WILLIAM AND MAST.

39

a great captain: but he cared as little as any Whig for a royal chap. 'commission. He had been willing to be the right hand of ■Dundee: but he would not be ordered about by Cannon. Hequitted the camp, and retired to Lochaber. He indeed directedhis clan to remain. But the clan, deprived of the leader whomit adored, and aware that he had withdrawn himself in illhumour, was no longer the same terrible column which hada few days before kept so well the vow to perish or to conquer.Macdonald of Sleat, whose forces exceeded in number those ofany other of the confederate chiefs, followed Lochiel’s exampleand returned to Sky. *

Mackay’s arrangements were by this time complete; and Malay'she had little doubt that, if the rebels came down to attack him, dfsro-the regular army would retrieve the honour which had been lostat Killiecrankie. His chief difficulties arose from the unwise ^:^[ erainterference of the ministers of the Crown at Edinburgh withmatters which ought to have been left to his direction. Thetruth seems to be that they, after the ordinary fashion of menwho, having no military experience, sit in judgment on militaryoperations, considered success as the only test of the ability of acommander. Whoever wins a battle is, in the estimation of suchpersons, a great general: whoever is beaten is a bad general;and no general had ever been more completely beaten thanMackay. William, on the other hand, continued to place entireconfidence in his unfortunate lieutenant. To the disparagingremarks of critics who had never seen a skirmish, Portlandreplied, by his master’s orders, that Mackay was perfectlytrustworthy, that hew'as brave, that he understood war betterthan any other officer in Scotland, and that it was much to beregretted that any prejudice should exist against so good a manand so good a soldier.**

* Memoirs of Sir Ewan Cameron.

** See Portland’s Letters to Melville of April 22. and May 15. 1G90, inthe Levon and Mclvillo Papers.