HECTOR Maclean 1751-1812 was a West Highlander who looked to the army for a career beyond the bounds of Scotland, as so many did. He fought in the American War of Independence, where his commanding officer was Murdoch Maclaine (later 19th¬ of Lochbuie). After Hector left the army on half-pay, he became one of the many emigrants and he took advantage of the army land grants to settle in Nova Scotia. This work is a collaborative edition of his diary and letters between Jo Currie and two Canadian academics, Keith Mercer and John Reid. The editors present Hector Maclean’s words very much as he wrote them with abbreviations, contracted spellings, nicknames and initials of friends. These last are identified in copious footnotes wherever possible. The feeling of being transported back into another age is also enhanced by the sympathetic way the book has been produced: the texture of the paper is suggestive of the originals and the diary section is a page for page transcription of short lines, just as Hector Maclean wrote them. It is a very attractive publication.
On Sunday December 11, 49 adults and 17 youngsters attended a charity lunch at Taynuilt Hotel. An impressive £735 was raised and all proceeds will be distributed to local groups in the near future.
An introduction at the start of the book gives brief details of the period in which he lived and his own words enable us to follow the ups and downs of the hard work of establishing a Nova Scotian farm. There are also gimpses of his social life: visits to neighbours, dances attended, gossip about who might marry whom. And there was time, too, for some outdoor recreation, such as a sailing expedition and a moose hunt.