Page:Blackwood's Magazine volume 001.djvu/72

[In the beginning of the year 1678, (about eighteen months before the breaking out of the memorable insurrection which led to the battles of Drumclog and Bothwell-Bridge), ten thousand Highlanders were brought down from their mountains and quartered upon the Western Counties, for the purpose of suppressing the field meetings and conventicles of the presbyterians. This Highland Host, as it was called, after committing many disorders, and, 'eating up' the disaffected, was ordered home again by the government,—the undisciplined Gael being found too ignorant and rapacious to observe on all occasions the proper distinction between the loyal and 'lovable' supporters of prelacy, and the contumacious and uncourtly covenanters. The following account is extracted from the Woodrow MSS. in the Advocates' Library: It appears to have been written by an eye-witness, but has no signature.

We arrived here about 8 or 9 dayes agoe: At our first coming we observed that the countrey had been much terrified with the report of it, and therefore had carried and conveyed away much of their goods; nor were we less surprised to finde them so peaceable and submissive. At Stirling and about it, our Highlanders were somewhat disorderly in their quarters, particularly by raising fire in two or three places. Vpon our way hither such of them as went with us took their free quarters liberally; and the rest who took another way to Kilpatrick, have been yet ruder in killing sheep and other cattel, and also in robing any loose thing they found in their way. We are now all quartered in and about this town, the Highlanders only in free quarters. It would be truely a pleasant sight, were it at an ordinary weaponshaw, to see this Highland crew. You know the fashion of their wild apparel, not one of ten of them had breaches, yet hose and shoes are their greatest need and most clever prey, and they spare not to take them every where: In so much that the committee here, and the councel with you (as it is said) have ordered some thousands of pairs of shoes to be made to stanch this great spoil. As for their armes and other militaire accoutrements, it is not possible for me to describe them in writing; here you may see head pieces and steel-bonnets raised like pyramides, and such as a man would affirme, they had only found in chamber boxes; targets and shields of the most odde and anticque forme, and pouder homes hung in strings, garnished with beaten nails and plates of burnished brass. And truely I doubt not but a man, curious in our antiquities, might in this host finde explications of the strange pieces of armour mentioned in our old lawes, such as bosnet, iron-hat, gorget, pesane, wambrassers and reerbrassers, panns, leg-splents, and the like, above what any occasion in the lowlands would have afforded for several hundreds of yeers. Among their ensigns also, beside other singularities, the Glencow men were very remarkable, who had for their ensigne a faire bush of heath, wel spred and displayed on the head of a staff, such as might have affrighted a Roman eagle. But, sir, the pleasantness of this shew is indeed sadly mixed and marred; for this unhallowed, and many of them unchristened, rabble, beside their free quarters, wherein they kill and destroy bestial at their pleasure, without regaird to the commands of some of their discreeter officers, rob all that comes to hand, win-