MEMOIR OF ROB ROY; WITH A PORTRAIT. "The eagle he was lord above, "But ROB was lord below."-WORDSWORTH. WE learn from the British Critic, that on a certain occasion, the entire cargo of a packet or smack, bound from Leith to London, consisted in the impression of a novel, for which the public curiosity was so much upon the alert, as to require this immense importation simultaneously. Such was the case with the novel of Rob Roy; a work which possesses very considerable marks of genius, and shows the hand of a pure master, whom we have so long admired, very carelessly and imperfectly applied. The Reviewer remarks, that the character of Rob Roy himself, is one which no other living man, but the author of these tales, could, with any modesty, venture to portray. It is like nothing that we have at present upon earth; it is the recal of a race of men from the dead. The clan of the Mac Gregors was one, whose very history abounds in romance; the annals of their deeds would appear more like a fictitious than a real tale. The sanguinary decree of fire and sword against the clan, had almost extirpated them from the face of the earth. They were indiscriminately massacred, and hunted down in the mountains and moors, to which they had fled for refuge. At the risk of incurring the charge which this critic has preferred in terrorem in the above passage; a writer has undertaken to delineate the features and exploits of this last great hero of Highland story. The introductory sketch and historical me * Historical Memoirs of Rob Roy and the Clan Macgregor; including original Notices of Lady Grange. With an Introductory Sketch illustrative of the condition of the Highlands, prior to the year 1745. By K. Macleay, M. D. "So shalt thou list, and haply not unmov'd, To a wild tale of Albyn's warrior day; Lord of the Isles. Philadelphia; published by David Hogan, No. 249, Market-street. 1819. moir of the clan, which is prefixed to this volume, present an interesting view of the manners of those barbarous times, and the "Notice of Lady Grange" in the appendix, forms one of the most affecting narratives that we have ever perused. Of the biography itself we shall not offer any opinion, as we believe that public curiosity can only be gratified in any tolerable degree, by an abridgment, which we shall proceed to lay before the reader, While the clan Gregor laboured, amidst hardships and calamities nearly unparalleled in the history of the British nation, a champion arose among them, who avenged, if he did not effectually redress, their wrongs, and supported, with undismayed resolution, the native hardihood and valour of his race:-This was the celebrated ROBERT MACGREGOR, or ROB Roy. He was denominated Roy, a Celtic or Gaelic phrase, significant of his ruddy complexion and colour of hair, and bestowed upon him as a distinctive appellation among his kindred;-a practice long adopted, and still followed in the Highlands, where, from the most trifling fortuitous incidents, or bodily appearance, names are bestowed, often in derision, which always adhere, not only to those who receive them, but to their posterity. Rob Roy was the second son of Donald Macgregor, of the family of Glengyle, a lieutenant-colonel in the king's service, by a daughter of Campbell of Duneaves or Taineagh, consequently of no discreditable birth. During the early years of Rob Roy Macgregor, he was not observed to possess any remarkable feature of that characteristic sagacity and intrepidity which afterwards distinguished him among his countrymen. The education he received, though not liberal, was deemed sufficient for a man who was only intended to follow the quiet avocations of a rural life; but he was endowed with strong natural parts, and readily acquired the essential, though rude accomplishments of the age. The use of the broad sword was among the first arts learned by young men, being considered an indispensable qualification for all classes; and Rob Roy could soon wield it with such dexterity as few or none could equal. In this he was favoured by a robust and muscular frame, and uncommon length of arm, advantages which made him daring and resolute. His knowledge of human nature was acute and varied; and his manners were complacent when unruffled by passion; but roused by opposition, he was fierce and determined. At an early period, he studied the ancient history, and recited the poetry of his country; and while he contemplated the sullen grandeur of his native wilds, corresponding ideas impressed his soul, and he would spend whole days in the admiration of a sublime portraiture of nature. The rugged mountains whose summits were often hid in the clouds that floated around them; the dark valley encircled by wooded eminences; the bold promontory opposed to the foaming ocean, and sometimes adorned by the castle of a chieftain; the still bosom of the lake that reflected the surrounding landscape; the impetuous mountain cataract; the dreary silence of the cavern, were objects that greatly influenced his youthful feelings, and disposed his mind to the cultivation of generous and manly sentiments. These impressions, received when his imagination glowed with the fervour of youth, were never afterwards eradicated. They continued to bias his temper, and to give his disposition a cast of romantic chivalry, which he exemplified in many of his future actions. His parents were of the presbyterian church, in which faith he was also reared; but he was not free from those superstitious notions so prevalent in this country: and although few men possessed more strength of mind in resisting the operation of false and gloomy tenets, he was sometimes led away from the principles he had adopted, to a belief in supernatural appearances. Though possessed of qualities that would have fitted him for a military life, the occupations assigned to Rob Roy were of a more homely description. It was customary at that time, as it is at present, for gentlemen of property, as well as their tenantry, to deal in the trade of grazing and selling of cattle, and to this employment did Rob Roy also dedicate himself. He took a tract of land in Balquhidder for that purpose, and for some years pursued a prosperous course. But his cattle were often stolen, in common with those of his neighbours, by hordes of banditti from the shires of Inverness, Ross, and Sutherland, who infested the country, so that to protect himself from the depredations of these marauders, he was constrained to maintain a party of men; and to this cause may be attributed the warlike habits which he afterwards acquired. |