Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 08.djvu/336

 he had found, a powerful auxiliary in Lauderdale, whose wife's niece he had married (, Mem. p. 38), though Clarendon says that Lauderdale had in former years always written slightingly of him, calling him ‘that toad's bird’ (p. 500).

After his father's death Lorne busied himself about his own restoration, with Lauderdale's active assistance against the influence of Clarendon and Middleton. The latter now hoped for the forfeited Argyll estates, in which design Lauderdale was bent upon baulking him (, i. 297). The opposition of Clarendon he hoped to rid himself of through the chancellor's friend, Lord Berkshire, to whom he promised 1,000l. if his efforts were successful. Unfortunately, he recorded this in a letter to Lord Duffus, which was intercepted, and which, from the accusations against his enemies—the incriminating words being ‘and then the king will see their tricks’ (, p. 70)—afforded good ground for attack. Middleton produced the letter before parliament, which was under his control, and Lorne was indicted on the capital charge of leasing-making. On 24 June information of these proceedings was sent to the king, with a request that Lorne might be given up as a prisoner. Lauderdale, however, by offering himself as bail, life for life, succeeded so far that Lorne was only ordered to go to Edinburgh on parole, so that he might have the advantage of not appearing as a prisoner (, p. 149;, p. 71). On 17 July he arrived in Edinburgh, and appeared at the bar that afternoon, when he was at once committed to the castle. On 26 Aug. he knelt to receive his sentence of death with forfeiture to the king, to whom the time and place of execution were remitted, and who had previously sent positive orders that the sentence should not be carried out. At the same time an act was passed at Middleton's dictation, directed against Lauderdale, forbidding any one to move the king in favour of the children of attainted persons (Lauderdale Papers, Camden Society, i. 109, 113). Lorne remained in the castle until 4 June 1663, when, Middleton having in the meanwhile been disgraced, he was liberated by an order from Rothes, without any warrant from the king, from whom, however, Rothes had private instructions (, p. 117). It is clear, therefore, either that his imprisonment was purely nominal, or that Burnet's statement that at the time of the Billetting plot he sent a horseman by cross roads to warn Lauderdale is incorrect, for the Billetting plot was in September 1662 (, p. 151; Lauderdale Papers, i. 110). At the same time, through the intercession of Lauderdale, the death sentence was rescinded (, p. 204), and he was restored to his grandfather's title of Earl of Argyll, and to the estates, the patent being dated 16 Oct.. He appears from a casual notice on 12 Oct. 1663 to have been in London when this took place (Cal. State Papers, Dom. Ser. 1663, 295). From the estates a provision of 15,000l. a year was secured; the rest was to be used for the payment of his creditors, of the justice of whose claims he and his sisters were first to be satisfied (, i. 380). This settlement was later renewed and ratified by Charles in a letter dated from Newmarket, 17 March 1682–3 (‘‘Hist. MSS. Comm’’. 6th Rep. 615 b). Burnet says that the estates reserved did not pay off more than one-third of the debt. The family had been reduced almost to beggary, while by a decreet of 16 April 1661 Montrose had established a claim upon him of 32,664l. 3s. 4d. Scots for Maydock rents, which had been given to Argyll on Montrose's forfeiture, as well as 5,000l., being the price for the said lands with annual rent from Whitsun day 1655 (ib. 632 a). The constant litigation on these matters with Montrose intensified the natural enmity between the families. They were, however, reconciled by February 1667 (Lauderdale Papers, ii. 54; and Argyll Correspondence, Bannatyne Club). Montrose visited Argyll at Inverary in August (Lauderdale Papers, 23727, f. 211), and in March 1669 Argyll travelled all the way to Perthshire from Inverary to attend the funeral of his former enemy, to whose son he became guardian (Hist. MSS. Comm. 6th Rep. 609a), returning to find one of his own children dead. We may here mention that on 2 Oct. 1660 Lorne had had a lease granted to him by Charles of assyse herring of the western seas of Scotland for nineteen years, for 1,000l. yearly, which was renewed on 26 Jan. 1667, and it is interesting to find Charles speaking in September 1668 enthusiastically of the present of herrings and aqua vitæ which Argyll had sent him. Sir R. Moray, who wrote to tell him this, urged him to take immediate steps for supplying the London market. On 29 April 1664 Argyll was placed on the Scotch privy council (, i. 416). On the 21st Rothes speaks of him as likely to be active in support of the government against the conventiclers (Lauderdale Papers, 23122, f. 139). In September 1664, however, we find him complaining that he is falsely reported to be slack in the king's service, and that pains are taken to misconstrue all he does. During 1664 and 1665 he was regarded as one of Lauderdale's chief adherents (ib. ii. App. xxvii), Lauderdale being godfather to