when James, hereafter to
be known as the 'great marquis of Montrose,' was a little boy he loved
to hear tales of the deeds of his ancestors, who had struck hard blows
for the liberty of Scotland in days of old. One, sir John Graham, a
friend of sir William Wallace's, had been killed at Falkirk more than
three hundred years before; another had died on Flodden field, and a
third had fallen at Pinkie, besides many who had taken part in less
famous battles. James knew all about them, and was proud to belong to
them, and did not guess that it was _his_ name and not _theirs_ which
would be best remembered through the centuries to come.

But the Grahams were not only brave soldiers; they were for the most
part clever men. There was an archbishop among them and a bishop, while
James's grandfather had held the highest offices of the state under king
James VI., and was president of the Parliament when the king was far
away in Westminster talking broad Scotch to the great nobles and
servants of his dead cousin queen Elizabeth. Montrose's own father,
however, had no love either for war or statesmanship, and after he lost
his wife in 1618 stayed quietly at home in one of his many castles,
taking care of his family, keeping accounts of every penny he spent, and
shooting and playing golf with his friends and neighbours.

James, his only son, was six years old when his mother died, but there
were five daughters of all ages, who were always ready to play with the
boy. To be sure, the two eldest, Lilias and Margaret, married early, and
before two years had passed by one was lady Colquhoun and the other lady
Napier of Merchiston. Still Dorothy and Katherine were left, and
Beatrix, who was only three years younger than her brother, and the one
he liked best of all.

* * * * *

When the great business of marrying his two eldest daughters was safely
over, lord Montrose took his little boy with him on a riding tour of
visits to his estates in Forfar, Perthshire, Dunbarton, and the
Lothians, stopping in the houses of his many friends on the way. James
loved horses all his life, and bills for 'shoes for naigs' were
constantly coming in to him. He spent a good deal of time practising
archery at the butts, and would make up matches with the boys who lived
in the different houses where he and his father went to stay; on wet
days they would get out their foils and fence in the hall, or even dance
solemnly with th