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380 Gaelic Society of Inverness.
if that premium should be taken away, therefore I beg that you
may speak to that odd creatures the hiirds of Grant and see what
they will do for themselves."
The only extract from these letters bearing on political topics,
which appears worthy of being quottnl, is the following, and its
interest is, indeed, derived more from the light which it throws
on the querulousness and suscei>tibilities of its author than from
any special historical fact wliich it recoi-ds. Students of the
period (1743) will draw their own conclusions from the complaints
of Lord Lovat :
"I am fully persuaded by experience as much as you can be,
that in this Government there is no regard paid to past services,
though never so essential, and foi- making new schemes, I am too
old for that, and though I should both lesolve and lay myself out
to do essential service to the family of Hanover, I must come
short of what I have done already for the Government to keep the
Crown on their head, and the returns I met with were barbarous
and ungrateful usage. I could say the same of another Court that
I will now hold my tongue of, so that it has been ray fate to be ill
used by Courts, except by the glorious Court of France, who did
me much more honour than I deserved ; and if I was to begin the
world again, I would never serve any Court, but according as I
would be rewarded. I hope my children will follow the same
maxim."
The account given in another letter of the behaviour of two
local doctors is very amusing, and seems, at this time of day, almost
incredible. Lovat writes :
—
'* I have been pretty ill with the aigue since you went away,
so that I was forced to send for Doctor Cuthbert and Doctor
Fraser, who stayed here for tive days, and all the service they did
me was to drink ilrunk day and night, for except while they slept
they were not tive minutes sober since they came to the house, and
Doctor Cuthbert is still here, and all the medicines they ga^•e were
severall dishes of laughter wliich happened very often. My servants
got heavy lifts of them in carrying them from this room to
their beds. Tt was a thousand pities for they are two pretty
gentlemen, but Achnagairn has b}' much the advantage of Doctor
Cuthl)ert, when he is in his own houso he ^scldom drinks, and Doctor
Cuthb(,'rt is every night druidx in his own house. Howcvar, T bless
God by my following my own prescription of drinking the infusion
of severall bitters in Sijanish wine, and of drinking a glass once or
twice a day of the SpanisJi wine with the Peruvian bark infused