Historical memoir of the family of Eglinton and Winton

166 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
the locality, and is thus alluded to in the Statistical
account' of the parish : — "There is no tradition of
any battle in the parish, except one at Mauchline
Muir, between the King's party and the Covenan-
ters, about the year 1647, when the former was de-
feated and their military chest was found, it is said,
many years after, hidden in the ground."
Alexander, Tenth Earl of Eglinton, p.
64. — It can perhaps serve but little purpose now
more particularly to recur to the unfortunate cir-
cumstances which led to the death of the truly
worthy and patriotic tenth Earl of Eglinton, further
it may be than a legitimate historical curiosity may
seem to demand. Popular feeling for a long time
subsequently rendered it quite impossible that any
sober impartial consideration of the occurrence
could be attended to or considered. Time, however,
the great corrector of error and subduer of passion,
has long greatly modified these misguiding influ-
ences ; and now, that the whole facts and circum-
stances of the case have been fully investigated and
established, let us trust that future times may duly
profit by the solemn and grave lesson which they
afford.
Campbell, the unhappy agent in this deplorable
catastrophe, was still certainly by no means a person
of a deeply depraved or vicious character ; on the
contrary, he would appear throughout his whole
life to have been animated with a proper ambition