Ayrshire > Volume 2

THE EARLDOM OF LOUDOUN 229
The second Earl of Loudoun was, like his father,
strong on the Covenanting side ; so much so that,
during the time of the persecution, he felt compelled to
retire from Scotland and live at Leyden in Holland.
His Countess appears to have remained at home in
Ayrshire during the greater part of his exile. The Earl
knew the danger that was involved in correspondence
with his wife, and to divert the suspicion of the
authorities from his letters, he addressed them " To the
Guidwife at the Auldtoun, at the auld yew tree, Loudoun,
Scotland." " The Auldtoun " was, and is still, the little
village not far from the castle gates, and the " auld yew
tree " remains to this day fresh and vigorous, and,
apart from its historical associations, a unique and
beautiful example of its kind. It is said to have been
there as far back as the days of De Morville and the
first charter to the lands of Loudoun in the person of the
founder of the family and his heirs for ever ; and it is
historical that under its branches, Hugh, the third Earl,
subscribed the Articles of the Union between Scotland
and England. The second Earl died at Leyden.
When the second Earl of Loudoun died at Leyden,
he was succeeded by his son Hugh, third Earl of Loudoun,
1684. Two years later he took his seat in Parliament,
and was sworn a Privy Councillor in 1687. On February
7, 1699, through the influence of the Earl, afterwards
the first Duke of Argyll, he was appointed an
extraordinary Lord of Session. Argyll held him in high
esteem. Commending him to Secretary Carstairs,
" pray," he wrote, " let not Earl MelviU's unreasonable
pretending to the vacant gown slack as to Earl Loudoun,
who, though a younger man, is an older and more noted
Presbyterian than he. Loudoun has it in his blood, and
is a mettled young fellow, that those who recommend
him will gain honour by him. He has a deal of natural
parts and sharpness, a good stock of clergy, and, by
being in business, will daily improve." He remained in
this office through life, behaving, according to Lockhart,
" to all men's satisfaction, studying to understand the