Background
John Graham, the laird of Claverhouse and 1st Viscount of Dundee was called "Bluidy Clavers" (Bloody Claverhouse) by his opponents, but Bonnie Dundee by his followers among the Jacobites. His nickname, "Bonnie", arose either from his exploits as a leader or that he was considered handsome. When William of Orange landed, beginning what is now known as the Glorious Revolution, Claverhouse was one of the few Scottish nobles who remained loyal to James VII of Scotland (James II of England). After trying to influence the Convention of Estates of Scotland on James's behalf, at some danger to himself, he led his cavalry out of Edinburgh to carry on the struggle in the field, and was killed at the moment of victory in the battle of Killiecrankie (1689). Over a century later he was immortalised in a poem by Walter Scott which was later adapted into a song.
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“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
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