WILLIAM AND MAKY.

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state of things would have ended in some great convulsion, if ciiap.the King of Scotland had not been also King of a much greater 1C89 ’ ~and more opulent kingdom. Charles the First had never foundany parliament at Westminster more unmanageable than Wil-liam, during this session, found the parliament at Edinburgh.

But it was not in the power of the parliament at Edinburgh toput on William such a pressure as the parliament at West-minster had put on Charles. A refusal of supplies at West-minster was a serious thing, and left the Sovereign no choiceexcept to yield, or to raise money by unconstitutional means.

But a refusal of supplies at Edinburgh reduced him to no suchdilemma. The largest sum that he could hope to receive fromScotland in a year was less than wdiat he received from Englandevery fortnight. Fie had therefore only to entrench himselfwithin the limits of his undoubted prerogative, and there to re-main on the defensive, till some favourable conjuncture shouldarrive.*

While these things were passing in the l’arliament House, Troublesthe civil war in the Highlands, having been during a few weeks Atho1 ’suspended, broke forth again more violently than before.

Since the splendour of the House of Argyle had been eclipsed,no Gaelic chief could vie in power with the Marquess of Athol.

The district from which he took his title, and of which he mightalmost be called the sovereign, was in extent larger than anordinary county, and was more fertile, more diligently cul-tivated, and more thickly peopled than the greater part of theHighlands. The men who followed his banner were supposedto be not less numerous than all the Macdonalds and Macleansunited, and were, in strength and courage, inferior to no tribein the mountains. But the clan had been made insignificantby the insignificance of the chief. The Marquess was the

* My chief materials for the history of this session have been the Acts,the Minutes, and the Levcn and Melville Papers.

Macaulay, History. V.

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