Sir George Mackenzie Author:Andrew Lang Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III THE YOUTH OF MACKENZIE Mackenzie's early memories—Montrose's army in Dundee—Defeats of Dunbar and Worcester—Massacre of Dundee—Mackenzie's ancest... more »ry —Kintail and Seaforth—His father Highland, his mother Lowland— Simon of Lochslin—Date of Mackenzie's birth, probably 1638— Sufferings of his clan for the King—His mother's father an Episcopalian minister—Mackenzie enters Aberdeen University (1650)—Frugal life—Goes to St. Andrews (1653)—Life at St. Andrews—Mr. Blair on Golf and Theology—Mackenzie's cousin, Tarbat, at St. Andrews— Mackenzie at Bourges—Returns to Edinburgh—Admitted to the Bar —Energy of Mackenzie in law and literature—Publishes his novel, Aretina—Plot of Aretina—"An up-to-date novel"—Account of the Civil Wars and Restoration—Mackenzie's sympathy with the great Montrose. The most disastrous period in the civil wars was within the memory of Mackenzie. As a child of seven, or perhaps of nine, in his grandmother's house at Dundee, he may have watched the plaids of Montrose's Highlanders sweep through the streets, and heard the ordered tramp of his disciplined Irish musketeers. He may have seen Montrose miraculously gather the scattered and intoxicated forces in the dusk, and drive them out to that retreat which French strategists deemed more wonderful than his victories. Children, we know, interest themselves eagerly in war, but we cannot tell whether Mackenzie rejoiced or wept over the capture of Montrose and his execution. As a young man he admired and praised in verse the great Marquis; in childhood we know nothing of his sentiments. He must certainly, however, have been saddened, as a patriotic boy, by the national defeats of Dunbar and Worcester ; he may have understood the miserable results of the feud of Remonstrants and Resolutioners, concerningwhic...« less