On his return he found the prince in a more comfortable dwelling than that in which he had left him. He had removed to South Uist on the 16th of May, and lived in the house of one of Clanranald’s tenants, situated upon Coradale. The house not being water-tight, two cow-hides were placed upon four sticks to prevent the rain from falling upon him when asleep. The house in which the prince lodged was called the Forest house of Glencoradale, and though the situation was remote, it was the best that could be devised for securing a retreat either to the hills or to the sea, according to circumstances. There being abundance of game in the island, the prince occupied himself almost daily in his favourite amusements of hunting and shooting. His dexterity in shooting birds upon the wing was particularly remarked. To vary his recreation, he frequently went down to the sea-shore, and going on board a small boat, caught, with hand-lines, some small fishes, called lyths by the inhabitants. Clanranald and his lady did every thing in their power to render his situation agreeable; and Clanranald placed twelve able men at his disposal to serve as guides through the island, and to execute any orders Charles might give them.
While Charles was thus passing his time in South Uist, his situation every day was becoming more and more critical. The Long island, as the principal group of the Hebrides is called, was surrounded on every side by cutters, sloops of war, and frigates. Upwards of fifteen hundred militia and some regular troops were landed in different parts of the island, and a guard was posted at every ferry in the archipelago to prevent any person from getting out of it without a passport. Charles was made aware of his danger; but he declined to leave the Long island till he should receive some farther intelligence, which Clanranald endeavoured to obtain by crossing over to the mainland. At length the peril of Charles became so imminent, that there appeared no possibility of an escape. He had already spent three weeks in South Uist; and though his residence was known to upwards of a hundred persons, all of whom were probably aware of the splendid reward which had been offered for his apprehension, yet such was the fidelity of these poor people, that not one of them betrayed their trust, by giving notice to the emissaries of the government of the place of his concealment. He lived in comparative security in South Uist till about the middle of June, when, in consequence of the presence of a body of militia in the island of Eriska, which lies between Barra and South Uist, he found it absolutely necessary to shift his quarters. He accordingly left South Uist in Campbell’s boat with his four companions, on the 14th of June, and landed in the small isle of Wia or Fovaya, between South Uist and Benbecula, in which he remained four nights; and on the 18th, the prince, O’Neil, and Burke, went to Rossinish, leaving O’Sullivan and Macleod in Wia. Charles passed two nights at Rossinish; but receiving information that some militia were approaching Benbecula, he resolved to return to Coradale. O’Sullivan and Macleod anticipated Charles’s design by bringing the boat to Rossinish during the night, and having set sail, they encountered a violent storm, accompanied with a heavy rain, which forced them to land upon the rock called Achkirside-allich at Uishinish Point, in a cleft of which they took up their quarters. At night, finding their enemies within two miles of them, they sailed again, and arrived safely at a place called Celiestiella, whence they steered towards Loch Boisdale; but, observing a boat in their way, they returned to their former place, where they passed the night. They proceeded to Loch Boisdale next day, where they were informed that Boisdale had been made a prisoner, a circumstance which perplexed Charles exceedingly, as Boisdale, from his perfect knowledge of the different places of concealment in the Long island, was the chief person on whom he relied for directions in his various movements. Charles skulked some days about Loch Boisdale, where he and his attendants received occasional supplies of food from Lady Boisdale.[1245]
During the time the prince remained in Loch Boisdale, he was kept in a perpetual state of alarm by the vessels of war which hovered off the coast of South Uist. At one time no less than fifteen sail were in sight; and two of them having entered the Loch, Charles and his companions abandoned the boat, and fled to the mountains. The vessels having gone out to sea, Charles and his party returned to the boat, in which they had left a small stock of provisions; and having taken out the sails for the purpose of covering them, they lay in the fields two nights on the south side of the Loch. Removing the third night farther up the inlet, they passed two other nights in the same way, suffering all the time the greatest privations. Hitherto the military had not visited South Uist; but information was brought on the last of these days to Charles, that a party, under Captain Caroline Scott, an officer celebrated, along with General Hawley, Major Lockhart, and others, for his cruelties, had just landed at the head of a body of 500 regulars and militia, within a mile and a half of the place where Charles then was. On receiving this alarming intelligence, Charles instantly resolved to separate his party; and leaving O’Sullivan, Macleod, and Burke, with the boatmen, to shift for themselves, he and O’Neil went off to the mountains, carrying only two shirts along with them. The faithful Macleod was so affected at parting that he shed tears.[1246]
Beset with dangers on every hand, Charles and his companion directed their steps towards Benbecula, and, about midnight, came to a hut into which O’Neil entered. Providentially for Charles, O’Neil here found Miss Flora Macdonald, with whom he had got lately acquainted at Ormaclade, the seat of Clanranald, in Benbecula, when on a visit to the chief, whose kinswoman she was. This lady, whose memory will ever be held in esteem by posterity, for her generous and noble disinterestedness in rescuing the prince from the imminent perils which surrounded him, was the daughter of Macdonald of Milton, in the island of South Uist. Her father left her an orphan when only a year old, and her mother had married Macdonald of Armadale, in the isle of Skye, who commanded one of the militia companies raised in that island by Sir Alexander Macdonald, and was now in South Uist at the head of his corps. Miss Macdonald was about twenty-four years of age, of the middle size, and to the attractions of a handsome figure and great vivacity, she added the more estimable mental qualities of good sense, blandness of temper, and humanity. The hut in which O’Neil now met Miss Macdonald belonged to her only brother, Angus Macdonald of Milton, in whose family she then resided.
As O’Neil recollected that Miss Macdonald had expressed, in his presence, an earnest desire to see the prince, and had offered to do any thing in her power to protect him, it occurred to O’Neil that, on the present occasion, she might render an essential service to the prince if, after dressing him in female attire, she would pass him off as her maid-servant, and carry him to Skye. O’Neil at once proposed his plan to the young lady; but she thought it fantastical and dangerous, and at first positively refused to engage in it. As parties of the Macdonald, Macleod, and Campbell militia were roaming over the island of South Uist in quest of Charles, as no person could leave the island without a passport, and as there was a guard posted at every ferry, and the channel between Uist and Skye covered with ships of war, the utter hopelessness of such an attempt appeared evident. Bent, however, upon his plan, O’Neil was resolved to try what effect Charles’s own presence would have upon the young lady in inducing her to yield, and he accordingly introduced her to the prince. Miss Macdonald was so strongly impressed with his critical and forlorn state, that, on seeing Charles, she almost instantly consented to conduct him to Skye. She describes the prince at this time as in a bad state of health; and though of a thin and weak habit of body, and greatly worn out by fatigue, yet exhibiting a cheerfulness, magnanimity, and fortitude, which those only who saw him could have credited.[1247]
Having thus given her consent to O’Neil’s proposal, Miss Macdonald instantly proceeded to Clanranald’s house to procure the necessary requisites for the intended voyage to Skye. In crossing one of the fords on her way to Ormaclade, she and her man-servant, Neil Mac Eachan,[1248] not having passports, were taken prisoners by a party of militia, and, being detained till next morning, were brought before the commanding officer, who luckily turned out to be her own step-father, Captain Hugh Macdonald. Having stated to him her intention of proceeding to Skye to her mother, she, without difficulty or suspicion, procured a passport from her stepfather, for herself, a manservant, and her maid, who, in the passport, was called Betty Burke, (the name the prince was to assume,) and who was recommended by Captain Macdonald to his wife as an excellent spinner of flax, and a faithful servant.[1249] Next day at four o’clock in the afternoon, Charles received a message from Miss Macdonald, who had reached Ormaclade, informing him that “all was well;” on receiving which, he and O’Neil resolved to join her immediately; but, to their great consternation, the messenger informed them that they could not pass either of the fords that separated South Uist from Benbecula as they were both guarded by the military. In their perplexity, an inhabitant offered to convey them in his boat to Benbecula; and they were accordingly landed on a promontory of that island. They dismissed the boat, after having given orders to the boatmen to meet them on the opposite side of the island, and proceeded on their journey; but they had not gone far when they observed that the land on which they stood was surrounded by water. Thinking that the pilot had made a mistake, they hallooed after the boat, but in vain, as it was already far from the shore. As it was high water, Charles and his companion imagined that they could obtain a dry passage on the subsiding of the tide; but they were disappointed. The situation of the prince now appeared dismal. After escaping so many dangers, he had at present no prospect but to starve upon a desert island. Nevertheless, he kept up his spirit; and, after a laborious search, he succeeded in finding a ford, by which he and his companion crossed.[1250] Charles and his companion arrived at Rossinish, the place of rendezvous, about midnight, wet to the skin, and exhausted with hunger and fatigue. Finding that a party of military was stationed at a short distance, they retired to another place, about four miles from Rossinish, whence O’Neil went to Ormaclade to ascertain the reason why Miss Macdonald had not kept her appointment. In explanation, she informed him, that conceiving the prince would be safer in North Uist than in Skye, she had engaged a cousin of her own in North Uist to receive him into his house. This gentleman, however, having afterwards declined to run the risk of harbouring the prince, Miss Macdonald made the necessary preparations for her voyage. Having hired a six-oared boat to carry her to Skye, which she ordered to be in readiness at an appointed place the following day, Miss Macdonald left Ormaclade on the 27th of June, along with Lady Clanranald, a Mrs. Macdonald and Mac Eachan, all of whom were conducted by O’Neil to the place where Charles lay concealed, about eight miles from Ormaclade. On entering the hovel, they found Charles employed in roasting, for dinner, the heart, liver, and kidneys of a sheep upon a wooden spit. The ladies began to compassionate the prince upon his unfortunate situation; but he diverted their attention from this melancholy subject by some facetious observations. He remarked that the wretched to-day may be happy to-morrow, and that all great men would be better by suffering as he was doing. The party dined in the hut, Miss Macdonald sitting on the right, and Lady Clanranald on the left hand of the prince.
After dinner, Charles put on the female attire, which had been provided for him by the ladies. It was coarse and homely, and consisted of a flowered linen gown, a light-coloured quilted petticoat, a white apron, and a mantle of dun camlet made after the Irish fashion, with a hood. Whilst Charles was putting on this extraordinary dress, several jokes were passed on the singularity of the prince’s appearance. The ladies and Neil Mac Eachan returned to Ormaclade, and in the evening again met Charles and his companion on the sea-shore, at a mile’s distance from that house. They sat down to supper on the sea-side; but before they had finished, a messenger arrived with information that General Campbell and Captain Ferguson had arrived at Ormaclade with a large party of soldiers and marines, in quest of Charles. Lady Clanranald went immediately home, and, on reaching her house, was interrogated very strictly by these officers as to the cause of her absence; but she excused herself by saying that she had been visiting a sick child.[1251]
After the departure of Lady Clanranald, Charles and his protectress went down to the beach, where their boat lay afloat, so as to be in readiness to embark in case the military should appear. They kindled a fire upon a rock; but they had scarcely warmed themselves, when they were thrown into a state of alarm by the appearance of four boats full of armed men, apparently making towards the shore. They instantly extinguished their fire, and concealed themselves behind some rocks. Fortunately they were not observed by the boats, which, instead of coming to land, sailed along the shore, within a gun-shot of the spot where Charles lay concealed. Judging it unwise to put to sea during the day, Charles deferred his voyage till the evening, and accordingly embarked, at eight o’clock on the 28th of June, for Skye, accompanied by Miss Macdonald and Neil Mac Eachan. The prince was extremely sorry to part with O’Neil, his only remaining companion, and entreated Miss Macdonald to allow him to accompany them; but, as she had only three passports, she absolutely refused to accede to the request.[1252]
When Charles left the shores of Benbecula the evening was clear and serene, and a gentle and favourable breeze rippled over the bosom of the deep; but as they proceeded to sea the sky began to lower, and they had not rowed above a league when the wind rose, the sea became rough, and a tempest ensued which seemed to threaten them with destruction. Miss Macdonald and the boatmen grew alarmed, but Charles showed the greatest composure, and, to revive their drooping spirits, alternately related some amusing stories and sang several songs, among which was an old spirited air composed on the occasion of the restoration of Charles II. In the passage Miss Macdonald fell asleep, and Charles took every precaution to prevent her being disturbed.