James McIntyre

The Brothers Stuart

In the year 1843 we were, though but a boy, at a fair at
Cawdor Castle. Readers of Shakespeare’s Macbeth will
have often found Cawdor mentioned therein; the village
of Cawdor is but a few miles from Culloden Moor While
we were there the old Highland people, in their broken
English, were declaring that the Stuarts were collecting
arms, and that the Clans were going to join them ; those
gentlemen wore the Highland garb, and were highly re–
spected. They had lived in Cawdor for some years ; one
of them built a Hermitage of wicker-work on high bank
of river, which remains entire and in good repair to the
present day.
 
Long ‘ere Her Majesty the Queen
Had visited of Aberdeen,
’Ere she in castle did abide
‘Mong glorious hills on the Dee side,
Or visited each Highland glen
Or won the hearts of Highlandmen,
There oft was seen in Highland dress
Two Stuarts brave in Inverness ;
Well worthy of the poet’s lyre,
They claimed Prince Charlie as Grandsire,
And that they also did combine
Stuart with Royal Polish line ;
Their names, Sobieskie Stuart,
They won many a Highland heart.
 
But Royal order did go forth,
To build Balmoral Castle North,
Then woundrous change was quickly seen–
All hearts were captured by the Queen.
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