fluence over the minds, not only of their immediate dependants, but of the body of the clan; who, hearing nothing for a long time of the sons of their deceased lord, began to look upon the eldest of the cousins as their proper chieftain. He, on the other hand, conducted himself as the chieftain, expecting that the absent sons might by some accident be prevented from ever returning, or that, if they did return, his own power, with that of his brothers, would be sufficient to dispose of two youths, who were in a great measure strangers to the clan. A sister of the absent sons, however, still occupied the mansion house of Keppoch, along with the eldest of her cousins, and managed the female department of the chieftain's farm, frequently visited John Lom, the bard, who remained firm in his allegiance to his proper chieftain, and joined in her anxious wishes for the arrival of her brothers. The sons did at length return, and on a harvest morning unexpectedly reached Keppoch-house, to the mortification of the cousin and joy of the sister. All were eager, from different motives, to send for the other six cousins, and messengers were hastily dispatched to their several places of abode to communicate the intelligence of the safe arrival of their proper chieftain and his brother, and to request

their immediate presence at Keppoch. They all came in a few hours after, and nothing was heard but words of congratulation, with which, as it appeared to the sister, the hopes of her cousins at times but ill corresponded. Aware, however, of the attachment of the highland clans in general, and of the Keppoch clan in particular, to their chiefs and chieftains, she felt no apprehensions for her brothers, now arrived in the midst of their kindred and servants; and set about her household concerns, leaving the party together, just as her elder brother, observing that one of his cousins had but an indifferent bonnet, presented him with his own. In that patriarchal state of society it was not thought beneath the dignity of the chieftain's daughter to assist in carrying out their dinners to the reapers in the field, and the sister, having discharged that duty, returned to join the joyous company in the house. But no sound of joy was heard within as she anxiously approached the chamber-door, and hastily entered; weltering in the blood which she saw streaming from the bodies of her murdered brothers, extended on the floor, and stabbed with several mortal wounds. The cousins had left the house, and although the alarm was given, no doubt existed as to who were the

perpetrators of the deed, no attempt was made to prosecute the matter further, except by the bard, who went about among the clan, imprecating curses on the murderers, and loudly calling for vengeance. But as a combined effort was necessary for that purpose, in which no person was willing to take the lead against the power and influence of the cousins, and possibly for some other reasons which were not mentioned, John Lom found it impossible to rouse the clan, and then left the territory, both to avoid the resentment of the murderers, and to endeavour to procure the means of revenge elsewhere. He seems never to have thought that the law or general government had any concern with the matter, and all his hopes rested on assistance from the head of some kindred or friendly clan. The other chieftains of the clan, Colla (Macdonalds), did not, as the story was told, evince that promptitude in yielding to the bard's solicitations, which might have been expected from the circumstances, probably from an apprehension that the attempt at revenge might be resisted by the body of the Keppoch clan, since they themselves did not think proper to interfere. The bard, after traversing a great part of the western coast and the isles, among the Macdonalds, at length applied to

the head of the Seaforth family, the chiefs of which had originally been stewards to the Lords of the Isles, and resented the positive denial which he there received, by a bitter and railing philippic. Disappointment could not divert the stern spirit of John Lom from its fixed purpose, and he still, with unwearied perseverance, continued his pilgrimage of vengeance. One of the island chieftains had given a promise of aid, which he appeared afterwards inclined to evade; and, having seen John Lom coming for the third time to solicit assistance, and asked him what he had then to say, the bard roughly replied "A chieftain of the clan Colla is to "be believed only when he performs, never "when he promises." That chieftain did at last send such an armed force, as was thought sufficient for the purpose by the bard, who from his observation of the temper of his own clan, concluded that, although unwilling to take the task of vengeance in their own hands, they would be but little disposed to prevent the punishment of the murderers by a kindred band. The party proceeded with all possible expedition and secrecy under the conduct of the bard, now rejoicing at the near prospect of accomplishing the object for which he had during many years unremittingly laboured;.

and, having reached the Keppoch territory, it appeared that John Lom had calculated rightly as to the disposition of his clan, or had managed the matter with so much privacy and address, that the approach of danger was not known till it was too late to escape or provide for effectual defence. The murderers, closely followed, were found together about the head of the inhabited part of Glenspean; and all of them, after a desperate resistance, were put to death. This seemed hardly enough for the vengeance of the bard, who, with his Lochaber axe, hacked off their seven heads. The heads were sent to Glengary, for what reason was not mentioned, but possibly because that was the nearest territory possessed by a branch of the clan Colla, or perhaps because the armed force came from that quarter, and not from the isles. A well, or fountain, in Glengary, in which the heads were stated to have been washed, still, it was said, bears the name of The Well of the Seven Heads;' and it was added that the present or some former chieftain of Glengary had caused seven heads to be sculptured upon a huge stone, or block of marble, in commemoration of this event.

The life of John Lom was passed in wandering about over the highlands, in the manner of the latter bards, who were mere vagrants and