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EDITORIAL NOTE TO THE PRESENT EDITION.
EDITORIAL NOTE TO THE PRESENT EDITION.
In this volume the Publishers present to the reading public a new edition of Sir Thomas Dick Lauder’s first collection of Highland Legends. Originally published under the somewhat misleading title of “Highland Rambles and Long Legends to Shorten the Way,” it has been thought desirable that the title be abbreviated, and made more decidedly descriptive of the volume, as the “rambles” form no important part of the work. In all other respects the present edition is a verbatim reprint of the work as
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HIGHLAND LEGENDS. SCOTTISH MOORLAND SCENERY.
HIGHLAND LEGENDS. SCOTTISH MOORLAND SCENERY.
Clifford. —Come, that is all very well as to the how ; now, let us have your wherefore . Author. —As to the causes of the devouring element being let loose among these aboriginal forests we might speculate long enough, for they were probably many and various. Accidental fires may have been kindled by the rude inhabitants, which afterwards spread destruction far and wide, as they often do now in the forests of America. Or they may have been raised with the intention of driving away wild beasts, o
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THE BURNING OF MACFARLANE’S FOREST OF BEN LAOIDH.
THE BURNING OF MACFARLANE’S FOREST OF BEN LAOIDH.
“It was last night, my lord,” replied Ellen, “that my Aunt Margery came over to my mother’s cottage to settle some matters regarding—a—a—I mean, to speak with my mother of some little family affairs, which kept her better than an hour after nightfall, when, as she was crossing the hill again in her way home, she suddenly beheld a red glowing gleam in the sky, and turning to look behind her, the whole of the forest below seemed to be on fire. She rubbed her eyes in her astonishment, and when she
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COMPARATIVELY RECENT DESTRUCTION OF THE FORESTS.
COMPARATIVELY RECENT DESTRUCTION OF THE FORESTS.
Clifford , with enthusiasm,—With what a different scene should we now be surrounded, if we could conjure up all these ancient tenants of the soil, like the reanimated bodies of dead warriors from their graves, as told in some fairy tale of my childhood, to live again, and to wave their leafy banners triumphantly over these hills and hollows! Grant. —It would be a very different scene indeed. Author. —Aye, truly it would. Conceive the bleak face of these moors so covered, and then carry your imag
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MR. RUSSEL AND THE REAVER.
MR. RUSSEL AND THE REAVER.
“Mr. Russel,” cried he, in very correct English, though with a Highland accent, “are you for peace or war? If for war, look to yourself. But if you are for peace and treaty, order your men to stand fast, and let you and me advance and meet each other half way.” “I will treat,” replied Mr. Russel; “but can I trust to your keeping faith?” “Trust!” exclaimed the other in an offended tone, and with an imperious air; “methinks you may well enough trust to the word and honour of a gentleman.” “I am co
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SCENERY OF THE FINDHORN.
SCENERY OF THE FINDHORN.
Clifford. —What! ha! ha! ha! some Pyramus and Thisbe,—some Petrarch and Laura,—among your heroes and heroines of the pemmican, I suppose! Author. —No, no. The lonely obelisk, and the cairn from which it rises, may indeed have stood on the green holm of Ferness, with the rapid Findhorn sweeping around them, for ages. They may have been there whilst the great forests still spread themselves thickly over the country, but you would judge wrong if you supposed them to have co-existed with my savages
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THE CAIRN OF THE LOVERS.
THE CAIRN OF THE LOVERS.
Yet stark stern in death was each hero’s frown! Each fell not till crushed by an hundred foes! But, though hordes of Norsemen had borne them down, Dire vengeance had soothed their dying throes. For the bloody fight had not been won Till drooped to the west the slanting sun, And his golden beams a bright glory shed Around each dying hero’s head, And lighted his soul with a cheering ray, E’er his dim eye closed on the parting day. But Findhorn’s dark heights, and his wizzard wave, Were lighted ano
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HILL OF THE AITNOCH.
HILL OF THE AITNOCH.
Clifford. —Come, Signore Cicerone, prelect to us about it, if you please. Author. —Loch-an-Dorbe was one of the few royal or national fortresses which Scotland possessed. When Edward the First traversed this country with his army in 1303, he came to Loch-an-Dorbe in the month of September, and occupied it for some time; and Edward the Third considered it as a place of so much importance, that he and Edward Baliol marched all the way from Perth to its relief in August, 1336, when Catherine de Bea
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LEGEND OF JOHN MACKAY OF ROSS-SHIRE, CALLED IAN MORE ARRACH, OR BIG JOHN THE RENTER OF THE MILK OF THE COWS.
LEGEND OF JOHN MACKAY OF ROSS-SHIRE, CALLED IAN MORE ARRACH, OR BIG JOHN THE RENTER OF THE MILK OF THE COWS.
“Ha! no fears but you will learn that trade fast enough,” said the sergeant. “You mountaineers generally do. You are raw yet; but wait till you have beheld my glorious example—wait till you have seen me sheer off half a dozen heads or so, as I have often done, of a morning before breakfast, and you will see that there is nothing more simple.” “Och, och,” exclaimed Ian, with a shrug of his shoulders that spoke volumes. “Aye, aye,” continued the sergeant, “’tis true you cannot expect that at the v
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MORNING SCENE.
MORNING SCENE.
Author. —We are certainly greatly obliged to you for quitting your couch so early in order to procure us so luxurious a breakfast . Clifford. —I don’t think that either of you deserve to share in it, though in truth you are already sufficiently punished for your indolence by missing the fine sport I have had, and therefore I shall act towards you with true Christian charity. Come then, my girl, get your fire up and your frying-pan in order, and I’ll stand cook. Grant. —You must have had a delici
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THE LEGEND OF JOHN MACPHERSON OF INVERESHIE.
THE LEGEND OF JOHN MACPHERSON OF INVERESHIE.
Invereshie’s nurse had early embued his mind with a firm faith in all the wildest of these imaginings, and with him this belief, then so common to all, had grown with his growth and strengthened with his strength. The horse that he rode started aside and snorted with affright when, on bursting from the deep shade of the grove that partly embosomed the burial-ground, he first saw the white figure of the lady before him; and it argued a more than common courage in the horseman, therefore, that he
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A STRANGER APPEARS.
A STRANGER APPEARS.
Stranger ( with oracular gravity ).—Firstly, or, in the first place, I beg to premeese, that I am a schoolmaster; and therefore it is that I am greatly given to accurate and parteeklar inquiry. Secondly, or, in the second place, having daily practeesed myself into a habit of correcting the errors of my scholars, it is not very easy for me to pass silently by the blunders of other folk. And, thirdly, or, in the third place, and to conclude, I am a Macpherson myself; and as it is natural that I sh
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LEGEND OF THE FLOATING ISLET.
LEGEND OF THE FLOATING ISLET.
Whilst they were thus so happily and so harmlessly occupied, they went on, with all the innocent simplicity of rustic life, repeating over and over again to each other their solemn vows of eternal love and fidelity, as if they could never have been tired of these their sweet and sooth-fast asseverations, whilst, at the same time, they uttered them with a copiousness of phraseology and a variety of dialogue truly marvellous in such a muirland pair as they were. It would have absolutely astonished
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DOMINIE DELIGHTED.
DOMINIE DELIGHTED.
Author. —He was married, if I remember rightly, in 1609, to the Lady Anne Campbell, eldest daughter of Archibald, seventh Earl of Argyll; and he was, therefore, brother-in-law to Archibald, the eighth Earl of Argyll, who so strenuously exerted himself in the cause of the people against King Charles I., and who, as you may recollect, was appointed by the Convention of Estates, 16th April, 1644, commander-in-chief of the forces raised to suppress the insurrection of his brother-in-law, this very M
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LEGEND OF ALLAN WITH THE RED JACKET.
LEGEND OF ALLAN WITH THE RED JACKET.
“I am a wayfaring man,” answered the stranger, “and all I would ask is shelter and hospitality for an hour or twain, till this tempest blow by.” “Thou art come in the very nick of time, my friend,” said the MacDonell, “for, hark! the piper has gone to his walk, and he is already filling his drone as a signal for us to fill our stomachs. The banquet is serving in the hall, so in, I pray thee, without more delay; trust me, we are as ready as thou canst be for a morsel of a buck’s haunch, or a flag
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FEUDAL HEROES.
FEUDAL HEROES.
Grant. —I bow to your supreme will. Clifford. —Pray make it short, if you please, for I begin to be rather sleepy, and I should be sorry to affront you by yawning. Besides, I mean to be up betimes to-morrow to try for a salmon....
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GLENGARRY’S REVENGE.
GLENGARRY’S REVENGE.
“That’s very true that you’re saying, Glengarry!” observed Alaister; “but I’m thinking that they are not all just blessed with your spirit. If they had been so, I’m judging that the MacCraws could not have been left as they were without help but what they got from you.” “By all that is good, it was our help alone that saved them,” cried Glengarry in an animated tone. “Half of them would have been hanged on the gallows-tree but for our interference. The MacKenzies had no reason to pride themselve
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LONG YARNS.
LONG YARNS.
Grant. —Come then, Mr. Macpherson, pray take the start of him....
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THE LEGEND OF THE BUILDING OF BALLINDALLOCH.
THE LEGEND OF THE BUILDING OF BALLINDALLOCH.
“Good people!” cried the laird in a rage. “What mean you by good people? More likely fiends, I wot.” “For the love of the Virgin use better terms, Ballindalloch,” replied Ian. “Who knows what ears may be listening to us unseen.” “If I did not know thee to be as brave a fellow as ever handled a broadsword, I would say shame on thee, Ian, for a coward!” cried the laird. “Hark, ye! I would not wilfully anger the good people more than thou wouldst do. But I cannot help thinking that some bad people,
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SOMNOSALMONIA.
SOMNOSALMONIA.
Author ( to Clifford ).—Come along, Mr. Secretary, how stands your book? Clifford. —Mr. Macpherson is down two or three times over. But, for aught I know, he may have told all his tales last night while I slept. By the by, I have to apologise to him for having done so. Dominie. —Hout no, sir, I am sure I am well pleased if my tales can in any manner of way contribute to your happiness, whether it may be by exciting your interest or mirth, or by lulling you to sweet repose. I am not the first sto
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LEGEND OF THE LAST GRANT OF TULLOCHCARRON.
LEGEND OF THE LAST GRANT OF TULLOCHCARRON.
Lachlan Dhu, then, having but little else in which to employ himself, spent most of his time in the chase, and the venison which he slew was always sure to procure him a blessing from his hungry uncle. As for Duncan Bane, his whole attention was directed to fishing, and the salmon which he caught were always sure to be more highly prized than the best buck that his cousin ever brought from the forest. In strict attention to the fack, as well as in justice to the character of the youth himself, I
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LEGEND OF CHIRSTY ROSS.
LEGEND OF CHIRSTY ROSS.
“I shall take you with me, my little dear!” exclaimed the nabob, snatching her up, and kissing her. “I shall take you with me, provided your father and mother will but part with you.” A negotiation was speedily entered into. The parents were too sensible of the great advantages which such a proposal opened for their child to think for one moment of throwing any obstacle in the way of its fulfilment. They, moreover, hoped that this arrangement might have the desirable effect of keeping up a conne
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LEGEND OF CHIRSTY ROSS—Continued.
LEGEND OF CHIRSTY ROSS—Continued.
“I see no use in that,” said Sarah quitting the cell hastily, as if to avoid further question. She did not see the old woman again for several days. Nancy, the little girl already mentioned, attended on her at the usual hours. In vain she tried to prevail on her to procure her writing materials. Her answer was, that she had no means of doing so. She asked for books or work, but the girl’s answer was the same. At length old Sarah appeared again. “Any intelligence from my uncle, good Sarah?” said
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COMPLIMENTARY CRITICISM.
COMPLIMENTARY CRITICISM.
Dominie. —I must tell it to you now then, gentlemen; for I grieve to say that I must part from you at the top of the hill a little way farther on. So, if you have a mind to sit down and enjoy this refreshing breeze for a little time, I shall give you the legend in as few words as I can....
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LEGEND OF GIBBON MORE CUMIN AND HIS DAUGHTER BIGLA.
LEGEND OF GIBBON MORE CUMIN AND HIS DAUGHTER BIGLA.
“As yet thou knowest not the extent of my powers,” said the boy gravely, “nor can I show thee my remedy till thou makest me to know thy disease. Yet, methinks, my skill is such that I might dare shrewdly to guess at it. Hast thou not ta’en a heart-wound from a pair of bright eyes?” “So far I must needs say, that, judging from this first effort of thine, thy skill in divining is not to be questioned,” said the knight. “I will adventure further then, and say, that the slanting beams of yonder decl
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VELVET CUSHIONS.
VELVET CUSHIONS.
Clifford. —I venerate you for your feelings, and I sympathise with them from the bottom of my heart. But if I may make a guess at the geography of the country before us, I should conceive that if we could persuade you to go with us to Tomantoul to-day, your walk from thence to your brother’s to-morrow would be but short. Dominie ( hesitating ).—Hu—um!—that may be, sir. I am sure I am vurra happy in your company; but, may I ask gentlemen, what your plans are? Clifford. —We tie ourselves to no pla
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LEGEND OF THE RIVAL LAIRDS OF STRATHSPEY.
LEGEND OF THE RIVAL LAIRDS OF STRATHSPEY.
“These weddings are mighty merry things, Auchernach,” observed Knockando with seeming coolness, as they accidentally stepped aside together at the same moment to take a cup of refreshment. “When or where can we expect mirth, Knockando, if we find it not on a wedding-night?” said Auchernach, after courteously pledging to his health. “The happy union of two devoted young hearts, as yet unscathed by the blasts of adversity, smiling hope dancing before them, gilding with sunshine all the brighter pr
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