THE MACLEODS OF LEWIS. 153 



may not have been good in law, but it was sufficiently 

 good for Ruari's elastic conscience. The fruit of this 

 revocation was a recrudescence of the old quarrel. 



Ruari Macleod next appears on record in 1573 when, 

 by an obligation dated 26th April, he bound himself to 

 John Campbell, Bishop of the Isles, to bring in the Bishop's 

 fruits, rents, and emoluments, and to cause all others under 

 his authority to do likewise. He also promised to be 

 obedient " anent all good ordinances, laws, and constitu- 

 tions, and corrections concerning the Kirk, as the acts and 

 constitution of the Reformed Kirk of Scotland bears, and 

 was used in the last Bishop's time." * The document was 

 written by Ronald Angusson, parson of Uig, at the com- 

 mand of " ane honourable man, Roderick McCloid of the 

 Lewis, becaus he culd not writt himself, his hand led on 

 the pen." To find Ruari a good Churchman fully com- 

 pensates for his ignorance of penmanship. The truth, 

 however, is only too patent ; if his writing was bad, his 

 morals were worse. Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, in his 

 History of the Mackenzies, calls him " an unprincipled 

 villain." This is a little hard on old Ruari ; he may 

 possibly have been a villain, but he had principles : for, 

 by the testimony of parson Ronald Angusson, was he 

 not " ane honourable man ? " And was he not a dutiful 

 adherent of the Reformed Kirk of Scotland ? 



By 1576, the dispute between Ruari and Torquil 

 Conanach had reached so aggravated a form, that the 

 Regent (the Earl of Morton, who had succeeded the Earl 

 of Mar) and the Privy Council summoned both parties 

 to their presence to answer for their lawlessness. On 

 26th June, 1576, Ruari and Torquil became "actit and 

 obleist" for themselves and their kin, friends, servants, 

 tenants, assistants, and part-takers to " behave thameselffis 

 as dewtifull and obedient subjectes " ; to keep the King's 

 peace and good order in the country in future ; to refrain 

 from molesting his Majesty's subjects in their lawful trade 



* Collectanea de Rebus Albanici^ pp. 6-8. 



