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the great Seaforth estates were inherited by a white- 
hooded lassie from the East. Lord Seafortli's 
eldest surviving daughter, the Honourable Mary 
Prederica Elizabeth Mackenzie, had married, in 
1804, Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, Bart., K.B., who 
■was Admiral of the West India station, while Sea- 
fortti 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 Loid 
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 
Avoman in widow's weeds, and a Hood by name) 
from the East. After some years of widowhood, 
Liady Hood Mackenzie married a .second time, Mr. 
Stewart, a grandson of the sixth Earl of Galloway, 
yvho assumed the name of Mackenzie, and estab- 
lislied himself on his lady's extensive estates in the 
IS^orth. 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 
stiikingly was this fullfiled, as regarded a large 
portion of these estates, when Mr, audMrs. Stewart 
Mackenzie '^>ld the great Island of Lewes to Sir 
James Matheson. After many years of happiness 
and prosperity, a frightful accident threw the 
family into mourning, Mrs. Stewart Mackenzie 
•was one day d living her younger sister, the Hon. 
Caroline Mackenzie, in a pony carriage, among 
the woods in the vicinity of Brahnn Castle, Sud- 
denly, 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 acci- 
dent, 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 Ijeen the inno- 
cent cause of her sister's death, and thus 
to hav2 fulfilled the last portion of Coiii- 
neach's prophecy whicli has yet been ac- 
c«mplished. Mr. Stewart Mackenzie, the ac- 
complished 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 iiritish Crown. He was succes- 
sively Governor of Ceylon and Lord High Com- 
missioner of the Ionian Islands, and died, univer- 
sally beloved and lamented, in the year 1843- 
Lockhart in his life of Scott, in reference to the 
Seaforth prediction, says:—" Mr. Morrit can testify 
thus far — that he heard (he prophecy quoted in the 
Highlands at a time when Lord Seaforth had two 
sons alive, and in good health, and that it ceriaiuly 
was not made after the event '; and he goes on to 
tell us that Scott and Sir Humphrey Davy were 
most certainly convinced of its truth, as also many 
others who had watched the latter days of Seaforth 
in the light of those wonderful predictions. " Our 
friend, Lady Hood," wrote Sir Walter Scott to Mr, 
Morritt, " will now be ' Gabarfeidh ' herself. She 
has the spirit of a chieftainess in every drop of her 
blood." The writer concludea thus :— " Scott's ap- 
prehensions proved only to be well founded. One 
section after another of the estates had to be sold- 
The remaining portion of Kintail, the sunny braes 
of Ross, the Church lands of Chanonry, the barony 
of Pluscarden and the Islands of Lewes — a princi- 
pality itself — were disposed of one after the other, 
till now nothing remains of the vast estates of this 
illustiious house except iJrahan Castle, and a mere 
renmant of their ancient patrimony (and that in 
the hands of trustees), which the non-resident, 
nominal owner has just been prevented from alien- 
ating. Sic tiansit." 
Leaving these extraordinary prophecies with the 
reader, to believe, disbelieve, oj explain away oa 
any principle or theory which may satisfy his 
reason, his credulity, or scepticism, we conclude 
with the following : — 
LAMENT FOR " THE LAST OF THE 
SEAFORTHS." 
By Kir Walter Scott. 
In vain the bright course of thy talents to wrong 
Fate deaden'd thine ear and iinprison'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, \ '. ' j 
Might match with Mackenzie, High Chief of Kiatail2 
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 Cliief, 
Whom brief rolling moons in six changes have lett 
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 ! 
The story as relating to a past Governor of 
Ceylon and his family, is of special local 
interest, and so we may be pardoned for 
quoting so much. — Ed. L.B.] 
THE LORENZ LECTURE AND OLD TIMES. 
March 10. 
Dear Sib, — The Lecturer last Thursday 
regretted your absence, as he read out what 
you had said of his hero on his death; and 
■well he might ! I don't think tliere were 
many wlio were able to follow the local 
hits contained in the extract he read from 
the Christmas Debates of 1864. All, all, are 
gone ! In that delightful parody of Enoch 
Arden— Not Enough Hardened— fathered on 
Tenny-father (the showy, but not too bril- 
liant, Auditor-General of the day being 
Penny-fcxther)— how many understood the 
reference to the " half -seen rock" alluring 
"the steamer 'Pearl,' until she madly 
strikes against it"? But you, Mr. Editor, 
knew the Government steamer of that name, 
which always grazed its bottom or its side 
against some rock, until she became known 
as the Pearl of great price, for what she 
cost in repairs. And was not old Varian her 
Captain ? 
