The Romance of the Highlands (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAP. II. " The conspirators concerned in this in- Fernal plot were, the Earl of Atholl, the King's uncle, who aspired to the throne; Robert Stewart, his nephew, one of the gentlemen of the King's bed-chamber; and Robert Graham, who bore the King deadly hatred, because he refused to adjudge the Earldom of Strathern to his nephew. " The Viscount of Dumbarny, having obtained private information of the conspiracy, communicated the intelligence to me.It was agreed that we should instantly pro- ceed to Perth. Assembling our vassals, we proceeded to the scene of action; but arrived, alas! too late, to prevent the bloody catastrophe. On our arrival at Perth, we found the King dead, and the Queen dangerously ill in the convent. " On exploring the anti-chamber, a low groan, suddenly assailed our ears. We listened in dumb amazement; again the same sound broke on the silence; it seemed to issue from an obscure corner of the chamber. Upon searching the place, we discovered Patrick Duubar, one of the King's attendants, almost expiring. By proper restoratives, we recovered him so far to be able to give us the particulars of this direful tragedy. " The King," said Patrick Dunbar, in a faint voice, " unfortunately raised the Vol. n. B siege, disbanded the army, and, not knowing whom to trust, retired, without so much as a guard, to Perth. His Majesty flattered himself that he could penetrate into the depth of the plot before it should be known that he had got notice of it. But the conspirators, apprehensive of being detected, lost no time to perpetrate the horrid deed. " Graham, who had been, for some time, at the head of a set of outlaws, brought a party of them, in the dead of night, to Perth, and posted them in the neighbourhood 'of the Dominican convent, where James lod...