Marquis de Montcalm, the governor, and a numerous garrison. At length the bold project was adopted of scaling the precipitous cliffs, called "the Heights of Abram," behind the city, where the enemy were quite off their guard, since they deemed them inaccessible. When a scaling party was being formed an officer called out, "Where is the man that climbed Fairburn Tower, and sat on the top of it?" "Here am I," said John Robertson, in response to his friend, "and ready for action!" John joined the forlorn party; and some say he was the sixth, and others that he was amongst the very first to reach the top of the heights. By means of ladders drawn up by these bold climbers, the troops followed in deep silence, and the whole army was enabled to form in regular order on the plain above. The French General, taken by surprise, at once said that all was lost unless he could drive the British from their position, and he accordingly at once ordered an attack. In the struggle which ensued Montcalm was mortally wounded, and General Wolfe also fell in the moment of victory. Quebec surrendered September 18th, 1759.

There can be no doubt, had John Robertson received even a fair education in his youth, he would have been promoted on this occasion, at least to the rank of sergeant, for having taken part in such a daring exploit; but we suspect his literary education had been wholly neglected, and so promotion was out of the question. He had, however, the satisfaction of being a favourite with every man in his regiment.

After the peace of Fontainebleau, the regiment was recalled from Canada, and John was permitted to retire to Fort-William, where he remained for many years, on the recruiting service. It was here that he got acquainted with Rebecca Macrae, a very young girl from Kintail, to whom he got married about the year 1770. Rebecca, after having shared the joys and sorrows of the wedded state for over thirty years, survived her husband, and lived a widowed life far on into the present century, dying at Beauly when considerably over the hundredth year of her age. daughters and one son were born in Fort-William to this worthy pair, viz., Anne, Kate, Chirsty, Johan, and John. It is with Anne, the eldest, and John, the youngest of the family, that we have got chiefly to do.

Four

In 1790, Anne Robertson, then a girl of probably not more than fifteen or sixteen, and said to be very pretty, went out to service with the Maclachlans at Torra-challtuinn. Ewen Maclachlan was then fifteen, and, it is more than likely that his "unnamed" brother was two or three years older. But, at all

events, this we do know, that the latter individual made love to poor Anne, and, by false and insidious promises, won her susceptible and too-confiding heart, with the result that, in 1793, she was evidently in a condition that she ought not to have been in. Great was the grief of old Donald on discovering this state of matters, but he resolved to weigh the painful case in "the balance of the sanctuary." Having patiently listened to the girl's simple tale, and also examined his son, he at once saw where the delinquency lay, and said to Anne-" Poor girl! whatever may happen, you may rely on me as your friend, for I will try to get justice done to you." The noble heart of Ewen was also touched with infinite compassion at the wrong done by his brother to a maiden so fair and confiding, and he, too, vowed that he should be her friend. Much pressure was brought to bear on the delinquent, from all sides, to marry the girl he had seduced, and so "make her an honest woman;" but, like the "unnamed kinsman" in the Book of Ruth, he refused to do his duty; and, in order to get rid of the whole affair, he went away by the first opportunity to Jamaica, there to pursue his fortune far away from the scene of his early transgression.

But, if Anne's condition was the cause of much grief in the Maclachlan family, it produced even greater sorrow and consternation at John Robertson's fireside in the Fort. Both he and Rebecca, having been brought up in the north, looked on illegitimacy with great horror, and so regarded their child as in a large measure ruined by this mishap, and an ugly stain placed on the whole family. John, who had picked up in his regiment as much education as enabled him to spell through his Bible, compared himself on the occasion to Jacob when that Patriarch's daughter Dinah was defiled by Shechem, the son of Hamor, with this aggravation in his own case that, whereas Shechem was anxious to marry Dinah, this Maclachlan rascal ran away and would not marry his poor defiled daughter Annie! So great, indeed, was the effect produced on the brave old soldier's mind by the untoward incident that he at once applied for his discharge, and having duly arranged about his pension, he and all his family (including Anne) bade farewell to Fort-William, and proceeding northwards, they settled down at Ardnagrask over against the present Muir of Ord Market Stance, in a small holding which John, through his friends, had previously secured.

William Maclachlan, the Leanabh gun iarraidh,1 was born some

The "unprayed-for child."

time in the year 1793. It is uncertain whether this event took place at Fort-William or after the removal of the family to Ardnagrask, nor does it matter very much. Poor Anne, it would seem, took her fallen condition so terribly to heart that her health gave way, and she had no milk to give the child. A curious expedient was resorted to. Her mother, Rebecca, had had her youngest child, John, about six months before this "latest addition," and she, now seeing the state of matters, at once weaned her own son, and proceeded to suckle her grandson, who evidently took very kindly and thankfully to his grandmamma's breast! It is astonishing that Coinneach Odhar, the "Brahan Seer," never laid hold of this prodigy as one of the "signs" to indicate the other notable things that were to happen in the year of grace 1793. How appropriate it would have been to say"When a grandmother will suckle her own grandson in a little cottage in Ardnagrask, near the Muir of Ord Market Stance, a great war shall break out between this country and France, which will convulse and change all the countries in Europe." It is probable that Anne Robertson passed through the severe and trying ordeal of ecclesiastical discipline before the Kirk Session of the Parish of Urray, and that the minister in due course baptised her child under the name of William Maclachlan.

William grew up to be a most lively and likeable child. The old soldier doated on him even more than he did on his own only son. Rebecca, bound to him by the additional peculiar tie of. breast-relation, regarded him more as her son than as her grandson. And John, who was both uncle and foster-brother at the same time, was perhaps more warmly attached to him than any of the rest of the family. My able and accurate correspondent, Mr Maclean, Public School, Muir of Ord, in writing of the relations subsisting between William Maclachlan and his grandfather's family, says "They were all exceedingly fond of him. He was entirely considered as one of themselves. It is related that, when the tidings of his death were received, John Robertson, his uncle, who was almost co-equal in age, and on whose milk he had been nursed, turned quite grey in one night-so great was his grief. This I have on the authority of a daughter of this same John Robertson."

In 1803 John Robertson, the old soldier, departed this life in his 73rd year. He was surrounded by his sorrowing wife and family; and his grandson, William Maclachlan, then a boy of 10, was wholly overpowered with grief at the loss of one who had proved to him more than a father. It was a solemn and affecting

sight to see the veteran blessing his household, and commending them, one and all, to God, and singling out his erring child and her son for a special blessing, and then falling back on his pillow and gently yielding up his spirit to Him that gave it !

It was remarked by all, that the sorrow and severe discipline through which Anne Robertson had to pass was in her case a means of purifying her heart and developing in her nature some of the finest traits of womanhood. The iron had entered her soul; but in her distress she found comfort and new life in Him who had spoken the gracious words to the woman caught in the very act of committing a greater transgression-" Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more.” Her constant correspondence with the Maclachlan family, who regarded her with as much affection as if she were the widow of the "unnamed” one, also greatly comforted and strengthened her in her resolutions to lead a good and useful life. Anne Robertson proved herself to be a model of carefulness and prudence and charity in her life and conversation, was always seen to be busy at work, and so much was she beloved and looked up to in the family that her advice was invariably taken and followed in every difficult household matter. No doubt there were

neighbours whose tongues wagged as they pointed with scorn to her illegitimate son; but the members of her own family had got over that prejudice in the spirit of Him who forgives sin; and they recognised in Anne a golden treasure in the house. But the time came when her good qualities were seen and appreciated by at least one admirer among those who were outside the circle of this worthy family at Ardnagrask.

(3) THE MACKENZIES WHO RESIDED AT CULBLAir of Highfield. -The site of Culblair lies about two miles from the Muir of Ord Station, and three from the farm of Tomich. It had a northern exposure looking towards Ben Wyvis, that picturesque mountain which so constantly meets the eye of the spectator from every corner of the Black Isle. There was a plantation of wood immediately adjoining the holding, which sheltered the dwellinghouse from the fierce and blasting winds of the north and east, and rendered the situation cosy and comfortable. But the Culblair of seventy years ago is now only a name; all the tenantry and houses in that locality were swept away more than 50 years ago to make room for the large farm of Dreim, with its modern house and farm steading and its more highly organised system of labour and methods of agriculture. Whether the sum total of human happiness, and intelligence, and kindliness, and freedom, has been increased or diminished within the area of the farm of Dreim, since

the change of system took place in 1832, is a question which well deserves the serious consideration of the social philosopher.

Janet Mackenzie, the goodwife of Culblair, was born about the year 1735. Hers was a very remarkable career; for, to use the quaint words of the local historians, she was "honoured with being married no fewer than three times, each husband being taken in succession by the wife into her holding." It would thus seem that Culblair was then the seat of an order of things avowedly different from what is now supposed to be the established code as to which of the sexes is to take the initiative in proposing marriage. Janet undoubtedly asserted her own right to exercise this prerogative. Like a Queen Regnant she offered her hand and heart to the man she liked best; and when she became a widow, she had as many suitors pressing round in eagerness to fill the vacant place, as ever Penelope had during the wanderings of her husband Ulysses!

In

To begin with, Janet Mackenzie was a very fair and comely woman, and endowed with a large measure of common sense. her youth she was called "Seonaid Mhaiseach," or "Fair Janet," a designation in the Gaelic language highly expressive of feminine grace and loveliness; and in later years she was known as "Bean chóir cheanalta na cùil," that is, "the worthy and kind (or courteous) wife of Culblair," which shows the great estimation in which she was held by her neighbours. But over and above her excellent personal qualities, the Sennachies of Urray add, with a twinkle of the eye, that Janet possessed considerable means of her own, which, no doubt, made her attractions all the more attractive in the eyes of those who were looking out for a nice, snug home to settle in.

The first husband that Janet took "into her holding" was a man of the name of Mackay. They had a family, and some of their descendants are still to be found in the neighbourhood of Conon Bridge. Mackay died, and his sorrowing relict, having assumed and for some time worn the sombre garb of widowhood, which, they say, set her off to very great advantage, at length took unto herself a second husband of the name of Henderson. By this marriage there was a son named William, one of whose daughters, a bedridden old woman of 87, I am glad to say, is still in life, and has supplied my correspondent with a good deal of information in connection with the subjects of these letters. Alas! Henderson died too, and poor Janet had to resume a second time the woeful weeds of widowhood. But even then her attractions did not fail to draw, for we learn that she took unto herself as her