The throne of Spain - Dom Fernando - Spanish intrigue— Wanted, a king-Overtures to Dom Fernando-Letters from Lord Lytton-Letters from Sir W. Stirling - Maxwell- Murray retires from public life- Purchase of Oaklands Letters to his wife-Correspondence-Philological discussions- THE HONOURABLE SIR CHARLES MURRAY. CHAPTER I. 1806-1822. LINEAGE, PARENTAGE, AND EARLY DAYS. IN primitive times, and in the earlier stages of the history of every nation, the convenient expedient of surnames to denote the members of separate families was not adopted. The utmost that was done was to distinguish between individuals bearing the same personal appellative by mentioning their father's name, as in the case of the two apostles-James the son of Zebedee and James the son of Alphæus,—or in that of the four kings of ancient Alban, all named Constantine, and distinguished in the chronicles by the patronymics of Mac Fergusa, Mac Cinaeta, A Mac Aeda, and Mac Cuilen-the sons, respectively, of Fergus, Kenneth, Hugh, and Cullen.1 Sometimes a "to-name' was added to the personal name, denoting the office, calling, or some characteristic or peculiarity of the individual; and to these, as well as to patronymics, may be traced many of the surnames in use at this day, having been adopted as the common designation of members of one family when, about the fourteenth century, the increase of population in this country, and wider intercourse, rendered surnames of some sort a necessity. But with the growth of feudal institutions, involving the personal possession of lands which had hitherto been held in common by the clan or sept, wellto-do persons came by a natural process to be known by the name of their territorial possessions. Thus when Freskin, a Frieslander or Fleming, became possessed of extensive lands in the east of Scotland in the twelfth century, he required no second name to distinguish him among the Norman and Anglian magnates with whom it was the policy of David I. to replace the Celtic toiseachs. But his son, having received the baptismal name of William, was not so easily to be recognised. The Norman Conquest had 1 1 Synchronisms of Flann Mainistreach, an Irish MS., A.D. 1014-1022. |