Tha bhiodag deanadh gliogadaich, 'Si ceann'lt ri bann na briogais aig'; Tha bucallan 'n a bhrogan, Ged 's math a dh' fhoghnadh ial daibh.
It was whispered to Alexander that the piper selected this tune to cause merriment at his expense, and the youth, to turn the jest against the piper, determined to rip open the bag of the pipes, with his dirk. But in doing so, his foot slipped, and he fell heavily towards the piper with the naked dirk in his outstretched arm. The piper was fatally wounded, and Alexander, who had been an extreme partizan of the Jacobites, believed that were he tried for the murder of the piper, the hostility of Sir George Mackenzie, of Tarbat, would inevitably secure a sentence of death against him. He fled to Wales, where he was befriended by Earl Powis, under whose protection, it is said, he lived on, married, and had issue, while his next younger brother, Simon, enjoyed the title and estates. Mr. John Fraser, of Mount Pleasant, Carnarvon, not long ago, laid claim to the chiefship, title and estates, on the ground that he is a lineal descendant of this Alexander, and although he lost his case in one trial, he is still gathering evidence, with the view of having it re-opened and further pushing his claim.
For his share in the Jacobite rising of 1745, Simon, fourteenth Lord Lovat, was beheaded on Tower Hill, April 9th, 1747. Lord Simon's faults were not few, but he has been a much maligned man; his vices have been flaunted before the world, his virtues have been obscured. In extreme old age he gave up his life on the scaffold; and his fate, believed by some to be richly deserved, by others has been characterized as martyrdom. He left three sons, Simon, Alexander and Archibald Campbell Fraser.
XIX. Simon succeeded to the chiefship, but that honor was unaccompanied by the estates and title, which had been forfeited to the crown. For his services as commandant of Fraser's Highlanders in the service of the House of Hanover, he was specially thanked by Parliament, and the paternal estates restored to him. I have been informed by the Grand Master Mason of Ontario that this Colonel Simon (afterwards General Simon Fraser of Lovat) was the first Provincial Master Mason in Upper Canada, the order having been established there at the time of the stirring events in which Fraser's Highlanders participated while in Quebec. General Simon married, but without issue, and his brother Alexander having predeceased him without issue, he was succeeded in possession of the estates by his half-brother,
XX. Colonel Archibald Campbell Fraser of Lovat. The title was still held in abeyance. Colonel Archibald was a man of erratic habits, but a kind-hearted Highlander, and a man of no mean ability. An account of his honors and public services he embodied in an inscription on his tombstone, but while the production is typical of his well-known eccentricity, as a matter of fact, not a little of the praise which he takes to himself for services to his country and his county, was well deserved. He had five sons, all of whom predeceased him. His eldest son was named Simon Frederick. He became member of Parliament for Inverness-shire. He died in 1803, unmarried, but left one son, Archibald Thomas Frederick Fraser, well-known in our own day as "Abertarf," from having resided there. None of the other sons of Colonel Archibald left legitimate issue, and at his death, in 1815, the succession reverted to the Frasers of Strichen, descended, as already observed, from Thomas Fraser of Knockie and Strichen, second son of Alexander, the sixth Lord Lovat, represented, at the time of Colonel Archibald's death, by
XXI. Thomas Alexander Fraser, of Strichen, who succeeded to the estates, and was created Lord Lovat by Act of Parliament, in 1837; and, in 1857, succeeded in having the old title restored to him. The succession of the Strichen family created a strong hostile feeling among the Clansmen and the old tenants generally, many of them believing that other aspirants who appeared had stronger claims. The Frasers of Strichen, however, were able to satisfy the courts as to the validity of their claim, and they were confirmed in the possession of the estates. A curious incident of the time may be briefly related, to illustrate both the feeling then prevailing concerning the succession, and the religious beliefs which were held then in the Highlands. It was, and to some extent yet is, believed that the Divine purpose, with respect to every-day events, may be disclosed in appropriate portions of Scripture which impress themselves intensely on the mind of the devout believer. Two tenant-farmers, whose names, if given, would at once be a guarantee of their good faith, and of their respectability, went from the vicinity of Belladrum to the neighborhood of Redcastle, to a man whose piety gave him an eminent place among The Men of Ross-shire. They went to confer with him about the Lovat estates, and to find out whether he had any "indication" of the "mind of the Lord" as to whether the Frasers of Strichen would be established in their tenure of the estates against all comers. They were hospitably welcomed, and, their errand having been made known, their host replied that he had had no such indication. They remained that night, the next day and the night following, but during all this time did not see their host. On the morning of the third day he joined them at the frugal breakfast, after which he led them to a window overlooking the Beauly Firth and said: "Since your arrival I have pled hard for light at the Throne. If God ever did reveal His Will to me by His Word, He did so last night. You see a fishing-smack before you on the firth; as sure as you do observe her there, with her sail spread, catching the wind, so sure will, in God's good time, the Strichens pass away from the possession of the Lovat estates, and the rightful heir, will come to his own. My warrant, given to me in my wrestling with God, is this prophetic passage: 'And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God: Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.' (Ezek. XXI., 25-27) God's purpose thus revealed will not be fulfilled in our day, nor likely in the day of our children, but our grandchildren will likely see it accomplished." The old man's words made a deep impression; but only a few friends were informed of them, not only because they were held as a sacred message, but also because of the "power of the estate office." Whatever may be thought of beliefs thus formed, no one who knew the devout, simple-hearted Highlander of the generation just gone, will fail to appreciate the humility and sincerity with which such beliefs were entertained.
But to return to the fortunes of the House of Lovat. Thomas Alexander, fifteenth Lord Lovat, married a daughter of Sir George Jerningham, afterwards Baron Stafford, and had male issue, Simon, Allister Edward, George Edward Stafford (b. 1834, d. 1854), and Henry Thomas. His second son, Allister Edward, rose to the rank of Colonel in the army; was married, with issue, one son. Hon. Henry Thomas attained to the rank of Colonel of the 1st battalion Scots Guards. Lord Lovat died in 1885, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
XXII. Simon, sixteenth Lord Lovat, who, born in 1828, and married to the daughter of Thomas Weld Blundell, was already a man of mature years at the time of his accession. He was known in song as "Fear Donn an Fheilidh." He was noted for his generous qualities and his kindness to the poor. He was a keen sportsman, expert with rod, gun and rifle, a marksman of repute. He did much to encourage the militia movement, and commanded the Inverness-shire regiment for many years. The circumstances of his sad and sudden death, from an affection of the heart, while grouse-shooting on the Moy Hall moors, in 1887, are fresh in our minds. An extract from a newspaper article, written on the occasion of his death, may be taken as a fair estimate of his character: "By this sudden and painful blow a nobleman has been taken away who filled a conspicuous place in this vicinity, and who was held in the highest respect. Having succeeded to his father in 1875, he has enjoyed the title and estates for only twelve years (1887). But as Master of Lovat he was known for many years before that time as a worthy and popular representative of a great and ancient Highland house. No county gathering seemed to be complete without his presence. . . . Homely in his manner, he was never difficult to approach, and his kindness of spirit showed itself in many ways. Conscientious and sober in judgment, he steadily endeavored to do his duty; and his lamented death caused a blank which cannot easily be filled." He left a family of nine, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
XXIII. Simon Joseph, seventeenth Lord Lovat, to whose health, as our chief, we have drained our glasses this evening. That he may have a long and happy life is our fervent prayer; and may God grant him wisdom and grace that he may be a useful and a prosperous chief; that he may add new lustre to the distinguished name he bears, and prove worthy of the ancestry of which he is the proud representative.
We have now traced the long line of chiefs from the beginning down to the present day, and I must thank you for the wonderful patience with which you have listened to the dry bones of genealogy; in what remains[3] I hope I shall prove less tedious than in that which I have concluded.