lready was the Jacobite
association busily at work in the south of Scotland; and it was
impossible, from the temper of the populace in both nations, not to
augur, in a short time, some serious popular outbreak. In the minds of
the Highland chieftains a hatred of English dominion, and a desire of
independence, constituted even a more potent source of adherence of the
Stuarts than any personal feeling towards that line. Most of these
chiefs languished to see a king of their own nation reign over them. To
such a ruler they would, as they considered, be viewed not as a
secondary object. Their interests had been neglected in the Treaty of
Darien,--a settlement which had inspired the landholders of the Low
Country with aversion to William.

Expectations had also been raised, tending to the belief that Anne,
secretly well affected to her brother, had made such provisions in her
will as would ensure the descent of the Crown in the direct line; and
nothing could exceed the disgust and amazement of the Highlanders when
they beheld a foreigner seated on a throne, from which, they well knew,
it would be impossible to dispossess him. "To restore," as Mrs. Grant
observes, "their ancient race of monarchs to the separate Crown of
Scotland, was their fondest wish. This visionary project was never
adopted by the Jacobites at large, who were too well informed to suppose
it either practicable or eligible. But it serv'd as an engine to excite
the zeal of bards and sennachies, who were still numerous in the
Highlands, and in whose poetry strong traces of this airy project may
still be found."

Soon after the accession of George the First, certain of the Highland
chieftains dispatched a letter to the Earl of Mar, desiring that
nobleman to assure the Government of their loyalty and submission. Among
the names subscribed are those of Lochiel, of his friend Glengarry, and
of Clunie. The address is said to have been a stratagem of Mar's to gain
time, and to give him an opportunity of ripening his schemes.[258] But
it appears more probable that there was, at first, a spirit of
moderation and a desire for peace in the chieftains, until they were
afterwards stimulated by the intrigues of the disappointed and baffled
Earl of Mar. Lochiel, as well as many others, had little to gain, but
much to lose, in any change of dynasty or convulsion in the state.
Prosperous, beloved, secure, his fidelity to that which he believed to
be the right cause was hono