Inverness-shire. He was a loyal supporter of Prince
Charlie, and the owner of a yacht, which he used in gun-running in the
service of the Prince.
A little nearer are two of Elsie's great-grandfathers, John Fendall and
Alexander Inglis. John Fendall was Governor of Java at the time when the
island was restored to the Dutch. The Dutch fleet arrived to take it
over before Fendall had received his instructions from the Government,
and he refused to give it up till they reached him--a gesture not
without a parallel in the later years of the life of his descendant.
Alexander Inglis, leaving Inverness-shire, emigrated to South Carolina,
and was there killed in a duel fought on some point of honour. Through
his wife, Mary Deas, Elsie's descent runs up to Robert the Bruce on the
one hand, and, on the other, to a family who left France after the
revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and settled in Scotland.
As we thread our way through the various figures on the stage we are
attracted by a group of three women. They are the daughters of the
Governor of Java, "the three Miss Fendalls." One of them, Harriet, is
Elsie's grandmother. All three married, and their descendants in the
second generation numbered well over a hundred! Harriet Fendall married
George Powney Thompson, whose father was at one time secretary to Warren
Hastings. George Thompson himself was a member of the East India
Company, and ruled over large provinces in India. One of their nine
daughters, Harriet Thompson, was Elsie's mother.
On the other side of the stage, in the same generation as the Miss
Fendalls, is another group of women. These are the three sisters of
Elsie's grandfather, David Inglis, son of Alexander, who fared forth to
South Carolina, and counted honour more dear than life.
David was evidently a restless, keen, adventurous man; many years of his
life were spent in India in the service of the East India Company. Of
his three sisters--Katherine, painted by Raeburn; Mary, gentle and
quiet; and Elizabeth--we linger longest near Elizabeth. She never
married, and was an outstanding personality in the little family. She
was evidently conversant with all the questions of the day, and
commented on them in the long, closely written letters which have been
preserved.
After David's return from India he must have intended at one time to
stand for Parliament. Elizabeth writes to him from her "far corner" in
Inverness-shire, giving him stirring advice, an
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