the country, they, one Sabbath morning, as the priest was coming
home from church, 'e sends a man in ambush in his road who shot
him with an arrow in the buttocks, so that he fell. The ambusher
thinking him killed, and perceiving others coming after the priest
that road, made his escape, and he (the priest) was carried to
his boat alive. Of this priest are all the Murchisons in thise
countries descended." - Ancient MS.] whereupon "ane certain female,
foster-sister of his, composed a Gaelic rhyme to commemorate him."
The Earl of Cromartie gives as the reason for this imprisonment
and murder that, according to rumour John Glassich intended to
prosecute his father's claim to the Kintail estates, and Kenneth
hearing of this sent for him to Brahan, John came suspecting nothing,
accompanied only by his ordinary servants. Kenneth questioned
him regarding the suspicious rumours in circulation, and not being
quite satisfied with the answers, he caused John Glassich to be
at once apprehended. One of John's servants, named John Gearr,
seeing his master thus inveigled, struck at Kenneth of Kintail a
fearful blow with a two-handed sword, but fortunately Kenneth, who
was standing close to the table, nimbly moved aside, and the blow
missed him, else he would have been cloven to pieces. The sword
made a deep cut in the table, "so that you could hide your hand
edgeways in it," and the mark remained in the table until Colin,
first Earl of Seaforth, "caused cut that piece off the table,
saying that he loved no such remembrance of the quarrels of his
relations." Kenneth was a man of good endowments "he carried so
prudently that he had the good-liking of his prince and peace from
his neighbours." He had a peculiar genius for mechanics, and was
seldom found without his corc - "sgian dubh" - or some other such
tool in his hand, with which he produced excellent specimens of
hand-carving on wood.