."

CHAPTER XVI

THE SCOTTISH HIDING-PLACES OF PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD

The romantic escapes of Prince Charles Edward are somewhat beyond
the province of this book, owing to the fact that the hiding-places
in which he lived for the greater part of five months were not
artificial but natural formations in the wild, mountainous country
of the Western Highlands. Far less convenient and comfortable
were these caves and fissures in the rocks than those secret
places which preserved the life of the "young chevalier's"
great-uncle Charles II. Altogether, the terrible hardships to
which the last claimant to the Stuart throne was subjected were
far greater in every way, and we can but admire the remarkable
spirit, fortitude, and courage that carried him through his numerous
dangers and trials.

The wild and picturesque character not only of the Scotch scenery,
but of the loyal Highlanders, who risked their all to save their
King, gives the story of this remarkable escape a romantic colouring
that surpasses any other of its kind, whether real or fictitious.

This, therefore, is our excuse for giving a brief summary of the
Prince's wanderings, if only to add to our other hiding-places
a record of the names of the isolated spots which have become
historical landmarks.

In his flight from the fatal battlefield of Culloden the young
Prince, when about four miles from Inverness, hastily determined
to make the best of his way towards the western coast. The first
halt was made at Castle Dounie, the seat of the crafty old traitor
Lord Lovat. A hasty meal having been taken here, Charles and his
little cavalcade of followers pushed on to Invergarry, where
the chieftain, Macdonnell of Glengarry, otherwise "Pickle the
Spy,"[1] being absent from home, an empty house was the only
welcome, but the best was made of the situation. Here the bulk of
the Prince's companions dispersed to look after their own safety,
while he and one or two chosen friends continued the journey to
Glenpean, the residence of the chieftain Donald Cameron. From
Mewboll, which was reached the next night, the fugitives proceeded
on foot to Oban, where a hovel was found for sleeping-quarters.
In the village of Glenbiasdale, in Arisaig, near to where Charles
had landed on his disastrous enterprise, he learned that a number
of Royalist cruisers were upon the alert all along the coast,
whereupon he determined to watch his opportunity and get across
to the Western