Three Celtic earldoms

36 THREE CELTIC EARLDOMS
eldest son, John, Lord Murray, who was married to a
daughter of the Duke of Hamilton, had declared for
King William. Lord Murray in July summoned his
father's retainers to arms, and 1200 obeyed the
call, but their fidelity could not be relied on. Both
parties felt the importance of securing Blair Castle
on account of its commanding position. It was
eventually secured by Claverhouse.
The photograph of John, first Marquis of Atholl,
drawn by Macaulay we do not agree with. The
deposition of James VII. and the accession of
William and Mary were astounding events in the
history of the time. The Highland people were in
reality Jacobites, strongly attached to the house of
Stuart ; yet they could not condone the wholesale
massacres which took place in the reign of James,
and which led to his downfall.
The people rose in rebellion against these mas-
sacres of Protestants and Covenanters, and this move-
ment took shape in 1687. Atholl was Lieutenant-
General for James in Scotland. He had possessed
the unqualified confidence of Charles I. and Charles II.
James continued him in office, but Atholl, after two
years' service under James, retired from public life to
his residence at Blair Castle, where he resolved to
spend the remainder of his days. Not to offend the
king, Atholl took this way of expressing his disap-
proval of the king's policy. He was indebted to the
Stuarts for his distinguished position in the State,
and it was natural that he should desire to live
and die a Jacobite. His sympathies were with
William and Mary, and during these fierce and bitter
struggles for Jacobite supremacy in 1687 and the two
following years Atholl could conscientiously take
no part, and he therefore went for a short time to
Bath. He has been taken to task for this by various
writers., e.g. Macaulay, who says : " He was the falsest,