st at Invergarry, the castle of the
laird of Glengarry, and continued his journey into the west Highlands,
where he found shelter in a village called Glenbeisdale, near where he
had landed on his expedition for the conquest of England. For nearly a
year he had been in Scotland, pursuing a career of mingled success and
defeat, and was now back at his original landing-place, a hopeless
fugitive. Here some of the leaders of his late army communicated with
him. They had a thousand men still together, and vowed that they would
not give up hope while there were cattle in the Highlands or meal in the
Lowlands. But Prince Charles refused to deal with such a forlorn hope.
He would seek France, he said, and return with a powerful
reinforcement. With this answer he left the mainland, sailing for Long
Island, in the Hebrides, where he hoped to find a French vessel.

And now dangers, disappointments, and hardships surrounded the fugitive.
The rebellion was at an end; retribution was in its full tide. The
Highlands were being scoured, the remnants of the defeated army
scattered or massacred, the adherents of the Pretender seized, and
Charles himself was sought for with unremitting activity. The islands in
particular were closely searched, as it was believed that he had fled to
their shelter. His peril was extreme. No vessel was to be had. Storms,
contrary winds, various disappointments attended him. He sought one
hiding-place after another in Long Island and those adjoining, exposed
to severe hardships, and frequently having to fly from one place of
shelter to another. In the end he reached the island of South Uist,
where he found a faithful friend in Clanranald, one of his late
adherents. Here he was lodged in a ruined forester's hut, situated near
the summit of the wild mountain called Corradale. Even this remote and
almost inaccessible shelter grew dangerous. The island was suspected,
and a force of not less than two thousand men landed on it, with orders
to search the interior with the closest scrutiny, while small
war-vessels, cutters, armed boats, and the like surrounded the island,
rendering escape by water almost hopeless. It was in this critical state
of affairs that the devotion of a woman came to the rescue of the
imperilled Prince. Flora McDonald was visiting the family of
Clanranald. She wished to return to her home in Skye. At her suggestion
the chief provided her with the attendants whom we have already
described, her