Perthshire in bygone days

GENERAL SIB DAVID BAIRD. 35
fighting under the command of Sir Hector Munro. The
annals of hand-to-hand combat at Culloden or Inkerman,
do not coutain any more marked instances of personal
bravery than those shown by Baird, Baillie and Fletcher,
when, with their handful of men, they were surrounded by
the multitudinous host of Hyder Ah at Conjeveram.
They fought for an hour and a half with their swords, after
their artillery and entire ammunition had been destroyed by
an explosion in the midst of their own force ; Colonel
Fletcher was eventually slain, and Baird with four sabre
wounds, was consigned along with Colonel Baillie and the
other officers to a dungeon at Seringapatam, where they
were chained together in pairs. Sir David, as commander of
grenadiers was especiaUy obnoxious to Hyder Ah, and his
punishment was carefully attended to. It was during this
confinement that his mother, according to Sir Walter Scott,
exclaimed when she heard of it, " Pity the poor man who
is chained to our Davie," aUuding it is alleged to his wild
restlessness when a boy.
Those who knew both Sir David Baird and his mother,
emphatically deny the truth of this story, and its predictive
sympathy is little in accordance with the following circum-
stances. Sir David Baird, Colonel Baillie, Lieutenant
Lucas and the other prisoners were first chained together
in couples, but afterwards they were loaded individually
with fetters and every indignity which cruelty could devise.
Baird's wounds were unhealed, and those in his limbs were
festering to a degree that was fast undermining his consti-
tution and threatening his life. After the unfortunate
companions had been some time in confinement, the Myar
made his appearance one day, bearing with him fetters
weighing nine pounds each, which were destined for the
unhappy prisoners ; resistance was useless and they sub-
mitted to their fate. But when the Myar came to Sir
David, one of the officers, Lieutenant Lucas, sprang forward
and urged the cruelty of manaclmg limbs festering with
wounds, from one of which the ball had been so recently
extracted, that he doubted not death would be the result of
such treatment To these representations the Myar replied
that the Circar had sent as many fetters as there were
prisoners and that they must all be put on ; " Then" said the
noble officer " put a double pair on me that Captain Baird
be spared wearing them." Even the Myar, though used to
scenes of human misery, was moved at this act of self-
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