The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-04-08
Hon. Muriel Fraser Enters Mill
Hill Convent, Near.
London
pY IA MARaUIsE DIE EoNrENoy.

VINO mas just taken the vows
or nun, and entered the
Mill Hill Convent, near London. is
the youngest and only unmarried sis
ter OF Lord Lovat chief OF the great
| Scottish Clan OF Fraser. which is so
extensively represented on this side Of
the Atlantic. both In the United States
and In Canada. The Frasers are one
{ OF the Oldest and most historic clans
OF Scotland. yielding To none In point
OF antiquity. and are believed to be.
not OF Gaelic. but of Scandinavian ORR
| GIN, the name Fraser being a corrup-
ton OF Friscl. BE that as 1t may. the
Frasers arc on record as holding vast
possessions In the south OF Scotland in
the reign of Malcolm Ill, surnamcd
the Great Head. who reigrcd prior to
the Norman conquest of England, and
married Margaret. sister OF King Ed
! gar Atheling
AS to the Importance OF the Frasers,
| no better Illustration can be furnished
than the fact that Alexander fraser,
the head OF the clan In the early por-
tior or the fourteenth century was
Chamberlain OF Scotland. and married
Mary, sister Of King Robert Bruce
Hugh Fraser was ono Of the hostages
for King Jamess ransom when he re-
turned from captivity IN England: and
the son Of the first Lord I.ovat or
fraser OF Lovat. fell with many of his
clan in the battle of Flodden Field.
There Is no house In Scotland which
has more sensational history than
that of the Lords OF Lovat Abduc-
lions, Opponents murders. rebcIlions,
forgeries and arson. all figure in its
annals. Numbers OF its members sue
cumbed to violence, several of them
having persisted on the scanold, tho
last one to lay his head on the block
having been Simon Fraser. eleventh
Lord Lovat, surnamed the Traitor AS
| none of his three sons, one of whom
was General Simon Fraser, of. tho
American Revolutionary War left any
male Issue, the vast estates passed at
their death, early in the last century
to the senior descendant of the fourth
Lord Loyat. He was the grandfather
or the present peer. Queen Victoria
! conferred upon him an English peer
a9e, ander the title of Lord Lovat, and
subsequently, ne secured from the
crown and Parliament the removal of
the attainder that rested upon tho
! patent of the Scotch barony of Lovat.
created in 1859, and attained ut tho
time of the trial and condemnation OF
the eleventh lord. namely tho Traitor
The Fraser estates are very large.
those in Inverness shire alone extend
Ing over some 400, 900 acres. The prin-
cipal country seat or Lord Lovat IS
beaufort Castle, In that county, which
has been rented in turn TO the late
Cornelius Vanderbilt, to William X
:anderhilt and to Henry Phipps. Lord
Lovat. who. like bis father, is a Ro-
man Catholic, and who. moreover. is
unmarried, did good service during the
Boer War. raising exclusively from the
! members of his clan large CORPS OF
| mounted infantry. equipped and main
tanned at his own expense. who were
known as Lovats Scouts. and who rem
dered themselves most useful during
the campaign.
Beaufort Castle is very stately
pile. with long, dark red facade.
gray roofs, and many turrcts and
gables, relatively modern cditicc hay-
Ing been erected by the late Lord Lovat
some forty or fifty years ago to replace
| the unpretentious little house which
had been the residence OF the family
since the burning of the old castle in
! the stormy days of the 1745 rebellion.
! The entrance is Danelcd with oak
grown on the estate, and on the walls
| hangs collection OF old weapons and
arms. most of them of historic and
| family interest, as for instance, tho
| muskets carried by the Fraser High
landers. who fought in Canada and
distinguished themselves at the storm.
| ing of Quebec.
Among The most interesting relics
at Beaufort. however, are the veil worn
by Mary Queen or Scots on tho day
| OF her execution, the favorite chair IN
which Si'aUn Lord Lovat surna,ncd
!
! as high sheriff OF Inverncss-shirc. and
liogarth's striking portrait OF that cx-
traord;narN peer, who was so many
things To so many men, and who final
~ at the age of eighty. rcpudiated by
all. met an unmourned death at the
hands of the executioner on Tower
itill. in London. One of the features
of tho castle is It's beautiful private
! chapel, with dclicately tinted wallis.
altar and reredos OF exquisite marble.
the stained glass windows being a
thank offering of Lady Lovat for the
return of her three sons from the Boer
War
AS in tho case OF almost every Eng
lish. Scotch and Irish pccrasc, the
right of Lord Lovat to his ancient
Scotch barony and his estates has
been contested, two of the prIncipaI
claimants hailing from this side Of the
Atlantic-one of them from New York.
and tho other, John Fraser by name
being native OF Winnipeg, where he
was frequently employed as a col
lector. Like tho New York claimant
he bases his pretensions on n plea that
elder brother OF Simon the Traitor
and whose title and honors are alleged
to have been usurped by the latter.
According to the claimants story,
Alexander Fraser, while stu
dent of the University OF Aber-
his father TO the title as tenth Lord
Lovat, became involved in scrape
Returning homcward ono evening Ito
passed Il cottage where merry-maltins
was In progress. in connection with
wedding. lie entered and joined in
the sport. But tho piper had the mis-
fortune to play a Gaelic song which
had been written against the Frasers
He ordered the piper to desist and
drew his dirk, intending merely to
pierce the bagpipe Unfortunately, the
dirk went further than he had intend
cd, penetrating the heart OF the piper
who fell dead. Mortified by the trag-
cdy. Alexander Fraser fled. his brother
Simon helping him to leave the coun-
try.
While at the university he had
studied metallurgy. and il was this
probably that led him to turn his steps
in the direction of Wales. where he
secured work In the mines OF the Lord
Powis OF the day. He did we'll there.
and among other things discovered