another like escape for CON O'NEIL,42 which the Laird devised and got done (almost in the same manner), as shall in due place be remembered. And now there remained only to appoint the night when the Laird was to leave his lodgings (and the preparatorys for it to be advized on); all which being concerted between the Laird, the sergeant and his bride, a treat of a dinner was made for some of the said officers and for the Marshall, which almost being ended, the sergeant came into the room and reported, that, in consideration of the Laird's valorous services and civil behaviour whilst Captain in the army, and of the officers' intercessions, Mr Conninghame, having received no wound (for divers respects on his own account, and to make amends to the Laird), joining with them, the Prince was pleased to pardon the Laird's rash passionate crime, and to restore him to his ⚫ liberty; he making submission, and craving remission for his fault, and promising not only reconciliation, but friendship to Mr Conninghame as aforesaid was pretended-all which was to be performed solemnly two days thence. These news were welcomed by all at table with their great joy and applause given of y° Prince,43 who thereby should endeare the Scottish forces the more to serve his highness; then the healths went round and the glasses set about the trenchers (like cercoletts), till run off, the meat being removed, and sergeant gone to feast with the Laird's servant, who treated him and his sweet bride with the officers' and Marshall's men, where there was no want of wine for sake of the good news. After eating was done, the Laird and officers and Marshall (who no doubt had his full share of drink put upon him) continued at the wine (as their attendants also did below them, both companies being answered by the bride and her cookmaid, when wine was called for

42 Con O'Neill.-This chief, of whose affairs we shall have several curious details in the following pages, is known in the Inquisitions as Con M'Neal-M 'Brian-Fertagh, more correctly Fagartach. Brian, styled by the Four Masters "Brilliant Star," was surnamed Fagartach because he was fostered in MacCartan's country of Cinel-Faghartaigh, "race of Fagartach," now Kinnelarty. For the following statement of Con O'Neill's descent from Aodh Buidhe (Hugh Boy) II., the editor is indebted to the kindness of the Rev. Dr. Reeves :

SIR HENRY.

Lord of Trian Congail; died in 1512.

NIAL OG, Lord of Trian Congail; died 1537. BRIAN FAGARTACH, "a Brilliant Star" (4 Masts.); slain [in 1548. NIALL.

CON, mentioned in the text.

PHELIM DUFF, ancestor of Lord O'Neill of Shane's Castle.
See also Reeves, Eccl. Antiquities, pp. 343, 347; Reeves, Ulster Journal of Archæology, vol. ii., p. 57, Notes.

43 This Prince was Maurice of Nassau, second surviving son of William I. of Orange. Maurice succeeded his father in 1584, when he was only seventeen years of age. He was named after his maternal grandfather, the celebrated elector of Saxony, whose military genius he inherited. See note 32, supra. The Principality of Orange, on the left bank of the Rhone, after having several ruling families in succession, during the middle ages came into the family of Nassau. That branch of the family represented by William I. succeeded to this principality by the death of his cousin Réné, who perished before the walls of St. Dizier, when William was only eleven years of age. On the death of the great-grandson of the latter, William III. of England, the king of Prussia, as his heir, claimed and obtained the Principality of Orange-afterwards ceding it to the King of France in exchange for the town and territory of Guelder. It was then annexed to Dauphiné until the establishment of that division in departments, after which this celebrated principality became an arrondissement belonging to the Department of Vaucluse. Its principal town, also named Orange, stands on the leading road from Paris to Avignon, being thirteen miles from the latter. The title of prince of Orange is still retained by the family of Nassau, and is now borne by the heir to the throne of Holland.

then the reckoning was paid as daily before then had been done frankly, without demurring at all, or even examining how the particulars amounted to the total sum charged by the bride. In fine the Marshall and his man minded no more the keys or to look after the Laird being secured, by reason of the news and wine, and the trust they reposed in the bride.

And now the play was in its last scene, for the sun being a while set, the Marshall was led (as a gouty man) to his bed, and after him his two men (as manners and good breeding required) led to their garrett; and the officers with their servants being gone to their lodgings, and night come, the sergeant and his bride packed up her necessaries, and as much of the money and gold as she could find, the maid being then busy in the kitchen, and at the same time the Laird and his servant put up their linens; which done, the bride sent the maid a great way into the towne on an Aprill or speedless errand, and the sergeant called the Laird and his servant down stairs. So the four went forth, leaving candles burning in the room, and locking the street door, putting the key under it into the floor. They went away incogniti; which transaction amazed the Laird's servant, as not having perceived the least of the whole design till that minute-though he was trusty enough, yet perhaps the Laird did not think his discretion capable to retain such a secret in his drinking with the Marshall and his men, to which he was obliged by the Laird (as the sergeant had been) as is aforesaid What needs more discourse of the feats, but that the Laird and his company (though searched for) got aboard, and safely landed at Leith, without any maladventure or cross fortune. All which particulars concerning the Laird's quarrell at Mr. Conninghame, and the events following thereupon, and the sergeant's courtship, with the debauches at the treats, and the escape aforesaid, might afford matter for a facetious pleasing novell, if they were descanted on by one of the modern witty composers of such like diversions (as they call them), which I think is not an appellative name expressive enough of their nature, because they are instructives and recreatives also.

5me (1695, there had een no certain nor constant
Thomas
Agland and Scotland.
Aturang ko, na majesty a postma.ter of England
for longa parm #1. Now commanded to settle one
Puntung pod, or two, to ria day and night between
Kimara and London, to go alther and come back
again in a day, and to take with them all such
*1.07 as than be directed to any post town in the said
Bad, and the posts to be piaceri in several places out of
fue road, to pin and bring and carry out of the said roads
the letters, as fuct, shân ecccasion, and to pay twopence
for every angle jetter under four score miles; and if one
hundred and forty mies, four pence; and if above, then
The ke rile the king is pleased to order to
be observed to West Chester, Holyhead, and thence to
Ireland, and also to observe the like rule from London to
Plymouth, Exeter, and other places in that road; the like
for Oxford, Bitol, Colchester, Norwich, and other places.
And the king doth command that no messenger, foot-post,
or foot-ports, shall take up, carry, receive, or deliver any
letter of letters whatsoever, other than the messengers ap-
pointer by the said Thomas Withering, except common
known carriers, or a particular messenger to be sent on
purpose with a letter to a friend." The post thus estab-

hed was conducted invariably on horseback, and was

247

Tally sent csn the week, sometimes my once.—
kalvira, Caction, as protein Clambers' Comes
tic Armais of actina, Tali. ca. 8- Wile the
earl Lavin was mercnei n the Tower n 1652,
sunte VIC VIS 1er of the take of Hamilton,
She traveled na tagach recently es-
tacidet, and described by Lament as the
curney coach
that comes trinarly between England and Scotland."
This converance did not go tener than once in three weeks,
and charged for a seat hilly as much as a irst-class rail-
way fare of the present day. La May, 1758, stage-coaches
were advertised to go from the George Lan, without Al-
dergate, to sundry parts of England thrice a week; and
to ..
Edinburgh, in Scotland, once in three weeks, for £4
Ios; in all cases with fresh horses on the roads.
Chambers. Domestic Annals of Sutland, vol. ii., pp. 218,
So late as the year 1755, the Edinburgh stage-coach
was advertised to go to London in ten days in summer,
and twelve days in winter; and this was after the machine
had been in some way renovated, and brought out with
various additional attractions for travellers, one of which
was that the old coach hung on steel springs, exceeding
light and easy.”—The Callaonuan Mercury, Aug. 21, 1755,
as quoted in Fraser's Momorus, Preface, p. xii. In 1758,
a memorial relating to the post between London and
Edinburgh, was presented to the committee for the Royal
Burghs, by the merchants of Edinburgh and other places.
This memorial represents that the course of the post from
London to Edinburgh is performed at a medium through-
out the year, in about eighty-seven hours, and suggests
certain arrangements by which the two capitals would
' receive returns of letters from one another in seven days
and a half, which, at present, do not come sooner than in
ten days and a-half, and twelve days and a-half.
memorial further stated that the plan thus suggested, was
highly approved by the Scottish nobility and the merchants
of London, and was expected to be put into execution,

The

go to the Court and impart to the King what his brother had sent: and so the Laird hastening thither he was graciously received, but not without a severe check given him by his Majesty, who nevertheless enjoyned him to beg pardon of the Earle of Glencairne (then in Edinborough), and to promise friendship to his Lordship's son and family, which submission being made in his Majesty's presence, that sore was plaistered and afterwards fully cured. As soon as Mr. Conningham came back to Scotland, his father caused him to confess to the Laird, that he had wronged him and was sorry for it, desiring his forgiveness, and promising his own friendship to the Laird and his family whilst he lived; and thus by his Majesty's care was the revival of the old bloody fewd between the Montgomeries and Conninghams fully prevented; the like reconciliations between all other families having already been made by the industrious prudence of that King, who being in the yearly expectation he had of the Queen's death, would leave all quiet at home when he was to go to receive the English crown.3

Scottish Journal of Topography, Antiquities, &c., vol. ii., p. 208. The arrangements for persons travelling in their own conveyances were, as may be supposed, not particularly convenient. We have a curious illustration in the following letter from Eleanor, countess of Linlithgow, to her daughter Anna, countess of Eglinton :

"Lynlithgow Palic, the xxiiii. of November, 1612. "MADAME AND LOVING DOCHTER-My werie harthe commendations rememberit. I haif resavit zour letter, quharas ze haif written for some carage hors to bring zour carage out of Craigiehall heir, I haif spoken me my lord for that effect; and there will be ane doson of hors thair on Thursday tymouslie at morne. As for tumeler cairtis, there is nan heir. As for my cairt it is broken; but I haif causit command thame to bring hochemes, creills, and tedderis (tethers) with them. Nocht farther, but remember my commendatiouns to me Lady Seton, zour gud mother, and me Lady Perthe. Committis zou to God, and restis your ever assurit loving

mother."

In the year 1619, the sixth earl of Eglinton was at Seton, his native place, and before setting out on his return to Eglinton castle, although at the season of midsummer, he wrote to his countess to send the "kotch (coach) eist to me efter the reset of this, and caus sax of the ablest tennentis coum with her to Glasgow to pout hir by all the straitis and dangeris."-Fraser, Memorials, vol. i., pp. 184, 210.

2

Fully prevented.-The interposition of the king had the effect of allaying that fatal strife for a time, but did not eradicate the fierce passions by which it was sustained. Several years after this date, Sir James Balfour made the following record in his Annals of Scotland, vol. ii., p. 16:— "During this Parliament ther fell out grate stirre betwixt the Earles of Eglinton and Glencairne, and their friends. Many were hurte on both sydes, and one only man of the Earle of Glencairne's killed. Bot this with the old feeid betwixt these two families, by hes majestie's especiall commandiment, was submitted to sex of either syde to reconceill all matters, which if they could not be reconceilled by the mediation of friends, then did thesse Lords absoutly submitt all ther debaitts and contrawersies to the king's Majestie's decisione; which hes Majesty and counsaill fully composed and agried by the industrious negotione of the Earle of Dunbarr, hes Majestie's Comissioner for that effecte, in the moneth of February, in the following zeire, the Earle of Eglinton himselve being dead, and Alexander, the Lord Settone's third soune, having succidit him." The

D

fifth earl of Eglinton died in 1612, so that the conflict here
mentioned must have occurred about the close of 1610.
The author truly describes this feud as "old," for it had its
origin so early as the year 1366, when sir Hugh of Eglinton
obtained a grant from the crown of the offices of baillie in
the barony of Cunningham, and chamberlain of Irvine.
This grant was renewed and enlarged from time to time,
the Cunninghams, however, claiming the offices now
mentioned as belonging, from ancient and long-established
right, to the representatives of their family or clan. In
1448, James II. renewed the grant to lord Montgomery,
and from that date the feud continued without much
interruption for upwards of two centuries. In 1488, the
strong castle of Kerrielaw, a residence of the Cunninghams,
in the parish of Stevenston, was sacked and destroyed by
the Montgomerys, under the command of that warlike
Hugh, afterwards created first earl of Eglinton. In the
year 1528, the fall of Kerrielaw was avenged by the burning
of Eglinton castle, together with all the important family
records therein. During the interval between 1488, and
1528, many terrible collisions had occurred, especially in
the years 1505, 1507, 1517, 1523, and 1526. Although an
arbitration, held by the earls of Angus, Argyle, and
Cassilis assisted by the bishop of Moray, had decided in
1509 in favour of Eglinton's claims, and although in 1523
the first earl of Eglinton had been honourably acquitted of
the charge of murdering Edward Cunningham of Auchin-
harvie, the feud continued with increasing fury until the
Cunninghams assassinated the fourth earl at the ford of
Annock. From that date (1586) the strife began gradually
to subside, but had not entirely teased until the close of
the seventeenth century.-Paterson, Parishes and Families
of Ayrshire, vol. i., pp. 51, 53, 54; Fraser, Memorials, vol.
i., pp. 27, 31.

3 The English crown.-This was a politic work on the
part of the king, but his efforts to reconcile his nobles to
each other suddenly before leaving for England did not
produce any marked results.
The first and greatest

attempt of James to accomplish this object, and the one no doubt to which our author refers, occurred in the month of May, 1587, when he was "in yearly expectation of the Queen's death," an event for which he had longer time to prepare than he would have wished, it being no less than fifteen years in coming from the date last named. The

Laird of Lusso (chief of his ancient sept). This Adam the first (last mentioned) was son to Robert, the 3d Laird of that name, who was the son of Robert, the 2d Laird of that name, who was the son of Robert, the 1st of that name, and 1st Laird of Braidstane, who was the 2d son of Alexander, one of the Earles of Eglingtoune," all of them Montgomeries; which Earles are (in a little book called Indiculum Scotia, or the present state of Scotland, written by A. M.,12 in Anno, 1682,) placed the 11th in that degree of nobility, which agrees with the list next spoken of, tho' in King Charles the Martyr's reign, rivalled (as I have heard said), for precedency, by the Conninghams, Earles of Glencairne;13 whom I find by an antient list (of the Scottish Peers) written in King James the 6th

10 Laird of Luss.—Genealogists derive the name and family of Colquhoun from Galgacus, the Caledonian general, who gallantly resisted the Roman legions under Agricola. But, without the aid of legends or traditions, it can be shown from documentary evidence that the Colquhouns are a very old family. Originally, or rather when first known, there were three branches, those of Colquhoun, Kilpatrick, and Luss, who held a large part of Dumbartonshire by charters from the crown. These gradually merged into the one family of Luss, by marriage, succession, or otherwise; and it is in connexion with this district that the Colquhouns are known from the commencement of the fourteenth century. In 1316, Robert Bruce confirmed to John De Luss, knight, a charter from Malcolm, earl of Lennox, in which he granted, for the honour of his patron, the most holy St. Kessog, to his beloved and faithful bachelor, sir John of Luss, freedom from exactions for the royal household, during the King's progresses within the lands of Luss, and exemption from appearing as witnesses before the King's Justiciar. An Indenture made at Dumbarton, on the 18th of December, 1400, is witnessed by I'mfray Colquhowne; and another made at Balloch, on the 18th October, 1405, is witnessed by Vmfry of Colquhone, lord of Luss. Between 1426 and 1432, John Cameron, bishop of Glasgow, erected the church of Luss into a prebend of his cathedral, with consent of John de Collequhone, lord of Luss. James III. granted to sir John Gulquhone of Lusse, about the year 1474, the lands of Strone, Kilmone, Invercapill, and Cayvelad, in Ergill. In 1497, John Colquhone of Luss, sold to Archibald, earl of Ergill (Argyle), a part of the territory of Inverquhapill, held by the Keeper of the Staff of St. Munde. The tenure of this land, held in right of the custody of St. Munde's crozier, is curious, but not singular, as similar tenures existed in Glendochart and Lismore.-Origines Parochiales Scotia, vol. i., pp. 30, 502, and vol. ii., pp. 72, 73. The Colquhouns are still the leading race in Luss, having survived through many vicissitudes, which would probably have overwhelmed most other families. Their native district, which lies on the banks of Loch Lomond, and comprehends Glendouglas, Glenluss, and Glenfruin, has always been celebrated for the picturesque beauty of its scenery. It is also rich in historical associations; and the ruins at Banochar, Inchgalbraith, and Rossdhu, are evidences of its territorial importance at an early period. The famous clan-battle of Glenfruin, between the Colquhouns and Macgregors, in 1602, is a comparatively modern event in the history of the district. -Archeologia Scotica, vol. iv., p. 153; Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. i., p. 142. In the Funeral Entry of the first viscount Ards, his grandmother

is stated to have been a daughter of “Jervice Colchoune, Esq., of Lusk, in the county of Kerry." It thus appears that the laird of Luss owned lands in Ireland, which he had named after his Scottish property,—a custom usual at the period.

One of the earls of Eglingtoune.-In the Funeral Entry referred to in the preceding note, it is also stated that Robert Montgomery, first laird of Braidstane, was a son of the first earl of Eglinton. This statement was supplied to the Herald's Office by the second viscount Ards, and was evidently accepted by that branch of the family as correct. But, in truth, the first laird of Braidstane, instead of being son of "one of the earles of Eglingtoune," was uncle to Hugh Montgomery, created first earl of Eglinton in the year 1506. The mistake of supposing that the first laird of Braidstane was a son of one of the earls, and that the first laird of Hazlehead was a descendant,-when in fact they were both uncles of the first earl,—is remarkable, and no doubt arose from the uncertainty of the date on which the earldom was created. Paterson, Account of the Parishes and Families of Ayrshire, vol. ii., pp. 233, 234, conjectures that the Eglinton Peerage was created so early as 1445; but Fraser, Memorials, vol. i., p. 28, thinks that the creation must have taken place between the 3rd and 20th of January, 1506. We are disposed to believe, however, that the author's words, when speaking of the Braidstane and Hazlehead descent, have been incorrectly given in the printed Manuscripts. This suspicion is strengthened by another document left by the author. In a pedigree of the descent of Gransheogh from the Braidstane family, given on the dexter side of the coat of arms of William Montgomery of Gransheogh and Mary M'Gill his wife, the author says "the first of which lairds (of Braidstane) was second brother of Alexander, earl of Eglinton's ancestor, the laird of Ardrossan.--MS. Note of Col. Francis O. Montgomery. Thus William Montgomery, in the document above-named, which will be printed in its proper place, clearly states that the first laird of Braidstane was second brother of that Alexander, who was in reality father of the first earl of Eglinton.

12 Written by A. M.—A. M. are probably the initials of some Alexander Montgomery, who compiled the Indiculum Scotia, containing, among other matters, a list of the Scottish earls according to the order of precedency.

13 Earls of Glencairne.-The contest for precedency between the earls of Eglinton and Glencairn was frequently a subject of discussion in the Scottish Privy Council and Parliament. Sir Alexander Cunningham, lord Kilmaurs, was created first earl of Glencairn by James III., in May, 1488; but both the king and the newlycreated earl were slain in a battle near Stirling, in the month of June following. James's successor immediately