Earl of Murray

“ Next to Mary herself, no one had held so prominent a place in Scotland as the Earl of Murray; and there is no one concerning whose character historians have more widely differed. There can be no doubt that, like most human characters, it was a very mixed one; but it is to be feared [Pg 198] that the evil preponderated. Ambition was his ruling passion, and the temptations which his birth, rank, and fortune, held out for its indulgence, unfortunately led him into errors and crimes which, had he been contented with an humbler sphere, he would in all probability have avoided. ”

“ Soon after the Earle of Murray took post towards London, leaving the rest of the Lords at Newcastle; every man supposed that the Earl of Murray should have been graciously received of the Queen of England, and that he should have gotten support according to his heart's desire; but far beyond his expectation, he could get no audience of the Queen of England: But by means of the French Ambassadour, called Monsieur De Four, his true friend, he obtained audience. ”

“ Huntley, under cover of executing that commission, took occasion to revenge a private quarrel he had against James Stewart Earl of Murray, a relation of Bothwell's. In the night of Feb. 7, 1592, he beset Murray's house, burnt it to the ground, and slew Murray himself; a young nobleman of the most promising virtues, and the very darling of the people. ”

“ We will not be afraid
To fight with foraign enemies,
And set our nation free:
And thus I end the bloody bout95
Of brave Lord Willoughbèy.
[Pg 119] THE BONNY EARL OF MURRAY. From The Tea-Table Miscellany, ii. 188.
In consequence of a suspicion that the Earl of Murray had been party to an attempt of his cousin, the notorious Bothwell, against the person of the King (James VI.) , a commission was issued for bringing Murray before the sovereign for examination. The arrest was inconsiderately entrusted to the Earl of Huntly, Murray's mortal enemy. ”

“ Master Reginald would never so far forget the difference in our rank and condition, and I should be very sorry if he did.”
“What do ye mean, lass, about difference o’ rank and condeetion? Are the Muirs no’ as weel–born as ony lord or duke in the auld kintra? Do ye no’ ken that my mother’s father’s sister was married to Muir of Drumliwhappit, an’ that he was near cousin to the Laird o’ Blagowrie, wha married the sister o’ the Earl o’ Glencairn? Rank and condeetion, indeed! as I tauld ye, just now, ye’re neither mair nor less than a fule, Jessie. ”

“ Hardly less fictitious seems to be the dispute between the Scottish king and a Murray, in relation to the tenure. The Murrays first became connected with Selkirkshire in 1461. John de Moravia then acquired the lands of Philiphaugh, and was afterwards appointed Custos of Newark Castle, and came into possession of Hangingshaw and Lewinshope. All of these are attributed to the Outlaw in the ballad. This John Murray was a contemporary of Boyd, Earl of Arran, and of the forfeited Murray of Traquair, but, with all this, nobody has pitched upon him for the Outlaw ”

“ On the 15th of September 1568, Murray, before going into England, to attend the conference at York, gave the Earl of Morton a receipt for the “silver box, overgilt with gold, with all missive letters, contracts or obligations for marriage, sonnets or love ballads, and all other letters contained therein, sent and passed betwixt the Queen and James, sometime Earl [Pg 281] Bothwell; which box, and whole pieces within the same, were taken and found with umwhile George Dalgleish, servant to the said Earl Bothwell, upon the 20th day of June, in the year of God 1567.” ”

“ HE was the son of Sir Lionel Tollemache of Helmingham, County Norfolk, by Lady Elizabeth Murray, elder daughter and heir of William Murray, Lord Huntingtower, first Earl of Dysart. These honours were conferred on William Murray, a member of a younger branch of the house of Tullibardine by Charles the First, with remainder to heirs male and female. ”

“ Murdered boy appears immediately as bird and reveals that his brother had killed him, I, 126. Murdered man’s body will emit blood upon being touched or approached by the murderer, II, 143. Murray. See under Family Names. Murray, Bonny Earl of, murder of at Donibristle, III, 447-9, 456. Murray, The Outlaw, ballad, V, 185 ff. Murray, Regent, III, 400, 409, 417, 442, 447. Murray, Morrow==Moor, black, V, 189 n. Music, harp, pipe, flute, song, powerful effects of, on animate and inanimate nature, II, 137 ”

“ Murray, Thomas (1564-1623) : after daughters insert one of whom was wife of Sir Henry Newton, afterwards Puckering [q. v.] , while the other was Anne, Lady Halkett [q. v.] , 408 ii 25 Murray, William, 1st Earl of Dysart: for two daughters read four daughters 409 ii 8-9 Murray, William, Marquis of Tullibardine: for Corri-garrick read Corry-arrick 413 i 14 f.e. Murray, William, 1st Earl of Mansfield: for brother read nephew 421 ii 16 f.e. ”

“ But Murray's edition of the statutes, with all its imperfections, was habitually quoted in the Scottish courts as an authority until the beginning of this century.
The marriage of Lady Dysart with the Duke of Lauderdale secured Murray for a time in his public offices, and it was supposed that he shared his emoluments with the duchess. When the power of the duke was overthrown Murray was superseded. His name was not included in the commission for the administration of justice appointed in 1681, and his office of lord-clerk-register was given to Sir George Mackenzie [q. v.] ”

“ It was easy to inflame the minds of persons so situated with false [Pg 16] hopes; and Murray is said to have been indefatigable in the prosecution of his scheme. After a delay of three weeks in Paris, he set off on that memorable undertaking to engage the Clans, which ultimately ended in the insurrection of 1745.
Lord George Murray, meantime, had returned to his native country, where he was presented to George the Second, and solicited, but ineffectually, a commission in the British army. ”

“ In an instant the vaulted arches of the palace echoed with the flourished cadences of the royal trumpets, the ringing steps of steel-clad men, the tramp of hoofs in the courtyard, the gathering cries of the followers of each fierce baron, succeeding wildly to the soft breathings of minstrelsey and song. At this instant Murray had resolved himself to act, and, with his hand upon the pommel of his sword, slowly but resolutely stepped forward. “Yield thee!” he said, in stern, low tones;347 “yield thee, my lord of Bothwell! ”

“ He had like to have prevailed at Carlisle, but the council was soon resumed, and continued ever after to be held upon extraordinary emergencies. It was not in this particular only that Murray’s ambition was detrimental to the prince’s affairs. Though he was more jealous of Lord George Murray than of any body, Lord George was not the only person he dreaded as a rival. There were abundance of gentlemen in the army, in no respect inferior to Mr. Murray, but his early favour gave him an opportunity of excluding most of them from the prince’s presence and acquaintance. ”

“ He bequeathed to his son, John second Marquis of Atholl, and the father of Lord George Murray, as great a share of prosperity and as many sources of self-exultation as ordinarily fall to the lot of one man. To the blood of the Murrays, the marriage with Lady Amelia Stanley had added a connection in kindred with the Houses of Bourbon and Austria, with the Kings of Spain and Duke of Savoy, the Prince of Orange, and most of the crowned heads in Europe. ”

“ Here he remained until 1796, playing a great variety of parts, including King John, Osmyn, Adam in 'As you like it,' Sir Peter Teazle, Old Dornton in the 'Road to Ruin.' Mrs. Murray was occasionally seen, and on 1 July 1793, for the benefit of her father and of her mother, who played Queen Elinor, his daughter, subsequently Mrs. H. Siddons, made as Prince Arthur her first appearance on any stage. She subsequently played Titania, and on Mrs. Murray's final benefit in Bath on 19 May 1796, Fine Lady in Garrick's 'Lethe.' On this occasion Murray spoke a farewell address. ”

“ Murray remained at his post during the whole of June, when, supposing the project to have been deferred, he returned to his house at Broughton. But on the arrival of the prince he joined him at Kinlochmoidart, Inverness-shire, and during the campaign he acted as his secretary. In the discharge of his duties he manifested great activity and energy, but is supposed to have been the chief cause of the prince's difficulties with Lord George Murray, of whom he was extremely jealous. Murray strongly represented the prestige that would accrue to the cause of the prince by the occupation of Edinburgh ”

“ The man whom Murray most dreaded as a rival was Lord George Murray, the coadjutor with the Duke of Perth in the command of the army; and it soon became no difficult task, not only to persuade Prince Charles, who knew but little personally of Lord George, that that impetuous but honest man was a traitor, but also to inspire the amiable Duke of Perth with suspicions foreign to his generous nature. ”

“ Lord George Murray rose to greatness: so enduring, and so fearless, so careless of danger to himself, yet so solicitous for others. As a general, some great defects may be pointed out in his composition, without detracting from his merits as a private individual. ”

“ Murray, on the other side, used the utmost expedition in preparing to attack the queen before she became too formidable: and when they joined battle, her army, consisting chiefly of new-raised men, was defeated, and she obliged to save herself by flight; travelling 60 miles in one day to the house of Lord Herris. From thence she dispatched John Beton to Elizabeth, with a diamond which she had formerly received from her, as a pledge of mutual amity; intimating, that if her rebellious subjects should persecute her any further, she would come into England, and beg her assistance. ”

“ The treasonable views entertained by Murray and his friends, are involved in no such doubt. In these times, the common mode of effecting a change in the government, was to seize the person of the sovereign; and all historians of credit agree in affirming, that Murray was determined on making the experiment. On Sunday, the first of July, 1565, the Queen was to ride with Darnley and a small train of friends from Perth to the seat of Lord Livingston at Callander, the baptism of one of whose children she had promised to attend. ”

“ The march commenced on the 31st, the division under Murray proceeding by Peebles and Moffat, and the other by Lauder and Kelso. After their union at Beddings in Cumberland, Carlisle was invested, the siege being conducted by the Duke of Perth. On account of the prominence assigned to the duke during the siege, Murray resigned his command, intimating his desire henceforth to serve as a volunteer. Perth thereupon also resigned, and his resignation was accepted, it being understood that Murray, whose skill was necessary to the continuance of the enterprise, should act as general under the prince. ”

“ The highlanders, by their method of marching, were almost beyond pursuit even by cavalry, when Murray, with the rear-guard, was on the 17th detained at Clifton in Cumberland by the breaking down of some baggage wagons. Next morning the advanced guard of the duke appeared on the adjoining heights, and, desiring to check the pursuit, Murray despatched a message to the prince for a reinforcement of a thousand men, his purpose being, by a midnight march, to gain the flank of the pursuers, and, according to the method adopted at Prestonpans, take them by surprise in the early morning. ”

“ It was in the year 1741 that the royal youth, then scarcely nineteen years of age, became acquainted with a man whose qualities of mind, and attractions of manner, exercised a very considerable influence over his destiny; and whose character, pliant, yet bitter, intriguing and perfidious, came afterwards into a painful collision with the haughty overbearing temper, and manly sincerity, of Lord George Murray. ”

“ Mary’s followers had failed to retake Dunbar Castle from the regent, and made for Dumbarton instead, marching two miles south of Glasgow, by the village of Langside. Here Murray, with 4500 men, under leaders of high distinction, met the 6000 of the queen’s army, whose ablest man, Herries, was as much distrusted by Mary as by every one else, while the Hamiltons could only be trusted to think of their own interests, and were suspected of treasonable designs on all who stood between their house and the monarchy. ”

“ In October 1621 he was confined to his house for opposing the Spanish marriage. In February 1621-2 he was elected provost of Eton, but fell seriously ill in February 1622-3, and died on 9 April, aged 59. He left behind him five sons and two daughters. His widow, Jane, and a son received a pension of 500l. for their lives.
Murray was author of some Latin poems, which have been printed in the 'Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum,' ed. ”

“ Having entered the British army, he served with the 15th Foot in the West Indies, the Netherlands and Brittany, and became lieutenant-colonel of this regiment by purchase in 1751. In 1757 he led his men to North America to take part in the war against France. He commanded a brigade at the siege of Louisburg, was one of Wolfe’s three brigadiers in the expedition against Quebec, and commanded the left wing of the army in the famous battle in September 1759. After the British victory and the capture of the city, Murray was left in command of Quebec ”