Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 4.djvu/43

Rh of clan wars could easily furnish them with numerous examples of such barbarous atrocity, where there was not greater provocation.

Having thus completely marred the marriage of lord Salton, the master of Lovat immediately set about the celebration of his own. The heiress of Lovat was safe in the hands of her friends at Athol; but the dowager, her mother, was in the house of Beaufort, every avenue to which he beset with his followers, so that it was out of her power to inform her friends of any thing that was going on; then, entering the house with a parson, whether catholic or episcopal is unknown, he made the lady go through the form of marriage with himself, had her forcibly undressed and put to bed, whither he as forcibly followed her before witnesses, thus constituting it, as he supposed, a lawful marriage. This is one of the most atrocious of the many revolting actions in the life of this profligate nobleman, though one to which he has given a flat denial in the memoir which he has written of himself. The truth is, it was as foolish as it was wicked; and, after the purpose for which it was committed, viz. to remove the enmity of the Athol family, had utterly failed, he himself must have been heartily ashamed of it. There is, indeed, a total falsehood in one reason that he insists upon as proving its improbability. She was old enough, he says, to have been his mother. Now she was only four years older than himself, having died at Perth in the year 1743, in the eightieth year of her age. She had been either so frightened by him, or so cajoled, as to offer, if we may believe the duke of Argyle, writing to the Rev. Mr Carstairs, to give her oath before the court of justiciary that all that had passed between her and Lovat was voluntary, and as much her inclination as his; and she lived to hear him deny his being at all concerned with her, and to see him twice afterwards married.

But to return from this short digression. Having, as he supposed, put himself in a fair way for being acknowledged by the house of Athol, the master of Lovat abandoned the idea of hanging so many of the members and allies belonging to it, as he had in custody in his castle of Fanellan, contenting himself with extorting a bond from lord Salton for eight thousand pounds, with four low-country barons as his sureties, if he ever again interfered with the affairs of the estate of Lovat, or if ever he or the marquis of Athol prosecuted any one individual for any thing that had been transacted in this whole affair. This was only a little more of the same folly which had guided him through the whole business, and tended but to excite the wonder of his friends, and the hatred and contempt of his enemies, the latter of whom, on a representation to the privy council, had him intercommuned, and letters of fire, and sword issued out against him and all his clan. This, though perfectly in the natural order of human affairs, was altogether unexpected by the master of Lovat, and seems to have reduced him to great extremity. Besides the family of Athol, which was much more powerful than his own, troops were ready to pour in upon him from all quarters, and even those upon whom he depended for counsel and assistance seem at the time to have declared against him. To the laird of Culloden, we find him writing from Beaufort in the month of October, 1697. "Thir Lds. att Inverness, wt. ye rest of my implacable enemies, does so confound my wife, that she is uneasy till she see them. I am afraid they are so mad with this disappointment, that they will propose something to her that's dangerous, her brother having such power with her; so that really till things be perfectly accommodate, I do not desire they should see her, and I know not how to manage her. So I hope you will send all the advice you can to your obliged, &c. &c. I hope you will excuse me for not going your length, since I have such a hard task at home." The advice given him by Culloden has