For nearly a
year he had been in Scotland, pursuing a career of mingled success and
defeat, and was now back at his original landing-place, a hopeless
fugitive. Here some of the leaders of his late army communicated with
him. They had a thousand men still together, and vowed that they would
not give up hope while there were cattle in the Highlands or meal in the
Lowlands. But Prince Charles refused to deal with such a forlorn hope.
He would seek France, he said, and return with a powerful
reinforcement. With this answer he left the mainland, sailing for Long
Island, in the Hebrides, where he hoped to find a French vessel.
And now dangers, disappointments, and hardships surrounded the fugitive.
The rebellion was at an end; retribution was in its full tide. The
Highlands were being scoured, the remnants of the defeated army
scattered or massacred, the adherents of the Pretender seized, and
Charles himself was sought for with unremitting activity. The islands in
particular were closely searched, as it was believed that he had fled to
their shelter. His peril was extreme. No vessel was to be had. Storms,
contrary winds, various disappointments attended him. He sought one
hiding-place after another in Long Island and those adjoining, exposed
to severe hardships, and frequently having to fly from one place of
shelter to another.
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