SCOTTISH GARDENS 



of any part of the British Isles. No wonder that 

 possession of this choice territory was fiercely con- 

 tested in days when the sword was stronger than 

 the pen. 



The Thanes of Cawdor claimed descent from that 

 brother to whom Macbeth, Mormaer of Moray, yielded 

 the thanedom when he usurped the throne of Scot- 

 land in 1040 ; but it was not until 1454 that the family 

 rose to be important in the person of Thane William, 

 who was appointed by James II. to administer the 

 broad lands of Moray, forfeited to the Crown on the 

 fall of the great house of Douglas in that year. 



Thane William's castle at that time was at Inver- 

 narne, now called Nairn ; but he had also a hunting 

 lodge some six miles inland at Old Cawdor. The 

 narrow tower of Nairn appearing inadequate for his 

 new and lucrative dignity, he determined to build a 

 larger stronghold. More prudent than the generality 

 of Scottish lairds, he laid by the necessary cash in a 

 strong box before a single stone was laid, deliberating 

 the while on the choice of a suitable site. The 

 problem, it may be supposed, occupied much of his 

 thoughts, waking and sleeping. One night a brilliant 

 suggestion came to him in a dream, which bade him 

 bind the treasure on the back of an ass, turn the 

 beast loose at Old Cawdor, and found his castle 

 wherever it should first lie down. In the age of 

 faith, nothing could be more natural than that the 

 Thane should fulfil literally the instructions received 

 in a dream, and this he did to the letter. 



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