Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 5.djvu/239

to act a bold and conspicuous part under that unfortunate leader. The immediate subject of this memoir is said to have manifested a degree of resolution and conduct which attracted much attention, and inspired hopes of his future fortune. On the final dispersion of the rebel army at Ruthven in Badenoch, they had no resource but to make the best of their way to a foreign land, where they might be safe from the consequences of their enterprise. They proceeded, in company with many other Lowland gentlemen, to the Western Isles, where they designed to wait till a vessel could be procured to convey them to France. While in the isles, where they were detained nearly a month, the fugitives were frequently alarmed by reports of their retreat having been discovered, and that an armament had been despatched in quest of them ; and on one occasion they were informed that three frigates, with two battalions of foot on board, were within ten miles of them. They, however, were not molested. On the 20th of April, a ship which had been despatched from France for the purpose, arrived at the island on which they were concealed. Losing no time, they, along with about a hundred companions in misfortune, embarked on board of this vessel, and arrived in safety at St Paul de Leon in Brittany, on the 12th of May, 1716. On their arrival at this port, the greater part of them proceeded immediately to wait upon the Pretender, who was then at Avignon; the others, amongst whom was Keith, went straight to Paris, where the latter had at that time several relations residing. On reaching Paris, Keith waited upon the queen-mother, by whom he was most graciously received, and who, amongst other flattering things, said, that she had heard of his good services in her son's cause, and that neither of them should ever forget it. Keith now proposed to the queen-mother to visit the king, by which he meant the Pretender, and asked her permission to do so. She, however, dissuaded him from taking this step, saying that he was yet but young, and had better remain in Paris and recommence his studies, and concluded by proposing to bear the charge of his future education. Notwithstanding this flattering reception, a whole month elapsed before Keith heard any thing further from the queen-mother, and, in the mean time, he was reduced to great straits for want of money, living principally by selling horse furniture, which military officers were at this period in the habit of carrying about with them, and which, being sometimes richly ornamented with silver, was a very valuable article. There were many friends of himself and his family in Paris, who would readily have afforded him any pecuniary assistance he might have required, but, as he himself says, in a MS. memoir of his life, written with his own hand, to which we have access, "I was then either so bashful or so vain, that I would not own the want I was in." His wants, however, of this kind were soon amply provided for, and from various unlocked for sources. The queen-mother at length sent him 1000 livres, and much about the same time a Parisian banker waited upon him, and informed him that he had instructions from Scotland to supply him with money, and an order from king James to pay him 200 crowns a-year, with an apology for the smallness of the sum, as it was all that his (the king's) circumstances enabled him to do. Relieved now from his pecuniary difficulties, he betook himself to study, to which he devoted the whole of the remaining part of the year 1716, and a great part of the following year. Previous to this, and while pursuing his studies, he received a commission as colonel of horse in the service of the king of Sweden, who entertained a design of making a descent on Scotland in favour of king James. The project, however, was discovered long before it could be carried into execution, and thus both the intended invasion and Keith's commission fell to the ground. Another opportunity, although equally fruitless in its results, presented itself to the young soldier, now in his twentieth year, of pushing his fortune with his sword. This