they neither wowld have had the boldness to fix themselves in the heart of his countrey, nor the insolence to cutt doun his woods without his leave; but they should not have one tree of his without paying for it with their blood: That if they were not chastized, the Camerons, who were the only free people within the three kingdoms, wowld soone find themselves in a miserable state of servitude, at the mercy of bloody enthusiasts, who had enslaved their countrey, and embrued their impious hands in the blood of their Sovereign, and still thristed for that of his few remaining subjects: That, however they magnified their courage, yet it might be remembered by severals, who were present, that they had oftener than once tryed it with success in conflicts more hazardous; and, particularly, att Brea of Marr, where he himself defended a pass with a handfull, against an army of them: He furder alleaged, that the enemy, being in absolute security, wowld be so confounded and stupified on a bold, sudden, and unexpected attack, that they wowld imagine every tree in the wood a Highlander with a broadsword in his hand, and cutting their throats: That they had no other arms but heavey musquets, which wowld be useless after the first fire; and that it wowld be their oun faults if they allowed them time to make a second: That supposeing that he and his party should be obliged to retreate, which was the worst that could happen, it was easie for them to retire furder into the wood, through which the enemy durst not follow them, for fear of ambushes; and though they should, yet the Highlanders, who were much nimbler, had the adjacent mountains for their security: That, as to the propossall of sending for more men, they knew that to be impracticable; for those in the neightbourhood were by this time in the remote mountains with their cattle, and the rest lived at too great a distance to affoard assistance at that time; but that he truely belived there was no need of their aid, for if every one there wowld undertake to kill his man, which he expected they wowd doe with their shott, he said that he wowld answer for the rest!

Locheill delivered himself in such a manner that non of his party made furder opposition. They all declaired that they were ready to march wherever he should command them, though to certain death; on

condition that he and his younger brother Allan, who was then a strippling, wowld agree to absent themselves from that danger. They said, that as all the hopes of the Clan depended on their safety, so they intreated him to be prevailed upon in so reasonable a demand. Locheill could not patiently hear the propossall with regaird to himself; but commanded that his brother should be bound to a tree; and that since he could not spare any of his men, a little boy, who was accidentaly with them, should be left to attend him. Though these orders were executed, yet the brave youth soon forced the boy to unloose him, and by that means had the good fortune to save his brother's life, as we shall see by and by.

In the meantime, his scouts brought him notice that the enemy having continued for a short space where they landed, marched slowly along the shoar about half a mile furder Westward, and were now advanced to the village of Achadelew, where they were pillageing the houses and catching the poultry. Locheill, judgeing this the proper season for attacking them, while they were in some disorder, drew up his party in a long line, one man deep, and desired them to march softly, to prevent dissordering themselves, while they were intangled among the trees, till they came in view of the enemy, and to keep up their shott till they touched their breasts with the muzells of their peices. About one half of his men had bows, and were exelent archers. These he ordered to doe the same, and mixed them among his firelocks. But his men were too young and foreward to observe the first part of these orders with necessarey exactness. They marched so quick, or rather ran with such a pace, that Locheill, who, by some accident or other, was obliged to stay a little behind, ran a very great risk (before he could overtake them) of being shott from a bush, where one of the enemy lurked: but his brother Allan came luckily up in the very point of time, and shott the fellow, while he had his gun at his eye, levelled directly att Locheill, who had not observed him.

The English, who, it seems, had been timeously advertised by some of their stragglers, were in very good order when the Camerons came in view of them. They received them with a general discharge of their

musquetts, though at such a distance that they did no harm; and the Highlanders were up with them before they could again load their pices, and powering their shotts into their very bossoms, killed above thirty of them with that bloody fire. They then fell on with their swords, and laid about them with incredible fury. The enemy sustained the shoke with equall bravery, though with less success.

That manner of fighting was new and surprizeing to them. Att first, they acted interely upon the defencive; and, by holding their musquetts cross their foreheads, endeavoured to defend themselves from the terrible blows of the broad-sword. But the Highlanders stricking them below, they were soon obliged to chainge that method. Some of them chose to make use of their swords, with which they struck at their enemys, with great strength and furey; but their blows were mostly ineffectwall, the Highlanders receiving them on their targets or shields; and the mettle and temper of their blades was so bad, that they sone bent in their hands, and became useless, which exposed them to innevitable death. Others of them thrust their bayonets into the muzles of their peices, as the custome then was; but these were no less unsuccessfull, for the more violently they pusht, the more firmly they fastned and stuck in the targets, and left the users naked and defenceless. Those that clubbed their musketts did some more misschief, but faired little better in the end; for though they made some sure blows, yet these peices were at that time so clumsey and heavy, that they seldom could recover them for a second strock; besides, the Highlanders covering them [selves] with their targets, commonly broke their force. But the supperiority of their numbers gave such advantages, as enabled them to keep the conflict long in suspense. Though their ranks were often peirced, disordered, and broke, yet they as often rallyed, and returned to the charge, which exceedingly surprized the Highlanders, who were not accustomed with such long and doubtfull actions; and it is more than probable, that, had the English weapons been equall to the courage of the men, their enemys had payed dear for their rashness.

But their numbers at last decressing, by the slaughter of their best men, they began gradwally to give ground, but not so as to fly; for, with

their faces to their enemys, they still keept in a body retreating, though in disorder, and fighting with invincible obstinacy and resolution. But Locheill, to prevent their escapeing to their vessell, fell upon this stratagem. He commanded two or three of his men to run before, and from a bush of wood, to call out so as to make them imagine that another party of Highlanders intercepted their retreat. This tooke so effectwally that they stopt; and animated by rage, madness, and dispare, they renewed the skirmish with greater fury than before. They were still supernumerary to the Highlanders, by more than a half, and wanted nothing but proper arms to make Locheill repent that he did not give way to their escape. They no more regairded their safety, and with their clubbed musquets fetched such stroks as would have browght their enemys to the ground, if they had been aimed with as much discretion as they were layed on with force. But this served only to heasten their distruction; for, exerting all their strength in making these blows, the sway of their heavey musquetts, which commonly struck against the ground, rendering them unable to recover themselves, the Highlanders made use of the advantage, and stabbed them with their durks or poynards, while they were thus naked and defenceless; whereby they quickly diminished their numbers, and forced them again to betake themselves to their heels.

Being thus broken and dispersed, they fled as fear or chance directed them. The Highlanders pursued with as little judgement. In one place yow might have seen five Highlanders engadged with double that number of Englishmen; and in another, two or three Englishmen defending themselves against twice as many of their enemys. But the greatest part made to the shoar, where we shall leave them for a moment, and follow the young Chieff, who mett with a most surprizeing adventure.

It was his chance to follow a few that fled into the wood, where he killed two or three with his own hand, non having pursued that way but himself. The officer who commanded the party had likewayes fled thither, but concealing himself in a bush, Locheill had not noticed him. This gentleman, observing that he was alone, started suddenly out of his lurking-place, and attacked him in his return, threatning, as he rush

ed furiously upon him, to revenge the slaughter of his countreymen by his death. Locheill, who had also his sword in his hand, received him with equall resolution. The combate was long and doubtfull; both fought for their lives; and as they were both animated by the same fury and courage, so they seemed to manage their swords with the same dexterity. The English gentleman had by far the advantage in strength and size, but Locheill exceeding him in nimbleness and agility, in the end tript the sword out of his hand. But he was not allowed to make use of this advantage; for his antagonist flyeing upon him with incredible quickness, they inclosed and wrestled till both fell to the ground in other's arms. In this posture they struggled, and tumbled up and doun till they fixt in the channell of a brooke, betwixt two straite banks, which then, by the drouth of summar, chanced to be dry. Here Locheill was in a most dismall and desperate scituation; for being undermost, he was not only crushed under the weight of his antagonist, (who was an exceeding big man,) but likewayes sore hurt, and bruized by many sharp stones that were below him. Their strength was so far spent, that neither of them could stirr a limb; but the English gentleman, by the advantage of being uppermost, at last recovered the use of his right hand. With it he seized a dagger that hung at his belt, and made severall attempts to stab his adversarey, who all the while held him fast; but the narrowness of the place where they were confyned, and the posture they were in, rendering the execution very difficult, and almost impracticable, while he was so straitly embraced, he made a most violent effort to disingadge himself; and in that action, raiseing his head and streaching his neck, Locheill, who by this had his hands at liberty, with his left suddently seized him by the right, and with the other by the collar, and jumping at his extended throat, which he used to say, "God putt in his mouth," he bitt it quitt throw, and keept such hold of his grip, that he brought away his mouthfull! This, he said, was the sweetest bite ever he had in his lifetime! The reader may imagine in what a pickle he would be, after receiving such a gush of warm blood, as naturally flowed from so wide ane orifice.

However, he had soone an opportunity of washing himself, for heasten