treason, and on the 16th of the same month, thus addressed his peers, previously to pleading guilty:-"My lords, -The terrors of your just sentence, which will at once deprive me of my life and estate, and complete the misfortunes of my wife and innocent children, are so heavy on my mind, that I am scarce able to allege what may extenuate my offence, if any thing can do it: my guilt was rashly incurred, without any premeditation; for I beg to observe, that I was wholly unprovided of men, horses, or arms, which I could easily have provided, had I formed any previous design. As my offence was sudden, so my submission was prompt; for when the king's general demanded hostages for ensuring a cessation of arms, I voluntarily offered myself; and it was the repeated promises of mercy which I received, that induced me afterwards to remain with the royal army. I humbly entreat your intercession with the king, and solemnly protest.that my future conduct shall shew me not unworthy of your generous compassion." He received sentence of death on the 9th of February, and a warrant was soon afterwards issued for his execution. On the morning after it had been signed, the countess obtained an interview with the king in his bed-chamber, and pathetically entreated his majesty to spare her husband's life; and she subsequently went down to Westminster, accompanied by a great number of ladies, and personally implored both houses of parliament to intercede with the sovereign on his behalf. The public were strongly excited in favour of the condemned earl, and his friends entertained a hope, that he would have been pardoned. But, notwithstanding several peers and commoners of distinction endeavoured to procure a remission of his sentence, it was carried into effect. His execution took place on the 24th of February. While ascending the scaffold he looked particularly pale: but in a few moments he regained his natural firmness and composure. After performing a solemn act of devotion, he advanced to the rails of the scaffold, and read an address to those who had assembled for the purpose of witnessing his execution, in which he eulogized the Pretender, and asked pardon of those whom he had scandalized by his plea of guilty, which, he stated, was a breach of loyalty to his lawful and rightful sovereign, King James the Third. He concluded by saying that, had his life been spared, he should have considered himself bound in honour never again to take up arms against the reigning prince. He The earl handed a copy of this declaration to the sheriff, observing that he had given another to a friend. then examined the block, and finding a rough part on the surface, desired that it might be chipped away with the axe, as it would probably hurt his neck if suffered to remain. Having stripped off his coat and waistcoat, he prepared to receive the fatal blow, and on giving a signal which he had previously arranged with the executioner, his head was severed from his body at a single stroke of the axe. It is said, that, on the preceding afternoon, he had sent for Roome, an undertaker, to receive directions for his funeral; but Roome having refused to prepare a plate for his coffin, bearing an inscription to the effect that he died a sacrifice for his lawful sovereign, the earl immediately dismissed him, and made no subsequent preparations for his sepulture; so that, instead of being deposited in a coffin, and carried away in a hearse, his remains were wrapped up in a cloth, and borne by some of his servants to the Tower, where they were soon afterwards interred. The earl appears to have been possessed of many good qualities. "He was formed by nature," says Patten, "to be universally beloved; for his benevolence was so unbounded, that he seemed only to live for others. He resided among his own people, spent his estate among them, and continually did them kindnesses. His hospitality was princely, and none in that country came up to it. He was very charitable to the poor, whether known to him or not, and whether papists or protestants. fate was a misfortune to many, who had no kindness for the cause in which he died." His CHARLES RATCLIFFE. THIS gentleman, a brother of the Earl of Derwentwater, was born in 1693, and evinced, from his boyhood, a most enthusiastic attachment to the exiled Stuarts. Utterly reckless of consequences, he joined one of those straggling parties of Jacobites, that appeared in arms for the Pretender late in the summer of 1715. He acted with Forster throughout the whole of that inefficient leader's campaign;-dis- | playing, whenever an opportunity occurred, a total disregard of personal danger, and a sincere devotion to the cause he had espoused, which threw a lustre over his rashness. Having surrendered with his confederates, at Preston, he was arraigned for high treason, in May, 1716, and was soon afterwards found guilty. He disdained to petition for mercy, or to permit any interest to be used with the king in his behalf. But the blood of one brother being deemed a sufficient atonement for the offences of both, soon after the Earl of Derwentwater had been executed, a free pardon was granted to Ratcliffe; which, however, he obstinately refused to accept. He was, consequently, detained in Newgate until the 11th of December, 1716, when he contrived to effect his escape, as it is supposed, by breaking through the chimney of his apartment to the roof of the prison, and thence lowering himself, with the aid of a rope, into the street. Patten, speaking of him about this period, says, "He is young and bold, but too forward: he has a great deal of courage, which wants a few more years and a better cause to improve it. There is room to hope he will never employ it in such an adventure again." Unfortunately, however, for himself, he continued to be an active partisan of the exiled prince; and frequently ventured to quit his asylum on the continent, for the purpose of fomenting the discontents of the Highlanders. In 1746, he received a naval commission from the King of France, and took the command of a vessel, laden with arms for the use of the Jacobites in Scotland; which, however, never reached its destination, being captured at sea by an English cruizer. Ratcliffe was brought a prisoner to London, and arraigned on his previous conviction, which had never been reversed. He boldly denied the authority of the court, avowed himself to be a subject of the King of France, produced his commission, and declared that he was not Charles Ratcliffe, but the Earl of Derwentwater. After some further quibbling on these and other points, his identity being satisfactorily proved, the attorney-general moved for the execution of his former sentence. The prisoner now attempted to set up his pardon in bar, but the judges being of opinion that such a plea could not, under the circumstances, be legally received, a writ was issued for his decapitation. His person and appearance, on this occasion, are thus described in the British Chronologist:-" He was about five feet ten inches high, upwards of fifty, dressed in scarlet, faced with black velvet, and gold buttons,-a gold-laced waistcoat,-bag wig, and had a hat with a white feather." wore precisely the same dress on the scaffold, where he conducted himself with great fortitude. He was beheaded on Tower hill, on the 8th of December, 1746. He The courage of Charles Ratcliffe appears to have been a mere animal quality; he was evidently the creature of impulse,-an inconsiderate slave to his feelings, who possessed none of the mental attributes of a hero. His dogged rejection of mercy, in 1716, was even more foolish than his attempt, on being taken in arms at a subsequent period, to avoid the execution of his sentence, by a series of absurd evasions, was mean and contemptible. JAMES CAMERON, OF LOCHIEL. THIS gallant chieftain, the head of the Camerons, who idolized him for his bravery, his social virtues, and, to use the words of the talented author of Lochiel's Warning, his loyal, though mistaken, magnanimity, was born in 1696. As he grew up, he imbibed all the enthusiastic feelings of his family in favour of the Stuarts. James Frederick is said to have described him to the young Chevalier, as being among their most trusty and influential adherents; and he was, accordingly, one of the first whose aid Charles Edward endeavoured to procure, on his arrival at Boradale, in 1745. Lochiel, however, had sufficient wisdom to foresee, that, unsupported as he was by foreign troops, the young adventurer could have but little chance of success, in the enterprise which he had so daringly undertaken. He, accordingly, endeavoured, with all the eloquence he possessed, to prevail on him to abandon it; but finding Charles Edward invulnerable either to entreaty or argument, the brave chieftain, at length, generously, although against his better judgment, determined on sharing those perils, which the prince would evidently have to encounter. His followers, amounting to seven hundred men, were the first of the insurgents to commence hostilities; having surrounded and captured two companies of the king's troops, before the Jacobite standard was raised at Glenfinnin. They also distinguished themselves by obtaining possession of Edinburgh, by stratagem, pending the negotiations between Charles Edward and the inhabitants for its surrender. In common with the other Highlanders, Lochiel, and his clan, displayed great bravery, and did astonishing execution at the battle of Preston-Pans. It is related, that, on this occasion, a Highlander captured ten dismounted dragoons, on whom the mere sound of his voice produced so appalling an effect, that he drove them before him like sheep; and a lad in the rebel army, under fourteen years of age, is reported to have cut down, if he did not actually kill, twelve of his opponents. These, and other equally improbable stories, obtained credence among the English peasantry, who, in some parts, are said to have considered the Highlanders as monsters and cannibals, who scarcely bore even an outward similitude to humanity. During the march to Derby, the Chevalier Johnstone relates, (but the story is almost incredible) that one evening, as Lochiel entered the lodgings assigned to him, in an English village, his landlady threw herself at his feet, and, with uplifted hands, and tears in her eyes, supplicated him to take her life but to spare her two little children. "He asked her," continues Johnstone, "if she was in her senses, and told her to explain herself; when she answered, that every body said the Highlanders ate children, and made them their common food. Mr. Cameron having assured her that they would not injure either her or her children, or any person whatever, she looked at him, for some moments, with an air of surprise, and then opened a press, calling out with a loud voice, Come out, children, the gentleman will not eat you.'" Lochiel remained with the young Chevalier's army until the 18th of March, 1746, when he was despatched, with his own followers, and some auxiliaries from the clans of Macdonald and Stuart, to attempt the reduction of Fort William; but, after besieging it for several days, without making much progress, he was compelled to relinquish the enterprise, the Duke of Cumberland's movements having rendered his presence important at the head-quarters of the prince. He accordingly returned, with his followers, to the rebel army; and, a few days afterwards, displayed his usual intrepidity at the disastrous battle of Culloden; in which he was so severely wounded, that he must either have bled to death on the field, or been taken prisoner by the king's troops, but for the desperate courage of some of his clan, by whom he was carried off, and concealed in a miserable hut, until he regained sufficient strength to undergo the fatigues of a difficult and dangerous journey to the coast. After passing through many perils, he was, at length, fortunate enough to effect his escape to the continent, where he spent the remainder of his days, a hopeless, heart-broken wanderer, and died towards the close of 1758. His unfortunate clan was visited with remorseless vengeance by the royal troops. "In the month of May," says Smollett," the Duke of Cumberland advanced with the army into the Highlands, as far as Fort Augustus; where he encamped, and sent off detachments, on all hands, to hunt down the fugitives, and lay waste the country with fire and sword. The castles of Glengary and Lochiel were plundered and burned: every hut, house, or habitation, met with the same fate, without distinction; all the cattle and provisions were carried off. The men were either shot upon the mountains, like wild beasts, or put to death in cold blood, without form of trial. The women, after having seen their husbands and fathers murdered, were subjected to brutal violation, and then turned out naked, with their children, to starve on the barren heath. One whole family was enclosed in a barn, and consumed to ashes. Those ministers of vengeance were so alert in the execution of their office, that, in a few days, there was neither house, cottage, man, nor beast, to be seen in the compass of fifty miles: all was ruin, silence, and desolation!" To justify such execrable atrocities as these, even on the score of expediency, would be utterly impossible: they were planned in a spirit of cold-blooded brutality, and perpetrated by ruffians under the command of a savage. DOCTOR ARCHIBALD CAMERON. DR. ARCHIBALD CAMERON, a brother of the celebrated Lochiel, was born in 1698. From a very early period of his life, he appears to have entertained feelings of strong attachment to the exiled family; and on the rebel standard being set up by Charles Edward, in 1745, he joined the insurgents with his brother, with whom he acted during the whole of the campaign. After the battle of Culloden, he escaped to the continent: but in 1753, although he had been attainted of high treason during his absence, he rashly returned to Scotland, with a view, as it was reported, of recovering a sum of money, belonging to the Pretender, which had been embezzled by some of his adherents. Soon after his arrival in Scotland, he was discovered, and taken. His arraignment at the bar of the court of king's bench, on the act of attainder previously passed against him, speedily followed; and his identity being clearly established, the lord chief justice sentenced him to be executed as a traitor. He behaved with great firmness and decorum in court; and took occasion to observe, that, in 1746, he had quitted France, for the purpose of surrendering himself, and that he was only prevented by an accident happening in his family, from throwing himself upon the king's clemency. He had seven children, he said, at Lisle, in Flanders, who, with their mother, were totally dependent on him for support, and he respectfully entreated, that he might be permitted to send for the latter, as he felt a very natural desire to see her again before he died. This request was humanely complied with; but no further indulgence was shewn him; his sentence, contrary to the expectations of the public, being carried into effect in less than a month after his arraignment. About ten o'clock on the morning of his execution, (June 7th, 1753.) he was drawn on a sledge, from the Tower to Tyburn, amid a vast concourse of spectators. He was dressed, on this occasion, in a light coloured coat, red waistcoat and breeches, and a new bag-wig. During the dreadful procession, which lasted upwards of two hours, he was perfectly calm, and his fortitude never forsook him up to the moment of his execution. After having been suspended for nearly half an hour, his body was cut down and decapitated. His heart was then taken from his body, and burnt to ashes in the presence of the assembled multitude. "The terror and resentment of the people," says Smollett, "occasioned by the rebellion, having by this time subsided, their humane passions did not fail to operate in favour of this unfortunate gentleman. Their pity was mingled with esteem, arising from his personal character, which was altogether unblemished, and his deportment on this occasion, which they could not help admiring as the standard of manly fortitude and decorum. The populace, though not very subject to tender emotions, were moved to compassion, and even to tears, by his behaviour at the place of execution; and many sincere well-wishers to the house of Hanover thought that the sacrifice of this victim, at such a juncture, could not redound either to its honour or security." WILLIAM, LORD WILLIAM, the fourth Lord Widdrington, was born in 1701, and, during his minority, married a daughter of Sir Thomas Tempest, of Stella, in the county of Durham, by whom he had five children. He was among the foremost of those who engaged in Forster's attempt on behalf of James Frederick, in 1715, and surrendered, with the other insurgents, to the royal troops, at Preston. On being impeached for high treason, he pleaded guilty; and, when brought up to receive sentence, he asserted that the royal generals, to whom he and his associates capitulated, WILLIAM MAXWELL, EARL OF NITHISDALE. WILLIAM, the fifth Earl of Nithisdale, was born in 1702. Loyalty for the house of Stuart had been instilled into him from his childhood; and on the standard of the Chevalier being set up in 1715, he joined the insurgents, at Moffat, in Annandale. He surrendered, at Preston, with the other companions of Forster; and having been sent to London, was committed to the Tower, to abide his trial for high treason. On being impeached, he pleaded guilty, and when brought up for judgment, he declared that, when he surrendered at Preston, he was led to hope much from the royal mercy, and still depended on the king's goodness. His young countess afterwards, by stratagem, obtained an interview with George the Second, and pathetically entreated him to save the life of her unfortunate husband, but without effect. The intercession of many noblemen in his behalf met with no better success; a warrant was issued for his execution, and his doom appeared inevitable. The Dowager Countess of Nithisdale, however, in the noble enthusiasm of maternal affection, determined on making a desperate effort to procure his escape. She had then reached the forty-sixth year of her age: like her son, she was remarkably tall; and she strikingly resembled him, not only in her features and the dignified expression of her countenance, but also in the tone of her voice. Having frequently visited the earl |