Scotch-Irish-L Archives

Archiver > Scotch-Irish > 1997-11 > 0880041577


From: Martin Roberts <>
Subject: Re: Question re books
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 09:59:37 -0600


At 07:07 PM 11/19/97 -0800, linda Merle wrote:
>Hi, followup on the discussion on The Bruce...
>
>Is anyone familiar with a book I acquired in a second hand
>sale? "SCottish Chiefs" by Miss Jane Porter, published
>Philedelphia, Porter & Coates, as near as I can tell in 1831.

Yes, Linda. I have an old copy that I inherited from my great grandmother
whose mother was a Stewart. I read it as a child and enjoyed it tremendously.
My ggggmother knew Miss Porter and wrote about her in a diary.

It is filed with anecdotal tales of the clan wars and the French connections.
I believe she used MacCaulay as a general source and added color that she
learned from reading Scott. She had access to the Harvard library.

>
>It is the story of the Bruce. In the appendix we find this note
>"respecting the personal Conformation of Sir William Wallace
>and King Robert Bruce" , provided in 1430 by an old lady living
>in Perth, in the house of Erskine, who had resided in the castle
>of Kinnoul. She had seen Wallace and Bruce as a young girl.
>She said, 'Robert was a man beautiful, and of a fine appearance.
>His strength was so great, that he could easily have overcome
>any mortal man of his time, save one--Sir William Wallace! But
>in so far as he excelled other men, he was excelled by Wallace,
>both in stature and in bodily strength! For in wrestling, Wallace
>could have overthrown two such men as Robert. And he was comely
>as well as strong, and full of the beauty of wisdom.'
>
>Linda Merle
>
>
>
Martin Roberts

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