ound over which the fight lay was as
thickly strewed with pikes as a floor with rushes; helmets, bucklers,
swords, daggers, and steel caps lay scattered on every side; and the
chase beginning at one o'clock, continued till six in the evening with
extraordinary slaughter.

During the reign of Charles I. civil commotions broke out which shook
the kingdom with great violence. The Scots were courted by king and
parliament alike. The Highlanders were devoted to the royal government.
In the year 1644 Montrose made a diversion in the Highlands. With
dazzling rapacity, at first only supported by a handful of followers,
but gathering numbers with success, he erected the royal standard at
Dumfries. The clans obeyed his summons, and on September 1st, at
Tippermuir, he defeated the Covenanters, and again on the 12th at the
Bridge of Dee. On February 2nd, 1645, at Inverlochy, he crushed the
Argyle Campbells, who had taken up the sword on behalf of Cromwell. In
rapid succession other victories were won at Auldearn, Alford and
Kilsyth. All Scotland now appeared to be recovered for Charles, but the
fruit of all these victories was lost by the defeat at Philiphaugh,
September 13th, 1645.

Within the brief space of three years. James II., of England, succeeded
in fanning the revolutionary elements both in England and Scotland into
a flame which he was powerless to quench. The Highlanders chiefly
adhered to the party of James which received the name of Jacobites.
Dundee hastened to the Highlands and around him gathered the Highland
chiefs at Lochabar. The army of William, under Hugh Mackay, met the
forces of Dundee at Killiecrankie, July 29th, 1689, where, under the
spirited leadership of the latter, and the irresistible torrent of the
Highland charge, the forces of the former were almost annihilated; but
at the moment of victory Bonnie Dundee was killed by a bullet. No one
was left who was equal to the occasion, or who could hold the clans
together, and hence the victory was in reality a defeat.

The exiled Stuarts looked with a longing eye to that crown which their
stupid folly had forfeited. They seemed fated to bring countless woes
upon the loyal hearted, brave, self-sacrificing Highlanders, and were
ever eager to take advantage of any circumstance that might lead to
their restoration. The accession of George I, in 1714, was an unhappy
event for Great Britain. Discontent soon pervaded the kingdom. All he
appeared to care about was