THE EIGHT MEN OF MOIDART. (D.M) “The king has come to Moidart bay, And mony bagpipes blaw that; And Caledon has white cockade, And guile claymore may shaw yet.” HE Prince has come! Such were the joyful tidings which resounded through the hills of Moidart when the French frigate “La Doutelle” sailed into Moidart Bay carrying with her Scotland‟s rightful heir and the few devoted followers who had accompanied the Prince from France to the land of his sires. It was on his arrival at Moidart that the gentlemen who had accompanied him from France in the exuberance of their joy danced a reel which was ever afterwards known as the “Reel of the Eight Men of Moidart.” It is an incident which is overlooked in most of our histories of the „45, but one which richly deserves mention, for it indicates the true Jacobite spirit which prevailed amongst the Highlanders of that day, and also shows us what a right hearty welcome was accorded “Bonnie Prince Charlie” in the Highlands. “Welcome Charlie, o‟er the main. Our Highland hills are a‟ your ain; Welcome to your throne again, O, welcome Royal Charlie.” It is generally supposed that the following were the gentlemen who danced the reel, viz.— 1. William Murray, Marquis of Tullibardine, or as he was called by the Jacobites, Duke of Athole, from being the eldest son of the preceding Duke. The Marquis had been attained for the part he took in the Rising of 1715; and the title and estates were, in consequence of his attainder, now enjoyed by his immediate younger brother. 2. Æneas Macdonald, a banker in Paris and brother to Macdonald of Kinlochmoidart. Æneas afterwards fell into the hands of the Redcoats and was guillotined. 3. Sir John Macdonald, a nephew of the Earl of Antrim, and an officer in the Spanish service. 4. Captain O‟Sullivan, afterwards Colonel. He was an Irishman and an officer in the French service. 5. Rev. George Kelly.an Irish Episcopal clergyman. 6. Colonel Strickland, an English gentleman. 7. Sir Thomas Sheridan, who had been the Prince‟s tutor. 8. There is some doubt as to whom the eighth person was, but it is surmised that it was the Prince himself, or a Mr. Buchanan, who had been employed by Cardinal Tencin and Duncan Campbell, formerly a servant of old Lochiel at Boulogne, who was hired for this expedition, for the purpose, as he informs us, of descrying the “Long Isle.” Buchanan was also ex-steward to Æneas Macdonald. The following is the music of the Reel, for which I am much indebted to Mr. David Glen, Edinburgh. THE EIGHT MEN OF MOIDART. Key. F. Keel Time. Though “Bonnie Charlie‟s noo awa” we still like to read the romantic history of the ‟45, and to sing those sweet songs which are associated with that episode which had its ending on Drummossie‟s dark moor.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 23:59:17 +0000
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