s remarks, "much harm to the King, his country,
and themselves."

Such was the fate of the attempt, in 1708, to place James Stuart on the
throne of his ancestors; and it will readily be believed that the
ill-starred endeavour did not add to the probable success of any future
enterprise. Scarcely had the accession of George the First, an event
which a certain historian denominates "a surprising turn of Providence,"
taken place, than the removal of Lord Bolingbroke from office announced
to the Tory party that they had lost their best friend at Court. Upon
this intelligence reaching the Highlands, many of the Jacobites took up
arms; but this hasty demonstration of good will to their cause was
instantly suppressed. The Chevalier was, nevertheless, proclaimed King
in the night time, and three noblemen, the Duke of Gordon, the Marquis
of Huntley, and Lord Drummond, were kept prisoners in their own houses.
In the middle of November, the Chevalier's Declaration, asserting his
right and title to the Crown of England, was sent by a French mail to
many persons of rank in this country. For some months the country was in
a state of ferment, such as, perhaps, had never been witnessed since the
days of the Great Rebellion. The Jacobites were centered in Oxford, but
Bristol was also another of their strongholds; the course of justice was
impeded there by riots; and every effort was made, both there and
elsewhere, to influence the elections, which were carried on with a
degree of venom and fury, exasperated by the cry of "the Church in
danger!"

In February, 1715, the Duke of Argyle, Commander-in-Chief of his
Majesty's forces in Scotland, received information that a vessel
containing arms and ammunition had landed in the Isle of Sky, and that
five strangers had disembarked there, and had instantly dispersed
themselves throughout the country. This was the first positive
indication of the combination, which already comprised most of the
ancient and respected names in Scotland. This confederacy, as it may be
called, had existed ever since the peace of Utrecht, under the form of
the Jacobite Association. In 1710, the formation of the October Club had
shewed plainly the bias of the country gentlemen, who, according to a
judge of men's motives who was rarely satisfied, "did adhere firmly to
their principles and engagements, acting the part of honest countrymen
and dutiful subjects."[5]

About the month of May, the report of James Stuart's