The Battle of Culloden
and
The Execution of William Boyd
(4th Earl of Kilmarnock)
The
Earl of Kilmarnock, William Boyd was appointed colonel of the
hussars, by Bonnie Prince Charlie and in that capacity accompanied
the
insurgents into England. (1) At the battle of Falkirk he was
a
principal actor; and on the day following he brought a party of his
men into town to guard some prisoners, a list of whom he presented
to the Prince at his lodgings.
(picture of the 1st Earl of Kilmarnock owned by Susan Gillim family)
An anecdote in connection with the battle of Falkirk is told of the
Earl's lady. She was then residing at Callander House, in the
vicinity; and, in order to divert the attention of Lieutenant-General
Hawley, the commander of the King's troops, from the movements of the
Prince, she insidiously invited him to breakfast. This well-laid
scheme was in some degree successful; for Hawley was so fascinated
by
the elegant appearance and engaging demeanour of the Countess, that
he passed several hours in her company, during which time Charles
found ample opportunity for choosing, as he did, a favourable
position for his army. In short, the general had so far forgot his
duty, that he had ultimately to be apprised of the situation of the
enemy by a messenger, who was despatched to him for that purpose; and
such, it is said, was his confusion of mind when leaving the mansion,
that he left his hat behind him, and Gilpin-like, hurried bareheaded
to the camp. (2) The battle of Falkirk, in which the young adventurer
was victorious, was fought on the afternoon of the 17th of January,
1746.
In the course of a few days Prince Charles and his followers marched
to Stirling, and, after a fruitless attempt to besiege the Castle,
retreated to the north. By this time the Duke of Cumberland had
arrived in Scotland with additional forces for the supression of the
Rebellion, and the day was rapidly approaching when the golden hopes
of the Prince and his adherants were destined to perish. The Duke
lost no time in following them to the Highlands; and on the 16th of
April the two armies met on Drummossie moor, near Culloden House, at
a short distance from Inverness. It is not our province, perhaps, to
describe the sanguinary conflict that ensued; still, as it proved
disastrous not only to the cause of the Prince, but to the Earl of
Kilmarnock, a succinct account of it may be appropriately given in
these pages. It is said that the Earl, who commanded the foot-guards
at this engagement, on beholding the cool, determined appearance of
the formidable ranks of Cumberland, felt an inward conviction that
the Prince's army would be involved in defeat and ruin. But, not
withstanding the powerful aspect of their opponents, the adherants
of
Charles, though greatly inferior in numbers, attacked them like men
resolved to conquer or perish. In the words of the Jacobite
ballad,
"There was no lack of bravery there,
No spare of blood or breath;
For, one to two, their foes they dared
For freedom of for death."
(1). The author of the memoir from which we have already quoted,
says
he "was received by the young Chevalier with great marks of esteem
and distinction, was made Colonel of the Guards, and promoted to
the
degree of a General."
(2). See Chamber's Rebellion
The following powerful description of the last charge of the
Highlanders we quote from Chamberlain's interesting History of The
Rebellion: "Notwithstanding that the three files of the front line
of
the English poured forth their incessant fire of musketry---
notwithstanding that the cannon, now loaded with grapeshot, swept the
field as with a hail-storm---notwithstanding the flank fire of
Wolfe's regiment---onward, onward went the headlong Highlanders,
flinging themselves into, rather than rushing upon, the lines of the
enemy, which, indeed, they did not see the smoke till involved among
their weapons.
It was a moment of dreadful, agonizing suspense, but only a moment;
for the whirlwind does not reap the forest with a greater rapidity
than the Highlanders cleared the line. They swept through and over
that frail barrier almost as easily and instantaneously as the
bounding calvacade brushes through the morning labours of the
gossamer which stretch across its path; no, however, with the same
unconsciousnss of the event. Almost every man in their front rank,
chief and gentleman, fell before the deadly weapons which they had
braved; and, although the enemy gave way, it was not till every
bayonet was bent and bloody with the strife.
"When the first line had been completely swept aside, the assailants
continued their impetuous advance till they came near the second,
when, being almost annihilated by a profuse and well-directed fire,
the shattered remains of what had been but an hour before a numerous
and confident force, at last submitted to destiny by giving away and
flying. Still a few rushed on, resolved rather to die than thus
forfeit their well-acquired and dearly estimated honour. They rushed
on, but not a man ever came in contact with the enemy. The last
survivor perished as he reached the points of the bayonets."
According to various historians, the havoc which was made among the
poor Highlanders, at the close of the battle, was dreadful in the
extreme. In some places of the field their bodies lay in layers three
or four deep; and many of the survivors were treated with the
greatest inhumanity by the reckless soldiers of the Duke.(1) Many of
the vanquished, who escaped death on the field of battle, were taken
prisoners, among whom was the Earl of Kilmarnock, who, according to
the Culloden Papers, had received a wound in the engagement. In the
confusion of the fight, or by the wind---for the weather was
tempestuous---his hat had fallen from his head, and he was escorted
bareheaded along the lines of the royal army. His eldest son, who was
an ensign in the King's service at the same combat, with feelings of
pity and affection beheld him in that condition; and, at the risk of
incurring the displeasure of his fellow-officers, he flew from the
ranks, and, with his own hat, covered the haed of his unfortunate
father from the storm. Many eyes, it is said, were suffused with
tears on witnessing this noble act of filial regard
on the part of
(1). In a letter by one of the victors, published in the Scots
Magazine for April, 1746, this sentence occurs: "The moor was covered
with blood; and our men, by killing the enemy, dabbling their feet
in
the blood, and splashing it about one another, looked like so many
butchers."
youthful lord.(1) The Earl of Kilmarnock, with other prisoners of
distinction, was carried to London and
imprisoned in the Tower.
(2) A bill of indictment having been found against him, he was
brought to trial along with the Earl of Cromarty and Lord Balmerino,
on Monday, the 28th of July, 1746, in Westminster-hall, which had
been fitted up with great magnificience for the occasion. Unusual
pomp was also displayed in the assembling of the Judges, the Lord
High Steward, and the Peers, of whom an hundred and thirty-six were
present. The "Rebel Lords," as they were called in the newspapers and
magazines of the time, were brought from the Tower in coaches,
alongside of which a strong military force marched as a guard. In the
coaches with the prisoners were the Deputy-Governor of the Tower,
Captain Marshall, and Mr Fowler (the gentleman jailer), with the axe,
which was covered, along with him. The court being assembled, and the
sergeant-at-arms having made proclaimation for the bodies of the
prisoners, they were led to the bar accompanied by the gentle-jailer,
who carried the axe with its edge turned from them. The indictment
of
the Earl of Kilmarnock was then read, to which he pleaded guilty, and
reccommended himself to the mercy of the King. The other two lords
being also found guilty, the court adjorned till the 30th, when
sentence would be pronounced; and the prisoners, "with the edge of
the axe turned towards them," were conducted back to the Tower.
1. See Chambers Rebellion. Another anecdote, also honourable to the
memory of this young nobleman, may be related. Nineteen Highland
officers, who had been severely wounded in the conflict, were
afterwards found sheltered in the vicinity of Culloden House, and
led
forth to be shot. One of them, named Fraser, though he received
a
ball, did not expire. The butt of a musket was then applied to his
head in order to despatch him, and he was left for dead on the
ground. Soon after, Lord Boyd happened to pass the spot where he
lay,
and, moved with compassion for the unhappy man, who still showed
symptons of life, got him "conveyed to a secure place, where he
recovered in the course of three months.." See Griffin's Jacobite
Minstrelsy.
2. The news of the defeat of Prince Charles and his followers, at
Culloden, was received, it would appear, with much satisfaction
in
Kilmarnock. In the Town Treasurer's Book is the following entry:
"Acct of Entertainment at Rejoicing on the victory at Colodin fight,
to Will. Walker, May, 1746, L17 Scots." About the same time, the
Duke
of Cumberland's birthday was celebrated here, and L7 10s Scots
expended by the bailies and councillors on the occasion.
3. "The Chancellor [Hardwicke] was Lord High Steward; but through
a
most comely personage with a fine voice, his behaviour was mean,
curiously searching for occasion to bow to the minister [Mr Pelham],
that is no peer, and consequently applying to the other ministers,
in
a manner, for their orders; and not even ready at the ceremonial.
To
the prisoners he was peevish; and instead of keeping up to the humane
dignity of the law of England, whose character it is to point out
favour to the criminal, he crossed them, and almost scolded at any
offer they made towards defence." ---Walpole's Letters to Sir Horace
Mann.
On the appointed day the court again met, and the Lord High Steward
(3 above).
put the following question to each of the prisoners: "Have you
anything to offer why judgement of death should not pass against you?
The Earl of Kilmarnock acknowledged the heinousness of the crime with
which he was charged, confessed his guilt, and threw himself upon the
sympathy and compassion of the court, whom he implored to intercede
with his majesty in his behalf. He alluded to the unsullied character
of his ancestors; to the services rendered by his father in the
support of the House of Hanover, and in the promotion of revolution
principles; and to his own adherence and fidelity to those principles
up until the moment at which he had been seduced to join in the
Rebellion. He also alluded to the services of his eldest son in the
cause of his Majesty; to the hatred of Popery and arbitrary power
which he has instilled into his mind; "and is it possible," he asked,
"that my endeavors in his education would have been successful, if
I
had not myself been sincere in those principles. and an enemy to
those measures which have involved me and my family in ruin? Had my
mind at that time been tainted with disloyalty and disaffection, I
could not have dissembled so closely with my own family, but some
tincture would have devolved to my children." He then pleaded that
he
had bought no arms, nor had he raised a single man for the cause of
the Pretender; that, when engaged with the Rebels, he had not
unfrequently made himself useful to his Majesty's subjects, by
assisting such persons as were sick or wounded among the prisoners
they had taken; that he seperated from his corps at the battle of
Culloden, and surrendered himself when he might have made his
escape;(1) "but my lords," he concluded, "if all I have offered is
not a sufficient motive to your lordships to induce you to employ
your interest with his Majesty in my behalf, I shall lay down my life
with the utmost resignation, and my last moments shall be employed
in
fervant prayers for the preservation of the illustrious House of
Hanover, and the peace and prosperity of Great Britain."
"The Sentence"
Notwithstanding these seemingly sincere sentiments of contrition for
his errors, the Earl of Kilmarnock unfortunately found no favour from
the court. At the close of his trial the Lord High Steward made a
speech to the prisoners, and concluded by pronouncing sentence in the
following words: "The judgement of the
law is, and this high court
doth award, that you, William Earl of Kilmarnock,
George Earl of
Cromarty, and Arthur Lord Balmerino, and every
one of you, return to
the prison of the Tower from whence you came;
from thence you must be
drawn to the place of execution; when you come
there, you must be
hanged by the neck, but not until,you are dead,
for you must be cut
down alive; then your bowels must be taken out,
and burnt before your
faces; then your heads must be severed from your
bodies; and your
bodies must be divided each into four quarters,
and these must be at
the King's disposal. And God Almighty be
merciful to your souls."(2)
1. His lordship afterwards acknowledged---and earnestly desired it
might be published to the world---that his declaration was false;
that he had no intention of surrendering; and that the party of
the
King's troops, towards whom he advanced, he had mistaken for Fitz-
James Horse, with whom he intended to make his escape. ---See
Foster's Account
2. In cases of high treason this awful sentence is usually
pronounced, but the most ignominious parts of it are generally
remitted to persons of high rank.
Petitions containing statements similar to those embodied in his
speech at the trial were afterwards presented by the Earl of
Kilmarnock to the King, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of
Cumberland. A petition was also sent to government in his behalf by
the Town Council of Kilmarnock. His old family teacher, too, traveled
all the way to London to intercede for him with persons of
distinction; and it is said that his unhappy lady hastened thither
for the same purpose; but none of these efforts had the effect of
producing and mitigation of his sentence.(1) It is generally thought,
however, that his life would have been spared had not the Duke of
Cumberland believed that he had sanctioned an order which was issued
by the leaders of the insurgents, and signed "George Murray," to give
no quarter to the King's troops. That the Earl had no hand in that
matter, he emphatically declared in his petition to the Duke, and
also to his fellow-sufferer, Lord Balmerino, at their last interview,
in presence of the Rev. Mr Foster and others, on the day of his
execution.
The appearance of the Earl at his trial is thus described by the
Honourable Horace Walpole, who was present: "Lord Kilmarnock is tall
and slender, with an extreme fine person; his behaviour a most just
mixture between dignity and submission; if in anything to be
reprehended, a little affected, and his hair too exactly dressed for
a man in his situation; but when I say this it is not to find fault
with him, but to show how little fault there is to be found." The
same authority states that "Lord Kilmarnock, with the greatest
nobleness of soul, desired to have Lord Cromarty preferred to himself
for pardon, if there could be but one saved."
1. James, the sixth Duke of Hamilton, also exerted himself to procure
a pardon for the Earl. Walpole says: "Duke Hamilton, who has never
been at court, designs to kiss the King's hand, and ask Lord
Kilmarnock's life. The King is much inclined to some mercy; but
the
Duke [of Cumberland], who has not so much of a Caesar after a victory
as in gaining it, is for the utmost severity. It was lately proposed
in the city to present him with the freedom of some company; one
of
the aldermen said aloud, "Then let it be one of the Butchers!"
Pitied by gentle hearts, Kilmarnock died.
Johnson.
He died, as erring man should die,
Without display---without parade.
Byron.
The Earl of Kilmarnock was attended from the 7th August till within
a
few moments of his execution, by Mr James Foster, an eminent
dissenting clergyman, who published an interesting account of his
behaviour after his sentence. From that work, which is before us,
this unfortunate nobleman appears to have been of a mild and
benevolent disposition, and altogether guileless and ingenuous
in
his confessions. He assured Mr foster "that, in the hours of his
confinement and solitude, he had felt the crime of rebellion lie as
a
severe and heavy load upon his soul; and particularly upon these two
accounts, which were peculiar aggravations of his guilt, that he had
been a rebel against his conscience and inward principles, and in
violation of his oath, solemnly and often repeated."
When asked by Mr Foster what could be his motive for engaging in the
Rebellion against his conscience, he said "that the true root of all
was his careless and dissolute life, by which he had reduced himself
to great and perplexing difficulties;(1) that the exigency of his
affairs was in particular very pressing at the time of the Rebellion;
and that, besides the general hope he had of mending his fortune by
the success of it, he was also tempted by another prospect of
retrieving his circunstances, if he followed
the Pretender's
standard." On Mr Foster telling him "that by joining rebels he
had
not only attacked the personal rights of the King and his illustrious
house, but endeavoured to destroy the national happiness, and
frustrate the hopes of posterity; that he had been instrumental in
diffusing consternation and terror through the land, obstructing
commerce, giving shock to the public credit, in the spoliation and
ruin of his country; and ought to consider himself as an accessory
to
innumerable private oppressions and murders: His Lordship added, with
a sensible concern, Yea, and murders of the innocent too!" When
talking of Prince Charles and the Popish religion, he said "that he
himself was never, in the utmost heat of his rebellion, a well-wisher
to tyrannical power and Popery, which last he could never embrace,
without entirely renouncing his understanding as a man." On the
subject of death he spoke calmly and rationally,
like one who had
1. Walpole, alluding, in one of his letters, to the Earl's straitened
circumstances, says: "I don't know whether I told you that the man
at
the Tennis Court protests that he has known him [Lord Kilmarnock]
dine with the man that sells pamphlets at Storey's gate; "and" says
he, "he would often have been glad if I would have taken him home
to
dinner." He was certainly so poor, that in one of his wife's
intercepted letters she tells him she has plagued their steward
for a
fortnight for money, and can get but three shillins." This is surely
exaggeration. According to accounts published at the time, the Earl
gave a purse containing five guineas to his executioner.
been weaned from the world by the soothing influence of religion; and
when he did allude to the scenes of gaiety and pleasure in which he
had mingled, it was apparently with no desire to taste again their
deluding joys, but to point out the rock on which he had been wrecked
and ruined. When told that the warrant for his execution had come,
and that the day fixed was the 18th, he evinced almost no perturb-
bation of mind; but seemed more concerned for the consequences of
death than for the thing itself, of which, he said, "he had no great
reason to be terrified; for that the stroke appeared to be scarce so
much as the pain of drawing a tooth, or the first shock of the cold-
bath upon a weak and fearful temper."
A minute detail of all the solemn and appalling circumstances that
would attend his execution was given him by General Williamson, to
which he listened without betraying any inward emotion. Among other
things, he was informed that the coffin would be in a mourning
hearse, close to the scaffold, so that when the head was struck off
it would be ready to receive it; to which his lordhip said, that he
thought it would be better for the coffin to be placed upon the
scaffold, for, by that means, the body would be sooner removed out
of
sight. He was also told that the executioner was not only expert, but
a very good sort of man. "General" exclaimed the Earl, "this is one
of the worst circumstances you could have mentioned; for I cannot
thoroughly like, for such work, your good sort of men: one of that
character, I apprehend, must be tender-hearted and compassionate, and
a rougher and less sensible temper might, perhaps, be fitter to be
employed." He then desired "that four persons might be appointed to
receive the head in a red cloth when it was severed from the body,
so
that it might not, as he had been informed was the case in some
former executions, roll about the scaffold and be thereby mangled and
disfigured; adding, that though this was, in comparision, but a small
circumstance, he was not willing that his body should appear with any
unnecessary indecency after the just sentence of the law was
satisfied." Mr Foster, with the view of strengthening his mind for
the awful scene that awaited him, advised him "to think frequently
on
the outward apparatus and formalities that would attend his death;"
and this he appears to have done; for, on the morning of his
execution, he agreed with the reverand gentleman, "that they were not
so terrible in themselves, as the dying after a dispiriting and
lingering distemper, in a silent, melancholy, darkened room, with
languid and exhausted spirits, and his friends standing round him
with lively marks of sorrow and anguish in their countenances,
expecting and deploring his fate."
"I now come," says Mr Foster, "to the conclusion of this dismal
scene---his behaviour on the day of his execution. I attended him in
the morning about eight o'clock, and found him in a most calm and
happy temper, without any disturbance or confusion of mind, and with
apparent marks of ease and serenity in his aspect......I had observed
to him, that to affect to brave death, when he justly suffered for
his crimes, could have no show of true decorum in it---and that, to
manifest no concern at all, where the consequence was so awful and
the stake infinite, was in some degree unbecoming even in the best
of
men---that not to fear at all where there was any great reason to
fear, was altogether as absurd as to be extremely dejected and
pusillanimous where there was ground for hope---and that true
penitence was always humble and cautious, and not bold and arrogant.
He assented to all this, and told me further, that for a man who had
led a dissolute life, and yet believed the consequences of death, to
put on such an air of daringness and absolute intrepidity, must argue
him either to be very stupid or very impious...... He continued
all
the morning of his execution in the same uniform temper, unruffled,
and without any sudden vicissitudes and starts of passion. This
remarkably appeared, when soon after I had, at his own desire, made
a
short prayer with him, General Williamson came to inform him that the
sheriffs waited for the prisoners. At receiving this awful summons
to
go to death he was not in the least startled, but said calmly and
gracefully, "General, I am ready; I'll follow you." At the foot of
the first stairs he met and embraced Balmerino, who said to him, "My
lord, I am heartily sorry to have your company in this expedition."
From thence he walked, with the usual formalities, to the Tower-gate
and (after being delivered into the custody of the sheriffs), to the
house(1) provided on Tower-hill, with a senerity, mildness, and
dignity, that greatly surprised and affected the spectators."
After passing a short time in conversation with Balmerino, and in
prayer with Mr Foster and others, "Lord Kilmarnock took his last
farewell of the gentlemen who attended him in a very affectionate
manner, and went out of the room, preceded by the sheriffs and
accompanied by his friends. And I am informed" continues Mr Foster,
"of the following particular by Mr Home, that as he was stepping into
the scaffold, notwithstanding the great pains he had taken to
familiarize the outward apparatus of death to his mind, nature still
recurred upom him; so that being struck with a variety of dreadful
objects at once---the multitude, the block, his coffin, the
executioner, the instrument of death---he turned about and said,
"Home, this is terrible." This expression, so suitable to the awful
occasion, must, to all who know the human heart, appear to be nothing
else than the language of nature, and was far from being a mark of
unmanly fear; being pronounced with a steady countenance and firmness
of voice, indications of a mind unbroken and not isconcerted. His
whole behaviour was so humble and resigned, that not only his
friends, but every spectator was deeply moved; even the executioner
burst into tears, and was obliged to use artificial spirits to
support and strengthen him. After having talked with his lordship a
considerable time, to support him in his penitence and resignation,
I
embraced, and left him in the same calm disposition, having quitted
the scaffold some minutes before his execution."
What remains to be told of this mournful scene we will give in the
words of Mr Jameson, another Presbyterian minister, who attended him
till the last moment: "My lord's hair having been dressed in a bag,
it took some time to undo it, and put it up in his cap. The tucking
his shirt under the waistcoat, that it might not obstruct the blow,
was the occasion of some further small delay. But as soon as these
preliminaries were adjusted, his lordship gave the executioner notice
what should be the signal, took out a paper containing the heads of
his devetion, went forward to his last stage, and decently knelt down
on the block. Whether it was to support himself, or as a more
convenient posture for devotion, he happened to lay his hands with
his head upon the block, which the executioner observing, prayed his
lordship to let his hands fall down, lest they should be mangled or
break the blow.
1. This house was about thirty yards from the scaffold.
Then he was told that the neck of his waistcoat was in the way, upon
which he rose up, and with the help of one of his friends--- Mr Walk-
inshaw of Scotston---had taken it off. This done, and the neck made
bare to the shoulder, he again knelt down as before. And what
sufficiently shows that he enjoyed full presence of mind to the last,
Mr Home's servant, who held the cloth to receive the head, heard him
direct the executioner that in two minutes he would give the signal.
That dreadful interval, to his friends, who were then upon the rack,
appeared much longer, but those who measured found it just about two
minutes. This time he spent in most fervent devotion, as appeared by
the motion of his hands, and now and then of his head; having then
fixed his neck on the block, he gave the signal, his body remained
without the least motion, except what was given it by the stroke of
death, which he received full, and was thereby happily eased at once
of all his pain."(1) His lordship's remains were, accordingly to his
own request, interred in the evening, close to the Marquis of Tulli-
bardine's, in the church of St Peter. On the coffin were these words:
"Guilielmus comes de Kilmarnock 18 Augusti 1746, aetat. suae 42"
Mr Walkinshaw of Scotston, as he is called in the above paragraph,
was Colonel John Walkinshaw Craufurd of Craufurdland, in his
parish.
He was on terms of closest intimacy with the Earl, and besides
holding the cloth to receive his head, he performed the last
melancholy duty of a friend by getting him interred. For this
service, which was purely that of friendship, he was put to the
bottom of the army list. He afterwards rose to the rank of Major, and
latterlt to that of lieutenant-colonel. He died in 1793, aged seventy
two.
Soon after the Earl's death, his eldest son, Lord Boyd, who was then
residing in Kilmarnock, where the family was much respected,(1)trans-
mitted the following letter to the Colonel, at Scarborough, thanking
him in feeling terms for his attention to his unfortunate father. The
original MS. is in the possession of W.H. Craufurd, Esq. of
Craufurdland:
"My dear John, I had yours last post, and I don't know in what words
to express how much I am obliged to you for doing the last duties to
my unfortunate father; you knew him perfectly well, that he was the
best of friends, the most affectionate husband, and the tenderest
parent. Poor Lady Kilmarnock bears her loss much better than I could
have imagined; but it was entirely owing to her being prepared
several days before she got the melancholy accounts of it. I shall
be
here for some time, as I have a good deal of business to do in this
country; so I shall be extremely glad to see you as soon as possible.
I am, my dear John, your sincere friend and obedient humble servant,
"Kilmarnock [House], August 27, 1746." "Boyd.
1. As somewhat illustrative of this respect, the following tradit-
tionary anecdote may be related: A
flying stationer came to the
burgh and began to hawk a paper containing an account of the Earl's
execution; but the inhabitants, notwithstanding their disapproval
of
the part which he had taken in the Rebellion, felt indignant at
hearing his name bawled aloud through the streets in connection
with
a subject so ignominous, and, rising in a mass, they mobbed the
poor
hawker to such a degree, that, for the preservation of his life,
he
was forced to hasten out of the burgh.
According to a declaration made by the Earl, during his confinement,
to his solicitor, Mr Ross, and to the Reverand and Honourable Mr.
Home, Lady Kilmarnock had no hand in exciting him to join in the
Rebellion, but on the contrary had endeavoured to dissuade him from
taking part in such a course. After his death she brooded in deepest
melancholy over his fate. In a secluded avenue, called "The Lady's
Walk," which we have already noticed, and part of which yet remains
in the vicinity of Kilmarnock House, she was wont to wander alone,
with downcast looks, and pour forth the sorrows of her heart. She
died of grief at Kilmarnock, 16th September, 1747.
Lord Kilmarnock, while in prison, wrote a letter to his eldest son,
and another to his factor, Boyd Paterson, Esq. The latter of these
is
in the possession of Mr Paterson's great-grandson, M.T. Paterson,
Esq., who has kindly permitted us to copy it. In a striking manner
it
exhibits the sterling honesty of the writer; and, on that account,
we
insert it in our pages, convinced that it will be perused with con-
siderable interest. It is as follows:
"Sir,---I have commended to your care the enclosed packet
to be
delivered to my wife, in the manner your good sense shall dictate to
you will be least shocking to her. Let her be prepared for it as much
by degrees and with great tenderness as the nature of the thing will
admit of. The entire dependence I have all my life had the most just
reason to have on your integrity and friendship to my wife and
family, as well as to myself, makes me desire that the enclosed
papers may come to my wife through my hands, in confidence that you
will take all pains to comfort her and relieve the grief I know she
will be in, that you and her friends can. She is what I leave dearest
behind me in the world, and the greatest service you can do to your
dead friend is to contribute as much as possible to her happiness in
mind and in her affairs.
You will peruse the State before you deliver it to her, and you will
observe that there is a fund of hers I don't mention, that of 500
Scots a year as the interest of my mother-in law's portion, in the
Countess of Errol's hands, with I believe a considerable arrear upon
it; which as I have ordered a copy of all these papers to that
Countess, I did not care put in. There is another thing, a good deal
of moment, which I mention only to you, because, if it could
be
taken away without noise it would be better; but if it is pushed, it
will be necessary to defend it: that a bond which you know Mr Kerr,
director to the chancery, has of me for a considerable sum of money,
with many years interest on it, which was almost all play debt. I
don't think I ever had fifty pounds of the half of it, of Mr Kerr's
money, and I'm sure I never had a hundred, which however I have put
it to in the enclosed declaration, that my mind may be entirely at
ease. My intention, with respect to that sum, was to wait till I had
some money, and then but it off by a composition of three hundred
pounds, and if that was not accepted of, to defend it; in which I
neither saw, nor now see, anything unjust, and I now leave it on my
successors to do what they find most prudent in it.
"Beside my personal debts mentioned in general and particular in the
State, there is one for which I am liable in justice, if it is not
paid, owing to poor people who gave their work for it by my orders.
It was at Elgin in Murray, the Regiment I commander wanted shoes. I
commissioned something about seventy pair of shoes and brogues, which
might come to 3 shillngs or three shillings and sixpence each, one
with the other. The magistrates divided them among the shoemakers of
the town and country, and each shoemaker furnished his proportion.
I
drew on the town, for the price, out of the composition laid on them,
but I was afterwards told at Inverness that, it was believed, the
composition was otherwise applied, and the poor shoemakers not paid.
As these poor people wrought by my orders, it will be a great ease
to
my heart to think they are not to lose by me, as too many have done
in the course of that year, but had I lived I might have made some
inquiry after: but now it is impossible, as their hardships in loss
of horses and such things, which happeened through my soldiers, are
so interwoven with what was done by other people, that it would be
very hard, if not impossible, to seperate them. If you'll write to
Mr
Innes of Dalkinty at Elgin (with whom I was quartered when I lay
there), he will send you an account of the shoes, and if they were
paid to the shoemakers or no; and if they are not, I beg you'll get
my wife, or my successors to pay them when they can......
"Tower of London, August 16, 1746."
"Kilmarnock"
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