Kenmure Castle. 193 



He proceeded to Lochmaben and Moffat. Leaving Moffat, they 

 intended to take Dumfries. The citizens of Dumfries, however, 

 had been warned, and tlie town was armed to the teeth. 

 Kenmure did not know this, but on the way a half-witted rustic 

 named James Robson entered the camp with the curious intima- 

 tion tliat he had come to make a present of his broad blue bonnet 

 to Lord Kenmure. Kenmure was puzzled, but after examining 

 the bonnet he found within the lining a letter from Lord Nithsdale 

 urging him to be off, as Dumfries was armed to the teeth. 

 Kenmure, therefore, resohed to retire to Lochmaben. When he 

 arrived there he caused the Pretender to be proclaimed at the 

 Market Cross. They then went to Ecclefechan, Langholm, 

 Hawick, Jedburgh, and Kelso. A council of war was held, and 

 it was resolved to take the towns of Dumfries, Ayr, and Glasgow. 

 These councils, however, fell through. • From thence they 

 crossed the Border to Preston. Here they met the Royalist army 

 under General Wilks. The enthusiasm seems to have evapo- 

 rated, for the army melted away. Kenmure was taken prisoner, 

 impeached at the bar of the House of Commons, was sentenced to 

 death, and executed on the 24th of February, 1716. His title 

 was forfeited, but the estates were so encumbered that the 

 Government allowed his widow to make of them what she could. 

 I^ady Kenmure survived her Lord 61 years, and managed the 

 estates so well that when her son Robert attained his majority she 

 delivered them over to him free of debt. He, however, lived ex- 

 travagantly, with the result that a fresh debt of over £30,000 was 

 contracted. He died on the 30th August, 1743, and was suc- 

 ceeded by his brother, John Gordon. John at once set about 

 repairing and renovating the castle. Profiting by the disastrous 

 experience of his former ancestor, John declined to take part in 

 the 1745 rebellion. He died on 16th June, 1769, and was 

 buried in Dairy Churchyard. 



William, his eldest son, succeeded. He was a captain in the 

 1st Regiment of the Royal Scots. He died in Minorca on the 

 7th February, 1772. 



John Gordon, his brother, succeeded. He served first in the 

 Navy, and then commanded a troop of the 14th Light Dragoons. 

 He obtained a seat in Parliament, having won the Stevvartry by 

 a. majority of 20 votes. Subsequently he was protested against, 

 and vacated the seat two years afterwards. The estate was 

 advertised for sale in 1785, but found no purchaser. 



