By MRS. THOMSON,
AUTHOR OF
"MEMOIRS OF THE COURT OF HENRY THE EIGHTH,"
"MEMOIRS OF SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH," ETC.
LONDON:
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET,
Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty.
1845.
LONDON:
Printed by S. & J. Bentley, Wilson, and Fley,
Bangor House, Shoe Lane.
[Pg iii]
In completing two volumes of a work which hasbeen for some years in contemplation, it may beremarked that it is the only collective Biographyof the Jacobites that has yet been given to thePublic. Meagre accounts, scattered anecdotes, andfragments of memoir, have hitherto rather tantalizedthan satisfied those who have been interested in theevents of 1715 and 1745. The works of Home, ofMr. Chambers, and the collections of Bishop Forbes,all excellent, are necessarily too much mingled upwith the current of public affairs to comprise anyconsiderable portion of biographical detail. Certainlives of some of the sufferers in the cause of theStuarts, printed soon after the contests in behalfof those Princes, are little more than narratives oftheir trials and executions; they were intended merelyas ephemeral productions to gratify a curious public,and merit no long existence. It would have been,indeed, for many years, scarcely prudent, and certainlynot expedient, to proffer any information concerningthe objects of royal indignation, except thatwhich the newspapers afforded: nor was it perfectly[Pg iv]safe, for a considerable time after the turbulent timesin which the sufferers lived, to palliate their offences,or to express any deep concern for their fate. Thatthere was much to be admired in those whose memorieswere thus, in some measure, consigned to oblivion,except in the hearts of their descendants;much which deserved to be explained in their motives;much which claimed to be upheld in their self-sacrifices,the following pages will show. Whateverleaning the Author may have had to the unfortunatecause of the Stuarts, it has not, however,been her intention only to pourtray the bright ornamentsof the party. She has endeavoured to showthat it was composed, as well as most other politicalcombinations, of materials differing in value—somepure, some base, some noble, some mean and vacillating.
As far as human weakness and prejudice can permit,the Author has aimed at a strict scrutiny ofconduct and motives. In the colouring given tothese, she has conscientiously sought to be impartial:for the facts stated, she has given the authorities.
It now remains for the Author publicly to acknowledgethe resources from which she has derived somematerials which have never before been given tothe Public, and for which she has to thank, in severalinstances, not only the kindness of friends, butthe liberality of strangers.
A very interesting collection of letters, many ofthem written in the Earl of Mar's own hand, and[Pg v]others dictated by him, is interwoven with the biographyof that nobleman. These letters were written,in fact, for the information of the whole body ofJacobites, to whom they were transmitted throughthe agent of that party, Captain Henry Straiton,residing in Edinburgh. They form almost a diaryof Lord Mar's proceedings at Perth. They are contin