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“Near
the way, by the waterside, we espied a cottage. This was the first Highland
hut that I had seen; and as our business was with life and manners,
we were willing to visit it.
When we entered,
we found an old woman boiling goats-flesh in a kettle. She spoke little
English, but we had interpreters at hand; and she was willing enough
to display her whole system of economy. She has five children, of
which none are yet gone from her. The eldest, a boy of thirteen, and
her husband, who is eighty years old, were at work in the wood. Her
two next sons were gone to Inverness to buy meal. With true pastoral
hospitality, she asked us to sit down and drink whisky. She is religious,
and though the kirk is four miles off, she goes there every Sunday”. |
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