loyal Huntly and the covenanting Montrose. Baillie, -prejudiced, and ill informed as to the motives and springs of action that regulated the conduct of many whom he records, when rejoicing, with fanatical excitement, over the sufferings of the north, speaks of Huntly as one whose cowardice had betrayed the party that relied upon him. In France, however, where that nobleman was better known, the rumour of this rendezvous took its shape from the reputation Huntly had acquired in a land of chivalry. "This is that meeting," says James Gordon, after narrating what we have more shortly noticed, "which afterwards was known under the name of the first raid of Turreff, to distinguish it from a rencountre that fell out there in May following, that year, (1639,) betwixt Huntly's followers, and their neighbours, the Covenanters of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff. It was looked upon as an action on Huntly's part, whose depth or mystery few or none could dive into. * Yet fame, that is no niggard in her reports, when it came the length of Paris, made it pass there in the Parisian gazette, under no less a notion than the siege and taking of the great town of Turreff, in Scotland, by the Marquis of Huntly, whom France knew better than they knew Turreff, having seen him some few years before amongst the armies of the most Christian King, commander of the company of the Scottish gendarmes, which company is the second of France, in the service against Lorrain and Alsatia, where likewise his two eldest sons, George Lord Gordon, and James Viscount of Aboyne, past their apprenticeships in the school of Mars."

* It is sufficiently explained by what we now know of the policy of the Marquis of Hamilton.

The good town of Aberdeen, expecting a visit from Montrose upon this occasion, had placed themselves in a most formidable posture of defence. But the day after Huntly broke up his array, Montrose disbanded his own army, and betook himself to the south, where preparations were to be made on a greater scale against the stronghold of loyalty and learning.

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The momentary glaring on each other at Turreff, irritated both Huntly and Montrose to active operations for a hostile encounter. Huntly still expected the reinforcements from England, along with instructions to act, and in the meanwhile raised a little army entirely from his own private resources. "I have in my younger years," says James Gordon, " often had occasion to see both parties at that time, yet I cannot peremptorily determine the number of those who then and afterwards bore arms under Huntly's cominand. Yet I suppose I am not far from the truth if I say that his followers and friends were about three thousand, most part foot, and horse the rest. It was with a number not many fewer that Huntly did keep his next rendezvous at Inverury in the end of March.”

Montrose, on his part, was no less active than Huntly to put himself in a posture offensive, and was resolved to be no longer as peaceful as he had been at Turreff. In order to be thoroughly prepared for Huntly, he sends intimation* of his plans to the covenanting party of the Forbeses, Frazers, and others, in the shires of Aberdeen and Banff, and advertises the Covenanters be north the river Spey, such as belonged to Murray, Ross, Sutherland, Caithness, to be ready, with all they could

* It was two lawyers who were sent with these commands from Montrose to the northern counties; namely, Messrs James Gibson, and James Baird.

make, to march over Spey and join with him, if need should be.

For more than a twelvemonth past, and ere the King had been led by Hamilton to contemplate the necessity of an appeal to arms, the junto at Edinburgh, -who suffered neither Montrose nor Baillie to have the entrée to what the latter calls the "secret wheels within the curtain, where the like of me wins not,”had been secretly preparing for civil war, by collecting ammunition, pikes, and other offensive weapons, and enticing home, from mercenary campaigns on the continent, their war and weather-beaten countrymen, who had served the very best apprenticeship for the purposes of the faction. It was not merely the military experience of such officers that would render them more efficient than even Montrose,-as the pretended defence of Religion and Liberties, became developed in its offensive form of a factious rebellion,-but the inferior and professional status, of these mercenaries, guaranteed the cause from the fatal effect of rivalry among noblemen, whose relative claims to command could not have been so easily adjusted; and, moreover,—an invaluable circumstance to the covenanting arms,-it was the principle of mercenary service to attend rather to the profit that might be gained in the professional engagement, than to the merits or the nature of the cause espoused. The well known Sir James Turner, (who became a covenanting soldier for a short time, simply be cause, when in search of service, he happened to stumble upon their army,) makes this confession in his amusing memoirs, that he was one who " had swallowed, without chewing, in Germany a very dangerous maxim, which military men there too much follow, which was that so we serve our masters honestly, it is no matter

what master we serve." It happened, accordingly, that the German wars had trained up a general who in every respect was most suited for the purposes of the "prime Covenanters." But this celebrated character must be introduced in the words of the dramatic Spalding.

"Now about this time, [January 1639,] or a little before, there came out of Germany, from the wars, home to Scotland, ane gentleman of base birth,* born in Balveny, who had served long and fortunately in the German wars, and called to his name Felt Marshall Leslie, his Excellence. His name, indeed, was [Alexander] Leslie, but, by his valour and good luck, attained to this title, his Excellence, inferior to none but to the King of Sweden, under whom he served amongst all his cavallirie. Weill, this Felt Marshall Leslie, having conquest, frae nought, honour, and wealth, in great abundance, resolved to come home to his native country of Scotland, and settle besides his chief, the Earl of Rothes, as he did indeed, and coft fair lands in Fife. But this Earl, foreseeing the troubles, whereof himself was one of the principal beginners, took hold of this Leslie, who was both wise and stout, acquaints him with this plot, and had his advice for furthering thereof to his power. And first, he advises cannon to be cast in the Potter-row, by one Captain Hamilton, † he began to drill the Earl's men in Fife; he caused send to Holland for ammunition, powder and ball, muskets, carbines, pistols, pikes, swords, cannon, cartill, and all other sort of necessary arms, fit for old and young

*This must mean base by comparison with his rise, and not in the odious sense. Alexander Leslie was of the same stock as the Earl

of Rothes.

† Probably Colonel Alexander Hamilton, mentioned afterwards.

soldiers, in great abundance; he caused send to Germany, France, Holland, Denmark, and other countries, for the most expert and valiant captains, lieutenants, and under officers, who came in great numbers, in hopes of bloody wars, thinking, (as they were all Scots soldiers, that came) to make up their fortunes upon the ruin of our kingdom; (but the Lord did otherwise, blessed be his holy name;) he establishes a council of war, consisting of nobles, colonels, captains, and other wise and expert persons, and in the beginning of this month of January, began to cast trenches, about the town of Leith." Thus the "canniness" of Rothes did more for the cause, by catching Felt Marshall Lesly, his Excellence, than could possibly have been effected by any other means; for, having entered into contract with his chief against his Sovereign, the veteran cenary, full of talent, experience, and military resources, bent his whole energies to the fulfilment of that contract, and the attainment of his own reward, which he then little dreamt was to be an Earldom from the King himself. As yet invested with no particular command, he continually sat at their Tables, the mainspring of their military movements, and, by his indefatigable and well-applied exertions, not only put them in possession of the Castle of Edinburgh, (which Hamilton had left nearly defenceless,) and the other strongholds of the kingdom, but raised and organized an army sufficiently formidable to march to the borders against the royal standard.

mer

At this crisis, it became of great importance to crush the efforts of Huntly in the north before the King's forces reached Scotland, as a vigorous diversion occasioned by the loyalists in that quarter, would be more than the Covenanters could well cope with in addition