BATTLE OF INVERLOCHY.

65

Inverlochy has been at different periods the scene of internal conflicts, of which history has preserved some melancholy details. Alexander, Lord of the Isles, having been imprisoned in Tantallon Castle by James I. for burning Inverness, and other acts of violence, his cousin, Donald Balloch,-either to insult or intimidate the king, and thereby procure Alexander's release,-carried fire and sword into the district of Lochaber. Two of the king's officers, the earls of Mar and Caithness, having encountered the islesmen at Inverlochy, the latter nobleman was slain; but the king, advancing in person, Donald fled to Ireland, from which his head was afterwards sent over to the king as an efficient guarantee for his future conduct. The scene represented in the engraving, exhibits the battle, or rather flight, of Inverlochy a battle which proved so destructive to the army under the marquess of Argyll, and so triumphant to his rival, the marquess of Montrose. It was on Sunday, the 2d of February, 1645, "just as the sun had risen over the shoulder of Ben Nevis, that the troops under Montrose advanced to the attack. Taken by surprise, and with a great portion of their strength already cut off, the Argyll force was drawn up in a line of somewhat formidable extent. In the centre were the Highlanders, on the right and left the Lowlanders, on an eminence behind stood a small body of reserve, and within the fortress itself was a garrison of fifty men. The ground on which they met was perfectly level, formed by the junction of the river Lochy with Locheil. Behind them, and still nearer the embouchure of the river, the castle of Inverlochy raised its vast square form into the cold winter air. Behind were the provision galleys; and that in which Argyll had taken shelter* lay upon the placid face of the estuary, as if quietly waiting to contemplate the dreadful scene that was to ensue." When the Campbells, waiting to receive the attack, saw the disorderly band of Montrose issue at sound of trumpet from the dusky glen before them-" when they saw their uplifted weapons flashing under the rays of the sun as they rushed forward at full speed-when they heard the wild yell with which they accompanied the discharge of their muskets, and sprang forward to close in active conflict-their hearts, unexcited by motion as those of their enemies had been, fairly sunk within them, and they might be said to have lost the battle before it was commenced. The greater part of them discharged their firelocks against the royalists only once, and then, without drawing a sword, turned and fled. A few only, and those in detached portions throughout the field, waited

+ Argyll himself, suffering from a hurt in his arm and face, caused by a fall, and which disabled him for the use of sword and pistol, retired on board his galley, moored hard by, while his cousin, the veteran Auchinbreck, took the command. This fact alone-the absence of their chief-must have contributed not a little to discourage the troops.-Chambers' Histor. Details of the Rebellion.

for the charge, or made the least attempt to contest the fortune of the day." A few minutes saw the whole of the Argyll army accumulated in a confused and terrified mass upon the brink of the lake, or flying to irretrievable ruin along its shore. After the turn of the day, Montrose's men found easy work in chasing and cutting down their unhappy countrymen. The flight was more destructive than the hardest fought battle. Those who crowded back upon the beach in the hope of reaching the vessels, were almost, without exception, slain or drowned. Those who fled along the shore towards the south-west, were closely followed, and great numbers of them overtaken and slain. A party of about two hundred, who made for the Castle, were intercepted by a troop of Montrose's horse, and either cut down or driven back upon the beach. A great number endeavoured to reach their chief's vessel by means of the rope which attached it to the shore; but this support suddenly giving way, all that were upon it sank at once into the water and were drowned. Argyll himself, too much concerned for his own safety to attempt the rescue of his unhappy followers, was no sooner certain of the fate of the day, than he ordered his sails to be hoisted, and extricating his vessel from the midst of his dead and drowning clansmen, glided down the Loch in quest of a safer anchorage.-Such is a brief sketch of the battle of Inverlochy, which the reader will find detailed with great effect in the popular work here abridged.

A short excursion into Lochaber carries the tourist to Glen-roy, celebrated for a series of parallel roads, which have furnished abundant materials for discussion between geologists and those patriots who, with excusable partiality, still cling to the immemorial traditions of the country. The theory established by the latter, is, that these extraordinary roads, or terraces, were constructed by human labour, and devised for the use of the ancient kings who held their court at Inverlochy, and here indulged in the royal pastime of hunting. But, admitting that such was their intended purpose-that they could really have been useful in facilitating the business of the chase-still there is no trace of artificial formation. Had such been their origin, the exchequer of the Celtic kings must have been amply provided, and most idly expended. But this theory is not only untenable by any argument that could give it even an air of probability, but is refuted by the existence of similar lines in various parts of the

* Montrose is said to have "knighted on the field," John Hay, of Lochloy-the latest instance of that honour being conferred by a subject. This circumstance is commemorated by Sir Walter Scott, in his "Legend of Montrose," where the doughty "Major Dalgetty" is made to win his spurs in this battle, which the great novelist has depicted with admirable effect as well as historical accuracy. For this scene

see "Legend of Montrose," pp. 284, 285.