430 HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



and was only won over by the passionate declaration of 

 young Ranald Macdonald, brother of Kinlochmoidart, who 

 offered to draw his sword in the cause of the Prince, if he 

 were the only man in the Highlands to do so. 



Having thus engaged the interest of Clanranald, Charles 

 sent him to Macdonald of Sleat and Macleod of Harris, 

 to secure, if possible, the adhesion of those powerful chiefs. 

 During his absence, Dr. Archibald Cameron, Lochiel's 

 brother, was among his visitors to the Doutelle, bringing 

 with him the cheerless intelligence that the assistance of 

 the Camerons was not to be counted upon, for Lochiel 

 had decided not to take part in the rising. Dr. Cameron 

 and Hugh Macdonald, brother of the laird of Morar, 

 concurred in regarding the proposed insurrection as 

 hopeless, and in urging the Prince to return to France 

 and wait for a more opportune time. To these repre- 

 sentations Charles turned a deaf ear ; nothing, he declared, 

 would divert him from his purpose. So long as he could 

 get six trusty men to skulk with him in the mountains, 

 he proposed to remain in Scotland instead of going back 

 to France. When Clanranald returned to the Doutelle, 

 with the tidings that Macdonald of Sleat and Macleod of 

 Harris absolutely refused to join, the Prince found himself 

 in a minority of one ; for all his friends, without exception, 

 were now in favour of the abandonment of the enterprise. 

 Charles remained obstinate. And his obstinacy prevailed ; 

 for the chivalry of Clanranald, at least, was not proof 

 against it. That gallant, if imprudent, young Highlander 

 determined to throw in his lot with the Prince, the very 

 hopelessness of the cause appealing to his generous nature. 

 When Charles reached Borradale, a farm belonging to 

 Clanranald, the crucial point was reached. For it was at 

 Borradale that the interview with Lochiel occurred, the 

 result of which decided more than one chief who was 

 wavering. There is reason, indeed, to believe that if 

 Lochiel had remained neutral, the rising would never have 

 taken place. 



Donald Cameron of Lochiel, whose aged father was 



