the Americans, and sometimes, indeed, entered their service in a body.

On the conclusion of hostilities the men were released, ordered to Scotland, and discharged at Perth in 1783.

ter.

SEVENTY-THIRD REGIMENT,

OR LORD MACLEOD'S HIGHLANDERS; NOW SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, OR GLASGOW LIGHT INFANTRY.

1777.

IT has often been remarked, that Highland soldiers do not show the same character, nor the same spirit, and even have a reluctance to serve under officers not of their own country. The correctness of this opinion has not, however, been established by facts, either in recent or more distant times. Instances have indeed occurred where Highland regiments, and these, too, of the best and bravest, were nearly ruined, and their good name tarnished, by having the misfortune to be commanded by men, intelligent, indeed, in other respects, but ignorant of their true characAlthough the Highlander certainly prefers a commander of his own country, and especially of his own blood and kindred; yet men of gallant and generous spirits, of whatever nation, have always secured his attachment and fidelity. Of this we have remarkable instances in the case of Gustavus Adolphus and others. This great King and consummate general had attached to himself, as a bodyguard, a strong corps of Highlanders, consisting of Mackays, Munroes, Macdonalds, and other clans, who were devoted to him as to a superior being. They were his right hand in battle, brought forward on all dangerous enterprises, and may, like himself, be said to have been al

most all of them buried in the field of battle with the honours of war."

The heroic and generous Montrose, although the head of a border family, not always on friendly terms with the Highlanders, so completely commanded their confidence, that, led by him, they believed themselves invincible. In like manner, Macdonell, Montrose's friend and follower, by birth an Irishman, an intrepid soldier and able commander, so thoroughly secured the esteem and attachment of the Highlanders, that under his command they were ready to attempt any enterprise, however desperate, and even to this day (at the distance of 170 years) his name is cherished and venerated, and many anecdotes of his chivalry and gallantry preserved. The Lord Viscount Dundee, a Lowlander, attached the Highlanders to his person by his chivalry and courage; and while in the south he was detested for the perseverance with which he had endeavoured to keep down the conventicles, and puritanical principles of the Covenanters, by whom he was known only as "the Bloody Clavers;" in the Highlands, where there was no religious or political persecution, the people only saw in him a brave, conciliating, and able commander, and a gallant and high-spirited knight, signalized by his persevering and disinterested loyalty. Inspired by their confidence in him, they charged sword in hand at Killikrankie, and routed a veteran and disciplined army of four times their number, although those engaged under him had never before drawn a sword against an enemy, except in their own private feuds, which had not even then entirely ceased.

If we descend to later times, there are instances "where Highland corps have formed attachments to officers, not natives of their country, and not less ardent than to the chiefs of old; in as much as military heroism, wherever it presents itself, gives the Highlander the impression of what he has heard of his forefathers, and he cherishes and cleaves to it the more in a foreign land, as giving him the idea of his home and of his kindred." Hence we find (as I have no

ticed in speaking of Fraser's Highlanders) that the energy, ardour, and frankness of Sir James Baird, gave him as absolute a command over the fidelity of his Highlanders, (although he was himself a native of Mid-Lothian,) as was ever enjoyed by any chieftain or laird of more ancient times; so that, though "dashing at all things at the head of his company, he invariably achieved every enterprise in which he engaged."

In Macleod's Highlanders we have also an instance of disinterested attachment, and on an occasion, too, more trying than the severest battle. This was when both officers and soldiers were chained together as prisoners, during three years, in dungeons, and fed on slow poison, for such was the damaged provisions with which they were sparingly supplied. This happened when Captain David Baird, and Lieutenants Melville, Cuthbert, and the Honourable John Lindsay, with a detachment of the 73d Highlanders, were thrown into a dungeon by Hyder Ali, after the disaster of Colonel Baillie, in September 1780. During their confinement they were treated with great cruelty, while, at the same time, every inducement was held out to the soldiers to induce them to desert and join Hyder's standard. These brave men, however, equally true to their religion and their allegiance, were so warmly attached to their officers, that they picked out the soundest and most wholesome parts of their provisions, and got them secretly put into the officers' mess. Whether it was from this circumstance, or from mere strength of constitution, the officers out-lived the confinement, although subjected in every other respect to the same privations as the men, of whom, out of 111, only 30 survived, and few were ever afterwards fit for service. The steadiness of principle, and incorruptible fidelity, of these soldiers on this occasion, are recorded by Mrs Grant. "A Highland regiment, commanded by Lord Macleod, was, during the war with Hyder Ali, engaged in an unfortunate rencounter, where more than 100 men fell into the hands of that remorseless tyrant. They were treated with the most

cruel indignity, and fed upon very sparing proportions of unwholesome rice, which operated as slow poison, assisted by the burning heat of the sun by day, and the unwholesome dews of night, to which they were purposely exposed to shake their constancy. Daily some of their companions dropped before their eyes, and daily they were offered liberty and riches in exchange for this lingering torture, on condition of relinquishing their religion and taking the turban. Yet not one could be prevailed upon to purchase life on these terms. These Highlanders were entirely illiterate; scarce one of them could have told the name of any particular sect of Christians, and all the idea they had of the Mahomedan religion was, that it was adverse to their own, and to what they had been taught by their fathers; and that, adopting it, they would renounce Him who had died, that they might live, and who loved them, and could support them in all their sufferings. The great outlines of their religion, the peculiar tenets which distinguish it from any other, were early and deeply impressed on their minds, and proved sufficient in the hour of trial.

Rise, Muses, rise, add all your tuneful breath;

"These must not sleep in darkness and in death.

"It was not theirs to meet death in the field of honour, while the mind, wrought up with fervid eagerness, went forth in search of him. They saw his slow approach, and though sunk into languid debility, such as quenches the fire of mere temperament, they never once hesitated at the alternative set before them. Their fortitude should at least be applauded, though their faith, and the hopes that supported them, were not taken into the account. This well known, though neglected, instance of what may be expected from being accustomed from the cradle to self-command, and self-denial, affords an additional proof of the importance of preserving, unmixed and undebased, a race so fit to encounter those perils and labours, worse than death, which the defence of our wide extended empire requires."

It is well known that the last Earl of Cromarty engaged

in the Rebellion of 1745, for which he was tried, and condemned to be beheaded on Tower Hill, while his title was attainted, and his estate forfeited to the Crown. Some favourable circumstances, however, induced George II. to grant him a pardon, on the condition of confining himself for life within the county of Devon. It is said, that the Countess of Cromarty presented a petition to the King, praying for her husband's life, accompanied by ten children, while her eldest son, Lord Macleod, was prisoner in the Tower, but not yet brought to trial, and herself eight months gone with the twelfth child. The family threw themselves on their knees before the King, and the mother, pointing to them, said, "These are your Majesty's humble petitioners for the life of their father." His eldest son, Lord Macleod, had also joined the rebel standard, but on account of his youth, and the supposed influence of his father, he received an unconditional pardon. Deprived of rank and fortune in his native country, he crossed over to Sweden, where he entered into the army, and after serving for thirty years with distinguished approbation, rose to the rank of Lieutenant-General.

Preserving, in exile, an invincible attachment to his native land, a principle so strong in all well disposed minds, he returned to England in 1777, and was very favourably received by his Majesty. Finding his influence in the Highlands still considerable, although destitute of property and political consequence, he was encouraged to offer his services to raise a regiment. The offer was accepted, and so well grounded were his anticipations of success, and such was the respect entertained for his family and name, that in a very short time 840 Highlanders were recruited and marched to Elgin. Here they were joined by 236 Lowlanders, raised by Captains the Honourable John Lindsay, David Baird, James Fowlis, and other officers, along with 34 English and Irish who had been recruited in Glasgow. In all they amounted to 1,100 men, and under the name of Macleod's Highlanders were embodied, and inspected by