[68] Neil MacEachan or MacKechan, the attendant of Flora MacDonald, was a descendant of the MacDonalds of Howbeag in South Uist. He followed the Prince to France, and settled there. One of his sons was Marshal MacDonald, Duke of Tarentum, one of Napoleon's most distinguished generals.--MacGregor's _Flora MacDonald_, p. 64. Asked further. If the cursing and blasphemous speech of the Duke of Cumberland was such as represented in 'ALEXIS, Part 1st.' 'Exactly so,' said he, for I had it almost in the very same words from the mouth of Sir Alexander MacDonald, who was witness to the Duke's expressing himself in that rough way. 'Whom,' added he, 'I indeed never saw in the face.' Then he said that 'ALEXIS' was exactly and literally true in every ace (not only as to facts but even circumstances) that concerned his management of and conversation with the Prince, the _brogs_ not excepted, and that he looked upon the recovery of Cœlestius[69] as a great blunder, for that he had reason to think that he fell (as design'd) in the attempt. 'This is not to say,' added he, 'that I know anything certain of that affair, as if I had been an eye-witness or conversed with those that had seen the fact. But when I was prisoner in Fort Augustus, an officer came to me and very seriously asked if I would know [Sidenote: _fol._ 147.] the head of the young Pretender if I saw it. I told him I would know the head very well, provided it were upon the body. But the officer said, What, if the head be not upon the body? Do you think you could know it in that case? To which I replied, In that case, Sir, I will not pretend to know anything about it.' Kingsburgh told the company that he was resolved if any head should have been brought before him that he would not have made them a whit the wiser, even though he should have known it. But he owned no head was brought to him. He left it to the company to draw what inferences they pleased from this conversation betwixt him and the officer.[70] [69] This was Roderick Mackenzie, who was killed by Cumberland's soldiers near Fort Augustus, and in dying tried to put an end to the pursuit of the Prince by pretending that it was he whom they had slain. See ff. 482, 1800. [70] There is a printed copy of 'ALEXIS, Part 1st,' bound up in the end of volume eighth of this collection.