of Oliver
Castle in Tweedale, by marrying Eupheme Sloan, heiress of Tweedale:
whilst another brother settled beyond the Forth, and became possessed of
the lands of Inverkeithing. Eventually those members of this Norman race
who had at first settled in Tweedale, branched off to Aberdeenshire, and
to Inverness-shire;[118] and it was in this latter county, at Beaufort,
a property which had been long held by his family, that the famous Lord
Lovat was born.

Such is the account generally received. According to others, the family
of Fraser is of Scandinavian origin. When the Scandinavians invaded the
eastern coast of Britain, and the northern coast of France, one branch
of the family of Frizell, or Fryzell, settled in Scotland; another in
Normandy, where the name has retained its original pronunciation.[119]

The castle of Beaufort, anciently a royal fortress, had been bestowed
upon the Frasers, in the year 1367. It is situated in the beautiful
neighbourhood of Inverness, in the district of the Aird; it was besieged
by the army of Edward the First during the invasion of Scotland by the
usual method of throwing stones from catapultae, at a distance of seven
hundred yards. A subsidiary fortress, Lovat, heretofore inhabited by one
of the constables of the Crown, whom the lawlessness of the wild
inhabitants and the turbulence of their chieftains had rendered it
necessary to establish in the west of Scotland, also fell into the
possession of the Frasers.

The present seat of the family of Lovat, still called Beaufort, is built
on a part of the ground originally occupied by a fortress. It lies on a
beautiful eminence near the Beauly, and is surrounded by extensive
plantations.

The race, thus engrafted upon a Scottish stock, continued to acquire
from time to time fresh honours. It was distinguished by bravery and
fidelity. When Edward the First determined to subdue Scotland, he found
three Powers refuse to acknowledge his pretensions. These were, Sir
William Wallace, Sir Simon Fraser, commonly called the Patriot, and the
garrison of Stirling. When Bruce, with an inconsiderable force fought
the English army at Methven, near Perth, and was thrice dismounted, Sir
Simon Fraser thrice replaced him on his saddle; he was himself taken
prisoner and ordered to be executed. And then might be witnessed one of
those romantic instances of Highland devotion, which appear almost
incredible to the calmer notions of a modern era. A rumour went