■WILLIAM AND MAEY.

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mountains had a higher sense of his personal dignity, or wasmore frequently engaged in disputes with other chiefs. He-generally affected in his manners and in his housekeeping arudeness beyond that of his rude neighbours, and professed toregard the very few luxuries which had then found their wayfrom the civilised parts of the world into the Highlands as signsof the effeminacy and degeneracy of the Gaelic race. But onthis occasion he chose to imitate the splendour of Saxon war-riors, and rode on horseback before his four hundred plaidedclansmen in a steel cuirass and a coat embroidered with goldlace. Another Macdonald, destined to a lamentable and hor-rible end, led a band of hardy freebooters from the dreary passof Glencoe. Somewhat later came the great Hebridean poten-tates. Macdonald of Sleat, the most opulent and powerful ofall the grandees who laid claim to the lofty title of Lord of theIsles, arrived at the head of seven hundred fighting men fromSky. A fleet of long boats brought five hundred Macleans fromMull under the command of their chief, Sir John of Duart. Afar more formidable array had in old times followed his fore-fathers to battle. But the power, though not the spirit, of theclan had been broken by the arts and arms of the Campbells.Another band of Macleans arrived under a valiant leader, whotook his title fromLochbuy, which is, being interpreted, theYellow Lake.*

* Narrative in the Nairne Papers; Depositions of Colt, Osburne, Mal-colm, and Stewart of Ballachan in the Appendix to the Act. Pari, of July 14.1090; Memoirs of Sir Ewan Cameron. A few touches I have taken from anEnglish translation of some passages in a lost epic poem written in Latin,and called the Grameis. The writer was a zealous Jacobite named Fhil-lipps. I have seldom made use of the Memoirs of Dundee, printed in 1714,and never without some misgiving. The writer was certainly not, as liepretends, one of Dundee’s ofiicers, but a stupid and ignorant Grub Streetgarreteer, lie is utterly wrong both as to the place and as to the time ofthe battle of Killiccrankic. lie says that it was fought on the banks of theTummell, and on the 13th of June. It was fought on the banks of theGarry, and on the 27th of July. After giving such a specimen of inaccuracyas this, it would be idle to point out minor blunders.

CHAP.XIII.

1G89.