THE ISLES AND THE COVENANT. 335 



tion placed in the castle for the use of Montrose, from falling 

 into the hands of the enemy. The Countess was treated 

 with great consideration by her captor, who restored the 

 castle into her possession, after removing the munitions of 

 war. 



When Montrose was compelled by the King's command 



to disband his forces and retire to France, Seaforth found 



himself in an embarrassing position, and was forced, as the 



price of forgiveness by the Estates, to undergo the ignominy 



of doing public penance in sackcloth within the High 



Church of Edinburgh. His restoration to favour was 



partly, if not wholly, due to the attitude of the " commons " 



of his clan, who, in 1648, resolutely refused to follow the 



" uther " (who is unnamed) appointed to command them ; 



they would fight under no one but their chief.* Shortly 



afterwards, Seaforth joined the Earl of Lanark with 4,000 



picked and well-armed men, chiefly drawn, apparently, 



from Lewis, to suppress the insurrection of the extreme 



Covenanters in the West. Lanark achieved some minor 



successes, but failed to follow them up with the energy 



which his superior strength demanded. Eventually, a 



treaty was arranged in 1648, in terms of which the 



opposing armies were disbanded ; the insurgent " Whiga- 



mores " went home to cut their corn, which was " ready 



for the sickle " ; and Seaforth's men returned to the North, 



after a campaign which yielded little glory and probably 



less loot. 



After the execution of Charles I., Seaforth, whose debts 

 were hanging like a millstone round his neck, announced 

 his intention of retiring permanently to the Island of 

 Lewis ; but instead of crossing the Minch, he repaired to 

 France, where he was cordially received by Charles II., 

 who appointed him one of his Secretaries. While in 

 France, he appears to have instigated the rising of 1649, 

 which took place in the Highlands under the leadership 

 of Mackenzie of Pluscardine, a soldier of Continental 



* Hist. MSS. Com.y Report II., Ft. I., pp. 125-6. 



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