“people shall pick gooseberries from a bush growing on the stone ledge
of one of the arches”. There are many now living who remember this
gooseberry bush, and who have seen it in bloom and blossom, and with
fruit upon it. It grew on the south side of the bridge, on the third or
fourth pier, and near the iron grating which supplied a dismal light to
the dungeon which in those days was the Inverness prison. Maclean, “A
Nonagenarian,” writing forty years ago, says nothing of the bush, but,
while writing of the predicted fall of the bridge, states, with regard to
it, that “an old tradition or prophecy is, that many lives will be lost
at its fall, and that this shall take place when there are seven females
on the bridge, in a state poetically described as that ‘in which ladies
wish to be who love their lords’.” This was written, as will be seen by
comparing dates, several years before the bridge was carried away in
1849, showing unmistakably that the prophecy was not concocted after the
event.
“The natural arch, or ‘Clach tholl,’ near Storehead in Assynt, will
fall with a crash so loud as to cause the laird of Leadmore’s cattle,
twenty miles away, to break their tethers.” This was fulfilled in 1841,
Leadmore’s cattle having one day strayed from home to within a few
hundred yards of the arch, when it fell with such a crash as to send
them home in a frantic fright, tearing everything before them. Hugh
Miller refers to this prediction, as also to several others, in the work
already alluded to—“Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland,” pp.
161, 162, 163.
About sixteen years ago, there lived in the village of “Baile Mhuilinn,”
in the West of Sutherlandshire, an old woman of about 95 years of age,
known as Baraball n’ic Coinnich (Annabella Mackenzie). From her position,
history, and various personal peculiarities, it was universally believed
in the district that she was no other than the Baraball n’ic Coinnich of
whom the Brahan Seer predicted that she would die of the measles. She
had, however, arrived at such an advanced age, without any appearance or
likelihood of her ever having that disease, that the prophet was rapidly
losing credit in the district. About this time the measles had just gone
the round of the place, and had made considerable havoc among old and
young; but when the district was, so to speak, convalescent, the measles
paid Baraball a visit, and actually carried her away, when within a few
years of five score, leaving no doubt whatever in the minds of the people
that she had died as foretold centuries before by the famous Coinneach
Odhar.
The Seer, one day, pointing to the now celebrated Strathpeffer mineral
wells, said:—“Uninviting and disagreeable as it now is, with its thick
crusted surface and unpleasant smell, the day will come when it shall be
under lock and key, and crowds of pleasure and health seekers shall be
seen thronging its portals, in their eagerness to get a draught of its
waters.”
Regarding the “land-grasping” Urquharts of Cromarty he predicted “that,
extensive though their possessions in the Black Isle now are, the day
will come—and it is close at hand—when they will not own twenty acres in
the district.” This, like many of his other predictions, literally came
to pass, although nothing could then have been more unlikely; for, at the
time, the Urquharts possessed the estates of Kinbeachie, Braelangwell,
Newhall, and Monteagle, but at this moment their only possession in the
Black Isle is a small piece of Braelangwell.
That “the day will come when fire and water shall run in streams through
all the streets and lanes of Inverness,” was a prediction, the fulfilment
of which was quite incomprehensible, until the introduction of gas and
water through pipes into every corner of the town.
“The day will come when long strings of carriages without horses shall
run between Dingwall and Inverness, and more wonderful still, between
Dingwall and the Isle of Skye.” It is hardly necessary to point out that
this refers to the railway carriages now running in those districts.
That “a bald black girl will be born at the back of the Church of
Gairloch” (Beirear nighean mhaol dubh air cùl Eaglais Ghearrloch),
has been fulfilled. During one of the usual large gatherings at the
Sacramental Communion a well-known young woman was taken in labour, and
before she could be removed she gave birth to the “nighean mhaol dubh,”
whose descendants are well known and pointed out in the district to this
day as the fulfilment of Coinneach’s prophecy.
That “a white cow will give birth to a calf in the garden behind Gairloch
House,” has taken place within the memory of people still living; that,
in Fowerdale, “a black hornless cow (Bo mhaol dubh) will give birth to
a calf with two heads,” happened within our own recollection. These
predictions were well known to people before they came to pass.
The following are evidently fragments regarding the Lovat Estates. He
said:—
Thig fear tagair bho dheas,
Mar eun bho phreas.
Fasaidh e mar luibh,
’S sgaoilidh e mar shiol,
’S cuiridh e teine ri Ardrois.
(A Claimant will come from the South
Like a bird from a bush;
He will grow like an herb;
He will spread like seed,
And set fire to Ardross.)[2]
“Mhac Shimidh ball-dubh, a dh’fhagus an oighreachd gun an t-oighre
dligheach.” (Mac Shimidh (Lovat), the black-spotted, who will leave the
Estate without the rightful heir.) “An Sisealach claon ruadh, a dh’fhagus
an oighreachd gun an t-oighre dligheach.” (Chisholm, the squint-eyed,
who will leave the estate without the rightful heir.) “An tighearna
stòrach a dh’fhagus oighreachd Ghearrloch gun an t-oighre dligheach.”
(The buck-toothed laird who will leave the estate of Gairloch without the
rightful heir), are also fragments.
We do not know whether there has been any Lovat or Chisholm with the
peculiar personal characteristics mentioned by the Seer,[3] and shall
be glad to receive information on the point, as well as a fuller and
more particular version of the prophecy. We are aware, however, that Sir
Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch was buck-toothed, and that he was always
known among his tenants in the west, as “An tighearna stòrach”. We heard
old people maintaining that Coinneach was correct even in this instance,
and that his prediction has been actually fulfilled; but, at present,
we abstain from going into that part of this family history which would
throw light on the subject. A gentleman is trying to assert rights to the
Lovat estates at the present moment.
Before proceeding to give such of the prophecies regarding the family
of Seaforth as have been so literally fulfilled in the later annals of
that once great and powerful house—the history of the family being so
intimately interwoven with, and being itself really the fulfilment of the
Seer’s predictions—it may interest the reader to have a cursory glance at
it from the earliest period in which the family appears in history.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
SKETCH OF THE FAMILY OF SEAFORTH.
The most popularly-received theory regarding the Mackenzies is that they
are descended from an Irishman of the name of Colinas Fitzgerald, son of
the Earl of Kildare or Desmond, who distinguished himself by his bravery
at the battle of Largs, in 1263. It is said that his courage and valour
were so singularly distinguished that King Alexander the Third took him
under his special protection, and granted him a charter of the lands of
Kintail, in Wester Ross, bearing date from Kincardine, January the 9th,
1263.
According to the fragmentary “Record of Icolmkill,” upon which the claim
of the Irish origin of the clan is founded, a personage, described as
“Peregrinus et Hibernus nobilis ex familia Geraldinorum”—that is “a
noble stranger and Hibernian, of the family of the Geraldines”—being
driven from Ireland with a considerable number of his followers was,
about 1261, very graciously received by the King, and afterwards remained
at his court. Having given powerful aid to the Scots at the Battle of
Largs, two years afterwards he was rewarded by a grant of the lands of
Kintail, which were erected into a free barony by royal charter, dated
as above mentioned. Mr. Skene, however, says that no such document as
this Icolmkill Fragment was ever known to exist, as nobody has ever seen
it; and as for Alexander’s charter, he declares (Highlanders, vol. ii.,
p. 235) that it “bears the most palpable marks of having been a forgery
of a later date, and one by no means happy in the execution”. Besides,
the words “Colino Hiberno” contained in it do not prove this Colin to
have been an Irishman, as Hiberni was at that period a common appellation
for the Gael of Scotland. Burke, in the “Peerage” has adopted the Irish
origin of the clan, and the chiefs themselves seem to have adopted this
theory, without having made any particular inquiry as to whether it was
well founded or not. The Mackenzie chiefs were thus not exempt from
the almost universal, but most unpatriotic, fondness exhibited by many
other Highland chiefs for a foreign origin. In examining the traditions
of our country, we are forcibly struck with this peculiarity of taste.
Highlanders despising a Caledonian source trace their ancestors from
Ireland, Norway, Sweden, or Normandy. The progenitors of the Mackenzies
can be traced with greater certainty, and with no less claim to
antiquity, from a native ancestor, Gillean (Cailean) Og, or Colin the
Younger, a son of Cailean na h’Airde, ancestor of the Earls of Ross; and,
from the MS. of 1450, their Gaelic descent may now be considered beyond
dispute.[4]
Until the forfeiture of the Lords of the Isles, the Mackenzies always
held their lands from the Earls of Ross, and followed their banner in
the field, but after the forfeiture of that great and powerful earldom,
the Mackenzies rapidly rose on the ruins of the Macdonalds to the great
power, extent of territorial possession, and almost regal magnificence
for which they were afterwards distinguished among the other great
clans of the north. They, in the reign of James the First, acquired a
very powerful influence in the Highlands, and became independent of any
superior but the Crown. Mackenzie and his followers were, in fact, about
the most potent chief and clan in the whole Highlands.
Kenneth, son of Angus, is supposed to have commenced his rule in Kintail
about 1278, and was succeeded by his son, John, in 1304, who was in his
turn succeeded by his son, Kenneth. John, Kenneth’s son, was called Iain
MacChoinnich, John MacKenneth, or John son of Kenneth, hence the family
name Mackenny or Mackenzie. The name Kenneth in course of time became
softened down to Kenny or Kenzie. It is well known that, not so very long
ago, _z_ in this and all other names continued to be of the same value as
the letter _y_, just as we still find it in Menzies, MacFadzean, and many
others. There seems to be no doubt whatever that this is the real origin
of the Mackenzies, and of their name.
Murchadh, or Murdo, son of Kenneth, it is said, received a charter of the
lands of Kintail from David II.
In 1463, Alexander Mackenzie of Kintail obtained the lands of
Strathgarve, and other possessions, from John, Earl of Ross. They
afterwards strenuously and successfully opposed every attempt made by
the Macdonalds to obtain possession of the forfeited earldom. Alexander
was succeeded by his son, Kenneth, who married Lady Margaret Macdonald,
daughter of the forfeited Earl John, Lord of the Isles; but through
some cause,[5] Mackenzie divorced the lady, and sent her home in a most
ignominious and degrading manner. She had only one eye, and Kintail sent
her home riding a one-eyed steed, accompanied by a one-eyed servant,
followed by a one-eyed dog. All these circumstances exasperated the
lady’s family to such an extent as to make them ever after the mortal and
sworn enemies of the Mackenzies.
Kenneth Og, his son by the divorced wife, became chief in 1493. Two
years afterwards, he and Farquhar Mackintosh were imprisoned by James
V. in Edinburgh Castle. In 1497, however, they both made their escape,
but were, on their way to the Highlands, seized, in a most treacherous
manner, at Torwood, by the laird of Buchanan. Kenneth Og made a stout
resistance, but he was ultimately slain, and Buchanan sent his head as a
present to the King.
Leaving no issue, Kenneth was succeeded by his brother John, whose
mother, Agnes Fraser, his father’s second wife, was a daughter of Lovat.
He had several other sons, from whom have sprung other branches of the
Mackenzies. As John was very young, his uncle, Hector Roy (Eachainn
Ruadh) Mackenzie, progenitor of the house of Gairloch, assumed command
of the clan and the guardianship of the young chief. Gregory informs
us, that “under his rule the Clan Kenzie became involved in feuds with
the Munroes and other clans; and Hector Roy himself became obnoxious
to the Government as a disturber of the public peace. His intentions
towards the young chief of Kintail were considered very dubious, and the
apprehensions of the latter and his friends having been roused, Hector
was compelled by law to yield up the estate and the command of the tribe
to the proper heir.”[6] John, the lawful heir, on obtaining possession,
at the call of James IV., marched at the head of his clan to the
fatal field of Flodden, where he was made prisoner by the English, but
afterwards escaped.
On King James the Fifth’s expedition to the Western Isles in 1540, John
joined him at Kintail, and accompanied him throughout his whole journey.
He fought with his clan at the battle of Pinkie in 1547, and died in
1561, when he was succeeded by his son, Kenneth, who had two sons by a
daughter of the Earl of Athole—Colin and Roderick—the latter becoming
ancestor of the Mackenzies of Redcastle, Kincraig, Rosend, and several
other branches. This Colin, who was the eleventh chief, fought for Queen
Mary at the battle of Langside. He was twice married. By his first wife,
Barbara Grant of Grant—whose elopement with him will be found described
in a poem in the _Highland Ceilidh_, Vol. I., pp. 215-220, of the _Celtic
Magazine_—he had four sons and three daughters, namely—Kenneth, who
became his successor; Sir Roderick Mackenzie of Tarbat, ancestor of the
Earls of Cromartie; Colin, ancestor of the Mackenzies of Kennock and
Pitlundie; and Alexander, ancestor of the Mackenzies of Kilcoy, and other
families of the name. By Mary, eldest daughter of Roderick Mackenzie of
Davochmaluag, he had a natural son, Alexander, from whom descended the
Mackenzies of Applecross, Coul, Delvin, Assynt, and others of note in
history.
Kenneth, the eldest son, soon after succeeding his father, was engaged
in supporting Torquil Macleod of Lewis, surnamed the “Conanach,” the
disinherited son of the Macleod of Lewis, and who was closely related
to himself. Torquil conveyed the barony of Lewis to the Chief of the
Mackenzies by formal deed, the latter causing the usurper to the
estate, and his followers, to be beheaded in 1597. He afterwards, in
the following year, joined Macleod of Harris and Macdonald of Sleat, in
opposing James the Sixth’s project for the colonisation of the Lewis by
the well-known adventurers from the “Kingdom of Fife”.
In 1602, the old and long-standing feud between the Mackenzies and the
Macdonalds of Glengarry, concerning their lands in Wester Ross, was
renewed with infuriated violence. Ultimately, after great bloodshed
and carnage on both sides, an arrangement was arrived at by which
Glengarry renounced for ever, in favour of Mackenzie, the Castle of
Strome and all his lands in Lochalsh, Lochcarron, and other places in
the vicinity, so long the bone of contention between these powerful
and ferocious chieftains. In 1607, a Crown charter for these lands was
granted to Kenneth, thus materially adding to his previous possessions,
power, and influence. “All the Highlands and Isles, from Ardnamurchan
to Strathnaver, were either the Mackenzies’ property or under their
vassalage, some few excepted,” and all around them were bound to them “by
very strict bonds of friendship”. In this same year Kenneth received,
through some influence at Court, a gift, under the Great Seal, of the
Island of Lewis, in virtue of, and thus confirming, the resignation of
this valuable and extensive property previously made in his favour by
Torquil Macleod. A complaint was, however, made to his Majesty by those
of the colonists who survived, and Mackenzie was again forced to resign
it. By patent, dated the 19th of November, 1609, he was created a peer
of the realm, as Lord Mackenzie of Kintail. Soon after, the colonists
gave up all hopes of being able to colonize the Lewis, and the remaining
adventurers—Sir George Hay and Sir James Spens—were easily prevailed upon
to sell their rights to Lord Mackenzie, who at the same time succeeded
in securing a grant from the king of that part of the island forfeited
by Lord Balmerino, another of the adventurers. He (Lord Mackenzie) now
secured a commission of fire and sword against the islanders, soon
arrived with a strong force, and speedily reduced them to obedience,
with the exception of Neil Macleod and a few of his followers. The
struggle between these two continued for a time, but ultimately Mackenzie
managed to obtain possession of the whole island, and it remained in the
possession of the family until it was sold by the “Last of the Seaforths”.
This, the first, Lord Mackenzie of Kintail died in 1611. One of his sons,
Simon Mackenzie of Lochslin, by his second wife, Isabella, daughter
of Sir Alexander Ogilvie of Powrie, was the father of the celebrated
Sir George Mackenzie, already referred to. His eldest son, Colin, who
succeeded him as second Lord Mackenzie of Kintail, was created first
Earl of Seaforth, by patent dated the 3rd December, 1623, to himself and
his heirs male. Kenneth, Colin’s grandson, and third Earl of Seaforth,
distinguished himself by his loyalty to Charles the Second during the
Commonwealth. He supported the cause of the Royalists so long as there
was an opportunity of fighting for it in the field, and when forced
to submit to the ruling powers, he was committed to prison, where,
with much firmness of mind and nobility of soul, he endured a tedious
captivity during many years, until he was ultimately released, after
the Restoration, by authority of the king. He married a lady descended
from a branch of his own family, Isabella Mackenzie, daughter of Sir
John Mackenzie of Tarbat, and sister of the first Earl of Cromartie. To
her cruel and violent conduct may undoubtedly be traced the remarkable
doom which awaited the family of Seaforth, which was predicted in such
an extraordinary manner by Coinneach Odhar, fulfilled in its minutest
details, and which we are, in the following pages, to place before the
reader.
[Illustration]
SEAFORTH’S DREAM.
Before proceeding to relate the Seer’s remarkable prediction, and the
extraordinary minuteness with which it has been fulfilled, we shall give
the particulars of a curious dream by Lord Seaforth, which was a peculiar
forecast of the loss of his faculties of speech and hearing during the
latter part of his eventful life. It has been supplied by a member of the
family,[7] who shows an unmistakable interest in everything calculated to
throw light on the “prophecies,” and who evidently believes them not to
be merely an old wife’s tale. We give it _verbatim et literatim_:—“The
last Lord Seaforth was born in full possession of all his faculties. When
about twelve years of age scarlet fever broke out in the school at which
he was boarding. All the boys who were able to be sent away were returned
to their homes at once, and some fifteen or twenty boys who had taken
the infection were moved into a large room, and there treated. After a
week had passed, some boys naturally became worse than others, and some
of them were in great danger. One evening, before dark, the attendant
nurse, having left the dormitory, for a few minutes, was alarmed by a
cry. She instantly returned, and found Lord Seaforth in a state of
great excitement. After he became calmer, he told the nurse that he had
seen, soon after she had left the room, the door opposite to his bed
silently open, and a hideous old woman came in. She had a wallet full of
something hanging from her neck in front of her. She paused on entering,
then turned to the bed close to the door, and stared steadily at one of
the boys lying in it. She then passed to the foot of the next boy’s bed,
and, after a moment, stealthily moved up to the head, and taking from her
wallet a mallet and peg, drove the peg into his forehead. Young Seaforth
said he heard the crash of the bones, though the boy never stirred.
She then proceeded round the room, looking at some boys longer than at
others. When she came to him, his suspense was awful. He felt he could
not resist or even cry out, and he never could forget, in years after,
that moment’s agony, when he saw her hand reaching down for a nail,
and feeling his ears. At last, after a look, she slunk off, and slowly
completing the circuit of the room, disappeared noiselessly through the
same door by which she had entered. Then he felt the spell seemed to be
taken off, and uttered the cry which had alarmed the nurse. The latter
laughed at the lad’s story, and told him to go to sleep. When the doctor
came, an hour later, to make his rounds, he observed that the boy was
feverish and excited, and asked the nurse afterwards if she knew the
cause, whereupon she reported what had occurred. The doctor, struck with
the story, returned to the boy’s bedside and made him repeat his dream.
He took it down in writing at the moment. The following day nothing
eventful happened, but, in course of time, some got worse, a few indeed
died, others suffered but slightly, while some, though they recovered,
bore some evil trace and consequence of the fever for the rest of their
lives. The doctor, to his horror, found that those whom Lord Seaforth
had described as having a peg driven into their foreheads, were those
who died from the fever; those whom the old hag passed by recovered, and
were none the worse; whereas those she appeared to look at intently, or
handled, all suffered afterwards. Lord Seaforth left his bed of sickness
almost stone deaf; and, in later years, grieving over the loss of his
four sons, absolutely and entirely ceased to speak.”
We shall now relate the circumstances connected with the prophecy, and
continue an account of the Seaforths’ connection with it to the end of
the chapter.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
SEAFORTH’S DOOM.
Kenneth, the third Earl, had occasion to visit Paris on some business
after the Restoration of King Charles the Second, and after having
secured his liberty. He left the Countess at Brahan Castle, unattended
by her lord, and, as she thought, forgotten, while he was enjoying the
dissipations and amusements of the French capital, which seemed to have
many attractions for him, for he prolonged his stay far beyond his
original intention. Lady Seaforth had become very uneasy concerning
his prolonged absence, more especially as she received no letters from
him for several months. Her anxiety became too strong for her power of
endurance, and led her to have recourse to the services of the local
prophet. She accordingly sent messages to Strathpeffer, summoning
Coinneach to her presence, to obtain from him, if possible, some tidings
of her absent lord. Coinneach, as we have seen, was already celebrated,
far and wide, throughout the whole Highlands, for his great powers of
divination, and his relations with the invisible world.