Life of Flora Macdonald and her adventures with Prince Charles

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in order to get the people away, and to banish them from
his extensive estates. Knowing well her husband's inno-
cence in this painful matter, her ladyship became quite in-
dignant, and greatly disturbed in her peace of mind. In his
absence, she addressed a long letter, dated ist January,
1740, to Lord Justice-Clerk Milton, in which she gave a long
and minute detail of the whole affair. She assured his
Lordship that Sir Alexander " was both angry and deeply
concerned to hear that some of his own people were taken
away in this manner, but could not at the time learn who
were the actors in this wicked scrape until the ship was
gone ". Her ladyship's letter was long and interesting, and
may be seen in the Culloden Papers.
When the existence of this piratical vessel was noised
abroad, sloops and craft of every description were sent by
the authorities in Skye to the Long Island, but too late to
seize the expected prize. Being in the dead of winter, the
weather was boisterous and wild, and the different vessels
had to lie at anchor in the lochs and bays of the Island. It
was, however, arranged that in one of them Flora was to be
accommodated with a passage to Skye, to the hospitable resi-
dence of Lady Margaret at Monkstadt One evening she
set sail in one of the largest of the craft, and the night being
stormy the vessel was driven into Loch Snizort, and
anchored about sunrise at the " Crannag," near the man-
sion-house of Kingsburgh. Flora was glad to get ashore,
but finding that the Kingsburgh family were absent at Flodi-
garry, she walked a few miles to the house of Penduin, the
residence of Captain Norman Macleod, the very house in
which, after an eventual life, she died about fifty years after-
wards. Next day she made the best of her way to the
residence of Sir Alexander at Monkstadt, about fourteen
miles distant. She was warmly received by Lady Margaret,