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T HE
foregoing Preface sufficiently indicates the original plan of the present
work. The First Edition was received with much favour by the public, and a
Second Edition was soon called for. It has been out of print for many
years, and a Third Edition has now been prepared in response to numerous
inquiries.
In the present Edition the
general plan of the book has been adhered to, but has been considerably
modified in detail. The "Roll of the Landislordis and Baillies," Roll of
the Clans, etc., have been retained, the appended notes having been
revised and corrected. The Lists of Badges and War Cries of the Clans have
been revised and added to. Two documents have been added which afford much
interesting information as to the state of the Highlands between 1715 and
1745, — General Wade’s Report of 1724
and an extract from a "Memorial anent the True State of the
Highlands," attributed to Lord President Forbes. The Disarming Act of 1746
is again printed at length, as illustrating the policy by which the
Government ultimately succeeded in breaking up the old militant clan
system. The itineraries of Prince Charles and descriptions of his battles
have been omitted, and their substance has been incorporated in a
continuous narrative of the Highland campaigns, from the time of Montrose
down to the end of the Forty-five, which now forms Part II. of the work.
The Maps and Plans have
been revised, and a new Map, to illustrate the rising of 1715, has been
added. The former Plan of the Battle of Culloden has been replaced by a
new one, based on Home’s plan and description. A few illustrations have
also been added. The portraits are reproduced from engravings kindly lent
for the purpose by Mr James Bruce,
W.S.
The historical narrative
does not profess to be more than the brief recapitulation of an oft-told
tale.
Both the authors are now dead. Mr T.
B. Johnston, Geographer to the Queen for Scotland, died in 1897; Colonel
James Alexander Robertson, sometime of the 82nd Regiment, died in 1874. He
was a son of General William Robertson of Lude, and was the last
representative of that ancient family. He was the author of
Comitatus de Athplia, the Earldom of Atholl
(privately printed, 1860);
Concise Historical Proofs respecting the Gael of Alban
(1865), and The Gaelic Topography of
Scotland (1869).
December 1898. |
