Glen Collection of printed music > Printed music > Jacobite relics of Scotland > [First series]

NOTES. 191
14tli of March; and there Clavers also attended, on purpose to
effect all for his master's interest that he could. But being
alarmed by an information of a design formed by the Covenanters
to assassinate him, he fled suddenly from the city, at the head of
150 horsemen. When he passed under the walls of the castle, the
duke of Grordon, who held that place for James, called him to a
conference. He scrambled fearlessly up the tremendous precipice,
to the consternation of all that beheld him, and informed the
duke of all his designs in favour of the late king, conjuring him,
at the same time, to hold out the castle. The novelty of the
sight collected multitudes of spectators. The convention became
alarmed; and the president ordered the doors to be locked, and the
keys to be laid upon the table. The drums were beat to alarm
the town. A parcel of ill-armed retainers were gathered together
in the street by the earl of Leven. But Clavers, in the mean
time, riding off with his party, the adherents of James were in
dreadful apprehensions, and fifty gentlemen, members of the con-
vention, retired from Edinburgh ; and that circumstance produced
an unanimity in all the succeeding resolutions of the convention,
now composed solely of Whigs, that gave one severe blow, among
others, to the cause of James.
The adherents of the exiled monarch now turned their eyes
towards Clavers ; for the convention having in vain urged him to
return, they declared him a fugitive, an outlaw, and a rebel.
G-eueral Mackay was despatched by William to Scotland with
four regiments of foot and one of dragoons ; and Clavers, being
warned of his design to surprise him, retired to the Grampian
mountains, with only a few horse in his train. He marched from
thence to Gordon Castle, where he was joined by the earl of Dun-
fermline, with fifty gentlemen. He then passed through the
county of Moray to Inverness, where he found Macdonald of
Keppoch lying with 700 men, after having laid waste, in his way,
the lands of the clan of Mackintosh. Clavers, having promised to
the magistrates of Inverness to repay, at the king's return, all the
money extorted from them by Keppoch, induced the latter to join
him with all his men. He could not, however, prevent them
from first returning home with their spoil ; and therefore, in