he possession of his father, as
an appanage of a younger son; and had only been lent as a residence to
Hugh Lord Lovat, on account of the ruinous state of the castle of Lovat.
Downie Castle, another important fortress, also accrued to the father of
Simon Lovat; and the estate of Lovat itself was one of the finest and
best situated in Scotland.[133] In addition to these, the family owned
the large domain of Sthratheric, which stretches along the western banks
of the Ness, and comprises almost the whole circumference of that
extensive and beautiful lake. The pretensions of the Master were,
therefore, by no means contemptible; and as he was young, although,
according to dates, ten years older than he states himself to be, in his
Memoir of his life, he had every reason to augur success.

For a time, this scheme seemed to prosper. The young lady, Amelia
Fraser, was not averse to receive the Master of Lovat as her suitor; and
the intermediate party, Fraser, of Tenechiel, who acted as interpreter
to the wishes of the Master, actually succeeded in persuading the young
creature to elope with him, and to fix the very day of her marriage with
the Master, to whom Fraser promised to conduct her. But either she
repented of this clandestine step, or Fraser of Tenechiel, dreading the
power of the Athole family, drew back; for he reconducted her back to
her mother at Castle Downie, even after her assurance had been given
that she would marry her cousin.[134]

The circumstances of this elopement are obscurely stated by Lord Lovat
in his account of the affair; and he does not refer to the treachery or
remorse of his emissary Fraser of Tenechiel, nor does he dwell upon a
disappointment which must have gratified his mortal enemies of the house
of Athole. Yet it appears, from the long and early intimacy to which he
alludes as having subsisted between himself and the Dowager Lady Lovat,
that he may have had many opportunities of gaining the regard of the
young daughter of that lady,--an idea which accounts, in some measure,
for her readiness to engage in the scheme of the elopement. At all
events, he expresses his rage and contempt, and makes no secret of his
determined revenge on those who had, as he conceived, frustrated his
project.

The young lady was at first placed under the protection of her mother
at Castle Downie, the chief residence of the clan Fraser; but there it
was not thought prudent to allow her to abide, and she was therefo