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Post by dreamy on Jun 18, 2005 4:03:59 GMT 10
We have several versions of the prophecy regarding the carrying away of the Stone Bridge across the River Ness, which stood near the place where the present Suspension Bridge stands. Mr Macintyre supplies the following, and Mr Maclennan's version is very much the same: - "He foretold that the Ness Bridge would be swept away by a great flood, while crowded with people, and while a man riding a white horse and a woman 'enciente' were crossing it. Either the prophet's second-sight failed him on the occasion, or tradition has not preserved the correct version of the prediction, for it is well known that no human being was carried away by the bridge when it was swept away by the extraordinary flood of 1849." As a matter of fact, there was no man riding a white horse on the bridge at the time, but a man - Matthew Campbell - and a woman were crossing it, the arches tumbling one by one at their heels as they flew across; but they managed to reach the western shore in safety, just as the last arch was crumbling under their feet. Campbell, who was behind, coming up to the woman, caught her in his arms, and with a desperate bound cleared the crumbling structure. The Seer also foretold that before the latter prediction was fulfilled "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 works already alluded to - "Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland."
About sixteen years ago, there lived in the village of "Baile mluilinn," in the West of Sutherlandshire, an old woman of about ninety five years of age, known as Baraball n'ic Coinnich (Annabella Mackenzie). From her position, history, and various personal peculiarities, it was univesally 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 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 "landgrasping" 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 cul 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 memory of people still living; that, 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 Ardois.
(A Claimant will come from the South Like a bird from a bush He will grow like a herb He will spread like seed And set fire to Ardross.)
"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 oigreachd gun an t-oighre dligheach." (Chisholm, the squint-eyed, who will leave the estate without the rightful heir.) "An tighearna storach 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. It was not known whether there has been any Lovat or Chisholm with the peculiar personal characteristics mention by the Seer but we came across the following in Andersons History of the Family of Fraser, - "Hugh, son of the 10th Lord Lovat, was born on the 28th of September 1666. From a large black spot on his upper lip he was familiarly called, Mac Shimidh Ball-dubh, black spotted Simpson or Lovat. Three chieftains were distinguished at this time by similar deformities - (1) MacCoinnich Glun-dubh, black kneed Mackenzie; (2) Macintoshich Claon, squint-eyed Mackintosh: (3) Sisealach Cam, crooked or one-eyed Chisholm."
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.
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Post by dreamy on Jun 18, 2005 4:05:23 GMT 10
Prophecies Unfulfilled
Kenneth foretold "that, however unlikely it may now appear, the Island of Lews will be laid waste by a destructive war, which will continue till the contending armies, slaughtering each other as they proceed, shall reach Tarbert in Harris. In the Caws of Tarbert, the retreating host will suddenly halt; an onslaught, led by a left-handed Macleod, called Donald, son of Donald, son of Donald, will then be made upon the persuers. The only weapon in this champion's hands will be a black sooty cabar, taken off a neighbouring hut; but his intrepidity and courage will so inspirit the fugitives that they will fight like mighty men, and overpower their pursuers. The Lews will then enjoy a long period of repose." It has not hitherto been suggested that this prophecy has been fulfilled, and we here stake the reputation of our prophet upon its fulfillment, and that of the following predictions, which are still current throughout the Northern Counties of Scotland. Another, by which the faith of future generations may be tested, is the one in which he predicted "that a Loch above Beauly will burst through its banks and destroy in its rush a village in its vicinity." We are not aware that such a calamity as is here foretold has yet occured, nor are we aware of the locality of the loch or village.
We have received various versions of the, as yet, unfulfilled prediction regarding "Clach an t-Seasaidh, " near the Muir of Ord. This is an angular stone, sharp at the top, which at onetime stood upright, and was of considerable height. It is now partly broken and lying on the ground. "The day will come when the raven will, from the top of it, drink their three fulls, for three successive days, of the blood of the Mackenzies."
Mr Maclennan's version is: - "The day will come when the ravens will drink their full of the Mackenzies' blood three times off the top of the 'Clach Mhor', and glad am I (continues the Seer) that I will not live to see that day, for a bloody and destructive battle will be fought on the Muir of Ord. A squint-eyed (cam), pox-pitted tailor will originate the battle; for men will become so scarce in those days that each of seven women will strive hard for the squint-eyed tailor's heart and hand, and out of this strife the conflict will originate."
Mr Macintyre write regarding these: - "The prophecies that 'the raven will drink from the top of 'Clach na t-Seasaidh, ' its full of blood of the Mackenzies for three successive days, ' and 'that the Mackenzies would be so reduced in numbers, that they would all be taken in an open fishing boat (scuta dubh) back to Ireland from whence they originally came, ' remain still unfulfilled."
In the Kintail versions of these predictions they are made to apply to the Macraes, who are to get so scarce that a cripple tailor of the name is to be in such request among the ladies as to cause a desperate battle in the district between themselves and the Maclennans, the result of which will be that a black fishing wherry of 'scuta dubh' will carry back to Ireland all that remains of the Clan Macrae, but no sooner do they arrive than they again return to Kintail. Before This was to take place, nine men of the name Macmillan would arrive at manhood (assume their bonnets) in the district; assemble at the funeral at Cnoc-a-Chlachain in Kilduich, and originate a quarrel. At this exact period, the Macraes, would be at the height of their prosperity in Kintail, and henceforth begin to lose their hold in the country of their ancestors. The Macmillans have actually met in this spot and originated a quarrel as predicted, although nothing could have been more unlikely, for in the Seer's day there was not a single one of the name in Kintail, nor for several generation after. It is somewhat remarkable to find that the Maclennans are at this very time actually supplanting the Macraes as foretold, for the last two of the ancient stock - the late tenants of Fernaig and Leachachan - who left the district have been succeeded in their holdings by Maclennans; and other instances of the same kind, within recent years, are well known.
At present, we are happy to say, there does not appear much probability of the Clan Mackenzie being reduced to such small dimensions as would justify us in expecting the fulfillment of the 'scuta dubh' part of the prophecy on a very early date. If the prediction, however, be confined in its application to the Mackenzies of Seaforth, it may be said to have been already almost fulfilled. We have, indeed, been told that this is a fragment of the unfulfilled prophecy uttered by Coinneach regarding the ultimate doom and total extinction of the Seaforths, and which have been as yet unable to procure in detail. It was, however, known to Bernard Burke, who makes the following reference to it: - "He (the Seer) uttered it in all its horrible length; but I at present suppress the last portion of it, which is as yet unfulfilled. Every other part of the prediction has most literally and most accurately come to pass, but let us earnestly hope that the course of future events may at length give the lie to the avenging curse of the Seer. The last clause of the prophecy is well-known to many of those versed in Highland family tradition, and I trust that it may remain unfulfilled."
One of our correspondents presumes that the mention of "Calch an t-Seasaidh" refers to the remains of a Druidical circle to be seen still on the right and left of the turnpike road at Windhill, near Beauly. As a sign whereby to know when the latter prophecy would be accomplished, Coinneach said, "that a mountain-ash tree will grow out of the walls of Fairburn Tower, and when it becomes large enough to form a cart axle, these things will come to pass." Not long ago, a party informed us that a mountain-ash, or rowan tree, was actually growing out of the tower walls, and was about the thickness of a man's thumb.
Various other unfulfilled predictions of the Seer remain to be noticed. One is regarding "Clach an Tiompain, " a well-known stone in the immediate vicinity of the far-famed Strathpeffer Wells. It is, like "Clach-an-t-Seasaidh, "an upright, pillar-looking stone, which, when struck, makes a great hollow sound or echo, and hence it designation, the literal meaning of which is the "stone of the hollow sound or echo." Coinneach said "that the day will come when ships will ride with their cables attached to 'Clach-an-Tiompain." It is perhaps superfluous to point out that this has not yet come to pass; and we could only imagine two ways in which it was possible to happen, either by a canal being made through the valley of Strathpeffer, passing in the neighbourhood of the Clach, or by the removal of the stone someday by the authorities of "Baile Chail" to Dingwall pier. They may feel disposed to thus aid the great prophet of their country to secure the position as a great man, which we now claim in his behalf.
In Knockfarrel, in the immediate vicinity of Loch Ussie, it is said that this prediction might be fulfilled in a very peculiar manner, mostly improbable. Enclosed in ruined fort, a curious part of which is named 'Fingal's Well'. It is this well which the inhabitants of the fortress used until a person named Fingal drove them all out and placed a large stone over the well, keeping the water from oozing up from within. It is said that if the stone was ever to be removed then the waters from Loch Ussie would ooze up through the well and flood the valley below to such an extent that ships could sail up to Strathpeffer and be fastened to 'Clach-an-Tiompain'; and this would happen after the stone had fallen three times. It has already fallen twice.
We can quite understand Kenneth prophecying that the sea would yet reach Strathpeffer; on the summit of Knockfarrel, the bottom of the valley appears much lower than the Cromarty Firth beyond Dingwall, and it looks as though any day it might break through the apparently slender natural embankment below Tulloch Castle.
Another prediction is that concerning the Canonry of Ross, which is still standing - "The day will come when, full of the Mackenzies, it will fall with a fearful crash." This may come to pass in several ways. The Canonry is the principle burying-place of the Clan, and it may fall when full of dead Mackenzies, or when a large concourse of the Clan is present at the funeral of a great chief. "When two false teachers shall come across the seas who will revolutionise the religion of the land, and nine bridges shall span the River Ness, the Highlands will be overrun by ministers without grace and women without shame," is a prediction which some maintain has all the appearance of being rapidly fulfilled at this moment. It has bee suggested that the two false teachers were no other than the great evangelists, Messrs. Moody and Sankey, who, no doubt, from Coinneach Odhar's standpoint of orthodoxy, who must have been a Roman Catholic or an Episcopalian, attempted to revolutionise the religion of the Highlands. If this be so, the other portions of the prophecy are looming not far off in the immediate future.
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Post by dreamy on Jun 18, 2005 4:06:12 GMT 10
It is possible the following to some great revolution which shall take place in the country, Coinneach Odhar said that, "before that event shall happen, the water of the river Beauly will thrice cease to run. On one of these occasions a salmon having shells instead of scales, will be found in the bed of the river." This prophecy has been in part fulfilled, for the Beauly has on two occasion ceased to run, and a salmon of the kind mentioned has been found in the bed of the river. Mr Macintyre give another version: - "When the River Beauly is dried up three times, and a 'scaly salmon' or royal sturgeon, is caught in the river, that will be a time of great trial." (Nuair a thraoghas abhainn na Manachain tri uairean, agus a ghlacair Bradan Sligeach air grunnd na h-aibhne, 's ann an sin a bhitheas an deuchainn ghoirt.) The river has been already dried up twice, the last time in 1826 and a 'Bradan Sligeach,' or royal sturgeon, measuring nine feet in length, has been caught in the estuary of the Beauly several years ago.
The following is one which we trust may never be realised in all its details, though some may be disposed to think that signs are not wanting of its ultimate fulfillment: - "The day will come when the jaw-bone of the big sheep, or 'caoirich mhora,' will put the plough on the rafters (air an aradh); when sheep shall become so numerous that the bleating of the one shall be heard by the other from Conchra in Lochalsh to Bun-da-Loch in Kintail they shall be at their height in price, and henceforth will go back and deteriorate, until they disappear altogether, and be so thoroughly forgotten that a man finding the jaw-bone of a sheep in a cairn, will not recognise it, or be able to tell what animal it belonged to. The ancient proprietors of the soil shall give peace to strange merchant proprietors, and the whole Highlands will become one huge deer forest; the whole country will be so utterly desolated and depopulated that the crow of a cock shall not be heard north of Druim-Uachdair; the people will emigrate to Islands now unknown, but which shall yet be discovered in the boundless oceans, after which the deer and other wild animals in the huge wilderness shall be exterminated and drowned by horrid black rains (siantan dubha). The people will then return and take undisturbed possession of the lans of their ancestors."
We have yet to see the realisation of the following: - "A dun, hornless, cow (supposed to mean a steamer) will appear in the Minch (off Carr Point, in Gairloch), and make a 'geum,' or bellow, which will knock six chimneys off Gairloch House." (Thig bo mhaol odhar a steach an t-Aitemor agus leigeas i geum aiste 'chuireas na se beannagan dheth an Tigh Dhige). Gairloch House, or the Tigh Dige of Coinneach's day, was the old house which stood in the park on the right, as you proceed from the bridge in the direction of the present mansion. The walls were of wattled twigs, wicker work, or plaited twig hurdles, thatched with turf or divots, and surrounded with a deep ditch, which could in time of approaching danger, be filled with water from the river, hence the name "Tigh Dige," House of the Ditch. It has been suggested that the Seer's prediction referred to this stronghold, but a strong objection to view appears in the circumstance that the ancient citadel had no chimneys to fall off. The present mansion is, however, also called the "Tigh Dige," and it has the exact number of chimneys - six.
"The day will come when a river in Wester Ross shall be dried up." "The day will come when there shall be such dire persecution and bloodshed in the county of Sutherland, that people can ford the River Oykel dryshod, over dead men's bodies." "The day will come when a raven, attired in plaid and bonnet, will drink his full human blood on 'Fionn-bheinn,' three times a day, for successive days."
"A battle will be fought at Ault-nan-torcan, in the Lewis, which will be a bloody one indeed. It will truly take place, though the time may be far hence, but woe to the mothers of sucklings that day. The defeated host will continue to be cut down till it reaches Ard-a-chaolais (a place nearly seven miles from Ault-nan-Torcan), and there the swords will make terrible havoc." This has not yet occurred.
Speaking of what should come to pass in the parish of Lochs, he said - "At bleak Runish in Lochs, they will spoil and devour at the foot of the crags, and will split heads by the score." He is also said to have predicted "that the day will come when the raven will drink its three fulls of the blood of the Clan Macdonald on the top of the Hills of Minaraidh in Parks, in the Parish of Lochs." This looks as if the one above predicted about the Mackenzies had been misapplied to the Macdonalds. "The day will come when there shall be a laird of Tulloch who will kill four wives in succession, but the fifth shall kill him."
Regarding the battle of Ard-nan-Ceann, at Benbecula, North Uist, he said - "Oh, Ard-nan-Ceann, Ard-nan-Ceann, glad am I that I will not be at the end of the South Clachan that day, when the young men will be weary and faint; for Ard-nan-Ceann will be the scene of terrible conflict."
"A severe conflict will be fought at the (present) Ardelve market stance, in Lochalsh, when the slaughter will be so great that the people can cross the ferry over dead men's bodies. The battle will be finally decided by a powerful man and his five sons, who will come across from the Strath (the Achamore district)."
Coinneach said - "When a holly bush (or tree) shall grow out of the face of the rock at Torr-a-Chuilinn (Kintail) to a size sufficiently large to make a shaft for a 'carn slaoid' (sledge-cart), a battle will be fought in the locality."
"When Loch Shiel, in Kintail, shall become so narrow that a man can leap across it, the salmon shall desert the Loch and the River Shiel." We are told that the Loch is rapidly getting narrower at a particular point, by the action of the water on the banks and bottom, and that if it goes on as it has done in recent years it can easily be leaped at no distant date. Prudence would suggest a short lease of these Salmon Fishings.
He also predicted that a large stone, standing on the hill opposite Scallisaig farm-house, Glenelg, "will fall and kill a man." This boulder is well known to people in the district, and the prophecy is of such a definite character, that there cannot possibly be any mistake about its meaning or its fulfillment should such a calamity ever unfortunately take place.
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Post by dreamy on Jun 18, 2005 4:07:37 GMT 10
The Death of Coinneach Odhar
Coinneach's supernatural power was at length the cause which led to his untimely and cruel death. At a time when there was a convivial gathering in Brahan Castle, a large concourse of local aristocratic guests was present. As the youthful portion were amusing themselves in the beautiful grounds or park surrounding the castle, and displaying their noble forms and features as they thought to full advantage, a party remarked in Coinneach Odhar's hearing, that such a gathering of gentlemen's children could rarely be seen. The seer answered with a sneer, "that he saw more in the company of the children of footmen and grooms than of the children of gentlemen," (Is mo th'ann do chlann ghilleanbuird agus do chlann ghillean-stabuil na th'ann do chlann dhaoin' uaisle,) a remark which soon came to the ears of Lady Seaforth and the other ladies present, who were so much offended and provoked at this base insinuation as to the paternity of the Brahan guests, that they determined at once to have condign punishment on the once respected seer. He was forthwith ordered to be seized; and, after eluding the search of his infuriated pursuers for sometime, was at last apprehended. Seeing he had no way of escape, he once more applied the magic stone to his eye, and uttered the well-known prophetic curse [already given] against the Brahan family, and then threw the stone into a cow's footmark, which was full of water, declaring that a child would be born with two navels, or as some say, with four thumbs and six toes, who would in course of time discover it inside a pike, and who then would be gifted with Coinneach's prophetic power. As it was the purpose of his pursuers to obtain possession of this wonderful stone, as well as of the prophet's person, search was eagerly made for it in the muddy waters in the footprint, when, lo ! it was found that more water was copiously oozing from the boggy ground around, and rapidly forming a considerable lake, that effectually concealed the much coveted stone. The waters steadily increased, and the result, as the story goes, was the formation of Loch Ussie (Oozie). The poor prophet was then taken to Chanonry Point, where the stern arm of ecclesiastical authority, with unrelenting severity, burnt him to death in a tar barrel for witchcraft. When Coinneach Odhar was being led to his death, fast bound with cords, Lady Seaforth exultingly declared that, having had so much unhallowed intercourse with the unseen world, he would never go to Heaven. But the seer, looking round upon her with an eye from which his impending fate had not banished the ray of a joyful hope of rest in a future state, gravely answered - "I will go to Heaven, but you never shall; and this will be a sign whereby you can determine whether my condition after death is one of everlasting happiness or of eternal misery; a raven and a dove, swiftly flying in opposite directions will meet, and for a second hover over my ashes, on which they will instantly alight. If the raven be foremost, you have spoken truly; but if the dove, then my hope is well founded." And, accordingly, tradition relates, that after the cruel sentence of his hard hearted enemies had been executed upon the Brahan Seer, and his ashes lay scattered among the smouldering embers of the fagot, his last prophecy was most literally fulfilled; for those messengers, emblematically denoting - the one sorrow, the other joy - came speeding to the fatal spot, when the dove, with characteristic flight, closely followed by the raven, darted downwards and was first to alight on the dust of the departed Coinneach Odhar; thus completely disproving the positive and uncharitable assertion of the proud and vindictive Lady of Brahan, to the wonder and consternation of all the beholders.
On the very day upon which Coinneach was sent away from the castle to meet his cruel fate, Lord Seaforth arrived, and was immediately informed of his lady's resolution, and that Coinneach was already well on his way to the Canonry, where he was to be burned that very day, under the vindictive and cruel nature of his Countess, believed the story to be only too true. He waited neither for food nor refreshment; called neither for groom nor for servant, but hastened immediately to the stable, saddled his favourite steed with his own hands, for lairds were not so proud in those days, and set off at full speed, hoping to reach Chanonry Point before the diabolical intention of her ladyship and her religious advisers should be carried into effect. Never before nor since did Seaforth ride so furiously as he did on that day. He was soon at Fortrose, when he observed a dense smoke rising higher and higher from the promontory below. He felt his whole frame giving way, and a cold sweat came over his body, for he felt that the foul deed was, or was about to be perpetrated. He pulled himself together, however, and with fresh energy and redoubled vigour, spurred his steed, which had already been driven almost beyond its powers of endurance, to reach the fatal spot to save the seer's life. Within a few paces of where the smoke was rising the poor brute could endure the strain no longer; it fell down under him and died on the spot. Still determined, if possible, to arrive in time, he rushed forward on foot, crying out at the height of his voice to those congregated at the spot, to save their victim. It was, however, too late, for whether Seaforth's cries were heard or not, the victim of his lady's rage and vindictive nature had been thrown into the burning barrel a few moments before his intended deliverer had reached the fatal spot.
The time when this happened is not so very remote as to lead us to suppose that tradition could so grossly blunder as to record such a horrible and barbarous murder by a lady so widely and well known as Lady Seaforth was, had it not taken place. It is too much to suppose that if the seer had been allowed to die a peaceful and natural death, that such a story as this would have ever originated, be carried down and believed in from generation to generation, and be so well authenticated in many quarters as it now is. It may be stated that a large stone slab, now covered under the sand, lies a few yards east from the road leading from Fortrose to Fort-George Ferry, and about 250 yards north west from the lighthouse, which is still pointed out as marking the spot where this inhuman tragedy was consummated, under the eyes and with full approval of the highest dignitaries of the Church.
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Post by dreamy on Jun 18, 2005 4:08:57 GMT 10
The Curse Upon the Seaforths
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 had 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 powers of divination, and his relations with the invisible world.
Obeying the orders of Lady Seaforth, Kenneth arrived at the Castle, and presented himself to the Countess, who required him to give her information concerning her absent lord. Coinneach asked where Seaforth was supposed to be, and said, that he thought he would be able to find him if he was still alive. He applied the divination stone to his eye, and laughed loudly, saying to the Countess, "Fear not for your lord is safe and sound, well and hearty, merry and happy." Being now satisfied that her husband's life was safe, she wished Kenneth to describe his appearance; to tell her where he was now engaged, and all his surroundings. "Be satisfied," he said, "ask no questions, let it suffice you to know that your lord is well and merry." "But where is he, with whom is he and is he making any preparations for coming home," demanded the lady. "Your lord is in a magnificent room, in very fine company, and far too agreeably employed at present to think of leaving Paris," replied the seer. The Countess, finding that her lord was well and happy, began to fret that she had no share in his happiness and amusements, and to feel even the pangs of jealousy and wounded pride. She thought there was something in the seer's looks and expression which seemed to justify such feelings. He spoke sneeringly and maliciously of her husband's occupations, as much as to say, that he could tell a disagreeable tale if he would. The lady tried entreaties, bribes, and threats to induce Coinneach to give a true account of her husband, as he had seen him, to tell who was with him, and all about him. Kenneth pulled himself together, and proceeded to say - "As you will know that which will make you unhappy, I must tell you the truth. My lord seems to have little thought of you, or of his children, or of his Highland home. I saw him in a gay gilded room, grandly decked out in velvets, with silks and cloth of gold, and on his knees before a fair lady, his arm round her waist, and her hand pressed to his lips." At this unexpected and painful disclosure, the rage of the lady knew no bounds. It was natural and well merited, but its object was a mistake. All the anger which ought to have been directed against her husband, and which should have been concentrated in her breast, to be poured out upon him after his return, was spent upon poor Coinneach Odhar. She felt the more keenly, that the disclosures of her husband's infidelity had not been made to her in private, but in the presence of the principal retainers of her house, so that the Earl's moral character was blasted, and her own charms slighted, before the whole clan; and her husband's desertion of her for a French lady was certain to become the public scandal of all the North of Scotland. She formed a sudden resolution with equal presence of mind and cruelty. She determined to discredit the revelations of the seer, and to denounce him as a vile slanderer of her husband's character. She trusted that the signal vengeance she was about to inflict upon him as a liar and defamer would impress the minds, not only of her own clan, but of all the inhabitants of the counties of Ross and Inverness, with a sense of her thorough disbelief in the scandalous story, to which she nevertheless secretly attached full credit. Turning to the seer, she said, "You have spoken evil dignities, you have vilified the mighty land; you have defamed a mighty chief in the midst of his vassals, you have abused my hospitality and outraged my feelings, you have sullied the good name of my lord in the halls of his ancestors, and you shall suffer the most signal vengeance I can inflict - you shall suffer death." Coinneach was filled with astonishment and dismay at this fatal result of his art. He had expected far other rewards from his art of divination. However, he could not at first believe the rage of the Countess to be serious; at all events, he expected that it would soon evaporate, and that, in the course of a few hours, he would be allowed to depart in peace. He even so far understood her feelings that he thought she was making a parade of anger in order to discredit the report of her lord's shame before the clan; and he expected that when this object was served, he might at length be dismissed without personal injury. But the decision of the Countess was no less violently conceived than it was promptly executed. The doom of Coinneach was sealed. No time was to be allowed for remorseless compunction. No preparation was permitted to the wretched man. No opportunity was given for intercession in his favour. The miserable seer was led out for immediate execution.
Such a stretch of feudal oppression, at a time so little remote as the reign of Charles II, may appear strange. A castle may be pointed out, however, Menzies Castle, much less remote from the seat of authority, and the Courts of Law, than Brahan, where, half a century later, and odious vassal was starved to death by order of the wife of the chief, the sister of the great and patriotic Duke of Argyll.
When Coinneach found that no mercy was to be expected either from the vindictive lady or her subservient vassals, he resigned himself to his fate. He drew forth his white stone, so long the instrument of his supernatural intelligence, and once more applying it to his eye, said - "I see into the far future, and I read the doom of the race of my oppressor. The long-descended line of Seaforth will, ere many generations have passed, end in extinction and in sorrow. I see a chief, the last of his house, both deaf and dumb. He will be the father of four fair sons, all of whom he will follow to the tomb. He will live careworn and die mourning, knowing that the honours of his line are to be extinguished for ever, and that no future chief of the Mackenzies shall bear rule at Brahan or in Kintail. After lamenting over the last and most promising of his sons, he himself shall sink into the grave, and the remnant of his possessions shall be inherited by a white-coifed (or white-hooded) lassie from the East, and she is to kill her sister. And as a sign by which it may be known that these things are coming to pass, there shall be four great lairds in the days of the last deaf and dumb Seaforth - Gairloch, Chisholm, Grant and Raasay - of whom one shall be buck-toothed, another hare-lipped, another half-witted, and the fourth a stammerer. Chiefs distinguished by these personal marks shall be allies and neighbours of the last Seaforth; and when he looks around him and sees them, he may know that his sons are doomed to death, that his broad lands shall pass away to the stranger, and that his race shall come to an end."
When the seer had ended his prediction, he threw his white stone into a small loch, and declared that whoever should find that stone would be similarly gifted. Then, submitting to his fate, he was at once executed, and this wild and fearful doom ended his strange and uncanny life.
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Post by dreamy on Jun 18, 2005 4:09:57 GMT 10
Lord 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, 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 wives tale. It is given verbatim et literatim :- The last Lord of 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 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 reach 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 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.
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Post by dreamy on Jun 18, 2005 4:11:11 GMT 10
Fulfillment of the Seaforth's Prophecy
Having thus disposed of the seer himself, we next proceed to give in detail the fulfillment of the prophecies regarding the family of his cruel murderer. And we regret to say that the family of Seaforth will, in this connection, fall to be disposed of finally and forever, and in the manner which Coinneach had unquestionably predicted. As already remarked, in due time the Earl returned to his home, after the fascinations of Paris had paled, and when he felt disposed to exchange frivolous or vicious enjoyment exercise abroad for the exercise of despotic authority in the society of a jealous Countess at home. He was gathered to his fathers in 1678, and was succeeded by his eldest son, the fourth Earl. It is not our purpose to relate here the vicissitudes of the family which are unconnected with the curse of Coinneach Odhar, further than by giving a brief outline, though they sufficiently remarkable to supply a strange chapter of domestic history. The fourth Earl married a daughter of the illustrious family of Herbert, Marquis of Powis, and he himself was created a Marquis by the abdicated King of St. Germains, while his wife's brother was created a Duke. His son, the fifth Earl, having engaged the rebellion of 1715, forfeited his estate and titles to the Crown; but in 1726 his lands was restored to him, and he, and his son after him, lived in wealth and honour as great Highland chiefs. The latter, who was by courtesy styled Lord Fortrose, represented his native county of Ross in several Parliaments about the middle of the last century. In 1766, the honours of the peerage was restored to his son, who was created Viscount Fortrose, and in 1771, Earl of Seaforth; but those titles, which were Irish, did not last long, and became extinct at his death, in 1781. None of these vicissitudes were foretold in the seer's prophecy; and , in spite of them all, the family continued to prosper. That ruin which the unsuccessful rising in 1715 had brought upon many other great houses, was retrieved in the case of Seaforth, by the exercise of sovereign favour; and restored possessions and renewed honours preserved the grandeur of the race. But on the death of the last Earl, his second cousin, descended from a younger son of the third Earl and his vindictive countess, inherited the family estates and the chiefdom of the Mackenzies, which he held for two short years, but never actually enjoyed, being slain at sea by the Mahrattas, at Gheriah, in the south of India, in 1783, after a gallant resistance. He was succeeded by his brother, in whom, as the last of his race, the seer's prophecy was accomplished.
Francis Humberston Mackenzie was a very remarkable man. He was born in 1794, and although deaf, and latterly dumb, he was, by the force of his natural abilities and the favour of fortune, able to fill an important position in the world. It would have been already observed that the "Last of the Seaforths" was born in full possession of all his faculties, and that he only became deaf from the effects of a severe attack of scarlet fever, while a boy in school, which we have previously noticed in connection with his remarkable dream. He continued to speak a little, and it was only towards the close of his life, and particularly during the last two years, that he was unable to articulate - or perhaps, unwilling to make the attempt, on finding himself the last male of his line. He may be said to have, prior to this, fairly recovered the use of speech, for he was able to converse pretty distinctly; but he was so totally deaf, that all communications were made to him by signs or in writing. Yet he raised a regiment at the beginning of the great European War; he was created a British peer in 1797, as Baron seaforth of Kintail; in 1800 he went out to Barbados as Governor, and afterwards to Demerara and Berbice; and in 1808 he was made a Lieutenant-General. These are singular incidents in the life of a deaf and dumb man. He married a very amiable and excellent woman, Mary Proby, the daughter of a dignitary of the Church, and niece of the first Lord Carysfort, by whom he had a fine family of four sons and six daughters. When he considered his own position - deaf and formerly dumb; when he saw his four sons, three of them rising to man's estate; and when he looked around him, and observed the peculiar marks set upon the persons of the four contemporary great Highland lairds, all in strict accordance with Coinneach's prophecy - he must of felt ill at ease, unless he was able, with the incredulous indifference of a man of the world, to spurn the idea from him as an old wife's superstition.
However, fatal conviction was forced upon him, and on all those who remembered the family tradition, by the lamentable events which filled his house with mourning. One after another his three promising sons (the fourth died young) were cut by death. The last, who was the most distinguished of them all, for the finest qualities both of head and heart, was stricken by a sore and lingering disease, and had gone, with a part of the family, for his health, to the south of England. Lord Seaforth remained in the north, at Brahan Castle. A daily bulletin was sent to him from the sick chamber of his beloved son. One morning, the accounts being rather more favourable, the household began to rejoice, and a friend in the neighbourhood, who was visiting the chief, came down after breakfast full of the good news, and gladly imparted it to the old family piper, whom he met in front of the Castle. The aged retainer shook his head and sighed - "Na, na," said he, "he'll never recover. It is decreed that Seaforth must outlive all his four sons." This he said in allusion to the seer's prophecy; thus his words were understood by the family; and thus members of the family have again and again repeated the strange tale. The words of the old piper proved too true. A few more posts brought to Seaforth the tidings of the death of the last of his four sons.
At length, on the 11th of January, 1815, Lord Seaforth died, the last of his race. His modern title became extinct. The chiefdom of the Mackenzies, divested of its rank and honour, passed away to a very remote collateral, who succeeded to no portion of the property, and the great Seaforth estates were inherited by a white-hooded lassie from the East. Lord Seaforth's eldest surviving daughter, the Honourable Mary Frederica Elizabeth Mackenzie, had married, in 1804, Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, Bart., K.B., who was Admiral of the West India station while Seaforth himself was Governor in those islands. Sir Samuel afterwards had the chief command in the Indian seas, whither his lady accompanied him, and spent several years with him in different parts of the East Indies. He died while holding that high command, very nearly at the same time as Lord Seaforth, so that his youthful wife was a recent widow at the time, and returned home from India in her widow's weeds, to take possession of her paternal inheritance. She was thus literally a white-coifed or white-hooded lassie (that is, a young woman in widow's weeds, and a Hood by name) from the East. After some years of widowhood, Lady Hood Mackenzie married a second time, Mr Stewart, a grandson of the sixth Earl of Galloway, who assumed the name of Mackenzie , and established himself on his lady's extensive estates in the North. Thus, the possessions of Seaforth may be truly said to have passed from the male line of the ancient house of Mackenzie. And still more strikingly was this fulfilled, as regarded a large portion of these estates, when Mr and Mrs Stewart Mackenzie sold the great Island of Lewis to Sir James Matheson.
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Post by dreamy on Jun 18, 2005 4:11:49 GMT 10
After many years of happiness and prosperity, a frightful accident threw the family into mourning. Mrs Stewart Mackenzie was one day driving her younger sister, the Hon. Caroline Mackenzie, in a pony carriage, among the woods in the vicinity of Brahan castle. Suddenly, the ponies took fright, and started off at a furious pace. Mrs Stewart Mackenzie was quite unable to check them, and both she and her sister were thrown out of the carriage much bruised and hurt. She happily soon recovered from the accident, but the injury which her sister sustained proved fatal, and, after lingering for some time in a hopeless state, she died, to the inexpressible grief of all the members of her family. As Mrs Stewart Mackenzie was driving the carriage at the time of the accident, she may be said to have been the innocent cause of her sister's death, and thus to have fulfilled the last portion of Coinneach's prophecy which has yet been accomplished.
Thus we have seen that the last chief of Seaforth was deaf and dumb; that he had four sons; that he survived them all; that the four great highland lairds who were his contemporaries were all distinguished by the peculiar personal marks the seer predicted; that his estates were inherited by a white-coifed or white-hooded lassie from the East; that his great possessions passed into the hands of other races; and that his eldest daughter and heiress was so unfortunate as to be the innocent cause of her sister's death. In this very remarkable instance of family fate, the prophecy was not found out after the events occurred; it had been current for generations in the Highlands, and its tardy fulfillment was marked curiously and anxiously by an entire clan and a whole country. Seaforth was respected and loved far and near, and strangers, as well as friends and clansmen, mourned along with him the sorrows of his later years. The gradual development of the doom was watched with sympathy and grief, and the fate of Seaforth has been, during the last half century of his life, regarded as one of the most curious instances of second-sight for which the inhabitants of the Highlands of Scotland have been so long celebrated. Mr Stewart Mackenzie, the accomplished husband of the heiress of Seaforth, after being for many years a distinguished member of the House of Commons and a Privy Councillor, held several high appointments in the Colonial Dominions of the British Crown. He was successively Governor of Ceylon and Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, and died, universally beloved and lamented, in the year 1843.
Lament for "The Last of the Seaforths" by Sir Walter Scott
In vain the bright course of thy talents to wrong Fate deaden'd thine ear and imprison'd thy tongue, For brighter o'er all her obstructions arose The glow of the genius they could not oppose; And who, in the land of the Saxon, or Gael, Might match with Mackenzie, High Chief of Kintail?
Thy sons rose around thee in light and in love, All a father could hope, all a friend could approve; What 'vails it the tale of thy sorrows to tell? In the spring time of youth and of promise they fell! Of the line of MacKenneth remains not a male, To bear the proud name of the Chief of Kintail.
And thou, gentle Dame, who must bear, to thy grief, For thy clan and thy country the cares of a Chief, Whom brief rolling moons in six changes have left, Of thy husband and father and brethren bereft; To thine ear of affection, how sad is the hail That salutes thee - the heir of the line of Kintail!
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Post by LLady on Jun 26, 2005 2:27:59 GMT 10
I love this thread dreamy!
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