in labour. In this distressing and trying position a Highlander
passing by took compassion upon her, and seeing her case so
desperate, with no resources at hand, he, with remarkable presence
of mind, killed one of his horses, ripped open his stomach, and
taking out the bowels, placed her and the newly-born infant in
their place, as the only effectual shelter from the storm. By this
means he secured sufficient time to procure female assistance, and
ultimately saved the woman and her child.

But the most remarkable part of the story remains to be told. The
same person to whom she owed her preservation was at that moment one
of the captives under her roof. He was one of Kintail's followers
on the fatal field of Flodden. She, informed of his presence and of
the plight he was in, managed to procure a private interview with him,
when he amply proved to her, by more detailed reference to the
incidents of their meeting on Leathad Leacachan, that he was the man
- "Uisdean Mor Mac 'Ille Phadruig" - and in gratitude, she, at the
serious risk of her own personal safety, successfully planned the
escape of Hugh's master and his whole party. The story is given on
uninterrupted tradition in the country of the Mackenzies; and a
full and independent version in the vernacular of the hero's humane
conduct on Leathad Leacachan will be found in the Celtic Magazine,
vol. ii., pp. 468-9, to which the Gaelic reader is referred.

Gregory, p. 112, says: "Tradition has preserved a curious anecdote
connected with the Mackenzies, whose young chief, John of Kintail,
was taken prisoner at Flodden. It will be recollected that Kenneth
Og Mackenzie of Kintail, while on his way to the Highlands, after
making his escape from Edinburgh Castle, was killed in the Torwood
by the Laird of Buchanan. The foster-brother of Kenneth Og was a