconsiderate thing, for which I am
heartily sorry, in accepting a company of Foot from the Princess
Anne, who I know had no more right to the Crown than her predecessor
the Prince of Orange.... To make amends for what I had done I joined
the ... (Pretender) when he was in Scotland in 1715, and when all
was over I made my escape, and lived abroad till the year 1734.

"In the beginning of that year I got a letter from my father which
very much surprised me; it was to let me know he had a promise of a
remission for me. I did not know what to do; I was then, (I think,)
in the canton of Berne, and had nobody to advise with: but next
morning I wrote a letter to the ... (Pretender) who was then at
Rome, to acquaint the ... (Pretender) that this was come without my
asking or knowledge, and that I would not accept of it without his
consent. I had in answer to mine, a letter written with ... (The
Pretender's) own hand, allowing me to go home; and he told me his
banker would give me money for my travelling charges when I came to
Paris, which accordingly I got. When the ... (the Pretender's son)
came to Edinburgh I joined him, though I might easily have excused
myself from taking arms on account of my age; but I never could have
had peace of conscience if I had stayed at home.... I am at a loss
when I come to speak of the ... (Pretender's son,) I am not a fit
hand to draw his character, I shall leave that to others. (Here he
gives a fulsome character of the Pretender's son.)

"Pardon me if I say, wherever I had the command, I never suffered
any disorders to be committed, as will appear by the Duke of
Buccleugh's servants at East Park; by the Earl of Findlater's
minister, Mr. Lato, and my Lord's servant, A. Cullen; by Mr. Rose,
minister at Nairn, (who was pleased to favour me with a visit when I
was prisoner at Inverness;) by Mr. Stewart, principal servant to the
Lord President at the House of Culloden; and by several other
people. All this gives me great pleasure, now that I am looking upon
the block on which I am ready to lay down my head; and though it
would not have been my own natural inclination to protect everybody,
it would have been my interest to have done it for ... (the
Pretender's son) abhorred all those who were capable of doing
injustice to any.... I have heard since I came to this place, that
there has been a most wicked report spread, and mentioned in several
of the newspapers that ... (the Pretender's son) before the battle
of Culloden, had given out orders that no quarter should be given to
the enemy. This is such an unchristian thing, and so unlike ... (the
Pretender's son,) that nobody (the Jacobites) that knows him will
believe it. It is very strange if there had been any such orders,
that neither the Earl of Kilmarnock, who was Colonel of the regiment
of the Foot Guards, nor I, who was Colonel of the second troop of
Life Guards, should ever have heard anything of it; especially since
we were both at the head-quarters the morning before the battle; I
am convinced that it is a malicious report industriously spread
to....

"Ever since my confinement in the Tower, when Major White or Mr.
Fowler did me the honour of a visit, their behaviour was always so
kind and obliging to me that I cannot find words to express it; but
I am sorry I cannot say the same thing of a General Williamson: he
has treated me barbarously, but not quite so ill as he did the
Bishop of Rochester; and had it not been for a worthy clergyman's
advice, I should have prayed for him in the words of David, Psalm
109, from the 6th to the 15th verse. I forgive him and all my
enemies. I hope you will have the charity to believe I die in peace
with all men; for yesterday, I received the Holy Eucharist from the
hands of a clergyman of the Church of England, in whose communion I
die as in union with the Episcopal Church of Scotland.

"I shall conclude with a short prayer."--(Here a prayer is mentioned
much the same as in Wm. Ford's account.)

[394] The account which I have given of Lord Kilmarnock's behaviour and fate, and also of Lord Balmerino's, is taken from the following works, to which I have not thought it necessary separately to refer. Foster's Account of the Behaviour of Lord Kilmarnock; and the Vindication of Foster's Account from the misrepresentations of some Dissenting Teachers: London, 1746. Account by T. Ford, Under-Sheriff at the Execution, in the State Trials, vol. xviii. p. 325. Horace Walpole's Letters to Geo. Montagu, and to Sir H. Mann. Scots' Magazine for 1746; and Buchan's Life of Marshal Keith; also a Collection of Tracts in the British Museum, relating to the Rebellion, 1746, and chiefly published during that year.

[395] For both these letters, hitherto unpublished, I am indebted for the courtesy of Mrs. Craufurd of Craufurdland Castle.

[396] Forbes's Life of Beattie, vol. ii. p. 351.

[397] Journey to the Hebrides, p. 108

[398] Bayley's History of the Tower, p. 122.

CHARLES RADCLIFFE.

The fate of Charles Radcliffe has been regarded as one of the most severe, and his death as one of the most unjustifiable acts inflicted on those who suffered for their adherence to the Stuart cause.

This unfortunate man was the third son of Francis Earl of Derwentwater, by the Lady Mary Tudor, the daughter of Charles the Second, and was born in 1693. He was the younger brother of James Earl of Derwentwater, who suffered in 1716, for his adherence to the Stuart cause. There was also another elder brother, Francis, who died unmarried, not taking any apparent interest in the politics of the day.

The family of Radcliffe were not regarded by the descendants of their common ancestor, Charles the Second, in the light of kindred whom the rules of decorum, and the usages of society might induce them to disclaim, or at all events, to acknowledge with shame or reluctance; the vitiated notions of the day attached a very different value to the parentage of royalty, even when associated with dishonour. The marriage of Sir Francis Radcliffe to the daughter of Mary Davis was that event which procured his elevation to the peerage; and this alliance, was considered as elevating the dignity of an ancient house.[399] The closest ties of friendship united the Stuarts and the Radcliffes, even from their earliest infancy. Educated, as well as his elder brother, James, chiefly at St. Germains, and with the Chevalier James Stuart, and brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, Charles Radcliffe, owing to the natural ardour of his disposition, imbibed much more readily than his brother the strong party views which characterized the Jacobites as a body.

In James, Earl of Derwentwater, the convictions of his faith, grounded as they are upon the belief of those great truths common to all Christians, worked healthfully; expanding the benevolence of his heart, teaching him mercy, moderation, and forbearance. On Charles, impetuous, zealous, stronger in intellect than his brother, but devoid of prudence, the same mode of culture, the same precepts acted differently. He became, even in early life, violent in his opinions, until the horror of what he deemed error, amounted to bigotry. Henceforth his destiny was swayed by those fierce resentments towards the opposite party by which not only his brother, but even the Chevalier himself, seem to have been so rarely actuated; a remarkable degree of moderation and candour raising the character of James Stuart, whilst Lord Derwentwater was the gentlest of opponents, the most honourable of foes.

In early life Charles Radcliffe appears to have been chiefly dependent upon his brother's kindness and bounty; whilst his pursuits and inclinations, characterized in a letter by Lord Derwentwater as his "pleasures," were of an expensive description. But it was not long before other causes of concern besides want of money, or a love of dissipation began to disquiet those who were interested in the welfare of the Radcliffe family. About the year 1710, the young Earl of Derwentwater returned from the continent to his patrimonial property at Dilstone, in Northumberland, accompanied by his brother Francis, and by Charles who either frequently visited him, or wholly resided with him at his seat. During this period of the life of Charles Radcliffe, an insight into the general state of the family is afforded by several letters, addressed by the Earl of Derwentwater to Lady Swinburne of Capheaton, whom he styles his "cousin." The relationship between these families originated in the marriage of Mrs. Lawson, daughter of Sir William Fenwick of Meldon, after the death of her first husband, with Francis, first Earl of Derwentwater, and grandfather of James Radcliffe, and of his brothers. Mrs. Lawson's daughter, Isabel, married Sir John Swinburne of Capheaton who was rescued from a singular fate by one of the Radcliffe family. When a child, he was sent to a monastery in France, where a member of that family accidentally saw him, and observing that he resembled the Swinburnes in Northumberland, he inquired his name, and how he came there? To these questions, the monks answered that they knew not his name; a sum of money was sent annually from England to defray his expenses; but of all other particulars they were wholly ignorant. On investigating the matter, it was found, however, that the child had been taught that his name was Swinburne; and that circumstance, coupled with the mysterious disappearance of the heir of that family from Northumberland induced the superior of the convent to permit his return home, where he identified himself to be the son of John Swinburne and of Jane Blount, by the description which he gave of the marks of a cat, and of a punchbowl, which were still in the house.[400] He was afterwards advanced by Charles the Second to the dignity of a baronet.

To Mary, the daughter of Anthony Englefield, of Whiteknights, Berks, and wife of Sir William Swinburne, of Capheaton, the son of that man whose childhood has so romantic a story associated with it, the following letters are addressed. Of these, the first is written by the celebrated John Radcliffe, Physician to Queen Anne. Dr. Radcliffe was probably a distant relation of the family, although no distinctive trace of that connection appears: he was a native of Wakefield, near Yorkshire; but when these letters were written, he had attained the highest eminence in his profession that could be secured by one man; and was in the possession of wealth which he eventually employed in the foundation of the Radcliffe Library, at Oxford.[401] The "Mr. Radcliffe" to whom he refers, and to whose malady his skill was called upon to administer, was Colonel Thomas Radcliffe, the uncle of Lord Derwentwater: the patient was at the time suffering from mental delusion, in consequence of a fever.

THESE TO SIR WILLIAM SWINBURNE AT CAPHEATON.

Dec. 6, 1709.

"Sir,

"Yours I received, and am very glad to hear that yourself and my
lady is in so good health. I hope in a short time Mr. Radcliffe will
be so too. He is recovered; but he had such a severe fever that he
continues weak still. My Lord Derwentwater and his brother"
(Francis) "and Mr. Fenwick, are all come safe from Holland, and are
very well, and we shall drink your health together this night. He
intends to be with you very speedily in the country. I do not doubt
that you will extremely like his conversation: for he has a great
many extraordinary good qualities, and I do not doubt but he will be
as well beloved as his uncle. My most humble service to your lady
and the rest of the good family, and I wish you a merry Christmas;
and that I might be so happy as to take a share of it with you,
would be a great satisfaction to him who is your most obliged and
most faithful, humble servant,

"JOHN RADCLIFFE."

The next letter is from Sir William Swinburne to his lady; in this he speaks of the pleasure with which Lord Derwentwater had returned to Dilstone, the seat of his ancestors, which he was, in so few short years, to forfeit.

TO MY LADY SWINBURNE, AT CAPHEATON.

Beaufort, 7th Feb. 1710.

"Dear Love!

"My Lord" (Derwentwater) "is very well pleased with Dilstone, and
says it answers all that he has heard of it: but is resolved to
build a new house, though Roger Fenwick told him he thought his
lordship need not alter a stone of it. Upon Thursday my lord dines
at Dilstone. Yours for ever,

"WILLIAM SWINBURNE.

"P.S. I understand my lord intends to be at Capheaton on Saturday,
and then upon Tuesday at Witton, and so for Widdrington. My lord's
leg is a little troublesome; but he intends to hunt the fox
to-morrow, and it is a rule all to be abed at ten o'clock the night.
Here is old Mr. Bacon and his son, Mr. Fenwick, of Bywell. My lord
killed a squirl, and Sir Marmaduke a pheasant or two, and myself
one, this morning--which is all, &c."

The following letter from Lord Derwentwater, to Lady Swinburne, shows that the illness which occasioned so much uneasiness was obstinate: it affords a curious sample of the medical treatment of Dr. Radcliffe, who kindly, and perhaps wisely, humoured his patient in the desire to go to Newcastle.

"I have been just now with my dear uncle, and Jack Thornton was with
me. He received us very well: but is yet unease about those people
that disturb him, and he says that he must go down to Newcastle by
sea, or else he will never get quitte of them. This is an ode fancy;
but I believe we shall comply with it, for the doctor dous not sime
very averce to it, and was for sending Joseph back with him; but I
have taken the horse into my stable, for I feared it mit hurt the
horse to return so soon. In fin, I fansed Sir William would like the
value of the horse better than to have him sent back. I have been
offered eighteen pound. I would have Sir William let me know by the
next post whether he will have the horse or the money. I shall have
the honor to whrit to him very soon."

The two following epistles, one from Lady Derwentwater, the other from the Earl, speak of married happiness, alloyed, not only by the distempered fancies of an invalid uncle, but by the melancholy accounts of a brother's behaviour. It does not, however, appear certain which of the brothers, whether Francis or Charles, was thus alluded to.

FOR THE HONOURABLE LADY SWINEBURNE, JUNIOR, AT CAPHEATON.

"Hadcross, Aug. 17.

"I have manny thanks to returne your ladyship for the favour of your
letter and oblidging congratulations. My Lord Darwenwater's great
merit and agreable temper makes me think I have all the prospect
imadgenable of being intierly happy. I desier the favour your
ladyship will present my humble sarvise to Sir William. My father
and mother joinse with me in this, and dessiers there complements
to your ladyship, I beg you will be assured that I am, very much
madam, your ladyship's most humble servant.

"A. DARVENWATAR."

FOR MY LADY SWINBURNE, AT THE BLEW BALL, IN ST. JAMES'S PLACE, NEAR ST. JAMES'S, LONDON.

"Heatherope, Feb. 7.

"Madam,

"I fear'd the good news Miechal writ Gibson, might be false; because
I have not heard anything of it from yourself, nor from my uncle,
who, I flatter myself, would writ a line to give me so much
satisfaction: but I hope all my doubts will vanish if your ladyship
does me the favour to confirm what will be so great a content to us.
If I could but be sure that my dear uncle avows all his fancys about
the men he thought spoke to him, to be nothing but the unlucky
effect of his favour,[402] and that he thinks to come over to manage
his affairs, will be the most credeble and most kind way of
proceeding, both as to himself and family, then I shall believe he
was the same man he was befor, which, if you confirm, will be one of
the most joyfull and the most unexpected good news that could befall
your ladyship's humble, obedient servant, and affectionate kindsman,

"DARWENTWATER.

"I should have writ to your ladyship sooner, and really can have no
good excuse: for I should have write to my dear cousen, though my
head was full of fox-hunting: and though I had a mind to banish out
of a new-married head some melancholic accounts of my brother's
behaviour, which I suppose you have had intelligence of, or else of
my dear wife's second miscarriage, which has been a great affliction
to us, but I flatter myself with the hope of her having better luck
another time. She presents her humble service, and so does my Lady
Webb. I hope Sir William was well, and cosen Jacky, when you heard
last. My brother Charles has been at Sir Marmeduke Constable's, and
designs for London. Adieu!"

In May 1714, only one year before the fatal insurrection of 1715 broke out, the following letter, referring to different members of his family, was written by the Earl. What a pleasing picture of an affectionate nature does this correspondence afford.[403]

FOR MY LADY SWINBURNE, JUNIOR, AT CAPHEATON.

"Kathcrosse, May, 6, 1714.

"Now I write with pleasure to your ladyship, since I hope to be so
happy as to enjoy your good companie in a few months, I mean
immediately after York Races, for my two years will be out here the
tenth of July. Indeed Sir John has behaved himself wonderfully well
to us quite the holl time, really performing in everything more than
I could have expected from a man of honnor, as indeed I had reason
to believe him. My lady is not of so steady a temper; but however,
we agree very well: and she is mighty fond of my wife, which I take
very kindly, since as yet we are but one. Never any body could be so
desirous to goe to the North as my wife is, especially just comming
from the divertions of London, except your ladyship or myself, who
longs to be established there, that we may at least be out of the
way of such inhuman proceedings as we saw, upon all accounts, this
year at London. My poor dear uncle's case may serve for one
instance. After getting the better in all the courts, and, that
lastly, the Lord Chancellor and eleven Judges had given there decree
in favor of Will. Constable, and my uncle, a factious party, most
young rakes, have reversed the decree, and given it for Roper, by a
divition of fifty-three against twenty-three torrys, who were
resolute enough to appear in a good cause, being forsaken by their
brethren, who were afraid to be caled favourers of Poperie. I long
to hear what my uncle will say to this news. If he be well, it will
nettle him in spite of resignation. Gibson writes word they are at
Doway; but he does not know when my uncle will sett forwards. I do
not know where to wish him: for I really don't know how he is. For
in one letter Gibson writes, he tells me my uncle is as well as ever
he was in his life; and at the end of the letter he tells me his
honnor is afraid of being pursude. 'Tis certain my uncle writes in
another stille than usuall: for, in letters of business he
continually mentions God Almighty, the Blessed Virgin, and the
Saints. All I say is, God send him over a comfort to his friends,
which he must be if he is well. Brother Frank is recovered, but is
the very same man. Brother Charles is mighty uneasie: he is no
ritcher, though I doe what I can to help him in his pleasures.

"Pray my duty to my uncle and aunt, to whom I will write soon, and
kind services to all other relations.

"If your ladyship will tell Tom Errington that I have executed the
leases, and that I wonder cousin Tom Errington is not in for a
quarter part of Redgroves, and that, supposing there were some such
valuable reason as my cousin Tom's not being willing to accept of
it, or having resigned it to one of those mentioned in the lease,
which by the bye I should take very ill, then that lease of
Redgrove's may stand good: but otherways I would have the lease
altered, and my cousin Tom Errington to come in for a quarter part,
as I promised him he should. In letting him know this, your ladyship
will oblige your humble and obedient servant and kinsman,

"DERWENTWATER.

"My dear wife presents her humble service to your ladyship, and
desires the same may be made acceptable to all with you. We expect
Lord Wald and my lady to make my sister happy, who will do the same
by them."

The felicity which Lord Derwentwater enjoyed was of brief duration. According to tradition among his descendants, he was urged on to those steps which ended in his death by the violent counsels of his brother Charles, whose impetuosity the unfortunate earl often regretted, expressing, in his private correspondence, how much his rash and intemperate spirit distressed and alarmed him. Of the progress, and the principal features of the insurrection of 1715, and of the part which Lord Derwentwater took in that event, an account has already been given.[404] "Happy," observes the biographer of Charles Radcliffe, "had it been for him, happy for his lady, and happy for his family, had the earl staid at home, and suffered himself to be withheld from that fatal expedition."[405]

Charles Radcliffe was at that time twenty-two years of age; he had no experience in military affairs, but was full of spirit and courage, ready to offer himself for every daring, and even hopeless enterprise, and seeming to set no value on his life where honour was to be won. Such a character soon became popular with the leaders of the movement in the north; and Lord Derwentwater gave the conduct of his tenantry into his brother's hands, Captain Shaftoe commanding under Mr. Radcliffe.