Macdonald of Isla and the Glynns in Ireland, and ancestor of the Earls of Antrim, XVII. SIR DONALD MACDONALD, eighth Baron and first Baronet of Sleat. On the 6th of May 1617 he was served heir to his uncle, Donald Gorm Og, in the lands of Sleat, North Uist, Skerdhoug, Benbecula, Gergriminish, Skolpick, Griminish, Tallow-Martin, Orronsay, Mainlies, and the Island of Gilligarry, all in the Lordship of the Isles. In July of the same year he, with Sir Donald Mac Allan Mhic Ian, Captain of Clanranald, and other chiefs, appeared before the Privy Council, and he continued to do so regularly, in terms of his engagement, for some time thereafter. In 1622 Donald Macdonald of Sleat, Sir Roderick Macleod of Harris, John Macdonald, Captain of Clanranald, and son of Sir Donald MacAllan, among others, appeared as usual before the Privy Council, on which occasion several Acts of importance to the Isles were enacted, They became bound "to builde and repaire thair Paroche Kirkis at the Sicht of the Bishope of the Ilis."* Masters of ships were prohibited from importing more wine into the Isles than the quantity allowed to the Chiefs and their leading vassals by the Act of 1617, already described. The reason given in the preamble for this protective measure is, that one of the causes which retarded the civilization of the Isles was the great quantity of wine imported yearly, "with the insatiable desyre quhairof the said Islanders are so far possest, that, when thair arryvis any schip or other veschell there with wines, they spend both dayes and nights in their excesse of drinking sa lang as thair is anie of the wyne left; sua that, being overcome with drink, thair fallis oute many inconvenientis amangis thame, to the breck of his Majesty's peace." By the same Act Donald Gorm, Clanranald, and Mackinnon, were prohibited, under heavy penalties, from interfering, or in any way molesting, those engaged in the fishings throughout the Isles. Donald Gorm Og was a steady loyalist, and, according to Douglas's Baronage, "was a man of singular integrity and merit, a firm and steady friend of that unfortunate prince," King Charles the First, by whom he was highly favoured and esteemed. In 1625 he was, by that monarch, created a Baronet of Nova Scotia, by patent, dated 14th of July, which contained a clause " that he and his heirs male and assigns should have precedency before Sir William Douglas of Glenbervy, Sir Alexander Strachan of Thorntown, and Sir David Livingstone of Dunipace, by which he became the next baronet to Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun, and the second of that order in the kingdom of Scotland." When the civil war broke out in Scotland, in 1639, Charles was so anxious to secure the assistance and influence of the Chief of Sleat, that he wrote him a letter from his camp at Berwick, dated the 11th of June in that year, wherein he promised him "the lands of Punard, Ardnamurchan, and Strathardill, the Islands of Roume, Muck, and Cannay, which were to accrue to him by the forfeiture of the Earl of Argyll, Sir Dugald Campbell, and Mackinnon, seeing that Sir Donald at this time stood out for the good of his Majesty's service, and was resolved to undergo the hazard of his person and his estate for the same; This document, bearing date 23d July 1622, is given at p. 122 Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis. all of which he promises on the word of a king, to ratify to Sir Donald. and his heirs, in any manner they shall think proper, provided that he use his best endeavours in his service at this time, according to his Majesty's commission."* He was able to communicate many of the designs and plans of the Covenanters in the North which proved of great service to the King, and he negotiated with the Marquis of Antrim, Chief of the Macdonells of Ireland, for a body of troops, who were to cross into Scotland and serve on the King's side, against the Covenanters, but he died before they had arrived, and ere an opportunity presented itself to him to give his active services in the field. He married Janet, daughter of Kenneth, first Lord Mackenzie of Kintail, sister of Colin Ruadh and of George, first and second Earls of Seaforth, and by her had issue 1. Sir James, who succeeded. 2. Donald of Castletown, who distinguished himself afterwards in the civil wars, and of whom hereafter. 3. Archibald, "An Ciaran Mabach." 4. Angus. 5. Alexander. 6. Margaret, who married Æneas Macdonell of Glengarry, afterwards raised to the Peerage by the title of Lord Macdonell and Aros, without issue. 7. Katharine, who married Kenneth Mackenzie, VI. of Gairloch, without issue. Contract dated 5th of September 1635, in which the marriage portion is declared to be 6000 merks, with an endowment of 1000 libs, Scots yearly.+ 8. Janet, who married Donald Macdonald of Moidart, Captain of Clanranald, with issue, and 9. Mary, who married, as his first wife, Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, without issue. Sir Donald died in October 1643, and was succeeded by his eldest son, XVIII. SIR JAMES MACDONALD, ninth Baron and second Baronet of Sleat. He was served heir to his father on the 20th of February 1644. In 1646, after the battle of Auldearn, he was prevailed upon by the Earl of Seaforth to join Montrose, who soon after retired with his supporters to the west, through the valley of Strathglass, where, on receipt of a communication from the King, Montrose disbanded his followers, left the country shortly after, and Sir James and Seaforth made the best of their way to their respective homes. When Charles II. marched into England in 1651, Sir James sent several of his vassals to his assistance. The King and his followers being defeated at the battle of Worcester in that year, the Royal cause was for the time ruined, and Sir James retired to his residence in the Isle of Skye, where "he lived with great circumspection." He was a man of great intelligence and ability, highly esteemed and trusted by his dependants, and, according to Douglas, "of fine accomplishments, untainted virtue and honour." The share he took in bringing the Keppoch murderers to justice is already known to the readers of * Wood's Douglas' Peerage of Scotland. History and Genealogies of the Clan Mackenzie, by the same author, p. 332. the Celtic Magazine.* In answer to the appeal of Ian Lom he brought the matter before the Government, and finally obtained a commission of fire and sword against the assassins, with the result already so well known. The following account of the affair may however be given here, from Douglas' Baronage :-"In his time there was a parcel of barbarous Highlanders who greatly infested the northern parts, committed vast outrages, robberies, and even murders. They attacked Alexander Macdonald of Keppoch, with a considerable force in his own house, and most cruelly put him to death, anno 1663. The Government used all manner of means to bring them to justice, but that was found impracticable in a legal way; they therefore sent a most ample commission of fire and sword (as it was then called) to Sir James Macdonald, &c., signed by the Duke of Hamilton, Marquis of Montrose, Earl of Eglinton, and other six of the privy council, with orders and full power to him to pursue, apprehend, and bring in, dead or alive, all these lawless robbers, &c, This, in a very short time, he effectually performed; some of them he put to death, and entirely dispersed the rest, to the fsatisfaction of the whole court, which contributed greatly to the civilizing of those parts. "Immediately thereafter, by order of the Ministry, he got a letter of thanks from the Earl of Rothes, then lord high treasurer and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, full of acknowledgments of the singular service he had done the country, and assuring him that it should not pass nnrewarded, with many other clauses very much to Sir James's honour, &c. This letter is dated the 15th day of December 1665, signed ROTHES,' At the Restoration he was fined to a large amount at the instigation of Middleton, who is said to have received a grant of the fine for himself. From this it would appear that the loyalty of Sir James to the King did not continue so steadfast during the Commonwealth as others of the Highland chiefs, and to the extent which would naturally be expected from the representative of ancestors who had invariably been loyal to the Stewarts. The general history of the Highlands during this eventful period has been given so fully in earlier volumes of this Magazine, in the History of the Mackenzies, that repetition here would be out of place, and it is only necessary to point out the part taken by the Macdonalds of Sleat in the leading events, connected with the Revolution Settlement and the Risings of 1715 and 1745; especially as the Macdonalds of Glengarry, Moidart, and Keppoch had risen comparatively during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to greater prominence in the History of the Highlands, and have taken in later times more leading positions in the annals of the country than the hitherto more distinguished family of Sleat. The general history of the Highlands during these centuries will therefore fall more appropriately to be given in greater detail when we come to deal with the other great houses of Macdonald, and still more so in the History of the Macdonalds when published separately in book form. Sir James married Margaret, only daughter of the famous Sir Roderick Mackenzie of Coigeach, better known as the "Tutor of Kintail," and ancestor of the Eails of Cromarty. By this lady Sir James had issue— * See article on "Ian Lom, the Lochaber bard," by the Rev. Allan Sinclair, pp. 95-104, vol. IV. 1, Donald, his heir and successor. 2. Roderick, who married Janet Richie, with issue, two sons, James and Donald, twins, born on the 10th of June 1679. 3. Hugh, afterwards of Glenmore. 4. Somerled of Sortle. 5. Catherine, who married Sir Norman Macleod of Bernera, with issue. 6. Florence, who married John Macleod, XVIIth of Harris and Dunvegan, with issue, three sons and three daughters. He married, secondly, Mary, eldest daughter of John Macleod, XVth of Harris and Dunvegan, with issue— 7. John of Backney. He died on the 8th of December 1678, and was succeeded by his eldest son. (To be Continued.) MARVELLOUS ESCAPE OF LORD SALTOUN IN 1815.-During the whole of his long and dangerous service Lord Saltoun was so fortunate as to be only once wounded, and then not very seriously, although the particulars are somewhat strange. He gives the following account of the circumstances in a letter to his wife, dated 27th June 1815 :-"I am now, my dear love, quite out of the blue devils; for yesterday, on the march from Serain to Caulaincourt, we were halted at Vermaud, and our brigade sent to the right to attack Peronne, which we stormed yesterday evening with very little loss. I have heard an old saying that everything is made for some purpose; but I do not suppose you had the least idea, when you made my little purse, that it would ever be put to the use it was. Yesterday, during the storm of Peronne, a grape shot hit me full in the thigh. Fortunately, I had the little purse in that pocket, full of small gold pieces called ducats, which so stopped the ball, that, although it knocked me down, it lodged in the purse, and has given me a slight bruise, not half so bad as a blow from a stick. Had it not been for the purse it would have been very near a finish. So you see, my dear Kate, I owe you something. The purse is cut right open by the ball, but I shall not have it mended until it comes into your hands. What is rather odd, the little heart I had in it is the only thing not hurt, for all the gold pieces are bent and twisted about properly. I write this, first, because I promised to write exactly what happened; and next, because they are so fond of killing people in reports, especially if they have been hit in the slightest manner possible." Although he had many narrow escapes, this was the only occasion upon which Lord Saltoun was hit during his long service. He made light of the matter to his wife, describing the bruise as slight, and, doubtless to remove all apprehension, said that he told her exactly what happened; but the blow was, in reality, much more severe. The purse and its contents were driven into the groin, from which the surgeon, having cut the pocket away from the trousers, and gathering its edges together, pulled out the whole mass, when a pledget and some plaister put all to rights. The purse, the gold coins, and heart were long preserved by Lady Saltoun, and after her death by himself. At his decease they were given to Mrs Brown, wife of General Samuel Brown, and Lady Saltoun's sister, who had expressed a wish to have them. They were kept by her, together with Lord Saltoun's letter of the 27th June, and Lady Saulton's reply of the 3d July, relating to the affair, from which the above extracts have been made. When Mrs Brown died, the purse and the letters were missed, probably stolen by some unprincipled person for the sake of the gold. The letters were picked up on the high road near Ipswich, during the time of some races near that town, and were forwarded to the writer of this narrative by the finder; but the purse and gold pieces have never been recovered.-The Frasers of Philorth, by Lord Saltoun. BLARLEINE, OR THE BATTLE OF THE SHIRTS. A STORY OF HIGHLAND WARFARE. THE sail up the Caledonian Canal from Inverness to Oban-the weather propitious-is one of the most enjoyable of Highland tours. Historically or archaeologically, there are few routes that present so rich a field to glean from as the "Great Glen." And the tourist who intent only on luxuriating in abundance of fresh air; or on feasting his eyes on the beauties of magnificent scenery will have his reward. Borne swiftly along in the well equipped passenger boat, he gazes on a panoramic exhibition, that unfolds one after another scenes so attractive, and that impress the memory with reminiscences so agreeable, that there are few who have seen those sights but would gladly enjoy a repetition of the tour. We think the scenery along this route is not much, if at all, inferior to the far-famed Rhine scenery. Let us suppose ourselves at the point at which the steamer leaves the canal and enters Loch Lochy-the fourth in the chain of lakes that lie along the valley. The ground through which the canal passes here was formerly known by the name of Dalruairi-a considerable part of which was submerged, when the water level was raised to serve canal purposes. On this ground was fought, on the 15th of July 1544, one of the best contested and bloodiest fights in the annals of Highland warfare —a very Otterburn of Highland combats-literally realising the fable of the Kilkenny cats, that ate each other to the tails. The Allan Mac Ruairi of Eileantioram, in Mudart, was Chief and Captain of Clanranald from 1481 till 1509, when he was executed in presence of James IV. at Blair-Athole. What the crime laid to his charge was, for which he suffered the last penalties of the law, is not very clear. probability is, that his principal offence was the part he acted in a raid upon Athole headed by Donald Dubh, the well known aspirant to the Lordship of the Isles. This Clanranald chief was twice married. His first wife was a daughter of Macian, the Macdonald Chief of Ardnamurchan; and after her death he espoused the Honourable Isabella Fraser, daughter of Thomas, fourth Lord Lovat, and sister to Hugh, fifth Lord Lovat. This lady, after the death of Clanranald, her first husband, married John Mor Grant, first of the Grant lairds of Glenmoriston. The Glenmoriston tradition is, that after the death of Clanranald, she left Mudart for her brother's residence in the Aird-whether on a visit or with the purpose of permanently residing there is uncertain, Anyhow she passed through Glenmoriston on her way-encamped there with her attendant retinue-and, according to the courtesies of those times, sent one of her band to the laird to inform him of her arrival; at the same time soliciting his protection. Lady Clanranald and her retinue were hospitably entertained, and so favourably impressed by the good qualities of her host, that before parting she consented to be his wife. Their sons were Patrick and James. Patrick was one of the |