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of Moray," but in the annals of our country. The illustrious house of Gordon, by their eloquence in the Senate, have often swayed the Councils of State; and, in times of national peril, have, by their valour in the field, propped the stability of the Scottish throne, and kept the crown on the head" of their Sovereign.*

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Nor have your Grace's family been more renowned for their patriotism and public services, than esteemed for the more amiable and conciliating virtues of private life. Where shall we find benevolence of heart and urbanity of manners, integrity of principle and inviolable honour, more eminently displayed than in the character of the Duke of Gordon!

That your Grace's valuable life may long be preserved to bear the honours and exhibit the virtues of your ancestors,-that the beneficence which has so long been the "exchequer of the poor," and the condescending goodness which has so often patronized unbefriended merit, may long continue to diffuse their influence; and that your Grace may ever enjoy a degree of happiness proportionate to your virtues, is the humble and heart-felt prayer of,

MY LORD DUKE,

Your Grace's

Most dutiful,

And most devoted Servant,

JOHN GRANT.

• See HISTORY, page 16.

THE Author of this undertaking collected the materials of it at different times, and wrote them for his own amusement, without any design of offering them to the public. He perused descriptions of several Counties, but had not the good fortune to meet with any tolerable account of the Province of Moray: Wherefore, mindful of the observation,

Nescio qua natale solum dulcedine captos
Tenet, et immemores non sinit esse sui,

He has arranged his Collections into the order in which they now appear.

The Geographical Part would be less entertaining, if it were not intermixed with a Genealogical Account of several Families of eminence and distinction: In this, his chief view was to give the true origin and antiquity of those families. It is generally agreed, that we had not fixed Sirnames in Scotland earlier than the eleventh century: Before that period, our Kings were named Patronimically, as, Malcolm M'Kennet, Kenneth M'Alpin, &c. The Author has in his hands Manuscript Accounts of the Families treated of, from which entertaining Anecdotes might have been extracted; but this, he was afraid, would too much swell the Work. He has added the Armorial Bearings of Families. The Romans preserved the distinction of Families by the Jus Imaginis: They divided the people into Nobiles, Novi, et Ignobiles: He that had the Images or Statues of his Ancestors, who bore eminent offices, as Prætor, Edile, Consul, &c., was called NOBLE: He that had only his own Image or Statue, was Novus or an UPSTART; and he that had no Statue, was IGNOBLE. Those little Statues of Wood, Marble, Brass, &c., were carefully preserved and exposed at Funerals and other solemn occasions; and possibly from this came our Coats of Arms.

The Natural History, although it contains little to gratify the
curiosity of those who are much versant in such reading-yet valu-
able Authors have given an account of Natural Productions of Coun-
tries such as they write of; and the peculiar product of this Province
ought not to be omitted, and may be entertaining to many.

In the Civil Part, there is such variety as cannot but be agreeable
to some Readers. In the Roll of Barons, there are several altera-
tions since the year 1760: In some, sons have come into the place
of their fathers,-in others, collaterals have succeeded: And, in
1774, the King and Parliament granted to Major-General Fraser,
the lands and estate of the late Lord Lovat, his father. But the Roll,
as it now stands, is so well known, that it is unnecessary to write it.
The Military History is drawn up from the best writers the Author
has met with.

The Ecclesiastical Part may appear to some Readers too long.
The length, however, may be excused, considering the great variety
of matter it contains, the Author has used a style so laconic and
brief, that he could not express his thoughts intelligibly in fewer
words: And it
And it may be agreeable to some, to find the Succession of
Ministers in Parishes, and the Changes in Ecclesiastical Govern-
ment, since the Reformation.

There is added an APPENDIX, containing a Number of Papers,
most of them never before published-which serve to elucidate and
confirm many parts in the preceding Work.

To this Preface by the Reverend Author, the Publisher of the present Edition has only to add,
that no exertion has been wanting on his part to render it worthy of the patronage of the Public.
While he has carefully re-printed the original, he has at the same time brought down every im-
portant subject-susceptible of such continuation-from the year 1775 to the close of the year
1826, in the form of Notes, at the bottom of the page.

The Publisher persuades himself, that he need scarcely offer any apology for omitting No. 53,
in the Latin Appendix, as all its conclusions are to be found in page 96 of the present Edition,
without the tedious labour of going over a mass of repetitions in an unclassical style of Latin.
He trusts the Reader will be much more gratified by the perusal of the curious documents now
given in the Additional Appendix; for which, and other valuable articles, he has to return his
most grateful acknowledgments to those public-spirited Gentlemen who have assisted him in his
laborious undertaking.

PLATES Illustrative of the Work.

MAP of the PROVINCE-to face the Title Page.

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