But scarcely any chief in Invernessshire had gained more than he by the downfall of the House of Argyle, or had more reason than he to dread the restoration of that House.

Scarcely any chief in Invernessshire, therefore, was more alarmed and disgusted by the proceedings of the Convention.
But of all those Highlanders who looked on the recent turn of fortune with painful apprehension the fiercest and the most powerful were the Macdonalds.

More than one of the magnates who bore that widespread name laid claim to the honour of being the rightful successor of those Lords of the Isles, who, as late as the fifteenth century, disputed the preeminence of the Kings of Scotland.

This genealogical controversy, which has lasted down to our own time, caused much bickering among the competitors.

But they all agreed in regretting the past splendour of their dynasty, and in detesting the upstart race of Campbell.