little boy, who came accidentally among them, should be left to attend him. These orders were executed; but the brave youth soon forced the boy to unloose him, and subsequently had the good fortune to save his brother's life.

In the meantime Lochiel's scouts brought him word that the enemy, having continued for a short time where they landed, marched slowly along the shore about half-a-mile in a westward direction, and were now at the village of Achadelew, where they were pillaging the houses and capturing the poultry. Lochiel, judging this, while they were in disorder, the proper moment for attacking them, drew up his men in a long line, one deep, and desired them to march slowly, sc as not to disorder themselves, while entangled among the trees, till they came in view of the enemy, and not to fire a shot until they touched the breasts of the enemy with the muzzles of their pieces. About half his men had bows, and were excellent archers. To these he gave similar orders, and mixed them with his musketeers. But his men were too young and too forward to observe the first part of these orders with the necessary exactness. They marched so quick, or rather ran at such a pace, that Lochiel, who, by some accident or other, was obliged to stay a little behind, ran a great risk, before he could overtake them, of being shot from a bush, where one of the enemy lurked; but his brother Allan luckily came up at the very moment and shot the fellow dead while he had his gun to his eye, levelled directly at Lochiel, who had never observed him.

The English, who, it seems, had been warned in time by some of their own stragglers, were in good order when the Camerons came in view, and they received them somewhat rashly with a general discharge of their muskets, but at such a distance that they did no harm, and the Highlanders were up with them before they could load a second time, pouring their shot into their very bosoms, and killing more than thirty of them on the spot. They then fell on them plying their broadswords with incredible fury. The enemy sustained the shock with great bravery, though with little success.

This manner of fighting was new to them. At first they acted entirely on the defensive, and, by holding their muskets before their foreheads, endeavoured to defend themselves from the terrible blows of the broadsword. But the Highlanders strik

ing them below, they were soon obliged to change that method. Some of them used their swords, and struck at their enemies with strength and fury, but their blows were mostly ineffectual. The Highlanders received them on their shields, and the mettle and temper of the enemy's blades were so bad that they bent in their hands and became useless, thus exposing them to certain death. Others of them thrust their bayonets into the muzzles of their pieces, as the custom then was, but they were no less unsuccessful, for the more violently they pushed the more firmly their weapons entered and stuck in the Highlanders' leathern targets, and left their users naked and defenceless.. Those that clubbed their muskets did more mischief, but fared little better in the end, for, though they made some sure blows, yet the firelocks were at that time so clumsy and heavy that they seldom could recover them for a second stroke; besides, the Highlanders, covering themselves with their targets, generally broke the force of the blow. But the superiority of their numbers gave the enemy such an advantage as to keep the conflict for a long time in suspense. Though their ranks were often pierced, disordered, and broken, yet they as often rallied and returned to the charge, which exceedingly surprised the Highlanders, who were not accustomed to such long and doubtful actions, and it is more than likely that, had the English weapons been equal to the courage of those who wielded them, the Highlanders would have paid dear for their rashness.

But the numbers of the enemy at last decreasing by the slaughter of their best men, they began gradually to give ground, but not to run, for, with their faces to the Camerons, they still kept retreating in a body, though in disorder, and fighting with invincible obstinacy and resolution. But Lochiel, to prevent their escape to their vessel, fell upon the following strategem :— He commanded two or three of his men to run in advance of the retreating enemy, and from a bush to call out so as to make them imagine that another body of Highlanders was intercepting their retreat. This took so effectually that they stopped, and animated by rage, madness, and despair, they renewed the fight with greater fury than before. They were still superior in numbers to the Camerons by more than half, and wanted nothing but good weapons to make Lochiel repent that he had intercepted their escape. They had no longer any regard for

their own safety, and with their clubbed muskets delivered such strokes as would have brought their enemies to the ground, if they had been aimed with as much discretion as they were forcibly applied. But this served only to hasten their destruction, for, exerting all their strength in giving these ineffectual blows, the sway of their heavy muskets, which generally struck the ground, rendered them unable to recover themselves. The Highlanders made use of the advantage and stabbed them with their dirks or poniards while they were thus bent and defenceless, whereby they quickly diminished their numbers, and forced them again to flee as best they could.

Being thus broken and dispersed, "they fled as fear or chance directed them. The Highlanders pursued with as little judg ment. In one place you might have seen five Highlanders engaged with double that number of Englishmen ; and in another, two or three Englishmen defending themselves against twice as many of their enemies." But the greater number made to the shore, where we shall leave them for a moment and follow the young Chief, who in the meantime had a most curious adventure.

He followed a few that fled into the wood, where he killed two or three with his own hand, no one having pursued in that direction but himself. The officer who commanded the invaders also fled in the same direction; but, concealing himself in a bush, Lochiel did not notice him, and, observing that he was alone, started suddenly out of his lurking-place, attacked Lochiel on his return, and threatening, as he rushed furiously upon him, sword in hand, to revenge the slaughter of his countrymen by the Chief's death. Lochiel, who also had his sword in his hand, received him with equal resolution. "The combat was long and doubtful; both fought for their lives, and as they were both animated by the same fury and courage, so they seemed to manage their swords with the same dexterity. The English gentleman had by far the advantage in strength and size; but Lochiel, exceeding him in nimbleness and agility, in the end tripped the sword out of his hand. But he was not allowed to make use of this advantage, for his antagonist, flying upon him with incredible quickness, they closed and wrestled till both fell to the ground in each other's arms. In this posture they struggled and tumbled up and down till they fixed in the channel of a brook, between two straight steep banks, which then, by the drought of summer,

happened to be dry. Here Lochiel was in a most desperate situation, for, being undermost, he was not only crushed under the weight of his antagonist (who was a very big man), but also badly hurt and bruised by the sharp stones in the bed of the rivulet. Their strength was so far spent that neither of them could stir a limb;" but the Englishman, being uppermost, at last recovered the use of his right hand, seized a dagger that hung at his belt, and made several attempts to stab his adversary, who all the time held him fast; but the narrowness of the place where they were, and the posture they were in, rendered the execution very difficult and almost impracticable while he was so closely embraced. He, however, made a most violent effort to disengage himself, and in that act he raised his head and stretched his neck, when Lochiel,-who by this time had his hands at liberty-with his left suddenly seized his opponent by the right, and with the other by the collar, and, jumping at his extended throat, which he used to say God put in his mouth, he bit it quite through, and kept such hold of it that he brought away his mouthful! "This," he said, "was the sweetest bite he ever had in his life!" The reader may imagine in what a state he would be after receiving such a gush of warm blood in the face as naturally flowed from such a wound. However, he soon had an opportunity of washing himself, for, hastening to the shore, he found his men chindeep in the sea, endeavouring to destroy the remainder of the enemy, who still attempted to recover their vessel, at anchor near the shore; and, wishing to save the few remaining of the foe after such a victory, he, with great difficulty, staid the fury of his men, and offered quarters, when all, being about thirty-five in number, submitted. The first that delivered his arms was an Irishman, who, having briskly offered his hand to Lochiel, bade him adieu, and ran away with such speed that, though he was hotly pursued, he managed to effect his escape to Inverlochy, three long miles from the village where they first engaged, while he had also the river Lochy to cross before he was in complete safety. It is said of this fellow that, when saying his prayers, "which every soldier in those religious times was obliged to do," remembering the danger from which he had escaped, always put up the petition-"That God, in his mercy, would be pleased to keep him out of the hands of Lochiel and his bloody crew!"

Before the others gave up their arms one of them attempted to shoot Lochiel, who, having by good fortune, observed him while he had his gun to his eye, plunged himself into the sea at the moment when the ungrateful rascal drew the trigger. This the Chief the more easily effected, as he was already chindeep in the water; but even then his escape was so narrow that a part of the hair from the back of his head was shot away, and the skin a little ruffled by the ball.

After this the Camerons showed no further mercy. They flew upon the enemy like tigers, cutting them to pieces wherever they came at them. In vain did Lochiel interpose his authority; they were deaf to everything but the dictates of fury and revenge. Nor, indeed, did the English, after so manifest a violation of the laws of war, seem to expect anything else, for one of them, whom the Camerons supposed from his dress to be an officer, having got on board the ship, resolved to accomplish what the other had failed in, and that he might take surer aim, he rested his gun upon the side of the vessel. Lochiel noticed him, and, judging that he had no chance of escape "but by ducking, as he did before, kept his eye fixed upon the finger that he had at the trigger. But his foster-brother, who was close by, happening at the same time to take notice of the danger his Chief was in, and preferring his safety to his own, immediately threw himself before him, and received the shot in his mouth and breast. This is perhaps one of the most astonishing instances of affection and love that any age can produce. If fortitude and courage are qualities of so heroic and sublime a nature, what name shall we invent for a noble contempt of life, generously thrown away in preservation of one of a much greater value?" Lochiel immediately revenged the death of this brave youth with his own hand, and, after the utter destruction of the whole party, excepting the Irishman and another man, whom we shall have occasion to mention hereafter, he carried his body three miles on his back, and interred him in the burial-place of his own family, in the most honourable manner he could, in the circumstances, contrive. Lochiel only lost four men, and his devoted foster-brother, who sacrificed his own life to save that of his Chief, during the whole of this remarkable engagement. A few more interesting details connected with it must be left over until our next.

(To be continued.)