for six
months while hiding among the hills of Buchan, and had many narrow
escapes, until at last they landed in Sweden on the 10th November, 1746.

But while they were involved in many troubles in those trying times,
there arose one from an unexpected quarter, which caused them great
annoyance. In 1740, Mr Oliphant, as almost sole heritor, intruded the
Rev. John M'Leish into the parish, in opposition to the wishes of a
large majority of the people. But he lived deeply to regret the step
he then took, for, on the outbreak of the Rebellion in 1745, the
minister became one of his most bitter enemies. Some of the colours
taken at the Battle of Prestonpans "fell to Mr Oliphant, which he sent
to his own house at Gask." Mr M'Leish, knowing this, searched for them
to deliver them to the Duke of Cumberland, but Emily Dewar, a faithful
servant at the house, hid them in the pump, so that the minister could
not find them. He told the tenants not to pay their rents to a rebel
landlord. When the Duke of Cumberland, at the request of Lady Gask,
sent out a guard from Perth to protect that lady in those troublous
times, the minister, on hearing this, was highly indignant, and
said--"What right had they to protect a rebel lady?" He also said that
he would go to Perth next day and speak to the Duke of Cumberland about
this. He said and did so many things calculated to annoy and irritate
the Gask family, that years after, when hiding on the Continent, Mr
Oliphant wrote saying--"That ingrate man's actings have tried my
patience more than all that has happened to me." The conduct of the
minister to the laird during this trying period was surely most harsh
and unkind, even though he entertained different political views. Mr
M'Leish would probably regard, as a national calamity, the restoration
of the Stuarts, knowing well the arbitrary and unconstitutional way
they often acted when in power. He might also fear that there would be
great danger to the Protestant cause were a Roman Catholic to occupy
the throne of Britain. But while we sympathise with these sentiments,
and think that Mr M'Leish was quite entitled to hold them, it was
surely ungrateful and unkind to act in the way he often did, not only
to Mr Oliphant, but also to his lady. The Oliphants were thoroughly
conscientious in holding their principles, and they gave the strongest
proof of this in risking their life and the loss of all their worldly
substance in maintainin