General Murray. Murrays, Nairnes and Frasers had all fought on the
Jacobite side in 1745; and we know how the Scots hold together.

[Illustration: GENERAL JAMES MURRAY]

James Murray, son of a Scottish peer, Lord Elibank, was himself still a
young man of only a little more than thirty,--a high-spirited, brave,
generous and impulsive officer. His family played some considerable part
in the life of the time and they were always suspected of Jacobite
leanings. Murray's brother, Lord Elibank, was a leader among the
Scottish wits of his day. Dr. Johnson's famous quip against the Scots
when he defined oatmeal as a food in England for horses and in Scotland
for men was met by Elibank's neat retort: "And where will you find such
horses and such men?" Another brother, Alexander, was a forerunner of
John Wilkes the radical; the cry of "Murray and Liberty" was heard in
London long before that of "Wilkes and Liberty." A third brother, George
became an admiral. General James Murray sometimes described himself as a
soldier of fortune. He was certainly not rich. Yet now when many of the
Canadian seigneurs sold their manors, in some way Murray was able to
purchase half a dozen of these vast estates. He bought that of Lauzon
opposite Quebec on which now stands the town of Levis and half a dozen
villages. He bought St. Jean and Sans-Bruit (now Belmont), near Quebec,
Rivière du Loup and Madawaska, on the lower St. Lawrence, and Foucault
on Lake Champlain.

To Nairne and Fraser, brave young Scots, who had done good service,
Murray was specially attracted. Nairne, though only a lieutenant, till
1761, when he purchased a captaincy, was his junior by but a few years;
Lieutenant Malcolm Fraser was three years younger than Nairne. The young
men were seeking their fortunes but since they had very little money to