Letter from King James to Chief John McNaughten

November 30, 1689

(This letter is found in the Leven and Melville Papers, 1689-1691, edited by Leslie Melville for the Bannatyne Club, p. 331: )

JAMES R. Trusty and well beloved, We greet you well. The constant loyaltie of yourselfe and ffamily, has been all allong soe well known to us, that wee cann never doubt the continuance of your endeavours for our service. And now that God appears soe signally to bless our endeavours everie where, and that such of our enemies that durst not encounter the justice of our cause, he has by want and distemper destroyed, we expect that you and everie brave and honest man will, with your freinds and followers, rise and lay hold of so great a providence; and tho the fforces you raise for our service may engadge you in an expence farr beyond what you are provided for, yett we hope you will not decline the charge, nor refuse to undergo the difficulties; since all things, both at home and abroade, seem to conspire to putt us soone into such a condition as will not onely enable us to satisfy the debt our ffreinds have contracted upon our accompt, but also to distinguish them from others, by particullar marks of our ffavor.

We have therefore resolved to send immediately our richt trusty and richt well beloved the Earle of Seafort to head his freinds and followers; and as soone as the season will permit the shipping of horse, our richt trusty and intirely beloved naturall son, the Duke of Berwicke, with considerable succors to your assistance, which the present good posture of our affaires here will allow us to spare; and wee doe assure you that the success wee hope for from this and your endeavours shall be acceptable to us, for nothing more than that thereby wee shall shew you our gratitude, not onely by protecting you in your religion, laws, and libertyes, as wee have already promissed, but by rewarding your and each mans meritt in particullar, out of such forfeitures as shall come to us by the unaturall rebellion of the rest of our subjects there.

We must, above all things, recommend unto you a thorough union amongst yourselves, and a due obedience to your superior officers, and that you look with the greatest indignation upon any body that, under any pretence whatsoever, shall goe about to disunite you, such an one being a more dangerous enemie to our interest, than those that appeare in open armes against us.

We refer to the bearer to give you a full accompt of our fforce, and the present condition to our enimies, which is such as will putt our affaires here soon out of all doubt; and soe we bidd you heartily farewell. Given at our Courte at Dublin Castle, the last day of November 1689, and in the fifth yeare of our reigne.

By his Majesties Command. To our trusty and well beloved THE LAIRD OF McNAUGHTEN.