The Lyon in Mourning, Vol. 1: or a collection of speeches, letters, journals, etc. relative to the affairs of Prince Charles Edward StuartForbes, Robert
History
The Lyon in Mourning, Vol. 1: or a collection of speeches, letters, journals, etc. relative to the affairs of Prince Charles Edward Stuart
Forbes, Robert
Charles Edward, Prince, grandson of James II, King of England, 1720-1788; Jacobite Rebellion, 1745-1746 -- Sources
After supper was over he set out for Fort Augustus (where a
musket-bullet was taken out of the counter of his horse), and pursued
his journey for Invergary where he proposed to have dined. But
finding no victuals he set a boy a fishing, who caught two salmon
on which he made a dinner, and continued [Sidenote: _fol._ 131.]
waiting there for some of his troops, who had promised to rendezvous
at that place; and being disappointed he resolved [Sidenote: 18
April] to proceed to Locharkaig. He arrived there on the 18th at two
in the morning and went to sleep, which he had not done for five
days and nights, his forces having been under arms, marching and
counter-marching without meat for 48 hours before the battle. He
remained there till 5 o'clock in the afternoon in hopes of obtaining
some intelligence; but gaining none, he set out from thence on
foot, and travell'd to the Glens of Morar, over almost inaccessible
mountains, where he arrived on the 19th at 4 in the morning. He set
out about noon the same day for Arrisaig, through as bad ways as
before, where he arrived at 4 in the afternoon.
[Sidenote: 27 April]
He remained there seven days waiting for Captain O'Neil, who
joined him on the 27th, and informed him, as did many others from
all quarters, that there were not any hopes of drawing his troops
together again in a body. Upon which he resolved to go to Stornway
in the Island of Lewis, a town at the head of a loch of that name,
in order to hire a ship to go [Sidenote: _fol._ 132.] to France. The
person employed for this purpose was one Donald MacLeod, who had an
interest there.
[Sidenote: 28 April]
On the 28th he went on board in an eight-oar'd boat, in company with
O'Sullivan, O'Neil, and some others, ordering the people to whom
the boat belonged to make the best haste they could to Stornway.
The night proved very tempestuous, and they all begg'd of him to go
back, which he would not do. But seeing the people timorous, he, to
keep up their spirits, sung them a Highland song. The weather proving
worse and worse, on the 29th, about 7 in the morning they were driven
ashore on a point of land called Rushness, in the north-east part of
the island of Benbecula, which lies betwixt the islands of North and
South Ost or Uist, being about 5 miles long from east to west, and
3 miles broad from north to south, where as soon as they had got on
shore, the Prince helped to make a fire to warm the crew, who were
almost starved to death with cold.
[Sidenote: 30 April]
On the 30th, at 6 in the evening, they set sail again from Stornway,
but meeting with another storm were obliged to put into the island
Selpa (Scalpa) in the Harris. This island [Sidenote: _fol._ 133.] is
about one mile long and half a mile broad. There they all went ashore
to a farmer's house, passing for merchants that were shipwrecked in
their voyage to the Orkneys, the Prince and O'Sullivan going by the
name of Sinclair, the latter passing for the father, the former for
the son.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account