Domestic annals of Scotland : $b from the revolution to the rebellion of 1745Chambers, Robert
History
Domestic annals of Scotland : $b from the revolution to the rebellion of 1745
Chambers, Robert
Scotland -- History -- 1689-1745
Martin tells a story of the same character, but even more striking in
its various features. The seer in this case was Archibald Macdonald, who
lived in the isle of Skye about the time of the Revolution. One night
before supper, at Knockowe, he told the family he had just then seen the
strangest thing he ever saw in his life; to wit, a man with an ugly long
cap, always shaking his head; but the strangest thing of all was a
little harp he had, with only four strings, and two hart’s horns fixed
in the front of it. ‘All that heard this odd vision fell a laughing at
Archibald, telling him that he was dreaming, or had not his wits about
him, since he pretended to see a thing that had no being, and was not so
much as heard of in any part of the world.’ All this had no effect upon
Archibald, ‘who told them that they must excuse him if he laughed at
them after the accomplishment of the vision.’ Archibald [Sidenote:
1703.] returned to his own house, and within three or four days after, a
man exactly answering to the description arrived at Knockowe. He was a
poor man, who made himself a buffoon for bread, playing on a harp, which
was ornamented with a pair of hart’s horns, and wearing a cap and bells,
which he shook in playing. He was previously unknown at Knockowe, and
was found to have been at the island of Barray, sixty miles off, at the
time of the vision. This story was vouched by Mr Daniel Martin and all
his family—relatives, we may presume, of the author of the book now
quoted.
Martin relates a story of a predicted visit of a singular kind to the
island of Egg; and it is an instance more than usually entitled to
notice, as he himself heard of it in the interval between the vision and
its fulfilment. A seer in that island told his neighbours that he had
frequently seen the appearance of a man in a red coat lined with blue,
having on his head a strange kind of blue cap, with a very high cock on
the forepart of it. The figure always appeared in the act of making rude
advances to a young woman who lived in the hamlet, and he predicted that
it would be the fate of this girl to be treated in a dishonourable way
by some such stranger. The inhabitants considered the affair so
extremely unlikely to be realised, that they treated the seer as a fool.
Martin tells that he had the story related to him in Edinburgh, in
September 1688, by Norman Macleod of Graban, who had just then come from
the isle of Skye, there being present at the time the Laird of Macleod,
Mr Alexander Macleod, advocate, and some other persons. About a year and
a half after, a few government war-vessels were sent into the Western
Islands to reduce some of the people who had been out with Lord Dundee.
Major Fergusson, who commanded a large military party on board, had no
thought of touching at Egg, which is a very sequestered island, but some
natives of that isle, being in Skye, encountered a party of his men, and
one of the latter was slain. He consequently steered for Egg, to revenge
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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