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Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745. Volume I. By: A. T. Thomson (1797-1862) |
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OF THE JACOBITES OF 1715 AND 1745. BY MRS. THOMSON,
AUTHOR OF "MEMOIRS OF THE COURT OF HENRY THE EIGHTH,"
"MEMOIRS OF SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH," ETC. VOLUME I. LONDON:
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET,
Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty.
1845.
LONDON: Printed by S. & J. BENTLEY, WILSON, and FLEY,
Bangor House, Shoe Lane.
PREFACE.
In completing two volumes of a work which has been for some years in
contemplation, it may be remarked that it is the only collective
Biography of the Jacobites that has yet been given to the Public. Meagre
accounts, scattered anecdotes, and fragments of memoir, have hitherto
rather tantalized than satisfied those who have been interested in the
events of 1715 and 1745. The works of Home, of Mr. Chambers, and the
collections of Bishop Forbes, all excellent, are necessarily too much
mingled up with the current of public affairs to comprise any
considerable portion of biographical detail. Certain lives of some of
the sufferers in the cause of the Stuarts, printed soon after the
contests in behalf of those Princes, are little more than narratives of
their trials and executions; they were intended merely as ephemeral
productions to gratify a curious public, and merit no long existence. It
would have been, indeed, for many years, scarcely prudent, and certainly
not expedient, to proffer any information concerning the objects of
royal indignation, except that which the newspapers afforded: nor was it
perfectly safe, for a considerable time after the turbulent times in
which the sufferers lived, to palliate their offences, or to express any
deep concern for their fate. That there was much to be admired in those
whose memories were thus, in some measure, consigned to oblivion, except
in the hearts of their descendants; much which deserved to be explained
in their motives; much which claimed to be upheld in their
self sacrifices, the following pages will show. Whatever leaning the
Author may have had to the unfortunate cause of the Stuarts, it has not,
however, been her intention only to pourtray the bright ornaments of the
party. She has endeavoured to show that it was composed, as well as most
other political combinations, of materials differing in value some
pure, some base, some noble, some mean and vacillating. As far as human weakness and prejudice can permit, the Author has aimed
at a strict scrutiny of conduct and motives. In the colouring given to
these, she has conscientiously sought to be impartial: for the facts
stated, she has given the authorities. It now remains for the Author publicly to acknowledge the resources from
which she has derived some materials which have never before been given
to the Public, and for which she has to thank, in several instances, not
only the kindness of friends, but the liberality of strangers. A very interesting collection of letters, many of them written in the
Earl of Mar's own hand, and others dictated by him, is interwoven with
the biography of that nobleman. These letters were written, in fact, for
the information of the whole body of Jacobites, to whom they were
transmitted through the agent of that party, Captain Henry Straiton,
residing in Edinburgh. They form almost a diary of Lord Mar's
proceedings at Perth. They are continued up to within a few hours of the
evacuation of that city by the Jacobite army. For these curious and
characteristic letters, pourtraying as they do, in lively colours, the
difficulties of the General in his council and his camp, she is indebted
to the friendship and mediation of the Honourable Lord Cockburn, and to
the liberality of James Gibson Craig, Esq. To the Right Honourable the Earl of Newburgh, the descendant and
representative of the Radcliffe family, her sincere and respectful
acknowledgments are due for his Lordship's readily imparting to her
several interesting particulars of the Earl of Derwentwater and his
family. She owes a similar debt of gratitude to the Viscount
Strathallan, for his Lordship's communication to her respecting the
House of Drummond... Continue reading book >>
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